SoCal Brew Crew Fan

We're getting one hit by a lefty...good thing we're not up against a righty, that could get ugly.

As series pointed out, what strikes me about this article is the out of context quotes. When Ned spoke of "staggering back" he was referring to Gallardo's injury not being 3 1/2 game back of the Cardinals. This guy should be posting on the brewerfan website so he can get abused directly rather than actually getting paid to write such crap.

Can you turn Bill Hall's bat pink too?

If we go 0-for this umpiring crew the rest of the year, what do we have to do in the rest of the games to make the playoffs?

I'm not convinced we have enough to get over the top either post-Gallardo's injury. However, this nucleus will be here for at least 3-4 more years. As long as we have Prince, Braun, etc. I think we'll have a chance as they develop. It will depend on their development and getting better pitching. I appreciate the effort of the post, but I find too many people think there is a magic bullet in our farm system. Our best prospects are in Huntsville for a reason. These guys aren't any better of prospects than the guys playing right now were 3 years ago. I think they will be great over time too, but they are likely to have the same growing pains this bunch is having when they finally get here. I feel good knowing these guys have plenty of time to develop by the time we start to lose guys like Prince, but they won't be able to help us this year or likely next year. The one exception could be LaPorta who wouldn't come up until June 1ish next year like Braun last year so as not to eat that extra year of service. What I do agree with is the need for another stud starting pitcher. Our prospects are much deeper with position players than pitchers. We lose Sheets and we'll be lucky to get Gallardo back possibly at his level in 2009. Then what - either the young guys need to develop or we've got a number of 4/5 guys. That won't win a division.

I can't say it was the reason we lost today, but that umpiring crew is the worst in baseball by a long shot. Even the Astros announcers were questioning numerous calls. They are bitter, bad and have it in for the Brewers among other teams. They make horrible calls and then pick fights. It's appalling. If it wasn't for the umpires union, these guys would be waiting tables somewhere. (I mean that as no disrespect to the many fine men and women who wait tables).

The Brewers are a good team, much like most of the NL. It is a league filled with good teams, and no truly great teams. The winners will be determined by who steps up and outperforms and who gets performances from new players no one was counting on. Think of a guy like Tulowitzki for the Rocks or Marmol for the Cubs and Braun for us. The Brewers have a great deal of potential given their developing youth. We saw the upside with Prince and Braun last year, but we are seeing the inconsistency of a player like Weeks this year. It should be expected. To win it, the pieces have to fall into place and those options have to pay off. For a team with limited financial resources, they are doing a very good job, but when you're a small market team losing a guy like Yo is nearly impossible to overcome. I think our O will come around, our D is greatly improved and our bullpen is adequate. The problem is with only one viable top notch starter, the stress on the bullpen will only increase. The bullpen broke down last year as our starters couldn't get by the 5-6th innings (albeit not helped by our poor defense). That seems to be a recurring theme in 2008.

As pointed out, the issues of this year and next are mutually exclusive. For this year, the Brewers chances have taken a serious hit without Yovani. It seems apparent that the 2-5 starters continue to have issues pushing past the 5-6th innings, much like last year. Villy & Parra should continue to develop over time so there is promise. Soup is exactly what should have been expected based on his history, which is fine and Bush is Bush...a marginal 5th starter. There are players that could be brought up, but I wouldn't expect their performance to be any better than what we've got in '08. If Ben stays healthy, we'll get a solid start every five days. Maybe we split the other starts and can get 85-90 wins, but my guess is the bullpen wears down like last year. It's going to be tough and frankly Melvin is right, there aren't alot of great options out there. For the future, whether it's Sheets or not, we need a quality 1-2 starter to pair with Yovani and that assumes he comes back as good as new. We haven't had a great deal of time to test it, but I think a healthy Sheets & Yo would have been the best top two starters in the NL Central or at least up there with the others. Thinking back to a pair like Randy Johnson & Schilling, a team can go a long way with two studs at the top of the rotation. It doesn't have to be Ben, but it has to be someone. Banking on our 2-5 guys or someone in Huntsville is a stretch. We will need a top flight starter. We have more depth between the team and prospects with the position players. At some point we may need to make a move. If we are out of it this year, sadly trading Ben may make sense as well. The only way I could see keeping Ben, would be for him to accept a below market deal because he wants to stay in Milwaukee. I don't see that happening.

I hereby call on Gov. Doyle to mobilize the National Guard and position them at the Illinois border.

It will eventually happen, right? I sure hope so...

It was a fluke play. Much like it was a fluke that I was born in Milwaukee. Life could've been easier if the Brewers weren't so good during my formative years...but it is the cross we bear. This will only make it sweeter when it finally happens. If I can handle watching Turnbow in the eighth the other night down 13-5...I can handle anything. Where's my remote...give me some Brian and Bill...let's get this started. Let's win it for Yo!!!

There are plenty of reasons to rip on the Cubs, their fans and Ned...Yo's injury is not one of them It's just sad...very, very sad. I thought this quote from Melvin said it all... "The key is we never get Yovani and Ben together," a disappointed Melvin said. Can we win the division...yes, but it's far less likely than 24 hours ago. If we do, our chances of advancing are far less with only one premium starter (assuming Sheets stays healthy). With Ben gone after this year, Parra and Villy need to emerge into 2/3 type starters or we'll need to make a move.

Closest thing I can think of was Brian Butch at Ohio State right before the tourney.

That explains it (on the hotels). I wound up using some hotel points to get a room. I will be there Friday night!!! Go Brewers!!!

Turnbow is to Brewers fans what Mota was to the Mets fans last year.

I fully grant that today's move needed to be done, but I just don't understand the vitriol towards T-bow. The guy was an excellent closer in his day. He was very effective up to the all-star break last year. I think we really burned him out and now he's a head case. Too many fans have adopted this talk radio mentality towards the Brewers. First it was Turnbow, then it was Gross, a perfectly fine left handed corner outfielder that many think we could use right now and who's next...Weeks? I just don't get it. Turnbow is exactly the type of guy that Melvin would take a shot on here...and instead someone is going to pick him up for the league minimum.

There is no doubt the Brewers have consciously adopted a strategy to be more aggressive this year. We are likely to see more outs at the plate than prior years. Remember the first weekend when Weeks tried to score versus the Cubs, a good throw would have got him but it was up the line. The ball got by Soto on the collision and Gwynn scored right behind him. That's the other side of the aggressiveness. You still hate to see a guy out by 4 steps, but I do believe there is more to it than just Sveum's judgment which I will grant looked off on the Fielder play. Overall I believe the aggressiveness has been a net benefit so far this season and Sveum has been a part of that.

Corey would be fine there, but I'm not ready to give up on Weeks. His OBP is not as bad as his average and he is still scoring runs. There is room for improvement, but I don't think he's the disaster some make him out to be. Corey is too valuable protecting Prince.

Today's Old Style Player of the Game...the dude that tossed the beer and fired Brauny up!!!

WOW...HUGE...ENORMOUS... Despite last night that's 2/3...and what a way to do it!!!

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

K

I'm only on Gameday, so I didn't see the call by Sveum, but they have a definete philosophy to take chances and challeng outfielders this year. It's not just Sveum, it is a conscious decision to be aggressive by the team.

GAME OVER...please

Please let me see In Play, run(s)