Gopher74

Perhaps, but I think that Villy's change up is underrated. It's not as sexy as a 96 MPH fastball, or a 12-6 curve that falls off the table, or a 88 MPH slider, but it can rally keep a pitcher off balance, and it can make a rather pedestrian fastball and average slider look much better than they truly are.

I think this could end up being a great signing for the Cardinals. Lohse has a very good, very live arm and some very good pure stuff. I'm a bit concerned seeing him team with Duncan, and knowing the Cards history of the taking pitchers with this history, a history that up to this point is better than Suppan's was, or Carpenters was, and being very successful with them. I could see Lohse have a bit of a resurgence and posting an ERA in the low 4.00's over 200 or so innings for them. He reminds me in some ways of Gil Meche. His stuff isn't as good obviously, but I think he could end up being the steal of the FA market from this past year.

They sure have. I don't agree with you 100 pct on your evaluation of Suppan from last year. I believe he could have performed much better through the middle part of the year. There was a good long stretch in there where he was just not good. I think if he would have been just average the middle part of the year then that statement would by a little more accurate in my opinion. All the same, there was a time, not so long ago where Jeff Suppan would be our best pitcher. God I miss those teams of the early 2000'shttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

That's right, but what's more is when people suggest he's shown no evidence that he's capable of having a .400 OBP, what exactly was that? Sure, it may have been a small sample size. It may not be conclusive evidence for some that he is without question going to have a breakout season, however, it is, using any objective evaluation, evidence that he's capable of breaking out. Let's not forget that Rickie Weeks, who was hurt much of last year, was among the top 5 in several key stats for all leadoff hitters(OBP, SLG, OPS, HR's)... So question the fact that he may break out, that's just fine. Understandable. However to suggest that he's never shown he can, or never done anything to indicate he can is just sticking your head in the sand.

I don't mean to sound rude here, but if you're going to correct my post, please make sure that you understand the context in which it was said. By telling me that it's a small sample size, that's has almost nothing to do with my post. An "indication" is a small sample size. That's the very definition. The poster said that he's shown no indication that he will have a .400 OBP. Pointing out an extended period of time in which he had an OBP well over .400 is without question some indication that he's capable of doing it. Clearly if he'd done if for an entire season this wouldn't even be an issue, so again, the sample size argument here has nothing to do with this particular point. Small samples are pretty much implied around this site, at least that has been my experience. Running off stats for a month and a half of production is a relatively small sample. Don't use the small sample card only when its convenient for your argument. This is what's getting frustrating. First of all, I fully understand how this site works. And let me make this point yet again. He said that Rickie Weeks HAD NEVER SHOWN ANY INDICATION. That's not saying, "he's never shown over a substantial sample size that Rickie Weeks can be a productive player". That's saying that Rickie Weeks has never, for any sample size done anything to suggest that he can be a .400 OBP type guy. He made the comment, and I was arguing based on the criteria HE layed out. And please don't get condescending. First of all, why wouldn't I use something convenient to my argument? I'd be a rather foolish way to debate something, wouldn't it? Second, as I've said time and time again, this has nothing to do with sample sizes. At least not the debate I was having with another poster. I claim that Weeks has not shown any indication of producing a break-out year (2008), not a break-out month and a half. Again, you can argue whatever you'd like. You'd be wrong, and you wouldn't be using the term "indication" correctly, but you could make that argument. Having a break out year isn't an "indication" of being capable of having a break out year. The definition of "indication". 2. Something that serves to indicate; a sign. So what he does for a two month stretch is absolutely without question "a sign", or an "indication". I don't see how you can't be worried about Rickie's production this year with 0-5, 3K, 4LOB becoming the spring routine. His spring line is looking like an anti-ignitor (.121 .194 .242). Hopefully he's just working on plate discipline or mechanics I don't believe I said that I wasn't worried, but in either event, you're using about two weeks of a "sample size" after your entire posts talks about sample sizes. (cleaned up code --1992)

Ace-Ben Sheets Co-Ace-Yovani Gallardo 3-Manny Parra 4-Carlos Villanueva 5-Dave Bush Bullpen CL-Eric Gange 8th-David Riske SU-Derrick Turnbow 7th-Salomon Torres MRP-Guillero Mota Loogy-Brian Shouse LR-Dave Bush Utility Man(Carlos Villanueva man)-Claudio Vargas Man, I look at this and realize that I've got no Jeff Suppan, NOR do I have Chris Capuano. Who'd have thought that there would even be a scenario in which you could argue that those two weren't one of our top 13 pitchers 12 months ago? But I honestly don't think that Suppan is one of our top 5 starters, and I think his lack of velocity and just stuff makes him a good bullpen option. AS for Cappy, I do like him, and you could always go with him as your number 5, Bush as your long man and Vargas out, but, and I say this knowing full well that I'm in the minority on this, but I believe he could be a very valuable bullpen arm for a couple reasons. I believe throwing an inning at a time he could improve his velocity to maybe 95-96 MPH. Couple that with a very good slider, and the fact that he seems to be at least above average if only slightly at stranding runners for most of his career and I think that he could be a very valuable reliever for us. I guess then you could hope to get a pretty decent return to help re-stock out farm system, especially with reliever options by dealing Suppan and Capuano.... Now this is all fantasy. In the real world, I'd have a hard time shipping out both Cappy and Suppan, in which case, I'd have Suppan in the rotation over Bush, Bush as the long man over Vargas. I'm still not sure what I'd do in order to go from 14 to 13, much less 12 if the Brewers were going to go the conventional route and break camp with a 12 man staff.

I absolutely agree. I played catcher all through my baseball career. It's very simple, if you're blocking the plate when you have no business blocking the plate, be prepared to wipe the snot off of your face when it comes bubbling out, because you're going to get blown the hell up. And you're exactly right. What happened to JJ Hardy? So what would this conversation be if this kid did a hook slide and since the catcher was blocking the plate, got his leg caught up and tore up his knee? The whole "it's just spring training so don't go hard" theory doesn't hold any water for me since that's when you're more susceptible to injury. I think any athlete knows that when you decide to go easy and to play less than your hardest, that's when you're going to get hurt. Frankly I don't get the double standard....I suspect it's because it's "The Yankee's", and for anyone to have the audacity to play the Yanks hard is just unheard of.

It's ST. Players look out for each other - how many other teams have bowled the C mulitple times this ST? What difference does it make by asking a rhetorical question about how many times have other teams done it? First of all, I don't have an answer for that, and neither do you, so that doesn't really serve any purpose in trying to decide if the play made by one individual was a cheap play or if it was a legit play. The fact of the matter is, other teams DO do it, but you don't hear about it unless it's the Yankee's because of that Yankee arrogance. As if you can't possibly dare to play the Yankee's hard. How dare this kid who may never get another shot play the game the RIGHT way. The way the idiot manager of those arrogant Yankee's plays the game and teaches the game. It's such a double standard. The player had specifically asked Girardi how to handle a situation where you'd bowl the C in the regular season, and Girardi told him point-blank that you just flat-out don't do that in ST... oh but I guess Girardi 'would totally bowl the C every time', huh? (yes, Goph, I know you didn't make that claim) Honestly, unless I saw a link talking about this before this incident happened, I don't believe it. It's easy to sit there and act smug and say, "well, I've told out players that you don't play like this beacuse someone asked me about this very thing a couple weeks ago. It's a tad too convenient. And honestly, yes, I do believe that in the same situation, Girardi would run a guy over. Certainly if he was a young player desperately trying to make an impression. Except that it's pretty common baseball protocol to not plow guys in ST. Then wouldn't it stand to reason if there is this unwritten rule in baseball that you don't run over the catcher that you also don't block the plate? That's like saying that you can't steal second base in a ST game, but it's alright for the pitcher to try and pick you off. If it's this unwritten rule, then BOTH sides have to play the game that way. IF they don't, then it's all fair. This notion that the guy did this 'to make the ballclub' doesn't hold any water to me. If your manager evaluates talent poorly enough where he needs to see you plow a kid in the 8th inning of a ST game to notice you, I'm glad he's not my manager. Either that or you're just not a very talented baseball player. First of all, he may not be a real talented kid. So what? What on Earth would that have to do with this other than take a cheap shot at the kid(not that he's reading this or anything, just that it's a pointless shot)? Just like the manager comment. It's rather transparent. Second, nobody's saying that this one play is going to get the kid noticed, what we're TRYING to say is that the kid's playing the game the right way. He's trying to score, and trying to show he's a guy who hustles and is going to do whatever he can within the rules of the game to help his team win. It absolutely boggles my mind that you're so upset with the Rays over this, yet you have nothing to say about the Yankee catcher blocking the plate for no reason. Why does he get a pass? He basically made the Ray's players mind up for him. You block the plate, you either go through a guy or you get thrown out. Simple as that.

Absolutely. There's no question I want Melvin to lie. But to cite Melvin as being somehow dishonest when every GM mis-leads or at the very least DOESN'T discuss what he's planning on doing is missing the point. You don't tell another team, which is what you're doing if you tell your fans, what you plan on doing unless you want them to come in and snatch up whatever player you're trying to acquire before you acquire them. I sure don't want Ted Thompson to tell the fans who he wants to draft, so when he says that he has a lot of players on his board, even if he has a specific player in mind, that's not lying. That's being a good GM. Man, this would be like wanting to know all of the Cia's operations around the world and calling the Director a liar for not telling you. Somethings are better if we DON'T know about them.

I could have named a lot more baseball players who have lied and/or tried to deceive the public. This site would have crashed. Is Pettitt an honest person? the public used to think so. First of all, what did Andy Pettite lie 3 times about in the last 6 months? I don't believe he lied a single time. I think when his name appeared on that report, he came out and said it was true and was very up front about it. Then when it came to his BEST FRIEND he told the truth and sank Clemens. To pick him, he may be the worst example, but he is thought of as the most honest person in the game, and actually comes out looking BETTER after this. He was totally up front about everything. He took them when they weren't banned, and took them once, which is what McNamara said. So again, he'd be a bad guy to pick. However, I still think the premise is absurd. I could name lots of white people who have lied, but to all the sudden start deriding an entire group of people as all being liars because what ends up being a very small pct of them are liars is something that I just don't agree with. Being skeptical is one thing, but to essentially call a guy a liar outright because others in his chosen profession are? Hmm... Ok, I was wrong about the collision. it was the worst ever. It was. I may be wrong, but this comes off as a bit placating to me and honestly a bit sarcastic. I apologize if this is sincere however. But when a player who has basically never come forward before all of a sudden announces publically that he is looking into seeking an exemption, it makes you wonder why and what is the real reason he's seeking an exemption. I don't understand? So it'd be better if he did it under the radar? Why? What difference does this make in any way, shape or form? There are a lot of players who have exemptions in baseball. before last week, how many of them went public and announced they are getting an exemption? 1? 2 ? 5? 0? Again, I don't get what difference this makes, however, I don't know how many guys have "come forward". The fact that he does shows me he's being HONEST about it and up front. But since it's not a big deal, nobody talks about it, so when would we hear about this? I don't find this to be very important quite frankly other than you seemingly being pretty upset over it. Did Josh Hamilton ever come forward and publically admit what his problems were? I don't get what this has to do with anything, but yes, he's come out and talked about it publically. But again, so what? There is no correlation between the two. I honestly don't mean to sound rude, but this is a giant stretch here. When you have a player who speaks openly who has never done so in the past, it leads people like me to speculate. Pretty much every single players comes out and talks about his injury's. The suggestion that they don't is totally outrageous to me. But you've now transitioned from one issue to another. First it was questioning that he really needed it after a minor collision and now you're saying that because he was open about it, it makes you question it. So why is Cameron being so honest, candid and public? it seems very out of character. No it doesn't. Not at all. He was incredibly open about his suspension, and from all accounts he's always been thought of as a very honest person and a great clubhouse guy by his teammates. So if anything, it's exactly IN character for him. Did Gagne do steriods or HGH? You didn't hear him admitting to doing anything. Again, what on God's earth does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Honestly, one is talking about POSSIBLY seeking an exemption for medication IF it's shown that he needs it and you're talking about if someone named in the mitchell report has talked about it. I just think this connection is incredibly odd.

First of all, that was the hardest collision between baseball players that I've ever seen, including the Pete Rose-Catcher collision. Or maybe the most violent would be a better description. Honestly, someone could have gotten killed in that collision had they hit right(though I suppose that's true in a lot of cases, just trying to articulate just how nasty that collision was). Second, comparing Mike Cameron to lying about a health concern to Doug Melvin lying about potential trades is a absurd connection quite frankly. I'd RATHER he lie about them. I don't want the GM of my team to start discussing openly every inside talk he's having, something that could easily hamper his ability to make a move for any number of reasons. Then to bring Elliot Spitzer(or however you spell his name) into the equation to further your point about all athletes lying after essentially demonizing an entire segment of people as being dishonest and untrustworthy because you can name a handful of players out of thousands is to put it mildly crazy. And finally, let's just say that you're right, and that his collision wasn't a hard one.....neither was Corey Koskie's, so even if that was the case, which again, it absolutely is not, that really doesn't have any impact on getting Post Concussion Syndrome. You can obviously get it from a seemingly mild collision. And unless I'm mistaken, all I've heard about Cameron is that he's exploring the situation further, not that he's saying he has to, but that he wants to further investigate. So honestly, I don't see the outrage for Mike Cameron here. He's thought of in most circles as a honest guy who's had one single slip up. Not enough to eternally label him a liar and untrustworthy.

I don't know that I'd go throwing JD Drew in there JUST yet, but point very well taken. Bud Selig's done a lot of great things for this game and this franchise, and he's a punch line. It's pretty sickening to hear Brewer fans complain about him. That greats pretty annoying. Wendy Selig-Prieb? Absolutely. She ruined this franchise for a stretch, but Bud was a better owner than anyone will give him credit for.

When exactly would Villanueva block the plate? C'mon, two totally difference scenarios. You could say an outside pitch to Prince would hit Rickie, but it really doesn't have any bearing on this particular situation, ie, you can't replace the catcher with pitchers and say "what if they got run over". I can't fathom a pitcher with his knees down, in front of the plate blocking it.

First of all, I'm a big surprised that you haven't heard much about this. I've heard about this about 20 different times just casually watching a sportscenter, or whatever. It was on Around the Horn and PTI, and the consensus was in almost every place that it was a good, clean play. If you don't want to get run over, DON'T BLOCK THE PLATE. It's baseball 101, and you're asking a guy who may not ever get another chance to make a club to give himself up there? What's even more ridiculous to me? This is the type of play Joe Girardi would make time and time again, ST or not. And as for Salome, I wouldn't be the least bit upset. You don't hold back while you're playing this game because it's ST. I'd be more upset if my guy broke and ankle ala JJ Hardy because he slid into a catcher blocking the plate. You play the game softer because it's ST, you're more likely to get hurt. This is a product of the Yankee arrogance in my opinion.

Meh, not really.

The Brewers are NOT in a "bind" no matter how much you think they are. Having too much starting pitching is simply not a bad thing, and having a guy like Capuano, bad year and all, isn't a burden. You could put him through waivers and he'd get claimed by probably 10 teams. There is no bind to speak of, and nobody thinks we're getting a package of Ellsbury and Bucholz.

Let's not forget that while Molly is my all time favorite player in all of sports, he was snorting a little blow when he was Braun's age, so it may be a bit premature to label him anything at this point.

No....no....NO!!! I haven't read him doing this, nor have I heard it, but is this something he does often? Nothing is more off-putting to me than a professional athlete who refers to himself in the third person.

How about Gold Glove caliber defense? He's a fantastic defender. And yes I think he'd get the chance if his dad wasn't who he was. I don't think that fans would be as big of fans of him, but that's not really important. But yea, he's proven that he's at least a AAAA type player, and he COULD be a poor mans Juan Pierre, which isn't the worst thing in the world as a 4th/5th OF"er.

You're making the assumption that Yost knows they're going to move Lilly back, or that what he even said was a absolute commitment. I took it as though Gwynn MIGHT be the starter or get the starts taking over for Mike Cameron. I really don't think that's a big deal. Honestly, never been a big Gwynn fan whatsoever, but with Braun in LF, it's not the worst thing in the world for me to see Gwynn starting vs Right Handed hitters. He did play very well early last year, and he looks thicker this year. But moreover, I think it was just a statement of support for Gwynn than a declaration that he would be the starter.

Just to nitpick a bit, by itself, we'd have to send up a small sample alert. Combining it with anecdotal evidence (the injury and its prognosis), along with other stats (numbers when healthy), is what gives us an indication. He was arguing that he's shown no indication that he can have an OBP over .400. Showing a stretch when he DID have an OBP over .400 is definitely showing "some indication". And now, we wouldn't have to use any small sample alert. He didn't say that he's "only" done it in a small sample, he said he's never shown ANY indication....meaning a second half of .400 OBP would be a pretty clear indication. (cleaned up code --1992)

I don't get it, where people just NOT paying attention last year? The fact that his OBP was over .400 after he came back up isn't "any indication"? The fact that he was top 5 in MANY of the key statistical area's after coming back up of all leadoff hitters, hell, even for the entire year means that he's a bottom 3rd leadoff hitter? Based on what? He was a top 3rd leadoff hitter with a bad wrist that badly hampered his game last year. Now healthy, he's bottom 3rd?

Stewart is actually considered a disappointment and is likely a Four A ballplayer. By who? Jeez, it's early to give up on Weeks, but it's NOT to early to call a top 50 prospect a "disappointment and a FourA player"? For the record, I think it's far too early to give up on either.

Well, bringing him up in May will still result in this being a year of service time for him. Last year we simply wanted to avoid Braun being eligible for "Super 2" status which just means that he'd have to wait an additional year to be arby eligible, but you don't gain another year by doing so. And since Parra was on the big league roster for probably about 50-60 days last year, that's even less of a factor than it was with Braun. I think the only thing that keeps him off is if they want to keep his innings down and less stressful, but even that IMO won't keep him from breaking camp with the big league team.

I can promise you the Brewers haven't even entertained the idea of sending Yo to the pen to be our closer. Honestly though, I don't get the reference? What young potential ace was sent to the pen to be a closer? I'm not certain if you're talking about Meyers or not in Philly, but he certainly wasn't sent to the pen because of a surplus in SP'ing options, rather a lack of closer options.