GenoSeligPrieb

As a Chicagoan, I've got to back JBriggs. He's right. As he, or JoPal can attest, there's more trepidation when Dusty's Reds are mentioned! The Brewers aren't dismissed, but when you tune into WSCR, ComCast SportsNet or WMVP, whenever the Brewers float into the discussion, the overriding notion is that 'yeah, but they lost big chunks of their bullpen, we KNOW Kendall's not the answer, and Gagne is iffy." Not saying I agree, just what I hear around town. "I'm not sure where you heard this, but this is definitely not the "talk" that I've heard out of chicago, or what any of my friends who are Cubs fans believe to be the case." Definitely not? So...you're NOT from Chicago, Gopher74, and not privy to the local buzz every day, but you're ready to jump on JBriggs for relating what he's hearing around here? Brilliant! Maybe you can tell me whether they fixed that traffic light at Armitage and Halsted...

Bullox is right. Is this BF.net, or have I stumbled onto the YES Network forum or the Sons of Sam Horn? We're talking about the same guy who has ignored natural journalistic instincts and doesn't question the accomplishments of Bonds, Clemens and all the other drug cheats, shamelessly panders to the Yankees, and and when the Mitchell Report came out, he staunchly defended Clemens and Pettitte, calling Kirk Radomsky and Brian McNamee "sewer rats." Any reason why Gammons practically foams at the mouth, in his defense of Clemens? Maybe because his name is clearly shown on the cover of Clemens' book "Rocket Man?" And when the sequel becomes inevitable, ya think Good Ol' Innocent Roger will want a sycophant like Gammons around to write his 2nd autobiography? The day Pettitte's name was revealed, Peter was on ESPN, practically spitting in fury at how that could never have happened. But when Pettitte eventually admitted he took PED's? Care to change your story, Peter? McNamee is a former undercover cop in New York City, and has a master's degree in sports medicine, who contends he obviously knows the difference between HGH, steroids, B-12 and lydocaine, so he'd know what he injected into Clemens. He may not be a saint, but he has credibility on this issue. If Clemens and Pettitte's former trainer was lying, he'd foreit his immunity and head to jail, so he's compelled to tell the truth about what went on...and Andy Pettitte even corroborated his story, admitting he took illegal enhancers multiple times. Tell the truth or go to jail? Which one would anyone choose? But no, The Great Peter Gammons labels him a "sewer rat" for telling the truth about a despicable player whom he profited from, in that "ghost-written" book deal. By siding unconditionally with the players on this issue, the reputation, credibility and journalistic instincts of Gammons are all called into question. (edit for punctuation and spelling, not content)

"With a new GM in St Louis, and the Cubs and Astros also flexing their dollars, I hope the brewers do more this Winter than just standing pat and hoping our youth will improve and pitchers get healthy." I agree, Reed. All I keep hearing is, "Yeah, we have to re-sign Coco, and we'd like to keep Linebrink"...which is a noble idea. But we also have a major hole in LF (ever since Lee left) and $11,000,000 of Menchkins and $5.5 million of Damian/Graffanino supposedly freed up, and off the books. Let's say we keep CoCoCo, and take his salary slot from $5.4 million up to even $10,000,000 a year (let's be honest, he'll get offered that much from the Astros, alone), and we keep Linebrink, raising HIM from $2.2 million to $4,000,000, we'd still have a helluva lot of money for raises to existing players, and to absorb salary for a real left fielder who's not afraid of facing both lefties AND righties. I wonder if Kosuke Fukudome would be a nice fit, batting 3rd in LF? Probably too pricey, but someone like him, an Overbay, circa 2004 would do...but a left fielder. This winter, given the free agent market, we'd have to trade to get him, whoever he is.....because Houston's ready to spend, the Cubs have unlimited money, and the Cardinals have this ridiculous mystique about them, where they could attract Tommy LaSorda away from the Dodgers. Our rivals won't let us waltz into the first division so easily again, and we won't be sneaking up on anyone anymore. It's time to fortify LF, SP and add a reliever or 2, before our window of opportunity closes.

If you're looking for a #1 thing to toss overboard, once and for all, for the 2008 season, that's an easy one, and I won't be alone. Ned. We came so close this past season, a few measly games. And I can easily rattle off at least 5 instances when Ned cost us a game with his in-game strategies, his mismanagement of the pitching (especially of CoCoCo), or his staunch belief in Counsell, Bush, Capuano, Turnbow and Menchkins. That turned the division title to the Cubs. But what does Mark do, before the season even ends? Without so much as an offseason performance review with Ned, he publicly guarantees we'll be saddled with the same manager next year. THAT'S got to get tossed...

"...until that 2004 ALCS? He was flat-out mashing in the playoffs. He singlehandedly destroyed the Yankees in New York when he was with the Mariners in the playoffs." That's our point here. In relative obscurity, and low-pressure atmospheres in Texas and Seattle, sure Rodriguez thrived. But have your agent engineer a trade to the biggest market of all, with the attendant hype and higher profile, and A-Wad shrinks. No one in this thread was questioning what he was able to do in the playoffs before he became A-Rod Incorporated, of the YES Network. Wanna be considered the best, maybe as great as Babe Ruth? Stop dumping your drawers in the postseason. "I don't get it, though. People hate on A-Rod because he makes a lot of money. Great. But he doesn't have some sort of a character flaw that doesn't allow him to hit when a calendar is flipped to October." Apparently he does, now that he's a Yankee. I think if Derek Jeter or Vlad Guerrero or David Ortiz were given the highest salary in baseball history, they'd be able to handle the pressure that comes with it. But judging by his ridiculous defensive gaffes at 3B, and his annual postseason chokes, Rodriguez can't. His regular season stats point to greatness, a Hall of Fame induction. But to be considered among the pantheon of the Mount Olympus of baseball, as he and Scott Boras are hyping him? Not even close. "If the yankees were all clobbering the ball and ARod was stinking you might have a point Geno but the entire team is hitting poorly. That says that most likely the pitchers are just doing a good job against them.' But what about 2006? The Tigers shut down Rodriguez, even as Jeter (5 hits in Game 1), Giambi, Abreu and Sheffield were mashing the ball all series long. In 2005, against Anaheim, Cano had a great series, as did Jeter, Matsui and Bernie Williams. In 2004, when the Red Sox made their historic comeback, stats show that Hideki Matsui hit .412, and Bernie Williams drove in 10 runs. Other Yankees did what they could for the last 4 years, but as it has been since he orchestrated that trade from Texas, Rodriguez hasn't been able to. But he's still the highest paid, the most overhyped, and the biggest endorser they have.... "Playoffs--.357/.464 Reg Sea-.389/.578 ...He's far from "struggling" First of all, Al, if you were on the same page as those of us you're debating in this thread, again, we're asserting that, in his YANKEES YEARS, Rodriguez is a miserable playoff failure, i.e. to put it very mildly, he's struggling. Taking his career playoffs vs. career regular season totals and using that to support your argument here, is missing the point, wildly.

"...it doesn't make much sense to say that one of the best players of all time doesn't deserve a big contract based on 30-some random at-bats." Oh, he'll get a big contract. Can you imagine Rodriguez getting anything short of $20,000,000 a year, from anyone? I'd also imagine he'll deserve a huge deal, because he racks up all those gaudy totals during the regular season. So that's not the point. It DOES make sense because a) Rodriguez seeks, craves, requires all the hype, salary, endorsements and attention, that is normally accorded someone who comes through at the most important times. And he apparently is not that guy. David Ortiz is much more valuable when the season is on the line. Derek Jeter, Josh Beckett, Mariano Rivera, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Curt Schilling, too. But A-Wad shrinks in the glare of the #1 media market, when the pressure's on. Yet, Scott Boras and he are proclaiming him to very possibly be the best player ever, and to intuitive baseball fans, he just isn't close. These 30 at bats, if they came during Spring Training, or even in April, when there's no added pressure? They would indeed be random. But when they keep coincidentally occurring at critical times, whenever the season's on the line, they're not random at all. It seems you're lumping in these plate appearances with everything else he's done during recent regular seasons, as if to simply tack on 30 more bad at bats to his overall totals, and dismiss them as a temporary slump. There's a reason postseason stats aren't counted in with the 162 games already played. It's because you're being asked to perform in an entirely different atmosphere. It's a whole 'nother level of play, and he's failing miserably at it, again and again. "But it's all Alex Rodriguez's fault, right? With his salary, he should motivate his teammates to do better against two of the AL's Cy Young candidates!" No one's requiring him to motivate anyone. That's Joe Torre's job. You know? The guy whose eyelids are closing shut in the 2nd inning every night? You're right to include Cano's numbers, along with Jeter's, etc. But if you want, require, demand, to be considered (and paid) as arguably the best player ever, shouldn't you be able to find a way to get a hit or 2? Hell, by your argument here, A-Rod may as well get the same free pass you'd grant a Wes Helms, because those pitchers are just too tough. Want people to think you should be ranked up there with Ted Williams and Babe Ruth? Get a hit off of a tough pitcher on a playoff team! "It's just a shame that the law of averages is coming back to him while he's playing in New York." Yeah, what a shame.

