colin's intertube

The World Baseball Classic was a pretty neat idea. Well, not really a new idea, but a neat one nonetheless, that probably should have happened sooner. While we're at it, we might as well set up a Champions League-style club competition. Most every other major sport has this. Football has a number of continental and world club competitions. Ice hockey and basketball have simlar setups. Baseball is right up there in terms of international ubiquity, so why not? If the Brewers played some team from Japan in a meaningful competition, I'd definitely go. Who's with me?

He's better than Ben Broussard,
He's thinner than Ryan Howard,
Tim Dillard, Dillard!

Two years ago, Tim Dillard was a prospect on the rise - brewerfan.net's Power 50 had him as high as 11th in the organization at one point. After a mediocre 2007, his first season in AAA, he's starting to look like his former self again in Nashville. Strikeouts are back up and walks are back down as he's posted a 2.70 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 23 1/3 innings. With four pitchers in the Milwaukee rotation struggling to get through 5 innings, you can't help but to look at other options. Dillard is 24 years old, but his pitching arm is much younger. He was drafted by the Brewers as a catcher, but was moved to the mound upon arrival to rookie ball. He has much less wear (and experience) on his arm than most 24 year olds, one might expect him to bloom a bit later than most pitching prospects. Despite this, Dillard is still younger than several of the non-prospects currently filling Nashville's rotation. It's too early to give up on him as a starter. Dillard may not be a future ace, but his minor league numbers indicate that he could be a future (circa 2005) Dave Bush. And I think that is something we can all live with at this point.

It seems like it was just yesterday that our former closer silenced a pro-Cubs crowd's chant of "MULLET! MULLET!" with a pair of nasty strikeouts and a save. Now, with a bullpen full of better-than-Derrick-Turnbow versions of Derrick Turnbow, the Milwaukee Brewers don't have much room for the real Derrick Turnbow. Seth "Irish Turnbow" McClung, Guillermo Mota, Soloman Torres, and Eric Gagne are all capable of getting outs, obviously making them more attractive options. Even LOOGYs Brian Shouse and his long-lost son Mitch Stetter have earned more trust, even as general-purpose middle relievers.

Get rid of him, right? Unfortunately, we still owe him about $3 million for the rest of the season. Might as well get something to show for it, right? If Turnbow is DFAd today as expected, we have 10 days to trade him or squeeze him through waivers and to AAA. I doubt his contract and current form will earn him a waiver claim, so it's either a trade or a minor league assignment. Turnbow will likely do well in AAA, just like Justin Lehr, Kane Davis, Jose Capellan, Grant Ball Four and countless others. Even so, will that translate to an improvement at the major league level? Perhaps, but it won't be worth the risk until September, when we have a nearly-unlimited supply of roster spots. So what is the best option? A change of scenery is his best hope to make something of this season. Our best bet is to work with another team in the same situation . Find a struggling reliever with a large contract, and swap them. Are the Red Sox ready to give up on Mike Timlin and his 12.79 ERA? Or would the Rockies cut their losses with former Brewer Luis Vizcaino and his phantom injury? Best case scenario is making one of these trades, and both players involved find their way.

If Derrick Turnbow does become a dominant closer again, I do have one piece of advice for his new team - DO NOT make him a bobblehead with realistic hair.

Sad news out of New York today. The legendary Brady Clark, inventor of the "Brady Clark Hit", has retired from baseball.

Brady, your bloop singles, caught stealings, excessive plate crowding, and overall better-than-Scott-Podsednikness will be missed.

This weekend, I updated this site to Drupal 6. Many important modules that some of my other sites use are not yet working on 6, but everything I actively use here is. So far, so good. My new theme looks a bit too much like Microsoft's site circa 2004, but thats fine.

But, the real reason I'm posting this article:
Fat Jared's Treats