Tbadder

I think a signed Jersey would be great, but I wouldn't argue the point. Congrats by the way, too cool.

Mota has to go, period. We can't afford to carry him on the roster, not with the up and down Gagne. I think they should bring back Dillard.

I just can't see the Brewers playing better than the Cardinals, so Wildcard or not 3rd in the division isn't gonna make it. Hope I'm wrong, but I can't see a Tony LaRussa club finishing in back of the Crew when it matters. I still have the Crew winning 90 games, but that seems pretty generous given how bad our bullpen is, and what a rotten OBP we are. If we make the playoffs it's gotta be on the back of our starters and that means Bush and Parra pitching near their best.

I think there is a way that the Crew make the playoffs. 1) Harden must go down. I think the chances of this are better than 50/50. But really the Cubs could implode. 2) Dempster's been great, but he could really get a dead arm racking up innings. Being an ex-reliever (even though he was a starter) might cost him down the line. 3) Wood and Marmol get cooked. Abuse in Marmol's case and arm/shoulder problems in Wood's case. That's a lot of ifs, but I think it's plausible. InsomniacInkRoss: Harden IP / Complete Games (try not to laugh too hard) lolololololololololololololol. Sorry I couldn't help it.

Congrats to Benny. I think they'll light him up. 3 runs in two innings and the loss. Hurdle's gotta be smarter than that?! The National league is gonna get beat again because they don't know how to pick a pitching staff. You gotta load up on closers and let each one have an inning. Each pitcher comes in absolutely fresh and with his best stuff. 7-1 AL.

Phillies 89-73 Mets 88-74 Cubs 95-67 Cardinals 91-71 Crew 90-72 Arizona 86-75 Dodgers 82-80 Cardinals win pennant BoSox win Series 4-3

Interesting stuff. Thanks Splitter. I didn't realize Wolf got his velocity back. I think he'll be too expensive at this point though.

I think DeJesus would be very interesting. Good idea. I'm just not giving up Escobar or Gamel. Give 'em Taylor.

No way we could afford the trade here. I think the Orioles would ask for Hart. All-Star for All-Star.

Hatred is awesome, and so is sheep-like agreement. Nothing is so entertaining than watching the masses gang up on some one--that alone is a reason to want Bonds to be playing. We could create a new position Designated Hatee. It would be like the colored bowling pin. You get a prize for knocking it down. Man oh man there are a lotta gutless teams out there. Don't they know that the Roman Circus was the only game in town. Talk about a money maker.

Could it be because the Brewers keep making the same mistakes again and again. I hated Sutton and Anderson is worse, much much worse. Rock's okay. He boofs some, but he nails enough and has catcher insight which can be interesting.

If you pick up Durham and play him against righthanded pitchers you absolutely destroy any value that Rickie has on the market. An old, broken down player replaces the second pick in the draft? That's called throwing in towel. Needless to say you'll totally alienate Rickie, which could create real problems in the dugout. No, if you're gonna do something drastic at 2nd base it's better to deal Rickie I think, which is also going to disrupt the clubhouse. I dunno. I say keep him as the starter and make Durham a pinch hitter and give him one start a week.

My dream would be for Suppan to be traded. I love your idea about obtaining Greinke, but it's gonna be costly (Fielder with another young pitcher coming our way). I'd rather trade Weeks than Hardy. Hardy, I'd like to give him a long term contract, move him to second and insert Escobar. The Crew are desperate for a high OBP, professional hitter who can be effective leading off. Last year's Rickie was okay with a .370OBP, but this year's Rickie doesn't cut it. I'd rather see CC and Sheeter leave than sign them to that kind of money, but the problem there is the Cubs. If they sign either the Crew will only be fighting for a wild card for the next 3 years as the Cubbies will have things pretty sewed up. I'd also make a concerted effort to find a bullpen internally. It's time for Dillard and Stetter to stay. Next year will be a down year, so I say take a chance on Pena. Hopefully Omar turns a corner and comes up near the end of next season. The Brewers really do need some long term answers in the bullpen. This reinventing it nearly every year is time consuming and expensive. I love the Hardy/Branyan platoon and I hope it continues for another year. I move Gamel to first and keep Cameron. He's not going to lose his power and his defense is still plus although not elite. I'd have to think about it but my everyday line up would look something like... 1. Hardy 2. Gamel 3. Braun 4. Hart 5. Branyan 6. Cameron 7. Escobar 8. Kendall 9. Pitcher I'd make McClung Bush Greinke Gallardo and Parra my starters Not a very good team on paper, but they'll never replace Sheeter and CC, so we're gonna take a hit next year anyways. I think we could come as high as 3rd, but probably 4th or 5th. I'm okay with that as long as the minor league system keeps churning out and developing players. Included in my dream would be that 16th and 17th best teams sign CC and Sheets so we maximize our picks. Another thought would be to release Cameron and and find a fast, lead-off lefthanded centerfielder (though I have no idea who I'm describing).

