adambr2

Cue Yost making excuses for Hardy and talking about how sure-handed he normally is rather than showing any dismay at our defense costing us a game yet again.

Yeah, at least according to this website's salary page, he's arby eligible next year. As I remember, he was on the roster all year in 2006, he just didn't start much until the 2nd half of the season.

Weeks and Hart are arby eligible after this season.

So you'd rather wait until he maximizes his value and costs millions more to retain?

Branyan's current stats against RHP (the only lineups he'd be facing, obviously). .389, 10 HR in 108 AB, 1.266 OPS I can't figure out what the heck he's still doing down there. Is this not exactly what we signed him for? In case Hall struggled and we needed to consider a platoon? Even if you call this year a fluke, Branyan is still a far better option against RHP than Counsell. For the life of me, I can't figure out what Melvin and Yost are thinking. I'm so tired of the "What if we need to get rid of him and he doesn't clear waivers??" argument from them. If we're worried about that, what the heck do we need him for anyway?? We'll never bring him up, since we're worried about having to send him back down. Can management please start considering the current state of the team when making decisions, rather than always stroking their chins and thinking, "But what if THIS happens?"

That's what I'm thinking. It's the perfect time to look at an extension for Weeks and Hart. I still think Gallardo will be here a long time, but I'd wait until at least sometime during 2009 to extend him.

I hate hit-and-runs.

With the great contract that Braun was recently inked to, it seems to me that this approach could go a long ways in ensuring our long-term success. However, we can't, or shouldn't, keep them all for years to come if we want to keep other options open, so who should we put putting our strongest efforts into retaining long-term? Here's my take. Prince Fielder: He was considered the centerpiece of our team before this season, and in some respects, still is. We did make an effort in the offseason to look at a long-term contract for him. However, he has made no secret of the fact that he intends to get every penny that he can obtain in negotiations. Boras will ensure this happens, and Prince is going to be very expensive very soon. Combine that with the fact that he is probably always going to be a defensive liability, and LaPorta and Gamel could each potentially be a very suitable successor, and I'd pass on a deal for Prince. Rickie Weeks: With his struggles so far, he's a risk. However, with that, his current perceived value is also lower, and therefore it might be a good time to instill some confidence in Rickie by looking to sign him to a 6 year or so extension. I still believe in Weeks -- I think what he showed in the last two months of 2007 is an indicator of the kind of player he can be. I'd look to sign him. Corey Hart: With Corey now relatively proven as a .300 type hitter with speed, power, and defensive ability, I don't see any reason not to try to sign Hart to long-term deal as well. I still see Hart as our CF of the future when Cameron leaves, and I think LF and CF are in good hands for years to come if Hart is re-signed. I'd go for it now, before he hits arbitration. J.J. Hardy: Tough decision, as Hardy is certainly more than affordable at this time. The problem is, do we feel that he is the guy we want starting at shortstop for years to come? It's a borderline call, but with Escobar as one option of potential replacements in the future, I think this is a position we could upgrade sometime in the future, even if it's not with Escobar. I like Hardy, but I'd pass on being the shortstop of the future, and thus pass on any long-term talks with him. Yovani Gallardo: Interesting one, as Gallardo has certainly proven to most that he's going to be an ace-type pitcher in the near future, and may be our ace in the near future. With his current injury, however, and the fact that he is still under control for another 5 seasons, including arbitration, I don't see a purpose of offering him a long-term deal, yet. I'd pass for now, but possibly look at something for him in a year or two.

Still no sweeps on the road since late June-early July of 2004. Another failed attempt to break that streak tonight.

Yet another failed attempt at a road sweep. Still none since 2004.

What??? Are we talking about actual results, or expectations? With the way the rotation has been, it's pretty easy to say that Cappy/Davis/Ohka/Santos was better than our #2 thru #5 this year, but I sure don't think many would have told you at the beginning of the season that they would take those 4 over Suppan/Villy/Parra/Bush, and I can guarantee you no one would have preferred the bottom two (Okha, Santos), over Parra and Bush at the beginning of this year. Why would we have been building our rotation to get worse over the last 3 years? 2005 Turnbow vs. 2008 Gagne looks like a landslide now, but I'm sure we were hoping, if not thinking, it'd be close at the beginning of the year. I'm sure there isn't a fan out there who thinks Prince isn't as good as the .276/19/72 that Lyle put up in 2005 -- it's not like we can say that they're pretty close to equal just now just because Prince hasn't been as good as hoped so far. If we're just comparing raw results, there's really no point in doing this. Hindsight is 20/20. Obviously Villy has been awful so far, but I'm sure we were thinking in spring training that his career sub 4.00 ERA would look a lot better than 2005 Tomo Okha.

Haudricourt says it's not true. http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/05/19/club-source-no-decision-on-yost.aspx Damn!

Here were some of Ron Gardenhire's comments after a poor performance by his Twins today: "I hope we don't have to deal with something like that again,'' Gardenhire said. "Missing pop flies and failures to get runners in and executing, the whole package. A disappointing baseball game. Walking guys in big situations. Dropping throws to first base. I don't know how you prepare for all those things. We're not used to seeing those things. It's embarrassing for our organization and for our fans. (specifically addressing the problem, rather than pretending it's not there, or comparing it to poor performances from elite teams like the Red Sox). "All I can hope for is that we have a little better performance,'' he said. "I can't accept that. I put that on my shoulders. That's my baseball team out there and we played a crummy game. I put that on my shoulders.'' (maintaining accountability and responsibility for the performance of his baseball team). Perfect examples of direct honesty and accountability, which I feel Ned is greatly lacking and contributes to the lack of discipline on the team.

I have been a big Yost critic this year. Nonetheless, I went out of my way to defend Yost last week and say even he would never be stupid enough to have TGJ as our designated hitter. I can't even give Yost credit without him somehow screwing it up.

Well, we would still have a shot if we are 6 back at the end of May, but I think one value would be the fact that we give Yost's successor some time before next season, even if this season isn't a successful one.

Braun once again pretty vocal, I think he did a pretty good job summing up what a lot of fans feel: "I almost felt like this series, we didn't expect to win," Braun said after the 11-7 defeat that dropped the Brewers into sole possession of last place in the NL Central with five consecutive losses. "We were competing; I know everybody tried hard. But it's not about trying hard. You've got to expect to win. I almost feel like we never really expected to win any of these games. I just kind of had that feeling. "It's just a feeling. Every time we were winning, I just didn't feel we expected to win. It was like we were just content to be there and compete. I don't think we necessarily expected to win. "Obviously, they're a great team. It's a good gauge of where we're at when we can go out and compete with those guys. For us, as a team, our goal can't be to compete. Our goal has to be to win. "Obviously, to come in here and win the series would have been extremely difficult but it's a real disappointment to come in here and get swept. "A team like (Boston), they come out every day and expect to win. You can just sense it. I feel like we're there at times but we need to come with that approach every . No matter who we're playing against, no matter who's throwing against us, and expect to win. Part of that comes with success, comes with beating good teams and good pitchers. We're too talented to approach the game any other way. "We've got to figure it out and figure it out in a hurry. We're better than that. We're certainly talented enough to win games. But a lot of it, our approach mentally, sometimes has to improve. "We've got to go to Pittsburgh and try to find a way to win the series and go to Washington and find a way to win that series. We can't play like this for very long, as deep and talented as our division is. We're six weeks into it now. "By no means is it time to panic. We just have to find a way to start playing better consistently in all facets of the game."

Gwynn is absolutely useless to this team right now. Tommorow being an off day, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Gwynn down and Branyan up.

Wow, Yost sure looked beat in the post-game interview. I would guess he's not sleeping too comfortably these days.

Boston didn't force us to DH Tony Gwynn Jr. today.

Gwynn never strikes out, he always makes contact.

Yost should stock up on sunflower seeds and grab a few bags from the dugouts while he still can.

Is that the case? I thought since we signed Branyan to a minor league deal, we can bring him up and send him down as needed.

Braun could end up being worth $45M in those 2 years of free agency alone. The Brewers get a great deal on the possible cornerstone of their franchise for years, Braun guarantees himself lifetime financial security with one swipe of the pen. Just awesome.

So Pierre sucks, that is why he made an out, not that Gagne did a good job, For gosh sakes, give him due for a day. Off course, Ned is an idiot, since he did not bring in Mota. In fairness, Juan Pierre does suck. I'm just glad we're not the ones paying him.

Jones should not be on first. Have no idea where the 1-2 pitch missed. That was a ridiculous call.