SB Nation - Mark Rogers

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:22:13 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

Gregg "Triple G" Zaun: 2010 Brewer?

Some things to read while running to the store for orange soda.

Tourist season continues in Rumorville, with Gregg Zaun (aka "Triple G") passing through yesterday. Apparently the Brewers are one of several teams that have expressed interest in the former Rays catcher, who previously said he expects to sign by the end of the week. A few quick thoughts on Zaun:

He hit .260/.345/.416 last season between the Orioles and Rays, well above average for a catcher.
He'll also turn 39 in April.
2010 will be his 16th major league season, and he's spent at least part of one of those seasons with the Orioles (two tours), Marlins, Rangers, Royals, Astros, Rockies, Blue Jays and Rays. He needs to sign with the D-Backs to complete the Expansion Cycle.

I can't decide how I feel about the possibility, but I hope the Brewers don't overinvest in it: He could be an interesting piece, but the fact that there's competition for his services would imply the price could be pretty high for a catcher with a lot of miles on his tires.

Meanwhile, Doug Melvin flew out to LA this week to meet with Mark Attanasio to discuss the club's financial situation and develop a plan for free agency. Fire Doug Melvin has a list of the tough questions that should be asked, and actually probably should have been asked a while ago. Comments continue to drift in on Melvin's decision not to offer arbitration to Felipe Lopez and Mike Cameron:

Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks was woken up by a ticket sales rep and proceeded to pen some half-awake thoughts on the situation.
Master Reid of Quevedo at the Buffet reacted to the decision and thought out loud on projections for the winter meetings.
Keep Turning Up The Heat! echoed some of the same conversations we've had around here about Lopez's value and tradeability.

All of this mess is only making the job harder for the folks the Brewers have hired to sell tickets for next season. Caitlin Moyer has a profile and offseason work plan for Director of Season Ticket Sales Billy Friess.

If you drove by Miller Park yesterday (or stopped in the Fan Shop, as I did), you might have noticed that the lights were on. Apparently a camera crew was working in the park, shooting a three second clip that will eventually be part of a Coors Light commercial.

In the minors:

Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew recently conducted an interview with Jonathan Lucroy, discussing the recent attention he's received, and current/former teammates Zach Braddock, Mark Rogers and Chris Cody. It's worth a read.
Lisa Winston of MiLB.com also has a great read on the early results the Brewers are seeing from 2009 draft picks.
And, if you're doing some holiday shopping for the minor league addict in your life, you may be interested in some deals from the Nashville Sounds.

Around baseball:

A's: Avoided arbitration with reliever Joey Devine, agreeing to a one-year deal worth roughly $550k.
Indians: Signed reliever Jason Grilli to a minor league deal.

The Brewers may or may not be preparing to make an offer to Randy Wolf. While the Brewers may be in, the Astros are the first team I've seen to publicly acknowledge they're out.

Another day, another list of Rule 5 Draft prospects. Today's comes from DRaysBay, and includes Royals reliever Chris "Disco" Hayes.

If you're looking to learn something about sabermetrics today, here's an opportunity: Big League Stew has everything you ever wanted to know about FIP, it's uses and misuses.

Here's a problem I wish I could complain about: Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner is having a hard time finding topics to write about now that times have changed in the Mariners' front office and the organization is actually making logical moves. I'd much rather complain about that than the dent my forehead is starting to make in my desk.

Oh, but there is a former Brewer note today: The Midwest League's Fort Wayne Tin Caps have announced their coaching staff for 2010, and Bronswell Patrick is their pitching coach. He appeared in 32 games for the 1998 team.

On this day in 1901, the American League officially dropped the Milwaukee Brewers and replaced them with the St. Louis Browns, ending the city's first run in the AL after just one season.

On this day in 1971, the Brewers acquired Jim Colborn, Brock Davis and Earl Stephenson from the Cubs for Jose Cardenal. Colborn won 20 games for the Brewers in 1973, pitching 22 complete games and logging 314.1 innings. He's the only Brewer ever to pass 300 IP.

On this day in 1989, the Brewers signed Dave Parker as a free agent. Parker would spend one season in Milwaukee, hitting .289/.330/.451 with 21 home runs. He was traded during to the Angels during spring training in 1991 for Dante Bichette.

Happy birthdays today to:

Matt Childers, who made eight appearances for the 2002 Brewers and turns 31.
Gary Glover, who made 19 appearances for the 2004-2005 Brewers and turns 33.
Darryl Hamilton, who played center field for most of the 1988-1995 seasons, and turns 45.

Oh, and if you'd like to be paid to watch and score baseball games, polish up your resume because your dream job just opened up.

Drink up.

Wednesday's Late and Brief Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:15:03 -0000

More photos » by Eric Risberg - AP

Justin Duchscherer is a potential 2010 Brewer. That means I probably need to learn to spell his name...or assign him a clever nickname that catches on. Suggestions?

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while finding eternal life.

Thanks for bearing with me this week. The Mug will return to its normal format and schedule on Friday. In the meantime, here's the crash-course version of today's notes:

Adam McCalvy has two more names for you to consider as the Brewers head into hot stove season: Justin Duchscherer and Kevin Correia. Meanwhile, ESPN has a story about clinical depression that Duchscherer has battled in the past. I don't think the depression has anything to do with the fact that his name is impossible to spell.
Caitlin Moyer has a look at the offseason work of Brewer Grounds Crew leader Gary Vanden Berg, who recently finished putting Miller Park's field to bed for 2009.
Mike Cameron might be one of the best free agent position players on the market this offseason, but Bleed Cubbie Blue is comparing him to Marlon Byrd.
In the minors, Baseball America used Pitch F/x to gather average and max fastball speeds for pitchers that appeared in the Arizona Fall League. Zach Braddock, Mark Rogers, Josh Butler and Omar Aguilar all check in somewhere in the low-mid 90's.
In transactions: the Padres claimed starting pitcher Radhames Liz off waivers from the Orioles.
The White Sox signed Andruw Jones to a one year deal.
Shelley Duncan elected for free agency after the Yankees outrighted him off their 40-man roster.
I'm still hoping the Brewers will sign Yorvit Torrealba, but the Blue Jays are also rumored to have interest.
Today's Faces feature over at Lookout Landing features another former Brewer: Ben Ford.
Yesterday I mentioned a few of them, but Royals Review has a look at the five dumbest NL MVP votes.
Speaking of awards: on this day in 1969, Lou Piniella won the AL Rookie of the Year. Piniella started the season as a Seattle Pilot, but was traded on April 1 for pitcher John Gelnar and OF Steve Whitaker. Gelnar posted a 3.78 ERA over three seasons as a Pilot and Brewer. Whitaker spent one season with the Piolts and was done in the majors by 1971.
On this day in 1981, Rollie Fingers became the first relief pitcher ever to win the AL MVP. Fingers picked up 15 of the 28 first place votes and edged out Rickey Henderson by 11 points.
I wasn't able to find a Brewer birthday today, so we'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Tony Brewer, who turns 52.
Oh, and if you're looking for something to do tonight, Keith Law has updated his list of the top ten board games.

Drink up.

Weekend Mug (of tea)

morineko — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:19:24 -0000

You may want to put down your owls before reading this post....

As you've probably figured out, I'm the third and final weekend editor to make a debut post here on BCB. You may know me from my many comments and parenthetical remarks. My weekend mugs are tea, preferably lychee-flavored, to keep me awake while I finish this post full o' links.

The Arizona Fall League season is over and the Peoria Javelinas are its champion. They defeated the Phoenix Dirt Dogs 5-4 on Saturday. Jonathan Lucroy went 1 for 4 with a single and run scored and Zach Braddock struck out 3 in one inning of work. Mark Rogers, who did not appear in the game, is satisfied with his AFL experiences.

Extra Bases offered its readers a challenge: create your own team of free agents. Their contest is over, but it's still a good puzzle. Better yet, try to pick what sort of team Doug Melvin would create out of the pool of free agents.

Roy Halladay doesn't want to sign with Toronto. He probably doesn't want to sign with the Brewers, either. It looks like another year of largely irrelevant Halladay madness in the media.

This weekend's (sort of) notable transactional excitement:

Diamondbacks: Add Cole Gillespie (and others) to the 40-man roster.
Pirates: Claim pitcher Chris Jakubauskas on waivers, designate Jeff Karstens for assignment. No word if Dave Kerwin is behind the move.
Reds: Laynce Nix has elected free agency.
Royals: Pitchers Doug Waechter and Devon Lowery have refused assignment and become free agents.
The non-notable 40-man additions before the deadline are over at Baseball America's Prospect Blog.

It's been a slow weekend for Brewers news. If you're not inclined towards football, you can go read a book. My baseball reading for this week was Minnesotans in Baseball, a published version of the Minnesota SABR chapter's work on the Biography Project. There's a fairly large section in there about Paul Molitor. At least in nonfiction one doesn't need to worry about characters named for airplane parts.

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. :)

Arizona Fall League Pitch F/X

Jordan M — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:00:34 -0000

The Arizona Fall League has given us an opportunity to get an extended look at three of the most interesting pitching prospects in the Brewer system. I'm just generalizing about their stuff here and not making any specific conclusions about their velocity based on one outing. I just wanted to give everyone a general idea of what these guys are throwing when we discuss them this offseason.

Zach Braddock

He's a lefty who has had a lot of injury trouble in his career so far but is loaded with potential. He threw 42 innings in the minor league season, working on a schedule by throwing short outings every third day. 13.7 K/ 1.5 BB per 9 in the regular season. With that kind of ratio it's not hard to see why he's an exciting prospect. 64 strikeouts, 7 walks. In the AFL he's thrown 10 2/3 innings with 7 Ks, 4 BBs, and 1 run allowed.

I'll look at his outing on November 6th, in which he got a save, throwing a clean inning with 1 strikeout. It took 10 pitches-- 9 fastballs and a slider. His fastball average was 93.7 with a maximum of 94.6. That's impressive velocity and consistency for a guy with this kind of command of the strike zone. He also showed very good consistency in his release point for the fastball, and only dipped down a little bit on the slider. The slider was 83 and had some pretty good break of 4.5 inches towards a righty hitter. As far as I know, he also throws a changeup-- but probably hasn't needed to use it working in relief. Throwing 94 with good command is plenty for him right now.

The Brewers will face a bit of a dilemma next year as they decide what to do with Braddock. He's probably ready to pitch in the MLB right now as a reliever, but sticking him in that role will limit his upside. If Braddock could stretch out and solidify his role as a starting pitcher down the road, we could be looking at a remarkably valuable player. There are only about 5 left-handed starters in the majors that are capable of averaging 92-93+ with the fastball, and Manny Parra is one of them. I know many people are down on Parra, but remember that Parra once was an injury-plagued lefty but had good stuff and control. He didn't make it to the majors until age 25. As exciting as it would be to have Braddock in the 2010 bullpen, the Brewers should weigh the benefits against what they could have down the road if they are patient.

Mark Rogers

We all know the story here. He's even more of an underdog than Braddock considering he didn't even throw a pitch in a minor league game in 2007 or 2008 following 75 innings back in 2006. No one really expected anything from Rogers at this point, but the velocity is still there. In 63 innings at High-A Brevard County, he put up a K/BB ratio of 8.7: 4.7. He has really struggled in the AFL, but we can still learn plenty about his stuff.

Rogers was roughed up in 27 pitches on November 13th, but it's the best sample of his stuff available. His average fastball was 93.6, and he hit 95.4. Rogers is continuing to work on a starter's repitoire, throwing 4 changeups, 8 sliders, and a curve along with 14 fastballs. The change averaged 84.2, a very nice complement to the fastball-- the approximate 9 mile per hour gap is close to ideal. The slider is also hard, at about 84, and seems to have tight break on it. The curve he threw came in at 78-- which qualifies as a pretty hard curve.

The stuff he has shown indicates that with health and time he easily has the upside of a high-quality major league starter. It's going to be a while, but he'll probably start next year with a cautious schedule in AA and the Brewers will have to see how things go from there.

Josh Butler

He was one of the fastest risers in the Brewers system this year, starting as a pitcher too old for high A. He had an interesting progression-- I was very skeptical of his promotion to AA because his A+ peripherals did not support his low ERA. But after being promoted to AA and then AAA, he was an entirely different pitcher: he had a K:BB ratio of about 5: 4 in high A and improved that to about 7: 2 in AA and AAA.

Butler described his stuff like this on his blog:

I am a power sink pitcher that works in the 88-92 mph range with my fastball for the most part. I also throw a curve, slider and change-up.

Looking at Butler's outing on October 22nd, when he faced Stephen Strasburg, it appears he undersold his fastball velocity a bit. 34 fastballs averaged 91.1 mph and he topped out at 93.4. And there's quite a lot of break on that fastball, 11 inches towards a righty on average is good stuff. He also seems to rely heavily on the curve and changeup, throwing 15 and 13 respectively to go with 3 sliders. The changes averaged 83.6, which is a little hard, and the curves were also power versions of that pitch, coming in around 79. The slider is pretty typical, about 84 without a whole lot of break.

Butler will probably get a decent look at a bullpen spot come spring but I think the Brewers will decide to start him at AAA to develop him as a starter. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him up as a replacement at some point in 2010, especially if he can post some solid numbers there. I'll be intersted to see if he keeps up the peripheral success he started to achieve at AA and AAA last season.

The Weekend Linkfest!

NoahJ — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:00:47 -0000

Some things to read while being a real man or while putting up your holiday decorations.

I would like to preface this by kind of letting everyone know what is going on. As KL posted friday, Morineko, FtJ and I will be your new weekend editors. What that means is we will be hanging around and posting a weekend news post to keep things alive on the weekends. KL asked us to "make it our own" and do what we'd like with the post. I, personally, will probably be following the same basic format as the Frosty Mugs, though I can't speak on whether the other two will be doing anything radically different. Hopefully we can get it so it is nearly as active on Saturday and Sunday as it is Monday-Friday. If there is anything you would like somewhat different, at least from me, feel free to voice whatever is on your mind.

And if you are arriving late today, be sure to check out Jordan's and Jeff's excellent-as-always posts below this one. Both posts relate to the JJ Hardy/Carlos Gomez trade, about which I have an abundance of articles, so let's get right into the bulletpoints for that:

The Bucky Channel likes the trade. However, they also think Gomez should lead off, which is probably a bad idea.
Wisconsin's Sports Tap also is a fan of the trade, and gives a pretty good look at what this means for the Brewers.
Carlos Gomez says that he'll hit in Milwaukee with a full time job
The Official Site has an article about Alcides Escobar, along with Hardy's thoughts on the player Escobar is and will be.
Casa De Machado says their good-bye to JJ and also thinks that Corey Hart will be traded with Jody Gerut taking over in right field.
Milwaukee's Own Brew Crew Fans likes the trade and likens Carlos Gomez to another player with what seems to be a similar skillset, Michael Bourn
Miller Park Drunk has a big roundup of what various places are saying about the trade.

Tom H also sees the Bourn comparison. I have also seen/heard comparisons to Jose Reyes in various places as well.

There are other links, but there is nothing really to differ them from the rest. Most people either like the trade or are at least OK with it. I only saw a couple places where the author hated the trade.

In other news, it sounds like Mark Mulder will probably be a Brewer sooner than later. We;ve been hearing that for a while, but I haven't heard of any displeasure about the Brewers taking that risk. As long as there is no big guaranteed contract, I don't really know how you could be upset with that.

Baseball Daily Digest has a very good article up about new Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson, his time in Oakland, and his work with their "big three". It's definitely worth a read.

The Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars game was yesterday, and the only Brewer, Mark Rogers, didn't get a chance to pitch in the game. Here is the gameday with the boxscore.

