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biedergb

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Everything posted by biedergb

  1. biedergb
    I agree that Jones would have to be in the group, as he was a highly touted prospect, now back from injuries, and God-forbid-hopefully healthy. Plus he was just promoted to AAA and would be a likely candidate to be selected in the Rule V draft. A guy like Rivas might be a better prospect, but is only at high-A, and may not be on a team's radar screen to keep on their roster. Butler may make the list. But since Cody appears to have been passed over as a call-up so far, he may not rank high in the organization's mind, and may be more expendable. The key will be how many players are removed from the 40 man roster. Don't the 60-day DL guys not count toward the 40-man list during the season, but they do count in the offseason, right?
  2. biedergb
    Any idea what the competition for the Baseball World Cup is like? Not as good as the World Baseball Classic, obviously. So does this help or hurt these players relative to the competition in the minors, and possible playoff time?
  3. biedergb
    The new guys you are referring to is Bruce Seid. And with regard to pitching, almost all teams have had a problem with developing quality pitchers. However in 10 years our draft has developed three quality starters in Sheets, Parra and Gallardo. Which would probably be middle to just below average for the league. The lack of pitching has been magnified by the exceptional talent in the hiters (Weeks, Fielder, Braun, Hart, Gamel and even LaPorta) that have been developed or conitnue to be developed. Hopefully a little luck comes our way, as guys like Jones, Rogers and Jeffress all had upside and the injuries/issues they have developed were not easily predicted (Jones was always mentioned as having an 'easy' delivery that made him less prone to injury, Rogers was a northeasterner and therefore had little 'mileage' on his arm, and Jeffress certainly can't see the forest for all the grass). The big issues are that we haven't developed enough pitchers who could at least be serviceable relievers, therefore we have to trade or sign our bullpen, leaving less for us to focus on the starters in trade or FA, and those we did gamble on (ie, Suppan) have not produced to expectations.
  4. biedergb
    I think some of the lack of backlash stems from the type of agent used. You use a performance enhancer, and you are perceived as cheating, but trying to get a leg up on the competition. You use recreational drugs, and you are using something that neither betters or alters your performance (presumably) but you are still jeopardizing your future. At least that is how I perceive it. But I agree the other component is the fact that JJ has outstanding stuff and did have stretches of brilliance only make it worse. Cody was viewed as a 'set up' reliever from the scouting reports, and his performancy in 1+ years has left a lot to be desired as well.
  5. biedergb
    I'll throw out Patrick (colbyjack)'s comp here of Jeff Kent. Not in build, but Jeff never 'looked' like a 2b to me when he played. He always looked stiff, but could do the basics, and obviously had the bat. Obviously everyone is different, and we've had our fair share of poor fiedling positional players fly through the system. Hopefully Lawrie's bat just dictates his prospect status, and we'll just let them all sort out.
  6. biedergb
    Exactly -- my in-laws live in St. Louis, and I know they have been promoting it pretty hard, and they did place a number of players. But again the fans in Milwaukee did a phenomenal job in following through, and getting all these guys in the top 4 spots.
  7. biedergb
    Don't know if this was reported, noticed in another thread (or forum?), but I was looking at the final All-Star votes, and in the NL, the Brewers placed in the top 4 in all positions (including 1-12 for OF since there are three spots there): 1b Fielder, #2 behind Pujols 2b Weeks, #3 3b Hall, #4 (yes Bill Hall ahead of everyone in the NL except Wright, Chipper, and Zimmerman) ss Hardy, #3 of Braun #1 of Cameron #6 of Hart #8 c Kendall #4 Given the attention the Game has had in St. Louis and its large fan-base, Brewers were voted ahead of the Cardinals' in every position except 1b (Pujols) and c (Molina). Their highest placed OF was at #9 (Ankiel) behind Hart at #8. The only team to have players in the 5 was the Red Sox, and Philly was close (no one at catcher). This is truly remarkable given the size of the Milwaukee area and demonstrates how the region has gotten behind the Brew Crew. So my question is this just a loyal fan base finally mobilizied because the team has been a contender for 2 going on 3 seasons? Or is this a reflection of the success of the sites like Brewerfan.Net which can mobilize the internet (remember the effort to vote in Geoff Jenkins as the 'extra' All Star a few years back?
  8. biedergb
    I'll stick by my original assessment. 5-10 years ago, if a top notch pitching prospect was suspended, or several top hitters were injured, we would look at a lost season. This year, I almost forgot that Cain was MIA. Sure some of this is due to Brewerfan, the internet and the blogosphere, so that I have more information on the 47-th round draft pick. For some 'evidence': look at it is simply this -- look how successful the teams are doing, and the fact that most of the roster is players who are appropriately aged for their leagues (ie, not a bunch of former MLBers making AAA or AA squads look good like we had in the late 90's). Team success with a roster of real and fringe prospects is an indictment of depth in my mind.
  9. biedergb
    I'm not one of those who 'have been heavily following the minors for awhile' like a lot of contributors here, but I do think there is a little of both. Our depth is improved, but yes, a lot of this is due to perceived depth in the lower minors (A-league, rookie league and recent draft). But take any position and there are at least 2 quality prospects at that position. Former weakness areas like 3B (Gamel, T. Green, Trejo) is an example -- 2 legit prospects who may not stay at that position and another younger player with a lot of upside. Another position like C which has Salome, Lucroy and we can add Zarraga, Garfield. While none of this means that we will have another crop of stars like Fielder/Weeks/Hardy/Hart come through, this depth is good as when a prospect either is hurt or doesn't fulfill promise there are others waiting in the wings to take over. Look at this year -- we've had injuries to Seidel, Periard, Cain among others and now a suspension to Jeffress, yet there is no sense of 'doom' in the minors, because there are new guys and others that are taking advantage of the situation. I'm sure there is more analysis from others, but my quick answer.
  10. biedergb
    Mass -- I know your joking about it , but to be technical I believe the HIPAA privacy laws pertain to third parties (ie, hospitals, doctors, trainers, teams, etc). A person can tell anyone they want about their own injuries or health issues. But my real point/question is that I believe some teams have injury rules that tells players not to reveal their injuries (think NFL or playoff NHL). I'm not sure if the Brewers are one of those teams.
  11. biedergb
    It will be intreresting to see the final status on signings. With Jack Z running the ship, we usually signed our top 20 round picks (minus one or two that we either took a gamble on, or didn't gauge their money demands accurately), and then signed about 15 more, usually college players. As stated above , a couple of top 20 round picks were usually above slotted value using up the usual DFE money. So the thing to follow is does a new 'boss' change the selections and their signings? Or is it really the local scouts who 'know' a guy will sign, and we keep our usual success rate of about 20-22 of the first 25 picks? (I'm too busy at work to look up our actual signings/picks from the last few years, so correct me if I'm wrong). Thanks
  12. biedergb
    Back to Anundsen -- I was looking at some archived draft stuff at mlb.com and the scouting video has Anundsen clocked at 87-92, with mostly 90-91 mph. Did he lose velocity, or the pitch he 'relies on' another fastball that's in the mid-80s and he has a regular fastball in the 89-92 range? And back to Frederickson. Any reports on his stuff this year? Didn't he have both a loss of command and velocity last year. It appears the command is an issue, but is the velocity back?
  13. biedergb
    Drew Bowman, I think. in 2004?
  14. biedergb
    I agree with monty. I've heard that starting, even if for a few innings is less stressful, since it's a pre-determined time to pitch, and in the beginning of the game you have a clean slate and do the most with your set # of pitches. Coming in the middle of an inning with runners on, can be difficult. Also, starting puts you in a slot of starting every 5 days (or so). This is probably an easier way to slowly get back and build up innings over time.
  15. biedergb
    I don't know where to look it up, but Mercedes had an amazing split last year when you compared his #s as a starter v reliever. Does anyone remember his stuff/scouting report? Agreed -- if he can develop into a home grown reliever it can obviously help the team long term.
  16. biedergb
    Now, I'm not defending the Brewers practice of handling prospects with pain, but just to keep in mind that the cost of the MRI is probably not the factor that is determining when/if a players gets one given that their costs are $500-1500, which is small especially compared to the costs of surgeries, bonuses, etc. I'm sure pain is a common complaint, and given the normal wear/tear that a pitcher's arm will have from HS/College and minor league use/abuse (pitching is not a normal action), an MRI is probably hard to interpret as there is almost certainly some abnormalities. Maybe the Brewers put too much faith in the trainers and team physicians (or their minor league equivalents) to evaluate for the 'red flag' signs/symptoms that would warrant further evaluation. Or maybe the team doesn't want to be on the hook for the surgery which could be recommended based on the MRI results, and rather try the conservative approach first to avoid that cost (except for players with huge monetary investments already). But I'm fairly sure it's not 'nickel and dime'-ing the MRI test itself.
  17. biedergb
    I believe this was suggested by some posters in this forum given his overall athleticism and reportedly raw defensive tools at SS. However, his agent has denied that Brewer is being considered as anything but a SS. The speculation stems partly from our experience with guys like Braun, Weeks and now Gamel, and partly from the fact that we have Hardy and Escobar entrenched as the SS's for the 5-10 years. My guess is that he is given all opportunity to play SS and if his bat beckons before his glove (a la Braun and Gamel) he may need to be moved. But again that is purely my speculation.
