It's OK, Aaron

Well, I guess if you have to sit at home after a Pro Bowl snub, this is better than a swift kick in the groin with a steel-toed boot.

Enjoy.

MLBTR Top 15 of 2010

The Crew's acquisition of the Zack Attack comes in #3.

As a man who watches Packer football partly because the Brewers don't play in December, I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm toward the starting rotation... but, damn, if this Kool-Aid doesn't taste exquisite.

Thoughts on the Crew

So I've lived with the trade that, had Greinke gone to NY, would've shook baseball. As such, I'll be happy having 3 Opening Day starters in the rotation & still being a slight underdog.

Anyway, here's my thoughts in no particular order:

1. Trades of prospects, for obvious reasons, cannot be rated immediately. Case in point, the CC trade is still in the Crew's favor as LaPorta & Brantley have made minimal impacts on the Indians. In the Greinke case, the Brewers received the best player, hands down. Former Cy Young, 27 years old, 2 more years under contract. Best player.

2. Prospects are just that, prospects. Do they all have room to become above-average? Definitely. Would they help push the Crew to the 85-90 win range? Probably not.

3. Which brings us to this: What was Milwaukee's biggest weakness in '09-'10? Starting pitching. Consider that nuisance addressed.

4. I think this gives the Brewers 3 years to restock the system. Health-given, they should challenge in the Central the next two years, then a one year grace period.

5. If you consider LuCroy, the top 6 batters in the 4th ranked NL offense remained untouched.

All in all, my excitement level for Brewer baseball was ratched up from it's usual frenetic level. I say sit back & enjoy the ride

Brewers Weigh 2011 Against Future

MIL gets Greinke, ESPN begrudgingly admits there is a team in WI.

I linked to the originator of the flurry of activity last night, Bernie's Crew's Jim Breen. Congrats, Jim on the scoop. It would do well that the powers realize that bloggers have merit.

So the rotation in '11 looks like this: Greinke, Gallardo, Marcum, Wolf, Narveson. The offense stays essentially in tact from 1-6. I really don't have much to add that hasn't been said in the blogoshpere: Doug mortgaged the future for a last run with Fielder, possibly Weeks. Being Christmas it's only right to remember you must give to receive.

Let's remember, Escobar, for all the highlight plays, regressed throughout the year offensively. Cain tailed off when teams realized he's closer to a pull hitter than a spray hitter. And don't forget, Cain may have endeared himself running into walls, but Gomez is the better defender. Odorizzi is a solid young pitcher, but one that was only in A ball last year: again, give to receive.

Greinke has been one of the top 5 SP's in baseball the last 3 years, and he's only 27. As is the case with Marcum, AL pitchers coming to the NL usually see greater success than vice versa, since they get that DH out of the lineup.

All in all, the Crew needed pitching, they went out & got it. Is it February yet?

In the immortal words of Vince Lombardi: "What the hell is going on out there?"

Lawrie to TOR, welcome to Brew Town, Shaun Marcum

The Crew addressed some pitching needs with the acquisition of Shaun Marcum.

One hates to lose a young bat like Lawrie's, but Marcum has posted a career sub-4 ERA. He did have TJ surgery in '09, but came back last year to pitch just under 200 innings. I suppose, you gotta give to receive.

I would assume he slots in ahead of Wolf & behind Yo. Solid start to the Winter Meetings for Doug.

A. Gonzalez to BOS Off

The BoSox were unable to come to a contract agreement with Adrian Gonzalez, effectively voiding the trade from SD.

Looking at the agreed upon return, Brewer fans should realize that a boon-type package will not be the return for Prince. Additionally, any team trading for the big man will probably want a contract extension in place before pulling the trigger, much like the BOS/SD case above.

It's becoming more clear (to me, at least) that the potential return of 2 high draft picks in '12 will be the return on Fielder, as I don't see many teams dealing away picks. The philosophy of most teams has changed to young players=cheap salaries.

UPDATE: Never mind...

Berkman to Cards

The former Houston Astro will be placed in left field with Matt Holliday being moved to right field.

The 34-year-old last played in the outfield in 2007 when he turned in a putrid -48.4 UZR/150, with most of his work coming in rightfield.



Let the comedy of errors begin...

So I'm done at General Labels, which was very informative. I have many things to evaluate & reevaluate upon return tomorrow. I'll need to write up my report later... need some El Paso cuisine.

On a side note, the bigger the plane, the better the ride. I'm actually lookin forward to tomorrow's flights. I will say coming in to ELP at night was pretty spectacular, especially with Juarez out the other side of the plane.

Well, later all.

All packed for the work trip to El Paso, TX tomorrow. Two window seats on the way out there (that should help my fear of heights). I need to watch some quality issues and check some technical things with our material at General Labels.

First time on a plane... should be interesting. I hope I do everything right through security. Staying at the Doubletree, near UTEP.

I'm hoping that if I do a good enough job, I can get more opportunities to visit customers.

Watch for updates if you're interested. Otherwise, I'm just writing to myself and that's just sad.

The Crew announced they will name a new manager early next week.

