nate82

That is the Cubs 8th straight loss. I thought they would bust out of their slump playing the Pirates but I guess not even the Pirates can bust the Cubs out of this slump of theirs. Good thing the Cubs don't play the Nationals that could get ugly. I wonder if the Cubs lose 9 straight cubs how much garbage will be thrown on Wrigley after that loss?

That would work! Zito could then become the designated batting practice pitcher.

Actually I believe Scarpetta is the most advanced SP in the system right now. Also Holliday has busted out of that slump and is going to be more than marginally better than Hart. If the trade is done right now you have to put in a pitching prospect but I am wondering right now if the Brewers could dump Hart and Gindl for Holliday instead. I was just looking for Beane type of players and Gindl and Braddock are the two players I could see Beane gushing over. I believe Hart could also be a Beane type of a player who he would be looking for if Hart could get his walks up. A Hart and a pitching prospect could probably land Holliday but I think sending Gindl and Hart to the A's for Holliday would be a better approach. This also clears some cap space for next year and I don't see any pitchers becoming available for the Brewers to go after. I believe this year in the trade market it is Peavy or marginal pieces like Milwood, Padilla, and Bedard. I wouldn't mind Bedard but the Mariners are going to shop him like an ace and I'm not convinced the Brewers should give up ace type quality trade chips for Bedard. Forget about Lee the Indians are not going to trade Lee his option for next year is chump change and I don't see the Indians trading Lee at all with that option being so cheap. This trade market is going to be a hitters market this year with DeRosa, Holliday, and others available. I really wouldn't mind having Holliday on the team for a half of a year. If Holliday is available in July near the deadline I expect the A's to get a Teixeira type of trade return (the Atlanta to Angels trade not the Texas to Atlanta trade). Hart could be a Kotchman type of player.

Looking at the prospects to find someone the A's would like I could only find Gindl, Gillespie, and Braddock maybe even Rogers. The Brewers could center the piece around Gindl who looks to be someone Billy would want he almost fits the money ball type of player. I doubt the A's will get much for Holliday with the way he is hitting right now but I still believe he is better than what he is showing. Gindl and Braddock for Holliday wouldn't be a bad trade. It would help the offense out at least.

Here is a better outlook of Holliday SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2004 Col 121 400 65 116 31 3 14 57 31 86 3 3 .290 .349 .488 .837 2005 Col 125 479 68 147 24 7 19 87 36 79 14 3 .307 .361 .505 .866 2006 Col 155 602 119 196 45 5 34 114 47 110 10 5 .326 .387 .586 .973 2007 Col 158 636 120 216 50 6 36 137 63 126 11 4 .340 .405 .607 1.012 2008 Col 139 539 107 173 38 2 25 88 74 104 28 2 .321 .409 .538 .947 2009 Oak 39 153 22 41 5 1 6 27 16 28 2 0 .268 .349 .431 .780 Total -- 737 2809 501 889 193 24 134 510 267 533 68 17 .316 .384 .545 .929 Holliday may have had his numbers inflated in Colorado but they are definitely deflated right now in Oakland you can't say that about Hart. SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2004 Mil 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 2005 Mil 21 57 9 11 2 1 2 7 6 11 2 0 .193 .270 .368 .638 2006 Mil 87 237 32 67 13 2 9 33 17 58 5 8 .283 .328 .468 .796 2007 Mil 140 505 86 149 33 9 24 81 36 99 23 7 .295 .353 .539 .892 2008 Mil 157 612 76 164 45 6 20 91 27 109 23 7 .268 .300 .459 .759 2009 Mil 41 159 29 39 10 1 4 18 19 41 3 3 .245 .324 .396 .720 Total -- 447 1571 232 430 103 19 59 230 105 319 56 25 .274 .323 .476 .799 2007 was a career best for Hart and I don't see him doing that again. He will be somewhere between a .750 and .800 OPS type of a player with his OPS mainly being brought up by his SLG. Now Holliday on the other hand is more of a .850 to .900 OPS type of a player. Holliday's numbers would only increase from the time he would be in Milwaukee and there would be teams next year willing to sign Holliday so the picks will be there for the Brewers and Holliday will be a type-A free agent next year. The Yankees will go out and get Holliday next year without a doubt in my mind though. I don't believe the cost will be that high for Holliday. The A's didn't really give up all that much for Holliday they stole him from the Rockies.

