-Happy 2006 every one! I officially became the last human being to join facebook yesterday. It really is an ingenious machine. What is great is that I've been on it for a day and I've already ignored two friend requests. And my mom made me here friend within 30 seconds of me signing up. Needless to say, it is going to be alot more G rated than this blog is. Hence the anonymous name. I was mildly obsessed about it for about a half day yesterday, but the excitement has worn off. I'm that guy. Now if I could just get an iPhone, I would be as cool as SportsBottle.
-I came to the realization that the past two days was the first time all season that I didn't see/follow/hear at least one pitch of back to back Brewer games. Yes, they are officially done. Also, of course Corey Hart dove into the wall and hurt himself. Thank you to Doug Melvin for screwing this one up by standing around playing with himself while we have a guy that is clearly playing out of his mind that needs to be traded now.
-My brother called me yesterday to tell him that a random co-worker of his told him that Prince was traded to the White Sox for Gavin Floyd, Gordon Beckham and a prospect. I immediately went online and couldn't even find a rumor of this. This person is an idiot.
-Seriously, football needs to start like yesterday.
-I toured the facilities for the site of the OJSFA draft on August 14th last night. I was impressed. It was nicer than I thought it would be. Mark's dog nearly ate me though. Who is going to be the first to feed it booze?
-Madden is coming out on August 10th. I will be at the store purchasing it. Allegedly they made it so you can play whole games in half the time now. Not sure how that works. But I'm excited. And I'm 29.
Showing posts with label Prince Fielder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prince Fielder. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Brew Crew Hangover: Fix 'Em Edition
Now that Milwaukee has a 0.6% chance of making the playoffs (so you're saying there's a chance!) I think now would be an opportune time to start doing some shit for the future. I would say at this point, it is safe to say that the roster as currently constructed is not going to get us a world series title, and may not even get us to .500, which used to be the mark of success for the Crew. Here is what I think I would do.
1) Put Fielder on the market. He is the biggest, and maybe only realistic trade chip we have. We know we won't be able to afford him in two years, and he probably has the most value right now because anyone that trades for him gets him for a year and a half. But don't give him away. We don't need to be desperate because we've got time. If nobody wants to give us anything good, we can wait another year if need be. I think at this point, most non-idiotic fans understand that he isn't going to be around much longer. The problem is that right now, I don't see another first baseman anywhere in the Brewers system that can step in and give us any kind of production.
2) Cut Soup. He is wasting a roster spot. I think the message has been recieved that he will never start again. We've used I think 9 other starters other than him. He's been that bad. I would much rather give the roster spot to a young pitcher that deserves it.
3) Consider the Hoffman situation. This one is pretty tough. He's been awful. And I don't think he's going to turn it around. But how do you cut a hall of famer? I'm sort of hoping we can convince him to retire.
4) Start your best players. This sounds dumb, but this isn't something that is a guarantee for the Brewers. For instance, I have more confidence in both Kottaras and Lucroy than I do in Zaun. Lucroy is obviously the future. So when Zaun comes back, don't hand him the job because he's old and well paid. This is only the most glaring situation, but trading Fielder (and Hart?) would open up a few spots for some younger guys to try thier luck. And let Axford close unless you think Braddock is better, but don't give it to Hoffman.
5) Stop spraypainting Rick Peterson's uniform on him. I honestly preferred when he wore a coat in 85 degree weather. He is just offputting. Mrs. Juice says "He looks like a perv." Agreed.
One last thought: How did we get here? Five years ago, I would be thrilled not to be in last place, and now I'm bitching about not being the playoff hunt.
1) Put Fielder on the market. He is the biggest, and maybe only realistic trade chip we have. We know we won't be able to afford him in two years, and he probably has the most value right now because anyone that trades for him gets him for a year and a half. But don't give him away. We don't need to be desperate because we've got time. If nobody wants to give us anything good, we can wait another year if need be. I think at this point, most non-idiotic fans understand that he isn't going to be around much longer. The problem is that right now, I don't see another first baseman anywhere in the Brewers system that can step in and give us any kind of production.
2) Cut Soup. He is wasting a roster spot. I think the message has been recieved that he will never start again. We've used I think 9 other starters other than him. He's been that bad. I would much rather give the roster spot to a young pitcher that deserves it.
3) Consider the Hoffman situation. This one is pretty tough. He's been awful. And I don't think he's going to turn it around. But how do you cut a hall of famer? I'm sort of hoping we can convince him to retire.
4) Start your best players. This sounds dumb, but this isn't something that is a guarantee for the Brewers. For instance, I have more confidence in both Kottaras and Lucroy than I do in Zaun. Lucroy is obviously the future. So when Zaun comes back, don't hand him the job because he's old and well paid. This is only the most glaring situation, but trading Fielder (and Hart?) would open up a few spots for some younger guys to try thier luck. And let Axford close unless you think Braddock is better, but don't give it to Hoffman.
5) Stop spraypainting Rick Peterson's uniform on him. I honestly preferred when he wore a coat in 85 degree weather. He is just offputting. Mrs. Juice says "He looks like a perv." Agreed.
One last thought: How did we get here? Five years ago, I would be thrilled not to be in last place, and now I'm bitching about not being the playoff hunt.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
If I Were a Sports Talk Radio Host...
I would spend 4 hours talking about Torii Hunter. I would talk about Torii Hunter because he said (amongst other, really, really stupid things) that dark skinned Latinos are "impostor African-Americans" and that there are more Latinos than African Americans in the MLB because they will work for a "bag of chips".
To be fair, I can understand how someone can get caught up in the moment and say something stupid that gets printed, either out of context or not, and might not actually mean what they said. But to follow it up later by saying (and I'm paraphrasing) "It was a poor choice of words. I didn't mean to offend anyone. But I meant what I said, and I'm more upset that everyone got offended because it is true."
I'm not really here to argue whether what he said is true or not, or whether I agree with his sentiment. Whether the racism of the American baseball fan has caused them to assume that anyone that isn't white is black, and to assume that there isn't a problem of getting young African Amercians to embrace the game instead of basketball or football (which is what I think Torii meant).
It was just a brazenly stupid thing to say in the politically correct world we live in. One thing that I am interested in is what is going to happen to Mr. Hunter. Because this seems at least somewhat similar, at least in a racial context and on a stupidity level, of what John Rocker said to SI in the late 90's. And he was pretty much blackballed from the league within a year (it didn't help that he got hurt and then couldn't throw a strike). I firmly beleive that nothing will happen to Torii because I think there are a lot of pepole that will excuse unintentional (or not) racism from a person of color, but will not excuse it from a white person. Perhaps because many non-white people have been victims of overt racism themselves. I'm not sure. I'm also not sure why a minority player would attack other minority players. I found that strange. Maybe he thought he would get away with it?
Lastly, Torii somehow found a way to make me like him less, and I didn't think it was possible. First, he played for the Twins. Then, he would dive for routine fly balls in center field for no reason. Then, he complained about Prince Fielder's "atom bomb" celebration, and untucking his shirt like he was some sort of authority on the matter. And now this.
Stay tuned. I hope Ozzie Guillen has something to say about it, because Ozzie Guillen is the only person on the planet with less of a filter. (Ed. Note: If you read further down in the linked story, Ozzie didn't disappoint. Maybe Milton Bradley has something crazy to say? John Rocker?)
To be fair, I can understand how someone can get caught up in the moment and say something stupid that gets printed, either out of context or not, and might not actually mean what they said. But to follow it up later by saying (and I'm paraphrasing) "It was a poor choice of words. I didn't mean to offend anyone. But I meant what I said, and I'm more upset that everyone got offended because it is true."
I'm not really here to argue whether what he said is true or not, or whether I agree with his sentiment. Whether the racism of the American baseball fan has caused them to assume that anyone that isn't white is black, and to assume that there isn't a problem of getting young African Amercians to embrace the game instead of basketball or football (which is what I think Torii meant).
It was just a brazenly stupid thing to say in the politically correct world we live in. One thing that I am interested in is what is going to happen to Mr. Hunter. Because this seems at least somewhat similar, at least in a racial context and on a stupidity level, of what John Rocker said to SI in the late 90's. And he was pretty much blackballed from the league within a year (it didn't help that he got hurt and then couldn't throw a strike). I firmly beleive that nothing will happen to Torii because I think there are a lot of pepole that will excuse unintentional (or not) racism from a person of color, but will not excuse it from a white person. Perhaps because many non-white people have been victims of overt racism themselves. I'm not sure. I'm also not sure why a minority player would attack other minority players. I found that strange. Maybe he thought he would get away with it?
Lastly, Torii somehow found a way to make me like him less, and I didn't think it was possible. First, he played for the Twins. Then, he would dive for routine fly balls in center field for no reason. Then, he complained about Prince Fielder's "atom bomb" celebration, and untucking his shirt like he was some sort of authority on the matter. And now this.
Stay tuned. I hope Ozzie Guillen has something to say about it, because Ozzie Guillen is the only person on the planet with less of a filter. (Ed. Note: If you read further down in the linked story, Ozzie didn't disappoint. Maybe Milton Bradley has something crazy to say? John Rocker?)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Giant Envy
Really San Francisco Giants? Really? If you aren't in the know lets recap this whole thing and you can tell me if you think the Giants are gigantic pussies or not.
Late last season, Prince Fielder hit a walk off homer to beat the Giants. As he rounded the plate, the Brewers proceeded to engage in the coolest choreographed home run celebration in major league history (pictured above). All the guys were standing at the plate, and when he jumped on home, everyone fell. Good times were had by all.
Immediately afterwards, a bunch of old timers were enraged, and somehow the media decided that having fun while playing baseball should be outlawed. I don't think any fines were levied or anything, just extremely stern glances and comments.
Fast forward to yesterday. First spring training game for the Brewers. Prince Fielder comes to the plate for his first spring at bat. The game is against the Giants. He gets plunked on the first pitch....
Are you fucking serious? Jesus, it isn't like Prince Fielder hit a homerun and then threw the bat at the pitcher. He fucking celebrated with his teammates. If you are so offended, don't fucking let him hit a homer. To be fair, it seemed like a pretty light toss that hit him today, but what if that hits him in the wrist or something stupid. I LOVE me a good bean ball war, but not six months later because a guy celebrated winning a game for his team. This whole fake outrage over being disrespected, from a bunch of guys who on a whole can barely spell disrespect is fucking ridiculous.
That being said, the Brewers should have retaliated. Maybe they did, I don't get too many spring training "highlights".
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Juice is Famous?
I'm gonna agree with Twinkie about this site reaching a new low and do my best to bring us out of the cellar.
Does anyone on here care about the NHL Playoffs (Twinkie, the North Stars are no longer in Minnesota)? In my opinion it's the best postseason in pro sports (baseball is a close second). I grow nostalgic and think back to those 5 OT games we used to watch in college. Early morning class the next day, trying to fall asleep in those heavenly beds in the dorms, but not willing to turn off the game at 1am in the middle of the 5th OT. I love that they don't use the shootout in the playoffs. I placed a Vegas bet on the Blackhawks a few months ago. I can name Khabibulin and no one else. I'm a huge Blackhawks fan.
I'm getting used to the awful Brewers pitching staff. Manny Parra is an enigma to me. I still think he's gonna be very good. He definitely has the stuff - mid 90s fastball, good off speed. But he's missing something, probably intelligence and experience. If you gave Jamie Moyer Parra's stuff, he'd be unhittable. I'm on the verge of lowering my overall wins prediction.
Braun appeared to bust out, finally. But, seriously, Ricky would smack that 83 mph fastball around the yard. The one thing I notice about the Brewers is they swing and miss at a lot of mistakes. They miss lots of hanging curves. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun swing and miss more than any players I've ever seen.
Is it just me, or does it always seem like Bill Hall is late b/c of his batting stance. It just never seems he's gonna be able to get around on the ball.
What good will Trevor Hoffman do if we can't get to him in the 9th anyways? And, keep in mind, he's 64 years old with a Moyer like fastball.
I'm intrigued by the Pedro Martinez talk. Not because he would help us. I'm just simply intrigued.
Percy Harvin tested positive for ganja. There must be some level of stupidity that I'm too stupid to understand.
I won the NBA fantasy league. Just thought I'd point that out.
I beat Juice's #1 seeded team to get to the finals, just for the record.
Robin Yount will never win any acting awards.
Does anyone on here care about the NHL Playoffs (Twinkie, the North Stars are no longer in Minnesota)? In my opinion it's the best postseason in pro sports (baseball is a close second). I grow nostalgic and think back to those 5 OT games we used to watch in college. Early morning class the next day, trying to fall asleep in those heavenly beds in the dorms, but not willing to turn off the game at 1am in the middle of the 5th OT. I love that they don't use the shootout in the playoffs. I placed a Vegas bet on the Blackhawks a few months ago. I can name Khabibulin and no one else. I'm a huge Blackhawks fan.
I'm getting used to the awful Brewers pitching staff. Manny Parra is an enigma to me. I still think he's gonna be very good. He definitely has the stuff - mid 90s fastball, good off speed. But he's missing something, probably intelligence and experience. If you gave Jamie Moyer Parra's stuff, he'd be unhittable. I'm on the verge of lowering my overall wins prediction.
Braun appeared to bust out, finally. But, seriously, Ricky would smack that 83 mph fastball around the yard. The one thing I notice about the Brewers is they swing and miss at a lot of mistakes. They miss lots of hanging curves. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun swing and miss more than any players I've ever seen.
Is it just me, or does it always seem like Bill Hall is late b/c of his batting stance. It just never seems he's gonna be able to get around on the ball.
What good will Trevor Hoffman do if we can't get to him in the 9th anyways? And, keep in mind, he's 64 years old with a Moyer like fastball.
I'm intrigued by the Pedro Martinez talk. Not because he would help us. I'm just simply intrigued.
Percy Harvin tested positive for ganja. There must be some level of stupidity that I'm too stupid to understand.
I won the NBA fantasy league. Just thought I'd point that out.
I beat Juice's #1 seeded team to get to the finals, just for the record.