My guess is it will be this guy, the favorite so far during this offseason of speculation.

SF draws first blood in the battle of the aces.

Their supposed Achilles heel was whether they could score enough to back up their rotation. So far, so good.

TEX hangs some more runs on Yankee pitching, this time not giving away the game late.

I'm slowly warming to an unlikely SF/TEX World Series. If nothing else, it's some new blood.

1 & Done

Victory formation... Varsity... Varsity... Varsity

Last word on Rodger's hit

Interesting analysis by Seifert on the 4-letter.

I'm not so ignorant that losing your best defensive player & being without a running back that could eat clock doesn't play into last week's Packer loss, but when Brady gets a roughing call when someone brushes his leg and Manning has an Enterprise-worthy shield around him, young QB's are often left without this protection.

Sunday's non-call wasn't nearly as bad as Berry leaving his feet & lowering his head last year in the playoffs, but if they're going to call catches in the end zone by the letter of the law, this needs to be consistent also.

Very encouraged by the commitment to the run tonight... though going up early certainly helps

That's how you answer... solid offensive drive to go back up by 10

Bucky playing a very inspired 1st half... they'll need to keep the intensity up for another 30, though. I like the running game right now. Hit the hole & go upfield.

Horrible pass by Tolzien in the middle of the field.

Good defensive stand on the turnover.

The last two strikes to Crawford just exemplifies the laziness of today's umpires. Any effort would be asking too much from these buffoons.

Is it too much to ask that along with these supposed "grades" they get, they also head back for some actual training? On the other hand, this proves my thoughts on unions: They exist only to protect the crappy workers.

Nice debut, Mr. Halladay. Welcome to the postseason.

Macha Out

That was quick, though not unexpected.

I've never wished to be shorter more than I do now...

Melvin on Gomez

First of all, thank goodness I wasn't playing the Doug Melvin "and that" drinking game tonight. I swear he hit 20 during that half inning.

Second, this is the third mention I've heard from Doug in the last week how Gomez was rushed to the majors and missed out on some needed development. Like I posted earlier, Carlos has taken what the braintrust is selling and, pun intended, run with it. His line drive rate has seemingly sky-rocketed lately.

Even the casuals that call for getting rid of him have to salivate at what 162 games of that speed can provide the Brewer's offense.

Wow... I don't think I can even blink in the time it takes Gomez to go 1st to 3rd.

If he can get on at a .350 clip, he's worth as much as Braun when you add in his defense.

Crew 3 - SF 0

If golf can help Wolf's pitching, I wonder what it could do for my bowling.

Al points out Wolf's ERA is 3.88, minus a mercy shellacking in Pittsburgh. Obviously there would be some regression moving from Dodger Stadium to Miller Park, but Wolf has been essentially what he needed to be this year.

If the Crew can somehow find a #2 or another solid #3 to slot in with Gallardo/Wolf, I think getting back to league-average pitching is possible. With the bullpen pretty much set for next year (and decidedly cheaper), there could be some room to spend. Of course, the Prince dilemma will be the talk of the off-season, but the pitching is absolutely critical.

Braunie's Last Two Months

Jim over at Bernie's Crew wonders if we should still worry about Braun going forward.

I go back to Hanson hitting him on the elbow earlier this year. Braun was tearing the cover off the ball all season up to that point. Young players rarely suffer an extended drought without an injury playing a part. I think it was at that point he decided to play through it, developed the attitude that some contact is better than no contact and changed accordingly.

I have no idea how calculated Ryan Braun can be, but is this the year he decided to consciously get the ball in play more, cut down on K's, up his walks & pitch selection, then tie his power game back into it in '11?

And in other news, the sky is blue...

Carlos Gomez

I must say, whatever the braintrust discussed with Gomez seems to have hit home. He's making attempts to utilize his most potent weapon, speed, and not leaving his shoes in the box on every swing like earlier in the season.

Sounds about right from the "global warming" meatheads...

Honestly, I'm not surprised by this... most of these so-called green politicians are so out of touch with the average American family, they couldn't remove their heads from their backsides with a crowbar.

African Genital Washing Study? I'm Not Kidding...

I challenge anyone to tell me how this is in any way job creation, pertinent, or even a semi-valuable use of resources... $800,000 to study post-coital genital washing among African males.

How is that a better spending of "stimulus" dollars, than simply letting hard-working Americans keep their money?

They just keep embarrasing themselves on the Hill and pretending we aren't noticing.

Speaking of lovely ladies, Meghan McCain gets a lot of flak for her weight, but, my goodness, what a gorgeous woman. This Times story makes me think if she wanted to, she could easily carry the flag of fiscally-responsible, progressive-thinking conservatives.

How can a channel have a video awards when they don't show videos?

The only saving grace was the 30 seconds of Ashley Greene.

The 'Skins uniforms are bad-ass in HD. Seems pretty tough to throw to the wrong player wearing pants as bright as the sun.

Newest Man Crush

Not exactly a crisp way to start the season, but the Pack pulled one out.

Thank goodness for Clay Matthews. He certainly has shown why Thompson moved back into the 1st round last year. Absolutely exciting player. Teaming with Woodson & Collins should bring a fair share of big plays.

