Brewers Top 10 Prospects 2012

Well, if we recorded episode 49 of the podcast tonight like originally planned I may have never written this. So this is kind of like the thing that was never supposed to be but happened anyway. Since we didn't record I felt like I should get something new up on the blog, been quite awhile since I wrote anything. I much prefer to talk Brewers baseball then write about it since I feel I am not very good at writing. Nothing long or flashy here, just the top 10 Brewers prospects in my humble opinion with a quick blurb about each player. I decided not to include any of the players the Crew drafted this year (Coulter, Roache, etc.) because I don't think I know quite enough about them yet to really rank them. Also chose not to include guys like Taylor Green or Michael Fiers since they are up and playing prominent roles with the Brewers now.

1. Taylor Jungmann (RHP): 1st round pick in 2011, pitching well in A+. Has the body, the stuff and experience to be a top half of the rotation guy. Should move quick through the system. 

2. Scooter Gennett (2B): Good approach at the plate and all he does is hit and hit and hit. Most pundits say its a plus hit tool. Not much power, but can really barrel a ball into the gap and down the line for doubles and triples. Okay glove at 2B with some speed on the bases.

3. Wily Peralta (RHP): Was most peoples #1 Brewers prospect coming into the season, but has struggled mightily at AAA after a great 2011. Still has a lot of upside and has a good chance of being in the big league rotation in 2013. 

4. Tyler Thornburg (RHP): Dominating AA this season. Looked good through 5 in big league debut spot start, but was chased in the 6th when he got gassed. Big fastball, good offspeed with a curve and change but needs to command them better for strikes.

5. Jed Bradley (LHP): Second 1st round pick in 2011, started season off pitching well at A+ but has struggled recently with a dip in velocity. Like Jungmann, he has the body and stuff. Should move through system quick. Hope that recent drop in velo is not due to an injury. 

6. Jimmy Nelson (RHP): Big right hander with a fantastic mid 90's sinking fastball. Needs to command his slider better but he has the ability to miss bats and get a lot of grounders. 

7. Caleb Gindl (OF): Has hit at every level. Has a little power, but more of a doubles hitter. Can play either corner OF spot respectably. Good OBP guy, if Brewers leave Hart at 1B, could get his shot in 2013.

8. Logan Schafer (OF): Might be best defensive CF in entire org, including Gomez. Decent hitter, gets on base has speed to steal bases. Could start in CF in the bigs as early as 2013.

9. Drew Gagnon (RHP): Off to a really good start in A ball this season. Good low 90's fastball and a nasty slider. Needs to develop better changeup to stay a starter. 

10. Orlando Arcia (SS): 17 year old out of Venezula. Super athletic, good defender. Has a stick to, hit for average with flashes of power. Good OBP skills. Guys would could walk more than he K's. Unfortunately he will miss this season due to a fractured ankle.

-Jason

25 Man Roster Prediction As Pitchers And Catchers Report

Pitchers and catchers report to camp this Saturday and I could not be more excited. The first real sign that baseball is almost back full force. So with this on the horizon I thought now was as good a time as any to post my first 25 man roster prediction. This of course assumes Ryan Braun is not suspended and is active on April 6th when the Brewers open at Miller Park vs the St. Louis Cardinals. I will do another prediction right before they break camp. This is just my gut feeling before anyone even takes the field.

Starting Lineup:

1. Rickie Weeks - 2B
2. Nyjer Morgan - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Aramis Ramirez - 3B
5. Corey Hart - RF
6. Mat Gamel - 1B
7. Alex Gonzalez - SS
8. Jonathan Lucroy - C

Bench:

George Kottaras - C
Cesar Izturis - IF
Brooks Conrad - IF/OF
Norichika Aoki - OF
Carlos Gomez - OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Zack Greinke
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf
Chris Narveson

Bullpen:

John Axford
Francisco Rodriguez
Jose Veras
Manny Parra

Kameron Loe
Brandon Kintzler
Marco Estrada

-Jason

Stand By Your Man

I will never forget my close friend Aaron's 30th birthday party. Not just because it was landmark birthday for a dear friend of 10 years but because it was the night I felt like a kid again, when I learned their was no Santa Claus. That was my initial feeling and thought when a little before 7pm I seen the crawl at the bottom of ESPN on the muted TV flashed the breaking news. "Ryan Braun tested positive for PED's (of course ESPN called it PED's when in fact it was synthetic testosterone which is just a prohibited substance) in October and faces a 50 game suspension under the MLB drug testing policy." As people at the party were chatting and enjoying drinks and various hors d'oeuvres we quickly un-muted the TV to hear the horrible news. We were all in shock to say the least.