Robin Yount will never win any acting awards.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Bear's Dream Come True
Now we have two years of watching him slowly eat himself to death! Seriously though, not a terrible deal for the Brewers, and it buys them some time to ship him off if they feel like it. Alot better than the $12 mil they had on the table before last year. Instead of costing them $36 mil, he will have cost us $18.67 mil. Not too shabby.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Fat Man and The Old Man
Brett Favre and Prince Fielder. Apparently Brett's gone to Tampa Bay Your New York Jets!, they just got done working out a preliminary trade agreement this afternoon and he's out the door. Well, whatever I'll ignore that for now until something actually gets settled, so many people justifying their sports writer paychecks right now by reporting non stop on just 100% pure speculation bullshit.
On to the fat man. Did I not warn everyone I know at the beginning of this season that he was a fat piece of shit and a cancer? In fact that's his new nickname, Fatty Tumor. Here are some gems from Prince's media announcement today.
I've been playing with Manny since rookie ball. It's not like we hate each other. At least, I don't.
So this dumbass doesn't even know if a guy he's been playing with for over 4 years hates him? I can usually tell if someone hates me when I walk into a room.
No one will reveal the exact details but word has it that Fielder didn't like that Parra was headed to the clubhouse without staying on the bench to watch the top of the inning, especially after just surrendering six runs.
So Parra's upset about giving up six runs in an inning? Give him some fucking breating room. No one questions Prince's fat ass when he swears off meat, or stops paying his taxes, or misses every fucking ground ball that is hit more than 3 feet away from him on either side, much like what happened for a 2 run RBI single in the inning that Parra just gave up six runs.
Fielder said he had yet to sit down and talk with Parra about the altercation but indicated he planned to do so.
Wait, so you are giving a media interview about this altercation and you haven't sat down and talked to your own teammate about it? That's fucked up in my opinion. Take care of your shit internally first, then give the media their story after.
Now for Yost's drug induced coma of an interview.
Asked what would warrant removing a player from the lineup, Yost said, "non-hustle, being late, disrespecting the game in terms of hot dogging, no hustling, those types of things."
Apparently Yost is not a fan of his players not hustling.
"That one thing doesn't hurt his image. It was a mistake on both sides, one that I think both of them regret.
How the fuck was this Manny Parra's mistake? He got fucking shoved to the ground and almost sat on by a 320 pound tumor.
Oh well, none of this surprises me, I don't know if I can hate him anymore than I already did, however this is just one more thing to use in any discussion about why his new nickname is Fatty Tumor and why we should be shopping him for as much as we can get in the next season or two.
On to the fat man. Did I not warn everyone I know at the beginning of this season that he was a fat piece of shit and a cancer? In fact that's his new nickname, Fatty Tumor. Here are some gems from Prince's media announcement today.
I've been playing with Manny since rookie ball. It's not like we hate each other. At least, I don't.
So this dumbass doesn't even know if a guy he's been playing with for over 4 years hates him? I can usually tell if someone hates me when I walk into a room.
No one will reveal the exact details but word has it that Fielder didn't like that Parra was headed to the clubhouse without staying on the bench to watch the top of the inning, especially after just surrendering six runs.
So Parra's upset about giving up six runs in an inning? Give him some fucking breating room. No one questions Prince's fat ass when he swears off meat, or stops paying his taxes, or misses every fucking ground ball that is hit more than 3 feet away from him on either side, much like what happened for a 2 run RBI single in the inning that Parra just gave up six runs.
Fielder said he had yet to sit down and talk with Parra about the altercation but indicated he planned to do so.
Wait, so you are giving a media interview about this altercation and you haven't sat down and talked to your own teammate about it? That's fucked up in my opinion. Take care of your shit internally first, then give the media their story after.
Now for Yost's drug induced coma of an interview.
Asked what would warrant removing a player from the lineup, Yost said, "non-hustle, being late, disrespecting the game in terms of hot dogging, no hustling, those types of things."
Apparently Yost is not a fan of his players not hustling.
"That one thing doesn't hurt his image. It was a mistake on both sides, one that I think both of them regret.
How the fuck was this Manny Parra's mistake? He got fucking shoved to the ground and almost sat on by a 320 pound tumor.
Oh well, none of this surprises me, I don't know if I can hate him anymore than I already did, however this is just one more thing to use in any discussion about why his new nickname is Fatty Tumor and why we should be shopping him for as much as we can get in the next season or two.
Friday, May 23, 2008
That's More Like It & Quote of the Day
First off, the quote: A major league scout told Jayson Stark regarding Prince Fielder: "This guy is so big now, he jiggles. He's enormous. Hey, he's a great hitter. But he's huge."
Now THAT is the Brewer team we all know and love. No starting pitching, and going 2-11 with RISP and leaving 14 on base.
-Weeks Watch: 1-3, HR, 2BB, Season: .208/.709, I am almost ready to get off his ass.
