paul253

If we are going to gamble on someone, why not gamble on Gamel? What more does he have to do to be given a shot? We will be losing a lot in the bullpen and need to restock it. We need to upgrade shortstop. We need a better bench than Josh Wilson, Craig Counsel and Mark Kotsay. In other words, we are going to have some pretty big issues next season and I'd prefer not to waste money on a first baseman. Why not just have an open competition for first base and third base next season between Gamel, Green, and McGehee? McGehee's value is nothing right now so you might as well keep him. Green has nothing left to prove in AAA, and neither does Gamel. All three can play third base, albeit none of them very well, and McGehee and Gamel can both play first. So why not just go into spring training with the three of them and the two best hitters play with the other being a pretty solid bench guy? Is Derek Lee or Lyle Overbay a better option for what they will cost? Overbay who got released by Pittsburgh this year and Derek Lee who is clearly on the downside of his career? I've seen Kyle Blanks' name thrown out. The same Kyle Blanks who couldn't hold a spot in San Diego's every day lineup and who has a career OBP of .315? Or trade away yet another prospect from an already terrible system to get a stop gap for a year or two? Are these options really better than some combination of Gamel, McGehee and Green?

I prefer to actually try and win next season and not start taking apart the team. If you can replace him with someone who could possibly help the team next season and then for 5 seasons after that, wouldn't you at least have to consider it? There's no guarantee this is a playoff team next season even with the same rotation. Wolf had a very good year this year and may fall back a bit. We were very lucky with the injury bug this season which could change. And obviously if Prince leaves he takes a HUGE part of the offense with him. Teams are always looking for pitching and tend to overpay for it. Boston missed the playoffs because their team ERA in September was almost 6. I'd rather take my chances on 6 years of a top pitching prospect than one more year of Marcum. And who knows. If for whatever reason the Brewers can't resign Marcum and Greinke the 2013 team may be no better than the 2010 Brewers. Regarding draft pick compensation, the Brewers haven't exactly been nabbing top prospects in the draft lately. Jungmann and Bradley may hopefully change that, but the past two or three drafts have produced very little.

LOL @ calling a bike cop who asks you to leave after one hour (and then doesn't really even enforce it) 'Gestapo'. Thank you. I didn't want to be that guy, but comparing some security personnel who tell you you can't drink beer in the parking lot more than an hour after a baseball game to the Nazi Secret Police who tracked down and murdered thousands of Jews seems a tad overboard to me. FWIW, I know a lot of cops and the impression I get from a lot of them is that they don't like having to tell the same person to do something more than one time. It may be a bit arrogant, but they feel when a cop gives you a legal order you should probably listen to them. It seems like a lot of the people who were there are mentioning that they were told two or three times to go before they actually did. I don't care what you do, it's certainly up to you and I'm not here to judge, but if you've been told to leave two or three and don't it doesn't seem like you should really be upset if a cop comes and raises his voice or stands there to make sure you actually do leave. Remember that they can't go home until you do.

I don't know why Roenecke didn't pinch hit Counsell for Yuni and bunt, but it looks like they got bailed out with the balk

Well Peralta and Fiers would be the two minor leaguers who have the best shot at being ready. Milwaukee was even considering Peralta at the beginning of this season but he struggles in spring training. There's always Marco Estrada too. I think if you can get a good pitching or shortstop prospect for Marcum you pull the plug. It's definitely risky though. You have to hope Wolf can repeat his success from this season, hope that Narveson can improve a bit, hope that you aren't bitten by the injury bug, hope that a rookie can pitch well enough to stay in the rotation. The more I think about it, the less likely I think it is that the Brewers trade Marcum, though I agree he probably is the best trading chip we have.

Didn't want to start a whole new thread on this, but does anyone know if the NLCS is set up in a 2-3-2 format or a 2-2-1-1-1 format?

I'm cautiously optimistic. The Brewers need to play good defense and need to be patient on offense. Don't give Arizona any extra outs and don't make any outs on the base paths.

My proposal wouldn't even get an answer just a laugh as that wouldn't even be enough for Atlanta to move just Heyward let alone having another young pitching prospect in the mix. With all due respect I think you are nuts. You are saying that if you were Atlanta you wouldn't trade Heyward for Hart, Gamel, Green, AND Peralta?

