Raw Biz

Sorry but no way that gets it done. Even though Upton is having a bad year, he's only 24 and has a solid track record. The DBacks will most likely be looking for younger, cost-controlled players (or rather they should be). 2 guys on the wrong side of 30 isn't the answer.

I know Roenicke loves the bunt but I'm sick of all this bunting with 2 strikes crap. Yo is a good hitter and isn't a very good bunter, at least not this year (though he's not hitting much this year either). Let him swing away.

It bugs me when people don't know how to spell players' names. I'm not talking hard to pronounce last names but things like Zack vs. Zach, Corey vs. Cory, Shaun vs. Shawn, etc. I think if you follow the team even casually (i.e. watch 1-2 games/week or check out box scores every once in awhile) that you should be able to remember how certain guys spell their names. And if you're watching/following almost every game, then there should be no excuse.

There's a difference between what you want and what you will get. I think everybody knows the Phillies won't get their asking price.

Yeah I do the "thank you" emails to follow up. The only time I didn't was when I received a phone call the same day after an initial interview asking for a second interview. The initial interview was with the main woman's assistant and then she wanted to interview me as well. But like I said, I emailed and called and she kept dodging me, intentionally or not. I was told twice by her that she would call me at a certain time and she never did. Then when I called back, she was busy. And she never responded to a single email either.

The only problem with this is if Greinke, Marcum, and Wolf are all gone, those are likely our 2-5 starters (without adding anyone via FA). I know you said if they don't make the starting rotation but I would bet Estrada and Fiers are pretty much locked in at this point. And if Peralta finishes the year strong, he will most likely make the rotation as well.

You can offer anyone a, I believe this is what it is called, qualifying offer which is a one year contract that is the average of the 125 or so highest paid players. If the player accepts he gets the contract. If he declines you get picks from the team that signs him. It's almost exactly the same as the NFL's Franchise Tag. This is correct. This year, that amount should be around 12.5-13 million. It doesn't matter who the player is or how much he made previously. That's why it's a no-brainer for some to accept (i.e. a guy like Izturis who is bad and made little money) and for some to decline (Greinke, who is awesome and made more than the likely offer). So obviously Izturis or someone like that wouldn't be offered a contract but it will be interesting for guys like Marcum or even KRod if he had a better year and we didn't already have a closer.

So I had an interview a few weeks ago for a paralegal position. The guy who interviewed me was really impressed with my resume and said they were looking for someone to fill this position quickly. Because I actually have my law degree, he said that I should be able to pick up on things rather quickly despite having little experience. He said they had actually hired someone for the position but had to let him go after he lied about his skills. He told them he knew how to use a computer but actually didn't know how to type or even get on the internet. I took a typing test (85 or so WPM) so he said it should be no problem. He told me he had one more interview lined up but it was just a formality and that I was at the top of his list and he just needed to run it by his boss (who works in a different office/state). When he was giving me a tour, he made comments like "this will be your desk" and just stuff that made it seem like I was a given. He said he should have the go-ahead within a day and then they would just need to run a background check so I would be starting sometime in the next 7-10 days. Later that day, I got a call from someone asking if I wanted to do a contract job for a week or so that would've been the week I was starting. I told them I was waiting to hear back from a job and they said to contact them if it didn't work out. A few days passed and I didn't hear anything so I emailed the guy on a Friday and he said he would know by Monday. So I ended up not hearing anything from him that week so I emailed him again the next week and didn't hear from that either. That was a week and a half ago. This week I received an email from HR saying they were going to continue their search for a candidate who better fit their needs. I also saw the ad re-posted on a job board. I never received a response from the guy who interviewed me. I'm really pissed because he made it seem like the job was basically mine and then he never responded to me. He also said they were in a big hurry to fill the position because the work was stacking up but yet they are still looking for the right candidate, even though he said I was more than qualified. I also ended up missing out on the contract job because I thought I would be working for them. It sucks because this isn't the first time that I've felt really good after an interview, only to be turned down. It also isn't the first time that someone has refused to email me back about a position. I had a person who wanted to interview me a second time a few months ago but everytime I called or emailed, she never responded or called back. I tried to contact her 4 times to set up another interview but finally gave up. I also don't think it had anything to do with a background check because I just had one run on me in May for a volunteer job. I'm just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences. Are HR people or interviewers really this insensitive? These weren't huge firms or anything that I've interviewed at either so I thought they would be a little more personal. I understand if I don't get a job but I also don't like not hearing anything or worse, being told I basically got the job and then not hearing anything. Its just frustrating because I thought going to law school would have been a good thing. But here I am, 2 years later with no job and almost $100k in debt.

