The Truth

Thanks for that, I didn't realize he ranked that high in OPS. Would've thought he ranked much lower

Some of it depends on, of course, what happens at the trade deadline and in the off-season. Mat Gamel is not the only other option for opening day of 2011

I think the numbers Casey is putting up this year are about where his talent level is. He put up very similar numbers in AAA and AA. I would definitely keep him until he gets too expensive but I would ideally like to see him in a "supersub" role, starting 2 games a week at either 3rd or 2nd and pinch hitting. Casey McGehee off the bench sounds like a perfect role for him on a contending team. Casey McGehee as the every day starting 3B sounds like a role for him on a team 10 games under .500 . (if that makes sense)

Count me in as yet another one who wants to see Braddock remain a relief pitcher. Love him in the 7th or 8th inning role Braddock-Jeffress-Axford could be a dominating 7-8-9 inning tandem in the future

I'm thrilled they are sending Cain back to Nashville. Cain looks like he has great potential, I don't want the Brewers burning up his playing time in this (very) lost season. We aren't going to the playoffs this season. The Brewers could have had an extra year or two of Rickie Weeks if they had let him develop further in the minors before bringing him up (granted he was hitting incredibly in AAA ball but he needed alot of work on his fielding), same with Hardy (whose bat clearly wasn't ready when he was first brought up) We have limited windows with most of these players. Keep 'em in the minors until they are absolutely ready and they are going to start. Same thing with Lawrie. No way do I want to see him burning up service time too early

It'll be interesting to see how Lawrie does in AAA ball. Weeks just absolutely raked in AAA. The fact that Lawrie is putting up better numbers than Weeks did in AA ball intrigues me, but that is tempered somewhat by what endaround said "You can't compare early decade Huntsville with Hunstville today." That said, I'm pretty high on Weeks. I think if he can stay healthy (a big if, I know) he could be a perennial All-Star. He's certainly no Robinson Cano, or even a Chase Utley (though Weeks has a higher OPS than Utley and more HR's this year) but Weeks' OPS this year and last is higher than anything Brandon Phillips has ever approached (for instance) So anyways, that had me thinking that perhaps Brett Lawrie could be an All-Star 2B. I suppose the key is whether he can stick at 2B. Those offensive numbers aren't nearly as exciting if he's a corner Outfielder. I see no indication whatsoever that he could be a Ryan Braun (but then few are, and Braun's OPS is way down at this point in time, (all the way down to .819!)

Just how good do you knowledgeable folks think Brett Lawrie is going to be? I know it's tough to predict such things. Do you think he'll be a better player than Rickie Weeks? At age 20 Lawrie seems to be having a better year than Weeks had at age 21 in AA playing for Huntsville... conversely he's not anywhere close to the numbers Ryan Braun put up at Huntsville http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=lawrie001bre http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=weeks-001ric http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=braun-001rya

Its actually airing tommorow on ESPN, not HBO, and will be replayed many times on the MLB Network

Can someone remind me of what the point of having Jim Edmonds starting in center is? He's not a great fielder anymore

I wasn't suggesting that the Brewers should have kept Hall. I meant "Reconsidering" in the sense that I, for one, thought his career was over. I agree that he'd be a good asset on the Brewers bench right now, but only at "super-sub prices". Huge mistake by Melvin giving Hall that big contract. (Of course Melvin can be forgiven because of that great contract he signed Braun to...)

Since Gomez went 3 for 4 last night, I fully expect Macha to sit him down tonight

I thought Sheets would be better this year. All his stats are poorer than career norms. I figured he would either be lights out great again, or have health problems, but I didn't think he'd be "just a guy". 4.63 ERA, 1.393 WHIP, 6.6 SO/9 ... those don't look like Ben Sheets type numbers

A pitcher like Dave Bush should have value at the deadline. I sure hope they trade him. Always liked Bush, a good solid reliable pitcher when healthy, fully capable of throwing a 3 hitter on occasion. Now is the time to get something for him though...

Hall has played 7 different positions (everything but catcher and 1B!) this season and has put up a .778 OPS so far. He has 8 HR's and 25 RBI's in 61 games played. It seems as though Boston is getting effective use out of him by having him be the super-sub/multiple position guy that many thought/think he is best suited for. He even has a .793 OPS vs right-handed pitching this season. Granted, 61 games is a small sample. But the question needs to be asked: do you think he's turned the corner? At age 30 has he resurrected his career? This is a guy who put up a .596 OPS in 2009, and a .689 OPS in '08

The Brewers are close to being out of it but still are theoretically in it, so I don't see them starting Cain every day just yet. With Yo coming back off the DL and the Reds and Cardinals not exactly playing lights out, the Brewers' front office seems determined to not sell. We'll see... One would think, usually, that bringing up Cain is a sign that Hart is about to be traded, but I think this move is more about Gomez, and being tired of having a short bench, especially now that the bullpen has improved Sounds like they are close to giving up on Gomez, at least for this year, which would be a shame considering his talent level, his incredible defense and the fact that they have him for 4 years. JJ Hardy has only played in 46 games this year and has a .617 OPS (!), so at least so far that trade is a wash at worst...

From MLBTR : "Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is reluctant to become a seller because he believes his team can contend next year, if not this year, says Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times." Hopefully that is just a strategy in upping the ante in trade talks, but I'm beginning to believe that he thinks they can contend next year. I still don't see how they can get enough pitching to do that without trading Hart and Fielder though, but I'm looking forward to finding out how it all plays out

good point crewcrazy...but they could trade for Prince and then flip him in the off-season though. Its pretty clear that the Rangers are "going for it", and Chris Davis is not a proven player at all would you want to battle the Yankees in the playoffs with Chris Davis in the heart of your lineup, or Prince (or Dunn)

Burning service time while a player learns how to play MLB level 2B would not be wise to repeat with Lawrie. Weeks really should have another 2 years of arby time if the Brewers had brought him up when he was ready

I'm thrilled that the Yankees didn't get Lee, and I'm intrigued with whether Texas will try to trade for Dunn or Fielder (or whether they'll stick with the 1B they are bringing up from AAA)

Hart to ATL for Mike Minor, Fielder to SFG for Madison Bumgarner and I would be one happy dude! Do I think both will happen? Probably not. And I think the Brewers would have to throw something in on both trades to make 'em happen, but a rotation in 2011 of Gallardo, Bumgarner, Minor, Wolf as the #4 pitcher and Parra as our #5 would be a vast improvement...

Our family isn't going to buy any more tickets for at least this season until Macha is fired. Granted we only go to 5-6 games a year but enough is enough

I saw Mark "The Bird" Fidrych start for the Tigers vs Baltimore at Memorial Stadium in 1976. "The Bird" was pretty rare. What a character... I also saw a very bloody brawl between the Cubs and Cardinals in the early 80's

That sounds like a team that would win 75 games or so in 2011. Which, I suppose, is fine if it is part of a rebuilding towards 2012 and 2013 You think so? Any of Konerko, Dunn, Berkman or Lee (although he's fallen off a cliff this season) have the capability of hitting as well as Fielder has this season, when we've scored the 4th most runs in the NL. Cain should be an all-around upgrade over Gomez/Edmonds in CF. Escobar ought to be better offensively and defensively, unless every scout who ever watched him was wrong. Hart probably won't hit as well, but Braun should hit better. All told, I wouldn't see a substantial decrease in offense next season from this year with the lineup I listed. Adding Haren to the rotation would be huge. He could be the #1/2 pitcher we've all been clamoring for and would give us a solid 1-2 punch when teamed with Yo. If Parra continues pitching the way he has as a starter this season, and if Wolf reverts even somewhat back to his "norms," they should be at least an average 3/4 combo. We have plenty of options for our #5, which is the spot players like Narveson & prospects should be fighting for. Yeah, I see your point, but there is a lot of "maybe" in there. Haren is having his worst season so far, with an ERA over 4.30 and a higher WHIP than ever. Is that just a blip on the radar or has he turned the corner at the age of 29? (he'll be 30 in September). His K/9 is still as high as ever, that's a good sign... He would certainly be an upgrade over whoever is supposedly our #2 this year (Wolf?). Generally I prefer trading Fielder plus parts maybe for a young great pitcher like a Madison Bumgarner but that may be just a dream, maybe not a chance in reality, but maybe. But yeah I'd prefer a young arm that we could have for 5-6 years at a cheap price Dunn, sure, but I don't see Berkman or Lee putting up Fielder numbers at this stage of their careers. Konerko will be 35 next year but based on this season so far he'd be an upgrade over Prince so it really depends on which veteran 1B we would get I like Cain's potential but there is no guarantee he can consistently hit MLB pitching. Sure Escobar should be improved. I'm a huge Ryan Braun fan but we've gotten a taste this year of how he might struggle without Fielder protecting him in the lineup (though granted if it is Dunn or Konerko batting 4th that is negated) Having said that, if everything rolls right and its Dunn/Konerko on your proposed team and not Berkman/Lee (Berkman has a .797 OPS this year), sure I could see that team running into 83-85 wins, maybe being a pitcher brought in at the deadline from contending for a division title. The Reds and Cardinals looked poised to have very solid pitching for the next few years But if it is Lee or Berkman brought in, yes I could see that team easily being a 75 win team, especially if Haren is now a 4.25 ERA, 1.300+ WHIP guy

The Door Man posts here occasionally, I'd say he's got everyone beat for the record, I'm 1-1 on the season

At this point I would hope Attanasio realizes that the Brewers are not going to contend with Macha as the manager...