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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Wolf's performance this year makes him attractive as trade bait next winter should the Brewers want/need to allocate the $9.75 million elsewhere.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    I'd give him a C+. I don't have a huge problem with the lineups. He's a little slow making changes, but he's new and doesn't know his personnel all that well. I like the suicide squeezes (which I don't remember Macha ever using). He may have overdone them a little, but believe me when the opponent knows it could be coming, it can mess with them. I also like that he lets Braun run even when Fielder is hitting. So offensively he's a B+. Defensively, I've not been a huge fan of the exaggerated shifts in the past because a pitcher can get discouraged when he induces what normally is a routine groundball that turns into a hit, but they've worked to a great extent so it's hard to complain. His timing and selection of relief pitchers is a mystery. The 8th inning has been a disaster. He's somewhat hamstrung by lack of lefties but he's stuck with Loe far too long. How about using Axford occasionally to get out of the 8th? That worked last year often. His grade for handling pitching is a D.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Seriously? We still have to hear the "he's still in early season form line?" How long do we keep using that as an excuse for his horrible pitching (K/BB doesn't tell everything, statheads. He's getting rocked). 9 starts in? Look at Marcum's numbers in his first nine starts. Why must people feel they have to keep making excuses for a guy who cost us a heck of a lot to get. At this point, I wish we still had Odorizzi. Greinke hasn't fooled anyone. Early in the year I compared Greinke to Matt Garza. High K total, high ERA guy. Maybe the Royals just fleeced us on the trade. I couldn't agree more bucksman. There's no difference between facing April hitters and June hitters. Some you face are hot, some are not. That's true the entire year. I don't think it's too early to expect to see the guy the Brewers gave up 4 good young players to get. It's not that he's been horrific, but he's certainly been nowhere near what was advertised either.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    Haudricourt reported that yesterday Hawkins went into Roenicke's office to discuss his role. Latroy it appears wasn't real happy that he wasn't called upon in the 8th the night before to protect a 3 run lead. Roenicke said something about "trying to go with the hot hand" in choosing Estrada. I love that attitude from Hawkins. Apparently Braddock isn't the only one with sleep problems. How else does one explain Roenicke thinking Estrada's hand was hot after he's been getting rocked for a month now.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    Get him a cot and let him sleep in the bullpen if need be, just wake him up around the 7th inning. Mickey Mantle came to the park regularly with hangovers if not still half in the bag. You didn't see Casey Stengel or Ralph Houk disciplining him.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    Kottaras was raking in AAA, way above anything he'd done at that level in the past. It's quite possible that he's improved as a hitter and if so, he'll hit well above the .200 average. He's always had patience and some power. Nieves was not the second coming of I-Rod defensively either. With Lucroy slumping at the plate, I would suspect Kottaras to see more playing time than Nieves. It's telling that with so many catchers out with injuries that Nieves cleared waivers. Hopefully, he'll be number 2 behind Rivera now at Nashville.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    I don't think Nieves is negatively affecting Lucroy. Lucroy's numbers are reverting to what he is offensively, an average major league catcher. That being said we are way too far into the year to continue to ride with Nieves. We all remember Chad Moeller. In 2006, he was hitting .184/.231/.276 with 2 HR and 5 RBI through 29 games when he was outrighted in early July in favor of Mike Rivera. Let's hope Melvin doesn't wait another 3 weeks.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    What makes up a championship quality bullpen? Primarily it's the closer and I believe Axford is an upper echelon closer. If the rest of the pen is average, that's good enough, especially if the rotation is top notch. The fact is Loe hasn't pitched up to his form of last season. We're past the point where he should have been replaced. Roenicke has been slow to change and last night he made the change to the last guy he should have. Hawkins is a veteran, proven late inning guy. He's not top notch to be sure but he's serviceable most of the time. While Ennder will argue, there's nothing he's done this year that should have given Roenicke pause to use him with a 3 run lead. That' not the case with Estrada who's been very shaky of late and has no experience as a late inning major league reliever. Braddock might have the best stuff in the pen other than Axford. Maybe you can't use him as frequently as you would like, but he's clearly capable of protecting leads late. Even Mitre is a solid major league veteran who's handled the glare with the Yankees and whose thrown the ball well this year.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Loe is on pace to lose 14 games. It would be 17 had not the offense pulled off an incredible rally last week. That is simply unacceptable. His command is spotty and he's leaving a ton of balls up over the middle of the plate. It appears he loses concentration out there. They've wasted far too many outstanding starts and he's the main culprit. I understand your point about Hawkins but he's by far the most experienced, and if you are actually watching him pitch instead of relying on your stathead stuff, you'll see he's getting consistent sink on 93 mph fastballs, and that's why he's not giving up runs regardless of his K rate. Estrada had a few nice starts early and a few good relief appearances early, but he's been awful lately. He's the last guy I'd turn to instead of Loe. Braddock is throwing the ball extremely well too and we hardly see him. So was McClendon before he went down (he should be recalled and Estrada should be sent down BTW).
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Where are you seeing Axford being on borrowed time? He has great stuff and the perfect makeup to close. Oh he'll put some guys on base, but his demeanor never changes. He's shown a bad outing doesn't affect him the next time out. He's one of the best closers in baseball and the Brewers are lucky to have him. In short, he's not Derrick Turnbow. Now instead of Bell, Mike Adams is a guy I'd be looking at. 1.518 WHIP4.8 BB/9 Stats>Meaningless platitudes about demeanor. He's been walking a tightrope all year. His WHIP is down to 1.418. He can get away with that a. because his stuff is so good, b. he doesn't panic with men on and C. He's allowed 2 HR in 96 major league innings and opposing hitters are slugging just .288 off of him. His OPS against is under .609 this year and .591 for his career. Those numbers aren't quite as good as Bell, but Axford pitches half his games in Miller Park. I get to watch games on MLB extra innings. Axford gets raved about nightly by color analysts from opposing teams. His stuff is electric. I compare him to Jim Kern of the 1970's. Kern was a bit of a late bloomer too, tall and lanky, and had the nastiest stuff in the AL in those days before he hurt his arm.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Green will undoubtedly get a September call up but I don't see them giving up on McGehee any time soon, for the simple reason that they could start lefty swinging rookies at both corner infield spots in 2012. That screams for a roster spot for a veteran right handed hitter that can fill in at both spots. McGehee would still be cost effective in that role getting 350-400 AB's and he's certainly capable of a bounce back year.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    The Cardinal broadcast team is reflective of it's fan base. They view themselves as the holier than thou franchise. Keep in mind this is the same franchise that looked the other way when Mark McGuire was juicing. Think in terms of the Cardinals being the OSU of the National League. The reason they didn't like the Brewers untucking, was that in 07 and 08, the Brewers had the audacity to finish higher than the Cardinals. Apparently to them, those teams weren't worthy. But now, the Brewers are older, and more mature, and oh yeah, clearly superior. So they can now declare them as fit to hold the crown.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    Estrada has an option left, as does Dillard. Dillard's been on a roll lately though so I would expect Estrada would be the one to go down.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    You are completely forgetting Almonte who has been torrid on his rehab.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    They can get by on a short term basis with an 11 man staff. Mitre and Dillard both can go multiple innings. Braddock and Hawkins have hardly had any work lately. Personally, I'd go with Almonte, who is as hot as anyone (9 for his last 22, with 2 HR, 11 RBI and 1.208 OPS.) simply because the two best pitchers on the Red Sox and Yankees are Lester and Sabathia, both of whom figure to face the Brewers. Kotsay (8 for 24 in June and an incredible 25% line drive percentage on the year) has been swinging the bat well enough to plug in there at DH against righthanders.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    Pirates have lost Snyder possibly for the season and Doumit possibly until the end of July. They just traded for a AAA catcher from the Red Sox who's putting up modest numbers. I have to assume Pirates called Melvin about Kottaras, and he turned them down. Now I know Melvin's reluctance to deal within the division, but I'm sure Pittsburgh interprets that as Nieves will be available shortly for free.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Corporan was a favorite of mine as he toiled through 7 seasons in the Brewer system. I don't recall the exact circumstances but I remember after he got the word he was called up by the Brewers, he lost it when he called his grandfather in Puerto Rico to tell him. Lots of people didn't believe in him. I admired him if anything for his perseverance. He had a heck of a year last year with an .870 OPS at Reno. With the dearth of catching in the majors, it's about time he gets more than a 1 AB trial.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to get Fielder on the all-star team. He's 2nd in the nl in both HR's and RBI, and is 3rd in OPS. They've often had 3 first basemen. No way Fielder or Votto gets left off. I could easily see Zambrano being the Cub rep instead of Castro, who's cooled off. The pitching staffs are the hardest to project. There a tons of candidates this year.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    Where are you seeing Axford being on borrowed time? He has great stuff and the perfect makeup to close. Oh he'll put some guys on base, but his demeanor never changes. He's shown a bad outing doesn't affect him the next time out. He's one of the best closers in baseball and the Brewers are lucky to have him. In short, he's not Derrick Turnbow. Now instead of Bell, Mike Adams is a guy I'd be looking at.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    Kotsay's line drive percentage is an astounding 26%. How good is 26% line drives? Ryan Braun's is currently 21% and he's never topped that figure in any year. My point about Kotsay is that combine his line drive percentage with his walk percentage, and you get a picture of a guy who knows what he's doing at the plate. That's what I mean by his providing quality AB's. It's unfortunate he doesn't hit with power (though I still think he'll get a few HR before it's over).
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Good in theory but hard to do with only one lefty. Do agree his hook needs to be shorter. Leaving him in there to face the right handed Paulino, with Hawkins ready, made little sense. I'm not necessarily on board that you need a strikeout guy so much as you don't need a sinker ball guy with inconsistent command. Mitre has had more consistent command all year than has Loe, even though Mitre's K rate is very low.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    Maybe drafting Boras' son (who'll likely attend USC) was a way to soften him up to the idea. Not likely, but we can only hope.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Loe's blown up one too many times for my blood. He's lost 5 games already and last night would have been his 6th had not they rallied. Had he lost, he would be on pace for 16 losses this season out of the pen. His ERA is now 5.46. Hopefully Saito will return soon and reclaim that role, but until then I'd use a combo of Hawkins and Braddock in the 8th, and Mitre and Dillard in the 7th. Loe should be relegated to mop up duty, if not outright released to make room for the return of McClendon. I'm assuming Estrada recent struggles make him expendable upon the return of Saito
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Morgan undoubtedly enjoys being with a winning team for the first time in his career. Imagine spending your entire career with the Pirates and Nationals and now suddenly you are with a team with championship aspirations. Is he a little nuts? Maybe, but it's a long season and as long as it helps keep everyone else loose, that's great. I said it in another thread, getting a player of his ability, quirkiness and all, for Cutter Dykstra, is the most one-sided deal Melvin's pulled off in his tenure.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    I think they could trade Randy Wolf and his $9.75 million for 2012 in addition to dealing Hart. Could all the college arms being drafted be part of a strategy to try and keep Fielder? No moves that we know of yet have been made to lock up Greinke or Marcum. Replacing either or both after 2012 with talented, yet pre-arby pitching, would free up plenty and both will bring high picks in return. It's all speculative of course. Fielder is playing his way into a bigger contract than it looked like he would get 2 months ago.
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