Ron Robinsons Beard

Exactly ... and there's where the ability to pull out a win, even in ugly fashion, is huge. This Packers team is probably not a whole heck of a lot better talent wise than last year's team, yet they are going to finish with a much better record. Yeah, there's a little luck involved. But doing just enough to be able to pull out wins at the end is the difference between making the playoffs and not when you have a bunch of teams with similar talent levels and flaws.

I personally think the Cowboys, though they'll probably win the division, won't be long for the playoffs. I do think the Vikings are definitely better and would fear them a lot more in January. How the teams match up on one particular night isn't everything, it's just one piece of information. The Chargers looked like a really good football team against us last week and we looked like a very bad one but we know that isn't true. I just think you are selling that Cowboys team short. There is a ton of offensive skill position talent there.

It bothers be that Kirk Cousins is looking like a competent QB. I was much more comfortable with him being trash.

Or that it's a 60 minute football game. They're also still not that good. Does that mean the Vikings are not that good either? Because these two teams look very evenly matched.

Dallas could sure help the Packers' NFC North chances by knocking off the Vikings tonight. I don't know if there are really any truly elite teams in the NFL this year. The Saints looked like trash today against the Falcons, and the Rams were downright terrible against the Steelers. These two teams playing right now I would call solid playoff contenders, but nowhere near elite level. It will be interesting to see how the 49ers handle playing a good squad in the Seahawks tomorrow night. Finally a decent Monday night game.

Vikings are doing a pretty great job of showing a national audience that they, too, are just OK.

I know Steelers have a decent defense, but going the whole game without getting your #1 receiver the ball is inexcusable. Giving Gurley only 12 carries when he was the only player doing anything on offense for them was almost just as bad.

Quality win today against the solid team. Defense was gashed a little, but had good pressure on the QB, and sacks and turnovers at the right time. This team is 8-2, and now in the driver's seat for a playoff spot. After seeing the Saints and Rams fall to lesser teams today, I'll take a win any way you can get it in this league. This team is every bit deserving of its record.

As long as one of them comes down with it, all that matters.

That was a dominant offensive drive. Scoring a TD before the half would have been close to putting it away. Gotta keep the foot on the gas now.

Pass, just pay an extra few million to have Thames back. As I have said before it just doesn’t make sense to drop Thames and go for a scrap heap 1B...the cost difference just isn’t there. Just screams in house options is what they plan. That's where I sort of think they are going as well. Wouldn't surprise me to see a soft R/L platoon of Braun and Shaw, with Braun seeing quite a bit of time against righties as well. That is assuming they devote funds to resigning Moose or grabbing another 3B. I imagine they'll grab another lefty-hitting 1B on a minors deal as insurance in case Shaw can no longer be redeemed as a ML hitter.

Considering the majority of the pessimists were predicting 6-7 wins for the season, still good.

Taking a failed starter and throwing them in the pen, only to see them morph into a shut-down reliever, certainly isn’t the norm. Typically a bad pitcher is a bad pitcher regardless of what role they are used in. Pomeranz has always been a guy with great stuff, but definitely attacked more as a reliever.

At least I think we can all agree that the new logo is still an improvement on Tom Meindel's original design. Even the logo the team ended up going with had subtle tweaks.

I think using the term "backlash" is seriously overstating things. And "universal"? Come on. I've seen a lot of "ehh" or "whatever". Casual fan isn't going to know that there is any difference between the old logo and the "new" one.

Yes, he's actually been floated as a trade candidate quite a bit, due to his very large salary, and the fact that the Red Sox want to try to get under the luxury tax threshold. Even big markets have issues with budgets, and that team is paying out a crapload of money in other spots. I think both Betts and Boegarts are considered trade candidates because they not only make a lot, they are also studs that should have enough value where the team would not only be able to deal them without eating any of their contracts, but also get a nice amount of value in return. I think some in the Red Sox front office were hoping that JD Martinez would opt out of his deal in order to free up some funds, but since he didn't, they are going to have to look at either making tough decisions to cut costs, or pay that luxury tax penalty once again - which keeps escalating with each consecutive year of exceeding it. Looking around Google and Betts trade rumors, I don't see the Red Sox Brass making mentions. An Extension talk being forthcoming. The Rumors are outside based on that Betts has said he wants to test FA, along with as you mentioned easiest contract to get under the luxury tax threshold. Which of course requires 0 MLB players in return only MILB to do so. That or, they are still looking to shed the value amount of the MLB Player/s contract in return. I know it's happened(Reds recently with the Dodgers) where a team bailed them out of that money crunch, while giving up something of value that really they shouldn't of. Why in a competitive sport would you help out a Luxury Tax team that makes oodles of money, to get below said luxury tax and the penalties they've faced? While also helping their minors system? It's Betts' desire to test FA that makes the rumors. I don't see it from the Front Office. I can pretty much guarantee that you will never see anything from the Red Sox confirming that they are shopping him. The dots as to why they would do it are pretty easy to connect I think, though. I agree on wishing team would avoid helping out others who are careless with their spending, though. I personally love when big markets overspend and are stuck having to pay a huge luxury tax. It's even better when they are paying megadeals on players who were once good, but are now terrible due to regression, like Matt Kemp. The difference here is that Betts is still young and in his prime, so even though he makes a ton, he still has a lot of value.

Yes, he's actually been floated as a trade candidate quite a bit, due to his very large salary, and the fact that the Red Sox want to try to get under the luxury tax threshold. Even big markets have issues with budgets, and that team is paying out a crapload of money in other spots. I think both Betts and Boegarts are considered trade candidates because they not only make a lot, they are also studs that should have enough value where the team would not only be able to deal them without eating any of their contracts, but also get a nice amount of value in return. I think some in the Red Sox front office were hoping that JD Martinez would opt out of his deal in order to free up some funds, but since he didn't, they are going to have to look at either making tough decisions to cut costs, or pay that luxury tax penalty once again - which keeps escalating with each consecutive year of exceeding it.

