sheethead

Gagne's stuff looks pretty normal so far.

So which FSN intern left the radar gun back at the shop?

C'mon Gagne, easy one for you here.

YESSSS!!!!

Now its time to break the Cubs and their fans hearts into tiny pieces by blowing this one wide open on Wood.

Hooooooray for the ROY!!!

Now if Weeks can get on, steal a base, get bunted over and score.....I'd feel a lot better. Step 1... check.

It might be because i'm biased, ok it is because i'm biased, but Mota looks bad ass in his Brewers jersey.

How long would it have taken Estrada to run out and tag F-Dome? He wouldn't have even tried. He would have thrown it to Hall, who would have then proceeded to throw it to Prince at first and allow FooKoo to advance to third. So with Party Boy runners on 2nd & 3rd one out, with Kendall runner on 2nd with two out. Good move Melvin.

Easy, he's not out of Wrigley yet.

Just when I thought Bill Hall couldn't get any dumber, he goes and does something like that... and totally redeems himself!

Bill Hall with a double?!?! C'mon Mr. Hart, big run on 2nd.

I'm hoping for one more inning from sheets. The rain looks like its staying light, and this batch should move out soon. I think they are going to finish the game, given one of the teams scores a run.

Prince looks like he isn't feeling so well.

Maybe next inning.

It should be about time for a Zmeltdown, no?

Me too. Not to mention ESPN's HD quality is superior to FSN, as is the broadcast in general. I knew I should have set them both to record.

Either Euros or Gold. Sad to think that $120 million could actually be 'funny' money one day. As always with star athletes, it's going to be a big dilema for the Brewers, but I agree with a previous post of injecting a 5 year $90 million offer into the fold to see what happens. Its still not Carlos Lee money, but Prince will likely make that and more when he bolts to the Yankees (or similar) when he's in his 30's. An offer like that at this time in his life would be hard to turn down, and he would only be giving up a couple years of free agency in exchange for his arby years. That said, its still a sizeable risk for the Brewers, as are all big, long-term deals. It seems like more of these deals blow up than actually work out.

And pretty much the only PA he's had while healthy at MLB. Why do people continue to choose to ignore this? So Weeks was healthy all of sudden just 10 days after he was injured (called up 8/10)? Was he injured all of 2005? I don't ignore his wrist injury, but I will not use it as an excuse for his performance to date. The poster said that he's shown no indication that he will have a .400 OBP... And let me make this point yet again. He said that Rickie Weeks HAD NEVER SHOWN ANY INDICATION. My indication on Weeks having a break-out 2008 is based on his career as a whole and most recently his camp performance. Using last Aug/Sept 2007 as your indication is completely acceptable and we can leave it at that. I'm not trying to hate on Rickie Weeks here, but I am kind of a realist. He has the ability to produce, but I just haven't seen the stars align for him up to this point. An "indication" is a small sample size. That's the very definition. I don't want to sound rude either, but i'm pretty sure that's not the very definition. An indication does not have to encompass a small sample size. It is more broad than that. I wouldn't want to say i have an indication I will win the lottery soon because I matched two numbers yesterday but never matched a number up to that point. Matching two numbers could be seen as a sign of matching all 5 in the future, but remains as unlikely given the history to date.

He was arguing that he's shown no indication that he can have an OBP over .400. Showing a stretch when he DID have an OBP over .400 is definitely showing "some indication". My indication was that he will not break-out (2008), not that he will not reach a .400 OBP (which I doubt he will anyway). I fully agree he was hotter than hot last Aug and Sept, and you can argue it was as hot as he's ever been in the major leagues. However, that was 197 PA, which is about 15% of his career PA. The argument can be made that he played hurt for two seasons, and part of that comes into play. I can also make the argument that many players have operated hurt for long periods of time and were able to muster up something better than his first 309 PAs last year (.212 .330 .363). Maybe he will just be consistently inconsistent, but overall the career numbers are not good and need a boost from a "break-out" year. And now, we wouldn't have to use any small sample alert. He didn't say that he's "only" done it in a small sample, he said he's never shown ANY indication....meaning a second half of .400 OBP would be a pretty clear indication. Small samples are pretty much implied around this site, at least that has been my experience. Running off stats for a month and a half of production is a relatively small sample. Don't use the small sample card only when its convenient for your argument. I claim that Weeks has not shown any indication of producing a break-out year (2008), not a break-out month and a half. And if the first half of spring is any indication... ah small sample (but a horrible one no less). I don't see how you can't be worried about Rickie's production this year with 0-5, 3K, 4LOB becoming the spring routine. His spring line is looking like an anti-ignitor (.121 .194 .242). Hopefully he's just working on plate discipline or mechanics http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

He could K 200 times a season and still be a great lead off hitter if he managed to keep his OBP around .400. Rickie's OBP has never been around .400, much what been able to keep it there. If he K'ed 200 times a season he would be a great leadoff hitter IF he walked a decent amount to make up for it OR hit for a much better average than the .249 career clip he's sporting now. I'm hoping that the hunch that Rickie will 'break out' in 2008 will skew your forecasting! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I hope so too!! He pretty much needs to to it this year for Rickie, and obviously the Brewers would benefit from it as well. I am not expecting it though, as he hasn't shown me any indication he will. Going into 2008 I have Rickie in the bottom third of all leadoff hitters as well as 2B. His game (and radical swing) just hasn't translated well at the mlb level. Maybe the way he hurt his wrist was an omen.

I love all the Rickie Weeks optimism here, but I think he strikes out too much - especially for a leadoff hitter without consistent power. In his career 1289 PA he has K'ed 310 times, or about 24% of the time. I believe his plate approach/timing method leaves him susceptible to more strikeouts than walks (149) every year. Personally, I think he strikes out too often for a leadoff guy, and my expectations of his overall production year over year have lowered dramatically since he was drafted. Who cares what he did in college, he is facing major league pitching everyday now. Its barely even the same game!!

I completely agree. Also, its agent driven comments like this that take away from being a fan of the game. How can 95% of fans relate to this? Prince is already making more in one year the we make in several, all to play a game he loved when he was a kid. The whole entertainment industry is out of whack - i'm also looking at you Lion King.

I guess that all depends on the team. Santana comes to mind. (pared back nested quote --1992)

Unfortunately, Prince will be unaffordable for the Brewers (Boras), so whether Melvin throws another $300k at him this year is moot. His being unhappy with the renewal is a product of his agent relationship. Melvin knows this, so enjoy him for another 2 years, cause he's gone after that.