RockCoCougars

assuming braun is suspended for fifty games, his suspension would end when manny ramirez's suspension would end (assuming manny is signed to a major league contract by opening day). how would that benefit the brewers? Ironically enough, I totally forgot about Manny's pending suspension. Scratch that idea. Conor Jackson was invited to the Rangers camp. You can sleep tonight. Didn't know that either. Color me uninformed. I'm grasping at straws here.

I don't see the harm in handing NRI's out like party favors. Back in the day, the Brewers had a lot of luck with guys like that. Fletcher, Randolph and Jody Reed come to mind. Remember Odell Jones?

Give me Branyan or his RH equivalent. I feel the same way. I have to wonder whether the Brewers are waiting on the whole Braun thing to play out. If Braun is suspended, my gut says they will get Conor Jackson and I'm not a big fan of his. I still think that they should call Houston and see if they are willing to eat some serious cash for El Caballo. As for free agents, the cupboard is pretty much bare (with options dwindling by the day), but there are a few guys out there like Ankiel and Ibanez (both lefties though without much experience in LF). A wily vet who was willing to accept his role like Jason Giambi would be ideal. Let's assume that Braun is suspended. Just for giggles, let's say that Manny's agent comes to Melvin in Maryvale begging for a job. Do you bite?

I'm still at a loss why we're so consistently disappointed that a guy who's been worth 12 WAR over 12 seasons wasn't brought back to a team that Melvin has said specifically needs to rely on their younger home grown players, and believes we have several guys who can contribute in the near future. And actually, since 1998, it's only 11.9 WAR. So still not getting the BF.NET love. He can hit it a mile and he gets red hot for 2-3 week stretches and then can't hit for 3 months. The problem I have is that as it stands, outside of Kottaras, there is not one player on the Brewer bench with any discernible power, and with Kottaras, you cannot use him regularly as a PH because he is the backup catcher. I'd rather have an option like Branyan on the bench than a 7th RH rotting in the bullpen like they had for a good chunk of last season. The Brewers used a pinch hitter 257 times last season with an OPS of .619. In my view, there is a role on this team for a DH type with little to no versatility/skills in the field.

I've got a little time to kill today, so I figured that now is as good a time as ever to start my obligatory annual Rich Harden thread. He hasn't been very good as a starter the past few years and has seemingly lost a touch of his filthy stuff, but he can still get a strikeout a good deal of the time. He seems like a decent low risk/ high reward type guy to step into one of the Hawkins/Saito spots if he's willing to accept a relief role (I'm assuming that Veras has one of these locked up). He only got $1.5 million last year, so I'm assuming that he wouldn't command much, plus he's Canadian....

But wouldn't that make him kind of a prima donna in the eyes of the other players? I could see it if he was a player-coach or something, but to me Soup is starting to come off like the 30 year old dude at the college house party.

Busboy at 'Soup's On'?

He would have been a nice cheap insurance policy for the Brewers at any rate. Very little risk there. One frustration that I have with Melvin is that year in and year out, he passes on guys like this, and then comes back to Milwaukee with a guy like Erick Almonte, Brad Nelson or Chris Duffy on the roster.

Seriously though, why would you want to live the minor league lifestyle in your late 30's with millions in the bank and a family at home (does he have kids?). Don't AAA guys stay in Day's Inns with a roommate and get like 25 bucks a day meal money? It's not like he's Crash Davis or something, trying to get that second cup of coffee because he wants the glory/needs the money. My only thought is that he's deluded himself to the point where he still thinks he can pitch in MLB. Either that, or maybe his wife does nag him too much at home. I know some guys that get overwhelming 'to do' lists once they retire, especially if they do so before the wife.

I heard some tawdry stuff on this whole Hamilton thing today from someone in the DFW. Not saying that it's true, but word on the street is that this thing involves sex, lies and videotape... along with extortion. I checked Deadspin, and there it was.... http://deadspin.com/58834...the-night-of-his-relapse

This really upsets me. What does Melvin have against bringing guys back who are not named Counsell? Yes, he brought The Muscle back once along with Cirillo, but from what I remember both had to basically beg him for a job. Yes, I know that Branyan is basically a PH/1B at this point....

I agree that the heart of the Cardinals is gone. Pujols carried that team on his back for the past decade, and in my view, LaRussa and Duncan were the best in the game in their respective roles. They almost always got the best out of what they have. Now, they have an aging lineup.... the odds are low that Berkman will replicate last season, and I've never been a Beltran fan... and a pitching staff with a lot of holes, not to mention that Carpenter is getting old and Wainwright is going to be babied all season. The bullpen was pretty good in the playoffs, but horrible during the regular season.. a lot of the culprits from that are back as well. All that said, I believe that the Brewers have been gutted a good deal as well. I like the Brewers pitching better and the offenses are probably a wash once Braun is back. In my view, if the Reds succeeded in shoring up their pitching, the Brewers and Cardinals will be fighting it out for second.

I don't get this signing for either party. The guy was hit around in AAA last year, does he really want to put in another year in the PCL? Maybe his wife is nagging him about remodeling the house or something.... Is the restaurant still open? Even if he lost a ton in that venture, he should still have enough Brewer money to live on forever. I get the 'love of the game' thing, but if that was the case, aren't there independent leagues in California that would allow him to play closer to home?

