Round ‘em Up: Saturday

Thank goodness the Crew came back with a nice win yesterday.  Milwaukee could not afford a hangover after the horrendous collapse on Thursday.  Dave Bush looks to build a little winning streak tonight against Paul Maholm and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

• Tom Haudricourt says that the Brewers are still actively pursuing C.C. Sabathia.  The latest rumor is that Doug Melvin is offering Matt LaPorta/Taylor Green/Lorenzo Cain as a package to try to get last year’s AL Cy Young award winner to Milwaukee by Tuesday.  This is quite a bit to be giving up for a 2 or 3 month rental, but it could very well push the Brewers over the top.
• The Brew Town Beat fully expects Sabathia to be in Milwaukee by Tuesday.  I’m not totally sure that will happen, but Doug Melvin could perhaps get it done if he so chooses.  Brew Town also says that Melvin should also trade for Brian Fuentes.  I do agree that the bullpen needs another quality arm, but it needs to be one that can be controlled past the 2008 season.  That is not Fuentes.  Besides, Fuentes has not been pitching well at all the past couple weeks.  I’ve read that scouts have not seen an “out pitch” from Fuentes lately.  None of his pitches are moving much.  That is not who I want to trade a valuable prospect for this season.
• Between the Green Pillars says that Ned Yost managed scared yesterday afternoon.  Because he used Carlos Villanueva for 3.1 innings, which makes him unavailable for the next three or four days.  The article argues that Yost should have used a different pitcher in the eighth and ninth, but he was too scared to do so because of Thursday’s collapse.  I do agree with his point that Milwaukee is now without a long man in the ‘pen because of yesterday.  You want to know what is interesting?  If C.C. Sabathia makes it into Milwaukee’s rotation, either Dave Bush or Seth McClung becomes the long man.  That would work out pretty nicely.
• The Baseball Analysts continued their All-Star team from Triple-A.  Brad Nelson makes it in the outfield for the Brewers.  Nelson could be a nice addition to the team in September.
• The Yost Infection asks Milwaukee’s play-by-play announcers to please stop celebrating J.J. Hardy’s defense.  It is not more than average because of his terrible zone rating.  I personally think the zone rating stuff is a little overrated.  J.J. is a rock at shortstop.  He doesn’t make plays?  In the last road trip, he flipped a ball with his glove to Rickie to start a double play, he made a diving stop in the hole, and his throws are always perfect.  Doesn’t make plays, huh?
• Florida Today has an article about how difficult it is to hit home runs down in Brevard County because of this winds.  That is why you have to take the low power numbers from the likes of Lorenzo Cain and Taylor Green with a grain of salt.
• The Charleston Daily Mail says that Milwaukee Brewers most likely will not renew their contract with the West Virginia Power next season.  Rumor has it that the Crew wants to sign the local Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in Appleton, WI to their Class-A affiliate.  I would absolutely love that, as I currently live in Appleton.  I would be a regular at the games, if that would happen.
• Huntsville infielder Michael Garciaparra does not regret his move to play professional baseball over taking his scholarship to Tennessee.

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.

Round ‘em Up: Monday

UPDATE 06-09-08 3:35pm - Rickie Weeks finished his examination on his knee in Milwaukee.  The doctored diagnosed the Brewers second baseman with a “sprained left knee.”  He is listed as day-to-day.

After the past couple years when Rickie has been injured, however, I highly doubt he will be back within the week.  I hope I am wrong.  Weeks doesn’t have a track record of bouncing back quickly from injuries.

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UPDATE 06-09-08 1:55pm - It seems the Brewers are not interested in Brian Roberts after all.

Tom Haudricourt spoke with Doug Melvin this afternoon, and Melvin refuted Ken Rosenthal’s claim. The Brewers did have scouts at the Baltimore games, but no specialist scout had been assigned to Roberts. The scouts attended the games as a part of standard protocol. There is apparently nothing special about the scouts being at the game.

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The Milwaukee Brewers have an off-day today, but are traveling to Houston to take on the Astros tomorrow. Monday’s Round ‘em Up is always much more fun, as all the bloggers are out in full force after the weekend. It still means that the weekends are slow.

• Second baseman Rickie Weeks is on his way to Milwaukee to get his injured knee examined by the team doctors. He had his knee buckled by a hard slide while he was trying to turn two over the weekend. Hopefully this is not as bad as it sounds…because it could turn into a Yovani Gallardo type of situation.
• Mike Cameron has been seeing the bench a little more lately. He’s been struggling mightily at the plate, and Gabe Kapler has been the model of production in the early months. I suspect Cameron will be back in the lineup tomorrow, but Tom Haudricourt says he will probably not be in the two-hole. You know the saying, “How many licks does it take to get to the inside of a tootsie pop?” This situation is more like, “How much has to go wrong before Ned Yost admits he’s wrong?” Perhaps nobody will know…
• Chuckie Hacks says that Salomon Torres and Carlos Villanueva should be the 7th through 9th inning tandem from here on out. I’m sorry, but I thought we discussed this whole “set formula” thing. Not a fan.
• Jeff Suppan is finally pitching like he’s worth the money the Brewers signed him for last off-season. It is nice to see Soup grinding out some tough starts and just plain producing for the Crew.
• Here’s another diary entry from Matt LaPorta, courtesy of Baseball Digest Daily.
• The Jay from Brew Crew Ball has a nice graphic up about the Brewers bullpen. They are not overused, but they do throw a lot of pitches. I do appreciate the category that has Milwaukee without Turnbow as its own team. How true that is.
• This is something I have not heard until today. Ken Rosenthal from FOX Sports is reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers are interested in Baltimore second-baseman Brian Roberts. The Crew has had scouts at the past couple Orioles games. Rosenthal suggests that a Rickie Weeks-Brian Roberts trade would be unfair for Milwaukee. If Weeks’ knee gets better in the coming week or so and the Brewers could pull off this trade without giving up anything but Rickie Weeks, you pull the trigger. No questions asked.
• Jim Powell writes about the Brewers and their lack of momentum on the road. Their road woes sicken me.
• Speaking of Jim Powell, he has an interview with Brewers first-round pick, Brett Lawrie. Here’s the audio stream.
• In-Between Hops suggests that Carlos Villanueva is the closer for the future for the Milwaukee Brewers. I agree that he’s been spectacular out of the bullpen this season, but Carlos will have to prove his worth over a full season before I would hand over the 9th inning duties to him for good.
• As BrewersNation reader Aaron pointed out, the Brewers could take a look at RHP Sidney Ponson. His ERA seems to be misleading, as batters are getting good wood on the ball consistently. I don’t think Milwaukee is a team that goes the “troubled player” route.
• SS Matt Cline was demoted to West Virginia this week. He has responded, however, giving the slumping Power a nice little jolt.

