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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Kearns is not "still out there". He signed a minor league deal with Miami in January. He'd have made more sense than Overbay, as a RH bat who can also play OF, but given the timetable for Hart has been moved up, they appear ok.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Gonzalez has had a number of years where's he's slugged well over .400. His low OBP isn't as big an issue down in the order. I'm all for him getting some AB's while not taking time away from Segura. He's also a nice option at 2B if Weeks starts out this year like he did last year. I would imagine Bianchi and Green will play multiple positions this spring including perhaps the OF in the battle for the 2nd utility job too.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    The reality is it's February 12th and the season is still almost 7 weeks away. The reporting date for pitchers and catchers is not really something I mark on my calender or get very excited about. So guys are playing catch in Arizona? Whops. I'll know it's nearly baseball season when the golf courses open up. That's what I look forward to.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    I expect another step forward for Gomez offensively. 25 HR and 85 RBI wouldn't shock me in the least. I think he's a lot more valuable player than his stats even say. His speed is still a game changer too. Last year he beat the D-backs after coming in to pinch run in the 9th. After numerous throws to first, he took off and two errant throws later, he was in with the winning run. By all means I consider him a core player.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    Gomez is younger. On the other hand Bourn is pure leadoff hitter and those are harder to find than free swinging 6th and 7th hitters. Bourn is also a better defender than Gomez. What is interesting is that another Boras client, Ellsbury is also a FA after this season. It figures to be a crowded prime CF FA market next year with Granderson also in the mix. I'm thinking Boras could have Gomez take a qualifying offer from the Brewers and let Ellsbury go FA. Then Boras could come back the following year when Gomez will still be only 29, and still get him his big multi year deal then. The question is will Gomez produce enough to warrant a qualifying offer from the Brewers? Even if it's a slight overpay, it might be the best option for the Brewers.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    His deal with Baltimore has not been finalized and may fall through likely due to health concerns. If that's the case, the best he's going to get is a minor league deal and he's going to have to prove he can pitch.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    He wouldn't and most illegal businesses will want cash on delivery of the goods. Remember when Sammy Sosa was caught with all that cash on him in an airport?
  8. JohnBriggs12
    It was a pretty faint glimmer at that. I wish the young man well, but this will go down as a huge draft mistake.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    That's a great point actually. How would the player be "outed" and why would a lab that is engaging in illegal activities do that? Neither the lab nor the player wants to get caught. That's a valid point, and one I considered. Did Braun stop paying them after the bad drug test? Perhaps. Anything's possible but it all seems easy enough to check out.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    If Braun's explanation is valid, there has to be a paper trail. His attorneys should be able to produce correspondence and emails from Bosch requesting payment for their services and detailing what those services were. By his comment "fullly cooperating with MLB" that would likely mean they have documents that back his story. Conversely, anyone realistically believe that this lab would provide PED's on credit or if they did that a player would risk being outed by not paying?
  11. JohnBriggs12
    I don't see Houston trading him before the season. They'll wait and see what the market is in July and hope a mini bidding war occurs. It's going to take a young pitcher close to the major leagues. Brewers have guys that fit that description, Thornburg, Burgos, Jungmann, Hellweg, Nelson. Also might have to throw in a sweetener like a Bianchi or Green that could play for them now, but isn't a prime every day player.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    One guy I'd be keeping an eye on for a deal who's controllable for a couple more years is Bud Norris. By the time the Astros are ready to compete, Norris will be a FA. I've always liked his stuff, and thought on a good team, he'd be a winner.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    I'd go with: Aoki Weeks Braun Ramirez Gamel Lucroy Gomez Segura Against lefties, I'd flip flop Gomez and Gamel. I just like a lefty to mix it up higher in the lineup against right handed pitching. I also like Lucroy in the 6 hole rather than the 5 spot. I don't think your catcher needs the added stress of having to be a big time run producer that comes with that spot in the order. I also like the speed guys back to back.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Coulter most definitely has upside. So does Victor Roache from everything being said about him. Neither Coulter nor Roache has done anything yet that doesn't justify their draft positions, unless you are predisposed as apparently Law is to downgrade Brewer draft picks.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    No it's not. If the team is tanking, it's most likely going to be caused by injuries to key guys, more issues in the bullpen or early struggles by the guys that start the year in the rotation. All of those will be looked upon as fixable at least in time for 2014. Injured players will heal. Closers/relievers can be found, and there are young guys behind the guys that start this year in the rotation. Plus there is salary room for additions next off season. Trading Gallardo 2 years in advance of his contract ending just isn't the way Melvin thinks.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    Wade Blasingame is a significant name in Milwaukee baseball history. In the "lame duck" season of 1965, the Braves had a terrific offensive club and a shot to win the NL, which would have made for quite the interesting World Series. They had 3 pitchers they rode heavily to stay right in the thick of the race through August. One was Tony Cloninger who won 24 games that year. Another was Ken Johnson who they got in a deal with Houston, and the other was young Wade Blasingame. When I say young, back in those days, young was young. Blasingame was just 21 that year. He had come up as a 20 year old in 1964. For a while in July and early August, it seemed any time one of those 3 started, it was a sure Brave win. Unfortunately, the lack of depth and innings started to catch up with the staff down the stretch particularly Blasingame. Imagine a 21 year old today logging 36 starts and 224 innings? Management which spent the season in Atlanta, made no effort to fortify the rotation late. The last thing they wanted was for the nation to see the Braves in their final season in Milwaukee playing in the showcase that back then was the World Series, and their ownership so hated that they dare not set foot in Wisconsin. So Blasingame kept being thrown out there, to the detriment likely of the remainder of his career, when he was never the same.