JumpinMacFlash

I havne't been here in a while, but i'm gald to be b ack!

I tore up an old deck today and laid down a nice new deck. It looks awesome, it just doesn't have a railing yet. I don't care. It's beer time.

My folks live in Ontario, I knew you might appreciate a good old fashioned Kickapoo Valley joke It's a beautiful area, no doubt, but there is definitely a unique culture to the area. I'm from Richland Center and I would frequently make trips up by Viola or canoe the river starting in Ontario. Ever been to the Rockton bar? There are some other cool names...Muscoda, Excelsior, Hub City (pop. approximately 100, love the irony) Edit: Almost forgot Boaz!

Dah!

I was going through stores on the West Side last night and I ran into hardly any Brewers gear. I was trying to buy a Hardy shirt for my girlfriend, but the only things available in most shirts were 2XL and S sizes.

Well, none of these are countries, but Ontario, Lisbon, Lima, West Lima.

Ryan Dempster - because he's a Cub and he does that stupid glove waggle before every pitch

Richard Hidalgo and Chris Truby

I was looking at JSOnline and this Haudricourt article basically echoes what's already been said here.

Career Totals: Taveras - 1902 AB, .287/.333/.342/.675 Weeks - 1533 AB, .244/.351/.403/.754 I'd like Rickie to be lower in the order too because I think it would take some pressure off of him, but if you're going to replace him at leadoff, Tarveras isn't the best choice. Also, Cameron's career numbers are better than Taveras's with a much larger sample, and going off of his last couple of years, he doesn't seem to be slowing down.

Andruw Jones - Always seemed like he took his time to balls to make better looking catches Derek Jeter - I just don't like him getting craptons of praise Aramis Ramirez - nuff said Jack Wilson - see Ramirez, Aramis

I really like Cameron, and think he's done a good job this season. Do I wish we could spend his $10 million option elsewhere? Sure, but what better option is there? As others have previously stated, his offensive production has been very solid even though he missed the first month of the season. You're probably going to have to overpay for someone to take his place, whether in a trade or free agency. Does anyone else really want to give up more prospects for a better CF? What would it cost in prospects to get someone that has better defense and offensive production in center than Cameron? The same question with free agency. You either pay a high cost one way or throw in a young player that doesn't have the same offensive potential (Gwynn), isn't ready (Brantley or Cain), or shift around your current defenders once again. How many times do we really want to shift players to different positions?

Bill McNeil - NewsRadio

While I like the look of that lineup and rotation, you're really putting yourself at risk by banking your season on four rookie position players. While the rotation you're throwing out there looks very good on paper, Will the offense be consistent? As far as the trades go, I'm not real sure why Toronto would want Hall. I'm guessing they'd want prospects more. I also wouldn't want to part with Hardy and Weeks both.

Dr. Perry Cox - Scrubs

I don't normally chime in about TH because I can take or leave him. He's probably the best form of Brewers coverage that I have access to right now. I'm not a huge fan of his writing, but his blog has been fairly informative when it came to rumor updates, and that's a big help to me on the other side of the state. The Wisconsin State Journal is mostly a Badger and Packer publication, but I don't even get that right now, so TH fills a need. That being said, what he did was stupid. I'm a journalist myself and I've been criticized and ridiculed for things I've written by people who were angry or upset. Now, I didn't feel like I was at fault or wrong for anything I included in articles, but I didn't sit there and lash out at people who would e-mail me or my organization because it wasn't going to do any good. The articles I've been most criticized for had a much more serious topic than not being informed about an injury to Russell Branyan. The information that I presented was correct and I knew it. One of the articles was about the suicide of a student. I wasn't happy to write it and it was very difficult to do, but the editors and the rest of the staff felt that it was something we needed to do and we had a list of reasons we felt that way. Afterward, I was met with a lot of reactions. I was inundated with hate mail, threatened by others, and even met with friends and the student's significant other to explain the paper's reasoning. My point is, no matter the situation, you have to approach complaints, concerns, and messages with a certain amount of class and respect because criticism is going to come with the job. I'm not a sportswriter and I don't have near the experience that TH does in the field, but I understand that when you assume a position of relating to the public, you actually have to be able to do so with some tact. In this instance, he failed to do that.

I graduated from Richland Center High School in 2004. Our mascot is the Hornet and the school colors are black and orange. http://www.richland.k12.wi.us/hs/sports/Sports%20Pages/Hornet.gif I think that our most famous graduate was Merrill Brunson. He played for four years at UW-Platteville under Bo Ryan, won a couple national championships, and was the Division III player of the year. http://www.d3hoops.com/images/1999/uwpbrunsonwpujenkins.jpg And if I remember correctly, the second most famous grad is one Todd Coppernoll.

Taint McFadden?

This is a great deal for the Diamondbacks. It's basically the same years and money that we're paying Suppan, and Haren is pitching fantastic. That said, it doesn't seem to be that big of a risk. Sure, signing pitchers to long-term deals is always risky, but the dollar amount isn't nearly as much as Haren would have commanded on the open market with multiple teams competing for his services. Am I wrong or was Haren under D'back control for one more year? Either way, a big plus for their organization. I really don't see the point in Haren signing this deal unless he is a member of that rare breed of athlete that isn't always wooed by the gigantic contract. If he's just happy in Arizona and wanted to stay there, I like him even more now.

I think this is exciting, I don't really know a lot about Lawrie and I never really watch the Olympics, but I am definitely going to tune in to see him play. I love getting a look at draft picks as soon as possible. I like picking out players and following them through the Link Report. It gets me excited to see people excel and I'm hoping Lawrie will be a new favorite.

I've had a hard time trying to decide between Braun and Hardy. I've really liked Hardy since he was in A-ball and I really like Braun's attitude and his overall production, so I'm going to cop out a bit. T-1) Hardy, Braun 3) Hart 4) Sheets 5) Torres

I still think that the overall quality of these boards is excellent and is the place I go to for analysis. That being said, I agree that the quality of the individual posts themselves has gone downhill as well. I did the same thing that Wallus did. I've been a member for three years and I've been reading since the site was started, but my post number is pretty dang small, compared to people that have been around for about the same amount of time. I've said something along these lines before, but I know I've learned an incredible amount about the Brewers, the minor leagues, and baseball as a whole since I've been here. Honestly, it's gotten to the point that, for the most part, I find myself in agreement with a lot of the people who post more frequently. I'll feel the need to post something or respond to a post and as I read along, I find that someone with the same ideas as myself has already voiced them. Instead of piling on or simply throwing in a "me too" I just don't add anything. I feel like I'm informed and can contribute, but at the same time, I don't think I always add something to the debate or conversation and I keep my words to myself. I don't mean to offend anyone in particular, but I think that it might be a little better if some people took the same advice, particularly if a topic gets into nothing but circular dialog. I know that I know baseball and the Brewers. I know that I can write and express an informed opinion, but I also know when additional comments aren't that necessary. I also know that if I really feel strongly about something and feel like I have an important point to make, I will say it. I feel that the product that people consume here is very important and the quality of the discussion is paramount for others to learn and associate with others who enjoy and feel passionate about the same things that they do.

I was watching Baseball Tonight and only John Kruk and Steve Phillips are on today. The apocalypse is upon us.

I have to echo what Gobias said. Kate Beckinsale...hands down. Gobias, there's only one solution: a battle to the death.

I wasn't able to watch tonight, but it looks like I missed a great game. But you're telling me the Brewers won a game AND Suppan pitched well? http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/funny-pictures-cat-wants-its-bottom-buttered.jpg