Wednesday's Frosty Mug
by Kyle Lobner on Jul 23, 2008 9:17 AM CDT
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So, if you've been watching the games, you probably realize that Rickie Weeks is hitting .273/.467/.636 in the three games since the Durham trade. This one, however, snuck up on me: Bill Hall is hitting .405/.444/.833 with 4 home runs in his last 12 games. Adam Charles of Bugs & Cranks has a theory to explain it: Magic Skoal.
It's going to take more than chewing tobacco to get him back to the big leagues, but the Brewers signed Jay Gibbons to a minor league deal yesterday, ending his 27-game career with the Long Island Ducks.
After I complained in yesterday's Mug about the Whisnant rankings and suggested their ranking system could use a little work, I got an email from Paul Kuo of Whatifsports.com, who wanted to make sure I had seen their most recent power rankings. On the strength of the Sabathia trade the Brewers skyrocketed up the charts to fourth this week, so obviously the WIS rankings are better.
Also, CBSSports.com ranks the Brewers sixth, and second best in the NL.
TheJay is working to quantify Vulture Wins, and discovered that both Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse are among the league leaders. Reall,y, if you just start checking Recondite Baseball every day, you'll be one step ahead of everyone else when the Mug comes out.
On injuries:
White Sox 3B Joe Crede was scratched from last night's lineup with back stiffness.
Cards OF Chris Duncan has been placed on the DL with a bulging disc in his neck.
Reds SP Josh Fogg needed 30 stitches to repair damage done to his upper lip after being hit by a ball in batting practice.
Certainly, yesterday's most puzzling transaction was the Astros' decision to trade for Randy Wolf. The Astros are 12 games back of the Cubs and BP Postseason Odds gives them a .08% chance at making the playoffs, roughly 1 in 1220. R.J. Anderson of Beyond the Box Score is one of thousands who didn't like the move, but Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart defended it.
In other transactions, the Diamondbacks traded a prospect to the Nationals for Jon Rauch, meaning two of the tallest players in MLB history (along with Randy Johnson) are now on the same roster.
Here's a puzzling decision: Skyking162 has ranked the top 25 position players of right now. Well, really he's ranked the top 23 and given 18 more honorable mentions to get to 41. Here are some names on the list so far:
Evan Longoria, who has yet to finish his first big league season.
Brian Roberts
B.J. Upton
Mark Ellis
Rick Ankiel
Scott Rolen
David DeJesus
Aaron Rowand
Adrian Beltre
Yet somehow, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are nowhere to be found. With the possible exception of Longoria, there's not a single guy on that list who deserves to be ahead of Braun and Fielder. And Mark Ellis? That's a joke.
Francisco Rodriguez is threatening to become the first closer ever to reach 60 saves in a season. 6-4-2 has the math on what it will take for him to get there.
These seem to tie together nicely: In-Between Hops has a list of the greatest living players in the history of 29 franchises. Joe Posnanski takes a look at players who posted more than three "great" seasons in their careers.
If you're looking for a lesson on somewhat advanced statistics, this debate between Tangotiger and Geoff Baker is pretty instructive on the strengths, weaknesses and correct uses of ERA+.
Oh, and here's a hurricane prediction that's as accurate as any you'll see today.
Drink up.
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Apparently that is just how the Cubs troll.
fixed. (that one is for you ACB).
Bring Back The Old Logo!
ha!
you laugh now but just wait until the brew cub series coming up
i would bet a shinny penny that BrewCrewBall will see alot of 1st time posters
and then some others who have layed low while building their street cred
hmmm
i appeared this year
perhaps I’m just “credding up”
lets all start to point fingers around – I think battlekow is a cub fan: he cares enough about them to post a fan post when one of their pitchers gets injured. If he was a true brewer fan, he’d just post stuff directly concerning the brewers! dixie, you’re next:)
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
i stand
by that all the way because its true. if you really think “math” was on your side 2 days ago then you’re crazy. just because its working out for you doesnt mean I was wrong.
it was a joke. let it go. (or use it to describe all brewer fans, whatever floats your boat.)
Bring Back The Old Logo!
