FVBrewerFan

Not sure that's a fair criticism of Melvin. The Brewers have guys who had been decent or better OBP guys (Weeks, Counsell, Cameron, Kendall), but they all are either in a season long slump (Weeks), over the hill (Cameron, Counsell), or a combination of over the hill and overused (Kendall). I'm sure Melvin would have liked to sign Fukudome (instead of Cameron) who's the only real OBP guy the Cubs added. The other guys improved their OBP this year. It also doesn't explain the Brewer futility hitting with RISP. I think it does. When you have a bunch of "swing for the fences" guys, that will happen. If you have a line-up of players with higer BA nad OBP, they will consistently hit with RISP. Melvin made a conscious choice on Cameron, when he already had the identical offensive player in Hall and Weeks. I'll take free swingers in Fielder and Braun, you just can't have a whole line-up like that. With that said, I do think it's more about yost than Melvin, don't get me wrong. Virtually every player on this team is performing below expectations, and at some point doesn't the buck stop at Yost's feet?

Yost has no excuse, but neither does Melvin. Melvin has bought the "OPS is all that matters" approach to building the team, while the Cubs have concentrated on OBP. We are seeing the fruits of that now.

I've had issues from time to time lately, and haven't been able to figure out if there's a problem with my ISP (Roadrunner), modem/router, or laptop. Haven't had problems with the same hardware I've used for years, but now my connection drops altogether, or I can't access certain sites. Very strange.

amen brother. of course it works both ways. it's like people are so afraid to say "i don't want to do this" or "lets go here" for fear that the other person won't like it. but that's the point, to discover likes and dislikes in common. bossy is one thing, but a constant "i'm up for anything" is equally as bad. it's really amazing what sort of abuse some dudes will put up with to be with a girl. (don't get me wrong, i've been one of them). there's that fine line between "all women are crazy" and "THIS woman is crazy." to further the "third wheel" comment, i think it's more about how the couple acts around the third person, whether they pay attention to only themselves and make it more of a date. the separation between the guy and his friend should be equal to the guy and his gf. (man, an awful lot of relationship threads lately) The problem is, it's the lessor of two evils. I give in on certain things, just because it means less to me than having to talk about it, debate it, or get yelled at for the next hour. And the sad fact is, if she's not happy I'm not gettin' any.

Yes, the Cubs aren't this good, and the Brewers aren't this bad. However, the Cubs are a better team than the Brewers, let's not mince words. Better in almost every way. Better and deeper rotation, better bullpen, better and more versatile line-up (score more runs, much higher OBP, etc.), better defense, some would argue a better manager.

Yes, 'cause having two incomes is whack. Now that I'm married and we have two decent incomes (and my current income is much greater than when I was single), I am much poorer now. How can this be you ask...you get a mortgage, double the car payments, double the gasoline costs, much more in groceries (especially if you were on the mac-and-cheese diet like I was), an astronomical clothing budget for the wife, a something for sale party every other week (Lia Sophia jewelry, cooking parties, candle parties, etc.), home improvements, and endless other expenses that you can't imagine. I figure when I got my professional job right after college is the most wealthy I'll be, possibly until I retire, but maybe for my entire life. Truer words have never been spoken. When I graduated college and got my first "real job" I seemed to have extra money to save and invest. Now that I make far more money, it all seems to evaporate- for all the reasons above and more. Then add kids to the equation. There's obviously the big ticket items like college funds, more clothes, food, etc. But you get "20 dollared to death" as I call it. Every time I turn around someone needs $20 for something. Bottom line, we're all skirting around the elephant in the room. Stable, fulfilling (hopefully) relationship and kids (in many cases) which can be very rewarding vs freedom and possibility of new kitty cat on any given night.

Sorry, i can't agree at all on the play where Fukudome was at the plate. I had the play on my DVR and the ball wasn't scorched, he hit it off the end of the bat and the ball was hit medium grounder speed, enough time to bounce three times before getting to Weeks. There was no great range involved either by Weeks just getting a glove on the ball. Weeks took two small steps to his right and instead of just backhanding the ball, he chose to fall on the ground while trying to backhand it for whatever reason. At most Weeks moved 3-5 feet to his right, IMO it was closer to an error than hit after watching the play multiple times. Durham may have also bungled the backhand, but i have zero doubt he'd have got a glove on it, the play initially looked way tougher than it really was. That's no surprise to me though. While Weeks has improved at balls hit right at him and here and there he'll make a great play, Rickie has poor hands when he has to range to either side of him. Balls way to often bounce off or under his glove on boarderline hit/error plays because he's just not an instinctual defensive player, like that Fukudome ball, Rickie should have fielded that ball. If that was to Counsell, i'd bet 8 or 9 times out of 10 that Craig at worst gets one out from that ball. I agree with all that. Plus, there was another play early in the game, a little cue shot over his head that most (IMHO) 2B would catch. Again, poor reaction time and then misjudged it. In fact, Weeks seems to often misjudge balls in the air. You'll see a line drive (even soft liners) pass through his area and I scratch my head...."did he just whif at that?"

