next moves???

[StearnsFTW]

Lets sign JD Drew. Could play him in left.

You have a sick sense of humor.

[JohnBriggs12]

If the Astros pick up 80% of his salary, I'd trade for Carlos Lee. I'd play Gamel in LF and Lee at 1B until Braun returns, then platoon them at 1B the rest of the way.

[RockCoCougars]

If the Astros pick up 80% of his salary, I'd trade for Carlos Lee. I'd play Gamel in LF and Lee at 1B until Braun returns, then platoon them at 1B the rest of the way.

 

I'd be in for this. El Caballo seems like the type that may retire after this season, but if not he will be playing for a contract. I posted this idea before, but some people seem so dead set against bringing back any ex-Brewer for any reason, it was summarily shot down.

[TooLiveBrew]

Yes, let's hope the Brewers throw one more curveball at Gamel & make him learn another totally new position, right after he's gotten comfortable at 1B. No way should they be blocking his defensive & overall development with an old, expensive downgrade like Lee.

[RockCoCougars]

I will clarify. I'm not on board with moving Gamel to left. I want Lee to cover (yes, poor choice of words, I know) left during Braun's suspension, and then serve as insurance for Gamel/play first against lefties/power bat off the bench. He is my Plan B for a Braun replacement if Luke Scott is tendered by the Orioles.

[GAME05]

i believe Braun but still think he's going to get suspended. you can accidentally buy the wrong kind of protein powder and still get suspended for it (which is my guess to what happened to Braun). there's extremely little wiggle room in the rules to win an appeal.

 

Greinke was either injured or not himself for the first 50 games last year, so i'm sure we can get by ok without Braun. and if it means Gomez and Morgan playing in the OF together, then i guess we'll just have a really great defensive outfield for a while.

 

Carlos Lee in Left? wouldn't that be the same defensively as just laying a glove on the ground and hoping the ball will land in it?

[TooLiveBrew]

The glove might have a better arm.

[RockCoCougars]

Carlos Lee in Left? wouldn't that be the same defensively as just laying a glove on the ground and hoping the ball will land in it?

 

No. It'd be like laying a glove in front of those mini-golf windmills with a fishing net attached to the top http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif That said, beggars can't be choosers. This team needs another bat if Braun is gone. I like Hart and Weeks as much as the next guy, but based on their history, I wouldn't bet my paycheck that both will be healthy on Opening Day.

[Warning Track Power]

I will clarify. I'm not on board with moving Gamel to left. I want Lee to cover (yes, poor choice of words, I know) left during Braun's suspension, and then serve as insurance for Gamel/play first against lefties/power bat off the bench. He is my Plan B for a Braun replacement if Luke Scott is tendered by the Orioles.

Disagree strongly with half and agree with the other half. Lee as a power bat and insurance for Gamel is a very good idea. Having Lee in LF for any amount of time would be a terrible idea. With the pitching staff we have, we should theoretically be able to run an OF of Nyjer, Gomez and Hart and be able to win our fair number of games without having a complete black hole in LF. Even if you don't think that OF would be good enough, I'd rather sign a defensive minded LF first or run a Gindl/Schafer out there before acquiring Lee to put in LF.

[Boy Jeenius]

Team after team has won with pitching speed and defense. 8th and 9th inning are now shut down with KRod & Axford. Gomez, Morgan and Hart all possess plus speed. middle infield seems solid and speedy as well. Very interesting possibilities as we stand today, I would say.

[Ennder]

I don't really remember very many teams winning with speed in recent years. Pitching and Defense are always great assets though.

[MNBrew]

Manny Ramirez was reinstated. Figure out a way to sign him for 50 days.

Was this meant to be in blue? He's out for the same 50 games Braun would be. Besides, he's a knucklehead. Even if your idea were possible, no thanks.

[pingman]

might have to make do with current roster because the team has apparently maxed out their payroll budget......following is from mlbtraderumors.com on 12/13/11

 

The Brewers have already committed more than expected to the 2012

payroll, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). "We've stretched it well beyond where we wanted to go," Melvin said.

[Baldkin]

Manny Ramirez was reinstated. Figure out a way to sign him for 50 days.

He has to serve his suspension before he can play. I believe he still has 50 games left.

[jjfanec]

Team after team has won with pitching speed and defense. 8th and 9th inning are now shut down with KRod & Axford. Gomez, Morgan and Hart all possess plus speed. middle infield seems solid and speedy as well. Very interesting possibilities as we stand today, I would say.

Hart does not have plus speed any more. Braun looks faster than Hart.

[DHonks]

Hart is one of the slowest Brewers these days, but I think what makes him such a terrible outfielder is that he doesn't wear contacts/glasses. It's one thing to judge a fairly flat pitch, but how can you judge depth when your vision is weak? Braun is much better in the outfield than Hart

[Hsee2006]

With Ramirez and Gonzalez in the fold, next moves I would like to see is a trade of Marcum for a young pitcher with upside (Betances/Banuelos etc). Extend Grienke. Sign a back-up LF/RF/1b type (Hinske/Drew/Jackson/DeRosa/Scott/Hawpe).

