SmartBall

After watching the game tonight after I had missed the last few due to work, it dawned on me, the Brewers are doing what any group of 20 something guys with too much time on their hands have done, they are having a mustache contest. Is there any other explanation for Fielders new manicured look or Hart. At least these guys are keeping it loose, I only wish Rickie and Hardy would participate. At this point, I would say Fielder or Kendall are winning, but I see some potential with Hart, he is just too creepy with a stash to be counted out.

I figured my little story fit in this thread. I have a buddy who pitches in the minors and he came to visit my house this winter. When he got there he took our Ryan Braun bobble and turned it backwards. I asked him why and he gave me a whole story about how Braun was a cocky (expletive) etc. but that he didn't care, because he knew how to get him out. Apparently his whole team hated Braun, but he felt he could get him out at will. I razzed him all weekend because it came off more as sour grapes about a guy who can flat play then anything else. Braun can play, and he knows it, that can rub some guys the wrong way, but I would rather have 9 Ryan Brauns than 9 guys who barely made it and know that they are lucky to be there.

well this seems like the cool thing to do, I am in, oh and Pedro, you are the man

did I just catch a reference to Jeter and good defense, wow it must be later than I thought

Yeah baseball lineups can be tinkered with to get the best possible results. Sometimes people mentally feel comfortable hitting in a certain spot, but just because something worked well last year doesn't mean something else won't work better this year.

some people can control their substance use (any substance) and some people can't. brain function is a funny thing and if Jeffress felt he needed to get professional help in order to control his behavior, I wish him the best of luck. hopefully this helps him get past the whole "million dollar arm but ten cent head" path that he was on

and if those September games mean something they might be picked up as well, it is a good time to be a Brewers fan

I don't like this move at all, but it might be because I absolutely hate Crede, always have, don't know why. It also might be because he has no place on this team at all, has had one above average season and is allergic to walks. We already have a right-handed third baseman who doesn't take walks except he is 27 and isn't coming off an injury plagued year. Put me down for an enthusiastic pass.

I would agree, it seems like the last few years they have signed a few high cieling guys internationally to replace lost draft picks but I would expect them to draft a combination of fast movers and long term guys with their picks this year and leave the international market pretty much alone.

I think the IP concern is valid with young pitchers until they hit their later 20s and have steady workloads, but I really can't complain at all about the way the Crew handles most of their young pitchers. The bigger question with me is Sickel's projection. Yo is a bigger bodied guy but I hadn't heard any of the weight stuff before and he doesn't appear to be fat, just broad. If anything, I would think that would make him more durable. I guess my question is, has this always been a concern with Yo that I missed or is Sickels just grasping at straws so that he isn't projecting Yo as the second coming of Nolan Ryan. I mean if any pitcher all of a sudden blows up they will get worse but I don't see why this would be more likely with Yo than with anyone else.

In my playing days, I knew a few very successful left-handed catchers, I think it is mostly that lefties aren't taught the position as kids and its kind of hard to find left handed catchers mitts. It is hard to get around a right handed hitter to throw out a base-stealer at third as a lefty though. I really disagree about 2nd and short. It would be nearly impossible to turn a double-play from second base as a lefty and at both positions you would have to completely reposition your body after each groundball for the throw to first. I guess it would be possible to turn a double play as a lefty from short, but the footwork would be really weird and lead you into the path of the runner way more than a righty.

I went to Wrigley last year and hated it. Keep your history, I 'll keep clean sightlines, courteous employees, and a comfortable viewing experience. I thought old Busch was 10 times better than Wrigley, and that place was terrible. That being said I will still go to Wrigley if I can get tickets because you can just tell it bothers them when opposing fans are there. I haven't been to new Busch yet, but we had a blast in St. Louis when we were there. Fans were fun and we had a real good natured repoir with them. Good night life near the stadium, and normally a good team to watch although hopefully not this year.

Talking to the guys I know in minor-league ball, I am shocked by how little the training staffs do when these guys are away from the park. They try to give advice on how to eat and work out, but most of the time there isn't a meal provided at the park, and these guys are just driving through McDonalds on their way to the game. I stayed with a friend of mine for a few days and was amazed at how he and all of his room mates ate. I guess I figured with all of the money that organizations invest in player development, a healthy post-game buffet would seem to make sense.

I am definitely concerned about Prince's weight going forward, and I am in the camp that believes he could lose 15 or 20 pounds and it would only help him, but Prince is built like a monster. Going back to the Stark argument, I understand his concern about Prince but I couldn't believe a similar argument wasn't made against Howard, he isn't small either, and I don't buy Stark's Ortiz=Howard argument. Over the next 8 years I take Prince, but he is going to have to address his body if he wants to be successful longer than that.

True, people complain about the roads, but they also complain about the money it would take to call people in and pay them holiday time to clear the roads. A lot of roads throughout the state were really bad around Christmas time, which is bad because of all the people traveling, but it would have cost municipalities a ton to bring their crews in on Christmas day instead of waiting for the next day. It can be a real tough balancing act.