SB Nation - Ryan Rohlinger

San Francisco Giants Top 20 Prospects for 2010

John Sickels — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:20:41 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

3 months ago: San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey gets his first major league hit against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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San Francisco Giants Top 20 Prospects for 2010

All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. Don't get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get beyond the Top 10. Grade C+/C guys are pretty interchangeable depending on what you want to emphasize. Complete reports on these and over 1,000 other players are available in the 2010 Baseball Prospect Book. Pre-order now for February 2nd shipping!

1) Buster Posey, C, Grade A: No-brainer. All he needs is playing time.

2) Madison Bumgarner, LHP, Grade A-: Almost went with B+, but strikeout rates aren't everything. More concerned about dropping velocity. May still go with B+ eventually.

3) Thomas Neal, OF, Grade B: Solid all-around hitter, saw him in Arizona Fall League and he convinced me bat is for real.

4) Zack Wheeler, RHP, Grade B: I'm hesitant to give a grade this high to any high school pitcher without a pro track record, but I really like Wheeler.

5) Roger Kieschnick, OF, Grade B-: Love the power and he's not just a one-dimensional slugger, but the high strikeout rate and low walk rate is concerning. How will he transition to Double-A?

6) Tommy Joseph, C, Grade B-: Have to see where he fits defensively but scouting reports about the bat are very positive.

7) Dan Runzler, LHP, Grade B-: Very impressive relief arm, if he throws enough strikes.

8) Waldis Joaquin, RHP, Grade B-: Another impressive relief arm, if he throws enough strikes.

9) Jason Stoffel, RHP, Grade B-: Another impressive relief arm, could be a bargain as a fourth rounder.

10) Francisco Peguero, OF, Grade B-: Difficult to grade, speed and high batting average are positives, but walk rate is way too low. Borderline C+.

11) Rafael Rodriguez, OF, Grade C+: Held his own in rookie ball though power isn't there yet. Very very young, loads of potential but have to see how it pans out. Difficult to grade, you can make a case for B- as well as a straight C.

12) Jose Casilla, RHP, Grade C+: Another lively relief arm.

12) Nick Noonan, 2B, Grade C+: Numbers haven't lived up to scouting reports but still young. Giants hype him but I'm not sure at all that he will live up to it.

13) Aaron King, LHP, Grade C+: Live-armed lefty needs better command.

14) Henry Sosa, RHP, Grade C+: Can he stay healthy? Maybe a switch to relief would help.

15) Darren Ford, OF, Grade C+: Not convinced he'll hit at higher levels. Borderline Grade C.

16) Clayton Tanner, LHP, Grade C+: For some reason I like him a lot. Another borderline Grade C guy, need to see if game will work against better hitters.

17) Ehire Adrianza, SS, Grade C: Scouts love him. Great glove. I'm not convinced he'll hit, but I could be convinced to give him a Grade C+ and move him up the list. Anyone want to convince me?

18) Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Grade C: He showed outstanding plate discipline but nothing else. I think he still has a chance to be a good hitter.

19) Brandon Crawford, SS, Grade C: Excellent glove. I do not believe in his bat. Baseball America ranks Adrianza and Crawford much higher than I do.

20) Edwin Concepcion, RHP, Grade C: Interesting power arm at the lower levels with strikeouts/grounders combination.

OTHERS (all Grade C): Brandon Belt, 1B; Brock Bond, 2B; Jorge Buchardo, RHP, Craig Clark, LHP; Chris Dominguez, 3B; Matt Downs, INF-OF: Steve Edlefsen, RHP: Matt Graham, RHP; Julio Izturis, 2B; Mike McBryde, OF; Kyle Nicholson, RHP; Dan Otero, RHP; Joe Paterson, LHP: Brett Pill, 1B; Ryan Rohlinger, 3B: Ari Ronick, LHP; Hector Sanchez, C; Ben Snyder, LHP; Eric Surkamp, LHP; Ydwin Villegas, SS; Craig Westcott, RHP.

The Giants have one can't-miss prospect in Buster Posey, but after that things thin out. Bumgarner is something of an enigma for well-known reasons, and I keep going back and forth between A- and B+ for him. Neal looks very solid to me, while Wheeler is very promising but unproven professionally. The B- guys all have some impressive positives but enough uncertainty to preclude a higher grade at this point: Kieschnick's strikeouts, command for the pitchers, position and lack of experience for Joseph, Peguero's low walk rate. Same thing for the C+ guys only more so.

Baseball America's list which came out today ranks Adrianza 8^th and Crawford 9^th. This reflects the fact that the organization loves them, something that BA weights more heavily in their rankings than I do in mine. I like their gloves but have serious doubts about their bats, especially Crawford's. I've seen him play and I think he looks like a weak hitter. I could be persuaded to boost Adrianza's grade but I just don't believe in Crawford's bat and he's staying a C.

Overall this system has pitching depth, with a mixture of power and finesse arms. They could use more hitting depth beyond Posey and Neal. Joseph provides hope in that department if he is as polished a high school hitter as reports indicate.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:07:20 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Casey McGehee, seen here being congratulated by Felipe Lopez after hitting a home run in July, was the National League Rookie of the Month for September.

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Some things to read while learning a new skill.

It's a light news day, so the biggest story is probably the unveiling of 2010 ticket prices, which I'm having a hard time getting developing an opinion about either way. Prices are going up slightly, but not enough to really get upset about. (FanShot)

That might have been the most lackluster opening paragraph in a Mug all year. Maybe I need to check into Casa de Machado's starting lineup from yesterday.

Casey McGehee was named NL Rookie of the Month for September, a pretty fitting cap on a surprising season for a guy who quickly became a great story (FanShot).

Speaking of rookies, Alcides Escobar will technically still count as a rookie next season, as he narrowly avoided the 130 AB cutoff. Mat Gamel, on the other hand, spent more than the maximum 45 days on a major league roster this season, so he's not eligible.

Speaking of Escobar, Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio received the latest copy of Baseball America and noted that Escobar was the first team shortstop on their all levels all star team this season. Brett Lawrie was also the second team second baseman, and Eric Farris and Evan Anundsen made the all Advanced-A team.

Speaking of shortstops, Adam Guttridge of The Hardball Times took a first look at attempts to project J.J. Hardy's performance for next season, and thinks the team that eventually acquires him from the Brewers is going to get a great deal.

With the regular season officially over, it's time for Plunk Everyone to look back at the season that was. Jason Kendall, Dave Bush, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Felipe Lopez all make an appearance in their NL awards.

Fielder and Braun also show up on this somewhat more prestigious list: The top ten batters in the majors, ranked by OPS+. Fielder finished third, behind Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer, and Braun finished tied with Ben Zobrist for tenth place.

These probably don't go together, but I'm lumping them together anyway as "Power Rankings and whatnot:"

WhatifSports ranked the Brewers #16 in their final power rankings of 2009.
The Dugout Doctors ranked Bernie Brewer as baseball's fifth best mascot.

There are three hot stove notes today that pertain to the Brewers in one way or another:

The Brewers can almost certainly be considered the early favorite to sign Doug Davis, especially considering he's not expected to return to the D-Backs.
The Padres may be looking to sign a center fielder this offseason, and Mike Cameron's name has come up.
The Astros exercised their half of a mutual option on pitcher Brian Moehler. If Moehler accepts (and it's pretty likely he will), he'll make $3.5 million next season. He'll be 38 before spring training and posted a 5.47 ERA in 154.2 innings this season. Don't be surprised if this is mentioned as justification for bringing back Braden Looper: If Moehler, who is older, posted a higher ERA and pitched fewer innings than Looper, is actually worth $3.5 million, then $6.5 million for Looper can be spun as a decent deal.

Elsewhere on the hot stove:

White Sox: Exercised 2010 options on pitchers Freddy Garcia and Matt Thornton.

There was only one major league game yesterday, but it was a classic. If you missed it, you can relive it through the FanGraphs Win Expectancy Graph. Coming into the weekend, I didn't really have a strong rooting interest in the Twins-Tigers race, aside from a slight inclination to see the Twins win so we'd keep getting baseball analysis from Aaron Gleeman's mom.

With that said, the Tigers (and Major League Baseball's) handling of the Miguel Cabrera situation made me a whole-hearted Twins fan for the day yesterday. After the game, Cabrera seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, but that doesn't change the fact that he shouldn't have been allowed to play. Furthermore, Jim Leyland's decision to brush off questions about a domestic assault investigation by calling it "gossip" is absolutely deplorable.

On a lighter note, yesterday's game did give us a preview of the upcoming TBS playoff coverage, and the early reviews aren't very good. I've probably seen a dozen or more complaints about Chip Caray this morning, but he was only the second worst part of yesterday's broadcast to me, behind the incessant airing of the same commercial for George Lopez's new show. By the end of the divisional round, even Frank Caliendo is going to be sick of it.

It's a rough week for anyone who works in the front office of a baseball team, as firing season has clearly opened. Paul DePodesta, the Padres' Assistant GM who's been fired as a GM once himself, has an inside view of what it's like to work in a business where friends can come and go so quickly.

Need a mental warmup today? Try naming the career home run leaders by last initial. (Hint: There are two former Brewers.) I got 13, but also got frustrated and gave up with over four minutes left.

Once your brain is warmed up, turn it on to this task: The Eastern League team formerly known as the Connecticut Defenders is moving to Richmond, and they need a new name. Their existing options universally suck, so CNBC's Darren Rovell is asking for your help to generate some new ones.

Happy birthday today to Tim Unroe, who appeared in 48 games as a Brewer between 1995 and 1997 and turns 39 today, and to West Bend native Ryan Rohlinger, who turns 26.

Drink up.

Kuroda Dazzles in Rout of the Giants

Brendan Scolari — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 07:42:48 -0000

by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

3 months ago: Los Angeles Dodgers' Casey Blake, right, is greeted at the plate by James Loney after Blake's two-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain during the sixth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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The Dodgers beat the Giants 10-3 on Friday in a true team effort. Hiroki Kuroda got the win, pitching 8 innings of 3 hit ball, while allowing 2 runs on 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. Kuroda only threw 86 pitches in the outing, and retired 19 consecutive batters strecthing from the second inning to the eighth inning.

Kuroda gave up his first run in the second inning, allowing a single by Bengie Molina and a double by Juan Uribe. Molina scored on a groundout by Nate Schierholtz that started his conseective out run. The only other run he allowed was in the eighth inning when John Bowker tripled on a fly ball to "Triples Alley" and then scored on a Ryan Rohlinger groundout. Kuroda came out after the eigth inning and was replaced by Ramon Troncoso, who allowed one run before finishing the game. After the game Kuroda said:

"I would like to finish as strong as I did last year. We're in first place and Colorado is really close, and my thought is to pitch my game and contribute to the team so we can win a championship and the World Series. I've gone through a lot, the DL twice, I got hit in the head for the first time in 13 years of professional baseball. I'd like to finish really strong."

But it definitely wasn't all Kuroda, the offense was clicking as well. The Dodgers scored the first two runs of the game in the first inning when James Loney cashed in two Dodger singles on a double to right center. But no more runs came across until the sixth inning, when Casey Blake (in his first game back after sitting out the previous five) smacked a two-run homerun to left field, putting the Dodgers up 4-1. The game was broken open in the seventh when the Dodgers tacked on five more runs. Four straight batters reached base to start the inning, and following a sacrifice fly by Loney, a single by Blake, and a double by Russell Martin the Dodgers were up 9-1. The offense capped it off with another run in the eigth inning when Matt Kemp hit a double to score Juan Pierre and give th Dodgers 10 runs on the night.

On offense six of the eight starting position players reached base muliple times, with only Rafael Furcal and Ronnie Belliard reaching once. Ethier, Kemp, and Blake all scored twice and Blake and Loney each had three RBI's.

Here's the win probability chart for the game:

via www.fangraphs.com

The win kept the Dodgers 2 games ahead of the surging Rockies (currently on an eight game winning streak) and left the Giants 7.5 games back in the NL West. The Dodgers are currently tied with the Cardinals for the best record in the National League and 2.5 games ahead of the Phillies. Tommorow Vicente Padilla (10-6, 4.63) takes on Jonathan Sanchez (6-11, 4.03) at 6:05 PM.

WP - Hiroki Kuroda (6-6): 8 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts

LP - Matt Cain (13-5): 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:16:07 -0000

Some things to read while adjusting your optimism.

You're probably going to hear a fair amount of complaining about scheduling today, as the Brewers and Giants wait around to become the last two teams to open their 2009 schedules. Tom H. certainly wants the Brewers to play today.

The Brewer opener was pushed to tomorrow to give the Giants a day off between their last exhibition contest yesterday and their opener. Most teams schedule a day off for the middle of their opening series in case of weather, but the Giants are flying without that safety net, and it may become important because it's supposed to rain tomorrow. This week's series is the Brewers' only scheduled visit to San Francisco in 2009, meaning the game will either have to be played in poor conditions tomorrow or the Brewers and Giants will face a doubleheader in their first series of the year.

Weather could be an issue in other places as well. Today's White Sox/Royals game in Chicago has already been postponed, and there's talk of weather-related delays in Boston, St. Louis and Cincinnati.

When the Brewers finally do take the field, it will be 20 minutes later than previously expected. The Giants have pushed back the start time to allow for Opening Day festivities. Heaven forbid they'd start those before everyone is in their seats on a rainy day.

So, barring inclement weather, Jason Kendall will start his second season as the Brewers' catcher tomorrow. The second of how many, you ask? Well, Kendall says he'd like to play six seasons in Milwaukee, which would keep him in a Brewer uniform through his fortieth birthday and give him a good shot at being baseball's all time leader in games played at catcher.

When the Brewers finally do take the field, it will be without Trevor Hoffman, who will need more than 15 days to get ready to pitch in regular season games. He'll play catch today and take it from there. Murray Chass featured Hoffman in his look at closers in new places.

David Riske, however, will be there despite a dismal spring. Tom H. reports the Brewers have no plan to try to move Riske or hide him on the DL, but likely will not use him in important situations.

Alcides Escobar is getting a lot of attention as spring training comes to an end. Peter Gammons listed Escobar as one of the most impressive young players this spring and Prospects Paradise lists him as having the second best glove in the minors. A couple of other minor notes:

Beyond the Box Score says Caleb Gindl was 17 runs above average in the outfield last season.
They also rank Taylor Green as exactly average at Mat Gamel at two runs below average at third base.

I'm sure this will sound familiar to anyone who's been following the team for more than a few days, but Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated thinks Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart could have breakout years in 2009.

Are these more relevant than the other projections? It's hard to say.

None of the 20 experts at ESPN picked the Brewers to make the playoffs. They also have the Crew 14th in their power rankings.
Of the eight at The Journal Sentinel, none picked the Brewers to win the Central and only Tom H. picked them to win the Wild Card. The eight predictions average out at 84.6 wins for the Crew.
26 predictors at The Hardball Times were unanimous in picking the Cubs to win the Central. The Brewers finished third.
Ken Rosenthal has the Brewers finishing fourth.

Please hold for the deluge of other predictions, projections and rankings:

Fielder's Choice has the Brewers in fourth.
The Tennessee Journalist has the Brewers in fourth.
Texas Rangers Trades has the Crew in fourth too.
Baseball & The Boogie Down has the Brewers winning 88 games and finishing in second.
We Will...Never Learn has the Brewers, and every other team in the Central, beating the Pirates.
Hear the Hurd has the Brewers in second.
Below the Beltway has the Brewers in third.
The View From The Dugout thinks the Brewers will win 85-90 and make a run at the Wild Card.
Bleed Cubbie Blue is picking the Brewers to finish second.
Happiness for Blessing projects the Brewers for 80 wins and a fourth place finish.
Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal ranked the Brewers 20th in his preseason power rankings.
By My Count has the Brewers fourth in the Central.
Patrick Sullivan of The Baseball Analysts thinks the Brewers will win more than 81.5 games.
One of the eleven contributors at Baseball Digest Daily picked the Brewers to win the division. The consensus pick was third, and no one had them below fourth.
Chicago White Sox Examiner picked the Brewers to finish fourth.
Jordan Bastian has the Brewers finishing fourth.
Talking Chop has the Brewers finishing third.
Viva El Birdos thinks the Brewers will end up in the middle of the division.
Phil Rogers' Power Rankings have the Brewers 16th, 15th among actual baseball teams.
View From The Bleachers has the Brewers third in the Central.
The Diamond Cutter also has the Brewers third.
Bill Chuck has the Brewers winning 90 games and finishing second.
Walk Like A Sabermetrician picked the Brewers to finish third.
Sully Baseball thinks the Brewers will slide back to mediocrity and trade Prince Fielder. He also predicts Ned Yost will take over mid-season as manager of the Blue Jays.
David Brown and Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew pick the Brewers second and third in the Central, respectively.
Backseat Fan is picking the Cardinals to win the Central and the Brewers to finish third.
Brewed Sports has the Brewers winning the Central.
The Grand National Championships has the Brewers finishing second behind the Cardinals.
The Bucky Channel has the Brewers finishing second.
BC Sports has the Brewers finishing third.

Ok, I'm going to stop there. There were at least a dozen more, probably more, but I think we've seen enough. My apologies if I missed yours. Think you can out-predict these guys? Then you should enter Red Reporter's prediction contest and Beyond The Box Score's 32 predictions. You also have until the end of the day today to get your picks in for The Brew Crew Ball Over/Under contest.

