TheCrew07

Why does it have to be "stupidity"? The Brewers are giving up their best hitter, a guy who's already 50 HR in an MLB season, they can move him to DH and he's already peaking on his progression curve. Smoak isn't a finished product and if they think Prince gives them the best chance to make a run, then why not make Sabathia type trade? I realize I'm in the minority here and most people like those kind of deals. Texas has a ton of young pitching, they can afford to move one of those guys if they want, I didn't go past the #2 guy on my list, they also have Scheppers (another guy that can hit 99 legitimately) , Kiker (who's velocity is down but still works in the low 90s), Ross (LHP works in the low 90s), Gutierrez (head case but gets compared to Darryl Kile and touches 96), and Font (another guy who hits 100 legit but has control issues, think Jeffress) all in their top 10. I'm not sure where this opinion that teams have to be stupid to trade pitching comes from, you can only have so many guys in 5 man rotation. TB has already moved pitching, I don't think they were stupid to do so, and hopefully in the near future the Brewers will have some surplus arms that they can move for an impact bat. I wouldn't consider that chain of events stupid either. You're looking at this backwards... if you have some surplus pitching then you also have the most ammunition to acquire the elite players who may be on the block, like when we acquired Sabathia, only we had the best bats available for trade in that case. This is less about stupidity than it is about matching up needs.

Salome's stock was never high with scouts or analysts to being with. He hit .360 as a C, led the Southern League in batting, all at an appropriate age and couldn't crack BA's top 100 prospects. This is nothing new, BA has never liked the guy, they wouldn't even include him in a hot sheet. It's too bad really, Angel is by all accounts an excellent young man, he's gone out of his way on numerous occasions to help his team mates and give back to the program he came from. It's weird really, because MiLB really likes him, he's done more interviews for them than anyone else.

Hmm, I didn't mean to suggest GSG-9 was the same level as Delta, though that's how it looked, I worded that horribly. I meant to compare Delta/Rangers to GSG-9/SWAT and I got off on a tangent and never got back to my original point. Sorry for the incoherent babble. Those SWAT guys saying that they do it every day and had more experience was really grating on me. Almost every GSG-9 operation they've ever done is classified, but I remember reading some place that they had successfully completed over 1500 missions since their inception. The one thing I don't get is why the computer guy's opinion on the weapons matter at all, what does he know about weapons? I like both weapons for their roles, but there's more to an assault rifle than stopping power, I thought the guys representing GSG-9 did a decent job talking about weight and mobility, but they didn't touch on accuracy for whatever reason. The shotguns are used for different applications by the 2 services, the Benelli is a fantastic weapon but the test was a subject running full on towards the shooter, which is a situation that SWAT would be much more likely to see. On a counter terror/hostage mission you'd be looking for a 1 shot kill on a suspect at close range, if you have to shoot him 3 times you need to find a different career. In a coordinated assault the Benelli's higher rate of fire of wouldn't really have a role, there would be way too much collateral damage from pellets ricocheting all over the place. I thought it was old school to be using a pump shotgun, I'd prefer a semi automatic gun personally, but I can definitely see why GSG-9 would prefer the Remington in a closed environment. The whole Taser vs Grenade debate wasn't well done either. GSG-9 doesn't do crowd control, the technology they would be deploying would be far more advanced, along the lines of monitoring, detecting, and identifying threats. The grenade was portable and has a 360 degree impact radius, making it much more suited to anti terrorism missions. I'm not sure how the 2 special weapons were comparable at all, SWAT isn't going to be resolving hostage situations by storming a room with tasers.

I call hogwash on SWAT. That's like saying SWAT could go up and succeed against our Delta Operators, there isn't a chance in hell. One of my best friends was an Army Ranger with 3 rotations in Iraq and 3 in Afghanistan. As mentioned earlier they did a little bit of work with the SEALS during the Jessica Lynch rescue, but mostly they worked with Delta. We were at the bar after my friend's wedding, way past closing because we know the owner, and a friend got my buddy and his military buddies who were at the wedding talking about their missions and such. Essentially the Rangers just handled perimeter security, like what you saw in Black Hawk Down when they worked with Delta. The guy asking most of questions (I already knew most of this stuff as it had come up in various conversations prior) wanted to know why Delta always carried out the assaults for prisoners or rescues and the answer was basically because we needed the targets alive and the Rangers would have killed everyone... and this is coming from former/current Rangers. They said that Delta took target recognition, pin point marksmanship, and precise execution of a plan and decision making to an entirely differently level. On a 10 point scale, the Rangers rated most of themselves and their fellow soldiers as a 6-7, but the Delta Operators were all 9-10, they saw that much separation between themselves and the talent of the soldiers at the next level. Many of those guys moved on from the Rangers to Blackwater, I'm sure everyone is aware of Blackwater now, but soldiers who are basically now mercenaries didn't see themselves stacking up against Delta. I'm really trying to get the point across of how much respect the Rangers I came to know personally had for our elite services, and they are elite themselves. Any gadget SWAT has, any elite force in the world has 2 generations newer. The Ranger battalion and Delta were testing the next generation of weapons as my friend was finishing up his service, I just don't think they did a very good job with that last episode. SWAT doesn't have better technology than GSG-9, better training than GSG-9, better personnel than GSG-9, nor have they ever tackled and succeeded with an operation as large as the Lufthansa Flight 181 hijacking. Last I had read (going to back to the original Rainbow 6 game when I first became interested in counter terrorism), no other counter terrorism force in the world had ever pulled off a hostage rescue of that magnitude without a single civilian casualty. I know as Americans we like to think we're the best at everything, but I think GSG-9 was done a huge disservice in that episode.

I would like to know what the incentive was? Steroids are not known for promoting tendon growth, quite the opposite. Steroids help your muscles recover faster, so you heal faster and can build muscle faster. I'm sure there is a probably a synthetic roid out there that actually promotes tendon growth (the properties can differ and someone will always be looking to make a buch) but would such a drug even shown up in testing? I really don't know, but to assume to that an athlete was taking a PED to heal a tendon... well I've never heard of a such a thing.

Ha, I don't why I doubted Lawrie... You know BK, I haven't heard anything about his velocity since A ball. I don't recall Chad or Aaron mentioning his velocity tonight, but I haven't been paying close attention.

Why wouldn't we want both guys catching every day? I understand the whole offensive angle getting both players their ABs, but neither player has offensive questions about their game. Lucroy has come a long way defensively, but Salome definitely needs the work. If Lucroy stays in AAA then I hope they send Salome down, even though he doesn't deserve a demotion. He just needs to catch everyday possible.

Periard is an enigma to me... He works in the low 90s with a good sinking FB, has a good BB rate, but his K rate is pedestrian and his results just haven't been great. If I had to guess he doesn't really have an out pitch, but only being able to listen on the radio it's just tough to get any kind of feel for him. I really wish he would break out, I've been on his bandwagon so long I'm not going to jump off now. I shouldn't have picked Lawrie for my beat the streak player, but I felt bad because I hadn't used him or Cain yet. I regretted it the moment I locked him in, which is odd given how good of a prospect he is.

Off the top of my head I would say Baltimore and Texas. I wouldn't be looking to break the bank with Fielder, a Teixeira deal is a pipe dream, but I would want 2 top prospects in return for him. I'm not really interested in MLB pitching, I'd want young players on the rise, players with top of the rotation stuff. I already listed players from Baltimore so I won't revisit that idea. Obviously anyone who's read what I've written about young pitching knows I have a huge man crush on Neftali Feliz, a true 80 FB on the scouting scale, and he commands it very well. There's no way Texas will trade him though, he became an instant fan favorite last season hitting 100 MPH 6 times in his MLB debut. I would target Martin Perez who's currently in AA, he's another live armed young man who controls his FB well and working on refining his off speed stuff. Obviously if I'm giving up 1B in Fielder, I'd also want Smoak back in return. If Texas isn't willing to move Smoak, then they don't have a deal. Well take that back, then I'd want Feliz and Perez... the 2 best young arms in the system, but if they acquire Prince they have the means to sign him, and Smoak would be blocked. In addition Smoak is a defensive liability at this time and doesn't run well at all, so as good of a hitter as he is, he still has quite a bit of work to do to become an all around solid baseball player. As I'm thinking about this Toronto might have some interest in Prince if their new management is looking to make a splash as they turn the franchise around, they will have some excess pitching already having Stewart, Jenkins, and Alvarez, then adding Drabek and Morrow through trades. In the end we don't really know who would be motivated enough to give up the best package for Prince, but if I'm not getting 2 top 5/6 prospects then I'm not making a deal. I'd want projectable pitching and the best hitter for him. The players don't need to be proven MLB talent, they need to be talented and close to MLB. Gamel needs to play in the bigs and he might as well learn 1B on the fly so they can see what they have, and we don't really have room this season for more pitching in the rotation, there wouldn't be a pressing need for MLB players in return.

I sat through a presentation on supplements a couple of years ago. The scary part of this that certain companies don't adequately purge their production lines. Meaning once they switch production from a steroid to something else, the residue left over is enough to be caught my modern testing, some of these athletes are telling truth, it's just hard to know who is actually being honest. Most of the companies have been outed by independent testing and I know that the NFL maintains a list of suspect supplements that their players should be wary of. I really like Volquez as a pitcher, but it wouldn't make sense to get banned for a PED while doing rehab for TMJ surgery, the problem isn't muscular in nature, a substance of abuse would have made more sense, like pain killers. Normally I'm suspicious of the player's intention, but here's a pitcher rehabbing an elbow, who's got little to gain from steroids given his recovery cycle, it just doesn't add up. He did suffer some setbacks in his recovery, but given what I know about steroids, I'm not understanding where the recovery benefit would come from in this case. On a side note I was thinking about the Reds today and their pitching as I drove around. Leake is already up and if Bailey and Chapman can give them anything... look out. Cueto, Leake, Chapman, Volquez, and Bailey or whomever as a 5th next season... look out NL Central. BTW, Chapman went straight to Louisville (AAA) and has pitched very well thus far.

Alexander is maybe the greatest conqueror in the history of the world. If some horse riding bandit owns him I'll be severely disappointed. SWAT are sort of a the best of the best from a certain city, GSG-9 are the best police officers from an entire country and have been leaders along with Israel's Sayeret Matkal in developing modern anti-terrorism tactics, in addition to providing training to various other countries. Also GSG-9 is a fairly large organization, larger than any SWAT team in the country, they have 100s of officers spread through various assignments. If GSG-9 doesn't wipe the floor with SWAT something is very wrong.

Amaury isn't throwing enough strikes, the 6th should be his last inning... 74 pitches, 40 Strikes and 34 Balls

Seriously Amuary? He didn't give up run but this sequence made me laugh. West Tenn Bottom 3rd Alex Liddi hit by pitch. With Kuo Hui Lo batting, Jonathan Lucroy picks off Alex Liddi at 1st on throw to Chris Errecart. Kuo Hui Lo hit by pitch

I was just coming here to post that, and earlier I got carried away with my Rivas take so I forgot to mention Lucroy's streak is now at 10 games.

Well he's not really a prospect anymore, I guess they liked the other guys more than him. It's too bad for Mike.

Cain extends his hitting streak to 11! Sadly I've picked every Star at the top of the order but Lo Cain because I didn't want to pick him on the day the streak ended, hence my streak continually being stopped. If Rivas was eligible, I'd nominate him for president.

Open MIC to stadium noise on the Stars broadcast again, they certainly have had a tough go for the 2 weeks here. I'll keep recording, if there is an interview I'll have it posted later tonight.

I just want the Brewers to do the right thing and call him up, then let him pitch in a game. I don't care if it's September... 2 shoulder surgeries, TMJ surgery... he's worked so hard and stuck with it so long, he's earned that appearance. I would love it if Mike makes it on his talent and performance and earns a bullpen slot outright, but I really want him to pitch in a MLB game this year. When he does it will be the first and only time I communicate TH, I won't be nasty, I just thought his comments regarding Mike were tasteless last year given what he's been through, and I want him to choke on those words.

I really hope Howell doesn't lose his confidence, he just doesn't have the pitching experience, only 90 total innings in college, and the results weren't that good in college either.

You question was sort of answered in a thread from earlier this year.

The live box scores have been messed up all year, no matter what time the game is.

It's early in the year but my goodness the teams are piling up the errors in single games, and in sometimes single innings. Huntsville can't have but 1 or 2 clean games, WI has been a comedy of errors, the Sounds were horrendous today. I haven't been following the defense in BC, that team just isn't tripping my trigger, I only check on the box scores for certain batting lines and pitching lines, the team certainly isn't getting my best effort...

I'm much more willing to accept that kind of reasoning when we're talking about a prospect, like Trey Watten for example, than I am about a MLB pitcher. All ground balls are not equal, and I don't buy that Davis pitched okay because he got beat on the ground. There were some very hard hit balls, more like drive lines on the infield, the hit to Prince for example was a rocket. Then a very heady bunt single when the IF was deep. Those plays aren't bad luck, they are result of the bad pitching that came before it, if there aren't runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out, then the IF isn't deep looking for a DP ball all the way around and there's no bunt hit. At some point you're going to have to quit ignoring the context of the situation and quit making excuses for poor performance. Yes pitchers might struggle in April, but call a spade a spade... It's like saying Suppan pitched okay because he only gave up 4 runs in 5 innings. Unless it's a reliever coming out of the bullpen then I don't see how not even making it to the 6th is an "okay" outing. The problem with the pen last season was that they were overworked, so far this year it's been the same scenario. The starters are not only giving up too many runs, but they aren't going deep enough into games that they can protect Macha from himself. What kind of garbage was that running oldy Hawkins out there a day after he went 40 pitches? I wouldn't do that with a reliever in his 20s, let alone a guy pushing 40. The issues in the pen have been made worse by Macha's refusal to use the entire pen, some guys are getting used too infrequently to stay sharp even with all the innings out there for the bullpen, and some guys are pitching so much there's no way they'll be able to keep up the pace. For the record DFAing Davis is a bad idea, it's way too early to be making those kind of decisions, but I'm not going to pretend like he's been effective thus far either. The rotation as a whole hasn't been good, Bush has been the only consistent pitcher thus far. I like Game Score because it's a quick and easy way to judge the entire start, not just runs allowed, and the game scores out of the MLB rotation have been horrible; Yo hasn't even broke 60 yet, Bush who has the lowest ERA hasn't broken 60, in fact no Brewer pitcher has broken 60 yet, Wolf's best outing was only 50, and sadly Davis hasn't even broken 40 yet on the season. The pitching has been horrible, and people on the site should be able to discuss how bad the pitching has been thus far without getting nailed with small sample arguments and the like. The point of the conversation in the small sample, that's the context the argument is framed around, and three games isn't bad luck, it's a trend. When we have so many older pitchers in the rotation, most trending negatively in their careers, and they all start out pitching poorly, I think people have a right to be nervous, especially if they weren't for the signings in the first place. Some of the posts have gone too far, but there are always going to be extremist views on a site this large, but those posts don't change the fact that the pitching has stunk this season, we can only hope it will turn.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Pre Game Audio Chris interview prospect Khris Davis. They discuss hitting, having a championship mindset, the College World Series, and the Midwest League.

It appears that Huntsville might be delayed, the audio is a good 5 minutes late already. edit. If there is a delay I missed them say it, the audio was just late coming up again, the 3rd time this year. Also, Lo Cain has the quietest 9 game hitting streak I've ever followed, he's only sporting a .759 OPS coming into today's action.