Warning Track Power

I was watching the Selig staue presentation on MLB Network yesterday and I had to explain to my girlfriend who some of the players were. We got to Robin Yount's speech and she quickly noted that I had his player number t-shirt which then brought me to explaining to her who he is. Well, I then had to get into my favorite all-time encounter with a Brewer and couldn't be happier it was with Robin Yount. I was about 8 (circa 1990) and I was in Chandler at the Brewers spring training. We had just seen a game and I was waiting to get autographs from all the players leaving the stadium. Robin was obviously being swarmed by everyone but he was signing from behind a chain-link fence so as to not get mobbed. The crowd was dying down and I was about to get my shot at an autograph. When it was my turn, Robin reached into his bag and grabbed a batting glove and stuck it through the chain-link to give to me. I couldn't believe my luck. I was about to get Robin Yount's batting glove. As I was about to close my hands around it, a woman grabbed the batting glove out of my hands and started to run away with it. Robin yelled "HEY!!! Come back here! I was giving the glove to the kid"...She sheepishly came back, gave the glove to Robin who then gave me the glove and said "here you go bud." Best Brewer memory. Even though most of us can't love the guy more, seeing him on stage brought back the memory and I thought I'd share.

I've been contemplating this since Cain and Lucroy have become the regulars at CF and C and since Dickerson was acquired. Assuming we enter into the next few seasons with the lineup situated as it is currently with: These 7 regulars: OF: Braun, Hart, Cain IF: Weeks, Escobar, McGehee C: Lucroy These 4 bench players: OF: Dickerson, Gomez IF: Inglett C: Kottaras Are you comfortable that this lineup will allow us to be legitimate competitors into the future assuming a rotation can be filled out around Gallardo? You will notice I have not filled the 1B position as I do not believe we know who will fill this hole (Braun, Hart, Gamel or Lawrie) but the question really focuses on the lack of having Fielder in the lineup and whether or not his absence will affect the productivity of Braun, Hart and McGehee especially. I know there are obviously a lot of moving parts, but I am quietly confident that this group will be able to produce enough offense that even a league average pitching staff will allow the Brewers to compete for the Division for the foreseeable future.

Do any of you guys fall into the category of rooting for your division when your team is out of it? For example, I feel loyalty to rooting for other Big Ten teams in bowl games regardless of who they are playing. I guess there exists in my mind a sort of Big Ten camraderie. However, I do not feel that in MLB, NFL or NBA. I generally will root against anyone from the Brewers, Packers or Bucks division.

True but they were in the same league for 28 seasons (1970-1997). I guess I would have expected more of a residual hatred from Brewer fans for those almost 3 decades. As much I personally hate the Vikings, I find myself rooting for the Twins. Kind of mentally contradictory for me I guess.

What I want, with realistic assumptions (which means Yankees are in as much as it pains me): NL Padres Reds Phillies Giants (WC) NLDS Padres over Reds Giants over Phillies NLCS Padres over Giants AL Rays Twins Rangers Yankees (WC) ALDS Twins over Yankees Rangers over Rays ALCS Twins over Rangers WS Padres over Twins Just can't bring myself to rooting for the Rays in that staidum. It feels wrong to root for any baseball team playing in a totally enclosed stadium.

