SB Nation - Mark Sweeney

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:18:55 -0000

by Jim Prisching - AP

Craig Counsell is expected to re-sign today.

Some things to read while John Tesh rocks the NBA on NBC theme (h/t Amy K. Nelson).

Randy Wolf is expected to undergo a physical this morning and once he does, expect his contract to become official sometime later today. That might not be today's only announcement, though: the Brewers are also expected to finalize a deal with Craig Counsell today. With Counsell, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel and Casey McGehee all on the roster, the Brewers' Opening Day infield is probably set, barring injury or trade.

Meanwhile, Mike Rivera is surprised to be looking for work after being non-tendered over the weekend. He thought the decision not to retain Jason Kendall would give him an edge as the only returning catcher familiar with the Brewer pitching staff.

As of this writing, roughly 4% of voters in the poll on your right listed the decision to offer Dave bush a 2010 contract as the one Brewer move from this weekend they would change. That's not exactly a large chunk of the fanbase, but In-Between Hops is taking on that vocal minority, making the case that the Brewers made the right move by giving Bush another shot.

If you missed Morineko's Weekend Mug, follow the link over to it for full coverage of the Brewers' arbitration decisions, and a link to this list of all the non-tenders leaguewide.

Looking back at last week, Jon Heyman ranked the Brewers among the Winter Meeting winners. Meanwhile, Marc Hulet of The Baseball Analysts listed Rule 5 selection Chuck Lofgren in the "Why Bother?" category.

The more I think about it, the more I think Lofgren will have a tough task ahead of him if he's going to make the team out of spring training. With Trevor Hoffman, LaTroy Hawkins, Todd Coffey, Claudio Vargas and Mitch Stetter back, there's only two bullpen spots left that are potentially available (barring injury), and Chris Smith, John Axford, Chris Narveson, Zach Braddock and now Lofgren fighting for them. I like Lofgren's potential and hope the Brewers will get an opportunity to realize it, but right now he might be the third or fourth best lefty in the bullpen competition.

If you have a vague interest in Brewer baseball, but wish there was less analysis and more profanity on this site, then Miller Park Drunk's RUNNING series might be just the ticket for you. Follow these links for bad Prince Fielder jokes, some fan fiction involving Ryan Braun trying to rap, and a vague musical reference to Rickie Weeks.

In the minors: Baseball Intellect has video footage of some at bats featuring Cameron Garfield, Cutter Dykstra and Josh Prince from a Pioneer League game back in July. They're pay-only, but there are worse ways to spend $2.95.

If you were gone this weekend, you didn't miss the opportunity to help select a center fielder and catcher for the BCB All Decade Team. Voting closes at 4 pm today for center fielders and 4 pm tomorrow for catchers. We'll open the voting for the final starting outfield spot later today.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Signed catcher John Buck to a one-year deal worth $2 million, signed Joey Gathright to a minor league deal,
Braves: Signed Matt Diaz to a one year, $2.55 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
D-Backs: Re-signed infielder Augie Ojeda to a one year deal, and avoided arbitration with Blaine Boyer.
Dodgers: Signed pitcher Josh Towers to a minor league deal.
Giants: Signed shortstop-turned-pitcher Tony Pena Jr. to a minor league deal.
Indians: Re-signed pitchers Adam Miller and Anthony Reyes to minor league deals.
Marlins: Signed catcher Ronny Paulino to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Nationals: Re-signed Scott Olsen to a one year deal. Also signed pitcher Ryan Speier to a minor league deal.
Padres: Signed pitcher Kevin Correia to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Pirates: Signed Ronny Cedeno to a one year, $1.125 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
Rangers: Signed infielder Esteban German to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Rays: Avoided arbitration with catcher Dioner Navarro and pitchers Grant Balfour, Rafael Soriano, Lance Cormier and Randy Choate.
Royals: Avoided arbitration with pitchers Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies. They also signed pitcher Bruce Chen and catcher Vance Wilson to minor league deals.
White Sox: Signed J.J. Putz to a one year deal.

Meanwhile, the market heated up immediately for Yankees non-tender Chien-Ming Wang, with Ken Rosenthal reporting that six teams have already expressed interest. He doesn't list the teams, but I wouldn't be surprised to discover the Brewers are one of them.

I promise, I'm not going to mention it every time someone says something new about Jason Kendall. In fact, I might try to go the rest of the week without mentioning him at all. With that said, I thought these three links about him were interesting:

Joe Posnanski has a look at the potential Opening Day lineup for the 2010 Royals, now including Kendall.
He also compares Kendall to a superball on the field at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Reminding us all how far and how fast Kendall has fallen, Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? named Kendall the Pirate Catcher of the Decade.

Weeks ago I linked to a post from minor league veteran Garrett Broshuis, mentioning the challenges in finding quality, healthy food in minor league clubhouses. It looks like that problem may be on its way to being resolved: After discussing it at the Winter Meetings, several teams are making an effort to provide healthier options, and remove the constant flow of junk.

If you're a fan of sabermetrics, or just want to learn more about them, I've got two links for you today:

TangoTiger has a look at OPS+, and some minor adjustments that could be made to it to make it more useful than some other advanced metrics.
That post links to this one, Big League Stew's beginner's guide to wOBA. I learned a fair amount by reading that one.

Gorman Thomas celebrated a birthday over the weekend, and while this probably isn't what he had in mind for a gift, David Chalk of Seventh Inning 'Stache has inducted him into the MLB Mustache Hall of Fame.

On this day in 1998, the Brewers acquired Alex Ochoa from the Twins for a minor leaguer named Darrell Nicholas. Ochoa spent one season as a Brewer, hitting .300/.404/.466 before being traded to the Reds for Mark Sweeney after the season.

Happy birthday today to:

Former Seattle Pilot and 1970 Brewer Greg Goossen, who turns 64.
Dave Nilsson, who appeared in 837 games as a Brewer and turns 40.
Marcus Jensen, who appeared in 18 games over two tours as a Brewer and turns 37.

Sean Forman, founder of Baseball Reference, is also celebrating his birthday today. You can help him celebrate by sponsoring a page. I know someone around here will want this one.

Drink up.

Frustrations and Celebrations

Phil Gurnee — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:48:43 -0000

Time for a quick fluff piece while we wait for the winter meetings. The Dodgers have had substantial success over the last two seasons but that success was mitigated by failure to advance past the NLCS. Normally we at TBLA are a positive group but this November I'm feeling disgruntled about our future. So for every irritation I have with the team I'll try to counter with a positive.

