Status Check: Milwaukee Brewers

Status Check is FanHouse's conversation with fans from the rest of the blogosphere. Today, we talk with David Hannes from Brewers Bar, ESK from The Wisconsin Sports Bar, and Brad and Matt from Chuckie Hacks.

The Brewers are certainly primed for success over the next several years here with their young core of players. At what point do you say, "Screw the next couple years talk, this team is good enough to win now!" Have you reached that point for the 2007 season?

David from Brewers Bar: GM Doug Melvin, Owner Mark Attanasio, and Manager Ned Yost have been saying "we can win this year" all season, and I think most fans have, too. The fast start convinced almost every Brewers fan that the team had what it needed to win the division and even make it to the World Series. I think trading away Will Inman and two other prospects for Scott Linebrink solidified that the Brewers management wants to win now, and the fans are still thinking that way.

ESK from The Wisconsin Sports Bar: I think most Brewer fans (including myself) were coming into this season were looking at it as a primer for 08-11+. When Braun and Gallardo started the season in the minors, it seemed clear that that was the approach Melvin and the others in the organization were taking. The organization wanted everyone to get a little seasoning, have Braun work on his glove, Gallardo get some polish and build up confidence, and by the middle of the year (assuming as most did that the Brewers would be a middle of the pack team) when those guys came up the team would start gelling, finish around .500 and be ready to dominate in 2008. Thanks to an amazing start by the entire rotation, the fantastic power of Hardy and Fielder, and the rock solid bullpen the Brewers got off to a huge start and we were forced to change our expectations and realize that this year could be the real start of it. I think everyone realizes, with the emergence of Braun to solidify that lineup and Gallardo to step up and take the ace role (what Colorado start?) that this year CAN be the start of actual contention for the Milwaukee Brewer franchise. Because of the make up of this team and the contract situations, there is no need to say screw the next couple of years because this is the team (except for left field) for the next couple of years. It's sort if incredible to think about.

Brad and Matt from Chuckie Hacks: This team is obviously ready to win now, but that has as much to do with the weakness of the division as anything else this year. Before the season, most people would have realistically said that the team was a year away from really being big contenders. However, that timetable got moved up when the Brewers came out hot and the rest of the division really struggled during the first few months of the season. With a young team, it seems like this group is prone to fairly violent swings, where they either reel off 9 wins out of 10 games or lose 20 of 30 games. This has caused equally violent emotional swings for Brewers fans, who need to learn how to win just as much as the young players on the team do. Many of the most vocal Brewers fans have taken the position that this team is ready to, and indeed should, win now, and anything less than winning the division should cause Ned Yost to lose his job. Ridiculous as that might sound to any somewhat rational observer of the Brewers, it has become a prevailing viewpoint.

What was the deal with the Scott Linebrink trade? I thought the pen with Francisco Cordero, Derrick Turnbow, and Brian Shouse (among others) was one of the stronger points of the team this year. Were you upset or baffled at all to see Melvin ship off Inman, Thatcher, and Garrison for a guy like Linebrink? If not, what did you like about the move?

David: Linebrink was added, as the concern was that the bullpen would wear down as the season progressed, especially since the only starter that consistently would go past the 6th inning, Ben Sheets, went on the DL. The bullpen had started out extremely strong, but then, in early June, they were proving to be more fallible--Cordero started blowing saves on the road, Turnbow would start off by walking the first batter, and now the usually reliable Matt Wise is a total mess. I was a bit baffled to see them deal Inman, but then realized, that he would likely need to spend next year in AAA, and would have had to compete with a whole host of other starters that have shown more promise--Sheets might be gone by '09, but Chris Capuano, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra are all currently ahead of Inman on the depth chart and in terms of MLB experience, and GM Doug Melvin is still optimistic that Zach Jackson can compete for a starter's job next year or in '09 ... so Inman was expendable and showed fans that the Brewers' management is serious about winning now. I personally like the move, as I thought Linebrink was probably the third best middle-reliever in the majors last year, behind Joel Zumaya and Scot Shields ... anytime you can add an arm like his is good. Unfortunately, Linebrink's an unrestricted free agent after this season, and the Brewers will have a tough time re-signing both him and Cordero.

ESK: I didn't/don't particularly like the move. It seemed to me that there were other areas that could have been addressed if Melvin was willing to pay such a high price. Inman, in my mind, since the day he was drafted was going to be a key cog in the rotation. He's a smaller guy but reminds a lot of people of Roy Oswalt in his ability to make pitches and his poise on the mound. He has been sort of a sleeper in the organization the last two years because the farm system has been such a powerhouse. I was very disappointed to see him go.

On the other hand, there isn't really a spot for him in the rotation in the next couple of years. I'm forced to put my faith in Melvin on this one and assume Inman was not a year away from being a solid major league starter, we'll see how that plays out, but Doug has a pretty good track record so far. As far as Linebrink, as the past few weeks have shown the Brewers have a very tired bullpen. Villanueva has been overused to the point of seeming exhaustion, Wise hasn't been the same since cracking that guys skull open and Spurling et all haven't been reliable all year. Turnbow is still pitching extremely well, and the way Cordero is able to bounce back from blowing games is really admirable. Basically, Linebrink gives Yost three guys plus a LOOGY he can count on, and when Sheets returns Vargas/Bush/Gallardo/Parra can potentially be the fourth. Linebrink really does make the team better NOW, so in that respect it was a good deal. Also, the Brewers will get some picks for him when he moves on at the end of the year, a fact that is always overlooked but is weighed heavily by GM's.