So what happens if the Brewers do underperform in 2009? Between the Green Pillars explores the possibilities of a fire sale, but even if the desire to sell off assets arises, there may not be many buyers out there.

Sounds like Cory Provus is quickly settling into what might be America's greatest job: spending the summer seated next to Bob Uecker. The JS takes a look at their developing partnership.

If given the opportunity to sum up why you're a Brewer fan in one paragraph, could you do it? As part of a project for The National Review, Michael E. Hartmann gave it a shot.

Elsewhere around baseball:

Cubs: Released Chad Gaudin.
Mariners: Placed Ichiro Suzuki on the DL with a bleeding ulcer.
Mets: Signed Gary Sheffield to a one year deal.
Rangers: Released Casey Daigle, perhaps best known for being Jennie Finch's husband. They also released Adam Melhuse.
Reds: Jonny Gomes will not make the Opening Roster and is undecided on reporting to AAA.
Rockies: Acquired Jason Hammel from the Rays for minor league pitcher Aneury Rodriguez.
White Sox: The team has postponed its home opener against the Royals due to snow. They've also become Jimmy Gobble's third team this spring.

I'm not sure how this impacts one's ability to continue to own an MLB franchise, but it can't be good: Rangers owner Tom Hicks has defaulted on over $500 million in debt. If you'd like to own the Rangers, get your checkbook ready.

Even after 100 years, some may never learn: Goat Riders of the Apocalypse has a poll asking Cub fans how many games the team will win in 2009, and not a single voter has gone below 90.

On the other side, someone is finally starting to poke holes in the notion that the Reds are going to make a sudden surge. Surprisingly, that someone is Reds beat writer Hal McCoy.

Maybe they need more sweet potatoes? Jason Giambi swears by them.

Sometimes I wonder if newspaper profiles are sparked by the discovery that someone else in the office doesn't know something: A few weeks after Tom H. followed a mention of Giants prospect Ryan Rohlinger with the phrase "whoever he is," Dave Boehler has a profile of the West Bend native.

I have four links left, and three of them are FanGraphs:

They're trying out Twitter Feeds to keep you updated on your favorite team's Win Expectancy during games.
They're also looking at the merits of the Rays' decision to platoon former Brewers Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler.
And they're sharing my opinion on the ethics of service time manipulation.

Oh, and you're never too old to play with Micro Machines.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:05:11 -0000

Some things to read while everyone else is writing about the same thing.

I banged my head on my desk a few times this morning after reading this post from Tom H. which acknowledges the possibility that Mike Lamb and Tony Gwynn Jr. could start the season on the roster while Casey McGehee (who still has an option) and Chris Duffy (in camp on a minor league deal) are sent to AAA.

I get the premise: Stockpiling talent is a good thing, throwing it away is to be avoided if possible. But neither Lamb nor Gwynn are exceptional talents. Gwynn was below average in AAA each of the last two seasons and Lamb has been little more than a below average corner infielder for years now. Keeping them on the roster in place of players who could perform the same duties with a higher upside is like walking past a dollar on the sidewalk because your pockets are already full of pennies.

Meanwhile, Trot Nixon is playing his way out of camp and the Brewers have let him know he may not have a job in AAA either. (Also noted in FanShot) Nixon has played in 20 games this spring, hitting .105/.227/.211 in 38 at bats.

Speaking of players who aren't showing much this spring, if Trevor Hoffman isn't ready to start the regular season, David Riske will not be his replacement. Seth McClung is the pick over at View From Bernie's Chalet. He thinks the Brewers should take this opportunity to see if McClung can close next season, when Hoffman will likely be gone.

Regardless of how McClung starts the season, at least he knows he'll get to play somewhat regularly. Tom H. has a profile of Mike Rivera, who discusses what it was like to sit on the bench for weeks on end, including the Brewers' last 34 games in 2008.

I'm sure some Brewer fans wish Jeff Suppan would sit for weeks on end, too, but they're bound to be disappointed. With the announcement that Braden Looper will start on Thursday, Ken Macha implied that Jeff Suppan will be on the mound when the Brewers open the regular season on April 7. (Also noted in FanShot) Keeping Suppan in the #1 spot would mean the Brewers will pitch Suppan, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra against the Giants, then Looper, Dave Bush and Suppan again against the Cubs.

Yovani Gallardo didn't have a great day on the mound yesterday, allowing six runs in five innings, but there is one encouraging note to pass along: Gallardo was scheduled for 90 pitches yesterday but threw 98, meaning he's pretty close to being fully stretched out.

