pete

Del Howell with a good stat line. Its hard to keep track of all the pitching prospects in the lower levels. It'd be nice if there were a fast riser or two.

One of the at bats against Gallardo, there were literally 6 strikes and only 1 called.

or finding lead off hitters

This feels like getting beat by a team that is a cross between fantasy camp and carnys.

Without throwing his bat ala Kendall, I'm not sure Hardy could have hit the ball.

What's happened to Yo? I remember game after game of him hitting his spots.

Is Gerut under contract next year?

Two things to consider: One, not only can Casey play 3d, 2d and 1st, but emergency catcher - that means that the manager's psyche is okay with PHing the backup catcher, hopefully Salome; and two, there has to be a backup SS. That means that either Counsell or Heether has to be on the team unless something more radical is done. Counsell has been amazingly valuable and it wouldn't surprise me if he has another good year, but the roster spots are tricky.

I think Harang would be a perfect fit. I'd think the Reds have to be squeezed financially. Some of their games have had Marlins like crowds. I don't know enough about most AL pitchers to venture a guess on the ones available (other than Halladay - go for it, don't sell the farm). Marquis might be all right, but he'll be coming off a nice year. I say absolutely no to Piniero. He'll be premium priced and the risk of taking a Duncan controlled pitcher is too high - unless you hire Duncan! Looper, I don't know - he looks pretty good sometimes and others, its the fireworks factory fire. That inning against the Marlins was bizarre. I wonder if Suppan will have a better year next season, seeing as its a contract year. Really push the strength and conditioning and see if he can improve some.

I don't think its absolutely true that the highest return is with the most time under team control. Prices definitely bump up at the trade deadline, sometimes radically.

Maybe tonight with C-Pat coming up, there'll be more clarification. I have to wonder why they are calling up C-Pat with only 4 games left for the Sounds and the chance for the playoffs. Does it make any sense to tweak Cam now rather than in 4 games? I love watching Cam's defense. I wonder how good Bourgeios or Stern would be. Also what happened with Iribarren playing CF in VWL? Did anyone read anything that suggested that was a success or failure? I guess I could go either way with bringing him back or not. I'd vote yes at a reduced rate and no to a 2 year deal.

I wonder about Heether as well. There sure is an amazing amount of clogging at the infield positions next year. Iribarren is going to be a minor league free agent also, correct? Are there any others? It might make a good thread by someone more knowledgeable than me.

I enjoyed those, especially the one with the shorties watching Peralta throwing with their caps and t-shirts and gloves.

Rivera has caught some awful pitching performances too. Coincidence?

Vargas versus His Royal Highness, the Most High Lord Pujols with the bases clogged. A real deja vu feel to this one. His Majesty getting the special strike zone of course. And Claudio wins.

You're leaving out what is probably the most relevant fact: they were awful for years and drafted the best players available. What exactly are you talking about?

Geez TLB and AKA Pete is Doug Melvin your Dad? Serisously, why is it any hint of critcisim or dissatisifaction of Melvin is met with such derision and indignation. Excuse me? Who are you? I wasn't derisive and there wasn't anything in the platitudes and cliches to be indignant over. I pointed things out. If you don't like that and want to just holler and stomp your feet and demand a world series, its okay with me. I dont' know what deals he could have done, I am not the GM I trade stocks for a living. So all that matters is results. How many WS wins does any team have to have in what number of years to meet your requirements? Point is that it isn't the end of the world if a team trades minor league talent to fill holes in the oranization and to do that a team has to be willing to trade some talented guys. This sounds like you wanted to go for it this year and accept many losing seasons. That is my problem with him, I dont' think he is a risk taker. Taking risk doesn't mean crazy Vernon Wells deals or bad deals it means taking calculated risk which will involve trading top talent for top talent. That may require giving up top prospects for pitching that is in the upper minors, something Melvin has not seemed willing to do. It sounds to me like he has been willing. Just because fans imagine trades happening, doesn't mean they're possible. And "calculated risks" are viewed as bad or crazy when they don't work out. Again, you sound like you want Attanasio to go for a WS even if it means years of low attendance and losing. I don't blame him for failing to predict Hardy's struggles this year but it could be he ends up getting burned by hanging on too long again and that is where Melvin has to face the music if the results continue to suffer. He's been shopping Hardy for at least a year. I'd guess one of the pitchers he was offered was Jonathon Sanchez. He's being taken out of the rotation now. I can only imagine the attacks on him if he did that deal. And here's a shocker: GMs and other people in baseball don't evaluate players based on their most recent performance or the latest fashionable metric. Hardy still has a high value no matter how much hate there is for the guy here. They can't just sit back and wait for one sided deals to fall in their lap or get lucky on scrap heap reclamations. Based on public comments, they aren't. Do you have inside information or is it your feeling that this is true? Everytime someone defends Melvin with the "what would you do line" it is condescending. There is nothing remotely condescending about it. Maybe you're working with a different definition. Its common sense. You talk as if you are absolutely certain about a variety of aspects of his personality and the business affairs of the Brewers. I am afraid the offense will wither while the pitching still won't be any better in 2 years. So you're saying they should have traded away the better prospects to go for it. I don't think that's a good business strategy. I suspect if Melvin asked to do what you wanted, Mark A. would have stopped him. If I buy my client 20 stocks and 15 are great but 5 are so bad they make my client lose more money than the market I might get fired, I will certainly hear it from my clients and using a defense of I didn't know they were going to commit fraud or I really thought Pets.com was a good company doesn't excuse the actual performance. Your standard, not losing money, is different than his standard, trying to be the best out of 30 teams. Even with the different standards, I suspect you've had clients whose portfolios didn't increase in value even with the gross distortions in the money supply. Nobody hates the guy but status quo and excuses aren't acceptable to some either. Some people sound like they hate the guy. Do you understand the difference between an excuse and a reason?

Parra has had periods where he was great at locating his pitches.

Pujols disrespectful? How about not running out grounders or pop-ups? How about routinely admiring HRs or fly outs for that matter? I can only imagine how much time he spends in front of a mirror admiring his greatness. Ryan's clown costume is a mystery as well.

stalton - Bush, Narveson and Smith plus Stetter to rightys isn't exactly formidable. sheetsterino - Does Bush look any different than earlier in the year or other years?

Minus the cliches, it sounds as if you want them to spend as much as is necessary to win the WS.

Usually people who say that they wanted him to "just do it" or similar don't make suggestions or at least realistic ones. Melvin can't create something out of nothing. Out of all his options, only one or two would have benefitted the team and he can't see the future. The choices you suggest are radical. Peavy is extremely expensive. Others would have had a high cost in dollars and/or prospects. If it meant going for it for a year or two and then blowing the whole thing up and being really bad for 5, 6 or 7 years, is that acceptable to you? I don't like that idea. I don't think that's evidence of having "stones." I think its a crummy way to run a franchise. Financially, I'd guess it would be stupid. Maybe I'm wrong. Worrying about how he talks in a radio interview, particularly given the volume of non-sensical criticism is a waste of emotion and energy. If you really think he is indifferent, I think you should reassess.

Look for the curveball Cam. Knock one out.

And Narveson is going to be the next guy in with that straight fastball. This could be a football score tonight.

Bush is a bulldog out there.