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.

Bullpen blows up as Brewers fall to struggling Rockies

This loss stings a little more than the rest of them.

The Milwaukee Brewers continued their losing ways on the road yesterday, dropping the opening game of the series with Colorado 6-4. All looked fantastic for the majority of the game, too.

Right-hander Ben Sheets was not dominate by any stretch of the imagination. He did, however, get through six innings with only one run allowed. That’s what an ace does for his team. Even when he does not have his best stuff, Benny still puts zeros up on the board to keep Milwaukee in the game.

Milwaukee was more than in the game though. In fact, going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Crew was up 4-1. Russell Branyan and J.J. Hardy both hit home runs in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie at the time, and Jason Kendall snuck a triple down the right field line to score Hardy in the seventh to stretch the lead to 4-1.

Carlos Villanueva looked brilliant in the bottom of the seventh, and I waited for Villy to trot out the mound in the eighth to shut down the Rockies again. That was not the case, however. Ned Yost called on Guillermo Mota for the eighth inning.

That backfired on Ned extremely fast. Mota fell behind in the count early and often to the Colorado hitters. He gave up back-to-back singles to Jonathan Herrera and Ryan Spilborghs. The hot-hitting Todd Helton then smoked a double off the center field wall. Mota then falls behind in the count again and serves up a game-tying triple to Garrett Atkins. Needless to say, Brewers fans were falling all over themselves they were so upset.

Brian Shouse then came in the game to try and escape the jam. It didn’t work so well for Brian. On the first pitch he through, Brad Hawpe tattooed a curveball for a two-run homer. Rockies up 6-4.

After getting the wind knocked out of their sails in the bottom of the eighth, the Crew was unable to put anything together in the ninth inning. Brewers dropped their first game in their last seven, and not surprisingly came on the road. Tough, tough way to lose a game.

I don’t normally question Ned’s pitching changes, as hindsight is an unfair and unprofessional way to criticize a manager. Ned’s management of the bullpen needs to be addressed, however. After last night’s game, the Brewers manager said that he went to Mota in the eighth because he’s been Milwaukee’s eighth inning pitcher for the majority of the year. Why change now?

Besides the closer’s position, do relievers really need to have assigned roles? Did Ned not specifically say at the beginning of the year that the bullpen was stacked with quality arms, so he would mix-and-match roles with who was throwing the ball well? There has not been a reliever pitching any better than Carlos Villanueva. Using that philosophy, it would have been a no-brainer to leave Carlos in the game.

Ned’s response is that he would have left Carlos in the game, but it was a save situation. Therefore, Ned must follow his prescribed plan that has Guillermo Mota pitching in the eighth and Salomon Torres in the ninth. I don’t know why it needs to be that way, but apparently it does.

I understand that relievers want to know their roles. I understand that if Mota cruised through the eighth, we wouldn’t be having this conversation this morning. You know what though? Mota did blow up. The Brewers did lose the momentum they gained at home this past week and a half. This is a loss that can really take the wind out of a team’s sails.

It is true that Carlos could have done the exact same thing as Mota. All signs pointed to an easy bottom of the eighth for the former starter, however. You stick with the hot hand in the bullpen, Ned. I thought Yost was beginning to understand that concept when he started Gabe Kapler in center (who had an RBI single in the first, by the way). Apparently not. Save the closer’s role, relievers do not need assigned roles in the bullpen. A win does not need to be formulaic. Why go to an unknown entity in Mota when you have visual proof that Carlos is throwing the ball exceedingly well? I just don’t understand.

Records: Brewers (32-29); Rockies (23-38 )

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

J.J. had a solid game all around today. He scored two of the Brewers four runs yesterday. The power has returned a bit for the Brewers shortstop, as Hardy hit another home run. He also scored on Jason Kendall’s triple in the seventh inning. The Brewers need J.J. to keep hitting if they want to be more consistent on offense. With that said, Milwaukee didn’t lose last night’s game because of a lack of hitting.

Goat of the Game: Guillermo Mota

In the eighth inning of a road game, with a 4-1 lead, Mota gave up four earned runs without recording an out. You have to pound the strike zone when leading a close game. The former Met failed to do that the entire inning. He fell behind hitters consistently, and the Rockies made him pay. Throw strikes, Guillermo.

On Tap

After yesterday’s brutal loss, Milwaukee will trot RHP Dave Bush to the mound to take on LHP Greg Reynolds. Game two of the series will start at 7:05pm CT. The Brewers need to win this game. They do not want to start another losing trend on this road series.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

It’s a beautiful day, and the Brewers won last night.  Therefore, I’m in a fantastic mood this morning.  Let’s take a look at what the blogosphere has to say today:

• Backtracking a bit, Jim Powell has some reflections about the Brewers-Braves series.  He especially liked the sequence when Brian McCann got a strike called on him while he was out of the box arguing with the home plate umpire.  I loved that.  McCann had no reason to complain about that pitch, as the home plate ump gave him four chances to step in the batter’s box to hit.  He refused, so he lost his chance to swing.
• In-Between Hops is still ranting about Prince Fielder and his lack of home runs in 2008.  At least he is no longer blaming it on the lack of meat.  Prince is not hitting home runs at the same rate this season because he is pulling off the ball a lot more.  Pitchers are busting him inside, and he’s not been able to extend his arms.  Hopefully, he’ll be able to adjust.
• Ned Yost is holding true to his new rule for relievers - no more than three days in a row.  Since Eric Gagne and David Riske got injured presumably from pitching too often, Ned is trying to protect his bullpen.  Really Ned?  It took you three years to figure out that probably wasn’t a good idea?  And people say you should be fired…
• Milwaukee’s young stud, Yovani Gallardo, is cautious about trying to pitch again in 2008.  As he should be.  Don’t try to rush yourself back, Yo.  Get yourself reading for 2009.  Brewers fans will patiently wait.
• The Brewers strike out a lot.  That’s not surprising.  You know what else isn’t surprising?  Ned Yost isn’t concerned about it.  Of course he’s not.  Just like it’s still early.
• A sports economist says that Mark Attanasio and the new Milwaukee Brewers are building their franchise in the correct way economically.  Bud Selig and his regime did not build it.  Well, Mark Attanasio cares more than Bud Selig did about the Brewers.  That usually makes a big difference in the outcome.
• Al’s Ramblings notes that the Milwaukee Brewers have the 5th best bullpen ERA if you discount Derrick Turnbow’s numbers.  The starting rotation is actually 5th in innings pitched too, despite the short outings compiled by Manny Parra, Carlos Villanueva, and Seth McClung.  Ben Sheets is probably a big part of that.
• The Brew Town Beat writes a nice piece on Carlos Villanueva.  In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past week or so, Carlos has been flat-out nasty in the ‘pen.  He has yet to give up a run, and he’s striking out far more than he did in the starting rotation.  Perhaps there is something to this Carlos as closer talk.  Not that Salomon Torres should be replaced anytime soon.  He’s been great.
• Minor League Ball has a 2008 mock draft going on right now.  In the first round, the Brewers selected RHP Shooter Hunt from Tulane.  He’s a very raw prospect, especially for a collegiate pitcher, and he’s an injury concern right now.  I wouldn’t choose him with the #16 pick, but that’s just me.
• The St. Louis Cardinals have sent OF Chris Duncan to Triple-A to get his swing figured out.  With his power, I thought the Cardinals would give him a little more time to sort things out before dumping him to the minors.  The team called up OF Joe Mather, who has been tearing up Triple-A.
• RHP Franklyn German refused an outright assignment to the minors after being DFA’d by the Texas Rangers.  With a 2.08 ERA, the Brewers might be wise to give him a look.  He would be a huge risk for Milwaukee, however.  His ERA is stellar, but his WHIP is 1.431.  The right-hander walks far too many batters, but he is definitely worth a look at only 28-years old.  With that said, I don’t think the Brewers do anything with Franklyn.  The bullpen has been solid lately.

Homers give Parra plenty of support against Astros

The Brewers remember all too well the drubbing they got the last time the team played the Houston Astros.  It marked the beginning of a 6-game losing streak on the road.  Manny Parra made sure it didn’t happen again.

The inconsistent lefty showed great stuff last night, regularly hitting 93-94mph on his fastball.  His four walks were a bit misleading, as his command was much sharper overall.  It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a pitcher.

Perhaps it was Houston’s Miguel Tejada that knocked some confidence into the young pitcher.  In the first inning, Miggy hit a laser-like line drive that hit Parra in the stomach.  Milwaukee stared another injury in the face, but Manny showed resiliency and pitched another five innings of one-run ball after the first.

The offense jumped on the opposing starter, Brandon Backe, early in the game.  Mike Cameron and Ryan Braun hit back-to-back jacks in the bottom of the first inning.  That was all the support the Brewers pitching staff needed to win the game.  It was a nice change for the Brewer faithful.  The team has not won too many games that weren’t nailbiters.

Speaking of Ryan Braun, he has been playing with an inner-ear infection.  Reports say that Ryan is experiencing dizziness and a lack of hearing in his right ear.  After a 4-4 performance last night, however, I think Ryan should keep that infection around for a while longer.  Just kidding, Ryan.  Get better soon!  Just keep the bat hot…

Carlos Villanueva looked superb in the bullpen again last night, going two strong, scoreless innings and striking out two Astros.  The young right-hander may have found a niche for himself in the bullpen.  Yost will have to make certain he doesn’t get worn down in August like he did last season.  Lessons learned, Ned…lessons learned…

The big fella accounted for the other home run Milwaukee hit during the game.  Prince Fielder hit an absolute laser beam over the right field wall for a two-run homer.  It was nice to see Prince get back in the home run column, but I would especially like to see him hit an opposite field home run sometime soon.  When Prince got on his power binges last season, he consistently took the ball the opposite way.  He hasn’t done that in 2008 yet.

Records: Brewers (27-28); Astros (30-26)

Hero of the Game: Manny Parra

This award could have gone to Ryan Braun quite easily, but the offense was unneeded today, as Manny gave Ned Yost and the Brewers a very strong outing tonight.  His pitch count was extremely reasonable tonight, which was a nice change for Manny.  He only had 87 pitches through six innings.  50 of those were strikes.  Last night’s outing gives Manny something to build upon.  His consistency needs to improve if the Brewers are going to make a run for the division in the coming months.  All signs point skyward for Manny, but he showed how quickly things can turn around last weekend in Washington.

Goat of the Game: Corey Hart

Sorry Corey.  You went 0-4.  Rickie Weeks went 0-3, but got hit by a pitch, stole a base, and scored a run.  Russell Branyan at least walked once.  You took the collar.  Get ‘em next time, kid.

On Tap

RHP Ben Sheets will face RHP Brian Moehler tomorrow night in Miller Park.  The Brewers look to secure a series victory against the Houston Astros.  The first pitch will go out at 6:05pm CT.

Brewers eke out a win in extra innings

Prince Fielder, Gabe Kapler, Carlos Villanueva, and Salomon Torres may have saved Ned Yost his job for the time being.  They were the instrumental players in the extra frames and led the Brewers to a victory over the Washington Nationals 4-3.

Prince served an opposite-field double over the head of Ryan Langerhans.  I wasn’t completely sure what happened next was the correct move, as Corey Hart sacrifice bunted Prince to third.  If he would have done this earlier in the count, it would have made plenty of sense.  A 3-1 count though?  You have to let the best clutch hitter on the Brewers do some damage there.

The move appeared to be the incorrect one, as big Russell Branyan struck out for the fourth time of the game to follow Corey.  Gabe Kapler picked up his teammates, however, and laced the first pitch he saw into center to score Prince.  Milwaukee had a chance to add to that one run lead, but Rickie Weeks grounded out to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Salomon Torres then came in and shut the door relatively easily on the Nats.  It was very nice to see a Brewers closer breeze through in inning.  Perhaps Ned has found someone he can trust at the back-end of the bullpen.  Torres sure looked good this afternoon.

I cannot tell you how impressed I was with Carlos Villanueva today.  After struggling in the rotation and getting flak from every Brewers fan and their mother, Carlos came into the game in the ninth inning and struck out the side to send the game into extras.  He then set the Nats down 1-2-3 again in the bottom of the 10th to prolong the game.  In that inning, the young man struck out the first two batters before getting Christian Guzman to ground out to Craig Counsell.  Carlos was sharp today.  Perhaps there is something to the closing idea that The Brew Town Beat has thrown out for the past couple weeks.

