paul253

So you'd pay average players much more than they are worth just to reach the salary minimum, then jack up prices for tickets, parking, food, apparrel, and whatever else you need to to turn a profit? I dont see how that would help. The Yankees and Angels would still have more money than everyone else and they would still sign the best players. The Marlins have it perfect right now. As a business, they make far more money now than they ever would if they actually tried to compete. They have more world championships in the past 11 years than the Brewers have had in their entire existence, so I don't see how you can say you don't try to compete. A big reason they don't sign more free agents is because their fan base is abysmal and they have been playing in a football stadium ever since they were created. I think people against a cap are missing the main point. When a team like the Angels, in the second largest market with an owner who spends a ton, cannot compete financially with the Yankees, then something is wrong. The Yankees can, quite literally, get anyone they want to, and if it weren't for the rule about not getting more than three type A free agents, they wouldn't be done. Doesnt anyone else have a problem with one team having the sports 4 highest paid players? When one team is able to blow other offers out of the water, its just not fair. Yeah money doesn't guarentee a championship, but lets face facts....if Mark Attanasio gave us the option to have a $150 million payroll or a $80 million payroll with all else being equal, every single one of us would pick $150 million because the odds of winning are better. The Yankees can buy off their mistakes, and very, very few other teams can do that. Most teams are handcuffed for years because of one bad contract (Hammonds, Suppan, for example). Unless you limit what the Yankees can spend, nothing will ever change.

How about a salary cap that also guarantees that the player's share of the profits will remain at a certain percentage? Why do the players deserve a certain percentage of the profits? They may do the things that actually get people to watch, the dirty work if you will, but is that not true of almost every company in America? In every company its the people who show up and make the product that are the equivalent of the players, yet in no private corporation are the employees guaranteed a certain percentage of the profits. Its the owners who are taking all the risk by paying hundreds of millions of dollars for a franchise and then being forced to pay guaranteed contracts to players who may stink it up so bad that the team actually cuts them while still paying them (see Jeffrey Hammonds). The players make plenty of money, and I think they can somehow manage to live off of what they make. I don't mean to sound rude, but anyone who think baseball has competitive balance is nuts. When the last time the Angels, Yankees, and Red Sox all missed the playoffs? It was before they switched to 3 divisions. Just because Oakland, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay sneak in there every now and then doesnt mean everything is fixed.

The players union won't do anything until some of it's members checks start bouncing. I dont think thats true, especially right now. With this economy, there is not chance in you know where that the public would support the unions anti-cap stance. If MLB handles it properly and makes their stance public saying things like "ticket prices and parking prices are skyrocketing because the only way we can compete is to overpay for players, and the only way to get that money is to raise prices". The union would have no legs to stand on because you cant convince the public, who are in the middle of a recession, losing jobs and not getting raises, that its unfair to limit a 25 man roster to making $140 million dollars a season. This is the perfect time to take up this fight. Every other professional sports league can do it, so why cant MLB? When does the current labor contract expire? I would gladly, glady give up a season of baseball to gain a salary cap and salary bottom. Hey, and while you're at it, fix the draft and make it world wide!

At this point is a salary cap even possible? Signing guys for 8 years means you cant really hold there salaries against a cap until they all expire. This is just a joke. Yeah Bud...we don't need a salary cap, everything is just fine. Why don't you grow a set and actually take the players union for once over something other than steroids. So who gets the first pick now? Another team with a top five payroll and resources out the wazoo....can you say rich get richer?

I'm not really losing any sleep over it, its just curious to me how that happens. If Burnett and Ibanez result in higher picks than Sabathia, then who else does too? While it may not seem like a huge difference, you do have 3 or 4 less options when your pick comes up, which may or may not result in the guy you wanted being selected before you get the chance.

According the Baseball America, the Brewers supplemental pick for losing CC is at #37, after the comp picks received for Burnett and Ibanez. If CC is rated as the number 2 overall free agent, why is it that the Mariners and Blue Jays get to pick earlier for losing inferior players? If this is indeed not a mistake, its one more reason I hate the MLB draft. The Yankees, who are going to sign 3 type A free agents, still get a first round pick for not signing last years first round pick, while only having to give up a 3rd round pick for the lowest of the three type A players they sign and a second round pick for the second best type A player, who could just happen to be the best pitcher in all of baseball. What a joke.

For a minor league deal or even a one year deal for under $3 million I'd go for it. With Suppan, McClung, Capuano, and possibility Looper, its not like we have an excess of all-star caliber starters.

