Indians call up Matt LaPorta

[AJhawk50]

Indians call up Matt LaPorta

[PrinceEatMeat]

Alright, time to find out what we gave up. Not that I really care anyway. It was all worth it for a playoff appearance!

[wibadgers23]

Looks like he was putting up pretty good numbers in AAA. Good luck to Matt.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Isn't that a little early? Could they be costing themselves a year of LaPorta?

[Never Outhustled]

Good luck to Matt.

Why wish good luck to this selfish loser? He's the guy who refused to sign a team picture the rest of his team signed for an MS fundraiser. I hope he goes 0-5 with 5 K's, an error, and catches the swine flu.

[strawbossisevil]

They will not be costing themselves a year of LaPorta, although this does raise the chance that he could be a super 2.

[endaround]

It will be really close to a year if he stays up the entire year. But it might just be until Hafner gets back.

[logan82]

They should be ok after a couple weeks into the season.

Link

 

Some bullet points on service time...

• One year of major league service is defined as 172 days of service, but a major league season actually runs around 183 days. A player can only accrue 172 days of service during a season, but he doesn't have to be on a roster from wire to wire to get that many days. This means that a team that wishes to hold a player in the minors long enough to push his free agency date back by one season must wait at least eleven days (and probably about two weeks, just to be safe) before recalling him.
• Days spent on optional assignments shorter than ten days don't count against your service time. If you're sent down on Friday and are recalled on Monday, you get Saturday and Sunday's days of service as well.
• The cutoff for "super-two" status (referring to players with between two and three years of service who are eligible for salary arbitration) is not fixed; all players with at least 2 years and 0 days of service but no more than 2 years and 171 days (2.171) of service are ranked in descending order by total service time, and the top 16% are granted super-two status. The cutoff is usually somewhere between 2.130 and 2.135; to the best of my knowledge, it's never been below 2.120, so a player recalled after June 5th or so is in the clear.

[JoeHova]

I'm happy for Matt. I hope he does well. The more former Brewer prospects that do well, the better because maybe teams will be more willing to deal if the Brewers are known for having valuable minor leaguers who turn into good major leaguers.

 

Also, X, is that a joke or what? If not, failing to sign a photo doesn't seem like the worst offense in the world.

[brewcrew00]

Team photo for MS? That's pretty weak if it's true.

[TheCrew07]

Also, X, is that a joke or what? If not, failing to sign a photo doesn't seem like the worst offense in the world.

I believe it was Huntsville GM Buck Rogers that made his dislike of LaPorta public citing numerous examples from pictures to jerseys that Matt wouldn't sign, for a variety events.

 

edit. I overstated it a bit, it was just jerseys, from Buck's top 10 list this offseason.

 

#5: The Trade

 

Again many of you wrote in regarding what has come to be known as The Trade. For those that just woke up from a 26-year nap, the Milwaukee Brewers traded away Stars RF Matt LaPorta and three other Minor Leaguers to the Cleveland Indians for CC Sabathia. The Brewers ended up making the playoffs on some of the most amazing pitching by CC and restoring hope to Brewers fans everywhere. LaPorta, whose first at-bat of the season was a grand slam, went to the AA Akron Aeros where he dropped his bags and went to the MLB Futures Game and later the Olympics in China.

 

LaPorta could hit the long ball but had a reputation for not being fan-friendly with the autograph seekers. Fans in the Eastern League actually found out what some Stars fans had discovered early on: good luck getting something signed.

 

In the end I think the Brewers got the better end of the deal. You can say what you want about what the future could hold for LaPorta, but a guy with a Terrell Owens attitude isn't going to help you in the long run. Ask Jerry Jones. Clubhouse Manager Marcus Commander asked Matt to sign his jerseys before he left; the same jerseys that were to be auctioned off in our MDA and St Jude's fundraising auctions. "What's in it for me?" was the response. Go figure. Good luck, Cleveland. Karma is a two way street.

 

You know the champagne that was on ice had we clinched the first half? Some of the players popped the corks and celebrated after the Brewers pulled the trigger on The Trade. Morale improved after that, players smiled more. Must be something in the water here, too.

By the way, those two jerseys were sold without autographs and helped the two fundraisers anyways.

[wibadgers23]

Good luck to Matt.

Why wish good luck to this selfish loser? He's the guy who refused to sign a team picture the rest of his team signed for an MS fundraiser. I hope he goes 0-5 with 5 K's, an error, and catches the swine flu.

I didn't even know this happened. Okay, I wish him bad luck then.

[PKBadger]

Also, X, is that a joke or what? If not, failing to sign a photo doesn't seem like the worst offense in the world.

I believe it was Huntsville GM Buck Rogers that made his dislike of LaPorta public citing numerous examples from pictures to jerseys that Matt wouldn't sign, for a variety events.

 

edit. I overstated it a bit, it was just jerseys, from Buck's top 10 list this offseason.

 

#5: The Trade

 

Again many of you wrote in regarding what has come to be known as The Trade. For those that just woke up from a 26-year nap, the Milwaukee Brewers traded away Stars RF Matt LaPorta and three other Minor Leaguers to the Cleveland Indians for CC Sabathia. The Brewers ended up making the playoffs on some of the most amazing pitching by CC and restoring hope to Brewers fans everywhere. LaPorta, whose first at-bat of the season was a grand slam, went to the AA Akron Aeros where he dropped his bags and went to the MLB Futures Game and later the Olympics in China.

