Gagne sputters, but Brewers win in 10

It was not how Eric Gagne imagined his Brewers debut would turn out, but the Milwaukee Brewers scraped out a win in extra frames today against NL Central rival, Chicago Cubs.

Up 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Eric Gagne gave up a lead-off single to Derrick Lee and a walk to Aramis Ramirez, before giving up a three run shot by Kosuke Fukudome that tied the game 3-3.  Gagne was able to work the rest of the ninth without surrendering a run, and the Crew held on to win in the 10th inning.

Ben Sheets looked superb today.  He worked on the black with his fastball, and his curveball had a late, sharp break that gave Chicago hitters fits at the plate.  Sheets went 6 and 1/3 scoreless innings, only giving up the two hits to Fukudome.  Yost pulled Sheets in the seventh after his pitch count got a little too high for the manager’s liking.  Still, Sheets (along with Carlos Zambrano for the Cubs) gave fantastic outings to start the regular season.

Tony Gwynn Jr. had a fine day at the plate, going 2-3 with a walk and two sacrifices.  He knocked in Craig Counsell with a sacrifice fly to center, and it put the Brewers ahead for good in the 10th inning.  David Riske finished off the game with a scoreless frame to get the save.

Guillermo Mota looked very sharp in his Brewers debut, striking out two Cubs in the bottom of the eighth inning.  He had a very live fastball and a good change-up working.  Salomon Torres struggled a bit with his command, but pulled off an interesting scoreless inning in the seventh.  That inning featured Mark DeRosa getting hit by a pitch and committing a huge baserunning gaff that cost the Cubs a run in the seventh.

Records: Brewers (1-0); Cubs (0-1)

Hero of the Game:  Craig Counsell

One could certainly make a case for Gwynn, but the award has to go to the veteran who came off the bench to lead-off the 10th inning with a double.  Later in the inning, Counsell scored on Gwynn’s sacrifice fly to Felix Pie.  The Brewers are paying Counsell to do exactly what he did today.

Goat of the Game:  Eric Gagne

I just about gave this award to Bill Hall after watching him get picked off at second in the seventh inning, but Gagne’s struggles in the ninth inning speak for themselves.  I do have to give Gagne credit for getting through the rest of the ninth inning unscathed, but his blown save cannot be forgotten.  He relied far too much on his fastball to Lee, Ramirez, and Fukudome, and it backfired on him.  It was too straight to be relied on today.  After Fukudome’s home run, he started to mix in his curveball and change-up much more.  He had greater success after that.

Oh, I almost forgot the other reason I picked Gagne for this.  When Pie hits a sharp grounder to Prince Fielder, Gagne did not take off for first base to cover the bag.  Instead, Prince was forced to try to outrun Pie to the bag, and we all know that Prince will lose at that battle.  The announcers said that Prince should have tagged the bag and not the runner, but Prince would have been plowed over by Pie.  We do not need Prince getting hurt on Opening Day.  You could see how pissed off Prince was at Gagne after that play.  You can bet Gagne heard about that in the clubhouse after the game.

On Tap:

Jeff Suppan will take on Chicago’s Ted Lilly on Wednesday at 1:20pm.  The Brewers have a day off tomorrow, but the series will continue on Wednesday with game two.  Let’s hope that Soup bounces back from his Spring Training struggles just like Sheets did today.  I’d take 6 innings worth of three run ball from Soup Wednesday.  That’s the goal.

Opening Day

I have some bad news for you all.  It looks like the game against the Cubs will be delayed…if not canceled because of rain.  Here’s what the weather looks like down there.

I also wanted to link to Brewerfan.net’s preview to the season.  This has a lot of different perspectives and lots of good stuff.  Take a look!  It will keep you entertained for a while while you are at work.

Round ‘em Up: OPENING DAY!

Happy Opening Day to everyone!!! The Milwaukee Brewers and Ben Sheets will take on the Chicago Cubs and Carlos Zambrano at 1:20 to start the season. I personally am a little sad that the Crew is battling the Cubs so often in the beginning of the season, as it would be more fun down the stretch. Plus, Chicago will not see Mike Cameron as often. Oh well, on to the Round ‘em Up for the day:

• The Milwaukee JS reports the Prince Fielder is expected to play today, even though he is still a bit under the weather. It does not explicitly say that in the article, but when it says that Prince is “feeling a little better,” it’s not too hard to figure out that he’s still sick. Still, Prince at 75% is better than 100% of Mike Rivera or Joe Dillon playing first base.The JS also runs down the final cuts and the Brewers final 25-man roster. I didn’t post it yesterday because I thought everyone already knew the roster, but I’ve gotten a few emails asking. Here you go.
• I have a plethora of predictions for you today.The Hardball Times predicts the winners in each division. The Brewers get a pretty good showing in these lists. The Reds also get some love here. Who knew?! The Baseball Savant has the Cincinnati Reds taking the division, while Milwaukee is stuck in second place. The best part (and by best, I mean funniest part) is that he has the Pittsburgh Pirates taking fourth in front of Houston and St. Louis. Oh, and that the youth of Milwaukee’s rotation makes it unreliable, but Cincinnati’s young pitchers are sure-fire studs. Good logic there.

  David Pinto from Baseball Musings has the Brewers winning the division by a good amount. He says that the young Brewers should continue to get better, and the starting rotation is not as bad as everyone thinks. Another interesting tidbit is that David believes that Milwaukee’s talent is so good that if they do not win the division, Ned Yost should be canned.

  John Sickels from Minor League Ball has many predictions for this upcoming season. Ryan Braun and Corey Hart will compete for the NL Batting Title. It is nice to see Corey getting some love in these previews. What else does John say? Your 2008 Milwaukee Brewers will be in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. John has the Crew losing in 5 games, but it still made my day. Actually, a Brewers win against the Cubs would make my day…

• John Donovan from SI.com has his 10 Fearless Predictions of the ‘08 season. Prediction number two: Ryan Braun will have a better season in ‘08 than he did in ‘07. That is a big prediction, but statistics say that it could definitely happen. Ryan has performed well this spring, and he will be in the bigs for a month longer than in ‘07. His stats can certainly improve. Will they? I doubt it. Not because of ability, but because pitchers will be much more careful with him. Ryan’s best friend this season could be Corey Hart. If Corey can provide protection behind Ryan this season, Braun could put up MVP caliber numbers.
• RealGM Baseball says that Carlos Villanueva was one of the 10 best pitchers of this spring. If Manny Parra wouldn’t have struggled in his final outing, he could have made that list as well.
• Do you need a stress reliever? Play Whack-A-Cub! See how many Cubs you can whack in 30 seconds. I got 41 Cubs in 30 seconds. Wonderful!
• Jeff Sackmann of Brew Crew Ball has an interview with a Cubs blogger. Normally I would have been appalled by this, but the blogger is not overly biased and is intelligent. Quite a refreshing thing for a Cubs fan, I must say.

