Warning Track Power

And of course Prince goes into the biggest funk of his career right when we need to think about dealing him. But of course, will still get a contract we can't afford to or should be willing to pay. Just means we will likely get less for him than we should. Is that typical Brewer luck or what?

I think you are one of the few. That logo is far too popular to ever go away again. Even if the Brewers were to drastically change their colors and totally redesign their uniforms, I would imagine the ball and glove logo would somehow be incorporated. My suggestion is a way to ensure this logo is used on a more frequent basis, as well as actually matching our current color scheme. This really does away with the "retro" part of the thing and I would argue that isn't a "retro" logo anymore. It really has become the Brewers unofficial primary logo again as more fans prefer that logo to the current official logo. The only thing I would do different than the link to the grey uniform and navy and gold ball and logo design I linked in the original post would be to incorporate the ball and glove on the sleeve as well, much like the current retro uniform does.

Before I start: Mods: I'm sure this is already in another topic or forum but I couldn't find the most appropriate place. Please move if you feel that is necessary. Now that that is out of the way, and since I can't talk about the team itself after the beatdown by the Braves I thought I'd keep it on a lighter, although possibly divisive topic. I love our current uniforms and logo. I think they are both a nice homage to the brewing history of not only Milwaukee but also Wisconsin. These uniforms represent this past greater than other uniform in Brewer history. I also love the ball and glove log, like almost everyone else in the world, Cubs and Cardinals fans included. And while I do enjoy the retro Fridays or Sundays or whichever day they pick next year, I feel it is time to either pick one or the other and really stick to that and move forward with that for the foreseeable future so this logo and scheme can become iconic in the way teams like the Tigers, Yankees or Dodgers uniforms are. Having said that I believe its really a simple solution and that is to incorporate the ball and glove into the current navy and gold color scheme and wear it with the alternate blue Milwaukee jersey on the road and alternate blue Brewers jersey at home. From my perspective, fans really clamor for the ball and glove design and not necessarily the old pinstripe uniforms. I for one love derflotr's avatar when it turns into the navy and gold ball and glove logo instead of the blue and yellow. I think this really solves the uniform issue for the Brewers. Just my opinion. Just add Milwaukee to the road greys and I think we are set with the uniform for the forseeable future. Thoughts? Just found this on the web: http://www.michaelprincip.com/images/Brewersroad_alt2.jpg Someone thinks along the same lines as I do. Almost exactly what I was thinking of.

I'm so sick of waiting for Manny Parra's "potential"

I waited a few hours to post after today's game to give myself time to write logically and not just a stream of expletives about the mismanagement, under performance and general "yuck" the Brewers have shown this season. But even after that, I have to admit to being demoralized about this season and we're only 21 games in. While it is unrealistic, especially in baseball, to assume games will or should be won, with the number of late leads blown early this season, I have already begun to lose hope in the Brewers ability to turn this season around. Hawkins against the Cubs and Nationals and now Hoffman once against the Cardinals and twice against the Pirates (not counting the McGehee game since we won) have sapped some of the early energy of the season. We now stand at 9-12 and while the season is a very long way away from being over, the thought of us being 14-7 (if we held all of our late leads) or even 13-8 or 12-9 (if we had blown one or two) as we should be at this point, is pretty demoralizing as a fan. I wonder about the negative effects this has on the Brewers players on the team who have produced. I can only imagine players like Braun who have put up numbers all season, what back-to-back blown saves do to their individual attitude/performance. In a situation like this, is a major shakeup necessary? And if so, do players respond better to someone the stature of Hoffman being removed from his Closer's role or the firing of a manager? Weird feeling I have about this team...I've never loved rooting for a Brewers team more than the core of this one, but similarly, I've never hated rooting for a Brewers team more because of their yearly propensity, in my eyes, to underacheive.

Bad news for sure... Being in Southern California, listening to Ueck on XM is a real way to stay connected to Milwaukee summers. Hopefully we will hear him again sometime in July. Provus has proven to be a good find though. Big shoes to fill kid, but you just called up to The Show (so to speak). Safe recovery for Ueck. Won't be the same for the next 2-3 months

Braun is understandable but Escobar? Really? I'll trade two Escobars for Heyward. Heyward is a 4-tool player and Escobar is a 3 1/2-tool player right now. Escobar will never hit for power and his D is a work in progress. At the high end, Escobar is a 4-tool player and Heyward is a 5.

I love this! Mostly because it has me laughing like a fool at my desk right now, but it would also make it easier for ESPN to hide their bias and tick me off all the time. Also, please note that the top two teams from the Bristol division would be automatically entered into the playoffs. Talk about laughing like a fool at your desk! Classic...

Weeks is going to cost you a Bill Hall contract at least. We are going to be looking at a 4year/$24MM at a minimum for him. I'd be content with that. Realistically, I think he will get a contract at least worth on average $6MM a year and could possibly get up to $8-$9MM per if he truly breaks out this season. Sign him now!

I would say absolutely not to the Brewers moving back to the AL. It has nothing to do with anything other than I love the NL and the way the game is played in the NL. I've learned to hate the AL with the DH but that's for another topic. I would be comfortable with going back to an East and West in the AL and NL, with the two division winners and two next highest records, regardless of which division a team is in, making the playoffs; meaning you could have 3 East teams and 1 West team or vice versa making the playoffs. Theoretically, you will guarantee 3 of the 4 best records will make the playoffs on a yearly basis. Pennant chases will be kept as 7 teams will be in each division in the AL and 8 in each in the NL, instead of having 14 and 16 in one massive division. My league breakdown would be: NL East Brewers Mets Phillies Braves Nationals Marlins Pirates Reds NL West Dodgers Giants Padres Diamondbacks Rockies Astros Cardinals Cubs AL WEST Angels Mariners A's Rangers Twins Royals White Sox AL EAST Yankees Red Sox Rays Orioles Blue Jays Indians Tigers With this breakdown the teams in 2009 playoffs would have been: NL: Dodgers, Phillies, Rockies, Cardinals. (All the same teams). 3 teams from the West and 1 from the East. AL: Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, Rangers. (Rangers replacing the Twins). 2 teams from each division. 2008 Playoffs: NL: Cubs, Phillies, Brewers, Mets (Mets replacing the Dodgers). 3 teams from the East and 1 from the West AL: Angels, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox (All the same teams). 2 teams from each division In my opinion, this works best for realignment, assuming all things remain the same i.e. interleague play, no teams switching leagues, expansion.

I was in the "must sign Fielder" camp as well until I looked at the reality of signing him. If we do sign Fielder, we say goodbye to Weeks (in my opinion). Since the rumblings of what it will cost to sign Fielder will likely cause the Brewers to field homegrown prospects all around him and Braun, I am now more in the "sign Weeks, deal Fielder" camp. Complimenting Braun and Gallardo with Weeks, McGehee and pieces in a Fielder trade will allow us to be more competitive in the long run.

I've been thinking a lot about the type of player Corey Hart is or should be and the name Lyle Overbay keeps popping into my mind. It isn't the tall big body type of player that makes me think Overbay but rather Overbay the hitter. Granted, not everyone can have the baseball eye of an Overbay, which I thought was fantastic. I also know we all wish that some player was someone else. I mean I wish Bill Hall would've been Hank Aaron, but that is a stretch. I don't think the Overbay-Hart comparison is. I just can't help but think though that when Hart has been right in his career, he has been a doubles hitter and not a power hitter, much like Overbay in his career. If he were to forget about the HR and the outside breaking ball in the dirt and focus on doubles and walks, I feel he could absolutely reach JohnBriggs suggestion of .265/.320/.430 with 40 doubles. Basically, emulate his final stats from 2008 and dropping the HR total and upping the OBP total. If I were Dale Sveum I would lock Corey in a room with a tape of Overbay. Of course I may looking at the world with Brewers-colored glasses on today...