 

LaPorta could hit the long ball but had a reputation for not being fan-friendly with the autograph seekers. Fans in the Eastern League actually found out what some Stars fans had discovered early on: good luck getting something signed.

 

In the end I think the Brewers got the better end of the deal. You can say what you want about what the future could hold for LaPorta, but a guy with a Terrell Owens attitude isn't going to help you in the long run. Ask Jerry Jones. Clubhouse Manager Marcus Commander asked Matt to sign his jerseys before he left; the same jerseys that were to be auctioned off in our MDA and St Jude's fundraising auctions. "What's in it for me?" was the response. Go figure. Good luck, Cleveland. Karma is a two way street.

 

You know the champagne that was on ice had we clinched the first half? Some of the players popped the corks and celebrated after the Brewers pulled the trigger on The Trade. Morale improved after that, players smiled more. Must be something in the water here, too.

By the way, those two jerseys were sold without autographs and helped the two fundraisers anyways.

 

If this was my name, I would totally name my kid "Cobra".

 

Sure sounds like LaPorta has a good perspective on life. I mean, why waste valuable ink to help some sick kids? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

[Big Cat Dad]

PrinceEatMeat[/b]]Alright, time to find out what we gave up. Not that I really care anyway. It was all worth it for a playoff appearance!

I hope you're being sarcastic. Mortgaging your future on a one and done in the play-offs isn't very intelligent.

 

I hated the trade when it happend, when we made the playoffs (lucky by the way) and I hate it now......dumb trade.

 

We got to the playoffs.....woo-hoo.....with no chance at actually making a realistic push to the World Series.

[bucks2281]

Sure, you hate the trade, but was it really a dumb trade? Even those who disagree with the deal wouldn't say it's a "dumb" trade.

 

with no chance at actually making a realistic push to the World Series.

 

Just like those 2006 St. Louis Cardinals. And no chance of making a realistic push? They were the second best NL team for the majority of the season.

[logan82]

It hardly mortgaged our future. You say that like we only had one prospect and his name was Matt LaPorta. Sure it would have been nice to get more than a rental in return. It hardly kills us though.

[PeaveyFury]

I hope you're being sarcastic. Mortgaging your future on a one and done in the play-offs isn't very intelligent.

 

Very condescending.

[PrinceEatMeat]

We didn't even come close to mortgaging the future with that trade. We don't even need an outfielder right now, or in the future. Also, I'd take that playoff appearance over Matt LaPorta any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. I waited my whole life to see that happen. I think it was a great trade by Doug Melvin, and if he does something similar this year, or any other year, I wouldn't be upset. We have to play to win. Those few months of pitching by CC were just incredible, and I wouldn't give back those moments for anything. Those are moments that can't be matched. I was at all the games down the stretch and in the playoffs with my Dad, and those are moments that we'll both remember forever. Whenever I hear anyone say that trade wasn't worth it, I get really upset, because it was worth it for anyone true Brewers fan who has waited their whole life to see a playoff game, or anyone who cherishes moments that last a lifetime. Thank you to Doug Melvin once again! He did more for Brewer fans with that trade then he will ever know.

[JoeHova]

because it was worth it for anyone true Brewers fan who has waited their whole life to see a playoff game, or anyone who cherishes moments that last a lifetime.

 

I'm a true Brewer fan and I don't think 1 playoff appearance is a goal that is especially worth shooting for. Can't we all just agree that there is more than one reasonable perspective on the trade without accusing each other of not being true fans?

 

 

edit: also, that's some interesting stuff about LaPorta. Rogers really seems to dislike him. If it was just a reluctance to sign stuff (Bill Russell went 30 years between autographs at one point), I wouldn't think it was that big of a deal, but there was clearly more going on.

[davego]

My take on that trade (not that anyone asked) is that Matt for CC was 'worth' it as it lead to a playoff appearance. While The 'Crew did get bounced out in the first round, you can't advance if you don't get in. 2006 Cards are just a recent example. I suspect most Florida fans would say squeezing in via the WC worked out ok for their team.

[kramnoj]

I think we need some perspective on this whole refuse to sign issue. Did he find out he was traded and as he was packing his stuff to leave, he has some stuff shoved in his face and it is assumed that he will sign it? I think it's a little understandable that he wasn't feeling charitable as he was leaving.

[jwill535]

Reading between the lines of the that blurb, it made it pretty clear that LaPorta was not liked at all by his team mates and didnt treat people well and only thought about himself.

[uwisfan]

I wasnt crazy about it then or now. I have a hard time accepting using a #7 overall as one piece of trade bait for a rental. I understand the Cards argument, but that was a veteran team, not a bunch of kids like the Crew had last year. If you're going to go for it with a young team, you need a TON of talent, and I wouldnt mortgage key parts of the future without it. If you have a veteran team, you might be willing to take a final shot at it before you start rebuilding.

[PrimeTime955]

The trade is a no brainer win. Don't forget about the draft picks we got.

[phxMILWfan]

With the kind of clubhouse we have, why would you want a cancer like it sounds like LaPorta is? There's no where to play him for the next few years anyway. As far as whether or not it was worth it to trade for CC, definitely worth it. There was no way DM could know if Sheets would get hurt at the end. If he hold up, and I know it's a big if, I think that team was a world series team. I've waited my whole life for a playoff appearance, it was worth it to me.