bjkrautk

Sorry, but you can't field a team without paying 25 players the minimum so they have to have at least $13.875M invested in payroll. That's an obligation... I had to re-read that part as well, since it could have used some additional love from the copy editor. I think Olney was referencing contractual commitments on the books that carry over to 2019, without consideration of issues like salary arbitration or the obligation to pay league minimum to at least 25 players. It's doubly confusing since the scope of comparison is what the Yankees are paying Tulowitzki in 2019, after the article mentions the Yankees are only actually paying league minimum for Tulo (though the article doesn't actually say how much that is...or why the Twins would have a contractual commitment to pay someone less-than-minimum wage...so I can only assume the Twins player gets to make up the difference in tips).

https://abcnews.go.com/beta-story-container/Sports/busters-buzz-brewers-discipline-grandal-price/story?id=60288819 A Buster Olney article I found on the news wires (on the ABC side of things; I assume it's also up on ESPN.com) which is exceedingly complimentary of David Stearns. EDIT: the ESPN version of the same article is Insider-only, so feel free to read the cheap version.

That's how I take the story as well, but the order in which the rumor has leaked out makes it confusing. I would trade Ray, but not one of the pitching triumvirate for MadBum.

Honestly, I thought it had hit the upright, and gone through....kept waiting on the officials to signal. I couldn't wish a more heartbreaking defeat on to any other team in the league. Scha-den-freu-de! *Clap* *Clap* *Clap-Clap-Clap* Scha-den-freu-de!

I agree that they need depth/upgrades on the O-line, particularly at guard, but many of the issues with sacks this season lay with scheme and Rodgers trying to extend the play downfield rather than taking the checkdown. PFF has TONS of issues with how they grade offensive lineman, so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe they had the Packers o-line rated as one of the best pass-blocking lines yet the Packers led the league in sacks given up on 3rd down. I'm a bit too old-school for the metrics that suggest an OL "wins" if he blocks a defensive lineman for 2.5 seconds. Lineman block as long as needed to get the pass off; no excuses. Not every pass route allows for a quick throw. Play action passes, routes involving double-moves, etc. take time to set up....and while not every play should be a deep shot, a team needs to be able to mix in the deep throws with the quick-hitters, in order to keep the defense on its heels. There are absolutely times Rodgers needs to be content with keeping a drive alive rather than looking for the big play, and that is the largest disciplinary fix the new coaching staff is going to have to make. Keeping the offense on the field on 3rd downs is itself a big play. Plus, most of the football metrics focus on the Packers starting 5 O-Linemen. Bulaga has missed 4 or more games in half of his seasons in Green Bay, and that's not something which is likely to improve going forward. My ideal first round pick would be an OL who could immediately upgrade at guard, but has the skills to play tackle when Bulaga (or Bakhtiari, who has only missed 6 games in his 6-year career, knock-on-wood) goes down.

That tweet sent me down the LaCanfora wormhole; interesting to see from his CBS Sports articles that he was recommending Pat Fitzgerald for the Packers before he even knew about the Mark Murphy connection. ...as an O-Line first guy, I would be extremely interested in Munchak as a guy who can repair the line (along with talent upgrades via the draft), since keeping Rodgers healthy is an essential part of keeping the offense clicking. Also surprised to see that Rams OC Zac Taylor is Mike Sherman's son-in-law...so maybe that's why he hasn't been linked as an interview candidate just yet.

Hot take: Spider-Man on PS4 is a really fun game. (I'm not particularly good at the combat - I'm just now coming to realize they expect you to be web-swinging around rather than endless punching, at least for the boss fights - but it's the first game in awhile where I've enjoyed the open world aspects of the game enough to put the main story on hold while I try to take photographs of NY landmarks from mid-air...and then end up disappointed with myself when the Sanctum Sanctorum looks blurry. My completion percentage is in the 20's, but I suspect much of that is collectibles.)

One more time to show how angry I am at him right now. He just hasn't been the same kicker since the injury.

I get that injuries have forced him to shuffle a lot of lineups, but one positive from this season may well be that we're in our last 2 games of Ron Zook coaching special teams. 16 weeks and we still don't have someone who can return kicks without screwing up.

...because the rights-holders to Happy Days are not subsidizing bobble head theme nights?

Since no one else has mentioned it, I will point out the possibility Lasry is talking about an e-sports franchise. If memory serves, the Bucks have an e-League (NBA 2k) team already, so there could be an economy to having another one. (I've never watched the 2k league, so I don't know if they're on LAN or completely online. My only e-sports knowledge comes from having watched a few fighting game tournaments and having followed the first season of Activision-Blizzard's Overwatch League.)

Maybe there isn’t actually a problem? I don’t know why so many people are on Murphy or Rodgers here. They’ve made it clear that Gute will have input on the hire, and Rodgers won’t be involved in the process. Until they’ve proven that they’ve screwed those up, don’t they at least deserve the chance to let the process play out? There is where I am. The chickens came home to roost on a bunch of bad contracts. It was, without fan goggles, a fairly predictable outcome before the season. This is largely where I come down on the subject as well, with the slight caveat that I do not feel this team's performance was altogether predictable. Injuries to significant players (Wilkerson, Daniels, Bulaga, Cobb, King, and that Rodgers guy), under-performance by other players (Perry, Matthews, Clinton-Dix, Josh Jones, Graham, Crosby, Montgomery, Rodgers, etc.), an inability to generate turnovers, the odd refusal to give carries to Aaron Jones, and the necessity of relying on rookie WRs to incorporate into the offense are not things which could be collectively predicted without the benefit of hindsight. While it's fair to predict a fair number of those events could have happened, the lofty expectations coming into the season were due to most prognosticators doing just the opposite. If just Mason Crosby makes a few more kicks, this team is 6-6 (if not better), and still in the hunt for a playoff spot....just with its flaws a bit less exposed than they are now. As it is, they're a team which found an astonishing variety of ways to lose winnable football games.

Do we count Pete Carroll, since he was Head Coach at USC for 8 years, or is he an NFL guy because Seattle was his 3rd NFL head coaching gig?

Aleem Ford just checked in to today's game. I really thought he'd miss more time, based on the reporting of the injury. That's a huge addition to the Badgers perimeter game, assuming he hits the 3-ball as well as he did as a freshman.

Payton took the head coaching job as an offensive-minded HC in 2006. Since then, the Saints have been a top 4 offense every year but one (2010)...when they were 6th in the league. The Saints' struggles have had much more to do with the defense. Where part of the rationale for MM's likely termination is that his offense has gone stale...no one is saying that about the Saints. Case-in-point is their innovative use of the QB the Packers discarded after a great pre-season in 2017: Taysom Hill.

Seems as good a time as any to remind that I greatly preferred Sean Payton over Mike McCarthy back when that hire went down.

My Twitter feed is full of them today. Moving the On Deck circle is probably my favorite.

Because I don't see anyone else saying it, the biggest frustration for me was watching the Seahawks rush 4 and get home as often as they did...especially on 3rd downs.

Pritzl is his usual level of frustratingly inconsistent...but it's nice to have the variety of options in the backcourt the Badgers missed last season. Trice, King, and a hopefully healthy Davison (though I just expect that shoulder to pop out of alignment at some point in the season, based on last year's injury and how hard the guy plays) means there will be shooters available to knock down shots when Happ has to dish the ball out. Hopefully Ford comes back healthy at some point this season as well, since he showed positive signs as a Freshman. Looking forward to a bounce-back season.

Finally, the Packers went 1 game without giving up a big-hitter to a Cover 2 look....so it had to be time to give up one of the starting safeties! I generally liked HHCD, and wanted Jones to start over Brice at the other spot, so this trade is a decidedly mixed bag to me. Given HHCD's comments about his contract situation, I'm open to the potential for addition by subtraction (ditto for the Ty Montgomery trade).

Under the Qualifying Offer system, the Brewers have 5 days from the end of the World Series to make a QO to Wade Miley (so by Friday). He was with the Brewers all year (assuming time on the DL counts), and I can't believe he would have ever received a QO in prior years, so he should be eligible for one. A Qualifying Offer would constitute a 1-year, $17.9 million contract. Presumably, Miley would decline the offer, seeking to get more money, but spread out over 3-4 years. The downside is that we have a potentially-overpaid LH starting pitcher on a 1-year deal. If he declines the QO, and signs for over $50M (which I consider likely, based on last season), the Brewers would receive an additional Competitive Balance A (after the first round) pick, or a Comp. Balance B (after 2nd round) pick if he signs for less than $50M. With most of the Brewers starting pitching options being right handed, I say roll the dice and make the QO.

EDIT: Didn't see that coming. Considering the Brewers were relatively healthy this year, the news on Dan Wright is particularly surprising.

With both of these guys, Schoop especially, the Hiura factor has to be considered. Barring injury or struggles at AAA, he'll be up at some point in 2019. If you're a free agent with options, why would you come to a team where you have a real chance to be benched by mid-season? Conversely, is the player who's willing to sign with Milwaukee knowing their top prospect is on the horizon at the same position likely to be better than your former All-Star? Given Shaw's positional flexibility, I think there's a decent chance the Brewers will try to hold on to one of Schoop / Moose. Signing a stopgap to a multi-year deal would actually end up being more expensive than an additional 1-year for either player.

It's been fun torture. Fun because of all the comebacks, the crazy moments (how many times is Grandal going to let a pitch get by him?), and the fight in this team....which is one of the best that's ever put on that Brewers uniform. Torture because it's going to end; maybe today, hopefully 5-8 games from now. I'm not ready for the off-season, and not ready to ride to be over.

Game 7: All hands on deck.