Travis

She's right. The dude is a stud. He played really well Wednesday night, which is exactly what she's referring to.

Word is a number of the Red Sox are unhappy with the hiring of Bobby Valentine. Kind of fun watching that team turn into a train wreck. Heath Bell has apparently agreed to a 3 year, $27 million deal with the Florida Marlins. Looks like they're for real about pursuing top-notch talent after all.

I don't think the top NCAA FA is 26. I'm gonna go ahead and put my money on it being this guy: http://www.facebook.com/#!/dekeyser.daniel

The Tigers' contact with Ramirez has been made official, though, no offers have been made yet. Word is now that Detroit is also interested in the services of Mark Buehrle, which I am also totally okay with. Better than rushing Turner or Oliver if we can pick up a great lefty to bolster the order.

Lions really beat themselves today. Great first half with a frustrating result followed by an implosion. I'm all for the Lions having swagger and attitude, but they really killed themselves today.

Arbitration decisions are due at midnight tonight for Magglio Ordonez and Wilson Betemit. It's a pretty foregone conclusion that Magglio will not receive compensation; but there is a chance that Betemit may, though I'd certainly hope they don't.

MVP

Was discussing this with my Dad via text last night. He has been playing better than we've ever seen him play over a prolonged period. It seems that he's really come into his own this season as a top-tier goaltender.

The biggest difference is that these jerseys feature a black yoke and horizontal striping, whereas their usual jerseys feature white striping down the shoulder / sleeve. They're also using an antique white application. Icethetics has a mock-up and Puck Daddy has a better image than the Bleacher Report image. I think my favorite thing about the design is the Keystone captaincy patch.

The announcement has been pushed back until Tuesday. Good article on Bless You Boys about what a new CBA means for the Tigers this off-season. Just under 30 minutes away from the announcement of the AL MVP. I don't expect Verlander to win, thanks to the whole pitcher debate; but it seems his campaign is picking up steam, with even ESPN voting him the MVP this morning. Baseball Tonight brought up good points about Ellsbury, Bautista (no playoffs), and Granderson (poor BA) that made me think JV might actually have a chance in this thing. I still expect Curtis Granderson to be named MVP, though.

The Twins have signed Ryan Doumit for 1yr/$3mil. Kind of surprised he didn't command more, but probably just happy to get on a team that will challenge for once. Would have been a nice addition, but we don't need a $3 million catcher.

The Tigers make it official announcing the (re-)signing of Jason Williams Gerald Laird. http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111117&content_id=25992502&vkey=news_det&c_id=det

Prado struggled when the Braves moved him to left this year. If we move Young we have to go out and find another outfielder to take his place, since Magglio isn't coming back and Dirks / Raburn are nowhere near everyday players. Laird leaves something to be desired, but a back-up catcher is like signing a 6/7th defenseman. He won't have much influence or bearing on the game, and he'll only start 30-40. If he really sucks, we do have that Martinez guy who can strap 'em on. I would still have rather seen Pudge come back, though. Regardless, this is a minor move in every sense of the word - which we all knew the Tigers were going to do at C. I'm excited to see how they fill the areas of real need.

I missed the first period and a half. Woof. That was bad.

I like the idea of Prado, but not at the cost of Delmon Young. We need a lead-off guy, but Young proved invaluable down the stretch in a Tigers uniform and drives in a lot more runs than he is liable for even at Comerica. Especially because the things I have seen say Tigers would then likely target a Coco Crisp-type OF at a low cost. Not only do I not want Coco Crisp on this team, it would then give us 2 lead off-type batters (3 if Jackson ever figures it out) against a run producer. This is all Carlos Guillen's fault. I am delusional certain the Tigers would have been in on/landed Dan Uggla last season and will never forgive Carlito for it. Regardless of any of this, I am really curious to see what the Tigers do when the Arbitration Offer Deadline hits in a week. That's when the real fun should begin, especially since the GM meetings are going on right now. Here's hoping for a cool Thanksgiving present from Dombrowski.

Congratulations to JV on the Cy Young, though, I think we can all agree it was a formality at this point.

Probably for his motivational skills.

Ken and Mick hinted at the possibility of Hitchcock joining the Blue Jackets the other night. Guess that's not happening. Good for Ken.

That would be terrible on multiple levels. Obviously, on a personal level for White and family - and because I don't consider the Wings a team to do that sort of thing. I've been happy with White overall, though. Through the first 5 games (let's be honest, the last 6 are no measure of this team) - he was exactly what we thought he'd be.

You should probably aim that at your local convenience store. I've got a buddy that lives off of that stuff year round.

The ESPN Power Rankings are also done by two different guys who trade off from week to week. Obviously, it's early in the season - but they've been really hyperbolic to this point. I can only imagine how frustrating of a game it must have been to be at in person. The PP was erratic at best, and mid-way through the second they looked absolutely frantic just trying to enter the zone. I agree they lacked grit, too. Granted, the Flames have always been grittier than the Wings - but it seemed like they had some of it at the start of the season. Franzen is bit right now. If it weren't for bad luck, the guy would have none at all. Even Redmond said at one point, that if he were Franzen he'd be so frustrated that his "stick would be in a hundred pieces right now."

What do YOU mean, 'you people'?

I don't know what's happening, but I bet he has something to do with it.

Shanahan, so he can suspend every other team.

Huge number for Rinne. Pretty surprising for a team that doesn't often spend a lot on any one player, especially him being a goalie. Not much to be said that hasn't already been said. I'm sure lots of teams are salivating at the idea that the Preds may lose their top pairing.