8/8/05 - Cardinals (Morris) @ Brewers (Vampire) - 7:05 CST

[bucksman4]

" Looks like Branyan dominates that category as well. Just can't keep the man down.

 

He's almost a joke to these people, yet when healthy he has been one of the best 3B'men in the league this season."

 

 

He better not be our full-time 3B next season.....that's a position we MUST upgrade via trade, because free agent 3B's out there are not very good (Randa-type). We're not a playoff team with a Branyan-Hall-Cirillo-Helms platoon. That's just the way it is.

[brettac1]

Explain why please. I'm not seeing how a platoon that grades out as one of the best 3B in the league is a bad thing. Branyan is so undervalued, it's a shame - even among his own team's fans. He has a .920 OPS and is an above-average fielder. What more do you need? Third base has been the best offensive position on the team this year, why does it need a drastic upgrade? That is the way it is, and there's no real evidence to say that it's a problem position.

 

EDIT: In VORPr, Branyan is 3rd in the NL behind only Ensberg and Ramirez at .401. He's 8th in VORP at 17.7, despite having only 188 PA.

[JoeH33]

Quote:

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He better not be our full-time 3B next season

---

 

I for one would really like to see Russell as our full time 3B next season. Here's his numbers compared to some of the "elite" 3B around the league. Take from these numbers what you want, but as I think you can see, they compare pretty favorably with other great 3B around the league.

 

Russell Branyan

 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS 62 157 20 42 9 0 11 28 84 30 63 1 0 .385 .535 .268 .920 

 

Aramis Ramirez

 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS 107 404 65 124 27 0 28 81 235 31 56 0 1 .363 .582 .307 .945

 

David Wright

 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS 109 385 67 114 29 1 16 64 193 50 74 11 5 .380 .501 .296 .881

 

Morgan Ensberg

 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS 110 390 65 113 23 2 29 82 227 59 87 6 6 .386 .582 .290 .968

[Ennder]

Quote:

---

He better not be our full-time 3B next season.....that's a position we MUST upgrade via trade, because free agent 3B's out there are not very good (Randa-type). We're not a playoff team with a Branyan-Hall-Cirillo-Helms platoon. That's just the way it is.

---

 

Actually 3B has been our most productive spot in the lineup this year compared to league averages. Our 3B beat out all but I believe two 3B in the NL with the stats they have combined for. We don't really NEED to upgrade there, I'd love to see Branyan every day and I wouldn't mind seeing Hall every day at 3B.

[keds58]

I wouldn't mind seeing him as the full-time third baseman either. He has shown this year that he has better plate presence as his BA is 30 points higher. His OBP is up 60 points, abd his OPS has gone from .849 to .920. This is with 11 more games in this year.

[bsglorydays]

I really don't buy the argument that the number of teams ahead of the Brewers matter. They're back 4 1/2 games, and that's all that matters.

 

Stevo,

 

I personally could not disagree more. The reason the number of teams ahead of the Brewers is so important is because the Brewers will have to outplay all of them over the last 50 games of the season. Just rattling off 8 wins in a row won't be enough to leap into the lead.

 

Add in the fact that all of those teams will be playing each other. Its impossible to gain on the entire pack in any given day, because one team has to win and one has to lose.

 

Everytime the Brewers win, they gain on somebody but not necessarily the leader and also only keep pace with some other teams. Every time the Brewers lose, they may or may not keep pace with the leader, and they definitely lose ground on some other team(s).

 

I would have to argue that the number of teams ahead of the Brewers is actually more important than the games back. Still, its fun to actually be in the race.

[razzzorsharp]

Going a little off-topic here but I will chime in on the 3rd Base situation. To me it is all about who is available. If the Astros put Ensberg up for a trade I would gladly give up Overbay plus whatever. Then again if a SP the calibur of Livan Hernandez (example) is available and I can only get one I go for the SP and play who we got at 3B. I don't think we can upgrade that many positions so 3B is not a priority in my book.

