JohnBriggs12
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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12
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Any discussion of Brewer collapses would be incomplete if we didn't mention the Del Crandall era from 1973 to 1975. In 73, the Brewers went from first place on June 19th to 23 games behind at seasons end. In 74, they were just 2 games back on July 16th, only to finish 15 games back. Then in 75, they were tied for the lead on July 5th, only to stumble in so badly, they finished 28 games back. Of course that was the year they dealt my guy Briggs in midseason for Bobby Darwin who was simply awful in a Brewer uniform. It took 3 straight collapses for it to finally cost Crandall his job. Now those weren't quite as acute, and having never won, not all that unexpected, but they were each painful in their own way. What's most disturbing about this season is that this is a veteran club and for the most part it's veterans like Braun, Lohse and Gallardo that have let the team down the most. The ability to deal guys next year is a positive way to look at it, but if Gallardo and Lohse are pitching well enough to bring back much return, it's likely they'll be in good position.
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This year has to rank up there at or near the top. Of course the near collapse that cost Yost his job in 08 would have been right up there too. This one feels a lot like 1983 to me. They were poised to win another division title that year and defend their AL crown, and were in first place as late as August 25th then lost 18 of their next 24, and looked awful doing it. That hangover from that collapse carried right into 1984, one of the most dismal seasons in Brewer history which doesn't bode well for 2015.
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I know I read somewhere that Counsell has gotten consideration elsewhere for a GM post and was highly thought of already. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get an opportunity elsewhere if not here in the next couple years. On a side note, the Cubs certainly have some nice prospects and have drafted extremely well of late. Assuming they start moving up the standings, let's see if they're able to continue their momentum on the draft front picking closer to the bottom of the 1st round as opposed to the very top. They've stockpiled enough young talent and draft high again in 2015 that it won't matter for some time if there draft becomes less productive as they are winning every year.
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Rickie Weeks picture is next to "career underachiever" in the dictionary. Injuries played a role sure, but this is a guy who was 2nd pick in the entire draft and was top hitter in all college baseball two straight years. Even his best years didn't approach matching the level of his apparent talent.
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Seemed like a fine guy when I'd seen him on the telecasts. Really way too young. What a horrible week it's been in Brewer nation.
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They won't fire Roenicke without firing Melvin first. Melvin's already on his 4th manager if you count Sveum. How many GM's can whiff on that many key decisions and still retain his job? That being said Attanasio is loyal to Melvin to a fault so I see no changes even if the slide is so bad they finish under .500.
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Have to wonder what happened to him this year. This is the same guy that posted an .862 OPS at AAA at age 22 and looked okay at the end of 2013 for the Brewers.
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Brewers tried to acquire Justin Morneau from Rockies
JohnBriggs12 replied to Invader3K's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
You key phrase is "while aging". Morneau's been solid this year but he's not close to the MVP hitter he once was. No way is Morneau who will turn 34 in May worth anywhere near that package. Nelson alone maybe, but Brewers would have to think long and hard on that one. As for Gennett, why would they want to weaken themselves offensively at one position, 2B just to improve at 1B? That would make zero sense especially considering the age difference between Gennett and Morneau. If the Rockies see themselves as contenders, they could bite on a proven starter like Lohse and a close to major league ready arm like Jungmann. They don't need offense but they desperately need pitching. Gennett's 2014 numbers are not all that far off Morneau's. Put Scooter in Coors, and he might win a batting title even with facing lefties too. -
Brewers tried to acquire Justin Morneau from Rockies
JohnBriggs12 replied to Invader3K's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
HiandTight: "They have no offense outside of Luc, Aram, Braun and Gomez" Ok lets just ignore the 124 OPS+ of Gennett and the 117 OPS+ of Davis. -
After a horrific first half, Villanueva has posted a 0.47 ERA and a 0.621 WHIP in 19 1/3 IP for the Cubs since the All Star break. His OPS against during that time is an anemic .425. Don't know whether he's cleared waivers, but I would think it's quite possible he has. Now he's been used mostly in mopup, but it's not like he hasn't had late inning roles in the past including in his time as a Brewer. Watched a bit of him last night vs. the Reds and he's got all his pitches working right now and he had Red hitters off balance.
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Brewers tried to acquire Justin Morneau from Rockies
JohnBriggs12 replied to Invader3K's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
By later I meant after the season. I realize no deal is possible now, but I sure the Brewers will still have interest in Morneau after this season. One reason teams put guys on waiver in August is to see what teams have interest in certain players not necessarily for right now but for deals in the winter. -
He's more useful than the combo of Delfino who can't play because he's hurt, and Raduljca who wasn't good enough to earn minutes on a 15 win team. They might be pointing to 2-3 years from now, but they still have to put a team on the floor this season, and they can't play all rookies. They'll still be in the lottery next spring, but I don't think the ticket buying public will buy another 15 win effort.
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Brewers tried to acquire Justin Morneau from Rockies
JohnBriggs12 replied to Invader3K's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
Obviously made sense because they'd have him next year too. Wonder what the Rockies were asking? Maybe they can revisit this in the offseason. If I had a guess, I'd say the Brewers offered Jungmann. Maybe they can sweeten the pot later by adding someone currently on the ML roster who hadn't cleared waivers this month. -
No the pitchers to Parra were pretty much right down the middle and he took them. The pitches Roenicke was referring were early in the game to the guys at the top of the order. I don't think Braun was thrown a pitch in the zone the entire night. His first time up after a strike was called on a pitch clearly out of the zone, Braun said something to him. Not sure exactly what it was. Could have been "you're going to give our guy that pitch too right?" or "you can't give him that wide a plate", but whatever it was, Braun was toast the rest of the night. Lucroy, perhaps the most disciplined hitter on the team flailed at an out of the zone slider because this ump had been calling fastballs 8 inches off the plate strikes. Suddenly then in the 9th, he turned into a different umpire with a completely different zone and made K-Rod throw into a tea cup. By far the most blatantly bad balls and strikes all year and one sided to boot. Interesting that the ump is a SD native too (his bio says he graduated from Escondido High School). Roenicke doesn't have a reputation for calling out umps. Because of that when he does, he's almost always has a case and this guy, who's a minor league call up hopefully won't be getting a full time major league gig any time soon.
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Sean Halton's best minor league season above rookie ball was an 852 OPS. Matt Clarks career OPS is 863. These 2 players don't compare. Jason Rogers still might be the best of the bunch though. I think if Halton had over 1,000 AB's playing for Tucson and a half a year in the California League, they'd be pretty comparable. Notice you don't mention that the .852 was at AAA. That's beside the point though. The point is that unless you are a highly touted high draft pick like the Fielders, Weeks, Brauns of the world, when you get your shot, you have to perform at a very high level immediately to ever become an everyday player. If you don't, they'll find a veteran to replace you quickly. Clark started this year at AA at age 27. That says volumes. If and when he gets a shot, he's no different than a Halton. He'll have to produce from day 1 or he'll be back toiling in the minors rather quickly. Taking nothing away from what Clark has done at Nashville this year, but it's a two month sample.
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They traded an injured player and their 4th string center plus a useless 2nd round pick for a guy who can actually play some minutes and a future pick near the bottom of the first round. Certainly not earth shattering but clears some dead wood and adds another player with experience to the rotation. The pick they got could have future trade value as well.
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Just telling it like it is. Cubs should be considered contenders starting in 2015. Most "experts" say 2016 or 2017 for them, I'm just forewarning everyone. I despise the Cubs as I'm surrounded by Cub fans most of whom are still non believers. Those fans aren't even watching them instead they've invested their hope in the Bears who will disappoint them. But I see enough of the Cubs to be convinced they will arrive sooner rather than later. They could have a couple of their phenoms just be average and still be competitive. Of more immediate import, Cards lose with ace Wainwright on the hill.
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A fair percentage were brought back last year. If a guy still has a defined role in an organization, it makes sense for both sides.
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Well their pitching has held up after they traded their two best starters in the first half and they've run a number of guys out there. They picked up Jacob Turner for depth too. They can certainly afford a Lester and one other lesser name too. They also have chips with which to deal for pitching. It will be interesting to see what they do with Edwin Jackson who've they have tied up for two more years. I'm not saying they are going to be favorites, but that there is a path for them to go from worst to first. It's not that big of a climb anymore.
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Monty's right about Melvin's penchant for filling holes with veterans. Gennett and Davis won their spots with sterling play when they got their chances due to injuries/suspensions. Lucroy got his shot only after veteran Gregg Zaun went down in 2010. That's the only way less heralded minor leaguers have broken through regardless of the minor league numbers. How hard is it? Well a guy in that spot has to be more than just ok. He has to really open eyes. Sean Halton wasn't horrible last year when he came up. He did okay certainly by the standards set by the rest of the chumps who played there in 2013. But okay for a guy in his spot wasn't good enough and he was never really in the plans for this year.
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Ah you haven't been watching Kyle Hendricks apparently and his 1.78 ERA in 8 major league starts. Yes he's a finesse guy and not a power arm but he knows how to pitch and has great command. They need to build around Arrieta and Hendricks and likely Lester, but that's not a bad foundation. Wada's 33 years old but he's been pretty impressive as well. Wood's had somewhat of down year but he's fine as a back end starter. "Maybe develop a reliever or two"?? Again have you seen the Cubs this year? They've developed a nice pen THIS year. Strop (2.31), Schlitter (3.47) and Grimm (4.06) have all had their moments and Hector Rondon has been more than adequate as a closer. Then there's Neil Ramirez. All he's done in 39 games is post an ERA of 1.08 with 43 K's in 33 innings. All those guys are under control for next year. This team scares me and not just for 2016. Bryant is capable of duplicating numbers that Braun put up as a rookie in 2007. They are purposely holding him back because he's a Boras client. He was major league ready the day he was signed. He'll make everyone in that lineup better come June 1st next year. This year's Cubs team is only 3.5 games behind the Reds right now and while they are 13.5 behind the Brewers, that's nothing compared to the 31 games back they finished last year, and remember the Brewers finished 23 games behind the Cards last year.
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Mark Reynolds has a 540 OPS in August, and a sub-700 OPS for the season. Give Clark a starting oppurtunity, I doubt he would be worse, and could be significantly better. Reynolds is actually making better contact this month (3.92 AB per K) despite the bad numbers so an argument could be made he's hitting in some bad luck. He did have a .799 OPS in July. Overbay's OPS in August is .873. Yes Clark is having a great half season in AAA. But they aren't going to sit both Overbay and Reynolds for a career minor league first baseman with no major league experience in the heat of a pennant race. Clark should and probably will get a long look in spring. He's earned that. He also may have made Hunter Morris expendable. They could add him strictly as bench bat in September by clearing Gindl's 40 man spot. Let's see what happens.
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Soler hasn't had the AB's in the minors but he's probably more advanced as a hitter than Baez. He nearly walks as much as he strikes out. Cubs are starting to look like a team that will have to be taken seriously in 2015. They'll need another pitcher or two, but if they can get Lester, they have the makings of a decent rotation and the vets around their core of kids are decent. I'm sure they'll try to tamp down expectations so there won't be so much pressure but their fan base has been waiting patiently up until now and if they start off well next year, there will be no containing the exuberance.
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Off season: Gallardo for Napoli?
JohnBriggs12 replied to monkeyman343434's topic in Transaction Rumors & Proposals
It's too early to gauge the market. One benefit of dealing either Gallardo or Lohse (who I prefer) is for significant salary relief assuming the return is prospects. They may have to spend in the closer market. If they can bring back Reynolds and see Clark as an option, why pay for one year of a diminishing Napoli? -
Clark's numbers have been impressive this year, but it's still under 200 PA at Nashville and he's had two full prior seasons at this level. Rogers' AAA sample size is still small, but considering this is his first taste of AAA, it's impressive. Being drafted where he was, he was never going to be on a fast track but he's hit every where including in the FSL in 2012. I like that for guys with power, neither Clark nor Rogers strike out at huge rates. That indicates to me their floor in the big leagues might be acceptable even if their ceilings aren't all that high.