bjkrautk

Having a January birthday makes celebrating at Miller Park a bit tricky; you learn to live without that. As for a Vintage Brewer bobble, he must be a plus arm with a high ceiling; potential to develop into a serious innings eater (or in the case of Reuben Quevedo, into a serious eater).

We have too many young pitchers to trust this team to Dusty Baker.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on RRR. The organization pretty much threw in the towel on 2013 when all of the 1b went down in spring. Didn't / couldn't find a replacement for the heart of the lineup, they only ended up getting about a half-season out of their cleanup hitter in the other corner IF spot, and a lot of the SP they were counting on couldn't repeat their 2012 performances (Rogers, Fiers, early-season Peralta). ...then their All-Star outfielder was suspended for nearly half the season. The 2013 Brewers weren't a great team, but it would have been so very easy after all of this to simply throw in the towel and play out the spring. Instead, a number of guys from the minor league system (which is not exactly highly-ranked) came up, played hard and mostly made the most out of their opportunities - Davis, Gennett, and Gindl specifically. It is admittedly damning with faint praise to say this team could have been so much worse, but better faint praise than none at all. (Rightly or wrongly, I also give RRR credit for allowing Gomez to develop into the hitter that Carlos wanted to be rather than trying to shoehorn him into the leadoff-type his speed would suggest.)

Maybe I'm old school, but if you feel that the other team's player is taking too long circling the bases or admiring a home run....you don't block the plate; that actually gives the player more attention. Next guy up gets one in the ribs. Everyone knows why it happened, and the showboat actually has someone on his team he needs to apologize to. (It's still completely incongruous that the guy who's known for speeding around the bases on most HRs is the player who we're talking about. The major variable here seems to be the other team, who did something similar to another hitter just a short time ago.)

I want to say he's finally in a place where he can't hurt Brewers fans anymore, but he's probably going to turn into an All- Star closer for the Cardinals now. Regardless, he wasn't going to be on the 2014 roster with his price tag, so at least we got something for him.

The issue that I'm seeing is expectations management. Scooter's not a great player right now, but a 23-year old coming in and lighting up the league is more exception than customary. If his plateau is a high average, slap-hitter who plays acceptable defense...that sounds like a good fit in the #8 spot in your lineup. I wouldn't want a whole team like that, but at the same time he'll be cheap enough that we won't have to worry about him living up to his contract (unlike the .663 OPS player he's replacing in the lineup, and who is not likely to get enough PAs next season for his option year to vest, thanks to Gennett's being in a Brewers uniform). .247 / .327 / .384 was the full-season line for J.J. Hardy's rookie year in Milwaukee, at age 22.5 (August Birthday). Obviously, J.J. made it to Milwaukee based on the glove first and foremost, and carried a higher projection as a prospect than Gennett. I'd honestly be curious to know how Gennett's scouting reports as a prospect compared to someone more like a Mark Loretta (who carried a significantly higher OBP), or even Jim Gantner (who - as a sign of how baseball has changed - only hit for a .720+ OPS twice in his seventeen year career). I don't think we have cause to believe that Scooter is going to be 'great,' but I tend to think he'll be 'good enough' to play 2b at least into his arbitration years.

As someone who does the foreclosing (but not as your attorney - note the disclaimer here....and this isn't legal advice!), I can echo a lot of what fondybrewfan already wrote. I regularly field calls from people who see foreclosure listings, and want to know what the bank intends to bid. If I know it, I will generally pass that information along; generally speaking, a bank would rather have the money from a house than the house itself. If they buy the house at sale, they have legal fees, broker fees, maintenance / upkeep, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. The bank cannot arrange an inspection of the home for a prospective buyer, since they don't own it yet. (If you're really interested, you may wish to look up the Defendant in the phone book, and seek permission to bring in a home inspector prior to the sale. It's in the foreclosed's interests to have an interested buyer, but not everyone can think rationally when being legally forced into giving up their home. Alternatively, it may be listed with a realtor, in hopes of finding a short sale buyer.) That's a big part of the reason that the bank would consider a short sale. I can't say that a short sale takes 'longer,' since it's built into the process in Wisconsin; a lender can't foreclose on an owner-occupied (non-abandoned) residence for six months after getting their judgment. The short sale either occurs before a judgment is obtained, or during that "redemption period" between the judgment and a sale. Essentially, the bank weighs what they think the house 'should' sell for (less the projected costs to find a buyer at that price) against the short sale offer.

