NievesNoNO

No Baltimore won't want him for a year. I wouldn't think any team would give up anything for 1 year. I'm more questioning whether or not they'd have/want to give the money to sign him and stop him from entering free agency. At this point I'm wondering if any team will be willing to give up the prospects and shell out enough money to stop him from the bidding. I'm staring to think the Brewers will not get enough in return and might just play out the contract and let him walk for the picks after next year. Josh Bell from BaseballAmerica.com.

Could anybody see Baltimore willing to pony up for Prince. I like what the Orioles have done in recent years and they're probably not in much a better position to sign him long term, but eventually if they want to make a run at that division they're going to need some fire power. I could maybe see them interested if their young pitching shows solid developement this year and they feel like they're close. They have a good young core now with Markakis, Jones, Wieters and their young arms. Prince bombing shots off the warehouse for a few years might be kind of appealing. Cot's has their payroll around 67 mil. for the upcoming season so there might be room to add. Prince for Arrieta, Britton, and Josh Bell? Thoughts?

Q, I pretty much agree with your entire post. Let's give Hammond a chance here my gosh. While 2nd round picks rarely have a large impact the bucks have given themselves a chance to hit on one with 9 total picks in the next 3 years. They have some expiring contracts next year and have a good young PG and Bogut is starting to develop into a solid big man. Just because you can swing a crazy deal in your video game doesn't mean it can happen in real life.

I have also been wondering about P90X. Thanks to all who posted who've used it. I didnt' want to spend the money for a pull up bar that I wasn't sure would work anyway in our small house or for the adjustable weights. I went with Insanity instead as you just need yourself and a DVD player. I've been trying to work my way back into shape after a few years of not caring. I few years back I had done the Body for Life program which also is big on many small meals throughout the day making sure to get protien and carbs in each and drinking plenty of water. For those who haven't eaten that way before, it does take some getting used to but you can really crank up your metabolism. I've never been one to be on a strict calorie counting diet, but I can see where that's the way to go if you want to be sure to get results. In fact I may go that route as I haven't been seeing the results I've been looking for. I usually just use portion size to monitor my eating. I have read alot of nutrition labels though so I have a fair idea of how many calories are in what.

The more I think about the situation the more I realize the Brewers can't win. 1)If they are able to resign Prince they've put themselves in a position where they must almost exclusively rely on their farm system for players to fill out the rest of their roster and will need to trade or let any current young players that reach the end of their arbitration years go to free agency. (I still like this option the best) 2)Trade him. But to who? Few teams will be willing to part with elite prospects for a one year rental but even fewer teams have the money to trade for him and work out a big enough extension that will persuade Prince to forgo the impending free agent bidding war. So assuming we wait until next off-season to trade him who does that leave? The Yankees, Boston, maybe the Angels or Dodgers, Chicago? If I'm giving up my mega prospects (assuming these clubs even have any) I would think there better be an agreement for an extension in place before a trade or why would I do the trade when I can just buy him in the following off-season without giving up anything (except for the comp. picks). 3)Let him play out the deal and take the picks. This kind of feels like giving up and I'm sure to the majority of the fan base this is an unacceptable route, but if teams don't end up offering up some elite talent they may as well go this route instead of taking a big market teams 2nd/3rd tier 4A garbage in return.

I agree that will be alot of money to fill some holes, however signing an elite pitcher will likely cost a similar amount of money as it will cost to sign Fielder. So if they're not committed to signing Fielder long term I doubt they'll want to pony up what it'll take to get an elite pitcher. I do agree that if we aren't going to resign him then we need to get something back in a trade. To who and for what I don't know. I would guess that all ready the team has a good idea where they stand and what they're going to do come next year.

No, I don't think Hart deserved the raise. However, I think of the three major sports baseball has the best pay structure system. Yes, it needs some tweaking so that all players must come through the draft and some of the top drafted players have been getting substantial money, but it's no where near as bad as football or basketball. Honestly, when I look at player salaries I treat them like fantasy or video game numbers. None of the numbers are realistic to me since I can't even comprehend having a 50K job a year so it really doesn't upset me with the money that's being made. It's more of a societal issue than a baseball issue. For my money I'd be hard pressed to get much more enjoyment per dollar than making a day of it at the ball park. Yes, it's tough being a small market fan, but that's just how it is. Can't wait to get this season rolling!

That sounds simplistic but I agree. Players like Prince don't come along very often and for the 20 mil. or so he's going to get per season there isn't much doubt of what you're getting in return. 40 hr., 120 rbi and around 100 runs I would guess will be about the average over the next 6-7 years. I also agree that it would definatley reduce some payroll flexablity, but it could also make Doug be more selective in giving out money. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Melvin fan but I can easily find 10-20 million/year that I would rather give to Prince. I'm not a huge fan of giving relievers any significant money, so between Hoffman, Riske, and Hawkins that's enough money right there to give Prince an extra 10 mil. a year. There's also some decent money sitting on our bench that could've been filled by some of our younger players in the system. I would also like to try and lock up Gallardo, but beyond him I don't see any other current player in that boat. Again, even signing Fielder to a monster deal I don't think prohibits the team from locking in Gallardo. It's just a matter of where you want to funnel the money. If they were willing to give CC 100/5, then I don't think 120-140/6-7 for Prince is out of the realm of possibility. In fact, I would argue that there's significantly less risk in signing Prince. Although, I suppose CC was never going to sign a 5 year deal when there were deals with 2-3 more years on the table anyway. Is there any proof that Fielder was never offered a Braun type deal? I think there's an assumption that he wasn't offered an extension earlier in his career when it's possible that he was but turned it down.

The Big Hurt was one of my favorites growing up. As an overall player Griffey beats him because he played the OF, but Thomas IMO is the best hitter of his generation. I sometimes wonder if he was a little less disciplined at the plate what kind of HR totals he might have attained.

1. Weeks 2. McGhee 3. Braun 4. Fielder 5. Hart 6. Escobar 7. Gomez 8. Lucroy/Zaun 9. Pitcher

I absolutely love FBB and also spend way to much time on draft prep, but there are worse ways to waste time. I play a 15 team roto/auction/keeper league. The league has been around for about 20 years; I've been teaming with my dad for about 5 years and it's a good time. I'd be awefully disappointed if the league ever fell apart. As for the pitchers in the original post I'd put them into 2 tiers with Nolasco, Jiminez, and Kershaw being in tier 1 and Billingsly, Garza, Jurrjens, and Lackey in tier 2. Kershaw with the biggest upside and potential for a Lincecum like progression and Lacky with the potential for the biggest bust. His innings pitched have been on the decline the last couple years, and he's logged a lot of innings over his career. Probably still a pretty safe pick though. Sbrylski, I might be interested. I also prefer roto over head-to-head and like the DL idea as I don't like the craziness of daily moves.

I've been debating getting a subscription to MLBTV this season. I've read a fair amount of negative reviews from past subscribers. Does anyone here have a subscription and like it/plan to renew? I had it for a few months a few years back and was less than impressed, however I didn't have the best internet connection. For anyone that uses it and likes it, what do you recommend for connection speed. I know that MLBTV has recommendations, but sometimes those are not the same as what actually works. I've also read you can circumvent the blackout restriction by connecting to a proxy server outside the viewing area. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Thanks in advance for the info.

I've never understood people holding out for Rickie to become a "Brandon Phillips type player. Sure, I wish he had Phillips' glove and durability. But Weeks is the better hitter, and pretty much always has been. I guess I'm just talking production wise not talent level. If he produces at that type of level we're probably not discussing whether or not to try and trade him at this point. Their careers started off slowly for different reasons, but Cleveland basically gave Phillips away and I don't want to see the Brewers do the same with Weeks.

There is no way to judge something like this when injuries are involved. Weeks has been a very solid player when healthy, who knows what he could have done without the wrist problems. We rushed him to the majors which did him no favors either. I agree, I think Weeks still has immense potential. Whether injuries continue to derail his career remains to be seen but the guy can hit when he's healthy. Brandon Phillips' name keeps popping in my head when I think about giving up on him.

I'll take Bush and Hart. Hopefully Hart is doing it for us. Bush, if healthy, might be our 2nd or 3rd best pitcher. I don't think Hart has benefited much from being moved up and down the order. Hopefully they just stick him in that 5 or 6 hole and tell him to hit it hard somewhere and let him use his speed on the bases as well. Maybe (hopefully) he's this year's Mark Reynolds.

Good call Ueck. I don't have a problem with the signing as long as he's strictly in a bench role.

First, I like the signing a lot. I also think they're trying to minimize some of the uncertainty with players and I'm sure Brad Nelson's early struggles last year are still in their minds. There is still a good deal of uncertainty regarding Gomez, Escobar, and McGhee to some extent, so adding a veteran player instead of a younger less proven player like Irrabaren probably had some appeal.

I think the offense will be fine and the defense should be similar. On paper they're better, but all question really start and end with the pitching staff, as they do with many teams heading into a season, IMO. Will Yo become an elite pitcher or just remain very good? Will Wolf duplicate his success over the last 2 years? Will Manny Parra's potential finally be realized? If 2/3 of those end up being answered positively then I think we are in contention, if not we simply don't have enough good pitching depth.

I just checked Guzman out. Wow, for a team starved for offense why hasn't this guy gotten more of a chance? Sign me up.

I don't really care that he's 32. He's played 2nd, 3rd, and all the outfield positions, mostly corner OF and 2B, but I think that qualifies as versatile.

The rangers designated Joe Inglett for assignment. I'd like to see the Brewers sign him up for a bench role. He looks like he has some versatility and can handle the bat alright, not for much power, but for a decent obp and avg.

Those two are enough to make me fear it. I think there's still enought offense on this team to be dangerous, granted Gomez is a large downgrade from Cameron offensively. However, it isn't a stretch to think Braun and Fielder are still young enough to improve and Weeks could actually play more than a few months (I know, big IF). While I liked Hardy he had a bad year last year so Escobar might be able to put up similar numbers and the same with Hart who really did nothing last year. All in all I don't see a big decrease in offense coming barring injuries.

It wouldn't surprise me, although I have to think their payroll has got to be maxed out. I think Mulder is still probably an option, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see a Maine for Hart deal. The Brewers have been scooping up a few outfielders lately (Hopper, Oeltjen) perhaps to give them some flexibility to make a deal if one presents itself. I like the fact we seem to have some depth to start the season with. Gallardo, Wolf, Davis, Parra, Bush, Suppan, and Vargas should at least keep us from having to see the likes of Burns again. I think the wild card is still Manny Parra. He's the only one that can push this rotation from average to solid. I'm still hopeful, but somehow I think he just might never get it all put together.

Davis scares me with his high WHIP and declining ability to strike guys out. I think Washburn ends up signing late in the month for a reasonable price. Garland would be alright too. Gallardo, Wolf, Washburn/Garland, Parra, and Bush is no all-star rotation, but is certainly an upgrade. If they can just get to league average we'd be in a prime position for a play-off spot.

Perhaps there are some talks again? Link