I hope they do sign him....hes getting older and I think three years would be a mistake, but most importantly it would assure us their first round pick still because they cant sign Tex, and it would assure us at least a shot of getting another first round pick because they cant sign Sheets.

Are Jones and Rogers both healthy enough to start the season? Wouldnt it be nice if both had injury free seasons? I'd like to see them move Jones to the bullpen right away.

I'm becoming less and less a fan of blowing snow from my driveway only to have it blow right back into my face. Im sorry but I laughed when I read this because i did that about 15 times yesterday.

This is, by far, the worst job of snow plowing I have ever seen. I am not even saying that to exaggerate. I was working, third shift, out on the streets all night long, and I barely, barely saw any plows. They plowed maybe one lane in the main streets, and seemed to put down about half as much salt as they used to. Forget about the side streets. Then i actually make it back to my neighborhood in decent time after work b/c no one was on the streets, only to find they did not touch, not once, my street, or the street that i use to get to my street. I needed two very nice neighbors to even get my car back towards where i came, then i spent 20 minutes digging out the car in front of me so i get to a main street. I was able to convince a gas station attendant to let me keep my car in the gas station, which is the last thing i want to do. Then i call the DPW and talk to Darqueesha or however it is you spell what she uses as a name and get more attitude than i've ever gotten before. Look Darqueesha, I'm glad the city has 236 pieces of equipment working on the streets right now, but do you think you could spare ONE to plow my street one blasted time!!! This is pathetic. Good thing they keep raising the snow removal fee every year, its going to good use.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blo...tch-is-out-how-to-get-it/ Call me cynical but this patch that microsoft issued is legit right? Its not some trick thats going to do damage?

RyDogg it was Clarke Howard. And I heard the same part that you did. I used to use Firefox but when i got a new computer not that long ago i used IE again, but i didnt want to take any chances so I've been using Firefox since yesterday.

I don't think they are the worst, as some parents actually kill their kids, or sell them for money to have lyposuction (sp?). But this is ridiculous. You cant help but feel sorry for the little kids here and its one of those instances where you wish you could just go there and fix it yourself. If you want to make some sort of political statement, fine. But dont do it through your kids. They will suffer endless torment for the next decade or two because these parents want to make a statement. Its immature is what it is....immature and selfish.

I was listening to some talk radio yesterday...i know i know talk radio, but this was a non political show. The very first thing the host mentioned was some terrible virus thats going around on Internet Explorer and the first thing he recommended to do was download another browser. The problem is, thats the only source I've heard anything about it from, and i know sometimes talk radio will play replays of shows from a while back. Did anyone else hear anything about a virus on Internet Explorer?

I have Netflix as well. The turnaround for me hasnt been quite as well...usually 4 days, which gets kinda irritating for me. I would certainly not say "dont get it", but if you have a blockbuster near your house I would look at that one first. I used that one for a while b/c i had a blockbuster a few blocks away and you can return movies right to the store and pick up a certain number per month right from the store, so its basically the same thing except you can get a certain number of movies faster.

Id also be ok with Counsell, and I never thought i'd say that. Thats assuming we dont give him more than $2 million, and its only one year. He has a good eye, plays solid defense at three positions, is a left handed bat, and the fans are familiar with him. Why not?

The problem with a payroll cap is that the owners would then rake in an obscene amount of the revenue generated by MLB, with the players taking far less What about all the other sports that have caps? Are you saying their players arent being treated fairly because they arent making their fair share of the league revenue? You're going to have a hard time convincing me that even someone making the league minimum to play baseball is being treated unfairly or being used. The players need the owners just as much as the owners need the players. Not to mention a lot of players use their status to make even more money in endorsements. Perhaps you can look at it the other way around in that the reason prices are so high is because owners know they have to be competitive, and that the players can demand more because they know that. Who cares how much the owners make? They pay taxes on it. Its no different than the owner of a restaraunt making money....they've been successful enough (or lucky enough) to own a major league baseball team, so now we need to tell them what to do with their profits? If there were a cap on salaries, not only would it make things more competitive and more "fair", but it would make it easier for fans to demand lower prices because the team doesnt have to spend a gazillion dollars to real in the best players. Right now its very convenient for an owner to say "hey, you want a competitive team, well the top players are going for $20 million a year. The only way I can make that kind of money is to raise prices". Then the fans are stuck with this choice of either not getting the best players or getting good players but paying out their behinds for them. If theres a cap, the best players may still be demanding $20 million, but one team may only be able to get one or two of them, not 4 or 5 like the Yankees, Angels, and Mets are doing almost every year. That alone would drive salaries down, which would make it harder for an owner to get away with raising prices. Finally, I'm sorry, the luxury tax is not a salary cap. For one, its set at such a high number than only a few teams even have the resources to reach it, let alone go over it. Therefore for the vast majority of the teams, its not preventing anything that is already prevented by financial limitations. When a team like the Yankees has the resources that they do, does anyone really think a luxury tax is going to change their game plan? Baseball is screwed up in so many ways (FA compensation, no cap, the draft, divisional setup, etc). I realize this has nothing to do with Burnett other than how his signing shows how screwed up baseball is becoming, so i apologize for that.

This offseason is turning into an absolute joke. For all the good Bud Selig has done for the game, to even suggest that MLB doesnt need a salary cap is absurd and cowardly. He should have taken this fight straight at the MLBPA and used the public as his leverage. No way would the majority of the public, except for NY and LA be against a cap, and no way the Union could survive a strike based solely on its millionaire players being forced to accept a cap.

The Brewers need to jump on this....the time couldnt be more right. They lost their two best pitchers with no real options to replace either. In return, they get 4 high draft picks, and as many as 5 total before the start of the second round, which could replenish anything they have to trade to get Peavy. Peavy is one of the best pitchers in the game and he's signed for relatively cheap compared to what guys like Santana and CC are making. Adding him would allow us to at least compete with the Cubs, which is something we cant do right now. Trade what you have to to get him......but if theres any way to hold onto Jeffress, we need to do that. I would not include Parra or Gallardo. A deal involving Escobar, Salome, and maybe two lower level pitchers like Braddock and someone else i think would be ideal.

Oh no...here comes the whole....strikeouts dont hurt argument again. I am as against Cameron in this lineup as anyone, but if this is straight Cameron for Cabrera, I think its a terrible trade. While his defense is good, it cant be as good as Cameron's. And his offense, minus the K's, certainly isnt as good. When I first this, I thought...no way can it be a straight up deal like that. Maybe the Brewers are trying to load up the NYY's payroll so they decide not to sign Sheets.

$1 bratwurst. Beer sold by the liter. The "Bonnie Brewers" polka squad in lederhosen. Thats the best idea i've heard all offseason. Adam Dunn cannot be that much better in the outfield than Abreu. While Abreu is getting up there in age, he did still swipe 20 bases last years, so his legs arent exactly shot. His OPS would be a huge boost over what either Cameron or Hart did. Remember Abreu put his numbers up in the AL East against guys like Becket, Dice-K, Halladay, Burnett, and Kazmir. He also wouldnt require the long years that Dunn would. Yes the defense would suffer, but Hart has speed and has played center before, and while its not ideal, its not the end of the world. After watching last season, I am convinced the Brewers couldnt care less about defense. Eliminating Sheets contract alone should cover the cost of the raises to Fielder and Hardy, and we also got ugly contracts like Gagne, Turnbow, and Counsell off as well. Trading Cameron would save $10 million, which would about cover Weeks and Hart and the raise to Hall and Suppan. Whatever happens, they need to sign a closer. You cant go into the season expecting to compete when you have guys like Coffey, Jorge Julio, or Seth McClung trying to finish games.

Now that he has turned down $20 million per year, whats the best way to spend that money? I think they should offer Hoffman a 2 year deal worth $9 million per, its a little less that what Wood signed for. Then offer Abreu a 2 year deal for $11 million per year. I dont know if either of those numbers will be enough, but it should be a good start at least. Abreu has to know he isnt going to make what he made last year, which is why the Yankees didnt offer him arbitration. We then trade either Cameron or Hart, preferrably Cameron, for pitching, even if its just a prospect. That frees up more money to sign a starting pitcher like Braden Looper Jon Garland, or Randy Wolf. Then we sign another utility infielder. I was hoping it would be Loretta but now maybe bring Counsell or Durham. The team would look something like this Catchers: Kendall, Rivera Infielders: Fielder, Weeks, Hardy, Hall, Lamb, Counsell Outfield: Hart, Abreu, Braun, Kapler, Gwynn Starters: Gallardo, Parra, Wolf, Bush, Suppan (weak rotation to say the least) Bullpen: Hoffman, Coffey, Julio, Stetter, Riske, Villanueva, McClung

Well they'd better do something, because if we go into the year with Gallardo, Parra, Bush, Suppan, and McClung, I am going to ask if I can return my 20 game pack. I do give Melvin credit, he seemed to make a real effort. This does just go to show though that in the long run, the deep pocket teams have a major advantage. I dont know how anyone could think a salary cap wouldnt help the game.

The Reds are certainly making their mark. Dye and Hernandez and they havent given up much.