LouisEly

Call the Brewers PR department. Explain to them that you are trying to book your vacation and want to get cheap airfare now while it's available. See if they can give you any help.

1) eBay 2) Overstock The cost of shipping and handling will be less than the time and gas it will take you to get them. Plus you can get refurbs/recertified on eBay for less than half of what the originals cost. I just bought new headphones (not these but similar Philips over-the-ear) and got 2 pair of recerts on eBay for a little over half of what new ones cost.

I don't see height as being an issue for a hitter - if anything else, it provides for a smaller strike zone and thus with good discipline you can take a lot of walks. I think half of Rickey Henderson's walks (and thus steals) were due to his crouched batting stance, which made the strike zone ridiculously small. In general, shorter legs make it harder to run as fast, so he may not have the range in the OF as others, but it sounds like he is athletic enough to make up for it. My question this offseason with Gindl is that because none of the Brevard OFs did anything to warrant a promotion, will he skip right over A+ to AA? Unlikely, but it is possible.

$3.5-4M per year, or total? Total? Yeah, I could buy that. Per year? No flippin' way. Not for 7 innings from a guy picked up off the street in September.

Prince is worth a lot more than Sexson was. If a trade is made, names like Phil Hughes will be mentioned, not guys a decade older than Fielder. Thank you Al. If I'm trading a 24-year-old Fielder, the discussion begins with two stud pitchers and a good LH bat who plays good defense at a position of need, all three 27 or younger.

LouisEly, Gamel has never played in the outfield, so I think it might be a bit of a stretch to pencil him in as the starting rightfielder in his rookie season. Huh? Where did I say that? My post clearly says he will be in AAA next year, and not at any specific position. I did mess up and meant to say TGJ as the 5th OF and not Weeks. If the Yankees indeed end up not picking up Abreu's option, he might be someone to explore. A nice LH OBP guy with some pop; I have to wonder where his defense is at his age though. That would free up trading Hart in a package for a good starting pitcher in case they lose both CC and Sheets. Speaking of Sheets, no harm there in offering him a one year tender of $11M. If they lose him they get picks, if he stays then little risk for a one year deal if he gets hurt. Two guarantees: 1) Raul Ibanez and Derek Lowe will be offered multi-year deals by someone. Any thought of them coming here for a one year deal ain't gonna happen. 2) Gamel and Escobar start 2009 in AAA. They may not finish 2009 there, but they will start there.

Before I list my 2009 lineup, it hinges on one major thing: The 2009 AAA lineup will probably have: Gamel, Escobar, Salome, Gillespie, Aguilar, Iribarren (and move him back to 2B for chrissakes), Pena, maybe Errecart, Wright, Welch. (And the AA lineup will probably have Jeffress, Lucroy, Green, Cain, Periad, Hand, Rivas, maybe Fryer, Cody, Bramhall, maybe Gindl, maybe Wilson.) Therefore I am not bringing in many players with long-term contracts. There's a lot of talent knocking on the door. Keep the veterans one more year, let their contracts expire after 2009. Don't bring in any vets for more than a one-year deal. I also don't see many shakeups to a team that made the playoffs. That being said, the only players on the ML roster I would consider untouchable are Gallardo, Braun, and Parra. Anyone else can be had... but the price would have to be right. I don't trade anyone this offseason just for the sake of making changes. One big off-season trade - Weeks, Nelson, and another prospect for Roberts. Before you laugh at that, Baltimore's starting 1B last year was Kevin Millar (and his .717 OPS). Nelson has value to them. I'd throw in a second prospect if needed, because Roberts will probably be a type-A and net good comp picks if he leaves. One of CC or Sheets will be back. I'm just not sure whom. 1) Roberts (L) - 2B 2) Hardy ® - SS 3) Braun ® - 3B 4) Fielder (L) - 1B 5) Hart ® - RF 6) Branyan/Hall platoon - 3B 7) Cameron ® - CF 8) Kendall ® - C SP - one of CC/Sheets SP - Gallardo SP - Bush SP - Parra SP - Suppan Bullpen - Torres, Riske, McClung, Villanueva, Stetter, DiFelice, Dillard Bench - Rivera ©, non-starter of Branyan/Hall, Counsell (yes, it will happen), Kapler, Weeks (relax, he's the 5th OF) Long shot/shocker: Suppan and Hart to NYY for Abreu, cash, and prospect (one of Sheets or CC needs to be back for this to happen) Long shot/shocker II: Because of Kapler's versatility, they keep only 4 OFs and Rottino makes the squad as the 25th man.

Where do you draw the line then? No more road trips. Once they finish the investigation, kick people out of the band. Don't punish 80,000 home fans because of the actions of a few.

In this day and age, you don't simply move a guy. Why would he move to 3B? Didn't seem to hurt the career of that Ripken guy. Or that Rodriguez guy in NY. Count me in the Hardy to 3B, Escobar to SS in 2010 camp. What "step down" they will make offensively with Hardy being an "average 3B offensively" they will make a step up in the entire left side of the infield being excellent defensively. If he doesn't want to make the move, then trade him.

Assuming they don't trade Fielder, package him with Weeks and a pitcher to Baltimore for Brian Roberts.

I knew that this thread would come up, and while I think it is an overreaction to want Suppan out of town and think he's washed up, it will be difficult for Brewers fans to forgive him for how poorly he has pitched at the end of this season. It all hinges though on CC and Sheets - if neither are back, then they will need Suppan. If the Brewers decide to break the bank on CC, the deal Briggs mentioned (Suppan for Byrnes, and don't bring back Cameron) might be optimal for payroll purposes.

After watching the Packers and Brewers today and going to the UW game last night, I can certainly empathize with Cubs fans. But I got to watch the end of Game 3 right next to a family of three gomers all wearing Cubs gear, and I have to second this opinion: http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/4bd15994833519c190381b639410cf6310ba54f.gif I was in need of a good laugh today. Thanks for the thread.

Homer just brought up perhaps the most releveant point - glad it was not Lucroy. For those who missed it, Lucroy led the Brewers minor leagues in home runs this year with above-average defense. As valuable as above-average defense and offense is in a catcher (see what MIN got for Pyrzinski, what ATL got for Saltalamacchia), I think they could trade Lucroy for more than either Green or Brantley is worth. And for those who missed it, Agent39 reminded us that Green was 3 away from the BC record for HRs with a month left in the season when he got hurt. Green could be a poor-man's Utley. Before we get all up in arms about this and that they are losing a LH good-hitting OF, consider this - Hardy and Green occupy 2B/3B, Escobar at SS, and Prince at 1B; Gamel moves to the OF. Gamel becomes your good-hitting LH OF instead of Brantley. Let's be honest, it is unlikely that Gamel's defense at 3B ever becomes even as good as average. Then many things could happen with CF - Cain takes over in CF, Weeks moves to CF, Hart is moved to CF, or Weeks/Hart is moved for a LH CF. Bottom line is that the cupboard is not bare.

I think Leckrone got off easy because of his status as a legend -- and his promise to clean things up Right, becasue it is his job to to be physically present with roughly 100 college students 24/7 on a road trip. I highly doubt that Leckrone is the instigator or is encouraging this behavior. While I oppose forcing people to do things they don't want to do (hazing), I also oppose punishing everyone (in this case, 80,000 fans including some who travel a long way to get there) because of the actions of a few. I think there are other means of punishment that would have been more fair to the innocent band members and the general public. On a side note, I think last night could very well have been the first time in history that everyone left the stadium at the same time.

I think Al is right - he was comparing Nelson to Branyan and Dillon. I doubt we'll see Nelson in the field unless in case of emergency. And Hart did break up the no-hitter today. With them unsure of Branyan's status, it sounds like they had to make a decision and went with the next best LH bat with pop.

For the Phillies series, I'd keep all 3 lefties on the roster. I don't wanna see Howard or Utley facing a righty late in a game EVER. Amen brother. I think your roster is spot-on; I think the 25th man will come down to Branyan, Dillon, or Nelson. No way I go with 13 pitchers - not enough bats off the bench to PH.

Lots of questions to be answered here: 1) Is Sheets really healthy enough to start? Do they even put him on the roster? 2) Is Kapler healthy enough to start? Is he healthy enough to even be on the roster? If not, does Gwynn make the roster because of a lack of OFs? 3) Is Branyan healthy enough to play 3B? If not, will he be kept on the roster just to pinch hit? 4) How many pitchers do they go with? 4 starters and 7 relievers for a total of 11? 8 relievers? 5) What relievers do they go with? I'd think that they have to keep a 2nd lefty with Howard and Utley - is it Stetter or Parra? Torres, Shouse, and perhaps Villanueva are the only locks - if they go with 7 who is the odd man out of Stetter, Parra, Gagne, Mota, and McClung? 6) If they go with 4 starters/8 relievers, who do they keep for 13 position players? Fielder, Weeks/Durham, Hardy, Counsell/Hall, Braun, Cameron, Hart, Rivera... that's 10. Have to have one of Kapler/TGJ - that's 11. Branyan? Dillon? Lamb? Lots of questions.

I've said it before - I wouldn't be surprised if the Brewers long-term plan for the infield is Hardy (3B), Escobar (SS), Green (2B), and Fielder/Gamel (1B). Two righties, two leftys. I think Hardy makes the better 3B of him and Green.

