HiAndTight

Who are these people who have speculated about how many jersey's Gallardo would sell there? I could see if he was a transcendent player. Ie, Ichiro playing in Seattle, or Matsui playing in New York. The Asian fan base you could gain would be substantial. Fernando pitching in LA. But Gallardo has merely been good. I sincerely doubt teams are lining up and speculating at the impact at #2/3 pitcher could have on their bottom line. I'd also like to see some evidence that there is more excitement created when Yo pitches in AZ or Texas because it's Gallardo? I've neither seen, nor heard anything beyond his family and friends going to the games as he was born in Texas. If that were the case, then you would have thought that those teams would have had more interest in K-Rod, or a guy like Soria, both players of Mexican decent. And Gallardo was raised in the US. I think the extent of the value we're going to get out of Gallardo is what value he brings to the team based on his ability to pitch, not because he was born of Mexican decent.

I think the Broxton trade will come down to if we make the playoffs this year. If we do and he helps us, obviously it's worth it. If we don't and we're spending 11 million on him for one year....it's probably going to sting a little bit. Especially if it means we can't bring back Aram for example.

Broxton over his career has been pretty good against LH hitters (not as good as others that we have) but Ron probably cost us several games by making Smith the "8th inning guy." He ended up being batting practice against RH hitters once they figured him out. I just don't get it. Like, it's 2014. It's pretty easy to prove it isn't just a mental thing as a "closer" or "8th inning guy." The term "closer experience" makes me want to throw my computer or TV out the window when I hear it. Who exactly should have been splitting the 8th inning for the Brewers? We've tried Kintzler, we had Thornburg and Henderson, Wooten. As of late we've used Jeffress, but we haven't had a good right hander in the pen other than K-rod since Thornburg went down. Jeffress is not someone I'm confident in. Incidentally, Roenicke has also said he'll play the matchup's in the 8th inning with the lefties we have. And why does the term "closer experience," make you so angry? There IS something to it. Guys who have been there before are able to calm down and not over pitch. I think sometimes we're just searching for reasons to bash RR.

Good point. I know for example that if I saw Mike Daniels screaming "break down," and the entire team getting into an athletic stance 3 times before, during and after games, I'd just laugh. That is something everyone did, right?

