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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Thank you for reminding me of the frustration I felt towards Wolf for forcing RR's hand on this. Lucroy lost out on a lot of PT because of Wolf. Wolf negated part of the platooning benefit of carrying a lefty swinging backup. Many times RR was forced to play Kottaras vs. a lefty starter.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Derrek Lee's fall off as a player should scare the heck out of those applauding the signing Ramirez. As a 33 year old, Lee had one of his best seasons, not unlike Ramirez. He actually bounced back from a slightly off year at 32. But since then, he's been a shadow of that player. At 34, Lee hit .260/.347/.428, with 19 HR and 80 RBI. The prior year he hit .306/.393/.579 with 35 HR and 111 RBI. I don't expect Ramirez fall off to be quite that dramatic but I'm certainly not counting on him repeating his 2011 numbers.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    I certainly wasn't on board with Counsell's politics last spring but it bothered me a lot more that he couldn't hit.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    "this wasn't the worst option for the Brewers to replace Fielder in the cleanup spot". That's just the kind of narrow thinking that prevents me from being a big Melvin fan. You can't just look at replacing Fielder's spot in a lineup. Every year the dynamics of teams change without major personnel moves. With them you never know exactly what you have until you see them on the field. Teams have very few constants. For 6 seasons, Fielder was a constant. He was in there every day and I mean every day. He was productive, save a few slumps here and there and a rather mediocre 2010. It takes more than finding the best bat that you can get with you budget to stay on top. That's why I would have preferred going after a Reyes and changing the dynamic of the team or barring that based on cost, at least having a payroll situation that allows considerable flexibility. Right now they have neither. Last year the Brewer starters had an ERA that was 6th in the NL. That's very good compared to previous Brewer teams but it's not great and after their playoff performance there are many questions whether they can even be that good this year. Nothing has been tweaked in that regard at all other than the amount being paid the rotation which will be considerably more. I like the fact that K-Rod returns despite the cost. I think he and Axford are 2 constants on a team that lost such a huge one in Fielder. I thought it was going to be a long season and that was before the specter of a Braun suspension. Signing Ramirez doesn't change that. Of course, anythings still possible and I could be way off. I hope I am.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    I would certainly prefer him over Loe. But overall, the bullpen is still a strength. There isn't a team in the NL that wouldn't take an 8-9 combo of K-Rod and Axford, and yeah K-Rod's expensive but the Ax man is still cheap.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    This is a team that just spent $36 million so they don't have to rely on a rookie coming off of a .337/.413/.583 year at AAA to play 3B. In my opinion that will prove to be a mistake but it is what it is. What it shows is this team isn't ready to go with youth. Right or wrong, the thinking is they can minimize the loss of Fielder enough to still contend even if that means postponing the inevitable rebuilding process that should be starting. So I look to see them pick up a veteran FA like a Raul Ibanez or deal for a guy like Bobby Abreu with the Angels picking up a good chunk of salary.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    He'll be looking a long time then which means he'll still be out there when Braun's case is finished. If Braun gets suspended, he'd get at least 300 AB's with the Brewers and if he rakes in the first 50 while Gamel struggles, he'd have a legit shot at 500. In other words, he'd have a chance to earn playing time based on what he does in April and May.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    Per Ken Rosenthal so he's only costing the Brewers 6 million in 2012, not 12 million. http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23MLB Terrible deal from Brewer perspective. They will be paying $16 million for him when he's 36?
  9. JohnBriggs12
    All kinds of candidates for the last 2 reliever spots: De la Cruz, Kintzler, Dillard, McClendon, Fiers, Meadows, Parra, Rivas. Braddock. Parra is more than minimum wage though if he's kept. Am I correct in assuming Loe and Parra can be cut in ST and only owed 1/6th of their salary? DiFelice is gone. Call me nuts, but Weeks is a guy I'd consider moving if they want to save money. He's getting a huge raise and while it's still not outrageous, it's still a very substantial commitment ($42.5 million over the next 4 seasons) to a guy who frankly has never quite reached his full potential and at 29 probably never will. Taylor Green's natural position is 2B, not 3B. With Ramirez taking over at 3B, maybe they should move Weeks.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    No he doesn't. He'll easily clear waivers.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Realizing the Brewers are probably done with their pen with the trade and the tendering of Loe, I'm still kind of intrigued by Clay Hensley who was non-tendered by the Marlins. Two years ago he posted a 2.16 ERA in 68 games out of Florida's pen. Last year he struggled a bit with a 5.19 ERA (though his WHIP was still a respectable 1.36). Most of his struggles were as a starter (6.21 ERA). Out of the pen he allowed merely a .221 BAA, and a .645 OPS against.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    The question is whether the 50 games to start the year where Scott would likely start in LF is enough to entice Scott. Coming off his injury plagued 2011, it might be. I don't see too many teams offering him more than a bench role. Two guys twolivebrew didn't mention were Raul Ibanez and Pat Burrell. Ibanez likely has 50 games as a starter left in him and would make a nice bench bat the rest of the way.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    I'd take Theriot any day. Punto is no better than average defensively at SS. Theriot had a bad year defensively for Cards last year, but he had years with Cubs with FP of .980, .975, and .974, those are all average or better. Furthermore, Punto has never been an everyday player at SS in the big leagues. Theriot has. With a 35 year old starter, I'd rather have a guy that has at least played there everyday. Theriot loves hitting at Miller Park too. In 163 plate appearances, he's hit .340/.406/.444. On the other hand, Punto has never had an extra base hit in Miller Park. Besides, Gonzalez value is purely defensive. He's worse than Bettancourt with the bat. Why have two weak bats at that position?
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Kameron Loe has great stuff. But only when he's "on" his game. When he's off, anybody with a bat in his hands is dangerous. So as he proved last year, he's too unreliable to use to protect small leads late. For the 6th inning or as a guy used when you're behind, they'd be much better off going with a cheaper option. I would have saved a couple million and non-tendered him. They still need a utility infielder and an OF bat, and that money would be better used there.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    I would guess Veras ERA is a little higher because the rest of the Pirate pen allowed his runners to score. He walks a few but doesn't allow many hits and strikeouts more than a guy per inning. Decent return. Good luck to Casey, a great family guy and a nice find by Melvin.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    I tend to agree. The division right this minute is muddled enough that Epstein will soon realize he can steal it and will go out and sign Fielder. I see the Brewers as no better than dark horses at this point. Ramirez might have moved them from 80 to 84 wins. Big deal. That's not going to make me run out and buy tickets.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    It's not as bad as it could have been but I still get the distinct impression that Melvin was bidding against himself. Even at 3/36 million, there's tons of risk on a guy entering his mid 30's. For all you out there that value patience and working counts, Ramirez is certainly not your guy. Don't be so sure 2010 was an outlier either. It took him until game 47 to hit his 2nd HR last year. If Braun's out and he gets off to another start like that, they could be buried. Then there is the shoulder that went on him in 2009 and could go again at any time. I would have preferred keeping salary flexibility over signing a Ramirez. I don't think he gets them into the playoffs and it makes it harder for them to deal to get what they'll need to get there.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Assuming Braun is suspended, you start the season with Lee at 1B and Gamel in LF. Once Braun returns, you platoon Gamel and Lee who hit .348/.413/.615 off of lefties last year. Lee is quite nimble at 1B actually. Under that scenario, both Gamel and Lee would get over 400 AB's.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    If the Astros pick up 80% of his salary, I'd trade for Carlos Lee. I'd play Gamel in LF and Lee at 1B until Braun returns, then platoon them at 1B the rest of the way.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    I'm glad he's not satisfied with how he pitched this year. He shouldn't be. It was a far cry from his best season.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Absolutely correct. What they need the extra $8-10 million every year to go out and sign guys like Braden Looper and Doug Davis? They might have been able to afford to keep Sabathia if they hadn't thrown money at Jeff Suppan a couple years before. That's the same thinking at work here. It's we can't afford the top guys but we can afford some pretty good guys albeit near the end of their careers.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    If a layman such as yourself has this much knowledge on the subject, I would think Braun's attorney could come up with an expert capable of making his case. The real shame in this is the leaking and subsequent reporting of the initial test prior to any suspension being handed down or any hearing having taken place. ESPN has already tried, convicted and sentenced Braun (Mike Greenberg suggested they retake the MVP vote).
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Certainly they should be open to listening to offers for guys like Greinke, Marcum, Wolf, Weeks and Hart. All those guys have from some to a lot of value. I'm not sure a complete selloff is necessary but they aren't going anywhere with no Fielder and missing Braun for a third of the season.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Sign Manny Ramirez ... Blue Seriously, the market has quite a few veteran names, Ibanez, Burrell, Reed Johnson, Ludwick, etc.. that could be suitable as fill-ins. But losing Braun for 50 games on top of losing Prince will likely result in the team being a hole it won't be able to extricate itself from. On top of that it's going to be tough to market this team, so revenues figure to take a huge hit. If they weren't thinking it before, it could be back up the truck time and see what you can get for guys on their final contract years. Furthermore, Attanasio has to think about the fact that he chose to make Braun the face of the franchise for the next decade and what (if the allegations prove true) this is going to cost the Brewers going forward. Braun's contract is certainly team friendly which might allow other teams to live with the bad pub for acquiring him so I'd assume he retains enormous trade value after the initial shock wears off. Certainly what was unthinkable (trading Braun at some point) 24 hours ago, has to be at least part of the equation. I wouldn't want to be Attanasio right now.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    Here's a possible scenario for Braun to clear himself: He took a supplement that was on MLB's latest approved list (I am assuming of course that such a list exists). However, it's later shown that this product indeed is capable of producing a high enough spike in testosterone levels in certain people to produce a positive test, and therefore the product should not have been on the list, then it's MLB's screwup. Because these test results are supposed to be confidential, it would seem to me well within Braun's rights to seek damages caused by the leak of preliminary information that damages his career earning power. If the party leaking this information had some type of ax to grind with either Braun and/or the Brewer organization and ESPN knew this and ran with the story any way, I would think a case could be made against them as well.
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