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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Kameron Loe makes the most sense. He's the most experienced with 47 major league starts. He's got plenty of time to get stretched out. The bullpen should be deep enough and rested that early in the season to cover for his absence. Remember Loe was starting for Nashville last year prior to his call up. Keep in mind if they can get Greinke back by the 16th, the only day they would need a starter beyond the other 4 is April 6th.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    If he's indeed back by April 16th, all but one of the starts leading up to that can be filled by the other 4. Since the season is still 3 weeks away, they still have time to either get Rogers ready, or as I would do, to stretch out Kameron Loe, so he could make a start. They have enough bullpen arms to cover Loe's spot for 2 weeks. He's started before too. Loe then can easily be slipped back into a reliever roll.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    That pitcher was Juan Pizarro who later would be involved in a trade that may well have changed the history of baseball in Milwaukee. Following the 1960 season in which the Braves finished 2nd, albeit a distant 2nd to the Pirates, the GM, the infamous John McHale, in a move of utter desperation traded not one but two prized young pitchers, Pizarro and Joey Jay for overrated SS Roy McMillan (Pizarro was then moved by the Reds to the White Sox). Jay and Pizarro combined to go 35-17 in 1961. Jay led the Reds to the 1961 pennant with a 21-10 record which he followed up with another 21 win season the following year. Pizarro went 61-38 in a 4 year stretch with the Sox. Meanwhile, McMillan never did squat for the Braves, nor did the young pitchers brought up to replace Jay and Pizarro (Bob Hendley and Don Nottebart) and the Braves sunk further in the standings, prompting the sale of the team after the 1962 season. The rest is history. It's not much of a stretch to conclude that had they held on to Jay and Pizarro to go with Spahn and Burdette, the Braves likely would have won another pennant and may still be in Milwaukee.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    I'm going to say big Sean Halton. For a guy 6'5" 240, he makes decent contact and has produced runs. This is the year his power numbers go up. I look for .285 BA, 22 HR, and 90 RBI at AA, with a late look in Nashville.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    I'm not so sure he won't beat out Dickerson. Especially when they figure to have Jeremy Reed and Logan Schafer who can both play CF too at AAA and AA.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    I don't see Cruz as a lock. It's not certain they won't keep both Boggs and Dickerson and go with 6 OF and 5 INF. Cruz never hit well enough to stick as utility infielder. Even Jeremy Reed could figure in with a good spring. Eric Farris is getting long looks too and given Roenicke's penchant for running could have a bench role. Plus is Cruz better than every guy that will be cut by other teams?
  7. JohnBriggs12
    Isn't Maldanado essentially this year's version of Carlos Corporan? Frankly I liked Corporan more myself. He had a solid year in AAA with an .870 OPS and now is in Houston's camp where catching jobs are available. Point is nobody thought much of Corporan as a prospect but he's worked himself into being able to compete for a major league backup job. Same could happen for Maldanado.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    That's a complete overstatement on Kotsay. Three of the last 6 years he's posted very similar numbers: .275/.332/.386 in 06; .276/.329/.403 in 08; and .278/.327/.390 in 09. Those aren't great for an everyday player, but certainly roster worthy of a part time player. Add in the fact he has postseason experience and I'll take him as a bench player over inexperienced alternatives.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Greg Goossen who was on the opening day roster in the inaugural 1970 Brewer season, died Saturday at 65. According to an article in the New York Daily News, Goossen was originally signed by the Dodgers as a bonus baby (pre MLB draft) in 1964, and first arrived in the big leagues with the Mets who drafted him from the Dodgers in 1965 at age 19 prompting Casey Stengel to remark "in 10 years, he has a chance to be 29". Goossen's Brewer career was short lived. After backing up/platooning with Mike Hegan, he was sent down to AAA in May and sold to the Washington Senators in July. He did post a .982 OPS with the Pilots in 1969 in 52 games. He didn't do that badly as a Brewer but he was stuck behind Hegan.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Can you point to something that qualifies Cruz as a defensive whiz worthy of a roster spot on that alone?
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Eric Farris. Roenicke likes to run a lot, and having a guy on the bench that has stolen 70 bases in the minors is a nice weapon to have. Plus he hits from the right side. If they decided to start the year with 11 pitchers, Farris might be the extra guy that sticks around for a while, then be optioned when the 12th pitcher is needed..
  12. JohnBriggs12
    First class citizen. Excellent role model. Wasn't given anything, had to work for it. Produced when given the chance. What's not to like about Casey McGehee? I don't think locking him up until he's 32 is a big risk.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    The Village of Schaumburg dropped the ball too by demanding too much in rent. Now they don't have any tenant.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Actually no he didn't. He didn't make any relief appearances in 1993. In 94, he pitched himself out of the rotation with a 7.74 ERA in his first 8 starts. He got 1 start after that. The innings racked up by Navarro at age 24 and 25 weren't unusual at the time for stud pitchers. He bounced back with the Cubs and had pretty good years in 95 and 96 so is Garner to blame for that? I'll go back further. Warren Spahn use to routinely make around a half dozen relief appearances in years he was pitching in a 4 man rotation and completing half or more of his games.. Of course back then, teams carried just 10 pitchers.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    I vote for no song. The first Brewer reliever to have a song was Tom Murphy back in the 70's. Frank Charles used to play the Irish Jig as Murphy came in. That was fun when Murphy was going good. It became fingernails on the blackboard once he turned into junk. If you want to have a song, play it after the save, not before.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    I agree completely. It was sad that Wainwright went down, but watching LaRussa and Cardinal players put on a defiant face was laughable. LaRussa up there saying they had a deep rotation? Kyle Lohse and his career 4.74 ERA, and 6.55 ERA last year is quality? McClellan? Nice setup reliever, but was made a reliever in the minors because he failed as a starter. How does taking your setup guy out of the pen help you anyway? Yeah Westbrook had some success after coming from Cleveland, but his track record (one full season with an ERA under 4) suggests a few times around the NL and they'll catch up to him. He's fine as a 3-4 starter, but he's certainly no replacement for Wainwright.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    The village of Schaumburg, IL has served an eviction notice on the Schaumburg Flyers baseball team. Apparently the Flyers owe the village nearly $1 million in back rent for Alexian Brothers Field. The Flyers are reportedly for sale but they would have to be sold and back rent paid by the eviction date of March 6th, or they will not be allowed to play this season. The Flyers had played in the Northern League in prior years, but were scheduled to play in the North American league this season. Alexian Brothers Field is a first class minor league facility. Officials blame the economy for dwindling attendance in recent years. Village official hope to find another team to play there if not this year, in 2012. Personally, I think they'd be a great fit in the Midwest League as rivals to Kane County. I think being in an affiliated league is an easier sell.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    This is still a very real possibility. I think the Wainwright injury actually helps this become more likely, and if the Cubs get a little more lucky with injuries this year, it could be a four-team race.How were the Cubs unlucky last year? They didn't have any major injuries, they were simply bad. Now they are counting on a bunch of guys on the wrong side of 30 (Soriano, Pena, Ramirez, Fukudome) to all reverse downward trends and stay healthy for a full season. In the meantime while many Brewer fans fret over Betancourt, the Cubs go into 2011 with a SS that committed 27 errors in 125 games last year, and Blake DeWitt at 2B? Sure Castro figures to improve some but that's hardly a lock down left side of that infield. DeWitt is just a guy. I'll grant you their pitching staff could be pretty decent, but they weren't all that bad last year when they won 75 games. Will Wood give their bullpen a boost? Who really knows? Let's see how they do over the course of a season with no left handed starters. That might work against the Brewers but the Reds could maul them. I see it as a 2 team race between the Brewers and Reds. The Cards still should have enough to hold off the Cubs or whoever for 3rd.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    I would think unless the bone is shattered and requires surgery to repair, it shouldn't take more that 3-4 weeks to heal a broken pinky. More opportunities for the many backup candidates to be properly evaluated. A few weeks off in spring might help Lucroy maintain stamina later in the year.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    What hurts them is not only was Wainwright so effective, he logged 230 innings in each of the last 2 seasons. That allowed LaRussa to save his pen to let Garcia be basically a 6 inning guy. I see them going after Millwood, who's at least a proven innings eater. But at this stage, at best Millwood's 200 innings, and a 4.20 or so ERA type. That's a far cry from Wainwright's last 2 seasons. This certainly does make the Brewers favorites. Let's keep our fingers crossed our guys stay healthy.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    I never said it because you don't want to sound like you are wishing it, but I've felt for some time that if I were a Cardinals fan, I'd be worried about the health of their starters. Carpenter has an extensive injury history and while Wainwright hasn't up to now, but he was the Cy Young favorite until a string of un-Wainwright like starts in late August to mid September and he went from 132 innings in 08 to over 230 in both 09 and 10. Cards were already shaky in the #5 spot with Lohse. I would imagine they will be calling about Kevin Millwood (who was waiting on just such an occurance) now.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    Cruz isn't anything special defensively. His FP last year at AAA was a pedestrian .967. His range is no better than average. His career minor league OBP is under .300. He may be harder to walk than Betancourt, with less power and lower BA. My guess is he'd hit .225/.270/.340. He'd have to be Ozzie Smith to play regularly hitting like that. They'd be better off giving Farris some looks at SS this spring if they want an internal solution. Don't forget they also have Edwin Maysonet in camp. He's not been much of a hitter but he has shown better on base skills in the minors than has Cruz and actually hit pretty well (.290/.333/.362) in a very small sample of 79 plate appearances with Houston in 09.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Hence, the signing of Jeremy Reed to play in Nashville I would assume.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    No, the reason is because in the 1950's the NFL owners, in particular, George Halas and Wellington Mara of the two largest market teams, recoginzed that the league was as strong as it's weakest franchise, and they individually sacrificed millions in approving the equal sharing of revenue from their telecasts. Baseball has never had owners with such foresight or care for the game beyond their own pocketbooks. Bill Veeck spoke out for sharing television revenue 50-50 for every game back in the infancy of television arguing that every game is played by 2 teams. He was basically laughed at by the barons running baseball back then.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    Exactly. The guy had still had skills, but his 40 year old body couldn't take it in this post PED age.
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