Mailbag with Haudricourt!

Admit it people...you've missed it.

You've missed the absolutely asinine questions. You've missed the horrible grammar. You've missed the hillbilly names from various parts of WI. You've missed the Billups Like Tendancies.

After a couple week hiatus...the JSOnline Brewer Mailbag delivered yesterday. Give it 12 minutes of your time.

Q: TMac of Caledonia - Here a promotional idea..once a week, let a fan help set the lineup (within reason). We are paying for the building, why not. Don't give me...we they are pros and are honed for certain hitting situations. Does Neddy uses some sort of magic algorithm to set the lineup now?? If so...there are 2 major colleges in the city woul dcould help polish the #'s. Keep up the great work...You guys are helping a disabled veteran(me)get through each day with your great feedback and reporting..Thank You!

MY REACT: I am skipping Haudricourt's answer here...because it's irrelevant. Hey...that's a hot promotional idea TMAC! I say also once a week the Brewers pick a random guy to decide when to pinch-hit and when to pull a pitcher. I also say we hire a guy from UWM's math department to help Yost out with the #'s (cause...you know...there isn't a single statistician on the payroll already). But hey...in all seriousness...I'm happy you enjoy the Brewer games. I really am. Just don't waste your time emailing the paper. You're giving guys like me too much ammo.

Q: Kaleb of Whitewater - Hey guys, I love reading the blogs and articles on the Crew. To me it seems that the pitchers are really struggling with their pitch count in the games. Tuesday, for example, I think Parra had thrown 43 pitches through 2 innings and ended up with 112 through 5.2. It always seems that inning to inning our pitchers are throwing more pitches than theirs. This is probably because of the Brewers poor hitting allowing their pitchers to get out of the inning quickly. Your thoughts?

A: Tom Haudricourt - What blew Parra's pitch count up in that Pittsburgh game were two particular at-bats that went 12 and 13 pitches. That's 25 pitches right there, on two hitters.

MY REACT: I just think this is funny. The whole paragraph just makes you raise your eyebrows and go "huh?" Somehow "Kaleb" had a problem with Manny last week when he pitched 5.2 innings of shutout ball. Then he tries to say that he thinks the Brewers opponents are throwing less pitches than the Brewers are...but he doesn't give any backup for it (I have no idea if that is the case btw...but comparing pitch counts of different teams in the same game doesn't make sense because it's opposite sides of the spectrum). And yes "Kaleb..." if the Brewers get out quickly when they are batting the other pitcher will not have a high pitch count. That is obvious. What was the point of your paragraph again?

Q: jay christianson of baraboo - hey with all the blown saves we have already had. dont you think it would have been for the best for this team. if melvin would have just paid cordero the money that he wanted. i mean look at the saves he had for us last year. man he could have been in firstor close to first place right now. thanks jay.

A: Tom Haudricourt - If GMs paid every player all the money he wanted every time, it would be a tough way to do business. I know it looks bad now. If Cordero goes down the tubes during that contract, it won't look as bad.

MY REACT: Next year when Jason Kendall wants $15 million a year for 7 years...give it to him. That's what he wants.

Q: Chris of Wauwatosa - OK, I already know the answer, but this is for everyone else who seems to know something about baseball. If Gagne is "so bad" and the Brewers are just supposed to get rid of him, who becomes the closer? Are there any good closers on the market for anything less than $10 million a year?

A: Tom Haudricourt - There are no closers on the market, period, that I know of.

MY REACT: For fuck's sake...Salomon Torres is the closer of this team. Dude has been light's out. Let's move on people. The Eric Gagne era is over.

Q: warren wilber of oshkosh - when are the brewers going to sign feilder or are they going wait to long and lose him like there closer last year or are they just waiting to see what he will do yet this season

A: Tom Haudricourt - The Fielder negotiations stopped basically because his agent, Scott Boras, is not of the mind to sell away arbitration years unless the money is top-end.

MY REACT: My favorite question in the mailbag. It's got the funny name, horrible grammar, and no understanding of the Brewers or baseball in general. THE BREWERS OWN PRINCE FIELDER's LIFE FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS. WE CAN'T LOSE HIM UNLESS WE TRADE HIM. The various options around signing him to a multi-year contract are the only variables we need to be talking about.

Q: Joel of Chicago - Have there been any discussions about using Bush to close? I know he doesn't have typical "closer stuff," but he had success closing at Wake Forest and seems to do alright the first time through the line-up. Thanks.

A: Tom Haudricourt - I've heard no talk of Bush closing. He has struggled so much this season, I don't think that has put him front and center as a closing option. Well, folks, the game is starting, so I'll have to close this mailbag. Talk to you next week.

MY REACT: Yes...Dave Bush was a lights out closer 6 years ago (or whenever the hell it was) in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Dear God sir, are we really going to compare the ACC to MLB? Are we? You seriously want Dave Bush as a closer? How many bottles of MD 20/20 were you down when you found a computer to send that email?

I've missed the mailbag...I really have.