-Billy "Rob Deer" Hall: 3-5, 1K, Season: 9HR (2nd), 48K (1st by 8)
Now THAT is the Brewer team we all know and love. No starting pitching, and going 2-11 with RISP and leaving 14 on base.
-Weeks Watch: 1-3, HR, 2BB, Season: .208/.709, I am almost ready to get off his ass.
-Billy "Rob Deer" Hall: 3-5, 1K, Season: 9HR (2nd), 48K (1st by 8)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gagne, the bullpen and Prince Fielder
I was going to write this as a comment to Juice's blog, but it started to get too long so I said screw it, new post! I hope last night will shut some people the fuck up for a while. Everyone that was screaming for Gagne's head because other people in our bullpen were so much better. Pro tip: They're not. Out of all the guys in our bullpen, no one has any extensive closing experience at all. I will make an exception for Torres here because he probably had a closer role for about a year total, but then I'm going to take that exception back right away because at the beginning of the season he very clearly stated he doesn't want to close. He's not comfortable in that position and feels he'd do much better as a set up guy. Enter Mota, some 34 year old career set up guy. Juice claims he didn't seem mentally tough out there last night. Really? Because with all the closing experience he should be able to tap into that mental toughness whenever he wants.
Mota's not a closer, Torres doesn't want to close, Shouse is a lefty specialist, Stetter is mostly a left specialist(I saw his "mental toughness" in the 9th a few days ago, not impressed), McClung is still on the team? This all leaves us with one POSSIBLE, POTENTIALLY viable pitcher to close other than Gagne. Mr 87 MPH fastball that seems fast because of a funky delivery motion David Riske. Who got hurt last night anyways so toss his name out the window if you were even considering it for a second. We have Gagne, if this season is going to work out, it's going to be with him as the closer, no one else in the bullpen, RIGHT NOW, is going to be any good at closing, unless Turnbow gets struck by lightning down in Nashville, goes brain dead, gets called up and then can still face a batter and throw pitches.
I don't believe Ned is going right back to the committee bullpen though, I think he was just doing something about what I was complaining about yesterday, giving Gagne a rest after he pitched 3 innings in 2 days. Better to give someone else the ball than chance a reliever after consecutive nights and multiple innings pitched. This post was more about bitching at fans that think the committee is better than Gagne, than bitching about the bullpen decisions from last night specifically.
Also, let's continue my Prince Fielder hate indefinitely, you can say what you will about Mota, but a 3 run game in the 9th is a much different situation to work with than a 1 run game and that fat fucker booted another ball today. He's fucking up routine grounders, that is unacceptable for a first baseman, especially one that's supposed to be such a superstar that deserves over 10 million a year. Well if you're getting the money because of your hitting alone Prince, you better start earning it, because right now he looks like an overweight version of Bill Hall, who's got an inflated OBP because of what he "might" do.
I also just read that Braun is about to sign a monster 7 year contract today. I think that pretty much just punched Fielder's ticket out of town. Hopefully he doesn't shit the bed on his way out and we only get 30 cents on this dollar.
Mota's not a closer, Torres doesn't want to close, Shouse is a lefty specialist, Stetter is mostly a left specialist(I saw his "mental toughness" in the 9th a few days ago, not impressed), McClung is still on the team? This all leaves us with one POSSIBLE, POTENTIALLY viable pitcher to close other than Gagne. Mr 87 MPH fastball that seems fast because of a funky delivery motion David Riske. Who got hurt last night anyways so toss his name out the window if you were even considering it for a second. We have Gagne, if this season is going to work out, it's going to be with him as the closer, no one else in the bullpen, RIGHT NOW, is going to be any good at closing, unless Turnbow gets struck by lightning down in Nashville, goes brain dead, gets called up and then can still face a batter and throw pitches.
I don't believe Ned is going right back to the committee bullpen though, I think he was just doing something about what I was complaining about yesterday, giving Gagne a rest after he pitched 3 innings in 2 days. Better to give someone else the ball than chance a reliever after consecutive nights and multiple innings pitched. This post was more about bitching at fans that think the committee is better than Gagne, than bitching about the bullpen decisions from last night specifically.
Also, let's continue my Prince Fielder hate indefinitely, you can say what you will about Mota, but a 3 run game in the 9th is a much different situation to work with than a 1 run game and that fat fucker booted another ball today. He's fucking up routine grounders, that is unacceptable for a first baseman, especially one that's supposed to be such a superstar that deserves over 10 million a year. Well if you're getting the money because of your hitting alone Prince, you better start earning it, because right now he looks like an overweight version of Bill Hall, who's got an inflated OBP because of what he "might" do.
I also just read that Braun is about to sign a monster 7 year contract today. I think that pretty much just punched Fielder's ticket out of town. Hopefully he doesn't shit the bed on his way out and we only get 30 cents on this dollar.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Brewers prospects
Ok, I'm tossing out this post about some of the top guys sitting in the brewers farm system right now. The draft is coming up and we have about two months to get something done before we have to decide to run a fire sale on a couple guys or keep them around for a pennant race.
The number one prospect in the brewers farm system right now is Matt LaPorta. LaPorta was the Brewers number one pick from last year. He was drafted as a first basemen and was moved to the outfield. LaPorta is playing at AA Huntsville and he's absolutely tearing the cover off the ball right now. There's been a lot of talk about LaPorta being called up for interleague to DH for the crew. The 22 year old is hitting .328 with an OPS of 1.104 in 128 at bats this year. He has 10 dingers, 12 doubles and 38 RBI's. These stats are all pretty impressive, however I think the stat that stands out he most for LaPorta is the fact that his BB:K ratio is almost 1:1. He has 20 walks to go with only 23 strikeouts this year. LaPorta is probably less of a threat to steal a base than Prince Fielder, if that's any indication of his speed. The biggest question mark about the young man is where he's going to play when he does get called up. He's been playing almost exclusively in left or right field where we currently have Ryan Braun and Corey Hart, who more than likely aren't going anywhere in the near future. LaPorta does have experience at first, but as of yet the Brewers haven't had him play there. There will have to be some moves made before LaPorta finds a permanent job up at the big league level.
If you think LaPorta's numbers for AA are good, check out Mat Gamel. This kid is on fire, he's batting .372 with a 1.1o5 OPS in 148 at bats. He has 8 bombs, 33 RBIs, 5 triples, 10 doubles. He's been running with a 2:3 BB:K ratio, which is also some pretty good plate discipline, just like LaPorta's shown. Here's the exciting part, he bats lefty. Unfortunately the kid's fielding ability at third is worse than Ryan Braun, as difficult as that might be to comprehend. He's only 22, so one would assume he probably has about two more years of minor league ball to get that whole, ball goes into glove, throw ball to first thing figured out. We got Billy Hall for another two years after this year, so we're not "hard" pressed to move Gamel up that quickly. However if Hall keeps striking out and playing mediocre baseball behind the plate, the urgency might be greater than it is right now.
Alcides Escobar is another double A'er on the list. He's the 21 year old shortstop that was making a lot of noise during spring training with his slick glove. He made a couple of SportsCenter's top ten plays of the day during his time playing with the big boys. Escobar started off the year behind the plate just terribly, hitting below the Mendoza line for the first few weeks. Escobar has seemingly found his bat again and gotten his average up to .263. He's got some speed, but not a lot of power or patience at the plate right now. We have Hardy at SS and I really feel like these guys are almost the same exact players, so I guess it would be a matter of when Escobar is ready to play and who the Brewers feel like moving, whether it be by trading or just unable to retain their current guys.
The number four guy on our list is pitcher Jeremy Jeffress. This kid has a lot of potential going 9-5 last year with an ERA of 3.13 and getting 95 K's in just 86 and a third innings pitched for single A West Virginia. His fastball regularly hits the mid to upper 90's range and he has a nasty slider. Unfortunately the 20 year old Mr. Jeffress was slapped with a 50 game suspension at the end of last August for testing positive for a banned substance. He should be coming off that ban sometime in the next week or two, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up playing and if he will continue this kind of pitching at the next level of the minors.
Popping in at number 5 is our catcher at the AA level, Angel Salome. Salome was also suspended for 50 games last year in July. His suspension came about about 3 weeks ago and he's been on a tear since then. In 72 at bats the 21 year old has hit .403 with a couple of home runs and 15 RBI's. He seems to be a fan of fanning with 15 K's in 72 at bats, but that's probably actually pretty good for an every day player in the Brewers system, but he has time to improve seeing as he's only 21 years old.
I'm lumping the next two guys together because I'm sick of talking about our outfielding prospects playing in AA ball. Seriously, we have a shit ton of potential sitting down there. Cole Gillespie(probably no relation to my old gym teacher Penny), 23 and Michael Brantley, 20. Gillespie is one of those potential 5 tool guys when he's got his wood working for him. Good power, he can hit for average well enough, and has some speed. Brantley is the brewers center fielder down in Huntsville and he is a speed demon. He's hitting .328 with an OBP of over .400 from the left side of the plate. He doesn't hit for a lot of power, but he's already got 11 stolen bases on the year, this guy definitely brings a different dynamic than the other two outfielders he's playing with right now.
Zach Braddock, the kid has shown some lights out talent at the rookie league and lower level A league in the last two years. He's had huge K rates and has been moved up to the higher single A squad in Brevard County. He's only had a few starts in Brevard, but he's been roughed up a bit since the move up. Braddock only pitched about half the year in 2007 because of an un-named injury. He had Tommy John surgery in 2004, but it's unclear as to whether or not there was any connection between the two injuries. He was an 18th round draft pick in 2005 and he's only 20 years old.
