Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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Hah!!!! Wouldn't that be sumthin'!!! Realistically, with Williams around, Fischer in high A, and who knows what position Made winds up settling into you'd need the price to be much, much cheaper than what Boston would agree to.
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Ebel with a very slowpitch softball-like 13-28 stretch, with seven of those going for extra bases. For those who are more casual minor league followers---he's 18, folks.
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Not gonna happen. They've taken enough heat for the trade as it is; they aren't going to add fuel by cutting loose a 26-yr-old coming off a solid season.
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There are signs of that; yet he's still on the short side of 30 so it's very odd to me. He might be feeling a little heat given the defense hasn't been strong lately. Still, he made a nice play in the 9th. Given the timeline, they spent ST taking a good long look at Williams, then decided to give him more time in AAA. Given he's played more SS than anything coming into this year it was understandable. Rengifo, Hamilton, Perkins are all in audition mode right now. Shoe(s) will drop sometime in June I would imagine.
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So when you walk 6, hit one & commit an error and still hold this group to one run, you made some big pitches in huge situations---or you're lucky. It depends on which brand you usually smoke. I'd say tonite it's mostly the former, especially Henderson beating Muncy w/the bases loaded & K'ing Ohtani to finish his day. Murphy has historically been quick with the hook with the young starters with good results but when you look closely, he also picks & chooses situations to allow growth. He did that to get Henderson through five---of course a 5-run lead helped make that an easier decision. First no-no from Bauers in LF on his incorrect throw; fortunately it didn't hurt.
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If Perkins were to return to Nashville it pretty much has to be Lara, and even if he gets 3-4 starts a week in Milwaukee I think they feel much better about his getting regular ABs in AAA. For now I'd try to limit Perkins to hitting vs LHP & see if he can contribute from that side until Lockridge is good to go.
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My thoughts too, after seeing the lineup. After Tuesday's result you knew Bauers in LF with Chourio in CF is something we were going to see again. I Certainly don't want Bauers sitting vs anyone right now until he needs a blow, which tonite either puts him in left or Yelich on the bench as you know Vaughn is playing. I'd have leaned toward Perkins in CF w/him probably getting pulled for Mitchell at some point & Yelich's bat available on the bench. it's a tough call.
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Promotion Speculation - 2026
Jim French Stepstool replied to Ro Mueller's topic in Brewers Minor League Talk
Agree. The glove, along with the ability to play 2nd & 3B as well as SS. But if at some point both Pratt & Williams make it up here AND Hamilton shows that the way he swung the bat on Wednesday is more than a fluke---we already know how he can effect a game with his feet--- it becomes interesting. -
I really don't think they're shielding him. He's started the last five games, the last two vs RHP. Of course, if trailing late they'll hit for him which is something we also saw last season. The walks suggest to me that he's picking the ball up better & making better swing decisions. But you're right, he's done that before & reverted. We'll see.
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Totally agree. Hamilton bunts so often for the same reason that most power hitters don't; to maximize your best asset.
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He's very important to this squad defensively, versatile if need be, and has been having more success at the plate so IMO it's a no-brainer AFA Ortiz sticking around. Perkins-Rengifo-Hamilton is a much closer call & is very fluid. Rengifo recently collected 7 hits in three games & at the time made Hamilton look a little vulnerable. Now Rengifo has cooled back off, committed an important error Tuesday (regardless of how it was scored) & the next day Hamilton picks up 3 hits. Despite being out of options, Rengifo may not be sleeping well right now. But if he has a couple 2-hit games this weekend while Hamilton pops up a bunt or two........... Fortunately the team is winning & can afford to let things play out while Pratt, Williams & Lara get a little better each day.
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Just wondering, do you know where his pitch counts have been at in his previous rehabs?
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To answer the question posed, it depends on what we're hoping for & what can be tolerated given the value of his glove. Will he hit enough to fend off Pratt and/or Made? No, it's a matter of time before he's unseated. But even last year, the importance of his defense was always undervalued by much of the fanbase & now that some of the missing troops are healthy I don't see a sense of urgency. And at least to my eye his ABs HAVE looked much better. Hasn't struck out in over a week & has drawn five walks in that same time, with a couple of base hits & 2 or 3 other well-hit balls. It's a fascinating time, really. Lockridge should be ready in maybe five weeks, and we've all followed the people in Nashville who are knocking on the door. Perkins, Rengifo, Joey & Hamilton are all in sort of an audition mode.