Long-term contracts offered to Braun, Fielder

Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio told the press that the team offered long-term contracts to both Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.  It is nice to see the Brewers take a proactive approach to Fielder’s contract problems, but it seems unlikely that he will sign.  He will look to break the bank next season when he becomes arbitration-eligible.  Scott Boras enjoys seeing his name mentioned year after year too much to let Fielder sign this contract.

Braun, in my opinion, will most likely sign a multi-year deal that will allow him to make more than a few hundred thousand dollars for the next couple years.  Braun is in position to help himself for the next couple seasons, but the deal can still be team-friendly because it is done so far in advance.  I expect to hear Ryan Braun’s new contract to be signed within the next week or two.

Speaking of Prince Fielder, did you miss him in yesterday’s game against the Royals?  The team sent him home because he was suffering flu-like body aches and pains.  The flu bug has been running rampant through the Brewers’ clubhouse, and it would not be surprising to see Prince get sick.  Let’s hope that his new, healthy vegetarian diet will fend off the sickness, so he can be ready for tomorrow’s opener against the Chicago Cubs.

Where will Rivera bat?

Wondering what you thought Ned Yost will do with the lineup when Kendall isn’t in the game. Will Rivera bat eighth or ninth? 

Thanks,

Joe

When Jason Kendall isn’t in the game, the catcher will bat 8th in the lineup.  Yost says that it takes a “special kind of player” to bat in that ninth spot behind the pitcher, and Mike Rivera just doesn’t make enough contact with the ball to warrant that move.  I think you can definitely see that Rivera will be batting eighth if you look at the spring training games down the stretch.  When Kendall is not in the game, the catcher bats 8th.

Round ‘em Up: Sunday

Good morning/afternoon everyone.  I’m finally settled in again, so it’s time for me to catch up on the last couple days.  Let’s start with a Round ‘em Up.

• The Wall Street Journal did a little baseball analysis and ranked the managers in the game.  Where did Ned Yost show up?  According to the methodology used by the statisticians, Ned is the third best manager in the game.  Ned-haters are going to not like this article very much…

  I don’t put too much stock in this article though.  It lost credibility with me when it said that Bruce Bochy is the second best manager in the game.  I understand his team sucks, but if he was so good, it wouldn’t suck as much as it does.

• Anthony Witrado from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about the 10 things the Brewers MUST do to win the NL Central.  I agree with Jeff Sackmann from Brew Crew Ball on this one.  This article means well, but it completely misses the point.  If the Brewers do all of these things, they could win 110 games.  All these things do not need to happen for the Crew to win the Central. 
• Ken Rosenthal from FOX Sports says that Ryan Braun will win the NL MVP, and Manny Parra will contend for the NL Rookie of the Year.  Nothing new…
• The Sports Bubbler gives perhaps the best NL Central preview that I’ve read this off-season.  Of course, the article is an off-shoot if the past few articles.  Take a look at them all.  It’s pretty good stuff.
• Ex-Brewer, Doug Davis, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.  He’s scheduled to have surgery on April 10, but will still make two scheduled starts before his surgery date.  Best of luck to you Doug, and good luck with your fight against the cancer.  It’s been won before, and every Brewers fan knows you can do it too.
• Remember Grant Balfour?  The Crew traded him for Seth McClung last season, and Grant has been DFA’d by the Tampa Bay Rays.  It would be interesting to see Grant come back to Milwaukee, but the control is just not there.  He’ll find a home somewhere though.  Good arms always do.

MLB ‘08: The Show

I apologize that I have been gone the last couple days.  I’ve been in Minneapolis for a bit, so I haven’t had a chance to get to the computer.

I do have a review for the new PS3 baseball game, MLB ‘08: The Show.  First, let’s get a few basic points out of the way:

• MLB 08 The Show is the long running officially licensed baseball title available exclusively on all PlayStation platforms: PLAYSTATION 3, PlayStation 2 and the portable PSP.

• MLB 08 The Show is available exclusively for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable consoles.

• MLB 08 The Show is the best-selling and most realistic baseball simulation available.

• MLB 08 The Show for PlayStation delivers the closest experience possible next to actually playing in the Majors.

• MLB 08 The Show is available right now wherever video games are available.

The Show has been the best baseball game running for a couple years now, and it is my favorite game that I have for my PS3 right now.  The gameplay is very fluid and solid.  The graphics are obviously much better with an HDtv, but they are quite impressive regardless.

The franchise option is by far my favorite part of the game.  The gameplay is very deep.  You can control the Double-A and Triple-A teams, along with deciding who your scouts and managers will be for your team.  I absolutely love playing with the lineups and the managers.  You can control every single part of your team.  It will keep you busy for hours.

The announcers are not incredibly annoying, which is a plus for a sports game.  There are nice tidbits to the gameplay, like batters walking to the dugout to get a new bat after breaking one.  The celebrations after a walk-off home run is a joy to watch, and players pump their fists and hold down their heads according to their play.  Hopefully you do not have to see your pitcher hold their head after giving up a bomb to Ryan Howard like I watched Jeff Suppan do.

Ryan Braun is an absolute freak in the game, as he should be.  The contracts are not representative of the players, so players like Dave Bush have to be paid $5M a year, while Ben Sheets is only paid $1.5M.  The trade market is a little too easy to make a very good team, even while staying under the team’s budget.  I had to restrain myself a bit with the Brewers.  I could have made my team much better than it is…but I wanted to keep many of the Brewers on my team.  If you take off the budget constraints, it is way too easy to make the team an all-star caliber team.

Overall, the game is well worth the money.  The gameplay is very realistic, and the teams are very well put together.  The announcers actually help you enjoy the game.  You don’t always want to put the game on mute.  I would very much suggest this game.

Now on to some good news.  I have a couple copies of the game to give away.  I haven’t decided how I’m going to give them away yet, but I need to know if there is some interest.  Would anyone be interested in a copy of MLB ‘08: The Show?

Round ‘em Up: Thursday

Ben Sheets had quite the tough outing yesterday.  He gave up four home runs and nine runs in five innings of work.  I would normally be very concerned about an awful outing like this to end the spring.  Sheets, however, has a nice trend of performing well in season openers.  Remember what happened last season?  He struggled against the San Francisco Giants to end the spring, but put together a beautiful complete game against the Dodgers on Opening Day.  All Brewers fans hope that Sheets can replicate that performance against the Cubs to start the season in ‘08.

