TheCrew07

That is the most ridiculously paper thin justification of Melvin I've read... he didn't sign any mega contracts, which tend to work out horribly, simply because the Brewers couldn't possibly afford one of those contracts in the first place. Hooray for not doing something that wasn't even an option?Even though he did sign A-Rod to the first mega contract in baseball history on his way out in Texas... The Brewers don't have payroll flexibility, they've been right up against the budget since 2007. Payroll flexibility shouldn't be the end goal anyway, flexibility of talent should be the goal; a deep and talent organization from top to bottom with a good mix of impact youngsters and veterans on the MLB roster. Melvin is very good at being mediocre, regardless of where he's been the GM, but that's not good enough for me personally. His "best" moves were bought with prospects, when that currency dried up so did his ability to make any kind of meaningful short term move. Not that I've been a believer in the organization's short term philosophy from the start. However this is where we are and I'm not sure how tomorrow is going to be better given how the team has operated over the last decade, the same patterns just keep repeating themselves.

I'd feel better about Mark A doing something if I didn't think he was part of the problem with these constant FA pitching acquisitions. He's been the catalyst for much of what Melvin has done lately, I get the feeling Melvin is becoming more of a puppet. Meaningful change? Hire a different GM who's a good mix of the old and new schools, then get the hell out of the way and let him run the franchise. Short of that, nothing is going to change, we've been on the same up and down cycle for a long time now.

I've yet to come across any independent evaluator who commented either way on Rogers' defense at 3B. It's nice that's he's fielding what he can get to but that doesn't really tell us anything of note. Hopefully we'll get more information about that over the winter but at this point I remain extremely skeptical of his ability to play MLB 3B. I watched him quite a bit in WI, he's not a guy who screamed "move me up the defensive spectrum" then but to his credit he's working his butt off doing whatever the organization asks of him.

Very interesting. Taylor Williams made the list? At any rate quite a few of pitchers in the Brewer's organization make the grade. Those Who Throw The Hardest: 100 MPH Pitchers In The Minors September 17, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

Off the top of my head mid teens somewhere, he's had the best run of his career since being acquired by the Brewers; maybe it was a wake up call, maybe he's just in a good place and it won't keep going like Casey McGehee. I really don't know what to make of him, but I've only seen 3 of his ABs in the bigs now, so I don't have much personal observation to work off of beyond scouting reports.

