JohnBriggs12

If you were counting, you'd have noticed they are 17-2 over their last 19 including win streaks of 7, 6, and the current 4.. That goes back to the first home series after the All Star break.

It's not so much a matter of need or that Kotsay's been bad, but trying to find the best 25 possible to win in the postseason. Beyond Kotsay, your next lefthanded PH options are Counsell, Lopez and Kottaras. Matsui would go to number one on the list and push Kotsay to #2. In September sure they'll add both Gamel and Green, but neither would be playoff eligible. If you think positively, they'll need a DH in the World Series too, and who better than a Matsui?

Count me in as thinking the Dodgers have much better personnel than their record suggests. They've has some bullpen issues and beyond Kemp and Ethier, their lineup isn't very imposing, but they have a solid rotation.

While they have some bullpen spots to fill, I'm not sure I'd include Sheets on my priority list anywhere. Unless they somehow retain Fielder, they'll have money available to replace the likes of Hawkins, Saito and Rodriguez from the reliever market.

Lopez' days are numbered. Weeks is ahead of schedule and it's possible he returns prior to Sept. 1. It's clear Lopez is not the same guy he was two years ago. He doesn't appear to be in great shape, and if he's not running out ground balls, well there's no place for that. They really need another lefty bat though and they seem intent on keeping Counsell until the end, so it appears Green won't get a call prior to Sept. 1.

logan3825: "I don't see any point in re-signing Fielder" Other than that he's one of the best hitters in the game at the peak of his career, and part of the reason Miller Park is full game after game, I tend to agree. Attanasio may ultimately get outbid, but he's not going to meekly drop out of the bidding after one offer either, especially the way this season is going, not in spite of it.

Right now, I have to go with Prince. Braun has been great, but he's missed games and he has Fielder behind him. Teams employ lefty specialists who's sole job against the Brewers is to get Prince out. Day in and day out from the 7th inning on, all Prince sees are lefty specialists or closers. Kemp has great numbers, but his team is 10 games under .500, The comparison to Dawson is valid, but Dawson didn't have anyone with numbers close.

Estrada can go 4 or 5 tops. De la Cruz can go 8 and has recently. I just don't understand the thinking. It's not like Estrada is so much more established as a major leaguer or that De la Cruz is a 20 year old kid up from single A. brwrsfan hit the nail on the head. April was 4 months ago. Not only has Estrada not started in 3 1/2 months and hasn't exceeded 2 innings since, he's barely pitched at all recently, and on the few occasions in the last few months he did pitch in anything other than mop up duty, he failed. They used up a 40 man spot to bring up de la Cruz. If they just wanted an arm to fill some innings, they could have brought up Rivas who was already on the roster, or either McClendon or Herrara. The point is if you specifically wanted de la Cruz, it should be as a starter. Starting Estrada is inconsistent with the decision to bring up de la Cruz.

De La Cruz has put up solid numbers in AAA. He had a string of 3 real strong starts prior to Sunday in the hitter haven that is Reno. I think he'll do okay.

They also had to choose between NLDS game 4 and Packers-Falcons in Lambeau the next day. Interestingly, the Packers are scheduled to be in Atlanta on October 9th, for a Sunday night game. What are the odds the Brewers would be there that afternoon facing the Braves in an NLCS game assuming, a. they don't meet each other in round 1, and b. they both survive round 1.

I highly doubt that.I'd take Kotsay's offense and defense over Overbay's at any position. Overbay hasn't had more than 70 RBI in a season since 2006. He's probably home counting the money he "earned" which was a lot for a guy as non productive as Overbay.

More hits mean less need to manufacture runs. But they are hit and running a lot. The dropoff can be traced to Gomez being out and Braun nursing his calf.

I'm amazed that a guy who put up stats like that in college went undrafted. Sure, it's D2, but pro baseball is full of guys that played at lower levels.

Let's keep in mind, that Betancourt has a hefty $2 million dollar buyout. That's a third of what they would have to pay him to play next year. True, his worth is about half of the $6 million, but it may be hard to find a clear upgrade without significantly increasing payroll. The more he keeps hitting, the more difficult in theory it is to find an available upgrade.

kramnoj, Betancourt is the poster child for the "we're smarter than you are crowd because we use fancy sabermetric stats that weren't around 20 years ago" and only we can interpret them for you out of date traditionalists that actually watch guys play and decide for yourself. I went into this season with an open mind on Betancourt. That was in contrast to many who had already convinced themselves that he was the worst starter in baseball, damn the evidence to the contrary even if it unfolded right before their eyes. Then again, I think being one of the toughest to strike out is actually evidence of skill. That's real out of date thinking. Betancout is hitting now because he's being more selective at the plate. He's got an amazing talent for putting balls in play even it they are good pitcher's pitches. Most guys swing and miss those or at best foul them off. But if he can lay off those real good pitcher's pitches, and wait for one that he can handle, he usually hits it hard. Defensively, based on all the negativity, I expected to see a stiff out there with stone hands and a scatter arm. On the contrary, I've seen an athletic guy with real smooth quick hands and a generally accurate fairly strong arm. Oh, he'll make an error occasionally as all SS do (Barmes was throwing one ball after another in the dirt over the weekend), but on balls that should be outs, they generally are with Betancourt. Once in a great while a ball gets hit to his right in the hole where you know the premier guys get there, but that's happened maybe a half dozen times all year. This staff just doesn't allow that many balls on the ground. He's far from the worst starting SS. If I had to rank him, he'd fall around 22nd of the 30 starting major league SS, near the top of the bottom third. Since the All Star game though, he's been in the top 5 or 6.

OF: Braun, Morgan, Hart, Gomez, Kotsay IF: McGehee, Betancourt, Weeks, Fielder, Hairston, Counsell (but only if another LH bat is added) LHPH: Giambi, Matsui, Thome, or Gamel C: Lucroy, Kottaras SP: Gallardo, Marcum, Greinke, Wolf RP: Narveson, Loe, Saito, Hawkins, Rodriguez, Axford, Estrada I'd go with an 11 man staff. A 7 man pen is plenty. Unless they can get quality loogy, I'd stick with Estrada just as insurance in case of a long extra inning game. I absolutely think a HR threat from the left side is needed for certain situations late in tight games. If they can't get one from outside, then Gamel would have to do. With that extra bat, they could keep Counsell purely for defense. Otherwise, I'd go with Lopez.

Only on the planet that the sabermetric zealots live is Betancourt "about replacement level". I defy any of you zealots to find a replacement SS capable of an 80 AB stretch of .388/.405/.575. His defensive shortcomings would be more significant on a grounball inducing staff. The Brewers have flyball/strikcout pitchers.

I don't think so. Burrell is one of those guys who needs regular playing time. He's also never done well in DH role. He's had 663 plate appearances as a DH and he's hit a paltry .209/.306/.348. Heck Josh Wilson could do that. Once Weeks returns, the bench will be stronger with Hairston and Lopez. Gomez figures to be back in early September too. They could use a lefty with some pop like a Giambi or a Thome, but I don't see Burrell being much help.

It would be like trading for a real MLB 3B at the deadline without having to give anything up Exactly. It's the old bromide that the best trades are often the ones not made. The Brewers didn't need All Star production at 3B (or SS for that matter) in the 2nd half, they just needed something near average. So far, they are getting that and more without giving up anything.

No offense but I'm assuming your FIL is in my generation (I'm about to turn 59), so please don't equate that type of thinking to age. Most of us boomers see Counsel has no value whatsoever. We understand the aging process and realize Counsell is done as a player. BTW, I understand Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson are available. If I were to guess, I think both are capable of matching Counsell's last 45 ABs, but I'd hate to sell Reggie short, as he'd probably still have a hit or two.

Stairs has officially announced his retirement. He had quite a career. Reflecting on his one season as a Brewer, as bad as that team was, Stairs was certainly underused. He hit 16 HR in 270 AB's, which was about 200 fewer AB's than he would have had on that team had he started against every RHP which on that team was a no-brainer for anyone but Jerry Royster apparently. His HR rate would have resulted in 28 that year under that scenario, and might have resulted in a couple more wins.

Just thought it was worthwhile re-visiting the initial premise of this thread that the bottom of the Brewers roster was holding them back as "evidenced" by the number of AB's going to players with OPS+ of 75 or under which at the time led the league. The solution offered was that those guys needed to be replaced. Well Betancourt's OPS+ is now up to 77, so you can deduct his AB's from the total. McGehee's is up to 74 and rising quickly and figures to reach above 75 soon. That's about 800 AB's right there. The solution it turns out was for these guys to start hitting like the numbers on the back of their bubble gum cards suggested they are capable of. They have.

Many of you have probably listened in to Chicago radio and heard Bruce Levine. Bruce has been covering baseball in Chicago for decades, is very well respected, and is on speaking terms with just about everyone in the game but not La Russa. He can't stand La Russa. We all know what La Russa is. We just can't post the word. Colby Rasmus isn't the first player to cross swords with him and won't be the last.

Roenicke has a misguided soft spot in his heart for guys that are anemic hitters late in their careers. The reason for that may be Roenicke's own failures as a hitter, especially has his career wound down. Roenicke hit .167 for the Phillies in 1987, yet somehow he convinced the Reds to sign him the following year where he hit a "Counsell-like" .135. Of course the Reds only kept him around for 14 games that year before assigning him to AAA where he hit a robust .215. He must still have it in his mind that he had value that the Reds didn't pick up on. Does anyone really by the "clubhouse thing" either? Are you telling me the clubhouse would fall apart if a .145 hitter were released? He's not a team leader. You can't lead when you don't perform on the field. Keeping him around as some sort of relic is ludicrous.

While it's true that ankles are easily re-injured, I don't think it has much to do with how soon you came back. It's the initial injury that weakens the joint, not really how long you rest it. Ankles heal at different rates depending on the severity but what you do depends entirely on how it feels. I've had ankle injuries that I incurred playing competitive basketball. If he's already walking on it and putting his full weight on it without assistance, he's already well on his way. The next step, is literally a step. Is he able to walk up and down steps normally, then he's close. The last hurdle will be pivoting on the ankle. The good news is that normal baseball movements are much less likely to injure ankles than a sport like basketball, where it's very easy to land on another foot. Most ankle injuries in baseball are from landing awkwardly on a base, just as Weeks did. To some extent you can control that.