Monday's Frosty Mug
by Kyle Lobner on Jan 4, 2010 9:15 AM CST
in Milwaukee Brewers News
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PrintSome things to read while making sure everyone knows.
It might be time to admit that the front office was right and we were wrong regarding Felipe Lopez. With roughly six weeks to go until spring training, Lopez remains unsigned and only one team (the Cardinals) has even been reported as showing interest. David Golebiewski of The Hardball Times thinks Lopez projects to be a 2-2.5 WAR player next season, and may have to settle for a super-utility role to find a job.
It's taking a little longer than expected, but there's light at the end of the tunnel in Miller Park's financing. Latest reports suggest the local .1% sales tax will raise enough money to cover the remaining debt and end sometime between 2015 and 2018.
Like Miller Park, Ryan Braun's contract was money well spent. Braun was listed as an honorable mention on USA Today's best team money can buy.
In the minors:
- John Sickels has unveiled his preliminary list of Brewer prospects to rank in his 2010 guide. Head over there to see if he missed anyone, and pre-order the book while you're there - it's well worth it.
- The Timber Rattlers need your help selecting a left fielder for their 15th anniversary team. Follow that link for information on the nominees, then click over to the front page to vote.
- 2007 4th round pick Eric Farris is an interesting under-the-radar type player in the Brewers system, and posted a .298/.341/.385 line in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League last season. With that said, Adam Foster of Project Prospect says he's "not much of a prospect."
We're almost done selecting players for the BCB All Decade Team, with voting for our sixth bullpen spot open until 4 pm today, when voting for the final roster spot will open. Over the weekend Ned Yost was selected as the team's manager, which might be the greatest possible indictment of the other Brewer managers of the 2000's.
On the other end of the spectrum, Right Field Bleachers has an Anti-All-Decade Team. Clearly, with Ruben Quevedo as the ace of the staff, this team would eat its way to the top...and then back to the bottom.
If you missed it, Morineko's Weekend Mug has much more end-of-year and end-of-decade stuff, so be sure to check it out.
Or, if you're looking for something to listen to today, here's an interview with bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel, discussing offseason moves and "a biblical perspective on the 'changing of the seasons' in Milwaukee."
No transactions to report today, so we'll head straight to the other notes:
Edwin Encarnacion learned something about playing with fireworks over New Years, and is lucky to have avoided serious injury after being hit in the jaw with a bottle rocket. He escaped with first and second-degree burns on his face, and is expected to be ready for spring training.
This time of year, "Minnesota" and "not that cold" don't usually appear in the same sentence, but Dan Wade makes the case that Target Field won't be as cold as people are making it out to be.
Ever wondered about the differences between hitting in baseball and cricket? Me either. But if you had, Mister Baseball has a video for you.
Happy birthday today to:
- Jason Bourgeois, who turns 28.
- 1995-96 Brewer Kevin Wickander, who turns 45.
Oh, and it's nothing personal, it's just an improvement in clothing taste from Seth McClung.
Drink up.
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I'm not willing to concede defeat to the FO just yet
If we had offered FeLo arbitration, when would he have had to accept? If that date hasn’t arrived yet, then yes, DM 1, BCB 0. However, earlier in the offseason, I don’t think anyone was predicting only one team to be interested in his services. And I certainly don’t think Scott Boras was going to recommend he accept our offer.
If he had to decide whether or not to accept arby or become a FA a month ago or so, then the actual market in January doesn’t have as much to bear on his acceptance as much as the perceived market from early December.
Besides, I still think that even in the unlikely event of his accepting to go to arbitration, it still wasn’t a bad idea for the Brewers, given our question marks in the infield. The only downside for me would be that we probably wouldn’t have Heether on the 40 man anymore.
"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 Jan 4, 2010 10:01 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Lopez
I was one of the few guys who thought DM wouldn’t/shouldn’t offer Lopez Arby’s. My main contentions were.
1.) Lopez would almost certainly make more in Arbys than he would have on the FA market, which still makes it very likely he would have accepted Arbys.
2.) Lopez’s agent isn’t an idiot. There were going to be limited teams interested in Lopez, as either (a) they have a 2b, or (b) Lopez burned a bridge with that team
3.) I don’t like it when people consider a trade a “slam dunk” because of potential Arby picks. This is the second year in a row where the Brewers have made trades, and potential draft picks either never came to fruition or where not as anticipated.
4.) Lopez is not, nor will he be a “super-sub” — He is not capable of playing SS except for emergency innings, and is really only a back-up 2b.
The one thing that does make me nervous is the health of Weeks — If Weeks is 100% I don’t see the need to retain Lopez, however, if Weeks is still struggling, Lopez would be a good insurance policy. However, in penny-pinching mode, I suppose you forgo insurance.
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 10:48 AM CST up reply actions
Lopez strikes me as a little too expensive for "insurance" purposes.
If Weeks struggles this spring or isn’t ready to go yet, the Brewers can probably find one suitable short-term replacement out of the group of Counsell, McGehee, Iribarren and Heether.
That's all I've got for you today, unless you're interested in some Chris Capuano/Tom Haudricourt Fan Fiction.
4-6 Months -- From May 2009
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 11:01 AM CST up reply actions
He should be healthy
Just in time for the Mayan Apocalypse.
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 11:08 AM CST up reply actions
Again?
Did you mistakenly believe that owning a mom and pop record store in Chicago would enable one to afford a very large apartment in Chicago?
There was that one.
And the one that a well-compensated assassin could go to his high school reunion and reconnect with his old flame.
Ah yes
I fell for that one too.
There’s also the one where I was tricked into believing that I could ski down a very large mountain, on one ski, while some jerky kid tried shaking me down for a measly $2.00.
And the one
where I was led to believe that I could win my ex back by standing outside her window, holding up a boombox playing a Peter Gabriel song. Apparently, “Shock the Monkey” doesn’t have the same effect as “In Your Eyes.”
/ shamelessly ripped off from South Park
Oh that one works
Thats how I got my wife to marry me. But maybe it was because I played the Genesis song “invisible Touch”.
Although I was violently tossed back into reality when I thought that becoming a con man could land me Annette Benning. At least with that mislead I learned a valuable use for oranges.
1408
I was going to make a crack about that movie, but then I realized I was the only person to have ever seen it.
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 12:04 PM CST up reply actions
Wait!
John Cusack misled me to think Buck Weaver was innocent
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 12:04 PM CST up reply actions
I wouldnt call
John Cusack trivia a sign of a slow news day.
Now if it were Joan Cusack trivia that would be another story.
Just wait until he misleads you!!!!!
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 1:41 PM CST up reply actions
A great part in a great HBO series...
… untold riches and stardom?
It doesn’t suck to be Jeremy Piven, I’m guessing.
What begins in fear usually ends in folly.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Jan 4, 2010 8:28 PM CST up reply actions
I saw it...
… but I’m trying to forget the experience.
What begins in fear usually ends in folly.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Jan 4, 2010 8:29 PM CST up reply actions
Didn't the world end for the Mayans a long time ago?
Like in 1985? or was that the USFL?
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 12:15 PM CST up reply actions
...or they can just wait until Lopez pisses off his new team
and trade for him again
Taking shallowness to new depths -- FtJ's blog
by Fatter than Joey on Jan 4, 2010 10:57 AM CST up reply actions
Timetable
On that is less than Weeks’ recovery time.
He kind of reminds me of a Belliard/Vina mix. Plays well when he feels like it.
Weeks should be Lopez' insurance
I don’t understand why everyone is gonzo about a guy who can’t hit .280 or stay healthy for 130 games after five years.
Lifetime .351 OBP with decent power
OBP>>>>AVG
Brewers Baseball and other assorted nonsense (mostly the assorted nonsense) at my blog, What's a Tararrel?
Yes, but he makes outs of any sort less often
Than anyone else on the team not named Braun or Fielder, hence the OBP.
For that matter, y’know who rarely struck out? Jason Kendall. Too bad we don’t have him anymore…
Brewers Baseball and other assorted nonsense (mostly the assorted nonsense) at my blog, What's a Tararrel?
You keep bringing up things that are completely irrelevant to how good he is at baseball, though
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
Not completely irrelevant.
How many times he has been to the Parthenon would be completely irrelevant to how good he is at baseball. How good he performs in a baseball related statistic is somewhat (though in this case negligibly) relevant to his baseball skill.
by NoahJ on Jan 4, 2010 4:28 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
To be sure if he would strike out half as much as he does and put
those balls in play while maintaining the same rate of contact and walks on other pitches, he would be a much better hitter. But that’s not how it works. I’m saying that a guy with a line of .340/.400 is pretty much just as good if he hits .250 with 180 strikeouts or if he hits .290 with 60 strikeouts. It’s a difference of maybe a run over the course of the year. Consider this my clarification of the point I made.
The other issue is if Rickie decides he’s going to strike out less, he’s probably also going to walk less as well as make generally weaker contact. We wouldn’t want that, now would we.
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
Yes and no
There’s a difference between hitting .250 and .290, it means 4% of the time the next batter is going to have a bigger hole between 1st and 2nd to hit through.
There is a difference, yes
But when you really get down to it it comes to be about 2 extra runs per year. And in a situation where there’s a runner on first and less than 2 outs, a strikeout is often better than a groundball because of the double play factor. So it’s maybe a run or 2 over the entire year. Minimal.
E: George 4 (5, throw, throw, throw, throw).
Just because the market for 2B stinks
doesn’t mean he would have accepted arbitration. He could have declined and looked like an idiot for doing so much like Ben Sheets. We don’t know for sure. It does look like Melvin has a pretty good grasp of the FA market ahead of time. Of course there is that resigning of Hoffman for $8M+ hours after the end of the season when the market for closers looks cheap so maybe he just got lucky.
Give him an offspeed pitch down and in. He will swing and miss.
Target Field will be an ice box...
Dan Wade is trying to convince himself that Twins fans aren’t going to be miserable in their new ball park. He’s wrong about that, even though it will be a fine ballyard.
Let’s first give Minnesotans their due. They are a (ahem) “hardy” bunch when it comes to winter weather. And they don’t NEED a roof as badly as the Brewers who rely much more on a statewide fan base that needs to know there won’t be a rainout (60% of Minnesota’s population is in the Twin Cities MSA compared to 25% for Wisconsin / Milwaukee).
But let’s be honest, Fenway and Wrigley will fill up on advance ticket sales regardless of the weather. And Cleveland? What self respecting Indian fan isn’t still shamed at having had their “home” opener in Miller Park?
I’ll be anxious to see how the Twins do in April / May once the stadium is a couple years old and they’ve suffered their first 90 loss season.
No retractable roof, no 3 million butts in seats. Give thanks Brewer fans for Miller Park.
hello, walkup sales
Other than the Brewers series, I don’t anticipate buying any Twins tickets in advance. I’ve bought tickets in advance for games in Des Moines, Denver, and Detroit, leading to attending two games ended early for rain and one rescheduled rainout. I don’t live in those cities which is why I bought tickets in advance but I definitely live here in the Cities and there’s no point in me going to a game at an expensive outdoor park if it’s going to rain or snow, or if it’s 97 degrees (or 32,) or if the Twins are playing the Royals and Greinke isn’t pitching, etc.
On the other hand, paycheck willing, I’ll probably be at Miller Park once a month in 2010.
Thanks for the correction.
Fixed.
That's all I've got for you today, unless you're interested in some Chris Capuano/Tom Haudricourt Fan Fiction.
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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
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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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