I'll See This

Although if they fail to cover Don Flamenco and his weighted gloves, or that crooked ref Mario, they're doing a disservice:

"Tyson was the toughest fighter in the boxing game at the time, but he was also the first fighter to pay attention to patterns and warning signals," Yoneyama said. "Before he came on the scene, no one realized that opponents sometimes raise their eyebrows or twinkle the gem in the middle of their turban immediately before throwing a punch."

(Fact: I used to be able to defeat Mike Tyson with my eyes closed.)

Spring Training 2/28 Open Thread

Apparently Looper has been scratched and Morlan will be making his first start on any level in 3 years.

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Craig Counsell
C Jason Kendall
DH Tony Gwynn

DH Tony Gwynn. Hot.

The Bad Luck Badgers

From John Gasaway:

3. Wisconsin (Actual: 8-7; Predicted: 10-5) . See "Georgia Tech," above. The Badgers went through a devastating stretch in January, losing consecutive overtime games to Minnesota and Iowa. Bo Ryan's team then dropped a seven-point game at Illinois, a one-point game at home against Purdue and a three-point game at Northwestern. Wow.

Cactus League Game 3, Brewers vs. A's Open Thread

Maybe ESK will take this thread over and add the "cover it live" thing again, but if not we'll stick to the old fashioned open thread in the comments section. Manny Parra gets the start today. Here's the Braun-less lineup

C Jason Kendall
CF Chris Duffy
RF Corey Hart
1B Prince Fielder
LF Trot Nixon
3B Casey McGehee
2B Craig Counsell
DH Mike Lamb
SS Alcides Escobar

Go Brewers!

Spring Training 2/26 Cubs - Brewers

We'll see how this works out. I apparently have to mod every comment, but I think I can put a little star next to your name to allow you to comment unmoderated. I'll do that to everyone who posts so that it goes smoother. Try to post before 3 since I'll be gone for the start of the game.

Marquette Suffers Insult, Injury

It's bad enough that Marquette lost at home to UConn, but their chances of making a big run in the NCAA tournament also took a big hit on the news that Dominic James is done for the year with a broken bone in his foot. Ouch.

Cactus League Game Thread - Brewers vs. A's

Wow that felt good to type. There's a Brewer game today! New manager Ken Mach will be sending mediocre veteran Jeff Suppan against a pitcher who's last name is Out-Man. I can think of few better names for a pitcher. Let's hope it's ironic. Game starts at 2:05. Go Brewers!

How is it any different? ESPNChicago

Was Cub coverage getting in the way of Red Sox coverage?

The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” this week said it plans to launch ESPNChicago.com, a Web site devoted to the Chicago sports scene. The site, scheduled to launch in April, will feature a daily Chicago version of “Sportscenter,” ESPN’s signature sports news show, and contributions from ESPN columnists and radio personalities with ties to the city.

In back-stabbie (stabby?) news, Miller is the primary advertiser.

Baseball America Top 100: 19, 34, 81, 100

19: Alcides Escobar SS ETA: 2009

34: Mat Gamel 3B ETA: 2009

81: Brett Lawrie C/3B ETA: 2011

100: Jeremy Jefress P ETA: 2009

See the whole list here. This isn't a terrible showing considering how young the Brewers are. It's a bit more troubling when you realize how "old" these prospects are. Three of the four are projected (and probably should) hit Milwaukee this year. That leaves one legit top 100 in the system. Ouch. Honestly, beyond these four the cupboard is fairly bare. Some people have hopes for Angel Salome and Jon Lucroy (my new boy!) but after that? Pretty much nothing. The next closest thing they have to a prospect is Cutter Dykstra solely because his awesome name and memories of his pop will sell jerseys.

Odorizzi might mature into a solid pitcher years down the road and Cody Scarpetta might be poised to break into the Top 100 (big might) but I don't see anything else. Taylor Green is overrated, Lorenzo Cain is 22 and has yet to show signs of dominating even at AA. This is a big year for a large chunk of the middling prospects in the system. Hopefully a lot of them break out big. My hopes for next breakout dark horse lie with Cole Gillespie.

The end of the A-11 Offense

We've mentioned the A-11 offense before, and how it was created by the coach of Piedmont (CA) High School to give his under-manned team a chance to compete against the other schools in it's conference that had twice the enrollment. The secret to the A-11 is that it ran out of a scrimmage kick formation, usually used for punts and PATs. Typically, linemen must wear jersey numbers between 50 and 79 and are ineligible receivers. In the A-11, nobody wears those numbers and everybody is a potential receiver. It's really quite brilliant and a great example of thinking creatively and using what's available to you to accomplish something.

But we wouldn't want our high school kids to be creative problem solvers, would we? The National Federation of State High School Associations sure doesn't, so they "closed the loophole" that allowed it to work.

"It was unethical for them to use a loophole in the rules to run this offense," said Mike Webb, the supervisor of football officials for the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission who is on the NFHS football rules committee. "This takes away the deception."

Wait, what? Unethical? Deception? I think these guys need to take a big step back for a second and reevaluate what they are doing. It's a football game. A team figured out a way to compete by playing within the rules. They should get medals.

Hat tip to Chuckie Hacks, who has more here.

Wisconsin's Mt. Rushmore of Sports

ESPN had a poll in which it asked people from each state to pick four sports figures tg grace it's "Mt Rushmore of Sports." The results for Wisconsin were Hank Aaron, Brett Favre, Vince Lombardi and Al McQuire.

Obviously this thing is a totally ridiculous exercise, but it's a slow sports day, so what do you guys think? Who would you pick?

I agree with Aaron and Favre, the two greatest in the two biggest sports. Although I may argue for Yount over Aaron since Aaron did a lot of his awesomeness in Atlanta. I'm less crazy about the other two though. I realize Lombardi is big news, but I'm not crazy about putting a coach up there. Of course, if any coach, it should be Lombardi. I really don't get McGuire though. I'm not up to speed on 70s era Marquette basketball, but didn't he win one NCAA title? Not that that's a small deal, but how do you include him and not Barry Alvarez? Or Curly Lambeau?

I think I would add Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He played 6 seasons with the Bucks and won the title once. He was the best player of his time and one of the best ever.

I'd also add Eric Heiden. He's basically the greatest skater ever. He won every single speed skating race at the 1980 olympics. That's 5 gold medals and 4 world records. He won the sprints and the distance races. You just don't do that in speed skating.

So I'd go Robin Yount, Brett Favre, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Eric Heiden.

Gaming the system

Tom H. is reporting that the Brewers' rotation for Cactus League will be 1. Suppan, 2. Gallardo, 3. Parra, 4. Looper and 5. Bush. Tom thinks it's possible this will carry into the regular season because Keeping him at #2 it would take pressure off of Yo and would allow the new guy, Looper, to start the home opener against the Cubs.

I think this is a great rotation. I just hope Macha is doing it for the express reason of having his worst pitcher throw against everyone else's aces in the beginning of the season and creating better match-ups for #2-#5.

Badger Note

If I ever see Marcus Landry take another 3-pointer, it will be to soon. Dude is Charlie Wills from out there.

Ryan Braun's new line of t-shirts

wtf? I guess they may go over well with Milwaukee's biker population. Or Poison fans at the state fair. But at $100 a shirt? No thanks.

Getting the Crowd Involved

I was perusing Paul's favorite stat head site this morning and came across an interesting little tidbit. I thought it made good trivia.

Name the best and the worst base runner on the Brewers. (Hint: neither is a pitcher)

Edit: It's actually not as interesting as I thought, I missed the second page which had the actual "worst" base runner on the team. More interesting I suppose is the second worst base runner, so guess that as well.

Trade Deadline, Troubled Assets, And Richard Jefferson

It's no secret that the Bucks would like to deal Richard Jefferson before 2:00 today. If they don't shed some payroll they will be in a pretty tough cap situation going into next season, and if they want to have any hope of hanging on to Ramon Sessions or Charlie V, a Jefferson trade is almost a must. I don't see it happening. This post at Marginal Revolution is quite interesting:

You also may have heard that the Phoenix Suns have been trying to unload All-Star players Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal. They are not hoping to get equal talent in return but rather they need to lower their payroll. (Why pay $75 million a year for a fringe playoff club?) And the New Orleans Hornets, former contenders, traded center Tyson Chandler simply to unload his salary.

I think of the Suns or Hornets as similar to a highly leveraged institution. I don't know the debt level of their corporate structure but that is not the point. The Suns have been spending lots in recent years toward the goal of ever-rising prices for season tickets and corporate boxes. Does that strategy sound familiar? If the future price hikes don't come on the main asset, they can't afford their obligations and so they will try to shed illiquid and hard-to-value assets into an unwilling market. Sound familiar?

There are not many buyers out there for high-priced assets, even if they are as good as Jefferson or Stoudemire, and even if you can move them, the lack of buyers means that you will get less than you usually would. Add in the fact that the salary cap is actually like to drop next year, and you wind up with all sellers and no buyers.

At least Richard Jefferson is a good player, and there are a few teams that are rumored to be interested (Portland, most recently), but don't be surprised if the trade market is completely frozen today.

Bucks vs. Bulls game thread

Anybody watching? I've got like five hours to kill before my flight home leaves and found a bar showing the game, so I am. The Bulls are 2.5 games behind the Bucks for the 8th playoff spot so both teams have something to play for. Look for a good match up between young point guards Sessions and Rose. Go Bucks!

Bucks Injuries Continue

The Bucks suffered another big loss to injury as Bango went down for the season.

Bango, the Milwaukee Bucks' popular mascot, hurt his right knee during last weekend All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, and will need surgery in March.

The Bucks announced this afternoon that Bango will still be seen around the Bradley Center, but fans will miss his "gazelle-like dunks and agile maneuvers."

