colbyjack

John, as always, I can't thank you enough for the great shots you take. That is a great, great picture, and I think gives all of us a great idea of Gindl's stature, which has been in question by some/many (and it's funny to see the coach watching him from "behind," seemingly with a big smile on his face). Does Lee Haydel ever not attempt to steal when he gets on base? He's starting to remind me of Dave Krynzel part II.

Good seeing everyone that made it out today. Jamie, Zac can pitch if you're looking for another guy that can throw strikes. I won't be at next week's practice.

I noticed in the forecast that it may rain tomorrow, although at this point in time it looks really hit or miss (and we were supposed to get rain yesterday and today without a drop from what I can tell). If it is raining tomorrow morning, at what point is a decision going to be made out whether or not we have practice? Are you going to call people or just post a message here by a certain time? I hope to see everyone that can make it tomorrow.

Thats not even my point here. Obviously (I hope) Im not an idiot. Brewer profiles great in CF and Im not denying that at all. The only thing I am saying is the Brewers have ZERO motivation to move him there based on what they paid Brent to play ss and the org. depth in the system. Could that change ever? Sure. However I do not see that happening for a while. I agree 100%. It's way too early in the season, and in Brent's career, to think about a position change at this point in time. The Brewers obviously believe in him as a SS and are committed to developing him as one, and while I'm not 100% comfortable with the status of CFs in the organization, there are enough from top to bottom that would make a move to the OF particularly difficult for Brewer. I think some people that follow the Brewers from top to bottom are a little snake-bit by the number of players (Braun and Weeks being the most notable) that have struggled at their past and/or present positions, which IMO makes those same people more anxious to follow more well-rounded players in the minors, and also increases the desire to see players at the positions that suit their skills the best. We knew, or at least I knew, that Brewer would have his fair share of growing pains at SS, and hopefully he does steadily improve. As SoCal and others have pointed out, there are plenty of examples of young players, particularly at SS, struggling at the position early in their careers only to improve to Gold Glove status at the big-league level (I remember when Bill Hall was named the Midwest League's best defensive SS, which was surprising given the number of errors he had). I often talk to coaches and scouts about how important it is for young players to have 1,000-2,000 ABs while taking 1,000-2,000 ground balls over the course of their minor league career before they come close to being a finished, big-league player, which speaks to the development aspect of the game that has been mentioned. Just to sum up the Perfect Game thing as quickly as I can, PG does cover other events (the Area Code Games and the East Coast Pro come to mind), as well as keeping tabs on the college level. They went into business to help promote players, giving them an opportunity to showcase their skills with other top players in their region (or nationally) in front of a strong contingent of scouts, recruiters and even agents. These events help everyone involved, so they originally got into business to be more than just a scouting service, and I've never seen them downplay a player's ability because they didn't participate at one of their events (and really, few haven't been a part of a PG event). In that regard they're a lot different that Baseball American, which went into business as a subscription publication, and while they have vast contacts and have even graduated a few of their writers to big-league teams as area scouts, they don't really deal with the game of baseball on the field level like PG does, they just report what they see and hear. I'm not saying one is better or worse (ok, maybe I am just a little bit), I'm just stating that they do have different origins and overall approaches and effects to the game of baseball. And I don't expect anyone to take any of the scouting reports as gospel, but as noted, it is an incredibly valuable resource to players, scouts, college recruiters, agents and even fans to gather a better idea as to what a player is all about. And thanks for calling me awesome http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

When all is said and done this is just a fan site where people toss around ideas... I think this is the key point here. I know agent39 is passionate about what he does and the players he represents, and he's taken his shots at me when I have suggested that Brewer's likely position down the road could very well be centerfield. I agree with the overlying idea that there is no reason to move him anywhere else at this point in time, but really if we didn't have things like this to talk and disagree about what fun would this forum be? Just a comment on the PG scouting aspect, something I have talked to agent39 about on the side, I will say that Perfect Game employs several full-time regional scouts across the country that provides the thousands of scouting reports of which the individual player profiles are built, and these scouts could just as easily be working for big-league teams, and in several instances either have in the past or have moved on to do so. So to add the comment "because if writers could scout or play they would be scouts or they would play" is about as fair as saying that Brent Brewer has no business playing SS.

Jemile has always been considered more of a true second baseman and leadoff man that Rickie is. I've seen Jemile numerous times over the years, and a little bit in high school, and I honestly don't think his defense will pose a problem. I've been reading more concerns about his bat, citing that while he has some pop at the college level, scouts are concerned how much he'll hit as a pro. Shorter players often draw these kinds of concerns, as Jemile was equally explosive playing for Team USA, while using a wood bat, during the summer of 2006 after his freshman year.

JJ Hardy, I said you misunderstood my point because I agree with you, and you make it sound as though we're arguing two different things. The with the "some good ones get away" is that this is an organization that has never produced a plethora of pitchers. You'd expect that the Crew would lose some good position players, some like Carbbe. But pitchers? This organization needs every pitcher it can get. I agree, Thatcher not getting a shot was diabolical, and Melvin and his minions need to be held accountable for that. I understand the Safarte and Eveland point of view, and really can't argue about it. But wouldn't you really have both of them than Jeff Weaver right now? This is a very good point Tbadder, and I think the overall premise of this thread. Although it is hard to say "wouldn't you rather have Eveland and/or Sarfate over Weaver" because it goes a lot deeper than that. Eveland obviously was used to get Estrada, who was used to get Mota. I absolutely would much rather have Eveland over either of those guys, but what is done is done. Eveland was used to acquire some players that Doug Melvin thought would improve the ballclub, and unfortunately they didn't. Sarfate was moved to open a roster spot for a questionable acquisition. Thatcher was moved in an attempt to improve last year's bullpen when Thatcher himself could have provided that fix. I guess to me it boils down not to analyzing talent for talent, but looking at the trades that were made (again) in which these young players were moved. I know there are some draft picks involved with acquiring Linebrink, but overall the trades to acquire him and Estrada/Vargas were pretty poor. Who knows, maybe that is why Melvin was hesitant to make a trade this offseason being a little gun-shy, and instead used free agency to address the overall team needs.

JJ Hardy, I think you misunderstood my point. I was bummed to see Thatcher go, especially since he wasn't given a chance to perform. By no means was I trying to take anything away from him, just pointing out that his pure stuff wasn't as good as that of Sarfate and Eveland, the two other pitchers mentioned in the title of this thread. I agree with your assessment that I think the Brewers may have valued Mitch Stetter over Thatcher long-term, or at least felt comfortable knowing they had two potential lefty specialists.

I agree that it was disappointing to see Sarfate and Thatcher not given much of a chance. It did seem obvious that the Brewers had pretty much run out of patience with Sarfate since he just couldn't cut down on the walks, but he had the kind of arm you didn't give up on (an approach they seem to take now with Seth McClung). Thatcher was the exact opposite, all results with questionable stuff yet his productivity didn't earn him an opportunity to prove himself with the big-league team, a team that clearly had bullpen issues last year. Now, I understand the Brewers were in playoff chase and that changes who you offer opportunities to and who you don't. I can somewhat agree with the circumstances that led to Sarfate to moving on, but I think Thatcher deserved some kind of a chance to prove himself, and fortunately for him he received that chance from the moment the trade for Linebrink was made. Eveland is a tough one since the Brewers clearly had to give up some talented arms to make that trade happen, a trade that of course looks pretty bad at this point in time. It always takes more than what is necessary to acquire a catcher (Einar Diaz for Travis Hafner anyone?). Given all of this, DHonks makes an excellent point about how good teams are bound to lose good players. I'm not so sure that the team is underestimating their own players, but hopefully Melvin has reflected upon these moves and realized the amount of talented young arms he has given up the past couple of years for virtually nothing outside of draft picks.

Jemile Weeks is now hitting .403/.463/.723 in 119 AB. He leads the Hurricanes powerful offense in hitting, slugging, RBI (39), total bases (86) and is tied for first in triples (3). He has 11 doubles and 7 home runs, a 13 to 18 walk to strikeout ratio and has stolen 11 bases in 12 attempts. I have updated the pair of '07 draftees that are currently at Walters State in a while. LHP Chad Bell is 9-1 with a 3.32 ERA. In 65 IP e has allowed 75 hits and 22 walks while striking out 64. Left-handed hitting 3B Cody Hawn is hitting .421 with a .757 slugging percentage over 152 ABs. He has 12 2B, 13 HR and 50 RBI, leading the regulars for the Walters State program in hitting and RBI. I've noted before that I would not be surprised one bit to see one or more of these players re-drafted by the Brewers. Hawn in particular fits an organizational need as both a third baseman and as a left-handed hitter.

The Power bats continue to struggle. I'm going to predict that team wakes up when Farris finally joins the team. He's the sparkplug that teams needs right now.

Cool. I may be stopping in sometime soon. If you get commission for the stuff you sell, let me know your work schedule.

Awesome picture John, thanks for sharing!

I plan to make the first three practices, although I know I can't make the scrimmage on May 10th. I look forward to seeing everyone those that can make it this coming Saturday. Hopefully the weather cooperates. Hey radman, if you read this, do you still work at the store in Mayfair?

I'm definitely out Thursday, June 26. This is the first night of Summerfest. I know I made this game last year, but I think it was at 9pm last year and I think I showed up right at gametime, so an 8pm start is difficult for me to get to that day. The 3rd might be ok. As Jamie noted, that is a big night, especially at the 'fest, but as of right now I plan to be there. I also will not be at the July 10th game.

Final: Huntsville 1, West Tenn 4 Huntsville site game summary: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080412&content_id=384206&vkey=news_t559&fext=.jsp&sid=t559 Chris Jakubauskas worked five solid frames and teamed with three relievers to keep Huntsville off the scoreboard over the last six innings in a 4-1 victory Saturday night in the fourth of a five-game set at a frosty and windy Pringles Park. The Stars dropped to 6-3 and into a first-place tie with Carolina in the North Division, while the Diamond Jaxx won for a third time in the series to improve to 5-4 and move within a game of the top spot. Jon Nelson doubled with one out in the home second inning and scored on a two-out single by Mike Wilson, who knocked in his first run with his first hit of the season. Ryan Crew led off the Huntsville third with a walk and scored to tie the game on a double by Freddy Parejo, who pushed his hitting streak to five games. However, the Stars could not advance Parejo after the two-base hit in what turned out to be their last best scoring chance. West Tenn took the lead for good in the home half of the inning when Marshall Hubbard doubled Mike Saunders with two outs and a Mat Gamel fielding error allowed Adam Moore to score. Hubbard has driven in six runs in the series and knocked in at least one run in three of the four games. Nelson's two-out run scoring hit off of Ben Stanczyk in the eighth accounted for the game's final margin. Jakubauskas allowed a run on four hits, walking one and fanning four to notch his first win of the season before Marwin Vega followed with 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. Brandon Morrow retired Guilder Rodriguez and Gamel on ground-ball outs to end the eighth and Jason Mackintosh earned his first save of the year with a shutout ninth inning. Brae Wright took the loss for Huntsville, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on six hits over six frames. The series against West Tenn concludes Sunday afternoon with southpaw Sam Narron taking the mound against Diamond Jaxx left-hander Ryan Ketchner. Huntsville Box Score: This team is just too talented for the bats to be this quiet, but that's pretty much the case from top to bottom in the Brewers system as it stands right now. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_12_hunaax_wtdaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_04_12_hunaax_wtdaax_1

Final, Game One: Iowa 5, Nashville 1 Nashville Box Score, Game One: Brad Nelson providing most to all of the offense for the Sounds as they face Cubs starter Sean Gallagher. Again, not too much to note in this game, so here's to the second wave of games this evening providing more excitement. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_12_iowaaa_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log, Game One: Nic Ungs was cruising along until he hit the 5th inning. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_04_12_iowaaa_nasaaa_1 Final, Game Two, Iowa 3, Nashville 1 Nasvhille Box Score, Game Two: The Sounds face a bunch of former and potential MLB pitchers in both game one and game two, and the results just aren't very good. Matt Murton has no business playing at the AAA level for the Cubs. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_12_iowaaa_nasaaa_2 Nashville Game Log, Game Two: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_04_12_iowaaa_nasaaa_2 Nashville Site Game(s) Summary: http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2636 The Nashville Sounds' sluggish start to the 2008 season continued in their home debut on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium as they were swept in a doubleheader by the division-rival Iowa Cubs. With the 5-1 and 3-1 defeats, Nashville dropped to 1-9 to open the year and has lost six straight games. Sounds first baseman Brad Nelson extended his season-opening hitting streak to eight games with knocks in each tilt. Iowa broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out rally in the fourth inning of the opener, plating four runs against Sounds starter Nic Ungs in the frame to go on to a 5-1 victory. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the opener when Nashville rightfielder Brendan Katin dropped a two-out fly ball in the top of the third, allowing Matt Murton, who had walked, to score the contest's first run in unearned fashion. Nashville tied the contest in the bottom of the frame with an unearned run of its own. Nelson reached on a two-out double to right-center, moved to third on a Sean Gallagher wild pitch, and scored when Iowa shortstop Andres Blanco mishandled a Vinny Rottino grounder. The Cubs pulled comfortably ahead with a four-run outburst in the top of the fifth. Centerfielder Sam Fuld gave the visitors a 2-1 lead with a two-out solo homer to right off Ungs, his first of the year. The two-out rally continued against Ungs as Murton drew his third walk of the game before Jake Fox and Josh Kroeger delivered back-to-back singles, the second of which plated Murton and chased Ungs. Cubs third baseman Casey McGehee greeted reliever Tim Dillard with a first-pitch RBI single up the middle to increase the lead to 4-1 and Koyie Hill followed with an run-scoring knock down the left field line. Cubs reliever Geoff Jones (2-1) picked up the victory in the opener with two scoreless innings of work behind Gallagher. Ungs (1-1) took his first loss after giving up five runs (four earned) on four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 frames. In the nightcap, third baseman Russell Branyan gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a one-out RBI single up the middle off Cubs starter Randy Keisler that plated Vinny Rottino, who had doubled. Audio: Russell Branyan RBI Single Iowa grabbed a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth against Sounds reliever Steve Bray. Murton opened the inning with a single and Josh Kroeger was hit by a pitch before Jake Fox ripped a two-run triple just inside the first base bag into the right field corner. Fox came around to score a third run on the play following a throwing error by Sounds right fielder Brendan Katin. Cubs reliever Neal Cotts (1-0) earned the win with two scoreless innings of work behind Keisler, who allowed one run in three innings but departed after throwing 62 pitches. Bray (0-1) absorbed the loss for the Sounds after allowing all three Cubs runs in his one inning of work. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin worked five scoreless frames for Nashville, working around six walks in lowering his season ERA to 1.04 through two starts. The teams continue the series with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Zach Jackson (0-2, 8.18) makes his third start of the year for the Sounds. Iowa will counter with southpaw J.R. Mathes (0-0, 4.50).

Final, Game One: Greenville 7, West Virginia 2 West Virginia Box Score, Game One: Nick Tyson with a nice little 3 inning start, his first start of the year, piggy-backing with RJ Seidel, who wasn't as sharp yet the two kept the Power in the game through 5. The Power offense held to just 4 hits as everyone waits for the offense to catch fire -- we're just not used to this team not scoring runs. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_12_capafx_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log, Game One: If Zelous Wheeler hadn't been as aggressive as he was on the basepaths in the 2nd inning, the Power may have been held to only one run. Curtis Pasma would like to forget the 6th inning. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_04_12_capafx_wvaafx_1 Final, Game Two, Greenville 5, West Virginia 1 West Virginia Box Score, Game Two: Jonathan Lucroy with two hits (one being a double) and a walk, Lee Haydel on base twice. Brent Brewer records his 6th error on the young season. Mike Ramlow's secondary line looks good outside of the 5 ER allowed, while Pedro Lambertus shuts things down with 2 very solid innings of work. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_12_capafx_wvaafx_2 West Virginia Game Log, Game Two: The damage against Ramlow piles up in the 3rd inning. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_04_12_capafx_wvaafx_2 West Virginia site game(s) summary: The Greenville Drive used a pair of big innings in Saturday night's double header to take both ends of the double dip, scoring five times in the sixth inning to win game one 7-2, and they used a four-run third inning to defeat the Power 5-1 in game two. The Power plated a pair of runs in the second inning of the first contest to take their only lead of the night. Zelous Wheeler's double in the second inning plated Caleb Gindl. Wheeler stole third and scored later in the inning on an errant throw from catcher Luis Exposito. The Drive tied the game on a two-run double from Yamaico Navarro in the top of the fifth. In the sixth inning, David Marks hit a Grand Slam and Navarro scored on a wild pitch to put the Power away. The Drive scored four times in the third inning of game two and never looked back. Brent Brewer's errant throw allowed Exposito to score the first run. Navarro tripled in the next two runs and scored on Mike Jones's RBI single. Navarro struck again in the fifth on an RBI single. The Power plated their only run of the contest on Ulrich Snijders's solo homerun in the bottom of the fifth. Felix Doubront (2-0) earned the victory in game one, allowing just a pair of runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over five innings, while Curtis Pasma (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in two innings of relief. Chad Popvich (1-0) offered an inning and a third of scoreless relief and was rewarded with the victory, while Mike Ramlow (1-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits over five innings with six strikeouts. The Power are 3-7 after the losses and Greenville improves to 6-4 with the victories. Eammon Portis struck out eight in game two for the Drive, and at one point struck out seven out of nine batters he faced between the second and fourth inning. Nick Tyson tossed three scoreless innings for the Power in game one, and Pedro Lambertus offered two scoreless innings out of the pen in game two. The Power will continue the four game series with the Greenville Drive at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday afternoon. Right hander Roque Mercedes (0-0, 5.19) will get the start for the Power and the Drive will counter with right hander Terumasa Matsuo (0-0, 0.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM.

Final: Brevard County 3, Palm Beach 7 Brevard County Box Score: While the 'Tees match the Cardinals in the hit colum with seven, no one had a multiple hit day, as a team they failed to draw a walk and they struck out 11 times. Periard despite taking the loss does post a familiar 8-2 groundout-flyout ratio. Bobby Bramhall with 4 solid innings in relief. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_12_breafa_pbcafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: An error and a walk to open the 2nd inning gets Periard on this day. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_04_12_breafa_pbcafa_1

I've brought up the possibility before that the Brewers could try to take a stand by selecting a player that is perceived to be a more difficult sign knowing that they could get a comp pick next year if they're unable to sign that player. However, since Hosmer was brought up, we're talking about a player that like is going to try and get what Mike Moustakas did a year ago ($4 million) vs. what the slot value is for the Brewers first-round pick ($1.5 million). That's a huge difference, and considering that at slot value the Brewers are going to need $5 million or so to sign their first and second-round picks, especially given their track record, I just don't see any scenario in which they pony up another $2-3 million to try and sign a notable player that falls. And trying to play nice with Boras now isn't going to improve their chances of signing Fielder later.

Actually, colbyjack, the Power was home last evening... Thanks for catching that. All the more reason for the WV folks to share their insights http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

More ground ball magic from Evan Anundsen, who has yet to walk a batter this season -- the 2006 4th rounder is setting a blueprint on how a high school pitcher draftee is supposed to progress -- we're big fans. Indeed. Anundsen's GO:FO ratio is such an interesting stat that it alone makes it worth to check the box score. Remember when Doug Melvin for about a year (now a couple of years ago it seems) talked about how much the Brewers needed to get more GB pitchers? That was probably right around when they drafted Anundsen. wvpowerblkwel (and others out there that have the pleasure of watching the Power live), I know they were on the road last night, but I definitely look forward to your insight on Anundsen's stuff. I think we're all assuming he has a sinking fastball, but I'd love to know how hard it's thrown. Of course other observations of the players are always welcomed. Thanks as always in advance! BTW, for reference here's a scouting report on him from the 2005 Perfect Game National Showcase, where he was throwing in the 88 range with his fastball:

It's definitely possible that Hosmer falls that far, but no, I don't think the Brewers mess with someone that would require that large of a contract and signing bonus. They've shown in past years to avoid such players, and I don't see them changing their ways in a year that they have four extra, early picks to sign.

Boras is asking for big money for his clients? No way http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. I know Boras is made out to be the devil, but seriously if I were a player I would want him on my side as well...to a point (meaning I would give a hometown discount and would gladly negotiate to sign a longer-term deal through arbitration). If guys like Mark Teixeira, Matt Wieters and Stephen Drew can get big money, than Pedro Alvarez is equally deserving. Eric Hosmer is one of the most special bats to come along in the prep ranks, and Gerrit Cole is the top pitcher from HS. In addition to those guys and Fields I have heard a few rumblings that Aaron Crow may be aligned with Boras, as might Danny Espinosa, a SS from Long Beach State. I'm sure a few more guys will be revealed in the next month or two, as the Boras camp is doing a much better job keeping their affiliations with players more quiet given the amount of negative attention they receive. Although I did recommend to them that they needed an in-house PR dep't. to help spin that negativity in their favor.

Toby, your explanation sums up my exact feelings. Good story and acting, but the production is very similar to something my mom would watch on Sunday night on CBS. To those that find it a little hard to follow, be patient, and watch another episode or two. It does start to come together a little better and I think you will find yourself more captivated if you give it another chance. I'm curious to see how it wraps up (not historically of course, but from a storyline perspective). I don't think it will be one of the most memorable series HBO has had, but that's not a rip at all.