3and2Fastball

In terms of the future at 1B, I think the Brewers are counting on either Clint Coulter or Victor Roache (their 1st round picks this year) to be their 1B for 6 years. Coulter is only 18 so we're probably looking at 2015 for him, but Roache may be ready by 2014 (and they may be thinking of Roache being a RF). I think Morris & Gamel are starting to be looked at as stopgaps in the meantime but either or both of them have the talent to be productive MLB starters who contribute a Corey Hart-esque .820 OPS Personally I'd like to see Hart traded as early as this coming trade deadline but that really isn't Melvin's MO to trade our players at a higher value. If I was the GM I'd be open but cautious about extending Hart as he does have value, especially being able to play RF & 1B and give you 30 HR seasons. But he is just a .820 OPS guy who is starting to slow down a little and the injuries are adding up, you don't want to break the bank for those type players Hart could have some trade value next month, but the Brewers probably won't trade him for a year when his trade value will be much lower or even non-existant if Hart is injured then....

Fair enough, elite was too strong a description. I do think it is safe to say that Schafer is the 2nd best defensive outfielder in the Brewers organization and a pretty big upgrade over Morgan defensively.

We don't know if Logan Schafer can hit MLB pitching. What we do know is that he is an elite defensive outfielder, and if you believe that Aoki and Gomez can continue hitting at their present levels (I do) then that makes Morgan pretty expendable after this season. Considering that Morgan's trade value is very low I don't really see any reason to move him at the trade deadline, unless he's a "throw-in" on a bigger trade.

Clemens was found "Not Guilty" by a jury. I'm not going to throw Clemens under the "juicer bus" at this point

Pretty crazy, although many think that Alan Trammel should be in....

I always felt like he was innocent. Really only Braun knows for certain. Either he's been on Roids his whole career (including college) and his masking agents failed once, or the test was flawed.... I tend to believe that the test was flawed Braun doesn't really exhibit many of the sterotypical characteristics of a long time steroid user either, nor does he have the physical side effects (thinning hair, acne etc) I think he's clean. And a potential Hall of Fame player.

It will be interesting to see just how many players will be kept out of the HOF due to the steroids thing. I think many of them will get in eventually. Clemens being found Not Guilty in his trial will certainly help his cause. I think a lot of the other guys from that era, where there was suspicion but no proof, (Bagwell, Piazza etc) will get in too.... In some ways, Vizquel being from that era may hurt his cause. A sub .700 OPS in Aparicio's time is one thing, but a sub .700 in the same era as Nomar, Jeter, Larkin, Arod, etc? That really hurts Vizquel in perception and WAR scores (not that I think a lot of sportswriters are looking at WAR scores)

OK thank you.

Is Gallardo pitching on short rest in this game?. I though Fiers was up next in the rotation. And if so, what in the world are the Brewers thinking in having Gallardo pitch on short rest? That is a risky move to make in this garbage dump of a season.

That is a tough one to call. And Vizquel does not compare well to Ozzie Smith: While it is true that Vizquel has similar counting stats to Ozzie Smith, Smith has almost exactly twice the WAR value as Vizquel, and while Vizquel is one of the greatest defensive SS ever, Smith was better, or perceived as better or "more famous" for being better, however you want to put it. Vizquel was also never on a World Series winning team like Ozzie was, "only" won 11 Gold Gloves (Ozzie won 13). The biggest difference is that Vizquel played in 3 All-Star games, whereas Smith played in 15 All-Star games including 12 straight season of All-Star games and 15 out of 16. That is a helluva run for Smith in being "famous" as one of the best or the very best SS in the game, something Vizquel never came close to achieving. When you are somewhat of a marginal Hall of Fame candidate, playing in only 3 All-Star games in a 24 year career does not help. Vizquel has had his OPS+ over 100 only twice in his career, and has a career 82 OPS+ and career .669 OPS I don't think he should get in, but I won't be surprised if he does...

I thought he looked real good for the most part. A lot of potential. Loved the way he would throw high 80's/low 90's fastballs, mix it up with slow curves and a good changeup and then be able to hit the inside corner of the plate with a 95 MPH heater. He just ran out of gas in the 6th, he'll build up his endurance more and will likely be a very effective MLB pitcher.

this season is an exact example of why you don't give closers multi-year multi-million dollar contracts unless their name is Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman

That is it essentially. If Aramis Ramirez could move from 3rd base position quick enough to field grounders on the right field side of 2B he'd have a WAR of 3 too... the computers think Lawrie is the Cool Papa Bell of 3rd base....

Yes, Kottaras has played 1B in 7 MLB games, including 5 this year. He is a more valuable hitter than Conrad, and arguably a better hitter than Ishikawa and while Taylor Green has potential, he's certainly been a better hitter this year than Green as well.... With Ransom on the roster and Izturis due back soon, there'll be no need for Maysonet or Conrad on the roster and Kottaras is a more valuable bench bat than either of them, as well as Ishikawa, even when Lucroy returns Kottaras currently has an .856 OPS, which I believe ranks 4th on the team, higher than Hart & Ramirez. I'm not saying he is a better hitter than Hart or Ramirez, but he is certainly good enough to be on the 25 man roster and has value as a backup 1B, LHB off the bench, 3rd catcher... Kottaras has a .439 OBP right now!

Weeks has the potential to rebound in his career and only plays 2B. Boston has Pedroia at 2B and Ortiz at DH and no need for Weeks. So trading Weeks to Boston wouldn't work for either team. I would be open to trading Weeks if the right deal came around but certainly not for Youkilis Youkilis to Milwaukee is a possibility but it'd be more likely that Boston would be looking for Veras or Loe in return, which would be a horrible trade for us, or looking for a minor league arm like Peralta which also would be an awful trade. Youkilis has really declined

At this point in the season with all the inuries accumulated, Kottaras still has value as a backup 1B and LHB on the bench, he's definitely more valuable than Conrad, for instance, so no reason not to carry all 3 once Lucroy is back....

Generally speaking I would rather spend $25 million a year on a super star than on 2 very good player, but is a real roll of the dice. What if the star gets injured then you are out of it.... but if you don't have the star players you likely aren't going far in the playoffs or even make the playoffs (that was the whole point of trading for Greinke) Sabathia is an excellent example of a player that you overpay for, he doesn't get hurt and he's a great pitcher. The thing is, I don't believe the "we coulda just spent that money on Sabathia" because as others here have mentioned: the Yankees would have just upped their offer if the Brewers matched it. The Yankees were gonna sign Sabathia no matter what Josh Hamilton is an example of way too risky a move. Would you rather spend $25 million on Josh Hamilton or on Weeks & Hart? Sure in one year thats an easy call. But you can't spend $25 million on Josh Hamilton, that isn't an option. You'd have to spend at least $200 million over 8 years on a guy who gets hurt a lot.... I think the way for the Brewers to contend is to develop their farm system, extend their best players and make smart deadline trades that help the team.... That plan, that way of doing things, almost got them into the World Series last year. They were a Shaun Marcum meltdown away (or I spose you could even say an Atlanta Braves meltdown away!) from winning the National League pennant.... I can criticize Doug Melvin night & day along with everyone else but I think in terms of the bigger picture he's going about it the right way. It is the minutiae I disagree with (for instance I think it was a Furcal race to the pennant, whoever traded for Furcal wins....)

Adam Dunn now has 22 HR's and 99 strikeouts this season. He is on pace for 57 HR's, 126 walks, and 255 strikeouts (.226/.368/.940!). The 255 strikeouts would obliterate Mark Reynolds' record of 223 strikeouts in a single season. A season like that'll get you "famous"

NL-AL, NL West, Ballparks and whatnot. Cain has a career 126 OPS+, Verlander has a career 125 OPS+ Cain's ERA in 21 postseason innings is 0.00 Verlander's ERA in 42 postseason innings is 5.57 Still taking Verlander over Cain?

There is a big huge 290 pound, 6 veggie burgers for lunch Hole in the middle of our lineup right now. That hole doesn't look like it will be filled from within. (Maybe one of our first round draft picks from this year can fill it, but that'd be in 2014/2015 at the very "Harper/Trout" earliest). We'll need to fill that Hole through a trade or free agency. A tough tough challenge. Aramis Ramirez was either a stopgap move or an epic fail depending on how the Brewers realistically looked at it when they signed him.

whoops. Wrong thread. My apologies

Greinke won't sign with the Brewers unless he sees them as serious contenders, and therein lies part of the problem. There are a lot of "if" factors at work: Rickie Weeks, does he start playing like Rickie Weeks or does he continue to play like Chone Figgins? Personally I think Martin Maldonado should be made the new starting catcher and they should find another starting spot for Lucroy (RF with Hart to 1B? 2B if Weeks is Figgins?) but I seriously doubt the Brewers would even consider that. I think Lucroy could be a .320 hitter every year if he only caught once every 5 games.... Anyways, back to realistic possibilities: Thornburg & Jimmy Nelson may be ready to contribute in 2013, especially Nelson. The Brewers will need to make a smart free agent signing along with signing Greinke, another impact player is needed. It is possible for the Brewers to win the division w/o Greinke but then the "if" factors increase tenfold: if other teams have unexpected player slumps (i.e. if Brandon Phillips starts hitting like Figgins, if Joey Votto becomes a .260 hitter) and injuries.... if unexpected Brewers become stars (Gindl becomes a ROY candidate, Gomez hits .290/.370 and steals 70 bases)...if Braun has a career year and hits .340 with 50 HR's... if Aramis Ramirez discovers the fountain of youth and hits 35 HR's.... None of that is likely (other than Phillips suddenly hitting like Chone Figgins) Who knows, maybe Mark A loses part of his mind and signs Greinke and Josh Hamilton.... not likely

That is coming up in the summer of 2013. Looking forward to it

the Little League team I coach played smarter baseball than that tonight and I'm not exaggerating... seriously? That is how you lose? Wow

I mean this in a completely respectful way but I wish I could forget how bad Betancourt's D was, especially in the Cardinals series http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/sports/brewers_and_mlb/cardinals-take-3-2-lead-in-nlcs It wasn't just the error in Game 5, it was all the balls he didn't get to with his Grandma range throughout the postseason