crewcrazy

Hamilton is going to break down completely long before 40. He's a walking injury. Given what Hamilton's done to his body, I'd be surprised if he's still in the league at 40...he's much more likely to break down for good before then. It could still happen, of course, but I can't see anyone willing to guarantee him years to age 40. If you figure he'll get 6 years on the FA market this year, that would cover his age 32-37 seasons. If he's still capable of hitting after that, I could see a series of one-year deals to DH.

Almost looks like you just photoshopped a Cubs jersey on Axford, pa. The most annoying thing about Samardzija being good now is having to remember how to spell his name.

He's definitely frustrating to watch, and it's been a combination of some bad luck and him not helping himself. He had the 7.07 ERA coming into this afternoon's game, but his FIP was a serviceable enough 3.81. Opponents had a BABIP north of .400 against him (a number that won't be helped after today's outing)...part of that could be defense, but his LD% this year has also been an absurdly high 44.2%. He's averaged about 20% for his career. Batted ball classifications are hardly infallible (the two doubles he gave up today that were barely fair down the lines could have been classified as "line drives" for all we know), but that's obviously a huge number. It'll come down eventually, but the fact that those hits are falling in with guys he walked already on base hurts him badly. In terms of pure stuff I love that he's a part of the bullpen, but it's never a sure thing what you're going to get from him on any given night. In other words, he's your average major league middle reliever.

Over the past few years, I've been lucky enough to get the opportunity to review the Out of the Park Baseball sim series. A hectic work schedule has prevented me from getting this year's version up sooner, but admittedly I've also lost quite a few hours getting sucked into this year's game. If you've played Out of the Park Baseball before, you know that just about every year there's a new set of features rolled out that makes the new version even more in-depth than the last. You would think that eventually they'd run out of things to introduce, but luckily for us, baseball's new collective bargaining agreement over the winter provided a bevy of new changes that are already included in OOTP13. Houston Astros moving to the AL in 2013 (along with Interleague-every-day schedules)? Yep, that's built in. Two wildcard spots for each league right off the bat? You bet. The new draft bonus slotting system? Yes, you can play with that option on, too. As with just about everything in the game, though, you can choose to turn these settings off and play your own way. OOTP introduced their "storylines" feature in last year's version of the game, where occurances in the game would build on eachother as you progressed further into your game. While it was a nice touch, there was a bit left to be desired. This year, the feature has been refined to be more interactive. Now, when your team hothead spouts off to the media, you'll be presented with the options of suspending him or ignoring the comments. The decision you make will lead to another result -- think of it like the "choose your own ending" books you read as a kid. Decisions can impact everything from clubhouse morale to fan interest in your team to a player's potential. This feature is also optional, but adds a new off-field dimension of strategy to the game that we've never really seen before. My favorite new feature, though, might be the real-time simulation mode. If you turn this on, the games scheduled for the in-game date will be played in the background while you are still able to do things like browse league news and adjust your roster and lineups. You can also jump into any ongoing game and watch events unfold -- if you notice a pitcher has a no-hitter going into the 8th inning, for example, you can jump in and watch him try to get the last six outs. In terms of the sim engine, it's as solid and realistic as ever. You'll still have a few unexpected career years (just as you would in real life), but for the most part the end-of-year numbers line up with what you'd expect. I ran a test sim for the 2012 season with the Brewers, and they went 85-77 -- good for second in the Central, but 4th place in the wildcard race. Given the way the real Brewers have started the season, that doesn't seem like an unreasonable outcome. Individually, player statistics looked to be realistic, too. Zack Greinke finished my 2012 sim with an ERA of 3.33, striking out 247 in 243.1 innings. Yovani Gallardo posted an ERA of 3.76 with 241 strikeouts in 227.1 innings. Ryan Braun hit .285/.380/.525 with 32 home runs and 24 stolen bases. The overall league leaderboard ended up looking pretty realistic, too, with Jose Bautista leading the majors in home runs with 53. Giancarlo Stanton (44), Lance Berkman (39), Miguel Cabrera (39) and Matt Kemp (38) rounded out the top five. In the end, you're not going to find a more comprehensive, strategy-driven baseball game out there. You're not going to get fancy in-game graphics like in your console games, but you will get an unparalleled level of control when it comes to in-game and front office decisions and more stats than you could ever dream of to help aid those decisions. We all like to second-guess managers and general managers across the league. This is the perfect game for people like us. You can learn more about OOTP13 (and buy it if you're interested) on their official website. If you're like me and want the game to be as realistic as possible, OOTP Mods is also must-visit for getting all the real logos and uniforms you need.