I wonder how this guy feels
It’s going to take a big collapse now to make this true.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
that was super-poorly written
what a god-awful author.
he makes money doing that?
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions
:)
the cubs are still the better team, it’s their division to lose this year.
Bring Back The Old Logo!
It isn't looking too good
for the Cubs right now, but Soriano should be back tonight. Cubs fans don’t expect anything out of him until he has played 4 or 5 games, but that seems to be the norm from him after returning from the DL.
fontenot has hit: .324/.410/.721 since soriano went on the DL
has soriano been missed?
Bring Back The Old Logo!
fontenot
is good for 1 good month a year
the real issues is that Lou is working Soto to death, Aramis has been awful for a month now, fukudome is being adjusted to and Lee cant stop hitting DP’s
Fontenot
Seems to be a stud, I can’t really agree with ACB here because Fontenot has been awesome in the few time that he actually gets to play. Lou somehow underestimated his potential, but I think he has started to realize it. The poor play by the Cubs on the road cannot be overlooked however.
Maybe there are different techniques or materials to stitch people up
but 30 stitches used to be a lot. I think I got 4 or 5 in about an inch and a half the last time I was sewn up. I think Josh Fogg might miss a start.
I'm going to guess
Bleeding inside your mouth is a little harder to stop. It’s being diagnosed as a “split upper lip,” and if that’s half as nasty as my mental image of it, my guess is it’d bleed a lot.
Derek Jeter is day to day after being hit by a pitch and being gorilla press slammed by a Bizarro Ray.
by Kyle Lobner on Jul 23, 2008 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions
No, he'll be fine
With a split lip there are two sides of the cut that need stitches. So a one inch cut is really a two inch cut, and the skin on the interior of the lip is more tender they need to put the stitches closer together. The only problematic part is when the stitch is left too long it gets caught in between your teeth, which is more annoying than painful..
by Getting Yosted on Jul 23, 2008 10:13 AM CDT up reply actions
Remember how Jason Kendall was going to be run on all the time?
An Angels catcher threw out a baserunner trying to steal for the first time in over a month yesterday.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
thought
i would stop by to get a whiff of a fanbase that is exicted rather than manic depressive
all i really care about is making the playoffs if we could get a brewer-cub NLCS that would be peachy because Jacob would lose his mind trying to stop BCB infiltration and trolls
plus it would be a really intense series
It could be fun, but also horribly painful. There’s enough animosity between the two to cause a lot of fights to break out in the stands.
With that said, I’d love to attend a Brewers playoff game. I think I would openly weep.. (or pee my pants)
that would
be the fun part for me-i can sit back in kansas and watch the drunkies from both towns duke it out
Ahhh..
Ahh.. one of our plants is in Winfield. KS. 45 minutes or so SE of Wichita. I caught a AA game in Wichita last year.
It’s hot down there….
thats just
too damn cold for late july
plus living in KS i get to drink suds from your neck of the woods without having to endure those winters
2.8?
hell no we have normal beer here in the heartland
A ha!
No wonder, last time I had to spend a week in Kansas I got a 6 pack to watch MNF. Drank it and didn’t feel a thing.. now I see why.
The only alcoholic beverage which grocery stores and gas stations may only sell is beer with no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight.
I got it at Dillards down there. That explains why I got full before I felt it.
I was there recently.
You cannot buy beer after 11:00pm any day of the week unless you are in a bar drinking it. Also you couldn’t buy beer on Sunday morning until like 11:00am. Some of the locals told me that you could get 9.0 beer there though, but I guess I didn’t check.
Can’t buy beer or liquore from a store after 9pm every day of the week in Wisconsin.
There are some bars that are licensed to sell it for take out after 9pm.
Wow, I did not know that.
That is insane that the state that produces the most beer has those kind of laws about purchasing it. Where I live you can drink beer in bars or buy it at any store that is open until 2:00am every day, but if you drink on Sunday, you have to drink Shlitz.
well of course you can drink beer in bars until bar time
but yeah, Vic Pierce in Madison selling beer until midnight saved my bacon on multiple occasions.
that's not a statewide law
that’s city-by-city
Madison has the 9PM law, but Middleton does not (and I don’t think Fitchburg does either). Hence late-night booze runs by the UW campus across city lines.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Actually, there is a statewide law
It’s midnight, though, and local municipalities are free to further restrict it.