Today's performance justifies naming my fantasy team "Clay Matthews' State College of Beauty Culture".

9/11

I was watching a replay of that day's events as they were broadcast and was astounded by the sheer chaos of information, from plane numbers to supposed car bombs. It really was the first day of it's kind in our nation's history.

This was my generation's JFK... I was listening to Bob & Tom at work when Christi Lee said something about a plane of some kind hitting a tower. My break started at 9am and I think I finally came back to my machine at 10. It was actually one of the first days I felt like I wasn't safe in forgotten Wisconsin.

9 years later, it's still quite surreal and brings back many of the feelings I had watching it all unfold.

I thank all the men & women braver than I who fight for our freedoms so I don't have to. You are truly American heroes and I thank you. Remember that day.

600

Congratulations to Hoffman

I'm on record not enjoying that signing last year, but it was nice to see the respect the man has earned in 17 years (although you'd never know it watching the 4-letter network, who all but ignored it while it was going on, and spent all of 20 seconds on SportsCenter).

I'm not sure if the double-switch / 9th inning was worked out as a scenario beforehand, but if it was, Macha & Randolph don't get enough credit.

Davidson was fired once by MLB and allegedly worked his way back up through minors. Really? He was the next best choice? Really?
Before night is done, Bob Davidson might eject himself from the game. At least he'd get that one right.- Tom H. on Twitter

I'm not a fan of his coverage by any means, but that was worth a chuckle.

2 coaches, a player, & a fan... who shit in Bob Davidson's oatmeal this morning?

If they spent as much time calling the game correctly as they do all the periphery things, they may actually get some things right.

Sheesh.

While by the letter of the rule, it was a good call, I think the last time that was called, Coolidge was in office.

If only they called everything by the rulebook...

TV Team

Does anyone else get sick of the cliches and general spewing of accolades for the opposing teams from Bill & Brian. I swear if I hear "the hands lead the barrel of the bat" one more time or gushing over a SS making a throw a SS should make...

Is it too much to ask that they at least give a nod to people with more than a middling idea about the game of baseball. What I would give to hear some of the bloggers I read on a broadcast.

First Signal - Harry Hess project

September 14th will see the reintroduction of Harry Hess (ex-Harem Scarem) to the microphone & North America. And let me say, Harry, we've missed you. From the team of top-notch AOR writers (Erik Martensson, Martin Brothers, Richard Marx)to the amazing production of Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Khymera), this release is truly a treat for the ears.
The opening track, "This City" , gets things going with an intro reminiscent of Journey's outstanding "Never Walk Away" from Revelation. The bridge reminds one of "One Love" from JSS's current W.E.T. project. If you can't roll the windows down & cruise 80mph to this track, just get off the road. You're taking up space.
Next up is "When You Believe", complete with Journey-style intro keys from Eric Ragno. Groove, groove, groove. Another large layered chorus and Harry is back in early 90's form.
"Part Of Me" takes the album in an updated direction. This is the first of two Richard Marx-penned tunes. This would not have been out of place on Harem's final album "Hope". Contemporary rocker and quite good after a few listens.
Ballad "Crazy" is decidedly a newer Harem-style change of pace. Some nice piano and the typical Hess-delivered vocal.
"Goodbye To The Good Times" starts with some country-flavored guitar, switches to a funky style a la Jeff Scott Soto, then blasts into the chorus chock full of melody. It almost reminds me of a latter-80's Bad Company tune.
Title song "First Signal" has hints of modern rock until the bridge, when a wonderfully delivered guitar riff plays behind the vocals. Again the chorus is LARGE.
"Feels Like Love This Time" starts with some steel guitar (?). This tune really shows Harry's AOR range. Reminiscent of the melody used in Bon Jovi's "Stick To Your Guns". Once again, huge vocals.
"Into The Night" starts out rather modern rock-ish and holds that energy throuhout. Decent tune, although slightly forgettable.
The second Marx song "When November Falls" is a contemporary tune. Well written and a softer melody than the rest of the disc. This could easily have been recorded by Def Leppard for their X album.
"Yesterday's Rain" brings the riffs back. The chorus is quite Eclipse-ish, which only makes sense with Erik Martensson involved. Great vocals by Harry.
Finishing off the album is "Naked Desire", an old Mark Free demo. Harry plows through this in typical fashion, bringing an end to an outstanding listening experience.
I could sum this up all day long, but I'll leave you with this: If you like driving grooves, huge choruses, and well-written AOR, get this. Now. Don't wait. Go now... What are you still doing sitting there?

Name Change

Henceforth, Sons of Sixto has become Uecker's Front Row. The Lezcano reference was a bit vague, so I wasn't getting the hits from the blogosphere I had hoped (especially on the Brewer end). Please adjust accordingly and, hopefully, I'll start posting a little more regularly.

Thank you for your support

Edmonds traded?

Jim Edmonds has reportedly texted he has been traded to the Reds.

I assume this will either be Gerut coming back up as he is rehabbing in the minors, or the Lo Cain era may be beginning.

UPDATE: Verified

Bowling... don't get enough of this in the winter? What am I thinking

Robin, part deux

Escobar now the only Brewer this year to play all 3 OF positions... baseball can be an odd mistress sometimes.

Hart's New Sunglasses

Crew signs Corey for 3yrs/26.5mil, removing one year of arby & 2 years of free agency.

I've seen many posts on what this means to the team going forward: Hart stays for 3 more, does Braun move to 1st A.P. (After Prince) & Hart slide to LF, but one thing I didn't see is this doesn't guarantee Hart stays. 3 years of cost-certainty for another club could facilitate the trade we all expected this year.

On the other hand, Corey has been vocal about wanting to stay in MIL, and considering some of the comments by Doug this past week, that's love the Crew doesn't always get from FA's.

Now, if Melvin & Co can get the Weeks deal done, I'll be a happy man.

Crew standing pat

Melvin calls the Brewers out of business... I'm not too broken up about that. Though, reading some comments, he can't win anyway: don't get enough and get skewered, don't do anything and get skewered. It's so much easier from the armchair.

Torii Hunter with some more Cardinal-esque gibberish.

I doubt trading within your division is one of the fabled UNWRITTEN RULES OF BASEBALL... poorly-judged, not recommended, maybe even unfortunately necessary, but not UNWRITTEN.

Which begs the question: If the UNWRITTEN RULES OF BASEBALL were actually written, would it dwarf the actual rulebook? How about War & Peace?

Put your glove on, shut up, & get on the field. No one's looking to you for the direction of their own moral compass.

Adieu, Mr. Jenkins

One of my favorite Brewers retired today, so I'd like to thank Geoff Jenkins for a few things:

Thanx for always playing balls-out
Thanx for the picture many years ago with my wife & I
Thanx for showing off your arm
Thanx for the hellish upper-cut swing

Jenks had a frustrating "It's all or nothing here on Home Run Derby" mentality, but I always felt he was overlooked for his defense. Good luck, #5, on whatever your future brings. You brought me much joy during some lean years.

Daydreaming today & had a thought... sign Ricky long-term, trade Hart, & groom Lawrie in the OF?

Evidently, the strike zone tonight is like the Big Bang Theory... it's continuously expanding.

Both those pitches were outside even by Greg Maddux standards, yet Gorman guesses they're good enough. Honestly, you can't be a partly-competent umpire and still think those pitches caught any of the plate... unless the plate is the size of the Northern Hemiphere.

Laziness, writ large.

As Al would say, "the worst they've ever been... until tomorrow".

Y'now how teachers continue they're schooling even while they're already teaching? Maybe some additional training would help this. They have umpiring schools, why not send them back for some basic training. Instead, MLB leaves them out there to continually embarass the profession and the game, living on their little island.

You would think with the multiple camera angles & video replays, umpires would WANT to hone their profession and allow the camera's to prove how well they're doing.

Now, as my father would say, "piss poor".

Crap!

My window is closing...

Window closed...

Paul Is Dead?

I needed a good laugh today...

I'm left to wonder how MLB can continually allow umpires to be the aggressor's in these situations. Bush said his peace, turned around walking back to the mound, while Rapuano follows him, barking, and proceeds to get in front of Bush. Get your butt back behind the plate & blend into the game like you're supposed to.

Not to mention anything that has passed over the inside line of the right-hand batters box is a strike tonight. Consistently shitty is still shitty. I would think striving to be consistently right would be the goal.

Not to be outdone, I think umpires in my local softball league would've clearly seen Braun's catch was not even half a foot close to being an actual catch.

As Bill would say... My Goodness.

Brewer Moves

And the restructuring of the bullpen begins...

Estrada pitched well, Axford has been a nice shot in the arm, and now according to Al, Braddock (he of the pitching ilk, not Chuck Norris)may well be on his way up.

Also, congrats to young Mr. Lucroy on his promotion to the bigs. Small sample, he hasn't set the world on fire in AAA, but with Kottaras' steady play, he should get some nice opportunities to impress.

Crew Hit Hard By Injuries

Hoffman ineffective (usually a sign of injury after prolonged success), Edmonds with back problems, Hawkings with arm problems, Zaun with a shoulder injury... who would've thought the geriatric crowd would break down.

Reasons To Come In Off The Ledge

As promised, my reasons not to give up on the Brewer's season, presented in sevenfold;

1)75% of the season still needs to be played. On May 29, 2009, the Colorado Rockies were 18-28 and still made the playoffs.
2)The offense is still formidable - 7th in MLB in scoring (it's the -18 run differential that'll get ya)
3)We may not have too much longer to watch one of the best tandems in baseball hitting back to back. Prince & Braunie are so good in their mid 20's, we often forget how good they really are.
4)It's great to see Casey McGehee having a successful sophomore season, especially after the sCrUBS gave up on him.
5)We have been able to bask in the sheer awesomeness of John Axfors's "Meathead" Stivic 'stache.
6)It beats the hell out of hearing about Packer OTA's. I realize this is Packer country, but, honestly, it's 4 months away. Do we really need to hear about Joey Shitpants, the new street free agent water dispersal specialist being given a look as the emergency onside kicker?
7)Baseball is still the greatest game ever invented.

