TooLiveBrew

Look what the Rays have done with half the payroll of the Brewers or even the Twins. The Rays have had higher draft picks than the Crew in recent seasons. A better comparison (imho) would be the Pirates, who've done a poor job drafting nearly as high as TB each season.

The player that bothered me on that play was Hall. At least from the in-game replays, it looked like Hall had a very real chance to dive & reach (or at least get near) that hit. Braun (imo) played the ball cautiously due to the curve of the Metrodome base wall there. I don't recall him playing the ball for anything more than the ricochet (meaning -- I don't think he dogged it, just played cautiously a tricky LF corner he'd never seen before). I don't really think that anything Braun did helped Gomez to a 3B. The ball was hit slowly enough that Gomez had a 3B nearly out of the box.

$5M isn't that huge -- I'm not suggesting that he's going to hit like this through the end of 2009... just started with Cameron's '08 base salary. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Would signing him for $5M for 2009 be realistic for both sides? Or would it have to be more?

Bill Hall -- no D, no O, tons of $ http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif

I wasn't so concerned about some of the hits tonight but he had horrible control. This is what I mean. I'm rooting for him every time out, but his last two starts have worried me in terms of command. If I'm patient with Bush, I have to do the same for Seth. I just see Villanueva as more sensible in the rotation, even though Carlos hasn't been good yet either.

Another shaky outing for Seth, but it's only fair to point out that several of the hits he surrendered were bleeders or seeing-eye hits. He just didn't look sharp today, but I was glad to see a start that was (iirc) free of the 'gruntball'. He had just the two BBs allowed, but the command just wasn't there tonight from what I could tell.

He was regarded as doing a great job, and known for his excellent bullpen handling though. With the bullpen he had for 2007, any manager would have received praise for 'bullpen handling'. I've watched a good amount of DBacks games, and Melvin is just like the bulk of other MLB skippers. He's really no more or less gifted at handling the bullpen than Ned.

Inman started off '08 by pwning Double-A, but has since cooled off. I know the Padres brass felt that one reason he struggled in '07 at Double-A (as in, after they'd traded for him) was that they felt he'd been overworked by the Brewers org. I'd bet Inman is in Portland (Triple-A) before the season is over. Minor league numbers aren't meaningless but I don't think they should be used to show whether a trade was good or bad for the teams involved. Agreed - absolutely.

The list I have is getting a bit dated, it's 2004, but as far as TV households go... Tampa/ St Pete, #12 nationally, 1,710,400 households Houston, #10 nationally, 1,938,670 households Ha! I can't believe my guess was that close. Thanks splitter. Tampa certainly has nowhere to go but up, even after their success this season.

But, my stance on his health issues has been stated a hundred times on this thread and others. I think its over-blown... Of course, I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV. Clearly you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I'm with you every step of the way except for that 5-yr./$100M contract. My concern really has very little to do with health concerns (we feel similarly about Sheets in that regard). I just worry about any kind of contract that's going to tie up ~ 25% of a team's payroll for that long... especially a team that isn't in a mega-market. If Sheets would sign for 3 or 4 seasons, great. But 5 years will probably be the minimum to land him, and any team that goes beyond 5 would have to have the inside track at signing him. It's not that the Brewers can't afford him, or that he would necessarily cripple the payroll in any given season, but I just don't like the idea that a guaranteed ~25% of the payroll would be locked down for 5(+) consecutive seasons. However, as I've said before, if there ever were a player for a team like Milwaukee to do that with, it's Benny (imo).

Yes, but plenty of guys raked in AA & it was a good indicator of talent & future success. I just don't like the way minor-league numbers tend to get viewed as meaningless or 'made up'. Plenty of ballplayers tore up MLB only to flame out, so it's not like there's no precedent there either.

I would guess that they have, yes. I prefer to not see Ben pitch at all in the ASG, so I'd support moving him up. We get an 'extra' start from him anyway.

minor league numbers mean nothing I always kinda shake my head when I see people saying this. It's like every MLB star was just born at age 22, and immediately started mashing MLB pitching.

I haven't taken the time to read the whole thread. Seems like Alexander is a 'good' pick, and Mbah a Moute is a solid one, too. Is it thread crapping for me to say that when I saw the RJ/Jianlian-Simmons deal, I felt bad for RJ? UArizona ---> biggest media market & metropolitan area in the country ---> Milwaukee If he's overpaid, what does that make Bobby Simmons? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I'm glad to see the Bucks add RJ, even if Jianlian was a risky guy to deal away. I really like shedding that Simmons contract. Nice to see from the new GM Hammond. I'm sorry for being so poorly versed in the Bucks. Trying to pay better attention.

