Is there going to be a BCB FBB league this year?

Is anyone starting one?

If not... And I start one, who's interested? (5x5 roto on Yahoo)

1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,

Can one of you help me (and maybe others) out with this question?

What has Macha done historically as Manager when it comes to stealing and bunting?  Does he avoid it all together?  Do it as seldom as Yost did?  Or are we gonna see the 2nd coming of the LA Angels this season?

I just want to know what type of offense we're gonna have this year.  Please don't tell me it's a "the only way we score is by having someone hit a HR" type of offense again this year!

Thanks in advance for your help!

For the sights and sounds baseball...

... And the sights and sounds of idiocy, hypocrisy, and drunk-from-the-blue-KoolAid stupidity.

See Below.

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We NEED to have a BCB fantasy league. Only those that actively post (or actively lurk...lol).

Someone gonna set this up?  I'm in like Slim... I'm feeling rather CUBsy...Like it's my year, again. Finally the year I win it all. Finally believing that my millions in expenses will get a return in a shiny trophy. MMMMMMMM...Shiny Trophy.

Get at me.

I don't know if it's been posted before...from the Hardball Times about Prince & Gagne.

Sorry if it's been posted before. I find it interesting.

...Prince seems destined to be a star, but his HR projection is what???

...And good to hear their projections on Gagne.

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I'm cruising through CBS, reading fantasy baseball stuff and noticed this as their "projected lineup."  

Interesting lineup. I know that Yost talked about not having Braun in front of Fielder anymore... So that's wrong... But how about Hart in the 5 hole?

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Not Breaking News...But it's an interesting read.

Pitchers and Catchers report in 16 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 6 seconds...5 seconds...4 seconds...

I'm posting the text because I can't figure out how to link the letter to Al on. Al's Rambings

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Sorry fellas... I've been in the midst of moving back to Madison (my hometown) from Brew City.  Yes, I'm out of there, but still have my 20-game season tickets for 2008.

I see I've missed a lot:

It's good to be back. And nice to see 'Stache was waiting for me to get my Internet back before he started making his moves.

Now on to Bedard, Andruw, Miguel Tejada, and... Scot Shields!

We recently named the White Sox, Dodgers, and Rangers as the teams in hot pursuit of free agent center fielder Torii Hunter.  However, those aren't the only clubs after him.

Yahoo's Jeff Passan talks of how Hunter was impressed with the Royals' pitch.  Passan also adds the Brewers and Nationals as teams interested in Hunter.

Out of all these clubs, this is the first I've heard of Milwaukee being in the mix.  Perhaps if the Brewers let Francisco Cordero walk they'll spend the money on Torii.  They could then move Bill Hall to third base and Ryan Braun to left field.

Hunter may sign by the end of next week.

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So far, he's linked the Crew with total crap. Either 'Stache is using Jedi-Mind-Tricks or Haudricourt is a bigger idiot than we thought he was (both of which are possible).

So far it's been:

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This man.

May be leaving us soon...

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Brewers Offseason Plans - Nate Silver
www.baseballprospectus.com

This is an interesting article on the future of the Brewers. A lot of this stuff, we've talked about already... But thought I'd show a third party's thoughts... Whatever they may be worth.

And I sure as hell hope the 'Stache doesn't "hold."

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From mlbtraderumors.com

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brewers GM Doug Melvin will place a call to Curt Schilling's agent.  Wait - I thought Schilling represented himself? 

Schilling and/or his agent made contact with three teams today, and none of them were the Red Sox.  He told the three teams that he still wanted to remain in Boston if possible and he still wants only a one-year deal.  Any guesses as to which three teams talked to Schilling today?  How about the Phillies, Mets, and Cardinals?

The Brewers could fit Schilling into the budget, if they let Cordero and Linebrink walk.  Extra incentive to let the pair of relievers depart is that they're Type As.  Then again, so is Schilling. 

"Community Projection Reviews" from John Sickel at minorleagueball.com

Here's what projection had on the brewers. And how it compared to real '07 stats. I really appreciate his reviews and his nice outlook on these guys in '08! I know it's only a couple of Brewers so far, but I'd imagine he'll do others like JJ, Hall, Hart, Prince...

He's reviewed:
Rickie Weeks
Ryan Braun
Gabe Gross

If you have any comments for him, jump to his site.

