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Ideally, I would really like to see a pen consisting of: Broxton Henderson Jeffress Smith Knebel Thornburg Cotts Personally, I am very intrigued about the potential of Jeffress/Smith/Knebel/Thornburg. I think with time they could be as good as the 2011 Brewer bullpen where the game was almost a lock once Saito or Hawkins entered the game with a lead.

I agree. Unless there is a way for the Brewers to pick up Papelbon plus another piece to fill another gaping hole e.g. Cecchini in a bigger 3 team deal with the Red Sox, I am more inclined to pick up K-Rod if I had to choose.

Precisely what the Brewers need at 3B moving forward. I would gladly take a high AVG/OBP, meh power Cirillo-type bat at 3B right now given the makeup of the rest of the young guys (Scooter, Davis, Segura) in the lineup (i.e. decent AVG, low OBP). A 3B that produces a 1997 Cirillo type season (.288/.367/.793, 10 HR, 82 RBI) annually for the next decade would supplement the current everyday lineup perfectly right now.

Cecchini is blocked in Boston. Shouldn't take emptying the system to get him. Agreed on both but still they won't give him away. Shame we couldn't deal something of a strength from the minors, OF perhaps, to get him. Prospect for prospect deal. However, I just don't see it as I don't see the Red Sox being light where the Brewers are strong. I think it is far more likely to get him in a Hamels type deal where Boston sends Cecchini as part of the package to Philly and they turn around and flip him to the Brewers with Papelbon for a decent prospect.

I think baseball is more interested in appeasing the tens of millions of casual fans in the large markets than they are the tens of thousands of casual fans in places like Wisconsin. Probably...and that's one of the main reasons why the NFL is more successful than MLB. The NFL acts like all 32 franchises are the same brand name in different cities, whereas MLB acts like all 30 franchises are in competition with one another.

An idea from the Moncada signing thread... Maybe now that Moncada is in Boston, the Brewers-Phillies-Red Sox could work out a 3 team deal centered around Cole Hamels where Papelbon from Philadelphia and Cecchini from Boston end up in Milwaukee. Not sure all the moving pieces here and what the Brewers would have to give up but I would be willing to take on more of Papelbon's salary if they could get Cecchini in that deal.

MLB is focused on attracting casual fans by shortening the length of game. The solution to attracting casual fans is much simpler than shortening games and it's tied in directly to Moncada-like situations. When you operate an industry that immediately eliminates 2/3 of the teams in the league from signing big FAs like Scherzer, Lester, Sandoval and Ramirez and international free agents like Moncada, the casual fans of the Brewers, Reds, Pirates, Twins, Indians, Royals, Rockies will undoubtedly turn to the Packers, Bengals, Steelers, Vikings, Browns, Chiefs and Broncos where the size of their market doesn't matter versus the Giants, Jets, Patriots, Bears. The 2011 Brewers are a perfect example of why the casual fan stays away in MLB and flocks to the NFL and even the NBA. Braun, Fielder, Greinke, Gallardo...the superstar core of the 2011 NLCS team should all be playing with one another still in Milwaukee and within 9 months half of the core was gone. Rodgers, Matthews and Nelson all still play in GB after their Super Bowl run in 2010. Sure tough decisions still are made in the NFL, like letting Greg Jennings walk or cutting an older vet like Charles Woodson, but the superstars still remain. The Brewers likely would have had to see Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart go, but had MLB operated like the NFL, the superstars would still have remained. The Brewers are about to go through this again when they may have to decide between who to extend between two fan favorites, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez, in the next year. Guys who should both finish their career as Brewers but likely won't given MLB's current salary structure. If Gomez is dealt, the more likely scenario, "same old Brewers" will be the mantra of Milwaukee's casual fan. This is the overarching problem in baseball, the disparity in team salaries and flocking of FAs to large markets, and until that is addressed, the casual fan that MLB is so desperate to get, will continue to stay away.

After looking at the articles and maps, I have to believe that the location of the stadium would be between the 303 and the intersection of El Mirage and Vistancia. Easy access off the 303 at Lone Mountain and a ton of developable land.

In the 10 seasons since 2005, the Brewers are 821-799 and if you take out the 2011 NLCS team, they are under .500. The promising era of Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Hart and Hardy never amounted to anything resembling a perennial threat of a World Series contender and for that reason more than anything else, the Brewers have been a disappointment. I firmly believe that had the Brewers had employed a Joe Maddon, Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter or even something resembling a top ten manager, the Brewers would have made the playoffs at least twice more in the previous decade, with 2007 and 2014 being the most likely candidates. While I am a staunch DM supporter, his inability to hire an above average manager may be the greatest failing of his tenure in Milwaukee. Roenicke's seat should be burning right now.

It is the city of Peoria not wanting to spend tax dollars on another stadium in Peoria. http://www.peoriatimes.com/news/article_7d698d50-3def-11e4-b07c-7788abf832e6.html Nate...after doing a little research on the subject it appears candidate Binsbacher took campaign contributions from the Brewers and candidate Toma is upset about the issue. Is there a general feeling as to which way the wind is blowing in terms of which candidate is more likely to be voted in? Thanks for indulging me...this kind of issue, mixing politics and sports, is fascinating to me.

Not saying the 1982 Brewers were the best offense ever but one of my favorite stats of that team... 1982 AL Hit Leaders 1. Yount 210 2. Cooper 205 3. Molitor 201 Only three players in the AL with over 200 hits that season (Willie Wilson of KC came closest with 194) and they hit 1-2-3 in the Brewers lineup. Love that stat.

Wrong for the all the reasons listed. Why does the Cactus League "blow" anyways? Besides with Attanasio being based in Los Angeles, I think there is literally zero chance the team moves to Florida while he is the owner.

Nate I am curious...are you receiving these calls because the City of Phoenix does not want the Brewers to leave the City and thereby having zero teams playing in the City? Or are these calls from City of Peoria types that don't want to spend tax dollars on another stadium in Peoria? Any clue?

No way and I am a big supporter of the Brewers grabbing Dom Brown. Best I would do is Papelbon, Brown and $10 million for Jorge Lopez, a C prospect and Parra.

Amazing how of the Baby Brewers of Hart, Fielder, Weeks, Braun, Hardy, 2 of them may be done as regulars (Hart & Weeks), 2 of them may be shells of their previous selves due to injury (Braun & Fielder) and 1 of them just keeps plugging along (Hardy). The funny thing is that they really aren't that "old" with Hart, Weeks and Hardy turning 33 this year, Braun 32 and Fielder 31.

I would gladly take Domonic Brown as part of a Papelbon deal. Offer them Parra and a prospect as part of the deal and use Brown as the 4th OF. Brown's $2.6 million 2015 salary plus Papelbon's $13 million 2015 salary & $13 million vesting option is a potential $28.2 million commitment. Parra's $6.2 salary means a net gain of $22 million for the Brewers. Have the Phillies send the Brewers an additional $10 million and call it good. Personally, I think Brown could be a change of scenery, post-hype breakout candidate which is why I would have zero issue with him as the 4th OF this season.

For rotational depth maybe...but I would rather they use Jungmann or Thornburg if a spot were to open due to injury.

Well...he will miss most of Spring. Bright side is that it shouldn't impact the regular season and if there was one guy on the team that probably didn't need the wear and tear of spring and could get ready in a hurry, it's Lucroy.

I have said it in other threads, but I really like the potential of a Thornburg, Knebel, Jeffress and Smith back end of the pen. While it may not be the lockdown Herrera-Davis-Holland, I think it has the potential to be at least as good as Hawkins-Saito-Rodriguez-Axford was in 2011.

He is beyond unlikeable and I was a huge A-Rod defender because I thought he received excessive criticism. Then he came out in 2010-ish and said he used in Texas and then all the details of the Biogenesis thing. The guy is a just a chronic liar and phony. I get that Braun could be called the same but he at least has tried to rehab his image around Milwaukee and in interviews. Serious question...What has A-Rod done?

One of the ways the Brewers could be sustainably competitive would be to have a lineup that consisted of a bunch of "Khris Davis" type players. In others words, potentially above average non-superstar types that won't command the $20+ million contracts in their prime but rather the $10+ million contracts. Looking back at the Fielder-Braun prospect era, had injuries and slumps not struck, the Brewers could have had an IF of Hardy-Weeks-Hart all on around $10 million annual contracts with the Khris Davis and Scooters of the world sprinkled in to balance the payroll. While the IF of Hardy-Weeks-Hart would certainly be on the tail end of their prime in 2015 if all had gone right, the Brewers likely could have afforded them and fielded a relatively balanced team and payroll. The casualties would have been the Brauns and Fielders, e.g. the superstars, but a lineup that included Hardy-Weeks-Hart-Lucroy-Davis etc..., would have been very attractive and maybe better than what we see currently.

I really like what the Padres have done and their rotation should be a real strength (Shields, Cashner, Ross, Kennedy) but their team is constructed so bizarrely that filling out the everyday lineup will be a challenge. Do this...Build their lineup right now and it looks formidable with names but is it really a balanced lineup? Best lineup I could construct is: 1. Amarista 2. Gyorko 3. Upton 4. Kemp 5. Myers 6. Alonso 7. Middlebrooks 8. Norris Hate having Amarista as my table setter but who else can hit leadoff? As others have mentioned, Myers, Gyorko and Middlebrooks all have potential, but looked really rough in 2014. Gyorko and Myers are both candidates for big rebounds but the question marks with them are similar to the ones we have with Segura. Could go either way. Now defensively, that OF has no true CF. I have been to a ton of games in SD and playing in Petco's cavernous OF, an average defensive CF is a must and anything less so will be a disaster. There is just so much ground to cover. Not saying I don't think they look amazing on paper, but if you were to ask me today in 2015 would I rather have: 1. Braun-Gomez-Davis OF or Kemp-Myers-Upton OF 2. Lind-Scooter-Segura-Ramirez IF or Alonso-Gyorko-Amarista-Middlebrooks IF I think I am leaning Milwaukee on both.

For me, the worries come from the following: 1. Braun: -Was last year the new norm due to his thumb issues? 2. Ramirez: -Can he stay healthy for one more season and produce more than he did last year? 3. Scooter: -Can he hit LHP at all and if he can't who is the RH platoon mate? 4. Segura: -Can he just hit the midpoint of his 2013 and 2014 season (.270/.309/.374)? 5. Lind & Maldonado: -They are basically a L/R platoon with Lucroy being a part time 1B/C. Can they produce enough to be a league average player? Lucroy, Gomez and Davis are about the only players I feel confident that I can predict about where they will be and what they will produce given health. 5 everyday positions could go one way or the other in my opinion. A lot given that their depth is also highly suspect right now outside of Parra and Maldonado.

Pure posturing...Amaro is a terrible GM and he's being outplayed in the media by Melvin. Why keep an expensive closer for what is going to be a terrible team?

I am very excited about the potential of having Jeffress, Knebel, Thornburg and Smith in the pen. That is beginning of a very solid and cheap bullpen.