Roguejim has a fanpost about pertinent off season dates. Circling the Bases has an even more complete list full of offseason dates.

Circling the Bases also says that the Phillies will be in the market for a third basemen to replace Pedro Feliz. Would they have any pitching the Brewers could get for McGehee or Gamel?

Several different sites have been ranking the New York Yankees World Series winners. I will link to the Hardball Times version because they have links to several others if you are interested.

Other than all that, I just have a few quick, interesting links:

If you don't like ESPN, Brewed Sports gives you another reason to dislike the World Leader.

BizofBaseball makes the case against implementing a salary cap in baseball.

In Cuba, there was a case where the Umpires using instant replay might still have led to the wrong decision.

And I don't know what the holiday was, but the city of New York had some sort of parade. Something to do with the Yankees I think? I don't know, Jay-Z was there, so I am guessing it must have been important.

That's about it. Unless of course you want to sign Seth McClung up for some anger management classes.

AFL Rising Stars Game Rosters

raygu — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:15:11 -0000

The 2009 AFL Rising Stars game rosters are listed below for those of you who get the chance to see some of the best prospects in MLB in one game tonight at 8:15 on the MLB Network. Unfortunately, the Nationals pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg will not be making the start in this one with a "sore neck". What timing. But you will get the chance to see Buster Posey, Starlin Castro, Josh Vitters, Domonic Brown and Tanner Scheppers among others.


2009 AFL Rising Stars rosters
East Division						West Division

Position players

POS.	PLAYER	TEAM	ORG	POS.	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	ORG
C	Hank Conger	Mesa	LAA	C	Jason Castro	Saguaros	HOU
C	Buster Posey	Scottsdale	SF	C	Lucas May	Javelinas	LAD
IF	Brandon Allen	Scottsdale	ARI	IF	Yonder Alonso	Saguaros	CIN
IF	Josh Bell	Phoenix	BAL	IF	Zack Cozart	Saguaros	CIN
IF	Starlin Castro	Mesa	CHC	IF	Ike Davis	Surprise	NYM
IF	Chase d'Arnaud	Scottsdale	PIT	IF	Daniel Descalso	Surprise	STL
IF	Matt Dominguez	Mesa	FLA	IF	Carlos Rivero	Saguaros	CLE
IF	Brandon Snyder	Phoenix	BAL	IF	Mike Moustakas	Surprise	KC
IF	Josh Vitters*	Mesa	CHC	IF	Lance Zawadzki	Saguaros	SD
IF	Jemile Weeks	Phoenix	OAK	OF	Dustin Ackley	Javelinas	SEA
OF	Domonic Brown	Scottsdale	PHI	OF	Jordan Danks	Javelinas	CWS
OF	Grant Desme	Phoenix	OAK	OF	Chris Heisey	Saguaros	CIN
OF	Bryan Petersen	Mesa	FLA	OF	Daryl Jones	Javelinas	STL
OF	Jose Tabata	Scottsdale	PIT	OF	Casper Wells	Javelinas	DET
OF	Rene Tosoni	Mesa	MIN
Pitchers

POS.	PLAYER	TEAM	ORG	POS.	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	ORG
RHP	Andrew Cashner*	Mesa	CHC	RHP	Phillippe Aumont	Javelinas	SEA
RHP	Brandon Erbe*	Phoenix	BAL	LHP	Michael Dunn	Surprise	NYY
RHP	Reidier Gonzalez	Phoenix	TOR	RHP	Josh Fields	Javelinas	SEA
RHP	Matt Gorgen	Phoenix	TB	RHP	Javy Guerra	Javelinas	LAD
RHP	Andrew Johnston	Scottsdale	COL	RHP	Danny Gutierrez	Surprise	TEX
RHP	Tommy Mendoza	Mesa	LAA	RHP	Craig Kimbrel	Saguaros	ATL
LHP	Danny Moskos	Scottsdale	PIT	RHP	Mike Leake	Saguaros	CIN
RHP	Toru Murata	Scottsdale	N/A	LHP	Mike Minor	Saguaros	ATL
LHP	Blake Parker	Mesa	CHC	LHP	Andrew Oliver	Javelinas	DET
LHP	Matt Reynolds	Scottsdale	COL	RHP	Mark Rogers	Javelinas	MIL
LHP	Dustin Richardson	Mesa	BOS	RHP	Tanner Scheppers	Surprise	TEX
RHP	Drew Storen	Phoenix	WAS
RHP	Stephen Strasburg*	Phoenix	WAS

Thursday's Frosty Maas

YearofRottino — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:15:14 -0000

Wookie of the Year.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while tanning.

Tyler Maas here, filling in for Snow. You might (but almost certainly don't) recognize me from such sites as Right Field Bleachers, Bugs & Cranks, The Daily Drink and A.V. Club Milwaukee. I also write as "T. Mario" on Doctors of Za, my newly-launched Wisconsin-based pizza review site. If it makes Trenni laugh out loud, it probably at least warrants a look from you.

I hate doing/am terrible at link dumps, but BCB's fearful leader is a great guy, so hopefully I do him proud and give you all something worth reading. Away we go.

Against all odds, the underdog Yankees won the 2009 World Series - their 27th. What is their secret?

Hideki Matsui won World Series MVP.

"I got Matsui."
- Paul Rudd in Knocked Up

Brewers

Miller Park Drunk is my favorite Brewers blog. It doesn't always write about the Brewers, but it's hilarious and has balls.

We Brewer fans are lucky to have a writer Adam McCalvy. He's hard at work even when there's nothing to write about.

Yikes. Not touching this one.

Some math thing about Warren Spahn that I didn't read. Not a Brewer, but a former Milwaukee player.

Minor Leagues

As many Crew fans hoped when he was drafted, Mark Rogers is an All-Star (in the Arizona Fall League's "Rising Stars Showcase"). Who's the bust now, world?

Oddly, Rogers isn't pitching like an All-Star.

As noted in a FanShot Wednesday, Don Money will return as Nashville's manager. Rich Gale will join him in Nashville as the Sounds' new pitching coach.

NL Central

Richard Justice has thinks he knows how to run the Astros.

Does six years at $96M sound about right for Matt Holliday? Can't beat that playoff defense.

The Cards released Brad Thompson.

Albert Pujols is stepping up to help the family of (former Brewer) Mike Coolbaugh.

Other

Could the M's be in on Ben Sheets?

TBS admits Chip Caray 'made some errors' in the booth this postseason. I guessed I missed it. The again with the teams competing in the 2009 postseason, I often opted to watch re-runs of Law & Order: SVU instead of big-budget, predictable baseball.

Big League roots run tall (about 3' 7'') in the Gaedele family.

Some sports costumes. I'm loving number 12.

Derek Jeter now has A BRIDGE! To contrast, the coolest thing that's ever happened to me was making Trenni Kusnierek LOL by writing about pizza. And being the guest editor of BCB, of course.

Sorry.

Keep reading, and for those of you with disposable income, buy a unique shirt from the all but dead Right Field Bleachers. We have like 200 left.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:23:45 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Braden Looper reacts after giving up a home run to Justin Upton on Saturday, May 2. Looper is one of several below-replacement level players who spent significant time as a Brewer this season.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while establishing an acceptable salutation.

In the weeks following the 2009 season we've spent a fair amount of time discussing what went wrong, but this graph at Beyond the Box Score probably sums it up better than any other: The Brewers were the fourth worst team in all of baseball at keeping below-replacement level players off the field, losing 5.4 wins.

Looking forward, the Brewers have unveiled their spring training schedule (FanShot). Mark your calendar now: the first game will start at 1 pm Arizona time on Thursday, March 4. I've got roughly four months to figure out if Arizona time in March is one hour or two hours behind Central time.

Could Felipe Lopez have a tough time finding a home this offseason? Jorge Says No! has a look at the developing market for second basemen, and doesn't see many teams with money to spend.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee may not be the first choice for Wisconsin native Jarrod Washburn, who told a reporter he'd like to return to Seattle. Hopefully the front office won't overspend to convince him otherwise.

View From Bernie's Chalet is holding out hope for the return of Ben Sheets, and proposes a one year deal with an option for a second. I still think Sheets is going to disappoint someone next spring by reporting to camp out of shape and nowhere near ready to compete after a year off. If he can prove he's ready to pitch, I'd be willing to take him back...but I'm not sure how one can do that in a non-WBC season.

I'm operating under the assumption he'll be back until told otherwise, but Miller Park Drunk seems relatively confident that Mike Cameron is already gone, and has a look at Jody Gerut as a possible 2010 replacement. He presents three possible outcomes: Gerut is good, bad, or injured.

Jonathan Lucroy is tearing up the AFL, hitting .385/.407/.615 through his first seven games, but that wasn't enough to earn him a spot in the Rising Stars Showcase, which will be televised on MLB Network this Saturday. In fact, the only Brewer prospect on the roster will be Mark Rogers, who's posted a 12.27 ERA in 7.2 AFL innings. Zach Braddock was also snubbed, despite allowing just one earned run in 8.2 innings and picking up two saves.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Minor League Ball needs your help selecting a Community Top Five prospects for the Brewers. In the early going, guys like Cody Scarpetta, Jake Odorizzi and Eric Arnett, who all have high ceilings but are very far from the big leagues, are getting a lot of attention, while guys like Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy are not.
Project Prospect ranked Mat Gamel as baseball's sixth best third base prospect.
Rattler Radio has a look at some of the holiday specials the Timber Rattlers are working on, if you're looking for something to get that special someone in Appleton...or me.

I don't have any transactions to report today, so we'll jump straight into other notes: This might be one of the creepier things I've seen in a while, but superstition would suggest it now needs to happen for World Series Games 6 and 7: Todd Zolecki has a photo of The Harry Kalas Cake that was in the press box before last night's game. Kalas, a long time Phillies broadcaster, passed away earlier this season.

I haven't spent much time discussing the Cubs' sale because it moves at an excruciatingly slow pace and is covered well enough elsewhere, but I thought this milestone was worth noting: With the sale finalized, investor Laura Ricketts is Major League Baseball's first openly gay owner.

I link to Beyond the Box Score a lot, as you've probably noticed, as it's quickly developed into one of the premier places for stat-based baseball conversation and research. A lot of the credit for that development belongs to Sky Kalkman, who announced yesterday that he's moving on. If you've enjoyed Sky's work at BtB as much as I have, stop by sometime today to say thank you.

On this day in 1981, Rollie Fingers was awarded the AL Cy Young and a year later, Pete Vuckovich was awarded the 1982 version.

I was unable to find a Brewer birthday today (Fatter than Joey will probably point one out in the comments), so we'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who turns 91.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: I'm leaving on vacation in a few hours, and will be gone until Sunday. Fear not, though, I've left the site in capable hands with the moderators you all know and love and an All Star cast of Guest Muggers while I'm gone, and I've got some posts scheduled to appear during my absence, as well. All told, you probably won't notice I'm gone...or may wish I'd stay away. Either way, I'll be back on Monday morning.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:39:55 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Curry - AP

Trevor Hoffman delivers a pitch during the ninth inning Sunday, in what won't be his final Brewer appearance after all.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while staking your claim.

If the Brewers keep up this pace, they'll have all of their offseason work done by Thanksgiving: One day into the offseason, the Brewers have one problem solved, as Trevor Hoffman signed a one year deal worth $8 million with a team option for 2011 (FanShot). Tom H. is reporting that both the option year and potential buyout contain escalators tied to games finished in 2010.

Here's some reaction around the web:

Evan Brunell of The Hardball Times thinks it was a logical move.
Jorge Says No! thinks the Brewers overspent and could have better used the money on other priorities.
Rob Neyer notes that Hoffman's BABIP has been very low over the course of his career, but that's also true of many other premier closers.
Dave Allen of FanGraphs notes that Hoffman has a lot of "rise" on his fastball, which leads to more infield flies and a lower BABIP.

