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Hey Owen, thanks for reading Brian and JoePepsi's posts on the air.......it's Brewerfan.net, not BrewerSfan.net.

My kid's ex-girlfriend, showing us all that "just plain nuts" can begin at any age.

Sure you did, Owen....and that's Mr Dork.

Wow, I thought that might be Weaver.

Bush and Suppan have been flip-flopped in the rotation, Bush will pitch game three in Pittsburgh, Soup goes in game one in Washington. Carlos Villanueva's next turn is now TBA.

I called in today, Owen, but I didn't identify myself as a bf.net guy, because you were up against the 5 o'clock hour, so I figured I'd get cut off...which I did. I think Prince has a money issue, not a veggie issue, and I think they will trade him, but not until after 2009.

Some of this, I don't hang on Jack Z. When Weeks was drafted, scouts everywhere said this was a player who should be moved to the outfield, which was also true of Braun. I don't know who's decision it was to keep those players on the infield, but they absolutely went against the consensus with both guys, and they were wrong with both guys. Perhaps if Weeks and Braun had been groomed as outfielders in the first place, the team would have dealt for, or drafted better options at 2B and 3B. Prince is a 1B, but the other guys who have had fielding issues could have, and should have been moved to different positions years before they reached Milwaukee. The one issue I have with Jack is his track record with pitching. I hate it when we take a high school arm in round one, which Jack has done three times here, while never taking a college arm first. I realize developing pitching is the toughest part of the job, and that no pitcher is truly a safe pick, but it does seem to me that college guys have a higher chance of succeeding, because they offer more for scouts to evaluate. Jack has taken three pitchers in the first round, the first two got hurt, and may never see the major leagues, the third guy has been "experimenting" a bit much to this point, and may also wind up missing his chance. Apart from Gallardo and Sheets, this organization has done a horrible job of developing pitchers for the last 15-20 years.

I'm ready for lineup changes as well. I think I'd try Hart at leadoff, and if they're going to continue using him almost every game, then bat Kendall second. I'd try Cameron at #5, with Weeks hitting wherever you want him - 7-8-9, to see if he can get hot. It seems no matter how you slice it, this lineup is one part short, Hart either has to hit in one of the top two spots, or fifth, and wherever you don't put him, there's a problem. As long as that's the case, I'll put him ahead of my run producers.

I don't support Haudricourt's decision to post this at all, in fact, I've lost some respect for him due to this. You're at JSOnline, you've got direct access to the people who would know, and you post a rumor from a blog? That's indefensible, he's supposed to be an informed source, anyone you know could have done what he did, it doesn't take press credentials to pass rumors along. A change in managers would not surprise me in the least, but Tom H, come on, get it from an actual source - and report it.

I fully support Braun's comments. You can't make a living on potential, and you don't "Participant" medals in MLB, you have to show up and win. The physical skills of this team are obvious, when you look at the lack of performance so far this season, I can't blame Braun for telling it like it is. Yes, Braun got off to a slow start, but he's certainly making up for that at the moment, I'd bet the contract situation played a role, and that is now behind him. When Ryan hit 4 homers on the last homestand, he got 4 RBI - come on already. When your guys are dropping routine throws, throwing away double plays, making outs on the bases, and constantly falling behind even the weakest of hitters, I would think somebody should mention it.

Vent thread is right.

There's no reason to rush a deal with Gallardo, he's nowhere near FA yet, and they need to be certain he makes a full recovery. I have no reason to think that he won't, but I think after the 09 season is the time for that deal. It's time to sign Corey Hart.

Typically I agree with your sentiment on closers in round one, but with the extra picks this year, I wouldn't mind them taking Fields. I do agree with you though, that should be done with an eye on next year, not this year. I think that first pick is the classic "best player available" scenario, with that many early picks, they should just take the guy they like best, without regard to position, if that happens to be Fields, I'm fine with it.

SeriesFinale, I agree with you when you say those two pitchers will never be dealt in one move, but SF can absolutely afford to spend on free agents, and they've already shown that they will do so. I do think they would do well for themselves if they dealt one of those arms, and I would think they'll consider it, because the demand for pitching right now is tremendous. They've floated Lincecum's name before, but it seems to me that they should move Cain, and keep Lincecum as the current face of the franchise.

Yes, Boras is the reason why I think Prince is gone. He's notorious for taking guys through the arbitration process one year at a time, and then getting them to free agency. I just can't see the team gambling on Prince walking away, when they could fill pitching holes by dealing him, and they have a replacement right there in the system already. They'll have to deal for arms, and they'll have to give up quality to get quality, Prince seems like a logical fit.

This is certainly not a reason to make a move, but thus far, LaPorta's numbers at Huntsville have been better than either Braun's or Fielder's were. Prince was a lot younger, it's a small sample, etc - but I think LaPorta will do just fine in Milwaukee. I think Prince is gone, the only question is when. I suspect the team would love to have Braun, Prince and LaPorta together for the 09 season, but they have obvious pitching needs, with nobody ready to step up from the minors to begin 09 right now. If it comes down to it, I think the team would deal Prince for pitching next winter.

On Madison radio today, ESPN's Buster Olney said that he believes Fielder is gone after this season, or most certainly after 09. He also said the Brewers would get "four good players" for Prince. He seemed to think the deal would be very similar to what Texas got for Teixeira - for Teixeira and Ron Mahay, the Rangers got Jarrod Saltalamacchia-C, Beau Jones-LHP, Elvis Andrus -SS, Matt Harrison-LHP, and Neftali Feliz-RHP.

Buster Olney was just on 1070 AM in Madison, they asked him about the trade value of both Sheets and Fielder, he said: Sheets would bring an A- prospect and a B prospect, but he thinks Attanasio is too competitive to give up in July. He said he thinks Fielder will be traded, either after this season, or after 2009, and that Prince would bring, "four good players." He compared the situation to Texas' trade of Mark Teixeira last season. Olney said he thinks that deal brought the best value of any recent deal, and that the Brewers would do the same with Prince.

Is there any chance Gallardo pitches again this season? Is there any chance Ben Sheets pitches in Milwaukee after this season?

I'm looking forward to the Melvin interview Owen, tell him thank you for the Braun deal!

You can't blame Cubs fans for not understanding this, the last time their team developed an elite young hitter, they traded him for Mitch Williams. Oh, and they threw in Jamie Moyer.

I think Manny could have been one of the great "Tilt-a-Wirl" operators ever. I can just see the kids getting sick after their 25-minute ride.

I think the Braun deal is just awesome. This is the best player on the team, already, and he's nowhere near his prime yet. In the Braun thread, I ran down the contract Houston gave Carlos Lee, Carlos is a 30 homer, 100-105 RBI guy, who can't play defense - he's getting nearly 17 million a year through age 36. How does that look compared to what Braun will get in this deal? The Cubs have had gotten some early breaks, with a ton of home games, and a lot of weak opponents, but they've also had to play through an injury to Soriano, the disappearance of Rich Hill, and the temporary disappearance of Ted Lilly. That isn't a great team, but is a very good one, I think they win the division. Manny - there's no point in yelling at him anymore, he just is what he is. I think a fun question might be, if Manny hadn't had the freakish baseball hitting ability, what would he have done for a living?

A lot of fans were angry at the Brewers for letting Carlos Lee get out of town, now that the current left fielder has signed a big contract, I wonder how that move looks... For six seasons, from age 31 to age 36 (the end of his prime, and several more years), the Houston Astros will pay Carlos Lee $100,000,000, or nearly 17 million dollars per season. This includes a full no-trade clause through 2010, with a limited no-trade in 2011 and 2012, making this contract not only burdensome, but also quite difficult to move, should the team have a change of heart. Carlos is a very solid player, but he is not a franchise player. Over the last eight seasons, Carlos has averaged 30 HR, 102 RBI, and 13 steals - his career batting average is .288, with an OPS of .841. His defense is already quite limited, with an expected decline as his age advances, I doubt anyone would debate me on that. The Brewers have just locked Braun up through age 31, for (at most) half of what Lee is getting. Once again, Lee is a limited fielder, who will hit 30 HR and drive in 102 runs per year, while stealing 13, for as long as his body can hold up. Lee's career high in homers is 37, Braun nearly matched that as a rookie. Does anyone think Carlos can match Ryan statistically? I like Carlos - a lot - but honestly, I do not think Lee will match Braun in any statistic - homers, average, OPS, steals, ribbies, runs - none of it, I think Braun is already better, across the board, and he's still years short of his peak. Defensively, Braun still has a lot to learn, but here again, I think he's already better than Lee. Nice move team, you were correct not to overpay Carlos Lee, and you are correct in locking up the best player on your roster through most of his peak seasons.

Ryan Braun is the best player on this team, I don't think there's any question of that. This was the correct player to start this process with, obviously, he felt the same way, and so the deal is done. This is just awesome, Braun is a unique talent, he's a difference-maker, and they've just locked up his entire prime, right here, for us to watch. As a fan, how can you not love this?