TooLiveBrew

Sorry for starting another thread, but I know folks will be interested in this one, at least. FanGraphs has a nice sortable list of the '09 Marcels. The default sorting filter is by wOBA. Brewers of note: .298/.352/.562/.914 -- Braun .282/.377/.530/.907 -- Fielder .280/.329/.483/.812 -- Hart .278/.336/.459/.795 -- Hardy .249/.357/.414/.772 -- Weeks .272/.343/.439/.782 -- Salome .243/.328/.436/.765 -- Cameron The Salome projection kinda surprised me, and I wonder how much Cam is still 'punished' by Marcel for the pitchers parks he played in

Yeah, and a basic connecting-of-the-dots tells you he was playing in Cuba's top league by age 16. Wow.

Per CBS Sports: CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox have reached a tentative agreement with young Cuban star Dayan Viciedo. The 19-year-old infielder/outfielder must pass a physical for the contract to be finalized, according to the player's agent, Jaime Torres. "He has agreed to a deal and is flying to Chicago," Torres said Friday. The contract was reported earlier by the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. The White Sox have been successful in signing Cuban players. Last offseason they landed infielder Alexei Ramirez, who eventually became their starting second baseman and batted .290 with 21 homers and 77 RBI. He finished runner-up in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting as Chicago won the AL Central. Jose Contreras, the second-half ace of the 2005 team that went on to win the World Series, is recovering from a ruptured Achilles' tendon. He is 50-43 in parts of five seasons with the White Sox. Orlando Hernandez also was on the 2005 championship team. "Alexei's performance with the White Sox -- he was given a great opportunity -- did open Dayan's eyes," Torres said. "And with Jose, that did play a role. ... But that's not the primary reason." What really hooked Viciedo was being told he would get a chance to play his preferred position of third base, Torres said, adding that his client also liked the package that was put together with the White Sox. Viciedo had 36 homers and 162 RBI with a .287 average over four years in Cuba's top league while playing 327 games. The White Sox are not expected to re-sign third baseman Joe Crede, and Josh Fields is one of the candidates at that position after spending most of last season in the minors. "Personally, I think he can," Torres said, when asked if Viciedo could go right to the majors. "I think I know the Cuban players and their talent." I don't know anything about this kid, but I'm betting that the good folks at BF.net's forums will fill in some of the blanks

Per CBS Sports: LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley had surgery on Saturday after fracturing his leg in a fall at his Pennsylvania home. Team spokesman Josh Rawitch said that the 24-year-old Billingsley slipped on ice outside his house in Reading, Pa., and suffered a spiral fracture of the fibula in his left leg on Friday. He had surgery to put a plate in and will be in a cast for two weeks. Rawitch said the surgery went as expected and Billingsley should be ready to throw by spring training. Rawitch said the surgery was performed by Dr. Paul Neuman, an orthopedic surgeon in Reading, after consulting with team surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Billingsley was 16-10 with a 3.14 ERA this past season. He lost Game 2 and Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Ow. [insert deer meat joke here]

If the Dodgers seriously prioritize Ramirez over Sabathia, I'm at a loss for words. Except one: COLLETTI!

That's the thing that people keep ignoring -- the value Hardy brings back in a trade. I can't believe people (in this hypothetical) would rather waste the AS-caliber production of a Branyan/Hall platoon & take not only inferior offense at 3B & SS, but forgo the kind of pitcher Hardy could net. Confusing.

Rottino and Irribarren play entirely different positions I thought Vinny played some 2B. Thanks for correcting my error, clancyphile.

On thing that imo gets lost in people reflecting on Braun having a good season in the field at LF is that Cameron's presence in CF gave him such a safety net. Don't get me wrong, Braun was much better than I'd expected/hoped, but Cam bailed him out many a time, and allowed Braun to have to worry about covering less ground than if we had a more average CF beside him. That said, I do think Braun could develop into an avg or above-avg. CF... but I'm not sure if it's worth the headaches that would come along with his learning curve. His value as a CF would be incredible, though.