What else do I have for you?  Let’s take a look:

•  Yahoo! Sports makes plenty of predictions for this season.  Ryan Braun is a dark horse to win the NL home run race.  Manny Parra is a dark horse to win the NL Rookie of the Year (which will most likely not happen because he is a pitcher).  Ned Yost will be the first manager fired in the ‘08 season.  Prince Fielder and Corey Hart will apparently do nothing worthwhile this season.  Really?
• The Sports Bubbler continues their NL Central preview series today, focusing on the offenses.  No rankings in this one, unfortunately.  No matter…all the offenses in the Central (minus the Cardinals and the Pirates) are very potent and can put up buckets of runs.  The Crew should lead the NL Central in that category again this season.
• Baseball Digest Daily posted an article covering The Best NL Prospects You Don’t Know.  Matt LaPorta is mentioned in the outfield category.  People will know him before long.
• John Sickels asks who the NL Rookie of the Year will be.  My personal guess is J.R. Towles, the catcher from the Houston Astros.  That is only because Manny Parra is a pitcher, and pitchers do not have the easiest road to being the Rookie of the Year.  If Manny can improve in his next outing, he could have a nice springboard into the season.  Watch for Manny this season, but keep an eye on Towles if you are looking for a sleeper in your fantasy leagues.  Just saying…
• This is not about the Brewers, but Nick Markakis from the Baltimore Orioles is gaining a lot of my respect.  The manager got upset that Nick was taking grounders at shortstop.  Manager Dave Trembley does not want his star player getting a bad hop in the face I suppose.  At the same time, you have to respect a guy that is doing anything he can to help his team.  His offense is above-average for a corner outfielder, but it would be all-star caliber from the shortstop position.  The guy wants to do anything he can to improve himself and improve his team.  At least one player is not giving up on Baltimore this season.

Rivera named backup catcher

The Milwaukee Brewers named Mike Rivera the backup catcher to Jason Kendall today.  Ned Yost continues to prioritize defensive skills over offensive power, which makes sense because the Crew obviously has enough offensive firepower.

Mike has had a fairly good spring.  He’s batted .283 during Spring Training thus far.  That would be more than enough for a backup catcher, especially one that Yost says calls a good game like Rivera.  After this move, only the final infield position has left to be filled.  Joe Dillon and Abraham Nunez look to be competing for the final spot on the bench.  Dillon certainly appears to have the upper hand in the battle.

Eric Munson is the unfortunate casualty from this move.  He had been swinging the bat very well, hitting .333.  Eric had to clear waivers to get sent to Triple-A, but he may not accept the move and search for a job elsewhere.  He will be the backup to Vinny Rottino, who had been promised the starting job in Nashville.  I’m not totally sure that Munson will accept the position in Nashville, as he could easily find a job as a starting catcher on a Triple-A team elsewhere.

Round ‘em Up: Wednesday

Sorry to have a late start on the Round ‘em Up this morning, but here’s what I have for you.

• Obviously, the release of Claudio Vargas is the big news of the day.

  Tom Haudricourt talks about how the move was surprising, even to Carlos Villanueva.  This move shows the team’s commitment to youth and talent.  The “win-now” mode has realized that talent will win out over experience.  I didn’t realize that Chris Narveson made such a push for a starting job.  It now looks like he and Zach Jackson will be the first two pitchers that will be called up in the event of an injury.  After Yovani Gallardo gets back on track, however, that list will change.  I’m still shocked the Brewers couldn’t get anything for Vargas.  Not even a Single-A player?

  The Yost Infection gives a little insight on the Vargas release.  It’s very funny.  The Yost Infection is always good for a good read and a good laugh.

• Tom Verducci from SI.com has an NL Central preview.  Not only does he have Chicago winning the division.  He says that they will win the division by more games than any other division winner.  Nothing like a slap in the face.  Tom, like everyone else, thinks that the Crew does not have the pitching to win the division.  My guess is that he counted Chris Capuano and Claudio Vargas into those pitching stats.  Oh, and he probably has Derrick Turnbow blowing 20 games, instead of dominating 85% of the time.  Standard SI bias, from what I’ve read this off-season.
• There has been much talk about J.J. Hardy and his bacterial infection.  J.J. has been cleared to play Opening Day.  Ned Yost thinks that he should be ready for March 31, but he’s still fairly weak after losing 10 pounds due to the illness.  All in all, J.J. will be fine, and we’ve gotten to see Alcides Escobar more this spring.  I personally enjoyed watching Alcides play more.  He’s a genius with the glove.
• The Baseball Analysts believe in Rickie Weeks and have picked the Brewers to win over 85 games this season.  Seems like a good choice to me.
• Dugout Central has 17 Bold Projections for the ‘08 season.  Shockingly, the first prediction is that Ben Sheets will be hurt, and Jeff Suppan is not a good pitcher.  Seems like someone doesn’t like the Brewers too much.
• The Sports Bubbler has a preview of the NL Central bullpens.  It’s nothing that new or shocking, but it does say that Chicago and Milwaukee have the best and deepest bullpens in the Central.  There are not many bold predictions though.
• I understand that Doug Melvin does not like trading within the division, but it is very difficult to think that the St. Louis Cardinals couldn’t have had any interest in Claudio Vargas.  After all, they did put six pitchers on the DL to start the season.  That’s a rough way to start the season.  Perhaps they couldn’t match up on a trade because the Cardinal’s farm system is depleted.

Vargas released by Brewers

I must admit that I did not see this coming at all.  The Milwaukee Brewers released Claudio Vargas today to save money and solidify the starting rotation.

Tom Haudricourt reports that the Brewers made this move today to save $2.7M on his contract.  Doug Melvin said that there was limited trade interest in Vargas, but not enough to make a productive move.  Melvin decided that it would be better to save the $2.7M than to make a trade for Vargas.  Doug said that Claudio was the seventh best starter on the team, and thus expendable.  I am not going to miss Claudio, but I still believe that Doug should have made a move.  The only thing that I can think of is that other teams wanted Milwaukee to pick up some of his contract.  Regardless, this shows a supreme commitment to youth for the Crew.

This move not only saves the Brewers money, but it solidifies the starting rotation until Yovani Gallardo gets back from his stint on the DL.  Here’s how it will shake out:

RHP - Ben Sheets
RHP - Jeff Suppan
LHP - Manny Parra
RHP - Dave Bush
RHP - Carlos Villanueva

Braun and Fielder to get long-term contracts?

Tom Haudricourt reports that the Milwaukee Brewers are targeting Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder for long-term contracts that will buy out their arbitration years.  Doug Melvin has been saying this would be a possibility for about a month now.  Fielder’s agent, Scott Boras, said that there have been general talks, but nothing too serious.

Unfortunately, I think it is a little too late for Prince.  Scott Boras would much rather take Prince year-to-year and let him break the bank.  The only hope Brewers friends have to sign Prince is if Prince really wants to stay in Milwaukee.  Doug Melvin would be better served to take Prince for the few years he has left on his contract.  After that, someone like Matt LaPorta or Mat Gamels could take his spot, and the Brewers could charge someone the farm to trade for Prince.  I know it’s not the best PR move for the Brewers, but it would be best for the team’s future.  In my opinion, it would be far better for the Brewers to sign Corey Hart to a long-term contract, and let Prince ride year-to-year.  Corey would cost less and is less of an injury risk…even though Prince is looking to curb that through his vegetarian diet.

Ryan Braun, on the other hand, could be a great team-friendly deal because he will not be arbitration-eligible until 2010.  This would allow the contract to benefit Ryan for the first couple years, but save the team money down the road.  Prince has past that threshold in my opinion, as he will be arbitration-eligible next season.  Ryan has shown that he’s an absolute stud.  The Brewers would be prudent to sign Ryan to a long-term deal before the deal would get non “team-friendly.”

The Brewers need to avoid the good-PR moves just appease the fans (see Jeff Suppan).  The Brewers cannot sacrifice the team’s future by making a move that will not be “team-friendly.”  Prince will help the team for the next three or four years, and then help the team even more by replenishing the farm system.  Like I said, it will not be popular, but they would be better off signing a different player.

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

The Boston Red Sox were able to fend off the Oakland A’s this morning in Japan to open up the regular season.  The Brewers haven’t started yet, but I still have a Round ‘em Up for you this morning:

• Tom Haudricourt wrote a blog post wondering the exact same thing as I posted last night.  Is Manny Parra ruining his chance at the starting rotation after his last two outings?   The question seems to be a little more difficult and complex than it first appears to be.  I still think Ned wants a lefty in his rotation, so I think Manny has a spot to start the year.  That may disappear when Yovani Gallardo comes back from the DL, however.
• Jerry Crasnick from ESPN.com gave a nickname to every major league team.  The Brewers nickname is “Dislocation Station.”  It may just be me, but that does not seem to be a positive thing.
• Baseball Digest Daily has an NL Central Preview.  They get it right this time though.  Milwaukee gets the nod as the first place team.  That always makes me happy to read.
• The SportsBubbler takes a look at the NL Central starting rotations.  Its a very interesting article, and it has the top of the Brewers rotation being Yovani Gallardo and Carlos Villanueva.  Color me skeptical, but I do not see Carlos leading the team in innings pitched if he starts the year in Triple-A Nashville.  The author is right though, Dave Bush does have another chance to make a big impression on Ned Yost and Doug Melvin to make a solid contribution to the middle of the rotation.

  It also has an interesting prediction that the most productive top of the rotation will be that of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  I completely agree that Ian Snell may be a stud this season, but Tom Gorzelanny has not proven anything to me yet.  He had a great season last year, but his peripheral stats are a little dangerous.  He may be like Zach Duke from last year and struggle after a successful breakout season.

Parra struggles against Rockies

The Milwaukee Brewers played against the Colorado Rockies today on TV.  It was great to see the Crew live again.  Unfortunately, Milwaukee fell to the Rockies, 6-5.

Manny Parra had a chance to impress Ned Yost and a chance to solidify his place in the starting rotation.  I think the pressure got to Manny a little too much, as he constantly seemed to be overthrowing the baseball.  His control was not with him all day.  He was throwing the ball well, but it was up in the zone and in the center of the plate.  This was not a good way to impress the coaching staff, and he may have shown that the pressure may be a little too much.  Manny needed to slow down and trust his stuff a bit more.

The offense looked fairly good today.  Rickie Weeks impressed for a third day in a row, going 2-3 at the top of the lineup.  Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun looked absolutely locked in and ready for Opening Day.  Today was the first time that I have paid specific attention to Alcides Escobar.  I’ve seen plenty of highlights and seen him play, but I paid very close attention today.  Man, I came away impressed.  He is much faster than people think, and he actually handles the bat pretty well.  In his first at-bat, he shot the ball the opposite way against Rockies starter, Ubaldo Jimenez.  I still think he does not take enough pitches, but he waits back nicely on the ball.  That is very impressive for a young hitter.  He’ll be in the majors next season.

Derrick Turnbow pitched fairly well today.  His slider/curveball still needs a little work this spring, but his fastball is moving very well.  Derrick is also locating it very well.  Eric Gagne was very impressive today.  His change-up looked especially good, and his velocity is solid at 92-93 mph.  That velocity should increase come April.  His adrenaline will increase.  Thus, his velocity will to about 93-95 mph.

The Brewers may have lost today, but the offense and bullpen looked solid.  Manny Parra struggled, obviously, but I felt that he threw the ball well.  With that said, he’ll need to improve with his next outing.

Monday’s Round ‘em Up

I have today’s Round ‘em Up for you.  The final one before the regular season starts tomorrow in Japan.  Lets see what we have:

• Tom Haudricourt breaks down some of the roster decisions that Milwaukee will have to make.  Most of them I completely agree with, but I do wish that Carlos Villanueva could make the starting rotation.  I don’t know who he would replace though.  Claudio Vargas needs to be in the rotation because he has no options left.  I would say that he should be the long man in the pen, but Seth McClung seems to have that spot wrapped up.

  It will be interesting to see who gets bumped out when Yovani Gallardo gets back into the rotation.  I feel like Manny Parra may be the victim, as Ned Yost seems reluctant to send Dave Bush anywhere.  Ned does want a lefty in the rotation though, so I’m not completely sure what will happen.  If Manny pitches well for the first couple starts, he’ll be in the rotation when Yo comes back.

• Beyond the Boxscore thinks that Derrick Turnbow is one of the most unlucky pitchers in the bigs.  The stats say that his WHIP goes way up after runners get on base, and apparently that makes Derrick unlucky.  To me, that simply means that Derrick gets ungodly worse when a runner gets on first.  He’ll obviously have to work on that.
• Seamheads.com has an NL Central preview.  The problem?  They forgot to pick a winner.
• If you are interested, RealGM Baseball previews the Chicago Cubs.  Apparently, Kosuke Fukudome and Jon Lieber are going to make a very big difference.  In fact, they think that Fukudome should bat third.  I know the Cubs will be good, but it’s obvious that a Cubs fan wrote this.
• Are you confused about Chris Capuano’s injury?  Baseball Digest Daily breaks down the injury and explains what Chris will need to do to rehab his elbow.  It does not sound fun.

Brewers nip D’Backs

Rickie Weeks had quite the return to a Brewers uniform today.  After struggling for most of the spring, Rickie went 2-4 with a three-run bomb that put the Crew ahead in the bottom of the seventh.  Milwaukee held on for the rest of the game to beat the Diamondbacks, 5-4.

It looks like Rickie’s game in the minors yesterday helped him get his timing back.  Sometimes all you need is a little work against minor league pitchers to get your groove back.  That helped him last season after all.  Perhaps Rickie can get on a hot streak before the season starts.  See how a couple nice days in a row can change pessimism to optimism?  Maybe everyone overreacts after all.  Or not…

Jeff Suppan did not pitch fantastically today, but it was definitely much better than he had been throwing the ball.  He gave up three runs, only two earned, in five innings of work.  He only walked one person and struck out five.

Jeff can credit one of his runs to Craig Counsell.  Craig, who is normally a fine defender, put up three errors today.  The defense hurt Soup last season, perhaps more than other Brewers pitchers.  He looks to pitch to contact and let the defense work.  Unfortunately, the defense did not work too well last season.

Capuano likely to have surgery

Everyone thought that Chris Capuano simply had tendinitis in his throwing elbow.  Turns out it is much more than that.

Chris has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow.  He will seek a third opinion from another doctor, but it seems likely that he’ll have season-ending surgery.  It looks to be the same ligament that Chris injured while pitching in Arizona.

I feel really bad for Cappy, as he logged many good innings for the Crew before struggling last season.  Chris sounds very reluctant to go through another rehab session.  It took him 10 months to get back on the mound the last time, and he simply does not want to go through that again.

It looks like the starting rotation decisions just got a lot easier.

Miguel Cabrera inks big contract

This may not seem to pertain to the Brew Crew, but Miguel Cabrera signed an eight-year, $153.3M contract with the Detroit Tigers.  This may sound like a huge contract, and it is…but it’s not quite as much as I thought he would make.  The market has been inflating lately, and a young stud like Cabrera should have made A-rod or Jeter money.  He didn’t, however.  In fact, Derek Jeter signed a contract that is about $30M more than Cabrera’s.

What does this mean?  This means that Prince Fielder may not cost quite as much as people think.  Perhaps Mark Attanasio will pony up the cash for him.  This scenario is still incredibly unlikely and I would prefer to see Prince traded in a couple years for a slew of prospects, yet the Brewers may try to make a PR move to appease their fans.  I really did think Miguel would get more than he did.

Sheets to start Opening Day

Ben Sheets says it never gets old.  Yesterday, Ned Yost named Sheets the Opening Day starter for Milwaukee’s game against the Chicago Cubs next week.  This was perhaps one of the worst kept secrets the Brewers have.

One secret Yost is keeping very close to his chest is his starting rotation behind Sheets and Jeff Suppan.  Nobody knows who is going to make up the other three spots, but it should become clear within the next few days.  Yost also said that he may have the fourth starter be someone who can handle the home opener.  I don’t know why, but I got the feeling that Ned meant Dave Bush when he said that.

Later in the article, Doug Melvin notes that he’s not looking to trade an outfielder now.  That is, until Mike Cameron gets back in the starting lineup after his suspension.  That does imply that he will be looking to move an outfielder (probably Gabe Gross) in May or June.

What would you like to see the Brewers do?  You all play GM a bit.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

I know I went missing yesterday, and I apologize.  I wasn’t at home for the whole day and had no access to my computer.  Let me see if I can make up for it by giving you a little Round ‘em Up today.

•  Vinny Rottino is looking to become the starting catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers in a couple years.  Doug Melvin said that Vinny is THE number one catching prospect in Milwaukee’s system.  Considering the Brewers have Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy, I think Doug meant to say he is the closest to making the big leagues…not the best prospect.  Still, Vinny is a great story.
• The Baseball Analysts have an NL Central preview with the author of Bleed Cubbie Blue.  Who do you think they have winning the division?  The Cubs.  Perhaps for the same reason I had the Brewers in first.  Who knows?
• Jayson Stark from ESPN runs down his players that have had fantastic springs.  Manny Parra makes the list for the Crew, and Jayson believes that Manny will force Doug to move either Dave Bush or Claudio Vargas.  I am guessing that Jayson wrote this before Manny had a few problems against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.  Still, Manny is a stud.  I’m glad ESPN is realizing this.
• I mentioned above that Vinny Rottino is being sent down to Nashville to take a prominent role as a full-time catcher.  Mitch Stetter also is getting sent down to get a little more seasoning.  This leaves Brian Shouse as the lone lefty in the bullpen to start the season.
• J.J. Hardy may be a little sicker than the Brewers had thought.  The flu bug had been running through the clubhouse.  Eric Munson and Eric Gagne were out for a couple days, but they were healthy and playing a few days later.  J.J. has been out for much longer.  He’s lost 10 pounds already from his sickness, and the Brewers are sending him to get some tests to make sure he doesn’t have something other than the flu.

  This is a little concerning that J.J. has felt so weak and is losing a lot of weight, but it does just sound like the flu.  The Brewers should be quite cautious, but I wouldn’t be too concerned.

• Yovani Gallardo took another step in his rehab and pitched in a live game.
• If you are looking for a list of pitchers’ injuries, The Baseball Savant has a pretty good list of the major injuries.  It’s very short, but the Brewers are included.
• Are you sick of all the talk about steroids and The Steroid Era?  How about a different angle?  Seamheads.com takes a look at steroids and how they could have been good for the game.  That’s right.  Good for the game.

Round ‘em Up: Escobar, Mota, LaPorta

Today’s Round ‘em Up is going to be a little short.  There is just not that much out there today.  That’s probably because everyone is going to be doing what I will be doing in a little bit…watching the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament.  Here’s what I have for you though:

• Guillermo Mota has been very impressive this spring.  He is attributing that to a new team, some tweaks in his mechanics, and being back with his old teammate, Eric Gagne.  If those two can ever put together what they did with the Dodgers, the Brewers will win the division.  No questions asked.
• Adam McCalvy has a minor league report for us all.  Alcides Escobar is turning heads again this spring.  He made “the best play” that Mitch Stetter and Vinny Rottino had ever seen.  Ever.  Escobar is only 20-years old, and his teammates are already sure that he’s going to be a big league player in a year or two.  I hope they are right.  His defensive skills are something special.

  Mitch Stetter is playing with his delivery to right-handed batters.  He’s always been a sidearm pitcher to lefties, and an overhead pitcher to righties.  Mitch is beginning to switch arm slots during the at-bat to righties.  Apparently, some of the hitters this spring have been completely confused as to what’s going on when he does that.  Anything to gain an edge, right?

• Baseball Digest Daily has their 50 best hitters in the minor leagues.  Matt LaPorta comes in at number 23.
• Dugout Central has an interesting piece about the 10 biggest changes in Major League Baseball throughout its history.  Number one is the switch to allow batters to use maple bats.  Home runs galore after that.
• MLB Trade Rumors says that the Florida Marlins are looking for another pitcher to slot in their starting rotation.  They mention a couple Brewers that could fill that spot.  To me, this seems utterly unlikely.  The Marlins would never take on a contract over $3M right?  That’s what I thought.