"He will miss few - if any - home games and the Energee! Dance team, Hoop Troop, Rim Rockers, Air Bango, Super Force and newly formed Bucks Wild! percussion drumline will continue to fill the court in support of Bango," the team announced.

The news that Bango had hurt himself represents the latest in a string of injuries affecting the Bucks. Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd are out for the season, and Luke Ridnour was out for several games.

Bango is expected to be a part of Sunday's Bucks Sponsor Mascot Rally during halftime of the Bucks-Denver Nuggets game at the Bradley Center, and is expected to be in the court tonight when the Bucks host the Chicago Bulls.

He'll be there, but will he still be able to skate board on his hands? This is a huge loss.

Hair of the Dog, 2/18/09

I've sort of been off the radar for a while, first on a brief vacation and now on a business trip. I was in four different time zones yesterday! With the Bucks continuing to impress and the Brewers reporting to camp, I've been missing some exciting times in Wisconsin sports.

The Bucks took on the Pistons in Detroit last night, just 3 games after their overtime loss at the Bradley Center. They won 92 to 86. This time, Ramon Sessions upped his assists and let his team mates do most of the scoring. Richard Jefferson lead the way with 29 points on just 13 shots. Since Redd and Bogut went down, the Bucks have needed role players to really step up and support RJ, Charlie V and Sessions. Last night Malik Allen, who added 14 points and 8 rebounds. The Bucks are now 27 and 29 and holding on to the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern. They're two games ahead of New Jersey. The Bucks have 26 games remaining, 16 of which are home games. The Nets have 14 home games and 14 road games remaining. The Bucks are also just two games behind Detroit and Philly for the 5 and 7 spots. Both the Pistons and the 76ers have 13 home games and 17 road games to go.

Besides the team reporting to camp, the big Brewers news items include Cory Hart avoiding arbitration and signing a deal worth $3.25 Million plus incentives, and Erig Gagne signing a minor league contract, and Fielder is apparently less fat this year. I agree with what ESK said about Gagne below. It's a deal with a big up side and not much of a down side. The Hart deal seems reasonable enough. Let's just hope that now that he's making money, he doesn't start to look down on the fans.

We've also got some news about how Macha plans to use the players he has. He doesn't plan on having Gallardo as his #1 starter on opening day. That's cool with me. It may be tough to stomach the fact that Braden Looper is our #1, it would bump everyone down a peg and create more favorable match ups for the rest of the guys. At least in the early part of the season. He also plans to bat Weeks first and Hardy second. I think it's safe to assume that Braun and Fielder will be 3rd and 4th and the Kendal and Pitcher will be 8th and 9th.

I'm still looking for pictures of Fielder at camp. I want to see how much less fat he is.

Gagne a "win for the Brewers"

I may be a glutton for punishment, but I agree with everything Eric says.

If he makes the big league roster out of Spring Training, Gagne will earn a base salary of $1.5 mil. Up to $2 mil in incentives can be earned by pitching anywhere from 25-60 games. Lastly, another $1 mil could be had by finishing 50-65 games, which simply isn’t going to happen. Assuming he pitches in 45 games with the major league team, Gagne looks poised to make around $3 mil next season...

GM Doug Melvin stated that Gagne pitched much better in the second half of the season. In his first 25 games, Gagne produced a 7.03 ERA with 16 BB and 23 K in 24.1 innings. He could still strike hitters out but his control vanished and too many baserunners came around to score. In his next 25 games, the numbers vastly improved to the tune of a 3.68 ERA, 6 BB and 15 K, and a lower home run rate.

Under the lenses of this microscope, the deal looks great for the Brewers. Gagne isn’t guaranteed any money, and if he pitches like he did down the stretch in 2008, his production would likely command the $3-$3.5 mil anyways. If his second half numbers turned out to be flukey and the result of much-needed regression, no harm, no foul, and the Brewers can cut him before the regular season gets underway.

Bringing in formerly great pitchers and giving them a chance to revert to their former selves is a fine tactic utilized by many GMs. Doing so at a $10 mil salary isn’t as sound. A $1.5 mil base salary with potential for incentives, or a deal with similar terms, is the way to go, making this a win for the Brewers.

Chris often gravitates toward the "money=appearances" when talking about pro athletes, and I do think that is true to a point. Jeff Suppan is going to really test that this year and you could make the case Gagne did last year, although the pen was thin at the start of the year so attrition played a role. This time around, money won't be a factor. Macha isn't going to be pressured into using Gagne in high leverage situation in order to "recoup" the sunk cost.

I honestly liked the risk last year. The Brewers had $10 million laying around and they didn't really fore go someone else in order to sign Gagne, but once they kept throwing him to the dogs it looked terrible. This time around I don't see how you could argue against the deal really, as long as Macha has a very short leash with the tubby frog.

Speed At The Top of the Lineup

One of the dumbest bits of old-fashioned baseball wisdom is that you want speed at the top of the lineup. This is simply not true, and when you think about it, the reasons are obvious.

At the top of the lineup you want guys who get on base regardless of their speed. Speed is less important because the middle of your lineup tends to hit for power, and when your #3 hitter hits a bomb, it doesn’t matter how fast your leadoff hitter is. In fact, the risk of an attempted steal by a leadoff hitter is exacerbated by the fact that the guys hitting behind him are more likely to hit HRs or doubles.

If you have a base-stealer, better to keep him in front of singles hitters. He can get into a position to score on a single, and he will help to keep you out of double plays. Think about it, do you want Corey Hart and his speed in front of Ryan Braun, or in front of Jason Kendall? Kendall is clearly the correct answer.

You should not ding a guy from the top of the lineup if he also has a high OBP, but if you have a guy who’s fast but not great at getting on, the best use of that speed is at the back of the lineup, not the front.

Cory Provus is your new Jim Powell

As I live in Chicago I have had a great deal of exposure to Mr. Provus, and I can attest to the fact that he's actually pretty good. He has a good voice, he seems pretty smart, and while he doesn't have much competition, he is the best part of any Cub radio broadcast. He is also quick with a joke, and I think he will complement Uecker well.

I could be wrong, of course, but I suspect that this is a fine choice.

The Ridiculous ESPN Obsession With Michael Vick

Apparently Michael Vick gets out of prison soon, and while All-Star games and Boston College beating Duke might excite some, speculation about the future of a lousy, incarcerated non-quarterback is apparently more exciting. Fair enough.

I’d like to chip in my two cents and advocate for Vick’s immediate reinstatement. Please do not take my stance as an endorsement of dog fighting or anything like that. I assure you that I believe Vick to be a scumball and a criminal, however, I would like to see him back in uniform for the following reasons.

1. I think it is very possible that he would end up on the Vikings, and this would harm the Vikings as a team, as well as hurting their sex-boat besmirched reputation even more.

2. Since Vick was terrible at football before he went to prison, I assume he is now really really terrible at football. He will turn 29 this year, he hasn’t properly trained in a very long time, and to be even marginally effective he needs to be fast.

3. If he does not end up on the Vikings, he could well end up on the Bears, as the Bears’ GM is an idiot.

4. This would help the Packers.

5. Since Vick is terrible, I think allowing him to play would be punishment, whereas further suspension would be an excuse.

I’ve always hated the hype of Michael Vick. His first (full) season was good, but it did not take defenses long to figure out how to stop Michael Vick. You stop Michael Vick by allowing him to throw passes. If you have a quarterback, and he can be shut down simply by allowing him to throw passes, then you do not have a quarterback. Michael Vick has a lower completion percentage than Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, and Tarvaris Jackson. In 74 games as a pro he has thrown 52 picks, and put the ball on the ground 55 times. For a QB who doesn’t throw many passes, he is a turnover machine. For his career, Michael Vick averaged 6.7 yards per attempt. In 2008, among starting QBs this would have tied him with Brett Favre at 22nd overall, just in front of JaMarcus Russell.

So, Roger Goodell, please reinstate Michael Vick as soon as possible, preferably to the Minnesota Vikings. Packer fans would really appreciate it.

"Sticking it to Ted"

Ugh. This is now going to dominate the Wisconsin sports scene. Ted Thompson: bad guy.

After beating around the bush for a year about the circumstances surrounding his unretirement, Brett Favre finally told Peter King of Sports Illustrated what we all knew was the truth:

"Part of me coming back last year, I have to admit now, was sticking it to Ted (Thompson),'' he said in a rather startling admission.

That wasn't so hard now, was it?

Make no mistake, Thompson has now been branded forever as the guy that drove Favre away from the Packers -- by Favre himself, which will only throw gasoline on this forever raging inferno.

I don't care how it happened, in hindsight it was the right move for the Packers organization, and with each new interview my boy hood hero chips away at his once pristine visage. It's a God damn shame the way this is playing out.

Kevin Goldstein's top 100 prospects

Can be found here. No Brewers crack the top 50, though 5 make it onto the list. Alcides Escobar is the highest ranking Brewer at 51. Goldstein has Lawrie edging out Gamel for #2 in the organization, and Jeffress and Salome round out the list.

Elias: Counsell best player in the last 15 years

NEW YORK—After the records of players who used performance-enhancing drugs are carefully removed, statistics provided by the Elias Sports Bureau indicate that lifetime .255 hitter Craig Counsell was the best player of the past 15 years. "If you judge them on the basis of pure physical ability, you're left with Craig Counsell," said ESB representative Patrick Wondolowski, adding that Counsell's 35 career home runs narrowly beat out Quinton McCracken's 21 and pitcher Glendon Rusch's three. Upon hearing the news, broadcaster Bob Uecker lauded the Brewers utilityman as "one of the best I ever saw, if we're talking about those who I can say without a doubt never took steroids. He came this close to stealing a base off of Ivan Rodriguez, and I swear I heard him foul tip a Roger Clemens fastball. The kid could flat-out steroid-free play. One time he was playing third base and he caught a Rafael Palmeiro line drive—just caught it, right in his mitt." When asked about his Hall of Fame chances, Counsell dodged the question by asking if anyone had a few bucks so he could go buy a sandwich.

Will Inman Update

One of the transactions that has irked me that last couple years was the trade to the Padres in which Melvin gave up prospect Will Inman. Now, I still think the trade was the right move. The Brewers were still in the hunt and the bullpen was terrible. Getting Linebrink made sense. While he pitched well, I thought it was a lot to give up for a few months of late relief. I've been convinced that he'd turn into a pretty good starting pitcher. Chances of that seem less and less likely, as he seems to be regressing.

Scouting report after watching Will Inman pitch in April for San Antonio:

Fastball was better than I had been led to expect: his first 12 fastballs were, in order, 88-89-88-90-89-88-87-91-92-90-89-87. The fastball also had more movement than anticipated, it was not the straight pitch that I have read about in Baseball America. He mixed in a slider at 79-81 MPH, and a slow curveball at 73-74. He also threw one pitch at 81 MPH which had bizarre screwball-like action; perhaps that was his changeup. I was impressed with his secondary stuff, the only real mistake he made was hanging a slow curveball that Dan Carte hit for a home run. I liked Inman and am comfortable with the Grade B he got on the book. I see him as a Jeff Suppan-type inning eater.

Inman’s season in the Texas League resulted in very good K/IP and H/IP ratios, reflecting the quality of his stuff. His walk rate was too high, and scouts report that he had trouble with his fastball command as the season progressed, though he battled through it. His delivery is funky but deceptive. I’ve liked Inman a lot in the past and still think he is underrated by scouts, but the slippage in his control, as well as an excessive fly ball tendency that could result in too many homers, lower his rating to Grade B- Many scouts would say that is still too high. Perhaps I’m just stubborn about this one, but I still like the K/IP and H/IP.

So hey, maybe the move wasn't that bad after all!

Brewers Now Just A Game Out Of The Playoffs in PECOTAland

BP has been doing revisions and with the signing of Looper, plus a few more adjustments, they're now projected to go 86-76.

Break Up The Bucks

Another day, another 120+ point effort from the young Bucks. Richard Jefferson was the big point man tonight putting up an efficient 32 points (10/18 from the field, 8/10 from the line, and 4/6 from behind the arc) but Ramon Sessions continues to be the story. Sessions was held to a rather pedestrian 15 points, but dished out 17 assists, grabbed 7 boards, and had two steals. Good point guards know when to score and when to let their teammates score, and tonight Ramon let his teammates do the heavy lifting as Jefferson, Charlie V., and Charlie B. all enjoyed excellent nights from the floor. Joe Alexander put in a solid 12 minutes as well.

This Bucks team was left for dead by most people (including me), but they have an easier schedule coming up, and they should have ample opportunity to keep pouring in the points.

With the trade deadline looming and free agency on the horizon for Villanueva and Sessions someone might actually break up the Bucks soon, so see them while you can.

This is a fun team.

Insert sarcastic deja vu reference here

New York Jets' QB Brett Favre has announced that he is retiring.

Without the tearful public ceremony that accompanied his retirement announcement from the Green Bay Packers just 11 months ago, quarterback Brett Favre has instructed agent Bus Cook to inform the New York Jets Wednesday that he plans to retire.

pecota depth chart projection...

Central W L RS RA AVG OBP SLG
Chicago Cubs 95 67 865 751 .271 .346 .433
Milwaukee Brewers 83 79 822 808 .260 .334 .434
St. Louis Cardinals 80 82 776 784 .257 .330 .420
Cincinnati Reds 79 83 779 798 .263 .329 .416
Houston Astros 66 96 708 851 .256 .318 .404
Pittsburgh Pirates 65 97 719 887 .255 .321 .406

A few links

It appears the Looper deal is in place. Tom H. speculates that it'll be a 1 year deal for $5 Million guaranteed, plus incentives and some kind of option for 2010. That strikes me as a fair enough deal, especially since the Brewers really needed another starter. Looper is a pretty average starter, but he threw 200 innings last year. Given that we have a 23-year-old that was injured last year anchoring our staff that includes another young lefty and a giant red converted reliever, getting 200 innings out of Looper should be well worth the $5 Million.

