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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    The Cardinals thrived long before Albert Pujols and they will survive when he leaves. This notion that somehow Albert Pujols is the Cardinals is ridiculous. No one player is bigger than the franchise. Aaron Rodgers is proving that in Green Bay. If I'm the Cards, I don't go beyond $220 million over 8 years. If he doesn't take it, I build my club around others.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Yes I think a 12-9 record, a 4.70 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, a .254 BAA, and 150 K's in 176 IP over 32 starts since Sept 1 of 09 are more than enough to be solidly entrenched as a number 5 starter. On a lot of Brewer teams over the past decade, those numbers would put you in the number 3 slot going into spring.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Chad Moeller recently signed a minor league deal with the Rockies.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    He's more likely to start the season in Round Rock (Rangers new AAA affiliate) than his is in Arlington anyway, so why not go where the major league pitching coach knows you well and would recommend you when an opening arises?. Generally speaking when Bush is on, he's fine, and when he starts giving up HR, they go out of any park. Besides if he does end up starting some games for Texas, I think he figures to get plenty of run support.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    Is he gritty too? Don't care if a guy never strikes out or is pesky if he doesn't get results. Bottom line, Miles is a bad hitter.And Nick Punto is? Seriously where did I say they should have gone after Miles? Maybe it's before your time, but the same comments you just made about Miles could have been made about Scott Fletcher who got big hit after big hit for the Brewers in 92. Speaking of SS options, according to MLB trade rumors is referencing a Buster Olney article that says the Mets could well be shopping Jose Reyes as the deadline approaches. Now Reyes is a guy I'd be interested in renting at mid season as a real upgrade over Betancourt.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    Just heard on "the Score" that the Cubs signed Looper and Augie Ojeda to minor league deals with ST invites. Cubs are really collecting bad pitchers and as many guys who were with them in 03 as possible
  7. JohnBriggs12
    Except for the year he failed miserably with the Cubs, Miles has been a pesky hitter. But you're correct, defensively, he's a 2nd baseman playing shortstop. I'd be confident that Eric Farris could do better there than Miles has.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    I recently subscribed to a newspaper archival site and out of curiosity I looked up the Don Money game to see if my recollection was correct. Quoting Harvey Kuenn from the Wisconsin State Journal: "I'm saying that (1st base umpire) McKean told Chambliss right after the ball was hit, 'Time wasn't called out...The first base umpire never called time." Confirming this version was Brewer Bobby Darwin who was the runner at first: "He (Chambliss) was right along side of me. I saw the whole thing. The first baseman did ask for time out, then he started toward the pitcher. But I never did hear the ump call time and then Chambliss said "Oh (expletive)", then he ran back to his position. I thought the ball was in play because the umpire never called time. If he had, Chambliss would never had said "Oh (expletive". The article goes on to say: "Brewer reserve infielder Kurt Bevacqua said he thought it was a simple case of Martin intimidating the umpires. "He's the best intimidator in the league." Bevacqua was absolutely right. It's hard to imagine that a manager could intimidate umpires, but Martin could. Martin had this way about him that made umpires fear him.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Not really. Cameron was the last guy you wanted up there with 1 out and a runner on third which is why despite his solid slugging numbers, his RBI totals were so modest.. In his 2 seasons as a Brewer, Cameron batted 59 times with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. He drove the runner in 28 times (47.5%). Betancourt in 09 and 10 came up 73 times with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 out. He drove in the run 50 times (68.4%). True Cameron walked in that situation more but also struck out a lot. Getting a bat on the ball matters in some situations, when as the case will be with Betancourt, when your hitting down in the lineup in front of the 8th and 9th hitters. That's where his value lies. Now it doesn't make him a great or even good player, but it does add something positive. Yes Cameron was a very good defender and much needed on a staff of flyball pitchers. Betancourt's defensive shortcomings will be negated somewhat with a pitching staff dominated by strikeout/flyball arms.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    You are being misled by the fact that he mostly DH'd for the White Sox last year. He did that because they had 4 OF ahead of him, not because he couldn't play. In fact last year the "theme" of the White Sox was that Ozzie wanted DH's that could also be used in the field because it gave them more flexibility.. That's why they let Thome go. Kotsay just turned 35. He's not decrepit.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Cubs apparently are trying to resurrect that 2003 team by signing another member who was in the scrap heap, Todd Wellemeyer. Amazingly, he got a major league deal, albeit one that is not guaranteed.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    Not really. Boggs is a switch hitter. Personally for a late inning bat, I certainly prefer a proven veteran like Kotsay over Dickerson. That's assuming they don't think they can give enough AB's to Gamel. Either way, I don't see the harm in bringing in a quality vet like Kotsay as a NRI. A .315 career average as a pinch hitter is nothing to sneeze at.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    I don't think you can assume Kotsay would take either Boggs or Dickerson's roster spot. It's far more likely that they want a veteran lefty bat to assume prime PH duties instead of Gamel and they want Gamel playing everyday. Remember they took a run at Hinske earlier. Kotsay is a decent veteran bench option. He's been there (72 postseason AB's).
