don1481

1. Ned Yost survives the season 2. Vargas AND Capuano are flipped for prospects that immediately wind up in the top 15 of the Power 50. Both trades happen by the end of May. 3. Prince Fielder fires Boras and negotiates a 6 year deal by himself.

Kansas State 65 Wisconsin 57 Beasley destroys Wisconsin down low. While Wisconsin's interior D is outstanding, Beasley is that much better. Marquette 72 Stanford 68 I suspect that MU's outside shots will be raining down, negating the Lopez twins' defensive presence. Offensively, Brook Lopez keeps this very close.

Yes - that is the next step... provided Herb finds an owner that'll keep the team here. Anyone have any updates on how the Junior Bridgeman group is coming with getting an offer together...?

Dumping Harris is the first step towards fixing that team. I agree that if Herb can find a buyer that wants to keep the team in MIL, then by all means he should do so. If he can't... he needs to keep the team until he can. People criticize the NY Knicks trade that Herb nixed; to be honest, I'm glad he did so. I do NOT want a cancer like Randolph anywhere NEAR the Bucks. Except, of course, when he's not caring for the team that they're playing against. The guy has been nothing but a head case since he came into the league. Talented at times, yes, but even another year of Randolph after this one would have really been bad. I'll give Kohl props for that. Trading garbage for self-destructing, team-imploding garbage is never a good route. I'm sure Portland is beyond thrilled they were able to unload Randolph on the sucker known as Isaiah. Speaking of GMs that need to be shown the door... Mr. Thomas' record is beyond descriptors bad.

1. Georgia (14) 2. Temple (12) 3. Sweet 16. Loses to Texas 87-75. 4. First round KO. Cal St Fullerton 65, Badgers 57. 5. Texas, Kansas, Duke, UNC. I know, an incredibly boring set of picks.

I'm gonna be honest here: I don't see any chance of Villanueva averaging close to 7 IP/start over the course of an entire season. 6 IP might be reasonable for Villy; Gallardo only averaged 5.88 per start with Milwaukee last year, for example. Ben Sheets, for example, jumped from 161 as a rookie (10 in AAA, 151 in MIL) to 216. Mind you, he was hurt for some of his rookie season but that's still a big jump in IP. And he proceeded to fire off 3 straight seasons of 215+ IP. Applying the same argument about Parra (he needs to be kept out of the rotation to lower his risk of injury) doesn't apply to Villanueva IMO. Villanueva lacks Parra's injury-riddled past. He's thrown a lot more innings. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Villanueva should be fine for 34 starts at 6 IP/start - which would be like 204 IP.

Why? Villanueva's pitched 122.2 and 182 innings in 2007 and 2006, respectively (between the minors and bigs). I'd say he's pretty much good to go for about 190-200 this year.

I'd hope not. Brewers > Badgers, unless it's a Final Four game.

Having Parra in a LOOGY role could seriously tax his arm. See also: Villanueva, Carlos as Ned's "bail-me-out" pick out of the 'pen last year. That put a ton of strain on his arm that was different than the strain of starting. Hence his rather sudden ineffectiveness as a reliever. I'd rather not put Parra in any sort of situation where the risk of him having his arm blow up yet again is significantly increased.

I can see him in a mop-up role to begin the season but... as a LOOGY, I was under the impression from other discussions here that Parra needed longer to warm up in part because of his injury history. In general, if that's true about Parra needing longer to warm up, I'd shy away from any bullpen spot that requires him needing to get ready in a hurry.

I'm excited; hopefully I can get some preseason Brewerfan.net Chat Room ABs in. I'm rusty after a long winter without baseball.

I don't know; ask Ben Sheets. I guess this sort of stuff does emphasize why it's important to have SP depth, even if that depth happens to be as "wonderful" as Capuano/Bush/Vargas.

Here's the thing with Gallardo's past few years: 2005: 121 IP 2006: 155 IP 2007: 188 IP 188 IP was what a lot of us were saying would be around his "absolute safe max" IP last year, so honestly... I'm not terribly surprised he pitched that much. Manny Parra over the same timespan: 2005: 91 IP 2006: 86 IP 2007: 133 IP Realistically, Parra should be around 160 IP total, especially given his injury past plus the significant jump in 2007 versus 2005-2006. Let's say, for the sake of argument, Parra's limited to 4 IP/start through May in AAA, making 5 starts in April and 4 in May. The last two starts in May are 5 and 6 IP, to finish "stretching him out." That burns through 20 in April and 27 in May, giving him 113 to get through the rest of the season. Let's say Parra manages to average 6.1 IP/start over the remainder of the season. That gives him about 18 starts as the #5 starter. By comparison, Gallardo got 17 starts (in 20 appearances) beginning on 6/18, throwing 108.2 IP for the Brewers. Gallardo pitched 100 IP as a starter for the Brewers last year in those 17 starts, averaging 5.88 IP/start, so maybe I'm being a tad optimistic with Parra averaging 6.1 IP/start but it still shows how the Brewers could "save" Parra for the stretch run. As much as I dislike The Over-Caffeinated One, I think the only way he gets fired is if the Brewers are all but out of it come the All Star Break. Like it or not, we're stuck with him for probably this season; I don't see the Brewers making an in-season switch if they're staying within striking distance. But this is a discussion for another thread, so I'll stop here.

Per Rotoworld: Keep in mind also, though, that Buchholz pitched 119 and 148 IP over the past two seasons. As far as Hughes is concerned... Per Yahoo!: Assuming 6 IP/start, those numbers are still lower (150 for 25 and 180 for 30) than what the Sox want to do with Buchholz. Hughes has pitched 146 and 110 IP the past two seasons. And if the Yankees are intending on pitching those two for less than a full season in the rotation, they're going to have to get starts from other pitchers as well, outside of their 1, 2, and 3 spots. Plus... the Yankees actually have enough pitchers capable of consistently going six-plus in the 1,2, and 3 spots that the bullpen shouldn't be run into the ground. Basically, that's the approach the Brewers should be taking IMO with Parra. Get him 20-25 starts (including playoffs) so in 2009 he can contribute fully. "Win now" doesn't mean "sacrifice the future for the present." Such myopic stances usually do not end well for teams.

This is exactly how I feel about Parra. I'd rather have him available down the stretch and in the playoffs rather than Liriano'd because he's been subjected to a workload far greater than what he's ever experienced and lost for not just the remainder of this season, but also 2009. I don't mean to use such an extreme example but given Parra's injury-riddled past, having him go out there from day 1 and average 6+ IP/start would most likely produce this sort of result. And as pointed out elsewhere in this thread, having Parra go on strict pitch counts and inning limits is a great way for the Brewers to burn out their bullpen, just like last year. Especially if certain other pitchers that generally can't go more than 5-and-change IP/start (*cough* Vargas *cough*) happen to also be in the rotation.

Nothing like a night at Elsa's to unwind after a long week of work and having to suffer through that awful Bucks game tonight. While their wings are kinda pricey, they taste mighty good... mmm...

You're missing my point here: It is unknown whether or not Prince actually SAW said offer from the Brewers; Boras, for all anyone knows, rejected the offer outright without asking his client. We don't have to know anything; the point is that if Prince didn't see the offer then the Brewers should consider other, non-Boras ways of getting to Prince. It worked for A-Rod and the Yankees, right...? I think it makes a ton of business sense. If teams can show agents such as Boras that they're not willing to deal with Boras yet are more than willing to engage the players directly, then Boras loses a large portion of his effectiveness - his ability to "filter" offers that he may consider to be "inferior" for reasons including "The player still has arby years before he's tied down," "the player plays for a small market team and won't get the exposure I want," and my favorite "If he's not even a FA, then I can't possibly create phantom bidders to jack up his price! Not fair!" It's not collusion because it's not against the players. Boras would be rendered powerless. Yes, he'd still receive his cut of whatever Prince or whomever signed (see also: Rodriguez, Alex) but he'd basically be forced to watch on the sidelines. Teams would be able to - in theory - limit agents' effectiveness and agents that don't "play nice" will be relegated to riding the pine during actual negotiations. It may be Prince's problem but it's also the Brewers' - and the rest of MLB's - problem. Would you be OK with Boras, in a few years, turning the Brewers upside down in a bidding war with themselves because Boras "leaked" a few false rumors about other teams bidding for Prince's services? I sure as heck would not be. Note the way I chose to say that the offers should be presented: As leaks. Not as Doug Melvin calling a press conference saying "Well... we offered Boras X amount over Y years but he immediately turned it down." That would absolutely be the wrong way to handle it. I do have a big problem with Boras - the most vile sports agent this side of Drew Rosenhaus - but it's not just because of the offers he gets; it's largely because of HOW he gets those offers. Phantom bidders? Lying to teams? Leaking false rumors to the media? It's high time that some team not named the Yankees stands up to him and renders him powerless.

