Never Outhustled

Even if he was healthy, he'd still have that bad contract. I'll still pass.

I agree. If there was ever a player who needed a change of scenary, its him. Considering how he's pitched at AAA, he could be an absolute steal. He could be a longterm solution. I really hope he is aquired, and eliminates Mike Burns from the rotation.

Mike Burns has shown he just doesn't have MLB stuff. I'm suprised he wasn't optioned after last nights game, to get an extra bullpen arm up here. What if we get a short start tonight? Macha decision to give up on McClung as a starter is really starting to haunt us. Did Macha really think McClung was going to be an instant success as a starter? McClung pitched well enough as a starter last year. He, not Burns, should have stayed in the rotation. Bush won't be ready to start for awhile, so we'll need someone to fill the 5th starter spot. They won't throw Burns to the Wolves again will they. Could Chris Cody get the shot he's earning in AAA? If it was me, I'd have sent Burns out last night to get an extra arm to cover us until the 5th spot comes up again, and I'd then call up Cody.

Braddock can't even handle a 50 pitch work load, I'd say its a pipe dream that he could be stretched out to 120 pitches, and sustain it for a 6 month season. Lets keep him in the pen, and get him to the bigs as fast as we can. I'd rather have an awesome reliever than an injured minor league starter.

Wow, I guess so. He's a real life version of the video they always play on the scoreboard when we play them where the guy says "I don't wanna be a pirate" He obviously a better option than Mike Burns.

That argument doesn't hold water, as Jason Bourgeois and Joe Koshansky are journeyman Why does he need to get better? His MLE's have him as an above average starter at 3B, SS, 2B, LF, and RF. EDIT; To reduce my condesention

You'd think he'd play 2B or LF, but Money is so dumb that he bats Heether, his only 900+ OPS hitter 6th, with sub-800 hitters batting 1-5 every night, so nothing would suprise me. Heether with another HR tonight.

The Mets have money problems, plus they're an old team They need the prospects Toronto wants. The Brewers are already young, and can deal prospects they can live without. Numerous teams that want Halladay can't afford his contract. Suprisingly, the Dodgers are 1 of these teams. I'm confident that as long as Melvin is willing to deal Escobar, we'll get Halladay.

Peter Gammons has reported that the asking price for Sherril is astronomical. The O's are looking for a sucker, and we won't be that sucker.

True, but Hardy at $7M and Halladay > Escobar + $7M + Player Hardy is traded for

Toronto has been very clear they want an MLB ready SS. For Hardy to be part of a 3 team deal, the 3rd team would have to have a MLB ready SS for us to ship to Toronto. I'm guessing if a team had an MLB ready SS and a hole at SS, they would just bring up there own guy.

Theres no way Lopez accepts Arby when theres no starting spot for him here. He's still young enough that he won't want to kill his FA value the following year. Lopez and Weeks have been offseason workout partners in the past. I do agree with those that think would have been better just to play Gamel fulltime. When used as the starting 3B, his OPS is much better than Lopez's. Gamel numbers are just out of kilt because of his numerous PH ABs.

Geruts OPS was just slightly lower than Fielder and Brauns last year, and he did that hitting in the best pitchers park in baseball. He was worth more Wins than Fielder. He's not useless, he's just been grossly mis-used. Catalanato has been bad, and has no upside. He should never start ahead of Gerut.

Useless move, as Mat Gamel gets pushed aside with this. Counsel didn't need a platoon partner, he'd needed to be benched.

I'll agree that Nate Robertson is the perfect fit here. The Hall situation has died. Robertson has the same contract, and theres a chance the chane of scenary/coaching gets him at least back to a useful lefty reliever. If not, cut him. Adam Heether would give the Brewers better depth than Hall. Its also a worthwhile deal for Detroit, as Robertson is just as awful for them as Hall is for us.

Except Reyes showed more power than Escobar had in the minors. Escobar isn't Reyes, he's a poor mans Reyes. Escobar might eventually show power in the majors, but that years away, as he doesn't even show power in AAA yet. Al continues to live in the 90s. This team can easily afford Hardy in 2010, and he is safer invest than any free agent will be.

I understand your point, but Escobar doesn't even profile to hit as well as the struggling Hardy, and Hardy isn't suddenly washed up, he'll hit again. As for aquiring pitching, any team that is trading pitching is going to want prospects, not now talent.

