Warning Track Power

As a follow on, I am firmly behind Weeks being the 2nd most valuable everyday player behind Braun. If both Weeks and Fielder were signed long term and we had to trade one for some reason, I would trade Fielder. I envision a 2012 or possibly sooner in 2011 #3 and #4 hitters as Weeks and Braun.

$12MM per season for a guy with that injury history is a HUGE risk for a small market team. However, assuming the Brewers do not trade Lawrie this season and he can sort of provide you insurance in the event Weeks does get hurt, I may be inclined to agree with you. Weeks is the heart and soul of the team in my opinion.

BJ Surhoff had 2326 hits!! That blew my mind this morning.

I haven't heard anything about any ongoing talks with Rickie regarding an extension. Has anyone heard anything? I know Uggla rejected a 4year/$48MM deal. I hope Rickie isn't expecting anything close to that given his injury history. 4year/$32MM is about the extent of where I would go.

Narron as Pirates Bench Coach Almost all the way down at the bottom of the article. Hurdle wanted Narron as his bench coach in Pittsburgh but the Brewers got to him first.

I am surprised Axford didn't garner at least one vote somwhere. In terms of sheer production and value to the team I would argue that Axford should be no lower than Sanchez. He was far more valuable to the Brewers than Walker, Castro, Davis, Tabata and Venters were to their respective clubs. And also produced in a higher pressure situations than any of the others, save for maybe Walker who spent time hitting in the #3 spot in the lineup.

My only fear with this scenario is the CC Sabathia/Mark Texieria situation all over again where a mega money team signs Fielder and an another Type A FA and the Brewers get the compensation sandwich pick and the 2nd round pick. If we get the 1st round pick and the compensation sandwich pick it may be better than what we could get via a trade.

I bring this up every offseason as my mind wanders over the Brewers and all things Brewers but I thought this is a good fun read: Best and Worst Uniforms: Milwaukee Brewers Perhaps I'm just fickle but I changed my mind from my original thinking about the current uniforms. I agree with the guy who wrote the article. Our current look has become kind of bland to me; regardless of what i said earlier in this thread http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif Our 1980s version is best. And I thought about why I like that uniform best. It's not because it was our "Glory Days" and I long for those days. It was because this was the uniform I saw the Brewers in when I was a kid and fell in love with them. I remember seeing the ball and glove on the early days of SportsCenter and getting excited. Plus I think it's just an awesome look. Put me firmly in the camp of returning to our roots and ditching the current logo and colors and returning to this uniform. What are the possibilities that the Brewers return to the look? As a side, does anyone know where I can get a replica gray away jersey from the late 80s that looks like the one in the concept below? (i know the barrelman wasn't on our late 80s jersey) : Brewers Retro Concept

If Weeks were resigned would a Lawrie/Gamel/etc.. for Latos be something we could pull off or be interested in? Seems like a lot but a true young ace like Latos would require a lot. I'd prefer a Lawrie/Jeffress/etc...for Greinke but that's just me.

I actually like the idea of playoff expansion, assuming the following occur: -Season moves back to 154 games and is completed by mid-September. Allows for playoffs to finish by mid-October -1 additional Wild Card in each League bringing the total number of playoff teams to 10. 33% of MLB teams making the playoff does not cheapen the playoffs. The NFL, the most popular sport has 37.5% and the playoffs play out over 1 month. This is easily accomplished in MLB by eliminating days off between series. -3 game series for the wild card series with ALL games at the home of the wild card with the best record. Means the best record for the wild card is rewarded and there are no off days in the wild card series. -7 game series for the DS, CS and World Series with only 2 days off in each Series (between Game 2 and Game 3 and between Game 5 and Game 6) By my count that gives the 3 day Wild Card round, plus 3 maximum 9-day rounds, plus 1 travel day between the 3 rounds gives the following schedule: Day 1-3: Wild Card Day 4: Travel Day 5-13: Division Series Day 14: Travel Day 15-23: Championship Series Day 24: Travel Day 25-33: World Series If the season were to end in mid-September through the elimination of 8 regular season games, the season would end around October 20th or so. I think this is a win. Now having said all that, I may be in the minority but I would also propose a unpopular idea, but one I would like to see. That is the elimination of the three division format and folding it back to a 2 divison format, east and west. The current setup makes it far easier for teams in the AL West to win a division and far harder for teams in the NL Central to win one. And with interleague play not going to be an all season thing, I think change is needed. My proposal would be this: AL EAST New York Boston Toronto Tampa Bay Baltimore Cleveland Detroit AL WEST Los Angeles Oakland Seattle Texas Kansas City Chicago Minnesota NL WEST Los Angeles San Francisco San Diego Arizona Colorado Houston St. Louis Chicago NL EAST Milwaukee Cincinnati Pittsburgh Atlanta Philadelphia New York Washington Florida I don't like being outside of a division from Chicago or St. Louis, but going to this format and allowing for the two division winners, plus the teams with the next 3 best records eliminates, for the most part, low 80 division winners. Also, this format could mean that 4 teams from the AL East can make the playoffs, thereby eliminating the Tampa, Boston, New York conundrum plaguing MLB...only a little tongue in cheek.

