I got back to my desk and the first thing I saw was an e-mail from a former co-worker.

Subject: Soup

Message: I think I just hit a homer off of Suppan.



I knew things were bad.

Soup pitched great. He just a couple (4) pitches out over the plate.

They just said on Radio that Mike Burns could start on Tuesday, the next game I am going to. UGH.

I knew that was going to end badly.

SI's Jon Heyman tweeting that the Crew is a serious contender for Halladay.

11th time this year the Brewers have scored 5 or more runs and still lost.

But Halladay will make them the Central favorite for the next two years!

Mitch Stetter.

LOL!!

Quote: Originally posted by inkdskn on 7/22/2009But Halladay will make them the Central favorite for the next two years!

If the Brewers were to add Halladay in the next couple of days, without giving up a lot of ML talent (nothing beyond Parra), you'd be hard pressed to find an MLB expert who'd not name them the favorites. 2.5 games back, then adding the best pitcher in baseball? Not tough to see.

You're one of the best posters on this site - absolutely fuggin' hilarious.

The Brewers might get 14 starts from Halladay. Would there be those that annoint them favorites? Sure. Would they be the consensus favorites? No, especially if the Cubs and/or Cardinals make moves as well. We all know what CC did for them last year, but that was pretty much without precedent so expecting it again might be overkill, not to mention they traded for CC at the beginning of July and got more 3-4 more starts from him then they would Halladay.

Making up 3 games based on a guy who will only directly impact 14 isn't as simple as you think - hell, Toronto is only 11-7 when Halladay starts this year.

Quote: Originally posted by AlCheez on 7/22/2009The Brewers might get 14 starts from Halladay.  Would there be those that annoint them favorites?  Sure.   Would they be the consensus favorites?  No, especially if the Cubs and/or Cardinals make moves as well.  We all know what CC did for them last year, but that was pretty much without precedent so expecting it again might be overkill, not to mention they traded for CC at the beginning of July and got more 3-4 more starts from him then they would Halladay.Making up 3 games based on a guy who will only directly impact 14 isn't as simple as you think - hell, Toronto is only 11-7 when Halladay starts this year.

But adding a great SP does more than just impact the team during the games that he pitches: it makes the bullpen more effective by giving them more rest. This trickle down effect was hugely important last year, with CC posting a ridiculous amount of CG's (like 7 or something) during his stint in Milwaukee, essentially giving the RP's a day off every 5 days and allowing the better ones to pitch more since they're rested. The Brewers would benefit hugely from this effect this year, too, since they've got a couple overworked, dependable arms in the pen (Coffey, Stetter, DiFelice) and then some guys that you don't want in the game when the score is close (Smith, Villanueva, McClung). Halladay would allow the good RP's to pitch more in games that he doesn't pitch, and would give the team a great chance to win in games that he does.

Just look at the facts: the Brewers are 2.5 games out, fading fast, almost solely due to the starting rotation. They lost another game today though they scored 7 runs. They're 4th in the NL in runs (and just added Lopez to cure their leadoff woes) and 9th in bullpen ERA (though they were 5th a couple days ago, the bullpen is fatigued and fading). They're 14th in SP ERA. MIKE F**KING BURNS is in the rotation. MIKE BURNS. If you can plug in Bush for Burns (which should be in the next couple weeks) and Halladay for Parra (6+ ERA), this team can easily win the division. I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that they're still within 2.5 with the 3rd worst SP in the league.

Even with Halladay, the Cubs pitching is far superior to the Brewers.