Bleacher Report - Articles by Kyle Hulsebus

Milwaukee Brewers Are a Puzzle Difficult to Understand

Kyle Hulsebus — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:54:49 -0400

I’ve been wondering about the Brewers situation at catcher for some time. Given the huge moves we made a couple days ago, sending Hardy to the Minors, designating Hall and bringing up Escobar, I’m even more puzzled.

I was a big Jason Kendall fan when he first signed. However, as some of our prospects get better and better, I wonder why we keep him around. Rivera showed yesterday that he has power, and I think that given consistent playing time, he could easily be another solid option to protect Prince Fielder.

Kendall is not the type to take a back-up role. Given how well Angel Salome has been playing of late, I’m wondering aloud why we didn’t try to move Kendall somewhere to get another arm to stabilize either the rotation or the bullpen.

The only answer I have is that we need some veteran leadership on a team that is still young.

However, as Prince and Braun wrap up another season—hopefully with another play-off run—the question has to be asked: How much longer can we afford to keep these guys around?

Guys like Suppan and Kendall are becoming less needed in the day-to-day workings of the club, especially given GM Doug Melvin’s statement on-air during the last game that he would like to see more running from the club.

This could also force the hand of Brewers’ ownership to get rid of Ken Macha, who is notorious for not liking “small ball.” Personally, I’d rather they have hired Willie Randolph or Dale Sveum in the first place, but better late than never.

Finally, the Brewers need to look to do whatever it takes to keep Prince Fielder around. While we do have a solid first baseman, Joe Koshansky (.221 average, 19 homers in 112 games) in AAA, we can’t afford to part ways with Prince; the drop-off from one year to the next would be too harsh, and I’m not convinced that Braun can carry this team by himself yet.

One thing is certain: the Crew needs to do whatever it can to win now. With the drastic shake-up on Wednesday, it appears management agrees. Anything short of the playoffs will be a disappointment, and some heads will roll if our last game is October 4th in St Louis.

Since we’re only seven games back with 48 to go, we’re still in the division race. We have nine more games against the Cardinals and seven more against the Cubs. However, with five teams and 7.5 games between us and the wildcard, we need to take the division.

Michael Vick: Paralysis By Analysis

Kyle Hulsebus — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:06:17 -0400

Is anyone else sick of hearing about Michael Vick yet? He hasn’t even been an Eagle for 24 hours, and I already go comatose every time I see the green and white.

As a dog lover, I’m torn on this issue like everyone is. However, no matter how heinous the man’s crime was, he paid his debt to society. Part of me is skeptical about his sincerity, but the only way for him to prove himself is through time.

After all, we’ve had NFL players that have killed people come back and finish out their careers. I don’t believe we can place a quantified value on how bad his crime was in comparison to those of others, but let’s give him a chance.

If Tony Dungy believes in him, maybe he did learn something.

Vick should at least play in a game before we try to judge his comeback. Anyone who remembers what kind of QB he was before going to jail knows he wasn’t a pocket passer. I don’t know if I agree that Andy Reid is going to make Vick into the next Donovan McNabb, but this is a good situation for a troubled soul like Vick.

It's interesting that the man who revolutionized being a black quarterback in the NFL may now play in a wildcat offense. In my estimation, he himself started to unknowingly create the role at Virginia Tech and Atlanta, even if we didn’t know what to call it at the time.

The moral of the story: I’m excited to see what the man can do, especially if he’s really in the shape he says he is. I just don’t know how eager I am to see him do it.

Tom Brady Goes Big, But Aren't The Steelers Still the Team To Beat?

Kyle Hulsebus — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:52:45 -0400

So Tom Brady is back.

Apparently, ESPN is ready to give Super Bowl to the Patriots. We might as well not even play the season—they’re going to go undefeated.

Never mind that the reigning champs—the Steelers, for those of you who have already forgotten—were in complete control last night, beating on the Cardinals for the second straight time.

If it weren’t for a bogus pass interference call near the end of the second half, we would have led the entire game. Either way, we won, 20-10. Roethlisberger didn’t even play the entire first half, and second year receiver Limas Sweed had an awesome game.

Since when does the first preseason game even matter?

Let’s not forget that Brady hasn’t played in a year, so the fuss is over him insisting on playing as much as Belichick will allow. From a rehab stance, Brady has to play all four games to be ready for the regular season.

After all, how many quarterbacks have we seen go down with knee injuries, only to never truly recover?

