TwinsBrewersWorldSeries

Greinke has SIX losses with a 2.12 era. Wow, this makes Yovani's run support like amazing

Yeah, with 4 1st basemen on the NL roster, it wasn't realistic for Prince to get multiple ABs. I'm just thankful he was the first sub used in a high importance situation, and Prince delivered. Nothing worse that a 2-out, nobody on, down 7-3 AB late in the game. Hopefully Braun gets a hit in his second ab

Yeah, i too was pretty disappointed by the boos of the President. I was certainly was not a fan of President Bush, but gave him a big ovation when he threw out the first pitch in Milwaukee. Politics aside, hosting the President of the United States in your city is a huge honor. Solid second inning for the NL. Great to see Prince drive in the go-ahead run. Maybe this puts Hoffman in position to get the save? What other NL closers are on the pitching staff?

Not to reply to myself... but these are the deals i'd look to push in the coming days Escobar, Lawrie, Parra, Salmone for Halladay and Rolen Mid Level Propspects for Doug Davis Resign Hardy 5/60, send Gamel back to AAA (Sept 1 call-up) McGehee, Hardy, Braun, Fielder, Rolen, Cameron, Hart, Cameron Halladay, Yo, Davis, Bush, Looper/Soup

804Sox... i greatly appreciate your posts. Its refreshing to have an outside perspective, from a successful/big market club, that doesn't resort to insulting us. I agree that we overvalue our propspects, but some of Doug Melvin's "untouchable" press might be to try and inflate the value of our prospects, much like the Yankees have long done. I don't think we think a marginal talent is top-25 league wide, but i do think our expectations for Gamel and Escobar are somewhat unrealistic. I think one factor in all of this (that might cause friction between MA/DM) is that players like Hart/Hardy probably have an unmeasurable positive impact on the finances of the team and the visibility of the team. I think that a huge part, actually the majority of our attendance surge is based on the emergence of a female fan interest in the Brewers. I'd estimate that the attendance was 75/25 men/women in previous years, but the past 2-3 as we've grown to 3 million plus, that ratio is closer to 55/45. I realize we're in this to win and not "look pretty", but that is a huge factor IMHO in looking not only at what players will be solid for the next 4-5 years, but also what players will be the most marketable. Hart, and especially Hardy. are not only well established with their baseball skills, but also established as household names for our TV/Merchandise etc. I don't think that can be overstated. My sister, who is a baseball fan, but by no means a diehard, knows the names of 10-12 brewers. At the end of the day, i think Lawire and Escobar are going to be special talents, but i think we need to "go for it" in the next 2 years, and then rebuild around Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Gamel, and Yovani. Elite SP, Shortstop, Catcher, and 3B are the toughest positions to fill with elite talent. I have every confidence that Hardy is a .275/.340/.475/.815 hitter with above average defense and huge marketing appeal. I think Gamel will be a .310/.350/.475/.825 type hitter (think Jeff Cirillo), and Braun of course is the franchise. After our "run", i think Hart & Fielder become trading pieces to reload our pitching in 2011-12, and then we go for it again in 2013-2014. Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Gamel, 1B, (Lucroy/Salmone), OF, OF, P i think is our "core" for the future, and we trade whatever it takes to "go for it now" I love the Twins model, but lately, that only gets us to top-6 every now and again.... it seems like the Marlins, while having a pathetic fan base, seem to have a better model to get over the top

Building through the draft is what everyone says. Its a pipe dream, but i'd pay $10M/year to try and get the Twins old GM (Ryan) out of retirement.

I hate to say it, but if I look at this team... Braun, Fielder, Hardy, Hart, Weeks, Gallardo, Gamel, Escobar all Jack Z Signings McGehee, Bush, Counsell, Hall, Cameron, Looper, Suppan, Hoffman all Doug M Moves I'm starting to think losing Jack Z could be a big blow to our team... it is possible that Doug could have played, or did play a major role in the drafting of our young studs. However, but all accounts this is our window, and aside from the CC Trade, which was huge, he has done little in 3 years to push this team over the top. In particular, i'm still very angry with Doug Melvin over his handling of Ben Sheets. To have a player who was part of your major league roster for eight years, and be part of the organization for longer, and then simply chuck him out with the trash was, in my mind, inexcusable. Sheets never made negative comments about the Brewers, and certainly wasn't "owed" a big contract, but the fact that it seems that Sheets has ZERO interest in coming back to a playoff calibur team he's played for (for a decade), and that Melvin has no interest in bringing him back in pure insanity. Ben Sheets (assuming he's healthy for Aug/Sept) is a notch above any pitcher that will be available by the trading deadline. Giving Sheets a $5 million/2 month deal (assuming health) would have been the no-brainer of the century. He had good chemistry with the team, and is EXACTLY the piece that this team needs badly right now. I know, coulda, shoulda, woulda. The fact is, that Sheets would be pitching a very short season. Sheets, before being injured/burned out late last fall after abuse from Yost, was an elite, Cy Young type pitcher. Sheets, based on his past performance could have been the second coming of CC Sabathia. He could also have been a dud, but for $5 million, and the loss of no prospects, you take that risk. So thanks for nothing Doug. Ryan Braun wants to win, he wants to get better. You might be trying to make the team better, but simply put, i don't think you make this organization better. You are much better than Dean Taylor and Sal Bando, but i love the Milwaukee Brewers and I expect more. We have a GREAT core of players, we have GREAT fans, a solid owner, and ample financial resources.

he is right on. The point of having a GM is to get us a key player in this situation. The difference between 80 or 85 wins is minimal if we don't make the playoffs. We only get so many chances. This is our window, we need to push now. Make a decision Doug or make room for someone who can.

atleast they got rid of the stupid ribbon board "car race"... that was beyond dumb. I agree that there is alot of clutter in the outfield however. Between Kalahari, Air Tran, Harley, Mountin Dew, Tundra, not to mention all the "ads" it is kind of busy out there

wow, about five of us starting threads on this within 60 seconds...

Well, the battle has begun. What upgrades are we going to make to respond to St. Louis (and/or Chicago) With Gamel/McGehee, maybe we didn't need another IF

Major League Attendance down 5% through this past weekend per ESPN telecast. A couple thoughts: 1) Can we top last year? I believe we're ahead of last year (at this same point), however that sellout streak in August/Sept will be tough to match unless we stay in the thick of things. 2) If we do increase again, in this economy, what a great statement for Milwaukee when a majority of MLB is seeing their attendance drop.

I saw Effertz pitch twice this spring and was not impressed. I can't remember the exact score, but he was shelled in the game against Barron High School early in the season. Granted, Barron is probably one the top 2-3 powerhouse Division II programs in Northwest Wisconsin (4 state tournament appearances in the past decade), but this was a down year for them. The impression I came away with is that Effertz is "mentally soft". I coached against him during basketball season and would classify him as anything but a high effort guy. He generally seemed uninterested/uninvolved in the game and I was impressed more with his younger brother. He has a great family but I would be absolutely stunned if he ever panned out as a MLB prospect.

I am pleased to announce that #24 Gamel T-Shirts are now available at Miller Park (arrived 5/26)! Be sure to get your gear to support Mr. Surfs Up

I would go a step further. Lifetime ban, substances are checked annually as new tests are available and in addition First time a major league player gets caught/banned, the team is fined $1 million dollars, must forfeit 10 wins, and loses its first round draft pick. Each offense further, the penalty to the team increases. 2nd offense, $2 million, forfeit 10 wins, loses two first round picks, etc Time to make the players AND owners accountable.

My best friend was one of the guys walking out with a whole box last night. It started with me grabbing about 250 ballots from the stand on the concourse, and then having the usher bring us another 250 in about the 5th inning. We were down 8-1 at the time and figured what the hell, might as well fill them out. We even got some "old people" around us to help. I'd say our cluster contributed about 650 straight ticket brewer ballots (and Joe Mauer and Ken Griffey Jr of course). We discussed having a "voting party" at Paddys Pub or something, where we'd have 10,000 ballots and see if we could get bar patrons to help us cast 10,000 straight ticket voters for the Brewers

The Twins play excellent fundamental baseball. Pitchers throw strikes, batters take pitches, and they hit well in situational at-bats. A Twins team down 5-0, is going to lose 99.9% of the time. However, we rarely if ever blow leads, and that is because the basic philosophy is that solo home runs don't hurt you, but walks do. Organizational philosophy as well as managerial style have as much to do with the home record as anything else. Though the turf and wind blowing in from centerfield during the top half of innings helps as well http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Ennder- That is probably = or better than the line Soup had prior to signing/has given us. As soon as the market/economy recover, Bush is probably easily a 4/50 pitcher. I don't want to break the bank for him, but a 3/24 with an option for a 4th year (3 million buyout probably gets it done). 6M-2010, $8M-2011, $10M-2012, $12M (option) or 3M buyout in 2013 in my opinion gets it done. This really only is a 2 or 3 year extention or until his age 32 year (2012) or age 33 year (2013 if we pick up the option)

As discussed per the in game chat, my idea/vote is to call him "Surfs Up" Maybe BF can sponsor a t-shirt contest or something http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I'd trade Escobar + another top 10-15 prospect for Uggla in a heartbeat

As a Twins Fan, i can honestly say that I would consider trading Liriano for the right package, however the package might require players the Brewers would be unwilling to give up. The Twins need offense, and lots of it

Great info Nate. that injury news is HUGE Webb has more of a clean bill of health that does Ben Sheets, but Sheets was very healthy for many seasons with high IP workloads before starting to breakdown during his 4 year extention. Webb's innings thrown the past 6-7 years are HUGE and i don't know enough about his mechanics to know if that might spell doom with this and possible future injuries. I have no idea if Sheets would ever consider coming back here after the non-extension and then lack of subsequent talks this offseason, but I'd go as so far as to offer Sheets $10 million for one half a season. He'd cost us nothing in prospects, and we'd have no long term financial commitment to him. He gets another shot at being a "playoff savior", this time as our #1 and not playing second fiddle to a CC Sabathia, and has essentially a 3-4 month "tryout" for teams before pursuing a big deal this offseason. It feels great to be a winner and talking about being a "buyer", but really the Brewers have four options: Trade for a multi-year anchor in the rotation (Dan Haren/Jake Peavy)- that will be expensive prospect wise, but be a short term AND long term gain on the MLB roster Trade for a stop-gap anchor in the rotation (Brandon Webb/Roy Holliday)- will require some significant prospects, but not the same level as Haren/Peavy- short term gain on MLB roster Sign Ben Sheets - require a massive "overpayment", but over 3-4 months, that cost would be limited to this year and require no long term commitment- no prospect loss Trade for "depth" Like many others, i oppose trading for a #4-#5 type (Brad Penny)- this costs us something and doesn't really improve the team. I realize this might be the last window with "hardy, fielder, and hart on the team (as well as Cameron/Hoffman), but we either GO BIG, or rebuild i think

Brandon Webb would be nasty! any ideas on his contract status?

EDIT- Just looked up Webb's contract status 2009: $6.5 million 2010: $8.5 million team option (500,000 buyout) Wow, talk about a total steal. He is coming off an injury, but here are his recent stats: 3.10, 3.01, 3.30 ERA (past 3 years) 1.13, 1.18, 1.19 WHIP (past 3 years) His K/9 and K/BB have been steady the past 2 years (slightly worse than his out of this world 2006) If he's health, we'd have him for Age 30 (2009) and Age 31 (2010).... i'd say this would be 1.5 years, so it would take something significant to get him, more than it would take for a 6 month rental, but Dan Haren would take a better package since Haren is signed for 3.5 years + an option year. I would part with Escobar as part of a package, but def not with another top-5 prospect or probably Jeffress.

I stand by my 4/24 offer above. Weeks could end up being similar to Hall, but with the disadvantage that he probably can't play anywhere else in the field. However, if Weeks has an 800+ OPS, his bat will play CF and with his athletic ability he might be a replacement for Cameron next year. Weeks to CF, Hall to 2B, Gamel at 3B!