EdgarDiazRocks

I hope you mean Betemit and not Marte. Andy ain't going anywhere. Time to eat it and DFA Helms. Something has to be done to shake up this team. We need Scar.

Ouch, I felt that in a different time zone. You know Greg Dobbs and Justin Leone could be had for a song.

I'm not sure he's the guy you want to question Beane for having drafted (& followed). Again, not ripping Beane here, just the "Golden Footsteps" that a wide percentage of followers of the game, propogate his genius at his every move, including some that don't work out as the slam dunks that they are perceived to be when they happen. See currently: the Hudson trade. The Mulder trade is over shadowing Meyer's early struggles at AAA and the whole value of that trade is tied up with him. (unless you're also a Charles Thomas fan) Yet the perception is that Beane succesfully delt BOTH his two studs. Now it is way too early to write Meyer off, but how about throwing some critism his way over trading away Bonderman for a simple grudge and reciving what? Ted Lilly? ----------

I dont know what it means. www.baseballamerica.com/t...0drew.html Stephen Drew Signs Indy League Contract By Allan Simpson April 20, 2005 Shortstop Stephen Drew, the unsigned first-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, signed a contract today to play with the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League. His signing will be announced at a 3 p.m. press conference in Camden, N.J. Drew will begin scrimmaging with the Riversharks on Friday and will be in the lineup at shortstop when Camden opens its 2005 season at home against Nashua on April 28. ?It?s an opportunity for him to get a uniform on and play some baseball,? said Bob Brower, a representative for the Scott Boras Corporation, Drew?s agent. Drew hasn?t played organized baseball of any kind since Florida State, where he starred for three years, was eliminated from NCAA tournament play last June. He was projected to be one of the top selections in the 2004 draft but slid to the Diamondbacks with the 15th pick overall when teams became concerned about his bonus demands. According to the Boras camp, former Diamondbacks managing general partner Jerry Colangelo agreed to a contract prior to the draft that was similar to the one Mark Teixeira signed with the Rangers in 2001. Teixeira?s contract was for a guaranteed $9.5 million, with a $4.5 million signing bonus. Diamondbacks officials have disputed this assertion, however. Shortly after the draft, Colangelo was later relieved of his duties--in part because of his willingness to pay Drew a bonus that was substantially above the parameters for first-round picks established by Major League Baseball, and the amount other owners in the D-backs hierarchy had expected to pay. Negotiations stalled as representatives for the Diamondbacks countered with offers more in line with the contract Rickie Weeks signed as the No. 2 overall pick in 2003. Weeks was given a major league contract by the Brewers that guaranteed him $4.79 million, including a signing bonus of $3.6 million. However, one industry source said Arizona?s offer would make Drew?s deal the richest in the ?04 draft class, surpassing ?by a significant margin? the $5.2 million guarantee and $3.2 million bonus the Devil Rays gave Rice righthander Jeff Niemann. The Diamondbacks met with Drew and his representatives as recently as April 13 and made headway on a deal but still could not reach an agreement. ?We?re still not on the same page,? Brower said. ?We came off the Teixeira number and worked towards finding a middle ground. We couldn?t, but we?ve left the door open. No bridges were burned. ?In the meantime, Stephen has a forum to keep playing.? The Diamondbacks have until June 1, the beginning of the closed period, to sign Drew or he would go back into this year?s draft. Scouting director Mike Rizzo said Brower?s characterization of negotiations was fair in terms of the amicable nature of talks, and said the news shouldn?t affect his organization?s chances of signing Drew. ?We?re still trying to find a vehicle to get the deal done,? he said. ?Stephen hasn?t played since last May, so it?s probably a good idea for him to get out and play. It?s important for him to get out and compete and face live pitching, just to knock off some of the rust. But the tools and the ability is still going to be there.? Drew is following a similar career path as his older brother J.D., now an outfielder with the Dodgers. The elder Drew also played three years at Florida State before being selected by the Phillies with the second overall pick in the 1997 draft. When negotiations bogged down, Drew elected to play in the independent Northern League and went back into the 1998 draft. He was redrafted by the Cardinals with the fifth overall pick that year and given a bonus substantially larger than the best offer the Phillies made. That?s the biggest difference in the two Drew holdouts. Negotiations with Stephen Drew and the Diamondbacks have remained amicable, Rizzo said. ?And the dollars are a lot different,? he added. Contributing: John Manuel.

