Travis

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I'm not sure if he's ready for the NHL, but with people on this board divided on his abilities; I wish they could see how much better he is than other skaters on any given night in the AHL.

The Rays and maybe the Red Sox are better than the White Sox. The Royals and Indians both got much better and the White Sox got worse. They never seem to quite fall off, but they lost Youkilis and Pierzynski and made no real additions. After Sale and Peavy, they don't have much in the way of starting pitching, either.

I think that he's definitely coming around as of late, but settling into his new role might mean no more Kronwall-ing; since he'll have to be more responsible.

Cabrera will definitely be in the starting 9, as will Rasmus I'd say. I think the Jays are in a good spot this year. Orioles will regress, the Yankees keep getting bad news, and the Red Sox have added a lot of new faces, but I don't know that it they will be better than last year. The Rays are still a threat, and despite the Yankees' poor off-season, they are still the Yankees. That said, I think the Rays could easily take a wild card spot. That line-up is loaded with power and speed. Regardless, anyone bragging about a ST win is crazy, especially when it was in the late-innings when it's farm system vs. farm system. Another tough loss for the Yankees. Any chance they trade for Alfonso Soriano?

I worry about a pair of rookies. Maybe Smith-Huskins?

Those were fan-made mockups.

Running the Bottom 9 out there just like last game. Good. Because that worked.

I posted this in the 2014 WC thread but there wasn't a ton of discussion. I'm not a huge fan, myself. The piping and such is okay, but the front feels crowded with so much going on and the name font doesn't fit with the number font whatsoever.

He's gonna go have fun.

Baseball has officially arrived. Tigers / Braves underway in less than 30 minutes.

Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net just posted what might have been the Red Wings' Winter Classic jersey, the Leafs' surfaced last week. http://news.sportslogos.net/2013/02/22/red-vs-blue-at-winter-classic-leafs-wings-jerseys-spotted/

The Bottom 9 is groan-inducing. I've not paid tons of attention to the games or individual performances so far, but that second line is - as everyone has already said - a waste. Obviously, it's also a product of a lack of healthy bodies, but I'm not fond of any line outside of the the number 1. At least the defense is as "good" (relative term here) as it can be until Smith comes back.

When the event was cancelled all ticket holders were given an option to hold onto their tickets for next year's Winter Classic. Why bother turning it into some sort of announcement? "Since, you know, we couldn't get our s*** together last year we're happy to present the 2014 Winter Classic."

CAN HE PLAY DEFENSE?!

Assuming Sammy's hand isn't actually broken.

Liked. Forever. Robocop always.

The thing that boggles my mind is that he was somehow considered their ace last year. I think he's fine as a back of their rotation guy, though. A question for Tigers fans. I just posted this on Bless You Boys, but I'm curious - do you think there is any sense in making a move for Kyle Lohse? His value has diminished immensely, and - depending on his asking price - could he be a fit? The Tigers would lose a first-rounder, but could trade then Porcello for a decent return without hurting their SP depth. Lohse is also capable of eating innings and has better K/9 and BB/9 than Porcello, albeit slightly. Just a thought, but an interesting one. I think.

Geographically, this alignment makes sense, but I know there has been a lot of talk about keeping divisional rivalries in tact.

I've been waiting for this thread to start. Very excited about the 2013 season. As a refresher, here is how the Tigers line-up will likely look this Spring. CF Jackson RF Hunter 3B Cabrera 1B Fielder DH Martinez LF Dirks RF Peralta C Avila 2B Infante C Pena INF Santiago INF/OF Worth OF Boesch OF Berry UTIL Kobernus SP Verlander SP Scherzer SP Fister SP Sanchez SP Porcello SP Smyly RHP Marte RHP Villareal LHP Downs RHP Alburquerque LHP Coke RHP Benoit RHP Dotel RHP Rondon A few questions marks in the roster. Can Rondon step into the closers role? Who rounds out the other bullpen slots? Who comes off the bench? Does Andy Dirks gets a platoon partner in left field? Dangit, I love baseball.

I had this thought, too, when I saw that he had been scratched for a couple of games. He's struggling at the moment, but maybe just needs a change of scenery. How do the Wings and Oilers match up trade-wise, though?

He works for Blues broadcast team, right?

Jokes aside, I actually like the way this line-up looks. Not in the way that they're all dogs, but you know what I mean.

This is actually one of my favorite calls in sports history. As I've said, I am no Joe Buck supporter (despite how I come across in this thread). I think he's an ass most of the time. I do understand that he comes from an old-school style of broadcasting, though. He clearly took a lot from his dad, who covered sports in an era where you simply didn't shout, yell, or get excited about anything. Russ Hodges was actually criticized by colleagues for the way he called Bobby Thompson's Shot Heard 'Round the World (The Giants win the pennant!) because of his excitement and 'lack of professionalism'. But, I digress. Back to the topic at hand, that video is insanely awkward. Buck comes across like a real dick, too, when he tells Pang he doesn't care where Bernier's from.

I don't like Joe Buck, but that's simply not true. That said - he usually seems as though he'd rather be anywhere else.

The 2013 Detroit Red Wings: "Hey, it worked for the Tigers."