colbyjack

There's no big league Brewer game tonight, no NFL football, we realize the new prime time TV schedules are kicking in, but Link Report diehards should be able to find time this evening for the H-Crew. I intend to tune in. Just to share some useless info, last night, with the Brewers day game yesterday I did everything I had to do (get the kids fed, bathed and put down to bed, exercise and did some laundry) so I could cozy up to my computer at 8pm for the H-Crew broadcast. I clicked on the "listen" link only to have silence. It was then that I remembered that there was an off day for travel http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. Go Brewers!

Similar to Huntsville, the Brewers may not have had a choice but to re-up with Nashville. I know a lot of people/papers said they expected the Brewers to sign up with OKC, but how do we know that the interest was mutual? The OKC team may have found another relationship to be more beneficial, as it may not have happened just because of the Brewers preference of the proximity between Nashville & Huntsville.

Anyone else a fan of Octoberfest seasonals? I'm sure I've mentioned this in this thread before, but Capital's and Bell's in particular are quite good each and every year.

Sorry I missed that reply, I wasn't trying to dodge the question. Like Toby, I thought the TL still was a hitter's league, but if the numbers show otherwise, than I take what I said back, moot point or not. I remember following that league more closely when we had the El Paso Diablos when you really couldn't get too excited about how big of numbers hitters were posting (somewhat similar to the Cal League), especially given how some of those hitters panned out. I do think I stated before that I liked the idea of staying in the Southern League. Over the years I have enjoyed following the amount of talent that has come through that league from top to bottom, not just the Brewers. Even still, it's nice having some familiarity with the league, not to mention the long-standing relationships we've established. I forget which story it was (David Weiser's?), and I'm too lazy to dig up the quote, but I wonder if the Brewers have any interest in staying with Huntsville if the team ends up moving to Florida, possibly to a much larger community and potential fan-base.

I think Tyler Thornburg is arguably the most fascinating story among the Brewers minor league prospects this season. After last night's game, as noted in the link report, he finished the year (assuming he doesn't somehow manage to make another appearance) with a 2.33 ERA in 10 games (7 starts), 27 IP, 17 hits, 47 Ks and 15 BB. The Brewers were obviously careful with him, as he missed almost all of July, and went 2 weeks in between his last 2 outings. Listening to his recent games, he always started the game sharp, but started to lose his control when he approached his 3rd-5th innings of work, somewhere in the 40-60 pitch count range. When the Brewers drafted him, most scouting reports indicated that he could be a future short reliever and potential closer, but he has the repertoire (fastball/curveball/changeup) to start, although the effectiveness of his curve, and especially his change, seems to vary significantly from one appearance to another. Now, he hasn't been a pitcher full-time until he began his professional career, being used as an outfielder as well at Charleston Southern. He also bounced between the starting rotation and bullpen there, never really posting numbers that would lead you to believe he could be dominant since he was pitching in a less-known conference (meaning we tend to expect Nintendo-like numbers from prospects of significance from non-powerhouse conferences). Similar to Matt Miller, and even Kyle Heckathorn from the year before, I don't think the Brewers drafted any of them with the intent on grooming them as relievers. It should also be noted that he was handled somewhat aggressively in college, once allowing him to toss 158 pitches in a complete game win over Florida last spring. As some of the reports indicate below, he has some Lincecum to him, even if he isn't that good, but improved control and sustainability (158 pitch outing aside) are obviously key to his progress moving forward. On the flip side, he could soar much more quickly to the big-leagues if developed as a reliever. This quote from below really could say it all: He wasn’t necessarily miscast in the role (as a starter) as he doubled as an outfielder, hitting .276-5-24, and scouts say his command will improve and he’ll sustain his velocity deeper into games once he is able to concentrate on pitching only. Here are a batch of scouting reports on Thornburg. Perfect Game, pre-draft: Baseball America, pre-draft: Andy Seiler, pre-draft: Perfect Game, #73 Cape Cod League prospect (Allan Simpson) summer of '10: Perfect Game, #77 Cape Cod League prospect (Greg Schimmel) summer of '10: Perfect Game, #2 Valley League prospect summer of '09:

Thornburg started to tire and lost his command while also hitting his pitch count somewhere in the 60-70 range in the 4th inning. Stosh came on in relief, although 2 runs scored due to 4 total walks. 9 Ks in 3.2 IP for Thornburg, who as Mass noted was throwing mostly fastballs. I listened to his last 4 appearances, and Steve Wendt each time out couldn't gush enough about this guy's stuff. 3 of his 4 walks came in that 4th inning in which he (and Stosh) walked in a runner, but also struck out a pair.

Congrats Helena! Does anyone know why Tyler Thornburg hasn't appeared since August 31st, his 10 K performance over Billings?

Tampa is the perfect fit, and it will be interesting to see what they do this offseason. It wouldn't surprise me to see them get Fielder for one year, giving up a couple of their young and immensely talented young arms to do so. They may be constricted by what they can do financially, but Carl Crawford may be off the books, and they could use a boost of power in their lineup despite being 3rd in the AL in runs scored. Carlos Pena has been just ok this year and who is their DH? Wily Aybar? Brad Hawpe? Hank Blalock? Rocco Baldelli? I think for them to get involved it depends what they do in the postseason. If they bow out in the first round and have problems scoring runs I could see them making a bold move this offseason. Plus, I believe both Crawford and Pena are free agents this offseason, which would clear some money even if they aren't a realstic suitor for Fielder past 2011. Another team that I could see get in the mix is the Tigers, especially if they don't pick up Ordonez' option and/or re-sign Damon. They have a few nice young arms (Andy Oliver, Jacob Turner and even Casey Crosby, who has missed most of the year due to injury) and may even be in the mix signing him past next year.

I never understood why people left their grills out during the game. To me it just seems like you are asking for someone to steal/kick/hide it. I always bring my heavy-duty grilling gloves when we tailgate and as soon as we are done eating I pick up my charcoal grill and empty it in the charcoal containers. Once the charcoal is out it cools off quickly and we can put it in the trunk of our car before heading into the game. I've had 2 smokey joe's stolen from the lot in the last 5-7 years. Now I do what mtrebs mentioned, keeping some hot pads in my trunk to dump the coals, and I also usually keep some ice on hand to dump into the grill itself to chill it off quickly before putting it in my car. I know a couple of years ago there were some issues with people actually breaking into cars in the parking lot to steal stuff, but haven't heard about that since. I almost always park in the Giants/Molitor lot North of I-94. I will say that people shouldn't have to put their grills back in their car. I did that for years without a problem, as to me it's one of those tailgate courtesy/unspoken rules not to mess with another man's grill.

Erie's stadium is fairly new, and pretty nice. I'm originally from Erie, so I've been to the stadium, back when they were still a A+ affiliate with the Pirates. The stadium is nestled downtown (which isn't much of a downtown), and you can walk out to the outfield and watch the game from above the outfield wall, even if there aren't any seats out there. The crowds are pretty modest in size, and I'm sure they would prefer to be affiliated with either the Pirates (Pittsburgh is 2 hours South), the Indians (2 hours West) or even the Phillies to generate more local interest. While the relationship with Huntsville isn't ideal given their stadium issues, I do like the idea of keeping the team's AA affiliate in the Southern League. Switching to Erie would give you better facilities, but then you're dealing with more unpredictable weather for the first few months of the season. I'm glad the team isn't moving their AA affiliate to the Texas League.

Since I think this applies more to his draft standing than his current standing, since this occurred prior to him signing, I'll add this here... Rafael Neda was recently ranked the #15 prospect in the California Collegiate summer league by Perfect Game. He was also named the league's top defensive player, with this quick note (longer scouting report to come): Had solid three-year career at New Mexico on both sides of ball, 10th-rounder, signed at end of summer; makes catching look easy

Former Brewers draftee Lex Rutledge, who was invited to compete for a spot on Team USA this past summer but missed the cut, was recently ranked Perfect Game's #10 Cape prospect: The Bradley they refer to is Georgia Tech's Jed Bradley, another LHP that was ranked #4 on Jim Callis' list.

