Bill Hall optioned to AAA

[SeriesFinale]

FWIW, on The Big 1070 they said that Burns and Iribarren were getting the call. They referenced a beat writer as their source of info, but I didn't hear it clearly. Sorry, no link to provide proof.

That was TH's guess in his post.

[Thats Freakin Sweet]

FWIW, on The Big 1070 they said that Burns and Iribarren were getting the call. They referenced a beat writer as their source of info, but I didn't hear it clearly. Sorry, no link to provide proof.

That was TH's guess in his post.

 

Maybe so, but the guy they referenced wasn't Haudricourt from what I could hear ( I was on the phone in my office ).

[SeriesFinale]

Hm. Who's to say. JS beat writer Tom Haudricourt wrote "No corresponding moves were made to replace those players. I'm hearing there's less than a 50% chance of making a trade, so it could come down to summoning minor league players such as infielder Hernan Iribarren and right-hander Mike Burns." so that was just a guess on my part.

[Thats Freakin Sweet]

Maybe the guy they referenced on the radio was going off of what TH said...who knows.

 

When all is said and done, hopefully it works out for the Crew. Billy can play one of a number of positions (obviously), there won't be a problem finding him ABs.

[brewdude15]

I really wish we had some better/different pitchers to choose from in AAA.

[thablingster]

I definitely wish Hall the best. I believe he is a better player than the one we have seen the past year and a half, so I hope by going down to Triple A he can rekindle that flame which made many of us exclaim Bill Hall wins ballgames and ask the question can Bill Hall pitch?

[jwill535]

FWIW, on The Big 1070 they said that Burns and Iribarren were getting the call. They referenced a beat writer as their source of info, but I didn't hear it clearly. Sorry, no link to provide proof.

They get all their information on the Mike Heller Show from the JSonline.

[CrewDood]

To answer the question about can a player be traded while down in the minors?

Ian Snell, the pitcher late of the Pirates was down on the farm when he and Jack Wilson were sent to the M's recently

[brettac1]

Finally. Glad he took it.

[craigharmann]

So, if he's the best 3rd baseman in the league, then it's quite obvious he'll tear it up in AAA. Since when does he run the team, so he can dictate how long he'll be in AAA? If he's down there for 2 weeks and doesn't get a hit, is he going to come back up? Then what is the point?

[razzzorsharp]

So will he take time away from Gamel?

[Never Outhustled]

Melvin has stated Hall will play all over. With Escobar gone for the birth of his baby, Hall could play some SS. That should help his trade value.

Hopefully this will help Hall. He said Sveum gave him a new swing. Jeff Cirillo completely lost it for a couple of years too, and he found himself again.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Hall is a sunk cost. The most value he can have to us is to become a versatile utility player. If he can backup at 3B, SS, CF and learn 2B and a corner OF, he could be quite valuable in 2010. He has the tools. Even if his bat remains sub-standard he could play a role.

[bobskube]

Guys, Hall took the deal to go to AAA for a couple reasons. He obviously is doing nothing here and will not get a chance due to the fact that he has gotten a ton of chances throughout the year. He has zero trade value so Brewers can't trade him obviously. If he gets DFA'd, nobody wants to give him a MLB deal. They may just reassign him to AAA as well. So after his agent scoured teams to see if they wanted him and nobody did, he reluctantly took this assignment. If he shows something in AAA, either the Brewers call him up or he leaves to another MLB situation. The guy is not a MLB player now so it is worth the risk for him and his agent. By not playing here at all, that hurts his value a ton more than it helps. A simple reason why he is doing this.

 

To reaffirm that I know what I'm talking about, check the Bill Hall adjustments link where I say they would wait till the trade deadline to make this decision...fyi.

[YoungGeezy]

Hall is a sunk cost. The most value he can have to us is to become a versatile utility player. If he can backup at 3B, SS, CF and learn 2B and a corner OF, he could be quite valuable in 2010. He has the tools. Even if his bat remains sub-standard he could play a role.

