SoCal Brew Crew Fan

This is not a good thing for the Crew. I hope he stays in SD...I fear he will be with the Cubs by the All-Star break. There is no chance he winds up with the Brewers, nor am I sure tying up so much of our payroll to him makes sense. If the Pads took Hall & Suppan as part of the deal maybe, but I don't see that happening.

The way mishandled lineup cards have been winning games...maybe that bodes well for us. If not, just give it a week.

I don't care if Ozzie got them a ring...this is the beginning of the end for him.

I'm just glad we play the Pads in the middle of the year...I'd hate to have Hoffman on the mound against him with the playoffs on the line in game 162! If you go on the San Diego Union-Tribune website...the big story is Gwynn coming to town. The stories on the Peavy deal & how well Hoffman is doing are smaller right next to them. They need some decent PR and they save a little money. Glad DM could oblige them. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres

Good move all the way around. We get tremendous value for very little and fill a hole. Gerut gets an upgrade of scenery from the top of the NL Central. TGJ gets to go home and gets to go to the show. SD gets some good local press while they dismantle their team.

As an aside...anyone know how to get on Gord Ash's twitter thing (can you tell I haven't used it yet)?

Didn't Brian run into 3TO at a bar last year during lunch? That was a big moment...but the Toolshed interview and follow up may have just passed that as the biggest Brewerfan to Mancrush episode in site history. Welcome aboard Brooks. My wife is a UT grad too...she says to tell you "Hook 'em Horns!!!"

Isn't he buddies with Linebrink? Maybe that and a little extra dough gets him over the hump. Very good outcome for the Brewers. The Cubs may have the dough, but their lack of prospects really hurts their ability to make a deal.

Interesting comment from Macha in the postgame. He mentioned that he had a meeting with Hall before Gamel got called up and told him he'd get an opportunity in Houston to get back to the level he was playing before. I guess tonight was Bill's shot, but it certainly won't help his cause. It seems the next 4 games are set in stone. What happens after that depends on what happens in Houston & Minny. So far McGehee & Gamel > Hall.

Well Gamel lovers, he'll be in the lineup the next 4 games and he won't make any errors in the last three. Even Rock is questioning not using Counsell for Hall.

or not...

Bil Hall Wins Games I lost the last l in honor of Gamel

Oh the man crush on this site is about to blow...

Easter Sunday

I don't get Wandy, but the numbers don't lie...the dude has been effective. Everyone just seems a little off on their hits. Bringing Julio in is like sending in Tanner Bronson at the end of a Badger basketball game...you know it's over...except Tanner at least had some talent. If we had Paul Janish at least he could play the field while chewing up some innings.

I would agree Phillips is well ahead of Morgan, I guess where I start to scratch my head at is...the guy was a GM. Can you imagine that guy running a baseball personnel organization? Wow.

Jeffress just got demoted. His value isn't what it was...which means that won't be enough to get that deal done.

Sadly...the Brewers will be on ESPN on both Sunday & Tuesday night next week. Between the brilliant commentary & the jinx that seems to occur whenver they are on ESPN...that may put an end to our streak. Isn't it amazing that since that article, ESPN has taken it a step further and added Steve Phillips to the team. They couldn't get any farther from baseball logic if they tried.

No coincidence that DeRosa is available now that there are two potential bidders in the Mets & Brewers. The money doesn't seem to be too bad at the prorated rate, but I'd be wary of trading any key prospects. If the Indians are looking for starting pitching that can carry them over...how about a Dillard, Iribarren or McGehee with a lower level prospect? I'm not sure it's that big of an improvement, but the pure joy of him torturing the Cubs fans is worth the price...I know it's not rational, but it would be fun.

The one thing about projecting a couple extra wins for a mid-season acquisition that makes me nervous is that the other contenders are just as or even more likely to make a move. Our farm system isn't quite as deep as last year...we don't have a spare LaPorta hanging around. We also don't have the financial flexibility we had last year. Last season the attendance surprised and they had some extra dough. This year, they've already spent that extra money. They could add another bat off the bench or another bullpen arm, but that could pale in comparison to the Cubs making a move for Peavey.

Milwaukee before they moved to St. Louis to become the Browns (now the Orioles), I think 1903? Pilots - 1969. How'd I do?

I think Braun is getting better no doubt, but he has a ways to go to catch up to Jenkins. Jenkins was an above average OF, Braun has probably acheived average status this year. I do think he gets better, but he's not to where Jenkins was yet.

I felt before the season this was an 85 win type team. Given how well they have played and the pad they have, maybe it is closer to 90. The things that worry me are - Starting pitching: I agree with some of the posts that the current run is likely not sustainable. We've caught a few teams that look lost right now. The Cubs & Cards have injuries and will be better next time we see them. The Fish looked lost and that was Bush's worst outing of the year last night IMO and the Astros couldn't take advantage of it. That last pitch to Erstad should have been a 3 run HR not an inning ending out. I did believe and still do that most prognosticators were overly pessimistic on this staff given the loss of CC & Sheets. Our staff is good. They probably aren't as good as they have been lately, but I don't expect them to fall off a cliff. Defense - Our defense has been stellar. Rickie was a big part of that and the improved play of Fielder & Hall have been critical. That is also a concern I have if we see more Gamel through a shift of Hall to 2B. That is a better offensive lineup no doubt, but with a number of pitch to contact guys who've benefitted from a solid defense behind them that would concern me if Gamel couldn't handle 3B. I think he has the tools, but this is 2009 we are talking about. Our defense had a big ancillary effect on our pitching wearing out in 2007 & 2008. What is sustainable - The intangibles. I know some won't believe this because there may not be a stat to defend my opinion, but this team is more composed than they've been over the last couple years. They have a less emotional manager and they are all a little older. There isn't the frenzy that surrounded the start in 2007. The team is more mature and has been through a couple playoff chases and been to the postseason. Maybe this is manifesting itself in the improved plate discipline & defense. I feel more confident that this team won't spiral out of control when they hit adversity. The vets like Cam and Hoffman are key, but so is the maturity of guys like Fielder and Braun. Our bullpen - Melvin had a comment I fully agree with on Hoffman. He had 3 bad appearances last year. Take those out and he hadn't lost anything. He will blow a few before it's done, but he has solidified that pen. I also like Macha's use of the pen. No more of this he's my 8th inning guy stuff. He goes with matchups. The best example is CV's effectiveness against lefties. Macha won't worry about what inning it is, he puts the right guy in the highest leverage situation and saves the 9th for Hoffman. Overall I think our team is good and has a good shot at 90 wins which could put us in the playoffs. I also like our schedule. The toughest stretch will be in September. We should be in a decent position heading into that month. There is no clear cut favorite in the NL right now since the Cubs have likely come back to the pack. That gives a shot to any team that can get hot down the stretch...like the Phillies did last year. The Brewers can be streaky and are certainly capable of getting hot...hopefully they can do it at the right time. Maybe another bullpen arm or bat off the bench would help too.

Mike Cameron in Center is a thing of beauty.

I love that Macha made the move to CV. Bush left that last pitch up to Erstad and got away with it. He had a Claudio Vargas-esque night getting out of some jams. The matchups favored CV too. That's one instance where Yost would have left him out there to blow up in the 7th. Hats off to Macha IMO.