Round ‘em Up: Sunday

UPDATE 07-13-08 1:05pm – Take a look at the brawl in the Huntsville Stars game last night!  Also, the error Cole Gillespie has in the highlights is downright embarrassing…(A tip of the cap to Mass Hass at Brewerfan.net for this one)

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(Insert your own witty opening right here.) Let’s jump right into this.

• Ned Yost says that the defense is drastically improved from last season. He doesn’t want us to look at the number of errors though. That isn’t a realistic representation of the improvement. Yost likes the fact that the outfield has more range than last season. They can get to more balls.Sure, the defense has improved some from last season. It is by no means above-average, however. Bill Hall has a penchant for making the difficult play look easy and botching the routine plays. Ryan Braun may not have an error in left field, but he’s still trying to throw every man out at home and not hitting the cut off man. That allows runners on the basepaths to move up into scoring position after a mere single. Prince Fielder is certainly not above-average at first. The only real improvements are Mike Cameron in center field and Jason Kendall behind the dish. You like how I did that without looking at stats? Ned Yost would be proud.
• The Brew Town Beat analyzes the trend of the platoon for the Milwaukee Brewers. There is the Bill Hall/Russell Branyan platoon. There is the proposed Dave Bush/Seth McClung platoon. Brew Town suggests a Craig Counsell/Joe Dillon platoon while Rickie Weeks gets sent down to Nashville to work some things out. My guess is Milwaukee is not going to go down that path unless there is a productive trading option – like a Ray Durham.
• Jon Rauch is receiving a lot of attention on the Trade Market. I would suspect that Milwaukee will or has already kicked the tires. The problem is that Washington is known for trying to screw other teams in a deal. I suspect the asking price will be exorbitant.
• Battlekow on Brew Crew Ball has a nice overview of the Future’s Game. It actually started about an hour ago, so go check it out on ESPN2. Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta are playing. Check it out.
• Vinny Rottino and Lindsay Gulin were named to the PCL All-Star team. Rottino has performed better than expected behind the plate. He may be the back-up in Milwaukee next season. Gulin has been one of the only consistent performers in the starting rotation in Nashville. He has been walking too many people lately, but his ERA is still extremely respectable.Luis Pena was a late addition to the All-Star team as well. As it says in The Sunday Harvest, Pena started out horrendously. He’s turned it on lately though. The right-hander will probably be called up to the big leagues in September, if not before.
• The Hardball Times analyzes the Rich Harden trade. The article takes the position that the Oakland A’s probably got the better end of the deal because they got a surplus of talent that could become everyday players in the bigs.
• Dugout Central asks who the most disappointing teams in the AL and the NL have been this season. In the AL, I would say the Cleveland Indians have been the most underachieving team. The San Diego Padres take the cake in the National League, in my opinion.
• The Junkball Blues wonders why the amount of complete games have gone down so dramatically throughout the history of baseball. You can blame strict pitch counts and high salaries for that.
• Seamheads looks at the Tampa Bay Rays and their attendance. Even though they are having the best season in their history, they just broke the one million mark for attendance. That’s rough for the management. Perhaps they will be moving sometime soon…

Reds series highlights Brewers shortcomings

After another devastating loss tonight against the Cincinnati Reds, it’s time to take a look at what has gone wrong. How have the Brewers lost two straight games to a team they are much better than? At home, no less.

These last two games serve as a microcosm for Milwaukee’s struggles in 2008. It’s been the big three for the Brewers.

1) Struggles at the back end of the bullpen – mainly Guillermo Mota and Eric Gagne.

2) Below-average defense.

3) Poor plate discipline and too many strikeouts.

The Bullpen

In tonight’s game against the Reds, David Riske and Brian Shouse simply needed to keep the deficit at 3-2 in the eighth inning. They needed to give the Brewers a chance to put something together against the Cincinnati’s bullpen, as Edinson Volquez dominated through seven innings.

Instead of holding the score 3-2, Riske gave up a one-out double to Jerry Hairston – who has owned the Brewers. Ned Yost then called upon Brian Shouse to strand the runner at second. Thus far in 2008, Shouse could almost guarantee results. He has struggled in the past week, however.

Those struggles continued tonight. After striking out Jay Bruce on three pitches, he gave up an RBI single to Ken Griffey Jr. Shouse has had issues keeping the ball down the past week. The deception of his sidearm delivery can only do so much. He needs to keep the ball down and away from left-handers. That has not been happening, and the team is suffering.

The score is now 4-2 after the Crew couldn’t get anything going against the unimpressive David Weathers. There is still a slim glimmer of hope in the hearts of Brewers fans, however. Maybe the offense can score two off Francisco Cordero in the ninth. Perhaps the Crew can come back against their old teammate. Again, all the bullpen needs to do is keep the deficit the same.

Enter Eric Gagne – the newly-anointed set-up man. Milwaukee’s ten million dollar man has looked extremely solid in his couple outings since coming off the DL. Adam Dunn changed that. Dunn clobbered a 3-2 fastball out of the park to increase Cincinnati’s lead to 5-2. The lead only grew after Edwin Encarnacion went deep to make it back-to-back home runs. Before the inning could end, Gagne gave up four runs on four hits. The lead was now 8-2, and all the hopes of the Brewers winning the game left when Gagne left the game for Guillermo Mota. You know there are problems if you need Mota to get you out of an inning.

Defense

Doug Melvin and the Brewers went out and signed Mike Cameron to a one-year contract to sure-up center field. He has been very impressive patrolling center and has vastly improved Milwaukee’s defense from last year. Bill Hall was forced to learn on the job last season, and Cameron is an obvious improvement with his Gold Glove-caliber defense.

Friday night, however, that exceptional defense was not on display. Cameron got an excellent jump on a ball in the left-center gap (as usual), but he lost the ball in the lights. The ball almost hit the Brewer center fielder in the head, and it resulted in a triple for Jerry Hairston. Did I mention Hairston has owned the Brewers this series? It tied the game up in the seventh.

Then, with a tie game in the eighth inning, Bill Hall fields a routine ground ball at third base. The Brewers moved him to third during the winter to improve on the defense Ryan Braun gave the Crew last season. It hasn’t improved the defense as much as Doug Melvin and the team hoped. Hall rushed his throw and spiked it in the dirt. Prince Fielder was unable to handle the low throw, and the inning continued with two on and one-out, rather than one on and two-out. It turned out to cost the Brewers the game, as Hairston scored on a wild pitch by Salomon Torres.

The sloppy defense directly led to Milwaukee’s loss to the Reds Friday night. If Hall or Cameron could have come up with only one of those plays, the worst the score could have been was a tie game going into the bottom of the ninth. What ifs are pointless, but the sloppy defense does point to a chink in the armor of the Milwaukee Brewers. Doug Melvin certainly improved the defense this off-season, but it is certainly not perfect. The defense will need to improve to catch the Chicago Cubs.

Plate Discipline

Milwaukee has a powerful offense.  No one will dispute that fact.  The team does struggle to score runs when the long ball is not present.  Manufacturing runs does not come easy for a team that strikes out a lot and does not walk very often.  As a whole, the Brewers are too over-aggressive at the plate and make soft-tossing control pitchers like Josh Fogg and Glendon Rusch look like aces.

In Friday night’s game against Fogg, the Reds’ veteran right-hander cruised along the first five innings.  He kept the free-swinging Brewers off-balance by rarely throwing a first pitch fastball and inducing a lot of pop-ups.  You know a team has a strikeout problem when Josh Fogg strikes out six in five and a third.  Fogg threw everything but the kitchen sink up there, and the aggressive Brewers hitters obliged by swinging at difficult pitches.

After Friday night’s offensive struggles against Fogg, the Reds threw out the hard-throwing Edinson Volquez to the mound.  I am not suggesting a bad outing against Volquez is indicative of offensive struggles, as almost every team that has gone against Volquez has struggled immensely.  It is the way the Brewers scuffled that indicates potential offensive problems.

Volquez struck out ten Brewers in seven innings.  He kept hitters off-balance with his exceptional change-up, and the aggressive Brewers swung over it again and again.  J.J. Hardy – who has been one of the hottest hitters in the league the past month – whiffed three times against the NL All-Star.  Strikeouts do not move runners over on the basepaths.  Strikeouts do not even give Mike Cameron a chance to score the tying run from second in Friday night’s game in the ninth inning.  Strikeouts do not allow any sacrifice flies to get runners in from third base with no outs or one out.

Right now, the Milwaukee Brewers live and die by extra base hits.  When the team is going well, they will score in bunches.  The over-reliance on extra-base hits is a recipe for offensive slumps, however.  That is what the Brewers have been unable to overcome the past two games against the Cincinnati Reds.

If the Brewers are going to catch the Chicago Cubs and stay ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals, the defense will need to improve, the bullpen will need to improve, and the offense will need to draw more walks and play more small ball.

Glendon Rusch? Really?

The Rockies have heard all about the Milwaukee Brewers the past three days, and they must be sick of it.  They decided to put together a little fireworks show of their own tonight.  8-3 Rockies.

This wasn’t supposed to happen tonight.  Glendon Rusch took the mound for the Rox, a slow-throwing left-hander.  The Brewers trotted out ace #2 tonight, Ben Sheets.  On paper, the Brewers should have run away with this game.

Sheets did his part, fanning a season-high 11 Rockies.  He looked to have his ‘A’-stuff tonight.  The first seven outs of the game for Sheets were via the strike out.  From early on, fans thought they were going to see something special tonight from Big Ben.  Ben did pitch fantastically, but the Rockies took advantage of every mistake he made – even if they were few and far between.

In the sixth inning, Ben walked Matt Holiday after a long at-bat.  The right-hander was visibly upset with himself, talking and muttering intently on the mound.  At this point in the contest, it was 1-1.  Benny looked to get out of the inning with a ground ball, but served up a home run to Garrett Atkins.  The pitch count reached 110 pitches after the inning ended – fittingly on a strike out – and the bullpen took over.

The bullpen imploded and gave away any chance for the Crew to get back in the game.  Mitch Stetter, after my singing his praises this afternoon, struggled with his command and gave up an RBI bloop single to Scott Podsednik.  Colorado led 4-1 going into the bottom of the seventh.

Offensively, the Brewers came alive against Manuel Corpas.  The suddenly red-hot Bill Hall continued his fine swinging against a right-handed pitcher with a one-out double to jump start the Crew.  Mike Cameron followed with an RBI single, who later scored on an infield single by Russell Branyan.  Yes, Russell had a base hit that was not a home run.

In a 4-3 game, who is the last person Ned Yost should have called on at this point?  Guillermo Mota.  The veteran right-hander has struggled mightily over the past month and a half, and the Crew needed someone to come in and preserve the one-run deficit.  Instead, Guillermo gave up four runs on four hits, and the Brewers were suddenly down 8-3.  The Crew never got any closer.

Guillermo will not be seeing any meaningful playing time in the near future.  At least, he should not see any meaningful playing time.  Ned Yost is notorious for having too long of a leash, but the Brewers manager has been much better about that this season (see Derrick Turnbow and Julian Tavarez).  Do you want to know the most maddening part of his outing?  All four base hits came with two outs.  You have got to put a team away with two outs in an inning.  You simply cannot give up four straight hits, two of them being home runs, with two outs.  That will give you a lot of time on the bench to think about it.

I know I have harped on this for the past month now, but what is wrong with throwing a change-up?  Guillermo Mota threw it three times in the eighth inning.  He got Joe Koshansky – who later homered – to swing over the top of it, he got Matt Holiday to ground out weakly to the pitcher, and he got Omar Quintanilla to line out to Corey Hart.  That is three pitches and no hits.  Something tells me Mota should throw that a little more often.  What do I know though, right?

Overall, this is a devastating loss for the Brewers.  The Cardinals lost, but the Cubs won.  The Crew had a match-up that practically handed them a win.  Even after going six innings and giving up only one run, Rusch still has a 6.25 ERA.  He looked like an ace tonight.  Good grief.

Records: Brewers (50-41); Rockies (39-53)

Hero of the Game: Bill Hall

It’s nice to see Billy swinging a hot stick again.  It is even against righties and lefties this time around, which is huge for the Brewers third baseman.  In last night’s game, Billy hit a clutch two-run single against a right-hander, and he started off the mini-rally tonight in the seventh inning with a double off righty Manuel Corpas.  In the meantime, Hall is still raking against southpaws.  He provided the only offense against Glendon Rusch with his mammoth home run in the bottom of the second.

Goat of the Game: Guillermo Mota

Unfortunately, Mota’s $3.2M contract will be almost impossible to move before the trade deadline.  The big salary will almost certainly keep him on the roster.  Either Ned Yost will pitch Mota in some mop-up situations for right now and let him work out his issues, or Milwaukee will DFA the veteran right-hander and send him to the minors.  No one will pick-up Mota at this point, and he would likely accept a demotion to Nashville.  Even if he didn’t accept the move, he would forfeit his contract and become a free agent.  That sounds quite appealing, doesn’t it?

On Tap

RHP Dave Bush will look to help the Brewers split the series against LHP Jorge De la Rosa and the Colorado Rockies.  This is a huge game for the Crew, as they cannot afford to lose a 4-game series at home.  That would be devastating before the All-Star Break.  The game is not televised, but it will be on WTMJ at 1:05pm CT.

Sweep overshadowed by trade winds

UPDATE 07-06-08 9:37pm – Tom Haudricourt has more information as to who is included in the deal.  Apparently, the deal included four prospects.

Matt LaPorta is still the centerpiece of the deal.  That is a big blow, but the minor league system is stacked full of guys that can hit but don’t have a position.  LaPorta is replaceable.

