The stache

Huh? We drafted Lucroy in 2007, two years after Braun, and I have yet to see Lucroy play for any other team but Milwaukee. Lucroy isn't saying he doesn't want to play here. He is saying that he doesn't want to waste his career on a perennial loser, and since 2011 (let's see, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015...) the Brewers haven't been doing much winning at all. What competitive player wants to spend the remainder of his time in the bigs on a team that is going to suck? The man is a competitor, and that is the kind of player we want on this team, not some schlub like Kyle Lohse, who was "encouraged" after giving up four runs in 6 innings his last outing. We don't want people here who are just going through the motions, and collecting a paycheck. We want winners. People who want to make the playoffs, and go to the World Series. If we trade Lucroy because it's the best thing for our future, ok. But if some of you are telling to get out of here for speaking his conscience, I have to seriously question those people.

Why? Every other first rounder since Braun has been a major bust. Why would 37 innings from Taylor Jungmann somehow gloss over the collective wasteland that our first round picks from 2006 to 2010 represent? Let's look at the Brewer first rounders from 2006 on: 2006: Jeremy Jeffress 2007: Matt LaPorta 2008: Brett Lawrie, Jake Odorizzi and Evan Frederickson 2009: Eric Arnett, Kentrail Davis, Kyle Heckathorn 2010: Dylan Covey 2011: Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley It's nice to hear somebody within the franchise willing to speak their mind. This team sucks from the top down. Nobody else wants to say it, certainly not anybody in the front office. And now because he's speaking the truth, the attitude is "well, we don't care, Lucroy. You're not the face of the franchise, and if you don't want to be here, then don't let the door hit your butt on the way out." Seriously? Last year, when he was having an MVP-caliber season, it was "Lucroy is so great. He's the face of the franchise." I saw it constantly, here, on the JS online discussions, on ESPN's in game discussions. But now because somebody tells it like it is, now he's a pariah.

Can we send Lohse to Seattle, and keep the Bucks? Pretty please?

I guess Bruce Bochy can do whatever he wants, but I've always thought that if a player voted to the game is injured, he should be replaced by another player from the same position. Kris Bryant has had a pretty good rookie year, but he's only played 5 games in the outfield. Congrats to Francisco Rodriguez.

Bingo. Pitching, and to a somewhat lesser extent, a lack of sound defense, has sunk this team. But this shouldn't have been a surprise. He'd been the GM in Texas, and did the same thing. The Rangers could hit the ball as well as any other team in baseball. But their pitching and defense was terrible (maybe slightly better than ours). At least the Rangers had Ivan Rodriguez.

I haven't given it too much thought, but I don't think you'll get any disagreement from me. Seid was given his position in 2008. When it became clear that the decision was not working out, what was done? Nothing. I don't wish to speak ill of a man that has passed away. I've never heard a negative word about him as a person. But it is clear to me, to you, and more than a few other Brewer fans, I'm sure, that he should have been removed from his position some time ago. When that was not done, who should receive the blame? Doug Melvin might be the nicest man on the face of Earth. I don't know. But as a GM, he has failed. I'm sorry, guys. I'm never going to sugar coat it. He has had plenty...plenty of time to completely shape this franchise. And we're terrible. The longer you let a cancer fester, the more devastating it becomes. Each day that we delay the necessary action to remove Doug Melvin and his appointees is that much longer the franchise, and Brewers fans everywhere, will have to suffer.

I agree. I still think we'd need an ace to take a real shot in the playoffs in the future, but Peralta, Nelson and Jungman could make a nice 2-3-4 for us.

They are both the same players with nearly identical stats. Weeks was also a player who got on base and worked the count earlier in his career. Melvin has always targeted guys that are big on base players. Mike Cameron a free agent signing by the Brewers was signed because of his on base skills and how he worked the count. Gabe Kapler another player who was a big OBP. This feels more like you are trying to make your opinion a fact here than anything else. Hmm. Well, their slash lines are similar (OBP/SLG/OPS). But Markakis has a career batting average that is 44 points higher. And, Weeks strikes out 81% more often than Markakis. And Markakis has two Gold Gloves to zilch for Weeks. And on what planet is a .328 OBP "high"???? I don't get excited by a player's OBP unless they're over .350 at the minimum. A "high" OBP, to me, at least, would be over .375, or .400, depending on my mood. Paul Goldschmidt has a .470 OBP this year. Bryce Harper has a .465 OBP. Miguel Cabrera has a .457 OBP. Prince Fielder has a .415 OBP. Those are high OBPs, not .328. In 2013, Jean Segura hit .294 and walked 25 times in 623 plate appearances, good for a .329 OBP. Does anybody here think that was a "high" OBP?

Agreed, 3and2. It would be easy to sit here from the comfort of my bed (<3 laptops) and be critical of past mistakes. Though it sounds like that is what I'm really doing (and maybe in a small way, I am guilty of that), I want to make it absolutely clear that is not my intention. It really isn't. I love this team. I mean, I love this team. Dummy me, I learned to love the Brewers as a kid, and through all the failures, and missed opportunities, I still love this team. I'm a sucker. No, I'm loyal. And my affections are not tied to winning. I love Milwaukee, which is my home town, and before I shuffle off this mortal coil, I want to see our team win it all, at least once. I want to see them win it for me, and all the other diehard Brewer fans who have stood by this team. I feel like Pop in The Natural, in a way. He just wanted to win a pennant. He didn't care about the Series. "Win or lose, I'd have been satisfied". Well, I don't need to see us win it every year, or become a perennial power. I want to see the city of Milwaukee celebrate a Brewers championship just once. I could be satisfied with that. Okay, that's a World Series, not just a National League Championship. But the mindset is the same. I don't ask for a lot, but I don't think hoping for one moment of pure joy is asking for too much. So, that being said, my frustration, and the reason I continually harp on Doug Melvin, is that we are not moving forward as a franchise. I have nothing against the man personally. Like Ron Roenicke, I rather like him as a person, too. But he has had thirteen years, and he has not advanced this franchise. Not really. I understand that Major League Baseball is hard. The reference was made to the amount of time it takes to make it to the bigs once drafted. Well, there is nothing harder in professional sports than hitting a baseball. Fastball, curveball, sinker, slider, knuckler, etc. That tiny ball can move in so many directions, so fast, and it doesn't have far to go before it rests comfortably in the catcher's mitt. And, there's a hell of a lot more foul territory than fair. Plus, those pesky fielders out there.....baseball is hard, and no matter how many computers a team has, no matter how much footage, or how many scouts, even the best in the business goof occasionally. I harbor no illusions about the ease of the General Manager position for a Major League team. Could I do it? LOL, nope. I could try, but I'd fall flat on my face. I'd be the Wiley Coyote of the game, with Acme Rockets blowing up in my face left and right. Yes, Doug Melvin has improved over the performance of his predecessor. But that isn't enough. It can't be enough. I would rather reach for the stars, and fall flat on our face as a franchise, than play it safe. And by keeping somebody at the top of the mountain who has shown that he can't get it done (and not only in Milwaukee), that's exactly what we are doing. We are playing it safe. We are settling for mediocrity. And when you settle for mediocrity, that is exactly what you get. And, no, I don't think trading a boatload of our prospects for a one off chance at the Series is "reaching for the stars." "It's hard to win in a small market." Oh, boo hoo. That's an excuse. There are franchises who spend ungodly amounts of money, and come no closer to winning it all then we do. And there are franchises who spend a mere pittance, comparatively, that get really close to winning it all. "See? Those other small market teams aren't winning it all, either." Money is nice, but it really isn't the only way to the finish line ahead of the pack. There are thirty teams in the bigs, and only one team can win the last game of the season. Before anything like talent, or coaching is considered, each team has about a 3% chance of hoisting the prize. It's hard to win no matter how good you are. Players disappoint, players get injured. It happens. The Brewers team that won 96 games was really good. They didn't win it all. It happens. Like in the NFL, the best team doesn't always win. I thought the Packers were the best team in the NFL last year. They fell apart at the end against Seattle. But that might be a catalyst towards even greater things this year. I believe that team is destined for greatness. When was the last time we could really say that about the Brewers? Before 2011, it was clearly 1982. And that is...sad. If we bring in somebody else, and we fail again, ok. At least we tried. But we are in the middle of the ocean, treading water. I don't want to do that anymore. Brewers fans (all of you on this forum included) deserve better than that.

