JJHardy7

I will readily concede that Seth has worked his ass off for us, and has made the most of his opportunity in Milwaukee. Balfour hadn't pitched in the bigs since 2004, Yost should have done a better job getting Balfour a couple of lower leverage innings to get the jitters out. I agree with you. McClung busted his tail in the off-season and something I've mentioned before, but I'll say again is that he lost a lot of weight in the off-seaon. He still has some more to go, but if the Brewers keep him around and he shows the dedication I think 2009 could be a very solid year from him. I know it seems silly, but with the arm problems McClung had he was more worried about his arm and less about his general 'shape'. Now that he's not worried about his arm I'd expect more pounds to go and hopefully that will help him on the mound. I think that's the main reason he's been somewhat solid this year. I really wish everyone here could see him warm up in Nashville last year. He was throwing as hard as hell and giving all he had behind the ball -- and his velocity would drop pitch by pitch because he'd fatigue -- I swear he was throwing 100 mph last year or close to it in Nashville. I don't think that's the case anymore. I don't know if this has changed, but how fast did Balfour throw last year? I don't recall him throwing that hard in Nashville and it seems to me he's gotten a little 'bump' in velocity, but I very well could be wrong.

I didn't catch the game last night, but how did he hurt his back?

One of the things that really upset me about Yost in 2007 was the way he handled Balfour. FTJ I know we disagreed about the trade when it happened, but I do agree with how Balfour was handled. I don't want to turn this into a bashing Yost thread or anything, but Yost seems to treat his relievers like they're all the same when they come up and in reality guys that have never pitched in the bigs are going to have some nerves the first few times. The perfect opportunity for a young guy/first time in the bigs is in a blowout.

I've seen them personally at every level in the minors. Fair enough. I personally have never thought Weeks projected to be a power hitter (in terms of home runs) because he just isn't consistent. Does week have the potential to be a big home run hitter? Of course he does, but I don't know if he ever has shown he's capable of doing over a period of time. I guess it's a moot point to debate this. It's kind of like if a tree falls and no one is there does it make a sound type of thing.

Power, speed, athleticism, plate discipline ... He's a legitimate 5-tool player, despite the fact that he's yet to put it together. I truly believe he's the most all-around talented player on the roster, despite the results. I agree with what you're saying Brian, but how do we know he has these 5 tools? Because he's shown flashes or scouts have said so? I tend to think his 5-tools were more or less projected tools and really aren't there as scouts have been saying. He has speed and athleticism, but I'm not sold on everything else since it's nowhere near consistent.

He's a baseball manager, not a head football coach. He's not busy during the entire game. I mean Russell Branyan was at the plate. What could Ned possibly be managing there? Telling Russell to swing for the fences in between every pitch? He doesn't have to go and get right in the middle of it, but he can at least get his ass off the chair. It's not his job to babysit a professional athlete. Yost gets involved and he's 'picking sides' or some freak injury happens to Fielder and Yost gets the blame. He didn't get involved and didn't put any blame on Fielder after the game. He did the right thing IMO.

Am I really the only one who doesn't care what any manager or coach says to the media. They are only there because they are made to be. They are essentially saying "Blah, blah, balh" just long enough to justify ending the conversation. I agree with you. Managers or coaches in any sport rarely say anything that really means much. I agree with everything FTJ has said. Just some thoughts on things I've seen and heard in Huntsville and Nashville: - JJ has always been a team leader. He's just the silent type, but he does carry some weight in the clubhouse. He's very well respected by the team and other teams. I think some here will be surprised with the type of money he'll be offered when he hits free agency. - Parra is intense. I'm not saying he said or did anything because I have no clue, but he doesn't have zero emotion. He is very, very intense on game days and takes his job very seriously. There is no question about his will to win and he very well may have said something to Prince. Is he to blame? I don't think so. I think the organization needs to sit down and talk face to face with Prince. There have been some indications that he's not happy and this needs to be smoothed out. Prince needs to know that this is not how Milwaukee Brewers act. I also think we need to take a step back and look at how the team saw this situation. Zero players held or attempted to hold Parra back while several held Prince back. To me it looks like this has happened before or the players knew it was possible. Would you really be afraid of Prince? He's big and all, but it's not muscle. If Kapler or Branyan was going after you, I'd imagine you'd fear your life is over.

1. Braun 2. Hardy 3. CC 4. Parra 5. The Muscle

I think he'd take to an OF position or 1B pretty quickly. No need to get it in his head that the Brewers are already thinking of moving him. And I don't think they are. I understand what you're saying. I just hope that if Mat doesn't stick at 3B when he's called he's not horrible and has to move positions mid-year. I think he can stick at 3B if the Brewers are patient with him. Braun did have part of the off-season to get ready to adjust to the OF. I also agree with you that it might be sending the wrong message if you have him take some fly balls in the OF. From everything I know he's not going to fail at 3B for a lack of effort.

I guess part of the reason I brought this up is that if Gamel is to switch positions wouldn't it be better in the minors than learn on the job in the majors? I do think the Brewers have to decide on Mat before moving him up to AAA next year. I could see learning 1B on the job in the bigs, but learning the OF might have a big learning curve.

Its not an idea, its a fact. Braun was historically terrible. To pretend that somehow that he through hard work was gong to become decent is just fanciful thinking. He didn't have the skills and no amount of work was going to improve his terrible range. So yes Gamel is better bet to be a major league 3B. Will he definately stick? I don't know but that isn't a decision that they have to make a real call on for another year. I completely disagree with your logic in this situation. Players can improve, but back to the thread. I'm not saying that Braun should be moved back to 3B. I'm just comparing where they were/at and what the Brewers should do.

I don't have the numbers right in front of me right now but from what I remember, and it's pretty subjective, Gamels error totals have been significantly worse than Brauns were in the minors. Errors aren't a way to judge a players future potential. This is why I've raised the question instead of looking at subjective numbers. If you've been to some minor league games, the scoring is very subjective like you mention. Gamel by no means is a great defender, but if we want to break it down to the error stat Game has gone about 15 games without an error. I understand the transition isn't huge (SS to 3B), but it is huge when you're not only changing positions you're also being rushed up. It's an adjustment at the position AND an adjustment at the talent level.

Braun is the worst major league 3B anyone alive has ever seen I would rather have a productive discussion than simply throw out ideas like this. When you look at the entire picture Braun had limited experience playing 3B and was rushed up. This rarely gets mentioned, but I think it's critical to the discussion since Gamel may be put in a similar position. This is the entire point of the thread and I'd rather not turn it into a Braun bashing session without looking at the entire picture.

As many know, I wasn't a fan of moving Braun off the hot corner and believe over time he would've been at least an average 3B. This was confirmed by those in the Brewers organization in the discussions I had with them. The Brewers are in a win now mode and moved him off 3B for the good of team. I do not have a problem with this, but I think a very important decision the Brewers must make sooner rather than later is what to do with Mat Gamel. I've seen Gamel a few times and again I do think he can handle the hot corner, but if rushed up to the majors the results won't be pretty. I thought I'd throw the idea of who is better at 3B -- 2007 Braun or Gamel in 2009? I've only seen Mat a few times so I'm sure there are others here who have a better idea of where he'll fit in the future. Can the Brewers wait on him until 2010 to be in the big leagues? If they can, I think he'll be MLB average and his defense has improved over the past few weeks. FWIW, Mat is very, very dedicated to proving the doubters wrong in terms of being able to handle 3B. He has a great work ethic, but will it be enough to keep at the hot corner? Is he better or worse than Braun?

Kind of makes you wonder how long it's been there, as if he's been trying to pitch with this, you'd think it might have been a major factor in his problems. I was thinking the same thing. As far as feeling bad, I do feel bad for him. He did make a lot of money, but I thought the booing in Miller Park was a joke for him. Turnbow is a good guy and it's not like he wanted to fail. Fans can turn quickly in Milwaukee, but I do hope Turnbow makes it back.

I don't think managing a baseball team is nearly as complicated as someone like Ned would have you believe. Really, the big decisions are: 1) lineup 2) handling the pitching staff 3) maybe a double switch here and there in the NL. There's enough statistical data out there to make most of those decisions automatic. I agree with this aspect of the job, but I think it's hard for any of us to know how difficult or I guess easy it is to manage the clubhouse. I think that would be the most difficult part of the job. I know we all can knock Weeks, Counsell, Cameron, etc. when they play bad, but a manager has to deal with them in the clubhouse and has to balance the good of team with not letting the players get upset at the manager or other team members.

