BillScottCanRake

DL Sheets/Eternal Pessimist is on the prowl again. He is going to block his IP address and said that it was his goal to get me banned from this site. With friends like that who needs enemies?

As you probably already know, I don't enjoy access to as comprehensive a level of stats as everyone else does, as I'm here at work, so game logs weren't available for me. That's why I posted them earlier in the thread. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I figured they got buried, so I posted them again. I think they are important because a lot of people did only see his overall numbers in Huntsville, and they aren't stellar, but they don't tell the whole story, either. Particularly when trying to evaluate a player and how they are developing. But again, looking at those overall numbers, you could see why anyone could have felt he was getting torched, right? That is exactly why I posted what I did. Stats are great, but only in context. In this case, the context is really important. And by the way, if Inman is going to get a mulligan for those bad games due to the mono, then shouldn't Scott get that same latitude as his wife is about to deliver a baby? Yes... that's why I am not too worried about what has happened the past couple of weeks. My concerns aren't limited to those July outings, or even this year. If you look at Linebrink's numbers, they peaked in 2004 and have been slowly declining since. Unless his wife had some sort of record pregnancy, I don't think her having a baby affected him in 2005 or 2006. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif In looking at those numbers, I have a major concern, and that is Linebrink isn't as good as he appears and he won't help the team as much down the stretch as we would like. - His current K/Rate is only better than Brian Shouse among Brewer relievers. - His current WHIP is only better than Capellan, Spurling, Aquino, Dessens and Balfour. It is right there with Villaueva, but Carlos strikes out 4 per 9 innings more, which means he can get away with more base runners. Of course, since he'll probably only get into 25 or so games, that small number of games may allow him to do just fine in spite of those declining numbers that have me worried. Maybe this year he has had some bad luck and his numbers will improve towards his career norms. But, if he doesn't, then Melvin used his best bargaining chip on someone that showed signs of not being able to help the team. And, yes, Inman was a great bargaining chip, and no, I don't have a problem with him being traded. I am just not sure I like who he brought to Milwaukee. And again, 30 appearances (every other game or so) of a Scott Linebrink, replacing on the roster an on-the-job trainee like a Balfour has GOT to influence our chances at a postseason berth... While Balfour may indeed be replaced by Linebrink, don't be stunned if he remains on the roster and it's Parra that is sent to AAA. Parra still has options available, while Balfour doesn't. Of course, adding Linebrink probably means Balfour wouldn't pitch as much if he remains on the 25-man roster, but don't be stunned if Grant isn't the odd man out.

And let the record show Doug did not make a move just for the sake of making a move... this team is better, and how. Now. I certainly don't think that's a fact, and it's certainly an opinion that can be debated. There are legitimate concerns about Linebrink, and he has 60 games to make those who are concerned he is not the pitcher he was a few years ago change that opinion.

Balls hit in the air become outs at a much higher rate than balls hit on the ground. There was a thread here with the stats about a year ago, but I can't find it right now. Its not a "dopey" comment at all. Yost is probably frustrated that his team is going up to the plate flailing away at the fences. Unfortunately, there is nothing he or Skaalen can do about it once the player is in the box. I don't get the impression the players (as a team) are flailing for the fences. This is a team that is going to hit a lot of home runs with guys like Fielder, Braun, and Hart in the lineup, and to a lesser degree guys like Hall, Jenkins and Hardy. JJ did tell Uecker that his swing developed a bit of an uppercut and that he was working hard to correct that, so I suppose it could be said that he is swinging too much for the fences Teams that hit a lot of home runs also hit a lot of fly balls. Sometimes they don't go out of the park. It's just the nature of this team and how it's been built.

Geno, look at his game logs, and note that his first couple of games were pitched with mono. <span style="text-decoration:underline">Date OPP W L ERA SV IP H ER BB SO</span> Jun 15 BIR 0 1 20.25 0 2.2 6 6 2 2 Jun 20 @TEN 0 1 4.50 0 6.0 4 3 0 6 Jun 25 CHA 0 1 31.50 0 2.0 8 7 2 4 Jun 30 @WTN 1 0 1.50 0 6.0 1 1 4 6 Jul 05 TEN 0 1 4.76 0 5.2 8 3 0 7 Jul 11 @CHA 0 0 0.00 0 4.0 4 0 5 5 Jul 17 TEN 0 0 3.00 0 6.0 4 2 1 7 Jul 23 @JAX 0 1 2.45 0 7.1 3 2 2 5 Totals 1 5 5.45 0 39.2 38 24 16 42 In his last five starts for the Stars, Inman allowed only eight earned runs over 29 innings (2.48 ERA), walking 12 while striking out 30. His ability to strike out more than one more than one per inning is a good sign, though admittedly over only 30 innings. Now, you might still think he's not going to amount to anything. But, small sample caveat noted, doesn't it at least look like he might have pitched OK once he recovered from mono? And isn't that a pretty decent adjustment to AA for a 20-year-old? I don't mind someone having an opinion about Inman "that he sucked in AA", but I think they should really look at what went on in each game instead of simply glancing at his total numbers.

This doesn't mean I have to become a Padres fan does it? www.padrefan.net http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he's out of options. So, he'll need to clear waivers in order to be sent down. And I think there's some question about whether or not he'll clear. Seems to be fair agreement that he has good stuff, but just pitched differently up here. A full year in AAA probably would have done him some good after injury, but now it may be another team that can take a chance on him. Depending on what the Brewers think of Balfour, an option would be to start Parra in the afternoon game on Saturday, option him to AAA after and add Linebrink to the 25-man roster. That would allow the Brewers to keep Balfour if they want.

Shoeless Joe hit .408 in his first full year.Not sure if that season qualifies as a rookie year. It does... and here is what ESPN.com has to say (from the article linked above): Jackson had cups of coffee in three previous seasons, but only had 115 at-bats, so would be considered a rookie by current standards. It was a different ballgame back then, so simply saying that Joe Jackson hit .408 isn't enough. But this is: Jackson was among the top three in most major batting categories, and among the top 10 in all of them. He topped the AL in on-base percentage (.468), his .408 average was second, and he finished second in slugging (.590), OPS (1.058), runs scored, hits, doubles, total bases, and extra-base hits. He was also third in walks and triples and fourth in homers, with seven. He also stole 41 bases (sixth) and drove in 83 runs (ninth). Wow. That's one heck of a season, even accounting for the era.

Do the Brewers lack fire? That depends on what you mean. If you mean "They don't outwardly show a lot of frustration or anger when they don't perform well/lose", that appears to be the case. If you mean "Because they don't outwardly show a lot of frustration or anger when they don't perform well/lose, they don't care (or they aren't giving their all, or they aren't selling out, etc)", then I don't agree. Every player is an individual. I wouldn't want Fielder to act "more fiery" artificially any more than I'd like him to adopt a hitting style like Tony Gwynn. Each player has got to be who they are. I think everyone of them cares about winning, and I think in their own way they are probably a little extra upset that they are losing more lately than they have been. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.

Congrats on making it to 30 Brian... Hopefully your night goes better than the day. And Happy Birthday to you, too, Patrick. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

despite our youth, we have no guarantee of success next year or any other year. this is our year. 07. If there are no guarantees about next year, why should there be any about this year? If the Brewers can't count on the younger guys improving next year enough to compete again, should anyone count on the young guys being able to be good enough over 162 games to be a playoff team?

Yost diluting our offense on back-to-back days, when our offense is already struggling bad, when we're on the road where we're afwul, when the second place team keeps inching closer, when we're less than two weeks away from a four-day all-star break, when neither game is being pitched by Sheets or Yo .... is inex-freakin-scusable. The guy getting the rest today didn't get a four-day break. He was busy on that Monday and Tuesday. I'd rather have a fresh Fielder to face the better of the two teams.

