chuckiehacks

Counsell might have something to do with it, but I think it's probably more a combination of the memory of the Chris Duffy / Brad Nelson debacle and the success the team had with Kapler and Diego. By now, we all know the players for which DM has a soft spot - Pitchers who played for Texas, veteran outfielders, Canadians, and that.

Let's not get greedy, remember pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. No rain. No rain. No rain.

Unless you move to Canada, at which point you'd have to say "And that was the heaviest snow I've ever shovled, and that."

I'm watching this extra closely, as I've planned to go to this game. Of course, I didn't plan on taking the day off, booking flghts, finding tickets, only to see Gallardo, but oh well. I'm flying home Thursday night, so it's Thursday or nothing for me.

If we're talking wheats, I'll throw out Upland Wheat. I first had it years ago, and you can occasionally find it in the Milwaukee area. But now it's on tap at Stubby's (my neighborhood bar, which we covered earlier in this thread). We drank many of them on Friday night.

I'll take them if no one else has responded.

We can only hope that Zaun can help Zealous Wheeler learn how to bring his Z Game.

Really? You'd rather have Escobar and Cain playing everyday instead of Greinke? I think some people have gone overboard with the criticism of this defense. Yes, they're a generally poor defensive group. But the offense should be about the same as last year, maybe better, since Escobar was pretty much horrible at the plate. The defense will likely be a little worse because of Yuni. The pitching should be much, much, much better. I'm not sure how anyone can be upset about what that means for this season. I recently read somewhere, maybe Rob Neyer, that summed it up well - Hitting, pitching and defense all impact a game, but defense has the least effect.

I don't get this. The best part about not locking up a player like Casey is if he falters they could eat the contract... As others have said, a multi-year deal just doesn't make sense unless it is at a significant discount from his projected arbitration numbers. The impetus for the long-term deal/buying out arby years is generally shared risk between team and player. The team risks the player getting hurt or declining. The player risks missing out on even more money if his health and good play continues. I don't see that here. I understand that, my thinking is that Casey's highest paid year wouldn't reach what Hall was getting and Gamel would still be be a league min type guy. Gamel could slide over if a first baseman is ready or play first if a third baseman is ready. I am not saying that I think that they should lock him up long term but if they do it should be before he gets expensive so they have a good gauge of what their costs will be for years to come in order to know how much cash is free for the pitchers. I do not think they should buy out even 1 year of arbitration unless it is a team option. I just believe everything they have been doing the past year is to avoid going to arbitration and having a reasonable deal locked in. Casey is a good solid player who hasn't gotten payed w/ 2-3 kids. I think that he will take a discount and that was what I was basing this on. If you pay him full value their is no point. Also it would be easier to trade him with a locked up contract than a team going through arbitration as long as it isn't an overpay. He's under team control through 2014, so he's already "locked up" in a sense. He's eligible for arbitration next year, so I don't know how you propose an extension that doesn't buy out any arby years. I'm sure the team has a pretty good handle on what McGehee's max arbitration number will be, I think we've all basically agree on what his ceiling is. The only draw for the Brewers to agree to an extension is for cost savings, not cost certainty. I'd argue they already have relative cost certainty with McGehee. Signing him to an extension that is not team-friendly is basically just buying high on a player you already own. I like McGehee as much as anyone, but an extension for him has to provide some advantage for the team to make sense. I don't think "team friendly" and "attractive to McGehee" are mutually exclusive. The fact that he has kids and hasn't gotten paid is immaterial, that's baseball economics.

Everything is more fun with a guy named Zealous around.

Umm, Opening Day 2009 was under 40 degrees with 35 mph winds! It was miserable. Last year was amazing, though.... Clearly I've blocked that from memory. But now that you mention it, I remember that it was pretty much impossible to light (and keep lit) a grill.

They could blast that and turn off all the lights. Friends can listen to "Endless Love" in the dark...

The last few Opening Days have had great weather (vigorously knocking on wood). If it is cold, I'll break out the "adult" hot chocolate.

That does sound like a good party. I'm not sure why people feel the need to comment about people that just come to drink and skip the game, since you've clearly stated that your group is not like that. That being said, I like to supplement the sausage portion of my tailgate with some or all of the following: --mozzarella cheese, a cherry tomato and some oil & balsamic infused basil on a toothpick - basically caprese salad on a stick; --the chirizo-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates that were discussed on this site earlier this winter; --breakfast, always a good idea. Before game 4 of the playoffs, I did steak, peppers and eggs on a skillet over a smokey joe; --a bloody mary bar is pretty easy to arrange. Table space is key. You can never have too much, especially if you wind up with a big spread.

Ummmm........................scotch? Insert Anchorman clip here. Or Miguel Cabrera. Too soon?

It's as though McCalvy read your mind: Braun Dreaming about Playoffs, not Dollar Signs

You can always go the craigslist / stubhub / fansnap route. There are already a fair amount of tickets on the secondary market for under $50.

This minor league version of the same contest puts the Brewers to shame. Two words - Bologna Lollipop.

Warning - NSFW grittyness. Edit - Fangraphs with an awesome (SFW) follow-up!

Rotoworld is reporting that the Cards are not going outside the organization, instead planning on Kyle McClellan.

I just love that this thread is nestled right next to The Beer Thread.

How about eating significant money by getting rid of Hall & Suppan?

All kidding aside, this is pretty ugly. Probably not worst-case scenario for the Tigers, but pretty close. I can see this coming down to the team trying to make him go to rehab, him refusing to go and the players' union having to choose a difficult stance.

Ray's in Tosa had a beer tasting last night with Larry Bell, the founder of Bell's Brewing. We tasted 8 beers and he discussed each one. One interesting thing he pointed out when we were trying Hopslam (and oh dear God was it good) was that once you get over 70 or so IBUs, there isn't much discernable difference, as chemical reactions (mainly numbness) happen in your mouth. He was super entertaining and the new Ray's tasting room is pretty sweet. Said he was going to close Wolski's after we left! Hopslam was the star, I came home with some of that, plus old standbys Oarsman and Two Hearted. Official release date for Oberon is March 28.

Like a moth to a flame, the Blue Jays just these types of love long-term deals.