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Thurston Fluff

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Everything posted by Thurston Fluff

  1. Thurston Fluff
    I often wonder if those lists put to much stock in big years. I guess it makes sense because they see a big year and think (hope?) that player had a break out year and will just get better. All the while ignoring those who never had the big year but were always good at every level. That gives guys like Hunter Morris more hype than guys like Kris Davis. Yet what most teams probably want in a major league player is consistency. I would love to see a list made up of players who just do well everywhere they go but are never great anywhere and see how they stack up to top prospect lists. I would guess the best of the best would have consistently put up big seasons but after that the consistent ones do better long term than the ones who alternate between great and mediocre seasons.
  2. Thurston Fluff
    Yea it was an uphill battle given the circumstances. But it is cool he was being considered. If anyone is interested this is the video of another epic match involving Kemp. It was against Dave Schultz in the 84 Olympic trials. http://www.flowrestling.org/coverage/234578-the-guru-archives-match-of-the-week/video/191508-dave-schultz-v-lee-kemp-1984-olympic-trials-grand-valley-state#.VOOm2S7MLh4 Schultz was a great technician while Kemp the better athlete. Schulz was one of the guys who brought some of the old Soviet Union techniques to the US. Had the opportunity to meet both of them on several occasions. Amazing to sit and pick their brains as a teenager/young adult. Both nice people and both very enthusiastic to sit down and talk wrestling with anyone.
  3. Thurston Fluff
    This tinkering with the game to shorten it and/or cause more runs to be scored is aggravating. Look, you either enjoy baseball or you don't. No matter what they do, it will not have the constant action that football and basketball provide. You could make every game 14-11 and done in two hours, and casual fans would still not be any more interested than they are now. Totally agree. Instead of trying to be more like football or basketball try appealing to what makes baseball so addicting to follow. It is America's past time not America's edge of your seat, locked in to every second of the three hours, for fear of missing something time. I love listening to the games while outside playing with my dog or doing something more than sitting in the house on a beautiful summer day watching it. Yet on days when there isn't a game on I feel like part of my day is missing. If they would cater more to fans who see baseball as a major part of their daily routine as opposed to fans who want edge of your seat excitement for a couple hours they would end up with a far larger fan base IMHO.
  4. Thurston Fluff
    Titan tv is streaming the WIAC wrestling conference tournament live today. Not just the finals but all the semi finals and consolation rounds. No football or baseball on and it's -2 outside yet I am in sports heaven. On break until the finals start at 3:15.
  5. Thurston Fluff
    If the score is 50-10 there was plenty of action but probably a boring game to watch. Baseball is much more exciting when the game is close not simply because there is a lot of scoring. Maybe it's just me but baseball isn't about action. It's about suspense. Keep the game close where every pitch matters and you have an exciting good game. What I don't get is they are trying to shorten games yet want to shrink the strike zone and talked about eliminating defensive shifts. So essentially they are trying to shorten the game while simultaneously making it harder to get outs. Makes sense to me.
  6. Thurston Fluff
    I'm not claiming they did ask him to work at other positions but if they did it would have been far from stupid. It wasn't about where they needed help at that moment as much as where they might need help at some point. Things happen over the course of a season. Having the flexibility to adjust to them matters. There is no conceivable scenario where having a bench player who can only play one position is better than one who can play more than one. It's why so many fringe players work so hard to be more versatile. I don't see how asking a bench player to be more versatile is stupid.
  7. Thurston Fluff
    In general I agree it would have helped his marketability this off season but there was no way the Brewers were going to let him get enough plate appearances to vest that option.
  8. Thurston Fluff
    I hadn't really thought about it that way but I think you are onto something. It's one thing to have a couple weeks of bad play but quite another to have a month stretch of horrendous play.
  9. Thurston Fluff
    He had a bit more leverage to say 'No' in Milwaukee to playing OF as he was already under contract; it just meant he might not see as many at-bats (he didn't). He has/had little-to-no leverage this offseason as he was a FA; I'm sure he was a bit more receptive to playing OF as it would likely lead to getting paid in 2015. Remember when Soriano tried to refuse to play outfield in Washington several years ago? He was told in no uncertain terms he will play where the team tells him to play or he will suspended by the team and not get paid. Suddenly he was open to the idea. I really don't think leverage had anything to do with it.
  10. Thurston Fluff
    I thought it might be confusing as well but then figured more people would look if they thought it was the Crusher or something so I left it. Sneaky I know but for a good guy. Doesn't look like he's gonna make it though. Probably too long ago for anyone to remember.
  11. Thurston Fluff
    From what I remembered he was not a good defensive catcher so i did a little digging. It appears he is not good. When you take into consideration his pitch framing he is down right bad. http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2014/8/21/6046603/dioner-navarro-quiet-disaster The first thing a catcher has to be is at least an average catcher in my humble opinion. So no, don't give up something for a temporary offensive boost at a defense first position.
  12. Thurston Fluff
    I don't know how many college wrestling fans are out there but Lee Kemp was one of the all time great Wisconsin Badger wrestlers. His championship match in 1978 was epic enough to be considered for the all time greatest NCAA championship match. Even if you are not a wrestling fan please give a former Badger some love and vote for him. http://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/epic-eight-wrestling-bracket/2015-02-09/epic-eight-matches-unprecedented-achievement
  13. Thurston Fluff
    A 1 game playoff between the 4th and 5th "best" team in a league is fine with me. I don't see it as any different than a tiebreaker game (163rd game). In theory it should lessen the chance of wildcard team advancing since they will probably start their best pitcher in the wildcard game leaving their next opponent to start their best pitcher in game 1 and perhaps a second time in the series. I love the play in game. It reestablishes the emphases on winning your division while also allowing a good team blocked by a great team a chance. Don't want your season to come down to a single game? Win your division and you don't have to.
  14. Thurston Fluff
    Good read on the Brewers' pitching approach. Touches on Gallardo's transition and to a some extent shows his change from strikeout pitcher to ground ball pitcher is not necessarily a sign he is about done being an above average pitcher in the league. Also found it interesting that they emphasize the four seem fastball over the two seamer. Something that is pretty much the opposite of the trend around baseball these past few years. Also how Lucroy is the perfect catcher for that approach. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/going-low-and-away-with-the-brewers/
  15. Thurston Fluff
    I am on the other side of the coin. I would rather listen to most sports than watch it. I like being able to move around and do things while listening to the game rather than be stuck to the sofa watching it. I agree however that Uecher sometimes gets carried away with stories and neglects telling us the fly ball was foul or fair and such. But the flip side is when the game is dull he isn't. In some of those bad years I liked it more when the game was out of hand because Bob would go night at the improv on the broadcast. Now that the team is competitive I would rather hear the game called better. But an 80 year old icon can do as he wishes and I will not complain.
  16. Thurston Fluff
    Or maybe others are just willing to walk away from a guy after 6-7 years? Which of course is where most of that discussion came up, it wasn't about what the player had done, but rather what they would do in the future. When it comes to discussing contract extensions and a player's ultimate value then all things positive and negative should be taken into account. I agree it's about what they will do not what they did. I just don't buy the perception Gallardo could be replaced with a rookie pitcher, who hasn't shown much in his one stint in the majors, with no drop off. I get that perception is based partially on his decreased velocity. It is usually backed up by his declining K rate which is fair. But it seem those same people usually ignore his increasing GB rate. I also think there is more to it than just misplaced emphasis on K rates and lower velocity to the exclusion of all else. His velocity isn't falling any faster than a lot of pitchers who still pitched at a high level. It isn't uncommon for good pitchers to adjust as they age. Gallardo hasn't shown anything that shows he can't be one of them. In fact considering he had the best ERA of his career even though his velocity dropped would suggest he is on his way to being one of them. I think the reason why people focus on what he lost and determine he is going to suddenly be average at best is based, at least partially, on him failing to meet some pretty high expectations in the past.
  17. Thurston Fluff
    I agree with you if you mean 2015. I think Nelson can be better since he can improve and does have the stuff. I think Gallardo is a victim of expectations here. He was projected to be a true top shelf starter for us but never lived up to being more than a solid #2. So he is viewed as a disappointment. People tend to over state how terrible people are when they are disappointed with them. Gallardo is the Brewers version of AJ Hawk.