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MLB got it right. After the 2007 season that had the Cubs going neck and neck to the last weekend, MLB has decided to hook us fans up.  We open with the Cubs in Chicago (with our home debut being April 4 against San Fran) and we close in Milwaukee against the Cubs.  How sweet is that?  This year, if we haven't put the cubs away by the last weekend, we'll control our own destiny instead of having to scoreboard watch.

Other notables:
@ Boston in May
Vs Minnesota, Toronto, and Baltimore in (I think it's in July)

I don't have the schedule on me, but I will post the full schedule sometime later this week.

But it looks, oh so sweet.

RULES: We're going to do a BASIC league.  This is so we're all on the same plane. No one can buy extra trades to get ahead of anyone.  You build your team with $35million and you get a couple trades for free the 1st week. Then this is how it continues:

After the first Roster Freeze of the season (Wednesday, October 3 at 11:00pm EST), the unlimited trading period ends, and you start the season with 2 trades in your account. Starting with Tuesday, October 9, 2 more trades are added to your account every Tuesday at 11pm ET. You may use the trades you have at any time, or you may save them throughout the season for later use.

LEAGUE ENTRANCE & PAYMENT:  If you're in for the money, please go to www.paypal.com and use the "send money" link at the top.  Send $10 to:  igm@illgroovemovement.com using your credit/debit card.  If you don't pay, you can still play, but you will not win any money if you win the league.

DEADLINE:  Playoff Games start Wednesday afternoon. So you've gotta be in before then.

PRIZE:  Winner takes the whole pot. Whatever that gets to.

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Haudricourt (as well as WTMJ) are reporting that Yost will be the Brewers Manager next year.

LINK HERE  

This totally sucks.  Any chance Mark A. is just playing the political angle right now?  Play nice while the Brewers are still in it and can Yost once the season is over?  I know he's under contract for the next year, but hell, I'd pay Yost $2million to leave the country.  I want someone that knows what he's doing and not "learning more this past month about managing than he has all his life" as Brian Anderson quoted Yost the other day on FSN...

The season is over, sad but true,
Ned Yost and his decisions killed our beloved Brew Crew.
Gone is the pennant, lost to the Cubs,
lost to some bitches who piss in big tubs.
Burned by our '06 all-star, broken by our fragile ace,
Buried by our big signings, who took the dough and put stand-ins in their place.
So we'll take our bright spots, our ROY and our MVP,
leave Ned at the bus station, and hire Joe Girardi,
Send Jenkins packing, let Estrada jog his fat-ass somewhere else,
We'll be back in '08 to take the NL Central Pennant, like a mafioso cartel.

It's official.
WE HAVE BEEN YOSTED.

[editor's note, by Jeff] Worth a bump, don't you think?

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Much has been made about "the pitchers the brewers are scheduled to face" in the last 2 weeks of the season.  However, it really doesn't look as bad as the so-called "analysts" are making it sound.

This is what I'm seeing as what pitchers the Brewers and Cubs will be facing...

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Our Commentators that is.

They are OUR commentators, right?

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Latest setback for Brewers' rotation
08/28/2007 12:33 PM ET
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers' slumping starting rotation endured another loss on Tuesday, when the team placed right-hander Claudio Vargas on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back injury.

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OK... SO I FIXED MY NUMBERS!!!

I've been wondering, as most of you probably have been, what's going on with our pitching?  Cappy can't win a game, Vargas couldn't even get out of the 1st inning last start, and even YoGa has been very inconsistent lately. What's up? Or as I've been saying nearly every game, What the F---?

Someone suggested to me the other day, that it may be Estrada's fault, so I thought I'd look for a correlation. Maybe it is Estrada calling poor games, maybe he's calling for pitches that are asking for hitters to knock it out. I'm not a stats guy. I don't know all the different equations and all that. But this is what I found for the 2nd half of the season.

2007 Second Half Schedule
Jul. '07     OPPONENT     RESULT     SP    ER    IP    SP's ERA    CATCHER
Fri. 13     Colorado     L 10-6     Capuano     5    3    15.00    Estrada
Sat. 14     Colorado     W 2-1     Sheets    1    3.1    2.70    Estrada
Sun. 15     Colorado     W 4-3      Suppan      2    6    3.00    Miller
Mon. 16     Arizona     W 4-3      Bush    3    6    4.50    Estrada
Tue. 17     Arizona     W 3-2      Vargas    3    5    3.60    Estrada
Wed. 18     Arizona     L 5-2      Capuano     2    7    2.57    Miller
Thu. 19     Arizona     W 10-1    Gallardo    0    6    0.00    Estrada
Fri. 20     San Francisco     L 8-4      Suppan      3    5    5.40    Miller
Sat. 21     San Francisco     L 8-0      Bush    3    6    4.50    Estrada
Sun. 22     San Francisco     W 7-5      Vargas    3    6    4.50    Estrada
Mon. 23     at Cincinnati     L 2-1      Capuano     1    8    1.13    Estrada
Tue. 24     at Cincinnati     W 5-3      Gallardo    1    6.2    1.35    Miller
Wed. 25     at Cincinnati     L 7-3      Suppan      5    5    9.00    Miller
Thu. 26     at Cincinnati     L 6-5      Bush    4    5.1    6.76    Miller
Fri. 27     at St. Louis     W 12-2      Vargas    2    8    2.25    Estrada
Sat. 28     at St. Louis     L 7-6      Parra    1    6    1.50    Miller
Sat. 28     at St. Louis     L 5-2      Capuano     4    6.1    5.69    Estrada
Sun. 29     at St. Louis     L 9-5      Gallardo    4    5    7.20    Estrada
Tue. 31     NY Mets     W 4-2      Suppan      2    6.1    2.84    Miller

Aug. '07     OPPONENT     RESULT     SP    ER    IP    SP's ERs    CATCHER
Wed. 1     NY Mets     L 8-5      Vargas    7    2.2    23.68    Estrada
Thu. 2     NY Mets     L 12-4      Capuano     5    6    7.50    Estrada
Fri. 3     Philadelphia     W 2-1      Gallardo    1    6.2    1.35    Estrada
Sat. 4     Philadelphia     W 6-5      Bush    5    5    9.00    Estrada
Sun. 5     Philadelphia     L 8-6      Suppan      1    5.2    1.73    Miller
Mon. 6     at Colorado     L 6-2      Vargas    6    7    7.71    Estrada
Tue. 7     at Colorado     L 11-4      Capuano     4    5    7.20    Estrada
Wed. 8     at Colorado     L 19-4      Gallardo    11    2.2    37.22    Miller
Fri. 10     at Houston     W 5-4      Bush    4    6    6.00    Estrada
Sat. 11     at Houston     W 7-4      Suppan      4    5.2    6.35    Estrada
Sun. 12     at Houston     L 6-4      Vargas    2    6    3.00    Miller
Tue. 14     St. Louis     L 12-4      Capuano     6    4.1    12.47    Estrada
Wed. 15     St. Louis     L 8-3      Gallardo    7    5.2    11.13    Estrada
Thu. 16     St. Louis     L 8-0      Bush    3    7    3.86    Miller
Fri. 17     Cincinnati     L 8-3      Suppan      3    5.2    4.76    Estrada
Sat. 18     Cincinnati     W 8-4      Vargas    1    5.2    1.59    Estrada
Sun. 19     Cincinnati     L 7-6      Capuano     5    6.1    7.11    Miller
Mon. 20     at Arizona     W 9-0      Gallardo    0    6    0.00    Estrada
Tue. 21     at Arizona     W 7-4      Bush    2    6    3.00    Estrada
Wed. 22     at Arizona     L 3-2      Suppan      3    7    3.86    Miller
Fri. 24     at San Francisco     L 11-6      Vargas    6    0.2    81.82    Estrada
Sat. 25     at San Francisco     L 6-2      Gallardo    5    3    15.00    Estrada
Sun. 26     at San Francisco     L 5-4      Bush    4    6.1    5.69    Miller


The breakdowns from that jagged and hard-to-read layout are:
ERA by SP when Estrada is at C:  5.95  (27 games)
ERA by SP when Miller is at C:  4.99  (15 games)
This is close, but when Miller is catching, the SPs are throwing 1 less earned run. When our team is known as a poor late game scoring team, this is pretty significant to me.

Here is the breakdown by pitcher and catcher together.
ERA by Capuano with Estrada:  6.89 (6 starts)
ERA by Capuano with Miller:  4.73  (2 games)

ERA by Suppan with Estrada:  5.56 (2 games)
ERA by Suppan with Miller:  4.11 (6 games)

ERA by Bush with Estrada: 5.28 (5 games)
ERA by Bush with Miller: 5.31 (3 games)

ERA by Vargas with Estrada: 7.20 (7 games)
ERA by Vargas with Miller: 3.00 (1 game)

ERA by Gallardo with Estrada:  4.73 (6 games)
ERA by Gallardo with Miller: 11.58 (2 games)
This also shows what Miller is doing for our team. Yes, he caught a poor Gallardo game in Colorado and Estrada caught a bad Vargas game in San Fran, but with at least 1 less run with 3 of our SPs is big time in my book.

So after fixing all my work, it looks as if Miller may be calling better games than Estrada. I do agree with the huge point someone brought up about the opposing BA by the time they get through the lineup the 3rd time. That's horrible. But with Estrada pitching (in these 2nd half stats), there are many times where the SP doesn't stay in long enough to see the opposing lineup a 3rd time.

If you have any stats to help confirm or contradict the statement of "the catchers being the reason" the SPs have been poor, please help.

Peace.

So, since I opened my mouth on Friday, August 17th, at this (http://www.brewcrewball.com/story/2007/8/17/105339/362) posting, I need to back myself up. In the posting above, I was explaining that the Brewers would be in a much better situation if they had Willy Mo Pena in LF, rather than the crap-toon of Menchkins... Especially gunning on the hit or miss Jenkins. And they could've had Willy Mo at 1-quarter the cost of Jenkins with more potential years in LF! Don't forget that!

So, here goes, the stats so far (and I will continue to update).

Since 8/17/07
Geoff Jenkins: .158 / 1HR / 3RBI (AB/K: 19/4) '07 Salary: $7,333,333
Kevin Mench: .200 / 0HR / 0RBI (AB/K: 5/1) '07 Salary: $3,400,000
MENCHKINS: .167 / 1HR / 3RBI (AB/K: 24/6) '07 Salary: $10,733,333

Willy Mo Pena: .300 / 2HR / 4RBI (AB/K: 20/5) '07 Salary: $1,875,000


TRUST ME. I WILL BE RIGHT HERE. 100% of you hated the idea. I will show you how wrong you are. And you will feel shame. And you will go to the box. =)


UPDATED: 8/23

So here's the listing from mlbtraderumors.com for the players who've cleared waivers...

Pat Burrell - $13MM in '07, $14MM in '08, full no-trade clause
Jeff Conine - $2MM in '07
Jose Contreras - $9MM in '07, $10MM in '08, $10MM in '09
Kyle Farnsworth - $5.25MM in '07, $5.5MM in '08
Troy Glaus - $10.75MM in '07, $12.75MM in '08, $11.25MM player option in '09, full no-trade clause
Jason Lane - $1.05MM in '07
Mike Piazza - $8.5MM in '07
Wily Mo Pena - $1.875MM in '07
Odalis Perez - $7.75MM in '07, $9MM club option in '08 with $1.5MM buyout (Dodgers paying a portion)
Josh Towers - $2.9MM in '07
Steve Trachsel - $3MM in '07, $4.75MM club option for '08
Jack Wilson - $5.25MM in '07, $6.5MM in '08, $7.25MM in '09, $8.4MM club option in '10 with $0.6MM buyout
Omar Vizquel - $4MM in '07
David Wells - $3MM in '07
Dmitri Young - $5MM in '08, $5MM in '09, $6MM option in '10 that may vest based on plate appearances

The two that jump out at me are Contreras and Will Mo...

First off, Contreras would allow us to drop one of the 3 (Vargas, Bush, Cappy) into the pen, have an establish veteran SP, and give us cover if (god forbid) we get another injury to our SPs.

Second off, can we get a consistent LFer? Mench is junk. Jenkins is trash. Both get hits once in a while, but then turn around a have a few 0-fers. Let's grab a kid that could be our LFer for years, one who has the pop in the bat to play everyday, and one that will cost us less than either of the lumps of lard we have now.

Just want to get your thoughts on picking 1 or both of these guys up?  We need something to stir the pot now and my first choice (Ned getting axed) won't happen until after this season.

http://www.filecabi.net/video/New_Japanese_Pitcher_Technic.html

I can't take credit for the link, video, or anything. I found the link on mlbtraderumors.com. This is absolute craziness. It'd work like once or twice, but guys would take that pitch out like the HR Derby. What will these Japanese baseball players come up with next?

Yes. I'm starting a somewhat daily diary on BCB.
No. It's not going to be all about Benny.
Yes. I'm going to keep it short, sweet, and simple.
No. I'm not going to back myself up with stats.
Yes. It will sometimes be pointless.
No. It won't always have anything to do with the game or even the Brewers.
Yes. I hope you enjoy.

Volume 2: The Saviors Mirage

So, did you hear something? A rumble in the jungle? A bang from the orangatan? A blast from the past? Did you hear that there's this kid who's a decent thirdbaseman? He played on some triple-A team in Nashvile and now he's going to be starting for the Brewers tonight?

They say he's a "savior."  They call him "the messiah."  They say he's going to "turn this team's woes around."

And then you think about it. Is he really? Are we lacking so much in offensive output that his and his bat alone will "win the brewers a world championship?" Do we not have two of the top HR and RBI guys in the national league? The team is currently 15th in the ML in average, 3rd in slugging in the ML, and 10th in runs scored. Is offense really our issue?

Now, I can't say I'm the 1st one to say this (not by any means), but I do 100% agree. YOVANNI GALLARDO IS THE REAL SAVIOR. Sheets is down (as usual), Cappy is getting is offspeed pitches knocked around like he's throwing a softball, the groundball pitching Suppan is has more flyouts than groundouts, and Bush... Don't get me started on Bush. Gallardo has the skills to pay the bills and just needs the starts to show us the sparks. Bringing Gallardo in will only serve to tighten whats been a pretty good rotation this year. By moving Bush to long relief with Villanueva, we could be fielding a rotation where the opposition is not only worried about matching up with 1, 2, and 3, but also 4, and 5. Gallardo will be "that guy."

Now, I'm not saying I don't like Braun. I do. But power hitting isn't our problem this year. Our problems this year are getting hits consistently (how many LOB this year?) and pitching.

So, I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. I'm happy Braun is up. I hope he does well, but in my mind, he's far from being a savior. With Braun being the last everyday starter to finally be up (now fielding homegrowns Hall, Jenkins, Gwynn, Fielder, Weeks, Hardy, and now Braun), I prefer to call Braun the MISSING LINK... While Gallardo will be OUR SAVIOR.

Yes. I'm starting a somewhat daily diary on BCB.
No. It's not going to be all about Benny.
Yes. I'm going to keep it short, sweet, and simple.
No. I'm not going to back myself up with stats.
Yes. It will sometimes be pointless.
No. It won't always have anything to do with the game or even the Brewers.
Yes. I hope you enjoy.

Volume 1:  Forehead, Cap, Crotch.
We know baseball players can be very superstitous. We know they have their routines. Pre-game, atbat, and before the pitch. But how can Benny have a pitching routine that involves grabbing his nutsack before each pitch? My wife and I were watching the Dodgers game and she says to me "Why is he itching his crotch all the time?" I told her it was a routine and that all pitchers have their "thing" when they're pitching.

But as I watched, I wondered, what went-on when he began his pitching career that he'd itch his jock before throwing each pitch? He did it once, struck someone out, and never stopped? Is his cup too small that he has to re-adjust before each pitch?  I mean, I get Turnbow's fixing of his sleeve before each pitch, but a cup-adjustment?

Imagine basketball players doing the same before each free throw... Wouldn't the media be all over them? But in baseball, all the "guy things" are accepted as "guy things" and never mentioned. Cool with me...

But now, all I can think of when I see Benny do that, is hearing Chuck Woolery on Lingo say "Reach in there and grab a couple balls."

Maybe that's why Benny got that blister the other night... LOL...

Put the pipe down.

Sure the Brewers lost 7 of 9 last week... But my how quickly the tides turn. The Crew is now on a 2-game winning streak.

So please, calm down, the sky isn't falling... It's a long season and last time I checked, most teams lose at least 50 games in the 162 game season.

We're okay. No Crack Today. Please. Have an MGD.