Taking A Brewer Fan To Task

October 9, 2008 at 9:49 pm · Filed under Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia, Chicago Cubs, Cincinatti Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, NL Central, Pittsburgh Pirates, Rich Harden

I got this comment in my awaiting moderation bin:

ESK At http://brewedsports.blogspot.com/

For entertainment purposes, as well as a way to properly break down my explaination, let’s do this Fire Joe Morgan Style.

INSERT YOVANI GALLARDO’S BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

What about that doesn’t inspire confidence?

The fact that Gallardo is still really young and I have essentially 21 starts of work to go with.  Still, 9-5, 134 innings pitched 3.35 ERA along with a favorable 3:1 K to walk ratio is good, but not enough to inspire confidence just yet.

They had Gallardo for 4 starts this season.

This kinda kills your previous point.  I am supposed to gain confidence about Gallardo after four starts in year two, in which he essnetially missed valuable development time?

Gallardo is a better pitcher than Ben Sheets.

Sheets has better raw stuff than Gallardo, but Gallardo has the better health record and so far hasn’t been ridden into the ground just yet by management.

Yes, they lost Sabathia, but they were contending for the division before they got Sabathia.

I’ll give you that, 3 1/2 games back at the time of the trade, tied for the wild card with St. Louis.  But do you honestly expect me to believe that the Brewers still would have made the playoffs with a leaky bullpen, an achy ace in Sheets, who did miss time, as well as a rotation that was running Dave Fucking Bush out there every fifth day?  No way in hell CK!

Minor tweaks are really all the team needs to be a 90 win team again next year, especially in that division.

Definition of Minor Tweaks:

1. Finding A Long Term Answer At Catcher
2. Replacing Two Rotation Spots With Above Average Pitchers
3. Finding A Setup Man, Closer, And Competant Middle Relief
4. Finding A Long Term Answer At Center Field
5. Finding A Competant Second Baseman
6. Finding A Way To Keep Prince FIelder Long Term

Year, that is the definition of minor tweaks right there.

As for the rest of the division, the Cubs are still going to be above average, and St. Louis is always dangerous.  The Astros always do…something…that they call contending.  And the Pirates and Reds can’t be as awful as they were last season, in particular the former, with several young, competant options for starting pitching.

Dempster will regress to his mean. A career 95 ERA+ pitcher doesn’t generally turn in recurring 150 ERA+ seasons after 30.  He’ll still be good, but by no means will he be this good. 

I expressed doubt that Dempster would be as good as he was this season.  You agreed with me on that point, why did you have to bring it back up?

If Harden gets hurt (if…ha!)

Now you’re just being snarky.  And I expressed doubt about that as well, why repeat it?

and Dempster pitches to his mean then the Cubs are essentially in the same spot as the Brewers, minus two aces.

Wow, we ONLY lost two aces this season!  We’ll be alright!!!  

In all fairness, he does have a point that Milwaukee, as constructed, should at least give some fits to the division at points next season.

But expecting them to live up to what they did this season, with several vets getting ready to fall off the face of the earth, uncertainty at key positions around the diamond and in the lineup, AND trying to hope for roughly the same amount of pitching that you got this year, without two of your biggest contributers (and hoping that Jeff Suppan doesn’t regress and that Seth McClung doesn’t revert to the McClung that bombed his way out of Tampa bay)?  That’s a lot of ask for.  Especially when you have a still very good Cubs team, a AStros team with a crazy owner that will likely throw big money around to improve in the short term, plus several teams out West that aren’t going to be as bad as they were this season, and several teams out east that are on the rise, it’s going to be a lot harder to Milwaukee to repeat this year’s feat and continue to dominate.  

Fielder isn’t going to remain in Milwaukee past his final three years of arbitration, resulting in a Mark Teixiera like scenario for the Brewers, who will be forced to have to trade their best player of get nothing for him.  And continuing to wishcast on Weeks is a fools errand.  

I’m sorry CK.  I’m not sold.  This team has some serious work to do if it’s going to contend.

Still, loved the stadium when I visited!  And the Brats were damn good as well!

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Transaction Assesment - Latest Movings And Shakings

July 22, 2008 at 4:33 pm · Filed under AL Central, AL West, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Bullpen, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Joe Blanton, MLB, Matt Murton, NL Central, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Rich Harden, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays

Here are my takes on the most recent trades in baseball.

The San Diego Padres Trade LHP Randy Wolf To The Houston Astros For RHP Chad Reineke.  I don’t get this trade at all, as Wolf has been horrific away from PETCO.  He’ll eat innings and perhaps provide Shawn Chacon-esque production, but that’s about it.  As for Reineke, he is a decent little prospect who has been starting for the Express, but is more likely to head to the bullpen.  Many feel that Reineke could be the second coming of Chad Qualls, in which case the Astros just got fucked.  Kudos for San Diego for getting something of value, even if it isn’t what the hoped for initially.  As for the Astros, this is just another attempt to try and save a sinking ship that already had several holes drilled into it when the season started.  Astro Grade - D, Padre Grade - B 

The Washington Nationals Trade  RHP Jon Rauch To The Arizona Diamondbacks For 2B Emilio Bonifacio.  This was an outstanding trade by Arizona, who gets a quality setup man in Rauch for a pittance.  Bonifacio isn’t a great prospect, more of a speed and defense guy that legs out singles, but has little power or hitting skill.  Jim Bowden got outsmarted on this deal.  Rauch was worth so much more and would have gotten at a pair of prospects that were better than Bonifacio from any other contender, such as Boston or Tampa Bay.  This trade could get Bowden fired.  Snake Grade - A, National Grade - D-

The San Francisco Giants Trade 2B Ray Durham To The Milwaukee Brewers For LHP Steve Hammond and OF Darren Ford.  This was a fairly solid trade for both sides.  The Giants get rid of a player that wasn’t helping them really, in the grand scheme of things, and get something of value, even if it’s a fourth outfielder in Ford and a future middle reliever in Hammond.  As for the Brewers, they get some insurance in the event that Rickie Weeks continues to disappoint.  I understand the allure of tools and all, but really, Weeks has been a collosal disappointment since he came up.  Giant Grade - B, Brewer Grade - B

And, just for laughs, here are my toughts on two of the big three pitching trades that went down.

The Philles Acquire Joe Blanton From Oakland For Three Prospects.  The Phillies needed another pitcher, but to be quite frank, Blanton wasn’t all that hot and they overpaid slightly.  Of the three prospects they acquired, the only real one of consequence is Adrian Cardenas, a solid second baseman offensively that will likely be Eric Chavez’s successor at the hot corner.  Josh Outman, a left hander, is kind of a lefty specialist right now that could evolve into a quality middle reliever.  Then again, I was wrong about Greg Smith, who has been rather successful for Oakland thus far.  Overall, it’s a quality trade that makes up for the next one…  Philly Grade - C, Oakland Grade - A-.

The Cubs Acquire Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden From Oakland For Eric Patterson, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and Josh Donaldson.  This trade I found out with my buddy in Chicago and it made us both go “Wow.”  Oakland could have gotten more.  Gallagher is the best prospect of the bunch and is essentially Gaudin, but younger.  Patterson is looking more and more likely the next Mark DeRosa and Matt Murton finally gets a chance to start (and his jerseys at the Cub gift show were marked down to $70).  Donaldson is the wild card prospect, but is thus far looking like the next Brad Ausmus.  Good job for the Cubs by acquiring Harden, who while delicate is still good, for their pocket change.  Cub Grade - A, Oakland Grade - C.

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