That was my reaction as well. I would say Griffey is next-, with Jeter and Rodriquez pushing him.

Sorry, but that's a less than obective response. Last year Prince was "the man." He was in the running for MVP. This year Braun is the man, and now he's the one going to the All Star game, positioning himself for an MVP run, signing a long term contract, and passing Fielder in the hearts of the fans. But I'm sure you're right, there's no chance any of that would bother Prince.

Nobody is saying the Brewers would have won this game, or any of the others where Ned made questionable decisions. A manager's job is to put them in the best position to win the game. Some decisions are more questionable than others. What hurts Ned the worst is when his explanations don't make sense. He didn't save the bullpen, he used McClung and Shouse anyhow. McClung was up early, meaning he had every intention of using him. Who knows, maybe McClung would have only added gas to the fire- no guarantee they win the game. But keeping Suppan in to get shelled can't be defended logically.

Well, you purposely left out my comment immediately following my infamous "demons" quote: "Obviously there's no proof." I know, admitedly my post is more entertaining out of context. Mock if my must, but I have watched him closely in the dugout, at the plate, his reaction to what Braun does, etc. Obviously, I'm not the only one. Lest we forget, Fielder is not a laptop at the plate. He has emotions just like everyone else, and I hope you would agree that a player's mental state has a huge effect on production. Yes, his OBP is fine, but his power numbers are down. Mock all you want, but I believe watching Braun explode is playing with his head.

No, and none of us would have the "street cred" with the players to pull it off. I think some of you (not me) have enough knowledge to pull it off, but without any MLB expereince, you would have no respect from anyone in the clubhouse.

On paper that appears to be true, but I'm not giving up that easily. Mark A. has clearly proven he will spend money if it makes sense. I fully expect him to go strong after Sabathia or Sheets. Then add Gallardo and Parra at the front of the rotation. That's not all that different from what we have now. Even if we lose both, I'm not ready to concede next season. Nobody expects the Cardinals, Twins, and Rays to compete for a playoff spot this year.

The point that is being missed is that Yo will be pitching no matter what. It's part of his rehab. He's not going to just sit in a recliner and suddenly start throwing in February. It will be tempting for Yo to push himself to hard, so they need to really keep an eye on him. Now if his 100% somehow in September, there's no reason not to use him other than superstition.

Saving the bullpen may be a good explanation by Yost, but it doesn't make sense. They ended up using McClung and Shouse anyhow. So what's the difference if McClung pitches another inning or so? Blum is hitting over .500 against Suppan and took him deep earlier in the game, still waiting for a valid reason why you wouldn't have taken Suppan out at that point.

Yes and no. I agree his numbers are fine, and there's plenty of time for his power numbers to improve. But I agree with the others that he has a lot of demons playing in his head, and that's holding him back. Obviously there's no proof, but I'm convinced that it's killing him to see Braun get a big contract, out-perform him, slowly but surely become the team leader and fan favorite. Couple that with expecting more out of himself, and that's a lot of baggage to carry to the plate every AB.

Every time there's a thread about Hardy, many people talk about him playing 2B for some reason. I have never understood that. With his cannon and limited range, 3B makes far more sens than 2B if they ever move him.

Parra is my unsung hero. When the CC trade went down I don't think I heard anyone nationally or even locally mention him. It was always "CC, Sheets and now if Suppan can come around..." Parra gets almost no love. If he were in the Red Sox rotation he would be a household name. I think Kendall gets plenty of prasie- especially locally. Parra is the very definition of both unsung and hero.

If people are more excited about Packers training camp than a pennant race, they're not that big of a Brewer fan anyhow.

I was at that game and Anderson owned you.

He actually used the term "no-no" going to break after the 4th or 5th. What kind of moron would do that? He's been around baseball long enough to know better.

He actually used the term "no-no" going to break after the 4th or 5th. What kind of moron would do that? He's been around baseball long enough to know better.

He actually used the term "no-no" going to break after the 4th or 5th. What kind of moron would do that? He's been around baseball long enough to know better.

He actually used the term "no-no" going to break after the 4th or 5th. What kind of moron would do that? He's been around baseball long enough to know better.

He actually used the term "no-no" going to break after the 4th or 5th. What kind of moron would do that? He's been around baseball long enough to know better.