Irriations	Celebrations
James Loney going backward instead of forward. After his 2007 we had every reason to believe that Loney was going to be an impact player, instead over the last two years his offensive production has him ranked with the bottom feeders as this position.	He is a kick ass post season player, fun guy to root for, still has one more year to turn it around before he's gets to expensive for his production.
Our All-Star 2nd baseman not getting the time of day from the great communicator to explain why he sat most of Sept and the complete post-season.	Trading for Ronny Belliard who inexplicably has been one of my favorite players to watch over the last few years, and then have him kick Kensai ass with a spectacular Sept performance.
Rafy Furcal playing just about every game and making Juan Pierre look like a great lead off hitter.	At least he was healthy and played somewhat good defense.
Ivan DeJesus breaking his leg.	The Beard putting up his best complete season of his career at age 35
Russel Martin turning into the bad Jason Kendall just 1 1/2 years after I picked him as a possible MVP in 2008. Now he's going to be expensive, his offense blows, and as ~~Tripon~~ Seanny Rotten noted in a fanshot, by some metrics his defense also blows. This is a particular irritation for me because one of the Dodgers huge advantages had been the big boost from the catching position. Without that advantage, it will be harder as the competition gets better and cheaper at the position while we get worse and expensive.	Other then fact he's young and might turn it around I got nothing good to say about Martin other then his middle name.
Manny's deffered contract is going to be a pain in the ass for several years unless the owner increases payroll to make up for it.	At least we should still have an above average LF for one more year, and Manny is always fun to watch.
Juan Pierre is still on the team, not because he can't be a decent players but because his salary is such an anchor on a team with what appears to be a very limited ability to spend money. My particular irritation is not with Pierre but with those who point to his time when he filled in for Manny and talk about how great he was. He was great, but it was for one month and they seem to incredibly forget he played two months and his suckitude in the 2nd month seems to have been completely forgotten.	Beast Mode in May was one of the highlights of 2009.
Deferred contracts in general - I hate them.
After several years of TBLA telling everyone how good Billingsley is, he decides to become a five inning pitcher and sometimes not even that. You won't see any comparisons this year to Chad and the best of the historical Dodger pitchers 25 years and younger.	All-Star Chad was quite a pitcher for the first few months of the year.
That Charlie Haeger didn't get more of a chance.	Padilla took Lima time and doubled down.
That Scott Elbert didn't get one start this year.
That McDonald totally blew during his brief stint in the rotation possibly poisoning management from giving other kids a shot.	Coming back into the bullpen and showing he still has big league stuff.
That Broxton didn't erase the ghost of Matt Stairs.	What a regular season.Other then the stretch with the bad toe that was one of the best non enhanced steroid relief seasons in Dodger history.
Matt Kemp's 2nd half performance	Matt Kemps complete season performance. He is already one of the best CF in the game. Please keep improving, you are a big reason to watch the Dodgers right now.
Kuo's fragile arm	Kuo's incredible arm
That Carlos Santana is not a Dodger
That Josh Bell is not a Dodger
That Tony Abreu is not a Dodger
That other then Matt Kemp, and the younger version of the current Dodger catcher, Logan White has not provided the Dodgers with an impact bat during he reign.	The plethora of pitchers that Logan White has provided for the Dodgers during his reign.
Jamie and Frank McCourt	Josh Rawitch
The Divorce
Ned Colletti	Ned Colleti
Drunken bad behavior Dodger Fans	Drunken fun as hell Dodger fans
Rick Monday	Vin Scully
Bil Plaschke	Jon Weisman & Eric Stephen
Lambo's 2009 mediocre season	Chris Withrow's excellent season
The fact that because Frank couldn't bite the bullet we will be paying Andruw Jones for years
Mark Loretta taking the Mark Sweeney route to retirement	one at bat in the post season goes a long way toward forgiveness.
Manny's 50 game suspension still irks the hell out of me	The future with Kershaw, Billingsley, Broxton, Andre, and Kemp.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:46:19 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Keith Law says the Brewers spent too much on Trevor Hoffman.

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Some things to read while the tables are turned.

View From Bernie's Chalet has the transcript of a recent chat with Keith Law over at ESPN where he touched on several Brewer-related topics, but the most notable was probably Trevor Hoffman. He thinks the Brewers made a mistake bringing Hoffman back at the price they're paying, and that it will handicap their efforts to improve the team elsewhere.

Admittedly, $8 million is a lot to pay a reliever, but it's possible there's a perception benefit from having an elite closer. When the Brewers announced the Hoffman signing, Doug Melvin suggested free agent pitchers may be more likely to sign with a club with an established closer. I have no idea if it's true, but I suppose it's possible. And if Hoffman pitches a full, effective season as a Brewer and notches his 600th save, it's possible he'll pay for himself in publicity and marketing.

Elsewhere on the pitching front, rumors continue to swirl around the possibility that the Brewers could have interest in Mark Mulder. Mulder probably can't be depended upon for significant innings, but bringing a pitcher of his caliber into the fold on a cheap deal to see what he can do is almost always a good idea.

Mulder, of course, pitched under Rick Peterson in Oakland. Mets Merized recently conducted an interview with Peterson, and has audio clips of some of Peterson's thoughts on developing prospects and pitch counts. (h/t Rob Neyer)

Although unlikely, it's still possible Peterson could spend 2010 helping Ben Sheets return to form. Sheets, who had his high school number retired this weekend, is throwing off flat ground and expects to pitch in the majors next season. Jorge Says No! wonders what he'll get on the open market.

If Jeff Suppan was on the market this offseason, he likely wouldn't command much at all. Suppan was the winner of Brew City Sports' Hendy Award, which will look great on his mantle next to a photocopy of the $12.5 million paycheck he'll take home next season.

Hopefully this will be the only career parallel between Suppan and Ryan Braun: Braun is opening a restaurant in Lake Geneva. Braun is also giving away autographed baseballs to the first 100 fans to spend at least $150 on Remetee clothing at Solis in Las Vegas. If you stop by in January, there might still be some left.

We won't know the actual results until sometime after the World Series, but Baseball Digest Daily had Prince Fielder third in their balloting for NL MVP, and Braun fifth.

