nate82

McClendon is looking rather nice this spring. I am hoping he makes the roster as he is looking rather good and could easily replace what Hawkins and Saito did last year.

If Lawrie would have went for Greinke, then we'd still have Odorizzi, I have a hard time believing Melvin would have given up our best pitching and hitting prospects in the same trade, and I could have lived with that. If I am remembering everything correctly from last off season thecrew07 Greinke initially killed a deal to Milwaukee before the Marcum trade went down. You can only assume that Lawrie was in the deal that was originally to get Greinke before he was traded for Marcum. There possibly could have been a better deal for the Brewers in terms of trading Lawrie but that is just another assumption. The Brewers were going to lose at least one pitcher in the deal for Greinke no matter what. The Brewers probably keep Odorizzi but lose both Cain and Lawrie and probably one or two of Peralta/Scarpetta/Fiers. Not that big of a loss to lose one or two of those players but still would have had an impact on the Brewers system. I am also not certain the Royals would have seen Lawrie as a viable 2B option. They already have a rather good 3B and 1B in the mix. I don't believe the Royals were going to give up on Gordon so he would have had taken a spot in the OF. Lawrie would probably have been out of a position with the Royals and blocked. I am not sure the Royals would have used him as a DH as they have that covered also. A logical place that Lawrie could have been traded to was the Mariners at the time. I don't really think that would have been realistic though as I don't see the Mariners trading Pineda for Lawrie which would have been one of the better moves Melvin could have done. Another team with a hole would have been the Rangers. The Rangers obviously wouldn't have traded anyone from their current roster to get Lawrie but they probably would have moved a nice piece for him. The Rays would have been another team to explore a trade with but I think at best you are looking at Colome and not Davis as the piece you would be receiving in return. A lot of what ifs and could of's in this situation here. I am still not all that happy with the trade itself but it worked out for now for the Brewers. I would have loved to have gotten a younger pitcher in that trade but it didn't happen. Nothing that can be done about it and it is time to move on.

It looks like the Bucks are playing like they were before the trade again. No defense and very sloppy play.

$400 for a simple window repair sounds rather expensive. Did you go to a dealership and see if they would fix it and they gave you that quote? You could probably easily fix it yourself as there are a ton of videos on youtube and walk through guides on the internet to do this. Another option if you don't feel comfortable doing this would be to make a post on craigslist and see if you can get a local mechanic to do it for you. There is a little danger here that you could get a complete idiot trying to fix it for you. $400 just sounds over the top expensive for something this simple. At most you are looking at $75 to replace one motor and I am assuming you only need to replace one or can get by with only having one fixed? If I were you I would first see how much it would cost to buy a new motor for the window if that is what you need to have done and then see if you can do it yourself. If that failed I would post on craigslist and see if I could get a mechanic to come over and fix the window for me for some cash. You will probably be saving around $300 total if you go this route.

I couldn't agree more. And he might actually already be the second-best CF defender in the organization, and there's some pretty good competition with Aoki & Morgan in the mix. I wouldn't say he is undervalued. He is what he is. Schafer reminds me a lot of Brady Clark offensively and Bernie Williams defensively. His value will almost always be in his defense playing CF but if Schafer could somehow improve his OBP skills he could be what Bernie Williams was offensively at best but I am going to go with Schafer being more like Brady Clark offensively. Now a note I really love Schafer as a prospect as I see him as a key component for the Brewers going forward but Schafer really is what he is. Schafer is probably a 4th OF or a platoon player (not a bad thing). Schafer may give you a year or two here or there with some really nice numbers but he really isn't anything special.

I would still prefer the Bucks to tank rather than getting into the playoffs and being one and done. I would prefer a 10-15 pick which may even still happen if the Bucks make the playoffs (something is definitely wrong with the NBA).

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought if you had an extra picks you had extra money in your pool? It wouldn't make sense to penalize Milwaukee for losing Fielder by forcing them to pay 2 more players with the same pool of money as they would have had with no extra picks. Not sure if this helps or not but the CBA says this: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/2011_CBA.pdf The one thing I question here is that it only states the signing bonus. Couldn't a team give a player a larger than normal minor league contract instead of them giving the player a large signing bonus?

I would say a lot as that ligament is in the elbow I believe? From what I have read on that it is usually about 6 weeks or more of recovery and then some rehab after that. I would believe his draft stock would absolutely plummet with this injury.

If teams pass on Drummond in the top 5 they are going to be regretting that decision. Drummond has a high basketball IQ along with a very good work ethic. He is also a top notch defensive player who can play either the 5 or the 4. Some scouts have him compared to Amare. I don't believe Drummond is an Amare offensively but he is 10 times the defender Amare is, was, and ever will be. Teams are going to regret passing on Drummond in the draft if they do. While Davis maybe the #1 pick I see Drummond fitting in better than Davis in Milwaukee as a compliment piece to Bogut. Offensively Drummond is going to be a work in progress but he should be defensively at or near an elite level when he comes into the league. I believe Drummond will have that drive that will make him a top 15 star in the NBA he will be someone that teams will want to build around.

The 11th spot wouldn't be bad and I am kind of liking the idea of the Bucks drafting Jeremy Lamb. Lamb would be a great #2 for the Bucks and would be someone that the Bucks could really use. I am still hoping maybe some how the Bucks can get the #1 pick and take Drummond.

I am not worried about Aoki getting playing time as Braun and Hart have been injured or hurt themselves at one point in a season for the last two years I believe. I believe Aoki is going to get plenty of playing time spelling Hart on occasion and whenever Braun needs a day off. Depending on Aoki's defense he could also be a late game replacement. If you were to trade Morgan I am not sure you would get much of anything in return for him. You would be lucky to get anything better than what was given up for him last year. Gomez probably has the most value trade wise if a team is absolutely in love with his potential over his results but again I am not sure you would get much in return. If the Brewers still have this problem next year and depending on how well Gamel plays in the current upcoming season you could probably see Hart being traded in the off season. If the Brewers are doing poorly this year Hart will probably be all the talk at the trade deadline. I am not sure Greinke or Marcum will garner much interest or at least the amount you would have seen in the past due to the new CBA rules. Hart really is the biggest chip that the Brewers have trade wise.

Wouldn't moving him to 2B be more optimal than 3B? I would think that he would be moved to 2B rather than 3B as his hitting skills would translate better there than at 3B. Defensively I think it would be a wash if he was at 2B rather than at 3B (haven't seen Diekroeger play so only guessing here). The only thing I am hoping for the Brewers to do in this draft is to somehow get an impact bat either it be from the college ranks or a high school player. I would prefer multiple impact bat guys but that maybe just me being in more of a fantasy world in that idea.

I have received a job through them once. They are OK but definitely not the greatest recruiters out there. Basically they forgot all about me and everyone else at the position and didn't really check in on us on how everything was going and if the job was a fit but then again I have been spoiled by Randstad as they would check up on me every month. I am currently doing a contract position with them right now. I have had problems with Aerotek in the past where the recruiter only knew the bare basics of what the job entailed basically only what you would get from a job posting and that was it. Be careful with that as it either means the recruiter knows nothing about the job and was just assigned to fill it or they need to hit their quota for the month and need to fill the job no matter what even if it isn't a fit for you and your skills.

I would love to get a triple cheeseburger for $1.69

Greinke won't be the one pricing himself out of the Brewers range. That will be all the market and nothing on Greinke. Matt Cain will more than likely get a big contract and you are looking at a contract that would be about similar to what Cain is going to get in free agency. It would be nice to get a Weaver team friendly deal but I doubt that is going to happen at all. The only way that happens is if Greinke signs an extension before he hits free agency because once he hits free agency it makes no sense at all for him to take a lower deal when other teams will be offering him a whole lot more. If Greinke goes to FA I fully expect the Nationals to sign him to a rather big deal. I believe the Nationals are going to go hard after both Cain and Greinke if they are on the market. The Nationals will only get one of Cain or Greinke but it is going to cost a lot for whoever is going to want to sign either Greinke or Cain. Cain is probably going to get a contract at somewhere between 5-7 years and at about $17-20m annually. Greinke will probably get a deal at 5 or 6 years with an annual salary of $16-18m.

It would be near impossible for the Bucks to end up with the worst record or one of the worst records in the league. With about 36 games left to play the Bucks would have to basically only win 8-10 games of the remaining games they have left. That could be possible but I don't think it is anywhere near as likely for that to happen plus the Raptors, Nets, Wizards, Bobcats and Hornets to win about 10-15 games of their remaining games. The Bucks could end up anywhere between the 6th worst record to the 10th worst record in the league. The Bobcats look to be going for the worst record ever in NBA history. They may not even hit 10 wins on the season. A funny thing is that the Hornets could possibly get the 1st and 2nd pick in the draft.

the most common criticism of Maryvale Baseball Park, it's location in a hardscrabble part of Phoenix. That is a nice way to say a bad area. I drove by the area and I would only go to games during the day and would leave well before it turned to dusk. I definitely wouldn't do anything other than going to the game in that area of Phoenix. I will also be only going to Brewer games when they play in Peoria, Goodyear, Scottsdale (near where I work), and Surprise. I probably wont go to many if any at Maryvale.

A lot of players in that draft refused to visit Milwaukee and I may not be recalling that correctly but something is sticking in my mind about that. The one thing about the 2008 draft is if the draft would have gone by record instead of some stupid ping pong the Bucks could have had Eric Gordon and the Bulls wouldn't have gotten Rose either. I also believe that in 2008 if the Bucks were dead set on drafting a Forward they should have drafted Anthony Randolph instead. I am not sure the Bucks have figured out the idea of using the BPA strategy. I think they are evaluating and going with guys with the highest upside but with very low floors and reaching with their 1st round picks. While with their 2nd round picks they are drafting guys at least recently who have high floors and rather low ceilings. I don't want the Bucks to not draft high upside players but with the NBA it seems that guys with high upside potential but don't really have a floor set are always flops. .rant. I can express how much I hate the stupid ping pong gamble that the NBA has for its draft. This has to be one of the dumbest ideas to ever have been thought up for a draft. I mean come on a team that is only 16 games under .500 gets the first pick in the draft when a team that is 50+ games under .500 now gets the 2nd pick in the draft or worse they could get a 5th pick? It makes absolutely no sense at all. .rantover.

I think I have said this a few times now but if you want to look at what kind of play Gindl could be just look at Matt Stairs and his numbers in the majors and also look at his numbers from the minors. Somewhat similar players in body type and performance in the minors though I believe Gindl got to AAA faster than Stairs did.

The Bucks also need to get lucky and have a top 5 pick in a draft that is loaded with actual top 5 pick talent. The Bulls couldn't have gone wrong with picking either Rose or Durant. I agree that the Bucks need to stop signing fringe FA and they need to get a high draft pick. Hopefully Drummond stays for another year but I highly doubt he will as he is probably going to go #1 in the draft. If the Bucks are picking in the 9-12 range which is where they will probably land hopefully. I could see someone like Bradley Beal, Terrence Jones, Percy Joones (a long stretch as I think he will be gone before the Bucks pick),or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on the Bucks radar. Bradley Beal makes the most sense unless the Bucks get lucky and get the 1st pick in the draft somehow. I would love to get Drummond as I believe he could easily replace Bogut 2-3 years down the road. It would also help ease Drummond into the league playing him at the PF position and then moving him to center once Bogut's contract is over. Realistically I see the Bucks getting a pick in the 9-13 range which looks to have some decent talent. Bradley Beal would fit in perfectly with the team right now as he would be an outside threat as he shoots mid and long range rather well. The Bucks are definitely lacking a true long range threat and it would help Jennings out. Beal is probably not at the ideal height that you would want for a 2 guard and if he doesn't work out there he could always be a rather good backup PG or the Bucks could trade Jennings.

I think you have to purchase the MLB.TV app in order to watch on a smart phone. I am not 100% on that also this year you will be able to get MLB.TV on the Xbox 360 along with the PS3 and other devices. The only problem I had with the PS3 version was when I had my computer on at the same time and I was browsing the net and doing other things like playing a game or any other intensive bandwidth stuff.

With that tweet from Heyman it sounds like this is a more complicated case than any of the other ones that have been brought forth. I would still expect some kind of announcement before spring training starts at least before the spring training games start.

Speaking of HBO I can't wait for Game of Thrones to start up again. I have been watching FaceOff on Syfy lately I don't know why but I have been. Usually I only watch Syfy when there is a Battlestar Galactica rerun on or if Ghost Hunters is on again I don't know why I watch the last show. I haven't really watched anything on basic cable for a long time now after Jericho was canceled for some dumb reason was really the last time I watched an actual episode on basic cable. I have been watching the Star Wars: The Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network a lot lately to. I actually find that show to be good and I also like Bomb Patrol Afghanistan it was a rather cool documentary series that was on G4.

Why worry about someone who is a platoon player at best?

I would prefer Vlad or Fukudome over Derek Lee. I think you could even experiment playing Vlad at 1B from time to time plus if Braun does get suspended for 50 games Vlad would be a good fit in the lineup and could even play some LF.