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Not to mention not having to play New York, Boston, and Tampa 36-50 games a season.

In Interleague action, Milwaukee will host the Texas Rangers (June 11 - 13), as well as the Minnesota Twins (June 22 - 24) and the Seattle Mariners (June 25 - 27). The Brewers road action against the American League will include stops in Minnesota (May 21 - 23) and Los Angeles of Anaheim (June 14 - 16). The Brewers will have two, nine-game homestands on the 2010 slate. The first, June 22 - 30, will include three-game sets with Minnesota, Seattle and Houston. The second, August 20 - 29, will include three game sets with San Diego, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. The only Brewers home game on a holiday in 2010 will be Labor Day, Monday, September 6, when the St. Louis Cardinals visit Milwaukee. Marquee games for the 2010 season include Opening Day, June 8 - 10 vs. Chicago-NL, June 22 - 24 vs. Minnesota and September 10 - 12 vs. Chicago-NL. In addition, the Brewers announced two exhibition games to be played at Miller Park. The Brewers will face Detroit on Friday, April 2 at 7:10 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 3 at 1:10 p.m. Home game times have been changed slightly for the 2010 season, with all games at Miller Park scheduled for first pitch at 10 minutes past the hour. Weekday night games will begin at 7:10 p.m. while weekday day games will start at 12:10 p.m. in April and May (excluding Opening Day) and 1:10 p.m. in June, July, August and September. Saturday games will start at 6:10 p.m. All Sunday home games are scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m.

If Looper, Parra, Bush, and Suppan pitch to their career norms, or even close, we're looking at a team still in contention right now. Yes, the rotation was not great to start, but they've severely underperformed. Not a single starter for the Brewers has an ERA at or below his career average as a starter. That was predictable for Yo and Suppan, but Bush, Looper, and Parra should have all been 4.5 ERA pitchers So, just for clarification, in 2010...you'll be thrilled when Suppan, Gallardo, Bush, Parra, Looper (or Looper equal, sweetnlow, or whatever sugar subsitute you prefer) is trotted out as the rotation? I don't see how guys with career norms of .480 winning baseball get you an expected win total of 85-79. I've said over and over that it's not so much about 2009, as much as it is that 2010 and 2011 look like garbage and his philsophy of buying mediocre and hoping for career years is foolish. Just curious, what did BP have as our expected W-L before the season? 85 wins seems like blue goggles, but I could be wrong.

So Erin, the Rays didn't plan for success, nor have a 9=8 attitude from the start from Maddon on down, it just simply fell into their lap? Had it not been for the fact that the Rays ($62M) are 12 games over .500, (Red Sox .583 ($122M) and Yankees .639 ($206M), I'd be more apt to believe it was luck driven. The Brewers certainly had some injury issues, but it remains that they were not put in a position to succeed from the start and seemingly aren't being put in a winners mentality for the next 2-3 seasons. Had it not been for a Sabathia playing over his head in 2008, it'd be 27 years and counting. It's time to stop masking the defiencies of this team on injuries and cold weather excuses, and place it squarely on mismanaged payroll and management philosophies.

It has nothing to do with money..do you even read the posts or just skim them? I said...I'm not inclined to spend $210M. The $68M well spent by Tampa in 2008 for their American League Championship Pennant is plenty. There is a difference between being a Tampa resident and being a Tampa Bay Rays fan. Tampa residents are apathetic in that they don't come to the park and support the team. Rays fans that do show up don't sit around and wallow in mediocrity and use the payroll, and the crap dump that is Tropicana field as excuses to why they can't see winning baseball. "We're Tampa" isn't the mindset here. I don't understand why that's the penultimate goal around here is to make up reasons why Milwaukee can't succeed. Matt's assumption that most fans are just giddy that the team wasn't contracted and the stadium has a roof seems pretty accurate. With that, I'm out on this topic. I'm obviously alone in my beliefs, won't change the standard of medocrity with my thoughts, and repliers don't even read the arguments before replying, making the issue about money and moves, which I've said time and time against isn't the problem.

