LouisEly

This is what the HOA is for. To not have to go outside and do a darned thing on a day like today - priceless.

If anyone out there is a health insurance agent please drop me a PM. Looking for a high deductible/catastrophic policy to cover me for a couple of months while I make a career transition. Thanks!

I seem to recall reading something about Dickey's knuckleball being unique. IIRC, a traditional knuckleball like Wakefield and others throw usually is in the high 50's as far as speed. Dickey's knuckle supposedly is in the low 70's, which apparently makes any break come later and is harder to gauge and thus the high strikeout totals. This is a trade that you won't be able to judge for at least five years if not more. If the knuckle allows Dickey to pitch like he has the last three years over the next five to six and helps get Toronto into the playoffs it will be hard to say the Jays "lost" unless both prospects turn into perennial All-Stars. But prospects are just that - prospects. d'Arnaud has missed significant parts of two of his last three seasons (possibly 3 of his 5 full seasons - not sure about 2008, only played in 64 games that year); will he turn into Dave Nilsson, a good bat that can't stay on the field? Snydergaard had great numbers for a 19-year-old in low-A, but can he eventually make the adjustments to put up those numbers in AA and the majors? As with all young pitchers there is always an injury risk. Many a good prospect has failed to live up to expectations at the big league level. This one we'll have to wait quite a while to see what happens.

Baldkin, you are neglecting the impact that injury history has on the value of a player. In the NBA, where you only have 15 roster spots per team and no real minor league to stash/develop talent, an injury that sidelines a player for a significant period of time has a much bigger impact than football where you have a 53-man roster or baseball where you can reach down to the minors and replace a guy. Bogut's injury history significantly decreased his trade value, much more than you think. While the article says that GS would have traded either Curry or Ellis, it doesn't say that they were interchangeable in the deal. The Bucks might of had to give up more in order to get Curry.

Anyone know why Matt Thomas chose Iowa State? I know it's not that far from Onalaska, but Madison isn't far either. Hoiberg sounds like a good recruiter, and they have six seniors this year so there will be opportunity for playing time right away next year. Bo's style of play, or general reluctance to play freshmen have anything to do with it? Sounds like UW or Marquette weren't even finalists with him. I can understand not choosing Marquette because of the depth at guard there.

Melvin is likely taking a gamble that the longer he waits the less leverage a free agent has and the shorter the deal he can sign someone to. I think he likes the young guys to start, and wants one veteran on a reasonable contract for insurance if one of the young guys gets hurt. This is kind of like my fantasy football strategy; I was in a salary cap league ($100) and you could buy any player you want until you reached the salary cap. Early in the draft I would bid up players I didn't want so other more desperate people reached their cap limit, and then I got the second-tier players for cheap and had depth. One year that I won I got Frank Gore late in the draft for $1, when the top RBs went early for >$30.

Great discussion - would love to see more of you over in Lambeauleap.net: http://forum.lambeauleap.net/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=1803&start=20

Ellis has one very important NBA skill - the ability to create his own shot. That's the difference between a starter and a marginal bench player. Look at a guy like Steve Novak - lights out shooter and scorer in college, but a bench player in the pros. A couple of years ago I happened to be in a bar after a Clippers game and a couple of the Clippers assistant coaches walked in. I talked with them briefly and brought up Novak because they had recently acquired him, and one of the coaches said right away that he "can't create his own shot". Ellis has the athleticism to though. Half the battle is getting an open look just to have a shot; otherwise you just end up heaving up a bad shot with one second left on the shot clock, and those don't go in either. Ellis' shooting % from both 2 and 3 are well below his career norms; yet he is scoring because when you can create your own shot you often get fouled, and Ellis' free throw % this year is well above his career norm. If he can get his shooting % up to his career average he will be a very valuable player.

Can't believe no one has started this thread yet. Not sure what to think of UW; Florida is Florida, and Creighton is a better team than people think. But they have to have better perimeter defense than they got on McDermott and Wragge, and they can't have Brust go 2-12 and 0-5. Already thin at G, Gasser's injury is really going to hurt them. The silver lining is that Marshall will get more experience, and if last night is an indication of his potential he could be a stud. Marquette is missing Todd Mayo due to academic ineligibility; fortunately they are deep at G with the transfers in of Lockett and Thomas. They can ill afford an injury to one of the four players they have that are 6-7 or taller. Not much help there next year either - Burton, Wilson, and Johnson are very good recruits, but I wish they could have gotten Toby Hegner or even Nick Fuller instead of Dawson. Kyle Washington or Luke Fischer would have made an outstanding recruiting class. Discuss...

Bucks made 2-16 threes and Charlotte was 27-30 from the line. If each makes close to their season average in those categories, the Bucks win.

The ballot distributed to MVP voters says we must consider the “actual value of a player to his team.” Is there any higher form of value to a team than becoming the biggest factor in that team earning a playoff berth? In a sense, Cabrera’s contribution to the Tigers’ division title might have been more important than the Triple Crown itself.

"Winning isn't about "veteraness", it's about relative talent, and the Brewers need to keep as much talent stockpiled as possible. " The A's were supposed to be a much better team than the Tigers because they had more wins despite supposedly playing in a tougher division, and the Nationals had the best record in baseball. Neither team made it to their LCS, much less the World Series, getting bounced by the more "veteraness" of the Tigers and the Cardinals. For all those great "Moneyball" Oakland teams of the 2000's, only one made it as far as the ALCS and not one made it to the World Series. Winning in the post-season when the pressure and cameras are on, usually takes a little more than talent.

When is the last time that you have been able to say "your first place Milwaukee Bucks" more than two games into the season? Yes, it is only six games, but usually they are at least two games back at this point.

The bad part about this is that Miami could have been a good trading partner with the Brewers for Mat Gamel if the Brewers are in fact trying to sign Hart to an extension. Miami needs a 1B and Gamel, at league minimum for two more years and under control for 5 years, would have value to a Miami team looking to shed payroll. One year of Josh Johnson at $13.75M would have almost perfectly fit the Brewers needs. Don't know who else would need to have been included with Gamel - as long as it wasn't Peralta - Johnson would've been almost the perfect solution. Miami could still be a trading partner as they still need a 1B, but I don't think Ricky Nolasco is worth $11.5M and even if the Marlins pick up some of that salary he isn't the top-of-the-rotation talent the Brewers need for 1/2 years. I think the Brewers can get just as good of a FA pitcher as Nolasco for less than $11.5M and not have to give up young talent. I don't see much bullpen help that Miami has to offer either; any bullpen talent they have is young and cheap, and they aren't giving that up.

For four years Josh Prince couldn't hit a bull in the behind with a banjo. Now this? I guess he is only 24; given that peak physical maturity isn't until around 27 he could still be developing. His walk rate is what is really interesting - 74 in 596 PAs last year. Compare that to Scooter Gennett - 28 in 573 PAs, a slight improvement on 27 in 601 the year before. Yes, he is two years younger than Prince, but he is also 3-4" shorter and has a smaller strike zone.

If you read the link it said Gonzalez "chooses" free agency. Use of the word "chooses" implies that it was Gonzalez that had the option.

Dave, I agree with your premise. However, if my calculations are correct, the top 5 starting staffs in the NL based on OPS-A (WAS, LAD, ATL, SFG, STL) average start length was 5.77 to 6.04 IP; 3 inning games for a bullpen is the average. I have the Brewers at 5.67, but some of that was impacted by lifting young guys late in the season due to pitch count limits and the Grienke fiasco of starting 3 consecutive games, once getting tossed in the first inning. I think the impact on the bullpen was due more to who was in it, than how much they were used.

- Melvin talked about how he could go in house for his rotation but then the team would be spread to thin if an injury occured so he will probably look to FA for a starter. Mentioned Edwin Jackson like you said and also refered to Lohse as the 2nd best starter available and never mentioned Anibal Sanchez. - He specifically said its time to give Rogers and Peralta a shot in the rotation. Almost made it seem like Estrada and Fiers would battle it out for the 5th spot in the rotation with the other guy joining Axford, Henderson and Kintzler in the bullpen as a long reliever. - He said we can expect 3-4 new guys in the bullpen this year. He mentioned he wants a lefty but not if isn't a quality one. - It didn't sound like he was too keen on testing the trade market as he doesn't want to give up his young arms. Then he talked about having 8-9 guys between AA-AAA as legitimate prospects who will pitch in the big leagues. [sarcasm]Bullet point #1 means he is looking at anyone other than Jackson and Lohse.[/sarcasm] Based on bullet points #2 and #3, I would not be surprised if he were targeting Francisco Liriano as a lefty bullpen arm; while no longer an ace, he could step in at least as a replacement level starter if any of the young guys get hurt and provide experience as well as go multiple innings as a reliever. I was thinking Narveson for this role, but he is a big question mark coming back from injury. Liriano posted a .605 OPS-A vs. LH hitters last year, a 1st inning OPS-A of .594 vs all hitters (LH and RH), and a 1st PA OPS-A of .703 (all hitters) so he certainly could be an effective LH reliever. (His 2nd PA OPS-A is pretty good too - .716) No one is thinking Liriano is what he was in 2006. But in the right role (LH relief, spot starter) he could provide value, and if there is a mechanical issue causing the increase in walks the last two years that a pitching coach can pick up on and correct he could have some upside. I understand the comparisons to Parra, but Liriano had a much lower OPS-A vs. both RH and LH hitters as well as 1st PA OPS-A. He is not Parra.

