RockCoCougars

That's what I was thinking. I'm now too lazy to even consider pulling my clubs for 9 on the local pasture that I play on.

I honestly can't see both Counsell and Kotsay making it through the season (unless they are 'injured') if the Brewers go out and make the needed roster tweaks...power bat off the bench, perhaps a backup catcher, etc.

This is when wrestling was cool. Did anyone like Dusty?

I'm guessing that the younger set really likes the Summerfest lineup this year. I say this because I'm old, and frankly I think it sucks. I can't see even one act that they have within the classic rock realm that I'd make the effort and spend the cash to attend for.

When I heard Uke talking about this on the radio today, I thought that the board would be blowing up. Only 8 posts? I'm disappointed in you guys... And no, I wouldn't mind giving him a look see if he's healthy, perhaps as part of a bigger deal perhaps throwing Boston a couple million of his salary if they kicked in Scutaro for some middling prospects. EDIT: Didn't know Lowrie was injured, so this is probably a pipe dream. I'll send them Yuni as well if they'd like....

I strongly disagree. I said it the day that it happened, and I'll say it now. Hardy's demotion was a bush league move, motivated solely by the desire to mess with his service time. He was having a down season in '09, but not bad enough to be optioned to the minors. Things look even worse now that Escobar's career path looks to be that of a light hitting Royce Clayton on the upside.

Rock should ask Prince 'if he's talked to his dad yet'.

It's kind of ironic that Selig will be fighting this, because this is precisely the loophole that was used as the only way to get baseball back in Milwaukee back in 1970.Different situations though. The Pilots were basically an untenable joke in Seattle with their ownership and stadium situation. The Dodgers are fine in terms of their basic operations and stadium. They just need an owner that isn't trying to milk the team to pay off his divorce.Right and I'm not complaining by any means. I read an interesting book or story on this once. It's amazing to think in this day and age that MLB awarded a franchise to Seattle. They had a shoestring ownership, no solid stadium deal and were playing in a very old minor league park. I remember reading that workers were nailing down new bleacher seating the morning of opening day. I think the original ownership group had a deal after the '69 season to local interests that fell through. It seems that the baseball owners were still extremely po'd at Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin about the anti-trust suit filed against the NL when the Braves moved, because outside of San Diego, I don't think any of the cities expanded into for '69 had a better situation than Milwaukee.

I agree that Furcal is the likely option, but it would be nice if they at least asked about Hardy first. If they pay Furcal for half a season, it might inhibit some other late season tweaks that should be made (power bat off the bench, vet reliever, etc.)- that said, if Furcal could drink a potion of youth and get back to even 85 percent of what he was offensively 5 years ago, this offense would be absolutely sick

Jackson can score, but if he is the undisputed top scoring threat, it's going to be a bad team. if they want to win, the Bucks need a shooting guard who can score consistently both by shooting the three and getting to the line. Basically they need a Ray Allen or a 2006 Michael Redd. There look to be a lot of free agent shooting guards out there- some aging ball hog 'scorers' like McGrady and Vince Carter, and young guys like Affalo, Smith and Young who will likely stay where they are or be tremendously overpaid. I would be interested in Jason Richardson, but I have a feeling that I wouldn't be when I see the contract that he'll get. I think that if Redd is amenable to returning on a one year deal at a much reduced rate, you have to give him a look as well.

It's kind of ironic that Selig will be fighting this, because this is precisely the loophole that was used as the only way to get baseball back in Milwaukee back in 1970.

Most of these Japanese guys have come with a relatively large amount of hype. In my view, the only two that lived up to it have been Ichiro (who has far surpassed it) and Matsui. Nomo had some good seasons, but he never really lived up to his billing after the rookie year. Many of the other pitchers have been colossal busts (Irabu, Dice, etc.). I hate to pick on just the Japanese, so I'll add that the same thing could basically be said for the Cubans who have defected in the past 15 years (outside of the Hernandez brothers). Big money international bonus babies are a tremendously risky proposition.

I agree that Reyes and Kemp have put up similar stats (though I would argue not quite as good as Prince), but I guarantee you if the season ended today, Prince would take the MVP vote by a landslide for precisely the argument you mentioned. First place team vs. nearly last place teams. I wouldn't be surprised if Braun finished second.

I think that the Orioles will trade Hardy within the next month or so, because they are pretty much out of the race and something like 3 of their top 10 prospects are SS. I also think that they are going to get a nice haul for Hardy- as in one highly rated prospect or a few decent prospects- simply because there is a big time shortage of SS in baseball, including on a handful of contending teams. With Hardy's history of injury and streak power, I'd be inclined to test the market right now if I'm Baltimore.

If the season ends today, Prince is MVP and it's not even really close. The Brewers could trade Prince for a package of the Baseball America #1, #2 and #3 prospects and the fans would probably still show up at Miller Park with burning pitchforks that night.

I don't doubt that Hardy wouldn't want to come back to Milwaukee, but he doesn't have much say in the matter. On the other hand, I could see the problem lying more with Melvin. Could he go full circle and re-acquire Hardy, basically admitting his mistake? Probably not, who knows what went down behind the scenes back in '09? I still that that it makes a lot of sense to ask about him though.

That's what I'm thinking. Now to get a shooting guard who can average 18 or more points a game.

In the Colorado games I watched, they were very porous on defense giving up lots of fast break point. Burks was a nice offensive weapon, but I actually thought that Lacedarius Dunn from Baylor was a better all around player in the Big 12. Unfortunately, he's a little short for a NBA SG, so I believe he went undrafted. Plus he's like 3-4 years older than Burks, but he's the sort of guy that I wouldn't mind bringing in as an UDFA.

Jackson will be a decent scorer, especially on a bad team, but he's not a very good shooter. This team needs someone who can shoot from medium to long range consistently....don't run me out of here for saying this, but Jason Richardson would be a great fit for this team. When Delfino is your number one scoring threat outside, you have issues. This is where Ridnour was missed last season in a big way.

If Bogut doesn't make that much of a difference then why is he a good guy to build around?When I say 'build around' I'm not talking as a franchise player. That said, good centers are nearly impossible to find. If the Bucks had a prolific scorer, along with a point guard who could efficiently distribute the ball, I think Bogut would get that much better. The problem is finding that guy- which I will give you will have to be through the draft. I saw no one resembling that this year.

I think that it's time to start inquiring about Hardy. Just find out if the Orioles are willing to throw the towel in yet, and if so see what they're looking to get. They will very likely be double digit games back by the end of the weekend. I'm a fan of Furcal for a lot of reasons, but at this point, there are just too many question marks (injuries, now the Dodgers are looking to move him to 2b). Because of these issues and his salary, he could be a guy that's available in August as a plan B or C.

I hear you, trwi, you have good arguments. That said, I don't think Bogut makes that much of a difference. I think he's a good guy to build around, and I think he could be in the top half dozen centers in the league if everything went right, but I'm not fooling myself in thinking that he can be the main guy on a championship team. It follows that how many more wins will you get with Bogut as opposed to a Kurt Thomas/Mark Pope type combo? I'd say that it wouldn't be more than 5 or so. That said, I think that Bogut could be a nice secondary player on a championship team, so I'd prefer to keep him around. The major problem with the Bucks being bad is that they are in a division with Cleveland, Detroit and to a lesser degree, Indiana- with a ton of games against the likes of Washington, Charlotte, Toronto, New Jersey and the like. It would be easier for them to tank if they were in the West in a tough division.

Let's be honest. I'd say the odds are over 80% that neither Burks nor Harris will ever play in an all star game. I liked the Harris pick, but I'll admit that I'd be happy if Harris becomes a non-impact starter/6th man and has a Battier like career, but the odds are probably even stacked against that. I hear the rebuilding thing, but you lose me on the point of giving an asset like Bogut away. He has shown the potential to be an all star type center, but his injuries have kept him off the court. He is at least outwardly amenable to staying in Milwaukee as well, which is a huge plus. I think that you have to build around him. I don't get the idea of trading him, taking big money stiffs back in return plus a lottery pick in a weak draft. This whole 'get bad to get good' thing is a crap shoot at best. I don't think that planning to get bad is entirely necessary. Look at Seattle, they heisted Ray Allen for the Bucks- I doubt that they were planning to tank when they made that trade (though they later flipped him for Green when they were moving). They then got lucky and hit the lottery for Durant jumping from 5th to 2nd. The other main example that I use here in Tim Duncan, same thing. David Robinson goes down, then the Spurs jump in the lottery. Being terrible isn't good enough, you have to be lucky as well. Ask the Timberwolves, who've been terrible outside of a 3-4 year window and have been getting screwed in the lottery for the better part of 20 years. How about Vancouver/Memphis or the Clippers? Those teams are looking a better, but both have had rebuilding processes that have lasted for over a decade while getting high lottery picks almost annually during that time. Another thing to consider is that the Bucks could probably drop Bogut and Jennings for nothing and still win 25 games in the East. They'd have a better chance at being bad in the West.

Point taken. I was just pulling a prognostication out of my rear based on the Twins luck in recent years against the Crew. They almost pulled out a lucky win last night, taking the lead on a three run homer after the Brewers were stymied by a ground rule double that cost them a run.

First of all, isn't there a salary floor in the NBA? What is the goal here, to assemble a team of highly paid stiffs to lose as many games as possible, then wait for their contracts to expire to sign more stiffs because no decent free agent will come to Milwaukee? In this case, the draft would be the highlight of the year a la the 80's LA Clippers. Memphis is decent now. They should be, they've been picking in the lottery for the better part of 15 straight years. I know that OKC is held up as an example of a great rebuild, but once again, without Durant they'd probably be picking in the lottery. They have been far from perfect, basically trading Ray Allen for Jeff Green, and I still think James Harden is going to bust as well. That doesn't really matter, because any team with Durant would be good. Put Durant on the Bucks and they'd be a top 4 team in the East. Obviously Durant proves that good things can come from the draft, but what are the odds of landing a guy with his talent and personality (e.g. wouldn't bail from Milwaukee at the first opportunity- before any substantive rebuilding can develop). Tim Duncan is the only other guy in recent history with that mix that I can recall. Heck, Kareem was the father of the 'I want out of Milwaukee' movement.