Eye Black

That is great! This link includes some video footage of the Bazooka Bubble Gum Blowing Championship.

From the past two opening days my single biggest complaint has been the inadequate supply of portable restrooms. The rule of thumb when people are gathering for more than 2 hours is 1 unit per 100 people. Obviously there are some permanent facilities as well, but the total number of restroom facilities falls well below the demand. The lines are certainly an inconvenience, but the worst part has been that several of the units fill up with waste and are "out of commission" which just compounds the problem. If you now eliminate the people that are willing to bring in their own restroom units, there is the potential for an even bigger problem to an already poorly managed issue. By the way, the Brewers cost for units is probably around $40 per unit (per service), so less than the cost of two parking spots on opening day.

First ever MLB game being played at the Alamodome tonight between Texas and San Diego. Dimensions are 285' down the right field line and 410' to center and 354' to left. That could be entertaining.

Okay, I'm on board with excitement for 2013 season to start on Monday! While I am still bummed about losing the #17 draft pick in the first year player draft, I do believe the club will be in the fight for a Wild Card spot this year. I am also looking forward to attending some TimberRattlers games this Summer to watch young players like Tyrone Taylor and Clint Coulter compete. Here is to 2013 being one to remember!

This Rosenthal Article includes some Attanasio commentary on the move. Including... “Doug did a good job articulating the balance that our organization and other organizations have to go through between winning now and building for the future. We’d like to try to do both” “Under the circumstances, we had to make a decision between the future, the draft pick, and bringing in a pitcher who had a huge amount of our success in our division and also who would help mentor our young pitchers."

I think it is plausible that Gonzalez would express interest in going elsewhere if a starting opportunity comes available. Maybe not until some injuries begin to occur to starting SS, but he may have surprisingly good trade value if the Brewers decided to go that route.

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view2/3332037/prince-fielder-o.gif http://i.imgur.com/Amkj73h.gif

I would say Mike Trout defies that logic.

Dylan Covey should be available.

I was put in charge of buying a package of tickets for a group gathering later on this Summer and after finalizing the details with friends this past weekend I was all set to make the purchase today. After the signing was rumored I actually hesitated for a minute thinking maybe I should wait so it didn't appear to be excitement correlated with the Lohse signing, but then figured I was probably being crazy.

With respect to the Kyle Lohse news(?) I find it necessary to update my previous prediction... Record: 85-77

I really enjoy watching Yoenis Cespedes play baseball. He was recently reunited with his mother and other family, as detailed in this article by Danny Knobler. I look forward to the day when Cuban stars are free to pursue Major League Baseball aspirations without doing so at the expense of leaving family. Also, how about this stat: The A's went 82-46 with him in the lineup, and 12-22 in the games he missed.

Difficult to know what to believe anymore. Seems like a big story for a guy with less than 100 Twitter followers to break, but I guess that is the risk of relying on Twitter as a primary news source.

This article lists some of the top draft eligible talent in Canada led by Paul Quantrill's son Cal. Not sure any are elite prospects, but still worth a look given the Organizations affinity for those North of the border.

Record: 84-78 Division: Third All Stars: Braun, Lucroy Surprises: Bullpen, Alex Gonzalez, Jean Segura Disappointments: Starting Pitching, Aramis Ramirez, Corey Hart World Series: Tigers over Nationals

This thread from the previously mentioned site lists out a handful of MLB team fan forums. Also, the U.S.S. Mariner site links to a Mariners board.

Heard this idea being discussed on Chicago sports radio last August, would have been interesting to watch the Cubs play "home games" at MP... http://www.suntimes.com/sports/17642294-419/cubs-home-games-will-stay-home.html

Less than 250 of those are regular starting position players though, and obviously several of those were not in MLB over that entire three year period. If you add in Hart's 2009 season his average games per season goes down to 135 over the last 4 years. Regardless, I think there is legitimate concern injuries will hamper his future production and he could be a candidate for a steep drop-off in health and production.

Curious to see what other prospect the Nationals acquire in addition to Cole. If I was a Mariners fan I wouldn't be thrilled with this off-season.

Has anyone purchased Sickels Prospect Book in previous years? I really enjoy his web material, curious what the Prospect Book offers in terms of format and content?

I agree with this, they are set-up to move in one direction or another based on how the first 90 games turn out. I am most looking forward to seeing what the pitching staff can produce this year, and while there will be some struggles, the Brewers should have a much better idea of what they have in hand for the future. I selfishly would like to see them circle 2015 as the "all-in" WS contender roster and make all personnel decisions with that in mind, but I realize that isn't going to happen.

Reportedly for 4 years and $52mil which is one year and $12mil more than I expected he would get.

Morales traded to the Mariners for Jason Vargas. Good move for the Angels.

If they sign Rauch, at least Johnny Hellweg will have someone to "look-up" to.

I realize trading Aramis Ramirez this off-season would be a very unpopular move among most Brewers fans. It would likely be more accepted if the move was made during the season because the team was out of the playoff contention, but that also assumes additional risk. To be a tradable asset prior to the trading deadline Ramirez would need to avoid having his historically slow starts carrying into mid-Summer and he would need to remain healthy during his age 35 season. What if the Brewers received an offer so appealing that it was likely they would be able to put a significantly better team on the field in 2015 and beyond? My goal isn’t necessarily to turn this solely into a “should they trade Ramirez” debate, but also to gauge what others think Ramirez trade value would be if the Brewers entertained offers for him? Based on some of the off-season trades involving MLB talent for top prospect swaps, teams have been willing to give up a lot in terms highly touted prospects in order to add talent to their current MLB rosters. Factors such as the escalating cost of free agency and the lack of available power bats at the 3B position would seemingly make two years of Aramis Ramirez very valuable on the trade market. If the Brewers were willing to make Ramirez available a few teams stand out as possibly willing to give up good young talent to add an impact third baseman. Some of those teams include: Atlanta, Arizona, and both LA teams. Among those teams, each has some very intriguing top prospects. Atlanta has quality pitching prospects in Julio Teheran (RHP) and Sean Gilmartin (LHP). Arizona has a very good 3B prospect in Matt Davidson, as well as some top of the rotation caliber arms in Tyler Skaggs (LHP) and Archie Bradley (RHP). The Angels also have a very highly regarded 3B prospect in Kaleb Cowart and also have a power hitting 1B prospect in CJ Cron. The Dodgers seem a little thinner in top talent, but do have pitcher Zach Lee (RHP). I don't know what the Brewers could obtain for Ramirez, but I think some of these prospects are at least intriguing enough to consider. Curious what others think?