Yardbarker: Brendan Harris

The Unceremonious End of the J.J Hardy Era

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:05:34 -0500

Friday was an interesting day for Brewers fans as they traded J.J Hardy to the Twins for Carlos Gomez.

As a Brewer fan, a J.J Hardy trade was something that I saw coming from a couple time zones away. Still, it isn’t something I’m too thrilled about. On a personal note, J.J Hardy was one of my favorite Brewers and happens to be the only player I have a bobble-head doll for.

Image by shgmom56 via Flickr

The writing on the wall for J.J Hardy’s exit from Milwaukee has been crystal-clear since his surprising demotion to Nashville on August 12. While he didn’t play as well in ’09 as he had in ’07 and ’08 to me it seemed that he was just having a bad year (as indicated by a .264 BABIP) and not because his performance fell off a cliff (i.e. Bill Hall).

Hardy’s replacement at short, Alcides Escobar still has some room for improvement but showed enough last year to get a chance to play every day. He played solid D and hit for pretty good contact. Since he will be only 23 on opening day, it is likely that Escobar will keep improving and his future as a big leaguer is very bright. If he can develop at least some power and show some more discipline at the plate, the Brewers could have something special in Escobar.

At first impression, the Twins are the winner in this trade. I see J.J Hardy making the most of his change of scenery and being closer to the hitter he was in ’07-’08 than the J.J Hardy that played in ’09. The Twins improve their team in this trade as Hardy is a large upgrade at short in comparison to the alternative (Nick Punto/Brendan Harris).

In addition to the awkwardness of seeing J.J Hardy in a Twins uniform next year, there is also the disappointment of the Brewers not getting very much in return.

Carlos Gomez" width="160" /> Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

In return for J.J Hardy, the Twins sent over Carlos Gomez. Thus far, Gomez hasn’t played very well at the big league level. He came over from the Twins in the mega-deal that brought Johan Santana to the Mets. Gomez has been promising defensively and on the base paths. However, there is the problem of him being a liability at the plate. Granted Gomez will only be 24 on opening day but he hasn’t shown many signs of improvement at the plate. This does not bode well for the Brewers because the two likely scenarios for 2010 are Gomez being the starting center fielder or platooning with Jody Gerut. Either way, the Twins improved themselves at shortstop a lot more than the Brewers improved themselves at center.

Just as Hardy’s demotion made it clear his days in Milwaukee were numbered, the acquisition of Gomez means that Mike Cameron’s days in Milwaukee are numbered. If the Brewers thought they were going to keep Cameron, the Brewers would have likely gotten a Catcher and/or Starting Pitcher in return for Hardy. While Cameron is a better player than both Gerut and Gomez, the reality is Cameron will likely be seeking a bigger payday and the Brewers could probably use Cameron’s $10 million salary towards some of their other needs.

Considering the Twins win this trade easily based on big-league performance, there is (hopefully) a silver lining. That being if this leads to the Brewers parting ways with Mike Cameron, that frees up about $10 million in salary that could be used to bring a solid 2/3 starter to Milwaukee to give the Brewers a quality starter not named Yovani Gallardo.

Either way, it should be interesting to see how this trade pans out in the long term. Hopefully, Carlos Gomez will prove me wrong and helps the Brewers contend next year. Still, there is another 150 days until Opening Day and for the Brewers to upgrade their personnel for the 2010 season.

Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!

Twins Non-Tender Candidates

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:15:37 -0500

Are there really any surprises? GABRH2B3BHRRBIBBKSBCSAVGOBPSLG 2009 - Brendan Harris 123 414 44 108 22 1 6 37 29 78 0 2 .261 .310 .362 Brendan's offensive projections coming into 2009 weren't unreasonable. In fact, five of the more popular oracles all had his OPS coming in between .715 and .750, and those all seemed about right considering the last couple of years he's had. Instead he turned in a .672 performance, his l...

ModernTube: Blyleven fan becomes last Metrodome marauder

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:14:04 -0500

The Metrodome had its final share of baseball moments on Sunday from its last home run (Jorge Posada(notes)) to its last batter (Brendan Harris(notes)) to its final field interloper (see above).The rollicking run by the boisterious Bert Blyleven fan — which was capped by a bellydiving security guard and a Torii Hunter(notes)-like climb of the baggied center field wall — can be viewed below. You be the judge on whether his gestures are either his statement on baseball's inequi...

Walks Finally Hurt

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:57:30 -0500

Delmon Young walked with one out in the sixth, then stole second. After a strikeout, Brendan Harris pinch hits and triples off the wall in left-center to put the Twins up 1-0. It took six walks for the Twins to get a run, but that’s all they get as Punto grounds out to [...]

Twins-Tigers Classic marred by Craig Sager's jacket, tie.

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:08:01 -0500

(Photo of TV by Nationals Enquirer Staff. Do not adjust your television. You know it's October in NatsTown when the Nats aren't playing baseball, and TBS field reporter Craig Sager is sporting his trademark heinous jacket with an even uglier tie.) Washington Senators 6, Tigers 5: Good luck in the Bronx? So: are Nationals fans supposed to root for, or against, the Twins, considering the overdone sob story of how the Washington Senators were shipped out...

Twins toss ball off earth, lose 5-2 to Indians, fall six back

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:40:38 -0500

by Mark Duncan - AP This throw wouldn't have hit the ground, had it not been for gravity. View full size photo uploaded September 4, 2009 (Editor's Note: The great Stu is, unfortunately, stuck without an internet connection in Willmar, MN. This means that, unfortunately, you are stuck with me tonight. Apologies all around.) We miss Joe Crede. Even though he's not around enough for us to real...

72-57

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:17:26 -0500

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP about 1 hour ago: Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriquez, left, drops the ball after Rangers first baseman Hank Blalock, right, hit Rodriquez's glove pursuing a pop foul off the bat of Minnesota Twins' Brendan Harris during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid) Browse more photos » Worst loss of t...

The Contributions of Brendan Harris

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:00:16 -0500

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP 7 days ago: Minnesota Twins shortstop Brendan Harris, right, and Pittsburgh Pirates' Freddy Sanchez watch as Harris completes the double play hit into by Adam LaRouche in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2009 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) Browse more photos » We know his bat has really come around, but what about the glove? It's been ...

Twins Sign Crede

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:27:51 -0500

The Twins and Joe Crede have come to terms on a one year deal worth 2.5 million dollars. Although several Twins players have voiced their support for a Brian Buscher-Brendan Harris platoon at third, Crede gives the Twins a dangerous righty in the middle of their lineup. Crede hit .248 with 17 HR in 97 games for the White Sox last season, but hit 30 homeruns in 2006. However, he is a .219 hitter in 49 career games at the Metrodome.?
This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Could've Gone Seven

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:42:20 -0500

Liriano had a good first outing back in the bigs, using 96 pitches to go six scoreless innings in the victory. After thinking about some of the different aspects of his start, I really feel that had just a few things went the other way, Franchise could have probably gone seven.

There were three different instances where I think Liriano used more pitches than he needed to, which ultimately only allowed him to go six innings. He also threw more “effort pitches” when he was put into jams.

The three big plays that stuck out to me were:

1) Brendan Harris’ error; the inning would have been over, but continued because of a lazy throw. There were still two outs and Liriano struck out the next hitter. But he threw seven more pitches because of the mistake and all were “effort pitches” as the bases were loaded.

2) Peralta’s Single; Liriano got Johnny Peralta to ground out to third to lead off the fourth inning. It was a great play by Buscher, but it one-hopped Lamb and he couldn’t hang on. Liriano allowed a hit, but worked out of the inning. It took five pitches to get the next batter.

3) No double-play; This final moment isn’t something the Twins can control. Liriano got Jamey Carroll to groundout to third in the fifth inning with runners at first and second and one out. It would have been a double play, but the runners were going and the Twins could only get one. He retired Francisco on two pitches.

Take all three of these instances and the pitch counts from each inning. Seven plus five plus two equals fourteen pitches. Take that from his final ninety-six pitch count and you have 82 pitches -- definitely enough to get him into the seventh.

Delmon Young To The Twins?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:00:03 -0500

Tampa adds Matt Garza and clears out some of their outfield logjam.

Brendan Harris: Officially my favorite non-Yankee

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:04:01 -0500

I hail from upstate New York, and am an unabashed Yankee fan. I, however, have a soft spot for local players who make it big. There aren't too many big-league players from this neck of the woods, mostly because the weather just isn't warm enough to play baseball year-round as it is in many other areas of the country and in the Dominican Republic. For me, the local boy making good is Tampa Bay Devil Rays shortstop Brendan Harris.

Lineup Literacy: Week 11

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 20:14:50 -0500

The GNUru yet again provides fantasy baseball lineup advice to those in weekly leagues. Included are the GNUru's hot hitters and pitchers, in addition to those pitcher schedule to make 2 starts.