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Monty57. The aging corps has to be taken advantage of the next two seasons to try to win. Trading your ace for prospects will help you in 2017, but kill your chances now. A lot can happen in the system between now and 2015. Look what 2 months of Greinke brought back. Assuming health, Gallardo will still have plenty of value in 2015. Hart, Weeks, Gomez and Ramirez departures the next couple years frees up tons of cash. Brewers won't sit on that money if their everyday prospects aren't good enough. They look to be in pretty decent shape going forward with pitching that's reasonable. They may use some of that to deal for an everyday prospect too. They can add a free agent to two to fill in around Braun, Lucroy and Segura. You don't need All Stars at every position to win. They won 96 with Betancourt at SS remember.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    The Brewer hitters are partying as we speak. Who should know better than the Brewers that if they wait him out, he'll groove one.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    Honestly seems normal to me. Melvin likes veterans on the bench instead of young guys who will probably not have starter upside. Unfortunately we have a lot of young bench upside guys in the minors. Most teams with pennant aspirations prefer a veteran presence on the bench. So that's a big reason Gonzalez was brought back I'm sure. Still he's been a starter his whole career, so hopefully, he can handle the one or at most two starts per week and still be productive and be good coming in late to PH. My issue with the bench now is it's light on outfielders and veterans with experience coming off the bench. Schafer is the only near lock to make the team as a backup up outfielder. Both Bianchi and Green did see bench time last year and that's probably their ticket to a career, so I'm not all that concerned if both make the team. Both have the talent to play in the majors. But they need to see time in the OF this spring to increase their value and give the Brewers more balance. Murphy and Crosby do nothing for me at least at this point. Crosby needs time to get back into playing and perhaps he'll be useful in the 2nd half. Murphy, eh.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    Rolen can't catch up with good hard stuff any more. It would be tough for him to come up late against 98 mph heat as a pinch hitter. He'd be useful against certain pitching, but he's likely to retire anyway. It also still wouldn't answer the question, who do you stick in left field for a half dozen games when Braun has his normal issue with his strained oblique/intercostal muscle? I assume your solution to that would be Gamel, and then putting some aging guy like Rolen or Carlos Lee at 1B? Eh. There has to be a better solution than that, and it might take a trade in spring training to get the right guy. I think Melvin was a little asleep/too cheap when there were guys out there. Matt Diaz would have been a perfect fit. Maybe now that the Yanks appear ready to sign Hafner, Melvin cold lure Diaz away from them. Rene Tosoni isn't the answer Doug.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    The bench is kind of an odd mix. Schafer is the only true backup OF with any major league experience in camp and his is very limited. I can't believe they haven't added a veteran OF to the mix especially since Hart's going down has forced Gamel to 1B for two months. They have many IF vying for bench spots but Gonzalez is the only lock and also the biggest offensive threat off the bench. In my world there's been an obvious need for a jack of all trades (corner OF/1B/PH) type veteran RH bat. Maybe they see a combination of Green and Bianchi or Murphy perhaps being that but who knows? Green and Bianchi are green and Murphy's a career .205 hitter (hello Bill Hall) who's never played the OF either. I think there's going to be moves made in ST. This cannot be what they will go north with. I'm a big believer in a team's success hinging on what the starters in the lineup do, but a solid bench can contribute and the injury to Hart has depleted what they had.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    All sounds good monty57, but that would be completely out of character for Melvin, who's history suggests he'll wait until the final years of contracts to trade productive players as in Carlos Lee, and Greinke, or even wait and take the picks. Melvin didn't even flinch when there was talk about a Daniel Hudson and/or Gordon Beckham offer for Fielder in 2010, a year the Brewers were well out of it. Should Gallardo stay healthy and productive through 2015, he'll most certainly get a QO from Brewers and hence at least bring back a pick. East Coast writers suggesting that Gallardo is available need to take a closer look at how Melvin operates.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    I'm fairly certain each of the major league teams has each other's account info to electronically transfer funds between them I'm guessing that applies for any amount down to $1.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    My bad. I had thought Overbay had signed a minor league deal the other day. I was away a couple days and missed that it was reported prematurely. I'm not totally opposed to the Gonzalez signing if he's the player he was. The RH hitters market was drying up fast, and Gonzalez, if sound and able to adjust to bench role, is a better version of Cody Ransom who had some big moments last year.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    I like the guys the Brewers have coming along too, but Gallardo is set to earn $24.25 million over 2014 and 2015 which for a guy with his production is still a huge bargain. It's not like he'd be the only marketable guy on this current rotation either if you needed room for a Jungmann or a Hellweg. They don't hand out trophies for having the most prospects in your organization. It's about winning games at the big league level. Gallardo is a proven winner and doesn't blow the budget. Greinke brought back a pretty decent return for a 2 month rental. Oh, he helped them win 96 games before departing. Gallardo is really no different. He'll still have value in 2015 if the Brewers are out of it then. I don't see him holding back anyone.
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