SoCalBrewfan

I'd love to see every non-Ben-Sheets starter on the team right now (Kinney, Franklin, Obermeuller, Martinez, Davis) competing for one rotation slot and one or two bullpen slots. Face it guys, as I said in the Geno monster thread, this team is bad primarily because of the rotation. It's Sheets and a bucket of fifth starters...for, what, the tenth year running? But of course I expect that we'll be scraping the fringes of the scrap heap again this off-season.

Epy Guerrero was a legend...I would hardly call him a moron, given his history. He signed a lot of the guys from the DR that put Toronto on the map...IIRC, including Tony Fernandez, Alfredo Griffin, Damaso Garcia...but I wonder how much of this move is because Epy was so much a legend that he didn't adapt to changing times. There was an article about scouting in the DR, in which Epy talked about not playing the same games other teams did, not going to organized tryouts, etc. My gut feeling is that he was just too stubborn to change his methods...that he was scouting as though it were still 1981...and that Melvin and Ash decided they didn't want to deal with him any more, especially given the track record in later years.

Wait...I thought Doug Davis was unbeatable. There must be some mistake.

Eveland's numbers are simply astonishing to me, given that park / league. As a team, Helena was carried by their pitching, IMO...if I get a chance I'll peek back to past team ERAs for Helena...I may just be dim, but I can't remember anything like a 3.96. Maybe the Scott Karl / Kevin Kloek staff?

just checked in...how'd all those red guys get on the bases?

While I share your lack of enthusiam for Kade Johnson's future, I'm not sure that we're losing a lot by sending him to the AFL. From what I understand, teams bid on AFL slots by position...so somebody may get a SS slot that they wanted but have to 'settle' for a catcher slot that doesn't really fit their needs. I can't really see another player that would absolutely need the AFL atbats...the only exception I could see would be Weeks. In retrospect, the Brewers might now think that Krynzel needs a break instead of more baseball, but I'm sure that it seemed a good idea at the time.

Yeah, I have seen Conti's minor league stats...this year is pretty badly out of character. But here's the thing...most of the previous AAA at bats were in Tucson and the PCL...the league average OBP right now is .340, and Tucson is a great hitter's park (a pro-hitter park factor of 1051 according to BP...link is below), so when you look at, say, his 2001 numbers (.290 /&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .358 /&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .417), you have to let a lot of air out to see what they really mean. Had he done that in New Orleans, I'd be more impressed. www.baseballprospectus.co...erer.shtml (Note that Tucson's park factor is nearly as high as Colorado Springs with its 1088...Las Vegas is the only other higher number in the PCL...admittedly, the former American Association parks mean that the PCL as a whole is less a hitter's league than it used to be. FWIW, the number I see for High Desert park factor is 1139...that is supposedly the highest anywhere...someone who has a copy of the Baseball Prospectus book might be able to post other numbers.)

Am I the only one who find's Al's love of Conti to be at once charming (touching almost) and yet peculiar? He did good today...still, a .285 OBP and 5 K's per walk for a 28-year old in AAA don't normally float my boat. His previous minor league stats are better, but his resume also includes time in parks and leagues like High Desert / Cal League, Tulsa / Texas League, and Tucson / PCL... Yes, there are worse players drawing major league paychecks...but if you're going to beat the drum for underutilized talent, I'm not sure Conti is the best stick.

Actually, if you look a couple topics down, you'll see a thread I posted containing a link that says that Weeks would get four option years...it's a little-used clause that says that a player gets a fourth option year if he has less than five years of pro experience...which basically only happens if a player signs a major league deal just after the draft. You will also see a post by me somewhere where I list all the guys who signed major league deals after the draft. For the college guys, it has not been an issue...the only guys that haven't worked out have been issues of talent, not contract: Chad Hutchinson and Eric Munson. The Reds with Dane Sardinha may yet be hurt by this issue...but then he may never hit period. I would think long and hard about signing a HS draftee to a major league deal, but college players, especially at the top of the draft, have been a different story. thread with all major league contracts Bottom line is, it's not as bad as some suggest...and to give up on Weeks and take a comp pick in the 30s for this issue would just be silly. If Weeks can't stick in the bigs in his fifth year, he probably never will. EDIT: Clarity. Maybe.

But having Estrella vs. Estalella counts for something....

The one that springs to mind for me is 2b Pedro Garcia, 1974...in 141 games, 452 AB: .199 / .248 / .330. Of course, league OPS was only .691 then....his double play partner was Tim Johnson...in 1973 he hit .213 /.259 / .243 in 465 AB. Apparently a lingering effect of Viet Nam. Too bad Ray Oyler never played for the Brewers...his year with the Seattle Pilots he hit .165 or something. And then there's Ellie Rodriguez... EDIT: Dumb typo...added info. A buddy of mine had Strat-o-Matic cards from 74...boy were the Brewers awful then. Two of their starting OF were .220 hitters with little or no power...and Clyde Wright lost 20 games.

Brewers page on Nelson: By promoting him now, the Brewers rescued Nelson from a tough situation at High Desert. The club has endured changes in the coaching staff and the roster, and entered play Thursday 7-25 in the second half and 32-70 overall. "I'd like to see Brad in a better atmosphere than that," Nichols said. "When you play on a winning team, you come to the ballpark talking about baseball, not about what your plans are for the winter." The move also gives Nelson a better chance at a roster spot with the Maryvale Saguaros, an entry in the prestigious Arizona Fall League. Each organization is only allowed one player with fewer than 30 days of service in Double-A or higher, so moving Nelson now opens opportunities for a younger player. As noted, the AFL was a factor. I would still love to think the 'younger player' is actually Weeks... The stuff about HD and the environment is pretty wierd. And what does that say for Daryl Clark?

For the sake of discussion, I'll disagree. Earl Weaver always said that the only place for a rookie pitcher is in the bullpen. Yes, there are some effective counter-examples...but I've often felt that many young pitchers would be better served by a year or half year in long relief before being given a big-league rotation spot. It's low-pressure experience with major league hitters, and far less likely to lead to overwork and 125-pitch starts when the manager is snoozing.

While looking for the answer to another question, I found this somewhat cryptic statement in the BA FAQ: In some rare cases, a player is entitled to four option years. Players with less than five professional seasons are eligible for this fourth option year. This generally comes into effect only when a player signs a major league contract immediately upon being drafted, because most players will not be added to the 40-man roster until their third or fourth pro season. Hmmm... www.baseballamerica.com/t...q.html#opt

I'm pretty surprised about the Nelson promotion...guess he'll be with H'ville for the playoffs. Clark doesn't deserve the demotion, IMO...but what do I know. Is this another deal where they want a guy to play in the Fall League so promote him to AA earlier than anticipated? It would make sense to send Nelson, given the time he missed. AIUI, only one player per org can go to the AFL without experience at AA...and it may be that they're saving that sub-A spot for someone...would love to think it was Weeks but I don't know how those rules work.

I would imagine it likely that Weeks signs an 04 deal in time to play in the fall instructional league...this based on the hints above. Depending on how that goes, he could well start in, say, High Desert next year...that would be a fine level and park to get him jump-started. Beloit is too cold in April...I don't know how you people do it, living there... Please note that this is not inside information, just the idle speculation of a fan who may or may not have a clue.

If the supposed new rules are in effect, where the comp pick is also #2 overall, I'd think very seriously about it. If the comp pick is a supplemental 1st rounder, as would be the case under the old rules, well, that's not adequate compensation for losing Weeks IMO. He should have one more year of eligibility at Southern, but it's unlikely that he's going to better his draft position or signing bonus by returning for another year....and it certainly isn't the kind of competition that will have him developing as he needs to. In general, major league deals are not a great idea...but that's more true for 18 year olds who haven't played college ball, or older players who have major development issues. Pena was very young when he signed his, as was the Reds' David Espinosa. But then Mark Prior signed a major league deal...not a problem in that case. Other prominent names who signed major league deals right out of the draft: Bo Jackson, Ben McDonald, John Olerud, Todd Van Poppel, A-Rod, Pat Burrell, J.D. Drew, Chad Hutchinson, Josh Beckett, Eric Munson, Xavier Nady, Mark Teixeira...in most of those cases, it was not an issue, even for HS kids A-Rod and Beckett. The worst cases fit into two categories: HS kids Espinosa and Van Poppel, who didn't have time to develop properly, and then the pure busts: Hutchinson, Munson (arguably)...it's doubtful that a standard contract would have made a difference here. And then there's Dane Sardinha, a college catcher who might not hit in time, but then might not hit ever...I would argue that the Reds blew it in that case. Still up in the air: Jace Brewer of TB, Dewon Brazelton, Jeremy Guthrie, Jeff Baker. I'd guess Brewer is a case where it doesn't work out...for the other guys it may or may not be an issue. Arby and free agency clocks aren't started until you're on the 25-man roster, so that shouldn't be much of an issue.

