Gopher74

You'd make yourself a "pariah" in the clubhouse? Because you'd be going from a last place team to a team that could be a viable World Series contender? I guess I'd hope that professional players would have a little more respect for the game, and have a little more class than that. And that's a sure fire way to blow a draft. By deciding going in that you're going to pick a certain position and then ignoring how the draft actually plays out, and picking for need(and it's not even a real "need). I agree with Wiggum. You aren't going to replenish a farm system with one draft no matter how many picks you have. I don't think however, dealing guys like Vargas or Turnbow or both who make over $3 million will bring you anything of real value. The real value in trading those guys is saving their salaries. Sure you can. Not in a literal meaning, but in a practical one, you sure can replenish a farm system with 6 picks in the top 2 rounds. You throw in 6 high impact players to a farm system that is already possibly a top 5 and likely at worst a top 10 farm system and you're absolutely replenishing your farm system in terms of actual prospects. You hope to bring up a player or two every year, maybe for a small market team that number is 2 or 3. Maybe you hit on one and get a true impact player once every two years. So again, if you make the right choices, and that means not just picking for need, but picking the BPA, which is more important in baseball than any other sport because there's such a large gap from when players are picked until they're ready for the big leagues that you have no idea how things can change. But anyway, get a Gallardo, a Hart, a Hardy, maybe a couple good relief prospects, and then tell me that you can't replenish a farm system in one draft? And finally, don't throw Derrick Turnbow into the mix with Claudio Vargas. Turnbow's got a good amount of value out there, and for a guy who's potentially a great player as Turnbow is, and one who's as electric as he is, and as difficult to hit as he is, and there's always going to be a market for him.

I just don't understand this opinion. The kid hits the ball hard. You have to be able to project what he's going to turn into. He's 6'1 and 20 years old. 3 years from now, he could easily have put on 30 pounds, and be hitting for a lot more power. I think of Yunel Escobar when I think of Alcides. Yunel's frame is what I think Alcides will eventually end up at, or at least near. Yunel is about 5 years old, but he really just squares up on the ball and smacks it. And if he can become a .300/.350 10 HR, 35 DBL type hitter, it's going to help us out a great deal when Hardy's contract comes up. Not having to sign Hardy, and having Escobar coming into his own at that time, could save a lot of money to spend on Weeks, Braun, Hart or even the big dog. Or hell, just have one of the best left sides of the IF in the game defensively with Hardy and Escobar. Either way, I really like Alcides.

Ok, so even if they don't hit a single one next year, which is very unlikely, it's certainly not going to make a huge difference overall in their HR production. Not to the point where nearly every player has a significant drop in their HR's.

He's really not though. He was a good prospect, I believe toping out at around 50 in the BA top 100. That's very good, don't get me wrong, but certainly not a "uber prospect". Overall, I really think this list is very poor. I think that the Dodgers are about where they should be. They're so stupid, they're going to play Pierre over Kemp and Eithier, or at least one of them because he signed a big deal. Asinine. The Reds could have a great OF with Bruce, Jr and Dunn. That could be a OF that hits over 110 HR's and drives in 300+ runs. I also think it's silly that the Astro's are ahead of us. Carlos Lee is really overrated IMO. He's good, but not enough to make them above the Brewers with a CF'er who's really a nobody, a RF'er who had a very good rookie season, but I think exceeded expectations. My list 1-Rockies 2-Brewers 3-Reds 4-Mets 5-Cubs Oh, and as for the D-backs, Upton's a ridiculous talent, but that cartoon character they have in LF is just not that good IMO, and Young has a lot to prove after a very poor BA and OBP as a leadoff hitter. Very talented however.

Wait, I just did a double take on that. We're suppose to assume a guy who's never played a game in the big leagues yet is going to have an OPS over .800? I'm just curious, but what do the Cubs do to deserve this optimistic outlook on all of their question marks, and the Brewers such a negative? I mean, when we have a guy like Soto who's really been poor for two years in AAA before a obscene BABIP led to great numbers there last year, then it's "well, lets see what he does after a full season", but when the Cubs do, then he's an upgrade without a second thought, and possibly a huge one.

You're not even making an argument, you're really just saying, "he's obese because I say so". And how have those measurements been recently updated? Without saying how, and just saying that they have been doesn't really do a lot for me.

