colbyjack

I was under the impression that signing a type "B" free agent would require, at best, a 2nd round pick. Did you make a typo, or have I misunderstood the rule? No typo, a type B free agent has the same effect on the signing team, the only difference between a type A and type B is that a type B free agent doesn't bring a supplemental pick to the team that lost them. If you don't believe me, this is from Baseball America: A team losing a Type A free agent gets the first-round pick of the team that signs the player, as well as a supplemental pick. A team losing a Type B free agent receives only the signing team's top pick. In both cases, a team selecting in the top half of the draft rotation cannot lose its first-round pick. The loss of a Type C free agent provides a team a pick between the second and third rounds.

More news on the Hochevar front: www.baseballamerica.com/t...hevar.html General manager Paul DePodesta has informed Boras the $2.98 million offer is no longer available. "It's certainly not a punitive measure on our part," DePodesta told the L.A. Daily News. "It's just something we felt we needed to do in order to help clear up some of the events of the past couple of weeks in hopes of settling the situation. This will afford us some time to reevaluate our position before moving forward." How ever the organization moves forward, its bonus offer to Hochevar is likely to move backward. The publicity of Hochevar?s Labor Day weekend regarding contact with agents and contract negotiations all but eliminated his college eligibility, removing the greatest leverage Hochevar had in contract talks--the threat of returning to Tennessee. Hochevar is going to lose a lot of money based on this, and likely a lot of respect. I'm sure the Dodgers and their fans are regretting taking this young man. I really liked the way he pitched, but he certainly has made some poor decisions over the last few weeks.

Thanks Jim. We all know how dedicated you are to your labor of love, and it has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Have a great offseason.

Jim, I'm sure you have most if not all of these transactions noted, but I thought I would share the most recent ones from BA anyway: Signed C Gary Davas & RHP Justin Spires Released C Richard Cormier and LHP Carlos Ramirez Placed OF Ben Van Iderstine on temporarily inactive list Placed RHP Jose Beltre on suspended list Placed OF Robby Deevers on voluntarily retired list

I commented on the Padres in my Crack of the Bat column this past week at Perfect Game. The NL West is just plain horrible. I'll do my best to explain type A/B free agents. In the offseason, the Elias Sports Bureau assigns rankings to all free agents (and actually all players I believe). Players that finish within the top X (I don't know the exact percentile) percent of their position over the last two years (I think it's based on the last two years) are labeled type A free agents, basically the best of the players available within their position. The next tier are type B free agents, and then type C free agents. Teams that sign a type A free agent forfeit their first or second round pick (depending on where they finish, teams that are among the 15 worst teams-those that pick in the 1-15 range-in the league do not lose their first-round pick, those that pick within 16-30 do lose their first-rounder) and the team that lost that type A free agent is also awarded a supplemental pick in the sandwich round after round 1. Teams that sign a type B free agent forfeit their first or second round pick (again dependent on where the signing team finished the year before) to the team that they signed the player away from. No sandwich picks are awarded for type B free agents. Type C free agents signed don't cost the signing team anything, but a comp pick after the 2nd round is awarded to the team that lost the player as long as that player has never been a free agent before. However, if a team does not offer a free agent arbitration the type rankings are thrown out the window, and a team does not forfeit any draft picks should they sign a free agent that was not offered arbitration. This is becoming more and more prevalent, as teams are worried that if they offer one of their free agents arbitration and that player does not draw any interest on the free agent market, that team is stuck with that player (who will cost more than he did the year before). If teams sign multiple type A/B free agents, their picks are lost in order of the Elias ranking. For instance, and this is purely hypothetical, if the Brewers signed type A free agent Jarrod Washburn, whose rating was 98.7, type A free agent Bill Mueller, whose rating was 84.5, and type B free agent Todd Hollandsworth, whose rating was 73.5, the Angels would receive the Brewers' first-round pick, the Red Sox would get the Brewers' second round pick while the Braves would receive the Brewers' third round pick. The supplemental first round order is determined by the teams' record from the year before. So, if the Angels, Rockies and Cubs all lose a type A free agent, the Rockies would get the first pick, the Cubs the second and the Angels the third, regardless of the Elias rankings. That is why drafting 15th versus 16th could make a huge difference. With so many people expecting the Brewers to be active on the free agent market, signing a type A or B free agent would be the difference between losing our first or second round pick. Plus, keep in mind that teams have until mid-December or so to offer free agents arbitration. If we sign a free agent around the Winter Meetings, in early December, that would pretty much automatically mean the Brewers forfeit the first or second rounder. If they wait until mid to late December to sign free agents, possibly waiting to see who is or isn't offered arbitration, they may not lose any of their picks. Of course, with the playoffs seeming more and more realistic in years to come, I think most people could care less if the team has a first-round pick or not. Losing the first-round pick would make draft-day somewhat lackluster, but we could be encouraged that the Brewers found a way to spend second round money on a talented young ballplayer in Rolando Pascual on the international free agent market since they didn't have a 2nd round pick by signing Damian Miller last offseason. I hope that helps.

Greg, for me I don't like looking at OPS+ or things like that when trying to figure out whether or not a player is HOF worthy. I have very high standards when it comes to whom I believe should or shouldn't be in the Hall, and if players haven't reached certain milestones, they shouldn't be elected in. Santo really hasn't reached any milestones, and to me falls under the very good but not good enough category. As soon as Santo goes in, I have to change my opinion for players like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson, players that were already discussed and players that are very good, but again, not good enough. In my mind, letting Santo in opens the door for those two players as well. And by milestones I'm talking overall career statistics like 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, stuff like that. Ryne Sandberg is the all-time leader in home runs for a second baseman, which gets him in, even though I felt he wasn't necessarily a no-brainer first ballot HOFer. I agree that the standards are probably too high for 3B, and it is going to be extremely hard for someone to match the milestones that players like Schmidt, Matthews and Brett have set. Boggs got in given his hitting prowess, as did Molitor, who added the added dimension of speed and overall versatility. Molitor and Boggs both attained certain statistical milestones such as hits, stolen bases, etc. People have made a very strong argument for him though, but it still hasn't and won't change my mind.

Here are your mid-month standings: 2006 draft standings as of 9/16/05: +/- ranking reflects how teams have risen/fallen in the last two weeks 1. Royals (.333) 2. Pirates (.400) -2 3. Rockies (.407) +1 4. D-Rays (.408) +1 5. Mariners (.438) 6. D-Backs (.449) -1 7. Giants (.452) +1 8. Dodgers (.459) 9. Tigers (.462) -4 10. Reds (.469) +1 11. Orioles (.476) +1 12. Mets (.486) -6 13. Rangers (.490) +1 14. Cubs (.490) +3 15. Blue Jays (.497) 16. Padres (.497) 17. Brewers (.500) +3 18. Nationals (.517) +1 19. Twins (.517) -1 20. Marlins (.531) +1 21. Phillies (.531) -1 22. Astros (.534) +1 23. Athletics (.555) -3 24. Angels (.555) 25. Braves (.571) 26. Yankees (.572) 27. Indians (.575) +4 28. Red Sox (.582) 29. White Sox (.607) 30. Cardinals (.635) As Mass Haas noted, the Brewers at this point in time would draft 17th overall, and would forfeit their first-round pick if they sign a type A or B free agent this offseason. It will be interesting to see how the Pirates, Rockies and D-Rays play over the last couple of weeks to see who ends up with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall picks. Given how long it is taking the Royals to sign Alex Gordon, you have to wonder if they'll go cheap with the first overall selection next June, despite having a great opportunity to improve their ballclub.

Helena loses, 3-2. Will Inman once again pitches extremely well. Brandon Parillo picks up the loss. The Helena offense picks a bad night to snooze. How many times did they score only two runs all season?

Thanks Jim. I got it now for some reason. The player really isn't the problem, as I have Quicktime, Realplayer and Windows Media Player all installed on my commputer. For whatever reason, sometimes I can't get audio broadcasts.

Dangit. I cranked the volume, so that's not the problem. Jim, when you clicked on the web-cast link off of the Owlz' homepage, did it take you to a page that has the Owlz logo above a audio player, meaning, it didn't launch Quicktime, Realplayer, Windows Media Player, etc.?

Is anyone having problems listening to the broadcast, or is it just me and my Mac?

In my opinion, if you say yes to Santo, you've instantly added a precedent for a TON of players to be in the hall and cheapened. A well above average player and a fixture in Chicago, but not a HOFer. Agreed. Santo isn't HOF worthy.

That bling picture was great. The non-bastardized version of that pic depicting me currently is on Perfect Game's homepage. Jamie, I will be out of town this weekend and won't be at my buddies' party, so if you run into me on Arlington you will have to have far too many Deliriums. Seriously though, if you show up, say you know me, bring your lawn chair and protect the Delirium I'm sure you'll be more than welcome. I warn you, my friend's parties get really, really crazy, crazier than most college parties I ever attended, which will make it impossible to miss if you stroll down Arlington on Saturday night. I would give you the address, but then everyone else will show up there http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Lakefront Pumpkin has been out for about a month now. This year's batch is mighty good, a lot better than last year's, which was the worst batch ever IMO. Jamie mentioned a 1/2 barrel of Riverwest Stein on tonight's game thread which made me thirsty, however I thought I'd reply here since it seems more appropriate. There seems to be a few kicking back tonight on a Wednesday, and with a long weekend ahead of me, I lucked out in finding a few Sprecher Dopplebocks at my local liquor store. Two of these babies and I'll sleep like tonight never happened. Before you call me a light-weight, have a few yourself, and if you're not spinning after 3-4 of these I admire your tolerance. Speaking of strong beers, a co-worker of mine is having a moving party this weekend (Jamie, this is the guy I know that lives right by you on Arlington, so listen for the noise across from the park), and asked me if I knew where he could buy a 1/4 barrel of Delirium Tremens. I had no clue, but since I've seen quite a few bars on the East side have it on tap I figured they had to sell them somewhere. If you've seen them anywhere, or have bought one yourself, I would love to hear where you found it.

water/coke 3-7 Water and/or coke? What were you thinking during those 10 games this year? C'mon, you're 10-6 with wine http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . I was fooled by tonight's game time, since it was pushed back for ESPN. Here I tuned in to WTMJ 620 and had to hear the Big Unit on his soap box for some topic that I couldn't even pick up. I couldn't agree or disagree with the guy since I didn't know what he was talking about, but it was still painful. Alright, his exit music has started...onto the pre-game.

I was thinking the exact same thing about Salome when I saw him as a DH in the box score. At this point in the season, winning takes a priority over development, and the Brewers clearly don't feel comfortable with Salome behind the dish. By the way, there is a nice feature on Salome in the most recent issue of BA.

That story popped out just after the weekend, with everyone denying everything at the time. Just a bizarre set of circumstances, and I think everyone involved should feel embarassed. The Iorg family has to feel a little violated. I know Boras gets a bad rap, and in many ways, he should, but I am not a big fan of this new agent making a name for himself, Sosnick. I remember reading a story focusing on him in BA shortly after the draft, a story that painted him in a positive light, but I couldn't bring myself to accepting his tactics. Plus, technically it's illegal to not be a lawyer while advising these players. And Logan White really put his foot in his mouth leading to him getting burned...bad...by Boras.

Nashville scores a run in the top of the 7th, 3-2 Sounds. I wanted to point out that Ryan Marion started tonight's game for the H-Crew, which should mean that Will Inman is slated to piggy-back tonight, unless Helena is saving him for game one of the playoffs, which may not be a bad idea.

huntsvillefan's post is so good that I don't know which part to highlight and quote. Indeed, thanks as always huntsvillefan for your point of view.

I agree with most everyone else, I think it's a no-brainer that he should be in the HOF. However, I am a sucker for wins, since 300 is a major milestone. While people quickly argue that he pitched for poor teams in Minnesota, one of my most favorite performances by a pitcher was Steve Carlton back in '74 (or was it '72?), when he went 27-10 or something like that, winning about 50% of the Phillies team victories that season. Of course that season may be more of an anomally than not, and Carlton was an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer, but it just seems like the truly great ones can take matters in their own hands. Laugh all you like, but like I said, I'm a sucker for wins when it comes to the best of the best.

But to be honest, the Crew should be congratulated for picking guys that did not cost the earth and actually have advanced to the cusp of MLB careers (I think Weeks and Fielder here). I'm not sure if Weeks can be tossed into the same group given the contract he signed, which is a lot closer to what Stephen Drew made and what Alex Gordon is looking for than what Fielder got. But I agree with your point, and as exciting as it can be to draft within the top several picks, I am happy that this is probably something we won't have to worry about for the next several years. i'm glad we have a gm that doesnt get involved in this stuff. Melvin gets plenty involved with the draft, as it seems to be the owners that cause more problems when they start laying down the law, but again, I definitely agree. The organization took a gigantic turn for the better when they focused their resources on scouting and player development, and allowing those departments to do their thing, when Dean Taylor came aboard.

Justin Upton: While he threatened to attend Louisburg JC in North Carolina, he isn't attending school in the fall, obviously interested in signing a pro deal with the D-Backs. The D-Backs reportedly have offered a $4.7 million dollar signing bonus, or at least a deal worth that much. According to Bob Nightengale about a week ago, the negotiations between the D-Backs and Upton went sour, but I haven't seen anything other than that blurb to support that. With $4.7 million dollars on the table, Upton will eventually sign with the D-Backs. Alex Gordon: As noted, Gordon attended a game in KC this weekend, and was supposed to get the royal treatment in KC. According to reports, the Royals most recent offer was a $3.8 million dollar signing bonus, with Gordon seeking a deal similar to the $5.5 million dollar contract, which included a $4 million dollar signing bonus, similar to what Stephen Drew received last spring. That's still a big gap to cover, so I don't expect Gordon to be signed simply by some extra courting on the part of the Royals. Cameron Maybin: Originally reoprted to be on Lake City CC's campus, the Tigers seemed to have called Maybin's bluff, and as of 8/29, Maybin was not planning on attending a JC to continue the negotiations similar to Justin Upton. Maybin was asking for $3 million + before the draft, and he still is. The Tigers started to creep towards $3 million dollars, but suddenly their offer dropped dramatically to slot value, which is around $1.95 million. Speculation offers that owner Mike Ilich (sp?) got involved, otherwise Maybin was expected to be signed by the end of the summer. Mike Pelfrey: Not much word on Pelfrey, but news rarely leaks out regarding Boras advisees. He did not return to Wichita State, not that anyone ever thought he would, but likely is pushing for a deal similar to what Jered Weaver got ago, a $4 million dollar signing bonus. Luke Hochevar: See Pelfrey. The Dodgers reportedly have offered $2 million to sign Hochevar, who fell to the 40-something pick due to signability concerns. I'm sure Hochevar (& Boras) doesn't want to think of a $2 million dollar deal after winning the Roger Clemens' college pitcher of the year award, and probably is looking for money similar to what Pelfrey is looking for. Once one of these guys signs, the other may follow, but that may not happen for a long time.

Mass Haas wastes no time. He gets back from vacation and immediately starts cleaning up the mess I made http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Welcome back Jim. As always, a tip of the ballcap to you on the great work you do. Filling in for the link report 2-3 days is manageable, but I can't imagine doing this for an entire season, and for that dedication I thank you.

