JonnyLungs
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Everything posted by JonnyLungs
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Bill Schroeder and Doug Melvin brought up the point last night that I've been trying to make that strict platoons are extremely rare in this day and age with such large pitching staffs. The short side of the platoon will still get too many at-bats against RHP. A manager can't burn through his bench in the 6th inning when a righthanded reliever is brought into the game. Like I posted earlier, and would love to be proven wrong, a righthanded hitting member of a platoon needs to at least tread water against RHP in order to be effective. Bill Hall hasn't come close to treading water against RHP for some time now. That said, I'd be happy if Bill Hall can somehow even become a more versatile Wes Helms. A pinch hitter brought in to face lefties and given a start here and there. They both even have the overpriced contracts.
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I should have prefaced "big league baseball player" with effective, and on a decent club. I'm sure Billy could play for a lower echelon team and maybe even figure things out. And I'm sure that would've happened by now had he not had the contract he has. And I'm not putting all the blame on Billy, either. I don't think all that moving around has necessary helped, but we'll never know.
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Where in the heck did I say I want to give up production for the first three at-bats? Now you're just putting words in my mouth. My argument is that when a player is so horrible against RHP (like Bill Hall) they can't be an effective major league player, much less a platoon mate. I'm fine with platoons. But my point is that if the short end of the platoon is horrible against RHP, then you are ultimately defeating the purpose. The nature of the beast is that there are a lot more RHP in the major leagues than LHP. Are there any examples out there of a hitter facing more LHP over the course of a season than RHP in the National League? I can see it working in the AL not needing to pinch hit for the pitcher, but it's an honest question that I am too lazy to investigate but am willing to be proven wrong. Lefthanded hitters in a platoon can be hidden much easier than righthanded hitters.
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But therein still lies my problem. Start Bill Hall against LHP, sure. But that LHP isn't going to pitch the whole game. Do you immediately pull Hall from the game as soon as he is scheduled to step up to the plate against a RHP? In these days of 12 and sometimes even 13 man pitching staffs I don't like to blow my bench up just to cover for somebody's glaring weakness. Like I said, even treading water against RHP would make me feel better, but even facing one RHP is one too many with Bill Hall and if you can't even be trusted a few at-bats against the type of pitcher that the majority of pitchers are, that tells me that you are not a big league baseball player.
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Everybody loves to tout the fact that Bill Hall mashes lefties, and I will not deny that (minus this year). But looking at his numbers against lefties in a vacuum completely ignores the fact that he has gotten 117 at-bats against righties this season, which is more than double the amount of at-bats he has gotten against left-handed hitters. It's much easier to hide a left-handed hitter that can't hit lefties just by the shear lack of lefthanded pitchers out there. Righthanded members of a platoon are always going to face too many righthanded pitchers. We've gone through this with Kevin Mench and we have been going through this with Bill Hall for some time. At the very minimum, the righthanded part of the platoon needs to be able to at least tread water against RHP, and Bill Hall hasn't hit a lick against RHP for two years now. I understand the value of platoons but looking at the splits in a vacuum can be misleading especially when the overall scope of the complete numbers over the past two years tell you that the guy hasn't been very good at all.
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The biggest difference I can see is that JJ's last good year wasn't in 2006.
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Breaking Down the NL Central - Baseball Tonight version
JonnyLungs replied to RyDogg66's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
Reds I could see for somebody going out on a limb. But the Astros? That is REALLY going out on a limb to the point of being downright stupid. -
It's hard to build when you've only got one or two decent players coming through the system. The theory behind this trade is sound if you ask me, but whether these guys pan out is another story.
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That would be ideal, but like a lot of things in baseball's history, when has Major League Baseball as an entity taken the initiative? On most occasions it's hand is forced by maverick individuals.
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I just read the SI article. His parents are trying to find a way for him to enter the draft early so he doesn't have to spend another two years being intentionally walked. Thus, I don't think he'll be able to use college as leverage. Maybe he could be a good test for the possible loophole of moving to Latin America for a year (or elsewhere that makes the player not subject to the MLB draft). Hence, he'd be a free agent able to sign with any team. I'd like to see it done. While it would probably allow him to go to one of the richer teams, it may bring some changes to the rules of the draft and perhaps a worldwide draft.
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I'll agree it'll probably help get a job, but it doesn't mean a whole lot in the long run.
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That's not true at all. The ones who end up working $7/hour jobs are the ones that dropped out freshman year. I don't think there is anything wrong with partying too hard in college if you can get by academically. The key is to tone things down after graduating. As for grades, they may get you in somewhere, but after that you need to perform your job. For the record, I did party plenty hard in college. I had a great time, and met lots of great people. My grades were not very good, but I'm definitely not earning $7/hour now and am quite comfortable. The key was realizing that the four (in my case five) years were over and to get on with things. Not everybody can handle the path I took, but there are plenty of people that can. Not getting the best grades does not doom you. Eventually you'll be judged by the merits of what you do outside of academia. Some people are just not a fit for academics but can excel outside it. Some people can excel at academics and usually stay in academics because that's all they know how to do. And there's nothing wrong with that.
