TooLiveBrew

TLB, why Arcia at 2nd base? I'm pretty sure I saw that Colby has stated that McFarland will probably have to move off of SS long term. I know you're one of the bigger Arcia backers out there, so this just surprised me. Heh, why 2nd? Because I'm ill-informed then http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif Given the high regard many have for McFarland, I just assumed he'd be the higher-profile SS prospect. I do know Arcia's defense draws a lot of praise, so either way it's not too bad to have both guys. I actually almost typed them both up as 2B/SS, but didn't bother. Honestly, I don't think of myself as a big Arcia backer. I like him, but I don't think I like him as much as some do (right now). I did do a fair amount of the DSL link report games last season, so maybe I just mentioned his exploits enough. And funny you commented on Walla... I had D'Vo written in there & ultimately changed my mind before posting. He's a good pick, too. Walla's still a young guy, but he didn't light up any stat lines from day one, and in this era of internet-augmented prospect coverage, you have to show good stats before you earn any acclaim. Iirc Ned Yost III had some nice things to say last season about Walla maturing & learning how to be a pro ballplayer, & that his improved stats were a byproduct of him just growing as a player & a person. So yeah you could say I have high hopes for him. http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif I'm really looking forward to the Timber Rattlers this season. It'll be about totally opposite from last season; there should be several good players to watch, & there'll be good talent in Appleton all season long.

It's too bad the OKC NBA team took "Thunder". That'd be a great nickname for a baseball team. Houston Thunder sounds kinda cool. Oh well. With the changes in NASA, & the franchise's shift to the AL upcoming, I can see why the Astros would look at a new nickname (aka re-branding). I think that, at the very least, they'll update or change their logo/color scheme/uniforms even if they decide to remain the Astros.

They also said it about Soriano [and Lee] Neither Carlos Lee nor Alfonso Soriano in their primes were nearly the caliber of hitter that Fielder is, though. Soriano's pre-FA career OPS was .836, Lee's .835, & you can make the argument both guys played in a higher offensive environment than Prince (.929 OPS) has during his career so far. And it's not just stats; I think you'd struggle to find a scout that wouldn't pick Fielder's swing well ahead of Soriano's or Lee's (during their primes of course). I don't disagree that the Tigers will wind up with a super-expensive & declined Fielder by 2016-'17 or maybe even earlier, but he's not your typical candidate in terms of projecting production. Look at a bigger guy like Tony Gwynn, who was a complete freak talent (a la Prince) -- he played at a high level well into his late 30s, and could basically still hit even in his 40s. Gwynn's durability was the problem as he aged, but Prince won't be playing RF... or maybe even at all on defense before long. While Prince-Gwynn that may be an extreme comparison, I think it's much more accurate in this case than using guys like Soriano or El Caballo who, while good hitters, don't really compare well to Prince.

Player OTY: Ryan Braun (2nd choice: Ramirez) Pitcher OTY: Yovani Gallardo ROTY: Wily Peralta Most Improved: Zach Braddock Surprise: Mat Gamel Disappointment: Manny Parra Gamel will surprise the doubters, much like Weeks, Hardy, & Hart before him. I think my 'most improved' & 'disappointment' could be interchanged. I honestly don't know what to expect at all from Braddock, Parra, & even Kintzler; I hope they all return to form. Questions: 1) Greinke 2) Frankie De La Cruz 3) 87-75, 2nd place in Central... WC candidate

Link This top-20 list was updated on Jan. 10th, just to be clear. If you're not familiar with Sickels, be sure to read the explanation of his letter grades, or he can come across as harsh. His top 5 (w/letter grade): 1. Peralta (B)2. Thornburg (B)3. Jungmann (B)4. Bradley (B)5. Green (B-)

I'd also like to look at the guys who'll probably spend all of 2012 at the affiliates below low-A ball. I guess it'd be a preseason all-rookie-ball team: C Dustin Houle1B Sthervin Matos2B Orlando Arcia3B Jalen HarrisSS Chris McFarlandOF Ruben OzunaOF Michael ReedOF Dionis Hinojosa P Osmel PerezP Gian RizzoP Joel DicentP Jorge LopezP Danny Keller With the caveat that I'm only guessing on placements... my uninformed list of players to watch at the higher levels: Low-A: P Drew Gagnon, P David Goforth, C Tyler Roberts, 1B Nick Ramirez, SS Yadiel Rivera, OF Max Walla High-A: P Taylor Jungmann, P Jed Bradley, P Jimmy Nelson, C Cameron Garfield AA: P Nick Bucci, P Tyler Thornburg, P Kyle Heckathorn, 1B Hunter Morris, 2B Scooter Gennett, OF D'Vontrey Richardson, OF Kentrail Davis AAA: P Wily Peralta, P Cody Scarpetta, P Mike Fiers, P Santo Manzanillo, P Mark Rogers (?), C Martin Maldonado (defense), OF Logan Schafer, OF Caleb Gindl EDIT: added Matos as the first baseman for the all-rookie team. The lack of power bats in the system is troubling, to say the least.

