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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Mike Rivera with a line drive RBI single. Always good to see Mike do well.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    It's not all that likely that either De La Cruz or Dillard would be claimed at a time teams are trying to get down to a 25 man roster, so assuming either would accept an assignment to AAA, you can still maintain reliever depth. In fact, in the case of De La Cruz, it's actually starter depth too, because he was solid as a starter in AAA last year and if he gets through waivers and is assigned to Nashville, he could start again. Veras is a virtual lock to make the roster, even more so than Loe or Parra.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    I remember Mincher. He was powerful lefty swinging 1B who was starter on Twins 1965 AL Champs. He was never really a star, but had a solid career at a time when pitching dominated. The deal with Oakland ended up okay. Krausse wasn't bad for 2 seasons, then was part of the big deal with Boston that netted Boomer Scott and Jim Lonborg among others. Sanders of course was a solid closer for 3 seasons, then was part of deal along with Lonborg with Philly that got Don Money, and Billy Champion. Those were crazy days with Frank (Trader) Lane as GM. Multiple player deals were common and frequent.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    "Is Conrad worth potentially losing one of the above named players" I don't think the above named players are where his roster spot would come from. They have 3 pitchers competing for roster spots that are out of options: Parra, Dillard, and De la Cruz. At best 2 of those 3 make the roster, but not likely all 3.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    It appears this is going to be on about a 30 minute tape delay, geesh.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    I'm in Chicago and I'm not getting the game either. MLB Network is awful.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    I'm in Chicago and I'm not getting the game either. MLB Network is awful.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    At one time they use to play 162 games to eliminate 18 of 20 teams. Sure it was tough as most years your team was out of it by August, but the prize of winning (a World Series berth), was so great, even a faint hope made the season exciting. Besides, baseball for the most part is a spring and summer game anyway. I don't think the sport suffers if all but the fans of the contenders turn their attention to football in September, then gear up to watch one winner take all event between the two best teams in October. October should be reserved for the best. These days, the best teams often don't get to the World Series. So my attention goes to college and pro football and doesn't come back to baseball until the spring. I hated that the Brewers could win 96 games then have to beat a Cardinal team that they proved better than over 162 games because the Cardinals got hot.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    You'd be right, but they still have a surplus of left handed bats, and now they are critically short on right handed bats.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    If you limit the scope to 3 years on Nady, you have a point, but he has a much more extensive record than that. In Miller Park, his career OPS is .812. Conrad hasn't earned a sure lock on a major league job. Bring in somebody worthy to compete with him. That's my point.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    You can't just hand over a job to a 32 year old career minor leaguer like Brooks Conrad, a lifetime .229 hitter that strikes out every 3rd AB. His pedigree is not much better than Erick Almonte, who now would appear to have a flicker of hope as well as his only competition. I would rather they go out and get a Xavier Nady, who's got a decent major league track record and can play corner OF and 1B.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    I'm still angry that the Braves choked so badly and let the Cardinals in it. They should have been dead and buried. It was eerily similar to the Packers 2011 season. Conversely I'm here in Chicago and saw the Bear fans celebrate the division championship in 2010 only to have the Packers who they could have finished off rise up, beat them in the Championship game and go on to win the Super Bowl. I'm not terribly fond of the wild card, and last year is a great case in point.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    None of those guys ever had close to the year Axford had in 2011 or the year and 4 months since he was named closer for that matter. Throw out Fingers strike shortened MVP year and Axford posted the best year by a Brewer closer ever. He showed no signs of cracking in a season with the heat of a pennant race. His stuff was as good in October as it was in April and none of those guys listed had anywhere near his stuff. He's in the prime of his career. You can crow all you want that starting pitching blah blah blah that won them 96 games last year. Any time you have a closer saving 46 of 48, you have something special. You don't think you can find starting pitching cheap? The A's signed Brandon McCarthy (who I had posted should have been a Brewer target) last year for $1 million and he arguably had a better year than Greinke, with a 3.25 ERA in 170 innings.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    If Greinke were a top of the rotation stud, I'd agree with you. But he only was for one season and that was 3 years ago. He's not even the top of the Brewer rotation and to keep him it costs $70 million more than what you need to buy out Axford's arby years. By the way, Axford isn't a good closer. He's a great closer, and those aren't easy to find.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    Forget the past closers. Axford's the best to ever wear a Brewer uniform and it's not close. The other guys were either near the end (Hoffman, Jones), headcases (Turnbow), or just didn't possess the electric stuff that Axford has. I'd much rather give him $15-20 million over 4 years, than risk $80-90 million on Greinke. Is there a risk he could break down? Sure, but that's not a commitment that would result in the kind of dead money that Greinke breaking down would. My favorite comparison for Axford is Jim Kern in his prime. Nobody for my money in the game overmatched hitters in the late 70's early 80's more than Jim Kern and that includes Gossage. Now Kern eventually broke down around age 34 but back then closers were logging a lot more innings.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    I find it interesting that Laurenzi has lawyered up. If things went down exactly as he describes it, and he's as pure as the driven snow, then what does he need a lawyer for unless he plans to sue Braun for defamation? Braun in his prepared statement on Friday said they had learned things about the collector and the process that raises suspicions, but he didn't go into detail, because to do so would telegraph his case (if he has one) against Mr. Laurenzi and MLB. Now given the news media's lack of inquisitiveness, we might just want to wait to see if there is something that Braun and his legal team know that hasn't come out.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    He got extremely lucky that the one team that lost a key player in Victor Martinez also happened to be owned by an 82 year old billionaire who really isn't worried about overspending on a guy or worries much beyond the next couple of years. If I were 82 and worth several billion, and I could buy a guy who'll help ensure a playoff berth the next 3-4 years, I couldn't care less that I'm losing money (less my estate will owe in taxes) or that when I'm 89 or 90 (if I live that long) that his skills might have eroded.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    We NEED to find a SS to take some PAs away from Alex Gonzalez and his vesting of $4M at 525 PAs. Trust me, people are not going to want that to happen come June. I completely agree that Gonzalez is going to be awful and people will be wanting a new SS by June. Hart for Escobar seems reasonable. But I might wait and see what Aoki looks like and I think the Jays want to see Hechavarria play another half season at AAA. I'd look for a buyer for Morgan, not to open up a spot for Aoki, but to open up a spot for Logan Schafer. I see Aoki as a complimentary type player that can fill in occasionally and get you good AB's. Sort of like a Skip Schumaker. He's not an everyday major league corner OF.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    I disagree. They control Lopez through 2015. Now you might think they won't be competitive until 2016 or later, but you can't send that signal to your fan base. They've come to terms with them not being competitive this year and next, but you have to give them hope 2 years down the road. Myers has mininmal value in either role as a trade chip. There is likely to be many more attractive starters on the market in July. Moving him to closer creates an opening for a young starter. Besides, they won't have a ton of closing opportunities and that's not going to help Lopez's development. With Lopez in the 8th inning, they can stay in games longer too. They have some young position players worth watching like Altuve, Martinez and Paredes. They have a veteran starter in Rodriguez who is much more attractive than Myers. I think they'll be interesting to watch actually.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    I hate to say it but I think the Cardinals OF has the Brewers beat offensively. A healthy Holliday is pretty close to Braun. Beltran is better than Hart. The combo of Jay and Craig beats Gomez and Morgan. Schumaker plays a fair amount in the OF too and his numbers probably represent best case scenario for Aoki. In fact I'm figuring Aoki to be very similar to Schumaker offensively.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Which is exactly why Braun needs to sue whoever his team suspects was responsible for the leak or tainting the sample. Braun implied that his team knew or at least suspected more than he was allowed to say. My guess is they have strong indications of a financial or other heretofore not explained motive behind the tainting of the sample and perhaps the leak as well. But without subpoena powers it's tough to prove. They focused in the hearing on what could be proven, but to clear his name, they aren't going to stop digging.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    Careful. This could run a heck of a lot deeper than some rogue sample collector who's a Cub or Cardinal fan. Think about it. What player in the 2011 postseason had a. more impact on his team than the league MVP and b. was more conscious of his public image than Braun? The results of the test were told to him on the 19th of October. That would have right at the start of the World Series. What's the most famous scandal involving the World Series? Nothing like having a distracted MVP on one of the World Series teams to make a big time gambler feel confident. Gambling interests could be behind all of this. I fear for the safety of the collector, even if he's dirty.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    I heard the news conference on the radio. You cannot fake the emotion that was audible in the voice. That's a man that's been thinking about this day for months. Particularly damning I thought was Braun's talking about the many Fed Ex locations that were in fact open plenty long enough between MP and the collector's house and the fact that he not only kept the samples, but waited until hours after the Fed Ex locations opened on Monday to finally drop them off. I'm looking forward to the Braun legal team ultimately filing the lawsuits that he strongly hinted at and that this situation is absolutely begging for to obtain justice.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    I just listened to the full Carroll interview. That combined with Lester Munson saying the sample was in fact kept in tupperware on the guys kitchen table and not refrigerated for 2 days should be all the exoneration Braun needs. On October 1 the game time temp was 67 and on October 2nd it was 73. It's not likely that this guy had his AC on, and I recall that Sunday Packers played the Broncos and it was sunny so temps inside a house likely could have easily been 75 degrees, hardly a cool, dry place. The nonsense threat that MLB will take it to court is simply an attempt to discourage Braun and his team from doing exactly that for this process having severely damaged his character and earning power in endorsements.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    I really doubt this happens. As someone who works in commercial credit and collections and has to occasionally decide whether or not to file suit to collect, let me point out that this is a common tactic of a party that expects to be sued themselves. Find some reason to sue yourself in hope the party that actually has a case (in this instance Braun) will agree not to sue if you don't either. MLB is also calculating here that it has deeper pockets than Braun and that if it can force Braun into ever increasing fees for lawyers, he will not pursue litigation. Fortunately for Braun, he's got friends with plenty of resources too (ie. Rodgers).
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