The JS has a note on Jonathan Lucroy's early performance in the AFL, which has been pretty impressive. He's only racked up 19 at bats, though, so it's probably a little early to get too excited. Tom H. also mentions "poor starts" from both Lorenzo Cain and Taylor Green. Both are hitting under .250 but have OBPs of .364 and .400, respectively (in 50 combined ABs). We have more on all three prospects and the rest of the Brewer winter leaguers in today's Fall/Winter League Update.

Around baseball:

Cubs: Removed utilityman Bobby Scales from their 40-man roster.
Indians: Hired Manny Acta as their new manager.
Mets: Removed catcher Robinson Cancel, shortstops Wilson Valdez and Argenis Reyes and pitcher Carlos Muniz from their 40-man roster.
Padres: Are expected to name former Red Sox Assistant GM Jed Hoyer as their new GM.

After two searches and interviews involving over a dozen candidates, the Indians and Astros both settled on Acta as the best candidate to manage their teams next season. The Indians, however, were willing to offer a three-year deal with an option for a fourth, and the Astros were only willing to offer two years. Houston is reportedly considering Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills and former Astros and Brewers manager Phil Garner.

So, the World Series matchup is set. I guess I'll be rooting for the Phillies out of sheer anti-Yankee bias and some form of vague NL pride. Rob Neyer notes that it'd be nice if the games started earlier, so they won't drag on past midnight, but that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, the new Yankee Stadium didn't even make it through its first season without some structural concerns: cracks in pedestrian ramps have already started to appear. The concrete was poured by a local firm that had previously been banned from doing city work because of suspected ties to organized crime.

The ALCS wasn't actually decided until late last night, but apparently the result was already known, as MLB.com started selling AL Champion Yankees gear well before the final out was recorded. This has drawn a lot of backlash but maybe we're looking at it the wrong way: Maybe MLB should start selling World Series gear for every team in Spring Training.

The Florida Winter Baseball League opens play this week with teams in four cities, composed mainly of low-level minor leaguers. I haven't checked the rosters for Brewers yet, but a successful, competitive winter league based in Florida could be a huge development for American minor leaguers who want to play winter ball but either don't speak Spanish or simply don't want to spend the winter in Latin America.

If you'd like to read more about life in the Arizona Fall League but your attention span is really short, then you're the perfect candidate to follow Scottsdale Scorpions Clubhouse Manager Chad Chiffin on Twitter.

While some minor leaguers head off to winter ball, one major leaguer will spend the offseason in Washington: Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf is spending the offseason on an internship with the Department of Agriculture.

Last week I mentioned the continuing debate on John Lannan, who has posted effective ERAs for two seasons without many of the peripheral stats one would expect from a successful pitcher. Nick Steiner of The Hardball Times has Part 2 of his look at Lannan, looking primarily at pitch sequencing. Steiner concludes that luck is the most likely option.

I'm going to be late for Gorman's vet appointment if I don't wrap this up asap, so here's what I have left:

Minor leaguer Shawn Haviland on the importance of throwing two of the first three pitches for strikes.
Recondite Baseball on hitters who hit .300 but had short careers anyway.

Happy birthday today to Rafael Novoa, who pitched 56 innings for the 1993 Brewers and turns 42 today, and to Mark Sweeney, who appeared in 119 games for the 2000-2001 Brewers and turns 40.

Also, a posthumous happy birthday to Gus Polidor, who would have turned 48 today.

That's all I've got for you today, unless you want to see a Jose Valentin autograph or win one from Miguel Tejada.

And if you'd like to win something autographed by Seth McClung, don't forget to enter the Bring Back Seth McClung contest.

Drink up.

Well, I didn't see that one coming. Mo blows save with 2 outs, Yanks lost 3-2.

CrazyYankeeChick — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:21:06 -0000

"^%$ Ichiro."

That was the text I woke up to this morning.

And then I remembered what happened last night.

I hate Ichiro.

I don't know what's worse, when we spend the hours/days leading up to a game completely preoccupied with our pitcher, and then he confirms our fears...or when he surprises us all and then we stomach punched by the least likely source.

It's splitting hairs and either way, it's a nightmare.

The Yankees had their first game of their road trip last night and went up against one of the best pitchers in the league, pitting him up against one of our most troubled. The angle-du-jour was "What's up with AJ? No, seriously. WHAT IS GOING ON?" And everyone's making their own theories. Jose Mollina likes to stick with "tired." Others go with "sucks in the playoffs." Both are a little too easy and convenient.

AJ was neither of these things last night, letting up 7 hits, eating 7 innings, and striking out 6 with pitches that elegantely grazed every corner of the plate. I was impressed. I don't expect that kind of graceful control from him. It's like the difference between Jigsaw and Patrick Bateman. Both are deranged lunatics. But one a little more insidiously sinister and one a little more aggressively psychotic.

The Yankee bats weren't exactly on fire, per se. But they weren't asleep either. They hit better than any other team would have done against King Felix Hernandez, and that should have been enough for the win. While I'm not gonna throw a parade for runs scored on 2 sac flies from Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, I'm also not disappointed in it, if 2 runs is still more than 1 run.

It is, however, ~~disappointing~~ THE PITS to watch the greatest closer of all time strike out the first 2 batters in the 9th (after a 1-2-3 from Phil Hughes in the 8th) and then put a runner on in the form of Mark Sweeney. Then throw the exact same fastball to Cinco-Uno (apparently Ichiro's too cool to have last name on jersey like everyone else), who promptly goes yard for the walk off. I guess no one gave the Mariners the memo that the Yankees have the market cornered on walk offs.

I'm starting to feeling Boston-like animosity towards Cinco-Uno. At baseline, I hate the fact Japanese players won't learn English, and I especially hate how Cinco-Uno doesn't sit on any pitches. It's annoying. I think I'd think this even if he was on my own team.

Johnny Damon hit two doubles and a single in first 3 ABs, because he's really good at knocking around historically filthy pitchers. The rest of the team--not bad, but not great. 1-for-4's for most. Not Molina though, because he's in some kind of bet with himself to see how long he can go without making any ~~significant~~ remote contribution to the team. One more game. One more game.

Brian Bruney wears #99 now. Because his number was the problem. Not his penchant for hemorrhaging baserunners. His number. I hate players who bypass the "being good' aspect of their job descriptions and beeline directly to irreverant and quirky.

Today's another day. I don't want to sound like the boy who cried "must-win," but the next handful of games for us are very close to "must-win-at-the-risk-of-whipping-fans-up-into-frenzy" situations. Let's go, Yanks. Round Boy (17-7, 3.42) goes up against Doug Fister (2-2, 3.53). (Ok, HE has a legitimate case for putting his first name on jersey.)

So close last night. Now just Michael Kay is up and put a bow on it tonight.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Right Field)

Jabberwocky — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:05:06 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

Hawpe is the poster child for the value of defensive metrics.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at the right field position.

Once again, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database (not Fangraphs) to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fabulous Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of how WAR is calculated.

Right Field, according to Tom Tango's positional adjustment scale, is given a rank of -7.5, equal to that of a left fielder. While right field requires a stronger, more accurate arm, more balls on average are hit to the left fielder. In either case, most MLB clubs rely on corner outfielders for offensive production, deemphasizing their defensive contributions--though indications are that the traditional view is changing.

Right fielders are expected to not only to catch fly balls but also are especially expected to deny baserunners advancing to an extra base. Particularly desired traits for right fielders are arm strength and accuracy (as they are farthest from third base) as well as instincts (depth perception and tracking skills).

As this applies to the Rockies, right fielders in Coors have a smaller area to cover in the outfield relative to left and center field, making arm strength and accuracy more important than range.

Only three players have played in right field for over 100 games in Colorado's franchise history (Larry Walker, Brad Hawpe, and Dante Bichette--who was included as a left-fielder), rendering this position group fairly shallow in quantity, much like first base. Also like first base, one player shines well above the competition. However, there is still some room for surprises on the list.

Right Fielders

Note: most if not all of these players played multiple outfield positions with the Rockies. I have placed these players in this category subjectively on the basis of where I believe they provided the greatest impact to the Rockies. In case of an average rank tie, career WAR is the tiebreaker.

1. Larry Walker

Career WAR: 44.1 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 18.3, 1997-1999 (1st)
Top Season: 9.0, 1997 (1st)
Average Rank: 1

Walker is far and away the greatest Rockies outfielder ever. He was signed before the 1995 season, just in time for Coors Field to open and the formation of the Blake Street Bombers. Walker remained with the Rockies until midway through the 2004 season, when Colorado essentially traded him for salary relief (which was then used to sign Dexter Fowler). While with the Rockies, Walker made four All-Star games, won five Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and the 1997 NL MVP award.

His MVP campaign in 1997 was his best year with the Rockies (the best season by a Rockie, period). Walker was unconscious, hitting .366/.452/.720/.494 with 49 HRs, 130 RBI, 33 SB, and 409 TB! That's flat out amazing as a hitter (59 BRAA), but it gets better--according to Smith's metrics Walker was an asset on the bases (7 Bsr), avoiding hitting into double plays (2 GIDP), in the field (5 TZ), and with his outfield arm (5 OFarm). In all, he was worth 9.0 WAR in 1997.

That was Larry Walker--the total package as a baseball player, as well as a class clown.

The argument isn't that Walker wasn't great. It's obvious that he was. No, the question is if Walker is the greatest Rockie ever (Todd Helton obviously being his main competition)? I looked at Helton's career a few weeks back.

Let's look at Walker's Rockies career (average is per Rockies PA):

Year	wOBA	WAR
1995	.418	3.5
1996	.393	1.4
1997	.494	9
1998	.461	4.9
1999	.486	4.4
2000	.392	1.8
2001	.461	7.4
2002	.431	5.9
2003	.388	3.8
2004	.432	2.0
PA Adj.	.442	.009197

What does this mean? On a per PA basis during his Rockies career Walker was worth about 0.1 Runs Above Replacement. In other words, Walker was good for one WAR per every 109 PA--stunning production. If extrapolated over a 600 PA season, Walker averaged about 5.52 WAR as a Rockie. On this measure and by PA wOBA he bests Todd Helton (.421 wOBA and .007573 WAR/PA--4.54/600 PA season), but as they say, health is a skill.

While Helton has accumulated (through 2008, a period of 12 seasons) 7117 PAs, Walker got only 4795 PAs as a Rockie over ten seasons. This was due to Larry having minor (and major) injuries nearly every season he was with the Rockies (he only had 600 PAs in two of his ten Colorado seasons). It's the old counting stat vs. rate stat argument. Which is more important, longevity or per PA production?

According to my methodology, Helton's grades out higher in career WAR (53.9-44.1) and 3 year WAR (21.9-18.3) while Walker leads in one season WAR (9.0-8.8).

As such, I'll call this one for Todd Helton as the greatest Rockies position player ever. If Walker had stayed healthy, he would probably top this list (as his superior rate stats show).

Considering his Montreal and St. Louis seasons, Walker's total career WAR was 67.1, putting him squarely in Hall of Fame consideration. In fact, his MVP award and sustained excellence gives Walker arguably a stronger argument than Helton for the Hall of Fame.

2. Brad Hawpe

Career WAR: 2.0 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 4.4, 2005-2007 (2nd)
Top Season: 2.7, 2007 (2nd)
Average Rank: 2.33

Brad Hawpe was an eleventh round selection out of LSU in the 2000 draft. The converted first baseman moved quickly through the system, making his debut in 2004. Since 2005, Hawpe has been the team's primary right fielder, meaning that he has the second most games played in right field in franchise history (665 and counting).

Surprised to see Hawpe with only 2.0 career WAR? This is especially surprising given that Hawpe produced 4.4 WAR between 2005-2007. Unfortunately, both 2004 (-0.7) and 2008 (-1.7) were awful years for Brad. Why is this? A historically bad year in the field in 2008, the worst that I've seen in this study (closest was Dante Bichette's 1999, in which he had a TZ of -31).

In 2008 Hawpe had a nice year at the plate (.283/.381/.498/.379), worth 14 BRAA, but his TZ was -36 and he wielded a -7 OFarm! In 2007, Hawpe had enjoyed a TZ of 2 and in 2006 his strong outfield arm was worth 8 runs, but both of these trends turned ugly in 2008. His defense this year has been better than last year, but by no means does it approach league average, while his hitting is about at last year's level.

The 30 year-old Hawpe is likely in his prime years, meaning that his offensive and defensive numbers will only decline from here on out. Given this fact, his $7.5 million price tag next year (with a $10 million club option for 2011), and the glut of talented young outfielders the Rockies possess, it is probably time for the Rockies to move Hawpe for whatever they can get for him in the offseason. His bat simply is counteracted by his bad defense (he's got 45 career BRAA and a -53 career TZ). And yes, I've been advocating this for a while now.

3. Jeffrey Hammonds

Career WAR: 2.4 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 2.4, 2000 (3rd)
Top Season: 2.4, 2000 (3rd)
Average Rank: 2.67

I have fond memories of Jeffrey Hammonds (he was very useful to my first ever fantasy baseball team), who was acquired in the Dante Bichette trade following the 1999 season. Despite having the unenviable task of following the popular Bichette, Hammonds succeeded in filling in for an injured Larry Walker and in all three outfield positions. The 29 year old Hammonds hit 20 HRs and had 106 RBIs while batting .335/.395/.529/.395 while providing neutral fielding value and was selected to the All-Star game. It was by far the best year in Hammonds' career, after which the Rockies let the Brewers overpay for his services.

4. Jeromy Burnitz

Career WAR: 1.3 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.3, 2004 (4th)
Top Season: 1.3, 2004 (1st)
Average Rank: 4

Jeromy Burnitz, like Jeffrey Hammonds, was a one year mercenary for the Rockies that produced great results in place of Larry Walker (in this case due to him being traded). The burly 35 year old free agency acquisition (scrap heap department) actually played a decent amount of center field too, but the majority of his time was in right. Burnitz mashed 37 HRs with 110 RBIs as a Rockie while hitting .283/.356/.559/.380 that was mitigated somewhat by his TZ of -7 in the field. The end result was a slightly below league average season.

Unfortunately for Burnitz, he had priced himself too high for the Rockies (plus, Gen R needed to be implemented), so he signed with the Cubs for three times the money he earned with Colorado.

5. Gabe Kapler

Career WAR: 0.8 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 0.8, 2002-2003 (5th)
Top Season: 0.7, 2002 (6th)
Average Rank: 5.33

Gabe Kapler is an interesting case in that he was good before he came to Colorado as a 26 year old as part of the Todd Hollandsworth trade in 2002 and performed well after the Rockies sold him to the Red Sox midway through 2003, but didn't particularly benefit from the Coors Field effect.

Over what equated to a third of a season's worth of plate appearances, Kapler was merely a league average player in part time duty spelling Walker. For these services Kapler actually made the largest salary of his career (much of which was picked up by the Red Sox). Kapler was out of MLB after 2006 (and was managing a Red Sox minor league affiliate), but somehow caught back on with the Brewers in 2008, posting one of the best years in his career, which still endures with Tampa Bay this year.

Other Rockies right fielders that contributed positive value to the club were: Mark Little (0.7), Mark Sweeney (0.6), Dustan Mohr (0.4)

Now that I've completed the lists of position players, I'll be tackling over the next few weeks relievers and starting pitchers, and then I'll conclude with the all-time greatest Rockies teams.

The Horror of American League Parks

Eric Stephen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

U.S. Cellular Field is one of three AL parks the Dodgers will try to conquer this month.

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Since the beginning of the 2005 season, the Dodgers have played 33 games in American League ballparks. They have won only five of those games. They haven't been terribly unlucky either. They have scored 100 runs (3.03 per game) and given up 190 (5.76 per game), so their pythagorean record is only two games better, at 7-26. They have only had five one-run games, and they've lost them all.

They have been victimized by a vengeful Jose Lima, ran into Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano at their peaks in Minnesota, been bested by Mark Buehrle on the South Side, had their asses handed to them by Roy Halladay north of the border, lost to former farmhand Edwin Jackson in St. Petersburg, and been demonized by many Angels in Anaheim.

Part of the reason for this awful stretch has been poor starting pitching. In those 33 fateful games, Dodger starting pitchers have lasted 5.74 innings per start, which is decent enough, but they have a 5.61 ERA and a 1.468 WHIP.

The bigger problem is the Dodgers' utter inability to fill the designated hitter role with any production. Over this dreadful period, Dodger designated hitters are "hitting" .203/.266/.289, with one home run (by Luis Gonzalez) in 33 games. The chief culprit has been Olmedo Saenz, who has started 14 of the 33 games at DH, but he has been joined by such luminaries as Juan Pierre, Marlon Anderson, Antonio Perez, Kenny Lofton, Mark Sweeney, and Andruw Jones.

Here's a quick rundown the Dodgers' last 11 interleague road series.

Year	Opponent	W	L	Comment
2008	Detroit	0	3	The low point of 2008; the Kershaw rain start
2008	Angels	1	2	At least they won one
2007	Tampa Bay	1	2	The revenge of Edwin Jackson
2007	Toronto	2	1	Only series win; Chad Billingsley rejoined the rotation for good
2007	Angels	0	3	Dodgers scored 4 runs in 3 games
2006	Angels	1	2	This snapped a 15-game AL road losing streak
2006	Minnesota	0	3	Johan and the peak of Liriano
2006	Oakland	0	3	Included a 17-inning loss
2005	Angels	0	3	Dodger starters went 7 each game; still got swept
2005	White Sox	0	3	Two last-AB wins for Chicago, including a 4-run 9th off Brazoban
2005	Royals	0	3	The Lima Game II
Totals		5	28	The Dodgers are due

This year's AL gauntlet takes the Dodgers to Texas and Anaheim during the next two weekends, followed by Chicago to play the White Sox from June 23-25. But this year's Dodger team has been the best team in baseball so far. They have met just about every challenge thus far, so how about some wins in an AL park, huh?

Around the Mission: 6/10 Padres Links

jbox — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:58:07 -0000

Bush to plead guilty in plea deal
"He fully intends to get his act together and do whatever is required of him by the court," Daniels said. "They could tell him to attend alcohol rehab on the moon, and he'd agree to it."
Padres proud of local son going No. 1 | MLB.com: News
The San Diego Padres sat in the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday afternoon and watched as a favorite local son moved one step closer to becoming their Major League peer, as Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State was drafted No. 1 by the Washington Nationals.
XX Sports Radio Interviews: Darren Balsley (MP3), Mark Sweeney (MP3) and Corey Brock (MP3)
Adrian Gonzalez gets even less respect than people realize - Gaslamp Ball
The Onion changed the Edgar Gonzalez picture to an Adrian Gonzalez picture, making the extra layer of funny seem unintentional.
Four homers sink Young, Padres | padres.com: News
Right-hander Chris Young tied a career high by allowing four home runs in the Padres' 6-4 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
PADRES: Dodgers batter Young, Padres : North County Times - Californian 06-10-2009
"I'm just not executing pitches," said Young
Correia to start on three days' rest | padres.com: News
With Chad Gaudin's scheduled start getting pushed back to Thursday after throwing two innings on Sunday in the Padres' 18-inning marathon with the D-backs, manager Bud Black decided he'll start Kevin Correia on Wednesday.
Three Padres fans up for All-Star honor | padres.com: News
The Padres' finalists for the All-Star Among Us campaign were announced on Monday.
619 Sports - Padres - The Courage To Dare
John Moores would never have approved the drafting of Donavan Tate. He wouldn't have wanted to pony up the cash to sign him. Sandy Alderson would have frowned on taking tools over OBP, raw talent over statistical projectability.
Padres looking for gems late in Draft | padres.com: News
There figures to be plenty of picks, plenty of gems and plenty of interest for the San Diego Padres over the final two days of the First-Year Player Draft.
PARIS COMMENTARY: An inspired pick that comes with a lot of risk : North County Times - Californian 06-10-2009
"You never know when you take a player,'' Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "From everything we gathered, from an information standpoint, baseball is this guy's love, more so than football."
PADRES: Club gets athletic with first two draft picks : North County Times - Californian 06-10-2009
"This was a good day," said Grady Fuson
Tate brings tools, no trials
"Worst-case scenario, (he's) maybe a Mike Cameron," said Grady Fuson, the Padres' vice president of scouting and player development. "Somebody who hits .240-.250, a lot of punchouts maybe, but big bombs and plays as good a defense as you've got; durable and athletic, steals bases. "Best-case scenario, you've got the whole ball of wax."

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With Each Team

TheJay — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:48:24 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

A long time ago, in a league 98 miles away, this guy was part of the Brewers' last trade with the Yankees.

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One of my favorite parts of each year's team media guide is the page listing the Brewers' last trade with all the other major league teams. Maybe it's because it's so esoteric, maybe it's because of all the "some-team-wanted-him?" thoughts it prompts, or maybe it's the idea that for years Brewers and Mariners management had a bitter blood feud getting in the way of amicable trading. I don't know. Either way, let's take a trip down memory lane, transaction-style:

(note: PTBNL below stands for "Player to be Named Later," defined here)

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With...

Arizona Diamondbacks - 11/25/2006
Traded LHP Doug Davis, LHP Dana Eveland, and OF Dave Krynzel for C Johnny Estrada, RHP Claudio Vargas, and RHP Greg Aquino
Atlanta Braves - 12/7/2005
Traded RHP Wes Obermueller for RHP Dan Kolb
Chicago Cubs - 8/31/2004
Traded OF Ben Grieve for LHP Andy Pratt and cash
Cincinnati Reds - 1/14/2000
Traded OF Alex Ochoa for OF Mark Sweeney and a PTBNL (RHP Gene Altman)
Colorado Rockies - 12/13/2004
Traded RHP Marcos Carvajal in exchange for cash
Florida Marlins - 11/25/1996
Traded RHP Eddie Collins for LHP Joel Adamson
Houston Astros - 9/11/2007
Traded RHP Dennis Sarfate for cash
Los Angeles Dodgers - 3/26/2007
Traded OF Brady Clark and cash for RHP Elmer Dessens
New York Mets - 11/20/2007
Traded C Johnny Estrada for RHP Guillermo Mota
Philadelphia Phillies - 7/28/2006
Traded RHP Wilfrido Laureano for 3B David Bell
Pittsburgh Pirates - 12/7/2007
Traded RHP Marino Salas and RHP Kevin Roberts for RHP Salomon Torres
St. Louis Cardinals - 8/22/2003
Traded RHP Mike DeJean for two PTBNL (RHP Mike Crudale and RHP John Novinsky)
San Diego Padres - 7/25/2007
Traded LHP Joe Thatcher, RHP Will Inman, and LHP Steve Garrison for RHP Scott Linebrink
San Francisco Giants - 7/20/2008
Traded OF Darren Ford and LHP Steve Hammond for 2B Ray Durham
Washington Nationals - 9/4/2007
Traded a PTBNL (1B Andrew Lefave) for LHP Ray King

The AL teams are after the jump.

Baltimore Orioles - 7/16/1999
Traded a PTBNL (RHP Al Reyes) for RHP Rocky Coppinger
Boston Red Sox - 7/31/1998
Traded IF Eddy Diaz for RHP Joe Hudson
Chicago White Sox - 12/13/2004
Traded OF Scott Podsednik, RHP Luis Vizcaino and a PTBNL (IF Travis Hinton) for LF Carlos Lee
Cleveland Indians - 7/7/2008
Traded OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson, and a PTBNL (OF Michael Brantley) for LHP CC Sabathia
Detroit Tigers - 7/1/2007
Traded RHP Jose Capellan for LHP Chris Cody
Kansas City Royals - 3/27/2007
Traded RHP Ben Hendrickson for a Marxist Empire
LAnaheim Angels - 7/31/2002
Traded OF Alex Ochoa and C Sal Fasano for C Jorge Fabregas and 2 PTBNL (RHP Pedro Liriano and IF John Raburn)
Minnesota Twins - 11/15/2002
Traded RHP Gerry Oakes and RHP Matt Yeatman for RHP Matt Kinney and C Javier Valentin
New York Yankees - 8/23/1996
Traded IF Pat Listach and LHP Graeme Lloyd for OF Gerald Williams and RHP Bob Wickman
Oakland Athletics - 5/23/2007
Traded RHP Alec Zumwalt for cash.
Seattle Mariners - 5/19/2005
Traded C Pat Borders for cash.
Tampa Bay Rays - 4/22/2008
Traded OF Gabe Gross for RHP Josh Butler
Texas Rangers - 7/28/2006
Traded OF Carlos Lee and OF Nelson Cruz for RHP Francisco Cordero, LHP Julian Cordero, OF Kevin Mench, and OF Laynce Nix
Toronto Blue Jays - 1/6/2006
Traded RHP Brian Wolfe for 3B Corey Koskie

This information comes out of the Brewers' 2009 Media Guide. I believe all listed trades include someone on the 40-man roster for one of the teams. Any errors are mine in transcription or not diligently checking MLB's work.

Know Your Foe: Who is Chase Headley?

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:18:11 -0000

30th. 20th. 26th. 27th.

Those numbers used to be reserved for the rankings of the Rockies pitching staff. Now, they signify the last four years' rankings for the San Diego Padre offense. Needless to say, their offense could use a savior coming up through the minors to bail out their sickly O. Adrian Gonzalez can't do it all himself. Could Chase Headley be "The One?"

San Diego CEO Sandy Alderson has been quoted specifically as saying he shouldn't be seen as such. Naturally, Padre fans quickly nicknamed him "The Savior."

Who is "The Savior?"

Headley, not to be confused with the late Harvey Korman, holds two distinctions of interest to Coloradoans. He is a Colorado product from Fountain, where he graduated valedictorian in 2002. After attending the University of Pacific, he transferred to Tennessee, where he broke Todd Helton's record of 62 walks in a season. The Padres made Headley their fourth pick in the 2005 draft, behind RHP Cesar Carillo, LHP Cesar Ramos, and C Nick Hundley.

Chase Headley

#7 / Left Field / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-2

Weight: 230

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: May 09, 1984

Headley would take less than two years to make it to the Major Leagues, earning an eight game call-up in June of 2007 when 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff was injured.

After his demotion back to the minors in June of 2007, Headley was the MVP for the AA San Antonio Missions as he led them to the 2nd half championship. That team earned Baseball America's Minor League Baseball Team of the Year Award. Headley hit .330 with 17 HR and 78 RBI with a 1.017 OPS that year for the Padres' first-year AA affiliate. Complete Minor League Stats

His efforts in 2007 led to high accolades last offseason, when Baseball America rated Headley as the #1 San Diego prospect including the distinction as the best hitter for average in the organization. He also ranked #32 overall in Baseball America's top 100 prospects. For comparison, current Rockies Franklin Morales, Carlos Gonzalez, and Ian Stewart were ranked 8th, 22nd and 38th, respectively on that same list. Despite this, Alex Eisenberg at Baseball Intellect listed Headley among his most underrated prospects.

Headley resurfaced in SoCal in mid-June of last year, about three years after being drafted in the second round. Accoring to Dex at GasLampBall:

A lot of fans were disappointed/irritated that it took so long to call him up. It appeared mainly to be a budget consideration to limit his Major League time despite him being "ready."

For comparison, the Rockies also had four picks in the top two rounds in 2005. Troy Tulowitzki is the only player to don the purple pinstripes thus far, and RHP Chaz Roe, who was picked before Headley, has yet to even reach AAA.

Scouting Report

"The Savior" has been a shortstop and third basemen throughout his career. Despite the signing of OF Cliff Floyd, fresh off of winning a pennant as the DH for the Tampa Bay Rays, Headley will be the Padres' starting left-fielder in 2009. He may eventually move back to third base, but for now he is blocked by Kevin Kouzmanoff. The switch-hitter, who is about even from both sides of the plate as shown by his .001 differential in OPS last season, recently discussed his position change and its challenges with Padre beat reporter Corey Brock:

San Diego Padres Spring Training Feb. 26 (via sandiegobrock)

Despite his distinction as high average hitter, Headley actually exhibits solid atience and power. He managed at least a .380 OBP every year in the minor leagues and routinely flirted with a 1.000 OPS.

However, Headley has been unable to replicate those results in his 99 career games, in part because he is striking out over 30% of the time. That may be less than Ian Stewart or Joe Koshanksy, but he still needs to control his long swing and limit his K's. Otherwise, there are not a lot of weaknesses to Headley's swing. Frank Neville at The Sporting News predicts Headley will one day be .300-25-110 player.

Chase proved to be a below average defensive outfielder in 2008. He should improve some with a full spring to work at it, but it will still be beneficial for him to defend a short porch at Petco Park.

Projections

2009	AB	Avg	HR	RBI	SO	OPS
Bill James	451	.288	16	64	126	.848
CHONE	488	.258	14	61	147	.752
Marcel	345	.272	10	42	89	.772
Oliver	586	.275	20		148	.807
ZiPS	538	.264	19	66	152	.772

Verdict: Headley exhibits above average ability with multiple tools, but does not possess one single otherworldly impressive skill. Long-term, I suspect Headley will be a solid major league bat but have a ceiling as a fringe All-Star, similar to Brad Hawpe. It certainly won't help his cause to play in the stifling venue that is Petco Park half of the time.

For 2009, I project Headley to fall within the CHONE/ZiPS range. In an admittedly small sample size, I've been underwhelmed with what I've seen from him. His production in 2008 was similar to that of Ian Stewart but in 65 more AB's. The Padres are counting on Headley to continue to develop into a legitimate threat in their lineup. He will be in the middle of their lineup, be he's not their savior. Not this year.

Arizona (4-5, 1-3 last week)

ESPN's Peter Gammons speculates that Chad Tracy might be a good fit to replace the injured Alex Rodriguez. Gammons also mentioned Rockie Garrett Atkins as a possibility. Tracy won't be leaving Arizona before the season. The D-Backs would either have to start long-time backup Tony Clark or shift Conor Jackson from LF to 1B, while re-inserting Eric Byrnes in left field. Byrnes is currently injured.

LHP Doug Davis may be injured in what was speculated on as a minor left triceps irritation. Davis will play catch today, so we'll know if the cancer survivor has another early season set-back or not.

Doug Davis

#49 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Sep 21, 1975

Jim McClennan at AZSnakePit explores the prospect of the Diamondbacks leaving Tucson and getting a new ballpark in depth. Included is an interrview with team president Derrick Hall.

Los Angeles (5-6, 3-3 last week)

In case you've been living under five thousand rocks, the Dodgers signed Manny Ramirez to a 2-year $45million contract earlier this week. The terms are similar to the original contract the Dodgers offered, but in return for a no-trade clause and opt-out clause after 2009, the Dodgers also have the ability to defer payments through 2013. The rest of the NL West hopes Manny returns to his destructive ways, but unfortunately, he appears quite happy to be a Dodger. Still, Brad Hawpe and Chris Iannetta know Manny is just one man.

Dodger Mark Sweeney retired this week after a 14-year career that leaves him ranked second in MLB history in pinch hits. Los Angeles immediately hired the former Rockie as an assistant coach. Sweeney definitely has the material for a future managerial career.

Mark Sweeney

#21 / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Born: Oct 26, 1969

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports the Dodgers won't wash their hands of Juan Pierre as they did with Andruw Jones. Pierre would likely need a re-structured contract to complete his trade request. Even then, Pierre would need to defer his contract 50 years to be worth acquiring, according to Tom Tango. So for now, it appears our former CF will still be riding the pine for Joe Torre.

Eric Stephen at TrueBlueLA examines the market value for RHP Chad Billingsley by comparing recent deals with Red Sox LHP Jon Lester, Angels RHP Ervin Santana and and Rockie RHP Ubaldo Jimenez.

San Diego (3-6-2, 1-5 last week)

GM Kevin Towers is apparently comfortable with the Friars' rotation, but he wants more arms in the bullpen. LHP Joe Beimel is not on their radar, but even Beimel couldn't help the Padres out of the cellar. Unlike Towers, I find their rotation highly suspect as well, especially if/when Jake Peavy is traded.

Everth Cabrera's has caught the eye of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. His comment is about 85% of the way through. Hopefully he'll catch his eye more with three errors a day! Kouzmanoff also talks about the altitude of Colorado.

Everth Cabrera

#1 / Second Base / San Diego Padres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 170

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Nov 17, 1986

Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors grades San Diego's offseason. Of note is the included CHONE projection of 80 wins for the Padres. For that to happen, Headley would have to be their savior, along with another four or five breakout players.

Tim Sullivan at the San Diego Union Tribune explores the sale of the Padres to Jeff Moorad. Rumors have swirled that the economy and ensuing financial difficulties will be a deal-breaker, but Sullivan isn't worried.

San Francisco (5-8, 3-5 last week)

Released OF Dave Roberts Thusday after being unable to ttrade him all winter. The Giants prefer to give the fifth OF spot to Eugenio Velez or John Bowker. The Giants will eat the $6.5million remaining for Roberts in 2009. ESPN's Rob Neyer says GM Brain Sabean got what he deserved for offering him such a ridiculous contract in the first place.

Dave Roberts

#10 / Left Field / San Francisco Giants

Height: 5-10

Weight: 180

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: May 31, 1972

Giants players aren't terribly upset upon losing out on Manny Ramirez. Said OF Randy Winn: "I don’t think there’s anything to be disappointed about...we’re happy with what we have here."

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:49:55 -0000

Some things to read while watching out for the big chicken.

So, the likely biggest story of the day is Eric Gagne's release. Gagne faces a decision between rehab and surgery for his shoulder, but would not have been ready to pitch before March 25 either way. At least he provided a few weeks of interesting and now irrelevant debate. (Also noted in FanShot) Also, Adam J Morris of Lone Star Ball wonders if the Rangers might be interested in Gagne once he's healthy.

Bill Hall and David Riske continue to make strides in their rehab, though, as both played a simulated game yesterday. Riske gave up a single and a home run to Hall right away, but settled down to retire the next four batters, including Hall two more times. (Also noted in FanShot)

Other injury notes:

Brae Wright, one of the Brewers' brighter high-level pitching prospects not named Jeffress, will have Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2009.
Mat Gamel, who was the last Brewer to report to camp and still has not played in the field this spring, showed up late on Friday and had his locker moved outside by Mike Cameron and Jason Kendall.
Tony Gwynn returned to camp yesterday following the birth of his daughter. He's hoping to try throwing again in the next couple of days.

While Tony Gwynn is gone, Lorenzo Cain is making the most of his playing time in big league camp, including a big game on Friday and this profile in the JS.

On the field, Yovani Gallardo had his second rough outing in three spring appearances, giving up seven runs and lasting just two thirds of an inning. After the game, Doug Melvin said the Brewers have had preliminary discussions with Gallardo about a long term deal, but have set them aside.

Some visual evidence from yesterday's game:

J.J. Hardy turning the double play.
Yovani Gallardo turning the ball over to Ken Macha after just .2 innings of work.
Corey Hart dancing his new post-strikeout jig.

Meanwhile in the WBC, Mark DiFelice was impressive in Saturday's game for Italy, pitching four shutout innings against a relatively high-powered Venezuelan team. Italy could be eliminated with a loss to Canada today, meaning DiFelice and Vinny Rottino could both be back in camp in the next couple of days.

Does pitching in the WBC have a negative impact on a pitcher's in-season performance? Baseball America cites a study they're calling "inconclusive," but it appears pitchers from the 2006 WBC saw their 2006 ERA go up over 18%, as opposed to a 6% bump leaguewide.

If you didn't stop by over the weekend, you may have missed Jordan's note on Manny Parra and his fastball, and you should go check it out. You may also have missed Friday night's first post in the Brewer WAR Lords series.

Sometimes we miss something when assessing a player's value. For example, I was unsure about Crawfish Boxes rating Lance Berkman ahead of Prince Fielder in their NL Central First Baseman rankings, until I learned Berkman is actually made of chocolate cake. That will increase his value.

Other rankings/projections/previews/etc:

The Ghost of Moonlight Graham thinks the Brewers have baseball's best outfield.
Nothing But Balls is projecting the Brewers to finish third in the Central.
Babes Love Baseball previewed the 2009 Brewers in haiku.
Jorge Says No! has five things for Brewer fans to look forward to in 2009.

Two former Brewers announced their retirement over the weekend: Matt Wise and Mark Sweeney. No word on why Wise decided to hang it up, but his career has taken a severe downhill turn since midseason 2007.

On an even sadder note, former Brewer Chris Spurling was arrested for domestic battery Thursday night.

Stories from other camps:

Angels: Reporters discovered over the weekend that Vlad Guerrero is one year older than previously thought. He's actually 34. Also, Ervin Santana will begin the season on the DL and Mike Napoli may not be ready for Opening Day either.
A's: Justin Duchscherer is being shut down due to pain in his throwing elbow and is unlikely to be ready to pitch on Opening Day. The team also signed former top prospect Andy Sisco.
Giants: May make room on the roster for an extra position player by going with an 11 man ~~bullpen~~ pitching staff.
Red Sox: Reportedly signed John Lester to a five year extension worth $30 million.
Twins: Signed Scott Baker to a four year deal worth $15.25 million.

Team USA hasn't been too friendly to opposing pitchers in the World Baseball Classic, scoring 21 runs in two games (including Ryan Braun's solo HR last night), but it appears they're not making many friends off the field either. Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star is none too happy with Team USA's antics, which include skipping a press conference and playing crappy country music. The crappy country music only would have gotten worse if Corey Hart was on the team.

With Alcides Escobar banging on the door to the big leagues, this research is increasingly Brewer-relevant: Tom Tango estimates 25 runs as the most a great fielder can contribute to a team.

Of course, not everyone likes statistics or research. MLB Network had a discussion of PECOTA projections last night that you might have seen. If you haven't, Joe Posnanski has the video, and when it's done you can see how he pleonasmed all over it.

Oh, and Ryan Howard is a dangerous man.

Drink up.