SB Nation - Trevor Crowe

Game 160: Red Sox 6, Indians 2

Ryan — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:42:42 -0000

More photos » by Mary Schwalm - AP

As Jason Varitek goes for a foul ball, a Sawx fan shows off his spoon-swallowing skills.

This series so far has to me felt like Spring Training games, though the two teams have different goals in mind for them. Boston's Terry Francona is trying to give his players enough playing time to stay sharp, but also keep them rested and healthy, while Eric Wedge is just trying to get this last weekend over so he can move on to other things. Meanwhile, the Indians lost their record thirteenth straight on the road.

Jeremy Sowers checked out early after giving up 3 runs on four hits and two walks, giving way to a series of relievers just getting their work in. Meanwhile, the offense had a goal to shoot for: scoring a run. The offense hadn't plated a run in over two games, and had to be closing in on some kind of team record for sustained futility. Luis Valbuena and Trevor Crowe finally broke the ice in the fifth off Daisuke Matsuzaka, but they had a couple opportunities before that, beginning with Michael Brantley's double to lead off the game. Matsuzaka took three meandering pitches to accomplish what every one good one would do; if he had to be that fine against this Indians lineup, I don't like his chances against deeper and more talented lineups in the postseason.

Next Up: Laffey vs. Beckett, 7:10 PM

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Luis Valbuena	.091	Jeremy Sowers	-.213
Tony Sipp	.084	Jhonny Peralta	-.140
Travis Hafner	.041	Shin-Soo Choo	-.111

Game 157: White Sox 6, Indians 1

Ryan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:20:48 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

Aaron Laffey allowed eight hits, all of them singles, and several of them infield singles.

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This was one game where it didn't really matter much what the pitching did, because John Danks was locked in all game. He allowed three hits, two of them to Shin-Soo Choo. His lone earned run allowed was a Choo home run.

Aaron Laffey did ok with the exception of the second inning, when Chicago batted around. Normally when a club does that, the pitcher is removed, but all the base runners came via singles or walks, and the damage was limited to three runs. He stayed in the game into the eighth inning with the game still within reach, but the bullpen let the game get out of hand. Jose Veras was shaky, but got out of the eighth; Jensen Lewis, and the Indians defense, gave up three runs in the ninth to salt the game for the White Sox.

Next Up: Torres vs. Masterson, 7:05 PM

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Shin-Soo Choo	.104	Matt LaPorta	-.119
Jose Veras	.050	Jhonny Peralta	-.096
Travis Hafner	.004	Trevor Crowe	-.089

Fire Everyone! - The Farm System

APV — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:28:49 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Travis Hafner, soliciting coaching advice from outside the organization

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This is the eighth installment in a 12-part series.

Part of the Tribe's failure this year can be blamed on the reality that when players were failing to perform in April and May (and there were many), no one was there in Akron or Columbus to step up and provide at least temporary relief. When Fausto Carmona was busy allowing 4+ runs in 10 of his first 12 starts, who was there to step up? Sure, David Huff was there to step in and promptly allow 13 earned runs in his first 6 innings of pro ball, but who was there behind him? And behind that guy? And when the bullpen was busy reading up on seppuku rather than "how to record a major league out" for the first two months, was there really no one better than Matt Herges and Greg Aquino available to fill the holes? Mark Shapiro has said nothing more frequently than the need for depth - the need to prepare for individual failures (which are inevitable) and insure against collective failures. So where was the depth when it was needed to keep the season alive?

One explanation is that it was a failure to acquire the right talent. This is a well hashed argument, and one which might have some validity. There is another possibility, however, that perhaps it is not that we have failed to acquire the right talent, but instead failed to develop the talent we have properly. Perhaps our developmental system, again one of Shapiro's trademarks on the organization has failed. Shapiro has been lauded for installing a system based on combining traditional scouting data with rigorous quantitative assessment and emphasizing consistency throughout the system. Players are supposed to enter into the organization and hear the same things at every level. Maybe some have been hearing the wrong things.

Trying to assess how good a developmental staff the Indians have is probably going to be a failed effort on my part. To really do it right, you would have to compare how the Indians fare relative to other organizations. The best hitters get out 60% of the time. Their greatness is only visible when assessed against everyone else, who get out 69% of the time. The success rate for prospects is much lower than either of the numbers. I don't have time for a thorough comparative analysis, sadly. But we can look internally at what the Tribe has done.

I consider the goal of the developmental staff to accomplish two things:

A good system should help players achieve the potential they were viewed to have when they were drafted/signed (with obvious injury caveats).
A great system should strive to raise the ceiling of their players, and strive to turn them into better players than other teams thought they could be.

How do they do this - I have no idea. But I would like to think they identify weaknesses in a player's game and seek to improve on them. Have the Indians done that? Here are some significant minor leaguers, either assessed by performance, draft or reputation, and how they've progressed (or regressed) while in the Indians system.

2003

Michael Aubrey - Injuries make his development impossible to assess

Brad Snyder - I think Snyder's failures are viewed as a contact problem. I think it is more that he didn't hit for enough power given his high strikeout rate. Here are his K/BB rates from A+, to AA, and two years in Buffalo - 2.5, 2.5, 3, +4...that's not good.

Adam Miller - see Michael Aubrey

Javi Herrera - college defensive catcher (and 3rd round pick), never learned to hit at AA

Ryan Garko - Seems like a success story. He's never developed a lot of power, but aside from his senior year at Stanford he never had a lot of power.

Juan Valdes - Injuries (too much coffee, no doubt)

Kevin Kouzmanoff - Kouz is a developmental success for Cleveland, a guy who raised his ceiling to the point of being trade worthy for future superstar Josh Barfield

Aaron Laffey - Big developmental success. While he's always gotten groundballs in bunches, his improving K-numbers throughout his minor league career attest to his improved secondary stuff, particularly his slider.

2004

Jeremy Sowers - I think it is hard to argue Sowers as a developmental failure. He has consistently dominated the minors. The translation to the big league level is not something I feel justified in blaming the minor league staff entirely for. An argument could be made that more of an effort should have been extended to improve his fastball velocity, but that is tough without incurring all sorts of other mechanical issues.

Justin Hoyman - never got started

Scott Lewis - I think a success story from a developmental perspective. Always did well, but was always described as likely having trouble at the next level. He kept doing well at the next level, up until his injury derailment in the majors.

Chuck Lofgren - Hard to know exactly what has happened or who is to blame for Lofgren, but losing the ability to throw strikes is something I'm happy to assign partial blame to the staff.

Mike Butia - Bad pick

Chris Gimenez - The Tribe turned this 19th round pick into a guy who can play multiple positions including catcher. He's not great, but that's not a bad job for a guy not many people probably thought much of.

Carlton Smith - Another guy who the Indians are trying to turn into something useful. They've managed to take his naturally sinking stuff and turn him into an extreme groundballer out of the pen in Akron this year. I say small victory.

Wyatt Toregas - selected in the 24th round, Wyatt's performance has been up and down, but at various points they've managed to get his plate discipline and/or power up to levels that made his appearance on the big league team this year not surprising. Success.

Tony Sipp - he was a late round flyer who I think we're all glad signed. A success obviously, but it is a little troubling that Sipp's control never showed any improvement.

2005

Trevor Crowe - After looking like he was nothing in 2007 in Akron, he did rebound more towards a reasonably projection given his college performance. Not worth a first round pick, but not the developmental staff's fault.

John Drennen - Haven't been able to put together a solid approach at the plate for Drennen. It's either mediocre power with huge K-rates, or zero power with mediocre plate discipline.

Stephen Head - they really should have worked on his mustache more, or tried to put together a coherent set of skills

Nick Weglarz - projectable big guy from Ontario with limited baseball experience turned into a top prospect...Yes!

Jensen Lewis - Again, from the minor league side of things, this looks like a success

Jordan Brown - Following his 2007 season in Akron, it looked like all he needed to do was add a little power and he'd be a good guy at the plate. Instead he fell apart, losing power, discipline and contact skills. He has rebounded a lot this year, but hasn't recovered his discipline at the plate and given his defensive liabilities, isn't viewed as part of the future. In terms of development, I think Brown is probably a draw.

Kevin Dixon, Joe Ness, James Deters - These three consecutive picks from 2005 all reached Akron and promptly had their careers end, I think we can assign a little failure.

Ryan Edell - Edell, the next pick in that draft, actually made it past Akron this year. Edell is not anything special, but he has followed an advance and struggle, then come back and improve trajectory to the point where he is a depth rotation option for next season. I say success from the development perspective.

Roman Pena - Toolsy, but failed to learn how to not strike out

Neil Wagner - Once viewed as a relief prospect sleeper, Wagner's control has gotten worse as he has moved through the system

2006

David Huff - similar story to Jeremy Sowers. He really looked like he was ready in 2008, but in 2009 his stuff has been lacking. I have a hard time saying this is a failure of the minor league development staff, though.

Steven Wright - he's not a guy we talk much about, but he has slowly and steadily progressed through the system and will likely be a major part of the Columbus bullpen next year. Not a glowing victory, but not a developmental failure.

Josh Rodriguez - Rodriguez has dealt with some injuries, but this seems like a failure. He was highly thought of and got off to a nice pro start in 2007.

Wes Hodges - Again injuries have played a role, but Hodges' power and discipline have deteriorated at each level to the point where now he is a deserved after thought.

Matt McBride - Here I largely question the developmental choices the organization has made. McBride was at catcher, but got moved to corner outfield. He had enough of a projectable bat to be a major league catcher, but it would have and will take a minor miracle to make him a serviceable outfielder. I say development fail.

Adam Davis - He got worse each of his final two seasons at Florida, so I don't blame Cleveland for him not being any good, just for drafting him.

Ryan Morris - A big high-school lefty who the Indians have been unable to teach how to throw strikes

Jared Goedert - Apart from a now legendary 46 game stretch in Lake County, he is 9th round organizational fodder

Paolo Espino - Espino has been moved back and forth from rotation to bullpen, but his improved control this season was a positive step forward for him. I say one for the plus column.

Josh Tomlin - a 19th round pick, Tomlin has been steady in his performance across levels, last season as a stalwart in Akron's pitching staff, to the point of being an interesting guy. Development win.

Vinnie Pestano - Enough marginal improvement in his BB-rate to call this a minor victory.

Chris Nash - Big and raw high school firstbaseman, the Indians have never been able to translate his strength into power or any kind of plate performance. Fail.

Ryan Miller - late round flier who showed signs of life for Lake County in 2008, totally blew up in 2009.

Others

Jon Meloan - not drafted, but clearly a developmental failure. Were never able to right his once promising ship.

Asdrubal Cabrera - huge victory. Cabrera was a hugely underrated guy when we acquired him, but he has been able to translate that potential into actual performance.

Fausto Carmona - huge victory....turned huge failure? But this also involves the major league staff.

Frank Herrmann - Transition to bullpen was successful this season and might prove to be a very smart developmental move. That said, he didn't actually improve any of his numbers in the process.

Hector Rondon - Definitely looks like a victory in progress, has been getting better as he has advanced (at least until the final month of this season).

Rafael Perez - Another victory in terms of his minor league performance. Was a borderline starter turned into a momentarily great reliever.

Jeanmar Gomez - Another seeming victory in progress. His stuff has become more effective as he has moved through the system.

Josh Judy - 34th round 2007 pick, his numbers have also shown steady progress. Could warrant a bullpen look in 2010.

