colbyjack

The White Sox have been hot after Adam Dunn, which isn't new, and recently offered Paul Konerko arbitration, which I think surprised a lot of people. The Rangers supposedly are linked to Konerko, and were in on Victor Martinez before the Tigers signed him. The Orioles were also pursuing Victor Martinez, and of course the Red Sox tried to re-sign him before he left. The Dodgers apparently were making a push for Huff before he re-signed with the Giants. I know a lot of people feel as though this offseason isn't the best time to trade Prince, but there enough teams out there looking for a big bat to think something big could happen. The Rangers, White Sox, Dodgers and Orioles (I don't think the Red Sox would get involved, as I think they preferred V-Mart's flexibility as a C/1B/DH) remain legitimate suitors. I agree with the assessment in the thread on the MLB forum talking about the V-Mart signing that the Tigers are likely out of the mix. As are the Giants, who re-signed Huff and have one of the better, rising 1B prospects in the minors in Brandon Belt. Others have mentioned this, but I do believe the A's could be a darkhorse. They too are reportedly looking for a big bat to DH, and Beane (despite his quote about Prince in Moneyball) has been known to deal prospects for proven stars (Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, Matt Halladay).

Ken Rosenthal (courtesy of MLBTR) reports that Hinske is close to making his decision between the Brewers and Braves: http://msn.foxsports.com/...jeter-is-puzzling-112310

BA posted their top 10 prospects from the AFL today (subscribers link), with Bryce Harper being named #1: http://www.baseballameric...league/2010/2610958.html Jeremy Jeffress didn't make the top 10, but he was mentioned as one of six others to watch: Jeffress' AFL season was as inconsistent as his minor league career has been since the Brewers drafted him in the first round in 2006. Now working exclusively out of the bullpen, Jeffress fanned 14 batters and walked 12 in 12 innings. Even his velocity fluctuated during the fall, but late in the season he was regularly touching triple digits. His electric performance during a one-inning performance in the Rising Stars game was one of the highlights of the AFL season, when his rising velocity teased fans until the scoreboard at Surprise Stadium registered 99 mph, then 100 and finally 101 in his final two pitches. With Jeffress' well-documented personal issues hopefully behind him, he may be ready to contend for a big league bullpen job in 2011.

The deadline for teams to offer/decline arbitration to free agents was this evening. Check out the link below for the players that were offered arbitration and how they effect the 2011 draft order. The players have a week to accept/decline arby, but recent history suggests most of these players will decline (IIRC, only 3 players accepted arby last year). http://www.5tooltalk.com/feature-mainpage.html

I'll simply say it does the Brewers no good to trade pitching for pitching when the solution and there aren't really other options behind the prospects being moved. I like our prospects as much as anyone but I'm really not ready to hang my hat on Scarpetta, Peralta, and Odorizzi today. If they were healthy and finishing off solid seasons in AA sure, but none of those guys has a full year above A ball yet. So what exactly are you saying? That you want to see this team develop their own pitching from within before they even try to win again? And if you aren't sold on guys like Scarpetta, Peralta and Odorizzi, wouldn't that make you more likely to trade them for a more proven commodity that might actually be able to help the Brewers make the playoffs? How much pitching depth is it going to take before you feel comfortable moving some of it to try and win? I still don't understand how dealing the players we did for Sabathia put the Brewers out in any way, shape or form. If the Brewers still had LaPorta, people would be complaining that we didn't draft Heyward with that pick. Brantley, Bryson and most certainly Zach Jackson haven't done anything that has set back the Brewers success, and certainly nothing close to trade a playoff berth in '08. Every move Melvin has made has shortened the competitive window of the team, every single move, even Sabathia. What good would a playoff appearance in 2011 be just to slip even farther down the scale of ineptitude in 2012? I'm sorry, but you're really starting to lose me. What good is a playoff appearance in 2011??? Because it's the playoffs!!! The Brewers have a 40+ year history of ineptitude. Making the playoffs is what it is all about. We've seen plenty of teams catch fire in recent years to surprise a lot of people once they make the postseason, and that is why they play the game. I don't understand the notion of stock-piling pitchers from top to bottom before feeling comfortable going for it. There is a rather large segment of the posting community here that is incredibly short sighted, only being concerned with 1 season at a time. I was all for stockpiling talent when it was clear that the team had no chance to make the playoffs, but that's different now. The Brewers have already developed enough talent to put them in the conversation of potential playoff contenders, and it's not like the division is that far out of reach. I don't think you realize how difficult it is to make the postseason, and how easy it is for that window of opportunity to shrivel up and disappear altogether as you wait for other pieces to come together. Building talent from within is nice, very nice, but another part of a successful farm system is to be used to acquire other pieces. I'm not sure if you're old enough to remember, but after 1982 the fans thought the playoffs would become an annual occurrence. Whoops!

