K-O-T-T-A-R-A-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good night to join the Brewers bandwagon!

Ryan Braun is awesome and he's under contract lets build, build, build around him!

Always room for more! There are a few Brewer fans here but not nearly enough. Welcome aboard!

Ok, stop talking about the Rangers and Cliff Lee if you want to be a Brewer fan. Unless I misread that and you were only using him as a comparison to Prince then I apologize.

I doubt we will be able to resign Prince but there is a bit of hope -- Both him and Pujols will be free agents that year, and NYY already has a huge contract with Teixeira, although they could probably afford to eat his contract if they really wanted to. Brewers also have more spending power than most give them credit for, especially with Suppan and Bill Hall coming off the books after this year which had them ham-stringed the last couple seasons. Prince is also having an off year so far and if that continues his value could be drastically lowered.

I agree with trading Hart, his value is at an all time high and I just can't see him doing this for the rest of his career.

The team is much better than they are performing right now. But I don't know what the problem is. Everyone hates Macha but I just can't see how anything is his fault though, the players just aren't performing, and how much of that can really be him? That being said, he is most likely being replaced over the all star break, I'm surprised it didn't happen yesterday after the embarrassing 4-game home sweep to the giants. Not sure if I want them to give Sveum another chance for the rest of the season or Randolph though.

Shoe,

thanks for the update and perspective. yeah I just meant cliff lee-like in that fielder could be widely known to be on the trading block. I hope not b/c Braun and Fielder are big parts of the offense and you need both imo, at least to contend for a title.

I'm a little worried that they (whoops I meant we) lose Gallardo, but I know he's under contract for several more yrs. Can't afford to lose anymore pitching tho or Braun will be a Fielder waiting to happen in '13/'14 or might demand a trade earlier.

My next bit of homework is to work through the farm system see whats up and coming. Alcides how has he looked this year?

I need to get mlb.tv so I can listen to the games during sessions. I literally was born in Wisconsin so in a way it feels good to root for the Brew Crew. Altho I really wish they had never changed the logo/unis. That late 80s Brewer look was pretty boss.

Alright Go Pack Go!

Nice Prince and Braun both with taters tonight. Hey want do think about this marketing slogan "Braun + Fielder + Fans = BFF"

The rumor that came out right after we got swept by SF is that Hart, Fielder, and Weeks are all on the trading block right now. Each of them will be free agents after next season.

Obviously our chances are slim right now but they aren't dead yet. I'm still holding out hope but am freely admit that I am a delusional homer as well.

Escobar has been struggling this year but we still have high hopes for him and still consider him one of the top up and coming shortstops.

Our top prospects are Cain (CF) and Gamel (If prince is traded not sure if we would start him at 3B and move McGehee to 1B or put Gamel at 1B), but Gamel struggled last year when he was on the team and was hurt to start this year. I haven't heard if he is playing in AAA now or not or how he's doing. Brett Lawrie is also one of our top prospects (2B) and could be Weeks replacement.

They need to turn things around fast as otherwise I am just counting down the days for Packers training camp to start!

Completely agree that their old logo is better and it's not even close. Pretty much everyone agrees with you too.

If you want to keep up on Brewers' news this is a great blog by the local paper: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

C'mon Selig! Before you retire make you last act as commish be letting the Brewers play the Pirates for every game of an entire season.... just ONE TIME!!!

if you have time Shoe (or anyone else that wants to areaman or whoever else) I'd love a report card for the entire organization. Player by player, managers, ownership, announcing crew etc.

I heard a rumor the other day that Gallardo could be dealt, is this just some random wild rumor? Have you heard anything like that? Also is Hart rumored to be dealt in a package for Cain right? Cain's signed thru 2012, I would even consider trading Gamel and Hart for Cain and maybe a B level prospect, who knows. What do you think of that?

I'm not that high on Rickie Weeks personally. From a far it sure seems like not only does he have health issues, but a big case of big league-itis. Although the same could of been said of Ian Kinsler before this year started and he righted the ship, so maybe Weeks can/is doing the same?

Also who does the Brewers post game show, which station? I'd love to listen online and maybe even call in.

interesting article on that blog shoe, is dave bush on the block? Seems like it makes more sense to keep him around and try and resign him, compared to what you're likely to get back for him.

I don't have time to do a report card right now but could try to put one together (would strictly be my opinion while trying to incorporate the average fan's opinion around here). In general for the non-players though we are extremely happy with the ownership, but unhappy with the coaching/GM right now. I don't think anything is really Macha's fault right now as the players just have not been performing, but there is a lot of pressure to fire him right now. Melvin has a better reputation but it is starting to crack. I like the TV announcers (and everyone else around here seems to too) but fans from other teams seem to think we have the worst announcers in the league -- not sure if they are referring to TV or radio though.

As for radio, we have quite possibly the best announcer in the history of the world in Bob Uecker. He is currently recovering from heart surgery though and is not announcing, but should be back soon. So the quality of the radio broadcast in the interim is severely lacking.

I would consider Gallardo being absolutely untouchable -- not only did we just sign him through 2015 earlier this year (technically through 2014 w/ a 2015 option) he is our best pitcher on a staff that lacks pitching. He is also a fan favorite and there just might be riots in the streets if they traded either him or Braun (who is also signed through 2015).

The rumors I heard for Hart was for Sanchez, not Cain. I can't imagine they would do Hart for Cain straight up it would have to involve other prospects.

We had such high hopes for Weeks then he struggled for so long.... and now finally appears to be turning things around. Whether we try to sign him long-term or not I have no idea. He was rushed to the big leagues so I think that hurt his development, but if you compare his early stats to Ian Kinsler/Brian Roberts and the like they are actually pretty similar, so I do have hope for him still.

As far as I know they don't take callers but TV is FSN North, Radio is WTMJ 620. Not sure if/how you can get either of those. There is another radio station that also has a pre & post game show that takes callers but I can't think of what it is right now.


EDIT: Also not sure about Bush -- that is the first I've heard. I think he is a free agent after this year and not sure what their chances are of resigning him. If the team continues to struggle through July I would not be surprised to see him traded. I can't imagine his value would be real high though. He is a decent #3 but not an ace.

Well thats a relief I must of not heard that right or it was just a wild rumer. Either way its good to know Gallardo isn't going anywhere. If you feel 90% sure you can resign Bush I think you hold onto him on a team that needs pitching and doesn't have a ton of young arms beating down the doors to Miller Park.

Thats cool a report card is a big undertaking I'll wait til you have time and familiarize myself with the team until then. You've done a great job of giving me some insight and perspective so far.

With Hart, I know San Fran has been wanting to deal Cain for some bats I would seriously consider Hart & Gamel & maybe a 3rd guy (depending on who that was) for Cain. You gotta look at what it will take to convince Prince you're serious about winning now in order to get him to stay.

I guess my initial impression is I'm down on Rickie Weeks, but to be fair I should get to know the team and him better before I come to any final conclusions.

Thanks for the info btw, listening to Extra Innings on WTMJ 620 right now with Bill Michaels. There seems to be some real optimism the Brewers can get back in the race in the 2nd half and they have to think hard about trading Hart before they give up on the season. It seems like the Reds are running a little better than they maybe should, but then again everyone in the Central gets to beat up on the Pirates and Stros. I might be more worried about the Cards. I still don't know I'd be too optimistic unless they get on a hot streak coming out of the ASB, or go into Cincy and sweep them or something like that.

Yes nothing like a sweep (even though it was the lol Pirates) to feel optimistic again. Everyone I know still believes in this team (although we also realize that is being optimistic) -- and that time is running out fast. I think if we start out hot after the break we won't make any trades, but if we hit another slump it will be sell, sell, sell.

Luckily neither the Reds nor the Cards are running away with the division, so we still have a chance if they can turn things around quickly.

You are probably right on Rickie but he is definitely performing better than he ever has in the past. Not sure what his ceiling is or if this is as good as we can expect. I'm not a real good judge of that though. He has turned his career around and went from being one of the scapegoats to a fan favorite.

There should be enough talent on this team to win and at least contend for the playoffs. The way the season has gone so far has just been heart-wrenching. Whenever we think we have things turned around they go and get swept in a 4 game series to SF at home like just happened. It will be interesting to see how the come out of the gates after the ASB.

Also we have been really impressed with our new arms in the bullpen, and the starting pitchers have been doing better for most the part lately. It seems like we have fixed our pitching woes, or have at least fixed them enough to win. The offense has been pretty hit or miss though.

Axford has solidified the closing role and we are super-high on him right now. Hopefully he can keep it going. Everyone loves his mustache as well.

Loe has been really good out of the bullpen too.

Riske is finally looking good again after coming back from injury. After having high hopes after signing him from KC he had pretty much been written off as a 3-year bust until now.

Capuano is back after double tommy-john surgery but they haven't used him enough to know if he is really back or not.

Ok so here's a little prospect report I worked up in the last hour or so. Let me know how far off I am here.

Seems like the best pure pitching prospect we have in the system is Eric Arnett or possibly this year's #1 pick Dylan Covey. Haven't seen much from Covey yet so you're going purely on upside. The edge probably has to go to Arnett. I've read alot about Jeremy Jeffress too, but read just as much about his drug use as his arm. Whats the story with him? He was a '06 pick you'd like to think he'd be major league ready by now, I know he's still serving a 100 game suspension, but whats the plan for him when he's off the suspension?

