Sage

To begin with, I'd like to see Macha gone. I'd almost rather it happened before the season is over, just so we can get a better sample size of what Dale Sveum can do as a manager (yes, I think he should be the manager). As for making this season less disappointing for me: 1) Get as much playing time for the young guys as possible. 2) Get Dickerson some playing time, as well. 3) Give our current starters some rest, let some young guys get a few starts (I like the piggyback system). Say, bring up Amaury Rivas and Mark Rogers, and have Rivas start a game with Rogers as the piggyback starter, just to see what we've got in them. Bring up Jeremy Jeffress, too, to see what he's got in him in. As for record, I don't really care. I'd almost rather we finish below .500, because it would basically guarantee that there is no way Macha comes back. If we finish off strong, Melvin might just pick up Macha's option for 2011, which would make this season a complete disappointment for me.

After reading that article, as best I can tell, Griffey is the reason that Wakamatsu is the fall-man here. Due to Griffey, Wak lost the clubhouse, and there was nothing he could do about it. When he tried to take control of the team, the team refused to be controlled (see: Figgins after being pulled from a game). From what I can tell, only Cliff Lee, along with Wak's staff, were on his side. Lee called a players-only meeting trying to get them let go of resentment over Griffey's retirement, but it didn't work. His coaching staff feels (as do I), that Wak is shouldering the blame for the under-performing team that Jack Z put together. A lot of people are tempted to agree with this firing because Wak "didn't take control of his club," yet, it seems to me, that no one could have controlled this clubhouse. King Felix yelling at Wak during a mound visit, Figgins fighting with him in the dugout, and Griffey... It seems that because of Griffey, the clubhouse lost all respect for Wakamatsu... Yet, I've only lost respect for Griffey after reading that article. "The sources, who had spoken with Griffey by phone, say he was furious that Wakamatsu had not treated him with the respect due a veteran of his stature nor properly communicated the extent to which he'd be benched." This particular quote made me lose quite a bit of respect for Griffey. Did he really expect to be in the everyday lineup when hitting .184/.250/.204? He need not look any further than that line to realize why he'd been benched. I don't care if he is Ken Griffey, Jr. When he's hitting that badly, he's costing the team wins and deserves to be benched. So, uh, in short (too late, I guess), I disagree that Wakamatsu deserved to be fired. However, it's probably best for all involved that he was fired. This lets him get away from a clubhouse that had lost all respect for him (due to no fault of his own), and to perhaps get a chance with another team. It lets the Mariners calm the hell down about the whole situation, and lets them get a manager that Griffey tells them it's okay to respect.

I can't say I don't like this trade. We got nice value in a relatively young OFer with a solid bat (wayyyyyy better than Gomez's bat) and above average defense who is under team control on the cheap for 4 more years, in return for a few weeks of a 40-year-old who is likely to retire after the season. I was holding out hope that we would get some kind of pitching in return, but I didn't expect that, and I'm more than happy with what we did get. I imagine Dickerson will be starting tonight in LF. I don't know if Hart can play tonight, but I think (judging by the brace on his hand) that Braun will certainly not be playing tonight. I think Dickerson is going to get quite a few at-bats throughout the rest of the season, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we've got in him.

Didn't they place Go-Go on the DL retroactive to Tuesday? I thought they did... Anywho, glad to see that Cain is going to get his first start tonight. From the few at-bats he got his last time up, I think he's shown the ability to be a nice hitter. Now let's see how he does in a full game, playing in the field. I'm excited! :D

"Corey Hart, a well-below-average player in 2008 AND 2009, will earn $13 million for his age 31 season. #goodluckwiththat" - Keith Law I hate Keith Law. He hates us. He can't even get his contract numbers right LOL Anywho, I understand why people would rather have Cain as leadoff and Escobar batting 9th (in my suggested lineup, anyway). However, I'm only doing that because I don't think I would want a rookie leadoff hitter to start the season. Given, if throughout the season, Cain hits better than Escobar, by all means, switch them. With the pitcher batting 8th, the 9th and 1st spots in the order are very interchangeable. Either way, Cain > Gomez, and I just want him in the lineup, period. As for Lawrie, I'm almost positive he'd be ready to start at the All-Star Break in 2011. He's already been in two Futures games, and has proved himself quite enough in the minors. The interesting thing about Lawrie, though, is where he would bat. In this year's Futures game, he was batting leadoff. He seems to have some nice speed, and seems like he would be a nice #2 hitter (but we have Hart there). Could Lawrie maybe bat leadoff (be sort of like Martin Prado this year for the Braves, being a great bat but with only above average speed)? I mean, looking at his minors numbers, he hasn't quite got as much power as you want from a middle of the order bat. He hits for average and gets on base well enough, with a SB% of 67% (47 of 70). I mean, with a little work, he could very well be a leadoff hitter. 1. Brett Lawrie - 3B 2. Corey Hart - RF 3. Rickie Weeks - 2B 4. Ryan Braun - LF 5. Mat Gamel - 1B 6. Jonathan Lucroy - C 7. Lorenzo Cain - CF 8. Alcides Escobar - SS 9. Pitcher I looked at Alcides' splits this season (based on batting spot), and he has hit the best in the #8 spot (.260/.317/.338). He's been horrible everywhere else, except in the #2 spot (.279/.311/.419). I was debating whether to bat Cain or 6th or 7th, but I went with Lucroy 6th, for now. Thoughts on that lineup, and thoughts on batting Lawrie leadoff? (We really should just make a thread for future lineup ideas.)

If anyone in that lineup should be batting 9th, it's Escobar. Did Escobar have another good week hitting again? He starts to pop up on top of lineups every so often when he has a good week. I put him there because you know as well as I do that the Brewers view him as a leadoff hitter. Oh noes, he's struggled as a rookie! Let's give up on him, he'll never hit ever for the rest of his career and he deserves to be batting 9th. I've always thought that Escobar could and should be a leadoff hitter. Once he has gotten a full year in the majors under his belt and has fully adjusted, he could be a very productive leadoff hitter.

Personally, I would put together a lineup like this. 1. Escobar - SS 2. Hart - RF 3. Weeks - 2B 4. Braun - LF 5. Gamel - 1B 6. Lawrie - 3B 7. Lucroy - C 8. Pitcher 9. Cain - CF

I'll just point this out. Hart is currently putting up a BABIP of .309, compared to his career BABIP of .306. (For those who don't know, BABIP is Batting Average on Balls In Play.) This shows that Hart is, in fact, not having a fluky season. His power is a bit fluky, and we can expect that to go down (ISO of .277 this year, to his career ISO of .209). However, besides power, the season he's putting up (AVG, OBP, wOBA, etc.) is not at all fluky. Thus, I do like this contract. It's not a crippling contract (Billy Hall style), and besides, he would have gotten this much (or more) in arbitration this offseason anyway.

I don't think it's possible to say it any better than Schelling did right there. This series is embarrassing, and so is this team. :facepalm:

How would I go for it next year? I wouldn't. Were I to go for it, I can't think of a better way to do so than giffted1 outlined earlier in this thread. That is pretty much exactly how I would go about going for it. I'm going to lay out what I would actually do this offseason, though, not to compete next year. First move: Fire Dougy M. & Co, as well as Ken Macha. Hire anyone as GM (I'd take any of Josh Byrnes, J.P. Riciardi, or (preferably) anyone in the Rays scouting department) and hire Pat Listach as the manager. Next move: Trade Prince Fielder to the Boston Red Sox for Felix Doubront, Kyle Weiland, Anthony Rizzo, and Michael Almanzar. Next move: Trade Casey McGehee to the Florida Marlins for Sean West. Next move: Sign Melvin Mora to a 1-year deal worth around $2MM. Next move: Sign Wes Helms to a 1-year deal worth around $1MM. Next move: Call up Mat Gamel, Lorenzo Cain, and Jeremy Jeffress. C: Jonathan Lucroy 1B: Mat Gamel 2B: Rickie Weeks SS: Alcides Escobar 3B: Melvin Mora LF: Ryan Braun CF: Lorenzo Cain RF: Corey Hart Rotation: 1) Yovani Gallardo 2) Randy Wolf 3) Dave Bush 4) Sean West 5) Felix Doubront Bullpen: LRP - Jeremy Jeffress LRP - Manny Parra MRP - Zach Braddock MRP - Kameron Loe MRP - Todd Coffey SU - LaTroy Hawkins CL - John Axford Bench: Craig Counsell Carlos Gomez George Kottaras Joe Inglett Wes Helms Weiland would be able to enter the rotation, probably, after the All-Star Break in 2011. That would allow us to shop Dave Bush and get a prospect or two in return. Rizzo would be able to take over at 1B in 2012, letting Gamel move either to 3B or RF, depending on whether we successfully move Corey Hart. Almanzar could be ready as early as 2013, allowing Gamel to then move to RF or be shopped. I'm sure Brett Lawrie could be ready after the All-Star Break in 2011, which would allow us to shop Rickie Weeks for a nice return. (My key to almost every move I make is keeping a strong farm system, and refreshing it with new waves of talent whenever possible.

