JJHardy7

Some of the negative thoughts around here...good thing baseball doesn't start on December 11th. Less pop, less K's. Wash as a defensive CF. Younger. Less expensive. Big picture I like it. If Cabrera allows us to dump Cam and Hall's K's and $$, and possibly brings in a young arm that can start right away, I love it. I agree. I really wasn't a fan of getting Cam to begin with, but he provided some nice defense and a solid bat (which didn't really fit into what the Brewers needed). Cameron isn't going to get better though. He's peaked and who knows when the bottom will fall out at his age. Getting a younger player who may not have the same skill set isn't a bad thing. I think the most important thing is what happens when the trade is made. Are there more players included? What if we include Hall also? Or what if this allows the Brewers to sign Sheets? I think Sheets and Cabrera > Cam. I don't think it's going to be a one for one deal and I also don't think the Brewers are going to sit on their hands until spring training. It's early and this move I think will really get the ball rolling and give the Brewers a lot of flexibility. Let's also not forget that many 'experts' are predicting that many mid to slight above mid level free agents will not get contracts in the past. I think Stark was on M & M this morning and projected that many 3-year 21 million dollar deals will be one year 2.5 million due to the economy. This could give the Brewers a ton of flexibility to go after quite a few players that will simply hope for a better contract next off-season.

This kind of seems like a vent thread...

Even if Ben doesn't want to pitch in Milwaukee, at least Doug can say we offered the same contract and Ben just wanted to pitch elsewhere. Who is to say that they haven't talked about it or have reached some type of understanding?

How much snow did the Appleton area get?

Sabathia may cost $10 million per year more than the club wants to add to its payroll, but if they're projecting $10 million worth increased attendance with the signing then it would be worth it. I think it appears that Mark A is a big fan of continuity. I don't think any player will be worth $10 million extra in attendance a year. I do agree that if CC = winning the Brewers will be more likely to get more season ticket holders in the short-term. I really like what Mark A has done for this team, but he has shown that he lets his emotions play in (Suppan) and with CC also being a California guy I think Mark A is pretty attached to the idea of keeping CC...even if that means a bad contract. I do get a feeling that CC is waiting on a California team, but if he doesn't get the offer he wants I think he takes the Brewers deal with an early opt out than sign a deal with the Yankees without an opt out.

I still don't understand the trade Hardy talk. Hardy is an all-star SS...we know what to expect out of him. Escobar's bat isn't ready to be on the major league team yet and he could potentially be a very good MLB player, but by the time he is ready it also will be close to the time Hardy is reaching free agency. I can possibly see trading Hardy next off-season and bringing Escobar up then, but Escobar can't be counted on this year IMO. I also wonder what return Escobar would bring. What team will trade a young, cheap (like Escobar) MLB quality pitcher for Escobar? I think we'd have to get a player closer to free agency and IMO that hurts the true return on Escobar.

Per the JS Blog, a NY Paper is reporting that the Brewers might be willing to go up to 6 years/110 million for CC. I'm assuming the only way he would take that contract is either incentives or some type of favorable out clauses. There has to be some incentive given the gap with the Yankees for CC to sign a lower deal, right?

Whoops. Looks like we got caught sitting on our hands waiting (still) for Sabathia to officially turn us down. I wonder how many other opportunities will come and go while we wait for CC to say no thanks. I'm assuming this isn't the case...Branyan isn't that expensive and the Brewers probably don't have every front office employee working/waiting 100% on CC.

Attanasio has never been one to take money from himself and spend it on the team. He's made huge profits so far. The worry is declining attendance and season ticket renewals, not the hedge Attanasio has against market risk. I think most of Mark's money comes from his business...which is finance related. I don't think it will cripple the payroll, but I also don't think it will go up. I'm sure Mark has reserves from his business, but given the market and the markets that other owners in the finance world face I do think it may be a 'down' year for some free agents. end - I don't get your first sentence. Are you saying he's not one to take money from his Brewers investment? I guess I'm not clear on what you're saying and apologize if I'm missing something. Or are you saying he's not investing his 'own money' and using his business to finance the team. Again, I might be missing your point, but I'm just not getting it.

I just have a simple question regarding transactions for the Brewers this year. Should all minor league signings go in the minor league transaction thread and not a separate thread? It doesn't matter to me at all I just want to make sure I post in the right spot. IIRC I know as transactions went on during the season it was more of a strict transaction thread and not discussion. I just want to make sure that minor league signings (for the few that go to the IMO a very good minor league thread) should be posted on that thread and discussed. The signings may not be 'huge' now, but like we've seen in the past some of these nuggets could be some very nice signings. I guess I just want to make sure I know where to post transactions and then also where they can be discussed. Thanks!

Per JS: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/35336214.html

One thing to remember is that the scouting director (Jack Z) that selected Rogers with the 5th pick of the draft is now the GM of a team in complete re-build mode. The Mariners would have no problem hiding Rogers on there roster, they "hid" Carlos Silva in the middle of their starting rotation last year. These are good points X. I think the real question is how healthy he is. I'm assuming (haven't seen anything real concrete) that things are going well. Will he be ready for opening day? May? If he's not going to be ready to pitch until July or August I think it's a bit more difficult to 'hide' him. If he's ready opening day or soon after, I could see the Mariners taking a chance on him. I think it's still difficult to 'hide' a player that has only played at low levels and hasn't pitched in awhile. Jack Z would have some knowledge though of his development.

