colbyjack

Ihde is a good all around player, and recently played for the Wisconsin Blazers at the Jupiter tournament. He has a good frame, and a smooth left-handed swing. His bat is his ticket, as he doesn't have the greatest speed and profiles the best at 1B. Right now he's good but not great pretty much across the board, and could be a very productive player in college. His power is going to have to develop for him to be a legitimate pro prospect, but it's not an impossible task. He's not on the same level as Pierce, Roberts Butler and Munson, but he's on the next tier.

Thanks for the thoughts BrewCrewWS2008. Do you happen to know where Munson committed? He's the one top WI prospect that I haven't seen his commitment announced. I can't wait to check out Fondy next spring, and hope to catch one of their games vs. Oshkosh West to see Chris Roberts at the same time. That entire conference has most of the best '06 players in the state, as slugging 1B Ben Ihde plays for Neenah. Here's Fondy's schedule: highschoolsports.net/list...mp;sport=1

Scherzer, along with Ian Kennedy, Colin Curtis and Jason Donald, have been identified as Scott Boras advisees, which as always will drastically effect which teams select whom. I agree that Scherzer on pure talent will give Miller a run for his money. Considering Boras' top two pitchers from last year, Mike Pelfrey and Luke Hochevar, remain unsigned, I'm guessing the Royals may be inclined to avoid such players.

The Brewers have announced some new hires for the player development and scouting departments. At the bottom of this link which announces the Chad Moeller signing: milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...p;c_id=mil Levis replaces Blengino, whom as Mass Haas noted above was named as the team's Ass't. Scouting Director. Clouser replaces Brian Johnson, McIlvaine replaces Grant Brittain while Sullivan replaces Larry Pardo.

brettac1, the guy you're really going to like for next June's draft is 1B Matt LaPorta of Florida. He is as true of a 3TO guy as you're going to find. You also will like Wake Forest's Matt Antonelli, who has 142 walks over 761 college and summer league ABs. Both will be profiled soon. Mark Melancon-RHP-Arizona Freshman Year, Arizona, 2004: 6-4, 4.33 ERA, 29 games, one start, 3 saves, 62.1 IP, 57 H, 46 K, 19 BB, 5 HR Summer of 2004, Northwoods League: 1-2, 1.95 ERA, 37 IP, 30 H, 33 K, 14 BB Sophomore Year, Arizona, 2005: 1-3, 2.58 ERA, 34 games all in relief, 11 saves, 66.1 IP, 52 H, 69 K, 21 BB, 2 HR Summer of 2005, Team USA: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 games, all in relief, 5 saves, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 10 K, 0 BB Cumulative Statistics: 9-9, 2.88 ERA, 73 games*, 1 start*, 19 saves*, 178 IP, 146 H, 158 K, 54 BB, 7 HR* * Indicates total does not include stats from his Northwoods stint during the summer of 2004 as those stats were not available. Melancon is a well-built pitcher (6'2", 210 pounds) that profiles as one of the best college closers in the nation. Scouts like his strong, sturdy frame as much as they like his 90-94 mph fastball and his hard-boring curve. He does throw a changeup, and along with his two power offerings there are reports that the Wildcats will try Melancon as a starter this next year, which could increase his value. He led Team USA in saves last summer without allowing a single earned run. Melancon was named the #10 prospect in the Northwoods League during the summer of 2004, a list that included 2005 first-rounder Lance Broadway, 2005 second-rounder, a few projected top prospects for next year's draft including Max Scherzer, Ryan Zink and John Gaub as well as Brewers farmhand and Waukesha native Ben Stanczyk. While Melancon's stats aren't as gaudy as a few of the top college closers that came before him, the most notable of whom include Craig Hansen and Huston Street, it is important to remember that playing in the Pac-10, and more specifically Arizona, generally is known to favor hitters given the altitude. Melancon easily throws in the low-90s, and his curveball is a perfect complement to his heater. As noted, the development of his changeup will likely be the biggest factor in whether or not he may be developed as a starter. Baseball America currently lists Melancon as the 25th best draft-eligible prospect for 2006, and if he does indeed stick as a starter he would likely soar up my top prospect list as well, as I don't value college closers as much as some do.

