homer

Yeah, I thought there were a few in there that were really stretching things just so the author could have another bullet point.

Suzy Favor Hamilton's husband was on the baseball team. You could probably reach her/him through US Track and Field.

http://dailydish.typepad.com/the_daily_dish/images/garrison_south_park_1.jpg This is the teacher...Mr. Garrison. You have Mr. Mackey, the guidance counselor. Although they both look kind of the same.

Taint McFadden

I haven't read through the entire thread so this may have been touched on, but I think comparing BA with RISP to BA with no one on isn't exactly a great measure of clutch vs. non clutch. There are so many variables that aren't accounted for - namely if no one is one and there are two outs there is little doubt a pitcher wouldn't give a good hitter anything to hit, what was the hitters average with men on but not in scoring position..etc.etc.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have a frame of reference for how top prospects have fared in the AFL? I'm wondering how a guy like LaPorta stacks up against others that went on to the majors.

Way to jinx him, he K'd three times today. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I'm sure Colby or someone else knows better than me, but I'd say having that many low round players not only start but play at darn near All Star levels (MVP in one case) is extremely lucky. Althought the altitude may have something to do with it given their home/road splits.

It also helps that Colorado is not only good defensively but good offensively too. I mean they scored the second most runs in the league. It's not like they had a bunch of singles hitters running out there everyday. I don't think Holliday, Hawpe, or Atkins were drafted because of their defensive acumen. I think what Hurdle is talking about is the pickup of Tavaras to cover that cavernous centerfield, the pickup of Matsui to play 2B, and possibly drafting Tulowitzki. And it's not like the Rockies have never tried to get pitching - they paid a ton of money for Hampton and Daryl Kile. The only difference now is that they grew some guys on their farm system (Cook, Francis) who don't completely wilt at home. And I believe they have a pretty strong bullpen to boot - not sure about that though.

I think Gwynn's defense is overrated. Given he wouldn't come close to what Hall did offensively last year (which wasn't much) I doubt he would provide that much extra value - maybe less. If you really want to improve the D, move Braun to left, Hall to third, play Hart in center, and pick up a free agent to play right (like Fukudome).

"Rarely do guys with top round ability play 4 years of college" Didn't LaPorta have injuries that led him back for his senior year?

The 'service' I use has a 'buy 10 get one free' program... kinda like a Subway Club Card.

"I guess I don't follow the racist/homophobic sentiment. Maybe I'd need to live in Milwaukee to be up on this stuff. " Actually, it's the Coors side that has the checkered history. Back in 1984, former company chairman William Coors told a largely African-American audience that "one of the best things (slave traders) did for you is to drag your ancestors over here in chains."

I just watched The Bridge last night. It was a haunting, scary, depressing, terrific movie. A guy setup cameras on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge and filmed from dawn to dusk for a year. His crew was asked to film anyone acting 'suspiciously' and they caught several people actually committing suicide. It sounds kind of wrong and voyeuristic, but they all had the coast guard and bridge patrol on speed dial if anyone climbed the railing. They were able to save a few lives in the process. The ones they didn't save were people that didn't hesitate after climbing over the railing. But the focus of the movie isn't so much on people jumping off the bridge but what drives people to suicide - whether it's mental illness, severe depression, etc. etc. One young guy jumped but lived to tell the tale - he spoke about his bipolar disorder and how it was so out of control he just couldn't handle it. The sobering thing was that he said as soon as he jumped he wished he hadn't done it. A fascinating film.

"Ugh, I hate Coors. Now two gigantic Milwaukee companies have ties to racist extremists. Oh well, what are you going to do? " What's the other one?

I think Miller owns Leinie's.

"And according to MLBTradeRumors.com the Padres also have him on their radar. So it's not like we can bring him through the backdoor without some market competition. " Well yeah I never inferred that. Of course there's going to be competition but given the rate of success of Japanese players with similar stats, I would definitely take a look at him.

That's OK. The business/tax climate is so good in Milwaukee that those employees will have no trouble finding another job or starting another company.

I still think the best option is Fukudome from Japan. http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=1064 His Japan League stats match up with Hideki Matsui's numbers there albeit with less power. http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=163 I'm not sure if he'd hit 25 - 30 home runs, but he'd get on base and hit for average.

Also, I think we are confusing what Melvin meant and what we think it means. Melvin mentioned high OBP in the call....to me 'professional hitter' means: in no order of importance: 1) works the count (i.e. patient) 2) doesn't get fooled often 3) approach is consistent with situation 4) gets on base

I don't think Melvin is as concerned with getting guys to drive in runs as he is guys that are adept at getting on base so people like Braun, Fielder, and Hart can drive THEM in.

There's been a lot of venom spat about this site the last week which is understandable, but now that the dust has settled a bit I thought I'd try and bring a 'glass is half full' perspective to the 2007 season. Let's discuss all the things that happened that give us hope for next season. I know many of you will be tempted to post "Ned Yost showed he won't be an MLB manager for very long" or "No one on the 40 man roster died" but let's try and leave that to vent threads and other places where they are more appropriate. Corey Hart: Corey had a breakout year smashing 24 home runs and stealing 23 bases. His line of .295/.353/.534 is on par with guys named El Caballo (.303/.354/.528) and Soriano (.299/.337/.559). Given that Corey has improved every time he's repeated a level, there's no reason to think he won't improve in 2008. He could potentially be a 30/30 guy. I'd take him and his defense over the other two players right now. May eternally be underrated behind bonus babies Weeks, Fielder, and Braun but he just might be more valuable. Rickie Weeks (post minor league stint): On July 31, Weeks was hitting .212/.363/.330. He was sent down to Nashville where he rediscovered his confidence and his batting stroke. Upon his return on Aug 10th, Weeks hit .273/.442/ .546 to close out the season. Not only that but in those final 7 weeks or so, he stole 15 bases without being caught once. The late season power surge was so impressive it raised his OPS from below .700 to .807 by season's end - good for 6th among NL second basemen. It was no coincidence that the Brewers mid season offensive slump seemed to evaporate once Weeks started getting on base at the top of the lineup. If he can get on base at a .380+ clip he will be force at the top of the order. Ryan Braun's offense: Really we can start and end with .634 - Braun's slugging pct. It was the best SLG ever by a rookie and had he had enough plate appearances, it would have been best by a 3B in the NL. Braun continued to amaze everyone with his quick bat and ridiculous power. His 34 home runs were the most ever by a Brewer rookie. Some people have God given talents. Brett Favre's is throwing an oblong object really hard, Michael Johnson's is running really, really fast, Chris Farley's was overeating, and Ryan Braun's is hitting a baseball hard. It's hard to imagine what kind of numbers he would have put up had he played a full season. Braun only 'bad' month was August were he was only able to muster a .904 OPS. He is potentially be a perennial .320 40hr 120 RBI man. Prince Fielder: Youngest MLB player ever to hit 50 HR. Prince led all NL 1st basemen in SLG and inside the park home runs. He became more vocal this year and took team leadership on his shoulders at the tender age of 23. The scary thing is that he may improve his hitting. Hard to improve on 50 dingers, but the potential for a .300/.430/.600 season is there - and might not be that far away. His batting eye improved as the year progressed and will only improve with age/experience. That's all I've got time for right now. Obviously, Yo! Villy need to be added as well.

Costs rise for everyone and everything year to year. I think the average is like 3.5%. An economist can probably explain it better than I can. Not to mention that this is 'average ticket price' meaning the bulk of the increase might be in places you don't sit.

I thought the whole list of 'that's what she said' lines that Michael wrote down were hilarious.

BBTS, Way to jinx it....now they'll win three in a row!