nate82

Mark DeRosa wasn't a highly touted prospect either and yet he has had a rather nice career so far. I believe McGehee is very comparable to DeRosa who I believe the Cubs sold very low on last year the same with trading Ceda for Gregg. I like McGehee's swing over DeRosa's though but defensively I believe they are about equal.

In a pitchers ballparks where he pitched nearly the majority of his time. Washburn is exactly like Suppan and Looper just because his numbers are better because he is pitching in the AL West which has a lot of pitching friendly ballparks doesn't mean Washburn is better. If Washburn really did change his delivery for the better he would have had a better FIP this year than his career numbers right? it would be something significantly better than his career numbers correct? You would think something like that would change a pitcher and make them better. Yet it didn't do that all it did was put him back to where his career numbers were at. The Brewers shouldn't be signing players older than 30 years old unless they are elite type of pitchers and Washburn is not an elite pitcher. I can live with a Lackey signing but a Washburn signing no way that is a waste of money. I'll say this again the Brewers already have Bush, McClung, Parra, Suppan, Looper, Villanueva, Butler, and Narveson who can give you exactly what Washburn will give the Brewers at no additional cost and risk. Washburn is not worth signing unless Looper opts out of his contract which I doubt he will. If Washburn is signed for more than $3m a season that is a waste of money in my opinion. This is Suppan and Looper version 2.0 the left handed version. Please look at Washburn's FB% and LD% and then compare them to Looper's and Suppan's. Also look at Washburn's HR/FB rate. That will only increase when he is out of a pitchers friendly park I expect Washburn's HR/FB rate to increase to about 13%. That is Looper and Suppan territory for giving up home runs how is that going to be a good thing? Everyone rags on how bad Looper and Suppan are but yet some people still want to go out and sign another Suppan and Looper why?

Sheets is a completely different pitcher than Washburn that is a horrible comparison. Suppan and Looper are more comparable to Washburn than Sheets is. You are missing the point it is not his ERA that I am worried about it is the LD% and FB% that I am worried about with Washburn. Both of those stats were worse than what Suppan and Looper put up. What do you think will happen if Washburn puts up those same LD% and FB% in the NL Central? I can already see what is going to happen Washburn is going to have a worse year than both Looper and Suppan put up this year. Those line drives and fly balls that were outs before in Safeco will now be extra base hits in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Houston, and Chicago. The only pitchers friendly parks that Washburn will see any significant time in is in Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Even in St. Louis Washburn's line drives and fly balls will be turned into extra base hits. Pittsburgh is probably the only real place where Washburn will not have a problem at with his LD% and FB%. Washburn Season Team GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% tRA 2002 Angels 0.63 19.2 % 31.4 % 49.5 % 12.3 % 6.0 % 7.5 % 20.0 % 4.22 2003 Angels 0.71 22.4 % 32.1 % 45.5 % 11.3 % 11.0 % 5.0 % 0.0 % 5.99 2004 Angels 0.94 20.4 % 38.5 % 41.1 % 10.2 % 9.8 % 6.8 % 18.2 % 5.15 2005 Angels 0.98 21.0 % 39.2 % 39.9 % 9.2 % 8.3 % 4.9 % 42.9 % 5.23 2006 Mariners 0.94 17.9 % 39.9 % 42.2 % 12.6 % 9.3 % 5.1 % 28.6 % 4.88 2007 Mariners 0.81 18.1 % 36.5 % 45.4 % 14.2 % 8.0 % 4.3 % 26.7 % 4.81 2008 Mariners 0.88 22.9 % 36.0 % 41.0 % 12.7 % 8.9 % 7.5 % 25.0 % 5.59 2009 Mariners/Tigers 0.88 19.6 % 37.6 % 42.8 % 8.0 % 9.7 % 4.3 % 35.7 % 5.21 Suppan Season Team GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% tRA 2002 Royals 1.26 20.5 % 44.3 % 35.2 % 7.6 % 12.7 % 6.6 % 26.7 % 6.43 2003 Pirates/Red Sox 1.50 24.6 % 45.2 % 30.2 % 13.0 % 11.1 % 4.2 % 12.5 % 5.85 2004 Cardinals 1.45 19.2 % 47.9 % 33.0 % 10.8 % 12.3 % 5.4 % 8.3 % 5.43 2005 Cardinals 1.43 21.3 % 46.3 % 32.3 % 13.3 % 11.8 % 6.5 % 22.7 % 5.50 2006 Cardinals 1.55 22.9 % 46.8 % 30.3 % 11.9 % 10.8 % 5.7 % 21.4 % 5.74 2007 Brewers 1.30 19.8 % 45.4 % 34.9 % 6.9 % 7.3 % 4.7 % 26.1 % 4.96 2008 Brewers 1.38 23.4 % 44.4 % 32.2 % 7.3 % 15.7 % 5.3 % 28.0 % 6.96 2009 Brewers 1.49 18.2 % 48.9 % 32.9 % 10.2 % 13.4 % 5.4 % 17.6 % 6.21 Looper Season Team GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% tRA 2002 Marlins 1.40 22.6 % 45.1 % 32.3 % 14.5 % 9.6 % 4.3 % 12.5 % 4.93 2003 Marlins 2.50 25.9 % 52.9 % 21.2 % 20.4 % 7.4 % 6.7 % 16.7 % 4.75 2004 Mets 2.75 14.4 % 62.7 % 22.8 % 16.7 % 8.3 % 9.7 % 25.0 % 3.09 2005 Mets 1.86 21.3 % 51.2 % 27.5 % 8.6 % 12.1 % 8.3 % 33.3 % 6.07 2006 Cardinals 1.63 20.4 % 49.4 % 30.2 % 16.9 % 4.2 % 4.3 % 20.0 % 4.02 2007 Cardinals 1.16 21.4 % 42.2 % 36.4 % 8.8 % 10.2 % 2.4 % 0.0 % 5.55 2008 Cardinals 1.51 19.6 % 48.4 % 32.0 % 6.5 % 11.7 % 6.5 % 10.0 % 5.15 2009 Brewers 1.27 17.1 % 46.4 % 36.5 % 9.3 % 15.8 % 7.0 % 20.0 % 6.11 With Washburn's FB% and LD% increases over Looper and Suppan you could only imagine how bad Washburn would be in Milwaukee. It will be a horrible idea to bring in Washburn. The Brewers already have enough #4 and #5 type pitchers on the roster with Bush, Villanueva, Parra, McClung, Suppan, and Looper. The Brewers do not need to add another #4 or #5 starter like Washburn.

Washburn also had a 42% Fly Balls and 19.6% Line Drives hit off of him. If Washburn does that again in a hitters park which the NL Central has a lot of Reds, Astros, and Cubs all have hitter friendly ballparks with the Brewers having a neutral and St. Louis and Pittsburgh having a pitchers friendly park. Now if Washburn has the same amount of fly balls as he had last year what do you think that will mean to the amount of HR's he will be giving up? It is going to increase think Looper but with not as hard of a fastball. If you thought Looper and Suppan were bad this year with the home runs why would you think Washburn will be any different? Washburn's stuff = Suppan's stuff. They are nearly identical in how they pitch actually Suppan got more ground balls this season than Washburn did. Suppan had a better GB/FB than Washburn. I'm sorry but Washburn would be a horrible signing for the Brewers he is not that much better than Suppan if anything he is exactly like Suppan and Looper. Looper even had a higher GB/FB rate than Washburn did. Those fly outs that happened in Seattle won't be happening in Milwaukee they will be extra base hits and not outs.

When I look at the dollar value I don't look at it as what the player should be getting or what they could get anymore that is just way to confusing and causes way to much controversy. When I look at the dollar value I see what it would cost to replace that players production in free agency. That maybe one player or multiple players. Lets take Jack Wilson for example. While Wilson is not a great offensive player yet he is a rather good defensive player and that is where his value lies. With the dollar value stat it says he is worth $8.7m. How I look at it is that Wilson was worth $8.7m for his wins that means if a team would replace Wilson they would have to replace him with a player(s) that will bring as much value back. How much will it cost? It should cost about $8.7m in free agency to replace Wilson's production both offensively and defensively. Does this mean the player is worth that? No what it means is that the production that the player provided to the team was worth this amount in free agency and this is what it would cost to replace that production. Another example is Albert Pujols. Now imagine for whatever reason the Cardinals get rid of Albert Pujols that is a lot of production the Cardinals would have to replace. The amount of money that they would have to find in free agency to replace Pujols in would be $38m. That means the Cardinals would have to find a player or players in free agency to replace Pujols at $38m. In all likelihood it would take more than one player to replace Pujols so you are looking at 3 or 4 free agent signings to get up to that amount of $38m (per year). If you look at the dollar figure not as a figure that what the player could get in free agency but what it would cost for a team to replace that player in free agency it makes a lot more sense at least to me it does.

I'm sorry but Washburn is exactly like Suppan. No matter which way you spin it Washburn is just like Suppan. Washburn was also pitching in Seattle last year in a park that is extremely heavily in favor of the pitcher along with Angels and the A's stadium. The only park he had to pitch in that was not a pitchers park was in Texas. If Washburn costs more than $3m for 1-year then I wan't no part of Washburn.

I agree. Ummmm? I think Arod had a little bit too much enjoyment in this win. http://poststuff5.entensity.net/110209/arod.gif

$90-95m is pushing it for the Brewers. Milwaukee could support a $90m team at $95m the Brewers are probably starting to get into the red. Last year with Sabathia the Brewers were at about $90m I believe. A little bit more than $90m but that is about where they were. The Brewers should start this next season near the $90m mark.

So you wouldn't sign him to a minor league deal and have him as depth?

OK first a question since I am not sure about something. If the Yankees non-tender Wang this off season will he become a free agent or will he just have to pass through waivers? If the Yankees do non-tender Wang and he becomes a free agent wouldn't it be a smart move by Melvin to try and sign Wang? I know he has been injured the past two years but when he was healthy he was a legitimate #2 or #3 type pitcher. I don't think it would cost all that much for the Brewers to sign him for 2-4 years. Wang would definitely be a buy low candidate. Maybe Peterson could even get him back to where he was 3-years ago.

http://www.sharegroup.com/index.shtml A quick google search on the number (yes you can google phone numbers helps identify those telemarketers really easy and who they are also helps in reporting them.) linky. The 273 number. You can block phone numbers with AT&T I believe but can't with Sprint/Nextel, T-mobile, and Verizon. I know some phones have a block caller feature in them. This article is somewhat informative on how to block calls.

Matthews wouldn't even be able to replace Cameron's jock strap. OK seriously now there is no way Matthews would be anywhere near as valuable as Cameron would be. I also believe Cameron will come back cheaper than what Matthews would cost for the next two years. Cameron will get a contract around $6-8m which is about right for Cameron and it will be either a one or two year deal. Matthews will be owed $11m in 2010 and $12m in 2011 which will be a whole lot more than what Cameron will be paid to do the same job but better. Only way the Brewers should even consider this is if the Angels would pick up at least 80% of Matthews contract.

I don't think Vazquez is available it is either Lowe or Kawakami. Haven't heard a thing that Vazquez is even remotely available at all. Kawakami and Lowe have been the only two names other than Hudson who would be available.

Lackey has been reportedly looking to get a deal similar to what Burnett got last year. So around $100m for 5 years is what it will take to get Lackey. Oh we can knock Webb off the list also. It looks as though the dbacks are going to pick up the option on Webb. It is going to be a small class I'm just wondering if Lackey is really going to get a contract like what Burnett got. I think Lackey will get a contract more around what Lowe got. I don't see many teams that will be able to give Lackey that $100m 5 year contract he might be looking for. The Angels don't look like they are going to offer that much for him the Mets have reportedly said they would be out of the running at that price. Who else does that leave? The Dodgers probably can't afford that contract either and the Yankees probably won't play all that much in this years free agency. The Red Sox will probably just pick someone up like Sheets or Bedard to fill any holes they may have. I believe the three teams that will push hard for Lackey will be the Brewers, Mariners, and the Angels. I don't believe Lackey will get the 5 year $100m deal he will be looking for though. I believe Lackey will get somewhere around 5 years at $80-85m maybe even a 4 year deal at $60-70m.

Anything more than $3m a year would be a bad deal.

I'm going to go with the Corporan and Rivera split for a few months. If Salome proves himself in AAA the first couple of months and has a good spring he should be up in May or June replacing Corporan.

The difference between a 4th, 5th, or 6th seed in the East is not that much especially between the 5th and 6th seed. I don't think the Bucks have a shot at the 4th seed but the 5/6 and 7th are strong possibilities if the Bucks are fully healthy. If the Bucks lose Redd to injury they still could get the 8th seed.

