strawbossisevil

As long as he gets on base at a good clip, the strikeouts matter very very little. Especially in the lead off position, where he'll have runners on much less than someone later in the order. His job is to "set the plate" for the sluggers behind him. So I'd say strike outs should be the least of our concerns with Rickie. He could K 200 times a season and still be a great lead off hitter if he managed to keep his OBP around .400.

An engagement is in my near future, and I'm trying to pick a romantic restaurant for the special evening. I've done some research and have found three that sound interesting. Pasta Tree Pieces of Eight Coast I have not eaten at any of those three restaurants and appreciate any comments any of you may have about them. I'd certainly welcome any suggestions on different restaurants as well. I would prefer to have the restaurant to be on the East Side, so that understandably might limit my options a bit. Thanks much. I appreciate any help you can give me.

"Who has two hands and likes NASCAR!?!"

I also am a bit tired of how some on this site seek to look at every little thing Ned says and tear it to pieces. The guy can do no right in some people's eyes. Especially when some have the negative microscope zoomed in so close on the guy. This thread is just another example of that.

Want: 1) Sheets 2) Gallardo 3) Villenueva 4) Suppan 5) Bush (tied for team lead last year in QS) Capuano to the bullpen (as the second lefty), Vargas traded, and Parra to AAA Expect: 1) Sheets 2) Gallardo 3) Villenueva 4) Suppan 5) Capuano Bush to the bullpen, Vargas traded, and Parra to AAA.

Seriously? I do know what the Greek of it is, but sound these out for me Nedophile, Pedophile. They sound almost exactly alike. It's a "catchy" name, because it is sounds so much like the other one. There is no real reason other than that to use the Greek, is there? And really, I consider it not only distasteful, but completely out of line. Many on here may have come into contact with Pedophiles during our lifetimes, and to make light of it is foolish. If that's not what you meant by it, it takes 10 seconds to edit it out of your post. The fact that you haven't to this point, but maintain your "right" to call others names really is distressing, and like I said, quite frequently is something that has merited a strike on this board.

That would be impossible though Backup, seeing how the opposing view might not have worked out either. For example, if Jenkins is up vs a righty, but you are clamoring for Mench (which wouldn't be so smart, but I'm trying to make a point), and Jenkins makes an out. It isn't that you were more right than Ned in that situation. Often the "right" move might not work out, or the "wrong" move does work out. And even with the "right" or "wrong" moves, the difference in either one succeeding over the other is often 10% or less. Having statistical evidence would be almost impossible. Plus it wouldn't take into account any of the times Ned would use a different player because of an unannounced injury, RP arm fatigue etc. For example, its pretty hard not to be "right" putting Cordero in, in every single game of the season, but that just isn't possible.

It's a twist off the word pedophile, not exactly a word you want to be affiliated with, and definitely not something to be joking about at all. Don't you think? Also, I'd say the hindsight posts probably outnumbered the foresight posts about 20-1. So I'll stick by my "every now and then".

Hart or Braun to CF. Closer could be Pena, Marte, or Riske. Catcher will probably be Kendell and Capt. Lou.

Yeah, Joey, and most of the time immediately after it goes wrong. Yes, even in those threads. Sure, every now and then someone would say he'd do something differently before hand, but that was far less frequent than the multitudes of 20/20 hindsight second guessers. To say otherwise would be ridiculous. With Yost there may have been a few head scratchers. The Mench situation, the Pujols situation were both clearly something most wouldn't have done. That said, even those instances there was a reason behind them. Mench was having one of his best nights as a Brewer. Pujols is a guy who could hurt you much more with one swing of the bat than a HBP could do (and the Cardinals were the ones who started throwing at us.) Those were the two most obvious ones during the season. They had reasoning behind them, yeah not reasoning that nearly all of us would agree with, but reasoning none the less. I would guess that nearly every manager in the league would have a similar amount of equally bad head scratchers over the course of the season. And that's my point. There just aren't that many SABR minded managers out there who play from behind their calculators. Sticking another guy in there in place of Ned, would probably bring equal results, but that manager might not have the player handling ability that Ned does. Finally, FTJ, you can keep your "Nedophile" name calling to yourself. Not everyone who defends the guy loves him to death, some of us just realize that he's not nearly as bad as posters such as you claim. Repeating it twenty thousand times and calling people names isn't going to make it any more true. And, if I remember correctly is strike worthy on this website.

The problem is, it being so subjective, you could make a list of "miscues" for any Major League manager on any given night, especially if you or others are looking for them to "add to the list". It wouldn't prove or disprove a thing, other than the fact that many here don't like him and would do anything to knock him in any way imaginable, that it might prove. Its very very ease to snipe at the manager's moves. Also, many of the moves that would appear to us to be "miscues" may actually not be miscues. For example, on a number of occasions, Yost didn't use his closer in certain games. While some got offended by this practice, it could have been for reasons beyond our knowledge (the closer needed a night off due to his arm being sore, the advice of his pitching coach/bullpen coach on who has been throwing well that night, sickness, advance scouting reports (a player struggles against a certain pitch), common sense managing philosophy (you don't pitch your closer in extra innings on the road) etc.). Often its difficult to judge on what is a good move, and what isn't. Its just not easy to do because we don't have all the information that a manager has. For all of those reasons, it would be very easy to come up with an extensive list, that contains very little substance, but which is "convincing" to those who desire to have a comprehensive "list" of said manager's flaws. If you could come up with a well informed unbiased list, that would be one thing. But that simply isn't possible, especially considering the views of a number of posters on this website, myself included.

I think both could last the entire 2008 season and beyond. If we make the postseason, but many people on here still nitpick the manager, I see no reason why not. Its not like the Yost haters are ever going to stop hating on the man. They have it in their minds that he is a horrible manager, and I don't see that changing no matter what the results.

That fact that you wanted a thread dedicated to it suggests you are already anticipating on having daily things to complain about. I don't think that is beyond common reason, and it really goes against reason to say that you were suggesting otherwise.

RU Rah Rah There is a whole website for that. It was called FireNedYost.com or something like that. A number of the posters on here were members there, and I'm sure they'd love to have another negative critic to join in the Ned hate. I'd rather not have to see such a thread all the time. People second guess managers all the time, and even good moves work less than half the time. I don't know about you but the "I'm smarter than Ned" posts got really really old last season. Do we really need a daily summary of what you or any poster would have done differently? Bleh. There are constructive talks and discussions, and then there are 20/20 hindsight rants (which such a critical thread would most certainly become). As someone mentioned, people are looking to find fault with him. Even the fact that he was thinking about the lineup (the best order of which is still debated on this site) elicited snarky comments. I think it would be best to sit back and enjoy watching the Brewers play this year, and not spend the entire time showing how much smarter (or less smarter) you are than Nedly. Its already been discussed that this is his make or break year. I'm seriously convinced that some just need a reason to complain. Let's put the complaining aside, and enjoy the season for what it is, an entertaining game to watch.

I don't know clancy, baring any changes, I see the bullpen as the following: 9th - Gagne 8th - Riske 7th - Turnbow 7th - Torres 6th - Mota (we didn't trade for him and his pricey contract to just cut him) Loogy - Shouse Long Relief - Bush Parra will probably start the season in AAA. (which with him and Bush both available in the case of injury provides us great depth) McClung is probably either in AAA (if he can get through waivers) or lost to another team. He has potential certainly, but his career numbers do not give reason for optimism (aside from a few innings with Milwaukee last season).

I agree with those who said that we should go get a young catcher. That seems to be the only hole in our 25 man roster at the moment. We have solid infield backups in Dillon and CC. Outfield with Gross and Gwynn. Munson and Rivera both are not very good defensively (from what I've heard) and both will not provide significant offense. I don't know if Inge is the answer, if he could still catch you'd think that's where he'd be playing. But I do like the idea of Teagarden or Mathis, or a similar type of player. With Kendell's age, we have to be ready for an injury. Can any of you imagine having Munson or Rivera as the team's starting catcher? Ugh.

Hall and Capuano for Rolen and a Prospect? Might be worth it.

46, and it took forever. I have my Latin, Greek, Spanish studies to thank for it. http://my.photodump.com/gprezmoney/freerice-T.jpg The proof. I used no dictionaries.

Obviously, we'll have to agree to disagree. And looking at the first page of Trade Rumors, there are really not all that many of those threads as some might think. Even the Cabrera thread included us giving up Villanueva. A few of you have dramatized just how bad the suggestions have been. Is it really that hard to see how someone could overvalue a pitcher like Villy, whose had nothing but success to this point in the Majors? And who is thinking that the Marlins need pitching? Like I said, it's not about a lack of research. It's about a lack of experience. And it's not nearly as bad as some of you are making it out to be. It is very natural for people to overvalue our own players, especially people who have limited experience with MLB or the Minor League system. The key is to be patient with people, not in their face about things. Experience will bring improvements. It's easy to be judgmental when coming from a position of more experience and knowledge.

It's offensive to think people aren't thinking through their posts in the first place. That's the point. While to some, a post may go against all common sense, we understand it as such because we have a certain level of experience. I appreciate a lot of what MH does, but personally I feel like he was out of line with his post. He's assuming that other people are not taking posting thoughts as seriously as other. That's elitist, no matter how much you spin it. Yes, those thread may be irritating to some of us who have certain levels of experience. I know that I would never make the suggestions I originally made in the Trade Rumors two years ago. It's because I've learned more and more what value our players have. But I got to where I am now by making the mistakes I made in the past. The same is true for a lot of the better posters on this site, many who started out here not having a lot of experience and who have learned through mistakes. Also, many of those threads are fun, in that they are daydreaming out loud. Yeah, it's dubious that we'd be able to make a package that would bring us Cabrera or Santana. But sometimes it's fun to put seriousness aside, and just dream. I imagine we all have had different dreams of having our favorite players join the Brewers through the trading of a number of different pieces. Let's not throw the beginners under the bus, by claiming that they aren't even thinking out their posts (for some they may be thinking them through, but just don't understand the value of certain players as well as more advanced posters do) or for daydreaming out loud. Patience. If you don't like the thread, pass on it, simple as that.

Sorry, but I don't get the first post. It seems to fit the definition of elitist. Many people may be newer here, and excited as we are approaching a very big offseason for our club. They may not quite understand what value certain players might have in a trade. It's a learning process. If you don't want to see the grand idea of how we can afford AROD or Miguel Cabrera, just pass on the thread, simple as that. The people writing the threads are convinced that the offers would be valid. To me, this seems like a slap at their intelligence (as does calling them kids). We are all learning. Some of us have devoted our lives to baseball, others are newer to following the sport this closely. It's important that the people who devote so much of their time be patient with the newer people so that we can learn together. Otherwise, the situation here will not be conducive to new posters who don't know all that much yet. As a language teacher, this seems like someone who is fluent with a language criticizing a beginner for making a mistake. Mistakes are the best way to learn, and that applies to more areas than just languages, but to all areas of life. If we aren't given the opportunity to make mistakes, we will not learn or improve. One option could be that you could make a separate Trade Rumors forum for the posters who you think make smart offers. That way you can leave the newer "kids" to make their less than smart suggestions without having to endure the terrors of horrible suggestions yourselves. It would be elitist, but it would make life easier for the advanced posters, since they wouldn't have to waste their time reading threads with bad suggestions.

What if we did this. We trade Gwynn for Otsuka (assuming his arm is better) Resign Cordero and Linebrink for what they want, we should have the money at this point to offer them what they want. Finally, use Parra in this year's Villenueva role. Our bullpen would be: Closer: Cordero Set Up: Linebrink Set Up: Otsuka Middle/Long Relief: Parra Middle Relief: Turnbow Middle Relief: Wise (I think history has shown that he's a solid middle reliever, and probably could be again) Lefty: Shouse Our Rotation would then be: 1. Sheets 2. Gallardo 3. Villenueva 4. Suppan 5. Bush/Capuano This would allow us to trade Vargas and either Bush or Capuano for options at catcher or outfield.

Isn't this whole thread kind of pointless now that we know he's coming back for next season. Maybe someone could start a "complaining that Ned Yost is coming back next season thread" so we can have all the negativity head over there.

For whatever it's worth, Ned didn't put in Spurling. That was Sveum or Maddox. Still a bit of a questionable move, especially with Chicago owning right now.

My 50% number was entering the inning, not once a guy reached third (it's obviously higher in that situation and really assuming that I was talking about that specific moment is putting words into my mouth). And like I said, we just didn't have the bullpen depth to bring in Cordero. It was Wise's inning to win or lose.