Absolutely. But I would even say do the deal if the Indians were in contention and offered us a trade with LaPorta/Brantley as the centerpieces in a trade for Fielder @ the trade deadline this season. I understand we all want pitching in return but so does everyone else. If we were able to combine these two or an equivalent with the pieces in place already, with a resigned Weeks, the lineup could still be very potent. I know this is an unrealistic scenario, but Monty wrote about the pitching equivalent of LaPorta/Brantley and I am suggesting a hitting equivalent of LaPorta/Brantley. I believe receiving two high level bats to be the far more likely scenario than two high level arms in a Fielder trade.

Names off the top of my head that would fit that "semi-big". Keep in mind this has nothing to do with me suspecting they are on PEDs, just what I would deem semi-big: Chad Billingsley Jair Jurrjens Ryan Dempster Matt Cain Basically a #2 or #3 starter. Or a #1 on a small market team AKA Yovani (gasp!) Edit: Guess I shouldn't walk away from the computer after I had already pressed reply as two of my names have already been mentioned (Cain, Gallardo)

Yesterday's off day got me thinking about random things in baseball rather than the Brewers team and performance specifically. As I was thinking, I came across the idea of Minor League teams and their location, proximity and relationship to the parent team. As I was thinking about it, I began to ponder the possibilities of the Brewers one day having a Triple AAA franchise located in Wisconsin somewhere. While I am unaware of the current status with Nashville regarding their facilities and the lease with the team there and the realities of the situation, I was thinking of the enjoyability of having the team in state rather than in Tennessee. Looking at all MLB teams, these teams have Triple AAA teams in the same state as the parent club: NL West Giants (Fresno), Rockies (Colorado Springs), NL Central Astros (Round Rock), NL East Braves (Gwinnett), Mets (Buffalo) Phillies (Lehigh Valley) AL West A's (Sacramento) Mariners (Tacoma) AL Central Indians (Columbus) AL East Now I understand that isn't a lot of teams, but those are just teams with teams located in the same state. This doesn't take into account teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Reds, Tigers, Cubs, Cardinals, Royals and Rangers where the team's Triple AAA affiliate is located in what could be argued that teams home region. I for one would love to see a Triple AAA Brewers affiliate in the state (Madison? Green Bay?) as it would provide another avenue to see Brewers prospects after they leave Appleton but before they get to Milwaukee.

This can be a blessing and a curse... I absolutely agree with the structure of Yost and the fire and energy he brought to the bench. I think as a manager in the Bigs you need to have that, especially when you have a young talented team. I miss seeing that energy on the Brewer bench. However, the problem with Yost was the extent to which he defended his players. Even when Rickie or JJ were slumping, Yost would leave them in on a day-to-day. Not only that, but down the stretch in 2008 leading up to the day he was fired, he was managing like a crazed man. He looked like he had no control of himself. Macha doesn't seem so attached to slumping players. After having watched Yost and Macha though, I feel Yost would be a better match as a manager for the current Brewers. Does that mean I want Yost back? No. It just means I believe he'd be a better fit than the Zombie aka Macha.

I was speaking of the early 2000s team in general, not just the 2000-2001 team. Ray Allen, Robinson, Cassell, Mason, Tim Thomas should have been more than enough to make the NBA Finals in my opinion.

These games are starting to feel all to familiar to me which makes me think it may be the players rather than the Peterson/Castro/Bosio trio. The thing about the staff in general the past season +8 games this season is the way the games have been blown. It isn't just one guy blowing it, like Turnbow during his meltdown, but it's multiple guys. Hoffman twice against St. Louis, Hawkins against the Cubs, Gallardo and Davis in both starts this season...ugly, ugly pitching. Yes it's early but man i hope we don't have another season of atrocious pitching.

Agreed completely. And I for one would much rather take the "contract chances" on the likes of Weeks, a semi-known (only semi because of injuries) quantity to us as fans and a homegrown player, rather than bring in some other teams FA like Jeffrey Hammonds, Sean Berry or Jeff Suppan. And yes, I picked maybe the worst FA signings in Brewers history for emphasis.

Southern California actually. We know nothing of rainouts. I live an hour from the Dodgers, Angels and Padres stadiums so I do agree with you about the appreciation of knowing you will get to see the game. I look at Petco Park, AT&T (or whatever phone company is sponsoring the Giants stadium this week) Park, PNC Park, now Target Field and even Great American Ballpark and do have to admit to a little jealousy from their beautiful sightlines. Despite my being a native Californian, I still claim Miller Park as my own and not any of the three local stadiums.

Jeff Suppan...the man is a lightning rod for "hate" from most of the fans of the Brewers. But everything you hear about the man off the field is positive. He apparently does a lot of charity work and is, from all appearances, a wonderful human being. I find myself having to remind myself baseball is only a game and that my "hate" for him can go a little overboard from time to time. Now I know he's got $40+ million dollars of Milwaukee Brewer money to soften the blows from all of our criticism so I won't feel too bad for him. Having said all this, it got me thinking about rooting for the Brewers. I generally like the team from what we hear about them. I have been a vocal critic of Corey Hart but find myself cheering more loudly for him than Braun or Fielder when he does something big like hitting a HR off Chris Carpenter. There isn't a guy I really dislike on the team and I love rooting for them. But will this team win a championship with these players or even go to the NLCS? Maybe, but its unlikely. I compare that with the early 2000s Bucks who really should have been in the NBA Finals at least once. That team was stacked with talent, but I hated rooting for them. Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell, Anthony Mason...yuck. There wasn't a collection of Brewers, Bucks, Packers or Badgers players I liked rooting for less and save for the Super Bowl Packers, they were most talented collection of players on one team in the past 20 years of Wisconsin sports. So the question I raise to you guys is...is rooting for a team with players you dislike worth a championship or yearly possibility of one?

I really have an appreciation for Miller Park. The stadium inside and out is gorgeous and the field and dimensions of the park are perfect. I personally don't like the roof but understand the necessity for it. I just prefer the rainouts, doubleheaders, rain delays, etc...Roofs for baseball and football aren't the way the games were intended to be played in my opinion. Although, with where Miller Park is located, you wouldn't exactly get the beautiful visuals of a PNC Park or Dodgers Stadium. After the Marlins stadium opens in 2012, the only two teams in the NL without stadiums built in the past 15 years are the Dodgers and Cubs. And of those new stadiums, Coors Field and Turner Field are the oldest. Amazing.

I am becoming a lot more comfortable with this idea. Remember when the original core prospects were on their way up Weeks was generally considered to have the greatest natural ability with projections of .300/30/100. Combining Braun and Weeks with the affordable talent of McGehee, Escobar, etc...may be the best chance to be competitive over the long haul. I know I'd rather be in contention yearly and never win the World Series than win one and go into oblivion for the next handful of seasons ala the 97 Marlins. Back on topic, I love the way Rickie is playing the game and the enthusiasm he is bringing to the team. His reaction after the run scoring double in the 5th yesterday was awesome.

As I recall, Mench was a MUST in the deal from Melvin's end and Cruz was added as a must from Texas as possible replacement in the event Carlos left Texas. My point was that when that deal was made in 2006, I think most of us would have rather seen Cruz than Mench in the OF as the dealing of Carlos really ended our chances in 2006.

Nix may be may all-time least favorite Brewer. That guy was garbage for the time he was here (2007 and 2008 combined 1 for 24) and yet seemed to always do something against us last season as a member of the Reds. The Lee for Cordero part was not the part that was that irked me as Carlos wasn't coming back to Milwaukee. It was the Cruz swap for Mench and Nix when Cruz was .289 in Double AA and .302 in Triple AAA at the ages of 24 and 25 that irked me. Including Cruz is something the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers have the "luxury" of doing for two pedestrian OFs.