colbyjack

Beer Ambassador, Odell's Levity Ale is the best Amber Ale I've ever had. If you don't live around Colorado unfortunately you're going to have a hard time finding it. El Toro's Amber Ale is also one of the better amber ales I've had. I've gotten that at Brennan's. I believe logan just mentioned his disappointment with an O'so beer, but their Rusty Red amber ale is quite tasty. Dumb question if you're a SE WI local, but have you tried Lakefront's Fixed Gear? Not one of my faves, and nowhere close to how good their Riverwest Stein beer is (a beer finally starting to earn some national recognition and awards), but decent with a hint of fruity accents that may be up your wife's alley. Also, it sounds as though your wife and my wife have similar tastes. Have you had her try some of the regional Oktoberfest beers? My wife really enjoyed Levity, El Toro and O'so, and she also really likes Bell's/Sam Adams/Capital's Oktoberfests, but not the more traditional German option of this variety.

I really hope Melvin makes this happen, and I'm encouraged that several people seem willing to part with several of the team's top young prospects. Melvin did pull the deal for Sabathia, and reportedly was after Halladay last offseason as well as Cliff Lee and Jake Peavy during the 2009 season. He's shown he's willing to deal the prospects when he needs to, and there may be a little more urgency this offseason, not only to save his job but to live up to playoff expectations after two seasons of not living up to expectations. The Brewers are aided by the fact that they play in the opposite league as the Royals. Similar to when the Twins dealt Johan Santana, they may lean towards moving Greinke to the NL, and supposedly Greinke has a limited no-trade clause that includes the New York Yankees. You would think that even if the Royals do deal Greinke to an AL club, they won't trade within their division, ruling teams such as the Twins, White Sox and Tigers out. The Rangers would seem like a potential front-runner should Cliff Lee leave via FA, as they will have an obvious hole to fille while also having a ton of young prospects to deal from. The Brewers likely would get competition from their own division, as I could see both the Reds and Cubs getting heavily involved. The Red Sox and Angels seem to have the starting pitching in place, but you never know with those two teams. The Mets always seem to be involved with big-name players. The Dodgers probably don't have the resources to pull a trade off. The Rockies do. And the Royals don't have to move Greinke. He's signed to a very favorable deal through the next two years, so whatever package is offered is going to have to be enough to tempt the Royals to make the deal now, knowing that whatever team acquires him can easily flip him at the deadline either this year or next for another strong package of players. I agree 100% that if Greinke is acquired Fielder needs to be retained. The move is all about going for it next year.

So I am not sure he would be worth trading three god players who we could have for much more than 2 years. If it puts the Brewers back into playoff contention I'd say it would be worth it. It's not like Kansas City is looking to fill holes, they'll want young, minor league players. Prince, Hart, McGehee, Weeks would be of little interest to get Greinke. I can't see any way to get Greinke that would not be devastating to the franchise's 5-8 year outlook. I know you're looking for a way to trade an existing big-league player to avoid tapping into the minor leagues, but I actually think the Royals needs and overall timeline benefits the Brewers in that they probably wouldn't have to give up anything of substantial value on the current big-league roster. Clearly the idea of getting Greinke is to go for it next year. Trades for minor leaguers are crapshoots, anyway. In the span of two years, the Brewers traded Inman, Thatcher, Garrison, Ford, LaPorta, Brantley and Bryson and have those guys reached their potential? Has it set back the Brewers minor leagues? Maybe in terms of depth, but those guys haven't really done what their potential was going to be. In some trades you luck out, and in others you trade John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander or Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen. You just never know. Excellent point, and something to keep in mind when evaluating prospects. I really like the idea of going out to get Greinke, with a package similar to what Paul proposed. I mentioned this in another thread too, but then keep Fielder for next year as well and truly go for it. I'm not too worried about 5-8 years down the road (although don't think dealing prospects would be that disastrous), I want to see this team win, and acquiring Greinke could keep that window open for 2012 too.