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I was gone & didn't start watching until the 6th inning. But I'll say that from what I saw in his final 2 innings, the game plan vs their hitters was impeccable. Credit Harrison, Contreras, Hook, Henderson---probably a combination. But it was fun watching their lineup have little to no clue what was coming, or where, and not being able to pick the ball up anyway. A clinic on FB usage from someone who has good, but not eye-popping velo. Sorry I missed the majority of it. Great swings from Hamilton and, despite not picking up any hits, from Ortiz, at least in his last couple ABs. As glad as I am to have him back, tonight reminds me of how inexplicably bad Yelich can look at times. I can't comment on his first few trips to the plate but I know his AB vs Palencia in the 9th was over-the-top ugly. It's to the point where you just hope the bad stretches where he chases & can't pick up the ball don't become extended. This was a fun week, to say the least. There have been more important wins vs this team, like game 163 & the 2025 post-season. But from a pure joy standpoint regarding the rivalry I'll always have wins over CC in a prominent spot, along with the comeback win in 2019 when there was all the hype surrounding their acquisition of Kimbrel, he entered the game & Keston Hiura hit one out to walk it off.
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IMO he could be effective in that role as long as he doesn't come in & take 8-10 pitches before finding his location, and I'd be concerned about that happening. Right now I'm a fan of starting Sproat & trying to get him to the point where he can get you 15-17 outs.
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If Williams came up under the current roster makeup, I'd guess Hamilton would be the one to go. But that puts Ortiz in a close to every-day role, and the slightly better ABs he's been putting up in the last week or so need to be more than fool's gold in the eyes of the decision-makers. Perkins going down is an interesting idea, and not a bad one. I just don't know if they would be comfortable with a Mitchell-Frelick-Chourio-sometimes Bauers OF group. Perhaps. Sure would be nice if they could trust putting Yelich out there occasionally, but let's not even go there.
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- jett williams
- luis rengifo
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I don't know about him being the 2nd or 3rd best starter, but the rest is spot-on. The way the staff is constructed his current role is extremely valuable & he's been excellent at it---IMO too good to remove him if you can help it. Now he can back up his slurve with a FB that in shorter spurts can hit 96-97. I don't always follow the radar gun but I'm pretty sure he wasn't consistently hitting that when starting.
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On Sunday Gasser had next to no command with his secondary pitches, which he absolutely needs, yet still never totally blew up & I thought showed some pretty good poise under the circumstances. The only person who seemed to severely hurt him w/the bat was Clemens in the L/L matchup. Always a tough ask when facing LA but looking forward to seeing what he can do with better sweeper/change location.
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Quite possibly. Larger point; criticism of Murphy's BP management last night is off-base whether brought about by being overly emotional or by not paying attention.
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Great post. I Haven't scoured back on this thread, which I'm sure is a good thing given a couple of the late posts I'm reading commenting about some of the earlier ones. Bullpen usage is always going to be an easy target, which is why so many want to target it. I think there are some folks who, if they were calling the shots, would go through 7-8 different closers in a season. For the record, the only really bad decision Murphy made tonight re the pen is not reversing his decision & putting Ashby back out there once Conforto was announced. Which, of course, isn't allowed.
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I am SO hoping Patrick can remain in the pen. It would flesh things out wonderfully.
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They were. But personally I'm an "Indian Lake" guy.
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Yes. He was extremely solid tonight.
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Stop making fun of Greg Cowsill.
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So you look at who was productive tonite, you See Yelich. You see Bauers. You see Vaughn. So yeah, you gotta go with this alignment, my defensive concerns be damned. I loved the poise from Sproat after the walks to start the game. A couple hard-hit outs right afterward, but he also worked Happ really well hitting from his strong side. From then on, the only thing I really hated from him was the walk to Hoerner after the HR. The guys' been pretty damn good recently until that 5th inning wall. It'll be fun to watch him try to scale it. And speaking of poise, Drohan had a moment or three where he could've caved a little & responded like meh, just execute your pitches. Love that.
