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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    Cameron at age 36 is going to need days off. I think Duffy will get at least one start a week but not in a platoon unless of course Cameron really slumps.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    Gwynn missed his big chance when he got hurt last year and couldn't play during Cameron's suspension. Had he been healthy and played decently, the Brewers wouldn't have gone out and brought in a guy like Duffy. He only dug himself deeper by getting hurt again this spring.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    Tyner is living proof that a guy with Tony Gwynn Jr's skill set can have a marginal major league career over quite a period of time. Tyner's major league line: .275/.314/.323 in 1358 AB's is about what Gwynn is capable of. Basically they're the same player but Tony could use a change of scenery.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    If everyone spent all year watching 90% of the 3rd basemen, they'd realize that Hall's more than adequate defensively. Almost everyone who plays the position looks bad from time to time. That's why the great ones stand out so much. It's a tough position. Fielder isn't the greatest at digging out balls either and that's going to make guys look worse. Hall's natural position is SS, so one could expect continued improvement at 3B too.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    He's not a horrible CF, just not nearly as good as you'd expect for a guy with his speed. Overall probably a little below average. Hart has played just 51 games in CF his entire career. I'd give the nod to Podsednik easily. Still, it's not like Duffy would be out of the organization either. If they need a CF over an extended period, they'd just bring up Duffy. One of the benefits of this would be having Duffy play everyday and staying ready. Duffy missed almost all of 08 remember and could use regular playing time. I think the signing of Jason Tyner to play at AAA makes the Podsednik talk moot. It would appear that's the move Melvin decided on to ensure "organizational depth"
  6. JohnBriggs12
    Kind of puzzling why they'd let go lefty Arnold who had pretty good numbers (29K in 25 IP, 3.20 ERA) at Helena and in 4 appearences this spring (that I could find), only allowed 1 run. Guess that shows how tough it is being drafted in the 41st round.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    Pods is certainly a more proven performer than Gwynn and bringing him back solves the "organizational depth" issue as they would still be able to send down Duffy who really needs to play after missing most of 2008.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    It will be interesting to see where he lands. I'm not so sure he couldn't make the transistion to part time player. He did have a .954 OPS in 23 pinch hit appearences last year and I seem to recall a huge double he had in the World Series. A lot of teams are going with young and cheap for their benches to start the year. At some point some of these young guys are going to struggle and teams will be looking for that veteran. As for the Brewers, until we see him do it for real, we really don't know about Nelson. We do know that Jenkins plays fine defense in both corner positions and he's now very cheap too. I wouldn't add him now, but I wouldn't rule it out down the road either.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Carpenter has looked good this spring. Yes it's a stretch to think he'll make 30 starts though if he and Wainwright combine for 50, that's 27 more than they combined for last year. Their 3-5 starters aren't bad either. Offensively, if Greene reverts to near his top form, that's a pretty formidable lineup too. I could easily see the Cardinals getting close to 90 wins especially if that Motte becomes a dominant reliever. With the Brewers, to me it's up to the offense. 750 runs like they scored last year isn't going to cut it. They need to score 825-830 to sniff 90 wins. Not only could they use some rebound from Hall and Kendall, they need the 07 versions of Fielder and Braun, and more consistency from Hart and Cameron. Potentially it could happen and they should be helped by some good hitting pitchers, but it's tough to predict it. Frankly, I'm not sold on the Reds. They won't be terrible but they look like a .500 club to me. As far as the Astros go, you never know. They still have quality foundation players. The Pirates? To me they look worse on paper than ever.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Sheffield is done with a capital D. Tigers got greedy after 2006 and made some real boneheaded moves. Is it any surprise that a 40 year old in the post-steroid era is done?