I like Gavin Floyd, and think he could improve the starting staff, although that isn't really that difficult. However, if that is all Fielder is worth, that really sucks, and would lead me to lean towards keeping Prince. If its Floyd and Beckham, who is rumored to also be available, then I'm more interested. I know Fielder is down to his last year, coming off of a down season, but we all know he is still one of the premier sluggers in the game.

If Nolasco isn't good enough, the available pitchers on the market may be down to Cliff Lee and Greinke. While that is on the dramatic side, I am on record saying that I think if the Brewers are serious about the playoffs next year that they need to obtain one of the top pitchers that are available this offseason. They may not be one player away, but they may be one very good player to being a lot closer. I question Nolasco based on the type of attention he is getting, and with that attention I'm guessing it will take a fairly substantial package to acquire him. As Toby noted, I would only trade for him if the price was right, and I don't think the price will be right. I appreciate having the FIP numbers provided, and agree that there is reason for promise, however as Stevo noted it's not like the Brewers defense would be doing Nolasco any favors. Plus, if you do really like Nolasco, are you willing to give up the talent that may be necessary to get him pinning your hope on him being victimized by bad luck? And BTW, there were 45 pitchers that tossed 200+ innings last year, and 95 that threw more than Nolasco did. I'm not suggesting IP is the end all be all to a pitcher's success, but to say that SP's don't throw 200 innings a year is just plain wrong.

Agents have a lot more to do with trades than most people think.

Why does Nolasco get so much attention? For someone that has a pretty good K:BB ratio, he also gives up a lot of hits, his WAR isn't particularly impressive, and while he turns 28 this offseason, he's not exactly showing an upward trend towards his peak years. Out of four full seasons, he has thrown more than 200 innings only once (next closest 185), has only one season with an ERA under 4.51 and has only one year with an ERA+ over 93. Oh yeah, the Marlins home park is very large. I didn't even realize how mediocre he was when I mentioned possibly trading McGehee for him last night. I would need to be convinced otherwise to say a big "no thanks."

Halladay didn't want to come to Milwaukee because he made it clear he preferred to go to a team that had their spring training facilities in Florida.

Get 1080p and at least 120 Hz. The 1080p (vs. 720p) denotes the HD quality (pixel pitch, if I remember correctly when I bought out HD TV a few years ago), while the Hz is the speed in which the information is processed. So the higher the number for this, the less likely you will have your TV freeze/flake out (again, from what I remember from our purchase). Basically, for sports lcbj68c, keep an eye for the higher Hz number. The brands suggested at the time were Sony, Toshiba and Samsung. I'm a big believer in buying the best brand names for electronics/appliances. The link that JimH5 didn't work for me, but based on the URL as posted it seems he got 1080p, 240 Hz and a Samsung, which would get my thumb's up, and should process fast-moving action without a blip. The size of the TV really doesn't matter as compared to the technical mumbo-jumbo. The size is only important based on the space you have available. The cheapest TVs you will see on sale are 720p and 60 Hz. Don't buy these.

The Marlins have an internal options in Scott Cousins to fill in CF, although I could see the Marlins interested in Gomez. As noted already, I could also see them interested in McGehee, so there could be a package deal to be had, particularly should Nolasco's negotiations get more difficult. In dealing the players they have so quickly so far this offseason, I think it's clear the Marlins are cutting some fat as well as some cash. I don't think McGehee and Gomez alone get a deal like that done, but I do see where a match could be made. Coughlan may move to 3B by default with the emergence of Logan Morrison. They have 2 pretty good, young LFs, even if Coughlan didn't have as good of a year (assuming Bonifacio becomes the everyday 2B with Uggla going to Atlanta).

John Klima of Baseball Beginnings was the first to break the Covey/diabetes situation, and here he has a follow-up: http://baseballbeginnings...covey-update-4#more-9944 I think he's gone a little over the top vilifying scouts (after all, Covey was still a mid-first round pick with plenty of praise of just how good he was/is), but overall it's nice to hear that he has settled into college life with initial success. It also reminds me how much I wished he was in the Brewers system.

You only move Lawrie as the key piece of a package deal if you can get someone proven like Greinke in return. I also agree that Latos isn't going anywhere. I'm not interested in a prospect-for-prospect swap, as you need a proven commodity in return. Castro has very good upside, but I'm not sold on his delivery, as he has an upside-down takeaway and appears to throw across his body in the videos found in the links provided above.

I campaign for Javier Vazquez every year. The guy has been remarkably consistent (and healthy) throughout his career. The long ball has always been his biggest problem, but he limits baserunners, doesn't walk many and strikes out a batter an inning. Plus, since his time in Montreal, it seems as though that he has been better in odd numbered years, meaning he's due in 2011. If the Brewers fail to obtain a bigger name starter, either in FA or via trade, I would make Vazquez my primary target, and I might pursue him regardless. Jon Garland would be my second target, as he too has been pretty reliable/consistent, although allows more baserunners and strikes out fewer batters than Vazquez.

I can't comment on Komatsu, who I only saw play 1 or 2 games for Cal State Fullerton prior to the team drafting him. The writer didn't really go in depth on him anyway. As for Davis, who I have seen a lot, I agree with his overall assessment, but I don't know if I agree with his raw power potential, or at least him becoming a middle of the order bat. He has the potential to hit 20 home runs a season, but I see him more as a doubles/line drive type of hitter. Obviously he still has a lot of value if he's able to hit 20 or so home runs and 35-40 doubles with 5 or so triples. I've mentioned this before, amidst a lot of comparisons to Kirby Puckett given their body types, he reminds me a lot of Shannon Stewart, who had some pretty good seasons with the Blue Jays. If I remember correctly, Stewart was never known for his defense, and had below average arm strength, a big part why he played LF despite having the wheels for CF. From what I saw of Davis last summer, he still holds the same profile he did coming out of high school and again coming out of college. He's a guy that could hit 1-3 in a lineup, can steal some bases for you (although I could see him becoming less of a speed threat as he approaches 30) and can be a sparkplug type of offensive player towards the top of the lineup. He's somewhat similar to Rickie Weeks in that regard, and like Weeks I think he'll draw his fair share of walks and continue to strike out at a high rate. He's a patient yet aggressive hitter, in that he'll take a lot of pitches and draw some walks, but he also will continue to chase bad pitches, especially soft stuff, low and away.

A few comments on Kentrail Davis and Erik Komatsu from instrux: http://baseballbeginnings...-instructs-pt2#more-9786 Finally had my first look at outfielder Kentrail Davis, a thick-build left-handed strong man with vicious bat speed. He hits out of a straight stance and drops his hands, so it’s on him to show that he can succeed with that trigger in pro ball. He pulled a ball to right-center for a home run in one at-bat and got himself out by popping up to the left side in the next at-bat, so that pretty much tells the offensive tale of where this young player is. I did like him quite a bit and I think he has a chance to be an impact middle-of-the-order bat. No other tool will match his power for pure raw strength, but he’ll be just fine at an outfielder corner in terms of arm strength and speed. Erik Komatsu is a guy who just hits wherever he goes. A left-handed hitter who was the Brewers minor league player of the year in 2010, he has a live body and good bat speed. He also has a good approach and showed me the ability to drive the ball to all fields. He’s athletic enough to play every day and I think can swing it enough to stick.

One thing that I took from the comics and from other stories of near apocalypse, like Battlestar Galactica for example, is that people seem to find a need to rush into sexual relationships for comfort/distraction when there is less of a society to judge them. Also, when you could die at any moment its probably a lot easier to jump into something you normally wouldn't. If I remember correctly this becomes a popular theme in the comics with several characters. I can see how it would bother some, but I think its a realistic theme to explore, or as realistic as you can get for a story about a zombie apocalypse. I understand what you're saying, but that wasn't really what I was commenting on. I just don't like the heavy personal stories being intertwined in such a story. I've seen a lot of promising movies and overall ideas ruined by bad "love" stories. Its not hard to see the conflict they are trying to build up to, and personally I could do without it. For example, I loved and always will enjoy Band of Brothers because the producers didn't go and cheapen up the story with some love story. They touched on many of the characters own personal issues being in WWII (thanks Vets!), and their (brief) conflicts with one another, but didn't go overboard with some emotional overlying storyline when the war, and how the soldiers dealt with the war, was and always remained the focus of the story. I recognize that this series was based off of a comic book, of which I'm assuming this story was already existing. I just have a bad feeling of where it's going and what impression it will leave on me when its all said and done.

