JohnBriggs12

He was pitching fine that inning. Two bloopers before the two outs and he had actually thrown some nice pitches to Goldschmidt before the homer. Called strike on a really good curve, buried a curve in the dirt, jammed him really well on pitch he barely fouled off, then obviously threw the ball down the middle. I do think that he was really rattled as a result of the bloop hits, his missed chance at a DP, and whatever weird communication was going on with Lucroy, but I don't believe that had anything to do with the home run pitch. The mistake Roenicke made was not having Narveson up and ready to face the free swinging Montero in that inning. What's the point in having Narveson in the pen if he's just going to be used in mop up? Instead he chose to intentionally walk Montero, which forced a shaky Marcum to throw strikes to Goldschmidt who's got very good plate discipline for a young guy. Roenicke had a poor night but considering all they could muster was 3 hits, it didn't likely didn't cost them the game, but if the score was still 3-1, you never know if the pressure might have gotten to the D-Backs.

paul253, You make some very good points, but until they actually make significant upgrades elsewhere which is not a given, 1B is an issue. I completely agree with you they should stay away from the likes of Overbay, Lee, and Blanks. But there are going to be better options that are proven major league producers available. The Astros would gladly give away Carlos Lee and still pick up plenty of salary. Other guys could be had too. There's been some speculation that the Marlins will make a hard push for Fielder. In addition to adding a big bat, they could use a veteran starter to bolster their rotation. Gaby Sanchez could be there for the taking for a Randy Wolf if the Marlins got Fielder and that would save a ton of cash that could be used in a upgrade at SS too since Sanchez is still pre-arby. The fact is Gamel will turn 27 next year and he's not yet proven he's an everyday corner infielder in the big leagues. He might be able to do the job, and if they upgrade significantly elsewhere, it's probably worth taking that chance. Until they do they shouldn't rule out getting a proven guy.

I've said it before. Marcum just isn't a top of the rotation guy. Since he's making just under $4 million this year, his arby award shouldn't be too bad by itself, but this team owes their number 4 another $11 million (assuming his 13 option isn't picked up) and if Marcum gets say $8 million in arbitration, that's $19 million for your 3rd and 4th starters both of whom you likely won't control for more than one year anyway. A team like the Brewers could only pay their 3 and 4 guys that much if one of the top 2 was still pre-arby, but that is certainly not the case. One of those two has to go (both if they were to somehow retain Fielder), regardless of return. The good news is we are talking about replacing a 3 or a 4. As good as Marcum and Wolf have been, that's a lot easier than replacing either Yo or Greinke. They have by my count, 4 major league ready starting candidates (Estrada, Peralta, De la Cruz, Fiers) all save Estrada, will have 3 more pre arby years available, critical if they are going to pay Greinke to stick around. I'm sure Melvin will keep his eyes open for others as well.

It's not just that Molitor left, it's where he went. It's hard to imagine these days, but in 1992 the Blue Jays and Brewers dominated the AL East that also included the Red Sox and Yankees. In 92 it was the Blue Jays, flush with cash from opening their new ballpark that went out and got one of the highest priced pitchers in the game at that time, David Cone for the stretch run while the small market Brewers who were desperately trying to catch them couldn't do anything. The Jays were the hated big market enemy and Molitor, who could have gone anywhere, assured the Brewers decline by choosing the Blue Jays. I know that didn't sit well with me at the time. Imagine the NL had the DH, and Fielder went and joined Pujols on the Cardinals. The guy I'd like to get more love from the Brewer family is Jim Slaton. He's the only Brewer I know of who got traded away (for Ben Oglivie no less) and then one year later returned as a FA. Now there's loyalty to the organization that spawned your career.

I don't think Marcum is irreplaceable by any means. Yes he's posted impressive ERA's the last couple years but keep in mind runs are down all over baseball the last couple of years. I think dealing him or Wolf (but not both) makes tons of sense economically as they have one huge hole to fill in the offense. As long as Gallardo and Greinke are healthy, they have the makings of a top rotation. Whoever they keep between Marcum and Wolf is a solid 3. Melvin proved last offseason he can deal for a starter. There's every chance a team wanting a veteran starter would part with a young one too. Peralta is on the verge of being ready. At most, he could use 10-12 more AAA starts. Narveson's proven he can provide a quality 5th starter at a value price. Throw Estrada, De la Cruz and Fiers into the mix as well.

