Attanasio, Melvin, Yost Chat Log From Tuesday Night

[Mass Haas]

Usually those with MLB accounts (no cost to obtain) can log in early and pose their questions. No word on that as of this post time, perhaps when someone notices that the opportunity is there to ask questions, they'll let everyone else know.

 

MLB chats usually don't run very long -- you would think that with the "Big Three" all involved, they will extend things a bit.

[Mass Haas]

Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Ned Yost 1/15/2008 5:55 pm - 7:36 pm
baseballmod: 5:00 pm	Topic: Brewers baseball
baseballmod: 5:00 pm	Welcome to today's chat. Please keep submitting your questions.
baseballmod: 5:48 pm	Thank you for participating in today's chat. Please keep submitting your questions.
milguest: 6:15 pm	Hello and welcome to today's chat, all the participants are here, so we are going to get started.
brewers__1: 6:15 pm	Ned, what do you invision your starting rotation being as of right now? Thanks and good luck this season!
milguest: 6:16 pm	Ned: I have eight quality, Major League starters, Spring Training will iron that all out. For the first time we have quality depth in our starting rotation and all championship teams need that. We will see where they stack up beginning on February 17.
K-Man: 6:17 pm	Are there any other moves do be done before the season starts? (trades,free agents, ect.)
milguest: 6:17 pm	Doug: I don't anticipate any major moves at this time, but there might be a few non-roster players invited to Spring Training.
djoctagone: 6:17 pm	Mark . . . I've been an avid listener of the Brewers radio network for decades and I've always loved hearing the highlights played postgame. However, they tend to focus only on hitting feats and therefore de-emphasize the importance of pitching and defense. Would you consider replaying the calls of Bob & Jim that pertain to key pitches and key defensive plays?
milguest: 6:18 pm	Mark: As you can see from the moves we have made this offseason, we have a focus on pitching and defense for 2008. Bob Uecker and Jim Powell are here tonight and I will pass this suggestion on to them.
gobrewers9: 6:19 pm	How do you feel about the current bullpen situation?
milguest: 6:20 pm	Ned: Like our starting rotation, I feel like we have great depth and durability and experience. We have five strong armed right handers to begin with along with other guys that will be battling for jobs. WIth Brian Shouse on the left side, we have a number of strong candidates working for that final spot.
boofer35: 6:20 pm	Is there any thought into putting Cameron in leftfield instead of moving everybody around and disrupting the teams chemistry?
milguest: 6:21 pm	Doug: There has been no thought of that. We obtained a three-time Gold Glove centerfielder (and three-time runner-up) with 13 years of experience playing centerfield. We feel very confident that he will bring a dramatic change to our defense.
Ben_Wahrle_2: 6:22 pm	Mark, What is your favorite ballpark now and all time?
milguest: 6:22 pm	Mark: I saw my first baseball game in Yankee Stadium on Opening Day in 1966, so I still have a fondness for that old ballpark, now in its final year.
pilgrim08: 6:23 pm	How is Gallardo looking in his first full season in the majors? Will he be on a pitch limit or count the longer the season goes on?
milguest: 6:24 pm	Ned: He will not be on any type of pitch count or inning count to start the year off. We like to up our starting pitchers workload 40 innings per year. Yovani last year got his quota of innings to 180 so he is on schedule to pitch 200-plus innings in 2008.
pilgrim08: 6:24 pm	Who's going to be the closer for the Brew Crew?
milguest: 6:24 pm	Doug: Eric Gagne is going to be the closer, but we have guys who have had closing experience in our bullpen.
Dustin: 6:25 pm	Mr. Attanasio, with gas prices as high as they are, will it be worth my money to make the 6-hour round trip from LaCrosse to Milwaukee several times this season? Figured as an investor, you would know. Thanks.
milguest: 6:27 pm	Mark: We might have to ask Ben Bernacke about that one! We have invested a lot of money in the team this offseason in order to have exciting baseball played throughout the summer and into the fall at Miller Park. I will be making the 4-hour plane trip from California a lot of times!
mulhall: 6:28 pm	will jason kendall get most of the action behind plate this year or will eric munson get some playing time as well?
milguest: 6:28 pm	Ned: Yes, Jason will get most of the playing time. We have quality guys who will be competing for that second spot. Eric Munson, Mike Rivera, Vinny Rottino all will be fighting to see who backs up Kendall.
bballatc: 6:29 pm	Other than Laporta who would you say are you top two prospects in the minors. one pitcher and one field player.
milguest: 6:29 pm	Doug: Fans will get a chance to see Alcides Escobar, a young shortstop, this spring. We also hope to see Manny Parra a lot more.
