Group health coverage is what I do. Most of what I do revolves around supplemental insurance (dental, vision, cancer, accident, disability, etc) but also do some major medical. Almost every employer took it on the chin in renewals in 2025. I had many companies that had increases around 30%. Moved a lot of small companies off of group plans and into ICHRA plans. I had a lot of companies that had to increase deductibles substantially that we then used supplemental policies to help mitigate that increased deductible. Unfortunately, I do not see it getting much better in 2026.
He was also a freshman. A lot of average defenders struggle as freshmen because they have never had a true position. They play SS for their high school team but 2B, 3B, and OF for their travel teams. They never consistently play the same position until college. I bet he is much improved defensively this year. That doesn't mean he will ever be great defensively though.
Yeah, Contreras wasn't who I was hoping for and is a little light hitting for my tastes at first. But, he is miles better than what we had last year. He should bring stability and a solid presence to the lineup. I haven't watched him a lot recently so I'm not really sure how his approach will do at Fenway.
We got Willson Contreras for Hunter Dobbins and a couple of minor league pitchers. It's certainly an upgrade at first base but not as much of a power hitter as I would have liked. I don't have a problem with sending Dobbins over as I think he is in a logjam here. He definitely showed some promise but he was never going to be a front of the rotation player.
I still think we have 3 areas of weakness that need to be addressed. Power hitting from the DH position is my main area of concern. I would like someone who is a threat for 30+ HRs there. A true #2 starter would be next. Lastly think we could use a couple of extra bullpen arms, but so does everyone else.
I thought PK did a pretty fantastic job in Austin with a few glaring weaknesses. I think those weaknesses would have continued to hold us back against the better teams. His bend but don't break style of defense works great against most everyone when you have a talent advantage. We had the talent advantage in all but a couple of games a year, the games we typically lost. Georgia consistently beat his ass because they didn't have to be perfect, they could consistently move the ball against him even if things didn't go perfect. Against a team like Georgia you need to be able to move then backwards, not just hold the line. PK was never going to put them in tough positions because he was too conservative to do so. Muschamp should be much better at this.
He posted an hour before the game started. Plenty of time to get the threesome in and still watch the game. Plus these occasions are exactly what halftime is for.