More dumb things

Life insurance. A question -- why would any sane person pay a portion of their hard-earned income for their entire adult lives into a fund -- just so somebody else can get a pile of money when they die?

Better yet -- check out some of the ads. For only the low-low price of, say, $20 a month, you can guarantee your (former) loved ones financial security for life with a payout of millions. Yeah? Do the math. A Jackson a month is about $250 bucks a year. Even if you've paid into it for a whopping 50 years before you croak, it still only adds up to about $12,500. So how can they pay out millions? Inflation? It's never been THAT bad. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. Dumb.

Interesting that Chris Paul, formerly of the LA Clippers, has been traded to the Houston Rockets. Isn't that the same team that James Harden, an MVP candidate, and also a point guard currently plays for? How's that going to work? Both guys are known for dishing out assists, so who are they going to pass to? Each other? What Houston needed was a big man that can score in a variety of ways -- not another high-priced point guard. Dumb.

Yours truly caught a few snatches of the Detroit Tiger/KC Royal game earlier. To no great surprise, the puddy-tats went down to defeat again. Starting pitcher Daniel Norris was rock and rolled and didn't make it out of the fourth inning. There goes a colossal blast to left field. Oops, there goes another one to right field. Oh Danny Boy, that two-seamer over the plate just doesn't seem to be getting it.

What was astounding was one of the Detroit "homer" announcers suggesting that because KC has four potential free-agents in their starting line-up, they'll likely be forced to go into "sell" mode before the trade deadline goes ding.

Yeah? Last time I looked the Royals were several games ahead of the Tigers in the AL Central Division. And speaking of selling -- the Tigers still have a ridiculously high player payroll and are only a game out of the basement of the entire American League.

What was REALLY annoying was this announcer always sounds like his nose is totally stuffed up. Get that dude some industrial strength nasal decongestant -- PLEASE. Or is this the best they can offer in the booth as well? If so, just another sorry state of affairs.

Thing is -- it's entirely likely they won't find any team dumb enough to take on the albatross contracts of the few talented players they currently have. Justin Verlander is no longer an ace, but merely a journeyman pitcher. Want proof? Almost halfway into the current season, his record stands at 4-4. Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown season has faded quickly into the annals of history. He's still making a bazillion dollars, but his production has dropped off dramatically. Second baseman Ian Kinsler remains one of the best all-around players at his position in the league, but he's got a whopper salary and is on the back side of his bell curve to boot. Unless another team thinks they're perhaps only the magical "one player away" from competing for a championship, which was a strategy the Tigers used in the past to no avail, why would they want to take any of these guys on, while having to sacrifice young prospects to obtain them? It makes no sense. Dumb.

Speaking of which, in their former "win now" mode, the Tigers employed a scorched earth policy with their farm system. They pretty well looted it to obtain short term help to get them over the top -- which they never quite made. Still no World Series championship since way back in 1984. Consider who came and went. David Price was always deemed a rent-a-starter, because there was no doubt he wouldn't stay in Detroit for long. They played hardball with Max Scherzer negotiations, and he bailed to the Washington Nats. Currently, he's arguably the best pitcher in the entire National League. Somehow they managed to let Rick Porcello get away, and he promptly posted a 22-4 record for the Bosox and bagged a Cy Young Award.

The bottom line is the Tigers have few prospects in their minor league system that can help them, or be of interest to another team in some form of trade.

Through what could fairly be called inept front office decisions, the Tigers have made their bed and now have to sleep in it for a while. Likely a good while. Perhaps several years until they can get this current train wreck back on track.

No, they won't be making the playoffs this year. Forget that. And the future bodes even worse. These guys are going down -- hard -- for a while.

This is what happens when short-term "smart" gets confused with long-term "dumb".

And they have nobody to blame but themselves.