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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Rogers is 27 with a very limited major league career. Since when did he become Stephen Strasburg? I don't get the point of what they'd be saving him for. He's out of options. It's time for him to pitch. If he stands up to the rigors, great. If not like Ennder suggests, get what you can while you can. I personally think they did him a disservice last year by shutting him down when he finally was showing he looked like a major league starter. Had he finished last year in fine fashion, his confidence would be that much higher and confidence and ability to throw strikes is what held him back. At his age, building Rogers confidence was worth the risks of a few dozen innings.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Bianchi's being out of options gives him an inside track on an opening day roster spot. His competition would have to clearly prove they are better, and I don't see that happening. Bianchi outhit Green at Nashville last year, and the non roster guys aren't anything special. Green could stick and play 1B. Crosby? Murphy? No thanks. Gamel will go on the 60 man DL and that will free up a spot. de los santos accruing major league time won't be a consideration.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Even if his skills declined before the next 6 years are over, teams aren't forced to offer arby. Even if he does get expensive in arby it's only a one year commitment. My prediction? Aoki is going to win a batting title at some point.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    That 96 Brewer team was better than you remember. They scored a whopping 894 runs. That's more than the 82 Brewers who scored 891. Unfortunately the pitching was as bad as the hitting was good.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    monty57, This team won 83 games with one of the worst bullpens in franchise history. This was on top of a 96 win campaign the year before where the pen was nearly flawless. To criticize them for going for it in 2013, seems rather odd doesn't it? So the Brewers only control Braun and Lucroy beyond the next few years? Those are pretty nice pieces by the way. You assume by looking at the current makeup of the system that they'll only be able to replace the lost guys with marginal major leaguers? That's quite a stretch having just seen them add a valuable guy like Aoki. Who would have anticipated 2 years ago the leadoff hitter and starting RF would be someone named Aoki? He wasn't in the system anywhere. Do you consider him marginal talent? I don't. There will be 3 drafts between now and the end of Weeks' contract for instance. Yeah you do have to overpay some to get FA talent, but done selectively, when you don't have a lot of long term deals tying up money, it's very doable to fill a spot here and there as they did with Ramirez. The Brewer system is short on everyday players now, but who knows where they will be in 3 years? The team is positioning itself for payroll flexibility by staying away from the Dempsters and Lohses. You say Hart has lost his trade value. How much did he really have? His salary off the books, adds to payroll flexibility just as Fielder's leaving did. If Morris development stalls this year, it's now at least conceivable Hart could be kept another year under a QO.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    Is there some point that there is no draft pick compensation if he is signed late enough? June 1? I assume he has compiled enough money up till now that if I were him I would contemplate waiting for that deadline and signing with a team that is definitely in the playoff hunt. Some team will pay him a prorated share of good money instead of trading prospects for a starter. After the draft, there would be no compensation for Lohse. Boras doesn't want to have to wait that long. He's banking now on a catastrophic injury in someone's rotation in camp. But whether or not Lohse is still out there, teams that have fallen out of it will be willing to deal. The key for the Brewers is to hang close enough. I disagree with gregmag. I don't think it will take lightening in a bottle for the Brewers to stay in contention for 3 months then be in position to add a solid vet to help the rotation in the 2nd half. The last 6 weeks of 2012, the Brewer bullpen finally stabilized, and they became a much better team. The only starting pitcher gone from that period is Marcum and he was far from the best they had down the stretch.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    Was Green? No, he was a lot worse. Green hit .184/.265/.340 to Ishikawa's .257/.329/.428. Not only was Ishikawa better than Green, he was better than Gamel and Green combined in about the same number of AB's too. Ishikawa performed okay in a very difficult role. 30 RBI in under 200 AB's is being productive. Expecting great numbers out of part time players is fantasy. Ishikawa's shown he can be satisfactory. "Seeing what Green can do", is rolling the dice. Ishikawa is also a natural 1st baseman and considered a good one, while Green's a bit of a novice there. He'd be a far better option in my opinion than Overbay who's finished, if they look outside the organization. Another guy who could be available is Dan Johnson, currently in the Yankees camp. After hitting 28 HR in AAA, he got a look for the White Sox in September and slugged .818.