On previews, rankings and projections:

Batter's Box Interactive has twelve questions about the NL Central, and wants to know what to expect from Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall and Jeff Suppan. Don't we all?
David Chalk of Bugs & Cranks has a Brewers/Rays comparison that likely isn't actually worth your time.
The Scores Report predicts the Brewers will finish third.
MLB Outsider ranks Ryan Braun as MLB's third best left fielder.

Jeremy Jeffress throws 100 mph and has quickly climbed the ladder to Huntsville in the Brewer farm system. He's also been suspended for smoking marijuana and has never thrown 100 innings in a season. As a result, it's probably no surprise that Jeffress is included in Dugout Central's list of hyped pitching prospects likely to fail.

Another day, another economics story: The Brewers have now filed three lawsuits in five days against businesses and suiteholders who owe them payments for the 2009 season.

In other camps:

Astros: Cecil Cooper thinks the Astros can win 90 games this season.
Dodgers: Shawn Estes will remain with the team and work to make the transition to the bullpen.
Giants: Returned West Bend native and Brewer killer Ryan Rohlinger to minor league camp.
Marlins: Cleared the final hurdle yesterday in securing financing for their new stadium, and could break ground yet this summer.
Padres: Signed Shawn Hill to a minor league deal.
Rays: Returned Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez to the White Sox. Also, B.J. Upton is unlikely to be ready to start the regular season after taking a pitch off his hand in a minor league game.
Reds: Released Daryle Ward and Aaron Fultz.

It's good news and bad news with Nate McLouth this spring. As The Book Blog notes, he appears to understand the sabermetrics of base stealing, but is completely lost on fielding metrics.

Can one get The Book on tape? If so, Alfonso Soriano and all of his neighbors could listen to it on his ridiculous car stereo.

Denard Span will have to settle for a smaller stereo after paying his fine for sloppy pants-wearing.

As we've mentioned previously, Corey Koskie retired this week, ending his attempted return from post concussion syndrome. Minor League Ball takes a look at his unlikely career.

Finally, despite the fact that he was 42 years old, hadn't pitched in over a year and was unsigned for 2009, it was big news yesterday when Curt Schilling announced his retirement. The news was so big, in fact, that ESPN didn't even have time to make sure they weren't showing a picture of Jose Canseco instead.

Drink up.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:11:11 -0000

Some things to read while having that dream again.

Coming off an outing yesterday that saw him give up two home runs in an inning and a third, Carlos Villanueva has been called out by management and needs to have a couple of good outings yet this spring to secure his role as Trevor Hoffman's primary set-up man. PocketDoppler thought the timing was a little odd, but isn't reading too much into it.

While the first home run off of Villanueva (hit by Ryan Rohlinger) was inside-the-park, it bounced off a 35 foot high wall 435 feet from home plate, so odds are it would have been a home run in most parks. The second one actually cleared the same fence, which hadn't been done in over a dozen years. Jesus Guzman, who hit the shot, says he'd never hit a ball that far in his life.

Meanwhile, the Brewers made a roster move for the third straight day, claiming reliever Wes Littleton off waivers from the Red Sox and designating Eduardo Morlan for assignment to make room on the roster. (h/t FanShot) The Brewers have until Thursday to work out a deal to keep Morlan or offer him back to Tampa for $25,000, and while the Rays are taking their time to think it over, I can't imagine them deciding to let the Brewers keep a young, talented prospect without getting anything in return.

By the end of spring, the Brewers' trainers will be experts in treating torso injuries: Trevor Hoffman is the latest Brewer to miss time with an oblique strain. (Also noted in FanShot) It's not expected to be serious, and team officials aren't concerned about it affecting Hoffman's preparations for the season. The injury did, however, give Hoffman more time to talk to Scott Miller of CBS Sports about his new home and taking one bite out of entire plates of donuts.

Yes, if you're scoring at home, we've now established that Trevor Hoffman eats two things: donuts and worms.

The outbreak of ribcage injuries in Brewer camp has led Big League Stew to wonder if the McRib should compete in the 2009 Sausage Race.

Finally, Angel Salome is now sidelined indefinitely with back spasms after being removed from Saturday's game. One would have to assume the Brewers will take it slow with his rehab this time, seeing as it's the second occurence.

Visual evidence from yesterday's game:

This photo of Ken Macha must have been taken early in the game, because I doubt he was laughing afterwards.
Another day, another awkward celebration photo: this time it's Alcides Escobar and Trot Nixon.
Nixon was, however, just a few inches away from a great leaping catch in right field.

Trot Nixon has come around a bit in the last week or so of camp, but it might be too little too late to replace Brad Nelson on the roster. Nelson's bat has cooled a bit this week, but he and Chris Duffy are still the most likely candidates to open the season in the two vacant backup outfielder spots.

In the only season preview I have today, Full Count Pitch thinks the Brewers' pitching deficiencies are likely too large to overcome, but projects them to win 80-85 games and finish just out of the playoffs.

Despite that, though, the Brewers are one of the finalists for Sports Business Journal's Professional Sports Team of the Year. The winner will be announced on May 28.

Meanwhile, in other camps:

Astros: Aaron Boone is leaving the team to have heart surgery and may be forced to retire.
A's: Released Rob Bowen.
Padres: Reliever Chris Britton has been informed he won't make the team, and may report to minor league camp or become a free agent.
Phillies: Tests showed no structural damage in Cole Hamels' elbow, but he's still a long shot to be ready for Opening Day.
Rangers: Andruw Jones is unlikely to make the team coming out of spring training and could opt out of his deal as soon as Friday.
Royals: Signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal.

Ryan Braun didn't play in the WBC last night, but he will remain with the team following Team USA's walkoff victory, advancing to the semifinals. I'm torn on this: obviously I like seeing Team USA succeed, but I also would have liked to have Braun back in Arizona with the rest of the team.

Corey Koskie made his spring debut for the Cubs yeterday and doubled in his first at bat. It's good to see him complete his recovery.

Teams are always searching far and wide to find the next generation of players, but where will major league baseball find the next generation of umpires? The Padres have an idea, and they're sponsoring a camp for Marines interested in learning the job. I hadn't thought about it before, but the quote in the link is dead-on: Marines are uniquely qualified.

Oh, and former Brewers Rick Helling and Mike Myers are working for the Players Association now.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:12:31 -0000

Some things to read while enjoying the off day.

Over the weekend there were a couple of posts on Manny Parra, with The Junkball Blues arguing Parra should throw his fastball more, and Jordan making the case he should not. On the field yesterday, Manny Parra was lights-out, allowing just one hit in four innings of work while striking out three. Turns out he's throwing his changeup more, something he learned from CC Sabathia.

Perhaps Eduardo Morlan needs to throw a changeup too. Morlan blew the save yesterday, giving up a double, single and home run to the three batters he faced and negating Casey McGehee's go-ahead home run in the top of the 9th.

That three run, walk off home run was hit by Ryan Rohlinger, and demonstrated Tom H.'s incredible ability to put his foot in his mouth. Tom's initial post-game post mentioned a home run by "Ryan Rohlinger, whoever he is." As it turns out, Rohlinger grew up in West Bend, less than 40 miles from Milwaukee. Here's more on Rohlinger from after the game.

Off the field, two pitchers have been sent down to minor league camp: Joe Bateman and Cody Scarpetta. Being the first guy sent down has to be a serious blow to Bateman's hopes of pitching in the majors this season: One could assume he'll likely have half a dozen or more pitchers in line ahead of him should the need arise.

Adam McCalvy has updates on all the Brewer injuries. Braden Looper is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow, Mike Rivera has been cleared to take batting practice, Angel Salome was the bullpen catcher yesterday, Mat Gamel is almost ready to start taking infield practice and Tony Gwynn is pain free but waiting for direction.

Meanwhile, Omar Aguilar is happy to be out of the trainer's room. The Journal Sentinel has a profile of Aguilar and details on his long battle with elbow issues and recovery from Tommy John surgery. Aguilar is still a long shot to make the team, but will likely be in Milwaukee eventually.

It looked like Mark DiFelice and Vinny Rottino might return to Brewer camp today, but it'll be at least a few more days instead, as the Italian team eliminated Brett Lawrie and Team Canada yesterday in WBC play. Italy plays Venezuela again today, with the winner advancing to the second round. Dixieflatline has a look at the pitches (or pitch, really) DiFelice threw in Italy's first game, when he shut out Venezuela for four innings.

We likely won't see Carlos Villanueva in Cactus League action for a few days, but for a different reason. Villanueva is throwing bullpen sessions so he can throw more pitches in a controlled environment. He'll likely go two innings in his next game appearance.

Crawfish Boxes has moved on to second base in their position-by-position ranking of the NL Central. They rate Rickie Weeks second among NL second baseman, which will be encouraging news to some and a sign of a weak position division-wide for others.

The less optimistic among us may think Weeks is more qualified for this job: The Brewers are hiring Ticket Sales Interns for the 2009 season. They're also giving away tickets to one lucky designated driver.

In other camps:

A's: Eric Chavez has been shut down again due to shoulder issues. Bobby Crosby has begun working out at third base.
Mets: Angel Pagan faces surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow.

So what are the odds Rich Harden pitches a complete season in 2009? Whatever they were, they're getting lower: Matthew Berry of ESPN doesn't go into specifics, but seems to imply he knows something we don't about Rich Harden's health, and projects him for less than 22.5 starts this season.

Sure, we'd all love to say it to some of the esteemed journalists covering the Brewers, but outgoing Padres owner John Moores probably didn't make history's greatest PR move when he responded to San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan's questions about Trevor Hoffman with the following email:

"You are an idiot. Please do not write me again."

Classy.

Speaking of classy things, other managers may have more wins and championships than Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, but do they know a professional Elvis impersonator? Probably not.

Here's the coolest graph I've seen in a while: Beyond the Box Score has a chart of expected run values based on pitch location to right-handed batters. Go take a look.

Major League Baseball is expecting a lot fewer people to come through the turnstiles in 2009, perhaps as much as a 17-20% decrease. I know we don't know when the recession will end, but barring total economic collapse that number seems high, especially with two new ballparks opening in New York.

Oh, and if you have a leather jacket, Giants OF Fred Lewis may need to borrow it.

Drink up.

Rockies 9, Giants 7: Rockies hang on for second win

Poseidon's Fist — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:39:53 -0000

Franklin Morales makes case for rotation spot

Clint Hurdle gave 8 innings to two fifth starter hopefuls Saturday. Franklin Morales (1-1) started and pitched four shutout innings for the win, lowering his spring ERA from 9.00 to 5.00. He even collected a single off Giants starter Matt Cain. Jason Hirsh did not fare as well, as the Colorado Rockies (2-7) hung on to beat the San Francisco Giants (4-7) by a score of 9-7 in Scottsdale.

The Rockies piled on 24-year-old Ronnie Ray (0-1) in the fourth inning, accumulating four hits, two walks and five runs.

Box Score

Hurdle's Heroes:

Franklin Morales: 4 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 3 hits. 1-2, 1B. Morales used his curveball extensively Saturday, often with great success, although Travis Ishikawa roped two singles off of two poorly located benders. With the struggles of Hirsh, Josh Fogg, Greg Reynolds and Greg Smith, Morales is in the lead for the fifth spot in the rotation. Morales threw 52 pitches, 42 for strikes in his four full innings. Morales was also facing the Giants major league lineup, except for OF Fred Lewis.

Clint Barmes went 4-for-4, falling a home run shy of the cycle. His four hits and four RBIs led the offensive charge as he rose his spring average to .467.

Clint Barmes

#12 / Second Base / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-0

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 06, 1979

Hurdle's Hobos:

Jason Hirsh continues to disappoint in his quest to regain his form and spot in the rotation. Hirsh was slotted to pitch four innings Saturday, but he was so ineffective through 69 pitches, Hurdle removed him with one out remaining. Hirsh gave up 6 ER on 7 hits in 3.2 IP with just one strikeout and three walks. He pitched two scoreless innings but allowed two-out hit in both.

Steven Register relieved Hirsh in the ninth inning and was charged with the responsibility of stopping the bleeding. Instead, he promptly gave up a 3-run home run to Ryan Rohlinger. The Rockies led by eight at one time but when Register retired Buster Posey to end the game, the tying run was on-deck.

Notes

The Rockies scored nine runs on nine hits and three walks in three innings against Ray, Pat Misch and Henry Sosa. None of those three figure be a big contributor to the Giants this season. The other three who pitched - Cain, Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry - certainly do. The Rockies managed only four hits, one walk and no runs in those six innings.

Rowbot Roll Call: Wolf Marauder, Tom (RFTN), Mondogarage, The Lodo Magic Man, Rockie4Ever, muzia02, rockhead, mkorpal, RdRnnr, Rox Girl, smokinrox, Jester76

Wrap Rating

Melted chocolate bar. Even though Hirshy melted down, the end result is still sweet, although it maintains some bitterness and is less satisfying than it should have been.

via farm1.static.flickr.com