GenoSeligPrieb

"I never said, "Carlos Lee's range in the OF in 2007 is the reason the Astros stink & now both Mgr. & GM are gone." I just made an off-the-cuff comment about what I think is an over-priced contract -" TLB: Perhaps not, but you seemed to waste no time in bringing it up in the 2nd line of your post. Again, Lee's signing is one of the BEST things to pan out for that franchise this year. Him and Hunter Pence. When I see that the GM and coach are fired, I don't jump on the best player they have, and therefore look for the one area of his game that's not top-notch, and focus on that. It's like looking at the Dodgers when they whacked Fred Claire and Jim Tracy after 2005, and bringing up Jeff Kent's lack of stolen bases right away. Let's be honest with one another TLB, (and play nice! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ), anything Astro-related is a convenient chance to bash Lee. Regardless of whether it was germane to the issue, you took your shot, and that's that. Consider it less of a personal attack, and more of an attack toward the general anti-Lee mindset that's surprisingly still pretty vocal here... *sigh*

"McLane must have had some time to think about what it's going to be like shelling out big-money to El Caballo when his 'range' only covers balls hit from the right side of the Crawford Boxes to the LF foul pole " Yeah, TLB, I'm sure Carlos Lee's defensive range is the big reason why they failed this season. His .307 batting average, his 13th-ranked slugging %, his 102 RBI's? Meaningless. The dramatic failure of newly-acquired starting pitchers Jason Jennings and Woody Williams, the defections of Roger Clemens and his cabana boy, Andy Pettitte, the sharp declines of formerly up-n-coming Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane and Luke Scott, the below-average performance of Lance Berkman, the further implosions of Brad Lidge (and overreaction to Lidge's limited run of success, when Purpura traded away Dan Wheeler)...all had nothing to do with Purpura and Ol' Scrap Iron's firings. Must be Carlos Lee's range. Migod...

"The most useful sample of games you can get is the largest one, we are .500 and thats all that really matters. Trying to break the season down and judge the team by part of the season is just not very useful. " Here's the thing, Ennder: Ned was supposedly hired because a) he's yet another surviving link to that 1982 team, b) because he was supposed to be a great motivator and "players like playing for him", and especially c) because he was such an integral part of Bobby Cox's management team which guided those ballclubs through the various up's and down's toward division title after division title after division title.... No personal track record of managerial success got him the job here. No unique style or philosophy. This is not the early-80's A's when Billy Martin came in with a different approach and they started winning. Just intangibles....motivational stuff...he was supposed to be the fountain of positivity which would help steer an underfunded franchise with young, cheap, often inexperienced talent through the bad psychological turns a season can take. "He was part of winners in Atlanta!!" we were told. "Ned, along with Leo were Bobby Cox's braintrust." "Let's absorb some of that playoff experience, that winning attitude, that LEADERSHIP..." That's why, as Dave points out, it's critical that we DO therefore assess Ned in his SECOND in-season losing meltdown. And that means analyzing streaks, not our current .500 record overall. Ned was supposed to be a steadying influence, our skipper through the stormy seas. With Ned leading us, all that Tomahawk Chop attitude, all that playoff experience, will guide us. But he's apparently failing....AGAIN. When this team loses a bad one, they STAY down. And that's on Ned, I'm afraid, since he's Mr. Positive. And if he bring no winning personal managerial record, and the team keeps falling apart whenever adversity strikes, then if they keep losing and fail to make the playoffs, much less maintain a .500 record, with a higher payroll and a solid influx of younf talent, then Ned should be gone, and we should try someone else. Maybe, godforbid, someone with a good track record as a manager, maybe someone who won't downplay all this stupid, appalling baseball. I'm afraid this team may need a disciplinarian, one who won't tolerate Estrada's ridiculously-bad caught-stealing rate, who won't accept Jenkins letting popups fall in, in front of him, one who won't let Capuano to "pitch his way out of it" all this time, one who won't allow that play by Hart, one who won't stand by as formerly useful players like Weeks, Bush, Capuano, Wise, and Hall to fall into huge slumps and just sag.... dragging the team down with them. We need a manager who'll strike some sense of URGENCY into this bunch of meandering clowns. Ned's failing because of the streaks....AGAIN. Fool me once...

