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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    A career FP in the minors of .967 at SS is really good actually. Especially for a guy signed right out of HS. Izturis had a .961 FP in the minors. JJ Hardy had a .963. Alcides Escobar had a .955. Of course FP isn't everything, but if scouts didn't think he had the tools, he'd have been moved off of SS by now.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    I would agree with that regarding Gindl. But Schafer's hitting .263. That's certainly below their expectations for him, but he's still only a hot week from .300, and I don't see why that would be such a huge factor if they like him. They know he can play defensively too.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Jeff Bianchi was hitting .365 starting the night for Huntsville. His career FP at SS is pretty good by minor league standards. I'd reach down and bring him up. I for one would look into dealing for Betancourt too, if anything just to drive you guys nuts. He'd be an upgrade over Izturis.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    Is it time to start thinking Bianchi could have a future in Milwaukee? He must have decent tools as a 2nd rounder out of high school. His defensive stats suggest he can handle the position defensively and now he's hitting. Speaking of SS, I'm also keeping an eye on Nick Shaw. He doesn't have big numbers (does anyone in that league?), but he's progressing.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    I'm becoming a huge Hiram Burgos fan. What a start to the season!
  6. JohnBriggs12
    They'll have to love his defense to put up with a .510 OPS much longer. On the other hand, maybe they'd take Ishikawa for LaPorta. Ishikawa plays fine defense too.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    I just posted this in the rumors thread, but has anyone else noticed the year Matt LaPorta is having in AAA? He's hitting .371/.447/.742 with 9 HR already and 20 RBI for Columbus.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    I was looking over the AAA first basemen for blocked guys who might be worth looking into. Lo and behold, of all AAA first basemen, the guy having the best year so far is none other than Matt LaPorta. LaPorta is absolutely raking for Columbus. As of May 4th, he's hitting .371/.447/.742 with 9 HR and 20 RBI. Unfortunately, it won't be long before the Indians dump Casey Kotchman and his .510 OPS and give LaPorta another shot so I doubt that Matt can be had now.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Per Adam McCalvy: "Melvin instructed his staff to compile a list of players available in free agency or potentially available in trades." Maybe he should just check this website. Seriously, the GM doesn't keep lists of players available or potentially available at a position? He waits for a guy to go down, and then has his staff do it for him? What's he getting paid to do? My biggest criticism of Melvin is that he's reactive and not proactive. This proves it.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    His mediocre AAA numbers last year were in just 211 plate appearances. That was after spending all of 2010 as a bench player for a championship team. I'd give him a little slack for adjusting to going from World Series (even as a sub he got in to 10 postseason games) to playing in AAA a few months later. A bit of a letdown is common. In his previous time in AAA (again over a rather small sample) he had an OPS of 1.107. That was at age 24 in 2008. Are you telling me at 28, he's not that good any more? Nobody's expecting him to be Prince Fielder. But if he hits .265 and slugs .400 (possible in the Central division), it's not far off what was expected of Gamel.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    paul, I think you should scratch Gamel off your list of core players for next year also. Melvin was quoted as saying "At the end of the year, we're still not going to know who's our first basemen". That's not to say Gamel will be gone, but he's not going to be handed a job next year. Next year he'll be approaching 28 and won't have done anything in the big leagues. This year's team isn't a team. It's a collection of individuals. Fielder's loss was more than a big bat out of the lineup (though that loss is huge). He was the heart and soul of this franchise for 6 years. As good a hitter as he's been in his career, nobody could be more polar opposite from Prince than Aramis Ramirez. He's not a bad guy, but he adds nothing in the clubhouse. Braun was set to take over the leadership role, but his own problems, be they self inflicted or the result of a major screw up by MLB and their testing program, have distracted him to the point where he's had to work to focus on doing his job on the field. Morgan in his own unique way can provide a spark but not when he's hitting under .200. The rest of the "core", Hart and Weeks, are by nature complimentary guys. I'm not sure what needs to be done, but there are major changes ahead. This team as it's now constructed may be talented enough to hover near .500. I'm not sure it's capable of much better than that.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    That's a long list. And I believe that has (or at least had) something to do with development over the years. Injuries happen, but when they SEEM to happen more often on average to one organization, I have to ask myself if they are haven't been developing pitchers properly. Agreed. There's been a development issue. Sure you can point to injuries, but guys like Jones, Rogers, etc, were all first rounders. Where's the 8th rounder that was developed? Or the 15th rounder?
  13. JohnBriggs12
    I think everyone's being a little dismissive of Ishikawa. We're talking about a guy who made it to the big leagues at 22 and was essentially a starter at 25 on a team that won 89 games. He kind of became a poster boy for a team that struggled to score runs because his numbers were very modest for a first baseman. But he wasn't that bad, considering where he played and the division he was in. Overbay's had a couple years that were very similar. He's a fine defensive player too. Sure they could have started the year with Conrad, but I think there were real doubts about Gamel, and they wanted a true first baseman backing him up. Now if Hart can handle the move and not have it affect his offense, and if Aoki can be a nice table setter, then it will work out. But those are ifs. Lets see what Ishikawa does in 150 AB's before we completely dismiss him.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    In that very dark period of 1966-1969, when except for "home games" played in Milwaukee by the White Sox (68 and 69), there was no major league baseball in Milwaukee, I know I kind of resented the fact that Minnesota now had a team and mine was taken away. But I never begrudged their fans nor blamed them for the Braves leaving though. That was due to Chicago rich guys eying more wealth in the south, no doubt encouraged by their Cub owner neighbor who liked the idea of returning lost Cub fans in Wisconsin to their roots.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    It is no longer "early on" for Gomez. He has over 1700 Major league PA and has shown no sustained improvement since he got to the majors. Nothing more than a good week here or there which every player has. People can use the excuse of Gomez being "young" and "inexperienced" all they want but 26 isn't young for a major leaguer anymore and he's spent 5 full seasons on a major league roster. What you see is what you get. He'll play great defense, run fast, hit the ball far sometimes, swing at anything that's within 10 feet of the plate, and occasionally do something stupid on the bases. He's a useful player but will never be an every day player. Pretty much the same was said about Mike Cameron when he was with the White Sox and hit .210 at age 25.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    I think the Green playing 1B at AAA is more an acknowledgment that they are ready to move on beyond Gamel next year. They still have Sean Halton at Nashville too and Hunter Morris at Huntsville. Any of those guys can still play their way into the picture with the Hart to first and Ramirez to first still viable too. Then there is the FA and trade market.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Wait, are you seriously blaming this on Gamel being an inexperienced first baseman? Something about avoiding running into walls on a foul pop up down the right field line is vastly different than avoiding running into walls on a foul pop up down the left field line? Hell, Yonder Alonso is a natural first baseman and even he ended up faceplanting into the front row last night. It's was an unlucky injury, plain and simple. If you watched the play, Gamel was all out and that's what caused him to have to pull up awkwardly. Players have to be aware of how much room they have. It was the same "all out" type play that nearly caused him to separate his shoulder trying to get the Brewers a 5 run lead instead of a 4 run lead a week earlier. It's called awareness. Playing with "reckless abandon" might get you cheers but it comes with risks. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt by mentioning his inexperience at the position. And yes if you are used to the stands being on your right, there's an adjustment to having it be on your left. It may or may not have been a factor. What we do know is that Fielder doesn't put himself in that position and he never misses a game.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Boys, it's going to be a long, long season.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    I agree with that statement wholeheartedly.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    I've been saying all year, what we've seen out of Weeks, good and bad, is basically it. He'll be 30 this year and he's not going to ever be this superstar, power hitting 2B ala Jeff Kent in his prime. Plus now he's expensive too. He's the same hitter he was at 25. He's inconsistent, strikes out a ton, takes some walks and hits some home runs. We he connects it's a thing of beauty. But he just doesn't do it enough to put up numbers and this game is about putting up numbers.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    This injury was the result of Gamel running hard but not in control. Thats sort of instinctive in some guys but not in others. He was also new to the position, and the angles are similar but not the same and its opposite to what the 3rd baseman would do. So while it was unlucky that the ACL snapped, if he doesn't take a bad step, it doesn't happen. In Ishikawa's defense, he did play in the NL West, and he actually hit pretty well in A T & T park (.801 OPS). He's also had a couple years of more than 20 HR in the minors. If he can hit .260 and hit 18 to 20 HR and play his very good defense, they'll be okay. If not, they can deal or move guys around. This is tough for Gamel. I don't think he's going to get handed the job next year. My guess is they'll look elsewhere or have Hart moved permanently.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    Walk off double for Corey Patterson in the bottom of 11 to knock in Eric Farris who had singled with 2 out. A nice come from behind win. Brooks Conrad had tied it in the 8th with his 5th of the year. Could he be headed to SF to meet the Brewers? Four shutout innings in relief for the newly acquired Johnnie Lowe for the win.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    I assume he's at least headed for the DL. Ishikawa figures to play the bulk I would assume at 1B but it might behoove them to get a platoon partner for him. It's pretty telling that Brooks Conrad is in the Nashville lineup today at 1B(edit and he's already mishandled a throw for an error). That's the first time he's played there this season. He's hardly a prototypical 1B guy at 5'10" but he's been swinging a hot bat. Jorge Cantu recently elected FA and is out there also. Either way, they'll need to create a 40 man spot.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Amazing isn't it? Fielder played 6 years at first base, virtually never missing a game, and within 10 days, Gamel bruises his shoulder and injures his knee and yes the Gallardo play immediately came to my mind as it was not all that dissimilar type of awkward landing. While you have to love the effort on both plays, there's something to be said for living to fight another day. Hopefully, it's nothing serious.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    I personally thought he stole money from the Brewers. Playing a game for a living is something we'd all like to do so I don't see "banging it out in the minors" as a hardship of any kind. I'd play as long as somebody let me too. You can't go in thinking 4 homers in the first inning. That plays into what skill Suppan still has and is probably why the Brewers haven't had that much success against him. Don't try hitting it a mile. Just make sure you get good wood and single him to death if you have too. Eventually, he'll start missing his spots and there will be balls to be driven.
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