GAME05

Well, and certainly players around the League pay attention to that sorta stuff, too. It's not like players are super eager to play in the cold of Green Bay, so especially when it comes to upcoming camp-cut FAs, here's an organization which'll pay you your million-dollar bonus even if it was pretty sure you wouldn't make the team.

There's also getting more of a true PG which the Bucks need whether Giannis is here or not.

He's said he loves Milwaukee and that he wants to pay for a contender. Nothing wrong with that. Ownership doesn't want to be the villains in booting Milwaukee's favorite player, so their out is "He didn't sign an extension so he had to go." And Giannis doesn't want to burn his bridge here, so he can say "I wanted to stay but they traded me." This is all just establishing the best possible PR for the inevitable trade. Sure would've loved to see him play his whole career in Milwaukee, but it makes sense as it is.

Some training competition would have made the most sense. Maybe he was mad about the pick and said something. But yeah, they've really been bungling the kicker situation for a good while now.

All else being equal, wouldn't Jett get first priority since there's room to play him across the infield? Wouldn't you hold Pratt back a little until you know he'd be able to get consistent time specifically at SS? Or is it wrong to assume that among the three that he's the top choice for SS? Or better to call up the guy on contract and hold Jett back a while to get Super 2 status?

I'm the same with Miz and I've been really happy. I figured he'd strike out 15 in 6 innings one outing and then give up 6 runs in the first inning the next. He's been way more consistent so far than I figured he would be. Sanchez has to be an overperform for as good as he's been against lefties so far. Last year he was somehow worse against L than R, so for him to be hitting well and adding 1b and DH duties is a big overperform. I expected a down year from Frelick, but yikes. But let's go ahead and mark Chourio up as "expected" since he's great and I see no reason he can't carry his current numbers through the rest of the season.

Aren't rain chains found mainly in Spain?

What about some kind of sponge to deaden the sound? Or would placing anything at a 45 degree angle to where the drip hits also deaden the sound?

I didn't think VanNess' problem was getting to the QB but that he was so terrible against the run and that's why Enagbare was getting more time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't LVN always rush up way above the QB and open a T/G lane instead of forcing the RB to try and go more outside? Hasn't that always been the bigger issue as opposed to him making sacks?

We did laugh about that, too. "Just you and a sea of middle-aged lesbians."

$77 for nosebleed seats to a Melissa Ethridge concert is insane. My black co-worker had never heard of her, so we played him some music and he said it was pretty good and he kinda liked it. So we got a kick out of imagining him being at the concert, "Like a polar bear nose in a snowstorm."

Boy, gonna end up spending about $150 to get the materials to do a "Laundry in the 17th Century" program. It's the kind of big, convoluted program co-workers scoff at, especially since our programs tend to be more "Here's something about beavers." But I've come to be known for creative/interesting programs and I think maybe this will be fun to do. It involves horse hoof trimmings and chamber lye (old pee) which should hold some interest. Plus I get to say "woman's work" without getting yelled at this time.

But isn't there a value in being able to delay a resolution on the position by a year? $15M for a $9M player who might be better with more playing time still doesn't seem that bad compared to $20M for a same-production FA or having to play a bunch of 1st- and 2nd-year players who aren't ready.

I've wondered the same thing. I decided 3b goes to the guy with the most raw power and they just have him put on another 20 lbs of muscle. With trainers and dieticians these days that wouldn't be too much of an ask. But really I think one or two will end up either traded for two months of a playoff run, or traded to add the high-end pitching prospect we lack. I really don't like trading prospects for the playoffs, but trading prospect excess for thinner prospect needs makes sense.

