Tbadder

I was totally wrong about Rickie. I really thought this year would be the breakout year, but cest la vie. I really think this should be Rickie's last chance, but he deserves the full season regardless of the circumstances because his athleticism is so immense. If he can't manage an OBP of .350 to .370, I think the Crew should shift Hardy to 2B and put Escobar at SS. I really don't understand his problem. His bat is so fast it's ridiculous. He walks enough, so his eye has to be pretty good. He's a student of the game, and if the reports are correct he works as hard as anyone.

Please ignore the Dodgers and don't feel pressured. Without a decent SS the Dodgers are going nowhere even with CC. Desperation equals mistake. Stick to your guns LaPorta and Green and a low level pitching prospect..

Agreed. the psychological impact could be huge, and an unmeasurable, underrated, affect. Sports are very emotional and I don't think we can truly understand the impact. When we obtain CC, we're telling everyone in the clubhouse that we have their back. Well, everyone but Bush and McClung.

I'm not totally convinced about LaPorta, that's why I'd pull the trigger on the LaPorta, Green, low prospect deal. I've had enough of short first basemen who are left-handed much less right-handed. Green will hurt I think, but ya gotta give to get. Long term: I am convinced that Gamel could play 1st though. He's taller, left-handed, and more athletic than LaPorta. Without having to make throws, it really simplifies defense for Mat, and I bet he makes the adjustment easily. I think the Brewers should then put Lawrie at 3rd, shift Hardy to 2nd, and ship Weeks and Fielder for pitching after next year (giving Rickie another chance to break out and spike his value). This scenario would necessitate trading for or signing a starter next year, unless we just take a bullet and stink next year.

If LaPorta or Escobar are included, if just one goes, the Brewers will rue the day. The cost of catching prospects is quite steep, and if we can't get CC for Green, Salome, and Gillespie plus a minor league pitcher that's not named Jeffress then the Crew better stand pat. If Melvin includes the other two he's just saying "we've got no future." And I'd be very disturbed by that. Enough to fire him and replace him with Jack Z.

A scholar and a gentleman, please count me in. And whatever the outcome many thanks Pedro.

I just gotta believe it's Gamel. I'm very leery of short first basemen, and quite frankly have had enough of them. No, send LaPorta to left, Hart to center, and Braun to right.

I admire the Twins organization and count it as one clearly superior to the Brewers. That is frustrating, but true. They do more with less on a consistent basis because they stick to their plan and never overreact. They hire excellent coaching and instructors. I just had a friend of mine who is familiar with the Twins minor league teams that told me "every team, no matter the level, play the same way, smart, tough, with an emphasis on execution." I'd much rather be the Twins always hovering around the playoffs year in and year out in the hopes of catching a hot streak at the right time, than the Marlins, who tank entire seasons in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. I don't think the Twins have the "go for it" syndrome because it's unsound. So what if they haven't had the best luck in the playoffs. That's only 4 to 7 games. I'd rather have 162 games of competitive ball. The Brewers must continue to develop and trust in their minor league system while making the occasional trade and once in a blue moon tactical free agent signing or the pain will never stop around here. Trading away prospects now is exactly the wrong idea. Our second wave of minor leaguers is almost ready to hit the shore, and this years draft maybe the signaling of a much better approach by the team--select a big bat first, and then load up on pitching. If we stick to a sound plan we'll reap the rewards. And what is the statistical basis for luck? How is it defined? Does it exist or is it a psychological phenomenon?

We bring Gagne back to take DeFelice's non-pressured situations. I don't think it can hurt that much, and if by some miracle he finds himself in the 2nd half, maybe he becomes a type B free agent. Pie in the sky? Probably.

Totally agree with this. The Crew gotta do whatever they can to keep Bennie out of the All-Star game. Parra, with his history of arm problems could probably use a break.

This is exactly why Milwaukee is still a small market team. We'll always be "damn if we do and damned if we don't." If we sign Sheets it'll take up so much salary that we'll be bulging at the seams budget-wise. Remember, Fielder, Hart, Weeks, Hardy are all in line for significant pay raises, so that gets rid of all that "oh we lose Gagne, Turnbow, etc., etc., salaries" argument. In addition the Suppan contract escalates, so forget about dumping him in a trade. Also, don't forget that there will be other free agents to buy--there's no help in AAA unless you want to say "we're gonna stick with Dillard and Stetter and Defilice come hell or high water." All those studs in AA are at least a year and a half away, and they're duplicates, so trades will be needed to fill holes--is that an option or poor planning and unnecessay risk? So lets sign Sheets because if we don't there's no way to make the playoffs--aces do not grow on trees, and they are not easily obtained. Ka-Ching 100 million for four years. How many more of those bullets are we gonna take? This answer I know--none. Zero. Nada. Every other player who deserves a significant salaries is now gone. We're screwed in other words. We're not screwed in the sense of North Korea, more like The Netherlands, there's only so much to do, eventually the damn will burst. Big market teams don't worry about the levee breaking. Now, lets pretend Sheets gets hurt next year, and this time it's his arm/elbow/shoulder--we're screwed. Either way we are running a huge risk, financial or competitive-wise. Do large market teams have to think that way at all? No, if Sheets goes to New York or Boston or Detroit or Houston or LA they can go to plan B. There's no plan B with or without Sheets. We're simply damned. It's not like we're the Twins--they just reload from their farm system and "who is this Santana guy anyways?" The Brewers can't do that. They simply don't develop pitchers the way Oakland, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, etc. does. We happen to be great at developing one-dimensional sluggers. It could be worse granted, but it could also be a lot better. Hopefully with this draft we've got a more sensible strategy--that is, take the big bat first and then stock up on pitchers until you've got nowhere to put them. In the end it really is a hopeless situation. Do the Cubs even have to think twice anymore? No, they just sign Sheets next year and if he's hurt, well, the Brewers don't have him and they're still better--only this time a lot better. Oh, and if we do sign Sheet they just take C.C. and they're still a leg up on us, or they don't sign him and they're still better, just not so much. In essence, what we don't want to admit, is that just a couple of players, namely Sheets and Fielder, have decided our fortune as they laugh at us when cashing their checks. How's that not finger-lickin' good?

I for one am ready to give up on the year. Fielder doesn't want to be here. Sheets doesn't want to be here. Hart won't sign a contract--forget about him. Gallardo is done for the year. Hardy's not what we thought he might be. Gagne flamed out. Weeks hasn't had his breakout. Braun's great but he can't do it alone. Guys like Kapler and Branyan aren't gonna keep pace; Hall isn't gonna suddenly turn it around. The pitching cupboard is bare in the minors. I just don't think I can believe in this team, if we can even call it a team.

And if we don't make the playoffs? I don't know the exact chances, but my bet is that they don't make it even with Sheets. So by all means lets throw him away for a couple of picks.

And the Morneau thing just goes to show you how you don't want your players to win awards if you're a small market team. It's gonna cost them.

It didn't do us any good last season. We won't even be a wild card leader with a sweep. I dunno, maybe we need a 35-10 stretch. This 24-10 thing doesn't really work.

I think you're exactly right Chorizo. This money that the Brewers have really doesn't exist, and they're 15th rating merely temporary. I'm guessing they're close to be maxxed out and there's a lot of young studs that want their golden hay. We will lose the majority of our good players to free agency and that will be the number one reason the Brewers have money to spend.

Put in Gallardo take out Sheets--that's next year's rotation if McClung works out. If not put in Villy for another try. The Brewers might sign another Suppan type pitcher, but really the Brewers hands are tied. The idea that Inman or Garrison would be ready and adequate, I'm very doubtful. Sure Garrison looks like the real deal 2 years down the line, but Inman...geez...a shorter Bush I suppose. The fact is the Crew can't do better than Sheets, and since that's not an option I'd look for some regression next year (5 to 10 games under .500 I'm guessing). Man, that's a lot of bitter too soon speculation.

Why wouldn't Yost want a job with one of the most stable oragnizations in the last 30 years. Atlanta is so much better than Milwaukee. Milwaukee is about to turn into the Oakland of the Midwest. Which manager wants to be here only to watch his best players walk. I don't know guys, maybe Yost is too good for the Milwaukee job. (Go ahead and pile on).

I agree that Sheets is gone; that's why we have to trade him for prospects. I realize how unpopular that's going to be. I realize that it's gonna tank the season and the playoffs, but keeping him and hoping to make the playoffs is a risk as well. Letting Coco and Linebrink go for picks is one thing, but letting a bonafide ace go for just two picks is beyond stupid. See what Boston and New Yorks will offer. Maybe it's nothing, but maybe one of them smells a World Series and can nail it down with Sheets. I would even take non-pitching if the prospects were true studs, and then flip Fielder plus for good pitching. But letting him walk for picks is gonna put this franchise three or four years behind in the hunt for a consistent playoff team--hell, it might derail the whole long-term Brewer plan. The Dodgers are loaded with young talent, and they're going to lose a lot of pitching over the off-season--maybe they'll throw 120 million at Benny. I don't know what to do, but just sitting back is going to be a worse case scenario unless Sheets hurts himself again, which is basically what I'm left hoping for--and that's beyond sad. This whole thing really gives me that pukey feeling in throat.

In the case of Sheets I think it would be stupid to let him walk for picks. If we can get a Gallardo-like #2 and another prospect I say trade him and try to stick and hope we can still nail down the wild card.

X Man: is this typical? I mean for the comissioner's office. If it is, it just seems to me that they should see the reality of the situation and have a double scale--one for college players and one for high schoolers.

Regarding Sickels report, Mat's defense is the reason why I think he'll evetually replace Fielder at 1B. I know the Brewers are hoping against hope that he'll be sufficient at 3rd but... I understand that his range isn't the problem, which leads me to believe he could actually be an above average 1st sacker eventually. True or no?

I hope Gagne means it. If he does i'm impressed, because if he doesn't right his ship the last half of the season he's gonna take a big hit on next year's contract.

I'd assume so, why not? Playing the free agent market is just anoither way of saying "you're no different than anyone else." Given that the Brewers are Corey's professional baseball roots I'd say that it's a subtle way of saying that "I want out unless..." A subtle difference but there.

Ahhh...I think he's right. A rash of injuries is what the rest of the division needs to count on.