If we're looking for the CURRENT Face of the Franchise, the one person you most associate with the 2007 Brewers, I'd have to go with Ryan Braun. he's young, very talented, successful, but ultimately very unpolished. The potential is there. But when you free-associate with a given franchise's name, the first one leaping to mind is Bob Uecker. If Robin Yount would have stuck around to coach, or at least associate his name/image with the franchise, it would be a coin flip, but to me, no one embodies the long-suffering Wisconsin native who has been there, through the lean years, and is still around, as Ueck does.

When he was being called up, we were told that his glove would be well above average. Well, he's solid, and probably above average, but not great. But my problem is that, when there are speedy hitters, he still plays way back at the lip of the outfield grass almost, and quicker guys like Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Luis Castillo...can and have beaten out a few 4-5 hoppers to short. Otherwise, overall, he's young, cheap, a pretty good SS, and he has pop for the position. He's not the problem right now. If we can stop allowing 8+ runs a game, I think we may stand a chance...

"Since Gross falls over whenever a routine ball comes to him.... " Or he can just stop running toward a fly ball, and just let it drop in front of him instead...oh wait, someone already tried that yesterday! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

"We always talk about regression to the mean with players and teams and such. But, isn't it just as reasonable to talk about progression to the mean? When a team has been this bad, and we've been beyond bad, you have to expect things to average out by getting better. This team isn't this bad. No team is. But this team has been competitive nearly all year long and you have to believe that things will get better in a big way. Are we simply regressing to this team ability, a sub .500 team? " That's the ultimate question this year. The optimist in me still contends that, while the 24-10 run is now behind us, maybe this bad run can be ancient history, too. I mean, it's not like we're on the road this weekend (godforbid!)....and it's the Reds, and Mark supposedly went in to the clubhouse and hopefully tore them a new one yesterday. So perhaps the low point of the season was yesterday, and we can take 2 of 3 from a very beatable Cincinnati team. But the 2007 Brewer optimist in me is shrinking to a tortured, crying naked baby lying under a chair, like the Harry Potter-portion of Tom Riddle's shattered, horcrux-torn soul. If the 2007 Brewers are capable of getting b-slapped around by such luminaries as Ryan Ludwick, Jayson Werth, Brian Lawrence, Joel Pineiro, Josh Fogg, and of course Yadier Molina, then the burgeoning pessimist in me predicts a no-hitter on Saturday night from Elizardo Ramirez. ""Just wait, when Ben Sheets comes back, everything will be fine..." "Just wait, when Bill Hall gets hot, this offense will explode..." "Just wait, when Rickie Weeks turns it around, he's gonna be the key to this offense turning it around..." "Just wait, Jeff Suppan is a second-half pitcher, and will be the best when its most important..." "Just wait, Chris Capuano is an all-star, and he will get it turned around..." "Just wait, Yovani Gallardo will stablize this rotation and make people forget Ben Sheets is hurt.." " Now THAT'S some quality cynicism there, Lumber! You're making me jealous! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Hey, someone posted that Gallardo will take over the Ben Sheets role and the production will be nearly the same...that Bush was just experiencing bad luck...that Hart will STAY this good, and it was only in April that his injured wrist killed his stats... that as soon as Hardy comes back from his DL stint that he'll go right back to dominating...that CoCoCo is the same reliver he was in Texas when he was dependable. And one member of the local media breathlessly predicted that the Menchkins platoon will work! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

While the wife and the boys will be sitting this one out, I'm in for 1 ticket. First time I'll be seeing everyone, as I'll be swiping my wife's I-Pass to head up there. By the way, I can bring stuff, but you DON'T want me to cook, unless you like mac-n-cheese or Manwiches. Jamie, give me an address, and I'll shoot you a check...

"As stated above in an earlier post, every team good or bad has stretches of poor play. However, those stretches are equaled out, or in most cases surpassed, by stretches of very good play...thus helping to "stop the bleeding", so to speak. " I agree, lumber, and here's another reason I believe the Brewers have fallen on hard times. Doug optimistically, incorrectly, thought he could rely on Ben Sheets to be the streak buster, when this young team gets down a bit. Of course, when healthy, Ben IS that kind of guy. You could lose 4 in a row, even 9 including his last start, but the team, the fans, everyone just KNEW that when your ace is going that day, that the losing streak would probably end, and positive momentuim could be restored. But this past winter, at the risk of overpaying, they should have traded/bought a starting pitcher much better than a Suppan as our 2nd most experienced starter, ya know, just in CASE Ben Sheets somehow landed on the DL again. A solid vet like a Kelvim Escobar, or a Joe Blanton, a Javier Vazquez, a Derek Lowe or even a Greg Maddux! I'm not saying specifically these guys, most of whom, if not all, were not made available ths past winter. But a veteran capable of consistent steady performance. Instead, Doug went with an always-rickety Sheets, a below-average vet in Suppan, and guys like Capuano, Bush and Vargas with spotty, inconsistent histories as starters. If Sheets was able to always give you 30-35 starts a year, then yes, rolling the dice on a Suppan may not have hurt as much. But they knew Sheets couldn't be counted on, and now we're seeing 2-game losing streaks turn into week-long descents into hell...

"BUT all it takes is a game to swing things in the other direction. All I know is last year we werent' in this position so I am going to do my best not to complain. Season ended today, we are in the playoffs and if we dont' make the playoffs this year, it will always be beneficial to experience meaningful games in August and September. " BCU: If all it took was ONE amazing, emotional come-from-behind game to turn things around, we already would have BEEN turned around. There have been some tremendous rallies, like the Phillies game when Prince crashed that HR in front of a roaring home crowd, with Hart's spectacular catch. But what happened to our momentum the game right after that one? Wise and CoCoCo blew a huge lead, and gave it right back. Or what about Braunto smashing that towering HR off Lidge on Saturday? Did Mench, Capuano, SoupCan, Weeks, Hart, Hall, Jenkins, Turnbow....feed off of that potentially season-defining victory, and build off it, or at least maintain by playing even .500 ball? No. This team has no sense of urgency, and has proven it can't handle nor sustain momentum. This blindfolded Polyanna attitude that "we're still in first place" leads to complacency, and doing everything you can to win while we can, right now, lacks urgency. The Cubs have injuries and they're cursed, and we're 24-10, so they'll never catch us...The Cardinals couldn't pitch, and their outfield was suspect, so they couldn't possibly enter the race, because we're still in 1st, and we're better than last year....Next, it'll be "The Astros lost Clemens and Pettitte, and Carlos Lee is fat and lazy, so therefore they'll never come close to us." I don't care what our expectations were coming into this season, I don't care how much better we are than at this point last year, I don't care that 2008 will be The Year. Right now, we're losing games by 7, 8, 10, 15 runs, and winning only once or twice a week after some thrilling emotional victories. Everyone but Braun, Fielder and Linebrink can't hande more success, because we've already HAD a successful season, right?

"My fear is that that once the team falls a game or two out of first place (I am sort of accepting that as inevitable), things might just completely crumble. On paper, it's still anybody's division, but I'm not totally sure that the Brewers possess the emotional mojo to battle back. " Well said, Ru. That's where I am, too, now. Although there were percentage points dropping them into 2nd place last week or so, they still never fully fell a 1/2 game out of 1st place, so perhaps psychologically, the players felt they still hadn't spit the bit. But it seems a long shot now that they'll retain their grip on 1st place, and once it comes, it'll be look out below. I hope I'm proven wrong, but only Prince and Brauntosaurus seem to be responding positively to the pressure right now. Where's SoupCan with all his grit? Estrada scolded the fans when they got upset with all this choking. Hardy, Hart, Capuano, Bush, CoCoCo, Hall, Wise and Turnbow have been shrinking violets in the face of adversity. The platoon in LF isn't even a shorter-term answer now. Hell, Weeks was not even really a major leaguer for a while there. What could shake them out of this funk, and return to being professionals? Maybe it'll be Sheets, but who knows when/if he'll return? Rock bottom won't be last place, or even 5th, but let's just say that if it comes, we'll wind up drafting ahead of the Astros.

Yeah, that's what we all keep hearing. But if Ned's just oozing positive energy, then why does this team just seem to throw in the towel when things go wrong so very, very often? I don't hate Ned, and I comprehend the fact that a manager only controls a 5-10% portion of how his team does. It's the players. Fine. Disclaimers aside now, Ned's value certainly can't be predicated on his in-game managerial maneuvers, or his handling of the pitching staff. So it must be his motivational skills that are his bread-n-butter. And if a team looks this defeated whenever any kind of adversity rears its head, then his primary talent is not good enough to keep him here. The worst part is, that this is NOT rock bottom. We're still in first place. Rock bottom will come if/when we fall out of 1st, and then out of the Wild Card, then perhaps below .500 And Ben? When the next dugout scuffle flares up, run into the stands or onto the field, if you have to.

"My prediction for next whipping boy: Bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel ' For a first place team, there seems to be no shortage of whipping boys on the Brewers. Look no further than Wise...Capuano...SoupCan...Villanueva...Weeks...Bush...Hardy...Hall...and the always popular choice, Kevin Mench! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

This happens every time Jenkins goes on one of his hot streaks. Talk about extending his contract is resurrected, his role expanded, his age, salary and other flaws are temporarily ignored. It's April all over again, except of course this time, Capuano, Weeks, SoupCan, Hall, Hardy, Villanueva, CoCoCo and Sheets aren't contributing along with Geoff, and we're losing all the time. Jenkins USED TO be an .849 OPS guy against both RHP's and LHPs, but not anymore. And as Brian correctly reminds us, you can't isolate Jenkins alone, without allowing for the salary of his platoon partner, because Geoff's gonna need one badly. That brings our LF allocation over $11,000,000. I'm fairly certain we can get an everyday LF who can produce as well if not better, without taking up 2 roster spots, for less than $11 million. "As to paltoon mates for Jenkins? Dillon is already here. And eh could actually be a better 4th Ofer over can't hit righties Mench." ..... " endaround is right. Dillon could well be the guy to platoon at a major league minimum..." So, after 11 at bats, you guys are ready to start planning for the future, with a regular role in LF for 32-year-old AAAA legend Joe Dillon? C'mon, Endaround, the dude has 11 at bats as a Brewer, and 4 career games in LF here and as a Marlin! And JB, you agree? Wow. Just look at Dillon's line: .636/.636/.818 A 1.454 OPS! That tells enough of the story for me! Joe Dillon is 1.2 winshares better than Vladimir Guerrero, and his park-adjusted WARP is better than Miguel Cabrera's! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif Just funnin' ya. Nothing personal. I just couldn't resist... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Lotsa bold words... "I honestly don't care what Bonds took or didn't take because I know when watching him play he was the best player on the field " You're playing pinball, and you try to be the king of the pizza place by earning the high score. You amass 2,200,000 points. The next week, a jealous 15-year-old comes in, tilts the machine, fixes it so that he gets 2,200,001 and now you're not king anymore...like Hank Aaron. The tenager is now, even though you saw evidence that he blatantly cheated. So, if someone cheats to gain a record, which had been earned legitimately by someone before him, has the cheater earned your praise? I guess so. "...and that is why I watched baseball to be entertained not cry and whine about who is better, a current guy or a guy played 75 years ago. It is like listening to a guy lament over a girl he dated 20 years ago in high school, I get it she was hot, but geez move on with your life and enjoy what is in front of you today." Very bad analogy, MJL. I cheered for Hank Aaron to break the record of some old fogey from the 20's. And while I didn't like his style, when Pete Rose got 4,192, I had to applaud him. Emmitt Smith? Congrats. Wayne Gretzky holds 61 new records in the NHL, which he deserves. You're confusing lamenting the past and the golden age, or a lost relationship. with a rooting interest in someone EARNING a record. If what's in front of me today is legit, I'm all over it. "I also like that he is vilified by the media for being a jerk yet I hear very little evidence offered..." Ever bother to read even an excerpt of "Game of Shadows?" Kimberley Bell kept a voice message cassette tape of Bonds threatening her if she went to the authorities with evidence on him. Bonds would agree to fees for autograph and card shows, and then NOT report these earnings on his income tax (which is a jailable offense, last time I checked), and then he'd set these hidden streams of money aside for apartments and gifts for Bell and other women outside his marriage. In this book, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada conducted over 200 interviews with persons of interest in the case, and their evidence references over 1,000 documents including affidavits from BALCO investigators and grand jury testimony. Ya know, legitimate evidence. In response, what's Barry's defense against these allegations? Not much. If the book was all a lie, as Bonds stated, why wouldn't he sue, or even THREATEN to sue Lance and Mark? I just wish every Bonds apologist would read the facts first, and then make a decision...