Game 1 - Suppan on a short leash with McClung on call. They make a great piggy-back - Suppan's junk-balling followed by McClung's heat. Tough for hitters to adjust from one to the other. Like someone said, this is why they gave him the money. Game 2 - CC Game 3 - Bush - very good at home Game 4 - Gallardo piggy-back w/McClung or Villy Game 5 - CC

Gwynn is an offensive liability and Nelson is a defensive liability. But if Gwynn were to bat in the #2 position with strict instructions to take pitches and bunt runners over then he might not be as much of a liability (I also think he could be very good at that fake-bunt-to-draw-infield-in-then-slap-it-by-the-infielders move). Also, in the #2 position with Braun and Fielder behind him, they would have to pitch to him so he would get good pitches to hit. I guess also in the #8 hole he would be pitched around to get to the pitcher and may get a few extra walks (and then have his speed on base). But then you have Kendall 7th and Gwynn 8th, and I'm not sure who is the bigger offensive liability of those two. At this point I don't think it would be that terrible to start Gwynn against a tough righty. Hopefully Kapler is healthy. Branyan too.

I didn't believe this until today, but I really think that, logically, he should be the MVP. No one player in the NL was more solely responsible for his team making it into the post-season. Hard to believe that quite possibly the two players who will finish #1 and #2 in the NL MVP voting were traded from the AL mid-season. No wonder the AL has been winning all of the All-Star games. While it is unlikely that they will find the next Matt LaPorta with any comp picks (given that the comp picks will never be higher than #16 overall), Brantley was a 7th round pick so they certainly can replace him. While TGJ may not have panned out as well as we hoped, Brantley and Cutter Dykstra are looking like it is well worth investing in ML bloodlines. And man, look at that 2005 Draft - Braun, Inman, Gamel, Hammond, Brantley, Weeks (but didn't sign), Garrison, Braddock, Welch, Green, Aguilar... that could very well be the best draft by any one team in the history of major league baseball.

I'm sure it won't happen, but the idea of having a 1970's style closer would be pretty cool. Bring him in during the 7th or 8th and just let him finish. I was thinking that same thing too. I don't know that I would always trust him with three innings, but have dual closers - one one-inning guy (Torres) and one two-inning guy (McClung). The other thing that gives me confidence in being a closer is that as a reliever only once this year has he given up more than two runs in his first inning of work, and that was his second game of the year. He did have one start where he gave up three runs in the first (a three-run homer to Adam Dunn - lots of pitchers are guilty of that), but other than the Cubs game on April 9th he has not come in as a reliever and given up a big first inning. As for the Balfour trade, that is one of those win-win trades. Yes Balfour has been great out of their pen, but he couldn't start or long relieve and the Brewers needed that from McClung. He could be a starter, but that depends on the off-season. If both Sheets and CC leave and they don't trade for a #2-type starter then he will probably have to be looked at as a starter. If one of them comes back then I think they are fine with CC/Ben, Yo, Bush, Parra, and Suppan with McClung and DiFelice as contingency plans in case of injury. For as much as I have ripped on Maddux for not being able to develop young arms that came up through the system (Eveland, Hendrickson, Sarfate, etc.), chalk another one up to his career resurrection plaque. So far. And I'll agree that McClung is a great guy too - I was at a game in SF and was in the tunnel by their clubhouse and he stopped on his way to/from the dugout to talk with a family with a little boy.

They even make plastic insterts to hold the shape of your hat while its in there. http://www.golfsmith.com/...Ball_Cap_Buddy/Cap_Washer Perhaps the best $5 you'll ever spend.

I think the better option is to let Sabathia and Sheets go and reap the draft comp picks If there's one thing that Suppan has taught us it is that it is cheaper to develop your own pitchers or trade for them than to sign them as free agents. Between the current arby-eligible starters (Fielder, Hart, Hardy), their potential/eventual replacements (Gamel, Escobar, Gillespie, Nelson, Cain), and depth at other positions (Salome, Lucroy, one of Green/Brantley), they still have plenty of talent to trade for pitching. That being said, either one of CC/Sheets needs to be back or they need to trade for a #2-type starter because going into 2009 with Yo as your #1 and Parra/Bush/Suppan as your #2/3/4 isn't going to cut it.

If you have insurance through work, go to a podiatrist and they'll make you prescription supports. I just got my third pair of custom orthotics through my podiatrist and even though they were not covered by my insurance the cash price was about $350, so you're already ahead of the Good Feet store there. I would highly recommend first going to a New Balance store - they have an array of very good supports that are almost as good as the custom ones I got through my podiatrist but they only cost about $40. Try those first before spending $300+ on other stuff.