brewerfan82

For reference, here are some previous Crystal Balls: Braun, RyanFielder, PrinceGross, GabeWeeks, Rickie

I think the series should stay how it is, however, I thought I'd throw in this article my math professor wrote about his own proposed changes to the World Series format: http://www.slate.com/id/2108817/ Here's the main proposal: The rest of the article gives mathematical backing to his idea. I thought it was pretty interesting if nothing else.

I started thinking about the NL contenders' starting rotations while reading the "If we made the playoffs, who would you want to face?" thread and came up with the table below as a quick overview of each team's pitching quality. It displays the cumulative stats of each pitcher since the start of the 2005 season (just to get a better sample size).' I did best-guess approximations of each team's starting five and rotation in October, but included a couple extras for the Crew along with Buehrle's stats. (FYI -- I realized some players haven't pitched very much in the majors, so I italicized them to indicate that) Putting an emphasis on the top 2 or 3 pitchers from each team, it really looks like the Brewers could use a Mark Buehrle-type pitcher to stack up against teams like San Diego (their pitching is ridiculous!) and New York. So, I am totally in on getting Buehrle! I'm hesitant to give up Parra, but I think we'd have to include him if we're not willing to give up Braun or Gallardo (which we obviously wouldn't be). And as mentioned before, Beuhrle's going to be ranked as one of the higher Type A free agents this offseason, so the signing team is most likely going to have to give us their first pick and we'd get a high sandwich pick. Those two picks may make the deal still worth it even if we can't resign him. As for what else we give the White Sox... I'm open to pretty much anyone else in the minors outside of Inman. I'd throw in a Bush/Vargas to open a spot in the rotation, but I think they could fetch us better return for a reliever elsewhere. Go get'm Doug! Milwaukee W L IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/BB ERA WHIP B. Sheets 25 19 364.2 8.1 1.5 0.99 5.54 3.41 1.11 C. Capuano 34 29 510.2 7.2 2.9 1.18 2.47 4.05 1.33 J. Suppan 36 24 485.1 4.9 3.1 1.04 1.60 4.06 1.43 D. Bush 22 28 438.2 6.3 1.7 1.13 3.64 4.60 1.22 C. Vargas 27 20 372.2 6.8 3.1 1.55 2.18 4.83 1.45 C. Villanueva 7 2 105.1 7.3 2.8 1.03 2.61 3.25 1.10 Y. Gallardo 1 0 13.1 8.1 3.4 0.68 2.40 2.70 1.05 M. Buehrle 32 25 533.2 5.2 1.8 1.16 2.92 3.88 1.26 Arizona W L IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/BB ERA WHIP B. Webb 37 25 575.0 7.0 2.3 0.69 3.06 3.30 1.20 R. Johnson 38 21 484.0 8.4 2.2 1.23 3.84 4.28 1.17 D. Davis 27 30 519.0 7.5 4.2 0.94 1.79 4.32 1.46 L. Hernandez 33 28 562.1 5.2 3.4 1.06 1.55 4.43 1.49 M. Owings 5 2 70.1 6.0 3.2 0.64 1.88 3.84 1.39 New York W L IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/BB ERA WHIP P. Martinez 24 16 349.2 8.9 2.2 0.98 4.01 3.45 1.01 T. Glavine 34 25 506.0 5.1 2.8 0.84 1.83 3.81 1.36 J. Maine 16 12 224.0 7.0 3.8 1.33 1.82 3.78 1.24 O. Hernandez 23 23 359.0 7.7 3.4 1.18 2.29 4.46 1.32 O. Perez 17 24 304.0 8.2 5.1 1.60 1.62 5.33 1.55 Los Angeles W L IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/BB ERA WHIP B. Penny 33 19 470.0 6.5 2.4 0.73 2.76 3.66 1.29 D. Lowe 36 29 549.0 5.7 2.3 0.79 2.44 3.52 1.23 R. Wolf 18 10 230.1 7.6 3.4 1.41 2.20 4.65 1.47 B. Tomko 17 27 364.1 6.0 2.6 1.14 2.29 4.74 1.38 M. Hendrickson 19 26 406.1 5.2 2.9 1.11 1.79 4.98 1.46 San Diego W L IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/BB ERA WHIP J. Peavy 33 23 510.1 9.6 2.5 0.74 3.83 3.21 1.12 C. Young 30 15 434.2 7.9 3.1 1.04 2.56 3.48 1.17 G. Maddux 34 33 526.1 5.1 1.5 0.92 3.42 4.16 1.23 D. Wells 21 17 339.2 5.0 1.4 1.09 3.73 4.50 1.38 J. Germano 5 2 60.2 5.3 1.6 0.74 3.27 2.97 1.01

Seriously? IP ER H HR BB SO W L ERA WHIP BAA OPSA Vargas 72.2 33 79 12 30 63 6 1 4.09 1.50 .277 .809 Sheets 96.0 34 92 11 20 65 8 3 3.19 1.17 .246 .666 Capuano 70.1 34 71 7 28 60 5 5 4.35 1.41 .261 .734 Bush 92.1 53 105 9 18 68 5 6 5.17 1.33 .264 .739 Suppan 101.0 55 117 11 34 48 8 7 4.90 1.50 .297 .814 I'll agree that Vargas has been a very pleasant surprise to this point and he has pitched better than Suppan, but Sheets has clearly pitched better than him and an argument could be made that both Capuano and Bush have pitched better than him as well. I think the main argument for pushing Vargas out of the rotation is that his rate stats and past pitching record don't indicate that he will continue pitching at the level his 6-1 record suggests he's pitching at. Sorry for the tangent, but I just thought it was clear by now that Sheets is a very good pitcher http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

It's nice to see that our bullpen's worst ERA belongs to Capellan at 4.09, while the Astro's bullpen's best ERA belongs to Borkowski at 4.35! As much as we'd all love another dominate arm in the bullpen, it's really hard to complain about the job they've done as a group so far this year.

I just wanted to point out that Lidge isn't struggling... On the year, he has a 2.34 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP with 44 Ks in 34.2 IP. Since April 13th, he has a 1.64 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP with 43 Ks in 33 IP. Everyone still seems to think he's struggling because he gave up 3 runs in his first two appearances this year. Last year was a fluke, dude is good.

2003. They took Palmisano with their 3rd pick and Bryan Opdyke with their 5th pick.

My prediction: Commercial break immediately following the Brewer's pick

Oh man, I bought a 12-pack of this stuff after hearing good things about it on this site! It was awful! That was the first and last time I was disappointed with bf.net http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I used to love playing around on that site a few years ago when it was free. I think they even had it free for awhile when they started up the leagues for it, but I haven't put up the money to try it again. And I'm content that way

All I can say is, "Whaa?!?" I don't think I would ever talk to the Expos again if all I wanted was a piece of junk backup catcher and they asked for one of the top ten prospects in the game... that said, I hope that report was either a joke or incorrect. Also, the question wasn't who is Melvin trying to get and other teams are asking for Yo in return, but rather who's calling the Brewers about Yo and what are they hoping to ditch on us for him. And I'm fairly convinced no one's calling the Brewers about Yo until Melvin publically states he's available for no apparent reason.

I was going to include UHF as well, but I was surprised it was rated as highly as it was on IMDB (6.5)

Here's my crack at this. I included some movies already listed and tried to only add ones that had a rating under 6.0 on IMDB: The 'burbs (6.2) Hot Shots! (6.2) Baseketball (6.1) For Love of the Game (6.1) See No Evil, Hear No Evil (6.0) <-- love it! Dirty Work (5.9) Orgazmo (5.8) Very Bad Things (5.8) Kindergarten Cop (5.7) Mystery Men (5.7) Johnny Dangerously (5.7) Weekend at Bernie's (5.6) ------------------------------------- Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (5.3) Joe Versus the Volcano (5.2) The Ewok Adventure (5.1) Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (5.1) The Scout (5.0) The Gate (4.9) <-- this movie rocks! what the heck?! Cabin Boy (4.3) McHale's Navy (3.7) <-- this may just be on here because I remember jsjosh screaming "BRUUUCE!" in the opening credits at the theater, lol. But it is true, BRUUUCE! There seems to be a break at the 5.5 rating mark that I can accept other people not liking the movie, otherwise these are great movies! (outside maybe the Ewoks, but I still prefer those to the real Star Wars movies...lol) 10-15 years ago I would have included Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, but their cult followings have increased so much I don't think I can include them in this thread! Go Bruce!

I'll bite. This is what I believe EVERY other team has offered for Yo: Nothing. If I was another team, I would see that Milwaukee has a very talented pitcher on the verge of becoming a major leaguer. I understand with Milwaukee's philosophy that they need to build from within to have continued success and that cheap, plus-pitching is a crucial part of that. Therefore, Milwaukee is going to value Gallardo even more than my team and I will have to overpay for his services. If I offer what I'm willing to give up to get the still unproven Gallardo, I'm not only wasting both teams' time, but also possibly insulting Doug Melvin with an inferior offer. I just don't see a reason for another team to even bother making an offer for Gallardo unless Melvin puts him on the block.

While I feel like this is a pipe dream, how beautiful is this lineup: RF Ichiro 2B Weeks SS Hardy 1B Fielder CF Hall C Estrada LF Jenkins/Hart 3B Braun Similarly, I'd love a lineup with Dunn in it: 2B Weeks SS Hardy 1B Fielder LF Dunn CF Hall C Estrada RF Jenkins/Hart 3B Braun As someone mentioned in another thread, while replacing Councilino with Braun is a big improvement for third base, it isn't going to revolutionize our lineup. However, adding a big bat from out of the system along with Braun really makes this lineup look legit.

Our lineup would MASH with Cabrera in it: 2B Rickie Weeks SS JJ Hardy 3B Miguel Cabrera 1B Prince Fielder CF Bill Hall C Johnny Estrada LF Geoff Jenkins RF Corey Hart I don't know if it'd be worth it, but that is one pretty lineup.

Harden is making $2m this year, $4.5m in 2008 and has a club option for $7m in 2009. He wouldn't be a huge financial burden if he continued his health record, but if he stays healthy he'd be a huge bargain. And if you're worried about carrying two pitchers with health concerns, we have some depth in Villanueva, Gallardo, Jackson and Parra (assuming Vargas and Inman are included in the deal). Not to mention Sheets may be gone in a year anyways and it'd be great to have another pitcher of Harden's calibar to take his place in the rotation. The only concern in obtaining Harden is what you'd give up, which shouldn't be as much as you would if he didn't have the injury history.

Considering I would do Inman for Harden and Harden would knock Vargas out of the rotation, I would make a trade surrounding those players in a second. It instantly improves our team this year (considering Harden would have to pass a physical to complete the trade) and it would soften the blow in the case that we have to trade or lose Sheets down the road (possibly as soon as next year). Even without Sheets we'd be sitting pretty in the next couple years with a rotation consisting of: Capuano Harden Suppan Bush Gallardo ...not to mention Villanueva, Jackson, and Parra should all be viable rotation candidates.

Let's go Prince, rip this one open!

Does anyone know if this game will be on the radio in Madison? I just checked and heard general sports talk on 1070 and Limbaugh on 1310... hopefully this is just their alternative broadcasting during the delay...?

Here are the five guys I've been watching so far (including uber-prospects since they're my top-5 prospects overall as well): LG W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO WHIP Y. Gallardo AAA 2 1 2.65 17.0 13 5 0 4 26 1.00 M. Parra AA 2 0 1.96 18.1 16 4 0 4 21 1.09 W. Inman A 1 1 0.54 16.2 11 1 0 4 22 0.90 LG AB R HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS R. Braun AAA 65 16 7 14 9 7 3 2 .323 .405 .769 1.175 C. Gillespie A 59 11 2 12 7 14 1 0 .237 .324 .407 .730 So far, so good! Just need Cole to get hot!

Time to rough this guy up! So far this year we are 5-1 and scoring 6.2 runs per game when the opposing team starts a lefty. Unfortunately our only loss and the fewest runs we've scored (3) in these situations has been against Hill. Let's take the series tonight!

Woogie -- As always, great job setting up each game! But I think it's time to add the Gallardo Tracker http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO WHIP Y. Gallardo 2 1 2.65 17.0 13 5 0 4 26 1.00 Not to mention... AB R H 2B AVG OBP SLG OPS Y. Gallardo 3 1 2 1 .667 .667 1.000 1.667 It's great having these guys available for a midseason boost ala Willis and Cabrera for the '03 Marlins.

I don't know, looks pretty good to me: www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?gameid=270419108 http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I agree. It's early, but that trade is looking very good so far: ORG LG G GS W L SV IP ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA D. Davis ARI MLB 3 3 1 1 0 16.0 6 1 12 13 3.38 2.13 .344 D. Eveland ARI AAA 2 2 1 0 0 11.0 1 0 4 5 0.82 1.45 .279 C. Vargas MIL MLB 3 2 1 0 0 13.0 5 2 2 22 3.46 1.31 .283 G. Aquino MIL MLB 7 0 0 0 0 6.2 2 0 4 5 2.70 1.65 .269 ORG LG AB R 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS D. Krynzel ARI AAA 34 5 1 0 0 2 2 7 0 2 .206 .256 .235 .492 J. Estrada MIL MLB 51 9 5 0 0 4 1 9 0 0 .275 .302 .373 .674 Three major leaguers for one.