And That

http://www.blackhenmusic.com/files/images/DDW-WinterHours-FrontCover-lowres_0.jpg The Deep Dark Woods: "The Winter Hours" - phenomenal. Country rock, and the music sounds like you'd expect it to given the band name and album title - cold, depressing and most of the songs deal with loss and death, though the lyrics are stilted in an old timey fashion, so it doesn't take itself too seriously. Sounds somewhere between a happy Jason Molina song and a sad Gordon Lightfoot song.

If one of the pitchers slips later into the offseason and is willing to eat some pride and sign a 1 year/$2-3 mil deal, I think the Brewers will be interested. The Brewers will acquire another pitcher for the rotation, but I'm betting it's via trade, closer to spring.

I'm getting married in 2.5 hours. Wheee!

Morrow can still be targeted by the Brewers as long as he doesn't play for the Brewers. No need to close the thread.

I put mine in my front pocket, even with jeans. It's not very delicate at all, at least in my experience. I've probably dropped it on the pavement a dozen times since I got it 20 months ago and I've never had a case for it. Still works just fine.

Cain has had the 2 AFL stints, but he's only had 332 PA (82 games) at the AA level, with modest success (.246/.321/.413). My guess is only a great spring training gets him a promotion to AAA. He needs to prove his knee is healthy before being pushed.

The average slash line in the NL in 2009 for a player batting in the leadoff slot in the batting order was .270/.340/.402. The Brewers had the 3rd highest OPS and 4th highest OBP from the leadoff position last year - their guys went .283/.357/.423. Can Escobar equal or better either of those lines?

A lot of it comes from the 2008 Brewers draft class. They took all those arms and were able to fill so many spots on the Wisconsin (and even Brevard) rosters, that they didn't need to push a guy like Odorizzi (or Lasker, or Billings, or Bucci, or Krestalude, etc.) to Wisconsin. In years past, I have no doubt many of those guys would have either broken 2009 camp with the low-A squad, or would have been one of the first permanent call-ups. Not that that would have ruined their careers, but that brings me to my second point. I think there's a lot to be said for being able to directly monitor pitching in Arizona during extended spring training. It's a controlled environment, and much more flexible than a scheduled set of proper baseball games. And of course, you're probably not going to be rained/snowed out. The competition may not be as good as a full season league, but I think it's more important to have regular repetition and specific practice on things for pitchers that are so young. In any event, Odorizzi is still just turning 20 right before the season starts, and may well hit AA as a 21 year old.

Here's mine, plucked straight from my personal Power 50 ballot. Lofgren would be in the low-mid 20 range for me. 1. Escobar 2. Gamel 3. Lawrie 4. Lucroy 5. Arnett 6. Braddock 7. Odorizzi 8. Salome 9. Peralta 10. Schafer 11. Ke. Davis 12. Cain 13. Rivas 14. Scarpetta 15. T. Green 16. Heckathorn 17. Gindl 18. Rogers 19. Butler 20. Anundsen I think Odorizzi is underrated by a lot of people on here, and I like that the Brewers are taking it slowly with him. He has a ton of upside.

If it comes down to Narveson and Suppan for the last spot, I hope the Brewers would have the foresight to give it to the guy who still might be pitching for them in 2011. Kemp probably won't see much time at catcher, that's true. A little oversight on my part. He'll still be in the lineup most of the time at 1B/DH, though. The Brewers might find a spot for de la Rosa, but he is coming off a 460 OPS (!) season as a 24 year old in A-ball. I don't know where you go from there exactly. He might be moving into more of a coaching capacity in the near future. Maldonado is a superlative defender, but needs to pick it up big time with the bat. In his favor, his walk rate showed big improvement last year, so if his batting average can catch up, he could be a dark horse to make a move on to and up the Power 50 next year.

He doesn't put any 2009 draftees/international signees on his top 10 lists. I have to hand it to Hulet - he does his homework on all 30 organizations' prospects. That said, it's impossible for one guy to know all 30 farm systems with much or any depth, so I imagine none of his 30 lists would be considered authoritative. Which is not to say it's not a fun read.

Since the winter meetings are over, it seems like a good time to take our annual look at what the minor league rosters might look like for the upcoming season. I include my guess at the Brewers' roster here so that the other rosters fall in to place, but that's not really what the discussion is about. The pitching is hardest to predict, as always. There are already too many arms to fill the available slots... they do this to protect against the inevitable injuries, but a number of pitchers will be released in spring training as well. For the moment I don't have the following pitchers (who ended up on A-ball rosters or above) listed on a roster: David Riske (injury), Mike Burns, Juan Sandoval, Bobby Bramhall (injury), Jim Henderson, Mark Holliman, Brandon Kintzler, Mike Ramlow (injury), Mark Willinsky, Brett Whiteside (injury), Rigo Almonte, Corey Freirichs. There are only three position players who finished at A-ball or above that I didn't find room for: Anderson de la Rosa, Kyle Dhanani, Jose Duran, Steve Braun. What rosters look most exciting to you? Least exciting? Milwaukee Starting Catcher G. Zaun Backup Catcher G. Kottaras Starting First Baseman P. Fielder Starting Second Baseman R. Weeks Backup Middle Infielder C. Counsell Starting Third Baseman C. McGehee Starting Shortstop A. Escobar Backup Utility Fielder H. Iribarren Starting Left Fielder R. Braun Backup Utility Fielder A. Heether Starting Center Fielder C. Gomez Starting Right Fielder C. Hart Backup Outfielder J. Gerut Starting Pitcher #1 Y. Gallardo Long Relief J. Suppan Starting Pitcher #2 R. Wolf Middle Relief #1 L. Hawkins Starting Pitcher #3 M. Parra Middle Relief #2 C. Vargas Starting Pitcher #4 D. Bush Middle Relief #3 C. Lofgren Starting Pitcher #5 C. Narveson Righthanded Setup T. Coffey Closer T. Hoffman Lefthanded Setup M. Stetter Nashville Starting Catcher A. Salome Backup Catcher P. Arlis Starting First Baseman J. Koshansky Starting Second Baseman S. Justis Backup Middle Infielder J. Raburn Starting Third Baseman M. Gamel Starting Shortstop L. Cruz Backup Utility Fielder E. Almonte Starting Left Fielder T. Oeltjen Starting Center Fielder A. Stern Backup Outfielder T. Redman Starting Right Fielder B. Katin Starting Pitcher #1 J. Butler Long Relief T. Dillard Starting Pitcher #2 C. Villanueva Middle Relief #1 Z. Braddock Starting Pitcher #3 J. Halama Middle Relief #2 D. Johnson Starting Pitcher #4 C. Cody Middle Relief #3 C. Baron Starting Pitcher #5 M. Jones Righthanded Setup C. Smith Closer J. Axford Lefthanded Setup A. Murray Huntsville Starting Catcher J. Lucroy Backup Catcher J. Hopf Starting First Baseman S. Wilson Starting Second Baseman E. Farris Backup Middle Infielder Y. Perez Starting Third Baseman T. Green Starting Shortstop Z. Wheeler Backup Utility Fielder S. Miranda Starting Left Fielder L. Cain Starting Center Fielder L. Schafer Backup Outfielder C. Caufield Starting Right Fielder C. Gindl Starting Pitcher #1 A. Rivas Long Relief D. Hand Starting Pitcher #2 A. Periard Middle Relief #1 M. McClendon Starting Pitcher #3 M. Rogers Middle Relief #2 R. Hinton Starting Pitcher #4 E. Anundsen Middle Relief #3 C. Capuano Starting Pitcher #5 N. Green Setup #1 O. Aguilar Closer R. Wooten Setup #2 D. Welch Brevard County Starting Catcher C. Kemp Backup Catcher M. Maldonado Starting First Baseman B. Kjeldgaard Backup Catcher S. McCraw Starting Second Baseman B. Lawrie Starting Third Baseman M. Brownstein Backup Utility Fielder J. Sanchez Starting Shortstop B. Brewer Backup Utility Fielder J. Delaney Starting Left Fielder C. Errecart Starting Center Fielder L. Haydel Backup Outfielder E. Miller Starting Right Fielder C. Dennis Starting Pitcher #1 C. Scarpetta Long Relief/Piggyback D. Meadows Starting Pitcher #2 M. Bowman Long Relief/Piggyback R. Seidel Starting Pitcher #3 L. Luetge Middle Relief #1 B. Rapoza Starting Pitcher #4 D. Merklinger Middle Relief #2 R. Lluberes Starting Pitcher #5 W. Peralta Setup #1 M. Fiers Closer N. Tyson Setup #2 B. Ritchie Wisconsin Starting Catcher S. Zarraga Backup Catcher D. Alfonso Starting First Baseman S. Halton Starting Second Baseman C. Dykstra Backup Middle Infielder M. Marseco Starting Third Baseman B. Sizemore Starting Shortstop J. Prince Backup Utility Fielder P. Fatse Starting Left Fielder E. Komatsu Starting Center Fielder Ke. Davis Backup Outfielder Kh. Davis Starting Right Fielder D. Richardson Backup Outfielder C. Ellington Starting Pitcher #1 E. Arnett Long Relief/Piggyback D. Howell Starting Pitcher #2 K. Heckathorn Long Relief/Piggyback E. Nieves Starting Pitcher #3 J. Odorizzi Middle Relief #1 T. Watten Starting Pitcher #4 N. Bucci Middle Relief #2 E. Frederickson Starting Pitcher #5 M. Lasker Setup #1 R. Currie Closer J. Pokorny Setup #2 P. Lambertus

As sad as it is, I don't think the Brewers can trade Suppan until they bring in at least one more starter. This might be something to investigate after they get another pitcher, especially if they have to trade Corey Hart to that end.

