homer

http://blogs.denverpost.com/rockies/2013/08/19/troy-tulowitzki-says-ryan-braun-never-disparaged-sample-collector-to-him/15391/ This news upsets Buster Olney.

Absolutely and it's also possible for Braun at 29 to have learned a painful lesson and become a better human being going forth. Whether he can or not only time will tell. I don't know what purpose Olney and guys like Gibson's continual bashing of him serves. Agreed on Olney and Gibson. Braun could have given an hour long apology the day of the suspension complete with tears, a return of the MVP trophy, and an offer to volunteer at a home for wayward boys and Gibson would still be bitter.

I think it's very possible for Olney to be incredibly biased and have an agenda and for Braun to be a scum bag. It's not one or the other.

I particularly like Pleskoff because he is never condescending and doesn't look at things in black and white. He realizes there is room for error unlike a hack like Keith Law.

I hope he's as right about Williams as he was about Segura. He nailed that one.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130808&content_id=56351866&vkey=news_mil&c_id=mil Based on what I saw of right-handed pitcher Devin Williams, the Brewers organization and its fans are in for a real treat. Williams can pitch. Williams gained pre-Draft stature pitching for Hazelwood West High School in Missouri. In his senior year, he had a 6-1 record with a 1.02 ERA. In 48 innings, he had 93 strikeouts. Opponents hit only .102 off him. Accolades and honors poured in, and Williams had intended to pitch for the University of Missouri. But the Brewers selected him in the second round with their first pick of the First-Year Player Draft this past June, and he signed with the team. On the Brewers' Top 20 Prospects list, Williams is ranked No. 9. At 18 years old, Williams already is a very fit presence, at 6-foot-3, 165 pounds. He can certainly stand to add some muscle and weight to his frame, but there is little doubt that will happen. When his physical development is complete, Williams will be an imposing figure on the mound. I scouted Williams as he came in to relieve the starting pitcher in an Arizona Rookie League game. He's made nine appearances (five starts) and has thrown 24 2/3 innings and has a 3.65 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Williams has yielded 20 hits and walked 15 while striking out 24. Williams has an advanced mound demeanor. He knows how to pitch. He can sequence his fastball, slider and changeup to make the most of each pitch. Despite the high walk total, Williams can throw strikes. He's close to the corners, but he's a bit umpire-dependent. He uses both sides of the plate and the top and bottom of the zone consistently and effectively. His command and control will become even more refined. Williams uses mostly his upper body in his delivery -- that is to say his arm action does most of the work, with little help from his legs and torso. He finishes pitches off with good extension and a quick flick of his hand. He does fall off the mound a bit toward first base. Williams flashed his changeup at just the right moments in pitching sequences. He didn't rely on the pitch, electing rather to bring the fastball at 91-93 mph, topping out at 94. His slider was a wicked pitch at 84 mph. Again, it was the full use of the fastball that carried the day. Potentially, Williams could invite trouble with a runner on first. He's a tad slow to the plate. I timed him at 1.29 to 1.36 seconds. That isn't woefully slow, but it could entice some running by speedy opponents. Hitters will pound the ball into the ground against Williams, as they have done so far in Arizona. His fastball has effective late life. I really liked the raw ability I saw in Williams. I'll be following his progress in the Brewers' system.

Since this thread will be locked sooner than later, I have made a thread on the political board to continue the discussion: http://brewerfanpoliticalscene.yuku.com/topic/1089/master/1/

That's a cool story, RFC (well, the story about the lady that cried when she got the ball. Not the story about the bags). Did anyone talk to them about leaving stuff behind unattended?

This seems like a good time to plug the political board. It'd be nice to get some more people on there.

Went to Lollapalooza last night. Queens of the Stone Age were awesome and Nine Inch Nails brought the house down. Worth the price of admission for NIN alone.

Not to mention pinning a guy with the vague "make-up issues" tag two months into his professional career without any further details or supporting evidence is completely reckless. I have no idea how Keith Law has a job. Bernie Pleskoff is much more enjoyable to read.

I tried clicking on the political board link and it re-directed me to this site: http://www.dcwg.org/ Anyone know what the deal is?

Man, hard to name just one: Caddyshack Fletch Are probably the two I quote the most. Others: Stripes, Dumb and Dumber, Zoolander, Anchorman, Big Lebowski

Thanks for compiling the stats. People need to refer to this thread when they want to use Lucroy as trade bait.

Buster Olney apparently doesn't understand that there could be a legally-enforceable contractual agreement between MLB and Braun preventing him from saying anything. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. There's more than one kind of legal "gag order".

So Buster Olney posted the definition of a legal gag order on his Twitter today. He is saying that Braun is not legally prohibited from speaking and is not saying anything by choice. Anybody have an opinion on that?

Well to be fair, their parents were the ones bringing them in to the clinic. So....the parents are even worse.

I have no qualms with the Brewers asking for a lot early on in the process. As the deadline gets closer teams might get desperate - look at Atlanta they need a starter to fill in for Hudson.

Surely you can't mean Kevin Mench????

I just learned how to add an umlaut (ö note the two dots above the letter) to my emails. I can also do the following: ô ò ó œ ø ō õ). This is a great day indeed.

He could be a career AAA knuckleball catcher for all I care. I'm just glad to talk about something other than PEDs.

I've read that he won't stick at 3rd. Just one guy though.

I am not sure anyone here is saying Braun is a victim. I know I am not. I am saying that the media's reporting of the situation is unfathomable when other players have committed crimes and those players have not been dragged through the mud like Braun is. Taking a step back from the Braun situation and his constant lying and denials; the media is acting like the usage of PEDs in baseball is a greater crime than the committing of a felony. The venom from the media to me on this is reprehensible. Yeah, I'm not saying he's a victim at all. He's a liar and a snake. But the attention and outrage this is receiving compared to actual criminal activity demonstrates a ridiculous double standard.

Yeah at this point it makes no sense to trade Gallardo. Keep him the rest of the year and hope he builds trade value. Lohse on the other hand should be traded but don't just give him away for the sake of trading him. Hopefully some team will get desperate closer to the deadline.

I guess lying is a worse crime than DUI.