Big Reed

last I heard, kim is available this year as he was just released once more.

roco, the point was not that the brewers would want sweeney back. the point was that teams in the running for divison races are making moves - even small moves- and the brewers are standing pat. the point was if Sweweney was available, there mus t be somebod y out there the brewers could use. My guess is that those teams who have available pitchers are demanding an arm and a leg and the farm for them and melvin has just resisted meeting their asking price. the yankees were asking for the moon for Igawa and the Pads refused to cave in. I have to believe the White Sox were demanding a lot for Contreras. it does get frustrating watching the brewers continue to lose and continue to stand pat while other contenders continue to pick up missing pieces to their puzzles. Conine was aquired rather cheap. Big impact? probably not. But at least his new team is doing something.

Look at what texas gave up to acquire Salty. Catchers command a premium. I would believe texas wouldn't demand a player like texierra, but they would ask for a lot more than vargas.

at this point, I'd take almost anybody. David Wells has cleared waivers. it was reported that the rockies and dodgers were interested in him. I have to ask if the pitching rich Dodgers are interested in David Wells, shouldn't the brewers be interested in him? Contreras of the White Sox supposedly cleared waivers. I would prefer Garland or Vazquez. but the biggest problem lies in the fact that guys like garland and vazquez may actually be available, but GM's don't want the public or the players to know who they placed on waivers or who they put in claims for. it's their big secret society. Gms don't want the public to know who's actually available because if we knew we'd all pressure our GM to make a deal and overpay to save the ship from sinking. a congressman once said he was elected to do what was best for his constituants, so he did many things that went against their desires, because he knew while his decisions may have been unpopular at the time, in retrospect ten years down the road they would be looked upon as smart decisions. I'm sure melvin wants to please the brewers fans. but he also wants to do what's right for the franchise. and sometimes the desires of the fans don't match the priorities of the franchise. As a fan, I want melvin to make a move. I want him to acquire somebody - anybody. give away the future to win now - this month! NOW! I want david wells. but then I say Bush gave us 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. Can Wells provide us anything better? I doubt it.

My contention when I started this thread was my belief that the brewers needed to acquire a pitcher when I wrote the first post and not wait until September for call ups. We've seen the inconsistancies of Yo, Manny, and Carlos as they got adjusted to pitching at the major league level. They have displayed flashes of brilliance and of what will come. However, they've also had their down days. What the brewers really need is not another fresh arm from AAA in September. What they need is a veteran pitcher who can handle the pressure and get three outs in an inning. Maybe that means they need a starter who can go longer than 6 innings. maybe that means a lefty specialist who can come in and get one specific batter out. But, we needed to do it 2 weeks ago, not wait until September. if the brewers wait until September to bring up fresh arms from AAA, it will be like putting out the fire after the house has already burned down. it appears as if the Cubs, Cards and Brewers are all playing a game of chicken waiting for the other team to panic and over pay and give up the farm to make the first move. A couple of months ago I would have said the Cardinals would be a good source of relief pitchers and that they were so far out of the race, they might be willing to trade us one. Well not anymore.

here are a couple of links to jobs in Springfield that are not advertised publically. The biggest employer in Springfield is the State of Illinois. if you see a job listing that is over 6 months since first posted and stil l open, that job will never be filled. it's kind of like an unfunded position that will never be filled. http://www.cmcf.state.il.us/jobpost/ another way to find a job quickly is to register with the Illinois job service. You fill out your qualifications, and if they match, an employer will send you an email of how to apply. I quaified for a job at Cargil foods because I said I could lift 50 pounds. http://ides.cmcf.state.il.us/ISM/ISM0022?command=LOGON&userType=JobSeeker&daFlag=FALSE&jsFlag=Enabled&ssFlag=isEnabled Good luck in your move. i live in a small town Beardstown 44 miles NW away. For a nice place to eat check out Chesapeak seafood, Alexanders make your own steak place and Marriahs.

