1) Hart
2) Morgan
3) Ramirez
4) Braun
5) Weeks
6) Gamel
7) Lucroy
8) Gonzalez


I'd be surprised if it's not this. Maybe flip Gamel/Lucroy/Gonzalez in some order, but this is what I would go with. This still looks really good, even without Prince. Ramirez/Braun/Weeks is still a great meat of the order and Gamel could be a dark horse this year.

Of course if Braun misses 50 you're going to have to adjust for that, probably a lot more Gomez in CF and Morgan in LF.

I'd move Ramirez to 5th. Don't want slow base running on base in front of Braun/Weeks. And I personally like Weeks leading off.

My ideal lineup would be:
1. Weeks
2. Morgan
3. Braun
4. Hart
5. Ramirez
6. Gamel
7. Gonzalez
8. Lucroy

I prefer Weeks leading off and Ramirez batting 5th at least for the first part of the season since he generally starts slow. If or when he starts picking up I would be willing to swap him and Hart. i know Hart says he doesn't like to be in a run producer position but its time for him to step up since he's being paid to be one.

I'm holding out the possibility of a trade for a 1B man. I believe Gamel and Green can now be used as trade bait.

brewerfanx1 wrote:I'm holding out the possibility of a trade for a 1B man. I believe Gamel and Green can now be used as trade bait.

I don't see them adding salary - especially to replace Gamel.

We are getting to Cardinals territory as far as salary.

brewerfanx1 wrote:I'm holding out the possibility of a trade for a 1B man. I believe Gamel and Green can now be used as trade bait.

Good idea, trade away all the cost control we have left.

UWbrewball wrote:We are getting to Cardinals territory as far as salary.

We are about $20 mil below where they were last season. But yea, its getting up there and DM has actually said point blank we are over where they wanted to be. Hence, there is about a zero chance we trade Green/Gamel.

At this point, we should probably be throwing in our predictions for what internal minor league options will be rounding out the bench.

shirt wrote:At this point, we should probably be throwing in our predictions for what internal minor league options will be rounding out the bench.

Agree.. The question is how do you handle Gamel / Green.

Do you just hand 1rst to Gamel and see if Green can be a utility type guy or do you have a open comp for 1rst between them?

What are our other options.. Ferris, Almonte.....?

I wonder if they could try Green in LF while Braun's out.

It would get another lefty bat in the lineup (Which they really need anyway IMO).

I'd keep Green on the roster instead of having him in AAA. He can play 2nd and 3rd. They still need another backup who can play all infield positions (Especially SS).

I'm wondering how long of a leash they'll give Gamel. There's rumors the Brewers may go after Pena for 1st. If Gamel struggles offensively, they could move Ramirez to 1st and put Green at 3rd. That would help the defense a bit more too.

I'm still not completely sold that they needed to get Ramirez in the 1st place. Gamel/Green are both LH hitters, and cheap. I hope this doesn't make it so they can't try to extend Greinke. I want Yo/Greinke at the top of the rotation for the next 3-4 years.

jammin481 wrote:

brewerfanx1 wrote:I'm holding out the possibility of a trade for a 1B man. I believe Gamel and Green can now be used as trade bait.

I don't see them adding salary - especially to replace Gamel.

Who said anything about adding salary? They can trade Gamel and Green for a young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control.

Green is blocked now for the next 3-4 seasons.

I'm not sure the Brewers organization is satisfied with Gamel at 1B.

brewerfanx1 wrote:Who said anything about adding salary? They can trade Gamel and Green for a young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control.

Why would the Brewers, or another team for that matter, trade a young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control for another young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control? Can you name a similar trade where salary wasn't added?

shirt wrote:

brewerfanx1 wrote:Who said anything about adding salary? They can trade Gamel and Green for a young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control.

Why would the Brewers, or another team for that matter, trade a young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control for another young top 1B man who is cheap and under team control? Can you name a similar trade where salary wasn't added?

Gamel isn't a top 1B prospect. I'm saying trade Green AND Gamel for a top 1B prospect. I'd do that before spending money on a Carlos Pena.

Nobody is going to give us a top 1B prospect for Green and Gamel.

dusters wrote:Nobody is going to give us a top 1B prospect for Green and Gamel.

Why not?

I could bet that every team would much rather get back top pitching prospects in any such trade.

brewerfanx1 wrote:

dusters wrote:Nobody is going to give us a top 1B prospect for Green and Gamel.

Why not?

why would they? Green and Gamel are both considered decent prospects, but no way could they be traded for a top first base prospect

brewerfanx1 wrote:

dusters wrote:Nobody is going to give us a top 1B prospect for Green and Gamel.

Why not?

Again, show me a similar trade. What you are suggesting is highly unusual as prospects who play the same positions at nearly the same age and level are almost never swapped.

Its on you to show us why, not us to show you why not.

Not much room to maneuver here, estimates have us at around $98.5 million given arbitration costs.

http://www.brewcrewball.com/2011/10/21/ ... y-estimate

shirt wrote:

brewerfanx1 wrote:

dusters wrote:Nobody is going to give us a top 1B prospect for Green and Gamel.

Why not?

Again, show me a similar trade. What you are suggesting is highly unusual as prospects who play the same positions at nearly the same age and level are almost never swapped.

Its on you to show us why, not us to show you why not.

It was just an idea that I threw out there to get a 1B man who is cheap. Just because something isn't likely doesn't mean it wont happen. I think it could happen. Green and Gamel (decent prospects) have what 10-12 controllable years (combined), and you don't think they can get 1 top 1B prospect who is controlled for 5-6 years? Let's say the top 1B prospect has already had a successful season or two in the Majors and is still making the MLB minimum and is 1 year from arbitration and is about to get expensive. You don't think the Brewers can get a player like this by trading Gamel and Green with the Minor League numbers they put up?

What do you think Gamel and Green are worth?

I will get back to you on this later. I'm going to go pass out now. Went to the family doctor today to get steroids to bring down inflammation in my neck, and pain medication. I'm high as a kite, and probably shouldn't be posting right now.