FVBrewerFan

Impossible for us to say if Thornburg is "ready." I'm hoping the Brewers know the answer to that better than we do. If he is mentally and physically ready, now would be a good time to bring him up. Otherwise, I have no problem with Fiers. Not a whole lot to lose the way thise season has been going. Good chance to see if Fiers is an option for the rotation next year or not. Peralta clearly needs to get some things worked out, I definitely wouldn't bring him up. All I see are the numbers, but there must be something wrong with his location, his stuff, or both. Parra would be something I could live with. He hasn't been givena chance to start consistently for a while, maybe he can get the job done. First to admit, he has been incredibly frustrating throughout his career but having a LH in the rotation not namesd Wolf next year would be nice.

Perfect time for Fiers. Here is a guy who isn't projected as one of the top SP prospects. So you really don't want to commit to him being in the roatation to start next season. Just too big of a leap of faith. But now, the way this season is going, there's really no downside to giving Fiers a chance. If he does well, or at least improves as the year goes on, now he's a legit option for the rotation next year. If he fails miserably, at leat you know what you have. I rather go that route instead of starting Parra and messing with an already mediocre bullpen. Now if they really believe Peralta or Thornburg are ready, fine, bring it on. (Although Peralta cerainly doesn't seem ready.)

Good point. At County Stadium, bleachers were free for all. Everyone know it, so if I wasn't in the mood for that environment I didn't sit out there. If I wanted to be one of them, I could do that too. But it is much more scattered at Miller Park. To your point Madtown, I learned long ago that asking a group of drunks to settle down and watch the language seldom works. Instead, all the language which used to be random is now aimed squarely at me the rest of the game. What bothers me most is games aren't cheap anymore. So to spend a bucket load of money for my stereotypical family of four and endure a berating all day is not enjoyable. There have been a few times it has worked. I identify one of the alpha dudes in the herd, and if he seems less drunk and/or more reasonable I wait until he's separated from the pack and appeal to his good nature. As in "cmon dude, there's all kinds of kids around here...can you ask your posse to settle down and watch the language?" But like i said, I don't bother with that much these days. Worst part is my son is at a certain age now. A few f bombs won;t crush him. But I really don't appreciate having him hear in detail what Zach did (or supposedly did) with some girl he met last night. That's really uncomfortable. Beyond all that, even if I'm there without my kids, i want to enjoy the game. Not listen to f this and f that constantly.

I think it's somewhere in between. To be fair, Game pointed out The Office will be the show of a GENERATION. Most of those shows are older and have no relevance to the late teens-late 20s generation of today. So I do think The Office will be close to being one of those great shows in history. But on the fringe of that status. Recently, I've tried to watch Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Cheers, etc. Just not funny at all to me after time has gone by. Seinfeld has still held up, and i think always will. I have a feeling The Office will too. We don't even realize how often we use a line from The Office in our daily lives, it just happens. That's always the sign of a show that's built to last. No doubt it's not nearly as funny this season, but it's like a good friend. Dependable, look forward to seeing it, that sort of thing.

For no reason whatsoever, I still expect something good to happen every time I see Weeks step up to the plate. Must be the brain equivalent to muscle memory.

I've always been a Lucroy fan. While avg with RISP is a stat with limited credibility, Lucroy has always done well in that category. I don't think he's playing way over his head either. Will he keep up the .939 OPS pace? I doubt it. But he could stay in the .800-.850 range. He has steadily improved his numbers each year in MLB. And, by the way, had .824 OPS in the playoffs last year. Hopefully Lucroy in the 8 hole will be a distant memory. Also, goes to show that while often times players under-perform what their minor league numbers suggest, a player can also out-perform those projections. Randy Wolf may not appreciate him, but this sure is one of the bright spots this year. A young player at a key position (with a favorable contract by the way) who looks to be an All Star soon.

Im gonna burst into tears yo

Because he just got an extension for having an even keel. Apparently thats on the top of the list for qualities you want in a MLB manager. As opposed to, well, managing.

I would be happy winning A game

Oh yea Kendall good call

What is trivia answer? My guess is Cameron?

Worries me that a major league manager doesnt know a contact play with the IF in makes no sense.

You do have to wonder. If Conrad doesn't start against LHP, why is he even here? More importantly, if Green never plays why is he here? By the way, not in blue, I'm pretty sure the Sounds have put out better lineups than this over the last few years.

Meh, I think juggling the divisions would be the last consideration. In fact, I wouldn't mind that at all. Houston is finally leaving the NLC after how many years. Tampa, Miami, and ATL are all in AL/NL East, when really those divisions are more like the NORTHeast. If the Carolina Bulls (or whatever) is the new franchise, you could create a Southeast Division, much like the NFL. Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Carolina, and oops....maybe Washington I guess. Come to think of it, what about New Orleans?

They don't even need to up it, they just need to enforce it. I'm not saint, but I'm sick of having a drunken group of 20 somethings using the f word 5,000 times an inning. Hey, I drink...I cuss and swear. But there's a time and place. And the place isn't around children. Or for that matter, in the stands at a Brewers game whether children are present or not. If you've ever been to Lambeau, they're pretty much on top of this and aren;t shy about tossing people or bringing law enforcement over if the behavior is bad enough.

I don't think expanding a minor league stadium would work. To have a viable franchise, you need a new facility with suites, etc. Which is also a problem Sacramento would have, corporate support. Not an impossible location, but far from ideal.

I just don't see NY, Boston, or LA working. Fan support is so strong for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers. To a lesser extent the Mets and Angels. Just because the population base COULD support another team, why would they support a new team? Not real familiar with Portland or Vancouver, but with little baseball history those cities just don't strike me as MLB cities. SLC, San Antonio and OKC don't seem like they could/would support a team either. For no particular reason, just doesn't seem like a fit. That leaves Charlotte, Indy, and Nashville. I think those would be the most likely cities to really support MLB, probably in that order. With Charlote, you get huge population within driving distance from the Triangle, the Triad, even Greenville/Spartanburg and Columbia.

Just got here... are these lyrics to song I'm not familair with???

I believe Greinke wants to win. In fact, I think most MLB players who have been around for at least a few years start thinking more about a ring. Thing is, there are a ton of teams that can make the claim they're in position to win, or are on the road there. So then it comes down to money, as it almost always does. Would Greinke give the Brewers a home town discount? (And that's really the question I think you're addressing.) Or even stay with the Brewers if they match any offer? We obviously don't know, but I would guess yes. I just don't know if the Brewers would match any offer (or come close enough) to keep him. And if the bidding war gets crazy (which I think it will) I think as much as it hurts, you have to bow out. For the same reasons they let Sabathia and Fielder walk. Yes, I understand his contract won't be in the Feilder range, but close enough that the same principles apply. That is, you can't tie up 25% of your salary with one player.

I don't buy that Weeks is Bill Hall/McGehee 2.0. I know it's frustrating, but Weeks has been much better than this from Beloit through last year. A month and a half is a long slump, but I just refuse to believe he has lost it. I watch his swing, and it looks just as quick to me. We just saw his HR, obviously the pop is still there. So it's as simple as not swinging at the right pitches, guessing wrong, and not always making good contact on pitches he should handle. Simple to explain the problem, not so simple to correct it. Usually just works itself out when the hitter is as good as Rickie, but I wouldn't be opposed to sending him down for a couple weeks- and he shouldnt be opposed to that either. If he does stay, I think most of us agree he shouldn't be hitting 2nd right now.

First, great discussion here. Really well thought out comments. I think you're overestimating Greinke if you want to completely blow-up the team if you lose him. He was good last year, not so good in the playoffs. Now he's looking like his Cy Young year. Could it be that it's his contract year? If you could guarantee he would pitch like this for the next 5 years, sure i may consider breaking the bank. Fact is, he hasn't consistently been a stud ace pitcher. And if he keeps pitching like it this year, he's going to be paid like one. With the added WC, you add teams willing to throw a ton of money around. Nationals, Orioles, Blue Jays to name a few. That's in addition to teams with deep pockets always looking to improve the rotation. Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc. As we learned from Fielder, even without a lot of competition the price can sky-rocket. I really believe Greinke's deal will be substantially bigger than some of you are thinking. Brewers have a new TV contract? That's nice, but other teams do too, or will have their contract coming up soon. All that does is keep the Brewers where they are in the pecking order. Which is fine, but that's what it is. So blow it up if Greinke leaves? Why? They could be just as competitive (if not more) without him. Look at what the Brewers gave up to get him. You would need to demand a top..and i mean TOP prospect at the AA/AAA level and a couple more guys that are true prospects. The top prospect would play in 2013. You can trade KRod late this year and get a solid prospect. Gamel and Gonzalez are back. You can afford a #2 type starter. You have tradeable pieces in Hart, Weeks, Ramirez, etc. Lots of ways to improve the overall roster. I'm all in favor of the "all in" concept. I just don't think signing Greinke is all in. Now if Mark A woke up one day and decided to create a window of 4 years where he'll spend $150MM each year.....let's do it. But this "mostly in" approach isn't working anymore.

You still seem to be careful with your wording. If the Brewers make a "reasonable" offer that won't be good enough. The offer to Sabathia was reasonable. So, the question really is do you think the Brewers should do whatever is necessary to sign Greinke or not? Because talk about PR, it would be nothing but a PR move to rest on "we made a reasonable offer." It's a zero-sum game, either you do what it takes to sign him or you don't. We don't know what the price will be, but if he keeps pitching like this, he will get paid more than you think. Finally, even if they could pull off this miracle they can't sign Marcum or Wolf. So your rotation to start the season is? Greinke, Yo, Estrada, Peralta, and Fiers? Or something close to that? Sign Marcum and you can still afford a middle of the rotation type of guy and still have a legit 1-5 rotation. Plus whatever you get for dealing Greinke, KRod, or anyone else you can deal. That leaves you with a more balanced roster, and not dependent on one guy staying healthy and dominant at the same time. I don't think that's PR at all, just a wise use of the limited dollars you have.

Agree with everything you said, except for this. If they deal Greinke- especially if it's earlier (July) they better get more than "decent" prospects.

You call it defeatist, I call it reality. The Brewers can't compete to keep their own talent. Was it defeatist not to make a legitimate effort to re-sign Sabathia or Fielder? Because we both know a serious offer was not made in either case.

I just don't see them being able/willing to sign Greinke. Not that different from Sabathia and Fielder, just hard for the Brewers to spend 25% of their salary on one player. Frankly, if they are willing to do this they should have paid Sabathia. Then they could have still swung the same trade for either Marcum or Greinke. For a couple years they could have had Sabathia/Greinke/Yo. (Plus still have Lawrie.) They would have been a legit WS contender with those guys at the top. We always hear about Mark A. going "all in" when he never really has. He's gone "all in" as much as he's able/willing to spend. I know it's OT a bit thinking of what could have been. But my point is why sign Greinke long term now? Call it what you wiill, but this is rebuilding time. Not that the brewers can't field a competitive team while they're rebuilding, but even with Greinke I don't consider them to be a WS contender for a couple years. I would sign Marcum and Wolf, and use the rest of the money elsewhere. Then cross your fingers that TT, Peralta, Bradley...somebody...anybody can be a top of the rotation type starter within the next 2-3 years. THEN you can go out and buy another stud pitcher and make a run.