Joseph Zarr

- RHP Justin Caceres has been released by the DSL Brewers #2

Well, this daydream ended too soon:

Good thing about batteries, tho, is beyond testing it yourself you can drive up to any 'Auto Zone' and they will test it for free. If I recall correct, they'll bring the tool out to your car and you know within a minute. If your battery is just low, which it often is, they'll charge it for you for free if you don't have the requisite charging device. I prefer to trickle charge my own batteries over a 24 hr period but they'll do it in store in 30 minutes or less with their beefier set up.

My oldest niece is carving out quite the early career as a soccer player. She is playing next year in the Ivy League and her class appears to be a juggernaut for an already blossoming program. She has won many honors already in her Senior year - regional All-American, All-State, All-Conference etc. The High School athletic hoopla. What's even 'scarier' about this is my youngest niece is the best athlete our family has ever seen. IF she focuses on soccer, she will likely be better; more dangerous; and a likely shoe-in on USWNT rosters. I digress. Well, this past week was the vote for the greater All-American team. My niece had numerous fans (ergo, 'Votes') on the committee. The only problem was...her name wasn't on the ballot. It turns out her high school coach (and, also by proxy or association, her athletic director by default) submitted her name and ballot into the public school category. She plays at a private school. The only reason her mom, my sister, found out is because her club coach is on the committee. He notified my sister: "Hey, <niece here> had several votes on the committee. She was likely a unanimous selection. BUT, her name wasn't on the ballot. I asked about it and we found out he submitted her to the wrong school class and so she wasn't on the right ballot." I mean, the award, in the end, obviously is just an award and it doesn't mean anything. However, historically, the school itself has never had a National All-American in the women's soccer program. This would have been a first. AND, it didn't happen, ostensibly, because the head coach submitted the ballot incorrectly. Nobody along the way had the wherewithal to rectify the error - in and of itself, also darkly comical. AND, what made it even worse is everyone involved in the process has been extremely apologetic and taking responsibility for the snafu. Her coach? Being a complete egotistical ignoramus is completely and entirely taking zero responsibility. My sister wrote him a very direct but very cordial email and he responded on the attack. The entire situation is just extremely disappointing. Thankfully, my niece is a baller and is handling it very well after the initial disappointment. What a cluster.

Having the number of picks they do in the range they have them is obviously quite scintillating but I would also remind us all: this upcoming draft is universally seen as a better and deeper draft than last year's. That is also quite zesty! "Waiter, could I have some more freshly made guacamole? And, yes, make it picante!"

Ol' friend LHP Eric Lauer inks a NRI MiLB deal with the Jays returning to full-season affiliated ball after closing his late aeason in 2024 in the KBO. Good for him. Hopefully, his injury woes are further behind him and he can recapture some of his vintage form.

Awesome news! I had just checked his player page a day or so ago. Very happy for him.

Hard to say. We signed INF Jesus Made for $950,000. I'd say that investment has been paying early dividends.

I wouldn't over-invest in Prospect rankings. Durbin's main issue has been health - he's missed time due to two fluke injuries of late - and switching organizations. Last year, he missed two months due to a fractured wrist (that likely impacted his early exit velo numbers). The Yankees did a good amount of swing adjustment and he evolved from a slap hitter with the Braves into a guy who regularly can launch 15 degree balls with decent power. Likely never a big HR guy but he is definitely a guy who can hit for extra bases - especially, if you factor in his speed. The main thing you might read into is: he proved his 2023 AFL wasn't a fluke. He proved he has recovered from the early 2024 wrist injury. AND, whether it's posturing or not, the Yankess brass (GM and Manager) were repeatedly saying he was a strong candidate to take over everyday 2B duties with the MLB club.

Good Yankees SB Nation piece on Durbin HERE

I think those EV's should have an asterisk, tho: he was returning from a broken wrist in the first portion of his season (thanks to @Playing Catch for that Fangraph article that touches on this). Hard to know how that impacts bat-to-ball and EV but I have to imagine, having broken my own left wrist before, it didn't help as he re-adjusted to the physical sensations of bat-to-ball. From the same article: That's a pretty bold asterisk if you ask me. I don't think we truly know what we'll be working with but his AFL output might be hinting at it...

Good counterpoint to Durbin by Jack here:

There was very very low hanging 'fruit' here: "Bracing for the wurst" I ask for silence as I grieve the loss of a pun. #IStandWithDadJokes

I personally like it when I have to step outside the bounds of my vehicle - but maybe I'm a hack mechanic glutton? Heck on my F150 (and in many pre-2014 vehicles I've used) I don't trust the 'Oil Life' prompts or 'Maint Reqd' prompts (on my wife's RAV4) that are strictly based on a rollback of an auto-input feature equating oil life to <insert 3,000 miles or 5,000 miles traveled from date of reset> over any car/truck sensor's actual understanding of the quality of the oil in the crankcase. I've also found read outs on batteries tend to be inconsistent - ie, I need to read it myself to believe it and read it more than once. But, to your point, I get it. You have a 2019. We have AI making insanely real deep fakes and movie edits in real time on command. We don't have an app or a sensible dash prompt that can tell me the state of the battery that is literally ensuring all my features in my working vehicle are working properly? I mean, if the battery goes you can instantly lose your power steering when turning across a highway. Seems like it should be a common feature in all vehicles - especially newer models.

In the words of the great De'vondre Campbell Sr.: My answer to my fans is... <walks off the stage...didn't want to talk today>

RHP Cody Ponce (of the famed 2019 Trade Deadline RHP Jordan Lyles acquisition) stays in the KBO signing a 1 year $1 Million deal with a $200K signing bonus with the Hanwha Eagles. He joins RHP Mitch White in the 'Former Brewers Million Dollar KBO Men' club. Despite decent peripherals, Ponce really struggled to keep men off base in 2024 in the parent League: More HERE

Obviously, a lot of tools to work with and get excited about. I've looked behind the curtain since the announcement. I still have one question with the age and injury history: Has his development peeked? Let's hope he stays healthy so we can find out.

It would appear the San Francisco Giants have re-upped LHP Ethan Small on a Minor League deal (he had previously been non-tendered as he did not qualify for arbitration) according to Baseball America. Small will look to bounce back after an injury filled (two separate 60-Day IL stints) 2024.

That is incredible. Amazing. Thanks for sharing.

So, what you're saying is you took a Peek under the hood and you liked what you you found.

Not to mention trading for two of them in Robert Moore and Hendry Mendez (really nice bounce back healthy campaign last year) just last year. Payton is an awesome guy and a really solid backstop with an underrated bat to boot. Phillies get another quality former Brewer. You love to see it!

It's always encouraging when I you come away from a comment based in observation and you don't feel like a moron. Thank you for the small shot of validation. After today's goings on, I may have needed it. 😅

When I watched Thomas face the Sounds (on well more than one occasion - as a reliever and then as a starter later in the year) the pitch that stuck out to me the most is the change-up. That's where I would butter the bread, so to speak, as the strikeout pitch. I don't know what the peripherals or the charts say about the pitch - ie, I haven't even looked into how often he threw it as a whole or how often he even threw it vs the Sounds 😆 - but I can tell you, from my vantage point and recollection and game notes, that was the pitch that impressed the most in the times I saw him in 2024.

A Final homage to another sweet Prince gone to another Kingdom: