SB Nation - Lou Palmisano

Farmstros '09 in Review- Part 2- The Rule 5 Catch of the Season

farm_stros — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:08:33 -0000

When Rule 5 selections Lou Palmisano and Gilbert de La Vara didn't pan out in this season's spring training, it appeared that Wesley Wright would remain alone as an Astros quality Rule 5 pick-up. However, that opinion had to be amended by the end of May when outfielder Drew Locke had announced his presence at Corpus Christi's Whataburger Field. Houston selected Locke in the minor league phase of the 2008 Rule 5 draft after he spent the 2008 season with the Dodgers High A affiliate, Inland Empire.

Getting a chance to play every day in Texas seemed to agree with Locke. In April and May, he led the Texas League in...everything. He batted .376 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs and 57 RBI in 46 games. He cooled off a bit once the summer hit, but he still earned MVP honors with the Hooks. His season totals included a league leading .338 batting average and 109 RBI. He also had 31 doubles and 20 home runs.

Locke's season was cut short by a week with a broken hand, but his hand should be healed in plenty of time for Spring Training 2010.

Lazy Saturday Ex-Brewers Update

TheJay — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:15:07 -0000

On this "unseasonably cool" (a.k.a. comfortable) Saturday in Wisconsin, why not take a look at the way 2009 is going for some Brewers who got away. I could post about guys like Anthony Gwynn, Gabe Kapler, Gabe Gross, and Russell Branyan in the majors, but I want to focus on some of the lesser lights:

Chris Barnwell

Barnwell, called up to Milwaukee for one month in 2006, spent 2008 in Albuquerque for the Marlins and also plays for Team Canada. This year, he started in Houston before being traded to Pittsburgh for sunflower seeds. He's struggled at AAA Indianapolis, hitting just .149/.220/.201 in 172 plate appearances while playing everywhere but behind the plate and on the mound.
Joe Bateman

Ex-Brewers don't retire, they just wind up in Tampa. Bateman is another name to add to the list as he's been plying his trade for AAA Durham. A 29-year-old righty who finally made it to AAA last year while pitching well at every level of the minors, Bateman was picked in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft and went 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA between Huntsville and Nashville last year. This year he has struggled with control, walking 5.6 batters per nine innings, twice his career rate. He's still striking out one guy each inning but all the extra baserunners have his ERA sitting at 4.08 in 35 innings. He has appeared in 26 games and is 4-1 with a save.
Michael Brantley

The player to be named later in the Sabathia trade, center fielder Brantley was an on-base machine in the minors for the Brewers. He hit .319/.395/.398 last year for AA Huntsville at the tender age of 21. This year he's manned the outfield for AAA Columbus. He's hitting .268/.349/.353 with 33 stolen bases (4 CS!). Even if the slash stats aren't eye-popping, a 22-year-old with speed who walks more than he strikes out in AAA is a pretty good PTBNL.
Callix Crabbe

The former third-best second base prospect in the Brewers system (behind Rickie Weeks and Hernan Iribarren) made the majors last year as a Rule 5 pick in San Diego. The diminuitive switch-hitter, listed at 5'7", went 6 for 34 in one month for the Padres while making 3 errors in five games at the keystone. He was offered back to the Brewers and the team accepted, assigning him to Nashville. Jack Zduriencik in Seattle edged out Tampa for Crabbe's services in 2009. Crabbe hasn't done well at AAA Tacoma, though, hitting just .212/.311/.332.

Follow the jump for more!

Joe Dillon

Joltin' Joe spent a season and a month in the Brewers' versatile 25th man role. He did better than you can expect the last guy on the bench to do, putting up a .278/.363/.397 line in 172 Brewers plate appearances. Now 33, he was claimed by the Athletics last winter and traded to Tampa after missing the first month of the season with a back injury. He played in twelve games for Durham before getting called up to the Rays. He's hit .320 in 12 games over six weeks, playing the last bat on the bench and emergency catcher role so popular among AL squads.
Steve Hammond

