paul253

Ervin Santana on a 1-year deal would be the best option for a starter Ervin Santana had an ERA over 5 last season and has a career 4.33 ERA. My biggest fear is that Melvin will go after someone like him. We'd probably have to give him at least $5 or $6 million for one year. You could get two good bullpen arms for that. The thing I don't get is that we've been begging for home grown, cheap, controllable pitching for years now. We finally have it and we aren't going to use it? Obviously Gallardo is a lock. You'd have to believe Fiers and Estrada have earned spots too. So that means if you go out and spend money on a free agent starter either Rogers or Peralta is out of the rotation. Rogers has no options left so we'd have to stick him in the bullpen. I'd much rather sign a guy or two like Marco Estrada, someone who will start as the long man in the bullpen and can make a spot start or two if necessary. If we go with Gallardo, Fiers, Estrada, Peralta and Rogers, we still have Thornburg. From what I understand Narveson is already throwing off a mound so he has all offseason to continue his rehab. There's Burgos. There's Nelson. Then we can add a few cheaper guys in there and I think we'd be ok. Narveson and Thornburg are your top two replacement starters. If you have to go deeper than that for an extended period of time it will probably be a lost season anyway.

Giving him a 3rd season at Wisconsin would be the beginning of the end of his prospect status. I was just curious. But as of now I don't consider him much of a prospect anyway. Hopefully things change but I consider performance as much as I do potential when looking at someone's prospect status. Escobar had an OBP of .305 at West Virginia and was still promoted. Escobar was younger than Rivera when he did that though? And even though his OBP was poor he was at least hitting with a somewhat decent average. His batting average was a good 24 points higher than Rivera's was. Rivera is not only not drawing walks, he's not hitting either. Escobar wasn't drawing walks but he was hitting, at least somewhat. .271 for a 19 year old in A ball isn't terrible.

But he hasn't done anything at Wisconsin. If he can't hit at Wisconsin what makes us think he'll do any better at BC? I'm all for promoting players when they are ready but Rivera's numbers don't help the argument that he is ready. His combined average at Wisconsin is .238. His combined OBP is .278. Those numbers are awful.

Is it a given that Yadiel Rivera is going to be promoted to BC? He wasn't exactly an offensive whiz this year with a batting average of .247 and an OBP at .290. Those are not good numbers at all. I wouldn't be surprised to see Arcia in Helena and Rivera back at Wisconsin.

The whole Clint Coulter thing could have an easier decision if they had promoted him to Helena last season like they should have. He got off to a really bad start but then really came strong after that. I believe he even had more walks than strikeouts. He should have been in Helena and I have a really that's where he'll start next season. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Taylor start off in Helena again though. Outfield is far and away the deepest part of our system and I'd like Taylor to get off to a nice hot start in Helena before being moved up when his confidence is high.

It's looking like the Brewers are going to do better with the lower round picks from each draft as there are plenty of guys picked later who are performing well and/or have some exciting tools. The Brewers need to be more aggressive in their picks I think. The past couple of years they've seem to be way too cautious. I hate to play Monday Morning QB on the 2011 draft, and at the time Jungmann and Bradley seemed like decent picks, but Bradley had really started dropping before the draft IIRC. A guy a lot of us liked was Taylor Guererri, who is now one of TB's top prospects. In the last draft, I hated the Mitch Haniger pick. He just screams Cole Gillespie to me. A low to mid ceiling college player who projects as a 4th outfielder and whose numbers are going to get progressively worse the higher up he moves (I hope I'm wrong). The guy a lot of us wanted to Joey Gallo, whom I've noticed is getting a ton of attention for his power potential and his early results. On top of the fact that we have zero third base prospects so he could move as fast as his game allows, his upside is much higher than Haniger's. I just fee like one of the big reasons the Brewers system is still so barren is because they don't draft and sign enough high ceiling players.

Reading that he sat 91-93 was very disappointing. Wasn't he a 93-95 guy in college?

