molitor fan

Apparently Bogut broke his nose last night....maybe he will be held out of future games so that the Bucks do not accidentally win any more. Michael Redd complained about not getting the ball after the first quarter, and not playing in the 4th quarter.

Murton always scared me - hopefully he goes to an American league club we will not face. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080326-cubs-mike-fontenot-matt-murton-chicago,1,6235088.story

Movies that come to mind right away: The Green Mile (as soon as Tom Cruise shakes Michael Clark Duncan's hand at the end of the movie I know you meant Tom Hanks, but I can't stop laughing to myself thinking of that movie with Tom Cruise in that role in stead of Hanks...first of all, Michael Clarke Duncan would have seemed to be 14 feet tall standing next to itty bitty Cruise.

Here is an interesting story on Max St. Pierre, who is a recently recovering alcoholic. In another article, he stated he remembers very little about his time with the Brewers due to being in an alcoholic fog the entire time. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/SPORTS0104/802260365/1129

Wow, what a story. As one of Buck's biggest fans already, I was shocked by this: His straight name is Eugene, though he was "Geno" to most of his pals while growing up in Neenah, Wisc As Neenah is my hometown. The fact that he was driving one of his employees to her new job should not be missed in this story. Forget being a guy with amazing creativity and ingenuity, the biggest thing Rogers has going for him is just being a good, good person. Huntsville is starting to realize how lucky they are to have him I think. Too bad that Brevard did not recognize his skills fully.

At the age of 34, in January of 05 I went back to school at Marian, and received my certification in El. Ed. in June of 2006. Though told by relatives and Marian that I would be able to find a position - due to being a male, largely, I have been long term subbing for the last two school years. I live in the Fox cities, and in this area there are 350 applicants for every one position. Most districts in this area are cutting positions, with Appleton cutting 34 teachers last month for the next school year. Teaching is a great profession, and Wisconsin is a great state to be a teacher, but finding a position is very difficult at most levels.

That Yosted classic thong on the 2nd page is just wrong in so many ways.

Callis and Keith Law both have Villanueva's ceiling as a #5 - with Parra's ceiling as a #3. If Callis really said that I am disappointed in him. Law I could care less about, because he is incorrect in his assessments 99% of the time, and must have some incriminating pictures of high placed people. Villa obviously has a ceiling higher than a 5. Villanueva would be a 3 starter on 10 teams in the majors right now.

About half of the 2nd graders in my class have Heely's, and do just fine. I think Nick can handle it without a contract clause. Next thing you know I will be hearing that BJ Upton has a contract clause where he gets paid in Webkins instead of cash.

That Robin Roberts baseball would be awesome - he was my dad's favorite non-Braves pitcher. Groove that one right down the middle for me.

You know Toby, the first time you mocked nbo for his bolding, etc., the last time he posted, I didn't think you could be any funnier. But here, you go, doing it again, and once again it is just a laugh riot. Keep it coming my man, you're a friggin savant..

I actually think Crystal is competing for a spot on the Yankees roster - good chance he can put up a better OPS than Melky Cabrera.

First of all Ross, I disagree with BillyHallfan, I think your t-shirts are generally well done, I am not really sure what his apparent agenda against you is. Secondly, I would like to suggest a t-shirt idea brought about by Bill Hall playing his third position in three years. How about a similar picture to the Hart one with the caption Jack (as in dingers) of Hall trades.

That was a really cool read, and good news other than the Rogers setback. I hope everyone gets a chance to read this article - it has some major league information as well (Cameron, etc.), maybe it can be dual-posted so it gets the viewing it deserves.

If we extrapolate the stats, Weeks will have a sub .200 batting average for the 2008 season based on the spring stats, but he will steal 110 bases - so he has that going for him. I was down in Arizona for a week, and he was seeing the ball better and swinging the bat better than both Fielder and Hart. Believe what you wish I guess.

I think we are all going to think even more of young Ryan Braun once word leaks on who has been hanging around the Brewers clubhouse in Maryvale... I was hoping MolitorFan might have noticed and was going to mention it in his wonderful recap of his week down in AZ. Any female sightings, MF??? Wow, this is interesting, but no, I did not see any player girlfriends other than LaPorta's girlfriend. I am intrigued as who is could be...and thanks for the kind words

One thing I had wanted to mention, but had forgotten, was the relationship between Simmons and Yost. It is on a completely different level than those of Sveum or Maddux and Yost, and, at the very least will create a new dynamic in the dugout. It was kind of funny seeing Yost introduce Simmons to players like Cain and LaPorta during the B game (the coaches sat on chairs actually on the field next to the dugout). Simmons was very into the games and was chatting Yost's ear off pretty much the entire time. Maddux kind of seemed like a third wheel, which may allow him to become more of a true pitching coach, instead of a de-facto bench coach, which is what I viewed him as last year. I have always felt Sveum did not possess the personality to be a true bench coach, and was more of a wallflower than optimal. By no means is Simmons a shrinking violet, as he seemed to know that his opinion carried a great deal of weight with Yost.

Not a concern at all. Weeks was making a point to see tons of pitches, and always seemed to be at a 3-2 count. Weeks defense should be of primary concern, as his footwork has not improved at all from what I saw in Arizona.

Everytime I have seen Pena he has looked good - he relieved Capuano the other day and had a quick inning, and looked real good in the B game earlier in the week too. Nice velocity married with seemingly good poise. I know Agent 39 (his agent, and brewerfan contributor) is expecting Luis to be up at some point this year. Of those expected to make an impact this year, I think Riske has gotten hit the hardest this spring, and even he had a nice performance after get clobbered by his first few batters when I saw him the other day. I expect Choate to make the team - not thrilled with this fact, and think it will come at Stetter's expense, but I definitely get that vibe. Even Tim Dillard has looked major league caliber. Nunez looked Nunez-y - a guy that will get you a .650 OPS and play all over the diamond. Trejo is a very young guy that may see Helena this year, and I was surprised to see that he was in the group of players at the split squad game.

In regard to Fermaint, it was just body language, and the way he was swinging the bat seemed to be just arbitrary, with no thought behind his approach. Guys like Ford and Cain went into each bp swing with an agenda, but Fermaint seemed like he could not care less, that it was just spring training, swinging with all arms. Braun's approach seemed good, not really first pitch swinging, and I know he drew a walk or two...Prince's approach was a little more perfunctory if I recall correctly. As far as Prince was concerned, he was jovial a few of the times I saw him, so he was not a sourpuss generally, just was really hacked off that the fan (who was from Milwaukee and wearing a new Tampa Bay Rays hat by the way, if that is anyone from this forum) was telling him that he had no right to complain about his contract.

I got back last night from a weeks worth of games at Maryvale and elsewhere, and thought I would give a player-centric report of my trip. Let's start with catching and go from there. Kendell is hitting and throwing very well right now. He seems to have severe opposite field and middle of the field tendencies, and like many of the Brewer regulars, started pretty much every one of the six games I saw. It would not shock me if he did not have a home run all year, as his swing is compact and single and double based. While Brewer players were stealing bases frequently, and with extreme ease, Kendell gunned down one runner, and was close on the other attempts. Vinny Rottino started the one "B" game they played when I was there, and was playing well. Clearly a maximum effort kind of guy, I think Vinny got double the catching reps of Munson and Rivera. Randy Choate was going off one day in the pre-game outfield near the stands about one of the catchers hanging him out to dry (I believe it was Rivera) by insisting on throwing a fastball instead of a slider to a hitter that Choate knew would feast on his fastball. Munson hit a double high off the batter's eye during one game some 400 feet away - so his power off the bench would be the reason he would beat out the others. Prince was in a foul mood on 3/3 because a fan was razzing him hard about his contract as he was leaving the field via the tunnel in the 6th inning. Prince launched a few f bombs and challenged the fan to come down to him and say that. Prince then said he would not be signing any more autographs (he was signing again on Wednesday after taking Tuesday off), and the fan was escorted out of the stadium as some fans awaiting autographs were very perturbed. Prince does not have his stroke going at all yet, and was very frustrated, swearing after a couple of ground outs during my time down there. He was also hit twice in one game, and really straed down the pitchers....I would love to place a bet on whether Prince will serve a suspension for charging the mound this season.....I would almost guarentee that to happen. Ok, a little out of sequence, but I have to talk about Braun. What a freaking beast. Just lazers lazers lazers all the time, whether it be the games or batting practice. On Tuesday i shagged balls during batting practice on the left field berm, throwing down the practice balls for the pitchers that had gotten hit out. During one stretch where Braun was having an extended session, I felt like I was under artilliary attack as Braun hit 9 of 10 pitches out to basically the same area. The three run homer Braun hit on Friday was an amazing at- bat, just measuring the pitcher till he got one to nail. Cameron has been working extensively with him on his outfield play - 45 minutes straight during Tuesday morning. Braun twice made great throws to nearly get a guy trying to stretch a single - with Weeks flubbing one that got called a Braun error (it should have been Week's error). Braun is a hard worker, and he is really putting his all into learning the outfield Weeks on the other hand looked brutal defensively - with poor footwork being his main issue again. Weeks worked the count consistantly - striking out several times on 3-2 pitches. He crushed a long home run during a game the Brewers lost - and looked like he was in fine form in general batting. Corey Hart, on the other hand, looked lost batting the entire time I was there. Flailing at outside pitches with no power behind the swing, maybe Hart just needs to get that lanky frame going, and will start to crank it up - I saw he had a Rbi single yesterday. He looked great in the outfield, making several plays that were difficult look routine. If Braun does what I think he can defensively, the outfield d should be an actual positive. Cameron looks very good overall, showing power and obvious leadership - especially in his cameraderie with Weeks, Fielder, Gwynn. Those four guys were hanging together every time they had an opportunity from what I saw. Cameron looked fast, and played in pretty much every game, working out of the 2 or 3 hole. Gwynn looked very comfortable at the plate. While he will never be a .800 OPS guy, i could see him producing a hollow .300 batting average at some point. Gross looked solid, as did Kapler, actually. Kapler is a brickhouse as is Nix. They are both bodybuilder types. Neither did anything to embarrass themselves at the plate, with Kapler having a couple "clutch" hits. Our triple A outfield is going to be quality, for what it is worth, as even Brad Nelson was impressive offensively at times, producing a 3 run opposite field 400 foot homer one game. Hardy looked like his stroke was in good form, and he was one of the kinder and friendlier players there - always smiling and signing the autograph requests for children. Hall was drawing raves in camp for his defense, and he indeed looked natural and smooth there. Among the youngsters, the coached absolutely love Alcides Escobar - as during the B game Ted Simmons compared him to Reyes of the Mets with his amazing speed and smooth defense. His hitting was iffy in the games I saw - but his d could be borderline gold glove caliber right now, if not soon. Hurricane Irribarran also looked very good, and he shocked me a little bit - I would say he is a legitimate 2nd base prospect, and I was not really expecting to see that. I bet he is up with the Brewers at some point this year, whether it be as an injury replacement or in September. LaPorta is just an animal...cocky and confident, he just exudes a superstar kind of vibe. He foulded one hard off his foot or shin on Friday, and I hope he does not miss time. He has huge thighs, but seems athletic, and did not see him look out of place in the outfield. I think he can handle left, but right I am not sure about. Gamel looked great on two plays during the Monday B game and made 2 horrid plays during that game, with Simmons saying after one missed line drive, that "he just HAS to make that play". Gamel struck out twice after that poor play, and I got the impression it was bothering him. In minor league camp, he did not seem to show the power I was expecting. Other minor league players that made an impression were Cole Gillespie - really nice guy with a sweet stroke; Jonathon Lucroy - drew RAVE reviews from the catching coaches for his catching style and framing. It is hard to draw a crowd just catching a ball, but LuCroy did it, as several passers-by stopped during a catching session on Friday; Lorenzo Cain was really struggling with his swing, but seems to be getting noticed for his athleticism, as he was in the major league camp for the majority of the time, while Ford was in the minor camp the entire time; Charlie Fermaint looked like he did not give a hoot; Chris Errecart was practicing, and looked really good at the plate. Pitching wise, the one guy in minor league camp that stood out was Jeffress. Holy cow does he have amazing stuff...just an electric fastball, and a big league average curve or better. He threw 70 pitches or so during a live batting practice session on Friday, and made guys like Ford and Fermaint look lost. A coach from British Columbia that was there said that it was the most impressive performance by a pitching prospect he had ever seen. I think if he can get his personal life straight, he is a potential number 1 starter. Capuano looked tentative and lacking in confidence, unlike Villanueva, who just projects poise. Bush was a picture of frustration on Wednesday, and he seems to be fighting his command. Gallardo was walking around well, and Sheets looked excellent on Thursday. Any other players I have forgotten just ask. Edit: Typing issues

It sure happened on this site last year when Inman was included in the deal last year. You would have thought the Brewers gave up a pitcher that would be an ace for 15 years with the team Actually, how I remember it is that there were a great number of disrespectful comments made towards those that follow the minor leagues by several individuals that could not name a Brewers minor league franchise.

It sure happened on this site last year when Inman was included in the deal last year. You would have thought the Brewers gave up a pitcher that would be an ace for 15 years with the team Actually, how I remember it is that there were a great number of disrespectful comments made towards those that follow the minor leagues by several individuals that could not name a Brewers minor league franchise.

It sure happened on this site last year when Inman was included in the deal last year. You would have thought the Brewers gave up a pitcher that would be an ace for 15 years with the team Actually, how I remember it is that there were a great number of disrespectful comments made towards those that follow the minor leagues by several individuals that could not name a Brewers minor league franchise.

A gentleman named Anthony Witrado has been joining Haudricourt in updating the Brewer blog this weekend, and he mentioned that he indeed with be replacing the much-maligned Rick Braun this year. I do not know much about Witrado, but Braun knew very little about baseball, and made some very embarrassing errors.