Round ‘em Up: Knuckleballs, Pitching Duel, Narveson

Sorry about the lack of a Round ‘em Up yesterday all.  I was swamped yesterday and just did not have much time to get to the computer.  Here are some of today’s reads:

• Squawking Baseball has a cool idea for an article.  They have an “over-under” projection for every team.  The Milwaukee Brewers are predicted to win over 84.5 games.  In fact, they predict “over” for pretty much every team…
• Remember R.A. Dickey?  He was a starter for Triple-A Nashville last season.  The Seattle Mariners liked the knuckleballer so much that they swiped him in the Rule 5 Draft this season.  Here’s ESPN.com writer Jim Caple with Dickey, and he’s trying to catch his knuckleball.  It’s quite humorous.
• Dugout Central has a March Madness bracket for baseball infielders.  It’s a little goofy in how it is set up, and it seems to be completely arbitrary.  Nonetheless, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun match up in the first round.  The winner?  Ryan Braun.  The author then goes on to say that Ryan Braun will pass Alex Rodriguez sometime in the next couple years.  That’s quite the prediction, but I could see it.
• A couple days ago, I linked to The Baseball Analysts graph on starting pitching and how they categorized them.  It was very interesting stuff.  Today, they have the same categorizing system, but they focus on relief pitchers.  The Brewers have a couple relievers that check in on the list.

  Derrick Turnbow: Above-average strikeout and ground ball rates.  Now if we could just solve his walk problem, he’d be one of the best relievers in the league.
  Eric Gagne: Above-average strikeout rate, but below-average ground ball rate.  Exactly what the Brewers expected when getting Gagne.  He does need to get his change-up working, however.
  Carlos Villanueva: Above-average strikeout rate, below-average ground ball rate.
  Brian Shouse, Guillermo Mota, AND Chris Spurling (yes, that Chris Spurling): Below-average strikeout rates, but above-average ground ball rates.  It’s nice to see Guillermo in that category.
  David Riske: Below-average strikeout and ground ball rates.  This really surprised me, and it does worry me a bit.  He’ll have to get one of those up if he’s going to find success in Miller Park.  It’s not necessarily the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the MLB.

• Chris Narveson has been brilliant this spring.  He’s only given up one run in 15 2/3 innings (0.57 ERA).  In years past, Chris would be pushing for a starting job, but the Brewers are just too deep now.  He did say that he understood that coming in though.

  With that said, he’s putting himself in position to be one of the first Triple-A call-ups if he continues pitching as well as he has.  His cut fastball has been his best pitch this spring, and coaches have been raving about his command with his offspeed stuff.  I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with Narveson.  He may even get a call to be the long man in the bullpen in a couple months.

• Tom Haudricourt handicaps the likelihood of each starter getting a job in the rotation.  Because of the injuries to Yovani Gallardo and Chris Capuano, the field has slipped to just four men to fill three spots.

  Tom has Claudio Vargas and Dave Bush as “locks” for the starting rotation.  Vargas’ lock comes mostly from the fact that he has no options left, so he needs to make the big league squad.  My response to that is that he could be the long man in the bullpen.  Manny Parra is slated to be the fifth man in the rotation, which was nice to see because he’s been absolutely dominant this spring.  That leaves Carlos Villanueva as the odd man out.  People may say he should go back to being a reliever, but Ned Yost said that Carlos is a starter.  The Brewers organization wants to treat him as a starter.  If he does not make the starting rotation, he will be sent back to Triple-A until he is needed.  I guess experience won out over performance after all.

Angels rout Brewers

Jeff Suppan struggled again today, giving up six runs on six hits and three walks.  He has not been commanding the ball well, and he’s not getting batters to hit the ball on the ground.  He claims he was trying to work on his cut fastball today.  He says it’s just Spring Training, and he’s not worried about it.

Eric Gagne and Derrick Turnbow also put some crooked numbers on the board.  Eric gave up two runs on three hits, and Derrick gave up three runs on two hits and walk.  Gagne said that he’s not worried about the outcomes either.  He’s still working on getting himself physically ready.

They had better start worrying about it.  Even if Suppan and Gagne were trying to work on something, they obviously were not doing it very well.  Yost said with the off day coming up tomorrow, it is time for the pitchers to get in game shape.  After the off day, everyone should be in regular season mode.  The games will start to matter more to Ned.  It’s about time he’s said something like that.  Soup had best be sharp the next time he pitches, or Brewers fans will start to get a little antsier than they are right now.

JS Notes: Capuano, Weeks, Katin

Sorry this will be so short this morning, but I have to run.  Perhaps I’ll have time later today to get you a full-out Round ‘em Up.  Here are some Journal Sentinel goodies for you:

• The Brewers wiped the floor with Seattle yesterday, beating them 17-3.  Chris Capuano left the game in the fourth inning because of soreness in his elbow.  It’s beginning to look more and more like Cappy will either start the year in Triple-A or on the DL.  Either way, it seems clear that Chris Capuano will not be in the starting rotation on Opening Day.

  Brendan Katin had a huge day against the Mariners.  Katin, a former teammate of Ryan Braun at Miami, went 3-6 with a home run and six RBI.  Not a bad day for a player who had not played in a Spring Training game yet in ‘08.  I wouldn’t get too excited about Katin though, he’s not played above Double-A and he’s 25 years old.  He has zero plate discipline and strikes out too much, even for a Brewer.

  Corey Hart seems to have found his stroke.  He finished the day 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.  Perhaps he’s finding his swing just in time for Opening Day.  Don’t even say “See? I told you so.”  Rickie Weeks is still struggling way too much and is on the shelf with hyper-extended fingers.

• In the other game, Milwaukee tied the Chicago White Sox after 10 innings.  Neither team was able to break the 4-4 tie, so the game was just called.

  Mike Cameron and Gabe Gross supplied all the offense on a home run a piece.  Cameron hit a three-run shot that tied the game up in the 5th, and it was a pitcher’s duel after that.

  Carlos Villanueva got knocked around for the first time this spring.  He gave up four runs, only three earned, in five innings of work.  Guillermo Mota pitched two scoreless innings to follow that to continue his nice spring.

• The last article I have for you is about Rickie Weeks and how he is pressing too much.  Surprised?  I didn’t think so.  The interesting information in the article is that Doug Melvin said that Milwaukee will most likely not make a trade this spring if things do not heat up.  He said that people are looking internally to fix their problems.  They don’t want to give up the prospects, which is always difficult to do.

