LouisEly

That's a fair point coolhand, but let's also remember the ungodly sums that those teams - particularly the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs - spent on international free agents, to the point where the Red Sox did it illegally and the others stretched the rules as far as they would go. The Yankees made some shrewd moves (drafting Judge at #32 overall, signing Luis Severino for $225K), but when they signed Gary Sanchez for $3M in 2009 it was the highest signing bonus they had ever given to a position player, and the fourth highest they had ever given out to anyone. I don't need to go into what the Red Sox did to buy Moncada and their international free agents.

SF had by far the worst production at 3B last year (-3.5 wins above average per B-R). Moose would be a huge upgrade. If Cueto returns to form, a top three of MadBum, Cueto, and Samardzjia is as good as any top three out there, with the possible exception of the Nats. Unlikely, but if they could find a way to sneak into the playoffs, they could ride that shortened rotation a long way.

The Angels had the worst production at 2B of any team in the majors (-3 wins above average per B-R); while Kinsler is no All-Star, he's a significant improvement over the dumpster fire they had there last year. If he's average, that's a potential 3-win improvement. Then add in a full year of Justin Upton in LF over the dumpster fire they had there before they acquired him (Revere, Maybin, Young). And if Pujols sucks even more, DFA him and upgrade. (For as bad as Pujols was, his K rate was only 14.6%; while RBIs should not be a primary way to measure anyone, he had 100 RBIs because his OPS with RISP was .771 and his K rate with RISP was only 13.3%. In clutch situations, he puts the ball in play.)

Kevin Siegrist was very good in 2015 and 2016, but took a step back last year. I'd take a flyer on him returning to his 2015-2016 form. Only 28 next season. Not a LOOGY either - for his career he's been better vs RHB (.625 OPS-A) than LHB (.704 OPS-A). I don't think his walk rate is in line with what Stearns usually likes though. Also second the Tony Watson rec (Siegrist has a higher K rate and slightly lower FIP, but higher walk rate). If the Brewers plan on putting Hader in the rotation they will need another LHRP.

This goes back a ways. I believe it's why Bruce and Martinez brought back so little in trades last year, and why it was so easy to acquire Brinson, Phillips, Santana and Cordell in the first place. Guys with good bats get pushed to OF to fast track their bats to the majors, and then it creates a glut of OFs.

Cubs are taking on a lot of risk though. Giving this kind of money to FA relievers might keep them from spending on top-line starters (Arrieta, etc.). That's a good thing - decrease the quality of their starting pitching actually gives the Brewers a better chance.

Kinsler had a really odd NTC - all CA teams (Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Giants, A's), the NYC teams (Yankees, Mets), the Jays, Rays, and Brewers. He was OK with being traded to Miami, Cincinnati, Seattle, the White Sox, and the Phillies. Apparently didn't want to go to a high cost of living area (CA, NYC), Canada, lousy facilities (Rays), and... Milwaukee? He'd rather go to Cincinnati, Miami, or the Phillies?

Doug Pederson's career: 54.8% completion, 12 TDs, 2.3% TD, 19 INTs, 3.6% INT, 62.3 passer rating Matt Flynn's career: 61.3% completion, 17 TDs, 4.8% TD, 11 INTs, 3.1% INT, 85.9 passer rating Scott Tolzien's career: 60.3% completion, 2 TDs, 1.4% TD, 9 INTs, 6.2% INT, 61.6 passer rating Brett Hundley's career: 62.2% completion, 8 TDs, 3.1% TD, 9 INTs, 3.4% INT, 74.5 passer rating I'd say he's pretty comparable, if not markedly better than at least two of them. And take away one monster game against a Detroit Lions defense that wanted nothing to do with playing outside in GB on January 1st and Hundley is right there with Flynn too.

Cleveland's defense was ranked 10th in the league going into the game. (After the game they were ranked 12th.) The problem was GB defense giving up 21 to a horrible offense.

What I can't wrap my head around is Juan Nicasio getting 2/$17.5M. Dude was given away on waivers last August. A guy who gets 2/$17.5M wasn't worth anything in trade 3.5 months ago? Hell, why sign FA relievers to big contracts when teams are giving them away at the trade deadline(s)?

I see it a different way. The called him up because of what they thought of him and didn't use him all that much because he was coming off an injury and hadn't pitched since 2014. This, and I think Williams is the reason they let Hughes walk. They kept him on the roster and protected him from the Rule 5, even though he was unable to pitch, for a reason. I think the FA bullpen arms they are going after are more lefty than righty.

Geno, is that you?

Breakout: Braden Webb Took two months to adjust to pro ball, but posted OPS-A of .607 in June, .586 in July, and .656 in August. Had better peripherals (higher K/9, lower BB/9 and H/9, similar HR/9) than Zack Brown who was promoted in-season to Carolina; also had weird reverse-splits (.731 OPS-A vs RHB, but .637 OPS-A vs LHB). 2017 was his first season after being shut down after being drafted in 2016. Remember, the Brewers drafted him a round before Burnes. He's the one guy I should have looked closer at his stats and ranked higher in the poll. 2nd place: Lucas Erceg - rough start, but strong 2nd half showing lots of improvement. Bounce back: Adrian Houser Pitched great in limited innings at the end of the year, but coaches said he came back with a much more aggressive, attacking demeanor. He was in the majors at age 22; the talent is there, the only question is the injury rehab. 2nd: Phil Bickford - nowhere to go but up. Bust: Corey Ray I don't want to write that in any way, shape or form. But no improvement, if not a step back, after repeating the same level and an unimpressive performance in the AFL. There is just no evidence to suggest he is improving. 2nd: Jacob Nottingham - strong start last year, but faded. (Note: I don't think either will "bust"; I just think they won't progress, but will be given a couple more years to develop.) Sleeper: Drake Owenby Was pitching very well in 2016 before getting injured, and came back strong after starting the season on the DL. A smallish sample, but 11.5 K/9, 4.80 K/BB, 6.5 H/9 at Wisconsin. Don't know if he can start, but potential lefty bullpen piece. 2nd: Michele Vassalotti - 4.00 K/BB, 5.4 H/9 from a 16-year-old in DOSL. Step back: Bubba Derby Not going to maintain the 2.1% HR/FB he did at AA last year, and had a 4.60 FIP/4.85 xFIP at AAA. 2nd: whoever of the AA pitchers gets sent to Colorado Springs (Burnes, Ortiz, Peralta, Perrin, etc.)

For Hundley to have that high of a completion %, and 3 TD to zero INTs, but that low of a yards/dropback, that's on the play calling, not Hundley. The first TD pass to Adams was a thing of beauty; not an easy throw at all, but placed it perfectly. HNW is exactly right - Hundley is not Rodgers, and he is not Favre. We've had arguably two of the 10 best QBs in the history of the league here the last 25 years; you have to ratchet your expectations down. Starting QB does not mean Rodgers-level; it means an average starting QB.

Thomas (48), Illikainen (33), and Van Vliet (77, and back in the doghouse) with the fewest scholarship minutes of any players on the team. Not sure if he's hurt, but Illikainen hasn't played at all the last five games and Van Vliet only has played three minutes total the last five games. Willing to bet that at least two of them transfer at break; wouldn't be surprised if all three do. None of them have red-shirted, and I think they may be able to red-shirt transfer and still have 1.5 years of eligibility left but I could be wrong. I think UW will have at least two scholarships open up a year early to allow them to bring in some better talent.

35-46, 3 TDs, 0 INTs. Pretty darned good performance. Yes, it's the Browns, but defense isn't their problem - they were 10th in the NFL in total defense (17th in pass defense). Great performance against a good defense. How much snow did they get in Buffalo? Holy crap, looked like they were playing in a foot of snow in OT.

Yes, but you don't have more guys leave than stay. UW has had guys leave because of playing time, but it's been more like one every 2-3 years. Kaminsky sat on the bench for most of his first two seasons, as did plenty other Badgers waiting for their time. Not sure what happened to McKay; he didn't last a week. Taylor was a graduate transfer; he got caught having to play the 5 because Buzz couldn't recruit big guys, then was going to be second string because of Ellenson.

You can also download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware onto a jump drive on a separate computer then launch it from the jump drive on this computer. Sometimes malware can get on ancillary hardware (plug-in mouse/keyboard/etc.). Was anything else plugged into the laptop (mouse, keyboard, etc.)?

That's a lot of $dough for a guy who has spent a lot of time on the DL the last five seasons. Wade Davis must be asking for a lot more than $10M/year, otherwise logic says to resign the proven closer in Davis. Edwards needs to get his walks down before they turn the closer role over to him.

It's a pretty good trick, to the tune of 5.3 bWAR/4.7 fWAR over the last two seasons and counting. So far the two he traded him for have 0 WAR, and at the rate they're going, they're likely to finish with not much more than that.

So we're back to Broxton for Panik straight up? If SF needs a 2B back in the deal, send Orf in exchange for SF adding Miguel Gomez. Or add Villar and ask for Seth Corry and Matt Krook in exchange. Actually, I kind of like that option.

This is what gets me - if Bitcoin uses blockchain, then if they are "stolen"/acquired illegally (i.e. ransom, etc.) then can't they be traced or shut down/turned off? I'd be cautious of investing in Bitcoin right now. I could see governments collaborating to create a similar global currency with established value, which could drastically cut down on rampant inflation in 2nd/3rd world countries. Think of if the U.S. replaced the $100 with a similar "bitcoin" with ownership. Maybe a $1000 bill (yes, they used to exist) would be more likely, but "ownership" of that $100 bill is backed by blockchain. Each one has it's own unique identifier with digital transfer of ownership. I could see that drastically reducing ransoms/ransomware. Hard to demand money illegally when it can be digitally traced and/or turned off and devalued. That's one of the big benefits of blockchain - reduction of fraud.

Doubled in over a month. Insane. Bitcoin is an alternate global currency. Not sure how they evaluate the "value" of a coin, but seems like its value is based on stock-market like speculation (probably most similar to gold/precious metals). Right now it's value is being run up by pure speculation, like the real-estate flipping boom of 2005-2007 on steroids. Bitcoin uses blockchain to determine ownership, which is actually the interesting part of it. Blockchain is like a transparent, permanent ledger that cannot be changed. When all parties sign off on a transaction it gets entered into the "blockchain" and no one can delete it. Blockchain has the ability to drastically cut transaction costs/time. Think of buying a house - all of the money you spend on title insurance is for manual research of title history to make sure that nobody has a lien/claim on the title. If there were an open, transparent, permanent ledger that shows all historical transactions involving the title... no, or at least very minimal, title insurance costs and shorter closing time.

I have a gas-start wood-burning fireplace. How easy or difficult is it to convert that to gas burning with the glass pebbles (i.e. "fire on ice")? Is it as simple as taking out the iron grates that hold up the wood logs? If so, I can't figure out how to take those things out - seems like they are masoned into the fireplace wall.

Or fractions of each of the next four seasons.