I think Hamels will be too expensive at $20M. With so many needs (1B-SS-possibly C & 3B) the Crew can't afford to throw that kind of money at a rental. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t see Hamels getting that kind of contract as a free agent.

Huge difference trading for a young talented OF with 5 years of team-friendly control versus trading for a young talented OF with 1 year of very expensive control.

They'd be compromising their outfield depth by moving Braun to 1B. Cain needs days off and they do have a nice option in Gamel, but honestly Grisham is not proven by any means and if he gets off to a slow start, he'll probably be optioned. They desperately need another RH hitting corner OF if they move Braun to 1B. If they keep him in LF sharing time with Grisham and or Gamel, they need a RH bat at a corner infield spot. *COUGH*Shouldn't have waived Troy Stokes*COUGH* Yeah, that .726 OPS he put up while playing in a hitter's haven last year was gonna help.

HaHa had one solid season that made it look like he would be a stud safety for a long time. Then for whatever reason he completely lost it and was absolutely atrocious. He's the type that is going to keep getting chances, though, because once in a blue moon he'll make a play that makes him look like a 1st round safety, and he looks like a prototypical stud safety getting off the bus. Morgan Burnett did really well to combine leadership and smarts with his limited athleticism to at least look like a competent safety for several years. I always liked him as a player, and perhaps let fandom give him too high of a rating in my head. His lack of big play ability was striking, and somewhat telling. I'm going to disagree with you on King. I don't know if he'll ever be a superstar, but when healthy, I think you could do a heck of a lot worse for a #2 CB (and the Packers have!) Of course, health has been the biggest denominator when it comes to determining his value. Even when he's on the field, he seems to be fighting some sort of malady that saps his athleticism and effectiveness. At some point you have to wonder if that's simply what he's going to be.

Is it really overreacting, though, when it would be addressing a problem that has spanned several seasons now? The above trade scenario would be far from "sending the farm for a reliever". Seager, the centerpiece of the deal, has Gavin Lux bearing down on him for playing time, not to mention Chris Taylor and Keke Hernandez that can play there as well. They also have a blue chip SS prospect in Jeter Downs and another very good one in Jacob Amaya. Rios is blocked by several players at 1B, as is Wong at C. That system is simply loaded ... which makes it all the more likely that they eventually use some of those prospects as currency to shore up problem areas of the ML roster. Their system has been loaded for a decade and they've barely given anyone up in a trade. Willie Calhoun and some other fodder. They're pretty smart. I know that some will say, "yeah, but they didn't win a World Series so they need to do something" but they've been, what, a handful of outs away 2 years ago and in the game last year. Maybe ownership or fans light a fire under their management to do something shortsighted, but if I'm the Dodgers, I just keep churning out head-and-shoulders the best team in the NL on aggregate and eventually if I get there 5, 10 more times...luck will finally even out. I wouldn't give up a huge portion of my franchise in hopes that Josh Hader pitches well for 8 innings 5 months into the season. They can wait on this one unless they think the Padres are going to come roaring out of the gates this season. I guess we have different views on what "a huge portion of the franchise" is. Seager is very good, but they have several ready-made replacements for him, including one in Lux who some consider the best prospect in MLB. Rios and Wong are simply fillers for them. They wouldn't be trading any of those precious high-end prospects that they have been so wont to hang onto. But Seager, Rios and Wong would all be hugely valuable to a team like the Brewers that has big organizational holes at all 3 spots.

I think his point was that Choi is cheap and basically produced as good as Thames this year. He would have been an ideal lefty replacement for a fraction of the cost. I agree its not a bad move or huge loss, but it would have been a perfect fit. Except that it's totally a "hindsight is 20/20" argument. Thames and Choi have nearly identical skillsets, so there is really no way that the Brewers would have hung on to both of them the last two seasons. I get the feeling that the Brewers originally signed Choi to a minors deal as insurance against a big Thames regression in 2018. When Thames came out of the chute fine, on top of Aguilar knocking the snot out of the ball, it made Choi expendable. Their attempt to catch lightning in a bottle with Brad Miller obviously didn't work out, but it made a ton of sense at the time.

I think it was more a surprise that they looked so competent the first three weeks of the season, which perhaps led to a bit of false hope. As you said, despite the obvious upgrades the team made in the offseason, there are still multiple holes, especially in lacking speed in the middle of the field. I'm more bullish than you are on your claim that a bunch of the young guys haven't actually shown much of anything, though. Both King and Alexander have shown to be excellent talents at times, but as you pointed out, have been very inconsistent. I admit that I was once a big Blake Martinez believer. I think that he would have been an All-Pro MLB had be played in this league 20 years ago. But this year has proven to me that his style of play just isn't a fit for the new NFL. The leadership and smarts he brings just can't make up for his lack of speed and athleticism. The Packers are trying to fit another A.J. Hawk into a Devin Bush-sized hole.

Is it really overreacting, though, when it would be addressing a problem that has spanned several seasons now? The above trade scenario would be far from "sending the farm for a reliever". Seager, the centerpiece of the deal, has Gavin Lux bearing down on him for playing time, not to mention Chris Taylor and Keke Hernandez that can play there as well. They also have a blue chip SS prospect in Jeter Downs and another very good one in Jacob Amaya. Rios is blocked by several players at 1B, as is Wong at C. That system is simply loaded ... which makes it all the more likely that they eventually use some of those prospects as currency to shore up problem areas of the ML roster.