Pudster13

I can't believe that the majority of the responses in this thread are positive toward this rumor. Braden Looper? Are you guys serious? This reminds me of when the Brewers signed Suppan and the majority of guys thought it was a brilliant signing for the Brewers because he was an "innings eater" with postseason experience. What did that get us in game 4 of the NLDS last year people? Pat Burrell having a field day at Miller Park, that's what! Looper has many similarities to Suppan: -innings eater -former Cardinal -career ERA near league average -low stirkeout, control pitcher -past his prime (35 years old) If the Brewers replace either Sabathia OR Sheets in the rotation with Looper, the Brewers will NOT contend in 2009. Villanueva, Capuano, or McClung would be a better rotation option, IMO. Let's spend our free agent money on something of quality for crying out loud. Come on Doug!

I really enjoyed the "Don't cry Mrs. Ticketmaster" part. Also, the part about Kerry Wood in the ending was great!

Why does this seem like it could be the off-season of the 1999 Milwaukee Brewers? R.J. Swindle Jorge Julio Todd Coffey (re-signed) Mike Lamb (re-signed) Trot Nixon Chris Duffy YUCK! 2009 slogan- YOUR BARGIN BIN BREWERS!

Trot Nixon= left-handed Kevin Mench but not quite as funny lookin'

Oddibe McDowell?

I really like this proposal. Lind is a lefthanded RF would can get on base more than Hart. McGowan has ACE potentional and is still relatively young. Toronto is looking for a long term solution at SS. P.S. It was once rumored that we'd get McGowan straight up for Overbay. At the time, I would have taken that over the package of Bush, Gross, Zach Jack.

You don't have to be a MLB scout to know that Alcides is much more likely to win a Nobel Prize than he is to join NASA. You have to be a U.S. citizen in order to join NASA. If Alcides is to reach his NASA ceiling, he has a long way to go. First he has to spend a year at AAA AND become a U.S. citizen!

As a Brewer fan, I hope Alcides Escobar is the next Hanley Ramirez. Unfortunately, he is not. He's more likely to become Enrique Cruz than Hanley Ramirez with the bat. The point I'm trying to make is that it is frustrating reading that Brewer fans want to trade J.J. or move him to third base when he is only the third shortshop in Brewers history to be named an all-star.

-Alcides Escobar will hit .257 with a .304 OBP at AAA in 2009, with good defensive stats. -The Stock Market will not truly rebound for 3-5 years. -The Brewers will win 84 games in 2009. (unless we re-sign Sheets/make other massive roster moves)

I was able to watch the Brewers 2008 Highlight DVD. I didn't like the title too much "First in a Lifetime-The 2008 Milwaukee Brewers". I think it draws too much attention to our franchise's historical patheticness, while disrespecting Milwaukee Baseball fans over the age of 26. lol Overall, the 30 minute highlight video was pretty well produced. But instead of having testimonials from Brewers, they have alot from FSN boardcasting staff, Jim Powell, and the unidentified "Door Man". They seemed to give equal highlight time to different phases of the season: Spring Training, Yo injury, Bad May, CC Trade, Good August, Bad hitting August, Wild Card celebration, NLDS. Personally, I think they should have spent more time on the last homestand and the NLDS. It would have been better served, letting the drama of the last homestand play out in storybook fashion. I think that is what the fans will want to remember and cherish the most from the 2008 season. The segments were narrarated by Bob Uecker, just like the highlight vids from the 1980s, which is pretty awesome. Hearing it only made me want the Brewers to reach the World Series again while Uecker is still with us. They did include the entire FSN broadcast of the September 28th Wild Card clinching game as a separate DVD track however, so that was a nice touch. FYI: I heard the employee at the fan zone say to someone on the phone that the DVD was not for purchase, but you could get one if you had a voucher or spent over $100 in the Fan Zone.

Escobar does not have near the talent that Hanley Ramirez does with the bat. We will all learn that this year when he struggles to hit AAA pitching.

I don't think the Padres would be as willing to trade Chase Headley but maybe we'd be able to pry Kevin Kouzmanoff from them.

Hardy is an all-star shortstop. Escobar will never be. I don't think we can afford to trade Hardy for prospects (even pitching) as still expect to be contenders.

I don't think most Brewer fans "buy" into the whole sell high/buy low philosphy. Bill Hall has a very low value right now. We are not going to be able to get anything good (if anything at all) for him given his contract the next two years. Everyone also wants to trade Rickie Weeks right now. I think that would be a mistake. Everyone seems to think Escobar is the second coming, which he is not. I think he'll be similar to Orlando Cabrera in his prime. I say sell high on Escobar's potential and see if we can get a near MLB-ready starting pitching prospect for him.

Now that the A's have lost out on Rafael Furcal for SS, I say we should trade them Escobar for one of their top pitching prospects. Melvin said Hardy isn't going anywhere. Personally, I feel Escobar is being overrated a bit. I say sell high on this kid's potential. I know prospect trades are rare, but the A's have an abundance of pitching prospects, and we have an abundance of hitting prospects, so a trade would at least make sense. Which of these three pitchers could Escobar fetch? RHP Trevor Cahill LHP Brett Anderson LHP Gio Gonzalez Thoughts?

While I think Gross is a fine 4th-5th OF, I'm always perplexed at how many fans want former Brewers back every year. I'm sure there will be a thread in 2 years when Russell Branyan is a free agent again that we should consider bringing him back again. lol However, I think Saito and the Brewers could be a short-term bullpen match. I have a feeling he'd draw interest for other teams though, including Jack Z's Mariners, who just lost their closer(Putz) via trade.

Craziness. If we offered Manny a ONE year deal at $30M, the Brewers would be turned down. But I see your point that Ibanez is actually a good deal at $10M per year and I agree. If the Cameron for Cabrera trade goes down still, what about signing Griffey to a 1-2 year deal? He hits lefthanded, but I'm not 100% sure he can still play adequate defense in center anymore. My hopes are that if we do acquire Melky, we plan to only use him as a 4th OF. Thoughts?

Max Headroom

Cameron and Hall are two players the Brewers no longer want. Cabrerea and Cano are two player the Yankees no longer want. Cano and Cabrera both can bat lefty. Contracts cancel out. Makes too much sense to me.

We still owe Hall $15 over the next two seasons. Yankess owe Cano $25 over the next three seasons. I think I'd make that switch. Additionally, there is no way in he-double L that we are getting Hughes in this deal. They wouldn't even trade him Johan Santana!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about expanding the deal to this? Yankees get: Cameron, Hall, $$$, top prospect besides Gamel/Alcides Brewers get: Melky, Robinson Cano, and Alan Horne Play Cano at 2B (bats lefthanded), move Rickie to CF, and make Melky a 4th OF (what he should be), plug Horne at AAA for pitching depth Use any money saved on Free Agent SP or 3B (until Gamel is ready). Lineup: CF Weeks 2B Cano SS Hardy 1B Fielder LF Braun RF Hart 3B Free Agent/Lamb C Kendall

Would everyone still be as upset if the Brewers used the 9.5M in savings from this deal to try to resign Ben Sheets?

I would like the see the Brewers target Hank Blalock. It's rumored that the Rangers are willilng to trade him. He just turned 28, entering his baseball prime. He bats lefthanded and plays solid D at 3B. If he's over his health issues, he could be a breakout/buy low candidate. Now that they've traded Laird, I imagine that Teagarden/Saltalamacchia will split catching duties, but they also have Max Ramirez. If they don't trade another catcher, they mave be looking for Salty to get Abs at 1st. Looks like Texas wants Chris Davis to be 3B and therefore give Blalock abs at 1B or DH. Not sure if the Brewers match up as trading partners with the Rangers though. What type of package would the Brewers have to put together to get Hammerin' Hank?

link http://www.ajc.com/braves...braves_trade_vazquez.html Official: The Braves trade C Tyler Flowers, SS Brent Lillibridge, 3B Jon Gilmore, LHP Santos Rodriguez to Chicago White Sox for Javier Vazquez and LHP Boone Logan. I think the Braves got a good value in Vazques. Flowers is the key piece coming back to the White Sox.

