Madtown Bomber

I am not proposing that they blow up the team. This organization is never going to go out and be able to spend with the big boys. There is just no way. Then you have to give up stuff to get stuff and that is the thing that people always believe around here. The Milwaukee Brewers are not the worlds greatest destination spots for attracting free agents. The fact of the matter is Ben Sheets is gone...PERIOD. Prince Fielder is likely to get the 2nd year 10 million if he is anywhere close to 35-40. There were some scouts over the winter that were debating if JJ Hardy had already hit his glass ceiling. I have seen on Baseball Tonight and on heard on Fox Sports Radio that Matt LaPorta is the most ready guy in the minors to come in an make an immediate impact. Who's blocking him? Braun, Hart, and Fielder...the three CORNERSTONES of this ballclub. When the owner says he couldn't imagine spending as much as he is I can't realistically see Ryan Braun (who they have acknowledged they are negotiating with), Ben Sheets (who is gone regaurdless) , Prince Fielder (who is likely to get 10 million), and Corey Hart (who is quietly just doing what he does and that is produce). With 6 picks in the first 2 rounds and a talent the level of Ben Sheets and what he attacts in the trade market I think it is a questioned that seriously needs to be addressed. The point of this thread was not to be knee jerk but to ask a simple question...CAN THIS NUCLEUS WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP? Can this current team win NOW? If thinking long term is knee jerk, then I now know how Ted Thompson feels when the fans boo him on draft day.

I think Doug Melvin and Gord Ash have to decide before the June draft or the trade deadline at the latest whether or not this nucleus will ever win. And if that answer is no then some real decisions have to be made and a set of priorities need to be put in place to what to do with certain members of this ballclub now that they are reaching arby years and free agent years. Personally I believe that this team is handcuffed with negatives that detract from the good. The club has to decide what it is going to do with JJ Hardy. Escobar is coming and coming quick. Hardy has shown (except a few stretches) that he will never be more then a average at best hitter. His inablility to hit anything other then a fastball is quite worrysome. If you plan to move Hardy to 2nd or 3rd in the future you have to be sure Escobar is going to be an above average offensive player at the MLB level. Then the club has to decide next what to do with Rickie Weeks. Rickie has been labeled with that great 5 tool label. Weeks is frustrating because while he hits balls on the button he still is around .200 batting average. While batting average is a worthless statistic when a player is relying on walks a majority of on base appearances that is cause for concern. You also can't forget about his hole in his glove at 2B. Are the Brewers going to be content with his defensive play or will they be forced to move him to the outfield. Then then have to decide if Tony Gwynn Jr. is the answer in the outfield. He has shown some flash but will a guy who doesn't scare you with any sort of power project to anything more then a bit player? Now you have to decide if Prince Fielder is worthy to be 1/10th of your salary next season and most likely higher after that. There is no doubt that the potential to have a 45/110 guy on your team is great but he could have a short run and is he going to be worth the potential contract he is in line for? I think that Pitching staff has to be a major concern to the Brewers. Like Melvin's teams in Texas you have to be worried about the lack of pitching depth in the system and at the MLB level. Your number 2 pitcher (Suppan) should be a 4, your 3 and 4 (CV and Manny) have trouble getting quality starts, and your number 5 (Bush) was just sent to the minors and forced to come back after 1 start. Your next starter is likely a guy nobody had any interest in until the Brewers called (Weaver). Ben Sheets pending free agency lingers over this ball club. The likelyhood of the Brewers signing him is hardly debated by those close to the situation, so the question has to be trade him for prospects in July or take the draft picks. I might be in the minority but I feel the team needs to build around Corey Hart and Ryan Braun. Everybody else is expendable. Yes I mean if a team is going to offer the farm for Prince Fielder then I listen. If the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees come calling in July for Ben Sheets I have to listen and strongly consider it. Matt LaPorta is darn near ready. Matt Gamel might just be ready offensively. And Escobar is definatly ready defensively. If you think this team can win and win this year do you trade the young prospects? Or do you let the chips fall and use your kids next season? Do you want Doug Melvin to draft a guy like Fields from Georgia who can realistically be in the bullpen by the allstar break. I don't think I can sit here and say I believe that this nucleus can win and God do I want them to! I just think that after overhauling the bullpen, and working on improving the defense they decided that they would continue to live and die with the long ball. I wanted to trade JJ Hardy last winter while I think he still had some serious value but I think the Brewers are going to be stuck with him. Escobar is going to push him hopefully. Rickie Weeks has the tools you want and hopefully someday he can touch them. Trade Sheets before the deadline if your out of it. Try and decide if you want Braun and Hart, or Fielder and Hart. I don't know if they can afford Braun and Fielder. If you think it is Braun and Hart you gotta look to trade the big guy before he gets the likely 10 million arby case. Get Luis Pena to the big leagues now and get his feet wet. Trade one of the relievers, trade Bush, trade Kapler.

Does Ryan Braun play cocky? Yes he does...Anybody who comes up to bat with Lupe Fiasco's "I know you are a superstar." as he walks to bat either is cocky or he is kidding around that he is cocky. Off the field the man is genuinely nice as can be. I have had the oppertunity to deal with Braun in a couple charity events where he has spoken to school kids and he hung out with some special education kids. He was great. I have also seen him in a social situation at the Zen Den Lounge in Milwaukee with Weeks and Hardy and out of the 3 he signed every autograph and took every picture with anyone who wanted one.

Well my trust comes from the fact my friend works in the senate and knows first hand when allocation of state funds comes into request. So knowing he has first hand knowledge of who is asking for money and what business/income would becoming to use that money.

Shoot I would take CBS in HD here in Milwaukee to. FSN-WI and CBS in Milwaukee is a dream.

I think the thing we all need to remember is if it is in the best interest of that the Ed Smith Stadium manager to discuss whether or not he has had talks with the Milwaukee Brewers or any other team at this current time. My friend has no agenda talking about a possible move other then knowing I live in Wisconsin and the Brewers are my team. If anybody was going to talk about a government agency getting involved in supporting a new facility or improving one I know for a fact that my friend would have an inside beat on it. As far as CL55's post, I can't disagree with it. I have also talked to quite a few people who believe that if not the Brewers then somebody is going to come to Sarasota. If Baltimore ends up Vero Beach or staying in Fort Lauderdale then yes I think the residents of Sarasota feel that the Milwaukee Brewers will be in Sarasota. It might be total lunacy on their behalf but I think the way Cincinnati left I think they feel like they are going to get another team. I am confident in saying that the Brewers will be touring Sarasota and Ed Smith Stadium when the Brewers travel to Miami to play the Marlins the first week of May. I have no news paper article to support that nor do I think there will be one until the time leading up to or after the visit. One thing I know strongly is that nobody can deny is that the Brewers and Florida has been discussed otherwise other people wouldn't keep mentioning them even in rumors.

I don't know if you are being sarcastic or not. But I will answer it best guess. If ANYTHING happened it would not be until spring of 2010 and next season could possibly be the final season. Or the Brewers could choose to remain until 2012 when there lease ends and move then. Ofcourse the Brewers could use their lease out as a bargining chip to get a longer lease. I just don't think it is so cut and dry.

You seem like a pretty smart guy Patrick so I am going to ask you if you ever heard of the saying where there is smoke there is fire? I don't think I have ever stated that the Brewers WERE moving to Florida. I whole heartedly believe they are going to do their homework and research possible business decision for the ballclub...as I hope you would want from a business in which you support. I don't want to stay in Arizona just because Patrick from Brewersfan.net wants them to, but if they are going to stay in Arizona they damn well better be doing it because it is the right business decision. I never wanted to make this into a economics discussion but I will bust some out. Arizona is now tapped out of cash to bring teams over. The whole move from Florida to Arizona wasn't based on weather or a better trip but it was because Arizona had a business recruiting fund from rental cars that they wasted on attracting MLB teams instead of attracting full fledged business to the area. That was decision that Arizona made. The fact of the matter is that the Milwaukee Brewers Maryvale lease turns out of favor with Arizona officials after next fiscal year when the lease control goes to the City of Maryvale and the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation department. The common person may think this isn't a big deal however having control over what happens at your facility 24/365 is a huge bargining chip. Unless the City of Phoenix is willing to let the Brewers remain in control of their lease until 2012 then hell yes I want the Brewers to shop themselves around and atleast gain a bargining chip. If they don't tour Sarasota, Vero Beach, or Auburndale they are doing themselves a huge disservice and running their organization smartly. I assume that Brewers, expecially Mark Attanasio, are smarter then that. I agree that Arizona has been very good to the Brewers and a fan destination but that isn't enough of a reason to not do their homework on the subject. Put yourself into Mark Attanasio's shoes. Your lease is up in 4 years, you have an out, you are losing control of your facility to a government orgainzation, and Arizona has dried up what remaining funds they had in a kitty to attract all these teams to Arizona. Now a few cities inquired from Florida, in a facility that willing to throw 12-16 million dollars into a ballpark that is already considered highly, a new facility, or a facility that has the history of Dodgertown. Are you going to do your homework and make the decision best for the ballclub or you going to blindly be loyal to a place. I will be majorly upset if the Brewers don't follow through on visiting sites. If they ultimately stay in Arizona but get a better deal then GREAT! If they move to Florida because they have a better deal to do so then good job on getting that deal. You can try to think I am making all this stuff up but I have always posted both sides. If you think I would waste 2+ months on a topic that would be a waste of time you are mistaken. My friend has no reason to blow smoke up my ass because he isn't a Brewers fan. Some fans won't believe anything until it hits them between the eyes. Patrick you want to discredit me because you didn't read it word for word in any stories, but then these stories all mention the Brewers by name rumor or not. You think they just happened to be on Brewersfan.net and saw this topic and said hey lets run with it? Ofcourse not.

Here just off Google news...I don't think you tried to hard to find anything. www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080416/ ... 60754/1661 www.searchasota.com/article/20080407/NEWS/804070344 www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/07/me-reds-likely-departure-has-sarasota-scouting-tea/ www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080409/ ... 1/news0105 www.wwsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=8135533 www.sun-herald.com/Newsstory.cfm?pubdat ... wsArchive2 www.searchasota.com/article/20080408/NEWS/804080353 along with many more.

with all do respect Patrick I google news'd it and I came up with numerous stories about it. With as wide ranging as nobody has returned Sarasota's calls, to rumors of Baltimore and Milwaukee secretly meeting, and Milwaukee being the logical solution.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/07/me-reds-likely-departure-has-sarasota-scouting-tea/ Middle of the article the Tampa Tribune talks about the Brewers interest. So I hope nobody here thinks I would waste my time on a story I would make up.

The email I received back from Haudicourt stated while he doesn't think it would happen he has no knowledge if they are considering it or not. Here is a portion of an email I received from my buddy in Florida tonight. Officials from Major League Baseball and the Milwaukee Brewers will be spending time with Sarasota officials on evening of May 4th and May 5th in which Sarasota is going to make a hard economic push. If the Brewers don't like what they hear they will be making a stop on Vero Beach to talk to officials there. Vero Beach seems like a long shot as they are going to meeting with Baltimore officials and hopefully finalizing a deal to move opperations to Vero Beach. If both fall through then the Brewers could look back to Auburndale, but Auburndale officials seem to be shifting their attention towards a push for the Florida Marlins.

I have to agree with the above statement about spring breakers being near spring training facilities. This just isn't true for the except of Fort Lauderdale and Baltimore is going to either take on Vero Beach or Sarasota themselves so that takes away that. The major spring break destinations are Miami, Daytona, Panama City, and Fort Lauderdale. I have been trying to get somebody to get official word on the Brewers interest in either staying in Arizona or moving to Florida. I have emailed the link to this topic to writers at MJS, the Sarasota Paper, Drew Olson, and my buddy who works in government in Florida that is my information giver. Once I receive something for any I will let everyone know.

