SB Nation - Joe Koshansky

The Brewers' Rule 5 Draft Eligible Players

TheJay — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:15:08 -0000

As noted in my FanPost of Sunday night, the deadline for filing major league and minor league reserve lists is fast approaching. Eligible players not added to the major league 40-man roster by November 20 can be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

What does it take to be eligible?

If 19 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, a player is eligible for the fourth Rule 5 draft after signing (usually after four years in the minors).
If 18 or younger on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, a player is eligible for the fifth Rule 5 draft after signing (usually after five years in the minors).
Any player who is eligible for one Rule 5 draft is eligible for all subsequent Rule 5 drafts.

(see ESPN Transactions Primer , Baseball America Rule 5 Draft column, MLB Rules summaries)

You may recall some Brewers being added to the 40-man roster last offseason to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Omar Aguilar, Alexandre Periard, Mark Rogers, and Cody Scarpetta were the fantastic four. At the risk of undermining the above statements, Scarpetta actually became eligible for the draft through a little-known technicality: the Brewers voided his original contract because of an injury and later re-signed him, making him immediately eligible (link). That comes up probably once in a February blue moon.

I have attempted to make a comprehensive list of Brewers farmhands who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Obviously not all (or even most) of these players are realistic candidates to be selected. In addition, some of these guys may be minor league free agents. If you think I've made a mistake or missed someone, post a comment. Notable names are above the jump while you must click and scroll for the rest. Ages listed are for the 2010 season and levels listed are where the player spent the bulk of 2009:

Zach Braddock (22, LHP, A+/AA - one of the last draft-and-follow players, he did not sign until the spring of 2006 at the age of 18. This gives him one more year before becoming eligible.)
Lorenzo Cain (24, CF, AA)
Chris Cody (26, LHP, AA/AAA)
Nick Green (25, RHP, AA/AAA)
Taylor Green (23, 3B, AA - another draft-and-follow guy, brewerfan has him signing June 1, 2006. Since he did not turn 19 until November 2005, I think that puts him in the 18 and younger category and means he is not eligible until next offseason. Lorenzo Cain was in a similar situation last year.)
Dave Johnson (27, RHP, AAA)
Mike Jones (27, RHP, A+/AA/AAA - former #1 pick finally reached AAA, did not do well)
Brendan Katin (27, RF, AAA)
Mike Ramlow (24, LHP, Inj/A - yet another draft-and-follow, injured most of this season)
Amaury Rivas (24, RHP, A+)

The Brewers currently have 33 of 40 roster spots filled. I am not 100% sure of Green's exemption from the draft but the Brewers certainly have roster room if I'm wrong. We'll all find out together on Friday. Assuming Green does not need to be protected, I think only Lorenzo Cain and Amaury Rivas really need to be added to the roster. I don't think the other guys are tempting enough for any team to commit a 25-man roster spot in December. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the current talent and/or upside just aren't there.

As promised, the rest of the Rule 5 eligible farmhands.

Erick Almonte (32 in 2010, 1B, spent 2009 in AAA)
Patrick Arlis (29, C, AAA)
Mike Burns (31, RHP, AAA/MLB)
Chuck Caufield (26, LF/RF, AA)
Anderson de la Rosa (25, C, A+)
Ryan Delaughter (23, RHP, R - converted outfielder threw 5 innings in Arizona rookie ball.)
Chris Errecart (25, 1B, A+)
Jim Henderson (27, RHP, A/A+ - Canadian added veteran presence to low-minors bullpens.)
Robert Hinton (25, RHP, AA)
Mark Holliman (26, RHP, AA)
JR Hopf (27, C, AA)
Shane Justis (27, 2B, AA - was selected in minor league portion of last year's Rule 5 draft.)
Brandon Kintzler (25, RHP, AA - not sure how it works for these indy-league guys. Not sure it matters.)
Brock Kjeldgaard (24, 1B, A - converted pitcher known for power, strikeouts.)
Joe Koshansky (28, 1B, AAA)
Rafael Lluberes (25, LHP, A+)
Martin Maldonado (23, C, A+)
Michael McClendon (25, RHP, AA)
Sean McCraw (24, C, A)
Johnny Raburn (31, 2B/SS, AA/AAA)
Tike Redman (33, OF, AAA - former Pirate spent about as much time in Nashville as Jon Knott.)
Jose Romero (24, LHP, R - injury-marred career, presumably.)
Ivan Rusova (23, RHP, R - who? The Giants somehow drafted this Cuban in the in 26th round in 2005.)
Juan Sandoval (29, RHP, AA)
Adam Stern (30, OF, AA - O Canada!)
David Welch (27, LHP, AA - the lone representative from Australia.)

The following players would have been Rule 5 eligible but are already minor league free agents according to Brewerfan. A few names from the above list (i.e., Redman) probably belong down here, too:

Drew Anderson (29, LF, AA - he actually spent September 2006 in the majors.)
Chris Capuano (31, LHP, Inj/R)
Carlos Corporan (26, C, AAA - hitting only 1.000 in major league play.)
Ruben Flores (26, RHP, A - acquired for Bill Hall.)
Lindsay Gulin (33, LHP, AAA)
Ryan Houston (30, RHP, AAA)
Jon Knott (31, RF, AAA - spent about two weeks in a Nashville uniform.)
Wes Littleton (27, RHP, AA/AAA - best known for "saving" a 27-run game with the Rangers.)
Kevin Melillo (28, 1B/3B, AA)
Sam Narron (28, LHP, AAA)
Freddy Parejo (25, RF, AA)
Josh Wahpepah (25, RHP, AA)
Chase Wright (27, RHP, AAA - outrighted off 40-man roster on August 26.)

That's a lot of links about a bunch of guys no one will remember a few weeks from now. :)

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:40:29 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Former Brewers manager Ned Yost looks great with someone else's logo behind him.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while keeping your pimp hand fuzzy.

The search for a new pitching coach might be about to get much more interesting: Rick Peterson, considered by most the odds on favorite to get the job, is also interested in the vacancy in Florida. If Peterson turns out to be unavailable, the search may start from scratch.

Meanwhile, yesterday was interview day for Ned Yost in Houston. Inexplicably, Yost still doesn't seem to understand why he was let go in Milwaukee, and said this when asked about it:

"Don't lose 10 out of 13 games is the best thing I can figure," Yost told reporters in Houston, "and hope your offense stays on track so you don't struggle to score runs."

Alyson Footer also quoted him as saying the Astros are "one starter away from having a really good staff." If the Astros hire Yost, fans in Houston can look forward to a 2010 season full of "really battling" and "being one pitch away from getting out of it."

In yesterday's Mug, I noted that Mike Burns had been outrighted to AAA, but neglected to mention that he's injured: He presumably still has the labrum pathology that he was diagnosed with at the end of the season. It's a bit more challenging to demote an injured player, but TheJay has a look at the CBA's rules regarding such transactions.

I also mentioned Jon Heyman's decision to leave Prince Fielder off his MVP ballot. Thankfully, we're not the only ones upset about it: James Bailey of Hardball Cooperative has an in-depth look at Heyman's ballot, and the reasons Fielder should be on it.

Plunk Everyone has compiled a list of difficulty rankings for several stats around baseball: Follow the link to see where Jason Kendall, Ryan Braun, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan, Prince Fielder, Braden Looper, Mike Cameron, Yovani Gallardo and Felipe Lopez rank among the best in baseball at the things they do.

If we learned one thing about Jody Gerut this season, it's this: he's miscast as a bench player. Among the 20 most frequently used pinch hitters in baseball this season, Gerut ranked 17th in OPS off the bench, ahead of only Mark Loretta, Greg Norton and Greg Dobbs. I have a feeling we'll have "Who is the real Jody Gerut?" conversations on more than one occasion this winter.

Further proof that it'd be really, really difficult to get fair value back in a deal involving Ryan Braun: Rowland's Office has a hypothetical deal sending Braun to the Braves for Jair Jurrjens, one of the game's top young pitchers. Even if you assume their expected values were exactly the same, Jurrjens has a few days over 2 years of service time, meaning he's under team control for four more seasons (through 2013), and will be arbitration eligible after next season. Braun, meanwhile, is under contract and cost controlled for two extra seasons (through 2015), and his salary never exceeds $12 million.

(I use Cot's Contracts all the time for info like that, and frequently forget to cite them. If you need contract info, Cot's is the place for it.)

In the AFL and on the farm:

Project Prospect's Friday topic of conversation is Lorenzo Cain, who's off to a pretty good start in the AFL and is expected to play roughly 4 times a week in an effort to bounce back from a rough 2009 season. They've also got a nice primer on what to expect from the AFL and they're looking for a scouting report on the speed of Taylor Green.
Wisconsin Sports Tap has a look at the season that was for the Huntsville Stars. It's kinda bleak down there, but Jonathan Lucroy is a nice bright spot.
Actually, statistics would suggest it was pretty bleak all over the Brewer minor leagues this season. Baseball America has the final batting leaderboards for 2009, and the only Brewer appearances are among the leaders in stolen bases (Eric Farris had 70) and strikeouts (Brock Kjeldgaard, Joe Koshansky and Brendan Katin all made the list).
As noted in BA's Minor League Transactions, the Brewers released 12 minor leaguers yesterday (FanShot). The most notable name on the list was 2004 third round pick Josh Wahpehpah.
Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel and Angel Salome all made Baseball America's list of the top 20 prospects in the Pacific Coast League. Tom Haudricourt had mentioned this previously, but that link will take you to the team's press release.
John Sickels of Minor League Ball has a look back at his top 50 pitching prospects entering 2009, including a pre-suspension Jeremy Jeffress.

The Hendies tournament continues over at Brew City Sports: Follow the link to cast your vote in the Excrement Eight.

If you like your roundups of Brewer news, but wish there was less reading involved and maybe a bit more rambling, then you may be the perfect candidate to try out View From Bernie's Chalet's new video blog.

Or, if you like Brewer related fan fiction, you may want to try out Witrado's Quest and Doug Melvin's Hunt for October.

I'm sure this is exactly what Major League Baseball had in mind for the postseason: After a long delay between rounds, baseball is back and the main topics of conversation are weather and divorce. Jon Heyman thinks the Yankees and Angels will get the game in tonight, but could have a hard time tomorrow. Diamond Leung has the scoop on each side's attorney in the McCourt fiasco.

It could be worse, though: Fans in Texas aren't getting playoff baseball, and they're also not getting their playoff ticket money back until sometime in November. (h/t 6-4-2) The money is reportedly "tied up with MLB," and may already have been used to pay off some of the cash the Rangers reportedly had to borrow to make payroll this season.

If you ever doubted the usefulness of Twitter, doubt no longer: In amidst conversation about last night's NLCS opener, Jason of IIATMS presented me with a Nickname of the Year contender: Ronnie "Staypuft" Belliard.

On this day in 1982, the Brewers scored six runs in the seventh inning en route to a 7-5 victory over the Cardinals, evening the World Series at two games apiece.

Happy birthday today to Freddy Parejo, who spent the 2009 season patrolling the outfields in Huntsville and Nashville and turns 25 today. Birthday wishes also go out to Brian Harper, who spent the 1994 season as a Brewer and turns 50.

That's all I have for you today, unless you wanted to read about the rebound of Krispy Kreme or the rising price of chicken wings. I found both of those links via C. Trent Rosecrans.

Drink up.

Probably misusing MLE: Where could the Brewers have done better?

KLSnow — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:00:20 -0000

Looking for some idle speculation on the first Brewer-free Sunday afternoon since February? Here's something to play with.

Because of Jeff's brilliant work over at Minor League Splits, we can take any Brewer above rookie ball's minor league stats and get their MLE (major league equivalent), a baseline estimate of how they would have performed in the major leagues this season.

So without further adieu, here's a look at how Brewer minor leaguers might have performed in the majors in 2009, and how it compares to the players the Brewers actually used in their place.

Catcher

Player	Team (Level)	Avg/OBP/SLG	MLE A/O/S	MLE OPS
Jonathan Lucroy	Huntsville (AA)	.267/.377/.416	.219/.307/.327	.634
Angel Salome	Nashville (AAA)	.288/.338/.420	.249/.285/.342	.627
J.R. Hopf	Huntsville (AA)	.249/.318/.363	.206/.258/.291	.549
Corey Kemp	Wisconsin (A-)	.269/.364/.379	.182/.239/.245	.484
Carlos Corporan	Nashville (AAA)	.217/.262/.285	.192/.230/.250	.480

Brewers used: Jason Kendall, who hit .241/.331/.305 (.636 OPS), and Mike Rivera, who hit .228/.326/.342 (.668 OPS)

This is likely the most obvious position where you can make a solid argument that one of the minor leaguers should have played over the guy the Brewers trotted out there. Kendall had a nice finish to 2009, batting .271/.370/.391 after August 7, but still only out OPS'ed the hypothetical performance of Jonathan Lucroy by two points, with Angel Salome not far behind him.

Beyond Lucroy and Salome, it's a long way down to the next level, though. Corey Kemp's 2009 performance was pretty impressive in Wisconsin, but he's easily the third best catcher in the system above rookie ball right now, and he's still a long way away.

Follow the jump for the other positions!

First Base

Player	Team (Level)	Avg/OBP/SLG	MLE A/O/S	MLE OPS
Joe Koshansky	Nashville (AAA)	.218/.319/.441	.189/.267/.358	.625
Erick Almonte	Nashville (AAA)	.295/.367/.365	.253/.307/.301	.608
Kevin Melillo	Huntsville (AA)	.249/.344/.392	.207/.280/.309	.589
Steffan Wilson	Brevard Co. (A+)	.272/.352/.420	.208/.266/.308	.574
Brock Kjeldgaard	Wisconsin (A-)	.248/.340/.454	.167/.221/.278	.499

Clearly, none of these guys are even comparable to Prince Fielder, who posted a 1.014 OPS this season.

In fact, the complete lack of a viable first baseman in the upper levels of the minors is a little startling. If something were to happen to Fielder, the best internal options to replace him would almost certainly be in the big leagues now: Mat Gamel and/or Casey McGehee.

With that said, Steffan Wilson's performance in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League is notable, and Brock Kjeldgaard had a decent offensive season overshadowed by the fact that he led his league in strikeouts for the second straight season.

Second Base

Player	Team (Level)	Avg/OBP/SLG	MLE A/O/S	MLE OPS
Hernan Iribarren	Nashville (AAA)	.307/.360/.396	.269/.310/.335	.645
Shane Justis	Huntsville (AA)	.271/.339/.376	.225/.278/.309	.587
Eric Farris	Brevard Co. (A+)	.302/.344/.388	.238/.270/.304	.574
Brett Lawrie	Wisconsin (A-)	.275/.342/.438	.192/.232/.282	.514

These are the only four players above rookie ball who played a full season with second base as their primary position. The Brewers used Rickie Weeks (.857 OPS) and Felipe Lopez (.810 OPS) primarily at second, and obviously there's no comparison.

The upside is pretty low among the upper level guys: Iribarren had a nice season in AAA, but likely projects as little more than a utility/backup type in the majors. 2009 was Justis' first season as a Brewer. He's 26 years old in AA.

With that said, there's a lot of upside in the lower levels. Eric Farris had a very good season for Brevard County, and added 70 steals in 76 attempts. With that said, he's been leapfrogged in the organization by Brett Lawrie, who continues his rapid ascent toward the big leagues.

Third Base

Player	Team (Level)	Avg/OBP/SLG	MLE A/O/S	MLE OPS
Adam Heether	Nashville (AAA)	.300/.398/.506	.256/.334/.409	.743
Mat Gamel	Nashville (AAA)	.281/.368/.479	.242/.309/.388	.697
Taylor Green	Huntsville (AA)	.267/.344/.372	.220/.276/.308	.584
Zelous Wheeler	Brevard Co. (A+)	.263/.365/.383	.199/.273/.283	.556
Juan Sanchez	Wisconsin (A-)	.249/.308/.318	.172/.207/.221	.428

The Brewers used Casey McGehee (.859 OPS), Craig Counsell (.766 OPS), Bill Hall (.606 OPS) and Mat Gamel (.760 OPS) at third.

Behold Adam Heether. While most of the talk about Brewer minor leaguers this season revolved around guys like Alcides Escobar, Gamel, Salome, Lucroy and Lawrie, Heether quietly outhit all of them. And while Craig Counsell had an incredible and unlikely bounce back season, Heether's MLE line is nearly comparable. He also played five positions this season to keep his bat in the lineup while Mat Gamel played third.

Behind him and Gamel, Taylor Green had a season to forget, and Zelous Wheeler's ability to get on base made him valuable in the Manatees' lineup. Sanchez was one of the last players drafted in the minor league phase of last year's Rule 5 draft, and played all over the diamond for Wisconsin and Brevard Co. despite never having played above the Gulf Coast League.

Shortstop

Player	Team (Level)	Avg/OBP/SLG	MLE A/O/S	MLE OPS
Alcides Escobar	Nashville (AAA)	.298/.351/.411	.259/.301/.345	.646
Sergio Miranda	Brevard Co. (A+)	.297/.355/.380	.229/.272/.292	.564
Yohannis Perez	Huntsville (AA)	.262/.314/.353	.221/.259/.287	.546
Michael Garciaparra	Huntsville (AA)	.216/.302/.261	.184/.249/.223	.472
Brent Brewer	Brevard Co. (A+)	.226/.290/.291	.176/.224/.231	.455

The Brewers used J.J. Hardy (.659 OPS) and Alcides Escobar (.701 OPS)

Alcides Escobar's AAA performance and J.J. Hardy's service time status combined to be just enough to get Escobar into the big leagues for good back in August, and we'll see what happens from there.

Meanwhile, there's not much in the system behind Escobar. The next viable shortstop prospect behind him may very well be 2009 draft pick Josh Prince, who hit .263/.373/.313 between Helena and Wisconsin this season and stole 38 bases in 50 attempts. The Brewers have to be close to running out of patience with Brent Brewer, who repeated Brevard Co. in 2009 and was actually significantly worse in his second attempt.

Outfielders

Player	Team (Level)	Avg/OBP/SLG	MLE A/O/S	MLE OPS
Brendan Katin	Nashville (AAA)	.244/.306/.506	.214/.262/.413	.675
Drew Anderson	Huntsville (AA)	.290/.368/.439	.241/.303/.350	.653
Logan Schafer	Brevard Co. (A+)	.312/.374/.441	.242/.288/.335	.623
Caleb Gindl	Brevard Co. (A+)	.284/.366/.469	.217/.277/.345	.622
Adam Stern	Huntsville (AA)	.280/.350/.374	.233/.288/.303	.591
John Raburn	Huntsville (AA)	.263/.370/.345	.218/.301/.267	.568
Chuck Caufield	Huntsville (AA)	.248/.312/.337	.210/.259/.280	.539
Lee Haydel	Brevard Co. (A+)	.278/.307/.343	.219/.241/.262	.503
Freddy Parejo	Huntsville (AA)	.239/.280/.314	.204/.237/.259	.496
Michael Vass	Wisconsin (A-)	.240/.307/.384	.164/.204/.249	.453

The Brewers used Ryan Braun (.938 OPS), Mike Cameron (.795), Corey Hart (.753), Frank Catalanotto (.728) and Jody Gerut (.672) in the outfield this season. And if they'd had to dig much farther into the organizational depth, it likely would have been a problem. Brendan Katin can mash a mistake, but his exceptionally low plate discipline (35 walks, 164 strikeouts, .305 OBP) will likely keep him from ever being a serious prospect.

Meanwhile, the top two outfielders in the Brewer system might both have played for Brevard County this season, as Logan Schafer won the FSL batting title and Caleb Gindl provided the power behind the Brewers' most successful affiliate this season. Among the top prospects, Schafer is also the only true center fielder: Adam Stern also played primarily in center this season, but was terrible defensively.

Lorenzo Cain, meanwhile, had a terrible 2009 season, and didn't even make the top ten to appear on this list. Before suffering a knee injury and after returning, Cain posted a .213/.287/.317 line between multiple levels this season, posting a .448 MLE OPS. Hopefully Cain reports to camp healthy next spring and prepared for a huge bounce back season.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:28:19 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

5 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha argues with home plate umpire Bill Hohn during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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Some things to read while being three times as cool.

Umpiring issues took center stage last night as the Brewers lost 5-0 to the Cardinals, falling two games back in the Central. Home plate umpire Bill Hohn ejected Dale Sveum and Willie Randolph following their complaints that Hohn was inconsistent in asking for help calling check swings. Perhaps the most vocal criticism of Hohn came from Tom Haudricourt, who tweeted about Hohn no less than six times, including this one:

Hohn's strike 3 call on Hardy was a joke. If these guys really are being graded by QuesTec, he should see how bad that call was.

Umpiring has been under fire a lot this week around baseball, and deservedly so in some cases. However, major league umpires can't be fired for incompetence, leading Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases to call the profession "America's Most Secure Job."

Of course, Adam Wainwright was pretty good last night too. He's posted a 0.77 ERA in three starts against the Brewers this season, with 25 strikeouts and just six walks.

Ryan Braun and Doug Melvin met before yesterday's contest to clear the air between the two and hopefully mark the end of the issues between the two. After the meeting, Braun delivered this statement to the media. If nothing else, at least Braun got a new nickname out of the deal. Also, video from his Remetee event at Decibel has hit Youtube.

Meanwhile, Doug Melvin continues to work on making a move:

He freed up a spot on the 40-man roster yesterday, outrighting Joe Koshansky.
As noted in Rumorville, the Brewers reportedly have serious interest in Roy Halladay.
Ken Rosenthal says Javier Vazquez is too valuable to the Braves to be traded for any of the available hitters, including Corey Hart.
Here's one pitcher available for nothing: The A's designated former Brewer farmhand Dana Eveland for assignment yesterday. Eveland may not be the answer in the rotation at this point, but the Brewers have a 40-man roster spot open and Eveland is certainly better than Chris Narveson.

Manny Parra appears to be on his way back to the majors. He's not listed among Nashville's probable starters for this week, and the Brewers have now have "TBA" listed as their starter for Thursday. Jeff Suppan will start today, and Looper, Burns and Gallardo will pitch Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In today's only minor league story, Dennis Punzel of the Capital Times made the trip up to Grand Chute to see the Timber Rattlers and discuss the massive attendance bump they're seeing since becoming a Brewer affiliate. I'm thinking of going to Monday's afternoon game - anyone interested in doing a BCB meetup?

On Power Rankings and whatnot:

WhatifSports dropped the Brewers seven spots to thirteenth in their rankings.
Inside the Majors dropped the Brewers two spots to #11.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham ranks the Brewer bullpen as the fourth best in baseball.

Did a pitcher from that Brewer bullpen belong in the All Star Game? Cory Provus makes a case for two snubbed relievers: Trevor Hoffman and Mitch Stetter.

Meanwhile, SportingNews.com ranked every major league ballpark, and put Miller Park 15th, behind Wrigley Field, the new Yankee Stadium and Busch Stadium, among others. (h/t THT)

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Placed Mark DeRosa on the DL with a partial tear of the tendon sheath in his left wrist.
Cubs: Placed Ryan Dempster on the DL with a displaced fracture of his big toe.
Mariners: Placed Mike Sweeney on the DL with back spasms.
Marlins: Are expected to sign Scott Williamson to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Jesus Colome, who had been designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Padres: Designated Walter Silva for assignment.
Royals: Designated infielder Luis Hernandez for assignment.
Tigers: Designated outfielder Don Kelly for assignment.
White Sox: Acquired reliever Tony Pena from the Diamondbacks for a minor league infielder.

It's been about ten days since the Brewers lost to Giants starter Ryan Sadowski, who was making his major league debut. What we didn't know at the time was the long and winding road Sadowski took to the majors, including brain surgery and having his mom set up meetings with scouts after Sadowski pitched just 6.2 innings in college. The whole story is a great read.

Should baseball consider realignment to even out competitive balance? TangoTiger makes the case for it. It's also worth noting that the disparity between leagues in baseball is not as big as the disparities in the NHL or NFL.

Oh, and happy anniversary to Ben Oglivie, who hit three home runs in the first half of a doubleheader on this day in 1979, and also drove in the winning run in the second game.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:39:11 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

7 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers' Bill Hall reacts after getting the game-winning hit during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, May 25, 2009, in Milwaukee. The Brewers won 1-0. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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Some things to read while watering the ~~dog~~ lawn.

Bill Hall was the story of the day yesterday, plating the winning run on a tenth inning single, then running off the field with the rest of his teammates to celebrate in the clubhouse. Hall was only hitting in that spot because of a botched double switch, but he made the most of the opportunity. Hall has been taking extra BP and working to eliminate negativity, and apparently it paid off.

So, how unlikely was yesterday's sequence of events? The Elias Sports Bureau (via TheJay) noted all of the following:

Bill Hall was only the second player in the last five seasons to end a streak of 0-for-20 or more with a walkoff hit, joining D'Angelo Jimenez (2007).
Chris Carpenter and Yovani Gallardo were the first opposing pitchers to both carry no hitters through five innings since William VanLandingham and Kevin Brown did it in 1997.
Chris Carpenter was the first Cardinals pitcher since 1917 to throw eight shutout innings, strike out ten or more batters and not get the win.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are having a historically bad month of May at the plate. After being shut out (and allowed just six baserunners) yesterday, the Cards are hitting just .218/.282/.369 in May, and scoring 3.3 runs per game. Bernie Miklasz compares this month to some of the worst offensive months in franchise history.

Yesterday's game also marked the Brewer debut of Frank Catalanotto, who went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter and spent a few innings patrolling right field.

J.J. Hardy is expected back in the lineup tonight, meaning Craig Counsell might finally get a day off. Counsell, who is 38 years old and playing on a bad knee, has gone 3 for his last 17 while being asked to start five straight games. Even after slowing down a bit, Counsell has at least one hit in eight of his last nine starts, but his line has fallen from .342/.424/.466 to .311/.382/.411 over the last four days.

Looking back to the weekend for a moment:

Apparently hitting his 250th home run was the proof Mike Cameron has needed to be certain he doesn't suck.
Ken Macha responded to criticism that he didn't argue the call hard enough when Joe Mauer's foul ball became an HBP. He basically said he didn't get ejected because umpires will let you say whatever you want when you're right.

As Tristarscoop noted in this FanPost and expanded on over at Cute Sports, the Brewers continue to be mentioned in rumors as a potential suitor for Jake Peavy. Ken Rosenthal seems to think the Brewers are pretty unlikely to make the move. It really seems like all the smoke is coming from a small handful of sources here, and I don't think there's much, if any, fire behind it.

Meanwhile, MLB Trade Rumors takes a look at the offseason ahead for the Brewers. The only option decision the Brewers will have to make is on Braden Looper, who has a mutual option, but Mike Cameron, Trevor Hoffman and Jason Kendall will all be free agents, and J.J. Hardy, Dave Bush, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Jody Gerut, Seth McClung, Todd Coffey, and Carlos Villanueva will all be arbitration eligible.

On Power Rankings:

Whatifsports dropped the Brewers from fifth to seventh.
Inside the Majors ranked the Brewers third in their inaugural rankings.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star dropped the Brewers from third to ninth.
Foul Balls has the Brewers third in the NL and sixth overall.
GoatRiders of the Apocalypse has the Brewers second in the Central, behind the Cardinals.

Around the league:

Mariners: Placed Kenji Johjima on the DL with a broken toe.
Marlins: Placed Renyel Pinto on the DL with elbow inflammation.
Nationals: Mike MacDougal has a clause in his contract that could allow him to become a free agent as soon as today if the Nats don't call him up.
Pirates: Matt Capps had to leave yesterday's game after being hit on the elbow by a line drive. He was taken in for X-rays and we should know more today. (h/t FanShot)
Rays: Akinori Iwamura is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Brian Shouse has been placed on the DL with an elbow strain.
Rockies: Designated Matt Belisle for assignment.
Yankees: Placed reliever Brian Bruney on the DL with an elbow strain.

Brian Shouse's injury opened the door for the major league return of Randy Choate, but his first outing yesterday extended a bizarre streak. Choate failed to retire a batter yesterday, so while he's pitched in the big leagues in both 2007 and 2009, he hasn't recorded an out since 2006.

We should all be thankful every day that the Brewer organization has never allowed Dusty Baker to manage its pitchers. Aaron Harang, one of the better pitchers in the NL before making an extended bullpen appearance on short rest and derailing himself last season, was allowed to return after a two hour rain delay yesterday. Harang faced just two more batters to finish the fifth and be eligible for a win, but at what cost?

This is a lawsuit waiting to happen: Cardinals SS Khalil Greene is battling a well-publicized anxiety issue involving self-punishment. The Cardinals have not placed him on the DL, and are instead reportedly trying to trade him. I'm sure that's great for his mental health.

Memorial Day led to some great unintentional comedy moments, including a Royals uniform resembling a Bomb Pop and first pitches thrown by Mr. T and Darth Vader.

Oh, and happy birthday to Joe Koshansky, who turns 27 today.

Drink up.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:51:36 -0000

Some things to read while making a parking space.

Ryan Braun could return to action in the major league portion of Brewer camp within the next day or two. Yesterday, he took Brian Fuentes deep in a minor league game with the Angels. Craig Counsell also went 3-for-4 in that game and should rejoin the team soon.

Trevor Hoffman played catch yesterday and is showing signs of improvement, but will still almost certainly start the season on the DL. Carlos Villanueva will be called upon to close until Hoffman is ready. The Brewers will also have an extra arm in the bullpen on Opening Day, as Dave Bush will get his work in as he makes final preparations for his start in the fifth game of the season.

On the field yesterday, Mark DiFelice pitched the first three innings of a 1-0 victory over the Giants and won a spot in the bullpen to start the season.

Mitch Stetter, who also pitched a scoreless inning yesterday, talked with Tom H. about how much he learned working with Brian Shouse, and his preparations for the 2009 season.

Alcides Escobar was also profiled over the weekend. He's likely headed back to the minors, and could be sent down as soon as today or tomorrow.

It could always be worse, though: Adam McCalvy is reporting that Omar Aguilar has joined the crowd at Obliqueapullooza and Alexandre Periard may require shoulder surgery.

On rankings/projections/predictions:

Mike Fahmie has the Brewers winning 78 games and finishing fifth in the Central. Crappy Brewer prediction aside, I can't imagine a world where four NL Central teams that aren't the Brewers win more than 78 games this season.
The Giants Baseball Blog predicts the Brewers will finish third in the Central.
The Toronto Star has the Brewers 14th in their power rankings.
The Daily Hick predicts the Brewers will win 72 games and finish fourth.
MLB FanHouse has...well, I guess this is a preview...right?
Sports Fan Goods expects the Brewers to "struggle mightily and finish towards the bottom of the NL Central."
Intellectual Thicket's Baseball Mogul projections have the Brewers winning 78 games and finishing tied for fourth in the Central.

Still looking for a summer job? The Brewers are hiring for a Community Relations Internship and a Stadium Operations Internship.

In other camps:

A's: Added two catchers over the weekend, trading for Blue Jays minor leaguer Curtis Thigpen and signing Eric Munson. Also, Justin Duchsherer will have elbow surgery but no one seems sure what doctors will find while they're in there.
D-Backs: He was healthy enough to pitch yesterday and will pitch once more before Opening Day, but the team is expected to hide Max Scherzer on the DL until they need a fifth starter.
Giants: Acquired C Ronny Paulino from the Phillies for lefty Jack Taschner, then traded him to the Marlins for catcher Hector Correa.
Mariners: Brandon Morrow is expected to be the team's long term closer, so Tyler Walker was released. They also acquired utilityman Chris Burke from the Padres for cash.
Mets: Released Ron Villone.
Phillies: Released Marcus Giles.
Rangers: Claimed Joe Koshansky off waivers from the Rockies.
Red Sox: Brad Wilkerson has left the team.
Tigers: Will place Dontrelle Willis on the DL to start the season with an anxiety disorder.
Twins: Worked out a deal with the Yankees to keep Rule 5 pick Jason Jones.

So yesterday both the Brewers and Giants held back their respective starting pitchers, Yovani Gallardo and Randy Johnson, an act of gamesmanship to prevent either pitcher from showing too much to their first regular season opponent. This move worked out relatively well for the Brewers yesterday but is it worth the effort? I'll go ahead and say no.

Holding back young talent to keep their arbitration clock from starting is always a bad decision, but it's even worse when you're trying to contend. The Braves, potential frontrunners in the NL East, may start center fielder Jordan Schafer in AAA, even though he's winning the competition for the starting job.

How much do April games matter, anyway? Baseball Analysts unveils Championship Leverage Index to answer that question and many others.

How much difference does it make when a pitcher's velocity goes up and down? Tangotiger says a 2.5 mph increase in velocity is good for a drop of about .25 in ERA. That's pretty significant.

A lot of factors have to be considered when designing a new stadium, but apparently the Yankees missed one. YES Network and ESPN are reportedly going to request changes to the ballpark, which is not conducive to TV cameras.

Oh, and sometimes you need to be more careful while pouring out a beer.

Drink up.

NL West Outlook: 1st Basemen

Brendan Scolari — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:28:58 -0000

WIth the catchers done, now we can take a look at the first baseman of the NL West. A relatively light hitting group, only the Padres go into '09 with a healthy slugger. If Helton can stay healthy the Rockes are set here too, but the rest of the NL West is lagging behind.

I'll be ranking the teams based on their total projected 2009 WAR (wins above replacement) for each position. I'll be using the spreadsheet provided here by Beyond the Box Score. Marcels projections will be used to project playing time. If correct playing time is not being accounted for in the projections, I will adjust the plate appearances to equal projected playing time . I will calculate wOBA by averaging the wOBAs projected by Marcels, CHONE and ZiPS. For fielding I will use the projections provided here.

5. San Francisco Giants

					Per 700 PAs
Hitter	PA	OBP	SLG	wOBA	Hit	BR	Pos	Fld	WAR	FA $	WAR
Ishikawa	406	.322	.434	.330	-0.30	0.00	-1.25	0.00	0.45	$1.6	0.3
Aurilia	304	.319	.395	.315	-1.22	0.00	-1.25	0.20	-0.27	-$0.1	-0.1

The Giants have no one really deserving of the first base job for 2009. 25 year-old Travis Ishikawa will be given the job for now but his numbers in the minors until 2008 were mediocre. He only reached an .800 OPS once in his first six years. But then last year in 64 games in AA he put up an .844 OPS. He was then promoted to AAA where in 48 games he put up a staggering 1.107 OPS. He was given a cup of coffee and put up a .769 OPS in 95 AB's in the majors. Did he really breakout in 2008 or was that just a fluke? We'll find out this year. The backup will either be the unexciting Rich Aurilia or the similiarly bad but at least young John Bowker. Eventually Pablo Sandoval will probably have to move to first as he's not very good at third or at catcher. Angel Villalona, an 18 year-old with tremendous raw power but little athleticism, could be the next Miguel Cabrera or the next Joel Guzman but he's a long ways away from the majors.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks

					Per 700 PAs
Hitter	PA	OBP	SLG	wOBA	Hit	BR	Pos	Fld	WAR	FA $	WAR
Tracy	372	.334	.435	.336	0.06	0.00	-1.25	-0.20	0.61	$1.9	0.3
Clark	304	.324	.416	.327	-0.49	0.00	-1.25	-0.10	0.16	$0.7	0.1

With Conor Jackson's move to left, Chad Tracy is the D-Backs' starter at first. He should easily beat his projected playing time as long as he stays healthy. His extra at bats would come at the cost of Tony Clark, who hasn't had 300 plate appearances since 2005. Tony Clark shouldn't really be on this team, Josh Whitesell should make the team ahead of Clark. Whitesell was the D-Backs Minor League Player of the Year in 2008 and also happens to be a really cool dude (Okay, so I know the guy. It's okay to root for one D-Back right?). If he plays in place of Clark eventually, the D-Backs could expect at least similiar production with upside. In fact, Whitesell projects to have a .348 OBP and .434 SLG with a .345 wOBA, better than either Tracy or Clark.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

					Per 700 PAs
Hitter	PA	OBP	SLG	wOBA	Hit	BR	Pos	Fld	WAR	FA $	WAR
Loney	563	.353	.458	.353	1.10	0.00	-1.25	0.10	1.95	$7.4	1.6
Mientkiewicz	157	.324	.395	.334	-0.06	-0.10	-1.25	0.70	1.29	$1.7	0.3

The Dodgers sit in the middle of the pack with James Loney at first base. While Loney is a decent hitter, he needs to hit for more power (or a lot higher OBP) if he's ever going to become a really valuable player. Luckily for us, this seems feasible. If Loney breaks out this year, the Dodger offense could go from dangerous to downright deadly. If he stays at his 2008 level, the Dodgers will have to start thinking about replacing him as he starts to get more expensive through arbitration. Prospect Andrew Lambo could be the guy if that is the case. Doug Mien.... ah hell, Eye Chart is not technically on the team yet, but with Torre's recent comments I'd be very surprised if he's not wearing Dodger blue on April 6th. He brings a good glove and some welcomed better-than-Mark Sweeney hitting.

2. Colorado Rockies

					Per 700 PAs
Hitter	PA	OBP	SLG	wOBA	Hit	BR	Pos	Fld	WAR	FA $	WAR
Helton	449	.403	.446	.376	2.50	-0.25	-1.25	0.80	3.80	$11.4	2.4

Todd Helton has typically been a rock at first base, playing at least 144 games every season since 1998, his first full season in the majors. But that changed in 2008 when he was limited to 81 games because of back injuries. Now his health is in question because of the tendency for back injuries to linger, especially to players already in their mid 30's. Whether Helton can remain healthy for a full season again remains to be seen, although his health is less of a factor than it would be for other teams because of Colorado's depth at first base. How can they have depth at first base when only one player is listed you ask? Because starters Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe can both play at first as well as Jeff Baker. If Helton were to get hurt, Atkins (who played 61 games at first last year) could slide across the diamond and Ian Stewart would play third. Because of this the Rockies have less PA's projected at first than the other teams, but they will make up for it with extra PA's at third base. Joe Koshansky, the one guy who could be considered an actual first baseman, was recently claimed off of waivers by the Rangers.

1. San Diego Padres

					Per 700 PAs
Hitter	PA	OBP	SLG	wOBA	Hit	BR	Pos	Fld	WAR	FA $	WAR
Gonzalez	622	.358	.500	.370	2.13	-0.10	-1.25	0.20	2.98	$12.3	2.6

Like the Rockies, the Padres don't really have a backup first baseman. Adrian Gonzalez has a surprisingly low WAR for someone who's considered one of the best first baseman in the NL. But he could easily beat this projection simply by getting more plate appearances; he's reached 700 plate appearances each of the last two years. For now and until at least 2012, Gonzalez will continue to provide great production for a cheap price. He's only scheduled to make $13.25 million over the next three years. Kyle Blanks, the Padres top prospect according to John Sickels, is a huge slugger (literally, he's 6'6'' and 270 lb.), but may have to be trade bait if he can't learn to play LF as long as Gonzalez stays with the Pads.

Rangers fill the last spot on the 40 man roster...with a hitter

Adam J. Morris — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:08:12 -0000

The Rangers, who had 39 players on the 40 man roster, are now back up to 40, having claimed Colorado first baseman Joe Koshansky on waivers.

He turns 27 in May, went from being a C+ on Sickels' list before 2008 to not making his top 20 list this year, and, I suspect, will be put back on waivers by the Rangers at some point in the next week or so.

So why make the claim? Because if the Rangers waive him, and he clears, they can outright him and keep him in the organization. That's my guess, anyway.

That's all I've got. Maybe z knows something about him and can give us a scouting report.

Rangers 8, Rockies 4

Rox Girl — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:59:12 -0000

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. The Rockies once again lost to the Texas Rangers on Saturday, this time be the score of 8 to 4, once again suffering from inconsistent pitching and an inability to string hits together to form any significant rally. This time it was Jorge De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin that gave up the damage, but De La Rosa did continue to show some progress as he works toward opening the season in the Rockies rotation. Paul Phillips, Matt Murton and Joe Koshansky hit solo home runs for the Rockies, the only other score came after a triple by Ian Stewart in a sign of the lack of station to station movement by the team.

Matt Murton

#14 / Left Field / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-1

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 03, 1981

Joe Koshansky

#47 / First Base / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-4

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: May 26, 1982

Murton and Koshansky each hit their second HR's of the Spring.

THE BIG QUESTION: While the Rangers MLB leading offense is aided a bit by the ballpark they play in, make no mistake that this is a quality lineup, and the performance by the back middle of the Rockies rotation these last two days could be a sign that the team's not ready for the biggest stage yet. The secret of a 162 game season is that you don't have to win your division in April or May or even June, but you can't lose it in those months. Are De La Rosa and Marquis sufficient at this point to keep us in the thick of an easy division? I think they're close, eleven strikeouts and one walk in nine innings pitched between the two of them is very encouraging, even if the nine runs given up is not.

The smaller question: Where does Jhoulys Chacin start the season? I don't want to make a knee jerk reaction today anymore than I do after he does well. The two questions that need to be asked are "How close is he to being a major league pitcher?" and "How soon will the Rockies need him when he is?". The answer to the second question is what's pushing him to AAA as much as the first.

Wrap Rating: EZ-Wrap, with Troy Tulowitzki being a late scratch, the trainer's room seems to be a revolving door of minor maladies this Spring. This might help streamline the operation.

St. Patty's Day in Tucson

Poseidon's Fist — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:57:12 -0000

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! It was yet another hot day in Tucson as the Rockies pulled out their first tie of 2009. Today also brought the return of Ubaldo Jimenez and Jeff Baker, and Todd Helton's third home run.

We ventured to the major league batting practice fields, where they are continuing the scored contests of situational hitting and bunting. We watched Christian Friedrich pitch in a minor league scrimmage on the minor league fields

Christian Friedrich showed off his curveball by earning a strikeout in a scrimmage on the minor league fields.

Check it out here

Ubaldo Jimenez delivers a pitch in the first inning Tuesday. -mkorpal

Everyone's favorite Coors Field vendor roams Hi Corbett Field as well. -PF

Todd Helton gets ready to unload on his first inning home run. -mkorpal

Joe Koshansky watches Matt Murton drive a pitch to deep left field in BP. Murton may be small, but he sure has power. The team worked on situational hitting off of pitching machine curveballs. Rich Dauer scored each hitter. -PF

The pitchers took bunting practice this morning. Glendon Rusch lays down a bunt. -PF

At one point, the pitching machine broke, prompting someone to say "It's broken. It's throwing bolts." That's when Alan Embree said:

That's what it feels like when I pitch.

I sure hope he's joking.

Pitching Coach Bob Apodaca talks with RHP Jhoulys Chacin before bunting practice. Advise: Rich Dauer pronounced his name "YOO-leeze SHUH-seen" -PF

Huston Street and Jason Marquis walk up for their turn with the bat. The two are new to the purple, but they had the most impressive showings in the cage today. -PF

Other Notes:

Dan Ortmeier is a fan of C Paul Phillips. Batting practice today may have shown why. Phillips had an impressive showing during the curveball situational hitting sessions.
The players really are embracing the point system with the contest.
Rich Dauer was generous with the points, often pointing out that the phantom runner in the situational drill was Dexter Fowler. Good choice. Fowler scored from first on a single by Carlos Gonzalez in the ninth inning vs Kansas City.