FVBrewerFan

Eric B & Rakim- Paid in Full 3rd Base- The Cactus Album EPMD- Strictly Business

I don't think so, this is a different situation than last year. If Gamel rides the bench with some PH opportunities and occassional start, it's fine with me. It's not like they're taking ABs away from him, once the AAA season is over he would jsut be sitting on a beach anyhow. Frankly, I would rather see more ABs from Katin and Cruz. Maybe it's just for selfish reasons, but I'm just curious to see these guys at the plate. Cruz will be in the running for UT next year, and Katin will compete for the 5th OF spot- so I just want to see a glimpse of what they can do. As far as arms go, I want to see more starts out of Narvy, Cappy, and Parra. Those are really the guys they need to make decisions about for next year, and I don't want them to miss starts at the expense of Dillard or someone like that. I wouldn't mind shutting down Yo for his final 2-3 starts.

I was thinking the same thing watching the game. I never did see/hear what the attendance was, but I noticed how empty it was! Like you said, I know it's Monday night and back to scholl time, but man that was embarrassing.

I'll live with his .270ish average for now. Sure I would like to see more power and walks, but that will come. I've watched most of his ABs, and he's not a free swinger at all. In fact, he's one of the most disciplined hitters in the line-up. The problem is, looking up and down the Brewers line-up, Lucroy is the guy pitchers are going to go after. It's hard to walk when pitchers are giving you pitches to hit almost every AB. Lucroy has some pop, and let him hit a few more HRs and pitchers will start nibbling more, and his walks will go up.

Moving forward, you have 3 starting OF, all RH. I just don't see what Gomez brings to the table. Dickerson will have a higher OPS, plus he's a LH stick off the bench. I much rather have Katin as the 5th OF, it would be nice to have a PH with some pop coming off the bench. (My apologies to Joe Inglett and his sick power.)

Katin= Nelson Cruz. Is that a reach, yea probably, but it's a similar situation. Cruz put up big numbers but just didn't seem to fit into the Brewers' plans. With Hart being injured, it would have been a good time to bring Katin up and play every day in RF to see what he does. You already know what you have in Gomez and Dickerson. Sure would help if he was a LH hitter.

First, that's not how golf works. You don't call a penalty as soon as it happens like a foul in basketball or something. Why? Because you need to wait for the player to finish the round and see his scorecard. Often times a player knows they commited a penalty, and scores it that way themselves. It's awkward for a rules official to jump out and say "you grounded the club." Plus, the rules oficial at the scene may have not even known if an infraction was commited or not. It was Johnson's (and his caddy's) fault. they knew and were reminded that bukers are everywhere on that course, and some don't look like bunkers. When they saw an area of sand like that, simply ask the rules official who was right there. Yea, it sucks for him...but you can't arbitrarily decide when to enforce a rule and when to overlook one. In fact, it could have been worse for Johnson. He could have turned in his card with an incorrect score and thereby would have been eliminated from the tournament. This does happen from time to time. It's not a stupid rule, you can't have players moving the sand around near the ball. They can improve the lie, plus get a feel for how dense the sand is. And it has to be an absolute. You can't expect rules officials to figue out how manygrains of sand were moved to decide if it's a penalty or not. If you're a casual golfer (or viewer) some of the rules of gold seem trivial, but they have a purpose. And as far as being enforced, it is enforced all the time- usually by the golfer himself. Finally, I don't agree at all that it will turn off millions of fans, or that it was an embarrassment. With Tiger not in the mix, this added a lot of drama and that's what casual fans of any sport want to see. Just look at this topic in little old Brewerfan.net. Everyone is talking about it, everyone has an opinion.

Agreed, we've finally got a lot of young power relievers. We should have at least 4-5 guys in our BP the next several years who are promoted from within, not signed from outside the org. Well, I agree there's no reason to sign a vet middle reliever to a Hawkins/Riske type contract next year. But that doesn't mean Melvin made a mistake doing so in the past. Hawkins and Riske were both proven, consistent relievers. I understand what Melvin was trying to do. When you have a rotation that includes Narvy/Parra/Bush/Cappy/Johnny 5 innings then you better have a bully that can eat a lot of innings. So how would we have felt if the opening day pen included Loe, Axford, Chris Smith, Villy, etc.? Sure, some look good now, but I don't think most would have been comfortable with a bullpen full of guys who are unproven, or in the case of Villy, Narvy, Smith, etc. guys that ARE proven- but proven to be mediocre at best. So you sign a proven guy like Hawkins for the 8th, Hoffman for the 9th, and a cast of thousands for middle relief. So I get it, it just didn't work.

Sveum's strength is that he's perceived as "one of the guys" by the players. They can confide in him with any issues, including issues with Macha. I jsut don't see Sveum being as effective in the top role. I think he thrives doing what he's doing now.

I've decided that Franziskaner is not only my favorite Hefe, it's my favorite beer period. For some reason I've gravitated towards wheats in general, and this is the best one. It's very good on tap, or by the bottle.

2011 C Lucroy 1B Braun 2B Weeks SS Escobar 3B McGamel LF Dickerson/Katin "Katinerson" CF Cain RF Hart That's not the line-up, of course, which would change vs LHP/RHP. This would make the best use of talent, both offensively AND defensively. Plus, it would pave the way for an obvious spot for Lawrie in 2012- LF. I thought about moving Hart to 1B, but he's a better defensive OF than Braun. The above positioning would at least limit the downside of a bad defensive team. If one guy in either platoon really struggles or is on fire, the platoon could always be adjusted accordingly. This is assuming, of course, that Prince is dealt in the off-season. Also assuming McGehee is back. Remaining bench would be catcher "x", Gomez, and Cruz.

