The stache

Thank you, TLB. I am excited that baseball season is drawing near, so I can jump back into the discussions here.

Ralph Kiner and Roberto Clemente have long been my favorite two Pirates (Pittsburgh is my second favorite team going back to my childhood). I knew this day would come, but I'm deeply saddened by Mr. Kiner's passing. I've never understood the lack of appreciation for him. That he hit 369 home runs in ten years, playing seven of those seasons in that home park, is nothing short of remarkable. And anybody that says "well, he was a home run hitter, and nothing more" really needs to educate themselves. Yes, he was an elite slugger. Yes, he led the National League in home runs his first seven seasons, and the Major Leagues in the six seasons following his rookie year. Yes, the feat of seven consecutive home run titles has never been duplicated in the history of major League Baseball (the Babe managed only six). Yes, the 215 home runs in his first five seasons are still a major League record. Yes, he had four 3 home run games. His OPS+ of 149 was higher than Willie McCovey (147), Mike Schmidt (147), Willie Stargell (147), and our own Ryan Braun (146). If you look at his OPS+ during the prime of his career (before his back problems really started slowing him), 1946-1953, his 155 is higher than Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Frank Robinson, Honus Wagner, and Napolean Lajoie, and tied with Hank Aaron, Mel Ott and Joe DiMaggio, and one point behind Willie Mays! Kiner in his ten seasons, the first seven with a Pirates team that won 492 games and lost 739, managed to drive in 1,015 players, and averaged 112 RBI for every 162 games played for his career. When you consider the dearth of talent around him, that's incredible. He also walked 1,007 times against 742 strikeouts. Besides his aforementioned broadcasting career with the Mets, he served his country as a Navy pilot in WWII. He was loved as one of the game's true gentlemen. And, he dated two of Hollywood's leading ladies, not only Elizabeth Taylor, but Janet Leigh (Psycho, The Manchurian Candidate. She was Jamie Lee Curtis' mother). http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/26/20/74/5836567/3/628x471.jpghttp://metspolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/leigh.jpg When I first started buying vintage baseball cards again about three years ago, the first one I bought was not a Yount, Aaron, or a Clemente. It was this Ralph Kiner. It's still one of my favorite cards: http://imageshack.com/a/img28/4273/7kir.png Rest in Peace, Mr. Kiner. Thank you for your service to our country, and for being one of the best men to ever step onto the baseball field. You made the world a better place with your class and grace.

Jaime Navarro 42-44 with a 4.44 ERA. Pat Listach .256 AVG .638 OPS 420 hits Really?

Davis in left and Braun in right is already a huge upgrade from who we had playing there last season (Braun part of the season in left, before he injured his thumb, and Aoki in right), at least offensively. Keep our top pitching prospects. Letting one of them go for a stopgap at first base would be a HUGE mistake. We finally have some young starters I am excited about in Peralta, Nelson and Thornburg. Let Halton and Morris have at it for first base. They are, you know, actual first basemen. No reason we can't get .260 with 15-20 HR and 75 RBI from them. Let them have the consistent playing time that Gamel never had.

If Loney is a Brewer at the end of spring training, I will shoot myself. I'd rather put a statue of Cecil Cooper at first base.

Yes, because the claw and antler displays the Ranger players flashed every time they farted on the way to the World Series was totally cool.

I am SO happy for Carlos. I've tweeted him, Haudricort, @Brewers, and just about everybody else I could find with "Brewers" somewhere in their page to cheer him on. "Go Go" is one of the players that makes this team fun to watch, no matter where we are in the standings. I love his intensity. He gives his all every time he steps on the field. He was given a pretty good contract in the offseason. Many players would have rested on their laurels after getting paid. Not Carlos. When you consider everything, he went out there and put up one of the best seasons in Brewer history. Career highs in in AVG (.284), runs (80), hits (152), doubles (27), triples (10), home runs (24), RBI (73), stolen bases (40), OBP (.338), SLG (.506), and OPS (.843). Then to top it off, he is elected to the All Star team, and wins the first Gold Glove in Milwaukee since Robin Yount. All that potential that we've been seeing, the flashes of brilliance, well, it all came together in 2013. I'm really looking forward to 2014, and Carlos is one of the reasons why.

^^ Agreed, that's how I remember it, too. I wish he were coaching in Milwaukee. I'd love to have Yount and Molitor as hitting coach and base running coach. The Twins seem to be doing everything right. After being down for a few years, they're on the upswing. Arcia is a very good talent, and with Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton, the Twins are going to have some serious bats here pretty soon.

By winning 6 of our last 7, I have us drafting 10th. A late season rally that did nothing but screw our draft position. Ugh.

Well, the Gold Glove is all but a foregone conclusion, but you never know.

Wow, has Gomez been on fire or what? Yikes. 24 home runs, 39 stolen bases, 73 RBI and a Gold Glove. What a season!

Another blown save in the ninth. Way to go, Mr. Hand. Get rid of this guy. He stinks.

Yup, we've won 5 of our last 6. Great, so we screw up our chances of getting an impact player in the draft.

Scooter with two hits in his final two at bats, both against lefties. If he can improve his effectiveness against lefties a little, he's a no brainer starter at second in 2014.

Halton is showing some nice power. We've got some options now, with Halton and Morris.

Way to go, Ron. We go from a no hitter into the 6th inning to losing 5-1 because you can't figure out when to pull a relief pitcher to save your life. Does Attanasio ever watch this guy and wish he had somebody else?

Maybe the Yankees would like Rickie Weeks to backup Cano. Give me Tyler Austin for Rick Roll, and call it a day.

You and me both. No matter how healthy we are next year, we still have Roenicke calling the shots. And that saddens me.

The only thing I'd like to see Ryan do is walk a little bit more. But I've seen nothing while he's been in the Majors to make me think he can't be a .280 + hitter or higher on a consistent basis. I've watched his at bats very closely. He's gotta be one of the best two or three hitters on our team right now as far as fundamentals go. He goes up to the plate, and seems to have an idea of where he wants to go with the ball. He's not just up there hacking away. You can tell his father has been a scout and coach. He might not have the size or physical tools of other players, but his head is in the game. I am really liking what I've seen from him. He should be the starting second baseman next year, regardless of where Rickie Weeks' health is at.

Gennett just continues to hit. Holding at .340.

I don't think I'm wearing Brewer goggles, xisxisxis. I've been pretty critical of Braun's mistake, and have said on numerous occasions he deserved the suspension. But I think people like you have a stick up their rear end, and no matter what the guy does, you're going to think it's a PR move, or calculated. It's people like you that are all over the message boards calling him a scum bag, or a sociopath. Could it just be that *gasp* Ryan is actually sorry for what he did? No, couldn't be. Because you have him all figured out. You know everything about a man you've never met because ESPN printed a few stories. You know, Ryan Braun does have a brain in his head. He has been wiping his own arse for years without PR people telling him to do it. Did you stop to think that maybe it was the PR people who wrote the horrible speech he gave after his suspension was overturned? How did that work out for him? Maybe, just maybe, he got tired of people putting words in his mouth, and he's making the decisions now. Oh, I know you'll roll your eyes, look down your nose at us "homers", but maybe Braun is tired of coming across as disingenuous.

Mike & Mike on ESPN are saying "this sounds staged, some PR stunt". Really? Ya, because this is on page one of the "PR man's guide to restoring an athlete's reputation" handbook. Can ANYBODY recall an athlete that's been caught in a lie like this picking up the phone to talk to the people that pay his salary, apologizing to them personally, and listening to what they have to say in the process? NO. It's never happened. These clowns....this whole clown network won't be happy until Braun's crying on his hands and knees at their feet, begging for forgiveness. No wait, even then, they'll say these are crocodile tears. They're not happy with the fact that Braun hasn't held a press conference. Why the hell would he do that, so you all can make up more and beat him up some more? The guy screwed up big time. You didn't like his written apology because in YOUR eyes it wasn't enough. Now he's personally calling season ticket holders to apologize, and it's contrived. I'm so tired of these dolts at ESPN. I really am. Edit: Language - JJK

Welcome to Milwaukee, Jimmy! I sent him a big congrats on Twitter, too.

Wow, the Red Sox hit eight home runs tonight.

Betancourt can't do anything right. He can't even take a two foot lead off of first without getting thrown out. He's lucky the ump goofed, because he was out by a mile. Morneau was right.