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balsamlaker

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Everything posted by balsamlaker

  1. balsamlaker
    How much of a chance will Dubon have of earning the second base job next spring?
  2. balsamlaker
    Was it just this year that the Brewers added part of another minor league squad having a 2nd DSL team with the Indians? It will be interesting to see if they create a 2nd DSL team of their own or maybe a fourth rookie-league team could be part of the discussion regarding a future spring training home similar to how the Tigers, Yankees, and Padres do it. I would think that could generate some extra revenue.
  3. balsamlaker
    Any chance the Brewers have something on the "back burner" that no one really is aware of? Am I not mistaken that some articles have mentioned deadlines? Just speculating, but what if the Brewers have a "back burner" deal in place like in Kissimmee (Champion Stadium)? Probably makes more sense than Tucson and becomes available in 2019.
  4. balsamlaker
    Is the annual opt-out date April 15th?
  5. balsamlaker
    Any updates on the future of Brewers spring training baseball? Does their lease run year-to-year in Maryvale?
  6. balsamlaker
    Any chance the AAA San Antonio option falls through and the SkySox move directly to Wichita? Would seem like a good situation for the Brewers.
  7. balsamlaker
    MLB drafts are definitely unique in that the percent of players that make a major league impact is extremely minimal. Even in the "glory days" of Jack Z. rarely were two great players found in an individual draft and even rarer were pitchers developed. A lineup was put together one player per year with Hart (2000), Hardy (2001), Fielder (2002), Weeks (2003), and Braun (2005). The top other players drafted during those years were likely Brantley (who developed in CLE) and Gwynn. Under Seid's watch there were not as many superstars but solid contributors in Davis, Gennett, Cravy, Fiers, J. Nelson, Thornburg, Rivera, Jungmann, Reed, Barnes, Haniger and Banda (turned into Davies), Magnifico, and Suter. Many more pitchers have developed during this time which is a good sign for Milwaukee. As Tod Johnson takes over the draft it will be exciting to see how the Brewers draft philosophy changes. Over the last four years the only player that is really contributing at the major league level is Jonathan Villar via Cy Sneed. Will one or more of the top three youngsters in the class of 2014 develop (history says not more than one)? Will the analytically-based Johnson play Moneyball? Time will tell, but hopefully the team can put together some drafts with multiple major league players like Gallardo and Cain (2004) and Lawrie and Odorizzi (2008).
  8. balsamlaker
    Villar is definitely not a great third baseman at this point. Defensively an infield of Carter, Villar, Arcia, and Perez first to third probably makes the most sense.
  9. balsamlaker
    I was surprised to see Medeiros is still only 20 y/o. This makes me feel much better about his rough season in A+.
  10. balsamlaker
    Makes me feel a little better. Even with the great minor league stats for Atlanta, they were not impressed enough to keep him on the 40-man.
  11. balsamlaker
    (+) Carolina is definitely an upgrade over Brevard County as far as facility and also has more neutral park factors, so the Brewers get a slight (+) for the shuffle. Now the real part of working on Colorado Springs and maybe even Helena, especially if the team decides they want to move most of their operations east including spring training. For AAA there are really two ways to tackle it - try to move a team to AAA whether it be a Wichita or a AA team or wait two (2) years and see if you can convince a team to sign on whether it be Columbus, Toledo, Durham, Louisville, Rochester, or Omaha. You don't want to end up either back in Colorado Springs past 2018 or simply "upgrading" to a Fresno or Las Vegas.
  12. balsamlaker
    The only "glass half full" I take out of this one is Colorado Springs is the most likely to move. I don't want to the see the Brewers to wait two years just to dream to go to Las Vegas or Fresno. Send Gord to Wichita or somewhere to work out a deal.
  13. balsamlaker
    I also thought the "launching pad" comment was nice.
  14. balsamlaker
    Montgomery is obviously valued by the team, but I don't think we should be surprised that Johnson (who will now be running the drafts) is a pure analytics guy. Having just re-read Moneyball, I strike the team under Sterns leadership is going to continue to move in that direction, so Johnson makes a great deal of sense.
  15. balsamlaker
    I believe the Brevard County staff was also tops in the FSL in ERA in 2015 and the same coach had a very strong staff based on ERA in 2012 in Appleton also (regular season and post season).
  16. balsamlaker
    Lancaster should not be considered one of the worst affiliates in baseball. Homers do fly out of the park in the desert, but it may also be the nicest park in the California League and likely much nicer than the Carolina Mudcats park. Colorado Springs has the double negative (that does not make a positive) of being very hitter-friendly and a bad park besides. Helena is not much better. Both of these teams (Colorado Springs and Helena) are owned by the same company.
  17. balsamlaker
    With Erickson and Hook up in Milwaukee right now, I would think that they are fairly well thought of. I agree with turborickey that I think Erickson likes his current position. I wouldn't be shocked if the pitching coach is the only one that survives from the former Brevard County staff. I understand that team and manager records are not the top criteria for evaluation, but to go 40-97 in a system that some believe is the best farm system out there is not a great resume builder.
  18. balsamlaker
    I just don't have a ton of confidence that Milwaukee can steal an affiliation like Louisville, Nashville, or Durham in 2018. Sadly (if it hasn't been torn down) I would prefer the Brewers AAA team play their games at "The Joe" in Huntsville in 2017. It may be a better ballpark than Colorado Springs even though it was suppose to be demolished last year.
  19. balsamlaker
    I agree...the only "bidding war" that I think could happen would be if Carolina is only willing to do a deal involving selling majority ownership like Modesto did.
  20. balsamlaker
    The reason I chose Fort Wayne is it has a great stadium that draws a nice crowd without a local big league club affiliation. Obviously there would be other MWL choices that could also be intriguing whether it be Dayton, Kane County, Lansing, etc. I just thought Fort Wayne was the most interesting of all of them.
  21. balsamlaker
    Any chance the Brewers do what Dodgers did the year after Friedman (Arnold's old boss) showed up in LA - making major changes to the minor league staffs? It seems obvious that minor league records leaning into the loss column makes it more difficult to get quality affiliates to work with every two years. Sweet and Guerrero are the only managers in the system that have career records close to the break even mark. Would Stearns make significant changes to change the culture in the system and send a message that we have talent now and expect to win?
  22. balsamlaker
    As it has been stated in other forums, I don't know how the current situation in Colorado Springs with a bad ballpark in altitude is good for any affiliate (which explains why the nearby Rockies left for Albuquerque). Albuquerque is probably a great comp for Lancaster in High-A. Since it looks like Gord and company may have had no success moving out even into not very great situations in Las Vegas or Fresno, do you think the Brewers and/or the Elmore group would think way outside the box if the San Antonio situation is not going to happen? What about looking at geographically closer affiliates at lower levels that have great ballparks and strong attendance that may not be tied to the fact the parent club is nearby - Fort Wayne, IN? Obviously this would take some time to put together, but doesn't it make sense?
  23. balsamlaker
    I understand the concern for the hitter-friendly confines in Lancaster, but don't really see the comparison to the Colorado Springs situation. Lancaster actually has a very nice ballpark (maybe better than Carolina) and the affiliate plays a number of road games in pitcher-friendly parks, especially with Bakersfield and High Desert out of the league. There could actually be an advantage for the team being the main hitter-friendly park left in the league as the home team should be able to adjust more than the visiting team.
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