  18. biedergb
    I think the thing is that most athletes have aches and pains, and many in the areas where they continue to use their bodies in unnatural movements (knees, back, wrist, shoulders). The thing that may be hard to distinguish is what is lingering pain that is getting better and probably okay, versus what is red flag pain. I've posted this before, and I'm not making excuses for the Brewers, but it is inconceivable to get MRIs on every player with pain, even if limiting it certain sites (ie elbow/shoulders in pitchers, knees/wrists/shoulders in position players). Also, just getting an MRI does not reveal the condition, as many scans demonstrate abnormalities and these may not be new or significant.
  19. biedergb
    Not to mention the economics of baseball weren't close to what they are now. Average salaries in baseball are about 100x what the median income is in this country. Back then there were few millionaries and while the median income was about 1/3 what it is now, average baseball salaries were about 20-50x that. So the discrepancy is escalating. The other factor is the players who are not being signed are aging veterans (ie Manny), players with injury history or variable performances, or one dimensional players (offense like Dunn, or defense like the handful of middle IF still out there). The last slow down in the economy (about 2002) when the post-dot.com and post-9/11 economy saw a slow down in the FA market, and this economic crisis is bigger.
  20. biedergb
    Thanks Colby. I had forgotten that Clemens wasn't offered arby. While I highly doubt that by June that Ben Sheets will be unemployed, I also wonder how things will settle for the remaining FA core. I agree -- a very weird offseason. Even the 2002? offseason (the one where there was almost a stoppage due to the CBA and the post dot.com/9-11 economy hanging over) was quiet, but not like this.
  21. biedergb
    What happens if Sheets goes unsigned through the draft. Then let's say some other team signs him later in the spring/early summer. Do we get comp pick(s) in 2010? Has such a precedent ever occured (ie, Clemens back in '05?)
  22. biedergb
    Tom H. said in his blog last week that he submits the list, and that BA edits it. Here's the quote from his blog on 1/13/09: "In the interest of full disclosure, I do the Top 10 Prospects (as well as the Top 30 for the soon-to-be published Prospect Handbook) for BA each year. But the editors have the final say on my rankings and I noticed one tweak in the Top 10."
  23. biedergb
    In terms of pitchers, I hadn't looked at other teams, but at least as far as the Brewers I think it's fair to list some higher profile names (Scarpetta, Odorizzi) lower since they are only in rookie ball and our past history indicates that pitching "prospects" are very difficult to predict, but hitters are more likely to come through.
  24. biedergb
    Here's mine 1 Escobar, Alcides Best overall tools 2 Gamel, Mat Best pure hitter 3 Cain, Lorenzo Toolsy player with improving peripherals 4 Green, Taylor Great contact hitter, plays key positions (2b,3b) 5 Jeffress, Jeremy Best power pitcher 6 Gillespie, Cole A "Corey Hart"-light type of player 7 Salome, Angel Great offense, we'll see where his defense puts him 8 Lawrie, Brett Highly touted, can't wait to see his professional debut 9 Scarpetta, Cody Great year for a kid with a great arm 10 Lucroy, Jonathan Good offense, great defense at catcher 11 Aguilar, Omar Potential closer with 100-mph fastball 12 Brewer, Brent Toolsy player with age on his side 13 Periard, Alex Good year, and reports of mid 90's fastball 14 Gindl, Caleb Great hitter 2 years as a pro 15 Dykstra, Cutter Another offensive player who plays key positions (cf ?2b) 16 Odorizzi, Jake Good arm, good debut 17 Frederickson, Evan High risk/reward lefty, taken high in draft 18 Mercedes, Roque Phenomenol splits as a reliever, ?closer 19 Braddock, Zach Injuries hurt his otherwise top 10 status 20 Peralta, Wily Great bounce back from injury, with great stuff
  25. biedergb
    What does Jamie Moyer have to do with anything? At 25 years old, Moyer posted a 3.48 ERA over 202 innings in the big leagues. At age 25, Chris Cody was still in High A. Not even close to being similar. I think this is heading back to the arguement of what is a prospect. If you define a prospect and his worth based upon potential and best case scenario than a guy like Jeffress is oodles better than Cody (or several other examples). If you define a prospect as likely to reach the pros and be successful, then this evens out the playing field and a guy like Cody (lefty pitcher, with good control) is maybe more likely to reach the pros than Jeffress because Cody is older (past his "injury nexus" presumably) and more suited to be a lefty/spot starter/middle reliever. So a guy like Gillespie who looks like a decent 4th outfielder may be rated highly because he is also in AA and had a successful year. Obviously there are a lot of ways to evaluate to prospects, but I took the two extremes. I'm not putting words into clancy's mouth, but I suspect that this is part of his argument, am I close to correct?
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