Warning Track Power

I am not speaking about the ability to close games as it relates to winning ballgames. I am more speaking to the value of Axford as a pitcher moving forward and whether he remains a Brewer past 2013 or as a trade piece in the offseason. My thought is he has been lights out as a non-closing reliever this year. Do we continue to keep him in this role as a solid contributor for our pen moving forward OR given the trading of our two closers (K-Rod & Henderson), do we hope he returns as a lockdown closer to potentially deal him in the offseason?

I wish it were...but I have no doubt that thought would percolate in RR's brain.

if they trade both KRod and Henderson, do you really have any other option at that point? Gonzalez?

I would trade Corey Hart for Phil Hughes now and see if Hughes can play in the NL given his talent.

Anyone want to throw Yasiel Puig into the discussion? His first 22 games have been incredible. Check this out, over a 162 game season he projects to: .435/.467/.729 52 HR 103 RBI 15 SB While he obviously is not going to keep a .400+ AVG, it will be hard to not throw him into the mix as well if he keeps up production close to this. I will get my first glimpse of him tonight at the Phillies-Dodgers game. Haven't been this excited to see a player since Ryan Braun's second career game in San Diego.

Braun, Segura, Gomez and Lucroy. That's your core. Like RobertR said above, if you are dealing any of them, it has to be for a star player or a projectable star player. For example, let's say the Brewers catch fire, win 23 of 26 games and are back in the race, and the Rockies offered some type of package that centered around Tulowitzki for Segura. That's the only way I consider trading one of those core pieces. Anyone else on this roster should have a for sale sign on him right now to build a pitching staff that can be above average. Trades of Yo, Lohse, Ramirez, Aoki and the bullpen should go a long way to re-tooling the team with young high end rotation help as well as a projectable 3B prospect. I would even offer to pay some of Ramirez' and Lohse's contracts as the players that SHOULD be acquired with the trades of the above will drastically reduce the payroll and bring in propsects making minimal money.

I think the real question becomes: Do you re-insert him as the closer if K-Rod and Henderson are dealt at the deadline or are you comfortable with him as the 7th/8th inning guy? I just don't think the Brewers are trading Ax.

How was his cold April or May any different as "small sample size" than his hot June? Come on...

I just wish I had the slightest confidence that any one of those guys had it in him to become a better than average major leaguer. This roster is full of guys who just seem to be placeholders. Agreed. However, when you have Braun, Gomez, Segura & Lucroy as the likely core positional players for the next 3+ years, you only need to fill 1B, 2B, 3B and an OF spot eventually. If there is one thing DM is good at, it is finding hitting. I feel confident that he will be able to bring in some talent at those positions when the time comes, perhaps within the next month if Yo, Ramirez, Aoki and the bullpen are all dealt. If nothing else, guys like Prince, Maldonado, Schafer/Gindl are a solid foundation for a diverse bench. Add in a 3B in a Ramirez & Aoki deal to the Red Sox (Middlebrooks perhaps), possibly an Olt to man 1B in a deal of Yo to the Rangers and the Brewers lineup and bench moving forward is looking younger and more diverse with Middlebrooks & Olt added to Braun, Segura, Lucroy & Gomez.

What about two former top propsects in Matusz and Arrieta for Lohse and Henderson? The reasoning for me is simple...We get to get out of the Lohse contract. Our return could be worse and we get two former top propsects to throw at the wall and see if either of them stick. I would think these two are prime candidates for a change of scenery and given the right cicrumstance, i.e. out of the AL East, they may be reinvigorated. Additionally, they both aren't FAs until after 2016. While I think Lohse may be able to get something more, some 5 man combo of Matusz, Arrieta, Thornburg, Peralta, Nelson, Hellweg, Jungmann, Pena, combined with whatever we would get from a Gallardo & Ramirez trade (Barnes, Middlebrooks & Ranaudo from Boston?) could be the beginnings of a better than average rotation to pair with Braun, Lucroy, Segura & Gomez. Honestly, the more I look at it the, more I feel the Brewers could be really good again really quick, given the right moves here in the next month.

If I am trading Gallardo & Aoki to Texas, I fully expect to receive Olt, Gallo & something else. To be perfectly frank, that package isn't very attractive to me even though we likely gain our 1B & 3B of the future to pair with Segura for a darn good IF if they all pan out the way they profile. Trading Gallardo to me should start with Boston and the package should include Ramirez and maybe even Aoki. A package of Middlebrooks, Matt Barnes, & Anthony Ranaudo would do wonders for the Brewers moving forward by giving them pitchers with #1 and #2 potential and gives Boston a darn good chance at making the World Series in 2013 and 2014 with #1-#3 of Lester-Bucholz-Gallardo and a lineup that gets much better immediately with Ramirez and Aoki.

Therein lies the real source of the problem. I definitely want a fire sale for young arms but with the likes of Kranitz coaching them, I foresee untapped potential for some of the young arms we may receive.

I could definitely see a Brewers-Dodgers blockbuster where we deal Ramirez, Weeks & Lohse for Lee, Pederson, Magill & Ethier. While post-2013, Ethier is owed $69m over 5 years and I don't like the idea of the Brewers taking that contract on, the Brewers ditch a ton of backloaded salary in Ramirez/Weeks/Lohse and get good solid prospects out of the deal. The only way I see the Brewers getting all those propsects and unloading those contracts is by taking on Ethier. Pederson is the RF of the future, Ethier fills the spot vacated by an ensuing Aoki deal, Magill and Lee are added to the young arms coming through the system. The Dodgers fill out their lineup and build the back end of the rotation. Kershaw-Greinke-Ryu-Lohse is a winning 1-4 and, as metioned in another thread, the Dodgers lineup becomes a monster: Crawford-Hanley-Gonzalez-Kemp-Aramis-Puig-Ellis-Ellis/Weeks. Would I do it from the Brewers POV? I am not sure. I definitely would as the Dodgers. That team is stacked.

@Brewmann: Exactly. Credibility is gone if Bosch were to all of a sudden change his story from being a consultant to Braun to actually having provided Braun with PEDs. I would imagine even students in law school would have a field day attacking his credibility, much less highly successful lawyers that Braun and MLBPA would surely hire to defend him.

Because it doesn't make sense. You can be skeptical about his innocence all you want TC07 but the deal is this none of us on this board, not OTL on ESPN, MLB Network or anyone else was on the three person panel was on the board that overturned his suspension. He won that. He won it for good reason apparently. None of us know the true reason either because it has all been speculated as to why Das voted for Braun after siding with MLB in all previous cases. He never commented. MLB's actions of firing Das, suing Bosch and purchasing records from the Miami paper all reek of an agenda. Did Braun do it? Maybe but MLB's actions make them look incredibly vindictive even if it were Yadier Molina or a Cardinal getting suspended. That's why people have sided with Braun, not necessarily believed he didn't or wouldn't dope.

Really wish I was getting psyched for the #17 pick this week.

2013 may be the most disappointing and frustrating season I can remember as a fan. The most underachieving Brewer team I can remember, breaks seemingly never going their way and this has just really dampened my enthusiasm for the Brewers.

Juan-derful...Another guy starting at 1B with all of 3 games in 2010 in Triple AAA experience playing the position. While I really like the trade, I really disagree with the Brewers 1B philosophy in 2013.

@JB: The Dodgers do this deal IMO. I live in SoCal and am a Dodger fan and the pressure on them to win now is enormous. Now that Puig is up, Greinke is back, HanRam is due back today and Kemp is a week away, I fully expect them to start winning. They still have such an obvious hole at 3B that Aramis is an obvious fix. Lee & Pederson, while expensive as trade chips, are not irreplaceable for them given the presence of Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu at SP & Kemp, Puig, Crawford/Ethier, Van Slyke in the OF. Plus I don't know of another 3B available now that would have the immediate impact A-Ram would. Imagine that lineup: Crawford-M. Ellis-Gonzalez-Kemp-Aramis-Hanley-Puig-AJ Ellis The Red Sox deal is a win for both. The Red Sox get MUCH better in 2013 & 2014 & maybe 2015. The Brewers get a long term 3B and a young upside SP. These are the types of trades the Brewers must make to stay comeptitve. Braun, Lucory, Segura, Gomez & Middlebrooks is a nice core lineup. The Giant deal is one I don't see them declining even if we have to pay some of Lohse's salary. Hart is a HUGE upgrade. Lohse in that ballpark with Righetti as his coach would be nice too. Belt has been a disappointment in SF and I think their patience with him may be ending. I don't see any of these as being out of the realm of possibility. I always try to look at them from the opposite side and would I do these deals. In each case, if I am the Dodgers, Red Sox & Giants, I do these deals.

2013 is over for me as a member of the Brewers FO. Yes, there are 3+ months left in the season but I just don't see anyway possible this team catches fire in a bottle and can hop back in the race and even if they do put together a 8 or 9 game winning streak to get within shouting distance of .500, they are not built for long term success. This means the Brewers should be looking to deal what they can now for high level prospects. So here is what I propose they do: Trade A-Ram & K-Rod to the Dodgers for SP Zach Lee & OF Joc Pederson Do it sooner rather than later too. I would hate for another injury to grab A-Ram and lose his value. Like everyone else mentioned, the Dodgers are the perfect trading partner. Lee gives us a #2 potential SP. Aramis goes to 3B, Hanley to SS. K-Rod helps their atrocious bullpen. Pederson is blocked in the OF by Kemp, Puig/Ethier, Crawford. If we have to throw in another piece to get Pederson, do it. Legit 25-25 potential. Trade Aoki, Gallardo & Henderson to Red Sox for Matt Barnes and Wil Middlebrooks or Xander Bogaerts I may be shooting high for the underachieving Gallardo and the already 31 year old Aoki but I think the Red Sox would be smart to do this deal. Lester/Buchholz/Gallardo is a really good 1-3 and a good pitching coach is all that is between Yo and becoming very good again IMO. Red Sox are covered long term at 3B by whoever they keep, be it Middlebrooks or Bogaerts. Aoki fits perfectly at the top of the lineup. Henderson is a power arm for the pen to help with Hanrahan on the DL. Trade Hart and Lohse to Giants for Brandon Belt & Martin Agosta Assuming he comes back as the Corey of old, he would be an enormous upgrade in 2013 over Belt at 1B. Lohse is insurance for a rotation that is in disarray with Vogelsong stinking and Lincecum generally ineffective. Belt becomes part of the discussion for 1B of the future, as I am not sold on Morris, and Agosta is a power arm that can hopefully develop into a solid starter. Reminds me of Thornburg a little given his slighter build. Trade Weeks to Orioles for Jake Arrieta Baltimore is lacking a significant 2B with Roberts out and have apparently lost patience with Arrieta. With them being in the thick of the race, they may have interest in trading a talented but fallen prospect for Weeks. I think this is the only real "prospect" we would receive for Rickie now and we should be lucky to get that. While the 2013 Brewers would undoubtedly struggle through the rest of the season, the future would definitely look significantly brighter with these deals. Hopefully, a end of 2014 rebirth would begin as the lineup would still have a great mix of talent while breaking in a new crop of SP. 2014 C: Lucroy 1B: Belt/Morris 2B: Scooter SS: Segura 3B: Bogaerts or Middlebrooks LF: Braun CF: Gomez RF: Schafer/Pederson Competition for the rotation would be large and consist of: SP: Peralta, Thornburg, Hellweg, Lee, Barnes, Arrieta, Estrada, Narveson Maybe not realisitic given Melvin's MO but definitely plausible if the Brewers are serious about rebuilding.

the absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Joe Morgan. Corrected

The absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Mark Loretta.

This is interesting. The Brewers now have 2 2B-only players and have Bianchi & Yuni as the backup SS/3B. Melvin's comments about Rickie on WSSP sure seem to indicate that he will still be the starter. Not sure I understand the move if Rickie is still starting 75% of the games. I will say this, I like our bench infinitely more today than I did yesterday. Francisco is a big power bat off the bench.

I may be wrong but Braun seems to be the type of player who understands his legacy in the game a lot more than most. His legacy in Milwaukee could either be that of Robin Yount, a beloved Brewer lifer, of Paul Molitor, a Brewer who unceremoniously left and has had a rocky relationship with the City since his departure, or of Prince Fielder, someone who chased the highest dollar amount. Everything I have seen indicates to me that Braun wants to be Yount and, to me, would not have signed the second contract extension had he not wanted to be this guy. Just my opinion.

I look at people that have these jerseys and they are so obviously a knockoff that it really defeats the purpose of saving of money to me. I'd rather buy an authentic jersey t-shirt for $25 or even a replica jersey for $80* than wear a jersey like this. *(The thing that stinks about the replica jersey now though is that they are of such poor quality on MLB.com, Fans Edge and authentic retailers. They used to be the real deal minus the arm patch. Now they are like iron on numbering and lettering.)