Matt Breen

I find it weird that Miller or Villar isn't at 2B vs the right hander. And for Perez. This is not like were getting playing for time for an all star. It's Hernan Perez.

Just read a report that Machado only wants to play for the Golden State Warriors.

I'd like to add that Jim Bowden is a terrible source. He's notorious for throwing out all sorts of crap. He lives for getting clicks.

Due to the control, Realmuto will cost 2 or 3 times what Machado will cost.

My gut says he's average. He didn't play CF in college, so he's still a work in progress at the position. At this point, with his speed he can make up for many things. I've heard some criticism of his angles going after some balls - that sort of thing. Most things I've read say that he's definitely improved since turning pro - which is to be expected with experience. I'm going most of this off reading other reports - so perhaps others who have seen him play can give you a better feel.

Final: Biloxi 8, Jackson 3 It's a Hat Trick! Ray Goes Yard Three Times in Win Brewers #6 Prospect Becomes Third Shucker in Franchise History to Belt Three By Spencer Siegel / Biloxi Shuckers (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Box Score Corey Ray says BOOM. Biloxi's CF hit three HRs on Wednesday, leading the Shuckers to a 8-3 win over Jackson. Lucas Erceg added an HR, and Troy Stokes, Jr. had a hit and three walks. On the mound, Luis Ortiz, Cody Ponce and Brad Kuntz had their shares of ups and downs, but they did enough to secure the win. Ponce's seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings were impressive. Batting Corey Ray: 3-5, 3 HR, 4 RBI Troy Stokes, Jr.: 1-2, 3BB, SB Lucas Erceg: 1-4, HR Tyler Heineman: 1-2, 2B, 2BB Luis Aviles, Jr.: 1-3, BB Pitching Luis Ortiz: 3.0 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 0BB, 2K Cody Ponce: 4.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 3BB, 7K, Win Brad Kuntz: 1.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 0BB, 2K Notes Corey Ray now leads the Southern League in HRs with 16. Jake Gatewood is second with 14, while Troy Stokes, Jr. is not far behind with 13. Biloxi Game Log Shuckers took the lead in the 3rd inning with HRs from Ray and Erceg. Biloxi Bottom of the 3rd Corey Ray homers (15) on a line drive to right center field. Troy Stokes Jr. walks. With Keston Hiura batting, Troy Stokes Jr. steals (15) 2nd base. Keston Hiura grounds out, second baseman Domingo Leyba to first baseman Josh Prince. Troy Stokes Jr. to 3rd. Jake Gatewood out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Ben DeLuzio. Troy Stokes Jr. scores. Lucas Erceg homers (8) on a fly ball to right center field. Pitching Change: Bud Jeter replaces Ryan Atkinson, batting 9th. Tyler Heineman grounds out, second baseman Domingo Leyba to first baseman Josh Prince.

Ray going King Kong. 3 HRs in 4 ABs.

We could offer them Phil Bickford for Smith.

Did you know that the Brewers shortstops have a combined battling line of .201 BA, .255 OBP, .300 SLG%, .555 OPS. A bat like Machado's would make our weakest position one of our best (at least hitting-wise).

That would be 'sharks with frickin' laser beams.'

JosephC, I want to echo the other positive comments about this (and other) posts. While some might care for the detailed breakdown, and some will just say WAR is crap, I think it's cool to see the hard analytical breakdown of these situations. I know they aren't easy and take some time - so thank you for sharing them when you do.

This is step one in moving the Rays. When the plan is rejected, the club can shrug and say, "We tried."

You are correct. Last year Erceg has a .651 OPS in the first half, and a .796 OPS in the second half. Let's hope the trend continues.

Final: Jackson 6, Biloxi 1 Generals Earn First Win in Biloxi Behind Takahashi's Ten K's Ray Clocks Thirteenth Homer for Shuckers By Spencer Siegel / Biloxi Shuckers (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Box Score Ugly game all around for Biloxi on Tuesday night. Shucker hitters managed only three hits and three walks all evening. They struck out 13 times. The only run was a Corey Ray HR in the 6th. Aside from two perfect innings from Danny Reynold, Biloxi pitching was uninspiring as Trey Supak and Josh Uhen gave up too many hits and too many walks in the lose. The Shuckers topped it all off with two errors. The score could have been worse but Jackson went 1-16 with runners in scoring position. The Generals stole four bases on the evening. Batting Troy Stokes, Jr.: 1-3, BB Corey Ray: 1-4, HR Keston Hiura: 1-4 Pitching Trey Supak: 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 3BB, 2K, Lose Danny Reynolds: 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0BB, 0K Josh Uhen: 2.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 3BB, 1K Notes Supak is 0-6 with a 5.22 ERA at AA. Keston Hiura is 2 for his last 29. Biloxi Game Log One highlight for Biloxi - a HR from Corey Ray in the 6th. Biloxi Bottom of the 6th Gabriel Noriega flies out to right fielder Daniel Robertson. Corey Ray homers (13) on a fly ball to left field. Troy Stokes Jr. flies out to center fielder Ben DeLuzio. Keston Hiura grounds out, third baseman Josh Prince to first baseman Rudy Flores.

