CheezWizHed

I noticed a distinct lack of Brent Suter questions in the chat. Quit poking the bear! Houser vs. Hader. I get the distinct impression that some people place a higher value on Hader solely because he is a lefty and thus "unique". But does balance really matter when the overall results are the same? I get that mixing things up generally helps a team (i.e. having 5 RHP with the same 3 pitches over and over wouldn't be good for all of them), but you can't mix in a worse pitcher just because he is a lefty. No, I'm not saying Hader is worse. Houser was better this year, but worse in past years. Just saying that he gets a lot of credit just because he is a lefty.

Gilbert Lara Its kind of like asking if I'd rather have a #8 or 9 overall First round draft pick in the MLB draft or two high #3 ($800k Franley and Pierre), low #3 ($550k Jose Sibrian), and a mid round #4 ($450k Jesus Lujano ). Yes, low round picks hit it big on occasion, but high round picks hit it big more often. We need impact talent as much or more than depth talent. Good thing we get all of them, right?

So, what did you actually mean? I figured it was an auto-correct but couldn't figure out what else it could be. And I couldn't resist the Major League picture that went perfectly with the slip. I'm one that is cautious with Hader. Excited but cautious. I see everything you guys are seeing on the stats, but its nearly universal from the scouts that they question if he is a SP or RP. Maybe its just laziness, but I wonder what we miss by simply looking at the numbers. I certainly hope they are wrong!

Ennis has been interesting the last couple games in the line-up. Right now, he isn't hogging shots when on the court with the starters, but he seems to be in good position all the time. Stealing the ball, triggering the offense and scoring it occasionally. Could develop into a good player.

The Cardinals will now consider us classy!

but could use more scouting and heresy from the organization Like chicken sacrifice??? http://gobuccos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/jobu.jpg

Nothing is like live game action. Double plays with a player trying to take you out isn't like practice. Neither are ground balls, looking people back, placing yourself for cutoff, covering bases, etc... But that doesn't mean you don't practice them. You will see one or two balls in an actual game. You need far more repetitions than that.

So, basically everyone in our minors? I like Ponce, Williams and Medeiros going into Brevard as pitchers. But they are already pretty highly regarded. I'll pick one of the few you two missed: Brandon Diaz. - He struggled big time to begin the year, but played much better after Monte Harrison was demoted and Brandon was able to move back to CF. A mid-year injury held him out of the last two months of the season, so he dropped off people's radar. - Moving to Brevard normally is a hindrance to hitters, but since Brandon isn't a big power guy (303/407/393/801 after the all-star), I don't think it will effect him as much. - He won't be cracking the top 10 or making people forget about Maverick or Trent. But he could start making people see a Michael Reed type bat with the ability to play CF everyday defensively.

In the OF, you need to see the ball come off the bat over and over again. Different trajectories, different depths, different spins... a lot like practicing ground balls. If you aren't a natural at it or haven't done it much, you need to practice it.

CC Sabathia and his mini-me. Good times!

You never really know what is growing in the middle of those cornfields in Missouri...

Oh, how the Cardinals would hate him...ok, now I want him in the rotation!

Yeah, no kidding! At least bend your knees when you shoot. Flat-footed, shooting with arms only and short or off on every shot except the one he made. Link My friend suggested Middleton straight up for Teague since we have Mayo who could start at SG but I initially balked at the notion. My first thought is that it would take more than Middleton. Teague has been a top 10 PG in efficiency. But I haven't followed him much so maybe there is more to it than his stats? It would have to be, I think.

Lind is not going to get a QO anywhere after 2016. He turns 33 in July, has history of back issues, and has struggled vs. LHP over his career and while he's put up decent numbers at times, he's not been a core player that can be counted on at any time. His $8 million salary is about what he's worth. I think the point was made that if he stayed healthy this year (which would make it two years in a row) and plays around the same level as last year, that he could get a QO. I would expect that to be likely. If his back injury pops back up this year, then there is no shot. Last year, he was the 13th best 1B in the majors in OPS. Considering what we got for Gerardo Parra, I think we should be able to get something decent for Lind.

[sarcasm]Good enough for me... slate him as our starting 3B for 2017![/sarcasm]

I'm hoping we keep Dillard around... for Uecker's replacement (that is actually a sad thing to type...).

I've only seen the two game so far (first and Tuesday) and I have to say that I'm very impressed by Giannis this year. He really looks like a man on a mission. Someone questioned the team's intensity and Giannis is bringing that in spades. The rest of the team can be a little flat, however. For the defense, its been quite a wake-up call at the beginning of the season, but I think that is to be expected with the shake-up of the team and lack of the starters getting practice time in the pre-season. I'll give them a month or so to find their identity on defense before I make any judgments. My take on the player turn-over: Monroe: My favorite move. He isn't the most dominant C in the league, but he leads the very good ones. Looks smooth and scores pretty easily. Defense isn't awesome or terrible. And at 25, is a great FA add, if for no other reason than make people notice Milwaukee again. Knight for MCW + Middleton Extension: In reality, these two are very related items. The Bucks were only going to resign one of the two players (Knight/Middleton) and they signed identical contracts. So, its MCW+Middleton vs. Knight. If MCW develops, its a no-brainer. If he stagnates, we might have been better off with Knight. Middleton is a nice complementary player and he vs. Knight straight up is pretty much a wash; depending on what you value. 1st Round for Vasquez: Right now, its a utter and complete no think you move. And the more I think of it, I wonder if it was due to the trading of Knight and risk of MCW at PG. I suppose if we resigned Knight (and lost Middleton), we would have traded the 1st round pick for a Middleton equivalent... But still, I wasn't a fan of this trade at the time, nor have I been impressed by what I've seen so far either.

Plus, the MLB isn't assigning "worth" to a draft slot, its assigning a cap dollar amount available. If they wanted to assign "worth", they would fix the rules to prevent underslot signings.

Meh... His MiLB evidence as a starter isn't sterling either. 3.80 ERA; 7.6k/9IP; 1.28 WHIP; Plus, as a MLB reliever, he has been a first half pitcher. His career June and before ERA is around 2.70 while his July and after ERA is around 4.80. So, I don't think trying to double his innings would be a great idea either. Out of curiosity, how would you manage his transition to SP? Have him start until he hits 140 IP and rest him the rest of the year? Give him a bunch of starts and then RP the rest of the year? Work him at AAA for a time? Straight into the MLB level? I can't think of many RPs that converted back after 3 years of BP life.

That same article rated Orimoloye as a 70 for speed too. That is surprising. I've not seen many 70 ratings, let alone 80s. Hopefully its usable power for Perry.

I would hope most teams operate this way with the caveat of the team's franchise type players. Its an easy statement, because "the right deal" is often very advantageous to us. Doesn't mean we are actively shopping everyone, just that our ears are open. Braun might have been one of those "franchise" type players before the whole PEDs thing blew up. No one else on the team approaches that level. Hopefully anyone and everyone we trade is for "the right deal"

1B: Tyrone Perry, Arizona -Power is graded by some at 80....hopefully the Brewers find him a treadmill though as he now weighs 300 in Fall Instructional.... Are you sure about that? I've heard he has some power, but I've not heard of anyone giving him an 80 grade for it.

They can control more (speed of play, contact, etc..) for Parker in practice. I would guess that his lack of playing is an indication that he isn't doing much in practice. Is this the 10 month point of his recovery? I'd prefer he was 100% than risk him reinjuring his knee for some preseason games (or even the first couple months this year). Vaughn still looks smooth in his shooting (second preseason game I've watched). Reminds me of Ray Allen in his form and release (not saying he will reach Ray's level, just that he has that smooth, easy release). I guess I've missed most of Giannis' long shots, but he does look really aggressive on the court. I was playing guitar while the TV was on and he suddenly had 11 points. But the defense looks to have suffered greatly this year. Hopefully its just a pre-season type (vanilla) defense.

Khris Davis, Mike Fiers, and Hiram Burgos all come to mind in polarizing type players of the recent past. Fiers was still considered a #5 SP by some people until he threw his no-hitter. And as a prospect, it wasn't much different. Part of the problem is that players that don't hit the "norm" for physical abilities have such a high hill to climb. They need some driving characteristic that allows them to succeed despite a below average physical capabilities. Fiers has his high K rate (rising FB and decent 4 pitch repertoire). Davis overcomes a high K rate with hitting a lot of HRs. The problem that I see with Sutter (I did give him a shout-out at #30) is that he doesn't have a defining characteristic that will carry him in the MLB levels. Getting AA and AAA batters out with a nice ERA is great, but his peripheral numbers warn of a smoke screen. Hopefully he transitions over to the MLB level and you can tell all of us, "I told you so". (Not that we want you to gloat, but we want our prospects to succeed). Personally, I see him as a LOOGY or long man in the BP. But here is hoping he becomes much better. But it would be nice if you didn't mention him on EVERY post.

Chris Bosio, Ray Searage, and Derek Liliquist. Combined those three have 26 years of major league playing experience. Certainly, ML experience could be one element, but its not required either. Doing it and teaching it are two very different items. There are plenty of guys at the MLB level that you wouldn't want teaching young kids about pitching (Carlos Zambrano?). I can imagine there are plenty of great coaches that never sniffed the MLB level either.