Harold Hutchison

So in football, when Clay Matthews has the QB in his sights, he should be allowed 6 steps after the QB throws the ball? The would be unnecessary roughness all day long. In baseball, the only issue is their isn't much of a precedence for punishing Utley. So if that is your argument, that's fine. I won't disagree with that. But Utley, knew exactly what he was doing when he began his slide into the mid thigh of Tejada. It wasn't a split second, oooops moment. He knew based on where the ball was, where Tejada was coming from and where he needed so "slide" to take Tejada out completely. And my gut tells me, this type of tackle slide will soon be banned. Read the Police Magazine article. Let's give Chase Utley 1.5 seconds to be generous (as I noted earlier, the Tueller Drill has the person covering 21 feet in 1.5 seconds from a standing start - if he's running at full speed, that timeframe is going to be shorter). He's lost .58 seconds as he is seeing the second baseman field the ball and flip it to Tejada. That means he's taken two of those six steps, roughly. So, Utley's already taking two steps running at full speed as he sees the second baseman field the ball and flip it to Tejada. Now, he has to decide what to do, while still running at full speed. He can't think it through, by then, he is going to run past second. He's going to revert to his training - or in this case, what's been drilled into his head by coaches going back to high school or little league. That would be "break up the double play." In the case of Clay Matthews blitzing Jay Cutler, he's still going to need time - and space to stop when Cutler throws the pass. It will take two steps for Matthews to recognize Cutler's thrown the ball, and then at least oneor two more to make the decision he needs to stop. Should they look at this play and consider a rule change? Probably. But a suspension, especially when there is no precedent for doing so, is the wrong thing to do.

There is absolutely no way this was a "split second" decision on Utley's part. When you watch the replay from the first base camera, (Utley's POV), the 2nd baseman fields the ball, and Tejada is at the bag and Utley takes exactly six more steps. COunt em'........6. 6 Steps is a few seconds, not a split second. As I've said, I do not believe his intent was to injure, but he was not a baserunner, he was going in to break up a double play. However, he did not even go in with the pretense that he was trying to safely secure the base, and that's where I think there's where there's the issue with the play. RoCoBrewfan, I think you vastly overestimate how much time Utley had. There is something called the - it's related to self-defense/police officer survival as opposed to baseball, but some principles are the same, especially involving breaking up the double play. Six steps could be about 20-25 feet. For the sake of argument, let's say 21 feet - the distance used in the Tueller Drill. One side note: The Tueller Drill usually involves someone who is standing still, and then starts running. Utley was already running towards second base when he crossed that 21-foot mark. Police Magazine has some more on the dynamics, but I think that you're being unfair to Chase Utley here. He did not have a few seconds - he maybe had a second and half at most to recognize what was going to happen, decide on a course of action, and then execute said course of action, and he probably defaulted to what he was trained to do by coaches going back to high school - break up the double play.

If we want a .280 batting average, 25-30 homers, and an .850-.900 OPS at third base, there is no need to trade for Franco and risk losing a top prospect in the Brewers' system like Arcia, Jorge Lopez, Brent Suter, Maverick Phillips, or Michael Reed. Instead just fix the biggest mistake of the 2007-2008 offseason and return Ryan Braun to the hot corner. But the fandom - and the front office - decided long ago that it was preferable to have that revolving door at the hot corner since then - which Bill Hall, Casey McGehee, Aramis Ramirez, and Hernan Perez, among others have failed to lock down.

Shades of Marcus Lawton taking out Jim Gantner in `88 for me.

Taylor Jungmann's ERA in Colorado Springs this year was 6.37 before he was called up, and his WHIP was 1.51. He's a part of the conversation as a mainstay of the rotation next year. Suter's ERA in a small sample size was 3.31. Look at the WHIP. 1.16 in Colorado Springs. He's probably more of the crafty-type of pitcher (think Greg Maddux or Jamie Moyer) instead of a pitcher who relies on his "stuff" (Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan). Something's working for Suter. It's not showing up in the radar gun, but the numbers he's posting speak volumes. The same has to be said for Jorge Ortega. This year, he has just been dominating. 6 CGs, 2 shutouts (leading the system). This is at least a step beyond the normal FSL "tilt" towards pitching.

