JJHardy7

This guy is a joke. Why didn't he ask for a ride on the team plane while he was at it? It's just a baseball. Some Brewer 'fan' this guy is. Next time he should just ask to be on the teams payroll when he gets a baseball.

Going to have to disagree with this one. In some lines of work, anything under a 3.0 will get your resume sent straight to the bin. GPA is quick and easy screening for recruiters when you're hunting for that first job out of school. I second this. You need to put something on your resume in regards to your GPA or be ready to have questions asked why you didn't get good grades. I've heard from friends in the recruiting business that a high GPA sometimes gets an 'instant interview' at companies because it shows them something tangible and not just a 'good interview' type person. I would try hard to get a high GPA and to be honest it's not that hard if you go to class and try. You're in college to get a degree...you might as well give it your best.

The ball belonged to Happy so he didn't even have to give it to Coghlan. The guy makes enough money that he can afford two bats. He asked for way too much IMO. I just don't think it's respectful to ask for stuff that's not from the player. It's a baseball. Is Happy a Marlins fan or a Brewers fan?

I really like Nelson. I know he's limited in what he can do and I somewhat expected him to be moved off the MLB team unless he turned things around. I just didn't think he'd be moved for Gamel. Not a real fan of that since I would've liked to see Nelson get some ABs against the AL teams. I think he is a MLB player. Is he an everyday starter? Maybe not, but it's too bad he couldn't produce as a PH. I think long-term he could be a PH, but if he's not producing in his role on a team that has playoff hopes the writing was on the wall. I'm more interested to see where he ends up. If he's in Nashville, I'm fine with it. I would just prefer to keep these types of guys in the system in case he's needed later or starts raking and can produce as a PH later in the year. IMO it's nice to keep these guys around (ie trading Gabe Gross last year) and if that's in the minors thats fine by me.

On TMJ this morning Doug said they brought him up now to get some PAs and get acclimated before the Twins series. There was no mention of him playing defensively. I'm sure they'll work him out at 3B before games to get a first hand look and give him some instruction, but I'm not expecting to see him play in the field at all except maybe in a blowout. Less than two weeks isn't going to hinder his development long term. I'm expecting him to be sent back down until the Cle/Det series. I've heard/read this too. I just don't think it makes much sense. He'll still be riding the bench. It's not like Mat has never been in the bigs either. I know he got hurt last year, but there's no need to call him up unless he's playing. I just hope he doesn't get in a funk or anything....or that he plays.

Most are making more of this than it is. This move is more Fielder in 05 than it is Braun of 07. Gamel's up now because Nelson used up whatever boost he got from his great spring. I agree with this. My only question is what is he going to do until he is the DH? I really don't see the sense in him sitting on the bench and being a PH. That could take him out of his 'groove' as we've seen with Nelson. I would've liked to see him called up right before being the DH...that is unless Gamel starts half the games until we play the AL teams.

PrinceEatMeat, I've had him pegged as our 1b once Fielder is gone. He'd likely hit .260 with 25 homers, providing a decent stopgap until someone else came along. He's the only 1b prospect in the system, unless you count Wilson, and he's in A+ Agreed. This move makes no sense to me. It's not that Mat can't hit MLB pitching. It's just that he should be playing everyday. I don't want to see him sitting on the bench. If it is to DH, that's fine...but we're not at that point in the schedule yet.

I'm excited he's coming up, as we need another productive lefty stick. Notice that Florida is starting Chris Coglan in LF, he's a natural 3B who's never played the OF, and was just called up from AAA. Gamel can help us in alot of ways. We presently have the 3rd best record in the NL. We're a legit WS contender. Now lets finish the deal. X, you and I don't always see eye to eye, but there's no way this move is to call Gamel up to play OF. I love Mat and I'm confused. I think a trade has been made. My biggest issue with this is that Gamel should play everyday. If he does that, I'm fine with it. I just don't see how it's going to happen.

Hmmm... maybe not "worry" but we shouldn't completely discount the unearned runs. Dillard's ERA may be 2.31 but his RA is around 3.86. That's a big difference. There is a compelling argument in "Baseball Between the Numbers" suggesting that RA may be a better indicator or predictor than ERA of a pitcher's true skill. I don't want to get too into it and hijack the thread, but I think the basic idea is that ERA can often over-estimate how much fault belongs to the defense and under-estimate the roll that a pitcher plays in allowing supposed "unearned" runs (then again, Dillard does play with Mat Gamel). I'd have to look it up, but I think Dillard was the victim of Gamel and Escobar in the early part of the season when they were struggling on defense a bit. They've been pretty 'clean' the past few weeks. I do agree that RA might be a better indicator, but to be honest I haven't read much on it.