That's all I'm saying Matt. Very Well put. I'm not really talking about baseball moves, not really talking about prospective deals, what DM did or didnt do. I'm talking about the attitude change of management and the fans to stop making excuses for this team and it's general manager, all which amount to, "We're Milwaukee". I don't have the answers, I don't have trade ideas (I'm a cop, not a baseball general manager). It's so lame and a defeatist attitude, it's disgusting. I'm not a Rays fan, but living here and watching Freidman work what was expotentially a worse situation than Milwaukee into a work of art, without hearing the fans say, "We're Tampa" is refreshing. Unfortunately, it's not about what DM does or doesn't do, IMO, it's about the winning attitude and drive that I feel he projects with these constant excuses he backs up by saying, "We tried hard, but in the end, the system got us, "We're Milwaukee". Makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Thanks Matt for suming up my thoughts in a well-written paragraph.

I thought I was pretty clear, but let me try and make it more understandable. It doesn't make you any less of a fan, or a substandard person, but I find it unacceptable for myself to settle for less, be satisfied, or give less than my all. That's all these excuses seem to accomplish. Poor payroll be damned, poor facilities be damned, poor fanbase be damned (unlike Milwaukee, which supported their team), the 2008 American League Champions found a way to get the job done. Then, in 2009, weren't satisfied, but added to team and continued to set themselves up to be better..not subtracted. So, no, it doesn't make you less of a fan, I'm sure your passion runs just as deep. I do think however that it does say something about character, no? Whatever happened to the attitude of "Come Hell or High Water, we're going to get the job done!"? It just doesn't run deep with this management system and it seems to have rubbed off on some of the fan base. Going on year 7..year 8.. you just expect something a little better than .480 baseball. But, really did we expect better when this management system continues to mismanage payroll and hire free agent pitchers who have a track record of losing more than winning? I don't expect them to spend $210M, but I do expect this management system to surround themselves with winners, set themselves up to be winners, to carry themselves as winners, to portray a winning attitude, rather than sitting back and making excuses as to "poor me, the system has us beaten". I for one, do demand these things as part of my value system, and if that is unrealistic, then my apologies for offending anyone who thinks the status quo, mediocre, content to never achieve one's all is perfectly acceptable because heck, "We're Milwaukee". Perhaps when that philosophy and line of thinking changes at the top with management, so to can the entire landscape of Milwaukee Brewers baseball.

No, it isn't. I've read it over pretty good and I'm convinced it's a whine and grovel thread about expecting mediocrity. The author and the supporting cast have some overwhelming beliefs that some of us think we should win 100 games every year and spend $120M. That's not what we're saying. What I am saying, is if you sit back and use these same old excuses, what's the point of having a baseball team? Gosh, if it's so hard to overcome, why get into the game? If it's so hard to build a competitive baseball team year in and year out, why bother? I can't support this line of thinking. It's not because I have unrealistic expectations...it's because I don't believe in giving up, settling, or being mediocre. My expectations are to spend money wisely, be fiscally responsible, have accountability and be generally better. This thread is more about who you are as a person and a fan. Is it so much of an unrealistic expectation to want and demand better... Especially when you see franchises like...the Tampa Bay Rays getting it done?

Like the other Doug Melvin thread, this thread is just a bunch of excuses about why it's okay for the Milwaukee Brewers to be mediocre. "Poor Midwestern town with no money, where it snows, and nobody like to visit or live".... :Cue up the tears and runny noses: If the best we can do is wallow in being mediocrity, why don't we just implore the commissioner's office to contract the Milwaukee Brewers and save us all the time, money, and heartache. I prefer the other method....the one where GM's and other people involved in this organization pull themselves up by the boot straps and start being held accountable for misuse of the payroll and player acquisitions. When the going gets tough, are we going to "coddle the general manager, because well...players don't like to come to Milwaukee", or "find somebody who doesn't care about those limitations and just get the job done" Enough with the excuses already. You think Tampa is any better of a free agent loveable city or a baseball town? Hardly...yet, the general manager there got it done and they have a Pennant to speak of. This season, they are some 16 wins better than the Brewers. Eventuallly, the excuses get old. If it's so difficult to change the landscape of this team, let's just contract this team and give up?

Just to complain about bad journalism, Yahoo Sports successfully got me to click on the link to this story today "Cubs 3B Ramirez gets shot in Shoulder" No...not by a gun as one might think...he just simply received an injection. :Sigh: Not that I want anything bad to happen to Ramirez, I just don't think that is the best headline to describe the story.

Yeah!! Let's meet out by the Oak Tree after school!

