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redsfandan
01-23-2009, 12:16 AM
Brewers Reluctant To Add A Starter
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 22 at 5:18pm CST]

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel heard from Brewers owner Mark Attanasio that he's reluctant to add a starter because he wants to have some payroll flexibility heading into the season.

"If we add a starter now and get (beyond) the mid 80s and have some negative events, that would be a first for us."

The Milwaukee payroll currently sits between $80MM and $85MM, up from $80MM last year. Haudricourt does not expect the Brewers to sign "a starting pitcher who costs a lot of money."

GM Doug Melvin said in an MLB.com chat that Ben Sheets remains a possibility for Milwaukee, but they're not currently in talks. The Brewers hear that Sheets is seeking a multi-year deal.
If this is true and they don't add at least one starting pitcher than I think that's two teams we can finish ahead of (along with Pittsburgh).

UPRedsFan
01-23-2009, 10:39 AM
We'll finish ahead of the Astros too. And I'm guessing the Cards will not be able to piece together a competitive rotation this year. I see a 2nd place finish.

Nasty_Boy
01-23-2009, 10:46 AM
The Brewers are still better offensively and defensively. When you have a lineup that contains Braun, Fielder, Hart, Hardy, Cameron, Reds killer Bill Hall, and prospects like Matt Gamel close to the bigs, the Brewers will score some serious runs. They have a top notch outfield to go along with an above average SS, so defensively they are pretty darn good.

I'm not confident enough to say that we will finish ahead of anyone except the Pirates.

Bip Roberts
01-23-2009, 10:47 AM
Yay we can finish 3rd to last

Nasty_Boy
01-23-2009, 11:06 AM
Think about this...

Astros
Berkman
Tejada
Lee
Pence

Cardinals
Pujols
Lodwick
Ankiel
Shumacker

Brewers
Fielder
Braun
Hart
Cameron

Cubs
Lee
Ramirez
Bradley
Soto

Reds
Votto
Phillips
Bruce
Edwin

Pirates
LaRoche
LaRoche
McClouth
Doumit

The Reds middle of the order is only better than Pittsburgh. It has the potential to be deeper than Houston and St. Louis, but they also have 2 of the top 10 (maybe 5) hitters in the game. We have a long way to go to pass these teams. The encouraging thing is our guys except BP are young and he's no old man. They could get better and suspect Votto, Bruce, and Edwin will but I think we've seen the best BP has to offer.

Ohioballplayer
01-23-2009, 12:07 PM
The Reds middle of the order is only better than Pittsburgh. It has the potential to be deeper than Houston and St. Louis, but they also have 2 of the top 10 (maybe 5) hitters in the game. We have a long way to go to pass these teams. The encouraging thing is our guys except BP are young and he's no old man. They could get better and suspect Votto, Bruce, and Edwin will but I think we've seen the best BP has to offer.[/QUOTE]



Now do the starting rotations, a 3rd place finish is not out of the question.

UPRedsFan
01-23-2009, 12:21 PM
this started as a pitching argument, how did we get to comparing the middle of the order? Do you all forget back a few years ago when we had the best middle of the order and still struggled to finish 5th? Pitching wins.

I still say 2nd place is the expectation - maybe 3rd if the Cards pull a rabbit again with their pitching.

Nasty_Boy
01-23-2009, 12:23 PM
Cubs > Reds

We potentially have the 2nd best rotation, but we could also have the 4th or 5th best. Harang is no sure bet to bounce back, Edison will most likely regress but still be above average, Bronson will be solid but not spectacular, Johnny is the wild-card because you just don't know with young pitchers, and the 5 spot is unknown.

Who knows what Duncan has up his sleeve? Houston still has Oswalt and Rodriguez was pretty good last year, Pitt has some arms but that team is terrible, and Milwaukee has a stud and a few solid vets. We could be better and we could be worse than all of the above... the main thing is we don't have enough offense to win because our defense will waste good pitching performances. Get a SS and I'll start looking at things with some "Rosie Red" colored glasses.

Nasty_Boy
01-23-2009, 12:25 PM
No, pitching doesn't win. It's a part of an equation that involves defense and hitting. If the D gets better and the pitching is lights out, then we have a chance. We talk about how good the pitching is but we were still like 13th or 14th in ERA last season.

UPRedsFan
01-23-2009, 02:11 PM
I agree pitching isn't the only factor. And I'm not predicting that if the pitching is as good as we hope it can be that they'll win the division. I still think the Cubs are better and 2nd place is all we can realistically hope for.

But good pitching will push them ahead of the Stros, Crew and Cards and lead to a winning record.

DannyB
01-23-2009, 02:57 PM
Yay we can finish 3rd to last
I say its 1st place,win the WS in 4.
Check back in a couple months

redsfandan
01-23-2009, 04:33 PM
Cubs > Reds

We potentially have the 2nd best rotation, but we could also have the 4th or 5th best. Harang is no sure bet to bounce back, Edison will most likely regress but still be above average, Bronson will be solid but not spectacular, Johnny is the wild-card because you just don't know with young pitchers, and the 5 spot is unknown.

Who knows what Duncan has up his sleeve? Houston still has Oswalt and Rodriguez was pretty good last year, Pitt has some arms but that team is terrible, and [B]Milwaukee has a stud and a few solid vets. We could be better and we could be worse than all of the above... the main thing is we don't have enough offense to win because our defense will waste good pitching performances. Get a SS and I'll start looking at things with some "Rosie Red" colored glasses.

A few solid vets: Dave Bush, Seth McClung, & Jeff Suppan. Pretty impressive. There's a BIG difference between Yovani Gallardo and those three. Plus don't they still have the wonderful Ricky Weeks at 2nd? :barf: