TheCrew07

Why does it have to be done through FA? Why couldn't you trade for those players and keep the money to use on our own players? Flexibility isn't maxing out the payroll every season... it comes from spending money wisely, getting the best value on the dollar and having multiple options at key positions. Melvin entire problem is that he's basically limited himself to the draft and FA to build this team, but he can only afford mediocrity in FA. He's said repeatedly that a team of "average" players will be competitive and he basically works to replace below average players. That's why he's happy maxing out the payroll to be average, he's just playing whack-a-mole with holes on the team from year to year. It works well enough to be an average baseball team, to float around 81 wins give or take, but we're never going to be a great baseball team on his watch unless he changes his approach.

That's too bad, get well soon Bob!

Again what makes you so sure that they can't get 2 players who would surpass Prince's value? Prince isn't a 9 WAR player, he's not the best of the best, he's a just a premium offensive talent, if we got 2 3 WAR players then we're better off on the whole. We should target premium talent in prospects because drafting with the compensation picks likely won't yield the same level of talent as the top 15 picks in the draft are protected, and all of our star position players were drafted before the 8th pick in the draft. Loney is not an elite player, he's an average player, and we have plently of averagish position players in the minors. Trading for a player like Loney is exactly like trading for a guy like Dave Bush, there's not much risk associated with the move, but there's not upside with the move either nor are we getting him for 6 full seasons. We have plenty of hitters who profile to be league average to good, we only have a couple with the talent to be impact players. If you're trading an impact player like Fielder, then you should be looking for impact talent in return. No one is going to trade a young impact talent with MLB experience for a rental, so if we want impact talent back it's always going to have to be in the form of AA type players with significant talent who still have development to do. It's the same argument I made in the Hardy debates, Hardy was a 4 WAR player, I still think Escobar will be a 2 WAR player in his first full season, so for the net effect to be better we only had to acquire a pitcher who was worth 2 WAR in his first full season, as the last pitchers at the back of the rotation all pitched below replacement level last year and so far this year. As an organization we've needed impact pitching talent forever and we're starting to get thin on impact bats as well. As a small market I think acquiring significant talent through as many avenues as possible should be the goal. The only way the Brewers have acquired significant in Melvin's tenure has been the draft, that's been his shortcoming as a GM. We aren't drafting high enough anymore to be able to draft players of Fielder's caliber, we aren't going to get the best hitter in the draft anymore, so he needs to be more creative. He needed to be more creative to address the pitching as well, but as that didn't happen either I'm not expecting Fielder to be moved, I still think Melvin will play it out exactly like he did with Sabathia. They'll make an offer, make it public, and when the player signs elsewhere say "We tried."... that's just not good enough for me.

That's quite encouraging.Is it? With low 90s velocity on a sinking FB in MiLB you'd think the results would have been better throughout his career. I'm still confused and my only explanation is that he hasn't developed any of his secondary pitches to the point where it's an out pitch. I really wish a Lee Tunnell, Gord Ash, BA, or anyone with any credibility would address Periard's game in print or audio so we had something to work off of.

Yes, he could fill in as injury replacement this season in fact. As it's been said many times we have quality depth between AAA and AA now that could step in and help out the MLB rotation, there's no longer a need to keep bad pitchers around as depth.

Good thing Escobar isn't just a .700 OPS player then, unless of course he's not going to get better from his first taste of MLB and never be more than he was as a 22 year old getting his first extended action. I said .700+ because he's certainly not the sub .700 player you painted him out to be, hopefully he'll end up around the mid .700s which is plenty good for his first full season in MLB. I figured you'd throw out his ground ball percentage as proof even though it's never been an issue in his career, and he's almost always batted at the top of the order. Until it happens and he has an inordinate number of GDPs, it's an empty argument against him. Escobar batting 8th is the same as Yo not being the opening day starter last year... it has nothing to do with talent or results, and everything to do with Macha young players can't handle pressure theory.

Where is the statistical evidence to support this theory about Escobar grounding into too many double plays batting behind Weeks? That was never an issue for him in the minors, nor has it been an issue for him in his 200ish MLB ABs, he has exactly 1 GDP in his career. Furthermore is pretty clear that Escobar has plenty enough talent to put the bat on the ball, I think it's safe to say that he's a good hitter. He may not walk enough ever, but I grow weary of Escobar being treated like he's still the 19 year old struggling at BC. He's clearly a .700+ OPS player with potential to grow. His biggest issue to this point hasn't been his bat, it's been his rocket arm throwing balls away. edit. I was posting this before the HR, and I'm not a fan of these comparisons but to make a point Hardy is hitting .214/.266/.357...

Darn it, I had asked Chad for a Periard velocity update during the PBP, anyone listening in?

