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6-0 in the postseason. The Crew takes another big game pitcher from the Cardinals! I do like this signing as long as it's no more than a 2 year deal. It strengthens the back of the rotation and bullpen at the same time.

Has anyone's star fallen more quickly than that of Andruw Jones? A nice low risk, high reward deal for the Rangers.

Like it or not, Prince is the face of this franchise and the single reason why the Brewers are back on the national media's map. Braun is no doubt a star, but he's not a character in the sense that Prince is. Prince is quickly becoming one of the characters of the game like Manny, Jeter, Big Papi, and Pedro. What I mean by character is, combined with their star power and talent, these individuals all have qualities (good and bad, on and off the field) that draws fans to follow them more closely than other star players. They are simply more entertaining than the rest, and that puts butts in the seats. I think the Brewer's and their fans are incredibly fortunate to have Prince, given their small market status. He has certainly earned a lot of the criticisms over his short career for his on and off field flaws, but much of it has been unfairly amplified due to his star status. To answer the original question, I am a fan of Prince and feel that his negatives are easily outweighed (pun intended) by the positives he brings to the team and community.

I like this deal a lot. If Prince stays healthy, they will likely save a few million dollars and they can budget for next year without worrying about what he'll get in arbitration. As for Prince, I think it will help him focus on baseball more, and worry about his contract less. It's only two years so I don't think we have to worry about him getting lazy, as he still has a monster pay day to look forward to in 2012. Nice job Doug!

What a blow. Jim was the perfect complement to Uecker and would have made a perfect #1 after Ueck retires. Too back he'll be a perfect #1 for someone else. Brewers radio just won't be the same.

Darren Jackson hits a grand slam in St. Louis, I believe... Vasgersian LOST IT. For some reason I remember that one. I was just thinking of that game last night while watching a "greatest game" replay on the MLB network. All I remember is a back and forth offensive battle with the Cardinals hitting a grand slam to go ahead. You could hear Matty V. pound the table in frustration after they hit it. And then Jackson comes up in the ninth to hit the go ahead grand slam and wins the game. You could tell Vasgersian was emotionally spent after that one. I think that's when he officially became my favorite tv announcer. Matty V's call of Sexson's HR in the first game at Miller Park... "OHHH RICHIE SEXSON! OH YOU SEXSON BOY YOU!" How about his "RICHIE I'M TOO SEXSON FOR MY SHIRT!" home run call.

My feelings exactly. As for Raines, I don't know how he only got 23% of the vote. Besides Henderson, Raines is more deserving of the Hall than anyone on the ballot this year.

MLB Rumors today listed the Brewers as one of 5 teams pursuing Lowe. The other four are the Braves, Mets, Phillies and Angles. It just mentions the team, and the info was swiped from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. I doubt the Brewers are front runners, and with Boras as the agent, good luck trying to get Lowe without overpaying with $'s or years.

Are there any indications Dunn can play a serviceable first? I would hate to get rid of one poor fielding firstbaseman just to replace him with another. If he could be at least be average at first, I'd like the idea of signing Dunn and trading Fielder for pitching. If he would be Fielder-like or worse at first, no thanks.

I agree. The Brewers need to go after some mid level pitchers and save the money for next year's free agency crop, which should be better. There's not much to get exited about at the top due to extremely high price, old age and, as you stated, strong ties to other organizations. There's no point in the Brewers overpaying to get someone to come here, or giving too many years to land a pitcher in his 40's. As for Perez and Garland, their inconsistency comes at too high a price.

No. Given his age, 2 years should be the max offered to Lowe. Someone will definitely give him more years and that will be a team that can afford to absorb those couple of years of Lowe's performance dropping off a table. A team like the Brewers can ill-afford to have another Suppan on its hands after Soup's contract expires.

What about Harold Reynolds? I know he is not going to get the job and his name has not been mentioned anywhere, but why? I used to love listening to him on ESPN and still enjoy his commentary on TBS. He is almost always spot on with his observations and his baseball knowledge is impeccable. I know he's had a questionable past with the whole sexual harassment deal, but I find it amazing that his name does not pop up during managerial searches. Melvin has already handcuffed his search by stating he wants someone with prior experience and success. Too bad, as I think a fresh face like Reynolds could be the type of manager that this team needs.

I feel bad for Sveum. He was a loyal soldier as far as baseball people go, and by reading his comments, you can tell he really loved being a Brewer. I would have liked to see him back, but I guess I can't blame Melvin for wanting to go with more experience. Out of all the names, I would prefer Davey Johnson as well, but I have this feeling it will be Buck Showalter. None of these options get me really excited, though.

How cool is that. I got goosebumps when the Braun highlight was played. I guess the Brewers have finally arrived.

The Brewers would be making a huge mistake by trading away Hardy. He is the exact type of player this team needs. He's solid fundamentally on defense and offense and he's shown steady progress every year. His only negatives are his lack of speed and walks, but he has shown the ability to get on base this year. Unless Escobar is sure to be a better all around player than Hardy, I would rather see Escobar get traded if they were forced to make a choice. Although I do think they can convince JJ to move to third, where he will be just as good.

Agreed. I was one who felt starting Suppan was their only choice as I figured they did not want to risk starting Yo on short rest. Seeing him come in as a long reliever and pitch lights out was horrible given how Suppan had already lost it for us. That would be my only criticism of Sveum if he was indeed involved in the decision to start Suppan. I don't think he'll be back as manager next year as I feel the team needs to start over fresh with someone from outside the organization. He does deserve a lot of credit for getting the Brewers to play well enough in the past 12 games to make the playoffs. There was a ton of pressure to manage through, and I'm confident in saying there is no way Yost gets them there.

This was talked about in an earlier thread. I like the idea of bringing in a fresh face with a winning history and not just another re-tread. Not only would it save money, I think it would be beneficial to have someone in there who could have a fresh outlook on the game and not be stuck in his way of doing things. I think most of the veteran managers mentioned so far are from the old school style of management like Yost was. That style is quickly becoming antiquated.

I was at the game tonight and I must say the crowd was absolutely nuts. It was incredible to see everyone on their feet every single time a Phillie hitter had two strikes against him or a Brewer hitter had a three ball count. The crowd definitely had a part in tonight's victory. Bush seemed to thrive off the energy and the Phillies hitters in the first inning seemed a bit rattled as they were swinging at pitches they would normally lay off of. I am so glad I spent way too much for a nosebleed ticket (I was in the very last row). It's an experience I will never forget.

It is so awesome that the Cubs are out of the playoffs before the Brewers, and in horrible fashion I may add. "It's gonna happen." It most certainly did, and it feels wonderful.

Life is good. The Brewers made the playoffs and the Cubs are choking them away..........again. Dear Cubs Fans: You deserve it all.

Here's what I would like to see next season: 1. Fire Skaalen. The plate discipline has steadily gotten worse and some of the blame belongs with the hitting coach. I know it's up to the player to perform, but a young team needs good coaching to help them adjust as the season goes on, and the hitters did not. 2. Trade Weeks. If they could get a bullpen arm or even Roberts for Weeks +, I am all for it. He still may turn out to be a great hitter, but it's too much of a gamble to wait and see. He may not have any value if they wait another season, and sick of waiting until September every year for Weeks to finally "come around." 3. If they can't get Roberts, make a run at Mark Ellis at 2B. 4. Move Hardy to 3rd, bring up Escobar to play short and let Hall be a super-sub again while playing mostly at short. Hall has zero value right now and will likely improve slightly next season, allowing the team to trade him come July. 5. Trade Fielder for Mat Cain +. Cain could be our future #2 and Fielder's weight and poor defensive play are worrying me. His trade value may never be higher than this off season. If Nelson or Gamel can't play 1st, look for a mid level free agent to fill the gap until someone in the farm system can step in. 6. Have Kapler and Gwynn split time in center and use the farm system for the #5 outfielder. Cameron did a good job this year, but he's another free swinger and this team has enough of those. I'm also convinced Gwynn could become a great defensive center fielder and maybe be average to slightly below average offensively. The money from Cameron could also be used to sign some bullpen help or maybe put towards a 2 year signing of Lowe. **** The defense would be greatly improved and the speed would stay the same. OBP would be improved and I think they score about the same amount of runs, maybe even more, despite giving up some power as a result. With Yo, Cain, Lowe, Parra, Soup/Bush, the starting pitching would not be too far off what it is now as long as the young guys continue to improve.

As a whole, I would agree that the Brewers took their pitches and did not just go up and hack and the first couple of balls thrown. The problem is that they seem to be impatient in the worst situations. Hart swinging at the first pitch after Hardy was walked to score a run would not have been as upsetting if we all hadn't seen it numerous times before with Brewer hitters. It's spots like that were the pitcher is clearly struggling to throw strikes and, too many times this season, the Brewers let him of the hook by swinging early or at bad pitches. Melvin (or his replacement) will need to overhaul this offense to include batters that can get on base consistently and not rely solely on the long ball. Nothing wrong with hitting for power, but there are too many free swinging, high strike out hitters on this team right now, and the end of this season has exposed that flaw to the nth degree.

Or a Fielder Bomb to tie it up. Edit: Darn it. I'm always late.

This sucks. CC didn't deserve this game. His command was off, but not by much and the score should be 2-1 Brewers.

Myers did what we all wanted to do to Hart. Thank you!