TheCrew07

I guess that depends on what you consider an impressive package to be? A MLB pitcher and a projectable top prospect in AA (both lefties) is a nice haul by itself. I would think that the 4th pitcher would have been someone projectable in the bottom rungs of the minors someplace, a Naftali Feliz (though less of a name) type back when the Teixeira deal was made, typically the last guys in the deal are relatively low in the minors. Some scouts think Jeffress is a reliever as well, I'm not sure how measuring the worst case scenario devalues the prospect, Jeffress is still our top pitching prospect. I don't see how the Brewers have a comparable package, even with Parra... who's the next pitcher? Cody? Escobar will not be in the deal, how could the club afford both Peavy and Hardy? Make all the pieces fit... I'm into sustained success, I'm not willing to part with Braddock, Odorizzi, or Scarpetta for any pitcher much less a hitter at this point in time, and I'm torn on Jeffress. I would much rather have someone with Parra's talent as the number #5 than be doomed to a continual string of Suppans and Loopers to fill out the rotation because we have no pitching depth in the organization. All this talk reminds me of a crack addict.. we've gotten a little taste of the post season and now we're willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to experience it again. I'm still somewhat surprised that people are more concerned about bench spots than replacing our current starters when they are gone. I'm not talking about hoarding prospects and that slant really irritates me, this is about organizational depth. Some of our prospects are going to fail, there's no doubt. I do enjoy following the minors, but my ultimate goal is winning a WS. Do we win the WS by acquiring Peavy? Maybe? It's not as certain as some make it out to be, if it does then I'd take back everything I've said about the deal. I just don't think that's a realistic assumption to make. It's not that Peavy is only X number of years older than Parra, it's that he's been a workhorse while Parra was rehabbing injuries in the minors, his arm has a ton of wear and tear on it while Parra is the equivalent of a 2nd year MLB pitcher about 23 years of age. Peavy is getting to the age where the body stops recovering as fast, and it's probable that he will have a significant injury, almost all pitchers will experience one over the course of their career. That's part of the deal with violent repetition of movements that are not ergonomically sound, and throwing an overhand pitch is about as far from ergonomic principles as one can get. That doesn't mean he'll get hurt in the next 4 years, but he will get hurt at some point, the older he gets, the more likely an injury occurs. In the next 3 years we'll have holes at 3B, SS, 2B, 1B, CF, RF, and C. In the rotation Bush, Looper, and Suppan will be gone. We're pretty stacked relief wise and I don't stress over the bullpen anyway. One of those corner spots will be Gamel, he's not going anywhere, how do we replace the rest? Regardless of what we believe about the financial state of the Brewers, I think we can all agree that there's no way they are signing comparable talent on the free agent market to replace all their losses, nor can we afford to resign our own players, only the Yankees have the financial means to spend that much money. So again I say, make all the pieces fit, both with positions and contracts... I'd be more amicable to these ideas if someone would lay it out for me in a way that makes sense in the short and long term because I'm unwilling to go back to a talent level of 2002-2003 when it's not necessary. I'm willing to be proven wrong, but I've just never been in "win now" mode because we're already winning and I've felt for some time that we'll see a more balanced lineup and better rotation ahead. We're the smallest market in MLB but we support the team well enough it has the resources to compete, but we still have to keep one eye to the future because the team won't be able to weather a failure like Pavano, the Brewers simply cannot afford dead money. Finally, as far as Sheets goes, his extension wasn't anywhere near the dollars that Peavy's extension is... they are 2 different animals. I'm fine with a #2 type pitcher who will make 10ish over the next 3 or 4 seasons, I'm just not sure why every conversation around here has to be about an ace type pitcher? There's much better value out there than Peavy...

Lots of commentary on Trejo's swing and approach throughout the game. He seems to be a free swinger who lets his swing get real long... earlier in the game he actually swung at a ball that bounced in 3-5 feet in front of home plate. He's doing what he was doing early in the season, his 7 game hitting streak a distant memory already... Almonte runs a couple of balls up there at 94.

Dennis tries to make a diving catch to get out of the inning and it goes to the wall scoring 2 more runs. From the way it sounded Watten pitched better than his line would suggest, I'll be curious to see him next week. Watten with 101 pitches unofficially. Kemp's play ruled an error, Almonte comes in and gets out of the inning. He was throwing 92-93 but Chris notes the gun is juiced about a MPH or 2.

WI is just not good on the bases, I meant to post this 15 minutes ago and forgot about it. Kemp thrown out at second what was supposed to be a hit and run with BK at the plate, then BK picked off of first, and Chris wasn't very happy about it. Just a bad sequence of events. edit. Kemp badly misplays a popup and Chapman gets to first, he didn't get a glove on it so it's got to be a hit, but the C just haven't been impressive for WI.

I just got settled in and tuned in to WI, I missed the pregame interview if there was one, he's doing the lineups. edit. Lawrie pulled on a Manager's Decision yesterday, no further explanation. edit. WI just isn't able to keep people from running on them, Watten walks the first batter then gives up a SB on a pitch out... then Suppelt stole 3B on the very next pitch, that's got to be frustrating for the coaching staff. edit3. LOL! Sorry for the AOL speak, but after all the drama Watten picks Rejas off of 1B with the little league fake to 3rd and throw to first pick off move... I've never understood how players fall for that one, Watten strikes out the next 2 batters to get out of the inning. He's throwing 90-91 with his fastball according to the broadcast.

He needs to learn to be more selective before he bats at the top of the order in MLB, he's a 7 or 8 hitter initially. Escobar's Linked 2009 stats I'd like him to walk 1 out of every 10 ABs, I'd like him to be in the 20ish range.

While I was never on the Hall bandwagon, isn't it a little premature to rate Hart as a bust? He's pressing no doubt, but earlier in the season he was laying off that low and away pitch. I'm willing to ride out Hart this entire season and make a decision in the off season on Hart/Gamel/Green. If Mart A is truly pushing for Peavy then we're in trouble as a franchise, we aren't going to be able to "go for it" every time we're in the playoff picture as we aren't able to afford our own quality FAs, let alone anyone else's, where are the players going to come from? We have a good thing going on the minor league side, I'd rather not mess that up over a couple of wins this season. There's a lesson to be learned from MN both ways... 1) They usually stand pat during the season and are competitive year after year... 2) Since they've never gone for it, they haven't had a great playoff run recently either. I don't have a problem taking a shot, but we'd better pick our spots, or we're creating more trouble down the road than it's worth. Plenty of teams have made the world series without making an in season deal, it's not a prerequisite to success... it's not even June yet. Patience.

That's an interesting comparison X, hadn't considered it until you brought it up. If he pitches well he might force their hand, he's not obligated to stick around now that I think about it a little bit more. I'd take an effective and healthy Jones over Looper or Suppan in a heartbeat, the problem is the contracts, Suppan is going to be around regardless. Looper is more tricky, the mutual option is interesting, so that spot in the rotation might open up.

Are you spelling his name wrong on purpose?

Green Double Switched out... Hhhmph. He made a throwing error but that was in the 2nd... defensive replacement? Other issue? Shane Justice looks like someone famous, but I can't peg who, his face is really familiar. edit. Yikes, I jumped onto the WI broadcast to find out Scarpetta just gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th, this WI game outside of Dennis is a disaster. edit2. No reason given for Lawrie leaving the game, just that Delaney replaced him.

This gave me a chuckle.

Dennis with 2 solo HRs... I rest my case.

I hope Rivas figures out his HR thing as he moves up and feeling left out Braddock gives up one as well. Gindl under .300 now but walked twice, Wheeler at SS... no Brewer for game 1. Jones clean early, 1H, 0BB, 0K... Green batting 7th again, lame. Lucroy 0-1, hopefully he starts hitting soon. Single, single, double, error on Lawrie and a single make a for a tough 1st inning for Nieves, and then gives up a solo shot in the 2nd. WI hitless and down 5-0 going to the 3rd. As long as I'm harping on the batting order tonight, Dennis is batting too low in WI as well.

I agree, I've always kind of liked Heether... never a top a prospect, but always solid results. If he wouldn't have had a pretty rotten 2006 campaign we probably would have discussed him more.

Sweet, what's his FB at? hehe http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

sure, right after I use him as an example of someone who learned to control his emotions...

I'm sorry but lazy is completely dismissing and ignoring valid observations that aren't statistically based. This isn't a one time thing, it's an every time thing... it doesn't matter if the topic is Weeks, Fielder, or Parra... different conversation same result. No intelligent conversation is going to take place when lines are so vehemently drawn. The difference here is that I prefer to give everyone equal time and consideration, if someone is having success doing a certain task a certain way I'm going to listen. I'm not going to narrow my view to "studies" based on flawed premises, assumptions, and without valid scientific control. I'll listen to a sport psychologist give a presentation if I think it will he me, my kids, or my team. Maybe it allows to me to reach that one kid I'm struggling with. I'm a $$!%+, I'll steal an idea from anyone if it will help my cause, that's just the way I am. Parra has no history of control problems in his entire career and suddenly his BB/9 is up and it's a physical thing? Experience tells me that's not how it works, physical issues are like what Frederickson has going on for WI, he's not able to repeat his delivery which leads to wildness. An MLB example would have JLDR that could never consistently find the strike zone above AA... those are mostly issues that are physical in nature. It doesn't matter if it's a pitcher, QB, a shooter in basketball, or the shanks in golf, and believe me I've had my bout with the shanks in golf, it's all the same sort of thing. Anyone who's ever pitched knows what's it like to stand on the mound and think to yourself "what the hell was that?" or similar type self talk. I can tell this you this, if you're up there thinking about failing or trying not to make a bad pitch then you're going to fail or make a bad pitch. Actual scientific studies have proven that as fact, and this why we never coach a kid on what not to do. I would never tell a kid "don't get beat deep" because they get tentative and invetitably get beat deep... instead we'll say something like "attack the ball" and get a better result. If they are only thinking about the bad outcome it becomes a self fullfilling prophecy, and on the field regardless of the game you don't want them to think, just to react. Maybe Gameday shows the pitches just missing the strike zone, I'm not sure, today was the first day I followed gameday on a Parra start. However when you watch the game Parra is missing Kendell's glove by feet not inches. In the 4th inning of the MIN game his 4 seam fastball was all the way down to 87 MPH on the FSN gun, it was so obvious that he was aiming his pitches instead of just throwing them. He should have gotten crushed, I don't recall off hand someone leaving more balls thigh to waist high over the middle of plate, any MLB hitter should be able to hit that or he has no business playing at this level. Parra's BB/9 is up to 5.6 from his first 2 seasons that were 4.1(still too high), his K/9 has gone down from 8.9 to 8.0 to 7.7 and predictably his whip has skyrocketed to 1.74. In his minor league career his WHIP was 1.26, his BB/9 was 2.4, and his K/9 was 8.7. He was a control pitcher with electric stuff and now you honestly believe he's just going through going pains in his 3rd season and 2nd full season in the rotation, that somehow he's physically forgotten how to repeat his delivery? There's a slight chance, but I think the evidence overwhelming supports issues of a different kind. He's not attacking hitters, he's trying to finesse them, so he wastes pitches and ends up behind in the count. I thought Sabathia's advice was spot on, just throw 3 pitches instead of 5 and get after the hitter. I like Parra, I'm a huge supporter of his, I've argued against trading him and Escobar for Peavy so many times I don't even care to open that thread anymore. I just wish I could put Dave Bush's mentality into Parra and we'd have one hell of a pitcher. I've gotten to the point where I don't even want to watch him pitch because he frustrates me so much, I thought I was being smart by leaving the room when he's on the mound but I always end up rewinding the DVR to see what he did anyway. I think Parra is a pitchers version of Weeks, a guy who's immensely talented and gets in his own way up there. I loved how Weeks was attacking thae "get me over fastball" pitchers were trying to push past him, eventually the walks would have come back as advanced scouting caught on and they quit trying to get ahead in the count the easy way. However the change is Weeks' approach was obvious, he still had some balance issues with his swing, but I liked what he was doing. Similarly Parra won't improve until he attacks hitters aggressively, that's the bottom line from my lazy perspective.

Mass posted an update earlier today, he got hit in the hand by a foul ball, that's why Salome hasn't been playing.

I recommend you read a book about or google sports psychology sometime. As far as mentally weak or not, there's no doubt that he is, and there's no doubt that he's not alone. If everyone were perfect, no one would wash out in any sport. Some players have "it", some learn "it", others get by controlling "it". Zambrano was never mentally strong either, a couple of bad things would happen and he'd cave in, he's a guy who's learned control. All young pitchers do not struggle the way Parra has, but yes all pitchers will be up and down, that's the nature of the beast, because no one is able to perform at their absolute best every time out. If someone hasn't come up with a way to measure a statistical impact, you don't believe, it's that simple. I'm in no position to tell people what to believe in but it's pretty obvious that the vast majority of what's wrong with Manny as a pitcher is mental and not physical in nature.

When did Hardy get resigned?

Cause Lucroy is tearing it up... there's plenty of season left and Salome is much better the last 3 weeks, when he's actually played. He might still be having back trouble, which would be too bad.

I think how well the Brewers played for a month is skewing perspective here. I thought this team may win 86 games if things went well, now we lose 4 of 5 and people are back on the panic button... we didn't have any significant depth anywhere, so any injuries were going to be incredibly costly anywhere but the bullpen. Weeks went down, it's part of sports, a reactionary move to acquire a stop gap for this season would really tick me off, trading prospects for a stop gap at 2B? Seriously? Add in that some players are performing poorly lately and things look worse than they are.. It not just Hart, Hardy was horrible early, Cam has been on a serious slide, Hall has been Hall... then Hardy gets hurt forcing both Counsell and McGehee into the lineup. What if another player like Braun gets hurt? We're at the May of here, this is a marathon not a sprint. There should be no talk of acquiring anyone until the all-star break at the earliest. Sometimes it's just not going to be your year, injuries to position players is one aspect of baseball that I believe is somewhat "lucky", many of us might be chasing a goal that isn't in the cards or realistic for this particular season. Have some patience and lets see where we are at come the all-star break.

They mentioned the Indians wanted MLB ready pitching in return, but didn't list possible destinations, at least when I was paying attention.

Just a nitpick here, but the draft is key for compensation, once the draft is completed the Brewers will not get compensation, the trade deadline is immaterial in this case.

Promoted to what end my friend? A promotion to AAA seems a bit premature to me. He won't have the arm strength to pitch in the rotation next year so I'm fine with him spending a hopefully very successful season in AA and then taking the promotion to AAA and a 40 man spot for next season if all goes well. He hasn't pitched more than 90 innings in a season since 2003 and more than 120 since 2002. Much like Braddock I'm hoping he'll reach the 100 inning plateau this season and go from there. If the organization views him a reliever then I'm down with a faster promotion schedule. As disappointing as Jeffress has been, the developments with Jones, Rogers, and Braddock have made this minor league campaign pretty exciting for me personally.