Again, this bullpen is not playoff material. Sell please. I know Melvin said he'd wait until after the next 4 series but I don't see a reason for that. Even if they end up winning the division/wildcard (which is highly highly unlikely), they would probably lose the 1st round against a quality playoff team. They might as well start taking offers now to maximize any return.

Yep, Fiers could have had a nice 1-run 7 IP performance. Now the BP could give up a bomb and it'll turn into 7.1 3 ER. I understand the pen hasn't been very stellar as of late but once he gave up a baserunner, he probably should have been pulled.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marcush01.shtml

Don't get me wrong, I like watching Fiers pitch and you can't deny the results, but I just have trouble believing this is who he is. Well his numbers so far match up pretty nicely with his MiLB career so far. So it's not like he's some 5.00 ERA journeyman minor-leaguer having success out of nowhere.

I still don't know why this is a big deal.

It's a one-year deal equal to I believe the average of the highest 125 contracts. So it would be something in the 12.5-13 million range. I think it's a no-brainer to offer Marcum that (assuming he's healthy). If he accepts, that's pretty good value for a player of his caliber and it's one less arm they need to find. If he declines, you get more picks.

The Astros are paying everything except the pro-rated minimum. So it's actually not that bad of a trade for them. Dominguez is supposed to be great defensively but can't really hit. That'd be good if he was a SS but not so good at 3B. And Rasmussen is just a BP arm. I would say it's a win-win for both sides. The Astros get a couple of young guys who could provide at least some value and the Marlins get a pretty good upgrade for this season at 1B for the league minimum.

Because although Profar profiles that he COULD stick at SS, recent sentiments from prospectors and analysts suggest that Andrus is their long-term SS and Profar will take over for Kinsler at 2B who would be moved to the OF. Profar simply isn't ready to take over a middle-IF position for a playoff contender right now. And, Andrus is actually a better fielder. To be fair, I've read that that's just until Andrus' contract is up after 2014. Then Profar would probably move back to SS. Although that's assuming they don't sign Andrus long-term.

You probably meant Kranitz? Somebody should go. Cant Melvin get one scrap heap guy to replace somebody??? Qualls Fuentes oCarraso any of these guys that are being let go by other teams (yes, i know Qualls was claimed) No, Kyles, the bullpen coach. I think the bullpen coach is nothing more than a glorified chaperone. I think he basically just tells guys when to get loose and stuff. I don't think he does too much coaching out there. And if he does do any coaching, I would think the actual pitching coach has more of an effect on players than the bullpen coach.

Wait, so if a starter gives up a bunch of runs, the bullpen should just blow it so he doesn't get the win? How did you get that out of his comment? Wolf should be more mad at himself for blowing a four run lead on his own. Not sure how else I should take it after it was posted after a blown lead. And that was just stupid baserunning Weeks.

Wait, so if a starter gives up a bunch of runs, the bullpen should just blow it so he doesn't get the win?

Even if the Brewers win, I will continue to say they should be sellers. The bullpen is a complete joke this year. They will not be able to continually eke out 1-run wins against playoff teams. Sell off a few pieces and restock for the next few years.

And I'm saying you just joined the board last month. I've been here for 6 or 7 years. And I didn't say tons, I said 5-10. Guys that I mentioned above, that use advanced stats and understand there's more to baseball than a guy just "being hot."

It's just how you word stuff and never seem to see other points of views. Cannot stand people who think there is one version of how how this game should go. Be open. You'll learn a lot more about the game. And telling me I could learn a lot more about the game is kind of condescending. I have learned a lot about the game on this board but from people like Russ, TheCrew07, TLB, etc. Plus I'm not some teenaged kid here. I've followed baseball for just about all of my 28 years. I can see other points of view but when someone says something I don't agree, I will ask why they think that and say why I think it's wrong. After all, this is a message board to be used for discussion. Your posts calling me out don't really have much value here.

I definitely agree. If they want to stick Hart at 1B full-time, then either Green should be playing more at 3B/2B or just sent down since Ishikawa is the backup at 1B. Then they should call up another OF like Schafer.

Not sure why you say that. His arm is stronger than Morgan's. He might not go back on the ball as well as Morgan but he seems to be able to judge the ball off the bat a lot better and can come in better. How do you not have a job in baseball? Crazy how you know and see EVERYTHING! Really, it's coming to that? I was giving my opinion and asked him why he thought what he did. It's well-known that Morgan has a weak arm so it isn't much of a stretch to say Aoki's is better. I also used the word "seems" to indicate that it wasn't necessarily a given fact but that to me, it "seemed" like Aoki judged the ball better. But yes it would be nice to have a job in baseball. Or any job for that matter.

Not sure why you say that. His arm is stronger than Morgan's. He might not go back on the ball as well as Morgan but he seems to be able to judge the ball off the bat a lot better and can come in better.