TooLiveBrew

But if you take numbers from 2006, 2007, and so far in 2008, Fielder is not more powerful. Oh you're right. If you take Prince's rookie season at age 22, his monstrous age 23 season & his slow start, it overall doesn't match up to Berkman's prime age seasons. There's no way that Fielder is going to perform better than someone who is in his age 32 season & getting older. Also, I forgot to mention that it's a total no-brainer to take Weeks over Matsui.

OK... Fielder. Younger, more powerful.

I don't think you can put Prince on par with Berkman, and I have trouble saying Rickie Weeks is better than Kaz Matsui. Wow. I honestly don't know what to say to ya.

The Brewers are better than the Astros at CF, 2B, & 3B... most likely C too for this season. The Astros (at best) are better in RF, LF, SS, & 1B -- except that the Brewers are on a par at each of those positions or better. SS is the only spot that the 'Stros might be better, unless Braun completely forgot how to hit & isn't just getting off to a slow start. And on top of that our pitching is better.

Update; Rookie rebuffs agent; Will Sign When Ready AP http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif Congratulations! I can only hope that when the umbilical cord is cut, the resulting innie/outie somehow resembles the old ball & glove logo.

Edmonds did not carry that team -- he played in all of 6 games (a whopping 15 PA) in Sept. 2006, and was decent to good in the playoffs. Rolen's Sept. OPS was .696, and he was garbage in the playoffs save his 19 AB in the WS. Pujols was fantastic in both Sept. & the postseason, but he's a tremendous hitter. I think you're completely overreacting. I won't even go into your previous post.

Remembering that this is about all that he has pitched since '05, these are good numbers to base anything off of. Clearly this is not the Gagne of old, even if you throw Texas in the mix. That aside, it is obvious that there are 2 distinctly different players here. In Texas, he was lights out, however the latest half of his "new career" indicate that he can't keep that up. But the problem for me is that you can't tell much from this sample, other than that Gagne's true talent at this point (I agree heartily with the bold section) is a composite of the Tex/Bos./Mil. numbers. Since in each individual case, the samples are so small, I'd rather rely on the three combined if I'm trying to gauge where his talent lies. Even then, it's probably incomplete, but imo it's much better than trying to determine which small sample Gagne truly is -- he's really all 3!

Please do. By everything I've seen/encountered, batting Kendall 9th has been working perfectly (or nearly). Be sure if you do compile some data to include how much batting Kendall 9th has helped the 1-4/5 hitters, instead of just picking out situations in which (in your opinion and/or in reality http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ) not having Kendall at #8 was detrimental. Perhaps that goes without saying, though.

his K/BB Ratio and HR given up are significantly worse this year than last. Yes, due largely to one or two appearances that should level out with more IP. I think looking back from his stint with the Red Sox last year through this year so far, the numbers do indicate a change in talent. But that's being so selective -- why not include his time in Texas? Or if we're going to ignore a certain portion of recent results, why not his most recent 8 outings?

I believe it was the Astros color guy (who I actually found quite good in the small sample of 2-3 games) that mentioned how the effect of lineup changes/slotting just doesn't seem to translate much -- if at all -- on the field. He was talking about this in the context of a discussion on Braun/Fielder & their slot in the lineup. It was refreshing to hear. Also, he very mockingly booed along with Astros fans when they booed a pickoff move by a Brewers P to 1B. That was my favorite part about the guy! He went on to talk about how silly booing a pickoff move is.

In the case of Suppan's ridiculous contract, you have to blame the inflated market for starters. The market is inflated for every position, not just one. DM had to overpay to get Gagne here. Sure, he could have done a 2-yr./$16 mil. deal, but that is significantly more risky. The timing was right for the Gagne deal imo. Yes, his is being paid like a good closer, but he hasn't been one, which is the problem The problem imo is that you're basing an assesment on 8-10 IP, instead of his full career. My point is that we could be paying a guy far less, and save some money for later years or something, to do the job that Gagne has done so far. Again, time will only tell though. It's a one year contract. There is no reason to not spend the money in what's really the last year that all the young guys are really cheap. Saving $3-4 mil. to have someone even worse than Gagne doesn't make much sense to me. Unless you're convinced that his most recent 8-10 IP indicate an extreme injury or change in talent, there's no way you could have a guy that much cheaper than Gagne match what he'll likely produce.

I don't know if I'm more of a stathead than you or not, nor do I know how your sim league works. Is it based on talent ratings, or the stats that you provided? Just going off the rate stats, you look like you've got it structured very well (just mo)

Enough of this Pitcher in the 8th spot....It's not working. What's your explanation? I disagree completely.

Imo... he's a sub-par defender at SS, very little power, not especially talented at the contact side of hitting, with decent plate discipline. Theriot makes me appreciate JJ Hardy just that much more -- yes, even when JJ's slumping. I think his 2007 .266/.326 is very close to his true talent. My guess is his career year he'll bat in the .280-.300 range with a .330-.340 OBP, all while playing a relatively sorry SS. If he could be played at 2B instead, he'd hurt the Cubs much less, but fortunately for us their only other option right now is Ronny Cedeno.

I keep having those games where I just feel the computer is intentionally robbing me...you know, you have a couple long balls that are caught just short of the wall, and then you line right to the third basemen. Ahhh... the old 'No Freakin' Way' games! Ugh.

Triceps tightness and the blister? Come on...I haven't seen many pitchers with those two. I know you're going for comedy and all, but this comment... pitchers commonly run into both of the examples here. If I missed the sarcasm, I apologize.

You can't take some sort of statistical high-ground and lecture about small samples -- yet use arguments like "bad umping" as it has some merit. I don't think I'm lecturing... I don't know what else to call 8 IP other than a small sample. I apologize for the patronizing tone.

Well I can't get that video clip to work... will take your word on the HR distance. I still think you're placing far too much stock in a really small sample, and I have no idea how you can just dismiss his BB total to this point as somehow not being part of a small sample -- which it most certainly is. In his first 8 appearances this season, Gagne walked 2 batters. In his most recent 8, he's walked 8 men. Now if you're convinced that you've uncovered some kind of trend, I can't do much if anything to dissuade you. However, I just don't see anything more than 8 or so IP being blown out of proportion. If Gagne were just wild out on the mound with his stuff, I would most certainly agree with you. But he's had some really bad luck with umpiring so far, both behind the plate & in the field. Gagne has certainly not been as sloppy as you're portraying here... which is why the small sample is problematic imo. Has he been perfect or nearly? No -- but I've felt like I have to emphasize that I'm not arguing he has been. I just think it's very common for people to observe the most recent results, and project a sort of long-term meaning to them. A 3-BB night game like he had last time out skews things so heavily at this early point in the season. When Gagne goes out there with another good stretch of low BB totals (say, 3 in 10 games), everything that's getting argued against him here could be argued in the reverse, with just as inaccurate of conclusions. I don't think 8 BBs in 8 games (particularly with 3 in one strange outing in which there was certainly much more at play than just Gagne's stuff/control) tells you anything more than that he had a rough stretch. It doesn't indicate anything more or less than the 2 BBs in his first 8 games.

Again, you're using results to analyze, & I'm saying the results don't match his performances & stuff to this point. If you genuinely expect Gagne to BB more than double the guys he did from last season, I can see why you're so pessimistic. I just don't think that's a very likely thing to expect. BBs/HRs are really not luck dependent They tend not to be, however, in small samples such as this one, you have to be willing to examine. This isnt accurate. GABP is 325 down the line. Bako hit that ball into the 4th row, about halfway between the 370 and 325 markers. Bako probably hit that ball closer to 350 than to 325. The ball was hit pretty hard, and over Hart's head pretty quickly. Regadless of park dimensions, there is no way that ball is caught. Furthermore, Gagne gave up a HR before the HR to Bako, and a BB after it, so I don't think Gagne deserves any benefit of the doubt. I certainly don't remember that ball getting to the 4th row, but this debate is certainly not very important. I guess if you consider stating the obvious (the Bako HR was a HR only bc it was hit in GABP) making excuses, then yes, that's what I did. Just for example's sake, a 335' shot was an out in Wrigley, Bush, & MP. It was possibly an out at PNC, but might have hit off that extended RF wall. It was probably a HR in MM Park, and obviously was one in GABP.

Do you mean "positive reputation" only as it relates to coaching? Because the guy was, simply stated, an elite catcher.

The answer is obvious, jazzytrav -- just stop sucking so big-time, and you'll get your shot. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif For some unknown reason, I have never gotten all that into the RTTS. Sounds like that's a good thing given this year's incarnation. Anyway, I've had more time with this game, and can say that it's quite good. They ironed out several bugs from '07, and while there are still some lingering annoyances, it's a nice improvement. I'd expect '09 to be even better, and eegads I almost would hate to see how incredible it'd both look & play on the PS3 by that point. I started up a franchise with the Rangers (I usually like to do some random under-talented team, and make little -- but plausible -- tweaks) & am about 15 games into 2008. I signed Morgan Ensberg & Barry Bonds ... er, Reggie Stocker (btw, hearing Rex Hudler call his "first big-leauge hit" & talk about how Mom & Dad were in attendance & must be proud.... yea, that was some funnies), and swung a deal for PIT's Ryan Doumit. So I've got Saltalalaalalalmcahcchia at 1B, with a platoon of Doumit/Laird behind the dish. Our offense is top-5, and everything else is, well, the Texas Rangers. So far, it's been a blast -- Milton Bradley in RF, Hamilton in CF, Young/Kinsler MIF. When I play the games, we score dem runs real good-like.

We also have to remember in any issue like this, that the viewpoints of activists do not necessarily represent the views of the entire population in question. This is a great point. FSU's use of the name Seminole isn't offensive(most tribes are proud of the usage). I just wanted to re-visit this. IIRC, the Seminole tribe that sued FSU most recently is actually based in Oklahoma, and they sued bc they weren't getting a piece of the cash-pie that FSU reaps with the logo/name. Again, iirc, the Seminole tribe(s) in FLA were groovy with the nickname, since it meant/means kickback.

I agree -- key word being "always" -- which means you can certainly in some cases. And this isn't one of those cases. You're talking how many IP this season so far? You can't pitch in Petco. every day. Strawman. 75% of MLB parks (possibly more) that was a fb out. As far as Bako goes, throwing a LH'd, right-armed dude like him a pitch low and inside, in the zone, was asking it to be yanked out of the park I can't argue with the concept here, but Bako was only able to yank it about 325-330 feet. That doesn't even make the warning track in most parks. If Gagne continues to miss his spots he will have an ERA over 6 for the season. Perhaps... I just don't agree that he's "miss[ing] his spots" with the regularity that you see. No, he hasn't been stellar, but that's not what I think Gagne is capable of being.

Do they ever show him in the dugout near Ned???? Simmons & Yost are often trading notes/ideas in the dugout from what I've seen so far on Extra Innings. I've seen numerous occasions that the two are chatting about stuff, checking out the lineup/bench/bullpen card, etc. I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if I notice Simba trying to eagle-eye the signs from the opposing 3B coach, as RBM noted -- I hadn't seen you at work, you sly dog, Ted.

He really isn't pitching "well" though -- at least in a relative sense to pitchers at his level. He has walked 10 dudes in 14 IP, and already given up 4 HRs, which is more than he gave up in 2007. But that's what I'm talking about -- you can't always use results to accurately depict a player. Gagne has been squeezed big time in at least two of his appearances so far, and one of those HR was to Paul 'I can't believe I actually hit a HR on that crap' Bako. That Bako HR was an out in well over 75% of MLB parks. So far, Gagne's results have not matched his stuff. He's been better than I was expecting, to be honest. I thought he was going to be an all-or-nothing kind of player, and so far Eric has been very consistent (imo) I don't disagree with your notion that Gagne is not going to be lights-out this season, but we don't need him to be (imo). I think as long as he can continue to consistently have his best stuff, that the results will regress back up towards the mean.