JJHardy7

Speaking of Nelson...Has anyone seen him play 3rd base? Baseball-reference has him at 25 games played in the minors at the position. If he could be at least serviceable there, I could see Lamb as being the odd man out. I've seen him. He's alright there. I wouldn't have him split time there or anything. He'll make plays on everything he can get to, but his range would not be all that great. He could be a 3rd 3b...in other words if there's an injury or two or a spot where you need a LHB and keep him in the field somewhere late in the game you could and it'd work out alright. It helps him as a utility guy a little bit, but not enough to help him make the team or not. I was just looking through pictures of the Indians game and Brad Nelson doesn't look all that thin. He's still got a double chin. Maybe he's thinner, I don't know. He's lost weight. I'm not saying he's going to be light on his feet or anything. I think as time goes on he'll lose a bit more. The problem/issue with him is he needs some type of role. There was a great article on the JS about him a few days ago. I think he could start in the league as an OF if he was paired with two other above average fielders. If Carlos Lee and Manny can do it, I think Brad can. I do think his long-term future is at 1b. Him being able to play the OF may help him make this team as the 5th OF. He won't start a ton of games, but will get a lot of PH opportunities. I think too many people are forgettnig all the times Counsell came up late in games as the PH. I'd much rather have Nelson. It's not a knock on Craig. He just doesn't have any power. I like Nelson's medium-power lefty bat off the bench to pinch hit and spot start in Right. And give Prince a few days off/provide depth in case of injury. If Rivera is going to play more this year, Nelson can fill in at 1B on Prince's few days off. I would not consider Nelson being cut and being picked up by another team, or Green not making the opening day roster a major loss. We are talking about a couple of players here that will occupy the last two roster spots on about half of the teams in baseball, and its not the playoff caliber half. He would be picked up and probably play quite a bit for half the teams in the league. I would look at that thread of 'top 44 worst contracts in history' or whatever and look at some of the 1b on that list. Nelson is cheap and can put up numbers that good or better. There's no way he doesn't get picked up. Are you forgetting about the injury he had years back and how long it takes to come back from that? He's raked the past two years. You're off on your playoff caliber half. Brad has already been on a 25-man roster in the playoffs. Nelson has one skill, hitting for power and that is all that he does. He is a liability in the outfield and the only place worth putting him in the field is at first base. Prince should easily be able to play 150 to 162 games barring injury. On his days off you can use Rivera or Lamb as his backup. He is definitely not the guy you want as your last option in the outfield. I would much rather have a player with versatility take his place like Iribarren. Nelson is scrap heap material for many major league clubs. He is Russell Branyon 2.0 without the ability to play 3b. Have you seen him play in the OF? There's no way he's that much of a liability. If you want the light hitting Hurrican stepping up with the game on the line to PH, that's fine. That's the type of move playoff teams do not do. Your value on Nelson is way too low. There's no way he doesn't make this team as well he should. If he doesn't, I have no clue what this team is doing. Having a power hitting LH bat on the bench is not a bad thing. Why is he 'definitely not the guy you want as your last option in the outfield'? He may start 10 - 15 games all year, but his value will be as a PH. What's the big deal with that? There's no way the Hurricane makes this team and at best the Hurricane is a poor man's Counsell. I like the Hurricane, but he has little or no value as a PH...and that's what roster spot we're talking about.

I think JJ's 25-man in the lead post looks pretty accurate. To me, the two spots that aren't certain are the ones he has assigned to Coffey & Green... but imo there's really no way for us to know how the lower rungs of the bullpen are going to shake out right now. I hope Morlan earns one of those spots, since that would mean the braintrust has confidence in his ability to perform now -- and would make the loss of Luis Pena more tolerable. Those two were the ones that were tough for me. It looks like Mass corrected BA on Green's options. If he has options, there may be less of a need to keep him on the 25-man. I think part of the way it may work is who the Brewers think they can get to clear waivers/accept a spot in AAA. They certainly have depth there and it may be a good idea to try and keep it should some pitchers on the 25-man struggle.

