Fatter than Joey

It's entirely possible that those guys going for 100 RBIs may have bonus clauses that might mean an extra $10-25K for getting 100 RBIs. I am almost certain that the current labor agreement doesn't allow for "performance bonuses"-- There can be bonuses for games played/pitched -- or ABs, but not for things like HRs, RBIs, wins, etc...

Considering he played blues, I also have little wonderings why I never heard his music. Al shown below performing his alternative to the southern blues

I don't know why it is, but I'm uncomfortable attributing it to luck. After ~450 IP, you start to enter "it is what it is" territory. I think people are looking for one magic item that Parra can correct to get his game on track as a starter, when in reality his problems are probably a complicated combination of things he doesn't do an above average job on. As he stands today, I think he is a pitcher that suffers the more times a batter faces him (more so than other pitchers). Also, when people focus on his BABip -- I think you need to factor in his BB/9 which has been very bad the last 2 years -- that doesn't help him either. I hope the Brewers can find a place for him in the BP.

When SRV died it was huge news in WI. However Al, (pictured below), was desperately trying to complete his bottlecap collection. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2Ls2vNfQxyc/0.jpg

Never heard of him until today. Was he instrumentals only? Al. You never cease to amaze me. Definitely best known for is guitar playing though. Probably the most the most heard SRV work, was his guitar on the "Let's Dance" (Let's Dance, China Girl) Bowie Album -- After he died, "The Sky is Falling" was a pretty big hit. His death was a pretty big deal here in the state.

I really only despise one team from year to year. 1.) CUBS I will like and dislike teams from year to year, based on personnel movement. At the end of the day I like watching good baseball. The Cardinals really get on my nerves, but I love watching Pujols hit, and Wainwright is about my favorite pitcher to watch these days.

I don't think he is delusional or anything like that. 1.) He uses the term "I think" -- As a top athlete, I would expect anyone fighting for a job needs to have the attitude that they are the greatest thing since Cool Whip. Gomez has struggled, and any sort of defeatist or perhaps even negative realist attitude isn't going to help him break through. 2.) He recognizes Cain has played well, and has given him props. 3.) He claims to be the best CF (not hitting necessarily), and I think that may very well be true.

When a left hander has good stuff it isn't all that uncommon to get a lot of chances. Left-handers don't even need to have good stuff to get a lot of chances. Jorge Dela Rossa comes to mind. JDLR is the poster boy for giving every pitcher more chances than they need. Given Parra is a year younger there is no more reason to think he can't ahndle a starting job if given time than JDLR. If we say 2008 is JDLR's "breakout season" JDLR need ~270 IP to get to where he is today -- Parra will be well over 450 IP by the end of this year. Parra has had every chance and more than JDLR. If you play around with the play_index at BRef, and read our discussion on brewcrewball -- you will see that Parra has had as much of a chance (providing as poor as results as he has) than just about every pitcher in MLB for the last 50 years. All that said, JDLR is not Parra. It is hard to continue justify giving Parra starts, (IMO) looking at the "JDLR-story" and ignoring Parra's results -- Look at Parra's last 10-11 starts, they are remarkably similar -- Can't get out of the 5th inning, throwing 100 pitches, etc... I do think Parra could be a decent reliever -- and that is what should be explored.

keeping in mind I'm no where near old enough to have seen any of these guys play. None of us are old enough to have seen Ruth or Johnson play.

Horribly small sample on top, and Parra throws as hard as anyone not named Yo or Axford. He is inconsistent and loses focus. A few things about Al's statement.... 1.) No sample is too small that it can't be discussed 2.) With regard to Parra's velocity -- velocity is behind: location, movement, and secondary pitches. There are scores of pitchers that have had much better careers without Parra's velocity. 3.) Parra has been very consistent as a starter -- just not good. In his last 11 starts, 10 of them he has not made it out of the 6th inning, throwing around 100 pitches. If you look at his starts they are really all about the same. 4.) You have no idea if focus is his problem any more than you know if he wears his jockstrap backwards. At this point it is probably best if they start thinking of Parra as a RP next year, it is obvious his fastball is not major league quality. I agree with this -- I think Parra could be a good reliever, but I think there is not a lot of hope for Parra as a starter. Over at brewcrewball, we were doing a lot of BRef play index queries looking at Parra's career numbers they are certainly unique. Based on these inquires, I think the initial temptation is to conclude that Parra is a special pitcher -- however I tend to think that what is unique about Parra, is the opportunity he has gotten. There are only a handful of pitchers that have gotten as many starts as he has, while sucking so loudly. In my opinion the real issue with Manny is that he is ineffective out of the stretch. This may be an issue -- I think the real issue though is facing batters the second and third time through the lineup. Maybe it is a stretch issue in some part, but I would tend to think that would be something coaching would pick up on.

On a side note, when did PNC Banks start showing up in Milwaukee? I don't think I've seen one. I would suspect that PNC solicits people for credit cards, and refinancing mortgages, regardless of if there is a local bank.

