Brewers looking for a taste
It is here, in July of 2008, with their acquisition of C.C Sabathia to their already formidable roster that I would officially like to welcome the Milwaukee Brewers back to relevancy in Major League Baseball.
Sure, it took a long time. From bad personnel decisions to a lack of available funds, there were many reasons why the team was more familiar with the term “cellar" than "competitive". However, in the last four years since owner Mark Attanasio took over the team, the organization has undertaken major philosophy shift.
I remember back in 2005 meeting him at Miller Park before the Yankees were playing the Brewers in interleague play. He took the time to sign autographs for the fans and chat with them about the team for minutes on hand. At the time, I did not think much of it. In reflection, the fans started to put their belief in their plan that is now being executed.
No longer would they stay dormant and allow their neighbors in Chicago and St. Louis dominant the spotlight. Utilizing their funds into player development, the Brewers have been a team went from rebuilding from the bottom up to nearly finishing the house.
With youngsters Prince Fielder, J.J Hardy, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun on offense, the nucleus was forming. Ben Sheets, often injury riddled, was the anchor of their rotation. On his best days, he performs as one of the league's elite and on his worst, spending more time on the disabled list. Blue chip level players are galore in the AA and AAA systems ready to produce when needed.
After leading the NL Central for most of season, injuries to their rotation and inconsistent play in August and September prevented them from making the postseason for the first time since 1982. This year, Sheets has been 100 percent and the team picking up where they left off 12 months ago. With the superb play of both Chicago and St. Louis, Milwaukee feared getting too far behind the pack in the race for a playoff spot.
They needed to do something bold. An idea that was completely outside of the team’s realm of thinking. Several years of good drafting had provided them with assets. Attendance had risen each of the last four seasons giving the team financial backing. Now would be the time when they would make their big play: to be the ones at Hold 'em table saying "All in".
Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro would hear his phone ring and it was the Brewers on the other line inquiring about of all players, C.C Sabathia. Surely, for a player of his quality, teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers would be in Shapiro's "Fave 5" in terms of trading partners. Not this time. The Brewers were talking and the Indians were listening.
They listened so much and agreed to be trading partners. Sabathia would go to Milwaukee and the Indians would get back several young players that could play immediately. However, the trade comes with this "Buyer Beware" tag. The big lefty is a free agent after this season and stated that he would not negotiate any deals during the season. Knowing those parameters, the Brewers chose to make the trade anyway and risk the possibility of losing both him and free agent Ben Sheets after this season.
As it sits, the Brewers are one game behind St. Louis for the NL Wild Card and five games behind Chicago in the Central division. Putting Sabathia with Sheets at the front of the rotation creates the most dominant "one-two punch" in the National League, if not baseball. With the weakness that is the NL, the Brewers figure that if they can get into the "tournament", their chances of getting to the World Series will be as good as any other team. Who can blame them?
Last week, I knocked NL executives for their lack of creativity and willingness to settle for mediocrity. Here are the Brewers, putting their resources to use and taking a chance. Whether the trade works or not in the end is irrelevant. It is the simple fact that they are sending a message to their fans that not only do they care, but also they are going to go to this extreme to try to win. Rarely does a team that plays in the size of Milwaukee's market ever make a move like this.
It is a welcome sight. Good for you Milwaukee. Hope it works out well.
All Star Sham
If you are popular, happen to hit .216, have a bat as slow as honey coming out of bottle and showing no signs of being any type of offensive contributor...you can be an All Star too!
No other justifiable reason can explain how Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox was named to the American League All Star team. Try coming up one and I will simply reply by calling you an idiot.
Varitek, who was doing slightly above average before running into the month on the calendar called June, has been swooning badly. However, that news did not get to the players who used their percentage of the vote to include him on to the team as a catcher along with the Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer and the Tampa Bay Rays Dioner Navarro.
The ability for the players to create such in an injustice just adds to ridiculousness that is All-Star voting. Considering that it bill as “This One Counts” (meaning that the League that wins the game gets home field advantage for the World Series), the best players are not being represented. When each team needs to be represented, regardless of whether a team has a deserving candidate or not, that is a problem. This provision, added with the players ability to vote for undeserving players and fans able to stuff the ballots for international players makes the entire game less than legitimate.
Kosuke Fukudome, as good as he has been with the Cubs, is not an All Star. No way. No how. The same goes for Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano. This forced deserving players such as Evan Longoria, Jason Giambi and Jermaine Dye to be forced into “Final Vote’ where fans can choose the final player to be named to the squad.
I never watch the All Star Game for more than a few minutes. However, with this game taking place at Yankee Stadium, I have far more interest. The site of seeing white Red Sox uniforms permeating the Bronx is sickening just to think it. Adding in the rest of this nonsense and it confirms why I usually find other forms of entertainment on this night.
