GreatNWwi

Well every one of those games was a getaway game.

Just like the Brewers will always be the Braves for my Dad.

Over the CC years we have seen plenty of players that the fans would have thrown to the curb in May/June become significant contributors in September. On that same note we have seen plenty of players that the fans would have thrown to the curb in May/June DFA'd by August/September but were given plenty of opportunity to be that guy along the way.

This is what I think they are doing except they are not concerned about his current strength and challenging his weakness. I think this is their textbook playbook for determining if a player is worthy of a roster spot in September and not worry about it early in the season.

I think CC’s viewpoint is that we won’t know if Hiura can hit lefty pitching if he never faces lefty pitching. He still has the luxury that the team is winning, we know Hiura can hit righties and he can use AAA to get him right again before the next try. CC has used a similar strategy with multiple players over the years in all areas of play with much success. In this case, I expect to see Hiura and McCutchen batting against their weaknesses until either they figure it out or become platoon players, playing to their strengths come late August. I think this is how he has a history of getting more out of players than the fans/experts ever expected. It looks to me that CC is willing to risk losing early and mid-season games in the hopes of getting more out of his team later in the year.

A classic CC move. Especially early in the season with a struggling player.

I can hear the discussion in the clubhouse now. "Since we won't make the playoffs this year, lets not win too many games so we get our cash bonus." Now suddenly you will have about 12 teams not passing that threshold every season.

The bolded part tells you all you need to know about the owners attitude to the players - you're just employees and you should be happy with what we give you and if we decide to give you something we can take it away or charge you for it (directly or indirectly) if we want. What's next? Pay toilets in the clubhouse? A fee for having indoor toilets instead of port-o-potties at the back end of the parking lot? Oxygen usage surtax? Uniform fees? We've been sold the con that baseball costs are escalating because it's not a sport, it's an entertainment business. I wonder how the Rolling Stones would feel if they were told there's vending machines down the hall if you feel hungry or thirsty. Where have you gone Hank Steinbrenner, A nation turns its lonely eyes to you... I think that's the way it goes... How do you get that rant out of the part you bolded? It's not even remotely the same.

The Royals sold for a billion in 2020. This Sports Business Journal article tracks every MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL franchise sale since 1998... https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2018/11/26/In-Depth/Team-sales.aspx I've listed just the MLB sales below... 1998 Dodgers 311 M 1998 Rangers 250 M 1999 Angels 147 M 1999 Reds 67 M 2000 Indians 323 M 2000 Blue Jays 112 M 2000 Royals 96 M 2002 Red Sox 700 M 2002 Marlins 158.5 M 2002 Mets 135 M 2002 Expos 120 M 2003 Angels 183.5 M 2004 DBacks 160 M 2004 Dodgers 430 M 2004 Rays 65 M 2005 Brewers 220 M 2005 Athletics 180 M 2006 Nationals 450 M 2006 Reds 270 M 2007 Braves 450 M 2009 Cubs 845 M 2010 Rangers 385 M 2011 Astros 615 M 2012 Dodgers 2.15 B 2012 Padres 800 M 2013 Rangers 593 M 2016 Mariners 661 M 2017 Marlins 1.2 B 2020 Royals 1B 2020 Mets 2.475 B Using 2008 as a dividing line since it's in the middle-ish & no teams were sold that year results in the following splits... 10 years before 2008, 20 sales for 4.828 billion. 13 years after 2008, 10 sales for 10.724 billion. Pre-2008: 2 sales per year for a 241.4 million average Post-2008: 0.77 sales per year for a 1.072 billion average That teams have sold with notably less frequency of late, despite their sale prices skyrocketing by an even greater measure, indicates to me that owning a team is pretty, pretty profitable these days. This LA Times article provides net worth of principal owners, team values, etc. Annualized appreciation of each team is listed and ranges from -3.8% to around 20% with the typical appreciation around 10%. https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-02-28/mlb-billionaire-team-owners-roster-2022-lockout I was trying to research how many owners each team has to get a better idea of how that profit pie is split up. A simple google search does not answer that question. Depending on how big that collective owners group is, the profit numbers being thrown around might not be that impressive.

The St Paul Saints are the Twins AAA affiliate. MLB may or may not like it but they do allow it.

Since you seem comfortable with this statement you should also be comfortable with a similar statement about the players. That since they are born into talent and privilege while taking advantage of a system that allows them to succeed and props them on a pedestal then yes, I guess professional athletes make their money in a legitimate way.

And then imagine the ensuing Kickoff fumble returned for a TD. Imagine if the Bears didn't suck.

I forgot to add, Carbone's has the best Pizza Sandwich (calzone) I have ever had including homemade.

I think there's a big difference between Bally's Sports channel being removed and people being denied access to their local ABC affiliate. Big, huge, gargantuan difference. ESPN, while not quite as influential as it once was, is still a pretty big deal as well. The local NBC affiliate in the twin cities has been missing from Dish since the beginning of October. I don't see that one getting resolved soon.

You have to go east for good pizza here. Grand Pizza in Stillwater was a go to when I worked in the area 10+ years ago, I hear they are still good. Carbone's is generally good at least at the east-east side locations (Wisconsin). New Richmond has Vinny's Sports Bar + Grill (excellent). River Falls has Luigi's (very good). If you are St. Paul or west, probably a long drive for just a pizza but it does get you back to God's Country for a bit.

Agreed 100%. They had their Super Week with the Vikes beating the Pack and the Gophers beating the Badgers. Sunday was Karma for all of that celebrating.

Come on!!! It is the Arm Barn for cryin' out loud.

Google says: Metals. Metals used in orthopedic implants include surgical grade stainless steel (commonly 316L), cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) alloys and pure commercial titanium (Ti) or titanium alloys. There won't be any rust to shake off.

\ Meaning? Are people not biting on face value?

If we just block people with less than 100 posts from commenting you solve 99% of the problem. Hey now!!!!..........but good point.

I know that logically the reason we have better odds than the Dodgers is because they are baking in the potentiality of them having to overcome a one game playoff, but I don't care. That's still kind of a strange feeling for us to be the odds-on "favorite", as it were, even if it's only for this moment in time. I have been quietly hoping for a Dodgers/Giants game 163 which the Giants will host, plus the one game wild card.

Interesting. We always went to one or two Brewers games in September no matter how bad the team was. We still saw some fun baseball most every time. I was 16 for the '82 world series. I am currently fossillizing just fine.

Will be dodging rain tonight and tomorrow night. It was not looking good for tonight 12 hours ago but it appears that the rain will clear out just in time. We will be there tonight so I hope they can get it in and started on time.

There are four or so counties that are part of the Twin Cities media market on the border of MN which makes life difficult for getting any WI TV sports and TV news. We cannot even get WI stations from Eau Claire as our local channels in most locations with a few exceptions. We get both Bally North and Bally WI. While MLB has this area as a dual market so we get all Brewers and Twins games, the NBA has us as a Timberwolves market so Bucks games are blacked out. Even finding the Bucks on the radio locally is difficult. As long as the Packers stay respectable to great we will get most of their games from the Twin Cities stations as long as they do not conflict with the Vikings schedule. The NFL has some goofy blackout rules that cause us to miss the Packers occasionally. That being said, a trip to Milwaukee for a game is no big deal other than a bit of an investment in time and a hotel room. We are heading out at noon today for tonight’s Brewers game. But for me, I grew up in southern WI and lived in Milwaukee for five years so I have places that I like to visit as a bonus to the ballgame. It is easy to be a Packer and Brewer fan, it takes work to be a Bucks fan from this location.