kramnoj

From Cot's: Randy Choate lhp 1 year/$0.5M (2008) signed as a free agent 11/14/07 (split contract paying $75,000 in minors)

We'll see if this holds up, but so far I think McClung is a success story of scouting and coaching. I think the same can be said of Kapler as well. It's easy for us to ridicule decisions that are made based on projections, but it is important to give credit when due.

I think he didn't use him specifically because they are not sure of Hardy's status. They don't want to put him in a game, because if they do they have to restart the time on when he could be taken off the DL if he had to go on it.

It depends on how long he is out. If he's only out for a few games, no, not really, because than you have 10 or so games where you could have had Hardy rather than Escobar. Would you rather weaken your roster for a few games or 10?

The Brewers need to think about it because the chances are high that Fielder won't be here in the future, whether it's because he won't sign a contract or because the team doesn't think he will be worth it. Once you start with that assumption, you need to think about when to make the move. The further away one is from FA, the more they will bring back in trade value. The team can also afford to think about trading Fielder because they have young stars in the waiting in LaPorta and Gamel, so they won't created a huge hole by trading away Fielder. I don't think the Brewers need to go into the offseason with the thought they have to trade Fielder, but I definetly think it is something Melvin should explore.

I kinda like mute. It's not worth discussing anymore, so we can all be mute about it now.

Rivera's OPS+ has been higher than Schneider's since 2006. It's true that OPS+ doesn't weigh OBP ideally, but Rivera's recent power advantage over Schneider should not be ignored when assessing their value. It's not clear to me in any way that Schneider would be an upgrade.

I cannot understand why fans continue to defend the status quo; What good is railing against it going to do? There is one way to stop it. Stop watching games, stop going to games, stop buying team gear. What good would that do when this is something we enjoy? These players make lots of money because what they can do is incredibly rare, and they give us enjoyment. When we find other ways to spend our time, they will make less money. Moreover, just throwing money at them ain't gonna make them win. You are correct. However, not throwing money at them means you aren't going to win. You won't win a WS without stars. Look it up if you don't believe me. f we lock up Fielder for the 100 mill he wants, then it is gonna be tough to sign Parra and Gallardo, Not really, as long as you continue to supplement your stars with talent from the farm system. Again, Boras benifits from the publicity generated from big contracts fights. Publicity from fights doesn't benefit Boras. Signing the big contract does. The thing that really irritates me is that Boras will cause a disturbance This is only true if the front office chooses to make it public. You are obviously bothered by the money, but you should be mad at the system, not the players or the agents. They are only doing their role that the system allows. There is a second issue of whether Fielder is worth the money. Based on what we know so far, I personally think the Brewers would be better off trading him in one of the next two offseasons and spending their money elsewhere. But it has absolutely nothing to do with Boras. Edit: If we keep giving them what they ask for, only the players are going to be able to afford to go to the games. Does that make sense to you? If people can't afford to go to games, the sport dies. You are obviously exaggerating, but even exaggeration has to make some sense. The players can ask for whatever they want, but it doesn't mean anything until a team gives them money. If you are mad at the players making too much money, you should be mad at the guys that signed them to the contract.

Back it up? It's common sense. If you pay one player too much money, then you limit what you can do with the rest of the franchise. So you're saying you can't back it up. You are correct in the sense that you literally don't pay any too much money. You pay them market value. The problem with the idea of not paying for stars is that you won't have stars on your team for a good amount of time. That's not a path to winning. You win by mixing stars with decent players at other positions. You don't win by signing the leftovers of the FA market. Bernie Williams? C'mon. Bad comparison. Dude was a good ballplayer, but a least slightly overrated because of the team around him. First, I'm only comparing them in the sense that they both had Boras as an agent. How is that a bad comparison? It was reported that the Red Sox offered more money than what Bernie signed for with the Yankees. I was only pointing out that not every Boras client takes the most money. Secondly, since you bring it up, you severely underrate Bernie. The guy had a 125 OPS+ and played CF. Sure, he was a poor CF in the end, but he was a great player in his prime, during which he was a key figure of 4 WS champs. Boras rapes every franchise that he deals with. This is an absolutely disgusting use of that awful word. Anybody that deals with Boras chooses to do so ahead of time. There is no way in which your use of the word is appropriate. Don't forget that Laporta is a genuine talent. At some point, it would make more competitive sense, "on paper" at least, to trade Prince to Boston for Buchholz and Masterson (eg., off top of head), and put Laporta at first. I would be shocked if anyone here could "forget that". But that's not the point I am disputing. I am disputing the way that you are characterizing Prince and his relationship with Boras. Edit: It appears that the silversuferr post that I was responding to has been deleted. Just don't want anyone to think I am crazy (or at least not for this post).

Apoligists; save your nonsense about how Milwaukee could pay him Arod money and still compete. It dramatically reduces the probability.) Can you back that up at all? The reason that stars command unseemly amounts of money is because they are worth it. You don't win without stars, and it's difficult to have stars without paying for them. You can try to have a bunch of cheap stars at the same time, but the current Brewers are showing that is easily designed on paper, more difficult to actually execute. Signing Boras just means you want a guy who has been succesful at negotiating large contracts. It doesn't mean you are always looking to get out of town or take the most money (see Bernie Williams and Scott Boras).

, essentially they are critiquing Justice for not doing his homework It's easy to assume that Justice isn't doing his homework with the Brewers when he hasn't done so in the past. Last year he blamed the Brewers collapse on the young players, because that's what baseball people do, they don't trust young players. He didn't actually do any research to back up the claim, it was just the junk that baseball writers say to fill their space, their air time, etc. They do so because they aren't held accountable for being wrong. Heck, it's actually a good thing for a writer to be wrong, because then the blogosphere hordes can email their employer and show how widely read the writer is.

Of course, there are constant rumors that Willie Randolph is going to get canned...if so, you have to imagine the Mets might look to deal some of their more expensive pieces and rebuild for next year. I don't think that's the way it is going to work. If Willie get's fired, it's because the Mets think they still have a chance and that Willie isn't the right guy for them. Wagner is signed for $10.5 million next year and his 2010 option is only $8 million. That's actually below market for a top closer now. I don't see why the Mets would want to trade him unless they get a great player in return.

That is probably true. For me, I think about it anytime I see Prince run the bases. Sure, he should have been ruled safe at 3B recently, but if he actually lightened his load as opposed to just cutting meat out of his diet, he'd be faster and would have made it with no chance of a blown call.

Beyond the fact that you can't do play by play, I don't know if there are any rules. I'm not a professional, just my memory. I don't think stations would really want to give a lot of updates, after all, if you wanted to listen to the game, you would listen to the game. But they are presumably allowed to give updates for events like scoring, injuries, records, brawls, etc after the event occurs.

There were comments in ST that Sheets had been quiet this year, like he was already in the process of removing himself from the team. That's just the observations of some sports guys on the radio, so take it for what it's worth.

Maybe the ever aggressive salesperson Mitch Lichtman Wow, thems fighting words. If I may ask, what caused you to have such a negative opinion of him? I wouldn't exactly call him amiable but.... First, I don't understand how you can call him a salesperson, because he isn't one at all. I'm fairly sure his cut of the proceeds from "The Book" go to Retrosheet, so he doesn't profit from it. Tango has said that Mitch has offered to make the data available for free, but Tango insisted that they sell it to somewhat offset all the time they put in to the project. As far as mgl's personality, it's beyond my understanding. When he used to post at Primer, now BTF, he would often act like a complete jerk. Calling people names, being very abrasive, etc. On the site for the "The Book", he usually seems fairly reasonable. I've heard him on Homer's show, and he couldn't have been a nicer person, and I've heard that from others who have met him. I just think his inner 13 year old came out when he wrote on BTF and he has moved beyond that. On to the defense and UZR. There's a saying from Poli Sci that I love: Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. UZR is far from perfect, but from what I have read it is the best currently out there. It's certainly much better than range factor or fielding percentage, and BP's numbers don't seem reliable to me whatsoever. Win Shares isn't a PBP stat. UZR when available, and ZR when not have been for me the best stat to use.

You are correct, thanks for that. I can't imagine turning down that kind of money, especially now that his career is gone. That has to be the worst baseball financial decision ever. Top 3? Has to include Jody Reed and Juan Gonzalez.

Isn't there some pitcher who was considered first round talent that didn't sign and has been drafted like 4 times?

His defense has been bad and his offense IMO has not ever made up for that What is your opinion based on? Last year Weeks OPS+ was 108. You think his defense was so bad that it equaled "sacrificing" the position? What does that actually mean? Name the next best 2B to take over for Weeks that's in the minors.... Irribarren is now in the majors. He was moved to the OF this year because it looked like Weeks was making the strides to become a fixture at 2B. Escobar could be moved to 2B if needed. He's probably a +20 defensive player, and his bat is improving enough that he should be above replacement level. Just because the Brewers don't have a future guaranteed All Star waiting in the minors doesn't mean they aren't thinking about possible replacements for Weeks if needed.

Ah, I had forgotten about that and I was trying to think of what the other loss was. Thanks for the reminder.

You mean since Gagne has gone on the DL, right?

I think the closer's role is now Torre's to lose. The Brewers don't have any investment in Gagne beyond this season, their sole motivation regarding the closing role should be whatever is best for this team for this year. If that means Gagne is a setup man, or just a random guy out of the bullpen, that is fine. As for Cameron, his defense has been outstanding so far this year. His value hasn't been awful when you consider that.

I don't know if everyone knows this, but the prescribed use of this pill was actually discovered as a side effect. It was originally designed to have another purpose (BP medication, IIRC). Also, regarding #2, I realize that your post is mostly a joke, but outside of catchers, I don't think many players in the majors wear that.

know it's been brought up before that players boom later on in there career, but my point is when do the Brewers stop sacrificing that position and move on? Besides a slump this year, when do you think the Brewers have been sacrificing 2B? at what point and time does a team with playoff dreams that haven't been reached in a long time decide to go another direction or at least prepare themselves. What makes you think the Brewers aren't preparing themselves?

Edgar Martinez didn't get to be a starter until his age 27 season. The Brewers should of course be grooming Weeks replacement, but that doesn't mean that Weeks should be on some short leash. He was valuable the two previous years, and has obviously been in a serious slump this year. Sure, if he hasn't become a better hitter by the end of 2009, then the Brewers will probably need to cut bait, whether that's a dump trade or just declining arbitration. Until then, the Brewers should do everything they can to help Weeks reach his potential while also developing players in the system to replace him if needed.