It's the final Bless You Boys Podcast for 2012, in which Rob makes his triumphant return.

BYB Podcast 66 has a running time of 56 minutes and features Rob Rogacki, Kurt Mensching and Al Beaton.

Topics:

• The Winter Meetings: Lots of rumors, little of substance, much ado about nothing.
• Tigers outbid the Cubs for Anibal Sanchez, who reportedly left money on the table to remain in Detroit.
• Sanchez fallout: Are the Tigers going to trade Rick Porcello or Drew Smyly?
• Sanchez fallout: Even though the Tigers' payroll is tracking to be over $155 million, we shouldn't worry about it.
• Trade rumors: Are Jhonnny Peralta and Brennan Boesch on the block?
• Tigers make a pair of Rule 5 transactions, trade for 2nd baseman Jeff Kobernus and left-handed pitcher Kyle Lobstein.
• Say goodbye to Daniel Schlereth.
• Say hello to Brayan Pena.
• Talkin' Central: The Royals empty their farm system and the dice on a pair of starting pitchers, the White Sox are spending the off season sitting on their hands, while the Twins trade away a couple Tiger Killers.
• Rob is blogging from his parent's basement, Kurt talks sexy General Managers and Al says thank you.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

Al and Kurt welcome back former managing editor Ian Casselberry, lead MLB writer for Bleacher Report's Horsehide Chronicles, on this edition of the Bless You Boys Podcast.

BYB Podcast 65 and a running time of 1:14 and features Kurt Mensching, Al Beaton and Ian Casselberry

Topics:

• Kurt rips LA Times hack T.J. Simers.
• Torii Hunter does all the leg work in order to become the newest member of the Detroit Tigers.
• Will Hunter be as good of a fit on the field as it looks to be on paper?
• Why not sign Melky Cabrera or one of the other free agent options?
• Can you learn to love a former Twin?
• Rumor mongering: Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta.
• Would signing Drew be a lateral move, at best?
• Rumor mongering: Rafael Soriano.
• Is Scott Boras trying an end around past Dave Dombrowski to directly hit up Mike Ilitch up for a deal?
• The Tigers have several in-house closer candidates, including the much hyped Bruce Rondon. The money it would take to sign Soriano would be better used elsewhere...but does Ilitch want a big name?
• Rumor mongering: Corner outfield.
• Which outfielders are on the Tigers' free agent radar?
• Would you be content opening the season with Andy Dirks as the full-time left fielder?
• The Ryan Raburn era, along with numerous BYB memes, is over.
• The Winter Meetings are nigh. Will the Tigers make some noise? Will it be a LOUD noise?
• A full post season share for a member of the Tigers is $284,275.50, about half the minimum MLB salary. Nice coin for a month's work for guys like Quintin Berry.
• The Dodgers are on the verge of signing a local cable contract with Fox Sports worth $6-7 BILLION. With their FSD deal up in a year, this bodes well for the Tigers' financial future.
• The man who changed baseball (and sports as a whole) forever as head of the MLBPA in the 60’s and 70’s, Marvin Miller, passed away on Tuesday. Miller's influence on baseball is at the level of a Jackie Robinson, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

After taking a few weeks off to regain our bearings, Kurt, Allison and Al return with the first Bless You Boys Podcast of what looks to be an active off season.

BYB Podcast 64 has a running time of 58 minutes and features Kurt Mensching, Allison Hagen and Al Beaton.

Topics:

• So what the Hell happened in the World Series?
• An American League championship is nothing to sneeze at.
• Jim Leyland's contract extension.
• Goodbye Jose Valverde, hello...who? Bruce Rondon? A closer to picked up in a few months? A committee?
• Delmon Young will get to frustrate another fan base to no end in 2013.
• Moving on are Gerald Laird, Don Kelly and most likely, Ryan Raburn.
• Jhonny Peralta and Octavio Dotel have their contract options picked up.
• Brennan Boesch will be tendered a contract.
• Will Torii Hunter be the right fielder in 2013?
• Justin Upton is available...but is the cost in prospects prohibitive?
• Anibal Sanchez reportedly wants a 5-6 year deal worth crazy money. Is he worth an expensive long-term deal?
• AL Cy Young nominees are Justin Verlander, David Price and Jered Weaver. Who wins and who should win?
• AL MVP nominees are Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre, Robinson Cano, Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout. Who wins and who should win?
• Kurt asks you to vote Ishpeming as Sports Illustrated’s underdog school! Vote early, vote often, vote soon!
• Allison is going to MLB's winter meetings to hang with the baseball hipsters, troll Ozzie Guillen and make sure Jim Leyland isn't stealing candy bars from the hotel gift shop.
• Al sends his sincerest sympathies to Jacob Turner. He's stuck playing for the Marlins, who are blowing up their team for the...Hell, even the Marlins have lost count.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

With Kurt off running the SB Nation mothership, Allison and Al spend a World Series travel day Bless You Boys Podcast trying to figure out what went wrong in San Francisco and what could go right for the Tigers in Detroit.

