Spring Training is only 9 weeks away...imagine that if you will. Over the course of the next couple of weeks it will be interesting to see how the Brewers craft their active roster and who they will bring in to compete for it down in Maryvale.
There are still some holes in the bullpen that will have to be filled. They did make an addition in yesterday's signing of Sean Green to a non-guaranteed contract worth 875k. The veteran reliever missed all but 11 games last season for the Mets; he was placed on the DL with an intercostal strain to his throwing side. He carries a 4.36 ERA for his career which started in 2000 when he was drafted by the Rockies.
Milwaukee also brought back Craig Counsell for yet another season. I have no problem with this since he's cheap, loves Milwaukee, and he has always contributed when needed.
-Since making the Greinke trade official on Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers saw a significant spike in ticket sales for season-packages. Prior to the trade Milwaukee had 400 new accounts open since the start of the off-season. In just under 5 days the Crew has added 1500. This is exactly what Antanasio wanted to do, fill Miller Park. It doesn't happen by hiring a washed up manager like Valentine. You give a bench coach the opportunity to manage....when a number of other teams passed him up over the past couple of years.
-Interesting take on the Greinke & Marcum deals: Milwaukee received 2 of the best players at their position (Pitcher).
" For one, both Greinke and Marcum very good at turning batted balls into outs. In Baseball Info Solutions plus-minus system, Greinke rated a +7 in 2010 and a +13 since 2008 (meaning he turned 13 more balls hit his way into outs than the average fielder would have), tied for second-best in baseball. Marcum was a +4 last season and a +8 in his last three seasons (he missed 2009 due to injury). "
Considering that Milwaukee's infield all ranked at or near the bottom at their respective positions over the past 4 SEASONS (!!!), these two defenders are a blessing.
-The stars are aligning in Milwaukee. Sure I'm biased, why can't I be? Milwaukee has been losing since 1982. They BARELY made the playoffs in 2008....and now they have all the ingredients to make a run. Mark my words, Philly will not stay healthy and they will certainly miss Jason Wryth in RF. Milwaukee still needs another closer, as I'm unsure that Axford can repeat his stellar performance from his 2010 campaign. He also hit some bumps at the end of the season. If it's one thing teams can learn from the Pirates...it's to have back-up plans for the closer-role (see Octavio Dotel). Baltimore & Texas also had a plan B entering the season and it worked out for them (not so much with Baltimore's overall record of course).
-Hardball Times ranks Milwaukee's prospects (as well as the Nationals). They list Mark Rogers at the top, Kyle Heckathorn at #3, Kentrail Davis at #6 and Cutter Dykstra at #8.
I don't have last year's rankings in front of me, but a number of those who were listed this year are new to the list....due to the past 2 trades. I'm okay with that, WE NEED TO WIN NOW.
TEAM WISCONSIN: A bush league blog that discusses news, rumors, and BS regarding the Milwaukee Brewers.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Brewers land big fish!
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As you all know the Milwaukee Brewers traded a boatload of prospects over to the Kansas City Royals for bonified ACE, Zack Greinke late Saturday night/early Sunday morning (depending on the sources).
A number of people that I have talked to seem to think that this was risky deal; some even think of it as being stupid.
Well my friends, this was the best deal the Milwaukee Brewers made in franchise history. Yes, this also takes the cake from the CC Sabathia trade in July of 2008. Why? Here's why....
Milwaukee was able to sell high on both Escobar and Cain. The only REAL prospect that they parted with was Jake Odorizzi, who's still playing down in Single A and not going to make a big league splash for at least a couple of years. He won't even be effective for 3-4 years. That's far too long to wait. Jeremy Jeffress was also apart of the deal which made me giggle out loud. Are you serious? The Milwaukee Brewers were able to unload a First Round draft pick dud in order to seal the deal with KC? This kid smokes more pot than Ricky Williams of the Dolphins. In fact, the guy pisses hot one more time and he's banned for life. Did he show some flashes of what we were expecting last season? To some degree, he was decent in collecting 1 win and tossing 10 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Nice, but too little--too late in my book. This kid was supposed to be in the rotation back in 2009, but no, he was too busy serving a lengthy 2nd suspension. Is there some upside with this kid? Sure there is, but right now with where the Brewers are...they don't have time or the patience to wait for an upside.
Jake Odorizzi is the key ingredient to this deal. Again, he won't be of value to the Crew's play-offs for a number of years when Prince Fielder is long gone playing for the California Angels. Let's keep in mind that he tossed a joint no-hitter last summer for the Wisconsin Ratlers. When I heard about the deal, the only name included in the package that stung was Odorizzi.
Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain are two players that the Brewers sold high on. Let's face it, Escobar went from being a ROY candidate to batting .246 on the season. Yes, it's only his rookie year and he does show lots of promise...but we need results now. Milwaukee can't afford to have Cain (Rookie) and Escobar (2nd year) up the middle on the defense. They did this last year and it wasn't the best scenario. Cain doesn't provide much power and contributes a high number strike-outs. In fact, too many while down in the farm system. Both will be good, but again, we need to get this plan in motion now. Do or die, right?
Another note on this, I'm sick of always saying to my friends (the few that I have), "I can't wait until a couple of years pass and all of these young players are seasoned."
OR
"Wait until next year, can't wait!"
I remember saying, "Wow, our farm system is stocked with Weeks, Fielder, Gwynn Jr., and Weeks"...."We're going to be unstoppable".
Well, Milwaukee forgot to stock up on pitching. Positional players, especially infielders are plentiful (aside from SS this season). It's time to go ALL IN.
I would also like to thank Ned Yost, the ex-Brewers skipper that was fired in August of 2008. He pushed for KC to make the move for Cain & Escobar. After the deal was announced Sunday, I tuned in to XM MLB radio to hear what they had to say. I was surprised to find out that the hosts all pretty much thought the Brewers came out ahead on this deal. Despite the fact that the hosts didn't know much about Cain, they did know the Escobar has no pop in his bat and he plays decent defense. They liked Odorizzi, but made the observation that he was going to Single A for KC, so he won't make an impact for some time.
Milwaukee pulled one over on KC...plain and simple, in my opinion. Deal prospects is easier to stomach because there's so much that can go wrong. Look at LaPorta and Brantley, both players who were traded to Cleveland for CC Sabathia. Both players have struggled and Milwaukee (at this point) came out ahead in the trade. They made it to the Playoffs and won their first post-season game since 1982....equally success. LaPorta has yet to find his swing and consistency, but there's still time for him to pay off.
Cain stings a little, in fact he will probably be a contender for NL ROY in 2011. But that's a big IF.
Thus bringing up the conversation of Zach Greinke! To tell you the truth, yes I'm excited about him becoming our ACE...but I'm even more excited about Yovanni Gallardo. This season he can relax and fall back in to his typical role of being the #2 or #3 hurler in the rotation. As the teams #1 in the rotation (2009 & 2010) he felt the pressure and he didn't react to it too well. This season will be different, he'll feel a level of comfort like he did when he was next-in-line to Ben Sheets/CC Sabathia. Shawn Marcum and Narveson/Rogers will also provide the anchor in that rotation.
1) Greinke
2) Gallardo
3) Wolf
4) Marcum
5) Rogers/Narveson
Compare this to the past two seasons....my heavens....world of difference.
I do realize that Greinke suffered/suffers from social anxiety and it flared up again last year when KC was hurting. Going 10-14 with a plus 4 ERA makes some wonder what we're getting. Winning does wonders for the soul and mind. Once Milwaukee start on their winning ways, Greinke will feel a lot more at ease and not have the weight of the world on shoulders because there are 4-5 other pitchers who can pick up the slack.
Will Greinke return to his 2009 form? Probably not right away, but if we get 15-16 wins from our ACE....well hell, that would be all that we need. I know wins aren't everything in baseball, but the people who say that don't win.
A number of people that I have talked to seem to think that this was risky deal; some even think of it as being stupid.
Well my friends, this was the best deal the Milwaukee Brewers made in franchise history. Yes, this also takes the cake from the CC Sabathia trade in July of 2008. Why? Here's why....
Milwaukee was able to sell high on both Escobar and Cain. The only REAL prospect that they parted with was Jake Odorizzi, who's still playing down in Single A and not going to make a big league splash for at least a couple of years. He won't even be effective for 3-4 years. That's far too long to wait. Jeremy Jeffress was also apart of the deal which made me giggle out loud. Are you serious? The Milwaukee Brewers were able to unload a First Round draft pick dud in order to seal the deal with KC? This kid smokes more pot than Ricky Williams of the Dolphins. In fact, the guy pisses hot one more time and he's banned for life. Did he show some flashes of what we were expecting last season? To some degree, he was decent in collecting 1 win and tossing 10 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Nice, but too little--too late in my book. This kid was supposed to be in the rotation back in 2009, but no, he was too busy serving a lengthy 2nd suspension. Is there some upside with this kid? Sure there is, but right now with where the Brewers are...they don't have time or the patience to wait for an upside.
Jake Odorizzi is the key ingredient to this deal. Again, he won't be of value to the Crew's play-offs for a number of years when Prince Fielder is long gone playing for the California Angels. Let's keep in mind that he tossed a joint no-hitter last summer for the Wisconsin Ratlers. When I heard about the deal, the only name included in the package that stung was Odorizzi.
Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain are two players that the Brewers sold high on. Let's face it, Escobar went from being a ROY candidate to batting .246 on the season. Yes, it's only his rookie year and he does show lots of promise...but we need results now. Milwaukee can't afford to have Cain (Rookie) and Escobar (2nd year) up the middle on the defense. They did this last year and it wasn't the best scenario. Cain doesn't provide much power and contributes a high number strike-outs. In fact, too many while down in the farm system. Both will be good, but again, we need to get this plan in motion now. Do or die, right?
Another note on this, I'm sick of always saying to my friends (the few that I have), "I can't wait until a couple of years pass and all of these young players are seasoned."
OR
"Wait until next year, can't wait!"
I remember saying, "Wow, our farm system is stocked with Weeks, Fielder, Gwynn Jr., and Weeks"...."We're going to be unstoppable".
Well, Milwaukee forgot to stock up on pitching. Positional players, especially infielders are plentiful (aside from SS this season). It's time to go ALL IN.
I would also like to thank Ned Yost, the ex-Brewers skipper that was fired in August of 2008. He pushed for KC to make the move for Cain & Escobar. After the deal was announced Sunday, I tuned in to XM MLB radio to hear what they had to say. I was surprised to find out that the hosts all pretty much thought the Brewers came out ahead on this deal. Despite the fact that the hosts didn't know much about Cain, they did know the Escobar has no pop in his bat and he plays decent defense. They liked Odorizzi, but made the observation that he was going to Single A for KC, so he won't make an impact for some time.
Milwaukee pulled one over on KC...plain and simple, in my opinion. Deal prospects is easier to stomach because there's so much that can go wrong. Look at LaPorta and Brantley, both players who were traded to Cleveland for CC Sabathia. Both players have struggled and Milwaukee (at this point) came out ahead in the trade. They made it to the Playoffs and won their first post-season game since 1982....equally success. LaPorta has yet to find his swing and consistency, but there's still time for him to pay off.
Cain stings a little, in fact he will probably be a contender for NL ROY in 2011. But that's a big IF.
Thus bringing up the conversation of Zach Greinke! To tell you the truth, yes I'm excited about him becoming our ACE...but I'm even more excited about Yovanni Gallardo. This season he can relax and fall back in to his typical role of being the #2 or #3 hurler in the rotation. As the teams #1 in the rotation (2009 & 2010) he felt the pressure and he didn't react to it too well. This season will be different, he'll feel a level of comfort like he did when he was next-in-line to Ben Sheets/CC Sabathia. Shawn Marcum and Narveson/Rogers will also provide the anchor in that rotation.
1) Greinke
2) Gallardo
3) Wolf
4) Marcum
5) Rogers/Narveson
Compare this to the past two seasons....my heavens....world of difference.
I do realize that Greinke suffered/suffers from social anxiety and it flared up again last year when KC was hurting. Going 10-14 with a plus 4 ERA makes some wonder what we're getting. Winning does wonders for the soul and mind. Once Milwaukee start on their winning ways, Greinke will feel a lot more at ease and not have the weight of the world on shoulders because there are 4-5 other pitchers who can pick up the slack.
Will Greinke return to his 2009 form? Probably not right away, but if we get 15-16 wins from our ACE....well hell, that would be all that we need. I know wins aren't everything in baseball, but the people who say that don't win.
**Milwaukee still needs a lot of help in that bullpen. Yes, they have Loe and Jaxford, Hawkins (will be back, if healthy)...but there are plenty of gaps. No more Coffey and no more Hoffman.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Brewers surprise...EVERYONE...and hire Ron Roenicke
Well, I would have to say this hiring came out of left field yesterday morning when the Crew decided to hire Ron Roenicke as the clubs new manager. The 54 year-old comes to Milwaukee by way of LA where he was Mike Scioscia's right hand man for 11 years as their bench coach. Similar to Roenicke, other Angels' assistants went on to coach at the Big League level; Joe Maddon and Bud Black both have experienced success in their first stints as manager. Maddon took the worst team in baseball (2007) and turned them in to the AL's best (2008 AL Pennant) in Tampa.
Bud Black is still a work in progress. He led the 2010 Padres to a 90-win season and a 2nd place finish in the NL West. A great feat, but not enough to take the wild card spot from Philly. Overall, both have shown success by following Sciocsia's phylosophy of playing aggressive ball and being active on the base paths. Veterans like Bobby Abreau, Chone Figgins, and Vlad had their careers revived in Anaheim under the leadership of Scioscia & Roenicke's guidance. Heck, even K-Rod behaved long enough to have 4 All-Star seasons while playing for the Angels.
Roenicke does have minimal NL experience however, limited to coaching a couple of Minor League teams in the 90's.
At first glance, I wondered why the hell Milwaukee would hire a no-namer. But then I also thought back to past hires. Michael Hunt (Jsonline) put it best; the Brewers need to take a shot on an up-and-coming star when they look ahead. A small market team like Milwaukee can't always rely on the re-treads they hired in recent memory. They did it in the past when they hired Bobby Coxs' assistant, Ned Yost. Did that pay off? Well, I would say it did. Yost made the Brewers relevant again by having a .500 season and positioning them within striking distance for the playoffs in 2008...until there was only 11 days left in the regular season. Not a star, but a contender who was welcomed back to manage the Royals in 2011. Not the best manager to use as an example, but relevant enough to mention.
Ron-boy's biggest challenge? Being able to effectively communicate with the team. Something Macha was useless at. This team is young...yes we've been saying this forever now...but they are a bunch of mid-to-late 20 something year-olds who need guidance. I really hope that the new skipper will work closely with Sveum in getting his players to buy in to the system. Sveum is his bridge to the team that he needs to utilize right away.
Secondly, Ron has to dive in feet first. None of this Macha-crap of holding off until spring to meet your team. Are you kidding me? This introduction needs to happen right after he passes his background check. He better already have a high-rise condo picked out in downtown Milwaukee. One things for certain, he will have a longer leash than Macha did due to his lack of experience as a manager. We all know Antanasio wanted Bobby V and Melvin wanted Roenicke; how do we know this? Because Melvin's last-ditch effort of keeping his job and having a shot of being a GM for a future team relies on him successfully cultivating this skipper in to a winning story. Melvin is going all-in on this hire. It could provide the ultimate reward.
Honestly, I was hoping the Crew would've aggressively pursued Cleveland's Eric Wedge. But Jack Z picked him off right away for Seattle.
* As expected, Milwaukee declined options on Zaun, Hoffman, and Davis. All three will play in different uniforms next year. My guess is that Hoffman will return to San Diego and retire before the start of the 2011 season.
Bud Black is still a work in progress. He led the 2010 Padres to a 90-win season and a 2nd place finish in the NL West. A great feat, but not enough to take the wild card spot from Philly. Overall, both have shown success by following Sciocsia's phylosophy of playing aggressive ball and being active on the base paths. Veterans like Bobby Abreau, Chone Figgins, and Vlad had their careers revived in Anaheim under the leadership of Scioscia & Roenicke's guidance. Heck, even K-Rod behaved long enough to have 4 All-Star seasons while playing for the Angels.
Roenicke does have minimal NL experience however, limited to coaching a couple of Minor League teams in the 90's.
At first glance, I wondered why the hell Milwaukee would hire a no-namer. But then I also thought back to past hires. Michael Hunt (Jsonline) put it best; the Brewers need to take a shot on an up-and-coming star when they look ahead. A small market team like Milwaukee can't always rely on the re-treads they hired in recent memory. They did it in the past when they hired Bobby Coxs' assistant, Ned Yost. Did that pay off? Well, I would say it did. Yost made the Brewers relevant again by having a .500 season and positioning them within striking distance for the playoffs in 2008...until there was only 11 days left in the regular season. Not a star, but a contender who was welcomed back to manage the Royals in 2011. Not the best manager to use as an example, but relevant enough to mention.
Ron-boy's biggest challenge? Being able to effectively communicate with the team. Something Macha was useless at. This team is young...yes we've been saying this forever now...but they are a bunch of mid-to-late 20 something year-olds who need guidance. I really hope that the new skipper will work closely with Sveum in getting his players to buy in to the system. Sveum is his bridge to the team that he needs to utilize right away.
Secondly, Ron has to dive in feet first. None of this Macha-crap of holding off until spring to meet your team. Are you kidding me? This introduction needs to happen right after he passes his background check. He better already have a high-rise condo picked out in downtown Milwaukee. One things for certain, he will have a longer leash than Macha did due to his lack of experience as a manager. We all know Antanasio wanted Bobby V and Melvin wanted Roenicke; how do we know this? Because Melvin's last-ditch effort of keeping his job and having a shot of being a GM for a future team relies on him successfully cultivating this skipper in to a winning story. Melvin is going all-in on this hire. It could provide the ultimate reward.
Honestly, I was hoping the Crew would've aggressively pursued Cleveland's Eric Wedge. But Jack Z picked him off right away for Seattle.
* As expected, Milwaukee declined options on Zaun, Hoffman, and Davis. All three will play in different uniforms next year. My guess is that Hoffman will return to San Diego and retire before the start of the 2011 season.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Brenly soon to be named Milwaukee's newest manager...
Great.
Just great. He's a damn Cubs sympathizer and he justified the beaming of Ryan Braun back in 2007. He and Cory Provus are going deep cover to destroy the Milwaukee franchise.
On a serious tip, why....tell me why can't the Brewers center all their efforts in trying to lure Bobby Valentine over from ESPN? Heck, he can have a later start-date if needed, in order to fulfill his post-game duties on the ESPN coverage.
Just great. He's a damn Cubs sympathizer and he justified the beaming of Ryan Braun back in 2007. He and Cory Provus are going deep cover to destroy the Milwaukee franchise.
On a serious tip, why....tell me why can't the Brewers center all their efforts in trying to lure Bobby Valentine over from ESPN? Heck, he can have a later start-date if needed, in order to fulfill his post-game duties on the ESPN coverage.
Monday, October 4, 2010
So long Kenneth Macha
With yesterdays news of Kenneth Macha's option not being picked up, I can now come out of hibernation and show my support for my beloved Brewers.
I apologize to all of my followers (I only have one, Jon) for abandoning the blog after the trade deadline. But I couldn't stomach the teams leadership any longer.
Macha's style of coaching and planning for the game is outdated and quite pathetic.
You have a team with this much speed and you dismiss the whole theory of hit-and-run, being aggressive while on base, and playing good ol' fashion small ball.
It's not all of his fault though; Melvin surrounded Macha and Peterson with a bunch of nobody's. Honestly, this rotation is pathetic. Yovanni Gallardo had a passive August and the rest of the starting-5 could all be sent to the bullpen if they played with any other team in MLB. Seriously, Braden Looper had the most wins last year for the Crew, and he didn't even land on a new team. What does that tell us? Well, first off stop picking-off washed up Cardinals. Secondly, start spending some coin on starting pitching. Thirdly, start drafting better.
Enough of this whole "we draft the best player, regardless of position". Start drafting pitchers only.
Thankfully Mark Rogers showed some promise this weekend, Jake Odorizzi has shown flashes of brilliance, and John Axford assures us a solid closer next season.
With that being said, here's how I thought MLB standings would finish in 2010....
Back in March, 2010, I predicted the following (what a disaster). Although to my defense, I do have the Giants in the World Series, losing the Yankees. Their pitching (along with Philly) shows the most promise. Starting pitching is everything!
AL EAST
NY Yankees
Boston Red Sox*
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL CENTRAL
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
KC Royals
AL WEST
Seattle Mariners
LA Angels of Anaheim
Texas Rangers
Oakland A's
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NY Mets
Atlanta
Florida Marlins
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers*
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
NL WEST
SF Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
LA Dodgers
San Diego Pad
I apologize to all of my followers (I only have one, Jon) for abandoning the blog after the trade deadline. But I couldn't stomach the teams leadership any longer.
Macha's style of coaching and planning for the game is outdated and quite pathetic.
You have a team with this much speed and you dismiss the whole theory of hit-and-run, being aggressive while on base, and playing good ol' fashion small ball.
It's not all of his fault though; Melvin surrounded Macha and Peterson with a bunch of nobody's. Honestly, this rotation is pathetic. Yovanni Gallardo had a passive August and the rest of the starting-5 could all be sent to the bullpen if they played with any other team in MLB. Seriously, Braden Looper had the most wins last year for the Crew, and he didn't even land on a new team. What does that tell us? Well, first off stop picking-off washed up Cardinals. Secondly, start spending some coin on starting pitching. Thirdly, start drafting better.
Enough of this whole "we draft the best player, regardless of position". Start drafting pitchers only.
Thankfully Mark Rogers showed some promise this weekend, Jake Odorizzi has shown flashes of brilliance, and John Axford assures us a solid closer next season.
With that being said, here's how I thought MLB standings would finish in 2010....
Back in March, 2010, I predicted the following (what a disaster). Although to my defense, I do have the Giants in the World Series, losing the Yankees. Their pitching (along with Philly) shows the most promise. Starting pitching is everything!
AL EAST
NY Yankees
Boston Red Sox*
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL CENTRAL
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
KC Royals
AL WEST
Seattle Mariners
LA Angels of Anaheim
Texas Rangers
Oakland A's
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NY Mets
Atlanta
Florida Marlins
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers*
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
NL WEST
SF Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
LA Dodgers
San Diego Pad
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
2010 College Football Predictions
Your Champ: Oklahoma!!Here we go people....it's time for my (locks) predictions for the upcoming season....
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oregon
5. Ohio State
6. Georgia Tech
7. TCU
8. Cal
9. Arkansas
10. Boise State
* Sleeper team: Florida State & Utah
* Bust: Nebraska & Virginia Tech
* Suprise team: BYU
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oregon
5. Ohio State
6. Georgia Tech
7. TCU
8. Cal
9. Arkansas
10. Boise State
* Sleeper team: Florida State & Utah
* Bust: Nebraska & Virginia Tech
* Suprise team: BYU
*Sitting on the outside looking in: Florida & Georgia
Heisman winner: Jake Locker upsets Terrell Pryor
(Mark Ingram will be splitting carries with Richardson, so he's a no-go this year)
National Champions: Oklahoma over Alabama
Rose Bowl: Penn State over Oregon
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State over Georgia Tech
Orange Bowl: Boise State over TCU
Sugar Bowl: Arkansas over Cal
Heisman winner: Jake Locker upsets Terrell Pryor
(Mark Ingram will be splitting carries with Richardson, so he's a no-go this year)
National Champions: Oklahoma over Alabama
Rose Bowl: Penn State over Oregon
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State over Georgia Tech
Orange Bowl: Boise State over TCU
Sugar Bowl: Arkansas over Cal
--------------------------------------------
BIG 10 (err...11)
1. Penn State
1. Ohio State
2. Iowa
3. Wisconsin
3. Northwestern
4. Michigan State
5. Purdue
6. Michigan
7. Indiana
8. Illinois
9. Minnesota
Monday, August 2, 2010
48-57: Brewers look horrible, skid hits 5 straight losses.
Unreal. What a horrible weekend of baseball. It's like the Crew isn't even trying.
Either is the front office, evidentally. Instead of doing the smart thing, the Brewers brass did a dumb thing. Instead of dealing Hart for some pitching prospects who were a year away...they decide to keep him and even re-up him through 2013 for a deal said to be worth near 25MM.
Yes, the man is having a phenominal year SO FAR. I was glad to see him hit his HR yesterday and get a hit the night before, it shows that he's hopefully not going to do a repeat of his 2008 campaign (voted to All Star game and then sucked the rest of the season).
One thing I will note with Hart is that most cities would love to have a player this committed to the club and state. I mean, from the very-start Hart has said that he wants to be a Brewer and he wants to sign an extension. Of course, he would see more money...but only for a short time until his new team would re-up him.
So, this means that the Crew has Rickie Weeks left to sign an extension. I would imagine that would take similar money, which is nice because the Crew does have a lot of wastefull contracts coming off the books.
This all positions the Crew to have an active winter. Doug Melvin will have to pull off the trade of his GM career in order to save face. The fan base is really upset with the Crew and the ticket sales will be down when the Crew returns next Spring. He better hope to God that he can bring in 2 solid starters for Prince Fielder, plus pick up a 3rd starter on the FA market.
-Interesting little tid bit on Brett Lawrie. The Huntsville Stars prospect is learning 3B and OF in addition to his normal 2B position. I could see him as a 3B, especially if Casey McGehee's knees don't hold up. I could also picture him in RF, once Corey Hart gets switched to CF. Plus, the man could always catch, but Jonathon Lucroy has that wrapped up.
-Nice to see Ned Yost get a 2-year extension to manage the Royals.
Either is the front office, evidentally. Instead of doing the smart thing, the Brewers brass did a dumb thing. Instead of dealing Hart for some pitching prospects who were a year away...they decide to keep him and even re-up him through 2013 for a deal said to be worth near 25MM.
Yes, the man is having a phenominal year SO FAR. I was glad to see him hit his HR yesterday and get a hit the night before, it shows that he's hopefully not going to do a repeat of his 2008 campaign (voted to All Star game and then sucked the rest of the season).
One thing I will note with Hart is that most cities would love to have a player this committed to the club and state. I mean, from the very-start Hart has said that he wants to be a Brewer and he wants to sign an extension. Of course, he would see more money...but only for a short time until his new team would re-up him.
So, this means that the Crew has Rickie Weeks left to sign an extension. I would imagine that would take similar money, which is nice because the Crew does have a lot of wastefull contracts coming off the books.
This all positions the Crew to have an active winter. Doug Melvin will have to pull off the trade of his GM career in order to save face. The fan base is really upset with the Crew and the ticket sales will be down when the Crew returns next Spring. He better hope to God that he can bring in 2 solid starters for Prince Fielder, plus pick up a 3rd starter on the FA market.
-Interesting little tid bit on Brett Lawrie. The Huntsville Stars prospect is learning 3B and OF in addition to his normal 2B position. I could see him as a 3B, especially if Casey McGehee's knees don't hold up. I could also picture him in RF, once Corey Hart gets switched to CF. Plus, the man could always catch, but Jonathon Lucroy has that wrapped up.
-Nice to see Ned Yost get a 2-year extension to manage the Royals.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
48-54: Yovanni gets slapped around
One would think that the Crew would show up last night and give it everything they had to gain a whole game on the Reds and a 1/2 game on the Cardinals. I mean, they're on a hot streak as of late and in a position to close the gap even more. Instead, Yovanni Gallardo might have been thinking too much about his planned boycott of Arizona next year (if he is an All Star) and not on the task-at-hand. Gallard (9-5) got shellacked last night by a pesky Reds line-up.
Right out of the gates Yo clearly didn't bring his "A" game to the park....especially when the Crew needed him most. Brandon Phillips rocked a double that almost ended up as a triple had Rickie Weeks not fire-armed a rocket relay throw to 3B Casey McGehee. I felt good after that....I felt like this should throw-out should set the momentum of the game. Umm...no.
Instead, the Reds walloped Yovanni left and right through his 2.2 innings. The bullpen didn't fair any better when the two Tommy John revitalization projects (Capy & Riske) gave up runs that only added to the stockpile beating. Capuano allowed 4 earned runs while Riske gave up a run. At least Joe Inglett did his part....he pitched a perfect 9th inning. This was the first time Ken Macha has EVER used a position player in a relief role, even in the minors.
Rickie Weeks is on a tear....he collected his 22nd HR of the season and also added a hit. Meanwhile, Ryan Braun went o'fer.....AGAIN, while Prince Fielder finally hit a double.
Casey McGehee is starting to heat up again, thankfully. Only 2 games after he hit a HR and a Double, he recorded two more much-needed hits.
It's getting to the point where I can't handle Jerry Augustine. I mean, the guy is probably very nice and means well....but he's not made for TV. I actually stomached the pre-game show and watched him taste-test a hotdog with some Wisconsin made Mustard (that the Reds love) and the Special Stadium Sauce. He looked lost, until he found the wiener in his mouth.
Rickie Weeks will also become a free agent after next season; so it seems that he's the only one who's "untouchable" in trades. That term used to be used for Prince and Corey. Well, not anymore. Milwaukee's #1 goal should be to lock him up in a contract. Despite the fact that it took 6 seasons for him to "get it", he's got it. Now if only there was a crystal ball that could ensure that he'll stay healthy.
*LaTroy Hawkins is coming back for the Houston series this weekend. Nice timing, going up against his old team.
Imagine if you will Milwaukee fans, a life with out Prince Fielder....if he was traded at the end of the week.....all those jerseys at Kohls would just sit there and collect dust.
We all know it's going to happen....Corey Hart will try to return to the batters box this weekend to show the league that he's worth it in a trade. But no team will fall for it. Hart's injury is serious...don't let the propaganda fool you. Most, if not all teams are uninterested at this point. That means one thing, he will return to the line-up in August (full-time) and start his downward slide. Any team that is stupid enough to trade a young prospect for Hart...is risking the idea of Hart failing a physical and having the deal blow up. So they could decide to do the deal hush-hush and not let the press know until (if) he passes the physical. So we may not even know if a a preliminary trade was worked out at all if he fails the physical.
Right out of the gates Yo clearly didn't bring his "A" game to the park....especially when the Crew needed him most. Brandon Phillips rocked a double that almost ended up as a triple had Rickie Weeks not fire-armed a rocket relay throw to 3B Casey McGehee. I felt good after that....I felt like this should throw-out should set the momentum of the game. Umm...no.
Instead, the Reds walloped Yovanni left and right through his 2.2 innings. The bullpen didn't fair any better when the two Tommy John revitalization projects (Capy & Riske) gave up runs that only added to the stockpile beating. Capuano allowed 4 earned runs while Riske gave up a run. At least Joe Inglett did his part....he pitched a perfect 9th inning. This was the first time Ken Macha has EVER used a position player in a relief role, even in the minors.
Rickie Weeks is on a tear....he collected his 22nd HR of the season and also added a hit. Meanwhile, Ryan Braun went o'fer.....AGAIN, while Prince Fielder finally hit a double.
Casey McGehee is starting to heat up again, thankfully. Only 2 games after he hit a HR and a Double, he recorded two more much-needed hits.
It's getting to the point where I can't handle Jerry Augustine. I mean, the guy is probably very nice and means well....but he's not made for TV. I actually stomached the pre-game show and watched him taste-test a hotdog with some Wisconsin made Mustard (that the Reds love) and the Special Stadium Sauce. He looked lost, until he found the wiener in his mouth.
Rickie Weeks will also become a free agent after next season; so it seems that he's the only one who's "untouchable" in trades. That term used to be used for Prince and Corey. Well, not anymore. Milwaukee's #1 goal should be to lock him up in a contract. Despite the fact that it took 6 seasons for him to "get it", he's got it. Now if only there was a crystal ball that could ensure that he'll stay healthy.
*LaTroy Hawkins is coming back for the Houston series this weekend. Nice timing, going up against his old team.
