paul253

I think people are undervaluing Lucroy. He is an all star catcher, still fairly young and under control for two more seasons after this one at a very reasonable price. He is actually one of only two guys (Peralta) that I absolutely do not want the Brewers to move. Swihart is an exciting prospect but he's just that....a prospect. He's put up good but not great minor league numbers. I don't know how he is defensively but offensively it seems as though his ceiling is about what Lucroy is giving us now. Again, I don't know how he is defensively but if he is not a huge upgrade over Lucroy then the only real advantage he has over Lucroy is age. You'd save some money but not a ton. That said if we could dump Lohse and include Owens in the deal I'd definitely have to consider it.

There was some talk earlier of obtaining Tyson Chandler. How high does Willie Cauley-Stein expect to go in the draft? I see him as an exact replica of Chandler. Good defensive presence. Shot blocker. Rebounder. Very limited offense. Any chance we can maybe move up and get him?

Just a bump to this thread. Still looking for members. Currently sitting at 3, though I have one in the wings when we start getting more members.

Trading Segura involves the kind of innovating thinking that Doug Melvin does not possess. Kind of like trading Gomez. Plus, it would almost be like throwing in the towel and admitting the Greinke deal was a bust.

When the topic of new stadium development gets studied by neutral organizations, it's graded out as neutral or a net negative for the community/ies it's in basically every time. In this case though the taxpayers aren't footing the entire bill. There is at least $250 million in private donations pledged. There should be more once naming rights are sold. So right there about 60% of the arena cost is covered. There is also the fact, and it is a fact, that the Bucks will leave without an arena and along with them goes their income tax (which I believe is estimated at about $7-$8 million a year now and is supposedly going to go up with the NBA's new TV contract) which would be a hit to state taxpayers. Depending on which plan the State goes with taxpayers shouldn't suffer too badly. The City and County will be the big beneficiaries though as any additional private development will pay millions in property taxes (assuming the city and/or county doesn't piss that money away by handing out TIF district's to anyone who wants one). As it stands the land the this proposal sits on is massively, massively underused. I think anything that gets this amount of development there is a good thing, even if not all of it is taxable.

here's the thing...Walker sold his plan as not having a burden on the taxpayers. If that's the case, then why does Milwaukee have to kick in more money? Walker's plan was just that. A plan. It was never passed by the legislature and the legislature never really got behind it. So to say "well Walker said his plan wouldn't burden taxpayers" I guess my response would be "so what?" The plan seems to be DOA right now. On the other hand, both leaders of the Senate and Assembly seem to be behind the other plan, as is Walker. So that is a more realistic option. And it also gets into the argument I'd make. If the city is going to be the main beneficiary then why can't they contribute more? I mean seriously, a parking structure that is going to be torn down and some road and utility work? That's what you're going to contribute to a plan that is touting not only a $500 million arena but $500 million in additional development, development that will pay taxes to you? This is why people in the suburbs can't stand the City. The city leaders just expect that all the major projects that benefit mainly them (the deep tunnel, the streetcar, Miller Park, the new arena) will be paid for by someone else. And then if people say no they are accused of being "anti-Milwaukee". I think it's fair to ask the city and the county to each contribute $50 million. That's still significantly less that the state would be contributing and if the plan is as good as advertised the additional tax revenue should help make up for whatever they contribute. For the record, I think if anyone is going to screw this up it will be Milwaukee County. I have never seen a more dysfunctional group of people in my life. Unless the County Board gets exactly what they want they will veto any other plan.

At the risk of getting this conversation too political, I think Vos and Fitzgerald's financing plan is more reasonable than Walker's. Don't get me wrong, if Walker's plan was the only plan I'd still support it but I think $150 million in state taxpayer money is much fairer to taxpayers statewide than Walker's plan of $220 million. The fact is the big winner in this deal, other than the Bucks of course, is the City of Milwaukee. They are the ones who'd get all the tax money from the proposed arena-related development. Yet all Mayor Barrett has offered up so far is basically a city owned parking structure that can be torn down, some undeveloped land in the park east which isn't collecting any tax money right now, and some street/utility improvements. I think Vos and Fitzgerald have every right in the world to ask for a bigger donation from the city and county (and this is a city taxpayer speaking here). We're talking about a half billion dollar plan and all the city is offering is $25 million. It's not like that's all cash either. The total includes the value of the parking structure. But that value is meaningless as the structure is just going to be torn down.

