BillScottCanRake

mls: In your first post, the columns were separated by tabs. I know this because when I looked at the orginal post, a single delete removed what appeared in the post to be a number of spaces. This is something that happens a lot when you try to copy and paste the data from a website, especially if it was presented in a table. Here's an example of Carlos Lee's stats taken from his ESPN.com player profile without any modification: LINK: ESPN.go.com Carlos Lee Player Profile SPLIT&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp G&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp AB&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp R&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp H&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 2B&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 3B&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp HR&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp RBI&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp SB&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp BA&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp OBP&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp SLG Season&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 34&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 127&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 27&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 37&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 5&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 15&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 28&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 2&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .291&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .389&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .685 Career&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1076&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 4073&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 645&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1158&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 238&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 10&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 199&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 694&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 79&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .284&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .339&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .494 Last 7&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 6&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 25&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 6&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 9&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 3&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 4&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 7&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .360&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .385&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .960 Projected&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 162&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 605&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 129&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 176&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 24&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 71&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 133&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 10&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .291&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .389&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .685 Now, here is the same text, unmodified with the CODE tags: SPLIT&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp G&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp AB&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp R&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp H&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 2B&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 3B&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp HR&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp RBI&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp SB&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp BA&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp OBP&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp SLG Season&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 34&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 127&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 27&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 37&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 5&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 15&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 28&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 2&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .291&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .389&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .685 Career&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1076&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 4073&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 645&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1158&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 238&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 10&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 199&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 694&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 79&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .284&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .339&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .494 Last 7&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 6&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 25&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 6&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 9&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 3&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 4&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 7&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 1&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .360&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .385&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .960 Projected&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 162&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 605&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 129&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 176&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 24&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 0&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 71&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 133&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 10&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .291&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .389&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp .685 As you can see, the columns still aren't lined up correctly. That's because rather than using spaces being between each column, there is a tab. How can you tell if the document uses tabs or spaces? I paste what I want to post into Notepad first. When I delete the space between columns, if it only takes a single keystroke, I know I am dealing with columns separated by tabs. If that's the case, I need to delete the tabs and replace them with spaces. Below is the same data. I pasted it into notepad (which uses Lucida Console as the default font, though any monospace font works) and removed all of the tabs and replaced them with an appropriate number of spaces. Once everything looked OK, I copied from notepad and pasted into this message, between the CODE tags. SPLIT G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA OBP SLG Season 34 127 27 37 5 0 15 28 2 .291 .389 .685 Career 1076 4073 645 1158 238 10 199 694 79 .284 .339 .494 Last 7 6 25 6 9 3 0 4 7 1 .360 .385 .960 Projected 162 605 129 176 24 0 71 133 10 .291 .389 .685 Its a lot easier to do than describe. It took me longer to describe all the steps than to actually do the work. Hopefully that helps. If not, let me know and I can e-mail you the text document with the before and after text in it.

LINK: Mendoza Line "The Mendoza line is actually named after Minnie Mendoza, a career minor leaguer, who finally made it with the Minnesota Twins in 1970 At age 36. Mendoza hit .188 in sixteen games with the Twins that year. I remember seeing the term Mendoza Line first mentioned in The Sporting News in either 1970 or 1971. It mentioned that some hitters could not even get their averages above the Mendoza Line. It then stated that the term was named after the Twins light hitting infielder Minnie Mendoza. Mario did not come along until 1974. It burns me every time I hear an announcer Mention Mario instead of Minnie when referring to the Mendoza Line. Long live Minnie!"

http://home.centurytel.net/cthjlh/graphics/doug.jpg

Absolutely. I don't think anyone (I hope) roots for strikeouts on the off chance that a DP might happen on a BIP. When Sheets was up yesterday with the bases loaded I was rooting for a K over his more typical contact. Of course, I was really hoping to see him smack his first homerun, but, alas, it was not to be.

I am pretty sure Weeks wasn't trying to strike out. I don't know how benching him is going to improve his performance. Like Brett said, unless he's tired, he's only going to get better by seeing more pitches and playing.

As long as the posters don't say anything that violate the decorum of the forum, or call out specific posters, I really don't see why they should be taken down. Posters were called 'delusional'. Hopefully that's a good enough reason for the post and two replies to be removed from the thread so it could continue without being locked.

You can't have a chance to ground out if you don't make contact, so therefore I think making contact is better than striking out. And making authoritative contact is better than making contact for the sake of not striking out. And swinging hard enough to make worthwhile contact might result in striking out, but in the end will result will often be fewer outs.

If you have a runner on base, what would you rather have? Contact might be better in some instances, but there are plenty of examples one can cite where the wrong kind of contact at the wrong time with runners on base is bad. - if the runner is on first and the ball is hit at a middle infielder. - if the runner is at second and the ball is hit to the left side of the infield. - No runners will advance on a pop-up on the infield. - No runners will advance on a shallow fly ball to the OF. Simply making contact isn't good enough in a lot of cases. And altering a swing (like Hardy did last year) allowed him to make the "wrong kind" of contact on too many occasions last year. EDIT: Edited for clarity so it hopefully doesn't look like a three year old wrote my post. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I'm always of the opinion that a BIP is best. None the less, it's always interesting to see people bring up situations they want to disect. I always go back to JJ Hardy last spring. In addition to adjusting to the majors and recovering from shoulder surgery, he was so intent on not striking out early in the year that his BIP were 5 hoppers to short, two hoppers back to the mound, lazy fly balls to shallow LF, etc. It was great that he only struck out a couple of times in April and May, but being worried about it took all of the aggressiveness out of his swing. JJ's decision to return to his minor league swing and plate approach had a lot to do with his resurgance in late May. It's really hard to worry about making contact and at the same time make authoritative contact. His more aggressive swings did lead to more Ks, at the expense of a higer BA, OBP, SLG and more ladies phone numbers.

From dictionary.com: e?lit?ism or é?lit?ism Pronunciation Key (-ltzm, -l-) n. 1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. 2. 1. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class. 2. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class. LINK: Dictionary.com: Elitism Using that definition, I don't see how it can be anything but negative. I don't want BF.net to be some closed, secret society of "elite" thinkers. I want BF.net to be a place where people who are serious about baseball, or who want to become serious about baseball, can come to have fun and intelligent discussions about baseball, and learn more about the game than they thought was possible. That simply isn?t possible if rather than welcoming new members we shun them because they aren?t up to some artificial standard set by a few ?elite? posters. While I do understand that Brewerfan.net was created to cater to the more serious fan, being condescending and "elitist" doesn't do anyone any good. How can those less serious fans learn what others here have learned if instead of being taught they are just told how "silly" or "stupid" their opinion is? If someone thinks Abernathy should make the 25 man roster because of his spring training numbers, aren't we all better served by explaining placing too much weight on those numbers is not necessarily the best thing to do, and why? I owe a TON to this site, its creators and the original ?regulars?. They made this site what it is today, not only because of their incredible knowledge of baseball, but because of the class and tact they used arguing their points. There is no way I'd have been "converted" had they not displayed that class and tact. Untaught knowledge is a complete waste. I think a lot of the "new" regulars could learn a thing or two in that regard. Because while their knowledge level may be on par with the best of the site, the methods used by the "new" experts to convey the message leaves a lot to be desired in a lot of cases.

Congratulations from our entire family!

don't we need a full time paid employee??? I guess I never understood why that is necessary to get a press pass from the Brewers. Maybe I don't understand that business, but I'd think quality work, whether it's done by someone who is or isn't getting paid is all that counts. It seems like we are good enough for everyone except Indy and Milwaukee...

Each year around the start of Spring Training someone starts a thread to get everyone's pre-season predictions. While I know this might be a bit early to start this thread, I figured we are all a bit more excited for this season to start, so why not get it started? And if some big trade comes along to make us change our opinions, there isn't any harm in doing this again in February or March. Let's limit the posts in this thread to predictions, rather than comments about other's predictions. At the end of the year, we can revisit this thread and see how right or wrong we were. Have fun! 2006 Milwaukee Brewer Pre-season predictions Team Record 2006 Record: 91-71 2006 Approx Record as of Sept 1: 77-60 2006 Predicted Finish within the NL Central: Second 2006 Playoff Predictions: Second in NL Wild Card Offense- Individual Team Leaders with 502 PA Batting Average: Weeks .293 OBP: Weeks .388 SLG: Jenkins .582 OPS: Jenkins 956 BB: Weeks 83 2b: Koskie 42 3b: Weeks/Hall 6 HR: Lee/Jenkins 34 RBI: Lee 113 K: Jenkins 152 SB: Hall 18 Pitching- Individual Team Leaders Wins: Sheets 17 Losses: Bush 12 Saves: Turnbow 38 WHIP: Sheets 1.03 IP: Sheets 239.2 K: Sheets 261 BB: Capuano 92 K/9: Capellan 10.11 BB/9: Sheets 1.31 OppOPS: Sheets 628 ERA (among starters): Sheets 2.51 ERA (among relievers): Capellan 2.12 Appearances: Kolb 64 Team Awards Offensive MVP: Jenkins Team Cy Young: Sheets Most Valuable New Addition: Koskie Minor Leagues Awards Minor League Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun Minor League Cy Young: Zach Jackson/Mark Rogers Misc First player not on opening day roster recalled from Minors: Dana Eveland First player on 25 man roster removed (via waivers, trade or optioned): Jeff Cirillo First Player on the DL: Chad Moeller (strained quad) League Awards AL MVP: Vlad Guerrero, Angles NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cards AL Cy Young: Johan Santana, Twins NL Cy Young: Roy Oswalt, Astros AL ROY: Jason Kubel, Twins NL ROY: Prince Fielder, Brewers Post Season AL Champs: Cleveland Indians NL Champs: St. Louis Cardinals WS Champs: Cleveland Indians Comments I'll be the first to admit I haven't followed baseball too closely this winter, so some of my predictions, especially with regard to the AL, are probably a bit under-researched. Good luck, and have fun.