1. Given Boras' track record, how do we even *know* that Prince was shown the Brewers' offer by Boras in the first place? 2. I think it would make perfect business sense for Mark A. to disclose the offer - either officially or have it "leaked" - so that Prince knows what the Brewers are indeed offering, especially if point #1 is true, which I strongly suspect is the case. It makes perfect business sense because it would show Prince that maybe his agent is not telling him the truth about what really is going on here. 3. How do we know what Prince himself is willing to accept in terms of a contract, both in terms of money and length? Again - if Boras refuses to tell Prince the truth about the contract offer, how does Prince necessarily have the opportunity to refuse said contract? 4. Mark A. did state that he wants to offer long-term contracts (see the JS articles from a week or so ago), but he has made a point of disclosing that Prince's long-term offer was already rejected (see JenksFan5's comment about what Powell said on-air). I see nothing wrong with dealing with Boras in as heavy-handed of a manner as necessary to embarass/shame Boras publicly while conveying to Prince how much the organization wants him long-term. Geno, you might be onto something here; that's why I would love for this information to be "leaked" by "parties familiar with the situation." Imagine what the Regal One would be saying to Boras if it turned out that it was something like 5 yr/$75-80 million and Prince never knew about it. Something along the lines of: http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2004/12/23/1103840083_1620.jpg Would be the sum of it. EDIT: Yes, it does take two sides to sign a contract. However, when one of those sides happens to be facilitated by Scott Boras, it could very well be that the Brewers are not going to get their point across to Prince, no matter how much they try to scream through the Boras Noise Filter that is in place to weed out legitimate offers from small market teams. Other tactics may need to be used.

I like the fact that it was divulged by Mark A. that he offered Prince a "substantial" contract and that it was turned down. The big question, though, is why didn't he divulge how much of a contract it was? Is that against the rules of the CBA? I think that if Boras is going to fight dirty and have his clients serve as his mouthpiece and/or reject contracts without even mentioning them to said clients, then the owners have every right to divulge what those offers that Boras isn't showing to his clientèle are. Is it possible that the Brewers can do what the Yankees did with A-Rod and negotiate solely with Fielder, leaving Boras out on the street? I don't see why they wouldn't at least consider this route. Don't get me wrong, though, I don't see Prince being a Brewer past, say, 31. Something about his build screams "not going to age well at 1B," so the Brewers would be wise to eventually deal him to an AL team for a haul of nice prospects, something along the lines of what Cabrera/Willis commanded from DET in the big trade. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to signing Prince to a 5-6 year deal with a no-trade clause for the first 3-4 seasons.

I know; I was thinking like a Friday night so I can properly do this in the spirit of the original topic post. Mmm... yum.

mmm... all of these places on the East Side aren't too far from where I am now... I've had BBC and Brothers wings before, but not Points East. I'll have to swing by when it's warmer (I'd rather walk) and check it out with my friends.

I don't know what you're talking about. Burning bridges is fun! In all seriousness though, BtA is right. Torching bridges is not a good idea. As tempting as it may be sometimes to do so, no good comes from it.

Brewerfan82, I had to do a double-take at that picture - I was thinking "I don't remember NKOTB having a girl in the group...!"

TLB, for a less-than-10-game analysis, that's pretty accurate. James reminds me a TON of a more athletic, even worse-shooting version of one of my favorite whipping boys in the NBA: http://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/mo_williams-arton21256-240x240.jpg Neither of them is consistently capable of distributing the ball, neither can make good decisions down crunch time, and both are miscast in their positions: Both are more of the slashing type of SG rather than a legit PG. I hate to say this but... Travis Diener as PG > Dominic James as PG What Diener lacks in athleticism, he more than makes up with game smarts. And without those game smarts, James will not succeed in the pros.

IMO part of the reason why Prince went to Boras was because he got the short end of the stick when his dad was his agent; Prince wanted to maximize his money and knew Boras would be able to get him what he wanted. And a part of that relationship most likely involves Boras implictly being allowed to "suggest" to his clients that saying certain things ("I'm not happy that I was renewed," for example) will pay off in the long run with a bigger, fatter contract. Even if said contract is with a different team. It's how the game is played. It's all part of a very calculated, very choreographed game that agents like Boras (or Rosenhaus in the NFL) play to maximize their clients' contracts.