GenoSeligPrieb

" And somewhere Geno is smiling..." Laughing, actually, homer, but you get the drift. If anyone could stand there with the bat nailed to his shoulder, it was good ol' Brady. As a 5th outfielder, he had value. Honest! But the problem was, Ned loved his grittiness so much, that he projected attributes on him that he just didn't have. Like stealing bases...or running bases...or batting cleanup from time to time. No hatred here, just a sigh of relief that he can't come back to haunt us anymore, like he did last year to us as a Padre in September, and to a lesser extent, in LA this season. Almost forgot! I'm also thankful he's not a Brewer anymore.

While I'm glad the Brewers have now evolved to the point where they're demoting Designated Rotation Stooges, I thought Turnbow could have been DFA'ed instead. Bush seems better suited to the long-man role, especially since he gets torched by inning #4 or #5, and because Parra and to a lesser extent, Villanueva, can't be counted on to go 6 these days. And if Sheets isn't 100% (7 walks?!), then the pen is taxed that much more. That said, Bush was a bad starting pitcher, and teams like the Pirates, Nationals, Rangers, etc. already have plenty of them, so I'm not shedding a tear over this. "-Other teams look at Bush, and decide a)"if we claim him, the Brewers will pull him back off waivers" and b)"if the Brewers pull him off waivers, they might actually get rid of Turnbow or McClung" " Was this ever published as general knowledge, or is this just your theory here? If a player who can bring some value is available, teams who'd need his services would claim him. Maybe that happened, maybe it didn't. Do we know for sure if, say, a Kansas City or a Houston officially placed a claim on Bush, and then the Brewers reeled him back in? But if there's no evidence of this, then it can't be taken as an assumption of truth. "The delusion that a 4.57 career ERA makes one a 6 or 7 starter is what we call... oh yes a low information Brewer fan" Holy condescension, Batman! Comic Book Guy is taking notes right now. Chan Ho Park has a career ERA better than 4.57, but I wouldn't want him starting for us either.

"Ben Sheets is catching the ceremonial first pitches?" A lot rides on which CEO is throwing out the first pitch. If it's someone over 60, then Ben gets a 2-hopper in the teeth, knocking him out for 2 starts. But if he's under 60, he may unbutton his vest, wind up, and make it to the plate on a fly, and Ben's left glove hand gets sore from a girly-armed 45-MPH fastball, costing him one start.

"Hey, Geno, just for the sake of fairness, why doncha start a list of games where a managerial decision WON us the game, or does that not fit with the agenda? " Fair enough, Robbo. Cite specific examples, and I'll be glad to award Ned some plus points in the ledger.

"The great part about this is that Yost probably won't trot Gagne out there 4 straight days anymore." You can't say this with any degree of certainty, Tuesdays. Recent history showed that Gagne, especially post-HGH-Gagne, hasn't been used even THREE days in a row, in years, but The Book says "on the road, in a save situation, thou must sendeth thy closer out there to add to his save total." And Ned played it by The Book. Hell, if the situation called for it tonight, and Gagne got the save yesterday, Ned would use him again. And Tuesday, until his arm falls off, because The Book says so. "That's what makes him a good manager. He learns from his mistakes" Can't agree. The only time when it appears Ned has "learned" from his mistakes, is when the perilous situation is removed from him. When Doug brought in Russell Branyan, Wes Helms was still playing 3rd and 1st... a LOT more often than he should. Ned believes Gagne can pitch every day...and that Brady Clark could steal bases and even hit cleanup. Doug often has to remove these sharp objects from Ned's crib. He had to DFA Obermueller & Helms, trade Clark...all because Ned will keep using players he prefers, in roles they're not suited for. "I do agree with that but the problem was that we didn't have a "non-tired" Gagne. I still think a tired Gagne throwing it 91 mph was a better option than a non-tired Riske throwing it 87 mph and Ned Yost seemed to agree with me." Why does the speed make a difference? If more MPH = better pitcher, then Turnbow would still be effective, and guys like Jamie Moyer and Tim Wakefield would never reach the majors. Aren't your options more attractive if you have a better-rested, effective Riske, over an obviously overwhelmed Gagne? It should come down to the more effective pitcher, that day, right? On my list of 2008 Games Ned Cost the Brewers, this game is definitely #1 in a series of perhaps 7 or 8 by the time the season's over. We lost a shot at a playoff berth by 2 lousy games last year. There are, what?, 27 pitchers on our roster right now? We were told that a deeper pen, with so many closer options will make the difference in 2008. But what does Ned do? He goes to the same guy, coming off both injuries and HGH, 4 damned games in a row!

"I think Stetter makes the most sense to go down. Two LOOGY's is just a waste of a roster spot. I don't think it is fair to call Stetter a LOOGY, he has pitched pretty decent against RHers. " Nice post, FTJ. And throughout much of his minor league career, he'd appeared in 195 games (172 of which were in relief, since A ball), pitching over 290 innings, which suggests he's always been depended on to go an inning-plus, safely into a 2nd inning, and at times, longer than that. If LOOGYs are, by definition, one-out guys, then a pitcher who averages about an inning and a half per outing is anything but. OK, so Mitch is already 27, so he's no supernugget. But if Shousie's our designated LOOGY, then it would seem that Stetter's role is to pitch to multiple outs. And at this point, especially since Ned (hell, the entire organization) can't confidently abide by Turnbow inheriting baserunners or just plain entering close games, then I hope Doug's at least entertaining trade offers for him. Thing is, the timing's wrong. How many trades are made in late April? We're either going to see the Brewers audition him for other teams over the next few months, or if Doug can't swing some kind of July deadline deal, we'll probably eat his $3 million-plus contract. "I know you think Turnbow was some terrible pitcher but that just isn't the case" Love this!

"Take the 15mil you save on not signing Ben, and go out and get a legitimate 200 inning, 15 win guy. These players don't exist. " Actually there were 19 of them in 2007. CC Sabathia CLE B. Webb ARZ A. Harang CIN R. Halladay TOR T. Hudson ATL J. Lackey ANA J. Peavy SD D. Haren OAK J. Santana MIN J. Vazquez CHW C. Zambrano CHC J. Francis COL A. Pettitte NYY F. Carmona CLE B. Penny LA T. Lilly CHC D. Matsuzaka BOS J. Verlander DET J. Beckett BOS Of course, we can't just go out and take what we want, like we're at a pitching smorgasbord. But quality starting pitchers, ones with MUCH better health histories than Sheets, are available every winter. We just never pursue them. Danny Haren was there for the taking, if we pieced together an enticing enough package. Hudson, Harang, Penny, Vazquez, and others were acquired via trade. It's not an exact science, knowing who'll be the next Brandon Webb. But maybe it's time the Brewers become the team who swoops in and takes advantage of a situation where a Marlins/Pirates type team is willing to sell off its top starter for a package of heralded nuggets like the great Brad Nelson, Zach Jackson, and Tim Dillard. I fully expect to see Ben Sheets in another uniform in 2009, but that, along with the end of a few other contracts can free up $15+ million to pursue an ace. And maybe this next ace won't be subject to 2-month injuries from paper cuts, or vertigo, every season. All I'm saying is, if Ben is willing to provide a discount, given all the time we've paid him to sit on his can and NOT pitch for us over the years, then yeah, I'd re-sign him. But that won't happen, and his DL time will be absorbed by some other team with a lot more money than we have.

Wonder how this will affect his pending exit from Milwaukee? All I know is that Ben shouldn't, with a clear conscience, expect anything beyond a 3 year, $40-ish million extension from us now. I don't care if he misses the next start, or his next 5, or his next 20, he'd damned well better not demand Zito money from us this winter. If he pulls a BJ Surhoff on us now (injured just about every season, until leaving for free agency), and takes off for more cash, and finds perfect health, Brewer fans will be indignant.

Well, at least I'm philosophical about this latest beating. The division rivals we've played so far have done the Brewers a favor by stomping the bejeezus out of Bushie. I've always been of the mindset that, if you're bad, but not Jim Abbott-bad, Ned will keep sending you out there to start. Clowns like Obermueller...Kinney...Glover kept their ERA under 9, and they always had a chance to stick around longer. Bush's outings this year are the equivalent of cheering for a bad team, and hoping they lose those last few games of the season, to ensure a better draft choice. For the longer-term good of the franchise, let's remove this sharp object from Ned's crib now. That's how I view Dave Bush's season so far. If he's dogcrap-awful enough, THEN maybe Ned will take some action. So thanks for at least getting the bad starts out of your system early this year, Dave. You're better suited to long relief anyway...

"Bush definitely brought his A game tonight. A lot more speed on his pitches and he's hitting his locations." You DO realize it's not the magical 6th inning yet, right? I reserve the right to fully assess his performance until he leaves the mound.

"Sportsbubbler is in association with Journal Sentinal communications, which is a part of WTMJ the flagship radio station." Soooooo, that pretty much eliminates our chance at an increased profile for BF, during Brewer games? That's a bummer. I've listened to Brewer games pretty often, but I have to admit, when they're on The Tee-Vee, I watch Anderson and Schroeder, so I may have missed it: HAS Jim Powell pubbed Brewerfan.net at ALL this year? 'Cuz I haven't heard it. I thought he was our guy, but now he's the competition! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I probably missed this before, but why is Jim Powell pimping Sports Bubbler, and not Brewerfan.net, as he should be? Is it because it's affiliated with Road Runner? Or are they an official sponsor of the Brewers broadcasts?

I find it difficult to take a guy named Braden Looper seriously. " Especially since his overbite make sit look like he's always kinda smiling at you.

Great start to the game, Daver. Must be hurt. D'oh! Should've used that excuse last year!

"I'll have to respectfully disagree. Even for a minor league deal. Jeff Weaver is a really, really, really bad pitcher. In no way would I ever want him on the big league squad. He's beyond putrid. They'd better be paying him the bare minimum and using him as an example of how not to pitch. If that's the case, then he could be of some use in the minors. " dlk9s: Fair enough. I'm not doing cartwheels over the signing, but he has had some success in the majors in the past, and like I said, perhaps Boras will feed him some of his secret magic beans, and *presto!* he'll win a few games. OK, they'll probably be in AAA, but as long as we're not paying him MLB money, and he's not a bad influence, then I don't see the harm. "But seriously, I like the Bush is injuried scenario." May I ask, tbadder, who said Dave Bush is injured? If a Brewer official, or a spokesman like a Jim Powell said so, that's worth noting. Just askin'... "I got Weaver to acknoledge by heckling in 04 when he was with the Dodgers. I called him a dirty hippy" Nicely played, Bwaz! Although I see him as more of a grunge character, given his resemblance to Kurt Cobain.

"I would just like to say that even a 3 year sample is pretty small when you break it down." So Logan, even 3 YEARS worth of a sample isn't big enough? In many cases, that's longer than most dudes' entire careers! At some point, a sample size has GOT to be large enough to use for argument's sake, don't ya think? If 3 years isn't large enough, what is? 5 years? 10 years? Al the Thinking Man would be proud of you! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Honestly, the other day, a few friends were giving me some grief about WHEN Ben Sheets gets hurt. We went up and back, and when the subject came to who would they bring up, should he get injured, with Capuano and Vargas gone, my answer was....uhhh, Zach Jackson? Believe me, Jeff Weaver is NOT even a good starting pitcher these days. But for a minor league deal, he's as good, if not a better alternative to Dave Bush, should the need arise. In fact, since Jeff needs a new contract, Scott Boras just might feed Jeff some magic chemicals, and he'll rejuvenate his career, just in time to leave for free agency. So he may even pitch well this year... Good, low-risk signing.

He should provide relief, not be handed comfy situations. If Turnbow was a rookie, or if he was just coming back off of surgery or if he was in his 40's, I wouldn't require/expect as much from him. He's a big boy, in his career prime, making multi-millions. I expect a reliever to do his job, regardless of the situation. By the way, way to make it personal with the condescension, in a debate you had no part in, endaround. I expected nothing less from you...

"Turnbow's inability to pitch with men on base, and on back to back days is certainly a big problem. That does not however relegate him strictly to mop up duty." Shouldn't it? Relief pitchers provide relief, right? When does a pitcher require relief? When he puts the team in dangerous situations, and need someone else to finish off the opposition. I don't think it's too much to ask of a multi-million dollar veteran, a former All-Star, to come in and shut the door, especially when we're sorely lacking a 2nd lefty in the pen.

OK, fair enough. Maybe Haudricourt can set the record straight about Derrick's knee. If it's achin', then THAT'S probably why he's being held back. But if he's 100%, then yes, I'll thank Ned for evolving a bit....However, Ned DID have him up and throwing today, which could mean he was spoiling to bring him into a pressure cooker game, so it's tough to call it.

"Thank god Turnbow has not been put in any critical situations yet. It has helped our bullpen considerably. As much as I want to be fair to Ned, I'd say that if Turnbow indeed has a knee strain, then THAT'S what's keeping him out of critical situations, I'm afraid, and not Ned's new-found managerial brilliance. "I would trust Turnbow more than anyone in our pen other than maybe Gagne, if Ned would realize his shortcomings. I cant find the numbers, but given an off day, and if no men are on base Turnbow is flat out dominant, if Turnbow is pitching back to back days, and if men are on base, he flat out stinks." So, a) you're trusting Ned to identify and act upon information which flies in the face of his pre-conceived notions about one of his players, and b) you're relying on Turnbow to excel...but only if we set him in the best possible, low-pressure situations. Avoid bringing Derrick in when there are runners on, in the middle of an inning....pretty much 99% of all pitchers thrive in that atmosphere. Babying Turnbow to ensure success is like bringing in Nelson Cruz to pinch hit for an RBI opportunity, but only when there are runners on 2nd and 3rd, no outs, and we're up 5 runs...against the opponents' mop-up man. Derrick Turnbow gets the perks, accommodations and big salary that major leaguers get, so it's not too much to expect him to pitch, and pitch well, under, godforbid, some pressure from time to time. If we have to shield him from stressful conditions, then he shouldn't be here.

"With Jenks' strikeout numbers, that seems like a seriously odd choice for leadoff..." That, his .300 OBP, and his lack of speed. Otherwise, great choice, Charlie!

"With Jenks' strikeout numbers, that seems like a seriously odd choice for leadoff..." That, his .300 OBP, and his lack of speed. Otherwise, great choice, Charlie!

"With Jenks' strikeout numbers, that seems like a seriously odd choice for leadoff..." That, his .300 OBP, and his lack of speed. Otherwise, great choice, Charlie!

" How could you hate that guy? He pitched his a$$ off during his short stint in Milwaukee while earning minimum wage. If we found 2 guys like that this year we'd win the World Series." By 1999, Chez, Nomo's career was at rock bottom. His last season in LA, he was at 4.92, and he washed out with the Mets. Then the Cubs signed him to a minor league contract, but never brought him up to the big league roster, releasing him again. The Brewers gave him a shot next. Not a wait-n-see Cub chance, but a full rotation spot. And he was nothing special, but his career, such as it was, was back on track. And once he was re-established, he left skid marks in the County Stadium players' lot, stiffing our offer for free agency. And as for us winning the World Series with 2 Nomo's this season? Nomo's ERA during his short stint in Milwaukee was 4.54, with a 1.42 WHIP. That's not even Wild Card-caliber. _____________ " Loved BJ Surhoff and whatever happened to him?" He decided to start taking care of himself AFTER leaving Milwaukee. We nurtured him through DL visit after DL visit every season, and then, when his contract walk year comes up, he suddenly becomes Cal Ripken the 3rd. He didn't trash us on his way out of town, but I just hate it when a player we suffer with on the disabled list every year, becomes the picture of health after he leaves. Hopefully that stopped when Mark bought the team, for good...