Categorizing Pitchers

The Baseball Analysts have a great article up today that classifies pitchers according to their strikeout and ground ball tendencies.  Naturally, it says that pitchers who have above-average strikeout rates and ground ball rates are going to be the elite pitchers of the game.  The Brewers, unfortunately, have nobody that makes that category.  Ben Sheets seems like he should make that list because he is an elite pitcher, but he is more of a fly-ball pitcher.  The biggest surprise from that category?  Tampa’s Edwin Jackson.

Milwaukee did have pitchers in the next best category, however.  Ones that have an above-average strikeout rate and a below-average ground ball rate.  Ben Sheets, Yovani Gallardo, Chris Capuano, and Dave Bush make the list here.  Bush’s strikeout rate is why the Brewers have stuck with him for so long.  He has the potential to be a solid starter.  He can simply not get away from the big inning.

Jeff Suppan makes the list as a pitcher who has above-average ground ball rates, but a below-average strikeout rate.  The Brewers defense really hurt Soup last season.  He hasn’t gotten much better this spring, either.

Thankfully, the Brewers did not have anyone in the awful quadrant, below-average ground ball rate and strikeout rate.  These are the pitchers that cannot make people miss, yet they always give up fly balls.  They are very home run-prone.  Surprisingly, Curt Schilling falls into this category.

It’s a very, very interesting article.  You should give it a look!  Who knows…maybe you’ll get some ideas for a good pitcher for your fantasy league this season.  On that note, it looks like there is not enough interest in a BrewersNation Fantasy Baseball League.  Sorry to all those that committed to playing.  We’ll try again next season.

Round ‘em Up: Braun, Previews, Prospects

I apologize for taking a couple days off on the Player Profile series, but I’m working on a full-out bullpen preview. That should be up in a couple days. In the meantime, here are some links to keep you busy while you’re at work:

• Ryan Braun still has the tight Achilles tendon, and he will be sitting out for a couple more days. This may just be me overreacting, but I’m beginning to get nervous about this situation. Tom Haudricourt says that the consensus seems to be that Braun got this tight Achilles because he wore a new pair of shoes. Let’s hope that Ryan is back and ready for action sometime soon. If he needs a week off, give it to him.
• Need another dose of those ever-popular NL Central previews? I have you covered. ESPN.com has their preview. The news is simply the same…the Brewers do not have enough pitching, but the Cubs have enough. Apparently, 8 major league caliber starters does not qualify as “enough” depth. Oh, and Ben Sheets needs to stay healthy. I forgot he was important. Thanks for reminding me.RealGM Baseball has the Brewers taking 3rd place in the Central, finishing behind the Cubs and the Reds. This preview does not even have Milwaukee posting a winning record this year. I don’t have too much to say about that other than…really?
• Baseball Digest Daily has their Top 100 prospects. Three Brewers make the list. Matt LaPorta checks in at number 44, Manny Parra is the 75th best prospect, and Jeremy Jeffress makes the list at number 77. Manny is quite low on this list, in my opinion. Jeffress may be struggling with a marijuana addiction, but he still has the physical tools to be a fantastic pitcher. LaPorta continues to receive high praise after only playing a limited amount of time in professional baseball. Hopefully the new draft class later this spring will infuse Milwaukee’s system with more high-ceiling prospects.Please look at the video for Clayton Kershaw in the #7 slot. That curveball is just nasty!!!!
• Anthony Witrado writes a complete fluff piece on Jeff Suppan. Give it a look if you want to read about how Soup keeps his life centered.
• Doug Melvin and Ned Yost will have some very difficult decisions ahead of them concerning the pitching situation. Claudio Vargas and Seth McClung are both out of minor league options. This would mean that another team could pick them up if the Brewers try to send them down to Triple-A. Yost mentions that he might fight for a 13-man pitching staff if he does not want to lose one of his veterans. Of course, this could all be solved if Melvin moves one or two pitchers before Opening Day. It feels like something is going to happen in a week or so, but I have no confirmed source to tell me that. I’m starting to think that Vargas may be the one to go.
• Aaron Shinsano from MLB Trade Rumors mentions that the Los Angeles Angels could come calling the Milwaukee Brewers for starting pitching help. If you do not remember, I mentioned that exact situation in yesterday’s Round ‘em Up after I saw that John Lackey got injured. It seems likely that the Angels will stay in-house to find their answer, but Doug Melvin’s phone could ring a couple times.
• (Hat Tip to KL Snow for the find on this one) It looks like Kerry Wood will be the Cubs’ closer in 2008. I understand they like his veteran leadership and experience, but Carlos Marmol is flat nasty. Nobody could hit him in ‘07. Perhaps Kerry Wood has impressed ol’ Lou this spring. Either way, Howry-Marmol-Wood will be very difficult at the end of games. Wood does have the injury-prone bug to get over still, however.

Round ‘em Up: The Sunday Edition

You thought I forgot about you all this morning, didn’t you?  Of course not.  Here are some links for you to get your Brewers fix:

• Adam McCalvy was quite the busy man last night.  He has several tidbits of news concerning the Brewers.  First, the Brewers added three names to the list of first cuts.  Catcher Andy Bouchie, LF Matt LaPorta, and RHP Tim Dillard have been sent to the minor league camp to get more regular work in.  The Brewers optioned Dillard to Triple-A Nashville, while LaPorta and Bouchie made their way to the general minor league camp.

  Yovani Gallardo threw against live batters again yesterday.  He said that everything is good and healthy, and he is slated to pitching in a minor league game in about a week or so.  There is relatively zero chance that Yovani will be ready for Opening Day, but he should be back in action in the middle of April.  Mike Maddux said that he’s going to have the same Spring Training program as everyone else.  He just will start a little later than everyone else.

  Adam talks about Rickie Weeks‘ and Corey Hart’s struggles.  Ned Yost thinks that they’ll be fine come March 31.  What else is he going to say?  Of course he thinks they will be fine.  Jim Skaalen takes a little different angle.  He says that he’s not concerned right now, but if they are still struggling in a week, he’ll start to get worried.  Corey and Rickie will start getting to the park earlier and take extra practice.  It’s good to know someone is at least a little worried.  Tom Haudricourt and Anthony Witrado add Prince Fielder to that list of players struggling.

  Ned Yost is getting really worked up about the looming pitching situation.  He repeatedly says that he does not want to send anyone down to Triple-A because he believes they are all big league pitchers.  Nothing really new in this article, as Ned says experience will matter…but it’s not the only thing that matters.  Nothing like being vague, right?  Well, a pitcher will be traded before too long, I think.  That will help ease Ned’s mind.

• Mike Bauman from MLB.com writes an article about the Brewers and their porous defense.  Everyone in the Brewers organization is utterly convinced that the defense will be better this season.  Not may be better, but will be better.