Better prospect than I thought they'd get. Hard not to like the move.

Part of a genuine apology includes acknowledging what the person did that was wrong. We are not getting that right now, which makes the PR response ring hollow. Either way, glad it's finally over.

I am effectively numb to the stories teasing out a possible suspension. When a suspension is announced, then I will worry about it. I have to imagine MLB will release a report documenting what evidence they do or don't have regarding each of the players suspended (or at least Braun and A-Rod, assuming they are among the suspended). If that doesn't happen next week....well....it won't be the first time ESPN has ever incorrectly reported a Braun suspension story.

A few quick reasons, just in case that wasn't a rhetorical question: 1) With about half of the season over, the risk of an injury-based implosion (like the one the Brewers are currently suffering through) is significantly diminished; 2) Likewise, with a half-season's worth of player evaluation, the risk that the player acquired will be rendered redundant by improved performance from the player being displaced in the linuep decreases. 3) By combination of reasons 1 and 2, as well as the performance of the rest of the division (and league), the GM should have a much greater sense as to whether his team is that mythical 'one player away' to making a post-season run. 4) There's a vast difference in potential between a 'prospect' and a first round pick. A team's first round draft pick is a potential cornerstone / franchise player. (An overwhelming majority of the players in this month's All-Star game will prove to have been first-round picks.) At the same time, every farm system has players who show Major League potential without the ceiling you hope to get from that first round player. To use recent Brewers in a comparison, it's the difference between trading away a young Corey Hart vs. trading away a young Prince Fielder.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/67678/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-milwaukee-brewers Didn't see a thread on this yet; seems large enough to post outside of the 'general feelings about the franchise' discussion.

Fun one to be at; here's my favorite photo from the game. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8548/9003357578_bbae67540f_z.jpg Gomez HR Homecoming by bjkrautk, on Flickr

What's he going to do, give up runs early and force the offense to play catch-up? He'll fit in with the rest of the rotation (sadly enough, this part can't be typed in blue).

All the more reason to continue to leak Braun's name to ESPN, who have been more than willing to make the claim that a suspension was imminent. Braun has been twice-convicted in the Court of public opinion, whereas MLB has not been able to make the same charges stick in terms of actual evidence. I don't know if he did it or not. I'm sure his legal team is as eager to present Braun as the victim of retaliation by MLB's enforcement wing as they are looking to tear into Bosch if he flips his story. Regardless, I'm content to wait until a suspension is announced by MLB (which would presumably be after the appeals process is concluded) before worrying about it. That being said...the sad part is that given the length and nature of the appeals process, a suspension could carry in to next season; I'd much prefer to get the horrible out of the way during an already horrible year, if it really is inevitable.

Can Scooter Gennett pitch?

I didn't see a topic that directly addresses the topic, so I thought it apt to start one. I don't usually watch the radar gun on a pitch-by-pitch basis when watching live TV, so it was a real surprise when I went to one of Gallardo's starts earlier this season and saw him dipping into the high 80s with the fastball. He's never been an upper 90s guy, but someone who would start around 90-91, and pick up a mile or two as the game went on. Apparently, his fastball has been trending downward for multiple seasons. http://espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/story/_/page/60F6I130409/roy-halladay-many-concerns-regarding-future-peformance-some-tied-decreased-velocity-years-past --- Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers (91.7 mph average in 2012, 90.1 in 2013 debut): His radar-gun readings so far this year aren't the greatest concern; it's that they were down last season that put them under more scrutiny. Gallardo averaged 92.6 mph in 2011, 91.7 mph in the first half of 2012 and 91.6 mph in the second half of 2012. His strikeout rate has also slipped slightly in recent years; by percentage of batters faced it has gone from 25.7 percent (2009) to 24.9 percent (2010) to 23.9 percent (2011) to 23.7 percent (2012), and through two starts he has an 11.3 percent K rate this season. Of any of these pitchers, he most belongs on a "watch list." --- There's another note on his ESPN profile news feed (from late April): http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28650/yovani-gallardo Yovani Gallardo has struck out only 9.3 percent of batters in plate appearances ending in his fastball, down from 22.3 percent last season. Gallardo's average fastball velocity is 90.8 MPH this season, down nearly a mile per hour from last year's average (91.7). --- Out of all the disappointing aspects of the Brewers pitching staff this season, the drop-off of our most consistent starter is the one that has me most concerned. I'm not a pitching mechanics guru, and I don't know if he usually picks up velocity as the season goes along, so I'll deferr on drawing any conclusions other than to admit that I'm concerned.

The way they're playing now, 8-19.

For what it's worth, Jeffress has pitched 39.2 innings in MLB (38 games) including his cup of coffee with the Blue Jays this season, and is 2-1 with a 4.99 ERA. Not sure why his stat line doesn't show up in the spreadsheet. http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/30954/jeremy-jeffress

For all the talk that the franchise needs to find and develop quality, young (cheap) starting pitching, the 2012 team rallied in the second half based on a core of quality, young starting pitching prospects (Fiers - 3.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP; Peralta - 2.48 ERA, 1.21 WHIP; Rogers - 3.92 ERA, 1.28 WHIP; Thornburg - 4.50 ERA, 1.41 WHIP). We, as fans, hoped that all of these players would make positive improvements, and make positive contributions to the 2013 Brewers. Unfortunately, young pitchers (particularly those with small major league samples) can also be erratic, and every single one of them has regressed this season. Their ERAs are closer to 6 than 3 (including Thornburg's ERA in AAA ball). The less said about Rogers in 2013, the better. Granted, none of these players are "can't miss" prospects, but I do believe that one or more of these pitchers (and I will lump Burgos in with them, even though he did not pitch for the big club in 2012) can come closer to their 2012 performances in 2013. I think there will be a net improvement in the offense with Hart's return (and any regression to the mean by Weeks and Lucroy to be balanced out by similar regression by players like Gomez and Segura). I don't think this year's team is a playoff team, if only because they have let a number of winnable games fall by the wayside, and I don't think they are good enough to catch up in the 2nd half like they nearly did last year. I do trust DM to get value for players, even if the return isn't always as immediately obvious as the Grienke trade. I'm just not willing to write off the franchise because of a bad 1/3rd of a season. I'm watching just as much baseball this year as I did in 2012, 2011, 2010....to well into the 90s. (I didn't watch as much baseball before that....because they didn't televise nearly as many games then; that's what radio was for!) I am disappointed in this year's team...but who wouldn't be?

Carlos Gomez Pitches / Plate Appearence (per ESPN) 2007: 3.37 2008: 3.44 2009: 3.55 2010: 3.57 2011: 3.48 2012: 3.39 2013: 4.08 He's been noticably more patient thusfar in the season. That being said, I remember tracking this with Corey Hart a few years ago, and the player tends to revert to the mean. It is still just 89 plate appearances, but it's something I'd hope can continue, since Gomez has been on an absolute tear at the same time he's being more selective.

If they're looking for infield & outfield corner help, wouldn't JHJ be a better 'type' than Kotsay (since he can play 3b)?

...I just wish they didn't show up 3 times during each commercial break. That frequent a deployment is more annoying to me than the core concept.

Surprised by the number of negative voices on this one (pleasantly so, mind you). About the best thing I can say about the incident is that he didn't kill anyone, and didn't pass out at the wheel (like Tony LaRussa - never forget). Am I the only one slightly put-off by the underlying reality that, given the larger news events of 4/15/13 - which is to say Boston - Yo's response was to go out and get plastered? (I cut him a slight break as to the timing, given that it was an off-day for the team, but still makes it hard to emphathize with the guy.)

In Game #2, the score was tied 4-4 after 6; Gonzalez gave up the 3 runs in the 7th, which is why he took the loss. http://espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=330402108 In Game #4, Narveson left the game with the finger sprain that has him sitting on the DL. Start fathoming.