danzig6767

I watched a documentary once that was anti-death penalty and in it they talked about the problems with eye witness testimony. The assembled a couple of groups of people and did random experiments, then asking the groups of people what they saw. It was amazing how different and often how wrong a lot of the people were in what they thought they saw.

I don't read up on any of these stat sites, but on the defensive metrics, do they factor in say a firstbasemans ability or inability to be good at scooping throws in the dirt (Prince is terrible at this) or things like all the double plays Weeks botched by poor throws or bobbles that resulted in only one out being made, thus no error called?

I agree if last nights game will prove to be the norm and not the exception. Some of those penalties were very ticky tac variety and was what allowed Denver to come back. I was watching the game with a buddy and both us of couldn't believe how little of the game was played five on five hockey. The game ended up seeming like a 60 minute power play fest with brief stretches of five on five hockey sprinkled in. I didn't go into this year with overly high hopes for the Badgers. While the defenseman group is ultra talented, it's very young and we look to lack many really talented goal scorers. Connelly is the worst goalie at Wisconsin that i can remember in awhile. All that said, last nights game really pissed me off as i watched it because even though Denver flat out dominated UW in the first period and it was still only tied 1-1, i felt the refs played a sizable role in snatching away a victory because some of their weak penalty calls allowed Denver to play the bulk of the game on 5-4 or 5-3 power plays.

I'm not a fan of his either, but it was penalties that lost the game. Some looked cheap to me, but i'm no official.

sickening game

Very smart by the Padres to make Peavy available right now. They aren't competing with free agency and nearly every team in baseball could use a number one starter that is already locked up under a reasonable contract. There is going to be multiple teams looking to acquire Peavy that also have very appealing pieces, thus the Padres have the needed competition to drive up the asking price. Whoever ends up getting Peavy i going to pay a very heavy price in return. I'd love to get Peavy, but have a strong feeling that what we'd really have to offer to get it done will be more than i'm comfortable with.

Yea right

I'm not a fan of AL baseball and thus don't watch much or follow it that closely. This Tampa/Boston series though i'm enjoying very much on two fronts. I hate the Red Sox big time and love seeing this Tampa team play, hopefully the Rays can finish off Boston on the Sox home field. As i type, the Rays put in the dagger, Upton with another huge hit and it's now 7-0 in the 7th, i love it!! Man the Rays have flat out dominated the Red Sox in this series.

This is one thing i've wondered about. I only partially follow the recruiting process for Badgers hockey. When they sign highly prized kids and it makes the paper, i read that, but miss a lot of the lesser kids signed. So while i knew guys like Turris and Skille were highly thought of forwards, i know little of the other guys. Was Eaves only able to attract mostly solid, but non-special recruits at forward, or were a lot of these kids highly thought of and they just are struggling to put pucks in the net from a mix of the offensive design and/or to many of them simply not developing as well as the coaches hoped for?

Ever since they won it all they have had their best forwards leave early. Turris almost left in the middle of the year last year. Kind of a two edged sword recruiting top players.Yea we've lost some key guys to the NHL, but the Badgers certainly aren't alone in this among WCHA teams, kids have been leaving more quickly than in the past all over college hockey. Yet, other top programs have managed to still have more productive offenses. Besides that, it's not as if guys like Turris or Skille were were points or goal scoring machines before leaving. They were talented and better than anything else we had offensively, but neither put up point totals that i had hoped they could. I'm not a hockey coach so i don't want to throw out theories or critisisms that might be unwarrented, but how much of the prolonged offensive struggles are on Eaves? To my untrained eye, the Badgers seem to play a more conservative/defensive style of hockey under Eaves and i'm assuming that plays some role in the lack of goals since winning it all. That said, is there more to it than that? Forwards he's recruited either not living up to expectations or not being developed good enough? The style of play scaring away to many highly skilled offensive recruits, yet all the while attracting prized defensemen recruits?

What's going on with that? Last year they had the same problem. If i remember correctly, the Badgers gave up 9 or 10 shorthanded goals and only scored i believe 2 for themselves. I also think they had a really rough stretch trying to score on the power play last year and over an extended length of time, had actually given up more shorthanded goals than they scored on the power play. Man, last year was a frustrating season. BTW, i know there aren't many hockey fans on this board, but to those that are, what's your thoughts on Connelly? He wasn't terrible last year, but he sure seems to give up more "soft" goals than any Badgers goalie in awhile. He is very athletic and can make a few highlight reel saves a year, but i really wish he was just more consistent making the average or fairly tough saves.

I love the Beasties, but for myself at least, i generally don't care for going to see entertainers who make their show a more political event. I went to see Roger Waters at Summerfest and even though i'm no fan of the Iraq war, his rantings on the war got tiring when it carried on to much for my tastes. That said, the Beasties are putting on the show specifically with political intentions, so anyone going knows this beforehand.

This seems to be a yearly problem. Eaves sure can recruit top shelf defensemen, but bringing in and/or developing goal scorers is another story. I've loved Badger hockey since i was a kid, but the last few years since winning it all, it can get kinda frustrating and kinda boring watching them struggle so badly to score goals.

Does anyone know if Nelson can play any outfield positions at least somewhat decently?

He's in his prime and played in the minors where he was terrible. He's not getting any better. If we want to get a Cubs middle infielder I'd much rather go after Mike Fontenot. Left handed bat with some pretty good pop and a nice OBP. I agree, of the two for playing second, i'd much rather have Fontenot that Theriot

I sometimes wonder if Fielder's terrible defense adds to people wanting to get rid of Weeks. They see both guys butcher to many simple plays on the right side of the infield and frustration sets in. Then you mix in Weeks erratic hitting and many fans end up wanting him gone. I also think players like Weeks draw the ire of fans more because his stretches of poor play can look just so ugly. The tons of strikeouts, particularly on sliders off the plate he can't seem to adjust to. All infielders make errors, but some of Weeks just are exasperating because they come on what look to be such simple plays. Not catching simple throws that hit his glove and he somehow drops it. Multiple terrible turns on the double play, even with no runner really bearing down on him. I like Weeks, but i can't lie, many times i screamed at the TV, what the hell are you doing Rickie!!! How did you manage to blow that simple play Rickie?? Uggg!! Then to top it off, Weeks can look so gifted at other times, no player on the team frustrates me more than Weeks.

No

One thing nobody has brought up is women While there obviously are female fans of baseball and the Brewers, i think the Packers have far more female fans than the Brewers do. I know a lot of females who aren't really sports fans, but they sit down every Sunday or nearly every Sunday and watch the Packers play. They are devoted to the Packers, but won't sit down either and watch the other football games or Monday Night Football. The Packers being pretty much the extent of their sports viewing. That's a tough demographic for other local sports to grab.

Hardy won't make around 15 million per because he's only arby eligible. If say JJ was an unrestricted free agent this offseason, i don't doubt at all that he'd be able to fetch a contract paying him around the range of 15 million per year. Young is a fine player, but check his home/road splits once. Arlington ball park is the closest thing to Coors pre-humidor as there is in baseball. I'd love to at some point move Hardy to third and have Escobar at SS, but i can understand why Hardy would balk at the move given he's worth much more financially as a shortstop. He's very solid defensively at SS and had a top 5 OPS at his position, at third that wouldn't be the case.

This is one reason i'd like to see next year a player or two added that hits for a high average. I understand that stats like OBP/SLG/OPS are more important, but this years team had to many guys who hit for poor batting averages and thus it's no surprise the team struggled with RISP.

Hey Colby, do you have any inside info on who the Brewers hoped the Indians would choose or who the Brewers would have sent if it was their call?

1. Neither Brantley or Green would play for the Brewers next year and at best would make the bigs the following season. So there would be two offseasons before there is any realistic chance either guy would have been in Milwaukee. In two years, the odds of all Prince, Hardy, Hart, and Weeks all still being on the team strike me as very remote. Hell, one or two of them could possibly get moved this offseason. Cameron surely won't be here in two years and i'd bet against Hall still being here. How is it then that you can say in two years that the Brewers won't need some power or for that matter, claim to know at all what the team needs or shortcomings will be in two years given you can't know what the roster will look like unless you can predict the future years ahead? If you can, i sure hope you're betting on sports or playing the lottery and thus are insanely rich. 2. If Green continues to progress well, the Brewers won't have to trade off some pop with him at the expense of OBP, so i'm not sure why you include that comment. In his last two seasons, Green got on base at a .406 and .382 clip, both times they weren't batting average dependant either given his well above average walk rate. In fact, Green pretty much walks at the same rate as Brantley. The last two years, Green has been near exactly the type of hitter you wish the current Brewers had more of. I really like both players a lot and obviously wish we didn't have to lose either guy. I also can understand why some prefer Brantley, it's a close call. That said though, i just don't get the arguement you keep using as it relates to our current team given Green isn't at all the type of hitter that you seem to feel this years Brewers team has to many of? Having power, but very strikeout prone, low batting average, and poor at getting on base.Green so far isn't like a Weeks or Hart. He doesn't K a lot. He's a patient hitter. He hits for average. He takes walks. He gets on base. Just because he also has shown some ability to hit home runs and doubles to go along with making contact well and getting on base, that lumps him in how with the current Brewers shortcomings on offense?

In all pro sports, i think sometimes when a team flames out early in the playoffs, some fans forget to remember the fun of the ride getting to the playoffs. While watching playoff baseball was fun, it's still only four games. Prior to that, we got to watch months of tense and exciting games that all felt important because they really were important. After years and years of the Brewers being out of the race by July, it was great fun for me to still be tuning into games in August/September and actually caring a lot whether the Brewers won the game or not. Even though the team fell apart in September and many of those losses were incredibly frustrating, for me at least, it still was nice that i had a reason to get angry by those losses instead of like so many seasons in the past where a September slump or loss brought only yawns to me.

Teixeira is a Boras player so I don't know how realistic a deal with him is.How about completely and utterly unrealistic that the Brewers will spend over 100 million dollars on Teixeria

I don't think more than a few here thought Suppan should have started an elimination game because he was a supposed big game pitcher. In fact, i think it's safe to assume that when it came out that Suppan was going to start, the vast majority here felt a sense of dread. I sure did and was dumbfounded by the choice. The fact that some in the media may have commented that Suppan was a big game pitcher in the past or heading into todays game, oh well, it is what it is. The Brewers employ a guy to be a color man on TV broadcasts that has said in games with a good hitter up, i wouldn't give this guy anything good to hit. Then after that hitter eventually walks and comes around to score later, Bill says walks will kill you. Ummm, brilliant analysis there Bill. The interesting thing about this is if my terrible memory is correct, i believe that i've heard our GM Doug Melvin more than once bring up the big game pitcher stuff in regards to Suppan. Now i'm not sure if that was his way of spinning to the media or if he actually believes or once believed it.