Monday's Frosty Mug
by KLSnow on Aug 24, 2009 7:31 AM CDT
in News
37 comments
Some things to read while streamlining tech support.
There was a brief period of time this weekend where it looked like I'd be writing about a three game winning streak this morning and wondering if the Brewers could get back to .500 later today. Then, Bad Manny showed up and ruined all of that. 63% of the voters in the poll at that link think Parra will never be a productive major league pitcher. I went the other way, because Parra is still pretty young and could put it together, but it seems clear he's unlikely to develop consistency anytime soon.
The Brewers still have a pretty good chance to earn a series victory in Washington, as Yovani Gallardo takes the mound today. He needs 29 more strikeouts this season to become just the fourth Brewer ever to reach 200. He also needs two more wins to become just the third Brewer since the 2000 season to win 13 games.
If you missed it yesterday, and the site stats would suggest you did, TheJay and I both had notes on Prince Fielder: I took a look at the historical significance of Fielder's walks and TheJay speculated on Fielder's potential performance in the Midwest League. Of course after we spent half the day talking about him he went 0-for-4, just the second time in his last 14 games where he's failed to earn his way on base.
The Brewers open a three game series with the Reds tomorrow, and both teams will enter play with their rotation in a state of upheaval. For the Brewers, Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush will start on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, making their returns from the DL. The Reds, meanwhile, have yet to name a starter for Wednesday, but it won't be Aaron Harang, who underwent an emergency appendectomy over the weekend and could miss the rest of the season. Kip Wells is the likely candidate to replace him.
A quick side note: Is there such a thing as a non-emergency appendectomy? Why would a surgeon remove your appendix if it wasn't an urgent situation?
Roguejim has a look at the latest Elias rankings, with the Brewers still projected to have one Type A free agent and four Type B's. Felipe Lopez's recent play, though, has pushed him up to the edge of Type A status.
In the minors:
- The Timber Rattlers drew 5459 fans to yesterday's game and set a new franchise record for single season attendance. With Brett Lawrie bobblehead day still remaining on their schedule, the Rattlers could surpass 250,000 fans this season.
- The Rattlers also have (or, in the case of Brett Lawrie, had) two of the 50 youngest players in Low A ball, according to Project Prospect. Efrain Nieves is the other one.
- What the Timber Rattlers don't have, though, is one of the Best Team Names in the Minors, at least according to Wezen-ball. The Brevard County Manatees do, though.
With back to back wins on Friday and Saturday, CoolStandings had upgraded the Brewer playoff chances to 1.8%, but they fell back to .7% with the loss yesterday. If that stat wasn't enough for you, Tyler Maas has ten nine signs your team is falling out of playoff contention.
Around baseball:
Astros: Signed Armando Benitez to a minor league deal.
Cardinals: Placed Kyle Lohse on the DL with a strained groin.
Mariners: Released reliever Luis Pena.
Marlins: Placed Brendan Donnelly on the DL with a calf strain.
Mets: Designated infielder Andy Green for assignment.
Phillies: Placed third baseman Greg Dobbs on the DL with a strained calf.
Red Sox: Designated reliever Fernando Cabrera for assignment.
Rockies: Placed Aaron Cook on the DL with shoulder soreness and signed Russ Ortiz and Jason Giambi.
Albert Pujols is batting just .279 since the All Star Game, and (gasp!) his OPS over that time is under 1.000. Clearly, without question, we should abolish the Home Run Derby.
If you're looking to read some in-depth analysis to get your brain working on Monday morning, then reading the Mug was clearly the wrong decision. Instead, you should check out Baseball Analysts' look at batters' decisions to swing at 3-2 pitches, and the possibility they're doing it too often.
On this day in 1993, Kevin Reimer went 6-for-6 as the Brewers beat the A's 7-6 in 13 innings. Reimer also drew an intentional walk to reach base a seventh time.
Happy birthday today to Everett Stull, who appeared in 22 games as a Brewer in 2000 and 2002 and turns 38 today. Happy belated birthdays to Mark DiFelice (33) and Zach Braddock (22), who celebrated their birthdays yesterday.
Oh, and long before he threw the banana, Orlando Hernandez had everyone doing The El Duque.
Drink up.
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If it's bad for Pujols
Then it must be bad for The Game and Those Who Play It Right.
by Cheeseandcorn on Aug 24, 2009 8:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
That latter category does not include San Diego's Will Venable ...
who is the latest player to draw the ire of The Arbiter of Respect and Honor. According to His Excellency, Venable threw an elbow at His Worshipfulness whilst His Supreme Majesty was tagging Venable out on a slow roller up the first base line.
Decreed Lord Albert after the game, showing all the class and dignity that one would expect of him: “Next time, if I would have known, I probably hit him in the face with the glove and tag him out there.”
by Rubie Q on Aug 24, 2009 9:00 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
"All shall love me and despair!"
- A. Pujols
by Zorakathura on Aug 24, 2009 11:40 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, a LTOR quote before noon.
I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one.
by Rubie Q on Aug 24, 2009 11:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was gonna comment about that play.
I didn’t see the quote though. What an ass. I saw the play live, andI thought the guy was avoiding a tag. Running full speed down the line into one of the biggest men in baseball could really hurt. Either way, Prince does that all the time, where he straddles the baseline to tag a player out. Most players just stop, but, quite frankly, if you put your body in the baseline, you’re asking for a collision.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
by tcyoung on Aug 24, 2009 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
It looked to me like Venable was just trying to protect himself from a potential hard tag
It is what it is.
by coolig on Aug 24, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Which, of course, is grounds for getting tagged in the face.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
by tcyoung on Aug 24, 2009 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's not called "tagging" if Pujols is doing it.
It’s “laying on of hands.” He’s the Saviour. Get your facts straight.
by Rubie Q on Aug 24, 2009 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think I was at the Kevin Reimer game
It went really late (second game of a twinight doubleheader — remember those? — and it went 13 innings, not 12), and I remember leaving before the end (against my wishes).
What I remember best about the game was not Kevin Reimer but Dennis Eckersley. The ump had been giving him a really generous strike zone, apparently because he just wanted to get the game over with. But then the Brewers, who were two runs behind, started to rally in the ninth, and the ump switched to a more realististic strike zone. Eckersley was totally exasperated. Here he’d been pitching eight inches off the plate and getting called strikes, and now he wasn’t being allowed to do that, and he lost it with the ump. But he didn’t get tossed; I guess it took more in those days.
by DukeMarkell on Aug 24, 2009 8:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Reimer game
I remember listening to that game on the radio and how Garner turned that into an NL game after losing the DH. Plus he used Jesse Orosco for three (3!) innings and had him bat. Seitzer and Jaha ended up playing defense rotating between second and thrid base, Yount ended up at first. Rickety Bones played an inning in RF.
Man did Reimer really hit the wall that season. At the All-Star break he had 13 HR and 52 RBI…and finished with 13 HR and 60 RBI. After the 6 hit game he only had 8 hits the rest of the year, including two the following day.
by Infield Fly Rule on Aug 24, 2009 8:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Another thing about the Kevin Reimer game
That was the game Ricky Bones played in right field.
There was a huge brawl on the field, and so many of the Brewers got thrown out of the game that they were short a position player. So Bones went into right field. But then, Garner realized he actually had an outfielder that he wasn’t using — none other than Kevin Reimer, who was the DH. So Reimer switched to the OF, which meant the pitchers actually had to bat. And reliever Matt Maysey got a hit. It was the only hit of his career, but then again, it was his only major league victory also.
by DukeMarkell on Aug 24, 2009 9:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
In all seriousness - keeping with Daily Mugs?
So is the idea behind the Daily Mugs at this point in the season a matter of professionalism and pride?
It seems like KL’s life could be a bit simplified by having formal Daily Mugs MWF and Open Mugs T/Th. It’d be a shame to have him burn out. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy them even with Brewers news getting a little sparse, because he still manages to dig up interesting research like the 3-2 count article above.
I’m just curious as to whether it might be a bit easier to keep up the enthusiasm for each Mug for the rest of the grind of the season to take a few days off. It might generate a little more activity in the boards, too. I know I’m getting a little fatigued and I only read the site.
by ecocd on Aug 24, 2009 11:12 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
When you give up on a season,
you really give up on a season.
by Zorakathura on Aug 24, 2009 11:21 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Don't we continue to do these during the offseason?
why would we stop during the season? Even if we’re out of it. I can think of a certain blogger who would deem you a casual.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
by tcyoung on Aug 24, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, I AM a casual
I don’t really take that as an insult. Clearly, the addiction has not yet taken hold.
There just seems like there’s a real lull around the entire league right now. On the local front, Escobar is still shiny, but there aren’t any other prospects to be checking out come September. I don’t consider Suppan’s return a must-see event, though I’ll try to catch Bush’s debut. There aren’t any personal milestones for anyone to follow – forgive me if I can’t get excited about Fielder challenging for the RBI title. We don’t even have Bill Hall to complain about or overanalyze anymore.
The trade deadline has passed and the postseason is still too far away to get really excited about divisional or wildcard races. There don’t seem to be any compelling storylines around baseball, in general, like a pitcher going for 300 wins. The only thing that anyone’s been hyping for weeks is Yankees-Red Sox and I couldn’t care less about them.
What is everyone following to keep their interest going?
by ecocd on Aug 24, 2009 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's tough
I’ve been following my bets on centsports, and tuning into good pitching matchups when I get a chance.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
by tcyoung on Aug 24, 2009 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
There just seems like there’s a real lull around the entire league right now.
This happens every August, moreso for teams outside of the playoff picture. September 1st changes that.
It is what it is.
by coolig on Aug 24, 2009 12:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
This wouldn't actually make things better.
Writing Mugs on Monday sucks every week – not because I’m burned out, but because I need to sift through three days’ worth of material to write the Mug. A normal weekday Mug takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to write – Monday Mugs take about 4.
So, if I started skipping days, content to sift through would stack up and every day would be like a Monday. That’s when I’d burn out.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by KLSnow on Aug 24, 2009 9:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Parra
Parra is still young enough to figure out his control issues (heck, Randy Johnson was still walking 150 guys a year into his late 20’s), but I think what is more likely to happen is that he settles in as a leage average pitcher.
Part of the challenge for the Brewer organization will be not letting the disappointment of him NOT becoming a front of the rotation guy (as hoped) cause them to give up on a guy that will likely still have some value.
Even though he has struggled this year, his FIP is still (barely) under 5.00 and he is at 4.40 for his career, which is still a moderately valuable asset.
Guys like this are often discarded as failures by their original organization, only to become solid contributors moving forward.
I suspect that like Suppan, he will hover around league average (maybe a bit better than Suppan, but you get the point) , with a couple really good seasons scattered around when things go well for him.
I would be happy to slot him in my #4 or #5 spot moving forward. Now, if he is your projected #2…???? Not so much.
by badgermaniac on Aug 24, 2009 12:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
THwitter getting philosophical
As for that unassisted triple play that ended the Mets-Phillies game, would that be the defensive equivalent of a walk-off grand slam?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
by tcyoung on Aug 24, 2009 12:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I was wondering if that ever happened before
If there have only been 15 unassisted triple plays in baseball history, maybe that was the only one that ended the game.
by DukeMarkell on Aug 24, 2009 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes
ESPN said it was the second time it had ever happened.
by badgermaniac on Aug 24, 2009 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it'd be the defensive equivalent of a walk-off grand slam
after hitting another grand slam earlier in the inning
by warwick5s on Aug 24, 2009 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not as impressed by the play
It’s a rare thing, but the play was basically gift wrapped, due to some severely stupid managing. Manuel called for a double steal with 0 outs, and Francoeur at the plate with a 2-2 count, down 2 runs in the 9th. That was as likely to be a run-of-the-mill strike-em-out throw-em-out double play as anything else. So, neither runner was in position to recover from any liner, and Bruntlett happened to be in the perfect place to hit them both.
A grand slam to end the game could be a similarly lucky event, but I’d give the edge to the single grand slam, even. Bruntlett was just in the right place at the right time.
by Marty McSuperFly on Aug 24, 2009 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Isn't that basically how any unassisted triple play happens, though?
by NoahJ on Aug 24, 2009 1:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
I don’t mean to take anything away from him for making the play, but it’s almost entirely luck. Comparing it to grand slams or even taking a home run away at the wall doesn’t really match up, in my mind.
by Marty McSuperFly on Aug 24, 2009 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What flavor is that Haterade you've got there?
Imagine the Brewers offense without Bill Hall. Wait. What?
by Dikembe Meiztombo on Aug 24, 2009 1:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's like Randy Johnson hitting the bird
It was a badass thing to see, but it’s not like he had any special bird-smacking skill.
by Marty McSuperFly on Aug 24, 2009 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Are you sure about that? He did it twice.
by sjlee on Aug 24, 2009 6:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The man's played 613 games
Or, if you like, 4131 innings. It’s bound to happen every 2000 or so.
CounsellWSMVP10!
by kirbir on Aug 24, 2009 6:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
But yet... has anyone else done it even once in MLB?
by sjlee on Aug 24, 2009 9:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
My "every 2000 or so" comment was semi-sarcastic
But Jason Childress did it in the minor leagues. Also, not pitching related, but a flock of seagulls (not these ones) helped the Indians win a game.
CounsellWSMVP10!
by kirbir on Aug 24, 2009 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've only ever heard of the one time
Google isn’t helping me on this, either. A quick search reveals only one incident.
by Marty McSuperFly on Aug 25, 2009 9:07 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it's more the equivalent of scoring from second on a walkoff wild pitch
Rare, you have to be in the right spot, anyone can do it (an old baseball axiom: if Eddie Perez can do it, anyone can) and you need some help from the other team.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
by TheJay on Aug 24, 2009 5:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Did I miss anything over the weekend?
Aside from Prince’s awesome A ball projections?
Imagine the Brewers offense without Bill Hall. Wait. What?
by Dikembe Meiztombo on Aug 24, 2009 12:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I was out for the weekend, too.
It appears the answer is no, not much. Other than Escobar’s first career home run. That’s pretty cool.
by Cheeseandcorn on Aug 24, 2009 2:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis
|
91 | 71 | .561 | 0 | Lost 6 |
|
Chicago
|
83 | 78 | .515 | 7.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Milwaukee
|
80 | 82 | .493 | 11 | Won 3 |
|
Cincinnati
|
78 | 84 | .481 | 13 | Won 2 |
|
Houston
|
74 | 88 | .456 | 17 | Lost 3 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
62 | 99 | .385 | 28.5 | Lost 2 |
(updated 11.20.2009 at 10:30 PM CST)
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