MNBrew

Am I missing something? Lucroy's hitting .274 in over 200 PAs. I'm not sure how you consider that hitting poorly unless you're referring to a specific context you didn't reference.

Any chance it still happens, only AFTER they get through his start tomorrow? After all, the odds don't stack up well for the Brewers -- even though it's against the Pirates again -- or for Bush given these two salient facts: - Dave Bush is the Brewers' SP, and - the Brewers stink in day games. My point's that the odds would seem to favor tomorrow's start creating little evidence to contradict the notion that he should be outrighted or eventually released . . . . OR could it be that the Brewers will get one more start out of Bushie before trading him to whomever claimed him or, if he wasn't claimed off revocable waivers, to whomever would be crazy enough to think adding Bushie would be a positive move for their team?

Echoing what many have said already . . . I wouldn't miss Dave Bush a whole lot (I believe the Brewers' record is pretty lousy in games he starts, & his pitching since getting hurt last year just hasn't been the same), but if this is indeed true, it does seem early to make such a move. With how many of Toronto's decent relievers were claimed today, it does make me wonder if the Brewers made a move or two, and the best way to start the moving forward process is to either dump Bush directly or put him in a position where he's more likely to be traded. There's a good little level of intrigue to all this. Now that the Brewers finally remembered how to score runs (6 runs so far this inning vs. Pitt) and have a decent lead, I'm anxious for the game to get over to see if something gets announced.

It's nothing new. It's what Twins fans watched up here all of the 2 previous years. I knew we were getting a knucklehead from the moment the trade was announced. As crossface21 just noted above, down the road, the Hardy-Gomez may be seen ultimately as what gave both Escobar & Cain their starts. Cain just had to wait a couple months into the season before really getting his chance.

I like Dickerson as the #4 OF, and though I've never been sold on Katin (though there's skill there to like), and assuming the Crew doesn't bring in an Edmonds/Kapler type next year, I'm starting to think Dickerson & Katin as the OF reserves could be a good tandem. It's funny how Inglett's an IF by training but Macha pretty much never plays him there, giving him far more time in the field in the OF.

As of last night, Jeff Bennett's on the DL.

Should've been a darn good signing. Everything pointed that way 3 winters ago. But it didn't turn out that way, and I'm glad the Brewers didn't wait 6 more unnecessary weeks before deciding to move ahead.

Josh Butler. He missed a good part of the beginning of the season with an injury.What about these Narveson-esque numbers shows he remotely deserves a chance? high A: 10.80 ERA, 3 G (all starts), 6.2 IP, 11 H, 8 ER, 5 BB, 3K AA: 4.56 ERA, 10 G (all starts), 53.1 IP, 56 H, 27 ER, 26 BB, 36 K AAA: 6.08 ERA, 5 G (all starts), 26.2 IP, 34 H, 18 ER, 12 BB, 18 K totals: 5.50 ERA, 18 G, 86.2 IP, 101 H, 53 ER, 43 BB, 57 K This is the sort of production we're trying to see removed from the MLB rotation -- except these are MiLB numbers!!! Just terrible.

I think the whole thing about monitoring Narveson's innings is being way over-interpreted. There was no assertion that they were limiting Narveson's innings. I'm guessing it was just a "daily notes" sort of thing one day when the Media Relations Dept. noted that Narveson's approaching his IP total from last year, and combined that observation with one noting the Brewers' organizational 20% increase factor. Plus, if Narveson keeps pitching so poorly, he'd hardly reach his 20% innings increase anyway.