Not too shabby for a player who didn't command much attention on a Rattlers roster loaded with higher draft picks. "The write-ups and awards, those are just results from working hard and believing in yourself," said Gennett. "It's always good when you're under the radar because you don't have anything to lose or you don't have any added pressures. Just go to the field every day, work hard at getting better, whether you're under the microscope or not...I've exceeded some people's expectations being a 16th-round pick and not really expecting a first year guy to put up numbers like I have," said Gennett. "Personally, I have a lot higher expectations. It's about getting better...you can't be satisfied with anything. See the ball, hit the ball...everybody should be ready to do that, but it's the smaller stuff too. I feel like I can always work on that." I just want to point out, although most of us know this, that Gennett only fell to the 16th round due to his commitment to Florida State and some questions about his size. The kid was an Aflac All-American two summers ago, one of the 38 best kids in the nation playing together all in one spot. I know to the "average" fan (and I hate using that term), a 16th round pick doesn't hold the same weight as some more prominent picks, but based purely on talent, Gennett should have gone somewhere in rounds 2-4 last year. That's somewhat of a pet peeve of mine, as even MLB's draft coverage frustrated me by how often they pointed out how late a player was drafted, or if they weren't drafted at all. Players that should go in the early rounds fall all of the time due to signability and college commitments.

Helena wins 3-1! Nice to have one team advance to the postseason to have our link reports extended, particularly since the staff boasts a few of the more intriguing organizational arms. I would love to see them align their starting rotation to throw Thornburg and Miller back-to-back in the first two games of the playoffs.

I agree that protecting Farris has a lot more to do with risk management than how anyone, we here or the Brewers themselves, likes the guy. His situation really reminds me of Marcos Scutaro, who didn't prove his worth at the big-league level until a stat-minded team in the A's gave him a chance to play everyday. And even then, it wasn't initially at SS. Scutaro played nearly 5 full seasons at AAA before getting his chance at 26 years of age. And Farris is polished enough that he should hold his own at the MLB level should a team pick him up. I'm not sure if he's worth it.

I agree that protecting Farris has a lot more to do with risk management than how anyone, we here or the Brewers themselves, likes the guy. His situation really reminds me of Marcos Scutaro, who didn't prove his worth at the big-league level until a stat-minded team in the A's gave him a chance to play everyday. And even then, it wasn't initially at SS. Scutaro played nearly 5 full seasons at AAA before getting his chance at 26 years of age. And Farris is polished enough that he should hold his own at the MLB level should a team pick him up. I'm not sure if he's worth it.

That is an incredibly tough question to answer, as I don't think our perspective allows us to answer that accurately. Many seem to think the Brewers can live without Fielder moving forward, assuming he's dealt for pitching and assuming that the offense won't take a drastic step backward while further assuming the pitching staff takes a big step forward (knowing/hoping that other moves would need to be made). It does seem as though most people don't think we'll get much in return for Fielder. I think the Brewers should look at what the Rockies received in return for Matt Holliday two years ago (Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, Hutson Street) and not narrow their focus to two talented young arms + as rumored/reported. Both the A's and the Rockies were pretty creative making that deal happen, and while the Rockies didn't get pitching in return, they got probably the best young player they could in return, one of who has now developed into the best young players in the game. To answer the question, I'll go Mat Gamel, Wily Peralta and a Taylor Green/Caleb Gindl/Erik Komatsu type of prospect, although I don't know if that would be enough to get him. I will say this, if Daniel Hudson was ever offered he may have been the best pitching prospect Doug Melvin could have hoped for. I don't bring that up to get down on Melvin, as even at the time I didn't think Hudson's upside was great enough to be the centerpiece in a deal for Fielder. And of course, Hudson more than likely will come back to earth at some point.

I'm not Mass, but I look forward to you sharing the pictures and any other thoughts you may have from your experience in Helena. Feel free to start a new thread! Go H-Crew!

Here's an update through games played on 9/1/10: 1. Pirates .331 2. Orioles .368 3. Mariners .391 4. Indians .398 5. D-Backs .410 6. Royals .421 7. D-Backs (Loux) 8. Nationals .425 9. Cubs .425 10. Padres (Whitson) 11. Astros .466 12. Brewers .466 13. Angels .485 14. Mets .489 15. Brewers (Covey) 16. Tigers .489 17. A's .492 18. Dodgers .507 19. Marlins .508 20. Blue Jays .519 21. Rockies .523 22. Cardinals .527 23. White Sox .549 24. Giants .552 25. Rangers .564 26. Phillies .564 27. Red Sox .564 28. Padres .576 29. Twins .579 30. Reds .586 31. Braves .586 32. Rays .617 33. Yankees .624 I think it's clear that the Brewers will likely be drafting either 11th or 12th overall with their "own" pick. They play the Astros 3 times in August, and my money would be on the Astros finishing the year with a better record than the Brewers. Of their remaining 26 games in which they don't play one another, the Astros opponents' winning % is .462 and the Brewers' is .527. Both teams do face the Reds 6 more times each, while 16 of the Astros remaining 26 games are against the Pirates, D-Backs, Nationals and Cubs.

I was most impressed with Jeffress' command/control last night. He was pumping his fastballs and dropping his curveball in very nicely for strikes last night. No sign of even being effectively wild, he was spot on, even if his appearance was brief.

Wow, that is impressive. Usually I'm hesitant to trust stadium readings because they are historically inaccurate, but if that comes from the pitchers charting the game, even if they were using a JUGS gun (which are typically 2 mph higher than a Stalker) that's mighty impressive. Of the other players on the list, we heard Lasker was 88-92 earlier this year. I watched Miller's game from Sunday, and while there were no radar gun readings, nor did the announcers mention one, he was clearly throwing hard. The mitt was popping loudly, and it was obvious compared to the Chukars' starting pitcher (Peacock?) that Miller was throwing a lot harder in comparison. I would guess low-90s easily.

Rogers is throwing 93-96 this evening according to Montgomery's scoreboard, and has touched 97-98.

The Rattlers really made colby pay for not going. I take solace in the fact that I would have been gone by the time the offense exploded in the later innings anyway, as my 4-year old companion would have had to leave in the mid-innings to get some sleep before his first day of 4K http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. That is what I thought of Odorizzi tonight too. His fastball was between 90-92 mph for most of the night and even drop down to 88 mph in the 5th. Isn't that where Odorizzi usually sits, or does he typically not drop below 90 very often? I took Mehring's comment to be directed more at his command and overall repertoire effectiveness, and it didn't sound as though his curveball was as sharp as it normally is. The AZ Brewers have been terrible for as long as I can remember, with a few exceptions sprinkled in, so it's especially nice to see them win the league championship. I noted this is a different thread, but according to Steve Wendt, Thornburg has been throwing the ball extremely well this summer, particularly in his last several appearances. He mentioned that he continued to sit in the mid-90s last night, and was using mostly fastballs to retire batters, blowing it right by them. He started to mix in a few more breaking balls in the 4th-6th innings, but it didn't sound as though his changeup was working for him last night as it was his previous appearance. It also sounded like he didn't need it, although Billings does have quite a few aggressive, young hitters in their lineup. This young man is due for a big jump in the P50 the next time around...

Steve Wendt has noted in each of Tyler Thornburg's last two starts that he's been nasty this summer, pitching in the mid-90s and touching as high as 98. That goes along with a hard spike curve and improving change (again, courtesy of Steve's call).

I checked the BC box score at one point in time, and it said the game was delayed. I'm guessing (hoping) that rain shortened his outing this evening, especially since the game started at 6pm this evening and is only in the 5th. Chris Mehring has noted that Odorizzi wasn't as sharp as he normally is tonight, but did a pretty good job despite not having his best stuff. I'm hoping a few people that did make it this evening chime in with their thoughts, especially since we're going to have to wait 7 months for his next appearance.