LHP Zach Jackson will be on his way to Cleveland.  My reaction?  You can have him Cleveland.  Perhaps a change of scenery is all he needs.  Jackson has been terrible since coming to Milwaukee in the Lyle Overbay trade.

RHP Rob Bryson is also included in the deal.  Rob is a bright young prospect who has struggled a bit this season with a 3-2 record and a 4.25 ERA in 22 outings.  Baseball America thinks that Bryson has the stuff to be a closer in a few years, but that is still years away.  This loss doesn’t hurt the system too much, especially with the tons of pitchers drafted this season.

The deal still includes a “player to be named later.”  Most believe this is still Taylor Green.  Haudricourt believes the Indians want to move him to second base and need more time to scout him.  If they deem Green unfit for second base, there will be another player involved in the deal.

Don’t worry, Brewers fans.  Doug Melvin didn’t give up too much to get last year’s AL Cy Young winner.  Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, Angel Salome, Michael Brantley, Brad Nelson, Zach Braddock, Chris Errecart, and Jeremy Jeffress are all safe.  It feels good to say that.

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It was not the prettiest win of the season, but the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Pirates this afternoon with offensive fireworks.

Too bad the win got lost in the news that Doug Melvin and the Brewers just agreed in principle to a deal with the Cleveland Indians that will send C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee for Matt LaPorta and two lower level prospects.

In case you forgot what happened, let me refresh your memory.

After his 16-game hit streak ended last night on a sacrifice bunt, J.J. Hardy started a new streak in a big way this afternoon. In the bottom of the first, the Brewers shortstop snuck one just inside the right field foul poll to start off the scoring. Rickie Weeks started the game off with a walk, so Milwaukee got out to a 2-0 lead quickly.

The lead grew 4-0 after the first once Ryan Braun hit a solo shot, and Bill Hall continued his fine hitting against southpaws with an RBI single that plated Corey Hart.

All looked good for the Crew. That changed in the top of the second when Jeff Suppan gave all four of the runs right back. Soup did not look sharp tonight. The umpire was squeezing him a bit at the bottom of the zone, but that is no excuse for giving up six runs in three innings of work. When your offense spots you four runs in the first inning, you have to maintain that lead and momentum. It appeared to be a long day in the making after the third inning ended.

The bullpen has been taking a lot of heat lately, but the collective group banded together and shut the door on the Pirates for the rest of the game. Ned Yost pulled Soup after three innings and handed the ball to Mitch Stetter, who pitched two scoreless innings and got the win. The ‘pen came through in a big way today, picking up the team after Soup struggled to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard.

Guillermo Mota even looked pretty good. He mixed up his pitches well. The pitch count was quite high for only an inning on the mound, but a scoreless inning should do wonders to help his confidence.

In other news, Ryan Braun is going to be a starter for the NL in the All-Star Game. Congrats, Ryan. You certainly deserve it. You all can also vote for Corey Hart to get the last spot on the squad. Vote, vote, vote!!!

Finally, on to C.C. Sabathia, the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Man, it feels good to say that.

After thinking it over and reading online threads and whatnot, I could not be more excited about this trade for the Brewers. How often can a team get a bona fide Cy Young-caliber pitcher at the trade deadline and not sacrifice anyone completely integral to the team’s future?

Yes, I understand Matt LaPorta is a rare player, but he is blocked in Milwaukee’s system right now. Not to mention, a prospect is a prospect is a prospect. The young man has not proven a thing yet against major league pitching. He may very well be a star in the big leagues, but there are no guarantees. Best take a proven player when given the chance. That is what C.C. brings to the club. He is a proven winner.

It is unclear who the last two prospects are, but one can assume Taylor Green is one of them. The other may be someone like a John Axford or Alexandre Periard. Either way, I firmly believe Doug Melvin gave away more last season to get Scott Linebrink than he is giving away in the C.C. deal, and Milwaukee is receiving much more in return. The 1-2 punch of Ben Sheets and Sabathia is only rivaled by Dan Haren-Brandon Webb in Arizona. That is a legitimate playoff top of the rotation right there.

Finally, it is almost a foregone conclusion that Milwaukee will not be able to resign Sheets or Sabathia after the season. That could secure 5 draft picks through the first supplemental round. That is a draft where the team can restock the minor leagues. Even if Milwaukee doesn’t make the playoffs this season-which would classify the trade as a failure in my eyes-the team still will benefit from the gluttony of draft picks in the 2009 draft.

If nothing else, this trade has thrust Milwaukee into the national spotlight. It will generate massive revenue at the ticket office. I, for one, have already bought my tickets for Tuesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. I did not want to miss Sabathia’s debut as a Brewer. There will be more ticket sales, which will result in more money for the team. More money for the team means more money to spend on free agents or on our own players. If the team makes the playoffs, it will only augment the revenue gain.

The deal is looking better and better for the Brewers, and I am seeing the excitement everywhere I look from Brewers fans. Nice job getting the deal done, Doug Melvin. I, of course, will keep you all up-to-date on who Milwaukee is sending to Cleveland when the information becomes available.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Brewers are tied with the Cardinals for the Wild Card lead. Big day for the Crew all around.

Records: Brewers (49-39); Pirates (40-47)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

For now, I will assume J.J. is the hero until proven otherwise. There is no human being on earth that is hotter than J.J. right now. Maybe I should get plunked in the helmet like he did in Arizona. It seems to have helped him…

Goat of the Game: Jeff Suppan

You simply cannot, cannot give back runs after your team spots you four runs in the first inning. A veteran pitcher should know that he had the opportunity to take all the wind out of Pittsburgh’s sails right there, but nope. He wanted to leave after three innings instead. If he didn’t have a big contract in his pocket, Soup may be heading to the ‘pen now that Sabathia is on the team.

On Tap

RHP Seth McClung will take on LHP Ubaldo Jimenez at 7:05pm CT at Miller Park tomorrow. The Crew will look to stretch the winning streak to four games, and Seth will try to prove he belongs in the starting rotation. It could be a mini-audition for the big man now that Sabathia is in the rotation.

Crew holds off D’Back rally

It’s not often that a Brewers fan says this, but Ned Yost played his cards right today.

Milwaukee’s starting lineup did not include the likes of Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, or Mike Cameron.  Prince certainly needed a day off after his struggles this road trip.  Their replacements, however.  Did more than hold their own against Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks.

Joe Dillon swung a good bat tonight, hitting a two-run bomb off Johnson in the second inning.  The veteran utility man hit the ball hard in every at-bat, but only had one hit to show for it.  It’s okay though, Joe.  We all know how well you handled the stick tonight.

In for Prince at first base, the seldom-used Mike Rivera played his heart out tonight.  The opposite-field, two-out double to score Corey Hart was definitely a highlight of the game.  That ball was at his eyes and off the outside part of the plate.  There is no good reason he should have gotten any wood on that ball.  No matter.  Mike Rivera continues to produce at the plate without many opportunities to get in a groove.

To round out the subs for the day, Gabe Kapler roamed center Monday night.  Gabe didn’t do anything overly impressive tonight, going 1-4.  He continues to play defense though, which makes him invaluable coming of the bench.  Let’s not forget he’s hitting over .300.  Not bad for someone who was managing a minor league team last season.

Speaking of days off, one player that sorely needs a day off is Ryan Braun.  The announcers keep saying he has an injured muscle in his right thumb, but he’s in the lineup day in and day out.  If he’s truly hurt, give him a day off.  Even if he’s not hurt, the young man looks awful at the plate.  Ryan is getting over-aggressive again, trying to pull everything.  We all know he doesn’t want to take a walk, either.  Take a day off tomorrow, Ryan.  Come back Thursday afternoon and start tearing the cover off the ball again.

There is one more player that seems completely lost at the plate.  Want to take a guess?  Bill Hall.  Bill Schroeder hit the nail right on the head (if you will excuse the cliche).  The Brewers third baseman is swinging at balls off the plate, and taking strikes.  He is so frustrated at the plate that I could hear him yelling obscenities after fouling a ball off at the plate this evening.  That’s never a good sign.  I’m almost inclined to say Billy could use a little time in Triple-A to get his feet back under him.  Too bad that’s not an option at this point.

As far as pitching goes, Jeff Suppan was very unimpressive against the D’Backs.  The veteran right-hander could not find the plate to save his life in the fourth and fifth innings, and when he did, it split the heart of the plate.  Soup does not have the stuff to consistently fall behind hitters and get away with it.  His performance was utterly underwhelming, as have most of his starts lately.  Milwaukee needs Jeff to pick it up and be the leader he came here to be.  It’s easier said than done, but now is the time.

I want to follow up on something I mentioned a couple games ago.  David Riske again pitched an entire inning without straying from his fastball.  It ranged from 88-90 mph according to MLB Gameday.  He pitched extremely effectively with it tonight, but I am a little concerned about Mr. Riske.  He’s not throwing his best pitch.  Milwaukee signed him over the off-season because he has two outstanding split-finger fastballs.  One acts much like a change-up and dips into the high-70s, but the other is a true split.  It comes in to hitters in the mid-80s and falls off the table when it reaches home plate.  Those two pitches are non-existent right now.  I truly hope his elbow is okay.

I realize I’m going a little more in-depth about individual players this evening, but I have a couple things to note about Guillermo Mota.  As the play-by-play announcers said tonight, Mota is catching far too much of the plate with his fastball.  That is obvious.  All four balls were smoked by the D’Backs tonight, and the Crew could have been in big trouble had Mike Rivera not made a fantastic diving play at first to double off Chris Young.  The control problem is obvious.

Another thing I noticed about Guillermo is the complete absence of his change-up.  The big guy threw exclusively fastball-slider the entire inning, until getting Miguel Montero on a change to end the inning.  The change-up is arguably Mota’s best pitch.  It complements his 95-96 mph fastball very well, and it dives away from lefties when it reaches the plate.  He has not been throwing the change with any regularity, and the result has been more hard hit balls and more runs scored.  If Guillermo uses that change-up more often, it won’t matter if his 96 mph fastball is right down the middle.  Hitters will be off-balance and unable to catch up.  Sometimes it can be that simple.  Put the third finger around the ball, choke the ball back in your grip, and let it fly, Guillermo.  It would benefit you and the Brewers greatly.

I also must admit that Salomon Torres pitched very well to get the save tonight.  He had not pitched in a week, but he mowed down Arizona hitters after hitting Augie Ojeda to start the inning.  A tip of the hat to you, Senor Torres.  You have been a hero for the Crew the entire year.

Records: Brewers (45-38 ); Diamondbacks (42-42)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy and Mike Rivera

I’m not one to give out multiple Heroes of the Game, but tonight is an exception.  J.J. Hardy looks like a completely different hitter at the plate over the past couple weeks.  He has been more patient and is driving the ball all over the field.  The hitting streak is now at 13 games after he hit two home runs this evening.  Perhaps he’s going to get on a two month streak like he did to start last season.  That would be dangerous for opposing teams.

Mike Rivera has quickly become one of my favorites on the team.  He plays maybe once a week.  He never complains about a lack of playing time, yet produces more than some of the regulars – I’m talking about you, Bill Hall.  That ridiculous two-out double that was at his eyes and off the outside part of the plate not withstanding, the back-up catcher flashed some fancy glovework at first base.  He made a couple nice flips to the pitcher, fielded the bunt rather nicely, and made an absolutely sick diving stab that turned into an unassisted double play.  That may have saved the game for Milwaukee.  I cannot say enough about Mike Rivera tonight.  Well done, sir.

Goat of the Game: Ryan Braun

Ryan and Prince Fielder have both fallen into a funk at the same time.  Braun, however, is still in the lineup while Prince gets the day off.  All signs point to Braun’s injury being worse than the team is saying.  Give him a day off to clear his head and heal his thumb.  Seeing such a talented player struggle at the plate as much as he has the past week or so is difficult to watch.  He’s in an 0-18 streak now.  A day off is sorely needed.

On Tap

Seth McClung will look to bounce back after a rough outing last week against Micah Owings and the D’Backs in Game 3 of the series.  The game starts at 8:40pm CT at Chase Field.  The Crew needs a win tomorrow night, as Brandon Webb is slated to pitch the finale.  Enough said.

Complete Game Sheets Saves the Day Again

I’m stunned, absolutely stunned. If you told me in April that Ben Sheets would be as dominate as he has been this season I would have laughed you out of the refrigerator box I live in. Sheets has great stuff (which is an understatement) and has proven to be durable when he’s healthy. But that’s the key phrase: “healthy.”

We’ve all come to getting used to Big Ben getting hurt. Even the local NBC affiliate began this season updating us with a new Brewers stat, DOR, or “days on roster” for Sheets. The feeling was that is was nice to have Sheets around, but an injury was inevitable.

I can’t say for certain that something won’t happen to Sheets, but so far this season he is pitching like a mid-season CY Young candidate. There have been games where he has struggled with his command at times or his single terrible outing against the Dodgers, but when its all said and done Sheets has been unbelievable.

Last night was no different. Sheets went nine innings, allowing only four hits, one run, while striking out seven. The two most impressive parts of his performance were that: 1) he didn’t register a K until the last out of the fourth inning, so all seven took place in less than five innings ; and 2) he is also a workhorse. Going into the pre-bottom of the ninth inning commercial break the Crew was in a save situation. Was Salomon Torres going to have to come out again? Nope, Sheets to the rescue. He had retired the last 13 batters in order, so wasting the last three in order was nothing new to the staff ace.