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
If we can at least make the playoffs this year
I’d be happy (and maybe even pee my pants a little). It would show the progress the team has made (though free agency will hurt), plus once we’re in the playoffs anything can happen.
Coffee is for closers
i fully
expect the brews to make the playoffs. i picked them to win the divison in March and now I think the WC is whats going to happen. A Cub-Brewer NLCS would be pretty sweet to watch
You are the only person that I've ever heard call the Brewers the brews
Im not criticizing, Im just curious if you’ve heard someone call them that or if that’s your invention.
one of my friends from high school...
...that I worked with as an usher at County Stadium, called them the brews.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions
Hey! We're the Brews!
Sporting anti-swastika tattoos!
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
NOFX!
There’s a band I haven’t thought about in a long time.
by MillerParkSouth on Jul 23, 2008 2:24 PM CDT up reply actions
I'll pay whatever it takes to get a Brewers playoff ticket at the keg
If the teams going for it I will be too!
thanks for the link, even if it's to rip my ratings ; )
feel free to comment over at my blog. here are some quick thoughts on Braun and Fielder:
Braun is overrated thanks to his mediocre OBP and defensive abilities. he’s had about as many PAs this year as last, so splitting the difference puts him at about a .350 OBP and .590 SLG. that’s pretty good—on par with guys like Texeira, Bay, Burrell, and Dunn. but then Braun is a corner outfielder, which takes away value. and he’s middle of the road in the field, at best. (I think I have him at -.5 wins over a full season right now.)
Fielder has the same issues as Braun. He’s a better hitter, but plays a less important position and is worse at it.
Both guys make the top 50, which is pretty good.
I won’t discuss all the other names you had a problem with, but I want to address one, the most underrated player in the game: Mark Ellis. He’s nothing fantastic with the bat, but Oakland’s park hides a slightly above-average stick. And then he, like all AL hitters, gets a half-win advantage compared to NL hitters. And then you’ve got his glove, which is one of the best in the game. He’s consistently two wins better than average in the field. Someone like Fielder is two wins below average (one for position, one for fielding his position). That’s a FOUR WIN swing. Fielder is “only” 3-3.5 wins better with the bat.
The other names listed receive a lot of value for the position they play and/or their ability to field their position.
the brewers are a very deep team
most positions are better than league-average offensively. and the defense is much improved over last year.
Braun and Fielder are very good players. just not top 30. that’s not dissing them at all. teams have, on average, ONE top-30 position player. the brewers don’t have one. but they have two in the top 50, which is better than average. how is that a bad thing?
by Sky Kalkman on Jul 23, 2008 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions
texeira
on par with guys like Texeira
so texeira is more valuable defensively than braun? you are not considering contract status right?
here’s a pretty good ranking of players and their value from dave cameron.
Bring Back The Old Logo!
i'm not considering contracts at all, although I was a big fan of Dave's top 50
these are my ratings of the best players RIGHT NOW—who would you most want on your team for the second half of the 2008 season.
yes, Tex has more defensive value than Braun. even if you think Braun is average in LF, that’s worth -.5 wins over a full season. 1B is worth -1.0 wins, but Tex is a full win better than average, putting him at 0 overall. (I think I put Braun at -.5 wins in my ratings, making him 1 full win less valuable defensively than Tex. I’d love to hear Brewer fans opinions on Braun’s defense in left, though.)
by Sky Kalkman on Jul 23, 2008 10:50 AM CDT up reply actions
position-wise? or within each position?
CA: +1.0
SS/CF: +.5
2B/3B: 0
LF/RF: -.5
1B: -1.0
DH: -1.5
Those are from research that Tango Tiger did about how fielders fare when they play multiple positions. (For example, corner outfielders tend to rate a full win worse when they play center field, and vice versa. On average.)
For specific fielding ratings at each position, I look at zone rating stats, for which you can find league-averages by just averaging all players together. For this top 25 list, I perused some UZR and STATS/BIS zone ratings, but there wasn’t anything scientific beyond that.
by Sky Kalkman on Jul 23, 2008 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions
Suprisingly better than feared
Cameron being able to cover a sh!t-ton of ground in center helps appearances. He can play deep, shade the line and not really worry too much about the gap.
by Getting Yosted on Jul 23, 2008 10:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Tanks tanks tanks!
Nuclear heat-seaking battleships!
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
In response to ACB over being maniac depressive over excited
Yes, some of the posts are not what I was expecting either. The day after last night’s game I was expecting to see outrageous remarks on how good the team is (probably in JSOnline forums there are) but I think a lot of Brewer fans are very excited right now, but don’t want to get over confident and start declaring we are winning the World Series, as we understand it is a long season still, where a lot can happen. I guess I would compare it to being a player on the bench when your pitcher has a no hitter, you aren’t going to start declaring it, when declaring it will only bring more attention to it and likely jinx the pitcher.
Of course what I post on BCB has no bearing on the Brewers on the field performance but I have not been as excited for the Brewers in my entire life (only 25 years old). Not only this year, but the next year and the year after; contrary to many opinions that the Brewers are selling the farm this year (sold a DH who was blocked by 3 all-stars along with a PTBNL for a Cy Young winner for a playoff push and 2 top 35 draft picks . Our farm system still is well stocked, Mark A has shown a commitment to winning by putting up the big bucks, we have Ryan Braun signed for long term, still have a few years with Prince, and still have Jack Z as our scouting director, which means if our aces leave, we will have more solid players in the pipeline.
Optimism for the organization is at an all time high in my opinion, even higher than last year when we were 24-10 or still leading by a lot in June, we knew it was somewhat of a mirage and almost sensed it was too good to be true. This year, coming from behind, it is much more enjoyable and I think the fanbase has never been as excited since 1982.
I also agree a Cubs Brewers NLCS would be a dream come true, as I live in Wrigleyville, I would just LOVE to be apart of the buzz in Chicago, but funnel that energy to the Brew Crew.
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
Question:
As a Brewer fan, I am not sure of the playoff scheduling structure…thing…
But as the Cubs currently have the best record in the national league (if all were to stay the same) they would be given the number one seed in the playoffs. Would the brewers than get the fourth seed due their being the wildcard or would we get the number two seed due to record?
Because if we get the 4 seed and the cubs have the 1 seed, we will play them in the first round of the playoffs, not the NLCS, right?
Wild card
The wild card team plays the division winner with the best winning percentage. However, if the wild card team and the division winner with the best winning percentage come out of the same division, the wild card team plays the division winner with the second best winning percentage.
In short, a wild card team never plays the winner of its division in the first round of the playoffs.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
Corey Hart from an enemy perspective
The Post-Dispatch profiles Sunglasses. They like him.
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
Last night I had a dream about lions hunting a triceratops in a zoo in Pakistan
I think it’s a metaphor for the NL Central race.
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
yeah, I think Freud established pretty clearly that
triceratops = gay
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 23, 2008 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
On a related dinosaur story
An acquintance I had back in college was eating a meal with us at the cafeteria a few years ago, and she said one of the dumbest things I have ever heard a 21 year old ever uttered.
We were going off on a weird tangent and were talking about a terradactyl (flying dinosaur) and how big those things were. And this idiot Claire said, well they aren’t extinct yet, but they are only very endangered from what I understand….
Everyone thought it was a joke and almost started laughing until we realized she was dead serious…
I asked her; a terradactyl, THE DINOSAUR? She said, no the reptile….
We then looked took her to a computer and proved to her they were dead for millions of years, not an endangered species in New Zealand… some people’s lack of knowledge scares me!
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
(puts nerd hat on)
Actually, pterodactyls aren’t (weren’t) dinosaurs.
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
correct
you are right… wikipedia confirms… but lived during the time of the dinosaurs
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
Maybe your friend heard about this
It was reported in an article in The Illustrated London News (February 9, 1856, page 166) that, in 1856, workmen laboring in a tunnel for a railway line, in France, were cutting through limestone when a large creature stumbled out from inside it. It fluttered its wings, made a croaking noise and dropped dead. According to the workers, the creature had a 10-foot wingspan, black leathery skin, talons for feet and a toothed mouth. A local student identified the animal as a pterodactyl. The report had the animal turn to dust, as soon as it had died. However, this incredible story proved to have been a hoax.link
BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"
that was also in the wiki article
almost verbatim.
wiki plagiarizes?? it cannot be!!!!
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions
That's the one
related to the Spazzosaurus, right?
"He's been very, very impressive," Yost said. "I mean really impressive. I mean really, really impressive."
by MadJimiBrewha on Jul 23, 2008 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd!
The Spazzosaurus is always a crowd-pleaser.
Derek Jeter is day to day after being hit by a pitch and being gorilla press slammed by a Bizarro Ray.
Bill Hall does it all
Hall is the first major-leaguer in nearly 13 years to provide the game-winning RBI in two consecutive games by means of home runs in the ninth inning or later. The last player to do that was Albert Belle with the Indians in 1995: his 14th-inning walkoff homer defeated the Blue Jays on August 30 and he beat the Jays again with a 12th-inning walkoff homer the next night.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
by TheJay on Jul 23, 2008 1:12 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
that means Bill is better than Belle
If Belle waited until the 14th, he wasted at least one extra-inning AB! Billy knows better than to put too much strain on the overworked bullpen™. If you can’t learn that while riding the pine, what can you learn?
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 23, 2008 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions
He hasn't learned how to forearm Fernando Vina yet...
So I would call it a tie
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
A co-worker has watched 4 innings of Brewers games all year, 8th and 9th last nite and 9th and 10th two nites ago. If he would only watch every game Bill E would be MVP.
by Getting Yosted on Jul 23, 2008 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Complaining
The Brewers have one of their biggest wins of the year, and today the lead sports story on JSonline is about the Packer’s line.
Coffee is for closers
Of course
It’s almost time for guys no one’s ever heard of to strap on the green and gold, so who cares about baseball?
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
There are guys as equally devoted to the minutiae of the Packers as others are to the Brewers. I remember a time when the Bucks ruled the day. Packers was sleepy Sunday optional entertainment.
I've
never liked the bucks. They’ve “always” sucked and resorted to feuding (remember Vin Baker vs Glenn Robinson? That was ugly). Basketball is a sport I enjoy at the college level much more than at the pro level, which is not true for any other sport.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 5:06 PM CDT up reply actions
They’ve always sucked within your time frame, but in mine, alas, they kicked ass and were one of the best for quite a while. Thanks to some friends whose parents had season tickets I saw tons of home games in the playoffs where they won it all in seven and the one where they lost it, I think in seven.
If the Bucks had a great team with a bunch of likable players, you’d probably like it.
yeah probably...
i did like them when I was about 8. and I did like Ray Allen when he was on the team (much later than 8:P)
They were at least follow-able when they had Pierce (or was it Price?)
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 6:38 PM CDT up reply actions
They have a Cameroonian prince right now
That’s good enough for me!
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
in the print edition at least
it’s the lead headline in sports, with a big version of this photo above the fold.
Is it possible
Over the next 5 years if the Brewers make the playoffs say 3 times, and make it to the World Series once, while the Packers suffer a playoff drought post Favre (still look good right now IMO) for 5 years, that the Brewers will lead the news coverage?
Most of my life the Packers being good and the Brewers have been horrible. I imagine the paper and the state will be Packers first for some time, but is it possible with continued success that the Brewers atleast temporarily pull even?
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
I need to double check my tenses there, eek
the Packers have been good
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
yes and no
in the Milwaukee and maybe Madison/Southern Wisconsin community, the Brewers have a shot at pulling ahead of the Packers. Statewide? Not a frickin’ chance, not even if they win the world series 10 years straight and the Pack sucks throughout.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 23, 2008 5:08 PM CDT up reply actions
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Cincinnati
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Houston
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Milwaukee
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
St. Louis
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
(updated 2.13.2012 at 7:02 PM CST)
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