RobDeer 45

Is his injury a death sentence? I guess I have no clue on success after a surgery like he had. I guess if I'm looking at him being around where he was prior, that would be a number 4 or 5 starter wouldn't it? Throwing out more questions than statements.

I know that this should be in an in game thread but I just wanted to say that Weeks hit a bomb and Shafer just made a great catch to take away an Albert HR. Great stuff.

I can't say I'm not a little nervous right now about this unknown. I'm excited to see young guys getting a shot here this year instead of below average vets. I think Narv deserves a shot and we'll see how he does. It makes the most sense to me and so I'm excited to see how tough these guys are.

If I were the opposing manager and Braun was at first, I would tell every runner to take a big lead and run with every pick-off attempt, and keep running until they hit third because the throw would be in left field. Braun was as bad at third as he is good at the plate, and I don't think switching sides of the infield will make him decent. I 100% disagree. The throw from 1st to 2nd is half as far as third to first Exactly and you are also throwing from an under control stance on a throw over. When throwing from 3rd you are first trying to field the ball, you could be running away, towards short, towards home, all kinds of factors. Only think I'd worry about with him at 1st would be how big of a target he is and his footwork. Some people have a hard time with that, others don't. I'm not really for that move because I think he's a natural OF, but throwing would be the least of my worries with him.

That would've worked before the Gomez extension, when Aoki could've moved to CF. Now Davis would have to prove to be more valueable than Aoki, or go with a Davis/Aoki platoon in LF, which wouldn't leave us with a full-time leadoff hitter. Or, Aoki could be traded at some point, opening up a spot, but trades of "proven" veterans to make room for rookies are taboo for the Brewers. Whether Davis makes the roster will really depend on if they keep an 8th reliever. I think that option is dependant on whether Rogers "finds it" before spring is out, or if they just have to keep him as "long guy who only pitches in blowout games." I like the thought of Davis as the RH bat off the bench/backup LF/Designated Hitter, but with Schafer getting the backup starts at CF/RF, I see Davis as being the odd-man out if they keep the 8th reliever. Of course, if Roenicke would use Gonzalez/Bianchi/Maldonado as a PH/DH ahead of Davis, then he should automatically be sent to AAA. As far as Green goes, I think he's going to see a lot of time at 1B, probably platooning with Gonzalez. Therefore, I think he's now a shoo-in to make the team, and the decision between him and Bianchi will happen when Hart returns. I really hope Green can make the most of this opportunity, as it may be his last shot at regular playing time if he looks bad early this season. Very true. I guess I was just kind of thinking everyone was saying we can't have him play left because of Braun and I thought the next best place Braun could maybe move would be RF. I guess I wasn't considering the domino effect at all. So we'll just pretend I was saying if Aoki or Gomez was gone

I agree this is going to be a great tournament. I haven't gotten my final four done yet....I don't know what to do? Anyone ever use teamrankings.com? I used that every year until they went to a pay site a few years back. They would give percentage chance for each team to advance to each round. I would use a combination of that and my hunches to pick my brackets. It was a great tool to have.

It is a bar, but in 5 years, we have missed maybe 2 weeks. Each week, we get 5-6 guys, and always have 4-5 pitchers plus everyone gets food. They easily make their money back and profit off of us. With what you just said, that makes no sense to me. I would either call him out or just go somewhere else. Maybe you could even start going to another place this year and start laying down the ground work for next years sponsor request.

Check out this tweet from him tonight, and be sure to take note of his background image. Seems like a real class act. WOW! Piece of work.

Braun in RF, Davis in LF. I don't think Davis can play RF. His arm may not look bad, but it's not good at all and to put him in RF would be an issue. I think Braun could handle RF. I think he could maybe handle 1b at some point but I doubt that happens unless he slows down a lot.

Had a blast at Maryvale this past weekend. Really enjoyed watching the game and really liked the atmosphere. I guess I had no idea how many people would be there. I thought there would be a lot less! Ha. I was with a big group and it was more about having fun as opposed to breaking down the team, but my one observation was that Figaro was snapping the mitt! You could just hear he was throwing hard. Anyone had the bloody mary from the stand they have setup there? I was very impressed!

I've always loved Gomez so it's hard not to love this deal. I think some of you are focusing only on his offense and forget how good he is on d. I just don't think having him around hurts us at all and When you compare him to today's market its a smart move. Trade market isn't as good as we think and too many people think its a simple move to trade guys at their peek.

Is it a bar/restaurant? Just playing devil's advocate, but if it is, do you guys go there after games? Usually being a sponsor is an investment. Either advertising or expectation that you'll frequent their establishment and therefore return a profit on the investment.

I thought this weeks episode was pretty solid. It seemed to get more emotions going for me. I know it's building to the confrontation with the Gubbner, but it got me pretty excited this week. I actually think they did a little character building this last episode, more than they have in the past. It felt good, like they let us inside a number of characters. I know we've all been screaming for it, and maybe it wasn't an amazing effort, but I think they are making an effort. Again, I just think this show could go from really good to great. I read some older posts on the 11th page of this thread. I know there was a lot of spinning and there were a lot of flaws in season 2, but I actually enjoyed the time at the farm. I found myself thinking a lot about what I would do if this happened in real life. Figuring out how to survive and provide for myself. I know it was slow at times, but I think the show needs times like that and not just a constant threat of something big happening. Just a thought.

Really starting to get worried about Rogers. I was kind of hoping he'd get the last spot in the rotation, but I'm losing faith in that. Now I'm hoping he can just make the pen. I'd hate to see him go but he's got to do something next time out to show he belongs.

Haven't Stricker and Tiger been buddies for a long time? I seem to remember something about Stricker being one of the only guys from the tour Tiger really hung out with prior to the whole tabloid mess. I saw Stricker speak at a UW function last year and I know he got a lot of questions about how Tiger was handling the scrutiny/tabloids and divorce, etc. Ya they are really good friends, that's why he did it. Stricker is always said to be the nicest guy on tour, maybe the planet! Ha. Lost out on some serious cash because of that, but I bet he sleeps well at night.

Very well said Patrick. Exactly what I was going to respond to all those points. Especially that steroids were on their way out well before testing started. They were already on to the next thing, that was less obvious. Ennder I do think we are both saying the other side of the argument is valid, just not agreeing on how much credit to give to those situations. I would love to see some stats on average distance of LF/RF, power alleys, and CF wall distances, maybe by decade. I do think smaller parks did have a very sizable impact on HRs. I just argue that steroids had the most impact of all the changes that were going on.

Read: "I'm not sorry and you will almost certainly take offense to this..." Haha, reminds me of the good old "I'm not racist, but..."

It was great hearing Ueck's "swing and a drive!!!" Always love that.

Ya I've been thinking about this here and there the last couple years. I think he will get offered something he can't refuse. I think he's very solid and I would be sad to see him go. I have faith that the organization will continue to put solid people in place. They have a good track record.

I'm not against it or anything, I just don't love it. If it was just every once in awhile, maybe I'd be cool with it. To me it just doesn't seem very MLB. Seems more like a college uniform or something. I'm up for giving it a chance, seeing it in action. I also think some of my issue is that it doesn't mesh for me that well with the hat.

Yeah...I can't agree more. Also, just look at guys like Sosa, Bonds, and McGwire. Look at how their bodies looked early in their career and how they looked in their 30's. It was almost comical. It's also funny now that baseball has expanded it's drug testing that you don't see anyone hitting 50 or 60 HRs, or even nearly the amount of players in 40 HRs as you had at the height of the steroid era. There is no way you will ever convince me that steroids did not have a major effect on the statistics during that period. Yep and let guys be in top form well in to their late 30's. I still think it was a great time to watch baseball and I still think Bonds is the best player I've ever seen. It didn't give him a better eye or more ability to hit a ball, it just made him more explosive. He was amazing and I think he should be in the hall of fame.

I do think Ennder has valid points and yes, there was a power surge in the 90's from those factors. But I just don't think you can deny the effect that steroids have on the human body and therefore on the game of baseball. More speed, power, explosiveness = more potential.

I have loved Sim City for a long time. I got really excited when I saw this came out but man does it seem like a big mistake. I'm sure they will get things ironed out, but it really sucks that they are having all these issues.

Boy, I think you are in denial if you don't think steroids played a HUGE part in the spike in HRs. Steroids make you stronger and gives you more endurance and allows you to recover, not only from injury, but just to be 100% every day. By definition all those things make a player better. If they didn't, guys wouldn't lift weights, eat properly, take supplements, take care of their bodies like temples. Steroids don't make a guy off the street in to an all star, but they sure can make a good baseball player more explosive. It's not rocket science.

I want to make sure that I did not come across saying cheating is ok, I just think that when that much money is on the line or fame, people will always try. It happens everywhere in life, not just sports. As you mentioned, is it fair if a kid cheats his way in to college, through college, to get a good job? No, but it does happen all the time. Yes people get caught, but some don't. It happens in the work world too. Like I said, the higher the reward, the more people will take chances.