Jeremy Jeffress or Will Smith

Never heard of them, but then I probably know no one on the Brewers. Do they still have Ryan Braun? They're the team with Matt Lucroy, too, right? that's about all I know of them. Since I'm quite certain Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Gary Sheffield and Rob Deer are no longer there.

My all-star break prediction:

The Indians will win the division with the +5 games lead at the break.

As I've predicted in the past, the Indians would not win the division when trailing by +5 games at the break, the reverse will hold true this year unless there is a total collapse in the offing.

You can take it to the bank

Hey Joe, how's your summer? You're not far from Wisconsin: who are those relievers on the Brewers I've never heard of?

Jeremy Jeffers RHP 39 1/3 IP 42 H 10 BB 29 K 2 homers allowed. Only that last figure is especially impressive.
Will Smith LHP 17 1/3 IP 10 H 6 BB 15 K 2 homers.

ESPN says they're both on watch lists by teams seeking to add to their bullpens.

Smith, 27, has a 2.12 ERA this year. He's appeared in only 19 games -- and pitched only 17 innings -- due to a leg injury that sidelined him for the first two months of the season.

Jeffress has a 2.35 ERA and 23 saves in 40 appearances this season. In a tweet, MLB Network's Peter Gammons reports that the Miami Marlins expressed interest in trading for Jeffress before acquiring Fernando Rodney. According to Gammons, the Brewers wanted what the San Diego Padres got from the Marlins for Rodney -- 20-year-old right-hander Chris Paddack -- in addition to two other prospects, indicating a high asking price for the 28-year-old closer.

starting to believe in Naquin. Homer and a double today.

I saw in spring training and he crushed 2 balls, against KC.

This is amazing this tribe team has a young outfielder with a little pop. Of course they tried to dolanize him and put him in the minors first but a little roids helped out and here he is.

Watching Carrasco made me wonder how the great Jason Knapp was doing now. I guess he tried a comeback in 2014 which failed.

buck84 wrote:starting to believe in Naquin. Homer and a double today.

Make it 2 homers buck!

kenm wrote:Watching Carrasco made me wonder how the great Jason Knapp was doing now. I guess he tried a comeback in 2014 which failed.

I saw Knapp in his first outing in Lake County after the trade. He looked great. We were sitting right behind Chris Antonetti. Too bad it was his shoulder and not the elbow. Knapp is an example of why you need multiple prospects.

I think the Indians drafted Naquin so they could save money for 2nd round pick, Dillon Howard, if memory serves. My son picked up a 2011 prospect book and Kluber was the Indians 40th best prospect, possible back of the rotation starter.

TFIR wrote:

buck84 wrote:starting to believe in Naquin. Homer and a double today.

Make it 2 homers buck!

Wow.

Naquin is now on my list of core players. I would give him up for Miller AND Chapman.

This would be an unreal addition, again though difficult to agree to these kinds of stud deals:


Jonathan Lucroy - C - Brewers

ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Indians are "in talks" for a potential Jonathan Lucroy trade.

There are no details as to who the Indians might have to give up in return for Lucroy. As far as available catchers go, the 30-year-old backstop is about as reliable as they come.

This season, he is slashing .305/.362/.494 with 12 homers and 45 RBI over the course of 308 at-bats. Lucroy has told FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman that he would like to play for a contender. At 55-38 and holding a seven-game lead in the AL Central, the Indians would fit that bill.

We got the pieces to get it done, and more. Gotta make a legit run while window is open.

Me personally, I think Clevinger is expendable just due to the fact our current rotation is so good, deep, and signed for foreseeable future. Just not going to be a spot for him soon.

Naquin belongs and is legit ROY candidate, and Frazier is performing better than Zimmer at same level despite being 2 years younger. So I would make Zimmer available in potential trade too.

We have a glut of middle infield prospects we could trade too.

I would not trade Yandy Diaz. I'd bring him up now for 3rd base. I would not trade Francisco Mejia, he has all star catcher written all over him. I would not trade Bobby Bradley. He is young and has great power potential. And I would not trade Sheffield and the younger arms in system. They'll be ready when contracts are up and needed.

I would add a stud reliever, Clevinger could be centerpiece of deal. And I would add a good bat, like Lucroy, with Zimmer the centerpiece. We should be ready to make a run.

At this point, without injuries, it's pretty obvious the Tribe has the best rotation in the AL, and it's not close. Maybe in all of MLB.

Agreed, now is the time to trade some high end prospects for a Lucroy. The fact that he's a great defensive catcher too makes him all the more attractive.

To be honest Civ, I'm having a tough time keeping up with the Indians much less other ball clubs.

Basically, I've been giving equal sharing times between the Cubs and the Indians.

The Cubs have always been my favorite National League ball club and I'm looking forward to a Cubs/Indians world series.

Civ! Speaking of Wisconsin, I just spent last week vacationing up in Eagle River, Wisconsin. We rented a cabin on an island in Cranberry Lake. We also rented a pontoon boat for the week. That was the only means of transportation between the mainland and the island. No vehicles permitted on the island. My wife and I spent a lot of hours on that chain of lakes. 28 lakes are connected by no wake channels. I was even lucky enough to catch some northern and a few large mouth. I probably could have caught more but a lot of good fishing spots were not quite accessible with a pontoon boat. I'm thinking about taking my kayak next year.