There is no need to replace Parra with Capuano. There is nothing to look at with Capuano. If anyone will be replacing Parra in the rotation it should go in order of Rivas, Butler, and then Rogers. Capuano should really just be released he doesn't really add anything to the team and he isn't young and has already gone through two Tommy John surgeries so I don't really see why Capuano should get a shot at the rotation. If the Brewers were contending right now sure give Capuano a shot but since the Brewers are not I would rather see someone who is going to be here long term a shot than Capuano.I respectfully disagree. The majority of your posts seem to advocate promising current Brewers minor leaguers over people presently on the roster. And while it has again proven a successful approach many times this year (Axford, Braddock, now McClendon, for instance), that's not always the best way to go (Eveland and several others just a couple years ago, very notably). It seems the main reason you don't want Capuano is that he's not a prospect. That seems like a narrow minded way to look at his situation. Butler, for one, has done little to deserve a big league callup this year, let alone a rotation spot! And Rogers has good numbers but major league hitters would make him pay a whole lot more for all those walks than AA hitters do. Capuano adds significant big league experience, is a legitimate former All-Star, and is pitching half decently right now. If the guy can get major league hitters out consistently, he needs to be on the team & in the rotation. My main point is that Parra needs to be pulled from the rotation NOW. Parra starting is pretty much an instant loss with the Brewers' offense needing to dig out of a major hole to have much of any chance unless they're scoring in double digits. Capuano deserves a chance to do better than Parra's been doing. And if he proves to be decent, then that's a good upgrade at a very worthwhile price. Either way, we're both conjecturing. If Capuano can be an asset, we'd be foolish to toss him aside without giving him a legit chance to show it. I want to see him given enough chances to show if he still has it -- or can regain it -- or not. If not, then sayonara to him with no regrets.

Capuano has a major league track record that merits at least something if not a good bit more of a leash than Narveson or Parra deserve based on their performance thus far. Bush, Parra, & Narveson have ALL performed at a level that makes you wonder if they belong in a Brewers uniform next year. Capuano certainly deserves no less than those 3. Nate82, Rivas, Rogers, & Butler have had decent success this year (in decreasing order, respectively), but they haven't exactly pitched in way that shows any of them deserve to be handed a spot in the Brewers' rotation right now. After today, what I'm realizing I want to see badly is Capuano take over Parra's spot in the rotation. Over his last 10 starts, Parra's ERA is nearly 7.50. His record is 1-5 over those 10 starts, & the team's record is 2-8. Enough is enough. As the season progresses, Parra gets progressively worse. At this point, I don't think there's any harm in putting Capuano in for at least 3-4 turns through the rotation. Narveson? At this point it's not like he's a cherished prospect whose initial MLB innings need careful monitoring. He's an 11-year pro with a pretty durable arm. Keep pitching him unless his performance merits relegating him to the bullpen (which time may be coming close if he keeps pitching like crap). Boy, what I'd do to be a fly on the wall in the season-ending meetings w/ the coaches & front office when they're discussing Parra.

I can't verify it offhand, but I think you are right. I wonder who gave him that idea.It's this inexplicable way ideas develop differently in Gomez's head than most anyone else's -- great speed aside -- that really makes Gomez a potential scary parallel to Alex Sanchez. It's almost like he's got his own view of the (baseball) world and has convinced himself that everyone else's thinking must be what's wrong since of course he's right. I don't think there's much doubt that Gomez's oozing talent COULD make him one of the most complete & unstoppable players of his generation. HOWEVER, talent only gets you in the door (as it's done for Gomez). How far you get once you're in is largely up to you. And that's where Gomez really seems to have blown it thus far. Gomez's situation/performance reminds me of the saying about a fool being the one who continues doing things the same way and expects a different outcome.

Au contraire! Sanchez hit .289 w/ a .343 OBP in '02. In '03 before we finally rid ourselves of him, he was hitting .282 w/ a .316 OBP. It wasn't just his speed. The guy could hit well, too, although I would NEVER put him in the "young studs" category -- and I don't think he was EVER truly looked on that way, really. Sanchez was a Dean Taylor-mined nugget, claimed off waivers from Tampa. I believe it was his knuckleheaded approach at the plate (too many fly balls, not enough walks, not dedicating himself to take an approach that would really help optimize his blazing speed) and careless approach in the OF that ultimately outweighed his basically good bat & hardly-stoppable wheels -- as well as his resistance to coaching and flippant attitude about it -- enough to ensure much cheering when he was finally shipped out of town for the unforgettable Chad Petty & Noochie Varner (gotta love that name!).

