Recent Comments

I wish that were true. Over half our rotation was acquired via trade, and pretty much all of our key pieces were acquired either via trade or free agency: Cabrera, Fielder, Jackson, Hunter, Infante (kind of, he's kind of a half breed since he started in Detroit, left, then came back via trade), and Peralta. I don't know what a typical team's breakdown is, but when I think of home-grown teams, I think Rays, A's, Cards, Nats, Reds, Pirates... I don't really think of the Tigers as a homegrown team.

Well, the most recent version I have is 2011, so I suppose it's time to get an upgrade. I'd be getting this one anyway, what with Denard on the cover and everything, but I'm really not expecting much of a difference from 2011.

Butler totally just saved him with that pitch. Valverde is lucky Butler didn't hit that 500 feet.

Welp, Verlander's day is done. Excellent outing for him. Final line:

7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 0 R, 117 pitches.

It's up to the bullpen now. May God protect us.

Back to back doubles for Tuiasosopo and Pena! 2-0 Tigers.

Also, did anybody notice what Tui did right before Shields pitched to Pena? It looked like he was pointing at something, but was he signaling the pitch to Pena?

Is that really an effect of Houston moving to the AL though? I know that because there's now an odd number of teams in each league, there's always an interleague game being played, but how would that affect the days on which games are played?

Things I've been surprised by:

• The Red Sox and Yankees sitting atop the AL East. Buchholz and Ortiz are both having resurgent seasons.
• Jhonny Peralta hitting as well as he has. Probably not sustainable with a .411(!) BABIP, but I'm enjoying the balance he's giving our lineup while it lasts.
• The NL Central being solid at the top. Especially the Pirates. I think good days are ahead for Pittsburgh, as Gerrit Cole pitched well in his ML debut last year, and they have another promising young pitcher in the minors (Jameson Taillon), as they're slowly building a strong young core. I'm happy for them, they deserve to have good baseball. It's been long enough for that city.
• Along those lines, I can't believe how well St. Louis is playing. I mean, they're absolutely on fire. 

Any word on if you'll be able to play PS3 games on the PS4? That's probably the biggest hurdle for me in making the jump from 3 to 4.

As far as I know, the devs are just guys who volunteered to create apps for the blog. You should be able to email the dev for your respective OS (I know you can email the android dev via the Play Store, I can only assume you'd be able to do the same with the Apple app).

1. I hope so.

2. The tourney is such a crapshoot, and the Big Ten is so solid now, that I have a hard time saying yes to this. I do think we're on the verge of a prolonged run of great seasons though.

3. Probably Wisconsin.

4. Exactly 3.635.

5a. Adoree Jackson. You said baseless speculation.

5b. Da'Shawn Hand. I don't know, I just don't have a good vibe from him. I think he'll end up in the SEC.

Good! You're now on my list, so take that!

Airing of Grievances != Unnecessarily blasting someone. About halfway through your post, I thought you were being sarcastic because you were going so far over the top. You're entitled to your opinion, and you're certainly free to express it, but show some class/respect.

What you did is like BiSB saying "Ok everyone, shooting range is open now! Fire away!" and you turn to the guy next to you and blast him with a bazooka. 

maybe there should be some kind of adjacent or affiliated OT forum with very little moderation and an enter-at-your-own-risk-because-just-about-anything-goes ethos

There are literally millions of forums like that all over the internet. Just venture on over to RCMB to see how that works when combined with a team-related sports blog. There may be some constructive and informative posts over there, but everybody knows it by its reputation: a low-brow place where you only go if you want to discuss things like how long it takes for a woman's egg to become fertilized once you start trying to get pregnant (not even kidding). I don't want this blog to become tainted by being associated with that.

Epic post brah! Up top!

The island of Pitcairn. I just found out about them last week, and those people are messed up! I blame them for everything that's wrong with our world today.

How about this:

1. If you haven't spell-checked or proofread your comment/OP, don't post. Along these lines, if your post is fairly long and doesn't have commas, periods, and/or paragraph breaks, don't post. Also, spell check.
2. If your comment/OP pertains to a random story that nobody will understand or appreciate, don't post. Or don't get butthurt when everybody posts and says "CSB".
3. I actually agree with your third point. Just posting to say "I agree" or "I disagree" is pointless...though that has been addressed in the Board FAQ.
4. READ THE BOARD FAQ.

How can I avoid downvotes?

Don't be redundant. Don't use stupid nicknames like O$U. Spell things correctly. Don't post useless replies like "I agree" and whatnot.

I actually like USC's. And I catch myself humming OSU's every now and then too. Ironically, those are two of the teams I hate most.

ADIOS SUCKASSSSSSSSSSSS. TIME TO BOUNCE

Man, that defense was so good. And that late hit call on Crable is still crap.

Cool, new desktop background.

Fabulous, loved both the interviews. Two questions:

- Did he pull his arms up into his shirt when you took the picture? If not, he has huge moobs.

- Any chance you'll be able to continue this series with other coaches? You've set a precedent now, and we won't be content with just generic press conference transcripts.

RESPECT.

I don't want to watch a bunch of chubby high school boys do some silly dance.

Soo you're saying you would have preferred if they were fit, muscular high school boys? 

Your argument is entirely predicated on the assumption that God doesn't exist. That's quite an assumption to make so confidently and definitively.

Something that's filled with hoppy goodness that you've never heard of. Cus I'm hipster like that.

You present a compelling argument. I feel inclined to be swayed by your sound rhetoric and statistical analysis. Well done, sirrah.

Oh really? Pretty sure we made it to the World Series last year with the same bullpen. Please, tell me what you would do to majorly overhaul this bullpen. For reference, this is a list of the current relievers:

• Al Alburquerque - 14 IP, 2.57 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 16.07 K/9, 7.71 BB/9, 84.6% LOB, 2.23 FIP
• Joaquin Benoit - 18 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 12 K/9, 4 BB/9, 98.6% LOB, 3.13 FIP
• Phil Coke - 9.2 IP, 7.45 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 9.31 K/9, 4.66 BB/9, 43.1 % LOB, 3.84 FIP
• Darin Downs - 17.2 IP, 2.55 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 11.21 K/9, 2.55 BB/9, 85.5% LOB, 3.01 FIP
• Jose Ortega - 6.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.47 WHIP, 8.53 K/9, 1.42 BB/9, 100% LOB, 2.07 FIP
• Drew Smyly - 23.1 IP, 1.93 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 9.26 K/9, 2.31 BB/9, 77% LOB, 1.73 FIP
• Jose Valverde - 7 IP, 1.29 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 9 K/9, 3.86 BB/9, 75% LOB, 2.30 FIP

So, who would you replace, and with whom? And a major overhaul would have to include at least half of those guys. Are there really four guys that you could reasonably replace? Maybe we should just fire Leyland?

Other plausible explanations:

- He IS Brian or one of the mods.

- He's a hacker, and we're about to experience a site meltdown.

Bummer, I was hoping for some bears and monkeys on bicycles.

When did he injure his leg? And that's totally disgusting.

"Elephants in the game."

"We've got a barn burner in the Big House today folks."

"Deep down the sidelinnnne. Incomplete."

I have two: a basic Capital One card (don't even remember the name) that gives 2% back on just about all purchases. It's really not that great, since it has a $35 annual fee, but I've more than made up the annual fee in rewards dollars for the time I've had it. It was my first credit card though, so it was a starting point.

My wife and I also just got the Visa Hilton Honors card. We've only had it for about a week, but I think I'm going to like it. Gives us points that we can redeem at any Hilton hotel, and there's no annual fee on it.

My advice to anyone considering a card: determine what defines "best" to you. Is it the awards? The APR? Low annual fee? To me, I don't really care at all about the APR, because I've always paid off my balance in full each month. So it really boils down to the awards and low annual fee for me.

Isn't he the broom guy? Who's worked with Luck and others? I think ESPN had an article on him a few years ago.

Ha yeah... "Oh noes, the Jazz are coming to town! They're going to lull us to sleep with their sweet jazz music, and then take advantage of us!" Or the 76'ers:

Guy #1: "Ahhhhhh!! Here come the 76'ers!!! They're going to...76...us!!!"

Guy #2 (as he's running away): "What does that even meannnn???"

Welp, can't win em all.

He knew it right off the bat too. Just an angry swing.

I saw an interesting poll on the telecast the other night: which Minnesota sports team is the biggest rival to their Detroit counterpart (I think the options were Twins, Timberwolves, Wild, Vikings). I'd say the Twins by a longshot, followed by the Vikings, and then who cares? I don't think the T'Wolves or Wild are rivals of the Pistons/Wings at all.

The term has its origins in the days before the cyber attack/site meltdown, back when upvotes/downvotes actually did something. Back then, there were also negbangs, and they were just as awesome, if a little more naughty. Posbangs came about as a reaction to the negbangs, to boost people's self-esteem. The negbangs pretty much died off with the new voting system, since you can only get as low as -1, but the posbangs have lived on.

It literally takes zero effort to find your joined date.

Zendaya's???

You realize that reverting to name-calling and personal attacks makes you seem judgmental and intolerant of this other guy's beliefs? Just seems like you've got an axe to grind and makes you look bad. Did he do something to you?

You clearly know what you're talking about.

That's incredible. It's no wonder he's been so hard to hit. You basically have no idea what he's throwing until it's out of his hand. For something like a slider, you're screwed.

Sidenote: it's a little surprising he doesn't throw a changeup. Although what they chart as "Slider2" could actually be his changeup.

95 percent? I'd be interested to see where you got that number from. Here's a recent poll that puts support of gay marriage around 53 percent.

Yep, I know. That's why when people ask me what NFL team I'm a "fan" of, I just say "None really, but I follow these three..." I know what fandom is, and I know I'm not a fan of an NFL team.

Let me first say that I have a lot of sympathy for kids in terrible circumstances like that. I've volunteered at orphanages in third-world areas in 2 different countries (I don't think Honduras and Mexico are technically third-world countries, but the areas I was in definitely were), so I've even gone beyond just sympathy and done something to help out.

That aside, I'm not trying to make light of the kids' circumstances. I just got a hearty laugh imagining those kids being so happy to see food we consider super basic. If anything, it's sobering because we could see a scenario like this actually being true.

I keep forgetting you're a woman, until you post things that give you away. It's mostly because I just assume everyone on the internet is a man.

This is fantastic timing. I just found this meme on my lunch break and just had to share it:

So we're 42 replies in, and does anybody know what trapper keeper textures are?

Should he be in then? If he wants to take over as closer, he's got to perform in tight scenarios.

Welp, Verlander's day is done. In all, a quality start and he leaves with the Tigers in the lead. Rondon on for the eigth. Let's see what he's got.

I hate the way baseball works sometimes. A lucky hit, a stolen base, a bad pitch, and a run has scored. Just the way it goes sometimes.

1-1 in the 3rd.

Or THIS

Don't they normally run a pre-order deal where you can get the game like $40 or so? Any ideas when/if they'll be doing that for this edition?

Sooo, sounds like he got away? Yikes.

Police in Massachusetts and Connecticut are hunting for a green Honda...The car was described as a green Honda Civic with Massachusetts plate number 116 GC7. It was not known who owned the car, but the police bulletin could mean authorities fear remaining suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, whose brother and fellow bombing suspect was killed early Friday, could have slipped out of the tight perimeter formed by police and FBI agents in the Watertown section of Boston.

For you guys in the area, stay safe.

Eh, I think it's pretty cool. Plus, it's probably not something I would have heard about otherwise and it's OT season.

Where did you hear that from?

FYI, the guy who had his legs blown off (you've probably seen his picture by now), apparently helped authorities identify the older brother. Just absolutely crazy. LINK

Yeah, that's a good question: why did they go out? I think it makes more sense to try to lay low and wait things out than bolt the country, but if that was their plan, why did they go to the 7-11? I think that's more confusing than why they stayed in the US. If they planned this out this well, you'd think they would have stocked up on enough food/water to last them at least a week.

I can't tell if you're being serious or not, but that's ridiculous to think.

Boy, ump is calling a tight zone so far.

Alright I'll be honest, it wasn't until I finished reading the letter that I realized it was the letter that was found in the attic, not the player.

But that's really interesting. Any ideas who Walter is?

0-11 with 9 Ks so far. Yeesh.

Wow, maybe I should set lines for a living.

What would you take? I'm 52% serious.

Pretty much every national power from the 90's?

Just saw 42 over the weekend. I'd recommend it to anyone who's considering going to see it.

Just curious btw, but how many of you have bought the Arena Football game? I didn't even know it existed...

April 15 = tax day. Maybe someone was disgruntled with the amount of taxes they had to pay and took out their aggression on the marathoners. It's a bit of a stretch, but I'm guessing that's where he was going.

Any idea if the coaches are still pursuing Webb? Would be nice to keep the Cass Tech pipeline open.

Ok, don't use informative thread titles then...but then don't complain when people blast you for not following the guidelines.

Informative thread titles are a courtesy and the way things are supposed to be done around here. From Brian's Board FAQs (which you should read if you haven't already):

What should I title my threads? Please make your thread titles as informative as possible: "Justin Feagin" is bad. "Justin Feagin leaving the team?" is good.

Yeahh, that's embarrassing.

On the bright side, I saw the one girl with Porcello's shirt and number 48. I thought the 21 looked odd for some reason.

This commemorative book on Michigan’s 2013 NCAA men’s basketball championship provides a visual account of the Wolverines’ road to glory.

Yeesh.

Not sure if serious...

But how do you KNOW?

You really think the college athletes have Twitter accounts so they can talk to you? Maybe they just want to talk to their friends?

Post pics or vids for those of us who can't be there in person!

Where would one find these words to read? My interest is piqued.

Hmm, "x miles in x minutes"? Have you actually run 10 miles in 10 minutes?

Yep, me too:

http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/en/entry?entryID=2763797

Can't believe it's worked out so far!

A freaking moonshot from Prince! Here we go!

I feel like Avila is really key to this offense. I don't think we can expect him to hit .295 like he did in 2011, but I think he's better than the .243 he hit last year. If he can land somewhere in between there, with an OBP > .300, this offense will be almost unstoppable. He's can bridge the gap between our mashers and the top of the order and hit for more than just singles power.

BKFinest IS the source.

Who is that man and how dare he claim to be Jake Ryan!

Kind of weird seeing Boesch in a Yankee's uniform. I...don't miss him at all.

Hover your mouse over "MGoBoard" at the top of the page, and it's one of the options there.

Louisville ran that at least once (UMHoops showcased that in their breakdown), and yeah, I feel like we'll see at least one go to GR3.

Perfect, thanks! That's just what I was looking for.

VMart looks like he hasn't played in over a year. He'll come around eventually.

FYI, per BYB, the Tigers just acquired Evan Reed (RHP) from Miami. Sounds like a career minor-leaguer, but I suppose he adds some bullpen depth?

LINK.

Miggy and VMart still looking to get off the schnide. I'll bet $5 they both get an extra-base hit this game.

I thought that was Stauskas?