Thursday's Frosty Mug
by Kyle Lobner on Jul 2, 2009 9:15 AM CDT
in Milwaukee Brewers News
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PrintSome things to read while cuddling up with Miguel Cabrera.
The Brewers finished off a good, but not great homestand with the Mets yesterday, and remain in sole possession of first place heading into a four game series in Chicago starting tonight. Seth McClung, who starts tonight, said he's looking forward to the atmosphere at Wrigley. "Atmosphere" is one of the few positive things visiting players have to say about the park.
Did you do your part this week by booing Gary Sheffield? Brian Costa of the Newark Star-Ledger discusses the reactions Sheffield receives on the road, including in Milwaukee, and quotes a blogger you might know.
Meanwhile, A Girl's View wonders why the Mets didn't just send a rookie starter to the mound this week. And Sports Rubbish has the video highlight you've all been waiting to see: Fernando Martinez' faceplant in center field.
Now that we're into July, Doug Melvin and company are intently watching the trade market for opportunities to improve the team, but working to lower expectations at the same time. Melvin also said he isn't interested in Brandon Backe.
In the minors:
- Mat Gamel checked in at #13 in Project Prospect's Midseason Top 50, with Alcides Escobar nowhere to be found. Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com said he'd take Gamel's upside over fellow 3B prospect Brett Wallace.
- The international signing period begins today and the Brewers are expected to make a big splash by signing Dominican OF Jose Pena. Depending on who you ask, his bonus could be anywhere from $500k to $1.5 million.
- Alcides Escobar, Brendan Katin and R.J. Swindle have been named to the PCL All Star team. Escobar was also selected to the MLB Futures Game. Swindle is making his first All Star appearance at any level.
- The Brewers officially announced the signings of seventh round pick Khris Davis, 8th round pick Chad Stang, 25th round pick Demetrius McKelvie and two undrafted free agents yesterday. Some of that is old news: Davis was already in the lineup for Helena a couple of days ago.
This probably isn't news to you: Jason Kendall has caught a lot of games. Among those games, there has been the occasional close win. Kendall has caught 463 saves, sixth most all time.
On Power Rankings:
- Beyond the Box Score moved the Brewers up from 17th to 16th.
- MLB FanHouse dropped the Brewers from sixth to seventh.
This isn't actually a Power Ranking, but it fits in with them: ESPN the Magazine just completed their Ultimate Standings for 2009 for all North American major pro sports teams, and the Brewers are ranked #7, up from #13 last year. They rank in the top 20 in six of the eight categories measured and in the top ten in Affordability (third), Stadium Experience (third) and Bang for the Buck (seventh). On the other end of the spectrum, the Bucks rank 110th out of 122 franchises.
Around the League:
Cardinals: Mark DeRosa is day to day after being diagnosed with a strained tendon in his wrist.
Cubs: Have reportedly reached a deal to acquire utility infielder Jeff Baker from the Rockies.
Dodgers: Designated outfielder Mitch Jones for assignment.
Pirates: Released outfielder Craig Monroe, who had been designated for assignment.
Rockies: Designated catcher Paul Phillips for assignment.
Royals: Shortstop Mike Aviles will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss about 12 months.
Twins: Released reliever Luis Ayala, who had been designated for assignment.
Did you have any run ins with obnoxious Met fans this week? In a poll in the Baltimore Sun, 80% of voters rated Met fans the most obnoxious in baseball. I can't imagine that, because off the top of my head I'd list the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies ahead of the Mets, without question.
As I mentioned before, the international signing period begins today, and with Jose Pena reportedly off the market, the top available talent might be Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman, who reportedly has defected. Chapman is 21, throws 90+ and pitched for Cuba in the WBC.
Some days my attention span is painfully short. This morning, for example, I read this story and all I got out of it was the fact that Dr. Mark Schickendantz might be the coolest name I've ever seen.
Oh, and happy birthday to knuckleballer Steve Sparks, who pitched 202 innings for the 1995 Brewers and turns 44 today.
Drink up.
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Abnoxious Mets Fans
I didn’t see many at the game on Tuesday. The few that I did see sat quietly and watched the game. None of them were standing up and drawing attention to themselves, and I even saw a few laughing at all the Sheffield taunts that were being said. Then again, they didn’t have much to cheer about on Tuesday.
I met one at the Twins game a week ago, and he was really nice.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Also
Aparently people in Baltimore have short memories. They recently hosted the Mets. I’m guessing that a lot of Mets fans showed up. I would be willing to bet that Brewers’ fans would show up close to the top if this poll was done in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Mets fans
cheerfully heckled a Phillies fan on the 7 in NYC in the Phillies series that immediately preceeded the Brewers series there. It seemed to be all in good fun. And I had no problems at all for Sheets vs Santana with any of their fans.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jul 2, 2009 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions
If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all. But some of these guys have good luck. Using batted ball types (ground/fly/line/pop), I ignore the actual outcomes (single/double/triple/homer/out) and apply park adjusted expected outcomes. That gives me RVAA and rv100 expected, which I compare to actual to come up with “luck”.
This is four graphs in one, click to enlarge. Numbers are in “runs” – positive numbers mean better than expected outcomes (or good luck).
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
Are you quoting something?
Or did you just want a box around your words?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I was trying to link this instead of the charts
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/7/2/935649/graph-of-the-day-expected-run
Parra is second unluckiest
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
A scout quoted by Baseball America on Aroldis Chapman
“There were rumors heading into Mexico that he wouldn’t be there because they were afraid he would defect, but he was there and was lights out. If you are looking for more than that in a pitcher, you’ll be searching your whole life. He was so much fun to watch. If he’s 21 like he’s listed, the sky’s the limit. You’ve got honestly just one or two tweaks that could be made but he could go straight to the top of a big league rotation. He’s got a great body, definitely has high pockets, absolutely. He’s on top of the hitter, his release has extension, he’s got the ball coming out of there at 100 mph. He’s absolutely electric.”
It was a great selection of awesome.
I saw him in the WBC in the spring
“You’ve got honestly just one or two tweaks that could be made but he could go straight to the top of a big league rotation.”
If, by “one or two tweaks,” you mean, “teach the guy where home plate is,” that’s true. Otherwise, gimme a break. No question he’s got a big-league arm, but my guess is that in a year, he could be what Jeremy Jeffress is right now, only (I hope) without the weed.
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 2, 2009 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions
So, exactly where Jeremy Jeffress (hopefully) will be in a year?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
yeah, uh
this analogy gets complicated.
but…raw, triple-digit heat, no control so super-high pitch counts … that’s a pretty good description of either pitcher. Only Jeffress has had more quality pro coaching.
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 2, 2009 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, if you cast all 25
Then I’d say roughly 25.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
actually...
there’s this Brewers facebook feed that basically gives you McCalvy’s blog entries. It gets lots of comments. I don’t make an effort to read them, but if they are on the front page of my news feed, I can’t help it sometimes. I saw a bunch of people who said they were writing in McGehee.
I’ve noticed a similar thing is years past. Fans seem to really get behind the underdog who not only doesn’t have a chance to make the team, but isn’t even on the ballot! I think Billy got that kind of support one year, though I don’t know which one.
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 2, 2009 4:49 PM CDT up reply actions
"Third base is a paradox for the Jewish people," according to Megdal’s "The Baseball Talmud." "Given the lack of Jewish players at the position, you’d think the bag was made of pork.""That’s pretty funny," Braun said in an interview when read the excerpt. Rather than Kosher considerations, he suggested that the inactivity and tendency for short hops at third base were the reasons he struggled there for a season before being moved to left field.
It was a great selection of awesome.
Someone help me remember
I really don’t want to go back and watch three games straight through, so what day did they put up the split screen with Loyal and Prince?
It was a great selection of awesome.
Pretty sure it was Monday.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
Adam LaRoche just hit a two-run shot off K-Rod to tie the game in the 9th
Now why couldn’t we do that yesterday?
It was a great selection of awesome.
Garrett Jones, the guy that just got called up after Nyjer Morgan was traded, is a single short of the cycle
Happens more often than you’d think.
It was a great selection of awesome.
The last Brewer to do it, amazingly, was Brady Clark
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| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago
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0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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Cincinnati
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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Houston
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0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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Milwaukee
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0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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Pittsburgh
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0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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