I'm afraid the the Brewers are going to forget to limit his innings because of the wild card race. They absolutely have to have this guy for years and can't afford to make a mistake. I'd be seriously tempted to put Manny in the pen until August 1st. I realize this would be very unpopular, and probably won't stand up to scrutiny, but I think Manny's health is that important.

I love what Bush is doing now, but it does kinda prove how stupid this game is.

The BEST player on the Milwaukee Brewers got exactly what he deserved. Nice job Milwaukee fans!

He'll take Mota's spot in the pen.

Yost:B Hitters:D+ Pitchers:B- Defenders:C+

Thanks again for your generosity. Please count me in.

I just hope the Crew has been watching the Rockies closely. They are professional hitters. They have brains and discipline. The Brewers just don't possess these attributes/abilities. I was so excited this week for the Brewers...for the first time in years I thought "well, maybe you've got it all wrong...maybe they will be competitive." But just like last year--they don't want it. They don't want to win. Oh sure, in their hearts they want to win, but without the desire to actually change their approach, they're just kidding themselves. And no I don't care if they come back and win tonight. They showed how immature they are; how ridiculous they are. Just grow up! Even Sheets. He doesn't throw that hard normally. What is he trying to prove? He gassed himself--thatta way to use your five-cent head! I kept flipping between the Brewer game and the Cards game. Guess which team had a reason for each move they made? Guess which team had purpose, thoughtfulness. Guess which team willingly did the small things. Guess which team showed strike zone judgement even when they were getting mowed down. Hopeless. I feel sorry for Yost and his coaches.

I'd classify a win that got away as any game that Glendon Rusch humiliates you.

I'll say it again. if the Cubs pitch this guy all of July and August he won't be there for the playoffs, and the Cubbies curse will remain firmly in tact. I'm not afraid of this trade at all. I'm afraid of the LaRussa magic. It's the Cards my friends--they're the ones who have made a pact with the devil. Isn't Wainwright and Carpenter coming back soon. If their rotation becomes a best case scenario we maybe doomed.

I can totally see this as our rotation next year. It's gonna be a down year based on the Sheets/CC departures anyways. Maybe the following year through some trade and some minor leaguers we start to piece together another run. Besides, if the Cubs are smart they'll sign either Sheets or CC and it won't matter what we do.

For those of you bashing this contract please why is so bad. In the free agency year he was signed it was the same of the pitchers with his talent. Now two years later the price of those type of pitchers has gone up. IMO people rip on this contract because he is being paid more than Sheets. Yes Sheets has more talent but he took the home town discount his first time around for free agency. Sheets will get his chance this year to make the big money. Because the market is wrong. Market prices don't have to be accurate, they're flawed and very human. The marketplace for #3/4 pitchers is way overvalued. It is what it is, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to buy into it if I was a GM.

This is the first I heard of the trade (just got home from work) and my impression is that this a good move for the Cubbies because the risk factor is so low. They had the division more or less won already even with the CC trade. But they'd be stupid to actually pitch Harden in July and August. They're only going to burn out his shoulder, and if they don't have Harden for the post-season, they will not break their curse. The Crew on the other hand did over pay, but they overpaid for a workhorse. CC is gonna take the ball every time and he's gonna burn lots of innings. In the post-season the Brewers will be appreciably better than the Cubs.