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Shyam Das is that you?

karl ravech ‏ @karlravechespn Every indication is that 50 games suspension will stand. No appeal has ever been successful It is this type of reporting that makes me long for the days when news wasn't reported with at least a small source of credibility. To simply report that the suspension will stand only because no appeal has ever been successful is yet another example of how lousy journalism is today.

Ok I can't believe I am going to say this and I know I will get serious backlash for doing so but... Since Pujols has signed out here with the Angels, the L.A. Times has done a lot of reporting on his background and who he is and I must say I am beginning to like him. While I can't stand the staring down of every single HR and the on field antics with Chris Carpenter and Nyjer Morgan last year, Pujols genuinely seems to be a class act off the field. I must admit I am a sucker for charitable foundations for children with Downs Syndrome: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0214-albert-pujols-charity-20120214,0,5091118.story Sometimes I think we all get a little carried away with our "hate" for players and sometimes some perspective of who they are helps to remember it is only a game. I will still boo him when he stares at a wall scraping HR though.

I'm pretty sure that Zim Bear walks around in the middle of the night and is never where you left it before you went to sleep. Seriously, I'm 30 and I don't think I could sleep with that thing in my house.

I covet a lot of things about the Yankees...mostly their TV contract. Sigh....

Great post Stevo aka Old City. For what its worth, that 9.3 for Greinke sure does look like an outlier to me. He hasn't produced at a level which to me says he deserves much more than Weaver, Hernandez and Verlander. If he is determined to set the market with Cain and Hamels then there is literally nothing the Brewers can do about it because I don't believe they have the financial freedoms to go much higher than Weaver's.

I think the only thing that could make this a truly "bad" offseason for what the Brewers did or did not do as an organizations is a potential Braun suspension. The replacement of 2011 Fielder/ McGehee/Betancourt with 2012 Gamel/Ramirez/Gonzalez has been discussed at great length on this board and I believe it is darn close to a push. Replacing 2011 Hawkins and Saito with 2012 Veras and Loe is definitely a downgrade but not a substantial enough one to warrant any huge concerns. I believe Kintzler will become a rock solid option in the 2012 bullpen and actually replace K-Rod as the 8th inning guy in 2013. The rotation remains in tact. The bench appears to have more depth than in 2011. I just don't see how this was a "bad" offseason. I disagree. First of all, the Brewers lost probably one of the top 3-4 players that this organization has ever produced... for nothing that will help the team for the next few years, if ever. Second, Braun is probably going to get suspended for 50 games, with his past and future accomplishments forever tainted. Those two things are enough to rank things right at the top in my view. In the final analysis, the team has lost roughly a third of the division winning team (and possibly Braun for 50 games), and replaced them with Ramirez, Gonzalez, Veras, Izturis, and some guys with little to no MLB track record. I know that some would argue that the defection of some of these guys is 'addition by subtraction'.... In my view, they lost a big chunk of power from the lineup, their bullpen has been weakened, and the bench is still bad. Moving forward, they have many more question marks than they did last year at this time. The only plus is that the rotation is coming back intact, though I have my doubts whether all of those guys (particularly Marcum and Wolf) will repeat 2012. The defense will probably be better, but it's not like the team has added a bunch of gold glovers. Respectfully then we just share a different opinion. Do I think the 2012 Brewers win 96 games? No. Is that more a reflection on improvements from the Reds and Pirates? Yes. To your points: *Yes, the Brewers lost Fielder which will most certainly hurt. However, it is not like they signed Sean Berry to replace him. Regardless of the fact that he plays 3B and Fielder plays 1B, Ramirez was signed to replace Fielder. Gamel essentially replaces McGehee. I think it is very likely the Brewers can get 90% of what Fielder and McGehee gave the 2011 Brewers (51 HRs, 187 RBI) from Ramirez and Gamel. *The Brewers only lost a big chunk of power from Fielder. However based on his track record, Ramirez alone could match Casey's and Yuni B's combined 26 HR from 2011, leaving Gamel and Gonzalez to combine to hit 38 HRs to match Fielder. I would say this is likely. So what did they lose? *2012 Iztruis is likely better than 2011 Counsell. Yes? *Saito and Hawkins will be missed I agree. *What would make you believe the starters won't match 2011? That is unbased and purely speculative. The possible Braun suspension looms as the biggest killer. However, that is not something the Brewers could have even remotely anticipated. If Braun is not suspended, then this offseason looks to be about a push for me. Not necessarily getting better but certainly not the worst I could have imagined.

The comments in that story make it look like it was from the first week of January as well.

