joepepsi

I know, but CC can sit on the bench for the entire playoffs and give "pointers" to Ryan and Prince on how to hit the ball in the World Series. It's sooooo different, I'm sure.

I could see Counsell not being on the playoff roster. They set rosters for level of the playoffs, right? If they are lucky enough to make it to the World Series I don't see how he helps against an AL team. Especially since Hairston and Wilson will almost certainly be on the playoff rosters. For this reason I'd like to see Gamel up before Aug 31st.

The infield would be strong with these 6 guys: Gamel-1B Rickie-2B Reyes-ss Green-3B McGehee-1B/3B Hairston-Utility OF: Hart Morgan Braun Gomez Kotsay(guaranteed he'll be back) C: Lucroy Kottaras

So, Lopez hasn't started much lately. Does this mean RRR has seen enough of him?

This is why you should never watch espn for baseball. I think several analyst at MLB Network had the Brewers picked for the division, wild card, or at least in the race. Plesac may have had them going all the way.

Unfortunately DM brought in Lopez specifically as an injury replacement for Weeks. I think RR is obligated to play him most of the time. Hopefully that will change a bit after Hairston's fine 2B performance the other night. The problem with Kotsay is every time it looks like he should be kicked to the curb, he has a 2 for 3 night like last night, or a 3 for 5 like his previous start. Plus he's had a few big hits late in games. Just enough to make a GM and manager think his veteran grittiness is an essential part of the team. He has no power and plays too much, but there is no guarantee a different player could hit .258/.313 in a limited role like this.

But will Lawrie have more value than Marcum as a Brewer + Green? The re-emergence of Green will make this a painless trade imho. Another reason why depth in the minors is so important.

Good points all. Add in that hitters' approaches are different than years ago. They aren't up there looking to make contact; they are swinging for the fences, fouling off pitches they don't like, striking out more and willing to take more walks. Also, there are many more bad pitchers in the league than there were in the 60's or even a generation ago. More teams in MLB +y more relievers per team+fewer innings pitched by the best pitchers=more bad pitching.

If Braun or Fielder hit a home run early tonight, I expect LaRussa to throw at him next at bat.

His career OPS through his age 31 season was .982. OPS since then: .933. So he did decline; but he still remained one of the best hitters in the game.

The Baltimore Oriole were a "respectable" 35-40 in late June. Since then it's been a 9-27 free fall, down to 44-67. They haven't won a series against an AL team since sweeping the A's June 6-8th. 44 of their remaining 51 games are against teams with winning records: lots against AL East teams of course, but also 7 against the Tigers and 6 against the Angels. They have 7 games remaining against losing teams, 4 on the road against Minnesota, 3 in Oakland. Their road win pct this year is .315. It must be the toughest remaining schedule in all of MLB. The ugliness of their finish could be epic.

I expect the Twins will offer Thome another one year deal for 2012. They have nothing to lose and will still be deficient on offense. I'm confident he's a first ballot HOF'er. He played 7 seasons in a row in big markets: Philly, Chicago, and LA. Cleveland is hardly a small market, and while he was at his peak they won 6 division titles in 7 years with one of the highest payrolls in the game. It's only been the last 7-9 years they redefined themselves as "small market". I think baseball and its fans need to first answer whether steroid use is really cheating, before we can come to terms with this era. Correct me if I'm wrong, but for years steroid use wasn't against the rules in baseball. The first steps at testing were a joke. Were players doping in the early years really cheating if it wasn't against the rules? Where is the line drawn when building muscle, taking supplements, having surgical procedures, taking drugs to recover faster from injury becomes cheating? Do players need to be Christian Scientists in order for their numbers to be legitimate? Shouldn't a player be able to take supplements to increase body mass, just like any other person? Shouldn't a player be able to take a steroid to recover from injury just like any body else? What about HGH? Isn't that a legitimate medical treatment? And in the future, when it is illegal to have a surgical procedure that rebuilds your body and lets you continue to play several more seasons? TJ surgery is OK, but what about the surgery Colon had? Why can't you take steroids or HGH to rehabilitate tissue and bone either after surgery or simply to repair physical deterioration? Modern medicine is able to rebuild and strengthen the body. It will only get better at this. Why can't modern athletes take advantage of the science? It's possible in 20 years people will look back at the popular reaction to the "steroid era" as hysterical and non-sensical.

Marcum hasn't been sharp since mid June. He struggled against the Cards last time, and gave up 3 runs in his previous appearance against them this year. He's been my favorite starter all year, but unless he returns to his early season form, I think he'll struggle against the Cards again on Tuesday. Wolf has been pretty bad against the Cards in both starts this year. I don't like two soft tossers in a row against that lineup. Pujols, and Holliday, batting from the right side against Wolf doesn't bode well. At least Berkman is a little weaker batting right. That leaves Yo, who pitched well in his only start against the Cards this year. That game was at Busch. I think the best possible scenario is the offense stays hot and out hits the competition in one of the first two, while Yo shuts them down in the final game. 1-2 looks most likely outcome.

I don't mean to hijack the topic, so I won't go on after this, but I don't buy the argument that Green is a PTBNL or not in the organization's plans. If fact, I think it's just the opposite. He looked like a real prospect in '07 and '08, then had a couple tough seasons and now appears again like a good prospect. Looks to me like the organization has little interest in bringing up a rookie in the year they are "going for it" and would rather not rush him. Let him play a full year at AAA and maintain his success. Next year, when Prince is gone, the climate will be more accepting to giving him a shot at 3B.

He's been tearing the cover off the ball all year. Hope he does well for Toronto. Now if Green keeps hitting when he arrives in the majors the Brewers won't even miss Lawrie.

That would be nice for next season, but I think they may value McGehee more than you think. Well, you are probably correct. 3B will no doubt start as a platoon that Green will have win to become everyday starter. But I think eventually he will win the job.

Welcome aboard. There are a lot of smart baseball fans here and it's always a fun and enlightening read. Vada Pinson is one my favorite players of all time.I was born in 1960, so remember him a little--had his baseball cards. For his 10 peak seasons in Cincy he posted a career .811 OPS. That covered the 1960's, one of the biggest pitcher's era in baseball. Played a great CF, and was fast as lightening. 2700+ hits, 300+ SB, 250+ home runs. The guy should be in the Hall of Fame, imho. Here's an interesting article I found about him: http://miscbaseball.wordp...remembering-vada-pinson/

Next season you're going to see Green at 3rd and Gamel at 1rst most days, with McGehee backing them up and as the first PH off the bench. Counsell will be gone and quite possibly YuniB, Kotsay. Wilson should be too, but he will probably be back. For this season, nothing will change.

Fantastic! Well done, sir, well done.

Since Greinke and Marcum were added to the team, I've felt it's the Brewers' division to lose. The rotation should prevent any extended losing streaks. They are nearly unbeatable at home. They've had a winning record every month, despite a brutal June schedule, and pretty tough April-May schedule. They are done playing the Giants, DBacks, Braves. Only 4 games left with the Phillies. Many of their remaining games are against teams currently under .500. We'll see how the 9 games go, but they are in a decent position to run away with the division.

So if Yuni lacks the physical ability to be a ss, how did he make it this far for this long as a ss? Plenty of athletic players wee drafted as ss, but they were pretty quickly moved to 2nd, LF, or 3B as they advanced through the ranks. Both Jerry Hairston and Brian Roberts were originally ss at about the same time in the Baltimore organization. Even though they could have gone with one at ss and one at 2nd and kept them both, it was decided neither were adequate ss. And these guys are pretty athletic. I know the Orioles are the sharpest minds in baseball, but once again, how did these guys get moved, and Yuni has remained a ss all these years? Shouldn't have been moved to 3B back in AAA?

There is really no need for Wilson now that Hairston is here. In fact, Jerry would probably sign another 1yr/$1million deal today for 2012. counsell is going nowhere. He's the club mascot.

16-12 seems like an achievable record. But I'm a homer, so I'll go 17-11.

Where's Joes Dillon and Inglettt when you need them? I don't have a problem with the deadline deals. I do have a problem with the way RR uses his bench, and that it take 4 2B to backup Weeks and Betancourt. (Hairston, Counsell, Wilson, and Lopez are all better 2B than ss.) I'd like to see Hairston start at 3B tonight. But you can bet it will be Groundout McGehee.

If they trade him it better not be for a half year rental.