If the Yankees make another 1st round exit, (a sweep, including a pounding of Roger Clemens would be perfect) and Rodriguez keeps foundering, then it DOES lessen his regular season exploits a bit. Between April and mid-September, he was fattening up on a whole lotta Oriole, Blue Jay and Devil Ray pitching. But in the postseason, for the most part, EVERY playoff team has really good pitching. But other players, ones who make a small fraction of what Rodriguez does, seem able to step up. It appears that Rodriguez wants the hype, the biggest contract in the sport, the endorsements, the shirtless tabloid pictures, all the attention, but when it comes to performing when the chips are down for the New York fans and media (ESPN qualifies on both counts), Alex doesn't seem capable of taking it in stride. Thing is, another big playoff failure for Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees is a very good thing. Again, it diminishes his "legendary" season. And it means the Yankees are roadkill again. But it also could mean that the Cubs may NOT be interested in giving him $300,000,000 for the next 10 years now, because they, too, choked on the sport's biggest stage. Would they want to ADD an underperforming, ridiculously overpaid, and not that charasmatic, billionaire? I don't think so. The Cubs want to retain that "lovable, underdog, good guys" image. Michael Barrett, Moises Alou, LaTroy Hawkins, Dusty Baker, and especially Sammy Sosa, were sent packin'. And it seems that, when the ultimate pressure is on Alex Rodriguez, he won't lead you to a world championship, anyway, much less a pennant. If he led the Yankees to a ring in 2007, he'd be perceived as a big part of that success, possibly able to duplicate that for the Cubs. But it ain't happenin'. So, it's not just a win/win. It could be a win/win/win tomorrow. The Yankees would be eliminated. That's a win. Clemens WILL retire again, but this time, he may not be asked back (at least not on HIS terms). That's another win. And win #3 could be that Rodriguez won't become a Cub. Go Tribe!

"Looks like Brady's routes in CF a la Billy from "Family Circus" were just a little too much for SD to take " Awesome. When I saw that clown playing ballerina out there on fly balls hit right near him, it re-re-reconfirmed to me that Clark shouldn't have still been in the majors. Maybe I don't know much about baseball, but I see a guy well past 30, not fast, a below-average fielder with a nondescript arm, atrocious baserunning skills, and very little power, and I wonder why 4 organizations took a look and said "Hey! Not bad! Find him a uniform!" Clark has his millions, his kids are set for life, financially, and there are younger players more deserving of a chance. It's alright to go away now, Brady...

"I want the Brewers to make the playoffs more than anybody and i hope they do. However, what scares me is that if the Crew does not make the playoffs and they keep Yost." I fear this too, Skube. As I noted earlier this week, factors IN Ned's favor (regardless of whether he CAUSED them or not) include possible record attendance, a winning season for the first time in 15 years, and a better image for the franchise. But honesttogod, if they make the playoffs, and win a series, I'll lay off Ned, and give him another year. I know that sounds silly, but I don't care who manages us if we win. A first round exit? Nah, I blame Ned for losing games in-season, which led to an unfavorable seeding, and that quick end to the season. So, I'd still call for a change. But to be fair, if we win round 1, and are among the final 4, it's tough for me to complain. Doesn't mean I can't or won't, it'll just be tougher. And if they win the pennant, then I can't say no. And if they win the World Series? Then we're stuck with him like the White Sox are with Guillen. However, I don't see them in the playoffs anyway, so we'll likely have a new manager next year. Or at least we should...

Seeing Dillon, obviously miscast as a right fielder, doing his best Matt Stairs Flop last night, was sickening. Ned has so many real outfielders at his disposal, yet he puts a 3rd baseman out there in such a key game. This, coming from the same manager who's so committed to defense, that he regularly pulls Braun way too early, just to get Counsell in there as a "defensive specialist". And Ned's devotion to Wise is similar to his affinity for Obermueller. Just keep trotting him out there, regardless of the trends, or the game situation. As long as we're still mathematically alive for the NL Central title, if Ned brings in Wise again this season, I want to see Mark and Doug walk out from the owner's box, down to the dugout, and in front of the fans, publicly fire Ned on the spot.

According to the Sporting News http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=275375 the Astros have just hired ex-Phillie GM and BF.net punching bag, Ed Wade as their new GM! Not that Tim Purpura was exactly Harry Dalton, but I know Ed will get torched here, on an ongoing basis. Have at him, fellas! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Now if only we could track down the perpetrator of last night's crime. A few suspects: http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/walt_disney/ratatouille/_group_photos/lou_romano18.jpg http://a1.vox.com/6a00ccff8ab88c673100ccff8f80094064-320pi or especially these 2... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/42/Better_Living_Through_TV_screenshot.jpg/256px-Better_Living_Through_TV_screenshot.jpg

Nicely played, TLB! You jumped into the spirit of this crummy little game right away. Thanks! By the way, on the same subject, Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras (funny how it's always HIS clients who are under suspicion...) couldn't let Ricky the Comeback Kid have all the fun. In a hilarious Rafael Palmeiro imitation, baseball's human garbage waggled his finger in self-righteous fury, and scolded reporters: "How can you even ask such a thing about Rick?" Oh they can, and they should, Scottie. Ankiel couldn't pitch anymore, he wasn't fast, and it's not his glove that would bring him back. The only way this clown could ever find his way back to the majors, after basically crapping himself on the pitcher's mound, was to return as a slugger...and make it happen fast! And how do you pull that off? With injectible HGH "prescribed" by some pusher with an MD behind his name. So, SCOTT BORAS: You're Full Of It! And by the way, on a side note, since so many of LaRussa's players through the years, from Canseco, Giambi, McGwire to Ankiel have been users, and since the names of sons of ex-Major Leaguers seem to keep showing up on drug-buying lists, like Gary Matthews, Jr., Jerry Hairston, Jr., Barry Bonds, Dale Berra, then I wouldn't be surprised that the sudden surge of power from Cardinal outfielder, and son of ex-catcher Dave Duncan, CHRIS Duncan was at least partially attributed to HGH, PCP, or LSD... The Cardinals are closing in on the Yankees as my least favorite team again... ____ edit for iluvlamp: _______ "Geno, B&B bury the Sox all the time. So does North. I can't speak of your experience but they rip the Sox a new one all the time. Anyway, that segment is awesome and you should still call in. Under what name did you call under? " Iluvlamp: First of all, Mike North's nose is so far up "The Chairman's" keester that when he sneezes, Reinsdorf has to get an enema. I was the one calling in, and my anti-Ozzie and anti-Pierzynski rants were met with a crushing silence. When I ripped Dusty Baker or prettyy much anyone else not employed by Reinsdorf, Boers and Bernstein welcomed me to the show, they always laughed at my material, and even when I wasn't satisfied with my contribution that week and they didn't laugh (can't win 'em all!), they at least thanked me for playing and wished me well. But my brother and some friends would notice the same thing. It wasn't my imagination. Reinsdorf wouldn't be happy if his flagship was the home for anti-Sox diatribes. I remember trying one last time with an anti-Ed Farmer rant for "Who Ya Crappin'?", which my friends thought was funny, and when I read it on the air, B&B allowed about 3-5 seconds of unmistakable silence to waft in, before saying, "Thanks, Geno." and moving on to the next caller. That made up my mind for me. By the way, I was always Raider Boy Geno...

