brettac1

Yeah, I'd definitely want a Pacman jersey. That would be sweet.

I like him quite a bit. If they played him in CF and moved Hall to 2B, I'd be for it. But that's just not going to happen. He'd be a nice guy to bat near the top of the order who gets on base and runs well (even though he can't steal bases, he can run).

I had withdrawls when my DSL was out for a couple days a month or so ago. It felt like I was just missing all kinds of stuff. I don't watch a lot of TV, outside of the Brewers and other baseball, football, and usually boxing. I watch most of the TV shows I watch on DVD rather than watch them week by week, so I wouldn't miss anything there.

I guess the White Stripes, but I don't really listen to the radio, I'd assume they are on it since the album was #1. They know how to pick lead singles off albums, and "Icky Thump" is just an awesome song. In terms of jams that should be massive radio hits because they are amazingly catchy, I love the new Chromeo album "Fancy Footwork" - it's just like sweet '80's-style beats with clever/funny lyrics. There's a couple downloads and a review here: http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/44203-fancy-footwork

I'd gladly welcome him back, no doubt. In fact I wish he'd play more as it is. I think he might just retire, though. I'd definitely love it if they could get a catcher that can get on base, or really a 2B or LF, or CF (with Hall moving to 2B) that can get on base. Obviously they could use a better OBP out of the SS, too, but Hardy's pretty much entrenched for good or bad right now. That is the thing that seperates this from an offense that is good and an offense that is great (like the Phillies, for example - they have four guys off the top of my head with great OBP's in Burrell, Rowand, Utley, and Howard).

Brett - I always read your posts because I generally agree with what you say. I do the same here, but what would you do instead? What things would you do to "jumpstart" the Brewers next year? Why not add a few nuggets instead of just shooting down the ideas that were thrown out here? I don't really have any grand ideas of things that need to be done. Like others, I could definitely see Jenkins option being picked up. I don't expect it to happen, but I don't really have any strong feelings about it one way or another. If Jenkins does come back, I'd hope they could add a solid platoon partner through a minor league FA/one year deal for a veteran, or a minor trade. The one thing the Brewers desperately need is a better OBP. They could pick some up with Weeks simply improving and getting healthy, along with moving Hardy down to the bottom third of the order. They could also improve at catcher in that department. Miller will be gone. Jorge Posada will be a free agent, but it's really doubtful you could convince him to come to Milwaukee. If they would be able to, you would have one of the greatest catchers of the past 30 years, and a guy who has always gotten on base (career .379 OBP). That would be a massive upgrade, but also probably a huge financial risk considering we're talking about a catcher who will be 36 in a couple weeks who is looking to cash in off a huge season (.340/.419/.549 this year so far). I definitely don't see it happening, but it's something that I've thought about a little. Most likely if this team makes noise in the offseason it's going to be via trade, because the only FA's they can attract are mid-level ones that they lure by overpaying. I think the greatest improvement for this team is going to come due to improvement by their existing players, much like it did from '06 to '07. There really isn't a heck of a lot that needs to be done. They will lose relievers, but as far as I'm concerned Turnbow can close and they can throw a bunch of guys against the wall and see what sticks to fill other vacancies in the pen.

Along with end, the only thing I disagree with is Parra on three days pitching the 11th. Considering he threw 90 pitches the other night and has had significant arm problems in the past, that was probably a mistake. I guess I don't see what the real benefit was of using him there, as opposed to the long-term risk.

Good start for Suppan today. Nice to see him be efficient.

Phillies: Rollins Iguchi Burrell Howard Rowand Dobbs Werth Coste Eaton Brewers: Hart Hardy Braun Fielder Mench Jenkins Miller Counsell Suppan

I was very surprised that the San Diego fans were cheering as much as they were. He really got quite an ovation. I think you underestimate how many fans he has. You would be surprised. He doesn't get voted an All-Star starter every season just because of his hometown fans.

Schroeder: "You wonder how much breaking his routine hurt Bush". Give me a break. Although I'm sure it sounds pretty good to most fans who don't question anything. He had issues with it last year, as well. He does struggle historically when breaking routine. That could be why he was terrible out of the pen last season.

Granderson is way better than Hall. He's a better hitter and a better defensive player, plus he's younger. If that package could net them Granderson, I'd do it and not think twice. Capuano is pretty expendable, as far as I'm concerned. He can easily be replaced. They're losing little more than nothing trading Gwynn. I wouldn't even consider the Phillies trade, because Romero is pretty much junk, and Bourn doesn't do much for me. I wouldn't go after Byrnes, either.

Bush has too much value to DFA. He's proven to be decent out of the bullpen. Not to mention that he's a good starter. Why would he be put in the pen? Because he's giving up runs to the best offense in the NL? I seriously cannot believe that the idea of him being DFA'd is even being discussed here. It almost makes me sad that it has gotten to that level.

There is a serious chance that Theriot could take the title of "Ecksteiniest Player" away from Eckstein himself, due to the Cardinals bad season. He has all the qualifications - he's a sCrappy white guy (definitely the most necessary trait to posess in order to be considered gritty), with no power and a moderate walk rate due to being short. He is a decent defensive player, so the fact that he actually adds some value to his team aside from accolades from announcers and managers might hurt him. Either way, this is going to go down to the wire!

I think it's going to be a pretty tough ticket to get for any Fri/Sat/Sun game for the rest of the year, because they're not going to fall out of contention at all. I was shocked that it had gotten to the point of being SRO, though, that doesn't happen very often, usually they have the 90% capacity sell-outs. For some reason, I chuckled when I read this coming from Al. Me, too. I was like, "What's gotten into Al?", then I saw the username from the post above.

Ballgame.

Lefties hit Hamels as well or slightly better than righties because of his nasty change up. I would just play the best lineup we can put out there. Yeah, I'm aware of that, but I think with Fielder being nicked up a little it makes sense to give him a night off. I'm not going to complain, or even argue, if Dillon doesn't start. I guess he could easily start at second tonight, too.

Wise isn't going to be put on a reserve mental illness list for any amount of time, let alone the rest of the season. The 10 balls was a fluke. Like I said, it's just reaching by thinking that hitting a guy is having an effect on him. It's coincidence, as far as I can tell. If anything, maybe you could make more of an argument for that three inning appearance having more of an impact that the HBP. He's hit guys before. It's part of the game. If they keep Parra up, it shouldn't be in long relief. It should be as a one inning guy, maybe taking Villanueva's spot, while Villanueva moves into a battle with Spurling for the one appearance a week spot until Parra hits his inning limit.

Messed up in the head? I doubt it. I think that's just reaching for a reason for why he had a few bad games. The guy is too good of a pitcher to DL due to something that is just perceived. It's going to most likely be one of Dessens, Spurling, or Parra, and if it's a DL move Villanueva. I think Parra going down and starting makes the most sense. He's not going to get any work in Milwaukee. You can just go with Dessens in the garbage innings.

Might not be an awful idea to give Dillon a start tonight.

Huge love to A-Rod for his 500th today. The man.

Parra, I would guess. I'd personally be in favor of putting Villanueva on the DL with a tired arm so he gets some time to recharge his arm for the stretch run.

The stuff is "blah" but his command is impeccable - though it just might be that it's physically impossible to throw a ball higher than the knees with a submarine delivery. He hasn't allowed a HR yet this season in 32 1/3 IP, that's pretty awesome for a reliever or any pitcher, submariner or not.

I think this would hold more water if it was a shorter slump he's been on, but he's been pretty bad from early May to now.

Thanks, end. That's what I figured, but the Rotoworld blurb is not very helpful in describing the situation. Quite obvious why no one claimed Punto.