Imagine if you will Milwaukee fans, a life with out Prince Fielder....if he was traded at the end of the week.....all those jerseys at Kohls would just sit there and collect dust.
We all know it's going to happen....Corey Hart will try to return to the batters box this weekend to show the league that he's worth it in a trade. But no team will fall for it. Hart's injury is serious...don't let the propaganda fool you. Most, if not all teams are uninterested at this point. That means one thing, he will return to the line-up in August (full-time) and start his downward slide. Any team that is stupid enough to trade a young prospect for Hart...is risking the idea of Hart failing a physical and having the deal blow up. So they could decide to do the deal hush-hush and not let the press know until (if) he passes the physical. So we may not even know if a a preliminary trade was worked out at all if he fails the physical.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
48-53: Brewers turn on the heat
Last night 3-2 victory over the 2nd place Reds should provide a boost of confidence for the team and their fan base. Of course, we have been down this road before. Remember the tear the Crew went on a tear in June and won 5 straight, 3 of which were a result of sweeping the Twins? Well, we're seeing a similar glimpse of what this team is capable of right now. Milwaukee has a good shot of winning the series tonight when Yovanni Gallardo takes to the mound against Edison Velquez (1-1). It should be a good pitchers duel, much like we saw last night when Bronson Arroyo (10-6) lost out to Randy Wolf (no decision, Villanueva earned the win). Arroyo lasted 8 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on only 3 hits....2 of those were homers by Rickie Weeks (21) and Jim Edmonds (8).
Jimmy Edmonds has been on a tear as of late, especially on this current home stand. Meanwhile, Prince & Braun have been hitless in their last two games. Randy Wolf added the only other hit last night.
John Axford killed it last night as well, recording his 15th save (15 for 16 attempts).
-On paper, Milwaukee has a favorable schedule until August 13th when Milwaukee travels to Denver. The Crew travels to Houston this weekend and then up to Chicago, then a home stand that pits them against Houston (again) and a 4-game series with Arizona (who they swept the last time playing). They need to win while they can, because their September schedule is brutal.
-It's going to be a long shot for the Crew to hit 3 million in attendance this season. There are ticket-deals galore out there on Stub Hub right now. Their tv ratings are taking a significant hit as well. Keep in mind though....
Mike Dimond, Fox Sports' senior vice president and general manager, said the Brewers still ranked eighth in Major League Baseball for local broadcast ratings. Last year, the team was sixth.
"I'm encouraged by the ratings," Dimond said. "This is a baseball town, and on many nights we are the highest-rated show."
If you ask me, now is the best time to go to a game. You don't have to deal with moronic girlfriends who wear their slutty outfits to the game and yap on their cell phones and take obnoxious photos of themselves dry humping the Henry Aaron statue....nor do you have the tools with the straight brim caps and wife beaters getting loaded off of Mike Hard Lemonades...or better yet....you don't have the 43 year-old single males who make signs for the Crew to "WIN". No sir, you actually have the the real, die hard fans. One last thing, you should never bring a ball glove to a game unless you're with your son, grandson, or little nephew. There is no excuse for someone over 18 to bring a mit to the park to catch fly balls at batting practise.
-The Rays' Matt Garza had a no-no last night! Quite impressive, considering he came 1 walk shy of a perfect game.
Seriously, the Crew is long overdue for a no-hitter. Honestly, new teams like the Rays and D-Backs are getting them....it's time for Yovanni to do work, son.
-According to my Yahoo fantasy baseball team, Corey Hart isn't close to taking batting practise yet. He's still hoping to play in this series, but I think that's all propaganda in the event that they trade him. I am starting to think the Brewers will become buyers if they sweep the Reds. You could look for the Crew to add an outfielder or even an average starting pitcher.
Jimmy Edmonds has been on a tear as of late, especially on this current home stand. Meanwhile, Prince & Braun have been hitless in their last two games. Randy Wolf added the only other hit last night.
John Axford killed it last night as well, recording his 15th save (15 for 16 attempts).
-On paper, Milwaukee has a favorable schedule until August 13th when Milwaukee travels to Denver. The Crew travels to Houston this weekend and then up to Chicago, then a home stand that pits them against Houston (again) and a 4-game series with Arizona (who they swept the last time playing). They need to win while they can, because their September schedule is brutal.
-It's going to be a long shot for the Crew to hit 3 million in attendance this season. There are ticket-deals galore out there on Stub Hub right now. Their tv ratings are taking a significant hit as well. Keep in mind though....
Mike Dimond, Fox Sports' senior vice president and general manager, said the Brewers still ranked eighth in Major League Baseball for local broadcast ratings. Last year, the team was sixth.
"I'm encouraged by the ratings," Dimond said. "This is a baseball town, and on many nights we are the highest-rated show."
If you ask me, now is the best time to go to a game. You don't have to deal with moronic girlfriends who wear their slutty outfits to the game and yap on their cell phones and take obnoxious photos of themselves dry humping the Henry Aaron statue....nor do you have the tools with the straight brim caps and wife beaters getting loaded off of Mike Hard Lemonades...or better yet....you don't have the 43 year-old single males who make signs for the Crew to "WIN". No sir, you actually have the the real, die hard fans. One last thing, you should never bring a ball glove to a game unless you're with your son, grandson, or little nephew. There is no excuse for someone over 18 to bring a mit to the park to catch fly balls at batting practise.
-The Rays' Matt Garza had a no-no last night! Quite impressive, considering he came 1 walk shy of a perfect game.
Seriously, the Crew is long overdue for a no-hitter. Honestly, new teams like the Rays and D-Backs are getting them....it's time for Yovanni to do work, son.
-According to my Yahoo fantasy baseball team, Corey Hart isn't close to taking batting practise yet. He's still hoping to play in this series, but I think that's all propaganda in the event that they trade him. I am starting to think the Brewers will become buyers if they sweep the Reds. You could look for the Crew to add an outfielder or even an average starting pitcher.
Monday, July 26, 2010
47-53: Crew sweeps Nationals, like they should
Well, Milwaukee decided to make this up-coming trade deadline much more interesting. The Brewers are now positioned 6 games under .500, the closest they have been to .500 since mid-May. With the second place Reds coming to town you can't help but think "what if". Milwaukee could gain some ground against the Reds while trying to regain being .500 shortly after the trade deadline. Even if Milwaukee sweeps the Reds, which they won't, they will be 3 games under at the trade deadline. What do you do if you're Doug Melvin? Do you buy or sell?
Milwaukee is 8.5 games out of first place.
The Reds & Cardinals have been sporadic, at best. Both could easily go in to a week-long slump and the Crew could gain on them. Far shot? Yes. That's why the Crew needs to stick to their guns and deal Hart. They better hope to God that Cory can play in the Reds series in order to quell any fears that he is seriously injured and thwarts any hopes of being traded. They need to trade him by weeks end.
Yesterday, Rickie Weeks and Casey McGehee led the Brewers offense that accounted for 5 unearned runs. Both homered (20th & 14th, respectively) while Dave Bush had a solid outing on the mound, thus making up for his horrific start in Pittsburgh earlier in the week. Bush went 6 complete while giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 7 strike outs. Thanks to scoreless frames in the 7-8th inning by Cameron Loe and the 9th by Hoffman, the Crew's bullpen continued their turn-around.
Jonathon Lucroy is now hitting .293 on the season, as he added two more hits yesterday.
I was unaware of this, but Adam Dunn went on AM620 during Saturday's game and chatted with Uecker! How cool is that? He wasn't in the line-up so he was able to make his way up to the press box and he chatted with Ueck for a short while, on the air. Adam Dunn is good-to-go in my book. In fact, it would be nice to see him with Milwaukee, if he would play RF better.
Speaking of.....Welcome back Mr. Baseball. I know Bob Uecker reads my blog on a bi-weekly basis (talking out of my ass). I should also note that Davey Nelson didn't do too bad of a job. Now if only they would get rid of Jerry Augustine....he is horrible. His post-game show with Craig Coushawn (sp?) was horrible. He looked like an alien who didn't know where to point his eyes to.
Milwaukee is 8.5 games out of first place.
The Reds & Cardinals have been sporadic, at best. Both could easily go in to a week-long slump and the Crew could gain on them. Far shot? Yes. That's why the Crew needs to stick to their guns and deal Hart. They better hope to God that Cory can play in the Reds series in order to quell any fears that he is seriously injured and thwarts any hopes of being traded. They need to trade him by weeks end.
Yesterday, Rickie Weeks and Casey McGehee led the Brewers offense that accounted for 5 unearned runs. Both homered (20th & 14th, respectively) while Dave Bush had a solid outing on the mound, thus making up for his horrific start in Pittsburgh earlier in the week. Bush went 6 complete while giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 7 strike outs. Thanks to scoreless frames in the 7-8th inning by Cameron Loe and the 9th by Hoffman, the Crew's bullpen continued their turn-around.
Jonathon Lucroy is now hitting .293 on the season, as he added two more hits yesterday.
I was unaware of this, but Adam Dunn went on AM620 during Saturday's game and chatted with Uecker! How cool is that? He wasn't in the line-up so he was able to make his way up to the press box and he chatted with Ueck for a short while, on the air. Adam Dunn is good-to-go in my book. In fact, it would be nice to see him with Milwaukee, if he would play RF better.
Speaking of.....Welcome back Mr. Baseball. I know Bob Uecker reads my blog on a bi-weekly basis (talking out of my ass). I should also note that Davey Nelson didn't do too bad of a job. Now if only they would get rid of Jerry Augustine....he is horrible. His post-game show with Craig Coushawn (sp?) was horrible. He looked like an alien who didn't know where to point his eyes to.
Friday, July 23, 2010
44-53: Crew almost blows it
Thank god for Yovanni Gallarado. In his first start since hitting the DL prior to the All Star break, Yovanni tossed 6 shut-out innings and comletely man handeled the Pirates line-up. As he should. Apparently Bush and Wolf suck so bad that they can't even beat the pathetic Bucs. Unreal.
At any rate, Yo put in work but was almost stripped of his win when Todd Coffey came in to relieve him in the 7th. A "wild" pitch was launched by Coffey that ended up hitting the backstop. This may or may not have been a retaliation for Rickie Weeks getting pegged in the 5th. Regardless, it ended with a two-run burst by the Pirates in that inning.
It took John Axford to earn a 5-out save for his 13th of the season. This kid is cool as ice.
Prince Fielder (24) & Rickie Weeks (19) both hit homeruns.
Weeks also contributed with a triple while Lucroy and Counsell added doubles.
-As you probably already know, the Crew sent Lorenzo Cain (8 for 10) back to the AAA-Nashville to clear room for Yovanni. Unbelievable. Why not kick someone else down who sucks...like.....well.....the easy choice is Doug Davis or Randy Wolf....but they can't go.
-The Fielder / White Sox rumors are really heating up. I wish they would just wait until the off-season.
-Madisonjournal.com had a cool "Welcome Back Ueck" story today.
-If Milwaukee doesn't pull off a sweep against the Nats this weekend....kiss Hart and maybe even Prince goodbye.
At any rate, Yo put in work but was almost stripped of his win when Todd Coffey came in to relieve him in the 7th. A "wild" pitch was launched by Coffey that ended up hitting the backstop. This may or may not have been a retaliation for Rickie Weeks getting pegged in the 5th. Regardless, it ended with a two-run burst by the Pirates in that inning.
It took John Axford to earn a 5-out save for his 13th of the season. This kid is cool as ice.
Prince Fielder (24) & Rickie Weeks (19) both hit homeruns.
Weeks also contributed with a triple while Lucroy and Counsell added doubles.
-As you probably already know, the Crew sent Lorenzo Cain (8 for 10) back to the AAA-Nashville to clear room for Yovanni. Unbelievable. Why not kick someone else down who sucks...like.....well.....the easy choice is Doug Davis or Randy Wolf....but they can't go.
-The Fielder / White Sox rumors are really heating up. I wish they would just wait until the off-season.
-Madisonjournal.com had a cool "Welcome Back Ueck" story today.
-If Milwaukee doesn't pull off a sweep against the Nats this weekend....kiss Hart and maybe even Prince goodbye.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
43-52: Bush blows
Wow...what an ugly start to a game last night. Right from the get-go the Pirates pounced on Dave Bushy (4-8). In 4 short innings Pittsburgh drove in 10 runs against Bush (5 earned) on 9 hits. A pitcher typically isn't going to get the job done by having only 2 strike outs and as many walks. Horrible day for Bush....right when the Crew needed him most.
What really sucks about this flop start is that is lowers his trade value just a tad. Nothing drastic, he has strung together a strong run of solid starts since the debacle in Minneapolis. But this was horrible; against the worst team in baseball no less.
The good news, if there was any, from last night was the bull pen. In 4 innings of work, Villy gave up the one loan run while Coffey and Hoffman collected scoreless frames.
Ryan Braun (15) and Jim Edmounds (5) each went yard. The latter came a triple away from a cycle. Rickie Weeks also contributed a double.
Finally, Bob Uecker, the man that makes the Milwaukee Brewers so much fun is coming back to the booth. I can't wait. This summer has been "off" since Bob Uecker left the game to take care of some handy work on the ol' thumper. Talk about a star, someone who loves the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Brewers baseball coming back early to put in work after a challenging time in his life. To my friends with young children out there....make sure you hover around the radio the remainder of the season so that your kids can hear excellence....I think this might be his last season.
Michael Hunt (JSOnline.com) discusses the Fielder-Hart market once again. He argues that now is the time to start dealing them for pitchers. Am I missing something here? There is no flipping way that Melvin is going to deal Prince Fielder, no way; not until the off-season. Quite frankly, why wouldn't he wait until everyone can come to the pary?
After watching ESPN's "Homestand" edition on the Brewers last night, I can see why the Carlos Gomez isn't playing much. He apparently doesn't mind the fact that he's having a pretty bad season to date. The fact of the matter is this kid is very immature and he has no plate-discipline what-so-ever. He has wheels and he (used to be able to) bunts well. Hopefully Lorenzo Cain and Rickie Weeks can take over the OF next season. All allow Brett Lawrie to play 2B....but even then, you have two young kids playing the middle infield with a new CF. Unreal, this is quite the jam.
What really sucks about this flop start is that is lowers his trade value just a tad. Nothing drastic, he has strung together a strong run of solid starts since the debacle in Minneapolis. But this was horrible; against the worst team in baseball no less.
The good news, if there was any, from last night was the bull pen. In 4 innings of work, Villy gave up the one loan run while Coffey and Hoffman collected scoreless frames.
Ryan Braun (15) and Jim Edmounds (5) each went yard. The latter came a triple away from a cycle. Rickie Weeks also contributed a double.
Finally, Bob Uecker, the man that makes the Milwaukee Brewers so much fun is coming back to the booth. I can't wait. This summer has been "off" since Bob Uecker left the game to take care of some handy work on the ol' thumper. Talk about a star, someone who loves the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Brewers baseball coming back early to put in work after a challenging time in his life. To my friends with young children out there....make sure you hover around the radio the remainder of the season so that your kids can hear excellence....I think this might be his last season.
Michael Hunt (JSOnline.com) discusses the Fielder-Hart market once again. He argues that now is the time to start dealing them for pitchers. Am I missing something here? There is no flipping way that Melvin is going to deal Prince Fielder, no way; not until the off-season. Quite frankly, why wouldn't he wait until everyone can come to the pary?
After watching ESPN's "Homestand" edition on the Brewers last night, I can see why the Carlos Gomez isn't playing much. He apparently doesn't mind the fact that he's having a pretty bad season to date. The fact of the matter is this kid is very immature and he has no plate-discipline what-so-ever. He has wheels and he (used to be able to) bunts well. Hopefully Lorenzo Cain and Rickie Weeks can take over the OF next season. All allow Brett Lawrie to play 2B....but even then, you have two young kids playing the middle infield with a new CF. Unreal, this is quite the jam.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
43-51: Crew takes first game
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After a long wait that witnessed a second TJ surgery, Chris Capuano recorded his first win since May 7, 2007. Even more crazy is that he ended a 13-game losing streak (franchise record) and he threw in 30 games that included 19 starts where he didn't record a win. Last night was all-around different. What started off on a shakey note ended with Cappy going 5 innings of damn-near perfection. Despite the rain delay that resulted in Cappy having to rest his fragile arm for 50+ minutes, Chris had to jump right back on the mound and pitch 4 more innings. Not an easy feat for someone who has gone through so much in his career. I wrote him off during the off-season and even in to the season, despite the shake-up in the rotation. Hell, I even had Claudio fricken' Vargas as a spot starter over Cappy. Well, I'm glad to stand here corrected.
Chris gave up one loan run on 3 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strike-outs. Granted, he was throwing against the Pirates....but they were actually playing pretty decent behind Karstens' 3 hits that he allowed.
Rickie Weeks hit yet another HR (18)
Prince Fielder went yard to tie the game up, he now leads the NL with 24.
Corey Hart ended his 9 game hitting streak.
Corey Hart is saying all the right things about staying in Milwaukee, even though the city booed him out of the park numerous times since the second half of 2008. Like I said earlier, I would almost rather see them sign Hart to a contract than seeing an ill-fated attempt at going after Fielder.
Jonny Venters and Bobby Cox were suspended. Venters earned a 4 game suspension for beaning Fielder twice in Saturday's game.
Monday, July 19, 2010
42-51: Crew leaves Atlanta with a split
Well, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend. Aside from yesterday's ass whipping, the Crew looked damn sharp....especially their bullpen. Milwaukee should feel pretty good about themselves, having split against the club with the best home record in baseball.
Rickie Weeks is shaping up to be one of the best lead-off hitters in the game. He went 7 for 17 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI. Pretty impressive. Yes, I was "that guy" who was calling for Milwaukee to trade Rickie Weeks and settle for Felipe Lopez during the off-season. Glad Melvin doesn't read this blog.
Prince went 4-15 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI
Braun went 5-17 with a HR and 3 RBI
Corey Hart went 7 for 16 with a HR and 5 RBI.
I could safely say that Milwaukee's bats are coming together and starting to gel. Yesterday's loss could have easily turned in to a win, with the amount of runs the Brewers scored. The bullpen is starting to come together (aside from yesterday) and the starting rotation is stringing together some quality starts (aside from yesterday).
San Diego has shown interest in Corey Hart. It appears that the Padres and Giants have the most to gain from adding a red hot slugger in Hart. Melvin will NOT pull the trigger unless he gets a young starting pitcher....someone who is currently in the starting rotation. I don't know too many teams that are in the hunt who are willing to let a pitcher go right now. The Giants sure as hell aren't going to let Madison Bumgarner go right now. He has far too much potential.
I'm starting to think that the Crew should try to lock up Hart and concentrate on dealing Fielder either now or in the off-season. They can't afford to give both up....can they?
Macha was trying to sound important yesterday while talking about the bean-ball war that went on over the weekend. He didn't help his cause when he gave the OK for Riske to throw his bean-ball. He does have a point though. It's apparent that the National League has it out for the Milwaukee Brewers. So far this year the Crew has been hit by 47 pitches. Yes, some have been accidental or mishaps, but a good portion of them have been targeted at Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder.
Doug Davis is the worst off-season pick-up by the Brewers in a very long time. He's been horrible. LaTroy Hawkins is right behind him.
The Brewers will be featured on a reality tv show set to air tomorrow on ESPN. It's a show that is similar to the Hard Knocks show on HBO that features NFL teams. It's called "The Homestand".
Rickie Weeks is shaping up to be one of the best lead-off hitters in the game. He went 7 for 17 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI. Pretty impressive. Yes, I was "that guy" who was calling for Milwaukee to trade Rickie Weeks and settle for Felipe Lopez during the off-season. Glad Melvin doesn't read this blog.
Prince went 4-15 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI
Braun went 5-17 with a HR and 3 RBI
Corey Hart went 7 for 16 with a HR and 5 RBI.
I could safely say that Milwaukee's bats are coming together and starting to gel. Yesterday's loss could have easily turned in to a win, with the amount of runs the Brewers scored. The bullpen is starting to come together (aside from yesterday) and the starting rotation is stringing together some quality starts (aside from yesterday).
San Diego has shown interest in Corey Hart. It appears that the Padres and Giants have the most to gain from adding a red hot slugger in Hart. Melvin will NOT pull the trigger unless he gets a young starting pitcher....someone who is currently in the starting rotation. I don't know too many teams that are in the hunt who are willing to let a pitcher go right now. The Giants sure as hell aren't going to let Madison Bumgarner go right now. He has far too much potential.
I'm starting to think that the Crew should try to lock up Hart and concentrate on dealing Fielder either now or in the off-season. They can't afford to give both up....can they?
Macha was trying to sound important yesterday while talking about the bean-ball war that went on over the weekend. He didn't help his cause when he gave the OK for Riske to throw his bean-ball. He does have a point though. It's apparent that the National League has it out for the Milwaukee Brewers. So far this year the Crew has been hit by 47 pitches. Yes, some have been accidental or mishaps, but a good portion of them have been targeted at Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder.
Doug Davis is the worst off-season pick-up by the Brewers in a very long time. He's been horrible. LaTroy Hawkins is right behind him.
The Brewers will be featured on a reality tv show set to air tomorrow on ESPN. It's a show that is similar to the Hard Knocks show on HBO that features NFL teams. It's called "The Homestand".
Friday, July 16, 2010
40-50: Flat start to the 2nd half
Wow....way to fire out of the gates to start the 2nd half of the season! Milwaukee lost a snore-fest of a game last night to the NL East leading Braves by a score of 2-1. Dave Bush added another quality start to keep his streak alive (since the Minnesota debacle at Target Field). It wasn't perfect though, the man allowed 2 HR's (go figure) along with allowing 9 baserunners the entire game....you do the math and figure out how that averages per inning.
Corey Hart picked up where he left off with a solo HR and a base hit. This is a positive sign....considering how flat he was in 2008 after the All Star game.
I'm starting to think that Milwaukee should hold on to Corey Hart and target a trade with Prince instead. Corey claims that he wants to be in Milwaukee, which I think he's fibbing. He just wants to show his suiters that he can play in a small market team. He also mentioned to a Giants beat writer earlier this week that he could see himself playing in San Fransisco. I saw the link on MLBTraderumors.com....but I don't feel like looking it up.
In fact, I find it hard to keep the motivation of typing new posts for this blog. I would imagine that the Brewers feel like I do....who cares.
Well I do, but not enough to make a normal post....so I'm out. If the crew gets swept this weekend, I'm signing-off...
Corey Hart picked up where he left off with a solo HR and a base hit. This is a positive sign....considering how flat he was in 2008 after the All Star game.
I'm starting to think that Milwaukee should hold on to Corey Hart and target a trade with Prince instead. Corey claims that he wants to be in Milwaukee, which I think he's fibbing. He just wants to show his suiters that he can play in a small market team. He also mentioned to a Giants beat writer earlier this week that he could see himself playing in San Fransisco. I saw the link on MLBTraderumors.com....but I don't feel like looking it up.
In fact, I find it hard to keep the motivation of typing new posts for this blog. I would imagine that the Brewers feel like I do....who cares.
Well I do, but not enough to make a normal post....so I'm out. If the crew gets swept this weekend, I'm signing-off...
Monday, July 12, 2010
40-49: Crew wins in walk-off fashion
If only the Brewers played the Pirates every week...heck, I would take every 2 weeks...
Corey Hart won the game yesterday with a walk-off, two-run homer that put the Brewers record to 40-49 heading in to the All-Star brear. Call me crazy, but that record shows some sign of hope. I mean, if it were 39-48...I wouldn't think that. But since the wins/loses are in the 40's, it makes me feel a little better.
So, with Brett Lawrie tearing it up in AA-Huntsville and eyeing a September call-up, one has to wonder what the Crew will do with Rickie Weeks? My guess is that they will have to have Lawrie switch positions again, possibly to 1B in anticipation of Prince Fielder leaving. The Crew should be able to lock up Rickie Weeks with a contract by this time next year (2011). Lawrie was a catcher...so why did they have to switch him to OF and then to 2B? That being said, the kid is the youngest player (@ 20) in the Southern League. He's tearing it up too! If he somehow made it up as a 2B, could you imagine that middle infield and CF? Escobar, Gomez, and Lawrie is far too young of a group to lead the defense. On a side note: MLBTraderumors.com (taken with a grain of salt) states that Jack Z and the Mariners were targetting Brett Lawrie in a trade for Cliff Lee (3 team trade). He was, afterall, Jack Z's last (first round) draft pick before he left for the M's.
Speaking of call-ups...Lorenzo Cain is probably going to be called up soon. He was on stand-by when Yovanni went down with an injury, although he's day-to-day now. You're looking at the OF of the future when you have Gomez, Braun, and Cain out there.
Milwaukee is still trying to figure out what they have in Carlos Gomez. In my humble opinion, he's not a starter yet nor should he be. He should learn RF and be read to take over for Corey Hart when he gets traded.
Corey Hart won the game yesterday with a walk-off, two-run homer that put the Brewers record to 40-49 heading in to the All-Star brear. Call me crazy, but that record shows some sign of hope. I mean, if it were 39-48...I wouldn't think that. But since the wins/loses are in the 40's, it makes me feel a little better.
So, with Brett Lawrie tearing it up in AA-Huntsville and eyeing a September call-up, one has to wonder what the Crew will do with Rickie Weeks? My guess is that they will have to have Lawrie switch positions again, possibly to 1B in anticipation of Prince Fielder leaving. The Crew should be able to lock up Rickie Weeks with a contract by this time next year (2011). Lawrie was a catcher...so why did they have to switch him to OF and then to 2B? That being said, the kid is the youngest player (@ 20) in the Southern League. He's tearing it up too! If he somehow made it up as a 2B, could you imagine that middle infield and CF? Escobar, Gomez, and Lawrie is far too young of a group to lead the defense. On a side note: MLBTraderumors.com (taken with a grain of salt) states that Jack Z and the Mariners were targetting Brett Lawrie in a trade for Cliff Lee (3 team trade). He was, afterall, Jack Z's last (first round) draft pick before he left for the M's.
Speaking of call-ups...Lorenzo Cain is probably going to be called up soon. He was on stand-by when Yovanni went down with an injury, although he's day-to-day now. You're looking at the OF of the future when you have Gomez, Braun, and Cain out there.
Milwaukee is still trying to figure out what they have in Carlos Gomez. In my humble opinion, he's not a starter yet nor should he be. He should learn RF and be read to take over for Corey Hart when he gets traded.
Friday, July 9, 2010
37-49: Lack luster effort...lack luster season
Unbelievable.
How can a team come off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins follow it up with a piss poor finish to the first half of the season (unofficial half)? I don't get it.
Michael Hunt put it best the other day, the Brewers don't have the pieces. They don't.
Even if they pull off a sweep against Pittsburgh this weekend at Miller Park, it's still nothing to get your hopes up. Why? Well because they start the 2nd half against the Braves. Of course, the remaining games in July look pretty decent. They play the Pirates (yet again), Houston, and DC....oh yea....and the flaming hot Reds. That being said, it's safe to throw in the towel on the season.
Or is it?
No need to type about my last remaining hope of the Brewers salvaging the season with a hot streak to finish off the month. I mean, the Crew will have Yovanni back and LaTroy Hawkins. The latter being a bigger deal than what you think. With LaTroy and Riske (who's pitching well) coming back it takes the work load off of Braddock, Axford, and Loe....three young rooks. It also limits the use of the always streaky Carlos Villanueva and it puts the ultimate dagger in Trevor Hoffman. If Hawkins performs decent, my guess is that he'll split the closing role with Axford, with John getting the nod most of the time. Where does that leave Trevor Hoffman? I would assume that they will trade him away or release him...even though that's a nice size contract they give him over the off-season. They could also take down the All Time Saves countdown board out in CF.
How can a team come off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins follow it up with a piss poor finish to the first half of the season (unofficial half)? I don't get it.
Michael Hunt put it best the other day, the Brewers don't have the pieces. They don't.
Even if they pull off a sweep against Pittsburgh this weekend at Miller Park, it's still nothing to get your hopes up. Why? Well because they start the 2nd half against the Braves. Of course, the remaining games in July look pretty decent. They play the Pirates (yet again), Houston, and DC....oh yea....and the flaming hot Reds. That being said, it's safe to throw in the towel on the season.
Or is it?
No need to type about my last remaining hope of the Brewers salvaging the season with a hot streak to finish off the month. I mean, the Crew will have Yovanni back and LaTroy Hawkins. The latter being a bigger deal than what you think. With LaTroy and Riske (who's pitching well) coming back it takes the work load off of Braddock, Axford, and Loe....three young rooks. It also limits the use of the always streaky Carlos Villanueva and it puts the ultimate dagger in Trevor Hoffman. If Hawkins performs decent, my guess is that he'll split the closing role with Axford, with John getting the nod most of the time. Where does that leave Trevor Hoffman? I would assume that they will trade him away or release him...even though that's a nice size contract they give him over the off-season. They could also take down the All Time Saves countdown board out in CF.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
FUGLY
That's the best way to describe the state of the Brewers right now.
Their only hope of salvaging NEXT season is by dealing Corey Hart to the SF Giants before they skip town this afternoon. Although this probably won't happen until after the All Star break, Melvin is being an idiot if he doesn't get rid of him now. Hart's value will NEVER be higher than what it is now and he could draw a Jonathon Sanchez OR Madison Bumgarner in return. Milwaukee may have to throw in another low-level prospect like Kentrail Davis or Cutter Dykstra, which I believe isn't warranted. With Hart recently snapping his 20-game hitstreak 2 nights ago, he is vulnerable to drop off the face of the earth, especially with the All Star break coming next week. We all remember 2008, right? Granted, he's getting closer to his contract year (one more year under team control) but one can never take his performance for granted, let alone rely on it.
The argument coming from the Giants Nation is that Hart won't rake at AT&T Park because of it being a pitchers park. They point to Aaron Rowand as a prime example of a power hitter who came to their park via a trade and failed to adapt to their environment. So they are a little scared by this thought.
Milwaukee on the other hand should not back down from a Bumgarner for Hart trade, in fact they should try to kill the deal and walk-away from it if they don't agree to it. Don't sit there with your hand extend pan-handeling for loose change. Hart has value (finally) and they should do their best to locate a young pitcher with plenty of potential.
In fact, I would much rather have Bumgarner than Sanchez. The latter issues too many walks and is sparratic. Madison is a solid young pitcher who's value is still low because he only has one major league win.
Their only hope of salvaging NEXT season is by dealing Corey Hart to the SF Giants before they skip town this afternoon. Although this probably won't happen until after the All Star break, Melvin is being an idiot if he doesn't get rid of him now. Hart's value will NEVER be higher than what it is now and he could draw a Jonathon Sanchez OR Madison Bumgarner in return. Milwaukee may have to throw in another low-level prospect like Kentrail Davis or Cutter Dykstra, which I believe isn't warranted. With Hart recently snapping his 20-game hitstreak 2 nights ago, he is vulnerable to drop off the face of the earth, especially with the All Star break coming next week. We all remember 2008, right? Granted, he's getting closer to his contract year (one more year under team control) but one can never take his performance for granted, let alone rely on it.
The argument coming from the Giants Nation is that Hart won't rake at AT&T Park because of it being a pitchers park. They point to Aaron Rowand as a prime example of a power hitter who came to their park via a trade and failed to adapt to their environment. So they are a little scared by this thought.
Milwaukee on the other hand should not back down from a Bumgarner for Hart trade, in fact they should try to kill the deal and walk-away from it if they don't agree to it. Don't sit there with your hand extend pan-handeling for loose change. Hart has value (finally) and they should do their best to locate a young pitcher with plenty of potential.
In fact, I would much rather have Bumgarner than Sanchez. The latter issues too many walks and is sparratic. Madison is a solid young pitcher who's value is still low because he only has one major league win.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
37-46: No where fast
Well, here we are at the midway point of the season (just past it) and the half-way point of the all too important 2 week stretch of games before the All-Star break. Remember, it was my argument that Milwaukee needed to get to .500 or a game within. This is not the case.
