Russell "3TO" Branyan called up Gwynn sent down!

[DougJones43]

He needs to be locked up for next year, immidiately. Even after these torrid couple of months, I still don't think it would cost much. It would pretty much be the definition of a low risk, high reward deal.

[Dragonbait]

Russ can be a decent stop-gap til Gamel is ready... thats for sure.

[PeaveyFury]

He needs to be locked up for next year, immidiately. Even after these torrid couple of months, I still don't think it would cost much. It would pretty much be the definition of a low risk, high reward deal.

 

That's the weird position he's putting the Brewers in at this point- if his BA stays even reasonably close to what it is now with the power that he's bound to put up, there's no doubt at all that he'd be our best option at 3B next year, and maybe in 2010 as well.

[TooLiveBrew]

Would signing him for $5M for 2009 be realistic for both sides? Or would it have to be more?

[sbrylski]

Would signing him for $5M for 2009 be realistic for both sides? Or would it have to be more?

Its not yet the AS break, and Branyan wasn't in the bigs until the end of May. Let's just hold off on a contract like that for now...

 

[TooLiveBrew]

$5M isn't that huge -- I'm not suggesting that he's going to hit like this through the end of 2009... just started with Cameron's '08 base salary. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[DougJones43]

Would signing him for $5M for 2009 be realistic for both sides? Or would it have to be more?

I was actually thinking he could be had for a lot less than $5M, if the Brewers extended him an offer soon. I was hoping for more in the range of about $2M, but maybe I'm way off. With the uncertainty and bouncing around he has gone through recently, I would think he'd just be happy to have a little security. I'm not sure he's going to want to risk allowing an injury or major slump to put him in a position to be without a definite major league job again to start 2009.

[GB12]

Would signing him for $5M for 2009 be realistic for both sides? Or would it have to be more?

I was actually thinking he could be had for a lot less than $5M, if the Brewers extended him an offer soon. I was hoping for more in the range of about $2M, but maybe I'm way off. With the uncertainty and bouncing around he has gone through recently, I would think he'd just be happy to have a little security. I'm not sure he's going to want to risk allowing an injury or major slump to put him in a position to be without a definite major league job again to start 2009.

I think the best option would be to offer him a low salary multi-year deal. I don't know how much he's getting paid right now, but on a minor league deal it's probably under $800,000. See if he'd go for $2mil/year for 2 years. He can hold the 3B until Gamel is ready and could be a possible quick fix at first then if we trade Prince. We should do it soon though because if he hits around 25-30 HRs his price will be driven up.

[Principessa21]

I don't know if this has been discussed yet, but is "3TO" a nickname specific to Branyan? Not the "Three True Outcomes" concept, but those characters together. I ask because I have a habit of when wanting to look something up on wikipedia, I'll just go to my homepage (google) type in the topic and "wikipedia," and then hit the lucky button. The other day I wanted to look up the origins of the three true outcomes and when I put "3TO" and "wikipedia" in google, the first page was...Branyan. It made me smile.

[Fatter than Joey]

but is "3TO" a nickname specific to Branyan?

 

Not really -- The 3TO concept has probably been around for about 10 years or so, and the first guy I remember the 3TO people talking about was Rob Deer -- and then McGwire, as Deer was already retired.

 

Certainly BF.net has taken the 3TO concept and Neverlandingly has embraced it with Branyan.

 

Branyan isn't the first player to be the standard bearer for the 3TO, but he certainly has been the most prolific.

[Principessa21]

but is "3TO" a nickname specific to Branyan?

 

Not really -- The 3TO concept has probably been around for about 10 years or so, and the first guy I remember the 3TO people talking about was Rob Deer -- and then McGwire, as Deer was already retired.

 

Certainly BF.net has taken the 3TO concept and Neverlandingly has embraced it with Branyan.

 

Branyan isn't the first player to be the standard bearer for the 3TO, but he certainly has been the most prolific.

I'm sorry I thought I made it clear in my post, but I wasn't talking about the concept but the characters 3, T, and O together. It wasn't until bf.net that I started typing 3TO (previously I would type TTO.) Anywho, it's a dumb question so we can drop it but it is cool that Branyan page pops up first. Yea Brewers!

 

[JohnBriggs12]

Predictably, Branyan is in a full fledged regression toward the mean (1 for his last 19). While that's not a major slump, given his career pattern (long cold spells between short torrid stretches), I think it's cause for some concern.

[pitchleague]

it certainly does not help that he's been on the bench for a short while now while we face lefties. It really doesn't help your consistency at the plate. But, I agree that he is regressing. Started on the road trip in Atlanta and hasn't improved. I'd bet that he finishes in the .250 range, though, with his 15-ish bombs and a good .370+ OBP.

[TooLiveBrew]

Cause for concern that he'll return to an .800+ OPS? JB, you puzzle me about Branyan.

[RyDogg66]

Predictably, Branyan is in a full fledged regression toward the mean (1 for his last 19). While that's not a major slump, given his career pattern (long cold spells between short torrid stretches), I think it's cause for some concern.

Nobody goes 1-19 in major league baseball. This is a sign that we should DFA Branyan and certainly stop playing him against right handed pitchers.

 

[phxMILWfan]

If Branyan goes free agent do we get 2 more picks for him too?

[zzzmanwitz]

I doubt Branyan qualifies for a Class A or B FA

[Glennron]

He's messed up 2-3 easy plays over his last couple games that really hurt the Brewers, that kinda stinks after his really good fielding the first month or so.

[BrewCrewForever]

Predictably, Branyan is in a full fledged regression toward the mean (1 for his last 19). While that's not a major slump, given his career pattern (long cold spells between short torrid stretches), I think it's cause for some concern.

Nobody goes 1-19 in major league baseball. This is a sign that we should DFA Branyan and certainly stop playing him against right handed pitchers.

 

That should be in blue right RyDogg?

 

[rluzinski]

I think it's cause for some concern.

 

Why does it matter if a batter is streaky anyway? What batters aren't streaky, for that matter. I guess the crappier ones, as they consistently can't hit?

 

I'll be happy if Branyan could hit for a .825 OPS with a decent OBP going forward. That's all I ever hoped for anyway, so all his crazy production was a bonus.

[brettac1]

I expected him to hit in the .230's and have around an .800 OPS against RHP's, which is better than Bill Hall is against them. The barrage he went on was awesome, though, and truly one of the favorite things in my life as a Brewers fan.

 

I am sure the Brewers didn't expect him to hit .300, so I doubt they are concerned.

[danzig6767]

If i'm not mistaken, in his roughly 100 at bats, Branyan doesn't have a single RBI that hasn't come off one of his home runs.Am i alone in thinking this is a odd stat for a guy who bats 6th in the order and who is hitting a respectable .253?

[trwi7]

Looking at his game log I can see three games where he's picked up an RBI without a homer. Then he has a few games where he has a homer and more than one RBI. I'm too lazy to look if those RBI's came on the homer only or something else.

[jazzytrav]

The 3TO concept has probably been around for about 10 years or so, and the first guy I remember the 3TO people talking about was Rob Deer

From Rany Jazayerli of Baseball Prospectus:

 

We are members of the Rob Deer Fan Club. And we are here to tell you that the Revolution has begun. The Revolution that will spread the Gospel of the Three True Outcomes to every man, woman and child on Earth.

What are the Three True Outcomes, you ask? They are:

• The Home Run, the weapon with which we fight the evil legions of Little Ball.

• The Strikeout, a symbol of our refusal to compromise.

• The Base on Balls, which brings balance to our cause.

Together, the Three True Outcomes distill the game to its essence, the battle of pitcher against hitter, free from the distractions of the defense, the distortion of foot speed or the corruption of managerial tactics like the bunt and his wicked brother, the hit-and-run.

 

I also wanted to point out that Branyan was mentioned in a ESPN Page 2 article on the NL.

 

surprise contributions from role players like three-true-outcomes overlord Russell Branyan

 

"Overlord" has a nice ring to it.

[ELCABALLO45]

mlb.com for fantasy had a top 10 first half regrets and at number 9 is our boy 3TO.

9. Russell Branyan, 3B, Brewers: Here's one that even the most knowledgeable of gurus couldn't have seen coming. Branyan rang up a .193 average for three teams last season and began this year at Triple-A Nashville. Then, he ate an entire box of Russell BranCrunch and blasted eight homers with 15 RBIs in the first three weeks of June. Hungry? Grab a bowl.