Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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I would hope not, but again the system encourages it. The volume of players out there is going to be that much greater if you're allowed to leave year-to-year. It's a boon to guys at the end of the bench wanting to play competitively for the last time in their lives & realizing they can only get on the floor if they transfer do a low-major or D-2. But for the elite players it's just as advantageous. Fish around, see if someone ponies up more, and if so then announce. Otherwise stay put. Lather, rinse, repeat for four years. All you need is one high major willing to overspend.
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The money he was offered that led to this dwarfs what he could've gotten after the 22-23 season.
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I've mentioned this before, but IMO schools shouldn't have a thing to do with NIL. If it's going to exist it should be individual student-athletes being allowed to sell their name, their image, their likeness to advertisers for whatever fee they can extract. No school involvement. No school collective (slush) fund. If you're Caitlin Clark & State Farm wants you to do a TV ad, great. But during filming, leave your Iowa jersey at home. If schools are going to be allowed to pay players, fund X amount of dollars for a revenue-producing team, and distribute it evenly among scholarship athletes. Yeah, AJ Storr gets the same amount as Chris Hodges. Of course, it's gotten so far past that point that the suggestion sounds ridiculous. But had something of that ilk been done years ago maybe, just maybe we wouldn't be waist deep in something that's most likely unsustainable.
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Regarding Hepburn, it's a money issue. They've lost 2 starters to the portal. One of whom hasn't stayed with the same team since, I believe, junior high. The other defections are people who weren't going to get playing time & wanted to go somewhere where they could do so. The possible exception to that is Essegian, but he's a wing who is clearly behind at least two other wings & doesn't want to come off the bench as a JR after starting two years prior. Indiana & Illinois (along with many other schools) have had a ton of defections too. The system encourages it.
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It really isn't an "investment" at all, because for the people most responsible for paying the freight--boosters--there isn't any tangible return on it. It's all about how high will you go, collectively, to get your jollies having a successful team to root for? Hepburn is rumored to be going to Louisville. I imagine there's a lot of frustration/desperation fueling this---it's a proud program used to winning that hasn't been good for quite some time. Hard to look at him objectively right now since I'm a UW fan, but I'd say he was more than an average PG at the college level. His offensive #s were very average. His assist-TO ratio was excellent, competing against high level competition. And he was an excellent defender. But yeah, the 800K number as far as I can tell, is accurate. And not something UW should be interested in even considering matching.
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Unfortunately I think Ashby is a long way from rebuilding any kind of meaningful trade value.
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I don't see Dunn playing 1B over Bauers. And I think Ortiz should be playing more regardless. After the year off, hoping Hoskins gets into a comfortable groove at 1B. His glove struggles could indirectly keep Black off the roster as Hoskins has been filling the DH spot more than most folks expected.
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Couldn't agree more with this. IMO Wiemer, at this stage in his career & with the mechanical changes he's going through, should be getting 4 ABs a day. The puzzle is the alternatives. He's no Mattingly with the stick but let's face it, Bauers has saved runs this season, and that becomes even more important with Yelich out of the lineup. As often as he's going to be at 1B, that leaves Hoskins with a healthy dose of DH duty, and I don't want Black up here sitting, anymore than Wiemer.
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Maaaaaaybe our boy Abner grew up a little bit today. Easy to hang your head & succumb to a case of the "here we go agains" after the triple. He made some nice pitches afterward despite not having his best FB (topped out at 97 I believe) & needing to locate both the FB & the slider. And he finished it with a defensive play a lot of pitchers don't make. I wish Ortiz would be given a nice extended run of starts at 3B.
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No doubt. It looks like the shuttle from Milwaukee to Nashville is going to yield some pretty good results. I'm just concerned about the constant parade of short starts in Milwaukee. It can't help but catch up to them at some point (if it continues). Anxious for Gasser to get back in the harness to see if he can give them another starting option if needed.
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Glad to hear Megill was so effective. He'll fit nicely as one of the five relief pitchers Milwaukee needs to use nightly (exaggerating, but just a little). I just hope there's enough of a work ethic-ability combination to allow Black to become an acceptable 1B at the MLB level. Right now I suppose it's anybodys' guess.
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Curious couple days. Other than 2 good ABs tonite (one where he was robbed) it's been a head scratcher of a series for Contreras w/the glove & at bat. A handful of miscues, and swinging 3-0 in the 1st inning tonight was Adamesian. Or Wiemerish. My early vibes on Murphy are good, but I think he's much too liberal with the PHing Dunn for Ortiz thing. Especially in the middle of the game.
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There's reason to be concerned re the BP, but my biggest thing there is Williams being out & Uribe apparently not being able to plug into the same role. I feel Peguero, Payamps, Milner could all be in for some regression from last season, but let's not forget what it's a regression FROM. They were all outstanding in '23 & I think they'll all be on the plus side more often than not this year. Being in a position right now where the 8th & 9th are in limbo is what sucks more than anything. Koenig has looked good so far, and Megill & Bukauskas returning will certainly help.
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And w/ no one on base.
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I agree. Last night was a demonstration that if you put the bat on the ball good things can happen. Thirty-one pitches in 3 innings for Ross, then in the 4th & 5th the baseball gods threw dog poo all over his sheet cake. Not nuts about Chourio leading off, but he seems comfortable there & as long as the bottom 3rd of the order keeps giving him baserunners, OK.
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I don't know how one can say that Clarkes' CS% is 'boosted' up to 15% when it's been worse than that last season & so far this season. Why should his BA & lack of HRs be ignored?
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- brett wichrowski
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Yet another short start, only this time we find a way to get through 3 innings w/only 31 pitches, and STILL not get our starter through five. Frustrating. If there's such a thing as starting rotation gods I'd love to know what we did to tick them off. Obviously Ross deserved better.
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"With utmost respect", instead of "With that being said". Gotta give the kid points for originality.
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Probably. And maybe an unofficial but real tie-in with some AAU program in the area.
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Glad to see my guy Luke finally break through. With Black playing more & more 1B, suddenly that position has some organizational depth to it.
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If he continues to turn in the work he has & Milwaukee needs a LHRP I'm hoping Zastryzny doesn't fall victim to the same issue that resulted in Wiemer being up. I may be wrong but it seems like adding a pitcher to the 40 man happens a little more often than a position player being added. Maybe because nowadays half or more of your 40 are pitchers.
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.......And Chris Roller is on the 40-man & was just injured. I assume (hope) he would've gotten the call otherwise. There are 4-5 spots I have a question with on the 40. Not that all 4 or 5 should be jettisoned, but any one of them could've made room for Hicklen. I guess if Yelich isn't IL'ed the issue will go away, but it cost them on Sunday.
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Aside from the mechanics--which should be cleaned up in Nashville, not here--he just always seems to wind up in bad counts, usually of his own doing. Certainly Burnes is not someone you want him facing out of the chute.
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Yep. Their numbers this season in those situations have been slowpitch-softball like. Adames had a really ugly AB where he never saw a strike in 6 or 7 pitches & struck out, but by & large they've been very good.
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They deemed Chourio in need of a day off, which I agree with. Bauers has played next to no OF, and Yelich is deemed unavailable. That's the explanation. It in no way means I'm in favor of Wiemer being up here right now.
