While some may think the Brewers havent had a productive offseason or that GM Doug Melvin is an idiot I for one am pleasantly pleased thus far.
So Melvin, a brainchild walking amongst Alaskan pigeons, didnt land CC Sabathia. Im not disappointed. Im not upset. Im not mad at CC or the Yankees, and Im not mad that Melvin didnt offer more money. CC earned his way to that money, and New York has it to offer.
However, outside of losing CC, Gabe Kapler, and likely Ben Sheets, Melvin has made off well so far with what hes had.
He picked up Too-Hot-to-Trot Nixon and Chris Duffy. These two will not only fill the void of a missing Kapler, but should someone go down with an injury, they are a much better option than Milwaukees AAAA OF Tony Gwynn Jr.
Then he picked up Jorge Julio - a solid relief pitcher on a team that lost out on Eric Gag-me (I mean Gagne) to free agency and Salomon Torres to retirement. And now, with the addition of Trevor Hoffman as closer, Melvin has rekindled the bullpen.
Say what you wish about this team, I see a solid bullpen. I said the same thing last season, and for long periods it was solid. The same can be said with my other favorite team Cleveland. They had a solid bullpen that turned to crap. Now with the addition of Kerry Wood, Cleveland just needs some Ricky Vaughn-type help in the rotation and things should go along smoothly.
As far as the hitting department, Cleveland needs Travis Pronk Hafner and Vic Martinez to pick up their games.
In Milwaukee, this is Bill Halls (and likely Rickie Weeks) last spring to solidify himself as a Brewer. With Mike Lamb able to handle right-handed pitching and Hercules descendent Mat Gamel poking his head through the door, Hall doesnt have years, months, weeks or days to prove himself just about a couple of swings.
Weeks on the other hand, needs to show a lot more. And if Weeks is shown the door, it will be very interesting what the club will do with JJ Hardy and Alcides Escobar up the middle. JJ is a fan (and girl) favorite, whereas Escobar is the Ozzie Smith of this millennium.
Personally, I would rather move JJ to second base (he is not very fast and his range is limited), and allow Escobar to blossom in the bigs at his natural position. This, of course, is assuming Gamel can overcome his Braun-ish-Weeks-ish struggles defensively over at the hot corner. If he cant control his throws, he may be designated to RF in the future (likely moving Corey Hart to center) or to first base (should Prince ever get traded).
In the end, the moves I want done wont happen. Why? Because Melvin is smarter than me and the fans would crucify me.
I would lock up Fielder for 6 more years, trade Hardy and Parra and a dump of minor leaguers for Matt Cain and a few low-ballers with promise. I would also bring up Angel Salome now to learn from Kendall.
The Salome thing may not get me forced to walk the plank, but many around baseball say that move would be way too early.
Now, to other business. I love talking baseball, and people who know me can certify that. However, unless you REALLY know me, do you know that I am philosophically right-side up compared to 95% of fans.
Think about this: Which issues do you want resolved first? 1. Salary cap in baseball, 2. Stopping the use of performance enhancers (and catching past offenders), or 3. Getting instant replay to become a staple while moving the game to technological sensors and computers to get calls right instead of human-like umpires.
Most people go 1, 2, 3 or 2, 1, 3. Me, I go 3, then after about 80 years, 2 and 1.
To me, the idea of professional sports with so much money on the line through merchandise, TV, and the fans, the No. 1 goal of EVERY professional sport is to get the call right. Every strike, ball, hit down the line, home run, tag on a steal and catch should be called correctly. Even if it takes 15 minutes in some cases - get the call right.
The strike zone is approximately the easiest to do, followed by homeruns. Instant replay is fine for now, but it is only a matter of time before we should put the technology in place to have sensors within the ball, the gloves, the bases, the foul lines and the cleats of the players. With this, every call would announced through a computer in milliseconds and calls literally would be final with no Lou Pinella tirades.
I dont want to hear bullhonkey on a salary cap. There are two kinds of baseball - teams that can spend the money on free agents, wasting away their ability to produce a solid farm system as backup and for the future, and those that can build a farm system and thrive. Oakland, Minnesota, Florida, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Tampa Bay are all the farm-bearing teams. With both New Yorks, Boston, the Chicagos, and Southern California as the free-spenders.
Players earn their money. If owners dont want to gamble on a big signing, then they dont have to get that signing. The player already has the credentials, now pay him his due. Unlike in the NFL, where rookies are paid better than 5-time all pros. Now THAT needs to be fixed.
Finally, in the performance enhancing department, let me say this: I dont care. I really dont. Because, to me, Advil and Tylenol are the same things as HGH and greenies. The same thing as a Red Bull or a pinch of chew. If you think it gives you an edge, a buzz, puts you in the zone or peaks your physical condition - then its the same. Ibuprofen is there too. If you are taking an over the counter pill to stop some tenderness in your elbow, you might as well take a gulp of flaxseed oil or a shot of B12 while youre at it. If you cant feel the pain, you play differently than if you can. Isnt that the same thing as steroids?
Now Im not saying using steroids are cool or fine and that our youth should look into it - because they shouldnt. But these guys are professionals. If they want to become sterile or lose out on the size of their manhood - thats their choice. I would never do it. However, I dont blame the guy who does it as a minor-leaguer just trying to get into the bigs. I dont blame the guy trying to recover from a bum hamstring or torn ligament. And I dont really blame a guy like Jose Canseco for doing it just to make more money. Our society is driven by money anyway, so why should he (or Bonds, or Clemens) get blamed for doing it?
Well, thats my semi-rant for now. Until next time sports fans....
*Sports editor's note: my comment on taking 15 minutes to get the call right was not intended for balls and strikes. That can be done easily with Questec and the same zones that FOX and ESPN use. The 15 minutes was more for getting sliding calls, catches, fair-or-foul and home runs called correctly.
So Melvin, a brainchild walking amongst Alaskan pigeons, didnt land CC Sabathia. Im not disappointed. Im not upset. Im not mad at CC or the Yankees, and Im not mad that Melvin didnt offer more money. CC earned his way to that money, and New York has it to offer.
However, outside of losing CC, Gabe Kapler, and likely Ben Sheets, Melvin has made off well so far with what hes had.
He picked up Too-Hot-to-Trot Nixon and Chris Duffy. These two will not only fill the void of a missing Kapler, but should someone go down with an injury, they are a much better option than Milwaukees AAAA OF Tony Gwynn Jr.
Then he picked up Jorge Julio - a solid relief pitcher on a team that lost out on Eric Gag-me (I mean Gagne) to free agency and Salomon Torres to retirement. And now, with the addition of Trevor Hoffman as closer, Melvin has rekindled the bullpen.
Say what you wish about this team, I see a solid bullpen. I said the same thing last season, and for long periods it was solid. The same can be said with my other favorite team Cleveland. They had a solid bullpen that turned to crap. Now with the addition of Kerry Wood, Cleveland just needs some Ricky Vaughn-type help in the rotation and things should go along smoothly.
As far as the hitting department, Cleveland needs Travis Pronk Hafner and Vic Martinez to pick up their games.
In Milwaukee, this is Bill Halls (and likely Rickie Weeks) last spring to solidify himself as a Brewer. With Mike Lamb able to handle right-handed pitching and Hercules descendent Mat Gamel poking his head through the door, Hall doesnt have years, months, weeks or days to prove himself just about a couple of swings.
Weeks on the other hand, needs to show a lot more. And if Weeks is shown the door, it will be very interesting what the club will do with JJ Hardy and Alcides Escobar up the middle. JJ is a fan (and girl) favorite, whereas Escobar is the Ozzie Smith of this millennium.
Personally, I would rather move JJ to second base (he is not very fast and his range is limited), and allow Escobar to blossom in the bigs at his natural position. This, of course, is assuming Gamel can overcome his Braun-ish-Weeks-ish struggles defensively over at the hot corner. If he cant control his throws, he may be designated to RF in the future (likely moving Corey Hart to center) or to first base (should Prince ever get traded).
In the end, the moves I want done wont happen. Why? Because Melvin is smarter than me and the fans would crucify me.
I would lock up Fielder for 6 more years, trade Hardy and Parra and a dump of minor leaguers for Matt Cain and a few low-ballers with promise. I would also bring up Angel Salome now to learn from Kendall.
The Salome thing may not get me forced to walk the plank, but many around baseball say that move would be way too early.
Now, to other business. I love talking baseball, and people who know me can certify that. However, unless you REALLY know me, do you know that I am philosophically right-side up compared to 95% of fans.
Think about this: Which issues do you want resolved first? 1. Salary cap in baseball, 2. Stopping the use of performance enhancers (and catching past offenders), or 3. Getting instant replay to become a staple while moving the game to technological sensors and computers to get calls right instead of human-like umpires.
Most people go 1, 2, 3 or 2, 1, 3. Me, I go 3, then after about 80 years, 2 and 1.
To me, the idea of professional sports with so much money on the line through merchandise, TV, and the fans, the No. 1 goal of EVERY professional sport is to get the call right. Every strike, ball, hit down the line, home run, tag on a steal and catch should be called correctly. Even if it takes 15 minutes in some cases - get the call right.
The strike zone is approximately the easiest to do, followed by homeruns. Instant replay is fine for now, but it is only a matter of time before we should put the technology in place to have sensors within the ball, the gloves, the bases, the foul lines and the cleats of the players. With this, every call would announced through a computer in milliseconds and calls literally would be final with no Lou Pinella tirades.
I dont want to hear bullhonkey on a salary cap. There are two kinds of baseball - teams that can spend the money on free agents, wasting away their ability to produce a solid farm system as backup and for the future, and those that can build a farm system and thrive. Oakland, Minnesota, Florida, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Tampa Bay are all the farm-bearing teams. With both New Yorks, Boston, the Chicagos, and Southern California as the free-spenders.
Players earn their money. If owners dont want to gamble on a big signing, then they dont have to get that signing. The player already has the credentials, now pay him his due. Unlike in the NFL, where rookies are paid better than 5-time all pros. Now THAT needs to be fixed.
Finally, in the performance enhancing department, let me say this: I dont care. I really dont. Because, to me, Advil and Tylenol are the same things as HGH and greenies. The same thing as a Red Bull or a pinch of chew. If you think it gives you an edge, a buzz, puts you in the zone or peaks your physical condition - then its the same. Ibuprofen is there too. If you are taking an over the counter pill to stop some tenderness in your elbow, you might as well take a gulp of flaxseed oil or a shot of B12 while youre at it. If you cant feel the pain, you play differently than if you can. Isnt that the same thing as steroids?
Now Im not saying using steroids are cool or fine and that our youth should look into it - because they shouldnt. But these guys are professionals. If they want to become sterile or lose out on the size of their manhood - thats their choice. I would never do it. However, I dont blame the guy who does it as a minor-leaguer just trying to get into the bigs. I dont blame the guy trying to recover from a bum hamstring or torn ligament. And I dont really blame a guy like Jose Canseco for doing it just to make more money. Our society is driven by money anyway, so why should he (or Bonds, or Clemens) get blamed for doing it?
Well, thats my semi-rant for now. Until next time sports fans....
*Sports editor's note: my comment on taking 15 minutes to get the call right was not intended for balls and strikes. That can be done easily with Questec and the same zones that FOX and ESPN use. The 15 minutes was more for getting sliding calls, catches, fair-or-foul and home runs called correctly.