It wasn't long after that when the text messages and calls starting rolling in on my phone. Like I said, I was in shock, I felt like I just found out an awful secret that I never wanted to know. I felt, angry, mad, sad and almost betrayed all at once. But then I took a step back and thought about it. No way in hell Ryan Braun would do this. It's not possible. He is too smart, too good a guy and he would never let his family, friends, fans or the Milwaukee Brewers down like this. And I don't believe he did. Because something just is not right about this entire situation. And I plan to stand by Braun and feel he is innocent. I am fully in the #FreeRyanBraun movement that Vince at Miller Park Drunk has started. Even bought the shirt to prove it!

While Braun has not had a chance to speak publicly in a press conference yet because of the ongoing appeal, he has told people through text messages that it is "BS and he is 100% innocent." Various handlers of Braun have said the same. Saying things like "there has never been a case like this" and his positive test had very "unusual circumstances."

Another thing fishy about the test is that it found an insanely high level of testosterone, like too much for any human to have in their system. So it seems to be the entire situation is just not right. He did test positive, but the positive test seems to have a lot of oddness around it. And as soon as Braun was notified of the positive test, he asked for a retest. Sources close to Braun said the retest came back negative. However it is not clear if the retest was of the "B" sample of the original or a new sample that Braun gave at a later date. This is why people should not be jumping to conclusions that Braun is guilty. There is way to much stuff out there that points to his innocence and all the facts do not seem to be in yet. Not to mention the fact that Braun has undergone testing since he was drafted in 2005 and never once had a positive test. And that includes at least two tests during the 2011 regular season. So if you are one of the people calling for Braun to be stripped of his NL MVP award, just knock it off and come down from Mt. Pius. That is not happening nor should it.

Look, I might just be ignorant to the entire thing and I sure am a little biased. But I am going to stand by Ryan Braun through this ordeal and I do believe he is 100% innocent. Nothing he has done or said in his entire career point to him doing something like this. It's just not him. Everything he does he thinks about before he does it and is as smart and savvy as any athlete I have ever seen. So why would he take anything illegal or banned by MLB? And come on, Ryan even said it himself a few years back. If he took any PED's or steroids, he would hit 60 or 70 HR's. Last time I checked he never hit more than 37 in a season. Oh and one more thing, when Ryan is found innocent, I want those hacks at ESPN to issue public apologies and kiss Braun's ass. Fact is, none of us should know about this right now. Privacy was breached before this whole ordeal was wrapped up. It's bullshit. And expect Braun to play with a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder in 2012, monster year coming up and another division title for the Crew.

-Jason

My Hope/Realistic 25 Man Roster Prediction For 2012

I have been contemplating posting a 25 man roster prediction for sometime now. Obviously, this early into the offseason it is hard to really pin down a good projection of what the club will look like. I mean hell, we have not even got to the Winter Meetings in Dallas yet. But with some recent rumors on players the Brewers are "in on" I have decided to come up with what I hope the roster looks like on Opening Day 2012. I like to think this is also a realistic option.

I see no way or no how that the Brewers re-sign Prince Fielder. It is a pipe dream and I wish they would just totally move on from him. In his place I think the best option is a Gamel/McGehee platoon at 1B. It is really now or never for Gamel and I think he deserves a shot. I go with McGehee in the platoon with Mat because I have the Brewers signing Aramis Ramirez to play 3B on hopefully no more than a 3 year deal. Aramis would slide right into the cleanup spot behind 2011 MVP Ryan Braun. At SS, the Brewers do not seem to want to give the amount of years Rafael Furcal or Jimmy Rollins seek or the amount of money Jose Reyes wants. With Clint Barmes already signed to the Pirates that leaves bringing back Betancourt or signing his offensive clone but much better glove man Alex Gonzalez. That seems like an easy choice, A-Gon all the way. On the bench I see them going with a younger better defensive backup Catcher in Martin Maldonado and resigning Jerry Hairston to serve as the #1 bat off the bench and a super sub that can play all over the OF and IF.