Mike Cameron was great in his return from a toe injury, putting the Brewers on the board in the second with a two run home run to left. The first runs against Jo-Jo Reyes spelled trouble for the young pitcher. By the third inning, Reyes was pulled by Braves manager Bobby Cox, after giving up two more runs and loading the bases. Unfortunately, the Braves wiggled off that hook and held Milwaukee scoreless for the rest of the game. Buddy Carlyle three 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball allowing only two hits and stranding Brewer runners at third in three separate innings.

But, the Brewers had Sheets on the mound and as the Braves tightened their part of the game, he only got better.

Records: Brewers (42-34), Braves (38-40)

Hero of the Game: Ben Sheets

If I didn’t give the “hero” award to Sheets he’d be as mad as if Ned Yost didn’t let him finish last nights game (remember when Yost took him out with one out left a few weeks ago?). Everything about how Sheets went through last night’s game was a testament to what a great pitcher he is. All his strikeouts came in the fourth inning or later. He faced only one, ONE, three ball count during the whole game. SIXTEEN batters in a row. Seventh consecutive win. 6-0 on the road. 9-1 record. The achievements are astounding. Punch his ticket to Yankee Stadium this All-Star break.

Goat of the Game: Bill Hall

Poor guy can never catch a break. A rare start and he goes 0-for-4, with a strikeout, and leaves three on base. Everyone of his at-bats he put hard hit balls into play. If Russell Branyan wasn’t so dominate right now I’d really be feeling for this guy.

On Tap:

The Braves march Charlie Morton (1-0, 4.91 ERA) to the mound to stop the bleeding. Dave Bush (3-7, 5.26), coming off his best start of the season, will try to secure the road series win for the Crew. Game time 6:05 CT on FSN.

By: Dan Wiersema

Prince’s Power Hour Propels

The big boys came out to play in the Milwaukee Brewers’ final game against American League opposition, the Baltimore Orioles. Home runs from Corey Hart, Bill Hall, and a pair from Prince Fielder bailed out an out-of-sorts Manny Parra. Sprinkle in some nice defensive plays and a season-tying high for double plays and the result was good 7-3 victory finishing off a 6-3 homestand for the Crew.

From the get-go it looked like Parra might set up Milwaukee for a long afternoon. His pitch locations were off and a tight zone from the home plate umpire wasn’t helping his cause. Parra walked six guys including four in the first three innings. Two of Baltimore’s three runs were walks that came around to score.

Rickie Weeks was back in the lineup today (and in the lead off spot in the order) and looked shaky early on. Jason Kendall caught Jay Payton off of first, but Weeks, attempting to get Payton out, dropped Kendall’s throw.

Fielder has also looked shoddy on defense recently (something that he had looked to improve this season. He misplayed a bunt single in the second inning failing to pick up the ball and get it to Parra at first base. Earlier in the season is looked as though Fielder was making big strides in his defensive play, but in the last few series he has made several mistakes on plays that should be outs.

If the defense has fallen, the offensive game of Fielder has shown brightly. Prince belted a double and two home runs today. Fielder was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. His monster, two run blast in the seventh gave the Crew some breathing room heading into the closing frames.

The secondary storyline of the game is the positive defensive plays that the Brewers made to back up the struggling Parra. Ryan Braun made two outstanding sliding catches (the one in the sixth was ESPN’s #5 “Web Gem” today) to rob Baltimore of base hits. The infield also turned five double plays on an Oriole team that has the grounded into the least amount of double plays in the American League (45). Weeks was strong on his DP turns (something that has been troubling… low throws to first) and made a fantastic play to end the seventh inning.

Guillermo Mota and David Riske both continue to struggle in relief appearances this afternoon issuing two walks apiece. A strikeout for Riske and two nice defensive plays by JJ Hardy and the already mentioned Weeks grab bailed out David. It took an appearance by Salomon Torres and a double play to get Mota off the hook in the ninth. Mark DiFelice had a good outing, going 1-2-3 in the sixth, but otherwise this bullpen is starting to worry. There are a bunch of bright spots (DiFelice, Torres, Shouse), but they can’t pitch everyday and allow the inconsistent guys to shake down games.

Records: Brewers (41-34), Orioles (38-36)

Hero of the Game: Prince Fielder

The Prince has been going on a power binge of late. He’s got five home runs in the last six games. For June all of his vitals are skyrocketing. Take a look at his May/June comparisons:

Stat May June

On Base Percentage .358 .432

Average .294 .343

Slugging: .450 .757

Promising stuff from the kid.

Goat of the Game: Davillermo RiskMota

What’s up with these guys? I know the zone was tight, Parra struggle with his stuff all night, but Riske and Mota’s inability to find a strike lately is looking Gagnesqe. I guess I’m particularly worried about Riske because I never was that high up on him since the beginning of the season. For the money we paid for him I feel like the Brewers haven’t gotten a lot of relief security.

A few good outings early in the season was marred by several rough outings before going on the DL. Since being activated from the DL two days ago, Riske has participated in the almost-loss on Thursday against Toronto and stunk it up today. These sorts of trouble should be worked out with a player before he comes back from his rehab stint in the minors. I know he blew threw the opposition in his one inning of work in Nashville, but there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe and seeing he’s all there.

On Tap:

The Crew hits the road to take on the Atlanta Braves. Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4, 4.05 ERA) is on the mound versus Ben Sheets (8-1, 2.74 ERA). Game time: 6:05 CT.

By: Dan Wiersema

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

The Milwaukee Brewers enjoyed an off-day yesterday, but they will get back on the horse this evening against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Anyone see Tiger Woods win yesterday?  Fantastic golf tournament.

• Bill Hall admits that the game wasn’t much fun for him a few weeks ago.  He had been sidelined by the emergence of Russell Branyan, and the fans were and are booing him relentlessly.  The long-time Brewer has turned over a new leaf in his game, however.  Hall is focused on enjoying the game of baseball and hoping everything else simply works out on its own.  That’s finally the right attitude.
• After receiving mountains of flack for signing Jason Kendall during the off-season, Doug Melvin is looking pretty smart these days.  Jason has been a fine addition to the Milwaukee Brewers, and he seems to have made an impact on the starting rotation as a whole (Dave Bush excluded).  I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Brewers pick up Kendall’s option for next season.
• The Junkball Blues notes that the starting pitching has been pulling its weight lately.  Manny Parra has been serviceable the past couple weeks, and Seth McClung has become extremely reliable at the back-end of the rotation.  Perhaps the biggest news is the play of Jeff Suppan.  He’s finally pitching like the $40M man he’s supposed to be.  Oh yeah, Ben Sheets is a stud too.
• Brew Crew Pub has a Brewers preview for the Brewers-Blue Jays series.  Give it a look.
• Adam McCalvy writes a piece on North Carolina reliever, Rob Wooten.  The Brewers drafted the Tar Heel in the 13th-round of the 2008 MLB Draft, and the team is excited to see what they have in the young man.  He projects to be a solid reliever, but that is still up in the air.  Wooten is presumably waiting until after the College World Series to sign with the Crew.
• Brewers Locker notes that Brad Nelson is blocked by Prince Fielder in the big leagues.  He could become a very valuable trading chip at the deadline.  I suspect he stays though.  The Brewers are reportedly open to trading Prince in the off-season, and Brad Nelson would be an optimal candidate to step in at first.  If Nelson is traded, the Brewers are keeping Prince through next season.
• The Nashville Sounds played the Iowa Cubs, but no one was at the park.  No, not because the Sounds have been terrible this year.  The devastating flooding caused the ballpark to not allow any fans into the ballpark.  I hope things get better down in Iowa in a hurry.

Round ‘em Up: Monday

Unfortunately, I had to move to a new place yesterday, so I was unable to watch the game. It is pretty hard to give analysis of the game without watching it. The last thing I want to do is patronize you all with secondhand commentary.

Here are a couple game wraps for you – SportsBubbler – Milwaukee JS.

Today’s Round ‘em Up will be much better than yesterday’s. There is much more for you all to read, as the work week started. Let’s take a look:

• The bullpen looks to be getting some help with the return of David Riske next week, but Eric Gagne could be coming back in a few weeks. He threw his first bullpen session since being injured. It’s not much, but it is a start. Salomon Torres appears to have the closer’s role secured upon Gagne’s return, but Eric will be a very valuable part of the middle relief squad.
• Perhaps the best story of the year has been the success of Seth McClung in the starting rotation. After another very solid start yesterday, Brew Crew Ball analyzes the release point and movement of McClung’s pitches. Both have been much, much more consistent since he’s switched to the starting rotation. That mysterious “mechanical fix” has worked wonders for the big right-hander. He’s throwing much more over-the-top, which makes his curveball very much like that of Ben Sheets.
• Speaking of David Riske and his imminent return, The Brew Town Beat hopes Doug Melvin and Ned Yost will send down Julian Tavarez rather than Mark DiFelice. I understand the reasoning, but Ned’s preference for gritty veterans will help Tavarez stick in the bigs. DiFelice would have more upside, however.
• The Brew Town Beat also says that Brewers fans should give Lyle Overbay a huge standing ovation upon his return to Milwaukee tomorrow. I completely agree. Let’s not be like Cubs fans. Lyle gave the Brewers many good years, and he deserves to be congratulated for it. Brewers fans proved they are classy when giving Randy Johnson a standing ovation after moving into second in the career strikeout list. They should give that same respect to one of their own, Lyle Overbay.
• Brew Crew Pub takes a look at the situations at third base and in center field. I agree that Russell Branyan has done nothing but prove he deserves more playing time. His defense has been better than anyone thought, as well. In center field, I’m not sure what should happen. There are arguments for both Mike Cameron and Tony Gwynn Jr. I will have to think about this a little more before coming up with a conclusion.
• Brew Crew Ball interviewed RHP Garrett Sherrill, the Brewers’ 12th-round pick from Appalachian State University.
• Brewerfan.net has their Farm Hops for May 2008. It’s a little late, but it has a great overview of the whole system. It even takes a look at a couple of the players the players drafted in the MLB First Year Player draft. They particularly like Jake Orodizzi with the sandwich pick. He’s compared to Will Inman, which cannot be anything but positive.
• Fire Ned Yost is quite concerned with the Helena Brewers. Yost’s son, Ned IV is now the manager. Oh goodness…
• There were a couple promotions yesterday in the minor leagues!LHP Chris Cody has been promoted to Brevard County.
  C Jonathan Lucroy has also been promoted to Brevard County.

  Congratulations to both players. They both were a bit old to be playing in West Virginia, so this promotion was a long-time coming.

UPDATE 06-16-08 – Jeff Sackmann from Brew Crew Ball is done with Tom Haudricourt and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

I agree with the sentiment that Haudricourt and Witrado can be snippy at times, but the Milwaukee JS still has incredible ties to the Brewers organization.  They can get information that no one else can.

I’m not willing to sever ties with the Milwaukee JS at this time.  I may change my mind if the trend continues, however.  His comments to Mass Hass at Brewerfan.net were inexcusable.  Mass Hass is a fantastic resource and extremely credible.  Tom Haudricourt was out of line.

Lack of defense and control dooms Brewers

This morning I was feeling rather calm concerning the Brewers.  After tonight’s game, however, I have been reminded about what this team lacks.

You simply cannot win games with stupid mental errors.  Ryan Braun needs to learn to hit the cut-off man.  I understand he’s trying to preserve the lead, but the margin for error is so small.  You have to play the percentages at that point.  He did show off his arm on that play, however.  Corey Hart has got to stay in front of the ball in the outfield.  The cardinal rule in the outfield is to keep the ball in front of you at all costs.  He cost the Brewers a run in the ninth inning.  Bill Hall needs to get out in the field further when Mike Cameron is up against the wall.  He cost the Brewers another run.  A lack of concentration on the defensive side of the ball cost the Brewers tonight.

What to do about it?  Bill Hall cannot play second base.  Three errors in two games at the position is not going to cut it.  With that said, Joe Dillon looked solid at second today.  I can forgive Ryan Braun for making an aggressive play.  He’s inexperienced in the field, and he let his emotions get the better of him.  The coaches will sit him down and explain the situation.  He will make the right choice the next time.  Corey Hart, on the other hand, has no excuse.  Overrunning the ball and then trying to lazily reach down to pick up the ball is inexcusable.

Jeff Suppan threw the ball quite well today.  His solid outing was overshadowed by the length of the game and the dramatics near the end, but seven innings of two-run ball is impressive.  Soup has been a rock in the rotation this season.  He’s truly earning his money thus far in 2008.

The relievers, however, struggled mightily.  Carlos Villanueva did not have his usual control on the mound, leaving the ball up in the strike zone for the Twins to slap all over the field.  He just hasn’t had his “A” stuff in his last couple outings.  Fans shouldn’t be worried, however.  The young right-hander has been the model of consistency in the bullpen the last couple seasons.  He will bounce back.

Julian Tavarez, on the other hand, hasn’t shown any consistency since being signed.  The movement on his pitches is phenomenal, but the control has been notably absent.  In his 1.1 innings of work, he gave up four hits and three walks.  The veteran worked from behind the whole night.  He’s not cutting it on the mound.  If he wants to get the ball in important situations, throwing strikes is key.

Amidst all the frustration that ended the night, fans at the ballpark tonight were treated to a dandy.  In the ninth inning, the Brewers trailed by one with two outs.  Russell Branyan gets the call to pinch hit.  He has one job at the plate: Tie the game.  On a fastball middle-in from Twins closer Joe Nathan, Russell absolutely clobbered a solo home run to tie the game at four a piece.  All looked right for the Crew going into extra innings.

Things even looked better when Prince Fielder connected on a high fastball in the bottom of the 11th.  The towering shot appeared to clear the wall just over the fingertips of Carlos Gomez, but the umps ruled it a triple.  Boos rained in from around Miller Park, and Ned Yost came out on the field to argue the call.  After seeing the replay, however, it was clear the ball bounced off the inside corner of the wall and back into the field of play.  The umpires made the right call.  A game of inches indeed.

Yost went back into the dugout and play resumed, but Milwaukee was unable to plate Prince home from third.  Mike Cameron swung at a ball way off the plate and hit a dribbler to the pitcher’s mound.  The momentum shifted to the Minnesota Twins, and they never looked back.  A rough, rough game for the Crew tonight.  They should have won the game multiple times.

Records: Brewers (35-33); Twins (34-35)

Hero of the Game: Russell Branyan

Russell had the touch for late-inning heroics today.  After sitting on the bench the entire game, the Brewers’ skipper called on him with two-outs in the bottom of the ninth against Joe Nathan.  Russell didn’t get cheated in his at-bat.  He absolutely killed a Nathan fastball into right-center field.  How clutch can you be?

This will be immensely unpopular, I’m sure, but Russell needs more playing time.  He has been better than advertised defensively at third base, and he’s seeing the ball incredibly well.  I understand he has not hit lefties well this year in the big leagues, but he had pretty good success in the minors.  You can say it was the minors all you want, but everyone said that before he got called up too.  Look how that turned out.  Give the guy a chance.  Bill Hall has sure proven he doesn’t deserve regular playing time.

Goat of the Game: Corey Hart

Yes, Julian Tavarez pitched horrendously.  This “award” has to go to Corey this evening though.  Besides the costly error in the ninth inning that made everyone’s collective heart sink in their stomachs, the Brewers lead-off hitter went 0-6 with two strikeouts.  Corey has been one of the most consistent players this season, so I will cut him some slack.  The young right-fielder should take this loss personally, however.  That error in right was pathetic and just a lack of concentration.

On Tap

Brewers right-hander Seth McClung will battle fellow right-hander Scott Baker tomorrow at Miller Park.  The Crew will hope not to get swept by the Minnesota Twins.  The contest will begin at 1:05pm CT.

Brewers squeak past Rockies to avoid sweep

The Milwaukee Brewers never make it look easy on the road, do they?

The pitching staff wiggled off hooks left and right, but managed to pull out a 3-2 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.  Jeff Suppan struggled mightily with his command early in the contest, but he settled down a bit in the third through fifth innings.  The veteran was not sharp.  He did keep the Brewers in the game today, and that’s all you can ask for from the pitching staff.

In the sixth inning, Ned Yost called on Carlos Villanueva to get the final two outs after Soup scuffled to start the frame.  The former starter did it on one pitch, getting Ian Stewart to ground into a double play.

The Brewers got in trouble again in the seventh inning.  Joe Dillon, who had a great day at the plate, bobbled the ball and committed a costly error on a relatively easy double play ball.  The inning should have been over right there.  Carlos gutted out the rest of the inning without giving up a run.  He struck out Todd Helton on a questionable called third strike and got Garrett Atkins to ground out to short.  After Friday’s game, I think Ned Yost rethought about taking out Villanueva in a pinch.  Yost stuck with the young right-hander, and Carlos showed Brewers fans why he’s so valuable in the ‘pen.

The day didn’t get any easier in the eight, however.  Left-handed specialist Brian Shouse gave up a base hit to Brad Hawpe, who got to second on a careless error by Gabe Kapler.  Ned Yost then called on Salomon Torres to get the final 5 outs of the game.  The veteran closer happily obliged, and the Crew avoided the sweep.

Joe Dillon got the start for the injured Rickie Weeks today.  He responded well, getting on base four times – three walks and a hustle double.  Bill Hall still looks lost against right-handed pitching, and Prince Fielder swung out of his shoes all day.  The offense had very little plate discipline after the first couple innings, and their offense struggled because of it.

The Crew had 13 runners left on base today.  That cannot happen on the road.  The only reason the Brewers won today’s game is because the Rockies were worse with runners in scoring position.  Colorado left 20 runners on base.  It was an ugly game all around.

After losing Friday and Saturday to the Rockies, the series unbeaten streak ends at five.  It should still be going after Friday night’s game, but you can argue that Milwaukee should not have won tonight  The Brewers will take what they can get and travel to Houston to take on the Astros on Tuesday.

Records: Brewers (33-30); Rockies (24-39)

Hero of the Game: Carlos Villanueva

The young-right hander was thrown into the fire in the sixth inning, but he responded by getting two outs with one pitch.  Things looked good in the seventh until Joe Dillon botched the easy double-play ball with one out.  The inning should have been over right there.  Carlos beared down and got the Brewers out of the inning without surrendering a run.  If Salomon Torres was not pitching so well in the closer’s role, I think I would begin to support the idea of giving Carlos a shot.  Villanueva is a very, very valuable part of the bullpen.  Ned Yost should think about keeping the young man there all season.

Goat of the Game: Bill Hall

I know Bill got the job done in the field and got a base hit in the first inning to score a run, but he was a big reason the Brewers couldn’t tack on any runs in the late innings.  He continues to take defensive swings against right-handed pitching, and I’m beginning to think that Russell Branyan should have pinch hit for Billy in the seventh inning.  Bill left four runners on base in the last three innings.  Others did too, but Bill looked terrible doing it.

On Tap

The Brewers have a day off tomorrow.  They will travel to Houston to take on the Astros.  Right-hander Seth McClung will face the Astros’ ace, RHP Roy Oswalt.  The Brewers will attempt to not get swept in Houston for the second time this season.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

UPDATE 06-07-08 – The Brewers have their first official signing of the 2008 First Year Player Draft.  Their 7th round pick, RHP Trey Watten, has decided to turn pro this season.

The big right-hander had impressive numbers at Abiliene Christian University, posting a 2.56 ERA in a 10-win season.  Many apparently thought Trey had first-round talent, but he fell to the Brewers in the second round.

Hopefully this trend can become the norm.  The Crew needs some depth in the minor leagues in the pitching department.

————————————————————————–

The weekends have proven to be quite scarce on the Brewers news lately. There are the standard articles written by the Milwaukee JS and Brewers.com, but that’s been about it. Mid-season fatigue setting in for the bloggers already?

• Ned Yost defends his pitching move in last night’s game. My girlfriend and I caught the end of last night’s game, and she asked me, “Why are they taking out a pitcher who pitched so well last inning?” Ummmm…I still don’t have a satisfactory answer for that. Ned says that it was a save opportunity, but it would strike me that you would leave a hot pitcher in the game if you wanted to preserve a close lead. What do I know though, right?
• FireNedYost feels Yosted after last night’s game.
• Do you remember the report that said the Los Angeles Dodgers were close to acquiring a veteran infielder? It came out simultaneously with the news that Bill Hall wanted a trade. Some speculated as to whether or not Bill was going to be moved to LA. That’s not the case. The Dodgers acquired Angel Berroa. Angel makes Billy look like an All-Star at the plate.
• The Brewers have shown some real confidence in right-hander Tim Dillard. He looks forward to protecting close leads against the Colorado Rockies again this weekend.
• Here are the college splits from all the Brewers draft picks from the past couple days. The high school players obviously do not have any stats on them, but it is interesting to look at. You have to take the numbers with a grain of salt, however. Make sure to look at who they play for and what division it is in before making a bold conclusion.
• A Giants fan posted a note on Brew Crew Ball and wondered if Jonathan Sanchez and Bengie Molina would be enough to get Bill Hall and Matt LaPorta to San Francisco. No. The Brewers do not need or want Bengie Molina. Jonathan Sanchez has a great arm, but he walks far too many people and cannot pitch deep into games. Thanks, but no thanks.
• Baseball Digest Daily wants to know what the big deal with left-handed pitching is in the draft. Why do so many lefties go so early? My guess is because quality pitching from the left side is difficult to find. Teams take a hand full of lefties hoping to hit on one. Or you could be like the Brewers this year and take 3,274,231 pitchers in the draft. I didn’t count how many pitchers they actually took, I must admit. That is a rough estimate.

Round ‘em Up: Thursday

How about a little draft day excitement?  I’m upset that I will be unable to be at my computer during the draft, so you’ll all have to deal with after-the-fact analysis.  Rumors are flying about everywhere concerning the draft, much of which will make my mock draft very incorrect.  That’s the nature of the beast though.  The MLB Draft is the most volatile draft of all major sports.

Here are some links on the draft:

• Tom Haudricourt throws out some names.  He says the Brewers are looking at 3B/C Brett Lawrie, SS Anthony Hewitt, and 1B/3B Brett Wallace.  Wallace has been flying up draft boards in the past weeks because he’s been mashing in the college World Series.  If Lawrie is there (which is doubtful at this point), the Brewers will not be able to resist the Canadian.  Wallace is interesting though.  I hadn’t heard that rumor yet.
• The Baseball Analysts have a very nice run down of past first round picks for every team, as well as outlining each team’s primary needs.  Give it a look.
• Between the Green Pillars has a nice preview of the draft.  Surprisingly, the article does not focus on the Brewers at all.  That’s okay though.  You can get your Brewers fix here.
• The Tampa Bay Rays have made their #1 selection, even though the draft is still over two hours away.  They have settled on SS Tim Beckham.  That makes me one-for-one on my mock draft.

Now on to some normal Brewers news:

• This just in: There is nothing wrong with Prince Fielder.  He’s been absolutely on fire this homestand.  I particularly like his comments about his strategy at the plate.  Just put the bat on the ball and let your natural ability do the rest.  Don’t think too hard.
• Jim Powell reviews the nice home cooking the Brewers received in the past 9 games.  It’s been a nice ride.  Powell also has some audio up from yesterday’s game if you would like to take a listen.
• While Bill Hall is quite upset about sharing time with Russell Branyan at third base, Branyan is just going along with the flow.  He has the right attitude about it.  He didn’t choose the situation.  Neither did Bill Hall.  You just have to deal with what’s given to you and make the best out of it, Bill.  No use in complaining.
• Eric Gagne is not close to coming back from the DL.  The Brewers are playing great baseball right now, so there’s no rush getting Gagne back on the mound.  Make sure that shoulder is ready to go.
• Two Fisted Slopper profiles Mat Gamel.  The article brings together a lot of good information into one post.  I’m not sure there is any original analysis here, but it’s still worth a look.
• Right Field Bleachers says that the Milwaukee Brewers should trade for Rich Harden.  The article says a package with Brad Nelson and Michael Brantley would get the trade started off right.

  I must admit that I’m not a big fan of this idea at all.  First, Billy Beane will not be trading Harden for anything less than 3 or 4 top-tier prospects.  Say all you want about Harden’s injury history, but Beane will hold out until he gets what he wants.  Rumor has it that Joe Blanton is requiring three top-notch prospects at this point, so there is no way Harden is coming out of Oakland for less than that.

  Secondly, I don’t like either of the trading chips to start off the trade.  If the Brewers are going to trade for an injury prone starter, I do not want to be giving away one of the system’s best corner infield prospects along with my personal favorite to fill the void in center field in a couple years.  I would much rather start the trade with someone like Cole Gillespie and Tony Gwynn Jr. With that said, those two would not get Harden to Milwaukee.  The price is too steep Brewers fans.  Unless those two and Bill Hall could get it done, it would be best to wait until the off-season to see what’s available.

Round ‘em Up: Wednesday

Seth McClung and the boys kept it rolling last night, pulling away late in the game for a 7-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The MLB Draft is tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to it.  I’ll have my Mock Draft up either later today or tomorrow morning.

• Eli from MLB Rumors has some thoughts about where Bill Hall could be headed.  He names the Nationals, Mariners, and Giants.  I agree with the possibility of the Mariners, but the other two possibilities are very unlikely.  Eli has lost a bit of credibility with me the past couple of posts about the Brewers, as his insight has been a little faulty.  You’d think the Dodgers and Indians would make the list before the Nationals and Giants.  That’s just me though…
• Brewers Bar has a plea to Brewers fans out today.  I agree with it completely.  While it is every fan’s right to boo and cheer for whom they wish, fans could stand to be a little classier and cheer on their own players.  Do you really think booing a player will help his psyche?  Think about it a little bit before you boo.  Instead of booing, come onto a blog and rant.  Much more productive.
• MLB Trade Rumors has the starting pitching market posted.  Taking a quick look, I would think the Brewers would be interested in Derek Lowe and perhaps someone like Boof Bonser or Jarrod Washburn.  I’m surprised that Anthony Reyes is not on the list.
• SportsBubbler named C Jonathan Lucroy the prospect of the week.  It’s great to see Jonathan getting some face time on Brewers sites.  He has been extremely gracious in doing the interviews for this site, and we at BrewersNation wish him the best of luck.  Keep swinging the bat like you have been, Jonathan, and we’ll see you in the bigs soon.
• 3B Mat Gamel and OF Matt LaPorta made Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet.  Gamel was second behind Jay Bruce.  That is understandable.
• Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz opts to have season-ending shoulder surgery.  It’s always difficult to see one of the best pitchers in the league go down to injury.  John also points out that retirement is definitely an option at this point.  If he is not able to throw at his normal arm angle, I suspect he will retire.
• Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com attempts to predict the Top 30 picks of the MLB Draft.  He has the Milwaukee Brewers selecting C/3B Brett Lawrie.  That bat would be tough to pass on if he does fall to the #16 slot.  He’s only a high schooler, but he can rake already.
• Brewerfan.net has their Power 50 up.  Matt LaPorta still ranks #1 as the top Brewers prospect.  I’m not sure I agree with that anymore.  Mat Gamel has a .380+ average, draws walks, has power, and has improved defensively a bit.  I have to give him the nod right now.