Yeah all guys can't be a #1 or #2. You have to have some inning eaters. Even if makes 30 starts with an ERA around 4, with what he's making, he would be an asset to the Brewers. It's still better than the Brewers going out and paying some guy like Jeff Suppan or Braden Looper $5 million do the same thing Fiers will do.

I really see no reason to trade Maldonado. Catcher is a position you'd like to be able to give your every day guy at least one day off a week, possibly two. Having someone who can start 25-35 games a year and play a high level is quite a luxury. Plus, what happens if Lucroy gets hurt again? Do we really feel comfortable with Yorvit Torrealba playing for a month? It'd be like having to watch Cesar Izturis and Cody Random all over again. If we had a prospect in Huntsville or Nashville that could come up if Lucroy gets hurt it might be different, but unless you get blown away by a deal I say keep Maldonado.

I just wanted to bump this thread since I went to Pittsburgh for this past series. I just had a couple of thoughts: Pittsburgh is just an awesome city, at least from the few areas I saw. The skyline is gorgeous and just puts Milwaukee to shame. The views from on top of the incline were world class. We stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott. Like most hotels in downtown it was expensive but it was right across the street from the stadium. You can literally see the entrance to the hotel as soon as you walk out of the home plate exit at PNC. Very, very convenient. For those of you who like the Steelers its about 4 or 5 blocks from their stadium too. The hotel itself offered a free shuttle for anything within 3 miles, which turned out to be very handy as it took us to the incline and then the strip district. The breakfast bar was ok, small pool (as in not one kids would enjoy) and it had a billiards room and theater. We spent very little time at the hotel though. They have A TON of stores dedicated to Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins gear. I counted at least 8 in the downtown area that I saw. Downtown also has a bunch of restaurants. We walked by Primanti Bros (sp?) but didn't feel like sandwiches so we settled for a slice at Giovannis on 6th St. It was delicious. Before the game we went out to a sports bar across the street from PNC called Mullens. There weren't a lot of people out but it was fun. The owner came up to us and started a conversation with us. He was very nice. We told him he needs to open up a sports bar in Milwaukee. The stadium itself was very nice. I'm not going to say it was "better" than Miller Park, but definitely a much different atmosphere than Miller Park. At MP you feel like you are in a stadium whereas at PNC you feel like you are at a park, if that makes sense. The views are unbelievable too. There weren't a lot of people at the games we went to Tuesday and Wednesday and we walked around quite a bit. You can get a great river view from the outfield concourses. It is a very nice stadium, but the tradeoff for being open aired is the attendance. The last thing I have to say is that after seeing Pittsburgh's stadium, I think Milwaukee missed a golden opportunity when they declined to build Miller Park downtown. I know people like to tailgate and are worried about traffic, but to be honest you can still tailgate in open lots downtown and downtown Milwaukee is not very big. Getting in and out is not that difficult. But all the restaurants and sports bars and team shops, even office buildings that may be built real tall to get a view into the stadium....Milwaukee missed out on all of that. A place like Mullens would be hard pressed to succeed in Milwaukee because sports bars do much better around stadiums. Other than Major Ghoolsbys sports bars just don't do well downtown. Plus the convenience of being able to walk to the stadium from your hotel. You just can't do that with Miller Park being where it is.

I think Fiers is starting to come back down to earth a bit but you don't trade him. Every starter you have can't be a 2.50 ERA type guy. Even having a guy like Fiers as a #5 starter is better than we've had the past few years and the fact that he will be cheap and controllable for a few years is a huge plus. Milwaukee really needs guys like him. Estrada I think you keep as well, mainly because I don't think you can get anything for him. He's a little older and while he's had a good year this season he doesn't have a long track record of success. He's one of those guys that is more valuable to us than he would be on the trade market, even if he eventually has to go back to the bullpen. Gomez is another story. He's had a better season. 16 home runs and 35 stolen bases, on top of gold glove caliber defense are all huge successes. That being said, he's only hitting .253 and getting on base at a .300 clip. That's not good. He's a bad situational hitter (as in if there is a guy on second and nobody out he cannot cut down on his swing to hit it to the right side and get the runner over). And starting next season he's going to start getting expensive. He might be worth one more year, but I'd put him out there and see what we can get for him. Other teams may value his upside and may be willing to deal a decent player in return. We have Logan Schafer who is ready. He won't hit for the same power and he won't get you 35 stolen bases, but I am fairly confident he could at least match Gomez's batting average and OBP. Plus, while his defense isn't at Gomez's level, he is not exactly chopped liver out there. And we can always move Aoki to center if he fails and bring up Gindl or Davis to play RF (or Gamel)

I agree about Rogers, but I just don't see any way he's going to say healthy. Hope I'm wrong. Other than a freak carpal tunnel injury he's been healthy for three years now. I think it's time we stop acting like his shoulder is about to fall off. To answer the question, I'd say for me it's a tie between Rogers and Peralta. If I were the Brewers I'd tell them both to focus all offseason on throwing the changeup. If they can have an average to above average off speed pitch to go with their mid 90's fastball and breaking ball I think they'll really take off.

Tyrone Taylor was a very nice surprise and I am very interested to follow him throughout the system. I enjoyed Clint Coulter's season as well, especially considering he got off to a rough start. I wish the Brewers would have been more aggressive with him and promoted him to Helena though. He has nobody in the system ahead of him and I don't see why he shouldn't be promoted as soon as his offense is ready. I realize he needs work defensively but really is there anything he can learn defensively in AZ that he couldn't have learned in Helena? Beside, following the box scores it seems like he only spent half of the games behind the plate anyway. Jorge Lopez worries me....alot. I realize he is still very young but a second round pick getting demoted to the Dominican League is not a good sign. I also enjoyed following Renaldo Jenkins and Malcom Dowell. Hopefully they can continue with the offensive success. The pitching at the AZ and Helena levels was atrocious. Despite the glaring holes the Brewers system has offensively they may have to use another first round pick on pitching next season. A year ago it looked as though the Brewers could walk away with up to five first round/supplemental picks. Now it looks like just the one pick. Too bad.

Counting on Rogers to stay healthy for an entire season is a heartbreak waiting to happen. Mark Rogers' arm has been healthy for three full seasons now. He pitched all of 2010 and all of this year. I'm not concerned about the fluke double carpal tunnel syndrome he had last year. Obviously he's still a risk but I don't think the risk is as bad as some people make it out to be.

Please tell me where ANYWHERE I have advocated trading Hart, also just to clarify I would sign Hart at reasonable numbers (2 years $24 million is the number I threw out there), if he wants 3 year extension for $45 million I pass. Let me try to explain this better since it all started with one of my posts. I was the one who said we'd have over $60 million tied up in 5 guys. You then said in your rather offensive tone that we could just trade one. Well obviously we're not going to trade Braun and we are unlikely to trade Gallardo. That leaves Weeks, ARam and Hart. As I said, I'm not sure what exactly you expect to get for Weeks, who will be making $11 million which is ALOT for a second basemen, or ARam who will clearly be in the twilight of his career and will be making a ton of money ($16 million). We are probably better off not even bothering to trade them because we'd get peanuts in return. That leaves Corey Hart. No, you didn't say we should trade Corey Hart. But realistically, he's probably the only one you'd be willing to trade that would have any value. We won't be close to "the financial barrier" as people have posted. How could you possibly know this? The bullpen is a mess and it may take $10-$15 million just to fix it. We have no idea if Gomez will be back but if so he's due a bit of a raise. Ramirez is due a $4 million raise. Braun is due a $2.5 million raise. Yovani Gallardo is due a $2.5 million raise. Corey Hart gets a $1 million raise. Plus, there's no guarantee Melvin will go with 4 starters with less than a year of major league starting experience. He may very well sign another veteran arm, a decent one of which will cost at least $4-$5 million a year. The "I'm feeling sorry for my market size" mentality of this board has been around for way too long. This is EXACTLY what TheCrew is talking about. Who is "feeling sorry" for themselves? Pointing out the obvious, as in Milwaukee is a small market and doesn't have the financial resources to throw out $25 million contracts left and right, is not "feeling sorry for ourselves". You just make these uncalled for, based-on-nothing personal comments about people and expect to get away with it. And please, I'll ask again because you have yet to clarify. Explain to me how replacing older, expensive players with younger, cheaper one amounts to "fantasy baseball"? have been in the top half of attendance and now they are getting more money via TV and Radio The Brewers attendance is maxed out. They cannot draw any more than they have been the past few years. That is what TheCrew is getting at. You say "spend more" but the attendance isn't going up so there is no additional ticket revenue to spend. As far as the tv and radio deals, yes maybe we will be making some more money. But so will a lot of clubs. They will be making more much than we will. All it does is drive up free agent prices. Since your playing police man today, you may want to checkout Paul's posts in this thread as well. I'd actually like to know which posts you are referring to. Mine are nowhere near as offensive and condescending as yours.