Carlos Rivero - was looking good, but had a definite set back this season in his AA debut

Summary

There are lots of guys I have no doubt missed, and I have intentionally left most of the guys acquired from 2007-present out, because for most of them development is still a work in progress. Generally, I think the Indians developmental system has been adequate, if not extraordinary. We have had pitching successes (Aaron Laffey) and failures (Jon Meloan), hitting successes (Asdrubal Cabrera) and failures (Brad Snyder), college successes (Ryan Garko) and college failures (Wes Hodges), high school successes (Nick Weglarz) and high school failures (Chuck Lofgren). Again, a real study would try to assess this quantitatively and comaratively, but I don't have time for that.

I will say the Indians success with pitchers have seemingly been with developing downward movement on their fastball and/or the development of a slider in particular as an effective secondary pitch. There aren't a ton of changeup success stories in the system, or guys who have developed great power fastballs.

At the plate, it is my sense that certain players who have struggled have gone back and forth between trying to achieve their power potential, while also maintaining a reasonable plate approach. Beau Mills seems to be a case of this in progress, where last season he was showing some signs of actually improving in both areas (following a half-season debut with good power and bad discipline), only to come crashing down in many ways this season. I always find it disappointing when guys who showed plus defensive skills, like Brad Snyder, could not ever quite work it out at the plate enough to get a shot at the major league level. Fire everyone! - mabe. But I'd probably rather see an easing of the constraints on the system. Not an abandonment of the over-arching organizational philosophy on player development, but an openness to the reality that Cleveland is not the greatest organization on the planet and does not have all of the answers.

Just about any individual performance success story or failure can be viewed either as a result of the player's contribution or that of the coaches - so it is impossible to really get at the latter. Only systematic problems give reasonable evidence of organizational failings in this regard. By and large I don't think the Indians system has those. I question sometimes whether the one size fits all approach to development and advancement works for everyone, but some of the player development decisions made this year (Abner Abreu, Lonnie Chisenhall, Zach Putnam) suggest a more flexible approach on behalf of the front office. The bottom line is that I think the Indians do a good job of getting players to perform to the level that is expected of them. There are not that many examples of guys turning into something more than was ever thought possible, but I would guess these are rare in every organization. There are also not a lot of total failures which don't have some major injury component to them. Fire everyone! - maybe. But I'd probably rather just see more humility in the current organizational philosophy towards development. The Indians are not the greatest organization on the planet and do not know the answers to every (or these days any) question. Allowing a little flexibility and opening the channels of communication regarding development up to a few more smart voices might not be a bad idea.

Game 151: Tigers 3, Indians 1

Ryan — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:08:30 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

3 months ago: Cleveland Indians' Matt LaPorta, right, is tagged out by Detroit Tigers catcher Gerald Laird in the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, in Cleveland. LaPorte tried to score from second base on a single by Trevor Crowe. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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One monotonous day is followed
by another monotonous, identical day. The same
things will happen, they will happen again --
the same moments find us and leave us.

A month passes and ushers in another month.
One easily guesses the coming events;
they are the boring ones of yesterday.
And the morrow ends up not resembling a morrow anymore.

-Constantine P. Cavafy

I thought the game was over when Ryan Raburn hit a home run in the third inning. It wasn't quite over, for the Indians would score a run, but it might as well have been. The Indians have been losing in boring, monotonous regularity, a feature of an especially awful baseball team. Many of the players on this team have futures, but it seems that everyone's taking their cues from their manager, who can see his end approaching. Tonight's loss made nine in a row for the Indians, a season high

Aaron Laffey pitched very well despite a tight strike zone. After struggling in his past two starts, Laffey pitched into the seventh, leaving with the Indians just down a run, a winnable situation for a club of any offensive ability. Unfortunately, the Indians' long run came after Chris Perez gave up two runs in the eighth. Although Cleveland would have an excellent opportunity in the bottom of the inning, three runs were too much to overcome for this punchless offense.

To make matters worse, Matt LaPorta had to leave the game with a hip injury. LaPorta's "only" hitting .235/.278/.426 this month, which ranks among the best on the team. Andy Marte, who is again buried on the bench in favor of Trevor Crowe, got a couple at-bats in place of LaPorta, but I expect we'll be seeing a Chris Gimenez start tomorrow.