"That is why I still like Bonds. I know he probably used roids, but so did a lot of players in baseball. I wont let that over shadow how great a player he was and still is. " The luxurious Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago sets up a poster in the lobby of the motel for travelers staying at a certain motel in Dekalb only, offering a free week-long stay with only 1 vacancy left to the first person to reach their location on Michigan Avenue. Only 10 of us see the ad, and we jump into our various vehicles, to get from DeKalb to Chicago. Cops are hiding behind billboards on the interstate with radar guns aimed at the passing traffic. After doing diligent prep work to avoid traffic snarls to hopefully get there first, I drive 54 MPH and change lanes wisely. But a few others who also heard the message, are doing 70, and can get there ahead of me. But then there's this guy (let's call him "Barry"), who was born very rich, and pays his friends to tune up his Mustang to exceed normal capacity and usage, as he peels out, going 140 MPH all the way, and wins! The state troopers couldn't keep up with him, and Barry had rubbed a special undetectable cream on his license plate to obscure it from the cameras and eyes of law enforcement officials as he whizzed by, so he wasn't technically cited for breaking the law, although anyone could plainly see he did. Hooray, Barry!

Ted Williams: Plusses? Great hitter, dedication to the game, multiple tours of duty defending his country as he sacrificed a sizable chunk of his career. Minuses? Could be a jerk sometimes. Barry Bonds: Plusses? Until 1999, he was among the best all-around players in baseball. Minuses? Mounting evidence of tax evasion, adultery, threatened bodily harm to mistress, chemical abuse, disloyalty to close friend rotting in jail for him, possible perjury charges....oh yeah, and he could be a jerk sometimes. It's a push! http://static.yuku.com/v2//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/laugh.gif ______________ edit... "I like Geno's little judo thing going on there. Roger Maris' record? Bonds didn't break Maris' record. Broke a record held by the name McGuire. And I would hardly be surprised if Maris used steroids. After all hair loss is a symptom of steroid use. " Actually, he surpassed another artificial milestone held by the name McGwire. But thanks for correcting me just the same. Go ahead, end, and ignore the back-ne, increased spike, uniform top and cap sizes, as well as the roid rages if that makes you feel better as a Bonds apologist. Because if all you've got is baldness to go on, then Joe Pepitone, Ron Santo and Mike Kingery, who mysteriously hid their baldness, were prime suspects.

I expected some to automatically defend Bonds under the "it wasn't technically against the rules when he did it" banner. (Yeah, and despite the DNA evidence, a jury of morons decided OJ Simpson is not a murderer, so he must not be.) Of course, a bigger question is begged: What about fairness, the spirit of the game? Bonds didn't have the natural home run power to surpass Roger Maris's record, so he turned to artificial enhancements to make it happen. Nearly all other hitters don't get the inside of the plate from pitchers, but if you armor up (another unnatural enhancement), now your reachable zone is extended, and your batting average either goes up unnaturally, or you draw that many more walks, and your OBP reaches historical new highs. And if that armor serves to regulate and "perfect" your swing, then that's another unearned benefit that only he and a select few others, like Biggio, have enjoyed, as MLB turns yet another blind eye. HGH is not tested in the blood, as Donald Fehr and Gene Orza make this a bargainable contract point, and score another victory for the great Barry Bonds. What if Bonds had special spikes designed just for him with springs in them or something which allowed him to run faster, jump higher...whatever. Or maybe he could have a special train track installed in San Francisco, which runs him around the bases at great sppeds, turning bunts into inside-the-park home runs? Technically, there are no rules against these, and no one else enjoys such an advantage, so therefore it must be OK. Anything goes. Or what if MLB allowed Bonds's handlers...OK, his drug dealers, to arrange to spike the other team's Gatorades whenever an opponent faced Barry? Technically, I don't belive there's a rule against spiking another team's drinks, so hooray Barry! Before he got so jealous of fellow users McGwire and Sosa, Barry Bonds (playing by the rules, as far as we could see without the body armor and all the chemical bulking up) was well on his way to a 500 HR, 500 SB careeer, which already made him an uniquely-talented, Hall of Famer. He would have gotten my vote. He also had a lovely wife, nice kids...but he got greedy there, too and had to have Kimberley Bell on the side. Technically illegal? No. But ethical? Also no. Disrespectful to his family, wife, friends and relatives of his family? Absolutely. Did he care? Nope, because it's Barry first. This slob treats the game of baseball the same way. Is it technically illegal to take drugs which haven't been banned yet, or that the tests don't cover? No. Is it ethical? Also no. Is it disrespectful to everyone else who loves the game? Nope, because again, it's Barry first. I didn't watch his home run, and I especially avoided ESPN's wall-to-wall coverage, because a) it's as genuine as WWE wrestling, and more importantly, b) it offends me that this science experiement gets to thumb his nose at the spirit of a game he professes to love so much, and bask in undeserved glory. But no, his cap size, increased spike size, back-ne, baldness, ballooning chest, all those tell-tale signs of added HGH to the system...nah, they mean nothing, because right now, technically, he's a saint. Turn a blind eye to his misdeeds, and the game of baseball is cheapened.

