PrinceEatMeat

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/42230752.html There is a link to the blog that WisconsinSportsRule mentioned above. I also don't understand why Lamb thought he deserved to make the team over McGehee. He hasn't produced in a long time, and McGehee and Counsell both outperformed him, making his lefty bat to complement Hall un-needed.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/42228547.html One debate is over. McGehee is in, Lamb is out. And it also looks like Nelson and Duffy are in, and Gwynn is out. I would also assume that Counsell will be good to go. This pleases me to say the least. It's about time that this team keeps the 25 best players in the majors.

Yeah, that's what I would assume. Hall would have to back-up SS I would guess.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/42138767.html There's the link. However, all this really tells me is that Lamb and Nelson have made the team. McGehee appears to be headed to AAA if Counsell doesn't need surgery. At least he said that there is still a competition between Duffy and Gwynn. We can still hope that Gwynn gets DFA'd.

I think Alcides is best utilized at SS as well, but I would have a hard time believing that Melvin would trade Hardy anytime soon. He is just entering his prime, and has said that he wants to be in Milwaukee. If only he came out and said the exact same thing Escobar just did. We should just offer him a nice extension in exchange for switching positions. If he is getting the money anyway, it won't matter what position he's playing.

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090329&content_id=4085758&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil According to that article, Escobar would be willing to switch positions to get to the big leagues. So, if we want to keep both him and Hardy, we have the option to move Escobar to second if Rickie struggles. Here is his direct quote... Asked about the logjam, Escobar said, "I don't know what's going to happen. I know I have a good friend in J.J. If the team wants me to move to second, to third, to the outfield, wherever, I'll do it."

Yeah I just got screwed by taking Marmol in fantasy. I guess he'll have to ride the bench for me. The back-end of the Cubs bullpen scares me a lot more than it did last year. But don't worry, I'm sure Looper, Bush, and Suppan won't give up any leads in that opening series. Lol.

Well you better get used to that taste then.

I'd probably be more pissed to see McGehee sent out then Duffy. McGehee really deserves a spot on this roster. Duffy and Gwynn are basically the same player. Duffy hasn't played a significantly in over a year, and Gwynn is just coming off injury. Overall, I think they'd put up similar numbers in the majors. Neither would see a ton of playing time.

My point is that McGehee won't be of any use to us playing an off position down in AAA. If he is in the majors, he can get starts at 3b, 2b, and 1b. He could even possibly play catcher or outfield in a pinch. He would also be the only right-handed bat off our bench, except for Rivera. That could be crucial late in games. With Duffy seeing all the playing time even since Gwynn has come back, it just seems to me that they will just DFA Gwynn and see what happens. I'm guessing that they expect him to clear waivers and be assigned to AAA. Nelson has also presumably locked up one of the outfield spots, so it seems to me that the only real competition that is left is between Lamb and McGehee. My choice is McGehee.

There is no way they can roll with Lamb and Nelson as backup outfielders. They would both be liabilities in the field, and Cameron wouldn't get days off. I wouldn't be excited to see Hart play in cf. He should be kept in rf. Duffy is so much more versatile. He could spell Cameron as a lefty complement, and leadoff if Weeks is off on the same day in a Sunday lineup. He could also play lf and rf if needed. Nelson would be used in more of a pinch-hitting role, possibly getting a few starts in place of Braun or Hart, but not many, and possibly some starts at 1b for Prince. I just don't see Lamb's value on this roster. Nelson is our lefty bat, Counsell can spell Hall at third, Nelson can spell Fielder at first. No place for Lamb in there. Also, to add on to what I said before about Gamel, he will play everyday at 3b. He needs work in the field. I don't see him sitting many games down there, or DHing. The only way for him to get better at 3b is to play 3b everyday. Basically, McGehee would have to play mostly 2b and 1b in AAA, which I really don't see a point in doing. Sure, I guess it would get him experience at those positions, but I think that if we need him as a backup plan at 3b, he should be playing 3b. My guess is that Thorman will be starting at 1b in Nashville, and Iribarren will play at 2b most of the time. With Escobar at ss and Gamel at 3b. Now that I think about it, Nashville might be winning the AAA World Series this year. Especially if they have guys like Duffy and McGehee. They could throw out a lineup like this... Duffy Escobar Gamel McGehee Salome Thorman Iribarren Rottino or Bourgeois (possibly Cain if he gets to AAA eventually) That isn't bad at all.

I like 1 and 2. I agree with your points there. However, number 3 could raise a problem. Why? Because we have Gamel as out starting third baseman in Nashville. Which means that McGehee would have to play regularly at some other position, which wouldn't prepare him to replace Hall if need be. The presence of Gamel makes me more apt to lean towards McGehee over Lamb. McGehee also provides a right-handed option other than Rivera off the bench, and is more versatile than Lamb. If we need a platoon mate for Hall later in the year we can go with Counsell, and if he struggles Gamel might even be an option if he rakes at AAA.

I totally agree. I don't think Gwynn is good enough to make any team right now, which is what would happen if he was claimed. If he is DFA's we'll see him in Nashville again. I also see no sense in sending McGehee or Duffy down. Where would McGehee even play with Gamel already at third? Duffy could take one of the OF spots, but with Gwynn likely being able to clear waivers it doesn't make sense.

We don't need any depth at AAA. If Hall goes down, Counsell and McGehee handle 3b with Gamel possibly getting called upon if he hits well in AAA. If an OF goes down, Duffy and Nelson fill in and Cain could get a cup of tea, or we will likely have Nixon in AAA to come up if necessary. I just don't see why we wouldn't keep our best players on the Major League roster. Sending down Duffy and McGehee would do nothing to benefit us. We don't need Gwynn struggling in the big leagues anymore, and Lamb isn't anyone to get excited over. Nelson is the lefty off the bench that we need, not Lamb.

We're not getting Peavy. Period. He doesn't want to come here. Melvin won't give up the prospects.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/41724002.html This article proves my point from before that it's Gwynn vs. Duffy and Lamb vs. McGehee. But, like I said, I think Lamb has trade value, so I see McGehee and Gwynn making the roster. For some odd reason, I just don't see Melvin giving up on Gwynn, even though he should. My choices would be to trade Lamb and DFA Gwynn. If he makes it through waivers and ends up in Nashville then so be it. Counsell can hit against righties at 3B, so I think Lamb's value is pretty low at this point, especially since he has been out-performed by both Counsell and McGehee. Nelson can be backup 1B.

I guarantee that Melvin is working the phones right now trying to work out trades for Lamb and Gwynn. No one will want Gwynn for obvious reasons, but Lamb could draw some interest. I personally think Gwynn will just be DFA'd, and because he has no options left, I have a hard time believing that any team would claim him. He might end up in Nashville again. He will just be another AAAA player in this league.

Yeah, that's basically where I get that from. After every time DiFelice pitches Macha seems to have some good comment about him. Also, Julio hasn't been mentioned at all when Macha has discussed who could take Villanueva's set-up role if he continues to struggle, or who could take the closer role if Hoffman starts the season on the DL. My guess is Julio gets cut.

McGehee, Nelson, and Duffy will get the last three bench spots. McGehee has vastly out-performed Lamb this spring. The debate of not having a lefty to platoon with Hall doesn't make sense to me. Counsell could easily step in and platoon with Hall if need be. Macha even said that Counsell would be the leading candidate to do so. I can see the front office wanting to keep Gwynn for some reason, in which case I could see Duffy being released, traded, or simply sent to AAA. Duffy deserves the spot, but I truly believe it's between Gwynn and Duffy, not Nelson. Duffy and Gwynn are players with similar capabilities, such as speed and fielding, although not the same quality obviosuly. Nelson is a different kind of player, and would be a valuable lefty bat off the bench to provide power, and I think he has one spot locked down. I believe Duffy has won the other spot, but we all know that Melvin loves Gwynn, so something might happen there. I hope that we just DFA Gwynn and be done with it. He has no future here with Cain coming up through the system fast. As far as the bullpen, I can see DiFelice and Coffey getting the last two bullpen spots over Julio. Coffey pretty much has a spot locked down, as he has out-performed Julio this spring. Macha seems to like DiFelice, so I can see him being kept over Julio. However, all three may start the season on the roster if Hoffman starts on the DL. Then the least needed pitcher will be sent down, or released in Julio's case, upon Hoffman's return.

You can throw out as many options as you want, but everybody knows what the lineup will be. It's slightly disappointing, but there will be two lineups. Weeks Hardy Braun Fielder Hart Cameron Hall Kendall or Kendall Hardy Braun Fielder Hart Cameron Hall Weeks I hate Kendall in the leadoff spot, but Macha apparently likes it. The first lineup is basically what we saw last year, and it actually isn't bad. However, Hart needs to hit like at the beginning of last season for it to work. It is essential to have protection for Fielder in this lineup. Cameron and Hall should be ok in the 6 and 7 spots. Anywhere else in the order and their high K totals could become a problem. I just don't think Kendall is good in any spot but 8. The only thing that could really be done is switching Hardy and Hart, but I don't think that's necessary at this time.

Well then, I can help them with that...Cameron for Cano...done! NO!

I worked for Pick N' Save in New Berlin during the summer of '05 and I saw 3TO, Billy Hall, Rickie Weeks, and JJ Hardy there. I actually saw Billy pull up in his Escalade with his girlfriend, who was really hot might I add, so I followed him in and ended up bagging his groceries. He was a pretty nice guy. Carried nothing but a huge wad of cash with him. He just had the typical cart full of food. JJ and Rickie were together, along with JJ's dad. JJ had a cart full of booze and plastic cups, which didn't surprise me. Rickie followed them up with a box of condoms, not a surprise either. I wonder what they planned on doing that night? I was tempted to ask them, and also wanted to say, will you sign my bag? Lol. I also saw Ahman Green in the airport in April '07 coming back from Nebraska after he had signed with the Texans. Sadly, I don't think anyone knew who he was, even though he looked huge compared to everyone else, and was walking around in a muscle shirt and shorts in 40 degree weather. I saw Gilbert Brown at a gas station this past summer, and he drove a huge Navigator. It seemed like it was custom made. I gotta say that Gilbert looks like he weighs 400 lbs in person. I know that a lot of the young Brewers live in the apartments across from Pick N' Save in New Berlin. My brother's friend works there now, and saw Corey Hart there last season. One more thing, I was at srping training this past spring and I actually sat in front of Eric Munson's grandparents, and Hart's wife and kids. My family and I talked to Munson's grandparents, and they were really nice. It kinda made me feel bad when he didn't make the team. Hart's wife is pretty hot, and his kids were pretty funny. They were giving his wife a pretty hard time.

Haha, that would be great if something like that happened. CC probably has the Yankees eating out of his hand, so he could definitely get them to do something dumb like that. It would be great to see.

Ok, the thing about number 2 is that Melvin usually will come out and say that he will listen to offers on certain player, such as Hardy. I know that he never says he is shopping anyone, but I believe that if he wanted to trade Hardy, he at least would've said that he would listen to offers.

Honestly, I wouldn't trade Hardy for anyone on the Giants, but Lincecum. Otherwise, I think our best move is to hold onto Hardy and either trade Escobar, or move one of them to a different position. I think there is a reason why Escobar will be working with Willie Randolph at 2b during spring training. I think we will be seeing Hardy and Escobar up the middle in 2010 if Rickie doesn't show improvement this year.