My Perfect Game colleague Allan Simpson has been working hard to compile scouting data for the top prospects for the 2011 draft. Here's the beginning of his hard work, a lead-in to some of the stories to watch between now and next June, as well as a link at the bottom to the top 100 prospects (81 of which I have seen play): http://www.perfectgame.or...s/View.aspx?article=5049

I took his comments more to mean he'd only go back to manage if he were handed the keys to a luxury car like the Yankees. I got that vibe as well. My point was that if he came to a non-luxury car situation he likely would have to be wined and dined appropriately to be convinced. And I don't know if I could be convinced as to why he would be worth that. I'm just hoping Melvin finds that diamond in the rough like he did with Mike Maddux as pitching coach.

Baseball America released their top 25 recruiting classes for the coming college baseball season today, and some notable Brewers draftees were listed among the top teams. Dylan Covey of course is the prize of USD's class, coming in at #4, while Daniel Gibson was the second player noted (after Karsten Whitson) for the Gators' #6 class. Gulf Coast CC transfer Andrew Morris was among those mentioned for Auburn's #20 rated class. (link for subscribers) http://www.baseballameric...uiting/2010/2610793.html Edit: And Kyle Winkler was recently named the #98 prospect eligible for the 2011 draft by Perfect Game (again, link for subscribers):http://www.perfectgame.or...s/View.aspx?article=5048

Yeah, if Valentine has to "cultivate" an interest to manage again, no thanks. It sounds as though he needs his butt kissed and a big chunk of change to pull him out of his cushy job with ESPN. I'm not sure why so many people think he's the best candidate for the job. I'm not necessarily saying he's not, but why hasn't he had a job in the big-leagues for so long? I know he was over in Japan, but again, if he was such a good manager, why hasn't he been managing for successful teams at the highest level for the past several years?

Not sure if a new thread should be started for the in-game action, but the AFL kicked off today. Here's the MLB.com site page: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/league.jsp?league=afl And here's today's box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/league.jsp?league=afl Eric Farris started at 2B, and Caleb Gindl is in RF for the Surprise Rafters. Both have a hit and a K in 2 ABs.

I don't believe teams are able to give amateur players physical tests to determine their health. I do know they give them a lot of other surveys and conduct in-house visits to determine their mental and emotional state. I agree that is a problem, and some people (I believe John Manuel at BA) have suggested that there should be some kind of pre-draft combine in which these things are determined. That's why the physicals are usually combined with the signing process. Barret Loux had the same issue this year.

The more I think about it, if the team is serious about going for it next year, they need to keep Fielder and as much as the offense intact. There are some good proposals making a series of acquisitions from Beltre and V-Mart to acquiring a few of the more realistic free agent starting pitchers. But how realistic is it for the Brewers to get that active and involved on the free agent market this offseason? Keep Fielder, try to extend Weeks. Try to keep as many positive parts from the 2010 season intact while doing the opposite to the negative ones. Make Lawrie the trade focus for the offseason, and try to take advantage of a team that remains years away from contending that has a promising pitcher to deal and would be willing to do so for an appealing prospect package. Zack Greinke is the first that comes to mind, but without doing too much research, I'm guessing we're going to hear about 1-2 more this offseason. If the team still sucks come the deadline, deal Prince then, hopefully for a package better than the 2 comp picks. The pitcher you acquire for Lawrie & company (such as Greinke), could net a similar talented package in trade at some other point in time, again, if the team still sucks during the next 1-2 years. I'm not necessarily convinced that this is the right idea, as re-loading a little next year to hope for bigger and better things in 2012 may be the more prudent decision, but I don't expect Melvin/Attanasio to have the same expectations for the 2011 season.

You have to wonder if something happened in instrux. Lawrie and Schafer both could have been injured (or in Schafer's case, maybe he's not as far along as they hoped). Mass noted that it seemed a little odd that the Brewers had the priority at 2B with both Farris and Lawrie heading there, but still, it would have been nice for Lawrie to get that final tune-up before a possible call to Milwaukee next year. I don't think a trade would have much to do with it. If anything, you would think that having Lawrie play in the AFL would give him the opportunity to showcase his talents with and against some of the best prospects out there.

We lose the #15 pick if we don't sign the guy. If we don't sign the #11 guy we will get the #11 pick the next year. Minor nitpick, but if we don't sign the guy at #12 (check the revised/finalized draft order above), the Brewers will get the #13 pick in 2012. As for safe picks, signability and the Brewers two first-round picks, the Crew proved in both the 2008 and 2009 drafts that they budged appropriately and signed each and every one of their early picks for slot value. I fully expect them to do the same next year, and will have something like $1.9M for the #12 pick and $1.7M for the #15 pick. I don't think they'll have to reach too far to find a player they like that will sign for $1.7 or so million, but certainly they're likely going to be a little snake-bitten by what happened this past year. However, keep in mind, that the Brewers are known to like certain players more than most teams. They took first-round picks such as Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Mark Rogers higher than where most thought they would go, even if all of those players were heavily linked to the Brewers prior to their respective drafts. Don't forget the Brewers were reportedly heavy on prep lefty Jesse Biddle prior to the draft, as well as Luke Jackson. Biddle went late first last June and Jackson went in the sandwich round. These are the type of players that the Brewers may target with that #15 pick, and I'm actually not opposed that they take a risk on a guy they really like, a guy they know won't make it to their 2nd round pick, knowing they have that pick at #12 as well. Basically, just because top prospect lists provided by the usual suspects may not support a certain pick at a certain place doesn't necessarily mean its a bad pick. On the flip side, historically they don't dabble with players that fall much further than they should. You may not like that fact, but expecting that (and I'm not saying anyone is) is unrealistic. Not related to anything being discussed, but not really worthy of its own thread, but D-Backs scouting director and former Brewers crosschecker Tom Allison was fired: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=2965

Ian Campbell handled the Southern League, and I'm not even sure who that is. It may be one of their "freelance" or guest writers that has a pretty good understanding of the SL (similar to Bill Mitchell with the AZL). He only mentioned one Brewer farmhand in his chat, in reference to some players that just missed the list (I asked a question about Mark Rogers with no response): Huntsville's Amaury Rivas, who shows a hard, sinking fastball but who needs to develop his secondary pitches and show better command. Remember last year his changeup was named the best in the FSL. Both Heckthorn and now Rivas' has been mentioned as having questionable secondary pitches. I understand that coaches and scouts may have different opinions on a pitchers/players stuff/abilities, but that still remains to be somewhat inconsistent reporting. I've questioned BA's lists enough this year, and I do value the work they do, so I'll leave it at that. That said, I'd still like to know where Rogers fit in. I don't care about his injury history, command or anything else, how many other pitchers in all of the minors can throw 93-98 consistently with the ability to reach/surpass triple digits?

The Southern League is up today. Brett Lawrie checks in at #5: http://www.baseballameric...spects/2010/2610759.html I would have to look back to see who was on the team, but it's a little surprising that no Brewers farmhand made the list 5 years ago. Must have been the years between Fielder/Hart/Hardy, etc. and Braun/Gallardo. Here's Lawrie's profile: Hopefully the chat will offer some notes on players not listed, such as Mark Rogers. I know Rogers has the injury history, but there were still reports of him throwing 101 mph. At what point does prospect status balance between that history and his current potential? I got my print issue of BA the other day, and can tell you that one Brewers farmhand is listed on the PCL top 20 list.

I really want the Brewers to think outside the box, and as noted by several people above, you kind of have to end this trend with former Milwaukee Brewers. I wouldn't mind a lot of the candidates being mentioned (outside of Bobby Valentine, Bob Brenly and Bob Melvin), but again, I would be somewhat refreshed if they hired a dude most people weren't even familiar with. Dave Martinez has that vibe to him and is a great suggestion. Mike Sarbaugh was named the International League's best managerial candidate according to BA during their mid-summer tools survey, and has an incredible record of success with the Indians (although I just noticed that Sarbaugh is also a former Brewer farmhand). I can't really name any others, because while it's cool to learn about hitting and pitching prospects, how much do we really know about managerial prospects?

