TooLiveBrew

Oh man do I agree about that pet peeve with Hall. I thought Branyan was a better fielder at 3B honestly in watching them both play. Hall has better range, but 3B is less about range than it is good, soft hands & an accurate (non-rushed!) throw.

By season (& level) -- [b]2005 (AA)[/b] .283/.343/.400/.743, 290 AB, 28 BB 42 K [b]2006 (AAA)[/b].279/.326/.391/.717, 373 AB, 24 BB 56 K [b]2007 (AAA)[/b].216/.250/.351/.601, 37 AB, 1 BB 9 K [b]2007 (AA)[/b] .259/.322/.404/.726, 270 AB, 28 BB 56 K [b]2008 (AAA)[/b].299/.343/.424/.767, 368 AB, 27 BB 73 K [b]Overall (1338 AB)[/b] .280/.332/.404/.736, 1338 AB, 108 BB 236 K Courtesy of the lovely Minorleaguesplits.com. McGehee's page Seems reasonable to expect Casey to be able to hit RHP about like his minor-league career line. Might get on base a bit less than that, but probably close.

Guh. Curse you, indeed, TBWS!

I really, really hope Weeks blows up & justifies an extension. But what I expect is for him to be here through at least 2009 & if Escobar forces Melvin's hand, so be it.

Phew! Ryan, just stop it with the 'scaring us' already http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

Great comparison, joepepsi. Gotta wonder if Mike had night sweats after Hunter signed that deal with LAA.

There is value on both sides, unfortunately that idea seems to have gotten lost along the way I think this is grossly overstated. Again, I just don't see much evidence to back up this claim. And it's not like whichever poster you're talking about was/is the only person to be skeptical of Salome's value if he can't stick behind the plate. Clearly saying he'd be "washed out already" is overstating things, but I just honestly have no idea where you're finding this loss of balance (Master Crew07 http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif) EDIT: It's way too easy to play the "statistical" card in a disagreement because it's en vogue these days, any comment based on observation is slammed from the sabermetric mountain top on high. This is where I feel your argument is lazy. What seems too easy to me is to point to some unidentifiable & basically intangible foe. I don't think it's my own personal bias at play to disagree 100% with you that this person or these people exist(s) at BF.net, because they just don't to the degree you cite here. I mean, why shouldn't people have questions about Escobar's offense? Every single scouting report I've read on him does. There's just no way to know what to reasonably expect from Alcides at the plate in 2009, and quite frankly I think people should be critical as to whether or not prospects are ready. Hardy had service time wasted because the Brewers weren't cautious enough with him -- I sure don't want to see the same thing happen with Esco.

First impression: Seid was very quick to point out (by name) the people working with him (& in most cases, assumedly for him) On the massive amount of work that goes into a scouting department: "This particular situation came about because of the good things we've done in the organization for the last... 9-10 years. Obviously it started with Jack Zduriencik in 2000, and you know, we started drafting some pretty high-profile players that wound up being a pretty big part of what we're doing, and everyone had their input into it. We've had 4 scouts, including myself, [that] have gone on to other organizations to become scouting directors, and everything that we've done so far to this point has been.... we've been able to upgrade some of our scouts that have been with us for 15 years. As a matter of fact, Doug Reynolds on the East Coast was an area scout for 15 [years; promoted to East Coast Crosschecker], Corey Rodriguez on the West Coast for 15 [promoted to West Coast Crosschecker], Ray Montgomery [Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting] has been with the Brewers for 7, & I've been with them for 12. When you think about the 4 guys that have been a part of this organization, and now are basically myself & the other 3 crosscheckers... we've got three guys that are 40 -- I'm 47 -- and we've got 50 years combined in scouting with this organization alone. There's not many organizations that can say that." On the difference(s) between a scout & a crosschecker: "Well, the area scouts go out & they, you know, find the talent for you -- and you've gotta have good ones. I mean, you've gotta have guys that can go out & really dig, really know what the tools are and how the tools will play, you've gotta find out the make-up, and are able to really put it all together & say, 'This is a guy that's gonna help the Milwaukee Brewers become successful.' Now, all of us have done that -- myself... Doug, & Corey, & Ray. So we know, from a scout's standpoint... that job is probably one of the most important jobs in baseball. But now as a crosschecker -- with the experience that they have -- they come in, and with the information they're getting from the area scout, now they're trying to evaluate those particular tools, the make-up, compared to other players in the full region. ... Corey does the West, Ray does the Center, and Doug does the East. So now they're not only looking at just a small portion, they're looking at a wide scale of the players in the country, and they're lining them up in their [own] opinion to see who the best player is." On the influence of scouts relative to crosscheckers in the June draft/talent evaluation: "We highly value every scout's opinion -- you know, they see the guys more than I will, and the crosscheckers [will]. They may see them 5, 10, 15 times, and build a history up with a player. Now, we've instilled into our scouts how important it is to know each player... and we have good scouts. We have a couple young guys that are learning the trade right now, but they're learning under the tutelage of a Doug, of a Ray, of a Corey, of myself. So the confidence level that we have -- that I have -- in the scouts when they bring a player to the table, is very high. As a scouting director, for instance, if I go out & see a player, I might see him one time, maybe twice. And if I don't see a guy [play] as well as they think [he does], but I see some of the things that they're talking about in that player, and [the scout is] able to tell me that, 'Hey, this guy is better than this, he's shown me this...', I have no doubt that what they're telling me probably makes sense in the long run. I've been there before; I know how that is, so I understand what they're trying to convey to me." On the reward of seeing the young players the organization has scouted hit the big-time: "When I first started with the Brewers in '97 -- Corey & Doug were with them in like '93/'94 -- we'd go to games, as the Milwaukee Brewers scout and it really was, 'Ok, so yeah the Brewers are here, so what?' Now when the Brewers are at a game, [that] presence is there... and that's because of what we've done -- because of the hard work, the grind-it-out work that we do, and people take notice. That's a good feeling to know that when you're at a game, you're kind of separating yourself a little bit from some other organizations that I know are where we were 10-15 years ago. Now it's a different story -- we're very proud of what we've done; we've been doing a lot of stuff through the scouting end of things, and as I said... ownership, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash [all] believe in what we're doing, support us every which way possible, and that makes us feel real good as well." On drafting strategies/philosophies: "We wanna get All-Stars. Our job is to help make this team a championship team. You know, personally, high school [vs.] college -- they come from all over. If there's an arm that can help us... win a championship sooner [rather] than later, we're gonna probably go for that arm. If there's a position player that is an All-Star type guy with tools, and is gonna bring people to their feet at the stadium, we're gonna be excited about that guy." On some of 'his guys' coming up through the system (Lawrie, Jeffress, Escobar) -- how good is this wave of talent?: "That's a tough one to answer, because I really don't see a lot of those guys on a daily basis... but we're pretty excited about the players we have. For instance, I signed Taylor Green when he was a 25th-round draft pick, and when you think of [him] as a 25th-round draft pick, and then you see a Brett Lawrie & you see a Jeremy Jeffress, and we drafted some pretty good players in last year's draft who are maybe a couple more years away... I think you're going to see... a team that's going to be well-rounded from a pitching standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, as well as the hitting standpoint. It's hard to match Ryan Braun & Prince Fielder every draft -- that just doesn't happen all the time."

That's close enough to give us first hand reports from Helena! I expect you to plan accordingly... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif Nice. Unfortunately the best I can do is the Padres' AAA team here in Portland. Luckily for me their minor-league system rates out as one of the worst in MLB!

I've seen you guys continually rag on people that ignore advanced statistics but you're the same, you ignore the talent and scouting side forming opinions based solely on metrics, shouldn't there be a happy middle ground here someplace? I don't see how you can honestly make that claim, unless you just really don't pay attention to most of the discussions here (which I personally don't think is the case). I can't think of one so-called 'stat head' that ignores scouting. That's just a lazy and sort of insulting jab to take imo. I think one of the things that makes this community great is that there is a good balance struck in the stats/scouting discussions.

You mean like that obviously juiced Jamie Moyer? Yeah... honestly, in what climate is it a surprise that a 40-y-o has to hang 'em up? Not sure what steroids have to do with this. As an aside, I certainly wouldn't count Moyer out of possible PED use just because he doesn't throw hard.

Jose Bautista just a few years ago . . . December 15, 2003: Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2003 rule 5 draft. June 3, 2004: Selected off waivers by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from the Baltimore Orioles. June 28, 2004: Purchased by the Kansas City Royals from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. July 30, 2004: Traded by the Kansas City Royals to the New York Mets for Justin Huber. July 30, 2004: Traded by the New York Mets with Matt Peterson (minors) and Ty Wigginton to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger. February 18th, 2004: Was in The Woodsman, with Kevin Bacon. See? It's always in 6 degrees or less! I wonder if guys getting bounced around so much like this is more an indicator that they're just slightly better than replacement-level players, or if it's a testament to the fact that many teams see things they like about said players. With Paulino being a catcher, I wonder which is more true.

Honestly I'm confused why anyone is pausing to ask any questions about any coach taking the UK job. Good for UK to right the wrong in hiring Gillespie.

I know its been many a moon since i'be posted but it is amlsot a new yea r and its imortntan that i come backe and post toniht, I have to admit as a berwer fan that i met a cub fan tonight and he was a cool kid, so i actually hung out with two cubs fans who were good people.. made me realize that even the crappiest fans have good seeds... anyways.. im wasted, the yankees blow... i hope we sign hoffman and i hate the cubs... ps.. this is profafl y one of the clearest drumk posts i've made... sacary isn't it? Veray sacary, man. Veray sacary. (funny thing is that while I was reading that post, & before you addressed it, I actually had the thought, 'Man, Jeff's typing at almost a 4th grade level there -- good on him!')

This one seems more like a 'fair game' kind of thing to me -- not any sort of right/wrong issue. I don't bug out when I see a new cashier open up, but if no one's walking over there, I sure will.

I've already said I don't think Melvin will do anything, he's not a bold GM, he makes the obvious moves and does well evaluating talent, but in my opinion his moves have been of the routine variety. No I don't consider deadline deals as bold moves as that's what every club in contention does, it's the obvious move that fans have come to expect. That's why people continually post about acquiring Peavy, Halladay, etc... teams in contention acquire names at the deadline. So the Sabathia acquisition apparently falls victim to this description? That was as bold a move as I've seen any Brewers GM make. He beat the other 'deadline buyers' & added an elite player that proceeded to pitch his butt off. Sorry to veer off-topic, but saying Melvin isn't "bold" just seems like a blanket statement that isn't necessarily based in truth. Honestly if many fans had their way, GMs would make way too many moves. I like Melvin's style just fine -- what GMs are out there that have success wheeling & dealing a lot? Take BABIP for example... because of how BABIP is used it's biased towards power hitters, because if 2 players hit for exactly the same average but one hits 30 HRs and one hits 2, the guy with 30 will have a more sustainable BABIP because he had 28 more hits removed from the equation so his average is lower. How often is that little tidbit glossed over in the various studies based on BABIP around the web? It's not like Escobar's BABIP last season in Nashville was anywhere near sustainable. If it were I wouldn't really find it problematic for you to focus on it so much.

Wow, really surprised to see this. Probably a good move for him in terms of prestige, but the Wazzu fans seemed to love him... plus there was that whole 'we let your dad give you his coaching job' clause in Dick's contract while at WSU. Surprising move imo.

I'll enter as well (admittedly for my Dad, though, as I now live in Oregon... dad lives in Appleton)

I know it is exciting to have a guy who will make highlight reel plays on a regular basis. I would just rather have the total package offensively and defensively like we have in Hardy. I think it helps us win more games than a great defender. My hope is that Escobar has a good season in Nashville and makes our offseason decisions in regards to Weeks and Hardy really difficult. Part of the problem with this point (imo) is that what I, for one, am excited about isn't that Escobar will be on highlight shows -- which he most certainly will. It's that his defense is basically Hardy's with plus-plus range (from basically all scouting reports). I could honestly care less whether or not Alcides winds up with highlights or not. What excites me about his defense is that he will convert more outs than Hardy does. The highlights will just be a natural byproduct of Escobar's great range.

After correctly foretelling the Brewers' demise in 2009 based off of strolling through the clubhouse after one loss, Richard Justice sets out to continue his sorcerer's ways... why do you mock our base mortal minds, Justice?! One is that the NL Central turns out to be better than we think. We agree the Cubs are going to be good, but the Pirates, Reds and Brewers are mystery teams. They could all be lousy, or they could all be competitive. The Brewers, a playoff team in 2008, who by most projections are at 85 or more wins, are such a mystery! If I've told Berkman this one time, I've told him a thousand times: Be more like sportswriters. We don't complain. We get up everyday thankful for what we have and don't focus on what we don't have. We're role models in every sense of the word. Oh give me a freaking break, you hack. Get a grip. EDIT: Cheezwiz beat me to it... what a moron this guy is. But hey, he's on TV sometimes!

Lou just accidentally made the right move. Karma, time to hit Milwaukee please.

JJ needs to man up and recognize what's best for the team "man up" = take far less money than you're worth? The idea that Hardy owes the Brewers this theoretical move to 3B or 2B doesn't make sense to me. If he could get a comparable contract at 3B/2B, then I see no reason why he wouldn't sign. Trouble is that the Brewers don't necessarily have room for that kind of contract.

U R DUMM! LOL U SUCK!

That makes me so happy I almost want to try to cram it in as my signature. Surprising to see a B- grade for Ownership... seems harsh, especially when the only critique was Attanasio's involvement in the Yost firing, and that Dave Cameron followed up by saying, "overall, he's mostly stayed out of the baseball operations team's way." Oh well, I'll just have to be happy with the combo of an A- for MLB talent & an A- for minor league talent http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Yeah, the idea that celebrating being one of 8 MLB teams to make the postseason is sad is just, well, sad. I'm really looking forward to seeing this banner this coming season.