sbrylski

No, it doesn't. It's just a name. An incorrect name. If the World Series was invented today, the title of "World Series" would not be used. The argument is valid, IMO. Its importance is debatable.

I've got the solution that will make everyone happy. Change the official name to the "Probable World Series." You could still call it the World Series for short if you wanted, but now its no longer innaccurate. And we could call the ALCS and NLCS the "Possible World Series." Kidding aside, I actually think the point has a little more validity than those who dismiss it as a joke. And as for the argument it would lose the MLB vast amounts of money and be a total marketing disaster, can I ask how? I wouldn't be totally opposed to changing the official name to its nickname, the "Fall Classic." Is that really going to drive away fans and marketing dollars?

It would be amusing to me to put together a little petition in response to TH question addressed to liveforoctober: "The guy played in Class A ball last year. Is this a big deal for you?" Yes. Signed, Brewerfan.net

JJ is a good-to-great defensive player. Escobar, as I said, is a once-in-a-generation type defensive player. That being said, Escobar will never develop the power JJ has. Can he make up for that with his defense, and developing the hitting like he did in AA last year? Time will tell... But the point is he doesn't have to. He only has to be as good as J.J. minus the money saved, which could be as much as 3 wins less talent than J.J. Its not Escobar verse Hardy, its Escobar and another 2-3-4 win player* verse Hardy. *FA next offseason that we could give Hardy's contract to include John Lackey, Jason Bay, Brian Roberts, Chipper Jones, or Kelvim Escobar. Or we could lockup Fielder.

Exactly when I thought it was planned. He did shout "I don't want to -ing marry you!" right before he got slapped.

What makes you say that?

Note that I never said Escobar will be better than J.J., just that he should be a good solution. Take the names and the history out of it. If you are offered the choice between a player with +15 run defense and a .710 OPS for $400k and 6 years of security or a player with +5 run defense and a .810 OPS for $15 million over 5 years, you should take the former every single time. That extra $15 million can go towards adding another three win player, which is pretty significant. The only way you consider trading Escobar to lock in Hardy is if you believe Hardy is more than three wins better, and even then, Escobar still might be more attractive given that he would be under team control longer. Illustration of a 3 win difference... Taking my dirty estimates above, Hardy would be two wins better with the bat: Hardy - .340 OBP * .470 SLG * 600 PA = 95 runs Escobar - .330 OBP * .380 SLG * 600 PA = 75 runs But Hardy gives one win back with the glove and only nets one win over Escobar. Just by swapping Hardy out for Escobar and using the money saved on a free agent or retaining a player we would otherwise lose, we pick up two wins. Add in the talent we get from a Hardy trade, another win or two. (Though you should be able to pick up that win or two regardless of which player you trade.) And we extend our security at SS back out to six years. Even if you think a .710 and +15 run defense projection for Escobar is too optimistic, you would have to scale Escobar down to around a .660 OPS and defense equal to Hardy at around +5 runs before Hardy is three wins better. Lastly, if you think its safer for the club to retain an already successful major leaguer in place of an unproven prospect, and that lower risk should be valued: 1) Like I said above, Escobar's defense provides much of his value, which greatly reduces his risk of being a complete failure. 2) If Escobar is a complete failure, we can at least discard him or shift him to a backup role and target a replacement. If we pay J.J. Hardy $15 million a year and he regresses, we are basically out of luck.

That's one dusty TV.

As I was explaining to my roommates - its like the St. Paul Saints beating the American League All-Stars. Twice in a row. (And almost beating the ~Cleveland Indians in between.)

I got to Mike Tyson. Great game, but I'll never beat him. I'll retire at that point.

Left shift... I'm on the fourth screen in the direction I went.

This is a no-brainer being clouded by emotion, IMO. In [wins/salary * years], Escobar should destroy Hardy if J.J. is only here two more years or will cost $15M per after that. And their trade values would probably be about equal. Of course, a little more risk in Escobar's bat than Hardy's. But given that Escobar derives so much of his value from his glove, and defense basically doesn't slump, the chances of him not being a good solution at a key position are slim. Unless Escobar tanks in AAA this year with the bat, which may be possible, J.J. should be traded for something very nice next offseason.

Is nobody watching the Netherlands? Amazing game so far.

Does anyone have any idea how hard/easy it is to get tickets? I'm going to be in Florida next week for spring break and will try to get to Miami for the next round, but I don't want to buy tickets in advance really because I have no idea if I'll make it there.

If you're watch the PR-Netherlands game, you'll be instantly hooked into the WBC.

I loved Matt Wise. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d175/sbrylski06/wise.jpg R.I.P (Retire in peace.)

Looking back to 2/20, Melvin said: So I could see us making another move. Or at the least, as said, Julio's chances of making the club over Morlan get a nice boost if the FO still has this attitude. EDIT: Which sucks.

This is basically just a list of free agents over the past few years.

Thanks Russ, perfect.

I'm in college at UW-Madison now, still struggling to shake my high school attitude towards studying. It doesn't help that I'm smart enough to put in minimal effort (skipping classes, only study for midterms the day of) and still net a 3.3 GPA. But its really starting to frustrate me getting B's and the occasional C in a class that I ace the final in. I prepare for the finals on my own pace, and learn the class, yet my work ethic drags my grade down. But, I always know that the grade I receive is the grade I earned, and the blame/praise is 100% on me. I've only once asked for my grade to be bumped up - I missed an A by a tenth of a percent, which dropped my GPA from 3.4 to its current 3.3 (I'm a junior transfer with a limited credit load and therefore sensitive GPA) during the semester of my application to the Business School. I missed one mid-semester weekly quiz, 5 questions, that cost me that tenth and maybe my admittance. I did not receive any response from the professor.

I've seen it done many times. How do you solve this: Team A has a true talent of a .600 team. Team B has a true talent of a .500 team. They play each other, what are the odds Team A wins? Better yet, Team A scores an average of 4 runs per game and gives up 3 runs per game. Team B scores 4 runs per game and gives up 4 runs per game. They play each other, what are the odds Team A wins? I have a faint idea of how to attack it, but rather than bumble through how I'd start to do it and where I'm stuck, can someone just post a walkthrough from square one? (I'm assuming its not too complicated. If its more complicated than I think, a simple link to more info would be excellent too.)

You know that you can click two dates in the BR.com game log and it'll give you the total's between those dates, right?

I'll be the first to mention rluzinski. I've yet to take objection to anything he posts, and its always insightful.

But Lawrie has to begin working at catcher immediately if he's ever to play there in the majors. We don't have time to see if Gamel sticks at 3rd.

I too am excited about Swindle and am pulling for him to make the club. I also agree that Coffey and then Julio are good camp insurance in case of a couple injuries, but I hope they don't make the team over any of the other 8 in the running. Kalks leaves out Morlan in his analysis, who I think will be given a good shot at sticking. Given Hoffman, Villanueva, Riske, and McClung, I'd go Gagne, Morlan and Swindle as my last three with Stetter as first callup to get that second lefty.