Ahh, back to BF.net after roughly a week away from the boards, avoiding the constant Bonds circus on all 4 ESPN outlets, while driving hundreds of miles through the lovely swamps between The Dells and the always-wonderful Sister Bay! I'll admit I did watch the games on Friday, Saturday and Monday, (and listened to yet another Cordero train wreck on Sunday), so it wasn't as if I was out of the loop. But pessimist that I am, very little of this freefall surprised me. - CoCoCo melted down with the Rangers, to the extent that he was replaced as closer. Who's to say that would have never happened again? I could see Ned sending him out there again and again, until he blows 3-4 more save situations, and then it could be Linebrink to close, which would be just fine with me. Think of it this way: Now we don't have to pay $6 million or so to retain Cordero next year, and we can just use that 1st rounder IF we qualify for one, now that CoCoCo's stats are slipping so badly. - Dave Boosh was due for a bad performance or 2. He's not as bad as the 6.13 ERA he put up through his first 10 starts, nor is he as good as he had been during that 1-2 week stretch in late June/early July. He is what he is. Just a guy with an ERA over 5. - Rickie Weeks, with all his various arm, elbow, wrist, hand, knuckle and fingernail spasms at the plate is Kyle Peterson with a bat. All the big numbers in college, talented, a high pick, etc., but his mechanics are just beggin' for a short career. Unless Rickie dramatically alters his approach when he swings, he'll either continue to re-injure every body part hanging off his shoulders and play (badly) through the pain, or he'll watch his limbs fall off like the GI Joe with Kung-Fu Grip my little brother turned into a paraplegic on me when I was 8. - In what will someday be remembered bitterly as the Year of the Overpaid Rotation Hacks, a team picture will be taken in November of SoupCan, Barry Zito, Jason Marquis and Cliff Lee as the Class of 2007 - a collection of so-so pitchers who received contracts this past year to be aces, but who are not capable of performing as such. Oh, they'll still cash those paychecks, but it will be remembered that this past year, their agents promised #1's or #2's, and then delivered #4's or #5's instead. - JJ Hardy is a decent young SS. Not an All-Star. His 30+ home run pace at the Break provides an argument that the All-Star rosters should be measured on a 162-game July to July basis. JJ also still plays WAY too deep, especially when speedy hitters are up, allowing guys like Jose Reyes, Ryan Freel, Jimmy Rollins, and Luis Castillo to beat out grounders to short. One more item, on a completely different subject: Last night, during the Chicago/Cleveland game, Ken Harrelson delivered this gem about Jon Garland: "Ya know, over the years he's been here, there's NO pitcher in baseball who's had worse luck than Jon Garland!!" He's talking about a hack whose career is defined by huge run support, winning games 6-5. Garland is on his way to his 6th straight season of 12+ victories, with all but 1 of those years marked by an ERA above 4.50. What a whopper, Hawk!

As I said last night, this season is no longer worth getting so worked about. The Brewers don't play like a playoff team, so we shouldn't be distraught if they fall out of contention. If they rebound and find religion and start playing like professionals, then great. And if they were getting screwed on bad ump calls, or were just missing the foul pole on long drives, that would be more maddening to me, because it would have demonstrated that they at least had a fighting chance. But they're behaving as if they've never been through major pressure before, which is true. Maybe there IS something to that whole veteran-ness and playoff experience angle? I'm not saying you have to load up your team with Miguel Cairos and Lonnie Smiths, but we have a roster loaded with a lot of very inexperienced players and it's starting to show...

"You guys are acting like we lost the division already!!...Try to be optimistic people, that is the only way I can stay sane being a Brewers fan " We ARE in 2nd place, and behind in the Wild Card, ya know... And as for being optimistic? Optimism entails a strong emotional investment in a team that's simply not balanced enough to make the playoffs. Of course, I still hope they somehow prove me wrong, and I don't EXPECT them to fall below .500 yet. But living and dying with every gut-twisting loss, when you're dealing with this franchise, is neither healthy nor sane. I expect...not much from a club that can't extend/hold leads. Watching them lose to the Nationals, Pirates, Cardinals and Reds so often means they're just not ready for prime time. So, yeah, I'll cheer them on, hope for the best, and all that...but they'll only let me down again, as they have for 25 years now.

No surprise (I'm a Cynic, after all), but I've lost confidence in this club even getting a Wild Card this year. Too many meltdowns by our pitching, and a lack of...spirit?...determination? when they need to go for the throat and get that extra run home as often as possible. It has been proven again and again, that if we race out to an early lead, that our pitching can not be relied upon to hold it. And that's the hallmark of a non-playoff team. I'm coming to accept this now, and honestly, I'm not as angry. Just resigned to our fate....

Bring: This will genuinely help us get some perspective as to where you're coming from here: Are you a dad? You can lose your baby, have her/him born with a birth defect, you can even lose your wife, when she has complications. My wife had a very dicey final day of pregnancy with our last boy, and while everyone's fine, not only was I a zombie at the time, but so were a few of my relatives. If you DO have a son or daughter, and you not only have no sympathy for a struggling first-time father, but resentment, then that would be surprising. I'd bet the Brewers front office is being as supportive as possible, in what could literally be a life-and-death situation. And even at a very selfish level, how focused does anyone think Scott can be for our bullpen, given this situation? Migod, cut the dude some slack!

"Outside of David Ortiz, who the Twins let go because he couldn't stay healthy enough to play every day, who have the Twins lost as far as position players go in recent years?" Shannon Stewart, AJ Pierzynski, Matt Lawton, Jacque Jones, Chuck Knoblauch, Ron Coomer, Pat Meares, Marty Cordova... While you can debate how some of these moves eventually turned out, Bruce (especially the Pierzynski deal! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ), the fact remains that the trillionaire Carl Pohlad, lender to Bud, has never invested proportionately to what he's worth. I'm not saying he should go all Steinbrenner on our asses, but it woudn't have killed him to augment the talent they're developing, or unleash the funds to fill a roster hole or 2, over the past few years. If Pohlad did, they could have won at least one pennant since '92, maybe a title. Santana Claus has every right to be frustrated. He's a world class pitcher, still arguably the best in the majors, and he's forced to watch other teams bolster their rosters, as his organization sits on the sidelines.

"this is a good move...the brewers could use a hot stick off the bat," Yeah, they sure do...wait, you don't mean Dillon, do you? Dillon is 32 tomorrow! This will already make him one of the oldest guys on the team. A classic AAAA guy. He's Winkelsas with a bat. Sure, he was killing Triple-A pitching this year, but that's like Bart getting demoted to 3rd grade in the same class with Lisa, and answering every question correctly because he repeated the grade and was already exposed to everything they taught. I knew the majority at BF.net was going to cheer bringing up a nugget and expect his MLB-equivalent score to translate into major league production, Brad, but at age 32, if Dillon WASN'T destroying AAA pitching, he'd be washing cars for a living by now. Get your wrist, thumb, finger, palm, knuckles...and swing back to 100% down there, Rickie. I can't wait til you're back!