WestEddy

Counterpoint: Curtis Mead kept Vinnie Capra and Jacob Amaya sporting their Charlotte Blues, and out of the White Sox clubhouse.

I don't even follow college football, but I love the memes:

I don't disagree. Back issues limited him last season, and while "above average" in 25, he still hasn't pitched up to the peak he showed with the Padres. Something's going on where 2 years running, now, cromulent looking bullpen dudes come here and live out their "I forgot to wear pants to work!!" dreams. Maybe they're still ironing out the info pipeline, or Katz just wasn't interested in having lesser arms bathe in his wisdom.

You mean they fell 5-6 spots? Precipitous.

Numbers? Let's talk about streets with just a single letter in the name. Avenue L. That's down home, baby.

I think being a poor man's Tanner Banks would take a little work and determination on Steven Wilson's part. I believe Wilson's a nice arm to have. I also believe he's a nice arm to DFA if a more interesting arm comes across the waiver wire in February.

Vaughn had an OPS+ of 47 when he was optioned in May. Most here didn't even want him tendered a contract over the winter, me included. Yes, Milwaukee certainly got the better of that trade. Civale was a nice experiment. It would have been better if Boston traded something for him. Civale had 3 good starts coming out of the All-Star break, one against the Cubs, which the bullpen gave away in grand fashion. Vaughn sucked and needed a change of scenery. Weird how, with all the heroics, he still finished with a total OPS+ of 99 on the season. Civale ate some yum-yum innings, then cleaned out his locker thoroughly on his way out. Nobody launching invective about stunted chances or work ethic. I'm glad for Vaughn, I hope he's in the Brewers' plans going forward. I'm glad for Civale, I hope his relief appearance for the Cubs helps him secure a contract next season. My own takeaway is I'm glad to see the growth from Getz to not trade dudes just to make a trade for guys already running a lawn care business on their off days. If Boston wasn't offering something useful, just keep him. Same with Robert, same with any other of the bullpen dudes.

Steven Wilson is not an elite arm. He just had a nice year, but still didn't reach the rate numbers he had in SD. Of course he's still a keeper.

The number 1 favorite place I called home as a professional, no surprise here #Milwaukee #Brewers #ThisIsMyCrew #MagicBrew @Brewers (Get that W today boys!) Milwaukee Brewers (MLB) 1. Stadium/Field Miller Park (Yes, it’s still Miller Park to me) was the one place in my career where I felt totally at home on a mound. The stadium feel fit me, the fans brought amazing energy, and every time I took the ball there, I felt like I belonged. Playing there felt bigger, I felt big league there. I still get chills thinking about those games. I loved every second. 9/10. 2. Front Office/Coaching Staff Alright, honesty time. This category comes with a caveat. Two names put a dark cloud here: Ned Yost and Ken Macha. Ned never trusted me the way I needed, and when he asked me to go on the phantom DL and I said no, I basically got boxed out until he was fired and Dale took over. I’m pretty sure (not 100 percent) he had a hand in me not getting a fair chance in Miami. Ken Macha, I just couldn’t click with him. Awkward, hard to talk to, and not a great fit for the crew we had. He forced me to throw pitches I wasn’t comfortable with, led to me getting hurt, and then after the injury, I was shelved. I’ll own my part, but those two called the shots and it cost me. Take them out, the rest of the staff were incredible amazing really. 6/10. Without them, 8/10. 3. Clubhouse/Locker Room Best situation I’ve ever been in, bar none. Our staff, Tony, Jason, and the whole crew—absolute pros, everything was by the taken care of and anything you needed got sorted out. The spread was top notch, equipment handled. Special requests were not a problem. Being a Brewer felt big league in every detail. 10/10. 4. City Milwaukee is a city that fit me perfectly: blue collar, underrated, tons of hidden gems. Not too big or too small, not too congested, but everything you could want from a big league city—solid food scene, love Mo’s! . I seriously loved it. Another place I wish I’d been able to tear it up single! 9/10. 5. Fan Base These are the kind of fans you dream of playing for. Passionate, loyal, and always let you know where you stood—good or bad. Everywhere I went in town, I had people coming up, yelling Yo! Big Red, buying me beers on Water Street. To this day, if I go back, someone at the ballpark always recognizes me, yells my name, wants to talk baseball. Milwaukee fans are real, and I’ll be grateful for them forever. 10/10. 6. Living Situation One bad landlord once, this guy definitely screwed a couple of us over, but otherwise Milwaukee was perfect for ballplayer living. Apartments and houses easy to find, close to the park, affordable (especially on a big league salary). 9/10. 7. Team Chemistry Tampa was rough at times with toxic personalities, and coming to Milwaukee was like being adopted by a rich loving family. The clubhouse was this great mix of funny guys, serious guys, smartasses, leaders, a couple grumps, but everyone brought something and everyone pulled in the same direction. Those Brewers teams meant a lot to me emotionally—this was how baseball was supposed to feel. 10/10. Total: 63/70

I think a keyer point is that his ERA+ was 123 this season. That's above average. His actual numbers say a lot more than inferences about when he was snuck through waivers.

Not scoring in multiple opportunities of two on, no outs in extra innings.

The ones Chris Getz does his Avatar hair plug ins with, and imbues with winning.

I haven't flown much since COVID. Does Auntie Anne's do cinnamon coated pretzels? Sure a dozen Dunkin donuts would be the easy way to put back on 50 pounds.

and I apologize for this. Dot's sugar cinnamon pretzels? I'm an addict and I need a sponsor.

Jesus Christ. I'm sorry, the white Sox aren't that far off from doing that.

As Earl Weaver would say, "If you were going to hit into a double play, why not just strike out?"

So, which women's basketball league is he being considered as commissioner for?

And f*** Josh Naylor. Dude hits a HR a game against the White Sox. He can't get fired up against anybody else, seemingly. If the Sox signed him, he'd be an emo goth piece of work. He'd hit 9 HRs and mirror Vaughn's worst months.

How are these fucking teams not scoring? They should call the Yankees back, and let them play the Blue Jays for 7.

didn't need to. Top'o the order to ya'

I'd spend the $80M it would take to get Naylor, then buy $80M worth of Rogaine to get the hair back on my head. And my legs, too.

Nashville Is number 2 in the top 5 places I’ve called home during my professional baseball career! @nashvillesounds #Nashville Sounds (AAA) 1. Stadium/Field Nashville today is a whole new ballgame, but back when I played there, that stadium was barely hanging on. Basically one of the worst I’ve seen—old, falling apart, and nowhere near the new stadium they have now. Strangely, the field itself was always in good shape. Grass was green, the dirt perfect, and the mound always right—credit to the grounds crew for keeping that place playable. I have to say, the guitar-shaped scoreboard—iconic, even when the rest of the place looked like it belonged in a salvage yard. I hated to give it a low score, but you gotta be honest: 4/10. 2. Front Office/Coaching Staff Huge, heartfelt appreciation for the Nashville front office. I will never forget how @DougScopel treated me. When my grandmother passed, I was losing it, and Doug just took care of everything—handed me a plane ticket, arranged a ride, sat me down and supported me. To this day, I don’t know who paid for it, but it’s something I’ll always respect. If it was just the front office, give them a 10. But, being fair, the coaching staff brought that down. My second stint, I landed two of the worst coaches I’d ever had—one had zero idea what he was doing, the other tried way too hard to act like he did. But my first time through, the staff was aces! So, splitting the difference, I’ll go with a 6/10. 3. Clubhouse/Locker Room These clubhouses are a story. The old ones—there were two of them—made you feel like you were in a dungeon instead of a ballpark, and rumor had it, one was so bad the city shut it down. BUT…the clubbie, wow. If you needed something, he found a way. The food was always good, and he took care of us—real pro’s pro. Good clubhouse guys make all the difference, and I can’t say enough about ours in Nashville. 6/10. 4. City It’s Nashville! What else do you need to say? This city is top tier—bars, live music on every street corner, the food, the nightlife. Blondes in cowboy boots, and…really nice restaurants. Only regret? I wasn’t single at the time—could have written a much different story for myself in Nash-Vegas! 10/10. 5. Fan Base Props to the Nashville fan base. Even with a falling-apart stadium, they still showed up loud and loyal. Not a ton of minor league towns could fill nasty old stands, but Nashville did it especially on the weekends. 7/10. 6. Living Situation Living in and around Nashville was easy. There were plenty of affordable apartments and houses, either out by the ballpark or just a little ways out of town. Never a struggle to find a good spot, which is half the battle in the minors. 8/10. 7. Team Chemistry Triple-A can be brutal for chemistry—guys grinding, guys bitter, guys just trying to survive until they get the call. But both my seasons in Nashville were huge exceptions. The teams I was on had real camaraderie. Everyone got along and we pulled for each other rather than secretly hoping someone blew it. Two really special groups—love those guys to this day. 9/10. Total: 52/70

Every team in the playoffs has had bullpens s%*# the bed and lose games. If these guys, here, know of a hotbed of pitchers who don't give up runs, they should let their favorite team in on the secret.