SoCal Brew Crew Fan

Any truth to the rumors you will be stationed at a booth on the third base side, allowing other fans to see the hand that touched 3TO?

> 40...still love Berman. I think he's a genuine enthusiast and just plain fun & creative. Berman and Jackson are the best NFL show around. He's been copied a million times over...and mostly by knuckleheads...that probably makes people tired of the "Berman-type" of announcer, but I think he's fun. I also like Stuart Scott...can't stand SAS. I love sports...and I want guys yelling with me, not at me. SAS belongs on one of those horrible political shows.

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the Brewers new #1 hitter...batting 1.000...Tim Dillard!!!

Much to my surprise, McClung has been effective this year. He's just not a starter. I'm on Gameday so I couldn't see it, but given the three straight quality starts and a fresh pen, wouldn't this have been a decent time for an early hook?

At least he didn't double switch Hart

Torres has certainly emerged as the most effective pitcher in the bullpen. Much like Marmol in Chicago, who is probably the best reliever in the division (A division that includes Cordero & Valverde) I see no reason to limit him to the ninth. If we had a one run lead with 2 on and one out in the seventh and a righty coming up, I'd sure want to see Torres. Plus, he can go two innings. You have to get to the save situation first. I agree with the posters that say use him at the highest point of need, not just the save situation. The one guy who worries me a little in a save situation is Mota. He's been very effective, but has a wild streak and IMO is a little more fragile mentally. I think the pressure of the "save" may be a little much for him. With Gagne', I don't think it's a mental thing, he just may not be the same pitcher he has been in the past.

I've had a couple Brewer/Bucks sightings in LA. A few years ago Jeremy Burnitz and an old buddy were at a Starbucks out here. Turns out they were staying at the hotel across the street. He was surprised to get noticed outside of Milwaukee. We talked to him for a couple minutes...he seemed very cool. It was still cold in Milwaukee so he was glad to be in LA at that time. I had a meeting at a hotel in Bev Hills a couple years ago and the Bucks were watching film in the room next door. I tried talking to some heavy, pasty looking clubbie type wearing a Bucks shirt...he blew me off. Kinda funny, I was wearing a suit and not exactly looking for autographs, just curious.

Thanks...I think when they showed a ranking during the game the other night, they cut it off at 3 so Bush's 2 (before yesterday) didn't show up. Do you guys have a favorite metric to judge the effectiveness of our starters? I just remember last year when Capuano went through that huge losing streak, he still posted some decent outings and didn't pitch much worse than Vargas who was getting more wins. Everyone seemed to focus on the W/L.

Do any of our stat mavens have some stats on "Quality Starts"? If I'm not mistaken, last night was Bush's first quality start of the year. How do our guys stack up versus the rest of the league? From what I recall, Sheets & Yo have the most...maybe Soup or Parra have had a few, but not much beyond that. Just curious...I always thought that was a better measure of whether the starter is doing his job versus W/L.

I agree with Stevo...try and resign him now...we'll need a legit starting ace for 2009. I'd love having Yo as a number two instead of a big drop to a two like Parra or Soup. The options in the offseason won't be any better. If he won't re-sign, they have to trade him. Rentals have gone down in value the last couple years...but this is a starting pitcher. Not a 3/4 starter...an ace starter. Ben could bring a pennant to a host of teams that are on the edge. Plus, if injury is a concern for the acquirer, it's only half a season...not a big financial commitment. The biggest commitment will be what will need to be traded for him. They should be able to get a number one prospect and 2 other top ten types out of a given organization IMO. If we can get some pitching, a catcher or a 3B...I'd do it. I'd rather give up on 2008 than go into 2009 with little hope.

Regardless of anyone's opinions of Ned...ranging from rational to emotional (there are plenty of both in each camp), I just hope for one thing. That Mark A & DM have a good enough grasp on what is going on with this team to make the right move if and when it is needed.

I would sure rather get something for him if we are 7-8 games out at the break and going nowhere than put on a good face and act like we're still in it. I don't think we can go into the off-season with an unsigned Sheets. Either lock him up, or sadly, send him out and start thinking about 2009. I hope they sign him.

I can understand Billy's frustration since he's done everything that's been asked of him in switching positions this year and last, but he looks lost at the plate...and on this road trip, was brutal in the field. I hope he gets it back, but a platoon might be the best thing for him right now.