BSC, there's something unclear about your 2nd sentence.... BCI2004, while I'm also anxious to see more prospects get some big-league duty, 2 things stood out to me: 1. At this point, the Brewers are only monitoring his innings, not limiting them. 2. After noting the Brewers' 20% increase thing, the last thing McCalvy wrote was that the Brewers may feel less of a need to be cautious w/ Narveson's innings because he's pitched for 11 professional seasons. I don't take #2 to mean they'll be careless with him. But I do take it to mean that they're likely to be less concerned about such a veteran arm.

I appreciate that English isn't Gomez's native tongue. Regarding a language barrier, however, he's been playing baseball in the U.S. everyday for 8 straight months per year for 6 full years now, plus the half-season he played Rookie ball in 2004. I can't help but think that... When you're surrounded by the language 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 8 straight months, for 6-plus years -- pretty clearly a full-immersion situation -- you ought to be pretty reasonably functional in the language by now -- especially having others who also speak your native tongue with you everyday, even if some of the nuances are still tough to grasp. Maybe there are circumstances at play that trump what seems to be pretty self-evident logic. It's just hard to imagine, though, how those circumstances might trump for 6-plus years.

Briggs, I think you're right on several points, esp. that he could probably use a full year of everyday play in AAA (and maybe the humbling that would help major league coaching he's been getting finally sink in to make a difference). On the other hand, there seems to be an Alex Sanchez-like hard-headedness to embrace the tools that are his strongest (mainly speed) and figure out how to capitalize on them. If he could hit remotely like Rickey Henderson (good BA & lots of walks, mainly -- he already thinks he's a 20-HR hitter), he could be an absolute terror to pitching staffs league-wide. But the problem is, 3 years into his MLB career, he still swings at everything, doesn't see enough pitches or take enough walks, and hits way too many fly balls -- he still looks like he's trying to hit too many HRs. It'd be one thing if Gomez has shown any real growth along those lines. But as a previous poster noted, he's flat-lined if not even regressed. Hmmmm....

That was the whole J.J. Hardy thing last year - 20 days in the minors. The whole "wasting an option" thing is a moot point, really: He has 2 options left. If those two remaining options are used this year & next, it'd be 2012 before he's out of options. At that point, he's either earned a secure spot on the roster by then -- at which point they'd not even consider sending him down anyway -- OR played his way out of Milwaukee long before then. Either way, I'm pretty doggone sure that Gomez having no options left won't be a problem for the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers.

Not sure where he fits in yet (SP vs. RP), but you've gotta think Jeremy Jeffress as a very good chance of pitching out of our 'pen next year, too. If that's indeed true, you've gotta think someone like Todd Coffey &/or Villanueva becomes a very useful chip to sweeten a Fielder trade or something else.

Ditto what Invader3K noted. I've been noticing that it's not just that the lineup usually is almost entirely homegrown, but that there's generally considered to be pretty good promise & upside at about every position. If/when the pitching can come around, that just makes a position of general strength that much stronger. The balance of 4-6 year guys and rookie-3rd year guys should keep costs reasonable enough to bring in (and this is the key) the right types of players to complement the core. Whether it's a Vazquez or a Lee (yeah, I'm dreaming), a Dunn or someone else, there's at least room to pursue such players. This really is just what the Twins have been doing for several years, only they're at the point where they have more expendable AND appealing chips they've developed to move for different assets (a la Matt Capps -- though you've gotta admit getting 15-game winner Pavano for a "nobody" low-level prospect has also panned out better than anyone possibly imagined; anyway...). Hopefully the Brewers can be positioned similarly to the Twins for the next decade or more.

