HiAndTight

Imo Parra passes the eye test very well in the OF. I don't buy whatever the defensive stats are selling on him. Great instincts, good speed, great glovework, & a great arm. You may be right that Taylor winds up as the big-league CF post-Gomez, but imo it'd be a really nice surprise if he's actually even better defensively (heck, or equal to) than Parra. I think Parra is in the same defensive tier, or just one tier below, the Gomezes of the MLB world. I think the Brewers could potentially extend Parra at a pretty reasonable rate, & obviously he could play any of the 3 OF spots going forward. It'd give the club a lot of flexibility. I think he passes the eye test the same way that one girl does in a group of ugly girls. We've watched Khris Davis struggle to play catch without bouncing the ball to Gomez in between innings. Him in CF is an entirely different story. If he was that good defensively, I suspect he'd have been playing CF. Not to mention I thought he took a terrible route on the double that bounced before the wall in during the 3 run rally. I think he's a good defensive LF'er with a very strong arm, but AZ hasn't had great defensive CF'ers and yet he's rarely played in center. You could get by with him, but I think he'd be well below average.

He had the base stolen....he's mild mannered, but he needs to go into 2nd harder. Of course if he goes in too hard and tears up his ankle, we'd be questioning him for that. But you need to put a spike in a guy there. It's not intentionally trying to hurt a guy if he wants to block the bag, it's on him. But the slide turns it from a "great call, caught them off guard," to, "what the hell is he thinking." 2nd base, 0 outs would have been big. Now K-Rod needs to keep that ball down and bury his change.

I don't want to put too much emphasis on ONE pitch, but if the Brewers can hold on and win this one, that's one of the biggest pitches of the year right there. After losing two games to the Cards that we should have or at least could have won, that's a big pitch and this would be a BIG win.

Smooth pop-up sliding catch at an awkward part of the wall too. Impressive in an outfield he's not familiar with. Great point. What a nice addition, and frankly he could wind up being the club's CF once Gomez inevitably moves on either via FA or trade. I think Parra could be a guy the Crew could extend affordably. I don't know. That's a few years down the road and Parra's defensive numbers in the corner OF spots don't look like they're headed in the right direction. If we're looking at Parra as a starter in the future, I'd prefer to go with Parra in RF and to move Braun to 1st(I think he'd be fine over there and don't think his issues at 3rd translate all that much). I'm thinking Taylor is more likely to take over in CF by the time Gomez leaves. But Parra's looking great tonight either way.

No, it was average at best(it was a slider I believe, but either way). I can't imagine how tough it is to be looking for a 98 MPH fastball and try to adjust to a slider there when nobody saw that coming.

I still do not like that trade much.....but I'm taking a break from my objections tonight! Still have little to no confidence Jeffress is going to come through here vs Posey. His slider just isn't ready... God do I LOVE being proven blatantly wrong immediately after a pessimistic post! Keep throwing that slider Jeremy!

I still do not like that trade much.....but I'm taking a break from my objections tonight! Still have little to no confidence Jeffress is going to come through here vs Posey. His slider just isn't ready...

But it doesn't appear Garza will be out long and I doubt that the difference between Burnett and Fiers or Estrada(even though I'm no fan of his) is worth the salary Burnett brings with him. And we need relievers farm more than starters at this point.

If Minnesota thought Carlos Gomez was good enough they would have kept him. Sometimes players simply develop after leaving an organization. Sometimes players develop later. I don't see what possible harm there is to adding a player who's produced at a high level in the minor leagues and is still young to your AAA team. Especially when it's at a position of need. There is a list of players a mile long you could say the same thing about. "If they were any good, this team would have kept him," before they move on and become good or even great players for another team. Sure, he probably won't, but that doesn't mean he's not worth a look. Minnesota traded Gomez for a SS who's name escapes me. Oh yeah, JJ Hardy. That hardly compares with being put on waivers. Wheeler's a AAA bat that puts up good numbers in hitters havens. He's done little in the majors or at minor league stops that aren't as hitter friendly. Brewers have comparable guys right now in their system in Morris and Clark. Put Hunter Morris in Reno and he'd put up .900 OPS as would Sean Halton. First of all, where did I say it was the EXACT same situation? I can't honestly fathom why you HAVE to play devils advocate on nearly every situation. What exactly did I say that was objectionable? That sometimes teams give up on young players and those players go on to have success elsewhere. Second, are you suggesting if the Twins believe Carlos Gomez was going to be this good they would have traded him for Hardy and then almost immediately given up on Hardy? Because that was ALL I said. "IF Minnesota thought Carlos Gomez was good enough, they would have kept him." What's the difference if they waived him, or traded him or non-tendered him like David Ortiz? Yes, they traded Gomez for JJ Hardy, a player they thought so highly of they turned around and traded him after 101 games for greats such as Brett Jacobsen and and Jim Hoey. Carlos Gomez was 23 years old and the Twins gave up on him for 101 games of JJ Hardy and two nobodies. Not to mention Hardy had an OPS+ of 75 when he was traded and have little value. That Hardy saw a resurgence is of absolutely no consequence here OTHER than it actually proves my point. At the time the O's traded for him, you would have been against it citing his poor line the past two years and saying, "if he was that good, the Brewers wouldn't have sent him down to the minors and then traded him." But I honestly fail to see your point here. Are you arguing with the premise of my statement that there are a lot of players who fail with their initial teams and then find success elsewhere? Must I honestly provide a list to satisfy you here? But the argument against taking a flier on a left handed hitting 3RD basemen who can also play 1st and in the OF when we have zero depth at AAA at 3rd base is because you believe that our 1st basemen could approximate his OPS and...."if he was that good, the Rockies wouldn't have given up on him." Well, unless either Halton or the injured Morris can play 3rd base, that conjecture is irrelevant. My argument for adding him..."why not, we don't have anyone and he's been a very productive player in the minors and is young...and he's a left handed bat." I'm curious, did you object to adding Jeremy Hermedia to our minor league roster? I guess I'm just a little confused as to why someone would be so vehemently against adding anyone who's hit like Wheeler has to our AAA team?

Turner was just designated for assignment by the Florida Marlins. He posted a 3.74 ERA last year, has a 4.01 FIP this year. Throws in the low to mid 90's and doesn't turn 24 until next May. He'd be able to make a start for Garza if we chose to go that route, but at the very least he may be a very nice reliever if his FB could add a little and he may have more success as a 2 pitch pitcher in the pen...although he doesn't have strong splits vs right handers. Still, with his arm and talent at just 23, he would strike me as a viable option.

Yes, of course. This was a big reason many players were taking this to begin with, and the primary reason if I had to guess pitchers took them(well, still take them). It'll never go through now, but most type of steriods when cycled properly are perfectly safe for fully developed adult males. They're not these transformational magic pills that many seem to think unless they're abused. There was a story about this on real sports several years ago, but I remained skeptical so I actually asked an orthopedic surgeon(one who works for the Brewers) and he said essentially that was correct. Like all Doctors he was very measured so as to not say, "Hey, steroids are healthy," but essentially under supervision, they are safe for adult males. But the problem is that while they may help with healing, they're helping muscles heal faster. So while they're helping a hamstring injury, while you're doing your shoulder and core workout, you're getting a boost there. It's not like they can limit it to JUST the area that is injured as far as I know. But again, after the congressional hearings and all the parents who attributed steriods to their childs death(either accurately or using it as an excuse) and all the public angst against it, I can't fathom them allowing anything like this....on either side, ownership, or even the MLBPA.

Amazingly Gooden for this year as well. They can stop paying him next year though. the top thing that has impressed me about this ownership group is that they didn't do anything dumb like throwing money after drew gooden or bobby simmons to try to move up to the final playoff spot in order to help create support for the arena. This team will probably be not that good next year, but much better than this year obviously. Isn't it a bit early to make that assessment either way?

I'm not sure how people's misconceptions of what they thought might have happened tells you that someone is bad at their job.

Or they use the off-day to push his start.

No, not yet anyway. But Kintzler may still be a part of the solution. I think the most likely scenario is taking a high priced reliever at this point. With our record the chances of a good right handed reliever making it to us who doesn't have a cumbersome contract is slim. A guy like...to repeat myself, but Papelbon is the most likely IMO. He would cost not only 13 million next year, but could very easily see his '16 option vest if he became our closer. He has also said he would only accept a trade if he closed wherever he ended up.

Parra has been worth -.3 WAR this year and his defense has been below average. His OPS is also below .700. He's a nice 4th OF'er, he's not a guy we need to move other guys to get into the lineup. And I don't know why you're emphasis is placed entirely on Overbay as Reynolds has played more 1st base than Overbay.

Braun would NOT be Juan Francisco. Braun made some extrodinary plays at 3rd and his primary problem was throwing the ball. Braun would be absolutely fine at 1st base. In fact he'd have very good range. This is a guy who played SS at Miami. I just don't understand the logic that he couldn't handle 1st because he was bad at 3rd. They are two entirely different positions. Comparing 1st base to 3rd base is being completely disengenious. Comparing Haniger at BC to Braun at BC is a reference point.

I love this trade as a Brewers fan. Kelly has a great arm, can throw 96-97 and is young. He just struck me as the type who would have that one really big blow up inning, but is young. And Craig's foot is injured, but he's been really good and is also pretty young. Lackey on the other hand...meh. He's a nice pitcher, but I don't know that he's a guy I'd pick over our top 4.

A-How do you know THEY knew that Thornburg "really needed," to go on the DL in May? B-Jeffress didn't even sign with the Brewes until April 18th. To expect them to not only put Thornburg on the DL after being lights out in April, but to bring up Jeffress before he'd done anything in AAA is revisionist history. C-Historically bad? You weren't able to name a single example, you just said; Who? Who are these relievers? And how is this different from any other team? Who are the players you're referring to? You realize you also said that Carlos Gomez was a "historicall bad," base runner.

Can we just let the anti-jinx work here? Sure, if we end the month with a 4-5-6 game lead, I'll give you the credit!! I have an unusually good feeling about the Brewers going into this month. The Brewers SEEM to deal with aces as well as anyone and we certainly have our share this month.

I felt like they were passive because they weren't able (yet) to improve on a .644 OPSing Overbay -- it shouldn't be hard to do, but I guess I'm just not giving enough merit to how weak the market is at 1B. Melvin did say that he expected them to be active in the next month, though it may be difficult with so many teams having the ability to claim a player before us. But I really don't even know who to hope for. Jones could be a nice addition and may have made one had the Marlins not won 9 of 10 games recently. Perhaps in 2-3 weeks they'll fall back out and he'll be put through waivers. But even he has a -.3 WAR. I do hope the Brewers pick up Papelbon in order to try and duplicate the 2011 type BP.

If Minnesota thought Carlos Gomez was good enough they would have kept him. Sometimes players simply develop after leaving an organization. Sometimes players develop later. I don't see what possible harm there is to adding a player who's produced at a high level in the minor leagues and is still young to your AAA team. Especially when it's at a position of need. There is a list of players a mile long you could say the same thing about. "If they were any good, this team would have kept him," before they move on and become good or even great players for another team. Sure, he probably won't, but that doesn't mean he's not worth a look.

Really? Because they're about as close stuff wise as you can get. And Peralta was labeled as an inning eating middle of the rotation starter. Nelson averages 3.5 B/9 IP thus far in his big league career(13 BB in 33 IP and a 3.27 ERA) Peralta averaged 3.6 his first two years and a 4.11 ERA(15 BB in his first 33 IP) Peralta averaged 4.0 BB per 9 IP in the minors. Nelson averaged 3.8 BB per 9 IP in the minors. Nelson in his minor league career has an ERA of 3.12 8.8 K/9 and a BB/K ratio of 2.32 Peralta in his minor league career has an ERA of 3.99, 8.5 K/9 and a BB/K ratio of 2.12 It's DEFINITELY an "insult," to compare Nelson to Peralta despite the fact that have VERY similar stuff and Nelson's put up better numbers in both the minor leagues as well as the big leagues thus far. Think back a few years ago when Peralta was barely a top 10 prospect in our farm system. I have no doubt you would have said he is a #5 pitcher and a mediocre prospect.

The Braves? And who are the aces the Braves are going to trot out? What's more, their "medicore prospects," based on what? What makes Jimmy Nelson, the most dominant AAA pitcher mediocre? Or Arcia, Taylor or Coulter? The conjecture is just unreal though. Without any idea of how the actual trade talks went, it's Melvins fault for not turning off the filter on his video game so he could trade for whoever he wanted, regardless of the players availability, in the case of Morneau, or the 2 months of Lester. Again, because we identify players from other teams and think, "hey, they would fit well on the Brewers," doesn't mean those other teams are operating under the mandate that they need to trade those players in order to help the Brewers.

I think that is ridiculous. You've raved about DM. Then you make these guarantees such as the one you made when you guaranteed that the Brewers would trade for Morneau. Well....sorry, but the Rockies have a say in the matter as well and they flat out said he wasn't available according to Melvin who was clearly frustrated with the lack of teams willing to deal. And didn't you say the Brewers would be TEN GAMES ahead of the Cardinals by the ASB, then by the 1st of September? So now he's worth 11 more wins than who we have currently and he's cost us the playoffs using your logic? Again, this is all moot if the team you're trying to trade with won't trade with you. Melvin has put together a team that is 1 game behind the Dodgers who have 2.5 times the payroll we do in the National League and are 3 games up on the Cardinals in the division. Not sure how that translates to a lack of job security. Trading Nelson, Arcia, Coulter and Taylor and then giving Price 8 years and close to 200 million would have been grounds to fire him IMO, a move you were adamantly advocating.