TooLiveBrew

I can't believe anyone would want Yost back. Billy Hall would still be at 3rd Hall was Macha's starting third baseman through the first month+ of the 2009 season Suppan would be locked into the rotation for the year and we'd have press conferences about how Soup pitched great. This also appears to be Macha's plan.

Reportedly due to something he was taking so that he and his wife could start having a family... And I hear he's got a bridge he's looking to sell...

photo didn't show for me in your post, razzzor... http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4533569230_a6ebe0480a.jpg Awesome picture EDIT: Hah, and an even better avatar http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

This guy has got to have a very short leash. His career ERA & history of starting off roughly in April disagree. You're overreacting. The guy that should (& hopefully will) be out of the rotation first is Suppan.

I wonder if the Brewers are monitoring this situation with the biggest factor being Braddock's service time. Maybe he gets called up in mid-May or so?

So often on this site, statements [can] come across as though such projections are a total certainty, and therefore a prospect's got the same or greater value as a proven MLBer. I definitely took care to say "could", because you're 100% right. Ellsbury certainly has value, in that he's shown an ability to get on base in the toughest division in MLB, & clearly is an elite basestealer. I think Lo Cain has a higher power ceiling than Ellsbury, so even if he wouldn't perennially match a .350 OBP, his SLG would make up for some or all of the difference. Cain clearly can't match Ellsbury on the basepaths, but I prefer a bat to a basestealer. Ellsbury at this point has pretty much shown that he's not a positive with the glove in centerfield, so that cuts into his value. It's just not that hard to find corner OF bats that can put up a mid-.700s to low-.800s OPS, and like I said I think Cain absolutely has the ability to do that, & relatively soon. Whether he will or not is, of course, the whole thing. Cain's progression through the minors really is quite similar to Ellsbury's rise through Boston's system (of course Lo was drafted out of H.S., Jacoby out of college). At age 23, both players repeated AA after posting .800+ OPS tallies there the season prior. The main difference is that, in Cain's age-23 season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in April, while Ellsbury stayed healthy in his & earned a promotion to AAA. Lo's progression as best I can tell is really only one season behind Ellsbury's, and it appears to be so completely due to injury. If he beats up on AA pitching like he should, he'll be in AAA near the All-Star break, & knocking on the big-league door in Spring Training 2011 at the latest. I apologize if I've posted about a bunch of stuff you already know, MNBrew. Just thought the similarities btw. Cain & Ellsbury were interesting. If the Brewers had a need in leftfield, I think Ellsbury would make sense to ask about from Boston, even though he will be getting more expensive very soon. However, since that position is locked up for roughly the next 5-6 seasons, I'd rather them look for something else in return for Fielder. I am not familiar enough with Boston's MiLB system to speculate much further, though. From Jim Callis's Baseball America Top 10 from this past offseason, it looks like Casey Kelly would be my #1 target, but I have no idea whether that's fair value or not.

I don't see where anyone said he pitched well today

Let's DFA Prince while we're at it. The guy clearly can't hit home runs.

Cain will never come close to those numbers if he can even become an everyday player and we've seen what Gamel can do. Cain absolutely could come close to those numbers, & no we haven't really seen yet what Gamel can do at the MLB level

http://colorado.rockies.m...10_04_17_colmlb_atlmlb_1 Jimenez no-hits the Braves in Atlanta. 128 pitches, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts. 6 walks is the highest total I can recall offhand seeing in a no-hitter. Denver Post article

That's a good point, end. Weeks is a guy that can probably afford (literally & figuratively) to gamble in this type of situation.

"I like to keep to myself and be quiet. But at the same time, I am friendly, so don't be scared or shy to say hi to me, because I won't give you the cold shoulder." That's pretty cool. I hope the scouting report Isom gave isn't from a homer perspective, because like Tedaltada said, it sounds great.

and Odorizzi is/was of course "projected to add velocity as he fills out"™ Hah! I have nothing further to add aside from that I love your trademarked phrase. I guess I can add that I'm looking forward to catching some Timber Rattlers games in person this season. Hard to find a bad game to attend with so many talented arms in the rotation.

Sheets signed for $10M this offseason. There's very little indication that he wanted anything to do with the Brewers.

I haven't seen this linked here yet. Doesn't exactly clear anything up, but it's interesting nonetheless: Link

I'm racking my brain for any shrewd moves that he's made outside of the McGahee claim, and the Sabathia deal Todd Coffey's another one

A stud starter still only plays 4x every 3 weeks. A stud hitter plays 18-20x. No comparison. But a stud SP is much, much, much harder to find than a stud hitter. Not to mention that a pitcher is involved in far more of a game's outcomes when he *is* playing. Pitching is more valuable, justifiably so, and likely always will be.

Why wouldn't they be? One reason is because Boras clients rarely avoid testing the FA market. I know the 1B class could be relatively deep after 2011, but you never know. Pujols & Howard could sign extensions with their wealthy organizations, & Adrian Gonzalez could be traded & extended by his new team, which would leave Prince Fielder as the best bat available in that FA class. If Boras & Prince figure they could get a comparable deal to what the Brewers are offering now, even if the FA class includes all three of those other first basemen, then why not gamble & wait? I'd bet on the Phils & Cards extending Howard & Pujols before they hit FA, which would leave Gonzalez as Prince's only competition. While it hurts them to have the Yankees likely out of the bidding war (can you ever really say that?), there would be plenty of wealthy/able to spend suitors to throw money into the ring.

This seems completely unnecessary

Like you mentioned Yo & Parra have some upside, along with Narveson. For relievers, Coffey, Hawkins, Villy, Stetter (as a LOOGY), & even Hoffman are solid. Really your beef is with Davis & Soup, which apparently comprises the entire pitching staff.

Hah -- yeah, I know what you guys mean. It was just stated so definitively. Logic, rationality, common sense, sanity, etc. You're in Macha's world. These do not exist.

Well that sure is interesting. That's the first time I've seen Suppan's release being discussed as inevitable. I wonder what their source was in that regard.

The only trade that really seems bad is the Estrada trade. Even at the time people were very critical of the move.

His patience improved from '08 to '09 as well. I hope it continues to improve beyond that this season. I have little doubt he's about ready to be a backup OF & pinch-hitter against lefties. I think Mass Haas has a good idea in swapping Gomez for Katin so Carlos can work on his swing in Nashville. However, that leaves the MLB outfield defense a bit lacking. Although, I suppose as long as Gerut got a good amount of playing time, things would be ok. Unfortunately that would appear to take some doing with Macha.

What I think we learned (but really already knew) about Soup from yesterday's game is that he still doesn't have the stuff to get big leaguers out consistently. They have to get themselves out against him. I think the positive reactions are due more to the fact that he wasn't as bad as many/most were expecting, and like sheethead noted, that's not a good way to measure performance.