UpandIn

I don't think that's fair to Za'Darius. He never showed ANY signs of being a locker room cancer, he was always well respected and gave good effort. It just came down to his contract was bigger, more difficult to restructure and he was coming off a back injury. I think HE'S wanted to prove to the Packers they were wrong and should have retained him(and in retrospect, seems like they were right)...but I doubt he was ever taking the deal Preston Smith did. Z was a good dude who was upset because he WANTED to stay in Green Bay, he wanted to finish his career here and he knew that his cap hit made him a VERY likely candidate to be cut. Also, can you think of any time he ever quit on us in Green Bay? I think the fact that he went to Minnesota is coloring your glasses.

Ahh...ok. I got ya. I don't know if they're really insulating him though. They're also opening themselves up for insane criticism if he plays next week even though he'd be cleared...and they DESPERATELY need him. And that hit is a VIOLENT hit and it's not so much the hitting the turf, it's the bouncing back. I don't think there's much protection in this for Tua(meaning, he's still getting crushed) and I think it makes the team look bad.

I got one playing Football in HS as well. It was a playoff game...I do not remember the 2nd half and I had 12 carries, played every snap at LBer and don't remember it save for a couple of flashes. Got a concussion just screwing around in College. I was on the back of a teammates truck standing up, he...was kinda a dick, gunned it and I fell back, hit my head on the concrete, got up, apparently face planted right into the grass. I remember that night, that day, we were watching a Packers game. I remember walking home. I don't know, I think it can be real hit or miss.

I guess...some people are willing to allow the evidence to change their minds and others are just...not. The fact that the Judge didn't even grant the restraining order(very low bar) should have been the first sign this story was not quite as it was initially made out to be. These are two troubled people who literally like to hurt each other while engaging in private acts. If thinking that's less of a crime makes ME less of a man...sure. I'll own that. I'll assume a 27 year old women is mature enough and adult enough to have the agency to consent to certain activities. You clearly do not.

No, telling me what type of man I am is though. And yes...I'm very serious. That's a video AFTER the second interaction. What exactly are you disputing? I'm curious? Is that fake video? The sequence of events of inconsequential to you? Literal text exchange(excluding the graphic parts) So...it's shameful for him to do EXACTLY what they communicated about?

Yes...you absolutely are. And of course, personal attacks. I suspected you weren't mature enough to have an adult conversation about this without ad hominem attacks. You read her texts. You know consenting adults can engage in rough sex, right? I would say this isn't. Poor quality pictures don't really show me much. THIS does;

I don't think the Brewers actually WILL sign him. The sensationalized reporting that initially came out made it toxic. It was originally reported she had a fractured skull. That's what I suspect most people are left with. I think we have to be more discerning than this. Not everything is black and white. Bill Cosby is free. I think we'd all agree...he's a bad guy. Even if they didn't get him on the one charge, he went uncharged for a LOT of accusations. There is a LOT of nuance to be considered beyond charged or not charged. District Attorney's have a legal obligation to NOT charge unless they're confident they can get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.

There is a video of a women...awake after the incident. That's "beaten to a pulp?"

So we're basically judging them for enjoying rough consensual activities? I don't judge people for their preferences? And she doesn't look like she's been abused there. You're infantilizing this women. I don't see how you can look at that video and say THAT is after a violent sexual assault. That's her...as she said(literally) sharing images of Bauer for attention for her "ego." Those are her words. And Cleveland, it was a 20 year old girl in AAA whom I believe Bauer called the police on because she wouldn't leave.

The thing that gets me is that AFTER those injuries...that we've heard about...what sounded like a violent assault...she's laying in a bed with him giggling and showing a video of Trevor Bauer sleeping with a mask over his face? This is the man she was terrified of? This is after the...incident. Then the restraining order after Bauer doesn't see her for 6 weeks, from the time this video was taken until that court appearance...during which time she comes out and says that she shared communications from Bauer with friends for attention and called it an "ego thing." I have a hard time reconciling that THIS women in this video is terrified to see Trevor Bauer. The text messages already had me...extremely skeptical. She'd been assaulted on the first occasion, but wanted it to be "rougher" the 2nd time while she made the long drive to Bauer's house? This has me...bewildered. She's an adult women with agency and she claims she was coerced by Bauer? So what evidence are we meant to go off of to conclude he's a predator? If you're going to slap that label on someone...one that's as close to the lowest you can get in society(child abuse...elderly abuse I guess...not many other things that are more deplorable)...then we should be pretty damn sure what's going on and I don't have a clue after seeing all of this how you conclude he is. I am more than open to having my mind changed and if I've got anything out of order or sequence, I'd like to know about it. I'm not digging in here as some Men's rights activist, I'm just trying to sort through this and trying to be objective.

The arrogance of youth. I got a few concussions in my life, but I don't ever remember thinking they'd be a problem later on(and I sure wasn't making money to play sports at this point). Tua's gotta be making ~8M a year I'd guess and as the 5th pick, the option will be worth...30M at least. Probably more by the time that comes along(it's the average of the top 10 QBs, so probably 35M by the time a few more contracts are signed). It's hard to tell someone what to do, but I wish this kid would take a year off. At least the rest of this year. Your brain has to heal(so far as I understand it) or the risk is constantly higher for each concussion.