TrueBrwCrw: 6:30 pm	This question is for Brewers owner Mark Attanasio... Are there any plans to bring back the old ball & glove logo as the Offical Logo of the Milwaukee Brewers??
milguest: 6:31 pm	Mark: We all love the old ball and glove logo and that is a big part of why we have incorporated that into our alternative uniform. That said, the players are interested in developing their own tradition and legacy and I think the new "M" better represents that.
crewerfan6: 6:32 pm	What attracted the Brewers organization to Mike Cameron?
milguest: 6:33 pm	Doug: Mike mentioned at the press conference last night, with the club being so competitive with young players was the number one reason he chose us. He got caught up in the energy of our fans during the last week of the season. Another reason was he spoke about how he enjoys playing at Miller Park and his history of performance shows that.
brewhaaas: 6:34 pm	Ned, are you happy with the team that Melvin has put together?
milguest: 6:34 pm	Ned: I am extremely happy. I think that the depth of our starting rotation, the depth, experience and durability of our bullpen and the additions we have made to our ballclub without losing young prospects was something special. I think Doug had a great winter.
Dustin: 6:35 pm	Any new upgrades to Miller Park this season?
milguest: 6:37 pm	Mark: There will be several upgrades at Miller Park. We are renovating the former .300 Club and renaming it the Metavante Club. We are upgrading the Associated Bank Kids Zone and we are putting in a new retail store at the Home Plate Gate to mention a few. All projects are scheduled to open in time for Opening Day.
bballatc: 6:37 pm	Have there been a lot of teams interested in Tony Gwynn Jr. with trade talks?
milguest: 6:38 pm	Doug: We have not had any talks with other clubs about Tony. We still feel that he will contribute to this ballclub and organization.
trublubru: 6:39 pm	Who ultimately makes the decision for players to change positions? With the struggles that Bill Hall had offensively last year with his defensive transistion, why are both he and Ryan Braun changing positions this year?
milguest: 6:42 pm	Ned: Through many hours of deliberation, discussion and then the eventual signing of Mike Cameron, we felt that with Billy's athletic ability and his experience in the infield, with Ryan Braun's athleticism, it will make us a better club if we moved them to their new positions. We understand, especially, for Billy Hall, how difficult it is to change positions from year-to-year, we have tremendous faith in Billy's ability as a baseball player and feel that he can handle it and we have the same feelings for R
adam1983: 6:42 pm	What are the plans for the 25 games during Cameron's suspension? Do you go ahead and still move Braun to left field and Hall to 3B ?
milguest: 6:44 pm	Doug: Billy and Ryan's moves will start immediately. Billy will not be asked to play centerfield during Cameron's suspension. It provides the opportunity for Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler and Tony Gwynn to play. Occaisionally, Corey Hart may be asked to play centerfield.
nick2k8: 6:44 pm	How's it going guys? My question is what does it say for this orginization that the main competition to signing Mike Cameron were the Yankees and he chose to sign with Milwaukee?
milguest: 6:47 pm	Mark: One of the key goals of our ownership is to make Milwaukee an attractive destination for free agents who were looking for an alternative to New York/Boston/Los Angeles/Chicago. It is hard to know how serious the Yankees were about signing Mike, but we were delighted at his willingness to negotiate seriously with us and continue those negotiations even after the Yankees showed interest.
milguest: 6:48 pm	Mark: Likewise with Jeff Suppan last offseason, it was our understanding that the Mets showed some interest in him. The ability to attract free agents the caliber of Jeff Suppan and Mike Cameron will be one of the keys to our success.
pilgrim08: 6:48 pm	Is Jason Kendall the starter? He's not much of a defensive catcher. Can you speak about this?
milguest: 6:51 pm	Ned: I have a totally different opinion of Jason Kendall. I think he is a very good defensive catcher. He does his homework every single day, his focus everytime he steps on the field is the starting pitcher. He blocks the ball as well as anybody, he blocks the plate as good as anybody, his only drawback is said to be his throwing. Pitchers' release time plays a big part in if that catcher throws that base stealer out. I think that he is going to help our pitching staff as much as our new and improved defen
TrueBrwCrw: 6:51 pm	This questions is for Doug Melvin... Are you exicited about having 7 of the first 90 picks in this upcoming MLB draft??
milguest: 6:52 pm	Doug: It is the first year the Brewers have had extra picks. With the confidence we have in Jack Zduriencik and his staff, it will be a very exciting draft year for the Brewers to restock what we consider an already strong Brewers farm system.
millerdrinker: 6:53 pm	Doug: Why didn't we bring in a left handed bat?
milguest: 6:54 pm	Doug: We could not find a left handed bat that brought the skill sets that Mike Cameron brought to our team--Gold Glove defense, outstanding baserunning, clubhouse leadership, high batting average with runners in scoring position.
TrueBrwCrw: 6:54 pm	Ned Yost... Will the Brewers be more aggressive on the bases & steal more bases this year??
milguest: 6:56 pm	Ned: Yes, we hope to. We feel that we have four guys that can steal 20 bases this year-Rickie Weeks, Mike Cameron, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. We have to probably move Braun behind Prince Fielder so we can allow him to run more, but I like to run against anybody when it makes sense. We have more base runners than we did last year, plus we have Mike Cameron who went from first to third more than anyone in the Major Leagues the last two years.
massbrewer: 6:57 pm	Ned, are you going to try and poke one over the Green Monster in Fenway for old times' sake (batting practice in May)?
milguest: 6:59 pm	Ned: If you have ever been to Fenway and seen the Green Monster, it is marked with hundreds on dents of balls that were rifled off of it. My goal was to create my own dent. As it worked out, the only three hits I got were Home Runs at Fenway. I never got to create my own dent, but now I am far too old even to reach the Green Monster.
rbraun8: 6:59 pm	Doug, of all the player transactions that you've done since your arrival in Milwaukee, which one was the hardest move to make?
milguest: 7:00 pm	Doug: The Lyle Overbay trade was tough. He is such a good person and performed at a high level. We were also taking a calculated risk that Prince Fielder would be ready.
bus13579: 7:01 pm	Mark are you a Packers fan?
milguest: 7:01 pm	Mark: I am a Packers fan and a Brett Favre fan.
millerdrinker: 7:02 pm	Ned: Is Carlos Villanueva going to be a starter or a reliever?
milguest: 7:02 pm	Doug: Based off his performance last year and his career 12 starts, he will be given serious consideration as a starter.
bomber225: 7:03 pm	Ned, from a managerial standpoint, are you going to try anything new this year that you don't regularly do in years past?
milguest: 7:05 pm	Ned: All winter long, I sit and evaluate what we did the past summer. Sure, you can look at things that you probably wished you could have done differently, but they are mostly spur of the moment decisions. In terms of fundemental differences in managerial style, our players are at a stage of their careers where they are no longer rookies and you tend to stick with them a little bit longer during their struggles. People talked a lot about changing the line up, but if you looked at our line ups, we were midd
tippee: 7:06 pm	Doug: You've been very busy this offseason...Any chance Mark will let you take a vacation
milguest: 7:08 pm	Mark: Doug is always welcome to take an unpaid vacation! Seriously, baseball General Managers have a 365-day-a-year job. Last year, Doug lost his Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve to player trades and signings. Judging from his suntan, he was able to escape to Hawaii this holiday season, but was very productive nevertheless.
50for28: 7:09 pm	Here's a tough one for you guys -- how can you get this team to win on the road?
milguest: 7:09 pm	Doug: We have looked at trying to find the reasons. We have examined the history to teams won-loss records. We are hoping that the experienced players that have been added to the roster will help us get through some of the long roadtrips this season.
jrizzal: 7:10 pm	mr. yost, what is the best part of being the manager of the milwaukee brewers?
milguest: 7:10 pm	Ned: Working with great people that have the same passion and the same focus and the same goals I have, from the players to the front office to the ownership. I love my job and during the season, I just cannot get enough of it.
jrizzal: 7:11 pm	coach with laporta being primed for a great career, we move braun to left? why is that?
milguest: 7:12 pm	Doug: Matt has taken flyballs and will take them in right field and left field in preperation for coming to the Major Leagues.
brem11: 7:13 pm	Mark, what is the best perk when it comes to being an owner?
milguest: 7:13 pm	Mark: The best perk is being able to walk on to a Major League field in the ballparks we are playing in and interact with the players, manager and coaches.
Ben_Wahrle: 7:14 pm	Will more games be on t.v. this year??
milguest: 7:15 pm	Mark: This year, we have 150 games scheduled on FSN Wisconsin (up from 115 in 2005). In addition, now that we are a contending team, we anticipate being televised nationally on ESPN and FOX. And, as Ned just said in the room right here, that doesn't include postseason and World Series games!
milguest: 7:16 pm	Mark, Doug, Ned: We had over 400 questions tonight, thank you for your interest! Be sure to tune in tonight to the rest of teh Winter Warm-Up activities on FSN Wisconsin, WTMJ-AM 620 and here on brewers.com.

[Mass Haas]

The "real" questions I asked didn't make the cut, but I thought asking Ned about Fenway, where he hit his historic 1982 blast, might make it (and it did).

Definitely looks like Ned is leaning towards hitting Prince in the three-hole, which should free up Ryan to steal some bases in innings he leads off. I like that.

[Gopher74]

The "real" questions I asked didn't make the cut, but I thought asking Ned about Fenway, where he hit his historic 1982 blast, might make it (and it did).

 

Definitely looks like Ned is leaning towards hitting Prince in the three-hole, which should free up Ryan to steal some bases in innings he leads off. I like that.

Yes, VERY much. In fact, there was this loud outcry on the ESPN forums last year blasting Yost for making that move, but I thought it was a smart decision at the time, it just so happened that Braun happened to slump shortly thereafter.

 

But even so, the offense still broke out a little bit. Gross got red hot, Prince was still hitting pretty well, Weeks was on fire.

 

I think that a lineup of;

Weeks

Cameron

Prince

Braun

Hart

Hall

Kendall

Hardy

 

Does a couple things.

 

First, it allows Ryan Braun to get on the move. I really thin he can steal 30 bases if he is aggressive enough. I also think that Hart and Weeks can steal 30+, though chance are they steal about 75 collectively.

Second, it gives Mike Cameron a lot more fastballs. He's a dead fastball hitter. This is a reason that Hardy may be good in that 2nd slot as well, however Cameron walks a lot more, so he gets the nod. But the thing is, I think that the number 2 spot if it's Hardy, if it's Cameron, if it's Gross and then Cameron is going to benefit greatly from having Prince hit behind them. It's my hope however that Braun can really mature as a hitter, take more walks and be able to close his strike zone a little bit. It was way too big last year. We'll see though.

[Vgmastr]

Mark: This year, we have 150 games scheduled on FSN Wisconsin (up from 115 in 2005). In addition, now that we are a contending team, we anticipate being televised nationally on ESPN and FOX. And, as Ned just said in the room right here, that doesn't include postseason and World Series games!

Wow, this makes me happy. Just looking at the schedule, you can already tell that 4 games will be broadcast by FOX, so we're looking at a minimum of 154 games televised, that's only 8 non-televised games. Hopefully FSN adds to the HD schedule as well, they only did 17 games in HD last season.

[danzig6767]

I agree on wanting to see Braun walk at least a bit more

 

As for who hits second, i hope it's Cameron. Not really because of what pitches he'll see, but because Cameron has shown a better ability to get on base than Hardy has. If it does end up being Cameron hitting second, it will be interesting to see how often Yost lets Weeks or Cameron try to steal second with such a good 3/4 combo following them. Either way, those two at the top of the oder will bring plenty of speed on the bases going from first to home on singles or doubles.

 

For a team with as much power as the Brewers have, it also is fairly rare in having as much overall team speed to go with the power. Outside of Prince, there really isn't what you'd call a slow player anywhere among the starting players.

[rluzinski]

I really hope Ned doesn't rely too heavily on Spring Training performance to determine his starting rotation. It shouldn't be used as anything more than a tiebreaker, IMO.

 

And if Ned is going to put Fielder in front of Braun to increase base stealing chances, it's hard for me to imagine Hart batting 2nd.

[Ennder]

I definetely like Fielder followed by Braun and Hart against righties, it will make them pay for pitching around Fielder.

[Gopher74]

I really hope Ned doesn't rely too heavily on Spring Training performance to determine his starting rotation. It shouldn't be used as anything more than a tiebreaker, IMO.

 

And if Ned is going to put Fielder in front of Braun to increase base stealing chances, it's hard for me to imagine Hart batting 2nd.

I don't think he will, I think he's just saying what most managers would say with two veteran starters sitting there wondering what their future may hold with the Brewers. If he says that Villanueva IS starting then you've got 4 of the spots all clinched with Yo, Sheets, Villy and Suppan and at least one of Bush and Cappy will be on the outside looking in, not to mention Vargas who's a vet making a decent salary.

 

[sbrylski]

Yes, I too am a fan of Weeks-Cameron-Fielder-Braun-Hart-Hall-Hardy-Kendall.

 

Ned: We like to up our starting pitchers workload 40 innings per year.

 

If Villy starts, he'll be well over 40 extra. Parra would be capped at 172 IP.

 

Doug: We could not find a left handed bat that brought the skill sets that Mike Cameron brought to our team--Gold Glove defense, outstanding baserunning, clubhouse leadership, high batting average with runners in scoring position.

 

.266?

[And That]

.266?

Without looking at it, isn't that higher than what the Brewers had last season?

 

[AJAY]

Hopefully FSN adds to the HD schedule as well, they only did 17 games in HD last season.

 

They just said on the Winter Warmup that the majority of home games will be in HD.

 

That's a nice improvement.

[Ennder]

Brewers hit .261 with RISP last season with an .806 OPS for a 106 OPS+ compared to the league average. We were also way above average late and close with a 118 OPS+ compared to league average. Granted we were 106+ compared to the league overall in all situations. Hitting with RISP was in no way a problem last season for us.

[sbrylski]

.266?

Without looking at it, isn't that higher than what the Brewers had last season?

 

Last year they hit .261 with both RISP and bases empty, and they actually OPS'ed better with RISP (.806 to .778).

So Cameron will bring that up to .262...

[danzig6767]

I really hope Ned doesn't rely too heavily on Spring Training performance to determine his starting rotation. It shouldn't be used as anything more than a tiebreaker, IMO.

Barring a trade of either Capuano/Bush/Vargas, there isn't anything i see that could happen in spring training that would really change the rotation or for the pitching staff as a whole.

If we keep Capuano, i'd be shocked if he's not in the rotation and instead in the bullpen while Bush was put in the rotation. Bush more than Capuano seems to have the type of arm more suited for bullpen work and i can't imagine any scenario of Vargas in the rotation with both Capuano and Bush in the pen. Without a trade there also is pretty much no room for Parra even if he has a great camp.

 

Without a trade of Capuano, the rotation looks nearly set in stone to me

 

Sheets

Gallardo

Suppan

Villanueva

Capuano

 

Also without a trade, that puts both Bush/Vargas in the pen, there really is no room for anyone to win a job with a good spring.

 

 

 

 

[Ennder]

Without a trade it puts someone DFA'd I think, doesn't it? Unless Bush goes to the minors or something.

[trwi7]

Hopefully FSN adds to the HD schedule as well, they only did 17 games in HD last season.

Most of the home games will be in HD this year.

[TooLiveBrew]

"Ned: Like our starting rotation, I feel like we have great depth and durability and experience. We have five strong armed right handers to begin with along with other guys that will be battling for jobs. WIth Brian Shouse on the left side, we have a number of strong candidates working for that final spot."

 

Ned... would that be a 12-man pitching staff? Huzzah!

 

"Yes, we hope to [steal more bases]. We feel that we have four guys that can steal 20 bases this year-Rickie Weeks, Mike Cameron, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. We have to probably move Braun behind Prince Fielder so we can allow him to run more, but I like to run against anybody when it makes sense."

 

*gulp* We were in the middle or upper half in terms of total SB last year. I really hope we don't run for the sake of running. Weeks is an extremely efficient base-stealer, Hart is sound, Cameron's a vet, but I hope we don't push Braun too much to run. Is the difference in offensive impact between 10 & 20 SB worth the extra outs that will come along with them?

[MillerParkSouth]

didn't Prince and Braun both struggle pretty badly when Ned switched them around last year? Sure, Braun could run more, but it obviously didn't work last year (small sample, I know) and with the success they had with Braun3/Fielder4 I would hope they wouldn't change it.

[rluzinski]

Sure, Braun could run more, but it obviously didn't work last year

 

All that was obvious was that in 44 AB, Braun didn't do very well batting 4th. With a sample size like that, we simply have no reason to believe it had anything to do with where he was batting.

[LUKE232323]

That .266 for RISP for Cameron is career I believe. Last three years combined he is .302. Granted career probably trumps last three years when you're talking about a 35 year-old, but just saying.

[Hammer715]

Ok help me understand if Braun bats in front of Prince he cant steal bases, but if Hart or Cameron are there they can? I think what you want is to have a guy that can get into scroing position and have them make a decision with Prince or the number 5 hitter. If Braun gets on first steals second, and then they decide to walk Prince, the number 5 guy so important.

[craigharmann]

Which is why if Hart is hitting #5, he's going to have a MONSTER year

[bork]

If Villy starts, he'll be well over 40 extra.

But he threw 182 innings in 2006, so I don't think the 40 innings is as big of a concern for Villaneuva.

[brettac1]

He's a few years older, too.