Matt Breen

I see that Logan Schafer has made his way back to the Big Leagues with the Twins. Schafer, who turned 30 today, ended up in Indy Ball (Atlantic League) to start 2016 before getting a minor league deal with Minnesota after 17 games. He hit .264 for Rochester before getting called up a couple of weeks ago. Good luck to Logan. Let's hope he can parley a good September into a chance at a job next year. http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/29/twins-call-up-latest-indy-leaguer-in-logan-schafer/

Because: - Santana has great offensive potential. - Santana is controllable for five more years, making him a longterm asset (while Carter is controlled for only 2 more years). - Santana is a bad OF. This is the biggest issue. - Santana will be less expensive than Carter (not a big deal, but still a positive). - Carter is what he is at 1B. Mediocre defense, bad batting average, great power. Nothing wrong with it, but it's nothing special. I'm happy to have the guy this year, but he's not the future. Yes, you could try and trade for a 1B - using Domingo as a chip. But that's easier said than done, and there's nothing wrong with taking a guy and moving him to a position where he will (hopefully) be better. Finally, I never thought Maldonado should be a 1B, so no, these are not the same people. At least in my case.

I was noticing Arcia's walk rate (and being pleased by it). This team certainly has worked for walks this year. Carter, Broxton, Villar, Santana, Nieuwenhuis, Maldonado, Arcia, Elmore - they've all got walk rates of more than 10%. Even guys like Aaron Hill and Ramon Flores had 10%+ walk rates. Last year we had 3 players with 10% or better walk rates. This year we have around 10. And guys like Scooter and Perez have improved quite a bit in their rates. Some of these guys have always walked well, while others are improving on their rates. We have the 2nd most walks in all of baseball. Hopefully guys like Arcia are learning from this. I'm not sure if 'taking a walk' is contagious. But I wonder if the philosophy of working more pitches (whether said or unsaid) spreads to players who don't walk as much. Of course, we strike out a ton as well - a byproduct of taking so many pitches. But that's another story.

I think Braun is just very mediocre in the field. He's not terrible, but he's not very good. He moves decent on balls hit in front of him, and he's not afraid to go after those kind of hits. It seems like he moves okay going to his right, but he seems tentative going left. He also has a strong arm, but he's not particularly accurate on his throws. His reactions to balls is often slow, he takes time to get a good read on the ball, his routes aren't efficient and he doesn't play balls off the wall very well. This limits his range, although he does have pretty good speed - and as noted - isn't afraid to go after the ball. He generally gets the balls that he reaches. Overall, Braun lacks a naturalness that some players have. I agree that he's not a lousy outfielder, but he's not good. He just doesn't do anything well in the field. I also think analyzing a player's routes is not a 'minor' thing - and not nitpicking. It's a critical part of what an outfielder does. A good jump and a good read and a good route all make for a player that gets to a lot more balls than other guys. As a note, stats are mixed on Braun. UZR generally thinks pretty poorly of him, but Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) has been positive (not great, but positive).

Really good article from Baseball America talking about Erceg's sometimes bumpy road. Really recommend it. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/daily-grind-suits-lucas-erceg-just-fine/#yt8HbW55yQLIADk8.97

I love beating the Cubs and Cardinals. I hate both teams, but I really hate it when all their fans show up at our park. I totally understand why they are there, but I still hate them. And like some else said - suck it, Cubs fans. Even if it's just for a game.

Quoting myself. Put together the goPro footage I took. The trip was amazing, next time I plan to shoot more video - now that I know how well it came out. If you're considering it, young or old, and you like mountains and like to hike. I highly recommend Glacier. My pops did just fine, and he's a 68 year old smoker. He got into great shape for the trip, but he managed everything and had a few 6+ mile days. I've been to Glacier three times in the last 7 years. Probably my favorite place. Just an incredible time every visit. Was just there this past summer. My family and I are already talking about going back.

Don't play the defensive deficient players as much. We can easily target the players in question: Scooter, Carter, Santana, Braun. Villar is a question mark at 3B/2B, but his SS play wasn't good. But you have to give him a pass at any new position (for now) and see how he adjusts. Here's an option to consider: C - Maldonado and Susac/Pina 1B - Santana. He seems like a terrible OF. Sure he has a good arm, but he doesn't show any sort of natural ability in the OF. Let's see if 1B works for him. 2B - Villar 3B - Perez (he's graded out positive at the position in his career - seems to be his best position) SS - Arcia LF - Braun - his bat still makes him a big positive CF - Broxton RF - this is a question mark. Rymer Liriano, Michael Reed, Kirk N. I don't know. Brinson and/or Phillips could eventually end up here at some point next year (or in CF and Broxton shifting to RF). Improve 2B (hopefully Villar grades better at 2B than Scooter), SS (Arcia a big upgrade over Villar), 3B (full time Perez is better than Hill/Perez/Middlebrooks/Villar hybrid), CF (full year of Broxton over Kirk N./Broxton/Flores), RF (hopefully whoever is here is better than Flores/Santana/Perez). Hope 1B is at least a wash. Catcher is probably a downgrade losing Lucroy, but otherwise, you potentially upgrade five positions - at least defensively. This means Scooter and Carter are traded/non-tendered. While it might not be the best thing short term, neither are probably longterm options for the club.

Cordell is a decent prospect. Nothing great, but nothing to sneeze at either. He's kind of vanilla - doesn't do anything particularly great - but he's got an overall nice skill set. It'll be interesting to see how he develops from here. He certainly needs to take a step forward if he wants to be a starter in the majors, but we'll see. His ability to play all three fields is a plus. Nothing wrong if he develops into a solid 4th OF. I honestly didn't expect anything much better than Cordell - as much as I would have liked someone better. But it is what it is - just going to hope he rakes next year.

Sky Sox End Season With 12-3 Loss Flores hits first Sky Sox homer in loss in Iowa. By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Springs Boxscore Well, that was ugly. The Iowa Cubs pounded the Sky Sox 12-3 in the season finale. The Sky Sox end the season 67-71. The highlight for the Sky Sox was Ramon Flores (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Andrew Susac (2-4, 2B, RBI) and Garrett Cooper (1-3, 1 BB). Hiram Burgos (5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5K) struggled on the mound after a great August. He ends the season 10-10 with a 4.40 ERA. Colorado Springs Game Log

Pujols 2016 numbers: .268/.326/.467 to go along with 29 long balls and 108 RBI. I'd say Albert is still "above average" by 1B standards... Pujols hits home runs still, but he's really faded in most other areas. He has 15 doubles, no triples. And his walk rate of 8% is half of what it was 6-7 years ago. Add in poor base running, and he's just a shadow of his former self. This year he's producing 1.2 bWAR and 0.9 fWAR. Also, he doesn't play 1B much anymore. Only 28 starts in the field - over 100 in at DH. Which is not a bad thing, as his fielding isn't good anymore. It doesn't mean he doesn't have value - I'd just say he's pretty mediocre.

Former Brewer Hernán Iribarren was called up by the Reds. Posted info in the thread about former Brewers: viewtopic.php?f=63&t=33887&start=40#p1005351

Sky Sox Stymied In 5-1 Loss Sky Sox produce just three hits in defeat to I-Cubs. By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Springs Boxscore Well, that was another disappointing performance. The Sky Sox had just three hits and one run on Sunday in a lose to the Iowa Cubs. The loss ends any chance of reaching a .500 record for the season as the club fell to 67-70. Lewis Brinson (1-4, 2B), Andy Wilkins (1-4, RBI) and Josmil Pinto (1-4) had the team’s only hits. On the mound, Aaron Wilkerson was roughed up, giving up 5 runs, 7 hits and a pair of walks in 4.1 innings. He has been disappointing since being acquired from Boston for Aaron Hill, going 2-6 and producing a 6.42 ERA for Colorado Springs. The Sky Sox wrap up their season on Monday. Colorado Springs Game Log