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Nick Punto drove in one run every 12.6 AB's in 2010. Betancourt drove in one run ever 7.1 AB. Punto accounted for .175 runs (RS and RBI) per AB to Betancourt's .248 runs per AB. That is a pretty substantial difference. When you consider Punto was in the Twins lineup selectively and Betancourt played virtually every day in a weaker Royals lineup, the difference is even more profound.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    Wells isn't a platoon player. He's not worth close to those numbers but he did have a bounce back year in 2010. By sending Napoli who figured to get around $6 million in arby and Rivera who is owed a little over $5 million, Wells' net cost this year is around $12 million. Both Napoli and Rivera are FA after this year. They are betting that Wells continues his comeback and returns to elite status. They wanted an extra OF so they could move Abreu to DH. With $27 millon for Abreu and Hunter off the books after 2012, they had the money to overspend. Considering their lack of success in FA market, it's not so surprising.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    "The day" for Reed was 2004. It's 2011 and he turns 30 in June and it's not like he hasn't had chances. Old timers might remember a guy named Bill Sharp who the Brewers once traded Bobby Coluccio for. Without even looking, I equated the 2 and sure enough Bill Sharp was listed as #6 similar to Reed. BTW, that's not a good thing. Sharp's most notable achievement as a Brewer was singing the national anthem before a game. Dickerson and Boggs should sleep easy.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Kevin Millwood is also still out there. Despite his 4-16 record for the O's he was actually pretty good in August and September (3.66 ERA over his last 11 starts). He wouldn't be bad insurance either if you needed a guy.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Punto can't drive in runs though and Betancourt can and whoever hits 7th in Brewer order is going to have a lot of guys on base when he hits.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    Pavano left money on the table by waiting so long. Once the Brewers dealt for Greinke, his bargaining position weakened. Remember though had the Brewers signed Pavano instead of dealing for Greinke, they still would have Cain, Escobar, Jeffress, and Odorizzi. If Pavano outpitches Greinke this year, there's going to be some questions.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    My guess he was brought in because their hitters were complaining about having to hit off that staff during live batting practice in Arizona. Now they will get needed confidence boost if not any actual game speed timing.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    One of the umpires actually went down the ramp and got the Brewers back out on the field. They would have forfeited otherwise and remember the bases were still loaded with just one out. I remember in my delirious celebrating seeing Martin out on the field arguing with the home plate umpire and wandering what in heck he was doing. Nobody and I mean nobody saw time called prior to that pitch. I lost a ton of respect that day for Grammas who didn't put up much of a fight in my opinion. Harvey Kuenn who was coaching first in those days, blew a gasket though. He was closest to where the supposed time was being called. There's no question why Harvey was so popular with the players as a manager. He had their backs. One more thing I should add for those too young to have experienced 1970's Brewer baseball. By today's standards, crowd totals seem very small. In this case just over 10,000 in what I call "the true baseball fan opener". But today's crowds don't come close to matching the passion of those days. In those days, we could make 10,000 sound like 30,000. On a cold Saturday afternoon the day after the opener, that crowd was all fans that bled Brewer baseball. They weren't there for the ambiance or for a nice outing.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    I've talked about the Don Money game a number of times on this site. I think it's safe to say I'm the only regular poster that was among the 10.871 that actually witnessed that game. The account on Hardball Times left out a key fact. The umpire that was supposed to have called time did not disallow the HR until Billy Martin argued for several minutes well after the Brewers had left the dugout for the clubhouse. Had Martin, notorious for umpire intimidation in those days, not come out and argued, that HR would have stood up. You can also bet your life that had Money made an out, it would have counted, just as it would have had Brett popped out with the pine tar bat. That game marked the one and only time where I threw an object on the field albeit just an empty beer cup. The ushers would have had to eject half the stadium to enforce that rule however. In fact, I'm not sure the ushers weren't tossing cups that day too. I have never left a game madder than I was that day. More context: It was the 2nd game of the 1976 season at the start of the ill fated Alex Grammas tenure. The Brewers had shut out the Yanks in the opener the day before (which I also attended). As with all early season games, their importance seems magnified especially for a franchise that up to that point had never had a winning season. Winning a game like that could have been a huge springboard. But we'll never know. For all the attention given the George Brett fiasco that also involved that slime-ball Martin, it's amazing how little attention gets paid to this game. Kudos to the author for listing it number 1.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    The A's just designated Steve Tolleson. Now he's more of a 2B guy but he has played 191 minor league games at SS. His FP isn't very good at SS, though he was error-less there in 45 major league innings for the A's. His bloodlines (he's the son of Wayne, a nifty little utility middle infielder from the 1980's) suggest he should be able to field. His bat though is intriguing. He's a lifetime .374 OBP guy and was .332/.412/.503 at hitter friendly Sacramento last year. He wasn't bad in 49 major league AB's (.286/.340/.408).
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Meche realized he couldn't perform at a major league level and to take the Royals money was wrong. How rare is that in today's world? Kudos to him. Suppan on the other hand had no qualms about taking Brewers money even though he couldn't perform at a major league level either.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    Owing fits the description of a guy for whom a minor league deal with an opt out makes sense. Not sure he'd be my first choice but he'd be okay. For anyone that says they would rather have Rogers or Rivas take over in case of an early season need, bringing in a guy like an Owens certainly doesn't preclude that. It's just nice to have at least one guy with more extensive major league experience that could be an option especially as was the case with both Loe and Capuano last year that they were pitching well in AAA.
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