tyguy20204

Huge start for Yo tomorrow. I assume they'll have the bullpen waiting in the wings if he should run into trouble. But I suspect he will be solid.

Getting it in HD on DirecTv.

I only caught a few minutes of it while watching MNF, but (SPOILERS) as though there is now an evil German guy who can bend metal, and Mohinder appears to have turned into the Incredible Hulk.

I hope the Cubs give some effort against the Mets even if it means they give us some effort when they play us. Apparently Lou will be playing the starters but who knows.

Redeem yourself Billy. You have a chance to become a hero, if only for one day.

Please God pinch-hit for Counsell.

Dear Manager Sveum, It's okay to pinch-hit Jason Kendall in late September, when you have a number of catchers on the roster, and every late-inning at-bat is important.

This team is just horrible.

In this thread we bury our hopes and dreams.

Melvin's major failings: 1. Believing that Ned Yost is/was a capable major league manager. This, I think, is the most damning evidence that Melvin has some serious flaws as a general manager. No, I'm not talking about Yost's ability to 'get the most out of his players,' or his ability to stave off a September collapse. Yost had little to do with these things, save perhaps for creating a tense atmosphere in the clubhouse. What I'm talking about is Yost's ineptitude with regards to the fundamental strategy of the game. Throughout his tenure, Yost showed a basic inability to effectively manage the bullpen (not understanding left-handed/right-handed splits, not understanding which relievers work optimally upon a day's rest - remember Turnbow before his implosion, and Matt Wise). He also displayed a stubborn dislike of platoons, an inability to pinch-hit for his catcher or other offensively challenged position players, a tendency to implement and then abandon certain schemes - the pitcher batting eighth, and the whole home/road pitching platoon debacle. The list goes on. The fact that Melvin condoned, nay, supported this manager, makes me question Melvin's plans for the future of this franchise. 2. Underestimating the impact of defense. There are some players, perhaps, who should be given leeway in discussions upon their defensive deficiencies. These players should be solidly above-average offensively at that position. Rickie Weeks does not fit this definition. Neither did Johnny Estrada. And Ryan Braun was simply unable to play his position, a fact that should have been recognized in the minor leagues so that we didn't have to rely upon a historically bad defensive performance at third-base as we participated in a pennant race. Yes, management should stay loyal to a defensively-challenged, young ballplayer, but only if that individual has the ceiling of at least mediocrity at their position. Melvin believed that Braun and Weeks could be mediocre at their positions. He was wrong. Unfortunately, he seems to be repeating this experiment with Mat Gamel. Granted, Gamel may prove me wrong, but when everyone outside the organization, collectively, decries a person's defense, it paints a pretty damning picture. At this point, I will say that Melvin is refusing to learn from past history. 3. Underestimating the impact of on-base-percentage. Or perhaps it is not underestimating, but rather a failure to acquire individuals with this skillset. But this is a major, major failing. The Brewers started the season with only one individual (one!) who would go on to have an OBP higher than .350, and that is Prince Fielder at .372. Durham has a .370 OBP but he was acquired later on, as we all know. Second in OBP is J.J. Hardy, at .345, third is Craig Counsell, at .343. Now, in some respects, it is hard to blame Melvin because almost all the Brewers regulars have seen large drops in their OBP from last year. So I will not blame him so much for this one, but hope that he will look to upgrade this facet of the club in the future. 4. Contracts. Suppan, Hall, Turnbow, Gagne. Suppan, Hall, and Turnbow are at least understandable (Suppan being the least understandable of the three). Gagne was just a bad decision considering his collapse in Boston of last year, and also considering that the ten million dollars could have acquired a plethora of functional bullpen arms. Do I want to see Melvin fired? No. But I hope that he's smart enough to learn from his mistakes. I hope that he can adapt his thinking and admit to himself - 'Oh, some of the directions that I am taking this ball club may not be the best way to win. Maybe I should explore other avenues." However, I also wouldn't be disappointed if he was fired, if, and only if, Jack Z. replaces him.

Man, in times like this I wish we had a LHB outfielder with good defense and solid OBP skills. Oh wait, we had him, his name was Gabe Gross, and we gave him away for nothing. He now is OPSing .779 in Tampa with a .342 OBP, which would make him one of the best members of our team at getting on base.

Unfortunately I don't see us winning this game. This team has been such a disappointment, why would they change their ways tonight?

The season isn't over nor is this game.

I don't have the broadcast on. By Leo do you mean Leo Mazzone?

Yes they do. It's baseball.

Yep, if CC just happens to have some unusually poor outings in the future, it won't be a surprise to anyone except our beloved manager.

Yost you dolt, get CC out of the game.

Why is CC in the game? Utterly and incomprehensibly stupid. I don't care that it was a quick inning. Simply a stupid move.

Agreed jjfaf, not to mention that our first pick hasn't even signed yet.

I fully expect Sheets to get pounded tonight. I see Pujols having a monster game. Hopefully not.

This strikes me as a rather sensationalist thing to say. Escobar, right now, is hitting .337/.367/.444/.811 in his second season at Huntsville, 21 years of age.Hardy, in 2003, hit .279/.368/.428/.796 in his second season at Huntsville, 21 years of age. Obviously Hardy showed more patience, which projects better, but other than that, their offensive stats are quite similar. Couple that with the fact that Escobar by all accounts is the superior defender (right now!), I'm not sure it's reasonable to say that Escobar will never be as good as J.J. Hardy.

Feel free to add your personal favorite Braun photos for good karma.

Ryan Braun vs. The World http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb133/tyguy20204/braun1.jpg

I don't think Al would argue with you - he's simply looking at it from the perspective of the major league team. Plus, it's Al.

Good deal for the Cubbies. This at first glance looks like an absolute steal.