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I never met Rollie in person, just by phone... http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewArticle.do?articleId=296

'stache, Rollie treated me like he'd known me for years when I called him, we stayed on the phone for over an hour, and then spoke briefly two more times after that.

Oldcity, it wasn't a common thing, and in today's baseball world this will sound insane, but at that time they didn't want teams sending money to other teams for players. Today, how often do you see cash, millions at times, involved in trades? That was something Rollie laughed about when we were discussing this...money is involved in trades all the time now, but at that time, Bowie Kuhn wouldn't have it. Another aspect of this that makes no sense is, Rollie was a free agent after that season, and the Red Sox never even called him.

Rollie talked to me about that when I interviewed him a couple of years ago, the Red Sox were in Oakland at the time, so Rollie and Rudi just moved their stuff to the other clubhouse. Rollie had a locker right next to Carl Yastrzemski.

What if... http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=312

That was pretty funny, blingster, I almost stepped on Doug Melvin. I wanted to say something to him, but there was staff there, keeping us moving along. As thablingster said, on our way through, Aramis Ramirez came out of a batting cage on the other side of the hallway, in full uniform, etc...he seemed oblivious to our presence, he just walked between everyone and into the Clubhouse. I think Aramis would have been fine with someone asking for an autograph, etc, but the staff seemed pretty intent on keeping us off the VIPs. Chris Narveson seemed like a nice guy, he seemed pretty bummed out though, which I guess makes sense for him at the moment. I saw Gord Ash tonight too, on his way into the stadium, it was a fun night.

Political ads are bugging me, as are political phone calls, and political pitches on my front stoop....wow, give me some air!

The Brewers put on a Social Media event tonight, which included a Q&A session with Joe Block, and social media reps from UW-M, the Brewers, Packers, Bucks and Admirals. Our seats for the game were in the ATI Club, the seats on the warning track in right field. I was sitting there talking to the guy on my right, when I decided to strike up a conversation with the guy on my left, who turned out to be our own, "thablingster." It was nice to meet you, Sir...imagine that!

May 4, 1975 Watson is on base in San Francisco, Concepcion has just hit one deep in Cincinnati...Milt May goes deep for the Astros, sending Watson off in a sprint as Concepcion is racing at full speed...the prize...$10,000. And the winner was.... http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=288

For those who think the Brewers' offense is mostly to blame for their choppy start to the season...this team is in the top half of the league in runs scored. The issue, it seems, is the 119 runs allowed in 22 games. It's THIS bad...notice something please about the teams the Brewers have played so far. The Cardinals and the Braves are currently tied for the league lead in runs scored. The third-place team is Colorado...the 4th is Houston...ALL teams who have played the Brewers in April. I don't know if the Brewers have been unfortunate enough to face the best hitting teams in the league all at once, or if the Brewers have CREATED the best hitting teams in the league all at once. What I do know is, the current pitching numbers spell absolute disaster. No one in the press box, or the loge level should be pointing fingers at the Brewer bats, if they continue to pitch the way they have, this show is already over.

When you evaluate a player's career, do you swear by WAR, do you take it into account, or do you have little faith in it?

Shelly's father, Curt Flood, sued MLB after having been traded for the second time in his career. The case reached the Supreme Court...Curt lost, but his stand helped lead to free agency for veteran players. This was truly one of the most significant off-the-field developments in MLB history. http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=251

I thought you might enjoy this page, I'll be adding to it as I talk to more people... http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?page_id=94

Hi Robert, I'll stand by what I wrote. As detailed in the article, Jackson claimed $5,000 had been left in his hotel room by his teammate Lefty Williams, and that he had attempted to discuss the issue with Mr Comiskey. Whether or not that actually happened, Jackson admitted to having had $5,000 in his possession. Jackson testified to this under oath, which I also stated in the article. This whole thing was as dirty as it comes...for instance, Jackson and Eddie Ciccote testified before the Grand Jury that they had been participants in the scheme, but those signed confessions disappeared from the Cook County Courthouse, only to be "discovered" years later in the possession of Comiskey's attorney. This, according to the book, "Eight Men Out." Was $5,000 a LOT of money in 1919? Yes, absolutely. Were these ballplayers very well paid by the standards of their time? Yes, absolutely. Even so, do I think a dislike for Mr Comiskey, and a belief by these players that they were underpaid was the driving force behind the players' decision to participate in the fix...yes, absolutely. I'm not sure whether Jackson was a guilty man who told a good story while trying to cover his butt, or whether he was an innocent man who stumbled his way into a mess he couldn't handle, but I don't doubt that he had 5K of the gamblers' money in his possession, and that he was well aware of the fix before and during the World Series. A guilty man who may very well have been coerced, or not fully aware of the magnitude of things until it was "too late"...yes, that's possible. A fully "innocent man"...not by my own definition. All of this is why it's a good story to begin with....