In case Brian isn't aware of the problem, here is what I get when I try to load www.brewerfan.net: Proxy Error The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. The proxy server could not handle the request GET /ViewHome.do. Reason: Could not connect to remote machine: Connection refused Apache/1.3.33 Server at www.brewerfan.net Port 80

And in California

See this thread a few topics below: Getting the EZSupporter Icon to show

As someone who doesn't evaluation players for a living, and as someone who's not nearly as die-hard as most posters here, I will be the first to admit that I tend to use simple stats more than any other tool "evaluating" players. I simply don't watch as much baseball as a lot here or have the time to devote to statistical analysis that others, and certainly professional scout, do. OPS is about as simple a stat as you can find, and it does a reasonably giving you a general idea about a player. However, I try to not form strong opinions about a player based on that single stat. If I am going to make a post about a player, I try to use everything at my disposal to form an educated opinion- observations (personal and second hand) and a range of different stats. I don't believe any single stat or single observation should be used to generalize or reach conclusions, even tho I am often guilty of such at times. I will often use OPS as a "gateway stat" to determin how much interest I have in a player. If someone has got an OPS that peaks my interest, I investigate further. If I see a couple of players both have an OPS of 950, I will definately check their raw statistics as well as other metrics before trying to make any sort of comparison. I'll also make a point, if I am really interested, to watch them play- partially because I appreciate watching good players do their job, and partially because I can use those observations to make any opinions I form a bit more well rounded, even if they aren't any less amature.

AAA... Before I deal a Carlos Lee type player, I want to know that these guys (Hart and Cruz) will perform the way you portray them. Don't tell me that they COULD do this or that. I could win the lottery, but I'm not going to quit coming to work until I actually do. The problem is, however, that you don't know what Lee will do next year, either. Is replacing Lee with Hart or Cruz a risk? Yep, it is, because neither has an MLB track record, and prospects fail all the time. But keeping Lee isn't risk-free, either. And while a huge dip in production might be unlikely, it's not impossible.

Do the Brewers need Jemile's permission to draft him again? Or does that rule only apply to getting drafted by a team in consecutive years?

We have implied oral consent. I think they have some medicine for that, tho. We should be ok http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Just out of curiousity, is posting play-by-play a violation of MLB broadcast rights? Is this where "without the written consent of MLB" comes into play? I know we can discuss the game, but I wonder if a true play-by-play is a violation of some sort.

I didn't read the whole thread, because there were posts in there that made me want to skip to the end. Sorry if this has already been covered... - If one accepts that Hall's defense is superior to Hardy's, is it so much better that it should take Hardy's bat out of the lineup? If Hall continues to hit as he has (or gets better), and if JJ hits as he has during the second half of the season (or gets better), isn't this team better off with both of their bats in the lineup? If that's the case, that can only realistically happen next year if JJ continues to play SS, and Hall moves to third. That doesn't mean that Hall isn't a better SS, it simply means the team is better off with both players in the lineup. - Does Hall have to play SS in 2006 to be the SS of the future? I don't think he does. If Hall has a breakout year (900+ OPS, 70 walks) and Hardy has a good year (800 OPS), Milwaukee could well decide they want Hall to be the everyday SS in 2007. If that goes down, Hardy has way more trade value as a 24 year old SS with an 800 OPS than a 24 year old backup SS with 200 ABs. I'll be the first to admit that Hall has gone a long way in proving to me he's a potential star. He is only 25, he's shown much better plate discipline (relative to his earlier years), he's got great middle IF power and he's good base runner who's got good speed. I think there is a pretty decent chance that he'll continue to get better, and we might just have that 900 OPS guy we've been looking for to bolster Milwaukee's lineup. At the same time, we don't know that he'll continue to improve. If he does regress to his 2004 numbers, a good case can be made that JJ would be a better offensive option at SS and that Hall is better suited to the utility role. So why not let both of them play together as long as possible and let this thing work itself out naturally, instead of trying to force a decision?

In addtion to all the hard work Jim puts in to the Link Reports, I want to thank him for suggesting I e-mail Mark Rogers' MLB diary. That e-mail got the ball rolling on the interview, and I wouldn't have thought of sending the e-mail without the suggestion. Thanks Jim!

All the guys that were rested today are hurt. It's not like they were tired or worn down, they have actual injuries that can affect their performance. Jenkins can barely run, Weeks can barely hold his bat, and Hardy's toe is enough of an issue that he may not play in the AFL afterall. One could easily argue that if .500 is the goal, these guys are going to need to rest or they may not be productive enough down the stretch to be a .500 offense. Yost has done plenty of things to make us scratch our heads this year. I don't think resting injured players is one of them.

Jim Powell and Bob Uecker seem frustrated that the hitters are trying to pull everything. Wynegar and Yost need to have a team meeting and rip into the hitters for not making adjustments. While I have no doubt a point needs to be made, I hope that sort of generic approach isn't taken. I hope that Yost and Wynegar know their players well enough to know what motivates them. Because there are plenty of players who won't respond well to that type of motivation, and it's often counter-productive. All great coaches know what they need to do to motivate and reach the individual players on their roster. Just because the don't have a closed door screaming fit, it doesn't mean they aren't coaching...