While Trevor Hoffman was signing his new deal, the list of Brewers awaiting surgery continued to grow. On top of Casey McGehee (knee), Craig Counsell (knee) and Braden Looper (knee), it was announced yesterday that Manny Parra will have arthroscopic surgery to "clean up" the AC joint and "remove some friction" in his shoulder (FanShot). The issue didn't prevent Parra from making his final starts of the 2009 season, but that doesn't keep me from wondering if it should have.

Meanwhile, there was good news on the medical front for Corey Hart, who met with a hand specialist and received confirmation that his injured fingers were sprained, not fractured. He should be fine in a month's time.

BBWAA ballots for postseason awards are due in on the final day of the regular season (which, as it turns out, is now today), but it will still be several weeks before we find out where Prince Fielder stands in the race for NL MVP. Walkoff Walk compared Fielder's 2009 season to some of the best years at the plate in Brewer history, and ranked him third on their NL MVP ballot. Meanwhile, Quevedo at the Buffet makes a passionate case against trading Fielder this offseason.

Speaking of awards, Yovani Gallardo finished second in the balloting for NL Comeback Player of the Year, far behind Chris Carpenter.

With Trevor Hoffman back in the fold, the Brewers have one less opportunity to get compensation picks for free agents this offseason, but they still could cash in: The latest Elias rankings are out, and they have Felipe Lopez as a Type A free agent, along with Jason Kendall, Mike Cameron, Braden Looper and David Weathers as Type Bs. Kendall did not receive any bonus points for leading the majors in beer plunks.

MLB Trade Rumors also has a list of players who could be non-tendered this offseason, and Dave Bush, Seth McClung and Jody Gerut are on the list. The three of them would likely command around $8 million in arbitration for next season.

Seth McClung doesn't sound very optimistic about the possibility of coming back in 2010, but BCB has started a Facebook petition in an effort to convince the Brewers to bring him back. As of this morning, it had already climbed over 20 members. Let's push that number a little higher today.

Attendance at Miller Park was down about 1% this season, but that's better news than you'd think: According to the chart at that link, 19 major league teams saw a larger decline in attendance this season, with eleven teams losing more than 10% and four teams losing over 20%.

Alcides Escobar can probably be penciled in as the Opening Day starter at short for the 2010 Brewers, but does he have a brighter future than Washington's Ian Desmond? FakeTeams has the argument for both sides, and a poll.

In the minors:

BaseballHQ has scouting reports for the Arizona Fall League, and ranks Mark Rogers and Rob Wooten as the second and third best pitchers on the Peoria Javelinas. AFL play opens one week from today.
Jonathan Mayo is working on a formula to determine the minor league pitcher of the year, and Evan Anundsen checked in at #8 on his list. He posted a 2.69 ERA and struck out 118 in 130.1 innings in Brevard County this season.

As I just mentioned, the AFL starts soon with other winter leagues soon to follow, but if those aren't enough for you the Wisconsin Sports Tap has an offseason survival guide. Hopefully we'll start the countdown to spring training soon, but the report date for pitchers and catchers has yet to be determined.

Need a mental warmup this morning? It took me 30 seconds to name the seven ways a batter can safely reach first base. I got the hard ones first and spent 20 seconds with a brain cramp before remembering an obvious one.

Is anyone out there a member of SABR? After reading Wezen-ball's pitch this morning (and noting SABR's discounted membership for anyone under 30) I decided to give it a shot for a year.

How much does defense impact a mediocre pitcher? Fungoes uses Jeff Suppan as a teaching tool to answer that question. If you're making a list of proper uses for Suppan, "teaching tool" and "batting practice" should both appear above "starting pitcher."

And, from one bad contract to another: Dugout Central chronicles the life and times of Bill Hall.

Happy birthday today to Jerry Stephenson, who appeared in two games for the Seattle Pilots and turns 66, and Valerio de los Santos, who appeared in 183 games as a Brewer and turns 37.

Drink up.