Melvin on WSSP

[twobrewers]

Just curious...

 

As some think Turnbow has value. Other would give Turnbow away for a ham sandwich.

 

What do you think Turnbow would get if he was a free agent this year?

[billyhallfan]

BHF, are you that convinced Melvin doesn't realize this? Sorry, it just seems an inappropriate remark.

 

I don't get why it is inappropriate, the defense needs to improve, bottom line, there is no denying that the defense is bad, and something needs to be done, I think Melvin knows that the defense sucks, I'm sure he knows that they are bad, it just hasn't appeared like he or Yost want to fix it. They want to keep players where they are, even though they would fit another position better, but maybe with Melvin's remarks, that might change. Yost certaintly blew a lot of games, but if the defense were even average, we would have gottwn swept by the Diamondbacks in the playoffs, IMO.

[JJHardy7]

BHF, I think you're clarifying yourself now, which is fine. Your intial comment referred to Melvin realizing the defense needs to be fixed. The point is he probably knows that.

 

The Brewers have invested a lot of time in Braun and Weeks in the minors at their current positions. I'm sure they want them to pan out where they currently play, but if they're convinced it won't work I'm sure they'll be moved.

 

I think Braun should stay at third (I know I'm in the minority), but I wouldn't mind moving him to the OF if we acquire a solid 3B via free agency or trade. I'd rather not put Hall back at 3B.

[aracko]

Wow - Mora still has fire. It would make the defense better, thats for sure.

[Katuluu]

If they are going to move Braun to LF I'd be all over Teahen in KC. He's a Gold Glove quality third baseman, he has a solid bat, and we should be able to acquire him for someone like Capuano or Bush.

[Fatter than Joey]

But honestly, the Orioles are a disaster and have been for years, so I can imagine that the frustration has got to be unbearable.

 

Yeah -- I'd cut Mora a lot of slack -- The O's are getting Yosted nuclear style

[homer]

Mora will be 36 next year and posted really unimpressive numbers in '07 (I think he slugged under .400). He may be in the middle of a steep decline. He sure ain't the same guy that won the Silver Slugger a few years ago. I'd be in favor of looking into Teahan. Even though his power slipped quite a bit he's only going to be 26 next year so there's a chance it will return. At the very least he also plays OF which would help out on the old double switches and late inning defensive replacements.

[billyhallfan]

The Brewers have invested a lot of time in Braun and Weeks in the minors at their current positions.

 

not really, braun played 199 games in the minors, that isn't a lot of time. Now, one could argue that he should stay at third because he is young and he can improve and he has already changed positions to third, and all of those may be true. But I am not content with just "hoping" that he will get better because he is young, I see a problem on defense, and I see a solution that can make it better by acquiring only one player, and moving some other players around, I'm not going to assume that Braun will get better,

 

but my name also isn't Doug Melvin.

[RyDogg66]

The questions that need to be asked are:

 

1. Does Melvin feel we get enough offense out of Braun/Weeks/Fielder/Hart/Hardy that we can afford to upgrade the defense at the expense of the offense?

 

2. If the answer to number 1 is yes, what positions need to be addressed in order to make the team better defensively?

 

Id rank our defensive abilities from worst to best last year as:

 

3B (Braun)

1b (Fielder)

C (Estrada)

CF (Hall)

2b (Weeks)

RF (Hart)

LF (Jenkins)

SS (Hardy)

 

3. If we identify first, the positions that SHOULDNT or CANT be changed, it would be SS, RF, 1B and 2B, that will leave the positions that need to be addressed, defensively as 3b, C, CF, LF.

 

4. Next question, are there answers on the current roster?

 

4a.) Centerfield - In house options, Tony Gwynn, Jr, Laynce Nix, Gabe Gross. All I've ever heard about Gwynn is that he is a fabulous defender, a great CF. I know most here dont like his bat, heck, I dont like his bat, but if we decide that we have enough pop in the lineup in the 3-7 slots, then maybe we need to take a hit in the 2-hole or 8-spot in the lineup to shore up the defense.

 

Cost to improve CF defense - $0.00 dollars added, Gwynn salary ~ 400k.

 

4b.) Third Base - In House Options - Bill Hall, Joe Dillon, Craig Counsell. The no-brainer option seems to be Bill Hall, who improved his infield defense quite a bit from 2003-2004 seasons, before he was moved to CF. This is a big improvement over Braun, as Hall has a middle infielder's range and a very good arm. Cost to fix, again is zero.

 

4c.) Left Field - In House options - Ryan Braun, Gabe Gross, Joe Dillon - Braun is a great athlete. He has a good arm, great speed and good instincts. I think he could be a plus left fielder. My opinion is that if Manny Ramirez and Carlos Lee can do it, and Alfonso Soriano can make the switch, that so can Braun. I dont belive the LF defense will suffer much from what Jenkins and Mench offered last year. Additionally, Braun will not have to be replaced late in the games for Counsell.

 

4d.) Catcher - In House options - none. This is probably the hardest place to fix the defense, as a good catcher is hard to find. My opinion is to add a + defender as Estrada's backup and hope that Johnny can improve from last year.

 

That leaves a lot of extra money to use to keep Cordero or extend Sheets or add bullpen depth. Its the most obvious solution as well, as Ive been asking for something like this since the first week of the season. For Melvin and the Brewers to admit they were wrong about BOTH Braun AND Hall though, in regards to their positions last year, seems like a reach, so my guess is one of them stays put, or Hall is traded or goes back to Super-Sub. Although it would be dumb to do so, as he has more value on the market as a SS, not a crappy CF. Just please no Dave Roberts or Randy Winn types.

[splitterpfj]

If they are going to move Braun to LF I'd be all over Teahen in KC. He's a Gold Glove quality third baseman, he has a solid bat, and we should be able to acquire him for someone like Capuano or Bush.

 

I agree with this, has there been any indication that KC would deal him?

[Fatter than Joey]

Great post Rydogg... Hopefully someone will fog a mirror in the front office and get Braun off of 3B.

[Tbadder]

One of the reasons I like Hall at third is that he's got a cannon from there. Watching him there and at short I always thought he revelled in making throws. This may have put him in a good disposition, and might positively affect his batting. Then again it might be meaningless, but I think given his power it's worth a try.

 

Tony is great defensively. I saw numerous games in the minors (probably 20/25) and he can flat out get it done. Of course you'd have to carry his weak bat, but at his age and pedigree he may still turn out to be a .285/.375 guy, which I can live with given the poo-ton of power we currently possess.

 

 

I do with Rydogg's implication--that in-house is the most likely scenario given this solution.

 

That means Melvin can concentrate elsewhere like bullpen and young catcher.

[Tbadder]

For the same reason that acquiring Teahen might help him blossom--poor organization, no hope of winning, adverse pyschological affects. Coming to the Brewers might re-jump start his career and fulfill his potential.

[theavrock]

I'd be on Teahan like a fat kid on cake. He is young and cheap. I see him blossoming in the next year or two. His stats slipped a little bit this year, but they are respectable and the guy plays very solid D. That being said I havent heard whether or not he can be had. Anyone know?

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I'm not so sure about shifting Hall to third. The move to CF really hurt him at the plate. He needs to be focused on the batter's box this year. Shifting him again would just cause more disruptions. He'd probably be rough at the start as well.

 

Braun to LF makes sense if we can get a legit 3B. There aren't any of a starting quality in house now. It would depend on whether our outside options are better for LF or 3B. It gives Melvin some options.

[fondybrewfan]

Nice Post RyDogg, but I would personally consider Bill Hall's CF defense to be much better than Rickie's 2nd base defense, and I might flip flop Estrada & Fielder as well.

[JJHardy7]

bhf, another point one could make is that they haven't played too many games professionally and should get better, but I'm sure the Brewers brass knows a lot more about this than I do. Maybe they will get better...maybe they won't -- hopefully Milwaukee knows.

 

As far as the time, I'm talking about the additional time spent with coaches, etc (especially with Braun) from day one of his professional career up to now. There's been a lot of time in that regards spent on those two.

 

I'd rather keep them put for a year and see what happens. If they bring in a solid 3B, I wouldn't hate moving Braun, but moving Hall and Braun would concern me. I'd only move Hall to a corner OF spot and see if his offense gets better.

[dadofandrew]

Turnbow would very likely get, at minimum, $2-3M for a couple years if he were a FA. It's easy to imagine him getting at least JC Romero money, as afterall, Romero was waived last year and Derrick's ceiling is much higher.

 

If the Royals sign another OF, then Teahen might be available. Otherwise, I'm sure they are happy to have him.

[billyhallfan]

I'd only move Hall to a corner OF spot and see if his offense gets better.

 

i wouldn't, then he would have to learn another position all over again, he already knows how to play third.

[dpapo]

If anyone wants to listen to the interview itself, I'll leave a link to it, hopefully it'll work otherwise you can just go to the WSSP Web site.
A few other details mentioned.
Doesn't sound like the Brewers are going to be making a run at signing Torii Hunter. Haven't got in touch with Hunter's agent and vice-versa. As far the catching position, to add what was mentioned, they are looking at 2 free agent catchers in particular. Went on about how tough it is to find catchers that don't have flaws and teams that have young catchers generally want to keep them.
Looking hard at 1 or 2 free agent pitchers, including one in that range (3 years, 12 million dollars) I believe. It was the part where he was talking about Wise, so it might have been 3 to 4 million a year range. Probably some other things that I missed, but the link below should work.

http://wssp.radiotown.com/audio/doug/111507_DougMelvin.mp3

[JJHardy7]

I'd imagine if Hall can play CF he should be able to play LF or RF pretty quickly. I think (if we move Braun) Braun, Hart (in CF), and Hall as a corner wouldn't be a terrible group.

 

I guess what it will boil down to is what the Brewers can find a 3B or OF (via free agency or trade). If it's easier, cheaper, etc to find a 3B than an OF I think they will do that.

[Never Outhustled]

While I agree with the idea of moving Braun from 3B, why is Braun not being considered for RF? His speed and arm could gives him the oppurtunity to be a plus defender there. Hall could move to 3B, and Hart could play CF.

 

IMO, Hart is a better CF than Hall (and Gross) anyway, do others agree? I think Hart takes better angles when playing CF than he does in RF.

 

I think re-organizing our own players to the best defensive allignment, while going for a short-term fix in LF is the best strategy with Matt Laporta on the horizon.

[Crazyk1294]

Is Teahen really a defensive upgrade a 3B over Braun? He had 20 errors in 128 games in '05 and 14 errors in 109 games in '06. He's probably better as an outfielder.

[endaround]

First off there isn't a 3B in the major leagues that isn't a defensive upgrade. Second BP has Teahen at 4 and 5 FRAA in 2005 and 2006. So Teahen is likely slightly above average.

[MelGroceryStocker]

I guess I am in the minority ... I don't want Braun moved.