Fatter than Joey

I didn't really mean this to turn into a "evaluate Suppan" thread. I'm simply talking about how pitchers like him can become overvalued by fans and other teams by picking up a "big game pitcher" label. I hear you Russ. Regardless of all of the "Suppan is a solid #4-5 starter/Every team wants Soup arguments" the bottom line is as follows.... 1.) MA did not sign Soup to his current deal, to lock down the #5 spot in the rotation for the next 4 years. MA or DM clearly overvalued Suppan based on the results of a few October games a couple of years ago. That makes them stupid. The structure of the contract seems to all but ensure that Suppan will be difficult to trade. 2.) While Suppan clearly sucks, he should not be DFA'd -- and his contract virtually guarantees that he won't be anytime soon. I think the rub between the lovers and the haters is that while Suppan is adequate to hold down the #5 spot in the rotation, there are probably much more cost-effective options, further complicating things is that if Suppan's contract was off the books for 2009 and 2010, the FO may have a little more perceived flexibility in retaining CC. 3.) Given Suppan's age -- I am not optimistic about his increased HR and BB rate -- and the fact his IP/Start has slipped under 6. I disagree with the posters who think that teams would be lining up to take Suppan and his salary off our hands. Again, Suppan has value in that he can fill out the back end of your rotation, but I think most GMs will be able to find that sort of pitcher for less than what Soup is making. I think what Russ is basically saying -- is that when we hear that a pitcher is signed because he is "A big game pitcher" -- red flags should be shooting up, just like they do when our blind date has "A pretty face" or "a nice personality". "Big Game Pitcher" and "Innings Eater" is a manufactured and imaginary attribute that is stuck on below average pitchers, that are not helped out by their actual stats.

Sveum starting Jeff Suppan in an elimination game, completly blows any poor decision Ned Yost made, right out of the water. I agree 100% -- I can forgive any manager for making a dumb move in a game with little time to think it through -- but a starting pitcher? -- You have about 24 hours to lay that egg. Bringing in Yo to relieve Soup, made the move look even dumber. It is almost like Sveum thought that Soup could go 8 innings. Bye Dale.

I'm rooting for Philly -- I like their team.

With apologies to Magic Dick and the J. Geils Band.... I don't care for any Fukudome thing All I can say is Cubs stink (Cubs stink) Cubs stink yeah yeah (Cubs stink) Cubs stink yeah yeah (Cubs stink) Cubs stink yeah yeah (Cubs stink) Cubs stink yeah yeah

I think Sam's club is the only place on the planet where you can buy a sweater, 5 pounds of corned beef, and a saxophone. Costco. Dude. Costco.

It's times like this I wish Albert Belle had a blog imparting his wisdom

You still need an arm like Sheets. Signing Ben was awesome

Did you get banned Ennder?

http://www.myspace.digitalalcoholics.com/cubssuck/tradition2.gif

I think its rather funny. yeah -- me too. It's all good fun.

I'm no physical trainer myself but it sounds like this was all mishandled on the Brewer side of things. Yeah -- I don't think he has "tired arm". I still think you offer him Arby's -- and if it is clear he is out for the year (2009) his salary isn't guaranteed.

Someone else mentioned it but it was kind of strange hearing Anderson getting all excited when Hamels struck out Braun. Hamels was fun to watch pitch yesterday. It sucked he was striking out Brewers, but Hamels was dealing a masterpiece -- I certainly enjoyed watching Hamels pitch.

Do you think Sveum would want someone with more experience than him on the bench? Definitely. Sveum has next to zero MLB managing experience. A guy like Gene Lamont could definitely give Dale a little depth that he just doesn't have. I mean, is there any concern that it would mitigate some of his power/influence over the clubhouse? I doubt it. Sveum would hire someone that he was comfortable with. Zimmer was a bench coach for a long time, he wasn't going to ever manage again. I think a bench coach is really nothing more than a cheerleader and a guy to help the manager think through situations, and be aware of options.

Working under the assumption that Sveum is the manager in 2009.... I would disagree that Cirillo and Kapler would be good choices. IMO a bench coach should be some old guy, with managerial experience, whose primary function is to be a "wealth of knowledge" for Sveum to bounce ideas off of. I would think that the candidate should be someone Dale has worked with and/or played for, and is someone that Dale can 100% rely on. I would think guys like Tom Treblehorn and Gene Lamont would be more suitable than either Cirillo or Kapler. (I am not suggesting Treb or Lamont be the guy, they are just generic examples of what I would think would be a good candidate)

Assuming that it's not completely torn and can heal short-term, I'm not so sure that the best case scenario for the Brewers isn't Sheets accepting arby and a one year deal. Exactly -- I would be all for Sheets at 1 year for any dollar amount. -- If we can give Gagne $10M for one year, I am not sure why we can't give Sheets $15M+ -- The other thing to keep in mind, is that Sheets contract would not be guaranteed either -- they could cut him in Spring Training if they had to.

5 playoff teams means a bye for one team all the way to the LCS. I think the way they would do it -- is have a WC round, like the NFL did it a long time ago -- so effectively the 3 division winners would get byes, and after the WC round you would have 4 teams in each league.

Hi guys -- I bought a cot like this one.... and the canvas is pulling away at the seams -- What options do I have to repair it? Thanks http://www.shadeusa.com/texsport_cot.jpg

Really??? I think there should be a street named after him in Milwaukee if they win the World Series. Hell, I'd hope the Brewers give him a three or four year contract at that point. Yeah -- This sort of thinking is why we have Jeff Suppan. I certainly would give Dale an interview, and he may be the best candidate, but I'd want a wideopen hiring process.

Yost was not good at his job, so I don't feel bad that he was fired. I feel bad the WAY he was fired. The timing was pretty brutal. Unprofessional, IMO. They should have just dumped him at the sll star break (or last off season). Agreed 100%. Plus the Brewers were assisted by the Mets going 3-6 to end the year as well. I'm not here to rip Sveum, and I do think the change had a positive impact. And I do think he did a pretty good job overall (I really like how he handled the pitching staff and the issues with the rotation as Sheets struggled with his health). I think that Sveum did a decent job, keeping the boat afloat, while there was all of the turmoil around Ned's firing -- I think if the Brewers do good in the playoffs -- it's certainly a feather in Dale's hat -- but I wouldn't hand him the job over even if the Brewers won the WS. Melvin appears to be #1 on that list. Is there any question that he disagreed with the decision after his subdued reaction yesterday? I won't be surprised if Melvin leaves the Brewers after the (post) season and the reason is because he was forced to fire Yost with 12 games to go in the season. I think you are 100% correct -- this firing was done by MA, and I don't think DM is happy with it. I would entirely expect DM and MA to part ways after the end of the season.

I'm sure Sheets will be off for the NLDS. Don't know if there is any realistic chance that he recovers in the next week, but if he did and the team makes it to the NLCS, he would be on that roster. I am not interested in seeing Sheets pitch again this season -- He doesn't look healthy or effective.

Like Mike Felder said, it's just too outlandish and stupid for him to have come back, unless it's setting up a "Michael never got permission and is gonna get in huge trouble, be demoted to sales, and Jim takes over" set up. I don't think it is that outlandish -- I don't think the corporate office pays too close attention to temp hires by branch offices. Ryan would never show up on the payroll -- only as a generic invoice from the temp agency. Certainly, there may be twists down the road -- but I don't think the bigwigs of DM would have the time or inclination to oversee a branch managers temp hires.

Thanks guys -- He has a lot of fun playing, that is for sure. I appreciate you guys watching it, I had fun putting that clip (as amateurish as it is) together.

I whipped this up this AM -- Hope someone enjoys watching it -- #97 (you have to hit the HTML button to paste in html code, otherwise it gets displayed as text -TC) Thanks for the assist TC!

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/KappaJota/WhiteSox.jpg

I agree with the majority that Sveum's biggest strength is he's not Yost. The players have started to relax, and theres a ton of talent on this roster. Agreed as well. I can certainly give Dale a ton of credit and newfound respect for handling the job situation very well. Having a manager of a playoff team getting fired after 150 games is pretty unprecedented -- Dale has seemed to handle that aspect of things (from a pure "jobsite" angle) very well. Making a career transition with 12 games to go in the season has to be hard -- kudos to Dale for handling this. I certainly agree that the players have seem to have been playing with a lot more life and fire under Dale, and perhaps Yost had these guys so tight, Archie Bell and the Drells would have been embarrassed. However, while things are going better, it doesn't translate to me that Dale is a super manager -- only not the abomination that Yost was. As a stratigest, I don't think Sveum has come close to maximizing the talent available. Yep, Dale makes me scratch my head -- probably more than Yost did -- but again Sveum seems much less toxic than Yost was. I hate all the bunting and aggressive baserunning, the Brewers talent level seems to be good enough to overcome the buffoonery of Sveum, but not good enough to survive the suffocating, otherworldly, eleventh plague that was the managerial practices of Ned Yost. After the season, the Brewers should hire the best available manager regardless of where Sveum leads us. OK, unless we win it all. Yep -- I think Sveum has earned himself an interview -- but I certainly want to see a wide open hiring process, regardless of how the Brewers fare in 2008. (Good post X!)