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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Raise your hands if you've been in Tropicana Field! I was there in 2004. Once you've set foot in that place, it becomes obvious why this team doesn't draw. It's hard to find words that properly describe the place. Chintzy, depressing, dank etc. The concourses are horrendous, tiny and dark. True Wrigley is like that too, but at least it's outdoors and it has the excuse of being old. I spent half the game having to convince myself I was in a major league facility instead of an abandoned warehouse. It's so dark in there that I would imagine leaving after a day game into the Florida sun would be like exiting an old movie theater. I've also read it's not in a great neighborhood. It seemed okay to me right around the park, but a mile or two away were what you'd picture to be a low rent district to look like in a Florida city. That team has no chance in that park.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Everyone mentions that all you get when a player hits FA are draft picks and unless they are type A and B you don't get that. Depending on who it is, you also get considerable salary relief that in the Brewer case is usually spent (not always wisely) and roster flexibility. Even though Cameron and Sheets didn't bring any players, the money they were paid went elsewhere. If they don't move Fielder or Weeks, they'll get picks and a lot of money comes off the books. If one or both can be adequately replaced internally by pre arby players such as Gamel or Lawrie (jury is out until they actually do it of course), then that money can be put to productive use where it's most needed.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Check that again X ellence. His ERA for this year is now 4.24. Showing how you can manipulate numbers, you can reverse it and say, he hasn't had an ERA over 4.30 for 3 straight seasons and every year he's made 20 or more starts (8 times) since 2000, he's never had an ERA over 4.36. He's pitched to the numbers on the back of his bubble gum card this season. He is what he is and that's a solid number 3 starter. Solid number 3's can pitch like number 2's for a while and number 4's for a while. He'll likely put up similar numbers next year. His 2009 was a bit of an aberration, but he's still a very useful guy. Because I have MLB extra innings and don't live in Wisconsin, I get to see other teams telecasts of Brewer games. The Giants have by far the best in the business in Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper. Krukow, a former major league starter and Kuiper who watch the Giants staff all year, have tons of respect for Wolf and how he attacks hitters. Wolf's contract isn't all that onerous. Heck Ted Lilly collected $13 million this year. Another year like this one, and Wolf will still have value in the trade market.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    Huff figures to at least double his salary (from $3 to $6 million), but I agree with your premise. They won't give up Cain for one year of Fielder. Besides, their offense isn't that bad. They are in first place with it. Posey is a stud. Had Sandoval hit anywhere near like he did in 09, they would have been better than average offensively. He figures to bounce back off this year. I still say the team to watch is the Angels with regard to Fielder with Ervin Santana the logical match. They may make a run at Konerko first, but if that fails, they'll likely be asking about Fielder.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    For being "one of the worst pitchers in baseball", he's sure had a productive career with 131 wins and at least 191 IP for 9 straight seasons assuming he pitches 4 more this year. Amazing a guy that bad will likely go over 200 wins by the time he hangs it up.
  6. JohnBriggs12
    I knew that Cardinal arrogance had gone way over the edge when they signed Suppan and then traded away Ludwick. It was basically them stating that it's the Cardinal uniform that makes players perform better and we're going to prove it. Their demise in the 2nd half has certainly taken a little sting out of this Brewer season.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    The purpose for having Rogers in the 2011 rotation is not to "chase an extra win". In fact they probably would do better towards that with a mid level FA veteran than they will with Rogers. But it could help Rogers, who will be 25 in January, down the road become a better pitcher by learning at the highest level working with a major league pitching coach instead of getting by on stuff alone against AAA hitters. I don't believe you can ever think 3 or 4 years down the road with pitchers anyway so there's no sense worrying about his value in 2016. He may not be pitching at all by then. At 25 with all he's been through, you'd expect him to have the maturity to handle the pressure part of the job. If he's not, you'd like to find that out soon too and avoid another Parra disaster. Innings wise, you could save them early in the season. If the can surround him with other guys in the rotation that can get into the 7th inning regularly, then they can live with 5-6 innings starts out of Rogers.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    It's because you live on the west side of the state. For most Brewer fans, the biggest natural rival when they were in the AL was the White Sox. It's a shame they don't play each other more. I can't remember the last time the Brewers played the Sox in Chicago.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Those who've read my posts know that I've been very dubious of what Fielder would bring back. When I heard on Chicago radio in early July that the Sox had interest in Fielder, my first and only thought was Daniel Hudson, who fit every description of what the Brewers needed. He was young, he was major league ready, he had good stuff and he had success in the minors. I had seen him pitch last year when he was called up in September and really liked him. My thought at the time was the Sox would be the ones that wouldn't make that deal. I would have made it in a heartbeat and posted to that effect at the time. I could not believe it when I read the Brewers turned it down because they projected him no higher than a 3rd or 4th starter. Then I got to thinking about it. Hudson wasn't a first rounder. He was a 5th rounder. A lot of scouts including those employed by the Brewers missed the boat on this guy just 2 years ago. Their egos and need to protect their reputations aren't going to let them admit that they missed badly on a guy just 2 years later. The bottom line is Melvin relied on the wrong people.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Reggie Cleveland? All I remember from his time is his getting hammered by the Red Sox as the Brewers fell out of the race in 79.. He was not a Brewer product by the way. He was a journeyman starter that was in his 30's by the time the Brewers got him. He was sort of a Jeff Suppan of his time. I didn't see Cort pitch but I remember great excitement after he made 2 outstanding starts early on that year. When he went down it was very discouraging to the Brewer fan base at the time.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Perhaps the best prospect of that 1977 crop that also included Sam Hinds and Gary Beare was Barry Cort. But he got hurt very early on that year and never made it back to the big leagues.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    You can't look at it as a blanket "no more old pitchers signed from the Cardinals" because 2 guys proved to be bad signings. The Brewers apparently followed that philosophy last off season by shying away from Joel Pineiro who signed for less years (2) and less per year ($8 million) than did Wolf and who's had a better year. Ruling out a guy just because he pitched for the Cardinals is foolish. Would you pass on Adam Wainwright if the price was right? Every guy is not the same. That goes for Westbrook. He's a bit of a risk but on the other hand, he's another year removed from his injuries. It would depend on his price in dollars and years not that he's on the Cardinals.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    Sheets is no better than 5th best pitcher all time for the Brewers. I'd put him behind Higuera who was 94-64 with a 3.61 ERA, Caldwell, who was 102-80 with a 3.74 ERA, Slaton, who was 117-121 with a 3.86 ERA and Haas who was 91-79 with a 4.01 ERA. Keep in mind that except for a brief pre-DH period for Slaton, all those guys faced lineups that had 9 hitters. All had at least twice as many shutouts as Sheets too. So if you want to retire 49, 48, 41 and 30 first, then I'm all for it.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Your premise is seriously flawed. The current team, with Bush and Parra instead of "the two best FA pitchers on the market" since May 22nd is 50-49. The significance of that date is that it was the following day when Axford recorded his first save. It was also around the time Lucroy took over as starting catcher and Loe and Braddock were added to the pen. If you replace Bush and Parra with pitchers of even average quality, you could contend with this lineup. I might add that both Braun and Fielder have significantly underperformed.this season so even in the event in some dropoff for Hart and McGehee, the odds are that would be offset by bouncebacks from Braun and Fielder.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    For a team where hitting isn't supposedly needed, this team has sure put together some impressive scoreless inning streaks.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    Agreed, and if that's the case, I'm OK with it, because that would give us a rotation of Yo, new guy, Wolf, FA signing, Narvy/Parra/Rogers/surprise in tranining camp. As long as the prospect is a pretty high ceiling kind of guy.The more I think about it, the more I think a Fielder for Ervin Santana deal makes sense for both teams. The Angels are pretty woeful on offense this year with a putrid team OBP of .315. Fielder would be an upgrade over the aging Matsui at DH. With a nucleus of Weaver, Haren and Pineiro, Santana is probably expendable and they would only be taking on an additional $7 million or so in salary, giving them leeway to replace Santana in the rotation with a FA. I'm sure Melvin will insist they add a young pitcher, so he can say he got 2 for Fielder, but I would expect the guy to be at least a couple years away. I'd also expect the Brewers to throw in Parra too. That would make 4/5ths of the rotation next year: Gallardo, Wolf, Santana and Narveson with the 5th still to be determined among a FA, Capuano or possibly a long shot like Rogers or Rivas.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    Couldn't agree more. I would have liked to see them give Dillard one more shot before they lose him as a minor league FA based on his recent good form, but I'd be okay with looking at Rogers for a few starts. The only plausible reason to start Bush again is because they have games remaining against SF which is hotly contesting for a wild card, but with the Cardinals virtually out if it now, none of their other games figures to have any meaning in the standings.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Getting back to pitching, Narveson (4-1, 3.95, 1.14 WHIP, since the break) is looking less and less like he's part of the problem and more and more like he's part of the solution. In fact, his WHIP as a starter (1.324) for the season is actually better than Gallardo's 1.360. Given his pre-arby status, I think he along with Yo and Wolf figure to be 3/5 of next years rotation.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    Melvin is out of touch with reality. At best, the Brewers might get one young high ceiling pitcher. More likely, they'll have to settle for a mid rotation youngish veteran, ala Ervin Santana, that's no longer real cheap.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    Last thing? No, it would take a major pitching improvement just to get to average. It wouldn't take much for the hitting to fall back to average and then what do you have? Another non-contending team. The trick is to maintain a top or near top offense at the same time you're improving your pitching. Assuming you don't have to look at upgrades in both areas is short-sighted. This team's offense is good but it could be better.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Coffey is almost certain (or should be) to be non-tendered, so his trade value is nil. Villanueva could be non-tendered too but given his age and still relatively modest likely cost, may stick around. He could be part of a deal but not a primary piece. Hawkins has zero value in the trade market.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    I was just posting a similar comment in yesterday's game thread. I can't understand what they have to lose taking another look at Dillard. This is a team that should be looking under every rock for starting pitching and they have a guy (who they will lose otherwise) in their own system coming off 4 AAA starts where he's allowed 5 runs in 29 innings and who as a starter this year is 4-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 8 starts. If he fails badly, let him go. If he shows something, isn't he worth a 40 man spot going into spring? No instead they keep trotting FA to be Dave Bush out there as if he's got a future with the team.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    I still don't understand what the Brewers would have to lose giving soon to be FA Tim Dillard a few starts in September. They are a team that needs to be looking under every rock for starting pitching and they have a guy right in their own system who was 4-2 with a 2.77 in 8 AAA starts. That's not a huge sample to be sure, but he's coming off 4 straight quality starts allowing 5 runs in 29 innings. If he fails, let him go. If he shows something, is one roster spot that valuable that they couldn't use one on another starter candidate for spring?
  24. JohnBriggs12
    Well everyone's technically available for the right price, but KC isn't going to give away a 24 year old bat like Butler cheaply. I don't think Hosmer has any affect. Butler could DH when Hosmer is ready.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    I posted this in the other thread, so bear with me for repeating. While he would have value in the pen for sure (just think of a pen with Axford, Jeffress and Braddock), unless the Brewers solve their rotation problems, whoever they have out there eventually is going to wear down, lose effectiveness or end up being used in too many lost games. I also believe it's a lot easier finding relievers than it is starters. Not only do the Brewers have an asset in Jeffress, they also have one in Braddock. I think the maximum reward scenario is if one or both turn back into starters. So why not use 2011 to transition both back into starters by having them share a rotation spot, either by piggybacking them or rotating them? Parra, if he's still around could be of value in long relief of either too. It'll never happen. It's "out of the box thinking" and Melvin is not an out of the box thinker.
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