The Brewers' 6th round pick in the 2005 draft, 27-year-old LHP Hammond worked his way up to AAA Nashville. He struggled mightily in four starts for the Sounds, but went 7-4 with a 3.45 ERA in fifteen starts at Huntsville. He was part of the Ray Durham trade and has not found much success at AAA in the San Francisco organization either. In 19 appearances this year, he is 6-8 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.49 WHIP.
Will Inman

The biggest piece traded away in 2007's Scott Linebrink deadline deal, Inman started out a 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft. Like Brantley, he has made it to AAA at the age of 22. Unlike Brantley, it took some good numbers at AA this year to get him there. In 44 1/3 innings at AA, Inman struck out 36 and walked 8, good for a 3.05 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Things haven't gone as smoothly at AAA Portland. In 11 starts, Inman has lasted only 60 innings, walking 22 against 36 strikeouts. He has been hittable as well, surrendering 76 base knocks. All of that adds up to a 6.15 ERA and WHIP the wrong side of 1.60.
Zach Jackson

Acquired from Toronto with Dave Bush and Gabe Gross for Lyle Overbay and Ty Taubenheim, Jackson was part of the 2006 Parade of Pitchers. He was pretty well battered in seven starts and didn't appear again in the majors until 2008. He appeared in two forgettable games for the Brewers last year before being traded to Cleveland as part of the CC Sabathia package. He struggled in nine starts for the Indians last year and hasn't done any better this year. His ERA and WHIP in three major leage games sits on the wrong side of 9 and 2, respectively, and he owns a 5.71 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 69 1/3 innings at AAA.
Brad Nelson

After seven years in the minors and running the gamut from top prospect status to bust and back, Nelson made the Opening Day roster this year. He could never get going, however, and was dropped in mid-May after going 0 for 21 with two walks. Rather than being sent outright to Nashville, he chose free agency and was snapped up by Jack Zduriencik in Seattle. Things have improved for him in Tacoma, but not greatly as he's hitting only .255/.318/.416 with 6 home runs in 151 plate appearances.
Mel Stocker

Called up to the Brewers in late 2007 mostly due to Anthony Gwynn's hamstrings' impeccable sense of timing. The speed demon batted only three times in Milwaukee but swiped four bases as a pinch-runner. Never a great hitter, he has spent 2009 playing for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, Seattle's AA affiliate. He's put up an unimpressive .235/.336/.348 line in 65 games but has stolen 23 bags in 25 tries.
Lou Palmisano

I wrecked the alphabetical order with this one, but that's okay. "Cap'n Lou" Palmisano was drafted by the Brewers in the third round of the 2003 draft. He had a pretty good campaign for Huntsville in 2007, rapping out a .256/.368/.419 line. Unfortunately, torn cartilege in his left knee required surgery in the spring of 2008, putting his whole season in jeopardy. He did come back as a designated hitter in the low minors late in the year, hitting .297 against the lower-level competition, still impressive coming back from a knee injury. Having been designated for assignment in September, he was eligible for the Rule 5 draft and was snapped up by Houston via Baltimore. He lasted in Houston's major league camp until March 23. He didn't play in the minors before being released in May. Out of affiliated baseball, he signed on with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association. He hit .257 with six RBI in 25 games before requesting a trade and being shipped to the Pensacola Pelicans. In Pensacola he has gone 7 for 37 with eight walks, giving him a strange overall line of .234/.422/.279 in 111 at bats. Going from major league spring training to the independant leagues in two months is a pretty steep fall and I wish him the best of luck.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:32:44 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Rickie Weeks tosses his bat to his eventual replacement (not pictured).

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while getting ready for your photo shoot.

The Summer of Rickie Weeks was suddenly and abruptly canceled yesterday, leaving many of us wondering where we go from here. Willie Randolph, who spent most of the spring working with Weeks to improve his game, called the news "depressing", and Cory Provus notes that the news came just a week after Ken Macha called Weeks "his kind of player."

So where do the Brewers go from here? Adam McCalvy lists five internal options to fill in the void at second base. As of this writing, about 30% of voters in the poll on your right think Craig Counsell should take over, with 22% voting for Bill Hall and 18% hoping Doug Melvin is on the phone with Ray Durham. Casey McGehee is expected to start tonight and tomorrow, as the Astros send lefties Mike Hampton and Wandy Rodriguez to the mound. The Brewers are also expected to call up Hernan Iribarren from Nashville, but the move has not yet been announced.

How valuable was Weeks this season? On top of already having nine home runs and being on pace for 100 RBI, he was also the second most valuable defensive second baseman in baseball, according to FanGraphs. Mike Cameron is still the most valuable defensive center fielder, but the Brewers as a team have dropped from second to fifth.

Last night's game had a couple of milestones in it: Of course, Mat Gamel hit his first major league home run, but Jason Kendall also picked up his 2000th hit, becoming just the eighth catcher to do so. Baseball Reference looks at the eight catchers who accomplished the feat, and one stat jumps out: each of the other seven catchers hit at least 248 home runs, and Ted Simmons is the only one with less than 300. Jason Kendall has 73 career homers.

We've known for a few days now that Brad Nelson would not be back, but now we also know where he's headed: Nelson has signed a minor league deal with the Mariners and will report to AAA Tacoma. Hopefully Brad can rebound from a tough start to 2009 and have a nice major league career in the AL, where the Brewers won't have to face him very often.

Down in the minors, Taylor Green is off to a hot start in his rehab assignment with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He's expected to be called up to Huntsville soon, but Rattlers manager Jeff Isom is hoping to dodge that phone call.

Elsewhere in the minors, the Astros have released former Brewer Lou Palmisano. Cap'n Lou was picked in the Rule 5 draft by the Orioles, traded to the Astros, and then offered back to the Brewers. The Brewers decided not to take him back.

On power rankings:

Whatifsports has moved the Brewers up from tenth to fifth in their rankings.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star has moved the Brewers from eighth to third.

Here's one more way you can help the Brewers own Pittsburgh: The Racing Sausages are up against the Racing Pierogies in Home Run Derby's Mascot Challenge. Head on over there and vote for the sausages.

Around the league:

A's: Reliever Dan Giese has been placed on the DL with irritation in his ulnar nerve.
Mets: Carlos Delgado will miss at least two months after undergoing hip surgery, Alex Cora has been placed on the DL with a sprained thumb ligament and, once again, Nelson Figueroa has been designated for assignment.
Nationals: 26-year-old reliever Ryan Wagner, who had been pitching in AAA, has decided to retire.
Phillies: Signed Paul Bako to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Claimed reliever Steven Jackson off waivers from the Yankees.
Rockies: Designated reliever Steven Register, who had been pitching in AAA, for assignment.
Twins: Placed starter Glen Perkins on the DL with elbow inflammation.

I believe I've mentioned before that home runs are way up this season, although I haven't seen it reported recently. On the other side, though, Baseball Reference notes that there has not been a single three-HR game in 2009, and this is the farthest into the season we've gone without one since 1993.

Oh, and I don't have my new house yet (and won't for another month), but I already have a gardening idea.

Drink up.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:06:04 -0000

Some things to read while thinking about what could have been.

So, the bullpen situation is increasingly chaotic, with Trevor Hoffman now possibly opening the season on the DL. (Also noted in FanShot) The situation is exacerbated by the fact that David Riske and Carlos Villanueva aren't pitching well and Seth McClung, who isn't pitching exceptionally well either, may be needed to fill a spot in the starting rotation. Riske, for one, is taking his spring results pretty seriously, saying he's in shock after allowing an earned run in five straight outings.

We all respond to stress differently, I suppose: After getting shelled in two innings in his first spring start yesterday, Mark DiFelice was cutting hair in the Brewer clubhouse.

Also in that last link is a note mentioning that Sam Narron was sent down to minor league camp. Elsewhere in roster moves, the Brewers decided to let the Astros keep Rule 5 pick Lou Palmisano. (Also noted in FanShot)

The Brewers also made a minor trade over the weekend, acquiring minor league infielder Sergio Miranda from the White Sox for future considerations. The move was big enough to draw notice from Al and in Rumorville, but it slipped through the cracks over at the JS. There's some speculation that those "future considerations" might end up being Tony Gwynn Jr., but of course that's not confirmed.

Speaking of Gwynn, while he would appear to be behind Chris Duffy, Brad Nelson and Trot Nixon in the race for backup outfield spots, he thinks his history with the organization will get him a spot on the team this spring. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.

Casey McGehee also continues to make a solid case for making the team. View From Bernie's Chalet is going to be pretty upset if he doesn't make the roster.

Baseball Intellect has posted 6-15 in their rankings of Brewer prospects: Follow the link for scouting reports on Jonathan Lucroy, Lorenzo Cain, Jake Odorizzi, Taylor Green, Cutter Dykstra, Cody Scarpetta, Caleb Gindl, Cole Gillespie and Zach Braddock, and an invitation to follow another link for a scouting report on Efrain Nieves.

Crawfish Boxes finished up their position-by-position look at the NL Central this weekend, ranking Corey Hart fourth among right fielders and Jason Kendall dead last among catchers.

Would their projection have changed if they knew Mike Rivera is going to get more starts in 2009? Ken Macha is planning to pair Rivera with Dave Bush to get Jason Kendall more frequent rest.

Elsewhere among predictions/projections/rankings:

FeinSports.com projects the Brewers for 79 wins and a third place finish.
Baseball Digest Daily doesn't have a prediction in their Brewer 2009 preview, but they do have some cool graphs and charts.
BareKnucks.com thinks the Brewers will win 72 games and finish fourth.
Not Today You Ain't picked the Brewers to finish fourth as well.

Do you like jokes involving Rickie Weeks? If so, you may enjoy his "interview" with Chatterbalks.

In other camps:

Dodgers: Released Shawn Estes.
Giants: Noah Lowry received a cortisone shot and will be unable to throw a baseball until April.
Mets: Released Tom Martin.
Nationals: Signed Josh Bard to a minor league deal.
Padres: Mark Worrell needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2009 season. He was acquired from the Cardinals for Khalil Greene.
Rangers: Signed Jimmy Gobble to a minor league deal.
Twins: Joe Mauer still has pain and inflammation in his back and is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day.
White Sox: Signed Gavin Floyd to a four year deal worth $15.5 million.

The Astros spring training has been pretty bad, but for one day the Tigers had it worse: they were no-hit by the Marlins yesterday with Ricky Nolasco and two relievers combining to accomplish the feat.

On Friday I mentioned the new Dodgers policy of putting a contribution to Dodger charities into all contracts. The MLBPA has filed a grievance that will likely end that practice in a hurry.

The Cubs sale is still on hold and will almost certainly not be done by Opening Day. Between the Green Pillars took a look at its implications for the Brewers.

Like one in four Americans, I'm left handed, so as a writer I'm encouraged by the fact that all the Reds beat writers are also lefties.

Think you know your stats? Got seven minutes to prove it? Take this quiz and see how many franchise win leaders you can name. I got 12, which is pretty good in the "taken before 7 am" division.

At the very least, those seven minutes will be a better investment than the $70,000 Torii Hunter invested in furniture rafts.

Baseball Reference is working on a new site design. As someone who uses the site countless times daily, I was concerned, but they've opened up the beta page and it looks pretty good. Here's Jeff Cirillo's page, if you're curious.

Over the weekend, BCB made a roster move of its own. Josh Kalk, aka Dixieflatline, is leaving the site to take a job with an AL team. Josh is a phenomenal talent and will be a tremendous asset to his new employers, but to the internet baseball community he's more than that.

There's a stereotype out there about bloggers and internet-based writers. There are people who label us as glorified loudmouths with too much time on their hands and a "home office" in mom's basement. As a medium, we owe a debt of gratitude to people like Josh, Jeff Sackmann, David Pinto, Tom Tango and a variety of others that have shown that, at times, the best baseball analysis being done today is happening here on the internet, and the work that we're producing here should not be universally ignored by teams and the media.

At any rate, congratulations and thank you to Josh for all he's done and continues to do.

Oh, and Peter Angelos may not be the best savior for horse racing.

Drink up.

Astros spare parts come into focus

HighLeveragePerformer — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:00:15 -0000

Alyson Footer answers the question we posed a few weeks back: who will fill out our major league roster. Our best guesses yielded 20-21 players that were pretty much sure things. As per Footer's first response, we were correct: four spots are up for grabs this spring- two catchers, a starting outfielder and a backup middle infielder. That means Chris Johnson is expected to compete for the starting third baseman's job in 2010 for sure. I'd hope so. I don't particularly like the idea of Geoff Blum/Aaron Boone this season, not to mention next season. So, for all of Cecil Cooper's statements otherwise, Johnson isn't probably getting the look he probably deserves. Looks like Ortiz/Backe, Palmisano/Quintero/Towles and Sutton/Manzella/Maysonet are the battles remaining for roster spots. Game on.

It's early March, and I'm already not happy with the lack of a nickname for the Blum/Boone platoon. Any creative suggestions would be appreciated. Please do your best to refrain from using "Bum". At this point, at least. If July 1 rolls around and those guys are playing as effective as an end table, then Bum it shall be, I promise.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:23:15 -0000

Some things to read while chasing the ball around.

Coming off their first off day of the spring, the Brewers are preparing for a big exhibition today with the Australian WBC team. The Brewers will send Seth McClung to the mound in place of Braden Looper. I haven't seen a starter named for the Australian team, but it won't be Brewer farmhand David Welch, who pitched two innings in Australia's 11-9 win over Seattle yesterday. I was hoping it'd be Grant Balfour until those hopes were dashed when Jordan told me he's not on the team. I guess that shows how much attention I've been paying to the WBC.

Elsewhere around the WBC:

MLB Playoff Odds gives the Brewers a 28.1% chance of having a Brewer on the winning team, with 27.3% for Team USA, .8% for Canada and no chance for Australia and Italy.
The Hot Stove League is predicting Venezuela will beat Japan in the championship game.
The first game in Pool A was played overnight, with Japan shutting out China to open play. If you missed it, Results Disoriented has a full rundown of stupid things the commentators said.

I think I just said more about the WBC in one set of bullet points than I'd said all spring.

Tony Gwynn: panicking or not panicking? Anthony Witrado covered his bases by saying he both is and isn't before the end of the second paragraph in this profile. (Also noted in this FanPost) Lorenzo Cain has been invited to big league camp to help fill in the gap. Gwynn was one of several topics covered in Doug Melvin's most recent radio appearance, chronicled over at Al's Ramblings.

Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks the two most recent projections at The Junkball Blues. They've got Braun hitting .276/.331/.513 and Weeks hitting .235/.353/.403. While you're there, check out this note on Manny Parra and why he should throw his fastball more.

Speaking of Braun, The Official Site takes a look at his rise to stardom, and how he's handling it. I'd be ok with it if I never read about his clothing line again, but as long as he keeps hitting it's not a problem.

If you had to pick a single Brewer player most critical to the team's success in 2009, how many players would you name before you got to Trevor Hoffman? The Philly Sports Post has their 2009 Brewer preview up, and they list Hoffman in that spot. They also have brief season previews from Michael Hunt of the JS, Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew and some guy who gathers links for a site you may have read.

Elsewhere around rankings and predictions: And A Player To Be Named Later predicts the Brewers will finish fourth in the Central, behind the Cubs, Cardinals and Reds. Crawfish Boxes thinks the Brewers have the division's third best bullpen.

And in news from other camps:

A's: Justin Duchsherer is having elbow issues. An MRI yesterday showed no structural damage, but he may not be ready for Opening Day.
Cubs: An unnamed source suggests they might be interested in newly displaced A's SS Bobby Crosby.
Dodgers: Manny Ramirez signed a two year deal and is expected in camp today.
Nationals: Have given assistant GM Mike Rizzo control of day-to-day operations of the team.
Rockies: Pitchers and hitters have been following a script with an easily discernible pattern in their early spring training games, which might explain why they still haven't won.

I don't recall reading all that much about his defense while he was a Brewer prospect, but Lou Palmisano drew some praise for his defense in Astros camp yesterday. It looks like he has an above average shot at making the team as a backup catcher. The Brewers could take him back if he doesn't.

Pedro Martinez continues to use the WBC as an open audition for a job, and if he keeps pitching like this it probably won't take long: Martinez hit 91 on the gun yesterday. As injuries pile up this spring, it wouldn't surprise me if a secondary market for guys like Pedro and Odalis Perez develops.

Everyone loves a good Bob Uecker story, right? Artie Lang told a good one on Letterman recently, although the language may be a little NSFW (Thanks to TimQMills for the tip). While you've got Youtube open, check out the trailer for the movie Sugar, which looks like it could be pretty good.

I know I just mentioned several things you could do with spare cash yesterday, but here's another one: If you ever wanted to try Baseball Mogul, last season's version is available for $2. This season's version is due out soon.

Oh, and while Jamie's Spring Training post mentioned the Dodgers' goal for Camelback Ranch "to be the most fan friendly in the Cactus League," their decision to charge extra for condiments on hot dogs doesn't seem to line up with that notion. (h/t True Blue LA)

Drink up.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:24:23 -0000

Some things to read while breakdancing your way through an intrasquad game. (second picture)

Good morning and welcome to the first game day of 2009. Jeff Suppan gets the ball today for the Brewers, and will be followed by Dave Bush, Trevor Hoffman, Eddie Morlan, Lindsay Gulin, Nick Green, Todd Coffey and Jorge Julio for one inning each.

For most players, these first few games of spring training are light workouts, with a few innings of defense and an at bat or two. Ryan Braun, however, may play the entire game as part of his accelerated preparations for the World Baseball Classic. As Tom H. noted, Braun may need to play a lot of innings in the WBC, as Team USA only has four outfielders on the roster, and Braun is the only left fielder.

Braun still couldn't get #8, though, despite the fact that no one on Team USA's roster is wearing it. Braun is wearing #51 in the Classic.

Meanwhile, the Brewers made two announcements yesterday regarding 2008 #1 pick Brett Lawrie: He's moving to second base and representing Team Canada in the WBC.

Also, Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks, who normally covers the Brewers, is also covering Team Italy in the WBC. The Italian team features Vinny Rottino and Mark Difelice along with a bunch of guys who will be looking for something to do once the first round is over.

J.J. Hardy hit a solo home run yesterday as Fish's Fantastics defeated Eddie's Elite 2-1 in a 4 inning intrasquad game. Tim Dillard allowed both runs for the Elite, with Omar Aguilar giving up the only run for the Fantastics.

Braden Looper pitched a perfect inning yesterday. Fungoes, however, doesn't think hanging onto him would have helped the Cardinals this season. That's fine, the Brewers will take him. I still need to get the Looper jersey I promised I'd pick up.

It looks like I won't be needing a Bourgeois jersey, though. Jason Bourgeois was sent to minor league camp yesterday along with injured pitchers Mark Rogers and Alex Periard and catcher Martin Maldonado. Bourgeois' broken pinkie still is not healed enough to play, but he could return to big league camp when/if it does.

Having good plate discipline will get you more fastballs to hit. So will a lack of power. As such, this FanGraphs study has a graph showing Jason Kendall getting significantly more fastballs to hit than most others.

Mike Cameron is the subject of today's JS Spring Training story. They cover just how close he was to being a Yankee, and why he's glad to be back as a Brewer.

Got some money burning a hole in your pocket? Brew City Sports has taken a look at the odds and thinks the Brewers are an undervalued bet to win the World Series. Or, if you'd like a more concrete return on your investment, make plans to spend April 8 in Appleton with Gord Ash as part of the Timber Rattlers' Lead-Off Experience. Tickets are just $30, and the event has the added bonus of being in the same building where I'm having my wedding reception in June.

Speaking of the Timber Rattlers, Rattler Radio has pictures of the first stage of the installation for their new video board.

So, today is Cory Provus' big debut as a Brewer broadcaster. He guest-posted on Brian Anderson's blog to introduce himself. You can hear him today on WTMJ or MLB.com.

Based on the fact that you're here reading a blog about the Brewers and you've gotten this far, you're probably a Brewers fan. But if you're not, Sixty Feet, Six Inches has two words that should convince you to jump on the bandwagon: sausage race.

We haven't talked about him in a while, so I had completely forgotten Lou Palmisano is in camp with the Astros, and could be returned to the Brewers if he fails to make the team out of spring training. Cap'n Lou made a good first impression, though, hitting a monstrous home run in the Astros' intrasquad game yesterday. The Astros are short on catching, so it's possible Palmisano could stick.

Meanwhile, in other camps:

Indians: Joe Borowski, still a free agent and apparently unsatisfied with the offers he's received, has decided to retire.
Marlins: Continue to show interest in relievers Will Ohman and Chad Cordero.
Rays: Ownership says the team is out of spending money, and the current payroll may prevent them from making moves during the season.
Reds: Francisco Cordero is ok after being doused with hot coffee by Hall of Fame writer Hal McCoy.
Twins: Boof Bonser will have exploratory shoulder surgery today and could be out anywhere from a few weeks to all of 2009.

For more spring training news and analysis from around the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, be sure to check out the SBNation Spring Training Hub, which you can get to by clicking that link or clicking anywhere you see this attractive fellow:

The spring training hub is populated by all of the SBNation blogs. Right now the front page includes several of yesterday's notes from here at BCB, as well as dozens of other posts from other teams. The content will only get better as the days and weeks go by and more of us participate.

Similarly, the Washington Nationals front office will likely get better when other people participate. Rumor has it the Nationals have targeted Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava to replace Jim Bowden when/if his current list of embarrassing charges leads to his resignation or dismissal.

Oh, and as times get tougher for cable networks, ESPN will likely be ok.

Drink up. The first game thread of spring opens in a few hours.

Sutton hits game winning homer in Astros intra squad game

clack — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:06:41 -0000

OK, it's pretty lame to highlight performance in intra squad games, but we don't even have real spring training games to discuss (until later today anyway). And I have to admit that I am pulling for Drew Sutton, the Astros' AA second baseman. He showed good offfensive ability for a middle infielder last season, and you hope he can exhibit that ability this spring.

Rule 5 draftee Palmisano, RFer Pence, and defensive outfield whiz Yordany Ramirez also hit HRs. Cooper liked it:

"The kids all looked pretty good," the skipper said. "It shows me Sutton can swing it, and you know Hunter can swing it. We saw some great swings today. Yordany had a great swing and hit a ball and showed tremendous speed and athletic ability. It was a good day."

In a comment on the Ankiel - Bogusevic comparison the other day, I mentioned "the yips," which ended Ankiel's pitching career. Brad James mentioned the dreaded "yips" in describing his performance in the spring so far. Apparently he is having trouble getting the ball around the plate.

"It's hard to pitch to your own teammates," James said. "I don't want to hit someone, and then you start thinking too much, and then, obviously, I hit someone. It's like I'm scared of hitters. Instead of throwing to the catcher, I'm trying to throw away from the hitter."

Cooper is working with the young players, trying to talk them through issues like this. Hopefully, James can get through this soon.

Astros Community Projection Project: PECOTA Update

DyingQuail — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:00:17 -0000

I've yet to go through and figure out where the tweaks we've thrown out on individual players are, but I went through and averaged the CHONE and PECOTA projected wOBA's for the hitters. There were a few players that CHONE and PECOTA drastically disagreed with, but all in all, there are fairly minor changes through out.

The project now envisions the Astros to be an 82 Win team. There are still a few tweaks that I need to make over the following week, of course, but I'm pretty excited about where it sees us right now. It's enough to at least keep the season interesting if we out perform that mark, or if the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals struggle.

Here's what the spread sheet looks like now. Feel free to chime in with disagreements and, more importantly, modifications that need to be made for playing time and positions (in fact, I beseech thee). I know Newhan needs to go in there (most likely) so throw out some PA guesstimates with those critiques.

More on today's Rule 5 draftees

KLSnow — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:06:44 -0000

First, a quick look at the players joining the Brewers:

Eduardo Morlan, RHP, drafted #16 in the ML phase, from Tampa Bay
BR Page

Morlan is a former Twins prospect sent to the Rays in the Matt Garza trade. He spent 2008 pitching for the Montgomery Biscuits in the Southern League, and posted a 3.64 ERA in 47 relief innings (30 appearances). He's spending the winter pitching in Puerto Rico, where he's posting a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings. He'll only be 23 on Opening Day, so the Cuban righthander still has some time to put everything together, but he doesn't seem like a likely candidate to make the Brewer bullpen out of spring training.

Mark Holliman, RHP, drafted #17 in the AAA phase, from Chicago (NL)
BR Page

Holliman is 25 years old and recently finished his third season in the Cubs organization, split between Tennessee (AA) and Iowa (AAA). He's been primarily a starting pitcher, but did pitch 13 times out of the bullpen in 2008. He posted a 4.50 ERA in Tennessee in 2008, but a 1.74 WHIP in 86 innings. He's never really been shelled at any level, but he's also never shown anything that would suggest he's more than an inning eater in AAA. He'll hang out at the end of the rotation in Nashville next season with guys like Sam Narron, Lindsay Gulin and Chris Narveson...low ceiling inning eaters.

Jonathan Ash, 2B-3B, drafted #28 in the AAA phase, from Houston
BR Page

357 of Ash's 377 minor league games have been spent at second base, but he spent a little time at third in Corpus Christi (AA) last season. At first glance, he's doesn't look like much more than roster filler...he's 26, spent three straight seasons in AA, and only collected 552 ABs over the last two seasons. He can hit a little and is willing to take a walk, though, posting OBPs over .350 in each of the last three seasons.

Shane Justis, Utility, drafted #34 in the AAA phase, from Los Angeles (NL)
BR Page

Justis is primarily a second and third baseman, but played shortstop, first and both corner outfield spots as well in both 2007 and 2008 in the Dodgers organization. He'll turn 26 before opening day, but like Ash, he's willing to take a walk: his OBP has been .352 or higher in each of his four minor league seasons. He's never played above AA and he's never been a full-time player, but his versatility should get him some playing time in Nashville next season.

Juan Sanchez, IF, drafted #35 in the AAA phase, from Minnesota
BR Page

Sanchez is only 21 years old, has two years of experience and has never played above the Gulf Coast League (Rookie), so I'm not sure what the story is here. He played primarily shortstop in 2007, but primarily third in 2008, and has played some second. He posted a .314/.382/.467 line in the Gulf Coast League in 42 games in 2008. Players drafted in the minor league portion of the draft do not have to be offered back to their original teams under any circumstances, so I guess the Brewers saw an opportunity to steal a young middle infield prospect from the Twins.

Now, the players on their way out:

Lou Palmisano, C, drafted #5 in the ML phase, Orioles
BR Page

Palmisano is 26 years old and, at best, would have been the fourth best catcher in the Brewer minor leagues next season behind Angel Salome, Jonathan Lucroy and Brett Lawrie. He had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in March and spent most of the season in rehab, finishing up with a brief stint in Brevard County and spot duty in the AFL. Obviously there will always be a market for catchers, but the O's have Matt Wieters, possibly baseball's best catching prospect, knocking on the door of the big leagues, so it's hard to imagine them finding room on their roster to keep Cap'n Lou all season.

UPDATE: Palmisano has now been traded to the Astros.

Patrick Ryan, RHP, drafted #2 in AAA phase, Mariners
BR Page

The two first names thing is confusing: MLB.com has him listed on the draft page as Ryan Patrick. At any rate, he's a 25 year old reliever in his fourth year in the Brewer organization, having spent 2008 in Huntsville, where he posted a 2.52 ERA in 64.1 innings. The highest ERA he's ever posted at any level is 3.15 at Helena in 2005. I've never seen the guy pitch but just looking at his stat line he looks like a guy with a higher upside than Palmisano.

Guilder Rodriguez, SS, drafted #24 in AAA phase, Rangers
BR Page

Rodriguez is most likely AAA roster filler for the Rangers. He's spent at least part of each of the last four seasons in Huntsville, but has never posted an OPS over .691 or a slugging percentage over .309 in part-time duty. He's 25 years old, and will likely spend next season keeping a spot on the bench warm in Oklahoma.