Should Jeff Bianchi be given a chance? Latest -- He Will! Bianchi to be added to 40-man, called up

[logan82]

I'd much rather have them spend the $125K on paying off one lucky fan's student loans

Probably be a better use of money.

[Bombers]

Please Doug? I just can't stomach Izturis any longer

[mothershipconnection]

Since Izturis was signed to a minor league contract, can't they send him down and pay quite a bit less?

I used to know the labor and roster rules well, but it seems my grasp has slipped.

[1992casey]

Even if he has a split contract, César has enough service time that he likely wouldn't be sent down. He'd likely go through the waivers or release process and be paid his full salary.

[TooLiveBrew]

Aside --- if anyone cares, Mike Guerrero is the Sounds manager, not Don Money

[trwi7]

Its only going to cost about 90-125 for the rest of the season to have him up, which is about a games worth of parking, so why not.

I thought we had established long ago that the Brewers do not get much if any money from the parking.

 

Where did you hear this?

 

5th in parking revenue in 2000, improved to 2nd in 2001, and dropped to 3rd in 2002. However, Brewers officials caution that this ranking may be misleading because some clubs share parking revenue with other entities, do not have parking facilities, or rely on public transportation to bring fans to the ballpark. In contrast, under the terms of the Brewers’ lease with the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, the Brewers receive all parking revenue at Miller Park.

 

http://www.rodneyfort.com/SportsData/MLB/MLBIncomeExpense/WIBrewersAudit.pdf

[monty57]

In Logan's defense, we are already somewhere around $10MM over budget for the season. Maybe $125k is "one game's parking revenue," but if that money has already been spent, it can't be spent again. In "baseball terms," $125k may not seem like a lot of money, but in real life it is a lot of money. If the owners' group has to dip into their own pockets to pay this extra $125k, would they feel it's worth it to see Bianchi play if they don't have to?

 

I'd guess that if they had a Ryan Braun-type prospect then the owners' group would have no qualms about paying some extra money. Bianchi doesn't quite fit that bill. Now, if we were to do something like trading away K-Rod to save a few million dollars, then we might be able to spend money elsewhere. If and until that happens, the owners probably don't want to go into their personal accounts while the team on the field stinks. They're probably busy trying to determine how bad the attendance will be (and therefore how much revenues will drop) if this team doesn't turn things around quickly.

[logan82]

Its only going to cost about 90-125 for the rest of the season to have him up, which is about a games worth of parking, so why not.

I thought we had established long ago that the Brewers do not get much if any money from the parking.

 

Where did you hear this?

 

5th in parking revenue in 2000, improved to 2nd in 2001, and dropped to 3rd in 2002. However, Brewers officials caution that this ranking may be misleading because some clubs share parking revenue with other entities, do not have parking facilities, or rely on public transportation to bring fans to the ballpark. In contrast, under the terms of the Brewers’ lease with the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, the Brewers receive all parking revenue at Miller Park.

 

http://www.rodneyfort.com/SportsData/MLB/MLBIncomeExpense/WIBrewersAudit.pdf

Well that is news to me. I don't remember that being brought up in previous income discussions. I was always under the impression that the Brewers didn't pull in much if any money from concessions or parking.

 

In Logan's defense, we are already somewhere around $10MM over budget for the season. Maybe $125k is "one game's parking revenue," but if that money has already been spent, it can't be spent again. In "baseball terms," $125k may not seem like a lot of money, but in real life it is a lot of money. If the owners' group has to dip into their own pockets to pay this extra $125k, would they feel it's worth it to see Bianchi play if they don't have to?

I don't think they would dip into their own pockets but I agree with the rest. I don't see a good reason to shell out extra money just to see what a guy could do.

[JohnBriggs12]

In Logan's defense, we are already somewhere around $10MM over budget for the season. Maybe $125k is "one game's parking revenue," but if that money has already been spent, it can't be spent again. In "baseball terms," $125k may not seem like a lot of money, but in real life it is a lot of money. If the owners' group has to dip into their own pockets to pay this extra $125k, would they feel it's worth it to see Bianchi play if they don't have to?

 

I'd guess that if they had a Ryan Braun-type prospect then the owners' group would have no qualms about paying some extra money. Bianchi doesn't quite fit that bill. Now, if we were to do something like trading away K-Rod to save a few million dollars, then we might be able to spend money elsewhere. If and until that happens, the owners probably don't want to go into their personal accounts while the team on the field stinks. They're probably busy trying to determine how bad the attendance will be (and therefore how much revenues will drop) if this team doesn't turn things around quickly.

 

 

Seriously??? They don't have a SS for 2013. Isn't it worth $125K to get a read on whether Bianchi could be that guy at major league minimum next year instead of spending $3-5 million on some mediocre veteran fill in?

[logan82]

How about we let the guy prove something in the minors before he gets to the majors. At this point he has had about a good month in AAA and a good year 3 years ago in AA. I know our MLB guys are kind of bad but we can just sit tight and wait and see if Greinke brings back a SS. As long as his defense is solid(no idea, FLD% is practically useless) he might be a good backup.

[monty57]

In Logan's defense, we are already somewhere around $10MM over budget for the season. Maybe $125k is "one game's parking revenue," but if that money has already been spent, it can't be spent again. In "baseball terms," $125k may not seem like a lot of money, but in real life it is a lot of money. If the owners' group has to dip into their own pockets to pay this extra $125k, would they feel it's worth it to see Bianchi play if they don't have to?

 

I'd guess that if they had a Ryan Braun-type prospect then the owners' group would have no qualms about paying some extra money. Bianchi doesn't quite fit that bill. Now, if we were to do something like trading away K-Rod to save a few million dollars, then we might be able to spend money elsewhere. If and until that happens, the owners probably don't want to go into their personal accounts while the team on the field stinks. They're probably busy trying to determine how bad the attendance will be (and therefore how much revenues will drop) if this team doesn't turn things around quickly.

 

 

Seriously??? They don't have a SS for 2013. Isn't it worth $125K to get a read on whether Bianchi could be that guy at major league minimum next year instead of spending $3-5 million on some mediocre veteran fill in?

 

I'm just looking at it as a business owner. There is a pretty good chance that if the Brewers don't turn things around there will be a lot of empty seats as the season progresses. The tickets may already be sold, but things like parking revenue and concession sales are really going to take a hit. Their budget should be set on projected attendance and it should be designed to make a profit. Going $10MM over budget in order to "go for it" this season probably ate up all the projected profit and then some (they may have even projected playoff revenues in their euphoria of signing Ramirez). Now they're looking at probable revenue decline, and these businessmen are seeing big red dollar signs.

 

This can easily be remedied by dumping some salaries in trade, but that decision has not been made. If they do sell, then guys like Bianchi will be called up and no one will give it a second thought. If they don't sell, and they don't start to play better, then each of the owners will take a financial hit this season. They are a limited partnership, so at some point the money stops coming out of revenues and starts coming out of the owners' pockets. It is at this point that $125,000 starts to become a lot of money, and the thought of paying someone like Izturis not to play becomes less palatable.

 

As I said on page 1, from a personnel perspective I'm all for bringing Bianchi up. However, I have to believe that the owners are pretty upset with the way this season's playing out... Melvin & Roenicke "sold" them that going over budget for "a cleanup hitter" would be what it takes to make the playoffs. Now your butt's on the line to pay for this mistake, and it could be pretty expensive depending on how the fans react. The owners have to be trying to decide if this season can be salvaged enough to keep fans showing up, and if not how they will be able to limit their personal financial hit. Adding to that hit so they can watch Jeff Bianchi play can't be too high on their list at the moment.

[JohnBriggs12]

How about we let the guy prove something in the minors before he gets to the majors. At this point he has had about a good month in AAA and a good year 3 years ago in AA. I know our MLB guys are kind of bad but we can just sit tight and wait and see if Greinke brings back a SS. As long as his defense is solid(no idea, FLD% is practically useless) he might be a good backup.

 

He's got over 2,300 plate appearances in the minors. He hit .315 at AA 3 years ago. He's hitting a combined .329 in 66 games between AA and AAA this year. Prior to 2010, he was the Royals SS of the future. What does he have left to prove in the minors? It's time to see what he can do against major league pitching.

