Let the Winter Meetings Begin!

Indianapolis is host to this year's Winter Meetings. What a great event this is. I love it. It's like going back in time to when I was in high school. All the rumors, gossip, theories, game plans, cheating, flirting, and impractical thinking...all under one roof!

It's like the male version of soap operas. Seriously, name me a better waste of time then the Winter Meetings! Don't get me wrong, I live for this event. It allows me to think "outside the box" and play the 'what-if-game'.

First up for Milwaukee is the idea of Melvin targeting LHP Randy Wolf. The crafty southpaw was not offered arbitration, therefore, Milwaukee would not have to forfeit a first round draft pick to sign him. Considering that John Lackey is going to draw offers between 18MM and 20MM, I'm glad to see Milwaukee going for the second best pitcher available. Hang in there one more season before the god awful contracts come off the books (Hall, Suppan, Riske). After all, Wolf did go 11-7 last season for LA and helped guide them to the NLCS.

Other rumors getting thrown around out there....

* I laughed aloud when I read this one on Jsonline.com.....
Apparently, Tom Haudricourt is thinking that a straight-up trade that would send Soup to LA for Juan Pierre is a good idea. Granted, I salivate at the thought of having a left-handed hitter who can play centerfield. Thus, giving us a back-up plan should the Carlos Gomez plan go to shit. For some odd reason the Dodgers are looking for a third team to participate in this plan of theirs. They are willing to send Pierre to a team in return for an over-paid pitcher...in layman's terms.

* Mike Cameron is on the Cubs' radar. If they are able to deal Milton Bradley; they are then willing to hire Cam's services. This is concerning to say the least. Cameron is always good for 20+ HR's a season plus excellent defense. He sure does strike out a lot, but he could add value to their outfield.

* I would anticipate Milwaukee pulling off a trade to bring in at least one starting pitcher. Granted, the farm system is not as full as it once was...but moving a Gamel and/or Hart could entice some teams. Although I am worried that McGehee won't be able to repeat his stellar rookie season, I do feel that Gamel is someone who doesn't fit in with Milwaukee clubhouse. He also reminds me of a ditzy blond, only with brown hair.

Back to it....

Well, let us take a look at my college football predictions that I made back in August.
Granted, there is still 2 weeks of football left to be played, but we all know that the BCS will come down to the winner of the SEC title game ('Bama vs Florida) and Texas.

It's looking like my BCS title game is going to be correct. I truly believe that 'Bama will beat Florida and they will then lose to Texas.

It appears that I botched the bowl lay-outs below. But I got the title game right, thus far. Unless something crazy happens with Texas, and of course, 'Bama loses to Florida.
-I called Cincy almost spot on. Granted, it's looking like they will finish 5th or even 4th in the BCS rankings. But I had them as my surprise team.
-I had Iowa as my top Big 10 team, but they lost to OSU so that got shot down. Needless to say, they should still get an at-large-bid.
-The actualy Rose Bowl is OSU vs Oregon. I had Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and OSU out of the BCS. Whoops.
-The biggest surprise is TCU, I didn't mention them in the top 10.
-I called USC right, although they could get a shot at an at-large-bid I hear.
-Utah was my biggest disappointment....they are ranked 20th right now and they have 2 losses. Likewise with Cal.
-Michigan State was my bust pick in the Big Ten.

Well....you can check the rest below. All in all, not bad. I'm still on pace to win some coin.

With the start of the season only 2 weeks away, it's time to release Scottage Cheeses' 3rd Annual Pick-A-Dicks:
Citi National - Rose Bowl (aka Taxpayers Bowl)
Texas (3) over Alabama (6)
FED EX Orange Bowl
Virginia Tech (8) over Oregon (13)
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Boise State (12) over Oklahoma (2)
All State Sugar Bowl
Iowa (23) over Notre Dame (24)
Top 10
1) Texas
2) Virginia Tech
3) Alabama
4) Boise State
5) Iowa
6) Oklahoma
7) Oregon
8) Utah
9) Cincy**
10) California
*Please note, USC will finish 11th or 12th. Their schedule is far too tough (non-conference).
**Cincy will be the surprise team of the year
***Michigan State could easily sneak in over Cal.
Big Ten
1. Iowa
2. Michigan State
3. Ohio State
4. Penn State
5. Michigan
6. Minnesota
7. Illinois
8. Wisconsin
9. Purdue
10. Northwestern
11. Indiana
*I love the Badgers more than my pet cat, Jack. But it's going to take one more year before Clay reaches his full potential and the Badgers will have options at QB.
**Iowa is returning most of their O-Line, QB, D-Line and have a couple of options to replace Shonn Greene.
I may have gotten the conference match-ups wrong in the bowl. If so, sue me (I love that line!).
HERE are my predictions from last season....yikes. I went out on a limb and picked two SEC teams to go to the title game. Why? Look how close it came to Michigan vs OSU in 2007.

Good news

Casey McGahee has been awarded the Rookie of the Month honors for his campaign in September. He batted .337 with 5 HR's...all with a bummed knees. It's highly doubtful that he will finish in the top 3 for ROY voting, but he should be. He played the entire season with a crap knee and he rode the bench for the first couple of months, prior to Weeks' injury.

Alcides Escobar found out that he will be considered a rookie next year in the 2010 season. This is great news. Not only does it help with his ROY bid in 2010, but it also help the Brewers in future contract talks. He had 129 at-bats over the past two seasons....the cut-off is 130!

Well, it's the off-season for the crew....so let the Mike Cameron rumors begin! Keep in mind, MC is a free agent. The Padres say they could use Mike Cameron in CF to platoon with TG Jr.. I say bs on that.....Cameron will never agree to a platoon situation.

HERE is even more reasons why the Milwaukee Brewers ownership should be able to land a couple of solid pitchers in the off-season.

Quest for 2010 Post-Season Starts...TODAY!

Well folk, the Crew ended on a good note yesterday by sweeping the Cardinals. Granted, the Cards were probably only looking forward to their NLDS match-up with LA....but a win is a win.

With that being said, the Crew finished sub .500 (80-82) and met their critics predictions. Starting the season most picked the Crew to be the biggest drop-off in 2009. I called BS on that, but deep down I knew that the pitching was suspect. Oh well.

The run for the 2010 post-season (and the end of the Prince Fielder era) starts today!

What a great way to start out the off-season with THIS piece of news that involves the Brewers signing Trevor Hoffman to a one-year deal worth $8MM and a mutual option for 2011.
Hoff tallied 37 saves out 41 opportunities for the Crew in 2009 and also made the All Star. This is excellent news for Milwaukee, considering that the pickings were quite slim for closers this off-season!

Against my wishes, the Milwaukee Brewers have decided to bring back Kenny Macha for 2010 and possibly 2011. I really thought this man would kick some sense in to these young players. He's decent, but a Cecil Cooper or Willie Randolph would've done wonders. I was against Willie last off-season.....but seeing how he connects with the young players makes me with otherwise.

One more thing...

The pitching in Milwaukee is by far the worse I have seen in some time. In fact, it's the second worse in the league! From top to bottom, even including Yovanni Gallardo at times...this rotation is purely laughable.

Doug Melvin, despite my fondness for him, should be held accountable for this atrocity. Why? Because he actually felt that this rotation would be okay for 2009.

"I thought we had middle-of-the-pack pitching," he said. "If we were seventh or eighth in ERA, between 4.30 and 4.50, we'd have a chance. It didn't happen." -Doug Melvin

Really? Even wit out pitching coach Mike Maddux; who went to the Rangers last winter? We can't blame you for parting ways with Ben Sheets and losing out to CC Sabathia. But adding another arm to the rotation, other than Oliver Perez, would have worked last winter.

Grow some nuts and kick Suppan to the pen. Who knows, he may actually be okay down there.

Michael Hunt hinted at a pretty good idea in the above mentioned story in yesterdays Journal-Sentinel....

Milwaukee has to a little more gutsy in going after solid pitchers this off-season. Not reckless, but will to take more chances with injury-laden pitchers. Granted, Ben Sheets has probably scared the living bejesus out of this sort of thinking. But look at the risk that the Cardinals did in signing John Smoltz? Or the Phillie's with Pedro Martinez?

This day and age, you have to take chances and hope that it works out. Of course, I will probably be bitching if it doesn't...but you know what? That's okay. I'm a fan of Brewers baseball.

4 weeks left

Well, not much to get excited over. Carpenter made the Brewers look like complete morons by limiting them to 1-hit...the day after Prince Fielder and the Crew beat the SF Giants in walk-off fashion that was seen all over the Sports Centers of the world.

I don't get it. Why would the Crew think it's swell to do the bombs-away / bowling theme after Sunday's game? Honestly....I don't get it. I seldom get mad at the Brewers and especially Prince Fielder...but that was simply retarded. Sorry folks.

Yes, it looked kind of cool...but then I opened the paper to see that the Milwaukee Brewers are virtually a couple of games from being officially out of the post-season race. Not to mention that the Crew is under .500 and threatening to break their consecutive seasons of winning records.

Here's an idea....act like you have been there before. This single-handidly topped the list of uneeded celebratory shinanigans that Ryan Braun has ever done.

Enough with that....

JJ Hardy is 2-15 since coming back from Nashville. Honestly, this kid pisses me off to high heaven. It's like he doesn't honestly know why he was sent down to the minors. Nobody elses fault but his own, would be the best way to handle this ordeal. But no, he claims stupidty.

OnMilwaukee.com pointed out the obvious today when they did a piece on the looming threat that Milwaukee's grass-roots movement is coming to an end. The JACK Z days are numbered where Milwaukee's fans could look to the future. JJ and Corey's days are (hopefully) numbered and the Rickie Weeks that we say in the first 1.5 months may not return; it is Rickie Weeks afterall.

If Melvin wants any chance to returning to the post season, he will have to part ways with Prince Fielder...or....hope that he can deal the farm away for a solid ACE. I hate to see Prince go, but it's going to happen in 2010-2011. Get the most that you can for him!

5 weeks left....

Hi, my name is JJ Hardy and I played my way out of the starting SS position...all on my own!

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/56431322.html

Who would have thought that the Milwaukee Brewers would be sitting two games under .500 and in 3rd place entering the final month (5 weeks) of play? If you would have told me that JJ Hardy would be apart of the September call-up, I would have said you were nuts. Oh, and if you would've told me that Jeff Suppan sucks...I would have responded with a "no shit".
So goes the long season that is baseball. Milwaukee enters, what should've been, a key 3-game series in St. Louis this week. However, instead of fighting for first place the Milwaukee Brewers are fighting to get to .500 on the year.

JJ Hardy is expected to be called up today and may even start for Milwaukee. This may be a kind gesture on behalf of Macha and Melvin to Hardy, seeing that he has some hard feelings on what went down in August. Wwhaaaaaaa (crying to myself). Get over it JJ. How many times has Melvin given you excessive amounts of time to jump out of your constant slumps that often times last more than 2 months?!?!? Business is business and it's moves like this that will make Milwaukee in to a contender team. You can't think like a small-market team, you have to act like the Yankees and not look at the situation as being personal. Melvin may have just graduated from "Small team thinking like big team: 101".
With Hard spending the 20 days down in the minors now allows Milwaukee to have one more year of control over the 27 year-old SS. This is great! Why you might ask? Well, because his trade value has sunk to an all-time low this season. With Escobar playing well and JJ refusing to move to 3B...Melvin has no other option but to trade him. By packaging the SS up with an additional year of control on the contract, thus allows teams to look pass this horrid 2009 season. Granted, JJ will flourish with a change of scenery and this is a huge risk by Melvin. To gamble on something young and immature while giving up on a veteran (so-to-speak) who has proven to hit 20+ HR's in a season.
Something has to be done though. This nucleus has to be broken up. It started with Geoff Jenkins not coming back and continued with Billy Hall being shipped to the minors before being dealt to Seattle for a bag of bats. It starts here gentlemen. Melvin has shown that he can be tough, finally!
So where does Milwaukee go from here? It's time to start wheeling & dealing! Prince Fielder? I love ya, but you can bring the team 2 solid pitchers (one possibly an ACE). Yes, certainly this leaves a gap in the middle of the order and it takes away 1/2 of the productivity. But as San Fransisco is proving to the MLB this year....you're only as good as your pitching. What good is it to have a 1-2 punch in the line-up with out a solid 1-2 punch in the rotation? Bring back Looper, Bush, and Parra. Throw Suppan in the bullpen (who cares that he's a veteran) and go pull off a trade that will land us a valid ACE and a back of the rotation hurler.

1. New guy
2. Parra
3. Bush
4. Looper
5. New guy

Time for some back peddling

I was 100% wrong in proclaiming that Ken Macha was a "good" hire.
Something is wrong with this team and it starts from at the GM on down to the rotation. Although Doug Melvin has yielded some decent results (CC Sabathia & Trevor Hoffman), he turned a blind eye on to the starting rotation.

Every sports publication out there pointed the finger at Milwaukee, saying that they were the most likely to drop out of contention. For the love of God....JEFF SUPPAN WAS THE OPENING DAY PITCHER! How messed up is that? The sad thing is, Milwaukee still has another year left his retched pitching. Even Yovanni Gallardo has been a huge let down in the second half of the season. The only bright spot in that rotation is Braden Looper. Despite earning the no-decision last night, he is the anchor of the rotation.

Most importantly, it's been Ken Macha who has been the biggest let down. He shows no emotion and he's unpleasant to watch in that dug out. A manager shouldn't be a robot when it comes to game time decisions. He also sounds like a red neck-U'per when he's being interviewed. Don't get me wrong, he's a good manager, but he's not a good fit for this YOUNG team.

Keep in mind though, Bob Brenly wouldn't been a good fit either (finished 2nd in the search). Willie Randolph seems to take a likening to this team and the young infielders. Every time the cameras are on him, he's usually sitting/standing next to Escobar or Hardy and talking with them. He's a good teacher, just not a solid manager.

Bobby Valentine would have been a great manager for this team! Enough said. I doubt he even wanted to come to Milwaukee. But he is a fire cracker and someone who can install discipline.

__________________

Enough with the bad stuff. Prince Fielder is tearing it up right now and making people remember that he is still in the NL MVP hunt. Granted, Pujols is still going to get the nod. But you can't help but absolutely love what Prince Fielder is doing right now. It's just too bad that their isn't some good pitching to assist him and Braun. We have...what?....2 more season with young Prince Fielder before he packs his bags for NYC. This off-season, Doug Melvin had better pull of some tremendous deals in bringing in some excellent arms.
Fielder numbers to date:
33 HR's
.303 avg
110 RBI's

He's one of the few Brewers to hit over .300 and over 100 RBI's in a single season. Cecil Cooper did it in back-to-back season back in the early 80's. Ryan Braun will probably be joining him!

Ryan Braun:
27 HR's
.314 avg
93 RBI's

My only complaint on Braun is the following (actually there's more):
I absolutely hate his T-shirt line.
Two nights ago he proved that he is scared of taking out a catch at home plate. He could have clearly knocked the Reds catcher in to next week, had he went head first in to the plate and blown him over. Even if he was called out, it would've been a hell of a lot better than that pussy-foot attempt he did.
Lastly, what the hell was he thinking when fielded the ball in the 9th inning last night? Just curious. I still like the kid though.

-Prince Fielder is potentially, playing his way out of Milwaukee. Anthony Witrado of the Journal-Sentinel made a good point in yesterday's blog. If Milwaukee can't build a team around Prince via the free agency, they may have to trade him away in order to fully cash-in on a deal. He could land Milwaukee a bonified ACE and possibly a prospect or cash. I would hate to see Prince go, but you go as far as your pitching. Besides CC Sabathia, Milwaukee hasn't had a true ACE in over a decade. Call it what you want, but Ben Sheets was a solid #2.

We all know the day will soon come when Milwaukee will have to trade Prince Fielder. Why not do it this summer? With Mat Gamel ready to make the full-time jump up to the BIGS, he could easily take over at 1B. Not to mention Brett Lawrie will crack the BIGS in 2 years, at the very least. He too will probably make a solid 1B with some sock in his bat.

At the end of this season, Princes' value will be at an all-time high. With his numbers, he could land Milwaukee an ACE or a solid 1-2 punch in the middle of the rotation. I'm just saying....


-Brad Penny was released by the Red Sox. He would be better the Brewers' rotation than Suppan!

-Billy Hall drove in to two runs last night for the M's. His average has already lifted to .210 and he has driven in about 4 runs, I think, since being traded. He'll come around.

Milwaukee....can't even beat the Pirates....

Well, that seems to be the name of the game these days. Milwaukee's pitching just can't fend off any threats, offensively. In fact Parra didn't look awful last night; he only gave up his typical 4 runs of the game. It was the bats that couldn't provide the support.

Luckily, Prince Fielder was able to continue his hot streak by blasting his 32nd homer of the season.

Felipe Lopez was finally cooled off by the Pirates. He has been on a tear and entered the game with a 12 game hitstreak. Mike Cameron had his 9 game hit streak snapped as well.

Manny Parra sufferred his first loss in 8 starts, since coming back from AAA.

I feel...deep inside, it's time for Mike Rivera to split 50 - 50 with Jason Kendall. He's too good of a hitter to just leave on the bench. Kendall is far too likely to hit in to a double-play.

-Doug Melvin is trying to put something together involving Bill Hall. Thank God!
Remember Anthony Witrado's douche-bag story he did on Billy Hall after he came back from AAA? The Crew was playing the Dodgers in LA. READ THIS.....too funny.

-Some more good news, in addition to the departure of Bill Hall....Kentrail Davis was finally signed by the Crew. Besides the 1st pick (pitcher from Indiana), Davis is probaby my favorite pick of this years draft. Although short, this guy has pop in his bat and he's speedy. Milwaukee needs speed more than ever. Besides Escobar and Lopez, the team is filled with bunch of turtles.

-Bush threw 37 pitches last night in front of a sell-out crowd in Appleton, WI.
Additionally, Brett Lawrie was promotted to AA-Huntsville. That's great news. He could actually be called up by next year, in my mind.

-Everyone was in shock when JJ Hardy was sent down to AAA, imagine the fans of the Kansas City Royals when they found out coveteted rising-star Alex Gordon was sent down as well. He's their start 3B who was supposed to be their cornerstone in-fielder.

-Milwaukee didn't lose any ground last night, thanks to the Cards & Cubs dropping their respective games.

