Fatter than Joey

Regardless of when a person performs, is irrelevant to the value of a trade. Graffanino didn't take us anywhere. I disagree with this -- When we had traded for Graffy, Koskie was hurt, JJ was just lost for the year, and Weeks had hurt his wrists... Our middle IF was decimated, and at that point in the season we were only a couple of games under .500. I think everyone at the time knew JDLR had a much higher ceiling than Graffy, however, I don't think DM wanted to have Barnwell finish out the season. I think this trade was "unfortunate" much in the same sense of having your plumbing back up on a weekend and having to pay 2xtime to get it fixed, but I certainly understand why DM made this trade. Yeah, I agree. Not many were complaining about losing either of those guys at the time. I disagree with this as well, Cruz definitely had a significant show of support on this board at the time of the trade. DM made some sort of statement that he could have traded Lee for Cordero, but included Cruz to get Mench and Nix. My guess is that DM didn't think Cruz would make it to MLB, and he would probably redo this trade had he the chance. Cruz was basically blocked at the time. Eh, if Cruz was blocked, why pick up Mench and Nix, 2 other OFers? I think DM boned up on Cruz. Saying that Hardy should have been traded at some other time seems like Monday morning QBing. No, this is not true. There was a ton of debate about trading Hardy, long before it happened... There were plenty of people that saw Escobar as the future SS, and thought trading Hardy in the off-season of 2008, would have been "selling high" on Hardy's stock. A lot of people correctly predicted that DM would drive Hardy's stock down handling him the way he was handled... I think criticism of DM, here is more than fair. People forget that the point of a trade isn't to try and completely fleece the other team. Agree 100%, and this is why I don't get too worked up about the JDLR trade... we needed a veteran IF to get us through the season.

He didn't have any in 243.2 innings in '09 or 8 innings in '08 at catcher with the Red Sox. Assuming that's correct I looked at a couple of Red Sox boxscores, and according to the box-scores Kottaras was catching Wakefield and allowed some WPs. -- so I don't think the baseball-ref stats are complete/correct. Also -- I looked at GK's fielding page, and in 2009 he has 8 PBs, and the WP box is blank, which I think should be distinguished from "0" -- that is to say, I don't think someone counted up the WPs and assigned them to catchers in 2009. Wakefield had 4 WP's in 2009, I would assume GK had at least that many.

BTW -- 4 was a Brewer's record. For those scoring at home.

I think every team generally has to cover 20+ starts with a 6th+ stater every year as well. Here is an article I put together that looks at teams need for 6th, 7th and 8th starters over the last 10 years.

I forget what the statistic is exactly, but something like 1 team in the past 10 years got through the season with only 5 starters. Only 2 teams since 1940 -- A 1960s Dodgers team, with Sutton/Koufax/Drysdale/Osteen and the 2003 Mariners...

Yes they are, unless they are heading for the 5 hole. Coffey spiked a FB. Davis's were all off-speed/breaking stuff.

I didn't pay very close attention to the first 2 WPs, but the 3rd & 4th really got my attention. I watched them a couple of times on the DVR 3rd WP -- That went right between his legs, right through the proverbial 5 hole. It was certainly a hard pitch to handle, but every MLB catcher should be able to prevent the ball going through his legs. This was not a good play by GK. Basically, catchers are taught to spread their knees out and get their ankles flat. Once that glove goes in the dirt, it ceases to be a "catching device" and becomes a "blocking device" one mistake that young catchers make, is trying to catch the balls in the dirt, and the movement of the glove can actually knock the ball away from the catcher. If the ball hits a still glove or a chest protector it pretty much dies out in front of the catcher. For whatever reason GK did not get down flat and pulled his glove up. This pitch would have never been called a PB, but I can say with 100% certainty, GK could have done better on this one. It almost seemed to me GK got crossed up with the signals or was not expecting the pitch. 4th WP -- This pitch bounced a good 1-2 feet in front of HP and to the right of GK, and over his shoulder. Catchers are taught to get down when the ball is in the dirt, that makes them susceptible to pitches that hit HP or in front of HP and have already started to get up in the air again. It would have taken a very non-routine effort for GK to block this one thrown by Coffey. Davis threw a lot of pitches in the dirt, and GK blocked the majority of them. I think when DD walked Olivo, at least 3 of the pitches were in the dirt -- which is the only way you are going to walk Olivo. In conclusion -- The third WP was one GK should/could have def. blocked -- I think almost every MLB catcher blocks that one rather routinely. The 4th one, was one a catcher either gets lucky with, or makes in incredible play on... I don't recall the first 2 enough to really offer much more than that. 1 game = small sample size There is always a movement on this site to reduce "meaningless" one-line posts like "I agree" and "lol" -- for the most part I agree with this -- but it seems to me more and more you see "small sample size" inserted into many more threads than it needs to be. I have no idea what thought the poster of " 1 game = small sample size" was trying to convey, and I don't think a lot of thought was put into the post -- especially when the original poster was looking for some sort of description of specific plays, the sample-size post really is out of place and probably out of line.

If the Brewers can save the $5MM by releasing him now, they need to do it. The Brewers can't save $5MM by cutting Hart -- They would owe him 45 days termination pay. I don't know the exact percentage, but I believe they could save around $3.5M. Melvin dropped the ball by not conducting a complete & thorough investigation before offering Hart arbitration.... I am all for blaming DM for anything that can stick -- but in all fairness, Gerut and Gomez are unknowns, and we weren't certain up until a week or so ago that Edmonds would stick on the MLB roster. I think we are stuck with Hart, until Gerut & Gomez show they can play fulltime in MLB.

MNBrew, I imagine you're thinking back to a couple of years ago when they sent Turnbow to AAA. He had a non-guaranteed contract, and electing not to accept the assignment would have meant turning down his salary. Unfortunately, not the case with Suppan Technically speaking, Turnbow's contract was guaranteed just like Suppan's is -- the difference was that Turnbow was over 3yrs, but under 5 years -- Turnbow had the right to refuse assignment (forfeiting his salary) -- however if the Brewers would have released him -- They would have had to pay Tbow his contract

It's been pretty clear (reading between the lines) that Suppan would've been cut quite a while ago if it weren't for his absurdly onerous contract. If this was the NFL, where contracts are not guaranteed, Suppan would have been cut months ago, he wouldn't have made it to ST. I know we've heard that verbiage many times. If it's not applicable in Suppan's case, a) why not?, and b) in what cases would that apply? There are 2 benchmarks in the service time -- If a player has 3 years of service time, he can refuse an assignment, and become a FA, if a player has 5 years of service time, he can refuse an assignment and get paid the terms of his contract for sitting at home.

Sorry, pet peeve of mine when people start bragging about guessing a single team's win totals correctly like it means something I didn't think anyone was bragging. Fun is fine as long as people remember that is all it is. Suggestion noted. However, I am going to choose to remember it as a demonstration of my superior analytical and statistical skills. Much like when the mighty elk antler wrestle, I am now the alpha elk. Harem advantage -> FtJ. (It should be clearly noted though that the other guy who guessed 80, I assume did so using divining rods and Bill James methodology, and was probably more lucky than anything else). Anyway, like I said I'm guessing 85. Clearly this number is incorrect, as the correct number is 78, which is not equal to 85.

He could hold seven baseballs in one hand. http://www.uc.edu/news/view.asp?infoID=1915&photo=image3 Here is a picture of the old style of catching... http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/50343848.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=E41C9FE5C4AA0A145B070CEFE3BD81EF48EA588D47213D1248D72FC50342D66EB01E70F2B3269972 Here is Bench's stance... http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/85260738.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF8789215ABF3343C02EA5488698C10B6FEEB923809765C55EC87B78868278845035F06D Notice how he is able to use one hand (hinged glove), and he sets up lower in the strike zone, whereas the old guy has that pitch coming right down main street.

Please understand I am not arguing with you as much as I am just discussing Bench v. Mauer. I don't think Bench would have every hit ~.360, even in this era, but I think Bench had more power. Bench was one of the first catchers to use a hinged catchers glove -- before Bench, most catcher gloves required 2 hands to close -- so catchers would sustain a lot of hand injuries. Once the hinged gloves became standard, catchers were able to keep their throwing hand out of harm's way. Also, Bench being as athletic as he was, caught in a crouch where his back was more parallel to the ground rather than the perpendicular stance that you see guys like Berra and Campinella in. Catchers got a lot "smaller" behind the plate after Bench got to MLB. Bench really revolutionized the position. The best Bench story, and perhaps the best catcher story of all time is as follows: Bench was a rookie, and wanted his pitcher to throw an off-speed pitch, and the pitcher (Jim Maloney or Gerry Arrigo) kept shaking him off. Bench went to the mound and told the pitcher "you aren't throwing hard enough for your fastball to work". The pitcher told Bench to get behind the plate and that he was going to throw his fastball. To prove his point, Bench proceeded to catch the ball with his throwing hand, and apparently after that, the pitcher threw off-speed.

I can't imagine Bench's edge on defense changing things too much, since there's not much more room above Mauer's caliber of play. Bench had a better arm. Bench also revolutionized how the catcher caught the game, he was the best catcher I ever saw -- and then when he leads the league in HRs -- that is awful special. Id say the top 5 catchers I have seen... Bench Rodriguez Mauer Piazza and Ted Simmons were great hitting catchers but not so much defensively. My favorite Brewers catcher was probably Eddie O'Brien -- boy, could he throw. All that said, I am not sure 1972 Bench was better than 2009 Mauer -- but they are certainly 2 seasons you have to consider when discussing best catchers ever.

I think it's pretty safe to say (barring some omission on my part) Mauer's '09 is the best season by a catcher, ever. I think it is safe to say that Mauer may have had one of the top 2 or 3 seasons ever... but I would argue that Bench in 1972 was better. 1.) Mauer was better offensively, however I don't think by that much. 2.) Bench was a stronger defensive catcher. Bench threw out ~50% of the guys who ran against him most of the 70s. He had an incredible arm. Johnny Bench effectively redefined catching in the early 1970s. 3.) Bench caught more games in 1972 than Mauer played in... Mauer only caught 109 games last year -- Bench caught 129, and then filled in 3b/1b/OF. Mauer had the opportunity to DH. I do think it is an advantage to keep up a higher BA & OBP when you catch less games if you are comparing catchers. Bench played in the field 147 games, Mauer only 109. Certainly a good case could be made for Mauer, but I don't think it is a clear-cut thing at all.

I certainly can't say I know for sure, but what are you basing this on?\ The Big Ten tourney winner is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tourney.

I've: Never gave you up, Never let you down, Never ran around and deserted you, Never made you cry, Never said goodbye, Never told a lie and hurt you

Gonzaga just got smoked in the WCC finals against St. Mary's. Now what does that do to their seed? The other thing it does, is bumps a team like Illinois off of the bubble, as there is now one less at-large bid to be handed out. I think St. Mary's was likely to make it, but Gonzaga is assured a spot.

That's just incredible, but in talking to people I know that are Pac-10 fans, they are pretty forthright that this season is a really low one for the conference. What's even more incredible is that CAL is a projected auto-bid and not an at-large team -- If not for the auto-bid, the P10 wouldn't be sending anyone. The highest projected seed for a P10 team is 11-12.... that's just bizarre.

Exactly Bruce -- alternate starts, DH, etc.., and see how the season goes -- If things go poorly for the Crew in 2010, we need to not burn up young players clocks unnecessarily... and have an option to be forced to have Lucroy or Salome in MLB. I'd hang onto Rivera, assuming the $$$ works out, and use Kotteras as a means to generate some competition in ST.

At least Suppan is a consistent, durable, innings-eater. Suppan is NOT an innings eater. Suppan was 46th in IP last year (161 IP) -- He made 30 starts last years, most of the dudes making 30 starts were around 180-175 IP. In fact, the majority of pitchers making 25-29 starts pitched more innings than Suppan. If you are only capable of a ~5.30 ERA (over the course of a season), you won't, or at least you better not be racking up a lot of innings.

At some point shouldn't Braun's excellent athleticism turn him into at least an average OFer? Perhaps... He needs to learn routes. Braun's defense is fine for LF. This really isn't true -- Braun's bat is good enough to more than compensate for his defensive shortcomings, but Braun is not a versatile OFer. He gets bashed way too much around here because I think many fans expect way too much defensively from players No one is bashing Braun, as much as we are saying you just can't move players like Weeks, Braun, Gamel, etc... into OF positions without expecting some sort of negative tradeoff, or a seamless transition. Compare him to some of the butchers being trotted out in LF across the NL and he's pretty good. Just because Braun may be better than Dunn and/or Carlos Lee doesn't mean Braun can go to RF at this point in his career.

Honestly I'd like us just to cut Rivera loose and use a Zaun/Kotteras combo while Salome/Lucroy play in AAA. This makes a lot of sense to me.... 1.) We didn't resign Kendall. 2.) Lucroy needs to play in AAA, and really there probably is no reason to burn up these guys clocks in 2010. Signing Zaun is a sensible move for sure.

Yes Exhibit A: Midnight Oil

Graeaeaeaeaeame Lloyd