Who knows, maybe we'll be the first team that does, as the top pitchers are advised by Boras. Which is why I think one of them may go. The Diamondbacks have no need for more hitting, but I doubt they would select anybody that Boras is selling. They certainly must be sick of the guy at this point, but there's no way they're getting ANY kind of bargain at #1. As we found out last year, any agent worth his salt knows how to hold out, just not as long as Boras seems to be able to. Seattle signed one of his boys (Beltre) in the off season for "respectable" money for a Boras client and the new M's regime doesn't remember A-Rod-Gate and they really need to sell a big name pick to the sports talk radio fans here to keep people interested in a .500 team. They need headlines. Drew, Weaver, or Hochevar would supply that, and taking Weaver away from the Angels would be a win also. Money won't really be an issue for them. I look at the Royals and see a good plan, but certainly they're going to take best available. Meaning Gordon or Upton. I'm sure they feel as good as the Brewers did with the Weeks or Young choice a few years ago. No way to go wrong. Washington is the wild card. Did Bowden shake up the scouting staff? I'm sure he'll break the trend of Major League ready relievers being selected, but still I think somebody like Townsend (who has LESS negotiating power this year) might be a factor with them. The free agent signings probably impinge them as much as helps them since they obviously have a fixed budget and can't go over slot money for anybody (per MLB), yet still have less picks for the Castilla and Guzman signings. Beane didn't take Zito over Sheets due to talent. He took Zito because he signed catcher Gerald Laird (I think that's his name) the week before the draft as a DFE for a lofty cost. That made him have to look for a budget-oriented pick. Sheets signed for what, $2.4+ million, with Zito signing for well below $2 M. Sheets was expected to be the A's pick all along (if he fell that far) until the Laird signing. Once again, this doesn't strike me as *Genius*, but then again a lot of people still think Zito is the second coming of Steve Carlton. Now Laird, where?s that guy now? Again, it sounds like I'm ripping Beane and I'm not, I just like to point out when people say what he does is *brilliant* and then a few years later forget the move entirely. From Peter Gammons, 2003 . . . . If only they had a young stud like Jeremy Bonderman to fall back on . . . .oh, wait . . . .

However, the people just ripping into the Brewers and saying they're "done with them" should go to the Cubs fan site. Actually Cubs fans take losing a lot better. "There's always next year" is what you hear. For us it seems "there's always yesterday. And we sucked." Unless we win 4 straight, then it's all caps "BELIEVE!!! and CREW FOREVER'S!!!!" and such. I didn't grow up in Wisconsin. This team wasn't a "destiny" pick to be my favorite. It became that way because the team and the fans stood out as not being the Dodgers and Yankees. That's still true. And the Brewers will continue to be MY team until it isn't.

Of note is that Khalid Ballouli did NOT blow this save. Let it also be said that the defense didn't do Adams any favors.

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Bring on the Lanky One!

Spivey K'd?? NO WAY!!! Yeah, but we all know K's don't matter . . . .http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

Magruder. Huh. Didn't see that one coming. A plesent surprise!

I would be inclined to limit pitching draftees in at least the top 5 rounds to (1) college sure things a la Sheets (who don't come around very often) and (2) the occasional guy who falls, or about whom we've figured out something that other teams haven't. This statement reminded me that the media a few years ago when Beane eschewed Sheets in favor of Barry Zito and how much of a genius he was for doing so. Where's that camp now that the worm has turned, so to speak? Anyway, I keep hearing the rumors out the M's camp that Bavasi has focused on hitting, but I bet the board goes Gordon, Drew, Upton then Maybin. Asumming SOMEBODY in the top 4 wants a pitcher or Drew, Maybin may be falling. He is a perfect Jack Z. pick. Is there any hope of this? Or is signability going to insure that either Kansas City and Washington take the High Schoolers? Jim Bowden's draft history is confusing and unpredictable to say the least, but It looks like he favors pitching. Thinking about it I would say the draft will shake out like this? 1. AZ - Alex Gordon (will stay away from Boras clients like the Plaugue, and Gordon is the safest pick, which they need) 2. KC - Justin Upton (A better fit could not be thought of. The two are perfect for each other) 3. Sea - Drew (if available), Maybin if not. (Will be looking to hit a PR home run with this one. Low risk will be a consideration) 4. Was - Pelfrey? 5. Milw - Maybin (if available), (?)Zimmerman(?) if not. Can anyone see Jack Z reaching for Bristow or McCutchen at this point? Would Bristow be a huge mistake over Zimmerman?

My MLB Radio keeeps clicking off. Very annoying . . . .

A positive takeaway from today's game is Victor's performance. Maybe he's a reverse vampire . . . . Hardy could get a hit anytime soon. EDIT: As I look over the series Rolen and Pujols got 10 of the 20 hits we gave up, including 4 HR's and 6 of the 9 RBI

This is the guy the Brewers think is a closer??? Yeah, only meat pitchers give up long flies to Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols . . . .http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

Don't think I've mentioned it yet, but Mass, I love the new handle. Kudos. http://www.simsclassicsports.net/photos/8688327.jpg

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I feel bad for the Lanky One, but hey . . . . http://www.aboutmattlaw.com/archives/nyp.jpg

Uh-oh, Mike Gonzalez is filthy. Rooting for the walk here.

No tease there, but just how quickly did Carlos get to the plate to fly out? Had Lyle even scored yet?

Allright I have switched over from the Cubs getting thrashed, we're up like 7 runs right?

Nice to see Alicides Escobar get off the shnide. I was begining to think he might have been rushed. Also: Who thinks Cruz isn't going to be in Huntsville long. These guys may force Doug's hand sooner than later.

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Cirillo has to be getting chills right now. Didn't hear that in Seattle for sure . . . . There goes my stupid save . . . Dammit Bobby!! http://www.centerofyouruniverse.com/web/site2/bobby1.jpg