Ok, so you've dubbed Tua the "boy who cried concussion," and you DID know about earlier this year? You watched how he couldn't walk and stumbled vs the Bills and how that Neurologist was fired, right? So that's two concussions where he had brutally obvious physical signs that a layman could have diagnosed...meaning, his chances for a concussion are MUCH higher that he gets another concussion...and you think he's faking it? Did HE even say he had a concussion? I thought the HC just said he was in concussion protocol? You know that doesn't mean someone did or didn't get a concussion, right? You don't need to lose consciousness and have your hands start involuntarily shaking for a player to get a concussion. We saw his head get bounced off the ground again. They didn't say that's why he played badly and the fact that they're saying he has a concussion again...that reflects TERRIBLY on the team and the medical staff. You also surely know players lie about concussions, right? They claim they don't have them when they obviously do? Like Tua did earlier this year when he went down trying to get back to the huddle? There is absolutely NOTHING to gain by the team or the medical staff here, only something for them to lose. Again, we saw his head hit the turf again, HARD. It seems strange you'd question this or call Tua the boy who "cried concussion."

Yeah, from a Baseball standpoint, there's no question. I'll be honest though...I don't really see Bauer changing. He may be more...discerning in his personal life, but he's got an ego. As brilliant as he's been going from an unathletic dude to a Cy Young winning pitcher, he's equally stubborn and arrogant. But can we get through a year and make it work? He's been a loner everywhere he's went. So he'd likely be one here. The idea of Burnres/Woodruff/Bauer/Peralta/Lauer and then Ashby to the pen with Houser? Of you flip Lauer for a stud reliever? I don't know. It'd be interesting.

I don't think they were saying they'd bring Hackett back as the OC for the last two games... And they do matter quite a bit. The Packer win out, they're very likely going to be a playoff team...which doesn't feel right. But no, I think the idea was that you'd bring him back next year. Not sure how that'd work with Steno as the OC. You don't demote him and MLF calls the plays anyway...so I guess you bring him back as passing game coordinator and another guy to help MLF. He can help coach TE or QB or whatever. He worked well in GB, was well liked. Seemed obvious Denver only hired him for Rodgers as he'd never called plays(I don't think) but he knows what we do and he's apparently a very well liked guy.

I don't know...this isn't going to go well given how anything that even brushes up against opinions on issues that can be viewed as political are discouraged, but I'll do my best to avoid that. I don't like Bauer, I didn't like him before this. He seems like a very unlikeable guy. Probably why there wasn't a whole lot of people in his corner from the start on this and this seemed like the final nail in the coffin of his career, sounded like it was a no-brainer, whatever consent there had been had been taken back or whatever. He fought back with the text messages and I think MOST people thought...those didn't really mean anything, it's what happened after that's at issue...and then the video came out. People can look and make their own decisions. But I was just watching the Law and Order Channel cover this. AFTER this horrible violent assault is supposed to have taken place, they're in Bed. Bauer has one of those sleep masks on and the girl is taking a video panning over to Bauer and then back to herself giggling and biting her lip. At that point, I don't know what the hell happened. So how are we supposed to adjudicate these things in sports or entertainment. You're accused of something and you're generally unemployable(I hate the term canceled, but I guess that's what it is) until you've gone through the process and maybe then...MAYBE you get another shot if it seems as though you might, possibly have been innocent? So I don't really feel like being the moral authority on things that can be so ambiguous. I can only look at what's out there. I'd talk to the players on the team, get their opinions and if they can put up with him for a year, yeah, I'd sign him.

I'm not saying give up on him as a starter. I'm just suggesting he could be used in the Hader role in the short term. We have him for 7 more years if we want him...wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to use him in 2-3 inning stints a couple times a week. I'm thinking when Peralta starts to begin with, but you wouldn't be tied to that. He clearly has elite, true ace type stuff, so I wouldn't think they'd be giving up on him as a starter long term. But if you have the big 3, Lauer, Houser, maybe Gasser/Small and you bring in another starter or someone like Knarr gets called up? It's just one idea. I don't think anyone can really guess what this pen is going to look like in Sept. There is SUCH an enormous range of potential outcomes, it'd be foolish to try and guess.

Good call. 60 FB, 60 SL. There are just SO many guys who could potentially break out...it's impossible to guess who actually will. But he's definitely one. So is Ashby. Maybe they make him a multi-inning reliever?

In fairness, most of the time when they've done this, it hasn't worked out. But with reports that the Brewers are willing to trade an OFer for Pitching, it made more sense it'd be for a young, controllable reliever. Felix Bautista would look SO good in this pen...unlikely as that may be.

Dude...have you followed what's happened with him this year? He's not the boy "crying concussion." He's the man who started seizing on the field after two VERY obvious concussions in a 4 day span and probably shouldn't be playing Football this year. On a hit vs the Bills, he was stumbling around and they said it was a "back and ankle." Then when he did that thing with his fingers vs the Bengals, it was...obvious something was VERY wrong. Now seeing how his head bounced on the hit by Enagbare? It doesn't seem like a stretch...at all.