This next prospect is probably going to be the most interesting one for anyone reading this blog that has payed attention to the Brewers in the last few weeks. The 25 year old is the current closer at AAA Nashville and apparently he's been pretty decent at converting save opportunities on his way up. Unfortunately the Sounds are playing terrible this year, so there really hasn't been that many save chances for Pena. Throughout his minor league career his ERA has been around 2 and his whip's been about 1, which seems like pretty solid numbers for a closer. He's been roughed up a bit this year, but that could possibly be chalked up to coming into games in non-save situations, which closers notoriously have issues with.
We have a bunch of catchers floating around at all three levels of our systems, so its somewhat encouraging that one of them should end up working out. We have a lot of outfielders and a few infielders hanging around who could be ready within the next two years. The biggest red flag I see right now is pitching prospects. The guys we have that are really "wowing" people are all sitting down at the single and double A area, not up at AAA with aspirations of making the jump. Also, and I hate to say this because I've been saying the exact opposite of this for the last 3 months, but it looks like if we had to make a decision between keeping Fielder or Braun(which we will have to) it might make more sense to keep Fielder than Braun because of our current prospects in the outfield and at third. Of course we could always try and move LaPorta back to first down in AA so that in 2 years we can dump the son of the fattest man in Major League Baseball history off on some AL team so he can do what he was destined to do from day one of entering the league, DH.
I wouldn't be too surprised to see us make some moves with the glut of players we have at the outfield position. A few more of those Gabe Gross for Josh Butler deals could be coming to try and load up our farm system with enough arms so that pure percentages says we'll at least get two major league pitchers out of all of them.
The number one prospect in the brewers farm system right now is Matt LaPorta. LaPorta was the Brewers number one pick from last year. He was drafted as a first basemen and was moved to the outfield. LaPorta is playing at AA Huntsville and he's absolutely tearing the cover off the ball right now. There's been a lot of talk about LaPorta being called up for interleague to DH for the crew. The 22 year old is hitting .328 with an OPS of 1.104 in 128 at bats this year. He has 10 dingers, 12 doubles and 38 RBI's. These stats are all pretty impressive, however I think the stat that stands out he most for LaPorta is the fact that his BB:K ratio is almost 1:1. He has 20 walks to go with only 23 strikeouts this year. LaPorta is probably less of a threat to steal a base than Prince Fielder, if that's any indication of his speed. The biggest question mark about the young man is where he's going to play when he does get called up. He's been playing almost exclusively in left or right field where we currently have Ryan Braun and Corey Hart, who more than likely aren't going anywhere in the near future. LaPorta does have experience at first, but as of yet the Brewers haven't had him play there. There will have to be some moves made before LaPorta finds a permanent job up at the big league level.
If you think LaPorta's numbers for AA are good, check out Mat Gamel. This kid is on fire, he's batting .372 with a 1.1o5 OPS in 148 at bats. He has 8 bombs, 33 RBIs, 5 triples, 10 doubles. He's been running with a 2:3 BB:K ratio, which is also some pretty good plate discipline, just like LaPorta's shown. Here's the exciting part, he bats lefty. Unfortunately the kid's fielding ability at third is worse than Ryan Braun, as difficult as that might be to comprehend. He's only 22, so one would assume he probably has about two more years of minor league ball to get that whole, ball goes into glove, throw ball to first thing figured out. We got Billy Hall for another two years after this year, so we're not "hard" pressed to move Gamel up that quickly. However if Hall keeps striking out and playing mediocre baseball behind the plate, the urgency might be greater than it is right now.
Alcides Escobar is another double A'er on the list. He's the 21 year old shortstop that was making a lot of noise during spring training with his slick glove. He made a couple of SportsCenter's top ten plays of the day during his time playing with the big boys. Escobar started off the year behind the plate just terribly, hitting below the Mendoza line for the first few weeks. Escobar has seemingly found his bat again and gotten his average up to .263. He's got some speed, but not a lot of power or patience at the plate right now. We have Hardy at SS and I really feel like these guys are almost the same exact players, so I guess it would be a matter of when Escobar is ready to play and who the Brewers feel like moving, whether it be by trading or just unable to retain their current guys.
The number four guy on our list is pitcher Jeremy Jeffress. This kid has a lot of potential going 9-5 last year with an ERA of 3.13 and getting 95 K's in just 86 and a third innings pitched for single A West Virginia. His fastball regularly hits the mid to upper 90's range and he has a nasty slider. Unfortunately the 20 year old Mr. Jeffress was slapped with a 50 game suspension at the end of last August for testing positive for a banned substance. He should be coming off that ban sometime in the next week or two, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up playing and if he will continue this kind of pitching at the next level of the minors.
