TooLiveBrew

I do what I can http://images-mediawiki-sites.thefullwiki.org/02/2/9/3/49715582232099317.jpg

Nelson had a pretty decent outing & was lifted after the 5th inning & 77 pitches. He threw roughly 50 TP in his first start back, 65 in his second, so roughly 80 seems like a fairly linear pattern. Hopefully he's off of strict pitch counts heading forward. Meanwhile, Pensacola starter Wirfin Obispo flat-out dominated the Stars' offense tonight. Lawdy lawd do the Reds have some pitching. Obispo's been a RP/SP hybrid this season.

Say it with me. First part: Tedald, like Ronald, except wit a Ted. Second part: Tada, like the end of a magic trick! Simple as that! Hah! No, I actually know how to type it at this point. Just goofing off based on a particularly snide response you received from a certain poster at one point. Can't recall which thread, but I can recall which poster if you care.

http://i.imgur.com/nQzJj.jpg

After looking stellar through his first three innings, Nelson is struggling in the 4th. Bear down, Downhill Thunder!

There's a whole heck of a lot more to the article, and not all of it is just gushing. But yeah.

I'll get BC. Teda-whatever, please be sure to post a nice reminder/kick-in-the-butt post that you need these covered, if you remember. I know my memory too well...

Dude, this isn't a bar fight. The sooner you lose the me-vs.-the-world attitude, the sooner it'll be enjoyable to read most of your posts.

Yeah, I can see why you say that. No one else on the field in the semifinal appeared to have the kind of ability she displayed in terms of striking the ball. She also had a lot of clever touches to free herself up and/or take possession of the ball. Heck, she was just straight taking shots on goal from two corners! I haven't been watching soccer for that long now, but I've never seen a player so obviously shooting for goal from corners before.

Jimmy Nelson was reportedly on a 65-pitch limit his last outing, so it'll be interesting to see how many pitches he's allotted tonight.

Hmm, I will admit I didn't realize Castro had struggled with the bat this year. However, that doesn't change my opinion that his bat is going to be special for a MIF (it's easy to forget he's still in just his age-22 season). It's cool to see Escobar hitting so well, but he's never projected to hit for much power, and that's why I don't have him in the same caliber of bat as Castro. Like I said earlier, though, in terms of overall player value, Castro will have to outhit guys like Escobar & Andrus since Castro might only peak as an average defender at SS.

I strongly disagree with your "the answer is clearly no" statement on Khris Davis, since he's never played in a big league game, I would say, "The answer is clearly, we don't know yet." Absolutely agree, splitter. To dismiss Kh Davis out of hand like that seems really odd. Great work put into compiling your list, rams -- definitely a good read.

I will nitpick with your post & say that Starlin Castro is a step above all the other guys you mentioned. However, I could see you lumping him together with d-first SSs like Escobar & Andrus if you're not a believer in Castro developing into an asset as a defender. His bat is way better, and *I'm* assuming he'll turn into at worst an avg. overall SS defender... which, combined with what I think he'll do as a hitter, would make him lots more valuable than guys like Andrus & Escobra.

First, let me imply that I'm sane by wholeheartedly agreeing with your assessment of K-Rod's recent 'effectiveness'. But my grassy-knoll theory as to why K-Rod keeps getting opportunities is that 1) If he strings together 3-4 good outings, he might have trade value in that another team might be willing to take him off our hands for nothing & eat his remaining salary (crude estimate would be somewhere under $2.5M, hardly an insignificant number), and 2) this season is lost anyway, so why not? I get that the flip side to the situation is that you could break in guys from the minors or recently called up from the minors. But honestly, I can't think of any other explanation than the one I typed out above... and even that one is hardly logical.