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Per Haudricourt, Hoffman was put on DL retroactive to March 27th, meaning he'll miss a minimum of 4 games. Wes Littleton, Lindsay Gulin and Carlos Corporan were all sent to minor league camp but told they would accompany team to LA to face Dodgers. Have to think Gulin and Corporan, who were on nobody's radar when camp opened, made nice impressions on staff and are being rewarded with trip to LA even as extra guys.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    Would we want Gwynn on the AAA bench? Theres no starting spot for him there, and he would be 1 of the 2 worst hitters on the roster with Jason Bouguois. If Gwynn wants to play fulltime, he'd have to go to Huntesville. I think the Brewers are just posturing about the Gwynn situation to try to pry something in trade out of a team that overvalues his name. Bourguois isn't that bad a AAA hitter and he can play IF and OF. Adam Stern is another okay AAA backup OF, so you're point that they don't need Gwynn even at AAA is a valid one.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    I think Hardy is on the verge of a MVP type season. If that happens, his price will end up in the stratosphere and it's likely he'd be moved before the 2011 season. Let's see what opens up elsewhere after this season, but Escobar seems to be able to play anywhere athletically and if offensively he progresses enough to help the team somewhere else in 2010, I'd still say Escobar is odds on to be the SS in 2011.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Kendall's spring OBP: .226, by far the worst among all Brewer regulars. Thankfully, we are not hearing much about him leading off lately. I have to wonder how patient Macha is going to be if on June 1st, Kendall is hitting around .200.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    I agree that Gwynn is expendable and replaceable. So he really adds nothing to organizational depth. I also agree that he'll clear waivers. I like that Lamb is a veteran and has experience as a prime pinch hitter. I also like McGehee for his versatility and right handed bat. Lamb has played some corner OF. I'd keep Lamb, Nelson, and McGehee. I'd let Gwynn go and play Duffy everyday in Nashville to be ready if Cameron goes down. In an emergency situation, Hart can play CF and so can Hall. With Gwynn off the 40 man, they could add Duffy at any time.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    Lamb has this going for him. He's pinch hit 240 times in the major leagues and in those he's hit a decent .250/.331/.375. That's one of the hardest jobs in all of baseball as you come off the bench cold and usually are facing top notch relievers. Only Counsell among the Brewers reserves has any substantial PH experience and Counsell's been far less effective in that role hitting just .202/.311/.262 in 201 appearences. I don't know that it's all that wise to have just Duffy (.167/.167/.222 as PH), Counsell, Nelson (7 lifetime major league PH appearence), and McGehee (3 lifetime PH appearences), none of whom has proven himself in that PH role. That's not to say McGehee shouldn't be the first option for playing time as a replacement either at 3rd or 2nd. It's just that Lamb, despite a fairly tepid spring, has "been there, done that" as a lefty PH specialist. That's why, in my mind, the failure of Nixon to beat out Nelson or Duffy, really works against McGehee making the roster. Maybe Counsell's found something with his new stance that will make him more useful as a PH, so the inexperience factor on the rest of the bench won't be so glaring.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    The Cubs seemingly have been producing a lot of "late bloomers" recently. Theriot, Fontenot and Hoffpauir come to mind. All of those guys bided their time in the minors. I think at 26, McGehee falls into this category too. I would assume the Cubs exposed him in October because they he was still blocked by Ramirez and DeRosa at the time, and they wanted to clear roster space for an area of greater need. In this case, the Cub loss appears to be the Brewers gain. I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of walks. He's walked at least 40 times for 4 straight seasons in the minors, and his extremely low K total this spring, means that he's seeing the ball very well and putting it into play on a very high percentage of his swings so he's just not getting very deep in counts. I think if he does make the team, Macha is going to have to find a way to get him in the lineup enough to keep him sharp. Otherwise, it might be best for him to do some alternating between Milwaukee and Nashville. I'd also like to see him tried in LF just in case Braun needs some time to heal that injury.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    So much for Nixon's being this year's Gabe Kapler. Let's hope Hart's spring isn't a mirage and he and Braun stay healthy because they have no proven corner backup OF anywhere on the roster. Who would have guessed Carlos Corporan would have more hits and more RBI this spring than Nixon?
  19. JohnBriggs12
    I didn't think Salome was expected to be out that long. Corporan and Rottino can cover the Nashville job until he comes back regardless. When he returns, I'd expect Corporan to be the primary backup and Rottino (if he's not released altogether) to return to his super utility/3rd catcher role. Palmissano, at best would be a AA backup to Lucroy. I don't think that's where you wan to put a 26 year old that's been in your organization for a long time.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    Peter Gammons quotes Bill Hall today that if Peavy becomes available "Brewers will be in on him". Hmm, I didn't know Lasik surgery allows you to see into the future too! Seriously, this is an interesting development. It has always been thought that Peavy wasn't interested in the Brewers. But I think it's interesting that this comes from Hall, who's a player, as players do talk and hear things from other players and through their agents. My guess is that with Hardy looking like a possible MVP candidate this spring, they could revisit the idea of dealing Escobar if it meant getting Peavy.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    Some factual errors in your post. Rivera was on Detroit's opening day roster in 2002 at age 25. He was also basically the Brewers starting catcher the last 6 weeks of the 2006 season because at the time, Damien Miller was hurting. He's also had some big offensive years in the minors. Rivera is a more than capable backup. The Brewer record in games Rivera has started: 2006: 18-21 .461 Season record: 75-87 .462 2007 1-0 1,000 2008 8-7 .533 Season record: 90-72 .556 It must be noted, that Rivera did not start any games started by Sabathia and just one started by Sheets. So he posted a winning record in his starts with the 2nd line starters. There's no statistically significant dropoff in the Brewer record in games started by Rivera.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    The season isn't going to be won or lost in the 1st 10 days. What guys have done this spring is also meaningless. I think with Coffey, Julio, Riske, and Villanueva, they have plenty of experienced arms in the pen. Somebody will pitch the 9th. If Hoffman is DL'd, they could go with 11 pitchers and be able to carry both McGehee and Lamb initially.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Leaving defense out of it, I counted 9 NL CF that right now that I'd rather have in my lineup: Ankiel, Reed Johnson, Chris Young, Kemp, Rowand, Beltran, Milledge, McLouth, Spilborgs. Throw in the fact that Cameron is 36 and in the final year of his contract and likely won't be a Brewer in 2010, bats righthanded in a overly righthanded lineup, and is having a pretty uninspired spring (.207/.294/.345) with 10 K's, and makes enough that if his contract was moved the Brewers would have flexibility to add salary later, there are plenty of reasons to trade him if teams are offering a decent deal. Duffy's not a great player, but he could probably hit .275, with some gap power, steal some bases, and give you a lefthanded bat in the lineup and play an adequate CF. That isn't likely to be much of a dropoff from what Cameron would provide.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    No if he's going to pick on players individually (which no manager should do in spring training), he should start with the stars, not the grunts (no offense to CV. Actually my including Cameron here was more of a compliment to him though I can understand why you'd think otherwise. The same applies to Fielder or Braun. Ask any old Packer who Lombardi was hardest on and it was Paul Hornung because Lombardi thought Hornung was the most talented player on his roster. Ask any successful high school coach, and they'll tell you that to get players' respect you have to be harder on the players with the most talent. That gets everyone's attention.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    Oh come on. These guys are professionals not little leaguers. It's quite possible Macha is just trying to light a fire under Villy's bum. Coaches do this all the time.No they don't. Any book on managing people will tell you not to call out people in public much less in the press. This applies in sports as well as business. Villanueva doesn't need anyone to "light a fire" under him. He's a competitor and an athlete. No professional athlete likes taking shots from his manager or coach in the press. What matters is how he pitches when the games count. He doesn't need to go out there and start overthrowing just to impress Macha in March. Maybe Macha needs to go look at some tapes from 08.
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