Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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12/2/23 Marquette @ Wisconsin game thread
Jim French Stepstool replied to Oxy's topic in Other Sports
I think it's an intriguing idea. I expected to see it more today than we did. But you can't argue with the results of staying big; they had a big edge on the boards which was huge. My only negative regarding the bigs was Wahl somehow lost #12 about three times, which shouldn't have happened. Also not sure why Ilver got the minutes he did, outside of it simply being a case of him doing well enough in practice that he isn't THAT far behind Gilmore & Winter and Gard feels he deserves a little run. -
When Do The Brewers Trade a Catcher?
Jim French Stepstool commented on Bashopolis's blog entry in Smash
As Sveum alluded to, the DH role can help sort this out. I've never been a big fan of having both catchers in the lineup in that fashion but they did it a number of times in '23. However right now there's a surplus of OFs to potentially fill that role & you don't want to bring Quero up here to sit, so barring health issues we may not see Quero as soon as we think. Once he's ready, it's like they say, a good problem to have. I could be wrong but if Quero is as good as we all expect/hope he is, then when the time comes I suspect using Contreras as a very attractive trade chip is more likely than splitting them between DH/C, or trying to make a 1B out of him. -
12/2/23 Marquette @ Wisconsin game thread
Jim French Stepstool replied to Oxy's topic in Other Sports
There's no doubt in my mind that UW can win the game. But there's also no doubt they"ll have to play really well to do so. The way the Badgers' defense has trended upward in the last handful of games has to continue. Take care of the ball; no cheap transition buckets off turnovers. Make them score in the half court. This MIGHT be a game where we see them go a little smaller at times. Blackwell & Storr on the floor together would be interesting. -
Why Joey Wiemer Could Be Traded
Jim French Stepstool replied to Ryan Pollak's topic in Brewer Fanatic Front Page News
Well put. That's what makes it a little scary to include any of these guys in a trade. That being said, it's gonna happen at some point. Unless some organization is in love with the guy & overpays relative to last years' struggles, I'd be OK with Wiemer putting up some numbers in Nashville. -
It IS too bad. Not only was it more interesting (to me anyway) when you had 5-6 major conferences, but in both football & basketball you had your occasional cinderellas from CUSA, the MWC, Mid-American, A-10, wherever. I think that's the spice that makes college sports what it is, but with the current structure they may wind up being little more than developmental incubators For the AFC (SEC) and NFC (B10). Things certainly do change. Whether it's evolving or devolving, I don't think that chapter's been written yet.
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The two remaining schools are talking a brave game. From what I understand they have a two-year waiver to attract at least six new members (you need eight total), San Diego State & UNLV sound iffy at best. SMU decided to go with the ACC. Gonzaga last played football in the 1940s, and even as a basketball-only member they'd have to ask themselves, "why?". Wazzou & Oregon State might wind up having to join the Mountain West, which I think they view as a last resort. Perhaps a "merger" with the MWC, which I suppose the MWC could consider for branding purposes if nothing else.
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Knowing Michigan, if that were the case they'd turn down the Rose Bowl & accept a bid to the Looneytunes' Donald Duck Bowl vs Sacramento State just to assure the playoff spot. Seriously, since they push the playoff back as far as they do it's not a bad idea. But once they expand the playoff it's undoable.
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Save for a different AD down the road, I think that ship has, unfortunately, sailed. Would love to be wrong.
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The only part of this post I question is Mitchell playing every day. I'd love to see him take that step, and it's certainly possible. But the strikeouts have to be addressed. To me, it's just a killer when a guy with his speed & baserunning ability is plagued with too much swing-and-miss. It appeared there was some improvement late last season in that area. Hopefully it wasn't a small-sample mirage.
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He announced Tuesday late afternoon/early evening that he's not playing.
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I think some fans would be surprised at how many college FB & basketball players get no NIL money at all. Not necessarily attaching that statement to Mellusi as I don't know whether he was getting anything. He's had injury issues to deal with on multiple occasions. I'm not saying he'll ashcan the whole thing & simply look to get on with his life, but that DOES happen sometimes. Selfishly, I hope he gives it a try as I agree that he seems like a great fit as a veteran to combine with the incoming TBs.
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It looks pretty obvious that at some point one or more of the OFs will be dealt. But I don't want it to be Frelick. Looking at the way he handled himself at the plate in his first go-around, I see him becoming one of those guys that the opposition would just hate to see come to the plate late in a close game. Agree with SF70, hoping Wiemer has the developmental year in AAA that was robbed from him last season. And as BrewerFan alluded to, I think the production you'd get from TT in '24 is greater than whatever you'd receive in trade.
