MLB Halfway Hardware and Second Half Predictions

The Brewers have hit the halfway point, and at 49-32 have the best record after 81 games in franchise history. Certainly this is good news, but it's also important to note that the previous record holders (George Bamberger's 1979 team and Ned Yost's 2007 team were both 47-34) both failed to reach the playoffs, so the job isn't done. With the best record in the National League and a 5.5 game lead over the second place Cardinals, however, it certainly is hard to imagine how this team could manage not to at least grab a wild card spot now. Here's how I'm handing out the hardware for the Crew through the official halfway point:

Brewers MVP: Jonathan Lucroy

This is an obvious choice. Lucroy leads the team in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS, and is among the team leaders in RBI and games played (the latter very impressive for a catcher). His WAR of 3.8 is first on the team and third in the National League.

With apologies to: Carlos Gomez, Kyle Lohse

Brewers Cy Young: Lohse

This one is a tough one, but I'll lean toward Lohse, who has emerged as the stopper on a team that lacks a true "ace". He's posted a quality start in 12 out 16 appearances, and he's also the team leader in innings pitched, an important stat for a team with a bullpen handcuffed to Wei-Chung Wang that separates him from Yovani Gallardo. He is tied with Wily Peralta for the team lead in ERA and wins, the latter which ranks them both a tied for third in the National League.

With apologies to: Gallardo, Peralta, Will Smith

Brewers Newcomer of the Year: Will Smith and Zach Duke

The Fresh Prince and his Slider of Death have been absolutely dominant all year, as has Pirate-zombie Duke. You could also just name this award the Rolaids relief pitcher award but it would look the same.. The Brewers pair of dominant lefties sport ERAs of 1.43 and 1.44 respectively, and both have K/9 rates over 11. Smith has been used a bit more in higher leverage situations (he has 19 holds to Duke's 7), but Duke's been much stingier with the free passes (5 to Smith's 16).

With apologies to: No one. This isn't close, sorry Mark Reynolds.

Now I'm going to share here my preseason picks here to see how I'm doing so far, and make any mid-season adjustments I feel are necessary. If that's cheating then shut up it's my blog I do what I want with it.

Pictured: The Rays 2014 Season

AL East:

1) Tampa Bay

2) Baltimore

3) Boston

4) New York

5) Toronto

Grade: F

This is basically the exact opposite of what's happened. I've got Baltimore in the right spot, but I flipped the first and last place teams. My Tampa Bay predictions get worse, stay tuned.

Revised:

1) Baltimore

2) Toronto

3) New York

4) Boston

5) Tampa Bay

A lot of media outlets are high on the Yankees' chances to take this suddenly very weak division, which makes since because media outlets always love the Yankees. The sport a dismal -34 run differential, however, that is good for 7th worst in the majors, so I'm not sold that they'll be able to climb back into the race. If Toronto can find a top-tier pitcher to bolster their rotation, I think they've got a shot to stave off the Orioles.

AL Central:

1) Cleveland

2) Kansas City

3) Detroit

4) Chicago

5) Minnesota

Grade: B-. This looked a lot better a week ago before the Tigers ripped off seven straight while the Royals and Indians struggled.

Revised:

1) Detroit

2) Kansas City

3) Cleveland

4) Chicago

5) Minnesota

It looks like we're getting status quo again in the Central. The Royals are improved and could catch the Tigers, but we've been saying that for years and Detroit has postseason experience that will carry them through to a fourth straight division title.

AL West:

1) Oakland

2) Los Angeles*

3) Seattle*

4) Texas

5) Houston

Grade: A+. #NailedIt

No Revisions. I saw the Texas collapse coming a mile away, and Seattle has obviously made some splashy improvements to their offense. I had both wild cards coming out of this division, and that remains the call as well: Oakland, Los Angeles and Seattle have the three best run differentials in all of baseball.

That smile says, "I'm better than you,
 and I know it."

AL Awards:

MVP: Mike Trout, LAA

Cy Young: David Price, TB

ROY: Yordano Ventura, KC

Grade: C. Trout is running away with the MVP, but Price has been good-but-not-great. Ventura is probably fourth in a stacked AL Rookie of the Year race behind Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees, Jose Abreu of the White Sox and George Springer of the Astros.

Revisions:

MVP: Trout

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, SEA

ROY: Tanaka

I don't want to hear about Josh Donaldson or Edwin Encarnacion, so just stop. Trout is the best baseball player alive and it isn't close. Tanaka is not only your clear favorite for Rookie of the Year, he's also neck and neck with King Felix for the Cy Young.

NL East:

1) Washington

2) Atlanta

3) Miami

4) New York

5) Philadelphia

Grade: A. But for a Philly win and a New York loss last night, I nailed this one too. I didn't necessarily think the Marlins would be a .500 team without Jose Fernandez, but I'll take it anyway.

No Revisions. I like what I've done here. The first two divisions were rough, but I'm starting to heat up.

NL Central:

1) St. Louis

2) Milwaukee*

3) Cincinnati

4) Pittsburgh

5) Chicago

Grade: B+. I got killed in the preseason for being a "homer" and putting the Crew in second place and giving them a wild card spot. Turns out I did get that wrong, but I'm totally okay with that. Other than that, I nailed this. I definitely saw the regression coming from the Pirates, and I didn't think Cincinnati would be able to score as easily with the loss of Choo.

No Revisions. Unfortunately, I do see the Cardinals getting hot at some point and catching the Crew, despite my undying allegiance to the Brewers and the ever-burning hatred that rages on in my heart for the Cardinals. The mere fact that the Cardinals sent a scout to watch David Price this week caused me to uncontrollably wet myself with terror. I still like Milwaukee for a wild card, obviously.

NL West:

1) Los Angeles

2) Arizona*

3) San Fransisco

4) San Diego

5) Colorado

Grade: C-. Everything looks pretty good, except what in the blue hell happened to the Diamondbacks? I picked them for a wild card spot, and instead they're buried in the cellar with the worst run differential in the league.

Revisions:

1) Los Angeles

2) San Fransisco

3) Colorado

4) Arizona

5) San Diego

Colorado has surprised with their bats, even considering the airy confines of Coors Field. Obviously, I'm also dropping the D-Backs toward the bottom, though I have a feeling they'll at least catch San Diego and their historically bad offense.

NL Awards:

MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, LAD

ROY: Archie Bradley, ARI

Grade: D. Goldschmidt has been fine but he's on a last place team, and Bradley has yet to make an appearance in the bigs this year. Kershaw missed some time and doesn't have the eye-popping ERA of Cueto, but I suspect his track record, the no-hitter, his team's performance and his presence in the Los Angeles market keeps him in the race.

Revisions:

MVP: Jonathan Lucroy, MIL

Cy Young: Kershaw

ROY: Billy Hamilton, CIN

Troy Tulowitzki has obviously been on an absolute tear and probably deserves the award, but the writers are traditionally loathe to hand out the MVP hardware to a guy on a team that's not at least in contention for a playoff spot (The Rox currently sit at 35-44, 7.5 games out of the second wild card spot). Plus, whatever go Brewers and it would make me smile a lot to see Luc win the award the same year my grandmother, who absolutely hated him for no reason, passed away. I didn't believe in the Billy Hamilton hype, but after a rough April he's separated himself from a sparce NL rookie field. With apologies to Jonny Cueto and (gag) Adam Wainwright, Kershaw is stil the best pitcher on the planet.

It says here Cespedes and the A's are your World Champions

Playoffs:

National League

Wild Cards: Milwaukee over Arizona

Divisional Round: Dodgers over Milwaukee, Washington over St. Louis

Championship: Dodgers over Washington

Revisions:

Wild Cards: Milwaukee over San Fransisco

Divisional Round: Dodgers over Milwaukee, St. Louis over Washington

Championship: Dodgers over St. Louis

American League

Wild Cards: Los Angeles over Seattle

Divisional Round: Tampa Bay over Los Angeles, Oakland over Cleveland

Championship: Tampa Bay over Oakland

Revisions:

Wild Cards: Los Angeles over Seattle

Divisional Round:  Los Angeles over Baltimore, Oakland over Detroit

Championship: Oakland over Los Angeles

World Series

Tampa Bay over Los Angeles in 7

Revision:

Oakland over Los Angeles in 7

I told you it got worse with the Rays. Yes, that's right. The team I picked to win the World Series at the beginning of the year has the worst record in all of baseball. To be fair, I wasn't alone, but it's still embarrassing. Going forward, I like the Athletics to raise the trophy this year. They've been absolutely dominant, with a run differential (+129!!!) that is more than twice that of the next best team.

Will Smith makes the obvious video, Brewers win the internet again

The absolute only problem I have with this is that it took until late June to make. This might be the most likable team I've ever rooted for, DESPITE the presence of Braun.

The Case for Jimmy Nelson

Since I haven't yet and things still haven't changed, as a blogger for the Brewers, I'm here to finally write my requisite WHERE IS JIMMY NELSON ASDSDFJK #FREEJIMMYNELSON post. We'll start with some blind player comparisons, and then launch into it, grabbing the numbers along the way.

Player A: 5.22 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 2.4 HR/9, 8.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9

Player B: 5.58 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 1.1 HR/9, 5.0 K/0, 3.61 BB/9

Player C: 1.79 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 0.3 HR/9, 9.6 K/9, 2.7 BB/9

Player D: 4.66 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 8.8 K/9, 4.8 BB/9

(All stats from Baseball Reference, current through 6/24/14)

Let's start with the most easily recognizable line, and that's Player A, which is Marco Estrada in 2014. The obvious number that pops out at you is the 2.4 homers per nine, which gives him a staggering 24 dingers allowed this season, easily leading the league and already a career high for him. But the digging a little deeper, the second number you fall on is the 2.8 walks per nine, which is almost a full walk higher than either of his last two seasons. When taken together with the increased home run rate this year, you've got a guy who is surrendering more home runs, with more people on base. The advanced numbers bear this out: his FIP is actually higher than his ugly ERA, sitting at 5.77.

"Sir, you want home run? Home run? Free?"

Now, obviously Marco is struggling right now, and I do not think he's actually as bad as he's been this year. But we've identified a problem. Even taking into account that Marco wasn't all that bad until the middle of May (although his advanced numbers screamed out that this was coming*), obviously you can't have a guy who is passing out home runs like the little old Chinese lady in front of the Asian buffet hands out free samples of chicken teriyaki at the mall if you've got a better option waiting in the wings.

So the question becomes, do the Brewers have a better option? Enter Jimmy Nelson, whose stat line at AAA Nashville this season can be seen above (he's Player C). You know what that line says to me? It says, "I'm done here." Nelson is absolutely dominating the Pacific Coast League, and it's becoming quite clear that he's progressed as far as he's going to in the minors. He's cut his walk rate from a year ago in half, suggesting that he's fixed the one major flaw in his game that remained to be worked out. At this point, you're just wasting valuable innings in the ever-finite career of a pitcher who is already on the wrong side of 25.

"But Travis, don't most rookies struggle to make the transition to the major leagues? Will Nelson really be better than Estrada over the rest of the season? What about regression?"

@BuckysBCCo This isn't some sort of stupid blind faith thing. Wily Peralta was "ready" last year, too, and had a 5.58 ERA in first 3 months.

— J.P. Breen (@JP_Breen) June 23, 2014

Oh, I'll feed you baby birds. Yes, let's take a look at those first three months with the Brewers from Wily last year, he's Player B above. Looks an awful lot like Marco's numbers so far this year, doesn't it? Obviously a higher WHIP for Peralta, but that's offset by Wily's ability to keep the ball in the park. So even if Jimmy Nelson does struggle to make the transition to the big leagues, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's worse than Marco has been this year. 

However, I don't think that's going to happen, which brings us to Player D, which is Peralta's final year at AAA Nashville in 2012. The Brewers had a serious lack of pitching depth last year, which forced Wily into the starting rotation with the big league club when he could probably have benefited from a bit more seasoning in the minors. You can try comparing his numbers to Jimmy's this season, but you'll just start drooling, so maybe go get some bacon instead. We've seen what Peralta has become just one short year later, and I expect similar results from Nelson almost immediately (Peralta is almost exactly one month Nelson's senior). 

Pictured: The Brewers' bullpen dragging Wang (middle) to
the expanded roster finish line on Sept. 1.

Verdict: Marco has had long enough to try to turn his season back around, and it's no longer fair to Nelson (or to the poor hitters in the PCL that are forced to face him) to keep in the minors any longer. It's time to #FreeJimmyNelson. Marco can try to get his groove back in the Brewers' bullpen, making Mike Fiers the latest undeserved casualty to the Wei-Chung Wang experiment (68 days until September 1st!). 

*If you care to know which numbers I'm referring to, I'm looking at a .246 BABIP, which indicates quite a bit of luck (the league average is around .300), and an FIP of around 4.90 (estimated), which pointed to the regression that we're currently seeing.

Top 5 best and worst Wisconsin sports moments of the last 25 years

But we will include this picture

Following the US Men's National Team's thrilling victory over Ghana on Monday, I'm in the mood to rank the five best and worst sports moments I've experienced in my life. These are all going to be single moments, rather than entire games or seasons that were amazing, which is why you won't find the either of the Packers' Super Bowl wins, the Badgers' Final Four runs/Rose Bowl championships, etc. here. Also, this suffers from an inevitable recency effect, as the memory of huge moments fades over time. Deal with it. We'll start with the bad, to send you out on a high note.

Top Five Sports Heart-breakers

Shameful mention: Shaun Marcum announced as Game 6 starter in 2011 NLCS, Kirk Cousin's hail mary beats No. 6 Wisconsin, Ray Allen misses the tip-in to win in Philly in the game 5 of the ECF

5) 4th and 26

Date: January 11, 2004

Location: My parent's living room

This play was so painful it has its own Wikipedia page. After their thrilling overtime victory over Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks a week earlier, the Packers were one play away from a berth in the NFC Championship. Two incompletions, a penalty and a sack left the Eagles facing, well, you know what, with 1:18 left and no timeouts remaining on their own 25 yard line, trailing 17-14. The probability of a loss for the Packers was just slightly higher than the likelihood of Lance Armstrong winning another Sportsman of the Year award. Instead, Nick Barnett blew his coverage, Darren Sharper blew his coverage, Bhawoh Jue blew his coverage, and the Eagles were able to tie. Moments later, a Brett Favre overtime interception (stay tuned for more!) set up David Akers for the game winner.

4) The Catch II

Date: January 3, 1999

Location: Hannah Spear's birthday party

This would have been heartbreaking in it's own right: On 3rd and 3 from the Packers' 25 with eight seconds left and the Packers leading 27-23, Steve Young fired a strike to Terrell Owens to give the 49ers a miracle win after Favre had lead the team on what seemed to be the game-winning drive moments earlier as the Packers sought their third straight Super Bowl appearance (*huff huff huff* how about THAT sentence?). What made it even more painful was that replays clearly showed that Jerry Rice had fumbled four plays earlier in a play that the referees missed (replay review would come to the NFL the following season). Adding to the heartache, this would be Reggie White's final game as a Packer, as he retired following the season (and then came back to play for the Panthers). I cried in my parents' room for an hour after this game.

Can you not

3) Aaron Harrison's trey ends the Badgers' title hopes

Date: April 5, 2014

Location: Replay Sports Bar

I'm still not over this. The building was absolutely rocking with about 300 of my closest friends living and dying on every shot. The collective "oof" when Harrison's shot went in with 5.7 seconds to give Kentucky an improbable victory was palpable and awful. Even with all that time left on the clock, it just felt like the Badgers' luck had finally run out, and indeed it had as Traevon Jackson's prayer clanged off the rim as time expired. This game felt like a battle for the NCAA's soul, with Bo Ryan and his scrappy team of four-year, team-oriented grinders fighting on the side of good against Calipari's definitely-not-paid-yet, five-star McDonald's All-American one-and-dones. As with Butler facing Duke in the championship game just a couple years earlier, it seemed like everyone in the country outside of Lexington was a Badger fan that day. And once again, the evil empire won the day.

2) Favre's final pass as a Packer intercepted in the NFC Championship

Date: January 20, 2008

Location: E. Harmony Apartment in Whitewater

Playing in their first NFC championship game since 1998, the Packers seemed to be charmed and destined for a Super Bowl appearance in what was widely speculated to be Brett Favre's last year (lol), After a wild, see-saw game, the teams headed to overtime after Lawrence Tynes missed the potential game winner from 36 yards out with four seconds to play, his second miss of the game. At this point, I'm already an absolute train wreck. When Favre threw the second pass of the overtime period right into Corey Webster's chest near the home team's sideline, I had to leave the living room and could only listen, lying face down on my extra-long twin size bed furnished by DLK Enterprises (UW-Whitewater s/o), as the game once again hung on the wildly inaccurate leg of Tynes. Shortly after he connected from 47 yards to put the Giants in the Super Bowl, my roommate and best friend Derek watched me pour the first alcoholic beverage I ever imbibed, the first of three I took before 21st birthday. It was a shot of UV Pink, and it tasted like heartbreak.

Touchdown Celtics!

1) The Fail Mary

Date: September 24, 2012

Location: Mad Dog's Sports Bar and Grill

Bugger that and bugger you, Seattle.

Top Five Best Sports Moments:

Honorable Mention: Ben Brust's miracle trey sends the Badgers to OT vs. Michigan (right), Desmond Howard's kickoff return in Super Bowl XXXI, Ron Dayne breaks the NCAA career rushing record

5) Ryan Braun's extra innings grand slam beats the Pirates

Date: September 25, 2008

Location: Miller Park Terrace Level

Locked in a tie with the Mets for the Wild Card lead with three games to play, the Brewers were tied at one with the Pirates, a team they'd beaten 12 out of 13 times in 2008, heading into extra frames. Tensions in the stands were high with the left field scoreboard already flashing the NYM 7, CHC 6 final. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the tenth, Ryan Braun drilled the 2-2 pitch into the Brewers bullpen, keeping the Brewers abreast of New York and sending 43,000 fans into delirium. This of course came two days after Prince Fielder's own walk-off two-run shot against Pittsburgh, and three days before, well, stay tuned.

4 Graham Zusi and John Brooks shock Ghana

Date: June 16, 2014

Location: Jack's American Pub

You've just seen it, so I won't bore you with a recap. If you're not aware, you don't care anyway. The beautiful corner from one substitute to the second-touch header of the other to finally exorcise the Ghana demons just minutes after Ghana had equalized was one of the greatest moments in recent USMNT history. The bar was jam packed wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, and the the jubilation that occured after the goal was amazing to be a part of. How much it will mean in the grand scheme of the tournament remains to be seen, but Brooks' reaction says it all: "OH MY GOD!!!!! Oh my God....oh...my god...I need to lie down."

3) Rodgers to Cobb puts the Packers in the playoffs

Date: December 29, 2013

Location: Shorewood Apartment

After suffering though two months of bad quarterbacks for the first time in my life, Aaron Rodgers made his triumphant return against the team that knocked him out in a winner-take-all NFC North championship game against the Bears. The lead changed hands four times, and with the Packers trailing by one with 6:24 remaining, the quarterback led the Packers on a game-winning drive that included two fourth down conversions, none bigger than the 48-yard strike to Randall Cobb, who himself had missed the previous 11 games, on 4th and 8 with 38 seconds to play. I watched this at home with some of my best friends, which is really how I should watch all important sporting events, because I don't do losing in public all that well.

