And That

Hit and run with Prince coming up? Good...

Well, I woke up on Friday and read the box score. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/happy.gif Doh. Anyway, my prediction for Friday's Helena game is that Gindl won't play or still somehow finish with a 1000 OPS to make me sound good.

1. The Band - "Out of the Blue" 2. Blur - "This Is a Low" 3. M83 - "She Stands Up" 4. Esthero - "Wikked Lil' Grrrls" 5. The Shins - "Know Your Onion!" 6. RJD2 - "Work/Here's What's Left" 7. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - "Loose Change" 8. The O.C. Supertones - "Tonight" 9. The Band w/Bob Dylan - "Forever Young (Live)" 10. Orbital - "The Tranquilizer" 11. Armand Van Helden - "Business as Usual" 12. Us3 - "I Got it Goin' On" 13. The Beatles - "Wild Honey Pie" 14. Booker T. & The MG's - "Red Beans & Rice (Live)" 15. Johnny Cash - "Orange Blossom Special (Live)" 16. Eric Clapton - "Alberta (Live)" 17. Bob Dylan - "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" 18. Outer Circle - "Imposter" 19. Isaac Hayes - "Run Fay Run" 20. Grateful Dead - "Just A Little Light"

Gindl finishes with a 1000 OPS... that's a good start to a pro career.

If you are in the organization on 8/31, you are eligible to some extent. That's why King isn't eligible. If you're on the big league roster on 9/1, you are eligible. This would be my 25-man roster for the first round: Pitchers Dave Bush Chris Capuano Francisco Cordero Scott Linebrink Ben Sheets Brian Shouse Jeff Suppan Derrick Turnbow Carlos Villanueva Matt Wise Infielders Ryan Braun Craig Counsell Joe Dillon Johnny Estrada Prince Fielder JJ Hardy Damien Miller Vinny Rottino Rickie Weeks Outfielders Gabe Gross Bill Hall Corey Hart Geoff Jenkins Kevin Mench Mel Stocker

As I mentioned in another thread, I think Matt LaPorta will turn out to be the guy that will be our first baseman in the distant future. I'd love to think we could keep Fielder, and with a World Series title and/or some other playoff success, we may be able to make a play, but this is a guy that if he stays healthy, is Hall of Fame projectable. He's going to break the Brewers' all-time HR record before he hits free agency. My word. I'd put the odds of the Brewers keeping Fielder past 2012 at 5%. Ryan Braun is pretty hard to predict at this point. At this time next year, we'll have a better idea what he can actually do at the big league level. I think his BB/K ratio will even out some, and I also think his HR rate will continue at around the same pace, maybe a little less (around 40-45 a year). However, I don't think he's a .330 hitter, or even a .310 hitter every year. Clearly, if he turns out to be a guy that puts up a 1000 OPS every year, we'll have trouble keeping him. It may work to our advantage that Ryan hasn't (and hopefully won't have, by the time he reaches FA) experienced a lot of losing in Milwaukee. Ryan is ours through 2013. I guess I'd put the odds somewhere around 40-60% of him staying beyond that. I'm more hopeful of Braun sticking around than Fielder because a)he might not be as good and b)he can play in the NL easily as he gets older. I'd be surprised if Corey Hart isn't a guy that the Brewers keep around for a long time. He's one of the organization's better success stories, and I really think the fans appreciate how hard he works on the field. And that's not to mention his upside. I would be shocked if he wasn't around past the 2011 season. In other words, it is likely we'll keep one of them into free agency, 50/50 we'll keep two, and unlikely we'll keep all three.

I predict that Chris Capuano will get a big somewhere down the stretch. Almost by default, he has to get a win sometime before the year is over.

I have the Brewers at about 82-84 wins right now, and it would take a real good hot streak to get any more than 86. It's going to be close. I can see the Cubs blowing because they are the Cubs, but STL seems to be playing really well. They may worry more than the Cubbies at this point.

"Opposites Attract" by Paula Abdul. Someone please murder me.

Before I became a vegetarian, I alternated between the chicken breast, club, and tuna salad. Almost always with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, green peppers, chipotle and Parmesan, and almost always on honey oat or wheat. I don't like the way the Subway veggie sub tastes for some reason, so I've abandoned them. The Jimmy John's #6 (vegetarian) is super good. Heaps of avocado and provolone.

It looks like Roy is a about to launch into a rousing rendition of Don Giovanni.

That Nashville roster is quite the motley crew at the moment, especially in the pitching department sans ZachJack and Sarfate.

I can't even look at the major league forum right now. Good to see CV only give up 3 runs in 4.1 IP. 6.23 ERA today. Yippitee crap. Sure glad we got another bullpen arm for Inman, Garrison and Thatcher. Whoppee. Disgust is the best word I can come up with. This minor league postseason will bring me almost no joy, but good luck to the affiliates.

Claudio Vargas should not be allowed to throw one more inning as a starter in this rotation.

I've never hated a 3 run lead so much. We just got Estradad.

JOHNNY ESTRADA I HATE YOU. RUNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!

Manny will eat the rest of his 25 innings at some point, and then not be available for the playoffs. Actually, if he doesn't eat his 25 innings, I'll wonder if he'll be over-rested for the playoffs. Maybe if they switch him to being a backup LOOGY with Capuano in the pen and Gallardo on a seemingly long rope in terms of IP?

I don't buy the 600 points. With the shot clock, I don't believe that's even physically possible. When I was trying to come up with comparisons in my head with the NBA, I went to 200 points. I think that's about right. The NFL guesstimate wasn't that far off from mine. I was thinking 90-100 points. 113 seems a little high, but certainly more plausible than 600 points in an NBA game.

That's a little unfair. There are a number of teams which would like to have Wickman close for them, this year and next. He'll also get picked up by someone, without question. I hope it is us, and I hope for little cost.

Well, if there were a Brewer bar in the Twin Cities... but that wouldn't make any sense. Why isn't there a single Brewers bar in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area?

I had followed Joe Dillion pretty closely this season at AAA, but he was totally off my radar before the day they signed him. He has a slightly compact swing, and he looks like he can drive the ball into the gaps, but will he stick with the Brewers or in the bigs past this season? I have no idea. These next two games might go a little way to telling us. He's a good story either way, and someone you can hardly not root for.

Wickman would be a nice option as closer if Cordero went down, but would he a)accept not closing for us even though we're the hometown team and b)worth what we trade for him? I'm still an admitted Linebrink trade naysayer, and giving up anything of consequence for a guy that would perhaps give us 20 IP would be terrible. Maybe the Braves want to try and resurrect Sarfate's career?

If you would told me on April 1 that the Brewers were going to be in a pennant race, and that Joe Dillon was starting at first base on the first game of a pivotal series, I would have justifiably told you that you were insane. I quiver at the thought of this.

Brett and I were talking about this, and he was right... you're not going to see this again in your lifetime. Enjoy!

Trading Estrada to Tampa is a good idea, but you better be darn sure you get someone (perhaps Posada, but probably not) decent to replace Johnny. I'm no big fan of the guy, but relying on Damien Miller and Vinny Rottino/whomever for a year could be disastrous, especially with how good we could be in '08. If we wanted to get Crawford in any sort of deal involving Estrada, we're probably looking at something closer to Estrada, Capuano, Parra and Gamel for the guy.