And Burger Chef is the BEST!!! Not in Kopps’ league, but still great, though I wish they would throw in an shake to be named later for Weeks.

from Espin Insider:

If the Brewers were to consider a blockbuster deal to bolster their pitching, the same of Prince Fielder almost always surfaces. Forget it, says sssistant general manager Gord Ash, who dismissed that idea in an online chat on MLB.com.

“Doug Melvin has already gone on record that Prince Fielder will not be marketed this offseason,” Ash said. “Many, many analysts believe trading a middle-of-the-order bat for pitching is too one-sided a proposition, given the high risk of pitching.”

As for that pitching, Ash hinted that help from the minor leagues may be a few years away.

Missed 2 Brewer birthdays today —

Bobby Mitchell — who was a Brewer baseball card legend in the the early 70s.

Here is Bobby as a wide-eyed rookie in 1974, note the lack of cool accessories and awesome facial hair… After 2 years in Milwaukee he was transformed into a tribute to badassnessed.

1.) Badass airbrushed helmet? Check
2.) Badass huge glasses? Check
3.) Badass mustache? Check

Also missed Frank DiPino — He got traded for Don Sutton.

One thing I always liked about Jamie Quirk, in 1984, he got picked up by Cleveland, got one PA and hit a HR, for that elusive perfect 5.00 OPS.

that people insist on still referring to Alcides Escobar as a ‘prospect’. I know its not that big of a deal. But…really…he’s going to be the starting SS. Why talk about him in any format with relation to the minor leagues?

I guess people who are broadly interested in baseball and the minor leagues might want to know about him in relation to his MiLB experience.

This in particular gets me excited. When asked about a T-rats game at MP next year, Gord answered:

Yes, this game is scheduled again for 2010. In fact, in time we would like to broaden this concept to include some of our other Minor League affiliates. Perhaps even a “Futures” type game against another Major League organization in September.

How awesome would that be? Can I buy tickets now?

JC did a chat in which he brings up the possibility that Bryce Harper falls.

Tim (Durban South Africa)

Could Nationals go with Taillon or Ranaudo over Harper?

Jim Callis (2:12 PM)

Sure they could. I’ll do a column on this at some point, but I don’t think it’s far-fetched to conceive of Bryce Harper falling out of the first round. It’s going to be almost impossible to live up to the hype, and if he falls short and is looking for big money—is Strasburg’s contract a starting point—he may scare off clubs, who know he can re-enter the 2011 and 2012 drafts and still have lots of leverage. It’s also possible that after spending $15.1 million on Strasburg, the Nationals don’t want to spend huge money on another No. 1 overall pick.

I couldn’t imagine him falling out of the first round, unless all the big spenders, all having draft picks later than the Brewers, sign Type A free agents and lose their 1st round pick. But could you imagine the talks we’d be having if he were still on the board when the Brewers pick?