I'm not sure if anyone here has read Big Leagues Magazine - this is actually my first time! - but, my friend, Nathaniel Stoltz, went to Tennessee recently to watch the Birmingham Barons/Tennessee Smokies series (Double-A affiliates of the White Sox and Cubs organizations, respectively), and then a series involving Milwaukee's Triple-A Nashville Sounds and the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's Triple-A affilate). Here's a link to the latest issue. Stoltz's article, 'Scouting Notebook: Road Trip Through Tennessee' is on p. 35 (you will need to page through and/or a bunch - it's a digital magazine).

Here's an excerpt on 2B prospect, Scooter Gennett:

 "He's patient enough to work walks occasionally, though his approach and pitch recognition still need some refinement."

further down:

"Gennett has good speed and plays an above-average second base with good hands and range. What sort of utility he has to offer a major league team will depend on how much he can do beyond simply make contact and run."

(after mentioning Gennett hasn't hit a HR yet this season in a hitter-friendly PCL)

"He'll have to to show he can rip enough doubles to keep pitchers honest, and he'll have to supplement his hits with enough walks to post a solid on-base percentage. There's a chance he could prove himself worthy on both counts and evolve into a solid leadoff hitter, but it's more likely that he becomes a Darwin Barney-style player who contributes with his defense and hits well enough to stay in the bottom portion of an NL line-up." 

Stoltz also writes about Tyler Thornburg (who pitched 22 innings with the Brewers last year, with a 20/7 K/BB ratio).

"He's off to a good start in Nashville this year repeating the level (41/14 K/BB in 38 ⅔ IP, 3.33 FIP), and he has the stuff to back up those numbers, with three pitches that all rate at least average."

Thornburg throws 91-94 mph with some life on his fastball from a steep downhill plane, and complements the heater with a big-breaking curve and a deceptive sinking changeup. He's around the zone with all three pitches and projects to have average to solid-average command.

Some have suggested that Thornburg should move to relief due to his unorthodox mechanics and small stature, but he repeats his motion well, throws strikes, and has a diverse and effective arsenal. That leads me to believe he can be an effective midrotation starter, and he's not far from reaching that ceiling."

In addition to these, there are some passages written on Kyle Heckathorn and Khris Davis. Check it out to read more! I've been a fan of Nathaniel's work at SB Nation's Beyond The Box Score ever since I read his fantastic profile of Mike Fiers at Beyond The Box Score, last year (after Fiers had already joined the major league club) called Mike Fiers Versus the Radar Gun: How is He Winning? If you haven't read it, go back and check it out, along with his other work.

I'm hoping to catch up with Stoltz and ask him some more questions in the future about his work, and if there are some other things he saw to supplement his report on Nashville. Hope you enjoy his work! You can follow him on twitter, here: @stoltz_baseball.

(Image: John & Cait…Plus Nine)

This Saturday, the Brewers will host Brewed for Her, a promotional event designed to appeal to casual female fans.  In past years, a similar promotion called Brewers All-Access for Women gave attendees a backstage tour of Miller Park, including the press box, Uecker's booth, and the home clubhouse.  There was also the promise of breakout sessions with various female Brewers staff members.

The upcoming Brewer for Her is a little different – instead of focusing on behind-the-scenes attractions, fans can watch the Brewers/Pirates game from the Gehl Club, and receive a gift bag with various trinkets and apparel purportedly worth $250.  Notably, attendees will have access to “fashion experts,” not to mention “those who purchase the new Brewers hair and nail accessories will also have the opportunity to have the beauticians style their hair and nails with them on the spot.”

I don’t recall this promotion being advertised during Brewers television broadcasts, so I wasn’t aware of it until last week, when I read this post at Brew Crew Ball by Nicole Haase.  While it seems to me Brewed for Her might not appeal to all fans, Ms. Haase’s assessment of the event was much less generous:

Hair. Makeup. Nails.

Offensive. Degrading. Stereotypical. Tone Deaf. Sexist.  (And don't even get me started about the calling all of us "girls")

Ms. Haase also observed that “this Brewed event is sexist and demeaning and undermining the feminist movement in about 1200 ways.”  If I could be understated for a moment, clearly there are some female Brewers fans who do not appreciate the marketing approach in this case.

Ms. Haase makes several good points in her post (at over 3,300 words, there would have to be a few).  One is that Brewed for Her does not appear it will be as successful as Brewers All-Access for Women, which sold out last year.  Indeed, this post by Brewers Senior Marketing Manager Caitlin Moyer offering two-for-one ticket pricing “for a limited time” ten days before the event suggests Brewed for Her isn’t meeting internal expectations.  Ms. Haase is also on strong ground with her criticisms of the Diamond Dancers and FS-Wisconsin girls, which I tend to agree are pretty frivolous as far as attention-getting mechanisms go.

That said, I find most of Ms. Haase’s arguments unconvincing and occasionally unserious.  Regarding her offense at being called “girl,” that only seems to be in the context of promotional copy that says “The perfect gift for Mother’s Day or a girls’ day out.”  That’s just a variation of the expression Girls Night Out, which is such a commonly used phrase it has its own Wikipedia page.  Putting it mildly, it’s not very sporting to accuse the Brewers of using the word “girls” in a condescending manner.

Ms. Haase’s repeated invocations of sexism are also unpersuasive.  Two people that have been actively promoting this event have been the aforementioned Ms. Moyer and Jill Aronoff, Senior Director of Merchandise Branding for the Brewers.  If Brewed for Her was manifestly sexist, it’s unlikely female marketing professionals would have anything to do with it.  It’s not at all obvious that many or most women are offended (or ought to be) by Brewed by Her, or have any reason to feel degraded.

Ms. Haase said, “Menfolk, you guys have to care, too. You need to be upset that the sister, mom, wife or girlfriend that goes to the game with you is being treated this way.”  I don’t usually think it’s my role to be upset on behalf of adult women, but perhaps my tolerance for injustice is too high.  To gain some insight, I asked my sister – who is an avid Brewers fan, and happens to be a sports producer/editor for a Milwaukee television station – for her opinion.

Like myself, my sister was unaware of the Brewed for Her (which does not speak well of the marketing efforts) and also was not familiar with Brewers All-Access for Women.  I read her the details described in Ms. Moyer’s post verbatim over the phone.  When I got to the point about styling hair and nails on the spot, my sister interrupted, “I would totally do that.”  She also thought the gift bag sounded appealing.  She did not report feeling demeaned.

Once I prompted her by asking if she thought any of it was sexist, she said she didn’t think it was fair there wasn’t a similar event for men.  She also said the pink-and-purple flyer used to promote the event was a little silly.  Her overall verdict: “$250 worth of free sh*t sounds like a good deal.”

To the extent that Brewed for Her is sexist, it could only be the most harmless form of prejudice imaginable.  Ineffective marketing?  Apparently.  Outrage-worthy?  Hardly.

Swings and misses and swings and misses (and even yesterday's swings and misses).  Nice velocity, nice movement and also groundouts by people named Matt Carpenter with the fastball.

...and a good day for this guy, too, right here, to make it 6-4.

And...a good day for me, too!

(Photo: StarTribune.com)

I’m a Milwaukee guy who currently lives in Minneapolis, so I’m often presented with an odd dichotomy when it comes to my sports world.  For the most part, my time here has been an often-tense balance of supporting some local teams and not others.  I back the Pack, so it’s always been a little nerve-wracking to be in the land of the Vikings, especially during the epic douche-baggery that was the Brent Favre era.  It helps that there’s a good number of Packers fans, and Brewers fans for that matter, living and working in the Twin Cities.  As anyone who lives somewhere other than the state or city of their favorite team knows, it can be an uneasy thing showing your colors when there are hordes of the opposition around.  I dig the St. Paul Saints, and who can really hate the Timberwolves?  Since Wisconsin has no NHL team, I go for the Wild at the top level of pro hockey.  As for baseball, I really supported the Twins during the early 00s, both because the Brewers flat-out stunk, and because the Twins were a rag-tag bunch that was easy to root for, facing contraction and long odds to reach the postseason with a team of relative unknowns. 

The point is: there’s usually a combination of good and bad for a Wisconsinite in the Twin Cities sports landscape. 

First the bad, and this may be more comical than bad, but the Twins invited ex-Packers wideout Greg Jennings to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Target Field on May 29, which just happens to be the first game on the Minneapolis side of the four-game Brewers-Twins series.  The skeptic in me finds it really hard to believe that this series was not targeted by the Twins, or the Vikings, or both.  Really?  You need to introduce Greg Jennings to everyone when a bunch of Brewers/Packers fans are in the house?  Really?  That’s just poor hospitality: making your guests feel awkward.  Sometimes Minnesota revels in a chance to stick it to Wisconsin, and it appears this is another little jab.  I expect Jennings will receive an appropriate mixture of boos and cheers.  Welcome Jennings, get ready for some vitriol.         

On the plus side, the Twins have expanded their use of local music at Target Field into something called the Midwest Music Series, and I was at the game on Wednesday versus the White Sox when the 4onthefloor [sic] played the first of many games where a local band rips it up during ‘pregame warm-ups, between innings and during pitching changes’.  I quote Chris Riemenschneider of the Minneapolis Star Tribune because when I was at the game I did notice that the band was playing but with the chaos of being at the stadium, it wasn’t simple to chart exactly when they were performing.  The band is sometimes shown on the video boards. 

Apparently the Midwest Music Series also allows the bands to do a couple short pregame sets for early arrivers.  The Twin Cities have a vibrant music scene and if you’re a baseball fan who’s into music, this is a really dynamic concept.  I truly enjoyed hearing 4onthefloor rock out instead of some cheesy blaring pop music.  There’s also the intriguing live aspect that forces bands to be on their toes, should any sudden break occur.  Or, say, should a break be elongated.  Improvisation is a big part of it as the need arises to go off script.  The Brewers could, nay should, rip this idea off from the Twins.  It would support local Milwaukee bands and it would bring a festive, organic vibe to the music at Miller Park.  The Twins have a great spot to house a band in the upper area of left field at Target Field, but I’m sure the folks at Miller Park could find a place for this to happen.  I really like this idea…nice job, Twins. 

The next installment of the Midwest Music Series is….well what do ya know, May 29 versus the Milwaukee Brewers.  Greg Jennings will be there.  Will you?       

By the way: head over to Voodoo Inspector for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the ultra-mega Riot Fest in Chicago!

(Image: Totalprosports.com)

In JSOnline.com’s most recent online chat with Brewers beat writer Todd Rosiak, one participant named Craig called into question the professionalism of Mr. Rosiak and his colleague Tom Haudricourt (edited for clarity):

Is it accurate to characterize what you and Haudricourt do with the Brewers as journalism?  It seems like you guys hardly do more than serve as a mouthpiece for the organization…relaying the desired narrative. Considering Journal Communications and the Brewers are long standing business partners, is it unrealistic for fans to think the beat writers will do anything beyond soft peddle the coverage?

Rosiak speculated Craig’s question was motivated by specific anti-player/manager animus, and said “Our job is to report on what happens, not editorialize.”  That’s all well and good, and while it appears that Craig was being provocative, it’s true the Brewers and Journal Communications have overlapping business interests.  Is it reasonable to assume that we, the sports journalism consumers, are getting an inferior product because of those overlapping interests?

The Milwaukee Brewers certainly are able to choose what journalists have access to players and coaching staff, so it makes sense those with access wouldn’t want to lose it.  But imagine the Brewers decided they didn’t like Rosiak asking questions about (say) optioning John Axford to Nashville, and revoked his press credentials.  If Rosiak was behaving professionally and asking reasonable questions, the Brewers would have a scandal on their hands.  They would come under heavy fire from professional and amateur sportswriters alike.  Therefore the Brewers have nothing to gain by insisting that reporters “relay a desired narrative,” or taking punitive action against those who don’t “soft peddle the coverage.”

Likewise, Rosiak has nothing to gain by ignoring fans’ interests.  If he doesn’t produce content people want to read, he’ll find himself out of a job.  One gets the impression Craig’s complaint is a matter of semantics.  Rather than asking Ron Roenicke something like, “How long are you going to stick with Rickie Weeks?” Craig might prefer Rosiak used a wording along the lines of, “Why are you letting this sucker Weeks waste a spot in your starting lineup?”  That certainly wouldn’t be soft peddling coverage.  That also would guarantee Rosiak loses his access without anyone feeling sorry for him.

The work of Rosiak and Haudricourt speaks for itself.  Last week, Rosiak wrote a blog post reporting on Roenicke dropping Weeks in the lineup, which noted, “overall this is the second consecutive season the 2011 All-Star Game starter has gotten off to a miserable start at the plate.”  When Axford gave up a two-run lead and took a loss against the Pirates earlier this month, Haudricourt’s game recap post on the pitcher’s “melt down” led with, “Even when he is on a string of solid pitching performances, his tormenter always seems to lurk around the corner.  The home run.”

That doesn’t seem like soft peddling coverage to me, although your mileage may vary.  But even if you don’t care for Rosiak and Haudricourt’s work, it’s silly to accuse them of not being journalists.  Maybe folks like Craig need to be more realistic about what they expect from journalism.