How'd The Brewers Farm Hands Do?

Marc Hulet takes a look:

The Graduate: Manny Parra | Born: October 1982 | Left-Handed Pitcher Manny Parra finally overcame a plethora of injuries to have an impact at the Major League level…

The Riser: Jonathan Lucroy | Born: June 1986 | Catcher

Nabbed in the third round of the 2007 draft, Jonathan Lucroy has hit, hit and then hit some more. His two-year pro line is .315/.379/.492 with 24 homers and 116 RBI in 709 at-bats. In 2008, split between two A-ball levels, he posted rates of 10.9 BB% and 17.7 K%. Lucroy also showed improved power this season and slugged 20 homers with an ISO of .193. He is a solid leader behind the plate but his defence is lacking at times. That said, he threw out 56 of 125 runners attempting to steal (45%).

The Tumbler: Brent Brewer | Born: December 1987 | Shortstop The aptly-named Brent Brewer, who was drafted out of high school in the second round of 2006, has been slow to develop for Milwaukee. His biggest flaw has been a lack of contact.

The ‘08 Draft Pick: Jake Odorizzi | Born: January 1987 | Right-Handed Pitcher

The athletic Jake Odorizzi was nabbed in the supplemental first round and swayed to forgo a scholarship to the University of Louisville, thanks in part to a seven-figure contract. In a small sample size, Odorizzi had a nice pro debut in Rookie Ball with 18 hits allowed in 20.2 innings. He also posted rates of 3.92 BB/9 and 8.27 K/9. He is fairly polished for a prep player, so he could begin 2009 in A-ball.

The ‘09 Sleeper: Efrain Nieves | Born: November 1989 | Left-Handed Pitcher

Yes, his ERA was a little high and he allowed 78 hits in 76 innings, but Efrain Nieves offers a lot of promise. A 2007 seventh round pick out of Puerto Rico, Nieves has improved in each of his first two pro seasons and showed exceptional control for a young player in 2008 with a walk rate of 1.18 in Rookie Ball. His strikeout rate was solid at 7.78K/9 and the slim Nieves (6′0”, 170 pounds) is working to add upper body strength, which should help add a tick or two to his 90 mph fastball.

It's nice to see Nieves still making peoples radar. He has a pretty solid upside and I'd love to see him crack through in 2009 and really make people notice him. Brent Brewer was always teh product of luck and short stop isn't really a worry for this club.

Most interesting, however, is Jonathan Lucroy. Phenominal early returns in both on-base and power, with a hint of defense thrown in. He is only 22 and his numbers did take a hit when he moved up to Brevard at the end of the year, but I agree with Marc, Jonathan had one of the best seasons in the organization and has really increased his stock.

How's Your Career, Javon?

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall and wide receiver Javon Walker are targets for a purge by the Oakland Raiders, according to published reports.

The players' names came up amid reports Raiders owner Al Davis and team brass as weighing drastic moves to shake the team out of its funk. Other high-profile players were discussed, the Contra Costa Times reports in a story by Sporting News correspondent Steve Cockran.

Walker, at 30 six years older than Hall, has been a bust, with 13 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown in eight games.

Walker is due $12 million combined in base salary and signing bonus.

In 3 seasons with the Packers (he only played 1 game in the 4th year) Walker had 22 touchdowns and a hissy fit. Since leaving the Packers, Javon has caught 9 touchdowns in three seasons.

While you are a miserable failure, the Packers receiving corp is thriving.

Tempo Free Stats in Basketball

With the start of Basketball season and Danny's new interest in the Bucks, I thought I would post a little about tempo-free statistics for basketball.
Like defense-adjusted statistics in baseball, tempo-free statistics in basketball try to eliminate some of the variables in basketball statistics in order to more accurately compare the performance of players and teams.

The fundamental adjustment of tempo-free stats is that the statistics are reported on a basis of per 100 possessions, rather than per game or per minute. This provides an analysis of how efficient a player or team is in either scoring or defending on each possession. Some games will be played at a higher tempo, thus resulting in a greater number of possessions while other games have a slower pace, resulting in fewer possessions. Tempo-free stats try to adjust for these differences.

The guys over at Cracked Sidewalks have posted a pretty good primer here and here on tempo-free stats for basketball analysis.


For NBA analysis, www.82games.com and www.basketballprospectus.com provide tempo-free statistics and analysis.

GO VOTE!

Make yourself feel important.

Brewers pick up Cameron's option

Mike Cameron will be a Brewer next year.

The Brewers have decided to exercise the $10 million option in Cameron's contract for next season. Today was the deadline for exercising the option or paying a $750,000 buyout.
Cameron, who will be 36 in January, signed as a free agent last winter, for a bonus of $1.25 million and a $5 million salary in '08, plus the option for '09. His salary was prorated last season because he sat out the first 25 days while on suspension for using a banned stimulant the previous season.

Cameron played in 120 games for the Brewers last season, batting .243 with 25 home runs and 70 RBI. He struck out a team-high 142 times in 444 at-bats, with a .331 on-base percentage and .477 slugging percentage.

Cameron lived up to his Gold Glove reputation in center, committing just one error. He also swiped 17 bases in 22 attempts.

Good move.

Hair of the Dog, 11/3/08

There's a lot to talk about from the weekend. I'm not sure I have time to fit it all in. Let's go team by team starting with my favorite:

Brewers

There's lots of sort-of-big Brewers news since the last time I posted. Since it became official that Macha was the new Manager, the Brewers have been working to complete their coaching staff. Dale Sveum has swallowed his pride and will come back as hitting coach. So if you're keeping score at home, that means Sveum's coaching career as a Brewers has gone bench coach -> third base coach -> bench coach -> manager -> hitting coach. Right?

Interestingly, Mike Maddux will not return. From the Dallas Morning News:

The Rangers will name Mike Maddux pitching coach perhaps as early as Monday, a source with knowledge of the process said Sunday night.

GM Jon Daniels confirmed only that the Rangers had been in touch with Maddux this weekend. He did not confirm or deny the report. The Rangers were able to contact Maddux about the job officially on Saturday, a day after his contract with Milwaukee expired. Maddux, 47, has been the Brewers pitching coach the last six seasons. Milwaukee had extended him an offer to remain as new manager Ken Macha's pitching coach, but Maddux refrained from signing anything until talking to the Rangers.

I can't say that I'm too upset about this. I think it's hard for a fan to know how good of a job a pitching coach or a hitting coach is doing, or how much say they have in bullpen moves and that sort of thing. But Maddux never seemed to do much in that department, and there's a pretty long list of guys that pitched poorly under Maddux and then went on to be solid somewhere else. Maybe that's true of any coach, but I'm interested to see who they hire to replace him, and how the staff looks next season as a result.

Regarding players: the Brewers declined Craig Counsel's option, but it's probably still possible he'll be on the crew next year at a lower salary. We'll see. The Brewers have until today to decide on Mike Cameron's option. I think they shoud take it. The biggest news it that the Brewers have indeed offered CC Sabathia 4 years for $100 Million. We probably won't know much about this for a while. The Brewers have until the 13th to negotiate with Sabathia before other teams can start talking to him. C'mon CC. You know you love Milwaukee.

Packers

The Packers lost to the Titans in a very close, field goal-infested, overtime, road game. It sucks to lose those. That brings the pack to 4-4 at the half way point of the season. The Bears managed to eek out a win against the Lions under the strong arm of.... Rex Grossman? to bring them to 5-3 and in sole possession of the division.

The Packers looked solid against the best team in the NFL. The offense can definitely roll, but is still subject to an occasional miscue. That, and the inability to put the ball in the end zone made it a difficult game to win. The Defense kept the game in reach, but couldn't come up with a stop in OT.

Bucks

The Bucks still have a .500 record after losing their home opener to Toronto and then beating the Knickerbockers in New York or New Jersey or where ever they play. I was at the home opener, and they looked a LOT more like an NBA team then they had during the preseason. The defense looked good for the most part and they all appeared to be trying--even Charlie Villanueva. That seemed like enough to get the crowd into it. In the end, they lost a close one to a better team, but it wasn't a hard loss to swallow. Ramon Sessions is a better point guard than Luke Ridnour. I imagine he'll be the official starter in the near future, regardless of Luke's back spasms. Dan Gadzuric is terrible. The difference between the Bucks when Bogut is on the court and the Bucks when Bogut is not on the court is huge. We could really use a more functional back-up center.

Badgers

I think Bret Bielema's tenure as the Badgers' coach will be coming to an end in the very near future. He basically gave Michigan State one of the Badgers' time-outs in a situation in which they really needed it. It wasn't the only factor in the Badgers' 1-point loss, but it was a big one.

Packer Preview And Open Thread

I've been locked in a giant tower all week with no internet, no cell phone, and no long hair to make rope out of and climb down. What I do know is that Aaron Rogers has a new deal, and that I would have waited until after the Titans game before signing that puppy if I were management.

The Titan defense is brutally tough, having allowed a league low 87 points this year (a full 23 fewer points than second place Pitt and Baltimore). It is not a friendly matchup for a QB with a lightly separated shoulder.

Still the undefeated Titans are not without their warts. They run the ball like nobody's business, and get adequate passing from ye olde Kerry Collins and his hitch-tastic delivery. It is the adequate passing where they can be hurt.

Here Bob Sanders' defense takes some heat once in a while, but this is the type of game where it may allow the Pack to steal a win. The man-to-man ability of the Backer corners allows the Packers to stack the line and stop the run better than some other teams. If you need to play zone or to help a guy out, you're vulnerable to the Titans, but the Titan receivers can be accurately described as "woeful" and Charles Woodson, and either Al Harris or up-and-coming Tramon Williams should be able to hold their own in the passing game.

If the Packers can stack up against the run without giving up to much to Collins, the Titans can be had.

On the offensive side of the ball, Aaron Rodgers just needs to keep doing what he has been doing. He needs to play smart, take what he's given, and don't screw up.

I'd still pick the Titans as a gambling man, but the Pack presents a tough matchup for a somewhat unique team like Tennessee.

If The Packers Lose...

Look forward to some rube-tastic commentary about how the Bears are up on the Packers and the Packer season is now over if the Pack does go down. The Bears, of course, play the league's worst team, the Detroit Lions, while the Pack plays the NFL's best team, but don't expect anyone intelligent to notice that little fact. And the Bears take on the Titans next week, so it will all even out.

Enjoy the game. Go Pack!