This would be awesome news. What's he working on specifically, and is there any indication that the Brewers are taking him seriously as a viable prospect again? I believe his slider and change. His sinker is MLB ready. I think he could get by with that in the bullpen and be an average arm. If he can develop his change and slider more, I think he could be better than average in the pen and maybe a starter. I'm a little nervous about Dillard's AAA numbers this year. The ERA, WHIP, and homerun rate look nice. But 15 Ks and 12 BBs? That's not exactly a strikeout to walk ratio to be excited about. 9 earned runs looks solid, but 6 unearned runs? Even with a shoddy defense that's quite a few unearned runs to let cross the plate. I wouldn't worry about the unearned runs. As far as the strikeouts, I think that's more with him tinkering with pitches. At this point, I just want to make sure he keeps his walk numbers down and hopefully the Ks start to go up.

Good points MJLiverock. I think it's also important to keep track of your ending balance on the old loan to the new one. In other words, out of pocket fees might be low, but they may just move that to the principal on the loan. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I did a re-fi a few months ago and many offers I had were 'too good to be true'. I didn't want any of my closing costs rolled into my loan. I also found that a lot of offers I had were trying to get the rate lower than I needed and thus charging way too much.

I think he's for real. I also think Dillard is for real in relief, but for some reason the Brewers don't respect their own people at times. I hope Swindle gets another shot, and Smith too. I know it's complicated and there's good questions about who would be sent down, but if the opportunity arises I'd just like them to get a meaningful shot. I'm starting to change my opinion about Dillard as a starter. I think he's working on some pitches that may allow him to do so...he's been pretty solid so far in AAA where in the past he's struggled as a starter. Moving Dillard to a starting role looks like the right move -- I hated it at the time.

Assuming that rate is for another 30 year loan, the rate is a bit lower than I've seen for other 30-years, but those closing costs are double to triple what others charge (my closing costs back in Feb. were ~1500). Was that a re-fi? If it was, that was a pretty good deal.

I really like Nelson and this is some 'bad' news, but Brad has to pick it up. It looks like he'll have a few weeks to do just that. I don't know if he will or won't be claimed. If we were a few more months into the season, I could see a team that is out of it or has an injury or two taking a chance. I think he may clear right now...question is whether he'll accept a return to Nashville or for that matter if the Brewers feel they have room for him in Nashville.

I have seen DiFelice pitch quite a bit in Nashville and I've been a supporter of his here for awhile. I think one of the main reasons he's been pretty darn good right now is that he's not starting. If he'd have to go through the lineup multiple times, I don't know how good he'd be. His role now is perfect for him given he doesn't have a lot of velocity or a lot of pitches. The cutter is pretty nasty. I don't think it's a shock he is not walking guys...he never did in the minors and when he started in Nashville the games would go by pretty quick. I don't think he'll keep up his unreal stats now, but I could see him finishing with an ERA in the 3 - 4 range. The real question will be when hitters start adjusting to him if DiFelice will be able to adjust himself. I doubt enough guys in the National League have seen him that much, but given his year so far I'm sure they'll do some more scouting on him. We will know he's 'arrived' when we stop seeing DeFelice on the board http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I guess I probably shouldn't have quotes around what I wrote because it's not word-for-word, but I went back rewound my DVR and tried to get as close to what he said as possible. It's faily close. Oh it is. I just think he went 'down the path' of working slow and about tempo, but then went back to since he's good he may not get as many runs. I guess I could maybe understand that...maybe. I don't understand the tempo part as much if that's what he really meant. There is some human element I'm sure, but without looking at stats or using stats I don't buy it. I don't think Phillips is all that bad. He does provide some unique aspects since he was a GM. I think he just tries to hard to make sense of things from a very high level to the general fan...which can lead to comments like the one last night.

Trying reading a few of the posts. The concern was who would play in the OF if Braun or Hart were injured. Its a real concern with Braun recent injury scare. I understand that. I just don't know if you move Gamel THIS year because of it. I also really don't want to discuss injuries all that much because this team (the core) has been pretty healthy. I'd rather sign Edmonds if something serious happens. Calling me out without reading the context of the posts is being a jerk. I quoted one of the posts I was referencing to make it easy for you to understand my response, so go back and look at it. You seem overly emotional to an otherwise civil and intelligent conversation. You keep talking about moving Gamel. That's fine. I just don't know why he can't stick at 3B. I don't think I'm being a jerk, but I do apologize if it looks that way. I've seen Gamel quite a bit this year and I don't think there's any way he should be moved off of 3B. That's my opinion. I think you need to go back to that thread and see who actually has been posting his errors as they happen. You need some serious fact checking. Maybe then you'll realize I'm not the only one concerned. I know you're not the only one concerned. You do seem to be pushing him the most to be moved. In a way, it makes you the most concerned about the errors, which aren't happening right now. If its so easy to find 850-950 OPS OF, then why is there so few of them? Last year the league average OPS in LF was just 785. 3B was 771, so its really not the difference you keep alluding to at all. Next time you get your undies in a bundle, do some fact checking. Trying to call me out will be a losing battle. I hope we can discuss The Brewers in a more civil manner in the future. What? How am I not being civil? My point is pretty clear. IMO you'll have a harder time replacing Gamel's bat at 3B than you will at trying to find an OF in the same general 'league'. Before we go throwing around an OPS at a MLB level lets let the player play in the bigs. I don't see why you have to 'win' everything. If you want to move Gamel, that's fine. I just don't see the logic behind doing it in season for any reason. What facts support doing that? A perfect example of finding an OF is last year. The Brewers had LaPorta and Gamel raking in AA. LaPorta could (maybe) play OF. Gamel could. You have two guys with big bats. The Brewers have proven they can find big bats. They maybe haven't proven they've always been able to find big bats in the draft combined with solid defense. Gamel could be one of the rare guys. They'll be able to find big bats...but eventually there won't be a place for all of them to play if we can't find a 3B, SS, 2B, or 1B in the future if certain things do or don't happen. I think I'm being civil X. I admit I do get annoyed when I feel there are posts knocking Gamel when most people have never seen him play. That does bother me because he's been making huge strides the past few weeks.

Not necessarily, because at 3B his defense subtracts from his offense, at another position, it will be easier for him to be above average, and even if he isn't its a smaller impact on the total defense. In LF, he'd just have to be better than Lee, Duncan, and Soriano to be in the top half of the division defensively. How? You are failing to realize any positives. I would suggest you go to Nashville and see a game. Gamel will be ready for a late June/early July call up. Again X, where the heck is he going to play? Please tell me. This team doesn't have a huge hole. I don't say this to be a jerk, but right now there's no reason to get upset that Mat isn't in the lineup. I think Mat is going to be pretty darn good, but I also don't see an opportunity for him right now. That's what happens when you have a good team. Again, please trash all your Mat sucks at defense thoughts back to the minor league thread. I don't think Mat will have any impact this year on the bench and he will be the starting Brewers 3B for a long time when he is called up. Again, go see a game at Nashville the past few weeks. Gamel will be fine at 3B. Moving Mat off of 3B AGAIN would be one of the worst moves this organization would make under the current leadership. It's easy to find corner OFs....why in the world waste Gamel there? His defense will play and IMO he's made huge strides this year/he was hurt coming into the season and is now healthy. Where is your error count X? You used to post it every time he made one in the minor league thread...haven't seen you post a thing positive in the past three weeks or so about that...

I heard it, but I don't know if your quotes are 100% true or not or if the way you are taking it is. Phillips pretty much said when an ace starts the team may feel they only need a few runs -- that's the drift I got. And if your #4 or #5 guy goes, the team feels they need more runs. I heard as Santana is really good and his team may not get as many runs because they don't 'need' them because he's good. I very well could be wrong with that, but that was the drift I got.

Hart or Braun go down for an extended time the discussion has to be about bringing Gamel up. The second part of that discussion is do they play him at 3B and move Hall to the OF or move Gamel to the OF. Marlins just moved of Coghlan and the plan is to have him learn left field on the fly. This goes for X's comment too. I've discussed this quite a bit with him http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif There is ZERO chance Gamel comes up this year and plays OF. Zero. Hall would be moving to the OF. Does Gamel only get ripped on his defense when it sucks? What about the past few weeks? I haven't heard as much about it lately http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Gamel is a 3B and that is where he will stay. If he doesn't make the progress needed, it will happen next year. From what I've heard in Nashville, Gamel isn't going anywhere besides 3B. If he cleans up his footwork and mental things, he's better than Hall at 3B. If you haven't seen him play, you can't comment on that...at all. Hall loves his 'double pump fake' business and it's a joke at times. Gamel will be better at 3B than Hall. Let's give Gamel time to develop and so far he's taking it all in. Putting Gamel in the OF this year would be one of the worst moves the current office could ever make. You can find OFs. It's a lot harder to find a bat like Gamel's in the OF. The ONLY way that happens is if Hart is traded in the off-season or moved to CF. Braun would've sucked in the OF if moved during the year. He had a decent part of the off-season to work on it. I also can tell you Gamel wants to be at 3B. I doubt any fielder at any level works that much harder than Mat does. Again, I don't get the position switch thing that always exists with some here. Is it wrong to develop guys? Or should we put the bat where it can play every time and always have a weakness somewhere? The Brewers don't 'need' Mat's bat now. They will need it going forward though and if he's not at 3B the team has wasted a ton of time and to be honest I would raise big questions about the minor league operations. If Hart or Braun go down for a few weeks (let's say 3), they'd put Nelson there. If it was longer than that, they might make a move. Nelson has played plenty of OF. If you believe he'll keep not hitting, then I guess that's a different story. Brad will be fine. I do respect the thoughts about the bench and him though. He really needs to getting going soon.

I guess this could go in the in-game thread, but Brenly just said (paraphrasing) 'it'll be interesting to see if the Cubs give Braun anything to hit. There's also a way to put Braun on first base without throwing four pitches...if you know what I mean'. He's suggesting beaning him, again? This guy is a joke. Note - This was in the second inning with runners at first and third.

Is he defense getting any better down in Nashville? I believe it is. It's foot work and mental things. There's nothing about Gamel the athlete that 'can't do it'. I really, really think Money should be in Milwaukee in some shape or form next year. I think he could help Rickie a ton. I know Rickie isn't as bad as he once was, but he still makes mistakes. Money seems to be able to work with these guys very well. I guess maybe Nashville will be the best spot for him, but the Brewers could use more guys like Money in the organizaiton. I also think Mat needs a lot of credit. I know he works really hard and he wants to be at 3B and seems to put in the time it will take to correct his issues. He's not perfect, but IMO he's made some nice strides. However, if Hall or Counsell (and the two really need to be connected since Hall really struggles against RHPs) starts to slump, and Gamel is still swinging a hot stick, the call needs to be made. I don't disagree. I just think if Mat is called up he needs to be the 'guy' at 3B and not split time.

If you don't like it, how about you win the game? My only question is...would Brewers fans be complaining about this a few years back? I don't feel the need to make comments like this because it sounds a tad cocky IMO. I would just suggest those knocking on it do their homework. It's not meant to show anyone up and again I believe teams have done this against us on the 'road' feeds I usually have to watch.

I guess I don't recall the exact game this year...but I do believe there was a team that beat the Brewers and the OFs untucked their shirts and did the 'OF jump' when they won. I don't think it's only the Cardinals that think it's bad. I just think teams don't know why the Brewers do it.

If there was nothing to do in Milwaukee, then why does half the city of Chicago migrate here for work, fun, education, etc? I guess I don't agree with this all that much. I think many more people travel from Milwaukee to Chicago for work -- there are more jobs in a bigger city. I would agree (in a way) that many people from Illinois come to Wisconsin for 'fun' on the weekends. The fun isn't exactly Milwaukee. The fun is the lakes and cottages in Wisconsin. I know first hand from property my family has on a lake that there are a ton of Illinois people that travel up on the weekends in the summer to their property. It's more of a Illinois vs. Milwaukee thing IMO. I also know a lot more people that either move to Chicago after graduating from Marquette/UW-M or at least go there on the weekends for 'fun'. I think the lakes in Wisconsin are why so many Illinois folks come to Wisconsin and that's a good thing. I always wonder what exactly are the things that one can "do" in Chicago (and other big cities), that one can not "do" here. What...there are more bars to go to? Even more place to shop? More Restaurants? More movie theaters? Reality seems to be that those are the thngs most people are actually "doing" in any city...so big deal. Chicago has a lot more options for things to do since it's bigger. I'm not a huge fan of the city, but one reason why cities like Milwaukee 'have nothing to do' is because of the weather. Similar sized cities or bigger cities in warmer weather simply have more options in the city and near by in the fall, winter, and spring months. It's not a knock on Milwaukee. I've lived there and there was a lot to do for me. There is much more to do though in cities in warmer weather simply because you can do more things outside.