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    Carp was a nice fit. I'm a bit surprised the Brewers didn't bite. They'll be guys available at the end of spring and this at least gives them the chance to look at guys they already have. Overbay will be left where he probably belongs at this stage, on the scrap heap and involuntarily retired.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    You need to take another look. Halton's career numbers: .294/.352/.448. That's an .800 OPS on the nose. More relevant is that he posted an .852 OPS in is first year in AAA. He's also never repeated a level. He's always hit for average but his HR numbers lagged, kind of surprising for a guy 6'5", 255. But some guys don't naturally put lift on the ball, and it takes time to develop. His HR rate last year was by far his best ever. Mike Morse, who's about the same size wasn't a big HR hitter early in his minor league career either. So there's hope for Halton. One more thing about Halton. He started one game at 3B last year, and didn't make an error. With Morris up at AAA, maybe the Brewers should give Halton more looks there. I've never seen Halton play, but I did listen a number of times to highlights of his HR last year at Nashville. From the descriptions, most were not wall scrapers, and a few sounded like mammoth shots. So make no mistake, he has power.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Nobody else has outfield experience at the major league level. That's why Carp makes sense. He's played 1B and corner OF, though mostly only LF, same as Davis. I would think Davis starts the year as 5th OF, and once Hart returns, Carp takes that spot and Davis gets optioned. The 6th infielder spot is up for grabs between Bianchi and Green. Bianchi is out of options and that could give him the edge.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    You are underestimating Narveson's stuff. He's fanned 7.4 hitter per 9 innings in his career. In 2010, he had a WHIP nearly identical to Gallardo. Opposing hitters have a .259 BAA vs. Narveson for his career. For a 4-5 starter that's outstanding. His fastball sits at 89-91, not 85-87. I'd describe him as a poor man's Cliff Lee. His stuff isn't quite as refined as Lee's, but they have similar deliveries, feature the same pitches and are both listed at 6'3" 205.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    Davis is not a first baseman. Morris is. So is Sean Halton and he's a career .294/.352/.448 hitter in the minors. That's not all that far off Davis' numbers. Davis now has a better shot at making the team as an extra OF, but you don't put a guy at 1B in the majors who's never played the position. Besides, the one positive for having Gamel in their instead of Hart was it added an extra LH bat to a very RH lineup. I think they'd want to keep a LH bat in there until Hart returns. Carp makes sense because he is a Gamel clone with even more outfield experience. I also don't think it makes a difference adding Morris to the 40 man a year ahead of schedule. Gamel's spot will open up when he goes on the 60 man.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    Except Gamel was left handed too and he was going to be the 5th outfielder once Hart returned. I imagine Davis will be 5th OF until Hart returns under that scenario. I'd be okay with Carp. He wasn't all that bad in 2011, and has played some OF. Now if he has shoulder issues that prevented him from playing OF, then that's a problem.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    I completely disagree. At least at 1B, they have one of their better prospects in the mix in Morris. Plus they'll be some veterans out there that can be traded for (like an Ishikawa) that can do an adequate job filling in. We also didn't know what they really had in Gamel, so who's to say somebody couldn't do what he would do? Gindl and Davis have zero major league experience and are not guys to have sitting on a major league bench. Neither are prime prospects either. Gamel was a caretaker at 1B and then his role was to be 5th OF, and lead PH bat. Once Hart returns, the 1B issue is solved, but the OF depth issue needs attention. The Brewers are not well fortified in their system with outfielders. They have some decent 1B. If Braun has to miss a week or Aoki pulls a muscle, who do you stick out there? That's where they need a veteran.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    If they went with Morris, he'd likely be optioned out when Hart returns, so I don't see this as stunting him. It might be a little problematic if Morris puts up good numbers, but I think they won't want him sitting on the bench. The issue for me is who replaces Gamel on the bench now going forward? None of the guys they brought in as NRI seem appealing. Outside of Gonzalez, the bench is very inexperienced and even less so now. The good news is bench bats aren't generally that hard to deal for. Roster issues will mean some decent ones should be available later in spring.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    LaPorta is still in Cleveland's system and in camp as a NRI. He could probably be had quite easily for a lot less than than Cleveland paid for him.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Everyone's focusing on who fills in at 1B in Hart's absence, but with Gamel down, the OF situation looks very, very thin. Anyone have suggestions on a backup OF to go after?
  18. JohnBriggs12
    I have to think regardless of who fills in at first until Hart comes back that a deal will be made to fortify the bench before opening day. The OF depth is a real concern now.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    Green had a big year in the minors in 2011, but that season sort of sticks out. Last year Bianchi had better numbers at Nashville. Maybe he should be in the discussion too.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    I'd call the Yankees who have Dan Johnson as a NRI or the Orioles who have Ishikawa as a NRI and see what they'd want. I'm sure there's other names around that could be had for very little but they'll wait and see what they have internally first. Will be interesting to see how the kids like Morris and Sean Halton (yes, he's in major league camp now too) look this spring. You never know. My gut instinct is if Morris rakes this spring, they'll roll the dice on him. It not, they'll look outside. The issue is more than a fill in at 1B for 4-6 weeks. Gamel was supposed to be a key guy off the bench too and the 5th outfielder. It's very tough for Gamel, who's likely to lose a 40 man spot before next season. I can't imagine a scenario where he's kept after missing nearly 2 years. At best, he'll be brought back on a minor league deal.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    If Gamel's problems linger, I would look for them to make a minor deal late in spring. There are always guys available as teams trim their rosters. Think guys on the level of Ishikawa (heck maybe even him) or a Dan Johnson (Yankees NRI).
  22. JohnBriggs12
    There are times when it would make some sense to go after a guy like Lohse even with the cost of a draft pick, assuming the price wasn't way out of line, but this is not it. The Brewers have a plethora of young or at least inexpensive starting pitching, either with some major league track record or very close to the majors. Now the national media seems to ignore solid seasons by Estrada and Fiers in 2012, and brief but very promising trials by Rogers and Peralta, and the return of a guy who won double digit games in 2010 and 2011. Throw in a handful of guys at AAA and AA that could figure in later in the year, and the situation just doesn't call for having to hold back or suspend these guy's progress so an overpriced mid 30's guy can take innings away from them. Getting rid of Wolf last year helped the team and should have been done sooner. Why risk adding another guy like that? It's a long season and other guys not named Lohse will be able to be had later if need becomes obvious. But it makes zero sense now.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Forget whether or not Lohse is worth the money. I wouldn't deal with Boras. Attanasio could have offered Fielder the moon, and Boras wouldn't have responded to it. Now he's begging the Brewers to take Lohse? Tell him to take a hike.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    I think I'm about the only one that kept bringing up Narveson since oh, back in October. The Brewers knew he was healthy all along. Had they not, they could have gone out and signed any number of low level FA. They showed zero interest in doing so. I think the odd man out will be Fiers, if Peralta has a decent spring. Fiers can be optioned, starting and available at a moments notice. I don't think they want Rogers starting out in the pen. He could well end up there if he struggles, but I think they want him getting regular work early on and working out any control kinks. Now a longshot would be Estrada returning to the pen if the late inning options look weak. There really isn't a clear cut 8th inning guy, though Henderson and Gonzalez seem to have the inside track. If all of Rogers, Fiers, Peralta and Narveson look good in Arizona, Estrada could become a key bullpen guy.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    I fully understand what they are doing with the rotation. Between them Estrada and Fiers made 45 starts last year, a combined 266 innings, with a 3.69 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 278 K's. Those aren't exactly typical Dave Bush or Doug Davis (prior years 3 and 4 starters) type numbers and the sample size isn't all that small. Given their age, price, and amount of controllable years left, the Brewers had to give them another chance to validate those numbers before moving on to other options. If indeed those numbers are indicative of their quality, the Brewers will have freed up a lot of money to spend elsewhere. Sending them to pen or back to minors at this stage, is in effect giving up on them as starting pitchers. Doing that after the seasons they posted is premature. Rogers is out of options and it's time for him to give a return for the patience shown by Brewers. Narveson at under a $1 million is as good as the low level FA out there too. With this offense, they can still stay in the thick of it long enough to grab a pitcher mid season for the stretch run all while several others close to the majors throw in AAA.
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