  I do agree that the Brewers defense will improve this season, but yesterday’s game against the Royals did not ease my mind too much.  Rickie Weeks committed his fourth error of the spring.  J.J. Hardy committed an error.  Big ole Prince Fielder did too.  That’s not what I would call solid fielding.  The amazing thing is that Manny Parra was still able to only give up one run in those five innings.  In one inning, he actually had to get five outs because of errors by the defense.

• John Lackey on the Los Angeles Angels will be sidelined for a month because of a strained right triceps muscle.  The Angels’ rotation is losing a pitcher by the day, it seems.  The Brewers do not want to trade a pitcher inside the division, so perhaps the Angels could be a good fit for Claudio Vargas or Chris Capuano.  As Opening Day gets closer, more and more teams are experiencing starting pitching troubles.  The Texas Rangers could be a potential trading partner as well, especially with their wealth of young catching prospects.
• Since Rocco Baldelli has been unable to get over his chronic fatigue, the Rays are on the lookout for a starting outfielder.  Ken Rosenthal speculated a couple days earlier that Gabe Gross could be on the list of potential replacements.  One thing is clear though, the Rays do not want to look to the free agent market to find their man.  Expect Doug Melvin’s phone to at least get a jingle or two from the Rays.
• Eric Gagne, Derrick Turnbow, and Salomon Torres threw in a Triple-A game yesterday because the fight for the starting rotation is taking pitching opportunities from the relievers.  Gagne gave up a home run, but that was the extent of the damage in his outing.  Turnbow pitched very well again yesterday, retiring the side on 11 pitches.  Torres struck out the first two batters he faced, but was later pulled when he reached his 20-pitch limit.  Yost and Maddux are still bringing Salomon along slowly, and he should pitch in a game sometime this week.

Parra strikes out Royals

The lowly Kansas City Royals were no match for the 1st place Milwaukee Brewers today at Maryvale Ballpark. The game was scheduled to go 10 innings, but both managers cut the game short at 9. The Brewers thus took home the victory, 8-3.

Records: Brewers (12-6); Royals (9-

Batting

Corey Hart somewhat broke out of his slump (that word is for you, Nate) today. He went 1-3 with a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly. Corey did strike out twice, however.

J.J. Hardy had a big day, going 3-5 with two runs scored and four RBI. He had a three-run shot off of Hideo Nomo in the 8th inning. It is nice to see J.J. have a nice day at the plate. He’d been quietly having a nice spring, now hitting .325.  Craig Counsell continued his hot hitting, going 3-4.  I’ve been really impressed with Counsell so far this March.

Pitching

Manny Parra worked another fantastic five innings.  He gave up one unearned run, three hits, and a walk, while striking out seven Royals.  His ERA is down to a measly 0.64.  I know I’ve said it a lot, but I don’t know how Ned can keep this young man out of the starting rotation.  He’s done nothing but dominate every time he has stepped on the mound.

Dave Bush pitched quite well too.  He gave up three hits and two runs in four innings of work.  Both Brewers pitchers had their strike out pitches working, as Dave struck out five Royals.  It was a solid outing for Dave.  Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad either.

On Tap

The Brewers and Ben Sheets will take on the Seattle Mariners again today, starting at 3:05pm CT.  It will be a rematch with the flamethrowing Felix Hernandez.  Last time Felix pitched, he held the Brewers to two runs on two hits.  The Crew will look to improve upon that today.

Yost makes first cuts

The first round of cuts happened late last night.  Hernan Iribarren, Zach Jackson, Brad Nelson, and Luis Pena are all being sent to Minor League camp to get some regular work in.  Adam McCalvy says that none of these are surprising.

I beg to differ a little bit.  Luis Pena had not given up a single run this spring.  Not one.  It’s been well chronicled on the site about how much Ned Yost likes Pena, as well.  I’m a little shocked that he’s not getting more of a look for the big league squad.  I suppose cuts like this happen when a team has as much pitching depth as the Brewers have.  It’s a good problem to have.  I would not be surprised to see Luis in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform sometime this season.

Again, this has nothing to do with the Brewers, but I was shocked enough that I had to post it.  Jason Schmidt of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been struggling through pain and fatigue stemming from his surgery he had last season.  Apparently, Jason is tired of waiting for the pain to leave because he’s decided to pitch through the pain this spring.

Way to be a martyr, Jason.  You’re really going to pitch through the pain?  The pain and fatigue that tells your body there is something wrong with your body?  The pain that is a signifier that you should take a break and give your body a chance to get better?  I understand trying to pitch through the pain because you’re sick of Dodgers fans hounding you because you haven’t pitched much since being signed, but even the oft-injured Ben Sheets knows you just shut it down when you get injured.

Part of me thinks that Jason has lost it and is giving himself an out if he pitches poorly this spring.  If he pitches well, he’s the greatest player on the team because he toughed it out.  If he pitches poorly, he can blame it on his injury.  Not a bad PR situation to be in if you’re Jason Schmidt.  Still, this is one of the stupidest things he could possibly do right now.  Unless you count punching a wall and injuring your hand like that Detroit Tigers reliever.  That was pretty stupid too.

Fielder goes deep in Brewers win

The Milwaukee Brewers continued their solid play this spring, beating the San Diego Padres 6-2.  The win helped them stay in first place in the Cactus League standings.

Records: Brewers (11-6); Padres (8-7)

Batting

Much has been made about Prince Fielder and his switch to a vegetarian diet.  Would it affect his power?  Some fans were getting antsy because Prince had not hit a home run this spring.  Some were calling for Prince to go back to the carnivorous diet.  Prince Fielder quieted the crowd today when he hit a solo home run in the sixth inning off of Cla Meredith.

Mike Cameron had a very fine day today, going 2-3 with two singles and a run scored.  Craig Counsell continued his hot streak this spring.  He went 2-2 with an RBI and a run scored.  Craig is now hitting .444 for Spring Training.  So much for those who said that he didn’t have the offensive capabilities to make the big league squad.   Bill Hall helped himself by going 2-4 with a triple and a run scored.

Pitching

Today was a very nice day for the Brewers pitching staff.  Claudio Vargas pitched five very strong innings.  He gave up three hits and one run, while striking out three.  He’s making a very strong case for a starting job.  And I never thought I would say that…

Stop the presses!  Guillermo Mota actually gave up a run this spring.  Callix Crabbe, the former Brewers prospect, connected to launch a solo shot off of Mota.  Guillermo still pitched two innings and only gave up one run, striking out one.  Besides Mota, David Riske and Mitch Stetter pitched scoreless innings a piece.

On Tap

Dave Bush and Manny Parra are scheduled to pitch about five innings a piece tomorrow against the Kansas City Royals.  Wait.  Doesn’t that equal 10 innings?  Yes, yes it does.  The Brewers and Royals are scheduled to play a 10 inning game tomorrow, even if the umps leave the game after the ninth.  The game will start at 3:05pm CT.