TooLiveBrew

yoshii, I had similar thoughts a while ago, and mentioned Hernandez. Many people quickly made it obvious to me that I was incorrect. Doa is correct, Hernandez is simply not much of an upgrade over Estrada (if at all).

Posada... too expensive + too old = bad idea EDIT: Apologies to ya, Hammer, as I neglected to remember that Abreu has a $16 mil. team option. However, if the Yanks do pick that up, they'd have to eat much of that number to facilitate a trade to Milwaukee. Fwiw, the buyout on the option year (2008) is $2 mil. I think the fates of A-Rod, Posada, Rivera, etc. will play a large role in whether or not the option is exercised. Yes, I'm aware that exercising an option will likely take place before any potential FA transactions, but the 'home team' generally has a solid idea of whether or not they can retain potential outgoing FAs.

If Prince would have hit at a .377 clip he would have had 8 more hits with 11 more RBI's RBM, you simply can't infer this. You're comparing two different teams with two different OBPs. You're correct that a higher BAw/RISP will result in more RBI, but isn't that logical? Hawpe had more RBI due to the fact that he hit better with RISP, and had more opportunites w/RISP (or 2 out w/RISP, etc.). If Prince would have knocked in runs at a 71% clip while hitting only .220 he would have knocked in 20 more runs. Isn't it apparent why Hawpe's higher BA in such situations coupled with more opportunites in such situations leads to a higher rate of RBI? Prince would likely not have been able to drive in runs at such a percentage with such a low BA. Hawpe has nearly 20 more ABs in your sample - doesn't that jump out at you as a warning sign? Plain and simple if our best player had hit like Brad Hawpe the Brewers might still be playing like Hawpe's team is. What about the composite totals of the season? Prince's overall dominance in the overall totals is worth far more than any edge Hawpe has in one specific situation. If you comprised a list of RBI with less than two outs (and perhaps with runners not in scoring position), Prince would beat the crap out of Hawpe. What conclusion would that lead us to? RBI is a product of a player's teammates' ability to get on base more than it is a player's ability to hit in a specific situation. Could Prince performing better in the 2 out, RISP situation have led to more wins? Absolutely. But Hawpe hitting better in other situations (a la Fielder) would have led to more wins for Colorado, too.

Abreu's an unrestricted FA unless the Yanks renegotiate before the '15 days after the WS' rule. Posada is going to get big $$, and more years than you'd ever want to sign a catcher entering his age 37 season, but he clearly had a stellar 2007. A-Rod - I think - will be retained. Sbryl, the only 'we won't renegotiate if he opts out' I'd heard was from Ca$hman, not Steinbrenner. 2008 for NYY is looking mighty scary at this point, imho. Quite a few question marks, and more than one scenario where they're practically in rebuilding mode. Just watch the dollars fly this offseason! Irony being cruel, Carl Pavano still is under contract for one more year.

My wish for the trade - Botts + Benoit for Vargas + TGJ. If we needed to throw in more, I'd be surprised.

Hands 25 Dlk, not in any way to infer that your opinion... Braun fields the ball reasonably well (he's no vacuum, but he's ok) ...doesn't matter, that's a really, really, bad rating for hands. I think he reacts well and gets to some balls that other 3Bs may not, but he's not much with the glove at this point. I hope we can move him to LF this offseason - that 'he negates roughly 75% of his offense' quote made me sick to my stomach. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/sick.gif

Baseball in the middle of the night is a cool novelty once in a while, but I've had my fill of it after the Rockies-D'backs series. For those in the Pacific time zone, it's kinda cool to be able to watch an entire game after work!

Fox's baseball coverage. Not FSN, as I simply adore our FSN Wisconsin team effort. But Fox. Horrible announcing, horribly dumbed-down stats, and a terrible pregame show. Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!

Just finished watching Downfall, or, auf Deutsch, Der Untergang. It's a re-telling of Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker. It's in German with subtitles - quite well-translated, imho (a meager 4 yrs. in H.S. - loooong ago), and is a simply stellar film. If you can make it through the tense subject matter, it is simply spellbinding, and anyone that can make it past the 1 1/2 hr. mark simply could not describe anything but being glued to his/her seat with fascination, horror, and hope. The casting is stellar, and I'd describe the movie as more of an ensemble cast than a pic focused soley on Hitler himself. The actor who played Adolf Hitler (better than I ever could have guessed/hoped), Bruno Ganz, actually turned down the role of Oskar Schindler in Spielberg's 1993 epic. The acting, writing, direction, etc. are superb, and I recommend this movie to anyone with even the slightest interst in history. There is no way I could give this movie anything less than four stars. Incredible.

Thanks a bunch for the linkage, CJ. Unfortunately I'm at work, so hopefully there are some night games coming up.

Matt has a Phoenix-area fall OPS of 1089 now. That's some pretty serious hitting, kids. And I can't make enough of his lack of K's. If this keeps us, AA will be the fall-back in spring training. Wow. I'm chomping at the bit to see this guy play!

LaRussa, anyone?

No. It's real. Which is why it's soooo delicious. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/smokin.gif

Well, apparently the Steinbrenner-controlled Yankees love their factions. First it was Tampa v. NY (front office strategy...Tampa = Sheffield-style, NY = develop-from-within-style), now it's Hank-Hal! Season Two is on the way!

Please let Benoit make his way to Milwaukee. He's a guy others turned me on to, and I'd love for him to come in & help out of the 'pen. As for Laird, I don't know enough about him myself to weigh in - though his career numbers (and esp. 2007) are not very pretty. Thanks again for the homework, Madtown.

Wow, this LaPorta stuff has me all giddy! It's just crazy to think what we had this season is only the beginning. No kidding, sbryl. If this guy really can mash his way up to the bigs by the end of 2008, color me very impressed.

No kidding w-fan. I had student tix a few years, and felt the same thing. Too much of the, "Oh my gaaawd, let's totally get there halfway through the second period and, like, talk to our friends on our cell phooones! Then we can leave halfway through the third quarter - I don't even like basketball anyway" crowd. Give up your tickets to someone that cares! http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/mad.gif [my son] started watching last year, and likes to guess how many points the shot was worth. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/laugh.gif Too cute!

my sentiments exactly, invader. Take this quote, for instance - With so many questions surrounding the Yankees, it appears one decision has been made. Joba Chamberlain will move from the bullpen to the starting rotation in 2008, according to the report. "That's something I'll insist on," Hank told the New York Post[/i] Ugh. That type of attitude just makes for a bad situation with your personnell people ('I'll insist on that!' ). But, I guess that's how it's been ever since Steinbrenner took over, so why change now?

not to undercut your original question of 'how can I stop this,' as it clearly is really important, but at this point, why not just change your cell #? At least you can stop it temporarily while still trying to figure out how to stop it permanently.

Ahhhhhhhh...thanks, Automator. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/happy.gif

He's not afraid to go with the new-school cap. Or the half-Batman'ed brim! LOVE the Coo Coo respect, Valpo. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/smile.gif

I wish I could remember who has the Dusty Baker 'Lineups are like striped bass fishing...' quote for a sig. That quote should be required in the first post of any Brewers-Reds IGTs next season.

Doin' the Crew proud... http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20071013/capt.71c591cf4f8f4ffebbe4638c444828c2.people_t_i__ny115.jpg?x=269&y=345&sig=7GgzvYsLR_7WasJiKbSq8w-- or not... GUNS everybody! http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/happy.gif

As I thought I might....I really enjoyed it. I love that Parker & Stone unashamedly pursue jokes like "Turd Trimester." When the SP guys decide to do a send-up of someone, they pull no punches. The Bono theme music was awesome, especially when he was in Africa doling out some humanitarianism. I had no idea about the "King of Kong' doc you mentioned, bj - thanks for the tip.

How about the season that Curtis Granderson put together?: 38 Doubles, 23 Triples, and 23 Homers. Wow, nice find. That's crazy - especially considering that 13 of his 23 came on the road. Comerica is a triples park if ever there were one. 420' to CF!