SB Nation User Blog: MooseHaas

Damn You, Jack Z!

MooseHaas — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:46:05 -0000

Damn You, Jack Z!

The Mariners (led by our ex-draft wiz) just signed Russell Branyan to a one-year deal.

Does this mean we're committing to a Gamel/Hall platoon at third?

EDIT - Deal is for one year, worth $1.4 million with an additional $500k in incentives available.

Our First Free Agent Move of the Offseason

MooseHaas — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:29:16 -0000

Our First Free Agent Move of the Offseason

... didn't do anything to address the OBP situation.

Brian Anderson says he signed a five-year extension as PBP guy, and mentions that the Rock has also signed a multi-year deal (but not five?). Perhaps being stiff-armed by TBS hurt Rock's bargaining power. I question this move anyway: Rock's PECOTA projections suggest he will continue to flat-line.

The Final Seven Days' Pitching Matchups (Updatedx6)

MooseHaas — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:04:42 -0000

(** Updated Saturday with the Guzman news..)

Mets Probables, Rest of Season

Cubs @ Shea
9/22: Jason Marquis, RHP (10-9, 4.39) vs. Jonathon Niese, LHP (1-0, 4.09) (Mets L, 9-5, +1 in WC)
9/23: Sean Marshall, LHP (3-4, 3.62) vs. Johan Santana, LHP (14-7, 2.65) (Mets W, 6-2, +1 in WC)
9/24: Carlos Zambrano, RHP (14-6, 3.77) vs. Oliver Perez, LHP (10-7, 4.10) (Mets L, 9-6, Even in WC)
9/25: Rich Harden, RHP (10-2, 2.03) vs. Pedro Martinez, RHP (5-6, 5.50) (Mets W, 7-6, Even in WC)

Marlins @ Shea
9/26: Chris Volstad, RHP (5-3, 3.07) vs. Mike Pelfrey, RHP (13-10, 3.70) (Mets L, 6-1, -1 in WC)
9/27: Ricky Nolasco, RHP (15-7, 3.52) vs. Johan Santana, LHP (15-7, 2.64) (Mets W, 2-0, Even in WC)
9/28: Scott Olsen, LHP (8-10, 4.20) vs. Oliver Perez, LHP

Brewers Probables, Rest of Season

Pirates @ Miller
9/23 Jeff Karstens, RHP (2-6, 4.37) vs. Dave Bush, RHP (9-10, 4.22) (Brewers W, 7-5, -1 in WC)
9/24: Paul Maholm, LHP (9-8, 3.68) vs. CC Sabathia, LHP (9-2, 1.81) (Brewers W, 4-2, Even in WC)
9/25: Zach Duke, LHP (5-14, 4.96) vs. Yovani Gallardo, RHP (0-0, 1.88) (Brewers W, 5-1, Even in WC)

Cubs @ Miller
9/26: Ryan Dempster, RHP (16-6, 3.02) vs. Jeff Suppan, RHP (10-10, 5.06) (Brewers win, 5-1, +1 in WC)
9/27: Ted Lilly, LHP (16-9, 4.17) vs. Ben Sheets, RHP (13-8, 2.98) (Brewers FAIL, Even in WC)
9/28: Angel Guzman, RHP (Bad) vs. CC Sabathia, LHP (Good)

We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident

MooseHaas — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:28:41 -0000

In the wake of the Yost-Canning (and the Bloginental Blogress), these are the Truths I hold to be Self-Evident:

1. That Mark A. -- and pretty much only Mark A. -- was behind the shite-canning of Nedly Yost. Forget that "collective decision" business.

2. Dougie Stache didn't want this to happen. I was almost taken aback at how not-on-board-with-the-call his press-conference remarks seemed. There was no way he was going to say anything that was openly defiant, but his hesitance to say anything strongly in favor of it was really telling. (To the question of "Why now?," Dougie said, "That's a difficult one to answer myself.")

3. Consequently, you have to wonder if Doug's gig is also in jeopardy over the offseason. The resistance on this issue with Mark A., and Doug's inability to build a decent bullpen, could hurt him in the end.

4. At one point, J.J. Hardy was in the anti-Yost camp, but somehow he was won over. (from MLB.com: "I liked Ned," Hardy said. "I think there were guys that didn't and some guys that did, and I think that's the way it is with every manager on every team. I think there are a ton of players around the big leagues that are playing for managers they don't like."

5. Contrary to what Ryan Braun said, an anti-Yost camp DID exist within the team. My guesses? It included Bill Hall, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Yost may have protected his players to a fault in the media, but the dick-headedness and condescension that defined most of his interaction with the press had to carry over at least a little bit into his dealings with his players -- and I doubt it went over real well.

6. The "Nervous Ned" stuff that Johnny Estrada threw out after he left Milwaukee was very real. (Hardy, from MLB.com again: "Whatever he did, I feel like a lot of players were thinking that way, that it was a nervous reaction.") Estrada is still a lazy piece of shite, but he wasn't lying about the players' lack of faith in Ned's crunch-time baseball IQ.

7. The anonymous Brewer who told ESPN it was time for a change could very well have been Mike Cameron, given that the writer who got the quote (Amy Nelson) did a feature on him earlier in the year.

8. If this had been done earlier in the season, Skaalen would have been out the door with Ned. You're not really going to bring in a new hitting coach, with new philosophies, with 12 games left. At this point the only goal of personnel changes is, as Dale said, for "the shock factor." Skaalen is guaranteed to be gone after the year is over, and probably Maddux along with him. Ed Cedar is too good at fist-bumps/shin-guard collection to let go.

9. That Yount coming back into the fold doesn't mean he's going to make a long-term commitment to coach in the Brewers system. Sveum said that Yount was his best friend. I see this more as a favor than a return-to-the-family situation.

10. That CC, not Sveum, is going to end this losing streak on Tuesday night in Chicago. As for what happens after that, I have a good feeling. I just wonder how long it will last.

"If anybody needs a day off, it's Ned Yost. He has a lot of things to sort out before he can take a...

MooseHaas — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:05:16 -0000

"If anybody needs a day off, it's Ned Yost. He has a lot of things to sort out before he can take a team to the playoffs. He can't be wound this tight and still manage. His players will kill him. I've come close myself. ~~But I like him. He's a little easier to take when you know why he's like he is.~~ The man cannot relax. Pardon my French, but Ned is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond."

Anyone know the provenance of this logo? I hadn't seen it before. (But maybe that's just because...

MooseHaas — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:11:09 -0000

Anyone know the provenance of this logo? I hadn't seen it before. (But maybe that's just because I'm not all that old.)

Bob Webb Conspiracy Theory

MooseHaas — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:34:29 -0000

An anonymous major league scout told me that Bob Webb was just worried that the Brewers were abusing Sabathia with high pitch counts. He figured that, by calling the error a hit, he would make it less likely for CC to go the distance, and get near 120 pitches again.

The source also said that Bob Webb is a close personal friend of Juan Nieves, who had become increasingly worried, over the past month, that he would cease to become the answer to a popular baseball trivia question. This is Nieves' only claim to fame, and he feared Sabathia would ruin it.

The source also indicated that Bob Webb has a hatred for puppies.

The Sheets Ceiling

MooseHaas — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:25:39 -0000

Following Sheeter's incredible 2004 (237 IP, 162 ERA+), he averaged 134 2/3 innings pitched over the next three seasons, none of which really came close to recapturing that '05 magic.

Since it seems like Sheets has hit a wall of late (aside from the shutout of the Triple-A Nats on Aug. 9) I was curious to find out what his 2008 stats were up to 134 2/3 IP, and after that mark. Just to make this easier, I'm splitting this up as the first 135 innings, and the second 33.

First 135 IP in 2008

10-3, 2.87 ERA, .239 BA against, .667 OPS against, 1.13 WHIP, 58 Avg. Game Score

Second 33 IP in 2008

1-4, 4.36 ERA, .259 BA against, .678 OPS against, 1.18 WHIP, 52 Avg. Game Score

Obviously the second chunk is a small small sample, but who knows, maybe Sheets' ceiling isn't 12 wins, even though announcers love to point out that he's never won more than 12 games in his career. Maybe it's 135 innings. Although for the sake of our Wild Card bid, I really hope not.

(Do you guys think this bad stretch is an aberration, or a real problem? And how much is this affecting his impending free agency? Seems like Houston is still ready to unload the Brinks truck, but it has to at least be taking a few mil out his pockets.)

Cuyrse of The Pointless Y

MooseHaas — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:25:14 -0000

All of this stuff gets me really worried:

Brewers in games that Laynce Nix has appeared during the 2008 season: 0-3.

Laynce Nix in his past 22 Major League At-Bats: 0-for-22.

Laynce Nix is also leading MLB in DUI-to-hit ratio this year (1/0, or infinite) as well as Ed-Hardy-shirts-to-hit ratio (1/0).

(DUI and Ed Hardy stats are among the few that officially carry over from AAA, in case anyone didn't know.)

Please, Mr. Branyan, get healthy soon.

The Brewers' Newest Slogan, Courtesy of The Prince

MooseHaas — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:15:50 -0000

Nedgar, I'm sorry: If my neighbors have a fight, I'm totally going to go outside and watch them. Especially if one of them is acting like a rabid (leaf-eating) grizzly bear.

The best information we have, on the morning after, is that Prince took umbrage with Parra's desire to retreat to the clubhouse after being pulled in the top of the 7th. According to the beat blog, the big fellah yelled, "We stayed out there and watched your sh*t. You can stay out here and watch our sh*t."

Yost would like to sweep this under the rug, but I think it has legs as a slogan. For example, what if we as fans had been able to use it during the Cubs series last week?

Brewers: (Trying to slink into clubhouse quietly after latest arse-kicking)

Brewers fans: We're going to try to salvage the night by playing some horribly long, drunken games of cornhole in the parking lot. We may sink bags at a 5 percent rate. Prince, Manny, etc, we'd appreciate spectators. "We stayed out there and watched your sh*t. You can stay out here and watch our sh*t."

Or what if we were able to use it after a classic Yosting against the Astros?

Ned: (Is saying in postgame press conference that his starting pitcher -- who gave up a deflating late homer -- was "one pitch away," did not look fatigued or appear to be struggling despite being in the midst of an absolutely horrendous inning. Goes on to say it was irrelevant that he had a well-rested bullpen at his disposal, and irrelevant that the home-run hitter already had one homer in the game.)

Fans: Hey, uh, Ned, we're going to need you to watch something before you go home. It's in a port-o-potty, in one of the outer lots.

Ned: Why is the door open to this thing? It smells horrible. And who said that guy could make my dugout face? That's my dugout face!

Fan in port-o-potty: "We stayed out there and watched your sh*t. You can stay out here and watch our sh*t."