colbyjack

Money is never a tiny matter these days, relative to any & everything, especially in Milwaukee. Plus, he's not a relief pitcher http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . I agree with MB's assessment, I wouldn't be surprised if the team was hoping someone else would pick him up as much as it would seem odd wasting a 25-man spot on him all of last season.

I think Doug deserves a little bit more credit for offering arby to Perez and Vanderwal. Especially since Melvin doesn't value additional draft picks http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

I remember Nunnally getting a lot of pub as he came up from the minor leagues. I agree with RC, he never seeemed to have got a fair shake. I remember him struggling early, but I don't recall him getting the prolonged chance to make a name for himself. I think that was at about the same time the Royals had Johnny Damon coming up, and I seem to remember Todd Dunwoody being a popular OF prospect back then as well. Maybe I'm just getting random names mixed up. Another good signing for the organization.

The Mariners signing of Ibanez was already discussed on this thread on the trade rumor forum: pub123.ezboard.com/fbrewe...=578.topic In SEA's defense, I'm sure they were all but positive KC was going to offer Ibanez arby, so they figured they would have had to forfiet the pick regardless. They don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. I believe this was discussed on the aforementioned thread, but Jim Callis in one of his AskBA segments noted that the Royals weren't going to offer Ibanez, and just how odd the signing was for the Mariners, especially given that they lost their first-rounder this past year for signing Greg Colbrunn last offseason. Here's the link, and the comment from Mr. Callis, they certainly don't seem to care whether or not they have high picks in the draft: www.baseballamerica.com/t...askba.html I don't understand Seattle's rush to sign Ibanez to a three-year, $13 million contract. He's a solid outfielder but nothing special, and I can't believe there was a frenzy to obtain him. The Royals weren't going to offer him arbitration, and now the Mariners will have to give them the 22nd pick in the 2004 draft.

I am cool with that date. We really are just as likely to have good or bad weather in April as we are in May. We're not really in the clear until mid-June. And since 9 out of 10 opening days are miserable, I'm ready to stand against whatever mother nature has to throw at us. Is it necessary to have the Saturday Brewers game during the day? I know the trek down to Beloit is part of the fun for a few of us, but a night game at MP on a Saturday might be an even bigger draw. Just a thought. Otherwise, April 24-25 will be pencilled into my calendar.

I like this move a lot. One of my favorite ongoing conversastions between Bob Uecker & Jim Powell is when they talk about lefties & why they're able to stick around so long & how some of them could be more effective if they picked up a "trick" pitch (a wicked breaking pitch such as a big curveball, screwball). I've heard them discuss it several times in regards to both Glendon Rusch & VDLS. Obviously that's easier said than done as neither one of those lefties throws a good breaking ball, and neither one of them was particularly successful against left-handed hitters. Uecker often said that the biggest problem lefty hitters had against lefty pitchers was the big breaking ball, the curveball more so than the slider. That and deception and/or a funky delivery a la Mike Myers. So, to hear about acquiring a 6-year FA LHP with a big hook is encouraging, as MB noted, to join Nance & Foster as potential lefty specialists out of the 'pen. Like all of these other guys, another candidate to be a potential steal.

I haven't weighed in on any of these signings, but I must say that I am very impressed with the people the Brewers are bringing into the organization. All of these guys must know they have a fighting chance to make the big league roster, and even when & if they don't AAA may round out to be a pretty competetive club. And while I'm sure the chance at making the Brewers is a huge draw, I'm sure money also has played a factor in this. Nice job Dougie.

Done and done.

Oh my, that's horrible. Rest in peace Dernell.

Unless I missed something, if you don't sign a pick in the 1st round, you'll get a pick AFTER the 1st round, like 31st. Any team that does not sign their first round pick is awarded a compensatory sandwich pick after all of the free agent compensatory sandwich picks. In last year's case, the Mariners were given the 37th pick overall, the last pick before the 2nd round, for not signing John Mayberry Jr. from the 2002 draft. If more than one team does not sign their first-rounder, the team with the higher pick is awarded the higher selection. That won't be an issue next year since every team signed their 1st round pick. In fact, it was the first time in draft history that every pick from the first 2 rounds was signed. Not only were bonuses down, but teams seemed to be taking players they were sure they could sign earlier.

I don't recall there ever being this much turnover at the lower levels of the system. I think it's pretty clear Doug Melvin & Co. are doing some housecleaning, but that's alot of roster spots that are going to have to be filled. Of course, no DSL means all of those guys head straight to AZ.

Weeks just keeps on hitting. If it wasn't for his defense you would think this kid has a chance to make the team out of spring training. Who knows, maybe he does anyway.

I agree that the compensatory process needs to be fixed. It doesn't come close to helping the little guys like it was intended to. If anything, teams like the Braves, A's & Yankees get all the extra picks since they're the ones that take on all the FA's-to-be at the trade deadline. I have proposed a few changes to the system, in which the bad teams aren't penalized as bad for signing a FA while the big teams still are. I've also thought about eliminating lost picks for signed free agents & only having compensatory picks after each round. However, I would handle this process similar to the NFL, in which the league looks at who is acquired & who is lost. So if the Yankees lose 2 free agents & sign 2, they will not be awarded a compensatory pick. Plus, only the teams on the bottom half would get a compensatory pick after round 1, while the 2nd half teams would get one after round 2 (this of course would all be adjusted for the different types of FAs). In this scenario, if teams don't lose picks for signing FAs, I also would get rid of the arby process that is tied into FAs. Too many small teams lose out on extra picks because they're fearful to offer these players arbitration (see Jose Hernandez). Again, a way would have to be figured out so the rich can't keep getting richer. Maybe make a compensatory round after the 2nd or 3rd for FA's that aren't offered arby, or maybe only allow these picks for the bottom 15 teams. In other words, there's plenty of room for this process to improve. I did like the idea about awarding a compensatory pick for any unsigned first-round pick immediately after that slot the following year. It really gives the drafting team more leverage. For instance, if we had not signed Rickie Weeks with the 2nd overall pick, we would have been awarded the pick right after the 2nd slot (the 3rd pick overall) in next June's draft.

I think what it really shows you is that the players & the owners don't care. The players certainly don't care about the draftees, only that they don't restrict their rights to as much money as possible, and the owners don't seem to care too much if the structure changes from it's current format.

Nope, no word on compensation changing at all, so I would expect everything to stay the same.

***Updated draft order to show that Roger Clemens was NOT offered arbitration & therefore the Yankees will not receive a sandwich nor the Astros 2nd round pick. ***I also updated the supplemental round draft order per BA, which is established by the raw draft order, not by the Elias rankings. 2004 raw draft order: 1. Padres (Yankees 2nd) 2. Tigers 3. Mets 4. Devil Rays 5. Brewers 6. Indians 7. Reds 8. Orioles (A's 2nd) 9. Rockies 10. Rangers 11. Pirates 12. Angels (White Sox 2nd, Blue Jays 3rd) 13. Expos 14. Royals 15. Diamondbacks 16. Blue Jays 17. Dodgers 18. White Sox 19. Cardinals 20. Twins 21. Phillies 22. Mariners (Twins 1st, Royals 2nd) 23. Astros (Yankees 1st) 24. Red Sox (A's 1st) 25. Cubs (Twins 1st) 26. A's 27. Marlins 28. Yankees (Dodgers 1st, White Sox 2nd) 29. Giants (Royals 1st) 30. Braves (Rangers 1st) First round sandwich picks: 31. Royals (Raul Ibanez) 32. Blue Jays (Kelvim Escobar) 33. Dodgers (Paul Quantrill) 34. White Sox (Bartolo Colon) 35. Twins (Eddie Guardado) 36. A's (Keith Foulke) 37. Yankees (Andy Pettitte) 38. White Sox (Tom Gordon) 39. Twins (LaTroy Hawkins) 40. A's (Miguel Tejada) 41. Yankees (David Wells) 2nd round Picks 42-71 46. Brewers 2nd round pick Lost picks: Angels: 2nd rounder to White Sox for type A FA Bartolo Colon (90.244) 3rd rounder to Blue Jays for type A FA Kelvim Escobar (66.374) Mariners: 1st rounder to Twins for type A FA Eddie Guardado (86.478) 2nd rounder to Royals for type A FA Raul Ibanez (80.610) Yankees: 1st rounder to Dodgers for type A FA Paul Quantrill (77.078) 2nd rounder to White Sox for type A FA Tom Gordon (74.791) Cubs: 1st rounder to Twins for type A FA LaTroy Hawkins (86.239) Braves: 1st rounder to Rangers for type B FA John Thomson (60.772) Giants: 1st rounder to Royals for type B FA Michael Tucker Astros: 1st rounder to Yankees for type A FA Andy Pettite (89.024) 2nd rounder to Yankees for type A FA Roger Clemens (86.077) Red Sox: 1st rounder to A's for type A FA Keith Foulke (91.464) Orioles: 2nd rounder to A's for type A FA Miguel Tejada (86.335) Padres: 2nd rounder to Yankees for type A FA David Wells (77.947) Explanation of compensation (courtesy of Jim Callis & BA): If a team loses a Type A free agent (in the top 30 percent at his position), it gets a supplemental first-round choice as well as the signing team's first-round (if it's not in the top 15 selections) or second-round pick (if the first-rounder is in the top 15). If a team loses a Type B free agent (in the 31-50 percent grouping at his position), it gets the signing team's first- or second-round pick (based on the same criteria mentioned for Type A free agents). If a team loses a Type C free agent (in the 51-60 percent grouping at his position), it gets a supplemental second-rounder. If a team should forfeit multiple picks for signing multiple free agents, the team losing the highest-ranked of those free agents gets the highest compensation choice. Finally, the Elias Sport Bureau ratings: NL www.argonauts.ca/Slam0310...nl-ap.html AL www.argonauts.ca/Slam0310...al-ap.html I'm also going to throw in some of the players & who they will be advised by since that always plays a part of where a player falls. In other words, if they're advised by Boras or not. Jeff Niemann-IMG Wade Townsend-IMG Chris Lambert-IMG Jeremy Sowers-IMG Jeff Larish-Scott Boras Jered Weaver-Scott Boras Stephen Drew-Scott Boras Eric Beattie-Steve Hammond Micah Owings-Lonnie Cooper (out of HS)

I see Tony Gwynn Jr. turning into much the same type of hitter that Tony Gwynn Sr. was...It's as reasonable an assumption as any other. You mean a Hall of Fame caliber hitter? Yeah, that's reasonable. I'm beating myself with a stick here. How the heck is it reasonable to go from 9 extra base hits in the Midwest League in over 200 ABs to over 50 extra base hits at the big league level? That's absurd, and I really like Gwynn Jr.

Gwynn looks promising as well - I'd even sitck him as a #3 hitter - if only because he raps a bunch of doubles. He does?

If you can't count on tthe W-L record, what stat can you count on then? For the most part, ERA is pretty indicative of how successful a pitcher is going to be. And not just in one season, but for their career. And if a player's W-L record is so important, than Wes Obermueller must really such at 0-4. What is the team's record when he starts? And what about Jim Abbott in 1992? He was 7-15 despite posting the 5th best ERA at 2.77 that year. I suppose he must suck. While the game is all about wins, statistically speaking the W-L record doesn't mean much, and I'm sure the stat fellas will offer a stat that is even more telling than ERA. David said it, this team needs talent all over, and they can't simply counter their pitching woes by trying to build a high-powered offense, or even a moderately-powered offense. While there are a few exceptions (and Franklin shouldn't be one of those), it's a waste of time to fall in love with ANY of the players currently on the team.

I think one could reasonably expect marginal improvement by both Kinney and Franklin, with both getting their ERAs next year down to the 4.50 level. You could reasonably expect that, yes, but to expect that is foolish. Also, the Brewers are 17-15 in games Franklin has started. Never mind the ERA, he's pitched well enough that the Brewers are OVER .500 when he is starting. The same record the Brewers have when Ben Sheets plays, I might add. Do you expect that trend to continue as well? I personally would attribute the records to chance or dumb luck than actual skill. The Brewers likely could just as easily be 10-22 in the games Franklin has started this year given the amount of baserunners & home runs the guy has allowed this year. Again, you can't count on that stat. You would be one heck of a Brewers' PR employee though. That's the crap they've been spinning to us for years.

That team ERA includes rather horrendous outings by the likes of Glendon Rusch, Ruben Quevedo, and David Manning. Luis Martinez has had a couple of rough starts, too. I think anyone can agree that a 4.91 team ERA is bad. If that's the case, wouldn't individual ERAs by Kinney & Franklin, which you pointed out to be 4.90 & 5.34, also be considered bad? Clancy, this isn't a "solid" rotation, it's a bad one, and it's a big reason why the Brewers are among the worst teams in MLB. I think it would be wise to quit making excuses for this unit & realize we need major improvement from our starters. And yes, I do realize I'm wasting my time.

Congrats to the Stars on a very successful season! On the bright side, Jim Powell just gave Jim Goulart, the Link Report & Brewerfan.net a very nice plug. If you didn't catch it, it either happened late in the 3rd or early in the 4th.

While this may be the last official Link Report for the '03 season, I know that MassBrew is going to keep us entertained with all kinds of information over the long winter, whether it be local stories on our players or updates on the Arizona Fall & Winters Leagues. I want to congratulate & tip my cap to Jim for another fine season covering our minor leaguers. Thanks Jim, your tireless efforts are greatly appreciated!!! I think it's time you used up some of that well-deserved brewerfan.net vacation time http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Here are the pitching matchups as best as I can tell. Carolina & Lansing seemed to have used a 4-man rotation since the playoffs started, possibly because of the days off. Like I said, as best as I can tell... Huntsville vs. Carolina (Games 1 & 2 in Huntsville): Game 1: Trevor Hutchinson vs. Ben Hendrickson (as noted above) Game 2: Todd Moser vs. Jeff Housman Game 3: Donnie Bridges vs. Jason Shelley Game 4 (if necessary): Nick Ungs vs. Pedro Liriano Game 5 (if necessary): Trevor Hutchinson vs. Greg Bruso Lansing vs. Beloit (Games 3-5 in Beloit): Game 1: Anderson Tavarez vs. Khalid Ballouli (as noted above) Game 2: Andy Sisco vs. Jason Baker/Luis Pena Game 3: Rocky Cherry vs. Calvin Carpenter/Eric Henderson Game 4 (if necessary): Sean Marshall vs. Dennis Sarfate Game 5 (if necessary): Anderson Tavarez vs. Khalid Ballouli Looking at these matchups, another pitcher might be added to all but the Stars rotation, especially if there are no off-days. Henderson or Pena would probably be the most likely candidates for the Snappers, although one starter should be kept in case Cal Carpenter continues to need some piggy-back help. Carolina could turn to a couple of options to start including righties Joe Cueto & Randall Messenger & lefty David Marchbanks while lefty Ryan O'Malley might be the best option for Lansing. One other note about the Lugnuts, you don't want to go into the 9th & face their closer, Jason Wylie, who notched 29 saves this year. Pretty impressive for A-ball. Hopefully that won't be an issue with the way the Snappers are swinging the lumber.

Please allow me to add my 3-cheers for MB's statement about Franklin. Outside of Sheets, I'm not happy with ANY of our starters, and I don't really care if they're adequate back of the rotation starters, these guys (Franklin, Davis, Kinney) are our #2 & #3 guys right now. I hope the Brewers challenge ALL of these guys in the offseason. I too bailed on the Brewers game to listen to Helena.