What would this site be without 2 days in a row to talk about the Houston Astros? Have I mentioned them at all this year other than to say that Lance Berkman doesn't live there anymore?
Nevertheless, baseball wants to change things up a little and just like they did with the great shift of the Brewers to the NL Central when the D-Backs and the Devil Rays joined the game in 1998. There needed to be a balance of teams at an even number (all be it 14 American League teams and 16 National League teams), and well, that seemed to make it happen... something about a National League tradition in the land of Laverne and Shirley, but yeah.
So here we are again and it looks like it's the Astros turn. Someone from the NL Central (6 teams) has to go to the AL West (4 teams), the players are in favor of it, and there really isn't any other team that far west that would fit with the other teams, and besides, they would supposedly be a great matchup against the Rangers (if they decide to field a team with guys other than Hunter Pence if they decide to contend).
Because if it isn't the Astros, who is it?
Neatly tucked into this realignment situation is a new playoff situation that will see another team find their way into the playoffs (because in a Bud Selig world, it's all about money as opposed to logic). While we agree that there needs to be a 5 team division universality, we think that a 5th team in the playoffs is stupid beyond belief. If baseball lets this "blond moment" happen and doesn't stop it, what will that say for the playoffs? When October rolls around, we let 2 teams face off in a best of situation. Will it be multiple games? A single game that is more than what would happen if 2 teams were tied for the final spot going in where it is stuffed between the last game of the season and the first game of the playoffs? How much rust will Bud Selig let his teams accumulate as he makes his pittance on two leagues worth of games (whether single games or a best of 3 situation) to let another team play?
Is this his solution on what to do now that Boston, Tampa Bay, and the Yankees all want to play, or is this for the fact that he's that worried about the Yankees slipping out of contention and baseball needing the Yankees in the playoffs or else?
How many times can we spew hate on this bad haircut having schlub of a human before the Ancient Aliens come back to take him away once and for all?
Is there really that much of a problem for baseball in getting a decent commissioner?
Man, it's times like these that we wonder.
Showing posts with label Milwaukee Brewers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milwaukee Brewers. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Prince Fielder
There's this whole thing with Tony Larussa and his longevity as a manager of the Cardinals (and the A's and the White Sox) that just makes me want to say... I hate that guy.
From Friday night, his 5,000th career game, to Sunday, Larussa did nothing to lead the Cardinals to victory. Instead, he led the Brewers to first place, and the NL Central is now wide open for a long hot summer of who wants the pennant most (or who wants to crap the bed the least).
Maybe this can be contributed to Albert Pujols not setting the stars in the sky with 3 home run games, but part of it is also the fact that Chris Carpenter can't buy a win and Jake Westrbook's ERA isn't pretty at all. Maybe we can say that the Brewers want it more. Who knows, but if you ask me, I choose to blame it on the Cardinals not choosing to jettison Larussa into the jungles of South America in the hope that he can find some new animal friends and not find his way back to the state of Missouri ever again. But alas, that's just me.
Maybe it's the fact that Prince Fielder was 3/7 in the series with 2 home runs and 4 walks. He's definitely doing his best to sell potential for free agency with a .305 batting average and 19 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Brew Crew, who won't be trying to afford him unless he brings them to some kind of wayback machine repeat of the 1982 team (is he really Cecil Cooper to Ryan Braun's Robin Yount?).
And there is hope in the land of cheese, Laverne & Shirley, beer, and the Packers, but it's a long season and Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum will have to work well with Yovani Gallardo if there is to be hope in Wisconsin. Perhaps if Rickie Weeks doesn't strike out so much...
But for Fielder, there is the fact that his father hit 50 home runs in a season (despite those 182 Ks that went with that brilliant 1990 offensive explosioin), and he was always the heir apparent, and for good cause. His dad smacked 300 home runs at a time that it still meant something. Now, it's just chump change since all the kids are doing it, but Prince's girth has propelled him to do some nice things with the ball (211 from 2005 to now, which includes 50 in 2007).
However, we can't see the later numbers translating that big at the bank - though someone will pay, especially if they lose out on the Albert Pujols sweepstakes.
For Prince, it's all about what the Brewers do against the Cardinals. Sure, they've gone on to October baseball, but they've gone nowhere with it. If they can this year... and if he can avenge not getting Ryan Braun bank, he can take his signing arm and make it all right.
And at the end of the day, isn't that what it's about anyway?
From Friday night, his 5,000th career game, to Sunday, Larussa did nothing to lead the Cardinals to victory. Instead, he led the Brewers to first place, and the NL Central is now wide open for a long hot summer of who wants the pennant most (or who wants to crap the bed the least).
Maybe this can be contributed to Albert Pujols not setting the stars in the sky with 3 home run games, but part of it is also the fact that Chris Carpenter can't buy a win and Jake Westrbook's ERA isn't pretty at all. Maybe we can say that the Brewers want it more. Who knows, but if you ask me, I choose to blame it on the Cardinals not choosing to jettison Larussa into the jungles of South America in the hope that he can find some new animal friends and not find his way back to the state of Missouri ever again. But alas, that's just me.
Maybe it's the fact that Prince Fielder was 3/7 in the series with 2 home runs and 4 walks. He's definitely doing his best to sell potential for free agency with a .305 batting average and 19 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Brew Crew, who won't be trying to afford him unless he brings them to some kind of wayback machine repeat of the 1982 team (is he really Cecil Cooper to Ryan Braun's Robin Yount?).
And there is hope in the land of cheese, Laverne & Shirley, beer, and the Packers, but it's a long season and Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum will have to work well with Yovani Gallardo if there is to be hope in Wisconsin. Perhaps if Rickie Weeks doesn't strike out so much...
But for Fielder, there is the fact that his father hit 50 home runs in a season (despite those 182 Ks that went with that brilliant 1990 offensive explosioin), and he was always the heir apparent, and for good cause. His dad smacked 300 home runs at a time that it still meant something. Now, it's just chump change since all the kids are doing it, but Prince's girth has propelled him to do some nice things with the ball (211 from 2005 to now, which includes 50 in 2007).
However, we can't see the later numbers translating that big at the bank - though someone will pay, especially if they lose out on the Albert Pujols sweepstakes.
For Prince, it's all about what the Brewers do against the Cardinals. Sure, they've gone on to October baseball, but they've gone nowhere with it. If they can this year... and if he can avenge not getting Ryan Braun bank, he can take his signing arm and make it all right.
And at the end of the day, isn't that what it's about anyway?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Ryan Braun
Our Ryan Howard garden gnomes went off on e-Bay last night with a $34 and $34.33 bid from the same person. Whether it's a dealer or an obsessive fan, I don't know, but let's say we were paid handsomely to see the game. Now, we'll have to wait for our Cole Hamels garden gnomes and the Carlos Ruiz "CHOOCH"ing owl.
Yep... this is real.
So money, money, money... we live in a world that is consumed by it. Some of us earn our money, some of us don't earn enough of it, and others of us flaunt it so that other people feel entitled to it. It's an endless cycle of what makes the world go round, and when it's there, we feel entitled to talk out our asses about whatever stupid thing we believe in in a way that makes us feel we're entitled to run for President of the United States as a Republican... even if the Republicans and all sane people don't want us. In the end, Trump represents a choice so bad that he makes the Obama we know look better (but still not good).
But all the same, it's nice when good people wake up with lots of money for doing what they have to do, day in day out, and representing the face of their company, and for that, it's nice to see the 5year $105million extension of Ryan Braun to stay with the Brew Crew until 2020 represents a team making a decision to reward and identify their team long beyond the current now. Off to a .359 start in the obscurity of the land of Laverne and Shirley, Cheeseheads, and not much else that doesn't have good fur for insulation, there are a lot of guarantees from Mr. Braun. In his last 2 years, he's done 100 runs a season (but not the first 2). He's missed 100RBIs once, 30 home runs once, and .300 once. In this, he's not Albert Pujols, but who is? He's soaked a mascot in beer as many as 37 times a year, while he's also stole 20 bases in a season (never dropping beneath 14). And while he's good for over 100 whiffs a year, he's young and he's likable - kind of a Richie Cunningham with a big stick and a trio of MVPs and Silver Slugger awards since he beat out Troy Tulowitski for the Rookie of the Year in 2007 (and people figured out who he was, which just goes to show what East Coast bias (or not playing in a major metropolis on either coast) will cause you not to do... (after all, Joey Votto only went as a final vote winner and Carlos Gonzalez didn't go at all).
But that's the nature of the game... we sell our stories that the most possible people will buy. We sell the ones that we've sold forever. After all, Big Sluggi did end up on the All Star team and the beginning of his season last year was worse than the beginning of Punch Drunk Love (didn't care to see what happened at the end of either of them). And as we're sold the stories, we stick with them... even if there are better stories yet to come... from more obscure places. And for this, when the World Series (or whatever sporting event we are into) doesn't yield Yankees vs. Red Sox or either of those guys vs. the Phillies, nobody watches because they don't know how to follow a game that doesn't have stars that they have to like the game to know.
I was in a discussion with my dad last night regarding this. He's a Dale Jr. fan that shuts off NASCAR if Junior isn't competitive, and for years, that's what it's been. And I get that Dale Jr. is a popular driver. His dad was great, but so was Kyle Petty's dad Richard, and let's be honest, you can't sell Petty memorabilia if your life depends on it, so we need drivers that we can push - because some day, the guy we're pushing is going to be gone, and then where will we be (see Baltimore and Cal Ripken if you have any questions. They haven't been competitive since 1997, and he stuck around for 4 more years and held down a spot that could have been given to a younger player on a 162-game basis for another full year). Where will NASCAR be if Dale Jr.'s losing streak continues? Will we see more editorials like the one he was talking about where both drivers get credit for a win if they tandem draft together?
It's the same for baseball. We have 30 teams with 25 players on each. Some are old. Some are young. Some are having breakout seasons. Some are crapping the bed. We need to give everyone who is good a moment in the light. How else are we going to sell our mid-season game?
Let alone an expanded playoff scenario.
Yep... this is real.
So money, money, money... we live in a world that is consumed by it. Some of us earn our money, some of us don't earn enough of it, and others of us flaunt it so that other people feel entitled to it. It's an endless cycle of what makes the world go round, and when it's there, we feel entitled to talk out our asses about whatever stupid thing we believe in in a way that makes us feel we're entitled to run for President of the United States as a Republican... even if the Republicans and all sane people don't want us. In the end, Trump represents a choice so bad that he makes the Obama we know look better (but still not good).But all the same, it's nice when good people wake up with lots of money for doing what they have to do, day in day out, and representing the face of their company, and for that, it's nice to see the 5year $105million extension of Ryan Braun to stay with the Brew Crew until 2020 represents a team making a decision to reward and identify their team long beyond the current now. Off to a .359 start in the obscurity of the land of Laverne and Shirley, Cheeseheads, and not much else that doesn't have good fur for insulation, there are a lot of guarantees from Mr. Braun. In his last 2 years, he's done 100 runs a season (but not the first 2). He's missed 100RBIs once, 30 home runs once, and .300 once. In this, he's not Albert Pujols, but who is? He's soaked a mascot in beer as many as 37 times a year, while he's also stole 20 bases in a season (never dropping beneath 14). And while he's good for over 100 whiffs a year, he's young and he's likable - kind of a Richie Cunningham with a big stick and a trio of MVPs and Silver Slugger awards since he beat out Troy Tulowitski for the Rookie of the Year in 2007 (and people figured out who he was, which just goes to show what East Coast bias (or not playing in a major metropolis on either coast) will cause you not to do... (after all, Joey Votto only went as a final vote winner and Carlos Gonzalez didn't go at all).
But that's the nature of the game... we sell our stories that the most possible people will buy. We sell the ones that we've sold forever. After all, Big Sluggi did end up on the All Star team and the beginning of his season last year was worse than the beginning of Punch Drunk Love (didn't care to see what happened at the end of either of them). And as we're sold the stories, we stick with them... even if there are better stories yet to come... from more obscure places. And for this, when the World Series (or whatever sporting event we are into) doesn't yield Yankees vs. Red Sox or either of those guys vs. the Phillies, nobody watches because they don't know how to follow a game that doesn't have stars that they have to like the game to know.