You never know though. Atlanta has a huge excess of major league ready pitching. It would behoove them not to let their prospects rot away in the minors or the bullpen while there is no room for them (see Mat Gamel). All of their starting pitchers (Lowe, Hudson, Jurgens, and Hanson) are signed through next season and it looks like they have 5 guys who could be the last starter (Beachy, Minor, Tehran, Delgago, and Vizcaino) plus obviously they'd be getting Wolf. Even by 2013 when Lowe and Hudson could leave, that's still 7 starters (Hanson, Jurgens, Minor, Tehran, Delgado, Beachy, Vizcaino) for 5 spots. And they do have Kimbrel and Venters in the pen so you're essentially talking about middle relief for whoever isn't starting. I am very envious of the position they are in but if I were an Atlanta fan, I'd be calling for our GM to trade one of them now while their value may be at its highest to fill a position of need, which is apparently outfield. Atlanta was hot after Corey Hart last season and he had another good year this year AND is signed for two more years. I have no idea what their third base situation is like but Chipper Jones isn't getting any younger so Gamel might appeal to them. As far as your offer, I think you are undervaluing Wily Peralta. He dominated AAA through 5 starts as a 22 year old and I hear he consistently sits in the mid to high 90's. His control improved immensely this year as well. As far as Milwaukee is concerned, he should be considered as untouchable as they come. I wouldn't give up Peralta and Hart for Heyward and Beachy straight up, let alone include Green AND Gamel. But if they insist on a pitching prospect back, I'd be ok with giving up anyone other than Peralta and Thornburg (I'm thinking Scarpetta or Heckathorn). It all depends on how Atlanta feels about Heyward and what their plan is for the logjam of starting pitchers.

Is it? If there is an actual, known reason why their splits are what they are, then ok, I can buy it. But since I've never heard anyone give any sort of reason WHY their home/road splits are so, well, "split," then I don't really put any stock in them By significant I meant results wise. The differences in Marcum and Greinke's home and road numbers are significant. I'm don't know why it is, but I'm not sure it matters at this point. I just look at the results. What I gather from them is that the odds of us having a quality start in game 2 are increased if Greinke pitches. The same could be said for game 3 with Marcum. That doesn't mean Marcum can't toss a gem in game 2 or Greinke in game 3. I just think based on the entire year, and considering this is both of their first years in Milwaukee so it's not like Marcum has experienced success at Miller Park in the past, that you go with the odds. I just hope the three days rest doesn't have a negative affect of Greinke.

What would it take to get Heyward and one of Atlanta's young starting pitchers like Minor, Delgado, Beachy, or Vizcaino? You start with Hart but who else? Would Randy Wolf interest Atlanta? If so, we'd save a ton of money and could maybe make a last ditch run at Fielder. Wolf/Hart/Gamel for Heyward/Beachy? Just a thought.

I'd like to disregard the home/road thing. The sample is small, and as others have pointed out, the home/road situation was reversed last year. It's a small sample size but it is significant, as are Marcum's splits. I feel much better knowing Greinke is going to pitch game 2 and Marcum pitching game three. I'm glad Roenicke didn't discard the splits. Arizona is a good team and we need all the advantages we can get.

Tickets for game 1 and game 2 are spoken for. If anyone wants to make an offer for a possible game 5 let me know. I won't make you put money down or anything I'll hold the tickets for you if we can agree on a price.

Unfortunately no, we decided to go to the game on Sunday.

But why would the Brewers do it? As long as he didn't reach that number of games finished or whatever it was they had no reason to worry about his option coming into play. Regardless of whether or not he's a type A, someone would sign him.

I didn't see it but the one thing that always gets me is that Moises Alou was a terrible outfielder. I didn't think he was going to catch that ball. I know he was upset and all but (maybe he did but I don't remember it) after the game he should have accepted blame for it. Maybe Cubs fans wouldn't have believed him, but he essentially ruined this guys life by not admitting that he probably wouldn't have caught the ball anyway. And then of course Chicago imploded. The game was not Bartman's fault.

I saw some people were looking for playoff tickets so I thought I'd post this. I have two tickets and a parking pass to all three possible games. They are in Section 428 (between home and third) in row 1 (terrace box) seats 8 and 9. One of the tickets is technically my bro-in-laws so he has to okay the offer too. I realize the schedule won't be set til tomorrow because the Dodgers cant hold a 5 run lead in the 10th, but if you're interested email me an offer.

I want Greinke getting as many post season starts as possible, so I want him pitching Game 1, no matter where it is played. What am I missing here? At Miller Park: Greinke: 10-0 3.13 ERA 89 IP 80 hits 21 walks 115 K's opponents batted .237 off of him Marcum: 5-4 4.81 ERA 103 IP 103 hits 34 walks 76 K's opponents batted .251 off of him Seems pretty clear to me Greinke has pitched better at Miller Park then Marcum has. Away from Miller Park Greinke: 5-6 4.70 ERA 76.2 IP 76 hits 23 walks 82 K's opponents hit .255 off of him Marcum: 8-3 2.21 ERA 97.2 IP 72 hits 23 walks 82 K's opponents hit .202 off of him Seems pretty clear to me that Marcum has pitched much better away from Miller Park than Greinke has. It also seems pretty clear that Marcum has pitched much better away from Miller Park then he has at Miller Park and that Greinke has pitched much better at Miller Park than he has away from Miller Park. If Game 7 is away from Miller Park I want Shaun Marcum starting. If Game 7 is at Miller Park I want Zack Greinke starting. It's not a knock on Greinke. It's just that Marcum has been really good away from Miller Park.

Marcum's ERA increases the more runs the Brewers score, so obviously they shouldn't try to score too many runs with him on the mound. You're ignoring an entire season's worth of statistics and using faulty logic. There are explainable reasons why someone may have a higher ERA when your team scores more runs. If the Brewers are up 9-0 then Marcum is going to concentrate more on throwing strikes then hitting corners which can easily lead to more hits and runs. The defense will be much less aggressive and worry more about "sure outs", opposing teams often change their strategy when they are done a ton, etc. There are no solid, explainable reasons why Marcum is so much worse at home. You could argue ballpark factors, but Greinke pitches in the same ballpark. Ballpark factors can't explain why Greinke's numbers so much better at home and Marcum's numbers so much worse at home. But none of this is the point. If you think there is no difference between Marcum pitching at home/Greinke pitching on the road and Marcum pitching on the road/Greinke at home then we'll just have to disagree.

One season of splits is meaningless. It has no effect on anything Why is a season of splits meaningless? Marcum's ERA at home is over twice as high as it is on the road. He has only pitched 5.1 innings more at home but he's given up 31 more hits, 6 more home runs, and has 11 more walks and 6 fewer K's (those last two aren't big deals but they continue his pattern). Opponents are hitting 57 points higher against him at home and his WHIP is 36 points higher. These are almost all significant differences. How can you call that meaningless? I agree Greinke is the better choice than Gallardo, but unfortunately you also have to factor in rest. Ideally you play at home in games 1 and 2 and Greinke pitches game 1 and Gallaro game 2, but it doesn't look like they can do that unless they skip Greinke tomorrow. What you can do though is make sure Greinke pitches at home and Marcum pitches on the road, regardless of whether the home game is game 2 or game 3. You said Greinke is always the better choice vs Gallardo, but he is not always the better choice than Marcum. If the game is on the road, Marcum is the better choice.

When you look at the home road splits why would you not base game 2 and 3 starters on where they are played? Marcum is clearly better on the road. Clearly as in an ERA 2.6 runs lower. Greinke is clearly better at home. Clearly as in an ERA 1.53 runs lower. It makes no sense to pitch Marcum at home in game 2 and Greinke on the road in game 3 if that's the way it plays out.

The Brewers absolutely blew this game. Terrible pitching. Terrible situational hitting. And as usual, Bentancourt and McGehee unable to come through when we really need them. Seriously guys....a fly ball to the outfield.

Haudircourt has already written about KRod being the 3rd best closer on the market next year and might take a one year deal if offered arby....JSOnline article said he didn't think Melvin was going to offer. This makes no sense. Even if you do have to pay him a year with a $12 million salary, so what? Where else are you going to spend that money? Prince is gone which saves a bunch. Bentancourt SHOULD be gone which would save a bunch. And personally I'd love to see K-Rod in Milwaukee another year. The bullpen has been lights out since he's gotten here. And they may lose two other key relievers so they'd have to rebuild the bullpen anyway.

Don't see any chance of that happening as K-Rod would make roughly 13 mil+ on a one year deal I can't envision any scenario in which K-Rod accepts arby. He knows if he re-signs with Milwaukee he will not be the closer. His value drops if he's not a closer. Plus, what if he has a bad year? A subpar year as an 8th inning guy isn't going to get him the same kind of contract he could get after this season. He's still young enough that someone will give him a 3 or 4 year deal.

Yeah hopefully Atlanta doesn't choke this thing away. Plus with how Arizona and Philly have been playing its entirely possible Arizona beats Philly. Come on homefield advantage!