For years, I was a regular contributor to the most popular weekly segment on Chicago's WSCR, called "Who Ya Crappin'?." Taken from a famous Mike Ditka quote directed at one of the show's hosts, this segment is devoted to calling out someone in the news, for a quote they delivered, catching them in an act of hypocricy, a lie, or skirting the spirit of the truth. You e-mailed, faxed, phoned in, ready to repeat their infamous quote, and then rip the hypocrite in question, in quick, humorous fashion. It was quite a hoot for years, reaching back into the 90s. But once the White Sox partnered up with "The Score" to become their new house organ, asit is with all other media enterprises Jerry Reinsdorf does business with, the criticism of his team, stops. I discovered this, in no uncertain terms, when I dared to repeat a particularly false, ridiculous quote from an Ozzie Guillen or an AJ Pierzynski. The hosts knew me for years, and we even bantered a bit on the air, before I delivered my weekly dose of venom. But when I went off on Hawk Harrelson or poiunted out the hypocricy of a Mark Buehrle, my comments were now met with stony silence. Not enjoying this treatment, I stopped contributing. But I'm itching for some creative release somehow, and I figured what better place than here? So, if anyone's game for it, I'd like to establish this fun little parlor game here, at Brewerfan, and rename it "You're Full Of It!" Since Barry Bonds has been quiet lately, this week's "You're Full Of It!" goes out to that heartwarming, feel-good story of the year, the hard-working, lovable ol' RICK ANKIEL. This week, when Ankiel's 12-month shipment of injectible Human Growth Hormone, was finally made public, Scott Boras's favorite client was upset: Sure, Ricky. You were a colossal failure as a pitcher, you got hurt in the minors, you were facing Tommy John surgery, and staring at the end of your crappy baseball career, so you had your own quack doctor buy a 12-month shipment of HGH, amazingly JUST before it was added to the banned substances list. On that same level playing field as everyone else not named Bonds or Giambi or Glaus, you were a joke. Rick Ankiel, You're Full Of It. ---- Is anyone else up for this? It's fun, it doesn't have to just be from the world of sports, and to be honest, it's kind of cathartic! Hope to see some other examples of bald-faced hypocrisy and lies from the rest of you. They're not hard to find! Happy hunting! GS-P

I thought Steve Stone had plenty of money. Wasn't he supposefd to be part of a cartel trying to buy the A's or something, a few years ago? I ask, because he seems so damned desperate to please whichever employer he currently works for, and so willing to announce or comment on anything lately. When Darrin Jackson had to leave the booth a few weeks ago for family reasons, Stone filled in. He gushed about the White Sox, singling out such future Hall of Famers as John Danks, AJ Pierzynski and Pablo Ozuna. He said they had certain qualities, and that the Sox will still turn it around in 2007. It all smacked of beehind-smooching. These days, here in Chicago, in mass-disgust, White Sox fans are turning to the Barce (yep, that's spelled correctly, in Shikoggo-ese, it rhymes with "scarce"). So the call-in shows, like WSCR, which employs this expert-for-hire, have been very Cub-heavy lately. So when Joe from Cicero, or Bob from 433rd and Western avenya phones in (usuallly with mouths full of beef), they're talkin' Cubs, and they want to bandwagon onto the success they're seeing this year. That means Stone is ready to start talking UP the Cubs. He defends himself by reminding us that Sammy, Dusty and even his old nemesis, Todd Walker are gone, so the Cubs are an attractive team again. And that means he'll play to the crowd, telling them how much superior they are to the Brewers. Again, it seems to marginalize his opinions, since his strong words are available for easy purchase. ________________ Side note: It's getting downright nauseating, hearing Ken Harrelson and Ed Farmer unwaveringly defend White Sox players these days. Among the universally-held beliefs of White Sox fans, it's known that Ozzie Guillen, Mark Buehrle, Thome, Konerko, and especially Pierzynski, are hands-off when it comes to criticism. Regardless of how many double-plays Konerko hits into, or rally-killing strikeouts from Thome, disastrous starts by Buehrle, poor management decisions by Guillen or general jerkiness of Pierzynski, all is forgiven, or better yet, excused. In the midst of their latest losing streak, there have been a few gems from these 2 clowns, as they play to their disgruntled fanbase: KH: "That ball Contreras threw in the dirt? NOBODY's gonna stop that one. A passed ball on AJ? Give me a break!" EF: "...to 2nd for one, on to 1st, double play for Konerko. I think it's just so slippery out here today, that Paulie had NO chance of legging that one out." KH (After Boston swept a 4-game series in Chicago, for a composite score of 46-7): "This team hasn't given up on Ozzie. He's a motivator. That's what he is." KH (When Thome stood and watched strike 3 right down the pipe): "And Thome is called out on a really bad call. That strike zone is the size of a teacup, folks." EF: "Mark Buehrle's gonna leave this game (4 earned runs in 6 innings of a 14-2 surrender to Boston). The fans ought to give him a big ovation here, because he pitched great!" It's almost comical...

Same here, Laura. Tony! I can make sandwiches! I know how much Elaine says you like sandwiches, so I made some for when we go rock-climbing! Hope you like peanut butter & jelly, Tony! Wait. Me? Step off? Oh, no.....Oh, Tony.... OK, so I'm no George Costanza when it comes to making sandwiches, but I can bring 6 or 7 bags of chips, I guess. I'll also bring a cooler of Leinie's. My favorite mix of Honey Weiss/Berry Weiss. Is that enough?

Or it could be that the Brewers acting in soap operas isn't good karma. It's the 2007 version of Jeromy Burnitz's "sweep suits."

"Cool, now we get the I told you so pessimist crowd showing up, they sure were loud during the 10-20 streak, then they completely went away during the next good streak and now they are back to say I told you so once more. " Dude, pessimism is my stock-in-trade! Take that tool out of my workbelt, and it's like asking Vladimir Guerrero to go out there and draw a walk, or Britney Spears to go out there WITH underpants. However, if you read the tenor of my posts all season, I've been comparatively positive. I remember questioning whether I was right or wrong in bad-mouthing the Suppan signing, because maybe he WASN'T that same rummy who was released by the Royals and traded by the Pirates. I also re-evaluated whether I was indeed wrong about JJ Hardy. And I took a second look at my assessment of Turnbow, because, truth be told, he's been rather decent this season. All I've ever wanted was for my team to win. And when they did, I was glad to be cautiously optimistic. Hell, with less targets to aim for, I started to blast away at Ozzie Guillen, the Cardinals, ESPN and the Yankees a lot more often, for fresh material. But, in retrospect, I was glad I retained that underpinning of Brewer cynicism. Otherwise, I would have invested too much emotion in this young, inconsistent team, managed by the unwavering enabling optimism of our own #3, good ol' Dr. Ned Vincent Peale. "Well congrats, the team is playing poorly and I'm sure you feel much better now that your pessimism was well founded." I must admit, it DOES feel kind of vindicating, but it's not what I'm after. I'd rather have the Brewers win, and catch some crap for it from YOU guys, then take the flak I already absorb every day from friends, neighbors and family lately. "The year the team does finally put it together and make the playoffs I'm sure you'll be here saying you were behind them 100% all the way, thats generally how pessimists treat being wrong." You just don't see. I'm still behind them 100%. Not everyone supports the Brewers the same way you do. I genuinely DO want to be proven wrong! The sting of getting a series of "Told Ya So's" from Brewer optimists hurts a LOT less when the team I've followed all my life makes the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century. So go ahead, and tell me to "eat it" and remind me how I was wrong to doubt them, when/if the Brewers ever reach the playoffs, Ennder. I'll invite your abuse! It's like hitting a dance club near Bristol, CT, and you meet/romance, etc. etc. Erin Andrews that night, but your pants split the next morning on your way out of her kitchen. Big picture? I'll take the pants to get mended!

"So what does Corey Hart have to do with all of this? " bbk: Dr. Kubler-Ross was also famous for her book, "The Heart Knows the Way." Heart...Hart...Corey? Ah, it was a lame pun anyway!