I dunno who criticized Stairs...he is what he is, a good lefty bat who has limitations on defense and vs LHP. He certainly did all that was expected of him last year...IMO at least.

Yeah, I think that events suggest that Melvin might not have renewed the deal. It seems that both HD and Lancaster (also a high desert bandbox) have been the hot potatoes of the Cal league...they've changed affiliations a bunch of times. But I'm not sure that there was a systematic plan to screw HD either. Remember that the top guns on the Beloit staff last year were starters Jones and Yeatman, relievers Saenz and Stavros, and the two Dans, Kolb and Hall, who did a little of both. Yeatman and fellow starter Gerry Oakes were traded, two other starters (Artman and Steitz) were awful and recently released, and Jones skipped a level, on merit it seems. That leaves Saenz, Stavros, and the Dans, who still went to HD, joining holdovers Pete Smart, Justin Gordon, Greg Schaub, and DL bonus babies J.M. Gold and Jeff Robinson. Of course it hasn't turned out very nicely...though things aren't as bad as the ERAs might suggest. But I don't see a lot of other options in the system, given the flameouts of high draft choices like Artman, Steitz, etc. In some ways I think the offense has been more disappointing...all they have now are singles hitters and base stealers...given their home park, the hitters in HD are really pretty dismal, including Nelson, Belcher, Morris, Foster, and Raburn, IMO. Even Nelson and Belcher are pretty empty batting averages right now...

The great thing about wrestling (or boxing I suppose) is that you are the same weight as your opponent. A 98-pound freshman is suddenly hugely valuable. Of course, the pitfall is that then he gets shoved out there to wrestle a senior who should be 132 pounds but has been running in a sauna with a rainsuit, spitting the whole time. For a week. Or so I've heard.

Just curious if there's still anyone out there who thinks that we're pretty close to being a playoff team...

In the Norse epic poem OLE SKARNJJJRK, Woah Solvdd is the mythic hero who catches the heads of the trolls as they roll down from Ragnarok after being bashed by Thor. Thus it is an entirely appropriate allusion...woe to those ignoramuses (ignorami?) who missed the reference...

AFAIK, both are correct...Frost as a college senior had zero leverage. And Carter...sigh.

Anything for Jim: 2nd round OF Tony Gwynn : $875,000 '02 2nd rounder Josh Murray $825,000 3rd round C Lou Palmisano: $500,000 '02 3rd rounder Eric Thomas: $470,000 4th round HS OF Charlie Fermaint: $295,000 '02 4th rounder Nic Carter $255,000 5th round HS C Bryan Opdyke: $228,500 '02 5th rounder Jarrad Page: DNS 6th round HS C Robbie Wooley: $175,000 '02 6th rounder Khalid Ballouli: $110,500 7th round RHP Brian Montalbo: $127,500 '02 7th rounder Tom Wilhelmsen: $250,000 8th round HS RHP Ryan Marion: $104,000 '02 8th rounder Steve Kahn: DNS 9th round LHP Greg Kloosterman : $85,000 '02 9th rounder Edwin Walker: $60,000 10th round HS RHP Tyler Morrison: $62,500 '02 10th rounder Jeremy Frost: $5,000

More recently, a number of pitchers have PH...Aguilera did it at least once, I know. Rick Rhoden was a pretty good hitter, and would PH five times a year or so in the mid 80s...he had a few years where his OPS was above league average. Another ex-pirate named Rick, Reuschel, actually DHed for the Yankees once IIRC. And of course our own Bill Wegman ended his career playing RF... But yeah, it's nice to see the Brewers take a risk on Brooks, and to see Brooks make it work.