In that case it definitely should have been a fair ball and the ump should have been watching it when it bounced in the outfield. 1.) It doesn't matter where the ball first bounced (as long as it didn't hit a player) 2.) It doesn't matter where the ball lands in the outfield. 3.) The umpire has to determine if the ball went over the base in fair territory, or past the base in foul territory -- He's in the right position to make the call, he just may have booted it.

A way to remember it is you can only give a CS if they runner would have been given a stolen base if he was safe, which is not the case here. Right -- The only way you could have a CS2-3, would be if the runner broke for second and fell down (or slowed down) and the catcher threw to first, and somehow the 1b was able to run him down.

Cuban took over a badly run Dallas Mavericks franchise and turned them into a consistent winner Before Cuban took over the Mavs, the Mavs may have very well been the worst franchise in NFL, MLB and NBA. What he did to that franchise has been nothing short of phenomenal. He's not slimy type of guy I don't know why people insist that he is. I think beyond being good for Dallas, he puts a lot of pressure on the NBA to be better as well. The state of officiating is really bad in the NBA, and I am glad someone like Cuban is banging the gong trying to get the league to take action.

I think he would make a great owner.

But you have to take calculated risks in life...and in baseball. You don't have to take every last one presented to you. For the life of me, I don't understand why DM felt the need to make this deal happen at this time. I think it makes more sense to me, to try to extend Hart in 2011. This deal reminds me of the Hoffman deal (and its timing) done this last off-season -- it just seemed entirely unnecessary.

I know it sounds juvenile When you typed that, it should be the end of your argument.

Hopefully we're not buying high on one of our own players. I think we did exactly that.

This has nothing to with trading Axford, but it finally occurred to me just who Axford reminds me of and that's Jim Kern Whoa. That's a name from the past. He sure was dominant during his prime. Terrible as a Brewer though. He was traded for another big pitcher, Len Barker. Barker was a starter though, and probably a bit thicker, he could throw gas though. He became a Brewer as well.

On a third strike swinging, that is foul tipped into the catchers mit, why does the ump still indicate a foul tip before signalling an out? Is that recorded different? One thing that always amazes me, is the number of people that don't realize that a foul-tip is an out on the third strike, or that a foul-tip is a live ball. I think umpires make the signal to let the teams know that he is aware that the batter made contact with the ball. Along the same lines, umpires call pop-ups fair or foul if they are hit directly over the line, when if the ball is caught it makes no difference if it was fair or foul -- I assume though that someone keeps track of foul pop-ups and foul-tips.

Maybe I'd be a little less bloodthirsty towards Atlanta. I have a new sport suggestion for you -- it's called "Thunderdome". This also coincides with a tailspin that the team in general took at about the same time. I don't think Tommy Hanson has the power to tailspin the Brewers with one HBP. I don't doubt that Braun was affected by getting plunked -- I am not onboard with assuming that is the only reason for Braun's struggles though. In my opinion, it is part of the game, and the pitchers should know better. I will ask you the question I asked above. "As a coach, at what point do I instruct my boys to intentionally throw at their opponents?" Guys like Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale Guys like Gibson and Drysdale were great pitchers, and didn't throw a lot of Manny Parra meatballs. They were intimidating, but they were also incredible pitchers. Perhaps a brawl would have given these guys a little spark. The thing I worry about, is that the Brewers would run out there, and then proceed to get their collective asses kicked. I'd find that depressing.

It's also in the pitchers right to try and back a player off if he's trying to garner an unfair advantage by crowding the plate. I would categorize that as part of the game. I'm a little mixed on the body armour too...it could give the hitter an unfair advantage. I agree with this 100%.

I have 2 thoughts about this... 1.) Weeks gets plunked a lot. I am beginning to think he has his own gravitational field. I think it is simply part of Weeks's approach. Ironically I think Weeks could set a lot of HBP records -- if he stays healthy. If you look at the Brewers HBP's as a team, I think you need to remove Weeks from the equation, as I seriously doubt that most of his plunkage is message-oriented. 2.) To those that think intentionally plunking people is "part of the game" -- I have often asked the following the question, and have never gotten a reasonable answer. "If intentionally plunking batters is part of the game, at what point in a player's development do we instruct them to do it?". My son plays baseball at a very competitive level -- never once has anyone been intentionally plunked. We teach our baserunners to slide hard into bases, we teach our pitchers to pitch inside, we teach our catchers to block the plate -- all these things can cause injury, but we teach them to our youth early on, because they are truly part of the game. At what age or point do you tell your son to throw at a batter? -- Little League? Babe Ruth? High School? Intentionally throwing at batters is not part of baseball anymore than the color line was. Like the color line, intentionally plunking batters is part of human nature, frustration, and emotion. Of course the flip side of the coin, is that batters that intentionally show up a team or a pitcher probably deserve to get plunked -- but showboating isn't "part of the game" either. At some point, I guess I don't know why a grown man has to throw a baseball at someone because they took too long to get around the bases.

His value is at its peak, trade him for a high ceiling minor league pitcher. Agreed. MVP season for Weeks? I think Pujols and Votto and others are well in the lead.

There really wasn't a reason to begin the year. Given Hart's struggles in ST and the DL stints by Gomez and Gerut -- I don't think it was unwise to start the season with Edmonds on the roster.