Just make sure Mariano Rivera pitches the ninth to close the game and I will be happy.
Random Thoughts from around the League
Now that A-Rod and his wife Cynthia have decided to separate, I wonder if he will come crawling back to her a few weeks from now and say he was ill advised by his agent Scott Boras.
Perhaps, as a method of being charitable, for every home run A-Rod hits, he will donate $250,000 to the Cynthia Foundation.
The only thing I am concerned about is seeing signs on the road that say, “Alex – You must be my lucky star.”
Look at all the top quality starting pitching that has infected the National League in the last year. First it was Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks. Johan Santana followed to the Mets. CC Sabathia goes to the Brewers. Now Rich Harden to the Cubs.
Erik Bedard and A.J Burnett are likely to be the next to follow. I wonder how much fun they are going to have when the see the 7-8-9 hitters in these lineups? These guys must be salivating. All it will take is half a season before they say, "What the hell have I been doing in the AL all these years?"
It is here, in July of 2008, with their acquisition of C.C Sabathia to their already formidable roster that I would officially like to welcome the Milwaukee Brewers back to relevancy in Major League Baseball.
Sure, it took a long time. From bad personnel decisions to a lack of available funds, there were many reasons why the team was more familiar with the term “cellar" than "competitive". However, in the last four years since owner Mark Attanasio took over the team, the organization has undertaken major philosophy shift.
I remember back in 2005 meeting him at Miller Park before the Yankees were playing the Brewers in interleague play. He took the time to sign autographs for the fans and chat with them about the team for minutes on hand. At the time, I did not think much of it. In reflection, the fans started to put their belief in their plan that is now being executed.
No longer would they stay dormant and allow their neighbors in Chicago and St. Louis dominant the spotlight. Utilizing their funds into player development, the Brewers have been a team went from rebuilding from the bottom up to nearly finishing the house.
With youngsters Prince Fielder, J.J Hardy, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun on offense, the nucleus was forming. Ben Sheets, often injury riddled, was the anchor of their rotation. On his best days, he performs as one of the league's elite and on his worst, spending more time on the disabled list. Blue chip level players are galore in the AA and AAA systems ready to produce when needed.
After leading the NL Central for most of season, injuries to their rotation and inconsistent play in August and September prevented them from making the postseason for the first time since 1982. This year, Sheets has been 100 percent and the team picking up where they left off 12 months ago. With the superb play of both Chicago and St. Louis, Milwaukee feared getting too far behind the pack in the race for a playoff spot.
They needed to do something bold. An idea that was completely outside of the team’s realm of thinking. Several years of good drafting had provided them with assets. Attendance had risen each of the last four seasons giving the team financial backing. Now would be the time when they would make their big play: to be the ones at Hold 'em table saying "All in".
Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro would hear his phone ring and it was the Brewers on the other line inquiring about of all players, C.C Sabathia. Surely, for a player of his quality, teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers would be in Shapiro's "Fave 5" in terms of trading partners. Not this time. The Brewers were talking and the Indians were listening.
They listened so much and agreed to be trading partners. Sabathia would go to Milwaukee and the Indians would get back several young players that could play immediately. However, the trade comes with this "Buyer Beware" tag. The big lefty is a free agent after this season and stated that he would not negotiate any deals during the season. Knowing those parameters, the Brewers chose to make the trade anyway and risk the possibility of losing both him and free agent Ben Sheets after this season.
As it sits, the Brewers are one game behind St. Louis for the NL Wild Card and five games behind Chicago in the Central division. Putting Sabathia with Sheets at the front of the rotation creates the most dominant "one-two punch" in the National League, if not baseball. With the weakness that is the NL, the Brewers figure that if they can get into the "tournament", their chances of getting to the World Series will be as good as any other team. Who can blame them?
Last week, I knocked NL executives for their lack of creativity and willingness to settle for mediocrity. Here are the Brewers, putting their resources to use and taking a chance. Whether the trade works or not in the end is irrelevant. It is the simple fact that they are sending a message to their fans that not only do they care, but also they are going to go to this extreme to try to win. Rarely does a team that plays in the size of Milwaukee's market ever make a move like this.
It is a welcome sight. Good for you Milwaukee. Hope it works out well.
All Star Sham
If you are popular, happen to hit .216, have a bat as slow as honey coming out of bottle and showing no signs of being any type of offensive contributor...you can be an All Star too!
No other justifiable reason can explain how Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox was named to the American League All Star team. Try coming up one and I will simply reply by calling you an idiot.