Should Crew look to Cappy for help?

Nice AAA debut for Capuano last night.

It was mentioned the other day that CVill may be a possibility for the rotation, but really his days as anything more than an emergency spot starter are done. Used correctly, he's much too valuable to the bullpen.

Capuano, on the other hand, has proven to be effective as a ML starter, regardless of that last fluky year in the majors. The Crew may well get to the point where throwing something against the wall to see what sticks is their only option. It would be a great story if Cappy could come back and be effective.

Walk on water... just fine

Walk across the street... not so much

You just can't make this stuff up

Gov't at work

Happened upon a show on CNBC tonight called American Greed. They were highlighting a case from a few years ago about sisters that ran a distribution company & had a contract with the government to supply parts to Irag & Afghanistan. They would send out screws, washers, and the like, then charge exorbitant amounts for shipping costs. Once they marked the item as priority, the government would pay instantly and without oversight.

They were finally caught when they shipped 2 .19 cent washers at a cost of almost 1 million dollars... That's when someone noticed something was wrong! 6 years later!

Again I ask, do we really need the government taking over things like healthcare? I really can't think of a less wasteful entity than big government. Holy crap, George Washington has stopped simply rolling over in his grave... he's in full centrifuge spin.

Braun's Home v. Away

They just showed Ryan's home/road splits for this year, which clearly favor hitting on the road in the first month. I know a few people who find this concerning for some reason.

Here are Braun's career splits, showing that he's a great hitter no matter where he steps in the box. Considering who does the official scoring at MP, I'm not surprised to see a lower BA at home.

Just goes to prove baseball is a long season and, more often than not, things even out in the end.

Fear The Deer (I love that!)

I've been reading quite a few things today about how the Bucks "hard work" & "effort" allowed them to steal a game in ATL last night. Honestly, those things are about as crazy to me as "professional hitter".

The difference in the last 4 minutes as opposed to the first 44 was the Bucks started taking the ball to the rim & forced quite a few fouls, which they took advantage of. Add to that timely shooting, fortuitous rebounds, & Hawk misses, and you get a feel-good comeback.

On the other hand, hats off to the Deer for taking a game no one gave them a chance to. Friday night can't come soon enough.

Is Trevor Time Ticking Down?

I haven't commented on this yet, mostly due to the baseball season being so long that usually everything evens out in the end, but...

Pitching is predicated on location & deception, neither of which Trevor Hoffman has at the moment. Would removing him from the closer role correct that? Is it like a shooter in basketball: keep throwing them up until they go in?

Without having the pulse of the clubhouse at my fingertips, maybe they should pull him from that role for a bit. I know it's not beer-league softball, but having victory snatched away multiple times by a couple errant pitches could breed some animosity. Though, admittedly, I don't know how major leaguers feel about being let down by their pitching. I suppose we could say they should score more runs & it's a moot point.

I wasn't high on the re-signing of Hoffman at that price in the first place, as pitching the 9th is no different than pitching the 1st... 3 outs is 3 outs.

From a week of amazing highs, to a weekend of disappointing lows...

Ahhh, Baseball, you are a fickle mistress.

Soup's Off

Narveson in, Suppan out. What the hell, throw it against the wall & see what sticks.

I like Suppan. He seems to be a good teammate, great in the community, a class act all around, but he has been in decline for the last three years. WHIP up, K/BB ratio nearing even... At this point, I have doubts about his ability to even reach league averages.

I'm inclined to believe this move has more to do with recent past performance than it does his two '10 starts.

Olney on Braunie

Enjoy him, Brewer fans... He's only getting better.

Bucks Close Gap

Outside shooting & defense was the story tonight. Quite the win for the home fans at the BC. Even Dan G. had a strong game. If Gadzuric & Thomas can play like this consistently, anything can happen.

On a personal note, my little bro & my pops were at the game tonight. I'm very happy my brother got to see that live as his love for the Bucks can only be rivaled by my love for the Brewers.

Hardware for the Deer

Congrats to John Hammond & the Milwaukee Bucks organization.

Well deserved for Hammond, as he has shown how to field a competitive team amidst bad contracts, well-scouted drafting, & deft trades.

Good luck to the Bucks tonight in game 3.

Don't Jump Overboard

Yesterday's game vs. tonight's game is why I don't put much stock in 20-run outbursts... It's a long season.

Aside from this past weekend, the Crew has had terrible luck on many sharply-hit balls being caught on offense and equally terrible luck with bloopers falling in against them.

The ship is not sinking, it's just rocking around in the waves right now.

Really?

Oh, my good god.

Not gay enough for the Gay World Series... I guess I should start watching for the four horsemen.

Big Ben, Big Ben, Big Ben

Strong showing by Goodell.

The first accusation I took rather lightly, as it was quite some time ago & then went into a civil suit. This time, I'm inclined to wonder what the hell some of these guys are thinking. Well-paid children who all want the love that comes from the spotlight, but don't respect the ones who give it.

Looks like a duck, walks like a duck...

Strong showing for Skiles

Congrats to Scott...

It's too bad AB went down, as this was a very well-rounded Buck team since the addition of Salmons.

Fielder has sore hand

Prince is currently dealing with some soreness in his hand, possibly affecting his power swing.

Which makes one wonder if his mini-tantrum on the bench last week is the cause.

Just a quick aside... Corey Hart just worked an 8-pitch walk.

I'm going to have to reference my bible as I think the first seal may have just broken.

Welcome to the only time a Monday doesn't suck... Opening Day! Good luck to all who stop in & their respective teams.

The food spread is out, the swag is on, the surround is loud, MLB in HD... Go Crew!

Brewers Contacted Dye

Interesting note from MLB Trade Rumors I had not seen anywhere else about the Crew reaching out to Jermaine Dye.

With the recent talk of Edmonds starting over Hart, I think it's safe to say Corey has fallen well out of favor with the front office.

A right field of Edmonds from the left & Dye from the right... sure the defense may not invoke Willie Mays, but that could be one solid, productive outfielder.

Rankings

Fangraphs with some Brewer love.

Cameron feels about the same as I do as far as win total. I think last year would've been around the same with healthy pitching. I'll take that... flare here, run there... 90 wins becomes more than a pipe dream. He also mentions a year of Weeks, which most Brewer fans are aching to see also.

Another comment deals with Milwaukee's tilt toward statistical analysis. Something that could not have been said for the previous regime.

Fear The Deer

Huge double OT win for the Bucks. I was only able to catch the last 2 minutes + extra time, but the real standout from what I saw was Ilyasova. Put aside his 3-ball to tie it with 6 ticks left, his energy under the boards was critical.

Losing Redd was the best thing that could've happened to this team. Salmons, Bogut, & Jennings are playing well together. The bench is a great compliment to the starters.

If you're not paying attention to this team, you should be. Exciting, well-coached, energetic... a good reflection of WI sports.

Braun/Prince

It's nice to see the World-Wide Leader can mention teams outside of the East coast. Fielder & Braun absolutely have to be considered in the upper echelon of tandems in the MLB.

While I've been prone to stress on Fielder's impending FA, enjoying these two young gentlemen has been a treat. I hope Brewer fans fathom even half of what they've been able to accomplish.

Braun was out of the lineup for the 1st ST game today. Evidently, he ran into the fence yesterday... let's hope that isn't the reason why.

Mr. Jenkins, can you please call young Ryan and tell him that these games don't mean anything? Thanx.

Crew v. San Fran 3/4

Well, if you're going to be plunked for a 6-month-old celebration (inspired by a teammates charity bowlathon), it may as well be by the fluff of Zito.

If it was that bad, or disrespectful, I doubt Cameron would've taken part in it as he carries himself much higher than that. Teammates celebrating an extra-inning homerun with each other at their home park? It's still supposed to be a fun game, right?

I wonder if this guy is somehow related to Witrado...

Bucks Around The Web

The Bucks actually getting some play here & here... I can almost see my brother smiling from across town.

I must admit Hammonds has done a fine job in setting up to build around Jennings & Bogut, yet remain competitive now. Bogut has been a top 10 center recently and Salmons has proven to be what Redd can't be anymore.

USA v Canada

3:15 EST Sunday on NBC. If it's anything like the 1st game, we should be in for a treat. Both teams were skating so hard, I wondered outloud whether Olympic ice was smaller than NHL ice. Happy viewing!

Oops, Missed That Prediction...

Newsweek article published in '95... excuse me while I change into my swim trunks. This guy missed the boat by so far, we're all gonna need to swim. And people wonder why the media fails in nearly all facets today...

Pork Chops, Pulled Pork, Porkie Links... Call It What You Want

Why am I not surprised...

Good God, I never thought I would lean conservative as much as I have in the last year. Can we please bring back some fiscal responsibility and common sense in America? I weep for my child's future...

The Fielder Dilemma

Add this argument to the reasons it's easier to GM from my armchair than Doug's office.

Fielder is an immense asset to the Crew, but I shudder to think of the king's ransom we'd get back for him right now.

What country you're originally from doesn't even mean anything anymore in the Olympics... from Canada, compete for Australia... from Japan, compete for Russia... from Mars, compete for Venus.

And why is it the vast majority of these people train & live in the US, but compete for Joeyshitpantsistan?

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I'd welcome myself back with a rant: Can we just end this Survivor b.s.? A bunch of self-important (how's that for irony from a blogger?) ying-yangs, who under the auspices of playing a "game", get to invade the airwaves for no other reason than a sadomasochistic need to crap next to trees.

But if I need to keep seeing these people, can we at least make it "Survivor"? Drop these jagoffs on an island and the last one alive wins. Anything goes, fend for yourself, watch out for the scorpions. A tip of the hat to Carlin here... put the damn thing on PPV. Huge numbers. Watching the human species thin it's herd the right way, by natural selection? Now I'm hooked.

For chrissakes, Probst thinks he's someone important now. I can't wait for one of these fools to get a rare, untreatable tropic disease that painfully forces their anus's inside out.