Yovanni Gallardo is NOT going to be pitching in the All Star game.
Quite frankly, I'm so disgusted with this team right....I can't write/type my normal BS. Unreal. This team was riding high a week ago...and now they are back to being bad.
Alcides Escobar needs to sit for a while, it's apparent that he's not ready to play SS yet. Evenstill, the JJ to Minnesota was a 'win' situation.
Yovanni Gallardo is NOT going to be pitching in the All Star game.
Quite frankly, I'm so disgusted with this team right....I can't write/type my normal BS. Unreal. This team was riding high a week ago...and now they are back to being bad.
Alcides Escobar needs to sit for a while, it's apparent that he's not ready to play SS yet. Evenstill, the JJ to Minnesota was a 'win' situation.
Friday, July 2, 2010
36-43: Milwaukee goes yard on St. Louis
After Wednesday's horrid showing I was fearing the worse last night. After all, Milwaukee hasn't faired well against the Cardinals over the past two seasons.'
Last night Randy Wolf took to the mound and showed a glimpse of his Dodgers' days to the fans of Milwaukee. Yes, the man is like a hot damn roller coaster when it comes to production. But when he's on....he's on. He relied on his curve ball last night and proved to work.
Wolf (6-7) tossed 6 shut-out innings last night against the always fearfull Cardinals. His only mistake was a fast ball to Albert Puhols that resulted in his 20th HR of the season. Needless to say, Prince Fielder countered right back and carried his June hotstreak over in to July by slugging his 18th HR. With last night's strong outting, Wolf has lowered his ERA to 4.70 on the season and he only walked 1 batter. Once again, Milwaukee is putting together a nice streak of strong outting by their starting rotation....which makes me tremble in fear for Doug Davis' start next week. Randy struck out 4 batters and only gave up 4 hits.
-One thing I noticed as well Rock and Brian Anderson, is that the Cardinals fans love to boo their team. Brian Anderson commented that after a Matt Holliday fly-out, he over-heard a fan scream, "That was a $6,000.00 fly-out!". Rightfully so. Evenstill, Holliday is starting to turn it around and his average has lifted to .302 w/ 11 HR's.
-Prince Fielder, George Kottarus (6), and Casey McGehee (13) all homered last night!
Milwaukee now leads the NL in HR's, recently passing up Arizona little league team.
5 different Brewers have double digit homers. Quite impressive. I thought this would be their weak spot before the season started. Afterall, they lost Mike Cameron (1 HR this season for Boston) and JJ Hardy, who both have shown that they can hit 20+ HR's on the year.
-Rickie Weeks' average is at .273 on the season, he went 1 for 4.
-Ryan Braun is in a noteable slump right now. His batting average dropped to .295 with last night's o'fer.
-Kameron Loe and John Axford are lights out. Granted, their not always pretty....but they get the job done. What a surprise those two (and to some extent, Braddock) have been. They are the 1-2 punch that Milwaukee will rely on for the next 2-3 years. Loe recorded his 6th hold on the season and Axford recorded his 9th straight save. He has a chance to hit 12-14 saves before the 1/2 way point (All-Star Break, which really isn't the halfway point). Imagine if he can double that in the second half?
-Milwaukee's version of Cheech (& Chong) was promotted to high class-A Brevard County yesterday. He's been tearing it up at low class-A in Appleton, as can be expected. Jeffress should be in Huntsville by months end.
Last night Randy Wolf took to the mound and showed a glimpse of his Dodgers' days to the fans of Milwaukee. Yes, the man is like a hot damn roller coaster when it comes to production. But when he's on....he's on. He relied on his curve ball last night and proved to work.
Wolf (6-7) tossed 6 shut-out innings last night against the always fearfull Cardinals. His only mistake was a fast ball to Albert Puhols that resulted in his 20th HR of the season. Needless to say, Prince Fielder countered right back and carried his June hotstreak over in to July by slugging his 18th HR. With last night's strong outting, Wolf has lowered his ERA to 4.70 on the season and he only walked 1 batter. Once again, Milwaukee is putting together a nice streak of strong outting by their starting rotation....which makes me tremble in fear for Doug Davis' start next week. Randy struck out 4 batters and only gave up 4 hits.
-One thing I noticed as well Rock and Brian Anderson, is that the Cardinals fans love to boo their team. Brian Anderson commented that after a Matt Holliday fly-out, he over-heard a fan scream, "That was a $6,000.00 fly-out!". Rightfully so. Evenstill, Holliday is starting to turn it around and his average has lifted to .302 w/ 11 HR's.
-Prince Fielder, George Kottarus (6), and Casey McGehee (13) all homered last night!
Milwaukee now leads the NL in HR's, recently passing up Arizona little league team.
5 different Brewers have double digit homers. Quite impressive. I thought this would be their weak spot before the season started. Afterall, they lost Mike Cameron (1 HR this season for Boston) and JJ Hardy, who both have shown that they can hit 20+ HR's on the year.
-Rickie Weeks' average is at .273 on the season, he went 1 for 4.
-Ryan Braun is in a noteable slump right now. His batting average dropped to .295 with last night's o'fer.
-Kameron Loe and John Axford are lights out. Granted, their not always pretty....but they get the job done. What a surprise those two (and to some extent, Braddock) have been. They are the 1-2 punch that Milwaukee will rely on for the next 2-3 years. Loe recorded his 6th hold on the season and Axford recorded his 9th straight save. He has a chance to hit 12-14 saves before the 1/2 way point (All-Star Break, which really isn't the halfway point). Imagine if he can double that in the second half?
-Milwaukee's version of Cheech (& Chong) was promotted to high class-A Brevard County yesterday. He's been tearing it up at low class-A in Appleton, as can be expected. Jeffress should be in Huntsville by months end.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
35-42: Yovanni does it with his bat
Despite Yovanni Gallardo (8-3) giving up a non-typical 4 runs, he made up for it with the use of his bat. The rising star and future All-Star (one would think) recorded 5 SO's, giving up 7 hits and only 2 walks in his 6-inning outing. The win improves his record to 8-3 on the season.
Joining in the HR party was Prince Fielder (16, 17th HR) and Jonathon Lucroy (2), the latter seeing his batting average hover at the .290 mark since getting the call-up.
Rickie Weeks continued his hot streak by going 1 for 4 w/ 2 RBI.
Ryan Braun went 0 for 4 on the night; he saw his batting average dip below .300 for the first time this season! Yet he still leads the NL outfielders in All Star votes, rightfully so. His highest BA on the season was .417 on April 22nd (not counting the first week of the season).
The bullpen showed some vulnerability last night....again. John Axford recorded his 8th straight save of the season. It should be noted that he did give up a run on a nicely placed liner to deep center by Lance Berkman. But, on the flipside to that....he did get Hunter Pence to ground out. He's getting it done. However, Trevor Hoffman will probably be used today if there is a save situation. Basically, Macha is looking for an excuse to use the Hoff, which would work out well today because of the afternoon game OR tomorrow in St. Louis because of the travel. As of right now Trevor Hoffman is taking up a valuable roster spot that could be used on someone else. Yes, Trevor has worked nicely in 7th & 8th inning appereances...but that's not what he does.
Speaking of roster spots...what will Kenny Macha do with Chris Capuano? The guy hasn't thrown since their trip to Florida (June 3rd). That's approaching a damn month of him just sitting out there and rotting. What are they going to do? I mean, they have Doug Davis getting a start against San Fran. But Capy is just chilling out there in the bullpen. Are they going to package him in a trade and they don't want to risk any injury to him? Who in the hell would take him?
It's nice to see Prince Fielder break out his bat. The man has been ridiculous this month. It wasn't too long ago that I was bitching about him. Well, I stand here eating my words...or sit here doing so. He cranked out two long balls to the same EXACT spot of Miller Park (RF corner). You can simply tell with his approach and swing that he's far more confident than April-May.
Ever wonder what the hell a HOLD is, regarding relief pitching? Well, JSOnline.com broke it down as simple as one can get. Carlos Villanueva has 11 holds and leads the Brewers. Compare that to ex-Brewer Mike Adams (set-up man for Heath Bell) and his 21 holds. The record is 36 by Flash Gordon of the Yankees in 2004.
Remember LaTroy Hawkins? He's coming off the DL soon. My guess is that Todd Coffey is going to get limited use the remainder of the season (barring any injury). He just doesn't have it this season. Meanwhile, LaTroy will probably get worked in right away and take over Zach Braddock/Kameron Loe's set-up roles. Both have been effective, but 5.25MM is far too much money to let rot in middle-relief. He should return for the Cardinals series after he makes one last rehab start in Appleton tonight. Together, he and Davis account for 12.75MM in investments....unbelievable....throw in Randy Wolf's and you have a colossal failure.
Granted, THIS is a simple "BleacherReport.com" post....but it does discuss the idea of Cliff Lee getting traded to the Brewers. If anyone knows the prospects in the Milwaukee farm system, it's Jack Z. I just don't see this happening. If they hit .500 before the All-Star break, possibly. But that's even a long shot. Regardless, playing the 'what-if' game....
Mat Gamel & Brett Lawrie & cash for Cliff Lee?
Jose Lopez is their starting 3B. The guy shows glimpses of promise at time, like when he went yard twice in the Milwaukee series over this past weekend, but the guy is still batting a horrid .247 or so. Gamel could be a nice fit at 3B. Brett Lawrie could be a good addition because he is just doesn't fit in with Milwaukee's plans. He could play 1B, pending an exit by Prince Fielder. He could also catch, which I don't see happening either because kid-wonder Jonathon Lucroy is doing just fine. I'm sure Seattle would love to have him, especially since he was Jack Z's last 1st round pick before leaving. Plus, those two are both Canadians. I don't know if Lorenzo Cain can play LF or not, since that would be the best fit seeing that Milton Bradley is a head case if he were thrown in to the mix. Just shooting from the hip here. This trade has a 20% chance of happening.
Looking ahead to the Suds Series in St. Louis....
Milwaukee will not have to face Adam Wainwright!
They will have to face Carpenter and Garcia though.
HERE are the probable match-ups...
MLB.com writer Mike Bauman discusses the idea of the SF Giants trading for Prince Fielder. He talks highly of Fielder and only has one hang-up with him...his size. Other than that, he paints Prince as a stand-up guy who has plenty of up-side potential. The comments below the story, specifically the 3rd comment, sheds an accurateand balance light on the Prince. Yes, he's respected by his teammates...probably out of fear. Let's face it, Prince has had his fall-out with his old-man (not really his fault), a dug-out explosion between he and Manny Parra 2 years ago, going after Motto while playing against the Dodgers last season, the bowling pin incident, the St. Louis Cardinal feud of 2007. The list goes on. I still think he's a good guy, but I wouldn't say perfect. At any rate, he has the idea of the Giants giving up a frontline pitcher and a prospect (hurler) for Prince. Please sir, we'll take Matt Caine and Madison Bumgarner for Prince Fielder. Will that be enough? I truly don't think so. He's starting to heat up and he blasted 10 HR's in the month of June alone. We would need a corner infielder (low level) prospect as well or a RF.
Does it make sense for the Brewers to deal Corey Hart with no viable option to replace him? Well, here is one scenario....The Braves "are showing" interest in Corey Hart to replace Jason Heyward who is on the DL. Reading stuff like this makes me wonder just how serious Heywards injury is? That being said, Milwaukee would probably deal Corey Hart...if again....they don't hit .500 by the All Star break or at the very least by the trade deadline. Who is there to replace him though? There isn't a viable option at this point.
Joining in the HR party was Prince Fielder (16, 17th HR) and Jonathon Lucroy (2), the latter seeing his batting average hover at the .290 mark since getting the call-up.
Rickie Weeks continued his hot streak by going 1 for 4 w/ 2 RBI.
Ryan Braun went 0 for 4 on the night; he saw his batting average dip below .300 for the first time this season! Yet he still leads the NL outfielders in All Star votes, rightfully so. His highest BA on the season was .417 on April 22nd (not counting the first week of the season).
The bullpen showed some vulnerability last night....again. John Axford recorded his 8th straight save of the season. It should be noted that he did give up a run on a nicely placed liner to deep center by Lance Berkman. But, on the flipside to that....he did get Hunter Pence to ground out. He's getting it done. However, Trevor Hoffman will probably be used today if there is a save situation. Basically, Macha is looking for an excuse to use the Hoff, which would work out well today because of the afternoon game OR tomorrow in St. Louis because of the travel. As of right now Trevor Hoffman is taking up a valuable roster spot that could be used on someone else. Yes, Trevor has worked nicely in 7th & 8th inning appereances...but that's not what he does.
Speaking of roster spots...what will Kenny Macha do with Chris Capuano? The guy hasn't thrown since their trip to Florida (June 3rd). That's approaching a damn month of him just sitting out there and rotting. What are they going to do? I mean, they have Doug Davis getting a start against San Fran. But Capy is just chilling out there in the bullpen. Are they going to package him in a trade and they don't want to risk any injury to him? Who in the hell would take him?
It's nice to see Prince Fielder break out his bat. The man has been ridiculous this month. It wasn't too long ago that I was bitching about him. Well, I stand here eating my words...or sit here doing so. He cranked out two long balls to the same EXACT spot of Miller Park (RF corner). You can simply tell with his approach and swing that he's far more confident than April-May.
Ever wonder what the hell a HOLD is, regarding relief pitching? Well, JSOnline.com broke it down as simple as one can get. Carlos Villanueva has 11 holds and leads the Brewers. Compare that to ex-Brewer Mike Adams (set-up man for Heath Bell) and his 21 holds. The record is 36 by Flash Gordon of the Yankees in 2004.
Remember LaTroy Hawkins? He's coming off the DL soon. My guess is that Todd Coffey is going to get limited use the remainder of the season (barring any injury). He just doesn't have it this season. Meanwhile, LaTroy will probably get worked in right away and take over Zach Braddock/Kameron Loe's set-up roles. Both have been effective, but 5.25MM is far too much money to let rot in middle-relief. He should return for the Cardinals series after he makes one last rehab start in Appleton tonight. Together, he and Davis account for 12.75MM in investments....unbelievable....throw in Randy Wolf's and you have a colossal failure.
Granted, THIS is a simple "BleacherReport.com" post....but it does discuss the idea of Cliff Lee getting traded to the Brewers. If anyone knows the prospects in the Milwaukee farm system, it's Jack Z. I just don't see this happening. If they hit .500 before the All-Star break, possibly. But that's even a long shot. Regardless, playing the 'what-if' game....
Mat Gamel & Brett Lawrie & cash for Cliff Lee?
Jose Lopez is their starting 3B. The guy shows glimpses of promise at time, like when he went yard twice in the Milwaukee series over this past weekend, but the guy is still batting a horrid .247 or so. Gamel could be a nice fit at 3B. Brett Lawrie could be a good addition because he is just doesn't fit in with Milwaukee's plans. He could play 1B, pending an exit by Prince Fielder. He could also catch, which I don't see happening either because kid-wonder Jonathon Lucroy is doing just fine. I'm sure Seattle would love to have him, especially since he was Jack Z's last 1st round pick before leaving. Plus, those two are both Canadians. I don't know if Lorenzo Cain can play LF or not, since that would be the best fit seeing that Milton Bradley is a head case if he were thrown in to the mix. Just shooting from the hip here. This trade has a 20% chance of happening.
Looking ahead to the Suds Series in St. Louis....
Milwaukee will not have to face Adam Wainwright!
They will have to face Carpenter and Garcia though.
HERE are the probable match-ups...
MLB.com writer Mike Bauman discusses the idea of the SF Giants trading for Prince Fielder. He talks highly of Fielder and only has one hang-up with him...his size. Other than that, he paints Prince as a stand-up guy who has plenty of up-side potential. The comments below the story, specifically the 3rd comment, sheds an accurateand balance light on the Prince. Yes, he's respected by his teammates...probably out of fear. Let's face it, Prince has had his fall-out with his old-man (not really his fault), a dug-out explosion between he and Manny Parra 2 years ago, going after Motto while playing against the Dodgers last season, the bowling pin incident, the St. Louis Cardinal feud of 2007. The list goes on. I still think he's a good guy, but I wouldn't say perfect. At any rate, he has the idea of the Giants giving up a frontline pitcher and a prospect (hurler) for Prince. Please sir, we'll take Matt Caine and Madison Bumgarner for Prince Fielder. Will that be enough? I truly don't think so. He's starting to heat up and he blasted 10 HR's in the month of June alone. We would need a corner infielder (low level) prospect as well or a RF.
Does it make sense for the Brewers to deal Corey Hart with no viable option to replace him? Well, here is one scenario....The Braves "are showing" interest in Corey Hart to replace Jason Heyward who is on the DL. Reading stuff like this makes me wonder just how serious Heywards injury is? That being said, Milwaukee would probably deal Corey Hart...if again....they don't hit .500 by the All Star break or at the very least by the trade deadline. Who is there to replace him though? There isn't a viable option at this point.
Monday, June 28, 2010
34-41: Narv-Dog goes the distance!
Chris Narveson went the the distance in yesterday's game 3-0, thus improving his record to 7-4 on the season. Narveson pitched 8 shut-out innings with 7 K's and only 1 walk. Pretty impressive for a guy who's hanging on by a thread in the starting rotation. In fact, with Doug Davis coming back Kenny Macha has hinted at possibly creating a 6-man rotation. This, I feel, is a bad idea. Sure it allows plenty of rest, but it also throw Yovanni Gallardo out of sync. Adding another hurler to the rotation does more harm than good. In fact, I believe that it's easier to go to a 4-man rotation than a 6-man rotation. Of course, the play-off atmosphere certainly help the 4-man rotation and it's cause.
Rickie Weeks is the best lead-off hitter in baseball....or.....well.....he has been in the month of June. He leads all other lead-off hitter in the NL in RBI's (44). He blasted a long ball in the 1st inning to get the Crew off to a hot start.
Jonathon Lucroy added a double (1 for 4). It's pretty obvious that he should be the starting catcher and George Kottarus should be used sparingly. Hart, McGehee, and Weeks also added a double each.
Joe Inglett continued to have a hot bat coming off the bench. They guy hit a nicely-placed triple.
John Axford collected his 7th save of the season.
He has now moved 2 saves ahead of Trevor Hoffman (5). Hard to comprehend....the all-time best saves leader is on the bench and seldom used. My guess is that this won't last too much longer. In fact, if the Milwaukee gets to a back-to-back game situation for a save....Macha will used Hoffman the second game and then blame "short rest" on his reasoning when Hoffman blows it. However, I don't think Hoffman will blow anything. My guess is that he will turn in to a viable option for the Crew and return to the Closer role. Axford will become the set-up and also be used in spot closing appearances.
He has now moved 2 saves ahead of Trevor Hoffman (5). Hard to comprehend....the all-time best saves leader is on the bench and seldom used. My guess is that this won't last too much longer. In fact, if the Milwaukee gets to a back-to-back game situation for a save....Macha will used Hoffman the second game and then blame "short rest" on his reasoning when Hoffman blows it. However, I don't think Hoffman will blow anything. My guess is that he will turn in to a viable option for the Crew and return to the Closer role. Axford will become the set-up and also be used in spot closing appearances.Randy Wolf is sucking big-time at Miller Park. THIS piece contributes that to the spacious parks that he threw in while playing for the Dodgers.
Here is one thing I don't get....Melvin & Macha decided to keep Doug Davis down in the minors for one more rehab start (w/ the TimberRattlers); why does he automatically get to jump right back in to the rotation? Yes, I realize he has a sizable contract, but so did Jeff Suppan. Why fix something that may have finally been repaired? Or....why not toy with Doug Davis and Randy Wolf (two lefties) switching off starts, since it's those two who are the weak spots in the rotation?
The Brewers may have finally gotten over the slump/hump of the first half. The rotation is key and it needs to be one well-oiled machine.
As can be expected, the Brewers and Boras are not in-talks regarding Fielder's contract. Save it for the off-season. HE WILL NOT BE TRADED this season. If anything, it will occur during the off-season when all teams are in play for him.
Friday, June 25, 2010
The Time Is NOW
The time is now for the Milwaukee Brewers to wake-up and try to save this season. At this point in the season, as of June 25th, they need to put on a win-streak like none other and gain ground. Their schedule certainly favors them in the coming weeks:
Home vs Seattle (30-42)- 3 game series
Home vs Houston (28-45)- 3 game game series
@ STL (40-32)- 4 game series
Home vs San Fran (39-32)- 4 game series
Home vs Pittsburgh (25-47)- 3 game series
*All Star Break*
The weekend series with Seattle is going to be the return of Jack Z, who left before the 2009 season to take over the GM position with the M's. Both teams came in to the season with high hopes of finishing near the top of their respective divisions....however, Seattle is 12 games under .500 and the Crew is 8 behind.
Dave Bush (4.67/2-5) will take to the mound against LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (5.98/1-6). What's nice about this match-up is that Bush was skipped during the Minnesota series, so therefore (one would think) that he should have a strong outting. Rowland-Smith came in to 2009 with some big expectations by Jack Z and the Seattle fanbase. Sadly enough, the guy has been one of the weakest spots in a rotation that has King Felix, Jason Vargas, and Clifford Lee. In fact, Milwaukee will have their hands full even without going up against Lee, Felix, and Vargas. Tomorrow Randy Wolf will face Doug Fister (3-3/2.45), although this is Fister's first start since coming off the DL. On Sunday the Narv Dog will face Jason Vargas (6-2/2.66).
Home vs Seattle (30-42)- 3 game series
Home vs Houston (28-45)- 3 game game series
@ STL (40-32)- 4 game series
Home vs San Fran (39-32)- 4 game series
Home vs Pittsburgh (25-47)- 3 game series
*All Star Break*
The weekend series with Seattle is going to be the return of Jack Z, who left before the 2009 season to take over the GM position with the M's. Both teams came in to the season with high hopes of finishing near the top of their respective divisions....however, Seattle is 12 games under .500 and the Crew is 8 behind.
Dave Bush (4.67/2-5) will take to the mound against LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (5.98/1-6). What's nice about this match-up is that Bush was skipped during the Minnesota series, so therefore (one would think) that he should have a strong outting. Rowland-Smith came in to 2009 with some big expectations by Jack Z and the Seattle fanbase. Sadly enough, the guy has been one of the weakest spots in a rotation that has King Felix, Jason Vargas, and Clifford Lee. In fact, Milwaukee will have their hands full even without going up against Lee, Felix, and Vargas. Tomorrow Randy Wolf will face Doug Fister (3-3/2.45), although this is Fister's first start since coming off the DL. On Sunday the Narv Dog will face Jason Vargas (6-2/2.66).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
32-40: Don't look now.....
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Don't look now kids....but the lovable Brew Crew is in the middle of a hot streak. Coincidentally, this recent tear is unfolding in the midst of Bob Uecker coming back from Heart Surgery! Milwaukee has now won 4 straight and this was their first sweep over the Twins since 1996.
According to Madison.com, Bob Uecker made a surprise appearance in the booth with Corey Provos during the game. I was at work and was not able to tune in, so I don't know what what was all discussed. He had a great one-liner according Madison.com:
"I'm getting better, I'm feeling stronger," said Uecker who thanked the fans for the mail, cards, "and postage due on those cards".
Today's 5-0 beating of the Twins provides proof that the Crew might have turned things around and are on the up & up. They are with in striking distance of reaching the .500 point before the mid-summer classic arrives. Milwaukee swept the Twins right out of town this afternoon with the strong outing by Yovanni Gallardo (7-3), who saw his ERA drop to 2.36 on the season. He has a perfect game going in to the 6th inning. This was Yovanni's 2nd complete game shut-out. He recorded 12 SO's and no walks.....this only further proves to the MLB fans that Yovanni is one of the best in the league. He was always struggling with his walks, but he has recently kept this in check and he continues to dominate with his strike-outs.
Rickie Weeks continued his hot streak by blasting his 12 HR of the season, while Prince Fielder collected his 14th. Corey Hart went 1 for 3, driving in 1 RBI (56 RBI).
Jim Edmonds stranded 3 on-base while going 1 for 4 on the afternoon, a day after collecting 2 doubles in last night's win.
31-40: Milwaukee pulls to within 9 under .500
Fact: Manny Parra has proven to be the most reliable arm in the starting rotation (aside from Yovanni Gallardo) over the past month. This kid seems to have his poise back and his confidence is sky high. This of course was what held him back and eventually resulted in him being sent down to the minors last year.
Well....Manny version 2.0 is stronger than ever. He led the Crew to 5-3 win over the Twins last night, therefore Milwaukee won the series. If they win this afternoon they will have taken the season series....when was the last time that happened? Even still, a loss would result in a tie.
Don't let Manny's 2-5 record fool you, he has a 3.83 ERA right now. The man has been spot-on in his starts by not allowing more than 3 runs in a single game (which he did twice). Despite last night's unfortunate club record of throwing 4 wild pitches (ouch), the southpaw connected for 6 K's and only 2 walks. The neat thing about Manny is that he seems hungry (cliche, I know) this season. He was steaming mad when Macha took him out of the game in the 6th with Morneau up to bat. It proved to be a wise move because Braddock was able to finish him off to end the inning.
Now on to the bullpen. Aside from the melt-down that took place in Denver over the weekend, the pen has been pretty damn good. Most of the credit can be given to the young John Axford, who has recorded 2 saves in consecutive games. Most impressive was Monday's save thanks to him going 2 complete innings. John Axford now has 6 saves on the season.
On a side note, I was actually hoping that Macha would turn to Trevor Hoffman last night. This can probably be blamed on the fact that I have him on my fantasy baseball team. I now have to drop him because it's looking like Axford is now the full time closer; disregard Macha's words that say otherwise. He would be foolish if he messed up this momentum. Now, if there was a save situation in today's game one can look forward to seeing Hoffman out there.
Rickie Weeks has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late, going 8 for 22 (.275 average). Granted, this stat isn't ground breaking or anything...or is it? Rickie Weeks' average has been horrible this season (.260) and his OPB is at a horrific .360.
Corey Hart's value continues to rise! The man is on fire with 55 RBI's, 18 HR's, and his average has lifted to .272. Most critics coined him as a one-dimensional hitter (power), but Hart has been lighting-up all statistical categories.
Just the opposite of Hart is Prince Fielder.....
He showed signs of heating up earlier in the month, but he's hovered back to 17 for 74 and his average is at .257 on the season.
This being said, it makes sense to deal Hart rather than Fielder next month. But keep in mind, who will replace Hart in RF? Edmounds sure as hell can't, and Gerut is still on the DL...plus he butts. They should almost hang on to him, unless a team like San Diego can fork over a pitcher.
Well....Manny version 2.0 is stronger than ever. He led the Crew to 5-3 win over the Twins last night, therefore Milwaukee won the series. If they win this afternoon they will have taken the season series....when was the last time that happened? Even still, a loss would result in a tie.
Don't let Manny's 2-5 record fool you, he has a 3.83 ERA right now. The man has been spot-on in his starts by not allowing more than 3 runs in a single game (which he did twice). Despite last night's unfortunate club record of throwing 4 wild pitches (ouch), the southpaw connected for 6 K's and only 2 walks. The neat thing about Manny is that he seems hungry (cliche, I know) this season. He was steaming mad when Macha took him out of the game in the 6th with Morneau up to bat. It proved to be a wise move because Braddock was able to finish him off to end the inning.
Now on to the bullpen. Aside from the melt-down that took place in Denver over the weekend, the pen has been pretty damn good. Most of the credit can be given to the young John Axford, who has recorded 2 saves in consecutive games. Most impressive was Monday's save thanks to him going 2 complete innings. John Axford now has 6 saves on the season.
On a side note, I was actually hoping that Macha would turn to Trevor Hoffman last night. This can probably be blamed on the fact that I have him on my fantasy baseball team. I now have to drop him because it's looking like Axford is now the full time closer; disregard Macha's words that say otherwise. He would be foolish if he messed up this momentum. Now, if there was a save situation in today's game one can look forward to seeing Hoffman out there.
Rickie Weeks has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late, going 8 for 22 (.275 average). Granted, this stat isn't ground breaking or anything...or is it? Rickie Weeks' average has been horrible this season (.260) and his OPB is at a horrific .360.
Corey Hart's value continues to rise! The man is on fire with 55 RBI's, 18 HR's, and his average has lifted to .272. Most critics coined him as a one-dimensional hitter (power), but Hart has been lighting-up all statistical categories.
Just the opposite of Hart is Prince Fielder.....
He showed signs of heating up earlier in the month, but he's hovered back to 17 for 74 and his average is at .257 on the season.
This being said, it makes sense to deal Hart rather than Fielder next month. But keep in mind, who will replace Hart in RF? Edmounds sure as hell can't, and Gerut is still on the DL...plus he butts. They should almost hang on to him, unless a team like San Diego can fork over a pitcher.
Monday, June 21, 2010
29-40: Crew salvages a win / Starting pitching starting to come around?
Yes, Milwaukee lost the series to the Colorado Rockies. The sad part is, they could've easily won it too. The starting pitching seemed to be clicking over the weekend.
Manny Parra (1-5): 6 innings, 2 ER, 0 walks, 2 SO's
Yovanni Gallardo: 6 innings, 1 ER, 1 walk, 9 SO's
Rany Wolf: 7 innings, 1 ER, 4 walks, 2 SO's
Had it not been for the bull pen melting down in the first 2 games of the series, Milwaukee could've pull off a series win. That being said, the starting pitching looked damn good. Aside from Randy Wolf walking more batters than he fanned, all three looked damn good.
The true test will come this week when the Crew takes on the Twins with Dave Bushs' start being pushed back a week; considering that he sucks badly against Minnesota. Chris Narveson (5-4, 5.79) will take to the mound tomorrow against Scott Baker (6-5, 4.41), followed by Manny Parra against Loriano and Yovanni Gallardo against _______. The Twins haven't announced yet who they'll pit against Yo.
Manny Parra (1-5): 6 innings, 2 ER, 0 walks, 2 SO's
Yovanni Gallardo: 6 innings, 1 ER, 1 walk, 9 SO's
Rany Wolf: 7 innings, 1 ER, 4 walks, 2 SO's
Had it not been for the bull pen melting down in the first 2 games of the series, Milwaukee could've pull off a series win. That being said, the starting pitching looked damn good. Aside from Randy Wolf walking more batters than he fanned, all three looked damn good.
The true test will come this week when the Crew takes on the Twins with Dave Bushs' start being pushed back a week; considering that he sucks badly against Minnesota. Chris Narveson (5-4, 5.79) will take to the mound tomorrow against Scott Baker (6-5, 4.41), followed by Manny Parra against Loriano and Yovanni Gallardo against _______. The Twins haven't announced yet who they'll pit against Yo.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
28-38: Back at .500 on the season...where they belong...
How many times have the Milwaukee Brewers been at 10 games under .500 on the season, one might ask?
11 seperate times Milwaukee has been 10 games under .500
Last night the Crew took their 2 game hot streak and rode it no-where. The team stunk to high-heaven last night.
Narv-Dog allowed 5 runs in 4.1 innings of work....super!
The only good news was the bullpen last night, which seems to be stabalizing as of late...
Villy, Riske, Braddock, and Hoffman were all spotless in their appearences. Most noteworthy being Trevor Hoffman who hasn't allowed a run in 5 of his last 7 appearences.
Pretty good news on that front. My guess is that Hoffman will go back to the closer role this weekend....or....at least get a shot (if given the chance).
Milwaukee was limited to only 3 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings of work by Joel Pinnero.
Hart, McGehee, and Gomez were those that collected a measely hit.
Prince was fanned twice, while Braunie went down once on strikes.
Now for some promising news for this coming weekend series in Denver!
Milwaukee will not have to face Ubaldo Jiminez this weekend. Instead, Milwaukee will go up against Hammel, Francis, & Cook....who have a combined average ERA of 4.32 on the season.
Milwaukee will throw out Parra, Yovanni, and Wolf who have a combined average of 4.32 as well. So this is as close of an even match-up as you can get when it comes to the starters.
My favorite draft pick, Hunter Morris, a 1B from Auburn, was selected as a first team All-American. The 4th round draft pick will look nice at 1B once Prince skips town.
Speaking of which....Prince Fielder had his 250 game starting streak (at 1B) snapped last night. He was moved to the DH spot. Edmonds started in stead.
11 seperate times Milwaukee has been 10 games under .500
Last night the Crew took their 2 game hot streak and rode it no-where. The team stunk to high-heaven last night.
Narv-Dog allowed 5 runs in 4.1 innings of work....super!
The only good news was the bullpen last night, which seems to be stabalizing as of late...
Villy, Riske, Braddock, and Hoffman were all spotless in their appearences. Most noteworthy being Trevor Hoffman who hasn't allowed a run in 5 of his last 7 appearences.
Pretty good news on that front. My guess is that Hoffman will go back to the closer role this weekend....or....at least get a shot (if given the chance).
Milwaukee was limited to only 3 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings of work by Joel Pinnero.
Hart, McGehee, and Gomez were those that collected a measely hit.
Prince was fanned twice, while Braunie went down once on strikes.
Now for some promising news for this coming weekend series in Denver!
Milwaukee will not have to face Ubaldo Jiminez this weekend. Instead, Milwaukee will go up against Hammel, Francis, & Cook....who have a combined average ERA of 4.32 on the season.
Milwaukee will throw out Parra, Yovanni, and Wolf who have a combined average of 4.32 as well. So this is as close of an even match-up as you can get when it comes to the starters.
My favorite draft pick, Hunter Morris, a 1B from Auburn, was selected as a first team All-American. The 4th round draft pick will look nice at 1B once Prince skips town.
Speaking of which....Prince Fielder had his 250 game starting streak (at 1B) snapped last night. He was moved to the DH spot. Edmonds started in stead.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
28-37: Bush (finally) has a good outing
Dave Bush has been horrible over his past 5 starts. I mean, let's not forget his horrific showing at Target Shopping Center in Minneapolis last month where the guy let open the flood gates.'
Well, last night he was game-tight and able to lead the Crew to a 7-1 win over the always dangerous Angels. Watching this game last night was like going back in time when the Crew was in the American League Central and they were playing Devon White and the rest of the LA team. Of course, back then they didn't have the silly faux rocks out in CF nor did they have rap music blaring over the loud speakers for every at-bat. But it seems like a pretty cool ball park to say the least.
Dave Bush lasted 7.1 innings last night, allowing 1 earned run on 7 hits and no free-passes!
Kamerson Loe & John Axford took care of the rest by not allowing a single hit.
Prince Fielder is in the midst of really heating up. The man has been lights out the last two weeks....when it comes to the long ball. Keep in mind though, every time he goes yard, it tends to be his only hit of the game. Last night he hit 13th HR of the season, but it was his only hit. Very similar to Corey Hart and his HR burst. Last night, Hart had a great hit down the LF line and drove in three runs on a triple.
Rickie Weeks went o'fer. He is now hitting .256 on the season.
Jim Edmounds filled in for the struggling Carlos Gomez. He collected two hits and his average is up to .270 now!
Jonathon Lucroy stayed hot by going 2 for 5 with a SB. The kid is hitting .344 so far in his brief stint.
*It's apparent that Lucroy is the catcher of the future for the Crew. He will probably start getting the majority of the starts over Kottarus by July. He has already been getting more starts in the last series with Texas.
-Doug Davis and Todd Coffey are starting their way back to the bigs. They both have rehab assignments in Nashville. So that means that Parra will probably get knocked from the rotation, even though he has been pretty decent. Parra tossed 14.1 innings total over his 3 starts while in the rotation; he went 2-1 and gave up 8 earned runs. You do that math, but that seems pretty decent (not stellar) to me. Especially right when the pitchers are starting (only starting) to show some signs of improvement.
-Cool story about an Antigo, WI bat maker who supplies Corey Hart.
Well, last night he was game-tight and able to lead the Crew to a 7-1 win over the always dangerous Angels. Watching this game last night was like going back in time when the Crew was in the American League Central and they were playing Devon White and the rest of the LA team. Of course, back then they didn't have the silly faux rocks out in CF nor did they have rap music blaring over the loud speakers for every at-bat. But it seems like a pretty cool ball park to say the least.
Dave Bush lasted 7.1 innings last night, allowing 1 earned run on 7 hits and no free-passes!
Kamerson Loe & John Axford took care of the rest by not allowing a single hit.
Prince Fielder is in the midst of really heating up. The man has been lights out the last two weeks....when it comes to the long ball. Keep in mind though, every time he goes yard, it tends to be his only hit of the game. Last night he hit 13th HR of the season, but it was his only hit. Very similar to Corey Hart and his HR burst. Last night, Hart had a great hit down the LF line and drove in three runs on a triple.
Rickie Weeks went o'fer. He is now hitting .256 on the season.
Jim Edmounds filled in for the struggling Carlos Gomez. He collected two hits and his average is up to .270 now!
Jonathon Lucroy stayed hot by going 2 for 5 with a SB. The kid is hitting .344 so far in his brief stint.
*It's apparent that Lucroy is the catcher of the future for the Crew. He will probably start getting the majority of the starts over Kottarus by July. He has already been getting more starts in the last series with Texas.
-Doug Davis and Todd Coffey are starting their way back to the bigs. They both have rehab assignments in Nashville. So that means that Parra will probably get knocked from the rotation, even though he has been pretty decent. Parra tossed 14.1 innings total over his 3 starts while in the rotation; he went 2-1 and gave up 8 earned runs. You do that math, but that seems pretty decent (not stellar) to me. Especially right when the pitchers are starting (only starting) to show some signs of improvement.
-Cool story about an Antigo, WI bat maker who supplies Corey Hart.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
27-37: Yet again, back to 10 games under .500
Milwaukee shined last night in LA! They also survived a 5.7 earthquake!
Randy Wolf actually tossed a damn good game; lasting 7 complete innings while giving up 2 (earned) runs on 3 hits and giving out only 3 walks. This is the Randy Wolf we signed. Now if he can just string together some consecutive solid starts!
Wolf-meister had a little help from Ryan Braun & Casey McGehee who both went yard in fashionable ways. Braunie hit his 3rd career grand slam while McGehee hit a long shot that went off of Torri Hunter's glove in CF. The man literally had the ball in his glove; making a spectacular play....all to see it flop out over the wall. The Crew scored 5 runs in both 3rd and 7th innings. Let's just hope this isn't their weekly ass-whipping that is followed by sub-par performances.
-Carlos Gomez continues to struggle since being dropped down to the 7-spot. He went 0 for 5 on the evening as did Prince (0-4). Joe Inglett is a Man-Bear Pig. The guy is on a pretty good tear as of late by going 1 for 1 as a pinch hitter last night. Talk about an excellent find by Doug Melvin (take note, haters).
-Villy and Chris Smith finished off LA last night by each going an inning and striking out two. Smith gave up the only hit.
-Draft pick Austin Ross signed with the Crew. He was going to be LSU's ace next year. Pretty nice considering that LSU is a solid SEC program.
-Dylan Covey, Milwaukee's top pick, met with the Brewers and the players last night for the first time. He's being represented by his dad during contract negotiations, in order to uphold his eligibility status for college. He does have a full-ride scholarship to SDSU. So this isn't a shoe-in by any means.
-Shhhh....quiet....do you hear that? That's Corey Hart's trade value rising! His 17 HR's are looking pretty damn good and should draw a good quality trade!
Friday, June 11, 2010
25-35: Carlos Gomez is really fast
Carlos Gomez is lightening quick...I mean, I always knews the guy had wheels....but watching the replay of yesterday's game on FSWisconsin last night highlighted just how fast this guy was. Thanks to a beautiful bunt by Craig Counsell (the only Brewer who can bunt effectively) would've gotten the job done; it would've advanced Gomez to 2B and in scoring position with 2 outs remaining if Craig was thrown out. Instead, 1B Xavier Nady misfired a thow 3B that allowed Gomez to head home for the winning run. By far, it was the strangest ending to a Brewers game in quite some time. I can't remember another time this has happened. A runner on 1B scores on an infield bunt?!?! Insane. I would like to think this marks the turn-around of the Crew and luck was finally on the side of the Brewers. Needless to say, I won't get my hopes up. Nope.
Craig Counsell called the bunt-play,
"That's our Willie Mays Hayes play," Counsell said, referring to the movie "Major League." "I play Tom Berenger and he plays Wesley Snipes."
-JSOnline.com
Whatever it is....it worked.
Let's not take away from the horrible game this truly was. The Cubbies had 3 errors and they out-hit the Crew 9 to 7. Corey Hart was the ONLY Brewer to collect 2 hits, one of which was a sorry-ass blooper to Right-Center field that left Byrd looking like a re~tard.
*Prince Fielder & Ryan Braun both went o'fer.
Fielder went 1 for 10 this series
Braun went 0-11
That's a grand total of 1-21 against the hated rivals....AT HOME.
Dave Bush went 6 complete giving up 4 earned runs 3 walks and 4 SO's.
The bullpen was immaculate. All 4 relievers for Milwaukee did their job! No one allowed a run and in 3 2/3 inning's of bullpen work, they only gave up 3 hits and 2 free passes. John Axford (3-1) earned the win.
No need to elaborate on the news of Jeff Suppan signing with the Cardinals. Their sabatoge mission worked flawlessly! My guess is that Dave Duncan will right his ship and Soup will make some spot starts this season. Gotta love it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
24-35: Randy Wolf is Jeff Suppan version 2.0
Let's face it....the Randy Wolf signing is proving to be a colassal failure. It could end up being worse than the Suppan signing, by the looks of it. Honestly, at least Suppan had some good outting and wins back in 2007.
Milwaukee lost to Chicago last night, 9-5. The Cubbies hit 3 HR's in one inning. Unbelieveable. Why didn't Macha yank his sorry ass? Seriously? He crushed any hopes of a resurgence after Tuesday night's win.
Well then, let's compare Suckpan to Wolfdick....
Jeff Suppan's first games to today's date (2007):
13 Starts, 7-6, 86 innings pitched, 37 ER, 40 SO, 10 HR, 27 BB
Randy Wolf
13 Starts, 5-8, 78 innings pitched, 46 ER, 49 SO, 15 HR, 39 BB
As you can see, thus far in to the season Jeff Suppan pretty much crushes Randy Wolf's numbers. Wolf's only better stat is his 49 strike outs compared to Jeff Suppan's 40. It's apparent that Randy Wolf is having a horrible start to his season and he's not playing up to his contract.
Doug Melvin has a long list of failures when it comes to bringing on pitchers....
Eric Gagne: 10MM-complete debacle from the VERY START (remember opening day in Chicago?)
David Riske: Out for a 1.5 seasons
Trevor Hoffman: This is a wash, because he had a kick ass season in 2009.
Jeff Suppan
Randy Wolf: so far...horrible
Scott Linbrink
Claudio Vargas: a wash, he was stellar last season....but now I think he is cut or going to be.
LaTroy Hawkins: Extended stay on the DL
David Weathers: Horrible last season....horrible
Doug Davis: This is the biggest f-up. I was all for Milwaukee bringing him back though...I thought the douche would eat some eatting...all he's doing is spewing out earned runs. Still on the DL and Doug Davis is in no hurry to bring him back.
This is just the top of the list that I can think of right now. CC Sabathia was his only brilliant move. It truly was. Matt LaPorta is back down in AAA and Michael Brantly didn't have a roster spot with the Crew. And of course, the Crew made it to the playoffs.
This is a disturbing trend with no signs of relief. John Axford, Kameron Loe, and Broddick are all unproven or have minimal proven success. How could he let the pitching ranks get this depleted? And still have a job?
Sad thing is, I still think he's a decent GM who, if fired, would be tough to replace.
Milwaukee lost to Chicago last night, 9-5. The Cubbies hit 3 HR's in one inning. Unbelieveable. Why didn't Macha yank his sorry ass? Seriously? He crushed any hopes of a resurgence after Tuesday night's win.
Well then, let's compare Suckpan to Wolfdick....
Jeff Suppan's first games to today's date (2007):
13 Starts, 7-6, 86 innings pitched, 37 ER, 40 SO, 10 HR, 27 BB
Randy Wolf
13 Starts, 5-8, 78 innings pitched, 46 ER, 49 SO, 15 HR, 39 BB
As you can see, thus far in to the season Jeff Suppan pretty much crushes Randy Wolf's numbers. Wolf's only better stat is his 49 strike outs compared to Jeff Suppan's 40. It's apparent that Randy Wolf is having a horrible start to his season and he's not playing up to his contract.
Doug Melvin has a long list of failures when it comes to bringing on pitchers....
Eric Gagne: 10MM-complete debacle from the VERY START (remember opening day in Chicago?)
David Riske: Out for a 1.5 seasons
Trevor Hoffman: This is a wash, because he had a kick ass season in 2009.
Jeff Suppan
Randy Wolf: so far...horrible
Scott Linbrink
Claudio Vargas: a wash, he was stellar last season....but now I think he is cut or going to be.
LaTroy Hawkins: Extended stay on the DL
David Weathers: Horrible last season....horrible
Doug Davis: This is the biggest f-up. I was all for Milwaukee bringing him back though...I thought the douche would eat some eatting...all he's doing is spewing out earned runs. Still on the DL and Doug Davis is in no hurry to bring him back.
This is just the top of the list that I can think of right now. CC Sabathia was his only brilliant move. It truly was. Matt LaPorta is back down in AAA and Michael Brantly didn't have a roster spot with the Crew. And of course, the Crew made it to the playoffs.
This is a disturbing trend with no signs of relief. John Axford, Kameron Loe, and Broddick are all unproven or have minimal proven success. How could he let the pitching ranks get this depleted? And still have a job?
Sad thing is, I still think he's a decent GM who, if fired, would be tough to replace.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
24-34: McGehee to the rescue
Holy Crap...is that emotion Kenny Macha is showing?!?!?!
Casey McGehee won the nailbiter at Miller Park last night in walk-off fashion. The 2nd year starter jumped to the top of the NL leader board in RBI's (again) when his hard-hit grounder drove in the winning runs.
Casey McGehee won the nailbiter at Miller Park last night in walk-off fashion. The 2nd year starter jumped to the top of the NL leader board in RBI's (again) when his hard-hit grounder drove in the winning runs.Yovanni Gallardo got the no-decision in yet another brilliant outting. He tossed 6 shut-out innings and gave up only 4 hits. Yo only handed out 2 free passes over 110 pitches.
Carlos Villenueva, who has been pretty damn good thus far, allowed the Cubs to quickly go-ahead with a 1-0 lead in the 7th inning. After a Corey Hart solo-HR (15 on the season) the Brewers turned to their new go-to guy in the pen in John Axford (2-1) who was able to nail down the win. He did however give up a run that lead to the Cubbies jumping out in front 2-1 in the 10th. Regardless, AX-Man was able to escape the top of the 10th without any further damage.
That left it to the top 3 in the batting order. Weeks was beamed by Carlos Marmol with a wild pitch and then Gomez tried a pathetic bunt (yet again) that resulted in the first out of the inning. Fielder was walked and Braun advanced Weeks & Prince to 3rd and 2nd base. That lead to Casey McGehee's walk-off single. It made me think that there could still be life in this team...a far shot? No question about it, but let's face it....we still have 100 or so games to play.
Listening to Mark Attanasio in the booth with Brian Anderson and Rock made me think this team could still turn it around. Although it's in his best interest to not show his hand, but he did say that they wouldn't know if they were sellers or buyers until mid to late July. If the team gets to .500 he would then look to add to the payroll. Talk about a vote of confidence. I love this owner. Mark echoed this to the Journal-Sentinel.
Michael Hunt questions the idea of fans being patient enough for a rebuild....let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
David Riske activated / Draft updates
David Riske was reinstated for tonight's game against the Cubbies. He will probably be called upon if the Crew falls behind late in the game, potential mop-up duties to ease him in (just a hunch).
As for today's draft picks:
Milwaukee selected a butt load of pitchers from the collegiant level and a popular pick in 1B Hunter Morris from Auburn. This kid was drafted back in 2007 by the Boston Red Sox in the 2nd round, but was not signed (opted for school instead). Everybody in Brewers Land is thinking the obvious....another Mat LaPorta pick? Well, let's hope not....he was sent down to AAA (thus making the CC deal look even grander...all you Melvin haters).
*also note Tom Haudricourt's reference to "someone commented" about drafting a 1B. That was none other than me!
So I will go ahead and say it....My favorite pick of the draft is Hunter Morris. This kid will crack the big league roster by 2013. I will now go back and see how my other "locks" have faired. I know I liked Kentrail Davis and Brett Lawrie in the past couple of years, both of which are still in the minors. I had Lawrie hitting the active roster this season (september) and Davis in 2012 (long shot at this point).
Here some more selections....
This kid has the power and is slated to be either a 1B or a corner OF.
The oth
As for today's draft picks:
Milwaukee selected a butt load of pitchers from the collegiant level and a popular pick in 1B Hunter Morris from Auburn. This kid was drafted back in 2007 by the Boston Red Sox in the 2nd round, but was not signed (opted for school instead). Everybody in Brewers Land is thinking the obvious....another Mat LaPorta pick? Well, let's hope not....he was sent down to AAA (thus making the CC deal look even grander...all you Melvin haters).
*also note Tom Haudricourt's reference to "someone commented" about drafting a 1B. That was none other than me!
So I will go ahead and say it....My favorite pick of the draft is Hunter Morris. This kid will crack the big league roster by 2013. I will now go back and see how my other "locks" have faired. I know I liked Kentrail Davis and Brett Lawrie in the past couple of years, both of which are still in the minors. I had Lawrie hitting the active roster this season (september) and Davis in 2012 (long shot at this point).
Here some more selections....
This kid has the power and is slated to be either a 1B or a corner OF.
The oth
Draft Day 1 completed
The Milwaukee Brewers decided to make a long-term investment by drafting Dylan Covey, an 18 year-old RHP who has drawn comparisons to Matt Cain and Chad Billingsly.
I commend Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio for thinking long term here. Doug Melvin hit it on the head while being interviewed (video posted HERE) last night when he said that pitchers like Wainwright, Carpeneter, and Josh Johnson as successfull pitchers (today) who were drafted right out of high school.
Last night's 14th overall pick marks the 4th time (in the past 10 drafts) that the Crew selected a high school right-hander. So this concerns me a bit, considering that Jeremy Jeffress, Mike Jones, and Mark Rogers had their rounds of injuries (Jeffress and drug suspensions).
Hopefully Covey can right the ship down their in the farm system. Lord knows the Brewers need it.
I found it interesting that none of THESE mock drafts had Covey picked higher than #18...most having him higher than #20 (between 20-30). The Crew picked him 14th overall.
I commend Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio for thinking long term here. Doug Melvin hit it on the head while being interviewed (video posted HERE) last night when he said that pitchers like Wainwright, Carpeneter, and Josh Johnson as successfull pitchers (today) who were drafted right out of high school.
Last night's 14th overall pick marks the 4th time (in the past 10 drafts) that the Crew selected a high school right-hander. So this concerns me a bit, considering that Jeremy Jeffress, Mike Jones, and Mark Rogers had their rounds of injuries (Jeffress and drug suspensions).
Hopefully Covey can right the ship down their in the farm system. Lord knows the Brewers need it.
I found it interesting that none of THESE mock drafts had Covey picked higher than #18...most having him higher than #20 (between 20-30). The Crew picked him 14th overall.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Peace out Jeff Suppan
Milwaukee finally cut ties with Jeff Suppan today. Doug Melvin cut him and therefore surrendered the 10.08MM that was owed to him.
As a result, Chris Smith was called up from AAA Nashville, where he was a closer for the Sounds.
Jeff Suppan was an excellent contributor to Milwaukee Area charities and he is apart of the "Strike Out for Troops" campaign. Sadly enough, he was unable to make any donations due to the lack of said K's.
Trevor Hoffman, take note.
As a result, Chris Smith was called up from AAA Nashville, where he was a closer for the Sounds.
Jeff Suppan was an excellent contributor to Milwaukee Area charities and he is apart of the "Strike Out for Troops" campaign. Sadly enough, he was unable to make any donations due to the lack of said K's.
Trevor Hoffman, take note.
23-34: Parra baffles Cardinals....and fans of Milwaukee
I couldn't believe me eyes last night....Milwaukee actually won a nationally televised game on ESPN! In extra-innings nonetheless, 4-3.
Manny Parra pitched his career-best game last night, even though it last all but 5 1/3 innings. He recorded a career-best 10 strike outs and even made a little history by striking out 4 batters in one inning. Parra gave up HR's to Colby Rasmus and Albert Puhols last night and also exited the game with the bases loaded. Dave Bush was able to record an out and then Kameron Loe took care of the rest.
Zach Braddock earned his first win of the season and his career (1-0). This earned him the ceremonious beer shower.
John Axford recorded 4th save this season.
Carlos Villenueva recorded his 2nd blown save of the season.
Prince Fielder went 3-4 on the night, all three hits were singles.
Rickie Weeks hit his 10th HR of the season.
George Kottarus can look pretty rough behind the plate. He and Lucroy are NOT the answers (full-time) at Catcher. On a part-time basis, both can get the job done.
He had an error that resulted in Albert reaching 3B during a key moment at the end of the game.
Manny Parra pitched his career-best game last night, even though it last all but 5 1/3 innings. He recorded a career-best 10 strike outs and even made a little history by striking out 4 batters in one inning. Parra gave up HR's to Colby Rasmus and Albert Puhols last night and also exited the game with the bases loaded. Dave Bush was able to record an out and then Kameron Loe took care of the rest.
Zach Braddock earned his first win of the season and his career (1-0). This earned him the ceremonious beer shower.
John Axford recorded 4th save this season.
Carlos Villenueva recorded his 2nd blown save of the season.
Prince Fielder went 3-4 on the night, all three hits were singles.
Rickie Weeks hit his 10th HR of the season.
George Kottarus can look pretty rough behind the plate. He and Lucroy are NOT the answers (full-time) at Catcher. On a part-time basis, both can get the job done.
He had an error that resulted in Albert reaching 3B during a key moment at the end of the game.
Friday, June 4, 2010
22-32: Back to 10 games under...where they belong
The way the Milwaukee Brewers are playing this week, they don't deserve to be in the elite category of being 9 games under .500 in MLB. Honestly, this team is just that bad right now.
Their latest debacle was stranding 12 on base in last night's 3-2 loss to the Fish.
Unreal.....
Chris Capuano did make his return and he showed some signs of age and the simple fact that he is coming off of his latest TJ surgery. All in all, I wasn't too disappointed with his performance. Yes, the man gave up 3 runs in only 3.2 innings of work....not a good ERA. But he also displayed signs of his old-self with some key strikouts and getting out of jams with RISP. He did have 4 strike-outs, which was nice to see him get down to work. But his change-up was ass-opposite of where it should be in the strike zone, thus resulting in a couple of doubles Uggla & Cantu. Capy will be fine, he should bounce back in his next start against the Cubs.
**A comment on THIS story says that the Crew has a 21 game losing streak when Capuano is pitching. If that's true....wow.....But you do have to consider the lack of run-support.
*I feel Uggla and Cantu should trade names....because Cantu is friggen really uggly....Uggla is medium ugly.
Josh Johnson was flawless last night. The co-face of the franchise (along with Hanley) had an excellent outting lasting 7 innings and only giving up 1 earned run on 7 hits, 8 k's, and 3 walks. Johnson had an impressive streak of 31 innings with out giving up an earned run...which lasted until the 7th inning. This kid is great.
The Milwaukee bullpen actually did a nice job of getting out of some jams (Kameron Loe) and keeping the Fish at-bay. Loe went 2.1 innings and gave up only 2 hits along with 2 K's. In 4.1 innings of work by the pen, they didn't give a single run.
Their latest debacle was stranding 12 on base in last night's 3-2 loss to the Fish.
Unreal.....
Chris Capuano did make his return and he showed some signs of age and the simple fact that he is coming off of his latest TJ surgery. All in all, I wasn't too disappointed with his performance. Yes, the man gave up 3 runs in only 3.2 innings of work....not a good ERA. But he also displayed signs of his old-self with some key strikouts and getting out of jams with RISP. He did have 4 strike-outs, which was nice to see him get down to work. But his change-up was ass-opposite of where it should be in the strike zone, thus resulting in a couple of doubles Uggla & Cantu. Capy will be fine, he should bounce back in his next start against the Cubs.
**A comment on THIS story says that the Crew has a 21 game losing streak when Capuano is pitching. If that's true....wow.....But you do have to consider the lack of run-support.
*I feel Uggla and Cantu should trade names....because Cantu is friggen really uggly....Uggla is medium ugly.
Josh Johnson was flawless last night. The co-face of the franchise (along with Hanley) had an excellent outting lasting 7 innings and only giving up 1 earned run on 7 hits, 8 k's, and 3 walks. Johnson had an impressive streak of 31 innings with out giving up an earned run...which lasted until the 7th inning. This kid is great.
The Milwaukee bullpen actually did a nice job of getting out of some jams (Kameron Loe) and keeping the Fish at-bay. Loe went 2.1 innings and gave up only 2 hits along with 2 K's. In 4.1 innings of work by the pen, they didn't give a single run.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
22-31: Yovanni's weekly win
It seems as though Yovanni Gallardo delivers a Brewers win every week. It's been like that his past 5 outings. His record is now 6-2 after he pitched a hell of a game and even contributed a HR. Yo gave up 1 earned run (two runs) on only 4 hits while walking 4.
John Axford was summoned early and closed out the game with a 1.2 inning-long save (3). Carlos Villanueva got in a jam while in the 8th; knowing that Axford is a multi-inning hurler, Macha didn't hesitate to put him in early. Axford did give up an earned run on 2 hits; but he didn't walk a batter and he struck out 1. His era is now 2.79 on his young season.
The bats showed up to support Yovanni; Fielder is starting to heat up (finally) by going 2-4 at the plate with his 8th HR of the season. George Kottarus provided the other long ball on a broken-bat smash to DEEP right field for his 5th.
Carlos Gomez, proving that he's worthy of trading aways JJ Hardy this past off-season, went 2 for 4 with an RBI. His batting average is .266 now and he was batting 6th last night.
*I'm not gonna lie, I missed a good chunk of the Brewers game last night because I was watching the (near) perfect game going on in Detroit. I never witness one (on tv or in-person of course) so I thought I should tune in. There isn't enough kind words to say about Armando Gallaragga. Even when he saw the "safe" sign gestured by the infield umpire Jim Joyce, Armando simply smiled and accepted the call. He didn't argue or cry, or cuss. In fact, he just took the (mis)call like a man and went on to pitch a stellar 1-hit shut-out. Let me tell you, despite the call being a boneheaded move, I actually feel back for Joyce. He showed the fans through his body language immediately after the call that he made a mistake. FOXSports' morning show "Final Score" had post-game press conference (of sorts) where he publicly apologized for the miscall. He knew he screwed up and he took it like a man. Armando was even interviewed and he clearly stated that he accepted Joyces' apology. Look at it this way, Armando has a couple of free passes coming over the next couple of seasons....in my book. This guys strikezone is going to a gapping hole.
The only problem I have with Joyce is why would he even go down that road in the first place? The pitcher ALWAYS gets the call on this sort of play....even without the perfect game scenario. He was the home team pitcher. The call should always favor the home team in a close call. Always. Now you throw in the perfect game and it's a no-brainer. That being said, Joyce knows he made a colossal mistake and he'll probably now receive death threats from the Tiger faithful. Which is really too bad. He felt like he was just doing his job.
This leads me to say that this (early) season of MLB is one of the best in a long time. Hell, it's the best I have ever witnessed. Granted, it's only a couple months old....but we have already been treated to a "balk-off" win, 3 no-hitters, 2 perfect games, a walk-off HR celebration end in a leg break, and many other small tidbits. I just hope the remaining 4 months can keep it up the momentum. I love baseball.
* I think we all can agree on that Milwaukee will be a "seller" over the next 7 weeks. Much like the Cubs. I have a feeling that Corey Hart, Doug Davis, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan, Trevor Hoffman, and probably even Prince Fielder will be on the trade block. Question is, who will want Hoffman & Suppan? My guess is that the Crew wouldn't get much in return. By packaging Corey Hart with one of them, now you have a potential big trade that could land the Brewers a couple of young arms. If Melvin deals Prince Fielder, you are looking at a bonified ace and possibly a #4 or #5 in return. Or you he could go all young, and aim at a number of young prospects that are a year or two away. The only place where Melvin will find that is in Boston or NY, both of which have pretty damn good 1B. They could, however, slot him in as a DH.
*Yea.......Doug Davis is back on schedule to return. Great.
John Axford was summoned early and closed out the game with a 1.2 inning-long save (3). Carlos Villanueva got in a jam while in the 8th; knowing that Axford is a multi-inning hurler, Macha didn't hesitate to put him in early. Axford did give up an earned run on 2 hits; but he didn't walk a batter and he struck out 1. His era is now 2.79 on his young season.
The bats showed up to support Yovanni; Fielder is starting to heat up (finally) by going 2-4 at the plate with his 8th HR of the season. George Kottarus provided the other long ball on a broken-bat smash to DEEP right field for his 5th.
Carlos Gomez, proving that he's worthy of trading aways JJ Hardy this past off-season, went 2 for 4 with an RBI. His batting average is .266 now and he was batting 6th last night.
*I'm not gonna lie, I missed a good chunk of the Brewers game last night because I was watching the (near) perfect game going on in Detroit. I never witness one (on tv or in-person of course) so I thought I should tune in. There isn't enough kind words to say about Armando Gallaragga. Even when he saw the "safe" sign gestured by the infield umpire Jim Joyce, Armando simply smiled and accepted the call. He didn't argue or cry, or cuss. In fact, he just took the (mis)call like a man and went on to pitch a stellar 1-hit shut-out. Let me tell you, despite the call being a boneheaded move, I actually feel back for Joyce. He showed the fans through his body language immediately after the call that he made a mistake. FOXSports' morning show "Final Score" had post-game press conference (of sorts) where he publicly apologized for the miscall. He knew he screwed up and he took it like a man. Armando was even interviewed and he clearly stated that he accepted Joyces' apology. Look at it this way, Armando has a couple of free passes coming over the next couple of seasons....in my book. This guys strikezone is going to a gapping hole.
The only problem I have with Joyce is why would he even go down that road in the first place? The pitcher ALWAYS gets the call on this sort of play....even without the perfect game scenario. He was the home team pitcher. The call should always favor the home team in a close call. Always. Now you throw in the perfect game and it's a no-brainer. That being said, Joyce knows he made a colossal mistake and he'll probably now receive death threats from the Tiger faithful. Which is really too bad. He felt like he was just doing his job.
This leads me to say that this (early) season of MLB is one of the best in a long time. Hell, it's the best I have ever witnessed. Granted, it's only a couple months old....but we have already been treated to a "balk-off" win, 3 no-hitters, 2 perfect games, a walk-off HR celebration end in a leg break, and many other small tidbits. I just hope the remaining 4 months can keep it up the momentum. I love baseball.
* I think we all can agree on that Milwaukee will be a "seller" over the next 7 weeks. Much like the Cubs. I have a feeling that Corey Hart, Doug Davis, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan, Trevor Hoffman, and probably even Prince Fielder will be on the trade block. Question is, who will want Hoffman & Suppan? My guess is that the Crew wouldn't get much in return. By packaging Corey Hart with one of them, now you have a potential big trade that could land the Brewers a couple of young arms. If Melvin deals Prince Fielder, you are looking at a bonified ace and possibly a #4 or #5 in return. Or you he could go all young, and aim at a number of young prospects that are a year or two away. The only place where Melvin will find that is in Boston or NY, both of which have pretty damn good 1B. They could, however, slot him in as a DH.
*Yea.......Doug Davis is back on schedule to return. Great.
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