Yes I am looking for attraction outside of baseball. What if my spouse and young childern don't want to watch baseball 6 days straight and go back to the hotel every night. If you have that arrangement then you are in a small minority. As has been proven the percentage of rained out games in Florida is quite small. Usually rain in Florida is spotty and comes and goes pretty quickly. If I come to Arizona I don't want to pay to see split squad games which is a certainity after Cincinnati's decision to head to Arizona in 2010, a move to Florida would allow the schedule to remain balanced as it now looks unlikely that any more teams will head west after Kissimmee agreed to improve the facility for Houston. The general movement of teams to Arizona has nothing to do with what Florida lacks as it has more to do with West Coast teams wanting to be closer to home cities and communities offering up huge incentive based programs to attract teams like Cleveland and Cincinnati. Florida has recognized this and has stepped up to the plate in upping incentive based proposals to keep teams in town. Milwaukee is closer to any site in Florida then it would be in Arizona. Family vacation vs. baseball fan taking a trip = family should win out. (pared back long quote --1992)

Sarasota to Orlando takes you 2.5 hours? Are you driving below the speed limit in a Geo Prism or what? Orlando to Tampa is about a 1 hour 20 minute drive on I-4 going 7-10 over. Sarasota is roughly 30-45 minutes from Tampa and you can cut about 10 minutes off the Orlando to Tampa drive because you cut off on the St. Petersburg exit. So if you aren't putzing around you can make Orlando in 2 hours max from Sarasota. As far as the Disney complex and the Atlanta Braves spring complex I again totally disagree. A lot of the new Arizona ballparks are copying the Disney model. You want that closeness to the players you aren't getting any closer that Holman Park in Vero Beach. You won't get Dodgertown access anywhere in Arizona...none.

It seems I have become the spokesman for the cause, which is ok since I started the thread, so I will try to play the role of a Florida recruiter. Maryville for all intensive purposes isn't a must see destination in Arizona. While the pluses of closer games and no weather related issues are there the lack of attractions outside baseball are minimal. The high sky and windy conditions sometimes make creating regular season conditions. With the Brewers current agreement they lose control of the facility to the City of Phoenix parks and recreation on January 1st, 2010. In Florida you have the oppertunity to possibly play in a brand new facility in Auburndale, Florida where you would be smack dab in the middle of all current spring training facilities. If you moved to Vero Beach, Florida you would be moving into the most famous of spring facilities and the chance to lay a tradition and a culture of baseball. Or you could move into Sarasota where the attendance is one of the highest traditionally. You already have a minor league affiliate in Florida, you have a high number of high level scouts in Florida. Your General Manager and Scouting Director spend large amounts of time currently in Florida. Ryan Braun and Matt LaPorta are both high 1st round picks from the state of Florida so Florida has treated the Brewers well. Florida has tradition.

Listen I understand the loyality to Arizona, I really do and I have enjoyed the games I have seen there. But with 2 young kids I have a hard time finding things for them to do in Arizona. Every person that has kids is going to have to deal with the question someday either from the wife or from the kids themselves about a Disney vacation. Is Vero Beach or Sarasota usually that big of Spring Break destinations? Or are the people that would be frequenting those areas college kids who are checking out their teams? If it is later then I think we are being pretty selfish in avoiding that croud. I am now moving strongly towards moving the team to Vero Beach.

There is a total different feel between the two leagues. Florida is more of a family fan based area. Attendence is so much better in Florida sites then Arizona sites. The baseball fan is going to enjoy Arizona much more because of the closeness of the games and you pretty much know you are going to have a game everyday. The thing you have to remember about the Milwaukee Brewers is that a majority of their opperations in east of the Mississippi and they have a huge presence in Florida already. Doug Melvin and Gord Ash are pro Florida while the old regime was pro Arizona. MLB is allowing the Reds to move which will cause misalignment in schedules, which many people say publically is ok but behind the scenes is not an ideal situation. The Brewers are the only team that will be willing to leave as they are the only non West Coast Team that isn't in a brand spanking new complex. It will be interesting. You are going to have lots more to do other then baseball when you go to Florida. I guess it is like the people who thought County Stadium was the greatest place in the world but now think Miller Park is pretty good, it will be a lot like that.

