RIP John Kennedy Oswald

I've held off for awhile on the Jani Lane comments concerning his death & place in music history. I guess it's taken some time to digest & realize what we lost & what most people don't realize we lost. Strange how I kept waking up the night he died with "Song & Dance Man" stuck in my head... I guess a rock & roll hero was calling out to his fans one last time.
He was SO MUCH MORE than the "Cherry Pie" guy. It makes me sick to think that's how he's remembered. I will always remember him as the master lyricist & king of melody... see songs such as "Mr. Rainmaker", "Bed of Roses", "Quicksand", or "Stronger Now".
The demons would not allow him to carry on, sadly, but let's not forget what he was: a phenomenal songwriter & musician, who couldn't carry on. I could go on for many paragraphs, delving further into hero-worship hyperbole, but I'll simply end this way:
I will miss all the music Jani will never write. He brought much joy into my life over the years & I hope he realizes that many mourn his passing like a family member's.

I know everyone likes to joke at Counsell's expense for the 0-45 streak, but before tonight's hit, I would venture to guess he saved more runs than he cost. Sure we want production, & sure we think the Crew is keeping him on for nostalgia reasons, but, truthfully, his value is defensively. Everything else is butter.

Considering the large returns on traded stars so far, I'm thinking that Doug may well have done the best job of upgrading without giving up anything of consequence. And let's hope that Rickie gets well fast, which in itself would be equivalent to a deadline deal.

Lopez is certainly helpful as a switch-hitting IF. Hairston has played everywhere but catcher & the Boston Pops, with decent defensive metrics.

Just an open question to chew on: Though he does still have value as a defender & a good eye at the plate, does this foreshadow the end of Counsell's time in MIL as a player?

Crew Acquires Hairston, Jr.

Just came through... no word on what went back to the Nats.

UPDATE: The Nats receive minor-league OF Erik Komatsu. Komatsu at AA this year: .294/.393/.416. Hasn't shown much HR power since being drafted in '08, but has solid OB skills. Plays all three OF positions. Ranked 14th by Baseball America in the Brewer's system.

Doug continues to reshape the bench with flexible vets. Hairston's numbers this year: .268/.342/.385, nice OBP ahead of the boppers. Some combo of Hairston, Lopez, Counsell should be able to hold down 2b while young Rickie is out. There's plenty of offense to go around in the Crew's lineup.

Meanwhile, here's the pitching numbers over the past few games:
- 17/20 quality starts (six or more innings, three earned runs or fewer)
- 2.62 starters' ERA in those 20 games
- Bullpen: 0 ER in last five games, spanning 12 1/3 innings

Getting past the "we're done" feeling when Rickie went down, Melvin made a helluva move getting Felipe Lopez for nothing. In '09 he had a great second half. Surprisingly, he's been ok in the field the last couple years. I think Lopez can hold down the fort quite well at the moment.

Losing Rickie is obviously on par with losing Prince, but I think we can withstand it for a few weeks, no pun intended.

Wil Nieves traded to ATL

The Brewers may or may not get cash in return (that's the "considerations" part), but they don't really lose anything, either. You know, other than the 20 games we had to watch him hit .140/.189/.180
UPDATE: Nieves was traded to Atlanta for $1. I suppose he's worth a McChicken off the Dollar Menu - James Langrehr "The Brewer's Bar"

I read that last line as totally deadpan in my head. I laughed so hard I just thought I would share the humor.

Big music news revealed last night (well, big for me anyway), ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy & ex-Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes are forming a power trio with an as-yet-unknown bassist.

Sykes, of course, was the unheralded star of the mammoth Whitesnake album in 1987 & the leader of the criminally underrated Blue Murder.

Look for it sometime early in '12.

Hey, Ron, that's how you use Loe correctly... (see File In Noggin For Future Use)

righties, righties, righties. Only.

Two stories you won't be reading in mainstream papers, both exposing Walker's budget plan as what it is... fiscally responsible & working.

Walker's Vindication

The New Normal

Collective bargaining is not a "right", at least not by the classic definition. In fact, if you really look at this entire fight, collective bargaining was a nice shroud to cover public theft.

On another note, is there a batted ball that Carlos Gomez cannot get to? What I wouldn't give to have that type of speed for one day.

Stephen Drew just got JJ Hardy'd. If his ankle isn't snapped, I'll be surprised. It looked like it spun around under his slide leg.

Gomez either broke his collarbone or dislocated his shoulder... either way, that's a big loss for the bench. The Brewer's OF is a mini-MASH unit right now.

Is this a Beltran-inducing development?

The younger Weeks having a nice start in OAK. I remember when the Crew drafted Jemile in the 8th round of the '05 draft. He was considered speedy, with very raw ability. Alas, he was lost to the lures of Braunie's alma mater.

Well, that, & his path to the majors was blocked by big bro.

Thank God the FDA is there for me. I had no idea cigarettes were bad... really?... lighting up dried leaves & inhaling the smoke is bad? It's a choice, you fools, & no amount of "scary" pictures will stop people who are looking for a brief respite & relief from the crap that is daily living.

I haven't had one in close to four years & it wasn't because I was frightened of the health issues. I just chose to stop & save the cash.

So not only does Davidson take at least a run off the board for the Crew, he decides that the punishment will be a strike zone the size of a gnat's ass.

Argue if you must, but unions in America protect the useless. This jackass works six months a year, for six figures, gets another four weeks of vacation during those six months... and cannot be fired. Sound familiar WI?

That 10 pitch at bat looked more like Casey: good swings, patience. Hopefully, that sets him up for a hot streak.

Being an umpire must be a lot like a weatherman: never right, but total job security.

Nice one liner by Schroeder: "It's a good thing that ball didn't hit Fielder as he made no effort to get out of the way"

Another example of the ridiculous nature of MLB umpiring... Davidson makes the piss poor call & everyone else pays the price.

Horrible... & tomorrow they'll be worse.

I don't mean to minimize the injury, but when I saw this picture I first thought "Are they reenacting the Who Shot J.R. storyline"? Then I pictured the Miller LiteGuards... Man Down!!

Braunie may have an upper-respiratory infection (or cold for the non-contusion speaking folk), but the lovely Ms. Fraser would certainly ease the discomfort, I'm sure.