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The Monday Mug

Milwaukee Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 21, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

4 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 21, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Yesterday's link report and game summaries. For two quick minor league notes, your Hunstville Stars are first-half champions, and BRRROK! is back.

There are a couple of stories this morning about Dave Bush's rotation spot. It's almost certain he will be skipped and that the Brewers will need a starter on Thursday. JSOnline looks at the options, and lists McClung, Burns, Dillard, and Gulin as options. McCalvy wrote a very similar article earlier and mentioned the exact same names. I'd rank them in the order I wrote them, and I wouldn't mind seeing Chris Cody make the start, either. They acknowledge the possibility of a trade, but suggest that nothing could get done in time. Parra is also mentioned in the article, and though it wouldn't be a bad move, I find it unlikely. 

There's a note in the bottom of that article that I'm not a big fan of, though:

The reason was to get Catalanotto some at-bats more than it was to rest the hot-hitting Hart. Catalanotto, acquired via free agency May 12, hadn't appeared in a game on the trip until Sunday.

We've discussed this before, and I personally feel it's not a great idea to pull superior players just to keep bench players "sharp".

There's a new SBNation blog on the landscape this morning. It's called MLB Daily Dish, and plans to collect all the MLB rumors out there. I love the concept and will frequent it often. Hopefully they keep to actual baseball, though, and steer away from tabloid news about A-Rod staying up past midnight, as I see one post on the front page is about. The tone seems somewhat analytical and informative, so that's good.

Eric Arnett's Twitter says that he will be pitching on Wednesday in Helena. He's wearing number 95.

Alfredo Figaro's MLB debut went pretty well for the Tigers, and Fire Jim Leyland checked out his stuff using pitch f/x.

Sky pointed out that Harold Reynolds was not wrong about point that OPS is a flawed stat in his blog post last week. I actually disagree with his point that Reynolds was right with a strange argument-- I think he was right on the major premise (OPS isn't great) while being totally wrong on why.

Andrew McClutchen's first week in the majors went exceptionally well. He's their top prospect and is probably already a better player than Nate McClouth because he excels at defense in center field.

An interesting interview with a very interesting baseball player, C.J. Wilson. He was a regular commenter on the Rangers' SBNation site, Lone Star Ball, back in the day.

Goat Riders was wrong about Mark DeRosa. Mike Fontenot is not cutting it against lefties, which doesn't seem like a very big surprise to me.

The Moneyball movie has been dropped. I really hope another studio picks it up, because that would be awesome.

Why do people do this. It's a baseball, for goodness's sake.

I think he's on the AAA DL.

I think all of this stuff should be second nature to BCB readers by now, but if it's not, you might want to read it. A quick summary: the Brewers do put the ball in play less than other teams, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The Gabe platoon is working out well in right field for the Rays. Ned Yost could learn something from Joe Maddon about platoon management.

CC Sabathia left yesterday's Yankee game early with tightness in his bicep. Best of luck to him, and that's just a shame for the Yankees.

ESPN reporters are not particularly good at remembering things like which team a baseball player plays for.

Willy Taveras 2009 is starting to look an awful lot like Corey Patterson 2008. Beyond the Boxscore looks at just how bad of a decision it is to let Taveras continue to play.

Today's an off day, so no game. Today is also probably my final day as your primary muggist-- KL will be back to supplant me from the fill-in role. That will mean longer, more interesting mugs, and longer mid-day analysis posts from me. Thanks for not being too hard on me, except for the day I didn't realize there was no game.

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Comments

Display:

Was yesterday Sabathia's first AB as a Yankee?

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 11:17 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Nevermind

I see that he hasn’t had an AB yet this year. Since he was taken out in the 2nd, yesterday, he still hasn’t.

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Happy Last Mug, Jordan!

Looks like your parting gift is a troll!

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 11:41 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Saw that.. that guy was a real good troll too!

by SgtClueLs on Jun 22, 2009 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

He was all over the place.. and fast

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 11:55 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

he put in an awful lot of work

…then I get to click “ban user” —> “delete comments” —> “delete fanposts” …and it’s all gone. Such a shame.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 22, 2009 12:09 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

does that delete everything he posted on other SBN pages?

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 12:20 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wish

except in really egregious cases, every site’s mod has to delete him themselves.

part of the reason for that is that one site’s troll is another site’s welcome regular.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 22, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

After looking at his account and posts elsewhere

I would have put “The world would be a better place if you died” in the ban message, probably.

I last May, still no more than Nick Neugebauer not.

by Jordan M on Jun 22, 2009 12:46 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Typically, I try to be a bit more diplomatic than that.

Saying something like “I haven’t seen a single place where you’ve demonstrated the capability to add something useful to a conversation,” is like adding an “allegedly” to "The world would be a better place if you died."

"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."

by KLSnow on Jun 22, 2009 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

welcome back

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

The question is...

did he bring a couple starting pitchers wtih him?

by Bernie's Mustache Wax on Jun 22, 2009 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

sounds like quite the honeymoon

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I was joking, of course

This is a special situation, though, if you read some of the subject lines of his comments elsewhere— not just flagrantly stupid, text-talkish, but downright offensive.

I last May, still no more than Nick Neugebauer not.

by Jordan M on Jun 22, 2009 3:32 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm not as concerned with Harold Reynolds specifically, FYI.

I wanted to make a larger point about why statheads and non-statheads don’t get along and how statheads can act differently to help the relationship. I’d love to hear more opinions on that idea if anyone’s got ’em.

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Jun 22, 2009 12:11 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

And I certainly agree with you on that part.

I last May, still no more than Nick Neugebauer not.

by Jordan M on Jun 22, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Something needs clarifying

in most front offices, scouts and statheads get along just fine. the balance of power isn’t the same, but that’s the case in any business where a leader (such as a GM) has preferences in how he makes decisions. For the most part, f.o. people I talk to view this is a solved problem.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 22, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

does that go along with the blogger vs. reporter rift?

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 1:42 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Hmm, that's related, yeah. But definitely different, too.

(Not that being nice and more welcoming is ever a bad strategy.)

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Jun 22, 2009 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Being nice and welcoming

is hard to accomplish when the crux of the discussion is that the other person is wrong.

by ol Pete on Jun 22, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

fans/bloggers/columnists/etc

have no incentive to “get along.” They’re going to impress more people, get more pageviews, score more points, whatever, by taking a fairly firm stand (which is often on one side or the other of the fictitious divide). That’s why the Plaschkes, Jenkinses, etc. of the world are so obnoxious to statheads. Much like Stern or Jim Rome, they are doing their job well if they piss people off and get the conversation going.

So basically, the only places where people have an incentive to “get along” is (a) in front offices (which is why I mentioned that), and (b) in some research community where most participants’ aim is actually furthering the quality of research.

In (a), the “problem” is more or less solved.

In (b), I doubt that most people involved (say, readers of Tango’s site) are 100% in a foward-looking research community and 0% trying to score points off of others (like columnists and others do). And anyway, the whole history of an analytical baseball research community is very similar to the history of the idea of a stats-based view of the game. Not to say that there couldn’t be something equivalent for a scouts-based view, but there isn’t one. And whenever one is nascent, it is quickly co-opted by statheads (think pitch f/x).

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 22, 2009 3:33 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I was just thinking about the evolution of stats

and how video based stats are great for statheads and scouts alike

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jun 22, 2009 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

re: your first paragraph

It’s the ESPIN-ization of the columnist. It’s not about the content, it’s that you have a reaction that they are concerned about. It’s why around the horn exists. It’s why Skip Bayliss has a job. Leitch’s book covered this very well.

"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."

by Hyatt on Jun 22, 2009 4:48 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think it's more inherent to the columnist's job

sure, it’s the whole trend that includes talk/shock radio and the like, but columnists have always been there to provide a perspective, and that has always included some “make people think”/“get a reaction”-type stuff. But yeah, it’s definitely accelerated.

And it’s worth thinking about who the columnists are and how they’ve reached the position they have in the public debate about this. If you go to BTF, there’s always a mainstream columnist saying something stupid in the first 10 or 15 links. These aren’t the best and brightest of the anti-statheads, but most of them are anti-statheads, and they are the most widely read of the anti-statheads.

So we’re talking about a debate where one side is always, to some extent, going to be represented by people who (a) aren’t that smart, and (b) have a strong incentive to stir things up.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 22, 2009 5:32 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don't think scoring points by standing pat is the only viable strategy for success.

It’s a popular and obnoxious one, but not the only one. The motivation to get along is that you get more people on your side. It’s the whole reason behind networking. Now, once more people are on your side, then you have another decision to make between using that for good or evil.

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Jun 22, 2009 7:18 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

That’s now what Moneyball says! I thought they hated each other ;)

by SgtClueLs on Jun 22, 2009 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

now = not. Typing fail.

by SgtClueLs on Jun 22, 2009 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well, sort of

The statheads and non-statheads get along when the GM is in the office. If he’s out, though, I think you can expect all sorts of sniping and hostility, ultimately with a Bill James protege ending up on the receiving end of an atomic wedgie.

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Jun 22, 2009 2:27 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Moneyball isn't dead

I think they just need to find a new studio as Columbia doesn’t like it.

Personally Brad Pitt and baseball don’t really go together for me, but I would give it the benefit of the doubt.

Blindside
is also in the works and that could be cool I guess (even if it does start Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw)

by grant76 on Jun 22, 2009 3:31 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Did you know Tim McGraw now has a cologne?

I was watching SNL clips on Hulu and got the TV ad for the McGraw cologne. At first I thought I had clicked the wrong thing and was getting a fake SNL ad. But no, it’s real.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 22, 2009 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Did he use the cologne to get Faith Hill?

Because if he did, I think sales will be ok.

by grant76 on Jun 22, 2009 3:36 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don't get why Moneyball as a movie is such a popular idea

Apologies to the discussion above, but you can get a real-life stats > scouts or, more generally, “exploit dumb less-enlightened people”-type discussion for free just by trolling the internet. It just doesn’t seem like the book would translate well to a movie unless they glam it up.

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Jun 22, 2009 9:14 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I felt like that at first

But then as I heard more about the movie, I got more and more curious and interested about how they’d do it. It still might end up being awful, if it even gets made, but I think it could be well done.

Brewers Baseball and other assorted nonsense (mostly the assorted nonsense) at my blog, What's a Tararrel?

by Lefti on Jun 22, 2009 10:30 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Where have ye gone, Eric Davis?

The Reds CF has been pretty abysmal for awhile. Willy Taveras is somehow matching or surpassing Corey Patterson’s ineptitude from last year. In 2007, we had Josh Hamilton who was pretty good, except he only played about 65 games in CF, because he was hurt. And speaking of being hurt, for the years before that we had Ken Griffey, Jr. in his decline phase, and when he wasn’t playing because he was out with some injury or other, we had the Norris Hoppers and Ryan Freels of the world patrolling the center grass in Great American. Holy cow, is that a prolonged period of suck!

On an unrelated matter, the Reds have had 8 straight losing seasons.

by Brendanukkah on Jun 22, 2009 3:32 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Wasn't there a Fangraphs post on Taveras when he was still overachieving on offense about a month ago?

He’s sure had an interesting two-part season so far:

to May 13: 142 PA, .322/.382/.413
since: 107 PA, .108/.133/.118

by Zeyes on Jun 22, 2009 8:19 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Looking forward to the Gigantos

I don’t know why I like to call them that, but I do. The Cerveceros were in line to face Bartolo Colon, but his level of suck reached the tipping point and instead we got someone much more competent. Ditto Dontrelle Willis. Tonight lefty Jonathon Sanchez is pitching and the preview story notes that he might lose his rotation spot if he does poorly. With the day off that could mean a AAA guy, bullpen filler or, sigh, Lincecum.

by ol Pete on Jun 22, 2009 6:34 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

i'm somehow sighing more at

AAA guy
Brewers seem to suck against pitchers they don’t know well.

by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 22, 2009 6:38 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Hmm, anybody know...

what’s the deal with this site picking up seemingly all SBN posts without any attribution whatsoever, including the Mug?

by Zeyes on Jun 22, 2009 8:30 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

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