Conserve and Preserve

I spent quite a bit of time outside when I was a kid.  Lots of time at the lake, in the woods at our hunting camp, playing in the fields around our house.  To say I was attached to the outdoors as a kids might be a bit of an overstatement.  We spent time outside because we were kids, that's what we did.  It wasn't until I was a fully grown adult did I feel like I came to truly appreciate the outdoors.  We fish when we go home each summer.  I make a trip home in the fall to go hunting.  I feel great being out in the woods.  The seclusion might not be ideal for everyone, but to sit out in the silence and away from the world, if only for a few hours at a time, is great.  It's almost awe inspiring, as cliche as that sounds.  

Since 1995, the state of Minnesota has given it's drivers the option to reinvest in their state.  In addition to your annual license plate fee, you can contribute to preservation and conservation of wildlife habitats.  From the Minnesota DNR website:

 'With an annual contribution of $30 or more to the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Critical Habitat Program, you will be helping to preserve important wildlife habitat and plant communities such as wetlands, prairies, old growth forests, and endangered orchid sites.
Additionally, contributions over $30 go towards buying and managing important natural habitats, which are preserved as public lands. These lands are open to compatible public use, like hunting, hiking and wildlife watching.'

We have lived in Minnesota for five years (holy shit!) and it really does feel like home.  Don't get me wrong, nothing will ever replace Michigan or the Upper Peninsula in my heart, but Minnesota is a close second.  Minnesota and Michigan have a lot of similarities in climate, history, and culture.  We enjoyed living in Kansas, but it felt foreign to us because it was completely different from Michigan.  Little water, minimal trees, too much heat, too little snow.  I felt that this year, it was time to give back a little bit.  So I splurged a little bit and got one of these reinvest in Minnesota license plates.  Because of the way life is, I don't have the luxury of spending a lot of time outdoors here.  Sure, we spend some time walking in the state parks, but we don't have to means to go fishing on a lake.  I have the advantage of hunting at home for cheap because of my Native American heritage.  So this is a way that I can help others enjoy those kinds of things.  Minnesota has a lot invested in the outdoors.  There are over seventy state parks, almost as many state forests. 

I'm sure that there are other states with these types of license plate options, at least I would hope so.  I mean, if your state can spring to print and issue military, college, or other special types of plates, surely they can afford to produce one that helps to reinvest in nature.

Call it Like it Is

During the last seven game losing streak, I saw plenty of 'what's wrong with the Detroit Tigers?'  They have enough talent to avoid a losing streak like that.  Unless, of course, they are facing a few teams that are better.  They were feeling good after sweeping the Twins.  The eight win and infinity lose Twins of 2016.  They got swept by Cleveland and Texas right after that.  So what's wrong with the Tigers?  Nothing.  They just aren't as good as they were four or five years ago. And that's okay.  

It's okay that they aren't winning their division because the talent is coming. The right moves were made to restock the farm system.  After they traded away Price, Cespedes, and Soria, they sent a message that they are in the process of rebuilding. I initially thought that it would be a reboot and they'd be back in playoff races the next season or the season after that.  However, I've watched a few games and against good to great teams, the Tigers aren't on the same level.  And we all need to come to grips with reality:  the Tigers aren't that good anymore.

Rational fans will tell you that the moves they made last year were the right moves. Irrational fans still think the Tigers have a legit shot at the playoffs or even the World Series. That's not to say they aren't in the top half of MLB, it's just that they've been surpassed by other teams.  I think that part of it is because of Mike Illitch.  To be fair, he is key to the Tigers being relevant again, but his win now mentality has hurt the current state of the Tigers.  Their window to win the World Series closed when they were swept by the Giants.  It's been a slow and steady decline and I don't think they have hit bottom yet.

As much as we fans don't want to hear it, if the Tigers really want to be relevant in the next six or seven years, they have to bottom out. Maybe they build around J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos. They can't move their big contract players like Miguel Cabrera or Victor Martinez, but maybe they can move guys like Jose Iglesias and get some prospects in return.  I shouldn't say they can't move Cabrera, I should say they won't.  If they wanted to give up on the next four years they could trade him away.  They would be able to restock the farm system for sure if they did.