Branyan to DL/Laynce Nix called up

[Brewtacular]

the starting LF and #3 hitter

I believe that was redundant

[mkesportscom]

Nix has been hot over the last couple weeks. Why not give the hot hand a shot?

 

I'm not sure Gwynn will ever have a place on the Brewers. If I were Doug Melvin, I'd trade him to the Padres for as much as I could get in return. That way, he's on a team that has an owner who will be patient and give him a chance. Also, San Diego's park is a lot more Gwynn friendly than Miller Park. Petco needs speedy outfielders for defense and it is ripe for speedy lefties to hit triples.

[dadofandrew]

Hart was healthy to start the year. Despite that Yost still played Mench over him.

 

He did a couple games in early April last year, probably to protect Corey a bit, or to get Mench into the lineup. Kapler also played the other day in place of Hart to give him a breather. Just a simple case of either going with the hot hand or matchups. However, the big uproar was in late April and much of May, while Corey rested his wrist and only played versus most LHP...over and over, we saw Corey was not hurt, he was just being platooned. The irony here is, when he admitted it later in the Summer, when Weeks' wrist injury was being discussed, many here still denied it, and still do. It's called overreaction. I've gotten used to it.

 

Don't think this bodes well for Gwynn nor apparently is Gibbons impressing much.

 

Nix can play all 3 OF spots well and has enough pop to play LF without it being a small ball lineup. I don't think Gibbons, Nelson, or anyone else meet those specifications at all. He might play a day game after a night game for Cameron, or start versus a tough RHP for Kapler, but he's mainly there for his lefty bat, speed, and defense.

 

Gwynn has value, as he's continually mentioned in rumors, but he does not look like a fit in MIL, as it is a power park and he's not a power player. Unless they have a spot for him on the '09 roster, he's trade bait.

[liveforoctober]

Nix = OF lefty with power off bench

Gwynn = OF on base man off bench which we have with Durham

 

With Branyan going down.. you go with Nix.

 

Also, I understand the confusion with Counsell getting all of this playing time, but the Brewers have won 7 games in a row. Why change what is working? He may not have directly won any games for us... but he puts the ball in play and he puts together good at bats. It actually has been a little refreshing the last few days having Kapler, Counsell, and Kendall in the lineup together... we've actually got to see some pitches. And did anyone else notice the hit and run with Hardy and Kapler yesterday?!? When was the last time we saw that?!?

[And That]

Gwynn = OF on base man

This seems to be a common misconception. Granted it's only 235 major league AB's, but Gwynn's OBP in Milwaukee is .305. In the minors, it's been a more respectable .341, but for a guy with no power, that's not good either. His OBP in 305 AAA AB's this year is .329. And he's not even that fast.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Happy for Laynce to get another shot at the show. He's a solid defender in the OF, iirc, so that could prove useful come September.

 

I'm really concerned about Braun's status, even though this is just most likely a move to make the best use of the remaining time he is out.

 

Also, I'd like to preemptively vent how freaking stupid batting Nix 3rd is. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[mkesportscom]

I doubt Nix will bat in the three spot because that would put lefties back-to-back. If anything, Nix would probably go in the 2 spot with Hardy moving to the 3 spot to be protected by Fielder. Hardy has shown this season that he REALLY needs protection... the type of protection Kapler and Nix don't provide.

[logan82]

I always think of Nix as being pretty much the same guy as Gwynn except with more power and less base stealing ability.

[WisconsinSportsRule]

Since Gywnn is involved in this discussion, does any believe he plays better defense than Cameron? I would assume they are close, totally taking out offensive production.

 

I thought Nix was very good defensively as well.

[nate82]

Dillon should have been brought up sooner, which of course is on DM.

Dillon makes no sense if Dillon is replacing Branyan. Now you just lost another left handed bat on the bench with Branyan when you call up Dillon. I bet it was down to Nix, Gwynn, and Nelson and since Braun is still down they went with Nix who gives you more pop than Gwynn and can play the OF so Nelson is eliminated. Nix was the right choice with the call up considering the circumstances.

 

[liveforoctober]

Gwynn = OF on base man

This seems to be a common misconception. Granted it's only 235 major league AB's, but Gwynn's OBP in Milwaukee is .305. In the minors, it's been a more respectable .341, but for a guy with no power, that's not good either. His OBP in 305 AAA AB's this year is .329. And he's not even that fast.

 

 

I probably should have chosen my words better. I just meant that with TGJr, you pinch hit him for a good at bat and someone to start a rally... you pinch hit a guy like Branyan or Nix in hopes that they finish a rally.

[yfinn6]

There's no way to know if TGJ is a good rally starter. His mediocre OBP suggests he's not really that great at starting a rally.

 

TGJ really doesn't have much of a place on this team, none of his skills are above average IMHO.

[jhart05]

Since Gywnn is involved in this discussion, does any believe he plays better defense than Cameron?

 

 

I don't. Cameron's experience alone, puts him head and shoulders above TGJ in my book, not to mention Cam's gold gloves sitting in his closet.

 

I hope they trade TGJ to San Diego in the offseason.

[Fatter than Joey]

Dillon makes no sense if Dillon is replacing Branyan.

 

I'd rather see Dillon called up to replace Counsell at 3rd, than Nix to replace Branyan off the bench or Kapler in LF (while Braun is hurt.)

[markedman5]

"There's no way to know if TGJ is a good rally starter. His mediocre OBP suggests he's not really that great at starting a rally"

 

I think TGJ specialty is ending rallies as opposed to starting them......=).

[giffted1]

I'd rather see Dillon called up to replace Counsell at 3rd, than Nix to replace Branyan off the bench or Kapler in LF (while Braun is hurt.)

What's your reasoning for this? It's a small sample, but Dillon's career numbers vs. righties are bad enough to make Counsell's look respectable.

[endaround]

Using individual splits on RH hitters even with a fulls seasons worth of ABs isn't useful. League wide splits always predict future performance better than a given individual splits.

[Brawndo the Thirst Mutilat]

What's your reasoning for this? It's a small sample, but Dillon's career numbers vs. righties are bad enough to make Counsell's look respectable.

Dillon's minor league splits since '05 show a reverse platoon differential. Note that the numbers in the link are MLEs -- so they are adjusted for park effects and level of competition. Cumulatively, he's hit for an MLE line of .269/.361 /.458 against RHP since '05. This represents a much more reasonable expectation for him in the bigs going forward than his actual MLB splits against RHP.

 

Edit: Link doesn't work. Try again:

 

http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=434338

 

Ok, that one works, but you'll have to click "career" and then "MLE" to see the line I quoted above.

[RockCoCougars]

Branyan = 3TO

Nix = AAAA

[BrewCrewForever]

Stinks to see Branyan on the DL. But I like the Nix call up. Much better option then Gwynn. A lefty bat with some pop and not a wet paper towel for a bat. Plus Nix has been having a nice season in AAA.

[JoeHova]

Sad to see Branyan DL'd. Hopefully he'll be back soon. Nix sucks, but maybe he'll catch lightning in a bottle. In 863 ML ABs, he's got a .273 OBP, .406 SLG. Maybe he's improved, but his minor league numbers don't really show it. I'd have preferred Dillon with Counsell moving permanently back to the bench (and I'm aware that Dillon hasn't been good in AAA).

 

For a moment when I saw that Branyan was DL'd, I had a wild hope that Angel Salome would be called up and get a few starts over the next couple weeks. That would be fun.

[trwi7]

For a moment when I saw that Branyan was DL'd, I had a wild hope that Angel Salome would be called up and get a few starts over the next couple weeks. That would be fun.

 

Where would Salome start? We already have trouble getting our backup catcher one start per month. How many would the third catcher get?

[JoeHova]

For a moment when I saw that Branyan was DL'd, I had a wild hope that Angel Salome would be called up and get a few starts over the next couple weeks. That would be fun.

Where would Salome start? We already have trouble getting our backup catcher one start per month. How many would the third catcher get?

 

 

I wasn't saying they would or should, I said it was a wild hope, just because I like Salome.

[monty57]

Dillon makes no sense if Dillon is replacing Branyan.

I'd rather see Dillon called up to replace Counsell at 3rd, than Nix to replace Branyan off the bench or Kapler in LF (while Braun is hurt.)

We really don't need three 3B on the team. Billy Hall seems to be the forgotten stepchild in all of this. If you're going to bring up Dillon to start instead of Counsell, why not just start Billy full time?

I think the Nix call up makes a lot of sense given the current situation. Braun is hurt, leaving us with three healthy outfielders. In addition to playing all three OF positions, Nix has been playing well at AAA, and Gwynn has not, so Nix is the logical choice. I really don't care if they platoon Nix/Kapler or simply start Kapler in LF with Nix playing the 4th OF role. I just hope that Braun comes back soon, and that the rest of the team stays red hot until Braun is healthy enough to return.

[bork]

I think Nix over Gwynn is mainly taking the hotter hand. Gwynn has been pretty bad in Nashville lately.

 

AVG/OBP/SLG

Nix 284/348/539

Gwynn 269/325/317