I really expected a deal like this at the trade deadline, but better late than never. WOuld be nice if they can swing a couple similar trades for guys like Hoffman, Counsel, or Coffey.

If that's the 2011 rotation, I'm cancelling my season tickets now- unless "pitcher x" is Cy Young.

People in 3010 would believe something called a "starting pitcher" must have been the most valuable and rare commodity on earth at the time.

Do you think Cruz is the UT guy next year, or at least in the running? If so, it would make sense to bring him up. Would love to see Katin, but that probably won't happen.

I agree with all of that. I don't see them adding any significant salary for 2011, so hopefully that money can be set aside for 2012. And who knows, if they're actually in it at the deadline next year, they can still decide to make a trade and take on salary. Thing is, I think Melvin is finally on the same page. I just don't see him signing some mid-level starter, and really that's all that's out there. And I don't see them signing a position player either, other than reserves.

I agree there's reason for optimism, I just question your slotting of the #2,#3 starting pitchers. I think the Brewers are more likely to get several high celing guys in the lower minors for Fielder. I'll be pleasantly surprised if they get a guy who is a spectacular #2 who you can slide in the rotation in 2011 or even 2012. More likely, they'll get a couple of guys who project into that role down the road. And the #3 free agent signing doesn't exist. You would essentially get another Wolf type with similar contract, and I think that game is finally over. Like it or not, we need to be patient. A concept I hate, but have grown to accept. If they get the equivalent of Odorizzi, Peralta, Lawrie for Fielder it would be a good day. Mix in those 2 pitchers with the guys they're already developing and you ross your fingers that you'll have a #2,3,4 out of that group in 2-3 years.

I'll also add this. Why has Pujols only been hit once this year? He crowds the plate every bit as much as Fielder and Weeks. So why isn't he ver hit? Because Larusa has a reputation for retaliating. That makes him a jerk and hated by other teams, but his players love him.

Impossible to know. Maybe it fires up the team and it's the turning point of the season, who knows? Does it help a team when a Manager gets tossed from the game while shouting in an umpire's face to defend a player? I don't know, we can't prove it one way or another. Lots of players have superstitions, does that have anything to do with winning games? Well, if that's what makes a player confident and comfortable, maybe it does. Point being, not everything is simply about winning more games, and whether it can be proven. If that was the standard, there would be no managers or coaches, because how can we prove one would win more games than another? The point of fighting or retaliating in some other way is a message that there will be consequences for hitting our players, especially in the head. Is that guaranteed to work? Of course not. Then it's just plain revenge, and that's ok too.

I'm sorry I don't get the connection. What does the playoffs have to do with your players getting hit in the head? You lost me. It's part of the game, and like it or not this is how it's been handled on the field for over 100 years. These things are handled on the field, not in court. What's next, teams going to court because an ump got the call wrong?

I don't see how it has any impact on flexibility. It's pretty clear the Brewers won't be spending money on FA pitchers. And anything they get back via trade for Fielder will be minor league or minimum salary type players. They will have a ton of money (relatively speaking) moving forward. Hopefully they extend Weeks with a similar deal, and if they do that they really don't have to get any position players in FA either. And then who else would the Brewers even want to pay in the next 2-3 years? They will have Gallardo, Braun, Hart, Weeks (hopefully) and nobody else they would want to keep is close to being a free agent. Oh, and Wolf's contract is done by then as well. Actually, I think the opposite is true. They should have a lower payroll the next 3 years compared to this year, leaving room to "buy" or rent that big piece they'll need if they're in contention. Hey, I understand Hart is a risk. But you hae to take calculated risks in life...and in baseball.

The point is to make a statement to every team in the league. Namely, if you keep hitting our guys in the head, Prince, Loe, or some other large man will meet you on the mound and punch you in the face. I know it sounds juvenile, but Weeks and Gomez could have been badly injured- or worse. At some point you have to take a stand, or every team in the league will assume they can get away with it.

To be clear, I wasn't talking abut September call-ups. I want these guys to be invited to Spring Training, and given every opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation. And I don't mean Odorizzi or anyone else his age. I'm talking about the college pitchers, or guys have been in the system for 2-3 years. Heckathorn, Rivas, Peralta...etc. Those are the guys I'm talking about. Innings don't have to be an issue. If one of those guys can stick as the #5 pitcher, he willl get plenty of days off. They can even stick him in the bullpen for a while if the innings are adding up.

Hitting Gomez on purpose doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how good he is. In fact, at that point in the game it had nothing to do with game strategy...heck the Brewers had like a 30 runs lead at the time. Sometimes guys have an x on their back for something they've said or done in the past. Some of this stuff goes back months, or even previous seasons. Now, I have no idea if it was on purpose or not. And if it WAS intential, I don't know if he meant to throw at his head. But again, to me it doesn't matter anymore.

I was expecting an "old school" vet like Hoffman to retaliate. And it would have been the perfect time, it's not like the game was on the line or anything. If I'm the Brewers, it's too late to do anything now. And Iwould take the high road and not do a darn thing. but the next time anyone throws a ball up around someone's hit, if they're hit or not, I want the batter to charge the mound and everyone in the dugout, bullpen, press box, front office, heck even Doorman storming the field. I think the Brewers have definitely taken the high road on this, but enough is enough. Some of these have been on purpose, others are just bad pitches by bad pitchers. Either way, it's not acceptable. Pitching inside, even hitting someone is part of the game. Throwing at someone's head is not.