Typically I have random thoughts on a Brewer off day and today was no different. My random thought today is "hatred" for opposing teams from other Brewer fans (hatred in quotes because sports hate is not real hate). Now I have a list of hated teams which I will propose to you and the reasons behind the hate, but I am curious to see your reasons for hatred. Now before I get to my list, let me preface my list. I do not hate the Cubs. I know that may sound sacreligious, but as a California-born Brewer fan who spent his youth rooting for the Brewers and because they were in the AL I was indifferent to the Cubs because they were in the NL. Additionally, I didn't have the disdain for all things Chicago like it seems a majority of Wisconsin-born, my relatives included, Brewers fans do. I get the Chicago hate on a lot of levels but would love the Brewer fan perspective of Chicago hate and more specifically Cub hate. I do not remember there being such White Sox hate when the Brewers were in the AL. Additionally to the Cub question, I pose another question to you Brewer fans. Why is there no hate for the Twins? With the Packer-Viking and Badger-Gopher rivalry being so intense, i find the lack of hate for the Twins peculiar. On to my list of hated teams: 1. Cardinals: It's not even close. The Vikings of MLB. I've never liked them and it may be rooted in the World Series defeat, just like the hate for the Broncos in the NFL, but the arrogance of the team and double standard of baseball "rules" astounds me. Plus for as long as I can remember they have had players that are very easy to dislike (see McGwire, Edmonds, Pujols, Carpenter, Rolen, Molina) 2. Yankees: For the obvious argument of buying players but more so because I'd guesstimate that 75% of their fans have no real connection to New York or the team itself. I was born into loving the Brewers because of family and it would be just as logical for me to root for the Dodgers or Angels being born in California, but have the connection to the Brewers through my dad's rooting interest. I love the Brewers additionally because of the necessity to develop and bring homegrown players to the Bigs. I would much rather root for a team that develops players like Braun, Weeks or Gallardo than a team that buys Teixeira, CC or Burnett. It brings being a fan to a whole new level. 3. Red Sox: Because they had the 2nd highest payroll in baseball and their owner whined about the Yankees buying players. 4. Braves: Even though they left Milwaukee 15 years before I was born, any team that leaves Milwaukee ranks high on the hate list. 5. D-Backs: OK not really but listening to Daron Sutton makes me cringe when I tune into them on MLB Extra Innings.

Man he strikes out a lot but if you could pencil in his 162 game average from the Majors, you're looking at quite the addition for the Crew. Love the OBP, especially compared to CarGo. Like everyone else, I pray Cain turns out to be the CF, but if we could get Dickerson's 162 game average production from the leadoff spot, I'd be ecstatic if for no other reason than we can move Rickie to 3 or 5.

Loney is EXACTLY the type of hitter I would love to see the Brewers acquire in general. He doesn't have to hit 25 or 30 HRs in order to produce. Only 6 HRs yet 63 RBIs! The one problem I have with the offense is it still so HR-reliant. Bats like his are what the Brewers should be targeting to compliment whatever sluggers we have left once Prince and Hart are traded.

I understand the thoughts of selling high on Corey Hart and that RFs are generally a dime a dozen but what is everyone's plan if he is dealt coupled with the inevitable Prince deal? It seems to me that we are focusing on not missing the opportunity to trade Hart, but not focusing on the realities of the everyday lineup once these two pieces are moved. Hart and Fielder both being gone for pitching opens massive holes in the lineup that are going to be filled by who...Cain, Lawrie, Gamel? Or unproven talent that very well could end up playing like LaPorta or Brantley and guaranteeing the Brewers go in the tank for the next 5 seasons. I know we aren't the Yankees and can't afford to have Hart go all Billy Hall on us, but give me the guy who has proven he can hit HRs and over .250 for his career over the shining prospect. See Hardy J v. Escobar, A. Yes, Hardy hasn't lit the world on fire in Minnesota but I personally would rather have seen him, Hart and Weeks resigned for what it will take to keep Fielder. I'm not totally disagreeing with you guys. Prince is 100% gone and the return should soldify 1-2 SP questions with young talent i.e. Wade Davis- Matt Garza. Coupling that with a resigned Weeks and Hart is a better option than trading Fielder AND Hart and hoping for a San Francisco rotation, while having a San Diego lineup of Braun and under .250 hitters like Escobar and Gomez and whatever other prospects fill out the lineup.

