TooLiveBrew

Yeah, Kabul's has excellent food. If you're feeling overwhelmed or clueless when you look at the menu, just ask for recommendations. You'd have a hard time finding a bad dish there.

I like the idea of buying low (if that's possible with a Boras client) on Ankiel. He'd be a nice option in RF if Hart has to be dealt for pitching. I also agree on Blanco. That would be a really shrewd signing.

I just can't put much faith into any speculation that the Brewers might sign Lackey. Sure, they might want to sign him, or look into signing him, but the reality is that the money it'd take to bring him in could be put to much better use. Lackey will most likely be in a huge market after this offseason, even if that just means he re-signed with LAA. Of course, there could be a gentleman's agreement with Cameron who probably can get more money and 2 years if he declines and leaves. I sure hope that's what happens. Joke-tastic-ality of the Elias Rankings aside (ie Cam not being a Type A), it would be a crime for Melvin to lose Cameron for nothing after making such a brilliant FA signing. Gotta reward yourself, Doug! Cam as a Type B free agent wouldn't scare any suitors off & would kick a solid draft pick back in Bruce Seid's direction.

I'd like for the Brewers to look into Sheets, but if I had to guess where he winds up, I'd pick Boston. mlbtraderumors speculates the Brewers sign Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn. I don't know if there was any work put into that thought than, 'He used to play for Melvin, and this guy's from WI'. I can't bring myself to believe that Melvin will fail so badly on acquiring SPing. I'd have to guess the team will take nice long looks at Sheets, Harden, and Bedard as far as FA arms go. I know each has his injury concerns, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one of those three signed.

Link In the writeup on Schafer, I think the first sentence is supposed to end, "first full season in the minors". These reviews are just brief articles, but it's cool that they try to look around at each organization's system & identify the interesting/important/rising/falling players.

Hah -- I just read battlekow's post #7 in the Gamel for Happ? thread... It does seem like Hamels is on the outs in Philly due to a combination of bad luck, unrealistic expectations, personality "issues", and the need for a scapegoat. If Philly's so disillusioned with him that they'd put him on the market, he'd be an excellent buy-low candidate for the Brewers to pursue via trade.Obviously, I agree, bk. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Congrats! (I assume the answer was, 'Yes')

I like the idea of Philly as a trade partner for McGehee. While Happ would be a solid target, perhaps now would be the (only) right time to ask about Cole Hamels. While he'd be more expensive, he also seems to have more upside, and his value right now is probably as low as it will get. The only thing from '09 that doesn't look basically 100% normal for Hamels is his BABIP (.325 to a career .295). I'm probably not very good at positing a trade, but I guess I'd start with an offer of McGehee + Salome/Lucroy + a pitching prospect or two (Butler? Peralta? Scarpetta? Odorizzi?).

I agree on McGehee at 2B, Ennder, but I'd be willing to take my lumps with him there until Weeks returns since he'll hit alright. You're probably right, though, that Counsell would be the fill-in. And nate82: I was just thinking that maybe leaving Cam (in my dream-world) atop the lineup & hitting Weeks 5th would be the way to go. I really hope the Brewers can find a way to get Rickie hitting 5th or 2nd, but given the downgrade in OBP with Gomez, I can't see it happening.

I don't think lineup projections at this point are going to be very useful come opening day, since I don't think Melvin & Co. are done, but if I were calling the shots at this point, here's what I'd do (with the understanding that you aren't actually going to be able to get Prince or Braun to bat second): 8 Cameron 5 Gamel 7 Braun 3 Fielder 4 McGehee 9 Hart 2 Salome 1 P 6 Escobar I would have Gomez at Nashville to start the season, and would explore trading Cameron if/when Gomez displays more than a low to mid-.800s OPS at AAA. Actually, for TLB the GM, I'd also explore what kind of pitching you could get with an offer anchored by Gomez+McGehee. I omitted Weeks from the lineup since his rehab from tendon sheath surgery will likely be one calendar year again, which would have him really physically ready to go in May or so (iirc). Once Weeks would get back, he'd bat leadoff, with Cam sliding to #5... McGehee would go to the bench or be traded.

The funny thing to me about this trade is that the ChiSox improve most at 2B. I was wondering if they'd continue to waste Beckham at 3B or not. I only say 'waste' since he can handle 2B defensively, and obv. his bat has much more value there. EDIT: Though iirc Teahen has a bad reputation as a defender, so the Sox probably just got bad at 3B, if that's where they're going to play him.

Yeah, and Granderson can actually hit *right now*. I'm disappointed the Brewers weren't able to add him instead. The thing is, Gamel still showed that he could hit, until the Brewers made the mistake of sending him back to AAA. All Gomez has shown so far is that he's a very good defender that needs more work at the plate at AAA. I should say, though, that I appreciate you making that comparison about how they were handled, since that's important perspective to keep imho regarding Gomez. This is a popular statement lately. The problem I have with it is that, as of today, it isn't true. Escobar will cover more ground at SS, no doubt, but that doesn't automatically make him a better SS. J.J.'s ability to convert balls he gets to into outs is really second to none in MLB. (I'm making that last statement in regards to skillset/ability... I didn't take the time to look up any data because I don't believe that's a controversial statement, in terms of skill). I think Hardy will probably be a little better next season in terms of defense, but I'd expect Escobar to be close for the next year or two... possibly surpassing Hardy's defensive production as soon as 2011.

Hah! Of course. I knew I was forgetting one. I've never been to Magnus either, though. It's another pricey one, but like NMF said, its reputation is that it's well worth it. Natt Spil is a great little night-spot, too. It's also on King St., just south of the Great Dane. It's really a little hole in the wall (name isn't even on the building), but they always have good music & the food is incredible for such a small place. They have a wood-fired oven, & know how to use it. If you like mussels, theirs are simply amazing... the pizzas typically are, too.

As long as neither of them bats in the top of the lineup, I could care less what Macha does with the running game.

I was just going off Melvin's recent comments on Lucroy (can be found in the Salome/Lucroy thread in the minors forum). I'd have guessed that Salome was ahead of Lucroy as well, but it seems the Brewers think Lucroy's D is ready, and his success at the plate in the AFL seems to have the front office sold on him. I really don't know what to make of this... I still think the Brewers are going to use Salome to help bring back pitching this winter. EDIT: Come to think of it, the front office touting Lucroy so highly could just be an attempt to drive up his trade value as well. Either way, imo one of Lucroy & Salome will be shipped out this offseason.

Well, he's rushing Escobar now, and with defense in mind Weeks was rushed as well. And given Melvin's recent comments... going with Lucroy as the MLB starter fresh out of AA would be rushing a player, too.

Thanks to everyone who got back to me. Much appreciated. One thing to note is the Badgers are very deep this year. They don't have a "star" but they can play 9 legit guys and maybe 10 or 11 if a few make improvements. This is a trademark of Bo Ryan, dating at least back into his UW-Platteville days. I have a hard time thinking of a Bo Ryan team that wasn't very deep. The Badgers imho are lucky this guy wanted to be in Madison. He's an excellent coach, and on top of that, he maintains his program very well year to year.

L'Etoile & Harvest are awesome choices. The Old Fashioned is not (for your intended purposes, ryne100). Good food at slightly less $$ would be Tutto Pasta on King St., & Muramoto (also on King). Johnny Delmonico's is a steakhouse on Pinkney St. Would be pricier, but very nice as well. Another steakhouse is the Capitol Chophouse -- I've only been there once, but the food was good. It's the restaurant in the downtown Hilton. If I think of any more, I'll try to post them in time. Hope you find the kind of place you're after, and I'd strongly recommend checking online reviews on any recommendations you get... though it's not necessary for L'Etoile & Harvest http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

The main knock I've seen on Miller is mechanics, so perhaps now that we've signed Peterson it's the right time to try him out.

The point on Hardy is that you don't completely waste his service time just because his glove was ready. It was a bad decision that helped create the problem that came up this season & offseason. His bat wasn't ready, and there was no reason to burn his service time.

I am not a fan of this trade at all. Downgrading from Cameron to Gomez for 2010 is a bad move. Not using Hardy as part of a package to get pitching is a bad move. Sure, maybe Gomez can 'be somebody' down the road, but that's a strange move to make for a man whose job is on the line this coming season. Yeah, I just can't find a way to be happy about this move. I mean, we just traded a legit MLB SS for a faster version of Lo Cain... and just like Lorenzo, Gomez isn't ready to be a big-league hitter. I think you're right. Unfortunately, there were many cheaper ways to find the RHB side of a CF platoon. I agree with the preceding quote. This is my #1 fear right now. I worry that Gamel will be shipped off for a SP that isn't all that special, and that the money saved will be used on more blah pitchers.

(Of course, with those two frosh gone after the first weekend of the school year, there are only two true freshmen now.) Can you fill a Badger in on what happened here? It seems I'm horribly out of the loop. Could go a number of different ways with Bucky. I can see them as a bubble team when March rolls around. They just aren't athletic or physical enough down low to be much more than that in my opinion. I can't wait to see them in action. Imo a backcourt of seniors Hughes & Bohannon is incredibly valuable. I like Nankivil & Leuer a lot... especially Leuer on offense. I can't see him being an impact post defender though, and Nankivil's lack of height relative to D-1 post players will probably keep him from being a force on D as well (though I'd expect him to be better than Leuer). I think this will be a 'typical' Bo Ryan team in that it lacks a true superstar, but they'll be well-coached & play good team defense. It looks on a cursory glance, that Berggren & Gavinski will need to step up & at least be rebounders in order for the Badgers to be respectable down low. I really expect the Badgers to have a lot of options on offense. Nankivil, Bohannon, Hughes, & Leuer are all very capable scorers imo. I think Hughes is a good enough shooter & gets to the hole well enough that he can be a nice weapon with the clock (shot and/or game) winding down, with players like Bohannon & Leuer to kick to on the wings. I also like Leuer's game going to the hoop, and am excited to see if he's been able to add any slick post moves, as that would make him a potentially lethal weapon in the swing offense. I like that Bohannon can run the point capably on offense for situations where Hughes gets injured or in foul trouble, and imo Jason is that pure shooter you need to sometimes bail out your offense. Oh, and I should admit to not knowing much of anything about any of the sophomore or freshman players on the team... so I'd also love to hear what players I'm overlooking or overrating (in terms of role/impact for '09-'10).

I'd love to see Nolasco in Milwaukee, but I have a hard time seeing the Fish sell so (relatively) low on him. By all accounts, he's an ace in the making, and I don't think anything short of Gamel + another top prospect or two would get it done.

Yeah, I was going to say, so much for Cameron not being able to get around $10M AAV. I sure hope he's serious about being willing to give the Brewers a discount.

Why do some think he'll only be a reliever? His arsenal sounds so well-rounded, & he has the ideal build & velocity.