rickh150

If he can play ball, he should be able to play ball without any sort of harassment, mockery, or intimidation. No reason for hate, and those that do should be shamed, fined, and locked up. That being said, more people equate gay rights to civil rights, which historically hasn't been the case. I, along with a minority of others, believe that homosexuality to be a sin, according to the Bible, and race equality is not. People are born in sin, some murderers, thieves, born liars, some cheaters, or having homosexual tendencies. According to The Bible, we should be fighting against each, holding to what is true, noble, pure, and good. So, for me, why anyone would be applauded and encouraged to continue a lifestyle that is against the Bible is offensive to me. Why Bruce Jenner was given an athletic award, an ESPY for courage mind you, boggles my mind. So.... the Denson news is ho hum for me..... No need to celebrate and no need to name call. P. S. I know that I referenced my personal faith here, but I felt it was necessary to back my position and argument. I hope that this post could stay in this thread, respectfully, to represent a wider range of opinion.

2002.... We are better than that team. Yet, the division was not loaded with the young talent like it is now from multiple teams. It took 6 years from 2002 to make the playoffs on the last game of season. In that regard, I see our future track similarly.

Old regime members including Montgomery, Montgomery's "guys, "Counsell, Counsell's "guys", Melvin and Melvin's "guys", along with an owner that does deals with agents (Boras) are all sitting on the Brewers new bandwagon...... Waiting to be driven by a phantom 35 year old newbie who is supposedly going to bring new thinking, new ways, and analytics to the team? My thinking is....... Everybody get off the bus. The new experienced GM will decide who gets on. Give him two or three months this winter to decide. I'm not for doing all these changes on the fly over the course of the next four years.

Comparing the NFL and MLB??? The NFL has a salary cap and shared tv revenue. Put that in baseball and the Brewers now and always would be in much better shape. All small market teams would be in better shape. The Packers, without revenue sharing, would be a shell of themselves, not being able to keep Rodgers, Matthews, Jordy and other drafted stars because others could and would offer the moon to get them because of no cap and no shared money...... Packers..... Very fortunate to be existing and thriving in professional sports. Brewers..... Like all other small market teams in MLB, struggling to find any consistent winning. Although there is revenue being shared, and I would love to see how much the Brewers are getting this year, the gap is getting bigger because of these major tv deals. The new commish needs to get ahead of this issue in the new CBA.

Our division looks solid, if not great, for the forseeable future. Do not gloss over that! Sure, we could be better. Yet, so what.....When you look at the teams ahead of us, our best hope, sadly, might be third in the central for the next few years. We have no clear advantage on any of the teams in the division( money, major or minor league talent, veteran leadership, new avenues for more income, international market leader, experience). Right now, in this moment, I would gladly take one wild card playoff appearance in the next five years (hoping that lands playoff wins and a championship) and hope/plan for better days after that. I originally liked the idea that we could compete in 2017 or 2018. Yet, then, the Cubs will be in their heyday and the Cards will be spending substantially more $ too. And have you seen their pitching? Even my homer tendencies have been squashed... Competing for the playoffs in the next few years? Pipe dream. Put me down for the four to five year plan. No big splashes in free agency. Draft well.... Keep talent in AAA longer than usual. Trade for younger talent. Bring Arcia, Phillips, Hader, Houser, etc. others up in May of 2017. Getting to .500 in the next five years will be tough, whether trying to compete or rebuild. Right now, it is 2002 in my mind.

Plus, I see this GM transition period to be a soap opera like atmosphere around the team that will not promote winning. Who will be staying?? Who is going?? If I am tight with Melvin, am I safe? The new GM won't be picking his manager(Counsell) or draft guy(Montgomery)?? Very questionable. I want to be on board with all this, but it is difficult to say all is upward in Brewer land.

I have been accused of being a Brewers homer at work. No matter how awful the Brewers have been playing, I could see a positive. I even tried to see positives in September of 2007, September of 2014(well, not much), and April of 2015. It is getting more difficult. Why??? The signs around this organization are not good. The MLB is bad, even when supposedly key members are playing well. Our closer hasn't blown a save, Braun is an all-star, the bullpen, Nelson and Jungmann(???) are pitching well. Not to mention, our roster was relatively in tact and healthy in April, when we were the worst. Sure, the Brewers might have a better young GM coming soon..... Maybe, who will be totally unproven. The Brewers might have a talented manager..... Maybe, who hasn't managed before or accomplished anything as a coach. The Brewers have an owner who is willing to spend to win..... But just to a point- tv money is getting ridiculous and our team has dimes to other teams dollars. But it goes deeper, sadly. Look around the division.... Ugh! How depressing!!!!!..... The Cardinals, whom seem to just naturally be good, have unbelievable good (and young)pitching with Wainright being hurt. They have a new huge tv deal that is going to kick in soon, as well, that can only hurt us. The Cubs, whom I loathe, are going to be good for a while. Unlike us, when their guys get to free agency, they will sign them to monster deals that will keep them around and raise going rates for the little guys. The Cubs, in the middle of rehauling Wrigley for more income, will be enjoying a new tv deal soon, as well. I can't see the Cubs being below 500 in the next 8 years. Oh yeah, their minor league system is ranked ahead of ours too, even with Bryant, Russell, and others up and with the Gomez, Aram, Parra deals in the books. The Pirates have a better major and ranked minor league system than us. The Reds have a proven GM that won't keep them down long. Looking around baseball, money is getting out of control. The Dodgers have a 300 mllion dollar payroll. Others, like the Cubs, are going to trend that way when the younger guys get older. The Braves are repositioning themselves to be good when their new ballpark opens and income goes up. The Mets pitching will allow them to be good, if not great, for a while and their attendance will continue to shoot up. The Giants have been champions 3 out of the past 5 years, and that cannot be ignored over the next 5 to 10 years. So, how are we going to compete? The easy answer is to say be smart with drafting, trading and signing. To compete though, in the next 5 years, we need to be significantly better than many in trading and signing. Sadly, the money we have pales in comparison to many other teams. Even with revenue sharing, the gulf between the big and small is widening. With Cuba in play for more players on a widening (and unfair) international market, we are at a clear disadvantage on another playing field. Throw in the fact that there is no sign pointing to a MLB Worldwide Draft, we'll be even more at a disadvantage there until that is inevitably put into place. Plus, sadly, our attendance will probably naturally go down next year. With the Bucks on a clear upward trend, I see individuals taking their season tickets and companies taking their boxes at Miller Park to the new Bucks' home for the next 5 years. I sure hope our young guys (Arcia, Phillips, Clark, Hader,Houser, etc...), new GM, and Counsell are really good. Otherwise, how will we compete..... No scratch that,, WIN any time soon with many factors making it so difficult???

Getting Greinke and CC were the right move...... Small market teams need to take their shot when time is right. Melvin did and the time was right to get those aces. We lost in the playoffs, yet the moves were still spot on. By the way, didn't we also get Jeffress back after trading him away? Seems to me, although Yuni was not good overall, he was good in the playoffs in 2011. Also, with Segura ( Hellweg, Pena), the trade still looks fairly neutral to me.

Melvin....Good... Not great. Definitely not bad. Yet, time to go...or I should say fill another role to help team succeed. First off, in baseball, money matters. Money allows a team to make more mistakes with free agents. Money covers major injuries to key role players. Money gets you international stars from Central America a few weeks after the team exits the playoffs. Melvin didn't have these luxuries. If the Brewers had more shared revenue, alas Packers, they would have been able to sign Fielder and one of CC or Greinke. This alone would have given the team a couple more playoff births, and possibly a trip or two to the World Series. Baseball economics, big tv money, and no universal draft make it difficult (but not impossible) for small market teams to succeed for even 3 to 5 year stretches. The Brewers have competed for the playoff almost yearly during Melvin's time. Each year, fans came out in big numbers because the roster gave fans hope of the playoffs. There was hope that the playoff were not that big of a stretch..... Not anymore. Not like the late 80's and 90's. He had two playoffs in 13 years. Prior, the Brewers made the playoffs twice in 32 years (a couple more if the wild card(s) is there). Could another GM have done better? Sure. Yet many more would have done worse, in my opinion.

Bo Ryan should be available when next season begins.......

MM trying to stick it to us by beating us with "our" guy...... Has Broxton been used that late in a Cards' lead this season? Maybe I am wrong, but this smells of we are smarter than you.

I agree with Brian Anderson. He said that Miller Park is the most comfortable ballpark in the majors. It has the roof, a large parking lot, easy access off 94, safety (in general), wide concourses, good views, etc. Yet it doesn't have the wow factor, history, or rave reviews that many others typically get. Here are a few ideas that I have had over the years on how to make it better. 1. I'd like to see a Green Bay like atrium/ St. Louis like ballpark village built beyond the glass walls in right center. There really is no use of this space right now. The area would still be very close to the field of play. It could be an area for major events/meetings/Super Bowl parties. Extensive kid's games, a better eating area for current Miller Park restaurants ( the donut place and BBQ place- can't think of the names off hand- they are hidden on the first base side field level now). 2. I don't like how the bleacher seats are set up. The bullpens use up prime seating locations, right now. The field level seats are under the loge, and except for the first few rows the views are pretty terrible. The Loge is alright, but it does overhang Friday's, hurting the views in left field. Couldn't they build walkways/seating areas above the Brewers bullpen? Even if it's for Friday's seating, the area now is being waisted. Better yet, a Wrigley Field like bleacher area, with 1st row seats directly by the top of the wall ( not 20 feet up like in the Loge Bleachers) would get my vote. 3. More general areas/standing room only areas to watch the games- I'd like to watch a couple innings in different areas. Now, I still could, but I'd have to watch from the concourse or sit in a seat that wasn't mine. I'd like to see more standing room only areas by the foul poles where attendance usually wanes anyways. More value for the fan, right? 4. I don't like the Uecker/Yount signs in the parking lots.... Could they make it any more difficult to find your car? Why did they take down all the numbers from the parking lot lights a few years ago? It was so easy then. Where am I parked? Yount 5. Now there are only a few numbers up... most have been taken down for some reason. It's a small pitiful change, but an easy one to make something better. 5. Roof tours... I've been hearing this one for a while. I'm sure it has to do with safety and liability issues. Yet, how cool would a tour of Miller Park's roof be? Wouldn't it automatically become the best tour in town? 6. In between inning games are better at the minor leagues. This should never be. I like the big screen and all, and it is a thrill to get on from time to time. And the sausage race/7th inning stretch is good. Yet, let's get some different games in. I have noticed a few new ones this year, but the creativity of new things each game (not just each season) is lacking. I really don't want to watch another guy climb that Mt. Dew wall. What say you???

Next Scotty Po?? Late bloomer? Sure. Yet, that doesn't make him anything like Podsednik. Podsednik could run, was smart on the basepads, and punched at the ball more than drove it to the gaps... more of a singles hitter. Yet Peterson is Solid.... as in his contact with the ball. I liked him early when he was getting more outs, just because he hit solid liners to all fields. He has double power.....love his plate discipline.... surprised the A's would let go of this guy. More like Brady Clark.... sure. How about more like Mark Kotsay?

He is a free agent at season's end, and someone will claim him when he goes through waivers. Not sure what is a reasonable trade though.... Probably similar to Broxton??

Really, what would it hurt to try and stretch multiple guys out next spring? If it's Blazek or Smith or Thornburg, I would be for it. Yet, I see Thornburg as an injury waiting to happen and Smith's starting history, albeit short, is not great. Why not try to stretch each out, have them compete for the spot??

As of now, this is my rotation, including those in the hunt.... 1. Peralta 2. Nelson 3. Garza 4. Jungmann 5. Blazek Inside track Davies Lopez Wagner Suter Cravy Keep Smith and Thornburg in the pen with Jeffress and K-Rod

Standing even further away from plate .... Hitting any type of fastball to right field.. Fouling off a bunch on late swings.... He is not himself. Thumb??? Intercostal??

Before trade....... After..... Well, the opposite.

Loved it when Prince got in Manny Parra's face during dugout altercation (for leaving dugout early and not watching the rest of the inning in which he was pitching). Need more of that, Brewers.

Let's make it for Matz instead and throw in K-Rod and Cotts, with cash.

I am. Why??? 1. It gives Lohse an opportunity to right himself and get trade value in August. 2. It allows our young arms to not rack up as many innings. Actually, I am all for limiting most of our rotation in September, giving starting opportunities to Smith, Blazek, Wagner, Cravy, and Jorge Lopez. 3. It provides competition (with the other Sept. Starters)for the inside track to the starting rotation for 2016.

Favre could have stayed and played with the Packers instead of starting the whole drama. Here's a puzzler, would the Packers have ever traded/sat/cut Favre on their own if Favre simply comes back to Packers in training camp in 2008.. 2009... 2010??? How woulda/coulda that have played out?

Hoffman's 600th save was cool.... Very unexpected, at the time, to see him warm up in the 8th instead of Axford.

Didn't Rock say he threw his helmet twice (one off camera at 2B too)???? There is frustration actions (Greinke) and then there is contempt or showing up the umps/calls. Glad he was thrown out of game for his actions. ..... He should have been thrown out just for his stupidity on the bases...... Again, does anyone know about the signs??? Is this an unsolvable problem?Was there a stop sign on Gomez to NOT steal??? If not, why don't we have one by now. He surely needs to be told when to steal because he clearly has less clue than 90% of the people on my co-ed softball team. Shame on the whole organization, including teammates, for not protecting this guy from himself better and letting him selfishly drag down the team with his needless risks. Someone, actually multiple people, should get in his face and call his decisions and actions out and see if that helps. (Ps... In March At Maryvale practice, I told him to have a 30-30 year this season and to play smart. I obviously have little influence.)

Needs to be asked..... Do Brewers coaches/manager have any control of guys stealing a base/bunting/hit and run???? Last night, along with the inexcusable Gomez steal in 9th (did you hear his excuse????), Gennett bunted while a runner was stealing on first pitch. Do we have.....a bunt sign (we better)? Steal sign-meaning you are going on this 3-2 pitch(highly doubtful)??? Hit and run-notice other teams doing it much more than us(doubt it)?? Take a pitch sign (probably not)??? Stop sign- no steal in any situation (definitely not)? Many of our players do not major in baseball strategy and NEED serious help (off the field but surely on the field with signs) from coaches; often, I feel our guys are doing whatever they feel is best. Moreover, it is SO SAD that I even have to ask these questions, that it is even a question... Even MORE SAD, is that our media guys won't even ask the questions! Last night, Counsell should have been asked if he sent Gomez..... should have been asked why a stop sign wasn't put up in that situation..... should have been asked if Gomez will be doing the same thing tomorrow in a similar situation. When Counsell answers the media, "You can't get thrown out there," my follow-up questions should be asked. To me, that answer screams, "It's his fault, not mine!" Sorry, Craig, you are the manager and the decisions players make on the bases ultimately fall on you and your base coaches. I've asked JS writers,over the years, what signs the Brewers have. They don't know either and seem to be afraid to ask. I'm not interested in the ACTUAL signs of hand to belt for bunt or what the indicator is, I simply want to know IF they have certain signs. All I can say is, that during Melvin's reign as GM, we seem to be playing individual checkers on offense when many others are playing team chess. I realize our team is supposed to be built to mash HRs, but many of the following happen many times, even with a new manager.... Stealing 3rd with two outs Bunting and stealing on same play 1st and 2nd, lead runner steals 3rd while guy at first stays put Swinging 2-0 down 4 runs with no outs in the 8th Swinging extra hard when contact will do to move the runner a base.... (Overall, not playing selfless team ball) Gomez is the ring-leader here, and his eventual trading will help. He is a great hustler, fiery competitor, nice guy, all that, but he has set a terrible example as a team leader on how to be a professional- way too many mental errors with all facets of the game. He's done them all. Moreover, our baseball team IQ needs to be helped by our coaches making the calls of strategy, our players following the signs (assuming we have them), and our coaches growing a Holmgren-like/Wolf-like backbone to face problematic issues head on when signs aren't followed, even if that means bad media, friction in the clubhouse, or a benching here and there. I believe Counsell has helped baserunning issues (less aggressive, not leading Gomez off when bases are empty). Questions remain, though, on how much strategy is in the hands of coaches instead of on a strategically-challenged player's whims.