TooLiveBrew

I took teatoe's words in the OF thread literally, since I agreed with his sentiments: "Someone should start an infield thread if there isn't one already. Ideas would really fly there." So let's get talking. I'll start with the SS question... I understand Escobar's awesome defense, and this comment has nothing to do with Alcides... at this point, J.J. imho is the player that should have to get displaced, not Escobar. I understand the contractural implications and all, but if Alcides's bat really is MLB-ready for 2009, then 2B is the spot where he should be playing. I know that overall, SS is the more valuable defensive spot. But moving Hardy to 2B really makes the range of the right side of the IF a big concern when paired with Fielder. A SS Hardy & 2B Escobar combo would be such an upgrade over what we have now defensively that it really wouldn't even be funny. I think in general people know how I feel about Rickie Weeks. But if the decision starts to become 'Hardy or Escobar at SS?', then I think I'd rather have it posed as 'Keep Rickie or JJ?' Hardy's approach at the plate in general is second imo only to Fielder. J.J. has really surprised a lot of people, I think, this season. Most/many around BF.net felt his power would taper off a bit heading into 2008, but JJ is right there, both in terms of counting stats & SLG. His more polished & improved plate discipline (& OBP, of course) only makes me that much more confident looking beyond 2008. In summation, I think SS J.J. + 2B Escobar > SS Esco + 2B J.J./Rickie. Now, if Hardy would accept a move to 3B, then imo that'd be the perfect storm. However, since I think it's a bit unreasonable to hope for what would essentially be our best-case scenario, I look at it as though Hardy would not move to third. The 3B question is a whole separate can of worms. I just hope, in any event, that Russell can come back healthy for us (the sooner the better, obviously). Bill Hall has not been the answer this season, nor will he be the answer next season. He can't hit RHP. He just isn't a good option. If the answer for 3B could be a strict Branyan/Hall platoon, that'd be great imo (Hall '08 v. LHP: .383/.549/.932 OPS; Branyan '08 v. RHP: .375/.658/1.033). Unfortunately, we have a manager that seems to value the 'I know you better' factor, and keeps Branyan from contributing because... ? We have a pretty darn good 3B candidate for '09 (Branyan/Hall), but will the manager capitalize on it?

Stop hacking into mlb.com and putting Star Wars pictures on the schedule TooLiveBrew. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif I find your lack of faith disturbing (if I actually knew how to do that, I probably would have at least tried by now) http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Yost once again bats two players who have no chance at hitting a homer, when he's down one run. I can see Counsell's gritty battling with one out, but Kendall with 2 outs was just inexcusable. I was wondering the same thing. One of the two, you could sort of rationalize. Ned gritty-battled the bottom of the 9th. I miss you, Russell.

This is not a Yost issue, its a Melvin issue. Imo it becomes a Yost issue when, with Dillard & DeFelice presented as alternative choices to Riske/Gagne/et al, the high-leverage work continues to go to David & Eric.

I think a 3rd-grader just demonstrated movie-maker skills that far surpass anything I could hope to put out. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif What a cool video. I especially like the Prince 'admiring his shot' picture as the song wraps up... just seems fitting there.

I think the Brewers keep Schroeder around because he appeals to the Milwaukee core fan base: he's a beer drinking, big gregarious guy, down to earth and has a sweet 'stache. One thing that I still love about Rock is that he's been there through the absolutely pitiful seasons, and has been 'our guy' for some time now. He makes his boneheaded comments (and believe me, that's just par for the course when it comes to MLB color announcers), but his enthusiasm & passion for Brewers baseball is one of the biggest reasons I enjoy tuning in for a FSN broadcast. Rock certainly can make me laugh (both with & at him), and I agree 100% on the nice relationship that has developed between BA & Schroeder, and to be sure, Trenni as well.

TH claims to know so much about minor league baseball and at times he doesn't show it. Imho the only opinions that should be trusted on minor-leaguers are from people who watch them play on at least a semi-regular basis. TH obviously doesn't have the time to do so during the regular season. What concerns me is that one of the things we heard about Braun was that 'it was his footwork' and he could improve. I sincerely hope Mat can shore up those defensive concerns.

Gotta go the opposite way! I'd put this in the "be careful what you wish for" category. With the MLB package, I hear much, much, much worse. I'll echo this, too. Our TV duo (believe it or not) really is, at worst, in the top 10% of MLB TV announcing teams. Add Trenni into the mix as the sideline reporter, and you're probably talking top 5%. I personally like the Marlins' guys, the Astros' guys are solid, and beyond that it becomes more individual announcers that I like (Ken Singleton on YES, Vin Scully for the Dodgers, etc.). I'm probably forgetting a team or two I like, but for the most part the broadcasters are either very, very average, or just flat-out obnoxious.

RICKIE WITH THE RUN-SAVING PLAY! (my semi-irrational love-fest continues)

I thought the denser concentration of top/higher prospects (instead of having rosters highlighted in many cases by guys like Nelson Cruz & Kevin Mench) would transfer to an overall higher amount of competition/difficulty. I can see how 'fewer prospects' and 'better overall play' aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I've seen plenty of AA and AAA games and the talent just isn't that close. The biggest step up in the minors might be A/A+ to AA, but AAA has more talent Thanks -- I've seen my share of AAA ball, but no AA. Just made a bad assumption... and I thought I'd heard it bandied about here. I was wrong.

That's what I'm hoping, dj. Get better asap Russell! If a healthy (enough) Branyan can come back for any potential postseason, I think the Brewers would be thrilled.

I think you're thinking of Geoff freaking Blum.

CC Sabathia is my bestest friend. He doesn't know that, but you know, minor details. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif I can't wait to watch him work again tonight.

Way to go Jason! I don't get the SABR publications, but I've read some stuff in the past. You're in very good company. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Hall's OBP ends the debate on picking the goat from Fielder & Hall. Hall has sucked royally at the plate this season. His D has been a nice surprise. Plus Braun was ripping up AAA ball at the time. Gamel has only had a cup of coffee in AAA. AA tends to be tougher overall competition, not AAA.

As long as this means as few AB as possible for Hall v. RHP, I'm happy. Solid pickup given the time of year & team's needs imo.

It looked like it hit not the foul pole itself, but the metal "netting" that hangs of the pole. I only saw it a couple times, though. It sounds like everyone else saw the ESPN feed. Trust me, the YES camerawork is nearly flawless every single game, and they had a great angle of the hit. It caromed off the facade/catwalk high above the LF bleachers. The high-arcing blast was pulled by the RH Rodriguez, and hooked 'around' the foul pole (even though it traveled far past the actual pole). I didn't see anything in the YES replays to indicate that the call was anything short of correct. To me, the real head-scratcher was the 1-2 fastball that appeared to nail the inner half that was somehow called ball two. Unless I'm on crazy pills, that AB should have been over before Rodriguez even got the chance to hit the bomb at the 2-2 count.

One thing that I think should be clarified is that these are option years. In other words, there are (iirc) unlimited calls-up & sends-down, not merely one to three chances to send a player up or down.

Rauch has a 6.00 ERA and .927 OPS against for Arizona and has missed some time with forearm stiffness. Hard to really say we missed the boat given the results. If the scouting the Brewers had indicated an injury was likely or a big risk with Rauch, then yes. Otherwise, I'm surprised to see you using a sample of less than 20 IP to prove a point. Leadheadned, can you provide a link?

The USA Today's Bob Nightengale did a nice piece on CC for today's edition. It's the sports section cover story, entitled, "Is Sabathia Baseball's Best Mid-season Acquisition Ever?" A good read, and reinforces all the 'good guy' stuff we've ever heard about CC. I'd paste it here, but it's long enough that I don't think that's a good idea.

Bill Hall. I never thought that seeing Craig Counsel in the lineup would be so desirable. Wut hee sed. Gimmee a Counshall platoon! Actually, just give me back my Manyan. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

Or maybe Arizona had a better offer and was willing to part with better prospects? If Melvin was in on the bidding, then it came down to Jim Bowden having an irrational man-crush on Bonifacio. That dude brings solid D & basestealing... and nothing else. Basically the DBacks got Rauch for Iribarren. Melvin could have easily topped the Bonifacio offer, which is why I'm of the leaning that he wasn't in on the bidding at that point, or that Bowden is a crazy loon.

I was watching on the YES feed, with their standard incredible camera-work (being serious there... not tongue-in-cheek). The ball looked fair, and the umps got it right on the field, real-time. That's always been my biggest reason to use instant replay -- imo it'll mostly showcase just how good the umps actually are. Took about 2 minutes for the review. The ball was hooking, and essentially wrapped around the foul pole, albeit well beyond the actual pole. Also, A-Rod made sure to point out in the post-game interview that he was the first player ever involved in instant replay. What a tool.

The idea that Gamel wouldn't be a better option than Hall or Counsell at this point (imo) is just stubborn, 'old-baseball' mindedness. Let him fly. There's absolutely no way he could be any worse.

The Cubs, Cards, & Phillies all lost. Big 'thank you' to the Nationals, who scored 4 runs in the 8th in a 5-5 game, and held on to win 9-7. EDIT: Whoops! Thanks dlk9s! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif