TooLiveBrew

The contention was Hardy is uncomfortable batting in front of the P. Aside from his great production there last season(@ #8), this season shows that he's had good results in front of the pitcher, save his SLG. I think streams are getting crossed here... I wasn't contending that he's getting good or bad pitches, just whether or not his production supports the argument, "He's uncomfortable batting in front of the P". If anything, we have a larger data sample that speaks to the contrary.

I too believe that Hardy did not like hitting in front of the pitcher and it hurt his production. Hardy was best last season at #8, right in front of the P. I don't think it bothers him very much. I'm tryiing to come up with examples in baseball history in which change was slow to come but is now accepted. There was that whole race thing... there are lots of examples beyond that one, too. Merging the AL & NL was not a popular idea at first; the minor leagues were initially thought to be an expensive waste of time; making a foul ball a strike was fought heavily; catchers' gear was for 'sissies'... the list goes on & on. It's really not too different from other facets of live, I guess.

But... his BB rate is much improved from last season. 20 BB over 172 AB. Hasn't the 'bats in front of the P, therefore sees worse pitches' myth been debunked here? EDIT: 17 of the 20 BBs came batting 7th (other 3 @ #6); 17 BB over 121 PA. That's a very good rate -- (.364 OBP as the #7 hitter to this point). The only thing Hardy's been lacking or has yet to return to his personal norm is the SLG. Once that comes, he's going to look a whole lot better.

I was actually asking what you thought about signing Prince long-term. To me if we know we cannot keep him some time this off-season or next we need to start listening to offers. I answered that I don't think we'll sign Prince long-term. What I thought was knee-jerk was the idea that we should trade him as early as this season -- which I noted was a notion that I might have invented, as opposed to it really being someone's argument. We shouldn't trade Prince until if we know LaPorta or Gamel are ready to contribute in a 25/30 plus home run fashion. Neither of these guys will match him offensively, although Gamel may be able to hold a higher average. Very much agree. Prince is an incredible talent and does bring things other than power to the table like OBP. I would not be disappointed if Prince stays here 3 years, but I just wonder if that is the best choice for our organization. If, in 2 seasons, it's blatantly clear that LaPorta (for example) is ready, then yes, dealing Fielder will be the right thing to do. And as you mentioned, should net a windfall of prospects.

Batting in front of the pitcher got inside Hardy's head, even more I think batting 7th, than it would batting 8th because he was more often in an RBI spot hitting 7th than 8th and therefore more conscious of the conflict between aggression and patience. How are you making this claim? This is a huge stretch at best. I think the only thing that's been going on with Hardy has been a slow start, and one that he's sure to regress upwards & away from as the season drags on.

#1 -- personally I could care less. Ryan Longwell did the same... was he more of a team leader than Favre, who (iirc) never did a weekly radio thing? #3 -- how do we know there wasn't something much more important that came up? We really don't. #7 -- yes, but not right now, which is what stuck out to me initially. He's still in Milwaukee for a while, so to sell off on him now (not what you necessarily said, twobrew) is poor timing imo. I just think there's a lot of implied things that we 'know' about Prince. I don't think that's very fair, as I can respect a guy that doesn't want to step into the limelight all that much. Braun is very comfortable there, Prince is not. That's all I take away from it. To be sure, Prince could have done some things differently, but at age 24, I don't view him as being the 'bad guy' for the way he's handled things. He takes flak every day for people's perceptions -- he's fat, he's a stupid vegetarian, he's lazy, he had his career year already, & on & on. I can't blame him for not being a bit more visible. I'm not singling anyone out, just observing the comments made on a daily basis. Our perception of what he's like really doesn't go any further than just a perception. I'm going to trust that he's a club leader -- besides, what have we 'seen' from Braun? One quote in the Boston series? If Prince made those comments, there's a fair chance many would have told him to 'shove it until you start producing'. Braun really hasn't done anything more than Prince in terms of leading the team, as far as we -- outside observers -- know... it's way more perception. Whether he means it or not, his words have come off as bitter, and image is a lot of sports now. It is what fans buy into and teams market. And he should know this Good point(s). I'm sure he does know this, too. TooLiveBrew do you think the Brewers will be able to afford to keep Prince when he hits free agency? It seems like a forgone conclusion that he wont sign a contract until then No, and I've never said I think we can. I just think to talk of trading him for pitching *now* is to knee-jerk react to a slow(ish) start. Even in that slow start, he's had terrific on-base results, and the power is going to come. I mean, we're talking about a talent whose low-end HR projection is near 35. That's incredible. You and I may differ on his quote, I do think there is some animosity there but I could be wrong. however, my feelings about trading Prince have nothing to do with attitude but all to do with LaPorta and Gamel, Prince's inevitable huge contract, and our need for another stud pitcher. I respect that. I took issue with the notion (& perhaps I invented it from thin air here) that we should do so asap.

I have no problem with that notion, except that Hall takes the time so he can unleash a throw about as hard as he can muster. Imho there's just no need for that, and it will lead to less accuracy. Branyan, otoh, appears to not rush himself, but then make an accurate yet more modestly-sped throw to 1B. So far, his throws have been right on target -- can some Nashville observers weigh in further on Russ's D?

I don't believe in many minor league pitchers, especially from this organization. But is that based on something tangible, or just only trusting players once they build up a 'track record'? Obv. everyone was a minor-leaguer at one point. It's easy right now to remember how skeptical people were of Hart... but now he's got a 'track record'! I can respect your well-thought-out stance; just curious.

Great post, jazzytrav. Captured my thoughts there. Baseball history is full of complaining about change -- from developing mounds, to batters' boxes, to foul poles... on & on. Change rarely comes in sports -- especially baseball -- without full-fledged resistance.

Wow -- seems like the total Bo Ryan player... why didn't UW sign him!?

Alcides Escobar once ran a 5.38-second 60-yd. dash, backwards, carrying a medicine ball & an abacus while underwater! Sorry... How has Escobar fared in his career v. LHP? I know there's small sample at play, but so far his line v. lefties is .327/.397/.500/.897. That has certainly helped mask the .291/.320/.358/.678 v. RHP, but his overall OBP is at .339. Is this encouraging, or is it just small sample?

Clearly those kinds of intangibles are already measured in W-L record & clutchiness. Your stats don't impress me, Brian. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Whu? That's the strangest player name gaffe I've heard in recent memory. Doesn't even make any sense. Nice to know the Brewers players are sticking in opposing announcers' memories. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

The vast majority of cyclists that I know follow all traffic laws. However, there are many people who merely ride bikes and don't know anything about safety. Seconded. It's not accurate to let the bad apples spoil the entire bushel. Also, bicyclists are supposed to ride in the street, not in the gutter. That's the law. Not everything is solely for the convenience of people in cars. Get back in the gutter where you belong, bike trash!

Context is absolutely critical (base/out/inning/score/batter/pitcher) in determining the potential value of a SB and the potential cost of a caught stealing. Hall's SB in the 9th last night is probably a good example of this. The result of him being safe was very big, but imagine if the P had stepped off the rubber there -- the negative impact would've probably been even bigger. Not trying to suggest Hall just got lucky -- clearly he read the situation very well, but it was still a huge gamble when you consider that he was already in scoring position. EDIT: From checking the chart rluz shared, the safe SB was a .38, but a CS there would have been a -.60. Nearly double the value, but in the negative direction! Yikes. Boy am I glad Hall was safe.

Doug is not motivated to extend Corey Hart at this time. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

But that's the thing -- this notion that Prince has "something stuck in his craw" is based on manipulating a quote so it makes fans feel justified. I just posted his exact words, which looked pretty clearly in response to, 'Prince, are you happy with your contract situation?' He can't win. The only thing fans have to complain about in terms of Prince's contract is that he has Boras as an agent. The rest of it is a total reach. Fielder hasn't said a peep before or after the one quote, in direct response to a question about it. This idea that he's whining about his contract is frustrating.

Quite frankly I'm shocked that Dillard can throw mid-90s I always thought he was a soft-tosser. If you admittedly don't know much about a player, how can you claim that you think he's going to fail? Dillard really has the stuff to be a solid RP this season, and who knows how much he can improve. His sinker alone is enough to make him worth -- at worst -- an extended look in the bullpen this season.

The quality start can be a bit misleading, though, since it tries to make ER an individual stat. As long as we can get the 6 IP part of the QS a bit more consistently, I don't think we'll have to worry about the ER part as much.

Apr. 15 @ StL 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB/5 K May 12 v. StL 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB/1 K

To me Billy seems to take the grounder with plenty of time... wait a while.... then throw really hard and make it closer than it shoud... I agree -- Branyan has been the opposite of this so far, and it's quite refreshing.

Never seen an out call before the tag was made. The rule is that once a batter heads far enough out of the field of play (back to the dugotu), he can be called out. I've seen many times a hitter walk away from a dropped third strike without even looking back. Sometimes the C will reach out to tag him, & sometimes he'll take a few steps to tag the batter. Many times, the out is just given without the tag, due to the batter's walk back to the dugout.

Hard to know what to say. Tragic.

The decision to move hall from 2nd on a 3-0 turned out to be genius. The decision to move hall from 2nd on a 3-0 turned out to be genius. That looked like Hall just flat-out reacting to what he saw. I'm not one to forbid myself to praise Yost, but I can't imagine that was called. Hall just read the situation & took off imo.

"I'm not happy about it at all," Fielder said. "The fact I've had to be renewed two years in a row, I'm not happy about it because there's a lot of guys who have the same amount of time that I do who have done a lot less and are getting paid a lot more. "But my time is going to come. It's going to come quick, too." ... "You have to respect their scale," Fielder said. "But like I said, I'm not happy about it. But I'm going to do my job this year." Those are the quotes. There is nothing in there to suggest anything more than that Prince doesn't like the way the pay-scale is structured in MLB. He never says he's mad at the Brewers -- fans just run with the quote. Think of it this way: frame the question as, 'Prince, are you happy with your contract situation?' His choice of representation is the reason he hasn't been extended, & I think Prince is more than aware of that... "Brewers.MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports the Milwaukee Brewers have offered a contract to 1B Prince Fielder that would buy out at least one year of free agency and includes an option for another year." (http://www.kffl.com/player/6382/MLB) -- 3/31/08