AJAY

I am both stunned and angry that Hart won his case. It's ridiculous. I feel like he has stolen money from the team I love. He really better show something this season or else is he is going to get booed miserably. Unlike that arbitration panel, the fans watch this team and know what's going on. Is this money guaranteed or could he theoretically get cut and owed nothing? (I am not saying the Brewers should cut him, but I am just curious what the options are). I also wonder if the Brewers will make some other kind of roster move to save money and send a message to the union that if someone gets an undeserved raise, another player will have to pay the price. Of course, the move would have to make sense from a competitive standpoint.

My blood pressure goes up every time I hear Rob Dibble spew his garbage on XM Radio. So many times I have almost wanted to call into the show and just go off on him. It really infuriates me how current and former players think about things and how they care so little for their product or their paying customers. It's shameful. I really wish the fans had a union too. One of the problems is that teams are now profitable again and some owners don't want to mess with that. Some owners don't care about competitive balance or integrity as long as they are making money. In fact, I read somewhere that baseball is now paying the least percentage of their revenues to their players compared to other sports. So I think there are too many owners who are content with the way things are. Since fans are not stock-holders, we obviously care about other things such as the quality, intergrity, and fairness of the product. I also find it funny how we are always being told that if small-market teams run their business well and make smart decisions, they can compete. If that is true, why do players still fight for every dollar? Please tell Scott Boras that if Prince Fielder manages his money well and makes good financial decisions, he doesn't need the extra millions of dollars which Boston or NY will throw at him. He should be just fine taking less to stay with the Brewers. After all, they always claim it's not how much money you have, but how you use it . .. . right?? Why doesn't this ever apply to them too?

I apologize for my error. I read the article and then read several comments on this board. Unfortunately, I got confused about who had said what. My bad. Anyway, under the proposal outlined in that article, the Yankees and / or Red Sox would still probably make the postseason virtually every year thanks to their enormous wealth. That is NOT good for the game. In fact, it's very disgraceful. Baseball should not be like pro-wrestling where you want to artificially boost television ratings by ensuring Boston or NY makes the postseason. Teams who make the postseason should have to earn it rather than buy it, even if it means that some of the more popular teams are not in the playoffs and ratings take a dip. Instead of silly gimmicks like the one proposed in this article, baseball should just increase revenue sharing and have a hard salary cap. It works beautifully in football. I still believe that once the playing field is level and we get rid of the small-market / big-market stigma, all the teams will seem more attractive to national audiences. When I was a kid, a game between the Orioles and the Royals was considered to be a marquee matchup. I really miss those days. We didn't need Yankees / Red Sox at all. It also says something about the pathetic state of a sport when the league and the networks are so desperate to have NY or Boston in the playoffs just to boost ratings. Baseball should be embarrassed about this.

This is probably the worst article I have ever read. I can't believe ESPN has the author of this article on their payroll. Why should the Yankees and Red Sox have their own division? It seems silly that fan bases in those cities will automatically get a 50 percent chance of being the postseason. How about putting the Royals and Pirates in their own division so fans in those can have a 50 percent probability too? Why should the New Yorkers and Boston fans only get the odds stacked in their favor? I also don't care for "tiers" or "seeds" or any of that other nonsense. The real solution is simple. Share all the revenue and have a salary cap just like the NFL does. We don't need stupid gimmicks and cheesy "out of the box" ideas that make a mockery of a game that clearly needs real reforms.

Obviously the priority in evaluating a player is their performance, however I am also a huge believer that when it comes to marketing a franchise, it is important to have some name recognition. Although Jim Edmonds is not at his peak and might not even make this team, I like the fact that he is well-known to all baseball fans and that the national media will take some interest in his comeback attempt. I think this is good for the franchise.

I love this move. I really think that Jim Edmonds is the type of hitter who would thrive in Miller Park. Let's hope he still has something left.

Warhawk Joe, I think the contract dispute is becoming an annual pattern. His under-performance on the field is also starting to become a pattern. If it was just one bad season or one contract dispute, then it probably would not be a big deal. But the overall combination of things over the last two years has left a sour taste with me. For some reason, this doesn't seem to be happening with other players on our team.

I don't disagree with that at all, but my disappointment lies with him not being healthy down the stretch and heading into the postseason. We had to over-use Sabathia partially because Sheets went down. As a result, Sabathia obviously didn't have anything left once the playoffs came around. If Sheets was healthy, Jeff Suppan also would not have pitched Game 4 against the Phillies either. Who knows what could have happened with a healthy and stronger 1-2 punch.

It frustrates me that when Ben was really good, the rest of the team was lousy. And then when the team became really good, Ben couldn't stay healthy. It just seems like his whole era with the Brewers never worked out the way any of us wanted. It's one of the great disappointments in Brewers history (in my opinion). Anyway, I am kind of glad he signed with a low-profile team that is several time zones away and in relative obscurity. The A's are probably my least favorite franchise in baseball and so I feel better that he has gone there rather than to the Cubs or Phillies or some place like that.

An article on Brewers.com is stating that Corey Hart and the Brewers are once again far apart in their negotiations and that they might need an arbitration hearing to resolve this. I realize there is probably some posturing going on from both sides, but every other arbitration eligible player has reached an agreement quickly. For the second straight season, Corey Hart is taking this thing to the last minute and seems to be demanding more relative to how other players are perceiving their worth. Earlier in his career, Corey Hart reportedly turned down a multi-year contract that probably would have paid him much more than he seems worth right now. Corey has been very inconsistent at the plate ever since his appearance in the All-Star game, and he has also complained about the fans being tough on the team at times. He disappointed us down the stretch in 2008 when we were in a very tight playoff race and he was looking miserable at the plate. I am not going to blame him for missing time last season because he obviously can't control what happened to his appendix. But overall, I am starting to get a little sour on him both on and off the field. His production last season was somewhat disappointing. His contract negotiations never seem to go smoothly either. I am just not getting a good vibe overall. And it's sad because he seemed to have so much promise when he first got called up and began getting playing time. I used to be really excited about his potential. I just hope he cooperates a little more with the front office and gets it going at the plate. I can't help but wonder if he is on thin ice with management and fans.

The only way the Milwaukee Brewers go to Orlando is if they win the World Series and they have a big parade at Disney World to honor the champions. I can live with that http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I personally think Conan should have accepted NBC's offer to return to his old time slot. If he gets a new show with FOX or ABC, he will then have to compete with both Leno and Letterman. His ratings were already terrible when he only had to compete with Letterman, and they are sure to be even worse if he has to compete against both. If he does another late night show with another network, I am not sure what kind of lead-in he will get on those other stations. I do think he could beat out Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, but with NBC, he would have only had to compete against one and not both in all likelihood.

Couldn't resist the opportunity to do some artwork and submit a couple of different ideas for the 40th anniversary logo. Both of these are assuming that the beer barrel concept is needed. http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/40thLogoIdea3.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/40thLogoIdea2.jpg

I am personally not crazy about that logo, but I do like the Retro-Weekends concept. I was actually hoping to hear news about the Brewers introducing a "Milwaukee" road jersey but I guess it's not happening anytime soon . . . unfortunately. EDIT: After further reflection, I am starting to think that logo is really terrible.

Thank god Leno is coming back and Conan is being dumped. I love it.

I really love Jay Leno and I hope he gets to host the Tonight Show again. NBC should give him a blank check and a lifetime contract. I find Conan O'Brien to be an annoying and immature twit, and so I hope NBC kicks him out the door. The Tonight Show ratings have plummeted with Conan O'Brien, and I am not the least bit surprised.

Here is a link for you . . . http://www.csnne.com/page...D=112530&feedID=3947

Not good news for the Brewers and other NL Central teams. Pujols/Holliday is comparable to Fielder/Braun. However, I don't think we have anything close to Carpenter/Wainright at the top of our rotation.

It's all over twitter. Bill Hall goes to Boston in exchange for Casey Kotchman going to Seattle.

Jason Bay is stupid for leaving the Red Sox. The Mets don't always contend, and the Citi Field will kill his production. Bay had it really good in Boston, and it is a shame that he threw it all away for a little bit extra money. How many millions does a person need?

I personally like this iphone case made by DLO. It protects the screen with a nice flip cover, and it also has a belt clip if you prefer not to keep it in your pocket. I don't have the iPhone yet, but I use this product for my iPod Touch and it protects my device very well. http://www.dlo.com/products/view/HCFolio_iPhone3GS

I guess that means Boston is giving up on signing Jason Bay, right??? And yes, thank god Cameron did not sign with the Cubs.

I am really going to miss Seth McClung. He seemed like an absolutely awesome person and I know he loved being a Brewer. He always had very kind things to say about the fans, the city, and the organization. I loved how he would use twitter to interact with fans. My favorite memory will always be of him jumping up and down in the bullpen after Ryan Braun hit the magical homerun that helped us win the wild card. I have seen that clip a million times and it never gets old. I will also never forget how he pitched four dominant innings and struck out a bunch of Cubs when it came down to crunch time during the final weekend of 2008. It was awesome the way he got such an electric standing ovation. I wish him nothing but the best in the future.

I really liked the ivy and wish they would have added more brickwork and plant life around the interior of the ballpark. There is a lot of steel and concrete already, and I personally think brick and ivy could add more warmth to the place. Anyway, what I really want is for the Brewers to get rid of the olive-colored paint and go with a more livelier shade of green.

Great article. Thanks for doing the interview.