BYB Podcast 63 has a running time of 47 minutes and features Al Beaton and Allison Hagen.

Topics:

• The Tigers down 0-2 to the Giants. Time to panic?
• The Tigers have a far better record at home than on the road. Will home cooking turn the series around ion the Tigers favor?
• Was Gene Lamont too aggressive in waving Prince Fielder home in game 2? Did Jim Leyland make the correct call in settling for the double play while giving up a run late in game 2?
• Was Justin Verlander off his game or do you just tip your cap to Pablo Sandoval?
• Should Doug Fister been left in the game after being hit by a line drive, considering the possibility of a concussion?
• If you want to point fingers, point at the Tigers offense. Any chance the Tigers' bat can come around against right hand pitching, even if they are the Giants best post season pitchers?
• If feels like the Giants have have gotten every break, bounce and call. But saying their lead is due to luck is not giving them their due. They have outplayed the Tigers.
• Media narratives for this week: "The Giants are a scrappy team doing all the little things right" and "The Giants are making their own breaks."
• Have we seen the last of Jose Valverde?
• 40 of 50 teams who have taken a 2-0 World Series lead have gone on to clinch the championship. Will the Tigers win 2 games and take the series back to San Francisco?

Check out the Giants Pod podcast. Al was the guest of Thomas and Danny as they talked the first two games of the World Series, Verlander’s meltdown, Valverde’s ineffectiveness, Jim Leyland and Bruce Bochy’s similarities, and what to expect from the rest of the Fall Classic.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

The latest edition of the Bless You Boys Podcast is short (for us, anyway), to the point (mostly) and all about the World Series (definitely). Allison is under the weather, so it's up to Kurt and Al to preview the upcoming match up between the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants.

BYB Podcast 62 has a running time of 39 minutes and features Kurt Mensching and Al Beaton.

Topics:

• What we did during the break between the ALCS and the World Series - Very little!
• We all remember what happened in 2006. How are the Tigers preparing differently this time around?
• The media loves narratives
• Talent vs. intangibles
• Breaking down the Tigers and Giants
• Starting pitching: Tigers
• Bullpens: Giants
• Offense: Al - Tigers, Kurt - even
• Defense - Giants, but not by as much as you think
• The favorite: The Tigers are favored by both the media and Vegas sports books, making the fan base extremely nervous.
• Prediction: Al - Tigers in 5, Kurt - Tigers in 5.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

Bless You Boys Podcast 61 is full of confessions. Allison confesses a crime against her remote control, Al confessed he was still nervous after the Tigers had a 6 run lead in ALCS game 4 and Kurt...well, he confesses nothing.

As you might guess, this week's episode is 95% ALCS. We intentionally held off on much talk about the upcoming World Series as we plan on recording a preview before game 1. 

BYB Podcast 61 has a running time of 1:07 and features Kurt Mensching, Allison Hagen and Al Beaton.

Topics:

• ALCS SWEEP! The only person not surprised was Allison. Why? She predicted it.
• Will we hear more about the Tigers winning or the Yankees losing?
• Was the 9th inning of game 1 bungled? Did you think the game, and possibly the series, was over?
• How well did Jim Leyland handle the game 1 blow-back?
• The Jose Valverde "situation."
• We couldn't be happier for disgruntled former Yankee employee Phil Coke!
• Can a bullpen by committee continue to work?
• Don't be fooled by ALCS MVP Delmon Young.
• Will the Tigers risk playing Young in the outfield during the World Series or will the Tigers stay with what has been a very effective platoon?
• Speaking of bungling, could the game 4 rain out been handled any worse?
• Justin Verlander is good.
• So are the other 3 starters in the rotation.
• Did the numerous controversies swirling around the Yankees affect their ALCS performance?
• Did Yankees manager Joe Girardi deserve the amount of heat he received from the NYC media?
• Mike Ilitch has been both reprehensible (pre-2003) and great (post-2003) as the Tigers' owner.
• What percentage of saves should a closer be expected to convert?
• Any chance Papa Grande is not on the 25 man World Series roster?
• Final thoughts includes talk of smashed cable box remotes.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

Kurt and Al squeeze in a podcast session between the Tigers winning the ALDS and starting the ALCS. We realize the Tigers are killing all kinds of narratives and everything's coming up Milhouse!

Bless You Boys Podcast 60 has a running time of 53 minutes and features Al Beaton and Kurt Mensching.

Topics:

• We're beat! Late west coast starts are killer on the personal life.
• The Tigers won the ALDS because they had the best player. The Athletics deserve vast amounts of credit for taking the series to 5 games.
• Can we finally put to rest the "Justin Verlander has to prove he’s a big game pitcher?" media narrative?
• How good was Verlander in game 5? His game score of 89 was the highest by a pitcher in a elimination game in post-season baseball history.
• Can the "2012 Tigers underachieved" narrative be put to bed as well?
• Who was the Tigers' ALDS MVP not named "Verlander?"
• Were the struggles of Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera in the ALDS over-amplified?.
• The bullpen scares us.
• Game 4 fallout!
• Jose Valverde isn't the worst closer in baseball. But he did pick the worst time possible to blow up.
• The team follows Jim Leyland's lead. He took the correct course of action after the horrific game 4 loss, saying that it was a great baseball game and they'll get 'em in game 5. Which they did.
• If players treated each game like the fans their heads would explode well before the end of the season.
• The Tigers are going to be damn hard to beat in a short series.
• Do you prefer how the Tigers match up with the Yankees or having home field advantage against the Orioles?
• The vocal "FIRE LEYLAND" brigade is still making a ridiculous amount of noise. Words fail me...
• All 4 division series go to a game 5. It's a great time to be a baseball fan. Everything is not only coming up Milhouse, but coming up Bud as well.
• Kurt says the Tigers win the ALCS in 6 games, doesn't matter who they play. Al realizes we're actually living through a golden age of Detroit Tigers baseball.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

Kurt and Alli return for this week's Bless You Boys Podcast, joining Al to preview the Detroit Tigers vs the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS, reflect on Miguel Cabrera accomplishing what was thought no longer possible, winning a Triple Crown and ask why sabermatricians with a bully pulpit despise "normal" fans.

BYB Podcast 59 had a running time of 1:10 and features Kurt Mensching, Al Beaton and Allison Hagen.

Topics:

• We didn't expect to be talking playoffs 2 weeks ago. Yet here we are preparing for the ALDS.
• Does the 2-3 format for the ALDS work in the Tigers' favor?
• What scares you about the A's?
• Are the A's just happy to be in the playoffs?
• The state of the Tigers as they head into the playoffs.
• Who makes the ALDS roster?
• Brennan Boesch? Really?
• Rick Porcello or Drew Smyly?
• Anyone trust Brayan Villarreal in a high leverage situation?
• Tigers or A's, who moves on the ALCS?
• TRIPLE CROWN!
• Anyone else get the nagging feeling Cabrera's remarkable accomplishment isn’t getting the accolades it deserves?
• What's next for Cabrera?
• What’s more annoying? Media members who dismiss advanced metrics despite not knowing a damn thing about them or sabermatricians/internet writers who think those who aren’t interested in advanced stats are knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing morons...which describes the attitudes anyone who writes for Fangraphs. Baseball Prospectus, Baseball Think Factory, Keith Law and Brian Kenny, to name a vocal few.
• What hath Bill James wrought? I loved his Baseball Abstracts. I don't love being told what is the "correct" way to watch baseball, which is what many of the new breed of sabermatricians revel in doing.
• Advanced stats should be enlightening and expand horizons, not used as a weapon to attack those with differing opinions.
• Want fans to buy into sabermetrics? Don't talk down to them or belittle their beliefs.
• The Boston Red Sox fire Bobby Valentine. BWAHAHAHA! Should have hired Gene Lamont.
• Terry Francona is just using the Cleveland Indians.
• Text Allison at your peril during Saturday's game! She'll be on a score embargo for a couple of hours.
• The AL MVP is Miguel Cabrera.
• Tigers fans better be consistent, for better or worse. Don't trash advanced metrics to make Miguel Cabrera's MVP case, then use them make a Cy Young case for Justin Verlander.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

On a special episode of the Bless You Boys Podcast, former managing editor of BYB and current lead MLB blogger for Bleacher Report, Ian Casselberry, covers for Kurt and Allison. Ian takes a break from covering all things MLB to focus in on his favorite team, the Detroit Tigers.

You can find Ian's thoughts on baseball at Bleacher Report's MLB blog, Horsehide Chronicles and on Twitter at @IanCass.

BYB Podcast 58 runs 1:24 and features Ian Casselberry and Al Beaton.

Topics:

• We have a pennant race...even if the White Sox are fading in a big, big way.
• Did we write the Tigers off too soon? Of course we did.
• Max Scherzer's deltoid injury has put the remainder of his season in question.
• Anibal Sanchez has proved the old baseball platitude true: You can never have enough pitching. 
• To think the Tigers could have had Ubaldo Jimenez instead of Doug Fister...
• Right field is a train wreck.
• Triple Crown and MVP talk ensues, including our listener email. Ian is in the Wonderboy camp, by the way.
• Is Miguel Cabrera pressing?
• Sabermetics vs. traditional stats from Ian's national perspective.
• The MVP is a full season award, should Mike Trout's missing April and slow finish be taken into account?
• Should Cabrera's moving to 3rd base voluntarily be taken into account, considering the move to a tougher position arguably made him more valuable to his team?
• In the week in media head/desk, we shockingly learn Hawk Harrelson is the most biased announcer in baseball.
• Manny Acta gets a raw deal in getting fired by the Indians, while their low-rent ownership make an Alan Trammell circa 2002 out of Sandy Alomar Jr.
• The lightning round includes Chris Perez, dancing on the grave of the Metrodome and revoking man-cards.
• Final thoughts implore you to don't be that guy.

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!

On this week's XXL sized Bless You Boys Podcast, Kurt, Allison and Al discuss changes at BYB, the misery that has been September Detroit Tigers baseball and the war between traditional and sabermetric stats in determining the AL MVP race.

BYB Podcast 57 has a running time of 90 minutes and features Kurt Mensching, Allison Hagen and Al Beaton.

Topics:

• There's editorial changes afoot at BYB. Meet the new boss (Al), same as the old boss (Kurt). 
• Be prepared. SBNation United is coming!
• The Tigers are 2 back of the White Sox with 13 games left. .600 ball isn’t good enough. The Tigers are treading water when they need to be sweeping series.
• There's a distinct feeling of ennui with the Tigers' fan base. Not because they are losing...but how they are losing.  A 2 game deficit feels insurmountable when the Tigers are unable to field and throw.
• The defense has gone from bad to ridiculous to sublime, reaching the peak of futility in failing to turn 4 double plays in one inning during a 1 run loss to the Indians on Sunday. A game which will go down in infamy.
• Max Scherzer is likely going to miss his next turn in the rotation due to a fatigued shoulder. Being there's only 2 weeks left the season, have we seen the last of Scherzer until 2013?
• Alex Avila suffered a concussion last Sunday, but will be back in the lineup on Friday. If this were the NFL, Avila wouldn't be back on the active roster this soon.
• Lynn Henning writes another piece speculating about Jim Leyland's status, inferring he's done as Tigers manager if they miss the post season. The Tigers would target Terry Francona as his replacement.
• Henning has pounded on topics in the past, most notably predicting the trade of Curtis Granderson well ahead of time. Which is why he should be taken seriously when writing about Leyland's status. 2 articles on the tenuous status of Leyland = Henning knows something.
• Can Miguel Cabrera win the  Triple Crown? I believe.
• The AL MVP discussion is turning into Mac vs PC, Democrats vs the GOP, religion vs atheism over the top arguing, where heels have been dug in and no one is going to change their mind.
• Miguel Cabrera vs. Mike Trout has 2 warring factions -- old school stats vs. advanced sabermetrics.
• Should Cabrera’s insane 2nd half trump Trout’s insane 1st half? 
• When did the flawed WAR metric suddenly become the be all, end all stat tin deciding MVP awards?
• Is there a bias from ESPN and other media entities toward Trout, due to having a more compelling "story."
• Sabermetric types in the baseball media are completely dismissing Cabrera's MVP candidacy in a very condescending way. For example, Cabrera is not a great defender, but he's not the butcher many of those in sabermetrics make him out to be. I’m looking at you, Fangraphs.
• Listener email reminds us the Tigers have suffered some pitching hard luck over the decades. The Tigers are the only team to have 2 players on this "Near Misses" list.
• The lightning round includes an empty Comerica, Cabrera and Prince Fielder colliding and having to interact with your family because the Tigers miss the playoffs.

Twitter accounts mentioned: @Baroque97

We LOVE to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please email us at BYBPodcast at Gmail.com. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook!