colbyjack

I've mentioned before that IMO Hardy defensively is a much better fit at 3B than 2B. I think he could be Gold Glove quality at that position, and I really hope the Brewers place a greater emphasis on team defense moving forward. And since the team has a need at 3B, I don't see why they would trade Hardy, since I think having him at the hot corner and Alcides Escobar at SS could really help cement the Brewers infield defensively. Unless they have someone else in mind for 3B (Adrian Beltre maybe?) and want to move Hardy for a young starter given the demand for shortstops. Most to all of the teams that Rosenthal mentioned that could have interest in Hardy do have some young pitching depth to work with.

The AFL doesn't start until Tuesday, October 7th, but I wanted to start this thread to place the rosters courtesy of MLB.com. We've already heard that there may be a few names moving around, as agent39 noted that Taylor Green could replace Mat Gamel and how Michael Brantley's name is still absent from this list (and of course we're still waiting to hear the offical word on the PTBNL in the Sabathia trade). http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/s...9&t=t_ros&cid=490 Stephen Kahn, a RHP that the Brewers drafted in 2002 but who went unsigned out of high school and attended Loyola Marymount before being drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 draft by the Mariners, is also on the Peoria Javelinas roster.

In the game that wvpowerblkwel linked to, LHP Chris Cody got the start for the CaneFires, going 4 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs (a 2-run HR by 2008 3rd round pick Roger Kieschnick in the 4th inning) while striking out 4. West Oahu lost to Waiki last night 11-2. CF Logan Schafer led off for the CaneFires and went 0-4 with a pair of Ks while RF Caleb Gindl went 0-3 with a BB and a K. Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/s...008_10_02_wocwin_waiwin_1 Game Log: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/s...008_10_02_wocwin_waiwin_1 I won't bother with the game report from MLB.com since no Brewers farmhands were mentioned.

FYI, Steve Garrison was rated the Texas League's 14th best prospect with Will Inman just behind him at #15. Garrison was praised for his command of a 3-pitch repertoire, including a 88 mph FB and hard slider but noted how he got shut down in August, while Inman got some love for leading the TL in Ks and finishing fourth in ERA but also led the league in walks, noting that his command has deteriorated since the Linebrink trade.

Yeah, thanks a bunch HF. You and I have been talking prospects for a long, long time, so it's nice to see those prospects finally doing what they were hyped to do so many years ago http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

With the usual disclaimer that it is Haudricourt reporting this, it is interesting that he mentions "the list" since for so long there have been a lot of reports that the Indians are dead set on Player A and the Brewers choice is to ship out Player B, which always sounded kind of bizarre to me. In fact, most of the discussion in this thread has been incredibly bizarre http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

The Southern League is always loaded with talent, so to have five Stars and four current farmhands represented on that list is pretty high praise. Also, the top prospect lists aren't like their hot lists, in which players are ranked based on how well they're hitting, meaning just because Gamel finished the year slow doesn't mean his status as a prospect changed rapidly from July to August. I feel Salome's defensive liabilities are held a little too much against him, but I guess a guy like Gamel who seems worse defensively can always play a corner OF or 1st, whereas Salome probably wont move to a corner OF spot. You nailed it right there. Salome is such an interesting prospect because it would seem to be catcher or bust for him. He has such a high boom or bust potential overall that it's hard to get a sense of which way he'll go once he makes it to Milwaukee. I'm growing more and more on Alcides Escobar, because the comments are always the same. His defense is spectacular, and he is improving offensively with the ability to steal bases. He's the one positional prospect the Brewers have had in recent years that doesn't have any questions about his ability to stick at his current position. Which can't be said for Gamel, Salome and even Brantley. Brantley concerns me because once again the remark was made that while he has very polished offensive skills, the same can't be said for his defense, and he may be best suited for either LF or 1B, where his severe lack of power would be detrimental at those positions. I really hope this guy can turn the corner in CF (assuming he's not the much debated PTBNL), as the Brewers could really use a player like him that knows how to get on base.

A few changes given the Tigers losing yesterday and the Twins losing today. Remember, all tie-breakers are awarded to the team that has been crappier longer. 1. Nationals (.366) 2. Mariners (.377) 3. Padres (.389) 4. Pirates (.414) 5. Orioles (.422) 6. Giants (.444) 7. Braves(.444) 8. Reds (.457) 9. Tigers (.457) *9a. Nationals (for not signing A. Crow) 10. Rockies (.457) 11. Royals (.463) 12. A's (.466) 13. Rangers (.488) 14. Indians (.500) 15. D-Backs (.506) 16. Dodgers (.519) 17. Marlins (.522) 18. Cardinals (.531) 19. Blue Jays (.531) 20. Astros (.534) 21. Twins (.540) 22. White Sox (.546) 23. Mets (.549) 24. Yankees (.549) 25. Brewers (.556) 26. Phillies (.568) 27. Red Sox (.586) 28. Rays (.599) *28a. Yankees (for not signing G. Cole) 29. Cubs (.602) 30. Angels (.617)

The fact that Gindl made the list is pretty impressive. I remember Gallardo didnt even make the list. I'm not sure if that makes it more impressive, or reinforces the notion that these lists really need to be taken with a grain of salt. I re-read the chat with John Manuel, one of the columnists at BA I respect the most, and noticed I had submitted a question wondering how Gallardo (among a few others from a loaded Power squad that year) missed the cut. I know the Sally League is always deep, but outside of Braun, Hunter Pence and the NY reputation of Phil Hughes, who on that list has done better than Yo since that list was released? By that time, the excitement for Yo was building quite a bit of momentum, as it's not like his success in the FSL and Southern League the following year was that huge of a surprise. While I'm happy and encouraged that Gindl made it, knowing that these lists are often a collaboration between the responses from the league managers, info gathered from scouts and somewhat of a popularity contest, I still thought Lucroy would make it for sure. And that also makes me somewhat surprised by the comments written about him in the FSL list. They note he's an offensive-minded catcher that has a good arm and quick release, but needs significant improvement in all other facets of his defensive skills. That's a pretty different report from what we've been hearing ever since the team drafted Lucroy. Jeffress and Green were both praised and criticized for the same things we're used to: The power arm yet need for polish for Jeffress and the all-out approach despite limited tools for Green (also a mention that Green is rumored to be the player the Indians prefer as the PTBNL, but it probably wouldn't be wise to go out of your way to openly credit BA for this since it is subscriber based).

A really nice turnout, and a pretty nice fireworks show to wrap it up. Half of the crowd seemed to have left shortly after the players did, but that's the reason everyone was there, right? Anyway, I got to hang out behind the stage to take some up close pictures of the players/coaches/others as they arrived and before they went up on the stage. The pictures aren't the greatest of quality, since my camera at work sucks, but I hope you enjoy them. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/sabathia1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/sheets1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/uecker2.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/fielder1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/torres1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/cameron1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/braun1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/sveum1.jpg

Every year for the past decade (dating back pre-Brewerfan.net) this thread/topic would serve as my tail between my legs yet ever optimistic look to the future hoping the Brewers would indeed someday make the playoffs. So now this thread serves as a long-awaited and much-needed celebration. I still dig the draft and the prospects that makes it so fascinating, but on this day there are much, much bigger and better things to look forward to. The Brewers will draft 25th, the same position they held when I started this thread (although behind the Mets at the time), and I'm not even going to bother looking up the last time they picked that late. Some players taken with the 25th pick the past several years include Christian Friedrich (at one point in time expect to be a top 10-15 overall pick this past year), Aaron Poreda, Hank Conger (a player many thought the Brewers were considering nearly 10 picks higher in '06), Matt Garza, Matt Cain and Bobby Crosby, and notable players taken within a couple of picks in each direction of #25 during those same years include Jacoby Ellsbury, Phillip Hughes, Brandon Wood, Chad Billingsley and Jeremy Bonderman. Here's the complete list, noting that the White Sox still have to play a game against the Tigers tomorrow, which could also effect a possible tie-breaker game between the White Sox and Twins on Tuesday. 1. Nationals (.366) 2. Mariners (.377) 3. Padres (.389) 4. Pirates (.414) 5. Orioles (.422) 6. Giants (.444) 7. Braves(.444) 8. Reds (.457) 9. Rockies (.457) *9a. Nationals (for not signing A. Crow) 10. Tigers (.460)* 11. Royals (.463) 12. A's (.466) 13. Rangers (.488) 14. Indians (.500) 15. D-Backs (.506) 16. Dodgers (.519) 17. Marlins (.522) 18. Cardinals (.531) 19. Blue Jays (.531) 20. Astros (.534) 21. White Sox (.540)* 22. Twins (543)* 23. Mets (.549) 24. Yankees (.549) 25. Brewers (.556) 26. Phillies (.568) 27. Red Sox (.586) 28. Rays (.599) *28a. Yankees (for not signing G. Cole) 29. Cubs (.602) 30. Angels (.617)

Bobby Abreu and Brian Giles (who I have heard isn't a lock to have his option picked up in SD) would be ideal acquisitions for the Brewers. Giambi's bat plays well, but as noted his glove would not be an improvement, and this offseason the team needs to find ways to improve this team at every position, not move sideways (unless Fielder is moved for young pitching, which is somewhat implied).

If the Yankees were to sign Teixeira and Sabathia, the Brewers would receive the Yankees first-round pick based on the projected Elias rankings as discussed on this thread: http://forum.brewerfan.net/viewtopic.php?t=15486 Sabathia (at least at the time) was projected to have an Elias ranking of above 97, the highest of any player in baseball, with Teixeira above 95. Since Sabathia is the more "valuable" free agent, the Brewers get the higher pick, with the Angels receiving the Yankees second-round selection. And that is how the picks would continue to be distributed if the Yankees go nuts this offseason and sign a ton of Type A FAs. If Ben Sheets were the next highest rated free agent that the Yankees signed, the Brewers would get the Yankees third-round pick. FYI, compensation picks are distributed differently (the worst team to lose a Type A FA gets the first pick in the sandwich round, followed by the second worst team to lose a Type A FA...).

Pedro Alvarez has agreed to a new deal with the Pirates: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=470 The way the story/blog entry is written, it sounds as though Mr. Boras might not have wanted someone else (Buster Posey) to have had the highest deal out of the '08 draft. That may have been speculation on BA's part, but it sounds right to me. Bragging rights...

I'm not complaining, I am disappointed, but I just thought in years past, the Brewers have given young guys like Prince Fielder a chance to help. But that was a different time. I understand your point, but it is difficult to give an unproven commodity an opportunity to audition for future opportunities in September in the middle of a playoff chase. That's fine for team that aren't playing for this year, but teams that still have hopes to play in October generally reserve such audition for spring training, not now.

First and foremost, the Brewers haven't missed the playoffs yet. Second of all, I have a hard time finding fault with the Brewers trading for Sabathia. They lost Gallardo for the year, and made an aggressive move with the playoffs in mind. The Sabathia and the Linebrink are two different trades to me. You don't give up the players they did to get a player like Linebrink (that trade bothered me the moment it was made), but I had and still have no problem with them giving up who they did for CC. Oh yeah, and don't forget about the draft picks that are all part of this equation.

The sub-par facilities and the interest for a warmer climate as noted were the primary reasons to move. I seem to remember a story about how the Brewers approached the Snappers about improving their facilities, but since the Snappers are a non-profit organization, and just look to break even (IIRC, someone please correct me if I have that wrong), they never seemed to go out of their way to generate revenue to make the changes so many people have deemed necessary. Again, the only reason I can see the Brewers moving away from WV is due to a more ideal circumstance to take advantage of the increasing popularity of the Brewers in the state of Wisconsin and the solid facility the T-Rats play in. I don't see Clinton (or Hickory) being realistic at all. I'm also excited by how many people would like to have some kind of Brewerfan.net tailgate. It's funny, it seems as though some of our better FanFest turnouts were when we had a 2-day venture, with the second day including a trip to Beloit. The growth of this site and the increased interest in the minor league players I would imagine will only increase the number of familiar faces that make it a point to see more T-Rats games.

I don't mean to pick on you Colby, because I've seen many people say this... But exactly what potential has Brandon Phillips met? His highest career OPS+ is 105, and he's only been above 100 one time. His career OBP is an abysmal .308, and his career high OBP is just .331. Weeks is already a better player than Phillips. I was not aware of Phillips career OPS+, but you have to admit that he puts up pretty good power/speed numbers for a second baseman, and he didn't start doing so (although he wasn't given much of an opportunity to do so in Cleveland) until he got to Cincy. Weeks still has more to build off of. I know his OBP is solid compared to his BA, but he really needs to get his BA up. I'm not so sure the Brewers are going to have an easy time dealing Hall even if they shop him as a SS. While I know they could get a pretty nice haul for Hardy, as it seems as though a few teams out there are willing to give up some nice talent to obtain a quality SS. Even with that, I'm not so sure I would part with Hardy. While his OBP isn't ideal, he's one of the players on the Brewers that isn't really a liability in some form or another.

I didn't make it to the Cape. A certain someone was kind enough to tape the all-star game for me. I used to get a lot more footage from the Cape from a lurker that would venture to quite a few games that allowed me to cover that league in a lot greater detail. One of these years I'll make it out. Thanks for the note on Green/Ackley regarding their affiliation with Boras. I had not heard that, as they now join Stephen Strasburg and Andrew Oliver.

I would be shocked if Lawrie opened next season in EST. The Brewers have had tons of poor defenders in the past, and its never held anyone else back. His bat isn't just ready for A ball, its ready to dominate A ball. He has already destroyed EST teams, and has added more experience since then. True, but those defenders haven't been catchers, which is the most demanding defensive position on the field. I agree that his bat is ready for an aggressive placement, and the whole point about his bat vs. his glove is why I brought this discussion up. I'm not a big fan of moving players to another position just because we have Player A and Play Y already there at this level and that level, but the catching position really is a different animal. And going off of X's comment about the Brewers not holding players back because of their defense and his additional comment about having a prospect that actually could be an asset at a different position, for once I would like to see them move a player to the position that suits them best. Many of us felt Braun should have been moved to LF before he was, and that decision led to some unecessary shuffling at the big-league level (Bill Hall's OF conversion never needed to happen). It's taken Weeks a few years to become an average 2b defensively, and unfortunately there is nowhere else to put Fielder. Of course, Russell Martin's success moving to behind the plate may be reason enough to stick with Lawrie there, but I'm leaning strongly towards moving Lawrie to third base to let his bat dictate his pace.

You don't rebuild to any extent. If players like Fielder, Hardy and/or Hart go anywhere they should be dealt for players that can improve the current ballclub. I can't imagine Attanasio would accept the team stepping back even if they felt it would mean they would be more competitive in 2010 or 2011. But I do think one of those three players could be traded. Fielder obviously is a liability at first that we've all had to deal with this year, no to mention there clearly seems to be other baggage associated with him. I don't want to see Hardy go because I feel he is one of the better all-around players the team has. Hart is difficult because he plays a position where it may be easier to go and try to find an upgrade, as opposed to third base and catcher. Weeks I'm torn on because I think everyone knows how talented he is, but it seems as though he's not going to reach his potential until he's playing for another team, similar to Brandon Phillips. I hope the light bulb finally goes on for him when he's still in Milwaukee, but the longer he struggles to hit, which was supposed to be one of his greatest strengths, the less patience the team is going to have with him, and I think it's clear that Dale Sveum at this point in time isn't willing to stay patient with him hoping his bat suddenly gets hot. Bush needs to stick around, especially if the team loses Sheets and Sabathia. Gallardo will help fill the void of one of those two, and the team would be better off not trying to fill more than one spot in the starting rotation this offseason, especially when they'll have their hands full trying to address the bullpen.

As others have noted, for as much criticism that Melvin has received for the bullpen he built, and has built in the past, this year's group has been rather effective. Some key blown saves obviously stand out, and without a doubt that needs to be corrected somehow moving forward. I'm concerned about the starting lineup, because while the team is 6th in the NL in runs scored, all of the playoff teams the Brewers are currently chasing are ahead of them, and as we all know, their offense is largely carried by their slugging, which is third in the NL, with the team eighth in OBP. Not horrible, but not better than average. The offseason focus really needs to be on the team's overall OBP, and that may mean some unpopular or at least tough decisions need to be made. As much as I like Corey Hart, he is one of the main culprits, if not the biggest one, of not getting on base, but I don't mean to single anyone out because even Ryan Braun, who obviously isn't going anywhere for a long time, also needs to pick and choose his situations more wisely. I know Melvin is aware of this, citing how the Brewers haven't had a player to draw 100 walks last offseason, but this time he really needs to do something about it. Anyway, I don't see Melvin getting fired. Many of the moves Attanasio makes are based on popularity and perception, and I think he is well aware that for the most part the Brewers fan base supports Melvin and that he is universally regarded as one of the better GMs out there. Melvin definitely has his work cut out for him this offseason though.

Cain might be a little much for either one on their own, given the value placed on young pitching, but both Fielder and Hardy for Cain is crazy. Something of value would definitely need to come back to the Brewers (Nate Schierholtz?).

I received a PM from a poster with interest in the minor leagues asking about how the pitching will shake out in the lower levels of the minor leagues when the 2009 season is upon us, given the number of arms added in the draft and how everyone will fit, and similar to past years I responded in that I feel the pitching staffs always take care of themselves. A few players will get bumped up to a level we didn't expect, some will be injured, some will get released, and with the piggy-back system, the organization will always try to fit as many players in as possible. When/if Toby releases his usual 2009 roster projections, it will help give a better idea of where the players will all fit. But this prompted me to come up with some quick roster projections of my own (Nashville's lineup could be loaded, BC's lineup should be fun to watch while the pitching staffs at Huntsville on down should have plenty of interesting players to follow) it made me wonder where Brett Lawrie will open the 2009 season. He definitely adds intrigue in that the Brewers haven't had a situation like this. Usually, they're pretty quick signing their early draft picks. Obviously Lawrie signed late due to the Olympics, but where does he start? His bat may be more polished than most, meaning a debut at low-A isn't out of the question, but if the Brewers intend on developing him as a catcher, I don't see how he can start the '09 season anywhere but EST with a likely Helena destination. However, assuming the Brewers do hook up with Appleton, you would think there will be some temptations to put him there to add to the excitement of that new partnership. To me it's one of the most interesting topics of conversations between now and next April. I'm not convinced the Brewers will keep him behind the plate, as they may be tempted to move him elsewhere (3b?) to allow his bat to carry him as quickly as it can, which would make a placement at low-A easier to believe. If Taylor Green is indeed the PTBNL in the Sabathia deal, that may prompt the Brewers to make this switch sooner rather than later since the organization after Gamel, who is no sure thing at the hot corner, is lacking in 3b prospects. Angel Salome's and Jonathan's Lucroy's development behind the plate may also help prompt this move, although like pitchers, you can never have too many good cathcing prospects. I know that's a lot to throw out there, but I'm interested in hearing what everyone else thinks about the situation.

They're definitely coming to the MWL, it's just a matter of Wisconsin or Clinton. I think it's safe to say the Brewers are definitely going to Wisconsin. If they don't I will be absolutely shocked.