Which as you mentioned, is nothing to scoff at. If Morrow could become a guy who puts up an ERA around 4.00 every year, he's going to be the Brewers' 2nd or 3rd best pitcher, and will make a lot of money as a free agent in about 4 years if he stays healthy. Replacing Suppan's innings with Morrow's innings makes the Brewers a much better team now and in the future if Morrow fulfills his promise. As a hard thrower, I think he's a perfect guy to work with Peterson. The thing about him to me is not the ERA, it's the innings. Will his diabetes allow him to throw anywhere close to 200 innings if he's otherwise healthy? If he can start, I believe he's definitely worth Gamel. If he's limited to relief, of course no way. FWIW, he pitched 125 innings last year. Just for kicks, here are some projections: Bill James: 135 IP, 3.93 ERA CHONE: 63 IP, 3.71 ERA Fangraphs fans: 138 IP, 4.06 ERA Even if we only get 140 innings out of him, that's about what people were going to expect from Rich Harden, and we'd have the guy pretty cheap for a few years, very much unlike Harden.

I just read that, Josh... nice piece. We're all rooting for Jeremy. I have to say that Haudricourt's (or whomever's) choice to put a quip in the title is unfortunate. At least in my opinion anyway.

If the Cubs give him $12 mil to play next year, I hope they do sign him. That would be a wonderful use of their resources.

Could Pettite have been considered the 2nd best FA pitcher if the only team he was going to sign with was the Yankees?

Any thoughts on where LaPorta would be in those rankings? #2 maybe? LaPorta has too many ABs for the Power 50. If he was under that threshold, I don't know if I can accurately answer that. After he was traded to the Indians, he started playing 1B about half the time which is something that wouldn't have happened had he remained Brewers property. A lot of his prospect value (to the Brewers anyway) would have hinged on his ability to play an outfield corner. He also probably would not have got as much time as he did in the big leagues given what happened with Gamel. As it is... I'd probably put him at #3, behind Escobar and Gamel. You could certainly make an argument for #1 or #2, though. Would Inman even be a top 10? Top 20? I wouldn't put him in the top 10, but yah, top 20-25 sounds right. I think as soon as everyone saw his throwing motion his stock dropped a bit. He's still just 22, going on 23, so he has a shot, probably in the bullpen.

Correia pitched 70+ more innings in 2009 than he ever had in the past. That's a huge, gigantic red flag for me. His 2009 improvements could indeed be for real, but that jump in innings scares me. That's why I wouldn't trade Green for him.

Yah, no way do I trade Green for Correia. Green's value is low, and Green future value to the Brewers could be very high. I wouldn't include Villy either - I doubt the Padres would even want him as he's due for arbitration. If I'm interested in Correia, I'd offer Dillard and Aguilar/Katin at most.

I'd pay the $20 to see what a $20 motel room looks like. If I felt safe, I would stay. If not, I don't mind driving in inclement weather that much.

None of the Wolf, Hawkins, Vargas or Counsell signings will be official until next week, past the non-tender deadline. The selection of Lofgren puts the nail in McClung's coffin IMO, and DiFelice will be gone as well, but I wonder who the third guy will be... will they actually non-tender Bush? Villanueva?

It's a two-year deal. Still waiting on the dollars.

The Brewers signed him... check the major league forum for a new thread there.

Haven't had one of these in awhile... in celebration of the Brewers signing a pitcher to displace Mike Burns in the rotation, shuffle your songs in your favorite music player and list the first 30 songs it comes up with - one for each of the millions of dollars the Brewers will pay Randy Wolf: 1. Ramones: "I Don't Care" 2. DeYarmond Edison: "Dash" 3. Sea Wolf: "The Cold, the Dark & the Silence" 4. Serena Maneesh: "Your Blood in Mine" 5. Bruce Springsteen: "One Step Up" 6. The Magnetic Fields: "Grand Canyon" 7. MxPx: "Rainy Day" 8. Kenny Loggins: "Danger Zone" 9. Iffy: "Can O Cope" 10. The Beatles: "Wild Honey Pie" 11. Dinosaur Jr.: "I Don't Think So" 12. The Del-Vetts: "Last Time Around" 13. Bruce Springsteen: "Lost in the Flood" 14. The Magnetic Fields: "Dust Bowl" 15. The Cranberries: "I Still Do" 16. Gnarls Barkley: "Smiley Faces" 17. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: "I'll Fly Away" 18. Koko Taylor: "Insane Asylum" 19. Badley Drawn Boy: "The Further I Slide" 20. Grateful Dead: "Good Lovin'" 21. Sonic Youth: "Sugar Cane" 22. Stavesacre: "Why Good People Suffer" 23. Triangle: "The Results" 24. TV on the Radio: "Don't Love You" 25. Eluvium: "The Well-Meaning Professor" 26. Led Zeppelin: "D'yer Mak'er" 27. The Stooges: "1969" 28. My Bloody Valentine: "No More Sorry" 29. Brian Wilson: "Cabin Essence" 30. MC Hammer: "U Can't Touch This" The Boss and The Fields back to back twice... iTunes, you're a mad genius.