batman

If you haven't gotten your fix yet, flip on over to the Minor League forum and MassBrew's link report. Manny Parra is pitching in High Desert starting in a few minutes... get all the info on the Link Report (with an expanded, Pioneer-including menu). FOUR SERIES IN A ROW, BABY!!! ~Bill

That.... was.... AWESOME! How do you like them apples, Twins fans? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ~Bill

And just like that.... Jenkins goes BOOM!!!! ~Bill

Well, at least he held them to just the one run. Time for the offense to plate a few runs so DK can close things out in the ninth. And you know what? For the first time in a long time, this year's team makes that optimism a wholly reasonable emotion. ~Bill

Adam McCalvy's notes column yesterday was headlined by a story about Vizcaino and how his catchers are forcing him to throw more fastballs. What happened to that tonight? Bennett would put down "#1" and Vizdog would shake him off, so Bennett would put down the slider sign. Vizcaino made the poor pitches (to Rivas and then LeCroy, who incidentally looks very much like a lumberjack right now), but Bennett has got to force him to stop throwing so many darn sliders. It's a great pitch for him when it's on, but he's got to use it in moderation. Too many = he hangs one = good night now. ~Bill

Luis Freaking Rivas? Are you kidding me?!? Luis Oh-for-three-vas? Are you kidding me?!? Burgleflickle. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif ~Bill

Bang. What an inning. This team rules. ~Bill

Wow. That's the best play I've ever seen a 90-year old dude make http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif . ~Bill

I think we might have just witnessed the end of the Wes Obermueller era. Nedley looked mighty pissed when he went out to remove him. ~Bill

That's totally fair Patrick. And like I said above, I didn't mean to be aggressive/offensive... like you said, it's just such a controversial issue that sometimes it's hard to tone things down, ya' know? Anyway, this was a totally unnecessary tangent and I'm sorry I started it. My bad... sometimes (ok, most of the time) I'm too stubborn for my own good. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Let's talk about the game, now. Who's with me? EDIT: Actually, I'm going to go eat now. But the sentiment is still there, right? Obie doesn't look very good, and Radke has been very solid this year. How 'bout some offense tonight, huh? I'll check back in later... brats await. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ~Bill

That's some serious & unecessary Beane-defending there batman. I think everyone would recognize the job he has done in Oakland. I do think his legacy is overblown, but I don't think anyone came close to making the Billy is an idiot, Tracy Ringolsby told me" leap. I disagree. I have been (and am) just as critical of the A's bullpen as anyone else... this is ridiculous. My initial post included this tidbit: Regardless, Billy Beane needs to do something about his repulsively poor pen... and fast. Could I have been any clearer? I'm *not* the one who initiated the ad hominem, "billy's 'i'm a genius hat' is going to blow off" comment. I *wasn't* defending Billy until that happened... I was *criticizing* him. The whole problem here is a failure to separate Billy Beane the person from the decisions that Billy Beane makes. I am defending Billy Beane the person, but am still criticizing the bullpen decisions Billy Beane makes. And the fact that people are jumping all over me for doing so is just further proof that folks don't like Billy Beane and look for every opportunity to bash him. And I don't care what the A's bullpen's ARP, ERA or whatever stat you want to throw out there, the blown saves are enough to tell you that they need help. I don't have a doubt that Beane will do something, but for the sake of his ballclub, sooner would be better than later. And of course, I agree with you. My point, which seemed obvious to me, was that the collection of relievers the A's have are not as bad as they might initially seem, but rather that their usage was problematic. In other words, their bad pitchers are pitching in important (save) situations. But that's not important... it was just an observation. ~Bill

I agree with you 100% danzig, and you just upped the intellectual level of this discussion about 300%. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Kudos. ~Bill

Here are the lineups. MINNESOTA AT MILWAUKEE -- LINEUPS MINNESOTA MILWAUKEE AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI Cristian Guzman SS .280 2 18 Scott Podsednik CF .258 8 23 Doug Mientkiewicz 1B .250 3 18 Junior Spivey 2B .282 4 22 Lew Ford LF .317 9 36 Geoff Jenkins LF .258 9 40 Corey Koskie 3B .247 11 29 Lyle Overbay 1B .342 7 49 Torii Hunter CF .263 9 29 Jeff Liefer RF .222 0 0 Jacque Jones RF .253 12 38 Bill Hall 3B .259 5 26 Joe Mauer C .293 2 7 Gary Bennett C .213 1 6 Luis Rivas 2B .286 3 16 Craig Counsell SS .250 1 11 Brad Radke RHP .000 0 0 Wes Obermueller RHP .313 0 4 (4-3, 3.20) (3-2, 6.49) EDIT: Oops... ezCode mistake. No Ginter, Yes Hall, No Grieve, Yes Liefer, No Moeller, Yes Bennett. , It will be cool to see Joe Mauer tonight ... otherwise bidness as usual for the Twins. ~Bill

batman, I have yet to see this unfair criticizing of Billy Beane that occurs ad hominen. Please point it out, because all I see is an offhand comment about him. An off-hand comment that criticizes Billy personally is an ad hominen (or hominem) argument. It's one thing to make an argument that Beane's philosophy about relief pitchers is wrong, but it is quite another to insult him without making an argument. That's what brettac1 did... and it's something that happens all the time, and it's irritating. Whoa, it was a joke. I read Moneyball, and I'm reading it again. I never said he wore the I'm a genius hat, I was kidding because that is basically what he has been crowned as. Bill James created this, now Billy essentially gets all the credit for it, which I don't really like. Nonetheless, it was not an attack on Billy Beane. It's one thing if you're joking... add a smiley next time. If that's the case, cool. But you *did* say he wore an "I'm A Genius" hat. Sure, that's a joke... but it unnecessarily personalizes a dispute about baseball praxis. First of all, calling someone childish on the same day Toby calls the two guys we got in the Expo trade "dinks" strikes me as misplaced aggression. I didn't mean to be aggressive... I apologize to brettac if he was/is offended. I was just trying to refute the ad hominem attack with some factual arguments. Secondly, I do not see how anyone could read Moneyball, and not come up with the description of Beane that Brett was referring to. I don't think it's fair to call him arrogant or snobbish or whatever else comes to mind. He's a complex person, just like everyone else, and calling him arrogant is unnecessarily simplifying what was, in Moneyball, a very nuanced character. When people take issue with something Billy Beane does, they tend to take issue with Billy Beane the person. I'm sure the reasons for this are diverse, but in any case it is unnecessary and counterproductive. If you have a problem with something Billy Beane says or does, then make arguments to refute that something. If you don't like how he handles his bullpen, then make arguments. The whole "haha... Billy isn't such a genius *now*, is he?" trend is just dumb. ~Bill

Maybe relief pitchers aren't quite as disposable as Billy thinks they are, he better watch it or his "I'm a genius" hat might fly off his head in the windy city. That's just childish. And it's not even mildly true. 1> Billy doesn't proclaim himself to be a genius. Other people do that for him. I'm fairly sure he's never owned nor worn an "I'm A Genius" hat. Why the ad hominem attack? 2> Billy never said that relief pitchers were disposable. His contention is much more nuanced, which apparently you are unable to grasp. The argument that Billy has advanced is that closers are not good investments because they are wildly overpriced. He has also argued that one can develop relief pitchers fairly easily... lots of failed starters have become solid relievers, like Eric Gagne for example, or Dan Kolb. The related argument which you decided to parody is that one should "sell high" with closers... since they are overvalued, you can get a lot in return. 3> You can't argue with his track record of developing closers. He turned Billy Koch into Keith Foulke and both Foulke and Isringhausen into draft picks, all for almost nothing. The Arthur Rhodes decision has been an abysmal failure thus far... but it doesn't disprove the utility of what Billy has done in the past. 4> Chad Bradford is a good relief pitcher who was acquired for almost nothing. He's been struggling a bit this year but is still better than average according to BP's Adjusted Runs Prevented stat. Justin Duchscherer has been very good, too, and he is a short, soft-tossing right-hander that the A's developed themselves. 5> For all the A's pen has been criticized, and rightly so, they are -3.2 in ARP. The Brewers, by contrast, are +4.7. That's a difference of 7.9 runs so far. How many games is that worth? By the numbers alone, probably just one. But obviously, the blown saves have shown that the poor performances have come at the most inopportune times. I think the problem is that their relievers are being used inefficiently, not just that their relievers are bad. Are the struggles on Billy? Yeah... I think so. He gambled with Rhodes and made a poor decision. He has relied on some pretty not-so-good relief pitchers like Jim Mecir in crucial situations. But given his budget, don't you think that maybe he thought that other needs were more pressing? How 'bout the A's offense this year? How 'bout Mark Redman? That's certainly a gamble that has payed off. Before you jump on the "Billy is an idiot, Tracy Ringolsby told me" bandwagon, ask yourself this... what is the A's record? What is their payroll? Wouldn't you like it if your team was the A's right about now? Sorry for the non-game-related tangent, but I can't stand the ad hominem bashing of Billy Beane. You can disagree with him without resorting to the lame, unwarranted personal attacks. You can disagree with his philosophy, too. But at least make some arguments, mkay? ~Bill

Chad Bradford couldn't do the job after a nice save yesterday. CHICAGO CUBS 9TH -C Bradford relieved M Mulder. -Bottom of the 9th inning -R Martinez struck out looking. -T Hollandsworth hit for K Farnsworth. -T Hollandsworth reached on infield single to second. -T Walker hit for M Grudzielanek. -T Walker singled to right, T Hollandsworth to second. -M Barrett doubled to deep right, T Hollandsworth and T Walker scored. I didn't see it, but a bit of bad luck perhaps with the infield single? Regardless, Billy Beane needs to do something about his repulsively poor pen... and fast. Mark Mulder out-dueled Mark Prior, too. What a waste! Freaking Cubs. ~Bill

Here's the best I can do, MB: The New York Times, 09-06-2002 While returning from a rookie-level Pioneer League game in Medicine Hat, the Ogden Raptors' team bus hit a bull, causing a two-hour delay while the driver waited for the sheriff and the bull's owner. The trip wound up taking 28 hours. ~Bill

Amen, brother. Preach on. ~Bill

I think ezBoard just ate my post... I don't feel like re-typing, but basically it came down to... Toby: Why is the heck is Eric Henderson still DHing? Me: ***? Hello, Reid? That about covers it. ~Bill

I love watching Ben Sheets get interviewed. He really tries hard to listen and to formulate his thoughts into words. It doesn't always work out, but he's doing his best and he's gotten a lot better. That's good to see... it's almost like his communication skills are improving right along with his pitching skills. This was a really, really nice win. Eleven hits, lots of baserunners, and great pitching. All of you Minnesotan Brewers fans should have fun tonight and tomorrow... enjoy it! ~Bill

Thank you, Mr. Kolb. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Good job, Counsell, good job Kolb, good job Sheets, good job everyone. Your team sucks, Twins fans. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ~Bill

God dangit, Spivey. *** was that? Corey Koskie runs like Henry Blanco... take your freaking time. How aboot another one, Danny? ~Bill

That was a horses**t call. And Corey Koskie just tried to bunt? Um, okay? The Twins don't deserve to win. C'mon, Kolb!!! ~Bill

'At a boy, Gint. You deserve that after getting robbed of a home run. ~Bill

Wow. Grant Balfour can bring it. ~Bill