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

If you haven’t heard or haven’t read a little further down on the blog, Bill Hall no longer wants to be in Milwaukee.  He wants to play everyday somewhere.  What does the blogosphere have to say about the subject?  I’m so glad you asked.

• The Brew Town Beat suggests a trade with the Chicago White Sox for Joe Crede.  I’m not so sure that’s the direction the Brewers want to go in July.  The thought does hold some credence, however, as Crede to Milwaukee was a hot rumor all winter.  I just don’t believe it makes sense for Milwaukee anymore.
• Dexter Sports wonders if Tampa Bay and Milwaukee could hook up again for a trade.  The Rays certainly have a wealth of pitching they could move, so it makes sense on that level.  They are also in desperate need of a shortstop with some pop.  Jason Bartlett has been horrendous for Tampa, so Hall could make a lot of sense there.  Who would Milwaukee get from Tampa?  Could they package Hall and a couple of prospects together to get Jeff Niemann?  I’m not sure Gwynn and Hall would be enough.
• Between the Green Pillars thinks Doug Melvin shouldn’t be so quick to trade Hall.  There is no use making a bad trade.  I completely agree with that sentiment.  I do not think anyone believes Melvin will rush to get a deal done simply because of the comments Hall’s agent made.
• In one of the most interesting coincidences of the day, I was browsing through the trade rumors on ESPN.com (insider only, unfortunately).  Just under Hall’s name, there is a post saying that the Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly very close to acquiring a veteran infielder to help bridge the gap until Rafael Furcal can get back on the diamond.  The Dodgers did like Hall during the winter…

Enough about the Bill Hall soap opera.  Here’s some other news.

• Jim Powell has his interview up with Salomon Torres after yesterday’s game.  I was unable to watch last night’s game, but I understand he pulled quite the Houdini trick in the ninth inning.  It’s interesting that Salomon has worked a scoreless inning in Milwaukee and in Washington in the past week and a half when the defense committed two errors in both innings.  Eric Gagne couldn’t stop runs from crossing the plate even without the defense making errors behind him.
• LHP David Welch from Double-A Huntsville threw a no-hitter in a seven inning game last night.  The best part is that he accomplished this on his birthday.  Read about it here.
• Brew Crew Pub wonders where the Brewers will go in the first couple rounds of the draft.  I agree that the Brewers need to get a couple collegiate arms in the system on Thursday, but I’m beginning to second guess my theory that Milwaukee will go with a pitcher in the first round.  The more I analyze the picks, the less certain I am that there will be an arm worth taking with the #16 pick.  SS Anthony Hewitt is really growing on me.  The problem is that Milwaukee would have to convince him to give up his scholarship and go to the pros.
• John Sickels from Minor League Ball is one of the foremost experts on the minor leagues.  He has his mock draft up through the Supplemental Round.  In the first round, he has Milwaukee selecting RHP Joshua Fields.  This wouldn’t be a terrible move.  He could potentially be in a Brewers uniform as early as next season.  With the majority of the bullpen signed to only a one-year deal, that could be the way to go.  In the Supplemental Round, Sickels stuck with pitching for the Brewers.  If the Crew takes Lawrie or Hewitt in the first round, expect a run of pitchers to be selected shortly afterwards.

Bill Hall wants out of Milwaukee

It has finally happened.

After voicing his displeasure when Russell Branyan was called up a week ago, Bill Hall’s agent says that Bill wants to be traded out of Milwaukee. He believes he should play everyday in the infield. It turns out that Hall’s threat (“We’ll see what happens in the next couple days”) had some substance behind it.

I still stick with the argument that to deserve everyday playing time, a player has to produce against both right-handed and left-handed pitching. Bill has not done that. He’s also been inconsistent with the glove at the hot corner. I would love to see Bill stick around in a platoon role. The third baseman is a very valuable part of the organization and team. He does not deserve to play everyday right now, however.

Hall’s agent suggests that the trade should make perfect sense for Milwaukee. The Brewers need pitching, and his client wants more playing time. It would also free some room in the payroll for Mark Attanasio come the trade deadline. Milwaukee could use another arm in the rotation, so Doug Melvin could create some sort of package for a back-end of the rotation starter.

What could the Brewers get for Bill Hall? Brewers fans should not have any delusions about Hall’s market value. His contract is not team-friendly, and Bill has not been producing in the field or at the plate. Melvin could get a high-ceiling prospect like RHP Joshua Butler, like he did with Gabe Gross. He could also try to package Hall to get someone like RHP Randy Wolf (even though that would not be ideal). There are options.

Another option is that Doug Melvin does not have to make any move whatsoever. He is not required to move Bill Hall. Hall can only request a trade, which he technically has not done. Only his agent has mentioned anything about a trade. The third baseman is under contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, and there he will stay unless Melvin decides to move him.

My guess is that Hall is moved within a week or two. No team wants a disgruntled player in the clubhouse. He may not be showing it outwardly at the moment, but the situation could turn ugly in a hurry…especially if the team starts losing again. I suspect Melvin will move quickly, but he’ll wait until after the draft to get anything done.

One pitcher I could see Melvin targeting is St. Louis Cardinal Anthony Reyes. The young right-hander is sporting a 3.04 ERA in St. Louis’ Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. Reyes has been woefully unsuccessful at the big league level, but he has shown flashes of dominance. He is only 26-years old, and a change of scenery could do the young man some good. Since the Cardinals are lacking some pop in the middle of the infield, Bill Hall could be a nice fit for St. Louis.

Another interesting direction the Brewers may attempt to go is Derek Lowe from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers have been very slow out of the gate this season, and Lowe will be a free agent after this season. Milwaukee would certainly have to give up something else besides Hall to get the deal done, but it could be possible. Would adding Brad Nelson to the mix be enough to get Lowe to Milwaukee. It should be, but I suspect Melvin does not want to part with Nelson. Nashville’s offense is bleak enough. Perhaps a high-ceiling prospect like Caleb Gindl? Would that be enough? It might take another prospect to get the former All-Star to Milwaukee, but it would be a start.

I’ll leave you with one more possibility. The Brewers could talk to the Seattle Mariners about acquiring Jarrod Washburn. The veteran right-hander has a career 4.16 ERA, but he is underperforming at this juncture in the season. Seattle is thirsting for some offense, and Bill Hall could be a “change of scenery” type of player. The Brewers would be taking on a bulky contract, but Jarrod would be under the team’s control through the 2009 season. Doug Melvin does not like inheriting big contracts, so this move seems quite unlikely.

All of this speculation is off the top of my head, but the most likely route the Brewers will go is Anthony Reyes. He provides some upside without the big contract…something Doug Melvin likes a lot in a player. Melvin has said that he prefers not to trade within the division. He did, however, discuss multiple trades with St. Louis this off-season. Keep in mind that none of these moves will likely happen, as Doug Melvin is infinitely smarter than myself. This is just one man’s opinion.

Round ‘em Up: Wednesday

I’m feeling well today after the Brewers pulled out an exciting, yet also frustrating, game against the Atlanta Braves.  The Crew will face a lefty in Jo-Jo Reyes today, so Bill Hall will be in the lineup.  Perhaps he’ll play with that same emotion he played with, especially since he said he hasn’t lately.  Interesting comment…

• After Russell Branyan’s call-up on Monday, MLB Trade Rumors says that Bill Hall could be one of a handfull of third baseman that could be had near the trade deadline.  That would be an interesting move for the Brewers to make, and I believe they will seriously consider it if the Brewers continue to scuffle.

  Anyone else notice Dallas McPherson on that list.  He would be an interesting player to have in Triple-A.  He’s young, been hampered by injuries, but he can flat out hit.  Doug Melvin won’t make the move, as the Marlins are notorious for demanding an arm and a leg.  It would be an intriguing move though.

• Speaking of trades, Eli from MLB Rumors says that Prince Fielder will not be moved this summer.  I hope he doesn’t believe he’s relaying some groundbreaking news here.  The Brewers are not moving their superstar when they still have control of him for another three years.  They might consider it once his salary reaches the $10M range, but not now.

  Eli also says that the Brewers may entertain trade proposals for Ben Sheets near the deadline if the Brewers cannot return to their winning ways.  Really?  I just don’t understand why he feels this is enlightening.  People have been saying this since the season began.  Before that even.

• Eli is just Brewers central today.  He also says that the Brewers are still probably interested in Huston Street.  First of all, Milwaukee is in no position to be buyers right now.  Milwaukee is playing worse than Oakland.  That trade makes no sense.  Secondly, Salomon Torres has handled the closer’s role just fine, thank you very much.  The Brewers will not be trading prospects for Street (who has a history of arm troubles, by the way).  Eli has lost a lot of credibility to me right now.
• Brewerfan.net has a 2008 Draft Preview up.  You all should definitely check this out.  Get to know some of the faces that may be a part of the Brewers farm system in just a couple months.
• Dugout Central names Ned Yost as one of the five managers who are most likely to get fired.  Duh.
• Brewers Fanatics has a little prospect information up about Jeremy Jeffress.  If you want a little more in-depth look at Jeremy, here’s a Prospect Profile of him that I did when I first created this site.  The site has come a long way, no?
• SportsBubbler.com names RHP Omar Aguilar the Prospect of the Week.  I agree that his fly-ball tendencies are a cause for concern, but Ben Sheets also is a fly-ball pitcher.  Benny’s doing just fine.  If Omar can spot his slider, the fly-balls will not matter so much.
• Tennessean.com has an article about Derrick Turnbow and how he’s trying to find his stuff down in Nashville.  Do you want to know why Derrick cannot make it in the big leagues anymore?  Look at what he had to say:

  “I felt like I was always one more bad game away from getting sent down or released,” Turnbow said. “Pitching under that kind of pressure doesn’t lead to good things.”

  If you cannot pitch under pressure, Derrick, I do not want you coming into tight games.  I do not want to rely on you to get an out with runners on base if you cannot deal with pressure.  That comment from Derrick just makes me sick.

• John Sickels has a round-up of the Top 50 pitching prospects and how they are doing.  He says that Manny Parra has been struggling with his command, which is why he has posted a 5.00+ ERA.  John still likes him for the long-term though.  Me too, John.  Me too.
• Here’s an article from Charleston, WV about OF Eric Fryer.  Eric came to WV as a catcher, but has played strictly in the outfield thus far.  He’s done everything the team has asked him to do, and he’s produced along the way in 2008.  You have to like a guy that will play wherever the manager wants him to play and still produce.

Bag It, Bill

UPDATE: Some might find it a bit unfair to go after last night’s hero, but I had the whole post written before last night’s game.  I stick by my opinions in this column.

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I commented on Jim’s post yesterday about Bill Hall and his fury over being benched/ platooned in favor of Russell Branyon, but I thought that maybe I would weigh in with a full post on the subject. If you read my comment then some of this will be a repeat.

I stole my post title from a Sports Illustrated cover story from a number of years ago when Michael Jordan tried playing baseball for the Chicago White Sox. SI obviously thought that Jordan should stick to being one of the greatest basketball players ever and give up on a futile effort to becoming a two-sport star. The former Chicago Bull and later Washington Wizards guard took offense and never spoke to SI again. Hopefully, Billy will spare me some wrath.

Either way… bag it, Bill. Now, I certainly don’t believe that Hall needs to hang up his cleats, but anyone who has struggled like he has over the last two seasons has no right to complain that the Milwaukee Brewers, who by-the-way are trying to compete for a division title for the first time in 26 years, benched him in favor of a Major League veteran who was mashing the ball at AAA Nashville.

Jim ran the numbers yesterday, but they bear repeating: a .158 batting average against right-handed pitching and adding a .222 on base percentage against those same righties don’t improve Hall’s case at all. I saw a comment on another blog a few days ago when Russell Branyan was called up and it made a lot of sense. The commentator asked (and I’m paraphrasing here), “How can Hall be a major league player when he can’t hit right-handed pitchers? How many righties did he see in high school, college, and so-far in the majors? How come he hasn’t gotten this down yet? If you can’t hit righties, which make up like 90-95% of pitchers in the Majors… you’re toast.”

I checked and a MLB player will face a right-handed pitcher for nearly 70-80% of his at-bats so the commentator was close. Either way not being able to hit a righty (whether he faces one or one thousand of them) is bad news for Hall.

Enter Mr. Branyan. His numbers (0-5 against the Nationals Monday notwithstanding) in Nashville were phenomenal. He was batting .359 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI in 45 games for Nashville. He had 12 doubles, a .453 on-base percentage and a .693 slugging percentage. You don’t need me to say it, but I will anyways… those are good numbers. Better yet, Branyan is a left-handed bat and in a Brewers line-up flooded with righties this is a welcome addition.

I’m sympathetic to Bill Hall’s situation, but only up to a point. Having a break-out season in 2006 got Hall the big contract. Since then he was shuttled to center field where even as he improved throughout the season in the field his bat was lackluster and even though he was promised this was his last move Hall found himself back in the infield at third for the 2008 season. He has been a team player making the moves without too much complaining, but for as much money as he is getting paid I’ll sell hot dogs if it got me inside Miller Park.

Now Hall is supposed to share the third base duties with Branyan. As the J-S’s Tom Hardicourt reported, Hall is none-too-pleased. Yost was quoted as saying Hall is “very, very upset.” Without sounding harsh…. too bad Bill.

I think I’m on the same page (literally and figuratively) as Jim’s comments . I, too, have been a big fan of Halls and didn’t feel the organization was being all that respectful to him when they bounced him around over the last couple of year. If you want to be an everyday Major Leaguer there are couple of things that you need to do:

Step 1: Play where ever the coach tells you to. Don’t like it? He can find someone else to fill your spot.

Step 2: Play that position well. Hall, after starting the season solidly at the hot corner, has struggled a bit. Two errors in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game against the Nationals almost cost us the game and Hall has 11 on the season now.

Step 3: Hit. Batting .409 against south-paws is great. Batting .158 against righties is not. Hall needs to produce more consistently against all pitchers.

Using the super-scientific method outlined above I have determined that Bill Hall is not any everyday Major Leaguer… at least not right now.

Will Branyan turn out to be our guy at third base? Well, ten years in professional baseball is a good sign that they guy knows how to stick around, so for Yost, Melvin, and company it certainly is worth a shot.  With a young man like Matt Gamel also developing down the minors leagues (his hitting is great, his defense is something to be worked on) Hall is going to need to keep looking over his shoulder beyond this year.

As for Hall, he can be upset all he wants and make thinly veiled threats (“We’ll see what happens the next couple of days,” he said.) all he wants, but unless he starts producing (beyond one game’s worth of heroics) he only has himself to blame.

By: Dan Wiersema

P.S. Hall getting that fantastic flair last night and his (apparently) own-go at the third base steal were both team player and hero’s acts.  He is to be commended for that, but ultimately Hall has to produce is a variety of situations in order to remain relevant for the Brewers’ organization.

I, of course, will be rooting for him to return to 2006 form, but I’m a Brewers’ fan first and a Bill Hall fan second so when push comes to shove I know where I stand.

Brewers win one Hall of a game

Sorry…you’ll have to excuse the pun. Punning can be quite fun sometimes, but I digress.

After complaining about his demotion to a platoon role, Bill Hall gave fans a night to remember in Milwaukee. Billy came off the bench in the bottom of the ninth and delivered a clutch base hit to right. He got second base on a sacrifice bunt and had a beautiful steal of third to get in scoring position. Mike Cameron then hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which scored Billy for the winning run. Then, pandemonium in Milwaukee.

Now, I am not going to change my opinion about Bill Hall needing to be restricted to a platoon role, but tonight does prove that Billy can be quite a contributor to the team. I would love to see Bill return to his 2006 form. I would gladly be the first to admit that I was wrong and embrace Bill Hall for the player he has the potential to be. Potentiality and actuality are two different things, however.

I do not wish to dampen the joy from tonight’s win, but I do not believe Bill Hall proved he deserves to start everyday because of his heroics tonight. After all, Russell Branyan did a fine job tonight, going 1-3 with a walk. That’s a .500 OBP if you’re keeping track at home. I understand Bill is not happy, but if that anger gets channeled into Brewers wins, I’m all for it.

How about Dave Bush tonight! After struggling out of the gate and giving up two home runs in the first two innings, he pitches five straight scoreless frames to keep the Brewers in the game. The right-hander pounded the strike zone tonight, which is a very welcome sign. Milwaukee needs more outings like this from the former 12-game winner.

Struggling Brewers had a night against the Braves this evening. JJ Hardy was consistent all around and went 3-4. Perhaps the security of Jason Kendall behind him has a little something to do with that. Julian Tavarez may have not been a Brewer when he struggled this season, but he made his Milwaukee debut in a fine fashion tonight. He sat down the Braves in order in the eighth inning. Tavarez will need to put together a few more scoreless frames before I will believe he’s found his form, however.

Huge win for the Milwaukee Brewers tonight. A tip of the cap to you, Bill Hall. I may have bashed you in the past few days, but you deserve all the praise you have gotten after tonight’s game. Well done.

Records: Brewers (25-27); Braves (28-24)

Hero of the Game: Dave Bush

I had a sinking feeling in my gut after watching Dave give up two home runs in the first two innings. All signs pointed to the right-hander struggling through another outing and me pounding my fist in frustration all night. Instead of imploding after the second inning, however, Dave showed extreme maturity and resilience on the mound to pitch through the seventh without giving up anymore runs. With Braves starter Tim Hudson showing pretty good stuff tonight and frustrating the Brewers with runners in scoring position, Dave needed to keep the Braves off the board to keep Milwaukee in the game. He did that. Perhaps that’s the “bulldog mentality” Ned Yost keeps raving about. A tip of the cap to you too, Dave Bush. Well done tonight.

Goat of the Game: Jason Kendall

Jason went 0-4 tonight and left five Brewers on the basepaths. I thought he called a great game for Dave Bush and really helped him get through the game after giving up the two long balls early. It was just a rough night for Jason at the dish.

On Tap

RHP Jeff Suppan will take the mound against rookie LHP Jo-Jo Reyes. The Crew looks to secure the series win tomorrow night against the Braves starting at 7:05pm CT.

Recent news

Sorry for the lack of a Round ‘em Up this morning.  I wanted to give the interview with Jonathan Lucroy a little more face-time at the top of the blog.  There are a couple of important things that happened today though.

• The Milwaukee Brewers have officially signed RHP Julian Tavarez and activated him today.  The corresponding move was sending LHP Zach Jackson back down to Triple-A.  It only leaves the Brewers with one lefty in the bullpen, but Zach hasn’t been overly successful as a “left-handed specialist.”  Lefties hit .229 against him in the minors, which is not awe-inspiring.  It’s not terrible by any means, but it is certainly not anywhere near Brian Shouse’s .147 opponent batting average against lefties.  Plus, that .229 BA is in the minors.  Major league hitters are presumably a little better than minor league hitters.

  A lot of Brewers fans are up in arms about the Tavarez signing.  I don’t quite understand the displeasure.  It is the type of low-risk, high-reward move that Doug Melvin needs to make.  The organization cannot warrant dishing out cash to better pitchers unless the team proves it can be competitive.  The Brewers will only be paying Tavarez $390,000, which is the pro-rated minimum.  Julian is a ground ball pitcher who could find success with a little change of scenery.  It’s not like the Brewers are paying him $10M (ahem, Gagne).

• Tom Haudricourt is reporting that Bill Hall is very upset with the situation at third base.  That is, he feels he should be an everyday player, and Russell Branyan should have not been called up.  In fact, Billy is downright livid about this situation.

  Again, I just do not understand.  How does Bill Hall justify his claim that he should be playing everyday?  Is it his blistering .158 BA against right-handing pitching?  How about his .222 OBP against righties?  I just don’t get it.  Ned Yost and Doug Melvin are not there to be friends with the players.  They are there to get the most production out of their players.  In this case, it involves platooning Bill Hall with Russell Branyan.  On that note, don’t judge Branyan on his 0-5 performance yesterday.  It was just one game.  The previous game he performed very well.

  You have to play better before you can start making demands, Bill.  I’m truly sorry the Brewers have bounced you around from position-to-position in the past few years, but you’ve been given the chance to succeed in the infield this season.  You are where you want to be, and you still cannot produce.  I’ve rooted for you for so long, and I feel like I deserve some sort of gift in return.  Would a .240 BA against righties be that difficult?  If it is, I don’t feel Ned Yost should continue to throw you out there at the hot corner.  At some point, you have to produce.

  Oh, and to anyone wondering, Bill Hall is a perfect example of why small market teams do not throw out long-term contracts.  The Brewers rewarded him after a productive season in 2006, but he has not returned the favor.  Now the Brewers are stuck paying a platoon-caliber player $4.8M this season, $6.8M in 2009, and $8.4M in 2010.  The Brewers will likely look to unload his contract soon.

Round ‘em Up: Sunday

Writing the Round ‘em Up in the morning is a lot more pleasant after a win. The Brewers sites are a lot more pleasant to read, and I don’t have to relive the loss thirty times each morning. Not too much has been written on the Brewers this morning, however. That’s probably due to the people that are wasting gas and traveling this weekend.

• This post made my entire night last night. Russell Branyan has been called up from Nashville and will start tonight against the right-handed Tim Redding. To make room for the veteran, Tony Gwynn Jr. got sent down to Triple-A. The young man needs to play every day.Russell is not going to come into Milwaukee and hit .400 against righties, but I can almost guarantee you that he’ll succeed more than Bill Hall against right-handed pitching. It’s nice to see Doug Melvin taking steps towards improving the team. You can only say “it’s early” for so long before time comes to adjust the lineup. I am happy this morning.
• Tom Haudricourt says that Derrick Turnbow is not going anywhere, despite his downright awful numbers in Triple-A. It’s to the point that I don’t really care now. Jeff Weaver, however, has the option to be released from his contract in a couple weeks if he does not make the big league squad. If he continues pitching the way he has, Jeff may be searching for another team soon.
• After spouting off about the Brewers yesterday, The Brew Town Beat is markedly happier today. Seth McClung has infused them with a bit of hope as well. Russell Branyan is another reason to put a smile on your face this morning, Brewers fans. The article also mentions that Carlos Villanueva should get an opportunity in the closer’s role. Disagree. Carlos does not have the stuff to be a closer. His change-up is not good enough right now to be the Trever Hoffman-type closer. And I completely disagree with the comment on Salomon Torres struggling. If Bill Hall wouldn’t have forced him to get five outs last night, he wouldn’t have had to throw many pitches. In fact, Torres almost got two saves in one night…
• Dugout Central mentions that the Milwaukee Brewers have had eight straight seasons with a losing record on the road. In past years, the Brewers were under .500 on the road because they were a bad team. Now, I blame Ned Yost. If you cannot get your players energized to play for you on the road, you are not doing your job as manager.
• As mentioned yesterday, RHP Donovan Hand was promoted to Huntsville yesterday after dominating high Class-A ball with Brevard County. Here’s a nice article on Donovan.  He credits his fine pitching this year to his hard-breaking slider he worked on this off-season. Before 2008, Donovan got by with a fastball and a change-up. He needed that third pitch.It’s crazy to think that Donovan has been promoted three times already in his minor league career, and he was only drafted in June. He was still pitching in college at this point last season. Impressive.

Post of the Day:

After talking about Mat Gamel and his defensive improvements at third base, The Huntsville Times wrote a very, very nice article about Gamel. You cannot help but like the guy after reading this article. He’s taking his defensive trouble’s personally. He wants to prove everyone wrong about his defensive capabilities. His coaches say that his throws have gotten much more consistent this year, but he has still made 11 errors this season. It’s not great, but it’s a step in the right direction.

The other aspect of the article I very much enjoyed was Gamel’s humility. He didn’t tell his girlfriend he was a star prospect in the Brewers system until after she came home to meet his parents. He didn’t tell anyone about being considered for a call up to the big leagues to play DH against Boston. The third baseman is too concerned with becoming a complete baseball player. That starts on the defensive end.

Great article.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

Yesterday, BrewersNation reader Aaron asked about Mat Gamel and his defense.  Mat is raking in Huntsville (see the boxscores below), but his defense is holding him back from the big leagues.  Last season, the third baseman put up 56 errors.  That’s a lot of errors.  Anyway, I got in contact with Brett Pollock, who is the play-by-play announcer for the Huntsville Stars.  He and I are currently working on an interview that will probably be up on Monday, but here’s a little bit on Gamel’s defense.

BrewersNation: Some of my readers are wondering how Mat Gamel’s defense has been progressing in Huntsville?  We know he can mash the ball, but how’s the defense coming?

Brett Pollock: Gamel has played real well at third base, better than most of us thought he would based on his error total from last season. The only real bad game he has had was in late April against Jacksonville when he made three errors.

He has made numerous outstanding plays going to his right on the backhand and has displayed a strong arm in those situations.  He still gets himself tangled up at times with footwork and could be a little more consistent going to his left but for the most part he has played well.

By comparison, he is ahead of Braun since he has always played the position, and has the ability and the makeup and desire to turn himself into a good defender.  He will not not make because he didn’t work hard enough..he realizes he has a good teacher in Don Money and is using him as a resource to make himself a better player at the position.

Stay tuned for the rest of the interview in the coming days.  Now…on to the Round ‘em Up.  It’s going to be short and without commentary, unfortunately.  I apologize.

• SI.com writes an article that says Ned Yost is the man that Brewers fans love to hate.
• FOX Sports’ Dayn Perry says that Ned Yost is not the manager that can bring Milwaukee to the next level and that he should go.
• Eli from MLB Rumors has Yost as the second most likely manager to get fired.
• Brew Crew Ball takes a look at the problems at third base for the Brewers.  Obviously, Bill Hall needs to be sat against right handers.  As of now, that would put Craig Counsell in against righties.  Not ideal.
• David Riske is still feeling discomfort in his elbow.  Like I said, this injury is a lot more serious than the team is pretending it is.
• Between the Green Pillars lists some of the pitchers the Brewers can go after in the off-season.  How the Brewers have a chance at Rich Harden or AJ Burnett, I have no idea.  I have a feeling that the Yankees are going to offer a lot of money to Burnett.
• Doug Melvin says that the Brewers are still interested in Julian Tavarez.  I thought the Brewers were going to try Tavarez in the rotation, but Melvin says that he could help the bullpen.  That’s not so bad.  I could get behind that….maybe.
• Brew Crew Ball thinks that Jason Kendall is struggling a bit at the plate because he is catching too much.  I disagree.
• Right Field Bleachers writes an open letter asking for the Brewers to sign Ben Sheets after the season.  If Brewers think that Sheets will take a “hometown discount,” they will be surprised come November.
• The Brew Town Beat throws a little hissy fit about the Brewers.  I agree with some of it, but they are overreacting on some of the points.