The Brewers were down early after Ben Sheets gave up a first inning home run to Christian Guzman on a hanging curveball.  Benny pitched fairly well today, going six innings and striking out six.  He could have gone more, as the Brewers’ ace only had 86 pitches.  The Brewers needed offense though, so Ned pulled Benny in the top of the seventh in favor of Joe Dillon.  Joe reached on an error.

Overall, this was a good win for the Brewers.  They split the series with the Nationals, and the team went 4-6 on the road trip.  After getting swept by the Boston Red Sox, I cannot complain.  I have no way of proving this, but my gut tells me that the Brewers saved Ned’s job today with this extra innings win.  Gord Ash, Doug Melvin, and Mark Attanasio were on hand today.  They were no doubt scouting the skipper to see how he handled himself.  So far, so good for Ned.

Records: Brewers (24-27); Nationals (22-30)

Hero of the Game: Gabe Kapler

Gabe saved the Brewers today with his RBI-single in the top of the 11th.  After sitting on the bench all day, he steps into the batters box and lines a first-pitch fastball into center to score Prince Fielder.  It turned out to be the winning run.  One of the most difficult aspects of baseball is being a pinch-hitter, and most batters take a pitch or two to get comfortable in the box.  Not Gabe.  Not today.  He manned up and roped one to center.  I’ll consider today’s win a Memorial Day present.

Goat of the Game: Russell Branyan

It’s tough to give Russell the Goat after being so excited about his being called up yesterday, but he definitely deserves the award.  After a very nice performance in yesterday’s game, Russell struck out four times tonight.  The big one came in the top of the eleventh, as he only needed a sacrifice fly to get Prince home.  Instead, Russell swung at the first three pitches and quickly got sent back to the dugout.  Rough outing for Branyan today.

On Tap

Milwaukee will head home tonight and start a tough homestand tomorrow against the Atlanta Braves.  The struggling Dave Bush will looked to straighten himself out against the veteran Tim Hudson.  The game will start at 6:05pm CT.

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.

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

Round ‘Em Up Thursday

Twenty cent rise in gas prices in the last 24 hours got you down?  Here are some of the Milwaukee Brewers stories floating around the Inter-Web today.  Maybe that will pick up your spirits…

First off, congrats to the work horse Ben Sheets for his fantastic outing last night. It was even more amazing that after the fourth inning (he had five by then) he didn’t have a single strikeout until the final batter.  Taking 11 hits last night and only allowing one run to score (which was a homer) is a credit to Sheets and a solid defense behind him. P.S. Nice catch Mike Cameron!

* Worried about Eric Gagne?  Yeah, me too… I haven’t slept at all since he blew our first shutout since April. Just in case you were hoping the you might never see him again.  Your chances just got a little bit better in the short-term.  The J-S is reporting that Gagne and his sore shoulder will keep him sidelined “indefinitely”.” Gagne has been experiencing “tightness and inflammation” since his duty against the Pirates on Tuesday.  Ironically those are the same words I would use to describe myself when Gagne gets on the mound and then follows with blowing up.

* The Junkball Blues has a bunch of stat break downs of what is the best battling line-up approach for the Brewers.  Its kinda cool that you can see hitting, power, and patience.  For that last one I don’t know if we can even field a line-up! Ha! Get it? Because we have no patience and strike out a lot! Funny!

* Fox Sports Dayn Perry looks at the red-hot Chicago Cubs and decides there is no freakin’ way that these guys can keep up the torrid hitting, pitching, and defense.  He says that its the pitching that will eventually fall off. Works for me. I don’t care how they fall apart as long as they do.

* Is the Brewers’ front office racist?  Brewers Bar thinks is might be a possibility in considering why Braun got a contract before Fielder.  I’ve got to be honest and in no way, shape, or form, did this thought even consider forming itself in my head.  Where do people get stories like this?  Must have gone to the Badger Blogger School of Journalism.

* Is Eric Gagne Fidel Castro?  Bugs & Cranks makes the case that the low-profile of the Cuban dictator of the last ten years matches up with the rising profile of Gagne.  Makes sense to me.

* V-Dub (aka Carlos Villanueva) is cool with heading to the ‘pen.  He’s just glad that he’s not rooming with Turnbow in Triple A.

* Any finally, Brew Crew Pub grades Doug Melvin over the last couple of years.  Tough teacher!

This is the first time for me doing the Round ‘Em Up so please feel free to link to any stories I might have missed today.  Thanks!

By: Dan Wiersema

Randy Wolf to Milwaukee?

The collective wheels have fallen off for the San Diego Padres early this season.  Already over ten games back in May, GM Kevin Towers hinted he may be gearing up for a firesale this summer.  The LA Times mentions that Randy Wolf could be a good fit for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Let’s take a look and see if this is true.

Randy Wolf has a relatively reasonable contract for San Diego to trade.  He’s signed only for 2008, and the veteran is a relative bargain at $4.75M.  Money would not be an issue for the Brewers, especially since Mark Attanasio has said that he is willing to ante up the cash to bolster the starting rotation.  That part checks out rather well for Milwaukee.

How about Randy’s 5.05 ERA?  Would the Brewers want to give up someone like CF Tony Gwynn Jr. for those numbers?  It is early in the season, but Randy’s ERA has been consistently on the rise in the past couple years.  Last season, Randy posted a 4.73 ERA with a 1.451 WHIP, both worse than the league average.  Not exactly the ideal numbers to be placing in the rotation to give it a kick start.

Add in the fact that Wolf has been an injury waiting to happen the past few years, it seems that Milwaukee would be foolish to court Wolf.  Starting in the 2005 season, Randy has only had 13 games started, 12 GS, and 18 GS, respectively.  The Brewers have an injury liability in Ben Sheets heading the rotation.  Melvin would be foolish to attempt to bolster the rotation with an injury risk.  The team cannot trade its future for an unknown entity that is only a rental.

If Randy Wolf is not the answer, who is?

I don’t believe there is anyone worthwhile on the trading block that will be semi-affordable for Milwaukee.  The answer has to be in-house.  Carlos’ 6.43 ERA and 12 home runs allowed are not working in the rotation. Ned Yost and Doug Melvin want to put Villy in the ‘pen to get his control issues and confidence worked out.  Who are the internal options?

RHP Seth McClung

Seth is getting the ball this Saturday, so he is obviously the #1 choice to round out the rotation.  Brewers coaches have been raving about the mechanical changes Seth has made in the past week or so, and they believe he is ready to produce in the rotation.

Those mechanical changes better be big changes, as his numbers as a starter have been atrocious.  The big guy started for two seasons in Tampa Bay, posting a 6.59 and a 6.29 ERA, respectively.  Those numbers would scare anyone away.  Even more concerning, his BB:K ratios in those seasons were 62:92 and 68:59.  I’m not a stat-head, but you do not need to be a rocket scientist or a mathematician to understand those numbers are less than ideal.

With that said, Seth has a great arm.  He has a blistering fastball and a curve that he has been throwing for strikes lately.  Two pitches will not be enough to get through a major league lineup two or three times, however.  The team says that Seth has developed a pretty good change-up this season, but I have not seen it much in game action.

Seth McClung is an interesting option, but his past numbers do not look promising.  His control issues will most likely not translate well to the starting rotation, as he still has a 13:20 BB:K ratio.  Those mechanical changes must be pretty darn good ones.  Still, I do not believe Seth is the answer.  He has been effective from the bullpen, however.  I’d keep him there after Saturday unless he really impresses.

RHP Jeff Weaver

The Milwaukee Brewers signed Jeff Weaver to a minor league deal to deepen the starting rotation.  He is more of an innings-eater type of pitcher.  In 2004 and 2005, Jeff logged over 220.0 innings pitched, but his innings total has gone down in the past couple years.  In 2006, he had 31 games started, but he only had 172.0 innings pitched.  That is a significant decrease in only three fewer starts.  Jeff is clearly not as effective as he once was.

The past two seasons, Jeff has posted a 5.76 ERA and a 6.20 ERA, respectively.  I’m not sure if the Brewers want to be relying on someone with those numbers.  Especially since he appears to not have improved too much this season.  Through four starts, Jeff has an unimpressive 6.35 ERA.  I have to believe that Milwaukee will be looking elsewhere to fill the void in the starting rotation.

LHP Zach Jackson

Once one of the top pitching prospects in the system after being acquired from Toronto in the Lyle Overbay trade, Zach has struggled to consistently succeed in either the big leagues or Triple-A.  Last season, Zach limped in with a 4.46 ERA in Nashville, which suggests that the lefty is not ready for another shot in the bigs as a starter.

With that said, Zach Jackson looks to have found a niche in the bullpen.  In his last two relief appearances, the southpaw has not allowed a run in 4.2 innings of work.  His walk rate has dropped dramatically, and his strikeout rate has remained solid.  He’s been impressive enough out of the ‘pen for Milwaukee to call him up to serve as the second lefty and compliment to Brian Shouse.  The Brewers are no longer looking at Zach as a potential starter.  I believe he may settle in the pen as a long reliever, left-handed specialist type of pitcher….not a starter.

LHP Chris Narveson

Chris broke on the scene during Spring Training and almost pitched his way onto the team as a non-roster invite.  The former St. Louis Cardinal unveiled his new cut-fastball, and he commanded it beautifully on his way to a high strikeout rate.  Ned Yost came home from Arizona impressed with Chris.  Perhaps he’s the one to fill the rotation.

Chris’ 3.94 ERA suggests that he does deserve a shot in the big leagues.  He is consistently striking out about six batters per nine innings, which is impressive for a left-hander.  The problem is the WHIP.  It is at an uncharacteristically high 1.42.  His career average WHIP is 1.28, and he had a 1.18 with St. Louis in 2006.  He is walking almost four and a half batters per nine innings and giving up bunches of hits.  I suspect that his WHIP will come down a bit, and the Brewers will be tempted to give him a chance in the bigs.  He may have the best chance in the long run, but his control is not where it needs to be to help immediately.  Doug Melvin needs to look elsewhere.

RHP Mark DiFelice

The Brewers recently called up 31-year old journeyman, Mark DiFelice to fill the spot vacated by Mitch Stetter in the bullpen.  DiFelice has been toiling in the minor leagues the past 11 seasons, never getting a big league call-up.  His blood pressure must have been incredibly high when he made his debut in a Brewers uniform at Fenway Park.  He had a very uninspired outing, giving up three runs in an inning of work.  I’m not going to condemn Mark for this outing, however.  Most other Brewers pitchers struggled in that series, and it was his first outing.  I’ll cut him a little slack.

Looking at his career numbers in the minors, I believe that Mark is the pitcher that best fits the back-end of the rotation for MIlwaukee.  In Nashville this season, his control has been impeccable…to the tune of a 1:28 BB:K ratio.  Not too shabby.  In his 11 seasons as a minor league pitcher, Mark has averaged a 3.54 ERA.  That is far and away better than anyone else in this discussion.  The Brewers need someone that can log some innings and control the baseball.  Last season in Nashville, Mark averaged six innings per outing.  I think Brewers fans would gladly take that after watching Villanueva, Parra, and Bush struggle to get past the fifth.

It is quite the long-shot, I must admit, but Mark DiFelice appears to have the best chance to succeed at the back-end of the rotation.  His debut in Boston was atrocious, but I believe the Brewers have him working from the bullpen so he can get acclimated to the big leagues before giving him a shot in the rotation.  If Seth McClung falters Saturday, look for DiFelice to get the call the following time through the rotation.

After analyzing Milwaukee’s internal options, I realize that there is not much to hang your hat on.  DiFelice, Narveson, or McClung could work out and be a surprise, but they easily could flounder in the starting rotation.  Unless the Brewers can hit a hot streak, however, it would be unwise for Melvin to go outside the organization to find a replacement.  Milwaukee does not need a rental player to get them above .500.  If the Brewers are going to trade future pieces away, they must be in the race.  It is only a quarter of the way through the season, but the Brewers are not in the position to be “buyers.”  Let’s hope Seth McClung can pitch successfully on Saturday and give the team and starting rotation a boost.  If not, however, the team does have internal options better and cheaper than the likes of Randy Wolf and his 5.05 ERA.

Round ‘em Up: Wednesday

Brewers fans went to bed happy last night after beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2.  We will have to see if they can make it two in a row tonight.  Ben Sheets is on the mound, so I think the Crew has a good shot.  Benny might feel like he has a little something to prove after last week’s debacle in the seventh against the Dodgers.

BrewersNation reader BJ noted an article on the possibility of Randy Wolf being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.  I originally was going to include the article in the Round ‘em Up, but after BJ’s question…I thought I would give it its own post.  I’ll write on that later tonight.

• So…Ned Yost is not happy about the false report of his being fired yesterday.  I mean really displeased.  The Brewers manager let a bunch of four-letter words fly as he went through a tirade on the blog posting.  I think he has a right to be upset about the way the post was handled…especially by Tom Haudricourt and the Milwaukee JS.  For more on that…go here.

  While Ned got rightfully upset about the situation on Monday, his comments simply left me a little empty and quite upset.  Why have Brewers fans never seen Yost get this riled up before?  Why does he play this stoic, confident manager that is certain everything will turn out alright if he has this mean-streak in him?  Why not try to spur on his players by getting upset and admitting that maybe…just maybe…it isn’t early and things aren’t “okay”?  The stoic facade that Yost has been putting up the past couple months has obviously not been working, and yesterday’s comments gave Brewers fans a glimpse of what could be.

  After getting upset about the blog reports, Ned reverted back to his old self.  He’s not worried about the comments made by Ryan Braun because all teams lose confidence when they are losing.  Great, Ned…just act like everything is fine and nothing is wrong.  Perhaps Brewers fans would feel better if you treated your job and the team’s success with the same passion.  You may feel as passionately inwardly, but it certainly does not show in the media and in the dugout.

• The other big development yesterday was Seth McClung transitioning to the starting rotation, while Carlos Villanueva will search for more consistency and success in the bullpen.  In last night’s telecast, Brain Anderson raved about McClung’s mechanical adjustment and the development of his change-up.  It’s nice to hear those things, but I will have to see it before I believe it.
• Remember when Salomon Torres thought about retiring because of his dysfunctional relationship with the Pittsburgh organization.  He tries not to talk about it to the media, but his disrespect for the management is clearly still there.
• The Milwaukee Brewers struggle at PNC Park.  It is not a secret.  No Brewers fan has been able to understand how the team can have a losing record against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC, but it has been the overwhelming trend.  Jim Powell takes a look at the struggles.  Yesterday’s win is not a signifier that the curse is gone, but it is a start.
• The Brew Town Beat reacts to Eric Gagne’s struggles yesterday before being removed because of shoulder “stiffness.”  They believe that most or all of his success can be attributed to steriods of HGH.  I enjoy much of the writing that happens over at that site, but I believe that is a cop-out answer and a gross oversimplification.  HGH may have helped Gagne get a few miles per hour on his fastball.  I will grant them that.  HGH does not, however, improve your mentality on the mound.  It does not improve your release point and improve your control.  Sure, you can argue that HGH improves your stuff, so you trust it more.  That’s a valid point.  I would just hesitate to believe that Gagne got his reputation as “Game Over” because he had a few more mphs on his fastball.  His change-up was also better, and he had a better curveball when he was with Los Angeles.  HGH doesn’t help that.
• Beyond the Boxscore analyzes the strength of schedule for the NL Central.  The Brewers have had by far the most difficult schedule in the Central to this point.  Through the rest of the season, the Crew will have about 50% of their games against opponents with a sub-.500 record.  The moral of the post: Do not count out the Brewers yet.
• SportsBubbler names SS Alcides Escobar the Prospect of the Week.  Alcides has improved his plate discipline and power numbers in the past couple weeks, which greatly augments his status as an elite prospect.  The other name to look at is RHP Luis Pena.  Could he be a Brewer in the near future?
• LHP Sam Narron recently got called up to Triple-A Nashville, and he has continued rolling through hitters.  Sam went six innings, only giving up two earned runs.  His manager said that Sam didn’t have his best stuff, which is extremely encouraging for the young man.  The southpaw has increased his strikeout total a bit, but his value lies in his ability to induce the groundball.  Keep an eye on Sam.
• Here’s a nice article on RHP Patrick Ryan.  He’s quietly been having a productive season as a reliever in Double-A Huntsville.  The right-hander is being overshadowed by Omar Aguilar, but a call to Triple-A is not out of the question later in the season.

Ten Optimistic Things To Think About

It’s been a couple rough weeks for Brewers Nation (not this site, the fans) with the double sweep in Houston and Florida, the surprising losses at home against the Dodgers, and another sweep in Boston. Trolling through the comments section on sites around the web, one would think that its time to start propping ourselves on the ledge of the US Bank Building in Milwaukee and strongly consider jumping.

As Jim wrote, it’s no fun heading into Pittsburgh looking up at the Pirates in the standings. Being what it is us Brewers’ fans need some lifting up, and I thought I’d put together a post to life the spirits of the Brewers faithful. No calling for Yost’s head or Week’s bat here. The following is ten reasons to still be optimistic about your 2008 Milwaukee Brewers.

* This is not the 2004 Brewers

Granted the Brewers are sitting in last place for the first time since 2004, but this team is certainly not those Brewers. In 2004, the only reliable pitcher on the staff was Ben Sheets and of course he got injured again. Lyle Overbay starred for the offense. These 2008 Brewers are more experienced and talented that the former squad that had a decent season through the All-Star break and then suffered a terrible collapse to finish 67-94.

Of course I could make the comparison that this Brewers squad is not one of many other terrible Brewers teams, but that’s not the point. The point is that rather than looking at the 2004 season as the beginning of something positive we should be looking at the 2008 season as a continuation of the franchise’s growth. Many expected 2008 to be the breakout season for the Brew Crew, but that may or may not be the case.

Either way, compared to four years ago, this year’s team in infinitely more talented. They will not rely on single players to carry the team. People like Jeff Suppan in the rotation and other young (and improving pitchers) will back up Sheets and while Overbay is gone, there are no solo stars on this year’s team. A Prince Fielder is not alone or a Ryan Braun is not alone or a Corey Hart is not alone. The fact that I listed three players (any could more) shows that this offense is not alone in talent like teams of old.

* Its only ¼ way through the season

I’m a teacher so there are not many students that I give up on after just one quarter of the school year. One of the best things that the Brewers have going for them that, at this point, the season is still young. After about 40 games in we are certainly not the perfect position, but certainly not in the worst position either.

Anyone that was also a fan last year knows that strong or weak starts to the season have little bearing on the end result of a season. The Cubs played absolutely wonderful post All-Star break and the Colorado Rockies played out of their minds to close the 2007 season. With almost 120 games to play and any number of combinations of risings and fallings of the various NL Central teams, this Brewers team is by no means finished. The squad has all of the tools to be competitive. The only thing needed is consistency.

* Corey Hart

Speaking of consistency I hear that Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart is legally changing his name to Corey Consistency. Mr. Consistency has been that and more for the Brewers. If 2008 was supposed to by Rickie Weeks’ breakout season, Hart may have stolen his thunder. Currently batting nearly .300 and getting extra-base hits like they’re going out of style, Corey has been the rock in the Brew Crew’s line up of struggling hitters.

* Braun is on a tear (no sophomore slump)

If you asked me earlier in the season if I was worried that Braun was being crushed under the weight of expectations for his second Major League Season you may have gotten a “yes” out of me, but after a slow start the $45 million dollar man has shown that he will probably avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. His batting average is soaring in the three-hole of the lineup and he is making big time pitchers look like chumps. At this pace he could add a MVP trophy next to the Rookie of the Year one.

* Melvin is on the case

Which is why it’s so important that Doug Melvin nailed Braun down to that eight-year, $45 million contract. Some Brewers fans are concerned that his off-season bullpen moves are not ironing out, but no one can doubt that this GM is trying to establish long-term success while balancing short-term expectations. The Mike Cameron move showed that right now we want success, but Melvin is clearly trying to establish success alongside development with Braun the future of left and possible Hart, Gwynn (although unlikely) and LaPorta being groomed for the outfield.

Melvin is working on signing such players as JJ Hardy, Prince Fielder, and Hart to long-term deals and getting vocal people like Braun to sign first and encourage others to follow suit is the right steps to take.

* Attanasio has got the big bucks and a small ego

All of which wouldn’t be possible except for the support and checkbook of Daddy Warbucks, Mark Attanasio. Time and time again Mr. Attanasio has not only spoken of building a long-term contender, but he has put his money where his mouth is. He has even made comments that said, if need be, he would shell out some money to strengthen the rotation this year.

Attanasio bought the Milwaukee Brewers not just so he could have a play-thing, but because he saw potential in the massive amount of talent the Brewers have and its incredible fanbase. This is not a Steinbrenner owner with fingerprints all over the management decisions. Attanasio is active without being overbearing.

* The young arms will improve

Pitchers like Carlos Villanueva and Manny Parra take a lot of flack because they don’t hold up quite so well the third time through the order, but often times that blurs the fact that these pitchers (along with the injured Gallardo) have great stuff. Part of being a young pitcher is that there is a massive learning curve and just like Fielder has to adjust to not being pitched inside as much these young pitchers are talented and smart enough to recognize that they must (and will) improve to become more dominant as the season goes on.

It’s easier for offenses to focus their lenses on these pitchers because they are studying one player, but our guys have to study countless batters for each game and re-work their pitch selection and delivery to go deeper into games. They will.

* Kendall is not Estrada

So it’s important that a man like Jason Kendall is behind the plate instead of Johnny Estrada. Kendall brings much more talent offensively and defensively than the embattled 2007 catcher Estrada. A hot beginning of 2008 and some great clutch hitting thus far has made Kendall’s 9-hole batting an essential part of many Brewers offensive outbursts. Offensively, Kendall is sniffing around .300 as a career hitter, walks a lot, and strikes out few and far in between. A far cry from the painful hitting of Estrada (who I swear to God only got hits with 2 out and no one on). After playing runner-up to Estrada as the worst defensive catcher in baseball last year, the 12-year veteran has pushed his caught stealing percentage is above 30 percent.

Even more important than the offense/defense numbers is that an experienced catcher that molds well with his pitching staff. This is why I worry less about our young pitchers, because Kendall knows how to call a

game and given his work ethic he will only work harder to improve these kids.

* The defense is stronger

Of course I started writing this part before the six errors in Boston, but I’ve made the point in a previous column that the defense is far and away better than it was last season. Numbers show that they are near the bottom in errors and tops in fielding percentage. Moving Braun away from the hot corner and signing Mike Cameron have been well-documented. Are they perfect? Hell no. But improvement is always a step in the right direction. The point above about Kendall is just one more area of less concern with the 2008 Brewers.

* There’s always next year

This one isn’t so much about the 2008 season (obviously, because I’m saying next year…), but Brewers’ fans need to keep everything in perspective. Expectations were and continue to be massively high for this season. Those expectations may cost someone who shall remain nameless his job and maybe even result in a few Brewers finding new homes, but most sane people realize that harnessing young talent is an on-going process. Melvin and the ownership are working on securing these young lads for the long-term, but not everything works out as quickly as the fan base expects.

Whether or not this season is a wash doesn’t mean all is lost. These are not the Florida Marlins which, in the past, have assembled one year teams and then dissembled them. Teams like the Brewers are being built for the long-term. It has been 26 years since the Brewers have sniffed the post-season so as much as it pains me each year to say it… there’s always next year if this one doesn’t work out.

By: Dan Wiersema

Big Bats Can’t Save Brewers

Despite home runs from JJ Hardy, Prince Fielder, and another two-shot performance from Ryan Braun the Milwaukee Brewers continued their struggles on the road and was swept for the third consecutive away series against the defending World Series champions, Boston Red Sox.  The final score was 11-7.

Carlos Villanueva lasted only four innings and was charged with the loss.  It was a teeter-totter affair that saw the Brewers take a first inning lead, surrender it in the third, regained it in the fourth, then threw it all away in the bottom half of that same inning.

After going 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position yesterday the Brewers weren’t much more successful bringing men home (only two stranded today with RISP).  The only problem was that not many were getting on base to come home.  The four homers by the Brew Crew were supported by only two other hits against Boston ace Josh Beckett.  Beckett gave up only one walk while striking out nine Brewers.

The loss, combined with the Cincinnati Reds win, dropped the Brewers to LAST place in the NL Central for the first time since 2004 and they now are seven games back from the Cubs.

Records: Brewers (20-24); Red Sox (27-19)

Hero of the Game: Ryan Braun

Even though he secured his massive contract earlier this week, Braun is showing no signs of letting up with the heavy hitting.  Braun hit two home runs over the Green Monster today.  It was his third multi-homer game of the year and he now has 13 HRs on the season. A sacrifice hit in the eight inning meant that Braun batted in four of Milwaukee’s seven runs.

One more reason that Braun gets the nod today is his post-game comments about the expectations game for the Brewers in Boston this weekend.  The left fielder spoke with Tom Haudricourt after the game and was less than pleased with the Brewers’ mindset against the Red Sox.  Following up his comments from last week about getting tired of waiting for the bats to warm up shows that Braun wants to be a big part of the team’s future not only on the field, but off of it.  This continues to reinforce my arguement from last week that Ned Yost is not getting the most out of his players and the frustration is clearly showing for people like Braun.

