rwa12

Henson has just been hurt. I think he is a great second team Center for this team. Oddly, New York and Milwaukee were the competition for Monroe. RLopez was the consolation prize. I think Monroe would have fit better in the dumpster fire that is the NY offensive scheme, and RLo would probably have been a better fit with the Bucks. Seems like a "be careful what you wish for" scenario. IMO, Plumlee is more of a fit, I actually like how he fits with the starters. That Parker/Freak/Middleton trio is scary. If they can fill in with an athletic big and a few 3 and D guys, they are a power in the east. Hope Kidd is smart enough to see that, and not chase another big name this offseason.

I think they'll get a 7. The conference tourneys really only seem to matter if you win them. If they shoot like they did last night, they'll lose to anyone. Hope it's out of their system. Still bullish on the second weekend of the tourney.

I think at this point, if Hank died, he would immediately get a spot in the Brewers HOF. All waiting periods would be waived.

Take public transportation. Parking will be a fortune. Staying downtown will keep you close to the museum campus. The science and industry museum, and the children's museum at Navy Pier both have hands on kid stuff. The Mystic Blue cruise at Navy Pier is cool if you want to take a boat ride. Enjoy!

...or Mark Rylance gave a tremendous performance. The supporting actor field was loaded this year, only one can win.

Wife and I watched Spotlight last night. Great film, glad to see it won screenplay. One of the best movies I've seen in some time, although I don't get to see many.

The up for grab years typically come down to the coaching elite, IMO. These are the years that the Izzo, Calhoun, Coach K type teams steal a championship. Michigan State is always terrifying in the tourney, let alone when it is wide open. I don't think they will, but a Boeheim led Syracuse team is not one anyone wants to see in March either. When the talent is relatively equal, coaching matters.

I read an interesting article about the Royals, and I think "zigged when everyone else was still zagging" sums it up. They saw that everyone was going for hitters that worked the count. This led to pitchers throwing strikes early, knowing the hitters would take them to run up pitch counts, and would throw their "put away pitches" late. The Royals decided that instead of waiting to try to hit the "put away pitch," they would simply attack the early strikes. They say they want the opposing pitcher to have a low pitch count, because by attacking early they throw the pitchers off their game, and with good base-running (not throwing away runs) and defense (not giving away runs) they can dink-and-dunk their way to victories. They brought in good contact hitters to implement this strategy. The "Moneyball" methodology isn't about using SABR and getting guys with high OBP. It's about analyzing everything and looking for inefficiencies. No one wanted contact hitters with high batting average, but low relative OBP, so these guys were cheap. So was defense and guys with good base-running skills. So were relief pitchers. People who strictly follow "advanced analytics" ridiculed the Royals for the moves they were making, and I'd guess that since the "predictive models" use these analytics, they will always underestimate any team that goes against the grain. People who use "today's methods" to analyze the Royals can't figure out how they win, and that's probably why they win. Now people are trying to copy them, which will bring up the price tag on what they bought cheaply (the former inefficiencies), which will naturally make something else relatively cheap (the next inefficiency). They developed a plan, and found players to fit that plan. I think that's what Stearns is doing in Milwaukee. He's not a lapdog saying "this is what the Astros/Cubs did, so that's what I'm going to imitate." He has an idea of the team he wants on the field in a few years, and he's building that future roster, hopefully finding the aforementioned "next inefficiency." He obviously likes young pitchers who throw strikes and don't walk hitters. He seems to like defensive versatility, but that may just be trying to fit together an MLB roster for 2016. Looking at last year's trades, it appears prospects are losing their luster around the league, bringing their price tag down right when that's exactly what the Brewers need, so hopefully that helps. Digging deeper, guys in the low minors (before they prove themselves enough to hit the "top prospects" lists) are very cheap, so he's loading up on them. Whatever the ultimate plan, I am happy to see that the Brewers are finally looking beyond "this year" into "future years," and I hope that when everything plays out other teams are analyzing the "Brewer model" to try to imitate Stearns. Best post I've read on here in awhile. Develop a strategy and implement.

Bill Simmons did his NBA trade podcast this week. He suggested a Jabari-D'Angelo Russell trade. Who says no? Jabari may never fit next to the Freak, and we could use shooting and point guard play. Interesting one to ponder.

