TheCrew07

Colby do you travel at to the Northwoods games or do you just catch the teams when they are in the area?

While health is primary concern, you won't get to AA if you don't have any success, either as a pitcher or a hitter. I also agree that success early doesn't necesarily mean that much either, many players have had their numbers slide significantly as they move up from level to level. I think most of us start getting excited about a guy when does well in AA, it's safe to say that many of us expect AA to separate out the quality players in an organization. I also think your prospect status has quite a bit to do with it... some guys keep getting pushed up because of what they are, not what they have done. While many of the later picks and signings have to earn their promotions every step of the way. As far as pitchers go, I'm fine with their stats just being "OK" as they figure things out, but when transition across that fine line to where I feel they have poor results, I'm going to get concerned. Either they aren't healthy, or they simply aren't very good...

I think when I build my house I'll just surround the lot with those Cedar hedges... 12 feet tall and barricade myself in.

This is the 3rd or 4th quote from WV now that indirectly takes a shot at Brewer. I know he didn't play well, but was he a bad teammate? I thought the move was made to help Brewer with confidence, but maybe something else was going on. I'm not big on conspiracy theories but a promotion that wasn't really earned and now the quotes the last 2 weeks leave me wondering what exactly was happening with that team.

I expected many of the players who are performing well to do just that, so I'm not surprised and that's why they are listed. Green, Laporta, Gamel, Salome... Nelson was a guy I'm still over looking, I need to start following him again. Last year Yo wouldn't have made my list, I expected him to dominate... "surprise" means that they are doing something unexpected.

Now that we're 2 months into the season, who are your early surprise players? I'll start it off with mine, there were 4 guys that really stuck out for me. Good Donovan Hand - 2.54 ERA on the season, 47 Strike Outs to 12 BBs all year, only 66 hits in 74.1 innings for a WHIP just over 1.0 Alcides Escobar - BA .300+, his SLG is higher than his OBP, and he's sporting an 800+ OPS Bad R. J. Seidel - ERA over 5, he's also given up 59 hits and 21 BB with only 30 strike outs in only 49.2 innings. Nick Tyson - His ERA is up over 6 now, he's given up 50 hits in only 32.2 innings, and 4 HR. Only Mercedes has given up more HR at WV, there are 2 starting pitchers that have also given up 4 HRs, but obviously in almost twice as many innings (Anundson and Rivas). His K/BB ratio is still 4.0 though with 24/6, so he's still showing signs of life. Edit -- Spelling in Subject

Frankly I expected more out of Seidel and Tyson this year... Mercedes has never proven he guys out above R+, Garcia has been poor all year, after posting a relative impressive K to BB ratio last year in Helena.

Nice job taking a simple post with a simple concept and running in a completely different direction... the knee jerk reaction was your post. As far as my post, what don't you understand? I like Yost, I always have, but I hate the fact that he has a 7th and 8th inning guy. I beat this to death last year and if you weren't around that's fine, but I think it's a pretty simple concept, treat your relievers like you would your starter. I have no problem with a closer, but if a pitcher goes well like Villy was, why change? It's different if you need to pinch hit for him, but that wasn't the case. This isn't a knee jerk reaction post, this isn't the first time I've brought up this concept, I've been very consistent on this concept. I've noticed other teams who will run a reliever 2 innings in a close game if they breeze through their first inning... I must be way outside the box on this one. Mota always makes me nervous... the only relievers with more walks are Gagne and Turnbow, I just didn't like him coming in to that situation. I was watching the game with my father as we had gone out for fish and my mother's plane was delayed until 11:30... he asked me why I didn't like Mota coming in as it didn't bother him and I explained the concept I mentioned above, I don't really know what else to say. Again Weeks didn't do him any favors on that line drive, but it was hard hit so I don't think it's fair to say that Mota got the short end of the stick in that inning. Shouse relies on arm angle and movement, what's not to understand? His pitches weren't breaking hardly at all, the first pitch that was hit for a home run was straight as an arrow at 78 MPH, I might have got a bat on that. I don't think Coors matches up well with Shouse's skill set, but again, at least he got outs. Villy is a starter, he could go 2 innings and pitch the next day... again, it was only 10 pitches and this guy was a starter a couple of weeks ago. Recovery time doesn't factor into it much in my opinion, every pitcher in the pen can pitch multiple days regardless if they go 2 innings, and why would they need anything more than the standard 1 day off? Wise is no longer in the bullpen. I never liked how Yost would run his closer out there 5 days in a row just because he was the closer either, but recently he said he's adopted the 3 days in a row rule. If you pitch 3 days in a row, you're unavailable regardless how you say you feel, and this applies to all pitchers in the pen. I can get on board with that concept and that was a positive delevopement from my point of view. Obviously I can read the future and Yost should consult me by cell phone before making any pitching changes... this should go without saying. edit. fixed spelling.

Now that Salome is tearing up AA pitching, I'm really interested to see what Lucroy will do there after he hits his 9th bomb tonight. I wonder if he'll skip BC and head right to Huntsville after Salome moves up? The Brewers have skipped a couple of prospects past A+ in years past...

I don't believe that to be true, in any sport. If it was the Packers wouldn't make an effort to stay middle of road in ticket prices, they have 50,000+ waiting list for season tickets. The big difference of course in the NFL is salary cap and the TV contract shared by all teams in the league which accounts for a significant portion of each team's yearly income. I've read various places that player salaries are roughly 55-60% of a MLB team's annual revenue, 35%-40% goes to running the franchise, with about 5% left over for the owner(s). When you have the worst TV contract in the sport, where is the rest of the money coming from? They make a significant amount money per year off of parking, concessions, and merchandising, but I haven't come across an article that ball parked that number for the Brewers, I'd venture a guess that it's less than 7% of the Gross revenue. The Brewers play 81 home games in a 40,000 seat stadium, everything I've read leads me to believe the majority of their income is generated through ticket sales.

I've complained about this in the past, and I hate beating a dead horse, but defined bull pen roles chap my rear. If a guy is going well, why not let him pitch 2 innings instead of 1? If he struggles to get through 1 then absolutely make a change, but change for the sake of change makes no sense to me at all, and never has. I didn't have anything positive to say when Mota came into the game, and I had even less to say when Shouse came in, in fact I was down right foul. I called my shot on Mota before the bottom of the 8th started, and unfortunately I predicted the end result of Shouse's first pitch as well. Yea it's a lefty/lefty matchup, but when you're a soft tosser that relies on movement, but your ball doesn't move in the thin air, you're just a batting practice pitcher. At least Shouse managed to get some some outs... Granted I'm still unsure how Weeks was 2 steps from a line drive and never got a glove on it, but every ball they hit off both relievers was a shot, there were no cheapies. Bullpen management is the one area where Yost has always gotten under my skin.

Nate I'll concede the point that inflation will have an effect, but what percent do you expect? This isn't like football where the TV contract goes up 10% or so every year so there's always money available to shrewd teams. I'd expect on average maybe 5% inflation, there is a point of diminishing returns here with baseball salaries. Ticket prices are already on the fringe of affordability for a family of 4, and to me one of the big draws to baseball was how affordable the games were. Factor in gas and the cost to attend a game for residents outside of the Milwaukee metro is considerable, there is a point where people will no longer be able to afford to attend games if salaries continue to escalate. Then again maybe everyone will just go for the Uecker seats and "sit in the front row".

Braddock while a bit wild lately (the walks have cost him in every poor outing), should still be higher than Lintz imo, he's striking out more than 1 guy per inning in A+ (33 in 30 innings), that's not too shabby. For comparison's sake Jeffress has 36 in 26.1, I think both of those 2 guys are pretty projectable and Braddock is a lefty to boot, which of course infers an innate measure of studliness that is difficult to quantify. Don't get me wrong, I really like the upside of the first 4 pitchers that were drafted, but kids drafted out of high school, having success at A+ should rated higher than a high school kid just drafted who's never thrown a professional pitch.

He's frustrating, but he's still very young. I like having a couple of high ceiling guys like him in the org at any given time. The Brewers haven't developed any recently, but the law of averages is working in their favor now....

Nate I'm just sure what you're trying to say, I don't want to knock on you, but your math doesn't add up. A budget is a fixed amount... if the payroll is 80 million, and should stay at 80 million, then when some players make more money the following year, that means other players have to make less. Considering that players in arby get a raise every year, and the players under contract all more more money next year, to resign Sheets there has to be a cheap influx of talent someplace. The more the players in the left hand make, the less money there is available for the players in the right hand... I don't see why everyone is worried about the financials for the Brewers. The Brewers are fine financially and have the money to be able to resign Sheets. Apparently you missed the part where the franchise was over 100 million dollars in debt? This was covered in great detail on the old forum, but the Brewer's revenue stream is one of the worst in MLB. They have to be fiscally responsible to keep the franchise viable. Mark A isn't in this to run his investment into the ground, and while he has deep pockets, I'm pretty willing to trust that when he sets a budget for the team, it's pretty much exactly where the payroll needs to be for the financial good of the franchise. You don't get to the level he's gotten making bad business decisions.

I'm not sure, but they have to do something in the next week if they think he's going to help, otherwise he may walk and end up pitching on another team for nothing. The prospect of him walking doesn't bother me if he ends up on someone's AAA roster, but it does bother me if he ends up on another team's 25 man. I'm not sure what Melvin could even get for him when everyone knows about the June 15 deadline, but I'd hate for him to help another team without the Brewers being compensated. In this case that's probably exactly what will happen if he looks good in his next 2 starts.

In principle I agree with what you're saying, but it's not as cut and dried as you make it. Historically no team holds back a stick that has a chance to be special, as long as he can play passable defense. In an elementary sense baseball is very simple, just score more runs than the other team. The better offensive players you have, the more runs you're going to score, the more games you're going to win, again I feel that's baseball in it's most basic form. If you have a servicable player (call him average for the sake of arguement) playing a position, why would you let that player block the progress of someone who could be a special player? If, and this is a big If, but if Gamel and LaPorta rake all year and have big springs next year, why would Melvin hold up their progress for Hall and Cameron? The incumbents aren't bad players, but they aren't elite players either. If moving Hart to CF, Laporta to LF, and Braun to RF makes the Brewers a better team, why not make the room? In essence, they'd be forcing their way onto the Major League roster the same way Braun, Weeks, and Fielder did before them. A trade is going to happen when Melvin thinks they are ready, and an injury only quickens the inevitable. I don't think an Overbay deal is out of the question in either case, they will make room for both young men when the time comes(unless they are actually included in a trade). Even if Gamel and LaPorta turn out to be only average players it's still a win/win. The Brewers became younger/cheaper and aquired additional depth likely at a position of need. I prefer guys that can flash the leather, but their simply aren't many 5 tool guys that have a polished all around game in their early 20s floating around, most players are 3 and 4 tool types... you do the best with what you have. I don't see how the 2008 Brewers are signifcantly better defensively than the 2007 version. Defense has cost them a game or two, but generally speaking it's not the defense that's been holding this team back, the pitching and hitting were/are the primary culprits in that regard. I expect Hall and Cameron will both rebound and increase their value, the Brewers don't have to trade Cameron to make room, they can choose to decline his option. Assuming Hall rebounds he could be the foundation of a every nice package for some prospects or a young MLB arm. It's been noted many times that Cain was available this off season if the Brewers would have had the ammunition to make a deal. I would hope the Brewers do the best possible job managing all of their assets, and players are assets, keeping an eye on the present and an eye on the future. My favorite Brewers are Hardy (hence my handle), Hart, and Braun, but I also understand that it's not likely they will retire as Brewers either. If Hardy gets moved, I would hope Escobar proves to be capable replacement and the team is better off for the move. Maybe Hall and Hart go, and Cameron stays... I don't know, I do know that I don't mind trading hitting for pitching. If I don't like the return I'll be bitter, but today I feel better about the Linebrink trade than I did 2 days ago. I'm a simple guy, I want the Brewers to be the best possible team they can be in any given year, whatever it takes... just maximize the talent and let the chips fall where they may. edit. I wrote a book, sorry for the lengthy response.

OBP is the big key here to me as other's have mentioned. I don't know how scoring a run with a single hit is ever a bad thing, the key is to maximum value out of that HR and put up a crooked number. If you're "clogging up the basepaths" and hitting home runs, you're going to score alot of runs. I don't think Bill is nieve enough to think that the Brewers should always play small ball to score runs, but they don't often string hits together in a row to score runs. I think what he's referring to is the inning they had the other day where they scored runs on 4 or 5 consecutive runs. If I had to guess he's just talking about stringing hits together... single, double, double... that sort of thing. That being said, I tune out most of what Bill says... if you take away "hitting the other way", "rely too much on the HR", and "spike the pitch in dirt" (which really irritates me I might add, make it look it's a strike and the batter will swing) there would be an awful lot of dead air space during the games.

Depends on the money I'm sure, I didn't think Scarpetta would sign last year, and he was an 11 or so. Once the draft hits the upper teens I'm pretty much done following it, with no draft and follow it doesn't seem like those picks here late on day 2 have much of a shot.

Another interesting pitching day for the org. I hate to say it, but I've never been a big Weaver guy and part of me almost wishes he'd just go away, but I guess if he can pitch well and help the big club that's all that matters. If he's solid again today will that be enough?

I am tired of guys being rushed through the minors and "their bat being ready for the majors" only to have then come up and be butchers in the field. Well the hit tool is the most important tool... I recall 3 players being rushed before they were ready defensively... Weeks, Braun, and Hall. Fielder never profiled to be a good defensive player, he is what he is. Hardy and Hart were ready defensively, but I think Hart wasted away in AAA too long, and while Hardy was rushed and his offense suffered, at least he played solid defense. A solid arguement could probably be made that Braun was never going to be a good 3B either, but that's not something I personally believe. I don't know that a team like Milwaukee can afford to wait on a guy, if Melvin wants the young bats, he's going to create a roster spot for them, just like he did for Braun last year. If the bat is "that" good, they have value to the organization, and someone is going to moved either way. I don't think it would have been the end of the world if one of them would have been called up to DH for interleague, that would have made way more sense than TGJ getting ABs. Melvin seems to move slowly, and it's cost him as he's been burned twice now offereing guys arbitration. I think for one of those kids to come up this year, it would take an offer that Melvin can't refuse, I think both Gamel and LaPorta spend the year at AA, but that doesn't mean they couldn't force their way onto the big league club by this time next year.

He never made it out of rookie ball, if I recall correctly his ERA was 9ish for the Arizona Brewers. He's one of many of the latin pitchers that have been disappointing, but Rivas is looking good, there's still hope. edit. I didn't think Baseball-Reference did rookie league stats but they do, here's his Career thus far. I had forgotten his didn't pitch much last year, did he get injured?

Lintz doesn't sound all that excited to be drafted by the Brewers, I would have thought that he'd be pretty happy to go #53 overall as a high school kid.

Not at all, I was hoping for a raw toolsy position player, a steal of sorts, that's all I meant by underwhelmed. It's hard to be underwhelmed by a player before he even makes his first pitch. Even if Z thought he had a crappy day, he woud still be ecstatic about the picks on draft day. After reading Lawrie's comments I must say his attitude reminds me of one Will Inman, he's going to be quotable if nothing else.

I think it's safe to say that lefty was Frederickson? Frederickson is listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds in MLB's database. He impressed Brewers officials at a Miller Park workout, including pitching coach Mike Maddux, but has room to improve his command. "He happened to be here for a workout we had over the weekend and ran up some big-time velocities," said Zduriencik, who, in true close-to-the-vest fashion, declined to confirm a report that one of those velocities was 98 mph. "He's a fastball-curveball-changeup guy, [and] his fastball was in the mid-90s. We're excited about him. He's a kid that's come on this year, a little bit of a late bloomer." Good scoop davego