Ender

Routine double play ball that Weeks threw in the dugout, the slide had nothing at all to do with the play as Weeks had released the ball before the baserunner got there.

They ran into a bunch of outs against the Brewers when we played them too. One of those outs they ran into cost them Byrnes for 60+ days. Just doesn't seem worth it.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks each only play 14 games against teams over .500 the rest of the season. That will have a pretty big impact on the wild card as well.

I look at it more as Gallagher for Harden and Gaudin. Gaudin himself can be a significant contributor the rest of the year. Gallagher and Gaudin are pretty comperable at this point aren't they? The rest of the trade is Harden for Patterson/Murton and Donaldson. I understand why the A's did the deal but IF Harden stays healthy the Cubs come out ahead. That IF is the only reason the deal went down as the A's know they aren't going to realistically compete in the next 2 years and Harden will be gone after that. He finally pitched a few games in a row so they dumbed him. The Cubs dont' gain much out of it until playoff time. They were favorites to take the division anyway and even if they somehow falter they should be good for the wild card. The entire deal is about having a stronger playoff rotation especially if Z's arm should have more problems as the season goes on.

It is really rare to see a trade like this within in the division. Even a team like the Reds who are out of it tend to avoid these.

Cubs don't match up poorly with a Burnett deal. Though that could end up as a disaster in its own way I guess.

Hall absolutely rakes against lefties and can play like every position so he makes a pretty good bench guy as long as Piniella is the manager and not Yost who will misuse him. Tempting to find a spot for Branyan given his stats this year but I guess with Fielder on the bench it is rough getting another lefty on there.

I dunno if it changes the divisional race but the more interesting question probably is what does it do to the Brewers chances assuming they do make the playoffs. A playoff rotation of Sheets, Suppan, Parra and then Bush/McClung as a fallback certainly looks a lot worse than Sheets, Sabathia, Suppan and/or Parra. I imagine if the Brewers make the playoffs they'll tank like most young teams do, but you never know with baseball. So easy to get on a hot streak at the right time.

the cubs will end up signing with milwaukee? that'd be crazy. Combining the two teams into one uber-team would be freaking awesome. C - Soto 1B - Lee 2B - Derosa SS - Hardy (though his job isn't safe) 3B - Aramis RF - Soriano LF - Braun CF - Hart OF - Fukudome (sorry less of a track record so I just can't put him over Hart/Braun) SP - Sheets SP - Sabathia SP - Zambrano SP - Gallardo (we'll pretend he is healthy) SP - Lilly/Dempster (Can't bring myself to believe Dempster is for real so I'd go Lilly or maybe Hill!) CL - Wood RP - Torres RP - Marmol RP - Shouse RP - Wuertz LR - Parra maybe? LR - Lieber Yeah I think that team can win the world series.

I disagree on the Gallardo thing but that is just opinion, other than 1 game in Colorado his rookie year he has been a #1 since he hit the big leagues and his minor league numbers were about as good as you can get. Parra's upside is #2 but it won't surprise me if he ends up a #3 so I won't quibble with that one. Remember lefties mature late and Parra has had injury issues limiting his stats some. Just because I say he has #2 potential doesn't mean he will be a #2 next year or anything. But Gallardo, Parra and say a high 3 to low 4 ERA type starter via FA will keep them over .500 with the offense. I just don't see them dumping Fielder mid season next year and playing for 2012. It is however close enough that it is plausible for the Brewers to take the division. Any team can get on that hot streak and play over their heads for a bit and the Brewers schedule is very friendly in the 2nd half, they already went through their toughest patch by far. My guess is the division comes down to the H2H games more than anything. If the Cubs take care of business in those games they take the division. If they falter and the Brewers take more of those games than they should then things will be close.

Yeah I agree with that, 2-3 wins is a pretty big jump in playoff probability though especially for the wild card scenarios. It also helps them hide the team weakness of the bullpen a little bit since Sabathia is a horse and Bush is um, not so much. It probably jumps their chances of a playoff series win by a good 10% if they do make the playoffs as well. The final thing it does is it means if Sabathia or Sheets goes down the wild card race isn't over for the team. They can limp into a 1 series and out wild card playoff appearance with just 1 of those guys. If they don't make the trade and Sheets goes down it is over.

They'll be good b/c of the core of the offense, but to assume that Gallardo and Parra will equate or come close to Sheets and 14 starts of Sabathia in a playoff push isn't fair as well as needing to overall the pen (again). I'm not assuming they will replace Sabathia, I'm saying that if both of those pitchers walk the team won't be significantly worse than they have been so far this season. They are still a .500+ team assuming Gallardo and Parra stay healthy and assuming the team picks up a #3 or better starter from somewhere. There is no gaurantee they both walk either, Mark A said they could afford a top flight pitcher if the right deal came along and they lose the $10M waste that is Gagne next year. Those factors combine means there is probably enough money to sign an ace if they right deal is there or at least a top end SP of some type regardless, even if it is a #3 type guy. That also doesn't mean Parra is a #2, he has a 2.77 ERA and a .678 OPS against in his last 11 starts and a minor league record that suggest at least #3 upside. Gallardo has true ace potential and Parra sits in the #2/#3 potential area. Another #3 or better arm sets them up to be competitive. Like I said maybe not a powerhouse but certainly a team that sits around the playoff picture. Not a team that is selling off Fielder mid season and playing for 2012 like the post I quoted suggested.