I know the Orioles have been linked with having interest in Martinez and playing him at 1B, C, and DH. It wouldn't be a bad move to sign Martinez and have him as the backup or emergency catcher and then have him play primarily at 1B though that would mean either Gamel or McGehee need to be traded. How about this scenario: 3-team trade: Billingsley to the Brewers; Loney, Gomez, McClendon, and cash to the Rays; Prince, Parra, and Upton to the Dodgers. I am not sure the Rays accept that offer but it would replace an expensive Upton with a cheaper option in Gomez and Loney will be cheaper than any free agent the Rays could pick up. McGehee plus a low prospect to the Marlins for Nolasco. FA Signing: Beltre to play 3B. Lineup: 1. Weeks 2B 2. Gamel 1B 3. Beltre 3B 4. Braun LF 5. Hart RF 6. Cain CF 7. Lucroy C 8. Escobar SS 9. Pitcher Rotation: Gallardo, Billingsley, Nolasco, Wolf, Rogers/Narveson/Capuano Bullpen: Axford, Coffey, Braddock, Hawkins, (2 of) Rogers/Narveson/Capuano, and Loe. Bench: Inglett, Cruz, Kottaras, Farris, and Katin That would give the Brewers a great rotation. I am not sure of the 3-team trade there seems to be something missing for the Rays and I just can't find that piece in the Dodgers system. Might have to add a positional player from the Brewers farm system to get that trade to work. That rotation would be the best rotation in the NL and would rival that of the Yankees and Rays rotation. Offense would be the big question mark here. Will Gamel and Beltre be able to replace Prince's production? Hart won't do what he did this year again next year so you have to expect some regression from him. The bullpen maybe a little shaky though. -I am all for a Prince and Parra for Billingsley and Loney deal. Loney is the Overbay-type hitter that this lineup needs in my opinion. Replacing Fielder with a doubles hitter who can provide a high OBP and draw some walks is not necessarily a bad thing. I think this is fair value for Prince. -Re-signing Weeks is a critical part of the offseason to me. -Trade the prospects to complete the deal to get Greinke Walking into next season with: IF : Loney, Weeks, Escobar, McGehee OF: Braun, Cain, Hart C: Lucroy SP: Gallardo, Greinke, Billingsley, Wolf, Rogers/Narveson That team on paper, assuming they play to expectations, wins the NL Central next year.

I think one of the main aspects people forget about the "system" in MLB is the fact that these franchises are not in competition with each other in a traditional sense. Do they compete with each other for championships? Of course; it's the premise of the existence of MLB. However, they are not in competition with one another to drive the other out of business like in a free market economy. Not trying to delve too far into the economics of business but Target is in business to maximize profits at the expense of Walmart, K-Mart, etc...The teams of MLB are all like Targets spread out over the United States. Their real competition is the NFL, NBA and NCAA. Would the Yankees be able to make the profits they do without the Kansas Citys, Oaklands, Pittsburghs and yes, Milwaukees of the league? No. Their profits would dwindle. They wouldn't go out of business but they would dwindle. The Yankees need these teams and the sooner they realize it the better because, as evidenced by the World Series viewership, baseball's popularity is decreasing. Teams like the Yankees need to understand that MLB is becoming the K-Mart of the aforementioned sports and losing when it comes to the "product." Yeah they are relevant from time to time and most people will do their shopping there in the event other options aren't available, but they aren't the first choice. The NFL, with a different playoff teams ever year and the NBA, regardless of the Lakers dominating championships the past decade, provide a more balanced and fair product giving its "shoppers" more bang for their buck, like Target or Walmart.

This would be a terrible deal. As constituted, it looks like the Brewers trade Fielder, Parra and Jeffress for Greinke. I'm not sure if you meant to include anyone from a third team coming back to Milwaukee but anything short of Greinke signing a long term deal with the Brewers and turning into Bob Gibson or Sandy Koufax for the next decade, then I would pass. I do agree with your idea of a three team deal where Fielder goes to the third team, prospects go to KC and Greinke comes to Milwaukee. Any trade where we could parlay Prince into a legit #1 right now I am all for.

This is precisely the point. Who cares if you lead the league in runs and home runs if a weeks worth of Pirates games enabled it? This was the 2010 Brewers offense in a nutshell. Stats do not tell the entire story. Sometimes you can believe your eyes and my eyes told me the Brewers were a below average offensive team in 2010 despite their impressive numbers.

I can't speak for everyone but I was down on the Brewers hitting HRs because we became very hit or miss. It was either a 10 run outburst including multiple HRs per game or we'd score 1 or 2 runs with none or one HR. Maybe my memory is failing but it never seemed to be where they consistently put up 4 or 5 runs per game. The thought being there is more than one way for a team to average 5 runs per game. The Brewers were the team that scored 9 runs one game and 1 run the next. I for one would rather score 4 runs one game and 6 runs the next. Both teams average 5 runs per game, but the second scenario will win you more games.