Another thing to consider in our reported pursuit of Machado is owner Peter Angelos. While Angelos is 89 years old, and isn't as involved in the day-to-day affairs of the team as he used to (his kids now run things), he could add an interesting dynamic to any trade offers. Angelos reportedly hates the Yankees - and has vowed to never help them. While he's a lawyer, he comes from a blue collar background, hates corporations (he had bragged he never represented a corporation in his life) and never played well with other owners. How this all plays out - who knows. I doubt he'll stop Machado from being dealt - even he can see it's needed. But it might help a club like Milwaukee - small market, blue collar town, never won a World Series. If offers are being considered are relatively equal, he might (and I'm just having fun speculating here) throw the Crew a bone - and send Manny to Milwaukee - rather than help out a club like the Dodgers. In the end, Angelos might be the kind of guy who would wince at helping the Dodgers or Yankees win a World Series. Just a thought.

I think Lux and May would be a nice starting point for the Orioles in a deal with LA. However, both guys are in A ball at this time. I get the feeling that Baltimore wants guys closer to the majors (which I think is a mistake - I think you go best player). That would make a Ortiz/Phillips combo a bit more attractive. I think something like Phillips/Ortiz and Wilkerson would be nice. Phillips goes right into the OF (perhaps playing a corner slot in deference to Adam Jones (if he isn't traded). Ortiz moves to AAA and prepped for MLB debut next year. While Wilkerson is nothing special, he could slot into their rotation right now. If he works out, great. If not, no big lose.

To me this is the big thing about Arcia. What does the braintrust think about his future? If they still believe in him, then we should hang onto him. That simple. Give him 2018 to work out his issues, and tell him to come into camp next season ready to seize control of the SS job. If they don't believe he'll ever do it, then a trade is fine. I just don't know the answer.

For all of the angst about Machado's defense, he represents a massive upgrade at the SS position for Milwaukee. Arcia and Sogard were not good and awful - in that order. And Manny offers a huge upgrade at a underperforming position for us. You might say, "What about Tyler Saladino?" Saladino has been great this year. But that's 49 at bats. He's been active for what - a month? Let's not let one good month color realistic judgments on the guy (remember, Sogard parlayed a good month into a $2.4M contract this offseason and probably cost us a game or two all by himself this year). Saladino hit .178 last season. To expect him to keep hitting at a .900+ OPS is unrealistic. His best OPS coming into this year was .725, so I don't expect him to suddenly hit like an all-star the rest of the season. And hey, if Saladino suddenly does continue to perform - well you play him at 2B over Villar and Perez. Plus he can give Shaw some rest at 3B - and Machado at SS. It's not like he'd go to waste. In the end, a below average defensive Machado is still a huge upgrade for Milwaukee. He hits with power, average, takes a lot of walks, and doesn't strike out a lot. Plus, with Manny in his contract walk season, in the heat of a pennant race -- that's the kind of thing that can get someone motivated - at bat and in the field. So, despite the misgivings about Machado's glove, he's the exact kind of bat we can use.

Aguilar is a wonderful, wonderful story, and I hope and pray he keeps mashing in the coming years. In addition to more power, he has improved his K rate and walk rate - a great sign he is learning and adapting. All that said, you don't do anything about Jesús regarding a contract (unless it was extremely team friendly). At least not now. We control him through age 32, meaning we get his prime years. Body types like Jesús don't usually age that well, so I wouldn't want to lock him into any sort of long term deal. Just ride out the six years we get the guy and enjoy things. If he keeps hitting like he is, he'll get paid handsomely in arbitration, which is fine. If he's hitting .300 and 40 HRs - I'll gladly pay for those years on a year-by-year basis.

I was at the game on September 28, 2008, when Braun hit the 2-run HR to put us on top. Then CC finished it out. I'll never forget it. Great stuff. We then sat and watched the Mets-Marlins game to see us clinch it. I can still pull up the highlights and watch them and it gives me chills.

The reports of Brett Phillips being of interest to Baltimore make total sense. I had kind of forgotten about the guy. He really needs to get an extended look from somebody - it doesn't seem it's going to happen in Milwaukee any time soon, especially with Braun on the roster. Just not enough playing time with all those guys. Too bad Phillips just isn't playing that well this year. If he had repeated last year's performance, someone would be clamoring for the guy (if he wasn't already up in Milwaukee).

Final: Biloxi 12, Mississippi 2 Offense Explodes for a Dozen as Brown Earns Eighth Win Ray's Five RBI Ties Season Best Amongst Shuckers' Hitters By Spencer Siegel / Biloxi Shuckers (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Box Score Zack Brown went to 8-0 on the year with another excellent outing. Brown gave up two runs on five hits in six innings of work, walking one and striking out five. Shucker bats came out big to support Brown's fine pitching, tallying 12 hits to go with nine walks. Corey Ray, Jake Gatewood, Lucas Erceg, Tyler Heineman, and Luis Aviles, Jr. each had two hits. Troy Stokes, Jr. added his 13th HR of the season (extending his consecutive on-base streak to 17 games). Batting Troy Stokes, Jr.: 1-4, BB, HR, SB Corey Ray: 2-5, 3B, 5 RBI Jake Gatewood: 2-4, BB Lucas Erceg: 2-4, BB Tyler Heideman: 2-3, 2BB Trent Grisham: 1-3, 2BB Luis Aviles, Jr.: 2-2, 2 2B, 2BB, SB Pitching Zack Brown: 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 1BB, 5K, Win Brad Kuntz: 1.0 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 0BB, 1K Jon Perrin: 2.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 0BB, 3K Notes Keston Hiura has gone into a bit of a slump. He went 0-5 with three strikeouts on Monday. His batting average has fallen to .282. Biloxi Game Log Biloxi scored in five of the eight innings they batted, so we'll just highlight the first big inning - a three run 2nd, the big blow a bases loaded triple from Corey Ray. Biloxi Bottom of the 2nd Lucas Erceg singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jamie Westbrook. Tyler Heineman singles on a line drive to left fielder Jamie Westbrook. Lucas Erceg to 2nd. With Trent Grisham batting, wild pitch by Joel Payamps, Lucas Erceg to 3rd. Tyler Heineman to 2nd. Trent Grisham called out on strikes. Joel Payamps intentionally walks Luis Aviles Jr. Zack Brown strikes out swinging. Corey Ray triples (6) on a line drive to right fielder Jay Gonzalez. Lucas Erceg scores. Tyler Heineman scores. Luis Aviles Jr. Troy Stokes Jr. grounds out, shortstop Galli Cribbs to first baseman Rudy Flores.

Sorry, I guess I'm just getting antsy. I don't get how some posters are ready to throw Woodruff, Broxton and more at Machado, while the same guys are saying Burnes is untouchable. I mean is it simply because Burnes is less known? Both have solid middle of the rotation profiles. Woodruff is about 20 months older than Burnes. I mean, it's gotta be because Woodruff has ben kicking around the system longer, and already has MLB experience, right? Are we going to be looking at Burnes the same way at this time next year if he doesn't dominate at the MLB level? To me the two are interchangeable. That Milwaukee has moved Burnes to the bullpen - and brought him to Milwaukee - makes me think they would take him over Woodruff. Plus, the club's lack of use of Woodruff at times makes me wonder if they just don't trust him that much. Might be totally wrong. I might be reading into these moves stuff that totally doesn't exist. Just a guess. I do believe you are right that Burnes are Woodruff are somewhat interchangeable. I think Burnes' success (at least up through last year) has made him better in the eyes of many fans.

I would love that deal but if that’s all it would take why hasn’t it happened already? It’s basically just Woodruff for the best offensive infielder in the game. Seems like a no brainer. Actually, it's not just Woodruff for the best offensive infielder in the game. It's six and a half years of Woodruff for 2-3 months of the best offensive infielder in the game. You can't take out the dynamics player control. I also don't think Broxton is a throw away. He's an interesting player that provides some value. I think he could step in right now and play every day in Baltimore. How good he plays is another question. I think his swing-and-miss issues limit him - but with his good defense and power, he can potentially be an average starter. As for nothing happening yet - no doubt Baltimore is trying to extract the best offer possible. Rarely do things like his happen quickly. They are simply waiting for someone to step up and offer something more to their liking. Will a Woodruff/Broxton based offer ever be to their liking? I don't know, but I don't see it as unreasonable.

My guess for an offer is Machado for Broxton and Woodruff. Might take another player, such as Wilkerson. All three could step into their line up right now, and while none is going to be a superstar, they are the kinds of guys they should take chances on and ride out the good and bad times. Just a guess.