madrx

I like the outside of the box thinking of the original post, despite the heavy former Cubs choices. The potential in house options are almost all left handed bats, which could allow for easy pitching choices for the opponents (Kottaras, Green, Gindl, Schaefer). I would prefer to have a right handed bench bat besides Gomez. A player such as Punto who can cover multiple positions and is a switch hitter would be great if he is affordable. Fukudome is an interesting option, but with his age and inconsistency it would have to be a low price deal. Willie Harris might be a Hairston like option who could fill both infield and outfield spots in a pinch.

Looking at the list, I think anyone with a solid glove becomes an option. Reyes is the only available player who is truly a difference maker, and at the required price may not be an option. I agree with the idea that someone like Barmes who has a good glove is acceptable. In looking at Boston's roster at Lowrie, would Mike Aviles be an option? Not a great year last year between KC and Boston, but has had some decent OBP years and has been a decent glove. He'll be 32, but most of the options are this age. He only made 640k last year, so he may be a cheap utility option if not a starting SS.

Braun also has a fair amount of deferred money, so his contract should have less effect on the team's ability to sign other players to extensions. Per Adam McCalvy's blog: Braun’s extension covers 2016-20 and includes salaries of $19 million from 2016-18, of which $4 million is deferred with no interest each season; $18 million in 2019, of which $3 million is deferred; and $16 million in 2020, of which $3 million is deferred. So in essence we will be paying Braun $15 million from 2016-2018, which leaves a little more cushion in the budget.

Great off-season thread idea. My favorite would be AT&T park. The setting is great and the sight lines were fantastic. The fans were also very laid back and friendly. I caught a game there when the Brewers began their season against the giants. I was staying on the north side of the bay and the ferry picks you up right outside the park in the cove, so no parking issues. Kaufman in KC is a nice park with very open lines and is super easy to get into and out of due to its location off the interstate. I think the new Busch is beautiful, but lost some of the feel of the old park there. Old Busch was nice once it became a baseball-only facility. I was disappointed with Wrigley the first time I went to a game there. Infield seats in the grandstand were awful as all flyballs completely disappeared due to the roof.

MLB trade rumors posted a possible match between the Jays and Marlins for Uggla. The Jays need a 3rd basemen now that Encarnacion is gone. I wonder if they would trade some of their pitching depth for Casey or Gamel. The brewers could provide a more cost effective solution for their needs than Uggla, given his recent contract demands with the Marlins. Any one know what might be a reasonable pitching target from the Jays?

Dillard has actually pitched better his last few outings than the rest of his season, so this would be the most likely time to add him if they were going to at any time. I wouldn't mind seeing Adam Stern back as well. He lacks pop, but wouldn't be the worst option as a cheap 5th OF candidate if injuries occured.

Dillard has actually pitched better his last few outings than the rest of his season, so this would be the most likely time to add him if they were going to at any time. I wouldn't mind seeing Adam Stern back as well. He lacks pop, but wouldn't be the worst option as a cheap 5th OF candidate if injuries occured.

As an aside, how much do you think Gomez will make in arbitration next year? This year he's making $1.15 million on his first arby year. Is it even worth keeping him at possibly $2 million per year if he is stuck in AAA trying to figure things out. I understand the talent is still intriguing, but wonder if it's worth that much money to see if he figures it out if he only has another year or two after that under team control.

I have no issue with holding on to Fielder and Hart if the offers are poor. As mentioned above, why not trade away some spare parts and see if another CV or Josh Butler type might end up being the result.

I thought that losing the last 2 games would confirm that we should be sellers too. I was really disappointed by Melvin's remarks to Haudricort today about still needing to get back to .500 and not wanting to trade even relievers unless he got back major league talent. MLBTR also had a comment by Rosenthal that said the Brewers weren't even considering trading Hoffman. I understand he may not feel he needs salary relief, but why not save a few bucks this year and get some prospects who could turn into something for the future. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/99585154.html

I thought that the original post stated my thoughts exactly. I agree that the pitchers are walking too many batters, but it seems like they get ahead and then waste pitches until the count is full before throwing another pitch that is close to a strike. Against the Mark Reynolds and Adam Dunns of the world who strike out a fair amount and have serious power this is understandable, but it seems like the pitchers are throwing this way against bottom of the order middle infielders and opposing pitchers as well.

It looks like Capuano has pitched well so far in his starts at Brevard (12k, 0 BB in 9.7 IP. Has anyone seen any reports on his velocity (not that it was ever that high)? Do we know if his arm strength is close to his previous form and is he using all of his pitches? I admit not knowing how to locate any pitch fx type data for minor league games. I know he is still a long shot to ever make it back to the majors, but I still am rooting for him.

I agree that watching Gomez in the 2 spot is frustrating. Last night I was shocked when he got a hit in his first at bat with Weeks on base given our recent offensive issues. On a side note, I just typed in the wrong number on Directv and found it funny that 666 was showing the Pirates vs. Cubs as an alternate channel for CSN in Chicago. I would find watching that matchup to be one circle of hades.

As much as I enjoyed the offense in this series, it was nice to see the starters get 3 wins and pitch 17 scoreless innings. I know it was "just" the pirates, but hopefully this gets the pitching staff going well for a while.

Joe Posnanski posted an interesting article on SI.com related to baseball revenues. While it was brief and not overly analytical, it provided some interesting numbers relating payrolls to revenues as far as percentage and demonstrating just how much more revenue than the rest of baseball the Yankees really bring in. In looking at the Forbes article directly, the brewers fell about 19th in revenue last year, with several teams within a few million of them in either direction. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/04/19/baseball.revenue/index.html http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/33/baseball-valuations-10_The-Business-Of-Baseball_Revenue.html