jhart05

but the Yankees also have to replace alot of players. They need a 1B/DH, Cool. Prince Fielder...welcome to New York. Do it.

I think it would be a huge mistake to trade Hardy instead of Fielder, no matter what they might get offered for Hardy. Especially if it turns out that Gamel can't play 3B. It's a lot easier to find a 1B than it is to find a 3B. I don't care if his value is sky high, his value to the Brewers is just as high, because they have no one good enough to play 3B on an everyday basis right now. The less Counsell and Hall have to play, the better off this team will be. Unless Hall miraculously finds his 2005-06 season form again, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

I would add: Someone who has the ability to adjust his style of play, to the players he has. Don't come in here all hard-headed and force this team to play your style of ball, when they may not be built (right now) to play that way. I.E. "Small Ball" I don't think this team is built to play small ball. Public relations- How well do you handle the media, general public This is one of the reasons why I think many didn't like Yost. Me, on the other hand, don't care how the manager deals with the press or the fans for that matter. I think if I had to answer the same stupid questions for 180, 200 days out of the year, I'd get a little annoyed with the press, and sound condescending at times, as well. Course I have a short fuse.

The argument on your side could be many of his errors were the result of poor throwing...not as big of an issue at 1B. Am I missing anything? Nope, not missing anything. And what do first basemen rarely do? Throw the ball. Gamel would be great at first. An infield of Hardy, Escobar, Weeks and Gamel would make me very happy. Yep.

25% of the posters at brewerfan.net would be a better glove at 1B than Fielder. I have to laugh!! Great post. From what I have heard, Gamel's problems are with his foot work and throwing, not with the glove.

I think it's pretty simple. Sometime between now and the start of the 2010 season... Trade Fielder and Scott BorAss, to the AL for a #2 starter. Convince Hardy him moving to 3B is for the overall good of the team. Escobar at SS, and Gamel at 1B. Weeks gets his average up over .250, which will give him a .360+ OBP, and with a better defensive 1B, and gold glove caliber players at SS and 3B, his defensive shortcomings will be less noticeable.

No. I know he wasn't given any errors this year, but I would have given him a couple. Right now he's just an average defensive outfielder. He wasn't even the best defensive outfielder on the Brewers this year.

If the decision comes down to trading Hardy or Escobar, I believe Hardy will be the one to go if he does not agree with moving to 3B. If for no other reason than salary. They will think they can get similar production out of Escobar for obviously much less money. And what Escobar lacks in the power department compared to Hardy, they will rationalize that by the extra defense Escobar gives them. But I really hope Hardy sees, him moving to 3B, is for the greater good of the team. In 2010, I would really like to see what an infield of 1B Gamel, 2B Weeks, SS Escobar, and 3B Hardy, can do. Trade Fielder to the AL for a #2 caliber starter after the 2009 season, because I don't think Escobar or Gamel are ready yet, and make a serious run at the pennant in 2010. Provided of course that Gallardo and Parra develop into legitimate 1 and 2 starters, the Brewers think they can be.

"Vintage Maddux" Definition: Getting pitches called strikes that no other pitcher gets.

Finally saw it. You can clearly hear BA call "Ryan Braun". You know Braun has got to be loving that. EDIT: No you don't hear that. Just the "Grand Slam" part.

I say we let Rickie protect Prince in the lineup next year. Rickie has always been misplayed as a leadoff hitter. I would actually like to see it be Weeks-Fielder-Braun. Because Weeks and Fielder will have better OBPs than Braun. But, unless they can find a leadoff hitter, I don't think that's possible. Besides them and you can throw Hardy in there, the rest of the players shouldn't be hitting any higher than 6th at best.

I am. Have always liked Jenkins. Never thought he got enough credit for his defense. I remember one game quite awhile ago. I was lucky enough to have field level seats behind the opposing teams dugout. He threw out two or three guys trying to take the extra base on him that day. I would stand up and yell, "when are you guys going to learn...DON'T RUN ON GEOFF JENKINS." His reaction when Stairs got back to the dugout after the HR was the first thing I noticed.

You are completely throwing out the fact that Escobar is superior to Hardy on defense. And Hardy ain't that bad, so that's saying a lot. Anyone who thinks Escobar will/should be/could be starting at SS at the beginning of 2009 is kidding themselves. Also as well all know the Brewers are not the Yankees. The Crew will keep Escobar and trade Hardy if he doesn't want to move to 3B, if for no other reason than the cost.

I think next year's team will be a .500 ball club with no Sheets or Sabathia. Gallardo and Parra will be a nice 1-2 combo soon, much like Smoltz and Glavine, but not next year. So I'm looking forward to seeing Escobar playing SS and Hardy moving to 3B at some point, and seeing how the team will shape up for another playoff run in 2010. Also it will be really nice to not have to listen to people complain about Yost, when if you look at the players stats and compare them to the Cubs, it's really amazing how they got 90 wins, only finished 7 games behind the Cubs, and still made the playoffs.

I was just trying to explain who he was talking about.

I believe "rm121978" was talking about Cameron. At the time Sveum put him leadoff he had the worst stats of any regular in September.

No. Maybe in 4 or 5 years he can be a top of the order guy in the Majors.