Next Up: Porcello vs. Masterson, 7:05 PM

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Aaron Laffey	.214	Jhonny Peralta	-.220
Shin-Soo Choo	.109	Luis Valbuena	-.189
Jamey Carroll	.095	Asdrubal Cabrera	-.148

Game 150: Athletics 11, Indians 4

Ryan — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:41:56 -0000

More photos » by Dino Vournas - AP

Fausto Carmona only gave up runs in two innings. But what innings they were.

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I suppose the one saving grace of this hideous September is that it will force major changes in the Indians organization. The Indians are now tied for last place in the AL Central, and just one game ahead of Baltimore for the worst record in the American League. Now they aren't just losing close games, but being blown out of games. Thanks to an awful starting rotation, a complete deterioration of the offense, and other unquantifiable aspects, the Indians are going to end the season falling at maximum velocity.

Fausto Carmona did pitch very well for a portion of today's start, but when you give up nine runs in the surrounding innings, that stretch is for all intents and purposes meaningless. He did, for once, make the opposing team earn their runs; he walked one, but gave up ten base hits and faced an incredible 29 hitters in his 5.2 innings pitched.

So, what's next for this team? After getting swept by a team playing out the string, a series against a team that has everything to play for. See you on Tuesday, if your stomach is strong enough.

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Michael Brantley	.054	Fausto Carmona	-.333
Trevor Crowe	.006	Wyatt Toregas	-.062
		Shin-Soo Choo	-.049

Did Fausto Carmona Run Over God's Puppy?

Nico — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:26:17 -0000

More photos » by Dino Vournas - AP

Fausto Carmona promises God he'll drive more carefully in the future.

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Today's game was essentially decided in the bottom of the 2nd inning, when the A's scored 5 times off of Fausto Carmona and never looked back. With a name like Fausto, you have to wonder about sold souls and such, or perhaps my puppy theory has some validity. How else do you explain a pitcher getting high pop fly after high pop fly, only to have one after the other fall into a Bermuda Triangle of "lack of Indianness" -- with one actually clanking off the glove of Trevor Crowe for an error? (If his routes are "as the crow flies," then crows seriously need to lay off the liquor.)

Dana Eveland wobbled a bit, per always, but turned in a solid enough 5 innings of 1 run ball, while the A's picked up where they left off -- and finally actually hit the ball hard off Carmona -- in the 6th inning and finished with a 15-hit attack that included two more hits by "I'm a fluke but I'm also good" Rajai Davis and a 3-hit game by Adam Kennedy that included his 11th HR.

A few more thoughts, "Potpourri style"...

* Travis Hafner's bat looks slow. He seemed to be slapping at the ball just trying to hit it to the left side -- when he didn't swing late and miss completely. Between Carmona (3-12) and Hafner, the Indians may have two highly paid albatrosses on their hands. Remember, A's fans, it could be worse and usually is if you look around the league at other non big-market clubs.

* On the A's radio broadcast, Ken has been talking about Jim Skaalan's work with Cliff Pennington, getting him to turn on inside pitches. We saw a specific example of this today when Pennington pulled a double one-hop off the RF wall. One reason I think Skaalan is the best hitting coach the A's have had in years is that when we hear about specific work he is doing with a player (a toe-tap timing device, turning on inside pitches, a slight change in stance or approach), we tend to see results soon after that relate directly to what has been worked on. That's a good sign, and in this case gives at least a glimmer of hope that Pennington may be able to improve a bit upon his low slugging percentage in the minors.

* It will never happen. It just won't, burned bridges being what they are. But if the Cubs release Milton Bradley (who is now suspended for the rest of the season for trashing the Cubs in a media interview), any team will have the chance to pick up Bradley for two years while the Cubs pay his salary sans the major league minimum. Insta-clean up hitter at league minimum; kind of a Frank Thomas like opportunity. You'll never see this, but could the A's contend in 2010 if they could insert Bradley -- while paying him the same salary they're paying Pennington -- into the OF, platoon Sweeney and Hairston, and put this lineup out there?

Davis - CF
Cust - DH
Sweeney/Hairston - RF/LF
Bradley - LF/RF
Suzuki - C
Chavez --> Wallace - 3B
Ellis - 2B
Barton - 1B
Pennington - SS

Ah, Milty. Sigh.

Game 148: Athletics 2, Indians 1

Ryan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:02:01 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Fire Everyone in This Picture!

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This doesn't excuse the Indians' play one iota, but C.B. Bucknor is a joke. He's been a joke for a long time, and I have no idea how he's still in the majors. His strike zone was consistently ludicrous tonight, remaining so until the last batter of the game, when he called out Kelly Shoppach on a pitch nowhere close to the strike zone. I just hope, for the sake of teams still in the race, that he isn't behind the plate for a meaningful game between now and the end of the season.

In contrast to last season's strong finish, this year's club is tanking in September. Grady Sizemore is out of the action, but the rest of the regulars are all healthy and available. All of them, except Andy Marte, who is losing playing time to Trevor Crowe and Niuman Romero, among others. The offense has gone to sleep, the starters have been mostly hideous, and the bullpen has pitched in an implosion or two this month. 21-year-old Brett Anderson took advantage of the anemic offense, allowing 4 hits and a walk in six inning, and striking out 10 Indians.

Matt LaPorta prevented yet another shutout by doubling home the first run of the game in the ninth inning. Shin-Soo Choo prevented another run by nabbing a sure home run earlier in the game.

Next Up: Sowers vs. Gonzalez, 4:05 PM (No TV)

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Michael Brantley	.040	Jamey Carroll	-.148
David Huff	.032	Jhonny Peralta	-.147
Jess Todd	.025	Trevor Crowe	-.102

Game 144: Twins 6, Indians 3

Ryan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:01:30 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

Jeremy Sowers shut the Twins out through seven inning, but the bullpen imploded in the eighth.

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For seven innings the Indians played exceptional baseball, especially given the importance the game had for the Minnesota Twins. Jeremy Sowers pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, and the offense scored three runs on two home runs. Going into the eighth, it looked as through the Indians had dealt the Twins a critical blow to their playoff aspirations. Detroit had just came from behind to beat Toronto, and Minnesota was two innings away from going down 6.5 games with less than 20 games to play. The Twins have seven games left against the Tigers, but even so, there is in effect no room for error.

It was then that the Indians conveniently melted down, allowing the Twins to score six times. The disastrous eighth frame started with an Asdrubal Cabrera error on a simple backhanded play. Tony Sipp then walked Joe Mauer, bringing the tying run to the plate. No problem, for Eric Wedge had Chris Perez warming in the bullpen for this eventuality. Sipp would have stayed in had Justin Morneau been batting cleanup, but Morneau was out with an injury, so it was Michael Cuddyer at the plate, and Perez on the mound. Cuddyer blasted a game-tying three-run home run. The hilarity continued after Brendan Harris flied out for the first out of the inning; Delmon Young singled, then Matt Tolbert blooped a perfectly placed ball into shallow left field to chase Young to third. Then Lou Marson allowed a pitch to get by him to the backstop, and Young scored the go-ahead run. Jason Kubel provided the capper to the meltdown by smashing a home run into the right field upper deck.

The game doesn't really mean a whole lot to the Indians, but it was extremely depressing to see the two guys who are probably going into next season as the primary setup men completely blow a game meaningful to at least the other team.

Next Up: Carmona vs. Baker, 8:10 PM

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Jeremy Sowers	.383	Chris Perez	-.737
Trevor Crowe	.112	Tony Sipp	-.141
Lou Marson	.073	Luis Valbuena	-.069

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:35:57 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: the last time we'll ever see Bill Hall looking clueless after a strikeout in a Brewer uniform.

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Some things to read while abbreviating your quotes.

It's another rough week to be a Brewer fan, but at least Doug Melvin found a way to unload Bill Hall. Reactions from around the web:

Tom H. reports the Brewers are saving at least $1.3 million in salary for next season by trading Hall. That's the portion of his salary that will be paid by the Mariners.
Brewer Paradise Lost says Melvin is a genius for finding a team willing to take on any of Hall's salary.
Gord Ash told Adam McCalvy that one other team was interested in Hall, but the rumors about Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo were incorrect. Both potential trades were for minor leaguers.
Over at The Hardball Times, Jeff takes a look at the decision to give Hall a long term deal following the 2006 season, and still concludes it was the right move to make at the time.
The Bucky Channel is surprised Jack Z. had any interest in Hall.
Meanwhile, on the Mariners' side, Lookout Landing is playing the "He could be a great player if he puts it all together" card we've all become so familiar with over the last few years.
Pro Ball NW is calling Hall a "free lottery ticket" and expects him to platoon with Jack Hannahan at third.

Meanwhile, the Brewers are off today while they travel to Washington to open a four game series there. If you're a Brewer fan in the DC area, the Nationals have quite the deal for you: For one dollar, fans can get into the ballpark at 2 pm tomorrow, see the press conference introducing Stephen Strasburg and stay to see the Nats take on Manny Parra and the Brewers. Nats320 has more about the promotion.

The trip to Washington will be a return home for Felipe Lopez, who had a very forgettable three-year run as a National between 2006 and 2008 before being released. As part of tomorrow's game preview, Adam McCalvy has a look at Lopez's time as a Brewer and his rebound from some defensive lapses a couple of weeks ago.

Unfortunately for the Nats, they won't get to face Carlos Villanueva this weekend, at least as a starter. With today's off day, the Brewers had the opportunity to skip a starter this weekend, and Carlos Villanueva is the one getting the hook, with Mike Burns getting the start Saturday. Both Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush are expected back in the rotation by the next turn.

With Yovani Gallardo stuck on 11 wins, it looks like the Brewers will be without a 20 game winner again this season. As Chris Jaffe notes at The Hardball Times, 23 teams have had a 20 game winner since Teddy Higuera did it for the Brewers in 1986. Only Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego, Montreal/Washington, Colorado and Tampa Bay have longer active droughts.

In the minors:

Mike Jones' AAA debut didn't go so well last night, as he allowed six runs on ten hits and struck out no one in four innings and the Sounds lost 11-1. Hopefully it was just nerves and he'll settle down in his next start.
The Brewers spent $1.2 million signing Kentrail Davis, well over slot value for his pick, but it could have been much worse: The Biz of Baseball noted that Davis' deal was about 42% over slot, the lowest percentage among Scott Boras clients who signed on deadline day.
Brewerfan.net has a new Power 50 with Alcides Escobar moving into the #1 spot and most of the 2009 draft picks being slotted in. (FanShot)
The Tuscaloosa News has a look at the negotiation process with 15th round pick Del Howell, who at one point said he was "90% sure" he was returning to Alabama next season.
The Brevard County Manatees continue to have a successful season: They have the fourth best winning percentage in all of minor league baseball, according to Baseball America.
Timber Rattlers reliever Nick Tyson is the prospect of the week over at Between the Green Pillars.

On power rankings and postseason odds:

Beyond the Box Score moved the Brewers up one spot from 24 to 23 in their rankings.
MLB FanHouse dropped the Brewers one spot to 20th.
CoolStandings gives the Brewers a 1.2% chance of making the playoffs.
MLB Playoff Odds gives them .6%.

Maybe I should just forget all of this and write a blog about Anthony Witrado. Miller Park Drunk's post from a couple of weeks ago calling for his firing was the seventh most popular post in site history. That's saying a lot, because he's consistently got some pretty good stuff over there.

Speaking of people we don't like much around here, Jason Kendall received one fifth place vote in Dugout Central's poll asking for former stars who are playing their way out of the big leagues.

Around baseball:

Dodgers: Signed Vicente Padilla.
Indians: Placed Trevor Crowe on the DL with an oblique strain.
Rangers: Placed Eddie Guardado on the DL with knee inflammation.
Reds: Placed Johnny Cueto (shoulder inflammation) and Willy Taveras (strained quad) on the DL.

At FanGraphs, R.J. Anderson looks at the Dodgers' decision to sign Vicente Padilla and wonders if they made the wrong decision when they traded Claudio Vargas to the Brewers. Vargas has turned out to be a useful arm in the bullpen, but wouldn't have been stretched out enough to fill a vacancy in the rotation for the Dodgers.

Sometimes you just have to take a step back and be happy for what you have. The 2009 Brewers may be a disappointment, but the team continues to invest in the future, signing all of this year's high draft picks. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have fallen out of contention, dealt Alex Rios and Scott Rolen to free up money, and still let three of their top four draft picks walk away. Things are going to get worse before they get better in Toronto. Maybe much worse.

The Royals are 47-73, in last place in the AL Central and in the conversation for baseball's worst record. Yet somehow, they've almost made it through the entire season without a single player making their major league debut. One would think that will change in September, but the fact that it hasn't changed yet is pretty surprising.

Earlier this week Jason Marquis was brought up as a potential free agent signing for the Brewers this offseason. If the Brewers plan to pursue him, they'll also need to purchase a copy of Connect Four, because that's apparently how he prepares for starts.

On this day in 1992, the Brewers tagged David Wells for 13 earned runs on eleven hits and five walks in 4.1 innings en route to a 16-3 victory over the Blue Jays. Six Brewers had multiple hits, but John Jaha had the only home run.

Happy birthday today to Nick Green, who turns 25, and Tom Brunansky, who hit .187/.263/.317 as a Brewer in 1993 and 1994 and turns 49.

Oh, and I consider myself somewhat of a mac and cheese expert, but I don't get how this is even possible.

Drink up.

Game 114: Cleveland 1, Texas 4

APV — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:30:28 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

Cleveland Indians' Jamey Carroll slides under the tag and karate kick of catcher Taylor Teagarden to score the Indians lone run of the day in the first inning.

Browse more photos »

The fourteen hours between last night's shutout at the hands of the Rangers pitching staff apparently did not give the Cleveland Indians enough time to figure out where they had placed their bats. Today's noon game saw the Indians get off to a good start, with a 1-0 lead in the first on a shallow sac fly from Shin Soo Choo, but not much else for the rest of the game. Some of the blame for today's game rests on the two rookies Eric Wedge has given considerable playing time to of late, Trevor Crowe and Chris Gimenez. Crowe actually has had a number of good games, but Gimenez has been clearly out-matched. Today the two went a combined 0-8 with 4 strikeouts, stranding 9 base-runners in the process. Even when the Indians were getting hits, they tended to be weak, bloop singles. Only Luis Valbuena's ninth inning double went for extra bases.

Jeremy Sowers managed to pitch into and out of quite a bit of trouble. Sowers loaded the bases in the 1st, but got Josh Hamilton to pop out to escape unscathed. Hamilton came back and got his revenge in the 3rd, knocking in Andruw Jones and Michael Young with a double, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead. An Elvis Andrus homerun the following inning extended the Rangers lead to 3-1. Sowers day was done after two more runners reached, and then one scored on a sac fly, to begin the 6th inning. Sowers was not terrible - but recording no strike outs and allowing four extra-base hits is not a recipe for success. The bullpen, Joe Smith and R.C. Perez, managed to keep the Rangers from scoring the remainder of the game, but also allowed four hits in the process.

Cleveland travels on to Minnesota next...

Next up: Masterson vs. Baker, 8:05pm

Highest	WPA	Lowest	WPA
J. Carroll	.116	C. Gimenez	-.181
L. Valbuena	.064	J. Sowers	-.176
K. Shoppach	.063	T. Crowe	-.156