I've always felt like you want to be somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of DPs. Your last sentence sums it up for me. I'd prefer teams be evaluated on % of DPs completed... not sure if that's tracked or not.

The main thing though is to have fans there, and they have that now, and I think some sustained winning will finally allow the area to blossom into the strong market I know it can be. Yeah, Tampa really does have potential in terms of sustainable market revenue. The Rockies are certainly reaching their ceiling in terms of their market (I mean that in a good way), and the Rays' great drafting & development of young guys certainly has them in position to do the same. Where is the Tampa market's 'ceiling' -- is it somewhere around Houston? Just thinking in terms of comparisons with other MLB markets as they are today. I know it'd likely never be up with NY, Bos, LA, etc.

I think the answer to this is "Yes & no". "Yes", because it highlights the potential to reap good young players from departing FAs. "No", because you can't project that both comp. picks will wind up being players that 'make it.' I for one really love the sandwich round compensation for FAs. It's really enjoyable to me, since (like any other draft pick) it's really hit or miss. Thanks for pointing that out, Crewin06. I hadn't ever looked into who the DBacks got with those picks.

"I have a 3-year-old son who sleeps in the bed with my wife and me," Inge said. "I was trying to push the pillow down behind his head (two nights ago), and when I did ... I repopped (the strained muscle). "You take swings in baseball, and it's not as bad as pushing a pillow down." For the lazy, like me, who don't want to click http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Yeah, it's a great time to be a Brewers fan -- we can discuss whether or not our players are "Very Good" or "Elite"! I don't think anyone in this thread isn't a huge Ryan Braun fan -- just some people pointing out that he's not quite top-tier... yet. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I disagree. How can you not take into account Sheets DL time with the Brewers? If you don't, that's fine we just flat out agree to disagree. What I'm doing is trying to take what kinds of injuries he's had into account (something I think should be done for any FA, esp. SP). It appears what you're focusing on is just that he's been injured. The reason I am thinking my way is that one could point to Carpenter & Sheets as having similar injury histories based on time missed (I know, Carpenter's a bit of an extreme example... just used bc he's a 'familiar face'), but in fact their injury histories are very different, and Sheets is a much less risky FA candidate (just imo). There's a very, very big risk (depending on the contract) in bringing him back before the year and now. I guess my best hope is that Sheets flat out pitches nasty the rest of the year and we go far. We'll most likely lose him, but for all we know we never had a chance. Absolutely -- you just outlined the way I hope this plays out. Of course, I suppose my dream scenario would be to see Sheets sign a 3 yr. $50M contract, but that ain't happenin'! I just am honestly wondering why all the SIGN SHEETS is coming out now. If he struggles for a few starts or gets hurt the exact opposite will happen Exactly -- just the typical 'what have you done for me in the last 15 min.?' mentality. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Did Sheets show up in better shape this year or is that something being thrown out because he hasn't been injured? I agree that he looks 'fitter' this season than last, but I can also admit that it might just 'seem' that way to me. Does it not matter that they are maybe not even in the race in August and September, if their #1 guy was not there in April, May, June, July? A regular season win is not worth any more on Sept. 15 than it is on April 15. This was my point in questioning how you're defining 'clutch', JJ7. Imo fans tend to place more importance on games 'down the stretch' and ABs 'late in the game/in crunch time', but I think that's really just an invention of the human psyche for the most part. I think Benny has been as "clutch" as ever this season. Wins are worth the same throughout the year obviously, but we saw what happened last year when Sheets went down. Yes, but the same thing would have happened if he were hurt in April & came back to pitch in Aug./Sept. Same effect, different timeframe. Would he be any more or less clutch if it'd happened in that order? I think that limiting 'clutch' to late season or late innings really undervalues the other 2/3 of the time. Wins don't mean anything in June and July if you collapse in August or September. The exact same can be said for the reverse -- if you're crap early, the games late might not 'mean much' -- I guess the discussion of "clutch" in general seems like a circular argument to me.

You can keep use your "clutch" word all you want You introduced this word. I think it's a 'fluff' term/concept. Well maybe clutch isn't the right word. How about being there when your team needs you the most? Will Sheets be there? We don't know yet, but I do hope he is. I hope so too. However, it's pretty darn clear that the Brewers have needed Benny very badly so far this season -- and he's been there. So my point is... when does Ben get credit for this? I don't think you're seeing my point and using some of your comparisons make zero sense. Nobody here is calling him a wussy or any of that. Well, you sure aren't calling him that, but many have. I don't see how my comparisons make "zero sense." Again, for whatever reason he's missed time. It hasn't been an arm injury, but to me that's a half glass full opinion. Missing time is missing time It's not glass half full, it's reality. Missing time is 'missing time', until it comes time to evaluate whether or not to sign a guy to a long-term deal... hence my comparison with Carpenter (who most here praised StL for locking up long-term when they did). I think it isn't shocking that in his free agent year Sheets appears IMO to have shown up in much better shape. If you're not in shape, you most likely will have injuries that someone in shape doesn't have. I can't say I find it shocking either. However, none of Sheet's injuries have appeared to have been due to being out of shape except one -- the pulled hamstring from last season. Literally every other injury he's had (to the best of my layman's knowledge) has had nothing to do with conditioning. I don't care if Sheets goes on the DL for 4 weeks because of a stomach virus. He's still missing time and to me you simply cannot be a small market team paying a guy in his 30s that kind of money. Now here's the portion of tonight's segment where we start agreeing. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif This is the part about mitgating risk. I don't know that the Brewers should make that big an investment in any FA player. Not paying El Caballo what he got was very wise. Not paying Sheets might be equally wise. I am not knocking Sheets I'm just pointing out my concerns This has been very clear, at least to me. I'm not trying to agitate you, we've just had a lot to talk about. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif It's only June and if Sheets puts together a great year for an entire year and gets a huge deal that's good for him and I don't blame him for leaving for big money. I know he's the golden boy around here sometimes, but this is a business and it's very, very risky situation for the Brewers. We agree fully here.

TLB, I thought it was going to be more of a fabric type material that was covering the roof... edit: the Rays site says it is going to be a "weatherproof fabric" and Wikipedia calls it a "fabric covering" Ah, I stand corrected. Sorry for choo-choo'ing the misinformation train. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif The Rays trashed their stadium plan this week, by the way. They may well get a new park in the next 5-10 years but any attempt to get it on the ballot this November is dead and I'd be surprised if it were a) on the waterfront and b) with that cool "sail" design Wow. That stinks. Public support not there, huh?

How is "dude" so clutch? My point is that trying to call someone "clutch" or not is probably a waste of time. Sheets is an elite talent, and he's been "clutch" all season long. And again the stretch run isn't in June as we learned last year. So what do we do with the 'non-clutch' time of the season? Does he get credit for being stellar in nearly every single start he's made so far? I don't see any reason to expect that Benny won't continue to be this good (aka "clutch" to some) as long as he's out there. I guess what I'm saying is that I could care less when during the season Sheets got randomly hit by an injury (2007). He has no control over that. If Gallardo continues to go down with injuries, we can put him in the same category as Sheets. I don't think Sheets continuous injuries compare to general injuries to pitchers. It's beyond frustrating. So... Gallardo would go in the same category as other SP, right? Because the only place you'll find a special category for Sheets all by himself in terms of injuries is Milwaukee imo. The only way that Sheets's injuries 'don't compare' is that they haven't been damaging to his shoulder or elbow, like most SP injuries. I think clearly if you have to choose btw. those kinds of injuries & the fluky stuff Ben's had, you go with his injury history. My point there is: You're a GM. Pick between Chris Carpenter & Ben Sheets. Not very hard, is it? The part you mention about "frustrating" is what I meant with the reference to fans complaining that, 'the Brewers must make the most outs on the basepaths!' Yes, Sheets's injuries have been frustrating, and on a rationalizing level, for some fans it would've been more acceptable for him to have shredded his shoulder or tendons, because then those fans can 'understand' the injury. Inner Ear Infection! Wussy! Blisters! OMGz he's the only pitcher to ever get sidelined by those! (not aimed directly at you, JJ07, just like your comment about the Cy Young wasn't at me) http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Pitchers miss time. That's the way it is. But if we're talking long-term contract extensions or considerations, I'll take a guy with Sheets's injury history over someone like Carpenter's every single time.

I don't see how doing nothing automatically means no playoffs. They seem to be doing pretty well so far and have the worst part of their schedule behind them. Agreed, Buc. There isn't any move that NEEDS!!1!! to be made. The talent assembled in Milwaukee is quite impressive imo. Just the fact that *so far*, the team has withstood the loss of a top SP like Gallardo I think is a testament to that overall talent level.