I just hope he doesn't get frustrated from getting yanked around because he deserved to be in the majors more than some guys on the team, a la Steve Bray. I agree. Bray's performance in Nashville was probably the most disappointing thing to me personally so far this year in AAA. It looks like he's turned it around in Huntsville so hopefully he'll get back to AAA sooner rather than later.

Getting on base is what baseball is all about. I don't ask for pity on the Brewers when they give up a bunch of runs. As we've seen many times, there aren't too many leads that are "safe".

I love how this thread died after he pitched well last start and now it's back and running. We are so confident in McClung after his performance today? I'm not saying Suppan is a Cy Young pitcher, but I think he's fine as the #4 pitcher. And for all the CV love let's all remember how he struggled big time in his starting role early in the season. It's the ups and downs of a season. Before the season people posted here that if Parra and CV weren't starting the Brewers were not trying hard, then Parra and CV struggle and people want them out of the rotation or sent down, then Parra and CV succeed in their current roles, and now it's back to Suppan/Bush/McClung. It's a long season and Suppan will start. He's nowhere near the Gagne point of failure. The Brewers need solid starts from Suppan and hopefully they'll get them. I think a much more pressing issue is the Bush/McClung platoon. I expect to win one of two games between the four and five starter when they are pitching back to back and if number 4 and number 5 are struggling that will negate CC and Sheets leaving it all up to Parra.

He is looking better, but I think it's worth mentioning that the Brewers have a few pitchers (CC, Sheets, Gagne, etc) pitching for contracts next year. If Gagne pitches like the first half again, he's going to have to take a big-time pay cut. Gagne pitching well down the stretch could very well get himself a multi-year deal from a club.

I really don't get the being upset about pulling out the jerseys. It's not directed anywhere. Is it symbolic of something? I apologize if this is posted somewhere else (I'm sure it has), but this all started with Mike Cameron. I guess he's been doing it for awhile and it's to honor his dad and his brother. His dad would always come home from a long hard day of work and immediately untuck his shirt, relax, and have a cold one. I guess his brother must do the same thing now too. I think this was on one of the games this week reported by Brian Anderson. It's more or less a way to honor his family for the hard work they have to do while he gets paid well to play a game. The rest of the team just started picking up on it and liked the idea.

Wouldn't Branyan have to be designated for assignment? I would imagine a team would claim him if that's the case. I don't know if it's worth the risk then.

I don't consider a batter posing (walking slowly or just standing there..it's bascially still posing) to be a show of emotion. Emotion is something that comes naturally. Posing like that is not a natural thing to do and has to be somewhat thought about. Emotion to me is pumping your fist and showing excitement. A blank stare is not emotion. So now we are defining a persons emotions? Braun's "stare" very well could be his way of showing emotion. I'm not going to start saying what's emotion and what's not. We'll have to get Braun in front of a mic and ask him, "Ryan what is your natural emotion?" The entire discussion over what other teams do is a moot point. It's all about the team you cheer for here. If you're a Cards fan, you might be upset, but who cares? If the Cards make the pitches, the HR never happens. People may want to see no emotion or whatever and that's fine. It just isn't a common thing to hit a GW HR in the 9th inning against a big rival in the middle of a playoff hunt and simply show zero emotion in today's game. The Cardinals can go pound sand. Thank you Ryan Braun. Agreed.

He got it, he knew he got it, and he was unashamed to take a long look at it. Given how classless the Cards have played against us in recent memory, I relished in Ryan's gaze. I agree. I think it's important to also look back at last year and see how the Cards played a part in getting the Brewers off track. This series was huge for the team and the players and they knew that. I'm not going to worry about Braun staring down a potential home run that hits off the wall until it happens. I'm just going to enjoy moments like that hopefully the rest of the season. If the Cardinals fans are upset, don't keep blowing games late against the Brewers at home. It's that simple. The Brewers IMO do need some swagger down the stretch. It's been a long time since the Brewers were in the playoffs and we can't have a bunch of players who are scared of the big moments. I do think if this was in the first few innings it would be out of line, but given the situation it is somewhat understandable.

I think he pitched fine tonight. The starting pitching has been pretty good all year and hopefully Suppan's trip to the DL pays off in the long run. It's easy to get worked up early in games, but over the long haul of the season I'd keep Suppan in the rotation unless he's on the DL.