CutWesHelmsPlease

I read on ESPN that Tom Glavine has been pitching very well in his rehab starts but the Braves have a guy they just called up from AAA who is a stud prospect and that they would have to pay Glavine a million dollar bonus if he got called up so it was more a financial decision than a performance decision.

there was one game that I thought the Brewers did a good job of this when they were down 3-0 and they kept kind of pecking away at the lead then Bill Hall ended it with the 9th inning home run but that was the only time in the series that I felt the Brewers were manufacturing runs. The other games it felt like they were waiting for the big bomb which fortunately has been coming.

The Pirates aren't terrible themselves but this is definitely a show of respect for what the Brewers are doing here. Awesome to see.

I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill and the sweep of the Cardinals was truly awesome but there is one little hole that I saw in the Brewers this week that I don't want to see escalate into a bigger problem and that is..... Leaving runners on base and runners in scoring position. It seemed like every game against the Cardinals the Brewers were stranding guys on base and letting struggling pitchers work out of jams and I would just like to see a little more concentration and a little more clutch hitting and a little more in the fundamentals department and a little less in the "waiting for a three run home run" department. I know this isn't a problem when C.C. and Sheeter are dominating hitters but in a more normal game this could be the difference between winning 6-5 or losing 5-4. Is anyone else concerned at all about this???

I think that over the course of a 162 game season Hardy is proving to be in the top 10 major league starters at shortstop. Is he ever going to be in that elite class like Jose Reyes or Hanley Ramirez or A-Rod or Jeter? Probably not, but what he is doing now is what the Brewers projected him to be in the minors. .260-.290 range with slightly above average power and plus arm, excellent hands, and minus range. I'd take Hardy right now over David Eckstein in his prime or Ryan Theriot or Jack Wilson. Now, I don't think you need to actively pursue trading Hardy because he's not a liability in your starting lineup like Bill Hall but if Alcides Escobar tears the cover off the ball this year and next year in Triple-A you have to start thinking about either moving Hardy to second or trading him, but right now he's just fine.

I know that this is going to get locked after about 30 thirty seconds but figured I'd post it and get my two cents rather than have it get lost in the 50 page Sabathia thread. This makes sense on so many levels. The Brewers get Sabathia for a top-level prospect and second-tier prospect and the Indians get a slight upgrade at shortstop who is ready to contribute right away as well as a big-time prospect who is almost ready and a good prospect who is probably 2 years away still. Plus, this opens up short for Alcides Escobar next year or at the latest two years from now and you can move Peralta to third or second or trade him or let his contract run out.

Coming from a Brewers fan perspective, I have to agree with the Cubs fans in terms of Ryan Braun being cocky and full of himself. So is Prince Fielder, Ben Sheets, and Francisco Cordero for that matter. Good players tend to be pretty cocky about it (see A-Rod, K-Rod, Tejada, Ortiz, Ramirez, or Clemens to name a few). Very few have Albert Pujols or Johan Santana's deameanor. Trust me, having cocky ******* on your team is a good thing. I was watching Sportscenter the other day and watching Soriano and Ramirez plastering balls all over the park and thinking to myself how the swagger is back in Chicago and the Brewers should be worried but then I watched Brewers highlights and watched Braun and Prince both admiring their well-hit balls and realized there's plenty of swagger in the Brewers clubhouse too. It's going to be a pretty good race between two talented and cocky teams and I can't wait to watch it. As Brewers fans, we should embrace the cockiness!!!!

The next wave is coming... The next wave is coming... Too bad they're all in A+ right now, but I can't wait to see the next wave develop and blast by these double A career minor leaguers.

2006 Milwaukee Brewer Pre-season predictions Team Record 2006 Record: 82-80 2006 Approx Record as of Sept 1: 68-69 2006 Predicted Finish within the NL Central: Third 2006 Playoff Predictions: Fourth in NL Wild Card Offense- Individual Team Leaders with 502 PA Batting Average: Lee .291 OBP: Jenkins .399 SLG: Jenkins .503 OPS: Jenkins .902 BB: Jenkins 66 2b: Jenkins 41 3b: Weeks 9 HR: Lee 29 RBI: Lee 119 K: Weeks 147 SB: Weeks/Hall 19 (tie) Pitching- Individual Team Leaders Wins: Davis 14 Losses: Ohka 12 Saves: Turnbow 34 WHIP: Sheets 0.97 IP: Davis 225 K: Sheets 211 BB: Davis 96 K/9: Sheets 7.7 BB/9: Sheets 1.47 OppOPS: No Idea ERA (among starters): Sheets 3.16 ERA (among relievers): Capellan 2.96 Appearances: Turnbow 67 Team Awards Offensive MVP: Jenkins/Lee/Weeks all tied Team Cy Young: Davis Most Valuable New Addition: Fielder/Koskie tie Minor Leagues Awards Minor League Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun Minor League Cy Young: Mike Jones (elevating through three levels and finishing the year in AAA) Misc First player not on opening day roster recalled from Minors: Dana Eveland First player on 25 man roster removed (via waivers, trade or optioned): Jorge De la Rosa First Player on the DL: Moeller

It's just 4-2 the rest of the way baby. 82-80, here we come. We're a little above average, let's all celebrate and get drunk.

Wow, heated stuff here. Ultimately, Both Bill Hall and JJ Hardy are both in the Brewers' plans for next season and who really cares about range? The Brewers have two shortstops with sick offensive potential. How many teams have a "utility" player who is hitting .290 with 17 home runs? And Hardy has .300 avg, 20 home run, 75 rbi potential too and he never strikes out.

This has to be the most one-sided pitching matchup in the history of one-sided pitching matchups. Rusch is such a pile of garbage, the Brewers should put up about 10 runs on him in about 3 innings, I figure.