We know the Rule V draft is coming... so here's a question: Of the Rule V eligible players, who would you be MOST upset to lose in that draft? There are five players, currently not on the 40-man, who I'd be furious to see the Brewers lose: SS Orlando Arcia OF Victor Roache LHP Brent Suter RHP Jorge Ortega LHP Wei-Chung Wang

I tend to agree. The 2nd through 10th rounds are where the Brewers really need to hit paydirt three or four times a year, given their small market status. That isn't to say there isn't some hope over the last five years, and I think there are some guys who have done well, but the success of the Brewers isn't so much depending on hitting on the first-round picks as much as it relies on hitting on the 2nd through 10th rounds. The late-round steals like Brent Suter - a 31st-round pick who blossoms - aren't something a team should count on.

You are quite welcome. Thoughts? I guess you don't think highly of Medeiros? Early-season struggles, and last season were on my mind. He also split between starting and the bullpen. Suter, Hader, Wang, and Hobbs Johnson all, to me seem to have done better. Suter just dominated this season, and I think he's shown he can be a part of the Brewers rotation as soon as 2016. Hader did the rotation.bullpen thing, but his ERA was 3.03 to Medeiros's 4.44. Wang posted a 3.40 ERS and 3 CGs this year overall. Hobbs Johnson was a dependable starter. Medeiros has shown flashes, but a 4.44 ERA between the rotation and bullpen this year, and his 7.27 ERA last season have me in a "wait and see" mode. He's probably #31 at this point - I gave the edge to Benoit, whose 0.91 WHIP spoke volumes.

I think Brent Suter and Jorge Ortega may dispute that assessment. They've just produced this year.

Pass on Kennedy. Give Suter/Davies/Hader a crack at the rotation. And if he has a lot of money burning a hole in his wallet, let's use Khris Davis to anchor a deal to bring Prince Fielder to play first.

The chance to re-set a rotation for the NLCS might seem to even out, especially if a team playing in the NLDS has it go three games. You send your ace up against a team who has to send out their #4 guy, AND the bullpen uis fully rested? Makes up for the rest of the days off.

My picks? Las Vegas and Montreal would be good ones. Maybe re-adjust the divisions a little as well.

You are quite welcome. Thoughts?

1. LHP Brent Suter - He just produces. He will be on a 40-man next year, will it be with the Brewers? 2. SS Orlando Arcia - Only question's if he is Opening Day 2016 or 2017 shortstop 3. OF Michael Reed - OBP skills, speed, and a MLB cup of coffee. 2016 CF for the Brewers. 4. OF Brett Phillips - A year in Colorado Springs will be awesome. 5. OF Trent Clark - Refined hitter who just hits. 6. SS Gilbert Lara - Were struggles in AZ fatigue or attitude? 7. RHP Jorge Ortega - Like Suter, he just produces. 8. RHP Zach Davies - Superb performance in Milwaukee 9. OF Demi Orimoloye - Power bat, but can he learn to draw walks? 10. LHP Josh Hader - Could be in the 2017 Brewers' rotation 11. OF Clint Coulter - What caused OPS to drop 200+ points, Brevard County or something else? 12. RHP Jorge Lopez - Power pitcher developed into potential ace. 13. 1B/3B Garrett Cooper - OBP skills and doubles power. 14. OF Victor Roache - In Huntsville, he flahsed power and some OBP skills. 15. UT George Iskenderian - shows the ability to hit for average and some OBP skills. 16. RHP Cody Ponce - Flashing potential in small sample 17. LHP Hobbs Johnson - Avoids the gopher ball. 18. OF Troy Stokes - OBP skills, some power, and speed. 19. LHP Wei-Chung Wang - Has pitched his way into a top 25 20. OF Monte Harrison - First overmatched, then injured. 21. OF Tyrone Taylor - Overshadowed as CF prospect by Reed and Phillips 22. SS Jake Gatewood - Helena numbers offer hope, but past struggles leave me skeptical 23. RHP Tyler Crvay - Solid at AAA, rough go in the majors 24. RHP Tyler Wagner - Should be in AAA this year 25. RHP Adrian Houser - Could find a spot in the Brewers bullpen for 2016. Just missed: 26. SS/2B Blake Allemand - Hits for average. 27. C Adam Weisenburger - OBP skills and a good arm. 28. RHP Damien Magnifico - Actually closing at Biloxi and doing well 29. UT Malik Collymore - Versatile, OBP skills, some speed, a little pop. 30. RHP Rodrigo Benoit - Could he be another pitcher who just produces? - EDIT: Swapped #1 and #2 on further reflection.

My pick? Bryan Reynolds, the switch-hitter. Sorry, just like that.

"Visibly fatigued" seems to be an explanation to me. Seems like he needs conditioning work.

I'll put together something in the next couple of days. Santana, Knebel, Rogers, Sardinas, Peterson and Jungmann are for sure ineligible. Regarding pitchers, Davies has 34 IP, Goforth 24, Cravy 43, Wagner 13 and Pena 27. No other rookies else has more than 10 IP. In the past, I've just said if a guy has less than 50 IP, he's eligible. That would make all these guys eligible. My only question is if people think we should use some other criteria. I don't think any of these guys are locks to make the team next year (Davies looks like the one guy who is as close to a sure thing). Any thoughts? I say stick with 50 IP, as it is the major league standard for rookies.

I think the answer depends on who the Brewers can move in the offseason. If Garza goes, let Lopez go for a spot. The trio of Lopez, Jorge Ortega and Brent Suter have seemingly come out of nowhere to become, I think, legit prospects.. I say get them on the 40-man, and be ready to give them long looks in the rotation.

1. Trade Garza, Lind, Khris Davis and K-Rod. Get prospects, competitive balance picks, and international signing slots. Extend Lucroy to develop the pitchers. 2. Move Bruan to third, let an outfield combo emerge from Santana, Peterson, Reed, and other young OFs on the roster. Stick with Gennett and Segura for a year, and let Rogers play first for 2016. 3. Sort the rotation after Nelson, Peralta, and Jungmann from the group of Thornburg, Cravy, Lopez, Ortega, Brent Suter, Davies, and Wang. 4. Piece together a bullpen.

He should be moved - next offseason at the latest. I just see too many OF prospects in the system to keep him around.

I'd rather get the impact bat at this point... too much has gone wrong on the high-end arms.

Moving Braun to first kills the value for Lind because it makes it obvious the Brewers want to move Lind. The value they'd get in return would potentially be less. But if the Brewers move Braun to third, their leverage increases. In any case, who are the viable options at third for the next three to four years? Hernan Perez? Jean Segura? Nathan Orf? I'd rather have Braun's bat there, especially if the Brewers can find out which of Santana, Reed, Phillips, Peterson, and Roache can stick. If 2016 is a lost season, how are the Brewers hurt by putting Braun at third and finding out what the young outfielders can do? It makes a ton of sense to me.

That would be great but do you trade him or keep him? Will he still be that player or even a high .800 OPS player in two or three years when this team is ready to compete again? I don't see a hitter of Braun's caliber anywhere in the system Clancy is putting him at 3B, to negate half of his offensive value. No, I'm putting him at third base to maximize the offensive production of the Brewers in general. Between Khris Davis, Domingo Santana, Shane Peterson, Michael Reed, Brent Phillips, and Victor Roache, there are a number of very viable options. If 2016 is a lost season, why not move Braun back to third to see what these other outfielders can do? In fact, ideally, I'd trade Davis and see which rookies stick.

If Braun is back to being Braun... and if he is back to a .950 OPS... :D

They have the DH in low A. :D