good point. I recall in the past a team losing a player to a waiver claim because they weren't paying attention and forgot to reclaim their player because they were too busy doing other things. It wasn't a brewer GM. I know a lot of fantasy basball deals are made on the 4th of july weekend when the other owners are on vacation and not around to veto them. I suspect there will be several deals made on 31 August. I just believe it's in the Brewers' best interest to pick up a player now.

one rule the league has is that they allow the 8 year olds to play with the older kids if they feel the child is able to compete at their level. the age cut-off date was 1 August. His Birthday was in June. So he was clearly 9 before the cut-off date. I guess this 9 year old and his parents get their jollies beating up on 5 and 6 year olds. 8-10 year olds are a lot cheaper than hiring a private investigator. and they love finding dirt on somebody - especially if it's a classmate. at that age, you can find a snitch for free. Maybe I'll have one of those cute 5 year old girls with those cute beaming eyes walk up to him and say I'm 5 , how old are you? and then I'll pop out of the bushes and say Ahah ! I knew it! After sleeping on it, it's kind of obvious and well known to many of the other coaches this kid's age. Rather than being the bad guy (whistle blower), I was thinking of laying low on this issue to see if any of the other coaches including our own brings this matter to the attention of the blue coach. We don't play this team again for another 5 games. I have a feeling another child (probably my own)will spill the beans and another parent may force the issue. In this small town, if the coach reads my anonymous 2 page letter, he'll know it came from me because nobody in our town uses words over 6 letters long. and nobody uses a computer to compose their complaints. I have a bad feeling if I question the kid's age, they'll start questioning and harassing my son about his age. He's 5'-6 and 11 years old and looks like he's 13-14. I carry his ID card whenever we play. my son plays in this league as kind of a warm up for his official soccer league in the Fall. There are no trophies awarded. My son's team went undefeated last year and got a paper MS publisher certificate for his efforts. it still burns my chops that the coach allows him to play with the younger kids. maybe the coach just needs some math education. maybe he just can't subtract. maybe I could cal l him up and offer him some tutoring, and have my wife give him an eye exam. 8s look a lot like 9s. an interesting variety of responses.

I stopped following the sport after the tragic loss of Bam Bam Bigelow. too much drama.

yes brian, I think the brewers could use another situational lefty besides Shouse and Parra. I think Parra is more suited to starting or long relief. there were about 10 other situational lefties I would have included except those pitchers are on contending teams that I know would not be interested in trading their pitcher to the brewers. I think the brewers' biggest problem today is an overworked and tired short relief staff. this problem could be solved by having some starters actually pitching 7-9 innings. or by adding another fresh relief arm to the mix, or standing pat and hoping our current staff can regain its composure and confidence. a risk you take in adding a new arm to this staff is the reason he was available was probably because he's been ineffective for the past 2-3 months. would a reliever like benitez or Alfonseca all of a sudden become the great reliever he once was? or would he continue to be the lousy pitcher he currently is? another problem the brewers face is if the reliever is a good pitcher in the AL, he'd never get past the red Sox and yankees who are also looking for relievers. if he's in the NL, the Cubs would probably jump all over him. I am kind of surprised we haven't seen more waiver deals made yet. it's been very quiet this year. too quiet. perhaps we'll see more activity towards the end of the month as teams get more desparate to win.

we have a soccer league wirth teams of 25+ players divided into two squads based on ages 5-8 and 9-12.. the little kids play two quarters and the older kids play two quarters. you add up the scores and declare a winner. The reason they do it this way is because of lack of refs, lack of parents to coach and lack of soccer fields. yes it would be better to seperate the children into two seperate leagues rather than have one gigantic team. however, because of constraints, it can't be done. the team in first place has a player playing with the 5-8 year olds that many children claim is 9 years old. they claim they attend classes with him and have gone to his birthday party and they know for a fact he's 9. My son went to basketball camp with him at a nearby college and he played with the 9-12 year olds at that camp. This child is far superior to any of the 5-8 year olds he plays with. He also averages 3-4 goals a game against these poor 5 and 6 year old goalies. His team only averages 4-6 points a game including the older players' scores. the other children in the league are all now calling the blue team a bunch of cheaters because they play this kid with their 5-8 year olds and not with the 9-12 year olds. This kid is like the Red Baron blowing by all these 5,6 & 7 year olds. Once he gets in the open, you know he's going to score. here's the dilema. the team's two coaches are the commisioner of the league who also is a ref, while the assistant coach is the town's only cubmaster who also is a ref. somebody is lying. is it the player? the coach? or the other children who attended his birthday party? and what do you do about it? Do you blow the whistle? Do you look the other way? Do you find ways for your team to cheat? I'm a blunt whistle blowing type of guy. Turbo Rickey once kicked me out of his baseball fantasy league for publically exposing an owner was cheating hacking through a software back door of sandlot baseball. I also notified sandlot who fixed the software back door problem. Turbo kicked the other guy out for cheating and kicked me out for being a snitch and overall annoyingly truthful do gooder and social outcast. But this isn't fantasy baseball, it's reality. any suggestions, before I blow my whistle once more? I'm not a coach, just a concerned parent who's afraid these two coaches may take it out on our team when they ref our games. I also fear the league may fold if the commish is publically exposed for cheating to win games. My initial idea was to send both coaches an unsigned typed (spellchecked) letter explaining the accusations/speculations and requesting they do the right thing.

that's exactly why i posted this thread in the proposals and rumors thread. it's pure speculation on my part. but historical evidence would point to the possibility that melvin could pick up several players if he wanted to. My question is are the brewers going to stand pat, or is melvin going to make a move? Guys I'd like the brewers to try to claim would include jamie Walker, Ryan braun (nice name), Embree, CJ Wilson, Guardado, Capps, Kline, Gordon, Ryan franklin, and Weathers. These are all relief pitchers; the majority being left handed. I don't have much confidence in Charlie anymore. And I feel the brewers desparately need a situational lefty in their bullpen. Parra was a huge addition. But wha t the brewers really need is a guy who can come into get 1-2 batters out in crucial situations. The Brewers' starters are starting to look a lot better. but isn't this the time of year when a starter should be able to pitch 7-9 innings? I'm proposing the brewers claim a situational lefty.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one Brian. I think maybe there is a story here and one that fans would be very interested in hearing. As a fan, I'd love to hear about the claims melvin put in to stop other trades, and also about the claims he made only to see some other GM block his moves. The trade the Packers almost made for Moss was a huge story debated by both fans and sports columnists both pro and con. The fact the Packers didn't pull the trigger and make the trade made front page news. As a brewer fan I'd love to find out the scoop of the trades that were on the table to Melvin that he didn't make. How close was he to obtaining a devil rays outfielder? how close was he to trading jenkins? and what was he offered? I think an inside look at what the GM does would make a great story. GM Bowden has gone on record publically in the past as saying he placed claims on many players just to prevent them from being traded or as an annoying guy to block other teams from making their trades. Bowden included a few examples of some of the trades he blocked. Admittedly he went public after he had left the Reds. Phillips has also gone public with some of the moves he tried to make or blocked from happening. I'm not saying the brewers are being stingy. however, if Manny or AROD was available, I highly doubt they'd put in a claim for him. We both know the brewers could never afford either player. I also doubt the brewers would try to acquire a player like Zito or Pedro Martinez. That's not being stingy- that's being realistic. Historically there are many players that are routinely placed on waivers. Piazza is a player that was leaked to have cleared wiavers this year. I realize the brewers would have no real reason to acquire Piazza. However, what I'm saying is if Piazza has cleared waivers, surely there are other players who have also cleared waivers as they were all placed on waivers on probably the same day. Look at the teams who are claiming players. They are all in division races. They are claiming players to fill their needs. Admittedly the needs of the Dodgers and Indians are different from those of the brewers. But they are making moves to fill needs, while the brewers stand pat. Surely there is somebody out there who is available who has cleared waivers whom the Brewers could use. He doesn't have to be an all star. he doesn't have to be some aging player looking for a chance to win a championship ala Don Sutton or Biggio or Lofton. It could be simply some guy like Guardado. Melvin has a reputation as being a wheeler/dealer among baseball GMs. It seems very uncharacteristic of him not to be making a move. I'm glad we no longer have that pitcher named Ball Four. I would not have wanted to have the Pirates' pitcher Bob Walk either. I wouldn't want a hitter with the nickname KO either. There is just something in the name that says stay away. I don't expect Melvin to acquire a player who still has 4-5 years left on a contract. but I'm kind of expecting Melvin to do something rather than just standing pat. I'm not a baseball insider, and I can't give specific names of players who were placed on or cleared waivers. But I know from historical "leaks" that there are more players placed on waivers than the GM wants his fan base to know about. And in some cases. the player isn't even informed they were placed on waivers until it was leaked - ala Frank Thomas three years ago. My question is simple- Are the brewers going to make a waiver move or stand pat and wait for their September call ups to help? My belief is that it would be the wrong decision to stand pat. The Bucks had a chance to acquire Boozer, and stood pat. The Packers had a chance to acquire Moss and stood pat. I would hate to see Melvin make a Bagwell for Anderson type of trade just for the sake of making a trade. But I do believe the brewers have a couple of holes that need filling. and if Melvin waits too long and takes no action now, he won't have to worry about doing anything in Spetember, because the window of opportunity wiill be gone. I would hate to see the brewers come close but lose because they chose to stand pat and go with what got them here. It's pretty clear we've got some tired horses out there.

today's TV says the Pods to Cubs is dead as they couldn't agree as to who to give the white sox within the 72 hours. I' m not sure what / who the Sox were asking for. I can't believe there wasn't somebody on the Cubs' farm system that the Sox wouldn't like. I almost have to believe other GMs such as melvin were claiming Cubs players forcing the Cubs to reclaim their players in order to block the trade from happening.

today's TV says the Pods to Cubs is dead as they couldn't agree as to who to give the white sox within the 72 hours. I' m not sure what / who the Sox were asking for. I can't believe there wasn't somebody on the Cubs' farm system that the Sox wouldn't like. I almost have to believe other GMs such as melvin were claiming Cubs players forcing the Cubs to reclaim their players in order to block the trade from happening.

there are many players I 'd trade braun for. however, you have to realize most of those players will be making over $10,000 for the next 10 years. I wouldn't mind trading braun for Miguel Cabrera, but i've heard he has a Sheffield type attitude. I'd trade braun for pujols, but then what would the brewers do with Fielder? I'd trade him for Ryan Howard. Can howard play outfield? Utley would be a good choice as well. maybe reyes or Wright, but the mets won't give up both. the twins are not going to give up both Santana and mauer. I'd trade him for the twins' Mauer. I'd think about trading him for Zimmerman, gordan or Wright if i felt I wanted to improve the brewers' defense at third. the problem with trading braun is two-fold. 1. if you do trade Braun, then the brewers don't really have anybody to play third unless you plan to move Hall back to third. don't think that will sit that well with Hall constantly moving him around. 2. Braun is a baragain. You may be able to trade him for somebody who produces the same amount on the field. but that person will not be playing for the minimum like Braun is and that person will leave for bigger money a lot sooner than Braun would be able to do. trading braun for somebody of equal ability would mean trading him for some $10 million player. and if you did that, you wouldn't have that money available to keep some other quality guy like Sheets or Capuano. the successful teams always have a mixture of high salaried veterans and rookies playing for the minimum. Even the Yankees have followed this as guys like Cano were given a chance to start as a rookie.

I see all these claims being made by winning teams looking to fill voids. yes, the players are for the most part insignificant. Joe kennedy and Mark Sweeney are probably not on anybody's fantasy baseball team. I guess my real point is that I see a bunch of teams that are in divison races claiming players, and I don't see the Brewers doing anything. Chad moeller was just claimed today by another team in a division race(Dodgers - I believe). Admittedly, the brewers have no need or desire to claim Chad Moeller. but a team in a pennant race felt he was good enough to be claimed and placed on their 25 man roster. Surely the brewers have holes somewhere that could be filled by claiming an available player placed on waivers. And traditionally, they can be acquired for a PTBNL or cash. I'm smart enough and old enough to know that many players besides just these fringe players have been placed on waivers and are available. Wasn't Jenkins placed on waivers a couple of years ago? Did any team put in a claim for him? frank Thomas got real mad when he found out he had been designated for waivers by the white Sox. the White Sox gm said it was just a paperwork formailty to find out his true value. The brewers need an infusion of defense and pitching, and they need it bad . I refuse to believe there is not a pitcher available that the brewers couldn't claim. I do believe the brewers probably would not claim one who has 4 years left on his contract, and they would probably target a player who would become a free agent at the end of this year rather than be saddled with a huge contract for the future. rather than saying no quality players are available, let's be honest with each other and tell it like it really is- the brewers don't want to claim a player with a huge contract past this year. if Zito was made available, the Brewers would still pass on him. They are looking for somebody who could become a FA after the season is over. or they are looking for somebody cheap and young. and being honest, I have to believe and will agree with Brian that Melvin has probably placed a claim on several players only to see those players being reclaimed by their respective clubs when no deal could be worked out. it's too bad that GM's can't be more open and honest with their fans as to what they really do and what their real plan and priorities are. I will also agree that melvin doesn't want to acquire a pitcher who has pitched shakey lately or who has a history of arm problems. The reds got burned last year acquiring an injured relief pitcher at the deadline. it appears that the braves got burned this year picking up Dotel as he just went on the DL today. But saying that, the brewers need an infusion of something - some confidence and swagger.

I realize none of the players claimed so far has been a very significant player. but you all also have to realize that many significant players have been made available. it's just that the brewers haven't tried to claim any of them. if a guy like tejada was placed on waivers by Baltimore, I have to believe other significant players were placed on waivers as teams try to make an after the trade deadline deal. the Padres just claimed Igawa from the yankees. they have two days to work out a trade. if a guy like Igawa is good enough for the Padres, isn't he good enough for the Brewers? Is Igawa the type of player the brewers can't afford to pick up? if so, I guess spending money is still a primary consideration when acquiring a player.

I like the truck signifying the thread has moved. I noticed the PODZ thread moved automatically to the rumors forum without having to read some editing post and then looking for the thread in the different forum. I found the spellcheck as part of preview. Perhaps I'll use preview more often before posting.

The Phillies and Dbacks have better NL records than the brewers and respectively claimed branyon from Cleveland and Joe kennedy from oakland. I would have to believe the brewers had a chance to claim either player. I realize why the brewers passed on branyon. The Dodgers claimed Sweeney from the Giants on 9 August. I' m not sure who had the better record that night - the Dodgers or brewers. While Cleveland and the mariners have better records, they claimed AL players who the brewers did not have a chance to claim. As I said previously, none of the players claimed in the past week was a significant player. joe kennedy may have been a nice addition. Sweeney is a nice pinch hitter. Are they difference makers? I'm not sure. But look at the teams making claims: Dodgers, Phillies, Indians, Mariners, and Dbacks. They all seem to have one thing in common they are trying to win their division and their GM is making moves.

I agree that in the past the brewers would have had a higher priority waiver claim because of their record. However, the teams that seem to be claiming players this year are teams with better records than the brewers. I will admit that an AL team would have first dibs on claiming an AL player before the brewers would. But, I have to believe there are plenty of players available in both the AL and NL who could be claimed. I also will state I know a team can reclaim their player if they choose. This makes me believe Melvin thought about some of the players available and decided to pass. I will also agree that some of the waiver acquisitions made recently look pretty bad on paper. Thanks for answering the question about money. I don't believe money would be an object claiming somebody who would become a FA. I do think it might be a concern for claiming somebody who still has 2-3 years left on theri contract. As for timing, what's the oppinion on melvin pulling the trigger now to try to put out the fire, or waiting until rosters can be expanded? In other words, are we going to stand pat with what we have until September? or do you envision melvin trying to make a quick band aid fix before the ship has sunk?

Each day of this last week I' m seeing teams in contention acquiring players off waivers. I have to believe the Brewers could have used a couple of the players claimed or at least would have put in a claim to block a player from being traded like the White Sox did on Tejada. I realize the brewers' payroll is at an alltime high. But windows of opportunity are also very small. My question is twofold. Do the brewers have enough money left to be able to claim and trade for a high salaried veteran such as Piazza or Tom Gordon, Stewart, Garland, Dye or Dunn or any of the other players who might be available? The second part is timing. Would the Brewers be more active in claiming players when their roster can be expanded in September knowing they wouldn't be able to use the player in the play-offs? Or do they make a move now in an effort t o patch a leaking dam?

bando- you sound exactly like me. Although I'm 50. When I'm bored , i eat; drink a coke; and sit in my chair and post on internet sports boards such as this one. . I don't exercise, and my weight gradually climbed to 252. I thought I had a heart attack last week trying to mow my back yard. It's 1 acre and a 45 degree angle and i was using a self propelled push mower. I was getting tired out going down hill. I checked into the hospital the next day for tests. I' m one of the lucky ones. My blood pressure two days after mowing the lawn was 162 over 106. All of my cholesteral levels were high. but I didn't have a heart attack and I don't need bypass surgery. My wife started the nutrisystem diet 3 months ago and has lost about 20-25 pounds. The key to that diet is that you can eat as much vegetables as you want, and your entres are smaller than most. Spending over $400 a month on the food is kind of an incentive to stay on the diet. but, I've noticed my wife is sneaking in snacks once more. I dare not ask how many pounds she's lost in the past month. I lost about 10 pounds the past week giving blood samples to the hospital and fasting. i've started to exercise once more and have been able to keep the 10 pounds off. Although that trip to see transformers tonight probably put a couple of pounds back on. maybe my trip to the hospital was a wake-up call for me. maybe I'll keep up my exercise routine and start eating less. I just received an email from my dad- the first in about 6 months. His first paragraph said he had a heart attack last month, fell on the cement had a concussion and was out cold for a period of time that he doesn't know how long. My dad is about 80+. maybe that will be a wake up call for me as well. it shows how lousy of a son I am that nobody told me my dad had a heart attack until my dad returned home several weeks later and wrote me an email about it. A wise man once told me I've got to find something more constructive to do in my life. unfortunately, I didn't pay much attention to his warning. Like I said- I' m one of the lucky ones. When I went to the Hospital, they actually were treating somebody who actually did have a heart attack. And despite our indifference to each other, my dad actually took the time out to write me an email. and I actually still have a dad.

if you combine this latest tirade from Sheffield with his previously provided infinite wisdom why MLB prefers Hispanics verses Blacks, you come away with an interesting viewpoint on Sheffield. not a good one, but an interesting one. One of his derogatory comments about Hispanics was that they are always too agreeable and will do anything their manager says without questioning it or talking back to the manager. Sheffield thinks this is a bad thing and people should talk back to managers rather than just accepting ther tasks and not questioning it. he feels managers telling people what to do is too much controling them, and the y should stand their ground and not take orders. because giving orders to people is dissing them. My question : is this how all Blacks think? Is this how some Blacks from poor backgrounds think? or is this how stupid spoiled brats like Sheffield think? Is the Black that is portrayed in movies and newsreels and TV documentaries not the real Black? and Sheffield's thinking is the way the majority of blacks really think? is Sheffield telling it like it is? is Sheffield the only Black not afraid to tell it like all Blacks know it is ? have Blacks not been honest with their true feelings? Rather than having a bunch of Whites saying Sheffield is stupid, I'd like to hear from some Blacks and their oppinion is Sheffield speaking the truth that has just been hidden? I know racism still exists.

sooooo, for those of us who never watched the transformers, or read the comics books how would this movie rate? is it better than the homer Simpson movie? assuming we've never watched tha t series either. better than fantastic 4 ? assuming we never watched the cartoon series or read tha t comic either. better than Spiderman? we did see the two previous spiderman movies. My 11 year old wants to see the movie. given a choice of Spiderman, Homer and fantastic 4, this is the movie he wants to see. is it worth my money to go see it at a theater or wait until it comes out in DVD?