I need to preface this post by saying that I really like the work Studio Simon does with baseball logos. They are very talented and have taken some pretty outdated logos to make a few instant classics. My only complaint about their (his) work is that since so many teams have used their services a lot of logos out there have the same overall look and feel. That of course can be viewed as more of a tribute to the success they have had. However, I'm not a fan of the choice they went with on this one. The main "Rattlers" text is particularly weak for me, particularly on the jersey usage. Plus, I am a firm believer that any baseball logo should do something, subtle/clever or obvious to convey that the organization has something to do with baseball. The pictures are rather small, so maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see a bat, ball, diamond, etc. implemented anywhere in the design. I also don't like so many alternative logos being used. Have a strong corporate logo, use the text for your jersey schemes, and find 1, maybe 2, strong hat/sleeve designs. And yes, I tend to be overly critical with this stuff because I am in the field.

I typically don't like over-analyzing TV shows, although the stuff AMC has been producing lately is similar to some of the stuff HBO has produced to years in regards to quality. However, I agree with Robert's assessment that the opening dialogue seemed a little forced. Otherwise I too like the mood that is being established and agree that the staircase scene was pretty intense despite being so simple. Overall, for a show like this, which is obviously about people trying to survive in a world overrun by zombies, I don't like that the love relationship appears to be the bigger storyline that the show is leading to. I prefer to see the show develop with the original premise, survival on a daily basis, with several shorter, personal issues tied in (like the man with the rifle who couldn't bring himself to shoot his zombie wife) than have some stupid love triangle dumb things up. That just makes it more like a soap opera...with zombies. I hope I'm wrong, and it certainly is good enough as-is to stay tuned and find out.

A few notes on some of the recent comments. For the most part I agree with TheCrew's comments about the pitching and how the team needs to build that base from within, a stance he has been pretty consistent with the past few years. However, if the team wants to be competitive, they are going to have to make some aggressive moves this offseason to go out and get it. I've mentioned this before, but if you don't think they should, I'm guessing you also don't think they should be aggressively trying to compete next year. That's fine, as I certainly understand and appreciate any argument suggesting they aren't in a position to go for it next year. However, I don't think the organization feels the same way. We know Melvin went hard after Jake Peavy in '09, looked into Roy Halladay last offseason, and acquired CC Sabathia. I think he'll be involved heavily to try and acquire Greinke this offseason. Melvin's job has to be somewhat on the line, and Attanasio seems passionate about winning. Speaking of winning, it's not easy. We should know as Brewers fans, but I don't like the idea of waiting to see how our prospects will turn out. We know that even with the incredible talent the team graduated to the big league level over the last 5-7 years, they still have only made the playoffs once during that time. Making the playoffs isn't easy, and waiting for the next wave or batch of youngsters to come up and help isn't very comforting. Even if they do make the big-leagues, as we saw with Manny Parra, there is so much more involved for one to be successful than talent alone. As for trading young players, I know Robert R (if you're still out there) often would say that the team that wins any given trade is the team that gets the best player in return. So, if the Brewers give up a lot of talent to get Greinke, they in principle would still be the winners of such a deal since they would be getting a very good talent. He would make the pitching staff better simply by his addition and also because it makes Gallardo our 2nd best starter and Wolf our 3rd. I agree that more work would need to be done, but there are enough names to round out the bottom end of the rotation. The move could make the Brewers competitive and in the hunt through the first half of the season, meaning they could add another arm (or more) at the deadline (or promote one from within depending on who they would deal). Trading for CC certainly didn't hurt the club. There was a lot of talent involved in that deal, and due to hindsight we are able to see how many things can and will happen to prevent good, young players from being productive ones at the big-league level. Others have provided examples, but for every Jeff Bagwell and John Smoltz that teams steal in trades, there a lot more of the likes of Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller who fail to reach their lofty potential. And if it doesn't work out, you could always flip Greinke for younger players either next year or prior to him becoming a free agent after the 2012 season. Even if you keep him, you get comp picks for him (and Fielder, should they retain him), which could help re-stock the system. The team does have a pair of first-rounders next year, and they may have another pair in the 2012 draft and the 2013 draft depending on how things shake out. I think the Brewers have more than enough pieces to be a realistic trade partner with KC, either on their own or should they deal Fielder getting a 3rd team in involved. Basically, I'd rather see them go for it and fail than go with what they have. It's better to love and lost than to never have loved at all, right http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif?

We've talked about this before, but there are a few reasons the Giants may not be in on Fielder. Huff's season is one reason, and at some point Pablo Sandoval may have to slide across the infield to 1B. In addition, Brandon Belt had a huge year in the minors, finishing this past season at AAA, and currently raking in the AFL.

If you have the time I invite you to check out some of the most recent features at 5 Tool Talk. I don't have, and at the time don't plan to add, a forum, but I have added the opportunity for users to add their comments for any new feature. Here is a link to my top 50 2011 prospects to show an example of this: http://www.5tooltalk.com/topprospects.html

Did you mean the Cards and Cubs? Why would Cincy need him? They already have Volquez, Cueto, Leake, Bailey, and Chapman all coming back, all youngish, and all relatively cheap? Nope, I meant the Reds. They have some nice young arms, but are lacking the staff ace that pretty much all of the other playoff teams boasted. Some of the pitchers you mentioned could still develop into one, but for the most part I think they know what they have in Volzquez and Cueto, Leake is solid but probably not an ace, Bailey looks to be a 5th starter or bullpen arm, and as you noted we don't really know yet what they have in Chapman as far as his future role is concerned. They have the talent in their system, including the possibility of moving one of these pitchers, to make a move for Grienke, and they haven't been shy about making big moves in recent years. i was trying to think of a counter argument for still trading Fielder if we traded for Grienke, but i can't think of one. it's not even about going for it next year, but because we'd be drained of top prospects to get Grienke, and we'd probably want Fielder around for either two draft picks or trade him for a handful of prospects if it doesn't work out in 2011. trade Fielder now and you'd have a pretty decent player in return, but we'd have no real minor-league depth left to cover an injury. As I noted above, even if the team doesn't re-sign Greinke, they would possibly get comp picks for him as well (I say possibly since there may be some changes to the draft structure in 2012 with the next CBA -- of which that could really effect what they choose to do with Fielder as well). I know a lot of people don't want to thin out the system to acquire one player, and I think many of those people don't think the team is close to contending, at least not for next year. However, I really doubt the team views it the same way, especially ownership. We've seen what a pitcher like Cliff Lee can do for a team, and we know first-hand after having Sabathia for a handful of months two years ago. One player on paper may not significantly transform the team, but a player of Greinke's ability could transcend this team and take them to the next level. We all know what the offense is capable of if kept intact, and the way Fielder's career has gone so far, he's due for a huge season next year. 1-5 the lineup is pretty solid, and there is improvement for the 6-8 hitters. There is depth for the bullpen, and there are enough options to round out the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation. If the team is competitive they can always add another arm at the deadline, and if not, they could look to move Fielder and Greinke for prospect packages. Acquiring a player like Greinke, or going out and signing a pitcher like Cliff Lee (which I don't think would happen -- if the Yankees get involved good luck bidding against them) is the one, single and easiest move that could be made to significantly improve the team. It's going to take a lot to get him, but I really want to see this team playing this time of year next year. Of course Greinke's no-trade list could make this a moot point in a couple of weeks.

I got the latest print issue of BA yesterday, and their draft report cards are featured. Cody Hawn was listed as the best pure hitter, Hunter Morris the best power hitter, Kevin Berard, Kenny Allison and Johnny Dishon the fastest runners and Yadiel Rivera the best defensive player. Allison and Berard were again mentioned among the best athletes. Tyler Thornburg (93-95/98), Jimmy Nelson (92-93/96) and Matt Miller (91-95/97) all noted for their fastballs. Nelson and Brian Garman mentioned for their sliders (Garman's reaches the mid-80s). Allison was mentioned again as the best late-round pick, drawing comparisons to Lorenzo Cain. Garman was another mentioned in this category for pitching 89-91 with his power slider. Allison is a player that was somewhat of an unknown on draft day, as I had a difficult time digging up information on the guy, but apparently is a sleeper prospect in the system. Garman could move fast as a lefty reliever.