TheCrew07

Go to www.bigtennetwork.com and they have a channel finder.. you put in your zip code, your service provider, and they give you the channel. Today's Badger game is on 9501 on Dish Network for example, in HD.

I'm not sure where you got those numbers or how they were calculated... but those numbers cannot be accurate. I lived in the Twin Citites until '98 (went to college at the U) and the Twin Cities metropolitan area was roughly 2 times the size of Milwaukee. I just looked at bucks2281 wiki table and that looks much more like what I would have expected to see. The number of households relative to this market has been documented many times, Milwaukee is without a doubt the smallest market in all of MLB. On a related note, Austin continues to explode... I was there in 2000 and the city was struggling to adapt to the population boon then, I wonder how it's doing now, especially the interstate system? I'm not sure I'll ever get over seeing people just leave the highway and drive up the embankment to the frontage road, and just leave the frontage road and drive down the embankment to the highway. They did it so often they actually had the tire tracks worn through the grass, like a fire lane up here in the sticks, and made their own on and off ramps. I was driving the rental car with friends from Minnesota and California at the time and when the first truck jumped curb and went up the embankment we were all floored... funny how after 3 days of seeing people do it we didn't hardly take notice anymore.

yep, for almost 2 years now with HD.

that's only good television if the evil empire is losing... I didn't notice that change in the HD, I've been absorbed by all the other channels now that we're turbo charged.

Melvin was a local radio show here in GB that I caught on my way to practice yesterday and while he discussed a couple of topics including trading/moving Hardy, resigning Sheets never came up. He discussed trying to sell Sabathia on the city, the fans, the stadium, and the franchise to get a bit of a home town discount. He pointed out that money talks with FAs and they normally go where the best contract is, but he said he thought Milwaukee now had a small chance to resign Sabathia, where they had no chance prior to aquiring him. Other than Ben being the wrong side side of 30 and will likely start losing velocity on his FB, the other trend I really don't like is his decling K rate. For the most part he's still a power pitcher with FB/CB... if he can get the change up to be an out pitch he'll continue to have success otherwise I don't see why hitters just wouldn't sit FB with him as his FB slowly becomes more hittable.

This was said much better than I would have been able to, bravo. When this topic comes up people usually seem to the think the pendelum (sp?) will swing back the other way soon. I just don't see it unfortunately.. every year the kids I deal with are more pampered, less aggressive, and less motivated than the year before. Our kids just don't go out and play anymore, they stay inside and play video games or text on the cell phone... while I have 2 cell phones(1 is a work BB) and I love my xbox, the difference is that these kids don't really get to accomplish anything in real life, most of their accomplishments take place in video games where there's usually a shortcut or cheat to help you win. I was sitting with some of our Seniors at the LockIn earlier this month and I asked them what the deal with the cell phones was. Instead of having a conversation with someone they text because it's less personal (their words, not mine). It's easier to say no, or ask someone for something with a text message than it is to speak them to directly. Basically the gist of conversation was that they can have a conversation devoid of emotional attachment or commitment.... If you've never accomplished anything meaningful how do you have any confidence in yourself? If have no attachment to anyone other than yourself, how do you grow as a person? In many ways I think we were lucky in that we didn't have consoles games as they are now (I'm only 33), and didn't have cell phones. We had to get on our bikes and hook up with our friends and interact socially on a daily basis to keep ourselves entertained. Even growing up on the farm like I did, we'd ride our bikes 3,4, sometimes 6 miles to see our friends and entertain each other. I think the guys I grew up with had much stronger bonds to each other than the children now do. It didn't really matter what we were doing, it just mattered that we were doing it together.

The "key" talent isn't all locked up, unless you consider Braun the only "core" player on the roster. I don't want to get into another circular debate about roster management and payroll but signing aging vets to bloated contracts is the fastest way to shorten the window. If we're talking 1 or 2 year contracts I'm down, I have no problem with temporary solutions that allow youngsters to progress at their own pace. If we're talking 3-4 years... no way do I want to be locked into aging pitcher for 4 or more years. The Suppan deal made sense at the time because Yo was the only young pitcher that was producing and healthy, the organization had no ammunition to swing a deal for a young arm or the money to sign a high profile FA, and the internal options from the previous year were not very appealling. The club is in a much different position at this time, the first wave has completely arrived, the second wave is knocking on the door, and the club has mutiple options they can utilize to fill out the roster. If it comes down to spending the money on a SP or RP, then I guess I'd settle for the SP... because the only thing I hate more than paying aging SPs market value is paying a bullpen arm market value for 80 innings a year.

lexi881 I would think that everyone here would understand that immediate family would have a different perspective on this matter than many of us who follow the minor leagues pretty closely. If there was a poll that included any family member of mine I'd be there voting from every single different system I could, because it's family. I'm removed from the situation so I'm going to vote on merit, not on bias. If that means I'm a crappy fan, I'm not a BREWERfan, that's okay, I'd much rather hold true to who I am than compromise my values for people I'll most likely never meet. I explained why I voted the way I voted, of the players in the poll Mat has had the 3rd best season, if you're unwilling to accept that explanation and my honest opinion, I have no issue with that. I'm certainly not going to be able to force anyone to see things from my point of view.

Which is exactly why I've repeatedly noted that #1 pitchers are not targets, nor should they be... Santana is Ervin Santana from LAA... Shields would be James Shields from TB... both are #2's that are 3rd best pitcher on their respective staffs, it doesn't take much effort to go around the league and look at the SP rotation for each team. I've also said repeatedly that I would rather have 5 #2's than a 1, a 3, and 3 #5's... The step down from a 1 to a 2 isn't all that great, I see #2's as the best value for the dollar. Sure a FA pitcher may make the team better next year... what about year 2, 3, and 4? Why rush to fill a hole now that may be inconsequential in the future? Basically that's exactly what a FA pitcher does, it ensures that we'll have 3 pitchers in the 4/5 range locked in for the next 2 years. We already have Suppan and Bush, why add a 3rd pitcher with limited upside for 4 years? Is that pitcher going to be so much better than McClung/Villy that he's worth the extra money for that 1 season? All that does is block any of the younger pitchers that step up in 2010. Targeting a younger pitcher solidifies the rotation for a couple of years and would allow Jeffress to replace Bush and Braddock/Periard/whomever to replace Suppan. I don't refuse to accept that the Brewers have some buying power, it's that I'm concerned with the long term health of the franchise. The Brewers had over 110 million in debt when Mark A bought them, the team needs to continue to retire debt. Furthermore, the Brewers are only a mid market spender if attendence stays over 2 million a year, I'm not willing to bet that every year the Crew is going to draw like they have this year, I don't feel that's realistic. It would be great if things stay as they are, I'm just not sure they will. Maybe Z moves on to a GM job, maybe Mark A flips the team for a profit... I just don't see planning the franchise around the best case or worse scenario, planning to have a max payroll every year is a plan to fail financially. All it takes is a couple of key injuries and a season can be lost, there are no garuntees in sport. Again I never said I'm not into spending money, I'm just not into spending on FA pitchers who are declining, and most FA pitchers in the Brewer's price range will be over 30 years old and on the backside of their careers. Hardy is not an averagish SS, statistically he has 3rd highest OPS of SS that have 400 ABs or more this season, only Ramirez and Reyes have had better seasons. If you include all players that have played a game at SS this season he's 12th overall. Yea he lost a step after the ankle injury, but he's steady in the field and productive at the plate. An unproven and character risk in Hamilton was enough to get Cinci Volquez, deals for young pitchers are certainly possible, and I'd much rather try to aquire the next Volquez than sign Burnette or Lowe. I'm not sure how else to explain my position as I'm unsure if you're grasping the core idea I'm promoting, I don't have the vocabulary to put into words exactly what I think about subjects. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

It was addressed to you because you're in favor of spending money to sign a FA pitcher. My point is that it's better to aquire any starting pitcher early and pay them on the front end, rather than pay them on the back end. Of course we have to give something to get something... but I highly doubt the team will hang onto prospects that are blocked. For example what value does Gillespie have to the Brewers at this point? I would submit his greatest value is as a trade piece, not as depth. If the Crew could trade Hardy + Gillespie + 2 A ball pitchers for a Santana type pitcher, why not ? I'm not saying that's exactly the deal, but it would be pretty close depending on the player, and a Neimann type without an MLB track record would be much cheaper. The Brewers have been excellent developing bats... but pretty horrible to this point with pitchers. I absolutely love the pitching depth from AA on down, but those guys are on track for 2010 best case. I would much rather the Brewers package bats that are blocked or in a position of surplus for pitching, rather than spend market value on a FA.... that's just my opinion and what I believe is in the best long term interests of the franchise. It's obvious we don't agree on money going to back to the payroll ceiling debates on the major league forum, this topic, and the Gamel topic in the transaction thread in the minor league forum.... It seems that you feel money isn't an issue as long as they stay within budget and I'm of the opinion that money is always an issue when you're in the smallest market in the game, regardless of the current budget surplus or lack their of. Since all MLB contracts are garunteed, there's really no way to keep from paying a player the team made a mistake on unless they trade him. With the star players on the current team like Braun/Fielder/Yo, and more potential stars on the way in Parra, Gamel, Escobar, Salome/Lucroy I think you'd agree the team is going to have to make good decisions about who they sign, how much they sign them for, who they trade, and who they let walk in FA. I don't expect the Brewers to contend every year, I just want them to remain competitive, so from my point of view it doesn't make sense to pay your least best players the most money, regardless of the role they fill. I've posted my opinions on why I don't think FA pitching is a good market for the Brewers many times, and I've yet to see a compelling argument for signing a FA pitcher. The most common point is that the Brewers will have a hole in the rotation they need to fill with someone... which doesn't do it for me. Why would I want the Crew to sign Dave Bush for 10mil when they already have him at a bargain salary?

I understand that, the money was my point, I'd rather keep players as cheap as possible, adding an extra 3-4 mil in the last year of Arby is pretty significant. If he's the opening day 3B next year then it's moot, if they take a Braun type track with him and he has to spend an extra month in AAA to avoid super 2 status then I'm on the fence pending the impact his ABs have this season.

To answer your question because I'm value orientated and I'm not into limiting my options, having 2/9 of the available payroll tied into our 4th and 5th starting pitchers isn't good value, or good business. The rotation obviously has to be addressed, but why lock yourself into 4 more years of mediocre starting pitching when the system is deep? I'm not punting on 2009, but I do think that 2010 is going to be the next real good team in Milwaukee. Just because the team has money to spend, doesn't mean they should spend it foolishly, again that's simply not good value or good business. I'll use the Packers as an example, TT's idea of roster management directly reflects my own. He builds from within, doesn't overspend in free agency, and plugs holes with 2nd tier guys when necessary. He always seems to get good value for the money. I know many people don't like TT, especially after the Favre debacle, and I don't agree with everything he does, but I'm totally on board with his strategy. Up here in GB people are always calling and complaining because TT doesn't make FA moves and max out cap and I've never understood why he use it, just because it's there. In the same way I don't think it's smart for the Brewers to spend 85-90 mil every year just because they can. I would go so far as to say that it wouldn't kill the Brewers to put McClung in the rotation next year and see how Jeffress, Periard, and Braddock do in AA and AAA next year before making a FA move either. I'll ask a question right back, how is Halladay/Lowe/Burnette/Dempster/etc better value than Shields/Santana/Niemann/etc? It seems to me it's far better to control a given pitcher for multiple years while he's on the rise and peaking, than pay that same pitcher market value when he's on the down side of his career. I would have been much happier long term if LaPorta had been traded for a Marcum type pitcher, someone who we'd control for multiple years. I have absolutely no complaints about how well Sabathia has done, who possibly could? The point is that I tend to favor longer term solutions, which is why I hate aquiring rental players for top talent.

Al, Torres has a club option for '09... he may well retire like you suggest, which is why I posting about the roster as is, though I probably didn't make that clear enough. I was pretty close to the Wickman situation when he was going to retire, and it just seems like if the money is good enough there's always 1 more year left in a guy.

I'm not picking on Al here as he's not the only one who's posted about signing a FA SP... I don't think dropping 10mil/year on an aging vet is money well spent. I still feel trading for a young pitcher is the best course of action with all of the young bats in the system. I understood why they signed Suppan, they didn't have the ammunition to aquire even mediocre SP any other way, nor was there any pitching besides Yo in the system that was close to MLB ready (Parra was in the midst of injury issues). While we find ourselves in a similar place with the SP 2 years later as Jeffress is the closest top of the rotation starter the Brewers have in the system and Sheets/Sabathia departing, they have the flexibility of having surplus Bats that can be moved to help aquire a SP. Any FA SP the Brewers signed would likely be in the bottom half of the 25 man in terms of production/talent... I just have a hard time justifying paying someone in the bottom half of the talent pool the 2nd most money on the team. Suppan is already in that position, so I understand why people want to get rid of his contract so badly. In no particular order, these are the current Brewers who I think would be in the upper half of the talent pool. Fielder Hardy Hart Cameron Braun Kapler Torres Villy Yo Parra Weeks (talent wise yes, production... well who knows? He gets the nod on talent) Branyan/Hall Platoon (again as the roster stands today, if this becomes Gamel I have no doubt he's more talented and Hall still has more value as a super sub with good power. Even so the 3B would put up nice power numbers) Kendell (I was on the fence a bit with him because of his offensive production, but with the likelyhood of a very young rotation and bullpen next year, his role will be key) Basically the way I see it Suppan and FA SP would be in the 14-17 range depending on how well Villy and Bush perform... and again I just have a hard time justifying that kind of money for the relative talent level. For next year we have Stetter, Dillard, DiFelice, Pena, Aguilar (will probably start in AAA), and Ryan(will probably start in AAA) as cheap bullpen options in the minors, Villy/McClung will still be ultra cheap, so the most money tied up in the pen will be in Torres and Riske. If we could get a Suppanesque SP for 1 or 2 years I'd be okay with it, but I don't see that as a realistic probability, anyone any good is likely going to get 3-4 years as per usual. Of the names tossed around I'm not interested in Burnette, looking at his stats and his career he's a much more expensive Dave Bush... to me he's one of the most overrated pitchers in Baseball. Dempster, no thanks, I'd rather the Cubs resign him for market value and be tied into his arm long term. I don't see aquiring any team's #1 pitcher as a realistic possibility, let alone a "name" pitcher like Halladay, I still think the best targets are the #3 type pitchers on deep pitching staffs like TB and LAA.... Shields and Santana are very solid #2's pitching in some very deep rotations. Those teams also have surplus pitching in the minors and can readily absorb the loss of said pitchers. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think the Crew would get the most bang for their buck making deals for established pitchers in deep rotations or unproven pitchers with upside. I agree with Al that with LaPorta gone it's much tougher to trade Prince, unless you can get a MLB quality 1B back in the deal. Even though JJ is one of my favorite Brewers, packaging Hardy + for a younger SP makes more sense to me than eating up the budget by paying aging veteran pitchers market value. I really wish the Sabathia trade wouldn't have been necessary and we still had the pieces available to trade Fielder or make a prospect deal this offseason. There's no way to undo the past though, so any deal involving Fielder would have to net a serviceable 1B in return. edit. Clarified my opinion some.

While this is a surprise to a certain degree, I'm not floored it by it the same way I was when Brewer got promoted. He's made significant strides defensively, and maybe most of us were wrong and he's knocking on the door louder than we thought. I would have thought he'd be handled similar to Braun, but apparently they are looking at being more aggresive. I'm on the fence... on the one hand he deserves it, but if this makes him a super 2 I'm unsure if it will be worth it. I'd like Gamel around for as long as possible.

That's fine if that's the way you feel... However, I'm going to make an effort to be as objective as possible. If Mat was still hitting .380+ I most likely would have voted for him because the seasons would have been equal... and when all things are equal I'm going to pick my guy, which is Gamel. One could make a good argument that Salome is my favorite player in the entire organization, but I feel I managed to be pretty objective in that thread as well. Since Mat had a long slump and his numbers no longer match what Price has done this year, I felt obligated to vote for the better statistical season, and honestly Price might be the top prospect in all of baseball and a better baseball player overall. I realize Mat homered off of him, but how exactly did his other ABs go in that game? Who won that game? It seems to me that Price got the better end of the deal in that 1 head to head matchup. Price hasn't pitched as effective at AAA as he has the rest of the season, but at least in my opinion, he's had the better season. I'd rather vote for who I honestly feel deserves to win an award, instead of one of the players I root for who happens to qualify for the award. The All-Star game was mentioned... and yes the Cubs are having a very nice season, but they had at least 3 players in the game that weren't deserving of the honor in my opinion. Since I have a serious problem with undeserving players getting awards, I'm not going to be a hypocrate when I actually have a chance to vote on an award.

My mother has been into natural herbal treatments for years, so I have no problem with this. When I was in highschool my father always played natural sound CDs at bed time, many nights I feel asleep to the sound of waves rolling up on a beach (it was my favorite in the series), the CDs were part of a relaxation technique I learned. I got to the point where I didn't need the sound and could just relax the various muscle groups by thinking about them being warm and relaxed. It's a very handy technique for times when I need to go to bed but I'm not tired at all as I'm a nightowl, always have been. I've been using the same technique for 17 years now.. It's definately an eye opening experience to realize the power of the mind...

Gamel's been cold for a month, his stats while still very good, are not superhuman anymore. I voted Price, no intended offense to a homegrown favorite in Gamel, but Price is an absolute monster, and he's LH... I guess that's my bias towards pitching shining through again.

I hesitate to post this, because I don't want to get into another circular debate about the subject, I don't want to take this thread off it's track, nor do I want to go round and round again with endaround. However this is exactly what I was trying to say in the Cub fan board thread. What does it matter what peripheral stat someone uses to make their point? Dave Bush has had a pretty decent season, especially when you take into consideration how poorly he started it. The orginal poster didn't say that Bush was a better pitcher than Sheets, he just pointed out that some of his numbers are actually better than Sheets. Instead of blindly defending Sheets and nitpicking statistical preferrences why not just respond to the spirit of the post, which I read to be that Bush has had a pretty decent year? I prefer K/9, K:BB, and WHIP personally, doesn't make me anymore right or wrong than anyone else... I like Bush as a back of the rotation starter, I always have, as I like his mound presence (I know it's meaningless to many) but that doesn't mean I'm not for upgrading his rotation slot. This should be a pretty interesting off season between 2B, 3B, the rotation, and the changes in the pen.

Picking up a Loretta type doesn't mean a 37 year old player on the decline... to me that means someone who isn't flashy but hits well and makes the plays he can get to in the field. More simply put, someone who's solid but not glowing in any particular way.

That's a difficult opinion to prove either way. Hardy may have more power than Escobar, but players with Escobar's defensive skills don't come around very often. Unless you've seen Escobar play extensively this season it seems like a reach to me to suggest that Hardy's total package will be more valuable than Escobar's longterm.

If you ignore defense sure... Loretta could at least always turn 2...

The bottom line as I see it is getting to playoffs. I'm unconcerned right now about anything beyond getting there. I know CC wanted to pitch the 9th, I personally didn't care for the decision. However, I highly doubt that those 20 pitches will keep this team out of the playoffs. Since they are "going for it", I'll be supremely disappointed if they don't push everyone (with the exception of Parra) to the limits to achieve that goal, otherwise what exactly was the point of aquiring Sabathia in the first place? While the fans here on the site talk quite a bit about the post season, I don't personally think that's a luxury the Brewers staff can afford at this time, they have to concentrate all their efforts on getting to that point first, and worry about the rest when they get there. I have a hard time excepting the whole PAP notion, the better pitcher you are, the more pitches you throw and the more innings you pitch. I also have a hard time accepting the notion that CC pitched poorly because he was tired last year in the playoffs. That's just an opinion that's difficult to prove either way based on 1 season's performance. Again, I didn't like CC coming out for the 9th, but let's not blow this out of proportion.

It's not about how much money Mark A has, it's about how much his team can afford to spend. He's not bad business man, you don't get to his level by making bad business decisions, he's not going to operate any business at a loss for any significant period of time.

I regularly read your blog, as we tend to share similar opinions on politics, but I find TC's comment no more consdescending than the neverending stream of "I told you so!". It would be different you'd ever post how you were wrong about a prospect, an opinion, or anything for that matter but I haven't seen that in my many years here on the site. Sometimes people need to be put in their place... a find it somewhat humorous that you continually walk the fine the line with condescendation, but are the first one to post about how the Mods abuse this and that... You tend to post here exactly like you do in your blog, except here you rarely link supporting material and tend to take an antagonistic stance on most topics you contribute to. As a neutral observer, you earn everything you get.