derflotr

What does the manager have to do with this? If a pitcher wants to

Today was really the first time I've seriously thought he could win a batting title. Man, is he good.

36-1. Disgusting.

Come on Trevor, just three more outs!

Braun is just smoking, boiling hot right now.

Considering how much the Cubs bullpen blows, plus the fact that Zambrano is typically tough on righties, I'm a lot less negative about this as I'm sure most people are. Probably premature, but not completely senseless.

I'd call Shouse shrewd

The loss was aggravating, but this just plain sad. I hate to be negative so early in the season, but this is a travesty. AJAY said it best. Willingly making the team worse. They delegate mop-up and LOOGY roles to potentially decent starting pitchers and assign the biggest chunk of the innings to the worst pitcher on the staff. Terrible start to 2010.

It's a young season, folks. Tough loss, but it happens. Wish it wasn't so blatantly a manager blunder, but you could argue Macha won the final game against Colorado. But I do believe the culture has to change with this team, though I'm not entirely sure axing Macha is going to solve anything. He's as much of a numbers guy as you can expect to find, as far as I'm concerned - it's very unlike him to "stick with Hawkins" in that situation. He's probably set in his ways by now, but after today that ideology may be permanently cemented.

"It's his inning" is what we'll hear. Further proof that baseball is crippled by tradition and codes. Pretty poetic that it's LaTroy who blows it in Chicago, perfect for Cubs fans.

The Gamel/McGehee situation will be very competitive, no doubt. I don't think either of them are moved (position or location) mid-season, but by next offseason a decision will have to be made. We'll certainly see what they're made of when Gamel gets healthy and starts competing Casey for playing time.

Bush pitching poorly? What? He's made one start and it was actually pretty decent.

I've tossed this around in my mind for a long time, but I think today I've come to my own conclusion (and I'm going to post this as if my opinion is really important). The Brewers absolutely 100% need to trade Prince Fielder this July. I have an extremely hard time believing that Scott Boras will make one of his biggest clients an exception to his rule: The only chance the Brewers have of re-signing Fielder will be in free agency. That does not bode well for the Brewers. Even if Prince does re-sign, it will be massive and the team will have limited flexibility long-term. Yes, it will be a relief to have some of the big Suppan/Hall contracts off the books, but there are several other important players on the team due pay raises. If the impact arms (Rivas, Arnett, perhaps Rogers or Jeffress) we expect to blossom into top-of-the-rotation MLB starters don't pan out as quickly as we thought, the Brewers will remain stuck plugging holes in the back end of the rotation, relying on Gallardo and Wolf to be 1 and 2 - not altogether enticing. I think we've seen that the Brewers' potential is capped with the caliber of pitching they have, despite Fielder performing at the level he's at right now. This really has nothing to do with Prince himself, which is what hurts the most about it; he's exactly the kind of special player that a team can build around. It's just not responsible for a small-market team like the Brewers to make a long-term investment at this price on ANY player, much less Prince - who will always have questions concerning his weight and durability long-term. As tired as that argument is, it's something that has to be considered. It's amazing how many players nowadays on the tail end of massive contracts are financially killing their teams, and the fans turn on them because of it. It just seems as if every big long-term contract ends ugly. Not to mention that trading Fielder rather than simply losing him is preferable because the Brewers control his destination, at least in the short term. I don't want to hear about the Cubs and Yankees bidding for his service, if at all possible. And it's not like the Brewers will be getting A-ballers in return. They can get major league ready (or at least very near major league ready) arms and bats for someone as coveted as Fielder. It's not really a rebuilding move, in my mind - the Brewers can still have a potent offense built around Braun, Weeks, McGehee, Gamel, and Escobar, and whoever comes over in the trade. Obviously not as potent - Fielder isn't replaceable - but improved pitching in both quantity and quality will go a long way at evening it out. Depending on the return, of course, I think the Brewers could absolutely content in 2011 and years beyond. Now if they're 20 games over .500 at the deadline, leave it alone. But I don't think that's being realistic. It'll be truly painful to have to trade away one of the organization's brightest and most successful home-grown stars, especially considering the relationship Fielder has created with the fans. But I think it has to be done.

Miller's starting to foam up, can't blame him. Ho

Meanwhile, the Brewers somehow manage to not score a run in that inning.

Counsell needs to help these guys shut up about this. Break it open, Craigger.

Apparently will to sign long-term contracts dictates market size...?

Orel is absolutely speechless.

Haha, Joe Morgan. That was amazing.

As soon as I tune in I think "Wow, 4-0". Instantly Wolf completely loses it.

I'm disappointed that Jody Gerut's getting shafted in favor of Edmonds and Gomez. Count me as a Gerut fan - I'll be rooting for a CF start for him tomorrow. As for right field, I'd lean towards Edmonds on most righties and use Hart vs. lefties...pretty much how they're doing it now. Not sure how that's going to work long-term, but I'm sure attrition will come into play as the season goes on, might as well have them both getting as consistent ABs as possible.

I don't think Lawrie's presence is enough of an excuse to not get this done. It's not like you have to give the guy a no trade clause. Rickie is the best hitter on the team not named Fielder or Braun, and the sooner he's locked up the cheaper, I would hope.

Anybody that switched over to the Masters early is reaping the benefits. It's a golf weekend.

I know, I guess between the way this game is going and national coverage and Stockton/Karros I got overly bitter. Won't happen again.

If I filled out the lineup card: BraunFielderWeeksMcgehee/EdmondsHart/McGeheeEscobarZaunPitcherGomez