Against the Grain

Hoodia Diet Pills

2007-12-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hoodia Diet Pills
It could have come across the name everywhere. Hoodia Gordonii has taken the weight loss world by surprise. It was touted as the best miracle weight loss pill, is now being put into? All in a "multivitamins for TrimSpa.
How does hoodia work ?
Well, Hoodia Diet Supplement has been shown to have some effect in terms of weight loss. Even before running out to buy the latest Gordonii pill from your drug store, try to find out certain things.
Here are three innovative ways Hoodia Gordonii helps you to lose your weight.
1), Gordonii makes is physically Less Hungry. Pure Hoodia contains a molecule called? P57, which scientists believe is responsible for making you feel full. Normally, when you eat food, this food turns into glucose. When the level of glucose in your body increases, Hoodia sends signals to the brain that you are full.
2), Hoodia, the magic pill turns off the desire too. Hoodia reports show that not only makes you feel full, but also slows down the desire to eat. You know that people can feel physically satisfied but still eat for a number of reasons, such as time, emotions and social influence. In fact emotional eating is actually responsible for more food to physical hunger. Genuine Hoodia pill can help you lose weight by slaking this desire to eat and breaking the emotional attachment to food.
3) To turn off the appetite, the hoodia diet supplement can make rational, healthy food choices. It bears the pain of construction of new healthy eating habits in you. Since probably not want to be on Hoodia product forever, this is a good way to lose weight and the transition to your eating healthy diet light, with less pain and deprivation.
These are three diet patches that work with Hoodia Gordonii to help you lose weight and achieve your goals. Make sure you follow these suggestions and you will be well on your way to weight loss success.

2005-06-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHERS DAY
Here are a few thoughts on the Brewers...

In the second inning of the Brewers game today you saw why speed can be so dangerous. The way Jenkins was pitched to was completely set up by the fact that the Blue Jays were worried about Weeks running. He then stole second, but Geoff Jenkins couldn't drive him in.

Chad Moeller has to have the ugliest swing of any position player in the Major Leagues. Now I haven't seen every position player hit in the Major Leagues this season, but it's just a feeling I have. You could go take in a game at a county park and see lots of guys with better swings mechanically than Moeller. He doesn't use his backside at all. If you look at his back foot (right) it doesn't rotate through...That's one of the many reasons why he doesn't have any power.

2005-06-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

New Faces in Milwaukee, Brewers head to Tampa Bay
Since I've been away, the Brewers have made a few roster moves. Gone from the Big League roster are Gary Glover (who was DFA'd and is now in AAA), Junior Spivey, Jr (traded to Washington), Dave Krynzel (who was called up and sent down since we last spoke). Future Greatest Player of All-Time Rickie Weeks has been called up, Tomo Ohka has been moved into the 5th spot in the rotation, and Julio Mosquera is also up with the Crew. Lots of movement, but what does it all mean?

Glover was too inconsistent for the Brewers (and that's saying something). The fact that nobody claimed him when he was waived shows that other teams aren't too impressed with him either. It's good that he accepted his demotion, because it's nice to have some depth on the mound.

Spivey being traded wasn't a surprise to anyone. Of course he made a spectacular defensive play and hit an eventual game-winning HR for the Nationals on Sunday, but I'm not too worried about it. Spivey just didn't look good at all this season. Now with FGPOAT Rickie Weeks up presumably for good (check above for definition) and with Bill Hall playing as well he has, the infield situation looks solid.

Mosquera is up because Damian Miller has been dinged up and perhaps because Chad Moeller has been so brutal. Once Miller is fully healthy and ready to play more than three games a week, the Crew will make a decision between Moeller and Mosquera. Moeller has been swinging the bat a little better lately (though, when hitting .085 it's not that difficult to do. If you get one hit a week you're probably doing better than you were before).

Tomo Ohka was a great addition for the Brewers. His incredibly low K/9 so far this season (2.83/9 in 54 IP) may be cause for some concern, but career his K/9 has been over 5.

The Brewers have three against the worst team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. INTERLEAGUE ACTION AT ITS FINEST!!!

The Devil Rays are in complete disarray (imagine that). Usually they just suck and keep quiet about it, but this time people are speaking out...

Lou Pinella: "This was supposed to be the breakout year. The problem is, we've got a new ownership group here that's changed the direction we're headed. They're not interested about the present. They're interested about the future. And that's their right."

Carl Crawford: We're getting blown out. It's been embarrassing, but right now, you just want to hide your head under the ground..."I'm afraid that we might break a record for losses this year," Crawford said. "I sit down and talk about that all the time. I'm afraid we might break that [106-loss club record]. And it might not even be close, either. That's just being honest. Right now, you just wish for anything to happen."

In an attempt to fire up the squad, Devil Rays' brass made some bold moves by deciding to DFA Alex Sanchez and release Charles Johnson. I'm sure those are the types of blockbuster moves the fans and players were hoping for.

Charles Johnson declined to be traded to Los Angeles down the stretch last season while playing in Colorado. I hate when people question a player's heart because fans don't know. But when a guy decides to stay on a moribund last-place quality franchise instead of being thrown into a playoff chase, I think that says all you need to know about him.

Translation: CJ sucks and has (apparently) no heart. Tough to keep a job in the big leagues with that combo.

Tampa Bay designated Alex Sanchez for re-assignment today, despite the fact that he had the highest AVG in the AL in May, and is hitting .346 on the year.
Translation: Alex Sanchez is a bitch.

Way back in Milwaukee during the summer of 2002 when Royster-Ball was all the rage, veteran clubhouse guy Lenny Harris threw Sanchez threw a wall. Also, once Ruben Quevedo, accompanied by his wife, beat up Sanchez in the players parking lot. I'm not sure as to why those two violent episodes occurred, but I'm guessing it can be easily related to my earlier description of Sanchez. Oh yeah, and this year the 5'9'' 160lbs (I don't care what he's listed as in the program) Sanchez was caught violating the MLB Substance Abuse Policy. He has enough talent to keep getting looks, but it seems like he has a way for wearing out his welcome.

The Brewers are 28-34 and should be a little better than that. I'm not basing this on anything other than observation, but it seems like the Brewers score runs only when they allow a lot and consequently lose 9-7 or something like that. Looking at this roster, coupled with how bad the NL Central is, if the Brewers were ever going to make a run at .500 in 2005 it has to be now, because the chips have all appeared to have fallen into place.

2005-05-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

There's No Trip Too Remote From Which You Can't Come Back
I will be in So Cal for the next two weeks, so again I apologize for my infrequent blogging. Against the Grain shall return regularly on June 13th...Sorry for the inconvenience.

2005-05-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Helling Injured
Nashville Sounds pitcher Rick Helling was impaled in the left arm by shards from a broken bat last night. The injury is non-life threatening, but very few details were released about his condition.

As players continue to use lighter bats that are more prone to snapping in half, this is a possible concern. Personally, I'm surprised that more people aren't injured by broken bats. MLB should come up with some regulation as to the weight distribution of the bat. The way wood bats are made now, any ball not hit on the barrel results in a snapped bat.

It's similar to the situation in college baseball with aluminum bats. What will it take for MLB to make a chance with the wood bat situation or college baseball to stop using aluminum bats? Probably having a player killed.

2005-05-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Brewers Win Again, Adams to the Minors (?)
Despite obviously not having his best stuff, Doug Davis managed to throw seven shutout innings in the Brew Crew's 3-0 victory over the Astros last night. The Houston Astros have been shut out eight times all ready in 2005.

Jeff Cirillo continues to be a surprise. I'll admit that I wasn't even sure that he'd make the Opening Day squad, let alone become the everyday man at 3B. He deserves it, as Branyan has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness as of late.

Ben Sheets will make his return from the Disabled List tonight. In order to make room for Sheets, the Brewers in a surprising move, sent RHP Mike Adams to AAA Nashville. Rather than DFA Tommy Phelps or Julio Santana, they chose to send Adams down to AAA. He obviously isn't the weakest link in that bullpen, it's completely a business decision. It's not often that you see a pitcher with a 2.70 ERA sent to the minors. A situation like this happened a few years back with the Reds and Austin Kearns. He was hitting about .295 and was the only guy with options left, so they sent him down.

2005-05-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Brewers Take Three-Game Winning Streak Into Tonight
The Brewers did what they had to do against the Rockies--they mopped the field with them. It was nice to see the Brewers play against a team that didn't even belong on the same field with them. An equally horrible road team comes into Miller Park tonight as the Brewers play three against Houston this weekend.

Carlos Zambrano has "computer elbow". Mike Remlinger now has "recliner finger". The Cubs are hilarious.

With Ben Sheets coming off the DL Saturday, it looks like either Tommy Phelps or Julio Santana will be sent down to AAA. There is also a chance that Gary Glover could be optioned out, but my gut instinct is with Phelps.

2005-05-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

Brewers Win A Thriller
Well, anytime Colorado and Milwaukee get together and you don't fall asleep watching the game, I guess that's a plus.

Chris Capuano continues to pitch like he's reaching his potential. His last three starts have seen him allow 4 earned runs in 24 2/3 innings.

Last night provided some incredible de je voux. Just like Capuano's last start, he entered the ninth inning tossing a shutout. He hit a batter and then Yost came out and got him. Although I was caught up in wanting Capuano to go the distance last night, I did agree with the decision to take him out. There were a few differences in last night's game in comparison to his start against Washington...

1) The runner was on first with 0 out as opposed to a runner on second with 1 out
2) Ricky Bottalico was up in the pen instead of Mike Adams
3) There were two righties coming up as opposed to against Washington, when it was possible to walk Vinny Castilla (or pitch around him) and go after a lefty.

Bill Hall continues to swing the bat well. I would try to work him into the lineup as much as possible right now. I'm not going only off of the statistics (yeah small sample blah blah blah), but if you watch Hall's approach you can just tell he's much more confident and seems to have a much better approach at the plate. Whereas last season he would hit a ball hard once every five at-bats, he seems to be doing it about 40% of the time right now. Everybody and their sister knew the way to get hall out was to get some sort of off-speed pitch over the plate early in the count and then show him a fastball out of the zone and comeback with a slider away. Now it's not so simple to get him out. With Junior Spivey and JJ Hardy both struggling, I would try to work Hall into the lineup anywhere in the infield.

It's always difficult to "expect" a sweep in a series, but really if the Brewers want to make a run at .500 you'd like to see the Crew sweep teams like Colorado. Especially when the Rockies have three wins on the road all season.

2005-05-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Kolb No Longer Closer for Braves
Normally when an All-Star closer loses his job in mid-May, some people might be surprised...This isn't one of those cases. Most people aren't surprised at all about the fall of Dan Kolb in Atlanta. Brewers fans (and SABRmetricians alike) were all concerned about his incredibly low K/9 rate last season.

More than his K/9 rate (which actually is 5.94/9 so far this season), it has been his inability to throw strikes (16 walks in 16.2 IP) that has been his downfall. Kolb has also allowed 18 hits as well, and his ERA is now at 6.48.

Could it be that Mike Maddux is a better pitching coach than Leo Mazzone? Well, it's possible that Maddux knew how to work with Kolb better than Mazzone, but I think any comparisons of Maddux to Mazzone might be a little premature.

I remember last season near the All-Star break marveling at how Kolb had allowed something like one extrabase hit and very few walks. That is OPS at it's finest. Low OBP and no Power against Kolb allowed him to dominate. If a guy who has problems striking hitters out like Kolb, the more walks he gives up and the more extrabase hits he yields will spell disaster.

2005-05-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

Obermueller Rules
Well, at least he did last night. Wes Obermueller put it together last night, like he has been known to do on occasion, and threw eight shutout innings against the Nationals in the Brewers 8-2 victory.

Obermueller has filthy stuff, and if he could throw the ball over the plate with some consistency he could be a very serviceable middle-to-back of the rotation guy. Obermueller has way more upside than Glover, but I still think that Glover can provide more stability--which is usually what a team will settle for at the end of the rotation.

Geoff Jenkins has been on a mini-hot streak. Ned Yost has placed Jenkins in the third spot ahead of Carlos Lee, with the idea that he'll get more to hit with a legitimate power-threat hitting behind him. There is a school of thought that wherever a hitter bats in the lineup doesn't make much of a difference. If you're running a simulation it probably won't change much, but if you think about the aspects of the game that can't be quantified, who knows how much of an effect it can really have. I don't think it would turn a average hitter into an All-Star, but it can make a difference--especially for a guy like Jenkins. With Lee behind him he should see more fastballs and pitchers will go after him more. The last thing you want is Jenkins getting pitched around, since I'm pretty sure I saw him swing at a pickoff throw once last season.

Little things that can change based on a batting lineup.
-base stealer ahead of you--could see more fastballs in running situations
-power hitter behind you--pitchers will come after you more often
-batting 8th--pitchers go right after you with nobody on base, pitch around with RISP
-righty sandwiched between lefties or vice versa -- favorable lefty/righty matchups
-hitting leadoff--usually more fastballs or pitcher will go after a guy, especially to lead off an inning

2005-05-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Review of the Javon Walker Celebrity Softball Slam
I'd like to start this post out by clearly stating that I was working at this event, I did not decide to waste my free time and attend this thing as a spectator.

First off, this has to be the loosest interpretation of the word "celebrity" in the history of the English language. By my count there was one celebrity (Tara Reid) and one good football player (Javon Walker). The rest were local radio personalities, practice squad quality football players and in some cases just random dudes. Really, Javon Walker and Tara Reid were the two people who kept this game from being legally stripped of its "Celebrity" softball game status. They were one actress/skank and one Pro-Bowl wide receiver over the "regular" versus "celebrity" softball game divide. With headliners like Walker and Reid, you definitely wouldn't expect to draw THIRTEEN THOUSAND PEOPLE!!!

That's right. There were thirteen thousand people in the greater Milwaukee area this past Saturday that had nothing better to do than to watch Green Bay Packers' longsnapper Rob Davis hit grounders to Milwaukee Wave head coach Keith Tozer. Actually, that last statement isn't entirely true...Rob Davis K'd twice in his only two plate-appearances.

Milwaukee Rapper Coo Coo Cal hit a sacrifice fly.

Like every "celebrity" themed event in America today, it would not have been complete without its share of reality-TV rejects...This game featured Kwame Jackson from "The Apprentice" and Ethan Zohn, the winner of Survivor: Africa...I guess we're supposed to know who these people are.

Najeh Davenport was a no-show for the event. The rumors that he was busy making a mess in the Brewers Clubhouse have not been confirmed

The award for "dude who took the game way too seriously" went to Brad Kitt, who won the WKLH Try-out. Each time he came to the plate he took a ton of practice cuts and I'm pretty sure he drew a walk...Yes, he drew a walk in a softball game.

Sam Cassell threw a CG three-hitter.

I was lucky enough to have a conversation with Tara Reid, and it went something like this...

Me: So Tara, how do you like Milwaukee?
Tara: It's nice. They don't put WD-40 on the sinks and toilet seats in bars here so it's a lot easier to do lines of coke in the bars.

The after that Tara went and fired her manager for having her somehow end up in a softball game in Milwaukee...Okay, I may have made that last conversation up.

Tara Reid was asked how she ended up being in this event. She said she met Javon Walker at the Super Bowl in San Diego. I was hoping that the person doing the interview would ask her to define her meaning of the word "met". Translation: Javon is on a long list of NFLers that Tara has partied with. And, well Javon is on a much longer list of guys who have partied with Tara. I think most of you reading can see through my definition of "partied".

One positive from the experience was that I found out that there is something more annoying than local morning radio personalities...Local morning radio personalities hosting a celebrity softball game. That's all that needs to be said about that.

I just don't understand the concept of a "celebrity softball game". I don't know why these things are necessary. At least this one was to benefit a charity, but still...Thirteen thousand people showed up. That's more than the Brewers drew last Monday against Philadelphia. I'm not sure if the sports world has contributed anything lamer to our society than a celebrity softball game.

It boils down to America's obsession with celebrities. Watch VH1 or MTV and see all the reality shows about the private lives of B-listers. Well, I better finish this post, "Gridiron Challenge" is on ESPN now. I better catch this episode or before you know it I'll miss the next six hours of it.

2005-05-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Against the Grain Ready for the Summer
Well, school is done for the summer which means that Against the Grain will be re-launched after a brief hiatus.

Check in tomorrow for my review of the Javon Walker Celebrity Softball Slam (I think you can guess how I feel about such events). I will also have something about pitch counts and the recent success of the Milwaukee Brewers.

2005-05-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

Brewers on 5-Game Winning Streak, I'm in Over My Head
Hey everybody. Just wanted you all to know that this website still exists, I've just been incredibly busy with my last two weeks of school and every thing else that's been going on. Sorry for the inconvenience.

2005-04-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Nomar on 'roids?
This witch-hunt needs to stop. We were lead to believe that stories completely lacking substance about players using performance enhancing drugs would stop once the testing got stricter and the season got underway...Well apparently not, because everybody seems to be on Nomar Garciaparra right about now.

Is this how it's going to be from now on? Every time a player has injury troubles there are going to be major publications and top columnists in the country speculating that player is on steroids? This is ridiculous. The only reason it won't stop is because talk-radio loves it, gossip columnists love it, and evidently the public loves it too.

B.J. Surhoff had injury problems early on with the Brewers, maybe he was on 'roids.

I thought the U.S. Congressional Hearing for MLB was their version of the Salem Witch Trials, but maybe we need to be more overt with this. Let's just have Jose Canseco cry out "I saw Goody McGwire with the devil!" and everybody can gasp at each new accusation.

2005-04-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Brewers Rained Out Monday
Wes Obermueller will have to wait until another day to make his first start of 2005. The Brewers and Cardinals were rained out Monday night. The game will be moved to the off-day both teams had scheduled, which is Thursday. That will be a day game. This rain-out came at a good time for the Brewers. Ben Sheets is still dealing with an inner ear infection and the bullpen would have been thin with Obermueller starting. Now they get another day to rest.

