Warning Track Power

Been discussed ad nauseum but Nieves has no place on any MLB roster. Man I can't stand him.

Something tells me we aren't about to go all Padres and score 6 unanswered runs after being down 5-0.

I agree with you that winning series should be the goal always, meaning a 4-2 homestand, and with your premise about .833 baseball. However, in my opinion, when a team with as much overall talent as the Brewers plays .200 baseball over 10 games, I think it is reasonable to expect a dramatic swing to the other side against the worst offense in the NL, as well as the Pirates. My expectations would be tempered a bit if we were playing the Giants or Nationals but I feel if we are contenders this season, we should be able to make up some ground this week given the opponents.

I think Stephen Drew would cost almost as much as Jose Reyes. That guy is a legit stud who would fit perfectly in the #2 spot in our order. Everyone knows I am a JJ guy. In reality though, he's the likely target (assuming the fences can be mended) because he will likely be the cheapest player in terms of prospects to acquire.

Man I didn't know you held ALL of those guys I listed in my original post in the same breath as Molitor and Yount. Now I understand why we aren't able to get those "Hall of Famers" http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Man I say RR stops tinkering and just go with what should be the "normal" lineup from here on out. Hart #2, YuBet #6, Lucroy #7 & Gomez #8. Stop tinkering and let's get to work.

Zack Greinke, even though I thoroughly enjoy the 87 MPH fastball baffling hitters. Shaun Marcum is nothing short of a silent assassin on the mound. Unreal "pitcher." Having said that, Greinke has the stuff and *mental makeup* to become an all-time great. As a comparison, Greinke is the hall of famer, while Marcum is the perrenial all star. *I think the mental makeup part is his competitive nature and lack of care about any of the externalities that come with being a big leaguer. He seems to just want to pitch, pitch well, win and dominate while winning. He doesn't seem to care about being an MLB superstar.* Warning Track Power's absolutely baseless fear that is based on no reason whatsoever: Shaun Marcum turns into Jeff Suppan when he no longer hits his spots.

The real issue with Gomez isn't so much Gomez. It's Betancourt and certain other players on the 25 man roster. A lot of us agree that Gomez is fine as the #8 bat in the lineup because of the defense he brings. The real issue is that Betancourt's overall uselessness in the #7 spot makes for an awfully weak 7 and 8 combo in the lineup that extends to #6 when Nieves starts.

When he plays like he did on Saturday, it sure is fun to watch Carlos Gomez play baseball. I'm not saying he is anything close to Jose Reyes but watching him turn that bloop single into a double immediately made me think think of Reyes. That was beautiful.

Not a chance. This guy has serious mental issues.

Let me clarify: We need Jeff Cirillo/Mark Loretta types. Shouldn't have included slap hitters even though Nyjer, a slap hitter in my eyes, will help this lineup immensely when healthy. Working and posting leads to jotting down thoughts and not proof reading before posting. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I just posted in the lineup discussion about the type of players the Brewers need to field a successful lineup. Mark Loretta and Jeff Cirillo. Hitters who work the count and can be counted on to hit something close to .280 with marginal HR power but with gap power. Like I said in the Lineup discussion, this was not an idea of mine but an idea of another poster on the board and I believe this to be the remedy to our ails. Look at the Classies or even the Cubs. Every season they have their share of Aaron Miles, Brendan Ryans, Ryan Theriots, Daniel Descalsos, Reed Johnsons, Mike Fontenots, Darwin Barneys, Mark DeRosas, Skip Schumakers...maybe not world beaters but scrappy players who pester pitching staffs with their bloops, flares, doubles...etc. These guys get on base consistently so that (in the past) the Derrek Lees, Aramis Ramirez, (and in the present) Albert Pujols, and Matt Hollidays consistently have guys on base to drive in. Braun and Fielder have never had that luxury in my opinion. Ideally, the Brewers #3-#6 hitters should be: Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Hart, with the guys mentioned above getting on in front of them. Unfortuantely, the Brewers continually rely on power hitting players who are more prone to slumps (Jose K, Yuni B, JJ Hardy to a certain extent, David Bell, Wes Helms, Keith Ginter). Why do we continually rely on boppers to fill these roles when consistent OBP guys serve that purpose? Why don't we have the Theriots and Fontenots or Ryans and Schumakers in our starting lineup or on our bench in Milwaukee? Can we not develop them like the Cubs and Cards? Is it an organizational philosophy in Milwaukee? SS and CF are obvious the positions where holes currently exist and an opportunity to get better but maybe 3B needs assessment as well. I'm not saying deal McGehee but maybe you begin to look around at backup plans. I believe Morgan is the type of player needed but we have nothing now for SS coverage. Your long term Brewers are likely Weeks, Braun, McGehee, Hart, Lucroy. That means 1B, SS and CF are open for business for starters, but general backup roles can be had for those types of players as well. Unfortuntately, the season has started and trades become far more difficult to make. However, Doug Melvin's charge right now should be the identify making the team all around better with that type of a player. Is it a trade for a Fontenot or DeRosa from SF? A trade with Seattle for Brendan Ryan? Or is it simply bringing up an Eric Farris type? Where are these players? Who are these players? Where's Tony Graffanino when you need him? EDIT: I bolded this string of questions about the Brewers philosophy because while the topic is who and where are these players, I think a secondary question that needs to be answered is the bolded section

Rickie needs to not be the leadoff hitter anymore in my opinion. I'm with others on this board that if he is going to be a power hitter, it is time to drop him in the lineup and focus on getting the guys who will slap the ball around to the top of the lineup. However, I am not sure we have that guy other than Nyjer. The problem, as has been mentioned other places, is we have too many of the same types of players (HR hitters) and not enough slap hitters in the mold of Jeff Cirillo or Mark Loretta. I don't think Rickie is truly the problem but with the hitter he has developed into, I really believe it is time to move him to a more run producing spot in the lineup as he will likely be there next season anyways when Prince leaves.

Regardless of how poor we have played the past 13 games (3-10) I will refuse to believe this season will be a total loss unless we blow this homestand. I know, I know, it's May. However, the Padres hit worse than us and the Pirates are still the Pirates regardless of record. If the Brewers stumble to a 3-3 or dare I say 2-4 record this week, I will officially lose hope they can turn this thing around. With Greinke going twice, Yo looking recovered and Marcum still dealing, this should be a 5-1 turnaround week, leaving us at a not so God awful 19-21.

I keep trying to push this. Why is it not working?

*Edmonds/Cain over Gomez no doubt. Absolutely no doubt. I'm hoping Nyjer may be able to replicate some of their discipline though.*Lucroy has proven to be more than I could have hoped for. I do not count him as part of a the problem at all as I rarely see him come out of his shoes to try and do anything. My concerns are more with Hart and McGehee's approaches.

I'd rather just drop Braun a spot to cleanup, bat Hart or Weeks 3rd, and the other one 2nd.My thought on May 5, 2011, assuming Gamel is 1B and I don't know our SS next season, I'd put the lineup at: CF Nyjer RF Hart 2B Weeks LF Braun 3B McGehee 1B Gamel C Lucroy SS ?

The scary thing is that I was counting on Casey to be the cleanup hitter next season when Prince leaves. Starting to look like that might not be the best idea, as I can't imagine what he will look like next season when the Prince protection goes away. Discussion for another thread no doubt, but dropping Weeks in the order may be the best way to protect Braun AND McGehee when Prince leaves.

In keeping with the previous "When does our defense cause a change" thread, here is another question thread... McGehee has developed into a decent 3B bat and Weeks and Hart had career years at the plate last season while Dale Sveum was the hitting coach. Sveum unfortunately has had zero luck getting Gomez going at the plate. Gomez is also a younger player and a few years behind where Weeks and Hart are at in their careers. I bring this up because I am curious as to how much Sveum is having an affect on our hitters and how much it is them hitting their prime, especially in the case of Weeks and Hart. Braun and Fielder are special players who are not directly affected by hitting coaches in my opinion as they have hit and hit consistently well since being called up. I think the team's approach at the plate leaves a lot, A LOT, to be desired as they have been a 3TO team for awhile now. I do not know if this is the way Sveum teaches the approach at the plate or if it is the players in general but it sure does seem to me that we never consistently get extra base hits that are not HR. Now we may stack up well at the end of the season in terms of number of 2Bs and 3Bs, but that doesn't mean we are consistently having the approach to look for those extra base hits. Much like the 20-0 Pittsburgh game that skewed runs per game stats, the same can be said for extra base hits. So what do we do about that? Is it Sveum's approach to teaching our players? Is it the player's approach at the plate and can that be corrected? If not, who can we deal and what can we deal for? I know I for one would gladly sacrifice a few HR that our guys hit to have a more consistent offense which puts the ball in the play instead of swinging for the fences everytime. Give me McGehee at 15 HR and Hart and Weeks at 20 HR each if it means a little more consistency in the offense.

After watching the Cards continually come back to win (see their series in the ATL less than a week ago AND today against Florida) and also the Reds (see all last season AND Opening Day AND today against Houston), I have to say that they have a winning mentality that they're never out of a game, that seems to be lacking in Milwaukee.

Better turn off the TV for the Top of the 3rd then. We have the epitomes of discipline coming to the plate.

Good call Schlitz but...I'm thinking I'd rather watch a rain delay than a 5th consecutive loss.

He needs to hit the booze like he did in Major League. Like my old signature from Major League II: "Welcome back to Major League Baseball...sort of."

It sure does sound like Ueck is pretty disgusted right now.

At this rate, Greinke may hit 90 pitches in inning 4.