The only one that concerns me for 2009 right now is Hall. His defense on this road trip has been brutal. As much as I love Billy Hall the person, he has earned the platoon with 3TO. I hope this allows himself to find his swing, but he is a shadow of his 2006 self. Prince & Hardy are a year removed from all-star seasons, and need to make the adjustments to counter those that pitchers have made to them. Weeks was the team MVP for the last 6-8 weeks of last season...he's got it in him if he can just get that OBP up. A big reason we are going through all these issues now is our team is relatively young. I think we've also been spoiled by the early success of guys like Prince & Braun. Expecting the same out of 3 guys currently at AA is asking alot. They are all likely to have the same growing pains that these guys are having. Not to say they can't be good down the line, but some on this board have an infatuation with these guys that reminds me of a good friend's constant love of Brett Favre's backup QBs. I hope Escobar turns out better than TJ Rubley, but it's far too early to make that judgment. My guess is LaPorta will be the only one called up next year before the roster expansion, which could allow Hart to move to Center.

I actually get why they didn't walk him to load the bases...if they were worried about Mota being wild or walking in a run...but then why even have him out there?

Blaming DM for this is pure 20/20 hindsight baloney. He was no better than the several other options they had at the time for the 5th spot and he would have cost a great deal more. If they would have known that Cappy & Yo would have gotten hurt and their other 5th options were that bad...they probably would have kept him. He still is no better than a 6 inning at best 5 ERA guy.

I wrote it...and I didn't even catch that...now my head is about to burst!!!

Reality is there aren't a great deal of options with Ben. If we wait until after the season, it will be another Lee/Coco situation. Someone will pay more for longer than we will be able to. They could try to offer a 4 year deal now, but most likely Sheets will turn it down. It's worth a shot IMO. Otherwise, I think we have to trade him before the deadline. We need to fix that starting staff before 2009...we just don't have the horses to make a run without an adaquate compliment to a hopefully healthy Yo.

You could do a slide on Bud Selig's efforts to bring baseball back to Milwaukee, including missing out on an expansion franchise for 1969. TLB mentioned a "connect the dots" slide. (Correct me if I'm wrong on this one guys) One interesting note would be the attempt by Bill Veeck to move the St. Louis Browns to Milwaukee for 1952. They were the last MLB team to move before...from Milwaukee 51 years earlier. Veeck was the Mark Cuban of his time and got voted down before they moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles. I'd also move the County Stadium slide to before the Braves since it was part of the effort to bring a team here. A separate slide on Bernie Brewer too?

That's true Mickey. Maybe they do with LaPorta what they did with Braun...wait until late May/early June and bring him up to save that year of service. Probably move Hart to Center and put him in right. That won't exactly help our defense, but it will open up some cash. We'll have two big holes to fill - closer and starter. I'd rather see them take a chance on an emerging closer and firm up the starters. If it's not Sheets, who are their options?

I thought I would resurrect the Sheets debate as it may become more critical in the ensuing months. It has become obvious to me that we just don't have the starting pitching to compete for the division this year. Much of it was losing Yo, but we are filled with question marks beyond. A 2009 rotation of Yo, Soup, Parra, Villy and pick among the host off AAAA guys here or in Nashville won't do it. We need another legitimate 1-2 starter. Maybe Parra will become that guy down the line, but asking him to become Sheets is asking a lot. Drafting 6 college pitchers this year won't do it either. Whether it's Ben or someone else, we need a starter. Here are the options as I see it - 1) Re-sign Ben - It's expensive and the injury history is a risk. For every success, the risk of a Zito type deal could cripple the Brewers, but when Ben is on...he's the ace we need. 2) Trade Ben before the deadline. I know they'll worry about those August/September ticket sales, but this could be an opportunity to restock the minor league pitching depth. Either way, we'll need another arm for 2009. 3) Sign a big free agent. Look what it cost for Suppan...a #3 starter at best. This is not cheap. 4) Trade an untradable player. This one is tough. I'm not talking guys with no value - Bush, Hall, Turnbow or anyone else people are sick of. Do we part with a star? Weeks, Hardy, Hart or Prince? I think anyone but Braun is in play. This is tough too because their replacements at Huntsville are more likely 2010 replacements (I know some of you are more optimistic on this than I am). I'm starting to think we take a chance and sign him, if we can get at least a modest hometown discount. Banking on Sheets, Yo, Soup, Parra & Villy for '09 and betting that Sheets can stay healthy. The question is can they get him for 3-4 years and if he gets hurt will it completely handcuff us. Emotion aside...what should DM do?

What a waste of a decent start by Soup. Same thing as last year. Whether its giving up runs, or making the pitchers throw an extra 8-10 pitches per game...our D is killing us. Huge snowball effect through the team.

Defense already cost them 1-2 games on this trip...make it 2-3. Pathetic.

Hats off to Rickie Weeks tonight. Even though he's 0-2, he had a walk and had 18 pitches in 3 plate appearances. That's a good sign.

No kidding...no fish fry in LA...its not even dinner time yet, so I can sneak in some Brew Crew!!!