2) Wes Helms and Ryan Braun put the Brewers in the playoffs for the first time in 26 years

Date: (2008)

Location: My cousin's birthday party in Racine

The Brewers' first potential playoff appearance since losing the 1982 World Series to the hateful Cardinals hung in the balance on the season's final day, with the Brewers, hosting the Cubs, tied for the wild card lead with the Mets, hosting the Marlins. Both games started at approximately the same due to an hour long rain delay at Shea (lol rain delays), and both entered the eighth inning tied. Completely isolated in the corner watching this game on the tiny TV I was allowed to use while the rest of the family watched the Packers lose to Tampa Bay (probably Aaron Rodgers worst game of his career, incidentally), I was an absolute nervous wreck. In the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Braun drilled the first pitch he saw into the left field bleachers, giving the Brewers a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish. Moments later, FSN North cut away to Shea as former Brewer and confirmed terrible third baseman Wes Helms became a Milwaukee hero when he ripped a pinch hit home run, the first of a back-to-back pair with Dan Uggla, to give the Marlins a 4-2 lead in the eighth that also became the final. The Brewers ended their regular season with a nifty double play, the Mets completed their second consecutive September collapse, and playoff baseball returned to Milwaukee for the first time since the Reagan administration.

1) Tony Plush's extra innings walk-off sends the Brewers to the NLCS

Date: (2011)

Location: Miller Park Terrace Level

After both teams held serve at home, the Brewers and Diamondbacks returned to The Keg for a decisive game five. The D-Backs struck first, scoring in the third, but the Brewers tallied in the 4th and 6th to carry a 1-run lead into the ninth, when John Axford served up three straight hits, including a Willie Bloomquist bunt single that tied the game. With the jam-packed stadium holding it's breath on every pitch, Carlos Gomez laced a one out single to left, stole second on the 1-1 pitch to Nyjer Morgan, who then just tickled it into the outfield, scoring Gomez and sending 44,000 screaming fans into a sustained fit of delirium that lasted for well over a half-hour before we started to clear the seating bowl. In season full of Plushdamental moments, this one topped them all.

Cardinals fans on Twitter have been trolled HARD by the #LockInLuc campaign

If you want a full list of the extreme levels of butthurt the Best Fans In Baseball are feeling today, feel free to hop on over to the timeline of @BestFansStLouis, who is currently killing the Twitter trolling game. Here, I'm posting some of my favorites. Enjoy and make sure you vote. #LockInLuc

Dear Brewer fans, Yadi has 6 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger award and 2 World Series Rings, where would you like to start this debate ?
— Bruce Winckel (@BAWinckel) June 18, 2014

Hey Jonathan Lucroy how about you sit your ass on the bench with your PED buddy Braun and watch Yadi hit dingers. #suckonacheesedong
— Jake Moss (@Moss_Jake_Moss) June 18, 2014

#LockInLuc hahahahaha fuck off Lucroy your absolutely garbage! You aren't getting voted in now after that joke of an ad! #stlcards #nlchamps
— Chad Temple (@Ctempz826) June 18, 2014

@siegyysieg @JLucroy20 hey lucroy suck my dick
— Pete Kozma (@DAVIDBACKES42) June 18, 2014

Jonathan Lucroy is the piece of dog shit Yadi has to scrape off his cleats. Best catcher in the national league, my ass! #fucktheBrewers

— Aaron Kane (@kanester12) June 18, 2014

I'd like to push Jonathan Lucroy off a cliff. Idiot thinks he's better than Molina. #newsflash #uhno #sitdown

— Sydney Creel (@sydcreel21) June 18, 2014

Brewers PR Department has declared war on the Cardinals, and it's amazing

If you haven't seen this already, first of all what is your deal, and second of all, watch this before reading further:

#LockInLuc is actually the second All-Star attack ad the Brewers have put out, the first being #GoForGomez which can be found here.

The Brewers have been struggling off and on of late, with my long blog post ranting about #WCW still being a thing and Jimmy Nelson continuing to not be a thing coming this week unless a miracle happens and we don't see Estrada at Coors this week (bring the Icy Hot for that whiplash), so it's fun to remember that we are in first place, and we can have a little fun with it. Everyone who isn't an asshole hates the St. Louis Cardinals, and even the Cardinals' fans I think probably have to hate Yadier Molina, who is basically the "The Mountain that Rides" of MLB: he's big, he's dumb, he's an asshole, but he's really quite good at the only thing that he does well (playing catcher for the former, and murdering people for the latter) (also, nerd check).

Basically I just want to say thank you to the people who made this happen. Also, stay tuned for what is sure to be a shoddily and hastily done retort from the evil empire:

Rumors abound of a Cardinals retort to the #LockinLuc ad. http://t.co/LYTCJPSHZo

— Brad Weimer (@bradweimer) June 17, 2014

Brewers Sign Everyone, Score Huge Coup for Themselves (and the Badgers)

Monte Harrison, future Hall of Famer

The top part of the Brewers draft this year was considered high-risk/high-reward in two senses. Their top three selections (LHP Kodi Medeiros, OF Monte Harrison, SS Jacob Gatewood) are all high schoolers with high upsides (Harrison, selected in the second round at 50th overall, was considered by many to be the best athlete in the draft). In the case of Harrison and Gatewood, they were also considered difficult signs (see MLB Draft explanation below), especially Harrison, a three-sport star who had already committed to Nebraska as a four-star wide receiver recruit. Most draft pundits lauded the Brewers picks as a major haul, with the notable caveat that they were not likely to be able to sign all three.

Instead, the Brewers have moved very quickly to sign both Gatewood and Harrison, and a deal with Medeiros is imminent. The Harrison signing in particular is a major coup for the Brewers, as the general consensus is that he would have easily been a first round pick in terms of mere talent level, and his fall to the second was entirely based on the belief that he would choose to pursue a football career.

Obviously, the success of MLB draft picks is the most difficult to project, and these three players could all become all-stars, or they could all be out of baseball in two years. But for an organization that is routinely criticized for its lack of high-upside talent, the 2014 draft has certainly addressed the issue. Suck it, Keith Law.

As an added bonus for WINsconsin sports fans, the Harrison signing robs Nebraska of one their top five incoming freshmen, who was expected to contribute right away for probably the only legitimate threat to the Badgers in the new East division. See you in the B1G Championship, Urban.

A quick and dirty explanation of the MLB First-Year Player Draft for those unfamiliar with the process: Unlike in the NBA or NFL drafts, with which you are likely infinitely more familiar, players do not declare for the MLB draft. Rather, any high school graduate is eligible to be selected, as is any collegiate player after their junior year (or after they've turned 21). So in a addition to evaluating talent level, teams must also account for the "signability" of a player, since the rights to any player that is not signed (because that student chose to go to school instead) by July 15th are lost, and the draft pick wasted. 
Each draft slot is assigned a bonus amount that, pooled together with a team's other picks, represents their bonus pool for the draft. This is the maximum amount each team is allowed to offer their draft picks in signing bonuses, and there are big luxury tax and potential loss of future draft pick penalties for exceeding that limit.

Game of Thrones Week 9 Power Rankings: The Watchers on the Wall

Here's the Power Ranking highlights following last night's wall-centric penultimate episode for season four. As always, SPOILER ALERT, and the full rankings in their entirety can be found here.

Just the tip

3) Jon Snow - For someone who just recently returned to the Night's Watch after spending a good deal of time raiding with a particularly savage pack of wildlings, Jon seems to have an enormous amount of respect and trust from the black brothers who aren't named Thorne. In the wake of Ser Alliser's wounding and "Ser" Janos' self-gelding, Lord Snow took over as the de facto leader of the Lord Commander-less Castle Black, and led his brothers to what is ultimately a pointless, delaying-of-the-inevitable "victory" over 1/1000th of Mance Rayder's army. Congratulations on that. Given the show's penchant for killing our favorite characters only when we least expect it, hopefully Jon, who is off for a spot of tea with the King Beyond the Wall and Tyrion, who has a hot date with Ser Illyn Payne, will survive through to season five.

In this picture, a person is lying.

30) Samwell Tarly - Where the hell did all that come from? Sam the Slayer, who's greatest talents to date seemed to include stammering, wetting himself and crying in the face of literally the slightest hint of danger, suddenly turned into fat Sparticus, shouting down Pyp to force him to let Gilly in, inspiring him during the battle and not losing his shit after Pyp sprouted an arrow from his neck (courtesy Ygrette), and just in general surviving a battle many did not without needing to hide in the thrice-damned pantry (I see you, Janos). Sam rockets up the power rankings this week.

37) Alliser Thorne - Let's be real here: screw Thorne. I hate him, and for good reason. He's a dick, he plotted to have Jon killed on more than one occasion, he's thick-headed and won't listen to reason and he probably kicks puppies. That being said, he showed last night that the black brothers could certainly do worse for a Lord Commander. He admitted to Jon he'd been wrong about the tunnel, albeit far too late and with no hint of apology, and delivered a riveting speech to the men facing almost certain death at the hands of Tormund's raiders, giving his tired and beaten brothers a second wind, and led the charge himself. So, naturally, he had to take a stomach wound that will likely end up killing him. Easy come, easy go.

52) Tormund - He was ultimately defeated, though he remained standing at the battle's end with several arrows sticking out of him. But Tormund got the job done, forcing the Night's Watch to fight a two-front battle, splitting the defenses so Mance could test the wall. The wildlings now know they have the overwhelming numbers, and will soon overwhelm Castle Black, then the North, and then the whole of Westeros. Game over, good run guys.

70) That punk kid that shot Ygrette - You've robbed up of this for the rest of the show's duration:

Thanks a lot. I hope you put your eye out with that toy bow you used to kill our favorite wildling. You know nothing.

BRB *sobs uncontrollably*

79)Ygrette - Oh, George. You heartless, evil bastard. Ygrette, who was all kinds of fired up to put an arrow through the bastard of Winterfell's eye socket while sitting around the wildling campfire, found herself unable to loose when brought face to face with a defenseless Jon Snow, who was fresh off your classic hammer-embedded-in-skull kill. Just as it seemed like they might be able to reunite just as Gilly and Sam had earlier in the episode, elevator kid sent a shaft through her belly. Sigh.

82(tie) Pyp and Grenn - Pyp had to be reminded several times to keep firing his crossbow, with which he had an accuracy rating somewhere around Stormtrooper range, by Samwell freaking Tarly before taking an arrow to the throat. Grenn led a group of five bad-ass new gods down to the gate on a suicide mission to take on a god damned giant. So, in truth, Grenn had a much stronger day. But Jon Snow's two besties deserve to ride into that good night together. And now their watch is ended.

A story for children.

100) Janos Slynt - I'm breaking my rule that dead man can't be more powerful than the living with this one. The erstwhile commander of the gold cloaks turned in what was easily the most cowardly performance in the show's four year run, denying the existence of the giants he was literally staring at before being given an out by Grenn, who told him he was needed below. Back at sea level, he scampered forth, unsheathed his mighty weapon (read: key) from its scabbard (read: pocket), and thrust it deep into the belly of his foe (read: door). There he was confronted by the terrifying Gilly and her suckling babe, from whom he cowered in fear in the pantry corner until he was rescued by Sam the Slayer.

Brewers MLB Draft Preview

So, I won't pretend to have scouted any of the talent that might be available for the Brewers tonight when they make their selection at no. 10 in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft. Just for fun though, we'll look at the top five tenth overall selections in MLB history. UPDATE I probably should have actually looked where the Brewers picked (No. 12) instead of recalling from memory. Oh well this post still rules.

1) Ted Simmons, 1967(Career WAR 50.1) - Known more nationally for his time spent with the team the drafted him, the St. Louis Cardinals, Simmons is more well known around these parts as the starting catcher for the 1982 World Series runner-up Milwaukee Brewers. The eight time all-star made his debut in September of 1968, having a cup of coffee that year and the next before coming up for good in 1970.

2) Mark McGwire*, 1984 (62.0) - Everyone knows about Big Mac (emphasis on big), the 12-time all star and brief owner of the single-season home run record*. McGwire paid big divedends right away for the A's, leading the league in home runs en route to winning Rookie of the Year in 1987 (great year). As you might expect, he leads all no. 10 picks in most offensive categories*, but he also drank steroids from a gallon jug every morning so whatever get real.

3) Robin Ventura, 1988(55.9) - Known as much for his glove as for his bat, the six-time Gold Glove winner and current manager of the team the drafted him, the Chicago White Sox, ranks 11th all time among third basemen in slugging percentage.

4) Madison Bumgarner, 2007 (13.3) - Perhaps a bit early for the 24-year-old, but Bumgarner certainly looks like he's on his way to belonging on this list. The young Giant has already established himself as one of the league's premier left handers.

5) Ben Sheets, 1999 (23.4) - One of the best pitchers in the league when he was healthy, Sheets just
couldn't shake free from back, shoulder and inner ear problems that plagued him for his entire career. An all-star in his rookie year of 2001 with the Brewers, Sheets holds the single game and single season strikeout records for the franchise, with 18 and 264 respectively.

Honorable mention: Tim Wallach, Carlos Pena, Tim Lincecum, Eric Chavez

Series Preview: The Border Battle (Brewers vs. Twins)

Minnesota Twins (26-28, 3rd in AL Central) vs Milwaukee Brewers (34-23, 1st in NL Central)

All-Time Series: 230-215 Twins (70-61 at home)

Season Series: Only meeting

Probables:
Monday: Kyle Gibson (4-4, 4.18 ERA) vs. Matt Garza (2-4, 4.84)

Tuesday: Samuel Deduno (1-3. 3.86) vs. Yovani Gallardo (3-3, 3.56)

Wednesday: Marco Estrada (5-2, 4.03) vs. Ricky Nolasco (3-5, 5.70)

Thursday: Wily Peralta (4-5, 2.73) vs. Kevin Correia (2-6, 5.87)

Looking Back:
The Brewers drubbed the Cubs 11-5 on Friday before trading shutout laughers over the weekend, with Jason Hammel and Kyle Lohse shutting down the Brewers and Cubs, respectively. Lohse tossed the Brewers' first complete game shutout on Sunday since Sept. 25th of last year, when he blanked the Braves on 89 pitches. 

The surprisingly competitive Twins got the better of the Yankees, taking 2 of 3 from the Bronx Bombers in New York over the weekend. They had previously dropped 6 of their last 7 games.

This picture taken just moments before
Jen White (pictured) disappeared.

What to Watch For:
For the second straight year, the Brewers and Twins will play home-and-home two game sets in what the league is selling as a "Border Battle", complete with a mascot battle featuring a since-deleted attack from TC Bear regarding the health of Wisconsin's education system. One imagines you'd need to resort to such tactics when languishing below the .500 mark. If you're keeping tabs on the Cardinals, they'll be participating in a similar arrangement with the crosstown Royals (which also includes a similar gap in talent level).

On the field, you can catch Oswaldo Arcia, older brother of Brewers' top shortstop prospect Orlando, who has just recently returned to the Twins lineup after a wrist injury kept him out for most of the month of May. The Brewers will miss the revitalized Phil Hughes, who has become the Twins' presumptive ace since escaping the Yankees and their Little League-sized stadium.

News and Notes:

-The Brewers farm system, widely criticized as being among the worst in the league, is currently fourth among all organizations in combined winning percentage. The Brewers, AAA Nashville Sounds and AA Huntsville Stars are all in first place, the Stars by an incredible 12.5 games. (Full article from Brewers.com here).

-Aramis Ramirez went 0-2 in a rain-shortened outing in Appleton on Sunday, and the plan for now is for him to join the team on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
-Jim Henderson has not yet resumed throwing after his setback last week and Tom Gorzelanny is still searching for his pre-injury velocity, and neither is nearing a return.

The Mountain and the Viper: GoT Week 8 Power Rankings

As this is the first installment of this feature, an explanation. First of all, obviously, SPOILER ALERT. If you have not seen the latest episode of Game of Thrones that aired last night, and don't want anything spoiled, don't read any further. I'll be sharing highlights of my Game of Thrones power rankings, the full list of which can be seen here. These will be written from the perspective of someone who has NOT read the books and has no idea what's coming, as best as I can, which is getting easier as the show's creators continue to forge their own paths for a number of characters.

Oh, I'm sure you are.

4) Missandei - Smoke show alert! We have a new champion for "Hottest Piece in the Known World". Girlfriend is so fine she turned out a eunuch. GET. IT. GURL.

10) Tywin Lannister - Tywin drops a little this week as he comes out of Tyrion's trial by combat with a bittersweet W. On one hand, he finally gets to rid himself of the only offspring he's ever produced that isn't a conniving, deceitful, incestuous bag of roasted privy fillings. On the other hand, he now has to explain to Dorne why he's sending back the remains of the Red Viper's face in a goddamn Ziploc.

22) Ramsay Snow Bolton - The Bastard of Bolton, newly crowned "Worst Dude in Westeros" following the Purple Wedding, is now no longer a bastard in name, having received a writ of legitimacy from his highness King Babyface. He remains a bastard in every other possible sense of the word.

Arya arriving at the Eyrie, and also
Crazytown.

35) Arya Stark - As is her custom, Arya and her dog arrive at another castle to meet with another recently deceased relative, then proceeds to understandably lose her grip on sanity. She's tantalizingly close to being reunited with her sister, for as much good as it will do her. Hopefully that whole "the entire realm wants us kill/rape us" thing will allow the long-lost sisters to look past their previous disagreements.

57) Sansa Stark - "Alayne" drops the bomb on the task force mobilized to investigate the death of Lady Crazy Face, revealing herself to be Sansa Stark and, as far as the realm is concerned, the rightful heir to Winterfell. She has a chance to finally end Littlefinger's reign of terror once and for all, but instead opts for lying to save his creeptastic head, then put on her aunt's clothes and eye-fuck the living daylights out of him to close out the scene. This girl needs Jesus the Seven.

Yeah...you tell me who won.

60) Ser Gregor Clegane - We're not sure if he's dead or not; on one hand, he's been skewered by an eight foot steel tipped pole, but on the other hand he just EXPLODED ANOTHER MAN'S FACE with that pole sticking out of his chest. Either way, we'll give him a pass from being relegated to the bottom of the rankings, where all dead men go, for at least a week.

75) Ser Jorah Mormont - Just a couple of weeks after crawling through literal shit for Daenarys, then bumping into Daario 2.0 still beaming with post-coital bliss on his way out of the Mother's bedchamber, the love-lorn exile knight has hit rock bottom, as Barristan the Bold reveals his previous falseness to the Khaleesi. Using typical woman-logic, Dany forgets about the 97 times Ser Jorah has saved her life in the time since, and drops the ban-hammer on him.

78) Tyrion Lannister - See Martell, Oberyn. He ranks one spot ahead because their deaths are inexorably linked, but Tyrion isn't officially dead yet. Hard to see him wriggling off the hook here, however. And he was oh so close to...well, probably being shanked on the way back to the black cells and tossed into a dark sewer to die.

This fantastic scream gave Ellaria Sand
serious consideration for the #1 spot.

79) Oberyn Martell - All that fancy stick-twirling and self-righteous screaming did the Red Viper very little good when he got too close to the Gregor-kabob during his revenge-fueled temper tantrum at the end of Tyrion's trial by combat. At least he got his wish of hearing Gregor admit to his deeds before the latter LITERALLY EXPLODED HIS FACE. If only he'd taken Tyrion's advice to put on a damn helm for chrissake.