MBHA

Someone who can ask intellegent questions which refer directly to that players performance that game. I don't want to hear: How did you feel rounding the bases after hitting that HR? Or how big was that win today? How about that crowd, hey? I want to hear: Did you have an idea of what the pitcher was going to throw in that situation? How accurate are the scouting reports on opposing players?

The guy was lousy last year in the studio as it appears his baseball knowledge is very limited. Put him next to Davey Nelson and see if they can get a coherent sentence out between the two of them. Bad hiring and FSN needs to hear about it.

Remember the Brewers still have the smallest media market in MLB, and those dollars pale even when compared to markets like St. Louis or Minneapolis. They are a victim of geography and to a large extent will sink or swim on the back of mostly SE WI residents. To the East you have Lake Michigan, to the South you have Chicago with their own teams, to the West you have Minnesota with its own team, and to the North you have a sparse population base more interested in the local NFL team. Yes there are exceptions, and profit sharing helps, but it is true that the Brewers are largely supported financially by residents and businesses of SE WI. So profitability will always be a battle to be fought and they need every sponsor dollar they can reasonable get just to compete with an 82M payroll.

I have read every entry on this thread and am still amazed at the number of poster who would welcome Sheets back on a multi-year deal. When he became injured last season the great majority of posters couldn't wait for his contract to expire so the team could be rid of him and his injury history and spend the money elsewhere to improve the team. Why the sudden change in attitude?

Looking at it from Sabathia's side, why to limit your choices. Right now his choices are limited to Milwaukee, but in just a few days all 30 teams will have an opportunity to make an offer. He would be a fool to sign any contract before getting at least 3-5 offers, and the players association will be looking for that also to raise the bar for all other free agent pitchers. And this bit about him having fun here seems a bit thin. He was here for all of 3 months and the team was winning so it should have been fun. Heck if he had been traded to LA, or another playoff team I'm thinking he would have had pretty much the same opinion. I put his chances of signing with Milwaukee at less than 5%. Is there any baseball free agent of note in recent years who has not taken one of the two top offers made to him?

For what it's worth on the sports segment of the WTMJ morning news today they mentioned that Tom H. is getting indications that Ken Macha is the managerial favorite and that the Brewers have made in known that Prince Fielder could be available, but that the return package must be substantial.

For those concerned about the tax money used for a new scoreboard and other improvements, this was included in the original costs for building the park. They planned to replace the scoreboard at some point and included x dollars to do so. The Brewers have chosen to exceed the amount funded by the tax so they are kicking in the difference. There may be a similar provision for the sound system, though I'm not sure about that. I like the look of the Arizona scoreboard. Baseball is a game of numbers so give me as much information as possible.

I admire the ownership taking a chance this past year and feel bad that they were unable to field the team they wanted (Sheets, Kapler) down the stretch and in the playoffs as I feel that if both were healthy that they had a good chance to have beaten Philadelphia. However, the model for this franchise has to be build through the farm system, make trades only when it makes sense, and add complimentary free agents as you can afford it. It has to be that model because the Milwaukee/Wisconsin market can only afford to support a salary structure at a certain level, and unfortunately at this point that does not include 20+ million dollar a year players. Sponsorships and media dollars only go so far in this market even with revenue sharing dollars. Considering the players who are arbitration elligible and those with multi-year contracts that are due significant increases, to even consider Sabathia, ticket prices would need to be increased drastically and that is always very unpopular. The Sabathia thing was a feel good story for part of this season and it was an enjoyable ride. But this is business side of the sport and for every good vibe he felt about the city and team, another playoff contender will offer him $1.5 or more for every dollar the Brewers can offer and that can make you forget those vibes pretty easily and warm up to the new surroundings.

Would this be the same bullpen that gave up exactly 1 run in 4 post season games?

That 82 team was a much more experienced team. Starters - Simmons was 32, Cooper 32, Gantner 29, Yount 26, Molitor 25, Oglivie 33, Thomas 31, Moore 29. The same with the Pitchers. Sutton 37, Vuke 29, Caldwell 33, Haas 26, McClure 30, Fingers 35. They also had 2 veterans on the bench in Money and Howell. The 08 team while it does have some vets is dominated by younger players who have put forth everything they had just to get here. Now you see them going through the pressure of the playoffs and most will fail before they succeed in those circumstances. It happens all the time. Philly flopped last year with much of the same team you see now. Give these guys support now, but if they fail understand their best years are still to come.

Granted the Cubs had nothing to play for but for the first time I can recall the Brewers fans were clearly more vocal than Cubs fans. There were only 4 times I can think of that the Cubs fans were actually noticed Sunday. 1 - When they scored the first run. 2.-When Zambrano batted in the 2nd. 3.- During take me out to the ball game where they try and shout root for the Cubbies.4.-When Kendall grounded out to end the 7th inning. After the Braun HR it was like they all disappeared. I enjoyed that tremendously because when exiting the from the game Saturday they were EXTREMELY obnoxious and predicting failure for the Brewers on Sunday.