I'll make a prediction right now that if the City doesn't step up this isn't going to happen. Mayor Barrett essentially stated that the City's contribution is going to be giving up a parking structure, giving up some land that they haven't been able to develop, and fixing up some streets. That's not going to cut it when he's simultaneously supporting a plan in which state taxpayers fork over $220 million in bonds. I think ultimately the lower, $150 million state proposal is what will go through. So add that to the $100 million pledged from Kohl and $150 million from the owners and you about $100 million short of what the arena will cost. Considering the major winners from this deal are the City, and to a lesser extent the County, I think it's fair that they cover the balance. I also think the city would be wise to hold off on the street car project and make sure it is tied into this new development. One thing that I've been wondering about though. Naming rights for the new arena could fetch, I'd guess, $40-$50 million. Why is that never included in the funding details?

From the looks of it there is no chance the public considers helping so where exactly would $500mil come from? I would have to think the Bucks are kicking in more money if they expect a practice facility to be built in addition to the arena. I'd love to see a Wisconsin Sports Museum put up where the BC is now, or somewhere in the park east area at least. And at least one 400+ room hotel.

Great idea but it's Milwaukee and I have a feeling someone is going to ruin it.

Since we obviously don't have enough guys to make our own clan would you guys be interested in just joining my clan? We are down to 10 guys so we could use some reinforcements.

I love how they are finally building up the secondary championships. Cena and Bryan help raise the status of the US and IC championships respectively. Also I like how they appear to be building up the tag team division. The Ascension has a LONG way to go but it's something at least. And the Lucha Dragons looked awesome tonight on RAW.

No need to overreact about Spring Training performance. I think some people are worried about Melvin overreacting. I think some of Melvin's past moves have screamed "panic" and I'm worried that with one the pitchers in our already thin rotation struggling so badly Melvin will go out and spend $7 million on a veteran.

I say open it up to anyone who wants in, at least to start. Once we get to 10 we can be a little more selective with who we let in.

I'm kind of in the same boat. Once we hit 10 I'm in.

Ok well my clan just started a war so you'll have to give me a day or so. My brother won't join until we have enough for a war but I'll get him to join when it gets to that point.

Come on guys only 5 more. My current clan is about to implode.

My brother doesn't participate in this website but he plays and I'm sure he'd join as long as we have enough people to start wars. My current clan also does wars constantly and like 18 of the 22 members are co-leaders so everyone wants to start a war. Anyone else interested? I don't think it really matters if it's only people on this site. Friends or family would be welcome too.

I've gotten addicted to this game and was wondering if there was enough interest here to start a Brewerfan clan. I'm sick of ending up in clans with a bunch of 10 year olds who won't shut up. I'd like to get at least 10 guys in the clan so we can start wars right away. Anyone interested?

I ordered my tickets on 2-17 and on 2-18 and received an email saying they'd be shipped in 7-10 days. Haven't received either yet.

Have to be excited for the metal detectors on opening day though...should be a blast getting 40k through there. *Groan* I hope the Brewers have decided to actually do something about this problem. I don't know what it is but it seems like last 2-3 years lines to get into the busier game have gotten ridiculous. I don't know if it's all because of them checking people's bags or what, but I've had to stand in lines that have looped all the way around.....if it had been a straight line I bet they would have been the length of a football field. And that was before metal detectors. I shudder to think what it's going to be like on opening day. Last year it was an incredibly awesome buyer's market. Just find the real fans trying to dump tickets outside the front of the stadium in the resell area. There were people that couldn't get rid of them. The scalpers were really struggling too. I agree with this. Last year I bought 4 tickets from someone on craigslist. Once my brother determined he and his wife couldn't go I had to sell two of the tickets and I couldn't even come close to getting what I paid for them. I doubt I'm going to go this year but if I do I plan on waiting until the day before the game to even look for tickets. People will panic when it looks like they're going to get stuck with tickets they don't want.

I'm not sure why everybody is acting like Kentucky is a guarantee to make the final four. They're really, really good, but they really haven't faced an elite opponent yet. I agree. I don't think there is any way Kentucky is undefeated if they play in the ACC. I don't think they'd be undefeated even if they played in the Big Ten and the Big Ten is having a down year. The SEC has a bunch of average teams. Other than Kentucky nobody really good though. I'm not saying that Kentucky isn't good because obviously they are. But I don't think drawing them in the tournament is the automatic death sentence everyone is making it out to be.

