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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Frankie wasn't bad in September of 2011 for the Brewers. Incredibly though this year he walked more than he struck out at Iowa. AAA depth if he reverts to his 2011 form.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    One of 30, yes 30, mostly forgettable names that the Cubs used on the mound at some point in 2012. He did manage a scoreless inning vs. the Brewers in early June.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Haren made more sense getting in trade. Now he's going to command something like 4/60 or 5/75 or more. Seems risky considering the Brewers depth of starting prospects at high levels. I see the Brewers looking for "value plays" meaning guys who will be available on short term deals. I've mentioned Liriano. Another guy is Correia. Both should be available on short term deals. Liriano still has potential to be really good. Correia is a safe bet to be solid back end innings eater who should do well with a better offense. He's been .500 or better with poor offensive teams recently. I see them staying away from long term big deals and waiting to see what bigger name might be had near the deadline.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    Young starting pitching isn't a need. While you can never have too many, the Brewers have a pretty deep group.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    Here's hoping Prince's performance in the desert isn't a mirage.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    One signing doesn't mean a trend necessarily, but it's interesting with some real money to spend and the bullpen the biggest need, that their focus seems to be on adding young hard throwers. That's fine with me but I'm a bit disturbed Parra has yet to be released. They do need to get a reliable lefty in the pen and I hope Parra isn't their fall back. Narveson maybe, but please not Parra. As for the money being saved this route, one has to wonder who they are eyeing.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    Fascinating. Melvin took advantage of a different mindset in Boston apparently. Boston it seems wants to hold roster spots open for major league FA. Have to believe Olmsted heard from more than one team though. The success of Axford, had to be a selling point. What's impressive about his stats is that he doesn't walk all that many. That tells me he might be ready sooner rather than later.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    Good call on Hottovy. He's 30 but he's been very good at AAA the last 2 years and the Brewers sure have the need for lefties in the pen.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    I certainly like Lohse more than Dempster and those numbers seem pretty reasonable (and probably not enough for Loshe). I'd still rather they avoid the tempatation to give 3 year deals to guys in their mid 30's coming off of career years who could block a young arm. Personally, I'd be focusing on a buy low guy like Liriano with upsdide and incentive to prove he's worth more.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    The statement Melvin made is coy and doesn't really rule anything out. It repeats what we know and that is the Brewers won't go overboard to sign him. But just yesterday on MLB Network, Dan Plesac, when asked about Hamilton, said straight out, "Brewers, 5 years, $100 million". The MLB network guys are pretty well connected.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Dempster has disaster written all over it. There is absolutely no need to sign a guy in his mid 30's to a multi year deal. When the Brewers signed Suppan and Wolf they didn't have multiple young pitchers knocking on the door of the major leagues. Now they do. Dempster had a good 4 months with a Cub team with no pressure on him at all. Then he went to Texas and posted an ERA over 5 in a pennant race. In 2011, when the Cubs were at least still trying to be good, he posted a 4.80 ERA. My guess is at 36 next year, he'll be closer to that 5 ERA than he is to a 3. I'd rather them go after Haren. If not Haren, then a guy like Liriano, who's more of a buy low with some upside.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    Veras is one of those guys who's his own worst enemy. I think he put a lot of pressure on himself coming to a team with high aspirations. That being said, the guy has really good stuff, and he did perform well late in the year. Maybe he's not worth what he'd get in arbitration, but I sure would take him back to compete for a job. I certainly would rather they cut ties with Loe and Parra first.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    KC could have contended with any kind of decent starting pitching. They are desperate for some help. They are hoping Santana pitches well enough to at worst bring something back at the deadline, and at best help them finally reach .500.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    I'd go for Haren and I'm a guy that's been okay with sticking with what they have. Back issues are tricky, but he still made 30 starts and was better down the stretch (3-3, 3.31 ERA in Sept). If fully healthy, this is a top of the rotation starter, and even if it flares up some, he's likely to be solid mid rotation guy. I've always liked Haren. Put another way, I'd rather have Haren (assuming the return isn't all that much) on one year at an inflated amount, than give a 30 something guy like Dempster an inflated 3 year deal.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    The Sox seem to have holes at 3B and catcher after re-signing Peavy and picking up Floyd's option. They don't figure to bring back AJ, and they didn't pick up Youkilis' option. Neither of those spots has much on the FA market. One thing the Sox do have is some young relief pitching. Seems to me they could us a LH bat to replace AJ's production. Gamel might be a guy they'd have interest in, if they think he can play 3B. Nate Jones would be a nice target for the Brewers as would lefties Hector Santiago and Donnie Veal.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    Brownell4ever, The 2012 Brewers are proof you can't win with a lousy bullpen. Period. If the Brewers had a lot of young short relievers with dominant stuff, I'd agree with you, but they don't. The pitching depth within the organization is with starting pitching. That means they won't have to allocate as much resources on starting pitching as they have recently with the likes of Suppan and Wolf. FA starting pitching comes at a much higher premium than relief pitching. Both carry risks. Because this year's failures in the pen are so fresh, we tend to overstate the unreliability of building a pen using FA. The same can happen when you pay big money to starters. What can happen when you sign a bunch of high priced starters is that you could end up having to discard a young cheap starter ready to blossom into a fine starter and those guys are gold. Save the money. Bring in another veteran? Sure. But make it a guy who you won't have to pay much but might payoff big or be used in the pen if the young guys prove they belong. I'll throw another name out there that fits: Francisco Liriano. True his numbers (ERA specifically) have been below par (in the AL mind you) but his peripherals (167 K's in 157 IP) suggest he still has decent stuff. Maybe, just maybe, his future is in the pen. Plus he's only 29.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Huh? It was the failure of the guys that throw 50-60 innings that was the difference between being a playoff team and not being a playoff team in 2012. With the salaries they are lopping off in the pen, the total investment in the pen is low enough that they can easily add at least 2 moderately priced quality relievers. Nobody's suggesting they go and give somebody $9-10 million per year. Certainly the higher price doesn't guarantee anything as with K-Rod, but it betters the odds.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    I like Baker and think he fits a profile of a guy worth a short term incentive laden deal with one caveat. While his K rate is good and should be better (assuming he comes all the way back) in the NL, he is certainly a flyball pitcher and has allowed 8 HR in just 38 career innings at Miller Park. Small sample to be sure, but troubling.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    For me baseball was just as enjoyable with 2 10 team leagues, and no playoffs leading up to the World Series. Championships meant more back then because just to be in position to win one meant you were excellent over an entire year. That a team like the Cardinals that finished 6 games back in 2011 in their own division is flying a 2011 World Champions flag, doesn't compute for me. Baseball is making a mistake trying to be like other sports. At least that's my opinion.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    The problem is simple. The World Series is played too long after the regular season. Back before leagues were divided into divisions, the World Series followed right after the regular seasons. Fans of all teams were still in what I call their "baseball fan" mode and followed the games intently even though their teams weren't in it. Divisional play pushed that out further but the Series was still close enough that it maintained most of the interest. Now with 3 playoff levels leading up to it, fans are on to other things. Of course the intense level of interest in pro and college football doesn't help baseball, but frankly, baseball is not a late October sport. While the same thing (long time between regular season and finals) occurs in basketball and hockey, the difference is in those sports nobody really follows the regular season all that closely anyway. The playoffs are the thing. With baseball, the beauty of the sport is the ebbs and flows that occur over 162 games. That charm is gone come playoff time.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    I totally disagree. They don't need a reclamation/rehab projects. They need a steady rubber arm guy. Their bullpen doesn't have to be great. It has to be decent and dependable. They need Salomon Torres types. They also desperately need a quality lefty which they haven't had for years. They need a guy like Jon Rauch. Rauch isn't flashy nor does he put up anything eye-popping, but he takes the ball, and more often than not he'll get it to the closer who still is Axford. A lefty like J.P. Howell or Sean Burnett is critical to neutralize the Reds two biggest threats.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    monty57, I might get you in trouble with some on here, but I couldn't agree more with your post. I'd add that top of the rotation starters with 2-3 years on deals are guys you can usually only get in trades. Most of the veterans out there some are suggesting are mid to back end guys, or mid rotation guys coming off of career yeas in their 30's. The risk of overpaying these types is huge and the Brewers have a history of doing just that especially when they have a lot of room in their budgets. That's exactly why some of us would rather go with guys that showed something last year and are still cheap. There will be quality veteran arms available in July. There are every year. Your assessment of the Hamilton situation is right on. Big upgrade at right price is something you don't turn away from. The Brewers aren't going to blow teams out of the water with a Fielder type offer that was fueled by an owner willing to lose money to win a championship before he dies. But the Brewers have been and still need to be opportunity shoppers.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    "The last year was a wash" Not exactly. He took up a spot that it turned out eventually was more than adequately filled internally. The problem with the theory that you have to give a guy one extra year to get a player to sign is that unless you are prepared to pull the plug quickly that final year, it can cost you dearly. The Brewers waited too long to pull the plug on him in large part because they had so much invested in him.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    "he would undoubtedly be claimed by another team" Not necessarily. First if he shows anything at all in spring, he makes the team. It's hard to imagine the Brewers not carrying him to start the season even if his results in Arizona are not that good. If he's then so bad during the season that the Brewers decide they can't even carry him as the 12th man, it's questionable that other teams would claim him and carry him on their 25 man roster too. Remember he turns 27 in January and would be an out of options pitcher.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    "he would undoubtedly be claimed by another team" Not necessarily. First if he shows anything at all in spring, he makes the team. It's hard to imagine the Brewers not carrying him to start the season even if his results in Arizona are not that good. If he's then so bad during the season that the Brewers decide they can't even carry him as the 12th man, it's questionable that other teams would claim him and carry him on their 25 man roster too. Remember he turns 27 in January and would be an out of options pitcher.
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