The Lowly Crew

I see Filzen did this for the godawful Cubs, so here is my take on the Brewers thus far.

Ned Yost blows. I've said it for years, arguably the worst game manager out there now, the only thing Ned has brought to the table is changing the attitude and atmostphere in the clubhouse. Then again though, how much of that was him and NOT Doug Melvin and Gord Ash, and or a completely new team that wasn't around for all of the losing that happend in the 2000's, 90;s, most of the 80's.......ok well forever.

Get a lineup and stick with it Ned. It's not that hard, we've all seen it, they have an everyday lineup they should be playing, but don't. Refresh my memory again, why is this team carrying six outfielders?

OK, so here is why I do:

Shop Mench and or Gross. You won't get much for Gabe, maybe even just release him. Seriously, barring one game he's really shown me nothing his entire tenure here.

Mench has no place in this team's future, and probably carries the most value, so please move him asap. My only concern though is that both guys get moved and Ned decides the "Four Catcher Staff" is way overdue, and calls up Mike Rivera and Lou Palmisano or Vinny Rottino to take their places.

Call up Gallardo. What else can he do at AAA? Dave Bush isn't necessarily killing them as their fifth starter, but we've seen all he can give. It's time we see if Gallardo is indeed for real.

Call up Manny Parra. Same scenario. He's performing well in the minors, and we've seen all that Shouse is going to give this club. Parra has good stuff, and was envisioned to be a starter, but really only projects to be an end of the rotation guy. Let's see what he's got.

So for the record, i'm done with:
Mench, Gross, Spurling, Shouse, (I'm also done with Graffanino, but there's no depth in the infield to justify cutting him right now)

Assuming everyone is healthy, here is my Rotation/Pen and lineup:

Sheets
Capuano
Suppan
Vargas
Gallardo

Pen:

LR: Bush
LR: Capellan

MR: Wise
MR: Turnbow
MR: Parra

SU: Villanueva

CL: Cordero


Lineup vs LHP:

1. Corey Hart LF
2. Tony Gwynn CF
3. JJ Hardy SS
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Ryan Braun 3B
6. Bill Hall RF
7. Johnny Estrada C
8. Rickie Weeks 2B


Lineup vs RHP:

1. Corey Hart CF
2. Johnny Estrada C
3. JJ Hardy SS
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Ryan Braun 3B
6. Geoff Jenkins LF
7. Bill Hall RF
8. Rickie Weeks 2B

Hart has flourished in the leadoff role. Estrada isn't an ideal 2 hitter, but he has a high enough average, is a good contact hitter, and would do a good enough job of moving Hart into scoring postion for Hardy and Fielder.

Speaking of Hardy, why is our second best hitter in terms of pop hitting in the 2 hole? So he can set the record for most solo homers this year?

Bill Hall should be the everyday RF so Hart and Gwynn can platoon for now. Next year your ideal OF left to right is Hart, Gwynn, Hall.

This lineup gives them good table setters at the top and enough pop at the bottom to make a pitcher pay for mistakes.

If only Ned didn't suck as a manger...

The Finale Post

Wow. First off, never has there been a show that has really captured me like The Sopranos has. For the last nine years I've been captivated by it. The thing that has made the show is the fact that it has aired on Premium cable. I don't mean that in regards to the language and violence. What I mean is this, had the show been on network tv it wouldn't be it's usual 13 episode season. It would have been around 25 episodes, no long break between, no build up seasons...none of that.

HBO has been the perfect match for The Sopranos. The language, violence, nudity, etc. The long pauses between episodes which build the anticipation and leave you wanting more. More than that though, it created the element of real time.

Every series on network TV is sped up. Five months worth of shows covers one year in a story arch. With the Sopranos, we actually saw all these characters grow up in real time. It just seemed more realistic. I loved that. I'll miss that. I already miss that....ahhh, onto the ending itself.

The finale was brilliant. There, I said it. Brilliant writing, well thought out, great acting, perfect pacing, overall a great sendoff.

Was it a "cop out" ending? Absolutely not. It was a realistic ending. Life goes on as it always does.

Phil took his vendetta against Tony too far. Everyone knew that, and that seed was planted way back in season five when his brother went down at the hands of Tony Blundetto. The sitdown with New York was perfect, and followed form for the rest of the epidsode.

I kept waiting for Carmine to double cross everyone, using the sitdown to make sure Phil gets whacked and then promptly having Tony taken care of as well. Never happened. I kept waiting for Paulie to double cross Tony. Never happened. I kept waiting for Patsy to reveal that he hap flipped to the feds. Never happened. I kept waiting for Meadow to tragically die. Never happened.

In the end, we really got what we wanted.

Tony said goodbye to Uncle June. Phil was whacked, thus giving Tony on less thing to worry about. AJ inadvertently follows his father's footsteps, and all is seeminlgy well in casa de Soprano.

The whole AJ story arch was brilliant too. Carmella and Tony both whine that AJ has no direction, no future, is lazy, and so on. When AJ finally takes an interest in something and shows an initiative they immediately shoot him down because they don't like it. It's fitting because AJ is clearly following in the footsteps of Tony, something all loyal viewers thought would happen from day one.

AJ's only ticket out of the life was enlisting in the Army. Tony talked him out of that and sucked AJ into the life. Working for/with Carmine will only lead AJ into the lif of crime eventually. Again, great writing there, leading AJ into that outcome in a most unexpected way, but obviouslly planning it out long ago. You can clearly see that this was well thought out in advance and not just thrown together over the course of a few months like most shows.

What was with Paulie and Patsy too? Chase made us believe early on in season 6B that Paulie would turn on T, and maybe he did, Who knows. Why did Paulie have the dream earlier this season where he saw Pussy? Why was Paulie not wanting to take the promotion? Why did Chase want us to think Paulie had something to hide? Why did Patsy seem so uncomfortibe around Tony?

We were thrown for so many curves. What was the deal with the cat? Was that supposed to be Chrissy reincarnated? Why did he lead us to believe something was up with Patsy and Paulie? What was up with the final five minutes? Again, great writing. And now, the best part of all, the ending itself.

Tony finally sucks it up and says goodbye in his way to Junior. We all wanted it, Junior had become a sympathetic character recently and we were all hoping he'd visit him one last time. And in the end even Tony leaves feeling sorry for his uncle.

Wow. An amazing build up to the end. Starting with AJ picking up Rhiannon from shcool. Chase had it shot wanting us to believe that there was either a bomb in the car, or AJ was being tailed and would be killed. None of it happened. The diner scene was fantastic.

Chase did a great job of building tension. Making us believe that anyone of the extras they showed in that diner was going to take out Tony. Meadow struggling to parallel park her car only added to that, it made us all think "Tony is going to die and Meadow won't be there in time to say goodbye to her dad." And in the end, it ended how it all began. A husband with his wife and children.

Tony really is a family man, at least in his own way. Inspite of all Tony's flaws, he loves his family life and would do anything for his children. That's why we love him, that's why we root for him. The family comes full circle.

Meadow went from being the teenager about to graduate high school, ready to question everything and rebel to the one with a clear direction. Anthony Junior went from being the disciple of Tony, to a young stupid screw up, to a misinformed rebelious youth, back to a Tony disciple. Carmella, where to begin. Just like Tony, she has few redeeming qualities. She flirted with leaving Tony, but was attracted to the money prestige and power too much. And then theres Tony....

In the end, they were all together and had one last family dinner. That's what we wanted, admit it. Tony is safe for now. Not dead, but in all likelihood will be indicted. But like AJ said, "focus on the good times. Try and remeber the times that were good." And we will. Tony gets his last hurrah on screen. We see him go out on top for now.

Tony Soprano was arguably the worst character on TV, but we all loved him. Another day in the life, eventually the noose will tighten, but for now he gets his time in the sun.

Don't Stop believing. Hold onto the feeling. Streetlights, People. Don't stop................................