Episode 65

Breakdown of The Show:

Segura, Red Hot, Contact Extension? 0:00-23:00
Break
K-Rod Called Up/Bullpen Now 23:00-35:00
Break
Weeks & Lucroy Struggles 35:00-50:00
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 50:00-1:02:00

Episode 63 "Tyler Thornburg Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

Believe in Rickie Weeks? 0:00-19:00

Break

Rami Back Soon/Lineup changes 19:00-32:00

Break

Axford Closing Again? 32:00-47:00

Break

Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 47:00-59:00

Episode 62 "Josh Butler Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

Cleanup Spot/Lineup Construction 0:00-18:00

Break

Burgos Gets Call/K-Rod Signing 18:00-34:00

Break

Guest Interview: Adam Rygg of Brewer Nation 34:00-1:12:00

Break

Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 1:12:00-1:22:00

The Brewers Are Selling. What's On The Shelves?

This past series against the Reds cemented what almost every fan has known for months, the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers are losers. Yes, it’s true and disappointing, but not only are they losers, they have talent that is good and will be gone soon, or is filling up space in payroll the front office will need to rebuild this team.


So it’s time to take a look at what the Brewers can sell and a few players they should probably think about selling.

Players That Are Available

Zack Greinke- This is the one everyone already knows. Greinke doesn’t want the contract the Brewers are offering right now, so in order to get an immediate return on the pitcher Milwaukee needs to ditch him. This is the most valuable piece they have (obvious statement I know), but most teams won’t pay in top prospects with the new rules of the CBA (restrictions in pick compensation for losing a A or B player). So, unless the Brewers and the team getting Greinke agree to a deal where the other team signs Greinke before a trade is completed I think the Brewers will most likely get AA to A players no higher than top 50 in value. I believe Melvin is looking for better, but might not get it.

Francisco Rodriguez- It’s true he’s the new closer, but K-Rod costs a lot and is gone after this season. Some teams really need a high end reliever at the back end of their bullpen so Rodriguez will probably have some good value, but he is more valuable if the Brewers eat some of his contract. I think a AA pitcher with late inning bullpen pitcher is a great return of K-Rod and something that fills the Crew’s needs for the future.

Nyjer Morgan- With the arrival of Norichika Aoki, I can’t believe Morgan isn’t available. Considering the season Morgan is having, I cannot believe the Brewers can expect much in terms of return for Nyjer. He is cheaper and has another 2 years before he’s a free agent, but considering he isn’t always considered a team player, and has little value outside of defense and speed I think the Brewers could get a mid-level AAA prospect. A role bench player and nothing more.

Players That Are Probably Available

Randy Wolf- The lefty has an option left on his contract and can fill the back end of a rotation. But his value diminished this year with his performance. Not many teams are looking for a starter with an ERA above 5, but his recent performances may have redeemed him to some GM’s. Plus he is probably a lot better as a #5 than most player in the league in that role.

George Kottaras- Every team needs more catching, beside the Brewers. With the arrival of Martin Maldonado the Brewers actually have two plus catchers locked up for a very long time. Teams will probably be interested since he has some pop too, but if they trade Wolf they might need to throw in Kottaras so he has someone to pitch to on his next team.

Kameron Loe- A solid reliever. Probably only low-A return to get anything valuable. Probably a player that could get packaged with someone else.

Players That Should Be Available

Aramis Ramirez- A good investment to start the season but now he’s an old guy eating roster space. Not a rental, still has value and can immediately help a contender. A-Ram is the type of player that can bring back a good return for the Brewers. I don’t think they will sell him because they want a hitter behind Braun.

Corey Hart- See Aramis Ramirez. I think his prominence at first base will make the Brewers much less interested in selling compared to if he was still playing right. If the Brewers sell either of these players it’s only going to be one of them.

If the Team Trades This Guy It’s a Fire Sale

Rickie Weeks- A few years on his contract. When he’s on he’s one of the most valuable second baseman in the league. If he was traded last year, he could get a Dan Uggla type haul. This year he could bring back some nice pieces but nothing completely mind blowing. Unless Melvin can do a great sell job it’s probably better to wait until his value is back up. Maybe even this offseason.

-Brad

VFBC Podcast Episode 28 "Prince Fielder Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

K-Rod and Fielder Stir Pot With Comments:00-16:14
Break
Rickie Weeks Returns To Lineup/Impact 17:25-30:02
Break
Casey McGehee, Human Rally Killer, Time To Bench? 31:34-45:08
Break
Preview/Chalet Award Winner 46:44-56:24

VFBC Podcast Episode 25

Breakdown of The Show:

Red Hot! 22-5 Run :00-19:12
Break
Weeks & Gomez Progressing, Roster Shakeup? 20:06-31:42
Break
Rogers and Arnett: Bigger 1st Round Flop? 33:33-46:09
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 47:25-56:49

VFBC Podcast Episode 23

Breakdown of The Show:

Weeks Injury/Lopez & Hairston Deals :00-28:21
Break
Zack Greinke On Fire 29:45-41:42
Break
Strong Bullpen Suddenly 42:42-54:37
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 55:41-1:16:54

VFBC Podcast Episode 21

Breakdown of The Show:

K-Rod Trade Thoughts :00-21:47
Break
Braun's Injury, Should He Have Been DL'd? 23:04-38:05
Break
Hart/Weeks Lineup Change 39:14-47:17
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 49:11-1:00:10

UPDATED: I would like to apologize for being an idiot and calling this episode 19 in and out of music breaks. Not sure what the hell I was thinking. At least I called it episode 21 at the start of the show! One other correction, I called Yankees All-Star setup man Brian Robertson. Of course, his name is David.

Rickie Weeks Could Start At 2B In The 2011 All-Star Game

And he just needs YOUR help! Right now Weeks is second in the NL for 2B voting behind the Reds Brandon Phillips. Weeks is having his third straight All-Star worthy season and it would be great to see he and Braun both representing the Crew starting for the NL at Chase Field in Arizona on July 12th. Rickie should get in via players and coaches votes if not selected to start by the fans, but lets not leave it up to them to snub him again. Go over to MLB.com and vote your max 25 times with each email account you have. When you go to games at Miller Park, stuff the ballot box with even more votes for Rickie. Ryan Braun is pretty much a lock to start in the OF for the fourth straight season, but Rickie is right there and he has a shot at it, lets get him there.

VFBC Podcast Episode 7

Breakdown of The Show:

Opening Day 00:00-17:35
Break
Reds Series 18:23-39:18
Break
Rickie Weeks Hot Start 40:16-49:44
Break
Preview Braves & Cubs Series/News and Notes 50:40-1:01:26

VFBC Podcast Episode 1

Breakdown of The Show:

Intro 0:00-3:55
What We Gained 3:55-21:45
What We Lost 21:45-37:30
Break
Biggest Question Marks 40:35-51:45
Replacements for Gomez/Betancourt 51:45-1:05
Break
Greinke in 3 Years 1:08-1:24
Break
Goodbye 1:27-1:33

What A Way To Kick Off Camp: Brewers, Weeks Agree On 4 Year Extension

On the day that the Cardinals were unable to come to terms on a contract extension with Albert Pujols at his "deadline" and the Brewers pitchers and catchers reported to camp, the Brewers were able to sign 2B Rickie Weeks to a contract extension. A nice club friendly 4 year extension worth $38.5 mill with a club option for a 5th year and escalators that could make it worth $50 mill for Rickie.

I personally love this deal. The Brewers buy out Weeks last arbitration season and at least his first 3 free agents seasons and maybe a 4th. I have been a big fan of Rickie's for some time now so I had hoped they would be able to get this extension done. He's a very fun player to watch, always plays at 110% and plays with more intensity than maybe anybody in baseball. To me he is a poor man's Rickey Henderson from the leadoff spot (minus all the stolen bases, but he should run more with Roenicke at the helm). I no doubt understand the concern from some people about Rickie's issues with staying healthy. He has only played more than 140 games twice in his career.

