Jump to content
Brewer Fanatic

Playing Catch

Verified Member
  • Posts

    2,044
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    12

 Content Type 

Profiles

Forums

Blogs

Events

News

2026 Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects Ranking

Milwaukee Brewers Videos

2022 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks

Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks

2024 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks

The Milwaukee Brewers Players Project

2025 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Pick Tracker

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Playing Catch

  1. Yeah, my interpretation was that things were going smoothly until the hurricane damage to the Trop, and at that point, things got messy; Sternberg began to consider a new course, which frustrated the other parties (St. Pete officials/MLB officials). I think MLB needs to deal with the revenue disparities if they are going to strongarm owners into NOT moving their team to a more lucrative situation. At the same time, MLB doesn't want to subsidize owners that aren't even TRYING to make their city's situation viable. If MLB is committed to the Tampa Bay market, their best course of action may be to allow Sternberg to move to another market, and commit an expansion team to the Tampa Bay market.
  2. Yeah, that situation is crazy to me. I'm not sure MLB has helped the situation by leaking that they want Sternberg to sell the team, and they want the team to stay in St. Pete. The St. Pete mayor yesterday said they won't negotiate with the Rays current ownership group, and that "that bridge is burned." If I were Sternberg, why would I sell a team without a stadium deal? That would be lunacy. From context, it sounds as if he is to blame for the new stadium deal disintegrating, but I don't know what MLB's game is here. I presume, they want to corner Sternberg and the Rays to St. Pete, so that future expansion team locations aren't eaten up by an existing team (thus eliminating a bidding city from buying a team for billions).
  3. The University of Minnesota needs to replace Williams Arena. That's the tricky part about turning that program around. I've defended the Barn for many years, but it is time. The Gophers need to hire a publicly facing cheerleader that can bring some attention to that quickly fading structure. Winning/attention will be needed to make a lot of noise toward the issue, and there's the rub. It isn't easy to find coaches that bring enough verve with them to make big changes. It may not be possible, but I think making a run at Tony Bennett would be wise. Obviously, his father did something similar when he went to Washington State, of all places. The pros to such a hire don't require elaboration, and there aren't any cons, either, unless their NIL system can't provide enough to be on par with the other middle-tier programs in the B1G. McCollum, too, looks to be a sure-fire winner. He'd be a great hire. Aside from home runs like Bennett or McCollum, I think the Gophers should hire whoever the money wants to hire. They need a better roster.
  4. The type of league will matter a lot, as will the type of owners in the league. If the league is established, and if the owners are invested, it will be a steep learning curve. If everyone is more or less starting together, don't worry about it. You'll have a great time. I was in two fantasy football leagues for years and years. I quit them both about 10 years ago, and I've never looked back. Fantasy baseball, however, is awesome.
  5. The disappointing PSU loss: They built a big-ish lead on a lazy, senior-day afternoon. The players began thinking about celebrating with their families after the game, relaxing all week before a Friday game (or so I imagine). They allowed PSU to shoot an eFG% of .664 (!), and we're outrebounded. That stinks of poor effort. This team got complacent with a big lead... again. They paid for it. The Badgers have a record of 5-5 on senior day under Gard. Two losses versus highly ranked teams, but also losses against Nebraska and PSU. What is Gard's overall B1G winning percentage at home? .700? Considering this is 10 HOME games that take place at the same time every season, and usually with similar stakes, I think it's fair to question the coaching staff's preparation for senior day. Senior Day is a unique challenge for players and coaching staffs. Preparing the team to handle the unique challenges and pressures associated with it is real. I'm not sure a 10 game sample is large enough to draw many conclusions, but it makes me wonder. These games contribute to the belief that Gard's teams fade late in the year. I don't know that I believe that, but I also get tired of needing to defend late-season performances like this. This was a LOUSY loss.
  6. Marcus Ilver Kamari McGee Carter Gilmore Max Klesmit John Tonje Steven Crowl Grinders, to a man. One of the best groups to have ever enjoyed senior day. That top 6 alone would get to the tournament.
  7. It was a good game. Both teams played hard wire-to-wire. The officials had a devil of a time calling every foul on senior night, so they didn't, including the Tonje drive late. But that no-call was earned. Just a classic old-school B1G grinder. If you are gunna beat Minnesota, you have to defend, and match their consistent effort. The Badgers did just that. That game almost makes up for the Oregon game. If they had switched the two outcomes, I'd probably have been fine with it.
  8. That list probably wouldn't look much different than my own if I were to do the exercise. Collins is a placeholder at 30. He's 27 and has been around. He's not a prospect. No disrespect to Collins, he deserves a lot of credit for making it to the big leagues, and he's good enough to stick around for some team and produce positive WAR.
  9. They had a rougher offseason than Wisconsin did. They lost Cam Christie to the NBA, Pharrell Payne to Texas A&M, Joshua Ola-Joseph to Cal-Berkeley, and Elijah Hawkins to Texas Tech. Based on rumors, NIL was to blame. After their rough start in B1G play, I figured things would get ugly in Dinkytown, and that Johnson would be gone by February. But instead, that team really galvanized. They play with so much discipline and conviction. To a player, they play within millimeters of their potential, and they play for the team. The only reason Garcia has had such a huge season is that the team knows they need him to score points. They remind me a little bit of the old Dick Bennett Badger teams. I don't know how voting works, but Johnson deserves some down-ballot B1G CotY votes.