 

Bill Hall can and has played all those, 2B & SS his first few seasons then CF now 3B he also started a game in left this season but rolled his ankle or something. As for why he gets to decide what he does is because he wants to get back to the player he is. He wanted to go down and the Brewers wanted him to stay up. So if goes down starts to feel good and drive the ball that's a good thing and he should then come back up. What's the big deal? I love Billy and hope he does come around.

[DonMoney4Mgr]

I don't really see the point. If he goes down and hits AAA pitching, I don't want it to be a reason to give him major league starts. Then how long will they give him before they sit him down again. At that point he may become disgruntled on the bench. On the other hand, what if he doesn't hit at all? He won't stay down there. He'll come up with some lame explanation, such as; I've had some of the best batting practice of my career (against 60 mph fastballs). I'm seeing the ball (thanks to lasik), the hits just aren't falling. I just need someone to love me again.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't really see the point. If he goes down and hits AAA pitching, I don't want it to be a reason to give him major league starts. Then how long will they give him before they sit him down again. At that point he may become disgruntled on the bench. On the other hand, what if he doesn't hit at all? He won't stay down there. He'll come up with some lame explanation, such as; I've had some of the best batting practice of my career (against 60 mph fastballs). I'm seeing the ball (thanks to lasik), the hits just aren't falling. I just need someone to love me again.

What's the point? He's owed $8.9 million after this year. If he's ever going to be useful, he needs to work on his swing. If they don't bring back Cameron, he also might figure in the CF picture and he could use some time out there.

[monty57]

In the article, it mentions that Hall asked for a trade last season when he lost the starting job, and he said he heard there were rumors that other teams were looking at him. It sounds to me like he's going to AAA to showcase himself for a trade. No one will block him, so he'll be tradeable well after the July 31 deadline.

[naivin]

he said he heard there were rumors that other teams were looking at him.

Baseball teams? Seriously, I like your theory and it would be awesome for both sides if it worked out that way...even if the Brewers had to pick up half of his remaining contracts or so. That said, I don't see it happening, but here's hoping.

[burniebrewer]

FWIW, on The Big 1070 they said that Burns and Iribarren were getting the call. They referenced a beat writer as their source of info, but I didn't hear it clearly. Sorry, no link to provide proof.

They get all their information on the Mike Heller Show from the JSonline.

Yeah, they were reading from the JSOnline blog on the air after the game yesterday. Heller was trying to talk to somebody meaningless (probably Baggot) and Phil Dawson was in the background chiming in with the blog reports.

[JoeHova]

I wonder if Bill would be willing to be sold to a Japanese team. Perhaps the Brewers could defray some of his salary in that way. A player like Bill would probably be worth more in NPB than he would be to a MLB team, where he's probably a minimum salary player at this point (so I don't think another team would pick up much of his salary). Of course, Bill surely still believes he is a good player, and I suppose that it is possible and he's just in a 3 year slump with the bat. Whatever value he has in MLB is solely with his glove/versatility for now. I'm not sure teams are willing to pay guys like that very much money. OTOH, Willie Bloomquist is on a multi-year deal (albeit for less money per year than Bill).

[jeffy]

Playing him in AAA at SS and 2b would make sense. He would not have to demonstrate that much offense to have value in those positions, if they are looking to trade him.

 

Putting him in CF could also make sense, if they are looking to move him there again. But I suspect at this point, Hall would rather be traded than be bumped from his position by another guy coming from AAA or coming off injury. From his perspective he probably feels he has been the odd man out too many times. Bumped from SS in favor of Hardy, bumped from 3rd in favor of Braun, bumped from the OF in favor of Cameron/Braun.

[MoonManPete]

Bill was asked twice before the all star break to go down and refused. After he swung at the 3-0 pitch he was told he was going down, or would not get another mlb at bat this year...

[joepepsi]

You know this for sure? Source, please...

[MoonManPete]

Sorry, i cant give a source,it was told to me off the record.