I agree. Melvin needs to never be allowed to have anything to do with the Brewers ever again. However, I'm kind of happy that he's not going to be trading Fielder or Hart. I'd much rather that a GM who knows what he's doing handled our future with those trades than this idiot. We could actually have a GM that knows what he's doing in the offseason. Trust me, Melvin is as big an idiot as he appears right now.

That's the only situation where I would be okay with being a buyer. If we were to get a pitcher who is controllable for next season, or beyond. A guy like Jackson would be okay, but I don't like his peripherals right now. Maybe he'd be better with us, who knows though. Fausto Carmona is another guy I like, mostly because he isn't a fly ball pitcher and has a contract loaded with team options. However, in order for Carmona to be successful, our defense would have to get their heads on straight.

"After all the talk about possibly moving Prince Fielder or Corey Hart, or even a couple of relievers or starting pitcher Dave Bush, the Milwaukee Brewers are closed for business, reports ESPN Insider's Keith Law. "They have decided they're close enough to contention that they're not selling, so Hart and Fielder are off the market," Law said, citing an executive from a rival club that was interested in a Brewers player. We have to wonder, now, if the Brewers might look to add a piece to the puzzle, such as a starting pitcher. Perhaps Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook or Edwin Jackson, with Jackson being a potential multi-year addition. Jackson's salary might be prohibitive, however, but stay tuned, as the Brewers might be in the market for help over the final hours leading up to the trade deadline." ESPN Insider article. I'll let you guys react to this.

"The Detroit Tigers picked up infielder Jhonny Peralta from the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, filling one of their vacancies created by injury. But the Tigers may not be done dealing. They still could use an infielder, having lost both Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen to the disabled list, and might be as active as any club on the market in their search for outfield help after Magglio Ordonez's season-ending injury. We mentioned earlier this week that Jayson Werth might be a fit, but it appears Werth will stay in Philly with the injury to Shane Victorino. Washington's Josh Willingham and Milwaukee's Corey Hart appear to be fits, but Washington has yet to put Willingham on the market -- it seems focused on taking care of the Adam Dunn situation -- and Milwaukee wants young pitching in return for Hart. If the Tigers want Hart, however, they might have a young arm that fits. It's just tough to believe GM Dave Dombrowski would deal Rick Porcello or Jacob Turner for a year and two months of Hart. Perhaps left-hander Andrew Oliver makes more sense." Small ESPN Inside article that I read. Hart to the Tigers would make sense, and getting any of those pitchers mentioned (Porcello, Turner, or Oliver) would be a great return for Hart, if you ask me. Thoughts?

I like the idea, but they also have a guy named David Cooper at 1B in the minors who is described as being an "Overbay-type regular", so this might not be a logical destination for Prince. However, if they were to go after Prince, they could send us Brett Cecil, another pitcher (Stewart, Drabek, Jenkins, etc.) and Cooper.

BOS isn't trading Casey Kelly or Clay Buchholz (they would've done that for A-Gonz who is much more valuable last year) and their next most attractive SP option is Junichi Tazawa who just went under the knife, so BOS isn't a fit. Tazawa is not their next most attractive SP... he hasn't done anything at the pro level yet, and the fact that he's been a pro for about a year and has already had Tommy John Surgery worries me. Looking at guys not named Kelly or Buchholz, we could ask for Felix Doubront, Stolmy Pimentel, Michael Bowden, or Kyle Weiland. (I'd rather have Tazawa over Bowden, though.) I think, in the offseason, we could work a deal with the BoSox that looks something like this: BoSox Get:1B Prince Fielder Brewers Get:SP Felix DoubrontSP Kyle Weiland1B Anthony Rizzo3B Michael Almanzar Doubront profiles to be a good #3 starter very soon (compared to Ted Lilly at SoxProspects), Weiland could be a nice #4 soon, with a #2 or #3 potential (compared to Nick Blackburn at SoxProspects), Rizzo is a young lefty 1B with great defense and offense (compared to Todd Helton at SoxProspects), and Almanzar just seems like he could be a very nice MLB regular some day (and he's only 19). Overall, I think this would be fair, and I'd love if it we could get this type of package for Prince.