As nice as it would be to have him back fiscally it's too much of a risk. This market can only support a payroll in the 80-85 million range with current ticket, pricing, revenue sharing, media dollars, and club expenses, and that's with attendance in the 3 million range. That means that re-signing the young guys as they age and are elligible for arbitration and free agency will not be possible if you choose to offer him the moon and he accepts. While he shows no indication of being injury prone nor anything short of durable, he is one arm injury away from handcuffing this franchise for years should they agree to pay him 100+ million for 5 years. To me the risk/reward is not in the Brewers favor. Lastly the players union will apply great pressure to get him to take the highest contract possible, and his agent has only begun to lay the groundwork for the bidding process. Look for the Cubs to play a role in the bidding as they can almost print money, and it helps them and hurts the Brewers who are the chief competition.

There's also about the same 13% chance of being 4 games under by then with AZ coming in for 3.

He has been with 6 organizations in MLB and failed to become a regular each time. If his statistics during that period are considered above average production then I have a differing viewpoint of above average production.

And when Branyan faces major league pitching with actual movement on the pitches and goes 1-16 with 10 K's, 1 HR and commits 3 errors at 3B will he still be the darling of this site? The guy has had numerous chances with multiple organizations and failed each time. This is like the 3rd string QB in football. Everybody thinks he great until he actually gets to play and you find out why he's 3rd string.

I see alot of disregard for the current statistics put up by the current players based upon small sample sizes. Just for my education at what point during the season, what number of games played, number of at bats, innings pitched, etc., does the sample size actually mean something?

It is very possible for the Cubs to be celebrating a division championship on the field at Miller Park this September. It may even be a victory lap considering they may run away with it as John Kruk has predicted. Think about this. Those last 3 games may draw 100,000+ Cubs fans, as the Brewer fans dump their tickets with the team hopelessly out of it and playing September call-ups.

Ramdon venting thoughts. In my opinion, the only regulars who are playing team first are Braun, Hart, and Kendall. Ryan Braun is a really good hitter. There should be a Major League team that could use him. How many strike one pitches right down the middle do these guys need to take before they conclude the other team knows they are almost always taking the first pitch? So now they are in a 0-1 hole and the next pitch is a slider down and away out of the zone. Swing and a miss and you have 0-2. I guess that's one of the hidden benefits of "working the count". Has Bill Hall contracted Jose (K) Hernandez disease? Why would you ever throw him a strike? At the risk of sounding like Bill Schroeder; When was the last time Rickie Weeks took a pitch on the outside half of the plate to RF? No lets keep pulling the ball and ground out to short. Why would you ever throw him a strike inside? Have you ever seen a team pop up so frequently? Mike Cameron is a great clubhouse guy. Well ,so is the guy who cleans the clubhouse, and he didn't take banned substances. Pitching, and I use the term loosely. The starters rarely complete 6 innings because their pitch counts are so high. Nibble, nibble, and nibble again. I realize these guys don't have the velocity to blow hitters away with hittable strikes, but they seemingly go 3-2 on every batter and then watch them foul off 2 or 3 pitches followed the inevitable walk. Geez, the Cardinals rotation is a patchwork of releivers who go longer. Remember how Doug and Ned have told us that the defense will be much improved? Don't trot out the errors as the only indicator. Watch the games for the amount of unturned DP's (Yes Ricky you can throw overhand to 1B and the ball may actually stay out of the dirt). Those non-outs turn into extra pitches having to be thrown. Whatever happened to the collective genius of Maddux and Skaalen? Fielder is playing like winning the game is somewhere way down on the list of things to do today. You wonder if Jason Kendall is thinking he's really on the 2004 Pirates again. Has there been a game this year when you could honestly say that a Brewers starting pitcher was the best player on the field? Lastly. How can a team that plays in a football stadium, with little fan support, win two championships in the last 11 years and have a crop of talented young players ready to begin that process again? In the mean time we have this collection of underachievers, with few bright spots to look at.

Being a realist, the Brewers have historically performed poorly at PNC and have not done well in Washington in the short time they have played there. They also have not done well against Atlanta even in Milwaukee, and Houston swept them already this year. I see no reasons supporting .500 on June 1. It is going to be awfully hard to stomach the Cubs and their fans celebrating on the field at Miller Park in September.

Remember all those games (especially in Houston) where they had the bases loaded and never scored in those innings. Add in the solo HR's and you have a not so bad looking OPS yet under an performing offense and a losing record.

The turning point will be when Barry Zito shuts the Brewers out this year. You know this whole losing stretch started right after they traded Gabe Gross.

Well Price Fielder is certainly hitting at the level of his pay. 650K for a .265 hitter is about right. Some reporter should ask him if he still feels underpaid.

I see the Yost - Simmons relationship similar to the Brenley - Yount relationship was in Arizona. When they fired Brenley, Yount resigned. I think if Ned is fired Ted will resign also.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/all-about-ben-sheets/ The Hardball Times evaluates Sheets delivery and why it could contribute to injuries.

I can't see this happening. When Yankee Stadium was being remodeled for 2 years the Yankees played all their home games at Shea Stadium without an issue with the Mets schedule. I see the same for the Cubs, White Sox and US. Cellular Field.