TooLiveBrew

someone should ask TH that if Pujols hit .450 and the Cardinals were in last place if that would be a MVP season No way man! He didn't elevate his team enough if they were in last place!

"I like to weight my voting to teams in the playoff hunt because I think that puts more pressure on players and separates the men from the boys." TH: Proud sponsor of BIG-BOY TIME "This is an inexact science. With 10 names on the ballot, you could move guys around and drive yourself nuts putting them in the spot you feel is best. But that's the way I voted." "Inexact science" is putting what you did mildy, Tom. You should be ashamed of every aspect of your 'methodology' in your 'scientific process' "I voted Fielder higher than Braun because Fielder had a much better September when the Brewers were clawing to get in the playoffs. Braun was ailing, as we discovered, and did have the homer that put the Brewers in the playoffs, but I just felt Fielder did more down the stretch." I wonder how many other sportswriters voted with Tom for MVPDTSWHTIC (Most Valuable Player Down the Stretch with his Team in Contention). Yay for an arbitrary one-month ballot!

A 3rd-place finish seems like something Ryan should be very proud of accomplishing. Pujols is the kind of guy that other players almost just have to wait out until he really declines and/or retires to have any shot at the MVP. That guy is amazing. And I agree with FtJ that Berkman is the guy that really got hosed. He had an incredible season. EDIT: Los Angeles outfielder Manny Ramirez came in fourth after playing just two months with the Dodgers. Ugh. Sportswriters can be so obnoxious. Why did you have to leave us, FJM.com?!

One of Lamb/Branyan is a lock, maybe both (honestly, I'd prefer Lamb). Why Lamb over Branyan, AndThat? Of the positional players, Branyan is the guy I'd like to see retained the most. Don't forget Yost made him the invisible man for weeks leading up to his injury. Imo Russ is a very good Plan B at third base -- and I don't think that there's much of a chance that the Brewers could improve over a Branyan/Hall platoon at 3B.

El Chupacabra was the nickname given to him his rookie year. By whom? I don't think the WBC is something to get too worried about. If a guy wants to participate, there's really nothing else that can be said/done. Like Ennder, I prefer that none of our guys take part, but of course you know at least a few will.

Keeping a smile on your face is my job #1 http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

The talent had far more to do with it than the managers. Better?

He meant Edmonds. Jim Edmonds provides offense only at this point, and in fact hurts you in the field according to every metric I've seen this season/offseason. For a frame of reference, the Chone 2009 defensive projections have Cam as +3 in CF, Edmonds -6, Hart -8, Braun -7, Carlos Beltran & Grady Sizemore both +9. We'd be taking a big step down in terms of defense, and paying roughly the same amount of money. I think that at best you're talking a lateral move there. To top it all off, Edmonds is going to be 39 next season. EDIT: Chone 2009 OF defense projections

I don't criticize the manager just because his team fails (like I said, I think MOTY tends to be a team award). I think Ned Yost was of about the same impact in 2004 as he was in 2008. And fwiw I don't think they got lucky with young talent -- just like I don't think the Brewers have. I agree 100% that the Rays having the season they did in the AL East is incredible. Just goes to show how far talent takes you.

And Zambrano is every bit as much an injury question mark now as Sheets

Ok Paul. Share with us your answer for who will be a better choice than Cameron in CF.

Maddon didn't sprinkle magic dust on the team & transform them himself though. The team got an influx of top young talent that turned it around. Maddon, just like Piniella, had little to do with it.

Assuming we can't sign Sabathia and the Brewers feel that makes Cameron expendable, I wouldn't mind that. It cuts about $5 million off the payroll next year, it adds a switch hitter and he wasn't as bad as his numbers looked this year. I don't know if I'd want him in CF, but I don't think he would be horrible there. Swisher's OPS & BABIP by season (all stats via FanGraphs) -- 2005: .768; .266 2006: .864; .287 2007: .836; .308 2008: .743; .251 Swisher is someone I'd like to see the Brewers acquire (not for CF). The argument that gets used about Cameron -- 'He does things we already have' -- can be used in reverse here for Swisher. Not saying that I personally care about that, but clearly some people do. Swisher is not a top-tier player, but he does things we don't have... that people seem to want. He bats lefty (obv. switch) & draws BBs very well. Of course he does K quite a bit, and I know there are many fans that just can't get over that. Anyway for a stab in the dark at a reasonable BABIP to expect from him next year, I'd guess .275. Where would that put his production? Well, conveniently, his career BABIP is .279, with a line of .244/.354/.451/.805. And fwiw Bill James's 2009 projection for Swisher is .240/.359/.451/.810.

TLB: If he isn't different than other pitchers out there, then why are you suggesting an "ideal" scenario of a two year incentive laden contract in another thread? That doesn't sound like a normal pitcher as far as health goes, especially one who is a free agent, and one that is supposedly one of the best pitchers in baseball. Because I wouldn't want to do anything much more than a 4-yr. deal with any other pitcher out there. With all due respect, NDOGG, I think your impression of what pitchers are like in terms of health is off-base. A small to mid-market team like the Brewers can't afford the risk of taking on a contract much longer than 3 or 4 seasons. And that would be for a guy still in his prime-aged seasons, like Sabathia. Sheets is a 31 (iirc) y-o pitcher, and that's a risky time to sign any arm. Just look at what a horrible contract the Suppan deal now is. Are we really glad we signed a past-his-prime pitcher to a 4-yr. deal? I'm sure not. Sheets is still worth paying top dollar for, but just like any other 31-y-o or older pitcher, he's too big a risk to sign much longer than 2 or 3 seasons for the Brewers. When your payroll is restricted in the manner the Brewers' is, you can really only afford one or two albatross contracts, and sadly those have been burned up already in Soup's & Hall's. If he's still available for an incentive-laden two/three year deal, with perhaps vesting options for the second &/or third seasons, that'd be about my ideal contract.

