fleehaw

Why not a Green/Halton platoon? Both had great platoon splits their last full year in the minors. Why not put them in a position to succeed?

Yuck, this is discouraging. I can only hope he fails his physical. I would much rather have one of the Dodgers' castoffs. And why the 3rd year. At most, it should've been an option year.

I would if he and Axford nets the Brewers Castellanos and Porcello. This would give the Brewers their heir apparent to Ramirez at third with a potentially perfect timeframe.

A properly collected urine sample is still sterile. If Braun's or anyone's sample has bacteria or yeast in it, it means either they have an infection, or it was contaminated. That does not mean analytes in the sterile sample won't break down over time and temperature (it depends on the analyte) to yield errant results. FWIW, I find Braun's explanation plausible and I hope he's vindicated in some way. I will also reserve my judgement until he's convicted/suspended (concrete evidence surfaces), or he admits his use. Unfortunately, as others have echoed, I don't think either will happen. I was merely disputing points written as facts by another poster.

Urine is sterile, and a properly collected urine sample will be sterile (unless you have a UTI). In a properly sealed sample, there won't be any evaporation. And yes, I'm an actual scientist.

Yes, but unlike the Rangers, the Brewers do not have young, cost-controlled for many years, offense talent that is or near major league ready that they'd be willing to trade. Besides Braun, what package of Brewers offensive players would realistically bring back Felix? The way the Brewers have their prospects laid out, I think you have it backwards. With the potential surplus of pitching that they could have in the upcoming years, they will be looking to trade some of their veteran pitchers for young, cost-controlled, offense talent. Similar to what the Rays have done.

One can argue that Veras was better then Axford last year. I don't find that very funny.

Although I believe it's a pipe dream, I'd love for the Brewers to land Ramirez and Thornton. With the departure of Pierre, the White Sox may have some interest in Morgan (IMO, a sell high candidate). The White Sox could select two of: Thornburg, Scarpetta, Heckathorn, and Bucci. Select one of: Gennet, Richardson, or KhDavis. Add Morgan and McGehee. The Sox save roughly $6M this year while the Brewers only add $6M while filling SS for the long term along with an 8th inning guy. The idea of Betancourt playing SS for the Brewers in '12 made me throw up a little bit in my mouth.

Well, since Braun is from California and he played college in Florida, your close relative must not have had contact with him. Also, how does a close relative (in the singular) turn into '5 or so' guys.

Fielder plus their '11 salary differential to the Rays for Matt Garza McGehee and a prospect like Lasker to the Marlins for Nolasco and Helms (if he's not a FA) 2b-Weeks CF-Cain LF-Braun 3B-Gamel 1B-Hart RF-Dickerson/Katin SS-Escobar C-Lucroy Bench: Katin, Inglett, Helms, Counsell, & Kotaras Rotation: Gallardo, Garza, Wolf, Nolasco, Parra/Narveson Bullpen: Parra/Narveson, Axford, Hawkins, Braddock, Coffey, Loe, & ....

Really? The vast majority of bachelor degrees lead to jobs with salaries less than 6 figures (most a good deal less). Meaning it'll take him at least 2 decades to make up his signing bonus.

You make it sound like no one would fill the void left by Jack Z which is not accurate. So the better question is: Will Seid + Melvin lead to better success (product A) than Jack Z + Melvin? Or basically taking out the common Melvin, will Seid be more successful than Jack Z? And it's far too soon to answer that question. My assumption is that they'll be pretty similar. Thundercat, I think you missed my point. Not taking into account Seid's contribution to the Brewer's and their future drafts is inaccurate. Given that the majority of people involved in scouting and ultimately drafting/signing players remains intact, then yes, I do think Seid's reign as scouting director will yield similar success to Jack Zs. However, only time will tell. That being said, I don't think anyone will argue with you that the inability to develop impact pitching from within the organization has really handcuffed the Brewers. Is it Melvin's fault? Sure, the buck should stop with him. Is it only his fault? It shouldn't be; all of the involved personnel (Jack Z included) should share some of the blame. Also, we've seem to have seen a change in draft strategy the last couple of years with a real emphasis on drafting pitching. That combined with a system-wide change in pitching philosophy is at least evidence that Melvin and the Brewers are trying to remedy the problem. Again, time will tell how successful it is. It's apparent that you don't like Melvin and you want him gone. That's fine, but not everyone is going to share your opinion. You seem very argumentative when people bring up valid rebuttals to your points (some of which are valid themselves).

You make it sound like no one would fill the void left by Jack Z which is not accurate. So the better question is: Will Seid + Melvin lead to better success (product A) than Jack Z + Melvin? Or basically taking out the common Melvin, will Seid be more successful than Jack Z? And it's far too soon to answer that question. My assumption is that they'll be pretty similar.

A different way to get revenge would be to have the pitcher intentionally walk the target and let Prince let loose on him at first base. You figure you'd definitely get some great shots in before getting pulled off. It's not going to happen, but it'd be pretty sweet if it did.

Actually, if you find a platoon-mate for Overbay (Katin?), he would make an excellent stop-gap. His splits against RHP have been very solid (.806, .905, .865 last 3 years). But I wouldn't mind Hart to first either, depending on who is manning RF next season.

No, he isn't Carpenter, but he has to be upping his value a bit. With the Brewers being out of contention, he should be flipped in the upcoming weeks.

Gamel is better than McGehee defensively according to more than one metric. So, according to your statements, McGehee should also be moved to another position or traded? Gamel may never produce at the major league level, but it's hard to ignore the success he's had in the minor leagues. He is a legitimate prospect and there are numerous people that feel like he will outperform the Brewers current 3rd baseball both offensively and defensively immediately.

Bumgarner, Bumgarner, Bumgarner. While it's very doubtful the Giants would part with him for a package centered around Hart, crazier things have happened. Most of us remember the Mets trading Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. That being said, the Brewers shouldn't be inclined to 'sell' anyone unless the deal makes sense for them. Sanchez doesn't really do it for me, and I wouldn't acquire him straight up for Hart. It could make some sense to acquire Sanchez and Ishikawa for Hart if the Giants would also take on a guy like Wolf. An Ishikawa/Katin platoon at 1B is an intriging one for me and I'm not a big fan of Wolfs. Moreover, I favor balance, and I wouldn't want to see a rotation with Wolf, Sanchez, and Parra in it let alone Davis and/or Narveson.

If the Brewers believe Lawrie can play 2nd, then Weeks should be allowed to leave as a FA after next year. If he repeats the year he's having this year, he should be a type A FA. This would give Lawrie a full year at AAA to mature. There's no need to rush Weeks out the door for a stopgap 2B, unless someone blows Melvin away with an offer. That is what a smart, small market club would do IMO. If the Brewers don't think Lawrie will stick at 2B, I would certainly explore an extension with Weeks given that both Fielder and Hart will most likely be gone (meaning there should be money available) and the Brewers don't have a replacement ready to go in the minors.

Please elaborate, what mental bug are you refering to? I have not heard of Parra being diagnosed with anything.

Trading Fielder and acquiring at least a league average defensive 1B would help.

There is no need to replace Hart with a player in return for a Fielder trade. The Brewers have enough OF talent in the minors to replace Hart with. Cain, Gamel, and Lawrie just to name a few who could possibly replace Hart in RF Gamel probably being the only player who wouldn't be an upgrade over Hart in RF defensively. There really isn't a need to get a bat in return of Fielder unless Melvin is thinking of trading Weeks also and still then there is enough bats in the minors to fill those holes. As of now, only Cain of the 3 you mentioned is an OF. Lawrie looks to replace Weeks in 2012, and Gamel could replace McGehee anytime. As for Cain, I see him as a potential answer in CF, something that remains to be seen with Gomez. Who does that leave, Gindl, Katin? While I like Gindl, the jury is still out on him and Katin doesn't look like anything special. That isn't to say that Gamel or Lawrie couldn't end up in the OF, but as of now, neither of them have any experience out there. Moreover, the position player doesn't have to be an OF, I just gave a specific example that I seem to like. If they could get a prospect that plays 2B or 1B, it would work just as well. I do like the idea of Joyce because he's a left handed bat (and under control for at least 4 years). It also increases the likelihood of dealing Hart for anything of fair value.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I'm not hung up on only acquiring pitching for Fielder. My favorite fantasy trade notion for awhile now has been Fielder to the Rays for Wade Davis and Matt Joyce (with a few complementary pieces going back and forth). It gives you a left handed OF bat to replace Hart and a good, young pitcher (under control for 5 years) to slide in right behind Gallardo. If the Brewers can acquire via trade a legitimate #2 starter that is ready to pitch in the bigs next year, I think their rotation will look much, much better. I have no problem penciling in Parra as the 3, with Narveson, Loe, Rivas, Rogers, among others battling for the last 2 spots. That being said, if that mythical #2 SP doesn't exist, I don't have an issue with receiving quality prospects in return, pitchers or position players.

You also should take into consideration that Parra wasn't stretched out when he entered the rotation 5 starts ago. I'd really rather not jerk him around some more with going back to the bullpen. It has to be in the Brewers best interest to leave him in the rotation and evaluate him after the year.

The biggest thing that Macha says that bugs me is, "I'm the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers." I'm really looking to the day where he must insert former in that statement.