I think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself. Gallardo slots into Sheets spot next year and the rest of the Brewer team is still around next year except maybe Cameron and some bench guys. There is no reason that they should tank next year or be selling Fielder at the deadline. Gallardo, Parra are both high potential pitchers and they'll still need a true #3 or better pitcher to slot in the middle but the team is hardly going to be terrible next year because of Sheets leaving. They also had a heavy draft this year and have a pretty stocked minor league system even without LaPorta so I think the team is built to be competitive until at least 2015. Maybe not dominant but at least in the playoff picture.

Cubs go undefeated vs. the Pirates, they can go .500 against the rest of the league and still win 95. Pirates are 17-13 against everyone but the Cubs. So not like they have been terrible or anything.

I thought the Cubs and Brewers were a coin toss going into the year. Whichever risky players turned out the best would decide it (Fukudome, Soto, Pie, Wood, Gagne, Parra etc). The Gallardo and Capuano injuries probably cost the Brewers 3-4 games in my prediction and the Cubs risky guys have been better than the Brewers so far. If the Cubs don't take 1st this year it will be a wasted opportunity because they should win it.

I'd want the Brewers to lose if I were a Cubs fan and this snippet from BPro is why The Brewers are a better team than the Cardinals even without Gallardo and they are more likely to make a run at things though the Gallardo injury makes it harder. Also of note no team in baseball has played more road games than the Brewers and they historically are a very bad road team.

Because he is 11th in the NL in BABIP. Soto is 5th and Fukudome is 1st. All 3 of them will probably see a drop of .050 points of AVG or more as the season goes on. Though obviously none of them have a big enough sample size to clearly know what their BABIP will end up around.

Soriano just doesn't look healthy at all out there. As a Brewer fan I will freely admit that Fukudome was safe at home and that as much as anything is the difference in the game. The umpire had a bit of a creative strike zone for Marmol and then pinched Wood which was kind of weird too. I think maybe he just had problems getting a read on Marmol since he has so much movement on his pitches.

I tend to agree but at the same time it is still useful to a degree. I like the W3 stat more since it looks at what your team has done at a more basic level than just runs scored and allowed. Right now the W3-L3 in the central looks like Cubs - 12.8 - 10.2 Reds - 12.4 - 11.6 Brewers - 11.9 - 11.1 Cardinals 12.1 - 11.9 Astros 11.1 - 12.9 Pirates 8.1 - 14.8

The Brewers weren't overperforming as a team last April, they just won most of their close games and played against a lot of bad teams. A bit different scenario. April was their lowest scoring month. The pitching was right in line with the other months other than August where it completely collapsed. Their hot month was June when they went 17-9 and scored 42 more runs than they allowed.

...which is exactly why people shouldn't be creating threads entitled "Best Record in Baseball!!" Argh!! Didn't the Brewers get off to a start like this last year? Yep, only they didn't have nearly as many guys overproducing as the Cubs do this year. Almost every single player(other than LH starters of course) is above their career best line.

Cameron will be back for the Cubs series so you need to add him to the mix. Career vs Marquis - .182/.250/.273/.523 in 11 AB. Career vs Hill - .500/.500/1.700/2.200 in 10 AB.

I have seen rumors in a couple places that suggest Zambrano has a TUE which could be in place for ADHD. If this is true it would explain a lot including why he seems so relaxed this season in interviews and why he hasn't freaked out on the mound yet.

No they don't have time to work on hitting like the hitters do, they have to work on their pitching, they need to study hitters on video and they don't have time to study the pitchers who they will hit off of. They also need to rest their arms. Pitchers work on bunting and take some light batting practice, they don't have the time to really work on hitting the way a major league player needs to. They have discussed many ways to protect pitchers it most certainly is something they are concerned about. Yes the AL is supreme right now, they dominate interleague and it isn't just the top two teams. I think it is just cyclical but if it keeps up long enough it will help support the notion. You are trying to say that because they haven't added the DH yet that there is no chance that they will ever add it at any point, I disagree with that.

I think it is inevitable that the NL gets the DH as well. 1) Pitchers stink at hitting and in todays game there just isn't enough time for them to work on it to stay good. 2) Pitchers are a scarce commodity and just like how the NFL keeps adding rules to baby the QB they will add rules to protect the pitcher. Not having them bat or run bases is the most logical one. 3) AL supremacy continues and a lot of people point the finger at the DH as the reason why and eventually they'll want to do something about it.