The starting rotation should be the exact same as it was in 2011 unless Doug Melvin has some kind of sneaky tricky trade up his sleeve. In that case the most likely arms to slide into the rotation would be either Michael Fiers or Wily Peralta. As for the bullpen I think the re-sign Saito over Hawkins and then go with all players that are already in house. I would not mind a trade for the White Sox Matt Thornton or signing someone like Frank Francisco, but assuming all the arms I listed below are healthy I think it is a damn good bullpen. Most of what I have heard is Braddock is recovered from whatever personal/mental issues he had and will be ready for Spring Training and same goes for Manny Parra and Brandon Kintzler and their physical injuries.

Of course a lot can happen between now and the start of Spring Training in Maryvale, AZ in February. But right now I think this would be a very good playoff contending club and it could be a realistic one based on the players, money and contracts.

Starting Lineup:

1. Corey Hart - RF
2. Nyjer Morgan - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Aramis Ramirez - 3B
5. Rickie Weeks - 2B
6. Mat Gamel - 1B
7. Alex Gonzalez - SS
8. Jonathan Lucroy - C

Bench:

Martin Maldonado - C
Jerry Hairston - IF/OF
Casey McGehee - IF
Taylor Green - IF
Carlos Gomez - OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Zack Greinke
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf
Chris Narveson

Bullpen:

John Axford
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
Zach Braddock
Manny Parra
Brandon Kintzler
Marco Estrada

And Suddenly It Was Over

As I watched the last few innings of game 6 last night with no real hope of a Brewers comeback in sight I was upset. I wasn't quite fuming with rage, but I was about as pissed off as I could be without screaming expletives and throwing things at my TV. I would say it was more like bottled up rage. I was trying to play it cool and keep it inside as I was watching the game with my wife, who hates when I yell and scream at the game and my friend, who always plays it cool. The NLCS started with an exciting game 1 that the Brewers won at Miller Park and I felt about as high and confident in the team as I had all season, and that is saying something. But that high and confidence did not last long as the team played pretty awful the rest of the series save for Randy Wolf's outstanding game 4 performance at Busch Stadium.

Then Mark Kotsay was called upon one more time by Ron Roenicke to pinch hit in the 9th inning of game 6 and as I watched him strike out to end the game I came to the realization that I had watched the last out the Brewers would make in 2011 and it was going to be a long winter thinking about what happened in this series and what could have been. But maybe more importantly it was going to be another long, cold and snowy Wisconsin winter before I get to see the Brewers play baseball again. And that might be more depressing than losing the NLCS in 6 games at home to the hated St. Louis Cardinals.

When I went to bed after the game I figured I would wake up today still feeling angry about the way things ended. Specifically the starting pitching, the defense, Braun & Fielder's lack of hitting vs the Cardinals and of course Ron Roenicke's decision to start Shaun Marcum for a third time after he had been destroyed his previous two starts and clearly had NOTHING left. But to my surprise I woke up with a different outlook. I felt much more sad and disappointed in the way the season ended, but joy over the thought of the journey. The biggest reason is I remembered all the awesome things that happened to the Brewers in 2011. Of course years down the road when Brewers Nation talks about the 2011 team it will always be brought up how they lost the NLCS to the Cardinals.

But Brewers Nation will also talk about clinching the NL Central Division title at home, I was there and it was amazing. Brewers Nation will also talk about the thrilling game 5 victory in the NLDS, I was also at that game and it was an absolutely insane moment I won't ever forget. Sharing that with my wife our friends and a bunch of random strangers was incredible. Brewers Nation will also talk about the franchise record 96 wins, Braun and Fielder's MVP caliber seasons, all the great pitching performances from Gallardo/Greinke/Marcum/Wolf/Narveson, Fielder's All-Star MVP, Axford's amazing season, the K-Rod trade, the SI cover, all the highlight reel catches in CF from Gomez, Jerry Hairston's hot postseason, everything Nyjer Morgan/Tony Plush did, all the beast mode stuff and so many more things I can't think of now but when I hear them I will say "oh yeah! That was awesome!"

