twobrewers

There was a thread on this about a month ago. Quite a few (myself included) thought he looked significantly heavier. When you look fatter in a baggy uniform...well, not a good sign. Someone said they heard from a clubhouse attendant (How far removed is that!) that Prince's diet mainly consisted of salads covered in cheese and ranch dressing.

So we are not allowed to take into account how Sexson has done since the trade - but we are suppose to consider how the players we obtained in the trade have performed? That doesn't make any sense. You cannot judge a trade on the day it happens. The only thing you can look at is the final results. I would rather have Capuano, Overbay, Bush, Ohka, Spivey, Counsell, Gross etc. for several seasons than one season of Sexson.

I would think Gallardo being lost for the year is a pretty legitimate excuse. (You can argue all you want about the defense of Braun and Weeks. Those are valid points. But going into the season, I don't think many would have picked the Brewers for the playoffs had Gallardo not been a part of the rotation)

Something is amiss with Fielder. 1. Braun is a regular on the morning show on 94.5. Braun is always talking to the media. It seems like Fielder hasn't said much in weeks. 2. Prince openly complained about his contract being renewed. 3. Braun signed a long term deal to remain with the Brewers. Prince seems perfectly ready to leave town. 4. Prince had that mysterous scheduling conflict that prevented him from attending the autographed bat session for full-season ticket holders. Ryan Braun stepped in and took his place. Has Prince been out in the community as a Brewer at all this year? Braun is definitely passing him as the face of the franchise. Fielder seems like someone carrying a grudge who wants out.

You have the better title... But it is already discussed here.

So what would you have done with Sexson? We could have kept him for one year - and still not made the playoffs. If we signed him to a long-term deal (which seems to be to your preferance) then the 2008 version of Sexson would be very relevant. I don't want that on our team. Similar with Sexson - that is what scouts are for. Melvin and his team knew Cordero never really "lost it" and where able to buy low on him from Texas. I have no idea what Turnbow has to do with Cordero. Actually, they can afford even more. See Suppan; Jeff No one drafts pitching very well. Jack Z did draft Gallardo. I actually agree to some extent about the DH comment. Jack Z certainly favors bats over defense. But he does such an amazing job at recognizing those players that he should continue to draft based on his own strengths. Lastly, you are taking my point way to literal. The Brewers obviously aren't going to win 85 games every year. But if you put yourself in a position to win 85 games every year - sometimes things break your way. (Obviously, with Gallardo going down with a knee injury this has not been one of those years) If you play to win 90+ games one year at the expense of winning 60 games for the next three years...what happens when your ace injuries his knee in the 90+ win season? That season would still be ruined - and you would have to live through misery for the next three years.

St. Louis won the World Series in 2006 after winning 83 games. Would that be acceptable? Seattle would give him to us for free if we wanted to take on his contract. And if you don't care that he was about to leave in free agency...well, I guess I can't help you understand. No, but the other options were worst. Someone had to play while we waited for Prince, Weeks and Hart to mature in the minor leagues. Thank goodness for scouts. Glad you are not running the team. Gallardo was a second round pick. (Cordero got us a sandwich pick, which is higher than the second round AND a second round pick) Hart was drafted in the 11 round. Gamel was a 4th round pick. Eveland (Who you seem fond of) was a 16th round pick. Hardy was a 2nd round pick. Because he had one year left on his deal. He signed an extension with Arizona for 3 years at $7 million a year. (I believe) Apparently more than others.

I think you are mistaken. Management has made comments along the lines of "this is the year" meaning that all of the core players are old enough to realistically expect playoffs and beyond. No one has made any comments about us not being competitive in the future. ("or no year. Do or die.")

There are so many mistakes in that sentiment. He got 6 "schlubs" for Sexson - but then was able to turn ONE of those "schlubs" into 3 mediocre players? Sexson was going to leave via free agency. We received many starters out of the deal. Capuano was an all-star and had one season where he lead the league in quality starts. He was very, very good for the Brewers. Overbay was an above average player. Spivey got us Ohka. Ohka was a respectable starter. Moeller & De La Rosa had their up and downs with the Brewers. But we ended up trading one year of Sexson away from a combination of many other seasons. Overbay was an above average player. He got an average pitcher (Bush), a platoon OF (Gross) and a AAAA player (Zach Jackson) Sounds like a pretty fair trade. Do you think Toronto could get more for him if they dealt him now? Overbay hasn't exactly thrived in Toronto. Carlos Lee was also about to leave via free agency. To get 1 1/2 years of Cordero (And the two draft picks that came from him leaving via free agency) was a great deal. If Carlos had stayed, we would not have made the playoff. We would have gotten two draft picks for him leaving. So we got 1 1/2 years of Cordero for free. You notion that Melvin was "lucky" is rediculous. Doug Davis was going to leave via free agency as well. Vargas and Estrada were both starters. Eveland might have never blossomed if he hadn't been traded. (He was fat and out of shape as a Brewer. I think being traded gave him some motivation) Still, I have no problem saying Melvin lost this trade. But it wasn't that one-sided. (Did you really want to pay Davis $7 million a year?) It is insane to look at only the players involved in trades. In order to do any kind of assessment you have to look at their salary, when they will be free agents, the possible compensation draft picks related to them, and many other factors.

I said "a" system - not "the" system. I am not referring to the minor league teams exclusively. I am referring to Melvin's goal of competing year in and year out. Melvin has a philosophy in place that stresses long term success instead of short sighted goals. (Think Yankees v. Marlins) Melvin could have made many moves to "go for it this year". Instead he keep building the team piece by piece. We could have traded LaPorta and Gamel this off-season to try and make our final push. We could have made a big splash in free agency that might handcuff the Brewers for years to come. (Cordero) And Gallardo still would have gotten hurt - likely leaving the Brewers on the outside of the playoffs. Anything can happen any year. I would rather be a consistent 85 win team than win 90 one year and 65 the next.

Gallardo is done for the year. The Brewers might be sellers just like the Padres. I just don't think Maddux would be enough for us to make the playoffs. Sheets, Maddux, Gallardo = Awesome Sheets, Maddux, Suppan = Average

If I am reading this all correctly. TH was merely responding to rumors and a new blog that was posted. TH did not comfirm the report and actually went out of his way to direct readers to the blog to form their own opinions. As soon as TH could get confirmation (Sounds like TH's source was en route), TH posted an update stating that no such move was imminent. I think he handled it perfectly. I would rather have too much news than too little. It is also worth noting that TH didn't "report" Yost was fired. He merely "blogged" that someone else is reporting that.

As was pointed out (and ignored by many) in the numerous Capuano v. Villanueva threads... Villanueva's peripheral statistics portrayed him as a pretty average pitcher. Last year Villanueva was very lucky. Capuano was very unlucky. I think he has been even worst than expected - but he was always going to be a 4.50 ERA kinda guy.

I'm starting to think TuesdaysWithRillo might be Rickie Weeks. Weeks bat hasn't been the problem this year. As a lead-off hitter he takes a fair share of walks, gets hit by pitches and is a thread to steal bases. He is adequate. If you want to argue he is trying to hard to be a "prototypical lead-off hitter" and it is hurting his development, I think you could certainly make a case. (Since it seems as though Weeks could be a 30 HR guy) However, Weeks' defense is well below league average. I can't think of a worst 2B defensively. I am not sure what "great play" ability you are refering to. He only has 3 throwing errors this year - mainly because of his inability to ever make a great play. I have seen between 15 and 20 makeable plays at 2B already this year that Weeks has failed at. (I am including plays that should have been a DP, only Weeks bobbled and we only got one out)

I strongly disagree. His fielding has been the worst I have seen in the majors this year. Most people point to Weeks poor batting average as a reason he is replaceable. I think his OBP, HBP, and threat to steal have made him an adequate lead-off hitter. However, his defense is so bad it negates any value he might at as a 2B. His WARP is 1.0 right now. However, trading him when his value is this low (and the Brewers are pushing themselves out of the playoff picture) doesn't make too much sense either.

I have to think Haudricourt has some inside information on this one. He wouldn't just post a random blogger without suspecting that the move was forth coming. Haudricourt is just deflecting the shot if this doesn't happen. I am surprised Simmons is even willing to take the job. I thought him and Yost were pretty close.

From Cot's Baseball Contracts if club exercises 2008 option, Dunn receives full no-trade clause until 6/15/2008 & limited no-trade clause for the remainder of 2008 (allowing Dunn specify 10 clubs to which he would accept a trade) 2008 option voids if Dunn is traded before 2008

Good lord. I feel like an idiot. Sorry...didn't see the other thread open. Can someone lock or merge these two.

We could promote a few closers. Aguilar has a 0.40 ERA at Brevard County. He could be bumped up to Huntsville. Huntsville could bump someone to Nashville. (Not sure who really though - Unless they use Stetter as a closer) Luis Pena could be bumped to MLB.

As for me... I'm a Brewer fan.

I'm with you Ajay. I mentioned that in the "Do you like inter-league play" thread. DH is a huge advantage. NL teams use a bench player. AL teams use a $10 million superstar.

For the past year, Prince has been the unquestioned leader of the Brewers. While it is difficult to say from the outside looking in, especially with how poor Prince is during an interview, every media member raved about his "presence" in the clubhouse. I had heard 100% that he is the leader of the Brewers. However, in the past few weeks Braun really seems to be taking over as the "leader". 1. A few weeks back Braun had his "I'm sick of saying it's early" quote about how the Brewers need to get going. 2. Braun's talent certainly seems to be equal to that of Prince. 3. Braun just signed a contract to remain a Brewer until 2015. Prince has shown no inclination to do so. 4. After today's loss Braun again had many choice quotes... "We were competing; I know everybody tried hard. But it's not about trying hard. You've got to expect to win. I almost feel like we never really expected to win any of these games." "I feel like we're there at times but we need to come with that approach every day. No matter who we're playing against, no matter who's throwing against us, and expect to win. . . . We're too talented to approach the game any other way." Maybe I am overracting, but Braun certainly seems to be taking a more prominent role. I wonder if the chemistry in the locker room has changed at all. He has certainly been vocal. Is he out of line? Or is he stepping up?

There are two problems for Brantley. 1. He doesn't hit for any power yet. So you have to worry about his ability to take walks at the MLB level. 2. He is blocked by Braun, Hart, and LaPorta. Gillispie seems like he will be a good 4th OF. But Brantley seems most valuable as a lead-off hitter, not a 4th or 5th OF.

I figured you misinterpretted his meaning. He meant Soria and an "A" ball player. (Just as he was proposing trading LaPorta AND others. Hence, the seperate lines)

Saying things without any basis or facts that support the argument make it read as a vent post. There are plenty of irrational (and some just incorrect) statements being thrown around. I full heartedly support engaging in opposing view points with adequate basis to contend one's argument.