I think the Brewers should just go with what they've got. Gallardo, Fiers, Estrada, Rogers, Peralta. Thornburg and Burgos are in Nashville to start. They would need to sign some depth to stick in AAA or as the long man in the pen, but I'd rather the Brewers spend money on the bullpen.

Market size doesn't matter, its what the payroll is IMO If you are going to say market size doesn't matter, then say market size doesn't matter. That's not what you've been arguing though. You (and pretty much you alone) have been arguing that Milwaukee is not a small market team. They are two very different arguments. "We're NOT small market, we had a $100 million dollar payroll this year. CRIPES you guys!!!!" (just so I'm not accused of putting words in your mouth.) As far as this $100 million payroll obsession you have. Mark A. admitted that in order to get it so high he had to stretch his resources a bit. This isn't a new team salary floor and it will probably be lower next season. And even though the payroll at the beginning of the year ranked us 10th, there were plenty of team below us in much bigger markets that could easily pass that if they wanted to (Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, Mets for instance). Paul the way you look at players and salaries you act like its fantasy baseball, doesn't work that way my friend, stick to sportsline because I couldn't disagree more with your posts on this topic. Please explain this to me because this is the second time you've made this "fantasy baseball" reference. How exactly does replacing older, expensive players with younger, cheaper ones amount to fantasy baseball? Nobody has ever, not once, claimed that all prospects are all 100% guaranteed to pan out. Everyone knows that's not the case. But that's not an argument to avoid giving them an opportunity. Here's a thought regarding the players totalling $60 million, maybe they trade one??? Run that through your faulty analysis Here's another thought. Don't put yourself in that position to begin with. I'd have a more in depth answer for you (like what exactly do you expect to get back for a 31 year 2nd basemen making $11 million or a 36 year old 3rd basemen making $16 million) but if you are going to provide a condescending reply to a reasonable argument then so am I.

If Morris is as good as you think he is(and I'm not saying he is not) then why wouldn't he have more value then Hart? It depends on which team you are looking to trade him too. Morris would have more value to, say, the Astros or Marlins, teams that are not close to competing and are looking for cheap controllable talent and not expensive guys who have one year left on their contract. Hart would have more value to teams that feel as though they are a player or two away from a series WS run. Maybe the Braves or Giants. Nobody is suggesting signing him to a 5 year deal.....the guy has earned a 2 year extension at reasonable money. Maybe he has. But Hunter Morris was the Southern League MVP this year. If he puts up a similar season next year couldn't I argue that he has earned a chance to be an everyday player in Milwaukee? Or if Khris Davis has another monster year at the plate couldn't I argue he has earned a chance? Taylor Green, I feel at least, earned the chance to be an every day player but he wasn't given a shot. Whether or not someone has earned something doesn't always dictate which direction a franchise goes. Corey Hart has had a very good year. But that doesn't mean you have to give him $12-$13 million dollars for two more years. If you have a guy who can put up similar numbers at a fraction of the cost, even if he isn't "proven", maybe that's the better direction to go. Especially if you add in the player you'd get in return for trading Hart AND that other areas you could shore up with the $35 million you saved over the three years Hart would be here (the last year of his current contract plus the two year extension). If I could get a pitching prospect with #2 or #3 potential or a guy who profiles to be a major league regular for Corey Hart (preferably a third basemen) I'd make that trade in a heartbeat. If not, I'd hang onto him next year, see what Morris does, then make the decision on a contract extension later on.