Agreed. Look at the playoff teams this year- most of them have a big hitter at first. I actually think that defense at first has been slightly undervalued historically, but here with Prince it seems overvalued- if that makes any sense.Agreed. Nobody remembers the Tony Muser's of the world.

Another name worth throwing out there is Ryan Doumit. It seems rather unlikely the Bucs will pick up his $7.25 million option. Doumit has played sparingly at 1B in his career and it's questionable if he can handle the job defensively (thus the nickname "no mitt Doumit"), but when healthy and not having to focus on catching, he's been a pretty dangerous hitter.

Green Acres is one of the greatest comedies of all time. But your point is a valid one.

A guy who wouldn't be such a big risk (has just one year left on his deal) and likely could be had in the $8-10 million range (assuming the Astros agree to pick up 1/2 his 2012 salary and why wouldn't they?) is Carlos Lee. Lee's numbers haven't been great the last couple years, but he still has the knack to drive in runs (94 this year). He actually plays 1B reasonably well too. He has 5 and 10 rights, but it's reasonable to assume he'd waive them for another shot with the Brewers.

It's always hard to enforce laws when they hadn't been enforced in the past. Nevertheless, there are very valid reasons for clearing the parking lot in a timely manner after an event. The Brewer employees on bikes are just doing their job. The parking lots aren't public picnic grounds. It's costly to police them. Furthermore with thousands of cars all leaving at the same time, having tailgaters roaming the lots as cars are leaving is dangerous. Give the young people on bikes a break. If they ask you to leave, pack up you stuff and go. One hour seems very reasonable.

Did you look at his stats from this year? That "power bat" slugged .389. Baseball is all about adjusting, The pitchers have found the holes and he's not adjusted. That the Braves are considering dealing him should be a red flag. He's still very young but he may need a healthy stint in the minors. Interesting idea but definitely risky.

There is a tremendous amount of costs in running a team other than player payroll and these can vary significantly from year to year. You have payroll for management, coaches, administrative personnel, stadium workets, etc, signing bonuses for draft picks, travel expenses for flying, and lodging, costs with spring training, minor leagues etc and no they don't keep all the money from merchandise it sells in a team store. They have to pay the companies that supply the merchandise and the clerks that work in the stores. A long playoff run will be very beneficial.

In 2008, game 4 of the Brewers/Phlly series was played simultaneously with the Packers playing the Falcons in Lambeau. While I'm sure they would prefer not to conflict, it's not a deal breaker. That's why God made remotes. It kind of stinks if you had tickets though. But that was back when both the NL and AL both had games that day. With only the NL playing, I presume they'll start later on Sunday as to not to conflict with the bulk of the NFL.

My guess is MLB would prefer to move the 9:30 pm game to 12:30 (and move it to TNT until the conclusion of the earlier game), an hour and a half after the 11 am game (presumably Cards at Phils), then move the 2:30 and 6 Central games back by an hour and a half to 4 and 7:30 Central. That's quite of bit of negotiating with the network (which would be sacrificing some prime time on the West Coast) and the teams involved and this is what is taking so long.

Is this just based on what logically makes sense or do you have some sort of inside scoop? As it was stated in another thread, there is a 9:30pm time slot (Central time) that they need to fill on Saturday and they don't have a west coast game to put in that slot. Seems like the Brewers could also end up in that slot. Absolutely. What makes more sense, an East Coast Tampa Bay team playing at 10:30 pm Eastern at Texas, or a West Coast D-Back team playing at 7:30 Pacific at Milwaukee? Seems they maximize viewership having the Brewers host the late game.

The Phoenix area has been hit hard by the bad economy. The housing crisis hit especially hard out there. Property values have plummeted to the point where many, many people are under water on their mortgages. I honestly don't blame people if they don't want to pay to sit in the nosebleed seats. You get to a certain age (and a lot in Phoenix and Tampa/St. Pete are at that age), and you start to weigh the value of seeing the game on a 50 inch high def TV for free over paying to sit in the upper reaches of a stadium. It's a no-brainer.

If they did, the Brewers/Dbacks would be the logical choice. BA may have "leaked" but if times were set, they'd have announced them. He could have been told that was the plan if the Braves were the opponent.

The TBS schedule has games (teams tbd) at (Central Time): 11 am, 2:30, 6:00, and 9:30. Now 2 series will start in the Eastern Time Zone, and 2 in the Central Time Zone. One of the two in the Central Zone is going to have a 9:30 pm start time. I'm not sure if MLB wants to have TB fans have to stay up until 10:30 to see their team so I think it's a distinct possibility the Brewers game will start late, very late. For TBS and MLB the best ratings would have Cards/Phils in game 1, Rays/Rangers in game 2, Tigers/Yanks in game 3, and Dbacks/Brewers in game 4. Badger game will end by the 2nd or 3rd inning.

Huh? He's got 36 K's and 4 BB's in his last 3 starts (all wins) over 20 1/3 IP, and allowed just 4 ER (1.77 ERA), and 12 hits. His WHIP over those starts is 0.746. I'd say he's been on a tremendous role. That he's given up 3 solo HR doesn't bother me.

The argument can be worked the other way as well. You could argue Braun would have more walks if teams were not worried about Prince behind him...which would increase his OBP. Also, Fielder has had the benefit of having a guy with a .400 OBP hitting in front of him. He has had more RBI opportunities than Braun has had. Also as you pointed out, Braun has played a dozen less games than Fielder. If Braun played an equal amount of games...IMO the RBI totals would be pretty even. We are also not even taking into account on the bases paths here. Fielder needs to be pushed around the bases. While Braun is not an excellent base runner, he does have 30+ steals and has stolen bases at a very high %. He is also much more likely to score from 2nd on a simple base hit to the outfield. Braun's value in 12 games was absolute zero. Theoretically, Fielder had value in every game. I'm sorry, that's not Braun's fault but that's a factor. Braun may have been very slightly better in the 149 he's played in, but you can't extrapolate that as if he played in all 161 to date. In theory Fielder had more RBI opportunities but he was intentionally walked 32 times with men not just on base but in scoring position and had zero chance to drive in runs (even himself) in those situation, so having a .400 OBP guy helped but not all that much. With Weeks, Hart, and Morgan for the most part batting in front of him, Braun had plenty of opportunities as well, often after Morgan bunted guys into scoring position. Look Braun's had an MVP caliber year but so has Prince. My choice would be Prince. An argument can be made either way. Bur for me the fact Prince drove in 120 runs with virtually no threat behind him, and his taking walks at such a high rate contributed to the respectable 135 RBI total that much maligned McGehee and Betancourt combined for makes him the more valuable on this team, this season.

Betancourt has a 2M buyout, or we have to pay him 6M next year. So, basically, we save 4M by not playing him, which can go to signing anyone, anyone at all who can play SS. You "save" $4 million but you still need to find a SS. It's questionable whether $4 million will get you much of an upgrade. If you have to trade to get one that's even more of a cost. Picking up Betancourt's option would cost them the additional $4 million and nothing in players. That's not the no-brainer everyone thinks it is unless you think 70 RBI SS are plentiful for a lot less. I wouldn't be shocked if they came to a compromise and signed him for a year at $2.5 to 3 million, so with the buyout of $2 million, would total $4.5 to5 million, an actual savings of $1 to $1.5 million.

Prince is tied for first in HR, 2nd in RBI, 2nd in OBP, 2nd in Walks. In my opinion his value goes beyond Braun because he a. doesn't get as many pitches to hit, b. if he doesn't drive in 120 runs, which is 9 more than Braun, the Brewers are dead because the guys behind him didn't do much, d. teams bring in pitchers specifically to face him from the 7th inning on (they don't do this for Braun) and c. he's played in every game and Braun's missed a dozen. The Brewers played solid ball with Kotsay in there for Braun too. Braun certainly has a case too, as does Kemp but Fielder gets my vote.

J D Drew isn't a "solid RF option". He turns 36 in November and he "slugged" .306 this year. We are in the post steroid era. Guys that decline that dramatically at that age are likely finished. Drew isn't going to sniff $5 million next year. He'll be lucky (if he gets a major league deal) to get half that. Count me out on Coffey and MacDougal too. Coffey's a "been there done that", and McDougal has been disappointment for most of his career. Don't let his ERA this year fool you. His WHIP was still a lousy 1.482. He walks way too many.

It's being reported the Marlins are sending Osvaldo Martinez and an as yet unnamed minor league pitcher to the Sox for Guillen. Makes you wonder what the Brewers could get for selling high on Roenicke.

Money turns 65 next year. He was one of the oldest, if not the oldest managers in all the minor leagues. He's served the Brewers well. I'd be surprised if this wasn't more his preference.