Geoff Jenkins doesn't seemed to concerned about the pitching staff. He was hoping for a Wednesday day/night doubleheader instead of a single game scheduled on the off-day. He doesn't appear to be down with the decision to play on Thursday.

"This is not an off day, we're here for six or seven hours," Jenkins said. "You enjoy your off days just because you relax and do whatever. It makes no sense."

I was always led to believe that the players hated doubleheaders, especially day/night ones, because it takes up their entire day. Jenkins comes across as a professional athlete bitching about something that isn't important at all, but I understand that some of these guys probably value their off-days a lot--especially because they only get a few during the season. Nevermind that they get six months to "relax and do whatever" in the off-season.

2005-04-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

NFL Draft
So I just turned on the NFL Draft. I like the NFL, don't get me wrong. But how come the draft is such a big deal? The weeks leading up to it are filled with "rumors", of which 99% are completely inaccurate.

Does anybody have a better job than Mel Kiper, Jr? The guy works about three weeks a year, and gets paid quite well. You may be wondering how I know he gets paid so well, but come on...Look at that hair--Nobody making less than about $800,000 a year could afford buying so many hair-care products. Plus Kiper, Jr is less accurate than a weather man.

Also, the draft has been on for about an hour so far...And THREE PICKS have been made. Great television.

ESPN just ran a commercial saying "Go deep...The Draft Matters". They were talking about how Zach Thomas was the 157th pick in the 1996 draft. So ESPN is telling people that they should watch EIGHT HOURS of draft coverage, just to see the one Zach Thomas-type player who gets drafted. You know somewhere in America, there is some loser decked out in his favorite team's gear telling people "see, that's why I watch the draft!".

2005-04-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Crew's 7-Game Losing Streak Comes to an End
All it took was a gem from Victor Santos. Santos dominated the Giants in his first MLB complete game, as the Brewers snapped their losing streak by winning 6-1 at SBC Park. After a particularly brutal spring and a healthy dive in production the second half of 2004, everybody was skeptical about Santos. So far in 2005 though he has been the most consistent starter on the staff.

Manager Ned Yost decided to "shake up" the lineup by moving Damian Miller to the 2-spot, Geoff Jenkins to 3, Lyle Overbay to 5 and Junior Spivey to 6. Most likely this had very little to do with the six runs the Brewers scored, but can you really blame a manager for trying something like that? Yost can't go out and swing the bat, so other than sub people in and out, he can't do anything but change the order in which they hit. Spivey has a little higher SLG% in his career over Miller, but nothing that is substantial.

I know computer simulations show that very little is accomplished by changing the lineup. There are things that aren't accounted for in those simulations--such as how players are pitched when their hitting 1st as opposed to 8th. Or how a player is pitched with a base-stealer on in a running situation. I doubt that these subtleties would make a huge impact, but again it is something that cannot be quantified. Just because something cannot be quantified doesn't mean it should necessarily be minimized or dismissed altogether.

Here is your expert analysis for the game: The Brewers won because they scored more runs than the Giants.

Brady Clark and Damian Miller have been off to a good start in 2005. Carlos Lee and Geoff Jenkins look as though they are coming around finally. It would be nice to see the Crew run off a nice string of wins here to get back near .500. They'll have their work cut out for them as they have two more vs. San Francisco before heading to St. Louis for three.

This afternoon Milwaukee sends Chris Capuano (0-1, 4.41 ERA) to the mound against Brett Tomko (0-3, 6.75 ERA).

2005-04-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sheffield Stuff
I haven't commented on the Gary Sheffield incident at Boston the other night, so I thought I'd take a moment to do that now.

While Sheffield did show great restrain in not jumping in the stands and fighting fans, I still think he has to be punished for taking a swing or push or whatever it was at a fan. I'm not saying a lengthy suspension, but I don't think a game or two would be too much to ask.

Like with the Ron Artest situation, I hate the rationale of "YOU WOULD'VE DONE IT TOO!". First of all, no I wouldn't have. Second of all, I understand that people have an instinct to defend themselves. Ron Artest wasn't defending himself, Nor was Stephen Jackson for that matter. They were running in the stands looking to fight anybody they could. That's not self-defense. Gary Sheffield didn't do anything like Artest of Jackson, and I do agree he could've went "Artest" and ran into the stands like a psychopath. He didn't, and that is good for the game. Still he should have some sort of consequence, because you simply cannot have players going into the stands. Fans don't go on the field, players don't go into the stands and we can all live happily ever after.

Fans are stupid. Players are stupid. If you go to a game, don't throw things on the field, don't spill beer on players, don't take a swipe at a player. Just sit there, enjoy the game, drink your beer and try not to incite a riot.

2005-04-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Brewers Lose, Brewers Lose
Odalis Perez took a no-hitter into the seventh. Chris Capuano struggled with his control but still had a solid outing. Ricky Bottalico allowing a three-run homerun to The Gamer (Milton Bradley) was the back-breaker as the Crew lost 7-3 to the hottest team in Major League Baseball last night at Miller Park.

I got my first look at Norihiro Nakamura. That guy has the most messed up swing I have ever seen. I don't see how he can be a productive hitter in the Major Leagues. The guy steps into the bucket on every swing. Offspeed stuff away should dominate that guy. He has had good seasons in Japan, but I just can't see how a guy that pulls off of the ball so much could ever have success in the Major Leagues.

After knocking the ball around against the Pirates in the opening series of the season, the Brewers offense has somehow managed to look worse than it did in 2004. It is only 12 games into the season, so sounding off the panic alarm might be premature, but with all the cynicism that surrounds this team, it won't be long before the fanbase turns on them again.

2005-04-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Brewers Thoughts
A little more than a week into the season and the Brewers are currently in fourth place with a record of 5-6. By looking at their runs scored/runs allowed differential they should be doing a little better, but it is still very early in the season.

It is dissapointing that they have a record of 5-6 because of the starting pitching they have had so far this season. In 11 games they have had outstanding starting pitching and have been close in every game so far. Brady Clark and Damian Miller have been outstanding at the plate, while Carlos Lee has struggled and Geoff Jenkins have been brutal.

The Brewers are 4-1 against Pittsburgh, 1-2 against Chicago and 0-3 against St. Louis so far.

Milwaukee starts a two-game series with Los Angeles tonight at Miller Park. Chris Capuano (0-0, 4.35) takes the hill against Odalis Perez (2-0, 1.59). Porn Stache will be playing second base for the visiting Dodgers.

2005-04-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

City of Milwaukee Slowly Being Taken Over by Orange Vested Cult
So as I've been driving around lately I've noticed an alarming trend--there are people with Orange Vests all over the city of Milwaukee. I don't know when it got to this point, but they are EVERYWHERE.

First it started as a few Orange Vests near the Marquette Interchange, but now they have completely taken over that piece of land and claimed it as their own. Now the Orange Vests have even spread further up 43-North and 94-West. They have altered lanes, closed down exits and caused other forms of transportation-based terrorism. The Orange Vests are taking over the world.

2005-04-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Brewers Thoughts
Well, the first week of the season is complete and the Brewers are 4-2. Space that out over the entire season and that's a record of 108-54. Hey come on, let a guy dream.

All facets of the club have been playing pretty well. The starting pitching has been great, the offense has been solid, the bullpen has been doing the job. Really, this team could be 5-1 given the way they lost the finale in Chicago, but that's the way baseball goes.

I've been checking the Baseball America prospect report daily. For those of you who don't have it, I highly recommend signing up for it. Dave Krynzel has been on fire in AAA. Rickie Weeks and Brad Nelson have been solid too. Krynzel has been the real story so far. He has been showing the ability to hit for average and provide doubles power. After his outstanding Spring Training, perhaps all of the Krynzel skeptics (like me) will be proven wrong. I really hope so for the Brewers' sake.

Opening Day was about as good as it gets yesterday. Russell Branyan provided some serious power, Doug Davis threw another gem, and Jeff Cirillo made his first regular season appearance in a Brewers' uniform since leaving after the 1999 season. A few years of toiling in obscurity allowed Milwaukee fans to forget that Cirillo was a non-roster washup and allowed everybody (including Cirillo) to hope he can rekindle his success of the mid-90s in Milwaukee.

2005-04-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

Blogger Problems
The past week I have been unable to edit the site, luckily today I was able to make it work. I don't know if this problem will subside for now or if I'm going to be posting infrequently still in the future. Hopefully the site stops giving me problems.

2005-04-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

38 Minor Leaguers Suspended for Steroid Use
I just read on ESPN that 38 minor leaguers were suspended for taking steroids. Most of the players aren't top prospects, and some of them are former big leaguers who appear to be heading nowhere. Former Brewer Robert Machado was caught, even though he is currently a minor league free agent.

Really though, is 15 days (or 10 in MLB) that big of a suspension? Yes you get outed, but I think once players are getting caught more frequently identification won't be that big of a deterrent. You get your 10 day suspension or whatever but it's not like you lose the muscle you spent all off-season building up. Get suspended for ten days and then bulk up and hit possibly hit forty homeruns and cash in for the rest of your life. I don't know, it doesn't sound like that bad of a deal to me.

2005-04-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Brewers 161 Wins Away From Perfect Season
Could things really be changing in Milwaukee? Ben Sheets gets run support? The team hits with runners in scoring position? Jeff Cirillo hits a bomb? What is going on?

Sheets obviously didn't have his best stuff, but he still managed to allow only two runs in seven innings. He struck out six and walked (you guessed it) zero. That's a real sign that you have an ace--When he can go out there without his best stuff and still be tough to beat.

The Brewers just looked like a winning ball club. I know it's only one game, but it's definitely nice to see. What's interesting about the season opener...The Brewers won big, but talk to any Crew critic and they'll say "hey it's only one game". I agree, but if they Brewers had lost 9-2, would it still be "just one game" in the eyes of the fans? I realize that there are twelve years of futility that helps to form people's perceptions, but really this is a different team, with a different owner, and a surprisingly talented team.

The Brewers will go for a 2-0 start Thursday afternoon when Doug Davis faces off against Kip Wells.

2005-04-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Sanchez on Roids
When he's not getting thrown threw a clubhouse wall by Lenny Harris or crying in the dugout, apparently former Brewer Alex Sanchez is juicing. On Sunday it was announced that Sanchez was the first person suspended for violating MLB's Drug Testing Policy.

The fact that he did get caught also reiterates the fact that he is "one of the stupidest people alive" as many people in the Brewers organization had said during his brief stint as the Crew's center fielder.

If Sanchez took steroids, just exactly was he trying to accomplish? He has no chance of being a power hitter (maybe he was influenced by seeing Barry Bonds' transformation from a stick into a beast). Perhaps Sanchez wanted to get a little extra muscle to get some more velocity on the grounders he hits or a little more air under the flares he sends just over the inflieder's heads.

Sanchez denies taking steroids, and on the surface his taking performance enhancing drugs really doesn't seem to make sense. Sanchez has four homeruns in 1,351 career at bats, so obviously he's not a power-hitter and really has no hope of ever being so. Could he have been falsely identified?

First of all, one of the many problem's with the MLB drug testing policy is that it doesn't identify what the player has tested positive for. Nobody is really sure what is tested for, so could Sanchez even test positive for something that is over-the-counter?

How long has Sanchez been juicing (allegedly)? He did hit .322 last year for Detroit. Could it be that taking steroids turned him from a .290 hitter to a .322 hitter? I know he only had 300 some at-bats, but isn't that a possibility? Also, could a slap-hitter like Sanchez symbolize how bad the steroid problem in MLB is? I mean, if a 5'9'' 150lbs banjo-hitter is juicing, could the problem run deeper than we originally thought? If punters in the NFL are juicing and slap hitters in MLB are juicing, what does that say about the steroid problem in professional sports as a whole? I joked that it's only going to be a matter of time before tennis players, golfers and bowlers are accused of juicing, now that might not be too far off the radar.

2005-04-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Opening Day!
Well it is here. The Brewers are hours away from kicking off their most anticipated season in quite some time. Last night the Brewers announced their 25 man roster by adding lefty Tommy Phelps and optioning Trent Durrington to AAA Nashville. The Brewers also announced that Chad Moeller will be Ben Sheets' primary catcher. That means Moeller and Wes Helms (who's platooning at 3B) will both be in the lineup. At least for today the Brewers won't look all too different from last year's starting team.

Oliver Perez is pitching for Pittsburgh. The lefty broke out last season for the Pirates by posting a 2.98 ERA and a record of 12-10 that rates high on the Sheets-esque scale of deception. Perez also struck out 239 batters in 196 inning while walking 81.

The lineup for the Brewers will look like this...
CF Clark
2B Spivey
1B Overbay
LF Lee
RF Jenkins
3B Helms
C Moeller
SS Hardy
P Sheets

Also, the Brewers had more than 15,000 people show up for Brewers On-Deck at Miller Park yesterday afternoon. I've always said it, but this is a baseball town that is just begging to be woken from it's longtime dormancy.

2005-04-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

MLB Predictions
Here are the 2005 Predictions for Against the Grain. Enjoy.

AL East
Boston
New York (WC)
Baltimore
Toronto
Tampa Bay

AL Central
Minnesota
Cleveland
Chicago
Detroit
Kansas City

AL West
"Los Angeles"
Texas
Oakland
Seattle

MVP: David Ortiz, BOS
Cy Young: Randy Johnson, NYY
ROY: Joe Blanton, OAK

NL East
Atlanta
Florida (WC)
New York
Philadelphia
Washington

NL Central
St. Louis
Chicago
Houston
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh

NL West
San Diego
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Arizona
Colorado

MVP: Albert Pujols, STL
Cy Young: Jason Schmidt, SF
ROY: JJ Hardy, MIL

All right, those are my predictions. What do all of you think?

2005-04-01T09:04:00.000-08:00

Brewers Have Fake Opener Tonight
The Brewers will face the Chicago White Sox in the first of two exhibition games at Miller Park tonight. There actually is a little drama involved, since both of these teams were involved in a big trade this offseason.

You have to love exhibition games at a team's home park. It's a good way to make season-ticket holders buy more tickets (because the 81 games they pay for aren't enough).

The Brewers have all but set their 25 man roster. As I discussed the other day, this is what it'll be...

Catchers
Miller
Moeller

IF
Overbay
Hall
Durrington
Spivey
Helms
Branyan
Cirillo
Hardy

OF
Lee
Clark
Jenkins
Magruder

Pitchers
Sheets
Davis
Capuano
Glover
Santos
Obermueller
Turnbow
de la Rosa
Adams
Bottalico
Wise

Helling, Borders and Phelps are expected to be sent back to AAA Nashville after this weekend at Miller Park.

2005-03-31T08:43:00.000-08:00

Brewers Rotation Still Up in the Air?
Since about early March we've been told by GM Doug Melvin, Assistant GM Gord Ash, Manager Ned Yost, Pitching Coach Mike Maddux and pretty much anybody else that is associated with the Milwaukee Brewers that the first three spots in the rotation would be occupied by Ben Sheets, Doug Davis and Victor Santos. Well, things change.

Santos or "el ojo loco" as some like to call him, has been getting absolutely rocked in Spring Training. Opponents are hitting .457 off of him and he has an ERA of 11.25. Couple that with struggling in the second half of the season last year, and it's easy to see why the Brewers brass would be so nervous.

I think most people expected Santos to pitch his way out of the rotation by late-May or so, but for him to do it in Spring Training speaks volumes for not only how poorly he's pitched, but also for the quality and depth of the pitching staff. If Santos falters the Brewers appear to have no reservations about using Wes Obermueller AND Gary Glover in the rotation. Obermueller pitched much better in September last year and has had a great Spring. Glover didn't make many starts for the Crew in 2004 but did show promise when he got an opportunity--he too has looked sharp this spring.

The Brewers will probably only need to use their 5th starter three times in April, so regardless of who is in that slot they will see action out of the pen as well.

Is this too early to put Santos in the pen? I know the ball jumps out of the yard in Arizona, but .457 opponents BA? 37 hits allowed in 20 innings? It's obvious that Santos is really struggling. I know a lot of people aren't proponents of making big decisions in Spring Training. To those people, should the Brewers look to make a move or should they just go with their original plan that they came up with all winter?

2005-03-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

Brewers Almost Roster Set
The Milwaukee Brewers finally made the big decisions. They decided to send Dave Krynzel to AAA as well as righties Justin Lehr and Julio Santana. There are 28 players left, but really there is only one spot available. It is reported that Rick Helling and Pat Borders will be sent to AAA Nashville, which leaves 14 position players and 11 pitchers...

Catchers
Damian Miller
Chad Moeller

First Baseman
Lyle Overbay

Second Baseman
Junior Spivey

Shortstop
JJ Hardy

Third Baseman
Russell Branyan
Wes Helms

Outfielders
Carlos Lee
Brady Clark
Geoff Jenkins
Chris Magruder

Utility
Trent Durrington
Jeff Cirillo
Bill Hall

Starting Pitchers
Ben Sheets
Doug Davis
Victor Santos
Chris Capuano

5th starter/bullpen
Gary Glover
Wes Obermueller

Relievers
Mike Adams
Ricky Bottalico
Jorge de la Rosa

Bubble
Tommy Phelps
Matt Wise
Derrick Turnbow

I'm guessing Tommy Phelps will be the odd man out.

I saw a copy of the roster of players making the trip to Milwaukee for the final exhibition games. I was interested to see that Dave Krynzel, Corey Hart and Ben Hendrickson aren't making the trip. I'm guessing that is because of some conflict with the AAA travel schedule or season, because guys like Tony Gwynn and Kane Johnson are going to be at Miller Park.

2005-03-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

Adam Dunn Attempting to Cut-down on Ks
I read this the other day and thought it was worth discussing. Cincinnati monster/slugger Adam Dunn is working on reducing his strikeouts.

Said hitting coach Chris Chambliss, "What do you work on? You work on fewer strikeouts and keeping those other numbers up. And now you've really got something--some MVP stuff."

Dunn has some interesting quotes in the story.

"It's going to change this year," Dunn said emphatically. "I'm going to try not to get to two strikes. That's going to be my main thing. It's hard to hit in this league with two strikes."

"I wouldn't say (strikeouts) bother me," Dunn said. "Sometimes they kind of frustrate me, but I wouldn't say I go home and lose sleep over them.

"That's the way I handle stuff. I try not to let stuff bother me too much. I'm not going to sit there and harp on it. I try to have fun with everything, the good and the bad."

"It depends on the player," Dunn said. "If you're capable of driving in three, my thing is you should take three swings because you might connect on one of them. If you're a guy who hits two homers a year, then you're definitely going to have to try to put the ball in play."

Judging from his comments, Dunn seems to have the right idea. He and Chambliss seem to get that Dunn might benefit from making a little more contact, but shouldn't over react by overhauling his entire approach. Dunn had a fantastic season last year, regardless of his strikeout total.

I'm always nervous about messing with a guy's approach. The way i feel Ichiro Suzuki's approach makes him the hitter he is, I feel the same way with Adam Dunn. Both Dunn and Suzuki's approach are antithetic of each other, yet both are very successful at what they do. Maybe taking a few more pitches would hurt Suzuki's numbers just like swinging at a few more pitches might mess with Dunn's success.

I'll throw the question out to all of you...How much should an organization mess with a player who is successful? Should they just let him be, or in the case of a younger player like Adam Dunn, should they do what they can to elevate him from an All-Star caliber player to a Hall of Famer?

2005-03-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Punter on 'Roids
I usually could care less about the NFL at this time of the year, but this is absolutely hilarious. Along with two of his teammates, punter Todd Sauerbrun has been accused of taking steroids back in the Carolina Panthers' Super Bowl season in 2002-03.

Okay. His two teammates, offensive linemen Todd Stussie and Jeff Mitchell, I understand. They are offensive lineman, they are paid to be bigger, faster and stronger than the person on the other side of them. But a punter? Are you kidding me? What, so he can kick the ball two yards farther?

What is funny is that Sauerbrun had a reputation as a bad punter in Chicago, but became a Pro Bowler in Carolina...Steroids couldn't have helped that much, could it have? Maybe the steroid problem runs a lot deeper than we all think. When does it come out that tennis players and golfers are on the juice? How long before we hear that a bowler is 'roiding up?

Shouldn't we have suspected something though? How many other punters have the balls to get a barbed-wire tattoo?

2005-03-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

It's Not Me!
First off I'd like to apologize for not updating my site the past few days, unfortunately blogger was having technical issues and I couldn't access Against the Grain.

So I stumbled across this article on-line the other day and since then have had a few people email it to me.

To clarify...
1) I have never portrayed an Easter Bunny in my life
2) I am not 18 years of age
3) I do not live in Bay City, Michigan
4) I haven't been beaten up by somebody half my age in at least two months

Thanks for letting me clear things up...Now back to sports.

2005-03-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

Chat with Jeffrey Sackmann (BrewCrewBall.com)

This is the transcript from a chat I did with the author of BrewBall.com, Jeffrey Sackmann. Just two guys talking some baseball, hope you enjoy it.

Brew Crew Ball: What single player do you think the Brewers 2005 season success rides on?
Against the Grain: I don't know if I would say there is one person. I think that the biggest thing for the team will be the back 3/5 of the rotation. The difference between the first half and the second half in 2004 was how guys like Santos and Capuano gave them quality starts at the back of the rotation. When Cappy got hurt and Santos wore down at the end of the year (obviously with the fact that the offense was brutal) the Brewers fell into a tailspin. Will Santos/Capuano/Obermueller/Glover/Hendrickson be able to hold together the back of the rotation? Those are the player(s) who I think the success of the 2005 season depends mostly upon.
BCB: They are certainly the guys who could turn the Brewers into an 85-win team instead of a 70 or 75-win team. I just hope that if one those guys really isn't doing the job, they only get a few chances to right themselves. Obermueller doesn't deserve another 10-12 start trial. Do you think any of the possible 3/4/5 starters will step up and give us a Doug Davis type surprise?
ATG: I think there is a lot of upside in the back end of the rotation. I agree that Obermueller probably doesn't deserve 10-12 starts to prove he can be a big league starter, but he has good stuff and is still relatively new to pitching, as he was a converted OFer in college. Chris Capuano was solid in the majority of his starts, he just ran into injury problems and then had a few rough outings before he was shut down for the season. Hendrickson looked bad in his big league trial in 2004 and I am somewhat down on him at the moment, but with how dominant his numbers were in AAA it still is possible that he could put together a solid big league campaign if he gets the opportunity.
BCB: I really like Capuano too. Obviously he'll have to cut down on the longballs, but if he stays healthy for the majority of the season, he could be a major contributor. It doesn't hurt that he can actually hit. When I ran my 2005 Diamond Mind simulation, I was struck at how much it hurt the team that Sheets and Davis are basically automatic outs. The difference between somebody hitting .025 and .175 may not be a huge difference in the totals at the end of the year, but it sure has a psychological impact. I wouldn't mind seeing Obermueller get a shot pinch-hitting some, Kieschnick-style, but I suppose one two-way player is enough for one team. What do you think about the way the bullpen has shaped up so far?
ATG: Well if there's anything Doug Melvin has done well as GM of the Brewers it has been to find guys basically off of the scrap heap and put together a solid bullpen. If they break camp with Adams, Bottalico, Capellan, Lehr, Kieschnick, de la Rosa, Wise, and then whoever else--be it Turnbow, Glover, Obermueller, Bennett, etc., I think it will be all right. Mike Adams performed so well in 2004, but will he be able to repeat it as a closer? I'm glad that they added a veteran with closer experience like Bottalico in case Adams doesn't work out. I think it's probably the weakest part of the team, but they do have a lot of options, which may help them get over their lack of experience.
BCB: That's really the test of a small-market team: can they put together a bullpen out of spare parts? When Bob Wickman signs a multi-million-dollar deal, you know the Brewers aren't going to be in the market for any big free-agent bullpen arms, but it seems like every year there's a Danny Kolb somewhere in MLB who breaks out. Sentimentally, I'd love to see Mike Adams be that guy this year, but I'm not sure it'll happen. My sleeper pick for important innings this year is Turnbow. His injury history is pretty scary, but under Maddux's tutelage, he could be positively electric. As could Capellan, for that matter, but I'd hate to see him turned into a reliever when he might make a bigger impact in the rotation in '06 and beyond.
ATG: I'm not so sure Capellan will work as a starting pitcher. I'm worried at his inability to throw any other pitch effectively for a strike. Still he is young and has displayed solid mechanics. With Mike Maddux as his pitching coach maybe Capellan could reach his full potential by developing a solid #2 and #3 pitch. It's nice that he has the potential to "fall back" to being a power arm in the bullpen and potential closer if being a starter doesn't pan out.
BCB: I'm not sure either, but I'm worried that the team will rush into a decision. The guy started last year in the Sally League, for crying out loud! All of the sudden, partly because of his breakout 2004, and because of his inclusion in the Kolb trade, he's become (rightly) the top pitching prospect in the organization, and there's an expectation he'll contribute this year. Maybe he will; maybe he's destined to be the Brewers closer from the all-star break this year until 2009. But most pitchers not named Felix Hernandez take a little more time to develop, and I trust the Brewers player development system enough to spend a bit more time with him. Capellan seems to me like the kind of guy who will, one of these days, learn to throw a nasty slider and could rack up 200 K's in a season. Or, I guess, join the pile of injured young arms in the Milwaukee system. That's always the risk when you're trading for pitching prospects.
ATG: It looks like they're leaning towards at least starting out with Capellan on in the bullpen this year. Maybe they're hoping to follow the Minnesota Twins/Johan Santana paradigm of developing a young arm.
BCB: That would be nice. Any comparison to Johan Santana is welcome. I did just read that he was reassigned to AAA to start the season, so we'll have to see what they try to do with him in Nashville.
ATG: What would you like to see be done with Dave Krynzel?
BCB: I haven't seen him play much, so I can really only go on stats. The projections I've seen for him in 2005 aren't all that flattering, and John Sickels told me that he sees Krynzel's ceiling as a 4th outfielder. I tend to agree. I think he'd be a very useful guy off the bench for the Brewers, especially if they go with Cirillo instead of Durrington. Krynzel could be a defensive replacement for Lee and an all-purpose pinch-runner. The Crew has their share of excruciatingly slow guys, so there's room for a speedster on the roster. I don't think they'll do it--Melvin has all but announced that Krynzel will be starting in AAA for the time being--but I'd like to see Krynzel get one or two starts a week to spell Brady or Jenkins and see how he fares.
ATG: I think sending Krynzel to AAA to start 2005 would be a good move. Let him play everyday for at least the first half of the season...Then you can see how Clark is doing in CF (I'm really not all too worried about him) and then if the Brewers have a need for a 4th outfielder let Krynzel fill that role. I have spent some time on Against the Grain talking about Krynzel's ceiling, and I tend to see him as a 4th outfielder. Krynzel has however been one of the youngest players at each level he has played at so far. He has shown an ability to hit for average, draw walks, and run the bases effectively--just inconsistently. There are no questions that his defense is MLB-ready, but will his plate discipline develop? That will be what makes him a Kenny Lofton type player or a Doug Glanville.
BCB: If Krynzel doesn't turn out to be any more than a 4th OF, what do you think the situation will be in CF in 2006 and '07? I don't see Brady Clark as the long-term solution, especially if 2004 turns out to be an anomaly and he returns to his career norms. The Brewers have a lot of possible corner outfielders, but unless Tony Gwynn Jr. really steps up his game, no major prospects for the future of center.
ATG: If Krynzel doesn't pan out then the Brewers are going to be in some trouble. If they have the offense everywhere else on the diamond they might be able to get away with a below-average offensive CF who can field his position. It's always tough to find a CF who can field and hit, but if Krynzel doesn't work out I suppose they could trade some prospects for somebody, draft and develop a player or maybe even sign a free-agent CF not named Jeffrey Hammonds. Also, Nelson Cruz, who was acquired in the Keith Ginter trade supposedly can play CF.
BCB: Supposedly, yes. I don't believe he's considered any more than functional in center, and he'll be playing RF in the Brewers system. It occurred to me as you said that that the Brewers may end up with a glut of 2B prospects. Obviously Weeks is the second baseman of the future, possibly starting as soon as the all-star break this year. That leaves Hernan Iribarren, Steve Sollmann, and Callix Crabbe without a clear path to Milwaukee. I don't know enough about any of those guys to say how well they'd take to learning CF, and I don't know that Sollmann and Crabbe have ceilings any higher than utility guys. But they certainly rank right up there with any of the centerfielders in the system right now.
ATG: Which Brewer do you think is least likely to enjoy as much success in 2005 as they did last season?
BCB: It feels to great to say this, but I don't see anybody taking a big dive. I can't see Santos performing up to his first half last year, nor do I think Overbay will improve much on last year's numbers. And it's reasonable to think that Brady Clark might regress a bit. The only real risk I see is an injury to someone like Damian Miller, Geoff Jenkins, or--fingers crossed here--Ben Sheets. Short of a breakout from Corey Hart, there's no real protection if one of the corner OFs goes down for any length of time, and if Miller gets hurt, well, I'm sure Pat Borders is a great guy and a wonderful clubhouse presence. What do you think?
ATG: I hope the Brewers don't need Pat Borders to do anything but be Crash Davis to some minor league pitchers...I agree that I don't see anybody falling off the face of the Earth, but I'm most nervous about Doug Davis. He was one of the top 20 pitchers in MLB according to Baseball Prospectus' Value Over Replacement Player. I don't think he'll have an ERA over 5.00 or anything, but I have a feeling he'll end up with an ERA around 4.15. Really though, there aren't many Brewers who had success in 2004, so this is a very limited category.
BCB: I suppose the one thing that may prove the saving grace of Milwaukee's pitchers not named Ben Sheets is the NL Central. Pittsburgh is hardly a run scoring machine; Cincinnati is a couple of likely injuries away from a mediocre offense; and Houston could have Jose Vizcaino, Willy Tavares, and Brad Ausmus in the same starting lineup. The Cubs and Cards will do their part to send some ERAs into the stratosphere, but with the unbalanced schedule, there'll be a heck of a lot of games against below-average offenses. Getting right to the heart of the matter, do you think this is Milwaukee's year to get out of the basement?
ATG: I think so. The interesting thing about the NL Central is the division between the "have's" (STL, CHC, HOU) and the "have-nots" (PIT, CIN, MIL). All three of the "have-nots" got better this off-season, while two of the top-tier teams got worse (CHC and HOU). I think St. Louis will win the division, and pretty much the other five teams in this division could finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th.
BCB: Yeah, it's odd to say this a year after everyone picked the Cards for third, but I can't really foresee a scenario in which St. Louis doesn't win the division. Probably by a lot. I find it hard to pick the Cubs below third, because even with one or two of their starting pitchers hurt, they still have one of the best rotations in baseball. But the Brewers could well sneak into third place. I'm going to go out on a limb here and pick Pittsburgh for last. They've earned it.
ATG: Who is somebody on the Brewers that you just love to watch play? I know the obvious guy is Ben Sheets, but is there anybody on the club that might not have the best numbers but you just like to watch play? My guy has been Brady Clark for a few years now. He was undrafted, doubted every way up the professional baseball latter and now has finally won a starting job. I know my love of guys who play hard sometimes opens me up to criticism from other more SABR-minded bloggers, but I like watching guys compete. I'm not saying give Clark a 5-year 50 million dollar deal, just I like to watch guys give it their all day in and day out.
BCB: Brady's a great story. As are a lot of guys on the Brewers. Spivey came from nothing; guys like Branyan and Davis bounced around the minors for what seems like forever...a team of cast-offs can make for great feature writing. But my favorite guy, beyond all question, is Brooks Kieschnick. Branyan has taken over the role of "Brewer most likely to smash your windshield by hitting home run 700 feet out of Miller Park," but Brooks can still mash, and he's turned into a very useful cog in the bullpen. I wish Yost would be even a bit more creative in utilizing him. When I managed my DMB simulation, I found myself relying on him as a 4th OF more than anyone else. He may be subpar in the field, but man, can that guy hit. And if the game goes extras, he can warm up quick and pitch the 14th, 15th, and 16th innings for you!
ATG: Well the Brewers are very staunch in their belief that Kiesch is a pitcher who happens to pinch hit. It would be nice if he was able to play a little LF or RF here and there, but with his injury last year I doubt that happening anytime soon.
BCB: Who's your pick as the sleeper, maybe along the lines of 2004 Mike Adams, who'll have the biggest impact this year?
ATG: I think Matt Wise could be that guy. I could see him getting a few starts as well as being a reliable arm in the pen.
BCB: I would love to see Matt Wise be that guy. I don't think it'll happen, but he could be a decent #5 starter. More realistic is that he could be useful in a role like Justin Duchscherer's in Oakland, and if he puts up numbers like Duke's, I'll be thrilled. I know somebody--maybe Turnbow, maybe Julio Santana--will essentially replace Vizcaino as the set-up man, but I'm pretty sure it won't be any of the current contenders, like Bottalico or Lehr. If that guy is solid, he's my pick for 2005 sleeper. One last thing. Win total for 2005?
ATG: I want to say 81. Believe me, I want to...I just can't. I'm going to go with 76-86. Your prediction, and then I have one last question for you...
BCB: I want to say 81, too. I'll be a shade more optimistic and say 78-84.
ATG: Give me your predictions for team Most Valuable Player, MVPNNBS (Most Valuable Pitcher not named Ben Sheets), and Russell Branyan's season totals given 500 at-bats.
BCB: Team MVP: Carlos Lee, but not by much. If Junior Spivey is healthy and still on the team in September, he might make a claim, too. MVPNNBS: I'll be boring and say Doug Davis. If he gives us 30 starts in the general vicinity of last year's numbers, he'll be one of the best #2 starters in baseball--again. Branyan: .250 avg, 35 HRs, roughly 95 RBIs. And count me in the camp that really, really wants him to get those 500 at-bats. And your predictions for those three?
ATG: Well, this probably isn't the best to spark interest in my opinions, but I have the same players selected. I think Carlos Lee will step in and put up something similar to a .295/.360/.535 line with 35+ bombs. He's my MVP. I know I said that I'm worried about Davis, but still I think he should log a lot of innings and keep an ERA around 4.15. Branyan with 500 at-bats: .230/.325/.495, 33 HR, 85 RBI. And 200 strikeouts
BCB: I'll take the under on 200 K's, but not by much. Thanks for doing this Bryan, I enjoyed it.
ATG: Absolutely, it was a good time. Good luck with your blog and everything, lets do this again in the future.

2005-03-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

Brewers on TV
After all of the excitement of the NCAA Tournament and eating free food for Easter, it was time for the main event: Brewers Spring Training baseball!

A few observations...
...Despite giving up a "hella" amount of runs (as they would say in Nor Cal), I thought that Mike Adams looked like he was throwing the ball a little harder than last year. I haven't read anywhere if his velocity has improved, but to me it was noticeable. Until tonight Adams had not allowed a run in the spring.

...Seeing Jeff Cirillo starting at third for the Brewers made me wonder if I was watching a game on ESPN Classic. Then I soon realized that the Brewers haven't had an ESPN Classic-worthy game since the Ronald Reagan administration.

...I'm really saddened that the Brewers designated Brooks Kieschnick for reassignment. The Journal reported that he's likely to accept a demotion to AAA Nashville if it comes to that. I'm sure some team somewhere would like to have Kiesch as the 12th pitcher/pinch hitter he was with the Brewers.

...Watching Dave Krynzel, Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder hit in a row was awesome. Krynzel has a beautiful swing and lines a base hit to the opposite field, Weeks beats out an infield single (although he was called out) and Fielder draws a walk, speaking of which...

...Why the hell was R.A. Dickey throwing Prince Fielder change-ups 2-1 and 3-1? I know Prince has a well-deserved reputation as one of the top hitting prospects in baseball, but as a pitcher who has been to the Show, how are you not challenging a guy who has never had a MLB at-bat? How is that for respect though. Wow.

...Did anybody see Corey Hart in the outfield? What a circus. He dropped a fly ball but luckily was able to throw out a runner at second base, then he over-ran a fly ball down the right field line that was scored a base hit but should have been an error. I know he's relatively new to playing the outfield, but come on. He looked like some 45 year-old bar league softball guy. Rickie Weeks also misplayed a pop up. It was like watching a bad little league team play. Absolutely embarrassing.

...All and all it was nice to see some of the young guys play, even if it wasn't all pretty. Those are my comments on the game tonight, so now on to some other stuff.

So I'm watching Major League on ESPN Classic right now. What a great movie. Major League II: What an average movie, Major League III: What an abortion. I love how on the Reel Classics on ESPN Classic Bert Reynolds has those little transition pieces where he discusses certain aspects of the movie. He's always doing something "cool" like shooting pool or standing behind a bar with a towel on his shoulder. I don't know why, but I think it would be better if Reynolds was doing daily housework like washing the dishes or cleaning out the gutters. I'm not sure why I'm laughing at the visual of Bert Reynolds doing housework.

I like the fact that Major League is pretty accurate as far as the baseball goes. I remember when I worked on the set of Mr. 3000 being amazed at how inaccurate the statistics were. "Pennebaker", the number three hitter, at one point in the season had 40 some homeruns and only 60 runs scored. Another time the scoreboard said that Pennebaker as the number three hitter was leading off the bottom of the second, and it was 0-0. It is impossible for this to happen without scoring a run. What's more amazing about this stuff is that the movie people actually hire a "baseball guy" to come up with the statistics and everything. I mean, this dude gets paid to come up with statistics and the numbers make no sense. I don't know if those two scenarios I just discussed were actually shown in the movie (since I've never seen it), but I just thought I'd talk about it because it was on my mind and I have nothing of importance to discuss right now.

I did a chat with Jeffrey Sackmann of BrewCrewBall.com. I should have that up here tomorrow, but if you're dying to know what we talked about you can read it on his site.

2005-03-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hendrickson Part Deux
Yesterday I wrote about Ben Hendrickson, and it elicited a lot of responses from all of you. I thought I would hit that topic again today, because there are a few other things I want to get to.

The title "why does he suck" was an exaggeration, but I do think there is some cause for concern. Yes, 46 innings last year, yes Spring Training isn't all that important. I realize these things, but I just can't help the fact that I am worried about him being a starting pitcher. Maybe it's twelve losing seasons in a row, maybe it's the fact that the Brewers seem to have an endless line of tall righties that never develop, I don't know.

Somebody posted that they should let Hendrickson work in relief to cut his teeth in the big leagues. That might not be a bad idea, especially this year with the Brewers having a lot of questions in the bullpen.

Personally I have lowered my ceiling for Hendrickson. When he was in the minors many people were saying he was a "front-line starter". When he first got called up that changed to "middle of the rotation guy". Now I'm hoping for him to be a decent fourth or fifth starter. He has the potential to exceed my expectations, and he still is very young. Ned Yost said something a few days ago about Hendrickson--something to the tune of "well he has to start showing some results". I think he's absolutely right.

2005-03-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

Ben Hendrickson: Why Does He Suck?
Milwaukee Brewers' righty Ben Hendrickson absolutely dominated AAA last season. He finally got his shot in the big leagues last season and pitched very poorly. He showed a few flashes of adequacy in September, but all and all Hendrickson couldn't get it done in the big leagues.

The Brewers organization wanted to give Hendrickson a spot in the big league rotation. He has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues. Given this opportunity and an open competition for the rotation, what did Hendrickson do? Well, he has an ERA of 12.00 in Spring Training and is going to get beaten out by Chris Capuano and either Wes Obermueller or Gary Glover.

So what has gone wrong? Hendrickson doesn't throw hard. He is consistently about 85-88 with his fastball. What that means is he has to hit spots to get big league hitters out. He hasn't done that. Major League hitters aren't going to miss a 88 mph belt high fastball like a minor league hitter might. Not only is Hendrickson missing his spots, he's often missing the strike zone completely. That causes a lot of 2-0, 3-1 counts. When Hendrickson is behind in the count he's not going to get anybody to chase his plus curveball.

When Hendrickson was called up last year I remember talking to my dad about him. He said something like "he is their top pitching prospect?". I remember saying "but he's young", "he dominated AAA", "he's only 23" and after seeing him pitch once or twice he said "he'll never stick in the rotation". As crazy as that sounded a few months ago, it really is starting to look like it could be true. Hendrickson is still too young to give up on completely, but I would guess that most people have readjusted their expectations for him.

I'll pose the question to all of you: Why does Hendrickson suck?

2005-03-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

Bonds
Barry Bonds decided that he was going to be the victim in an interview on Tuesday. He spoke in a soft tone and appeared despondent, often saying that he was "tired" both physically and mentally.

I'm so tired of Bonds blaming the media for everything. The media didn't tell a mistress that he took steroids (allegedly). The media didn't injure his knee. The media didn't create the BALCO mess. These things are on Barry Bonds, and for him to sit in front of a camera and pretend that this is all everybody else's fault is ridiculous.

Bonds said that he might not be back until mid-season or even 2006. Some feel that Bonds might retire after this. Bonds seemed guaranteed to break Hank Aaron's 755 mark, but now for the first time in quite some time there is doubt. I don't wish harm upon Bonds, but I think it's the best thing for baseball if Aaron's record stays. Maybe subconsciously (or consciously) Bonds feels the same way.

2005-03-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

Don't Worry, I Didn't Forget About You
Good Monday to you all, wherever you may be. I am sorry for my inconsistent blogging as of late. I have been on the road for baseball, school has been getting somewhat hectic and I also have been working a lot at Miller Park in preparation for the 2005 season.

I'm happy to say after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament that I have all of the teams in the Sweet 16. I don't know what everybody else is talking about, I picked UWM, NC State, Texas Tech, West Virginia, and Utah to go to the Sweet 16...Ha ha yeah right.

Does any team have an easier road to the elite 8 than the Badgers? Northern Iowa (11), Bucknell (14) , now they face NC State (10).

The Brewers are reportedly close to signing Ben Sheets to a multi-year deal. It should be announced within the week. The Brewers made a few roster moves on Friday, lefty Rigo Beltran was released, infielder and Wisconsin-native Matt Erickson along with catcher Julio Mosquera were returned to minor league camp. Pitcher Sam Narron and outfielder and top 10 prospect Nelson Cruz were optioned to Triple-A Nashville and lefty Andy Pratt was outrighted to Nashville.

Things should be pretty exciting at Miller Park this year. The Brewers have bought a brand-new digital replay system, which means they will be able to show more replays and be more creative with how they show them. Also, as I write this the team is installing a new marquee along the freeway. It will be in color and play video as well. The new ownership has all ready made some big investments in the franchise, now let's hope the product on the field will be as good as everything else that surrounds it.

2005-03-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

MLB Hearings, NCAA Tourney Day 1
The Congressional hearings regarding steroids in Major League Baseball are currently underway. Having star players and future Hall of Famers testifying about whether or not they are junkies and cheaters is about as bad as it can get for Major League Baseball. Spring training is going on and the steroid controversy has not slowed down at all. The one thing Major League Baseball has going for it is that the NCAA Tournament is starting and it's St. Patrick's Day, so hopefully for MLB's sake, people will be too distracted and too drunk to notice Major League Baseball's latest scandal.

As I'm typing this a commercial for the fast-food restaurant Sonic just came on. These commercials are on all the time, but has anybody ever seen a Sonic? I've seen them twice. Once in Florida and once in Texas. I'm pretty sure there aren't any in Wisconsin, so why are there commercials for it? Does this bother anybody else?

Also I'd like to send my sympathies to everybody who came down with the flu, or who had their grandfather pass away, or who's car wouldn't start today. Enjoy the tournament. I think every year from when I was in 7th grade until I graduated from high school I skipped class the first two days of the tournament. It was funny because I had to lay the ground work early in the week for my illness. I'd start telling my teachers I didn't feel good on Tuesday or Wednesday. When I was younger I had to pretend at home to--once I got older and my parents realized I was going to stay home and watch the tournament no matter what. At least that way I could enjoy the games at home without fake coughing every few minutes.

2005-03-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

The Three Kinds of People That Fill-Out a Bracket
NCAA Tournament madness is upon us. I thought I'd breakdown the different kinds of people who fill out a bracket. Which category do you fall into?

UPSET GUY
Upset Guy is the one who out-thinks himself. He invariable ends up with Utah State, Vermont, Louisiana-Lafayette and Minnesota all in the Final Four. When his entire Final Four is eliminated after the first weekend he feels compelled to blast people who "took the easy way out" by selecting top seeds to advance past the first weekend. Upset Guy doesn't mind having his bracket be a mess almost every year, because the one year he hits it right he'll never let you forget about it. I'm sure some of you know an Upset Guy who had Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida in the Final Four back in 2000 and hasn't shut up about it since.

OBSESSED GUY
This amateur bracketologist shares a few of the same characteristics with Upset Guy. Like Upset Guy, Obsessed Guy thinks way too hard about who is going to win and inevitably talks himself into having a crazy final four, just like Upset Guy. Instead of his Final Four being laden with ten or higher seeds, he has a lot of #3 or #4 seeds because he analyzes the RPI and remembers every upset during the regular season. This is the guy who fills out four brackets in every pool he's in, because he can foresee so many different possibilities and he doesn't want to be left with out a bracket to pay attention to as the tournament progresses.

IGNORANT GUY/SECRETARY
This is the person who knows NOTHING about college basketball, but usually is the type of person who wins. Since the same teams always go far in the tournament, this is the person who takes the obvious powers (North Carolina, Duke, UCONN, Michigan St, Arizona, etc.) to go far in the tournament. This role is also filled by the secretary in the office who picks teams based on who has the best looking uniform. Fresh off of her sweep of the NFL pool, the secretary has won the NCAA office pool five of the last seven years.

...Some of you may be thinking "Bryan, which one of these people are you?". Well, I'd say I fall somewhere in between Upset Guy and Obsessed Guy. I haven't shut up about the 2003 NCAA Tournament when I had Marquette and Syracuse in the Final Four, but still I always play about three brackets in a pool.

2005-03-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Vacation
I am going to be out of town so this site won't be updated until Monday March 14th. If you really want to read my stuff I suggest going back through the archives and memorizing my takes from the past 10 months or so. Also, I've added a few new links so I reccommend checking out the new ones as well as the other links that are on my site.

2005-03-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

Steroid Take
I know that some people feel that steroids should be legalized in baseball for a variety of reasons (mainly that it's going to be difficult to stop them from infiltrating the game and perhaps we can learn more about the drug from more research on it). David Pinto of Baseball Musings, the Bill Walsh of blogs, is one of the people who feel this way.

I really couldn't disagree with this notion anymore. The problem with players taking steroids is that others are then pressured into taking the drug in order to keep up. Eventually this will all filter down to college and high school. Do we really want .220 hitters in high school juicing because they think it's there way to the Big Leagues?

There is an idea that if steroids are done in moderation it can be helpful--and maybe that can happen. But what happens when everybody is on a "moderate" amount of steroids? Then players are going to feel the pressure to be even bigger and stronger, so they'll up their dosage...Then you have a bunch of 'roid monster freaks with giant heads running around and engaging in a race to see who can be baseball's Lyle Alzado.

Do we really want Major League Baseball (or any other professional sport) to become a test of who has the best doctors and who has the best designer steroid? When I played junior college baseball in Southern California there were guys we knew took steroids and many players that were suspected of it. It has trickled down to the high schools in America as well. Like I said, do we want kids who have no shot at playing professional baseball taking a potentially harmful substance because they think it'll turn their .220 batting average into a 40 HR swing in the Show? Do high school kids need to take anything that'll make their voices crack more or give them even more acne?

I think we can all agree that the testing in MLB isn't strong enough. Two things could be done to dramatically change the effectiveness of the testing: 1) Test for masking agents. If a player has a masking agent in his system, treat it just as a steroid (similar to the NCAA) and 2) allow blood sample testing for things like Human Growth Hormones.

Out.

2005-02-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Dave Krynzel
Will Dave Krynzel be any good?

There is no question about his defensive ability...He's all ready there as far as Major League center fielder's go defensively...But what about his ability to hit?

Personally I am worried about him. He strikes out a ton, hasn't really drawn any big walk totals, has no power and isn't all that great of a base stealer (at least percentage wise he is not).

His career minor league totals...

1879 At Bats
526 Hits
28 Homeruns
489 Strike outs
203 Walks
149 Stolen Bases
77 Caught Stealing

.280 Average
.350 OBP (Approximately)
65.9 SB%

(I added up all these statistics myself and since the numbers I used weren't complete with HBP and all sacrifices, the OBP is approximate)

With such high strike out totals and low walk totals, I am very concerned that Krynzel will not pan out in the big leagues. I understand that he is only 23 years old, but even if he's a Gold Glove caliber CF, what good is it if he's hitting .250 with an OPS of 740?

I'm very skeptical of Krynzel becoming a quality everyday starting CF, and believe me, I hope that I am wrong. But due to his lack of power, average SB ability and poor K/BB ratio in the minors, I have a feeling that Krynzel is destined to a career as a forth or fifth outfielder in the big leagues. What does everybody else think about Krynzel? Will he be a good leadoff hitter for the Brewers, or just another backup quality OF? LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!

2005-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

Brewers and Bucks notes, etc...
With spring training underway, it'll take a lot for me to write about the NBA now...But how Bucks' GM Larry Harris got rid of Keith Van Horn's contract I'll never know, but he pulled a number on Dallas. The Bucks got Alan Henderson (who is a free agent after this season) and Calvin Booth.

The Bucks also traded Mike James, who had been playing well as of late, for Reece Gaines and two future second round draft picks.

What does it mean? The Bucks have cleared out a lot of cap space. They only have 8 players signed going into the off season. They have a lot of flexibility.

The Journal Sentinel has a look at the Brewers situation at shortstop. I'll just say that if JJ Hardy doesn't win the winning job, you know that he has really disappointed the Brewers' brass. I like Bill Hall off the bench, but he has yet to show that he is worthy of everyday Major League duty.

Deion Sanders is endorsing a new hot dog maker. I'm glad this invention was made, because making a hot dog is so difficult as it is. Finally Prime Time has showed us the way. And the thing is $50!

Eric Gagne hurt his knee playing pepper and is expected to miss six weeks. Now I guess we know why all the professional parks have "no pepper" signs everywhere. The Dodgers are saying that Gagne should miss about six weeks. These are the same people that told us Brad Penny was going to miss one start, so if you do the math that means Gagne's "six weeks" should equate to about missing four years.

Everybody have a great weekend. Send in your thoughts to Against the Grain at FatBryan10@yahoo.com or post them on the comments section of the website. Thanks for checking it in. Out.

2005-02-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

Barry Bonds Press Conference
Good Thursday to all of you and thanks for checking Against the Grain. Since I didn't give you my thoughts on Barry Bonds' "State of the Union" address from Tuesday afternoon, I'll do that now.

If there was any doubt in anybody's mind about whether or not Bonds took steroids or some other performance enhancing drug, I think that simply his demeanor during the press conference showed you that this guy has something to hide.

Bonds kept saying "I want to move forward, baseball should move forward". Well of course Bonds wants things to move forward, he cheated and doesn't want anybody to talk about it anymore.

Bonds also accused the media of being a "rerun" and compared talking to the media to watching an episode of Sanford and Son, because "there's nothing new". Now I didn't watch Sanford and Son very often, so maybe I missed it...But I don't remember the "steroid" episode of Sanford and Son. I don't remember Officer Smitty accusing Lamont of taking Human Growth Hormones.

Bonds also went on a few rants about alcoholics and those who die of lung cancer. There were a few times when he got off on tangents that made ABSOLUTELY no sense. Is dementia a side-affect of steroid abuse? Oh okay Barry, since people are dying because of abusing alcohol and nicotine, then I guess it is okay for you and others to take steroids and cheat in baseball...Thanks for clarifying that.

Bonds also said that taking steroids can't help you hit a baseball, claiming that it can't give you hand-eye coordination. Well yeah, you can't take some 'roid monster out of Gold's Gym and give him a bat and expect him to hit forty homeruns a year in the Big Leagues...But, if you take somebody that has the hand-eye coordination, say Jason Giambi, and put on about thirty-five pounds of muscle, then all those hard hit doubles in the gap start flying out of the yard. It isn't by coincidence that all the power hitters today look like middle linebackers, and all the ones of twenty or more years ago look like basketball players. Barry, tell us again how being bigger and stronger won't help you hit a baseball. Tell us how swinging with more bat speed and quicker reactions won't help you hit a baseball...

I love how Bonds kept accusing the media of being in the wrong. "Come talk to me when all of your closets are clean". Well Barry, nobody cares about people in the media. None of them are about to pass up Babe Ruth in the all-time homerun race. Not one member in the media holds the single-season record for homeruns in Major League Baseball. Not one of them is less than 60 homeruns away from setting the all-time homerun record.

Bonds also played the race card, claiming that the reason for this scrutiny is because he is black. Okayyyyyyyy Barry. No your color has nothing to do with it. The media is coming down on you is because you took steroids and set the single-season homerun record. The media is coming down on you because you lied to all of us. The media is coming down on you because you're a jerk. Nobody cares what color you are. If Jason Giambi was approaching the same hallowed records that you are he'd be getting just as much heat. Bonds grew up with a priviledged life too, so how can he honestly compare his situation to the plight of others in his race who grow up under much harsher conditions? Barry you're not a victim, so stop spinning it that way.

What does everybody else think? Did Bonds' act during the press conference make you respect him more or less? Did it make him appear more or less guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs?

2005-02-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Tuesday Notes
A good Tuesday to you, I hope that you had a great President's Day. I'm not sure how that holiday is supposed to be celebrated, but whatever you did I hope it was in honor of past American Presidents. Now let's get to today's news.

Barry Bonds Will Report to Spring Training
Barry Bonds, who is recovering from surgery on both knees, will arrive at Giants' camp today. Typically Bonds speaks much more with reporters during Spring Training than he does during the regular season. Bonds is going to be bombarded with steroid questions, and frankly I can't wait to see him snap. How long will Bonds go before he starts getting an attitude with all of the reporters? Well, I'm sure he'll show up with an attitude, but how long before it gets bad even for Balco Bonds? I'm betting that you can just throw out the idea that he's going to have a Jason Giambi-esque press conference where he apologizes fourteen-thousand times.

Jason Giambi At Yankees Camp
Speaking of Giambi, he arrived at Yankees camp yesterday and was greeted by tons of cheers from the fans as he walked onto the field. This proves Jerry Seinfeld's claim that "all we are really doing is cheering for clothes" to be true. I remember this happened when Sammy Sosa was caught corking his bat...Cubs fans cheered louder when Sosa came up to the plate after the corked bat incident than they cheered when he used to hit a shallow fly balls to center.

Oregon State Players Try to Pay Cabbie With Weed
Switching gears for a moment, Oregon State football players Jimtavis Walker and Star Paddock didn't have enough money to pay a cab driver, so they tried to pay the cabbie with marijuana. The two football players were charged with assault, robbery, theft of services, harassment and attempted delivery of a controlled substance.

Paying a cab driver with weed? What, no good? Weed isn't a form of currency? Well, it might be on some college campuses, so I can see how Walker and Paddock were confused, but they have to realize that the entire world doesn't function like a college environment.

This is a funny story. It reminds me of hearing stories about pizza delivery people being tipped with hits from a bong. Unfortunately, I'm guessing a cab driver is a little older and probably isn't down with getting paid in weed. He'd probably rather just have his $14. Plus, since he's a cab driver, he probably all ready has weed on him. Either that or meth.

Brewers Notes: Doug Davis
While Ben Sheets is getting all the headlines--and deservedly so--the Brewers are hoping that Doug Davis starts to get some run nationally. Davis had as many quality starts as Sheets had in 2004 (24). I'm not going to try to tell anybody that Doug Davis is better than Ben Sheets, but I think it is fair to say that the gap isn't as far as previously believed.

The fact that Davis and Sheets both can have success as pitchers in the Major Leagues proves just how many ways that a guy can get people out. Sheets is a power-pitcher. He has a 93+ mph fastball and a devastating power curveball. Davis throws mid-to-high 80s and features a cutter as his money pitch. Both guys are built differently, one is lefty and the other righty. Just completely different make up but both are successful.

Ned Yost explains in the Journal that he felt some reservations about Davis at first because his stuff isn't overpowering and because he had been a castoff from a few different organizations.

"You hear that all the time in our game: Somebody gave up on this guy, so there must be something wrong," [Brewers GM Doug] Melvin said. "I hate to hear that, because guys do change. Guys do get better."

First of all, it is human nature to think "well if this guy is so good, why does everybody keep getting rid of him". It's good to know that Doug Melvin sees though that and understands players can change. This is a cause for another "scouting vs. SABR" debate, because now and then a team will sign a player or trade for a player that has poor statistics. Sometimes a player's swing has been worked out or a pitchers' mechanics...Utilizing scouting in these areas can help you find a player on the verge of a breakout season, but when it fails leaves you open to a lot of second guessing.

Thanks for checking in to Against the Grain today. Have a good day, and we'll see you back here tomorrow. Out.

2005-02-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

Programming Note
In case you didn't notice (and if you didn't you probably need some sort of help) I've been audio blogging lately. I received emails and there have been a few posts on the comments section telling me that posting it in audio doesn't work for some of you--either because you're at work or whatever. Thank you for letting me know that, I definitely don't want to alienate any of you. What I'm planning on doing from now on is posting in both audio and text formats. Some days it might just be audio or just text, but I'll try to provide both. The fact that some of you look to Against the Grain for a break while you're at work or while you're anywhere looking for a distraction. Thanks, it means a lot.

2005-02-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

Brewers Spring Training Notes, Hunter S. Thompson, Canseco Selling WS Ring

2005-02-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

Brewers Pitchers and Catchers, Yanks/Red Sox, Bonds and 'Roids, Much More

2005-02-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

More on Mike Greenwell and MLB Records

2005-02-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

Huge French Fry that People Care About for Some Reason

2005-02-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Mike Greenwell Wants Canseco's '88 MVP Award
Where's my MVP?" former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell told the Fort Myers, Florida, News-Press. "(Canseco's) an admitted steroid user. I was clean."

Canseco was a cheater, and I understand where Greenwell is coming from, but what difference would it make now?

How proud would Greenwell be now to get that award retroactively? If somehow Canseco was stripped of his MVP award, would Greenwell really feel that great about winning the MVP now?

Does anybody else feel like this whole steroid mess is just one bad dream? Maybe one day we'll wake up and Mark McGwire didn't weigh 270 lbs when he hit 70 homeruns and Barry Bonds' head wasn't two sizes larger at the age of 35 as it was at the age of 32.

2005-02-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

NHL Season Cancelled
Umm...Okay, whatever.

The NHL was rising in popularity throughout most of the 1990s, but now the sport just committed suicide. Hockey does not have the passion following in America like baseball, basketball or football. America isn't a hockey-driven country. The southern markets like Florida, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Nashville and others are going to have a very difficult time recovering from this.

How do you lose an entire season? They couldn't strike a deal with a gun essentially to their head, how will the NHL fix everything in the summer?

I like watching playoff hockey a lot, but it's not like my quality of life is going to be dramatically reduced without the NHL. I think a lot of people are like me. Playoff hockey is good, but without it I'm sure we'll all be fine.

2005-02-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sheffield Blows Up Jason Giambi
As McCarthyism spreads throughout Major League Baseball, New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield slammed Jason Giambi in the media.

"People are going to put a spin on whatever they're going to put a spin on. ... I'm not like Jason Giambi. ...I'm not going to sit here and cry about things being unfair or attacks are unfair."

Unfortunately, Sheffield's lack of grammar skills may have shed light into his subconscious.

"I never admitted to nothing, I get tired of people twisting my words."

So Sheff said he "never admitted to nothing". Okay, I believe you Gary, you never admitted to no nothing, so is it safe to assume that you're telling us you did take steroids? How can people be accused of twisting Sheffield's words? What he says doesn't make any freaking sense. What the hell am I supposed to think when I read "I never admitted to nothing"? I don't know if he's telling me that he admitted to using steroids or not.

Later Sheffield added...
"I said I didn't know I took steroids, the bottom line was I thought it was rubbing cream on my legs.
"When people sit here and say I didn't know I took steroids -- I didn't take steroids ... and if somebody says that's steroids, that's a bunch of hogwash."

Wait a minute, Sheffield has me confused again. He said he was rubbing cream on his legs, which was a steroid cream. Whether he was doing it wittingly or not is irrelevant, but can somebody explain to me how his intention in doing so changes the chemical composition of the cream? Whether or not he knew what he was doing doesn't change the fact that he was 'roiding up.

2005-02-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Cubs Fans to Eat Bartman Ball
This is smart. Blowing up the Steve Bartman baseball obviously didn't help the Cubs last year, so the next best solution is to mix up the remnants of the infamous baseball in spaghetti sauce and eat it.

Yeah, I don't know what could be more thrilling than digesting a dirty disgusting baseball. Who would possibly eat this? If you eat the Steve Bartman baseball spaghetti sauce, you're a freak. No questions asked.

How the hell did anybody even think this idea up?

"Wow, we blew up the baseball last year and STILL didn't win the World Series. What now?"

"Do you think trading Sammy Sosa for Jerry Hariston Jr. is enough to end the curse?"

"I don't know. We need to do something more. I'm just not sure what..."

"How about we write a letter to Cubs GM Jim Hendry and tell him that Jeromy Burnitz and a platoon of Todd Hollandsworth with Hairston Jr. Isn't enough to replace the offense of Moises Alou and Sammy Sosa?"

"No. I have a better idea. Let's grind up the remnants of the Steve Bartman baseball, soak it in Budweiser and then mix it in spaghetti".

...Now, I'm not an expert on curses, nor do I pretend to be. But I'm pretty sure that "serving parts of a baseball to customers and having them eat it" isn't in any witchcraft book. Cubs' fans are hilarious. I can't wait to watch them cry into their Old Style as they watch the Cubs miss the playoffs again.

2005-02-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

NFL Pro Bowl or Chris Penn Movie Marathon?
Last night I was posed with a very difficult question: do I watch the NFL Pro Bowl or do I watch Footloose on AMC and then All The Right Moves on ESPN Classic?

I think the choice was obvious.

Footloose might be the greatest movie of all time. I mean, think about it...A movie that is about a rural town that bans dancing, and things only change when a rebel from the big city changes the minds of the locals. How amazing of a plot is that? AND it stars Kevin Bacon, Chris Penn and Jonathan Lithgow? Yes, I am aware the Sarah Jessica Parker was in this movie, and no in Footloose she doesn't look like Twisted Sister's Dee Snider. Also, I don't know why her character's name is "Rusty", and I'd appreciate it if everybody saved me the emails or posts on the site explaining why.

All The Right Moves is a high school football movie from the 1980's starring Tom Cruise as a stud defensive back in a small Pennsylvanian mining town. Craig T. Nelson plays the evil "win at all costs" coach, which has been a staple in EVERY football movie since (with the exception of Remember the Titans). Why hasn't Craig T. Nelson had an offer as an NFL coach yet? He plays a coach so well in All The Right Moves as well as in the TV Show Coach. I mean, isn't he more than qualified? Are you telling me after being in those two roles he couldn't manage the clock better than Andy Reid in Super Bowl XXIX or Herm Edwards in any regular season game? I just can't believe that Craig T. Nelson would compile a worse record in the NFL than Dennis Erickson. Somebody needs to hire this man. The way the Green Bay Packers' season went this year, I'd be willing to bet an awful lot of Packers fans would be down with hiring Craig T. Nelson to replace the "pair shaped loser" Mike Sherman.

Really though, why isn't Chris Penn in any movies anymore? He steals the show as Willard in Footloose, and he delivers a stunning performance in All The Right Moves. Maybe instead of Ben Stiller starring in every comedy dating back to 1999, we should throw some of those roles to Chris Penn. Just a thought.

As for the Pro Bowl, now that hockey doesn't exist, it has become the least watchable All-Star Game out there. 50% of the players that are selected to play in it don't even want to suit up. Although I did see that Peyton Manning won the Pro Bowl MVP. Well, at least that answers the questions about whether or not he can deliver in the big game...Oh wait, no it doesn't.

2005-02-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

Mary Kay Letourneau to Wed Former Student that Knocked Her Up
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I thought I would share a true love story. This is as close to a fairy tale as their is in real life. This is the story of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau. It has been reported that these two will finally get married--Letourneau is now 43 and Fualaau is 22. But remember kids, age is just a number.

The true test of love is not how people react to things going good, but how people react to things going wrong. That is when the true character of a person comes out, and when the true strength of a relationship is demonstrated.

Letourneau went to jail for 7 1/2 years back in 1997 for raping the then 12-year-old Fualaau when she was 34. Their love is so strong that they were able to pick up right where they left off once she was released from the slammer.

At the time they met, Letourneau was married and had four children. But love knows no bounds. I think that is an important message that we all should be aware of today.

Letourneau and Fualaau have two girls, one six and one seven, and I could go on about how messed up those kids are going to be, but I won't because it is Valentine's Day and we should all focus on the great love story that this is.

2005-02-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

NBA Notes
Future NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone decided to retire after 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and 1 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Malone will end his career without the NBA Championship he had been hoping for. He will also retire as the league's second leading scorer of all-time. During the press conference yesterday he wore a cowboy hat and t-shirt--no word on whether or not anybody asked him "whatchya huntin' cowboy" during the press conference. Memo to "little Mexican girls"...With all this free time Karl Malone now has be careful, because the Mailman is looking for you.

While I'm on the subject of Karl Malone, how badly have things gone for one of his former teams, the Los Angeles Lakers. They're hovering around .500, in danger of not making the playoffs, their coach resigned, and Kobe Bryant hasn't played like the MVP he did while Shaq O'Neal was there taking the pressure off of him the past few years.

The T'Wolves axed Flip Saunders. They replaced him with Kevin McHale, who has no head coaching experience. I loved Sam Cassell when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks, but I think he and Latrell Spreewell are just bringing the T'Wolves down. You think that Cassell and Spreewell, who have been pouting all year because they didn't get the extentions they wanted, are now going to listen to the guy with no head-coaching who wouldn't give them the extentions they wanted?

2005-02-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

Brewers Preview on Brewers.com
There is a rather indepth preview of the 2005 Milwaukee Brewers on Brewers.com. Adam McCalvy poses a few questions that will surround the club during spring training and throughout the regular season (article here).

The biggest thing offensively will be if Brady Clark can come close to repeating his success at the plate. Just as a personal observation, it seemed like a lot of Clark's hits were jam shots that fell in over the infield or perfectly placed groundballs through the infield. Some of that is the result of being a contact hitter, as the study done by Vorous McCracken have taught us, a ball put in play has a rather large amount of randomness involved when determining whether it is a hit or not. The bottom line is that the Brewers offense cannot handle another .314 OBP on the top of the lineup.

Personally, I'm a little nervous about Victor Santos being in the starting rotation. He was 3-9 with a 5.97 ERA in the second half of 2004 after an incredible first half. He hasn't really had much success in the Big Leagues, sporting a career ERA of 5.20.

Heading into 2005 the Brewers do have a few options with the starting rotation. Ben Sheets and Doug Davis are a legitimate 1-2 punch at the front of the rotation. To fill out the final spots of the rotation the Crew will have their choice of Santos, Chris Capuano, Ben Hendrickson, Jose Capellan, Jorge de la Rosa and Wes Obermueller, who threw the ball really well in September. Obermueller is an interesting pitcher. He has great stuff, mixing in a high 80s sinker and devastating change up with an adequate curveball. He just needs to throw strikes and he needs to stay mentally tough. I'm sure most Brewers fans out there remember him cruising for five innings, walking the leadoff batter after going 0-2 and then completely melting down.

Now with the NFL season over, baseball is on the horizon. Pitchers and catchers are reporting in about a week, and before long we'll have highlights on Sportscenter from the Devil Rays split squad versus the University of Florida.

2005-02-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Ryan Leaf Enrolls in a Media Relations Class
Former NFL bust and media darling (high level of sarcasm used there) Ryan Leaf has enrolled in a media relations class at Washington State University.

According to Rod Commons, the Sports Information Director at Washington State University, Leaf will learn that "There are things you do and don't do [in an interview]," Commons said.

"You want to develop a reputation of being dependable and setting aside time for the media. We want to teach people how to make themselves look good, and how to get maximum positive exposure."

Why does Ryan Leaf need this class? What other professional athlete in the past few years has demonstrated that he will set "aside time for the media". Who else was a master of how to "get maximum positive exposure" other than Ryan Leaf?

"Knock it off all right! Leave me the **** alone!" - Ryan Leaf to a reporter in San Diego

2005-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

WDJT-TV (CBS-58) Will Air 5-Part Brewers Series
MLB Productions has been following around members of the Milwaukee Brewers organization for the past few months, and are currently putting together a five-part series of behind the scenes action that will be aired on WDJT-TV (CBS 58) in Milwaukee and re-aired on Fox Sports Net North. Carlos Lee, Damian Miller, new owner Mark Attanasio as well as Ben Sheets, Geoff Jenkins and Lyle Overbay will be profiled.(Brewers.com article here).

I think this is a great idea. Frankly, the Brewers need to generate as much interest as possible, and this will be a way to let fans feel like they are a part of the organization by seeing what happens behind the scenes. More than any other sport, Major League Baseball is the most secretive about what happens behind the scenes, so in that respect it'll be interesting to see what is shown and what is not shown.

With reality TV sweeping the nation, maybe this will be the start of a new trend in MLB. Here are five MLB related reality TV shows I'd like to see...

Temptation Hotel Room
Cameras follow Mets pitcher Kris Benson around on road trips as his teammates keep buying him drinks and sending women up to his room every night hoping that Benson slips up so they all get a chance with Kris' wife Anna Benson. Don't be surprised if there isn't a cameo or two from Pedro Martinez' lil' friend Nelson de la Rosa.

Celebrity Fit Club: Baseball Edition
Join Major League stars Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and any other of MLB's "incredible shrinking men" as they continue to shed pounds from their pre-2004 body mass. Tensions heat up on the show when the residual 'roid rage still hasn't left Barry Bonds as he confronts Sosa and Giambi about who stole his arthritic balm.

Real Life: I'm a Baseball Player on Community Service
MTV follows Tigers outfielder Craig Monroe as he serves his community service sentence for shoplifting a $30 belt and also follows Denny Neagle around after he was caught trying to get a $40 hummer from a prostitute in Colorado.

The Apprentice: Steinbrenner Edition
Could you imagine a reality TV show that follows George Steinbrenner around? Wouldn't you love to hear what he yells at Brian Cashman this year whenever the Yankees struggle? I say throw a bunch of college kids trying to get ahead in the corporate world into the Yankees' offices and have them deal with the mercurial Steinbrenner. We could also get to know the softer side of big Stein, maybe by following him around to Sak's Fifth Avenue as he purchases his many turtlenecks. Seriously, I bet dude has a warchest of turtlenecks in Yankee Stadium. How has this show not been made yet?

The Real World
I'm not sure where the house would be located, but who wouldn't want to see Carl Everett, John Rocker, Jeff Kent, John Kruk, Doug Glanville, Barry Bonds, and Albert Belle thrown together in a house? Imagine all the friction between Everett (crazy), Rocker (racist/crazy), Kent (jackass/liar), Kruk (big fat party animal), Glanville (jackass), Bonds and Belle (pick one). See how the house reacts to MLB giving all-access passes to a camera crew in the house.

Those are a few of my ideas, what do the rest of you think? Is anybody reading this a TV executive?

2005-02-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

2007 MLB All-Star Game in San Francisco
Major League Baseball will announce that the All-Star Game will be in San Francisco in 2007. MLB will ditch their alternative leagues policy that has been decorum for quite some time in favor of rewarding many of the new stadiums with the Mid-Summer Classic. While MLB has seen a new stadium explosion since the mid 1990s, the National League has opened most of the new yards.

The obvious response to this announcement is that it will skew the advantage of the high stakes exhibition known as the All-Star Game. While homefield doesn't mean quite as much as it does in football or basketball, there still is an advantage. I'm guessing that MLB will make the American League the "home" team, similar to when Florida played as the "home" team in Comiskey Park errrrr U.S. Cellular Field last year.

The MLB All-Star game is the most presentable of all the major sports, but the more they keep messing with it the more of a farce it is becoming. I'm still waiting for the "North America vs. The World" scenario that was all the rage in the late 90's. That's what America needs...More situations where we are attempting to asses our dominance over the rest of the world.

2005-02-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Rafer Alston Leaves Team Before the End of a Game
Former Milwaukee Bucks guard and current Toronto Raptors problem-child Rafer Alston walked out on his team last night. You may remember Alston walked out of a practice earlier this month. If he doesn't check himself he might have to go back to being "Skip to my lou" instead of Rafer Alston.

Do you think Toronto regrets signing Alston to a six-year $30 million dollar deal right about now?

"It's like one big soap opera," said forward Morris Peterson.

Yeah, I think Mo Pete hit that one on the head. Nothing is more professional than leaving your team before a game is over. Classy move by Rafer.

Some reports said Alston was ushered out of the building with a half-dozen guards, with police keeping the Media from the locker-room for almost a half-hour after the game.

Could things be going any worse for Sam Mitchell in his first season as coach of the Raptors? Hopefully the Milwaukee Bucks make his life a little worse tonight by bringing some of the offensive prowess they displayed against Boston last night at the Bradley Center.

2005-02-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

Brewers Sign Spivey and Cirillo
This story broke on Friday, but for a variety of reasons I didn't present it until today (article here).

The team took a dive after Junior Spivey Jr. was injured last year. That dive was more attributed to the pitching coming back to Earth and the hitting diving down to hell, but still Spivey has a lot of talent and could be an important part of the Brewers in 2005. He can make up to the $2.6 Mil he requested in arbitration through incentives. His base salary for 2005 will be $2.125 million.

Jeff Cirillo pretty much begged for an opportunity, and I'm glad the Brewers were willing to take a flyer on him. I don't think anybody thinks he has a remote chance of returning to the .300 hitter he was a few years ago, but he could be a valuable asset off the bench, since he is able to play all of the infield adequately with the exception of shortstop. Back in the mid-to-late 90's many people referred to Jeff Cirillo as the "toughest out in the American League". Maybe MLB's initiative to speed up games has gotten in Cirillo's dome. He was notorious for taking his practice swings about thirty feet from home plate. Perhaps that's why he had a huge dive in production...

I like the idea of picking up old Brewers off the scrap heap. I think this is a trend that should be continued in the future. I for one, am all for bringing back Greg Vaughn, Pat Listach, Chuckie Carr, and any other former Brewers at bargain basement prices. Do you think Tom Treblehorn would want to return as co-manager with Ned Yost?

2005-02-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

Patriots Win Third Title in Four Years
Well, really to nobody's surprise, the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to solidify their spot in history as a dynasty in the NFL. I have a ton of comments on this game, so let's get right to it.

First of all for the pregame...I loved how they brought out Bill Clinton and George Bush (41). How great of a life must an ex-President be? All you do is make appearances and get huge ovations, write a book and make millions (although Bush 41 hasn't done that yet, I'm not sure why) and give speeches for roughly $100K. What a life.

How terrified was that kid who flipped the coin? He didn't even flip the coin, he just kinda tossed it up in the air. The coin didn't even rotate once.

How great was Freddie Mitchell not showing up on Sunday? Did he even play? He had one catch for eleven yards. Rodney Harrison had more grabs than Mitchell yesterday. Mitchell is a total chump. Who the hell is this guy? He's the number four receiver on a below average receiving squad. Dude had three controversial comments during the week and one catch in the game. Mike Vrabel caught as many passes as Mitchell. I know I've been piling on him, but I don't care. Mitchell can thank his hands all he wants, he can call out Rodney Harrison all he wants, but if he doesn't perform people should lay into him and he absolutely deserves it. If you run your mouth, that's the risk you run. Terrell Owens talks, but he backs it up...Speaking of Owens

How about Terrell Owens? Say what you want about how cocky he his, but nobody can question his work ethic, nobody can question his desire, and nobody can question his heart. He broke his leg and shredded his ankle up, and should not have been out on the field at all, let alone having 9 catches for 122 yards in the Super Bowl. Owens made a comment after the game that if it were Brett Favre who came back from that injury, nobody would question his intentions and nobody would question his heart. Owens is absolutely right. Some people feel that it's a racial thing, but I'm not sure if that's it. I'm not denying that it is part of it, but I think the reaction would've been similar if a guy like Jeremy Shockey made the same comeback. As I was saying though, Owens is a man. He made an incredible comeback and made a huge impact on the game, something that nobody except for himself thought he could do. Terrell Owens game would've went up there with Willis Reed's performance had the Eagles won. Odds are his incredible performance will be forgotten within ten years.

How about the New England defensive backs? Ashante Samuel and Randall Gay held their own against the Eagles receivers. Even after Eugene Wilson went out with an injury, the rookie dbacks for the Patriots still performed well.

What about the Eagles clock management? Did Andy Reid attend the Herm Edwards/Paul Hackett School of Clock Management? What the hell were they doing? They were down 10 points with 3:30 minutes to go and they were huddling up and walking to the line of scrimmage. Even Mike Martz was at home screaming at his television. No reason to show a sense of urgency Philly, it's only the Super Bowl.

Although I predicted a mediocre to poor performance by Donovan McNabb, I was disappointed to see it happen. McNabb is still one of the best QBs in the NFL, it's a shame that he didn't perform on the biggest stage in the world. He made a lot of bad throws, even some that were completed, and also made some bad decisions.

Does anybody else think halftime is just ridiculously long? Especially when we didn't have an exposed nipple or anything worth while. It was hilarious to see how plain the halftime show was, as an obvious overreaction to the Janet Jackson incident last year. It even spilled over to the commercials, where there was nothing even close to edgy. The worst part of all was that we only had one Cialis commercial, but luckily they did remind us to immediately seek a doctor's counsel if we have an erection for four hours.

Why on Earth are fans allowed to vote for the Super Bowl MVP at all? Hasn't it been proven time and again that the fans do not know how to vote for anything? How many times can Ken Griffey Jr. start in the All-Star Game when on the DL or how many times can Vince Carter start in the NBA All-Star Game despite being five years past his prime before somebody says "hey, maybe the fans are idiots"?

Was anybody else surprised that almost everybody in America was cheering for the favored? As my friend Joe said, "The Eagles are underdogs against a dynasty and nobody roots for them". Really though, America is a nation that loves the underdog. So why on Earth was everybody on the Patriots bandwagon? I think the Patriots are the closest thing to "America's Team" in any professional sport right now. They epitomize teamwork, hard work, and respect. I think that struck a chord with America.

All and all, it was a good game. It wasn't a great game, but it was a good one. The NFL season is over (don't even try to tell me "don't forget about the Pro Bowl"), and now I turn my focus to pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training on the 15th.

2005-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

SUPER BOWL XXIX IS HERE
With the hype kicking into full throttle, the Super Bowl is just a few hours away from kickoff. After two weeks of "Terrell Owens: Will he play or won't he?" and "Freddie Mitchell said _____", as well as talk about "is New England a dynasty if they win?" and "Is Bill Belichick the greatest coach of all time?"

Once the ball is kicked off you're going to get to hear these same stories over and over, but in a little different form. This is what I'm looking forward too...

Whenever a New England d-back makes a play and Freddie Mitchell is nearby, you know Chris Collinsworth will throw out a "you think Freddie Mitchell knows his name now?" I guarantee this happens at least five times today.

Along the lines of Mitchell, and I know I mentioned this before, but he's not funny or amusing at all. During the game though the announcers won't let you forget that he is "colorful". I bet they throw it down to a sideline reporter to give a first hand account of how "wacky" he really is. Somebody like Tony Saragusa (cue Saragusa graphic in the bottom left of the screen) will say "yeah Freddie Mitchell is really loose. He's ready to play today. It's so loud down here I can't hear myself". "It's so loud down here I can't hear myself" is how Saragusa ends 90% of his statements.

Will Fox plant their sit-com stars in the stands at the Super Bowl like they do during the Major League Baseball playoffs? Is the homoeroticism between Ryan and Seth on The OC something that carries over to real life? Will the guy that plays Ryan have his grandkids at the game? Tune into Fox tonight to find out.

We can all only hope for something close to Janet Jackson and TLake's "nipplegate" from last year's halftime show. I wish somebody funny was performing like Ashlee Simpson or Carrot Top. Why not bring out William Hung? Are his fifteen minutes of fame up yet? I want to see somebody get booed off the stage.

I know a lot of people enjoy watching the commercials, but I can only take so many commercials about four-hour erections before I lose interest. I'm sorry, commercials don't really entertain me that much. Plus the Fox telecast of the game will be one gigantic advertisement for Fox programming, so essentially we'll all be watching about six hours of commercials tonight.

Also, I can't wait to see Terrell Owens running routes in pre-game. I wonder if they'll give him the Deion Sanders treatment. One of the years when Deion was in the Super Bowl with Dallas they kept a camera on him the entire game. As soon as Owens steps on the field you know we're going to see tons of replays, coupled with announcer commentary on whether or not Owens looks healthy or not. Does it bother anybody else that EVERYBODY refers to Owens as "T.O"? There's something about John Clayton calling Owens "T.O" that just doesn't sit well with me.

...Okay, now to what I think will happen in the game.

Pretty much everybody and their cousin is picking New England to win outright, some people are picking Philly to cover, and very few think that the Eagles will win. Is this a case of "everybody is going east so you should go west?" I don't think so. I think New England will win and they will cover. This is why...

Tom Brady vs. Donovan F. McNabb
Brady has proven that he is a big game QB. He has better weapons. McNabb in general has struggled in big games. He will be without a healthy Terrell Owens. I know he didn't have a healthy Owens against Minnesota or Atlanta...But that was Minnesota and Atlanta, this is New England.

New England's WR vs. Philly's WR
The Patriots don't really have any star wide receivers, but they have more talent and more depth than the Eagles with Owens being injured. Who would you rather throw the ball to in crunch time: Freddie Mitchell or Deion Branch/David Patten/Troy Brown/Bethel Johnson/Hart Lee Dykes?

Adam Vinatieri vs. David Akers
Akers is a solid kicker, but Vinatieri has made so many huge kicks. Of course two of them were to win a Super Bowl, which nobody who isn't named Jim O'Brien can say.

Bill Belichick vs. Andy Reid
Andy Reid is a fantastic coach. He is one of the best in the NFL. But he isn't Bill Belichick, and he doesn't have Romeo Crenell and Charlie Weis on his side. Andy Reid does have Jimmie Johnson running his defense, and I'm sure the Eagles will come up with some intense blitz packages to try to mess with Tom Brady. Still, you have to go with Belichick.

The "Happy to be there" Factor
I think the Eagles are the only people happy to be in Jacksonville this year. It took so much for the Eagles to get to the Super Bowl, it's hard to believe that they aren't just happy to have not lost four straight NFC Championship games. You KNOW the Patriots aren't just content with being there. Maybe I'm wrong about the Eagles, but I know I'm right about the Patriots.

Those are all my reasons for selecting New England to win and cover. The only way I can see Philly pulling this off is if they get a few big turnovers early, maybe get a big kick or punt return, and quick jump out to a 14-0 lead over a stunned Patriots team. The problem is, the Patriots aren't a team that are going to make a lot of mistakes (except when they play Miami on Monday Night).

McNabb will throw a two INTs, and the Patriots will shut down the ground game. Brady will throw go 17-24 for 250 yards and three touchdowns, Corey Dillon will rush for 120 yards and a touchdown and the Patriots will beat the Eagles.

Patriots 34, Eagles 20

2005-02-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

Dodgers Sign Nakamura
Brewers fans might remember Takahito Nomura, a puss-throwing lefty that lasted all of about two months with the big-club before being sent down. I'm not sure if Taka Naka is related to new Dodgers third baseman Norihiro Nakamura.

Nakamura had some monster years in Japan from 2000-2002. He is 31-years-old now and his numbers have been dropping quite a bit as of late. Fighting through injuries in 2004, he posted a line of .274/.390/.468 in 387 at-bats. In 2004 the average third baseman in MLB had an OPS of .797, which Nakamura edged in Japan with an OPS of .858. Still, his numbers have been on a steady decline, plus jumping from Japan to the Major Leagues will cause a further drop in his production.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but I would imagine that the Dodgers didn't spend much more than 1.5 million a year for Nakamura. Some people think that this might be the replacement for Adrian Beltre, but that will probably be settled in Spring Training.

UPDATE: Takahito Nomura

2005-02-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

State of the Union Address...Pure Comedy
I'm not going to talk about politics at all because frankly it's a boring conversation in this environment. I did however, catch President George W. Bush and his State of the Union Address last night. I watched it at first because I thought it was my duty as a responsible citizen, but by the time it was all done, I wanted there to be one every week. Pure comedy.

Isn't it hilarious how people in congress act during the speech? You have supposedly the most intelligent, ambitious, responsible people we can find to represent us and make our laws, yet they act like freaking children during the speech. No matter what Bush would say the Republicans would stand up and cheer while the Democrats would sit down and show no emotion at all. A few times during the speech I wondered if the "applause" sign only worked on the Republican side of the place.

Some highlights from last night...
...I can't remember the issue that was being discussed, but all the Republicans stood up and applauded (big surprise) and one Democrat stood up. It was from a wide-angle so I couldn't tell who it was, but all his fellow Dems stared at him like he was the bearded lady or something.

...Dick Cheney in the background while the President was speaking. At first he was trying his best to force a smile, or at least the appearance that he wasn't the most disgruntled human being alive. Later on in the speech he was eating something. What the hell was he eating? Sunflower seeds? Starburst? Pretzels?

...Speaking of Cheney, was anybody else a little worried every time he had to stand up and sit down again? I know the man has heart problems. I thought maybe the TV networks should put a "Cheney-O-Meter" in the bottom right corner of the screen tracking his blood-pressure and heart-rate.

...The rebuttal to the SOTU address is always funny. You go from the SOTU, infront of all of congress, all the pageantry (I sound like Lee Corso talking about college football now), to two people in some random hotel room or whatever it is infront of a camera.

After watching the way politicians behave last night, it's amazing that anything gets done. They act like children (immature ones at best). I was still hoping for Bush to go onto a completely off-topic rant about performance enhancing drugs, but no such luck last night.

2005-02-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Baseball America's Top 10 Brewers Prospects
Journal/Sentinel writer Tom Haudricourt wrote an article about the Top 10 Brewers prospects. The list is most likely formulated by the many employees of BA, and not just Haudricourt. I would hope not, since he is a beat writer for the Brewers and probably doesn't see the minor leaguers much at all. Anyway, here is the article.

It's interesting to look at the columns on the right of the page and see who the top prospect in the Brewers organization has been by year, and also the top draft picks for the Brewers over the past ten years.

Out of the top prospects in the organization over the past ten years, what can you say about these guys?

1995 - Antone Williamson - Possibly the worst first round draft pick in the history of Major League Baseball, the fact that AW was the number one pick speaks to how pathetic the Brewers farm system was. Williamson made it to the Show, only so that the Brewers could pat themselves on the back and say "wow what a draft pick, he got to the big leagues". One of Sal Bando's many terrible, terrible moves. He had 54 at bats in 1997, with a very productive .204/.254/.259 line. The Brewers took Williamson fourth overall, ahead of other first rounders like Todd Walker (Twins, 7th Pick), Jaret Wright (Indians, 10th pick), Nomar Garciaparra (Red Sox, 12th pick), Paul Konerko (Dodgers, 13th pick), Jason Varitek (Mariners, 14th pick).

1996 - Jeff D'Amico - The beginning of a Brewers theme. "Big righty out of high school, injury troubles limited his career". This is exactly what the Moneyball types are talking about. Still, "Big Daddy" had an incredible 2000 and is still in the Majors.

1997 - Todd Dunn - A great five-o'clock hitter. He had a solid two weeks in the Major Leagues before getting sent down. My dad takes most of the blame for this because he once told him that he was "tearing the cover off the ball" and also instructed Dunn to "keep it up". Soon afterward Dunn faded into obscurity.

1998 - Valerio de los Santos - The lefty came to the big leagues with a lot of promise but couldn't even last as a middle reliever for more than a few years. By the end of his tenure in Milwaukee many referred to him as Valerio de los Suckos.

1999 - Ronnie Belliard - I guess the fact that "he made it to the Major Leagues" is a great accomplishment for any of the Brewers top prospects over the past ten years speaks volumes. Belliard had an amazing first half of the season in 2004 and made the All-Star Game for Cleveland. He looked more like the lost and confused Belliard I remember in the second half of the season when he struggled to a .254 batting average.

2000 - Nick Neugebauer - "Big righty out of high school, injury troubles limited his career" part II.

2001 - Ben Sheets - Thank you, Dean Taylor.

2002 - Nick Neugebauer - See above.

2003 - Brad Nelson - Big power-hitting OF/1B. Still putting up good numbers in the minors. I look forward to him being in the Show in a year or two.

2004 - Rickie Weeks - A player with star potential. Let's all hope that potential is realized.

So out of the last ten top prospects in the Brewers organization you have...
1 - star (Ben Sheets)
2 - decent Major Leaguers (Jeff D'Amico, Ron Belliard)
2 - still legitimate prospects (Rickie Weeks, Brad Nelson)
1 - border line reliever (Valerio de los Santos)
3 - complete disasters (Antone Williamson, Todd Dunn, Nick Neugebauer)

Really, if you take the years before Dean Taylor, they have no star players, one decent Major Leaguer, no legitimate prospects, two complete disasters.

The Baseball America Top 10 Prospects List is a better example of what the top scouting service in the world thinks about the Brewers organization, not necessarily what the Brewers think of their players. Tomorrow I'll look at the Brewers last ten first round draft picks and how they have faired.

2005-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

No more Flat Screen TVs, Cell Phones, and Visits from Lovers in Mexico Prison
"Deprived of their flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, pizza deliveries and long visits from lovers, inmates at Mexico's top security prison complained on Monday they are being treated "like dogs"" (article here).

So prisoners in Mexico are watching flat-screen TVs, getting pizza deliveries and "long visits" from lovers...Now I've only been to Tijuana, but I'm guessing these prisoners are living better than 99% of the population in Mexico. Hell, they're living better than 80% of Americans.

"Powerful prisoners in Mexican jails have long enjoyed privileges, whereas rank and file criminals are often abused by jailers."

Privileges? These guys are living better than I am, and I'm a non-jailed citizen in the United States. I don't have a flat-screen TV. I think that "Land of Opportunity" no longer fits America, the term is better reserved for Mexico's top security prison in La Palma.

From an advertisement posted in a newspaper in Mexico City, an unnamed prisoner was quoted as saying "We only ask to be treated like the humans we are ... The fact that we have been deprived of our freedom in no way means that our most basic rights have stopped as Mexican citizens. Therefore we ask for clemency so that justice be done and our human rights respected"

See, I know that in the Constitution of the United States there are certain "unalienable rights"..."life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Now I have never read the Mexican Constitution...I don't even know if they have a constitution, but if anywhere on that document it says "We, the Citizens of Mexico, have certain unalienable rights, such as life, watching flat-screen TVs, having pizza delivered to you in jail, and long visits from lovers while in the slammer."

If that line is anywhere in an official Mexican document...I'm in. Count me in. Viva la Mexico!

2005-02-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Brooks Kieschnick Interview
Joseph Aiello from a Cubs blog called The View From the Bleachers (which is linked on the right of this site) has an interview with Brewers jack-of-all trades Brooks Kieschnick. Brooks gives some pretty safe answers, but still it's worth a quick read. The fact that Kiesch did this interview is a testament to what a cool guy he is. I've met him on several occasions because of my work with the Milwaukee Brewers, and he has been one of the nicest players I have come across (coincidentally, Wes Obermueller is in that group as well, who Kieschnick mentions later in the interview).

Personally, I have always wondered what Kieschnick would have done had he received 400 at-bats in a Major League Season. His numbers at the plate are respectable (.244/.315/.444) given the fact that the past two years all he has done in 90% of his plate appearances was pinch-hit. He has never received more than 90 at-bats in a season. For his career he has 16 homeruns in 306 at-bats, roughly one HR every 20 at-bats. Translated over a 400 at-bat season that's about 20 homeruns. The problem is that Kiesch is a liability in the field (either corner OF or 1B) and probably doesn't have the stick to make up for it.

The fact that Brooks really never had a chance in the Major Leagues is interesting. Kiesch makes a reference to the fact that there was a regime change the year after he was drafted. Still, he put up monster numbers in the minor leagues and was one of the most prestigious college baseball players of all time. It's really too bad he never had more of a shot to show what he could do.

Kieschnick has found a great role with the Brewers. I don't think people fully appreciate how rare what he is doing is in the Major Leagues. Dave McCarty tried to be Boston's version of Kieschnick, but was unable to hack it. If Kiesch was playing the role of pitcher/pinch-hitter/DH/occasional OF in a bigger market you know all the wannabe comedians on Sportscenter would be cracking jokes about his skills and they probably would even throw some unnecessary and overproduced graphics onto the screen breaking down Kieschnick's contributions to the team.

2005-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

MEDIA DAY!!!
The highlight of Super Bowl week in the eyes of the media. It embodies everything the media stands for, blowing up unimportant events and turning anything they can into front page news. Of course, today is the 1st of February, which also means rent day for many others like myself. As the days move on I'm starting to operate on a Frank McCourt like budget.

The two biggest stories of Media Day will be Terrell Owens and "will he play or won't he?" (which I warned everybody about after the Conference Championship games) and of course Freddie Mitchell's comments about the New England secondary.

I just think Freddie Mitchell is so unamusing. He's like the kid in class that all the teachers and students think is so funny, but whenever he says something you just think to yourself "that's not funny". How many times do you think you'll hear "Oh wow, that wacky Freddie Mitchell" during Fox's broadcast of the Super Bowl? Freddie Mitchell is so crazy, yeah he wears a fro-hawk and says stupid things at press conferences. Never mind the fact that he caught 29 passes this year. He sucks. I don't care if he had a few good games in the playoffs, Freddie Mitchell isn't good. He can wear his hair in a fro-hawk, he can wear a giant bow-tie in the post game presser, but if he doesn't start catching more than two passes, he is completely irrelevant in the NFL.

2005-01-31T13:46:00.000-08:00

Sammy Sosa to Baltimore
How badly did the Cubs want to unload Sammy Sosa? While they are picking up a lot of his salary, the fact remains that they were willing to give up one of their best and most productive players ever in exchange for a decent Jerry Hairston Jr. and a few minor leaguers.

Where does this leave the Cubs? They let an aging and expensive Moises Alou walk in the off-season. Now suddenly they find themselves without both the bats of Alou and Sosa in the middle of their lineup. Are they going to go after Magglio Ordonez? Lots of questions remain. Remember, they signed Greg Maddux in February of last year, so a big move late into the offseason isn't completely out of the possibility. The problem for the Cubs this year is that there aren't many marquee bats left out on the market.

While Sosa's production has declined, he didn't have a terrible season in 2004. He hit 35 homeruns with a line of .253/.332/.517. Yes, that is far from what he did in his 'roided up prime (allegedly), but still 35 homeruns and an OPS of 849 isn't brutal. It's just the fact that he makes so much money and has fallen so far. With that said, what better place for him than Baltimore? They brought back Rafael Palmeiro, and for the past ten seasons have been to washed up ballplayers what Long Beach, CA is to washed up prostitutes. Sosa brings a still powerful bat, although now he also accompanies that with an attitude, diminishing skills, and the fact that he's a complete circus in the outfield. I wouldn't be too surprised to see him DH-ing on a semi-regular basis as we get deeper into 2005.

Sosa has fallen far from grace in the eyes of Chicago sports fans. Sosa was once revered with such stars as Michael Jordan, Ryne Sandberg, Dick Butkus, Ernie Banks and Ron Santo. Now there is almost a sense of relief that the problematic slugger is gone from the Windy City.

Think of all that Sosa has gotten away with while playing for the Cubs. The accusation of steroid use, the corked bat incident, tons of losing baseball, a reputation for choking when the game is on the line (this is not meant to start a "clutch hitting: Does it exist" debate, I'm just stating public opinion), diminishing skills, complaining about his spot in the lineup and then finally walking out on the team during the final game of the 2004 season.

My feeling is that Sosa will bounce back in 2005 to some degree. I'd predict about 35 HRs again, but with a little higher AVG and OBP. I'm thinking something like .265/.345/.500. Baltimore added another bat, but they need pitching. It looks like they might try the Cleveland Indians in the mid-1990's model for winning by trying to win a lot of 10-7 games. Unfortunately, Boston and New York has just as much offense with vastly superior pitching.

2005-01-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

Brady Clark Signs One-Year Deal
Congratulations to Brady Clark, who just made a hefty raise. He signed a one-year deal for $1.15 million. Clark was undrafted out of UC-San Diego and has been doubted at every level of baseball, and is continued to be doubted at the Major League Level.

Last season, many of you may remember from about July on I was pimping Brady Clark, saying that he should start in CF ahead of Scott Podsednik. The Brewers sent Pods to the White Sox in the offseason and are now have Clark and top prospect Dave Krynzel battling for the starting job in CF.

Clark had a career year last year. I don't see him .280/.385/.397 in 2005, but if he plays close to his career averages of .267/.353/.389 while playing a solid defensive CF and making contact, he is absolutely worth the $1.15 million he'll be making.

And as a side note, he has a super hot wife. Good to keep her in the Milwaukee area for another season.

2005-01-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hideo Nomo Lands Deal With The Devil Rays
Hideo Nomo, who's fastball has dropped from 90ish to about 82 in the past few seasons, signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Last year Nomo had a few stints on the DL and compiled a record of 4-11 with an 8.25 Earned Run Average. Yikes.

This is a good deal for Tampa Bay, because Nomo has had a good track record. Really, what else can you ask for when you sign a free agent for 800k?

2005-01-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

Denny Neagle Pleads Innocent to Solicitation Charges
Former Colorado Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle pleaded innocent to solicitation of prostitution. If you need a reminder, Neagle was arrested with a street-walker who had a striking resemblance to a Michael Bolton/Alice Cooper.

Neagle's contract was terminated because he violated the "morals clause". Really, this clause was enacted because he hasn't pitched at all in two years, he completely sucks when he pitches, and he was due $19 million over the next two years.

Hmm...A married man who is making $19 million over the next two years loses it all because he wanted to get a $40 hummer from some street skank.

Good call, Denny.

2005-01-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

NHL Labor Talks Reach Another Stand-Still
What the hell is the NHL doing? The players union has caved 99% of the way, and still there is no deal in place. Major League Baseball took 10 years to recover from their work stoppage, but I don't think NHL ever will. People in America live for baseball, not many people in America live for hockey, and those that do don't have an incredible amount of passion for the NHL.

The NHL had itself solidified as the number four sport in America, but now it's somewhere behind slamball, arena football, and monopoly. The NHL is going to lose an entire season and virtually nobody cares.

2005-01-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

GEORGE KARL RETURNS TO THE NBA
Former Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl has been named the new coach of the Denver Nuggets. Coincidentally, the Nuggets are in Milwaukee tonight.

The Denver Nuggets were one of the biggest surprises of the NBA in 2003-04, and so far have been the biggest disappointment in the NBA in 2004-05. Carmello Anthony has completely halted his development. There is a lot of talent on this team and perhaps George Karl can turn this team around. Karl is a winner. He has won everywhere he has gone. I know people will point to the mess at the World Basketball Championships a few years back (and by the way it is completely unfair to lay that all on him) and the way Milwaukee turned into a circus at the end of his stint with the Bucks. Still though, George Karl is one of the best coaches around, and if anybody can turn Denver around it is him.

2005-01-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

Mientkiewicz Traded to the Mets
The Red Sox sent Doug Mientkiewicz to the New York Mets in exchange for a minor leaguer. The Mets lost out on perennial slugger Carlos Delgado, who signed with the Florida Marlins for four years and $53 million.

So rather than add Delgado's virtually guaranteed 35 HR, 100 RBI, with an OPS somewhere around 940 (although his numbers slipped a little last year), they add Mientkiewicz's glove and light bat. Last season Mientkiewicz slugged .350, which would be tolerable if he played C, SS or I guess pitcher. I bet Nelson De La Rosa (aka Pedro's lil' friend) could slug more than .350 if you gave him enough at-bats.

2005-01-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

Advertising on Some Dude's Grill
Here is the full story on Yahoo.

"Andrew Fischer, 20, of Omaha, who put his forehead for sale on eBay as advertising space, received $37,375 on Friday to advertise the snoring remedy, SnoreStop. Fischer will display the SnoreStop logo on his forehead for one month."

This actually isn't a bad idea. Instead of advertising "SnoreStop" on his forehead, I was thinking Andrew Fischer should get something a little more customized to his personality.

Why not get something like "Moron.com" on his forehead? How about "IHaveNoPride.net"?

Or he could just get something like "IveNeverKissedAGirl.org"? Oh yeah, and don't forget about "CompleteToolbox.com"

I don't know what kind of marketing packages those websites can offer, but I think it's something worth looking at.

2005-01-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Dick Bennett Lobs Bird to Fans
Former Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coach Dick Bennett, now at Washington State, apologized on Tuesday for lobbing the bird to the Washington Huskies student section.

"Bennett briefly gave the middle finger to the student section, which was raucous throughout the game with coordinated chants directed at the Cougars. (Yahoo News).

Can you imagine Dick Bennett flipping somebody off? He dresses like a 1950's TV dad. It's like imagining Walt Clever flipping off a group of people. It's just ridiculous.

Keep your cool, Dick.

2005-01-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Will Terrell Owens Play in Super Bowl XXXIX?
How many times will you hear this question in the next 10 or so days? One million? One billion?

What did T.O. do today? Did he run? How did he look? How does his ankle feel?

I mean really, the guy hasn't run in the last seven weeks until today. Even if he can play how much of a factor can he be? I know he's a physical specimen and he's a tremendous athlete, but still...To go from not being able to run a few days ago to playing in the Super Bowl in less than a two week span is too much to ask of anybody. Even if he can somehow play, I don't see him as being the factor that makes the Eagles beat the Patriots. It just is too much to ask from a guy with one leg, to knock off all that rust and contribute in the biggest game of the year against the best team in the NFL.

Like there isn't enough nonsense going on in the week of hype leading up to the Super Bowl, know we have to deal with Terrell Owens and "ankle-gate" (I say "ankle-gate" because it's fun to add "gate" as a suffix to any popular news story. It has a way of making things sound far more intense than they really are).

I look forward to tomorrow when ESPN bombards me with coverage of T.O. walking into the Eagles practice facility and then a bunch of interviews with his teammates giving responses like "only T.O. knows if he'll be ready to play" and "I think that if he feels like he can play he'll be out there". Don't you just love the media blowing things out of proportion? Am I contributing to that? Where do I send my mandatory "Is T.O. going to be ready for the big game" questions? Somebody please let me know.

2005-01-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

Marlins Reel in Delgado
Don't you love cheesy headlines like that? I always laugh to myself when I think of some well-educated writer thinking of a clever way to capture a reader's attention.

Back to the story...Free-agent first baseman Carlos Delgado decided to sign with the Florida Marlins. He'll get 52 million over a heavily back-loaded four-year deal. I can't ever remember seeing so disproportional in it's yearly salary. Here is the breakdown...

2005 - $4 million
2006 - $13.5 million
2007 - $14.5 million
2008 - $16 million

There is also an option for a fifth year at another $16 million per year, but that would only kick if Delgado fairs well in the MVP voting or wins some type of post-season award. There is a very convoluted formula that the two sides agreed on to determine whether or not that fifth year option kicks in. If it doesn't Delgado will receive $4 million dollar buyout.

The Marlins are still paying Mike Hampton (who never played a game in South FLA) and Ivan Rodriguez a combined $13 in 2005. After this season those two deals will have expired.

The Marlins now find themselves with a powerful and well-balanced lineup in 2005. They have speed in Juan Pierre (yes, I am aware that his name is "Juan Pierre" despite not being Latin or French) and Luis Castillo. They have power with Miguel Cabrera, Mike Lowell, and now Carlos Delgado, and a solid contact/average type hitter in Paul Lo Duca. If their pitching staff can remain healthy they could make another run at the post-season in 2005.

2005-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl XXXIX is Set
Before I made my pick for the Atlanta/Philly game, the game that invariably took the Falcons, I realized that it has huge second guess potential. I wrote on Sunday afternoon that Atlanta was either going to run all over the Eagles or Vick was going to be shut down. Atlanta needs to get Vick some WRs. Anyway, the absence of TO didn't stop the Eagles from finally getting to the Super Bowl. As for Terrell Owens, okay he was cheering for his teammates during the game, I get it Fox. You don't need to show me after every play. Something I find interesting is that Terrell Owens is always compared to Randy Moss, but really, Terrell Owens isn't much like Randy Moss. Could you imagine Moss standing on the bench waving a towel and cheering on his teammates? Moss never gets that fired up unless he's swearing at opposing fans or running over metermaids in downtown Minneapolis. Really, the Eagles should've won by more. They committed so many penalties and kept the Falcons in it. Still, the Eagles were the far superior team and maybe they can make a run at the Super Bowl title.

The Patriots showed us why they're the Patriots. They dominated the Steelers. As much as Pittsburgh fans didn't want to believe it, the game came down to the QBs. Ben Roethlisberger looked like a rookie for the second time this year (the first time being against the Jets in the previous round). Tom Brady showed why he is undefeated in the playoffs, making countless throws on the money in crucial situations. The Pats open up as a 6.5 point favored over the Eagles, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that line grow as we get closer to the big game.

