joepepsi

Is this the Chris Smith that was a 1st round draft choice for the Orioles (lefty) back in 2001 or the Chris Smith that was a 4th rounder for the Red Sox (rightie) in 2002?

If the season goes sour without Braun and Hall continues to hit well, I suspect you'll see Billy traded by the deadline and Gamel brought up.

Well, here's another response, without me even responding to their previous response. This explains everything pretty clearly. They have no intention of ever adding FSN-Wisconsin as a fulltime RSN. Response (Chris W ID W2718) - 05/02/2009 11:57 AM Dear Mr. Xxxxx, Thanks so much for the follow up email. I am terribly sorry to hear about your concerns regarding your local RSN and blackouts although I appreciate the opportunity to assist you. DIRECTV has indeed determined your in market RSN to be FSN North. This is determined by the proximity of teams such as the Brewers, Bucks and Wild. You stated that since you are in FSN North area you should be in market to watch the Twins. Unfortunately, this is inherently incorrect. As per the MLB directly, you and your zip code are specifically in the Brewers, not Twins, designated market. Please refer to http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/su...affiliateId=nhlcombopage for confirmation. Entering your zip code, 54601, clearly indicates as per the MLB, that you are in the Brewers market. DIRECTV does not offer FSN Wisconsin as a 24 hour channel although some cable companies, regionally, may. As such, no DIRECTV customer has assigned, as a primary RSN, FSN Wisconsin. As previously mentioned, FSN Wisconsin is utilized by DIRECTV strictly for overflow games as an alternate channel for those customers in qualifying markets. As already determined above, by the MLB, you are not in a qualifying market for Twins. Both the MLB and DIRECTV, the latter as a direct result of the former, consider you out of market from the Twins territory. While I appreciate your concern that it is a DIRECTV decision not providing your zip code with Twins games, please understand that these restrictions are very much imposed on satellite providers from sports leagues and associations. DIRECTV would very much like to provide every customer every RSN and game from around the country, however, we are obligated to honor and enforce restrictions as set forth by the aforementioned bodies and government regulations. Thank you again for writing. Sincerely, Chris W ID W2718 DIRECTV Customer Service

Well here's today's response: Response (Allen I. - 100184050) - 05/01/2009 04:25 PM Dear Mr. xxxxx, Thanks for writing. I would like to inform you that the area of in-market availability for each Regional Sports Network (RSN) is determined by companies like Fox Sports Direct, which provide the RSN to us. The constraints under which our system, C-Band satellite systems and cable systems operate differ slightly, which is why RSN territories sometimes differ from one delivery system to the next. Most people get the same Regional Sports Network from DIRECTV as they would from cable. However, because Fox Sports Direct bases RSN service areas on zip codes for satellite customers and on county boundaries for cable customers, in some areas of the country your home RSN from us might be different from your home RSN on cable. This difference is necessary because of the technical differences in how the satellite and cable signals are distributed. Furthermore, I just wanted to let you know that we received your email and I have forwarded it for special handling. A specialist will respond as soon as an agent is available (likely within 48 hours). For immediate assistance, please call us at 1-800-531-5000. Sincerely, Allen I. Employee ID 100184050 DIRECTV Customer Service *yawn* [edited for language] (edit: language --1992)

The point is last year he posted an .860 OPS in AAA. His obp was 100 points higher than his respectable .286 batting average. He put up those kind of numbers in the lower minors way back in 2002 before, as you point out, sort of fumbling around for several seasons. Since he was only 25 last season the hope is he's back on track and can still develop into a useful major league hitter. Granted a 26 year old rookie is hardly a blue chip prospect, but it's worth seeing what he can do, especially when the alternative is just to cut him loose.

I prefer DirecTV too, but I'm continuing this argument for now. It sounds like you've been down the same road jhart05. Here's the latest response from DirecTV. Notice how it just restates what they wrote in emails above. Dear Mr. xxxx, Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear about the frustration you've experienced regarding the recent blackouts. I've reviewed your account and I'll be happy to address your concern. DIRECTV includes regional sports networks (RSNs) for customers all over the country. The RSN available for your zip code (54601) is FSN North, channel 668. You're able to receive these events on this channel and the overflow channels that are made available for other events. However, other RSNs included in your programming package will more than likely be blacked out, as these are considered out of market teams. I am sorry you're being blacked out of these events, but we must honor our agreements with the leagues and other owners of broadcast rights. DIRECTV has to pay close attention to these restrictions. If you'd like to watch the TWINS play, we offer the MLB EXTRA INNINGS. You may find more information about this package online at directv.com/mlb. We appreciate your feedback and I'll be sure to forward it to the appropriate department for future consideration. Thanks again for writing. Sincerely, Rachel V ID 400806 DIRECTV Customer Service Here is my reply.

Hardy in April 2008: 234/305/298

At this time of year when teams are still assessing the talent they have on the 40 man roster, Nelson could sneak through waivers and have a tough time finding a team if he declared FA. But you don't risk losing a player in April after only 16 plate appearances. Right now they can afford to carry him and hope he starts hitting in the next month. He's a lefty who's shown good power and plate discipline in the minors. It's worth giving him 150-200 major league plate appearances to see what he can do. I'm envisioning a game winning ph double or homer in a couple games against the Cubs and Cards late in the heat of summer.....

Ok, steve267268, I took your suggestion and email this reply: Thank you Megan, It is DirecTV's choice to designate FSN Wisconsin as an alternate channel. For many years cable companies across Wisconsin have been carrying FSN-Wisconsin as their RSN, not the Minnesota FSN channel. Only DirecTV refuses to give Wisconsin viewers their RSN. Also, there are times when Milwaukee Brewers games are broadcast on a local Milwaukee affiliate, WMLW instead of FSN-Wisconsin. Last Tuesday, April 28th is a case in point. Last year when this happened, DirecTV made the game available on another RSNa. It was listed Tuesday as being on ch. 652, but the game was blacked out. When these games occur, FSN-Wisconsin has the rights to carry the game outside of the WMLW viewing area. That means cable subscribers throughout Wisconsin still get to watch the game, but DirecTV customers are blacked out. I watched the game at a neighborhood bar that had Charter Cable. Others watching with me had come from an establishment that couldn't get the game because they had DirecTV. We all sat together wondering we didn't have Charter Cable at our homes instead DirecTV. It seems to be simple for cable systems to figure out, but DirecTV seems not to care much. I realize the blackout restrictions are complicated and outdated for MLB. But clearly this isn't a blackout issue if the local cable companies are not blacking out the games. It speaks more to DirecTV just being too lazy to try and give the customer the programming they are promised. I really enjoy and prefer DirecTV, but it's frustrating after 5-1/2 years as a subscriber to see your company just doesn't really care much about this issue.

Thank for the advice steve. You point about FS-Wi being on cable is a good one. Everytime the Brewers are on WMLW they are still available in my area (La Crosse) on Charter on FSN. So if FSN-WI exists for the cable channels 24/7, then it must exist for DirecTV/Dish to pick up. They are just being lazy. Your customer service experience reminds me of my friend's experience during a recent interview with CenturyTel for a customer service phone job. She took a written test and easily passed. Next, was the head to head interview. Interviewer gave my friend 2 situations: "An angry customer calls and say the customer service person they were talking with hung up on them and now they want to speak with a supervisor. Do you: a) hang up on them too b) tell them a supervisor isn't available but you can help them c) get a supervisor" (She answered, "C") Next situation: " You are to present a list of offers and specials to each caller. One person calls with a quick question, says they are pressed for time and don't want to hear about any offers. Do you: a) help them quickly and not make any offers b) present the offers before you will agree to help them. (She answered "A") At this point the interviewer stood up and said, "thank you for applying but you don't fit our company profile." Then, verbatim, she said, "you care more for the customer than for company policy. A customer is never allowed to speak with a supervisor and you must always present offers to every caller."

Maybe no one cares but I thought I'd post some email correspondence I've had with DirecTV this week. I live along the Mississippi and have been a DirecTV subscriber since 2003. Until this Spring I always received both Brewer and Twins games. Strangely enough the Twins' road games were often blacked out, but the home games were always available to me. This year they are all blacked out. I've called DirecTV before about blackout issues, but the phone people don't really know anything and only read you the MLB blackout rules. I thought this week I'd send them an email: "Customer (Entered by Jenelyn QU. - 100166663) - 04/27/2009 01:03 PM Hello, I have been a DirecTV subscriber since 2003. Every baseball season I have received both Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins games on FSN and FSN-Wi. This year the Twins games are suddenly blacked out, even though they air on my regional sports network. I want to keep getting the Brewers, but I wonder why you have suddenly chosen to black out the Twins' games. Please don't blame it on MLB's blackout policy--nothing has changed with that this year. Instead this appears to be a decision made by DirecTV regardless of what I want. Understand, please, I still want to get the Brewer games on ch. 669, but would also like to start receiving the Twins games on 668, and I always did in the past. After all, 668 is the RSN you give me. It is only blacked out during Twins games. Please correct this problem. Thank you." "Response (David G ID U5962) - 04/28/2009 05:50 AM Dear Mr. xxxxx, Thanks for writing. I realize how frustrating this must be for you and certainly understand your concern about the Twins games. Due to contractual agreements between Major League Baseball and FSN North, unfortunately, the Twins games are no longer available in your zip code. Regional sports networks (RSNs) shift their coverage areas to avoid overlap when new RSNs launch, or for other reasons, including zip code updates from various sources such as sports leagues. We update our zip code database to reflect changes the RSNs have made. Customers in these zip codes may lose or gain one or more RSNs, or may start receiving a different RSN. We try to notify customers who are affected by changes to their RSN(s) when we can, but not all customers receive notification. Thanks again for writing. Sincerely, Dave G. U5962 DIRECTV Customer Service" "Customer (Entered by Alexander C. - 100162796) - 04/28/2009 08:46 AM Thank you for your response. But it begs the question why I don't receive FSN-Wisconsin (ch. 669) all the time, instead of still receiving FSN (668) all the time except during Twins games. 04/28/2009 10:47 AM I'm sorry to hear that your inquiry regarding the availability of the Minnesota Twins games remains unresolved. To better assist you, I have re-forwarded your email for special handling. A specialist will respond as soon as an agent is available (likely within 24 hours). For immediate assistance, please call us at 1-800-531-5000. We appreciate your further patience and understanding. Thanks again for writing. Sincerely, Alex C. Response (Megan G ID U6801) - 04/28/2009 08:23 PM Dear Mr. xxxxx, Thank you for writing back. I do apologize for any issues you have experienced with your games. Please understand that FSN Wisconsin, channel 669, is designated for overflow games as it is a alternate channel. If any available overflow games are available, you will be able to view them on this channel. Please keep in mind that DIRECTV is only a rebroadcasting company and we can only broadcast what we are authorized to. I hope you find this information helpful. Thanks again for writing. Sincerely,Megan G.

Refusing to watch espn or listen to talk radio solves this issue.

I'd never heard of the guy before yesterday! But good for him. They have games for the next 11 straight days. I won't be surprised if he starts on Sunday afternoon. I feel for Rivera who's finally being given the chance to play at least once in a while. Too bad for Vinnie too. His best chance was last Spring, but now I'm afraid his time has come and gone. He never should have skipped Spring Training for the WBC. He had a chance to beat out McGehee with a strong Spring. Too bad no one picked him up when he was DFA'd, 'cause like Iribarren he'll probably never get a shot in Milwaukee.

Once again the entire state is held hostage by WMLW. Thanks guys.

It is not listed as being available on channel 669 on DirecTV. Two weeks ago when this happened it was listed on channel 652. It is listed as being there again tonight. Last year they would carry the games on alternate RSN. Two weeks ago it was blacked out.

That is a very interesting way of looking at it, joepepsi. I haven't really thought of it that way but you are correct, great defense, work ethic, and of course some pop at the plate. During almost every one of his at bats I can't help but sing "Kissed by a Rose" by Seal. I have some of my fellow grounds crew buddies doing the same, I think he is Seal's long lost brother! Hunter's career OPS: .799Cameron's car OPS: .791 Factor in ballpark effects and *OPS+ for Hunter is 106; for Cameron 107. Cameron is older, so in the long run he's probably not as valuable. But on a year by year basis his value is equal; he just doesn't the "name", which is weird because it's Hunter who's played in the smaller media market most of his career.

When you realize the Brewers essentially got Torii Hunter at a fraction of the price you can't help but be excited about him. Truly a great signing.

Baseball's about making adjustments; whether is pitch by pitch, hitter to hitter, at bat to at bat, game to game, season to season. Frankly, I always thought the "hitters" era had more to do with expansion, the dilution of pitching through expansion and increased size in staffs, and a dozen or so extraordinarily talented power hitters who may or may not have benefitted from steroids. I think we've seen a greater focus on developing pitching in the 5-10 years. Questec may have expanded the strike zone as well. There seems to be more parity today than in the 90's. Moneyball seems to have shown teams how to build on a budget. After the 1994 strike many teams just quit trying, preferring to take the revenue sharing payouts and pocket the cash. Today, with the possible exception of the Nationals, every other team seems to be more invested in developing winning organizations.

The problem for Duffy is that Cameron is playing great. Braun and Fielder have been hitting well for the last week, Hart has been solid all month. You hate to sit these guys down just to give Nelson some at bats. McGehee can really only play for Weeks and Hall. Since he's a righty you don't get any platoon advantage. Plus, Weeks and Hall are off to solid starts after stumbling seasons last year; you hate to sit them down when they are on a roll. There's every reason to play Rivera at least once a series right now, and the lefty Counsell is justified in the lineup once a week or so. As the season goes on and there are fewer off days with more Sunday and Thursday "get out of town" games, there will be more chances for these guys to get playing time. Last week or so the offense has been clicking pretty well; you hate to mix it up too much right now.

Well I guess it would be the same ruling as if the pitcher hit a guy trying to steal 2nd.

But an IBB shouldn't count against the hitter. Generally speaking, the pitcher IBB's the hitter because he's scared to pitch to him. That hitter should be credit for that.

As long as we're talking about weird scoring rules, I think it's wacked the catcher gets putout credit for a strikeout. Kendall had 1025 PO last year!

So why do intentional walks count against the pitcher as a walk, but the batter doesn't get credited for a walk? And shouldn't a hbp count as a walk too?

Yup, that should cover at least 60% of his 2009 salary.

I think if you picked any group of former players you'd find most of them 'seem to "vanish" after a decade of retiring'. Another thing to consider, the great players often have really long careers, playing to age 40 or beyond. Dale Sveum's last season as a player he was 35. Billy Castro, 31. Willie Randolph, 37. Ken Macha, 30. Doug Melvin was 26 when he hung it up as a minor leaguer. Factor in the superstars are filthy rich and probably not as willing to go to the minors to coach, then work their way back up. In fairness you'll see a lot of former stars as Spring Training instructors.