HarveysWBs

A hitter, a hitter...my kingdom for a hitter

That is...not a good approach.

I had to keep checking the bottom of the screen to confirm that that was really a scoreless inning there. It felt like the Cardinals squeaked at least a run or two across with all that typical Cardinal chicanery.

Hitting is about the process. You hit the ball hard, and good things happen. Unless you’re playing the Cardinals. Because voodoo magic.

Son of a bee sting...

I’m over Harrison Bader.

As whoever the announcer is (EDIT: and about ten people before me) said, all it takes is a few feet-first slides to upset this calculus really quickly. Of course, the arbiters of all that is good and right with the game are the opponents in this series, so you know this would end in blood, unfortunately.

Of course. Visual evidence is not required. There is no standard.

I’m just here to get a suntan from all the hot takes!

Wonder how the Shanahan-LaFleur relationship is going these days? For supposedly being such good friends, Shanahan has played hardball from day one: not allowing Matt to take Saleh (which I get, it’s a lateral move, but Matt’s best friend) or his own brother (cold) to come work with him. Two epic beat downs in SF in 2019, and now this? LaFleur strikes me as a cool customer, but it would be impressive if he’s not a little fired up by now.

I think there’s still a very viable path to a Rodgers return at this point. He has said nothing publicly that makes him irredeemable to most of the fan base, and I read some of the developments of the last 24 hours (Kuhn’s comments, the Schefter interview) as a gift that could give Rodgers and the org a way to save face, blame the media, and work something out. But, as always, we’re still just looking at an iceberg move on the surface and making predictions. It’s still the undersea ice that will determine if the ship sinks.

Far be it from me to tell anyone else how to be a fan. And who knows what is true and what isn’t, as there are so many details and so much intrigue circulating, it’s hardly possible for all of it to be true, and equally unlikely that it is all a pack of lies. What I do know is that, as far as my fandom goes, GB winning rings is 1A and being consistently good is 1B. To the extent that Rodgers is now a cancer (which he may very well be at this point), then he is harmful to those objectives, so if sides must be drawn, I’m on the organization’s side (since they are still trying to, you know, win games in Green Bay). I want nothing but good for Rodgers personally, and seeing as he’s been compensated beyond the wildest dreams of 99.99% of humans who have ever lived, my primary concern is for his mental and spiritual health, which have seemed a bit tenuous at times over the last decade. Nevertheless, I was a packer fan before Rodgers, and one I will remain long after he’s gone. Now, this does not preclude a reckoning with the org’s responsibility for how we got here. However, that all seems pretty impossible right now given the present smokescreens, gaslighting, and emotional confusion of the moment. It seems likely that at minimum, Packers brass is guilty of poor communication at a few critical moments. It may also come to light (though I have seen zero solid evidence of this as of yet) that they were belligerent with Rodgers and bear the brunt of the responsibility for the broken relationship. This would make Gute or whoever guilty of harming the franchise, and if so, my estimation of all this would change a bit. But if we’re talking about Rodgers pouting for not getting to keep a diminished Jordy Nelson for his last season, have to watch the team draft defensive players in the first round (addressing the part of the team that is unarguably the biggest need), and (ministers of grace defend us!) see Kumerow let go from what ultimately still proved to be the most efficiently lethal offense in all of football, then that’s some pretty thin gruel. I’m sorry, but spare me the Jordan comparisons. Jordan couldn’t have GM’d the Bulls to six rings, and if Rodgers is wanting to make personnel decisions like those above (and don’t forget, he lobbied for Jimmy Graham—how’d that work out?), I don’t think he’d have constructed a roster half as good as Gute’s. If it can all be reconciled, of course, I’ll welcome him back. He’s still the best chance to bring another Super Bowl to Green Bay, no doubt about it. But if not, thanks for the memories. The franchise must carry on. And 12, for all he has done, cares little for that future to the extent it does not involve him. Understandable for him, perhaps, but this fan does not feel the same.

So I know there is an element of Lucy and Charlie Brown’s football at work here, but I’m really stoked about the next evolution to this offense in light of the addition of Amari Rodgers, Josiah Deguara, and a fully-integrated AJ Dillon. I think they have another gear beyond even what last year’s offense accomplished, and, in fact, I think they’re on the cusp of achieving unstoppable transcendence (the 2011 dream achieved). But, nah, a soap opera sounds like a better outcome, I guess. Good job, everyone. I hope everyone’s ego trips still feel so satisfying in a few years when all involved have moved on to retirement or other jobs.

I thought this for about the first 24 hours, but the longer this goes, the less likely it’s all about a contract, in my estimation. If all it takes is a commitment to 12 for the next 3-5 years, I think it would be done by now. I mean, LaFleur seems on the verge of tears when he talks about this—he wants Rodgers, and the situation is eating him up. Why would he be that upset unless there was personal animus on one or both sides threatening to be an insurmountable barrier?

Like everything else, this is unsourced and possibly conjecture, but seems plausible. Basically, Rapoport is saying that, in the 2020 draft, Gute wanted: 1) Justin Jefferson, but couldn’t get a deal done to get him before the Vikes 2) then, he wanted Brandon Aiyuk, but couldn’t land him before the 49ers, 3) so only decided to move up for Love after the preferred plans were scuttled IF this is true (nearly everything about this whole mess is hypothetical in the absence of more clarity from either side), then I have the following observations: - While I would not say Gute necessarily panicked with the Love pick, I think he had to quickly pivot from a position of being able to align his value board with a team need, to going to best player available after losing out on Jefferson and Aiyuk (while, yes, Higgins and Claypool were still there, it is a bit revisionist history to demand that the Packers should have valued them nearly as high as the two WRs Gute really wanted—the fog of war is real and must be granted in any fair assessment). As others have mentioned, the fluid nature of the draft day environment would almost certainly make informing Rodgers about his intentions simply impossible, and if he went in intending to land one of his top WRs, it is entirely likely Gute had absolutely no intention of drafting Rodgers’ successor until the value of the draft board dictated it was the best move available to him. He clearly liked Love, but this was not plan A, or maybe even B or C (perhaps he wanted to move back, but couldn’t find a dance partner). - In light of the above, the entire scenario is a tragedy in at least two senses. First, while I am inclined to think the defense was ultimately the issue when it comes to getting over the hump last year, it is conceivable that a player of at least Jefferson’s caliber may have been enough to outgun Brady and Mahomes. Second, and most salient to the present controversy, if Gute took Love purely for value and not because he thought Rodgers was washed (and he had reason to suspect 12 was declining—those who deny this are again being overly revisionist), or to make a power play with his franchise QB, but only to gain the best player available? This makes Rodgers’ response now all the more petty (though I suspect we are only getting maybe 20-50% of the story).

Hahahaha. Can you say team of destiny after only one month? I can’t believe this lineup is getting it done.

Injuries have to be the only thing keeping Hiura here anymore

Professional AB for the kid. Take notes, Bradley.

Exciting moment for Feliciano.

Yup, series split is more than ok...

Nah, Rasmussen doesn’t have any idea where it’s going. He grooved two fastballs in that AB, and Barnes just missed. He’s wild.

Take that, Manfred! More baseball!

Ooof, what a bad throw. Even JBJ is thinking “dang, dude”

Heck of a situation here

They don’t attribute it to the pitcher Ah, right. Thanks.