TooLiveBrew

I reject any arguments you make that don't agree with me, Sam. Stalemate! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Whoops, I misread that completely.

Yeah, Manny's not exactly a guy that seems too focused on team.

Ready didn't have much success in his time with the Brewers (fewer than 500 PAs), but went on to finish his MLB career (2,488 PAs) with a line of .259/.359/.387/.746... including a stellar 1987 season for San Diego in which he posted a .943 OPS in a part-time role. He might not have done well with the Brewers, but he certainly went on to prove he belonged in the bigs, if 'only' as a backup.

Thanks baldkin, sbrylski, & rluz. I knew this was the right place to ask this question. I guess what I really was trying to ask was answered by baldkin (the bell curve), but he also raised an interesting angle that I hadn't really considered (player compensation). A short thread, but a great one. Thanks again.

I smell a hint of trade value inflation when I read that comment from Ash on Jeffress. If there's anything to tout about the kid right now, it's his physical tools. An interesting response to a question about the Rattlers' game played in Miller Park this past season: "Yes, this game is scheduled again for 2010. In fact, in time we would like to broaden this concept to include some of our other Minor League affiliates. Perhaps even a "Futures" type game against another Major League organization in September." That intra-organizational 'futures game' concept is exciting to me. That would be pretty cool, especially at MP. As far as non-pitching prospects go, D'Vontrey is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. The Brewers seem to have a very well-stocked system, which of course is nice in general, but also a nice bit of ammo to have in an offseason where trading for top-tier pitching is the #1 priority.

Gord Ash, from his brewers.com chat: "The hiring of Rick Peterson not only fills the role of pitching coach but brings a defined overall pitching philosophy to the organization. He will work hand in hand with our Minor League pitching coordinator, Lee Tunnell, and our pitching cross-checker, Jim Rooney, to bring a consistent acquisition-development approach." So I guess there's the answer to the question of how much of an influence Peterson is going to be, organizationally. EDIT: "We will meet in January in Phoenix with all of our pitching coaches and medical personnel in what I will call a pitching symposium to review and possibly amend our pitching program for 2010." That's going to be interesting. I hope we'll be able to get some actual news from this, but I could understand the Brewers not wanting to disclose a lot.

That's an interesting observation, yoshii. However, if he had to avoid throwing the breaking pitches in order to stay healthy, I wonder just how much help Peterson could actually be. Iirc, Peterson focuses on 'pre-hab', so I wonder what he can do with already damaged goods. I guess we'll find out just what kind of magic he can work with injury prone pitchers. This is going to be an exciting offseason.

This excuses nothing. There is no form of reporting, or even simple conversation, that isn't subject to a moral code.It's subject to readers'/viewers' judgment as to whether or not they want to read/look. Obviously it doesn't meet your moral standards, and that's fine.

For those who dont want him around, well if he leaves, and goes somewhere else good luck with whom ever replaces him. If he stays I hope you can appreciate what a great person he is besides the player he is. Coach, your contributions are always appreciated, but no one here doesn't want Angel around. No one has questioned his character, or work ethic. I understand it must be tough to read critical and/or negative things said about someone you obviously care for & have a lot of mutual respect with, but I don't think you should take away such an antagonistic feel from this community. I hope you continue to drop by & provide the helpful updates you normally do. The Brewers are very fortunate to have both Angel & Jonathan in the system, so when there's an offseason with as much forecasted change like this one, I think rumors are bound to come up... and from that, inevitable critiques of both players. The fact that, like you said, Angel had a tough year in '09, probably leads to more favoring of Lucroy. Whether that's right or wrong of course remains to be seen, but it's very admittedly moreso a 'what have you done for me lately' approach than anything else. Scouts have questioned how well Angel will be able to defend on his way up the ladder, just like scouts questioned how Prince Fielder's body type would allow him to progress.

But did it take longer than mullet-izing & handlebarmustache-izing Prince Fielder?

ALCS Coverage: The Umps. The latest from FanGraphs (by Dave Cameron, also of USS Mariner)

R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs on the Peterson hire. An excerpt:

It's a gossip blog. They aren't about integrity.

Yup, the good old "human element" - "The first one with Swisher leaving too soon... In my heart I thought he left too soon." - "When he tagged Cano, I thought Cano was on the base, and when Jorge touched the base and continued and tagged Posada out, I thought Posada was out." Sounds like Tim needs to use his eyes, and not his heart. However, like I mentioned above, how on earth is a human supposed to watch a CF catch a ball, & simultaneously watch to see when the runner's foot leaves the base? The explanation on calling Cano safe, however, is just inexplicable. He was a over a foot away from the 3B bag when Napoli tagged him. (Link to transcript of McClelland's postgame comments) Kudos to Napoli, by the way, for a very alert play & good hustle as well.

If you picked up on that, DH, definitely check out Deadspin.com today & in the coming days. I have a feeling this could get very, very ugly for ESPN. Here's the quote at the end of the Phillips story from site editor A.J. Daulerio: "And since the tenuous connection between rumor and fact for accuracy's sake has been a little eroded here, well, it's probably about time to just unload the inbox of all the sordid rumors we've received over the years about various ESPN employees. Chances are, at this point, there's some truth to them. We'll just throw 'em out there and see how many 'no comments' or, you know, actual comments or 'you would be completely wrongs' there are about these situations. Consider this one giant all-day version of 'Deleted Scenes' or something." He'd contacted ESPN last month on a tip he'd gotten about the Phillips story on Sept. 9th of this year... "After a call to ESPN public relations department asking about the 'rumor' I was told that 'I would be wrong' to print that story because it was inaccurate. Fine. I would have been. But natural follow-up question to these types of rumors, as per give-and-take protocol, is well, what's the real story then? Was there an incident with Phillips that Baseball Tonight people are concerned about? However I was summarily nothing-to-see-here-please-dispersed." Everyone, grab your popcorn, sit back, & watch. Deadspin has already made another post starting with radio 'personality' Erik Kuselias... "as tiny an orb as he may be in the ESPN galaxy..." To potential link-clickers & readers, please keep in mind -- this is Deadspin, and there will be some nsfw language.

Yeah, Organ Piper was I place I went a lot as a kid. I have to admit I'm kinda surprised (& very glad) it's still open. Marty's is a good idea too -- though like trwi, I've only been to the Delafield location.

Daddy, what does selling out mean? It means the Black Eyed Peas, son.

If 'the human element' being a part of the game means this garbage, bring on the robots.

That was one fired-up, inspired pop-up from Abreu.

Oh Vin, why are you leaving us without your smooth pipes after this season!? The Dodgers are the next team after the Brewers whose games I've watched most since we've had Extra Innings. It's always worth it to tune in for Vin. He will be missed http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif You mean next season, right? Everything I see online says 2010 is his farewell season. Wow... I feel stupid -- this whole season I've been relishing listening to him bc it was his last! But I'm so happy that I 'get' another year of Scully that it cancels out my embarrassment. Thanks, Keg. Sheesh.

He could go with Phil Cuzzi's explanation for the missed ground rule double by Mauer in the ALDS @ Yankee Stadium -- he was too close to the play.

And, McClelland strikes again. Unbelievable. Cano & Posada were just both tagged while standing off 3B, standing right in front of McClelland. Cano was somehow ruled safe.

MLB needs to seriously consider going to sensors in baseballs & bases, along with electronic strike zones. Every season, there are plays that are missed, and in any given game, there can be plays where an umpire just has no real chance at making the correct call (blocked sightlines, etc.) Take Swisher getting called out for tagging up early tonight. The call was wrong (as was the call on the pickoff earlier that inning at 2B where Swisher should have been out), and the 3B umpire (Tim McClelland) never even looked down at Swisher's foot. He just assumed he'd left early because of Swisher's body's motion. However, if an umpire is supposed to be watching the CF catch the ball, how is he supposed to also look at the player's foot? He can't. Baseball just shouldn't continue to limit itself anymore. The technology is there, and just being ignored. The rhetoric of 'human error is a part of the game' is just plain silly imho. Human error is part of the game because humans allow it to remain part of the game. I would much rather take my chances on what would be much, much rarer electronic error. Jonah Keri (of Baseball Prospectus) wrote a piece on this for the Wall Street Journal (see below), which popped back into my head as I watched the replay of McClelland's eyes never looking down at Swisher's foot. I used to be on the fence as to whether or not 'robo-umping' was a good idea or not. No longer -- there's just too much compelling evidence imho that major changes are needed. Does Baseball Need Umpires? EDIT: And I should clarify that I don't think human umpires should be completely done away with, and even with its title, Keri's article doesn't make that ultimate assessment, either.

EDIT 2: Moved my post to the MLB forum; bumped the thread The Early Candidate for Worst Call of the Year. Felt my post fit there, and I'd like this discussion to be revived in a place where it will get more traffic.