Final, Game Two: Nashville 4, Memphis (Cardinals) 3 Nashville Site Game(s) Summary: First-Place Sounds Split Pair In Memphis Date Posted: 9/1/2005 MEMPHIS ? The Nashville Sounds split a doubleheader with the Memphis Redbirds on Thursday evening, dropping the opener 1-0 before snapping a four-game skid with a 4-3 victory in the nightcap as the club wrapped up a nine-game road trip at AutoZone Park. With the split, Nashville (72-68) returns to Greer Stadium holding a one-game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division over second-place Omaha, which defeated Iowa. The Sounds? magic number to clinch the division sits at four with four games to play. Vinny Rottino (2-for-3) end the Sounds? season-high 24-inning scoreless drought ? which dated back to Sunday in Round Rock ? when he plated Trent Durrington with a one-out RBI double to right-center off Memphis spot starter Josh Pearce in the top of the first inning of the nightcap, giving Nashville a 1-0 lead. Ryan Knox upped the Nashville lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a one-out, two-run shot to left off Pearce, his fifth tater of the season. Julio Mosquera, who singled earlier in the frame, scored on the blast. The Sounds tacked on another run later in the inning on back-to-back, two-out doubles from Steve Scarborough and pitcher Brett Evert, who helped his own cause with his first knock of the year. Evert, who made a spot start for the Sounds, did not allow a hit until Tim Hummel?s fourth-inning double, which chased the right-hander from the ballgame with a no-decision to his credit. Memphis ended the Nashville shutout bid in the fourth when John Gall, who had drawn a walk from Evert to open the frame, scored on Brad Cresse?s RBI groundout against reliever Alec Zumwalt to make the score 4-1. The Redbirds didn?t go down without a fight, plating two runs against Sounds reliever Mike Adams in the bottom of the seventh. Milko Jaramillo opened the frame with a single and moved to second when Skip Schumaker followed with a knock of his own. Bo Hart missed tying the contest by a matter of inches as he drilled a ball off the top of the wall in left-center for an RBI double to bring home Jaramillo and cut the Nashville lead to 4-2. After a Chris Duncan strikeout, Chad Allen pulled Memphis within a run with an RBI groundout to second. Adams recovered to strike out Gall to put the clamps on the victory. Zumwalt (1-0) earned his first career Class AAA victory with two scoreless innings of relief work. Adams notched his second save. Pearce (2-3) allowed four runs on eight hits in his 3 2/3 innings to take the loss for the Redbirds in a spot start, his first of the season. In the opener, Redbirds first baseman Chris Duncan gave the home club all the offense it would need when he led off the bottom of the second with a line-drive solo homer to right off Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson, his team-leading 21st roundtripper of the season. Outfielder Brad Nelson, who rejoined the Sounds prior to the twinbill after spending the previous two months with Double-A Huntsville, made an immediate impact in his return outing for Nashville, singling in his initial at-bat and throwing out Allen at the plate from his post in left field to end the third inning and keep the score 1-0. Nashville had its best chance to score in the top of the sixth. Chris Barnwell and Nelson Cruz opened the frame with consecutive walks from ex-Sound Kevin Jarvis. After Nelson sacrificed both runners ahead one base, Jarvis issued an intentional walk to Mike Rivera to load the bases before being pulled in favor of left-handed reliever Tyler Johnson, who induced a fly ball to left from Warren Morris. Barnwell tagged from third and attempted to score but was thrown out by Gall. Jarvis (11-6) tossed 5 1/3 scoreless frames to pick up his first victory in three starts against his former club this season. The right-hander went 2-for-2 at the plate to add to his solid evening. Brian Falkenborg came on to work a scoreless top of the seventh to earn his third save for Memphis. Hendrickson (6-12) tossed the Sounds? second complete game in as many nights, working all six innings of the opener, but took the loss after surrendering the game?s lone run on seven hits. The Sounds return to Greer Stadium on Friday to begin a regular season-ending four-game series against the Round Rock Express (AAA-Astros). Left-hander Tommy Phelps (0-0, 0.00) will take the hill in the 7:00 p.m. series opener on Friday to face a yet-to-be-determined Round Rock hurler. The Express will only be playing for pride in the series, however, as Round Rock was eliminated from postseason contention on Thursday following their loss to Albuquerque combined with division-leading Oklahoma?s win against New Orleans. Omaha, which trails the Sounds by a game in the standings, heads to Oklahoma City to take on the Southern Division-leading RedHawks in a crucial series for both clubs. Oklahoma carries a narrow half-game lead over Albuquerque, which visits Memphis, into the regular season?s final weekend. Nashville Box Score, Game Two: The Sounds make sure they're not shut-out for the 4th time in four games by scoring a run quickly in the first. Vinnie Rottino 2 for 3 with a double and Ryan Knox adds a 2-run blast. Evert and Zumwalt do a very good job through 5 innings, Mike Adams continues to struggle giving up 2 runs in the 9th but holding on for his 2nd save. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_mrbaaa_2 Nashville Game Log, Game Two: Alec Zumwalt does a great job getting out of a jam, with two in scoring position and nobody out, he gets out of the 4th inning by allowing only one run to score. The 9th inning could have been a lost worse, as the first three Memphis batters reached. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_mrbaaa_2 http://www.nashvillesounds.com/images/news/knox.jpg Ryan Knox

Final: Helena 6, Great Falls (White Sox) 2 Helena Box Score: The H-Crew scores 4 runs in the 9th to break up a 2-2 tie and pull comfortably ahead to close this one out. Darren Ford, Ned Yost and Michael Bell with 2 hits a piece, Ryan Crew the offensive star going 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 doubles, two runs scored an an RBI. Simon Beresford and Patrick Ryan combine for four scoreless innings out of the bullpen after starter David Welch allowed only 2 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_grfrok_1 Helena Game Log: In what seems to be a common theme lately, Great Falls score their only 2 runs in the game with 2 outs in 5th. Michael Brantley with the big RBI single in the 9th as a pinch-hitter that broke up the tie. A few defensive miscues by Great Falls aid to the 9th-inning rally. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_grfrok_1