AJAY

Perhaps this is slightly off-topic, but I really like what Felipe Lopez brings to the top of the order. I am so excited to have a productive leadoff hitter, and I hope the team is able to bring him back somehow. If Rickie Weeks was moved to left-field, Ryan Braun could be moved to rightfield. Then the Brewers could trade Hart for some pitching. Right now, I see Lopez as having more value to the team than Hart. Leadoff hitters are much harder to find than corner outfielders who aren't putting up any really special numbers overall.

I don't know why the stadium always gets extra attention whenever tax revenues are below projections. The government pays for so many other things through tax revenues too. Shouldn't there be user fees for all those things as well? I can't help but wonder whether those Racine legislators are just playing politics to please their local constituents who originally opposed being taxed for the ballpark. I am not crazy about taxing just the Brewers fans while knowing that all other users of government funded projects don't have to pay user fees as well . . . unless I am missing something.

I don't have the answers regarding who we should trade for, who we should be willing to give up, or who we should sign as a free agent. But I do want to comment about the overall mindset of the organization and the approach the front office needs to take this winter. First of all, I truly appreciate everything that Mark Attanasio, Rick Schlesinger, and Doug Melvin have done for this franchise to make us competitive again. I have no complaints about anything that has been done so far. I am truly grateful for everything. But now I think it's time for the Brewers make a real commitment to being the best team in the division. Several years ago, the Cardinals decided that they were sick of being mediocre and decided to trade for Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renterria, Chris Carpenter, and Scott Rolen (over the course of a few years). Houston went out and got Jeff Kent, Moises Alou, Andy Pettite, Roger Clemens, etc. The Cubs were sick of underachieving and went out and acquired Ted Lilly, Derek Lee, Ryan Dempster, Alfonso Soriano, etc. All of these teams seemed to decide at one point or another that they wanted to make a serious push, and they all went out and got what they needed to eventually win the division. I think the Brewers need to go out and raid the Marlins, Padres, Pirates, Blue Jays, Mariners, Rays, or any other salary-dumping team that may have impact talent. Yes it will stretch our payroll, but we need to topple the Cubs for a change because we can't fall behind them year after year. I hate seeing the Cubs win the division again and again, and I want our management to be sick of it too. I know I am being greedy and very idealistic, but I want to see the front office really want a strong championship contending team. It's time to get what we need.

Glad we won . . . actually, relieved we won. I am not making these statements in hindsight, but I really was upset that Ken Mach let Manny Parra face that second batter in the 9th inning. As soon as the leadoff guy got on base, Macha should have pulled him IMMEDIATELY. Once again, I don't like seeing Hoffman pitch against the Dodgers because they have seen him a million times. Someone else should have been in there once it became obvious that Hoffman was not dominating them. Congratulations to Manny Parra. He really showed great command and mental poise out there. I really really hope he has turned a corner today. EDIT: Can you say defensive replacement for Bill Hall late in the game? He looked a little shaky and was never really camped under the flyballs cleanly.

No, he would not be good off the bench. Streaky power hitters with lousy plate discipline need to play regularly in order to establish their timing and get into a groove. Even the Phillies didn't think he would be good off the bench and they released him despite owing him millions. He is also getting older and has not played since this spring. He's done.

I don't think attendance should influence whether we become buyers or sellers. I can understand the pressure the front office feels, but they ultimately need to do what is best for the franchise based on an honest assessment of the situation on the field. Most fans are smart and understanding. If the front office makes correct decisions and shows they are committed to improving the team, they will continue to draw good attendance for years to come.

I don't disagree with anything you said. Hitters are always streaky by nature, and all the guys you mentioned are all solid when looked at individually. But the question I have is whether their hitting styles complement each other well enough when evaluated as a group. For instance, Mike Cameron is a very solid player. But I wouldn't mind having a high average hitter take his place next season because I think that brings a different element to our offense (which I believe is missing right now).

The statement about our offense seems pretty illogical. We are 6th in the NL in OBP, 3rd in SLG and 4th in OPS. The offense is not the problem. Our pitching on the other hand sucks.I do agree that the pitching is obviously the bigger problem. But I wouldn't mind a change in offensive philosophy either. I think a lot of those offensive stats you pointed out are skewed thanks to Fielder and Braun. But I just don't see anything exciting from the rest of the lineup (other than Counsell and McGehee who have both done a nice job). I don't blame Doug Melvin for the decline of Hardy and Hart because you cannot predict something like that. But I do want to see Melvin mix in a few more "professional hitters" who add some balance and more consistency to the lineup. I just think having some more .300 hitters adds a little more life to the offense and puts more pressure on opposing pitchers.

