The stache

In 2007, JJ Hardy was an All Star for the Milwaukee Brewers at shortstop. He was a cog in one of the best young offenses in MLB that included other homegrown talents Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart. Between 2007 and 2008, Hardy hit 61 doubles, 50 home runs, and drove in 154 runs. His star was most definitely on the rise. Curiously, after having one bad season, the Brewers gave up on Hardy. They had another young short stop in Alcides Escobar that many thought was a future star. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Carlos Gomez. He played one season in Minnesota, hitting only 6 HR in half a season. Fast forward to 2012. Hardy is again one of the best offensive shortstops in the game. In his last 166 games with the Baltimore Orioles, Hardy leads all MLB shortstops with 39 home runs. More than Troy Tulowitzki, more than Asdrubal Cabrera. Escobar, the future shortstop, is with the Royals hitting .300 with 7 SB in 8 tries, and is on a pace to hit 50 doubles. Did we give up on JJ Hardy too soon?

Brooks Conrad has a .050 OBP. I didn't think an OBP could get that low. Question is, what scrub pitcher walked him? We got outscored 12-3 in a two game "series" by a team that was 15-21 coming in. Ouch.

Another show for me to watch n Netflix. I just can't keep up with all of them.

Damn, swing at the first pitch you see?

Bases loaded for Braun? Oh come on, Brauny. Crush one. Please, God....

I am calm, by the way. I don't have to be a raving lunatic to express my extreme displeasure. Have you seen anything...any indication, even any hint of an indication, that Weeks is going to start hitting the ball not like an All Star, but like an average hitter? I've been watching these games. Weeks has zero idea of the strike zone right now. None. He is flailing away, swinging at horrible pitches. He is off balance when he does swing. He is watching good pitches, and hacking away (for lack of a better term) at bad pitches. He's had almost 1/4 of the season, and isn't showing any signs of life. How much longer does he get? Major leaguers sometimes lose it. Weeks has been a good player for us...great at times. But anybody that has watched him recently knows the guy we have up there is a shadow of his former self. He may never get it back. He's older, heavier, slower, and is not showing any of the discipline you'd look for from a major leaguer. If he weren't making $10 million a year, he'd be in Nashville. But because his name is Rickie Weeks, a former All Star, our entire lineup suffers because Roenicke continues to stick him in the #2 hole. He's not even an average hitter right now. He's 2011's Adam Dunn. He needs to be dropped down in the lineup. You put your best guys in a position to win, and help your team. Weeks is not our best guy, not even close. He's statistically the worst hitter in the majors right now.

Why, God, why is Rickie Weeks batting second again? Hey, great idea putting the worst hitter in the majors ahead of the reigning NL MVP every night. Weeks now 4 for his last 37. On the season, he's batting .153 (20 for 131) with 48 K. His OBP is down to .293. Weeks, again, batting #2 in our lineup, directly ahead of the NL MVP, is on a pace to score 60 runs. When is Roenicke going to get it through his thick head that Rickie Weeks batting second IS NOT WORKING????!!!!!!

I don't agree with this at all. Clemente had a career line of .317/.359 /.475 with an OPS of .834 Henderson had a career line of .279/.404/.419 for an OPS of .820 I think Henderson had a much greater impact on the game, and his overall numbers took a big hit because he wanted to play so long. But the guy scored more runs, stole more bases than anyone and was the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. 6 times in the top 10 in MVP voting, 3 times in the top 3 including 1 MVP. Now take this into consideration. Clemente tragically died when he was 37 years old and started playing when he was 20 years old. Henderson started playing when he was 20 years old. If you just take Henderson's career through age 20, it looks like this' .287/.406/.435 OPS of .842 with 244 HR's and 1186 SB's. So the exact same OPS, a couple more HR's, about 1140 more SB's(which I realize doesn't fall under the best "hitter," of all time, but I think it needs to be taken into consideration how often a walk was a double to Henderson). Given the choice to play for my team for their entire career, I'd take Henderson. Clemente wasn't really a power hitter and he was a #3 hitter while Henderson was a leadoff hitter who hit about 60 more HR's and from ages 20-37 were nearly identical players. You can disagree, but if the discussion is about hitting and hitting alone, no, Henderson doesn't belong in the same discussion with Clemente. When Henderson got on base, he was incredible. But stealing bases to get into scoring position has absolutely nothing at all to do with hitting ability. Henderson was a good hitter, and had a spectacular impact on the game when he did get on. Clemente was an incredible hitter. And if we're going to look beyond hitting, I'll still take Clemente, the best defensive right fielder to ever play the game. Henderson created a lot of runs with his legs. How many runs did Clemente save the Pirates with his range, and his arm?

True, crewcrazy...but I would rather have somebody on ahead of our best hitter. Ryan Braun is a guy that is going to roll out of bed, and drive in 100 + provided there are people to drive in. He's on a pace to hit 45 HR, and drive in under 100. Weeks and Morgan have done next to nothing, hence Brauny's lower run production. Lucroy needs to be second, Braun third. Hopefully A Ram will heat up batting 4th. Hopefully....

Weeks now batting .155. 49 strikeouts in 131 at bats. And Roenicke will have him batting second tomorrow. Likely the worst full time hitter in the majors, and we have him batting second. Somebody hold me, please. I need a hug in the worst way.

Here comes strike three from Weeks.

We need to resign Greinke. He's our #1, and if we want to compete, we need a #1. He's pitching much better on the road.

Rickey Henderson ahead of Roberto Clemente, George Brett, Albert Pujols, Al Kaline and Wade Boggs? Rickey was one of the most exciting players to ever step on the field. But as a pure hitter? The players I mentioned dust him. Henderson doesn't even belong in the same breath as Clemente as far as hitting goes.

Hello, win column! Nice performance by Zack "the ace" Greinke! 4-1, 2.88 ERA, 53 K in 50 IP, WHIP down to 1.12. Sign him now!

Yes, it does. OBP = (Hits + walks + hit by pitch) / (At bats + walks + hit by pitch + sac flies)

Please score some runs.

Ok ok, I'll fly to New York and suit up at second for the Crew tomorrow. I couldn't do any worse.

That's better! Ryan gets on, steals second, comes in on the Aram double. That's how it's supposed to work.

So, we're lifting a guy batting .200 in favor of a guy batting .150? Great.

Where has our offense gone?

I knew Luc in the 2 hole could mean good things for us. Thank you Ron Roenicke for trying something new. You put Luc in a position to help the team be successful, and gave Rickie a much needed day off.

Here's another. http://www.mearsonlineauctions.com/LotImages/20/16226d_med.jpeg

Yes, Brett is the fine art appraiser on "Pawn Stars". I've known him for about 23 years. He's like a brother to me, and just an incredibly nice guy.

http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs/166301_o.gif

Sleep well, everybody!