nate82

I had a dream last night and Gallardo was traded to the Blue Jays for Lawrie.

This is an absolute steal by Melvin. This is a solid pickup for a half a year of Krod. He is also doing fairly well offensively for a 20 year old in A+ Baseball Reference Page: From the Scouting book on Delmonico: Fangraphs article on Nick Delmonico From John Sickels: From orioles-nation

I don't think there was any generation where you could call it a "clean" game. In almost every generation you have had some "kind of gaming the system" either it being through a drug or a rule in the game. As for HGH I believe there has been studies done that it does not really improve a players performance but it does help a player come back from injuries a lot quicker. I am a firm believer that Albert Pujols used HGH in 2011 to return from his early season injury. Pujols returned almost a full month earlier than expected I am sorry but no human being is going to heal in that quick of a time frame. I believe he came back about 3 weeks earlier than his projected earliest time table. This screams HGH was used by Pujols to rehab the injury. I am fine with this and HGH really should be legal in all sports as I don't want to watch a sport and not be able to see a top star of the game because they are injured.

I believe the deferred money can not be traded as it is part of this years salary for Lohse which would be already accounted for in the year as being paid by the Brewers.

Have you tried deleting your cookies? I know this sounds a little stupid but it does work from time to time when flash is not the problem (which it is normally the problem).

Aoki and Gallardo to the Rangers on the 25th of July. (OK that is me probably dreaming)

Some valid points but I would replace Aoki with Ke. Davis in RF in 2015 or even next year if Aoki gets traded this year. I don't believe Gennett is an everyday player at best he is a platoon player at 2B who can't play any other position I would pass on Gennett as Josh Prince has more value to the Brewers than Gennett does. 3B is the least of the Brewers worries and I would either let Francisco start the whole year next year at 3B or find a platoon partner with him at 3B. Francisco is not blocking anyone at 3B so I see no reason to either let him start every game there or at the very minimum platoon at 3B. It is not like the Brewers are going to be competing for the World Series next year. 1B can be settled either with a platoon next year with Gamel and Halton who could also be your platoon in RF if you wanted to do that also. As for the starting pitching the Brewers could get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle and sign either Hughes or Lincecum and they some how become the pitcher they were supposed to be in Hughes or the pitcher they once were in Lincecum. Both of those pitchers should be available on 1-year deals in this coming off season. Either one of those pitchers could replace Gallardo and at a minimum give the Brewers what Gallardo is doing this year.

Odd. Weren't they against giving up Olt for Greinke? And seems like Garza is back on the market or at least the Texas deal is not a sure thing any more. I think in dating parlance the Cubs and Rangers are free to "see other people" but they might get back together if they don't find anyone else attractive. If the Cubs get both Edwards and Ramirez for Garza that is a steal. I really like Edwards and the Cubs pitching situation in the minors could look really good with both Edwards and Ramirez. Edwards has ace potential if everything goes right for him as he has some nice velocity and he already has average to above average secondary pitches. Edwards will probably be more around a #1 and Ramirez looks to be a solid #2 or #3 starter. I am not all that high on Olt but he should be a league average 3B. I am extremely glad that one of the clubs backed out as this would have been a really good trade for the Cubs as it would have sealed up some questions in their farm system in terms of pitching prospects.

Less walks and better command of his secondary pitches.

I am going to bet on the Indians taking Garza as they are a better fit than the Rangers prospect wise. That then leaves the Rangers, Red Sox, Angels, Rockies, Dbacks, Dodgers, and the Padres as teams that would have an interest in Gallardo. I think you can eliminate the Dodgers and the Padres from possible suitors which then leaves you with the Rangers, Dbacks, and the Angels as serious suitors with the Red Sox and the Rockies in the background lurking. The Red Sox had interest in Gallardo earlier in the year and I wouldn't be surprised if they were the team that comes away with Gallardo.

I don't really get the love affair with Hamilton. To me he has only one tool and that is his speed and that is it. Yes his speed tool is probably one of the best in a long time but at the plate Hamilton is Juan Pierre. I expect him to be a .250/.300/.300 hitter in the majors and I am sorry but that is not someone that I would put in any top 50 prospect list ever. He has no power in his bat and his left handed swing is an extreme work in progress. He is looking more and more like a pinch runner and platoon player at best why is he even in a top 50 prospect list? For Hamilton to have any value at all in the majors he is going to have an OBP around .400 and I just do not see him doing that as he strikes out at a high rate and he doesn't really walk all that much. I fully expect Dusty Baker to bat him in the leadoff spot and just about every other manager in MLB to do the same because of his speed. He will have a few years where he will be good but nothing special again not someone I would put on a top 50 prospect list. Top 100 yes but he is not a top 50 prospect.

I am going to have to disagree here as there was plenty of concern over the rotation. At least I know I was worried about Gallardo as he was just barely getting out of the 6th inning in 2012. The Lohse signing wasn't a real answer to any problem the Brewers had and the bullpen was also a question mark but Melvin did an extremely good job in fixing that with the signings he made. The bullpen was really the only good spot coming into the season that saw improvements over 2012. The rotation looked to be very shaky especially with Gallardo at the top as his 2012 season wasn't all that good. If Gallardo didn't bounce back from his 2012 season no improvements from Lohse, Estrada, Peralta or Fiers would increase the Brewers odds of winning more games in 2013 than in 2012. What we have right now is a breakdown of the rotation through injuries Estrada and ineffectiveness of Fiers and Gallardo. As for Peralta it was expected that he was going to struggle and have some successes this year so what you were going to get out of him was really a mystery. The only bright spot in the rotation right now is Lohse and if the Brewers wouldn't have signed Lohse I don't really see the Brewers record being any worse than it is right now. In the beginning of this season I thought if the Brewers were healthy and everything went correctly they were an 80-85 win team. Now everything hasn't gone correctly and the Brewers are not healthy and they are looking at about a 65-70 win team. Which really falls on Melvin and Mark A as this team just does not have the talent to be a playoff team in the rotation. The Brewers do not have a #1 type pitcher they have a bunch of 3's and 4's. Gallardo really was the key for the Brewers competing this year and he has just fallen off a cliff production wise.

More on Edwards from baseball america: http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-george-springer-could-make-a-run-at-40-40/ I believe he was just left off the updated top 50 list for Baseball America that came out a week or two ago. I believe he is in the top 100 right now.

More on C.J. Edwards from baseball america. This is from last year. As for his delivery it is not quirky at all. EDIT: 2012 Northwest League Top 20 Prospects 1. Mike Zunino, c, Everett (Mariners) 2. Dan Vogelbach, 1b, Boise (Cubs) 3. Victor Sanchez, rhp, Everett (Mariners) 4. Joe Ross, rhp, Eugene (Padres) 5. Tom Murphy, c, Tri-City (Rockies) 6. Marco Hernandez, ss, Boise (Cubs) 7. Jeimer Candelario, 3b, Boise (Cubs) 8. C.J. Edwards, rhp, Spokane (Rangers) 9. Gioskar Amaya, 2b, Boise (Cubs) 10. Patrick Kievelhan, 3b, Everett (Mariners) 11. Mac Williamson, of, Salem-Keizer (Giants) 12. Rosell Herrera, ss/3b, Tri-City (Rockies) 13. Jose Valdespina, rhp, Spokane (Rangers) 14. Dane Phillips, c, Eugene (Padres) 15. Stephen Bruno, inf, Boise (Cubs) 16. Trey Martin, of, Boise (Cubs) 17. Tayler Scott, rhp, Boise (Cubs) 18. Jeremy Baltz, of, Eugene (Padres) 19. Ketel Marte, ss/2b, Everett (Mariners) 20. Taylor Cole, rhp, Vancouver (Blue Jays) http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/league-top-20-prospects/2012/2614106.html Batters are also only hitting .189 off of him so far this year. He is going to be a great pitcher and is currently ranked 15th on the Rangers top 20. http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2013/#list=tex

Based on current rankings in Texas' system you are taking on pretty much #s 8-15 range. Why Odor vs. Sardinas? I can see the current numbers comparison Odor is indeed ahead while being almost 1 year younger. But, Sardinas is 6'1" 160 to Odor's 5'11" 170. To me that leaves Sardinas with fillout to come on his frame. Whether that leads to more "Pop" in his bat or not is tbd but it's something to consider currently when side by side comparisons between the two. As to the Pitching, From what I can read thus far, Jackson,Ramirez, and Edwards are kinda underdogs overachieving than what their ability would dictate. Producing solid #3 numbers for guys who may be #3 or 4s in the future but not 2s. I can't even find C.J. Edwards on Scouting Book. I just look at it as, eh, for Pitching. Reading MLB.com preseason writeups none of Texas' Pitchers ranked above Average all 4s with 5 potential except..#20:Victor Payano Scouting Grades* (present/future): Fastball: 6/6 | Curveball: 5/6 | Changeup: 4/5 | Control: 4/5 | Overall: 4/6 When you're 6-foot-6 and left-handed, you're going to get noticed. When you have a fastball that can touch 96 mph, you have the chance to go a long way in this game. Payano's numbers have yet to completely catch up to his potential, but his upside is considerable. Along with that fastball, Payano has an overhand curve that should be a plus pitch and he has a feel for a changeup as well. He's getting better at throwing strikes and is still working on consistently repeating his delivery. When that happens, the sky might be the limit. 6'6" 185 currently and 20yrs. old in A+ball. I'd take the upside of him over any of the others because that is what the Brewers need to find. Guys that can exceed #3 potential. If we can't find a pitcher that comes with #2 potential, then I'm not really all for it unless those #3s are packaged with a high Upside Bat instead. Neil Ramirez profiles as a #2 but his floor is at a #3 or 4 type of a pitcher depending on how his secondary pitches develop. Some scouting reports really like his change up and others call it an average pitch. His curveball is an above average pitch and his fastball is an average to above average pitch. Luke Jackson profiles as a #1 with ace potential. He has electric stuff but again if his secondary pitches don't improve he is probably a #4 or 5 type of a pitcher. C.J. Edwards from baseball prospectus: “He's a long, lanky, athletic guy with a really fast arm. He's up to 95 mph, he has feel for what he's doing, and the curveball is really good.” Of course, for a relative unknown with just 10 games of professional experience, projection is a dangerous thing, but the upside is impressive. “You don't know what he's going to be, but you can dream on him,” concluded the scout. Edwards stuff is Ace potential but his floor is out of baseball at any time. Edwards currently has a 1.95 ERA in A with a 11.6 K/9. I like Odor as he reminds me a lot of Segura. He is also younger and is already out slugging Sardinas.

If the Rangers just want Aoki I would want Neil Ramirez and C.J. Edwards. If the Rangers want Aoki and Gallardo then I want Neil Ramirez, C.J. Edwards, Luke Jackson and Rougned Odor. I'm not sold on Olt being a productive MLB player and I am definitely not sold on Gallo being an everyday player.

The 2nd round picks are going to be very valuable especially in next years draft as teams will try to lower their cap numbers to be able to sign Lebron. Should be fairly easy for the Bucks to flip those 2nd round picks for late 1st round picks.

I might be able to go to one or two. I work at the Chase tower so not that far away on Fri just not sure how long I will be working this weekend.

Bucks to let Jennings walk?

I have just started using SharePoint or will be going to be using it soon so I am in the same boat as you are though I have a couple of people who I get to work with who have used SharePoint a lot. This seems to be a very active forum for SharePoint. http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/sharepoint/en-US/home?category=sharepoint For your links only opening in the same window have you tried putting in a javascript? Something like this should work. http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/19871/Opening-PDFs-in-a-new-window-with-JavaScript

So far the Bucks have 2 2nd round picks for next years draft and now 2 more for a future draft. Not a bad trade off compared to what the Bucks gave up.

I've talked quite a bit about a pitcher's ability to miss bats on the minor league forum, I really don't get the ground ball obsession around baseball. Ground balls are just as varied as fly balls, it's not like every ground ball should be converted into an out or is "lucky" to get through the infield. The only real difference is that ground ball can never be a HR, which has some value, but I think ground balls are vastly overrated. How about pitchers who can get themselves out of trouble on their own? I think Hellweg can still be successful, but he's never had the command or missed enough bats. The first thing he needs is to command the zone better and then if he can sharpen his secondary stuff he could be a MLB starter. Until then I think he's a reliever. You might want to read this article over at Baseball Prospectus. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=20140 Not every ground ball is going to be the same. You really need to look at where in the count that ground ball came from. If the ground ball comes from a count that is in the batters favor you are probably looking at a ball that has been hit rather hard while if it comes during a pitchers count it is probably going to be a weak ground ball. This is the same for any type of a ball hit. The problem with Hellweg is his walks and not really how many ground outs or fly outs he is getting. Walks = free runs for the most part. I put this in the Hellweg thread and I will repeat myself here the problem with Hellweg is his inconsistency in his mechanics. Once he starts to become more consistent with his mechanics he will start to get more strike outs and start walking hitters less.

The problem with Hellweg is that he is not able to repeat his delivery this is the same problem with every single pitcher that is rather tall. Basically Hellweg is going to have to find something in his mechanics that he can consistently repeat if that doesn't happen you basically have Randy Johnson before he was able to consistently repeat his mechanics. From: http://miscbaseball.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/nolan-ryan-fixing-randy-johnsons-mechanics-in-1992/ Watch this video on Hellweg you can tell when his mechanics start to slip as he starts missing a lot with his fastball and he is all over the place not just missing a little bit here or there. Pay special attention to the first Profar AB. His mechanics are good and then they are off and then they are good and then they are off and then they are good again. He is having a hard time repeating his mechanics. I wouldn't be surprised if his next outing he is completely dominant for awhile and then all of a sudden he is not. It is not his stuff or his accuracy it is more along him not being able to consistently repeat his mechanics.

well it was vs a lineup missing it's best 2 hitters which is also 2 of the best in all of baseball. But I'm sure this just cements the idea that he's UNtradeable. So if he gave up 5 runs walked 10 and K'd none he would have been tradeable? I still don't get why people are so hung up on individual games as like they matter in a trade. If a GM makes a decision based on a few individual games they deserve to be fired.

Utley and Lee are at about a 1% chance of being traded. Young, Morales, Morse (when he comes back from the DL), Ibanez (not going to get all that much for him), and Street are extremely likely to get traded. I don't see Headley being traded as his value is extremely low right now and I believe the Padres are going to extend him anyways or at least try to. Volquez has very little trade value right now and the Padres may just want to keep him until the season is over and just give him a QO and take a draft pick though that would be really risky. The Phillies GM sees their team competing next year for a playoff spot and will not trade Lee. Utley may go but I doubt it as the Phillies will be looking to extend him or at least resign him in the off season. There is an extremely small chance Utley gets traded. As for the Blue Jays I don't see them trading Johnson at all as I believe they still see themselves in contention for the AL East or at least one of the wild cards. The Red Sox are not as good as their record and can be caught. Another team that will be buyers and has some holes especially in the bullpen. The Yankees are another team that will need players this year and next year but they are a bad match prospect wise for the Brewers.