I am not saying Melvin should be fired, but I am personally tired of his offensive philosophies. I wouldn't mind a GM who values more high average hitters who are TOUGH outs and put more stress on opposing pitchers. I am tired of streaky guys with medicore batting averages, medicore on-base percentages, and not enough power to make up for it. Do we really hit enough three-run homeruns to justify this type of a lineup?

Bring back CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Solomon Torres, Gabe Kapler, Jim Powell, Trenni Kusnierek, and Mike Maddux too.

I went to PNC Park for the first time tonight. A 2.5 hour rain delay, a steady drizzle all night, and a lousy perfomance by Mike Burns has put me in a very bitter mood. The game felt over by the second inning. On top of that, we missed the fight and the 3 runs in the 9th inning because we decided to leave early since we were wet, cold, tired, and extremely disappointed with the large deficit at the time. Nothing went right for me at all. EDIT: Oh yeah, I HATE being only one game above .500.

Thank you Prince Fielder. This was so awesome for Brewers fans. I love it.

What bothers me the most is how mediocre this team has looked at home. We used to be one of the dominant home teams over the last few years, and you could previously count on the Brewers going 7-2 or 6-3 for a nine game homestand. Now they are going either 5-4 or 4-5. I am disturbed by the dropoff.

Kudos to the Brewers front office for agreeing to study the issue and for looking at possible solutions. This is what good organizations do. I am curious to see what they come up with.

Just to clarify any confusion on this board, the issue regarding the sun and shadows is not just something that has come up this season. It has ALWAYS been talked about since the year the park opened. Maybe the only difference is that WE FANS are starting to talk about it more now. But the players have been talking about it for years and years. Anyway, MLB.com has an article about this topic. It looks like Ryan Braun is being more outspoken now. It seems like management is at least thinking about options even if they are not ready to act immediately. http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090627&content_id=5567474&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil

This situation makes me very angry. A first round pick is so valuable to an organization and it's a shame that Jeffress is doing so much harm to himself and the Brewers. As a fan, I feel so cheated and robbed by this guy. Jeremy Jeffress should have to forfeit his signing bonus because he is not holding up his end of the deal. I want that money back and I hope the Brewers sue him to get it.

We needed that. It's about time we got a break for a change.

Enabling steroid use and driving player contracts to ridiculous heights causing familes to have difficulty affording tickets Ticket prices are actually determined by supply and demand. Player expenses have no effect on pricing.

Don Fehr is a complete disgrace to humanity. He and his stupid union have done so much damage to the game of baseball. I hope I never see his disgusting face again.

For those who own the MLB at Bat application for iPhone or iPod Touch, they will soon be adding live video of out of market games. I am very excited about this because it will allow people to watch baseball on a portable media device. I do however wish they wouldn't blackout the home market games. It would be nice to have access to Brewers games if you are out somewhere and want to watch a few innings. You would think that people who buy the application are already fans anyway and probably already have cable at home. So I don't see how a blackout help the cable industry very much. I hope they rethink this a little. http://milwaukee.brewers....p;fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I get what you're saying, but one could argue that temperature, wind, and elevation above sea level shouldn't have an impact either. Actually, engineers have worked hard to try to eliminate these elements as much as possible. So many new ballparks are now designed with retractable roofs to eliminate wind and temperature problems. Coors Field also added the humidor to partially compensate for the elevation above sea level. If there is a way of eliminating or reducing a problem, then go for it.

I can't speak for others, but just for the record . . . I am personally not complaining about the shadows just because the team lost a few games recently. I never liked the shadows since the day the ballpark opened in 2001. I recall a lot of players complaining about the shadows since the opening season of this ballpark. For me, it just cheats the integrity of the game when players can't even see properly. It doesn't matter who wins or loses on a particular day. Even when Ben Sheets had his 18-strikeout game, it kind of bothered me that he was helped by the terrible visibility that afternoon. It just didn't seem the same as if he had done it under more normal circumstances. .

Jeffreyscott, I agree with your comments. In that photo you showed, a sun shield would not be helpful in eliminating the sun and shadow problem completely. However, there are other situations where a sun shield could still improve things a lot. Sometimes the lighting looks different depending on the time of day. I think a sun shield could still improve things in situations such as those shown below. http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/ShadowsCoverInfield.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/ShadowsCoverInfield3.jpg

Just for fun, I am going to throw another idea out there. Instead of curtains, maybe there could be a sun shield that is outside the stadium. It could rest at the base of the panels. It could be something that either rolls, folds, or slides upward. It would only be used as needed. Here is a conceptual drawing . . . . http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/MPSunShieldConcept.jpg

Definitely some very strong words from Braun. I have been hearing similar comments like that from so many other players over the years too. It amazes me that there are still people who don't think there is a problem. Anyway, I rest my case. EDIT: Besides mentioning tinted windows, it's interesting that Ryan Braun also mentioned the concept of curtains during that interview. That's kind of cool http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif