Joseph Zarr

I will not allow the Minnesota Wild to lure me in again. Incredible start for them. I imagine the Xcel Center is absolutely rocking nightly. There is only pain in the end (until, hockey gods willing, there isn't). I'm staying at a distance this entire season.

I saw Bucky won. I saw they scored over 100 points. All incredible. Then I saw: 87 combined FT's ?!? 😳 87 COMBINED FT'S?!? I can't imagine there was a lot of flow to this One. Glad the Badgers came out on top but, sheesh, from afar I would have guessed they had MAAC refs calling this one.

It is, yes. BUT, it has limitations. NBA refs can not review fouls they have called to overturn them. I think they can review the type of foul (?). But, in the particular case of this foul they were literally only determining the clock when they called the foul. What I didn't understand (and still don't understand) is the refs determined it was a two shot shooting foul on the floor when they blew the whistle. That, to me, is patently absurd. That didn't qualify as one via any other criteria other than the refs determined it was a shooting foul. And, obviously, I never saw it as any type of foul to begin with and the NBA agreed.

I just saw this. He gets a coveted 7 figure salary while trying to build on his incredible last month and a half starting for the Sounds to hopefully get more serious MLB attention next off-season. White's mother is also Korean so there is a bit of that rarefied feel good deeper layer here. Good luck, Mitch!

Yeah and the NBA also came out post-game with their final two-minute report stating the refs blew the call - ie it wasn't a foul - and they couldn't review the play itself because they called it a foul on the floor. Is what it is. The zebras are literally always lurking.

On EMJ a gent named 'Ian' brought up a great point to Jim earlier on Twizzler while sharing McCalvy's recent tidbit on EMJ in his Newsletter (expand the comment): As Jim said over HERE, it is unlikely EMJ passed on a 40-Man opportunity with another ball club due to an allegiance to the Crew. And, if a club wanted to sign him to their 40-Man they could have while he was a Minor League FA (albeit, briefly) and they then would have the ability to Option him to their system. As we know, you can't do that as a Rule 5 selection or you are simply forfeited back to your old club.

Hey all, @Spencer Michaelisand I have penciled in the recording of our first Brewer Fanatic podcast - first of five in a five-part Brewers Minor League system dive - next week Wednesday (11/20). I would like to use this thread as an ongoing question submission for any and all. I would also like to keep the questions generally focused within the body of our intended discussions in each respective episode. SO, please do submit any questions here or suggestions as to areas you'd like to hear/see us dive into deeper. To that end, here is a current rough outline of areas we will travel in the FIRST Episode: Releases and Signings Rule 5 protections - deadline for the 40-Man adds is in four days AFL recap Winter League happenings No Australian League participation in 2024? Macro View of the System: Combined records, individual records, post-season appearances and results The 2024 DSL season The 2024 ACL season The 2024 Draft and player placements and performances (if applicable) If the (formerly known as) Bird App is your thing: That's the general gist of Episode One - lots of intriguing ground to cover. As we go through the remaining episodes we will be spending dedicated attention and time to each affiliated full-season team per episode. Low-A Carolina is coming down the pipeline. So, to that end, please consider the rough outline I've shared above and ask any and all questions or consider adding a little flavor to the above topics - or any other topics that might marry well within we simply may not have thought of. We look forward to sharing this conversation together!

My favorite moment of the 2024 Yoho Tour was when we finally got the Statcast data and they labelled his screwball a left-handed curveball. Thems were times.

I mean, it was called a foul. BUT, I think there is a very reasoned take that it was emphatically not the right or appropriate call. As they say: "Ball don't lie."

One year ago, today on November 13th, the Brewers officially announced they had protected RHP Bradley Blalock and C Jeferson Quero from the 2023 Rule 5 draft by adding them to the 40-Man. In that respect, it would realistically appear we 'should' be learning any day now what's in store for this year's draft.

On Anderson, Ortuno, and Quintana: I bring this here because these are things we can not see beyond our number crunching at present. In Baseball America's end-of-season recap on the Top International Signing classes of 2024 (subscription) (where they discussed the Brewers first and foremost) they share the general thinking is Anderson would likely be moved to a corner OF spot stateside. Ortuno projects to continue to see opportunities on the infield dirt. And, beyond Quintana's overall smooth and easy game the thing that really stood out in the DSL was his plus defense at SS. They say he showed a quality many thought he wouldn't be able to showcase given his size, slower first step, and general pessimistic view of his range.

For anyone wondering, the roster listed by Jim is not up to date as of Thompson's latching on (Congrats, Darrell!). For an up to date current roster via the USA Baseball website visit THIS page. It goes without saying, this is a massive opportunity for both Thompson and Devanney. Devanney will look to show the Royals he is qualified to assume their MLB club utility role. Thompson will hope to show out to get offered his next contract. No pressure!

Rodriguez was also HBP in the second inning, fwiw. So it was an 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 HBP.

I suspect your suspicion here, tho suspiciously suspicious in and of itself, is spot on. It plays into the simple, if unfortunate, fact the Brewers lack any amount of meaningful depth at the highest levels within their own system. I personally believe they use the broader Minor Leagues to play this role. They've caught lightning in a bottle via this avenue on numerous occasions. The wealth of depth within the system is currently in the lower levels and it is filled with lottery ticket type talents.

Looking back to the 29th of October, a whole slew of players from the 60-Day and Full-Season IL's were activated. 18 players in total. See them HERE

Indeed! And, absolutely awesome. It appears he was assigned on October 29th -- underneath all our collective noses. This is fantastic. One of the real bright spots of the past season gets a much-deserved nod of recognition.

Yup. I looked through that list earlier today and had one thought off the bat: "How did I miss RHP Dylan File pitched for the D-Backs org last season?!?" 😅

Baseball 'Merica also lists Juan Baez as a Catcher. Let's hope their transaction ledger is more accurate than their positional assignations. 😅

So, Peoria now has two ties in the past week. LOL. Didn't have that on my AFL Bingo card.

Then I sincerely, and with all due respect, just very much disagree with you. And, that's just fine. We'll see where the chips fall as time carries on.

I watch the games. Very comfortable in my assessments. It most definitely is an adventure. That's putting it quite generously.

Ken Ingalls chimes in:

His range is slightly limited due to his length but it isn't really all that discernible. His hands, glove, and arm are all really good. As is his decision-making. He doesn't have EBJ's overall stretch and range but, then again, he has nowhere near the amount of issues at the plate EBJ has. In my mind, Pratt is far and away the best SS we've seen play stateside in the Brewers system by a hefty margin.