Matt Breen

Feel really bad for Mat. He finally gets his chance and this happens. Was he playing great? No. But I thought he'd be solid, cheap option. I hope they crash course Green at 1B. Or A-Ram, and let Green play 3B. I don't think Hart wants to play there - otherwise I'd move him there an let Aoki play RF.

I remember watching the game on TV. Just groaning when it happened.

I love how Aoki has been working counts. No one takes more pitches on the team than him (5.0 per plate appearance). Morgan is the worst - 3.37 per plate appearance. I have to say that Plush was great last year - so I don't think we should be yanking him. Gotta give him time to come around. I would be interesting to see how Aoki does as a full timer. I think he can be good. Numbers right now are so small.

I have been a proponent of letting Gamel (and Green) get their chances. I'm happy Mat has been playing solid ball. His hitting has been about what you'd expect. With time, I hope to see a little more power. I've liked his hustle in the field. As the season has gone on, I feel like he's getting more and more comfortable, both at the plate and in the field. No doubt he's nervous as hell. Can't be easy replacing Prince. I still wish we'd had gone with Green at 3B and resigned Hairston as a backup / potential platoon partner. But I guess going with two (near) rookies wasn't something the team wanted to do. I just don't like the cost of the long term commitment to Ramirez.

This team is going to hit better than it is. Sure I'd love Prince, but Weeks, Braun, Ramirez, Morgan - all these guys will do better - just as Gomez and Kottaras will cool off. Unless there's something bothering these guys physically, each is bound to come back. All four could regress from last year's numbers, but it's rare for them to simply fall off a cliff. Especially younger, athletic players, like Braun and Weeks. Even Morgan isn't that old, and his skills are such that don't age as bad as others. Ramirez I'd worry about more than the others, but he's not going to suddenly become a .500 OPS player overnight. As frustrating as it is, we have to be patient - especially with Braun, Ramirez and Weeks. Those guys don't really have guys on the bench waiting to chip in. We could give Aoki a few more starts, if we want to shake things up a bit. But patience will be the key right now.

why did ishikawa bunt? I'm only seeing the game on espn, so i don't have audio or anything. was it a good try? Or just silly?

I still wish this is what we would have done. A-Ram is a lot of money for an aging player.

I still think it all comes down to Zack wondering how good this team is going to be over the next few years. He likes Milwaukee and organization. That's a big plus. But winning is crucial to Zack. He doesn't want to get stuck in rebuilding mode. We need the team to have a good year. We need Gamel to do well. We need to stay relatively healthy. We need some prospects to step forward. If that happens - if we contend - and it looks like we'll contend for at least a few more years - then you probably have a decent chance with Zack. I don't think contending this year will be strictly enough. Because even if you win this year, we are set to lose Wolf and Marcum next year. Then Hart after 2013. Greinke is probably going to want to feel as if the players that will replace those guys are going to keep us in contention. He's not a stupid guy. He knows what payroll is at, and what it's likely to be at in the next few years - and what the team will be able to do with regard to resigning key players or other free agents. A lot of it means just playing out the season. See how things go. In the end, we probably benefit more by waiting and not overreacting.

I've been pretty happy with what I've seen of Gamel. He certainly moves way better than Prince, both in the field and on the basepaths. I want to see a little more patience with pitches. I realize it's only a few games, but you can start to see things. He hasn't taken a walk yet. He sees the fewest pitches per plate appearance than any regular (outside of Gomez). Over time, this will catch up with a player. Pitchers realize they swing at junk, so they throw them junk. Again, it's so early to draw big conclusions. He has a nice swing. Just give him time.

Where has braun come out and said this? I don't recall him doing this - if he has, he should be doing it more.

I heard this same thing as well. That teams are starting to spend these future earnings.

Braun will never be 'exonerated' in the eyes of most people without the details coming out that 'clear' him. People will see him as getting off on a technicality. Is breaking the chain of evidence a 'technicality'? No. But to many people it is. Braun will have to address things in more depth if he expects to come across innocent of the charges. And innocent means he didn't take PEDs or testosterone. NOT that the process was messed up. Most people seem to agree that the process was mucked up - even a little (even MLB updated their handling policy to insure it's not an issue going forward). But a messed up process doesn't, in the eyes of most people, mean Braun didn't do anything wrong. What they are asking is 'How did the test come up positive? Explain that. And if you have an explanation, why didn't you put it to the arbitration committee?' I wish/hope/pray for Braunie that he can come out and actually say things that will address the questions. Is it tampering? Is there a reasonable scientific explanation? Do we really not know? He can start by explaining why his team argued his case the way they did. He can say that the handling of the samples was a huge issue here. With regard to the arbitration hearing, this single issue was what they used to dismiss the charges. Their team's job was to invalidate the test - and the simplest and easiest way to was dispute the chain of evidence. Thus, they took that approach. They did not need to dispute the results of the test since the broken chain of evidence makes the samples themselves invalid. That would answer the question as to why they only argued the chain of evidence line to the committee. Next, he would then have to talk about how the results got tainted. He'll then have to say something like, "The chain of evidence issue was all I needed to to argue with the arbitration panel. As for the test itself, we were fully prepared to argue how all the tests - not just mine - came up abnormally high." And then, at this point, offer some reasonable theories. In the end, he might have to say, 'We don't know exactly how it happened. But we had several theories. All of which could have caused the tests to come up wrong." That will get Braunie cleared in the eyes of many (certainly not in some opinions). Will it ever happen? I don't know. Braun's refusal to talk about it hurts him, because people think he has something to hide. He's taking the high road - citing the confidentiality of the matter - but many, whether fair or not, just see that as an excuse. In the case of many players, the PED label has faded. A-Rod for instance. I wonder if he thinks time will simply force some to forget/not care. Perhaps he's right.

Yes, this is how to judge players. Three games. Alex Gordan is 0-13. I guess he sucks. Gonzalez blew a double play ball - he must be terrible based upon that one play. Brilliant.

Man. Just frustrating.

Man. Just frustrating.

Let's hope the baseball gods aren't catholic. No kidding. We might win today, but the Crew would take one heckuva beating on Sunday. All that meat on Good Friday ... I bet brat sales are down at the park.

Let's hope the baseball gods aren't catholic. No kidding. We might win today, but the Crew would take one heckuva beating on Sunday. All that meat on Good Friday ... I bet brat sales are down at the park.

I agree. The only weakness is SS. I'd be comfortable with Aoki, Green, Schafe and Maldanado getting playing time. For pitcher, you have Braddock,Fiers, Peralta and McClendon in the wings. Not bad.

I agree. The only weakness is SS. I'd be comfortable with Aoki, Green, Schafe and Maldanado getting playing time. For pitcher, you have Braddock,Fiers, Peralta and McClendon in the wings. Not bad.

Let's hope the baseball gods aren't catholic.

Let's hope the baseball gods aren't catholic.

Yeah, nice play by a-ram

Yeah, nice play by a-ram

My iPhone with Verizon works fine in miller park.

I always liked Ishikawa, but I'm kind of shocked he made the club. I mean, just go with Green. He offers a lot more versatility - 2B, 3B - even some 1B. He seemed to do okay as a bench player last fall. Odd.