I did find it interesting that in yesterday's JSOnline chat, Anthony Witrado, who does understand "deeper" stats, made the remark that Gamel has "shown to be a butcher in the infield." The deeper stats may show good range or whatever, but the bottom line is that putting him at 3B is not necessarily any improvement over McGehee and maybe still toward where Braun was on that spectrum. I'd love to see both Gamel & McGehee on the team next year, and I'd think Gamel's much more likely to be at 1B or in RF (Hart moving to 1B) if Fielder's traded.

I did find it interesting that in yesterday's JSOnline chat, Anthony Witrado, who does understand "deeper" stats, made the remark that Gamel has "shown to be a butcher in the infield." The deeper stats may show good range or whatever, but the bottom line is that putting him at 3B is not necessarily any improvement over McGehee and maybe still toward where Braun was on that spectrum.

X, we all wanted the guy to sign and become a great Brewers pitcher. I hate the loss of a top prospect before we ever had him. Your judgemental response, though, seems at best narrow-minded and harsh. Covey's medical diagnosis puts this decision into a whole-life context, not just a baseball/money context. Going to college is still loaded with a serious growth curve but allows him to adapt to life away from home & with diabetes at the same time, then adding a baseball season at a point when he's got the first two things under control. It's just unforeseeable bad luck, but it's hardly the kind of break the Brewers deserved.

Deals like this, though, while SO promising in the eyes of many, still are potentially very dangerous in terms of getting an inadequate return. When the Brewers traded Gary Sheffield, they got a young MLB-ready SP (Ricky Bones), a potential stud though highly error-prone SS (Jose Valentin and his 51 errors his last year in SD's system), and a young two-time league-MVP prospect outfielder w/ excellent tools (Matt Mieske). Looked great at the time. In hindsight, even the long-term value of Valentin -- clearly the best career of the 3 -- and his production is debatable in terms of the Brewers truly getting adequate value in return for Sheffield. Looking at the Cliff Lee deal, the Sabathia deal, the Teixiera (sp?) trade from Texas, etc., and then considering Fielder's age, career production, & still a year of arby eligibility remaining, I still believe the Brewers ought to be able to get 3 excellent players back -- not 2 -- for Prince in any trade, especially when there can be more suitors and fewer budget dollars spoken for in November/December. . . . . . . So Pineda & Ackley PLUS something more, I could live with that better than just those two. Cleveland got LaPorta & Brantley PLUS Bryson (decent prospect) and Jackson (more like AAA filler) from the Brewers for Sabathia. Four-for-one would be too much to expect. But 3-for-1 seems definitely in line -- without any of the nonsense about paying an iota of Fielder's likely-by-then-still-undetermined salary.

He burned his own bridges by throwing the ball into the Brewer dugout on purpose.Sheffield hated Harry Dalton. Sheffield basically cinched his way out of town his last spring when he started publicly ripping Sal Bando, then the new GM, who since he'd gotten the job had been doing all he could to handle Sheffield carefully & positively. Bando had done NOTHING (that was ever reported, anyway) that deserved such a blasting -- a poor & terribly immature handling of the situation on Sheffield's part. When Sheffield starting blasting the one guy who'd done nothing wrong toward him, it became purely obvious that, while incredibly talented, Sheffield was a cancerous malcontent who had to go for the best return Bando could get. The burnt bridge was entirely from Sheffield's end and, at that point, clearly of his own doing. His temperamental nature and un-graceful departures from several other teams have been well documented over the past 15 years.

He has to be ready for school in about a month(give or take) and he could stay home and get ready for just baseball in about 6 months. I doubt he makes a 2 hour commute each day to school.I'm suggesting that there's a comfort & predictability to the academic calendar and to being only 2 hours from home as he gets used to dealing w/ diabetes. He still has being a big-league pitcher clearly in his sights. Obviously he still has to make adjustments on lots of levels. By the time his next baseball season formally starts, he'll have made so many of those adjustments, all while living away from home. That's not the same growth curve as adjusting while staying home for 6 months and then leaving for spring training. Your last sentence sure seems unnecessarily patronizing and hardly helps advance the discussion productively.