When did "as of late" replace "lately"? Is that supposed to sound more formal or educated? It makes people sound like an ass of the jack variety.

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of all mother's, I give you a classic Bill Hall moment... enjoy.

Batting Gomez second gives new meaning to the phrase "#2", a sentiment shared by many fans.

The Crew has struggled to find a second batter for years now, so why not remove the second batter & move everyone up? Weeks, Braun, Fielder, McGahee, Hart, etc. Give your best hitters more AB's.

Plushdamentals on hold for 2-4 weeks.

Boggs slyly accepts his AAA assignment & rejoins the Crew in St. Loo tonight.

Just got back from the customer's plant & I think those changes did the trick. Now I have to buy lunch for my team for all their great ideas. One more trip to General Labels tomorrow to watch a little more material & I can go home.

So where to eat in El Paso?

Dining at Fire Restaurant... this steak better be good, since it's price would fill my gas tsnk 3/4 full.

EDIT: It was so good I want to sew my ass shut!

Back in El Paso. Kinda strange to fly the day after we get bin Laden. My wife said this morning that when the news came in, the Mets/Phillies game was in the 9th, tied 1-1... numbers are fun.

On my way out of WI at CWA this morning, I got to watch an Honor Flight board & leave. The flight was full of WWII vets on their way to Washington, DC. Very cool & very humbling. I love those guys.

Anyway, here's a pic of sunrise at 17,000'

Fans in Philly at the PHI/NYM game let out a loud cheer & started chanting USA... what a country!

Bin Laden Dead

Osama, O-snuffed! Thank you to the military for being the best in the world & taking up the fight with scum like Bin Laden. A quick tip o' the cap to President Bush for starting it & to Obama for keeping it going.

Rickie with a triple on a ball that falls not far past Jay Bruce.

One thing that can never be said about Brewer batters is that they don't hustle.

Hart activated, Almonte to 7-day DL (seems he took one to the noggin in warm-ups).

Estrada hitting 95 on the gun early tonight. I would guess he's looking to make a nice impression as Greinke's return will push him out of the rotation. All in all, it's been a very solid showing from Marco, especially considering he didn't receive an invite to spring training.

Nice efficient inning by Marco. Losing to the Reds is what Pittsburgh must feel like when we play the Pirates.

Braun in Brewer Blue for a Decade

Didn't see that coming. I suppose I can put all the "we won't appreciate him 'til he's gone" stuff away now. So, tack on $105 mil from '16-'20, with an option for '21.

I found this statement very telling: And it all started, the Brewers say, with a casual chat initiated by Braun himself.
"The first thing you say is, 'Wow, really?'" principal owner Mark Attanasio said. "Especially with a player of his stature. It's a very big idea."

Here's a guy who is probably worth $25mil a year if he was a free agent, yet he WANTS to stay in Milwaukee. Several times he referenced the fans & their support. And, really, what a difference from Fielder. Prince has been counting his days 'til free agency since at least '08, yet Braunie happily signs a long term (and team-friendly) deal, again. Not to slap Fielder for what he deserves, but they're different persona's, different people.

The interesting part is that some of the money is deferred, meaning Braun could be getting paid until 2030 for all we know. His agent referenced that the sides "got creative" & it looks like Ryan is more than willing to take less now, for a chance to win.

I know my wife loves him, but I think, today, my man-crush grew as large as the Grinch's heart, post-Whoville. Thank you, Ryan, for doing what you do, day in & day out. You are a great representation of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club and a helluva ballplayer.

FSN with a graphic on how good Braun has been since his debut in '07.

I've said it before, WI; we won't appreciate how historically phenomenal he is until he's gone.

As if I needed another reason to despise the "Protectors of the Game of Baseball"... Wow, when they decide to let loose they wear... wait for it... turtlenecks. Jump Back, Loretta!!

Stay cool, St. Loo.

I didn't think I could possibly care less about something until this came along... On the other hand, I've commented on it twice in a couple days, so what the hell do I know.

Has anyone else noticed the explosion in overall channel numbers since the parallel explosion of Celebutards?

Lucroy activated, Reed DFA'd

Interesting move by the Crew... But really not that odd. Almonte, Kotsay, Morgan in the OF as reserves (or starter-in-waiting in Morgan's case). Kottaras is a lefty bat off the bench who can probably pop 15 homers in 100 games played.

Part of roster construction is knowing what roles you have, which makes this a pretty solid move right now. Of course, when Hart comes back in 7-10 days something's gonna have to give. My vote would be getting rid of Kotsay, as he is no more than a 5th outfielder with no power & the Crew really has no use for one of those currently.

Does anyone in The New World really care what spoiled figureheads are doing galavanting around the UK? How is this even news?

I find myself watching Iron Chef: America lately, even though I have no idea what 90% of the cooking terms or dishes are. It's always fun to try & guess the secret ingredient.

Then again, maybe it's because Cat Cora's on the show sometimes... she could cook me cereal & I'd gladly call it world class cuisine.

Good luck to the Pens in the 1st round vs. Tampa. It looks like Crosby is out for this round, but could come back for round two.

Bylsma has done a phenomenal job without his 1-2 punch of Sid & Malkin, tied for 3rd in the NHL with 106 points. Good depth can overcome a lot, but they still need Crosby to make a run.

Thank goodness there's jagoff's like this looking after us... How in the world did I live this long under the direction of my clueless parents?