I agree with Newfield on this one...we're fifteen years from ballot eligibility, if Braun has the numbers. There's a ton of time for Braun to repair his image - and people do tend to move on. Braves fans were done with Chipper Jones when he cheated on his wife...how did that turn out? Braun WAS NOT suspended, "I think so" would be a horrible reason not to vote for a deserving Hall of Famer. You watch, some of these guys from the last 15 years will wind up being voted in. Does it seem ridiculous to anyone else that Giants fans were taunting Ryan Braun during spring training, after wildly applauding Barry Bonds? Is it not ridiculous for Cardinals fans to have a negative opinion of Braun, after having cheered Mark McGwire, who is still employed by the team? This will find its place, sooner or later. The only way you're an automatic out for the HOF is to be banned from the game...Braun didn't even miss a weekend. My guess is, assuming Braun remains the Braun people liked so much before this stupid thing, if he retires with HOF stats, he'll be snubbed on the first ballot the way Robby Alomar was, and then he'll get in. The NFL suspended Paul Hornung for an entire season for gambling...he's in the Hall of Fame.

I thought some of you would enjoy this. Marcum does what he does...he gets a lot of swinging strikes...and when he misses, they tend to hit it a long way. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/shaun-marcum-offspeed-artist/

Thanks everyone, I'll see if Frank has interest in joining us for some discussion.

I was lucky enough to talk to Frank Catalanotto on Friday. Frank is a good guy, and a gentleman, plus, he loves Milwaukee! http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=238

Compiling a definitive list on a subject like this is impossible, but that's what makes it fun. Some guys weren't allowed into MLB, others had military service, others retired early, etc, so I know I can't ever really compare guys the way it should be done. With the information we have, here's my shot at it... 1. Walter Johnson 2. Cy Young 3. Christy Mathewson 4. Roger Clemens 5. Pete Alexander 6. Warren Spahn 7. Greg Maddux 8. Randy Johnson 9. Lefty Grove 10.Steve Carlton 11.Tom Seaver 12.Nolan Ryan 13.Pedro Martinez 14.Bob Feller 15.Sandy Koufax 16.Carl Hubbell 17.Jim Palmer 18.Gaylord Perry 19.Robin Roberts 20.Juan Marichal

I'd like to hear your opinions... http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=221

Gamel reminds me of Overbay...skilled, just not MVP level. I think Mat will be a .280s hitter, with 20-25 HR, I'll give him better than average speed for his position, with average defense. Mat certainly looks like the type of player you can win with, he's just not the absolute monster you build a team around. I'll take it.

Perry is truly fascinating. This interview focuses on her 30-year career as an umpire, but I'm sure I'll interview her again. Perry is also a musician, who has opened for Bruce Springsteen, and she's a past champion on Jeopardy! This interview was really fun to do, I think I could have stayed on the phone with her all day. I actually conducted this one a week before I spoke with Natalie Niekro. Enjoy... http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=138

Thanks, DHonks, and kalle8. DH, I agree, Lance had a shot as a pitcher, as Natalie said, his mind drifted away from baseball when Joe died. It took him a little while to get back to the game, but he's coaching now, which is a great thing! There's a young woman out there who learned the knuckleball from Joe, too, she's pitching in high school, at an age when most girls have been steered to softball.

Thanks, Craig, believe me, Natalie is every bit as impressive as she sounds. Natalie is determined to reach EVERYONE with increased knowledge and understanding of brain aneurysms. Her dad was fine one day, and gone the next, but the condition is 100% treatable if detected. In just a few years, the Joe Niekro Foundation has raised, and distributed more than two million dollars. As it turns out, there was one more star in the Niekro family who never had a baseball card.

Thanks, TLB, there will be many more, Frank Catalanotto is up next week.