That's entirely possible, but really all Greinke has to do is say "I want the same deal Weaver got," have a good attorney read over the paperwork, and he will get what Weaver got without having the agent's commission taken out. Note: Feel free to insert "I want {year/value}" in place of "I want the same deal Weaver got" if you don't feel Weaver's deal is a reasonable barometer for Greinke. The point is that Greinke could easily work the deal himself if he is reasonably competent. MLB Trade Rumors made interesting points about Verlander, Weaver and King Felix being bad comparables because Verlander's and King Felix's bought out 2 arbitration years and Weaver wanted to stay close to home. However, if I am the Brewers front office and Greinke tells me he wants more than Weaver's 5 year $85 million, Verlander's 5 year $80 million or King Felix's 5 year $78 million, I tell him thanks but no thanks. Save 2009, he has not been the pitcher these guys have been.

My point was that the game of baseball is not strictly about offense. However, the business of baseball is 100% about offense. The standard of Little League baseball is relevant because that is where the bottom line business end of baseball is not considered.

I think the only thing that could make this a truly "bad" offseason for what the Brewers did or did not do as an organizations is a potential Braun suspension. The replacement of 2011 Fielder/ McGehee/Betancourt with 2012 Gamel/Ramirez/Gonzalez has been discussed at great length on this board and I believe it is darn close to a push. Replacing 2011 Hawkins and Saito with 2012 Veras and Loe is definitely a downgrade but not a substantial enough one to warrant any huge concerns. I believe Kintzler will become a rock solid option in the 2012 bullpen and actually replace K-Rod as the 8th inning guy in 2013. The rotation remains in tact. The bench appears to have more depth than in 2011. I just don't see how this was a "bad" offseason.

Deciding factor for me on this issue: When you learned to play this game did you ever dream about being the DH? Nobody did. Sure as a kid learning to play you always wanted to hit more than field but you still loved the game the same whether you were hitting or fielding. To me, fielding is as important as hitting and if you can only hit then you have neglected half of the game of baseball and should be relegated to being a PH or a liability in the field. Likewise, if you can only field (Carlos Gomez) and can't hit then you've done the same thing and should be liability at the plate. At the MLB level, I think players should be expected to be able to both hit and field therefore the DH should be eliminated in my humble opinion.

Realistically, I think we have all been anticipating Braun being suspended while hoping he wouldn't be. I for one hope that if he is suspended it will be because of some type of accidental reason (i.e. combination of medication or the like) that will not completely damage his chances at reaching the Hall of Fame. I take great pride in having HOF players wearing a Brewers cap, especially a player like Ryan Braun who will likely spend his entire career in Milwaukee.

I would love to see him back in Milwaukee in some kind of capacity. Seemed to be the perfect vet for that 2008 team. Lots of leadership in that man. Untuckem!

Why are we constantly trying to make the Brewers a small market team when Attanasio obviously doesn't allow this team to be? Trading a 30 HR/year, average fielding while injury prone 2B to make room for Gennett is one of the dumbest moves the Brewers could make in my opinion. Rickie is only going to be 31 next year as well. And while Gennett may be the next David Eckstein (5'9", 164lbs), he likely won't bring the type of middle of the order pop that Rickie can from a traditionally non-power position. This move would infuriate me to no end.

Regardless of the outcome, I wonder what this will do for Braun's HOF chances? Even if suspended, let's say he puts the exact same type of numbers up that he has already for the next 6 seasons. According to Baseball Reference, his 162 game average is .312, 36 HR, 118 RBI 200 H. Assuming he puts up numbers close to this for the next 6 seasons (through 2017 season when Braun will be 34), his career totals would be 377 HR, 1,239 RBI & 2,098 H. Obviously those numbers wouldn't get him to the HOF but he would only be 34 at that point and still likely to be playing at a higher level. Just for fun let's assume he plays until 40 and for the last 6 seasons he averages 20 HR, 85 RBI & 170 H per season. Those last 5 seasons when added to his peak until 34 would give him career totals of 497 HR, 1,749 RBI & 3,118 H. In spite of his suspension in 2012 does he still make the HOF?

Really? My family and I have been going down to Spring Training every year for the past 9 or 10 years (with the exception of last year) and I always thought the criticiszm of Maryvale was way overblown. We go for a week each year and go to every Brewer game (home or away) while we are there. We have never had any issues at all at Maryvale and while the surrounding neighborhood is not great it's not like it's East St. Louis or Chicago's south side or something like that. Maybe I'm naive, but I have never felt in danger at all while driving to the park, nor have I feared that my car would be stolen or broken into while at the game. Invader pretty much summed up my opinion on the place. The park itself is nice and a wonderful place to watch a game. However, even though the park is nice, it pales in comparison to most of the other parks in the Cactus League. Once the Cubs get their new stadium built in Tempe, the A's, Angels and Brewers will be in the oldest stadiums and Tempe Diablo is still pretty nice. As for Maryvale, the gift shop and food are terrible. There is no restaurant, bar or entertainment within walking distance (not that I would walk anywhere in that neighborhood). Its just a terrible location for the ballpark.

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120215&content_id=26697806&vkey=news_mil&c_id=mil Looks like the Brewers are at the crossroads for their Spring Training home. I for one hope they partner with the A's or some other team in Arizona and get a new facility built. For those of you who haven't been to Maryvale, the stadium is nice but the surrounding area and the amenities on site are awful. Now when compared to the Royals and Rangers in Surprise, the Reds and Indians in Goodyear, the Dodgers and White Sox in Glendale, the Rockies and Diamondbacks at Talking Stick and the Padres and Mariners in Peoria, the Brewers facility really leaves a lot to be desired. Love that living in California I can make the relatively short drive to Spring Training to see the Crew but I will only go to games from now on at other team's facilities. I hope the Brewers do not move to Florida but I won't go see them again in Maryvale. Hoping they do get a new complex with the A's as McCalvy mentioned.

I don't know if it is the just the down time in baseball news or the fact that I want to complain about something this morning, but there is something that really irritates me about the Brewers playoff "flags." I'm talking about the fake flags that hang above Friday's which call out 1982 AL Champions, 2008 Wild Card and 2011 NL Central Division Champions. While they aren't offensive to the eyes or anything like that, I guess I am old fashioned and would much rather see actual flags flying than some generic fake flag designed to make it look like it is blowing in the wind. Ok sorry rant over.

While I want Braun to be found not guilty for the obvious reasons, a side benefit will be seeing ESPN with egg on their face and seeing how they spin it. I am guessing with a ton of "BOOYAHS" and screaming.

I think we really need to spend a little time on the topic of how bad the Bernie Brewer Slide equivalent at Marlins Park is going to be. This article pretty much sums it up with pictures. http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/1/26/2737237/miami-marlins-home-run-feature-john-waters-directing-2001-a-space-odyssey Additionally, it looks just as awful in MLB 12 The Show Seriously, that Park looks a lot better than I thought it was going to. Reminds me of Minute Maid Park in Houston. However, that THING in CF is possibly the lamest thing I have ever seen in baseball history. (As a question, hyperlink is not available on the new board or am I missing it?)

FWIW - Jon Heyman said on MLB Network Radio today that he found it pretty odd that the decision was taking so long. Didn't speculate as to which way it was making him lean on any decision, just that it was surprising.

Trade for a shortstop? Upgrade the starting rotation by signing Edwin Jackson or Roy Oswalt? Trade for a starting pitcher? Sign Saito and have boatloads left over? I could keep going...The article states we should have spent A-Ram money to upgrade SS and 1B specifically. Not signing SP or trading for SP. Not signing a RP. Upgrading SS and 1B. Of course we can argue how best to spend money in other places but the article said we blew it by not allocating those dollars to SS or 1B. My point is there was no one who was out there where we could have REALISTICALLY brought in at those two spots where the A-Ram deal precluded our ability to do so.

And who would we have spent this money on exactly? SS: 1. Jimmy Rollins: We would have had to have a bigger contract than Ramirez' (3 years $36m) to get Rollins (3 years $38m) out of Philadelphia 2. Jose Reyes: We most certainly would've had to top the 6 years $106 million Miami gave to Reyes. Anyone else who was a FA at SS is on par with Alex Gonzalez. 1B: 1. Prince Fielder: I somehow doubt A-Ram's deal precluded us from offering Prince the equivalent Detroit deal. In other words, I doubt that we offered 9 years $178m to Prince and the $36 million we gave to A-Ram made Prince go to Detroit. 2. Albert Pujols: HAHA! So who were we supposed to spend this money on to upgrade SS and 1B?

You know what I meant. In MLB: -Aoki: 0 PA -Schafer: 5 PA -Gamel: 370 PA They aren't kids but to expect them to produce like anything other than rookies, when only Gamel could truly be referred to as a one time top prospect, is unrealistic. A lot of rookies perform better than veterans. Is 6 of one, half a dozen of another whether you play rookies or washed up veterans hanging on. My point is because they are older and in Aoki's case has played before major league size crowds in Japan, they shouldn't be in awe of being in the big leagues and they should be able to perform to their talent level.If this were the case for all prospects then the term "bust" would never have been coined. If all our prospects performed to their talent level then 3B Antone Williamson, RF Todd Dunn and CF Chad Green would all just be putting the finishing touches on their amazing Milwaukee Brewer careers and lining up for induction in the HOF. But that's ok, we still would have the dynamic1-2 punch of J.M. Gold and Mike Jones leading us to the playoffs annually. I'm not saying Gamel, Aoki and Schafer won't all be good. I am only saying expecting them to be anything other than rookies this season is not realistic.