Great topic Colbyjack! Personally, I got really excited for the future of the franchise the very second we drafted Prince Fielder. I think the first "wave" of talent that got everybody excited was the one that included Fielder, Hardy & Weeks. Being able to follow those guys as youngstgers in Beloit was a lot of fun, and made it more rewarding once they panned out. I think the fact that the next wave that produced Braun and Gallardo is really what made us contenders. However, the Brewers got very "lucky" in my opinion, b/c Braun and Gallardo are "once-in-a-generation" type players. I think they will remain the two core players for this franchise, while many of the first wave will be traded at some point. I do feel that because of the great success of high (1st-2nd round) draft picks (Fielder, Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Gallardo, etc), as a whole, Brewerfan.net Nation is overrating the current wave of prospects. I don't feel we have any players in the current wave of players that will be superstars, and few that will be MLB starters. Here's my humble opionion and "gut" feel on how these next WAVES OF TALENT will pan out: Current Wave: (2008-2009 MLB action) 3B Mat Gamel- I think he is a bit overrated right now. I think he could become a solid regular if he stays at 3B and improves his defense. I think his average MLB season will be around .290, 15 hrs, 90 rbi. .360 OBP SS Alcides Escobar- I think he is vastly overrated right now. I think he will be a fringe regular, but only b/c of his great defense. Despite his 2008 success, I'm not sold on his bat. I project a season of .260, 5 hr, 60 rbi, 20 sb. .300 OBP (yuck!) C Angel Salome- I like his bat, but I'm concerned with his size. I think he will become a 2nd string type catcher. However, he doesn't have the defensive catching skills to be in the majors for a long career. If he gets a chance to start, I project a season of .285, 16 hr, 65 rbi, .340 OBP. 2B Hernan Iribarren- The Hurricane- I think he will be a reserve middle infielder in the majors, but only for 3-5 years, at best. 1B Brad Nelson- I still like his bat a little, but I think he will be a left-handed bench player and backup 1B-OF for several seasons, hopefully for the Brew Crew. RHP Tim Dillard- I think he could survive as a middle reliever in the majors for a couple seasons. Otherwise, I'm not convinced his pitches are MLB quality. NEXT WAVE- RHP Jeremy Jeffress- I still have really high hopes for this one. I think he can be a #3 type starter if he continues to progress. I think the chances he becomes a #1 starter are about equal to him flaming out (a la Mike Jones, Rogers, etc). Don't like the drug red flag. Cross your fingers. 3B Taylor Green- He's a guy that I think is actually a little underrated. I think he could be a solid-average major leaguer and a real gamer. I think he could play either 3B or 2B in the majors. Love his plate disipline so far. (141 BB, 159 SO in minors) If he can become a regular, I think he could put up numbers similar to Gamel, .280, 15 hr, 75 rbi. .375 OBP (me likey!) OF Cole Gillespie- Also underrated so far, I think he could become a 4th OF type for a few seasons in the bigs. C Jonathon Lucroy- I think he has a better shot a being a starting catcher than Salome. I think he could have a decent career with a projected season average of .260, 12 hr, 60 rbi, .340 OBP LHP Zach Braddock- I actually would compare him a lot to Dana Eveland, but only if he stays healthly and improves. I think I'd only project him to be a #4 or #5 starter, but a potentional innings eater, which would be valuable. Others to watch: OF Caleb Gindl (I like his hitting potential) RHP Evan Anundsen RHP Alexander Periard OF Lorenzo Cain (toolsy, but won't be a MLB starter) 2008 DRAFT WAVE: C Brett Lawrie- I really love this kid. If he can't stick at catcher, I could see him as a 2B/OF similar to Craig Biggio, with a long and productive hitting career. Still a ways away, however. RHP Jake Odorizzi- I like him a lot. Same red flags and risks as everytime you draft a HS pitcher. If I had to pick between him and Jeffress, I'd pick him. LHP Evan Fredrickson- I thought he was reach for the Brewers. Don't think he'll amount to much in MLB if he can't refine his command. I hope I'm wrong. RHP Seth Linz- Doesn't have the ceiling as Odorizzi, imo. If he doesn't make it as a starter, I could see him at the back end of a MLB bullpen someday. OF/2B Cutter Dykstra- Diving into walls style of play like his father, Lenny. How his bat develops in the minors, will determine if he is a solid regular or a 4th OF type. I'm excited by the prospect with the Brewers adding more depth to the sytsem during the 2009 draft as well, as we should have several high picks if we lose both CC and Benny. I don't see many blue-chip stars in the system currently, at least not even in the same vein as Fielder and Hardy (let alone Braun or Gallardo). However, I think our farm system will continue to produce MLB players. I think the fact that the Brewers are bringing single-A baseball back to Wisconsin (Timber Rattlers in Appleton), will be a great thing for Brewer fans in the state.