But to me, he is worth the risk on this deal and will be much more of a reward for the Brewers. When he was healthy last season he showed how good and productive he can be. He has also drastically improved his defense at 2B from where he was a few years ago. He is a player who continues to work hard to improve and is just hitting his prime. I think he is already a top five 2B in all of MLB, only trailing Cano, Utley, Pedroia and maybe Uggla. With Prince Fielder all but gone after the 2011 season it is nice to know that the Brewers have three fantastic hitters locked up for the long term; Braun, Hart and now Weeks.

Alex, Brad and Myself will have more thoughts on this when we record episode 1 of the VFBC podcast this coming Monday night the 21st.

2010 Milwaukee Brewers Team Awards

After the Milwaukee chapter of the BWAA totally whiffed on the team awards, Miller Park Drunk wrote a post ripping them (mostly the Journal Sentinel staff) to no end for picking Casey McGehee as the Team MVP, as well they deserved to be ripped for that crap. No doubt McGehee had a great season, but to pick him as MVP over say Rickie Weeks, who won our Team MVP award is downright ridiculous and the stats prove it. So this got Jaymes over at The Brewers Bar thinking that members of the Brewers Blogosphere should also vote on the team awards and that McGehee would not get a single first place vote. Here are the results of that vote. Just want to thank Jaymes again for letting me cast my ballot. Here is said ballot:

Team MVP:

1. Rickie Weeks
2. Ryan Braun
3. Prince Fielder

Most Valuable Pitcher:

1. Yovani Gallardo
2. John Axford
3. Randy Wolf

Top Newcomer:

1. John Axford
2. Lorenzo Cain
3. Jonathan Lucroy

Unsung Hero:

1. Kameron Loe
2. Zach Braddock
3. Jonathan Lucroy

Good Guy Award:

1. Trevor Hoffman
2. Rickie Weeks
3. Casey McGehee

Reader Poll Results

"Should the Brewers extend Rickie Weeks?"

Yes: 93% (15 Votes)

No: 6% (1 Vote)

VFBC Podcast: Rickie Weeks A Key To 2010 Success

Keith Law Chat ESPN.com 12/17/09

The winner of our reader poll for "favorite national sports writer" and favorite of VFBC was back on Thursday for another chat. Here were the Brewers related questions/answers from Keith. Topics include top of the Brewers order, Mark Mulder and the signings of Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins.

Shawn (Madison)

Between Escobar, Weeks, or Gomez (yeah right) do the Brewers have anybody that can get on base enough to hit at the top of their lineup ahead of Prince and Braun?

Klaw

(1:10 PM)

Weeks has always worked the count well when healthy. Escobar is impatient and Gomez would swing at strike zero.

Kruse (Iraq)

Do you see the Brewers making anymore additions to starting pitching before the start of the season? Wolf was a nice start. I have heard Mulder rumors? Would that push Suppan out of the starting rotation? Please say yes because I cannot take another year of seeing his stuff, even as an end of the rotation guy.

Klaw

(1:26 PM)

I have no problem with them taking a flyer on Mulder, but I'd have no expectations of him, either. Guy hasn't been healthy and effective in a long time. They do still need one more starter if they want to compete in that division, though. I like Parra's arm but banking on him to become a #3 would be foolish.

Ryan (Madison)

Hey Klaw. I just wanted your thoughts on the Brewers signing of Wolf and Hawkins. Three years too long for Wolf? Can Hawkins help solidify the bullpen? Something obviously had to be done to improve their pitching and I'm just wondering if you believe they are at least on the right track. Thanks

Klaw

(2:19 PM)

A year too long on each guy, but if they've decided to try to contend in 2010, they had little choice but to over commit on arms. It wouldn't be my strategy for the team.

Keith Law Chat ESPN.com 10/29/09

It's time for another Keith Law chat transcript featuring Brewers related questions/answers. And in this chat, Keith even used a question from yours truly! I'm going to start making this a regular feature on the blog recapping any Brewers stuff from Keith's chats.

Jon (Dallas)

Would Conger, Bourjos, Reckling be enough for MIL to trade Braun to LAA? Angels would then have 4 above average starting pitchers, full infield if you count Wood, and full outfield under contract/control for three more years. Pretty decent window of opportunity isn't it?

Klaw

(1:35 PM)

That isn't even close. Look at the rest of your question - you're talking about how good it is for the Angels, with no thought as to whether it's anything other than insane for Milwaukee.

JD (Germantown, WI)

(Me)

First off, are you ever going to write a book? Second, Rickie Weeks got off to a great start in 2009 before injuring his wrist and going on the DL. If healthy all of 2010, how good do you think Weeks will be? Where would he rank among NL 2B?

Klaw

(2:13 PM)

I did write one manuscript, showed it to a few people in and out of the industry, but decided it was better to start from scratch than rewrite. I'm a bad rewriter regardless of the subject. I've been a Weeks believer beyond any rational point for years, so why stop now? He'll be a borderline All-Star offensively. He was actually going to have a huge second half this year if he'd been healthy. You can't prove otherwise!

An absolutely laughable question from Jon in Dallas. Braun for Conger, Bourjos and Reckling? Keith pretty much summed it up best calling it "insane". Of course, Tony Witrado might think it was plausible and a good idea. Maybe Tony was posing as Jon. The fact of the matter is Ryan Braun is not going anywhere. He is the franchise and anyone even mentioning trade rumors and questions about Braun being traded just isn't thinking very logically. At least, in my opinion.

As for my question about Weeks, Keith has always been a fan of Rickie's. And I agree with his answer, Weeks if healthy should border on the line of being an All-Star 2B in the NL. But he has to play a full season. Something he really hasn't done. I'm just hoping that it happens in 2010 for Rickie and for the Brewers. We need him.

Emptying My Thoughts 5/21/09

Time for me to empty these thoughts on current Brewers news out of my head.....

It totally sucks that Rickie Weeks is out for the year with another wrist injury, this time left hand. Of course all of us in Brewer Nation know and feel that way. Rickie was really putting his total game together and then it gets taken from him because of injury. I have total confidence though that Rickie will work hard to get back and be ready to pickup in spring 2010 where he left off in May 2009.

With Weeks now gone, I like the fact the Brewers are looking internally to fill the 2B void. No need to go making a trade, at least not yet. While no one can really replace the skill set Weeks brings to the park everyday, a Counsell/McGehee platoon should do just fine. If it does not I'm sure Doug Melvin can swing a trade for a veteran 2B, I know DeRosa's name has come up but the Brewers don't have the pitching Cleveland wants for him. Of course they could even sign an unemployed 2B like Durham or Grudzielanek. Hopefully it does not come to that and Counsell and McGehee can get the job done. If they don't, before a trade happens you might see Alcides Escobar get a chacne since he will now play 2 out of every 3 games at 2B for AAA Nashville. I'm not a big fan of that idea since Escobar is a SS and would somewhat be wasted at 2B.

With Counsell now set to platoon at 2B, that opens up a perfect opportunity for top prospect Mat Gamel to actually stay up with the Brewers even after the interleague series. With how bad Bill Hall has been against RHP, and he has been brutal (especially last night in the 9th, that was ugly), Gamel should now go into a strict platoon with Hall at 3B. It just makes to much sense, and if this were the case Gamel would get most of the starts and it would be worth keeping him up. However, if Macha does not feel this way I hope they send Mat down to AAA to paly everyday instead of rotting on the bench with the big club. Gamel has already shown that great bat he has, of course he has also shown how bad his glove can be. But like they old saying goes, the bat plays. And Mat has a mighty good one.

