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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    He "works" deep in counts because he takes a lot of good hittable pitches, then ultimately gets 2 strikes where he does chase to protect the plate. That approach does get him more walks over the course of a season, but more strikeouts too.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Cubs have unconditionally released Doug Davis. Going 1-7 with a 6.50 ERA for one of the worst teams in baseball should spell the end of his career. He did beat the Yankees though.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    I wouldn't dream of approaching him about an extension at this point especially after you've loaded up with college pitchers in the draft. Long term deals for pitching are fraught with risk to begin with, and he's got question marks galore. By the way Rivas hasn't been horrible, but it's the guys like Thornburg and Jungmann who figure to be fast tracked that are the future of the rotation as soon as 2013.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    You could make an argument he's their #5. He could get better in the 2nd half, and probably will but he's clearly not an ace. He's had one major league season where he pitched like an ace. That's the same number as Pavano (2004). Pavano's been no great shakes this year, but this team isn't any better with Greinke that it would be with Pavano, and they'd still have Escobar, Cain, Odorizzi and Jeffress.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    I wouldn't rule it out though Melvin is slow to cut losses and that would be an admission he overpaid. Greinke certainly hasn't helped his bargaining position for a contract extension.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    A lot of talk on ESPN yesterday of Matt Kemp being the leader despite his team being under .500. It's hard to argue his numbers so you have to point to team success, but Braun and Fielder will split some of that too.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    In 09, Gamel struck out 89 times in 320 AAA plate appearances or once every 3.6 times up. This year he's fanned 48 times in 321 plate appearances, or once every 6.9 times up. That is a remarkable improvement. He's used his time in AAA to improve as a hitter, and there's no doubt he's ready for the majors. He may never be an All Star at 1st, but he's a cut above the Overbays too. Assuming Fielder walks, they won't have to overpay for a mediocre veteran. I think Gamel could put up .285/.350/.480 right away, and drive in 90-100 runs, if he can handle all the lefty relievers he will see late in games. Fielder puts up numbers even though he's game planned from the 6th inning on. That's the one thing we'll need to see out of Gamel.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    That's 3 scoreless outings for Heckathorn in his last 5 starts with a short DL stint in there. Have to think another couple like that will have him in Huntsville if he can avoid the shaky one in between.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    "Really mute" huh Cecil. In other words, he has no more insight than any of us. Sure the Mets could use him, but if they sign Prince, they won't be able to re-sign Reyes so how much better does that make them? I love Prince, but if losing him to the Mets meant the Brewers got Reyes, I'd be very satisfied.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Saito was on 60 day, so they'll need a spot for his return. I would suspect they want several spots for guys who'll come up in September or earlier that aren't currently on the 40 man, like T. Green and perhaps Rivera, or any of Boggs, Gindl or Almonte or another pitcher like say Meadows.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    I'm assuming they waited until this week to bring up Gamel, because this is the longest continuous stretch of games (6) where they need a DH, and thus could get by with 11 pitchers. Had they brought up Gamel to face Boston, he would have sat for the homestand, and they'd be short a pitcher in an NL park. Plus, Saito is poised to take the 12th pitching spot once the week is over. I don't think it has anything to do with Kotsay. Since the two losses to Boston were blowouts, it wouldn't have made a difference. Once they no longer need a DH, I fully expect Gamel to return to Nashville because his only role would be as a PH.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    There's a lot of guys struggling. Adam Dunn has a .171 BA and a .624 OPS. Alex Rios has an OPS below Betancourt too. Between them they are making $24 million this year. That's just one other team. Every team has a guy or two doing the same thing. Despite his struggles, the Brewers are 3 games in front. Given his production in 09 and 10, the Brewers are going to give him as much time as possible to get himself on track. There's still half a season to play. There's no guarantee that Green would outperform him over the next 3 months. If McGehee doesn't turn it around, it certainly opens the door for Green the last month of this season and next. But they can be patient with the team winning, and they will. It also gives them time to restore McGehee's trade value over the winter should they decide to give the job to Green. Remember Podsednik did not follow up his rookie season with a great 2004, but he did enough for a team like the White Sox to offer something of substance. Had the Brewers benched Pods that year, that may not have happened.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    Precisely. Saito's been ready for a while. Just that seems to have gotten Loe's attention. Bring one of the pitchers back in 10 days to get back to a 12 man staff.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    MLB trade rumors has the current Elias rankings out. Hardy is an A. I think that would rule him out as a FA target in the offseason anyway. He'd be an upgrade, but not one worth giving up a high pick.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    A-He was 24 and 25 years old. B-He made a total of 15 starts in those two years, and not a single one in 2010(so not sure why his starters OPS would be included other than to make it appear as though he was actually given more chances than he truly was). I was always a big fan of Villanueva as a starting pitcher. He could make guys look absolutely foolish at times. I think he profiled(s) better as a starting pitcher than a reliever. It was rather baffling how they would consistently be searching for any warm body to pitch innings and he was taken out of the rotation very quickly. All excellent points. Villanueva now has 34 career starts. He's 10-13 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.387 WHIP. Brewers were giving millions to guys like Looper and Davis for just that kind of production (and generally not getting it). They were also consistently trotting out Parra (23-26 as a starter with a 5.44 ERA and 1.692 WHIP).
  16. JohnBriggs12
    They were 17-37 just 3 weeks ago and completely dead. They are 15-2 since. That may be the most impressive turnaround I've ever seen. The pitching in particular has been lights out giving up an average of just 2.35 runs a game in that stretch. The good news is they are due to cool off sometime and lose a series.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Experts and scouts get hung up on size a lot. I like to think of it as the "JM Gold syndrome", after one time Brewer #1 pick, a man-child at 6'5" 220 coming out of high school. I think size sometimes factors too much into projections, even though there have been tons of examples of normal size pitchers having success (Oswalt and Lincecum for instance). If Thornburg were 6'3" instead of 5'11", the "experts" opinions would be a lot different.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Adding a little more pressure on Greinke is the torrid stretch that Alcides Escobar is on. In his last 12 games, Escobar is 22 for 43 (.511), with 5 doubles, a triple, a HR, 7 RBI, 11 Runs scored, and 6 stolen bases. He's raised his BA from .203 to .255, his slugging from .237 to .322 and his OBP from .237 to .289. As someone that believed Escobar could be a real good offensive player, it's taken him longer than I expected, but he seems to have turned a corner. Guess not having Macha there to bench him every time he went two games without a hit seems to have paid off for the Royals. Defensively he's been near Gold Glove caliber. He could be just a year or two away from being an All Star. Toss in Odorizzi, who's got 93 K's in 66 innings as a 21 year old in high A and now appears to be one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball and Cain, who has an .876 OPS in AAA, with 8 HR, this deal (even with Jeffress regressing) could turn out to be historically one sided and not in the Brewer favor.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    I like the concept of two 15 team leagues. Of course I go back to the days when there were two 10 team leagues. I'd set it up as you'd play 132 games against teams in your own league. Play 6 of the teams 10 times, and 8 of the teams 9 times. Personally, I'm a little sick of seeing the Central teams all the time. Then play home and home 3 game series against 5 of the teams from the other league, rotating the 5 every year so you play all 15 teams once every 3 years. You can't make the schedules completely even, but you can separate having to play Boston and New York in the same season for instance, and you won't have a team getting to face a weak "rival" team year in and year out while another has to play a strong rival every year.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    Because his .439 Career slugging (playing much of the time in Florida, and a little in San Diego) and .316 career OBP, are better than the two RH bats currently on the Brewer bench and he's no worse defensively than McGehee has been this year. Actually he's improved is walk rate considerably since his Tampa Bay days, and besides his job would be to provide some pop and run production off the bench late with runners on. He's not a guy you'd send up to draw a leadoff walk.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Brewers should not give away Kottaras. I don't think the Giants have much of value at the major league level. I'd really love a Heath Hendree, their 5th round pick from 2010, a reliever with 68 K's in 36 2/3 professional innings, but I just can't see the Giants giving him up either.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    Rivas made his last start for Nashville on the 16th. I presume he'd be scheduled to pitch on Tuesday. They may want to hold him back in case of a short start the next couple of nights. Otherwise, it's probably Estrada or DiFelice. Personally, I'd like to see what Rivas could do for one start. Narron isn't a realistic option. He's pitching tonight and isn't on the 40 man.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Turnbow hit 97-98 with regularity in 05, but he did lose a little off it along with his command after the first couple months of 06. His command never was great, but it got worse in jams. Axford has shown he's able to keep an even keel in tight situations plus his command of his breaking stuff if far, far superior to Turnbow's. That's a huge difference. Turnbow was a Mike Maddux creation. Maddux took a guy who up until then was never able to harness his ability and for about a year and a couple months was able to harness his talent.into very good performance. Eventually though the real Turnbow came back and he lost his command. I think Axford has the ability to figure things out on his own regardless of the pitching coach.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Gammons on the Red Sox post game show Saturday: "Axford has developed into one of the premier closers in baseball and he may be an All Star this year". That's not a word for word quote but it's essentially what he said. He went on to point out his outstanding stuff, a fastball that can touch 98 and a wicked curve to go with it. I'm not the least bit concerned that he walks a few. As good a stuff as he has, it makes him more effective when hitters aren't quite sure where he's throwing it.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    Nothing? Are you going to base his entire value on 155 plate appearances this season? This is a guy who's under 30 who's already posted 3 seasons in the major leagues of at least 95 RBI. He's already shown he can bounce back from low points, posting an .808 OPS in 08 after two straight sub .700 seasons. I'd certainly take Cantu over Wilson as a right handed bench bat. Wilson contributed a big HR earlier, but his pedigree as a major league hitter is nowhere near Cantu's.
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