Thanks Stevo, I'm glad you like it. I figured this would provide for a more valuable resource next spring. Mark Hamilton-1B/LF-Tulane Freshman Year, Tulane, 2004: .227/.336/.361 in 119 AB, 7 2B, 3 HR, 14:23 BB:K, 0 Es Summer of 2004, Cape Cod League: .254/.349/.454 in 130 AB, 5 2B, 7 HR, 16:31 BB:K, 6 Es Sophomore Year, Tulane, 2005: .318/.452/.599 in 157 AB, 11 2B, 11 HR, 29:29 BB:K, 1 E Summer of 2005, Cape Cod League: .272/.405/.465 in 114 AB, 4 2B, 6 HR, 21:19 BB:K, 5 Es Cumulative Statistics: .271/.391/.479 in 520 AB, 27 2B, 27 HR, 80:102 BB:K, 12 Es Mark Hamilton is a first baseman or left fielder, depending on where you feel his defense will hurt you less. While his defense can be shaky, and he's not the greatest of runners, his powerful bat is his ticket. He has had the best pure, raw power on the Cape the past two summers, tieing for 2nd in home runs in 2005 and finishing 3rd in HR in 2004. He also finished 2nd and 3rd in RBIs in 2005 and 2004 respectively and he finished 4th in SLG in 2005. Proving he can continue to hit for power with a wood bat will be a huge benefit to him when it comes to draft day next June. Hamilton was rated the 10th best prospect on the Cape according to Baseball America in 2005, and the 14th best in 2004. On top of his power, Hamilton has also refined his approach at the plate the past two seasons. He has always drawn his fair share of walks, but that escalated during his sophomore season, and he even managed to strike out less in the process. He controls the strike zone very well and has a nice, easy swing from the left-side of the plate. Hamilton puts natural backspin on the ball that should allow him to hit plenty of home runs as a pro. Hamilton may be better served in the American League where he can also be used as the DH from time to time, but he isn't completely unservicable on the field. His bat should more than make up for any defensive deficiency, although while his bat is his ticket, there is some question as to how much he will hit. Scouts likely will continue to look for him to hit for a higher average as a junior while maintaining his polished batting eye. He's due for a big season for Tulane when he should finally step in as an every day player now that Micah Owings and Brian Bogusevic have moved onto the pro ranks. Hamilton is currently ranked the 42nd best draft-eligible prospect for 2005, and he should be off of the board by the time the 2nd round rolls around.

Unfortunately the Blazers didn't qualify for the Monday tourney games. The East Cobb Astros and Chet Lemon's Juice ended up tieing for the Championship as a storm cancelled the final game. For the story and to read about the most valuable pitcher and player follow this link: www.worldwoodbat.com/News...spx?ID=381

Kyle McCulloch-RHP-Texas Freshman Year, Texas, 2004: 7-0, 3.25 ERA, 25 games/8 starts, 52.2 IP, 48 H, 34 K, 18 BB, 1 HR Summer of 2004, Cape Cod League: 0-1, 4.79 ERA, 7 games/1 start, 20.2 IP, 27 H, 28 K, 9 BB, 2 HR Sophomore Year, Texas, 2005: 12-4, 2.92 ERA, 26 games/23 starts, 138.2 IP, 137 H, 99 K, 45 BB, 6 HR Summer of 2005, Team USA: 4-0, 1.44 ERA, 4 games/4 starts, 25 IP, 20 H, 22 K, 3 BB, 0 HR Cumulative Statistics: 23-5, 3.00 ERA, 62 games/36 starts, 237 IP, 232 H, 183 K, 75 BB, 9 HR McCulloch's cumulative stats would make a mighty fine MLB season, but of course amateur statistics don't necessarily mean a thing when trying to project one's future success at the big-league level. Entering his senior season in high school, McCulloch was better known as a smooth hitting, slick fielding, athletic shortstop, but won scouts over during his senior season with his ability to pitch. His emergence as a pitcher definitely has paid off extremely well at Texas, as he was the winning pitcher last June in Omaha, Nebraska as McCulloch and the Longhorns knocked of the Florida Gators to win the College World Series. At 6'3" and about 180 pounds, McCulloch is built long and lithe, with a slender yet strong and wiry frame. He doesn't blow hitters away but his stuff does have very good movement, he works well in the zone and he exhibits good control. His fastball is thrown in the low-90s with late darting movement and he mixes in a pretty good curveball as well as a polished changeup. McCulloch knows how to use all three pitches together to carve up hitters, and he is poised for a huge junior season. He is a similar pitching prospect to the Twins' Scott Baker in that he doesn't have a true knockout pitch and his ceiling isn't particularly high. But McCulloch likely will advance quickly in the minors, even if he profiles as a #3 starter at best. Baseball America recently ranked McCulloch as the 16th-best draft eligible prospect for next June, which would put him right at the Brewers draft slot. I don't have McCulloch that high at this point in time, but his polish may be very appealing to the Brewers on draft day. While Scott Baker fell to the 2nd round coming out of Oklahoma State in 2003, I doubt McCulloch makes it past the sandwich round.

The WWBA tournament ends tomorrow, with Blazer25's Midwest Blazers currently 2-1-1. Kenosha Tremper's Nick Rice, a junior LHP, tossed a 4-hit complete game on Friday against Perfect Game USA's Crimson squad. Rice struck out 12 in the process, and likely made a huge name for himself in the process, pitching in the 86-87 range with his heater. Rice is a tall and lanky lefty like his teammate Tony Butler, who pitched today, going 4 strong innings. You can follow the tournament standings and game recaps by visiting the WWBA's site (the World Wood Bat Association is the tournament division of Perfect Game USA): www.worldwoodbat.com/Tour...aspx?ID=58 Go Blazers! http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/midwestblazers.jpg

Fond du Lac's Chad Pierce and LaCrosse's R.J. Seidel have also committed to play for Arkansas for the 2006-07 season. Oshkosh West's Chris Roberts has committed to play for Michigan State. Tyler Beranek, who is currently at Lake City CC, has committed to play for South Alabama. DFE candidate Brock Kjeldgaard, currently at Indian Hills CC in Iowa, has committed to play for Nevada.

The WWBA World Championship Tournament started yesterday, Thursday November 17th, and will continue through Monday the 21st. Use the links provided above to receive coverage via Perfect Game and the WWBA.

Chad Tracy-C-Pepperdine University Freshman Year, 2004: .320/.353/.539 in 241 AB, 15 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 10:40 BB:K, 7 Es, 16 PB, 36% throwing out opposing runners Sophomore Year, 2005: .367/.428/.609 in 256 AB, 22 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 28:30 BB:K, 5 Es, 2 PB, 33% throwing out opposing runners Cumulative Statistics: .344/.393/.575 in 497 AB, 37 2B, 3 3B, 24 HR, 38:70, 12 Es, 18 PB, 35% throwing out opposing runners I could not find any summer statistics for Tracy the past couple of summers. He didn't play on the Cape, and while he was invited to try out for Team USA this past summer, he didn't make the cut (keep in mind Ben Sheets and Barry Zito didn't make the cut during the summer of 1998) . Chad is the son of Jim Tracy, the former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He plays on Pepperdine with the sons of Ryne Sandberg and Drew Saberhagen. As you can probably tell by his statistics, he is a very good hitter for average, he makes good contact and he has very good gap power, and even home run power. I had the chance to see Tracy play in person last March at the Dairy Queen Classic at the Metrodome (speaking of which, for those interested, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Arizona will be playing there with host Minnesota next March). He hit a HR to the alley in deep left-centerfield using a nice, easy, flick of the wrist type of stroke. Since he hits more for contact he probably will never draw an amazing number of walks, but he's not going to strike out much either. He covers the plate very well and has good hand-eye coordination. As you can tell by his passed ball totals during his freshman season, he had a lot of work defensively, and really improved over his sophomore year. When I saw him I really liked the way he caught his staff, and he appears to be a good receiver and has an athletic, lean build (6'3", 175 pounds) that should easily handle the rigors of catching. Unfortunately, he probably won't be able to improve much on his arm strength, which is below average. He skipped and sailed many of a throw, and it's obvious that opposing teams gameplan by attempting a lot of stolen bases. So far Tracy has responded well by nailing more than a third of those runners, but I doubt he has the same kind of success at the pro level. He was named the WCC's player of the year by Collegiate Baseball, and is likely the favorite to win the award again this year. While he can hit, his lack of defensive tools holds him back from being a true first-rounder, but similar to Robinson, if he can produce a team likely will take him high knowing the value of a catcher that can hit.

Since I know someone will ask, no Brewers prospect was represented in their top 20 list. Corey Hart and Alcides Escobar better get some love in today's chat, and you have to figure Fielder would have been pretty high on the list had he played.

I do believe Koufax was more dominant because he was clearly the best pitcher in his league, and arguably all of baseball, at his peak, even if it were for a brief time. He won 3 Cy Young awards, and an MVP in one of those years. He led the NL in ERA 5 consecutive seasons, led the league in wins 3 years, strikeouts 4 times, innings pitched twice, shutouts 3 times and complete games twice. He won the triple crown of pitching in each Cy Young season. That is dominance IMO. Allen on the other hand won the ROY & an MVP in his career. He led the league in slugging 3 times, OBP twice, OPS 4 times, runs once, TB once, RBI once, HR twice, 3B once and XBH 3 times. All impressive, without a doubt, and he's right on the border, but a notch below Koufax in my book. As I noted, the voters would probably view him differently had he strung a few more years together in Philly, more closely to what Kiner did with Pittsburgh (and I would agree that if Kiner is in, so should Allen, but then so should a few other people I'm guessing). And Koufax was aided by the fact that he played his entire career with the Dodgers. And my case for Bert was based entirely on longevity. I wish I could think of another borderline HOF player that made it in simply by sticking around long enough to reach a few milestones, but none comes to mind at this moment. And for the record, I was never a big fan of Puckett making the HOF. I believe Todd mentioned having some reverse HOF stories, debating a few players who are in that maybe shouldn't be, and he would be among those that I would argue against (but I am biased, as I never liked the guy when he was playing).

Upton hasn't signed. The guy was probably thinking of Cameron Maybin.

The list of the 2005-06 free agents, grouped by type, along with a description of the different free agent types courtesy of Jim Callis of Baseball America: The Elias Sports Bureau compiles rankings of all major leaguers by position, based on their performance over the previous two seasons. If teams offer arbitration to a free agent and lose him to another club, they'll receive compensation if he's classified as a Type A (top 30 percent at his position), Type B (31-50 percent) or Type C (51-60 percent) player. For a Type A player, the compensation is the signing team's first-round pick plus a supplemental first-rounder. For a Type B, it's the signing team's first-round choice. For a Type C, it's a supplemental second-rounder. However, if the signing team picks in the upper half of the first round, that choice is protected and it loses its second-round selection instead. If a club signs multiple free agents within the same category, its earlier pick goes to the team which lost the higher-rated player. Also, Type C players who have been free agents in the past don't yield any compensation. Teams have until Dec. 7 to offer arbitration to players, who have until Dec. 18 to accept. Cubs sign Type A FA Scott Eyre The Giants receive the Cubs' third round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Cubs sign Type A FA Bobby Howry The Indians receive the Cubs' second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Blue Jays sign Type A FA B.J. Ryan The Orioles receive the Blue Jays second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Mets sign Type A FA Billy Wagner The Phillies receive the Mets first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. A's sign Type B FA Esteban Loiaza The Nationals receive the A's first-round pick. Phillies sign Type C FA Abraham Nunez The Cardinals receive a supplemental second-round pick. Giants sign Type A FA Tim Worrell The Diamondbacks receive the Giants' third-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Phillies sign Type A FA Tom Gordon The Yankees receive the Phillies' first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Yankees sign Type A FA Kyle Farnsworth The Braves receive the Yankees second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Dodgers sign Type A FA Rafael Furcal The Braves receive the Dodgers' second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Indians sign Type B FA Paul Byrd The Angels receive the Indians' first-round pick. Angels sign Type B FA Hector Carrasco The Nationals receive the Angels' second-round pick. Blue Jays sign Type A FA A.J. Burnett The Marlins receive the Blue Jays' third-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Tigers sign Type A FA Todd Jones The Marlins receive the Tigers' second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Orioles sign Type A FA Ramon Hernandez The Padres receive the Orioles' second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Giants sign Type A FA Matt Morris The Cardinals receive the Giants' second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Dodgers sign Type A FA Bill Mueller The Red Sox receive the Dodgers' third-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Royals sign Type C FA Scott Elarton The Indians receive a supplemental second-round pick. Cubs sign Type B FA Jacque Jones The Twins receive the Cubs' fourth-round pick. Yankees sign Type A FA Johnny Damon The Red Sox receive the Yankees first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. Rangers sign Type B FA Kevin Millwood The Indians receive the Rangers second-round pick. Angels sign Type A FA Jeff Weaver The Dodgers receive the Angels first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick. With the signing of Jeff Weaver on 2/15/06, the only remaining free agent that would require draft-pick compensation, the 2006 draft order is now set. Here are the changes to the raw draft order: First Round 18. Phillies (from Mets for Type A Billy Wagner) 21. Yankees (from Phillies for Type A Tom Gordon) 22. Nationals (from Athletics for Type B Esteban Loaiza) 25. Angels (from Indians for Type B Paul Byrd) 26. Dodgers (from Angels for Type A Jeff Weaver) 28. Red Sox (from Yankees for Type A Johnny Damon) Supplemental First Round 31. Dodgers (for Type A Jeff Weaver) 32. Orioles (for Type A B.J. Ryan) 33. Giants (for Type A Scott Eyre) 34. Diamondbacks (for Type A Tim Worrell) 35. Padres (for Type A Ramon Hernandez) 36. Marlins (for Type A A.J. Burnett) 37. Phillies (for Wagner) 38. Braves (for Type A Kyle Farnsworth) 39. Indians (for Type A Bob Howry) 40. Red Sox (for Damon) 41. Yankees (for Gordon) 42. Cardinals (for Type A Matt Morris) 43. Braves (for Type A Rafael Furcal) 44. Red Sox (for Type A Bill Mueller) Second Round 51. Braves (from Dodgers for Furcal) 53. Padres (from Orioles for Hernandez) 54. Cardinals (from Giants for Morris) 56. Indians (from Rangers for Millwood) 57. Indians (from Cubs for Howry) 58. Orioles (from Blue Jays for Ryan) 70. Nationals (from Angels for Type B Hector Carrasco) 72. Braves (from Yankees for Farnsworth) Supplemental Second Round 75. Indians (for Type C Scott Elarton) 76. Cardinals (for Type C Abraham Nunez) Third Round 83. Red Sox (from Dodgers for Mueller) 86. Diamondbacks (from Giants for Worrell) 89. Giants (from Cubs for Eyre) 90. Marlins (from Blue Jays for Burnett) Fourth Round 119. Twins (from Cubs for Type B Jacque Jones)

Wow greg, I tried to make my post (and all of my posts actually) as non-offending as possible, but it's clear I didn't accomplish that given your tone. I wasn't trying to mock anyone's points, and you clearly made a very good case for Allen. And if you re-read my post, I wasn't suggesting that anyone would propose such strict statistcal criteria for someone to get into the Hall of Fame. I said that is what I envisioned, not anyone else, when stats like OPS+ and ERA+ were brought up, and I also pointed out that I did value those statistics to give a frame of reference for just how good a player was during the time in which he played. If anything I was responding to your posts to offer you my way of thinking, since you did seem to ask, which is also why I brought Bert Blyleven back into the picture. I wasn't trying to impress my thoughts onto anyone else, just offering my own personal, humble opinion. You obviously don't think much of it in this case, and that's certainly your right. Plus, I never said Allen wasn't deserving of HOF recognition. He clearly is, and as I already stated in my book he just doesn't have enough to make it.

ERA+ and OPS+ are all fine and dandy, as they seem to make their way into every argument, but I think you have to realize that some people just don't care for them, no matter how much they're proven. I like them when talking about a player from a GM's point of view to evaluate a player's worth in team building, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not going to use those stats too much to determine whether or not someone should be in the HOF. I agree that it does help putting a player's career in perspective. While counting stats seem to be the least favorable stat this day and age to stat-minded individuals, they still hold value to me, especially over a player's career. It's similar to how wins are important to me when considering Cy Young candidates. And whenever these statistics are brought up I envision a chart that would determine whether or not a player should get in. For instance, and I'm just throwing these numbers out there, but if a player that plays SS for most to all of his career as a career OPS+ of 150 over a 10-year career, 135 over a 15-year career or 120 over a 20-year career, they're in. That to me would suck all of the life out of trying to determine who is and who is not worthy. I think many know that I am not willing to let go of the human element of baseball which has no chance of survival in an objective argument. I would add that it doesn't help Allen's career that he played with five different teams. If he would have stayed with the Phillies for most of his career, or at least bridged his two stints together during his most dominant years, people would probably view him differently. Just for a frame of reference, Bert Blyleven is an example of the type of player I do root for the Hall of Fame. He had a very long career, he had two separate yet shorter stints with the Twins, he never finished higher than 3rd in the Cy Young voting yet he is currently fifth on the all-time strikeout list, and retired third on that list.

Since it's slow I decided to break down some 2006 draft eligible players that could be intriguing options for our first-round pick, if the Brewers indeed have a first-round pick. There are a few players that have had very good, productive seasons yet aren't considered top prospects at this point in time due to their less than stellar tools and/or size. The first two players that I intend to target are Shane Robinson and Chad Tracy. I'll get to Tracy at a later date. Robinson had an amazing season for Florida State last year and profiles as a prototypical centerfielder/leadoff hitter with the ability to get on base, very good speed and good defense, which includes a strong throwing arm. The biggest thing holding him back from a lofty ranking is his size, as he's 5'9" and 165 pounds. Despite that size, he has pretty good pop in his bat. Here are his stats during his first two seasons at FSU, including his stats during the summers in between on the Cape and with Team USA: Shane Robinson-CF-Florida State University Freshman Year, 2004 Florida State: .280/.358/.371 in 275 AB, 18 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 23:35 BB:K, 19 for 20 SBs (95%), 3 Es in CF Summer of 2004, Cape Cod League: .252/.277/.346 in 107 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4:17 BB:K, 7 for 9 SBs (78%), 2 Es in CF Sophomore Year, 2005 Florida State: .427/.532/.605 in 286 AB, 25 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 57:28 BB:K, 49 for 56 SBs (88%), 1 E in CF Summer of 2005, Team USA: .298/.328/.519 in 54 AB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 3:9 BB:K, 5 for 6 SBs (83%), 1 E in CF Compiled Statistics: .335/.419/.471, 722 AB, 53 2B, 9 3B, 9 HR, 87:89 BB:K, 80 for 91 in SBs (88%), 7 Es in CF You can tell his stats are really skewed by his amazing sophomore season in which he was named Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Year. He had a 40 game hit streak, and there were only two games in which he did not reach base. In all of college baseball he was first in runs (96), tied for 1st in hits (122), third in stolen bases (49), and attempts (56), fourth in on-base percentage (.532), tied for fifth in doubles (25), sixth in batting average (.427), seventh in total bases (173) and he tied for seventh in walks (57). With his production he runs a 6.4 60-yard dash, and has a good throwing arm for his size. He displays very good instincts in centerfield, and his speed allows him to close the gaps in a hurry. He has proven that his power is not just a byproduct of the metal bat by hitting for good power using a wood bat with Team USA last summer. He also has remained healthy throughout his high school and college career. Next spring expect comparisons from Craig Biggio to David Eckstein, with his future production likely falling somewhere in between those two players. He didn't show up in Baseball America's recent list of the top 50 draft eligible prospects, and at this point in time he is just outside of my top 30 looking in, although that may change when my top 30 is officially released. If he comes close to having the type of season he did last year he will likely go right around the Brewers first-round pick, and certainly a team that values production over projection won't let his lack of height scare them away. He could move quickly given his relative polish, and could atop a team's lineup for year's to come. Please chime in with your thoughts on Robinson or your thoughts for the 2006 draft in general.

Todd, your final comment wrapped it up for me, and I agree with you 100%. He had a very good career, but it was just too short of a career for me to consider him HOF worthy. Part of a HOF career to me is duration, unless you're Sandy Koufax who absolutely dominated in a short period of time.

I should have said offspeed pitch, not breaking ball. Both Davis and Capuano have a plus to plus-plus non-fastball. I don't know that Hammond has a pitch like Davis' cutter or Cappy's changeup. He needs to improve his arsenal to make it as a starter, probably. I'm not saying that him making it as a reliever is a bad thing, we can always use more of those, I'm just trying to temper expectations. Fair enough, but do you feel that expectations are particularly high for Hammond? I guess as soon as we drafted him and he was fast-tracked a little I got the sense that the Brewers may be handling him similar to how they handled Mitch Stetter. I know the Baseball America report that he could touch 94 turned a few heads, but as I noted on the draft report card thread, I never really bought that he ever threw that hard. Which brings me to your comment about lost velocity. I agree that it does seem as though pitchers throw a little softer once they're in the big leagues. I've always wondered if that has to do with the reports we hear. For instance, we always heard that Ben Hendrickson threw in the low-90s with the ability to touch the mid-90s on occasion, but when he was called up, he seemed to pitch in the 88 mph range. Did anyone ever actually witness him throwing as hard as 91-94 on a reliable radar gun? Was it based on stadium gun radar readings (JUGs guns, often at field level which is too low to make an accurate reading) or by scouts (often Stalkers, more reliable readings)? I saw the same thing at the Aflac game this last summer. My brother was holding Perfect Game's stalker the entire game and only one pitcher touched 95 mph (Kyle Drabek) and he only did that 3-4 times. A few other pitchers touched 94, but very few surpassed the 90-92 range, if that, despite reports that many of them threw much harder (one guy was clocked as high as 96 on the stadium gun but we never got him higher than 94). It always seems as though anytime I see a pitcher throw in person they don't throw as hard as they once did. When I was in Beloit I sat behind a scout who clocked Mike Jones in the 87-93 range, and he only hit 93 once (and that was a game Michael & I saw in which he dominated with his fastball, striking out 10-11 batters in 5 or 6 innings of work IIRC). So I guess I'm curious if this drop in velocity is actually a drop based on reality vs. perception, and makes me a little bit more excited about Sarfate whom I saw top out at 98 on a stalker in Beloit a couple of years ago (Manny Parra was consistently 88-91 at the time). To be honest, I've never taken BA's reports on velocity too seriously, since we have seen plenty of disparities before. Also, I can access the video on the link that Mass provided, but it's very unstable (the video will player for a few seconds, then stop, will pick up a few seconds later, stop, etc., yet the audio continues throughout...so it's not a Mac thing http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ).

If he's throwing that in the minors, it'll be even a little slower in the bigs. That's a huge stretch as a starting pitcher in Milwaukee without a great breaking ball. Both Capuano and Davis pitch in this range without big breaking balls with very good success. I'm not trying to compare them, just sayin'. And by maisel4me's accounts, Hammond did have a good breaking ball, at least against lefties. I'm really not counting on Hammond being a starter at the big-league level, but we should remember that if we can develop our own role players we should thank the player development dep't. just as much as we do for the everyday players. I realize that doesn't give Hammond the greatest of ceilings as a prospect if that is the role he maxes out at, but I still like his chances pitching in the big-leagues, which stands for quite a bit IMO. Thanks for the live reports maisel4me & DHonks.

Thanks DHonks, we're all looking forward to your reports!

Corey Hart has been so much fun to watch as he has moved up. He has hit at every single level, and has been a proven run-producer. I know people have questioned whether or not he would make the proper adjustments moving up since he didn't draw as many walks as you may like to see, but he has proven that if you know how to hit you don't necessarily have to post those ideal BB:AB ratios, or whatever you're into. While I'm not huge on the Richie Sexson comparisons, he may be similar to Sexson in that he may develop more patience as he matures as a ballplayer. I'm excited to see Hart on the big-league roster to open the '06 season. I don't think there is any question that he will, and while he may be a role player in his first full season, you have to believe there will be a full-time opportunity in '07. Ok, enough Hart gushing...

I finally got to see Batman Begins last night, and I agree 100% with RoCo's thoughts. As noted, the character building was great, something completely lacking from Tim Burton's attempts (which I never cared for, too much darkness and neon). They made Gotham a real city, instead of some highly dramaticized one, and all of the characters seemed real. While minor, I also enjoyed how they set up the obvious sequel. That new batmobile was awesome. However, I also agree that the fight scenes were lacking. And I'm not even sure if they were lacking, but they were made up of the quick, moving camera angles that seems to be popular in movies and sports highlights these days. I can't even tell what the heck is going on when they do that. I also thought the movie villain plot was a little lacking. While they did a great job building up Batman's character, it felt like the actual crisis in the movie was thrown in like "...and oh yeah, the bad guys are trying to detroy the city." After reading the most recent posts, I realize I need to see more movies http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .