JJHardy7

I don't see a reason to have to trade Fielder now. His price the next few years won't be that bad. I do worry about his weight and if he doesn't control that IMO his value might be higher right now than next year. It's hard to predict. We don't have to trade him by any means, but if the Brewers thing his weight will get worse they almost have to make a move if the right offer is on the table.

It'll be interesting to see where Joe goes and if he's in the bigs or AAA next year. Any chance he signs a minor league deal with the Brewers? I'm guessing not, but stranger things have happened.

Seriously, tell me what you love about watching Bucks basketball. I want to support my home team. Well I just look back at the year they made the Eastern Conference finals. That was a great ride and I'm not saying this team will do that, but that team took a few years to hit their stride. I think having Skiles around is a big plus and the new GM should be pretty good. I'd also think if you're not a huge Bucks fan just remember it's early. You never know what can happen and there should be some optimism with the team...at least for now! I"m actually pretty impressed we made it to page 4 of the thread. I guess you're right homer.

It didn't take to long for people to post they didn't care about the NBA or didn't like it...

I thought Ridnour played a miserable game He showed flashes IMO that he can be a 'true point guard'. He did have some bad turnovers.

I know it's just one half, but I think LRMAM is going to be one of the better second round picks and will see a lot of playing time. I also think the Bucks may actually have a 'true' point guard now. Ridnour should be solid for them all year. I'm not saying after one half the Bucks will get a four seed, but after one half it gives me more belief that they can compete for a playoff spot. The effort IMO was pretty high on the defensive end. They may not have defensive players, but so far (again one half only ) it looks like Skiles is 'changing' the Bucks and to me that's a good thing.

Seriousy who gives Dan Gadzuric a 6 year $36M dollar deal? He is a back up center for god sakes. That has got to be one of the worst contracts in Bucks history. It literally made no sense at the time. I'm going to guess another team would've given him this or at least that's the impression I had at the time. Big guys get a lot of money even if they don't have a lot of skills. I really didn't mind $6 million a year at the time, but I did hate the length. Gadzuric had a very limited offensive game at the time of the contract and he hasn't improved. I would've been fine with a 3-year $18 million deal since I didn't think Gadzuric would develop anywhere near 6 years of guaranteed money.

Yost just is too bone headed to understand this. I agree with your point for the most part Ennder, but I don't agree with this. I'd imagine Yost talks to the trainers and evaluate each situation. If he doesn't, yes he's not smart. If he did and the trainers ok'd him, that's a problem. I'm not a big Sheets guy at all, but there's no way in hell the guy wouldn't take the ball. I don't think I've ever said he was a pansy or anything like that and given his comments about his injuries before the season he's taking the ball. Is that Yost's fault? I really don't think so. I do agree with you Ennder with Parra. I don't know if it was that there weren't other options or what the deal was, but he was worn down a bit. I really do worry about that with Yo next year and I think sometimes thoughts that 'hey we have Yo as our ace if nothing happens' aren't true. Yo isn't going to be able to start every game next year with big innings IMO and not have a negative impact on potential injury/hitting the wall situations.

I'm starting to get the feeling (no sources or anything like that) that CC will be a Brewer next year. The only problem I have with going after CC is that they'll ignore Ben, which means they better seal the deal with CC. Sheets has seemed upset that he wasn't offered an extension before the season and I can't believe going after CC hard now and more or less ignoring Sheets will sit well. This might sound crazy -- but mark me down for CC staying with Milwaukee next year and I do think 4 years at 100 million gets it done (there might be an option or something like that). Losing a Gagne and Sheets salary allows the Brewers to make this deal. I just worry more about improving the other parts of the team since free agency doesn't seem ideal for the Crew if CC is back, but CC, Yo, Parra, Bush, and Suppan (he'll start there's no way around it) makes for a pretty strong rotation IMO.

It's funny, but every new Head Coach comes in preaching defense. But defensive players are never added. You have Redd, Charlie V, and Ridnour who either have zero interest or zero ability in playing defense. Bogut isn't much better. RJ is the only starter that is even an average defensive player. Then you add Alexander off the bench with no defense... I just don't understand what they're trying to build here. I loved the RJ trade, but I don't understand anything else they've done this off-season. I understand your post, but some of it is about flat out effort. Ridnour will give you a ton more effort than Mo Williams. I think the effort alone will make our defense against PGs better. Is he an all world defender? Not at all, but he will try and that's the most frustrating thing about Mo Williams. I also would take Bogut on defense over at least half if not more of the centers in the league. He's not an ideal shot blocker. I wish he was, but that's not his game. I think the 2nd round draft pick we had will play quite a few minutes and be a pretty darn good defender this year -- that was a major defensive player that was added. I agree that Redd and Charlie V aren't defenders, but at some point and time I think Bucks fans have to watch other NBA teams. Most NBA teams stink at defense. It's a scoring league in the regular season and the better defending teams usually move on in the playoffs. I also think Alexander is going to develop into a nice defensive player. For all the crap Alexander gets around here, let's all remember he wanted to be in Milwaukee -- that doesn't happen often. I would wish Bucks fans here would get behind him, but that doesn't seem to be the case and some maybe missed his games in college. He won't be a stud in year one or so, but Alexander is a NBA starter and it's because he gives 100% effort. I have a feeling he'll be a fan favorite sooner rather than later, but for now some here think 'he sucks' and was a horrible pick. I don't think that's the case.

I really want Vinny Rottino as I have his game issued Nashville Sounds Jersey from September 1st of last year. They were playing the Memphis Redbirds which was there 1982 anniversary game just like the Brewers had in August. It is unused as he was called up on the 1st and the jersey was already made. How did you get this jersey? If it was from a Nashville Sounds game, I believe the game was in July (possibly August, but for sure not Sept 1 because that would be playoff time) against the Redbirds and the players all had their last names on the back of their jersey. I'm just wondering since I got a Parra and Sarfate game worn that game and I know the Vinny jersey was one of the more expensive jerseys. There was a silent auction during the game for the jerseys and the minimum bid was $75. I'm not trying to be mean or anything. I'm just curious how you got this and if it was actually the game worn jersey.

going into last year people thought we had an 85-90 win team. We lost Sheets and that is it and probably will have a few upgrades here and there and now we are going to struggle to reach .500? The offense underperformed last year almost across the board and I expect us to score more runs, give up more runs and still be in that 85-90 win range even without Sheets and Sabathia as long as Gallardo/Parra/Bush stay healthy. I guess I'm in the camp that this team will struggle to be .500 if CC and Sheets are gone. You're right if the offense shows some growth they should be fine. I'm just sick of trying to think some of these young guys will figure it out for the whole year. After Braun, Prince, and JJ I don't have a ton of faith that guys will improve. I'm sure the Brewers will make other moves, but if they didn't losing CC and Sheets hurts a ton. They won a ton of one run games and if the offense doesn't show that they're taking the next step they could lose a lot more one run games/not have one run games. Back to the thread topic...I wasn't a huge fan of the Cameron signing due to the suspension and the fact that I thought it's hard to rely on a guy that old. Cam proved me wrong and I think they should pick up the option. He's not perfect for the offense the way it's structured, but I just don't see how the Brewers are going to find that 'perfect' player without over paying someone or trading some prospects.

Bogut is money with that little left handed hook shot and decent from 12 feet and in. Oh I'm not doubting Bogut doesn't have offensive skills. I just think if he doesn't get the ball during set plays (which with some coaches this has been the case too much IMO) the only way he can score is on rebounds. I agree with homer on the passing skills. I think he's shown them at times, but it's just a matter of not having the ball during set plays. Bogut is one of the best passing big men in the league -- he needs to offense ran through him IMO. To say Bogut isn't a good player, is kind of off base IMO. I'm not saying Bogut will be a hall of famer. I am saying that he's a pretty good player and it's hard to find big guys in the NBA. I hope Bogut continues to develop and to be honest I'm sick of all the 'they should've taken Paul or Williams talk'. There were a handful of 'experts' (if that) that projected Paul that high or Williams for that matter. It was by and large going to be Bogut or Marvin Williams -- I'd taken Bogut then and now.

I also fail to see how Bogut is going to have a much larger role on offense. I just think Skiles is going to run the offense through Bogut more so than coaches in the past. I agree that if everything goes according to last year there may not be shots for him, but I think if the offense is ran through Bogut he'll get more opportunities. I guess part of me is just frustrated that it seems at times the only way Bogut can score is if he gets an offensive rebound.

I guess I just see this team as being better than most so far that have posted here. Maybe I'm just a homer. I think 41 wins isn't out of the question. I really think Skiles will help this team a lot and motivate them. I also see Bogut playing a much larger role on the offensive end. My real question with the team is depth. They really can't afford a significant injury. I know it's been discussed, but can Joe Alexander play the 4 in the NBA? If he could (I'm not so sure about that), it could be a huge boost to the team IMO.

I think the Brewers might be able to get a nice bargain on him assuming they don't re-sign Sabathia, but the big question is obviously whether he wants to come back. I agree Stevo. I get the impression he really doesn't want to come back. Wasn't there something about how he felt hurt that the team didn't try to extend him before the 2008 season started?

I will be bummed if they leave Nashville, but not all that shocked. The stadium is a joke and attendance is poor because of the stadium and it's location. I hope something can get resolved, but this has been going on for awhile now and my guess is that they won't put money into the stadium.

MNBrew and TooLiveBrew: Your thoughts are kind of what I was thinking, but to me it just seems odd he hasn't been offered another manager job. I guess maybe he has, but it just seems odd he hasn't managed again with the records he's had.

Is anyone worried that Davey Johnson would cause problems with management? It's wikipedia so FWIW: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Johnson Why has he been out of pro baseball so long? He seems to have upset people in New York, Cincinnati, and Baltimore. Is this why he isn't in the bigs the past few years? I don't know if I'm for or against him, but I would wonder how long he would actually last given his history -- again, if wiki is true.

I think the pitching management and the people skills are the most important parts of the job. How they handle the media is the least important of the bunch. Agreed. I hope guys like Weeks and Hart play well enough (I don't want to get into if Weeks/Hart suck or should be traded just using an example) that decisions to bench them don't have to be made. I personally think that's a critical factor on this team since the core all appears to get along and some have played quite a bit with each other in the minors. A manager that's able to sit a 'popular' guy on the team and still have the respect of the team is a major piece to the puzzle.

If only the Padres were an AL team, this would be almost ideal to trade Fielder. Since they probably don't want Fielder and 3-team trades are little on the rare side, I'd have to imagine they'll want quite a haul back. If it's Hardy or Escobar as the center piece, I'd do it. I just think it'll take more than I'm willing to give up. I know I've been against trading JJ this off-season, but if trading JJ, insert one of the catching prospects here, and Jeffress does the trick I'd be very tempted. Jeffress could be quite the talent down the road, but the Brewers will know what they have in Peavy and Escobar has a very bright future. IMO it really then boils down to the catching prospect or other pieces that the Brewers would haev to give up since Escobar vs. Hardy will be fairly even in a few years and Peavey > Jeffress at least for the next few years if not longer.

so i guess you weren't a big fan of trading Overbay to bring up Fielder? I don't know if this is a fair comparison. Overbay was an average 1b and it was pretty clear that Fielder would at least be as good as Overbay if not better in his rookie year with the bat. I just don't see Escobar coming anywhere close to some of Hardy's power numbers in his rookie year. Fielder never played a 'full' season (he was called up before September for a small stretch), but he certainly proved in AAA that he was going to be a special player from an offense standpoint. If we sit here a year from now and Escobar puts up good numbers in AAA/mix of MLB, 3b is resolved somehow, and Weeks either reaches that dreaded potential word or 2b is fixed, that would be the premium time to trade Hardy IMO (I believe Hardy has 2 more seasons before free agency).

I think in the future Braun could win one, but if he wins it this year it's more because of his bat than his fielding. I'm a huge Braun fan, but he did play pretty deep. If you look at stats, I guess he's in the gold glove discussion, but in reality some of those stats are because of how cautious he played. I would love to see Braun develop into a CF in the next few years, but if nothing else he should continue to develop into a pretty good LF.

Does anyone know how much money Jack Z makes and how it compares to others in his field right now?

There is a much greater chance of the team taking a dive when you let your two aces walk and you trade your one established shortstop, replacing him with a player with offensive deficiencies, for a #3 type pitcher just to save money. I hate trading a player when you create a hole to fill another hole. My point in referencing your other post was that the Brewers can't spend money with the best of them just based on their attendance this year. If they do that, I worry about the future of the franchise. I'm not for trading Hardy unless it's a flat out great offer. I just think it's somewhat scary to just spend money because of the attendance this year. If the team has injuries or stinks, that attendance figure is going to drop big time. There are other ways to get starting pitchers besides CC. CC was great, but none of us here know what type of deal he's looking for. If you're willing to give him a 6 year deal for over $20 million a year, I will just disagree with you. That would be way to risky for this team and could hurt the team for years. If CC would take a 3 year deal, then I'm more on board with that. The Brewers will also be getting back draft picks if CC leaves and combine that with all the early picks they had in 2008 they can put a good team on the field for the next few years and bring in more Brewers fans. Then I think you can rely a bit more on attendance. That and getting a new tv deal. The Brewers need more revenue if you want them to spend money with the best of them.