Wednesday's Frosty Mug
by Kyle Lobner on Sep 16, 2009 9:21 AM CDT
in Milwaukee Brewers News
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PrintKen Macha says he isn't worried about his job status for next season, but his meeting with reporters yesterday provided a couple of interesting tidbits:
- Macha stressed that he has an "open door" policy with players, but very few have taken the time to sit down with him.
- Doug Melvin, who has repeatedly been given opportunities to give a vote of confidence to Macha, continues to stick to his line about "evaluating after the season."
Meanwhile, there might be a move on the horizon for Carlos Zambrano. Rumors surfaced yesterday that the Cubs may be looking to move him and his big contract this offseason, and Zambrano was none too happy about it after the game. Jorge Says No! has a list of teams that might be interested.
Manny Parra said "there's small progress being made," but will still undergo an MRI on his stiff neck and will almost certainly not make his scheduled start on Friday. Either Chris Narveson or Josh Butler will likely start in his place, with the other pitcher being the first guy out of the bullpen.
Do you like debating the merits of Jason Kendall and want to expand the debate to a new audience? The Book Blog wants to know how long Kendall (and David Eckstein) should be allowed to play in the major leagues. Break out your best "But he calls a good game!" and head on over.
The Brewers unveiled their 2010 schedule yesterday, and will open the season at home on April 5 (FanShot). They're also starting all home games at ten minutes after the hour instead of five. Tyler Maas has a list of things you can do with that extra five minutes.
Around baseball:
Astros: Mike Hampton underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and damage to his labrum and will miss the entire 2010 season.
Tigers: Magglio Ordonez made his 455th plate appearance last night, triggering a vesting option that will pay him $18 million next season.
If you've got half an hour to kill today and are looking for a discussion of replacement level players, Joe Posnanski has a worthwhile read on what exactly replacement level is, the reasons why a team would play a below-replacement level player, and how the Royals have spent all of 2009 with one on their cleanup spot.
Happy birthday today to Bronswell Patrick, who appeared in 32 games for the Brewers in 1996 and turns 39. He happens to share a birthday with Robin Yount, who turns 54.
Oh, and if you're going to run onto the field, you need to be in better shape than this.
Drink up.
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Zambrano
Wasn’t he like Mark Buehrle in hinting he won’t play after his current contract?
I hope Kendall plays until he gets 3000 hits, but I don’t know if his body will still let him catch at age 50.
You know me Al.
First post:
Taking apart a top ten list of the scrappiest players in baseball.
I miss Ken, Junior and DAK so much it hurts sometimes.
please note that said list
has no mention of Counsell or Kendall. I would argue Counsell is scrappy, though Kendall is gritty. i await their trouncing of the word gritty, please!
by Capt Science on Sep 16, 2009 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions
Counsell doesn't qualify this year because he's playing well.
To be scrappy, you have to suck but look like you’re tryin’ real hard.
I disagree.
To be scrappy, you have to look like you suck, then not suck. Such as “That scrappy little chihuahua sure didn’t take no guff from that mean cat (or Dave Kerwin).”
The dictionary definition just says “Full of fighting spirit”.
Counsell is full of the Fighting Irish Spirit, so he qualifies.
According to that definition, then ...
David Eckstein is not scrappy, because he looks like he sucks and he sucks.
Um World Series MVP
People that do important things in the World Series, especially for the Cardinals, are forever good, and should earn $12.5 MM per year.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I just found that out
Sadly, it’s going to be the only content worth viewing on that site for the rest of 2009.
by morineko on Sep 16, 2009 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
Obviously you are not a Jamboroo fan
which is consistently hilarious
"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."
where's your football draft analysis?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I'll post one if you'd like
not sure how Brewers related it is. I’ll say something about the Brewers I guess.
"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."
Oh yeah, if anyone's interested, I've got 2 tickets (each) for next Tuesday and Wednesdays games for sale.
Outfield box, right field side. $65 face value. Will sell for $50 each OBO.
If you’re interested, send me an e-mail: exam9guide@gmail.com
You mean $65 face value for the pair, right?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Cubs at Brewers
Wednesday, 9/23/09
at 7:05PM CDT
Field Outfield Box
Section Row Seat Price Type
107 17 12 $65.00 Web Marquee Game Presale
107 17 13 $65.00 Web Marquee Game Presale
Total Convenience Fee for 2 seats $8.00
Price for 2 seats $138.00
Cubs at Brewers
Tuesday, 9/22/09
at 7:05PM CDT
Field Outfield Box
Section Row Seat Price Type
129 26 13 $65.00 Web Marquee Game Presale
129 26 14 $65.00 Web Marquee Game Presale
Total Convenience Fee for 2 seats $8.00
Price for 2 seats $138.00
Yeah, I kinda bought these tickets with the intention of the games meaning something to one of the teams.
Gambling fail.
Have you been to the first 2 games of the series?
If its me (and I didnt have to work) sitll worth the trip down to ride the El, have Genos East and sit in Wrigley Field.
Baseball is baseball.
oh, sorry forgot it was marquee
I was like, I have Outfield Box season 9 pack seats, and they’re $38 face value. sorry about that
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Next season
Since it’s not too early to look ahead to next season (at least from a Brewers perspective), I’m really looking forward to the June series @ Anaheim. I think I’ll need to post a “Brewers fan guide to the Angels” and an “Angels fan guide to the Brewers” the weekend before.
So sick of playing the twins every year. That needs to be stopped.
Can’t wait to greet Bill Hall when he comes back though!!
the Twins could say the same thing
except their biggest home series are against the White Sox or Yankees, depending on the year. They won’t be wanting to get rid of the “rivalry” series either.
Schedule
More 2-game series?
Only 2 IL series on the road (is that normal?)
8 4 game series????
I like the west coast swing early in the year for a change…
Why do we play in Colorado twice?
Anyone else think that Macha sounds a little defensive?
It’s probably hard not to be defensive when someone asks you if you think you’re about to be fired. But the comments about the open door policy and how the players aren’t always taking him up on it feels a little like blame-shifting to me as far as his relationship or communication with the players go. It may also be significant that none of the players seem eager to rush to Macha’s defense and acknowledge that they’re the ones on the field.
I think he’s gone at the end of the year and I don’t think many of the players will be sad to see him go.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Sep 16, 2009 10:50 AM CDT reply actions
I just glanced at the JS, saw something from Macha like (paraphrasing)
On any team, 1/3 of the players really enjoy playing for you, 1/3 of them just go out there and do their jobs, and 1/3 have an issue with their playing time or something else….
That sounds… absolutely insane to me, what do you think?
Actual Text
“I think on any club you have one-third that really enjoys playing for you, another one-third that just goes out and plays and another one-third that are disappointed in playing time or how they’re being used,” Macha said. "That’s just the way it is.
“This is professional baseball. They’re getting paid a lot of money to go out and perform regardless of liking somebody or not liking somebody.
“You have a lot of learning to do with personalities and people. These guys are a fairly tight-knit group. They’re used to their structure. Sometimes their structure isn’t exactly the structure I use.
It is insane
For Macha to think 1/3 of the players enjoy playing for him.
It seems to be one of those statements that intend to absolve the speaker from any blame…
Taking Shallowness to New Depths...
by Fatter than Joey on Sep 16, 2009 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions
Right
If he’s had an open door policy all season, and one guy has stopped by, that’s significantly less than 1/3.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by Kyle Lobner on Sep 16, 2009 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions
maybe it's just a door-ajar policy
and the players always think it’s actually closed. “What could he be doing in there?”
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I saw that too.
I’m not sure what to conclude other than that Macha’s more or less acknowledging that there’s a problem in the clubhouse between him and the players. It’s not the first time that’s happened with Macha as similar problems were reported when he was in Oakland (with Kendall being one of the players who had a problem with him, reportedly).
The 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 theory doesn’t appear to hold up when you look at other clubs, though it’s easier to overlook dissatisfaction when the team’s winning.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Sep 16, 2009 11:58 AM CDT up reply actions
The players seemed pretty satisfied with Ned Yost
I couldn’t care less if the players like the manager. I think it’s more important that they like Willie, Dale, and Bosio, because those are the guys they’re gonna go to when they want to work on something, or find a problem in their game.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I dunno.
I think it helps over the course of the season for the players to have some confidence in their manager. Obviously their not going to agree with every decision, but if they understand and trust their manager, it’s probably easier for them to accept the decisions they don’t like.
I’m not suggesting that player satisfaction should be the end of the inquiry. It certainly shouldn’t protect managers, like Ned, who just don’t appear to be very effective. But if you’ve got a team that underperforms from expectations based on their record AND there’s reason to believe that theirs discord or communications break downs between the players and the manager, I think that’s the start of a pretty good argument for canning the manager.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Sep 16, 2009 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't think it sounds insane at all.
The first part is basically stating… you can’t please all the people all the time.
That last part, seems to indicate that the players haven’t exactly “bonded” with Macha. It’s probably due to the fact that Macha is an outsider… not from within the Brewer family.
I don’t know if that means that Macha will get fired after the season, but it does sound like they need to all sit around a campfire and sing “Kum Ba Ya”.
I'm writing a paper on the Kendall Tau statistic, and need a good Kendall image for the title page.
Any suggestions?
Google "Kendall + Lackey + brawl"
You should find some good pics. If (dear God I hope not) he’s back with the Brewers next year, he’s going to catch hell in Anaheim.
Speaking of tickets....
I bought a pair of tickets for the Oct 3rd game in St Louis for my brother’s birthday (he is stationed at Scott AFB,) and the day after I bought them he found out he had a gig and we can’t go. Section 440A, Row 3, seats 9&10. Paid $50, looking for whatever…anyone interested?
It's amazing
with the decline of this season, this site has become StubHub
"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."
We may have a ticket available for Tuesday's game
1 or our group of 5 might not be able to go. Field Outfield, row 8, Aisle seats.
So I may be stubhubrewcrewballing that ticket soon.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
And, as photo evidence suggested earlier this season
That’s not always a safe place.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
only if you're a doofus
“Put your arms down, doofus”
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Well, in my (weak) defense, I never intended on going to the games I'm selling my tickets for.
And given the MVD of the tickets, I’d be more than happy to go to the game, it’s just that I’ll be in North Carolina, and that’s a bit of a hike.
I was totally pumped to go to a game at Busch, even with the season how it is
stupid brother’s stupid job
I'm going this Friday...
if nothing else, I’ll be rooting for them to pass the Astros for 3rd place.
I'll be there too
Mrs. Roguejim will be picking up her birthday Bernie bobblehead as well.
"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!"
Birthday present
call the ticket office, they’ll hook you up (if you fork over the cash, that is)
"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!"
I'd still go
If I wasn’t 6 hours away from Milwaukee, and had some weekdays off.
(I may be dumping some Twins tickets for this Friday as I have…ugh…flulike symptoms. Someone’s got to want to see Rick Porcello pitch, right?)
I'd rather see Rick Astley pitch
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
He'll never let you down
You know me Al.
by TheJay on Sep 16, 2009 7:52 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
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| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago
|
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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