I thought the Brewers had the option on Gonzalez, but apparently not: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Brewers-SS-Gonzalez-off-DL-chooses-free-agency-55692822

I think part of the problem is the LDS, LCS, and World Series being on different networks. As a fan, I'm not sure what channel to look on. Are the games on TBS or TNT? Now the World Series is on Fox. I know that in football the Super Bowl is often on a different network than the playoffs, but the Super Bowl is one game where the date/time is set well in advance, not random games based on outcomes of prior games. As for TBS and TNT, they are not networks I watch so I'm not exposed to reminders about games & times. I'll watch Fox because of football, but don't really have a reason to watch TBS or TNT. ESPN doesn't have a stake in the playoffs (no games on ESPN or ABC), so when it comes to SportsCenter they are going to lead with football because of their pre-game and Monday Night Football. They are going to do very little promotion of the baseball playoffs because their competitors profit from the ratings. For me, I think the biggest thing was that 3 of the 4 teams in the playoffs were 3 of the 4 teams I hate the most - Cardinals, Yankees, Giants. Once the Orioles lost to the Yankees I was pretty much done. I rooted for the Tigers, but simply because I hate the Giants.

The last sentence, because 20 years ago there was no such Grammy for "Best New Electronic Artist", "Best Electronic Album", etc. There are so many different Grammy categories now that it seems like everyone and their brother gets one. Skrillex I'm hot and cold on. He's authored two of my favorite tracks to come out the last two years ("Bangarang" and "Breakin' a Sweat (Zedd remix)"), but that may be more of a statement about what the general state of music is right now. Some of his stuff I find annoying ("Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"). Knife Party is kind of the ultimate hot/cold with "Bonfire" - half of the song I love, half I can't stand. So I put into Goldwave and make my own edit.

39 - Cabrera, but it is very close. This isn't the MTOPIB Award (Most Talented Overall Player in Baseball). It's the Most Valuable Player. I think Cabrera was more valuable to his team than Trout was to his. Yes, wins in June & July count the same as wins in August & September, but when everyone gets tired in August & September Cabrera stayed consistent where Trout wilted and it showed - the Angels finished 12-10 and Detroit finished 15-7. Yes, the Angels played in a supposedly tougher division but Detroit is still playing and the Angels are out on the golf course. To me, that gives the edge - a very slight edge - to Cabrera. The word "valuable" is by its definition arbitrary. So is this award.

It's strange reasoning because of how close it is. The are both deserving, so you can't look at obvious statistics and have to split hairs and look at the minutia. I don't care if Trout is a 20-year-old rookie. This isn't Rookie of the Year or Prospect of the Year, it's MVP.

Cabrera volunteered to switch positions to accommodate Fielder. He volunteered to play a position he hasn't played regularly since 2007. The act of switching positions voluntarily to accommodate another player to try to make your team better weighs more to me than actual defensive metrics, subjective or objective. Cabrera accounted for a higher percentage of his team's WAR than Trout (I believe someone quoted 33% vs. below 25%). It could be argued that Cabrera was more valuable to his team than Trout. Rickey Henderson won one MVP, a year with his 10th highest SB total, finished 10th in the MVP the year he stole 130 bases, and never finished higher than 10th in any of the years he stole over 100 bases. Vince Coleman never finished higher than 11th in MVP voting in any of the years he stole over 100 bases. I place very little value on SBs in determining the MVP. You can argue that RBIs are a factor of having opportunities. Runs are also a factor of having guys behind you who can hit. Each statistic is dependent on teammates. I'll argue that RBIs is also a function of not buckling under pressure. Trout had an amazing year. But Cabrera shined in August and September whereas Trout wilted those two months. Yes, the Angels won more games than Detroit, but Cabrera to me was more valuable to his team than Trout. Trout is deserving, but I give the nod to Cabrera.