Here we go again. I just received an email that Milwaukee Brewers officials will be touring 3 possible sites to move spring operations to May 5th and 6th. Those 3 locations are Vero Beach, Florida (aka the old Dodgertown), Sarasota, Florida (former home of the Cincinnati Reds), and Auburndale, Florida (close but neighbors to Winter Haven, Florida which hosted the Cleveland Indians). Both Vero Beach and Sarasota are in the planning stages to add nearly 12-20 million dollars in nesessary improvements and Auburndale is planning on building a brand new complex. The Milwaukee Brewers have been identified as the only Arizona based team to consider a move to Florida. The Brewers lease is officially up in 2012 but the Brewers have a out at the end of 2009 when the City of Phoenix and Maryville take primary control of the Brewers complex in Maryville, Arizona.

Somebody will have to double check this but I believe that Gabe Gross has one option remaining. The thing about Gabe Kapler that nobody is realizing is that he is something of an oddity in baseball. Infact the Brewers have the most former coaches in baseball history. Gabe Kapler gets a lot of the credit for the success of Ryan Braun's transition to the OF. He is like an extra coach out there. I got to sneak into the ballpark a little early on Saturday and who was out there doing outfield drills? Gabe Kapler and Ryan Braun. As far as the pitching staff I am sick of waiting on Dave Bush to put it all together. He has had the reputation of having this great stuff and only having one bad inning a game. Well to me that is a problem because obviously that one inning is hurting the team as it doesn't seem he is winning a lot of games. He was topping out at 87-88 in Chicago and when your secondary pitches aren't dominate then that fastball is just not good enough. Seth McClung and Derrick Turnbow are obviously the last two options out there but they are used to the bullpen roll and would probably keep them out there because they both can throw hard. My prediction is if Gabe Gross has options left he will be in Nashville along with Dave Bush.

I doubt that as Coshun is going to be a sideline reporter during away games just like last season. He and Trenni will both be apart of the game broadcast for away games.

Craig Coshun is going only apart of the studio portion of Brewers game telecasts along with Davey Nelson. The Brewers thought he was over used last year and he was trying to host the post game show while running around and it was forcing Nelson into doing lead commentary which quite frankly he wasn't very good at. Jeff Grayson is doing studio work from Minnesota and will be handling all Brewers post game programming for away games with analyst Jeff Cirillo. This same duo is supposedly doing the same thing for Minnesota Twins broadcasts. Trenni Kusnierek is a former sportscaster at CBS 58 in Milwaukee who left the station to be the on the field reporter for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins. She left the station in October of last year and was signed in December. I actually think while she is pretty dang nice to look at she also does one heck of a job. She is solid in interview situations and seems well prepared when Rock and Anderson call to her. Comparing her to Ann Carroll is a like comparing Brett Favre to Anthony Dilwig.

I guess it is really a matter of taste. 540 has the advantage of having Drew Olson and Tom Haudicourt for Brewers insite and their Lowe's Postgame show is quite good. They said on Friday that they will be soon adding Jeff Cirillo to some home game shows. As far as regular programming the D-List is pretty good for the exception of Bill Johnson who gives Sparky a run for his money but Olson and Needles are quite funny. Homer...is well Homer, you like him or hate him. Mike and Mike are ok, Tirico sucks period...I miss Dan Patrick's show. 1250's signal just isn't very good out where I live and a majority of their local personalities are like finger nails on a chalkboard. Back when Rome was on 1510 I quit listening. So it is a matter of taste. It will be interesting to see the battle between 1250 and 540 here in the coming months as 540's new signal gets even stronger with the new technology being installed in Jackson. Competition is always good for the quality of work but I worry that now 540 got stronger if 1250 might start going down a little listeners wise.

Yeah, but what are we supposed to do? Ignore the giant pink elephant in the room? If a national tragedy happened on July 4th, would we just sweep it under the rug until the 5th for the sake of Independence Day (a bit of an extreme, I know). That is a story though. A retired Brett Favre is still retired is really something to break programming over? Even Brett Favre said there was no truth to a story that was obviously made up in the first place.

My take is that this is a non-story and this is the supposed best day on the baseball schedule and we are talking about Brett Favre. I understand his importance in Wisconsin and I get that people love the Packers but is any day sacred? If anyday I thought would be free of Packers it would be today.