I just dont know if Nelson can fill that spot rolling around like a big bowling ball in the OF. I'm pretty sure Nelson can handle a backup OF spot. If he's the 5th OF/IF, he's going to see a lot of time as a PH. He also reported to camp in better shape. I'm not saying he'll win a gold glove, but your comment is far off IMO.

I haven't seen a thread like this or one that's been active for awhile. If I'm wrong, just delete it and I apologize. I'll take a shot at the opening day roster: Starting Position Players: C - Jason Kendall 1B - Prince Fielder 2B - Rickie Weeks SS - JJ Hardy 3B - Bill Hall LF- Ryan Braun CF - Mike Cameron RF - Corey Hart Bench: C - Mike Rivera IF - Craig Counsell OF - Chris Duffy IF/OF - Brad Nelson IF - Mike Lamb Starting Pitchers: SP - Yovani Gallardo SP - Manny Parra SP - Dave Bush SP - Braden Looper SP - Jeff Suppan Relief Pitchers: RP - Carlos Villanueva RP - David Riske RP - Mitch Stetter RP - Seth McClung RP - Toddy Coffey RP - Nick Green CP - Trevor Hoffman I know my projection will be way off with what others here have and what probably happens. I think if TGJ is healthy and plays a bit before opening day he'll be on the roster. The bullpen for me is a crap shoot in the final spots. Nick Green has been playing well and has some potential upside, but I'm just taking a stab that they'll keep him on the 25 man. If Morlan pitches well, I have no clue what they'll do. I'd assume they'd keep him and try to determine what guys would clear waivers and not keep those players. It's nice to have a season where pretty much the major roles are filled and there's just a few spots left with some nice potential talent to fill those spots.

Actually, it wasn't supposed to be in blue, and I disagree that I'd rather have Gamel and his 40 plus errors at 3B for the 2009 season. I'm not saying McGehee should be the everyday 3B, but a platoon with Lamb would be more valuable than Hall or Gamel everyday. I'm not so sure about that. I'm not saying Gamel is ready, but I really don't want a Casey and Lamb platoon. I'm hoping Hall 'finds it' or at least keeps it warm until Gamel is ready. If he's hitting like he hit last June, Gamel will be up pretty soon.

Michael Jackson

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/40787487.html I'll try to summarize: Looper: He's doing better than expected and it seems like a 50/50 shot as to whether or not he opens on the DL. Gwynn Jr: Shut down for three days and then they'll look at him again. Gagne: He's going to have an MRI. I personally think this isn't promising. Salome: Tightness in back. 'Day-to-day'. Gamel: Week a away from fielding. He's improving.

Did anyone buy this game for PS2? If so, can you share your thoughts on it? I have MLB The Show 07, so I'd imagine 09 would be quite a bit better. The reason I didn't get 08 was because I was told there wasn't a whole lot different from 07. Anyways...any insights one could give on The Show 09 for PS2 would be greatly appreciated! I've only played two games, but I think it's better than '08. It does also have the 40-man roster and all that. I think it's worth it given the price ($29.99). I know sometimes the 'potential' rating can be random, but does everyone else have Gamel, Escobar, and Salome as 'B' potential players? That was somewhat disappointing.

If I can put his 'issues' behind him (that's a big if), we'd have to see if he can even run. I'm surprised that there hasn't been an individual workout session for Bonds and have all the teams come see him. You'd be able to find out pretty quick whether his knees are still garbage or not.

They can vacate all they want. It just doesn't make sense to take one when you are currently hiring a position and you know people are going to be trying to get a hold of you. If it is a decently sized company they might be hiring/filling jobs most of the time. Should they not take a vacation then?

It's stuff like that, and the Clemens deal with the Yankees a couple years ago, that makes me think there should be a rule that if a guy isn't on an MLB roster by, say, June 1st, they shouldn't be able to play for the rest of that season. Guys shouldn't be able to play mercenary and wait out half the season to play for a contender. That's not a bad idea. I think if a player was a free agent on opening day they must sign before June 1 or July 1 in order to be on a playoff roster. Maybe something like that would help?

#1 was the scenario in which Boras screwed Ramirez out of more upfront money this season - had he kept his meddlesome hands off Manny's old contract there wouldn't be the problem of his client currently not having work. Boras figured the market would allow him to get out of the deal he didn't do and parlay it into a huge deal (a la Arod's opt-out last offseason) that would give him his big commission and Ramirez a long term deal north of 9 figures. He figured wrong. I don't think it's fair to say he figured wrong. If he gets 2 year $45 million he'll be fine and that's what I think will happen. I believe that would be slightly more than what Manny had in his previous contract. Again, I don't think he figured wrong for his own pockets. We'll have to see about Manny and what happens. Boras is going from $0 on Manny ot $2.25 million if he gets Manny the deal I suggested.

After 5 1/2 years of wondering my wife sent a blood sample in to get her DNA profile for my birthday. Yesterday was my birthday but the profile isn't in yet. It is the best present she could have got me but the waiting is killing me. You don't have to answer this if you don't want to...but how much does that cost? We have a similar situation with our two dogs. We've been told what they are to a certain extent (lab mixes), but we're not sure what they really are.

#1 was forcing their way out of Boston and out of Manny's old contract that would have paid him 20 Million + in 2009 - Boras assumed the economic climate would be good enough to get Ramirez 4-5 years and 100 Million + more guaranteed money. He was flat out wrong. No he wasn't. He didn't work Manny's last deal. If Manny stays in Boston, Boras gets $0. Anything Manny signs now is money Boras wouldn't have had. This doesn't mean I like Boras, but from his own view it makes perfect sense.

I guess I don't see why Jacobs as a player is that bad compared to his salary. KC may have been able to sign a better player for that amount...but that player would've had to come to KC. Again, I'm saying as a player since I don't recall what they gave up. I know it also would've been better to trade for him 3 years ago when he was cheaper and pre-arby. endaround, why is this such a bad deal? I'm not saying this to be a jerk or anything. I just might be missing something. I know his obp is not all that great (roughly .300 for his career if I remember right) and he doesn't hit for average. He does have some decent power, but he's far from a 'perfect' player. I think he's one that is a 'fit' for a team like KC though.

I got to believe that this Boras is as unhappy about this as any of us. He is going to get screwed out of the big commission that this contact would have brought in. But he also doesn't want Manny to fire him so he has to play the bad guy in this role and take Manny's side. If the whole world can see Manny is going to end up getting less than this, then you can bet Boras Corp does as well. It's fine to be mad or hate Boras, but we need to remember that if Manny didn't get out of his contract with Boston Boras wouldn't get paid a dime. Manny signed that deal with a different agent. Boras wins big time regardless if Manny gets $90 million over 3 or 1 year at $20 million. He would've gotten zero if Manny doesn't get out of his previous contract.

Apparently the big issue with the offer is that it would have only paid him about $10 million this year and next, and the rest would have been deferred through 2013. Exactly. That's why it's fine that he rejected it. The Dodgers just have to increase the present value money and it's a done deal. I'm not saying I support Manny on this, but the Dodgers offer is actually worse now than it was in November (assuming it wasn't deferred then too). I think it'll end up being a one-year deal for $20 million paid this year.

"But we heard one other thing from the Milwaukee Brewers - that Greer Stadium is not a long-term solution. It is not the type of facility they want to see their future major league players go through." I still have the feeling that afer 2010 the Brewers will be looking for a new AAA home. That stinks for me (for very selfish reasons). I'm still hoping they build something south of Nashville in the Franklin area. I still hear whispers from people in the area that Nissan may build a ballpark close to their headquarters. Not sure how legit that is...especially with the auto industry suffering. A year or two ago I'd have more confidence in that happening.

Who cares about his 60 time. He can cover ground and make plays. He also does have SPEED! 2004-2006 in the minors he had 30+ stolen bases. He has also had 3 seasons in the minors with 20+ stolen bases. Keep him! If he's healthy, he most likely will be on the opening day roster IMO. I don't think it's a question of keeping him or not. If he's not healthy, he'll go on the DL and then if they don't need him when he is healthy he'll be traded. His 60 time does matter. I've seen Gwynn play quite a few games in the minors and I'm not convinced he's this big time speed burner. I can't say that for sure without some proof behind that and a 60-yard dash would be exactly that. Where doees he rank in terms of speed with the current Brewers OFs? I would guess that he's closer to Cameron (maybe Cam is faster?) in terms of speed with Hart (obviously) and Braun (possibly) faster. Where have his stolen bases gone the past two years? He's combined for 35 stolen bases the last two years. He did have 20 in Nashville last year. My guess is that it's not accurate to base his speed off of stolen bases in the minors...especially at A and AA. I don't hate TGJ or anything like that. I just think he had to come to camp in terrific shape and play well in order for me to have confidence in him. It's too bad he's hurt and hopefully he proves me wrong. If he starts a lot of games for the Brewers this year, I'm very worried about their shot at the playoffs unless he's 'figured it out'.

I am sure that they would like to hang onto him for that long, but he is out of options. The most important part of TGJ's future with the Brewers. I would think he'd be a lock on the team if he was healthy. I've posted this before...I'm not a huge Cam fan, but I would take Cam over TGJ everyday. There's too many 'he could do this', 'he could do that', etc. I'm not saying he's not a MLB player...he's just not a starter for any team that is trying to compete. I brought up his speed on my last post because I think one flaw in TGJ is that he's not that fast. I wish I had some 60-yard dashes (thanks trwi for looking it up) to prove that. If he was blazing fast, that might make me look to having him as a starting and then 'banking' on him figuring it out on the MLB level. I just do not believe he does anything above average at the MLB level. Cameron could hit 30 HRs this year and come close to 100 rbi...TGJ may never hit 30 HRs in his entire career. He does make more contact, but given the fact that he doesn't have gap power and IMO good speed it becomes a moot point. Maybe he bulked up in the off-season? I don't know. My guess is he will be on the opening day roster and has the chance to be in the bigs all year. We'll see what he can do, but I'm not banking on him being a starter on the Brewers unless there's an injury.

I could be off a bit here, but sponsorships on the car arent nearly as important as it is on the clothing etc. Take Matt Kenseth for example, every piece of clothing and memorabilia of him that is sold has Dewalt plastered all over it which is free advertising for them. I don't know if I'd call it 'free'. I really don't have a lot of knowledge of the NHRA, but for sponsors my guess is that it's much cheaper than NASCAR.

We used to use a credit card every month for our mortgage payment. We put everything on a card and pay it off at the end of the month. It gave us interest free money to the end of the month and the perk miles build up enough to fly free every year or so. Was your mortgage through the same company as the card? It's rare for this to happen and it's a good thing if it's an option. I'd love to be able to gain credit card points/rewards through this.

It depends, I suppose. I'm a renter (never been a home-owner) and I'm able to pay rent to my building's management company online using a credit card. Then again, I've also rented from companies that only accepted checks. No clue how mortgage companies handle that stuff. But there's always the ability to get cash advances from your credit card company....I get junk mail from AmEx constantly, imploring me to do so....and it's a pretty sizable amount that they're willing to extend me for some godforsaken reason. I was just trying to point out how the media is sensationalizing this whole ordeal. There are ways to to it I suppose with the checks that credit card companies give and as another poster pointed out at certain places you can. I wish it was more common...that would be a lot of bonus points! I know it's rare that places accept a credit card (and avoid paying any advance fee).

TheCrew07 and I don't always see eye to eye, but he's right on here. What else does the guy have to do? Let's pretend he doesn't have a position (from what I've seen in Huntsville I think he's fine, but I've only seen him there 10 games or so...if he's in Nashville I'll know much more)...what's to say he can't play for an AL team? He cleary has the bat in my mind. He's easily a top 100 prospect just for his bat. If his defense improves at catcher (which it will), the Brewers will have one of the best hitting catchers in the bigs. I don't get the hate on the guy. I really look forward to seeing him in Nashville this year. Maybe if he hits .400 he'll get more love?

What about a 20-pound burger? http://www.slashfood.com/2008/10/18/pennsylvania-man-polishes-off-20-pound-burger/