Warning Track Power

For Fantasy Baseball's sake: Maybe my trade offer of Carlos Zambrano and Ian Stewart for Casey will now get accepted.

Wow...this is the worst Spring Training in recent memory.

Ok, well apparently everyone disagrees with me. However, a couple of points... *I never said the Cubs should concede the NL Central, I stated that the Cubs are a .500-ish team right now and that everything would have to go right for them to win the division over the more talented Brewers and Reds. I actually am more afraid of them than the Cardinals because I think their pitching staff is better than StL. But I still believe they are a 79 to 83 win team. *I wouldn't consider starting Colvin over Fukudome conceding the NL Central. Colvin is good, may be better than Fukudome and could be the RF in Chicago for the next decade. Fukudome as the 4th OF is legitimate as the Cubs may not be bringing him back to Chicago next season. Based off his rookie season, Colvin could be a 30 HR guy with 600 ABs. Why not play the kid who outperformed Fukudome last season and give him more ABs? *I would welcome Fukudome in Milwaukee right now as well as the 4th OF. I would rather play Gomez though and see if he can reach his potential this season as he adds a dimension missing in the OF with D and on offense with his speed. To me, a Gomez/Fukudome question in Milwaukee is the equivalent of the Colvin/Fukudome question in Chicago. *I also drafted Fukudome and Colvin in my NL-only draft. When combined last season, their stats are: 716 ABs (Each had 358 ABs) 105 Rs (Colvin had 15 more Rs) 33 HRs (Colvin had 7 more HRs) 100 RBI (Colvin had 15 more RBIs) 13 SBs (Fukudome had 1 more SB) That is a pretty good stat line for one OF for one position in fantasy. Of course these are just fantasy stats. *As for my Suppan/Rogers comparison...well it may have been off base with the explanation but I think is still valid. If Fukudome had a lesser contract, I wonder how much he would be playing or if he would be in Chicago at all? If he had say a $6MM/year deal, maybe the Cubs would have found a trade partner. I think we all realize Suppan only received a few starts last season because of his contract. As was mentioned, Fukudome is nowhere near as bad as Suppan but I believe he is only going to receive playing time because of his contract because he is blocking a potential stud in Colvin.

Don't blame Counsell for what goes on. I'd be shocked if the team didn't have a dead roster spot or two. I assumed when Kotsay was signed that he was pretty much guaranteed a spot. I wonder if Melvin signs guys like him because he has admired and followed them through their careers. Kotsay was a hotshot college player and a top draft pick. Its his chance to have a great player, even for a year. Unfortunately, the Gagnes don't always work out and there is no more "great" left. I am not blaming Counsell at all. I am saying because of his abilities as a 40 year old super utility IF, the Brewers front office may be giving opportunities and more credence to older players with less ability than younger players with more ability. It's not Counsell's fault. It's the Brewers' front office's fault for thinking Counsell can be cloned with an older utility OF.

I know this helps us but I got to thinking if we were in the position how frustrated we would be... I think we all agree that for the Cubs to even sniff the playoffs, more things would have to go right for them than they did for the Bears in 2010 (see 4 3rd string QBs faced). So it is pretty safe to assume that they are likely, at best, the 3rd place team in the Central in 2011 (I think this is plausible as I feel the Cards are the Cubs are both likely to finish right at .500). With that in mind, how upset would you be as a fan if the Brewers plan would be to platoon Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin? Colvin seems to be a stud in the making and scares the heck out of me for the future. I understand he's a little bit older of a prospect, he will be 26 in September, but if all you are realistically playing for is 3rd place, I can't imagine why you would, under any circumstances, platoon RF. The kid's potential seems pretty high and I can only imagine the outrage in Milwaukee if this were our RF situation. It would be like the Brewers starting Jeff Suppan and making Mark Rogers the long man this season.

PEM & Monty - Glad we're all on the same page. I'm telling you guys; Melvin, Ash and Roenicke are looking to find the OF version of Craig Counsell. Kotsay appears to be a wily old super utility OF on the outside, but I don't think he is the wily old vet super utility OF that Counsell is as an IF. The blessing that Counsell gives us as an IF is a curse when it comes to the OF because it is blinding management to superior players like Dickerson and quite possibly Boggs.

If Hart is on the DL to begin this season AND Dickerson makes this team and is not in RF on Opening Day, I will have lost one small iota of confidence in Roenicke. Kotsay over Dickerson is simply dumb.

My bench looks like: OF - Dickerson, Boggs C - Kottaras INF - Counsell 1B/OF - Kotsay (default as there is no way he isn't making it) I personally cannot stand Cruz since he dropped the racist card on Macha. Even with that bias, I fail to see a redeeming quality to keeping him on the roster as he can't hit. I personally would rather give the opportunity to Farris but he probably needs to play everyday, so that's why I'd carry Boggs instead of Cruz.

This and the Whitefish Bay ties are all I was going to go off of to indicate why I personally feel Counsell deserves a spot and not Kotsay. So I am on the same page as you. FWIW, if he makes this team, I believe Kotsay is going to be Mark Sweeney, pinch hit and never really see the field. Prince plays 160+ games. 2 of Dickerson/Boggs/Reed/Cruz are the 4th and 5th OF. So I base my Kotsay/Counsell comparison solely on offensive statistics. When those factored against Counsell, I don't see a huge difference.

The thing about Gomez is that I was pretty turned off by him when he hit that 3-run HR in Minnesota when we were losing 15-0 and he watched the entire flight of the ball. However, I find myself really embracing him this season not only because of his importance to the offense but also because of his work ethic to try and improve during this spring. As a fan of baseball and life in general, I find it refreshing to see a player/person showing this type of effort to try and improve their abilities. If he fails, he fails but it certainly seems that it won't be for a lack of work or effort or desire and because of this I am firmly in Gomez' corner this season.

Not saying you are wrong because I hate the Kotsay signing and would like to see him released, but I'd like to hear your argument why Counsell is good and Kotsay is not.

Yes and no. Yes, because it moves him one player closer to the roster. No, because I don't think that roster spot ever included Gamel as an option. If one of Boggs/Dickerson/Reed were optioned, I would be more worried. All things considered, Kotsay is the equivalent of Craig Counsell without being from Whitefish Bay.

Manlove for 3TO one more time: Branyan Available? Now a report on his out clause. If he isn't on the MLB roster by Friday, he can elect to be a FA. If he is released and Kotsay somehow remains as the backup 1B/OF I will be incredibly disappointed. As has been discussed at length, Branyan provides better backup at 1B for Prince, a breather for Casey at 3B and possibly more length in the OF than Kotsay, as well as allowing Counsell to focus on playing as much SS as possible this season (see YuBet). This was such an obvious move this offseason that I am still at a loss as to why Kotsay was signed when Branyan was right there. The only thing that makes sense is Branyan wanting to see if he could find a starting job. Crossing my fingers...

Dickerson is a stud in MLB 11 The Show so I say we keep him. In all seriousness though, I would concur with most on this board in offering him and Boggs the backup OF positions. If Gomez falls flat, Kotsay is one step closer to being an everyday player and that has disaster written all over it. Dickerson was on the team no matter what this season save batting under .200 in the spring. Reed is out of luck because he is LH like Counsell, Dickerson, Kottaras, Kotsay. The 5th OF job really boils down to Boggs vs. Cruz vs. Almonte. I'll take my chances with Boggs as I am no fan of Cruz and Almonte is rather "meh" to me considering he hasn't played in the Majors in almost a decade (2003).

How Mitch Williams has a job still is beyond me. He offers little to nothing on any MLB Network show. I am guessing he is tied to the upper management of the network somehow because his utter lack of research into any item, not just Brewers-related, is quite apparent.

My God...thinking of the possibilities of this lineup if he does this. If Weeks, Braun, Fielder, McGehee and Hart just have their average seasons...there might not be a better 1-6 in baseball. Just pray Greinke, Gallardo, Marcum are as good a #1-#3 as they should be.

Quick question. After watching him this spring have your expectations of him changed at all? Batting .400 after 35 ABs in Spring Training is batting .400 in Spring Training and he still hasn't drawn 1 walk. However, everything you read about seems to indicate he has truly dedicated himself to realizing his talent i.e. working extensively with Dale Sveum. Obviously, he isn't going to bat .400 or even .300 but maybe this spring indicates he's on pace to bat a respectable .265-.270 and have a decent OBP (.320-.330) which will allow him to utilize his speed. I know we all talked about Gomez possibly having a big Spring and fooling us into believing he has changed, but has anything he has shown you this spring make you believe this Gomez is for real?

Suppan is looking a little gaunt...HGH suspect?!?

I believe you are correct in your assertion that it would be cheaper to find the .800 OPS 1B than LF. However, I think this move would be more about the preservation of Braun's health long-term and 1B may prove to be a position which could really ensure this. Plus, I believe Braun could be exceptional at 1B whereas I see him topping out as average in LF. More a gut feeling than anything else.

Seeing as we are having this debate, I wonder if we could do 2010 all over again if we would have hung onto Matt Treanor instead of George Kottaras. As I recall, Treanor was supposedly quite the defensive whiz without much of a stick. Seems like Treanor might be winning the position battle at backup C if he was a member of the 2011 Brewers spring training roster.

Give Mike Cameron the super utility role for the OF like Counsell has for the IF and I think he would thrive. Give him 200-300 ABs and the #4 OF job. Yes he still would strike out a lot, but his bat can also draw the walk and still hit the HR. It would do wonders for the bench. For all the manlove that Russell Branyan gets around here (myself included), it sure would seem that Mike Cameron would offer a very similar skillset in a backup role. If Boston would do Stetter for Cameron + $5MM of his $7.25MM salary, I would jump.

1: Weeks2: Braun 3: Prince 4: Hart 5: Casey 6: Lucroy 7: Gomez 8: Yuni 9: P Edit: Braun works in the 1 spot too. I already struggle with the idea of Rickie in the 1 spot. Putting Braun in the 1 spot means that he has a whole lot of Gomez, Yuni, Pitcher hitting in front of him. Sounds ideal for Braun to hit 30 HR and drive in 70 runs.

I'm thinking a little entrance music. Just imagine Axford with tassles on his arms, knee pads with his face on them, face painted and oiled up like he's on Baywatch sprinting in from the bullpen, shaking the railing at the visitor's dugout and climbing on top of the dugout like he's climbing the top turnbuckle. If that doesn't get you pumped up for Axford coming into the game, you're dead inside. Edit: In all honesty, I would love to see him come out to Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child. Yes it was theme. No, not because of the wrestling angle but because of the awesome intro. Great riff.

This would be excellent news. While I do believe we have seen his peak potential, I feel his floor is still high enough to justify the extension. Seeing as he isn't scheduled to be a free agent until after the 2014 season (4 seasons still under team control), I can see the Brewers offering him something in the ballpark of 3 years/$10MM ~$3.3MM/season, which would be approximately 7 1/2x what he made in 2010. A low risk contract which wouldn't hamstring the franchise in the event he completely tanks or struggles and a heckuva bargain if he continues on, as he is going through his prime years during this contract. Makes complete sense because Casey would begin to get pretty expensive in arbitration if he duplicates 2010 in 2011.

Looks like the Brewers are going to go all Packers this year with street free agents playing huge roles...Wil Nieves = Erik Walden