For one, Branyon was hurt most of the year, and Hall cant hit righties for anything. Branyan wasn't hurt for most of the year, Yost kept him buried on the bench because he was a poor manager. And check the splits -- a platoon of Branyan/Hall would produce All-Star caliber numbers.

The Cubs see a need and right away they are out there trying to fill it while Melvin whiffed on every lefthanded bat available last winter. I'm sorry, I think Doug has far more pressing things on his table right now (CC/Sheets) than worrying about getting a guy that didn't hit RHP last season, and has been a very poor option at corner OF for the past two (Teahen) EDIT: I think [adding Crisp] somewhat speaks to what they think of DeJesus defensively. Joey Gathright, who has almost no power and isn't the threat on the basepaths you would think he should be given his speed, actually received more regular playing time in CF last year, so if they feel DeJesus is better in LF, they may have wanted to get more of a true CF. Fwiw, the 2009 Chone defensive projections have DeJesus at a +9 for the corners and a +3 for CF. Coincidentally, Mike Cameron's projected identically. Gathright's at +11 & +4; Crisp +5 & -3

the whole point what Cheez (i think) and i have been saying, is it's really easy to say, "we're going to go get a 3B that hits similar or better than Hardy, and sign him cheaper than what Hardy would make at SS, then trade Hardy b/c he has more value as a SS" but when you actually look at it, there aren't really any options at 3B available that would be near Hardy offensively (and probably defensively at 3B), you mention Blalock, have you looked at his numbers lately? That was the point of my mentioning that I didn't mean to get into an elaborate analysis of Blalock -- obviously I didn't check him out when I brought him up. I just thought of him as an example of a guy that would produce roughly what J.J. does. Now clearly it was a bad choice, but the point still stands that offense at 3B is far easier to come across than offense at SS. I certainly could go dig for some other (relevant) names, but instead I'll just say 'league-avg. 3B'. I don't really think Escobar is going to force this decision upon the Brewers this season, but if the discussion continues I will be happy to do some digging & find some tangible examples of dudes that could be had. I guess the funny thing to me is that I'm not advocating trading Hardy -- he's absolutely one of my favorite players -- but just trying to point out that Option 1 [Hardy at 3B + Esco at SS] is < Option 2 [Replacement 3B (like logan mentioned, we already have a good platoon in-house) + Esco SS + Return for Hardy in trade]. To me it's puzzling that anyone is really that set against this notion, bc I don't think it's something I've genuis-ly concocted. Just seems like common-sense to me.

Mark A didn't buy this team for the investment, he wants to win. While I agree that he wants to win, I think that he did buy the team for the investment, and that winning & profits tend to go hand-in-hand

I don't know that they are all that available. They're easier to find than at SS, which is really the only relevant comparison imo. As a base example (not wanting to get into specifics of expected future performance here), Hank Blalock could be available, and would provide comparable production to Hardy. I'm also not sure why playing him at 3B would prevent us from trading him as a SS. It wouldn't, but through a comment from Melvin, J.J. has told him he would not be "amenable" to the position switch. And this time, yes, I do believe Doug http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Agreed, Stevo, and neither fits in with Melvin's mold of 'buy low/sell high' DeJesus or Teahen are intriguing candidates, but neither one is really a huge difference-maker. Teahen's 2008 was actually pretty bad, even with normal BABIP numbers. Teahen 2008: v. RHP: .252/.314/.394/.708 (.290 BABIP) Overall: .255/.313/.402/.715 (.306 BABIP)

When/If Escobar is ready for the majors (assuming he is good enough to push Hardy out of the SS position) and Hardy is our best option at 3B, then he needs to play 3B. Who cares about his "value" there. Again, you're ignoring that we could get a 3B that would be closer to JJ's value, AND the value in return for trading one of the top SS in the game. I don't want to see Hardy dealt, but you seem to continue to omit this relevant factor. Hardy could very realistically net us a #2 type SP. Plus there's the whole 'J.J. has told Melvin he will not move to 3B' thing. I have serious doubt we will find the a trade to send Hardy out for a better hitting 3B without giving up a lot more. This isn't fantasy baseball here... The argument is not 'ship Hardy out for his direct replacement at 3B', it's that a 3B close to Hardy's production will be much easier to find than at SS. Therefore, you trade him as a SS, and get maximized value. If you get a 3Bman for him, great. I'd rather see them target pitching if the Brewers have to make the decision to move Hardy.

Cool! Congrats, splitter, and well done

I doubt Dunn signs anywhere that isn't going to play him nearly every day though. If you sign Dunn, which I would really love, you have to trade Hart and move Braun to RF. I agree that Dunn would never sign to be a part-time player (nor should he). I tend to think of him as a LH Burrell, with even more power. I am a big fan of Dunn, and even just seeing someone hoping he could be signed to MIL gets me excited. However, the rational part of my brain then returns & acknowledges that he is going to be one of the richest former FAs once the 2009 season gets going. If it could happen, yes -- sign Dunn & worry about how to get him on the field everyday later.

Pedroia 2008 Home: .344/.393/.519/.911 Away: .309/.359/.468/.827 I just don't think this was the right guy to win. Those are Coors-esque home/road differentials.

In 2008, Pedroia ranked 9th in the AL in The Hardball Times's RC (108), 23d in GPA (.281), and 18th in OPS (.869). Somehow I still let the MVP voting surprise/bother me. That's right, AL MVP with an OPS of .869.

Interesting. Did TH miss the boat on this one? Seems odd that'd come from the Trib. I like the plan -- why not try to give Escobar as much value as possible? If his bat can 'stick' & he handles 2B as well as he should, that gives Melvin a lot of flexibility regarding the IF/Weeks. I'm obviously a big Rickie backer, but if Alcides proves he's ready to hit MLB pitching, and Weeks can bring in value to help the team, I wouldn't value my fandom over an improved squad. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Sorry for the long post, just needed to get that off my chest that this "ideal" 3B really doesn't exist out there at this moment I think, at worst, you're mostly correct in that statement, but the point is also that [Hardy 3B + Escobar SS] might be < [Replacement 3B + Escobar SS + 'Return for Hardy in other trade']

I think the handwriting is on the wall for Rottino. It was telling that Salome seemed to be the choice when a 3rd catcher was used in September. Salome is undoubtedly going to be number 1 catcher at Nashville to start the year. Rottino has to beat out Rivera. It's possible he could, but the way Rivera handled the inactivity last season, why change? It's not like Rottino is all that young or that he's significantly cheaper than Rivera. If Kendall got hurt and missed substantial time, then they'll bypass either Rivera or Rottino and go to Salome anyway. Good points here JB. What I find interesting is that Rottino's versatility (don't forget he can handle some IF duty as well) actually pits him a bit against Iribarren as well. The Hurricane's LH status obviously helps him intangibly, but I can't imagine there's that much difference in talent. I don't mean that as a knock at either player, either -- I think both Hernan & Vinny could contribute in a part-time role

On the second part of the bolded paragraph. Sounds good to me, it would prevent unqualified voters like you from voting. 100% agree, trwi7. "As for the debate of what makes a player 'most valuable,' that one will rage on forever. And it certainly looks like I did my part to add to that debate. Enjoy yourselves." TH can be such an arrogant jerk. That sentence is about as self-congratulatory & condescending as it gets. I need no more reminders why I avoid his work. Yes, Tom, as long as knuckleheads like you cling to the only ways you feel you can understand baseball, & dismiss other more effective methods, the 'debate will rage on forever.'

Don't the Marlins just rake in cash? Their payroll is kept so low (2008: $21.8M), it really wouldn't surprise me if that's the case. For the Crew, I certainly agree with the guesstimates in the $85M-ish range.

I watched Adams pitch quite a bit here in Portland (SD's AAA) last season, and he really didn't stand out much. While I agree that he was probably worth not bailing on, I don't think it was a bad call overall.

From everything I've been hearing, the Yankees are, flat out, not going to lose out on this. Well I've read Sheehan too. Unless you're talking about some actual sources (not trying to claim you have no credibility -- I certainly know you could have much more reliable sources than the NY news media), I don't see why that line should be treated any differently from Sheenan's Post article claiming the Yanks would nullify any bidding competition with their first offer... only to see the rumors right after the 6/$140M offer to CC say that he turned it down.