Carson Palmer—who suffered his injury in a playoff game to the aforementioned Steelers—has yet to make it back to the success he seemed destined to have pre-injury. Even Daunte Culpepper’s career was devastated once he got hurt—he’s now been replaced by Matthew Stafford in Detroit, of all places.

Don’t get me wrong—I caught some of Brady’s performance, and he was pretty good, especially in the second quarter. Even though I am a Steeler fan, I don't hate Brady—after all, he was a Michigan man.

Let’s just be careful to crown the Patriots just yet.

There's still a long season to go.

Prince Fielder Attacks Guillermo Mota, But Is He Really the Bad Guy?

Kyle Hulsebus — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:10:40 -0400

So Guillermo Mota thought it would be a good idea to hit Prince Fielder? Why, because he's a vegetarian? First off, Mota is a little punk! Who intentionally hits someone with two outs in a 17-4 win?

If it were a closer game, like today's will hopefully be, Prince would be a lot more likely to storm the mound, thus getting tossed, not Mota

Second, something that seems to have been lost in all this—Hiroki Kuroda hit Catalonotto in the first few innings of the game. You could argue that Ramirez and Fielder are much bigger targets than Cat is, and you’d be right.

Our boy Swindle did also hit Juan Pierre, but none of those were intentional until Mota tried to be a tough guy and go after Fielder.

Anyone with a good memory—or who has been watching SportsCenter at all this morning—remembers when Mota hit Mike Piazza in consecutive games in Spring Training. First of all, it’s Spring Training! The games don’t even count!! And he did it TWICE!

Granted, a shot on the leg isn’t going to do much, but if you hit a hand, wrist or finger, you can break something and sideline the player for some time.

What would Mota have done if Fielder had charged the mound or gone after him? As the replays of the aforementioned Piazza-Mota feud showed, Guillermo is a wuss. All he did in either of the resulting fights was throw his glove and run away, letting his infielders take the poundings from the angry Mets who came out of the bullpen.

Prince however, is a tank. One look at the guy and you know not to mess with him. Apparently Mota needs to be checked out by the team psychologist, because he has delusions of being tougher than he is.

With regard to the investigation the MLB is doing: stop it.

Really, doesn't the Commisioner's office have better things to waste time on? If you watch the tape, Prince just stands there incredulously mouthing “What the ****?” To which Mota talks back, egging Prince on. The only just penalty in all of this is seeing Mota suspended for as long as possible.

Some other random thoughts before I go:

First, Manny Ramirez is not as big a fish as the Dodgers would like to think. He has had only one multi-hit game since July 20th—last night, his average has been falling since the All Star Break, and he’s only gotten three homers in that time.

Also, because it bears repeating—when Chris Smith hit him, it wasn’t intentional! While October baseball may go through Manny Ramirez, he has had no real impact on a game for a month. After all, he got outwitted by the better Manny (Parra) for the third consecutive outing just two days ago.

This whole thing is getting screwed out of proportion by ESPN, as if Fielder is a bad guy. I dare any of the sportscasters to put themselves in his head, and then try to say they wouldn’t have done the same thing.

While I understand his actions—I don’t condone them. However, I think it’s fairly obvious that Mota is the devil in this situation, not Fielder. Hopefully the MLB doesn’t blow this ruling as badly as they have other things in the past (steroids, anyone?).

Why I Really Hate ESPN

Kyle Hulsebus — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:21:10 -0400

Let me clarify: I do not hate Erin Andrews. Or Michelle Beadle. No, those two are some of the great reasons yet to watch the network.

And I, like most guys, live for SportsCenter, and am a religious follower of PTI. However, I do have fairly strong feelings towards ESPN.

The main founding of this distaste is in how they report some of their news. I get a lot of my SC fix in the morning (8/7 central). It just occurs to me a lot of the time that they seem to mirror themselves after a 24-hour cable news network, such as CNN.

This is the exact opposite of what I want; don't put spin on my sports stories, just tell me what happened!

Now, I'm not saying I want a monotone robot to read me box scores. Just keep the bias to a minimum.

One area that they do this a lot is in the covering of controversies between sports stars and any journalist, regardless of whether that journalist works for ESPN. To further present this, I have three examples:

First, and most recent, the discussion over Omar Minaya's statements about Daily News reporter Adam Rubin. Ostensibly, I have to agree with the GM; how many of us wouldn't love to get into player evaluation and scouting? Heck, that's half of what we do on here, and is entirely what fantasy sports is about.

However, in a fashion that would make Fox News proud, ESPN sliced up the video coverage of Minaya's news conference to make him look like an idiot, and spun the story to cast Mr. Rubin in a glorious light! If you'll note, you never actually heard him refute any of Omar's claims.

Second, the case about a year ago when Ed Werder reported that there was dissension in the Cowboys locker room, specifically swirling around Terrell Owens. Regardless of how you feel towards T.O., making up a story like Werder did is despicable, and goes against everything a journalist stands for.

Then, when Owens and other Cowboys challenged the story, ESPN quickly ran T.O.'s greatest hits, touching heavily on his less-than-glorious exits from San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Lastly, many of you may remember when Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy blew up at the reporter for criticizing one of his players, and made up things about him. While Gundy was somewhat over-the-top, I admired him as an assistant coach for doing what was right.

And how did ESPN choose to cover this event? They once again demonstrated their wonderful splicing skills and made Gundy look like a reckless hothead! One can't wonder what would have happened had Gundy done nothing; no doubt they would have made him look like he didn't care about his players.

Having said all that, I still love that there is a channel I can turn to at nearly any point during the day and see something related to sports.

I say nearly, because I don't feel as though the X-Games or cheerleading competitions qualify as sports. However, there is just one more bone I have to pick.

What is with ESPN hiring all the failed coaches they can find as analysts? Why should I believe the statements of someone who couldn't hack it in the sport they're now covering?

Give me an ex-player any day of the week, but unless the coach retired, get them out of the studio. Perfect example: the difference between Bob Knight and Avery Johnson. Enough said.

I still love ESPN; it's on right now as I write this. I probably always will. I just wish they'd prune some tactics.

Why Play Carlos Villanueva and Not Mat Gamel?

Kyle Hulsebus — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:38:56 -0400

The Brewers are hurting. We haven’t won a series since the end of June (against the Mets!) and are 4-8 since the All-Star Break.

Given how tough our schedule was during the first half, no one complained that we were 45-43. However, since we’ve been getting beat up by the likes of the Pirates, who keep trading away any hope they have for this season (or likely the next two), and the Nationals, who have all of 32 wins this year, there’s little reason to be optimistic about the playoffs.

First off, I am very cautiously optimistic about Dave Bush coming back in a couple weeks. Many times when a starter comes off the DL, even after working in AAA, the first start is rocky (Manny Parra is the exception that proves the rule). Also, Bush was only our third or fourth starter when he was healthy. However, we do need some consistency from our starting five, and he just might be able to provide that. He can’t be any worse than the relievers we keep bringing in.

Which raises a great point—unless you’ve prepared a reliever to go extended innings, you can’t expect him to go through the line-up more than once. This means he’s going to be giving you at most three innings. Sure, we all thought someone like Seth McClung or Carlos Villanueva could go five innings, and they did. However, the last few innings each of those guys was nowhere near what you need from a starter, even a spot starter.

Since we’re on the subject of starting pitching, I’ll reiterate something I’ve been saying for a year now: Jeff Suppan is not cutting it anymore. As a die-hard fan, I’d like to see us cut our losses with him, regardless of what we’d owe him. There are plenty of teams that are selling right now who would love a starter to mentor the young talent they are bringing up to get ready for next year. However, the Brewers need to win now, and he just isn’t helping us do that anymore.

Maybe Suppan will be able to rehab his oblique strain and get back to the pitcher he was in 2006. Maybe.

Personally, I think the Brewers should have gone with Dillard last night. As a starter in the minors, he could probably pitch five or six major league innings, and he’s used to making changes as the line-up turns over the second and third times. I know both Villanueva and McClung have started in the past, but that translates very little from one year to the next. Better to have a bullpen stocked with fresh arms in case someone like Dillard can’t make it through the fourth inning than to blow a reliever like that.

Lastly, what has Villanueva done this year to warrant a start? Sure, he was great at the beginning of the season, but we need him to straighten out his issues if the Crew is to make a run late into October. However, giving him a chance to shoot us in the foot right out of the gates is not the way to do that.

I would’ve rather they’d sent Villanueva to Nashville for a week or so to work with the outstanding pitching coaches down there. After all, they fixed Manny’s head case!

I think we need to permanently call up Mat Gamel. Since Bill Hall isn’t playing regularly anyways, send him down to Nashville to get his issues worked out, and get one of the top prospects some meaningful at-bats so he’s not shell-shocked in a couple years when he’s playing up here for real. The learning he’s going to do in the middle of a pennant race will help him leaps and bounds in the long-term, and who knows—he just may help us win a few of these close games.

My last thought is that Ken Macha needs to watch out. Fans were calling for Yost’s job for two years and finally got it. There are already grumblings about Macha, and with good reason.

This is the skipper who brought in the back-up catcher as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth during a tie game. While the move worked, others of his have not. In fact, they’ve backfired loudly and the team has suffered for it. Personally, I still stand behind him, but can see he’s walking on an incredibly thin line.

If a veteran like Hoffman has confidence in our chances at the playoffs, then I do too. After all, there are 61 games left after today, and we’re only 4.5 games out of first. In all honesty, we are closer to the Cubs than we are to the Wildcard leading Rockies (five games out).

If we’re going to make any deals in the next three days, I’d say we’d have to go for a second or third starter, and perhaps give up some minor league arms to do it. Or maybe we package Hall and Suppan (I think I’ve said that before?). Either way, I’ll never give up on the crew, but the time to right this ship is now.

Concern Over Prince Fielder Competing in the Home Run Derby?

Kyle Hulsebus — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:24:37 -0400

Am I the only one who’s a bit concerned about Prince Fielder participating in the home run derby? After all, we’ve heard for years that it messes up your swing, and it’s difficult —if at all possible—to get back to your previous form? We witnessed this first-hand in 2005 when Carlos Lee competed and then struggled the rest of the year.

The last thing the Brewers need is for Prince to come back in during the second half and always be trying to knock the stuffing out of the ball. He’s on a pace right now to hit about 45 homers for the season, only six off his career year the last time he went to the All-Star Game.

Personally, I care more about his RBI totals, because he’s had guys getting on in front of him all year with the new more patient approach Macha and Sveum are implementing.

Some quick notes on last night’s game: why did Molina pick up that roller Braun hit? Conventional baseball wisdom says either let it roll foul or he gets a hit out of it, which is the same thing that happens when you pick it up. That play ended up being one of the ones that could have changed the game.

Also, I want to get your thoughts on giving Braun, who went 2-for-4 last night, a free pass to face Prince with the righty they had in, Kyle McClellan. Statistically, Fielder is a better hitter against lefties (.326 compared to .300 vs righties), and hits homers with more consistency against lefties (one every 10.5 AB) than against righties (one every 15.6 AB).

One final note: if you’re at the stadium, stand up! It’s one of my biggest pet peeves to be watching the game with two outs in the eighth or ninth innings and see everyone sitting down.

I’m the type of guy who yells about pretty much everything, even when watching at home, so I just don’t get this. Did you pay to go to a baseball game or a library? Especially given the plethora of Cardinal fans in the stands, we need to be making more noise in OUR stadium.

I’m going to head out to excitedly watch Manny Parra’s return. Hopefully he’s fixed the issues between his ears. Otherwise it’ll be another long game. See you later, sports fans.

Derek Jeter and the Umpire

Kyle Hulsebus — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:49:01 -0400

As I said in a previous blog, along the same vein in my mind as the Braun issue, is the recent controversy surrounding Derek Jeter’s argument with the umpire in Monday’s game.

However, what I’ve taken issue to how ESPN has covered the event. For the record, the call was wrong, and Jeter was safe. I also do think replay is a good thing in all sports, and I am glad the MLB has jumped on the bandwagon.

However, I’m going to respectfully disagree with a lot of what was said. I’ve been a referee for three different sports: softball, soccer and wrestling. These are the three sports I’m most passionate about (replacing softball with baseball), and I have played all of them as well. I know how it feels to be on both ends of a judgment call, and how it feels to make that type of call.

In the age of replay, you can dissect a play a thousand times before you make a decision, once it’s on TV. However, in the heat of the moment, you don’t have that ability. You have to go with your gut. I’ve seen the replay of Jeter sliding in, and the ump was in the right position to make the call.

Relying solely on what your eyes and ears tell you, he made the right call. As the crew chief for that game even said—normally, if the ball beats the runner, he’s out. You look to see if his hand touches the bag before you hear the ball enter the glove—that’s how you make that call. In that split second, you are either right or wrong.

While I’ve never had any of my games analyzed by replay, I have made bad calls before. However, there’s nothing you can do. If someone argues it, you have to stand your ground. Half of being a referee is knowing the rule book well enough to defend a bad call, and the best referees know that.

Let’s not forget how hard it is to become a professional referee; these guys have to work almost as hard as the players do at their trade. They don’t, however, get paid millions of dollars to do it. The next time you’re at a ballpark, sit close enough to the field to see all the plays, then try to make the right call. I bet you can’t do it.

What makes this issue even more absurd is taking a look at Jeter’s history—he has barely ever been ejected or argued with an umpire. He hardly ever says anything bad about anyone in post-game press conferences, and he’s been through nearly everything imaginable after playing in New York for the last 13 years.

This does open up the debate for replay in baseball. I don’t think it should be used for plays like this. We as fans—and the reporters too—have to have enough sense and decency to leave it be. The guy is human, and is allowed to make a mistake.

While the Yankees did lose the game, and Jeter could have been the tying run, that’s a risk you take in sports. There are no guarantees —what if Damon had missed a fly ball later on that would have put the Blue Jays ahead? I do not doubt Damon’s fielding ability, but anything is possible. Just look at the Mets’ collapse each of the last two years, and how their injuries have plagued them this year, or at the surprising revival of Rick Ankiel’s career.

To me, what ties these two issues together is simple—neither of them should have ever gotten the coverage they did. Jeter is a great player, and has immense respect for the game he gets paid to play. There are so many athletes out there who can’t even say that. Let’s just pass stuff like this by next time, ok?

Ryan Braun's "Dissent" and Roy Halladay Trade Talks

Kyle Hulsebus — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:42:57 -0400

When Ryan Braun publicly commented about the types of moves he felt the Brewers should make during a post-game press conference last weekend, I don’t think he figured it would cause the stir it did.

Of course, ESPN and other news outlets took the comments out of context.

They made it seem as though Braun was attempting to pick at Brewers GM Doug Melvin and the job he’s done so far, as though he should have already made a move.

Here are Braun’s comments:

"We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody.

"I know (Melvin) is trying to make our ball club better. I know he recognizes the importance of making a move and making it soon, but at the same time I think everybody's recognized there's a lot of teams that are still in the race.

"With that being said, it would be nice to make a move to help us out for the time being. The sooner we do it, the better.

"It's always important to have some momentum going into the second half and to show everybody that we're for real so we can go out there and make a move and improve our ball club.

"We want to be headed in the right direction, not the wrong direction to go out and do that."

Notice he did not say Melvin needed to make a move now, or that he was doing a bad job.

Instead, he praised what Melvin did in the past, and what he has vowed to keep doing for the future. He even acknowledged that there was a very small trade market right now.

This is just one of my many issues with ESPN and some of the coverage they provide.

While I love SportsCenter (and watch it most of the hours of the day), I have the same issue with what they talk about as I do with how some of the 24-hour cable news networks report the “news.”

After a certain amount of coverage, there just aren’t any stories left, and things end up getting so twisted that the real story is lost.

Everyone in Milwaukee knows Braun respects the job Melvin’s done, especially getting one of the biggest trades in the history of the sport done in acquiring C.C. Sabathia last season.

The notion that Braun should have left these comments in the clubhouse is absurd—he didn't say anything wrong.

If anyone can get us what we need to make a run deep into October, it’s Melvin. His track record speaks for itself.

I also want to quickly weigh in on the Roy Halladay situation. Personally, I feel the Brewers should go after him. He’s just the type of linchpin our starting rotation needs to fall in place.

Also, another veteran arm, especially one of his caliber, could help mentor the likes of Manny Parra, and even make the likes of Yovani Gallardo better.

As for whom to trade, I think any talks have to start with J.J. Hardy, not Alcides Escobar. I think that if you package Hardy together with Bill Hall, you don’t have to part ways with as many prospects, which is the new concern for most clubs.

Also, you get more of your top prospects (Escobar and Gamel) playing time, which, in a small market like Milwaukee, is necessary to win in October.

It’s all about the right balance, and I think now is the time to make this move.

Personally though, I feel the heart of this issue lies in us letting Mike Maddox go to Texas.

While he was very loyal to Ned Yost, he was also an amazing pitching coach, and so far this year we’ve suffered there most.

That wasn’t the case in years past.

While Bill Castro is a solid coach, I don’t feel he’s getting the job done the way Maddox would have.

Loving and Hating the Milwaukee Brewers

Kyle Hulsebus — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:28:03 -0400

Let me start this off by saying I am no fair-weather fan. I’m not one of the people who jumped on the Brewer band wagon last year when they started winning, or when they signed CC Sabathia for a major flop of a contract before he left town to play for the pinstripes.

No, I’ve been a Brewer’s fan since before I could walk. My grandmother would take me to games at County Stadium—that’s right, I remember County Stadium—and the love affair started there.

It hasn’t stopped since. It didn’t end when we lost 100 games in 2002. It didn’t end last year when we almost didn’t make the playoffs, and lost 3-1 to the Phillies when we did. No, I bleed for this team—always have, always will.

However, I’ve got some griping to do lately. For starters, why do our managers insist on hanging on to Jeff Suppan? All the fans, even the fair-weather ones, hate him. I know I’m not the only one who will second-guess going to a game if he’s starting.

Granted, that’s always a fleeting thought, because maybe Prince and Braun will hit two homers a piece and the three that Soup gives up won’t mean anything. But really, his better days are behind him.

In case Doug Melvin hasn’t noticed yet, Bud Selig no longer owns this team—there’s a new sheriff in town, and I know Attanasio isn’t the type to ignore the fans like the Commish did.

Two more players I can’t understand why we’ve kept around are Bill Hall and Mike Cameron. I need to preface this quickly though. I was at the first Mother’s Day game where Bill Hall belted one with a pink bat to win the game—in fact, I was about a section away from where it went out.

As for Cameron, he’s definitely come through in some clutch situations this season, such as when he pulled that home run back from over the fence last week. Having said that, we need to get rid of both of these guys. Hopefully for them, a change of scenery will be all it takes. I really do hope they can continue somewhere else.

Getting rid of Tony Gwynn Jr. was one of the most bone-headed moves ever. We have an aging center fielder that has at most two to three years left; he’s been playing for 14 years! Gwynn is every bit as good as Cameron on the base paths. He’s got speed and is quickly showing in San Diego that his bat could be as good as his dad’s once was.

The only area Gwynn trails Cameron is power, and if you haven’t noticed, the Brewers already have two All-Stars hitting 3-4 in the lineup. With the addition of Casey McGehee and the resurrection of his career, we have decent protection for them.

Add in a consistent Mat Gamel—whom I’ll get to in a second—and you’ve got a great heart to a lineup. That’s ignoring Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy, who’ve both proven to be able to hit homers and steal bases when needed.

All I’m saying is if the Brewers intend to keep both Prince and Braun around for years to come, they need to lighten the salary load, and both Suppan and Cameron would be great places to start.

Quickly, let me touch on the Bill Hall issue. Personally, I love the guy. He’s always been a solid fielder—at least he doesn’t miss two easy catches for every great play he makes like Cameron does—and throughout his career, has been willing to do whatever it took to keep the Brewers on the right track. In the span of two years, he went from third base to the outfield, back to third.

However, Mat Gamel’s time is NOW. Any issues with his bat could be remedied by consistent playing time—as shown during the interleague stretch last month.

His glove will come along—after all, he’s playing next to one of the great fielding shortstops in the game in J.J. Hardy. The Brewers biggest problem is that they refuse to believe in their young talent—a notion that unfortunately has stuck around since the Selig era. These guys are the future of this club (or in Gwynn’s case, were).

When Prince and Braun do decide to ride off into the sunset for greener pastures, we need to have a foundation in place so we fans don’t have to sit through another 10 losing seasons 'til the next few good years. If we keep dealing our best prospects, Braun and Fielder are going to jump ship to the American League that much quicker.

As for free-agency/trade talks, I’m not coming up with anything new. We need a new arm. Maybe two. I say we deal any/all of the aforementioned Hall, Cameron and Suppan to get someone. I know that no team is willing to admit yet that they’re dealing.

But the trade deadline is coming up. Maybe it’s time to put the screws to someone – especially during the All-Star Break. If there’s one thing Melvin has been good at, it’s doing that. However, this time it needs to be someone we have a hope of enticing to stay around for awhile.

Lastly, I just have a quick word for Ken Macha—chill the **** out. I’m all for winning now, but if you don’t let guys take at-bats in the bottom of the ninth, they’re never going to be ready come September and October. We saw that last year.

I know you did a great job in Oakland for a few years. But this ain’t Oak-town, bud. Let the young guys make mistakes, and let the guys who’ve been here before lead the way. This train will eventually get the station on time.

Evidence of that: We just dropped three of four to the Cubs, yet have a chance before the break to open a three-game lead on the Cardinals. The time is now, but you gotta have faith. To me, that sums up all of the Brewers problems right now—you gotta have faith, from the top of the organization down to the bat boys.