TooLiveBrew

Iirc Braun was dead to rights btw. 2B & 3B on Ramirez's RBI single in the 1st if the shortstop had come up with the ball & he's still starting. If Gonzales had snagged that low liner & doubled Braun off 2B would you want him out of today's lineup? I get that Morgan seems to make more than his share of bonehead mistakes, but if the manager thinks a player is a good option to start today's game, I don't want him weighing in what happened -- good or bad -- in yesterday's game.

That if ZG frustrates some Angels fan this postseason the way he frustrated Briggs last year, Briggs thinks the Angels won't make ZG a big contract offer... blow the top off meaning making the $140M-ish offer Greinke will probably wind up signing as a FA.

What do you mean by this? He means that Greinke isn't clutch enough to be a True #1™... but he doesn't come out & say that, so if ZG winds up pitching well in the postseason, he doesn't have egg on his face.

Thank you to TC07, who linked to a bunch of good Baseball America content in yesterday's Link Report. Jim Callis rated Jean Segura as the second-best prospect dealt on or around this year's deadline, while Hellweg & Pena came in at numbers seven and nine, respectively.

Noticed this in the Stars' media notes Mass Haas linked to in yesterday's Link Report: Here's the link to the MLB.com list. I get the impression that the individual scouting reports on the list haven't been updated since pre-2012, so even though MLB.com added Segura, Hellweg, & Pena, I'm not sure how much weight should be lent to this particular list. And in general there were several things that made me scratch my head while reading through it. So be sure to get your grains of salt ready if you decide to click through & read it.

Hah -- nice!

Chattanooga 5, @Huntsville 3 Huntsville Box After falling behind 4-1 in the 5th, The Stars pulled to 4-3 after scoring two runs in the 6th, but weren't able to rally all the way back to claim this one. They threatened in the 8th after a pair of singles from Jean Segura & Brock Kjeldgaard, but Segura was put out at home on a fielder's choice for the second out, and Huntsville didn't get the big hit it needed to pull even or go ahead. Chattanooga added another run in the 9th to help secure the win, but they wound up not needing it as the Stars were put down in order in their last ups. It's a good thing I apologized in advance for jinxing starter Josh Stinson by praising his performance thus far in 2012 earlier today. Even though I don't believe at all in things like "jinxing" someone, that's apparently exactly what I did: Stinson allowed at least one hit in each of the five innings in which he pitched. He finished with a line of 4.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R/3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 WP... and an uncharacteristic 4:6 GO:AO ratio. Meanwhile, Lookouts starter Allen Webster -- rated the Dodgers' #3 prospect pre-2012 by MLB.com -- turned in a fine 7 IP/1 ER performance that was only marred by one Stars run in the 4th, and a throwing error by Chattanooga's SS in the 6th that allowed two runs to score. Evan Anundsen worked 2.1 good IP in relief of Stinson. Darren Byrd allowed a one-out BB & two-out single in the 8th, but escaped unscathed. Brandon Kintzler's night didn't go as well -- he yielded three singles, a SB, and one WP en route to giving up a valuable tack-on run in the 9th to extend the Chattanooga lead to two. As jjfanec noted earlier, Hunter Morris is on a mission: disregard doubters, acquire extra base hits. This season, he's displayed both the contact ability & the power potential that led to him getting drafted in the 2nd round (BOS) in 2007, & the 4th round in 2010. The double to lead off the 2nd inning boosted his Southern League-leading tally to 34 (two players tied at 29 for second place). Morris also drew a BB in the 6th; his career BB rate heading into '12 was 4.4%, but his rate this season so far is 6.7%... to go along with him hitting the cover off the ball. He continues to impress, especially in the second half, where his OPS is 1.114. He's all over the top of the SL batting leaderboard, and I know I've already said this numerous times, but he has to be the front-runner for SL MVP. Segura had another two-hit night, finishing 2-4 with a pair of singles. He's hit to a .385 AVG (5-13) so far in three games as a member of the organization, with a 2B, 2 RBI, and gone 1/1 in SB attempts. Keep on hitting, Jean -- we'll see you in Milwaukee in September. Kjeldgaard went 2-4 with two 1B in his return to Huntsville. Hainley Statia finished 1-4 with a 1B and one RBI. Scooter Gennett was 1-3 with a 1B and one BB. Josh Prince, Kentrail Davis, and Adam Weisenburger were all hitless (& walk-less) on the game. Huntsville PbP Statia came up with a timely single in the 4th for the Stars' first run; they pulled to 2-1 at that point: Huntsville Bottom of the 4th -Scooter Gennett singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss. -Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Blake Smith. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. -Hunter Morris grounds into a force out, first baseman J. T. Wise to shortstop Jake Lemmerman. Scooter Gennett to 3rd. ----Brock Kjeldgaard out at 2nd. Hunter Morris to 1st. -Hainley Statia singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss. Scooter Gennett scores. Hunter Morris to 2nd. -Kentrail Davis grounds into a double play, shortstop Jake Lemmerman to second baseman Rafael Ynoa to first baseman J. T. Wise. Hainley Statia out at 2nd. In the two-run 6th, a Chattanooga throwing error was the big 'hit', right on the heels of a WP. What should've/could've been the final out turned into a play that let the Stars right back in the game: Huntsville Bottom of the 6th -Jean Segura singles on a ground ball to center fielder Anthony Jackson. -Scooter Gennett grounds out, shortstop Jake Lemmerman to first baseman J. T. Wise. Jean Segura to 2nd. -Brock Kjeldgaard strikes out swinging, catcher Gorman Erickson to first baseman J. T. Wise. -Hunter Morris walks. -With Hainley Statia batting, wild pitch by Allen Webster, Jean Segura to 3rd. Hunter Morris to 2nd. -Hainley Statia reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Jake Lemmerman. Jean Segura scores. Hunter Morris scores. -Kentrail Davis grounds out, third baseman C. J. Retherford to first baseman J. T. Wise. Finally, the 'almost' 8th inning, where the Stars finally chased Webster: Huntsville Bottom of the 8th -Jean Segura singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jake Lemmerman. -Pitching Change: Geison Aguasviva replaces Allen Webster, batting 9th. -Scooter Gennett grounds out softly, second baseman Rafael Ynoa to first baseman J. T. Wise. Jean Segura to 2nd. -Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a ground ball to left fielder Nick Buss. Jean Segura to 3rd. -Hunter Morris reaches on a fielder's choice out, first baseman J. T. Wise to catcher Gorman Erickson. Jean Segura out at home. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd. -Hainley Statia grounds out, shortstop Jake Lemmerman to first baseman J. T. Wise. Huntsville Gameday

Thanks -- when I thought of it, I couldn't believe no one (at least on BF.net) had thought of it. I have to admit that it came from thinking, 'Hey, Khris Davis is a bit like Crash Davis'. This was also compliment-worthy: The Sea Cows ran into big boat propeller named Jose Fernandez Equal parts cruel & awesome! You'd better!

Ichiro might have had the more exciting season, but Pujols's & Williams's seasons are clearly better imo.

I just posted (rambling, long post, so you've been warned) in the 'Top 10' thread & used a Gennett pre-'12 scouting report as an example. It might help you understand a little why Gennett is still pretty well-regarded.

Not saying I know for sure, but Shields' tendency to give up the longball might not make him a good fit for Miller Park. I don't disagree that he might be a good trade target, but I didn't realize he'd allowed so many longballs & I think that might keep him from ever performing like a top of the rotation SP as a Brewer.

This is a great point. To address the "supposed to be" part, most of that probably comes from physical tools a player has (or doesn't have), since MiLB stats alone don't necessarily tell you if a guy will be able to hack it in the bigs. I will freely admit being one who's scratched his head about the love Gennett has gotten & continues to get from prospect-watchers. When I saw him in person with the T-Rats, I was really surprised by how slight he was... granted, that was two years ago. But when you read what places like Perfect Game or Baseball America's pundits have to say about him, they just gush about his swing. Check out what David Rawnsley wrote for PG, pre-2012, on Gennett: --------------------------------------------------------- Gennett has received plenty of attention since the end of the 2011 season after hitting .411-2-14 in 90 at bats in the Arizona Fall League, but the fact is that Gennett (his given first name is Ryan) has flat-out been able to hit since early in his teen years, and his AFL performance is just a continuation of what he has always done. He also hit .300-9-51 in the notoriously difficult to hit in Florida State League in 2011, which is an even bigger accomplishment. The rest of Gennett’s tool package is very good as well. He ran a 6.57 and threw 91 mph from the infield in high school while being named a PG/Aflac All-American. Maybe his most memorable experience at Perfect Game events, though, might have been at the 2008 National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minnesota where he nearly beat big Jonathan Singleton (now the Astros top prospect) in the home run hitting contest. The 5-10/160 Gennett probably hit more balls out than Singleton, but they kept curving just foul. Distance wasn’t a problem. --------------------------------------------------------- Maybe he only ever turns into a guy with gap power and like 10-15 HR power if he makes the bigs, but I don't think I've yet seen a report on him that doesn't love his swing (I tend to avoid Keith Law like the plague, however... if you need to feel worse about one of your prospects, you can usually count on him for that). So even though he hasn't posted eye-popping stats yet, the scouting conclusion on him seems to be that his swing+other physical tools make him likely to have success as he advances up the ladder. And Hunter Morris was actually a guy who was well regarded on draft day (post from the '10 draft discussion by Sessile Fielder, sharing Morris's scouting report; there are other posts just after that with info that seems pretty high on him too). I think what has people ranking Gennett ahead of Morris is part position-related, and part performance-related since Morris hadn't lived up to advanced hype until this season. Morris is a perfect example of why MiLB stats are a very imperfect way to rank players, but at this point I have a hard time putting him after Gennett myself... even though far more knowledgeable baseball people might not. I think the main thing 'we do', as fans that follow MiLB, is place far more value on what a guy is doing right now than on how well he projects to play going forward. There's so much important development that goes on in the minors that isn't quantifiable, all we have are the stats. That's why I've really changed to placing far more weight on scouting reports in recent years. Imo you get much more reliable information from them than from looking at a player's MiLB stats.

Stinson is not really considered a prospect as far as I'm aware, but he appears to be talented at inducing groundballs (1.56 GO:AO) & keeping the ball in the park (5 HR in 106 IP). This is his age-24 season; maybe he's a candidate for the 2013 big-league bullpen. However, longball WOAHs plagued him in both of his short stints at AAA Buffalo (NYM) -- 12 HRA in 89.2 IP between '10 & '11. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not sure how he projects... but he's pitched pretty well this season, his first with the Brewers organization. Apologies in advance for obviously jinxing you heading towards tonight's start, Josh.

The East Coast media bias extended a little south from New York City To be fair, part of it too is due to him being a mega-prospect, along with him doing what he's done in the bigs so far as a 19yo. It's not necessarily just bias. EDIT: He was an injury replacement too... am I correct in remembering that those are picked by the manager? If that's true that means if there was any bias, it was TLR being impressed with Harper.

The Yanks have apparently been looking for a platoon partner to pair with Chavez/a guy that'd have no problem hitting the bench once A-Rod is back. I hadn't heard about Teixeira's wrist inflammation until your post, that might be the difference btw. the Yankees keeping Casey around & not just DFAing him once A-Rod is back. McGehee doesn't do many things well at this point, but hitting lefties is one of them -- 2012: .807 OPS 2011: .413 (not a typo) 2010: .947 2009: .865

PG pre-2012 writeup

Don't forget "when you need to fill out that 15-team no-trade list"!

I've heard nothing about Ramirez getting moved today... so you're telling me there's a chance!

Fwiw, it's Edward Mujica MLBTR link

Interesting, I hadn't even thought about Aoki in that context. Brainfart. If Fiers can sustain success throughout August & September, I think he'll be hard to ignore... so I think torts's point on the sample size is really important. This obviously isn't a perfect way to think about it, but even if he 'only' tosses a 4.20 ERA over two more full months (I used 5 starts/mo., 6 IP/start), his season ERA would be 2.93 over 126 IP. He might not be able to overcome the fact that everyone knows the name Bryce Harper, but he'd have a legit shot.

Tommy Joseph seems like the centerpiece of what's heading to Philly. Quickly glancing at his MiLB stats (2d round pick in '09) shows some huge power potential, like enough that it wouldn't matter if he can't stick at catcher. However, his CS rate is very good through three seasons of pro ball. I would gladly roll the dice on this kind of player in exchange for one season of Hart. Here's Perfect Game's pre-'12 writeup of Joseph: Joseph and fellow top prospect Andrew Susac were part of the extremely deep and talented 2009 class of high school catchers, although Joseph was seen as a fringe member of the elite group due to the widespread belief that he would eventually move out from behind the plate for defensive reasons. Joseph, the Giants second round pick in 2009, is now seen as a very strong defensive catcher, having made great improvement across the board in all phases of the game. Where the Giants should be worrying a bit about Joseph is actually what his offensive ceiling is at the Major League level. There is no question that he has plus power potential, especially in the context of being a catcher, and his counting numbers as a 20-year old in Hi A were outstanding (.270-22-95). But like many of the Giants big league hitters (.304 team on base percentage), Joseph has a complete aversion to working counts and has only walked 55 times in over 1,000 minor league plate appearances. Players with low batting averages who take few walks are rarely even average big league performers. His BB rate has jumped from a career 5.3% to 7.5% so far this season. And he's been pushed -- 18 at low-A, 19 at high-A, and obviously to AA this season. His power numbers for a young player who's been challenged by his organization are really impressive.

Wow, Ethan Martin seems like a big piece to burn for two months of Victorino. He looks to have taken a step forward in terms of his command, and iirc is a power arm. His MiLB stats suggest the latter is true, with just 5 HRA in 118 IP to go with 112 K in AA. I definitely get the impression this Dodgers ownership group is going to deplete its farm system and continue to spend tons of money on FAs/vets.

Would you play DeJesus or Campana ahead of Upton?

Not to beat it to death but great players are worth nothing in a trade if they are being paid like a great player. I understand your point here, but I think that's an oversimplification.

Wait, there are professional sports teams in the Midwest? I thought it was just all farmland until you hit Vegas.