Where I argue that I wasn't COMPLETELY wrong about the Carlos Lee trade
I was never a proponent of signing Carlos and no one else.
Yet, that's the false pretense that all Lee Trade Apologists (LTAs) want to hang on us detractors.
No, Carlos Lee in and of himself would not have gotten us to the playoffs. I could see, just like everyone else, that they were losing games with Lee in the lineup.
Now maybe I'm not that smart, but that suggests to me that we needed to pick up some better players, and that we needed to keep our good players who were producing well (like Lee).
Yet, we did the opposite. We got rid of Lee and picked up three players, two of whom are not helping the team.
As I said at the time, we traded away a slugger for two average-to-below-average outfielders and a reliever. The reliever, Coco, is doing well and I like him, but the two outfielders add nothing to the team.
Answer this, ...is Mench better than Hart? No. So, there was no need for Mench.
Is Nix better than any of the following: Clark, Cruz, Gwynn, or Gross? Maybe, maybe not. So, there wasn't really any need for an unproven AAA outfielder since we already had approximately 47 of them.
We needed to add talent, and at
best what we did was lose a little bit of talent for about the same money, so we're not even saving any cash with this move.
Predictably, the Brewers are playing worse with Lee gone, and have fallen into their worst slump of the season.
The bottom line is that this owner seems intent to run the team on the cheap, and I'm sorry, that's just not going to work. I can understand not chasing every high-priced name that hits free agency, ...but failing to keep your own All Stars?
My evidence ...have you heard anything about the Brewers attempting to lock up Capuano, Fielder, Hall, or Weeks to long term deals?
No.
Let me give you a preview of what they'll say in a few years:
"We got 3 good AAA outfielders for him."
"We couldn't spend all our money on one guy, then we wouldn't be able to sign other players."
"Suckers."
Washington Generals File Suit Against Green Bay
Claims Copyright InfringementGreen Bay, WI - Washington Generals owner Bozo McDouche filed suit in federal court today claiming that the Green Bay Packers "blatantly infringed" on their "well established incompetence, buffoonery, and trademark ineptitude" in their Monday night pre-season loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Generals contend that their reputations as the world's most efficient purveyor of disgraceful defense and comically stumblebum offensive misery was "severely damaged" by the Packers on Monday night.
"Not only did they steal our shit," Said McDouche. "They trespassed on the anti-intellectual property rights of a level of incompetence previously only inhabited by make-believe sports franchises."
Some specific points of contention listed in the 76 page brief include:
Quarterback Brett Favre throwing the ball backwards over his shoulder, enabling the Bengals to return it for a touchdown.
Dropping 47 passes, a feat impossible to achieve by accident.
The numerous "tripping over my own feet" gags, a copyrighted act when done in bunches of a dozen or more.
The repeated tipped passes seemingly designed for the opposing player to catch it, another copyrighted act.
Charles Woodson is mentioned 19 times for stealing such routines as "sit n' spin", "which way did he go?", "D'oh!", "D'oh #7", "backwards forwards", "slip n' slide", and "the famous shitstain".
"C'mon man," Said McDouche. "That shit's all ours. Letting the opposing players run you literally in circles, standing flat footed while they skip by into the end zone, crashing into one another as if you are deaf, dumb, and blind, ...it made me sick."
"When I think of all the hard work we put in to achieve this level of shittiness, and to see how blatantly they stole it, ...it makes me wonder what's happening to this world."
Reached by phone while hiding in his locker with failure-in-the-game-of-everything Kurt Schottenheimer, Packer coach Mike McCarthy attributed the similarities to coincidence. "I mean, did it ever occur to you that we might just be that bad?"
Likely to complicate the lawsuit is McDouche's very public and persistent attempts to lure away Packer general manager Ted Thompson for an identical job with the Generals.
"I'm sure this wasn't his doing," McDouche said. "But we like him. He gets what we do. He's our kinda guy."
When asked about the job offer, Thompson offered a smirk and a confusing retort, "When the thing don't fit, the smart farmer steers the popsicle fairly jab crab-apple aerosol."
