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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    The only way this would make sense is if Counsell gave Melvin an indication he's considering retiring. Counsell is hitting just .204/.295/.222 and may realize he's hit the wall. Wilson is a .956 fielder at SS (Betancourt is .970). He's got just 63 career RBI in 855 major league AB's. In short he's bad defensively and pathetic offensively. I'd take either Maysonet or Farris over Wilson. I know perhaps they'd like to give the slumping McGehee a day off now and then but I'd rather have Rivera, who's played all of 3 games at 3B in his pro career, plugged in there than such a weak bat as Wilson. Honestly, I don't get the tinkering with the bottom of the roster. They've won 13 of their last 16. Everyone's contributed at least minimally. I just don't see what Wilson adds. It can't go over that well in the clubhouse either.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    He's definitely been the story of the year offensively. It's a stretch to think he'll end the year with an OPS over .900. But if he can stay above .775, that puts him in the upper echelon of catchers to be sure. The ball is jumping off his bat. I think most would have been happy with him hitting .265-.270 with 10-12 HR. He's making a case to be an All Star right now.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    He's a DH. He never was a full time 1st baseman. You want to hedge a little on Gamel, you bring in a veteran RH bat who's not too expensive like a Cantu or bring Glaus out of "retirement" to do some platooning.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    I watched much of this game on the Extra Innings package. The Yankee telecast team of Michael Kay and Paul O'Neil were extremely impressed with Villanueva and his assortment of pitches. It would appear he'll get another start on Sunday. I hope he does well. I always felt the Brewers never realized what they had in Villanueva. Maybe it was because they hadn't invested a high pick or gave up much to get him and he had an average fastball. They constantly spent money year after year on guys like Looper, and Davis, and gave chance after chance to Parra, while complaining they had too because they didn't have any young starting pitchers. This after essentially giving up on Carlos as a starter after 9 starts in 2008. I think they may have learned something about ignoring what you have. A case in point is Narveson, and now Estrada.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    It was very naive of the Brewers to expect anything else. Do they think people, some of whom may be out of work or more likely are just opportunists, wouldn't use this to try to turn a profit on ebay? Do they not realize that much of their season ticket packages are bought so they can be resold online at a profit? That's the age we live in. Create a limited market for something unique and boom it has value because sellers can now reach millions of prospective buyers instantly. The best thing they can do now is to get hold of plenty of these and sell them on their online store for a reasonable price to take away the uniqueness (and value) for the ebay peddlers. Who knows that may have been their marketing strategy all along, though it's doubtful they were that smart.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    Hart turned a corner in his career last season. Up until then, he often times slipped into the mode more of a slap hitter than a power guy. But last year, his stroke became consistently a power one. It was natural that he would struggle some out of the gate this year rediscovering that stroke and when he was hurt in spring it set him back. But you could see it coming in recent weeks and last night we saw the results. He could really take off from here and if he does, look out NL Central.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    I can live with the DH in one league and not in another. It makes things interesting. I wouldn't want it in the NL because it means having to pay a premium for that extra bat. I'd replace the luxury tax with greater sharing of local television money but that's never going to happen. I'd eliminate arbitration all together, allow FA after 4 full seasons but allow teams to designate up to 6 franchise players who are committed to that team for a maximum of 4 additional seasons as long as their salary met a minimum figure likely some average of top half players at that position.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    Anyone in an affiliated minor league uniform technically qualifies as a prospect to some degree perhaps with the exception of well traveled older players at the higher levels that are there essentially to fill rosters. Eventually all have to put up numbers to get to the major leagues. Some guys just have a lot longer leash than others.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    I think we've seen the last of Manny Parra in a Brewer uniform. He certainly won't be offered arby.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Their have been a few short lefties that have had some major league success. 5'8" Fred Norman was a mainstay of the Big Red Machine staffs in the 70's. Bobby Shantz. all of 5'6", 139 pounds, was NL MVP in 1952 with the Phillies, and later pitched in the 1957 World Series for the Yankees against the Braves.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    According to John Fay of Cincinnati Enquirer, the Brewers claimed 5'6" lefty reliever Danny Ray Herrera off of waivers from the Reds. Herrera is a real soft tosser who was pitching with Louisville in AAA so presumably he still has an option. Brewers would have to clear a spot on their 40 man. Parra to 60 man?
  12. JohnBriggs12
    Mark it down. Kiss of death.That's his manager's words, not mine. My point isn't that dealing Villanueva was a bad idea necessarily but that the timing insured minimal return.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    Considering he had 11.4 SO per 9 IP, a 3.05 SO/BB ratio, a .238 BAA, and .702 OPS against in 2010, one could easily make the case, he was extremely unlucky last year.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    May so far: 9 2/3 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 2 BB, 10 K. 0.93 ERA. Villanueva is scheduled to make his first start since 2009 tonight against the Yankees. He's replacing injured Jesse Litsch in the Blue Jay rotation. Blue Jay manager John Farrell on Villanueva: "Those numbers stand for themselves. If you go on merit alone, he's earned the opportunity to go into the rotation".
  15. JohnBriggs12
    I'm sorry but I'm not buying the "extremely unlucky" assessment. He's allowed 4 HR in 21 innings including one to a pitcher. Opponents are slugging .576 against him. I was there when he pitched against the Pirates and allowed in succession, HR, Double, Double, Double, Triple, Single. None of those hits were remotely "lucky". While he's certainly capable of turning it around and it is for him very early, I'm a little concerned about everyone making excuses for him. This guy is supposed to be a premier pitcher. Premier pitchers don't generally ease into a season. They hit the ground running. The Brewers emptied their farm system to get him. Yes he was set back by injuries, but I expect better than what I've seen so far. It is fortunate that he's gotten plenty of run support so far so his struggles haven't been all that detrimental to the team. Let's hope we see the guy we all hoped to see soon though.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    Dillard has been on the team a week and hasn't gotten into a game. This in a week where there were no off days and a 14 inning game. The 13th pitcher is not needed.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    It all starts with Weeks and Gomez. At home Weeks is .338/.429/.592. On the road he's .260/.306/.413. At home Gomez is .297/.333/.406. On the road he's: .171/.250/.280. Ever since Weeks has been a Brewer, he sets the tempo of the offense. Rarely does it function well when he's scuffling.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Hart is far from an ideal #2. I'm not sure he's even that big of an upgrade over Gomez there to offset the loss of his RBI bat down in the 6th spot. I don't quite see Lucroy there either but it's not a horrible idea. When you think of ideal #2 hitters in the game today, you have to look at a guy like Placido Polanco. Polanco is a contact hitter, but more than that, he's able to utilize the entire field depending on situations. The Brewers don't really have that guy on their roster. When he plays, I'd use Kotsay in that spot myself. Kotsay is not a run producer, but he'll spray it around, and get deep in counts. The key guy for the Brewers in that spot going forward has to be Morgan though. It remains to be seen how much he'll play, but when he does it's a much more balanced lineup.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    Actually the Cards/Reds rivalry is a blessing for the Brewers. I like to use the horse race analogy in looking at a baseball season. Right now the Brewers are in a perfect "stalking" position sitting just a few games off the pace with plenty of "horse" left under "jockey" Ron Roenicke. Meanwhile the Reds and Cards appear to be in a bit of a duel early on and teams in that situation tend to be a little prone to put a little more into every game. Doing that in May can have consequences down the road. Meanwhile Quady down in Chicago already has brought out the whip on his team, a sure sign he doesn't have much.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    A better phrasing might be his results so far are not up to the standards that one would expect of someone that a team spent so much to acquire. Obviously all the deals are in the context of 1/4 of a season and therefore incomplete.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Missing in this discussion is the "trade" of Carlos Villanueva to the Blue Jays for cash. Villanueva is 1-0 with a 1.48 ERA in 24 1/3 IP with 21 K's and 10 BB. He's posted a WHIP of .822. His opponent batting average is a paltry .132 and opponent OPS is .454. His WAR sits at 0.8. No stats are available on "cash", though it's safe to say that Sean Green (5.40 ERA) probably never pitches for Brewers if Villanueva is kept. Considering Villanueva's ability to get out lefthanders (they are hitting .143 off him this year), his presence might well have kept Stetter (5.14 ERA) off the roster too. Melvin appears to have really "sold low" on Carlos.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    Have to believe it's the Brewers showing interest and why wouldn't they with their lefty reliever corps of Sleepy, Hippy, and Bashful all on the DL?. Question is what would they want back? Estrada?
  23. JohnBriggs12
    In looking at the Greinke deal, you can't ignore what plan B was. If they had not made that deal they likely would have added a pitcher. Pavano was the most highly mentioned and while he's been bad, 2-4, 5.89, I caught a game he pitched recently and Blyleven seemed convinced he had suffered a lot of bad luck so far and wasn't nearly as bad as his numbers. Another name that had cropped up the Brewers had interest in was Jeff Francis. Francis started off the year with 4 straight quality starts and has struggled some since. Still he's healthy and that was the big question. Then there is Estrada who has been a revelation. Greinke has yet to prove his worth. They gave up a ton (mostly Jeffress and Odorizzi) to get him. He's going to have to string together good starts or 4-5 years from now we'll be looking at Odorizzi in All Star games and be constantly reminded he was once Brewer property. Mitre was a steal. He needs to be used more in close games. He's a sinker ball guy so I don't worry that his K rate isn't all that high. He gets outs efficiently.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Glad to see Mike Rivera back too. I hope he stays. He's been a great loyal Brewer since he was first signed as minor league FA back in 2005. He did a solid job after replacing Chad Moeller back in 06, then found himself back in AAA in 07 to make room for Johnny Estrada. Then after an off year at AAA in 07, he defied all odds in 08 to win the backup job, only to sit weeks at a time over the next year while Yost, always deferring to starting catchers (a job he never could get as a player himself) let Jason Kendall run the team, and in 09, he never was able to win over Macha.. Still, when called upon, he usually got his hits. Then for some inexplicable reason, Melvin decided he didn't want to reward him an extra $50K or so in arbitration so he released him. Later, Rivera essentially said he would have stayed for nearly the minimum to be a Brewer. To his credit Melvin brought him back perhaps showing a soft spot for his loyalty.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    But why is that better than just having a longer draft?Its worse IMO. There are plenty of people at this point that are high talent, but have strong college scholarships. So allowing them to be UDFAs favors the team that can shell out more money to lure them away. Plus there is plenty of talent at this point still (Green and Cain both were drafted later than the 15th round.) 25 rounds should be sufficient. I think the NFL has a decent compensation strategy. Look at the total lost and gained FAs and compensate on that. If the teams made the playoffs, they are limited in compensation. I like the idea of a shorter draft. Teams are not going to overspend on guys who aren't drafted say in 20 rounds, so I don't see a benefit for richer teams. Besides, unless those richer teams have more affiliates, they only have as many openings as the poorer teams. For an undrafted player, it's all about picking the situation with the best opportunity. If you are say a 35th rounder that's a catcher, and the team drafting you selected 4 other catchers ahead of you, you aren't going to get much of a shot. The shorter draft benefits the guys who would be low round picks otherwise. In the NFL where there are only 7 rounds, there are plenty of quality players not drafted. They get to choose which team gives them the best chance.
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