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Mark Belling interviewed Roenicke at the start of the second hour of his show (for anyone looking to track down the audio - he puts the show up as a podcast). Rick Peterson is under contract, but "not an automatic" to come back. Roenicke has spoken with Peterson and is continuing to talk with him; the pitching coach position is one that he believes to be very important to his job. It was also interesting to hear him talk about the rationale behind running and playing an aggressive game: that the team will carry that aggression over to all other aspects of their play, including defense.

I was quietly pulling for Cora, but I'm okay with Roenicke....so long as he's willing to adapt his style to the talent he's given. Old Hoss posted this in the old manager thread, but I thought it deserved a repost: http://www.battersbox.ca/...?story=20101004113520521 It at least sounds as though his minor league teams played above their talent level, which speaks well of him.

Well said. DM's leverage is that he feels comfortable with either Cora or BM (...and don't think those initials wouldn't be used as a pejorative) as Manager for this team, so he doesn't have to pay highway robbery rates for Bobby V. At the same time, Bobby V. has his own alternative that he can leverage up to his asking price: if he doesn't take the Brewers job, he goes back to ESPN to offer up 'insight' with minimal real effort, and keep his name in consideration for just about every managerial job until he finds one to match his desired pay scale. Regardless, I'm just hoping to be the first person here on BF.net to say "Valentine, I Choo-Choo-Choose You!"

The one other takeaway from the commentary (which was a good read), was that Roenicke didn't have a lot of hitting talent to work with as a minor league manager, and still won a considerable number of games. That being said, Roenicke is committed to the running game, as described in his interview with Baseball Prospectus (referenced in the comments to the above-linked post). DL: How similar are you and Mike in how you view the game? RR: Pretty similar. There are some differences, and that comes from… like, say the baserunning part. I was a basestealer. and he obviously wasn’t. Some things differ with the outfield, because I was an outfielder and he wasn’t. The catching part, I don’t say much about because he was a catcher and I wasn’t. I don’t really get into that too much, unless he wants to ask me what I saw, or what I think about what we have back behind the plate, and maybe who should play that day, or something like that. DL: As a catcher, Mike played a big role in stopping the running game. Is there any disconnect in how the two of you view that aspect of the game? RR: Yeah, we have some differences there, but you know, his end of it was just trying to… most of the time when he was there, [Joey] Amalfitano was the coach, and when Amalfitano told him to throw over, or to pitch out, or whatever, he put down the sign, and that’s what he did. So even though he was involved in trying to stop the base running, he wasn’t really involved in when they were going to go, or not, because that’s handled by a coach. DL: A criticism in recent years is that your team has gotten somewhat older and slower, yet it remains just as aggressive on the basepaths. Is that something you and Mike have discussed? RR: I’ve never heard that criticism. What we hear from other teams is, "Boy, we like the way you guys are aggressive running the bases, and that’s what we’d like to do." That’s what we hear more of, so I don’t know what the criticism would be. You know more than I do, obviously. DL: I wouldn’t say that; I just know what I’ve read. RR: Well, what you read sometimes isn’t the way it is. DL: You don’t feel that you’ve ever been too aggressive for the team you’ve had on the field? RR: No, I don’t. I think that at times it’s easy to say that somebody is too aggressive when they’re thrown out in a situation where you don’t want somebody to get thrown out. That’s easy to see. But what you don’t see is the 20 times when we’re safe, when other people would have stopped and not gone to that extra base. Obviously, I’d rather have more guys in scoring position and on third base, rather than them having stopped on second base or having never even got to second. That last part would at least be consistent with (my memory of ) DM's comments on the acquisition of Mike Cameron, taking the extra base when the opportunity presents itself, as well as his suggestion that the organizational perspective on the running game would play a role in the hire. (Also, continuing with my linking of data, Roenicke was successful on 24 of his 33 SB attempts across parts of 8 different seasons. I don't have the minor league numbers, but he seemed reasonably selective in swiping bases.)

Giving this thread a 'Rock Band 3' -sized bump, with the game coming out next week. Having learned my lesson from RB1 (and 2), I am going to hold off on buying any of the new, 'Pro' instruments until the first manufacturing run of the hardware has been subject to public scrutiny / real world testing. (Well, that, and I haven't decided which instruments I'm interested in picking up.) Finally taking Mass Effect 2 off my pile of shame; I've been playing in the evenings for about a week, and I'm about 3/4ths of the way done. I wanted to make sure I finished this one off before gaming podcasts dropped any pretense of keeping the game spoilered (in other words, before the PS3 version hits), and I'm definitely enjoying it thusfar. Looking at my calendar, it was either play it now, or watch it fall by the wayside when Cataclysm hits. Juggling handhelds as well, since I've hit the point in Dragon Quest IX (DS) where I'm actively avoiding finishing the game by running around and doing all some of the side-stuff. Valkyria Chronicles II (PSP) is almost as good a game as its PS3 predecessor....but there are a handful of game mechanics-based decisions that I alternate between appreciating and being annoyed over.

Haudricourt posted in the blog comments that, per a reliable source, neither Brenly or Valentine are in the mix for the managerial job. http://www.jsonline.com/b...l?page=2#comment54301162

Question I hate asking: is Cora a 'diversity' interview? Don't get me wrong; I actually liked Joey Cora as a player. (His #2 similarity score on Baseballreference.com -- Fernando Vina.) I just find it difficult to believe that Doug Melvin could say this: "The first criteria would be is he a winning manager? It's going to be hard to match Ken's (previous) record, but other things will come into play. Is the person going to be someone that's aggressive with our ball club? The running game, do we want that kind of individual? Do I want someone that's only managed or coached in the American League? That could come into play. "You can put about five things down, criteria that could eliminate a lot of people. We want to be open-minded to it. The main thing is I'd like to get someone with experience that has managed before. But that's not necessarily the case. If the right guy came along that hadn't managed before and I think he's an up-and-comer and I think he fits our style of ball club, that could come into play." ...and then hire someone without MLB managing experience, who has not been a player or coach in the National League since 1990. I wouldn't have any problem with the decision, as he is an up-and-comer, and could be the right guy; I just don't know how well he fits the blueprint of this team. The one thing in his favor, is that he demonstrated solid plate discipline as a player (his K:BB ratio is right around 1:1, and his OBP was significantly higher than his BA). I think the running game is a wash based on Cora as a player (topped out at 20 steals in a season, stole successfully just under 2/3rds of the time). When I look at the list of candidates in contention, and the criteria for the hire, it begs the question.

Given the 2-year downswing in the Brewers pitching staff, does Brewerfan have any mixed emotions seeing Mike Maddux coaching in the ALCS - for a team that has historically lacked pitching to go with their hitting?

I took it to be a list of movies that you would expect that most people have seen, as opposed to favorite movies or movies you wish more people would have seen. I didn't include Major League, for instance, because it doesn't have that sense of universal appeal that the other films I listed do. It's my most seen baseball movie, and a great comedy, but aside from the Milwaukee connections it's more genre-fare than a transcendent film. As a pop-culture reference generator, while I can quote the movie myself, I don't see those quotes repeated in the popular culture (aside from Uecker's "Juuuust a bit outside" call). It just doesn't have the same influence that we were being asked about. (I didn't put The Godfather on the list either, both because it was already suggested....and because I've never sat through the whole thing. That said, I've picked up enough quotes and references to the film that I have a general sense for it, because it's just one of those movies.)

Big Trouble in Little China Gladiator Army of Darkness Terminator 2 Back to the Future Star Wars (original Trilogy) EDIT: I'm sure I'll think of more every time I re-visit the thread. Blade Runner Caddyshack Raiders of the Lost Ark Jurassic Park Casablanca Chinatown Gone With the Wind

The suspension in the aftermath of the Nyjer Morgan - Marlins meltdown will probably make the interview process a bit more tricky for Listach, but he does have AAA managing experience, and he's done just about everything he can to qualify himself for a MLB manager's job. Of course, the Brewers are finally ready to search for a manager now that my perennial candidate finally has a job. Buck Showalter actually got the Orioles to win more than they lost over the back ~ 60 games (34-23) in a very tough division. I'm sure Willie Randolph will receive an interview, since he's got managing experience and has worked with the current players as a coach. Regardless, it will be interesting to see who does get to interview for the job.

My guess was going to be Denny Neagle, but based on that hint, I'll say Paul Wagner. EDIT: Not even close on Wagner, but Neagle did win 16 the year he was traded (14-6 with Pit, 2-3 with Atl). I've been forced to look it up, and I never would have guessed him.

If you can find Episode 3 of Terriers ("Change Partners") online or in repeats over the weekend, you should watch it. (Just not with kids, since the episode deals extensively with adultery and psychological disorder. It aired last night.) The ratings for the show have not been good, which is tough to understand since the show is.

No HBO, so I'm shut out of the Boardwalk Empire, but there are no shortage of other Fall shows that I'll be tuning in to see, starting Tonight. Chuck Castle The Event (tenatively holding the 'between Chuck and Castle' role vacated by 24) Glee Survivor (maybe) Undercovers (maybe) Terriers Top Chef: Just Desserts (didn't love the first episode, so my interest may tail off) Community (My favorite show of last season) 30 Rock Office Apprentice (maybe) (Nothing on Fridays) Saturday Night Live Mix in some of the Adult Swim cartoons, and a handful of Cable shows that I have no idea when they start / stop...and Family Guy when I get around to watching on TiVo.

Really light purchasing fall for me...mainly because most everything I care about came out already. I bought a PSP for Valkyria Chronicles 2 (and if my overwhelming love for the PS3 game didn't get you to try it...I ask what is wrong with you?), and have been playing a good deal of Dragon Quest 9, which is a wonderful rebalancing of old-school RPG gaming with online multiplayer and continually updating quests a la an MMORPG. Rock Band 3 (PS3) is the only guaranteed pickup for me, and I haven't decided which of the 'new' instruments I'll be picking up to go along with it. I may catch a good sale on NBA Elite (Unrivaled, or whatever the EA replacement for NBA Live is called) for the ability to play NBA Jam on my arcade stick in HD, the way an updated version of that game is meant to be played. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is on my radar as well, but I don't know how much I need to be in Ezio's story....since it felt like his role in the parts of the AC story that I'm interested in had been played out by the end of AC2; I may pick it up for the multiplayer...which is something I do once every two-to-three years. I'm also going to be continuing my WoW fixation into the Cataclysm expansion, whenever that comes out. Aside from that, it's mostly going to be playing through the games I didn't get to last Fall/Winter (Mass Effect 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend, finishing Rachet & Clank: ACiT, and Fallout 3....and if I get through 2 of those games, I'll be lucky.) Expanding to Winter, there's Portal 2, which will be a Day 1 purchase.

I thought the unwritten rule was that, if a team hits you, try to steal a base and make it cost them a run. Guess my unwritten rulebook needs a re-unwrite. Really have no problem with what Morgan did in the Marlins series (while not watching/paying attention to the other incidents). If Volstad doesn't have enough control to hit Morgan a second time in the game with the first pitch....and throws it behind him, I can't fault him for not wanting to stand in there and actually get hit a second time before doing something about it. If more players were willing to risk a suspension like Morgan did, it would at least give pitchers second thoughts about intentionally dotting a guy. (Even if you have a size advantage...who knows what can happen at the bottom of the pile.) Don't want him on the Brewers, unless his OBP can get back into .360 territory, and to be honest I'm surprised at how few MLB ABs he has at age 30, but I can't fault him for this one.

...that's great, in theory, but my concern is what FSN will do with WLMW HD broadcasts. Will FSN be able to split out a WMLW HD broadcast for FSN SD while showing the game properly on FSN HD....or will the FSN HD broadcast be the same as FSN SD. (I just don't want double-letterboxing; putting black bars at the top and bottom of the screen to keep the 16:9 aspect ratio for FSN SD, and then putting in the black columns to preserve the 4:3 aspect ratio of the SD broadcast on FSN HD.)

The robbery didn't happen at the supermarket. (Either that, or the location of the supermarket has moved from the initial reports.) http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/101657293.html

Spend enough time in a situation where bad things can happen to you, don't be surprised if something bad happens to you eventually. Same thing if he were to get hit by a drunk driver at 2:30 a.m.; not his fault for being hit, not a great choice to be there though. Making matters worse, it was a day game, so he would have been out of Miller Park by what...5, 6 p.m.? Is there anything in his contract that prohibits him from making a poor decision? Arguably (depending on the wording of the morals clause), but probably not. If the team were on the road, I assume he would be breaking curfew out that late (not something that's usually reported on, but I assume there's a curfew like in most other sports). That said, it's not really whether there's a rule against it; it's that you expect him to know better. Part of being a 'professional' anything is building a reputation. As a baseball player, specifically, it's your reputation that will get you paid when your numbers don't necessarily call for it anymore. The choice that he made (and since presumably this wasn't the only time, makes) is not one that is condusive to building the repuation he should want. Do you have to go to work tomorrow? (Yes, I know that Yo pitched that day, and wasn't likely to do anything more strenuous than stretching....but there is always the chance that he'd be called on to pinch hit. Doesn't matter.) Does your job allow you to have minimal responsibility 5 months of the year....and if so, is this part of the 7 months when you're supposed to be focused on said job?

Without knowing the neighborhood....there's really only one place a guy should be at 2:30 in the morning: in bed. I'm sure baseball players don't have the most usual sleep schedule, since their job requires them to be 'on' from 7-10 pm most nights, but the team pays him more than enough money to not place himself in that situation.

By being willing to take on these kinds of contracts, the Sox effectively are cutting off teams with lower priority (Minnesota, TB, NYY, Texas) from pulling off a waiver trade. Most of the time, we only hear rumors about which players clear waivers, and could therefore be traded to any team. Hoffman did not clear waivers; that's the business end of player trades in August. (Ironically, I think the Brewers would rather get the ticket boost out of Hoffman going for save #600 in a Brewers uniform over a middling prospect. If he gets a quick 2 saves by the weekend, he may be gone sooner than expected.)

Something that's been stewing in my head, that I lack the time (or know-how) to test. Hypothesis: The larger the average distance - from where the pitcher's strikes cross the plate, to the center of the strike zone - the more effective the pitcher. Theory: In short: it's the Parra Principle...that the velocity of his fastball isn't what makes it ineffective, but his inability to pitch inside or outside, elevate the ball or keep it down. It also recognizes that pitchers with dominant 'out' pitches usually induce swinging strikes that are nowhere near the zone. (In all the time I remember Francisco Cordero as the Brewers closer, I rarely recall him throwing the slider for called strikes...but with 2 strikes, defensive hitters flailed away at it. His blown saves usually came when 1-2 hitters would lay off the slider and draw walks. Turnbow was much the same, except hitters figured him out and he could never make the adjustments.) It's also a way to chip away at (what I believe to be) the myth that pitchers can't control anything other than strikeouts, home runs, and walks. While a "pitcher's pitch" can still end up being hit off the foul pole, a pitcher's ability to deliver on a game plan - to put the ball where it is supposed to cross the plate - affects both the defensive positioning and the pitcher's effectiveness in a given situation. I'm willing to accept that the geometric center of the strike zone may not be the perfect focal point for the analysis (since the high strike call is a rarity...I would actually guess that the real center point should be somewhere lower), but it is at least a starting point. There may also need to be some standardization, since not every hitters' strike zone should be identical. It is something I am almost as curious if it is possible to measure, with all the pitch tracking data that we have now, as I would be curious about the result.

Same here; I said about a month ago that I was disappointed that Capuano was coming out of the rotation after the spot start, and that Parra was allowed to stick (even though I completely understood the reasoning). Going to the pen could be a good thing for Parra, in that most starters turned relievers 'find' an extra couple of miles on the fastball when they no longer have to (try to) pitch 6+ innings, and can just cut loose. That being said, a 95 mph fastball down the heart of the plate is going to get hammered just as easily as a 92 mph meatball, so it might not make a difference unless / until Manny finds the corners.

Rey Ordonez OPS+ of 59 in 3115 AB over 9 seasons (...but how the heck did he manage to hit .316 in 2003?)

Oddly enough, I was just in Anchorage for a family visit / vacation last month. It doesn't have the same 'big city' vibe of a place like Milwaukee. More like Green Bay, in that the community is spread out, but without a sense of sprawl (albeit with the occasional skyscraper with an oil company logo plastered on it). I was there shortly after the equinox, when it was supposedly daylight for 24 hours. 'Daylight' is probably not the right word for it; in WI, we'd say 'overcast.' Just dark enough that you wouldn't want to go golfing at 10pm. It has most of the big box retailers you'd expect (Wal-Mart / Sams Club, Target, Best Buy, Kohls, etc.) in most towns, and a decent variety of places to eat. Tons of things to see and do, if only because you can drive an hour in any direction and find something worth taking a picture of. (Which is something I could demonstrate if I ever got around to looking through my pictures and updating my Flickr page.) Most people who live there say they absolutely love it (...I'm guessing those that don't just end up moving away), but that first year requires some getting used to. Being on the Ocean, it's supposedly temperate most of the year, but it does get Wisconsin Cold during Winter. The one thing that I didn't experience during my week there, but I'm told does happen: earthquakes. You will also hear about moose and bears wandering into parts of town. Not a ton of sporting events there (unless you like hockey; AK-Anchorage is in the WCHA with the Badgers), although I'm told they have a summer wood bat league (Northern Sun league, or something like that) as well as the Great Alaska Shootout in College Basketball. Fun place to see and visit, but I don't know if I could live there, to be completely honest.