Verlander Rejoins Tigers; Will Be in Starting Rotation with Skubal & Valdez

Justin Verlander, who spent 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, is returning to the team for one last season having signed a 1-year contract worth $13 million. Of that $13 million, $11 million will be paid out through 2030.

Verlander, who turns 43 later this month, spent 2025 season with the San Francisco Giants where he had a subpar 4-11 record with a decent 3.85 ERA over 29 starts. While Verlander is not the ace pitcher he was in 2022 when he won his third AL Cy Young Award, he still has gravitas and could help the Tigers get over the hump in search of their first World Series title since 1984.

He will join a starting rotation which includes back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal who last week earned a record $32 million in arbitration before he becomes a free agent at the end of this season and Verlander's former Houston Astros teammate Framber Valdez who signed a 3-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers last week.

Verlander earned two World Series rings with the Astros in 2017 and in 2022 (the latter alongside Valdez) and would like to finish his career with a ring with the Tigers. Of course, Verlander went to the Fall Classic with the Tigers during his rookie season in 2006 and in 2012 but were bested by the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants, respectively.

He enters the 2026 season in eighth place on MLB's all-time strikeout list with 3553. It is conceivable that by season's end he could leapfrog Hall of Famers Don Sutton, Tom Seaver and Bert Blyleven for fifth place on the all-time strikeout list.

Detroit Tigers fans have a lot to be excited about in 2026 and the return of Justin Verlander has just added to that excitement.

A Pleasant Evening with John Sayles

This evening, I had the pleasure of attending a talk given by director, screenwriter, novelist and actor John Sayles at Porter Square Books here in Cambridge.

Sayles, who is 75, was in the area to promote his new historical novel Crucible which is set in both Detroit and Brazil. The novel documents Henry Ford's failed efforts to union bust and to build a rubber plantation in Fordlandia, a town in the Amazon rainforest which bears his name amid Prohibition, The Great Depression and WWII.

Yet when Sayles read a passage from the book, the focus was on baseball. Of course, given that Sayles is best known for directing Eight Men Out, a film about the 1919 Black Sox scandal and his appearance in Ken Burns' Baseball, that he would make baseball a part of this story does not come as a surprise.

In the context of Crucible, the focus was on his protagonists Rosa and Ira Schimmel, a Russian Jewish sister and brother, attending a game at Navin Field (later rechristened Tiger Stadium) between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox in 1933. 

Sayles noted that the 1933 Tigers weren't very good with a wink in his eye. That year, the Tigers went 75-79 finishing fifth in the American League 25 games back of the Washington Senators who would win their third and final AL pennant. In case you're wondering, the Red Sox were worse finishing ahead of only the lowly St. Louis Browns. However, in 1934, the Tigers would win their first AL pennant in 25 years and their elusive first World Series title in 1935.

The passage focused on Ira and the fans surrounding him trying to teach Rosa about the subtleties of baseball. While Rosa could not understand the difference between the infield fly rule and a double play and didn't understand why the umpire didn't send automatically send the batter down the first base following an intentional walk, she considered Hank Greenberg a hero. So, too, did many other Jews whether or not they lived in Detroit.

Following the excerpt, Sayles opened up the floor to questions. I relayed my experiences growing up rooting for the Tigers in Northwestern Ontario once our TV signals switched from Duluth to Detroit and recounting my experience at Tiger Stadium in August 1999 only a few short weeks before it shuttered. I asked Sayles if he had ever been to Tiger Stadium. He replied that he had not but had been to Fenway Park many times when he lived in East Boston and recounted how he enjoyed seeing the fans on the Blue Line en route to Fenway. His passage is the mark of a great writer. Although he was writing about Detroit baseball in the 1930s, one could easily picture Sayles having sat in the bleachers himself. 

Among the other questions directed toward Sayles focused on his writing process for a historical novel, the difference between writing a novel and a film/TV screenplay and his views on Henry Ford. He also spoke briefly about his next novel which he has also completed writing called God's Gotham which is an account of the point shaving scandal at CCNY involving the school's basketball team in the late 1940's. 

At the end of the evening, Sayles signed books including my own. I told Sayles that my favorite film is Matewan which I saw when I was a teenager not long after it was released. Nearly 40 years after the movie was released, the scene where the hillbillies rescue the unionized mine workers thrown out of the company town still sticks with me. 

When I told Sayles this, he mentioned that the hillbilly elder had been the editor of the local paper in Charleston describing him as an intellectual. But he also noted that this same man had grown up in a mining town. Upon hearing that, I told him how my maternal grandfather spent 43 years as a coal miner in the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta from the time he was 15 to the age of 57 and how he lived to the age of 84. He told me that my grandfather must have had strong lungs. That he did.

With other people waiting in line and not wanting to monopolize his time, I bade Sayles farewell. Trying to balance my book with my bag and my laptop, he gently told me to watch my step which struck me as a thoughtful and considerate gesture. It was a fitting conclusion to a pleasant evening.

Patriots Have Nothing to be Ashamed of in Super Bowl 60 Loss to Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have just won their second Super Bowl title in franchise history besting the New England Patriots 29-13.

The Seahawks won their previous title in Super Bowl XLVIII a dozen years ago when they dominated the Denver Broncos 43-8. The win also avenges their Super Bowl loss to the Pats the following year.

Neither quarterback had a stellar game. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold and Pats QB Drake Maye both had their struggles. The Seahawks did have a 9-0 lead at the half on the strength of 3 field goals by Jason Myers who would add a fourth field goal in the third quarter to extend the Seahawks lead to 12-0.

Darnold would get his only touchdown in the game with 13:29 on the clock in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard pass to tight end AJ Barner to give the Seahawks a 19-0 lead.

The Pats were in serious danger of becoming the first team to ever be shutout in a Super Bowl matchup. But after a streaker momentarily disrupted the game only to be stopped by Pats wide receiver Kyle Williams, Maye would lob a TD pass to wide receiver Mack Hollins to finally get on the board with 12:27 remaining in the game.

With 5:38 left in the game, Myers then kicked a Super Bowl record fifth field goal to give the Seahawks a 22-7 lead. While some thoughts Myers should have won the Super Bowl MVP, this honor went to running back Kenneth Walker III who carried the ball 27 times for 135 rushing yards with 26 additional receiving yards on two catches.

Despite being sacked in the game 7 times, Maye and the Pats were only down by two possessions. However, Maye would fumble the ball leading to a fumble recovery by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu with 4:37 left in the game to score a touchdown and give the Seahawks a commanding 29-7 lead.

Maye did throw his second touchdown pass of the game to running back Rhamondre Stevenson with just over 2 minutes in the game, a two-point conversion was unsuccessful.

While the outcome was disappointing, the New England Patriots have nothing to be ashamed of at all. I can assure you that in August 2025, the Patriots were not expected to be playoff bound let alone Super Bowl bound.

The Pats exceeded all expectations in this NFL season.

I can tell you that at the office, people thought the Pats overcoming the Seahawks defense was a very tall order and they came precariously close to not scoring at all. Although Walker won Super Bowl MVP honors, there is no question a case could be made to have given the award collectively to the Seahawks defense. 

In a championship game, someone wins and someone loses and tonight the Seahawks were simply the better team. 

There is always next year, and the Patriots have a lot to look forward to in 2026.

In the meantime, congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks.

Along with 3 World Series Rings, Terrance Gore Had More Stolen Bases Than Hits

Former MLB outfielder Terrance Gore, best known for being utilized as a pinch running specialist, died suddenly yesterday following complications from a routine medical procedure. He was only 34.

Gore had a very unusual big-league career. He played in parts of 8 MLB seasons and was primarily a pinch runner and a late inning defensive replacement. Gore would finish his career with more stolen bases (43) than hits (16). Although Gore made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Kansas City Royals where he spent his first four big league seasons, he did not collect his first big league hit until 2018 when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs. That first hit came against future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer when he was pitching for the Washington Nationals. His lone career RBI came the following year when he rejoined the Royals when he belted a triple against Seattle Mariners pitcher Matt Festa. It was also his only career triple.

