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The picks are coming in fast now, the Brewers are grabbing every RHP in the room.

Partly because of Salome and Lucroy, and partly because of his own athleticism, I don't see Lawrie sticking at catcher. I think the team should try him there, because good catching is so valuable, but I don't expect him to spend a day behind the plate in Milwaukee.

I really didn't want to hear "high risk - high reward" with the early picks. At least it wasn't the team's first pick.

Tampa Bay says it's Tim Beckham at #1 overall. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080605&content_id=2844900&vkey=draft2008&fext=.jsp

Yep, enough of these silly baseball games....let's draft!

Press conference coming in Atlanta, season-ending shoulder surgery for Smoltz. Given his age, etc, I wonder if this is it?

Greinke does have a lot of baggage, depression nearly ended his a career a couple of years ago. He pitched well last year, and has so far this year as well, hopefully he's found a treatment regimen that works for him. Greinke is still very young, and very talented, he'd be a good guy to get. I'm sure KC would have no trouble moving him if they decide to pursue it, and that deal would be all about young bats. The Brewers do match up well, if they think Greinke's the guy.

13 of KC's top 15 prospects are pitchers. Whether Greinke ever comes this way or not, the two organizations look like a good match for swapping minor league guys.

I think you're right on, Russ, I've been thinking the same thing. Who cares what the Cubs do, and good for them, they're earning it. The wildcard means they don't matter - the Crew is 3.5 back of the wildcard with 104 games to play....go for it! Here's hoping the Brewers make it close...the Cubs clinch the division in Milwaukee on Friday night...the Brewers clinch the wildcard on Sunday - on the same field.

I don't blame Hall, but I also don't blame the Brewers for the platoon. Yes, Hall has done everything the team asked of him, but his production has slipped a ton - that platoon seems to be working, no? I believe there are teams out there that would deal for Hall, but the return is not going to be overwhelming. The Brewers would have to decide how close to the majors they think guys like Gamel and Escobar are, if they dealt Hall and then lost an infielder, it could get ugly in a hurry.

The top ten on this list is excellent - that's some real talent. The downside - only three arms, one of which has had significant off-the-field issues, another of which is an erratic 25-year-old closer prospect. This team clearly needs to add pitching to the system, which would make me think they'd go heavily in that direction during the draft. If that's the way the talent breaks this year, then I'm all for it, but I hope they don't reach for shaky arms, thereby wasting the golden opportunity they've got with so many early picks. When you look at the current major league roster, and then look at the top end of the minor league system, you see the potential for some very exciting off-seasons, as the Brewers deal bats for arms. No matter who your favorite player or prospect is right now (short of Ryan Braun), you'd better be prepared to see him leave town - somebody good simply has to go.

I have no problem taking Prince over any of those players, except for Kazmir, and at that, I've got the gift of hindsight to work with. Interesting comparison of Hart and Francoeur, I actually think that one's a fair fight, and I'd argue that Hart is a better defender than you imply, he is also the superior baserunner of the two. I would never say Francouer wouldn't start on the Brewers, if he were here, I believe Hart would be playing center field, with Cameron in another city.

I don't think the Brewers should pay any attention to the Cubs at all - if they can keep winning series', they'll wind up right in the middle of the wildcard race - then, they can worry about who else is doing what. They've made it back above .500, and there's a ton of time left in the season, nothing is over.

Colby- I just wanted to take a moment to thank for the time and effort you put into the draft forum here at BF.Net. Your contributions are timely, thorough, and always top-quality. Through your efforts, readers here gain advanced knowledge of the top prospects, and draft-day possibilities, at a level which rivals that of many subscription-only services. Thank you for all that you do for this forum, no one who posts on this site brings more value than you do. -Todd

Behind Sheets, it's pretty much a game of hoping for hot streaks with this staff. Right now, there's no chance for Bush to go anywhere, so we'd all better hope for the best. He's hot now, so for the moment...."I told you guys Bush was a stud."

If you saw Braun's HR today, it showed both his greatest strength, and his greatest weakness. That pitch looked like it was both low and outside, he shouldn't even be swinging at that - but he hit it into the bullpen. He gets himself out by chasing bad pitches, but he does so because he can drive those balls - will he ever learn to stay within the strike zone, or will he just keep trying to see it and hit it?

I'll go with 14-12, July is the month where I see the Brewers making some noise, finishing that month at nine games over .500.

OK, at this point, Ryan Braun is hitting .299, with an OPS of .904, and 14 HR. These are all very respectable totals, I'm sure there's no debate on that. If you look deeper into the numbers, you will find three other players with 14 HR at this point, those three players have an average OBP of .431, Braun's OBP is .328. More times on base means more chances to score - those three players have averaged 34 runs, to Braun's 27. Ryan Howard, despite a completely horrible start to the season, has walked 25 more times than Braun has (that is not a typo), his average is 90 points below Braun's, and his slugging percentage, is 98 points below Braun's....enormous advantages for Braun....and yet Howard has scored 41 runs, to Braun's 27 - 50% more runs scored, despite giving up 90 pts in average, and 98 pts in slugging! OK, so, we know the guys ahead of Braun in the order have been very inconsistent, and we know Prince hasn't provided the expected power to help Braun out - the question is, how good is Ryan Braun? Are some of Braun's totals muted right now by a weak lineup, or is this who Braun really is? Is he a guy who has hit with limited opportunities this season, or have teams simply pitched him less carefully with the bases empty, leading to inflated HR totals? I love Ryan Braun, and I'm thrilled that he signed his new deal. I absolutely believe he has Hall of Fame potential as a hitter, and that he will become an above average defender with more repetition. Even at that, I'm not certain whether Braun will be a guy who earns his legacy on 12 great seasons, or a guy who will need 18 good ones to get there. What do you think, is Braun a monster, or is he merely a solid piece of the puzzle?

Man, that's sad. I loved him in "Blazing Saddles", and "History of the World: Part I." Thanks for the laughs, Count de Monet!

IIRC, they were taken down when the original story aired about a month ago. They're still selling them, which is what the current article is about, the manufacturer's may sue the Cubs for the right to sell them. The shirts don't offend me, I just think they're stupid, and completely void of creativity. Horry Kow? Man, that's hilarious, I gotta buy that shirt!

I absolutely subscribe to the "hot hand" theory, unless you're one of the lucky few teams with a real stud at closer. Whatever happens, I don't want Gagne to be handed the closer job because "We're paying him to be the closer." He'll cost the same amount of money no matter how he's used, thanks, that doesn't mean you should let him lose games if he can't get it done.

I know it's a tough economy, and everybody's got to make a buck, but come on guys. A thing like a t-shirt doesn't usually move me one way or another, but at least be clever - this is just stupid. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/976540,csep052908.article

Berman was once awesome, and fun to listen to, but that era was the 80s and early 90s. He had been unique and clever, but he became the cliche, much like John Madden, in my opinion.

I liked Indiana Jones enough to recommend it, but there are certainly some things I could have lived without. I didn't hate the ending, I thought the entire sequence around the Tarzan thing was a mess, the film would have bet much better without that whole segment.

Yes, assuming Wolf's arm holds up, this is the type of player I think the Brewers will pursue - if they can stay anywhere near the playoff race. I agree, Gwynn and something might indeed be the ticket.