  10. The thing with both Misiorowski and Yoho is that their stuff is so nasty, they have to throw strikes, because big leaguers spit on anything that is borderline, because they know they can't hit it anyway, may as well hope for a ball. Misiorowski's command has been bad before. It was bad yesterday. That's okay, as you mention, it was his first Spring Training game. But it was bad. He doesn't need to live on the edges of the zone. He should be throwing everything dead center.
  11. What is your role that you have these contacts with the team, @ARobsBrewCrew?
  12. Exactly what I had hoped to see last night, at home to the dregs of the B1G. It was a complete game. Every single player looked locked in from the moment they stepped onto the floor, to the moment they stepped off. I was particularly impressed with their defensive intensity. They looked like they were playing defense for fun and with pride. Blackwell played as I've expected him to play all season. They handled the chaos of the Huskies' 1-3-1 with aplomb. After the game, Jordan Cornette* said the Badgers were a "two-seed," and wondered aloud if the Badgers were the team to end the B1G's National Title drought. Both me and Josh Pastner did a double-take with that hot-take, but I won't deny that the Badger's offense is deep, varied, balanced, and efficient. They should be able to put up a good point total in any game they play. Their defense is really good. If the Badgers get a favorable draw or two in the tournament, they could make it to the title game, IMO. *By the way, I've been pleased with Peacock this season. I like Cornette and Pastner. Although, it's also true that announcers sound a lot better when the Badgers are good.
  13. Clearly, you didn't experience the yo-yo resurgence of 1987... the tricks have names. Hopefully, the pitch doesn't become known as "walk the dog".
  14. Sheesh! That looked/sounded like it hurt. Adams, though, must be made of adamantium, because he took it in stride.
  15. Crowl straight up turtled up. He had a bad turnover or something, and his head sagged. Both he and Winter had wide-open looks from 3 that they passed up. Gotta get Bittle out of the paint.
  16. My guess is under the spoiler (highlight text, and then click the eyeball icon, when you post)...
  17. I needed some time before ranting about the Oregon loss. It looks like everyone else saw the same thing I did. Around the 8:00 mark remaining, one could SEE the Badger body language change. I suspect Gard had told them something in a timeout that was preparing their minds for end-of-game tactics, and they all collectively relaxed, and they couldn't drum up the adrenaline they needed to finish a tight game. Yes, this was about the same time when Altman started pressing, and I think Altman is a first-rate coach, but the Badgers have handled defensive pressure all season. The Oregon pressure wasn't special. The team plays quickly now. Quick, crisp cutting, moving, screening. Aggressive dribble-drives, aggressive shot selection. When the team relaxed, the machine sputters. Lazy passing/receiving results in turnovers. Lazy shot selection with lazy legs results in missed shots. I DO suspect, however, that this may be the last loss they have for a while. Or, at least, the last time this season we see them throw a game away. They will be locked in the rest of the season.
  18. That was my exact thought. But then I realized I have no idea what Seitzer looked like, as back then I only listened on the radio.
  19. New to the thread... Ghosts is funny. My wife and I watched it in its entirety in about a week and a half. Fans of that should check out The Decameron. Similarly driven by funny characters in a ridiculous setting. I think I actually preferred The Decameron. Watched the rom-dramedy from down-undah, "Colin from Accounts". Excellent show. Interesting that it was a husband/wife duo who created it, wrote every episode, and starred in it. Their chemistry is palpable. Loved Vice Principals, hilarious.
  20. I think there aren't enough of us reading the articles and quotes, with grains of salt, instead of just building off of headlines and commenting on comments. Frelick was quoted as saying he was reporting about 7 pounds heavier than at this point last season, and that in the offseason he added, "...a ton of muscle". The "25 pounds of muscle," was purely added by the authors/headline writers. Not Frelick.
  21. This comment intrigued me. I wonder if there was a weird way to do designated players. Perhaps 2 or 3 roster spots, the salaries of which are specifically paid through shared revenue. Almost like two separate buckets of payroll. One supplied by the team, and another bucket of pure, 100% shared revenue. It would act a little bit like the NBA's system of max contracts. Each team would have a couple of slots for designated superstars. I presume the players would like it, as being a designated superstar, or Captain, perhaps, would naturally come with more exposure/marketing opportunities. It would also provide a level of transparency for owners that are often accused of pocketing shared revenue.
  22. If they keep shooting free throws at 75% like in recent games, they won't break the all-time record! They've been cleaning up a lot of stuff as games go on, which is great to see. They are not only growing into games, but you can sense they are starting to grow into having a cockiness about themselves as individuals, and as a collective. They are building and growing toward March. Guys are getting better. Winter, in particular, is reminding me of sophomore season Kaminsky. What's also true is that what Tonje has been doing the last four or five games is unsustainable. He's been spectacular of late. As much as I'm quite happy he's hitting every shot, part of me wants to see them continue to find the open man, because all of the guys can hit shots.
  23. I get that this is kind of how things operate, but I don't understand resetting the buyout.
  24. This may be factual, and as OldSchoolSnapper acknowledges, prices go up over time. However, there is also truth that sporting events have outpriced many fans well beyond the rate of inflation (over the last 30 years). I can acknowledge that demand for consuming sports has skyrocketed in my lifetime, and not blame MLB for making money off of this demand, and at the same time lament that once upon a time, one could afford to take in four or five games a season, now they are fortunate to get to one or two. It's like discussions of rent control. Many of us appreciate capitalism AND appreciate the challenges of a fixed income.
×
×
  • Create New...