Playing a game... Scrabble is a game, Monopoly is a game, Cribbage is a game. You, my unbrushed, hygienically-challenged friends are just sad.

Sheets to Oakland

This screams of "Hopefully he stays healthy & we'll flip him at the deadline, a la Holliday" to me.

At least we know what the going rate is for oft-injured pitchers after a year off.

Bush Reaches Agreement

The Brewers have signed Dave Bush, avoiding an arby hearing.

I share the view of many bloggers: Bush may be dealt closer to the end of spring training, assuming health by the other members of the pitching staff. Or does this push Suppan to the bullpen as the last swing-man arm? Does Attanasio eat the last year of Soup's contract? Either way, the Crew has a buttload of cash tied up in pitching this year.

PBA History for Kulick

Congratulations to Kelly Kulick for becoming the first female to win on the PBA Tour. That's what makes bowling so great... anyone can literally beat anyone at any time. In this case, Kulick earned it by continually pounding the pocket and making several pressure shots.

I'm a sucker for historical victories.

EDIT: If the USBC & PBA were smart they would send Kulick on a two-week publicity tour. I would think Ellen will jump on this like a fat kid in shark-infested waters. The beauty of bowling as a sport is anyone can beat anyone, at any time, young or old, good or bad. Kulick is a great ambassador for a sport that could use some mainstream PR. BTW, ESPN will re-air the finals tonight at 8pmEST on Classic.

Yount On Steroid Talk

We all know Yount was a hell of a ballplayer, but he's also a pretty good man. Well spoken words on the recent McGwire bashing.

To paraphrase some of his commments, it's easy to take the high road when you no longer play the game, but situations reversed, no one can say what they would or wouldn't have done to keep up with the Joneses. Do I like that some great baseball memories from the last 10-15 years are shrouded in doubt? Of course not. But that's the place we are now as fans of the sport. Does it change my love of the game? Heck no. Besides, I'm about done with the steroids b.s. When the Steelers win the Lombardi Trophy, do they qualify it with "but a lot of the team was on 'roids in the 70's"? It's long overdue to move on.

History will put this era in context, as it always does in MLB.

McCalvy on Fielder

Interesting story at Brewers.com, basically outlining the current status & speculating on Fielder's free agency in '12.

I've been back and forth on the issue myself, as Braun & Prince make a heckuva couple, but regardless of what the Crew reinvests into the team, I just don't see any way they don't flip him in '11. Unless they're in serious contention in 2011 & say damn the torpedoes and take the draft picks at year's end (a development I highly doubt would occur). I suppose they could pull another 2-year deal to buy out one season of FA.

Much has been made of Fielder's "body type" in the past, which traditionally breaks down as the clock turns 30. Could the Crew try to lock him up until age 29, then part ways? Would Boras allow himself to break from past processes and do another 2-year? I wish I knew.

Coffey Signs

The Crew avoided arbitration by signing Todd Coffey today. The deal essentially settles at the mid-point of the exchanged arby figures (which is usually how these things turn out, making the arbitration process one in which teams overspend to stay out of the panel process).

Coffey was outstanding for the Brewers in '09, but one has to wonder about a repeat since they rode him like a whipped mule much of the time.

The bullpen now sports quite a bit of money between Hoffman, Riske, Hawkins, & Coffey. I'm left to wonder if there were more cost-effective pieces already in the system.

Sharpie Back With MIL

Welcome back, Double-D.

This puts the rotation at Gallardo, Wolf, Bush, Davis, Manny/Soup. Does Bush get packaged? Does Manny go down to AAA (I believe he has options left)? Does Soup go in a salary dump-ish move? Or none of the above.

Regardless, Melvin & Co. have done an admirable job of adressing the Crew's biggest weakness from a year ago.

Brown Wins in MA

Well said.

Pushing agenda's through against the will of the people is never a good idea. I've long said this health care reform should be more about overhauling the health care system, not socializing the country. Costs are running rampant to the point that those with health care can barely afford to use it, much less those without it.

I guess we'll find out why our founding fathers settled on 4-year terms. Obama has the chance to bring about change, for both himself and the USA. Let's hope it's good change.

Overfluffing Your Ben Sheets

Let me say this up front: I don't think Benny is necessarily injury-prone. He's had some of the strangest injuries; an inner-ear infection, then a recurrence of the same thing later, the torn latissimus dorsi muscle, the torn finger tendon.

But I can't imagine the flavor of Kool-Aid he and his agent are consuming if they're asking for this. $10 mil with incentives, then a player-controlled option? Yikes! Now, obviously, this is out of the Brewer's range and I don't get the feeling the two sides left on the best of terms, but, again, I'm sure one of the large market teams may actually acquiesce to these demands.

We all know Sheeter can be dominant, but I only see a handful of teams being able to swallow that cash if the deal goes bad.

8. Brewers. For all the second-guessing over the near $30-million, three-year contract Randy Wolf, he is just what they needed. Though, they probably need one more pitcher. They remain in the hunt for Jarrod Washburn or Doug Davis and probably will also give former A's star Mark Mulder a shot, as well. - Heyman's top 10 offseasons over at SI.Com.

