DHonks

I miss those big curveballs. They set up the high 4-seamer so well.

The taxes make a ton of sense. that's 10% difference, in addition to a much higher cost of living. The difference in take home pay in LA vs Houston or Miami might be 15% or more. That's a great reason

Yes, the bullpen has been an issue as it was in 2010, but the offense has been ok. The rotation has been very good. We're currently 2 games ahead of that season. They were 37-48 at the 75 game mark (this year's all-star break). Our worst case scenario is 38-47, but I'm optimistic that we'll be 42-43 heading into the break. Given our strong starting pitching, I'm comfortable that we can remain competitive in the second half. I definitely appreciate the goal of trying to revive an old thread with some voodoo magic. I fully believe in the baseball gods...they're almost as cruel as the golf gods.

our payroll would be much lower. I remember hearing it costs over $100,000 to air condition Chase Field for a game in the summer. In Miller Park it would likely be harder since it would be pulling massive amounts of water out of the air. Plus, since Miller Park doesn't seal, it wouldn't be great, although the escaping air would be hot air I guess

bjkrautk, the Brewers won that game in extra innings. I remember lying on the couch. I got really hungry and had to pee, but I knew I couldn't move because I might be the one to ruin Sheets' no-no. The hit off Sheets was a classic Guerrero hit....nobody else in baseball could have hit that ball in the dirt. It's really a shame that Sheets is trying to come back with the Braves. I hope it's because he's from the region, not because the Brewers didn't make an offer. He did so much for us that we owed him at least a minor league contract. I hope all goes well, and I hope he still has a soft spot for Milwaukee.

Barret Loux has been great since the Dbacks voided the contract.

given the success of Estrada/Fiers, he's effectively been our 5th starter. Wolf will probably have a good second half and finish with an ERA in the 4.40-4.80 range. That's exactly what we pay him for.

supporting RockCoCougars....I don't think we'll get better value back for out players than draft picks. option a: 1/2 season of Marcum/Greinke/both, 2 draft picks each, a chance that we compete in Sept, a decent chance of resigning one option b: trading for big leaguers or minor leaguers. I just don't see us beating the 1/2 season AND 2 first rounders via trade

I never suggested we could get lots of value for these guys. I was just saying that I'm at the point with some players where I could see some lateral moves being good as they'll cut our costs and at least give us a chance. Remember, Carlos Villanueva was worse than a C-level prospect when we got him. Sometimes dumping Wayne Franklin and Leo Estrella can actually yield a result.

I don't favor giving up on the season, but I'm at the point where I'm willing to make some changes. My targets are positional prospects and relievers, since we have plenty of starting prospects, and here is what I'd try to move: 1) K-Rod--let's get something for 2013 for him 2) Gomez and Morgan-- Gomez is having a Betancourt-like season, only he can actually play defense. Morgan has been very good since April. Yet they combine for about $5 million and both will likely be traded or non-tendered in the off-season 3) Kottaras-- he's expendable not because of his production, but because of Maldonado's emergence 4) Wolf-- He's been fine this year, but if we move him in about two weeks we should be able to time it for when Marcum is coming back. Without knowing what we could get back, I'd hope it's a couple of decent relievers, and hopefully a decent SS prospect. I think we don't need to rebuild, but rather let's focus on our key players and trying to retain some pitchers, while adding cheaper, younger, and decent players. We can compete next year if we can retain 1 starter. The big dilemma will be Hart or Gamel at 1b. It would be nice to move Hart's salary next year if we have the chance to keep a pitcher. But he plays very good defense at 1b and is adequate offensively. I'd also like to promote Rogers to the bullpen...he can always be moved to the rotation next year if needed. His numbers compare somewhat with Wainwright's last season in AAA...and we know Wainwright wasn't known for control until he used his year in the bullpen to learn how to attack hitters. I'd consider Wooten for the big league short relief job, and I'd replace Dillard with McClung (I always didn't like McClung, but I at least think he can jump into a blowout without giving up runs seemingly EVERY time). McClendon should also be on this team. Basically, we need more 7th/8th inning guys, and I have no faith that Veras, Dillard, or Parra can get people out when we're ahead or close

why no BA on Sundays this year?

I've always wanted them to find a way to make some of the 1b/3b panels openable. Creating ventilation would be far better and cost-effective than the millions per season to air condition the place

Not trying to cause debate, but trying to raise awareness. Josh Prince's OPS is higher than Scooter's. His ability to walk from rookie ball has returned. Still no reports as to why a very good defensive SS (according to publications) has been converted to a position where we have depth.

interesting that his insubordination was by choosing to wear a suit rather than a golf shirt on the air.

Bullox...I saw the thread title and immediately thought of the squirrels too

Gomez will likely be too expensive next year, so I'd consider having Gamel in RF, Aoki in CF, Schafer as the 4th OF.

Dishon, arguably our most toolsy OF, has a good obp this year for a guy with a low avg.

Good post johnbriggs12, however, my concern is do we know Schafer can replace Morgan? He's a solid prospect, but probably more in the class of Green and Gamel than Hart, Weeks, etc. There's a chance he could o great, but there's also a chance he doesn't sniff Morgan's performance level. It reminds me of the Hardy/Escobar situation....just because a guy is supposedly big league ready doesn't mean we need to create room for him. We've missed the SS depth ever since Hardy was dealt.

6.5 back now, and 5 games below .500. A big 3 games coming up against the Reds her taking 2/3 would be huge.

Jungmann has had a very good professional debut, while Bradley's stats are heavily skewedby his great start to the aeason

We could put Scarpetta on the 60-day DL

Good to hear theyre getting it in. in northwest Mt it has rained like crazy this month and rained all day

I was analyzing that we haven't played the East and they haven't played the West. Can't really compare common opponents because of that. But both of us have done fine out of division.

Reillymcshane, I agree on letting Morgan go in the off-season. I'd like to see us let him and Gomez walk since both will be overpriced And Adam, I can't say the Reds are clearly better. They've beaten up on the East, while we have done fine against the West. Our NL Central records are similar. In our head-to-head series we were out-scored 11-10. We have 12 head-to-head games remaining, although 9 are on the road. With our pitching coming around and offense improving, I would expect us to go 4-5 in those games. The big thing is me need to take care of business vs the Astros, Cubs, Pirates, and the NL East

my peanut gallery comment....this reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George and Jerry realize that each can't fill the role of a normal boyfriend, but together they just might add up to one normal guy. Lots of muscle adding up to Mass....simply amazing what he did over the years!