Yeah, Phillips was good (anyone remember him going into the stands after a fan at County?). I was referring more to the infield/outfield versatility comparison than production. Hall may not be any great shakes, but he'd be preferable to me over an Almonte type like they broke camp with last year.

Hall would have made a lot of sense as a Tony Phillips type, but it was not to be I guess. Went to the link. Another 'top story', "Dodgers Sign Jamey Wright". I continue to be astounded that he is still drawing a paycheck playing baseball. People are either enamored with his ability to keep balls in the park, or he has some pictures of someone in a compromising position.

I can't see the Reds trading Bailey to the Brewers. Though it seems like he's been a prospect forever and hasn't been all he was supposed to be, he's still young with potential to put it together. If Bailey gets caught in a numbers game at the end of Spring Training, there will likely not be a shortage of suitors. Back in the 90's the Brewers would get guys like this once in a while (remember Bill Pulsipher and Rocky Coppinger?) Why would they trade him to one of their primary division rivals? Barring injury, I don't see a spot for him on the Brewers anyway.

I'd trade Arnett to the Indians for equipment at this point.

I could also say that people who think losing Braun for 50 games will ruin the entire season don't understand WAR and it just frustrates the heck out of me too. Obviously the game isn't played in a vacuum but at worst, losing Braun should cost something like 4 games. That's assuming Braun is a 12 WAR player (he's not) and the player replacing him is a replacement player (most likely Aoki, who should provide some value). I just think people are overreacting when it comes to losing Prince and possibly Braun for 50 games. Prince hurts but we're also upgrading at SS (at least on defense) and 3B and Gamel should provide some value as well. Braun is only one player and I still think we have a top 5 pitching staff (bullpen and rotation) in the NL. Defense should be upgraded with Gamel, Gonzalez, the combo of Aoki and Morgan/Gomez in LF & CF. I think we'll have enough offense with Weeks, ARam, and Hart in the middle of the order with Morgan/Aoki at the top (at least against RH) to get through 50 games. Gamel is not really a big worry for me. I'm more concerned about the left field spot for the first 50 games. I'm also not working under the assumption that Ramirez, Weeks, Hart and Braun (when he gets back) will be able to repeat 2011. Assuming that Braun is suspended, if one or more of those first three guys gets injured/off to a slow start, I'm expecting a substandard offense. To me, this team is nowhere near as good as last season. Basically, it's going to come down to pitching. The only reason that I feel that this team has a shot is that St. Louis has been decimated as well. If Cincy can play up to it's potential, it's probably a battle for second place though.

I started the Green thing. Was just throwing a name out there that might make sense since Green is blocked and Cleveland apparently wanted him in the Sabathia deal. It's going to take something of decent value to get LaPorta at this point since he still has an option. Next year at this time, maybe not.

Money really seems to have it in for Gamel, that's for sure. I'd bet that at least a little of it is personal. His personality doesn't seem to rub the 'old school' guys the right way. Perhaps there is more to the 'attitude issues' than any of us know, but to me, you have to give Gamel the chance. Let him play nearly every day until the end of June and then evaluate. If he falls on his face, then no one can say that he wasn't given an opportunity. 'Guys' like Lee will still be readily available if the team is competitive at that point. I just don't want them to have a guy like Lee on the roster, because it would be too tempting for them to start using him regularly. I don't mind them getting a vet who can play first, but I'd prefer one who can play the outfield as well.

Yes, but a player who is blocked at two positions by two of our best players does not mean he's a utility player.In lieu of an injury, he is on this team unless he's back in Nashville starting. By the time Weeks' and Ramirez' contracts are up, Green will have to be a bench player or gone, you can't stash him in the minors forever (though it seems like he's been down there that long already).

Not to change the discussion from how 'portly' McGehee seemed last year, but is this Veras guy really worth more than $2 million- especially considering Saito got less? Admittedly, I've seen very little of him, and he's had two decent seasons the last few years, but this will be his fifth team in four years. Looking at his stats, he's actually held LH to a .201 avg during his career. Maybe he will take the Saito 'RH-LOOGY' role.

They only forced a handful of shots that whole game. They executed pretty well and got open looks but just missed the shots. And Marquette shot worse than UW did today (both from three and overall). So essentially you like watching Marquette miss layups. I don't think that there is any denying that Marquette plays a more exciting brand of basketball. I hear the whole 'winning isn't boring' thing, but the way the Badgers are constructed, the only way they will make a run in the tournament is by shooting the lights out every game. It seems they can score against weaker teams, but if they fall behind by a stretch against the good teams, it's curtains. You aren't going to win these types of games if you don't at least try to get something inside (yes, layups... even if you miss). They attempted three free throws today on their home court. Unacceptable.

I'd rather watch Marquette run up and down the court than watch a Badgers game where they are missing their threes. So boring watching four perimeter passes and a bad shot with 3 seconds left on the shot clock. The last couple of minutes were particularly excruciating to watch. They were down only four, but they were playing like they were up four. No execution or urgency with the offense.

It seems that Cecil has turned into kind of a hustler, so it's tough to take what he says at a given time at face value. At the same time, if Prince truly is freezing out his grandparents, that pretty harsh. I wish that they still had that 'Forgive or Forget' show on TV so we could get the full story. Anybody remember Mother Love?