If the Bucks stay healthy they could get the #7 or a long shot a #6 seed. I would rather see Redd stay healthy the whole season and the Bucks not in contention of making the playoffs and trading Redd away during the trade deadline for an expiring and (I can dream) a 1st round draft pick. Who really is ahead of the Bucks talent wise for the 6-8 seeds? You have Detroit, Philly, and Chicago. You could even add Miami into the mix along with some lower teams like New Jersey and Indiana. The 5th seed last year had a record of 43-39. If the Bucks finish 42-40 that is the 6th seed in the East if the past has been any indicator of the talent level in the East compared to the West. Even if the Bucks finish with a 41-41 record that should be good enough for the 7th seed. If they finish 39-43 that should leave them in contention for the 8th seed. The East is still rather weak compared to the West. I still want the Bucks not to be anywhere near contending this year. I know that sounds like I am down on the Bucks but I just believe it is time to start over and get rid of some of the bigger contracts the Bucks have that can be moved. Redd should be moved this trade deadline even if the Bucks are in it for the 8th seed.

If you want to know more about the value and how they come up with it read this. All this stat does is put the dollar figure on the player for their WAR. There are other factors that you can not account for in stats unless you really wanted a really complicated formula to arrive at a more accurate dollar figure. Kapler probably could have gotten more than what the Rays gave him. Not much more though since when you start factoring in his age and that he is mainly a platoon player you are looking at a max of about $3-5m a year which is close to what Fangraphs was predicting.

Where/when did I say that? That is one of my fears if a veteran catcher is brought in though.He was quoting me but I'll let you take credit for it.

I have been playing ARMA II on the PC lately.? Some of the old bugs from the original Operation Flashpoint and ARMA are still there in that game though.? But it is fun once you get a hang of the UI and that it is not just another FPS game makes it even more fun at least for me it does.

OBP > Average. Trust me the Brewers didn't miss Podsednik the 2-years after they traded him away. Weeks was putting up nearly identical numbers as Podsednik was from 2005-2006. There wasn't any missing of Podsednik.

Carter is now in the Mets organization he was sent to the Mets to complete the Wagner trade. Source. He is also on the Mets 40 man roster now. I bet he gets some playing time with the Mets next year.

I would rather have Gamel in RF than at 3B but I don't see that happening though. I would trade either Gamel or McGehee this off season whoever brings in the best pitcher goes. I don't see McGehee bringing in anything better than a #3 type pitcher other than if a GM gets stupid and overpays for McGehee which does happen from time to time. Gamel is probably the best bet to bring in a top notch starting pitcher either a #1 or a #2 type pitcher. Trading McGehee and Hardy in the same package would be limiting your trading partners. There are not that many teams that need both a SS and a 3B. Minnesota is a possibility but I don't really like what Minnesota has to offer in terms of pitching talent. The Braves need a 1B/3B Gamel could easily fill those spots and McGehee would be a 3B who is right handed which is what they are looking for. I think you could get Medlen plus another low level prospect for Gamel and as for McGehee you are probably looking at Kawakami and Lowe. With Lowe the Braves would have to pay a large portion of the contract though. I still think Lowe could be a valuable piece for the Brewers but that would have to be without Suppan on the team though.

What I found from Salome when I saw him a few times was that his feet were out of position when he was throwing out a runner he was using his arm more than his feet. He wasn't coming fully set and his throws were off the mark it was as though he was rushing everything instead of letting everything come naturally to him. I haven't coached baseball I have only played it and I played some catcher. I understand the fundamentals of the position and what I saw was Angel not using his feet and using his arm. This is usually common in younger players though since they like to use their arm more so than be mechanically sound this also effects younger pitchers. It may have just been the games where I was at and Salome was doing more thinking than just letting everything come natural to him. I just do not see him as the everyday catcher for the Brewers next year he still needs a little bit more seasoning behind the plate. Plus I don't want to see Salome sitting on the bench in Milwaukee I would rather see him playing nearly everyday in AAA over only playing 2-4 games a week in Milwaukee and maybe even less so depending on what management would do with Salome. I don't want to see what happened to Gamel happen to Salome. That is the last thing I want to see happen to Salome not only does it hurt the Brewers but it hurts the confidence of the player. They will start to question themselves why they are not starting and then they will start pushing things and making mistakes which will then be stuck in their heads for a long time maybe even damaging them psychologically. I want to see Salome in Milwaukee but I just don't believe the timing is right. I do believe Salome will be up sometime next year I just don't see it happening right away. I believe Salome will be like Braun he will be brought up around May or June basically to prove to the Brewers that he is ready defensively and offensively to play in Milwaukee. What the Brewers can not afford to happen is bringing up Salome and his defense starts to hurt his offense. The Brewers need to know that Salome will be 100% ready both offensively and defensively before they bring him up.