To finally have more than 2mb internet, Spectrum can drill a hole in my house big enough for the tech to craw through, for all I care. Even my boss was suggesting I "definitely don't" poison the big oak trees in my yard so the State would have to pay for their removal and I would have a clearer sky for Starlink. Three more weeks to wait. People at church always ask what's new and I struggle to come up with new ways of saying "Nothing". But it's this. This is what I'm looking forward to. Totally unrelated, I'm taller than most and it's become a thing for me to always sit directly in front of the same older lady at church every single week. We both laugh and she hits me with the bulletin. I keep suggesting I might change churches because I don't much like this one, and she says "But you can't, because I wouldn't be there." It's coming to be my favorite part of the week. Her husband usually wears his Ray Nitschke jersey to service.

Moving 6ths and 7ths to get a guy they really like seems great to me. Usually we read these long write-ups about the guys after the draft and that's the last we ever read their names. The run-stopper DL we got seems like he'll be a nice compliment to free up Wyatt to rush the passer more often. Really impressive work from LouisEly yet again. And that you have the ability to match up picks with how they fit the Packers' schemes is a really great addition.

Dexter Lawrence traded to the Bengals for at least the 10th overall pick. Great move for the Bengals.

Pratt? Isn't Jett the most logical next guy up? Plus if they're willing to move Jett around his rookie year, he'd be a big help making up for some of our outfield absences, too. Add in Jett's versatility would mean a little more playing time for Rengifo/Hamilton, which I sure wouldn't mind, plus I'd prefer them to Perkins/Jones/Matos. Or is this just a temporary thing and once Chourio/Yelich/Vaughn come back, the -offense/+defense of Ortiz is a lot more tolerable?

These are always great. Every year I never bother reading analysts because your reviews are always better. And I suspect if we went back, more accurate, too.

Cross Plains got golf-ball-sized hail. But at least the rain please send some of it my way. Some counties by me are starting water restrictions.

No QB picked Rounds 5-7 would surprise me.

Yah, getting 1G Spectrum internet on Saturday. They were trenching across the street a couple days ago. The salesman showed up yesterday and said he had to sell 17 houses per month or he loses his job. Brightspeed had done 3mb for a while and then they just dropped service. Elon Musk had a lot of tree coverage so only got me maybe 3mb. Living in the middle of nowhere (though not quite AKCheesehead nowhere) sure makes fast internet nice. Time to stream some baseball and connect to people via Playstation. Also apparently I say a half-hearted/monotone/sarcastic "Yay" a lot, but it doesn't bug me because if I have to have a 'thing,' that's not too bad.

I'm a hard-cap and hard-floor guy but I see no reason MLB revenue couldn't be audited every few years to re-jigger the cap according to new revenue totals. If the Brewers can't be in there, than I hope the Dodgers win the next eight WS in a row. It's the best thing to build enough momentum to actually fix this.

In my OOTP game I created two Leagues, no Divisions, divided roughly by the Mississippi River. Top four in each make the playoffs. It also required a two-team league expansion in the West to make things even. You'd create more fan interest with local rivalries (like Yankees vs. Mets or Milwaukee vs. Minneapolis) and you'd greatly cut down the miles players have to travel during the season. I know players have talked about going back to a 145-game season because more rest equals fewer injuries, as well as more doublheaders but they're 7-inning games, but also recognizing neither will happen. I favor a near-complete revenue sharing with owners keeping something, like a % of gate receipts, to ensure they have a positive income stream and a payroll cap/floor ensuring players get their 52% of revenue. I know teams have argued "Well maybe our good players are young, so we don't need to spend to a floor" but there's always room to add an expensive reliever on a one-year contract to meet that floor. Also the home manager should have the decision on whether or not the teams will use a DH for the upcoming series, but that's unrelated. There's also certainly some room to allow more arbitration years, too. Guys like Turang should be making more than $4m. Unless it can be the Brewers, I hope the Dodgers win the next 10 World Series in a row. Payroll disparity is by far the biggest problem in this sport. Short-term it gets you more eyeballs on the World Series because it better ensures NY and LA are involved, but long-term it's going to ruin engagement. Why should a potential fan in Cleveland or KC or Tampa Bay bother?

Which seems kinda pointless. It's here to stay and it's only going to grow from here, so whether a person likes it or not is pretty irrelevant.