TooLiveBrew

I'd like you to elaborate on how Cody is an unknown. I hate how "unknown" & "unproven" are thrown around when discussing prospects... like no MLB players come out of the minor leagues.

I think Stetter + Swindle + [player(s) that would be needed to acquire Sherrill] > Stetter + Swindle + Sherrill He's not eligible for FA until 2012 which makes him a very nice target considering how he'd boost the pen now and give them a closer for the next 2 seasons. Hardy's name keeps coming up, but O's have a need as SS. Are you really suggesting trading Hardy for Sherrill?

Sherrill is signed through 2009 ($2.75M). I'm not 100% sure on his service time, but I think he has one more season of arbitration eligibility.

Link?

Gamel is a great prospect for the future but today is the present and this team has a responsibility to the fans, who have supported this team so well, to put out the best team possible everyday all year long. I guess if both McGehee & Counsell continue to vastly overplay their career norms, then yes not playing Gamel & now sending him to AAA has been the move to get the best team possible out there. However, I for one will be shocked if McGehee's .353 BABIP doesn't continue to plummet as the season wears on (it was up around .400 as recently -- iirc -- as late May). Besides, both McGehee & Counsell are already feeling the burn of playing everyday. Iirc each guy is nursing a leg ailment. Sure, Lopez helps in terms of IF depth, but the Brewers didn't need to make a move. They just needed their manager to play guys appropriately. It is not the time to let a young player learn on the job unless we have to. We don't so he's not going to play regularly which is the very thing he needs to do to fix his incomplete offensive skill set. As of today, Counsell's line on the season is .280/.350/.407/.757. McGehee's is .321/.376/.519/.895. Both are well above their expected performance levels, and setting the blue Kool-Aid down for a second, should probably be expected to regress in the second half. Gamel, on the other hand, showed a lot of polish at the plate. Don't forget his line as a 3Bman -- .268/.346/.507/.853. That's already superior to Counsell's line, and a hot streak away from chasing down and/or surpassing McGehee's. So if the "incomplete offensive skillset" of Gamel is legitimately giving both Counsell & McGehee a run for their money, what does that say about how much should really be expected of them the rest of the way? I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Gamel recalled due to an injury that Counsell and/or McGehee can no longer play through. However, unless the hypothetical injuries in question were season-enders, Gamel would probably just wind up losing his spot again anyway. This trade is an indictment on the incompetence of Macha. Since Macha refused to play his best option every day (Gamel) and just doesnt like young players Melvin was forced to trade for a mediocre player. I completely agree that Melvin and Macha are not on the same page and hope Doug pulls the plug after the season. Gamel has shown that when he is given the chance to start that he will produce some nice numbers yet Macha was constantly looking for reasons not to play him. His comments about Melvin putting him in a "zim zam" with Gamel just shows how incompetent Macha really is. I really have been wanting to give Macha a long leash. Overall I like how he's handled the pitching staff, but he's shown a recent propensity for leaving our two young arms in well over 100 pitches, so some of the shine is wearing off there too. Even though I actually do prefer Macha to Yost, I wouldn't mind seeing the Brewers look at the manager position again this offseason.

X never said anything close to that. The thread is discussing the Brewers' problems at reserve OF, and Catalanotto playing over Gerut is one of them.

Nothing against Gamel... because he had some nice pinch hits while he was here, but you are going to get a good at bat from Counsell everytime. Gamel looked overmatched at times. Mat Gamel's batting line while at 3B this season is .268/.346/.507/.853. The only reason he ever looked overmatched is that his manager knew nothing but how to ignore his presence & importance to this team's future. I am typically not one to put much faith in a small sample like the 81 PA that comprise the line I listed for Gamel, but in this instance the batting line matches up with what should roughly be expected from Mat. The Brewers will be lucky to get a .270 AVG/.350 OBP kind of line out of Lopez, let alone the vast gulf in SLG between a player of Gamel's abilities vs. a player of Lopez's abilities.

Another vote for 'completely underwhelmed' with this trade. The solution was in-house, and instead of get the right players on the field, our GM went out & burned two prospects on an average player who really is redundant for this team. Sure, the prospects aren't big losses, but still. This deal really underscores what a mess this organization has been in handling Gamel. This kid should have (justifiably so) had the red carpet rolled out for him at 3B, but for some reason our GM defers to his new hire at manager, who can't see the forest for the trees. I can find a small amount of solace in this deal -- since Melvin seemed incapable of taking action to get the organization's top prospect on the MLB field where he belongs, at least he's taken a step to get Gamel regular playing time. I don't intend this to be a glowing compliment for Melvin, but at least he hasn't made the situation even worse (I guess).

It's interesting to me that the backlash for this doesn't seem to come close to what Jeffress saw after his first reported failed test. At least you can argue Jeffress isn't attempting to gain an edge on the competition.

Ironically, many people still ask if my 13 year-old English cocker spaniel is a springer puppy. With all his gray hair, it's hard to believe, but he still acts like a puppy outside. I can absolutely see that.

I can't even think of the last time I went to Fred's for beer.

But why? Counsell & McGehee have played well, & we're stuck with Hall. What would be negligent about Melvin not bothering with Lugo? He can't create a 25-man roster spot without eating the rest of Hall's contract. Hall & Lugo are similar enough that it's not even worth Melvin's efforts to explore replacing one with the other.

English Springer Spaniels http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/3ef251849391cd568ba19724e438c096e0e4f08.jpghttp://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/41025414229b6d6a8001879357c1a774ec6af44.jpg Like vaccinator's here http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

But he would be different! 4 IP or less per start!

Was there any concern with Bush's arm tonight? I've heard from some people who saw him in Appleton that he looked fine/normal.

He's 25. he's under contract for more than one season. He has maximum national exposure with teams and their fans drooling over the dream of having him in their lineup. I just have to remind myself this is a Milwaukee Brewers player you're describing. Awesome. I will have to try hard to keep in mind the tremendous value we should get in return once he's gone, because it is going to suck to see him eventually leave.

Am I being too simplistic here that they go out of their way to make a crappy ball for leagues that want to minimize offense. No, I think that's right. Beyond the safety issues... as lame as it is to guys that want to go play & have fun for hours at a time, high scoring games = much longer games. On an individual basis, no big deal. But when you think about having to manage leagues of teams under the umbrella of one municipality's parks-&-rec. dept., you can see why shorter games are a necessary evil.

I also love Sprecher's Mai Bock (& have commented in this thread as well). if you like california IPA's and you haven't tried Bear Republic Racer 5 you should. i think it is a fantastic IPA, one of my all time favorite beers not just favorite IPA's. Appreciate the recommendation, blatzlight. I will now be looking all over for this. I used to live with a guy who drank way to much Pyramid Hefeweizen so I grew somewhat attached to it. As far as domestic mass distributed hefeweizens, I think Pyramid is one of the best, although not really in the same catagory as any Bavarian hefeweizen. I never was too fond of the Pyrmaid IPA though. I agree on that assessment of Pyramid overall. Good/decent, not great.

so does the HFA really matter? In a short series, it might matter less, but I think it's unquestionable that the HFA matters. It makes my brain cramp to think about how one would have to go about trying to figure out the impact of HFA in the short series format of the postseason.

I'd like to see Katin as a September callup this year, since he could be another weapon off the bench against LHP.

Gamels numbers are held down by his numerous PH ABs. Gamel's OPS, when he starts at 3B, is .901! The fact that he will play a bigger role in the 2nd half is another reason this team is a serious contender. Wow, just reading that has me all hot & bothered. .901! Man, I can't wait to see Gamel (hopefully) unfettered this second half.

Oops, I was about twenty seconds late I guess, so I'll add that Katin and Escobar have a cooler handshake celebration than we currently have on the parent club. Very cool indeed, HtR. That celebration really made me chuckle.

Just since there's no game thread on this game, might as well comment here -- R.J. Swindle is pitching right now in the top of the 7th, and has already shown the 50-mph curveball/eephus pitch http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Hahaha! Swindle just dropped it again on LHB Jordan Brown... 49 mph this time... everyone involved was just laughing, including Brown & Swindle. The crowd was just buzzing after that one, too.

That was a pretty huge shot... would have been gone (distance-wise) in any park. Nice to see Brendan light one up.