agreed on weeks, although every year he looks like hes gonna curb that and then gets injured and we start all over again with him. his OBP this year is way higher than the free swinging hardy and harts, who is on a massive heater. i also agree hart will fall off. they say we can ship hart off to sanfran for sanchez, or its a rumor i read, i highly doubt we could get sanchez for hart, but if its a possibility, they need to jump at the chance. throw in whoever.

escobar will get better, defensively for sure, offensively maybe.

gomez...i dont have a clue. when i see him bunt for base hits i get very excited.

I would be more excited if he could actually pull it off.

I think Escobar will definitely get better defensively but he has been really shaky given the "prodigy"-like status he had in the past. Honestly I think Hardy was way better at this point.

Great post here about Boras's claim about Fielder:
http://www.brewcrewball.com/2010/7/1...ng-scott-boras

directvrebate.com

Basically it says that even if Fielder is worth Teixeria-like money, he's not likely to get it since out of the 30 ML teams, most of them are either already commited to a good-to-great first baseman (and probably would not pay $23m/year for just a DH) or have big prospects coming up, do not have the payroll to give Fielder that type of contract, are tied into too many bad deals (Cubs), or probably won't be able to afford them since their teams are so bad. That leaves the Rockies, White Sox, Giants, and the Brewers, and none of the other three teams would really even be able to outbid the Brewers by much. I think the Sox will probably end up with him, and I could see some oddball team like the Nats or Orioles making a run, but altogether Hardicourt's claim that the Brewers have a "0% chance of signing Fielder long-term" is ridiculous.

Do you guys think Fielder is better than Howard? I would expect him to go for nearly the same price (maybe a tad higher or lower) but I'd expect him to get a deal really similar to Howard's:

A few comparisons for their careers so far:

They both have a career average of .281, Princes OBP is barely better, Howard's SLG is barely better.

Howard has hit a HR every 12.68 AB's so far, Prince has hit one every 15 ABs.

Obviously, Prince's next 1.5 years could sway that one way or the other but as of right now I'd call them equals.

With all the other teams that already have 1B, I agree that the Brewers chance is definitely higher than the 0% most writers give them credit for right now, although I do agree he would probably end up somewhere else.

We have already offered him 5 years/$100 Million, and discussions have stopped because whatever Boras came back with was just too far out of their league.

A couple of thoughts fellas,

I didn't think of the Cubs being tied up in bad deals, but they are still on my radar for Fielder. It helps them to steal away a division rival's prime offensive weapon and we know Derek Lee is getting older. I do like that most of the big spenders are tied up at 1st base/DH and it would seem like they wouldn't make a big push for Prince.

I heard Anthony Witrado of the Journal-Sentinel say on 1250 WSSP Monday he thinks Weeks should be traded b/c he fears the Brewers are going to have resignability concerns with him like they do with Fielder. He also said he feels Weeks is for real this season and thinks he can keep producing for the forseeable future, and not only that but he doesn't feel Lawrie's done enough to feel like he can step in right away. The big concern for him was resignability.

I also heard, and it may have been from Witrado but I can't remember, the Giants are actually dying to do the Sanchez deal they covet Hart, but the Brewers are hesistant they feel this might be the real Corey Hart. I gotta say Sanchez is a wild and streaky pitcher, but I'd still rather have him over Hart at this point. With the caveat that doesn't piss off Ryan Braun.

Gomez, I think he should be sent to the bench and they give Lorenzo Cain a look. That likely will happen on September 1 anyways which is fine. I'm thinking Gomez is a 4th outfielder/pinch runner type in the NL. I'm fine with that, but I have concerns keeping him in the everyday lineup.

Oh and I hate Scott Boras hope he chokes on his own vomit and dies a horrible death. I pray the Brewers put the squeeze on him and make him search the market to see there's not much out there. And if a team like the Cubs or White Sox do step in. I agree that $20+ mil could probably be spent better in other areas.

Yeah I would agree that Fielder and Howard are basically equals (actually Fielder should be worth more because he's significantly younger) but I don't think he'll get a Howard-like deal because there isn't really a team out there that can offer it. I'd be really surprised if he gets the $181/8 type deal that Boras is talking about. Then again, the Howard contract really surprised me too, many there are some GMs that are just that stupid...not only did they sign him up to age 37, they did it long before he was an FA and for an amount that no other team would have come close to. I would definitely consider that contract a fluke and not the rule.

