JohnBriggs12

Opening Day is in Cincy this year. The "home opener" is just that, the "home opener".

I completely disagree. With all due respect to Randy Wells, Carlos Silva, Jeff Samardzija etc., Gorzelanny was their 4th best starter in my opinion and only lefty. Burgess has power, but has plenty of holes as evidenced by his mediocre .257 lifetime BA. He's enough of a prospect to be a trade chip for them down the road but he's not that close to being an impact major leaguer.

He just signed with Blue Jays for $3.5 million. Some of the relievers still out there aren't really scrap. It's going to take a couple weeks until we know who in that list qualifies. I'm intrigued with a guy like Chris Ray myself, though I think he'll get a major league deal too.

We're getting to the time where the scraps of the FA market start inking minor league deals. Often they are the type Kameron Loe did last year where the player is eligible to become a FA if not called up by a certain date. It would seem to me that the Brewers might have room and the need to pick up one more starting pitcher on a deal such as this to protect themselves in case of an early season injury to a starter. Of course none of the names out there is going to blow anyone away: Freddy Garcia (probably the best of the lot), John Maine (though he's been linked to Phils on a minor league deal), Todd Wellemeyer, Nate Robertson and a few others. The reliever market too has some decent names on it but it may take a couple more weeks to know who's going to have to settle for a minor league deal. Then there are hitters like Ryan Church, Greg Dobbs, Mark Kotsay, Gabe Gross, Felipe Lopez and a few that could be of interest.

The Brewers could be serious bidders if they are able to unload (ie. young cheap talent in return) Hart, who has 2 yrs, 19 million left after this season and Wolf, who's owed $11 million including his buyout after this year. I just don't see Fielder getting more than 6/130 myself and he needs a season close to his 09 year to get that.

I don't think the Brewers were down on Bush. It was the arbitration process that pushed him out the door. He's certainly a capable #5 on a good staff and an okay #4 on an average one. But when you have an equal alternative that costs you roughly 10% of what you'd have to pay Bush for the same production, you go with the cheaper. Wherever he signs, it's going to be for his true value which is probably about half the $4.2 million he earned because of arbitration last year.

Can we just assume the reality is Gamel really doesn't like playing defensively anywhere because he's not been good at it and that his preference is 3B only because he's played there more? His major league calling card if he has one will be his bat. I'd compare him most to Adam LaRoche myself in that like LaRoche, he's very streaky.

Am I missing something? Other than Loe, who on this staff is a groundball pitcher? In today's game when 15 hitters in the NL struck out 140 or more times, infield defense isn't as essential. Escobar for instance had 358 assists last year in 145 games an average of just under 2.5 per game. In 1979, Robin Yount had 517 assists in 149 games almost exactly 1 more per game than Escobar. Betancourt had 418 assists, 60 more than Escobar primarily because the KC pitching staff had 223 fewer (1258 to 1035) strikeouts than did the Brewers. With one premier strikeout pitcher added to the rotation in Greinke and another above average strikeout pitcher in Marcum replacing the innings of lesser strikeout guys, that 1,258 total is likely to rise further. This whole Betancourt thing from a defensive perspective has been way overblown. It's true Counsell can't start more than a couple times a week, but he can be used as a late inning replacement frequently in double switches.

Looking at his stats, this guy has major control issues.

Not really. I think at age 26 he gains more out of 250 major league AB's than he does getting twice that many at AAA. Besides I don't think it's a given he's Fielder's heir unless he shows some production at the major league level before hand. That won't happen in Nashville.

He was famous for his heat and throwing warmup pitches to the screen. He's also a Wisconsin native but unlike what was sloppily reported in the article in the JS, the Milwaukee Braves were not his favorite team as a boy despite the fact he grew up in Wisconsin. The Braves moved to Milwaukee when Duren was 24 years old and already pitching in AA.

Do you think at some point there will be a billboard up in Milwaukee with Dave's picture on it that says: "Miss me yet?", just like the one somewhere with another famous Bush?

Mark down the date, January 11, for the first rumor regarding a potential new home for Dave Bush. MLBtraderumors is quoting Jerry Crasnick on Twitter that Mets are interested in reuniting Bush with Capuano. Seems the connection is Ricciardi from his Blue Jay days. Actually Bush makes some sense for Mets as he would benefit from pitching half his games in spacious Citi Field.

Probably the most interesting thing to watch this spring is where Gamel is playing. My guess is he'll see some time at 3B and in both corner OF spots. Gamel may not prefer playing the OF but realistically at going on 26, he's not the premier prospect he was and those types don't get to pick and choose. There's definitely an open spot on the bench for a lefty hitter with some pop. That spot was filled by Inglett last year . A lot depends on what type of manager Roenicke is. Does he believe in occasionally resting his starters not named Braun and Fielder? Will he want to get an extra left handed bat in the lineup against tough right handing pitching. I think the answer will be yes and the clue was they pursued Hinske for that very role. So you'll see Gamel getting enough starts between 3B and RF and almost daily PH chores to keep him sharp

I eyeballed the Milwaukee Braves all-time roster. The one name that stuck out as being worthy of discussion is Joe Torre. He certainly beats out his brother Frank. The bottom line is that the way the Braves are being dealt with just isn't working. A committee of about a dozen people should be set up to meet, evaluate criteria and stats, choose players, and be done with it. Regarding Al Simmons, I wouldn't be against doing something to honor the best of the Wisconsin-born players, but I'd fear that putting them up to a vote would be a repeat of the Braves mess. If this were done right, Andy Pafko might be worthy of inclusion. He doesn't really cut it as a Brave, but his career achievements could very well qualify him. You're absolutely right about Joe Torre. The Braves of the 1960's are being uniformly ignored. Where's Tony Cloninger? He was 43-25 combined in 64 and 65. His 1965 season was one of the best ever by a pitcher in any Milwaukee uniform: Seriously, he was 24-11 that year with a 3.29 ERA, 211 K's (at time when 200 K's was indeed special), and 16 CG. They need to have people voting on Braves selections that are not only sentimentally attached to the 1950's teams but who followed the team in the 60's too. After all those teams all had winning records too. Logan was an emotional leader and for his time a real good offensive shortstop. He also had played 447 games for the AAA Milwaukee Brewers, and easily was the most beloved of the Braves team that moved from Boston because of that. Pafko had a couple decent years. But his real value was that as an ex-Cub and Wisconsin native to boot, he helped convert a lot of fans with ties to the Cubs.

Monkeyman, I think the Cubbies will chase Prince huge time after this year. Pena will be a FA, and they don't have left handed power, so it's a perfect fit. Not to mention it would be sticking it to the Brewers. I also see Baltimore going after him. I think this is the best fit. Prince would crush as Camden Yards, and the O's have some young pitching that will be ready. And the O's seem willing to spend for the right guy - like when they chased Teixiera. And Prince could eventually slide into the DH spot if necessary. Prince would be perfect for them. Fielder is definitely on Cub radar and with everything being equal between Chicago and Baltimore, it's a no-brainer, he'll be a Cub. Brewers will need to bid just to help drive up the price.

Del Crandall was selected to 11 All Star games. That's right 11. That did include the 3 years they played 2 games, but still he was an All Star in 8 different seasons. After Campanella was paralized up until the time of Johnny Bench, the best catcher in the NL in that period was clearly Del Crandall. He also managed the Brewers, and while his overall record wasn't good due primarily to second half fades, the Brewers became relevant in Milwaukee with Crandall at the helm. It's a joke that he's not on the Walk of Fame. Compare Adcock's numbers to the much beloved Gil Hodges who's career intersected with Adcock's. Keep in mind that Adcock missed a ton of time due to injuries. Had he been healthier, he would have hit 400 HR at a time where 400 is the equivalent of 500 today.

This just makes it more of a 4 team race than a 3 team race and may actually reduce the number of wins needed to capture the division. The Brewers, Reds and Cards are still all stronger in the middle of the lineup than the Cubs and still should rate an edge. The Cubs got better, so the odds of the Brewers winning the division just went down. We can argue by how much but it went down.I never had the Cubs out it. They are a major market team. They weren't just going to punt because the Brewers improved. It's baseball and anything can happen and moves get made.

Betancourt for his career is hitting .333 against Garza!! So if the worst player in all of baseball can hit him, can't anyone?

The point I was making was that 2 guys who a couple years ago wouldn't have gotten them anything in return, helped get them a number 2 starting pitcher. Weeks, Braun and Fielder were all picked in the top 7 in the draft. Their impact had very little to do with player development and all to do with talent and player selection. Of course it's a lot easier to hit on talent drafting high. Player development and player selection are 2 completely different things. Every year players are brought into the system. Some are very talented and will succeed regardless of who's coaching them.. Others can develop if they are coached and used properly. The Brewers track record in developing guys from roster fillers to actual prospects with value just isn't very good. You mention Soto. Well he's been an All Star and he was picked in the 11th round. Heck the Brewers are benefiting from a guy the Cubs developed, Casey McGehee.

This deal is a testament to Cubs player development. Guyer's no kid, but he's progressed every year and made a huge step forward in 2010. Chirinos has played 10 seasons in the minors all with the Cubs with 690 games played below AA. Eventually they made a catcher out of him and he learned how to hit. We can only wish the Brewer player development were this successful.

This just makes it more of a 4 team race than a 3 team race and may actually reduce the number of wins needed to capture the division. The Brewers, Reds and Cards are still all stronger in the middle of the lineup than the Cubs and still should rate an edge.

Parra will be traded in spring training for a backup catcher and a low level minor league arm.

He's not significantly better that Gomez especially given the fact that Milledge isn't the base stealing threat Gomez is. It wouldn't take much of an improvement from Gomez to match Milledge's production the last couple years. Then there is the obvious reason that you're already paying Gomez $1.5 million.

Last year a lot of runs were scored in a handful of games. So there could be a dip, but if they allow 154 fewer, I can't imagine them not improving by more than 12 wins. Both Fielder and Braun could easily improve on their numbers over last year. If that happens, it will offset any dropoff from Weeks and/or Hart.