Wow this got long, I'm sorry. In 2011 there were plenty of other options, especially for top of the rotation talent out of the HS ranks, 2 players not mentioned previously were Robert Stephenson drafted 27th and Taylor Guerrieri drafted 24th. Guerrieri in particular is not a Brewer guy, to Seid's and the organization's credit they don't draft players with character questions so I understand why they passed. My problem with the Brewer's drafting philosophy going all the way back to Jack Z is that they take a shot at high upside pitching early and then that's it for the most part, though the draft and follow process helped them tremendously in the past. We simply need to draft more players per draft with exciting upside, we need 2-3 of those type of arms per draft. Most will flame out, but the Brewers need to make up for in numbers for they've lacked in precision. I've posted at length about the Ray's upside philosophy but closer to home Tyler Glasnow was drafted by the Pirates in the 5th round of that 2011 draft. Carlos Rodon was a flier pick in the 16th, obviously in hind sight they should have thrown the bank at him then, but who knew he'd potentially end up being the best pitcher in college baseball? Here's Glasnow's scouting report after 2013: If you don't regularly follow the minor leagues, specifically the 2014 divisional prospect thread and missed his accomplishments this year then here's his career to provide some context of the upside: [pre]Year Age Lev ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W 2012 18 Rk-A- 1.88 12 11 38.1 23 17 8 3 17 44 2 1.043 5.4 0.7 4.0 10.3 2.59 2012 18 Rk 2.10 11 10 34.1 19 15 8 3 16 40 2 1.019 5.0 0.8 4.2 10.5 2.50 2012 18 A- 0.00 1 1 4.0 4 2 0 0 1 4 0 1.250 9.0 0.0 2.2 9.0 4.00 2013 19 A 2.18 24 24 111.1 54 35 27 9 61 164 9 1.033 4.4 0.7 4.9 13.3 2.69 2014 20 A+ 1.74 23 23 124.1 74 29 24 3 57 157 3 1.054 5.4 0.2 4.1 11.4 2.75 3 Seasons 1.94 59 58 274.0 151 81 59 15 135 365 14 1.044 5.0 0.5 4.4 12.0 2.70[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 9/17/2014. We can quibble about specific players but regardless the Brewers simply haven't targeted enough upside in their drafts. If they hit like they did with the players in the first wave it works out wonderfully, if not there's no one really to pick up the slack. That's why I had such a problem with Melvin's continual take that the injuries to Jones and Rogers were responsible for the organization's pitching issues... what organization hits on 50% of their high upside pitching prospects, let alone 100%? San Fran is on a heck of a run that way, but they are the extreme outlier in that regard. Here's the top 20 rounds of the 2011 draft: [pre]Year Rnd OvPck Name Pos Type Drafted Out of 2011 1 12 Taylor Jungmann(minors) RHP 4Yr University of Texas at Austin (Austin TX) 2011 1s 15 *Jed Bradley(minors) LHP 4Yr Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta GA) 2011 2 70 Jorge Lopez(minors) RHP HS Caguas Military Academy (Caguas PR) 2011 3 100 Drew Gagnon(minors) RHP 4Yr California State University Long Beach (Long Beach CA) 2011 4 131 Nick Ramirez(minors) 1B 4Yr California State University Fullerton (Fullerton CA) 2011 5 161 Michael Reed(minors) CF HS Leander HS (Leander TX) 2011 6 191 Daniel Keller(minors) RHP HS Newbury Park HS (Thousand Oaks CA) 2011 7 221 David Goforth(minors) RHP 4Yr University of Mississippi (Oxford MS) 2011 8 251 Dustin Houle(minors) C HS Brookswood SS (Langley BC) 2011 9 281 Malcolm Dowell(minors) CF HS LaGrange HS (LaGrange GA) 2011 10 311 Michael Strong(minors) LHP 4Yr Oklahoma State University (Stillwater OK) 2011 11 341 Tommy Toledo(minors) RHP 4Yr University of Florida (Gainesville FL) 2011 12 371 Andrew Cain(minors) OF 4Yr University of North Carolina at Wilmington (Wilmington NC) 2011 13 401 Mallex Smith(minors) CF HS Rickards HS (Tallahassee FL) 2011 14 431 Jacob Barnes(minors) RHP 4Yr Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers FL) 2011 15 461 Andy Moye(minors) RHP 4Yr Georgia Southern University (Statesboro GA) 2011 16 491 Carlos Rodon(minors) LHP HS Holly Springs HS (Holly Springs NC) 2011 17 521 Mario Amaral(minors) C HS Ronald Reagan HS (Hialeah FL) 2011 18 551 Christopher McFarland(minors) SS HS Lufkin HS (Lufkin TX) 2011 19 581 Renaldo Jenkins(minors) SS HS Whitewater HS (Fayetteville GA) 2011 20 611 Brandon Williamson(minors) RHP 4Yr Dallas Baptist University (Dallas TX)[/pre] Where's the upside pitching sprinkled through out the draft? Seid did very well sprinkling upside HS hitters throughout the draft, position players like Reed, McFarland, Houle, Dowell, and Jenkins all were somewhat raw with promising upside in one way or another. Is there a potential all-star in there? No but there is potential for one of those guys to be an average every day type MLB player yet. Looking at the pitching Jungmann had a filled out frame topping out at 92 with his 2 seam and 94 with his 4 seam, there was no projection left, and he didn't have a plus secondary offering on draft day in my opinion. His SO rate sky rocketed this year, I'm hoping he can be a #3 but he's probably in that #4/#5 range given his total package which was my draft day assessment. Bradley was topping out 95 on the cape but his FB velocity was all over the place from 88-94 during the following spring, which suggested mechanical issues from day 1. With consistent mechanics most players are going to have 2 MPH swing in their FB velocity from pitch to pitch, as I know from putting the gun on pitchers over the years. They occasionally bump up a bit, as in guys who pitch 87-88 consistently will hit 89 on occasion and as they tire throw 86-87 as opposed to 87-88. As a lefty his stuff should have played up some and he did have 2 plus pitches on draft day, scouts liked his slider, I didn't have a problem with the pick, he profiled as #2 best case. Lopez was interesting, topping out 93, exciting athlete with plenty of projection left, unfortunately that just hasn't materialized, he's still working 91-93. His CB flashed above average prior to the draft, I thought it flashed plus in his good outings last year, I still like him. He's slowly reigning in his control but looks like he's more of #3 best case at this point. I liked him on draft, liked the pick, and still like him now. He's a bit of an enigma like the Cardinal's Tyrell Jenkins, though Jenkins' has a bigger arm and needed shoulder surgery this last off season. Danny Keller taken in the 6th worked 91-92 and wasn't really a stuff guy, he didn't have a good feel for pitching coming into the draft. There really wasn't ever top of the rotation potential here, he was a guy stuff wise similar to Zach Quintana taken in 2012. Keller didn't make it out of AZ. Rodon obviously was the one that got away here taken in the 16th but of the players taken in the first 15 rounds you had 2 guys that were 2s best case and 2 that were 3s (if everything went perfect for Keller). The 2011 draft wasn't a good example because of the extra pick in the 1st round, typically the Brewers draft 1 guy with some upside and then a bunch of guys whom profile like 3s, and for some reason have really struggled to nail pitchers who actually have projection left and get them into the fold. Unfortunately many of the pitcher's the Brewers have drafted just maintain their velocity or go backwards, Manny Parra was the notable exception here. Covey is only working 90-93, topping out at 95, which is exactly where he was on draft day. I won't want to do a full list but off the top of my head the story has been the same for Covey, Odorizzi, Lintz, Frederickson, Heckathorn, Arnett, Bradley, Hall, and Lopez... all guys who had projection or big arms as amateurs who've just managed to maintain their velocity or worst case never approached their best again. I've gotten to the point where I'm happy when the college guys just maintain their velocity like Nelson has. Like everything the Brewers do they've gone in circles... they had trouble with projection so they started going after guys who didn't need projection like Rogers and Jeffress, when those guys flamed out went the college route with Arnett, Jungmann, and Bradley, when those guys didn't work out exactly as expected we're back to wicked stuff with projection in Kodi Medeiros. They seem to have gone full circle on the body type thing as well, looking for a specific body type through the early rounds from like 2008 through 2011, and now back to finding young men who can pitch. I don't have a good answer for the Brewers' struggles other than the Brewers seem to favor players who've demonstrated the ability to handle extreme workloads, many of these pitchers impressed with 130+ pitchers outings as amateurs. That's more of a red flag for me personally but it worked with Gallardo, that's really the only common thread across most of the pitchers taken in the top 3 rounds historically by the Crew. I think Seid was better after the first couple of rounds, I've loved the 3rd/4th picks historically from a pitching perspective; Tyler Thornburg, Tyler Wagner, Drew Gagnon, Taylor Williams, and Brooks Hall all have that mid rotation upside, I thought Thornburg had a chance to be a #2 because of his athleticism but that's yet to pan out and may never materialize. Admittedly Hall and Gagnon didn't have the stuff of the other guys (all of whom are slider guys BTW), but I set the bar pretty low after 2nd round, I'm just hoping for a big league career. I want a couple of legitimate upside pitchers taken every draft. Sure draft guys that are mid to back of the rotation types as well, but give me some tantalizing prospects to follow as well. I like that the Brewers are moving more in that direction, especially with the position prospects, but we need to hit on some later round high upside pitchers as well.

I'm definitely jumping all over it tonight & taking advantage to fire up the grill again (for what might well be the last chance I have ) I happen to know that once you actually get the coals started, it's possible to grill out during in a blizzard in January, grilling season never officially ends! I do not however recommend the experience outside of how much it sucks for the grill master to deal with the weather as the hot dogs, brats, and burgers had a noticeable tint of gasoline because it took so much lighter fluid to combat the wind. However since I was feeding a bunch of starved and drunk young men in their early 20s there were no complaints, they were just happy to be fed. Though now that I'm thinking about it again a propane grill would make the situation much easier... I'm old school on the grilling front, I only use coals.

I have the 4s, I'm eligible for a new phone, but I think I'm going to go cheap and do a 5c as opposed to jumping on the 6 bandwagon out of the gate. My buddy has a Galaxy S5 (I think) and it's like a mini tablet, he's a bigger dude so can still carry it in a coat pocket but that doesn't appear to be a phone to have a conversation with, it's a monster, I laughed the first time he showed me it. I'd rather talk than text, I have fat/stubby fingers so I've always hated texting because I have to constantly fix my messages, it's easier for me to just to have a 20-30 second phone conversation than send a series of 3-4 text messages. Work is finally dumping the Blackberries, we have our choice of the iPhone 4s or the Galaxy S4 as a replacement device. My first smart phone was an Android device but Motorola and AT&T wouldn't upgrade the OS on the phones and there was a major bug which basically meant having to reset the phone to factory defaults every 6 months so I ended up on the iPhone and was extremely pleased. Granted, my smart phone experience really only had one way to go, but after all the hassle of getting my music library converted over to iTunes I couldn't see moving away from Apple now. I did chose a S4, just so I have 2 completely different phones, but it will be interesting to be able to personally compare iOS and Android side by side like I could compare them against the aging Blackberry OS of year's past. We have a bring your own smart phone option as well but that wouldn't work for me as the company doesn't let us use their WiFi and my data would be awful with all of the emails and attachments we get, not to mention the company doesn't give those devices the same access to our secure internal content. As much as I dislike carrying 2 phones it's preferable to footing the bill for work stuff and losing functionality.

Well if the choices are CO or CA then from a purely selfish perspective I'd like Colorado Springs but in the end I guess it doesn't matter, being on that side of the PCL means way too many late nights regardless. It will be very difficult to listen to full broadcasts... I like the idea of a short partnership (2 year) and then trying to get back to the IL to have all of the games in the East or Central time zones. I wish the Brewers could buy into a franchise and relocate it closer to home but I don't see any geographic region in the state where a AAA team would be successful. The T-Rats drew 250,000+ fans this season which was great for A ball, but that was still just 7th in the ML. It would be awesome in the Brewers bought into or the franchise outright in Mobile, which would give stability in a brand new facility for years to come. I'm really into the idea of the Brewers cementing relationships when they finally get into a good situations like with the T-Rats and hopefully in Mobile. The affiliation with the T-Rats has been good for everyone, why not make in permanent?

Record crowds attend MiLB games in 2014 Minor League attendance tops 41 million for 10th consecutive season

Unhittable Underwood gets Cougars close Cubs right-hander fans career-high eight for 2-0 lead in MWL Finals

I talked about pre-draft physicals quite a bit after the Covey debacle, Manual hits the nail on the head with this piece. Aiken Case Can Serve As Catalyst To A Revised Draft August 4, 2014 by John Manuel

Bryant’s The Man, But Daury’s A Story September 12, 2014 by Gordon Wittenmyer

On the concussion issue, I just want to point out one more time that the discussion about concussions shouldn't be limited exclusively to football. Many sports including baseball had much worse or non-exsistent concussion protocols and the Packers actually hosted one of the first concussion clinics I attended almost 10 years ago now. The truth is that soccer has a higher frequency and higher risk for concussion than football. Somehow how the truth about this stuff keeps getting lost in the "barbarism of the NFL" talk. Every athlete in every sport is at some degree of risk and really it's not even a sport issue, it's a life issue as it could happen to your son or daughter on the playground just as easily. I've taken the Brewer trainers to task many times on the minor league forum for horrendous decisions regarding players hit in the head over the years, brain injuries have the potential to effect the rest of someone's life in a way that other injuries simply do not. I'm incredibly sensitive to the concussion issue as I once let a kid fool me into getting back onto a football field in an important game, which nearly cost him the rest of his career when he took subsequent big hit and was down for the count. After the first time we pulled him from the game he came back and told me he was ready to go, I asked him if he saw the trainer and he said he did, but I never followed up with the trainer as I was busy calling defenses at the time. He lied to me because he was a senior, and a competitor, and playing meant that much to him, but I knew all that I and knew better than to take his word for it but for some reason it never occurred to me until he got hit the 2nd time. I know firsthand how it easy it is for a minor issue to springboard to something much more serious with a secondary concussion. I like that concussions have become a spotlight issue but I grow extremely weary of the continual spread of misinformation around the internet. The last time I sat through a concussion presentation, which is probably 4 or 5 years ago now, concussion rates for the various sports went this way: 1. Boxing 2. All levels of Soccer 3. Girls Basketball 4. All levels of Football At the time it was hypothesized that Hockey would actually be 2 or 3, but Hockey's reporting of concussions was non existent so there was literally no data to quantify anything statistically, it was more of a gut feeling from the presenter based on his experience treating patients. I don't get the outrage directed at the NFL, I like the fact that domestic abuse is once again being talked about, but I agree the discussion has veered off of a productive course and turned into a witch hunt. Where's the outrage for someone like K-Rod who allegedly not only beat up his wife but his father in law as well? I really don't think us men, well at least the good men who would never do something like this, have a very good handle on the whole as to why battered women stay with these people and attempt to cover it up. I would hope that people would take the time to become more educated on all of these issues so the conversation can veer away from, "well he was never convicted", as if domestic abuse is that simple.

Very few players stick at the position they were drafted at, most of the HS kids are SS... as was Coulter before his transition to C. College draftees don't move around anywhere near as much, it's just that most teams have their best athlete playing SS so that's why so many HS draftees have to change positions, they are obviously the best athletes on their respective teams. The college players whom are drafted were usually already moved, though many college SS don't stick at the position professionally either. I wanted to move Coulter to a different position after 2013 so I feel this year set him back defensively, however his bat exploded so I'll take what I can get. I don't mind the "have bat, will travel" mentality, I'm actually in favor of drafting the bat over other tools which is why Schwarber was my bat prior to the draft, I'd just like the Brewers to be a bit more decisive about position switches, even the most casual observer could tell you that Coulter was a below average A ball catcher. As JB12 pointed out the Cubs have a similar dilemma with Schwarber, though he's a much better C than Clint was. The Cubs don't have a legit C prospect, that's the only position they don't have covered by multiple high profile players, so they have incentive to ride out Schwarber behind the plate. Outside of Lucroy the Brewers' catching situation isn't overwhelmingly positive either.

Coulter isn't an incredible athlete, he's not in Harrison's class athletically, but he's above average. It's true that there isn't another 1B higher in the system that I would like more than Coulter though I'm extremely excited about David Denson who would slot behind him. In fact if Denson repeats WI I would expect him to put a similar season to Coulter's 2014. However I hope that Denson bumps up to BC with the rest of that WI crew. Catching is an entirely different animal, I caught this summer for the first time in 20 years and I was pissed at myself for dropping balls all over the place while I was working with a young man on his mechanics, and I have very soft hands in the field or catching a football for example. I don't think his propensity to whiff or drop pitches eliminates him from playing on the infield, it's a completely different kind of action. As an FYI, any ball in the dirt that gets through the C is a wild pitch by rule, that wasn't generous scoring. There were absolutely a ton of balls that got through all of the WI catchers last year that shouldn't have, but the scoring rule is very clear. I didn't think Coulter was a catcher because I never saw him get down and block a ball properly, he would pick or stab at everything, he didn't seem to have developed that instinct. I hope Clint can make the transition to 3B and if not the OF, I'd hate to have an arm like his sitting at 1B.

If we're going to lose I'd rather lose with a young guy working to get his feet under him at the big league level rather than trot veterans out there because they are "proven". Outside of Fiers has it really mattered who has pitched over the last 2 weeks? I don't have a problem with Nelson going to the pen since he has 174 IP already this year, capping him around 185 seems like a good idea for his long term health. However the reason for moving a young pitcher to the pen shouldn't have anything to do with his record, nor should 6 innings factor into it when every starting pitcher is failing to go 6. We don't have any pitcher who is going to regularly give us 7 innings, we don't have a single top of the rotation starter (as of today) who pitched for any of our full season teams this year. Garza at his best will go 7 but he only had one stretch where we got to see that out of him this season. This impact pitching deal is an organization wide issue. I really don't understand taking an inexperienced player to task for the same issues that the entire rest of the pitching staff has. We have a couple of control pitchers without great stuff who can locate in Fiers and Lohse, we have a couple of guys with decent stuff who don't consistently locate in Gallardo and Garza, and we have 2 younger pitchers in Peralta and Nelson with big arms who feature primarily just 2 pitches but who also don't locate exceedingly well from start to start either. If you include Estrada you have another pitcher with average velocity, 1 plus pitch, and location issues which is why he gives up so many HRs. At least the younger guys have a reasonable chance to improve, the older guys are as good as they are going to be at this point.

