No Rolen To Brewers

That's according to this Journal-Sentinel story.

Melvin says he just felt "uneasy" about the whole deal. I have to admit, the more I think about it, you would be just getting the name. You wouldn't be getting the player Scott Rolen, due to his recent past. I didn't have a chance to look up his stats, but I imagine last year was a rough one for him.

I still think they're going to make a deal somewhere. There's too much out there not to, and it's a weak free-agent market. We'll see what else happens. Fingers crossed, folks.

Monday Night Insanity! Plus, Scott Rolen to the Crew?

What a game last night! I didn't tune until late because I assumed it was going to be a blowout. Fortunately, I caught ESPN.com before it ended, and it said the Patriots were behind.

I caught the last 3 1/2 minutes, and let me tell you, what a wild finish. It was clear that the Patriots were blocking their hearts out, but the Ravens were just putting on too much pressure. Still, Tom Brady stood in there and took the hits, made his reads, and won it. Incredible work, after which Bart Scott flipped out and added 30 yards of penalties. He looked like he was going to cry on the sidelines.

But that's not all. On the ensuing drive, Boller was pushing his team down the field as best he could, and finally, on the last play, threw a 52-yard Hail Mary. He was practically running as he threw it. Mark Clayton caught it on the 2-yard line. I mean, that's a finish like the Titans/Rams Super Bowl. Just a great game.

On to Scott Rolen. The Cardinals want to move Rolen, and they're very interested in Chris Capuano. It wouldn't be a bad trade, as they can put Rolen at third and move Braun to left field, where his defensive shortcomings won't be quite as apparent.

If they move Cappy, here's what I think their rotation will look like next year:

1. Sheets
2. Gallardo
3. Suppan
4. Villanueva
5. Vargas

Not a bad rotation. Not amazing, but you still have Manny Parra sitting there if you need him. Plus, Gallardo is a huge upgrade over Capuano. It wouldn't be a bad trade, and it would shore up a position of need. I hope it works out.

Mark Murphy Named Packers President

I'm cautiously optimistic about this move. Murphy's had some success at Northwestern, and it could go really well.

I've often said, and history bears this out, that the guy who's at the top of the team is the most important. You can pick different coaches, GMs, or players, but it won't matter if the guy at the top is incompetent.

I hate to pick on the Bengals, but look at their record of futility for the past 15 years. Then they went out and got Marvin Lewis and starting turning around the program. They could only get so far, though, until they started crashing and burning like they are this year. The guy at the top never changed.

Look at the Brewers. They brought every manager and GM they could think of on board, and were consistently losers. Then, Mark Attanasio buys the team. Now, they're winners, even with a manager who makes some dumb decisions from time to time.

(Note to Ned Yost: Situational relievers are just that, situational. Don't use them all the time. Also, don't pitch Derrick Turnbow in pressure situations. Thanks.)

Look at teams all around sports. The Arizona Cardinals lose all the time. The Bidwills have owned the team the whole time.

The 49ers were consistent winners under Eddie DeBartolo. Then the Yorks take the team. Now they lose, no matter who the coach is, or which players they have.

That's why this story is so important. If Murphy stumbles, everything that's being built could fall apart so quickly. If Murphy decides he wants "his guy" in there and gets rid of Ted Thompson (I hope not), it could be an absolute disaster.

We at the Leaderboard (meaning me) will be keeping a really close eye on Murphy to see how he handles himself. Here's hoping things work out.

Article: Sony Aims For Comeback Win

Towards the top, Jack Tretton makes an interesting comment.

“The first year is important, but it’s the first inning of a nine-inning baseball game,” he says. “You’re not going to win many baseball games if you panic when you’re down 1-0 in the first inning.”

Jack, baby. You're not down 1-0 in the first inning. You're down 10-0 with the home crowd jeering and your fans wearing paper bags on their heads. You're getting trounced.

Sure, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII are going to do good things. But MGS got old with installment 2. Remember, when you played as Raiden for half the game? Yeah. And Final Fantasy games, while they're still events, aren't nearly as earth-shattering as they were a couple of years ago.

Even when Sony's gotten a proven property, like Ratchet & Clank, on the PS3, it can't do anything with it. No one has a PS3. No one is going to plunk down $400 or more for one game, even if it's a good one.

I'm even a Sony fan. I love my PS2. However, I will not buy a PS3, especially not when there's much better alternatives available, like the Wii.

BCS Big Surprise: Ohio St. Vs. LSU

What a shock. Ohio State against LSU.

You know, why do they even play the games? Why not just cut out all the other stuff and just schedule the national championship game at the beginning of the season? I mean, if you just pick from a pool of about five or six teams, you should be okay, right?

This is why college football is idiotic. In the NFL, you can have a Cinderella team. In baseball, a team can come out of nowhere and surprise you. College basketball routinely has teams that you would never expect out of so-called "weak" conferences stun more supposedly sound teams. Why can't this happen in college football?

I'll tell you why: The ridiculous poll system. Ask me which teams are the best in the NFL, and right now, it's pretty obvious. The Patriots and the Cowboys. However, that's no guarantee that they'll play in the Super Bowl. In college, it would be a foregone conclusion. Any other team would have no chance.

How difficult is it to have an eight-team playoff, with the bowls still in place at the beginning of the next year? Think of all the revenue. No one is losing bowl games. I mean, it's not like the Century One Bowl is going anywhere anyways.

Sorry for this rambling post, but this just really frosts my biscuits. I can't stand college football for this reason.

Exciting Closer News

So, the Brewers might be getting a closer after all.

Joe Nathan would be a great choice. Nathan has demonstrated that he's awesome at the job. If he was in New York or Boston, you would know the name. He had 37 saves, a full one point lower ERA, a higher save conversion rate (37 of 41, compared to Cordero's 44 of 51) and a 1.03 WHIP, compared to Cordero's 1.14.

I really hope this gets done.

In other news, I've finally softened about the Packer game. They just weren't as talented. All the calls that went against them stunk, to be sure, and would have definitely changed the makeup of the game had they gone the other way. But the Cowboys are a power in the NFC yet, and the Packers are really young.

However, if I were the Oakland Raiders, I would be scared. The Packers felt they had this one stolen from them, and they have a week and a half to ruminate on it and get angrier and angrier. They're going to be healthy and furious, which is a great combination.