Man it's almost like those guys think they have lives or something. it became the standard for funny, critical responses to bad/lazy writing. An incredibly valuable contribution, and imo a completely necessary check on the power of ignorant sportswriters.

Dunn is a monster

I think you should pimp-slap the cat. I agree with Paul -- cats are lame.

But while we're on him, he had an excellent year in AA, so to suggest he would have been ready by the allstar break isnt too much of a stretch. He had a good season, but fell short of SLG-ing .400 at Double-A. That is not MLB-ready, likely not even by the ASB. BABIP of .334 inflated things too. Brantley's a fine prospect, but is still a season or two away from being a positive contributor imo. Also, I'm not debating the Cameron isnt good at what he does, just thinking that we don't really need what he does. My only point was that he doesnt improve our weaknesses, which he clearly doesnt This line is so tired. Repeated over & over again so far this offseason by the same people saying that Cam is expendable. He OPS's .800 on a yearly basis & plays a fine CF. How can you possibly claim we don't need that? In a perfect world sure we go sign a LH 3Bman that has an OBP of .390 & hits the 30 or so HR that Cam provided in 2008. But the reality is that just ain't happening. Then adjusting to that reality, there's no realistic way you improve CF over Cam. In fact, most avenues people discuss on CF would actually be steps down. I repeat: Mike Cameron is a positive contributor to the team. The fact that he's not LH & carrying an OBP of .400 is almost 100% immaterial. Looking to replace him because he 'does things we already have' is making the team worse overall. We DON'T have a CF that can BB a lot & provide 30-HR power if Cam's gone. Focus on getting Sheets, as much as I hate to say this, a 2 year, incentive laden deal. That would be ideal imo. It will be interesting to see what the competing offers for Sheets are like.

I guess my point is that around here, people want to argue that Ben Sheets doesn't have an injury history to worry about, and people compare to him to every pitcher saying: 'See, he's normal as far as injuries go.' But he's not. No one is saying he doesn't have an injury history to plan around & worry about. The problem is when you say he's different from other pitchers in terms of injuries. It just doesn't hold up. It's just like fans claiming our bullpen was awful last season -- an emotional response.

Love this pickup for NYY. Another LH (switch-y) power bat with good OBP. I'd imagine he'll fill in for the loss of either Abreu or Giambi. I still think the Yanks should re-sign Giambi. EDIT: It'd be cool if the thread title indicated that this was not just a 1-1 swap http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Add me to the 'Wood, please' list. Imo he'd be a perfect target for a 1 or 2 year deal (preferrably 1)

at least KRod didn't win it Yeah -- I don't know if it's encouraging that Rodriguez didn't get any first-place votes, or scary that he got 7 second-place votes.

Man, me too Stevo. Get him out of that flexible, higher-leverage role. That would be nice. Certainly wouldn't amount for a huge difference in expected W-L record, but any amount that makes the Cubs weaker is gravy to me. Why? Because the Brewers have been so successful against him? Nope, because using your best RP as closer is not using him correctly. But I'm sure you've already encountered that on the BF forums so I won't bother trying any convincing.

Per The Disabled List Informer: After having undergone five months of rehabilitation, and having thrown pain-free over the past few months, Pat Neshek must now face the reality of undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He will be sidelined for the entire 2009 season, and may be ready to return for Spring Training in 2010. An MRI taken on Tuesday showed the ruptured Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Back in the early part of the 2008 season, Twins reliever Pat Neshek had suffered a partially torn UCL, but he and the medical staff opted for rehabilitation over surgery. At the time, Twins Physician Dr. Dan Buss noted that with rest and rehabilitation that he should be able to avoid surgery. A second opinion by famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews also supported rehabilitation over surgery. Said Neshek, at the time, "They told me there's an 80 percent chance of a successful rehab, so it sounds like I'm not going to have surgery. I'm looking at trying to get back by Opening Day next year." So, while the period of rest allowed for the ligament to heal and scar over, apparently the training he was doing over the past few months was slowly stressing and weakening the ligament, leading to the eventual pain he felt due to the tearing of the ligament. From a fantasy standpoint, those in leagues that count holds can look elsewhere. The setup man for Joe Nathan is probably not going to be determined until late in Spring Training, though there have been whispers that rookie Jose Mijares could fill the role. Other options include Matt Guerrier or Jesse Crain . There is also a good chance that the Twins will go out and try to sign a free agent.

The Dodgers have huge contracts coming off though. Furcal, Kent, Penny, Lowell and Nomar. And then more next year with Schmidt and Jones. Although I was probably wrong that they have more $$ coming off the books than NYY. I don't have time to fact-check on Sherman, but in his article he notes the Yanks are seeing ~ $88M freed up. I still think LAD is the odds-on favorite for Sabathia, and part of that is because even at his high AAV, he'd be a sound business investment (unlike paying Lowe, for example) that would actually help the Dodgers make money. There are no consequences for the Yankees[/boSox/LAA/etc.]. I completely agree, RyDogg. Very little need to worry about risk/reward. It's a frustrating part of the game, but I do think the way that younger players' values are held down by the arbitration process is an interesting way of addressing the discrepancy. It really rewards teams for building the 'right' way, and is a strategy that even a team like the Yankees can benefit from (& Cashman certainly is taking the org. in that direction).