Hernan Iribarren is coming back to the majors. Hernan was called up by the Reds today. It's a long wait for Iribarren, who got into 24 games for Milwaukee in 2008-09. He hit .185 on 27 ABs during that timespan. He is now 32, and was hitting .327 for the Reds AAA farm club. Congrats to Hernan. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/09/reds-designate-daniel-wright-for-assignment.html

Sky Sox Suffer 5-1 Loss In Iowa Wang struggles as Sky Sox lose second straight. By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Springs Boxscore Another lackluster performance tonight from the Sky Sox. Our hitters scored just one run on seven hits and a pair of walks. The team went 1-8 with runners in scoring position. Nate Orf (2-4) and Michael Reed (2-3, BB) paced the Sky Sox offensively. On the mound, Wei-Chung Wang (4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4K) continued his uneven showing at AAA as he took the lose to fall to 1-3. The Sky Sox (67-69) must win their final two games to end the season .500. Colorado Springs Game Log

Rally Not Enough As Sky Sox Fall 3-2 Sky Sox begin final series of season with road loss in Iowa. By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Springs Boxscore The Sky Sox hitters were stymied tonight, managing only a pair of runs on seven hits and two walks in a 3-2 lose to the Iowa Cubs. Garrett Cooper had two hits to pace the Sky Sox, who fell to 67-68 with just three game left in the season. Josh Hader was unimpressive on the mound (3 IP, 2 ER, 4BB, 5K) and fell to 1-7 with a 5.22 ERA at AAA. Colorado Springs Game Log The Sky Sox called in the 9th, but couldn’t quite pull this one out in th end. Col. Springs Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Jose Rosario replaces Brian Matusz, batting 9th, replacing Matt Murton. Lewis Brinson singles on a soft fly ball to right fielder John Andreoli. Andy Wilkins singles on a line drive to left fielder Lane Adams. Lewis Brinson to 2nd. Garrett Cooper singles on a soft line drive to right fielder John Andreoli. Lewis Brinson to 3rd. Andy Wilkins to 2nd. Garin Cecchini singles on a ground ball to pitcher Jose Rosario. Lewis Brinson scores. Andy Wilkins to 3rd. Garrett Cooper to 2nd. Andrew Susac flies into a sacrifice double play, center fielder Albert Almora Jr. to pitcher Jose Rosario to second baseman Juan Perez. Andy Wilkins scores. Garrett Cooper out at 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Josmil Pinto replaces Stephen Peterson. Josmil Pinto strikes out swinging.

Perhaps I'm wrong about this, but wasn't this the exact kind of player Bradley was in college? Wasn't he inconsistent then? Just curious.

Lily Tomlin is 77 today. http://cimg.tvgcdn.net/i/r/2013/08/21/c7b65cd1-0493-4f71-968d-29773b90bac8/resize/350x509/9cc1c565800669528b00a35d36a2d2ce/130821Tomlin1.jpg

Sky Sox End Home Slate With 4-0 Win Sky Sox finish sweep of New Orleans in final home game. By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Springs Boxscore Drew Gagnon (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1BB, 1K) gave up only one hit as the Sky Sox shut out the Zephyrs on Thursday evening in the final game of the year in Colorado Springs. The win allowed the club to climb back to .500 on the year (67-67). All told, Sky Sox pitchers, which included Sam Freeman, Michael Kirkman and Tim Dillard as well as Gagnon, allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out six. The Sky Sox offense was limited to just five hits, but three of those were back-to-back-to-back in the 2nd, plating two runs. An two-run HR from Garrett Cooper (2-4) in the 8th accounted for the other scoring. Former Brewer Chris Narveson took the lose for New Orleans. Cooper’s HR was his fifth on 112 ABs in Colorado. With his AA numbers, it gives him nine on the year, which is a career high for the 25-year old 1B/OF. Colorado Springs Game Log Col. Springs Bottom of the 2nd Garrett Cooper singles on a ground ball to second baseman Elliot Soto. Josmil Pinto doubles (21) on a line drive to left fielder David Lough. Garrett Cooper scores. Andy Wilkins doubles (20) on a fly ball to left fielder David Lough. Josmil Pinto scores. Michael Reed grounds out, shortstop J. T. Riddle to first baseman Cole Gillespie. Yadiel Rivera strikes out swinging. Drew Gagnon called out on strikes.

I don't like losing a valuable asset for next to nothing, but things happen. It's not like we don't have guys just like Bradley, such as Perez or Villar. Sometimes it happens - you give up on a guy to quickly or whatever. It doesn't hurt to assess your own internal assets - coaches, scouts, etc. - when you miss something or overvalue something. But with human beings, things happen.

I heard from a source that before the injury Brinson was going to be called up for sure. Haven't heard if the injury will change that decision. Honestly, I don't think it matters that much if you call up a guy like Brinson up in September (assuming you're starting him at AAA in 2017). Yes, he gets some service time in September, but you can just push back his call up next year a few weeks if you want to avoid getting him Super Two status. Same thing with Hader or anyone else like him. I don't know if it helps, but getting a guy a couple of weeks in the majors at the end of the season might be a great incentive for them to prepare for 2017. A kid lives like a big leaguer for a few weeks, and he's got a real sense of the opportunity that awaits him. Perhaps that's a good motivator for certain people.

I think the 34-year old version of Aoki isn't too far off, but Aoki showed a lot more power when he was younger. Aoki hit 40+ doubles and double digit HRs in Japan, while Wren has five HRs for his minor league career. Maybe Juan Pierre lite would be a better example? Pierre is a good comp - only Pierre had a better hit tool than Wren. Pierre could put the bat on the ball as well as any player. Combine that with excellent speed, and Pierre had a nice long career. In a lot of ways, Wren is Juan Pierre-lite - a lot like Pierre but not as good in several ways. Wren has a chance to be a decent major league player - he's just going to be limited with what he can do. From all reports, he's very smart baseball-wise, which will help.

I think his ceiling is that of a guy not unlike Aoki, only he's much younger. Aoki's been a valuable piece for good teams. I think the 34-year old version of Aoki isn't too far off, but Aoki showed a lot more power when he was younger. Aoki hit 40+ doubles and double digit HRs in Japan, while Wren has five HRs for his minor league career.

Burgos, Bats Blast Sky Sox To 11-3 Win Offense produces 14 hits as Burgos wins fifth straight start. By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Springs Boxscore Hiram Burgos (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0BB, 5K) picked up his sixth win of August (with a sub-2.00 ERA), leading the Sky Sox to victory on Wednesday evening. Burgos is 10-9 on the season. Lewis Brinson (4-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI) lead the Sky Sox with four of the team’s 14 hits (plus five walks) to pound the New Orleans Zephyrs. Nate Orf (2-3, 2 2B, 2 BB), Garin Cecchini (3-5, 4 RBI) and Yadiel Rivera (2-4) had multi-hit games while Garrett Cooper (1-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI) clubbed his fourth HR. Brinson is hitting .425 (31-73) since joining the Sky Sox. The Sky Sox stand 66-67 with five games remaining. Colorado Springs Game Log The Sky Sox broke the game open in the 4th inning as they had five consecutive hits/walks with two outs to plate five runs. Col. Springs Bottom of the 4th Garrett Cooper walks. Michael McKenry grounds out, pitcher Kendry Flores to first baseman Tomas Telis. Garrett Cooper to 2nd. Yadiel Rivera grounds out, second baseman Austin Nola to first baseman Tomas Telis. Garrett Cooper to 3rd. Hiram Burgos singles on a line drive to right fielder Cole Figueroa. Garrett Cooper scores. Kyle Wren singles on a line drive to center fielder David Lough. Hiram Burgos to 2nd. Nate Orf walks. Hiram Burgos to 3rd. Kyle Wren to 2nd. Pitching Change: Ryan Chaffee replaces Kendry Flores, batting 9th. Lewis Brinson doubles (7) on a line drive to center fielder David Lough. Hiram Burgos scores. Kyle Wren scores. Nate Orf to 3rd. Garin Cecchini singles on a ground ball to left fielder Destin Hood. Nate Orf scores. Lewis Brinson scores. Garin Cecchini to 2nd on the throw. Michael Reed grounds out to first baseman Tomas Telis.