2005-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

Mom Throws Sex Parties With Her Kid's Friends
40-year-old Sylvia Johnson (luckily, no relation) was arrested in Colorado for providing marijuana, methamphetamine and alcohol to her son and his friends. Johnson admitted that she had sex with five of her son's friends.

Damn, I wish Sylvia Johnson's kid grew up with me when I was younger. Johnson said that she did all this because she wanted to be "a cool mom". Well now she's an arrested mom, so close enough I suppose.

I bet her actions made her son pretty popular in school...Probably not in the way her son had hoped though.

"Son, you can have a party here if you want. Also, I'll provide the dope and I'll have sex with your friends too".

Un-freaking-believable.

2005-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
I'd like to preface this week's picks by saying how incredibly psyched I am for the games this weekend. Both games really are a toss-up and we should all be in for some good football. This week is huge for me. I could run my record to 7-3 or fall to 5-5 after this week's games. All right, let's get to the picks.

Falcons (+5) over EAGLES
I know the Falcons have become the trendy pick this week. I love Jim Mora and what he's done in the ATL so far this year, so perhaps my judgment is a bit clouded. I'd love to see the Eagles become the biggest chokers in the history of the NFL too. I don't have anything personal against the team or the city, but sometimes I just take a lot of joy in the misfortunes of others. I know Atlanta is a dome team playing in a cold weather city, but they're not a finesse team. They had the top running game in the NFL and the weather conditions are going to be perfect for a smash-mouth type contest. Donovan McNabb is a great quarterback, but I don't see him tearing up the Falcons secondary with the likes of Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston. I know "The People's Champ" had a great game last week, but that doesn't change the fact that he sucks. "The People's Champ"? Maybe the "people" like him so much because he catches only a few more passes a season than the common man. Michael Vick is the obviously the X-factor here. Will he come out and go 7-20 with two picks and get contained by the Eagles defense or will he, TJ Duckett and Warrick Dunn run all over the Philly defense? I'm banking on the latter occurring. I think my desire to have Philly become the next Boston in terms of torturing their fans is why I want to see the Eagles lose so badly.

New England (+3) over PITTSBURGH
I vowed never to go against the Patriots again until they lost. With that said, even though I think Pittsburgh is a much more physical team than the Patriots, I'm still siding with New England. Ben Roethlisbeger finally looked like a rookie last week against the Jets. What do you think Bill Belichick's schemes will do to the rookie this week? The best way for Pittsburgh to lose would be if they completed a pass over the middle to Plaxico Burress and he spiked a live ball and New England ran it back for a TD (similar to what happened in Plax's rookie year). I don't know why I want to see people suffer this week in the NFL, perhaps it's because I lost big at the blackjack table the other night and I want others to feel my misery.

Dan Marino (-4) over Boomer Esiason
Did anybody catch Boomer and Marino having out yet-again on CBS' pregame show? Boomer said that if Manning didn't win a Super Bowl he'd be the "Dan Marino of this generation". Needless to say Marino was pissed. He first attempted to laugh it off but the camera went back to him a few seconds later and he was caught glaring at Boomer like Bobby Knight at some reporter who just asked a stupid question.

I went with two road teams this week, and I know homefield is almost everything in the NFL playoffs--the key word being "almost".

2005-01-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

Griffey Recovering After Surgery
This headline could have been written every year for the last four years. The Reds insist that Ken Griffey Jr is recovering nicely after hamstring surgery and is beginning to rehab. Griffey tore his hamstring against the Brewers last July.

"I am very optimistic for a complete return to normal activity" said Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who performed the surgery on Griffey's hamstring.

What exactly is normal activity? Him pulling his hamstring again? Griffey hitting .260? Junior playing in less than a 100 games?

Griffey almost fooled me last year. He was having a solid season (or "mediocre" for those of you who have no understanding of the connotations of words) in 2004 and appeared to be on his way to not having a major injury to prematurely end his season. Well, yeah we all know how that ended up.

2005-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Brewers Sign Ricky Bottalico
I think this is a good deal for both parties involved. The 36-year-old Bottalico will get a chance to compete for the closer's role in Milwaukee, something that he did fairly well in Philadelphia. For the Brewers, they get one arm that they can rely upon in a bullpen of question marks. It's a one year deal, so even if Bottalico was to break down or struggle it won't be a huge sacrifice for the Brewers. Bottalico was 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA for the Mets last year. His K/BB was about 2:1 and he averaged nearly a strikeout per inning, both good qualities in a relief pitcher. Bottalico only allowed 3 homeruns in 2004, but that number most likely will jump just from the simple fact that he's going from a pitcher-friendly park in Shea Stadium to a homer-friendly yard in Miller Park.

2005-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

Clemens Asks for $22 Million in Arbitration
Roger Clemens won his 7th Cy Young in 2004 while playing for well below market-value at $5 million a year. Now the Rocket has asked for an MLB record $22 million in arbitration. The Astros offered $13.5 million. I'm guessing if Roger wins he'll come back. I think he will win this case. Remember that there is no in-between in salary arbitration, so it's either $13.5 mil or $22 mil.

Do you blame Clemens for asking for $22 million? He deserves it. He was 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA while throwing 214 innings. Yes, he'll be 42 in 2005, but still, Roger Clemens at 42 is as good as any pitcher in Major League Baseball. I'm guessing if he wins he'll definitely be back in 2005. He has said that he isn't sure yet, but I'm guessing whatever thought is going through his mind will change once the arbitrator says he has won his case...

arbitrator: Roger Clemens has won his...
Clemens: (Interrupting) I'm in. See you guys at Spring Training.

I still don't think the Astros are going to be good enough to win the NL Central. They lost Beltran, Kent, Wade Miller and possibly Clemens. Lance Berkman blew up his knee in the offseason, so who knows how that will affect his production.

2005-01-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Marty Conlon!
Former Milwaukee Bucks forward Marty Conlon celebrates his 37th birthday today. Conlon was an incredibly slow, awkward looking, 6'10'' small forward that didn't do much but jack threes. I don't know, he was a crowd favorite in Milwaukee. He was undrafted out of Providence and somehow turned that into an NBA career that also included being the spokesman for Liberty Bank in Milwaukee. What's funny is that the way things are going, Darko Milicic would be lucky to have as good of a career as Marty Conlon.

2005-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

What the Hell Are the 49ers Doing?
Since the York family has taken over this franchise it has been a complete mess. They ran Steve Mariucci out of town, in favor of serial NFL-loser Dennis Erickson. This off-season they fired Erickson and GM Terry Donahue, which was a good decision. Although Terry Donahue had one of my favorite quotes of "We have a lot of stars, just no one you've ever heard of." Umm, okay TD.

Now the 49ers went out and hired a new head coach before they hired a GM. What a joke. They've gone away from the west coast offense, the offense that made them the premier franchise in professional sports from about 1981 until 2002.

The Yorks don't know anything about football and have proven it time and again. They need to sell this team or the 49ers are going to turn into the NFL's version of the Clippers.

2005-01-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

NFL Weekend Review
First I'll start off with what went wrong for me. Why did I think Indy would beat New England? The Patriots are a machine, it doesn't matter who is hurt or who their opponent is. I'm going to have to roll with the Patriots until somebody takes them out, because at this point I just can't see betting against them. I'm guessing that most people had Pittsburgh as a loser with that 8.5 point line. To think that they were two Doug Brien field goal attempts away from sitting at home right now. The second field goal that Brien missed was about as wide as I've ever seen a kick missed.

My two winners were Philly (-8) and Atlanta (-7). I figured that the Falcons would dominate the Rams, but nothing like that. I expected Philly to get off to a slow start due to shaking off some rust but the Eagles jumped all over the Vikings.

So I went 2-2 this week against the spread. That runs my post-season record to 5-3. Not bad, but I still would hope to be a little better. I'm hoping for a 8-3 finish, which would be nothing to be ashamed of.

2005-01-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Bill James 2004 Handbook
I bought this book a few weeks ago and have been looking at it a lot recently. I thought I'd write a little about some of the statistics that jumped out at me.

Percentage of Pitches Taken...
Of course Barry Bonds was tops with 72.0. Some interesting players on this list were Scott Podsednik at number 7 (63.2%), Brady Clark at number 8 (62.1%) and Craig Counsell 10th (61.5%).

The Brewers have three players in the top 10 in percentage of pitches taken. There are a few ways to look at this. I'll lend my observations below...

-Podsednik and Counsell spent most of 2004 looking at strikes. Pods didn't walk very much and had a low AVG and OBP. Counsell hit the trifecta of offensive inaptitude, posting his lowest average, OBP and SLG in any season in which he received more than 304 at-bats. Counsell also set a career high with 88 strikeouts. This goes back to the "being patient" philosophy. "Patient" is such a poorly used term, but anyway you slice it, taking lots of strikes is not good. You're not going to be able to walk your way on base consistently in the Major Leagues. You have to prove that you can swing the bat. If you can't hit the ball they're going to come right after you and make you prove that you are worth pitching around. How many at-bats do you think Counsell and Podsednik each started 0-2 last season? I'd be willing to bet it was a lot. Both of them struggled at the plate and lost their confidence, which essentially goes hand-in-hand with aggressiveness at the plate (and for the millionth time, "aggressive" doesn't mean swinging at bad pitches, it means attacking good pitches to drive as opposed to watching them into the catchers mit, which Pods was a king at. I'd still be willing to bet he led all of organized baseball in "times staring at the umpire after a called strike").

-Despite all that "patient" hitting, the Brewers offense still sucked. Again, nobody is going to pitch around a hitter who is slugging .315 l(Counsell) or .364 (Podsednik). I think this overly conservative approach may have hurt the Brewers with men on base, because in those situations pitchers are just trying to get ahead. By sitting their with the bat on their shoulder the Brewers allowed pitchers to get ahead in the count and turn the tables back in the defenses favor. Barry Bonds is the most selective hitter in the game, how many fastballs does he watch go down the middle of the plate, especially with men on base?

Best OPS vs. Curveballs
If you were a pitcher, how would you get Geoff Jenkins out? Curveball in the dirt, right? Surprisingly enough Jenkins was second in the NL in OPS against curveballs. Albert Pujols was tops with 1.217, Jenkins was second with 1.192. This number just defies logic. Maybe this is why statistical analysis is so important. My eyes told me that Jenkins sucks against offspeed stuff...Either this is a statistical anomaly or my eyes have deceived me.

Pickoffs
Chris Capuano led the NL with 6 pickoffs. He only had 88.1 IP last season. Impressive.

Catchers ERA
Chad Moeller led the NL in Catchers ERA amongst regulars. His CERA was 3.67. I know catching Sheets and Davis was a big part of this, but still he caught a lot of scrubs too. He had a CERA of 3.96 in Arizona back in 2003, so maybe there is something to the fact he kept getting in the lineup despite having a terrible year at the plate in 2004.

Various Ben Sheets numbers
I can't really break Sheets' statistics down to one or two impressive stats. Sheets just put up so many impressive numbers that you have to look at them as a collective you really appreciate how outstanding 2004 for was for him.

7th in Opp Avg (.226)
2nd in baserunners per nine (9.00)
3rd in CG (5)
4th in IP (237.0)
2nd in K (264)
2nd in % of pitches in the strike zone (59.6)
4th in Quality Starts (24...tied with Doug Davis)
4th in K/9 (10.03)
2nd in OBP Against (.255)
7th in Hits/9 (7.63)
1st in K/BB (8.25)
4th in Fastest Average fastball (93.3)
2nd in NL Win Shares (20, tied with Pavano and Clemens)

And to shed a little light onto how much bad luck Sheeter endured in 2004, he lead the NL in tough losses with 11.

All right, well that's an hour or so of my life that I'll never get back. I'd highly recommend this book, it has so many statistics and it's so easy to page through the players and everything. Really, this book changed my life (okay not really).

2005-01-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

NFL Playoffs
After going 3-1 against the spread last week, I'm looking to run the table in the second week of the playoffs.

Pittsburgh (-8.5) over New York
I made the mistake of going against the Jets last week in San Diego, but I think that the Jets' performance was more based on how bad the Chargers choked than how well the Jets played. With that said I see Pittsburgh pounding the Jets. I know Roethlisburger is a rookie, but the Steelers' offense doesn't completely rely on him to be successful. The Jets offense has been poor for the majority of the season, and I don't see that changing against the 2004-05 version of the Steel Curtain. Steelers 23, Jets 13

Atlanta (-7) over St. Louis
It's time for Mike Martz to remind us why you should never back him in a big game. I have the sense that this will be one of those games where Martz decides to throw the ball 85% of the time. Isaac Bruce being banged up definitely doesn't help the Rams pass attack. I don't know how much production you can count on from Shaun McDonald, Dane Looker and Kevin Curtis when crunch-time rolls around. Atlanta has the top ground attack in the NFL and the Rams had the 15th ranked run defense in the NFC. Right there is your key factor in the Atlanta victory. Falcons 30, Rams 20

Philly (-8) over Minnesota
I think Philly resting their offensive starters for basically the last three weeks will cause the Eagles to get off to a slow start, but in the end their talent should overwhelm Minnesota. I just can't wait for Randy Moss to simulate wiping himself on a ref or him to whip his piece out if he scores a touchdown. I also look forward to Mike Tice having that surprised look on his face like some woman just told him that he's the daddy of her baby. Eagles 34, Vikings 17

Indianapolis (+2) over New England
If Indy is ever going to win a big game, and if New England is ever going to lose one, it's going to be this week. Everything is in Indy's favor, and despite playing outdoors the weather is supposed to be pretty decent given that it's January in New England. I can't believe I'm going against the Patriots in a big game, because they always seem to come through, but I just don't think Peyton Manning and that offense can be stopped by a patch-work New England secondary. Colts 34, Patriots 31

Again I went with three of four home teams that are giving points. Hopefully I run my playoff record to 7-1 after this week. Enjoy the games.

2005-01-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ashlee Simpson Responds to Orange Bowl Crowd Reaction
I don't know why but I felt like writing a little about random things today...With that theme in mind, I give you this...

No-talent gravy-trainer Ashlee Simpson says that she doesn't think the crowd was reacting to her singing performance when she was booed off the stage at halftime during the Orange Bowl. Simpson feels that Oklahoma fans were booing her because she was shown on the scoreboard cheering for USC. Hmm, last time I checked the stadium wasn't filled with 72,000 Oklahoma fans...

Bethany Decker, an 18-year-old from Staten Island, NY has started a petition to get Ashlee Simpson to stop performing. She says, "I guess I did it, mostly because I'm just sick of record companies deciding who is popular... We want people who have talent. People who can sing, and don't need their voices retouched for their CD. Artists whose CDs reflect how they actually sound."

Decker's petition starts out with "We, the undersigned, are disgusted with Ashlee Simpson's horrible singing and hereby ask her to stop. Stop recording, touring, modeling and performing. We do not wish to see her again."

To paraphrase Lionel Hutz, "I don't use the word 'hero' very often, but you are the greatest hero in the history of the world".

After two horrible public appearances, the one on SNL when she showed she was a female Milli Vanilli and then the debacle at the Orange Bowl. Dude, Ashlee just call it a career.

2005-01-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

Speaker Encouraged 8th Grade Girls to Become Strippers
So let me get this straight, it's not a good idea to encourage 13 and 14 year old girls to become strippers?

Apparently not. The principle at Jane Winthrop Stanford Middle School in Palo Alto, CA will not invite back Management Consultant William Fried, who said to students that stripping and exotic dancing can pay $250,000 or more per year, depending on their bust size.

Fried gave a listing of a 140 possible careers, exotic dancing being one of them. Yeah, I don't know what better field a 13 or 14 year-old girl could go into other than stripping. And what isn't great about having dirty men stuffing dollars into your g-string? How is it bad for a woman's self-esteem to have men pay her to take her clothes off? I don't think stripping is really a field anybody "wants" to get into, you just kinda end up there. Well, first it's cheerleading, then stripping, then you're eventually a prostitute. I believe that's the "whore-spectrum", but I'm not entirely sure on that one.

2005-01-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

MLB New Drug Testing Policy Thoughts
Major League Baseball stepped up and amended the League's drug-testing policy. I'm not sure exactly why they did this, since the integrity of the game never seemed to be a big issue with the owners or players, perhaps the impending threats from Congress to implement their own drug-testing had something to do with this.

The most important changes to the steroid testing is that players will be suspended upon their first positive test (although I'm not sure what "up to 10 days" means exactly). Random testing with no limits is also a big thing, as well as off-season testing. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Interestingly enough they did not include amphetamines in their drug testing. Apparently it's cool to be a tweaker but not cool to be a 'roid monster. If I had my choice I would rather have steroids out of the game before amphetamines, but still I'd rather have both. These guys won't be shooting themselves up with 'roids but they can shovel handfuls of greenies into their mouths.

Still, progress has been made, why am I always so pessimistic?

2005-01-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

Cavs v. Lakers
I actually watched a regular season NBA game that didn't involve the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time this year. I was hyped to see the Kobe v. Lebron James matchup, but thanks to the Rockets and Nets going into OT I didn't get to see Bryant get injured live.

No I didn't get the Kobe v. Lebron matchup, but I did get to watch several other matchups like Chucky Atkins v. Lebron, and Sasha Vujacic v. Lebron and of course Jumaine Jones v. Lebron.

Somehow, despite Bryant being injured, the Lakers defeated the Cavs 98-94. Lamar Odom and Caron Butler each stepped up from beneath Bryant's shadow and scored 24 and 21 respectively.

I'd have to say my favorite part of the night was seeing Ashton Kutcher celebrate the Lakers victory as the final buzzer sounded. I love the NBA! It's FANtastic!!!