The Bucks will not go quietly into the night. When the Bucks lost their leading scorer, rebounder and assist-er to injuries, a lot of us were ready to write them off. Since then, Charlie V has stepped up and Ramon Sessions had a break-out game in an overtime loss to the Pistons. Last night, 4 players scored over 20 points (Sessions: 26, Charlie V: 25, RJ: 25, and Charlie Bell: 21) in a 124-112 victory over the Houston Rockets. The Bucks shot 47 for 89 from the field and 10 for 20 from three-point range. Kieth Bogans also added 13 points and some tough defense in his 4th day as a Buck. Who is this guy? If you would have told me 3 months ago that the Bucks would be running out the clock in a blow-out win against Houston without Redd, Bogut and Ridnour, I would have said, "you're crazy." If you would have told me that they'd be doing so with Kieth Bogans, Joe Alexander, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Malik Allen and Eddie Gill on the court, I would have said, "Who's Eddie Gill?" Still, the Bucks are now 25-29 and hanging on to the 8-spot in the playoffs. They need one more win to match last year's total. And even with the big injuries, things look like they're clicking alright. The Bucks take on the Pacers (20-32) on Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.

We May Have Something Here/How Good Is Ramon Sessions?

It's not often that a player like Ramon Sessions gets this kind of opportunity. More specifically, it's not often that a 2nd round draft pick out of Nevada, who spent the previous season in Tulsa, and who saw his team trade for a player specifically to play in front of him sees the team's starting front court all get hurt while simultaneously seeing his only (and more experienced) competition simultaneously get traded away.

Now, in two games getting major minutes Ramon Sessions has looked nothing short of phenomenal. I know it's only two games, but these are like Chris Paul numbers (although Sessions reminds me more of Dwyane Wade, with his uncanny ability to get to the rim despite the lack of a credible jumper).

Those are lofty comparisons, but his 44 points in his first start followed by a 26 point effort in his most recent start have gotten my attention. And these aren't just "opportunity" points, or as I like to call them, "Sharif Abdur-Rahim" points. Sessions has been extremely efficient in his scoring. Oh, he's also handing out assists, and making life miserable for opposing guards (4 steals against the Rockets).

Can they keep this up? I have no idea, but there's reason for optimism. With the way the team is currently constituted, roles are clearly defined, and that's always good for a team. Villanueva, Sessions, and Jefferson are the scorers, while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Keith Bogans, and Francisco Elson are there to provide defense (along with the rest of the post players). This makeup is actually quite similar to the Allen/Robinson/Cassell Bucks, who employed defense/first centers (the underrated Ervin Johnson and the thuggish Joel Przybilla) to ensure that there were enough basketballs for the "Big 3".

If I seem overly optimistic after 2 games (one of which was a loss), I'm probably guilty of that. I just can't help wondering if, at the end of this season, we might not want to see Redd and Bogut back in the lineup.

So that's what a point guard is supposed to look like.

The Bucks lost a close one to the Pistons in overtime on Saturday night. Considering the injury list, it's somewhat remarkable that they could even match the Pistons over 4 quarters, but they did. The number one reason for this was Ramon Sessions. Over 47 minutes he scored 44 points, was 13 for 18 from the field, 18 for 21 free throws, had 5 boards and 12 assists. Sessions scored 13 in the third quarter, 14 in the fourth, and another 6 in overtime. Most of his points came from driving to the hoop, where he would either beat his man, stop short and shoot, or get fouled. He added a couple jumpers, good passing and descent defense on Iverson too.

"The Looper signing is goint to happen."

According to Tom H., the Brewers are going to sign Braden Looper.

I think this is a good move. Although, it says a lot about the state of the starting pitching situation if the addition of Braden Looper is a big improvement.

Kellogg drops Phelps

Kellogg has officially dropped Michael Phelps:

"The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior _ caught on camera and published Sunday in the British tabloid News of the World _ is 'not consistent with the image of Kellogg.'"

If I'm not mistaken, Kellogg is a company that encourages children, through the use of cartoon tigers, to start off their day with a bowl full of sugar. It's a damn shame that laws would prevent a scientific study to determine which hurts athletic performance more.

A-Roid

Alex Rodriguez was a steroid user.

I look forward to the coming allegations that steroids cause choking.

A Solution to the Starting Pitcher Problem?

In Between Hops has a post up suggesting that the Brewers go with a 4-man rotation (Gallardo, Parra, Bush, Suppan) and designate three middle relievers (Vallanueva, McClung and Riske) to pitch three innings on a 3-day rotation. That leaves you with your closer and a couple other guys for the 9th, mop-up, getting out of jams and LOOGy stuff. I like this kind of idea, but I admittedly don't know enough about how pitcher's arms work to speculate about whether it's possible. What do you guys think?

Bucks trade Lue for Bogans

The Bucks traded Tyron Lue to Orlando for Keith Bogans. He's bigger than Lue and no real contract issues arise from the trade. Eh, whatever.

Sheets Himself

Ben Sheets may need surgery. I know you are all shocked.

This throws a bit of a wrench into the whole Sheets situation. For one thing, if he doesn't sign anywhere by the June draft, the Brewers don't receive a draft pick. It's apparently also unclear who would pay for the surgery.

Poor Benny. What could be worse than pitching an outstanding season in your contract year and then seeing your elbow and shoulder explode right at the end?

(H/T, BCB)

Bucks Now Officially Screwed

The rumors were true. Andrew Bogut has a stress fracture in his back and will miss at least 8 weeks.

D'oh.

If you're looking for a small silver lining, here's one. You can't really be a major player in the NBA without a legitimate star player. The Bucks have a good supporting cast and solid 2nd tier stars with Redd and Bogut. Due to their market size, they are unlikely to attract top free agents. Their only hope of landing a big star is in the draft lottery.

This will almost certainly make them a lottery team, and quite possibly a high lottery team, and therefore there is some chance that they will land a 1st tier star to go with their solid base. This has happened before with the small(ish) market San Antonio Spurs, who lost David Robinson for a year and managed to land Tim Duncan in the draft.

So, there's that.

Wealthy, world-famous 23 year-old professional athlete caught smoking pot

"Message to children" described as “accurate.”

The revelation that 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps attended a raging party where he consumed alcohol to excess and smoked marijuana from a glass water-filtration device commonly known as a “bong” is being treated as a breath of fresh air by many parents.

Reginald Grayson, a father of two boys (ages 7 and 10) has pleased with the news:

“Michael Phelps has accomplished so much professionally, but the talk of hard work and countless hours training, the strange diet, and the fact that he seemed kind of bland in interviews really turned my boys off of swimming. Now they’re finally getting to see that there is a fun side to being successful.”

Other parents welcomed the opportunity to speak frankly with their children about marijuana. Marie St. Edison had this to say:

I find it difficult to talk to my daughter about drugs in general, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to approach the fact that marijuana use is widespread among professional athletes, as we’re not really basketball fans. Phelps is an example we can really relate too.

She added:

I mean, if you can win all those gold medals while still getting higher than a hot-air balloon, how bad can it really be?

Even President of the United States (and father of two) Barack Obama was relieved by the news:

“As a former marijuana user, it’s important that we convey to children that experimenting with mind-altering substances in your late teens and early twenties will not prevent you from becoming President of the United States, or from becoming the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.”

Yes, Phelps’ perfectly age-appropriate behavior is a shining example for all of us. Thankfully, no one in the media has engaged in any over-the-top hysterics about the message this sends to children or demanded a hollow-sounding apology.

Bad Bucks Rumor

The word on the street is that Andrew Bogut is done for the year.

It's still just a rumor at this point, but If this is true, they're really, really finished.

(H/T, Brew Hoop)

H-O-R-S-E

The NBA All-Star Weekend will include a game of HORSE this year. This is a very good idea.

You have to give the NBA points for creativity. They're more than happy to throw ideas against the wall during their All-Star showcase, and depending on who is involved, I think they have a winner here.

real pecota

so, the first iteration of pecota weighted means came out recently. we can now see:
a) what they really are
b) how inaccurate my ghetto method was

weeks 269/373/442 (i was -10 pts of ops in my prediction)
cameron 254/345/472 (-6)
braun 296/362/560 (+21)
fielder 286/380/527 (+6)
hart 289/343/494 (0)
hardy 284/344/459 (-11)
hall/lamb (avg) 259/332/428 (-20)
kendall 251/320/323 (-11)

putting this all into the lineup tool at baseballmusings.com, shows that this lineup will score about 834 runs. not bad. the only NL team to score more runs than that last year was the cubs, who scored 855. second place was the phillies and mets at 799.

JS Gets the Superbowl Wrong

Deadspin has a screen shot of our own Milwaukee Journal Sentinel declaring the Arizona Cardinals victorious over the Steelers. Oooops.

Brewers Spring Training Roster

Pitchers (25)
74 Omar Aguilar..........................................RHP
68 Joe Bateman* ........................................RHP
31 Dave Bush .............................................RHP
39 Chris Capuano*......................................LHP
60 Todd Coffey............................................RHP
45 Mark DiFelice.........................................RHP
48 Tim Dillard..............................................RHP
49 Yovani Gallardo .....................................RHP
65 Lindsay Gulin* ........................................LHP
51 Trevor Hoffman......................................RHP
50 Jorge Julio .............................................RHP
73 Seth McClung ........................................RHP
59 Eduardo Morlan .....................................RHP
67 Sam Narron*...........................................LHP
66 Chris Narveson* .....................................LHP
26 Manny Parra...........................................LHP
62 Luis Pena...............................................RHP
71 Alex Periard ...........................................RHP
54 David Riske............................................RHP
64 Mark Rogers ..........................................RHP
72 Cody Scarpetta ......................................RHP
57 Mitch Stetter ...........................................LHP
37 Jeff Suppan............................................RHP
43 R.J. Swindle ...........................................LHP
12 Carlos Villanueva...................................RHP

Catchers (7)
77 Carlos Corporan* ........................................C
18 Jason Kendall .............................................C
87 Jonathan Lucroy*........................................C
79 Martin Maldonado*......................................C
11 Mike Rivera.................................................C
10 Vinny Rottino ..............................................C
13 Angel Salome .............................................C