People didn't like Provus at first, either, but he grew into the role and people warmed up to him. I think the same will be true for Joe. Personally, I like him, but I'm not crazy about hooting and hollering homers. It's important to remember he's coming from Los Angeles, where he no doubt learned a few things from Vin Scully (who's also dry, doesn't go crazy, but you can tell he still cares about the Dodgers). I'd be willing to bet he's still getting his bearings a bit in Milwaukee, and he doesn't have the relationships with the players Ueck has and Provus had. Once he warms up and becomes "one of the guys," the broadcasts will improve. It's just hard to get that after just a couple months.

Figured I would put this here: tomorrow, Disciples of Uecker is running a free one-night fantasy league on DraftStreet, and the winner will get $200. If you've never used DraftStreet before, basically you get a $100,000 budget to build a roster of 14 players (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 UTIL, 2 SP, 1 RP, 1 P) for the day. The players expected to do the best on any given night "cost" more. I've played around with it before, and it's a pretty fun new way to play fantasy sports...definitely a good way to get interested in other games going on every night. Feel free to check it out if anyone is interested.

Bruce has reminded me a bit of Corey Hart the past couple years -- a very nice player, not quite a star to build your team around, but a very valuable piece to have nonetheless. He's normally a good defender in right, but it looks like the metrics weren't too kind to him last year. I keep forgetting that he's only heading into his age 25 season this year, and he's already shown 25-30 HR power. The Reds are going to hit, but I'm curious to see how Latos does shifting from an extreme pitcher's park to an extreme hitter's park. I love his stuff, and he's only going to be 24 this year. I think the Reds are actually set up more for long-term success than immediate success, which is a bit ironic since Votto seems to be on the Prince Fielder Track. Even if they can't keep him, though, they'll still have a team that should be able to compete in his absence. Losing Madson stinks for them in the sense that a team with a smaller payroll is flushing $8.5 million down the toilet, but at least they only committed to him for one year. He's a very good relief pitcher, but probably worth 2 wins or less to them, and they have a pretty strong bullpen as it is. As others have noted, the real sting from this injury will come from moving Chapman back to the pen, or the possibility of them overpaying for someone at the trade deadline if they're still in the race. I'm hesitant to say the Phillies "dodged a bullet" when they're still on the hook for $50 million worth of Jonathan Papelbon.

At the time of the trade, Lawrie was a very nice prospect, but not quite can't-miss. He was Baseball America's #40 prospect prior to last season and there were still some big questions about his defense. When the Jays said they were still going to try him at third, there were more than a few that still scoffed at the idea. After his trade "home," it seems like Lawrie actually dedicated himself and tried to get better. He actually played very solid D at third last year and hit for power. I'm not convinced these things happen if he's still in Milwaukee's system, especially if he held onto this complex that he was being screwed by the organization. In hindsight, I do wish the Brewers were able to get another piece along with Marcum for him, but there were still some doubts about whether or not Lawrie had the work ethic and attitude to put it all together. If thinking the Brewers wronged him is what it took for him to get it, good for him. He's fun to watch. It would've been a shame if he never did put it all together.

Athletes aren't the only ones that should think of it that way. It boggles me just how many teenagers don't realize what they put on the Internet is out there for everyone to see. A tweet is not the same thing as a text message. I agree with Calcaterra that overall, it's a pretty sensible policy. The players are allowed enough freedom to be themselves, but there are enough safeguards to ensure that they're still fan-friendly.

One example of a big deal guy that still performed well: Billy Wagner made $10,750,000 a year for the Mets from 2006 through 2009 (age 34-37), and had a 2.35 ERA in 198 appearances. Racked up 252 strikeouts in 203.1 IP, 101 saves, 186 ERA+, 11.2 K/9, and a 4.13 K/BB ratio. (Related: I had forgotten how really, really freaking good Billy Wagner was.) Even with numbers like that, Baseball Reference had Wagner at a total of 5.2 WAR those years (FanGraphs had him at 5.0 WAR). Admittedly, WAR isn't a great stat to judge closers by, but it's just really hard for a relief pitcher to actually be worth that kind of money. I wouldn't be opposed to a deal with Axford if the Brewers thought they could get cost certainty and save a small bit of money, but he's also the kind of guy -- late blooming reliever who's had control issues in the past -- that ideally you'd go year-to-year with just so you don't get burned.

For what it's worth, Passan tweets that he's tried to confirm Will Carroll's report on Braun's defense team being able to replicate the results, but hasn't been able to yet. Also, the replication is apparently only for the T/E ratio. Doesn't explain the synthetic testosterone.

It's not a technicality/loophole if the one piece of evidence against him was ruled invalid. In the context of the case, what the test showed is irrelevant if protocol wasn't followed. Because those don't really prove anything. I disagree with Passan's coverage of this, but he's right in saying the 20-something previous clean tests aren't a defense, because everyone's clean until they test positive. How many times do you think Manny Ramirez tested clean before he got popped multiple times? Braun was savvy enough to include the info about his weight and performance never changing in the press conference, because a lot of people eat it up. It sort of works for me, too, but I'm generally someone who's not convinced PEDs actually PE.

The June 2 Saturday night game against Pittsburgh is blacked out because it's in Fox's exclusive window that weekend -- they're airing a primetime game. Most of the country will probably get Yankees/Tigers, but there's also Cubs/Giants and Twins/Indians listed in Fox's press release. Count the nationally-televised games, and 156 of 162 will be broadcast somewhere.

The guy messed up. I hope for his sake the identity isn't publicly revealed, since everyone makes mistakes. I really don't think the guy would have tampered with anything with his son present, but I guess I do have a sliver of hope left for humanity. It'd be interesting to see the reaction if the identity did become public knowledge. I think a lot of people would look at him with contempt, but if he does his job and ships out the sample on time, we most likely get an announcement of Braun's suspension being upheld yesterday. His lapse in judgment gave Braun's side all they needed to make a case. Without it, it would've been nearly impossible for Braun to win.

I have absolutely no issue with ESPN (more specifically, T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada) breaking the news and publishing the initial report. They had information, and they reported it. The fault isn't theirs -- they were doing their jobs. The fault is on the guy in the MLB office who wasn't doing his/hers and leaked information in what was supposed to be a confidential process. It's certainly an interesting journalism ethics debate, but there isn't a news outlet out there (whether it's ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo) that would've sat on the news of a reigning MVP's test coming up positive. And let's not forget that when the news came out, it was confirmed by multiple news outlets. It wasn't just ESPN pushing this story. Now if we're talking about how they handled the follow-up coverage, I'll agree that it was extremely sloppy and borderline reckless. It's important, though, to distinguish between the individuals voicing dumb/incorrect opinions and their employer. Buster Olney saying Braun should consider giving back the MVP as a PR move to foster good will does not translate into "ESPN THINKS BRAUN NEEDS TO FORFEIT THE AWARD." Saying stuff like "ESPN still thinks Ryan Braun is guilty" implies that there's some sort of corporate edict that everyone with a voice needs to use the same talking points. With stuff like this, it just doesn't work that way. Are there individuals out there still saying this? Sure. But every company has its idiot employees with misinformed opinions, and it's especially easy for folks on the TV side to slip and misspeak or just talk without being informed of all the facts. With stuff like this, there's no such thing as "protecting the story." If ESPN had the opportunity to break the news of Braun winning the appeal, they would've done it. It would've meant a massive amount of page hits and attention. News of Braun winning his appeal doesn't invalidate the original report. It's just the latest development in a constantly developing story.

Carroll has tweeted he's on a plane on his way back from vacation. I'm sure he'll have something for SI in the next day or so. Just because he has stuff that hasn't been reported yet doesn't mean that others who didn't report the info earlier were being irresponsible. This is an incredibly fluid story, and details will continue to trickle out unless/until Das releases his report on why he ruled the way he did. On another note, I'm only going to put this reminder in here once -- keep the political stuff out of this thread, and off Brewerfan in general. You guys know the rules.

Split the massive Braun topic into two, just so we can differentiate pre- and post-decision discussion easier. Use this for all future posts related to the test and the process.

I split the Braun topic at the point where the decision was announced, just so it's easier for us to find the start of that discussion and differentiate it from the pre-decision stuff. Use the new topic for all post-exoneration thoughts.

The good news for the Bucks is that in such a stacked draft class (due to last year's top freshmen staying in school because of the lockout), they don't need the top pick to get a potential impact talent. Anywhere in the top 5 should net a potential star. Of course, if the current regime is making the decisions, they'll probably take someone with a limited ceiling (hello, Tyler Zeller) or someone with huge boom or bust potential (Perry Jones?).

I disagree that Lin is an ESPN creation -- New York was buzzing about him after the first start, but ESPN did kick their coverage into overdrive when he had the big game against Kobe and the Lakers on their own network. It is more than a little ridiculous that he gets a mention on every ESPN NBA broadcast now (and even some NCAA broadcasts), but they're just trying to ride the popularity while they can. It's good business. Sports Illustrated put him on the cover. Dan Patrick and other non-ESPN, nationally-syndicated talkshow types are talking about him. It's far from just an ESPN thing.

Helps that he owns a part of the team. IIRC, he just signed an extension through 2019, too. It sounds like Cespedes spurned the Marlins because he didn't want the added pressure of playing in front of such a large Cuban base in Miami, and dealing with all of the Spanish-speaking media there. Nice move for Oakland, though. I've seen it mentioned that Cespedes' AAV is roughly what the new draft spending caps will be...it'll be interesting to see if teams that were willing to spend more in the draft start spending that extra money internationally.

Have to love sweeps, huh? http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif It is getting harder to wait for a verdict to come down, but at least the situation should be resolved one way or another soon, and even if he is suspended, the team has had time to figure out a backup plan.

Are Cubs fans unhappy with A-Ram going to Milwaukee? That's something I honestly hadn't thought about before. The Cubs are clearly in rebuild mode right now, so I think it's understandable for a player who's a bit older leave for a chance to win before it's too late. Of course, fans aren't always logical about these sorts of things. Prince's situation was a bit different in that the Brewers were just two wins away from the World Series, and should be in contention again this season.Are you kidding? Cub fans are happy Ramirez is gone. He didn't live up to his contract. Even last year when he put up numbers, he did so only long after the Cubs were out of it. He was awful in April and May. Brewer fans counting on seeing the Ramirez of 06 through 08 are going to be terribly disappointed.April/March - .295/.358/.400May - .283/.333/.391 June - .296/.319/.574 July - .268/.308/.608 August - .377/.429/.575 September/October - .313/.427/.478 It took awhile for the power to get going, but he was far from "awful" in April and May. You're probably thinking of 2010, when he was coming off the gruesome shoulder injury in 2009 and had thumb problems.

Yeah, this is what I'm wondering about too. Where is the money coming from? It isn't an enormous media market. That is really going to be an albatross contract, maybe when they're only halfway through it. Their owner (who also owns the Red Wings) is loaded, and probably sacrifices more of his personal fortune to pay for players than anyone in the game. They've been 6th in the AL in attendance the past couple years, but were around 3rd annually before that (granted, you're getting back to 2009/2008, before the economy really hit the city hard). I have no clue what their TV deal is like, but it's a great fanbase that supports the hell out of the team when they can. It's interesting to see the speculation that this move was done over Dombrowski's head, like previous big-money deals there for Magglio Ordonez and Pudge Rodriguez, though. I can probably buy that, since he hasn't seemed like the type to make panic signings like this on his own accord.

Good for Prince. Good situation for Brewers fans that wish to continue cheering for him. Detroit's a good team, in the AL. Would've preferred Washington because it would've meant a better comp pick, but it's still a good situation for Prince. Brewers should get the 27th pick now, in addition to their own pick at 28.