crewcrazy

Winning a road series is the step in the right direction. Even though this afternoon's game stunk towards the end, they managed to win the series by showing some comeback potential in the first two games, which has been missing on the road until recently. After the Rockie Mountain Massacre, who could've thought that the Brewers would actually gain a game over the course of this road trip? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Cards and Reds coming up at home...hopefully the home crowd will help purge the bad memories of the last encounters between those teams. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Because Lou Piniella needs more reasons to not play Matt Murton? I really don't know why they'd want him.

Wow, those are some horribly depressing questions. Yes, the team has been playing like crap lately, but saying the season is finished when they're in first place? That's taking pessimism to another level...jeez. It seems like JP's getting tired of those kinds of questions, too.

The latest posts on Northside Baseball seem to indicate that Ramirez got a cortisone shot recently and will be able to return by Monday or Tuesday.

What I'd try to do: - Jenkins option declined, but sign him to something like 2 years at $5-6 million per year. I'd kind of like to keep him, but if the Brewers lose him on the open market, it won't be a big deal. I'd laugh if the Cubs went after him since they're always looking for left handed bats. - Bring Miller back for another year at $1 million...even though he's getting old and can't catch as much as he used to, I think you'd be hard pressed to find that kind of quality for your back up catcher given the price. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Brewers make another J.D. Closser-type waiver claim in an attempt to find a catching nugget, but I think I can live with Estrada/Miller for another year. - Find a lefty reliever. Ray King, maybe? There's not really much out there as far as free agent LHRP goes, so I'd settle for a RHRP that gets lefties out very well. Jeremy Affeldt could also be a possibility if the Rockies don't lock him up long-term. - Figure out who's closing. It'll probably be Turnbow again next year, unless Doug gets a reliever through a trade. - I might try to trade Capuano or Vargas, but since pitching depth is so valuable, I'd probably only trade one of them. I have no idea what they could bring in a trade, though...if they keep pitching the way they've been pitching the past few weeks, it might be hard to get something of value for them and you'd probably be better off not selling low. - If Jenkins doesn't come back, roll the dice on someone like Milton Bradley as a short-term solution in LF until La Porta is ready. My only concern is that Bradley's a known nutcase, and I don't know if I'd want a guy like that planting ideas into the heads of the young guys about going crazy if things aren't going well. Since Bradley hits lefties so well, he'd be a better platoon partner for Jenkins than Mench, but it'd probably be too expensive to have both Jenks and Bradley.

After watching the Cubs get swept in Houston, I've come to the realization that a record of 82-80 just might win the division this year.

Just do what they did coming out of the All-Star Break in the series against the Rockies. If they get a few 6-7 inning starts and the bullpen doesn't completely implode, I think they've got a shot to take two of three. Of course, lately that's been a pretty big "if," but I think getting a 1-run win on the road would do wonders for the bullpen's confidence. Call me crazy, I guess. The Rox are a pretty good team, so a road series in Colorado won't be easy (especially considering some of the bad outings they've had there in years past -- remember Sheets getting lit up for like 10 ER's a couple years ago?), but it's certainly not impossible. I just don't like that the Cubs get to beat up on Houston while the Brewers are playing a wildcard-caliber team, just like in that first series after the Break, but at least the two teams trade places after this series.

That's certainly a valid point, but where do you draw the line? Is it okay to berate stadium staff because you supposedly pay their salaries? Or is harassment only acceptable towards the players?

This is probably good news for the Brewers, but I was looking forward to both the Brewers and the Cubs having fully-healthy teams for the stretch run. If the Brewers go on a run during Soriano's injury and the Cubs fade, it would give Cub fans room to say something like "Well, if we had Soriano, we would've beaten the Brewers down the stretch." On the other side of the coin, if the Brewers fall out of contention while Sheets is out and the Cubs play .750 ball for another two months, there will probably be a lot of Brewer fans saying something like "Well, if we had Sheets, we would've beaten the Cubs down the stretch." I really would have liked to see both teams stay healthy, because that would've been a fun race to watch if you ask me.

It took a lot of posts for this point to be brought up, and I think it hits the nail on the head. The casual booing heard for former Brewers is nothing more than the 5 seconds of ribbing you give your best friend who goes out of state to college and comes over to your house on break wearing an Gophers t-shirt. I can see that as a reasonable point, but if you boo guys like Helms or Clark in jest, doesn't that take away some of the meaning of booing Gary Sheffield or anyone else who you have strong negative feelings about?

Only one more to go before he can finally go away. I've really grown apathetic about this whole thing, as have quite a few people I know, which is probably the saddest thing about the whole ordeal...not Bonds being "dirty" or anything like that.

Not winning a World Series in 100 years and playing in one of the nation's biggest markets will get you a ton of attention whenever you get close to contending. The Cubs have probably been the best team in baseball since early-to-mid June, so I think the attention is deserved. The only thing I have a problem with is the media hyping up Kerry Wood's return as some kind of huge trade deadline acquisition -- the guy is pretty much done as a starter and the best they can hope for is that he gives them a few solid innings a week and maybe becomes the closer once he gets settled in. The fact that there's Cub fans everywhere across the country (even if they're fake Cub fans, like how the Yankees have fake fans that barely pay attention to the team...those are mostly the fans outside of the tri-state area) also probably has a lot to do with why they get so much coverage. I'd be careful complaining about it, though -- how much do you think Bears fans complain about how the Packers get so much national attention even when they stink? The Packers could finish behind the Bears for a decade straight and they'd still probably end up with as many Monday Night games as anyone in the league.

Sounds like there's more of a problem with people who are just starting to show up at MP now that the Brewers are winning than with MP itself. Those kinds of people would show up in the middle of a playoff race, regardless of where the Brewers were playing their games, IMO. I like Miller Park better than County Stadium, but there are some things that I don't like about MP, too -- I don't like how the place looks like a garage when the panels and roof are closed, but that's a minor gripe.

Let's get this one, since the Brewers have to face Hamels tomorrow night. Rookie pitchers scare me, though. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif Prove me wrong, guys.

But if that's the case, why is Pittsburgh being roundly criticized for picking up a guy (Matt Morris) with much better career numbers who is making less per year and is signed only through next year? I just think it's a little depressing that the biggest free agent the Brewers have signed in at least 20 years is a league average pitcher who has been given the largest contract in team history. I know that isn't really anybody's fault, but still. I think the whole "largest contract in team history" thing is blown a little out of proportion. Like it was mentioned earlier in this thread, in a year or two, Suppan's salary is going to be looked upon as average, since salaries will continue to rise. The next free agent the Brewers sign will probably take over as the "new" highest-paid player in franchise history, Sheets' next contract with the Brewers may be worth more per year (if he re-signs), if Braun signs an extension it'll definitely be worth more per year than Suppan, etc. With more success, the Brewers should be able to draw "bigger" free agent signings, and (hopefully) everyone will forget about the Suppan signing. Take a look at Geoff Jenkins' contract. A couple years ago he was vastly overpaid considering his production. Now $8 million a year is pretty much league average for an outfielder of his caliber...isn't inflation fun? http://static.yuku.com/v2//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/laugh.gif

The Cubs have to face El Duque, John Maine, and Tom Glavine in their series with the Mets, and didn't seem to take the pressure of getting to first place too well today against the Phillies. I think the Cubs are going to have just as much trouble against the Mets as the Brewers did.

WHAT!?!?!??!?!?! What seemed to be building? Nobody even knows exactly what happened, who was involved or what it was about, and now it has been building for a long time? As for that "anonymous quote" from some blowhole who supposedly heard some namesless faceless player said something, being some sort of smoking gun, c'mon. You're better than that. You're right...I had a bit of an overreaction. This was the first I had heard of the incident since I wasn't able to listen to the game this afternoon and didn't see the clips until I started reading through this thread. The whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth and I couldn't help but feeling like something's been going on that we didn't know about -- I don't have anything to back that up, though...it's probably just an irrational fear at this point. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif As for the Bill Michaels quote, I just didn't like how it sounded at the time. I'm not in the Milwaukee area, so I don't know if that guy is the kind of radio host that makes up anonymous quotes and makes outlandish statements just to get people to call in, but it looks like he might be. Sorry if my initial reactions were misguided...usually I try to get all the facts before saying something, but due to the uncertain circumstances I had to go with a gut reaction.

I'm really excited to see this guy play. He's supposed to have advanced power for his age already, and coming up at age 20, there's a chance he could be scary good for 15-20 years. I've heard a lot of comparisons to Griffey, but apparently the power he has at his age, the better comparison is Alex Rodriguez from an offensive standpoint. If he pans out, the Diamondbacks could be scary good in a few years.

Football coaches have way more control over the outcomes of games than baseball managers do...I don't think the Sherman comparison is accurate, but there are some parallels as far as clubhouse/locker room management goes. As for the whole dugout altercation thing, I don't see how this could be positive if you have players arguing at each other. Soon the clubhouse could be split up into sides and things could get a lot worse. That anonymous quote about Yost is pretty damning if it's true, though, especially since one of Ned's strengths has always been his ability to calm clubhouse manners behind closed doors. I see him motioning Estrada to come with him to the clubhouse during the game as an attempt to settle things behind closed doors, but it's the arguing in plain view that's a little troubling to me. In my mind, it's one thing to have something like this happen in June like the Cubs situation, but it's a completely different story in August/September. The Cubs were just "struggling" at the time and it was seen through the media as something that awoke a sleeping giant...this situation is perceived as frustrations about a "collapse" and how a young team supposedly can't cope with the pressures of a pennant race (nevermind that everyone involved was a veteran, not one of the young guys). I just really don't like the way this whole thing looked...the Cubs incident was two guys getting caught up in the frustration of a single game -- this seemed like it's been building for a long time, especially when you factor in that anonymous quote.

The Anderson home run was definitely frustrating, especially after Ned went to the mound and asked Vargas if he was alright. Claudio said he was, then served up the home run...it was pretty clear that something wasn't right and he refused to admit it. I'm pretty sure denying injury isn't a good way to get on Ned's good side...just ask Rickie Weeks how that turned out.

Still tied for first. The thousandth of a percentage point or whatever the Cubs are ahead of the Brewers pretty much gets rounded off. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Here's to hoping the Cubs don't know what to do with a division lead and give it right back if they do get sole possession.

Vargas looked burnt out from the 8 inning start in St. Louis from the start. Oliver Perez has some pretty nasty stuff when he settles down, and he settled down after the first couple innings...not much to be ashamed of there. The Mets have the best record in the NL and are a bona fide pennant contender...losing a game to them isn't the end of the world. Sure, the timing of the loss stinks when it's paired with a Cubs win, but as a team the Brewers should just focus on taking care of business themselves. Hopefully Cappy comes out with a strong performance tomorrow and the Brewers can pick up a series win. It was nice to see Prince go deep tonight...hopefully he starts heating up soon.

While this trade doesn't make sense, take a look at the comment Matt Morris gave to the folks in Pittsburgh on his feelings about the trade: (Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/1607/story/655515.html ) How's that for slamming your teammates on the way out the door? Pretty clear shot at the Giants, if you ask me...Morris was also one of the members of the Giants who questioned the organization's hyping of Bonds' pursuit for the home run record -- he said something like "I don't even know if the objective is the win games anymore."

I was really, really impressed with the way Spurling pitched tonight. Jenkins may be the player of the game for his walkoff HR, but Spurling shut down the Mets for 2.1 innings while the Brewers offense kept stranding RISP.

Interesting, to say the least. The guy's been raking in AAA, but I can't think of anyone who they'd demote with Linebrink being gone for the NYM series. Would they demote Parra and go with 11 pitchers for the rest of the series?