Legal scholars suggested the Generals have a excellent chance of winning. "Bad is bad," Said Copyright attorney Steve Bisconti. "But no jury is stupid enough to believe that anyone is THAT bad. I mean, did you see that shit last night? Those brothers SUCKED!"
Where I argue that I wasn't COMPLETELY wrong about: Greg Jennings
The star of the minicamps has been the star of pre-season, Donald Driver clone, Greg Jennings.
Yes, this is the same Greg Jennings who I said was a "bum", who I said wasn't as good as Brandon Williams, who I said never played top competition, and who was a "reach" as a 2nd round pick.
Of course, none of us had ever seen him play because he played for such a small school, but he appears to be a great deal better than I thought.
But I'm not ready to jump on his bandwagon just yet, ...
He's only average height for a receiver (or slightly below), but well-built.
He's slower than you would like.
He's dropped two 3rd down passes in the past two games.
He didn't rise up and fight for a jump ball thrown to him by Favre and the pass was intercepted.
But he has shown great intelligence, work ethic, technique, and moves. If he can duplicate what Driver has done, then he was worth a second round pick.
So, how is it that I still say I'm not
completely wrong?
Because he lacks the big play ability that Javon Walker brought to the team. He won't be a threat to stretch the field due to his speed and leaping ability, ...he basically gives Favre another Driver to throw to.
Which is a huge step up from Chatman and Fergie and the other assorted debris that finished last season in Titletown.
So, while I now admit it was a good pick (two years in a row Teen Wolf gets a good sleeper receiver, hmmm), it remains to be seen how he'll hold up to 16 games at the pro level.
A lot of the criticism (size, small college, lacks speed) is accurate. Let's hope he can overcome it.
Exhibition Game Two
The in-laws are now gone, so I have a few minutes to toss out a few thoughts about the romp over Atlanta.
Three of the touchdowns came off of deflections. I put all of them in the "fluke" category.
Tony Moll held his own, which upgrades the offensive line to it's 2005 level. Take that any way you wish ...
I'm liking McCoach's plays, they remind me a lot of the Holmgren era. Receivers clearing out zones, catching passes underneath coverage, the precision chess match, ...and Favre excelled at it.
The secondary got toasted again, and absent a few blitzes, the pressure was few and far between. I'm afraid this might become a bigger problem when the real bullets start flying.
It was nice to see some spirit, some aggression, and even some smiles out there. Up until this game, it seemed like no one smiled. They were the most tense group of pro athletes I've ever seen.
The mystery of the dumb pen sticking out of the back of McCoach's hat was solved, ...he got that idea from Jon Gruden and has yet to realize how stupid it looks. It's a little too "Tice-like" for me.
YES!
I know a few people who have contributed directly to
this.
Nice going boys!
Ted E. Thompson: Super Genius
Despite the fact that his disastrous decision to let top-notch guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera walk away, he has compounded the illogical almost zany decision by attempting to replace them with the following nickel-and-dime retreads, has-beens, and never-weres: Adrian Klemm, Will Whitticker, Scott Wells, Grey Ruegamer, Matt O'Dwyer, Atlas Herrion, Daryn Colledge, Junius Coston, a scarecrow from a Green Bay corn field, the fake plastic tree from his lobby, and a pile of cushions from his basement couch.
He's had TWO drafts and two seasons of free agency to address the situation, but somehow he's only found one non-NFL Europe caliber player, ...Jason Spitz.
So, what does Thompson do? Does he got out and make trade? Nope. That would mean giving up draft picks, and we all know he is sexually obsessed with late round draft picks.
No, his answer to the situation is to start Tony Moll.
He's a
rookie.
Who played
TE in college.
Who only transitioned to
tackle in his
last year.
And they want him to play
guard.
Yes, Thompson is planning to start a guy who has only one season of experience on the offensive line in his entire life.And they are starting him out of position.
Think the Bears, Vikings, and Lions defensive fronts might be salivating right about now?
We'll get a chance to see him on Saturday night. If he fails, Thompson says he might have to make a trade.
Hey, no hurry! Season's only 3 weeks away.
Exhibition Game 1
Well, we can all see that they sucked so there's really no point in complaining about:
- The offensive line. Did anyone else have a flashback to the early 80's with all the 3rd and longs?
3rd and 39, Dickey drops back, he scrambles, throws over the middle to Kaufman, he's got it! ...for a 37 yeard gain. The Packers will punt.- The defensive backs. Nice to see Terrell Buckley's presence still haunts the DBs.
- The linebackers. The mystery of Nick Barnett's high tackle numbers is revealed, ...he can't cover anyone, but he's great at tackling them after they've made the catch in front of him for a first down.
- The running backs. Najeh looks "pooped" out.
- The defensive line. When the coach said, "No pressure, it's just a pre-season game," that's not what he meant.
The only thing to add is that the offensive line is in need of emergency competency. Without an influx of different players at that position, the Packers will struggle to win four games this year.
I hope Thompson is aware that the Giants are desperate for a starting defensive tackle (maybe we can trade one for a starting o-lineman) and that Eagles center Hank Fraley wants a trade.
I'd rather focus on the positives from last night's game. And yes, there were positives. In order to see them, you have to accept the fact that this season is lost and beyond hope. Focus on next year and the year after, and suddenly things don't look so bad ...
1. McCoach can see. The first thing that jumped out to me is that he immediately challenged the three questionable plays that went against them and he was correct each time. The art of throwing a red flag when there is an obvious bad call always eluded Sherman. In fact, the Packers beat the Eagles in the 2003 playoffs if Sherman throws that red flag. So, I was happy to see that McCoach has a working set of eyes. It's a step up from last year.
2. McCoach has a brain. After just two disastrous series caused by poor blocking he changed course, ...moving Favre out of the pocket and attacking the defense from another angle. Sherman went entire games without doing that.
3. Hawk can play. Although still lost in coverage, he pursued well and tackled great. Nice to see some improvement. As a side note, Hodge took a step back and was exposed, he has big upside though. I bet they are viewing him as a good option to replace Barnett after next year rather than giving Barnett big money.
4. Rodgers rocks? Maybe. He looked like Phillip Rivers out there, tossing lasers and bombs left and right. He still needs some work, but at least he's a very good backup right now.
I don't understand why people are panicking. They never really had the potential to go .500 this year anyway. And I think they have some pieces that can help shape the future into a successful one.
Jenkins Feels Entitled
Here's what bothers me about Geoff Jenkins.
He was once a hard-playing, scrappy player with a big bat and a propensity for hot streaks that could literally carry an entire team.
Now he just seems like a veteren that feels entitled to his starting spot regardless of how well he plays. He cares more about himself than he does the team.
I've seen no urgency in his words or actions or behavior in the field.
He refuses to take instruction from the Brewers hitting coach, and I guess he feels we should all just be satisfied with .254, 10 home runs, and 57 RBI for the year.
And then there's this:
In his last 43 at-bats, Jenkins had only six hits (.140). During one stage of the season, he went a career-high 142 at-bats without a home run.
Yost
finally did the right thing.
Now Melvin needs to the right thing. Any manager that would sit with Jenkins in the daily lineup, even against lefties (against whom he is hitting a fat .120 with one homer and six RBI in 83 at-bats), even refusing to SUB him against lefties until mid August deserves to be fired.
Oh, and he also put Turnbow in again in a tied game in the 9th. Guess what happened next?
Imagine There's No Thompson ...
So, imagine me sitting there in my easy chair,
brooding in my cavernous mansion, grasping a glass of brandy with my thin, clawlike fingers and a superior smirk on my greedy, soulless face. I'm reading the paper and I see that first year offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski says:
"Coach (McCarthy) and Ted (Thompson) will decide how many snaps Brett will get." Spit take.
Since when does the GM make decisions about the number of snaps a QB gets? Isn't that the coach's call?
Some nay-sayers said that Thompson picked McCarthy because he didn't want a coach who came with any track record of excellence that would overshadow Thompson, ...so that he could control the coach, micro-manage the team, and have a ready scapegoat in case anything went wrong.
Also, he didn't want anyone who might someday take his job.
This doesn't look good.