Completely agree. Valentine was my first choice only because of the immediate level of respectability he would command as the Brewers skipper and the ability to go after an underachieving player even if its Braun. But the thought of him commanding a larger salary doesn't really jive with what this team and City is all about. If Valentine wasn't the choice, Roenicke was my guy of the four. Let's hope he can be the Brewers Scott Skiles and squeeze every inch of talent out of this underachieving squad. My only fear is that he isn't the fiery guy that a young team needs to light a fire under their butts ala Valentine.

Take with a grain of salt: If Melvin truly believes Ryne Sandberg is ready to be a manager, now would be the time to hire him. I'm not sure it would be the right hire but it sure would be fun if it were. Could be reminiscent of how badly the Dodgers would love for their hometown hero Mike Scioscia to be their manager right now. Nothing would please me more than to have the Cubs spurn their own hero, only to have him find Scioscia-esque success in Milwaukee. Like I said, grain of salt.

I thought of that as well. I'd be curious to see how the Cincinnati market specifically compares with Milwaukee market specifically. My point in the original post was more of a pat on the back for the amount of support Brewers fans have shown over the past 3 seasons and also amazement of the lack of support based on the amount of time it has been since the Reds were in a pennant race, regardless of hot weather, back to school time or recession.

Last night's attendance at the Brewers-Reds game was under 15,000. Really? A pennant chase in Cincinnati for the first time since the mid-90s and the fans don't show. I know it was 90 degrees and humid and its the first week of school for a lot of families but man....without doing the research, I doubt we saw anything like that in Miller Park in 2008. Not trying to go all Cardinals fan on Reds fan, but those types of numbers should make MLB appreciate what the Brewers fans have done over the past 3 seasons all the more impressive.

I couldn't agree more. I know the Angels are struggling this year but Jeff Mathis is a beast behind the plate. He is barely hitting above .200 and they have Mike Napoli who is a legit 30 HR threat and Mathis plays behind the plate more. Granted Napoli has gotten a lot of time at 1B since Morales' injury, but even in years past Mathis has played extensively because of his defensive prowess and ability to call a good game behind the plate. I am fine with Lucroy's offense even at the level it is at right now given his continued development defensively.

While I am not happy about the overall underachieving 2010 version of the Milwaukee Brewers, I am excited about the future Milwaukee Brewers and the MLB training that Lucroy, Cain and Escobar have been able to receive in 2010. The on the job training they have received this season will hopefully pay dividends in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons when Braun, Hart and a hopefully resigned Weeks will be getting near the end of their prime seasons.

Just curious...Why was Braunie wearing a Brewers jersey at a Sounds game?

Engaging in a little friendly bar debate with my friends last night and thought it would be a good topic to bring up. The argument was basically would you root for another team if your team moved and if so why would you pick them? Now I understand the Brewers do not face the possibility of moving anytime soon but the conversation was definitely an interesting one, especially when it turned into how your favorite team would become the team you hate the most if it left your city. Another interesting point that came up in the conversation for one guy was how he, a Yankee fan, would immediately root for the Red Sox as he felt that by rooting for his former favorite teams greatest rival would be his greatest ability as a fan to get back at his former team. I know I would definitely be devastated if the Brewers ever left Milwaukee and I would immediately loathe them. Not sure I could bring myself to rooting for the Cubs or Cards but I do agree that would be the best way at getting back at the Brewers if they left. Not sure if I would ever find myself rooting for another team with the same passion I root for the Brewers either. But if I was forced to pick a team, with the economics of the game the way they are currently, it would be tough to not try and pull for a big market team and avoid the tough situations of being forced to trade fan favorites ala Prince Fielder once they get close to free agency. So who would you root for? Being California-born and loving the NL, I'd probably have to go with the Dodgers or Giants. But for those of you who are Wisconsin-born, I'd imagine it would be a tougher call and a more interesting call as to who you would root for due to the closest teams being the biggest and most hated rivals.

Why should that be "the goal." It really doesn't matter if they lose 81 or 89 at this point. And since you say they should be developing the young guys, shouldn't Parra be a part of that group? No. Parra's ERA since the first week of July is over 7. To me this is the equivalent of a hitter who is hitting under .200 after 2 months in the lineup. It's time to send that theoretical hitter back down to Triple AAA. Same thing with Parra, except if my memory serves, he is out of options. In this vein a move to a different role is warranted. If Parra was showing signs of growth, he absolutely should be part of that group. But Parra isn't progressing. He has regressed. Now i am sure a stathead could prove me wrong, but what my eyes see tell me he was better 2 years ago than what he is now. As for the goal of .500, maybe your right. Maybe I personally would feel better about this team at .500. But for that young group to have contributed to pulling this team back to .500 on the season after the atrocious start, I can't help but think it would do wonders for their confidence going into 2011.

About the right time to make this move. I think Parra has had a long enough leash as a starter and has shown his line will consistently sit at about 5.2 IP, 4 ER. Be it a good or bad thing, we aren't quite bad enough to let him play out the season as a starter and continually put lines up like this. Getting to .500 while developing those players such as Lucroy, Cain, Braddock, Axford, etc.. should still be the goal for this season and Parra has had his shot.