Redd and RJ expire in 2011 (actually Redd has a player option in 2010 but he'll almost certainly pick that up.) We have no cap space until those two along with Gadz expire in 2011. That is unless we trade one for an expiring contract this year or next year to a team that needs one of them and is willing to pay them. I don't think the Bucks are going to land Wade or Carmelo. The Bucks are the type of team that has to overpay for free agents, which isn't the route to go (ie Bobby Simmons). The best way IMO for the Bucks to build a good team is to draft well (which hasn't always happened), find nuggets (Mo Williams), and make smart trades. I don't think this current team is all that far away from being a 4 - 6 seed in the East, but a few injuries could easily knock them out of the real playoff hunt by the end of December or mid-January.

Is Harrington going to be uniform for the Knicks? Or will the be minus him and obviously minus Crawford?

Braun could play CF, but I'd wait a year or two at least and let him learn the OF a bit more. We may have a future CF in the minors (I'm not talking about Gwynn) and we'll have to see how he pans out. I don't see Braun moved to CF this year unless he absolutely has to. I'd rather see him stick there and get more comfortable. I think he could play CF, but like those that followed the Brewers this year know Braun played pretty deep and that wouldn't work in CF. There'd be a lot of balls dropping for hits. I also think Cam made Braun a better OF this year then he really is. That being said Braun is a fine athlete and will adapt to the OF...no need to move him unless we stumble upon some free agent bargains or great trades.

I don't want to sound like a jerk since I know Vinny gets some love here, but I really don't see him fitting in the Brewers future. I think his best bet would be another organization...especially if he sticks at catcher. If they move him, he may have a chance.

I'd put money on the Brewers not putting him on the 40-man. That's not a shot to Mark, it is just being realistic about his current state of health. I agree. Even if he was 100% healthy it's hard to 'stash' a pitcher on a roster that hasn't pitched all that much lately and hasn't reached higher levels in the minors yet. Going from A ball to the majors with the injury history makes for one heck of a risky selection.

I don't think it matters that Braun finished 3rd. He just got a few 2nd and 3rd place votes. Now if he received some first place votes that'd be a different story.

What do you think? Good idea or is that not very realistic with the Nintendo Wii? Are there any other ideas as far as games go? The latest round of EA Sports games (maybe others? I don't know I've only had a Wii for a few months) have something called 'All-Play'. You literally can turn the system on and play Tiger Woods golf (the game I have) and be pretty good right away. My wife never touched the game and was able to play competitive against me thanks to all-play. It makes it a lot more fun IMO to play with other people.

24: Every year Jack Bauer starts looking at the calender thinking "any day now, I'll be running around this city like crazy trying to find terrorists, better catch a nap now, cuz who knows when I can sleep next!" First season was great, didn't get into the second season after watching the first half, then lost interest altogether. Woulda been a much more epic one time shot. I love 24 so I'll just agree to disagree. I actually didn't like season 1 all that much. I do understand why it may not be liked as much as other shows...there's only so much Jack Bauer can really do now. I do think if you don't like it (and only watched it on tv) it might be a good idea to give the dvds a try. The episodes are 15 minutes shorter and really makes the season have a lot more flow IMO.

Tonight was nothing new for Garnett. He's a dirty player, an embarrassment to the league any time he's behind a mic, and pretty much just a classless human being. Did I miss anything? Really? I wouldn't define a player by one play or anything. I really like KG and to me he's good for the NBA. He put up with lack of talent on the T-Wolves and always gives 100%...not something that always happens in the NBA.

All away games are taxed in the state they are played in. So its on only half the games. So you're talking maybe $100-$200k, not enough to really worry about unless the Brewers do something much more significant. Most states tax it based on games and if it's a 5% gap that's a $1 million difference per year on a $20 million per contract. It's still probably not enough to sway one way. The only thing I could see is going to a state that doesn't have income taxes, but I don't know if teams in those states will be all that interested in CC. New York is pretty tough on taxes. I know Jeter got audited a year or so ago based on his 'dwelling'. He has residence in Florida...and a very expensive condo in NY that he didn't claim residence and got busted IIRC. Taxes aren't going to matter much when each state his taxed more or less that has the money and contracts have gotten so high that the difference is minimal.

I hope somehow they're a huge disappointment this year. I don't root for the Yankees in college basketball, either. I guess I don't see the comparison. UNC has had some pretty average or down years before Roy Williams came to the team. I just think it's a school with a solid tradition and a pretty darn good coach. Those two things usually lead to success.

I got it off ebay straight from the Memphis Redbirds I forget the price I will look it up tomorrow. I also have a COA I can scan I believe it says from the September first 2007 game. Vinny wasn't that much and they had most of the players from both teams for sale. Vinny was called up on the first so he never played this game so the jersey was never worn. I will get more info on this tomorrow. Interesting. I was at the game when the Sounds auctioned off jerseys from both teams. I didn't know Memphis did the same thing later that year. Vinny was an expensive jersey in Nashville.

It is not dynamic but had Gamel not struggle down the stretch he would have been ranked fairly high to start the year. Wasn't part of the struggles related to his injury down the stretch?