@Huntsville 5, Pensacola 3 Huntsville Box The Blue Wahoos scored all three of their runs in the first, as Johnny Hellweg struggled with his command for basically his whole outing (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R/ER, 7 BB, 3 K, WP, HBP, Balk, 5:4 GO:AO, 88 TP, 42 strikes). Hellweg had a nightmare inning going in the 2nd as well: he walked Billy Hamilton with one out, balked Hamilton to second... and naturally Hamilton almost instantly stole third. Hellweg walked the next batter, but then induced a grounder to 3B Hainley Statia (0-4), who threw out Hamilton at the plate for the second out of the inning. The next batter hit a grounder back to the mound that deflected off of Hellweg, and all three runners were safe to load up the bases... thankfully one more grounder got Hellweg & the Stars out of the inning without allowing a run. The Stars carried that momentum over into the home half of the 2nd, where they scored three runs of their own to tie things up. Brock Kjeldgaard (0-3, BB) led off with a walk, followed by a RBI triple from Hunter Morris (1-4, 3B, 2 RBI). I guess "The Mayor" got tired of only hitting doubles & HRs? Anyway, Kentrail Davis (1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB) doubled with one out to plate Morris, and Hellweg himself got in on the action, coming up big with a game-tying two-out/two-strike RBI single. Hunstville scored a single run in the 3rd thanks to a leadoff double from Domnit Bolivar (1-4, 2B) and a single from Scooter Gennett (2-4) right afterwards; Morris later drove Bolivar in with a groundout. The Stars plated another run in the 4th with a leadoff walk from Davis and RBI double from Anderson De La Rosa (1-3, 2B, RBI). Josh Prince (2-4) also singled in the 4th, and went on to steal his 40th base of the season; Prince continues to lead the entire organization, despite that total looking minuscule next to Hamilton's. Neither offense scored or put together anything really resembling a threat the rest of the way. Dan Meadows worked a perfect 6th inning, Kyle Heckathorn perfect 7th & 8th, and Brandon Kintzler a perfect 9th. Relief pitching doesn't get any better than what the Stars got tonight -- a combined 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Nice work, gentlemen! -De La Rosa did throw out Billy Hamilton on his first steal attempt in the 1st, but Hamilton still went on to swipe two bags & push his season total to 127. -Gennett had his second straight two-hit game. Hopefully the mental break he was given by skipper Darnell Coles will prove to be just what he needed to break out of his second-half funk. -On the flip side of second half success, Davis has continued his strong post AS-break production. After going hitless in five straight games, Davis has gone 5-9 (.555) in his last three, with two 2B, two RBI, and four BB. With the exception of his first season at low-A Wisconsin, 2012 so far is Davis's best OPS season as a pro & that's owed exclusively to his second half production (2012 first half OPS: .663). -It looks like Bolivar will assume not only Jean Segura's position of shortstop, but quite possibly his regular spot in the batting order as well. Bolivar was in the 2-hole tonight, and I have to assume that's where he'll stay unless he scuffles his way out of it. Morris is still hitting 5th for some reason I have yet to figure out; my only guess is the classic baseball manager cliche of 'breaking up the lefties!'. Huntsville PbP I described basically all of the eventful innings (obviously feel free to click through & check out the log yourself!), but one note I didn't get was De La Rosa getting thrown out at 3B trying to stretch his 4th inning double into a triple: Huntsville Bottom of the 4th -Kentrail Davis walks. -Anderson De La Rosa doubles (9) on a fly ball to right fielder Josh Fellhauer. Kentrail Davis scores. Anderson De La Rosa out at 3rd, right fielder Josh Fellhauer to second baseman Brodie Greene to third baseman David Vidal to shortstop Billy Hamilton. -Johnny Hellweg grounds out, shortstop Billy Hamilton to first baseman Beau Mills. -Josh Prince singles on a line drive to center fielder Ryan LaMarre. -With Domnit Bolivar batting, Josh Prince steals (40) 2nd base. -Domnit Bolivar grounds out, shortstop Billy Hamilton to first baseman Beau Mills. Huntsville Gameday

I know there were numerous people saying he was a Braun like hitter. I think this was more the case of one person saying it numerous times... Heyward is a great example of who I think Lawrie is. A .750-.850 OPS hitter, but the power looks more to be in the 15-20 HR range than the 35-40. I think you're selling short just how young both Heyward & Lawrie are. What they've done so far at their respective ages is really impressive. Imo you're looking at two perennial 30+ HR hitters.

Complete ecstasy for USA, total heartbreak for Canada. That was the single most intense soccer game I've seen this Olympics. Watching it, it seemed even more intense than the men's GB-Korea semifinal that went to penalty kicks. I love this girl. Her bend & accuracy were on display all match long. She instantly won me over.

This is an excellent post for your 2,000th post. Well played.

I guess I am surprised that you think the Brewers could get a good return (you state "Segura or better") by trading Hart and/or Ramirez. Their value is, for all intents and purposes, limited to their 2013 seasons due to their contracts/decline. I realize that anything can happen in terms of trades, but the only real thing I based those comments on was that the Brewers got Segura plus two high-upside arms for 10-15 starts from Greinke. Dealing Hart (1 season+comp pick) and Ramirez (2 seasons+comp pick?) should probably get you at least, or close to, what they got for ZG. Ramirez probably not as much due to age & price tag... but I think you could still get at least a good arm for him. I agree that ONE reason for the Cardinals' sustained success is due to organizational depth, but I would argue that a far more important reason for their success is their having premier players (Carpenter, Wainwright, Pujols, Holliday, Molina(?)) surrounded by their "depth". Well certainly that's true -- and you can bet your butt you don't need that ? after Molina . And moving Hart & Ramirez, who I wouldn't include* in the same class of player as the Cards names you mentioned, for young players who have the chance to develop into those special types of players to me seems like the best way to add more impact talent. I also agree that the Brewers' system as of now certainly has more 'Craigs' than 'Hollidays', and by no means am I suggesting that I think Hunter Morris or Khrush Davis will blossom into superstars. But I do think they can approach the good-but-not-great caliber production you get from players like Hart & Ramirez. Dealing Ramirez certainly creates a hole at 3B that there is currently no shining answer for, but that's a risk I'd be willing to take given that I obviously think you'd get back very good talent for him in return. * As recently as '04-'08, I'd include Ramirez in that top tier of MLB talent, but not at this point. He's still very good for his position, however.

That is awesome news, even more important than that he was called up. Segura has been ready for the bigs since the day the Brewers acquired him. This kid is for real.

Really good point as well. There are tangible reasons to be excited about each of the first four players drafted (Coulter, Roache, Haniger, Taylor), and it's not like the next tier of guys is exactly chopped liver, either. Absolutely. The bandwagoners that would hop off have already hopped off imo. I was trying to talk about the Brewers having a solid MiLB system with an acquaintance of mine yesterday, and he cut me off to quip, "I'm already watching the minor leaguers -- they're the 2012 Brewers!". I would categorize him as very savvy when it comes to baseball, and even he isn't interested in a Brewers team that has been junk this season. What puts butts in the seats is winning, and planning for one season at a time doesn't lead to long-term winning.

Right, but up until recently, you 'couldn't put' Fiers in that category either. The message being that, at some point, we as fans have to get away from the notion that unless a player already has earned a certain label, we have to wait until he has to suggest he might actually be a pretty good player. Let me start by saying I think part of what I'm arguing against is the Top 50™ or Top 100™ labels being the way young talent should be measured. I like those rankings probably as much as anyone, but guys like Shaun Marcum & Mike Fiers really put into context just how hard it is even for prospect experts to give us a good idea of talent rankings. You probably have to extend that Top [X] count to roughly 200 players in order to not miss giving the 'Top Prospect' label to all guys who have a shot to be good big-leaguers, like Fiers & Marcum again as examples. Wily Peralta (#56), Taylor Jungmann (#70) and Jed Bradley (#71) all made Baseball America's pre-2012 top 100, and that has changed precisely nothing about how well they project going forward. Jungmann may or may not have performed well enough this season to stick in the pre-'13 list, and you can bet Bradley will be gone. So what does that tell us about BA's ability to rank players aside from that the art form is a very volatile one? I think (aside from Segura, #55 pre-'12), you can look for any of the following names to wind up in Top 100 lists: Hellweg, Pena, Thornburg, Morris, Kh Davis, Nelson & Peralta (assuming he's not seriously injured). Not a ton of guys, but all of them are at AA or AAA, which is very relevant to me since I'm hoping to see the Brewers contend in 2014 & beyond... basically the duration of Braun's contract. I keep seeing comments from prospect-watchers about Nelson & how insanely high his ceiling is. He probably won't be in BA's Top 100 for 2013 either, but it wouldn't surprise me. I'll admit Davis & Morris might also be longer shots due to various reasons, but I genuinely believe both of them also have enough talent to warrant being Top 100™. And it's the talent I'm concerned about, not what they've done, statistically, most recently.

In response to The Crew and TLB, I think the fear that I have about divesting the team of it's MLB assets and relying on it's MiLB assets is that this generation of youngsters, while decidedly easy to root for, are lacking in bona fide MLB All-Star talent, i.e. talent that is able to compete for postseason success. I have very little doubt that our system has a number of starting caliber players. I do doubt, however, that any of these minor leaguers would be GOOD starters on a GOOD team. Apologies in advance for a long response; I hope it's not too long to put off people from reading it through. I'm only talking about moving two players (Hart & Ramirez). That's not "divesting the team of its MLB assests", that's moving two veteran players before declining performance gives them no value. There is clearly the possibility that Hart would be willing to sign a contract extension for well below what he'd likely get as a FA, but unless that's the case, I definitely do want to see him moved this offseason, when he'll give his new team a full season of salary control along with a compensation pick should said team lose him to FA. On Ramirez, I really admire the guy as a player -- always feared his bat with the Cubs -- but again, I think he could provide a strong return in trade. The goal overall is to build a string organization, and I think those worried about moving on from Hart & Ramirez are possibly both underestimating what value could be netted in return for the duo, and also overstating the 'prospects usually fail' dogma. I respect that people don't see another Fielder or Braun in the pipeline, but look at a couple Cardinals players if you would. Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig were never ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 (please do click their names/links, which are their MiLB careers). A quick-&-dirty stat-based-only comp for those two in the Brewers system would be something like Gamel & Kh Davis. My point being that both Carpenter & Craig are good baseball players even though they never projected to be star players. And I'm not arguing that I think both guys will sustain their 2012 production for the duration of their careers, just that they are valuable cost-controlled players who have contributed very well with the bat so far. STL's 1B OPS so far this season is a cumulative .849 OPS, and Craig/Carpenter meant that losing Lance Berkman for roughly two months this season wasn't a critical blow to the team's chances at contending (like losing Gonzalez was for the Crew). They were able to make a similar signing to the Crew adding Ramirez in signing Beltran (my point being it's the kind of move the Brewers have room for in their budget), and kept their contending window open without committing eleventy-billion dollars to Pujols. Imo one reason the Cardinals have been so successful over the past decade or so is a combination of having strong organizational depth -- which is comprised of guys like Carpenter & Craig, not the blue-chip prospects that get most of the attention -- and not being afraid of non-blue chip prospects being able to contribute (Jon Jay also comes to mind). Right now, while I don't disagree that the Brewers are lacking another Braun/Fielder in the system, there are enough players who aren't too far outside that Top 100/Top 50 status (& frankly, some who will jump into that crowd imo this offseason) that I feel confident that there's talent on the way that will wind up being productive in the bigs. Add in the type of prospects (think Segura or better) the Brewers would get for Hart & Ramirez, and I don't see any reason to be pessimistic about a window of contention from roughly 2014 to perhaps as long as Braun's contract runs. I don't want to see the team try to re-load for 2013 just 'cause, because I think that inevitably leads to having to re-tool like what I & others are advocating later on, and then it would likely be more of a total tear-down since Hart & Ramirez likely wouldn't net you much (if anything), and you're probably talking about trading guys like Weeks & maybe even Gallardo. Then how many seasons of Braun's prime are we talking about 'punting' on, as opposed to perhaps only one in 2013?

Going from bottom of the league to roughly mid-table in just one season is something Brewers fans should be absolutely psyched about. It also underscores (Fiers, Kh Davis, Morris) that relying on stats to determine future potential is a very inaccurate method, yet it's the one used by the vast majority of fans.

So the Stars score 7 runs & the only highlights are of relief pitchers & a sac fly? Mmph.