College Football Predictions

With the start of the season only 2 weeks away, it's time to release Scottage Cheeses' 3rd Annual Pick-A-Dicks:

Citi National - Rose Bowl (aka Taxpayers Bowl)

Texas (3) over Alabama (6)

FED EX Orange Bowl

Virginia Tech (8) over Oregon (13)

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

Boise State (12) over Oklahoma (2)

All State Sugar Bowl

Iowa (23) over Notre Dame (24)

Top 10

1) Texas

2) Virginia Tech

3) Alabama

4) Boise State

5) Iowa

6) Oklahoma

7) Oregon

8) Utah

9) Cincy**

10) California

*Please note, USC will finish 11th or 12th. Their schedule is far too tough (non-conference).

**Cincy will be the surprise team of the year

***Michigan State could easily sneak in over Cal.

Big Ten

1. Iowa

2. Michigan State

3. Ohio State

4. Penn State

5. Michigan

6. Minnesota

7. Illinois

8. Wisconsin

9. Purdue

10. Northwestern

11. Indiana

*I love the Badgers more than my pet cat, Jack. But it's going to take one more year before Clay reaches his full potential and the Badgers will have options at QB.

**Iowa is returning most of their O-Line, QB, D-Line and have a couple of options to replace Shonn Greene.

I may have gotten the conference match-ups wrong in the bowl. If so, sue me (I love that line!).

HERE are my predictions from last season....yikes. I went out on a limb and picked two SEC teams to go to the title game. Why? Look how close it came to Michigan vs OSU in 2007.

Rightfully so....

Melvin and Co. made some drastic moves to the team today. JJ Hardy was sent down to AAA and Billy Castro was fired. I asked for Billy's head early in the season, but then the staff put together 18 solid starts. So I shut my mouth. It's evident that they are missing Maddux right about now.

Billy Hall was designated too! The Crew has 10 days to decide what to do with him. No one is taking his salary though. So he'll accept his new role as Nashville's star player.

Alcides Escobar was called up from Nashville and will be starting at SS. That's great news.

JJ has been an underachiever since his debut. He will heat up for a month and then simmer down the following two. He played a huge role in the post-season last year, but it ultimately didn't matter because they lost the NLDS.

Castro spent 17 season with the Crew as a coach. He's now unemployed. I knew this is what would happen if they did give the title to Castro....there's a reason why pass managers didn't do it!

12 runs one night....0 runs the following

This Brewers' team is bi-polar.

One minute they're killing the ball and driving in the runs....the next minute they are getting blanked by a no-so-good team (in my opinion).

Yovanni Gallardo made on mistake in yesterdays game. That mistake ended up costing them the game. It was a two-run shot that to Geoff Bluhm (another Brewers'-killer) that provided Milwaukee with a losing road trip.

The Crew left plenty on base including Frank and Gerut in the top of the 9th inning. Both Cameron and Braun were called out looking. Horrible.

-Some good news too late? Stormy Weathers was acquired by Milwaukee in a waiver deal that will send either cash or a young prospect to Cincy. This is a great addition to the bullpen if you ask me. This man is reliable and passionate about the game. He will be a solid anchor in the bullpen and provide more rest to DeFelice, Coffey and McClunk. This will be Stormy's second trip with the Crew.

-Milwaukee is now 6 games back. On a positive note, so are teams like the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins (5.5). Plenty of baseball left. If anything, they should be able to make up some space on the Cubs with their series at home against the Pirates. One would think....

-Is 2009 the end of the road for Milwaukee & Jason Kendall? I like him. But it's counter-productive to have a kick ass defensive catcher who can't hit worth a lick.

-Mat Gamel is struggling down in Nashville. I don't know. I'm just not convinced on this guy. Since returning to the Sounds on July 20th he is hitting an awful .121 and no-homeruns.

-Milwaukee has better do something about their scout team. Yes, the Crew has done wonders on bringing in big time bats who can field. But they have yet to find a solid pitcher during the Melvin years.

Milwaukee shoots for a winning road trip

Milwaukee unleashed a world of hurt last night on the injury-riddled Astros. Rightfully so, the team has to take advantage of Houston playing with out Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, and now Mike Hampton. This would be nice if they all stay out when they FINALLY travel to Milwaukee this coming week. Wandy Rodriguez is slated to start today, although he too is suffering from a pulled hamstring.

After the bullpen dropped the ball on Friday night (Crew lost 6-3) it was up to Manny Parra to do his part in securing a rubber-match for today. He did indeed come through. Parra went 5 1/3 inning giving 3 earned runs on 8 hits. Milwaukee won 12-5.

Prince and Rivera led the charge with each collecting 3 RBI's. Prince blasted his 27th HR of the year and notched his 98th RBI. He is now second to Albert Puhols, who has 100.

-Dave Bush is set to join the club late next week. He is close to a rehab start.

-Milwaukee brings up Jesus Colome and DFA'd RJ Swindle. RJ got rocked in every appearence and is destined to be a career minor leaguer. The Rays (go figure) picked him up immediately, but then they cut him to.

Milwaukee wins first series....in over a month

Sad but true. Regardless, Brewers' fans will take it!

Braden Looper, who has shown flashes of brilliance on the mound this season, improved his record to a team best 10-5. He pitched 6 and 2/3 innings last night before being yanked when Manny Ramirez pinched hit. Todd Coffey and Trevor Hoffman (25) sealed the deal.

Milwaukee was led by Ryan Braun who had a 2-RBI double and Felipe Lopez who went 3 for 4. All around...a good game and fun to watch.

Of course, Prince Fielder was booed every chance Dodger fans had. I find it ironic that they are blasting Prince for coming "close to" their clubhouse door. Yes, their coveted douche bag of a player, Manny Ramirez, has been caught cheating the game of baseball.....twice.....however they still cheer him like he the second-coming. Goes to show why that state and city is in such trouble financially. Even more funny is that the feds are going to have to bail their happy-asses out of trouble and us-taxpayers will foot the bill....sweet.

Loop had 4 k's and only 2 walks. His only mistake was giving up a first-inning homer.
_____________________

Milwaukee will now begin their "soft" part of the schedule. Although us-fans know that there is no such thing as an easy schedule when it comes to the Brewers. I think that Crew will wise-up and realize that they can compete with the best of them. Taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers is no easy feat. Now it's on to Houston, who has been on a tear of sorts. Milwaukee will have to face Wandy Rodriguez, booooo; but they may get a pass on Roy Oswalt. Oswalt has been suffering from a lower-back strain.

Tonight, Houston's rising star Bud Norris will make his home debut against Carlos Villanueva (2-8). Milwaukee typically loves making it easy on new pitchers. Bud tossed 7 scoreless frames against the Cardinals in his first start. He carries a 1-0 record and a .90 ERA.

After Houston the Brewers will come home for a 6-game home stand. Now, if Roy can't make the start Friday and he does go on the DL...well....Milwaukee won't have to face him again next Friday (or Saturday).

Here is one huge reason why Milwaukee Brewers' fans should be excited: remaining schedule for August!

_________________________

If Milwaukee wants any kind of hope in making it in to the post-season, they will need to heat up for the rest of the month of August. Here's why:

August
7th-9th : @ Houston
11th-16th : SD & Houston (home)
17th-19th: @ Pittsburgh
21st-24th: wrap around series in DC
25th-30th: Cincy & Pittsburgh (home)

*All of these teams are below .500!

Now this is where it gets hairy.....

September-October schedule
Milwaukee will play: St Louis for 9 games! Cubs for 7 games! This could be good news for the Crew if they need to make a late push. They can make up a lot of space during this stretch if they want to make a run at the division title.

They also face: San Fransisco, Philly, Colorado, Houston and the D-Backs....

Milwaukee is 6 games out of the Wild Card race as of right now (Thurs. morning @ 8:31am). I really don't anticipate the Giants hanging on to the WC spot. Colorado is the biggest threat and they are 1/2 game out. Milwaukee will play all of the Wild Card contenders from the Western Division in the month of September. So even if Milwaukee doesn't lock up the division, they still have a shot at the Wild Card. Yes it may be a long shot, but it's a shot nonetheless.

Even if Milwaukee keeps pace at 3 to 4 games back behind the Cubs and Cardinals, they can still afford that knowing they will get a shot at making a run for the wild card. Look at the big picture people.

PLUS....Help is on the way! Jeff Suppan & Dave Bush will be back very soon. We all dislike Soup, but he is a veteran who can carry us through August-September like he did last year. Suppan is slated to start August 12th versus the Padres and Bushy August 16th versus Houston. Dave Bush has not pitched since June 16th, the start of Milwaukee's downward spiral.

Brewers' Killer, Michael Bourn is hoping to return to the lineup by Friday. He was suffering from a groin pull.

Lastly, remember the douche bag Cub pitching prospect who hurled a ball in to the stands when he got pissed off with a call last season? Two words....CONVICTED FELON!

Manny Parra is pitching his brain out!

Manny Parra (6-8, 6.33) has risen from the depths of....well....Nashville, back to Milwaukee where he has once again, proven that he can flat-out pitch. Yes indeed, the man gave up 4 runs last night. Nonetheless, he kept the best team in baseball at bay. In fact, the man did exactly what the rotation was asked of them....throw past 5+ innings. Parra last 8 innings and gave up 4 runs on 8 hits. By far his best of the season and perhaps of his young career.

-Ryan Braun contributed with his 22nd of the year, a 3-run shot.
-Billy Hall went 0-3 with a walk and a k.....how's that confidence treating ya?
-Felipe Lopez went 0-5.
-McGehee went 2 for 4...he's now batting .323
-Prince went 1 for 5.

Trevor Hoffman (24) nearly blew the save opportunity by giving up 3 runs to the Dodgers in the 9th inning. This is reason #1 why the MLB save rules need to be change. I don't care who you are....if you give up 3 runs in an inning but still get the "save"...well, that shouldn't happen. Granted, the Hoff was rusty....but even still...

Milwaukee has re-started a streak of consecutive quality starts with 3.

-Yovanni Gallardo takes to the mound tonight as the Crew will go for their first series win in a long time. Apparently he has fine-tuned his mechanics.

-I happier than a pig in shit when I read THIS. Glad to see Manny Ramirez struggle. His batting average has dropped to .309 from .348. Hopefully we see the wheels fall of this bus soon, just like every other year (except last year of course).

With Parra's confidence at an all-time high (one would expect) you can best bet that Milwaukee is not completely out of this race quite yet. While the Cubs and Cards play flip-flop, the Brewers could indeed take this series in LA and travel over the Houston for a showdown in the Central. The Cubs on the other hand should drop at least one in Cincy...I mean the Reds have lost 7 straight now and have dropped (tied) to last place and are 11.5 games out of it. With that being said, Chicago then travels to Denver to take on the Rockies. I would surely hope that the Rockies could take that series, while Milwaukee takes the series with Houston. After all, the Crew has played 2 series in Houston already this season. They should have a pretty good grasp on the juicebox.

Just the opposite for the Cardinals, who are presently starting a 2-game series with the Mets (vs Santana) and then they enter their easiest stretch of the season: Pitt, Cincy, and San Diego. They could pull away with a 1-2 game lead over the Cubs, as they are tied right now.

So, if Milwaukee wants to make a run at the wild card (5.5 games out) or at the division (4 back), now is the time.

Paging Geoff Jenkins

Corey Hart was put on the DL today, just after the Brewers won in San Diego. Apparently the young man had an appendix burst Friday night. Billy Hall was recalled from AAA to fill-in for the rightfielder. I would imagine McGehee will platoon out there with Frank Catallanoto.

Why not sign Geoff Jenkins to play rightfield? Macha said that if Billy Hall gets to LA by tomorrow night, he will start in RF....WTF??!?!?!!?? Hall in RF? Well, he needs to play. But why not bring back Jenkins to play his old position? He provides another left-handed hitter and he's a veteran....and he has a World Series ring to show off to the team.

I'm just saying. Jenks is just sitting at home waiting for some team to call.

Bye Vincent Rottino

Vinny from Racine (or Kenosha, I get'em mixed up) was traded to the Dodgers for Claudio Vargas. He should help the bleeding over the next 1/2 month...well....not stop it, but slow it so that we can live to see a September push....Okay, perhaps I'm losing my brain.

Vinny was due for a change of scenary anyways. Poor guy, he fermented in the minors for 5+ years. Which is normal, but he was blocked by Salome, Rivera, Kendall, and possibly even Lawrie.

Brewers Split!

Phew...that was close. Milwaukee won today by the score of 7 to 3. Nice.

-Yovanni Gallardo struck out 11 batters!

-Ryan Braun's hit-streak was snapped today. He went 0 for 4.

-Miller Park surpassed the 2MM mark for attendance thus far. They were 93% full on a Thursday afternoon...in the middle of a horrible slump. (source: Tom Haudricourts' tweet)

Both Prince Fielder (25) and Craig Counsell (I know, right?) homered for the struggling Crew. It was a nice win that will hopefully amount in to something more when Milwaukee boards a plane and heads down to San Diego to take on the Pads.

-Jeff Suppan on the 15-day DL....ouch. Yes, I know he blows right now...but they need him.

-Bill Hall sent to AAA-Nashville. This was broken by Rightfieldbleachers.com after the game.
He could very easily flip the switch and have everybody in Milwaukee loving him again. He's doing the right thing by paying his dues and taking the assignment. Get better Billy....

-JJ Hardy didn't play today....hmmm....I wonder? Same thing happened last week though, during the day game against Pittsburgh. Probably nothing. But with all the roster moves...you would have to guess something's bound to happen by tomorrow's deadline.

Trying to salvage a series-split today

Milwaukee lost Tuesday night to the rechid Nationals.

Thankfully, they pulled of a surprising, come-from-behind win against the worst team in baseball. I don't care at this point...I'm just happy they won. I will worry about the under-lying fact that they shouldn't even be sweating this team.

It all started the first-pitch being thrown out by Casey McGehee's special-needs son who suffers from Cerebal Palsey. The young boy walked out on to the field with his walker alongside Prince and Dad. He then made the toss to his with assistance from Prince Fielder. Pretty touching. I have 2 sons and I can only imagine how proud Casey was and how excited his son was. It brought the chills!

Call it what you want...but it might have been exactly what the Crew needed. A sort of emotional-lifter that didn't actually kick in until after they fell 4 runs behind.

It was Dad that came through to put the Brewers ahead, finally, with a 2-run pinch hit HR. It was a line-drive blast to Left-Center field. Oddly enough, I knew he was going to crush the ball. I just didn't think he would go yard.

On a day where most teams were wheeling and dealing, Milwaukee stood stationary. Thanks impart to them losing 16 of 23 games, you can't really blame Doug for sitting on his hands. Thankfully, they have one more game today to prove to Melvin that they are worth making a deal over.

-A Ryan Braun HR was overturned thanks impart to instant replay. That makes it 5 times where HR's were overturned involving the Crew, one one side or the other.

-Rumor has it that Milwaukee is targetting RHP Kevin Correia from the Padres. I can see why. Carlos Villanueva was announced as the starter for Sunday's game. If they land Correia, he can simpy switch uniforms and pitch for the Brewers. His ERA is nothing to write home to mom about at 4.75 and a 7-8 record. The only plus-side to Kevin is that he is only owed 250k more this season. Milwaukee wouldn't have to give up much for a "B" type player. Anyone is better than Villy.....and yes....Tim Dillard is far better than Carlos. MORE HERE on Correia.

-What about shipping JJ Hardy up to Boston....and getting Bucholz and Duncan in return? I'm game.

-Hardy plays-on as the rumors swirl...
The dude is finally starting to heat up...just a little too late. He will have, yet another, 20+ HR season. Not bad for a SS.

Crew gets smashed

Jeff Suppan's roller-coaster season continued last night. Oh who am I fooling....he sucks. His ERA has now climbed to over 5 and he gave up 10 runs last night....consisting of 2 grand slams to a "nobody" that plays for a horrible team.

Milwaukee has literally played themselves out of any sort of trade-picture over the span of ONE WEEK.

It's hard to think positive right now. I know, deep down, that they will heat up again. There's is just too much going wrong right now....thus making me think that they hit rock bottom last night. The sad part is that Melvin received no reassurance from the team about going out on a limb to make a trade. The Crew is more than one piece away from contending. They need to literally land 2 solid pitchers by Friday if they have any hope.

It will be interesting to see how Carlos Villanueva responds tonight. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling that he will be lights-out tonight. The kid has struggled lately and he's always thought of himself as a "starter". Tonight is his chance. If he pitches well tonight, I would anticipate Villy landing a starting spot until Bush comes back....this of course...pending any sort of trade.

Look for Carlos to go 6 complete and giving up one run tonight. If he can even turn out 5 complete, that will be a success.

Crap Weekend

What a waste of a Brewers' weekend.

After losing 2 of 3 to the Braves the rumor mill is still turning. I guess being 3 or games out of first place at this time makes you wonder that Milwaukee in only "one hot streak away" from getting back in to the hunt.

With Dave Bush being placed on the DL and Tim Dillard being called up from AAA Nashville, you have to think Milwaukee's is throwing in the towel...

Think twice.

Milwaukee has Jarrod Washburn in their sights.....

That's swell and all. But if they give up Escobar or Hardy for this level of a player....I will be quite pissed.

Holliday to St Louis / Parra Factor

Matt Holliday has been traded to the St Louis Cardinals.

Crap. At this point can the Brewers even keep up with the Cards or the Cubs...or the Astros for that matter? Holliday and Lugo could be the needed shot in the arm for them. Although Holliday only has 11 HR's he is starting to heat up. Not to mention this:

SI.COM-
Holliday's career numbers at the Cardinals' home park: .385 AVG, .872 SLG, 1.350 OPS (highest at any park, min. 10 games).

Melvin....what's your move now?
_______________________________________________

Yes indeed, the Braves come to town for a weekend show down with it's old hometown. After a good ol' fashion butt kicking from Houston, I would expect to see the Braves ready to play tonight.

The underlying story is Manny Parra starting tonight. I would anticipate scouts from the Blue Jays to be in attendance. If Parra throws well, thus making it 3 straight-solid starts since being recalled from AAA-Nashville, I would guess that the Halladay rumors would explode.

Milwaukee is nipping at the heels of Philly in the quest for Doc Halladay. The Brewers certainly have the ingredients, as does Philly. Recent rumors involve:
- Parra, Gamel, and Escobar
-Parra & Gamel
-Parra, Hardy, and Gamel
-Parra, Hardy, and one or two "players to be named" from the ranks of A or AA.

Personally, I have to side with the latter if I were to choose. Anything else is over-compensating. JJ Hardy has the potential, but Milwaukee only gets to witness it in isolated bursts through out the season. Most notably last year in the playoffs where he was the ONLY Brewer to crank out some hits. This should not be forgotten.
Parra would be the toughest to see go. He has promise of being a #2 or #3 hurler in the rotation. His mental toughness is suspect, but he's young and should grow out of it.

Doc Halladay has been given a number of chances to voice any sort of displeasure with the idea of being traded to the Brewers. GM Riccardi has been rumored to have a list of teams that Doc would/would-not play for. As with any rumor, it's probably bs. But, he's not stupid and you can't tell me he's not excited to see who has a crush on him.

The serious contenders, from what I know, are Philly, Milwaukee, and LA. The Dodgers could surprise us all and swoop in with their solid corps of prospects at the minor league level. Possibly even throwing in a Furcal, which would be tough with his new contract.

Philly could also offer up rising-stars JA Happ and Kyle Drabeck, both of whom sound quite appealing.

Only time will tell.

The Onion

Selfless Jason Kendall Sacrifices Bunt,
Self For Good Of Team,
Advancement Of Runners

MILWAUKEE—In an act of selflessness not often seen amongst ego-driven American athletes, who typically look only to further their own personal agendas, hero Milwaukee Brewers player Jason Kendall placed a bunted ball back to the pitcher Tuesday with full knowledge that he himself would be eliminated from scoring contention for the duration of the contest's fifth inning. Receiving upon his return to the dugout a mere smattering of high fives from his ignorant teammates and but one hand-clap from the staff of coaching elders, Kendall was not properly greeted as a hero responsible for the very 90-foot advancement of teammates Mat Gamel and J.J. Hardy to second and third base respectively. Due to his undying devotion to the singular cause of winning, even at the cost of his own personal downfall, Jason Kendall is the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball.鱼

Off Day

Good News: Brewers are off today, Lopez gets to rest his hammie, and the Crew will try to forget the embarrassment they sufferred in Pittsburgh.

Bad News: Milwaukee still doesn't have a starting pitcher announced for next Tuesday's game....and the trade market is looking dimal, or that's what Doug Melvin will have you believe.

Milwaukee lost the the Pirates yesterday 8-7, thanks impart to Mitch Stetter giving up a walk-off HR. The Crew gave up 5 HR's in the game, 4 of which was given up by Soup.

The Houston Astros are now the hottest team in the NL Central. It's a log jam at the top, with St Louis have a 1 game lead over the Cubs and Astros. Milwaukee is 2 games back. Thankfully, Milwaukee has the easiest schedule of the 4 coming down the stretch. Does that mean anything? See: this past series.

The Brewers purchased a human being. Literally. They bought Brandon Kintzler from the St. Paul Saints (independent league). He was drafted by the Padres in 2004 and pitched only 2 seasons before leaving for Winnipeg in the Northern League (ind.). Milwaukee did the same thing last year at about this time when they purchased ___________ from the St. Paul Saints. I just can't remember his name.

Swell story on Brad Nelson, the ex-Brewer who is now playing in the Mariners' organization. It appears they are playing him at 1B more than any other position. I wish that guy luck. He went 0-24 (I think) and just didn't catch on. He is a beast though.

More and More smoke on Brewers being considered as a major player for Doc Hallady or Cliff Lee.

Crew Grinds Out A Win

Pretty boring game to watch, I'm not gonna lie. Braden Looper is turning out to be the ONLY bright spot in the rotation. With Yovannia struggling over his past 4-5 starts and Parra, finally, starting to come around...it's looking like Looper was one of the best off-season picks-ups for the Brewers.

His record improved to 9-4 and boy did he look impressive last night. Looper threw 7 shut-out innings and gave up only 4 hits. This is after his start last week where he had 3 hits at the plate. Loop-Dog is starting to look like the anchor of the rotation.

Prince Fielder, again, provided some insurance with an RBI-single in the 7th inning. Fielder went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's.

Craig Counsell started at 3B but then shifted to 2B after Felipe Lopez left with a sore hamstring. Hopefully it's nothing that a few days rest can't provide. With a day game today and an off-day on Thursday, Lopez should be ready to go for Friday's game against Atlanta.
Counsell went 3 for 4 on the night with a walk. Lopez went 1 for 4 with a walk as well.

Trevor Hoffman didn't look rusty at all. After a couple of days off, he was able to notch his 22nd save, while DiFelice and Stetter recorded holds.

-Milwaukee Brewers courted by City of Palms Ballpark in Arizona for a possible Spring Training site-change. Apparently the Brewers aren't happy with Maryvale Park? First I heard of this.
Why would a team want to move away from Phoenix to a more suburban training site?

Pirates finally snap losing streak to the Brewers

I wasn't able to catch most of the game last night. With rain-delay and the fact that I was dead tired prevented me from watching it past the 6th inning.

Here's what I know from today's paper.....

Milwaukee lost 8-5

Felipe Lopez reached base 5 times...but also got tagged out twice after making stupid baserunning decisions

Both teams cleared their benches in the 8th inning after Chris Smith beamed Jeff Karstens. Jason Kendall got in to it with Karstens and then with the Pittsburgh pitching coach Joe Kerrigan. After the game when Kendall was asked about the melay, he kept referring to him as "Dave Kerwin". The media even pointed out to him that his name was Joe Kerrigan....but he still referred to him as "Dave Kerwin". Hilarious. Kendall isn't one to be too cocky or arrogant. So for him to get in anyone's face seemed to tell you that he was sticking up for his young pitcher no matter what.

Both benches and bullpens quickly cleared but not much more than some screaming and shoving took place and nobody was ejected. Kendall got into a shouting match with Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, whom Kendall repeatedly called by the wrong name after the game despite being told of his real name.
"I was OK until Dave Kerwin started yelling at me," said Kendall, who ignored the correction. "I'm not going to get yelled at. He started yelling at me and . . . I'm OK until someone starts yelling at me.
"I don't know why (he was yelling). Dave Kerwin? I don't know why."

-Mike Burns pretty much sucked last night. I guess you could blame the 2 hour rain delay, having to get all warmed up only to sit in the club house for 2 hours. Regardless, he lost the game for the Crew right away in the 1st inning. It didn't help in seeing JJ Hardy bobble yet-another routine grounder that could have been turned in to a double-play...instead, it scored a run and left the bases loaded.
He lasted a piss-poor 3 innings, giving up 6 runs on 6 hits (4 earned).

-The only good news about last night, in addition to Lopez, was Carlos Villanueva who bounced back from a horrible month. He last 3 innings and gave up only one mistake, which was a HR. He went 3 innings and gave up only 3 hits and a walk.

-So...it's looking like a win-one, lose-one type middle of the season. The Crew can't put together a win streak. The last one they had was when they swept the Indians more than a month ago!

-The rumor mill is running wild with talk of Halladay. I too have a feeling that Milwaukee is one of the few teams who have the ingredients to pull off a trade....no question about it. But the thing that could kill it all? Is Doc Halladay and his no-trade clause. It wasn't until yesterday did I feel that Milwaukee may not get him afterall. He wants a team who's a contender and trains in Florida so that he can be close to his home. Not to mention, I read a few months ago that he doesn't want to bat....so that's a strike against NL teams.

Rightfieldbleachers.com takes a pretty good look at it HERE. They mention JJ Hardy as part of the deal. Good points, but I don't see JJ and his piss-poor .229 batting average making much of an impact. Although those number are slowly starting to climb....and he has proven that he can hit 20+ HR's.....well.....

MLBtraderumors.com is the website that really plays with my emotions. In the 2+ years that I've been reading that site....they have broken my heart far too many times. Every time I read someting on there about the Crew...I get all gitty like a school boy....(wait, what?)....only to get crushed minutes later with one of their updates. HERE's the thread of updates to Roy Halladay.

Felipe Lopez traded to Milwaukee!

Great news today...despite the loss (thank McClunk). Felipe Lopez was traded to Milwaukee today! In return, Arizona gets a promising fielder in Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes (single-A).

With Casey McGehee knee-problems and Counsell playing much better in a platoon rotation....Melvin couldn't pass on the speedy lead-off hitter the Crew has been desperately seeking. In addition to his .301 average and 18 doubles, they also land a switch hitter. His OBP ranks him #2 in the NL at .372.

This will probably put McGehee in the outfield and Gerut will probably be on his way out. Casey has struggled at 3B and has been decent at 2B.

This is huge. It's just too bad Milwaukee couldn't land Doug Davis, who is now possibly looking at an extension in AZ. Melvin must know something that we don't in Bushs' DL stint. With Parra throwing well and Bush on the mend, I guess he may not go after a pitcher afterall.

In todays Phoenix newspaper, there was a story about possible trade rumors involving Lopez....gotta love the irony. He is getting paid 3.5MM this year on a one-year contract.

Parra impressive in win

Manny Parra (4-8) made his second start since being recalled from AAA-Nashville. Immediately, Parra struggled with his location and had to work out of a couple of jams in the 1st and 2nd innings. I don't know what catcher Mike Rivera said to Parra, but what ever it is, he listened.
Manny collected 6 strike outs and 3 walks, while giving up 1 run on 5 hits.

With Ryan Braun out of the line up due to a forearm bruise and sprained thumb, Milwaukee's bats came back to life. Craig Counsell hit his 3rd HR of the year and also added a double. He reached 1B 6 times.

JJ Hardy hit his 11th HR in the 8th inning. The only down side of that was that Trevor Hoffman wasn't used because it wasn't a "save" situation.

Cam and Hart also contributed with 2 hits a piece and 2 doubles.

-TH's breakdown the NL Central.

-Dave Bush will rest an extra 5 days.

-Jody Gerut really sucks. I mean, he's just bad. He's 1-17 and whiffed last night too. He is horrible. Makes you really kick yourself for hating on TG Jr. so much doesn't it?

-Great little interview between a Daytona, OH newspaper and Mr. Bob Uecker. It will be a sad day for Wisconsin when he retires. He makes summer. Well....and Usinger's sausage. I was listening to the game on the radio last night. Bob was talking to Cory Provus about back in the day when his good friend Johnny Bench used to his own television show for kids. It was aired in Ohio every Saturday morning. Bob said that Bench would do 1/2 the shows drunk.

-THIS GUY still thinks Prince Fielder is a vegan.

Halladay Rumors Heat Up

After the news broke Thursday that Dave Bush was going to stay on the DL, Milwaukee is now throwing their hat in the Halladay sweepstakes. Doug Melvin is hinting at the idea of possibly lifting the "untouchable" status on Gamel & Escobar.

If anything, please package Gamel and JJ Hardy. Keep Escobar.
Then again, JJ only has 1 more year left.

-Kosi likes the idea.

-Chicago Tribune comments on possible trade packages for Doc. At least they credit the Milwaukee Brewers as having the best farm system in the MLB.

-am620 out of Milwaukee chimes in on the JJ for Bedard/Washburn idea.

-Brewers got shut-out last night against Aroyo. Thanks impart to a minor league umpire who completely lost his mind.

Look mom, the other Brewers' can hit too!

Finally, Brewers' fans were able to catch a glimpse of Milwaukee's surrounding cast-members contribute! It was a pleasant experience watching last night's game.

JJ Hardy had two hits and 3 RBI's
Prince hit his 23rd HR
Jason Kendall had 2 hits and an RBI
Braun went 1 for 4 (ugh) w/ a walk (yea!)
Corey Hart also added 2 hits

So...this could be a good sign of things to come. JJ Hardy credited his good game to the All Star break....and finally being able to go fishing to clear his head.

Braden Looper pitched a solid 5 1/3 innings last night striking out 4, walking 5 (booo), and giving up 3 runs on 7 hits...which is below is ERA. He also had a career-night at the plate! Looper had 3 hits and an RBI. Prior to last night, dude had 3 hits the entire season.

-How is it that Jay Bruce was only batting .217 (if my memory serves me) with 18 HR's before he broke his wrist? That's insane. They are going to be a scary team to face next season. Joey Voto and Jay Bruce will have one more year of experience under their belts and Homer Bailey will probably turn-out to be a hell of a hurler. Throw in Brandon Phillips as the veteran-leader....viola! You have a decent team. Good rotation too!

-I mentioned yesterday, Dave Bush is still suffering from shoulder fatigue...could be a serious concern to the Brewers staff. Mike Burns will get Monday's nod. I like this idea. Let Burnsy pitch against the Pirates and earn another win. Hopefully the offense will be there to back him up.

-The Cubs won last night 6-2 against the piss poor Nats. I would anticipate them pulling off a 4-game sweep of the Nationals. If Milwaukee drops one against the Reds, we will have a tie for 2nd; depending on the Cardinals...it could be a three-way tie for first place.

Count Bush Out

Dave Bush will likely not be ready to start in Pittsburgh for his scheduled comeback off the DL. Apparently he's still suffering from shoulder fatigue.

Here's what I'm saying....

If Doug Melvin was truly looking at trading for a pitcher.....he wouldn't have shot himself in the foot by releasing this info before Monday's game.

I'm flip flopping more than a politician here....perhaps Doug Melvin isn't looking to deal?

Here we go!

Some guy named "Jervey" posted THIS link on a Brewers' story over on JSonline.com. It's a Seattle Mariner blog that draws a lot of hits, by the looks of it.

(Please Read the story that's linked)
Wouldn't this work for both sides? The author of this post raises some good points in Melvin trading JJ Hardy for Erik Bedard & Jarrod Washburn (La Crosse native, 34 years-old). The part I don't get is that Washburn & Bedard are both LHP's who would fill a pretty big void in their rotation. Apparently they have a decent pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith (AAA) and Brandon Morrow who could fill in. Not to mention Jack Z could find a pitcher in the off season. Both Bedard & Washburn are free agents at the end of the year....while JJ Hardy will be a free agent 2010-2011.

I don't know what to think about with this one. JJ is probably worth the highest he'll ever be, with Escobar waiting to get the call. Once that happens, all other teams will know that Melvin will give him up for much less, because he has to....in order to make room to bring up Escobar...which is inevitable. Why not do it now and start working on a long-term contract with Escobar RIGHT AWAY?!?!?! The likelihood of keep Bedard are slim....but Washbun is 34 and will be 35 in the off-season. That's not a spring chicken anymore. However, with pitchers, they can often last until their low-40's (age).

Milwaukee should do it. They need to move 1 one of 2 players in Corey Hart and JJ Hardy.

If this did happen....

1. Gallardo
2. Bedard
3. Looper
4. Washburn
5. Suppan/Bush

Playoffs...

1. Gallardo
2. Bedard
3. Looper / Suppan
4. Washburn

This looks good on paper.

Here's a Seattle Times post on other Mariners' targets. Jack Z and Melvin can surely work together and help improve each other's clubs.

-With news coming out of Huntsville this morning that Dave Bush got roughed up in last nights start, this deal seems to make more and more sense. We have no idea what Bush and Parra will be like the remainder of the season. Especially Parra. He's unproven this season and his mind could (yet again) start playing tricks on him. With him....it's all mental....something you can't fix easily. Mechanics is something that you simply hash out.

-Milwaukee will travel to Cincinnati today to take on the Reds in a division show-down. The Reds are in 4th place and 5 games behind the Cardinals.

Braden Looper (7-4, 4.92) will take to the mound versus (RHP) Homer Bailey (1-0, 5.16).

Brewers enter the (unofficial) second half 45-43

Prince Fielder won the Home Run Derby last night, beating out ex-Brewer and one-time minor league teammate Nelson Cruz. Prince held 4 of the top 5 longest homerun marks too. Albert Pujols struggled early but the whaled the ball in the tie-breaker round. Fielder's longest just over 500'.

Loge Seats will be $5 for Milwaukee's game against the Padres, August 11-13th. Not bad! Princes' 23 HR's dropped the normal price of $28/ticket.

Tonight, Ryan Braun will start in RF. It appears the Charlie Manuel is going to put the aging Ibanez in LF to rest him more. What a joke. The biggest joke was Manuel selecting Jayson Werth to replace Kemp. That makes 3 OF for the Phillies.

Ryan Braun hit only .120 last week, just after griping about Melvin. Who cares, he's gonna have down weeks. Could it be his feud with Melvin? No.

Hoff was added to the All Star team for the National League. Isn't that a no-brainer? I mean, 20 of 22 saves?!?!?! All while missing one month of play.

Milwaukee will (in my opinion) call up Alcides Escobar within the next month. It appears he's waiting for that call.

Finally, Lorenzo Cain will begin his journey back from injury. He will make some rehab starts in Appleton this month and then rapidly make his way back up to Nashville. This is the future RF of the Brewers!

Milwaukee dropped their series with LA over this past weekend, 2-1. The loss brings Milwaukee's record to 44-42 on the year.

What about that dirty Sanchez guy from the Pirates?

Freddy Sanchez is being whored out by the Pirates right now and there are a couple of teams (allegedly) interested in him. Those teams being the Rockies and the Giants.

Apparently the Pirates are eyeing up Eric Young Jr. who is playing in AAA for the Rockies.

Wouldn't Sanchez be a nice pick-up for the rest of the season? With Weeks out and Casey McGehee unable to play 2B on a daily basis, Sanchez could be a nice lead-off option for the Crew. Granted, it would be tough for the Pirates to trade him to a division rival....but then again, it would be nice to unload his salary. He's set to make 8MM next year (6MM this year).

Another lovely idea. Dude's batting .316 this season (while battling injuries) and he earned the NL batting title in 2005.

Just an idea.....just saying....

Honestly...you give Piniero a complete game?!?!?!

Milwaukee got spanked today 5-1. Manny Parra was unstoppable, but again, the offense wasn't there to support their pitcher.

Maybe I have this whole thing wrong....perhaps Milwaukee does need a bat. Jody Gerut should change his name to Judy....just wanted to put that out there. He's been absolutely useless since coming over to Milwaukee. That trade Melvin pulled off is probably one of the worst trades since becoming the GM.


I'm just pissed. I have to vent.

Fielder had a double (golf clap ensues)
Cameron had a hit (more golf clapping)
Parra fanned 7 and lasted 7 scoreless innings.

HEY Braun! Where you at? Where's your big yapper now?

Brewers-Cardinals: rubber match today

Well, it's been bumpy ride the last couple of weeks. However, Milwaukee has still remained a game out of first place with last night's win over the Cardinals. Thanks impart to Prince Fielder who's hustle beat-out an infield hit, thus making way for the go-ahead run.

Tuesday's game was horrible. But let's face it....Wainwright is a Brewer killer. As a result, the Crew mustered together only a couple of hits and scored no runs. They stranded a butt load of base runners too.

Yovanni earned the loss and dropped to 8-6 on the year. Wainwright is now 9-5.

______________

In last night's game Jeff Suppan pitched another solid game against his old teammates. Granted, he did give up the only (4) runs of the game. But that's a given, Soup will always give up 3 to 4 runs and it's the offenses' job to get back in to it. The thing that sucks about that is....well....the offense has to do that every game. Jeff Suppan lasted 5 2/3 innings last night, striking out only 2 batters and walking 4. Is it just me...or are the Brewers' pitchers walks starting to rise again. I hope this isn't a returning problem. Yo had averaged a walk an inning on Tuesday.