 

The good news is that if Braun is suspended we will have about 1.6 million extra to spend.....nope still not good news.

[Raw Biz]

With Ramirez and Gonzalez in the fold, next moves I would like to see is a trade of Marcum for a young pitcher with upside (Betances/Banuelos etc). Extend Grienke. Sign a back-up LF/RF/1b type (Hinske/Drew/Jackson/DeRosa/Scott/Hawpe).

 

The good news is that if Braun is suspended we will have about 1.6 million extra to spend.....nope still not good news.

With Marcum's contract being up after this year (and possibly his performance the last 6 weeks of the season), I don't think teams would be willing to give up a young pitcher for him. I think Hart could bring back a young pitcher because he has a pretty team-friendly contract but with the loss of Prince and possibly Braun, I don't think that would be a good idea. I might be willing to move him next year though if Gindl hits well again this year.

[chickinbrickin]

With Ramirez and Gonzalez in the fold, next moves I would like to see is a trade of Marcum for a young pitcher with upside (Betances/Banuelos etc). Extend Grienke. Sign a back-up LF/RF/1b type (Hinske/Drew/Jackson/DeRosa/Scott/Hawpe).

 

The good news is that if Braun is suspended we will have about 1.6 million extra to spend.....nope still not good news.

With Marcum's contract being up after this year (and possibly his performance the last 6 weeks of the season), I don't think teams would be willing to give up a young pitcher for him. I think Hart could bring back a young pitcher because he has a pretty team-friendly contract but with the loss of Prince and possibly Braun, I don't think that would be a good idea. I might be willing to move him next year though if Gindl hits well again this year.

I agree, I think trading Marcum now would be a huge mistake. I would like more young pitching as well, but Marcum's value is the lowest it has ever been/will ever be right now. I think with Peralta, Thornburg, Jungman, and Bradley we have an okay amount of young pitching talent. I think Marcum has more value in the starting rotation this coming year than he does as trade bait. Good marcum will be back to start the 2012 season.

 

[Oldcity]

Why can't they just use Gindl and Schaefer as the fourth and fifth outfielders for 50 games? Morgan in left, Gomez in center would be a fantastic defensive outfield, and Gindl could get some playing time in there. You won't match the offense, obviously, but they'll save a lot of runs. It's not the most ideal, but if they're truly out of money, they could make it work. I'd like to see more of Gomez in center, anyway, so this would be a way to do that.

 

The reality is that if Braun is out, their chances are almost shot anyway. They will probably need to win low scoring games during that time to have a chance.

[CheezWizHed]

The reality is that if Braun is out, their chances are almost shot anyway.

 

I'm not convinced of that.

 

- Ramirez+Gamel+Gonzalez vs. YB+CM+Prince: Probably lost a game or two in production there.

- Losing Braun for 50 games (less than 1/3 of the season) is what 2-3 games?

 

So everything else being pretty equal, you have lost 3-5 games (in theory). That should still be enough to be a division contender or at least for the WC.

[Hsee2006]

As much as I hate signing old nearly washed up guys to play off the bench, I think we will need to sign at least one to provide some coverage if Braun is suspended and if Gamel can't hit major league pitching.

[monty57]

If Braun is suspended, I'd like to see Gindl get regular playing time in LF until Braun returns. He is the logical choice to take over if Hart is traded mid-season or next off-season, so we might as well give him the first crack at LF if needed. The Brewers are much higher on Schafer, so he will probably be the guy they use. I prefer Gindl because he's a corner OF and we don't need three CF on the team. Melvin will probably sign a pseudo-retired vet for around $800k to man the 5th OF/backup 1B spot. When Braun's back, either the aging vet is released, or Gindl goes back to AAA.

 

I think Green should start out in AAA playing everyday. Ramirez and/or Weeks are likely to be out at some point in the season, and Green would be a great call-up. Plus, he could be the callup for interleague games, playing 3B with Ramirez is DH. I think it's more likely that Green will start out on the MLB bench, as starting him in AAA would mean we'd need to find two FA utility guys, as we need to sign someone who can play SS. The only option in the system is Maysonet, and I don't think he belongs on the MLB roster.

 

So, I don't think we have too many more moves to make. Sign a backup SS and sign the Melvin-special veteran 5th OF/backup 1B. Of course, there's still the possibility that K-Rod is traded, which could lead to a flurry of moves.

[clancyphile]

I'd still try to get into the Fielder sweepstakes. With Braun possibly out for 50 games, the Brewers will need Prince.

[monty57]

I'd still try to get into the Fielder sweepstakes. With Braun possibly out for 50 games, the Brewers will need Prince.

 

I read that they're already around $100MM in salary. At this point, we couldn't even sign Prince if he'd agree to do a one-year deal.