I just want to point out that there is a difference between spending slot value for a pick and going cheap. The Brewers wanted to spend slot value, or slightly higher, on Covey, and he was the #14 pick (and Lawrie went 16th in '08). Good players can be had at #12 and #15 even if the team doesn't break the bank for players that fall due to their financial demands.

Has Porcello's stuff dropped off? Last year he was throwing a mid-90s power sinker. I'd be surprised if he were even mentioned if he still throws that hard. I know his numbers weren't as good this season, but he's still incredibly young. We've talked about this before, but I'm guessing Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner would be among the pitchers/prospects being discussed.

The Mets have Ike Davis, and the Braves have Freddie Freeman. I don't think either one is in the market for a 1B. Todd Helton is the face of the Rockies franchise even if he is getting old, but he re-worked his contact last March to make it much more manageable. The Giants got very good productivity from Huff this season, and they also saw Brandon Belt enjoy a breakout season in the minors. They still are a candidate, but not as obvious of one IMO. I don't see the Red Sox being a fit unless Beltre leaves via free agency and Youkilis moves back to 3B. I don't see the Brewers dealing Fielder to either the Cubs or Astros, even if they may be good fits. And I would agree that it seems unlikely the Yankees would get involved with Fielder. I think the Orioles could get involved. They have some young players coming up, but are lacking the one, big impact bat that Fielder could provide. They have some young pitching to deal (Zach Britton?), and may be one of those teams looking to make some noise this offseason. But yes, I think the Tigers are the best fit given their needs, what they have to trade, willingness and ability to deal with big free agents and Scott Boras, and past history of being willing to trade young talent.

FWIW, I just came across my own notes on Heckathorn after watching him pitch for the T-Rats in mid-April: Extra hitch in delivery -- elbow. Great size, arm, body. Short arms ball, creates deception. Possible stress on elbow. Has some Ryan Dempster to delivery/Brad Penny like build. Good to great change. Followed fastball location with excellent changeup location with exact same arm speed. Froze batter (James Jones -- Mariners) on FB/CH/FB all hitting the same spot dropping velo by 10 mph. Easy velo (89-94), maintained well deep into game. I reminded myself that I didn't see much of a breaking pitch from Heckathorn, but I also reminded myself how impressed I was with his change. The starter/short reliever concern will likely cloud over him as he approaches the big-leagues given his delivery, but his body can more than sustain long innings.

Two teams competed for his services, and Wolf got more than he was first offered by the Brewers in both money and years. While war might not be the most accurate description, Wolf clearly benefited from competition, and the Brewers clearly "won" it. Well put kramnoj. Although I think there will be more interest in Beltre, and whoever signs him would be buying high. I still like the idea of signing him, almost more for his defense than for his bat, and while he's having one of his biggest years, he is still a pretty reliable power/patience type of hitter. I also really like the idea of bringing in Victor Martinez to play first base. I could see him enjoying a modest improvement at the plate if he didn't have to take his lumps behind it, and even if he didn't he's always been a good hitter even if he doesn't offer the power that Prince does. However, I'm not sure if Martinez would be open to such a move, as his value would clearly be lesser as a first baseman (although I know many think it's a matter of when and not if when that move becomes permanent). Obviously pursuing Beltre or Martinez means some movement of existing players. Some combination of Gamel/Hart/Fielder/McGehee would be dealt in this scenario. However, I don't think the Brewers will make these kind of moves.

This isn't really true. The Brewers clearly won a bidding war for Wolf. You really call that a bidding war? Beltre is going to get a lot of interest this offseason, and while I liked the addition of Wolf, some argued that the Brewers overpaid to get him last offseason.

Honestly, if a #3 SP is the ceiling some of these prospects guru's give him I am pretty ok with that, considering we hopefully will have that #4-5 pitching spot coming from in-house. While I may not have posted it on here, I believe that the most over paid and undervalued move for an organization is buying 2nd tier FA starting pitching. Those are some really good points BKsToolbox. I was going to comment on ramssuperbowl's post about Goldstein labeling Heckathorn's upside as a #3 starter, and that's really not that bad for the reasons you stated. I'm not that upset that he didn't represent BA's top 20, just wanted to point out some inconsistencies with their reports (although I know that they always have had some inherent inconsistencies since their top tools feature is gathered by surveying the league coaches while their league-by-league top prospects is done by surveying coaches and scouts alike). And as Mass mentioned, it was a deep league this year. I still think Davis deserved to be mentioned (and agree with X that BA gets an E on that one), and wouldn't be surprised to see him tear up the Southern League next year. I do think the Brewers need to challenge him.

I agree that signing Beltre would be exciting for both his bat and his glove. However, I've seen others mention that doing so won't be easy since he's coming off of a career year at the plate and is likely going to command top dollars. One thing the Brewers can't compete with is a bidding war. Oh yeah, and that Scott Boras character is his agent. However, if you do pursue Beltre and re-sign Weeks, Lawrie immediately becomes available should the team make a push for a top pitcher via trade (such as Greinke). A projected future Royals infield of Moustakas, Colon, Lawrie and Hosmer is mighty exciting. I've always been a huge Javier Vazquez fan. He's a free agent, has always pitched better in the NL, and also seems to pitch better every other year. Meaning, he's due next year. He's among the active leaders in innings pitched and strikeouts, and has been remarkably durably and consistently throughout his career. He would be my #1 target this offseason. Trade Fielder for another good, young arm and add he and Vazquez to the rotation along with Gallardo and Wolf. Figure out who is your #5 starter between Capuano, Bush, Narveson and Parra, and maybe even Rogers and Jeffress. Capuano is my favorite among that group, since he's proven and continues to get outs doing his thing. Parra probably gets relegated to a relief role. I could see he or Narveson packaged in the Fielder deal to try and help pry away another young arm. Rogers/Jeffress/Rivas will all be at AAA ready to take someone's place due to injury/disappointment. Try to sign a older yet proven bat to provide depth. Someone along the lines of Jim Edmonds, but someone that won't threaten others for playing time. More of a spot starter, pinch hitter and DH to be used during interleague. Melvin Mora comes to mind, but he's probably going to be too pricey since he's having a solid year for the Rockies and probably isn't ready to take a complementary role with a team like the Brewers. I would also re-sign Counsell. His versatility, patience and experience are worth it, even if the Brewers have a cheaper in-house option in Luis Cruz. Re-sign Weeks and have Lawrie take more groundballs at third base next season.

From the chat on Heckathorn as quoted above: Some velo but also some effort, not much in the way of secondary pitches. BA's midseason tools reports: Best Changeup: Kyle Heckathorn, Wisconsin There is some serious inconsistency here that makes me question the validity of either report.

That's a very curious assessment by Callis, since Baseball America also had Heckathorn's changeup ranked as the league's best according to their poll of the league managers. There is an obvious inconsistency there, and you have to wonder if Callis is speaking of "scouts" or the 1 scout that he polled that saw Heckathorn on his worst day. As for Davis, even coming out of college when the Brewers drafted him everyone knew he was an offense-first type of player, a la Shannon Stewart, with the ability to get on base, score and drive in runs and steal a few bases along the way. The comparisons to Kirby Puckett had more to do with his body type than his ability to play CF, so I don't really understand why that profile now seems to be held against him when it once was somewhat looked as a positive. Basically, how can it be looked as a surprise and/or a negative if it was already known? That skill set led to him being considered a legitimate first-rounder and one of the best overall hitters last year -- it didn't hinge on his ability/inability to play CF. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: If Odorizzi, or any of these players, were Red Sox farmhands Callis and others would be stumbling over themselves trying to think of good things to say about them (hello Nick Hagadone). I'm not overly optimistic, but confident that this group is going to bear some dang good fruit some day without the prospect accolades.