Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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It's not easy to compare conferences, but a champ finishing with 5 losses is far from a red flag as to its' overall strength. Illinois had the dominating season in '05 (1 loss in league) and most of that season there were only two other B10 schools in the top 25. I also wouldn't be surprised if the winner is around 5-6 losses this year, but there were plenty of years where that happened & it took plenty to compete. It's still a strong group. Having said that, top 2-3 conferences in the nation? IMO not this year. There's a lot of relying on inexperience & transfers throughout the league. UW should be involved in March, but I think depth questions could/should keep them from the top echelon of the B10.
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Both, but more of the 2nd IMO. Good news is they give every reason to believe the outside shooting will be better this year. Ironically my bigger concern is balancing it with some sort of post-up game. It was nice to see Crowl knock down a couple threes yesterday, but I'd have been much happier if he spent the day backing people down & finishing. He's bigger & supposedly stronger, looking forward to seeing evidence of that around the cup. Also, I hope Wahl doesn't forget who he is. I hear his shot is greatly improved. If it means he's going to hoist 3-4 threes like last night, I'd rather his outside shot be limited from 15 feet out w/no one guarding him, after being fouled.
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Think of the last 5 seconds of a shot clock, or the last 2-3 minutes of a close game. The ball goes into the hands of a teams' offensive creator, and he does what he can. That was their offense through much of last season, pretty much throughout the game. Unfortunately it got to the point where it was their best option most of the time. Davison had a productive career, but has an offensive ceiling & had reached it, especially with the energy he expended on the defensive end. Hepburn & Crowl were in their 1st years of meaningful PT. The bench couldn't be counted on consistently for points. That left Wahl, who is magnificent around the hoop but pretty much limited to that. Overall getting the ball to Johnny was their best option. But it did lead to some ugly possessions.
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IIRC the only game not on regular cable is Dec 30th.
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Agree with your last sentence. It makes perfect sense to put the ball in the hands of a talent like Davis in crunch time of a game, yet it was very un-Wisconsin like. It actually shows the flexibility of Gard, to be willing to give up some structure. It'll be nice to see the opposing defenses get spread out a bit more, which should happen if they can shoot better from beyond the arc. Just hoping they don't settle for jump shots to the extent they did last season.
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Eric, if you're out there?, you bring a skillset that is EXACTLY what this organization needs. and it's terrific to have you join the Brewer family. Looking forward to watching you continue to climb the ladder on your way to Milwaukee.
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Eric, if you're out there?, you bring a skillset that is EXACTLY what this organization needs. and it's terrific to have you join the Brewer family. Looking forward to watching you continue to climb the ladder on your way to Milwaukee.
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Yep, UW has developed strong inroads in that state over the years. I was actually impressed with Ben Johnson, despite the W-L record. He certainly didn't have a whole lot to work with. It's funny, some of UM's fans try to run down Gard, yet Johnson is probably more like Gard in program-building philosophy than anyone they've had in recent memory. What works against them is, the Minneapolis area produces tons of talent but it's kinda like Chicago in regards to Illinois or DePaul. So many people mine that area that it's unrealistic to "build a wall" & keep 'em all home. Feel free to head over to North this winter & give us updates on how Robison looks.?
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Pretty impressive pipeline UW has developed with Lakeville North HS (MN). They just received a commitment from 2024 wing Jack Robison. Same HS as Nate Reuvers, Tyler Wahl & '23 recruit Nolan Winter.
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Too Early 2023 Ideas (or beyond)
Jim French Stepstool replied to jay87shot's topic in Transaction Rumors & Proposals
I think you're on to something re Hiura. His main trade value would have to be as part of a package. Taylor as part of a package would also make sense, but I can't get the feeling out of my head that one of the "Nashville four" OFs could be included in a deal (and I wish I COULD get it out of my head because I don't want to see it). As for Chourio/Burnes, the "someone like Burnes" would have to have at least a few years of control, and a couple of their top 3-4 prospects would have to be added. And that's from an organization with a strong farm system. Hell, I don't even know if I'd do it then. -
No doubt. The things he brought to the table day after day, it's hard to put into words how valuable that is to a coaching staff. From what I've heard Klesmit comes the closest to replacing what Davison brought. I think you'll see Brad on a coaching staff somewhere eventually.
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As RedStick referred to, I think you'll see some interesting combinations esp when Crowl sits. Don't know if Gilmore elevates his offensive game---he might--but he is probably going to give them a lot of minutes. If Ilver & Hodges can guard & rebound they'll contribute. The perimeter will be an interesting unfold. No one really saw Neath at his best all last year, so that's a situation to keep an eye on. With Jordan Davis it's about consistency. What is the level he can play at, where he can be there 80-90% of the time? No one quite knows that, yet. I expect Klesmit to start; I think he fits the program & what Greg Gard wants pretty well. With Essigian, it's all about how quickly he can figure out the defensive end enough to hold his own. The way he can shoot it's tempting to think he may get a lot of minutes right away & learn the other end "on the fly" but that's not how they usually do things. He's definitely an exciting kid. Bottom line, if Crowls' added strength & bulk translate positively they have a very impressive 3-man nucleus. And looking ahead, they just completed a real solid recruiting class for '23.
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The root problem for teams in the Brewers' financial situation is that I don't think MLB sees anything as needing to be fixed. And the MLBPA certainly doesn't.
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The root problem for teams in the Brewers' financial situation is that I don't think MLB sees anything as needing to be fixed. And the MLBPA certainly doesn't.
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Article: Brewers Payroll Preview: The Bullpen
Jim French Stepstool replied to John Bonnes's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
The way I see it, going forward from the deadline to seasons' end they felt Rodgers could reasonably replicate the results Hader would give them, plus they added depth in the other deals, plus two prospects that are much more than lottery tix. All of this is reasonable. But after a miserable stretch, Hader straightened himself out while Bush was worse than what he was in Texas, and Rodgers arguably worse, certainly no better. I think there was plenty of reason, the reasons just didn't click, exasperated by the Rosenthal fiasco. -
Article: Brewers Payroll Preview: The Bullpen
Jim French Stepstool replied to John Bonnes's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
The way I see it, going forward from the deadline to seasons' end they felt Rodgers could reasonably replicate the results Hader would give them, plus they added depth in the other deals, plus two prospects that are much more than lottery tix. All of this is reasonable. But after a miserable stretch, Hader straightened himself out while Bush was worse than what he was in Texas, and Rodgers arguably worse, certainly no better. I think there was plenty of reason, the reasons just didn't click, exasperated by the Rosenthal fiasco. -
Well no, I guess he didn't think his actions would gut the team, because if he did he wouldn't have acted. They aren't robots; they reacted the way they reacted. It certainly made things worse, particularly during the initial week afterward. If there are any lessons to be learned I too hope Stearns learns them. I also hope the players who remain here learned that responding to a move you don't like isn't made better by going 1-6 vs Cincy & Pittsburgh, or whatever it was. I'd like to know what these potential "other trade/trades" were. If other moves were going to be piggybacked off this to justify the overall picture, then that's a point of contention with me because you shouldn't assume anything during the deadline.
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The first sentence sums up Stearns' philosophy re the trade about as well as one sentence can. Rodgers' performance kept the water from being treaded. But I think the iceberg was largely due to his assuming the teams' response to the deal would be a little more professional than it was.
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The teenaged me was pretty excited about that trade with Boston. Funny thing, the Brewers were looking at Scott to fill a hole.....at third base. Johnny Briggs was penciled in at first, and I recall early in the '72 season they would make a defensive change to protect late leads--Scott would move to first with Briggs going to the OF & Mike Ferraro taking over at third. Eventually he settled in at 1B fulltime, by far his best position. Scott hit one of the longest HRs I ever saw in person, on a Sunday vs the Yankees. Sam McDowell was near the end of his career, & Scott took him deep w/the bases loaded, maybe a couple rows from hitting the back wall at the top of the LF bleachers. Fun times. He also wore the necklace (you can clearly see it in the photo above). He used to say it was made out of "second basemens' teeth".
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The teenaged me was pretty excited about that trade with Boston. Funny thing, the Brewers were looking at Scott to fill a hole.....at third base. Johnny Briggs was penciled in at first, and I recall early in the '72 season they would make a defensive change to protect late leads--Scott would move to first with Briggs going to the OF & Mike Ferraro taking over at third. Eventually he settled in at 1B fulltime, by far his best position. Scott hit one of the longest HRs I ever saw in person, on a Sunday vs the Yankees. Sam McDowell was near the end of his career, & Scott took him deep w/the bases loaded, maybe a couple rows from hitting the back wall at the top of the LF bleachers. Fun times. He also wore the necklace (you can clearly see it in the photo above). He used to say it was made out of "second basemens' teeth".
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Can't say exactly when it was made, but the train probably started to leave the station in the '70s when free agency became a bigger thing. $$$$$$$$.
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Can't say exactly when it was made, but the train probably started to leave the station in the '70s when free agency became a bigger thing. $$$$$$$$.
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Or maybe, just maybe, batters have come to the mindset in recent decades that hitting for more power, more OPS leads to securing a bigger contract. And that's the priority. That doesn't mean a many of them wouldn't suck at it either way, I'll admit that.
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Or maybe, just maybe, batters have come to the mindset in recent decades that hitting for more power, more OPS leads to securing a bigger contract. And that's the priority. That doesn't mean a many of them wouldn't suck at it either way, I'll admit that.
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Ah, consistency. It's a word I've brought up from time to time this season. There's been a lot of talk in this thread about hitting with RISP and rightfully so. But there were also many times this year there was a runner on 2B with no outs, and the inning ended with him still spot-welded there. Also the runner on 3B with less than two outs thing. Those might not have anything directly to do with RISP stats since you don't necessarily need a base hit to score the run, but I think an offense can run much more effectively when contact is made, when situations are respected. and when you have the type of skill set where it isn't out of your element to do so. That's where I become intrigued with a Frelick, a Turang, A Mitchell or Ruiz. No one knows what or how long the growing pains will be given the youth. But I get intrigued at the potential for more consistency. Gotta say though, I'm really dubious about Ruiz getting reps at 2B.