I was in a discussion with my dad last night regarding this. He's a Dale Jr. fan that shuts off NASCAR if Junior isn't competitive, and for years, that's what it's been. And I get that Dale Jr. is a popular driver. His dad was great, but so was Kyle Petty's dad Richard, and let's be honest, you can't sell Petty memorabilia if your life depends on it, so we need drivers that we can push - because some day, the guy we're pushing is going to be gone, and then where will we be (see Baltimore and Cal Ripken if you have any questions. They haven't been competitive since 1997, and he stuck around for 4 more years and held down a spot that could have been given to a younger player on a 162-game basis for another full year). Where will NASCAR be if Dale Jr.'s losing streak continues? Will we see more editorials like the one he was talking about where both drivers get credit for a win if they tandem draft together?
It's the same for baseball. We have 30 teams with 25 players on each. Some are old. Some are young. Some are having breakout seasons. Some are crapping the bed. We need to give everyone who is good a moment in the light. How else are we going to sell our mid-season game?
Let alone an expanded playoff scenario.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Aaron Boone
You think we'd learn. You think Aaron Boone would have taught us all what it means to get into a pick up basketball game and get injured and lose his contract because he was playing for the Yankees and he wasn't making much, and frankly, with that, he was quite expendable. And let's not even think about the idea of doing something so wreckless and stupid that it just jeopardizes EVERYTHING that he and the team could be without an instant of showing that he had ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT HE WAS DOING. I'm sure just reminiscing about the incident would make Derek Jeter and guys like him who waited their whole life to wear pinstripes and go to the playoffs cringe in horror. Fortunately,
But alas...
You think we'd learn. You think Ben Roethlisberger would have taught us that we can't ride our motorcycles helmetless if our team is counting on us, but alas, he never learned either.
And so it shouldn't be a shock that the Great White Nope of Milwaukee (registered trademark, but because we just don't believe) has gone and shot himself and an entire state full of Cheeseheaded beer drinkers who still remember the good ol' days of Harvey's Wallbangers and Laverne and Shirley in the foot or should I say feet because he's making $13.5million per season for the next 2 seasons and his success will keep Prince Fielder in town (hopefully) or the lack thereof will drive him to Anaheim or some other city in need of a big bopping designated hitter or first basemen (at Prince's weight, he'll be a DH like his daddy before too long).
But with a broken rib from his dalliance at trying to be like Lebron James, he'll be on the DH at the start of the season. Will he come back healthy and ready? Will his social anxiety disorder and depression be affected?
Let's just say that if I was Mark Attanasio today and I was thinking about how much money and faith and hope I just installed into my ace and how he paid me back, I'd be thinking of getting 70cents on the dollar and shipping him to some other team in the hope that I could build up for the future because even if I had to keep him, I surely wouldn't keep him around to extend the contract ad infinitum.
And the injuries and the hopes and dreams keep right on rolling in the land of cactuses and the world of grapefruits as we get closer and closer to day 1.
But alas...
You think we'd learn. You think Ben Roethlisberger would have taught us that we can't ride our motorcycles helmetless if our team is counting on us, but alas, he never learned either.
And so it shouldn't be a shock that the Great White Nope of Milwaukee (registered trademark, but because we just don't believe) has gone and shot himself and an entire state full of Cheeseheaded beer drinkers who still remember the good ol' days of Harvey's Wallbangers and Laverne and Shirley in the foot or should I say feet because he's making $13.5million per season for the next 2 seasons and his success will keep Prince Fielder in town (hopefully) or the lack thereof will drive him to Anaheim or some other city in need of a big bopping designated hitter or first basemen (at Prince's weight, he'll be a DH like his daddy before too long).
But with a broken rib from his dalliance at trying to be like Lebron James, he'll be on the DH at the start of the season. Will he come back healthy and ready? Will his social anxiety disorder and depression be affected?
Let's just say that if I was Mark Attanasio today and I was thinking about how much money and faith and hope I just installed into my ace and how he paid me back, I'd be thinking of getting 70cents on the dollar and shipping him to some other team in the hope that I could build up for the future because even if I had to keep him, I surely wouldn't keep him around to extend the contract ad infinitum.
And the injuries and the hopes and dreams keep right on rolling in the land of cactuses and the world of grapefruits as we get closer and closer to day 1.
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