He'd be the throw-in since Texas would have no use for him ever again. Prince would take over for him at 1B, and then Mitch Moreland would take over 1B in a few years, with Prince moving to DH. If anybody on our coaching staff can get him to learn to hit like he has in the minors, he could be very good. Just as long as he's not the main part of the deal.

Interesting thought.... the Brewers had a scout at every game in the TEX/LAA series. Tommy Hunter started in one of those game, on Sunday. Think the Brewers were scouting him (and Chris Davis) and are going to ask for those two, plus some minor leaguers in a Prince trade?

Well great, now I'm getting all excited about a possible deal with Texas. It had better happen, or I'm going to personally punch Jon Heyman, Jim Bowden, and Evan Grant in their respective faces for getting my hopes up. That said, I don't think I could find a way to be unhappy with any of the aforementioned pitching prospects in a Fielder trade. They're all very good.

Poveda's numbers don't impress me very much. In just looking at numbers, I would go with Robbie Ross if he could be had instead. Beltre's tools are intriguing, and he's still only 20, so he's got time to develop yet. Although, I almost would rather have C Vince DiFazio as we seem to have less catching prospects than corner outfield prospects. Ross is a nice looking prospect that, admittedly, I had not heard of. Looking at his stats, he certainly looks impressive. The one thing I find interesting, is that he's hit 22 batters in 34 games. I guess he pitches inside a lot, which I wouldn't mind. Seems like a big strikeout guy, another thing I wouldn't mind (more than that, something we need as a team). DiFazio is a no-go for me. We do have plenty of catching prospects (Lucroy is only 24 and starting at the MLB level, Kottaras is only 26. They'll both be around a while. I'm still not sure what the situation is with Angel Salome, but I'll qualify him as both C and OF. We've got guys like Maldonado, Shawn Zarraga (seldom known, but looking like a solid spec), Cameron Garfield, Kevin Bedard, and Tyler Roberts all as catching prospects). As far as I'm concerned, catching isn't as big a need as corner OF. Most of our true OF prospects are CFers. The only corner OF prospects we have are Caleb Gindl, Erik Komatsu (who plays all 3 OF spots), and both Kentrail and Khristopher Davis. Beltre seems closer to the majors than any of those guys I listed (I think both Beltre and Gindl are in AA right now).

Deal has to start with Holland or Tommy Hunter (most likely Holland). Omar Poveda is another young Texas SP that not many people are talking about, and we'd be more likely to get him as opposed to Scheppers or Perez. Moreland could probably take over at 1B next season, with Gamel playing there for the remainder of this season. I'm the only person who suggested Engel Beltre. He's a power-hitting OFer, who could probably take over for Corey Hart (since we're going to be rid of him at some point). A deal for Prince of Holland, Poveda, Moreland, and Beltre would be fair to both sides, if you ask me. We'd be paying Prince's salary and we'd get two nice starters (one who can start immediately), a replacement for Prince in the near future, and a replacement for Corey Hart when he's gone.

I forgot about Davis. He could also take Moreland's place in my previously mentioned deal. Or if somehow both could be had, that would be even better. I think Davis' bat will come around and would play very nicely in Miller Park.Davis is a big power hitter, and his bat could thrive at Miller Park... Could. I'm worried about his inability to hit above .200 this season, though. In his full season in 2009, he only hit .238/.284/.442. That line looks like Carlos Gomez with much more power, and we don't need that. His defense so far in the majors appears to be a liability. I'd much rather have Moreland, to be honest.

Main got traded in the Bengie Molina deal. Keep in mind, the Brewers would have to pay most, if not all, of Fielder's remaining salary this season. So we could rightfully ask for a bit more. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif For me, a deal would start with Derek Holland, and include Omar Poveda (or Martin Perez), Tommy Mendonca (or Mitch Moreland), and Engel Beltre.

Jason A. Churchill (an ESPN guy) said that he likes what Doug Melvin has done. Melvin is asking for what he thinks his guys are worth, and if no one is willing to offer that, he has no need to trade them yet, as they are both under team control for 2011. That said, it still worries that Melvin & Co. are doing absolutely NOTHING at the deadline. Not trying to get talented prospects for the future, not trying to improve the current team to make a run. Just standing pat. That worries me.

Why would we want Torres? He's 32 already, although he is having a good season. I had asked about this the other day in an ESPN.com Insider chat with some of the ESPN reporters. I asked them if Casey McGehee to the Phillies made any sense. They seemed to like the idea, and we could probably get a nice pitching prospect in return for Casey alone (specifically, they mentioned someone like Trevor May). I do like the idea of including someone besides Hart in a trade, though, if it would get us better talent.