Minor League Transactions

Jason Shiell got called up to Nashville from Huntsville to help out the pen since Dillard, DiFelice, and Jackson left.

The big right-hander, Donovan Hand, got the call to transfer to Huntsville from Brevard County.  Congrats Donovan.  You definitely pitched your way up the ladder.  You deserve a shot.

Bush Gets Bashed, Pirates Avoid Sweep

Having secured the first road-series win against the Pirates since 2006 the brooms were out, but another rough outing by Dave Bush left the home team Bucs off the hook.  The embattled starter, switching spots with Jeff Suppan in the rotation, gave up six runs between the fourth and fifth innings to blow open a close game.  Final score: Pirates 8, Brewers 4.

Stranding runners was a huge problem for the Crew last night again as they left 14 runners on base.  Cory Hart had a solo shot in the fourth inning to give the Brewers a 1-0, but the lead was short lived as a flawless Bush imploded.

Pirates pitcher Tom Gorzelanny had a high pitch count early in the game, but the Brewers continued to get him out of jams as they couldn’t capitalize.

Bush had back-to-back massive collapses in the fourth and fifth innings, surrendering a two-run shot to Jason Bay and five total hits for four runs.  The fifth was just as bad at the hot-hitting Nate McLouth got his third hit of the evening (4-for-4 for the night), a throwing error by Prince Fielder, and a Xavier Nady solo homer scored runs for the Bucs.

The Brewers comeback came short as Gabe Kapler scored Bill Hall on a RBI pinch-hit single in the sixth and Joe Dillon also scored JJ Hardy on a pitch-hit RBI single in the seventh. Rickie Weeks hit another homer to save face for the Brewers in the eight.  More stranded runners in both theses innings were bad news for the Brew Crew.

The game was pushed out of reach by a seventh in two run tally by the Pirates against Brewer’s reliever Zach Johnson whose bad seventh was softened by a 1-2-3 eighth.

Records: Brewers (22-25), Pirates (22-25)

Hero of the Game: Dave Bush, Innings 1 through 3

Bush was lights out for the first three innings giving up only one hit and retiring eight straight after giving up that hit.  The defense backed him up solidly, too.  Bush sprayed a variety of ground outs and flyouts to his teammates providing effective cover for a struggling offense in the final game of the series. Like a abused wife in a Lifetime Channel movie I was thinking this time would be different, but…

Goat of the Game:  Dave Bush, Innings 4 and 5

He just never fails to disappoint.  Just when all was well in the world, Bush drops a bomb on us.  These two innings were a disaster.  Whatever Bush has early in games he certainly throws it all away later in games.  The pitches that were outs innings 1 through 3 were dropping for hits all over the field.  I can’t say right now, but Villanueva versus Bush is like choosing between the lesser of two evils because Bush has now given up 10 homers compared to V-Dub’s 12.

On Tap:  Jeff Suppan (2-3) opens the series against the Washington National’s Odalis Perez (1-4) in DC.  The Brewers hope to win the road series against the struggling Nats in order to save face on this troublesome road trip and start next week’s home stand on the right foot (ha! stand! foot! hilarious!).  First pitch: 6:05pm.

By: Dan Wiersema

Bats continue to tease in Brewers win

UPDATE 05-20-08 11:55pm - I didn’t report on Eric Gagne leaving the game with the trainer, as no one seems to be worried about it.  More information is in, however.

Gagne is complaining of “stiffness” in his shoulder.  It is not pain.  It is not tightness.  It is stiffness, I guess.  I’m not sure if this is a cop-out on his part, or there is really something wrong.  I will know more tomorrow, and I, of course, will pass it your way.

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After pounding out 14 hits and scoring 7 runs, the Milwaukee Brewers look to be on the verge of breaking out of its offensive slump. This is one of the few games where multiple hitters put together good games. Let me show you:

Weeks – 2-4
Cameron – 3-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, BB
Braun – 2-5, RBI
Hart – 2-5, HR (3), RBI
Hardy – 2-4, BB
Hall – 2-3, 2B, RBI
Kendal – 1-4, RBI

Prince Fielder is the only Brewer to not record a hit today.

The most encouraging aspect of tonight’s game had to be the work of Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron at the top of the order. When they are getting on base with consistency, the offense is completely different. Pitchers have to pitch Ryan Braun and Fielder differently. The middle of the lineup is like a firecracker waiting to go off and scatter hits in twenty different directions.

I’m not ready to declare the offense back on track tonight. Notice the “tease” in the title. The Crew needs to do a little more than string two games of solid offense together first. The offense has to put hits together on someone other than a left-handed pitcher who had a 5.02 ERA last season. They need to not squander runs on the basepaths. I realize I am being a little harsh and nitpicky, but I can definitely see the team reverting back to its sluggish ways tomorrow.

With that said, Bill Hall and JJ Hardy are looking better. Billy is shooting the ball up the middle (granted it was against a lefty) and drawing walks. Hardy is driving the ball a little more. It is certainly nice to see Corey Hart get the power back in his bat. He has hit two home runs in the past three games, and the opposite field power he flashed today proves he’s seeing the ball better.

Anyway, enough about the offense. I just haven’t had the opportunity to write good things about that subject lately. On to the pitching. Manny Parra pitched decently today. He almost got a quality start again for the Crew, but his pitch-count was far too high early in the game. The lefty only had one walk in his five and two-thirds innings, but he did not pound the strike zone. Again, that is simply getting picky in a well-pitched game by Manny.

Seth McClung, who will be in the starting rotation starting Saturday, relieved Manny and got out of a two-on, two-out jam. He then quickly dispatched of the Pirates in the seventh, sitting them down one-two-three. I’m not totally convinced Seth can flourish as a starter, but I am willing to give him a try. It is intriguing at least. He will need to develop a third pitch more consistently if he is going to succeed in the second or third time in the order. The announcers are claiming he’s working on a change-up, but that is still up in the air.

The success of Eric Gagne, on the other hand, is not up in the air. The closer came into the game in the ninth inning to get some work and looked utterly awful. The control was not there, he gave up a home run to Jason Bay, and he made another pitcher work in a blowout. I will not get too upset, as I am busy enjoying this win, but I am clearly not happy about it.

Records: Brewers (21-24); Pirates (21-24)

Hero of the Game: Corey Hart

As Dan pointed out today, Corey has been the most consistent Brewer in the lineup this season. People have been concerned with his lack of power, but his power stroke has been heating up the past few days. He socked another homer this evening, taking former Brewers-prospect Marino Salas to right with authority. Corey went 2-5 and is batting .303. Solid, solid, solid.

I considered Mike Cameron for the hero, but his baserunning gaffs were too much to overcome. You cannot get doubled off on a line drive to the right fielder. The caught stealing was not his fault, but it certainly killed the momentum the Brewers had in the fifth inning. Still, the Brewers would obviously benefit greatly if Cam got the stick working.

Goat of the Game: Eric Gagne

Really Eric? You felt it necessary to come in during the ninth inning and try to ruin the happiness that ran through me during the game? That is just cruel. He fell behind hitters. His fastball lacked the pop we have seen in the past couple weeks. It could just be because he has not pitched in a while. Either way, I am annoyed.

On Tap

Ben Sheets will face Ian Snell as the Brewers attempt to clinch the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road. The contest will start at 6:05pm CT. It should be a good one if you like pitching.

Branyan still not in Milwaukee

Tom Haudricourt asked Ned Yost why the Brewers had not called up Russell Branyan yet.

His first answer makes a lot of sense.  Russell does not have any options left, so he would have to clear waivers if the Brewers tried to send him down to Triple-A again.  I agree with the reasoning there, except there is no reason to believe that Russell wouldn’t produce in a Brewers uniform.  That .368 average is a big cause for concern…

Then Ned proceeded to say that Russell is a left-handed Bill Hall.  This is where Ned lost me.  I understand that both strike out a lot (Hall has 44 Ks to Branyan’s 40 K), but that is only one comparable.  Branyan is outproducing Bill on every level, especially those important things like walks, average, and on-base percentage.  It’s a big difference too.  In fact, Russell’s .449 OBP is 150+ points higher than Hall’s .272 OBP.

I’m not saying that Branyan should take over Hall’s job at the hot corner.  I do believe, however, that a platoon should be implemented.  Billy’s .161 average against righties almost makes me want to cry.  Ned wants to have confidence in his players, but this is just stubbornness on his part.  He says that one player cannot turn an entire offense around.  True.  One player can make one position less than inept offensively though.

Ned is essentially saying that third base sucks right now, but so does short, second, and center.  Since they all are doing bad, there is no point in changing things at third base because it won’t change the other positions.  That’s just dumb.  A manager should take any opportunity to improve any position on the field that he can.  Not making the change because it won’t jumpstart the rest of the offense is just stubbornness…or stupidity.  I haven’t decided yet.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

The Brewers interleague opener against the Boston Red Sox got postponed due to rain last night.  The teams will play two today, with the first game starting at 2:55pm CT on FOX.

• Tom Haudricourt has a breakdown of the contract Ryan Braun signed a couple days ago.  It looks a little something like this:
  2008: $455,000 plus $2.3 million signing bonus
  2009: $745,000
  2010: $1 million
  2011: $4 million
  2012: $6 million
  2013: $8.5 million
  2014: $10 million
  2015: $12 million

  If Braun becomes eligible for salary arbitration after 2009 as a “Super 2″ player, these salaries change:

  2010: $3.5 million
  2011: $5.5 million
  2012: $7.5 million
  2013: $9 million

  That doesn’t look too shabby, does it?  It is an extremely team-friendly deal, a type of deal you can only work out if a player is not near arbitration-eligibility (see Prince Fielder).  MLB Trade Rumors loves the deal for the Milwaukee Brewers and says that Braun will be extremely inexpensive in his prime compared to what the market-value would be.  Nice work Doug Melvin.

• The Brewers reacquired 2B Callix Crabbe from the San Diego Padres yesterday.  The Padres did not keep Callix on the big league roster after he struggled to start the season.  That left San Diego with the choices of sending Crabbe back to Milwaukee or working out some type of trade.  Obviously, the Padres chose the latter.  Callix will greatly help the infield depth in Triple-A.
• How many people have been complaining about Rickie Weeks this season?  I have been less than pleased, but I am certainly not calling for his head at second.  Today, Ned Yost declared that Rickie will not be moved from the lead-off spot in the order just because fans are displeased.  I applaud that decision…not so much because Ned is sticking up for his player, but because the team has no one to replace him at the lead-off spot.
• SportsBubbler has a series preview for the Brewers-Red Sox series that will take place in the next two days.  I hope the Brewers can come out and impress on the big stage this weekend.
• The Florida Today has a nice article on the return of Jeremy Jeffress to the mound in Brevard County.  I predicted before his return that he would struggle with his command because he would be so amped up, and it proved to be true.  He walked four batters in two and two thirds innings, but Jeremy did strike out five batters as well.  I liked the fact that Jeremy admits going to the rehab clinic was good for him.  Don’t be ashamed, young man.  Get your life together and pitch like you know how.  You have a special arm.
• Between the Green Pillars takes a look at “the one that got away” during the off-season.  That is, what if the Brewers signed Troy Percival instead of Eric Gagne?  Throughout the winter, I truly hoped the Brewers would win out in the Percival sweepstakes, but it was not meant to be.  Hindsight is 20/20 though, so I do not criticize Doug Melvin for either of the moves.
• The Brew Town Beat is calling for something that we here at BrewersNation have been screaming about for about a week and a half now.  Call Russell Branyan up already!!!  Last night, Russell clobbered three home runs for the Sounds and knocked in 6 RBI.  With Bill Hall scuffling against righties, the move makes a lot of sense right now.
• Minor League Ball has John Sickels’ draft rankings up for the 2008 draft.  Most of you reading this most likely have no idea who any of these pitchers are, but it is still interesting to look at.  The blog In-Between Hops has a post that says Baseball America predicts the Milwaukee Brewers to take RHP Joshua Fields, as he will not need much polishing in the minors before making an impact in the Brewers bullpen.  I think the Brewers will take either Fields or LHP Christian Friedrich.  We’ll have to see though.
• Baseball Musings takes a look at the run differential between the AL and the NL once the DH comes into play.  The AL has a significant advantage when the pitcher does not have to bat.  David Pinto believes this is because the benches in the NL are weaker.  I disagree.  The NL does not have to worry about signing a DH-type player.  A team would rather spend money on a reliever or starter than drop a couple million on someone who cannot field.  What good would a player like Jim Thome or Frank Thomas be in Milwaukee?  Pretty useless.
• Cardinals former closer, Jason Isringhausen, is now on the DL because of a lacerated hand after punching a TV earlier in the week.  Probably not a good idea, Jason…

Two more for Braun in Brewers win

Ryan Braun told anyone who would listen in Houston that he was on the verge of getting on a major hot streak.  He sounded like a player who hoped to get on a hot streak more than anything.

It turns out that Ryan did not lie.  Braun hit two more solo home runs today off of Cardinals starter, Adam Wainwright.  Both were shots to left field, and he set the pace for a balanced Brewers offensive attack.  How often have I gotten to type that this season?  Not very…

The Crew got its third straight quality start, as right-hander Dave Bush went six strong innings.  The struggling Bush got his first win of the season, only giving up one run and striking out one.  In the first inning, it was clear that Bushie had his good stuff.  Normally hitting 87-88mph on the gun, Dave came out firing fastballs in the 90-92mph range.  He gave up a home run to Rick Ankiel on a hanging curveball in the top of the first inning, but Bush shut the Cards down after that.