Popping in at number 5 is our catcher at the AA level, Angel Salome. Salome was also suspended for 50 games last year in July. His suspension came about about 3 weeks ago and he's been on a tear since then. In 72 at bats the 21 year old has hit .403 with a couple of home runs and 15 RBI's. He seems to be a fan of fanning with 15 K's in 72 at bats, but that's probably actually pretty good for an every day player in the Brewers system, but he has time to improve seeing as he's only 21 years old.
I'm lumping the next two guys together because I'm sick of talking about our outfielding prospects playing in AA ball. Seriously, we have a shit ton of potential sitting down there. Cole Gillespie(probably no relation to my old gym teacher Penny), 23 and Michael Brantley, 20. Gillespie is one of those potential 5 tool guys when he's got his wood working for him. Good power, he can hit for average well enough, and has some speed. Brantley is the brewers center fielder down in Huntsville and he is a speed demon. He's hitting .328 with an OBP of over .400 from the left side of the plate. He doesn't hit for a lot of power, but he's already got 11 stolen bases on the year, this guy definitely brings a different dynamic than the other two outfielders he's playing with right now.
Zach Braddock, the kid has shown some lights out talent at the rookie league and lower level A league in the last two years. He's had huge K rates and has been moved up to the higher single A squad in Brevard County. He's only had a few starts in Brevard, but he's been roughed up a bit since the move up. Braddock only pitched about half the year in 2007 because of an un-named injury. He had Tommy John surgery in 2004, but it's unclear as to whether or not there was any connection between the two injuries. He was an 18th round draft pick in 2005 and he's only 20 years old.
This next prospect is probably going to be the most interesting one for anyone reading this blog that has payed attention to the Brewers in the last few weeks. The 25 year old is the current closer at AAA Nashville and apparently he's been pretty decent at converting save opportunities on his way up. Unfortunately the Sounds are playing terrible this year, so there really hasn't been that many save chances for Pena. Throughout his minor league career his ERA has been around 2 and his whip's been about 1, which seems like pretty solid numbers for a closer. He's been roughed up a bit this year, but that could possibly be chalked up to coming into games in non-save situations, which closers notoriously have issues with.
We have a bunch of catchers floating around at all three levels of our systems, so its somewhat encouraging that one of them should end up working out. We have a lot of outfielders and a few infielders hanging around who could be ready within the next two years. The biggest red flag I see right now is pitching prospects. The guys we have that are really "wowing" people are all sitting down at the single and double A area, not up at AAA with aspirations of making the jump. Also, and I hate to say this because I've been saying the exact opposite of this for the last 3 months, but it looks like if we had to make a decision between keeping Fielder or Braun(which we will have to) it might make more sense to keep Fielder than Braun because of our current prospects in the outfield and at third. Of course we could always try and move LaPorta back to first down in AA so that in 2 years we can dump the son of the fattest man in Major League Baseball history off on some AL team so he can do what he was destined to do from day one of entering the league, DH.
I wouldn't be too surprised to see us make some moves with the glut of players we have at the outfield position. A few more of those Gabe Gross for Josh Butler deals could be coming to try and load up our farm system with enough arms so that pure percentages says we'll at least get two major league pitchers out of all of them.
Weekend reflection
I've been slacking as of late in keeping up with this blog. The only real sports news going on right now is Brewers stuff and I never feel the need to regurgitate the same stuff being said by Juice or other sports writers out there. We looked ok this weekend, we got two wins and Sheets lost, so that's somewhat comforting. It's probably about time we addressed the Gagne issue. I've been in his corner up until the last week or so, the main reason is because regardless of what everyone thinks or says about a closer, it takes a special player to get it done and I don't think we have anyone of that caliber in our bullpen right now. That being said, the best situation with Gagne unable to get it done is what we are doing right now, closer by committee, maybe someone steps up in the next few weeks, probably not though.
It was good to see Braun get some hits, however it's a little dis-heartening that he's not getting them in clutch situations. I just hope that he doesn't turn into Carlos Lee Jr. Mr I can hit over 30 dingers in a year but not top 100 RBI's. He should be fine, it's just always been a concern for me since that stupid fat fucker was hanging around.
P.S. I'm totally fine with us trading away our current fat fucker for as much as we can get for him while his stock is still high. This is my first post announcing my hate for Prince Fielder...
It was good to see Braun get some hits, however it's a little dis-heartening that he's not getting them in clutch situations. I just hope that he doesn't turn into Carlos Lee Jr. Mr I can hit over 30 dingers in a year but not top 100 RBI's. He should be fine, it's just always been a concern for me since that stupid fat fucker was hanging around.
P.S. I'm totally fine with us trading away our current fat fucker for as much as we can get for him while his stock is still high. This is my first post announcing my hate for Prince Fielder...
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