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EbbaStClaire

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Everything posted by EbbaStClaire

  1. EbbaStClaire
    During spring training I thought CV should be optioned to Nashville based on performance but based on his performance during the regular season, I wouldn't trade him. I haven't seen as many games on the MLB package as I have in the past but CV's stuff looks better than I ever remember. His fastball seems to be 2-3 mph faster(91 vs 88) and last night his breaking ball was excellent. I actually can't remember seeing his change-up last night and that is more or less his signature pitch. Has Petersen had a positive effect on CV? Why does his stuff seem so much better. I wouldn't trade Parra, CV, Axford, Braddock or Coffey. I'd trade Suppan and Vargas for an obscure minor league player as fast as I could. The relief core may be better with Stetter, McClendon, Jones and/or Dillard along with some combination of Capuano, Riske, or Hawkins when they return. Whatever changes the Brewers make to the relief or starting staffs should not be delayed while they try to trade pitchers who are not valuable to anyone for someone they value. Its not going to happen.
  2. EbbaStClaire
    I have been resisting adding to this post, but I can't. Why don't the Brewers determine McGehee's trade value so they can acquire 2-3 more just like him.
  3. EbbaStClaire
    The Braddock I saw pitch last night against Round Rock may not be quite ready for Milwaukee. He seemed to have trouble finishing off hitters who had two strikes on them and he was a little wild. He threw a lot of pitches for two innings of work leading me to wonder if the brewers are beginning to stretch him out. As a relief pitcher he is close to the majors. Fast ball reached 95 and he pitched between 82 to 95 when looking at the velocity of all his pitches . 41 pitches in two innings.
  4. EbbaStClaire
    On a beautiful night in South Central Texas, my wife and I attended the Nashville game. I went specifically to see Lofgren pitch and hoped I would see Axford, Braddock, and LuCroy. I was really disappointed in Lofgren. I thought he was a power arm and I saw a soft-tossing lefty. Realizing that a stadium gun is highly unreliable, I thought I was watching a malfunctioning speed gun because Lofgren never exceeded 86 mph. I was happy to see Axford pitch in relief and was stunned to see him throw 95-97 mph on the same gun Lofgren was registering 86. Braddock's fastball was 93-95 and his pitch velocities were 82-95. Axford's velocities were 78- 97. Axford looked great but he did seem to have different arm action when throwing his off speed pitches compared to his fastball. It was especially noticeable during his warm-up pitches. Braddock had difficulty finishing off hitters. There seemed to be a lot of foul ball strikes after he got two strikes on the batter. He also threw a lot more pitches in two innings(42) than I thought the Brewers wanted him to throw. I wonder if they are trying to stretch him out. Braddock also spends a lot of time shaking his fingers and elbow prior to the pitch. It seemed like a habit versus an arm (elbow) problem. I also met a brewerfan.net advocate whose exact monicker I can't remeber but I will edit this post when I find it.
  5. EbbaStClaire
    The desire to trade Casey McGehee absolutely baffles me. He is basically a younger Casey Blake, who has had a solid major league career. In fact, McGehee may turn out to be a lot better than Blake if he keeps improving as he gains major league experience. Not every player on the Brewers can be an all-star. There should be room for a good player who may become a very good player. McGehee also has the advantage of being able to play second base.
  6. EbbaStClaire
    There are a number of observations regarding Fiers in the "Spring Traing Photos & miscellaneous prospect news" on the end of page 2 and beginning of page3. Since those posts it looks to me that Fiers is being tried as a starting pitcher. A number of questions have been raised about his ability to maintain velocity on his fastball for 9 innings and/or whether it is too straight. I personally think he can be a starter.
  7. EbbaStClaire
    I saw McClendon pitch last year also. I was struck by what seemed to be an unusual wind up or pitching motion. He seemed to have "deception" on his pitches. Since he is now in his 5th year with the Brewers organization, I don't think he has moved up the chain quickly.
  8. EbbaStClaire
    Based on Rapoza's results from last year, I'm stunned he was discarded. I believe he should have been allowed to fail at AA before cutting him. However, it is difficult to get upset without seeing who is on the final roster of Huntsville relievers. If in fact all the Huntsville pitchers for 2010 have better potential or had good results last year, we should all be happy because there may be a real stable of pitching developing in Huntsville. There also may be other issues(I hope not age) that were factored into the decision to cut Rapoza.
  9. EbbaStClaire
    Clearly Braddock or Axford should replace Villanueva on the Brewer roster. Both Braddock and Axford have been terrific. I really enjoyed listening to Bull Bartch call West Virginia games for a few years and it was very easy to root for Braddock.
  10. EbbaStClaire
    My top five: 1. Mark Rogers 2. Mike Fires 3. Brandon Ritchie 4. Hiram Burgos 5. Brandon Kitzler Except for Rogers all are "under the radar" and if successful would add greatly to the pitching depth. Sixth and seventh choices are Chad Robinson and Corey Frerichs.
  11. EbbaStClaire
    There are some brief recaps of the Nashville Sounds first two games on the Nashville Sounds website. If you click on the story of the 5-5 tie with Charlotte, there is a box that says "spring training" . Then click on the first exhibition game against Columbus for another recap.
  12. EbbaStClaire
    Suppan plus $2.5M for Lowell works for me. At least there would be a right handed pinch hitter with pop. Solves the "what to do with Suppan question.
  13. EbbaStClaire
    Leaving Suppan in the rotation does weaken the teams depth. But Villanueva would not be much of a loss. In my opinion the loss would be Axford because he is already better than CV. Villanueva should be in Nashville trying to find a way to keep his fastball in the lower quarter of the strike zone. Until he can do that he is not a major league pitcher. In fact if he does keep his pitches down he might still be an effective starter.
  14. EbbaStClaire
    I continue to think Haudricourt & Witrado are doing a very good job keeping us well informed this spring. I believe the criticism that continually appears on the other thread is way overdone and I refuse to post on it.
  15. EbbaStClaire
    Just a couple of more comments regarding Fiers. Yesterday his fastball was as good as Gallardo's at least regarding velocity. Movement of a fastball on TV is very hard for me to judge. Good point regarding stamina but unless they try to build up Fiers' arm we will never know if it can be done. It's also possible that good coaching (compared to his college coaching) may make a big difference. I'd put him at Brevard for a half year, extend him and see what happens. He can always become a short reliever at Huntsville for the second half. Its a mute point now but I was afraid that his appearance in yesterday's game was a prelude to him being traded for Lofgren. Yesterday his stuff looked so good. I hope he continues to repeat that outing.
  16. EbbaStClaire
    I went back to the mlb video of yesterday's game to watch Fiers pitch. He threw 9 fastballs, one at 89, 2 at 90, 4 at 91 and 2 at 92. In addition he threw 2 CB's at 72-74 and one straight change(?) at 80 mph that faded away from a left-handed hitter. I found an article in the 2009 draft information on this website that Fiers threw four pitches that were all average. Yesterday his pitches were a lot better than average! In fact my first thought is with four pitches why isn't he being groomed to start. I also thought Dillard looked good considering he is making a big change in his arm angle and approach. He still threw hard and his ball had a lot of movement.
  17. EbbaStClaire
    I find their blogs very interesting also.
  18. EbbaStClaire
    I think its time to acknowledge excellent reporting of Tom Haudricourt and Anthony Witrado. Today's article on Prince Fielder gives a nice insight into Prince's motivation and values. But this is just the latest fine article that has appeared in the last week. For those who hang their hat on statistical analysis the article on Gomez was very insightful. Many are quick to criticize them but I think praise is warranted for their current efforts.
  19. EbbaStClaire
    Wellemeyer is kind of interesting. He pitched 64 good innings in 2007, 194 good innings in 2008 and 122 very bad innings for the Cardinals in 2009. Going from 64 to 194 innings in one year must be hard on the arm. Of course one could argue that that was the reason for a poor 2009. The question is whether or not the arm and psyche respond positively in 2010. A cheap contract of $2-$3 Million might be worth an attempt to answer the question. I am luke warm about him because he walks too many guys.
  20. EbbaStClaire
    I'm under the impression that Gomes is a rather poor outfielder. If that's the case why spend any money on a guy who can't catch the ball. Baldelli shouldn't command more than Gomes. He didn't play much last year and hasn't gotten back to his former performance in Tampa Bay.
  21. EbbaStClaire
    Baldelli would seem to be a great addition. Ceratainly better than Oeltjen as a 4th or 5th outfielder.
  22. EbbaStClaire
    My Top 20 plus 1 1. Escobar 2. Gamel 3. Lawrie 4. Lucroy 5. Salome 6. Braddock 7. Rogers 8. Scarpetta 9. Rivas 10. Cain 11. Green 12. Schafer 13. Odorizzi 14. Gindl 15. Bucci 16. Jeffress 17. Axford 18. Arnett 19. Heckathorn 20. Ritchie 21. Burgos--Hiram is having a very good Winter League season
  23. EbbaStClaire
    I also loved McClung. In my view his development as a pitcher was mishandled by the Brewers once Maddox left. If it would have been up to me McClung would have been developed as a starter. Maddox got him to throw an 88 mph sinker with great movement in addition to his 95 mph fastball and his curve. What McClung needed was innings to develope his control. If the Brewers would have groomed him as a starter last spring he would have had a chance to be a more effective pitcher instead of one with erratic control. The philosophy that a relief pitcher who pitches one inning ever so often can come into a game as an emergency starter seems ludicrous to me. The idea should be that out of spring traininng somebody like McClung should be able to throw 75-80 pitches. Then he can do either short relief, long relief or start. Keeep his arm strong and pitch him more frequently to improve his control. Basically the same thing is happening to Villy. The Brewers can't decide what to do with him either but in his case fastball control seems to be the big issue.
  24. EbbaStClaire
    Now that Mike Jones has re-signed, I hope Jones and Peterson get together soon to see if the new pitching coach can help his rehab and development. Also some moderate praise for Salome for a change.
  25. EbbaStClaire
    If (when) the Brewers sign Peterson, the Brewers should sign 2 or 3 of the best Independent Leagues' pitchers and turn them over to Peterson. Baseball America announced their top 20 Independent League prospects yesterday so that would be a good place to start. Most of those pitchers are older and physically mature but maybe an improvement in their pitching mechanics can turn them into legitimate prospects. One or two extra mph, more movement, or more consistency may be all it takes. I would think this group would be amenable to trying just about anything to improve since they obviously love to play ball and want to make it to affiliated baseball. Since they are physically mature I would think they are less likely to be injured by making alterations to their mechanics. The Brewers have had some success going this route, Thatcher being the best example, but also Brandon Kitzler at Huntsville this year. Kitzler is kind of interesting because he had some bad outings initially and then got better.
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