Are you looking at the park factors? The only place that Holliday has a chance to actually improve his slugging is when he plays against the Rangers and that is when they are playing in Arlington. Holliday would only increase his numbers in a more hitter friendly league especially in the NL Central where you have a lot of hitter friendly ballparks. It would be more than a marginal increase having Holliday instead of Hart. Face it Hart's production is going to drop off more in the coming months. Hart is Bill Hall v2.0. Hart has no plate discipline at all and may even have worse plate discipline than Hall. I don't see Hart improving at all and he will become about a replacement level player. I hope the Brewers never extend Hart a long-term contract.

He would do better than Hart in RF though. At least with Holliday you know you have a hitter is more patient. Also how much is that .800 OPS is from playing in Oakland and the AL West the same can be said about his career OPS while playing in Colorado though. I would definitely take Holliday over Hart right now. I doubt Holliday's price will be to high since it is only a half of a year rental. Holliday would probably have a better than sub .800 OPS if he played in Milwaukee compared to playing in Oakland and the AL West.

I believe he is an emergency option only.

If Hart continues to slump and play like Hall in the OF should the Brewers go after Holliday? What would it take for the Brewers to get Holliday from the A's?

I wonder if the Brewers could do this trade Hart, Parra, Brewer, and Braddock with a player to be named later for Peavy and Giles. It might be time to give up on Hart and trade him before he becomes the next Hall. He might already be there though.

Why sacrifice the defense even more? Gamel is fine at DH especially at the Metrodome which is nothing like Miller Park. Plus Gerut in the DH role makes me wanna throw up. If Hardy's back was feeling better I would put him in the DH slot or if we still had Nelson I would throw him in the DH spot and then have Gamel play 3B but not Gerut playing DH.

That is 7 straight losses for the Cubs now but they play the slump killers on Monday though.

Cameron and Hart need to start heating up otherwise this is going to be a long offensive drought.

Dykstra would be more than likely be a player to be named later in a deal for Peavy.

I would go with Iribarren, Parra, Brewer, and Braddock/Nieves with a player to be named later (Dykstra, Gindl, Schafer). I don't see the Brewers parting with Escobar especially with Hardy being in question. Hardy's back is starting to give me some worries with the report that he has had back spasms in the off season that doesn't sound to good for the future for Hardy. If the Brewers are concerned about Hardy not signing long term with the Brewers I wonder how they feel about Hardy and his back. I believe Escobar will be taken off the table for a concern of not having a replacement if Hardy walks or if his back starts to become a bigger problem. I'm not sure if this would be enough or if it would be to much for Peavy. When looking at the contract size and the type of players the Brewers would have to give up to get Peavy I'm not sure it would be worth it to trade for him. If Peavy gets hurt or doesn't perform you could have a Jeff Suppan situation but it would be about ten times worse. Dykstra and Brewer are the wild card here if they show their potential they would easily out shine Parra and Braddock/Nieves. I don't believe Nieves is really a trade chip I just couldn't think of anyone else the Brewers would probably put in the deal. Braddock can't be considered as a main piece in a trade only because he has been injured. What the Padres get in return for trading away Peavy to the Brewers in my hypothetical trade is a player who can come in and play right away in Iribarren, a starting pitcher who would thrive in Petco, and two question marks in Brewer and Braddock. Both Braddock and Brewer and even Dykstra if the Padres would select him in the player to be named later would be the future at San Diego obviously not all of them will pan out and there will be a dud in one of the three or two. This is the deal I would make with the Padres. This would strengthen the Brewers on a whole at the major league level while not creating as big of a whole in the farm system. This deal is about equal talent wise maybe more so than the White Sox deal.

If Escobar could do this in the majors I would love it. This is Jose Reyes numbers for 2005 which was his first full year in the majors. I think this is the the most that you could expect from Escobar. It would spell Weeks from the leadoff spot also. What Escobar really needs to work on is not really his power but his walks and strike outs. Escobar will develop some power that is the easy part so to say the plate discipline is going to be the hardest for him to work on. SEASON http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif TEAM http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif G http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif AB http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif R http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif H http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif 2B http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif 3B http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif HR http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif RBI http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif TB http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif BB http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif SO http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif SB http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif CS http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif OBP http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif SLG http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/trans.gif AVG 2005 New York Mets 161 696 99 190 24 17 7 58 269 27 78 60 15 .300 .386 .273

I'll take Fielder and Braun over Mauer and Morneau. The Twins get an advantage though since they can rest Mauer and still play him otherwise if the Twins didn't have the DH rule it wouldn't even be close. Having to sit Mauer at least once a week wouldn't be an ideal situation with the DH rule the Twins can sit Mauer and have him play DH. Playing as a catcher really diminishes a players offensive ability over time. It is a hard decision to make if Mauer played a different position. It is very close to a wash as it is right now but I would still take Fielder and Braun over them.

I was hoping for the Brewers to at least face Liriano in this series. Liriano has been throwing his fastball more than his change up and slider which would bode really well for the Brewers it would have also have given Hall a confidence boost facing Liriano. Like it or not the Brewers need Hall to get out of his slump. McGehee doesn't thrill me at all and he is the only other player on the team who would be taking AB's from Hall with Weeks out.

Now it is home run trots that show how much a player hustles? I guess that means Braun is anti hustle also man do we have any players that hustle? Hall and Hardy are about equal in their out of box speed. I haven't timed them but by doing an eye test they are about the same. Yes Hall does watch home runs when he should be running but that has very little to do with hustle. Can you come up with another stat where you can find hustle in it. Please don't bring up stolen bases since that has nothing to do with hustle either. You are trying to find a stat that doesn't exist that says Hall doesn't hustle or another player doesn't hustle. If you can find a stat where hustle plays into something then you got something. I bet Hall and Hardy have the exact same number of infield hits over their careers. That is the only stat I can think of where hustle would matter and that is still reliant on a fielder throwing the ball away or bobbling the ball. Still not even a stat you could say is determined on hustle. Yes I know your little league coach told you to hustle for everything that wasn't for getting extra base hits that was for trying your hardest all the time. More of a motivational thing than anything else really. To say someone is not hustling and bringing evidence that is shaky at best and saying that is the proof said player is not hustling is just not going to hold water. By my eye test Hardy and Hall hustle about exactly even and they haven't really cost themselves triples or doubles or anything by not hustling more. Weeks is probably the only player on the team that doesn't have a hustle problem if you want to evaluate someone on hustle. Everyone else on the team is about even on hustling around.

Lance Berkman "Shenannnnnnnnnnnnnigans!" Umpire "If you say shenannigans one more time I'm tossing you out of this game!"

Saw this one coming with the trade yesterday. I was wondering how long of a leash Duffy had before he was moved well it looks like I got my answer.

I rest my case on hustle having very little to do with triples with Johnny Hustle errrr David Eckstein only having one triple "since 2006".

Since 2006 means that season all the way up to the current one. If you compare from 2006 to current you can see that Hall's triples really haven't fell off more than Fielder's or Hardy's have taken off. Now you want to see something even funnier. If you take your since 2006 Bill Hall and Albert Pujols have the exact same number of triples taking your definition of since 2006. So by your definition of how triples happen Pujols doesn't hustle? Manny Ramirez has a total of two triples "since 2006". Wow these players must be the anti hustle players and must be like Hall right? And the person everyone (well at least the media) says who hustles the most David Eckstein has exactly you guessed it one triple "since 2006" that triple came this year. Do you see it now? Triples are completely luck based. Hustle has nothing to do with someone getting a triple you are believing the talking heads hype of hustle mattering. It just doesn't matter in triples you can hustle all you want but that is not going to help you get a triple. What a player needs to get a triple is the right situation for the number of outs and for the outfielder to help the player out. If you don't have Jose Reyes type of speed on the basepaths you are not going to get many triples without a lot of luck.

Triples are completely luck based I don't see how it is so hard to see that. If Hall goes for a triple and he is out does that mean he was hustling too much? No it was bad base running. No hustle in the world is going to help you get a triple it is based on luck. In Miller Park there are couple spots where you can hit a triple and the outfielder has to help you out some also. One spot is in center field and you have to hit it off the corner of the wall and the second spot is where every other stadium has it and that is down the right field line. The right fielder needs to help out the base runner for a triple to occur down there though. So hitting the ball off of the corner of the right center field wall is not luck based? Anywhere else at Miller Park and it is down to either the outfielder helping the base runner out or a base runner having a lot of speed. Hall is not a very fast runner and nor is he a good base runner. He never has been a good base runner and hes never been that fast. You also got Hall's triples wrong he has 5 triples since 2006. He had 4 in 2006 and 1 in 2008. It is very luck based on triples. If there wasn't a lot of luck involved in triples you would see more of them. Also you have to take into account the situation a lead off double is better than a lead off double and being thrown out at third. Also with two outs you don't want to make that third out at third base. There are a lot of things that can contribute to why Hall has only 5 triples since 2006 but hustle is not one of them.

Dillard needs to get the walks down and his strike outs up. 16 walks to 17 strike outs I would like to see Dillard strike out some more batters before he moves any higher on the list.