[Oldcity]

Bsglorydays, my point with the NL East teams is that they will be beating up on each other so it will be difficult for those teams to gain ground. They will spin their wheels a bit, and like I said at least two will fade. I think the Wild Card comes down to Houston and one NL East team (probably Marlins or Mets), and if we keep playing +.500 like we have so far since the break, us too. We have 10 games against Houston, so we couldn't ask for more of an opportunity. Houston's shown a bit of their anemic offense the last few games that plagued them early this year. Very unlikely, yes, but stranger things have happened.

 

I agree though, that it's fun just to be debating this.

[naivin]

The 10 games with Houston definitely could make a difference. Once you've played those, if you gou 6-4, you're 2.5 back. Go 4-6 and you are 6.5 back. Of course there are many other games to be played as well, but it does present them a tremendous opportunity.

[Bikeage77]

I have a fake date for the game tonight, which is cool, but she's a huge Cards fan, which is not. I'm gonna have a great time hecklin her if we can pull this off. If Santos can throw 6 quality innings and not make many mistakes, we can beat Morris. That lineup, no matter how used to it I am, is still just scary.

 

Get it done Brew Crew!!!

 

Corey

[dixieflatline]

With little bullpen use yesterday and an off day coming up I'd wouldn't hesitate to pull Santos early especially for a pinch hitter if the situation comes up.

 

Slightly off top but I don't believe in the astros. I know they have three great pitchers but the other two starters are questionable and their offense is horrible. Ensberg is having a career year but besides Berkman they are really weak. I like how we match up with them.

[HighLifeandPeanuts]

completely off topic - can you bring your own peanuts to a game? do they allow that?

[brettac1]

I'd imagine you could put them in your pocket and go in with them.

[brewers19]

can you bring your own peanuts to a game? do they allow that?

 

If you can get them past the metal detectors, guard dogs, and the snipers, I think you're in the clear.

[UeckerAddict]

"Although we were already out of it, I did like squishing the Astros' post-season dreams at the end of the 2003 season.

 

[ignore me if that didn't actually happen]"

 

It happened, but it allowed the Cubs to get in the playoffs. Bad.

However, that opened the door for Bartman.

[Cyanogen5]

Yes, you can bring your own peanuts to the game. I usually buy a big bag at a grocery store, and eat them throughout the game...no problem.

[Ando Calrissian]

my wife and i have become quite good at planning ahead and bringing food to the game instead of spending $ on dogs and brats. it is soooo much cheaper to bring a couple sandwiches and some peanuts instead of shelling out dinero at the game. actually, we end up buying tickets to better seat because of it.

[whizkid]

completely off topic - can you bring your own peanuts to a game? do they allow that?

 

As has been said, yes you can and you don't have to hide it. You can also bring unopened plastic bottles of soda or water, no cans, in a softsided shoulder strap kind of cooler. The dimensions are on the Brewers site in the MP A-Z guide as well as a bunch of other good info.

[Ssabotage]

HDTV tonight? Yes or No?

[brewcrewkid14]

Going back to the 3B debate. I don't think we really need a third baseman as bad as everyone thinks. Here is what our third basemen have provided offensively.

 

 [b]G H-AB R 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB AVE/OBP/SLG/OPS[/b] 106 111-383 47 30 1 16 52 46 87 10 290/366/499/865

 

I think thats a pretty good performance out of our third basemen. The only question is if Cirillo will do as well as he did at the beginning of the year. He contributed quite a bit to those stats.

 

EDIT: It should be noted that that is only through 106 games. I added all the stats up last week and haven't done so since then.

[ThePurpleStorm]

"HDTV tonight? Yes or No?"

 

I believe so.

[brewers19]

Here is what our third basemen have provided offensively.

 

Is that including Helm's pinch-hitting stats? Because they really shouldn't contribute.

[7rebmun]

http://minipearls.homestead.com/files/lumberjack.JPG

 

vs.

 

http://www.christmasinternational.com/seasons/images/vampire.jpg

[Weirdos19]

The Cards offense isn't that strong now. No Walker, No Sanders, No Rolen. Instead they have been starting Mabry, Rodriguez, and Taguchi (I believe). I'll take my chances with them. Offense, to me, is a draw right now.

[Cooper]

http://www.jdrf.ca/images/Life_with_Diabetes/Count_Me_In_FR.gif