I assume that's an opinion, but it sounds as if you work for the Brewers in player development. Do you? I wish. No, I'm just going by what I've heard and read about Escobar. Teams do not mess around with this kind of talent, by moving the player around. This kid was born to play SS in the majors and that's what he's going to do. And honestly, the big difference between 2nd and SS is the relationship to first base. Fielding balls is the same. I don't know if I can agree with you here. It's a different angle, a different view, for both hit balls and when turning the DP. Also, you're going to get more harder hit balls coming at you at short, due to there being more right-handed hitters. I've always felt you didn't need to play as "fast" if you're playing 2B as compared to SS. You have a little bit more time if you bobble the ball, because your throw is usually much shorter. The only way I see Escobar in the Majors in 2009, is due to an injury to Hardy, or that the play at 3B is so poor they have no other choice but to move Hardy there, or a situation similar to Braun in 2007. If not any of those, of course as a September call up. Honestly, as it stands right now, I don't see this team making a run at the Wild Card next year without Sheets and Sabathia. Gallardo and Parra will be a nice 1-2 combo soon, but not next year. So I expect/hope to see Hardy at 3B and Escobar at SS, in September.

The pitching is another step up in AAA, but it's small, not like the jump from A ball to AA. I actually heard DM say this year, the pitching in the AA league that Huntsville is in, was better than the pitching in the AAA league that Nashville is in. I would expect Escobar to be one of the worst hitters in baseball next season if he were thrust into the Majors. Escobar, I kind of think of him being like Omar Vizquel. Great glove with a weak bat at the start, but will improve to be a top of the order type hitter as he gets older. I still think Weeks will surprise all you guys who want him off the team. He had some pretty darn good offensive numbers in the 2nd half of the season, was not the reason the team wasn't scoring in September, and was one of the best players in baseball in September of 2007. That is enough for the Brewers to not give up on him yet, and why I don't think we should either.

If the team is betting on Yo and Parra instantly becoming the equivalent of Sheets and Parra, then it will be a long season. Did you mean to say "the equivalent of Sheets and Sabathia"? I doubt the Brewers are, but I do think many fans think this.

Gwynn Jr.'s skillset (contact hitter, speed) fit the role of a leadoff hitter. The problem is his skills aren't....well...good enough to be an everyday hitter, regardless of position. I'm willing to accept a leadoff guy who just gets on base for the heart of the lineup, but without a .360+ OBP, he needs to have a SLG that's at least comparable to OBP. (Even going that far, I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.) TGJ is good enough defensively to be a 5th OF / pinch runner, but isn't going to be a starter unless he turns into a .300 hitter, starts taking walks more often, or develops some extra-base pop. At this point, it's hard to expect any one of those things to happen. That's just about exactly what I try to tell people I talk to, whenever I hear someone talking up TGJ. I really hope they trade him to the Padres this off season. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Weeks: I still think he's going to be fine next year. He'll get back up to his career numbers and most likely improve on them. Just the way I feel. Escobar: We have to remember, this kid will only be 22-years old when spring training rolls around next year. He needs a little more time in the minors. But he will be the Brewers SS in the near future, there is no doubt about that. He's not going to be moved anywhere, so might as well save your breath talking about moving him to 2B, because they're not going to do it. Hardy: Will be the SS again next year. If he doesn't want to move to 3B for Escobar in a year or two, then you trade him. I would imagine they could get a pretty nice return in a Fielder/Hardy trade. (edit: long line of "---------------------s" caused sideways scrolling --1992)

Somewhat off-topic, but isn't it common for sports teams to take money received in advance like this and invest it short-term? For example, if they got $5 million in advance for playoff tickets, they would invest it - if the games never took place, they return the money to the fans but keep any gains made? I guess my point is, given the recent economic climate, it's possible the Brewers might have have lost money by asking for payment so far in advance. Just a thought. I really doubt they would have lost any money on it. If they did do what you are suggesting, knowing they may have to pay the money back within a few months, I would have to assume they put the money into a short-term, low risk investment. Like a CD or a higher interest rate savings-type account.

Maybe this is a topic for another thread, but what makes people think TGJ would make a good leadoff hitter in the Majors? He has a career .345 OBP in the minors, in 569 games and 2,500 plate appearances. That's not "small sample size" anymore. Where is "rulzinski" to tell us what that would translate into, in the majors?

If TGJ sees any significant playing time on this team next year, they are in trouble. Why not put Rickie in center, put Escobar at 2nd, and you've got a couple of problems solved. They will not move Escobar to 2B, because doing so would be a waste of his ridiculous range at short, plus he's not ready to hit in the Majors yet. Where Hardy, although he is a good SS, we know he has somewhat limited range for the position. So Hardy, if he can keep hitting 20 HRs a year, just screams "move me to 3B". He has limited range, but good hands, and a great arm. By the end of next year or at least the start of 2010, I'd like to see an infield of: 1B-Fielder, 2B-Weeks, SS-Escobar, 3B-Hardy. If Fielder is gone by 2010, then Mat Gamel plays 1B. With Weeks, I think it will depend upon what the Brewers can find. If they can get a guy who can leadoff and play 2B, Weeks may be moved to CF. But if they get a leadoff CFer, then Weeks stays where he's at.

I wouldn't call myself a BIG Rickie Weeks fan, but I do like the guy. He will be only 26 years old when the season starts next year. No way would I want to trade a guy, just entering the "prime years" of his career, for some guy in his early to mid-30s. Take a look at his career OBP (.352), and that's after a down year of only (.342). Now go take a look at the league average for leadoff hitters in the NL this year (.342). The Brewers could do a lot worse if they have him batting leadoff again next year. I'd still like to see him in either the 1 or 2 spots in the order, because he does work the count, he walks a decent amount, has some speed, and because I don't think they will be able to find anyone better to leadoff. If they do happen to find a good leadoff hitter who can play CF not named TGJ, great, then put Weeks in the 2 spot. I think he can bat .250 and have a .370 OBP next year, pretty easily. I just wouldn't want to waste that OBP (no offense #7 hitter, Jason Kendall, and pitcher) down in the 6 hole.