"....says the guy with a Cardinal in his avatar." Perfectly played, Burnie! http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/laugh.gif 4 valid questions are begged, BillyHallFan, my steadfast Brewer die-hard friend: 1) Why DOES your avatar feature a picture of, of all teams, a St. Louis Cardinal? 2) And why Chris Duncan? 3) While we're at it, why not a Brewer? 4) And given your forum title, was a Billy Hall bitmap not available? I'm sure we're not the only ones wondering!

"I'm a man, I have 2 emotions: Happy and angry. " You forgot the 3rd male dwarf. Horny. As for Step 1, BF.net has been a hotbed of Denial, all season long so far. Each time I ranted that if the Brewers don't score that extra run now to make it 6-0, that our comfy 1st place lead could shorten, I was reminded dozens of times, "Hey, we're still in first place....if anyone told me last year that we'd be 6 games above the .500 mark, THIS late in the season, I would have been thrilled!!" Well, at least now that the Brewers are a losing ballclub, all that Denial might start to fade a bit...

I think that's what you're doing right now! Seriously, H4P, that's what this forum is all about, right? The venting? It sure beats kicking your pet, or REALLY abusing alcohol. While I'm no Dr. Phil Garner, I think it's therapeutic to be able to let off some steam here, type it, send it, and see it, and MAYBE feel a bit of release. But what do I know?... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

The late Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who wrote dozens of books, including the 1969 classic, "On Death and Dying" and "The Heart Knows the Way", could have been a Brewer fan. Dr. Kubler-Ross was famous for the concept of the "5 Stages of Grief.", and while we can't possibly equate anyone's death with losing baseball games, to lighten the mood a bit, here's where the good doctor's theoretical steps kicked in, at various points, this season: Step 1. DENIAL. The first stage for us came during the infamous weekend series at Shea, on May 12th, after Ben Sheets beat them 12-3. Suppan had just gone from 5-2 to 5-3 the night before, opening a little crack in the Brewers armor, but NO, we said, "12-3! We're back!" Step 2. ANGER. Everything would still be OK, we believed, after the trip to New York and Philadelphia. Back home! An interleague series against the Twins. But when we lost 2 of 3 at home, where we were supposed to be nearly invincible, the venting started. Step 3. BARGAINING. "We have 4 All-Stars tonight. Bad teams don't have that many, right? I mean, we CAN'T blow this season with all those quality players! Just let us get through this rough patch, and we'll still win the division. I mean, hey, we're still in 1st place!!" Step 4. DEPRESSION. Just happened this weekend. The Giants series. A last place team just slapped us around. Many of us didn't even bother to stop by and post. Hell, Woogie, who once authored such eloquent In-Game Threads, just up and quit. Step 5. ACCEPTANCE. Last night. The losing record I'd been expectting ever since Sheets went down again. And even if we win the remaining 2 games in this series, we'll still be out of the money. And given this team's shattered psyche right now, I can no longer envision Ned even getting us past the Cardinals back into 2nd. So I've accepted what seemed inevitable, another wasted season, and I'm beginning to unconsciously check in for more and more Raider updates. But hey, at least we're still 5 1/2 games ahead of the Reds!! If anyone would have told me last year, that we'd be 2 1/2 games out of 1st place on August 29th, well, then.......................oops, sorry! http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/laugh.gif

No, you won't be embarrassed at all. There's no wink-wink, in-the-know secret about Kristin Davis possibly being illiterate or anything like that. I was just projecting/inventing SOME kind of hidden flaw in her overall "game." It's just that, in my little world at least, I feel Kristin Davis is to actresses, as Carlos Lee is to cleanup men. Consistently getting it done, on a very high level, year after year, appealing...everything I'd want in a left fielder, or an actress! Is she up there with Katie Holmes or a Marisa Coughlan? No, but she's close. Ah hell, this is becoming too damned silly for me... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

"I had no intent of singling out Lee for 2007 - it was nowhere on my mind when I posted - just to light-heartedly speculate on something that I could imagine McLane being upset about, since it doesn't seem to the outsider that Purpura was bad in any real way - just that he's a guy who got thrown under the bus. " Fair enough. Oh, and by the way, I hear Kristin Davis is a bad speller! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif