owbc

Yikes. I do not really understand why we would take this risk. Hopefully we can get a few good months out of Morgan before he inevitably implodes (if he hasn't already judging by his ST numbers). I'll be cheering for him to surprise me, but he needs to be released at the first sign of any trouble.

Looks like Gallardo is ready for Opening Day--can't wait until Thursday!

Forecast hasn't changed, still looks dry and mostly sunny like it did a few days ago. Highs in the upper 40s-low 50s. In fact, there should be no major rain problems for the entire weekend series with temperatures getting close to 60 by Sunday. Watch out for those automated "10-day" forecasts like on the Weather Channel site, they are just generated by a computer program. The only forecast that I trust is here.

If there are no other arguments, I conclude that Nyjer Morgan is an angry Bill Hall.

I know 2008 was a few years ago, but Cameron was a huge part of the playoff push that year. Besides the defense, the Brewers got a .800 OPS in 120 games out of him which is very, very good for CF. Not many teams bat their CF in the middle of the lineup. Sabathia also pushed the 2008 team from about 85 wins to 92. As for the 2011 team, Weeks+Braun+Fielder+Gallardo+Marcum+Greinke. Not many teams can match those top 3 hitters and pitchers.

Ok I need someone to explain why the Brewers would want anything to do with Nyjer Morgan? -He turns 31 in July -He had a negative WAR in 2010 -He has lead the league twice in caught stealing -He seems to have some sort of anger management issue There seems to be little/no chance of him getting near the numbers at the apex of his career.

There are myriad reasons why the Brewers will not be awful. Their biggest flaw, defense, will probably keep them out of the playoffs, but I'm not sure how a team with three #1 starting pitchers and one of the best set of 3-4 hitters in MLB could be awful. Maybe they look bad for a week or two because of the injuries, but nobody is out for the season or even 1/6 of the season. As mentioned in an earlier article, I think the underlying issue here is that people are looking for this year's Mariners and the Brewers fit the general picture. Of course none of the details add up. but nobody is held accountable for preseason predictions anyway. To counter, I pick the Yankees as a team that is going to be "awful" this year. They will finish 10+ games behind the Red Sox.

I give up. I refuse to question their drive or effort or the coaching. Too much pressure against a team with too much experience. It was a solid year and they met my expectations. There was a good chance for a deeper run, but it didn't happen. Look what is happening to Duke tonight, nothing is guaranteed. One week until baseball season :-)

Looks like the game plan was to beat them with jump shots. Not sure why. They've had some mismatches inside. The officiating has been terrible on both sides but hopefully the Badgers can get a few back before the half. I'm nervous but there's plenty of time for them to wake up. At least they are shooting well.

Taylor is getting some serious double teams. He scored right away as soon as he got isolated.

The Butler way looks like the Badger way.

I agree with the fangraphs article but I think the scouting report may contribute as well. The book on Gallardo is to work the count and get his pitch count up. Gallardo needs to counter by staying ahead in the count and avoiding walks.

I've noticed that some of the loyal hockey fans at USCHO have an inferiority complex about hockey's place in college sports. Even many of the Wisconsin fans on there already disliked Barry Alvarez and the hockey conference just adds more fuel to the fire. Barry's never done anything detrimental to Wisconsin hockey or college hockey in general. He simply has made decisions based on college hockey's rightful place as the #3 sport, far far behind football and basketball. The rise of Wisconsin athletics over the past 20 years is unparalleled anywhere in the country and Barry has kept the momentum going. On top of that, Wisconsin has 2 recent appearances in the National Championship game and continues to be #1 in hockey attendance. The whole purpose of the Big Ten hockey conference is to bring more attention and more money to college hockey. It's the Big Ten! The value of the brand name alone is worth the deal. It also symbolizes expansion of the sport--an upgrade from 2 to 3 major conferences means that more smaller schools get a chance to compete on the big stage. The other 2 conferences still have plenty of good programs left. It gets more college hockey games on National TV. It may even...gasp...make hockey profitable! The most legitimate gripe comes from fans of the other WCHA/CCHA schools that are concerned about getting left out. To them, it looks like the big schools are grouping together and leaving them all behind. However, some of their fears just seem ridiculous. Wisconsin is never going to play a non-conference road game again? Smaller schools will fold up their hockey programs? This is the end of the CCHA? Those are some major overreactions.

I think anyone using those arguments isn't even worth talking to. Everyone who watched any basketball this year knows that Belmont, K-State, and Butler are all excellent basketball teams. I'm also pumped for the game tonight--assuming that March Madness On Demand actually works this time, unlike the 3rd round game.

College basketball and football are not aired on the BTN on Friday and Saturday nights, so there shouldn't be any conflict. My rationale for 6-8 games is that with 6 teams there are 3 games/weekend so the Badgers should get on about 1/3 of the time. I suspect they will always televise hockey on Friday and Saturday nights because they will now have a vested interest in promoting the new conference.

Attendance is an overrated statistic. Every arena has about the same number of seats close to the action. They are missing out on maybe 3,000 seats that would be in the upper deck and cost $15-20 on average. Over 41 games, that is only about $2 million of missed revenue, and that is assuming that they always sell out and do not discount the tickets. The bigger issue is if the arena has sufficient clubs/suites and if the new team would get all the revenue. The other important issue is TV. Even if the actual city is small, are there enough people in the region that will switch their allegiance over to the new team? Based on the population numbers, the answer appears to be "no" for Winnipeg and Quebec City and "yes" for Hamilton/Mississauga and "yes" for about 5 American cities. But if you look at the nationality of NHL players, Canadian players outnumber US players 3:1. Canadians love their hockey and I have no doubt that a new Canadian team would be immensely popular. The new salary restrictions also ensure that the team could be competitive with the right ownership. Houston could certainly support a team, just like South Florida does, but is it really the right direction for the game to always go to the biggest market? The NHL is currently stuck in the "second tier" of pro sports, despite having a great, exciting product that looks great in HDTV. I think they should take the risk and put another team in Canada--use nostalgia to their advantage and strengthen their roots. Hockey has succeeded in some southern cities, but in many cases the good numbers are because of the size of the city and/or the number of northerners that have relocated there. There is a big different between minor league attendance and a successful NHL team and we make a similar argument when talking about why an MLB team couldn't succeed in Buffalo or Indianapolis. Houston would be great at getting in 17,000 fans/night, but how much does that benefit the NHL if they are not loyal hockey fans? As for the Islanders, I believe there is talk that they may follow the Nets to Brooklyn. It's technically still on Long Island so it wouldn't really be relocation.

As a UW Alum living in Florida, the BTN has been a godsend. Every UW football and basketball game is televised either on the BTN or another major network. It is like I still live in Wisconsin. There were only ~2 Badger hockey games on BTN this year and therefore those were the only 2 games that I saw. I expect that at least 6-8 hockey games will be on BTN with the new conference and probably even more, not to mention the conference tournament.

I like the OBP argument Casey and that can definitely be added to the list of reasons to bat Prince #4. The main thing I would like to avoid is keeping a bad hitter out of the #2 spot. However, I can not really envision a lineup with Braun and Fielder separated since they cause bullpen matchup problems late in the game. Based on Gomez' spring training, I am increasingly in favor of him batting in the #6 or #7 slot instead of #8 or #9. He will likely continue to have a very low OBP, but his speed could be utilized to keep the pressure on when the "lesser" part of the lineup is up. He will also see more RBI and sacrifice bunt opportunities.

It looks good right now, with cold temperatures and rain early in the week with drying and warming by Thursday 3/31. At this point it is hard to decipher more than the general trends, but the period looks relatively calm for late March and there is a good chance of the dry forecast verifying. Temperatures are likely to be below normal, however.

Of course Pearl will find another job but it certainly will not be at Marquette. He will have to rebuild his reputation before he gets another job at a D1 school with a recent history of success like MU. If Buzz leaves, Marquette can choose from many qualified and reputable candidates. Pearl would be a bad choice because he would be under increased scrutiny and would divide the fan base.

Gomez finally drew a walk!!!

I'm a Big Ten guy but I'm still withholding judgment on the Big East. With 11 teams in, they were bound to take some losses. 7-4 in the first round wasn't all that bad. Then they have two games with their teams against each other in the round of 32, so that automatically knocks out two more. On the flip side, they have been on the wrong end of the 2 biggest upsets of the tourney so far. There is still a chance that the Big East could be well-represented in the final four, but there was never really a phenomenal Big East team this year and it is really starting to show.

A starter is far, far more valuable than a closer, despite the obscene contracts that closers are getting these days. At least 20-25 MLB teams have an adequate closer. Maybe 5 MLB teams have an adequate 5-man rotation. A closer only needs 2 pitches to get guys out while a starter needs 3-4 good pitches. The game has already been decided in 75% of the games that a closer pitches in. A closer can easily rot on the bench when a team is on a losing streak--which is exactly when they most could have used another quality pitcher! The list goes on and on... There is absolutely no way that the Reds have 5 pitchers that are better suited for a starting slot than Chapman. Or...perhaps they are just going to protect him from Dusty Baker? Although it still doesn't stop Baker from using him in the 9th-13th innings of a tie game...

Wakefield would be useless since the Brewers do not have anyone to catch him.

Went to my first ever NHL game last night--to a Florida Panthers game. I must admit that I didn't even know that the Panthers played in South Florida before I came down here, much less at an arena in the middle of nowhere next to a large outlet mall. They happened to be playing the Maple Leafs, so there were about 7,500 Leafs fans in attendance. I felt bad for the Panthers fans because they are a small but loyal group that has to contend with snowbirds cheering for the opposing team. They also hold the mark for the longest playoff drought in NHL history, so it certainly isn't easy cheering for the home team. I do sympathize though since the Brewers were in a similar situation for many years. Fortunately, the Panthers won 4-0 and they have a good young core that has a good chance at ending the playoff drought next year. They also shouldn't have to worry about being relocated thanks to the support from all the visiting fans and the 3-4 other NHL franchises that are in much worse shape. For those that do not think southern states deserve NHL teams, a number of local youth hockey teams were also featured at the game. Speaking of the playoffs...it's almost that time again. Should be a wide open playoff field this year.