Tim Thomas' expiring contract...

Tobias Harris is being traded for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova. I feel the Bucks should get a 2nd Round pick or something for this.

Funny, Patrick...we must be about the same age. I have fond memories of those Cubs teams as well. Grew up following both teams, with no rivalry present. Shawon Dunston was a hero to me, he threw harder than Doc Gooden! Loved the Penguin, and for some reason Bobby Dernier was a favorite.

I think it will be a next man up/ ride the hot hand scenario with the assembly of utility men/outfielders he has assembled. I know a lot of these guys are out of options, but I'll be mildly surprised if there is a lot of interest in Brewers' waivers this year. I think it's last shot for a lot of these guys, regardless of age.

Seidenberger assigned to the Lake Elsinore Storm. Pitching coach there is Glendon Rusch. He can regale him with stories of the legendary Rusch-Quevedo 1-2 punch of 2002-3. I can't believe Disney hasn't made a movie about that ragtag bunch. Good luck, Trevor. Let him teach you how to bunt, pitching advice, not so much. Possibly my least favorite Brewer of the last 20 years.

I don't have the ability to go...but I think I'd be most excited to meet Greg Vaughn. Loved watching with him...Vaughn's Valley!

Was having a discussion at work about the movie the other day, and someone made an interesting point. This franchise is owned by Disney, and apparently has said at some point that the movies are for children, but that adults will enjoy them. Therefore, the plot points/twists will be somewhat predictable/easy to follow, for their target demographic.

I agree with the earlier poster who said that somebody has to play on the major league team. He was cheap, he's at least a MLB ball player, and he'll add some pop to a relatively slap hitting lineup. Everything can't be future oriented, still have to put a product on the field. I don't care about handedness, in this age of specialization, I think it's importance is lowered. Welcome to the team Chris, may you be a garbage time All-Star for us.

[sarcasm]I would think we could get someone younger than Delino Deshields, that guy has to be old enough to have children in MLB right now. The Expos will want a king's ransom [/sarcasm]

The public votes so far say that Griffey, Piazza, Bagwell and Raines all have a shot at least. Raines would be the one most likely to miss. I would be fine with those 4 in.

I think hitting on decisions like this is equally important, if not more so, than drafting well. I prefer the ability to cherry pick others' farm systems in trades, rather than the complete uncertainty with the draft. As much as people complained about the return for Lind, we received 3 guys who have had some measure of success at the professional level. They've ridden the bus, they've passed the first test. This may only make sense to me...but I kind of view the draft as buying a lottery ticket, and trading for prospects as buying a raffle ticket. I just think the odds are better. I wouldn't go more than a year, and I wouldn't be tremendously worried about the salary. I think if you're up front with him, and tell him "Succeed and we'll put you in a pennant race", he may be the type of guy that thrives. As far as a clubhouse cancer, I trust that CC is connected enough to the players to handle it. I don't remember Garza affecting too many last year, but I could be wrong.

How has TooLiveBrew not chimed in on this? Saw it last night. JJ did a phenomenal job. Answers the question, How good could these movies be without George Lucas' terrible dialogue?

I'd be comfortable taking Golden State +30...although there is always the chance that Milwaukee is their kryptonite.

The use of the word legit. The youth of today use it as a substitute for legitimate or legitimately, seemingly without regard to context. Using this word in a way that it was not intended (by my grammatical system at least) guarantees that I will stop listening. Yes, I realize I'm now the old guy who doesn't understand slang, but I'm surprisingly fine with this.

Apparently the Warriors are unhappy with the way the Bucks celebrated their upset. They weren't a fan of MCW staring down the bench. Curry and Green were talking about how excited they were to get the Bucks to Oakland. How much is GS going to win by on Friday? 30? 40? 50? I think Milwaukee beating GS on Friday, in California, would be a bigger upset than when they ended the streak.

It's pretty high down here. A lot of uninsured motorists, a lot of vehicle break ins, especially in the downtown area. Cardinals games/events downtown are basically Black Friday for car thieves. Around here, they aren't looking for things left out on seats. They are breaking in because so many people do CCW here, and cannot take their guns into events. So they break into glove boxes and trunks to steal the guns.