The Buscher

Aaaaaand bring on the replacements: Out: Jose Reyes, Placido Polanco, Justin Verlander, David Price, Felix Hernandez, James Shields, CC Sabathia (Shields' replacement) In: Pablo Sandoval, Miguel Montero, Alexi Ogando, David Robertson, Michael Pineda, Ricky Romero Also, as soon as Matt Cain throws a pitch tonight - he's officially out, widely assumed to be replaced by Tommy Hanson or Craig Kimbrel. Tune in Tuesday for the All Pretty Good game.

Chipper Jones' ASG spot is taken by...Scott Rolen with his wonderful .245 BA. Obviously the players just gave him reputation votes without ever looking at his numbers. Meanwhile, Andrew McCutchen finally makes it to the team, replacing Ryan Braun.

The fan that caught that is about to make some serious bank or get some ridiculously cool perks.

Sabathia will not be named a replacement. Pretty sure the rule is that for pitchers who were voted into the team by players (as was the case with many of Sunday's starters from the AL), their replacement must be the next-highest vote getter, which is Sabathia in this case. I think Washington even said he left Sabathia off the team because he knew he'd make it anyway, hence why he brought CJ Wilson instead as Wilson wasn't high enough on the players' voting list to make it as a replacement. Trying to figure out who the replacements will be. Reyes was the fans' choice so I THINK Bochy can take whoever he wants. I'd hope he gives the nod to the hometown Stephen Drew...though he might decide 2 shortstops is enough and take Pujols or something. Chipper was the players' choice so he needs to be replaced by the next on the list - I'd guess Aramis Ramirez but I don't know. Kevin Correia will take one of the pitcher spots due to the "next on the list" rule. Not sure on the other pitching opening. If Bochy can take anybody I'd guess he goes with either the hometown Ian Kennedy or Craig Kimbrel. For the AL, whether CC is named a replacement or not, there still need to be 3 spots filled and I think all of the pitchers in question were voted in. Dunno what the rest of the list looks like. Pineda? Ogando?

Bruce Bochy selects Andre Ethier to be Victorino's replacement on the ASG roster, citing that he was the runner up in the final vote. I guess Andrew McCutchen doesn't actually exist or anything. There are already 79 All Stars, and that doesn't factor in that replacements still need to be named for Jose Reyes, Chipper Jones, and the 5 starters going tomorrow (one of the replacements will be CC Sabathia, who himself will need to be replaced). So right now it's looking like there will be at LEAST 87 All Stars, maybe even more if somebody gets hurt/sick/whatever within the next 2 days. Insanity.

I never really bought into the concept of a lame duck manager in baseball because all contracts are guaranteed. Whereas in football, teams like the Giants will intentionally extend their coaches' contract an extra year just to ensure they aren't lame ducks - since NFL contracts are written on toilet paper and can be terminated without pay at pretty much any time. I don't think Rizzo was trying to disrespect Riggleman, he just didn't want to guarantee his option would be picked up at this point in the season. Much like impending free agents don't want to negotiate extensions during the season, Rizzo didn't want to negotiate next year. For Riggleman's sake, I hope he bounces back. But he may have committed professional suicide and it wouldn't shock me at all if he never manages in the big leagues again, or at least not for several years.

Anyway, there's a week to go before the preliminary All Star Game rosters are announced. I was bored so I tried to take a stab at the rosters. American League Starters C: Russell Martin, New York Yankees (pretty much a crime, but I don’t see the Yankee fans letting his lead slip) 1B: Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox (AL MVP, as predicted by me at the start of the season) 2B: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees (slam dunk choice) 3B: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (wins in a landslide) SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians (Jeter might still squeak by with the win in the vote, but he might still be injured by then and even if he wasn’t, he'd only be a couple games removed from the injury and would probably bow out) LF: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers (not really an All Star year, but he’s probably got enough fan support to hold on to the last outfield spot) CF: Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees (another landslide) RF: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (yet another landslide) DH: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (predicting the AL starters really leaves nothing to the imagination this year) P: Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox (fucking nasty this year, Weaver is probably the only other option) Reserves C: Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers (reallllllly should have been the starting catcher) 1B: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers 1B: Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox 2B: Howard Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3B: Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox SS: Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers OF: Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox OF: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles OF: Matt Joyce, Tampa Bay Rays DH: Michael Young, Texas Rangers Pitchers Aaron Crow, Kansas City Royals Gio Gonzalez, Oakland Athletics Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians Alexi Ogando, Texas Rangers Michael Pineda, Seattle Mariners Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers Jordan Walden, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Final Vote Candidates Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers Kyle Farnsworth, Tampa Bay Rays Dan Haren, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees National League Starters C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves (slam dunk choice here) 1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds (Pujols may still win the vote despite being injured, Votto is second in voting and a better defender than the only other logical choice to start at first) 2B: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers (passes Brandon Phillips in the final week) 3B: Placido Polanco, Philadelphia Phillies (man, he’s decent enough and all but what a shitty year for NL third basemen) SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies (I love Reyes, but I think Troy will get enough support to last the final week) LF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers (got his spot all but sealed up with his huge lead) CF: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers (passes Holliday for the third OF spot in the final week, Kemp NEEDS to start) RF: Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals (him and Holliday are close in votes, but Berkman is the choice here – Holliday just hasn’t played enough to warrant making the team) DH: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers (there are DHs even in NL parks now, there’s no vote on this but Prince seems like the easy choice to fill the spot) P: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (Others have a case to start, but Roy is the biggest name and the reigning Cy Young so he gets the nod) Reserves C: Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks 1B: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies 1B: Gaby Sanchez, Florida Marlins 2B: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds 3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (again – weak 3B choices this year. Every position needs a backup, this might be more of a “congrats on a great career” respect selection from the players) SS: Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs SS: Jose Reyes, New York Mets OF: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates OF: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros OF: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks Pitchers Mike Adams, San Diego Padres Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado Rockies Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies Joel Hanrahan, Pittsburgh Pirates Jair Jurrgens, Atlanta Braves Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies J.J. Putz, Arizona Diamondbacks Jonny Venters, Atlanta Braves Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals Final Vote Candidates Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves Kyle Lohse, St. Louis Cardinals Michael Morse, Washington Nationals Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies --- I think it's kind of funny how little say the managers actually get in putting together the All Star team. The starters are selected by the fans. Plus 5 starting pitchers, 3 relievers, and a backup at each position get voted on by the players in the respective leagues. That leaves 8 or so spots for the managers to fill on their own, and if there are teams not represented they get handcuffed too. That being said, the player votes are a bit wonky so I'm sure I got a few of them wrong. Wouldn't shock me at all if Yadier Molina grabs the backup C spot instead of the hometown boy Montero, because Molina is the consensus best defensive catcher in the game. Likewise, as much as I love him, Ichiro's not having an All Star caliber year but might still get voted in by the players based on reputation alone.

I think it was incredibly selfish of him. Don't get me wrong, I can understand why he'd be upset with not having his option picked up - but there was plenty of time for that still. Quitting with no warning like that won't exactly endear himself to other teams and also shows his players that he was really only in it for himself.

Unbelievable performer. RIP Big Man.

Jose Reyes is reportedly trying to switch agents from Peter Greenberg to...yep, you guess it, Scott Boras. He's good as gone. Now it's just a question of whether the Mets think they can get more from trading him or from draft picks. It might be the latter, actually...since not too many contending teams are in need of a shortstop and as such they'd be less likely to trade a lot of talent for a rental player who is expecting to make more than Crawford. Competing executives have said Reyes will absolutely get the Crawford contract he wants. I just don't know who the fuck is gonna give it to him. It certainly isn't the Mets. The Yanks won't boot Jeter out of the spot. The Sox have enough money tied up in hitting. The Cubs have Castro. The Cards are gonna invest every last dollar they have into keeping Pujols. The Dodgers don't have the money. The Phillies probably feel obligated to keep Rollins, and he'll be WAY cheaper. Who does that leave? The Angels? The Tigers? The Reds? The Orioles? I just don't see where people think he's gonna get that enormous contract from. I'll continue to hold out hope that he stays with the Mets for like 5 years, $90-100 million or something.

Nothing worse than having to seeing X-Pac's ugly mug on a loading screen for up to like 4 minutes. Just to be told the ever-important news that Scotty Too Hotty had arrived, before going back to more loading screens.

Attacking your opponent before the match starts also needs to be scaled way back. I remember in one of the very first cards I played I booked a Luke Gallows/JTG match and controlled Gallows with the idea of giving him a push. He attacked JTG from behind early and won with one move. I marked out huge and immediately proclaimed my love of Universe Mode... ...then I found that early interference happens before damn near every match.

If Nexus did get in, I think they would throw Husky Harris in as well. He was punted off around the same time before Mania as the others, he just never got brought back. Come to think, his model would be funny to look at since everybody gets 6 pack abs in SD games.

Maybe there will be more awkward "commentating your own match" moments this year, since its seems like as sensible a year as any to put Lawler in as a legend. I'd love it if Booker T and Diesel got in as well. I was working on a roster prediction - but since they had over 70 playable characters on the disk last year in addition to guys like The Hurricane who were removed from being playable and Carlito/Khali who were referenced in RTWM and so they may have also been in and taken out late, I can't see them downgrading the roster size. As such, I think everybody who was in last years game and still on the roster as of WM this year will return for another year - even the never-seen Primos and David Hart Smiths, being in the previous game always gives you a better chance of returning. In terms of "new guys" - Del Rio's confirmed. Barrett and Gabriel should make their non-DLC debuts along with Slater. Bryan and Riley also seem like safe bets. Since he debuted the night after Mania and was hyped heavily before it, I can definitely see Sin Cara making the cut as well, I hope so. Chances are the only roster decisions they need to make is deciding between including the non-Punk Nexus members or investing the final few spots on more members of the Superstars brigade.

Yeah, it got removed from YouTube but it basically was just showcasing Orton. Showed a punt along with the ability to pound your fist/taunt in the lead-up to the RKO. Like I said, the camera and angles seemed shaky. Also the sound effects for big moves could get a little irritating as was the case in SVR11, hoping there's an option to turn it off. Looking forward to seeing if the E3 vids look much different. Pics/vids have shown Orton, Cena, Miz, and Del Rio to be the first guys confirmed - so chances are they'll be playable at E3. Would love to see Del Rio's entrance and armbar.

Meh. The few gameplay vids I've seen make it look like the same game. The camera also looks really jittery. Hoping it's just a one-off deal via early build and that it'll look more polished once E3 rolls around. The graphics also look downgraded for the second year in a row, unless it was vids of the Wii version they were showing. I'll continue to track the development. But after years of getting hyped up, buying the game day of release, and then abandoning it and getting buyer's remorse within 2 months - it will be a tough sell. I'll likely give it a rent before I buy it this year. Of course, I expect they'll announce some sort of amazing changes to WWE Universe that will convince me to buy the game, and the cycle will continue.

Loved the episode. NO TERIYAKI IS NOT FROM A-F***ING CHINA!!!

What a joke. He pretty much forced all of the suspended players to return next year by blocking them from the Sugar Bowl if they didn't agree to do so. He claimed he didn't want them "skirting the consequences" and avoiding the suspensions by going to the NFL. And yet now he resigns, avoiding his suspension, and his next stop is probably the NFL to be an assistant. Can't imagine it would be too long before he winds up being a coordinator or even a head coach. Holy hypocrisy, Batman. Fantastic coach, shame he handled this entire situation badly.

Yeah I think I fucked up on "The Golden Butterfly"...but fucking up in this game actually makes it more fun an adds to replayability. Only done like 2 dispatch calls since I've been so wrapped up in the story.

The past couple of weeks I thought Darryl was a shoe-in, but he appeared to shit the bed with his interview. It's possible that by the time the next season starts, he would have attended the business classes he was supposed to take. But yeah, Andy does make the most sense. Great character build. He also seems to have a shitty sales record - so moving him out of that spot and into a "people person" role would make sense from the selection committee's perspective. Wanted to punch him in the face for turning down Erin though

Really liked The Office finale. I knew they weren't going to actually name a new manager, which still felt like a bit of a cop-out given the way the episode was advertised. Spader's character was brilliant. Couldn't see him as the manager or anything but I'd be all for making him a recurring character. Glad Creed got an episode as manager, one of my favorite characters on the show. Hope Gabe is still a regular next year, he's gotten increasingly funnier as he's become more and more of a douchebag. "There used to be a paperclip guy who would help with letters or resumes. Where is he? I think his name was.....Clippy."

Looks like the Giants weren't really impressed with any of the offensive linemen outside of the ones that went in the first. Another year of riding the aging line - MUST take O-Line in the first round next year no matter what.

God, fuck off with this "let's show the player on the phone beforehand and ruin the suspense" shit

Will be happy to see the Giants get either Pouncey or Castanzo. Hopefully everybody takes the full amount of time on their pick so I can watch Michael Scott's last Office and not miss the Giants' pick.

I need to have my head examined for actually going to tonight's Mets game, especially since I've been sick as hell lately. Was actually a fun game. But between Pagan getting thrown out at the plate in the 8th and Thole popping up a crucial bunt on the first pitch causing a double play in the 9th, it really feels like they are inventing new ways to lose. Thole popped up a bunt. Dickey popped up a bunt. Willie Harris failed to bunt so he gave up and promptly struck out. 3 fucked up attempts at bunting in one game may be some kind of record. Last Thursday to tonight may legitimately have been the worst week of baseball ever played by a team. They have found a way to lock up 100 losses in April. I'll always watch the games but at least with the 2009 Mets I didn't become basically apathetic about the results until like July. This year I'll be feeling that way on April 21st.