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bjkrautk

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Everything posted by bjkrautk

  1. bjkrautk
    The Rangers made Mike Maddux one of the game's highest-paid pitching coaches, luring him away from the Brewers with a two-year contract that is worth at least $500,000 per season and includes a club option for a third year, major-league sources say. The Brewers offered Maddux a two-year deal worth $450,000 per season to remain in Milwaukee, according to one source. Bill Castro, the team's bullpen coach for the past 16 years, will be given the first chance to interview for Maddux's job with new manager Ken Macha. Ken Rosenthal column for Fox Sports. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8754648/
  2. bjkrautk
    I don't know that I like the "it's okay if you strike out; I remember what it was like to be a player" mentality coming from the hitting coach.
  3. bjkrautk
    Maybe it's just that I couldn't get into the beta, but I never got the "there" behind LBP. Is it the platforming that's so much fun, or the user-generated content aspects? (The game I've been most anticipating comes out next week anyway, but I'll just point to the videogame thread for that, rather than derail discussion here.)
  4. bjkrautk
    The name that sticks out on that list is Pedro Martinez....not because I think he'll be a Brewer, but because he may be the most difficult guy to project. You could get fifty starts out of him in the next two years, or you may only get 5. I'd put in an offer for 2 yrs, 10 mil (total), but wouldn't be surprised if he gets double (or at least 1.5x) that. Byrd is Suppan Lite; not great, but not horrible, and more of an innings eater than a power / strikeout guy.
  5. bjkrautk
    The name that sticks out on that list is Pedro Martinez....not because I think he'll be a Brewer, but because he may be the most difficult guy to project. You could get fifty starts out of him in the next two years, or you may only get 5. I'd put in an offer for 2 yrs, 10 mil (total), but wouldn't be surprised if he gets double (or at least 1.5x) that. Byrd is Suppan Lite; not great, but not horrible, and more of an innings eater than a power / strikeout guy.
  6. bjkrautk
    The name that sticks out on that list is Pedro Martinez....not because I think he'll be a Brewer, but because he may be the most difficult guy to project. You could get fifty starts out of him in the next two years, or you may only get 5. I'd put in an offer for 2 yrs, 10 mil (total), but wouldn't be surprised if he gets double (or at least 1.5x) that. Byrd is Suppan Lite; not great, but not horrible, and more of an innings eater than a power / strikeout guy.
  7. bjkrautk
    Of the three finalists (and Sveum), I like Macha most. That said, I think it was a mistake to limit the interview process to just the three guys. The talk in the article about getting a "new perspective" on the players by hiring a manager who didn't work in the AL is particularly revelatory; if that was really so important, why only interview one guy with that resume? That said, his style of play should be a fit for the kind of team that DM the GM has built, although I'll be most curious to see how active the '09 Brewers will be in stealing bases.
  8. bjkrautk
    I have to wonder whether the decision to retain the coaching staff (including Sveum) was Macha's, Melvin's, or Mark A's. It just seems odd to me that he wouldn't want to bring any of the coaches that he's worked with in the past (who I assume are still in baseball, can anyone confirm?).
  9. bjkrautk
    If the Yankees are that interested, would a 'sign-and-trade' scenario make sense? (I'd rather get a marginal prospect - one of those plus arm / high ceiling types - than letting him walk.)
  10. bjkrautk
    Huey Lewis and the News are the new Rick Astley (to eventually be replaced by Def Leppard, Tears for Fears, and/or the Pet Shop Boys, once society keeps in-pace with my iPod). I love that the item that Michael didn't want to auction off raised more money than all of the other items combined. 'Monotheism' was a great, unexpected line, as was the last man who tried to steal from Creed Bratton. 3rd date-speak was just horribly awkward. The ending made me wonder just how much Holly knows about Jan's history with the company (which is about as non-spoilery as I can type that).
  11. bjkrautk
    2008: Philadelphia -or- Tampa Bay 2007: Boston 2006: St. Louis 2005: Chicago White Sox 2004: Boston 2003: Florida 2002: Anaheim 2001: Arizona 2000: New York Yankees All 4 of the most recent expansion teams have made the World Series. It's not parity, but but the balance is far better than it used to be.
  12. bjkrautk
    Trying to think of potential managers with Milwaukee / WI ties: Terry Francona ('89-90) will stay with Boston; ditto for ex-Brave Joe Torre and the Dodgers, and Cecil Cooper in Houston. Felipe Alou is a trivia question answer (Brave & Brewer), but is 73 and hasn't managed in two years. Tim Johnson ('73-78) was successful in 1 yr. with the Blue Jays (before getting fired for claiming to have been in 'Nam)....and now hasn't managed in a decade. Rene Lachemann managed the Brewers back in '84....but that didn't go so well. (Skipping Garner, Frenchy Lefebvre, Lopes & Royster for similar reasons.) Pat Listach was RoY for the Brewers, and is a highly regarded minor league manager....but no MLB managerial experience. Buck Martinez ('78-80) hasn't managed since 2002 (and only managed 1.5 seasons) Tony Muser ('78) managed for six years in KC....without a winning season. Gary Varsho is from Marshfield...but has fewer games managed (3) than Sveum (although he was a minor league manager with the T-Rattlers in the 90s) Did I miss anyone?
  13. bjkrautk
    There's a big difference between 'not willing to pay what the player will get on the open market' and 'not willing to offer a 1-year deal, with an amount to be determined by an arbitrator.' I'm about 90% sure* that: - the Brewers will offer arbitration; and - Sheets will end up with a 3-6 year deal with someone (making the offer moot, save for the draft picks) *- The other 10% is a hedge that the Brewers medical staff know something I don't.
  14. bjkrautk
    Jan wants Michael to feel like the child is his, since she's already trying to get him to fund a 529 plan (college savings) for Astrid. Aside from that, Jan hasn't exactly been the most rational actor for the past few seasons. I'm sure they shot a scene with Jan finding the stroller (she left the shower gift in the parking lot, if you missed it). It probably got cut out of the final episode to keep in other funny material (like Creed's Omaha Beach line). NBC usually posts the deleted scenes on their website, so keep an eye out for it. I know I've said it before in threads for this show, but I'm amazed how much I like Amy Ryan's character (if only because of my dislike for her character in "Gone Baby Gone" - the only other thing I remember her from). ....even if she does smell like rotting tomatoes (?) and dirt.
  15. bjkrautk
    Something you should at least know about before making the trek to eBay. Whether it's a better deal depends on whether 3 months of Live is worth $10 to you; if nothing else, it would give you more recourse should something go wrong with the HD.
  16. bjkrautk
    I wouldn't be at all surprised if Randolph received an interview. He was one of the people interviewed in 2003 (if memory serves), he's available and may well have expressed interest in the job, and if nothing else he would put the Brewers in compliance with Comm. Selig's policy on minority interviews (which may be an issue, depending on the other names on his short list).
  17. bjkrautk
    Overbay deal didn't bother me at all, because I expected Prince to be a better player than Overbay. Plus, by the time O was traded, Prince had spent a full season in AAA and had already hit 2 HRs during a short-sample call up to the big club. He was a top prospect in all of MLB, not just the Brewers system for several years prior. (Fielder had a .957 OPS in AAA at the same age as Escobar's .793 OPS in AA.) Fielder had an OPS over .800 at every level, a feat Escobar hasn't accomplished at any level (he's only been over .700 twice, both coming in his second year at a talent level). One of the reasons that I started asking about where people see Escobar's ceiling is because I need to know what he can be with the bat. I know it's not fair to compare him to Fielder's numbers....but I'm not the one who brought the comparison up. Trading Vina for Ronnie Belliard would probably be a more apt comparison, except again, Belliard was a far more productive hitter in the minor leagues than Escobar is, had a full season at AAA (w/ a .911 OPS!)....and Belliard had already had significant playing time in the majors when Vina got hurt in 1999. Rey Ordonez was a gold glove talent at shortstop too, but the offensive decline doesn't equivocate for the defensive upgrade (especially when Hardy's not exactly a butcher with the glove himself).
  18. bjkrautk
    For anyone interested Dell's website (yes, the computer guys) are selling a number of games / hardware with coupon discounts. I just bought an XBox 360 (60GB) Holiday Bundle for the same price as a Wii ($250 + tax). Deal Details
  19. bjkrautk
    Something to think about: Player A: .328 / .363 / .434 // .797 OPS Player B: .279 / .368 / .428 // .796 OPS Both players put up these stat lines at the same level (AA), with the same team (Huntsville). One of the players was a year younger than the other one. Why are we so eager to trade the player who put up those numbers as a 20 year old (Player B), in hopes that the player who put up those numbers as a 21 year old (Player A)? Is Escobar's ceiling essentially that he could be the next J.J. Hardy? (I went to Baseball cube to start looking at minor league numbers, and was amazed to see just how close these two were.) Right now, Escobar's MLEs are on-par with Craig Counsell with less plate discipline (.280 BA, .312 OBP, .364 Slg). For those out there who want to see Hardy moved, where do you place Escobar's ceiling? J.J. would be my top player to extend, and sign to a long-term deal. If he doesn't want to move off SS, I'd rather move / trade Escobar than Hardy, since his production outweighs any dimunition in 'value' that you'd get from starting Escobar right now.
  20. bjkrautk
    A record 3,068,458 of you passed through the turnstiles this season. Hearing this always bugs me. Three million people did not pass through the turnstiles in Miller Park this year; people passed through the turnstiles over 3 million times. Personally, I went to about 5-6 games this year....but I'm still just the one guy. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some fans went 60-80 times, as I yearn to have that kind of disposable income. Yes, I realize that I'm arguing about symantics within a press release, but if I don't point it out, people are going to keep saying it wrong.
  21. bjkrautk
    Just to get this back on the first page of OT, the demo for Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) was released on Thursday with the latest episode of Qore in the PSN store. (...or, if you've taken the time to figure out how to access the European PSN store, for free.) Aside from Rock Band 2 (which finally comes out for PS3 next sunday), Valkyria is my most anticipated game of the holiday season.
  22. bjkrautk
    My problem with this line of thinking is that it ignores the acquisition cost of whoever is tasked to play 3b. An everyday 3b has value as well. Hardy's OPS, while 4th among qualifying MLB shortstops, would still be 8th in the MLB at the hot corner. And, considering his Avg., OBP, and Slg. have all improved incrementally over the past 3 seasons, he could still improve on that positioning. In other words, I think it would be harder to trade Hardy and acquire a comparable player at 3b than it would be to just move him some 30-40 feet to his right. While his ultimate "highest value" may be as a shortstop, I have my doubts that you can actually get his highest value in-trade. In my mind, the dimunition of value in moving Hardy from SS to either 2b or 3b is less than the value of patching that hole in the lineup. That said, if the organization has confidence in Gamel to be an everyday 3b in the majors, there is no acquisition costs, so it may make sense to move Hardy. Even then, I think I'd rather 'cash out' the value on Prince Fielder, put Gamel at 1b, and improve the defense at both corners.
  23. bjkrautk
    Using the Minor League Equivalency (MLE) calculator site (borrowed from the Weeks thread tangent on TGJ), Escobar's AA season in Huntsville would have translated out to a .280 / .312 / .364 line in Milwaukee (which is slightly more favorable than a team-neutral comparison). That's a # 8 hitter, not a leadoff guy. I'd prefer giving Escobar a year at AAA, but I'm willing to concede that may not happen. Either way, I think extending Hardy should be one of the Brewers top priorities (after deciding on Sabathia....assuming they haven't already cut bait), with the understanding that he may ultimately be moved to 3b.
  24. bjkrautk
    Gwynn Jr.'s skillset (contact hitter, speed) fit the role of a leadoff hitter. The problem is his skills aren't....well...good enough to be an everyday hitter, regardless of position. I'm willing to accept a leadoff guy who just gets on base for the heart of the lineup, but without a .360+ OBP, he needs to have a SLG that's at least comparable to OBP. (Even going that far, I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.) TGJ is good enough defensively to be a 5th OF / pinch runner, but isn't going to be a starter unless he turns into a .300 hitter, starts taking walks more often, or develops some extra-base pop. At this point, it's hard to expect any one of those things to happen. Going back to Weeks, I'd like to see the Brewers hold on to him for at least one more year, but bring in someone to split time (non-platoon) with him. From an outsider's perspective, Rickie always seems to have his most productive times after the team lights a fire under his backside (demotion to AAA, Durham trade, etc.). I don't know whether it's because he benefits from splitting time, or because he needs the motivation, but it has worked in the past.
  25. bjkrautk
    I'd be curious to hear how many MLB stadiums have or are getting HD scoreboards before next year. Ultimately, though, much like the ribbon board it's more a question of 'when' than 'if.' Getting it later would (most likely) be cheaper, but as long as the team is puting up the extra money, I'm fine with it. Upgrading the sound system is a huge plus, as long as they get it right this time.
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