One more thing you have to consider - the Brewers really do not have a lot of money tied up for next year. Suppan and Hall will be off the books, Trevor and Davis are most likely out...there's $32+ mil right there. The only "long-term" contracts (meaning going to 2012) are Braun (amazing deal), Gallardo (really amazing deal), and Wolf (can't win 'em all)

is wolf suppan revisited, christ i hope not. i really hope we find a new pitching coach next year and hes like that dude from the cardinals...dudes a ****ing wizard.

Wolf is definitely better than Suppan. Has not performed this year, but you know you are at least going to get some good games out of him.

his location has been awful this year from the few times ive seen him.

arnett news posted on jsonline. aint too optimistic about him.

SERIOUSLY????? WE CAN'T EVEN SCORE 2 F'ING RUNS!?!?!?!? FML


TRADE EVERYONE


( i hope I'm overreacting )

Yes, I was overreacting (phew!)

yeah, i just got to thinking of this. they arent going to trade anyone. melvin always acts late on this stuff. doubt we move hart before the deadline, know we wont move prince.

anyways, glad they brought up cain, hope he does well.

Cain looked good today!

and they send him right back down...

gets 6 abs, bats .600 and poof, gone.

rumors swirling about hart again. i have faith melvin will sit on his hands and watch the trade deadline go by.

Yeah, really surprised that they aren't giving Cain a chance. Gomez is not exactly turning out well and Cain likely will have the position in 2012/13...why not see what he can do?

this upcoming series against cincinnati biggest series of the year?

Could be. If we do sweep them, suddenly the Brewers are in the position where they can make a run if all cylinders start firing. Obv it's gonna require a lot of luck (which means winning a bunch of 1-run games) but would be really cool to see.

Gotta give props to Edmonds, I always disliked the guy because he usually massacres the Crew, but he's playing out of his mind given how injured and old he is. They gave him a standing O the other day and he damn well deserved it.

I still think its pretty naive to think they can get back in it this year, but stranger things have happened. I'd be pretty disappointed if they didn't make a trade b/c of those hopes. I seriously doubt thats Melvin's mindset tho.

Man what is up with Rickie Weeks? That guy is going yard every other game. He's about to pass Corey Hart and maybe Prince. If Hart and Weeks keep this up the rest of the way its going to be pretty hard to not drink the Kool Aid on those guys.

Also, I'm secretly rooting the Brewers can work a trade with the White Sox for Prince. I really like Daniel Hudson and I think the White Sox do too, so I'm not sure if they'd let him go. I've heard John Danks and Gavin Floyd mentioned, either one of those guys would be a nice addition. Then you throw in Gordon Beckham and that deal gets pretty attractive.

they wont deal beckham. theyve already basically said that. also, if you think melvin has a mindset at all...hes one of the worst gms in the league. history shows he doesnt pull the trigger (trading hardy a year too late, cutting suppan a year too late, etc), i wouldnt be surprised if we had the same exact roster going into next year.

as far as the brewers getting back into it this year, i dont think its naive at all. the central is terrible. they could easily catch fire and win the central. they are still dead in the playoffs because of their pitching staff but the cardinals have been playing well below expectation all year and the reds are playing out of their minds, and yet still only 8 games up. the reds are getting way more from their pitching and hitting than anyone thought. everyone thought the reds were gonna fall out of first but then they just kept playing amazing. well, that doesnt mean its going to continue. if they win this series its a huge swing and gives the crew a ton of momentum. theyre still a crap club, but that doesnt mean they cant win the weakest division in baseball.

I always thought the AL West was the weakest division but still...you have to remember that the Cubs are doing pretty awful when on paper they're a decent team. Realistically the Cards are probably gonna win this division. Like I said you have to get really really lucky which means winning on just 3 hits like we did yesterday. I know it's a small, small chance, but Packer season doesn't start for 2 months so....

Say what you will about Melvin, I always thought he was a pretty decent GM whose just made a lot of moves that didn't work out. I don't blame him for keeping Suppan; I really didn't like putting him in the starting rotation over Narveson in the beginning of the year, but now that we've gotten a handful of starts from each, is Narveson really that much better? I mean the reality is you really need 7 starters at the beginning of the year, realistically...I think it's been decades since any team ever had only 5 players starting games over an entire season.

As for Hardy, you know he didn't think Escobar was ready yet (and is he now? He's a weak bat and not exactly a plus-defender, but Hardy's toiling in the #9 spot for the Twins right now, so who knows), and besides, Hardy WAS an all-star, showing the ability to be like a .280/.330/.470 type guy and a great defender. Last year sucked for him, but his BABIP had to be way below league norm, as you recall nearly every week there was a "web gem" play against him. Just really unlucky and it affected his confidence. You could say the same about Corey Hart from the 2nd half of 2008-2009.

Massive respect for Edmonds today, BTW. It's clear the dude's in a lot of pain. I don't blame him for using a "HR or nothing" approach with 2 outs and nobody on and it ended up being the game winner...nice

it doesnt matter if narveson was better or not at the beginning of the season, he has the potential to be way better.

if you think hardy has the ability to be a .280/.330/.470 type guy, and im fine with that, because i agree with it, then how did we manage to get carlos gomez for him and thats it? if you dont think escobar is ready and you want to continue with hardy, fine, trade escobar because teams were willing to give us a ton for him. he just totally mismanaged the whole situation in every aspect. i heard toronto wanted to ship us halladay for escobar, gamel, and like...a bag of peanuts, but melvin was unwilling to part with either of them.

as for corey hart, hes said that at the end of last year and coming into spring training that he wasnt trying. he has never been consistant. whether or not thats a reason, i dont care, i dont want guys like that on this team. ship him to sanfran for sanchez immediatley. waiting around for him to go back into batting .220 isnt going to help us improve our pitching staff.

what good would Halladay do for us? We're not an Ace away from a title. Halladay wasn't likely to resign if they had been able to make that move, and even so he's getting up there and I don't think this team is 2 years away. I guess if the Central is the weakest division in baseball (I think that changes year to year), then maybe Halladay helps you win the Central, but I think thats pretty shallow goals for the potential of this team.

I agree about Gomez I don't think much of him, but I didn't think much of Hardy either. I mean yeah you don't want guys like Hart on your team if they're not trying, but you don't want guys with head issues centering from a lack of confidence either. I never heard the I wasn't trying report on Hart tho.

The more I'm reading the more I'm seeing a trend develop that Melvin sits on his hands alot. I'm going to be really disappointed if they don't work something out with the White Sox for Prince, unless the organizational plan is hold on to Prince. Even then I'm not sure thats the best idea, given he's likely to break down before his 34th birthday. Also, I just really like Daniel Hudson what I'm reading about him and from the websites I've seen the rumors are the Sox would be willing to part with Beckham. Actually, I'd take Hudson/Danks over Hudson/Beckham so thats fine if they'd rather move 2 pitchers to me. Maybe they won't do Hudson and Danks/Beckham and it'd have to be another player. Thats were things get dicey for me.

I have more to say on this topic, but I'll save that for another post.

I don't really know about his "potential"...he's 28 and never even was a particularly good minor leaguer. For him to be a legit 4.00 ERA guy over the course of an entire season is a stretch. I think Melvin did make a huge mistake not starting him as the #5, but I still can see keeping Suppan around in case Narveson implodes or a starter gets injured. The fact is every team has guys like Suppan and in most cases they are needed at some point.

I guess I can see how the Hardy thing was botched, but I don't think any team really wanted him after hitting like .230 and getting demoted. Gomez was not a great pickup but it did at least allow us to cut Cameron and save $10m. Gomez definitely was a candidate for "could pick it up and become a huge bargain with another team" status. So was Hardy. I doubt the Escobar/Gamel for Halliday thing is really true...I can't imagine any team passing on this unless the situation just wasn't right. Details?

I'm still on the fence about Hart...he's really picked it up over about 2 months worth of games, I don't think it's just variance...he's legit crushing the ball. I'd be confused if he started hitting .220 the rest of the way but we've seen that happen. Dunno who would replace him though.