Bless You Boys: for Detroit Tigers fans

Bless You Boys Podcast 95 has a running time of 61 minutes and features Al Beaton, HookSlide, and of course, Kurt Mensching. The gang covers the past week of Detroit Tigers baseball, dominated by the controversial trade of Doug Fister and the signing of Joe Nathan.

Fister was traded to the Washington Nationals for either spare parts and a prospect or spare parts and Robbie Ray.

Taken in a vacuum, was the Fister deal a good trade or bad trade? But when looked at in a larger context, does the trade start to make more sense?

Many are playing the "In Dave Dombrowski we trust" card, saying he must know something others don't.

Is it possible owner Mike Ilitch has told Dombrowski the Tigers have reached the upper limits of a self-imposed team salary cap?

Is asking Drew Smyly or Rick Porcello to replicate Fister's numbers too much to ask?

Could Steve Lombardozzi be the next dividing line in the war between Detroit's traditional fans and those who believe in advanced metrics?

The Tigers have their closer, inking 39-year-old Joe Nathan to a two-year, $19M contract, with a club option third year worth $10M with a $1M buyout.

Are there concerns in giving an aging Nathan huge money?

From all accounts, the Tigers' first choice as closer was Brian Wilson, but talks broke down.  Wilson re-signed with the Dodgers for one-year at $10 million, with the second year a player option at $10M. Did the Tigers end up with the right closer?

Are the Tigers are at or near a self-imposed payroll cap?

Don't expect Shin-Shoo Choo to come to the rescue in left field.

Robinson Cano and Jacoby Ellsbury have agreed to what are sure to end up as albatross long-term contracts. ARE MLB GMs NUTS?

Speaking of possible albatross contracts, are the Tigers now set up to give long-term extensions to Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer?

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Bless You Boys Podcast 94 has a running time of 53 minutes and features Al Beaton, and of course, Kurt Mensching. HookSlide has the week off.

Kurt and Al cover the past week of Detorit Tigers baseball, which means they spend the vast majority of BYB Podcast 94 covering all angles of the Prince Fielder / Ian Kinsler trade and the resulting fallout.

Topics:

When Prince Fielder was traded for Ian Kinsler, our first reaction was "HOLY SHIT!" The second was, "How could Dave Dombrowski trade that contract?"

Kurt and Al both predicted ... Fielder would not be traded. Whoops.

The Tigers have a large hole in the middle of their batting order.

Who plays where? Does Miguel Cabrera move to first base? Why not Jordan Lennerton at first base? Is Nick Castellanos the new third baseman? Where does Victor Martinez end up?

The Tigers freed up a ton of cash, but will they spend it?

If the Tigers just unloaded a $24 million a season contract, why would they give out another in free agency?

In the eyes of Rangers fans, was Kinsler viewed in the same way as many Tigers fans viewed Fielder?

Fans completely overreacted to Fielder's ALCS comments. Players have a better attitude about winning and losing than many irrational fans.

No ifs, ands or buts about it, Dave Dombrowski is a wizard.

All but forgotten in the wake of the trade was Brad Ausmus adding Omar Vizquel and Matt Martin to his staff.

Dombrowski denies Robinson Cano was in Detroit, saying, "We plan on having Ian Kinsler as our second baseman this year." But he said "plan, not "definitely." Hmmmm.

Phil Coke is coming back.

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Al, Kurt and HookSlide cover the past week of Detroit Tigers baseball, including awards season domination, sabermatrician war mongering, trade rumors involving nearly the entire starting rotation, the team's interest in free agent closers and Baseball America dissing the farm system. 

Bless You Boys Podcast 93 has a running time of 46 minutes and features Al Beaton, HookSlide and of course, Kurt Mensching.

Topics:

Miguel Cabrera is named 2013 AL MVP by the BBWAA for a second straight season.

Brian Kenny, Keith Law and other bully pulpit owning sabermatriciians declare war, insulting anyone who believed Cabrera was a more deserving winner than Mike Trout.

Max Scherzer is your 2013 AL Cy Young winner, no backlash ensues.

Should we be celebrating individual awards while the Tigers keep coming up short of winning a World Series title?

Depending on the rumor, Scherzer, Doug Fister, Rick Porcello and/or  Prince Fielder are all on the trading block.

The Tigers have reportedly been linked to free agent closers Joe Nathan and Brian Wilson.

Baseball America ranks the Tigers' farm system as the second worse in all of baseball, 29th overall.  So what else is new? And does it really make a difference?

HookSlide is still in baseball post season rehab, Kurt is infuriated by a trashy tweet and Al teases upcoming podcast hijinks.

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Kurt and Al cover the past week of Detroit Tigers baseball, including the hiring of new manager Brad Aumus, Max Scherzer trade rumors, the possibility of a payroll crunch, free agency and the made-for-TV waste of time known as MLB awards season.  

Topics:

Meet Brad Ausmus, managerial flavor of the month!It's far, far to early to make any kind of judgment, good, bad or indifferent, about the hiring if Ausmus.Gene Lamont and Jeff Jones return. Tom Brookens won't.Goodbye Lloyd McClendon.Just because there's rumors the Tigers will trade Max Scherzer doesn't mean it's likely to happen. It's improbable, at best,Is there a payroll crunch?This is Omar Infante's one shot at a huge contract.The few Tigers free agency rumors involve closers, the first of which was about Grant Balfour. Expect the Tigers to be linked to any and every closer on the market.Awards season is here and we don't give a damn.The SB Nation MLB Awards were determined by nerds. Don't blame me, I voted for Cabrera!

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Bless You Boys Podcast 91 has a running time of 1:16 and features Al Beaton, HookSlide and of course, Kurt Mensching.   Topics:   Where have we been for the past three weeks? Let's just say Al has something in common with Prince Fielder.   Changes in how you listen to and download the show.   The Tigers decline the contact option of Jose Veras, making him a free agent. HUH? Darin Downs and Matt Tuiasosopo move on to greener pastures.   Is a complete bullpen rebuild coming?   Tigers drop the ALCS to the Red Sox in six games. What happened and who's to blame? Is there any solace to be taken from the Tigers losing to the eventual World Champions?   Fielder is made the scapegoat, as the fan base blames much of the team's failure to advance to the World Series completely on him and his huge contract.    Jim Leyland announces his retirement. What's the legacy of Leyland? Will the vocal minority who have long wanted him gone learn what "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it?" means? Is he a Hall of Famer?   There's no obvious, standout name in the search for Leyland's replacement. Does an outside-the-box candidate make sense with a veteran team with World Series aspirations? How much longer will the search drag out? Are there any favorites?   Free agency starts at 12:01 AM Tuesday, November 5. Should we expect much action from the Tigers?   After an obstruction call ended World Series Game 3, there was a cry of (Mostly from Boston fans) "Umpires should not decide the game!" That's disingenuous at best and utter BS at worst. 

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On BYB Podcast 90, an exhausted Kurt, Al and HookSlide look back at the past week of Tigers' baseball, describe how they survived the ALDS, preview the ALCS, praise Jim Leyland and debunk the Moneyball narrative.

Bless You Boys Podcast 90 has a running time of 1:16 and features Al Beaton, HookSlide and of course, Kurt Mensching.

Topics:

    Surviving the ALDS:  The Tigers were on their way to a sweep, were left for dead on the side of the road with fans wanting major changes, then scaring the living crap out of us, and finally on their way to the ALCS.

    The was plenty second guessing of Jim Leyland, but almost all of him moves worked.

    Max Scherzer, roller coaster reliever.

    Justin Verlander, stud ace.

    So much for Jhonny Peralta being rusty.

    Despite playing through what appears to be a major injury, Miguel Cabrera showed why you cannot bench him.

    Who broke Austin Jackson and can he be fixed in time for the ALCS?

    Sonny Gray or Bartolo Colon?

    The A's lost the ALDS in Game 4.

    The ALCS features a match up with the Boston Red Sox, and everything (best record, obnoxious fans, Fenway Park) that goes with it.

    Peralta and the Green Monster.

    The Tigers' edge over the Red Sox is their rotation.

    Cowboy Joe West named umpire crew chief of the ALCS. Expect an ump show!

    Predictions!

    The playoffs as a referendum on Moneyball

    Kurt SINGS!

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On Bless You Boys Podcast 89, Kurt, Al and HookSlide look back at the past week of Tigers baseball, preview the ALDS, deny the existence of momentum, call Drew Sharp an idiot, have fun times with lawsuits and HookSlide does his Bill Simonson imitation. Bless You Boys Podcast 89 has a running time of 1:09 and features Al Beaton, HookSlide and of course, Kurt Mensching.

Topics:

Tigers are swept in Miami.

Tigers are no-hit in Miami.

Should we care about what happened in Miami?

Momentum is a myth.

The ALDS roster is set, any surprises?

Drew Sharp of the Freep says the Tigers would have kept Jhonny Peralta off the roster, then goes into PED hysterics.

Do the Tigers' playoff chances hinge on the health of Miguel Cabrera?

We predict the ALDS winner. It's all about the Tigers' rotation.

 Lawsuits are everywhere. Alex Rodriguez gets litigious with Bud Selig and MLB, Albert Pujols looks to take down Jack Clark.

Dusty Baker is fired, starting the managerial silly season early.

The Wall Street Journal ranks the Tigers third in the playoff hateability index, whatever the Hell that is.

HookSlide misses local announcers during MLB's playoffs.

Kurt hates the "Downtrodden Detroit" trope.

Al wonders how the Tigers even won 50 games going by the fan base doom and gloom over the past week.

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On BYB Podcast 88, Kurt, Al and HookSlide look back at the past week of Tigers baseball, Jim Leyland's tears, prepare for the post season, root for the Tribe, hope Brian McCann and the Braves lose and Kurt goes OFF on the usual sabermetric suspects.

Bless You Boys Podcast 88 has a running time of 1:15 and features Al Beaton, HookSlide and of course, Kurt Mensching.

Topics:

    The Tigers clinch the Central! Yet some fans are still not happy.

    Jim Leyland is cranky and crusty on the outside, a sentimental crier on the inside.

    Going into the series with the Marlins, the Tigers still had a mathematical chance at home field. Did they fold up their tents too soon?

    What worries you about this team entering the post season?

    Miguel Cabrera is what is at this point. What he isn't is healthy, and won't be anytime soon.

    The Jhonny Peralta outfield experiment begins to mixed reviews.

    Who's on and who's off the playoff roster?

    A wild Wild card race goes to the final day of the season.

    If Brian McCann and the Braves weren't around to enforce silly unwritten rules and proper home run etiquette, ANARCHY would ensue.

    Bud Selig announces he will step down as MLB Commissioner in January 2015. Will his legacy be positive or negative?

    Kurt goes off on extremists. Extremist sabermatricians, that is.

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On the 87th BYB Podcast, Kurt, Al and HookSlide look back at the past week of Tigers baseball, home field advantage in the playoffs, changes in left field, pinch running for Prince Fielder, swimming Dodgers and Kurt doesn't get any of Al's pop culture references.

Bless You Boys Podcast 87 has a running time of 58 minutes and features Al Beaton, HookSlide and Kurt Mensching.

Topics include"

The summer of HookSlide and HookSlide Jr. ends by attending Tigers' batting practice.

Kurt was WRONG.

Is playoff home field advance as important as some in the media make it out to be?

Injuries continue to pile up, the latest being Jose Iglesias.

Bruce Rondon's bullpen role.

October left field candidates include Andy Dirks, Matt

Tuiasosopo, Don Kelly and Jhonny Peralta. Someone is going to be left on the outside looking in.

Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez and pinch running.

AL MVP and Cy Young were thought to be all but locked up by Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer a month ago. Has their September struggles opened the door for other candidates?

The Dodgers go swimming, Diamondbacks throw a hissy fit.

Find the BYB staff on Twitter: @BlessYouBoys, @BigAlBYB, @BYBKurt, @HookSlideBYB, @BYBRob, @Tigerdog_1, @JGoro8, @MelissaHeyboer, @NoRunSupport, @SBNationMLB.

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In this week's Bless You Boys Podcast, Kurt, Al and HookSlide look back at the past week of Tigers baseball, the possible return of Jhonny Peralta, the AL Cy Young race, ump shows, breaking unwritten baseball rules and sing about The Singing Hot Dog Man.

Bless You Boys Podcast 86 has a running time of 1:08 and features Al Beaton, along with the singing debuts of HookSlide, and Kurt Mensching.

Topics include:

A 4 1/2 game lead? DOOOOOM. The Tigers' lead is back to six? Never mind. Jhonny Peralta is working out with the team. Does Peralta's rejoining the team ensure he'll be activated when the suspension ends? Should he be? Should morality play into this decision at all? Peralta in left field. Good or bad idea? Who should be worried about being left off the playoff roster if Peralta is activated? Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez and the AL Cy Young. On top of being injured, Miguel Cabrera is slumping. The future of Omar Infante. Ump show? Ump show! Charlie Marcuse, aka The Singing Hot Dog Man is fired for being anti-ketchup. The Marlins' Jose Fernandez hits a home run, breaks several unwritten baseball rules. Braves react as if Fernandez (and his world class "I don't give a shit" face) is Public Enemy Number One. Which team do you HATE?

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