I'm going to be curious to see what they do with Gamel. I wonder if we haven't seen his days in Milwaukee Getting rid of Gamel would be absurd. What exactly do we expect to get for him in a trade? An A-ball reliever? If Hart is the every day 1B they may as well get Gamel some time in the outfield and he can be a backup 1st basemen and corner outfielder.

I'm all about winning in 2013 as well but I hope they don't go overboard and make stupid free agent signings or trades. The 2013 Brewers are going to sink or swim with their young rotation. And that's how it should be. I wouldn't go out and sign some veteran pitcher just for the heck of it. Fix the bullpen. Get some depth on the bench, namely someone who can play shortstop in case Segura isn't hitting very well, and let the young guys play. I wouldn't be opposed to a one year $6 to $8 million deal for Marcum but I'm not sure he signs that deal. If not, I'd rather they go with Gallardo plus Estrada/Rogers/Fiers/Thornburg/Peralta/Narveson/Burgos then waste money on a veteran pitcher or trade away even more prospects.

Definitely Jed Bradley number one. Another name I'll throw out there is Santo Manzanillo. I was also disappointed to see Wily Peralta's control take such a turn for the worse. Way too many walks.

I guess you can't take the small market mentality out of everybody When you say stuff like this you hurt your argument because you are acting like the Brewers have unlimited funds to spend. Forgetting the fact that you are one of the only people I have ever seen who claims Milwaukee isn't a small market in baseball, I don't understand why you don't accept the fact that teams like the Brewers need to continue to recycle young cheap talent to be successful. Putting $60 million into 5 guys and then having only $40 million or so to invest in the remaining 20 is a very risky strategy. As is relying on guys who are already in their early to mid 30's.

Putting your faith in rookies has cost many GM's their jobs. It's like one or two players. Not an entire team's worth of rookies. Unfortunately at some point teams like the Brewers have to put their faith in rookies. They can't keep trading away all of their prospects for one or two years worth of players. Hart is a solid and dependable thing, has come up through our organization, and by the way won the game tonight [smile]. 2 years for $22-$24 million gets this done, CH can play 1B next year and move to RF if Morris is the goods. I almost feel like you want to resign him just because he came up with the Brewers. Would you give $25 million to him if he didn't come up with us? I brought this up before but if you give Hart $13 a million by 2014 you have over $60 million tied up in 5 players. Not something a team like Milwaukee can afford to do. And again, I really hate to think about Corey Hart trying to play RF again after having played 1B for two years. He was never really above average out there to begin with.

I'm not sure how well Hart can actually play RF though. There was a noticeable dropoff in his defense last season. I'd hate to see how would play starting in 2014. Beside, if he plays RF then he's blocking Gindl and/or Khris Davis. I think Davis has the chance to be better offensively than Hunter Morris.

Yeah I thought it was a mistake to bring Segura up. I almost think it was to help justify the Greinke trade to some of the casual fans. Kind of a "see we got major league ready talent back". I think he should have been placed in Nashville immediately after the trade and should have stayed there until either the season ended or he hit well enough to be moved up. From what I've seen of him it seems a little bit like his is in over his head at the plate. He's not hitting the ball hard at all. I like his hustle but he's hit a lot of weak little ground balls. He doesn't strike out much, which is good, but one extra base hit and three non-intentional walks in 70 at bats is not good at all.