Based on what? Escobar has never hit as well as Hardy did in the minor, despite more experience. More importantly, Escobar is nowhere even close to what Hardy did last year. We're contender now, why get worse at SS now?

What does hitting .300 have to do with Escobar, and when did BA become a useful stat. He has a mid-700 OPS in AAA, he won't be an average MLB offensive SS anytime soon. True, but most guys get called up because they offer improvement to the MLB club. Escobar doesn't yet. Not really. Escobars present MLEs give him a worse OBA and slugging % than Hardy does right now, and its ridiculous to suggest that Hardy will never hit again.

Thats true, but Ozzie was an awful hitter early in his career, putting up sub-590 OPS's at ages 24, 25, and 26. If Hardy is dealt in the offseason, the Brewers would be better off signing an Adam Everett type for around a $1 million and letting Escobar develop in AAA as a hitter than waste a year of his service time next year. If his supporters really believe he'll eventually develop as a hitter, than they should realize he'll be way more valuable in 2016 than 2010.

We're 4th in Runs Scored, and Colrado's park effects always puts them in the top 3, so we're a good offense. We could be great with bigger contributions from Hardy and Gamel in the 2nd half.

I agree that I wouldn't give up Gamel, but Lawrie I would. He's much farther from Milwaukee than I anticipated when I begged for his draft selection, and his attitude is worrisome. While some say he has Braun's confidence, to me it looks like Matt Laporta's arrogance. Braun interacts well with his teammates, while Lawrie doesn't seem to know he has any. They don't interact at all, as he struts around the park like he owns the place despite somewhat underwhelming performance. Braun never got pulled from a game for lack of hustle, and never seemed to have a giant chip on his shoulder like Lawrie exudes in interviews. Dealing Lawrie now might be perfect timing, just like dealing Laporta last year was.

Wayne Dedrick is a sleeper to watch. He was drafted for his raw ability, as he has very limited baseball experience. He had a D1 basketball scholarship to play PG. He's tall, explosive, and coordinated. Cool to see him off to a good start. Awesome to see Chris Cody settle in. He might show to be a better alternative than Mike Burns, and could be a longterm term end of the rotation solution.

Because at the same time we got Bell for nothing, SD got Branyan for nothing, and he put them in the playoffs with a huge Septemeber.

How is Escobar a true leadoff hitter? He doesn't get on base. His MLEs right now have him as a bad offensive SS. Having him and Kendall in the same lineup what be tough to overcome. You don't give the most ABs to a bad hitter. In 3 years Escobar might be a nice leadoffman, but not now. If we get Halladay, then we want now production. Why would Toronto trade a year and a half of Halladay for a year and a half of Hardy? Also, if we include Parra, who pitches for us in 2011? I understand if you think 2011 is too far off to worry about, but then why not deal Escobar, the guy that fits a rebuilding team best? Taking on both Halladay and Rolen is a huge amount of salary. We didn't suddenly become the Yankees. Rolen alone adds as much salary as CC did last year, and Halladay is significantly more. We can add some salary, just like last year, but this duo would be almost 2 1/2 CC's. I doubt thats feasible. Toronto has asked for a Teixeira type deal, that includes an MLB ready SS. The Teixeira deal included prospects ranked 1,2,3,14, and 17 in Atlanta's system, though most were a few years from being MLB ready. Toronto has alot of young pitching, but need offense. Their OF is set for years. We're the perfect trading partner for them. Escobar is the MLB ready SS. Brett Lawrie is a guy they wanted to draft, but we picked 1 spot ahead of them. Taylor Green is the type of player their scouting style would appreciate, and he would fit perefectly taking over for Rolen when his deal is up, or if he's dealt before then. Those are prospects 1,3,and 8 in our system. To Toronto: Escobar, Lawrie, Green, Periard, their choice of Peralta/Scarpetta To Milwaukee: Halladay, SS Juan Diaz (from Seattle) To Seattle: Marcos Scutaro The Teixera deal also included LHP Ron Mahay to Atlanta, so I thought Toronto should throw in aplayer too, and Scutaro is obsolete with Escobar in town. Seattle is contending, and could really use a SS. Juan Diaz is athletic, a strong defender, and is having a solid season in A+. Toronto gets 3 Canadians in the deal, which should help with the PR nightmare trading Halladay will be.