Although Gore never appeared in more than 37 games in any single season, he earned three World Series rings with the Kansas City Royals (2015), Los Angeles Dodgers (2020) and the Atlanta Braves (2021). 

Even more remarkably, he spent all of 2021 playing with the Braves Triple-AAA affiliate in Gwinnett before earning a spot on the team's post-season roster. When the Braves won the World Series, Gore Facetimed his injured teammate Charlie Morton so he could be a part of the on-field celebrations.

Gore last played in the majors with the New York Mets in 2022. 

All medical procedures have an inherent amount of risk. Nevertheless, one does not expect an otherwise healthy 34-year-old man to die in this manner. Needless to say, one can only imagine the loss Gore's family is feeling right now and will continue to feel for as long as they live. R.I.P.

The Defiant Ones is About Bondage & Brotherhood

 

This evening, I ventured to the Coolidge Corner Theatre to take in a special screening of The Defiant Ones starring Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis.

This screening is one of several being shown in homage of Poitier's work along with Lilies in the Field and A Raisin in the Sun.

Following Poitier's passing in 2022, I attended screenings at the Brattle Theatre for Blackboard Jungle and would then spend a weekend watching Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love and In the Heat of the Night. 

I had viewed all four films previously in TV, but never on the big screen. Although I have long been aware of The Defiant Ones and its basic premise, I had never seen it before.

For those who are unfamiliar with the basic premise of The Defiant Ones, Poitier and Curtis portray two prisoners (Noah Cullen and John "Joker" Jackson) who manage to escape when their truck is involved in an accident but are handcuffed to one another. Indeed, it was a template The Fugitive would follow just over five years later to great success.

Of course, The Fugitive only had one protagonist. In this case, the two protagonists are black and white and do not care for the other. This might be old hat to some and DEI to others, but in 1958 this was a groundbreaking film. Indeed, perhaps a little too groundbreaking. Although it was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture and a Best Director nomination for Stanley Kramer (who later directed Poitier in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), it only won 2 Academy Awards - one for Best Writing for Nedrick Young and Harold J. Smith and Best Cinematography for Sam Leavitt. Gigi, which was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, went 9-for-9 setting a then record for a single film eclipsing Gone with the Wind.

Now, I haven't seen Gigi so I cannot judge it on its merits, but given the subject matter in The Defiant Ones, I suspect most Academy voters thought a light-hearted musical was the safer choice. While Gigi might be a good film in its own right, The Defiant Ones undoubtedly has more staying power.

From where I sit, The Defiant Ones is mainly about bondage and brotherhood. As Cullen and Jackson are chained together, they have no choice but to rely on each other for survival even if they both resent this fact. Yet after their chains are broken, their bond is not. Cullen reluctantly parts ways with Jackson after he forms a romantic bond with a lonely divorcee played by Cara Williams. But when Jackson discovers that the divorcee has sent Cullen to his death by sending him to the swamps, he sacrifices the possibility of freedom and a new life to see that Cullen doesn't meet a fatal fate. It is here that the two become brothers.

Poitier and Curtis would each receive Best Actor nominations but lost out to David Niven for his performance in Separate Tables. Williams earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination but was bested by Wendy Hiller also in Separate Tables. I would be remiss if I did not mention Theodor Bikel also earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of Sheriff Max Muller. Bikel, too, would not come away with Oscar gold which instead went to Burl Ives in The Big Country. 

I would describe Bikel's performance as a lower key version of Rod Steiger's portrayal of Sheriff Bill Gillespie from In the Heat of the Night nearly a decade later. Sheriff Muller is less volatile yet equally determined to find his men. Bikel portrays Muller with a quiet determined dignity. He will do his duty, but he has no thirst for violence.

Speaking of a thirst for violence, perhaps the scene which had the deeply resonance with a 2026 audience was when Cullen and Jackson are caught by residents of a mining town and are nearly lynched by a mob led by a goon played by Claude Akins. Amid this, Jackson demands to know why they would lynch a white man as if to invoke privilege he did not have the luxury of having. However, the mob is stopped singlehandedly by Big Sam played by of all people, horror movie legend Lon Chaney, Jr. Big Sam dares the town folk to lynch the pair by shaming them with a knife, a rope and a torch. With all that has happened in Minneapolis, we need all the Big Sams we can find.