Perhaps, if you've heard different interviews than I, or have some intimate knowledge of their take on the situation(and I don't mean that first comment to be snide, I haven't heard every comment they've made). It just would appear to me that they've gone out of their way to say that Villanueva will have every chance to win a spot in the starting rotation. I guess that doesn't mean he's going to be, but it suggests to me that he will.

It's not like he's crazy for leaving Bush out. Bush, is by most accounts, the odd man out of the lineup. When Melvin goes on and on about how he expects Cappy to bounce back, then I think it's safe to say that he's going to be back in the rotation. Bottom line, the top 3 are there without an argument. That leaves 2 spots for Villy, Cappy, Bush, Vargas and Parra. I think we all know that Villy deserves a spot. He was better last year as a starter than the rest. He was very good the year before. In fact, he's only been good when he's gotten a chance to start. So now take the last 4. It's obvious to me at least that it's not obvious who should start, so I don't think you should be surprised when someone has any of those 4 in the rotation(other than Vargas). But Cappy's got the best chance to bounce back, or at least one would assume based on his track record.

How many home games did the brewers have 9th inning at bats last year that also included a homer? I'm going to predict the brewers bat a lot less in the 9th inning at home this year. I don't know. How many. If you're going to throw that out there as if it has some significant statistical importance, then back it up with something other than what appears to be a rhetorical question. But besides that, we were one of the best teams in the big leagues at home last year, so the number of 9th innings that we won't have, even if we improve on that home record this year, is going to be so tiny that it's hardly worth mentioning. And then talk about how many HR's we hit in those situations? You're talking about what? 3-4 HR's? luke van, have yo u ever noticed a tea m - other tha n the brewers that has it's ace pitcher on the mound and they are cruising, 4-1, how quickly his team plays to get the game over? if beckett is on the mound, you don't see big poppy or manny trying to hit 3 more homers and make it a 10-1 game. They just bat quietly, and they win 4-1. Second, the entire premise that teams stop playing hard and "try to get the game over with" when their ace is on the mound is absolutely preposterous. It truly is. You really think that Professional Baseball players are going up to at bats trying to make outs? Trying to not get hits? I don't think I've ever disagreed with something so strongly. The big problem with the brewers last year was that a 4-1 lead was never safe, so the brewers would hit homers to catch up. Ok, you're losing me here. So they're either up in this scenario, and the lead's not safe, or they need to hit HR's in order to catch up, but I've never heard of a team having to catch up with a 3 run lead. Are you suggesting that the team is going to be so much better that they won't fall behind as much this year so they won't try to hit as many HR's? An argument that I would say is flawed because it's only reasonable to assume they would get a lead by hitting HR's, at least some of the time, and also is contradicted by your argument that they're not going to be any more competitive this year than last, and that the Cubs will be. Yea, suffice to say, this argument has me scratching my head.

I don't understand this logic. If anything, it'd seem to be the complete opposite. A couple years ago, why would we want a aging player who had to sit out all last year and is a question mark this year? The only reason it would make sense is because we're in a "win now" mode, and you take that chance that he can come back and help you win a couple games this year. And really, it'd be a very small "risk". I'm sure he's not getting a big league deal right now anyway. He would have to take a minor league deal and come to camp as a non-roster invitee.

I think your recollection is heavily skewed. 20-1 is hardly fair. Not from what I've seen. In fact, that'd look about fair. I can see how that may not seem to be the case with every other post somehow coming back to Ned Yost, even when the topic has very little to do with him. I don't see how Ennder made your point for you, he pretty much refuted it 100%. Because you choose to ignore evidence and cite your gut doesn't mean Ennder's indirectly supporting your claim. I do. First of all, he didn't provide any evidence. He simply said that some existed. Not that I question Ender, however him just saying there is evidence is no different than saying it's not good to bat your worst hitter more than you have to.

Isn't he in Milwaukee? I mean, didn't he pass up Albert Pujols and get the fan votes for 1st basemen as a 22 year old 2nd year player? Some players don't NEED a big market. Heck, I don't think Favre would be any bigger in NYC, LA, or Chicago. I think that's part of his appeal. I think the same could be true for Prince....you know, if we had a little thing called a salary cap.

Well, I'd tend to agree with you, but he's not the biggest name player on a team with Arod, Jeter, Mo, and then Manny, Dice K, Big Pappi, and the players they're likely to have in the future, Buchholz. Oh, and Papelbon. But you're right, he'll always find a way to distinguish himself.

Actually, from a technical standpoint, I'm sure you're right. If you go by the Doctor's charts, I'm sure he would be fat. I remember when I was wrestling in college, I was wrestling at 174, and in the off-season I'd weight about 200 pounds. I went to the Doctor for a physical, and they weighed me and did the whole chart thing. They told me that for my size, which is little over 5'11, that I was suppose to weight 160 to be at a "healthy weight". The problem was, I had to get a medical clearance to get down to 174 because that was considered an unhealthy body fat through the NCAA testing guidelines in which they take a hydrostatic body fat test and you're only allowed to go down to 4.5 pct fat with informed consent, and 6 pct without it. I could also get into how ridiculous it is when you hear that Donald Driver, or whoever is 2 pct body fat, but I won't. Let me just say that those numbers are ridiculous. My point here? You can't just look at someone and say this guy is fat because of what he weighs and how tall he is. I honestly don't know how "fat" Prince is, but he's a wide guy so most people just automatically go to the "he's fat" comment. It's kinda silly.

Ok, first of all, I don't know what you're talking about in reference to a "love affair" with Bill Hall around here. I think that the general perception is that his 2006 season is likely his career high, and that he'll likely meet somewhere in the middle of 2005 and 2006 in terms of BA and HR's. Hopefully about .280/.340 with 23 or so HR's. Second, Bill Hall was at one point the Brewers minor league player of the year, and again, had a very good season in both 2005 and 2006, so I'm not certain which season would make him a "one year wonder", but that's not the case. Third, if he continues his production from last year, yea, his contract won't be a good one, but to label it as "ridiculous" is overstating the case, especially when you call the 5.22 million that Cameron's making, "not that much". Hall isn't going to be making 12 million a year for the next 4 years. I think that he's getting way too much grief for the contract that he signed as if it was this huge blockbuster deal. And finally, what do you mean about "his response to being moved"? What did he do that makes his response to being moved so outrageous? I just don't see it. Like I said, most hope that he can find the mean between the 05 and 06 seasons, they'll be happy. I for one expect about a .265-.275/.335-.345 20-28 HR type season from Hall next year and in the future. Anything more I'll be happy.

What the!! That's!! Blasphemy!!! How dare you speak such nonsense around here!! Truth be told, I'm worried about the very same thing. As for Hall, he was my pick for biggest disappointment in 07, and I'm just not that confident that he's going to be the 2005 version again. I'd love if he were a .290/.345 17 HR type hitter, but I think he's going to be more of a .255/.325 23 HR type hitter. Corey Hart is my second option. I pray I'm wrong on these two, I just don't have a great feeling about him. Not a lot of logic behind it, just a bad feeling about him.

I think this idea that Turnbow's going to be behind Riske and Torres is inaccurate. Melvin and Yost have already hinted that he's going to be the SU man, though I'd prefer he be the 7th inning man and Riske the SU man, but all the same, he's definitely going to be one of those 2, not a middle reliever. As for the BP, someone else alluded to it, but I absolutely love the fact that we've got several options in the event that someone does falter, namely Turnbow. I think one of his biggest problems the last couple years, and last year specifically was that we didn't have anyone to follow him up with. I mean, last year we had Cordero, but that's your closer, and you don't want to trot him out there for 5-6 outs too often, less you ruin him for late in the season. So as a result, we had to stick with Turnbow, or go with a really bad option in Aquino, Spurling, or whoever when Turnbow came out throwing balls over the batters head and to the backstop. This year, at least I hope, we can have a quicker hook for Turnbow when he's just not on, and we can then yank him and go with Torres, Riske, Mota, or even Vargas/Bush or Shouse. I think that alone is going to make Turnbow far more effective, and I think his end of the season numbers will bare that out.

Yes of course, but it's ridiculous to think that the Brewers would only offer half of what the Red Sox would. I have a real hard time believing that the Red Sox would give Prince 22 million a year over 5 years, but the Brewers only offer 11 million over 5 years.

No, unless he shows up and he's absolutely TERRIBLE, he's staying. You don't trade for a guy who's owed 3.2 million dollars and then cut him. You could have just non-tendered Johnny Estrada. You don't waste money like that. Obviously Melvin thinks that Mota can do something, and the reason is obvious. He's got very good stuff, and he was exceptional in NY in 06. The chances that he's gone are VERY slim. I really don't get it. Parra is a lefty that can throw a 96 mph fastball that moves, and someone compares **villanueva** to Santana? They were pretty clear to compare the two situations, NOT the players. C'mon DrWood, you know what he was doing. He even said that he's not trying to compare the two, simply the logic behind why each was in the bullpen, and how each team saw each pitcher as a future starter.

Stetter is 26 years old right now first of all, second he had a 3.32 ERA overall last year. And left handers HAVE been known to develop late. Baseball America had a short exurb on him pitching in winter ball, and how impressive he looked. His delivery is very tough to pickup, and I think he could be a very good left handed specialist down the road. It'd be nice to not have to pay Shouse 2 million dollars. But yea, being 26 years old right now and talking about how he's going to be 29 next season are two very different things. Rich Hill was 27 when he broke out last year. I'm guessing there were some Cubs fans who were "unimpressed" who would have thought it "no big deal" to dump him. Not of course he's not going to ever have an impact like that most likely, but he's one of those guys who can fill a niche for the Brewers without costing 2 million dollars. Having those types of home grown guys is going to be huge for the Brewers as they try and spend wisely moving forward.

This was from the latest Mailbag on Brewers.com. When did the Gwynn for Gagne thing almost happen? Did I miss that one? (not sure where to put this - so I figured I would throw it in with random rumors) My guess would be they meant Texas. I have heard a number of times that we were close to trading for Gange from the Rangers before the deadline, and while it's possible Gange would have passed all the way to us on the waiver wire, I'm pretty sure Gwynn wouldn't have.

Well, look at his numbers. Hart's dwarfed him this year. OBP, SLG...speed. I think that he's a product of hype as much as ability after the SI cover that labeled him "The Natural". I certainly think they'd take Gallardo for him straight up. I also don't think we'd comply.

I don't think anyone thinks that Melvin won't make a serious offer. He certainly will give it a good - likely his best - effort. The problem is that a serious offer from the Milwaukee market is humbled in comparison from a serious offer from a big market. The Brewers can only offer so much, and once you hit that point, the money could be better spent on several players, instead of one. True, the FA reliever corps is not impressive, but the money can be spent on the aquisition of a position player (through trade + contract extension, or FA, etc.), while relief help (odd combo of words) can come from a trade.Well the argument was made that we'd give him the same effort we gave Carlos Lee, which in my mind wasn't a strong effort. I don't agree however that the FA corps isn't impressive. I think there are several good relievers out there who are very good. Without looking, I'd guess there are 15-18 at least(less Russ Springer who signed today) who'd be an upgrade on the Brewers. And I think we're all assuming that A-The market is going to be on the same level as it was the previous two years, something that I don't agree with, and B-That Cordero is going to go to the highest bidder. There are several factors that would suggest the market isnt' going to be what it was the last two years. And I'm not sure that the Brewers wouldn't offer 3/30 with a 4th option for 13 or so with a 2 Million dollar buyout. And finally, I don't believe that we're this tiny little market that is going to be so far outspent by all the big markets. Show me the big market teams who are going to need a closer? NYM-Wagner NYY-Rivera(who I think they'll bring back) LAD-Saito LAA-K-Rod ChC-Marmol, Howry(and if they get ARod, they'll be all but totally out of it). BoS-Papelbon(who's a closer to stay) ChW-Jenks Cards-Izzy(just picked up his option) M's-Putz So those are the true "big market" teams. I predict our payroll will be up near 80 next year, placing us in that second tier. So who are all the teams that are going to go after Coco? The Phillies may. They need one. The Braves may, but it's not like they've got a lot more money to spend. The O's may with Ray getting TJ surgery. But yea, I just don't think we're going up against the Yanks or any of those teams.

I'm not certain what you're saying exactly? And no, he didn't say "he's gone like every other good player is", however he did say that the Brewers would only give him the same effort they gave Lee(which I think we can all agree wasn't a sincere effort), and then cited a very predictable rumor on Fox. I'm not saying that he's GOING to re-sign here, he could get a ridiculous offer, but the Brewers are going to try and sign him I believe, and I believe they're going to give it a good effort. I guess what I'm saying is that predicting that the Brewers aren't going to spend more to sign a player than everyone else isn't exactly ground breaking, but when Melvin insists he's going to try to, I'm just trying to figure out why some people don't think that he will.

It's been echoed all year. Everybody always says that every good player is going to leave Milwaukee. And I'll trust Melvin's words over some guesses on the radio. He may be saying them simply to appease the Brewers fan base, but I don't believe it. And for the record, I'd take 3 Howry's over Cordero as well. What's to say we're going to get that though? But in the end, Coco may leave, but I certainly think we're going to give him a strong effort.