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2023-24 Wisconsin Basketball season thread
Jim French Stepstool replied to LouisEly's topic in Other Sports
Interesting dynamic late in the UW-Western Illinois game. Looking to clear the bench with a big lead, Gard sends three to the scorers' table. One of the three was Gus Yalden. During the next dead ball the other two enter, but Yalden retreats back to the bench. Last week Gard was asked if there's a chance of Yalden redshirting, and he said "probably not" followed a few seconds later by "but we'll see" or words to that effect. I'm guessing Gard would like for him to redshirt but is leaving it up to Gus, which was Bo Ryans' philosophy--let the player decide. Seems like Yalden really wants to play but is having trouble deciding, based on what happened tonight. A lot of this was brought on himself, but it looks like the kid has a lot of emotional gymnastics to sort through. I wish him luck. -
That's the straw that stirs the drink. It's become less about being an end-of-season reward & more about creating another 3-hour window for selling ad space, and maybe getting enough handfuls of fans on site to get the local hotels, restaurants & golf courses some extra holiday coin. Throw in the guys who decide to bail on their teams (I understand why it's done & it's hard to argue against it, but I'll never respect it), and it makes bowl season much harder to get excited about.
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Let's look on the bright side. If they go to a bowl & lose, I'm guessing they would be the only B10 team in history to get a bowl invite & finish a season with eight losses. Sounds pretty elite to me.😜
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I like Jimmy. I was hoping against all odds he'd somehow stick with Fickell. But I don't think there's any way he'd have a shot at the OSU job if it opened. Maybe DC there, if the right guy was hired as head man? If I had to guess I'd say Day is OK for now.
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Don't follow the NFL so I'll take your word for it on a projected round. For sure, unless he wants to be a REEEEEAAL longshot coming back would make sense for him.
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Minnesota had an injured player early in the game. Peej ran out to check on him, then went back to the sidelines while he was still being attended to. I was shocked. I mean, didn't he know the TV cameras would still be on the injured player?
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Yep. And no lead blocker to deter that.
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Agree re TE. Improvement needed at LB but there are some folks there who I think haven't reached a ceiling yet. If they aren't improved in the secondary it'll be a big disappointment because they recruited heavily there & seemed to get who they wanted. DL Gio Paez, Rodas Johnson & Isaiah Mullins (injured all season) should all be able to return next season if they choose to. If they do that unit will be improved. Of course those are 3 big "ifs".
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2024 would be year six. I thought I heard that he could at least apply for a waiver. Tough call to guess what the kid's thinking.
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The perfect microcosm for people who criticize this offense--and I've been one of them--came in (I think) the second possession. You have a 3rd & one: You decide to throw for it (ugh). You complete the pass (Good. Yay Air Raid!!) Even though you complete the pass, it still doesn't pick up the 1st down. That's kinda hard to do. All that aside, Mordecai was a nice dual threat today. And I venture to guess Allen getting heated up in the run game opened up some longer pass patterns. And for all their mistakes this season, It's time to credit the offensive line for developing some consistency & playing much cleaner (I don't think I heard Jack Nelsons' name called once today regarding something negative). And they've done it with virtually no help from the 2nd team. Curt Neal, Vinny Anthony, Quincy Burroughs, Christian Alliegro starting to step up. Hopefully more young'uns do so w/the extra bowl practices. Hayden Rucci w/a huge, clutch grab. Happy for a SR doing that in the Axe Game. Today the defense only looked lost at the beginning of the game for one possession. Progress😎.
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You may be right. Unfortunately they've hit the jackpot attracting offensive lineman in-state & most of them fit the road-grader profile. It would be a shame if there's suddenly a paucity of players from Wisconsin to fit the current system because going to other areas to recruit is always a challenge. It would be a shame to see neighboring schools knock down the "wall" Alverez built. I think the current O-line is starting to play pretty consistently, given their talent level. But you're right, it wasn't built for an offense like this one.
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I don't think they've done enough to be able to "take the top off a defense". Throw in the lack of a real consistent deep threat (Dike is probably the best one & he isn't 100%) & the long ball not being a real emphasis, and here we are. Throwing into the short flat just doesn't get safeties to creep up like a constant pounding of 5-6 yards from a run game. The new staff has, on paper at least, recruited well so far. And just maybe, a year in the Big Ten has taught them some lessons about balance, what you need to do, and when you need to do it. The opportunity is there to finish strong & get the bad taste out of some folks' mouths. If ever there's been a big game between 6-5 & 5-6 teams this feels like it.
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2023-24 Wisconsin Basketball season thread
Jim French Stepstool replied to LouisEly's topic in Other Sports
Not defending a mostly invisible game from him, but when SMU had the putback on the FT miss I believe he was on the bench.