Um, no. Just to interject some facts...he did not get us Ben Sheets or Prince Fielder. Melvin became Brewers GM on September 26, 2002. Fielder was drafted by the Brewers in June of 2002 by then GM Dean Taylor. And Sheets? Sheets was drafted in 1999, before Melvin was even a fart in the wind in Milwaukee. And Weeks? Yes, Melvin "got" him for us. I don't know if I'd be hoisting him up as anything too special. Don't get me wrong, I like Rickie Weeks the man. But one All Star appearance, and a 12.3 WAR in 11 Major League seasons as a Brewer is nothing to write home about. For being the #2 overall pick in the draft, he was pretty average, overall (in what was, granted, a pretty weak draft overall). He reached his potential (or came close to it) for two years, maybe slightly more. The ankle injury probably derailed his career as it was truly getting going in his late twenties. But I can't look at what might have been. I can only look at his production on the field. At times, he was great, and could carry a team on his back (and once in a while, he did). But Ryne Sandberg, or Joe Morgan, he was not. Let's be honest with ourselves. Braun has been a superstar. No doubt about it. The last few years, with the PED scandal, and a couple of injuries, slowed his career arc, and at best he was above average in left field (terrible at third, below average thus far in right). But he has hit with power, and been one of the most consistent run producers in the Majors since coming into the Majors. Without the PED scandal, he was on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Gallardo? Hart? Hardy? I liked them all. I thought we gave up on Hardy way too soon (a reoccurring theme in the Melvin era). Gallardo was showing real signs of slipping (dropped velocity for one). And I wish that Corey Hart had never hurt his knee. He'd have been great at first base for us. That injury cannot be blamed on anything but fate. Lucroy? Love him. Probably my favorite Brewer now. He's the face of the franchise now, and trading him would be a mistake. The others, though we drafted them, we've long ago stopped benefiting from their selections.

I understand that the draft is different in baseball than the other major sports. One really need not look beyond the length of time required to reach the "big club" in the major sports to paint a picture of just how different they are. The top pick in the NBA, or the NFL, are with the big club immediately. The top draft pick in the Majors can take multiple years to make the show, if ever. Ultimately, Melvin determines who the scouts are, and who the director of scouting is. Much like a head chef picks everybody in their kitchen, Melvin assembles his team. If the man responsible for buying the groceries used in menu preparation picks rotten food, who ultimately is to blame? The man screwing up the buying, or the idiot who put him in a position of importance in the first place? Regardless if it's Doug Melvin sending the names to the Commissioner, or one of his envoys, the entire direction of this franchise rests with one man. To imply that the buck stops with anybody but the GM would be disingenuous.

How low has this organization set the bar when two playoff appearances in thirteen years is to "be applauded".

Though his thumb is still problematic, apparently that calf issue is a thing of the past. Braun is running like a deer lately. 12 of 13 in stolen bases with 2 tonight, and 5 in the last 8 games. Projected: .277, 92 runs scored, 27 doubles, 29 home runs, 107 RBI, 23 stolen bases. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Nice to see a little win streak. I wish the Brewers had shown this much fight earlier in the season.

I'd like to send the most deserving player, and that's clearly Braun, who was 3 for 5 again tonight. We've won 8 of 10. Braun is 18 for 41 with 8 runs scored, 5 doubles, a home run, 10 RBI in that span. That's not a coincidence. Luc with 11 hits in the last four games. 21 hits in four games from Luc and Brauny.

Maybe Arcia is a mutant, and can play second and short at the same time. That would be swell. And LOL @ "next wave". I have great hopes for Gatewood, Harrison, etc....but they're so far away, they don't qualify as a wave. Maybe a ripple. But that's what we pin our hopes to. I think Orlando Arcia could be a special player. God forbid we even think about trading him. If our team is terrible, but he becomes the player we all think he can (and will) be, that would be enough to keep me happy. I've seen enough bad Brewer baseball in my lifetime. Give me somebody young, and exciting again. Somebody who can make the big play defensively, somebody who doesn't go up there hacking away at pitches three feet off the plate. I just want some hope again. No pressure, Mr. Arcia. A whole city (and state) is watching you, hoping you're the real deal.

We have a winner!

I really think the thing with Braun is, from one day to the next, he never knows how the hand is going to be. These guys play so much baseball (and even with the two or three treatments he's had, he's played in 78 of our 81 games), and when you have any kind of a physical issue, especially in your hands, that's got to make it that much harder to be consistent. It's clear that he still has spectacular power. I do put stock in the productivity he's put up on a lousy team. Who has been on in front of him on a consistent basis? Gomez? Segura? LOL, Scooter Gennett? Lucroy? Nobody I can think of. Braun is hitting .397 with runners in scoring position with a 1.174 OPS. That's ridiculous. He's only had 74 plate appearances with runners on. Imagine if that number were to go up.

I disagree completely. We're the Philadelphia Phillies from being the worst team in Major League Baseball. And, we have arguably the worst minor league system in baseball. Melvin has been here since the end of 2002. So, he's been in charge of the organization for thirteen years. We've made the playoffs twice in thirteen years. Of those two teams, only one had a realistic shot to go anywhere. That's one truly good team in thirteen years, a handful of others that finished above .500. .500 is not an accomplishment. Of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball, 17 are at or above .500 right now. Woo hoo? He emptied out our minor league talent for an all-or-nothing shot at the World Series, and has done an awful job of replenishing our young talent. Do I need to provide a list of the first round draft picks taken under Melvin that will never play an inning for the Brewers? Evan Frederickson, Eric Arnett, Kentrail Davis, Kyle Heckathorn, Dylan Covey. From 2006 to 2010, a five year span, we had nine first round and first round supplemental picks. All those players are either out of baseball, or playing in other organizations save one, Jeremy Jeffress, who we traded away, and eventually got back. Since Ryan Braun was drafted in 2005, Taylor Jungman (drafted in the first round of 2011) was the first first rounder to make it to the big club. You cannot run a small market team and continually whiff like that, and be successful. Melvin has. What about the other guy drafted in the first round of 2011, Jed Bradley? Yeah, don't count on him being up any time soon, with his 7-9 ERA at AAA. 2012? Mitch Haniger is gone for....who? I forget. Clint Coulter might make it. Victor Roache has great power, not much else. So maybe one of three in some way contribute to the Brewers. 2013? Oh, wait. We had no first round draft pick, because Kyle Lohse needed to be a Brewer, Lohse with his touchdown ERA this year. Great. I guess one way to make sure your first rounders don't bomb is not to have any, huh? So, the last decade of Doug Melvin's draft history rests on two classes, 2014 and 2015. Let's hope some of those guys end up being the real deal. I fail to see what good Melvin has done. In Baltimore, in Texas, or in Milwaukee. He became Assistant General Manager and Head of Player Development in Baltimore in 1987. In 1994, he became GM of the Rangers. In nearly 30 years as a baseball executive, and 20 as the guy for two Major League teams, what has he ever accomplished? Zilch. Thirty years of baseball, and the teams he's either controlled, or had a huge hand in building, have one playoff series win. Yet he's going out on his own terms in Milwaukee because, God forbid we show his worthless butt the door preemptively. If this is his last season, are we any better off than we were when he came in in 2004? Nope. Not at all. Our big league team is an embarrassment, and we have virtually nothing in the minors. He's had more than a decade to build this franchise to his specifications, and he's leaving it a complete wasteland. So, tell me, please....how has he not run this franchise into the ground?

Because GMs make substantially more and they are already paying Melvin for that job through this season. Trivial as it seems, it's smart business to control costs. It's not like Montgomery isn't likely on the same page anyway and doesn't have work to do in his current job. My question to that comment, though we'd essentially be paying for two people at the same position, wouldn't the jump start, and the possible improvement to our team's fortunes, be worth it? If a body has cancer, you don't wait to extricate it because it's "less expensive to wait". Though it would cost more, I say we get the right guy in place now. Get his feet wet, let him figure things out in a season that is clearly lost, and come back to start 2016 with the keys to the car in hand, and at least a decent idea of how the car is going to respond to his hands and feet. Throwing him in day one of the 2016 season puts our team behind the 8 ball right off the bat. Why risk ruining the 2016 season, or at least the first part of it, when it's not necessary to do so? A complete, and I do mean a complete overhaul of the entire system is needed. That's going to take time, and there's no better time than the present to get started on that.

Just saw an article on ESPN.com where the six baseball writers choose their starters and reserves for the All Star game. All six picked Ryan Braun for the Brewers representative. The only other guy I could think of that may be deserving is Francisco Rodriguez. Though his saves have been an adventure more often than not, he's gotten the job done. Yet Braun is an every day player, and in the top 10 in multiple categories in the N.L. Currently hitting .271, he's 8th in runs scored (45), 7th in home runs (15) and RBI (53). He's stolen 9 bases in 10 tries, has 13 doubles and 2 triples. I think this latest hot streak will have him back in the game for the first time since 2012. When you consider how dysfunctional our offense has been, and the lingering thumb issues, he's been pretty solid as a run producer. And his latest hot streak has raised his average nearly 30 points. Thoughts?

So, our defense sucks, and pretty much has since Melvin got here. Another reason to show him the door.

That might just change right now. /fingers crossed.

On a positive note, good to see Lucroy's bat waking up. Eight hits in the last three games is encouraging.

Oh, and meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo, who we all thought was on a downward spiral, has a 7-6 record on the season with a 2.56 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP. His last four starts? Oh hell, for snicks and giggles, let's look at his last ten starts starts. 5-1, 1.56 ERA, 63.1 IP, 13 runs allowed (11 earned), 46 hits, 0.995 WHIP. He allowed 2 home runs on 5/19, and hasn't allowed a single one in his last eight starts. I hate belaboring the point, but our coaching staff, and talent evaluators, need to go. They're terrible. Gallardo goes to Texas, and suddenly he's pitching like an ace.