Infielders (13)
61 Jason Bourgeois* ..............................INF/OF
30 Craig Counsell .........................................INF
21 Alcides Escobar........................................SS
28 Prince Fielder............................................1B
24 Mat Gamel ................................................3B
2 Bill Hall ......................................................3B
7 J.J. Hardy .................................................SS
9 Hernan Iribarren ......................................INF
20 Mike Lamb...............................................INF
52 Casey McGehee .......................................3B
27 Brad Nelson ........................................1B/OF
32 Scott Thorman* .........................................1B
23 Rickie Weeks ............................................2B

Outfielders (6)
8 Ryan Braun ..............................................OF
25 Mike Cameron..........................................OF
16 Chris Duffy* ..............................................OF
22 Tony Gwynn..............................................OF
1 Corey Hart ................................................OF
3 Trot Nixon* ...............................................OF

Major League Staff
40 Ken Macha......................................Manager
35 Bill Castro..............................Pitching Coach
36 Brad Fischer ..................................3B Coach
53 Stan Kyles..............................Bullpen Coach
33 Willie Randolph........................Bench Coach
6 Ed Sedar .......................................1B Coach
29 Dale Sveum .............................Hitting Coach
56 Joe Crawford ..................Coaching Assistant
55 Marcus Hanel ......................Bullpen Catcher

Scenes From A Booth

When Kurt Warner "fumbled" at the end of the Super Bowl, I noticed an unusual 15 seconds or so of silence from the broadcast booth. I suspect that the following conversation took place:

Director: Do not mention anything about the fact that they are not reviewing this play. We don't want to end the Super Bowl by casting suspicion on the NFL.

Al Michaels: Can we do that? I mean, people are going to be curious about such a close play, especially since a similar play was overturned earlier in the game.

John Madden: And then you have James Farrior taking off his helmet. What I wanna know is, if they overturn the play, does the penalty still count? Because it happened as a result of the play so it might not count, but then again, unsportsmanlike is unsportsmanlike.

Al Michaels: That's right John. We really should mention it. Not everyone out there is a sap you know.

Director: No! You will not be mentioning it. Move on to post-game activities right now.

While this was an outstanding Super Bowl, the last series left me with a bit of an empty feeling. It's unlikely that the Cardinals would have won even if a replay would have occurred (for the record, I think Kurt Warner's arm was going forward and that the refs made a bad call, but that they could not have overturned the call on replay as the evidence was inconclusive), but it would have been nice to see Larry Fitzgerald try to catch a few more bombs.

The NFL made the following statement regarding the play:

According to NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira, the replay official upstairs did see the play clearly.

"We confirmed it was a fumble," said Pereira. "The replay assistant in the replay booth saw it was clearly a fumble. The ball got knocked loose and was rolling in his hand before it started forward. He has to have total control."

I have a few problems with this. First of all, the replay officials had only the time between snaps to look at this. They must have been pretty sure of themselves in that 25 seconds to not order a more in-depth review. But aside from that, I think they're wrong. Warner does get hit before he brings his arm forward, and I think the ball does move a bit, but I also think he regains control of it (I see the seams of the ball sticking in the same place) and then completes his throw. Basically, I see a fumble (Warner) recovery (Warner) and incomplete pass.

The play was certainly not as clear-cut as the NFL is claiming.

Obligatory Super Bowl Pick, and Did Wisconsin Give Up?

1. If Hines Ward was completely healthy I would feel more comfortable picking the Steelers. I still think that the Steelers will win, but it's easy to imagine them struggling on offense. Their stellar defense should be enough to get the job done, after all, they can surely handle a one-dimensional team like the Cardinals, but then again, maybe not.

I've read many articles this week that note the fact that Ben Roethlisberger "has a Super Bowl under his belt" or some such nonsense. Roethlisberger played terribly in that game, and actually managed to put up the worst QB rating of any quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Anyway, this Steeler team can't really run the ball at all (just like the Cardinals. And by the way, too many reporters still think that the Steelers are a "run-first team." They are most definitely a pass-first team.), and it's easy to imagine a turnover-fest breaking out, which could go either way.

So I'm picking the Steelers, but I don't have much confidence in that pick. They're clearly the better team, but that has been true of every opponent the Cardinals have faced to this point.

2. Seriously, did Wisconsin give up? Losing to Minnesota, Illinois, and even Iowa is excusable. Losing to Northwestern? Really? I know they knocked off Michigan State the other day, but Wisconsin also beat this same team by 29 points earlier this year. Well, hopefully they can still get into the NIT.

3. Marquette is continuing to prove that they're really, really good. This time Georgetown was the victim of Jerel McNeal and company, as McNeal put up an unreal 26 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks in a 94-82 win. Marquette has now shown a superior ability to out-duel opponents with big front courts. It is hard to see anyone slowing this team down on offense, and they should be a major force come tournament time.

4. The Bucks have a two game winning streak? Sweet. And they even beat a pretty good team.