JohnBriggs12
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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12
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Even if he's completely healthy, at 36 and out of the game for nearly 3 years, I would suspect his skills have eroded noticeably. I would guess he's signed to one of those deals where if he's not on the Cub major league roster by a certain date, he can choose to become a FA. Typically, agents for players in those type situations just want to find a place to play to show other teams as well but they don't want to lock their guy in the minors if another opportunity opens up. Right now, the Cubs don't have room for him on their roster. Unless Ramirez went down for considerable time, Koskie won't be in Chicago. The Cub bench is pretty much set: R. Johnson, Hoffpauir, Gathright, Miles or Fontenot, and Bako.
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That's a big stretch. The Royals have been drafting near the top of the draft for years and where did that get them? The 1st rounders they still have to show for it now are Grienke, Butler and Gordon but none of those guys will be around forever. In the past 30 years the Brewers have had 3 2nd rounders who had significant careers: Glenn Braggs, JJ Hardy, and Yovanni Gallardo. That's it in 30 years. Well more than half never played one game in the majors. This is not a major risk they are taking. The AL Central is wide open. The Royals have a shot. They owe it to their fans to take that shot. Cruz and Soria give them a great 1-2 punch in the pen.
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List of teams with potential cash flow problems
JohnBriggs12 replied to NYChez's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
I question the methodology as well. Florida is 7th? Their payroll is so low, they can get by off of their share of national tv revenue, luxury tax on Yankees, and the visitor takes in places like Chicago, St. Louis and LA. They don't need more than 8-10,000 fans per game. -
The key guy to watch this spring is Trot Nixon. He could end up getting cut, or end up pushing Corey Hart for playing time. They went the cheap route for Nixon hoping he'd be this year's Gabe Kapler. If he's not they will need to deal to get another guy capable of filling in when either Braun or Hart misses time. How the bullpen shakes out depends largely on 2 things. Those are Riske's health and Julio's command. Both are tenuous at best. The longshot in camp to watch for me is Casey McGehee. It's conceivable that if Nixon struggles and Lamb has a big spring, they could use Lamb as backup corner OF and keep McGehee as extra man. Everywhere else the die is cast at least for the first part of the year. Anyone wondering why Hall is set at 3rd for now just needs to look at his contract. In the "I'd wish we see this but we probably won't department", I'd love to see Weeks play a little OF. Eventually a spot is going to have to open up for Escobar.
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crewcrazy is right. The season is still 5 weeks away. Hitters need about 3 weeks to be ready. The Dodgers have basically had the same deal on the table for 2 months. He'll agree to it when he feels like coming into camp.
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Anyone familiar with Atlanta? Going to Brewers/Braves in June!
JohnBriggs12 replied to brwrsfan's topic in Off-Topic Forum
Stay away from the lower end hotel/motel chains around Atlanta. While those are usually perfectly fine along the interstates and in the midwest, the ones in and around Atlanta tend to be not so nice and in areas that aren't that great . Stick to places like Fairfield, Ramada, Holiday Inn that are slightly higher price but worth it in Atlanta. If you do have a car, you might want to check out Stone Mountain. It's pretty family orientated but it's a neat place. In June one thing you are sure to encounter and that is oppressive humidity. Don't let the fact the temp usually aren't higher than 90. 90 there is very uncomfortable. Buckhead is the place for the night life but it is upscale. Oh and if you drive, bring a map. If you're off the interstates, the roads can be very confusing as lots have similar names and are quite winding. -
That's good advice for all of us FDF, not just millionaires. Athletes are particularly susceptible. Outwardly this Stanford Financial had all the trappings of success. They were heavily involved in sports sponsorships and charities. This probably made them attractive in the sports world. The key was they were selling unrealistic returns not unlike what sports agents do. It is hard to believe that guys would not have a secondary account somewhere though.
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Yahoo Sports is reporting that Scott Eyre is among several major leaguers with huge sums of money frozen with the assets of Stanford Financial, the company being investigated for fraud. According to the article, Eyre is down to $13 cash on hand as all his money is tied up there. Mike Pelfrey, Xavier Nady, and Johnny Damon are the other baseball players mentioned. The situation "is the talk of clubhouses across Arizona and Florida". I started a thread in off topics list last week but as this is directly affecting major leaguers, it probably should be here.
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Yes and no. They have an extra week of ST this year so the season isn't really right around the corner. Generally 2 weeks into these exhibitions, we're more than ready for the season and the last 2 1/2 weeks seem like eternity. Now 2 weeks into spring games, we'll still be 3 1/2 weeks from the opener.
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Why should Corey Hart be guaranteed a starting spot? They could have signed Abreu and Edmonds for what they're paying Cameron and rotated Hart in there in a semi-platoon as the 4th outfielder. Or they could have traded Hart. They also could have moved Weeks to CF and signed gold glove 2nd baseman Orlando Hudson. That would have helped the infield defense considerably while also addressing offensive needs. While they have maintained a decent defensive OF which is certainly worth something, they gave up a ton of flexibility in this market to do something to improve a heavily righthanded low OBP lineup.
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If you read the articles on Edmonds, it's got a lot to do with a perception that he's lost a lot of range defensively. Offensively, teams are wary that his Cub numbers (mostly fueled by a month hot streak), were misleading in that he really struggled in San Diego and his last year with Cards. Wrigley Field is made for Edmonds' power to left center. No doubt he really likes hitting there. I think teams see that the Cubs didn't want him back and that threw up another red flag. I don't think the question is whether he's a better option than Gwynn. The question is whether he's a better option than Nixon. Nixon is likely to be the 4th OF, with Hart sliding over to CF when they give Cameron a day off. How Nixon looks this spring will determine if they want to bring in Edmonds.
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I wouldn't skip anyone but if one is going real bad, they should move that guy to the pen to work it out and stick McClung in there for at least a couple turns. I'd also try to keep McClung sharp by giving him an occasional start regardless of how the top 5 are going, in essessence occasionally going with 6 starters. Over the long haul, the extra rest might help everybody, especially Gallardo and Parra.
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DeWitt's not likely to put up better numbers than Lamb in 2009 so I don't see any reason to give up anything to get him. DeWitt's not that good.
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Orlando Hudson signs with the Dodgers
JohnBriggs12 replied to kramnoj's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
It's just me, but I would have moved Weeks to CF this year and signed Hudson to replace him for less than they are paying Cameron. Sure the OF defense would have suffered, but the IF defense would be much better and the offense much more balanced. -
Batting Order to start the 2009 season
JohnBriggs12 replied to UeckerAddict's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
I'd bat Lamb 2nd when he's in there. Hardy is not a #2 hitter. Hardy slugs well in that spot (.484) no doubt because he sees fastballs ahead of Braun and Fielder, but his OBP there is just .327 and he's not an opposite field hitter that can take advantage of the right side being open with Weeks at first. Lamb, on the other hand being lefthanded can use that hole on the right side to his advantage and 3 out of the last 5 years, Lamb has had an OBP of at least .356. Lamb has hit there a fair amount with decent success too: .284/.342/.418. I'd bat Hardy 5th, behind Fielder. -
DonMoney4Mgr, Your first paragraph is pretty close to accurate, though Braun, Fielder and Hardy at least should cover some of the obvious offensive deficiencies elsewhere. It wasn't a horrible offseason, but it could have been a lot better had Melvin been bolder. I'd give him a C.
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The feds are looking into possible fraud at Houston based Stanford Financial. Apparently nobody knows the wherabouts of its head, Allen Stanford a multi billionaire. This is worth watching on so many levels. Stanford Financial has huge interests in the sports world. They are title sponsor of the Stanford Memphis PGA tour stop. They are also a founding sponsor of Tiger Woods DC invitational PGA stop and the title sponsor of the LPGA tour championship and a tennis tournament. If you follow golf at all, chances are you have seen the promotion of "Eagles for St. Jude", where $1,000 is donated to St. Jude's Children's Hospital for every eagle on the PGA tour. Well, that $1,000 comes from "you guessed it" Stanford. Supposedly Stanford was promising well above market returns on CD's and other investments. One has to wonder with them being in Houston if their client base includes Astro owner and/or players or both.
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If he hasn't been contacted already, you can bet the farm that the Brewers will be inviting Gokey to sing the national anthem this season.
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I don't know about his overall defense but he did make a lot of "highlight reel" plays and those stick in peoples memories. Plus he did make only 1 error. I think the zone ratings are somewhat misleading especially for the CF. Guys that call off the corner OFs all the time are going to have better zone ratings than guys who might let the corner OF make the play. McLouth played most of the year with Bay in LF who covers a lot of ground and is a very competent fielder. No reason to call him off as often as you would with say a Carlos Lee. On the other side he had Nady who has a very strong arm. The CF is going to let Nady take any ball where a throw is needed. Baseball-reference had his range factor above the league average by the way. He certainly has the speed to play CF if his career 92% SB average is any indication.
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Dillard and DeFelice still have options and honestly, you would rather have either Dillard or DeFelice out there to get key outs in pressure situations over a guy in Gagne who's been in that situation countless times? Gagne proved his mettle down the stretch last year, He might not be what he was but he can still perform under pressure. I put Gagne ahead of Julio, Coffey and the two guys you mentioned right now. It's now a battle between him and Riske for the 7th inning as I see it. Riske is more of an injury risk than Gagne.
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Villanueva was lights out in the playoffs and in the 7th inning for most of last year. Macha has already stated that had not Hoffman been signed, Villanueva was going to close. You don't have to throw mid 90's heat to close. CheezWizHed correctly points out that they have positioned themselves with enough bullpen arms to be able to use one to shore up what is a weak depth situation in the OF.
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I like this move too but it brings up more questions than it answers. 1. Are they re-thinking using Villanueva as a starter and if so who would he replace? Would they dare trade say a Dave Bush or move Suppan to the pen? 2. Is Riske healthy? It's kind of curious that after 3 days of camp suddenly they are in the market for another veteran reliever. 3. Does Melvin have a very attractive offer on the table for Villanueva? Have to believe a lot of teams would be interested in him if he were available. 4. Assuming Riske is healthy, are they looking to move him and his $9 million left on his contract? If Melvin is sniffing around for veteran bat with bigger contract, he'd want to send a similar contract back. Geoff Jenkins coming back? How about Catalanotto? Blalock? Or is there a bigger deal in the works involving multiple players? Anyway, I'm glad they have Gagne back. I like him more than Julio for sure.
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I dont think that is necessarily true. They lost Mota, Gagne, Shouse and Torres and they have to replay them somehow. Hoffman is a start but adding another arm would make a lot of sense even if Riske is healthy.Starting 08, Gagne was the closer. That spot is now Hoffman's. Riske was the 8th inning guy. He's been replaced by Villanueva. Mota and Torres were the 6th-7th inning guys. They've been replaced by Riske and Julio. Shouse was the lone lefty. He's been replaced by Stetter. The pen is probably in as good a shape now as it was at the start of last year. The question marks are Riske and Julio, Riske because he's coming off injury and Julio because his inconsistent track record. Coffey and Dillard are in the mix too and they could always move McClung to a later inning role. Overall it's a decent looking pen. If they brought in an Isringhausen and he looked good, and Riske looked healthy, I'd look for them to try to move Riske. To move Riske, they'd probably have to take someone else's relatively bad contract but that might not be a bad idea, especially if the thin, unimpressive backup OF group doesn't cut it.
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Estimates on arby raises? Anyone?
JohnBriggs12 replied to Roderick's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
Ethier is better than Hart. That he settled for $3.1 million almost assures that the Brewers would win if it goes to a hearing. -
Why not start Gallardo in the home opener against the Cubs #4? In fact why not hold back the Brewers 1 and 2 to face the Cubs 4 and 5, then take your chances with a lesser guy against Zambrano, who if he's on will likely beat any Brewer starter and if he's off any Brewer starter could beat him.