The other top prospects are headed by Brett Lawrie (#59 this year on BA's top 100) 2nd baseman with power ETA mid 2011. I guess this is where you gotta make a decision on Weeks. Kinda weird though I read a scouting report he was originally a 3B/C prospect. I wonder how you go from that to 2nd base? He must not have much of an arm. Still he looks like a nice addition for next season, plus he's young so you hope his upside just keeps climbing. Mat Gamel is 24 and I'm not so sure he's ever going to be anything "special". Maybe a little too early for that prognosis, but you could easily question if Casey McGhee isn't the best option at 3rd base moving forward.

I'm not sure anyone else is really beating down the doors to Miller Park right now. I don't have a subscription to BA, so I couldn't see this year's rankings. But in 2009 the Brewers had the 10th best rated farm system. I'm sure thats weighted heavily on Alcides tho. Like you said Shoe Lorenzo Cain is an organizational top 10 prospect. If Corey Hart is traded I wonder how far off he is? a September call up maybe? He's 24 and it would seem to make sense, I doubt he'd do much worse than Gomez. BA actually has Kentrail Davis rated ahead of Cain, but Brewerfan.net has Cain rated significantly higher in their Power 50 and they seem to be more in line with your assessment Shoe.

Obviously, Johnathan Lucroy and Zach Braddock already being on the big league roster is huge. Both seem to be doing well for rooks. I was actually surprised to see some depth in our pitching. I kinda like the reports on Amaury Rivas other than the previous Tommy John surgery, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything, see C.J. Wilson. Two things you like to hear in a pitching prospect great stuff and great control. Mix in Odorizzi, Heckathorn, and others previously mentioned you might have something. The key to pitching prospects is have alot of them and 1 or 2 or if you get lucky 3 should turn into gems.

Man really seems like re-signing Prince is the key here. Gallardo and Braun are locked up. knowing that we have a towards the top farm system really makes me want to trade Hart even more. Lets get some more pitching in here for next year and the year after when things can really heat up. Take a look Braun 26, Prince 26, and Yovanni only 24, not to mention Alcides only 23. Weeks and Hart are the two old farts on the team at 27 and 28 respectively. I wonder what kind of trade value Weeks has....

Hmmmm, ok well consider me officially fascinated with this team. I look forward to more posts from Shoe and others. Areaman, Bad Beat Bill, MEbenhoe, come on guys speak up! Who knows how much longer the Cards can hold onto Pujols. This division tho its the biggest in baseball really appears to be the Brewers for the taking in upcoming years. Just GOTTA have Prince on board.

here's a really good article by hardballtimes.com that clears up what we should expect with Prince Fielder over the next 3-15 months. Its a 5 question type article, scroll down to question #4.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/ar...ukee-brewers5/



Edit: I forgot his agent was Scott Boras. I hate that Son of a B!tch and if I were Doug Melvin or any GM for that matter I would make it policy to never sign a Boras client. How are you going to build a winner when key members of your team are always going to be testing free agency and either leaving or causing you to spend so much you weaken your team in other areas? Show me a team a besides the Red Sox or Yankees that have won with Scott Boras' players as the key contributors? Arrrrgh, I got a feeling this one's gonna hurt.

Ut-oh, just heard an interview with Braun after today's game say Corey Hart is one of his best friends on the team.

I'm still trying to get a feel for where Ryan's head is at with this team. He signed for a discount in a sense through '14. Yet he flamed Doug Melvin last year not only locally but in a story that got national coverage for a terrible pitching staff (not to mention how that must of made last year's staff feel during the season). Then in the same interview today he's saying he's really proud of the organization for all of its All Stars being home grown and not free agent signings and Milwaukee is doing a great job. Obv, alot of that is lip service, but then again he could be being straightforward there. Its one of those times you don't know b/c he's going to say the same thing no matter what.

Now that I know Fielder is either A) gone or B) signed to such a high price tag you'd wish he were gone I'm really nervous about keeping Braun happy. Although it seems on the exterior he's really happy as is.

Shoe whats your insight here?

Areaman, MEBenhoe, BB Bill, come on fellas! I can't be the only poker player with too much time on his hands that wants to discuss Brewers baseball

listening to and reading everything I have been on the Brew Crew one common theme seems to be in place FIRE GRANDPA!!!

Florida passed on Bobby V, I can't really think of anyone better to come in. What'd you guys think of that idea?

wow...gone for a few days and miss all this.

heard a rumor macha was going to be fired today. guess we will see?

jeffress was just pitching for the timber rattlers a bit ago and i think hes in huntsville now? i tried to go up there and get to a game but didnt. i think they moved him into a closers role. hes easily the best pitching prospect in the system they have, i think. dude throws hard and has good ****. just cant keep off the weed. wtf?

lawrie says he wants to be up in september this year, i dont think itll happen. dudes 20. gl to him. id like to see them get rid of rickey asap but i doubt lawrie is a suitable replacement at this time.

also, doubt they resign prince nor should they. i certainly think they can afford it but if we resign prince we are still in the same position we are in now with no pitching. we need to take the money from the suppan and hall deals and get a legitimate #2. you know, the guy randy wolf was supposed to be.

area,

Good 2 have you back bro... man, I'm neck deep in Brewers potential trade rumors. I just joined a Brewers forum and speculation is running rampant on that site. I don't know if the Giants would want him w/o an extension or if they can even afford him or if Boras would allow him to go there under an extension. But, Prince/Gamel/Rivas (other up & coming pitching prospect) for Matt Cain/random B level hitting prospect makes alot of sense to me. Given the contract slash Boras angle of the equation works out.

And I agree with you. A) you don't want to get into negotiations with Scott Boras, b/c you always end up outbidding yourself B) As great as Prince is, you can't pay him a Ryan Howard like contract and still shore up the other needs for this team. Its either Prince has a miracle change of heart and talks hometown discount or you move him in a package for a legit #2 or really you want a guy like Cain who is a 1/1A to Yovanni

Jeffress added to 40-man roster: The Brewers have added right-hander Jeremy Jeffress to the 40-man roster on Tuesday and have optioned him to Class A Wisconsin, reports MLB.com. Milwaukee designated Chris Smith for assignment when reliever Todd Coffey was activated from the disabled list, opening a spot on the 40-man roster. Smith eventually accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Nashville, but the open spot remained.
(Updated 06/29/2010).

just read a rumor, the Braves are pursuing either Hart, Willingham, or Bautista to help keep them in contention while Heyward's out.

I'd love to hear from some Braves fans on this so I might cross-post it, but what about Corey Hart/Mat Gamel to the Braves for Julio Teheran or Arodys Vizcaino plus some B level guy like Brandon Hicks? With the impending loss of Chipper Jones a replacement like Gamel in addition to Hart could be very enticing to the Braves.

i dont think gamel has much value at all right now, so id prefer to hold onto him....

i just heard on the radio that the brewers were shopping prince...

Wowow, this thread really picked up...sorry I hadn't been checking it lately. Thundercat, you might want to check out this site: http://www.brewcreball.com - it's a very well-run and constantly updated blog about the crew, seems to have many readers and a lot of sabermetric-inclined posters.

To add a few thoughts:

I don't think that the Crew can keep Fielder sadly, they may be able to give him $80m/4 but Boras insists that he's worth a Teixiera-like deal. I do think that $20m/year is a good value for him but the Ryan Howard signing just blew everything open as Prince is clearly a better signing over the next 4-5 years. Honestly unless you're getting a steroid-addled Barry Bonds I don't think the Crew should be spending $20 million on one guy. Boras of course is going to look for much more than he's worth, arguing that we sell 600k more tickets because of him - I think he's underestimating Brewer fans quite a bit there. But I don't think there's really much of a market right now for first basemen/DH's, so I do wonder where he might end up. I agree that Corey Hart is a big trading chip right now - not to be too pessimistic but I think he's gonna sink like a stone in the 2nd half of the season as he did in 2008. His trade value will never be higher and I think the Crew can nab some high-quality prospects for him.

Pitching-wise I think you may be overestimating Arnett a bit. He's doing terribly at low-A ball. Covey however looks to be real promising and many have said he could be a #1-#2 type starter in 2012 or 2013. As for now, I think Jeffress is really the guy to look at. I wonder how he'd hack it as a starter.

As for Braun I don't think he's leaving, the deal he signed obviously telegraphed his desire to stay in Milwaukee...let's face it that guy could easily be making $15m+ right now. I don't really read into his 'calling out' of Doug Melvin, it was a **** thing to do because you're calling out your own team, but really we already knew Braun was kind of brash and in all honesty he's really just saying what every player and fan was thinking.

areaman - I think Lawrie is our 2B of the future, as much as I like Weeks he's got too much of the Corey Hart/JJ Hardy hitting profile (all-star one month, Bill Hall level the next) and I think his power bat should entice a few suitors. But we have to see how Lawrie develops because our other "top prospect"-type guys like Escobar and Gamel haven't really turned out yet.

Honestly I think that Gomez should be cut ASAP, he does seem to have a lot of talent but he seems to be one of those Corey Patterson-type "has potential" guys that'll post up a career .235/.280/.320 over like 6 seasons. I was at the game this Saturday and I watched him break a bat over his leg after he struck out. Clearly he's very frustrated with himself and in addition he's got some pretty terrible baseball instincts, making way too many errors on the basepaths. He's certainly a project but I doubt he's ever really going to get there.