The first place we stopped was Disney's private island in the Bahamas. It's called Castaway Cay. There wasn't much to do there but there are three separate beach areas, one of which is restricted to 18 and over. So we sat on the beach for about 2 hours. Then they provided a BBQ for lunch....burgers hot dogs, chicken, salad, chips, cookies, etc. It was pretty good. Then we took a walk to an observation tower (which was a lot longer of a walk then we realized), sat one of the other beaches for awhile and headed back. All in all I think we had about 8 hours to be on the beach before we left. The next stop was Nassau in the Bahamas. They had a shopping district right outside the port but we took a shuttle to the Atlantis resort. The park was fun but it was a really confusing setup. By the time we got settled in at the park it was 10:00am. At 11:15 we did a dolphin adventure type thing which was really cool but also really expensive. By the time that was over and we got back to the water park area is was about 12:15. We got lunch then went on a few water slides but had to leave by 2:30 so we could catch the shuttle back to the boat. Nassau doesn't seem like a place where you want to be wandering around outside of the resort or dock. The last day we went to Key West. There was a lot of shopping. Lot of restaurants. A few historical sites. They did have a small beach there but we didn't go because we didn't know about it ahead of time. We were there about 8 hours or so before we had to be back on the boat. It was nice because all three stops had different types of activities. It's not like we went to one island and sat on the beach then went to another island and sat on the beach and then went to another island and sat on the beach. Each stop gave you something new to do.

We just got back and I have to say we had a great time. I would absolutely do another Disney Cruise....in fact we are trying to decide when we can do another one. Just a couple of points: 1) I was afraid that we'd be overwhelmed by kids. While there were a lot of kids it only affected us negatively one time, and that was more because of the parents. The kids pools always looked fairly busy but the adult pool was never busy at all. I don't recall ever seeing more than 3 people in the pool at the same time. The hot tubs were small but there were 2 of them. They got a little crowded every once in a while but it wasn't bad at all. 2) The only time the children affected us in a bad was were during one the cruise's Broadway style shows. The shows themselves were very entertaining. Not too long but not too short (they lasted between 45 minutes and an hour). During the Toy Story Musical we got there a little late and had to sit in the back. We were surrounded by very loud, undisciplined children who kind of ruined the experience. At one point the little boy and little girl in the row in front of us began fighting over who got to hold the popcorn, and the girl started screaming. The parents did nothing. I don't even think they looked over. Seriously....you'd think when other people start asking your kids to be quiet you'd recognize that maybe you ought to act like parents for a second. 3) The room was decent sized. I've never been on a cruise before so don't have anything to compare it to but I thought there was plenty of room for the two of us. The shower was separate from the toilet which was nice but both areas were a little cramped. Overall though there was plenty of room for the two of us. We got a room with a balcony. Again, plenty of room for the two of us but probably couldn't fit much more than that. 4) The food was alright. I thought the breakfasts were really good. The dinner restaurants had that "fancy restaurant" feel to it which I'm not overly excited about but I know a lot of people like that. The portions were small but since it was included you could essentially order as many entrees, appetizers and desserts as you wanted. We were there for 4 nights so we tried all three restaurants once and skipped dinner one night and went with room service instead. Room service was ok. Again small portions but since it's included you could order as much as you wanted to. Next to pools there were a bunch of little snack stands where you could get things like burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches, ice cream, hot pretzels, etc. Very convenient. We did not try to restaurant that you had to pay extra for. 5) Entertainment wise there was a pretty good selection. We went to the featured show every night. I thought two of them were really good and the other two were decent. They had Bingo, which was expensive but fun. They were playing a few newer movies in a regular movie theater (Guardians of the Galaxy, Big Hero 6, etc). We didn't go there but it's something to do. There was a deck party with fireworks one night. Obviously during the day you're off the boat most of the day when the ship is in port. 6) Last but not least was the staff. I thought the staff did a VERY good job. Very polite. Very professional. Everyone from the wait staff to the housekeepers did an excellent job. There were staff members from all over the world. Sometimes I had a hard time understanding them but that's not their fault obviously. Overall I had a great time. We made a few rookie mistakes like buying alcohol on the boat instead of bringing it aboard and not bringing certain things, like a bag for the beach, and having to buy it at the gift shop. Definitely will be a little more prepared next time. Price wise, again we didn't have anything to compare it to though I can imagine it was a little more expensive than the average cruise. There was plenty to do, plenty to eat, and it was a great experience. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone considering one of these cruises.

So they mail you the bobbles right? You don't get them at the game?