BUT THIS YEAR . . . .
Typically I read the Brewer write up which has nothing really to do with the Brewers but a commentary on baseball or small market teams in general and so forth. All of a sudden there is something to write about in Milwaukee.
How can a team that plays for the #1 smallest market in baseball, with one of the smallest payrolls in MLB be so good with such a band of cast offs. How did they get this group of players that other teams did not want NOT because they are bad . . . but because they were just "extra". AND, they keep doing it.
Aguilar hit 30 HRs in the minors for Cleveland but had nowhere to play. BAM - Brewers picked him up cheap. Shaw - had a very good year for Boston but they had someone BETTER - BAM - Brewers picked him up.
Cain and Yelich were an amazing pickup NOT just because they were good but because the Brewers have TWO center fielders they could keep Santana, a corner guy, instead of Broxton (CF) who would have been needed if the Crew only had one CF.
Like most sports, it's not the starters that win games, it's who replaces the starter when he gets injured.
And the pitching where the Brewers found gold by finding pitchers using the wrong pitches to try to get opponents out.
For the last 10 years fast ball use has been declining as more and more batters are "sitting" on a fast ball. Why not find pitchers that use the fastball too much but have a great 2nd pitch. Then make them throw that 2nd pitch MORE. Chacin doubled how many times he throws his amazing slider (one of the best in MLB) Miley last year threw his cutter more then half the time with GREAT results.
The Brewers are finding important trends and under appreciated players and exploiting them. As the author said - If MoneyBall had never been written decades ago and someone wrote it now - Replace Oakland with Milwaukee and there ya go.
On a side note - The write up about Mike Trout. geez. What BP does is take ALL the stats from ALL baseball players of all time and compares every player by age and his stat lines to see what player is comparable at his age.
Trout's most comparable players are, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle and Frank Thomas (4th is Willie Mays and 5th is Mel Ott). If baseball cards were still a thing I would collect every one of his cards.
And Trout is younger then 15 rookies that had over 100 ABs last year. At age 26 he already has 240 career home runs and a career BA of .307, a career OB of .416 and a career SLG of .573.
Being in the AL on the west coast we don't hear a lot about Trout. But really should.
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BEEF of the Day -
SO - it all started with the Chiropractor. I've had a back issue which I was taking care of a little with ice and so forth. But when a intestinal issue started up I knew from experience this was being caused because of my back pain issue (injury 2 years ago on March 17th. YUP - everything is connected and when my 4th vertebra is inflamed - I have . . . issues.
So I go there and have to get all my cards out including my new Medicare card (Medicare is so awesome). I get all my cards and stuff them back into the wallet willy nilly (not "billfold" as anybody under 40 has never heard of that word it seems). Not a big deal right?
So I stop at PicNSave on the way home and all is going well. I get in line with like 5 things and a woman is writing a check and taking FOREVER as the cashier is searching 50 coupons for a certain one and the woman is filing out all the things in the registry with perfect handwriting. Not a big deal but it's taking a ling time.
Then the elderly woman ahead of me, perhaps 85ish? is getting checked and all of a sudden HOLD UP. We need to see an ID for the wine. OK OK. it's stupid checking an 85 year old but I know it's a thing.
I wait patiently as the elderly woman is searching through her very large purse for an ID and finally she finds it and with a shaking hand hands it over. It's been about 10 minutes now . . or feels like it.
MY TURN - I have 5 things and we needed some lighters for candles and I get a little pack and toss them in.
HOLD ON - "We need to have an ID for you to buy BIC lighters" . . . . . . . .
I stumble out of my daydreams and multi tasking and say . . ."what"?
"We need to have an ID for you to buy BIC lighters"
" Why do you need an ID for BIC Lighters?"
"Because a child could buy one and light a house on fire".
"So you need MY ID to by a lighter?"
"Yes we do"
I feel my entire body starting to convulse and as my brain is telling me to be calm be calm now is not the time I grit my teeth and being politically correct I reach for by wallet and my ID which is NOT in it's normal place. At this point I'm not even sure what I'm looking for as I'm a little dizzy, am I tipping someone? Would $5 do it? no no wait what am I doing?
I think all the blood has now rushed from my head because I am holding my tongue from saying ANYTHING. Yet - I'm pretty sure my body language is SCREAMING. The guy behind me is backing up a little and chuckles moving to a different line.
WHAT THE F*CK! my brain is screaming at me. A FREAKING LIGHTER? TRUMP IS RIGHT?
I need a picture ID to do grocery shopping? Is there a freaking list of things I need an ID for? Can I buy gas for my car now without an ID? GAS BURNS THINGS YOU KNOW!
I've been at other PnS and I don't need an ID. I can buy booze without an ID. Is this is corporate bull shit covering their ass for insurance companies? What is the age I can buy a lighter without an ID? Maybe I'm too OLD to buy a lighter? Is that it?
sigh!
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The deconstruction of the deck has started. Sort of sad. When we were building the house DJ the builder and I were standing on top of a rise on the golf course discussing the house and we decided we wanted another 10x10 deck built on the back of the house.
Now it's coming off (not the knee cap) for a newer grander half screened in deck with sides and ceder roof and a roof line that will match the houses roof line.
The original plans had two downspouts going into the yard which would have looked like crap so DJ and I decided to spend some bucks for rain chains instead of down spouts.
Something like this
https://youtu.be/-wEnTY5VeNg
We're on a hill so the water will flow away from the house naturally but we will have a pretty cool basin on the ground meant for butterfly and birds.
So much better then 2 white pipes.
They dug the holes for 2 new footings Tuesday. Should take about a month they figured
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Watch Survivor tonight - you will see why so many people are hook and why it is the #1 most stable show on TV rating wise. Season 38? The greatest social experiment ever!
I am SO PUMPED!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av-gwdvYfNw
Carry on
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