Hey, you nailed it, JohnBriggs. I hate Yost with the fury of all the curse words you're not allowed to say on this forum. Yosted again. Everyone needs a day off from time-to-time, and while I didn't really like Hart, Hardy and Braun all getting yesterday off at the same time, I can't really argue with giving Fielder today off. Fielder has played in every game but one so far this year, and with there being a lefty on the mound today and Milwaukee having four games the next three days, now is as good a time as any to give him a break.

Where was the post detailing the exact picks we'd get if he was a type A free agent? I can't seem to find it. From the BF.net FAQ: How does the free-agent compensation process works? Every offseason, the Elias Sports Bureau compiles rankings of all major league players, based on the previous two year's stats. The players are ranked by position, so first basemen are not compared to second basemen, etc. The players are then broken down into Type A, Type B and Type C (and the rest). Type A players are players rated in the top 30 percent of all players at their position. Type B players are players rated in the 31-50 percent bracket at their position. Type C players are players rated in the 51-60 percent bracket at their position. Because the players are only compared to others at their position, some players might be a Type B but seem to be not as good as some Type C players, etc., but that?s how the system works. When a team loses a free agent who is ranked in one of the three categories, they receive compensation as follows (if and only if they offered that player arbitration before he signed with his new team): * Type A. Team losing player gets signing team?s first-round pick as well as a supplemental first-round pick. If the signing team is picking in the first half of the first round, they lose their second-rounder instead of their first-rounder. * Type B. Team losing player gets signing team?s first-round pick. If the signing team is picking in the first half of the first round, they lose their second-rounder instead of their first-rounder. * Type C. Team losing player gets a supplemental pick after the second round. If a team doesn't offer arbitration to their free agent, they get nothing when he signs with another team. This brings up the next question of why don't the teams always offer arbitration? The answer is, they might simply be afraid he'll accept it. It's a gamble some teams aren't willing to take, even if it seems likely the player is heading out of town. I think that is slightly out of date, because I believe Type C compensation has been discontinued. The information for the Type A FA is accurate, though.

Thing is, will any team give up a pick to get Linebrink next year if he is labeled Type A? That's a big unknown at this point, and is probably somewhat dependent on his performance in August and September. The good news is it only takes one team to want him.

One thing to note about the comp picks. Since comp picks are based on what the player has done the past two years, when Linebrink becomes a FA could hugely impact whether or not he becomes a Type A FA. While it seems likely that he will be a Type A FA this off season, I think that becomes less likely if FA is put off to the 2008 season. While Linebrink has done OK this year, some of his peripheral numbers suggest he may be declining. In 2004 and 2005 he was very, very good. During those two years he allowed only 116 hits in 157.2 innings, walking only 48 while striking out 153. During those two years, opponents only hit .209 against Linebrink, who allowed 1.04 base runners per inning and one home run about every 20 innings or so. Since then, his K rate has fallen, to 8.09 in 2006 to it's present 5.0 this year. He's now allowing about 1 hit per inning pitched, and 1.25 base runners per inning. He's giving up a home run about every five innings or so. So, if Linebrink is really declining (rather than slumping), and his numbers suffer even more because he's now pitching half his games in Milwaukee instead of San Diego, it wouldn't be shocking to see Linebrink lose his status as a Type A free agent if he pitches in Milwaukee in 2008.

Of course Inman's only 20, but he's getting torched in AA this year, and there's no guarantee he'll make it to the majors anyway. Inman had two really bad outings, two mediocre (by Inman standards), one good, yet short outing and three very good outings. His first AA game was pitched while going through a bout of mononucleosis. <span style="text-decoration:underline">Date OPP W L ERA SV IP H ER BB SO</span> Jun 15 BIR 0 1 20.25 0 2.2 6&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 6 2 2 Jun 20 @TEN 0 1 4.50 0 6.0 4&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 3 0 6 Jun 25 CHA 0 1 31.50 0 2.0 8&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 7 2 4 Jun 30 @WTN 1 0 1.50 0 6.0 1&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1 4 6 Jul 05 TEN 0 1 4.76 0 5.2 8&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 3 0 7 Jul 11 @CHA 0 0 0.00 0 4.0 4&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0 5 5 Jul 17 TEN 0 0 3.00 0 6.0 4&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 2 1 7 Jul 23 @JAX 0 1 2.45 0 7.1 3&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 2 2 5 Totals 1 5 5.45 0 39.2 38 24 16 42 In his last five starts for the Stars, Inman allowed only eight earned runs over 29 innings (2.48 ERA), walking 12 while striking out 30. His ability to strike out more than one more than one per inning is a good sign, though admittedly over only 30 innings. Now, we'll never know for sure what would have happened the rest of the year, and the requisite small sample note has to be considered. That said, after the expected period of adjustment (which was pretty short, actually), Inman has been pretty solid, which for a 20-year-old in AA is pretty good.

I guess that settles that.

I see no reason why Linebrink cant be the closer next year if we dont get Cordero back. If Linebrink wasnt setting up for Hoffman, he would be closing already. I think the fear is that, because his K-rate has fallen like it has, that he'd turn into a Dan Kolb type closer. He could well be good, but he could well be not so good, too.

For what it's worth, they just reported on BBTN that Livan was off the block. I still stand by what I originally said, despite the fact that most seem to disagree. I don't like the idea of trading a young player who's having a phenomenal rookie year simply because it's not likely he'll be able to maintain that phenomenal rate of production. Do I think Braun will hit 340 for his career, and slug 650? No, but I think given that what we have seen, it's not unreasonable to think he'll be a perennial 900+ OPS guy, perhaps better. Those guys just are too uncommon to give up for a rental. He's probably going to be the Brewers player of the month for July, which means he's been the teams best offensive player (Fielder included) for the only two full months he's been in Milwaukee. It would have been a little like the Cards trading Pujols because he was so good as a rookie they didn't think he possibly be that good in the future.

if they lose lindbrink to Fa then this is a terrible trade. If losing Linebrink brings a draft pick between 15-30, plus another somewhere between the first and second around, that could be quite a haul. I will grant you that haul will pay off sometime in the future, but we do want the Brewers to win in 2012, too. Just trying to stay positive. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

My initial thoughts, and this is very subject to change and seeing a bit more of Linebrink than I have to date, is that I am not terribly upset by the Brewers dealing Inman. The use of prospects as components to acquiring major league help is a legitimate way to add pieces to a solid major league team. I am somewhat less impressed with the piece that Inman brought to Milwaukee, however. Linebrink can a solid addition, but I am a bit concerned about his declining K-rate and his increased homer rate. That said, his recent past suggests he may rebound and if he reverts to his 2005-2006 numbers, the Brewers will have gotten a good reliever. And if that's the case, I could be convinced this was an OK deal. Now, what price did the Brewers actually pay? I think it might have been high, but just how high is, obviously, to be determined. I like Inman, not as much as some but clearly more than others. If Linebrink is lights out for two months and the Brewers can flip him for two high draft choices, I can live with that unless Inman becomes an absolute stud in the majors. But, as well as Inman has pitched, and as much as I liked him, he is still a prospect. I have to remind myself that I really liked guys like Dana Eveland, and sometimes really good prospects just don't turn out. This is definitely a classic, high-risk, win-more-now at the possible expense of depth (winning) down the road. I think it will be very interesting to watch how this all turns out, this year and a few years down the road.

Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I think of Inman anymore.

I can't speak for others, but personally I'm worried that Inman's trade value is going to keep falling if he doesn't turn things around soon. His AA numbers don't exactly inspire confidence that he's going to pan out like we had hoped. The good news is, after fighting illness and adjusting to a new level, new team, new city, etc, Inman has done well his last five or so starts. web.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=488989 June 15 and 25 were pretty rough, but outside of that he's been solid to very good. He's got a ways to go yet, to be sure, but he's been better than his numbers look because of those two terrible starts.

Let's keep everything in the thread linked above. Thanks!