Varitek, who was doing slightly above average before running into the month on the calendar called June, has been swooning badly. However, that news did not get to the players who used their percentage of the vote to include him on to the team as a catcher along with the Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer and the Tampa Bay Rays Dioner Navarro.
The ability for the players to create such in an injustice just adds to ridiculousness that is All-Star voting. Considering that it bill as “This One Counts” (meaning that the League that wins the game gets home field advantage for the World Series), the best players are not being represented. When each team needs to be represented, regardless of whether a team has a deserving candidate or not, that is a problem. This provision, added with the players ability to vote for undeserving players and fans able to stuff the ballots for international players makes the entire game less than legitimate.
Kosuke Fukudome, as good as he has been with the Cubs, is not an All Star. No way. No how. The same goes for Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano. This forced deserving players such as Evan Longoria, Jason Giambi and Jermaine Dye to be forced into “Final Vote’ where fans can choose the final player to be named to the squad.
I never watch the All Star Game for more than a few minutes. However, with this game taking place at Yankee Stadium, I have far more interest. The site of seeing white Red Sox uniforms permeating the Bronx is sickening just to think it. Adding in the rest of this nonsense and it confirms why I usually find other forms of entertainment on this night.
Just make sure Mariano Rivera pitches the ninth to close the game and I will be happy.
Random Thoughts from around the League
Now that A-Rod and his wife Cynthia have decided to separate, I wonder if he will come crawling back to her a few weeks from now and say he was ill advised by his agent Scott Boras.
Perhaps, as a method of being charitable, for every home run A-Rod hits, he will donate $250,000 to the Cynthia Foundation.
The only thing I am concerned about is seeing signs on the road that say, “Alex – You must be my lucky star.”
Look at all the top quality starting pitching that has infected the National League in the last year. First it was Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks. Johan Santana followed to the Mets. CC Sabathia goes to the Brewers. Now Rich Harden to the Cubs.
Erik Bedard and A.J Burnett are likely to be the next to follow. I wonder how much fun they are going to have when the see the 7-8-9 hitters in these lineups? These guys must be salivating. All it will take is half a season before they say, "What the hell have I been doing in the AL all these years?"
Barry Zito on the other hand, has not seen any real difference. The 84 MPH stuff is getting hit hard in the NL too.
Does Jonathan Papelbon think he is intimidating his opponents with that look on his face before he throws a pitch?
On a nightly basis, only three teams in baseball throw out a competent starting pitcher that gives their team a chance to win:
Boston Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels
Chicago White Sox
Everyone else after that puts their hands together, looks up at the sky and hopes for the best.
Billy Wagner is an English way of saying Armando Benitez.
You don’t believe? Then why does it seem his blown saves come in key games the Mets play? That cant be a coincidence. Benitez had save rate of near 90% during his time in Flushing. However, you could count on your fingers the specific blown saves that he had against high profile teams.
Someone is going to give Mark Teixeira nearly 20 million a year at the end of this season for the next seven years. They will not get a happy return on that investment.
Investing in Manny Ramirez for two seasons though will bring positive results.
The Mariners decided to use their backup catcher Jamie Burke as a relief pitcher in the 15th inning of a game against Detroit. Not a terrible idea. If they would have considered Ichiro for that situation, I may have decided to tune in.
Coco Crisp, Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo at the bottom of the Red Sox lineup have formed a new group titled “Trio of Suck”.
Kevin Youkilis is not Paul O’Neill. Youkilis, is simply doing acting like a nut for the camera as a method of looking intense. It is fraudulent.
Does Jonathan Papelbon think he is intimidating his opponents with that look on his face before he throws a pitch?
On a nightly basis, only three teams in baseball throw out a competent starting pitcher that gives their team a chance to win:
Boston Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels
Chicago White Sox
Everyone else after that puts their hands together, looks up at the sky and hopes for the best.
Billy Wagner is an English way of saying Armando Benitez.
You don’t believe? Then why does it seem his blown saves come in key games the Mets play? That cant be a coincidence. Benitez had save rate of near 90% during his time in Flushing. However, you could count on your fingers the specific blown saves that he had against high profile teams.
Someone is going to give Mark Teixeira nearly 20 million a year at the end of this season for the next seven years. They will not get a happy return on that investment.
Investing in Manny Ramirez for two seasons though will bring positive results.
The Mariners decided to use their backup catcher Jamie Burke as a relief pitcher in the 15th inning of a game against Detroit. Not a terrible idea. If they would have considered Ichiro for that situation, I may have decided to tune in.
Coco Crisp, Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo at the bottom of the Red Sox lineup have formed a new group titled “Trio of Suck”.
Kevin Youkilis is not Paul O’Neill. Youkilis, is simply doing acting like a nut for the camera as a method of looking intense. It is fraudulent.
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