JonnyLungs

edit: formatting, info in next post

Respectfully, I disagree, for the reasons I already gave. I think Yuni B would be pretty much useless as a 25th man. It'd be better to bring Counsell back, seriously, or Josh Wilson. At least they can play defenseI'm pretty sure the Counsell ship has sailed. Like I said, I don't think defense necessarily needs to be a priority for the backup SS/2B when there is already above average defense starting. If Yuni B was the starting SS, I can see where it would be a priority. With a Gonzalez/Weeks middle infield I think the SS/2B backup will be deployed more as a pinch hitter. And it seems pretty asinine to think Yuni has much value offensively, but when you look at guys like Josh Wilson and Ronny Cedeno, the offensive bar is rather low. I'd love to hear of some better options, like I mentioned Punto and Theriot. But I just don't see much use for a defensive backup SS/2B. Presumably, the backup won't be able to hit, and they won't be needed all that often for defensive duty. At the very least, arguing over the 25th man is usually a sign of a strong team. Problem is, the Crew needs to fill in 23rd and 24th before worrying about 25.

I'm just saying that I'd be fine with Yuni coming up to the plate in a situation in the 7th where a pitcher is forced to throw strikes better than somebody like Edwin Maysonet. Defensively, Rickie Weeks is probably the bigger injury risk in the middle infield where if Yuni had to fill in his defensive shortcomings aren't as glaring. We definitely need better first and second options off the bench for pinch hitting but I'd tend to think they would come from corner positions. I'd even take Betancourt over a Ronny Cedeno. Cedeno's bat is weaker than Chad Moeller's was. When we've already got solid defense up the middle with Gonzalez and Weeks, we don't necessarily need a defensive replacement. And as poor as Yuni if offensively, he's not all that bad when you look at other 25th men.

I'm relieved Yuni won't be our starting SS next year, but I can't say I'd cry if he was brought back as a backup. I think he's proven that he can hit the ball when he's put into a situation where a pitcher is forced to throw strikes which could come in handy in some late inning situation. With the caveat that I think a patient left-handed power source off the bench is essential, I'd much rather have Yuniesky Betancourt as the 25th man than somebody like Josh Wilson. Even if it cost a few hundred thousand more. Guys like Yuni are easily exposed when thrown out there everyday but if deployed correctly as a pinch hitter you could do much worse for a 25th man. This is working off the assumption that a lot of the better potential SS/2B backup options like Nick Punto and Ryan Theriot could probably find jobs with better playing time. If they are interested, by all means, go for them. But I'd even be willing to pay Yuni B in the million dollar range to play the Josh Wilson role on the team. I mean, I'd take Yuni over Edwin Maysonet. Maysonet has a career .695 OPS in AAA while Yuni has a .683 OPS in the majors. That's worth a few hundred thousand dollars and allowing somebody like Eric Farris to continue developing in the minors.

I spent a few days in Mexico City. Can't really say much about the English thing as I speak Spanish. Flying in, they did speak English at customs which was helpful when they ran out of customs declarations forms on the airplane that were in English and I incorrectly filled mine out saying that I was carrying over $10,000 cash into the country. Depends on what you are doing I suppose, whether they will speak English or not. Touristy stuff you'll be OK. Worst traffic and dirtiest air I've ever seen in my life was in Mexico City. And I've been to LA. It wouldn't stop me from going back though. I preferred the city of Cuernavaca which is south of Mexico City. That's where all the people from Mexico City go to get away.

Potential bright spot..... will this lead to McGehee being non-tendered?

Did I hear that wrong on MLB Network's Hot Stove Show where they said Prince offered to sign an extension with the Brewers at 8 years/$176 million? That was the first I heard something like that and I wasn't even paying close enough attention to who actually said that, but the point of the conversation was that his asking price has now gone up over $200 million.

It's a crying shame we couldn't bring back Wil Nieves to plug into this lineup today.

Can't Hairston play CF? I bet Carroll goes down and Hairston platoons with Morgan.

I'm pretty confident that they will at least bring back Claudio Vargas.

I feel good for Casey today and despite the miserable body of work this year, I'm willing to see if he can go on a little pre All Star break hot streak. I still think they should take a look at Taylor Green at some point. Sooner rather than later if McGehee doesn't show more than the occasional pulse.

I do like him, just not as the number two hitter. His defense does have a lot of value. Put it this way, if Mark Kotsay is the next option on Ron Roenicke's mind, I'll take Gomez any day of the week.

Your history sounds about the same as my own. At 15 years old my elbow popped in a game (that I was pitching on short rest) and I pretty much stunk the rest of the year. After that it was the same story. Rest it over the offseason, come back and all the early season throwing would just make it feel like jello. I ate ibuprofen like candy. Same way now that I'm just playing softball once a week. Last year was probably my first pain free year though. Really, I just started dialing back my throws. If I put everything into a throw, I usually end up airmailing it and experiencing numbing pain throughout my whole forearm. So now I just kind of toss back to the cutoff man. Faster guys can take an extra base on me I guess but they'd probably get two extra bases when I airmail a throw.

Dude, what station is that? Can you get it in Mpls.? WEVR FM 106.3And if I remember right there was also an AM station out of RF... 1550 maybe? The Best Fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin listen to WEVR! I loved that station when I went to school there.

Talked to my friend who doesn't have the packages and it works on 666 Directv for him. So us DirecTV folks in southern Wisconsin at least can get it.