So while the ultimate goal for the Brewers was not reached, that should not take away from what was one of the best seasons in franchise history. It was an incredible ride and with Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash and even Ron Roenicke leading the charge I like the clubs chances of sustaining success and making more trips to the playoffs in the upcoming years.

-Jason

NLCS Game 4 Preview UPDATED

Who: Brewers (Randy Wolf) vs Cardinals (Kyle Lohse)
When: Thursday October 13th at 7:05 pm CST
Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis, MO
TV: TBS
Radio: 620 AM WTMJ/540 AM ESPN

Must win. Well, technically game 4 is not a must win for the Brewers in that if they don't, they won't be eliminated. However, if the Brewers can't pull out a game 4 win over the Cardinals they will find themselves down 3-1 and would have to win 3 in a row over a very hot Cardinals team to win this series. It wouldn't be impossible, but it sure is not something they would want to have to try. This series becomes a series again if they can pull it to 2-2 because it would guarantee that the series would head back to Miller Park for game 6 and possibly a game 7.

Randy Wolf pitched awful in his NLDS start vs the Dbacks. His start was on par with the two awful starts by Shaun Marcum in these playoffs. However, Wolf did have some pretty good success vs the Cardinals this season going 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA. Something positive the Brewers can hang their hats on going into game 4. I know it is a simple formula, but I think the two biggest keys to tonight's game, besides NOT starting Mark Kotsay in CF, is to score early vs Kyle Lohse. Get a lead and get some confidence going. Couple that with Wolf tossing a scoreless 1st inning. That has been hard for Brewers starters this postseason. If Randy can do that, maybe string together a few scoreless to start the game I think the Brewers will be in a great position to win tonight.

Roenicke rolled the dice on Wednesday night by making the ridiculous decision to start Mark Kotsay in CF. Now in fairness, Mark did walk twice and hit a solo HR. But his base running mistake and two misplayed balls in the 1st inning were unforgivable. Kotsay was not alone in misplaying a ball in the outfield though, Corey Hart misplayed a ball hit by David Freese that looked like a routine fly out. Hart is not playing well in the field, not hitting and he just looks very slow in everything he does. My hope is that if Roenicke was willing to put Kotsay in CF last night that he will be willing to bench Hart tonight in favor of Kotsay or play Gomez in CF and Morgan in RF. It at least makes the defense better and who knows, maybe brings more offense as neither of those three can hit any worse then Hart is right now.

Just get the series back to Miller Park and good things can and will happen.

-Jason

UPDATE: Just tweeted what I found on Baseball Reference, in Randy Wolf's last two starts at Busch Stadium: 2-0, 16 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB, 0 HR. Comforting. Here is to another stellar outing at Busch for Randy!

NLCS Game 1 Preview

Who: Cardinals (Jaime Garcia) vs Brewers (Zack Greinke)

When: Sunday October 9th at 3:05 pm CST
Where: Miller Park Milwaukee, WI
TV: TBS
Radio: 620 AM WTMJ/540 AM ESPN

"Shit just got real". That is what I tweeted after the Cardinals defeated the Phillies last night to set up this epic rematch of the 1982 "Suds" Series. 29 years after the Cardinals defeated the Brewers in 7 games to win the World Series the two teams will meet in the NLCS for the right to represent the National League in the World Series. While this matchup is certainly not what Yankees vs Red Sox is on a national level, it is a very heated rivalry that could produce the type of intensity and drama that those two teams have brought to numerous ALCS'.

These teams do not like each other. It is clear. LaRussa and the Cards have had issues with the Brewers pretty much since the Braun/Fielder era began. The Cardinals do not like swagger. They consider themselves the police of baseball, the keepers of the unwritten rules and are to "classy" to actually enjoy the game and have fun, much like their fans. They hated the Brewers "untucking" after wins 2008 and 2009 and things have only gotten worse with the Brewers adding Nyjer Morgan this season the whole "beast mode" celebrations. The rivalry came to a boiling point in their final regular season meeting when Morgan and Chris Carpenter exchanged "fuck yous" and Albert Pujols decided to run in and start shit, the benches cleared but no physical altercations occurred.

When the playoffs started many people could see this matchup happening and hoped for it. Two very good teams who don't like each other meeting in a 7 game series for the NL pennant. It has classic written all over it. As Bart Scott of the Jets would say: "CAN'T WAIT."

Since both teams had to use their aces (Gallardo and Carpenter) in game 5 of their NLDS games they will not be available in game 1 of the NLCS. Instead Roenicke and LaRussa have to go to their number 2's, Zack Greinke will toe the rubber for the Crew and Jamie Garcia for the Red Birds. Greinke has been incredible at Miller Park for the Brewers. They did not lose a single start he made their all season. On the year Greinke was 16-6 with a 3.83 ERA in 28 starts, 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA vs the Cardinals. The most impressive stat for Zack was his 10.5 SO/9 that led the NL. Jamie Garcia like Greinke had a very good 2011 campaign. He went 13-7 with a 3.56 ERA in 32 starts, 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA vs the Brewers. The Brewers the past two years have struggled to hit and score runs vs Garcia, it will be important to score early and get to him before he settles in. Unlike Zack, Jaime is more of a pitch to contact pitcher.

The season series between these two teams was split at 9 games a piece. They are about as evenly matched as two teams can be and they obviously know each other very well. I expect a grind it out series that will go the full 7 games. With the home field advantage I have full confidence that the Brewers will pull it out and advance to the World Series.

-Jason

VFBC Staff 2011 NL Award Ballots

Jason

NL MVP:
1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Justin Upton
4. Prince Fielder
5. Joey Votto
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Clayton Kershaw
8. Albert Pujols
9. Roy Halladay
10. Jose Reyes

NL Cy Coung:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Roy Halladay
3. Cliff Lee
4. Cole Hamels
5. John Axford

NL ROY:
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Wilson Ramos

Alex

NL MVP:
1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Prince Fielder
4. Clayon Kershaw
5. Albert Pujols
6. Roy Halladay
7. Joey Votto
8. Cliff Lee
9. Justin Upton
10. Craig Kimbrel

NL Cy Young:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Roy Halladay
3. Cliff Lee
4. Ian Kennedy
5. Cole Hamels

NL ROY:
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Brandon Beachy

Brad

NL MVP:

1. Ryan Braun

2. Matt Kemp

3. Prince Fielder

4. Lance Berkman

5. Troy Tulowitzki

6. Albert Pujols

7. Justin Upton

8. Joey Votto

9. Shane Victorino

10. Clayton Kershaw

NL Cy Young:

1. Clayton Kershaw

2. Roy Halladay

3. Cliff Lee

4. Ian Kennedy

5. John Axford

NL ROY:

1. Craig Kimbrel

2. Freddie Freeman

3. Vance Worley

25 Man NLDS Roster Prediction

Because I just love predicting rosters so much, here it is. To me the only two hard decisions are the last bench spot which I think comes down to Josh Wilson or Taylor Green and could go either way but I think you go with another lefty bat, specifically one with some power. Second hard decision is the final bullpen spot, which probably comes down to Estrada, Dillard or De La Cruz. I think Marco gets the nod there because of the experience factor. Of course they could end up only keeping 6 pitchers in the pen and going with an extra bench player which would probably mean both Wilson and Green make the roster. Interesting decisions for the brain trust.

