Never Outhustled

The plan was to send Gamel down after the next series. Iribarren obviously was to be the replacement.

And who would be better at any of these things versus LHP than Hall? The Brewers don't bunt and rarely hit and run, so what exactly are we asking our # 2 hitter to do besides hit? If you say hit to RF to advance the baserunner, then look at Hall's spray charts versus LHP, as he's a machine to RF versus them.

Not suprisingly, Halls numbers in the #2 spot, versus LHP have been outstanding in his career. His best spot career wise is #4, though that isn't a consideration.

The thing your missing is that by releasing Nelson, Iribarren gets an oppurtunity to prove something at the MLB level. He's a better player than Nelson, why shouldn't he get that oppurtunity? Nelson will be a minor leafue FA after this year, the Brewers could pick him up if they want, but they will likely pick up one of the several minor FAs that would profile better as an MLB bench player.

The problem with PH is, very few players actually hit well as pinch hitters. Counsel's season totals are good because of what he's done as a starter. If he gets lots of PH ABs, his numbers will go down.

Ya, it sure is dumb batting a guy 2nd versus lefties when, since 2005, he has only has only a 390+ OBA and 900+OPS against them.

Only if Hall found some steroid that only works versus LHP.

Hall dominates versus lefthanded pitching, why not take advantage of that by hitting him up in the order?

How did we add more payroll to next years bench? We didn't even add more payroll to this years bench. We'll pay Catalanoto the same as we paid Nelson. Next years bench will include minimum salary guys like Iribarren and Gillespie. Having Gamel on the bench last night gave the Brewers a chance to win the game. Gamel and Nelson do not compare as hitters.

He was worth less than 3 wins last year, why would that equal big trade value? Melvin made him available this past offseason, but we didn't hear of a single offer, and almost everything gets leaked nowadays.

Any reason in particular you are high on these guys? Do you think the all have better than split odds to last until the Brewers pick? I just love Arnett. In fact I think he's on par with everybody besides Strasburg. I got the pleasure of watching him on the BTN today. He was outstanding. He's tall, lanky, lean, but still strong. He throws downhill. Outstanding velocity with a killer slider. He's a terrific athlete, has outstanding body control who I think will develop outstanding command. He showed really quick feet picking off a baserunner. Cal Eldred broke down his mechanics after the game and pointed out his flawless delivery. His production has been outstanding all year. He only has 1 year of college abuse, as opposed to most top college pitchers who have been rode into the ground by the time they're drafted. Right now, unfortunately, I think Arnett is well out of our reach. Mitchel is an athlete who's becoming a patient hitter. He shows some power, and has very good raw power. He has alot of untapped potential because of all the practice time he has missed with his football commitment. Wheeler reminds me of a lefty swinging, more disciplined Corey Hart. Everett Williams is an outstanding athlete from unbelieveable bloodlines, but also is productive and instintive. Raley is a terrific athlete who already has impressive command, and it will only get better after he quits playing the OF, and gains more experience, as he's just a sophmore. Raley will be available when the Brewers pick, but I'll guess only 1 or 2 of the other 3 will be left, but one will be plenty. I wish Arnett would have remained more of a secret, and I'm not usually excited about getting a pitcher.

Outstanding work Mass Hass. It really shows the people running things here know their business.

Can I ask why? When he did play CF, he was actually better there than he is in RF. His career UZR supports that, though I realize its only a 60some game sample. I've heard numerous players say its easier to track the ball in CF, and that seemed to help Hart overcome the weakness he has in RF. Obviously, his speed is outstanding, and he has a much stronger arm than the average CF. An OF of Gillespie, Hart, and Braun would have workable range, though I'd prefer Gillespie as a 4th OF because of his offense. I think we could find a true offensive dominater if we needed a LF, and he would be a lefty batter.

Fredrickson pitched much better than his line. All the hits against him were cheapies, seeing eye grounders and an infield chopper. He really pitches on a downward plain and gets hitters to beat the ball into the ground. His delivery is actually very smooth, which suprised me. His wildness comes from him loosing his release point, which cause some very wild pitches. Hitters seem very uncomfortable in the box against him. Jerry Augestine, who was doing the game with Bob Brainerd for TWSC, said his fastball was in the low 90s tonight. His curve was sharp, and he threw it for strikes. He threw a good number of change-ups for swing and misses. He made a nice pick-up on a bunt, and seems to be a decent athlete. For a guy listed 240, he's not bulky at all. He's just a big, angular dude. I was impressed, and relieved.

He played 3B in college before the shoulder injury, so he should have no problem with 1B. I agree that the plate discipline really fits in a bench role. Oddly, the league average OPS was actually higher in RF than LF last year. The league average OPS for LF was just 785. Gillespie will be a pretty good asset.

I saw Green play this last weekend. I love the bat. His has lightning in his hands. However, I don't see him as the agile athlete a 2B needs to be. Picture Tyler Houston, but with some junk in the trunk. He's heavy footed. He doesn't run well. He fits perfectly at 3B, and will hit well enough to start their in the majors.

Did you read my original post. The reason still is because it hurts him defensively in the OF. If he was 25 pounds lighter, he might have gotten to a few balls. Would you want Mike Cameron playing with a 25 pound weight on his back? He's far better defensively in the OF than Nelson is. In fact he's above average for a corner guy.

I don't think that entirely true. Iribarren is a much better defensive OF than Nelson, and has a higher career minor league OPS. Gillespie is heating up right now too. Nelson has had 1 season with an OPS over 800 since 2002. He's replacable. Nelson at his best is a 750 OPS guy, and he's a bad defenive OF.

Princes weight has hurt him bigtime defensively. Also, with Nelson I specifically mentioned the fact that he a fringe player, theres lots of guys like him, he needs to maximize himself. Yeah, you've said that a few times now, and haven't gotten much support with it. The Brewers called up Gamel because he makes them better. The Brewers are trying to win. Your saying your mad because we lost Nelson because we cut him for Gamel, I'm saying we cut him because we had guys that are better options. If Nelson had accepted assignment, he still would not have gotten the call over Iribarren. If this was 2003, we'd need Nelson, but we're deeper than that now. Nelson is a better fit for an AL team, or at least a team that has a good 4th OF so Nelson would only be needed to PH.

Iribarren has hit just as well in AAA this year as Nelson did last year. Iribarren has a higher career OPS. Plus, Iribarren is more versatile, and offers speed on the bases. I have no use for a fringe player who plays 25 pounds overweight. That really limited him in the OF. We're better off now. Nelson was fine until something better came along, and we have more where that came from.

If Hall and MaGehee are in the same lineup, I think I'd rather have Hall at 2B and MaGehee at 3B.

Is it curious that Corporan has started 2 0f the last 3 games behind the plate for Nashville? I'd like to see Corporan get regular ABs to see if he can develop his bat, but I'd still like to see Salome get every oppurtunity to develop his defense. I'd like to see Corporan DH, or even play 1B to get his ABs.

Weeks was on pace to be worth $29.25 million this year, per fangraphs. By comparison, CC was worth $30 milliom this year. To say Weeks was failing is as far from the truth as you could possibly be. We're over 10 months from opening day next year. Thats a huge difference from his last wrist injury. He will be 100% by the start of spring training.

If Gamel can defend at a tollerable level, than we are a pretty similar team to what we were a week ago. Gamel should be similar to Weeks offensively, could be somewhat similar defensively, and we still have a Counsel/Hall platoon. We get worse defensively at 3B, but better at 2B. We finally have some balance in the starting line-up. We still don't have a big lefty bat off the bench. We could be right back where we started, and thats pretty good. I feel better. Its all on Gamel's defense. I sure hope JJHardy7 is right about his progress.

Weeks is done for the season. Link I'm crushed. Absolutly crushed. Winning the WS just got a whole lot harder.