jpat

I'm totally with you guys...I'm in Chicago and am blacked out for some reason. There's NO (legal) possible way for me to watch the game. And with what I'm hearing with the Braun and Fielder homers, they were ones for the highlight reel.

The reason the Phillies should fear the Brewers is that we're the ones who handed Halladay his worst loss of the season...in Philly. 6 R in 6.2 IP. Last year, we took 4 R on 7.0 IP too. In other words, the best pitcher in baseball is vulnerable to this Brewers offense.

I'm not advocating throwing Wolf in two games vs. the Braves if that's who we end up playing. But I would probably give Wolf a start in game 4 if it gets there and Marcum or Gallardo did any worse than a quality start.

Per David Schoenfeld's chat today, he said that the Braves don't hit left handed pitching very well. Source: http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/39781/sweetspot-schoenfield Mike (San Diego) Which potential first round series looks more interesting to you - TEX vs. NY/BOS or MIL vs. ATL? David Schoenfeld Assuming the Brewers make it, I'll be interested to see how Greinke performs under the big spotlight. It would also be interesting to see if Milwaukee would start Randy Wolf in Game 1, making him ready for Game 5. The Braves don't hit left-handed pitching, so you make the argument that Wolf should be slotted for two starts. But I love the idea of C.J. Wilson and that underrated staff (Texas has the lowest road ERA in the AL) facing the Yanks or Red Sox. I'm not sure what the Braves splits are vs. lefties and righties, but if we're playing them and they're significant enough (which I'm guessing they are), I would probably give Wolf a start.

Part of my conversation with my co-worker was just something I came up with off the top of my head, but I told him that I bet there wasn't another team in the past 20 years, who was at least 6.5 games back at this point in the year AND was in 3rd place. I later wrote this email to him as a follow-up: I found a couple of comebacks in the past 20 years that fit most of the criteria: 2. 2007 New York MetsThey led by seven games on Sept. 12, and with Pedro Martinez back on the mound after missing the first five months rehabbing a torn rotator cuff, New York was a big favorite in a weak National League field. Then the bottom fell out as the Mets lost five in a row, then won four of five, then lost six of their final seven to finish the season one game behind the surging Philadelphia Phillies, who swept a three-game series at Shea Stadium in mid-September. An aging pitching staff and a terrible bullpen caught up with the Mets. Tom Glavine, who won his 300th game earlier in the season, lost on the final day, giving up seven earned runs in one-third of an inning of a 9-1 loss to the Florida Marlins.3. 1995 California AngelsThe Angels led by 11.5 games on Aug. 9 but blew it, going 12-27 in their final 39 games and allowing the Seattle Mariners to make the playoffs for the first time. The Angels won their final five to force a one-game playoff with the Mariners, but Seattle ace Randy Johnson put the Angels out of their misery with a 9-1 win. Seattle stunned New York in the first year of the Division Series round, then lost to Cleveland in the American League Championship Series. http://baseball.about.com.../tp/pennantcollapses.htm Like I said, it’s not impossible, but incredibly unlikely. When the Mets lost their lead, they did it in less time with a slightly larger lead, but the Phillies were in 2nd place on September 12. When the Angels lost their lead, they had a bigger lead, but again, the Mariners were in 2nd place on August 9. So while it’s possible, it hasn’t happened in the last 20 years. There’s no reason for me to reasonably believe they still have a legit shot. Anyway, just wanted to talk a little more on this subject with someone who isn't directly interested in seeing the Brewers lose.

Alright, so we have the day off today and we're nine games into an 18 game stretch against all division opponents. Outside of the Cardinals and the Phillies (one series in September), I don't think we're slated to face one more team who is currently at .500 or better. As I'm sure you know, we're 3.5 games ahead of the Cardinals, 6.5 games ahead of the Pirates and 7.5 games ahead of the Reds. What do you think of the division race? Is it down to the last two horses? Or are the Bucs/Reds still in this thing? Sidenote: I'm currently in an argument at work (I work in Chicago) with a Cubs fan who insists that the Pirates are still in the race and that he expects their pitching to continue perform as they have all season. It's driving me insane to keep hearing how our domination of the Pirates over the past few years doesn't matter. Or how it's just as likely that the Bucs sweep the Brewers as the Brewers sweeping the Bucs in their next series. Tell me I'm not crazy.

How awesome would it be if Saito DID have that kind of accuracy?

Don't be silly. In innings 1-4, the Cardinals were stealing signs from the Brewers.

That's what Bruce Levine (Cubs beat reporter) was saying just an hour ago. ARam watched Fukudome get traded to Cleveland and Levine noticed how some of the players had that hint of jealousy in their demeanor that Fukudome would get to actually play for something this summer.

I would DEFINITELY be sick of it. But it comes with the territory of being a beat reporter. Even if I'm sick of it, I'd learn to ignore it when people keep asking the same thing over and over.

I'm pretty sure Melvin is still working on finding us some middle infield help. Call it what you want (a hunch), but I'll be VERY surprised if we're done at this point. As Brewer fans, we've all been accustomed to thinking long term, but I want to go the short term route now. We all remember the 2008 season as one of the great seasons in Brewer history....we only won ONE playoff game. How much more memorable will it be if we're in the NLCS or even the WS? We might sacrifice a couple of competitive seasons for it, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time we saw futility.

I'm hearing on Chicago radio now that ARam wasn't being that serious about waiving his no trade clause. My personal take is that there's probably a 95% chance of him waiving it now.

I thought they opened up two hours before gametime on gamedays? I ate there before a game a couple weeks ago and they just let people in who were gonna eat at Fridays, even though they weren't letting anyone else in to the rest of the stadium. Everyone is allowed to get in line, no matter how long the line gets. And then once you're in, you supposedly only get an hour to eat and get out. My only advice is to get there as soon as possible. Send someone to get in line early for you if you can.

More TH tweets: Haudricourt Tom And if you want to know why Green hasn't been called up to replace McGehee, it's because #Brewers aren't giving up on McGehee. Haudricourt Tom The Taylor Green questions rally need to stop. We've asked and asked and asked about the guy. #Brewers obviously don't think he is MLB 2B. I'm getting so sick of following him on twitter. He's so arrogant and acts like he knows it all. I follow McCalvy and he does a great job, IMO. It's just that every now and then Haudricourt has something that McCalvy doesn't, or he does it a little faster.

Would you trade Gamel for a division title and a good chance at a pennant and possibly more?Can you guarantee that pennant and possibly more? No. And FWIW, it will cost more than Gamel. Nope, I can't guarantee anything. But it would undoubtedly make it more likely to happen. What if he's the difference between a pennant and missing the playoffs altogether? Also, why are you so convinced that he would cost more than Gamel? Do you think that even if we were to take on the rest of ARam's salary?

Would you trade Gamel for a division title and a good chance at a pennant and possibly more?

I'm probably a little too hopeful of getting him, but here's how I see it: 1. He apparently was only talking about being traded because Zambrano brought up making changes whenever a team is 20 games under .500. I'm guessing the media then asked him about whether he would waive his no trade clause. 2. As Brewer Fever has pointed out, ARam has repeatedly talked about how important being close to and not moving his family is. 3. It may be coincidental, but why would he "soften" his stance on waiving his no trade clause right after the third game of a series in Milwaukee, only an hour away, after being swept by a team who is clearly trying to win a World Series this year? I believe that he was saying that because he WOULD waive his no trade clause for the Brewers. I'm thinking that this probably should be more about what Hendry and Melvin can work out to get it done.

@Brewer Fever: That's another point I forgot to bring up. Why did this all of a sudden come about after completing a series in Milwaukee? It's all just speculation, but who knows?

I don't think it would take Gamel + Peralta/Thornburg. If the Cubs want to get rid of him, it's for salary relief. If we take the rest of his salary, the Cubs don't get a top prospect. We could just throw Taylor Green their way and maybe that would get it done. I'm not so great with trade proposals, but that would seem reasonable in a salary dump trade. Of course, I would definitely make sure he waives that vesting option.

Alberto Callapso isn't doing so bad for them...well at least not as far as his initial stats are saying. Not much power, but good AVG and OBP. Edit: It sounds like the Angels fans are down on Callapso because they want the 3B who will drive in runs. Not another guy who hits like their SS and 2B.

After today's game, Ramirez said he would actually be open to waiving his no-trade clause if the Cubs came to him with a proposal. I'm afraid he isn't even a blip on DM's radar though with Casey hitting better over the past week or so.

Isn't a sprain a ligament tear? That's what my understanding of the injury was when Cutler went down...

It's okay. Farris can bunt.

But you all are only assuming that Green is the PTBNL. I completely understand the logic of the assumption, but if we gave up a guy like that to a team who was desperate to dump KRod, I'm not going to be happy.

I have no problem with pulling Narveson there to go to KRod. I hate errors though...especially errors to what ends up being the leadoff hitter for the inning. Leadoff errors and walks are just asking for trouble.