 

They are 6 games back in the WC and 7 in the division with half a season to play. Whether or not they even deal Greinke won't be decided until after the 3 series coming out of the break against teams above them in the standings. Wouldn't it be better to have some idea on Bianchi before you trade Greinke? If you insist you have to get a SS back aren't you limiting Greinke's value? Maybe a team offering pitching/3B is a better deal. Even if a SS is included, maybe you can get a better one that's 2 years away, so you may still need a placeholder. Even if Bianchi is brought up and they still trade for a SS, doesn't it help Bianchi's value to have played some in the majors?

[JohnBriggs12]

I am going to go out on a limb and say Bianchi will be up and Izturis will be gone by the end of the week.

 

I base this on what happened in 2006, Chad Moeller and his .506 OPS was sent packing on July 5th with the team in a similar place in the standings and contemplating whether to be buyers or sellers. Brought up was Mike Rivera who had not been on the 40 man or anyone's radar, but was having a fine season in AAA (.827 OPS). Rivera went on to post a solid .783 OPS in the 2nd half.

 

It the Brewers fall out of contention in the next month, Greinke will be dealt, saving 1/3 of his $13.5 million salary. So will K-Rod, saving some percentage of what's left on his deal. If Bianchi comes up and they don't deal those guys, it's because they fought their way back into the race, and that will keep attendance from falling off.

[reillymcshane]

I am going to go out on a limb and say Bianchi will be up and Izturis will be gone by the end of the week.

 

I base this on what happened in 2006, Chad Moeller and his .506 OPS was sent packing on July 5th with the team in a similar place in the standings and contemplating whether to be buyers or sellers. Brought up was Mike Rivera who had not been on the 40 man or anyone's radar, but was having a fine season in AAA (.827 OPS). Rivera went on to post a solid .783 OPS in the 2nd half.

 

It the Brewers fall out of contention in the next month, Greinke will be dealt, saving 1/3 of his $13.5 million salary. So will K-Rod, saving some percentage of what's left on his deal. If Bianchi comes up and they don't deal those guys, it's because they fought their way back into the race, and that will keep attendance from falling off.

I agree that this could happen - but I'd hold off until we see if Greinke is dealt. If Zack is traded, that means we are throwing in the towel for 2012. Then there's no reason to keep Izturis (or K-Rod, or Marcum or anyone else that's a free agent after the season that we can't/don't want to sign). If Zack is kept and we claw our way back to .500, RR will go with the 'veteran' guy almost every time.

[Bombers]

I am really hoping Bianchi is the one called up ... Let's see what he can do

[patrickgpe]

i think he will be, they really need a bat off of the bench, he is a little older than green and while his defense has been lacking he has shown he can hit for average.

[igor67]

It seems like the reports on his defense are still kind of vague, and not helpful in figuring out what to expect. If is still a little raw is it range, hands, or wild arm? For the first time in forever we actually have a first basemen who can help rather than hinder guys who may have a strong but wild arm. Which leads to an interesting question, how many errors from Gamel could Corey have saved, and how many less would have let Gamel's range shine through as the asset it was?

[Outlander]

i think he will be, they really need a bat off of the bench, he is a little older than green and while his defense has been lacking he has shown he can hit for average.

 

28 days

 

They are both younger than I thought they were, being only 25 years old.

[markedman5]

I think you are underestimating how bad Gamel was at 3rd. Most of his errant throws couldn't have been caught by the jolly green giant.....

 

It seems like the reports on his defense are still kind of vague, and not helpful in figuring out what to expect. If is still a little raw is it range, hands, or wild arm? For the first time in forever we actually have a first basemen who can help rather than hinder guys who may have a strong but wild arm. Which leads to an interesting question, how many errors from Gamel could Corey have saved, and how many less would have let Gamel's range shine through as the asset it was?

[igor67]

I rarely get to watch the Brewers, hence my question.

[Mass Haas]

Bianchi gets his chance!

 

Career stats

[PrinceEatMeat]

Awesome. Glad he's getting a shot. Probably should just dump Izturis to clear the 40-man spot, but we all know that won't happen.

[yoyo49]

Was the 40-man at 39 or 40 before Bianchi's addition?

[PrinceEatMeat]

Was the 40-man at 39 or 40 before Bianchi's addition?

 

It's at 40, and he hasn't been added yet. A move will have to be made to add him.

[JohnBriggs12]

They have nothing to lose playing him over the likes of Ransom or Izturis.