  18. Thurston Fluff
    His ERA was better, nothing else was. I'm not cherrypicking, anybody with eyes can see that his stuff has visibly diminished over the years. Last year the strikeouts disappeared even further, to a sub-7.0 K/9. I don't think Gallardo profiles well as a low-K, high-GB pitcher long-term. You keep saying everything was worse but that simply isn't true. His ground ball rate was better. You seem fixated on his lower velocity and reduced K rate and aren't giving any credence to his increased GB rate. If he doesn't profile well as a low K high GB pitcher why did he have the lowest ERA of his career the same year his ground ball rate was the highest of his career?
  19. Thurston Fluff
    Arlington ETA http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor 4.18 and 1.36 WHIP in 2013 and all on exp deal I read that to mean caliber a pitcher he was. If you literally meant 4+ ERA in Texas as opposed to what type of pitcher sure it is possible. How likely I don't know. His FIP is lower I know that. He was a 4+ ERA pitcher in 2013, his peripherals only got worse last season, he's another year older, he's moving to the AL and Texas. He's been a 3.90+ FIP pitcher for three seasons now. In every other season, including last year, he was better than that. If you also take into consideration some external factors that weighed on him, like his mom dying and such, it's kind of cherry picking to use that one season as his true value while ignoring all the rest. As far as being another year older yes he will be all of 29. If he was a 3.90+ FIP for three years running I think that is closer to what he is likely to be next year. Moving to the AL would probably raise his ERA but, like I said, I took it to mean that was his talent level not a literal number.
  20. Thurston Fluff
    Certainly wasn't expecting a potential MLB-caliber SS plus two other solid prospects for a likely 4+ ERA pitcher like Gallardo. How are you arriving at the conclusion he is likely to be a 4+ERA pitcher?
  21. Thurston Fluff
    I spend the better part of a week coming up with a football player made out of balloons. I came up with a pretty neat bobble head design. I would like to thank the Packers for making my efforts worthless. Oh well onto balloon roses for Valentines Day I guess.
  22. Thurston Fluff
    The question you have to ask is this. If Fielder were previously NEVER a Brewer........would you sign him RIGHT NOW to a 94 million dollar contract? If he could actually play first base maybe. As it is no. We got Lind for someone we may have non tendered. Over the last two years Lind out produced Fielder. While I think Fielder has the ability to be better than Lind it isn't guaranteed. After a season ending injury, not to mention a lot of miles on a body type not conducive for longevity to begin with, I have doubts if he will ever be the same guy he was in his prime. It could reasonably be argued Lind and a platoon mate could out produce Prince for a fraction of the cost.
  23. Thurston Fluff
    Maybe by giving Lucroy actual days off, and playing an actual first baseman, we'll keep Lucroy fresh. What a novel idea. Trying to keep him fresh by playing first base is about as useful as giving a starving dog a rubber bone.
  24. Thurston Fluff
    Letting Matheny become a FA instead of offering him salary arbitration was an under the radar bad move. I loved Brantley's high OBP. The guy is one of the few players to come up through the system to actually take walks (and not strike out a ton). I thought he could be a .280-.300 hitter and get on base at a .350+ %. I never thought he'd be a 20 HR guy - maybe 10. But even a 10 HR guy who gets on base 35% of the time is pretty nice to have. I remember at the time I heard Chris Bosio talk about him being the one they would miss the most on a radio show in Appleton. He specifically mentioned he had some power and I brought that up here. At the time we kind of all questioned that because he didn't show any power in the minors up to that point. Turns out Bosio must have saw something the stats, or amateur bloggers on a fan site, didn't.
  25. Thurston Fluff
    Actually that is exactly what they are doing. There was a negotiation and both sides agreed to open up travel between the two nations. They have also agreed to open up diplomatic relations which is the first step trade agreements. Part of a trade agreement could very realistically be in baseball players. While Cuba isn't going to suddenly decide to become a Capitalist economy but that is not necessary to open up trade agreements. We have trade agreements with a lot of closed societies.
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