I was slightly surprised to see Dave pulled after only six innings.  His pitch count was at a manageable 92 pitches.  Ned Yost must have wanted Bush to feel good about his outing, so he pulled him before anything bad could have happened.  That, and Ned saw a prime opportunity to get Eric Gagne some work in a pressure-free situation.

Eric did get in two innings of work, but it did not go as well as planned.  His command still alluded him with his fastball and change-up…basically all his pitches.  He induced a double play to get out of the seventh unscathed, but he gave up a run in the eighth after Skip Schumaker laced a single to right that scored Cesar Izturis.  Eric may need a little more work than previously thought before regaining the closer role.

Mitch Stetter entered the game in the ninth inning and made it interesting.  Mitch walked four out of the six batters he faced, and he left the contest with the bases loaded.  Ned Yost then called upon Guillermo Mota to finish off the game.  It worked out, as Guillermo struck out Ankiel to end the game.

The Brewers broke it open in the third inning.  Corey Hart delivered a two-RBI single with two outs, and two more scored when Bill Hall reached on an error.  Billy later homered off Wainwright for his eighth long ball of the season.

Records: Brewers (19-19); Cardinals (23-17)

Hero of the Game: Ryan Braun

What can you say about a player that had back-to-back multiple home run games?  He’s obviously found a comfort zone at the plate.  Ryan even took a walk in the game.  That is only his seventh free pass of the season.  All Brewers fans would like to see that number climb, especially in front of Prince Fielder.  Ryan finished the day two for three, even though he looked to be safe on his final at-bat.  His batting average is now .288.  Last year’s Rookie of the Year has finally found his stroke at the plate.  It is fun to watch him hit the ball when he’s on a tear like this.

Goat of the Game: Prince Fielder

You will not see this name here very often this year.  Prince had a game to forget this evening.  He struck out with the bases loaded in the third inning.  That could have potentially killed the Crew, but Corey Hart picked up his teammate with that two-out single to score two runs.  Prince looks utterly lost at the plate right now.  He’s trying to hit a home run on every pitch, and he’s trying to pull every ball he sees.  The big guy needs to slow down a bit at the plate and take a couple pitches the other way.  Home runs will come in bunches for Prince.  The Brewers simply need a few base hits from him now.

On Tap

Carlos Villanueva and the Milwaukee Brewers will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to Miller Park tomorrow.  Villy will look to give the Crew its fourth straight quality start.  He will take on the hard-throwing Brad Penny in Game 1 at 7:05pm CT.

Changes needed in Milwaukee

I am not one for knee-jerk reactions. Everyone says that when they are about to call for a change in the ranks on the team, but you have to realize that I have defended everyone on the Brewers for the past month plus. Today’s loss finally broke me, however. Things need to change. Let me outline them for you:

• Eric Gagne needs to be replaced. He has proven that he does not have what it takes to be the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers. This afternoon, Gagne showed me that he cannot pitch in important situations with effectiveness.

  It all comes down to the first pitch for Eric. If he throws a strike to the batter, he will get them out more often than not. It’s that simple. If the first pitch is a strike, the opposing hitter has an average of .161 with 11 strikeouts. Gagne has not walked a batter this season after getting ahead 0-1 in the count.

  How about if the pitch is a ball? The opponent’s batting average jumps to .417. Gagne has walked 10 batters after falling behind 1-0 in the count. He has struck out 6 batters as well, but the sharp contrast between the levels of success is astounding. One would think Eric could adjust fairly easily, even after throwing one ball, but apparently not. His command has been spotty all season. It is time for Eric to find his groove elsewhere in the bullpen. There are pitchers who can get the job done.

  Who do I mean? Try Guillermo Mota. The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets essentially swapped contracts in the off-season when the Johnny Estrada trade was made. Mota faced a lot of opposition before he even threw a pitch in a Brewers uniform.

  A simple change in his mechanics appears to have changed his success. He now stands much taller on the mound to get a much more downward plane to the plate.It has done wonders for Guillermo. He has a 2.40 ERA with 18 strikeouts. The 10 walks leave much to be desired, but the damage has not been too severe. Mota has not given up run in the past six innings he has pitched, and opposing hitters have managed to hit a measly .241 against him for the year. Even more impressively, Guillermo has yet to give up a run on the road. He has pitched 8 scoreless innings away from Miller Park.

  It is clearly time to move Eric from the closer’s role. Guillermo Mota has proven that he deserves a shot. I am not claiming that he will get 25 saves this season, but I believe he has a better chance to succeed in the role.

• After being shuffled around from position-to-position in the past few years, Bill Hall has found a home defensively at third base. The switch has been amazingly smooth for the former infielder, and he has shown a penchant for making the spectacular play. I have been pleasantly surprised with the switch for Billy.

  Offensively, however, Bill has had his ups and downs. His power stroke, which was notably absent last season, has returned. Through May 10, he already has 7 home runs and 19 RBI. Some have attributed this success to his contact lenses. Some have wondered whether or not Billy has more energy to hit since he’s not running all over the place in center. Whatever the reason, Bill has become a power threat for the Brewers once again.

  The problem is that his average is pitiful. After struggling again today, Bill is now hitting .206 on the 2008 season, with an astounding 37 strikeouts. That is a lot of strike outs. Left-handed pitchers have not been the issue. Billy is mashing lefties, to the tune of a .333 batting average.

  Righties are a different story. The power-hitting third baseman has only managed to hit .163 against right-handers. He has struck out 30 times against righties, while only whiffing 7 times against southpaws. Bill Hall has also shown Brewers fans that he is not productive against right-handed pitching. It may not be a popular move, but a platoon could be extremely beneficial for the Brewers offense.

  Enter Russell Branyan. Russell is mashing pitchers in Triple-A Nashville. He has matched Hall’s 7 home runs thus far and has plated 23 runners. The power is clearly there. The important thing is that Russell would need to be able to hit righties to make the platoon beneficial.

  Trust me, Russell Branyan has noooo problems hitting right-handed pitching. In the 2008 season, the veteran has hit .405/.479/.750 against righties, and all seven home runs have come against them. These numbers have come after 84 at-bats, so the sample size is large enough to prove convincing. I am sure that Branyan is not as good defensively as is Billy, but those gaudy numbers outweigh the defensive difficulties (which are not all that great). The offense needs a boost right now, and it is foolish to not reward Russell for mashing in the minors. That is what Doug Melvin brought him in for, after all. A Hall/Branyan platoon could be a huge spark for a struggling offense.

• As much as I do not want to endorse a managerial change mid-season, The Ned Yost Experiment has run its course. Ned no longer has the excuse that he is still learning on the job. Brewers teams under his tutelage have notoriously collapsed, or at lease swooned, after the All-Star break. That would spell disaster for this Brewers team after its slow start.

  Ned has traditionally handled the bullpen very poorly as well. I am not naive enough to blame Eric Gagne’s struggles on the skipper, but it is something to be concerned about. He has also managed the pitch counts of starting pitchers poorly, which has been well-chronicled during the off-season. I do not feel the 2008 Brewers can afford to wait until July or August to realize that Ned is doing the same thing again. I would give Ned another week or so to turn things around. If he cannot, a change may be in order. Perhaps Ted Simmons can light a fire under this team. Someone has to do it.

These changes could help the Brewers get back to their winning ways, and it could help them immediately. None of these would create a championship-caliber team instantly. I admit that. The starting rotation still has issues. Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva need to step up. Jeff Suppan must be the innings-eater that the Brewers are paying him to be. Hopefully Dave Bush will be able to find his command consistently. Brewers starters need to fix their problems in the fifth inning!

All in all, Gagne must go, Russell Branyan should get a call-up to platoon with Bill Hall, and Ned Yost should have a very short leash. The 2008 Milwaukee Brewers have serious issues that need to be addressed. The “It’s still early” excuse is no longer relevant. Doug Melvin needs to make some moves to help the team succeed. That is what he is paid for, after all.

Brewing up another road loss

The Brewers treated fans to a standard game this season.  The offense scuffles, and Dave Bush implodes in the sixth inning for a Milwaukee loss.

Dave rejoined the rotation today, and he gave us a “Dave Bush special” against the Fish.  The offense showed signs of life in the top of the sixth inning.  Rickie Weeks clobbered a 430ft+ home run to climb back to a one-run deficit.  The hitting continued with Mike Cameron socking an opposite field single to follow.  The Crew was unable to scrape together another run in the top of the sixth, but the offense began to awaken.

Bush then trots out onto the mound to keep the deficit at one.  The momentum had clearly swung into Milwaukee’s favor.  Dave simply needed to maintain that momentum by getting out of the inning unscathed.  Instead, the right-hander gives up a two-run bomb to Jorge Cantu and a solo shot to Dan Uggla.  I’m glad Dave Bush knows what maintaining momentum means for the team.

The offense was unable to muster up another run in the remainder of the game.  I am not implying that Dave Bush was the cause of our inept offensive attack tonight, but he certainly deflated the team in the bottom of the sixth when he increased Florida’s lead to four runs.

Also during the sixth inning, Bill Hall stepped up to the plate with a 3-2 count, two outs, and two men on base.  He battled nicely to get the count full after falling behind.  I felt a big hit was coming for the Crew.  Bill simply needed to get on base.  Someone forgot to tell Bill that.  Instead of taking ball four, which was a fastball in the dirt, Hall swung for the fences and stranded two runners.  Ryan Braun also swung out of his shoes during the sixth with two strikes against him.  Apparently, the whole “shorten up with two strikes” comment did not apply in this situation.

Yes, the offense is struggling.  Players are pressing.  They are trying to break out of the slump with one big swing.  Hall, Braun, and Prince Fielder are all trying to hit a home run with every swing.  They are not trying to take it to the opposite field.  Hall’s head is coming off the ball before the bat is even through the strike zone.  In short, the offense needs to settle down and pound out a few singles before the big flies come. 

Records:  Brewers (16-17); Marlins (19-14)

Hero of the Game:  Rickie Weeks

This is not because Rickie hit an absolute bomb in the top of the sixth inning.  He’s done that four other times this season.  What Rickie has not done consistently this season is stay back on the ball and deliver it to center field with power.  That changed today.  Rickie smoked a line drive to center field today.  It looked to be a double until Alfredo Amezaga made the second of his two great catches in the outfield.  Weeks appeared to be much more comfortable at the plate this evening than he has in a long time.  Perhaps this is a sign that he is about to break out of his slump?  See…I’m still trying to be optimistic…

Goat of the Game:  Dave Bush

Read my little rant above to find out.  Hint: the bottom of the sixth inning.

On Tap

Carlos Villanueva will try to get the Brewers off this five game losing streak tomorrow in the series finale against the Fish.  The Brewers will go up against Mark Hendrickson.  I just want a win.  Please….

Home runs bury Brewers

Games like this are difficult to deal with. Everything looked great going into the fifth inning. Carlos Villanueva threw the ball beautifully to start the game, mixing speeds and striking out Astro batters. The Crew hitters jumped on Roy Oswalt early to take a 4-0 lead. I was incredibly happy at that point.

Even after the fifth inning, everything looked to be okay. Carlos did not allow a base-runner for 3 2/3 innings, but Hunter Pence ended Carlos’ shutout with a two-run bomb in the bottom of the fifth. The Crew entered the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead.

Then the proverbial sh…stuff hit the fan. Villanueva gave up back-to-back-to-back shots to Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, and Carlos Lee. Hunter Pence added his second home run of the game later in the 8th inning off David Riske. That’s a lot of home runs in the second half of the game. It’s tough to handle.

There is some good news in the carnage, however. The big boppers, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, look to be getting hot at the plate. Braun hit a two-run homer in the first inning. You know Ryan is starting to feel it at the dish when he begins to take pitches to the opposite field with power. He’s a special hitter like that. Prince went 3-4 with a double off Oswalt. Prince is also starting to take outside pitches to the opposite field. I know the Brewers lost today, but the offense appears to be getting on track.

More evidence for that comes from Corey Hart and Bill Hall. Between the two of them, they had five walks. If Corey and Bill can get on base with regularity like this, the team will naturally score more runs.  That is, they will score more runs in that situation if J.J. Hardy can actually knock in some runs with any consistency.  I do not mean to single him out, but this has been a little ridiculous lately.  He needs to take the ball to the opposite field more.  He needs to drive the ball more.  It’s easier said than done though.

Records: Brewers (16-13); Astros (14-16)

Hero of the Game: Ryan Braun

Ryan continues to heat up at the plate, as he has raised his average up to .283 in the past week or so.  I said it before, but he is starting to drive the ball to all fields.  Pitchers cannot pitch around Braun when he gets this hot because Prince Fielder is still behind him.  Braun is returning to his Rookie of the Year form, and the Brewers need that on this road trip.  The Crew needs to hit a little better with a runners in scoring position.  By a little better, I mean a lot better.

Goat of the Game: Carlos Villanueva

Carlos was throwing the ball well early in the game, but it did not last.  He gave up the lead on back-to-back-to-back jacks.  That classifies as a Goat of the Game if I have ever seen it.  Carlos has thrown the ball well in the past couple starts before this, so I would tend to think that his breakdown is an aberration rather than the rule.  His fastball-changeup combination begins to get less effective as the game wears on, but it should not lead to that many home runs.  He simply let the ball get up in the zone.  Carlos will bounce back.  He proved that last season.

On Tap

Manny Parra will battle Brandon Backe in Game 2 of the series tomorrow night at 6:05pm CT.  Manny needs to step it up tomorrow.  The Crew needs a win.