PrinceEatMeat

Well, they just said during the broadcast that Roenicke wants to slot Greinke in between Wolf and Narveson to split the lefties. That makes May 1 look like the day Greinke will start.

Well, that McGehee homer would've been nice, but I'll take 2. Everyone had good AB's that inning except Gomez and Almonte.

Yeah, I'd have to agree with you on that. Although, you'd have to think that Melvin wants Gomez to succeed to make himself look better. Then again, he also traded for Morgan, so really it doesn't matter. I still think it's Roenicke making all the decisions with the lineup. Melvin definitely was a reason for guys like Kotsay and Nieves being on the roster and team though.

http://milwaukee.brewers....ey=notebook_mil&c_id=mil In this article they also mention Roenicke saying that Lucroy will probably catch 120 games the rest of the way. That leaves 30 for whoever the backup is. In the other article I posted, it was stated that he's starting Nieves on Friday because he has worked well with Narveson so far. This is purely speculation, but I could see Nieves being kept, and just starting every 5 games to catch Narveson if they keep working well together. That would end up being about 30 games. It just seems to me that Kottaras has been second fiddle in this race all along.

I'm going with 6.

We won't keep 3 catchers. That's not even a question. One of them will be gone when Hart comes back, likely on April 22. Nieves is starting Friday according to Roenicke, so that's not a good sign. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/119874739.html But anyways, I'd go with Kottaras, because I'd rather have his bat as our backup catcher. It's gonna end up being that our backup only plays once a week, so I don't see a use for Nieves. People say he's good defensively, but he really isn't. Also, Lucroy is good defensively, so I don't see a need for two defensive catchers.

Exactly. People were mad before Morgan was even a possibility. Once the rumors that we had a shot at Morgan started, then people no longer cared. If we didn't have Morgan right now, I would still want Dickerson for sure. At least we don't have to worry about that now, so it doesn't matter.

That makes sense to me, but seems like it wouldn't happen much. I guess that's what must've happened though.

It's weird that they have everyone listed individually, and the total is still off. I would understand if one site had it messed up, but it seems like every site has it listed as 34. Maybe someone's individual stats are messed up.

Well, Almonte hit 6th the other games he played, but it's probably a good move to put him behind Betancourt.

They believe that he tweets during games. There are some real idiots over there.

He's costed players a lot of errors over the years. Defense at 1B is definitely very important. Prince's defense is only going to get worse down the road, not that it matters to us. Gamel definitely could end up being a good first baseman for us, and he'll definitely look good compared to Fielder.

Yeah, we at least know he won't be worse than Prince at 1B. He will be able to put up great numbers offensively though, it's just that there really aren't many people who can match Prince's numbers. As long as he hits the way many people expect him too, and plays good defense, he will definitely be a solid replacement. That's for sure.

It really was just dumb luck that kept him out of the majors. He'd be our starting 3B right now most likely, if he hadn't gotten hurt, and McGehee hadn't broken out. He also might be our RF right now if Hart didn't go off last year. Stuff happens I guess. I think he'll be a good 1B for us, and it is probably better that way because he sucked at 3B. We are better off this way, and it is better for the team, so I'm not worried about it.

I think Gamel with be good for us at 1B next year. To make sure that happens, I would definitely keep him playing there all year in AAA. It's a given to call him up to DH, and in September, but he really needs the playing time in the field and the regular AB's in AAA. Like people have said, we have other options if the bench continues to struggle.

Seeing as we're facing a lefty, I can tell you the lineup right now. Weeks Gomez Braun Fielder McGehee Almonte Betancourt Lucroy Wolf

Yeah, I hear ya on that one. I used to hate watching Suppan pitch. Then it always seemed like Bush was pitching when I was there. It's great to finally have competent pitchers on out staff, so I don't have to worry about who's pitching when I go to games.

I think the reason Gomez is seeing a lot of playing time is because he played well in ST and Roenicke is giving him a fair shot. Do I agree with this? No I don't. It just seems to me that Roenicke is reluctant to give up on Gomez this quickly. Eventually, once Gomez keeps playing the way he always will, Roenicke will come to his senses and platoon him and Morgan in CF. I remember Roenicke saying in ST that the only reason he's batting Gomez 2nd is because Hart is hurt. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hart hitting there, especially when Gomez is in the lineup. I do think we'll end up seeing Morgan hitting 2nd and Hart hitting 6th though.

No, he's pitching Sunday.

Yeah, there's always gonna be people who overreact about everything. There's a reason to say that guys like Kotsay, Gomez, and Betancourt suck, because they came in being terrible, and we expected it. Guys like McGehee have proven they can hit, and deserve a bigger sample that 40 PA's. I think more of the reason the other 3 I mentioned are criticized is because we have Morgan and Counsell sitting on the bench not getting starts they should be getting. I think people will calm down once Hart returns, and Morgan starts platooning with Gomez in CF. The weaknesses in out lineup will be more masked then, because we won't have 3-4 bad hitters in the lineup at once. If we just have Betancourt in there, it won't be as big of a deal if we have Morgan and Hart in there. We'll be fine, I'm not worried at all. McGehee will snap out of it, all players have slumps. Roenicke will soon realize that Gomez sucks, and when Hart comes back Kotsay will be on the bench. Betancourt will get his starts, because Counsell can't play regularly. We will probably see Counsell get more than 1 start a week eventually, but like I said before, we won't notice Betancourt as much when Hart and Morgan are in there and McGehee is hitting again.Plus, while Betancourt is a complete out machine, he at least offers some pop for a shortstop. He's not an Adam Everett type of out machine SS who either makes outs or only hit singles. Yuni can drive the ball some as he did tonight. I have a bigger issue with his lack of range at shortstop than i have with his hitting because quite a few shortstops in baseball are bad or very mediocre hitters. It's just that not many or any offer his mix of bad hitting and terrible defense. Yeah, I agree. His lack of range infuriates me at times. His hitting I can deal with more. He'll at least hit some homers for us this year. He's seems to be the kind of guy who will have a couple games where he gets no hits, and then have a big game. That will work once we are at full strength. Also, as far as Morgan goes. Not sure who ever said he should be an everyday player. He is a clear platoon candidate, who should only play against righties.

This is a true "homer" post. Look at the stats man...if this pitching holds up...World Champs for the Crew!, but I am trying to be realistic. How does Gomez serve a purpose...as a 9th inning defensive replacement? Gomez is a very good defensive CF, it's not his fault that the manager for some truly baffling reason has continued to bat him 2nd in the order. Until Hart gets back, the problem could easily be solved by playing Morgan in RF whenever a RH pitcher starts and bat Morgan 2nd with Gomez 8th. Then once Hart gets back, platoon Morgan and Gomez in CF because Nyger really struggles vs lefties. When Morgan plays, i'd be fine with either Morgan or Hart batting 2nd. If it's Morgan, we have Hart and McGehee following Prince. Then when a lefty starts, put Hart in the two hole and hit Gomez 8th. If Roenicke doesn't want to flip around the two hole spot, simply bat Hart there and just platoon Morgan/Gomez. Either way, once Hart gets back, it will end Roenicke's fascination with watching Kotsay weakly ground out over and over. McGehee will eventually start to hit. Roenicke i'm assuming will have to soon end this foolishness of batting Gomez 2nd. Our offense will be productive and be a team strength. Totally agree. I really don't see why Morgan isn't playing over Kotsay. That's the part that really irritates me. Gomez should play over Kotsay for defensive purposes, and he shouldn't hit 2nd. Like we've both said though, when Hart comes back our problems will be solved pretty quickly.

That he'd have a stretch of 40 bad PAs at some point in time? Not sure who wouldn't have seen that coming. Brewers start 0-4: SEASON OVER McGehee struggles in first 11 games of the season: HE SUCKS Brewers offense is good: IT CAN'T CONTINUE WORDS!!! Yeah, there's always gonna be people who overreact about everything. There's a reason to say that guys like Kotsay, Gomez, and Betancourt suck, because they came in being terrible, and we expected it. Guys like McGehee have proven they can hit, and deserve a bigger sample that 40 PA's. I think more of the reason the other 3 I mentioned are criticized is because we have Morgan and Counsell sitting on the bench not getting starts they should be getting. I think people will calm down once Hart returns, and Morgan starts platooning with Gomez in CF. The weaknesses in out lineup will be more masked then, because we won't have 3-4 bad hitters in the lineup at once. If we just have Betancourt in there, it won't be as big of a deal if we have Morgan and Hart in there. We'll be fine, I'm not worried at all. McGehee will snap out of it, all players have slumps. Roenicke will soon realize that Gomez sucks, and when Hart comes back Kotsay will be on the bench. Betancourt will get his starts, because Counsell can't play regularly. We will probably see Counsell get more than 1 start a week eventually, but like I said before, we won't notice Betancourt as much when Hart and Morgan are in there and McGehee is hitting again.

Gotta love the Tony Plush sound bytes there.

Gotta love T-Plush!!!

And Prince reminds the Pirates who they are!