I do. This is a sincere question, living in Northern Cali, do you get to watch the Brewers every day, or are you just basing this on the two games you went to? When the SF Giants were in town there was an instance where my love for Lucroy diminished rapidly in to disappointment. Lucroy was on first base, and for some reason attempted to steal second-base. Lucroy got a great jump, and should have been safe. However, SFG rookie 2nd baseman Joe Panick was covering the bag.. literally, he laid his left leg down in front of the entire base, with nowhere for Lucroy to even get to the base. What would you do in this scenario? If you were attempting to steal second, and the base was entirely covered by the opposing teams 2nd-Basemans leg? I would probably go the Ty Cobb route, since it's my right-of-way to the base.... But here's what Lucroy did: he pussy-footed. He had a perfect chance to steal second base, put himself in scoring position, and teach this rookie 2nd-baseman a lesson about blocking bases in the major leagues. But instead, he made sure to slide on the inside of the bag, CLOSER TO THE THROW FROM HOME, ensuring not only that he was for sure going to get tagged out, but what boils my blood, is that he made sure he didn't cause any harm to rookie Joe Panick. First of all, the idea that Lucroy knew that sliding toward the inside of the bag would ensure he gets tagged out is insane. You're talking about a hundredth of a second there. Sure, he should have slid into the rookie...I guess. But that is such a nitpicky thing to look at and say that the Brewers don't care. Edit-And if this is what has "rapidly diminished your love into disappointment," you were never really a Luc fan. I understand, nobody WANTS to hurt anybody else. But this is still a contact sport dude. Anybody that takes foul-balls to the scrotum should know that. It's not a contact sport. Getting hit with a ball doesn't make it one either. By that logic, what sport isn't? Soccer? And in a similar scenario, what does Joe Panick do? He throws his whole body in to Jean Segura risking harm to himself and the opposition. Like you're supposed to do, as far as I'm concerned. Only similar in that both were running to second. Spiking a guy is a COMPLETELY different thing than sliding into 2nd hard. I know Lucroy's a laid back, calm dude. I'm from northern California, I'm well acquainted with this demeanor. But there has to be some balance between laid-back and passion to win. And I'm not seeing any of the latter. I would completely disagree. The easiest thing to do when a team is struggling is to say they're not passionate enough. As if Lucroy being demonstrably pissed off would suggest he cares as much as Matt Garza. I counted 20-seconds TWICE after the brewers had made the 3rd out of an inning, before any players had stepped on the field and when they finally did, only a couple guys actually ran to their position. I was appalled. Playing through high-school and college ball I was always told HUSTLE ON AND OFF THE FIELD, LIKE THEY DO IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES. Was this the Major Leagues I paid $75 to see? Really? You were counting to see how long it took for the team to go to their positions? This isn't little league or HS. You get no bonus points for "sprinting to your positions," and it has absolutely nothing to do with hustling. This is just trying to gin up reasons to get on the players for the team losing IMO. I also inherently dislike the, "when we were growing up, we were taught......" type of argument. They as a team looked sluggish and uninterested, and it's no surprise to me that they continue to lose. I wouldn't expect anything different in the near future, unless someone lights a fire under every brewers ass. But when your best player for the year is saying things like, "If we make it so be it, if we don't so be it" I don't expect them to make it, and if they do, I don't expect them to win. He ought to be saying things like, "We want to make it, we want to win." Yeah, but the problem is LUCROY NEVER SAID THAT. He said, "Sometimes as human beings we try to do too much, and I know I'm that way, but all we can do is go out there and do the best we can and if it works out, it works out, that's all we can really do." That's NOTHING like "hey, if we make it, we make it, if we don't, we don't." I don't think the Brewers are pressing, I think they're too careless, and I think they need to press. All due respect, if you played baseball growing up, you know the absolute WORST thing you can do as a player is press. You can't just "try harder," in Baseball. You absolutely can give too much effort. This is at the basic core of the game. I've watched almost every single game this year. Watched everyone that's been on TV(DVR'ed several, but I've also been laid having a couple surgeries this summer) and have been to 4 that weren't on TV. Not ONCE have I questioned this teams effort. ARam. Nobody looks like they're more lackadaisical than him. Yet when they bunt the ball toward third, he's as good as anyone coming in and bare handing it. He's also the guy I want up(one of 3) late in the game. Gomez on the other hand? I really don't trust him because he gets himself too worked up. Hell, he's even said that he has to take swings during games so he tires himself out a little bit or he over swings. Right now, THAT'S the biggest problem in my mind, they're trying too hard. Pitchers are overthrowing the ball leaving pitches up, hitters are going up there trying to jump on early fastballs trying to generate offense, relievers feel like they have no margin for error. It IS possible for a team to be playing hard and just playing bad. The two aren't mutually exclusive and there hasn't been a single time all year I've questioned Lucroy's work ethic.

Too bad. I was hoping he could step into a roll in our BP next year. Not that this means he can't, but way too often "minor elbow discomfort," turns into TJ.

He also talked about suicidal thoughts, slitting his wrists, hanging himself among other methods in a recent podcast. He was talking about how he felt after having heart surgery. It was really....not sure how to even articulate, profound, enlightening...about how depression doesn't discriminate. He said things like, "then I look around and say, hey, I've got a great house, nice car, great family, life is good, so lets table that(referring to suicide)." The wealthy, poor and everyone in between suffers from it. I'm sure everyone knows someone who's suffered from depression, but it's hard to deal with. I remember being really insensitive when I was younger and my mother had it. I remember asking her, "what DO you want, what is your problem." I've come to see that type of depression isn't the same as feeling down because work isn't going good, or because of everyday mundane things. It's because of a chemical imbalance and isn't logical..and people who don't suffer from it can't understand it. By the way, for my money, Good Will Hunting is far and away his best movie.

I would certainly hope that are fans are better and more loyal than that. Exactly what should we be "punishing," either Mark A, or the Brewers for? Seriously? Losing games? Has Attanasio not done almost everything he could to field a winning team? Has he not given Melvin a payroll to compete with given our market size? Has Melvin not used that money aggressively? Honestly, IMO, anyone who doesn't appreciate this teams effort and performance this year should stay home. Me, I've been thrilled to watch them this year and while I hope they can get back on track, it's going to take more than a bad month for me to bail. The only thing not going to games does is it puts less money in the owners pockets which takes money out of the payroll. I will guarantee the Brewers win more than 6 games the rest of the way as well. The first post was great. The world has not ended and the Brewers are still in contention.

That is quite an understatement. In Chicago he has had the benefit of being part of a clear cut rebuilding plan. Mark A wouldn't go for that. I don't know more about him than the Cubs prospect rankings, but it's really hard to argue with the results. I don't think there is any chance Counsell gets a GM job this early on.