I LOVE the trade of Tony Gwynn for Jody Gerut. Let me say that again, I LOVE THE TRADE. Gwynn was going nowhere fast in the Milwaukee organization. He couldn't even beat out Duffy or Nelson to make the team this year. To me he will always be a AAAA type player who always had hype around him simply because of the name on the back of his jersey. Now hes gone where the Brewers won't be tempted to give him more chances. The Brewers get in return a solid 4th OF in Gerut who can play all three OF spots and has some pop from the left side of the plate, he has struggled so far this year though after a solid year in 2008. With Gerut meeting the team in Minnesota for the weekend series it appears either Duffy or Iribarren are going down to AAA Nashville. Let me say as much as I have ripped him, I do wish Gwynn the best. Maybe he can find something playing for his hometown team. Good luck Jr!

Catching Up To Do

I just got back yesterday from my 7 night honeymoon in beautiful Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Me and my bride had a fantastic time, it was sunny and in the 80's every day we were there. While the weather was hot in the DR it was not hot here in Wisconsin, but the baseball team sure was.

In my absence out of the country the Brewers won 5 of 6 games in home series over the Cubs and Marlins. This led the Brewers to now being tied for 1st place in the NL Central with the hated Cardinals. While I was able to text a friend to get final scores each day it seems I missed out on some happenings while I was gone. So I spent some of last night during that rain delay/postponement and this morning catching up on what happened in these 6 Brewers games I missed.

Nelson was DFA and then selected free agency. I wish Brad the best, I liked him a lot and thought it was cool he finally made an opening day roster. He just didn't do anything after spring training though and we need some production off the bench other then Craig Counsell. Hopefully Nelson catches on somewhere else, just not in the NL. I think he would come back to haunt us at some point.

With Nelson DFA the Brewers called up top prospect Mat Gamel. This kind of shocked me when I first heard the news. I thought the Brewers might trade Hall which I did not want to happen. But it does not seem likely and more likely Gamel was called up for much of the same reason Prince Fielder was in 2005. Spend some time with the big league club, maybe get a start or two and DH in some inter league series before going back down to AAA Nashville. I like the move and look forward to seeing Gamel hit and see if his defense has gotten better.

Weeks and Bush seemed to have continued their strong starts. It seems 2009 really will be the "breakout" season for both guys. Weeks is hitting well and has an over .880 OPS while Bush has been the Brewers 2nd best pitcher after Gallardo. At the beginning of the season I told a fellow Brewers fan at work that Bush would breakout this year and legitimize himself as a solid #3 and maybe even a #2. So far Dave is proving me correct, thanks Dave.

Braun has a RED HOT week and was the NL player of the week. But it seems the local and national media has a problem with his "attitude" or "cockiness". I say screw them both. Braun is no more cocky then any other star in MLB. He is good, he knows it and he is super confident in his ability. So he watches his HR's a little bit, so does A-Rod, Pujols, Manny and many other of the stars of the game do. Can you blame him for the one he hit off Dempster? I mean Dempster did hit him the freaking head in the at-bat before the HR. Bottom line, Braun is a superstar that is super confident. Just let him play the game and don't worry about what he does after he hits a HR. And he will hit A LOT of them before his career is up so get used to it uptight media members.

Weeks/Kendall Leadoff Problem, Solved In 2010

Well I have seen a lot of discussion on various sites, blogs and message boards about the Brewers batting order and specifically leadoff with Rickie Weeks and now potentially, at least sometimes Jason Kendall batting leadoff. I don't have a huge problem with Kendall doing it for certain match ups, I mean the guy has batted leadoff more then any other spot in his career and he is good at working the count. But with his best offensive days behind him I would hate to see him batting anywhere but 8th to often. As for Weeks, yeah he probably shouldn't be batting leadoff but he is the closest thing we have to a leadoff hitter so he kind of gets put there by default almost. What I'm getting at here is that next season I don't think we will have to have these kind of debates. Why you ask? Well Lorenzo Cain should be the starting CF in 2010 and he would seem to me to be a clear cut choice to bat leadoff, this would allow Weeks to move down to 2nd or around 6th or 7th. This is assuming Cain progresses enough at AAA Nashville this season to take the step up in 2010, which many feel he will. And it would be perfect timing as I don't see Mike Cameron retained after this season.