Trevor Hoffman gave up a lead-off double, but still held on for his 19th save. Mitch Stetter also stranded an inherited base-runner...doing what he does best.

Mat Gamel blasted his 3 HR of the season, finally putting the Crew on the board. He also played some solid defense, aside from his one mess-up when he fielded that in-field hit and didn't toss it to 2B. He also made a premature decision in picking up a rolling bunt down the 3B line that may/could've rolled foul. But heh, the guy fielded some hard hitting grounders and made some key plays.

Ryan Braun went 2-4 with a double

Craig Counsell, who was the go-ahead run also tallied a clutch double.

-Manny Parra will start in today's game. To make room for him, Chris Narveson is being sent back down to Nashville. You can expect to see Mike Burns sent down when Dave Bush comes back next week Thursday in Cincy.

-Should Milwaukee make a run at Roy Halladay? In turn, giving up Escobar or Gamel along with another high-end prospect? Why not? With the Milwaukee Brewers, you need to live in the NOW....man. You can't constantly be looking 2-3 years down the road. You ride momentun when you're a "small market" team. Here's my spiel: Trade JJ Hardy and Brett Lawrie for Doc Halladay. Lawrie is young enough where the Blue Jays can mold him in to a whatever position they want. Toronto is in CANADA...where Lawrie is from. Stick with Escobar and bring him up in JJ's place. You could also platoon Counsell and Escobar until he gets the hang of it. If the Lawrie and Escobar aren't enough, why not explore other options in Salome? Kendall isn't going anywhere...anytime soon and Mike Rivera is a solid back-up who can step in to the starting role. Halladay in under contract through 2010 @ 14.25MM this season, and 15.25MM next season. Sheboygan Press says that Milwaukee could then unload him if he's too expensive for next year or keep him, thus putting Yo in his place at the #2 spot. Sounds good on paper. But is it worth giving up a JJ or Escobar? For me, I'm cool with JJ getting packaged.

-Cool story on how the Brewers have "invigorated" the Appleton's minor-league team.

-Great news! Another Cubbie is heading to the DL. Typically, I feel bad for those who are injured...but it's the Cub's. And I f$(*#(@'n hate the Cubs. Ryan Dempster has a tear in his wrist....which is quite similar to what Rickie Weeks endured....hmmmm. Trenie pointed that out on her Twitter page. Stupid Twitter....good for something finally!

-Bushy will start Friday up in Appleton for the Timber Rattlers, pitching 4 innings. Nice treat for the Baby Brewers.

Tidbits

HERE is a neat little story by Baseball America about future call-ups to look for in the second half of the season. Alcides Escobar is listed at #2. How long with Macha & Melvin give JJ to snap out of this slump? Granted, he's been hitting pretty decent as of late...but Hardy would make great trade-bait w/ Cory Hart.

This D-Bag predicts the Cubs to wake-up and take the NL Central.

Huntsville is at risk of losing their AA team in the Milwaukee farm system. Their attendance is near the bottom of the league and Gord Ash is threatening to move the team. Where to? Hmmm....

Lambeau Field and Miller Park rank in the top 10 for best fan "experience". Lambeau was first and Miller Park was 7th. Remember last a year ago or so, when Sports Illustrated ranked Miller Park the second-best place (behind Jacobs Field) to watch a MLB game?

Ryan Braun: Wisconsin's sport villain part deux

Well, it's safe to say that Doug Melvin was a bit pissed of with Ryan Braun's statements. Melvin did the right thing in sticking up for the front office and the rest of the team. Ryan Braun should close his mouth for now on. Don't be like Milton Bradley, Ozzie Guillen, and other players and coaches that through their own teammates under the bus.

Like I said, I believe Braun's frosted tips (hair) are starting to affect his brain.

Brewers inquire about Vazquez

ESPN is reporting that Melvin has called the Braves regarding coveted starting pitcher Javier Vazquez. T.H from JSonline counters this story by mentioning that there is no ideal match, because A. Escobar and Gamel are off limits.

Other ideas:

Buster mentions Corey Hart as a target of Atlanta's.

Hart for Vazquez? I love it. But it doesn't seem like Atlanta would come out even in this trade.

More HERE

Oh...and of course....Melvin denies that the two sides ever spoke...

HERE's another idea.....Halladay would be a great fit in Milwaukee....is this idea too far fetched?

Corey Hart's name has surfaced quite a bit in trade rumors. I would love it if Milwaukee could find a taker. Granted, he's only batting .250 or so, but he was an All Star last season and he WILL come out of this slump. Last time I checked, Atlanta was 2 games out and about to take on the Chicago Cubs. I forsee the Cubs winning this series, thus leaving Atlanta to play Colorado before the AS break. At that time, in the NL East the Braves will appear to be out of it for the time being, thus making them sellers. Of course, Hart would have to be packaged with a "player to be named later" or a second-rate prospect like Vinny Rottino.

If Hart were to leave, McGehee would then move to the OF on a permanent basis. Casey isn't the best infielder and would do better in rightfield. Gamel would then start everyday at 3B and Hall would then have to platoon with Counsell at 2B (ugh, not appealing). Gerut and Frank could then be used as outfield warm-up tossers in-between innings.

Brewers escape Chicago....with one win

What an ugly, pathetic series to listen to over the radio. Having been up north since Thursday morning, I was able to avoid watching this train wreck of a series.

Where to begin. Well, for starters the Milwaukee Brewers were out played in ever facet of the series. From coaching to pitching to fielding to hitting. Milwaukee looked awful. Aside from it's kickass performance on Saturday, the Crew looked overmatched in every way.

Ryan Braun put it best.....Milwaukee needs to add another pitcher. Imagine, if the Milwaukee would add one left-handed pitcher....Manny Para would be sent to the pen and could make spot starts for the remainder of the season. Bush would be back (after the AS break) and suddenly the rotation would be back to "average", which may just be enough in the competitive NL Central. Let's face it, Chicago has the best rotation, but their bats are all jacked up right now. I do fear the day that they come alive and match the level of skill that their starters are shelling out.

No need to write more on this mess of a weekend. Let's just say this...Milwaukee came one bad call away from potentially splitting the series. Had the joke of a call (ball thrown by DeFelice) been called a strike, I wouldn't be surprised if Milwaukee escaped with a win. Wishful thinking though.

Fun game to watch

I had a good time watching the Crew pull a fast-one on the Mets. Granted, I was worried when I saw Mike Burns (1-1) give up a 2-run shot to David Wright in the first inning. However, after that low point Burns was spot-on and rocked through 6 and 2/3 innings to earn his first career win! He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, only 1 walk and 2 k's.

The most entertaining moment of the night was a 3-run double that Ryan Braun had. He lifted a shot in to leftfield, out of Gary Sheffield's (boooo) reach. The bases cleared and Braun rounded 3B when he noticed that the ball dropped out of the Schneider's hands at home plate. He decided to retreat to 3B when he saw Johan Santana throwing the ball. It sailed over the covering 3B and Braun trotted in for a 3-rbi double (inside the park, but it was an error). This is the second time in one week where a Brewer scored on his own hit (Corey Hart did previously).

Prince Fielder launched his 20th HR of the season.

Hart and Hardy are really starting to come out of their slumps. It's been mainly JJ Hardy who's been tested the most in the 2009 season. He started off in April with a .156 average, and then .333 in May. He then dipped again and is now hitting .313 over the past 12 games. MORE on JJ heating up.

Mike Cameron continues his month-long slump. This is to be expected, same thing happened last year. He's good for it.

-Mat Gamel looks like he's heading back down to Nashville. He's been on the bench the past 5 out of 6 games. Mainly due to left-handed batters. Casey McGehee has been making this decision a no-brainer for Melvin and Ash.

24th Round Pick Peter Fatse is on the up and up, now playing with the T-Rats after a brief stint in rookie ball.

Looks like Cleveland and Milwaukee are working out a deal....should be a steal for Milwaukee!

Jeff Suppan is on the market!

CLICK HERE for more details.
Apparently Billy Hall is going to be packaged with him!

Close one....

Indeed, the Milwaukee Brewers pulled off a 10-6 win last night over the lowly Mets. A team that is missing 4 or 5 of their main ingredients and their bench players are even frequented with injuries. Yet the Brewers still managed to have their troubles with this some-what dangerous team. A win is a win. But this one, although a good ass-kicking, could've ended up disasterous.

Casey McGehee, who could have a legitimate shot at NL ROY this season, dropped a routine pop-up that could have ended the sixth inning; thus providing Braden Looper with 7 and 1/3 shut-0ut innings. Instead, the very next batter (Schneider) blasted a 2-run double that was close to being out of there. McGehee stood their in disgust.

His next at bat he sought redemption, and that is what he received. A grand-slam homerun that put the Crew up 7-3.

The next inning McGehee again had troubles throwing out a fossil (Gary Sheffield) during an in-field grounder. Shef beat Casey's throw out at first and Macha then yanked McGehee right after. He opted for Billy Hall who thanked Macha with a well-placed double down the thirdbase line.

Milwaukee tallied 19 hits in last nights game. JJ Hardy (8) and Casey McGehee (4) both went yard.

JJ flirted with a cycle and probably would've gotten it if he exploded out of the batter box when he hit his second double (7th inning). Instead, he saw it off....a double....he acutally jogged there for bit to see it off. Silly. It would have been close for him to reach 3B, because Counsell was held up there. JJ ended the game going 4 for 4 with a walk.

I actually permitted my wife to turn the station in the 9th inning. She wanted to watch her soaps before hit the hay, and since she permits me to watch baseball every evening...I thought what the hell. I then turned on my iPod to check out the score....and it read 10-6 in the 9th. Apparently Carlos Villanueva gave up 3 runs on 5 hits in 1/3 inning. How the hell does that happen?!?!?! Scary.

It turned out okay though, Trevor Hoffman came in to earn an easy save off of 2/3 innings. His 18 on the year.

The player of the game could go to JJ, Casey, and Braden Looper. Loop (6-4) was lights-out and never really struggled with his command or location. Despite showing up to Miller Park with a grapefruit sized bruise on his throwing arm, he was till able to last 6 1/3 innings.

HERE is another reason why I despise the Chicago Cubs. I can honestly say that I get an upset stomach when I hear people talking about them. This stoy only gives me more reason to dislike the shlubs. Honestly? You can't find someone to donate 8 tickets to 8 veterans who suffer from PTSD and fought for your country?

Where to turn for pitching?

Tonight may turn ugly quick. Mike Burns (0-1) will take to the mound against Johan Santana (9-5).

My record is is 2-10

My record, or I should say Milwaukee's record is 2-12 when I attend their games.
This dates back to last season. The only two wins come from their victory they squeezed out in 10 innings against the Cardinals on Memorial Day weekend and their NLDS #4 win.

Yesterday proved no different. Milwaukee lost 7-0. Yet again, I had to endure another Jeff Suppan start. Every time I go to a Brewer game.....he's starting..

I don't know what it is. Yesterday, I even brought my son (3 year-old) and my wife to the park to attend the game. I mean, c'mon on, it was Jason Kendall bobble-head day (he went 0 for 3) and my son was finally visiting Miller Park with his 0l' man.

Well, the Giants started a young pitcher who was making his ML debut, which of course spells disastor for the Crew. Ryan Sadowski tossed 6 shut-out innings in facing Jeff Suppan (382nd start of his career). He basically made Soup look like a senior citizen on the mound. Ugly.

If you are looking ahead to your schedule and trying to figure out when to debut your promising young pitcher down in AAA, wait until you play the Crew. Milwuakee is 0-4 in facing debuting pitchers. Ken Macha blames it on the lack of video footage they can review in preparing themselves for the match-up. What he doesn't realize is that the opposing teams also have no video coverage of pitchers like Chris Smith who are making their debut. Yet it is our newly arrived pitchers who get the loss. Is this a case of bad scouting (of opposing teams)?

Trade rumors are starting to heat-up. With only 2 more games left in June, Milwaukee is in desperate need of a lead-off hitter and another starting pitcher....one who can last more than 5 innings.....!

Tom Haudricourt mentions the idea of going after Doug Davis and Felipe Lopez. We all have the 411 on Dougy, he's not great but he will do. Lopez is a speedy switch hitter who can play 2nd along with Counsell and McGehee.

Apparently Gord Ash clames Melvin inquired about Mark DeRosa, before he went to the Cards. The Indians wanted "something the Brewers don't have"......Young Pitching! St. Louis, meanwhile, didn't fill their biggest void....3rd base help.

In my opinion, it's far too early to be pulling out trades. Yes, we need help now...who doesn't? There are just too many teams in the hunt and it won't start to clear out for another 2-3 weeks, at the very least wait until after the All Star break. Teams are asking way too much for average players...because they can.

Yovanni Gallardo will pitch in Wednesday's game against the Mets. Meaning he will NOT pitch in the 4-game series in Chicago. Instead, we get to endure Seth McClung and Chris Smith, Jeff Suppan and Braden Looper. UGH. With the way the NL Central has been unfolding, Milwaukee's will probably maintain their 3.5 game lead on the Cubs going in to Thursday's game. By the end of the weekend, Chicago could very well be in first place if they hand it to the Brewers. The good news is that they are struggling too. In fact, yesterday the Sox blanked them 6-0. Milton Bradley is butting heads with Lou and Zambrano is starting to be hated in Chi-town! Love it.

The Chicago Tribune is asking the Cubs to waive Zambrano, hilarious. Didn't he just toss a no-hitter last last season....AT MILLER PARK?!?!?!?!? And now you want him gone?!?!

HERE is more on Milton Bradley. I love seeing this club unfold before our eyes. They are still dangerous though, and Milwaukee will have a tough opponent. First things first, beat the Mets!

Crew's winning streak at.....2

Milwaukee scored 3 runs in the 9th inning to come from behind and beat the San Fransisco Gigantes. Unreal game. Prince Fielder provided the dramatics by hitting a double down the first baseline. The Crew had to come from behind twice; they were down 4 runs through out most of the game and then down 6-4 in the 9th when Trevor Hoffman struggled the entire inning.
Thankfully, he will not be credited with the loss....rather a win, thanks to Fielder's game winning hit.

Seth McClung will probably make his last start of the 2009 season. He lasted only 4 innings before getting yanked, giving up 6 hits and 3 earned runs. He struck out 3 batters and probably could've lasted longer had there been some early run-support. No-brainer right?

Chris Smith fared much better, lasting 2 innings and striking out 3. He did give up a HR though.
Coffey & Stetter are proving to be one of the best set-up team in the NL. Despite Stetter bombing Thursday's game, he was lights out tonight.

Prince Fielder (19) & Casey McGehee (4) went yard, back-to-back. It was Casey's shot that tied it up 4-4.

Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Mike Rivera all doubled.

Mike Cameron made the best catch of the year (to date, for the Crew) when he robbed a homerun in deep center. But....he then had a brain fart when he hit the first pitch and grounded out in to a double play when the Crew was down 2.

Bill Hall had a hit!

-Prince Fielder is having a career-season and could possibly be competing for the NL MVP. Granted, it's way early in even thinking about this. However, Fielder has yet to have a lengthy slump this season. He's not just hitting for power either, the man has 18 doubles and is batting .300 thus far. It has been his career goal to hit .300 for the year. It will likely come down to Albert Pujols and Prince for the NL MVP. With Raul Ibanez on the 15 day DL (groin) with a nagging injury that probably won't go away, rather it will be a reoccurring nuisance.

I am kicking myself for even mentioning the idea of trading Prince for a starting pitcher this past off-season.

-Jeremy Jeffress is a douche bag who, yet again, failed a drug test (POT) and got served with a 100 game suspension. One more time, and he has a lifetime ban from the Minors.

-Some more news on Milwaukee being buyers

-Tom Haudricourt takes a unique stance on the state of Milwaukee's pitching. Basically, the Crew is in trouble now. But, there are some crafty pitchers working their way up in the minors. You could even throw Jeffress in to that picture. Jake Odorizzi is ranked #2 in the farm system, and he's only playing rookie ball in Arizona. Zach Braddock is a southpaw that is playing in Huntsville, listed #1 on the list.

Not a good debut....

Mike Burns made his first career start in the majors yesterday afternoon at Miller Park. If only pro baseball was 3 innings long.....

After throwing 3 scoreless/hitless frames, Mike Burns quickly fell off the wagon. Milwaukee was one of two teams left in the ML who was using their original 5 man rotation prior to Manny Parra's breakdown and Dave Bushs' injury (the other being SF). Well, that was then and this is now. Now the Brewers rotation is in for their biggest challenge of the season. Try to endure 2 more weeks with your #3 and #4 out of the rotation.

The Twins capatilized off of Burns' free passes that he gave out to lead-off hiters. Despite keeping the Crew somewhat close to the Twins (4 runs on 6 hits), Milwaukee was unable to close the gap late in the game.

Chris Narveson damaged the Crew the most by giving up 2 key runs in the 6th inning. The guy couldn't even keep it close, pitching a pathetic 1/3 inning.

Mitch Stetter, thankfully, was able to stop the bleeding and put the inning out of it's misery. Although he too struggled in giving up a hit and a walk.

The Crew loss, despite 3 different players going yard.
Prince Fielder (18) Ryan Braun (16) McGehee (3)
Fielder also contributed with a double as did Counsell.

Prince Fielder is having an excellent year thus far.
In 72 games, Fielder is batting .301
77 hits
17 doubles
18 HR's
Most impressive of all....a covetted .423 OBP
Sadly enough, it won't be enough to beat out Albert Puhols for the All Star game.

Both Milwaukee players and opposing teams hate day games at Miller Park, due to the shade line. It's very noticeable on tv and especially at the park. I don't know who it favors though?

Finall...Some good news on the upcoming trade race....Milwaukee Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio said the Brewers can be BUYERS!

In my humble opinion, the follow players should be off limits:
Escobar, Gamel, Salome, any pitcher in the farm system, and anyone from our pen.

In my humble opinion, you can send the following players packing by all means....
Hardy, Hart, Cameron (Although I love the guy), Rivera, Gerut, Cantalonotto (spelling...who cares, he butts), Billy Hall, and any outfield prospects in the minors.

Now get yourself a starting pitcher!

San Fransisco is coming to town over the weekend. Should be a good series. To date, SF is in the Wild Card lead thanks to some great starting pitching. Yovanni Gallardo takes on Matt Cain. Hopefully, Milwaukee will have some of their scouts at the game watching Cain.

The Good NEWS!?!?!? Milwaukee will NOT be facing Tim Lincecum!