Brad and Matt: Correct, the pen has been one of the strong point of the Brewers. CoCo, Turnbow, Shouse, Villanueva, Wise, and Spurling make for a formidable group. The problem is, they are overworked. Extremely overworked. With Sheets out of the rotation, you're lucky to get more than 6 innings from the other starters. Thus, the bullpen is gassed. The quality arms I mentioned are now seeing their ERA's climb in conjunction with their innings pitched. Enter Linebrink. He adds another arm to the mix, and has done a good job with the Crew (1.27 ERA). Was it worth giving up Inman, Thatcher and Garrison? That remains to be seen. Inman was the top pitching prospect in the organization (after Gallardo and Parra were called up), and the other two arms were quality as well. My biggest issue with the trade is that Linebrink (and Cordero) are free agents after this year. The odds of retaining CoCo are slim, and now you are not guaranteed to slide 'Brink into the closers role in '08.

Was there something else you would've liked to see Melvin do at the deadline?

David: Well, the easy answer now is to have acquired either a solid hitting second baseman, or another starting pitcher. But, at the time, there was still hope that Rickie Weeks could turn it around, and that the other starters would also step up. That hasn't happened, but I don't think Doug Melvin wanted to upset the chemistry by trading or demoting someone that had contributed earlier and had gotten them this far...some people suggested moving veteran outfielder Geoff Jenkins, but, I think, it would have sent a bad message through the clubhouse that the management would deal players that have been loyal contributors...denying Jenkins a playoff berth with the Brewers in what is likely his last year with the team would have angered a lot of players and fans.

ESK: I wanted the Brewers to get Adam Dunn. Braun-Fielder-Dunn matches any 3, 4, 5 in the league right now, and it seems to me that Melvin could have gotten Dunn for the Linebrink package, or something similar. Having Dunn in there every day would also have made the Brewers bench incredibly strong, with the lefty Jenkins and righty Mench available late in games.

Brad and Matt: Jermaine Dye was an interesting name being bantered about. He was brutal for much of the year, and would have came at a high price. Kenny Williams didn't want to just give him away. Dye would have solidified the LF spot. Most fans don't like platooning at a big run producing spot like LF, but when you combine the numbers of Jenkins and Mench...they look pretty good. I feel Melvin saw the production of Menchkins and figured they wouldn't get much more from Dye, at probably a pretty steep price.

With the Brewers' recent slide, Tony Graffanino's injury, the struggles of the rotation, and a host of other recent struggles, are the Brewers still the team to beat in the Central? Kind of going back to the first question, will you be disappointed if they don't win the division?

David: Honestly, I think the Cubs' recent resurgence makes them the team to beat now...which Brewers' fans should be okay with, as it makes the Brewers the underdog, a role that they seem to like and do well with. Personally, I will be disappointed if they don't win the division--the injuries have been relatively minor compared to the decline in performance...this team proved to everyone in the first half that they had the talent to win...now they've lost it along the way...this team needs to get hungry again...not sure if they just got complacent, but the sense of urgency seems to have diminished. Fortunately, I think Ben Sheets will be added to the roster before the Cubs' series in late August, and that will serve as a boost for the stretch run...the Brewers still have control over their own fate, so they'll have to find a way to return to their first-half performance levels if they are to make the postseason.

ESK: As long as the Brewers are in first, they are the team to beat. Graffanino's injury isn't as important as some make it out to be. They lose a right handed bat, but hopefully gain one right back if Weeks can find his stroke. A lot of people seem to be disagreeing with me on this point, but the guy was hitting .238/.315/.390. He wasn't setting the world on fire, and he wasn't hitting that much better than Weeks. Will it impact defensively? Definitely, but hopefully Weeks will find his stroke and make up for it. Since coming back Weeks is barely touching the ball, but he is taking a lot more pitches and getting on base (.467 OBP) so that is something...I guess.

The other struggles? They seem to be bullpen related mostly. Wise pitched well in an inning and a third in Houston so hopefully he is turning it around. Villanueva needs rest, not much more you can say about that. Sheets still hasn't thrown from the mound, and while the team is saying early September, I'll believe it when I see it. There isn't a whole lot anyone can do about pitching. They just need to get back in a groove, and if they don't they can't win the division. Of course, these struggles we're talking about stem from road games, and everyone knows about the Brewers on the road. We'll see what they do here with a little homestand. If the Crew can go out and dominate the Cardinals I'm sure the talking head will spin pretty quickly.

Of course I, and all Brewer fans, will be disappointed if they don't win the division. Personally that disappointment won't last too long. I'm 25 years old so I barely remember any winning years so this year has been incredibly special. Yeah we all bitch and moan about managerial decisions or worthless bullpen arms, but in the end we get so upset because we care so much. I went to every Brewers game for about 5 years from 99-2005ish and thought the games were important to me. Now, I really know what important games are and it's a special year. Not just for me but for all Brewer fans. There is a wide demographic over at the Wisconsin Sports Bar and it's obvious how much everyone cares. Even if the Brewers don't win the division I'll still be pumped that they have turned the corner. For this core group of guys next year (and beyond) really is the year.

Although, I'm sure I'll smash my TV if they lose it in a tie breaker game or something.

Brad and Matt: It will be disappointing if the Brewers don't win the division, if only because this is a great opportunity in what has been a very mediocre NL Central this year. With everything that has gone wrong in the last several months for the Brewers (I would add Sheets' injury as the biggest blow), and with as hot as the Cubs were in June and July, the Brewers have continued to hold down the division lead and have shown a resiliency that could serve them well in the final 6 weeks. They have to start playing better on the road, however. They have a road trip at the end of August that takes them to Arizona, San Francisco and Chicago - that trip may well determine the Brewers' fate in 2007. So yes, the Brewers are currently the team to beat because they are in first place and have been since April. But it's a wide open race, with the Cubs and Cardinals capable of winning the division too. The Cardinals are a team to watch out for - they play the Brewers and Cubs a bunch of times and could well be a factor before the end.