Escobar's bone head throws are getting more annoying by the day. How can he throw entirely across his body going the wrong way and it be a perfect strike, then have all the time in the world and bury one in the dirt to Prince? Fielder has never been a great digger of balls in the dirt, but my goodness... that's the one thing I really liked about Hardy, he threw a perfect strike over to 1B 99% of the time.

Escobar hits the ball hard for a bean pole.

I agree with Robert in that the multiple narratives coming together doesn't really give us time to get attached to the characters in the same way we did with Band of Brothers. With Band of Brothers we followed a single company of soldiers from training through the end of the war, with the The Pacific and the intersecting story lines, I just don't feel the same attachment to the characters that I did, I think the telling of each episode from a different soldier's perspective added to that sense of attachment in Band of Brothers. With Band of Brothers, every time I hear the theme it conjures up a strong emotional response, that's carried through for me personally from the first episode to the current day, any time I stumble across an episode on one of the HBOs I will watch it, even though I know them all by heart. It just hasn't been the same for me with The Pacific, I'm interested to see how the stories finish at Okinawa, but this series hasn't grabbed me as powerfully as band of brothers did. I was wrong initially, a simple Google search would have refreshed my memory, I haven't studied the Pacific in detail since I did a Pacific Air War presentation for speech class in high school. The 1st didn't fight on Tarawa or Iwo Jima... I was combining the 1st and 2nd divisions, the 2nd division eventually became the 3rd... it's all pretty confusing and I had it straight for a long time by I digress. The 1st was too battered after Peleliu to fight at Iwo, and I should have remembered immediately given that the fighting was barely finished on Iwo when the fighting started on Okinawa. The fighting at Peleliu was exactly like the fighting on Iwo despite dissimilar terrain and lasted nearly as long, 3 full episodes of the horrors Peleliu and Okinawa should be powerful to say the least. I think The Pacific has been very well done from a historical perspective, you saw the shoddy equipment the Marines initially fought with (bolt action rifles) to the more advanced equipment as the war progressed (carbines and such), the story has been compelling, the fighting has been fierce, the ferocity of the Japanese soldier has been conveyed very well, the visuals have been stunning, and I would highly recommend it. However I don't think it's as compelling on screen as Band of Brothers was, even though the fighting was much more ferocious in the Pacific. I would have struggled to put my finger on it but I think Robert nailed it. edit. Bucky beat me to it but I'm glad we share a similar view of the series.

There is definitely quite a bit to like about McGehee and I'll admit he's my kind of player, he's a guy that gets the absolute most out of what he has. However, he's not a guy I'd sign to an extension, he's already at his ceiling. This offensive explosion out of nowhere... it's truly remarkable. However, he's 27 and already maxed out, he's a guy I'd go year to year with, we'll already own his rights past 30, and that's all I'm basically looking for out of any young player, and he's not so young, not is his talent elite. I'm honestly not sure what to make of McGehee, I've been cautiously optimistic about him, players just don't do what he's done thus far, it's very rare. His early success again this season virtually guarantees that Gamel will never get a shot to stick at 3B. Maybe Ennder has been right all along and Gamel is the 1B of the future, I think Gamel would be an excellent defensive 1B, and I still believe he's a .900+ OPS player at his peak. I don't see moving Gamel to the OF at this point, we have plenty of depth in the OF long term. We also have Chris Dennis who I really like and has been converted to 1B so we do have a couple of options if Fielder is moved.. As far as Fielder is concerned, if the Brewers aren't a playoff team with him, then I think prospects are much better value than draft picks. I will be horribly disappointed in Melvin if we end up with a single 1 and done in the post season with this first wave of talent, he would have bungled the situation miserably. A single playoff appearance has been my fear since the Sabathia trade, I'm just not able to get past this nagging feeling that we sacrificed multiple appearances for a single shot. I sincerely hope I'm proven wrong, but I just don't think this is a 88-90 win team unless our 2 most talented pitchers, Yo and Parra, both take their game to another level, or 3 in Parra's case. (BTW, Parra hitting 94 MPH again with his FB the other day made me smile). I just can't see the Brewers going 5/125 with any 1 player, and I think Prince will be looking at getting along the lines of 6/140 or 7/160. Someone will tack on years, and even though I don't think 25 per year is realistic for him, stranger things have happened in baseball. Regardless, the Brewers will never be able to compete with the years a large market team can offer.

Is it wrong for me to admit that I've been a Red Wing fan since 1991 when I first was able to watch hockey? I know they are the like the Yankees in baseball but I loved me some Stevie Y. edit. I was also a huge Quebec fan but when they moved to Colorado and then started to challenge my Wings, I had to pick between my #1 and my #2, but I'll always hold a special place for Sakic as well. I just hated Claude Lemieux so much I couldn't bring myself to root for the Avs anymore, he was my Cubs in baseball, but all rolled into a single guy.

The Strars B lineup for game 2 is pretty anemic but that might just be my bias against McCraw, Watching the T-Rats made me a fan of Sanchez and made me dislike McCraw, I didn't think he belonged in A ball, certainly not AA. As I'm typing this Wilson Ks with the bases loaded, tough start for him this year. edit. Does anyone else have problems with a wireless keyboard? I have to edit every post here at home like 3 times because I noticed missed or doubled keystrokes. I've had 3 different kinds, currently using a Kensington, but I've had similar problems with all of them. I actually have my computer hooked up to my HD TV now, so I do all my work from the couch.

Flores gives up 3 in the 10th, BC down 3-0 going to the bottom. Komatsu needs to get a hit for me...

I really like him, hopefully he stays in the system.

Dolis worked over BC again today. I liked the Cubs better when they didn't have any pitching in the system.

Weeks! Darn you... and scoring that a single? What?

Please settle in here DB.

Well of the 3 options for the 5th spot, I like this second best, if it's true.

There is no way the T-Rats are playing today unless the weather is drastically different in the 35 miles between my home and Time Warner Field.

I have a hard time with the line "any of us would take the money", because I still believe that are people who care about honesty and integrity out there. I would never sign a contract that I didn't think I could live up to, and I have to believe that I'm not the only one around here that feels that way. If Suppan doesn't feel horrible in the same way that Gagne did, then he's a piece of garbage in my opinion. I have no problem with him signing for that money if he honestly thought he could meet his end of the bargain, but given how it's turned out he had better feel horrible about it. I can't be the only the one who would feel guilt and remorse over taking that kind of money to be a below average pitcher. That's why I have a ton of respect for Gagne the human being... Gagne owned it, knew he blew it, and he made an effort to make it right. When has Suppan ever owned his poor performances publicly, I read a ton of baseball news every day and I don't recall him ever owning a bad performance like Rand Wolf did earlier this season? Maybe I just have a selective memory? I have no doubt that many here would take the money and run without giving it second thought, but that doesn't make it right, and please don't lump those of us that wouldn't take money in by saying "Who wouldn't take that money?". If no one else will say it, I will. I wouldn't take the damn money, I have a hard time accepting a free night out on the town when work is paying for it and everyone else around me is splurging. It's just not how I'm wired. As far as keeping Suppan around for depth. I find the notion of keeping depth around for depth's sake so infuriating I don't even know how to put it into words. Suppan has been below replacement level for 2 years, which means we should be able to bring up a starter from AAA and get marginally better production. Why don't we start concerning ourselves with quality instead of quantity? We have enough depth in AAA and AA now that we don't need to keep scrubs around just for depth. What's really difference if those starts go to Suppan or Estrada, Loe, Lofgren? Aren't all pitchers who give up runs and don't last through the 6th inning essentially doing the same thing to the bullpen? The only difference would be how many runs the offense is scoring... The end result would likely be the same either way, but at least the guys in AAA are young enough they may improve, Suppan will only continue to decline. The organization desperately needs Manny Parra to figure it out by 2011, he needs to be in the rotation. I've never been a huge Narveson fan, he pitched better in MLB than he did in AAA last season, and he was fantastic this spring, but I still favored Parra for the rotation. I'd rather put the effort into someone with some upside who's talented enough he could swing the entire rotation on his performance alone. The Manny Parra question needs to be answered by the end of the season, one way or the other. Sooner or later Suppan will have some good outings, every pitcher does, and then people will want to give him a couple of more starts, but Suppan isn't making us a better team this season and certainly won't be doing anything for us in 2011 other than collecting his buyout. Parra's development is stalled in the pen, get him in the rotation... if he fails we can go with Narveson or one of the AAA arms, if he succeeds then we'll be in much better shape this season and going into 2011.

Fiers was outstanding again today, too bad the effort was wasted/

But if the net effect doesn't push him into elite territory then what is the point? The point of making trades from a Brewer perspective should be to acquire talent we won't be able to get any other way. If we could sign proven elite players, pitchers or hitters, then we wouldn't need to make trades to replace our losses. As it stands we have a risk going after high ceiling prospects because if they aren't already in the farm system that's the only means we have to acquire that talent. Trading an elite talent in Fielder would mean that the Crew would hopefully be looking for some elite talent coming back. I've had my fill of these high floor/low ceiling players that Melvin has been going after. Sure Loney mitigates the risk somewhat, but does he have any chance to be special? If not, then I don't really see the point in trading with that organization. The Dodgers have no pitching or hitting at the top of their system that interests me, the same could be said of Boston now that Buccholz isn't really an option.

He's not going to pickup .050, you are over exaggerating the effect. He may be grow some yet as a player, but it's not like he's going to pick .050 just because he switches divisions.