Starting Lineup:

1. Corey Hart - RF
2. Nyjer Morgan - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Rickie Weeks - 2B
6. Casey McGehee - 3B
7. Yuniesky Betancourt - SS
8. Jonathan Lucroy - C

Bench:

George Kottaras - C
Jerry Hairston - IF/OF
Craig Counsell - IF
Taylor Green - IF
Mark Kotsay - OF
Carlos Gomez - OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Zack Greinke
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf

Bullpen:

John Axford
Francisco Rodriguez
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
LaTroy Hawkins
Chris Narveson
Marco Estrada

-Jason

Episode 30 Coming Thursday Night

We will not be recording episode 30 on our normal Monday or Tuesday night schedule. Going to wait till Thursday night when we know all the playoff details, should be up late that night or early Friday morning. Will have a full playoff preview on the agenda and of course our reaction to the thrilling division clinching win on Friday night which yours truly attended. As you can imagine, it was one of the most amazing nights of my 29 year lifetime. In the meantime I will have my 25 man NLDS roster prediction up on Monday sometime, so look for that if you so choose. Thanks again from Alex, Brad and myself for listening/reading. We appreciate it. Go Brewers!

-Jason

Zack, I Am Sorry

I have to get this apology out of the way now, I have waited to long. And after his stellar 7 inning performance last night I am finally going to apologize to Zack Greinke. Zack, I am sorry for not believing in you. Yes, I was one of the many Brewers fans who were ready to jump ship on Zack Greinke after his horrific start at Yankee Stadium on June 28th in which he went only 2 innings gave up 5 hits, 3 walks and 7 earned runs. He got lit up and his body language told me he didn't really give a shit. His ERA sat at 5.63, yes his K/BB rate was stellar, but he seemed to be getting hit hard and also seemed to have a hard time focusing and getting out of jams. Many said he was just unlucky, I didn't buy it, I was too angry. I went as far to say on the podcast and on twitter that I wondered if the Brewers made the right choice by dealing Escobar, Cain, Jeffress and Odorizzi for Zack.

Well since that day, Zack has made me eat every last bad word I spoke or typed about him. In 9 starts since that blowup against the Yankees, Greinke has gone 6 or more innings (7 or more 4 times) won 5 games and lowered his ERA to a beautiful 3.92. Pretty impressive to lower your ERA from almost 6 to under 4 in just 9 starts. That is how good Zack has been over that stretch. His 151 K's to only 29 BB in 121.2 innings is flat out sick and he now has a 12-4 record to his name. The eye test shows that his stuff is sharper, especially his slider which has been so filthy it almost isn't fair for the opposition. To me he also seems to be focusing more and really buckling down with runners on base pitching out of the stretch. Something that I think he really struggled with during and before that Yankees start.

I should have never doubted that Zack would go on a run and start to pitch more like the guy that won the 2009 AL Cy Young award, but I did. I was frustrated. This was the guy that got everyone so jazzed up about how special this 2011 season could be back in December when Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew broke the news that the Crew had trade for Zack. And I just didn't think he was coming through like he should have. Well, he has and this season has been every bit the special season we anticipated. And if the Crew does hang on to this lead over the Cardinals and win the NL Central, there is no one I would rather have take the ball in game 1 of the NLDS than Zack Greinke (no offense Yovani and Shaun). He's earned it and proved it. He is the true ace.

-Jason

Macha > Roenicke (At Managing A Bullpen)

I have been a pretty avid supporter of Ron Roenicke as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers all season. I think he has done a good job for the most part and he seems like a chum fellow, but his management of the bullpen today and really as of late has been horrendous. Granted, he doesn't have the likes of Takashi Saito, Zach Braddock, Brandon Kintzler, Manny Parra, etc. Still, that is no excuse to continue to ignore righty/lefty splits and use Tim Dillard or Mark DiFelice, give Kameron Loe exclusive rights to the 8th inning and to leave LaTroy Hawkins rot in the pen when he could be used in a high leverage situation. He has made the mistakes a few different times already this season and one has to wonder at what point will he correct his bullpen mistakes and start making the right choices?

Does Roenicke ask for input from Rick Kranitz and Jerry Narron when making these decisions? If so, are they saying they are good or are they telling him different and Ron just goes with his own thought each time? I would be very curious to find out the answer to that question. If Kranitz and Narron have the same thoughts as Roenicke and they to are going along with some of these bullpen moves they are as much to blame. If Roenicke and his staff don't correct the mistakes with the bullpen management soon it could contine to cost the Brewers wins and ultimately the division. I would like to continue liking Ron, but if he keeps this shit up, I am going to have a hard time supporting him. Hate to say it, but it's the truth.

-Jason