I'm one who's believed the Brewers payroll would rise and that they'd have a lot of money the last few years, but I don't see how they're going to be able to make a significant splash in free agency. They'd have to part ways with Aram, Yo, Weeks(obviously) and they'd have to go even beyond the 110 they're at this season most likely. So no, I don't think they're aggressive in free agency. Perhaps spending on relievers. Trades? Maybe a Gallardo or Lohse, but the players they have who are valued by other teams are players Melvin has said he won't trade, so I think we'll be relatively quiet on that front. The last thing I want to see if Coulter hitting 30 HR's with a .400 OBP somewhere else in 3-4 years(or Arcia, Taylor excelling). I don't see Melvin getting canned and I really don't see RR being fired. So I think he'll largely stick to the status quo. I could see 7 of the 8 regulars back, maybe even all 8 with Reynolds...though I hope they can do something better there. The only difference to the rotation would be one of the two I suggested being traded and Nelson and Fiers in. The BP is always impossible to predict, but Broxton's deal will look ugly if we don't make the playoffs. K-rod will likely be gone unless the market is down and he signs a 3/15 type deal...which I don't think would be wise, but I think the team would do it. So....unfortunately I think we're going to see pretty much the same team next year.

Really makes this losing streak seem insignificant. He was also really underrated as a scouting director. Developed quite a few under the radar prospects into key contributors. Here's hoping this draft class thrives even more as it'll keep people talking about him for years. 53 years old....that's just so devastating.

It was a failure, but you're picking the two out of the many options who've had success. Neither looked like good options going into the year, and Melvin did go after Abreu pretty hard...and yes, that is incredibly frustrating to even think about. It was bad enough when he looked like a .260/.340 guy who hit for big power, but he's having a Miguel Cabrera-esque season. He'd have been our #3 hitter. And while I'm sure the 10 game lead comment was meant to be hyperbole, the trickle down impact throughout our lineup would have been huge.

Well then curve the number for "park effects," for us and prove him wrong....though to be fair, I'm not sure you can since he didn't "rate," their impact highly at all. He simply stated a couple facts and said he doubts the Brewers are going to dump two veterans for a guy who's never played in the big leagues this September. Being a vet doesn't secure your job, nor should it. The only way to secure a job is to be productive at it, which Reynolds and Overbay were not. No way the Brewers push aside 2 vets in a pennant race you say? Sure they would, Matt Clark starts today. Kudos to RR for not accepting mediocrity. The only hard part of that decision was whether to start Clark or Rogers. No, actually I didn't say that. You said that Briggs was "grossly overrating their impact," and that he was "way off when you curve their numbers for park effect." I simply questioned how he had overrated their impact, as well as asking you exactly how their numbers were "way off," due to park effect. I do believe that it's unlikely the Brewers are going to stop playing the two veterans they've had all year in place of Clark a player who's been in the organization and hitting well since July. One start hardly changes that. MAYBE if he gets red hot like Soler for the Cubs, but that's not likely. Clark's most likely going to simply be a pinch hitter and as he said, will be given a look in spring training.

I love it. I have Coulter as our top prospect by a fairly substantial margin. I think the reason he doesn't stick behind the plate is because his bat is going to be too good. If their patient, I still believe he has the tools to be a very good receiver. Either way, a .285/.410/.500 line looks pretty damn good for our 21 year old '12 first rounder. Farm system is going to look a LOT better going into next year IMO.

Sadly I don't think it is. As for being a journalist in that type of the world, I would be scared to do it, but it's an extremely important job. They know it is dangerous and still do it because they believe in what they're doing. edit: I removed the portion I thought might be taking this thread in a political direction. if you want to talk about the perils of war time journalism, feel free. But try to refrain from talking about the causes of said war. Or better yet, head over to the political board and discuss it there. Thanks, homer

Switch "RR," with every other manager in baseball and you're probably close. That said, if we can't find a way to come back here, I'm going from worried to panicked. Our offense will get going with time...but we don't have a lot of time. Hopefully we'll come out of this funk like the last one and get hot.

Well then curve the number for "park effects," for us and prove him wrong....though to be fair, I'm not sure you can since he didn't "rate," their impact highly at all. He simply stated a couple facts and said he doubts the Brewers are going to dump two veterans for a guy who's never played in the big leagues this September.

Wow. He's worth absolutely nothing? He's worth 0 dollars? He of the 1.86 ERA? Ok. He COULD be below replacement level the rest of the season. So could Peralta. But given the makeup of our pen, he looks like a pretty significant upgrade. He also COULD play a huge role for us late in the year and help us solidify a playoff spot. I'm just curious when this guy became a worse version of Jeff Suppan?

I don't know what kind of influence Parra can really have. If Milw wants to pay him 6mil to be the 4th OF they'll do it. Being Released isn't an option. Traded yes. But there's no way Milw just Releases him because the "4th" OF tag doesn't suit him and he doesn't want to play for them under that tag. As for the Castillo Signing. Wow. I'm actually getting sickened by these contracts. This is a 27! year old Cuban player with "Power" being given a 6+! year contract that takes him to age 33? Really? Really? That's just absurd! The 10+mil per year isn't crazy I suppose(must be nice to be worth more than Gomez! never playing a ML game) It's that he's Guaranteed money for the next 6+years at that 10+mil! And a 13.5mil Player Option for that final year! What happens when his(less than Cespedes) comparisons result in a .190BA with 24HRs and OPS barely at .700 because I'm sure he'll walk less than 4% of his PAs, and he's dropped in 2016 forever to never play again. Can he just exercise his 2019-2020 13.5mil player option, even though he's been out of the ML games for 2years? How does that work? I'd respect a 4year deal with the 5th being a vested option. and a 6th year being a mutual option.(if applicable) I really hope this blows up in the Red Sox' face and the guy turns in to nothing more than a .230/.265/.400 OF who they are stuck paying 70+mil for the next 6years. I'm just not a fan of these International signings that supersede the kind of Signings American HS/College players sign only to have to deal with the Team Control 3years to Arb factor before becoming a FA 6years later(at earliest) where they can get the opportunity for a deal likes Castillo's. I get where you're coming from, but I go the opposite way. I'm happy for the kid. He won the lottery(though I realize how much work he's put in). American kids don't live in oppressive communist regimes where they have to sneak away, have gangsters smuggle them into other countries and everything else that goes with a Cuban defector. They also don't have to spend a big chunk of their professional years playing for peanuts. So good for him. He's set for life and it's the Red Sox money. I like it. But Cuba is a unique case.

You have to think that is going to be far and away his top priority next ST'ing. Difference from potential ace to nice #3(along with better command obviously). Same with Peralta.

Yes, but he made it through waivers. So LouisEly hit it on the head. If teams really wanted him, at least one would have claimed him. Nobody did. Likely due to his salary and history in LA.

End of 1st half Brewers lost 11 of 12. Right now they've lost 8 of 10. For all that, the Cards were 20-19 since the ASB and the Brewers were 20-19 since the ASB. We're in 1st place on Sept 1st. Isn't that enough?

No, what that says is that you should heavily discount guys in their late 20s putting up good numbers in the PCL, i.e. Rogers and Clark. Schafer was terrible last year and was terrible this year. No? So it's a definitive no? It IS kinda an opinion. Like Estrada projecting better than Nelson or Zarraga projecting to one of the 10 most valuable minor league prospects and our best trading chip. Sometimes guys simply develop later. Every team has guys who fit that bill.

Except they didn't. Not really. At least it's intentionally mis-leading. They have had two bad stretches. They lost 8 of 10(right now) and 11 of 12 in two different stretches. And they still managed to bounce back after the first streak and open the lead back up. (By the way, Cards have the exact same record as we do since the ASB). And yet we're still in 1st place. I'm also kinda at a loss as to why Melvin or RR would be on the hot seat for a team that was projected to finish 4th and has been in 1st longer than any other team in MLB. Amazing how one series and it's all doom and gloom. The pessimism is just sad. Anyway, my prediction; 3 @ Chicago N (Turner; Arrietta; Hendricks) 2-1 4 vs Saint Louis (Masterson; Lackey; Lynn; Wainwright) 2-2 4 vs Miami (Penny; Koehler; Cosart; Evoladi) 3-1 3 vs Cincinnati (Latos, Axelrod; Leake) 2-1 3 @ Saint Louis (Lackey; Lynn; Wainwright) 2-1 3 @ Pittsburg (Locke; Volquez; Worley) 2-1 3 @ Cincinnati (Cueto; Latos; Axelrod) 1-2 3 vs Chicago N (Hendricks; Wada; Wood) 2-1 16-10 STL has had a much easier schedule than us, yet we're still in 1st. Maybe they get real hot, but we'll at least hold on for a WC spot and I think we win the division. This is provided Gomez is alright. And Garza will pitch like an ace down the stretch, Broxton himself will be alright, but the additional flexibility to go R/L in an inning will be huge for the pen.

For a team that's STILL in first place? I would have as well, and Melvin was reportedly trying hard to acquire Benoit at the non-waiver deadline along with the Dodgers. But he's also out right now(DTD) with a shoulder injury...and I doubt he cleared waivers.