I agree the Crew has gotten better on the pitching end. Whether a Mulder signing will pay any dividends is fractional. One of the trio of Washburn/Davis/Garland may be out of the price range. Plus, with no one willing to take on Suppan, that may mean Bush would be part of a swap (hopefully, his arm is healed after that microtear last year).

What Heyman doesn't mention is the loss of Cameron's power from the CF spot. One thing is for sure, though: The Crew will be sporting some team speed (Gomez, Hart, Weeks, Braun, Escobar). Whether or not Macha chooses to use it, and use it correctly, is another question.

Brewers Held Up As Example

This, ladies & gentlemen, is why Mr. Attanasio is has quickly become a WI favorite.

"To make their point, they have cited the Milwaukee Brewers, whose owner Mark Attanasio has taken their payroll to over $80 million the last couple of seasons - and been rewarded by attendances of more than three million for the first time in their history the past two seasons. Not bad for the smallest media market in baseball." - New York Daily News

I, for one, would like to thank you, Mark.

Bertrand Berry Fined

That sounds about right.

Again, I'm not naive to the fact the Packers gave up 51 points or that Rodgers missed a wide open Jennings... but in an age when quarterbacks may as well have flags on their hips, missing this call is a bigger transgression than the hotly debated final play.

Braun Best Against Best

Folks, all I have to say to this is "Yikes!" (original column at ESPN Insider) - Tip O' the brim to Bernie's Crew for the synopsis.

Enjoy this young man, Wisconsin, he won't be around forever. Let's count our lucky stars we got him for a pittance of a price for his talent until '15.

EDIT: Tom has the story at the JSOnline

Say It Ain't S... Oh, Never Mind

Mark McGwire admits to steroids.

In other news, grass is green, the sky is blue, and Milli Vanilli lip-synched.

Shocking revelations, I'm sure.

Defensive POY

Ladies & Gentlemen, your NFL Defensive Player Of The Year... Charles Woodson.

Congratulations, Charles, you are a joy to watch. I was at the Dallas-Green Bay game in November this year and could've sworn there were 11 Woodson's on defense that day.

"It's tough for me to look at Holliday's deal with the Cards and think it's way too much for far too long...and what a tremendous bargain the Brewers have with Ryan Braun." - Al's Ramblings

My wife and I were talking last night about the Cards paying that much for Holliday & what it will mean when they give Pujols the farm. The first comment out of her mouth echoed Al's... Braunie is an absolute steal.

Bill (clap, clap) Hall To BoSox

"something they could do with the $7-8M received from the Brewers when they dealt for Hall last summer" - WEEI.com

Maybe I'm reading too much into this comment, but I recall Al speculating that Hall's remaining contract may well have been added to last year's budget. This comment seems to reinforce that notion.

Cards Sign Holliday

This'll make for a lot of firepower. Remember when Pujols needed to carry the lineup alone? Not anymore.

Just think, when Pujols comes up for his contract, this one will look small.

A little personal blurb... today marks the 2nd anniversary of quitting smoking. I did it cold turkey, without counseling or hypnosis, or that horrific tasting "gum" they try to push on people.

My advice is two-fold: Decide on the times you smoke the most and focus on changing that. Second, stay away from smokers, bars, alcohol, and such for at least a month after deciding to quit.

I never thought I would have the ability to do it, yet here I am.

Arbitration Begins

Today is the first day for arbitration filings. What this means for the Crew is in the next week or so, Doug should have a better idea what he has left to allocate to the 2010 team.

As KL Snow notes in Tuesday's Frosty Mug, if Rosenthal and Haudricourt are correct, there should be plenty of competition for innings in the Brewers rotation next year.

Woodson / Matthews

While Darrelle Revis is a phenomenal cover-corner, it's hard to argue against Charles Woodson for Defensive POY. He's played all over the field, covered everyone short of St. Peter, and been a force since Harris went down with injury.

Clay Matthews looks to have a good view of some hardware, too. Since getting regular playing time, he's been an animal. It's been a while since the Pack has had a linebacker with his kind of motor.

Quick Thoughts on CF

After reading this post from McCalvy, especially blurb #10, I was reminded of what we gave up for CC.

Aside from LaPorta (who may have been able to man 1b after Prince's exit), we lost Michael Brantley. Some scouts have said he is very reminiscent of Kenny Lofton. Casuals just don't understand that you can't teach a .400 OBP at such a young age. That's simply talent.

Most Improved

I would have to agree with the consensus of posts in this, also. The M's and Jack Zduriencik have added some good pieces this offseason.

Losing Jack Z. was a blow to the Brewers, but his track record on pitchers hasn't been the best (injuries obviously played a part in that). Judging by the first draft from Bruce Seid, the Crew may already be transitioning from the "big bat" philosophy, to the "load up on pitching & see who sticks" angle.

And remember, Braun is locked up until '15, but Fielder comes up on FA after the '11 season. A possible trade next offseason would certainly bring a bounty of talent back, if they decide to go that way.