I'll stick with what I've been saying since last season, I hope Coulter is our 3 bagger of the future.

No F'n way. edit. I have no rational reason why I dislike him so much but I damn near threw my remote through my flat screen.

The Brewers were much better this year ending up right in the middle with prospect laden clubs in WI and BC playing well. In fact all of the full season clubs were over .500 for their respective campaigns. Unfortunately all 3 rookie level clubs combined were an awful (78-123) or .388 winning %; Helena (27-49), AZL Brewers (24-31) but (16-12) at home, and the DSL Brewers (27-43). 2014 Organization Standings September 9, 2014 by Matt Eddy edit. Note that only domestic affiliates were included in the rankings, I dropped the DSL in there as an FYI.

For Cubs, One Position Doesn’t Fit All September 9, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

I get what you're trying to say here, but I see the situations as apples and oranges. The Packers actually are competitive every year, continually turn over their roster, and for the most part invest their money wisely. (I'm no fan of AJ Hawk or Brad Jones). I'm no McCarthy fan on game day, I think he's an excellent motivator but his play calling drives me insane, but that was a regime which was just getting started at that time. DM has been at the helm now over 10 years and we have 1 NLCS loss to hang our hat on in that time frame. The Brewers have been a roller coaster in that we've had some nice up years with too many down years in between. I also understand that attendance is important but winning is the most important aspect of attendance. I think many years Brewer fans are duped by moves that may look good on paper for names they recognize and bring some measure of hope, but the return on the field just hasn't been there. 2008 was following by horrible years in 2009 and 2010, 2011 followed by 2012 and 2013, and 2014 is shaping up to be a huge disappoint as well. Yes I know in 2012 they were slightly over .500 and we'll likely be over .500 this year, but have the been Brewers been truly competitive in any year outside of 2011? I don't give a damn about attendance, I do care about an aging and expensive MLB roster, as I view attendance as function of what happens on the field of play, not the other way around, I believe that in the end winning drives attendance. Yes fans like the high profile acquisitions, deadline moves, and most of what DM and MA have done, but what has the ultimate result of all that been on the field? At some point don't we need to take a step back and take stock looking at the big picture? The vast majority of the "win now" moves haven't helped the team in the short or long term, it hasn't been "working" by any measure but attendance and I'm not a fan to make the ownership group more money, which is why I haven't made the trip down to Miller Park in 3 or 4 years now. I buy some gear here and there, but I've spent far more on the T-Rats than I have on the Brewers because that's really the only way I can voice my disapproval. Maybe we've set the bar too low, as a fan base we seem to be happy just to be above .500 and have a shot at the playoffs. Personally I've always been aiming higher than that, I didn't believe the 2014 Brewers were a legit contender when they were healthy to start the year and I certainly don't feel any better about them now. I don't dislike the front office on a personal level, in fact DM and MA seem like very good people, and both are loyal which is a trait I hold in high esteem, I just have major issues with the way the franchise has been operating. I never believed their business model would lead to sustainable excellence on the field and they've done nothing to prove me wrong over the years. If the Packers were going 8-8 or 9-7 every year with a high water mark of 12-4 and a loss in the NFC championship game you bet people would be calling for heads, because 9-7 with a potential WC isn't an acceptable bar for the Packers. Lambeau would still be sold out but fan base would be extremely restless. I have a hard believing most Brewer fans feel good about the state of the franchise at this point in time but I don't think that being over .500 and competing for a WC should be an acceptable bar for the Brewers either. In 2006 or 2007 as our first wave was maturing before our eyes sure that would have been acceptable, but it shouldn't be acceptable any longer.

Gelalich staves off elimination for Blaze Reds prospect homers, drives in four to force Game 4 in Cal semis

... and just as I give up hope they load the bases, take a walk for run, and Arcia plates 2 more to bring the score to 7-5!

Well the Stars have probably pitched their way out of the post season, now down 7-2 in the top of the 7th.