holybannana

It's rather routine for teams to put all their players on waivers this time of year. It isn't really anything new. People have already stated why teams do this. It's common practice. In fact, it doesn't make sense *not* to put all eligible players on waivers right now. Especially if there's a contract or 2 you wouldn't mind seeing go away without creating a clubhouse uproar.

Might as well make a space for discussion related to Braun's injury here. Hopefully it isn't serious. Mentioned he "couldn't breath"? What's up with that? Anyways, he isn't in the lineup today so he is officially injured I suppose.

First base is the least important defensive position. They have to catch a ball. They do some fielding but overall it's a weak defensive position. Anyone can play first,

TooLiveBrew, I love ya man but you're flat out trolling. Are you a lawyer? Is it really flat out assault? Was it as random as you paint it? Charges? Are you serious? Dude, I would love to see a judge have his time wasted with a plaintiff pressing "pushing" charges. Get real, friend.

Tom Haudricourt doesn't even mention Weeks in his game column. He made him player of the game but all he could talk about in that single paragraph is how Ricky had a bad road trip, going 3/13 prior to the last game. Shouldn't he say something like "Maybe Yost sticking with Weeks will pay off.". Or maybe "Ricky closed off a great road trip batting .411 over the last 6 games.". Talk about a guy with an agenda...

Suppan is an average pitcher. He led the team in innings pitched last year which really means something, considering they were a winning team. Despite him? Don't know. You know what you get with him. He generally gives your team a chance to win. Good enough for me. You won't have studs 1-5.

He probably charges a ton (supply and demand) and that's if you even get him as the surgeon. Good luck without credentials. As for insurance, generally insurance will cover up to a certain amount per procedure. So they say such-and-such should cost $1000.00 and they'll pay that. Generaly that's fine for your typical doctor. But I'm sure this guy would charge $3000.00 for that operation because he can, leaving you on the hook for a lot of extra money. You can have anyone do it if you have the money. That's really all it comes down to. But I highly doubt it is practical for a day to day person. But perhaps you're not! So good luck! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

To answer a few questions on my opinions: "What gives Prince Fielder the right to put anybody in his place?" Prince is the leader of the team. The players acknowledge this. Just like BA Barracus was the leader of the A-Team. A player was acting out of line and Prince fixed it. "How exactly was Parra being a "jerk"?" Parra was acting against a team custom and being a baby about it. He had a couple bad innings and was pouting and was thinking of himself, not the team. He was thinking of himself only. "The reason Prince didn't get to hurt Parra was because he was restrainted immediately by other team-mates before he could do so. What Prince did to Parra was absolutely wrong, unwarranted and unacceptable." Prince would have knocked him out with a single punch if he had intended to, lets be honest here. The team jumping in was more or less customary among scuffles, even ones where real harm wasn't intended. Certainly there could have been other avenues to explore, but this is a sports team and things like this happen suddenly. Guys, Fielder isn't a maniac, he isn't filled with uncontrollable rage and he doesn't have anger issues. Stop making him out to be some bad guy because he isn't. He had a problem with a teammate who wasn't acting like a team player. It had been a frustrating few weeks and thing boiled over a bit. It wasn't that big of a deal. Ask his wife and kid if he has issues. You need to separate an athlete competing from the person outside the arena. It's a different world. Look, every player on that team has said it isn't anything and they were even joking about it the next day. Prince and Manny had a talk after todays game and Prince publicly apologized for how he acted. These things happen a lot. Can we please stop acting like Manny is some innocent little lamb that was slaughtered by Prince the Wolf? He was being a punk and got treated like one. I love Parra too. The reason he sat there afterwards is because he knew he was wrong also. I guess I'm not enraged or shocked by this kind of thing because I've been on ultra competitive sports teams and have seen things like this and been a part of things like this, and worse. And you know what? There wasn't a problem. Things sort themselves out. Your feeling aren't hurt. Your ability to play isn't ruined. You go on and learn from it and it actually brings teams together. You fight because you care. I'm done with this topic though. I hate drama and that's all discussing this is. It's going to be a constant back and fourth of "he's a monster" and "Parra needed a lesson". We're both right and wrong. It doesn't make sense to argue it. I respect your opinions on the matter and just feel differently. From my experiences and data I've gathered from players and watching it myself, this is so unimportant and only being talked about because the media sells more ads by making a big deal out of nothing. I can see why someone feels what he did was wrong. I just disagree. Context is so important here.

Parra was being a jerk and Prince put him in his place. End of story. If Prince's intent was to hurt him he would have.

What about K rates? Doesn't Branyan/Hall strike out a whole lot more than Counsell? Is Counsell more able to lay down a sac bunt? Is he more reliable at putting a ball in play when needed? Is he a smarter/better base runner? Just how much better is his defense? Strikeouts are the biggest thing with Branyan. Part of the reason our RISP convergence is so bad is because we strike out so much I believe. And perhaps having a guy who can put a ball in play (and is worth calling a sac bunt with) at that point is just more valuable? Now, it's easy to argue that it's so rare for a lower OPS player to make a greater contribution to a teams offense because of these other factors. I think its been well studied. But does that take into consideration short term thinking and that being there's way too many strikeouts going on right now, we aren't moving runners over so I need a guy I can rely on to put a dang ball in play? Counsell strikes out half as much as Hall and Branyan (roughly 15% compared to 30%). That's about all I can fathom. I don't agree with it.

I sort of feel like Homer Bailey was called up too fast. Like he could have used a full season in AAA or something. He basically has a season worth of starts at a AA/AAA level combined and it seems like they just wanted to get him going at MLB and he has regressed because of it. I think he's going to be a very good pitcher one day. He has the raw tools. But he seems more lost than anything and unable to consistently compete at this level. He isn't ready emotionally or something. The Reds have botched this one good, IMO. And now, can they really go back and give him that extra AA/AAA season?

1) Ryan Braun (Proclaimed to everyone I knew how this guy was going to be great when he got to the majors...and he is!) 2) Corey Hart (Always liked his game and that he wasn't recognized. He's blown up now!) 3) Ben Sheets (Been some rough times and some great times together. Will miss him when he probably leaves us.) 4) Ricky Weeks (I'm always pulling for this guy and irrationaly think he's going to be very good one day. He always breaks my heart it seems but I have faith in him) 5) Prince Fielder (Gotta love the big guy.) *Last year Damien Miller would have made this list. I know, I know...I just liked that guy for some reason.

Th team looked relaxed tonight. I don't know what that means but they took "good AB's" and looked content the whole time. It felt fresh and clean. Likely my own delusional feelings. they look like they know they're in this TOGETHER. Lets see how my attitude is tomorrow, lulz.

Because now no matter what happens he has a ton of money for the rest of his life. And if he survives this contract the next one will make him even sillier wealthy. Same reason Braun signed his deal. He *could* make more, but that employs risk. Why bother risk when you have nothing (compared to what you're offered) when it's comparable to your potential?

"Easily" gotten hurt? Unlikely. "Could have" gotten hurt? Yes. That's a critical difference and important. You can't frame this that way. Perhaps it was "pure anger" (I'm not sure if that's even defined or that we're talking about the same thing when using abstractions such as that) but we can't be sure. I mean, wouldn't "pure anger" more likely have been a clenched fist to the jaw? That sounds far more uncontrollable and "pure" to me. I think it was a guy pushing another guy down and then intimidating him. He never intended to hurt anyone from the looks of it because he *would* have hurt him if he intended for that. And although an injury could have bee incidental, I don't think it was likely or easily attainable. He shoved the guy and he went into the seat. He didn't throw him into a wall, punch him or throw him down. In fact, the evidence suggests this was a controllable act and he worked within probable parameters of not hurting the guy. Guys wrestle in the clubhouse and goof off all the time. Some even use salad tongs. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Wouldn't Hall be the best player on paper then? Since, his current OPS is below his projected and Branyan's is much higher?... I really have no idea why he's starting there though. All I can think of is Counsel strikes a whole lot less than those guys and is more likely to advance runners with the outs he makes? He does have a higher OBP than those guys...I'm not saying this justifies it, but he might be thinking not making outs is the most important thing when considering the Ph of this lineup? OBP and potentially advancing runners on base. Being able to make the sac bunt, et.

I agree with this and what Ryan Braun had to say. He said his agent showed him some numbers about what he *could* make if he didn't sign now and waited it out. And yeah, the numbers were bigger. But he looked at the probably 50 million he's getting no matter what happens now from the Brewers and said "What can't I buy with that much money?". It's the best approach IMO. Why be greedy? I'm not saying be had by the owners but you have to take your current situation into consideration. If you're worth nothing and someone offers you 50 million guaranteed or you could wait a few years and maybe 80 million...what's better? I'd say going from 0-50,000,000. is much more dramatic than going from 50,000,000 -> 80,000,000. I believe Fielder has made a mistake in waiting it out. But then they ahd a different situation since Fielder was closer to arby. But even that is a season by season process, so who knows what happens? Take the money and run. In 4 years, he'll either be retierd and counting his money or he'll be getting ready for a new contract that dwarfs this one. Either way he's insanely rich and will have more money than anyone needs.

But can you throw it for strikes?

I really think Manny was having a bad attitude about it all. He was sulking and thinking about himself by not supporting the team. And Fielder, the leader and alpha male of the team, had issue with it and he let Manny know real good that he wasn't acting like a supportive teammate. Manny will likely never act out of line again and will support his teammates. It's a sports team and you can't draw a parallel between what happens on the bench and what happens in your office. It's not even close to being the same environment. Ultra competitive, testosterone driven (read: ego and machismo) dudes are in a tight group for a long time trying to accomplish the same goal. These things happen. Who hasn't been on a real competitive team and not seen things like this? This is sports, not cooperate America. This kinda thing happens a lot in sports. There isn't a single NFL or NBA training camp that doesn't have a fist fight. A better comparison is the Military. Anyone here been enlisted? I haven't but I have friends that are/were and I've heard many stories of fights because guys are out of line or whatever. I don't know if everyone understands the language and in our fluffy, soft and watered down media sensationalized world, I think a lot of people have lost touch with some of the things that happen in these kinds of pressure filled environments. Now, I'm not saying that if you disagree with me that you are this kind of person or even that this kind of person is wrong. But please admit that this is more or less normal in these kinds of places. This isn't a strange, abnormal or disturbing occurrence. Admit this happens all the time and acting like this is some kind of big deal is taking the media bait. That this happens at every level of competitive sports.

Why do people suddenly hate the guy and want him off the team? Because he hasn't been as productive as last year (still a top producer on the team)? Give the guy a break and learn to be a fan. Fans don't just ditch a player when he's down. Fans follow a player and support them. I'm not trying to tell people how to act but have some empathy for the guy. He's obviously frustrated. He plays with a lot of pride and its taken a bit of a beating so far this year. I don't think we've seen his best baseball yet.

I kind of agree. The second push was magnitudes more out of line. Overall I agree with the players and it isn't a big deal. I've been on competitive teams and things have gotten tight and fights happen. No one is proud of them but you always put it past you real fast and oddly in all my experiences it has always brought the team closer together. Its like a big emotion rush is let out by a lot of guys and you bond off it. It's the whole alpha thing when you're in a pack... Braun's comments are really impressive. His maturity and professionalism so early in his career are admirable. And I agree with Prince (his apparent words, not his actions): a pitcher should watch his team bat and cheer for them before going to the clubhouse. Especially a young guy like Parra.

Yeah, we just need Yost to get ejected tomorrow and that seems to be the magical formula for success. Team fight followed up by manager ejection = playoffs.

I agree but this was more or less spontaneous, no? Emotions are high, the pressure is on and things aren't going right. This doesn't give anyone a right to be a jerk, but I'm sure he was at least partially provoked. Not justifying it, but saying that things like this happen sometimes.

At least this team has emotion and cares. I'd rather this happen than a bunch if guys sitting around not caring. They want to win. They want to do well. When things aren't going well little things turn into bigger things like this. This is a good thing. I'm not saying the team needs to brawl but dang it, it's nice to see they give a crap about this season. And form the video it looks like Manny lipped off and hit a nerve with an already frustrated Prince, who let him know the alpha status of that locker room. I honestly don't have much of a problem with it. So long as these guys are still the same good friends they've been for awhile and I'm sure they are. I guess I'm old school. I don't buy into the media sensationalism and outrage when athletes under intense pressure and scrutiny pop off from time to time. This kind of thing happens to teams that care that haven't been playing to their abilities for awhile now.,

I'm just sayin'...when macho egotistical athletes (men) get together for long stretches and get frustrated, they sometimes fight. This is how its always been and always will be. It isn't a big deal. Who hasn't been on a team and gotten into it with someone? I don't think comparing this to beating your wife is relevant or respectful to the millions of women who have suffered from these kinds of abuses.