JJ Hardy optioned to AAA- Latest: Per McCalvy, JJ will be left at AAA and add another year before free agency

[Ennder]

Hardy didn't exactly have a boatload of time at AAA before he had an opportunity to have the job in the majors? He missed 3/4 of the season at AAA.

Hardy and Weeks were brought up to get fans in the seats, not to help the team win. They were part of the future is now movement since the team was doing so poorly. The team would have been better served if both of them spent another half season in the minors though getting fans in the park certainly helped the payroll so it is hard to argue with it. Now the fact they spent that extra payroll on Suppan is something I can argue with~.

[Invader3K]

I know it's only been a couple games, basically, but Escobar has been a pleasure to watch so far. I was getting so tired of watching Hardy struggle, seeing Alcides is a breath of fresh air.

[Bring Back the Stein]

I know it's only been a couple games, basically, but Escobar has been a pleasure to watch so far. I was getting so tired of watching Hardy struggle, seeing Alcides is a breath of fresh air.

He IS fun to watch. Even a play he didn't make-throw was off line-showed range that had been lacking before.

[WisconsinSportsRule]

I just love his ability to create havoc on the basepaths. We needed a player like him to get this team going a little bit offensively.

[southpaw121505]

I love his range. I think he'll hit for a decent avg., if he can develop an eye at the plate and have a decent walk rate he could be a heck of a player(obviously).

[Thurston Fluff]

Hardy didn't exactly have a boatload of time at AAA before he had an opportunity to have the job in the majors? He missed 3/4 of the season at AAA.

 

you're going to use a guy who hit .247, and an OPS of .711 as an example of why it would have been alright to bring Escobar up without any AAA time? Quite frankly I think it makes my point of why it wasn't a good idea.

 

I just love his ability to create havoc on the basepaths. We needed a player like him to get this team going a little bit offensively.

 

In the - what it takes to have a consistent offense thread - I said speed was one thing that can help. I think the perfect example of that was when they loaded the bases to set up a double play which would have worked out perfectly if not for his speed. It is fun to watch guys who fly.

[sheethead]

I see the three days of "rest" didn't do much for JJ Hardy's offense or defense. His stock has fallen further than Bank of America's. Maybe a new hitting philosophy would help him out, because its getting clearer he cannot sustain 20+ HR seasons without giving up his OBP. Doesn't help him much that he is slower than the tortoise from that famous story.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Listen JJ has obviously had a bad year but I for one am not gonna insult him as he was a big part of our playoff team last season. JJ has been a good Brewer and I wish him well when he is traded.

[Invader3K]

I wish him well when he is traded.

Me too. All the more reason to keep him down in AAA long enough to get that extra year of service time.

[FVBrewerFan]

I would like to see Hardy take over the Counsell role for the next couple years. A vet who can play all over the IF, pinch hit, etc. That's not to say he will never be a full time started again, but it may work best for both sides if he took on this role for a while.

[Invader3K]

What's the point of paying Hardy $6-8 million to be a utility player when you can pay Counsell $1-2 million and get better production (at least this season)?

[cwolf2012]

I would like to see Hardy take over the Counsell role for the next couple years. A vet who can play all over the IF, pinch hit, etc. That's not to say he will never be a full time started again, but it may work best for both sides if he took on this role for a while.

Absolutely not. That would be a complete loss of value for J.J and we'd be paying too much anyway. I'd rather trade him in a package with McGehee and one of our A level arms for a pitcher of some sort.

[rluzinski]

I only meant that loosely, simplistically, generally, whatever.

 

Then have every SB change a single to a double and every CS change a single to an out:

 

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgWzSZZwrdLYcGpPaFp6UHBuUF9Pd3BZNlpRV1ZiRFE&hl=en

 

Of course, our best guess going forward is that he won't keep up that kind of SB/CS ratio in the majors.

 

I'm not a big fan of using the linear weight values for stolen base attempts. Unlike batting events, which more or less occur at random times, a base runner chooses when to attempt a steal. A CS at 2B to end the inning is not nearly as costly as a CS at 3B with no out.

[Oldcity]

His numbers in his brief AAA stint are even worse than they were in the majors. That should be justification enough to leave him in AAA long enough to buy out that extra FA year.

[Invader3K]

His numbers in his brief AAA stint are even worse than they were in the majors. That should be justification enough to leave him in AAA long enough to buy out that extra FA year.

 

I really hope Doug Melvin does the right thing and leaves him down there. If he calls JJ back up early for any reason, I will be extremely disappointed.

[Team Canada]

So much for just needing 3 days off to straighten himself out..

[logan82]

I think we got Bizarro Escobar so far. His defense has been bad and his offense good. That isn't to say I think he will be a bad defender, but he has been pretty bad to this point.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hearing Randolph's comments about him on the broadcast today was really, really exciting. Basically said his arm is better than Jeter's (& I for one have always admired Jeter's arm) when he came up, and the best comparison in terms of foot speed he could make was Jose Reyes.

[Invader3K]

It seems like young players almost always struggle with their defense a bit when they arrive in the majors...especially infielders. I'm not worried too much. I'm just so glad I don't have to watch JJ "battle" out there anymore.

[JJHardy7]

It seems like young players almost always struggle with their defense a bit when they arrive in the majors...especially infielders.

I agree. I think that's because they can't 'slow' that part of the game down themselves. As a hitter, you can step out and try to tell yourself to be patient...as an infielder you really can't do that if you're seeing a lot of action. Escobar is the real deal on defense...he just needs to try and let the game come to him a bit and not press. I've said it before...he's goign to be really, really good. I'm still a bit confused wtih JJ, but it'll be nice going into 2010 with Escobar at SS especially with him seeing MLB action to close this year...now about that Gamel guy...

[1992casey]

I agree. I think that's because they can't 'slow' that part of the game down themselves.

 

I'm not disagreeing, but I'm wondering: why would that be an issue in the Majors but not in the Minors?

[brewizard]

Hardy has started to hit in AAA. My prediction is Hardy will be the better shortstop than young Escobar in 2010. Of course, Hardy will be playing for some other team because Melvin screwed up and was forced to sell Hardy low...

[joepepsi]

No, Hardy screwed up and hit terrible.

 

It seems like young players almost always struggle with their defense a bit when they arrive in the majors...especially infielders

Don't you think this is nerves?

[Gobias Industries]

I agree. I think that's because they can't 'slow' that part of the game down themselves.

 

I'm not disagreeing, but I'm wondering: why would that be an issue in the Majors but not in the Minors?

Everytime I've seen Escobar play SS, whether it be Spring Training or his limited big league time, he's looked pretty shaky on defense. I remember reading on here that he'd be a contender for a gold glove the day he got called up. I'll still assume he's a plus defender, and go by the scouting reports until he gets a significant sample size. .

[JJHardy7]

I'm not disagreeing, but I'm wondering: why would that be an issue in the Majors but not in the Minors?

Nerves, trying to impress, etc. Some Sounds games there might be a few thousand people there...maybe. I think going from that environment to the bigs is a pretty big change. I'm sure he also has to just get a bit more comfortable generally speaking, but I believe the same thing about Huntsville that has been said by Ash could somewhat be said about Nashville.