- Player OTY: Caleb Gindl- Pitcher OTY: Tyler Thornburg- New-comer: Jed Bradley- Most improved: OF Max Walla

A couple of nice images via discussion of this signing on reddit... http://i.imgur.com/70PdG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7yXKR.jpg Seems like the only thing that needed to match, as far as mini-Prince was concerned, was the Zubaziness of each garment.

Ab-so-lutely! Even at the time, I knew I was going to always be glad I was there to see that game. Prince/Rickie first career HRs! And Prince's was huuuuuge.

Thanks for the response, Patrick. And I have to agree with narwhal, my hopes are now officially up for Williams at #27. The guy I felt like that about last year was Javier Baez, who went three spots ahead of the Brewers' first pick (Jungmann)... so hopefully better luck with Williams. Glad to hear there are so many good arms available. I just hope the Brewers identify the right players at 27 & 28.

You have earned yourself 0% of Fielder's winnings I would've taken the Miller Park Special Cut -- 1/10th of 1%. Sadly, that would be $214,000 that I don't actually get to have.

Colby (or anyone), can you share a small pool of players you'd want to see the Brewers target at that #27-#28 juncture? Back to back picks seems like a nice position to be in, even though it obviously would've been better to be at the Nats' #16.

Hah! Nice.

This is probably just an 'exploratory' poll, and my guess is they'll find that the vast majority of fans want to stick with "Astros"... because like RockCo said, this is about $

Agreed, so maybe the 'Boras really screwed Prince' comments can stop. Congrats to Prince, super happy for him, & the Tigers are a new favorite team for me. EDIT: And '13, and '14, and '15... This is a mega-move by Dave Dombrowski. It's like the all-in move(s) Melvin made in '11, but for at least a three-season window.

The Astros are a historical nod to the NASA space program that was based in Houston for so long. Agreed, but the franchise started out as the Houston Colt .45s, so it's not like they've never changed their name. Does it really make sense for the Dodgers to be in L.A.? Traffic Dodgers isn't quite the same as the original Trolley Dodgers. If the Twins moved to say Albuquerque, what sense would the Twins name have there? The brand is what you'd be retaining. Both of those franchises have had enough success that if or when they moved, keeping the team nickname could or did make sense. And I guess for the Astros, they're at the point where they want to find out if "Astros" is iconic enough to the local fans to keep. Though I have to agree with you, I think they should just stick with "Astros" -- the motivation for exploring a change is pretty transparently about dollar signs, & not necessarily long-term or big-picture planning.

Good fit. The type of team with about 12 starting pitchers who could all be #1 or #2 types but who seem to go back and forth on a yearly basis and pitch down to 4 or 5 type starters. Hah! So... the anti-Dave Duncan/Cardinals effect? Nice.

Gamel's glove doesn't exactly invoke comparisons to Brooks Robinson's, but yes, throwing errors were what haunted him & eventually made his days at 3B come to an end.

Adam McCalvy blog post from today on the Aoki contract:

I still think of Jim's voice when I think of Packers glory. RIP. EDIT: I was glad to see the quote I most remember from him included in the WTMJ story... "Handoff, second guy, Bennett! Touchdown! Walked into the end zone! Edgar Bennett, with a hole on the right side, that you could drive a truck to the Super Bowl through." - Packers 30, Panthers 13, in 1996 NFC Championship Game"

Not the same person, obviously, but 16-yo Laura Dekker (of Holland) became the youngest person to complete a solo yacht trip around the world. http://www.aljazeera.com/...2012121202915337525.html

It's starting to look more and more like Prince and Boras are all in on a pair of twos. That third two is comin' on the river... I can feel it!

Yes, because guys like Lyle Overbay & Aaron Rodgers never amount to squat!

Good thing there are scouts then to analyze a player's swing & give opinions on whether or not the player has a good chance to hit at the big league level. Otherwise the only options the Brewers would ever have are to develop megastars like Ryan Braun or sign old expensive veterans. EDIT: And "the truth"? The truth is the sample size you keep citing on Gamel in the bigs is to small to mean anything one way or the other. I wouldn't be here telling you Gamel could hit because of his stats over a 171 AB sample. I'm telling you he can hit because he has a really good swing.

I don't see how fans can get upset with Melvin having a backup plan in case Gamel struggles like he has in the past. Well if the backup plan didn't stink, like I mentioned before I wouldn't have as much of an issue with it.