The Defiant Ones is not only an important part of not only Sidney Poitier's legacy, but among the earliest American films to confront the ugliness of racism in a meaningful way.

Mickey Lolich Was The Greatest Pitcher in The History of The Detroit Tigers

 

I was saddened to learn of the passing of former MLB pitcher Mickey Lolich at the age of 85.

Lolich not only spent the bulk of his 16-year big league career with the Detroit Tigers, but I also think one could make the case he was the greatest pitcher to ever wear a Detroit Tigers uniform.

Now the Tigers have had some great pitchers over the year. Tarik Skubal has won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards in a Tigers uniform though I suspect he won't be pitching in Detroit for that much longer. 

One can certainly make a case for Hal Newhouser who won back-to-back AL MVPs and came within a heartbeat of winning a third during the mid-1940s. Jack Morris was baseball's winningest pitcher in the 1980s. Of more contemporary vintage is Justin Verlander.  Newhouser and Morris have plaques in Cooperstown and Verlander will one day join them. 

Alas, Lolich is not a Hall of Famer but yet I think his tenure with the Tigers tops them all. Now there have certainly been more spectacular pitchers to wear a Tigers uniform. Lolich's teammate Denny McLain won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards in 1968 and 1969 including a 31-win season in '68, a feat that will never be replicated again. Then there was Mark "The Bird" Fidrych who had a dream rookie campaign half a century ago. As it happened, Lolich did not get to see The Bird's ascension first-hand as he was pitching in a New York Mets uniform having been traded for Rusty Staub. 

Lolich might not have been as flashy as McLain or The Bird, but their time in the sky was short. The Oregon born southpaw pitched for the Tigers from 1963 to 1975 and his numbers in Detroit cannot be ignored. More than 50 years after he last pitched in a Tigers unform, Lolich is the team's all-time leader in games started (508), shutouts (39) and strikeouts (2679).

His 207 wins are third best in Tigers history behind only Hooks Dauss (223) and George Mullin (209). Mullin pitched for the Tigers from 1902-1913 before jumping to the short-lived Federal League following a brief stint with the Washington Senators while Dauss picked up where Mullin left pitching in Detroit his entire MLB career from 1912-1926. 

Lolich also ranks third in Tigers history in innings pitched (3361.2) behind Dauss and Mullin who had 3390.2 and 3394 innings pitched, respectively. Between 1971 and 1975, Lolich pitched more than 300 innings. In the '71 campaign, Lolich pitched an astounding 376 innings as he finished runner up in AL Cy Young balloting to Vida Blue. The following year, Lolich's innings pitched output as topped by Chicago White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood who threw 376.2 innings. Sadly, Wood passed away last month at the age of 84.

To put Lolich's innings output into perspective, Skubal has never pitched 200 innings in a season while Verlander only pitched more than 250 innings in a season once. Lolich threw 200 or more innings in 12 consecutive seasons topping 250 innings a half dozen times.

Where Lolich made his reputation was during the 1968 World Series during which he threw three complete game victories including a Game 7 triumph over Bob Gibson who had struck out 17 batters in Game 1 of that Fall Classic. Lolich also hit a HR in Game 2. Needless to say, Lolich won the World Series MVP. Roger Maris, who finished his big-league career with the Cardinals, tried to warn his teammates about Lolich after many a tough battle against him in a Yankees uniform. "Forget about McLain, the guy we have to worry about is Mickey Lolich," said Maris to no avail.

Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the first pitcher since Lolich to win 3 games in a World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned back-to-back titles winning his own well-deserved World Series MVP. While Yamamoto's accomplishment is magnificent, his third win came in relief. Yamamoto did pitch the first World Series complete game in 10 years, but Lolich tossed three complete games and bested Gibson in Game 7 on only two days rest.

Lolich would earn the first of his three AL All-Star Team selections in 1969 undoubtedly owing to his success in the 1968 World Series. Back-to-back AL All-Star Team selections would follow in 1971 and in 1972. Aside from those 376 innings pitched during the '71 season, Lolich also led the AL in wins (25), complete games (29) and strikeouts (308). But Vida Blue was a phenomenon who made the cover of Time Magazine. In 1972, Lolich would finish third in AL Cy Young balloting behind the aforementioned Wilbur Wood and Gaylord Perry, who would win the first of his two Cy Youngs. 

Lolich would continue to be durable but would lose 21 games during the 1974 season. After one more season in Detroit and his one season with the Mets, Lolich retired but came back and pitched out of the bullpen for the San Diego Padres in 1978 and 1979 before retiring for good. In 16 MLB seasons, Lolich made 586 appearances (including 496 career starts) and went 217-191 with a 3.44 ERA striking out 2832 against 1099 walks in 3638.1 innings pitched. 

Between 1985 and 1999, Lolich appeared on the BBWAA ballot but never topped 25% of the vote. Had Lolich pitched in 1977 he could have reached 3000 career strikeouts or come very close. The Veterans Committee last considered his candidacy in 2007. 

When he retired, no left-handed pitcher had more strikeouts. Today, only four southpaws have more career strikeouts - Randy Johnson (4875), Steve Carlton (4136), C.C. Sabathia (3093) and Clayton Kershaw (3052). Johnson, Carlton and Sabathia have plaques in Cooperstown while Kershaw will get one in 2031. 

In some ways, it is probably just as well that Lolich isn't in Cooperstown. Why induct him if he isn't around to enjoy it? I felt quite bittersweet about the Classic Era Baseball Committee's induction of Dick Allen and Dave Parker in December 2024. Allen had already passed and I had a bad feeling Parker wouldn't live long enough to see the ceremony and, indeed, he died less a month before the induction ceremony.

Hall of Fame plaque or not, Mickey Lolich had a wonderful career in baseball and a wonderful life. R.I.P.

Gabbard Confirms FBI Raid on Georgia Election Office Was Ordered by Trump

(Vincent Albans/Reuters)

After the FBI raided a Georgia election office situated in Fulton County to seize ballots, I concluded this was a Trump operation:

Although the raid was conducted by the FBI, it was the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard who was personally present for the operation.

Yet none of this happens without President Trump who continues to insist he did not lose the 2020 presidential election much less lose Georgia. After all, more than 5 years ago it was Trump who demanded Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes. It would seem that Trump has now formally set this search into motion.

Of course, this is more than about 2020. It is about 2026 and, more importantly, 2028.

Trump wishes to federalize our elections and the Constitution be damned. Most likely, this federalization will be limited to blue states or in state which could vote blue (i.e. Georgia). After it was Attorney General Pam Bondi who offered to have ICE leave Minnesota if Governor Walz provided her with their election rolls. 

Today, Gabbard confirmed that Trump had asked her to accompany the FBI on the raid and also arranged for FBI agents conducting the raid to speak directly with Trump by phone. 

So, why Gabbard and not FBI Director Kash Patel? Because Trump probably thinks Gabbard looks better on TV than Patel. The same could have probably been said for Pam Bondi or Kristi Noem if that pair wasn't so toxic. Then again, last July, Trump himself described Gabbard as the "hottest" member of his Administration. Well, at least we know which head Trump thinks with when it comes to Gabbard.

The point here is that there is no FBI raid on the election office in Georgia without Trump. He set the wheels in motion. And because of that, Trump sees fit to pick any cabinet member he likes to go along on the raid. The FBI, like ICE and the Border Patrol, has ceased to be an independent agency and now operates upon Trump's whims and obsessions namely the 2020 election and his desire to federalize the 2028 election.

Had either President Obama or President Biden directed such an operation much less spoken with FBI agents amid a raid Republicans would be up in arms about it and rightly so. But don't expect Republicans to say boo about Trump initiating this raid much less one of his cabinet members confirming that he directed her to be present at the proceedings. They are not even interested in the appearance or pretense of democracy.