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Can plate discipline be taught overnight? Re: Hart
JonnyLungs replied to J Brew Crew's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
The best way to "learn" plate discipline in any significant way is to hit for more power and make pitchers afraid to throw you strikes. Exhibit A: Sammy Sosa -
To the person who stole my Weber Q at Opening Day...
JonnyLungs replied to brewtown82's topic in Off-Topic Forum
Can anybody think of a way to set a trap for a grill thief? Maybe a battery pack set inside that is attached to the grill that gives the thief a good jolt? -
Hmm 652 is not working.
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I wouldn't hold my breath. But I would be elated if it is on. Highly doubt it thoughActually, I think this probably will work. A lot of times WMLW games were put on a different channel than 669 on DirecTV. RSNa stands for Regional Sports Network alternate, so it's not Cincy's regional sports network that would be blacked out for those of us in Wisconsin.
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How long of a leash would you give Suppan?
JonnyLungs replied to DougJones43's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
If Suppan's fastball is only coming in at 83-84, I don't feel there is enough difference from his offspeed stuff to fool hitters. He doesn't have good enough control to get away with that type of repertoire either. I didn't see any MPH readings yesterday or in spring training. Does anybody know what his fastball has been sitting at? 86-87 is probably what I'd be looking for. If he can't consistently hit that, I'd look for him to hit a wall this year and be worse than he has been historically. -
Didn't see it mentioned here but a phone call from a friend inside AT&T Park said 30 minute delay at this point? Any confirmation anywhere?
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Vinny Rottino
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One contention I have with the PECOTA projections, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I just subscribed and when I went into the Depth Chart part and they had a list of players and projected playing time. I'm assuming this was where the 83 win projection came from. In that depth chart part, they had Mark Rogers listed as making 8 starts for the Brewers this year and throwing 45 innings this season with a horrible projection. I guess it could be a way to figure that the Brewers at some point will have a scrub throw 45 innings as a starter and get bombed but they also had Mark DiFelice with a nice projection, albeit as a long reliever. I always enjoy looking at these projections but in no way take them for gospel. I'll use the PECOTA projection as a baseline and figure they could realistically be plus or minus five wins barring unforeseen circumstances. And often unforeseen circumstances happen and that's what makes baseball great.
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I wouldn't be willing to make a call either way. It wouldn't be the first time that a 34 year old starter fell off a cliff. When I look at Suppan's stats from last year, I see a declining strikeout rate and and a HR allowed rate that increased dramatically. For a pitcher entering his age 34 year that didn't have overpowering stuff to begin with, I'm more than slightly concerned. Then again, I am an outsider that doesn't really know what is going on medically with him. I'd still pencil Soup into the rotation until he proves he can't handle it. But if he comes out throwing 83-84 MPH, it'll definitely make me wonder. He didn't have much stuff to lose to begin with. A permanent loss of stuff for Soup due to age and/or injury could easily be the end of him as a viable major league pitcher. But like I said, I'm not going to throw him out of the rotation before spring training starts.
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#7 on Braun's most similar through age 24.... Babe Ruth.
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I am leaning heavily toward CV as a starter...
JonnyLungs replied to Hate those Rodents's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
That one good year in the minors also coincided with a move to the bullpen. And if I'm not mistaken, he's had some injury issues. I agree that DiFelice should be above him on the depth chart but given Pena's stuff, if he starts blowing away AAA I could see him passing DiFelice next season. -
Baseball-Reference.com has Bobby Grich as his number two most comparable player through age 25 also. I sure wouldn't complain about a Bobby Grich career for Weeks. Needless to say, I'm guessing his performance this year will determine whether it happens in Milwaukee or elsewhere.
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I think some people might be taking Suppan's health for granted. Sure, he might be able to go out there and pitch, but how effectively? I sure wouldn't want to count on a pitcher in his 30's that has developed some ailments that affected his performance in the previous year. Especially when said pitcher doesn't have the control to compensate for any downgrade of his stuff. Suppan at the bottom of the rotation isn't necessarily a problem. Not having a viable plan B is a major problem. Carlos Villanueva is not a plan B, as that would only open up another hole in the bullpen, which also lacks depth. While I've given up hope a dominant starter would be picked up, the pitching staff as currently constituted would only be fine in a world where injury and ineffectiveness doesn't strike. Anybody hoping that will be the case is being ridiculously optimistic.