TooLiveBrew

'The fans' usually do a pretty good job on that survey. I think, if anything, they tend to err on the side of being critical. But if you take that grain of salt when reviewing the numbers, this survey is always pretty useful & objective.

Yep, and through zero fault of Melvin or the Brewers. This is the bed Prince has made, & if there's backlash against the organization due to the outcome, it'll be incredibly annoying.

Has a good arm, but was a 7th round draft pick and profiles as a reliever. His height probably doesn't help matters either. Hmm, I swear I've read rave reviews about his arm... I definitely don't remember coming across anything pegging him as a reliever already. Not disputing anything, CWH, I just hadn't seen such bear-ish reports on him yet. Bummer. Didn't Toby/AndThat have some pretty glowing things to say about Goforth both on draft day & after?

Cool! Welcome back, Seth.

Oh, good. A nice discussion of the Brewers' bench has turned into the Luke Scott is a Racist trial.

Yeah, thanks for compiling this, CWH. I think the guy that stood out most to me was Goforth at #28. He's routinely mentioned as one of the better arms in the system, & I think this user-driven top 50 shows just how reliant we are on stats & familiarity with players (Rogers at #23)... Gennett reeks of that too imo. I'm a little surprised people would project Gennett ahead of Yadiel Rivera or Chris McFarland. To take on most of your list of players there, CWH...- Bucci: should definitely be ahead of Scarpetta, he's one the Brewers FO has talked about quite a bit. I just get the feeling they see projectability in him still, & all he's done is pitch well.- Ke. Davis: compared to Gindl seems fair, including defensively. Both should defend well or ok in a corner spot, & probably have just enough pop to do so at the big-league level (although maybe not full-time)- Nelson: I'm going wait-and-see with him. Hoping he continues to improve.- Maldonado: I agree on him, I'd like to see him get utilized more.- Garfield: Tyler Roberts probably deserves a mention just as much as Cameron, but Garfield seems to have the higher ceiling.- Prince/Wheeler: Prince I still am optimistic about, Wheeler seems like just a guy or injury depth. - Reed: I included him, but I've read everything from 'avg. athlete who gets the most out of his tools' to '5-tool player who could do it all'. I'm excited about his potential, but he needs to play. I had him right next to Walla because I think they sound similar.- McFarland: great get in the draft, and in the last year that this type of signing will be allowed, no less. Always good to add another quality SS.- Gagnon: seems low at 21 I agree on your take on the DSL contributions, & think the DSL names Rizzo, Dicent, & Perez could become a lot more familiar in 2012 & beyond.

There could have been an understanding from the start that the Brewers wanted to see Aoki against live competition in ST, & then decide whether or not to tender an offer. That way, Aoki wouldn't have to totally relocate to the US unless there's a contract agreement. I'm guessing no feathers have been ruffled here with how this has played out so far. For a comparison, the player the Yanks won via posting fee this offseason declined to sign with them since he didn't want to be a bench player. Initially, the Yanks got called the evil empire for 'blocking' him from signing with another team, and they hadn't intended to sign him all along. But if the Brewers do basically the same thing they Yankees did, it's on the up & up? I think this is just how these types of deals play out.

My reaction when I read this was, 'Good.' I think he definitely deserves it. I agree about Bagwell, Edgar, & Raines, they should be in too.

EDIT: got rid of ad hominem post It'll be interesting to see how Rizzo does. Obviously he's thought of highly for more than just his stats in the minors, since he was the main piece sent for Adrian Gonzalez & has now been re-acquired by the same dude who traded him to the Pads. The more I've learned about baseball, & especially MiLB, is that minor league stats are not necessarily a reliable way to assess a prospect. Just because someone shines statistically doesn't make him a legit prospect, & just because someone flops at a given level or levels doesn't make him a bust or dud either.

Iirc McFarland was the guy they were able to pry away from a Rice commitment, & was definitely viewed as more like a 5th-10th round grade type.

I've been tired of the swing offense from the day it began. I love just about everything else Bo Ryan does as a coach, but his teams' lacks of offense & athleticism drive me batty.

I think you already have the other first basemen on the team in Green & (occasionally) Ramirez. Maybe there'll be another NRI (a la the Brooks Conrad) offer to a guy who profiles more purely as a 1B/DH type, but I don't think there will be someone like a Pena/Scott/Kotchman signed. Those guys will be too pricey.

MLBTR link The deal buys out his last season of salary arbitration (2012) & three years of free agency eligibility. It'll cover his age-28 through age-31 seasons. If the reported dollar amount is correct, that's an AAV of just under $8.5M.

Those are some crazy similarities! I definitely have to back Santos Laguna now. Same here.

Yeah, I think the bullpen is Rogers's future, and there's nothing wrong with that at this point. I just want to see him let it fly.

Just the fact that Peralta is in a top-50 is super exciting to me. I can't wait to see him up in Milwaukee.

So if the rumor of three teams being interested in him is true, the Rockies would have to be one, right? And the Rangers' beat writer posted that the Rangers are one of the other two teams. I agree with Invader that an AL team would make sense for Hawpe, but he could be a good fit for a team like the '12 Brewers, too. I won't wring my hands on this one, seems like there are plenty of guys for this kind of role each offseason.

So would something with a weighted average of the past three seasons' UZR or UZR/150 make more sense? Maybe valuing players in that way in general makes sense, not just defensively.

Santos Laguna I guess I have a team to root for now in the Mexican Primera. And very well-said about the game's appeal.

I can't shake FIFA 12. I have other really good games, but I just don't wind up playing them much. Any other FIFA addicts?

Damon's also probably super-expensive for what production you actually get (remember he'd be a total negative on defense)

For me, it's the conditioning/fitness & skill involved. I know the sport can sometimes live up to , but honestly it's a very physical game & requires tons of skill to play well. Also, plays/players like this suck. That is all.

Geez, sorry guys. Hope Cleo hangs in there, & sorry brett.

Soccer, really any mid-level league or higher is always great to watch

Anyone else worried about the lack of power or talent that the Brewers have for their bench in 2012. No. Right now the bench will be something like Kottaras/Green/Izturis/CF Platoon/Aoki. Sure there's no Branyan there to clobber homers, but Green will be a good pinch hitter, Kottaras will be serviceable (def. better than Kotsay), & I'd have to guess Aoki could hold his own, too. I think Green's power will actually surprise some fans.