In 2007, I did my marriage proposal at Miller Park. I had bought a bat from the engraving place at Miller Park as a gift for my then fiancee and had it engraved with our names, date, and "Today we choose to become one team". Braun happened to be doing the WTMJ post-game show at Fridays that night. Prior to and afterwards, he signed for just about everybody in the stadium, including our bat with well wishes. He even took the time to get a little background about us, rather than just scribbling and moving on. That's what impresses me most about Ryan Braun. He takes a personable interest in those that he speaks to and engages in conversation with the fans and others. Maybe he hasn't had enough people interrupt him during dinner, time with his family, or a quiet night at the movies. Something tells me though, that Ryan Braun's character won't allow him to change. Milwaukee should feel lucky. Inevitable, he's going to have a sub-prime season and when he does, I hope the fans don't turn on him like Hart, Hardy, and others and remember there's more to it than between the lines.

I think too much is made about Hardy not willing to switch positions. Switching positions is probably not good for him professional and therefore personally. Suppose you are the President of Finance at your company. Now your company wants you to move to the President of Marketing? Sure, they are both dealing in dollars like Hardy would still be in the infield, but Marketing is a different creature than Finance, 3b is a different creature than SS. Just because your company asks you to jump, doesn't mean you should be asking, "how high". Despite lack of speed, medium range, and cold streaks at the plate, J.J. Hardy has an above average arm and above average power for SS. He'd be doing his family and his career a dis-service by jumping at a position change. The problem on this lies with DM and Yost/Macha. As a company, if you've got two damn good Presidents of Finance, you write JJ's name down at 2B or 3B and deal with the whinning. What's he going do??...put himself on the bench??....Quit?? If he don't like it..he knows where the door is! Too much in this organization seems to be handled with kid gloves. I suspect it comes from above Macha however, he seems to be the one who is constantly biting his lip and is ready to explode yet goes with the status quo of babying these guys.

I don't know, me thinks DM might think a #3 starter for the second best prospect is a good trade. That scares me.

I think Mark A. tells DM what to do with his money...it's his money afterall. I think he says, "spend my money" "save my money" But I don't think he says, "get xyz", "sell xyz"

Do you have evidence of that. I don't care either way, but some evidence would be compelling.

That helps Erin, but is that just arm injuries? Or if Gallardo has a leg injury tomorrow and he is over PAP per his career totals, does that include him in that statistic?

I'm not convinced Cameron is the best return possible that 10M can buy. But it's certainly close. Anything else is not a guarantee, but I wouldn't call it an absoulte either.

Good point topper. I think the injury situations are far too complicated to pin directly on pitch count, innings pitched, days of rest alone. It goes much deeper, such as between outings work regime, etc.

Sounds accurate jeffyscott. I don't understand the stat myself. Does that mean that 69% of all injured pitchers have below average career PAP totals? Meaning, they get injured early in the season or....? Seems like the information is good information, I just don't understand all the variables.

Oh, I agree. The options are sick. I say bring Cain up and use 9.6 Million elsewhere (assuming 10M for Cameron is the same price in 2010)

Internal cheap candidates in Cain, if healthy or Corey Hart. Not a lot of free agents at CF. Coco Crisp, Roco Baldelli, Johnny Damon come to mind, but the list is very thin indeed.

Local talk is that they have to lose the Crawford salary and therefore will have to take the best offer. Crawford though unfortunately only serves a 1 year fix, similiar to what Cameron has been doing if he is not resigned.

I'm not even sure Hardy can snag a good SP, we can maybe look at a 3 / 4 type player. I assume Looper is gone (I just read up on tRA+ and my god, is Looper bad) and with the price of SP being so high, we'll have to hope for a package of mid rotation SP plus high ceiling prospect in A ball or something. ~~ SgtCluels I agree, while there is an active discussion about Hardy in trade forums, I'd just like to say that I think the best time to trade Hardy was this past offseason. Escobar was seemingly ready, and any trading partner would have two years of Hardy instead of just one. Now, baring a package, the best Melvin can get is a back end of the rotation starter.

Thanks FTJ, I didn't feel the need to respond to something simply because I have a difference of an opinion and am pessimistic and very terrified about the direction of this ballclub. But thanks for the kind words. I'd like some more vids of your son, btw. He still tearing up Central Wisconsin running backs?