JohnBriggs12
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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12
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The best move is to either DFA Julio or move Weeks to 60 day and bring up Smith. Smith has pitched just 1 inning since last Wednesday and should be fresh. The next best option is Matt Ginter. Ginter pitched 5 innings on Saturday, but he's been effective recently (5 ER, 13 H, 16 K, in last 20 IP), and he's got the most major league experience of anyone on that Nashville staff.
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ANY chance Ben Sheets rejoins the team?
JohnBriggs12 replied to OldSchoolSnapper's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
"Without Sheets last year, we don't make the playoffs, and that's a fact". Not without Sabathia they don't because Sheets was MIA down the stretch again. I give Sheets credit for getting them in position to make the Sabathia deal worth it. Had Sheets answered the bell the last 2 weeks of September 2007, they would have made the playoffs that year and had he stayed healthy through all of 2006, they would could have won a division that was there to be had that year and those are facts too. -
He strikes out a lot and rarely walks. That's says to me he swings and misses a lot against AAA pitching and lacks strike zone awareness. That's not the type I'd want coming off the bench in the 9th inning facing major league closers. To his credit, he's having his best season, but it's only 42 games. He's shown power but has never hit more than 24 HR so it's not all that impressive when combined with his BB and K totals. If he ends the year hitting .296/.330/.585 with 30 or more HR, he probably would deserve a 40 man spot and a September call-up, but he's a very long shot at best to ever make an impact in the big leagues. A guy like Bucky Jacobsen had more power and took a lot more walks but his major league career was very short.
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Heading into today the Brewers lead the national league in quality starts. So saying "the bull pen is carrying this pitching staff" is quite a stretch. (While the bull pen has been great - a quality start is completely the work of the starting staff) Obviously someone like Peavy could help the Brewers. Johnathan Sanchez (or his type) has very little value this year to the Brewers. We are going to trade away our starting LF for a career 5.10 ERA pitcher to replace one of our starting pitchers? (None of whom have a career ERA above 5.00?) The quality start stat is interesting but not a real stat. The one area where the Brewers stand out relative to the rest of the NL in more significant stats (Runs scored, starter ERA, Bullpen ERA) is bullpen ERA. So I stand by my statement that it's the pen that is clearly the one area where this team is far above average to this point. I don't expect the Brewers will trade Hart either. It's just not Melvin's style to deal a player he has control over nor be thinking one or two deals ahead of himself. But I think they should strongly consider doing so. Hart won't likely bring a top quality starter back. But he might bring the type of prospect they need to enhance a package to land a Peavy. As my earlier post indicated too, I think they'll be some hitters that are superior to Hart available at the deadline too. It's not like the lineup couldn't use an upgrade and RF is one area.
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Without Votto, the Reds aren't anywhere near the Brewers. With Votto, they're pretty even with the Brewers missing Weeks.
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Who do you think is our main catcher next year?
JohnBriggs12 replied to Hate those Rodents's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
Counsell doesn't slap the ball. He swings as hard as anyone on the team and his tendency is to pull the ball. Counsell generates a lot more bat speed than Kendall who is all arms and hands with his swing. For next year, I see Salome and Rivera splitting time 50-50 initially with Salome gradually taking over. If Salome fails, then Lucroy will replace him. Unless Kendall can hit .250, no team is going to invest in him as a starter considering his lack of power. I don't think he'd accept a backup role with the Brewers. -
Why would it frustrate you? They could use a starting pitcher. 4 of their 5 starters have ERA's over 4 and two of them have ERA's over 5. The bullpen is carrying this pitching staff. Now Gerut and Catalanotto have both played semi-regularly in the past year, so I don't think it's quite as dire as you suggest. Either one of them platooning in RF with Hall or even McGehee might be able to produce as much as Hart until July when they can make a move on a Jermaine Dye, Brad Hawpe or some other quality veteran that's on the market.
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The White Sox just upgraded their backup catching position (by trading for Ramon Castro) because as Ozzie Guillen said "we got to keep A.J. (Pierzyski) in the best shape we can get." Pierzynski is 2 1/2 years younger than Kendall who'll be 35 in June. The fact is there have not been many 35 year old catchers in baseball history that are effective everyday players. I remember Del Crandall, who was a perenial All Star for the Braves. Crandall was typical. He posted a .765 OPS at age 32. The next year at age 33 he dropped to .502. The Brewers cannot ignore the fact that Kendall is an aging player at a position that is physically demanding. His offensive dropoff since his peak years is dramatic. He needs a minimum of 2 days rest per week.
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JJ Hardy for Clay Buchholz?
JohnBriggs12 replied to GamelToe's topic in Transaction Rumors & Proposals
Nice try 804Sox. Yeah sure the Brewers are going to trade one of the top SS in the NL for a 5-10 Red Sox bottom of the rotation prospect. So Bucholz has a major league no hitter? So does Bud Smith. So Bucholz is dominating AAA hitters for 8 starts. Big deal. Virtually every major league starting pitcher has had a stretch where he dominated in AAA. If Bucholz was 21 or 22 I'd be impressed. Personally, I wouldn't trade Hardy straight up for Bucholz. It's worth discussing down the road perhaps but certainly not now. -
Are you talking about the same team that a week ago had a deal in place for Peavy? Why would they be considering trading Buehrle? They have tons of money coming off the books in the next 2 years (Thome and Dye next year, Konerko and Pierzynski in 2011). They need Buehrle in 2010 and 2011 far more than they need salary relief. He's the bellweather of their staff and the leader on that team by all accounts. Bottom line is no chance on Buehrle. The guy who would be available if they are out of it in July that could really help the Brewers is Jermaine Dye.
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The guy to compare Escobar to is Jose Reyes. Escobar's spent more time in minor leagues, but Reyes numbers in minors (.285/.338/.423) are pretty comparable. Reyes didn't walk much at all at age 22 with the Mets (27 times in over 700 PA), nor did he have much power (7HR). But despite just a .300 OBP in 2005, the Mets stuck with Reyes in the leadoff spot. Within a year he had more power, more patience, and was an All Star. The Brewers have no ideal leadoff hitter now. Escobar isn't ideal either, but he's a very exciting player both offensively and defensively much like the young Reyes. Hitting ahead of Braun and Fielder, he will get pitches to hit and he's shown he will put his bat on the ball and we know he can run and can put pressure on opposing pitchers. He's been hot with the bat lately at AAA. I'd say he's very, very close. It will depend largely on McGehee's production over the next 3 weeks or so. If McGehee isn't producing, then let Alcides loose on the NL.
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More Trade Value? Parra or Escobar
JohnBriggs12 replied to chuckcrim's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
How is the term "mentally weak" any more dismissive than say "he lacks poise under pressure". They're basically the same thing. Gallardo gets praised for his mound presence, maturity and poise. None of those things is a measurable stat but to anyone who's watched baseball for any length of time it's obvious. If that's true then the opposite is also that some guys seem to struggle when the heat is turned up. Call it what you want, but that's not an attribute that is desirable in a pitcher. Is that fair in the case of Parra? Well, the other day my sister who's seen a lot of baseball but doesn't follow it with nearly the passion I do said straight out without provocation that "Parra is weak mentally". If that's the perception of the casual fan, it's likely to be the pereception around baseball too. -
Of course they do. There is no reason for Macha to say something that everyone already knows.True enough, but you don't think if Braun or Fielder were mired in horrible slumps, Macha wouldn't give them a day off? When was the last time Macha or Yost gave Kendall a day off because he wasn't hitting? All of Kendall's off days are orchestrated well ahead of time regardless of his performance.
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What really amazes me is that Kendall is the only guy on the roster whom the last 2 managers has made a commitment to play X number of games in advance with seemingly no regard to his offensive production. Braun and Fielder don't have that assurance (at least not overtly) let alone the Halls and Harts. It just makes no sense to me. Other guys have to be accountable. Why not Kendall?
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Kendall can't be absovled by pointing to other guys. He's not carrying his load. It's that simple. If he were gunning down 75% of base stealers, it wouldn't justify having a guy "slugging" .263 in your everyday lineup. His problem is he's got no power, none. I was at the game Monday. He hit a ball as hard and as far as he could. It was caught on the track. Outfielders play little league depth against Kendall and that eliminates bloop hits from his arsenal. They need to get Rivera in there a lot more. If Rivera played more, he's probably no better than a .250-.260 hitter but he can drive the ball. Kendall can't.
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No, I bet they sit around and kick themselves for not trading him when he had a lot of value.
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Why not just start Catalanotto? Catalanotto isn't a big HR guy but neither is Hart. At least not lately. Hart has just 10 since June 27th of last year. That covers 128 games. At least Catalanotto makes consistent contact and gets on at a rate worthy of a number 2 hitter.
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Hall is an extremely gifted athlete but he's never been a pure hitter. Athleticism like Hall possessed stood out in the low minor leagues. Eventually he developed into a dangerous bat, but his struggles over the past couple seasons just show how hard he has had to work at hitting. Lawrie strikes me as more the pure hitter.
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The overriding issue was the scheduling. The Brewers were on the last of a 3 city trip that included two post midnight plane rides followed by games the next day. They were coming off of a stretch where they were 22- 6, and were due for letdown and combined with fatigue from a brutal schedule, the Twins were virtual locks to take 2 of 3 at least especially as hot as Mauer has been. It was by no means a fair appraisal of the relative strengths of both teams. I think the Twins are a fine team if Baker's start is indicative of how he'll pitch the rest of the way. But Twins fans did not see a Brewer team anywhere close to it's normal productive self.
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Sorry, that is excuse making. He's got 684 professional innings under his belt. Injuries aside, he's logged at least 73 innings every year since 2003. No matter how much he's pitched, his maturity level should be on par with pitchers in or close to their prime. He is what he is, and that's an inconsistent starting pitcher who's not likely to ever be a big winner but who's got enough value that teams will keep giving him chances.
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Duffy outrighted; Accepts assignment
JohnBriggs12 replied to PrinceEatMeat's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
Duffy was put in an impossible situation. He barely played at all last year (just 30 games), hadn't seen the majors in 2 years and even at his best was a marginal ML bat. I hope he accepts the assignment because he can be useful depth. But he needs to play. -
The Cubs' ownership situation is preventing them from going after Peavy. Hendry basically has his hands tied. I'm reading it's not going to be settled anytime soon.
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Not sure how the bullpen could be doing any better than they are right now, but things do change and depth is nice.
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Catalanotto had 40+ AB's in spring training and he's been playing for a week down in ESP so his timing right now is probably ahead of Duffy. I would imagine 10 games in Huntsville at the max would have him ready. There's a lot of teams with shattered bullpens out there. Julio actually could bring back a body with one or two more scoreless outings. It might be worth waiting just a bit longer.
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If they wanted to bring up Swindle to help neutralize the M & M boys, they could just send out both Duffy and Hurricane. They won't need a full compliment of pinch hitters with a DH in the lineup.