I think we really need to look at what brings the most talent back, while maintaining the offense we have. The only options in my opinion are: -Resign Prince. Trade Corey and Rickie -Resign Corey and Rickie. Trade Prince In either option we lose something on offense, but will gain enough SP to hopefully tip the balance. I have found myself believing Rickie is the key to the Brewers offense so I am against dealing him. I believe this Hart (.290, 35-40 HR) isn't exactly for real but I believe the .275, 25-30 HR is legtimate. I go with the option of trading Prince and pieces (Parra, Jeffress) and hoping we can find a taker on a multi-SP deal. I like Rodent's proposal of a Davis and Garza deal but without looking Garza has to be a FA very shortly with his time in the Majors already. Having said that, a re-signed Weeks and Hart and a Prince-Parra-etc.. for Davis-Garza, etc or a Cain-Bumgarner-etc with SF, etc...sure seems to give us more than enough O, with two pieces to add to Gallardo. Not sure if either team would be willing to part with 2 pitchers of these guys caliber.

Doing MBA homework today for an Organizational Stucture class and lo and behold I come across Brewer-relevant data. Bear with me if some of you know this, but I was rather excited to apply some knowledge in a school subject to a Brewer subject... In an article written by John S. Hammond in January 2006, entitled "The Hidden Traps in Decision Making", Mr. Hammond indirectly, yet very succinctly sums up Mr. Melvin's problem with letting go of Jeff Suppan. In what he terms the Sunk-Cost Trap, Hammond states that: ..."in business, a bad decision is often a very public matter, inviting critical comments from colleagues or bosses. If you fire a poor performer whom you hired, you're making a public admission of poor judgment. It seems psychologically safer to let him or her stay on, even though the choice only compounds the error." It's understood that all professional sports activity is subject to public judgment but talk about an accurate portrayal of reality. The remedy: As Warren Buffett put it: "When you find yourself in a hole, the best thing you can do is stop digging."

Good God...Talk about being unaware of the current situations in baseball. As I live outside of Wisconsin, I have to rely on XM for radio broadcasts of the Brewers games and since it was the Twins home games, I had to listen to the Twins broadcast team. Two incidents caught me completely off guard and dumbfounded as to how they could not be aware of situations around baseball. I was very surprised about the lack of knowledge in the league from John Gordon, Dan Gladden and Jack Morris. The first was Trevor Hoffman. During the Saturday game when Villanueva blew the save, they had no clue as to why the all-time saves leader wasn't in the game. I mean no clue. They were questioning it throughout the entire inning as to why he wasn't in. After hearing that I thought well, they are an AL team and maybe they don't follow the NL and don't know about Hoffman's struggles, as shocking as that would be. But the second was unforgivable to not know. The second was an email to the booth question during Sunday's game about realignment. Not sure who it was but he was asked with all the realignment talk, if the Twins would want to go to the NL as they play the game like an NL team with hit and run, sac bunts and the like. The response to the question was "There hasn't been any realignment talk and I'm not sure where you are hearing all this realignment talk but..." Really?? I think that has been a pretty topic of Bud Selig's committee about making the game more competitively balanced. I'm just glad Uecker and Provus have a pretty solid knowledge of all things baseball and not just Brewers.

I was a proponent of a Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler/Reed Johnson backup OF situation before the season started. I feel both of these guys were easily a better fit for the Brewers OF situation than Gerut. I am a little prejudiced toward Gross though. I caught my only foul ball off his bat http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Wow I guess my opinion of Jody Gerut doesn't really match with the general opinion of him. I guess I just don't feel he adds any value to the team and that is being masked becuase of other glaring areas of weakness such as the bullpen and high pitch counts by the starters. He hasn't produced consistently in a PH role and hasn't taken advantage of the opportunity afforded him by Edmonds and Gomez's injuries. I guess I just had the realization during the Reds game yesterday: if he doesn't succeed as a PH and isn't an everyday player, why is he on the team? I agree with joepepsi and I would prefer to see his ABs go to Inglett, a guy whose approach at the plate is something different than what most of this team has. Inglett doesn't try to put every pitch into the Menomonee.

I have not liked his presence on the roster since we acquired him from the Padres last season. I especially don't like it now that he has had consistent playing time. And I do believe it was Jody Gerut himself who complained prior to the season that all he needed to be a producer for the team was consistent playing time. I know 61 ABs does not a season make, but a sub .200 average isn't exactly a producer. Is it just me or are we looking at a DFA situation with him sometime soon? I mean surely someone in Triple AAA can replace Jody Gerut's big bat and provide a sub .200 average. (edit: more explicative topic title --1992)

I agree that building your staff around the same type of pitcher is not a good choice. Period. However, I disagree with your assessment of Suppan, Davis and Looper being bad or weren't very good to begin with. With all three of those guys just performing as they had before becoming a Brewer would not only be the makings of a pretty darn good staff, but when combined with the Brewers offense, would make them almost assured of a playoff spot: -Suppan prior three years before becoming a Brewer had ERAs of 4.16, 3.57, 4.12 -Looper prior three years befor becoming a Brewer had ERAs of 3.56, 4.94, 4.16 -Davis prior three years before becoming a Brewer again had ERAs of 4.25, 4.32, 4.12 Keeping in mind I don't have the in depth analysis some of you guys do regarding BABIP and the luck factor etc... I do know that through this basic research that their years prior to coming to Milwaukee were significantly better than what they have done in Milwaukee. What is the common thread? To use a political quote minus the insult: It's the Coaching!

As long as you are referring to Melvin's ability to draft pitchers, I have no issue with this statement. If you are referring to Melvin's signing of FA pitchers, I have issue. Like I stated last week on this thread, Melvin has signed pitchers who, while may not have been world beaters, have been average big leaguers before coming to Milwaukee...see Suppan, Looper, Wolf, Riske, Hawkins, Davis. Each one of these guys have significantly regressed as ballplayers in their time in Milwaukee. In my opinion, this is about coaching and pitching philosophy and reflects significantly on Macha, Yost, Castro and Peterson.

I understand the thought behind this, but I think this disconnects the fans from the team. The whole point of buying merchandise is to show your passion and connection to the team. What's the point if the logo and design doesn't resemble what the team wears?

You are fooling yourself if you honestly believe Melvin is inept based on these FA decisions. Like I stated before, Melvin is inept in picking managers. I will concede that much, but using these as examples are not what makes Melvin inept. Looking at each case: -Suppan was coming off multiple low 4 ERA seasons in a row when signed. -Hall was coming off a 35 HR season -Hawkins was coming off multiple low 2 ERA seasons in a row -Riske was generally considered one of the best RP in baseball when he was signed -Davis was top 5 in quality starts by LHP last season -Hoffman had a sub-2 ERA in his 1st season in Milwaukee. No way you expect this big of a dropoff over one offseason. All these signings point to ineptitude on the managing/coaching front. It wasn't like these guys were incapable of performing or duplicating these stats. Under Yost/Macha, it has become apparent they do not know how to push the right buttons to get the Brewers to perform at a high level.

I look forward to the days when the Doug Davis' of the world are not signed to ensure mediocrity. Give Parra the 5th spot for the rest of the season. Figure out if Bush, Narveson and Parra can be compliments to Gallardo and Wolf. If not, we are not left to wonder what could be with these guys when they are jettisoned. Hopefully two of them are decent enough to hold down spots. As I see it now, Bush and Narveson are both solid 4s. If Parra doesn't pan out, take the money saved from Suppan and Hall's contracts coming off the books and the inevitable Fielder trade and allocate that money towards another #2 type pitcher. Assuming Gallardo progresses as we hope and turns into a low end #1 or high end #2, having that plus a newly signed #2, solid #3 in Wolf and assuming two solid #4s in Bush and Narveson and that is the beginning of what should be a competitive small market rotation.

If they get swept, Macha SHOULD be fired. Talk about underachieving.

A little OT, but what was up with JJ's attitude? I didn't notice anything last year. Were there rumors that he was a clubhouse cancer or something?Well I re-read the article about JJ's attitude and I misread it a little bit. I thought the part in 2005 when he hurt his shoulder was about his 2009 demotion, but even in the article he points out he wanted out of Milwaukee. Still a good read. For the record, I wish JJ was still in Milwaukee as I think Alcides is gonna be just a guy. I hope I'm wrong.

To me there is a point where you cut your losses and I think we are reaching that point with Manny. Sometimes the only way someone gets it is through a change of scenery like Jorge De La Rosa and to a lesser extent JJ Hardy. De La Rosa was atrocious in Milwaukee and I don't think would've figured it out here. JJ's attitude demanded a new scene. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to let these guys go and know they may turn it around somewhere else and we've been pretty fortunate in this regard i.e Casey McGehee, Scott Podsednik, Derrick Turnbow and the first go round with Doug Davis.

Looking into the crystal ball, here are my thoughts about what is realistically going to happen over the next 7 months: -The Brewers finish with a record somewhere between 78-84 wins. An underachievment at the low end and a just about right on the high end. The way above average the Brewers can produce is just a little better than the way below average pitching they are capable of, hence the just about right 83 or 84 win season. -Ken Macha is fired. While I don't necessarily need the over-the-top personality in a manager, I believe this team does. A young ballclub like this needs a little fire and ice in my opinion and Macha is not that. Watching him manage and seeing him in the dugout does little to inspire and despite what we all feel about these guys (ballplayers in general) should be self-motivators getting to play a game for a ridiculously lavish living, I don't think a majority of them are. Just my opinion, but give me a Piniella-type over Macha anyday of the week. Plus the pitching staff under him has really stagnated or even regressed. Gallardo isn't getting any "better" in my opinion and Parra is getting worse. -Doug Melvin stays. I have been the biggest supporter of Melvin, but I have even begun to question his ability to conjure up a pitching staff. An ability to build the bats and strikeout on the pitchers seems to be his calling card. Having said that, Doug Davis has regressed significantly from last season. Hawkins isn't the same either. Parra continues to be an enigma and as I said before, has regressed. This to me isn't a reflection on his abilities as a GM, it's a reflection on the coaching staff. Melvin can pick and sign talented ballplayers but cannot coach them. If Melvin has a weakness, it's in his chocies for manager. I don't think this is enough to fire him when he has done a wonderous job to date working in MLB's smallest market. I don't know...Maybe Ash hires the next manager. But I would hate to lose Melvin when he brought this franchise back from the dead. Let's not forget that. -Prince Fielder is traded....in the offseason. I don't know where or to who, but we all know he won't be here unless he accepts something along the line of the Sabathia contract (5yrs/$100MM). Gamel is the starting 1B next season. -Rickie Weeks and Casey McGehee get long term deals. Despite his little slump, I believe Rickie is going to be here for the long haul and Casey will be signed to a team friendly deal, buying out a few arby years.

I can't take credit for those designs. I found them on the interwebs through use of the google machine. Reading through this thread, I'm actually quite surprised the Brewers have yet to incorporate the ball and glove logo in navy and gold. Seems to me most fans are over the retro look with the blue and yellow colors and would genuinely like to see the ball and glove updated to be incorporated into the new colors. Like I said, I am quite surprised we haven't seen this yet. Despite the Brewers small market operation, I've always felt they have had a big market and impressive front office in terms of busines marketing. AJAY you are absolutely right about the historical value of the ball and glove logo. Even if you are sick of the retro look, the Brewers are identified across the country and throughout the baseball world, by this logo. This situation is similar to the early 90's when the White Sox got rid of the blue and white uniforms and went back to their old black and white pinstripes. Update it to match the current color scheme and call it a day.