And That

Juan Cruz has never been a closer and he might make a good one. Brandon Lyon is another option to look at.

We've also signed a starting pitcher coming off an injury (Capuano), added no-name arms to the bullpen (Morlan, Swindle, Julio), been rebuffed by our top free agent target (Sabathia) and failed to make at least one trade (Cameron to the Yankees). I'd say we're having about as good an offseason as Boston to this point.

Jaime is so blasted.

Josh, what is Periard hitting on his fastball? Do you think he has room to add any more velocity? Gord Ash said during '08 spring training that Periard was hitting "the mid 90's" but we mostly saw reports he was in the low 90's and high 80's. Did his velocity drop as the year went down, or was it maybe a slight exaggeration on Gord's part?

Same here. We bought the ring together before I officially asked her. She hates diamonds, loves blue things, and we ended up getting a sapphire (with a couple diamond accompaniments) for well under $1000. We're buying a house this summer and getting married this winter, so we have enough expenses without having $2-4K worth of jewels on her finger. I understand the urge/need to go for something more, and if you don't talk about the ring ahead of time, you definitely don't want to undershoot on it.

What if I told you this was the third movie in the series? You clearly missed Behind Enemy Lines: Axis of Evil in 2006.

Baseball is a farce. Actually, it's a game. I can't get that worked up about this. Unlike the Sabathia signing, we were never in the race for Texeira so I have no real vested interest in this signing other than the pick devaluing somewhat. The Yankees sign players to monster contracts, snow is white and Nickleback sucks. Truth is truth.

This is ridiculous. They signed Trot Nixon to a minor league deal in hopes that he could be useful off the bench. Nothing more, nothing less. Signing Trot Nixon does not preclude them from adding any other outfielder that they see fit, including Adam Dunn.

MSC's recent post in the Looper thread has me thinking... what all can everyone throw? I can get my fastball in to the mid 60's. I have an ok curve and a great screwball that makes my whole arm hurts if I throw it more than 2 or 3 times.

As long as it isn't for more than $6-7 mil a year for 2-3 years, Looper would be a fine signing for depth. You get much more past that in terms of dollars, you're paying too much for depth IMO. If you're really desperate not to have a guy like Chris Narveson or Brae Wright be your 7th or 8th rotation option, there are still serviceable options available besides Looper at $7 mil a year or less. I agree with Patrick that the move makes a lot more sense if it comes with adding Fuentes or Hoffman or Smoltz as closer.

I refuse to acknowledge the digital era in which we live. Well, the Bon Iver album was a physical release in 2007. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Bon Iver's album, however, was only self-released during 2007 and then later received a wider release in 2008, so I'm tempted to think of it as a 2008 release as most of the critics have done this year. I think Pitchfork reviewed it in 2007, and that's how it really took off. I definitely remember listening to it a lot around Christmas last year. I still need to see MMJ live sometime. I thought the new album was mediocre, not because of the weird tracks so much as it just didn't live up to their standards, no matter what genre they were trying to assimilate.

The Radiohead, Bon Iver and MGMT albums are all technically 2007 releases. 2008 was not nearly the year 2007 was for music, but it was better than 2006. I too bought a lot less music due to budgetary and baby constraints. Something along the lines of... 1. The Black Angels: "Directions to See a Ghost" (A move into slightly more diverse musical territory, but still contains the grinding VU-meets-Doors bluster that makes them so unique.) 2. Nomo: "Ghost Rock" (Rooted in afrobeat, though much more than just that. One of my favorite things to listen to whenever I'm doing anything other than trying to sleep. It moves your hips.) 3. Portishead: "Third" (Does not approach the genius of "Dummy" and doesn't need to. I like it better than their self-titled sophomore release. Very much influenced by 60's psychedlia.) 4. M83: "Saturdays = Youth" (A trip back to the 80's, rooted in modern electronic studio techniques. Difficult not to enjoy on some level unless you totally despise the 80's or the French.) 5. Sian Alice Group: "59.59" (Moody, atmospheric, jazzy post-rock with beautiful vocals. Doesn't do their live show justice for some reason.) 6. The Dodos: "Visiter" (This album grew on me the past few months. Sort of in the 1990's Modest Mouse northwest indie folk vein. Very good musicianship.) 7. Ghost of the Russian Empire: "The Mammoth" (Shoegaze that sides on the melodic side of the genre as opposed to the noisy side of the genre. I couldn't tell you five words sung on the whole album, but the vocals just seem to be there to add another musical element.) 8. Spiritualized: "Songs in A&E" (Not Jason Pierce's strongest work - I have it as Spiritualized's fourth best album - but, it's good to have an album from him after all this time."Baby I'm Just a Fool" is worth the price of admission.) 9. Collections of Colonies of Bees: "Birds" (Milwaukee-based post rock band. Not that that affected how I feel about the album. The third track is breathtaking.) 10. Earlimart: "Hymn and Her"(I love Earlimart even though everyone says they are boring Ican'thearyouIhavemyheadphonesonandI'mlisteningtoEarlimart.) Honorable mentions for... Cut Copy "In Ghost Colours"; F**k Buttons "Street Horrrsing"; Drive-By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"; The War on Drugs "Wagonwheel Blues"; Sia "Some People Have Real Problems"; TV on the Radio "Dear Science"; Hercules and Love Affair "Hercules and Love Affair"; Autechre "Quaristice"; Dosh "Wolves and Wishes". I have, but have yet to listen to, the new Stereolab, of Montreal and Christian Fennesz albums also.

I would assume that since many well thought-out posts have been written in favor of signing Looper that yes, people are serious about it. The phrase "are you serious?" is condescending. Please do not use it.

199/33 = 6+ IP/start. 2:1 K/BB ratio is pretty decent.

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/54625a743f9a9d6c95a20795d61eb50c07bea8a.jpg The only add-on I need is a lemur.

I'm in the same boat as Ben. I'm fine with the internet as it is. I gloss over ads. I downloaded Firefox as it was, and haven't done anything to it.

I am very stealthy.

For the WBC pitchers facing Braun, not good.

Including this site. True, although I would argue Brewerfan is one of the more objective (if still also quite subjective) and rational (to some degree) baseball forums on the internet. There are very many sites that are quite more subjective and quite more irrational. However, the poster stated a desire to "take a break" from objectivity and intelligence - that's not really what this site is for. Brewefancollegehumor.net didn't fit on a t-shirt either. I am personally ambivalent about the future existence of the vent thread, and only really for it to keep as many "OMG THE SKY IS FALLING" posts (especially by people whose venty posts are repetitive) out of the other threads as possible. It's not pessimism or negativity that bothers me, it's poorly/unthoughtfully made pessimism, negativity, optimism, exuberance, etc. Or just arguing for argument's sake. I don't think we're the Taj Mahal of intelligent baseball discussion or anything, but I think it is ok to strive to want to be a little more intelligent, a little more objective, to understand the game a little bit more. And I think the venty type posts detract from that - it's passion without the thought. I do think it is very possible for passion and thought to coexist relatively easily. And FWIW, I would have closed the vent thread in question because it was labeled "Official Vent Thread" or something similar. I don't brew my own beer, go to Miller Park, stand outside and serve my beer as the "Official Beer of Miller Park" because I'm not in a position to make that decision (or brew beer very well). If something needs to be labeled "Official" a mod will take care of it.

There are very many places on the internet to engage in highly subjective, semi-rational biased baseball conversation.

Duffy is kind of a Gwynn clone... I wonder if the Brewers signed him for depth in AAA in case they lose Gwynn on waivers/trade him.

I'm kind of surprised at the vitriol directed toward these signings. Most transactions an organization makes do not involve "first and second tier" guys and we're still a few months away from spring training. Writing off the offseason this early seems extremely shortsighted to me. I can guarantee that there will be at least a couple guys not in the organization that will be on the 25 man roster on Opening Day. And I apologize in advance if they are "second tier." Except these are the kind of guys you sign in February, not December. Actually, if you want to sign the NRIs you want, you sign them earlier than someone else. Are you criticizing the Brewers for not waiting a few months to sign Trot Nixon? That's a pretty small nit to pick, IMO.

http://www.almostvegan.com/archives/images/smartbacon.jpg

If Salome and Lucroy show they aren't ready by the beginning of next season, Brian Schneider will be a free agent. He's not a world beater, but he's not terrible and has a good reputation defensively. If they could get him on a 1 or 2 year deal, that would buy a little extra time for one of the catching prospects. I guess I have to reserve final judgment until I see how Kendall does in '09, but right now I think he'd have to put up an OBP of at least .350 and an OPS on the sunny side of .675 to prove he'd be worth it and isn't regressing into Paul Bako territory. Not to mention repeat his defensive performance.

I'm not sure if this was an attempt at humor or not, but this is a)never anything Rickie Weeks has gone by, and b)not the kind of innuendo-based nicknaming that is acceptable on this forum.