They were definitely using different personnel groupings, so it threw me a bit as well. And I think you're right...they used longer bodies to crowd the middle. Here are the snap counts; https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/packers-snap-counts-versus-the-dolphins-week-sixteen-138 With Ford and Nixon both banged up, they had to go pretty deep...which may have helped. I thought Gaines looked pretty good in pre-season, but he's been cut from the PS IIRC a couple times, so I guess he hasn't been as impressive. Hollins was effective in just not letting Tua get outside and basically as an effort player like you said. He's a nice little find, but being without Gary is just such a backbreaker. As for Tonyan...I don't know what's going on there. Obviously the knee plays into it, but he did not look great the first half of last year. Or least he didn't put up big numbers. I don't know. Rodgers has never really thrown to the TE much other than Finley. He's looked alright, but a few years ago I thought he was gonna be an 800 yard, 8-10 TD type TE. I do know this team needs to go out and draft another GA player next year. Darnell Washington HAS to be a Packer. He is a young Mercedes Lewis. Dominant physical blocker. Arik Gilbert has almost Kyle Pitts level talent, but...I don't know what the hell is going on with him. He can't even stay on a team in College. Maybe it's grades and something that won't be an issue in GB...because he'd be one HELLUVA late rd pick or UDFA(I assume a lot of teams would be lining up for the later).

I don't remember seeing McDuffie out there at all on defense. I thought I saw Carpenter out there(24?) and Barnes in for a few short yardage snaps(I'm not sure...I hadn't seen him since he played most the game when Campbell was out). And then Innis Gaines a few times both in the box. Some different looks at safety, but I thought the front was mostly a Clark and then Reed and Wyatt played ~20-25 snaps(I pay closer attention to him when he's in and still think he needs more snaps). The guy who did seem to get more snaps than normal is Hollins. I may have just missed it though. I did notice it seemed like they went to a cover 6 type defense after the first half and tried to do it when Hill was on the outside so they could bracket him, but given how badly they were getting gashed, it's entirely possible I missed that. I have NOT changed my mind on Barry, but he did seem to adjust pretty well yesterday with Nixon, Lowry and I'm sure someone else on defense going out. One guy I didn't see out there a ton was Ford. I know he was on the field because he's a core STer, but I didn't see him on D much.

Bullpens are weird, but this is the hole right now...IMO. Uribe could certainly come in and just gain confidence and become a stud. That's hardly unusual. He could be the closer by the end of this year. Our #7 Prospect(per fangraphs) Justin Topa-70 grade FB, 60 grade slider; Struggles staying healthy have been a problem, but he's also got the stuff to be a late inning reliever. Two guys who were position prospects who moved to the mound, the later after being a top ~50 prospect. Lucas Ecerg...less likely he could become a late inning man, but pitchers with his stuff can figure it out quickly(which is a common theme here and it only takes 1 or 2 to do so the pen looks entirely different). Javy Guerra can hit 100 and had the stuff to be a late inning reliever. High spin rates, he was dominant last year in AAA. He was a top 50 prospect at a position player, but also has the stuff to be a SU man and a closer. Justin Yeager, part of the...robbery that was the Contreras trade throws in the upper 95-98(+2MPH) having added velocity last year per scouting reports, he's throwing his slider in the 87-90 up 3 MPH...and apparently a high spin rate, but he nibbles too much. Cam Robinson, sits mid 90s, his FB has a 60 grade, two other above average pitchers(potentially) and he had 63% ground ball rate. Gus Varland was apparently hitting 98 when he moved to the BP. Exceptionally unlucky last year with a .374 BABIP against him. Good strikeout rate and was pitching well in a relievers role. Ethan Small-Apparently hits 96 in shorter stints? I don't know, haven't seen it, but he's got a 70 grade change, struggled badly last year with his command as he was nibbling too much, but his fastball is deceptive and he's had a good curve in the past. He wouldn't be my pick, but he could certainly play a role in a as multi-inning reliever. Or hell, if he's ACTUALLY touching 96 in shorter stints, he could be an effective 7th inning man depending on match-ups? These are just some of the pitchers(the most likely, but still, only some) who could find themselves pitching in the late innings of playoff games or contributing in some significant way...or they never make the 26 and are marginal AAA relievers. That's in addition to all the pitchers already listed. If feels like good bullpens come together through a couple anchors and then trial and error. We lost a big anchor next year...so it's sure be nice if between Williams, Bush, Uribe, Cousins, we could get a couple of anchors.

Maybe, but I think this might be a unique case where they were serious about it and after last year, REALLY wanted to keep him around. I wouldn't be surprised if they offered 10/300. That's just the sense I get...it wasn't like the Brewers with Prince or...likely with Burnes. But I could be wrong.

Once you get to the territory the Mets are currently in, it'd take...sooo many things going wrong for them to not be successful. You normally can't just outspend to win...but clearly they're taking that to the extreme and I'm not sure how they can be bad. I could be the GM of the Mets and win 100 games each year(meaning any idiot who follows the sport could win with a 400M dollar payroll).