I’d like to also say that Prince Fielder should be considered the runner up in this category for getting off the shined and connecting for his sixth homer of the season.  He also had a hell of a series going 5-for-12.  He may not have as many home runs as last season (pitchers aren’t throwing him inside anymore…he has to adjust), but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t still producing with small ball.

Goat of the Game: Mark DiFelice

Final line for his relief performance… one inning pitched, five hits, and three earned runs, including one huge home run to David Ortiz.  ERA: 27.00.  Welcome to the big leagues kid.

On Tap

The Brewers have a travel day-off tomorrow before facing Pittsburgh at PNC Park on Tuesday.  Manny Parra faces Paul Maholm.  The Pirates home park has not been kind to the Brewers of late (despite them never being all that good).  The Brewers absolute have to come home from the road series against Pittsburgh and Washington with wins or Yost is gone.

By: Dan

Sheets shelled in seventh

Ben Sheets was the model of efficiency through six innings. The Brewers ace had his best stuff, keeping the ball down and pitching to contact to keep his pitch count low. He was locked in a scoreless dual with Dodgers starter, Chad Billingsley.

Then came the seventh inning. Andruw Jones clobbered a shoulder-high fastball out of the park, and Jeff Kent followed by depositing a belt-high curveball over the fence. The Dodgers then added insult to injury when the relatively powerless catcher, Greg Bennett, hit a three-run bomb on another belt-high curveball. Why did Sheets struggle? His pitches were belt-high. Big league hitters will not miss those.

The offense reverted back to its listless ways today. Ryan Braun hit a home run in the eighth inning, but the Crew only managed two hits prior to the seventh inning. One of those was by Ben Sheets. It’s not a positive situation when Benny is providing half of your offense. Something needs to be done with this offense. I’ll think about stuff and write an article this weekend.

Records: Brewers (20-21); Dodgers (21-19)

Hero of the Game: Brian Shouse

This is only because he prevented the game from becoming a laugher in the ninth inning, cleaning up Mitch Stetter’s mess. Stetter walked the bases loaded. Shouse got out of it unscathed, however.

Goat of the Game: Ben Sheets

I feel bad giving Ben the goat because he pitched a great game until the seventh inning. Still, there is a reason the game is nine innings long. I am willing to look past this game as an aberration. Sheets had good command until the seventh, walking no one. Perhaps he got a little fatigued later in the game and started to get the ball up. Yes, I’m grasping for straws here. There is no way he was tired…his pitch count was under 80 pitches to start the seventh. I don’t know what happened.

Links

Because I missed the Round ‘em Up for the day, I decided to include some links here. To all that were concerned about tomorrow’s NL Central Review, there will be one tomorrow…don’t worry.

• David Riske got placed on the 15-day DL today with a hyper-extended right elbow. Tom Haudricourt also says that there is a bone chip or a bone spur that may need to be cleaned out. David will be out for a while.
• Right-hander Mark DiFelice has been called up to fill Riske’s spot in the ‘pen. DiFelice started for Triple-A Nashville and was 3-0 with a 3.91 ERA. He had only one walk in 23 innings and struck out 28 strikeouts. How’s that for a BB:K ratio?!
• ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark is reporting that the Brewers made a major push for Julian Tavarez this week. After Boston released him this week, I thought the Brewers may make a play for him. I just didn’t realize it would be considered a major play. The Brewers would rather keep Jeff Weaver in the mix and pay him less anyway.
• Between the Green Pillars wonders whether or not Carlos Villanueva should be moved to the bullpen. I understand the logic, and it could be interesting. In fact, I believe they might do that once June approaches. They will want to get Jeff Weaver up in the big leagues before they lose him because of the opt-out in his contract.
• Is it time to move Rickie Weeks down in the order? No. He may not be hitting much, but he does get on base. When he does get on base, he scores. Plus, who else do you want to put at the lead-off spot? Mike Cameron? Yesterday should show you how that would work out…and please do not tell me Corey Hart. He is the only protection that Prince Fielder has right now.

Round ‘em Up: Friday

The Brewers are mired in a six-game slide.  This stretch may mark the lowest part of the season, even though it is early in 2008.  Starters are not going deep into games, and the offense is obviously not producing a lick.  The Crew will look to turn it around against the Cardinals this weekend.  Thank goodness we’re back at home…

• Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, and Jason Kendall were all absent from the Brewers lineup last night.  Was it a shake-up to get the offense going?  Ned Yost says no.  It was simply a scheduled day off for some of the starters.  The team will play 29 out of the next 30 days, and Yost felt like he needed to get his players some rest.
• The Sports Bubbler has a preview of the Brewers-Cardinals series.  Let me give you a little hint: the bats and the arms need to start producing.
• The Yost Infection believes it is time to give Ned Yost the boot.  I agree with the article in the fact that the team’s struggles are certainly not the manager’s fault.  That does not mean that the team could use a little shake-up at the top.  Personally, I believed that the signing of Ted Simmons meant that Ned was going to have a short leash in 2008.  If the team cannot turn it around on the homestand, Yost may be on his way out.
• It appears that Derrick Turnbow will be on his way to Triple-A Nashville.  The distinct possibility of a trade is dwindling quickly, and Derrick will most likely not forfeit his $3.2M contract.  Hopefully, Derrick will be able to fix his control problems in the minors.  Perhaps he needs a little time in Nashville to get back his appreciation for the game.  Perhaps he simply needs to be away from booing fans in Milwaukee.  Either way, a change is needed.
• Michael Hunt also believes that Ned Yost is in danger of getting the boot.
• The Junkball Blues analyzes the last handfull of starts by Brewers starters.  There have been no quality starts since Yovani Gallardo’s start against the Cubs at Wrigley.  I honestly believed that the starting pitching had a chance to be a strength for the Crew this season.  Apparently, that is not the case.  Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra need to step it up specifically.
• In one of the most interesting articles of the day, The Brew Town Beat contends that it is time for a change at the closer’s spot.  Who would replace Eric Gagne?  Guillermo Mota?  David Riske?  Nope, none of the above.  Try Carlos Villanueva.  I have personally not examined his splits, but Brew Town asserts that Carlos is most effective early in his starts.  This is not a persuasive argument, as Manny Parra is also most effective in the first three innings as well.  In fact, so is David Bush.  Gagne is not the reason the Brewers are losing games.  There is no need for a change.
• Beyond the Boxscore compares Matt LaPorta to Ryan Braun.  That is not a bad comparison at all for the former Florida Gator.  The article goes on to say that LaPorta will most likely play right field for the Crew, while Corey Hart moves to center, and Braun stays in left.  Hmmm…where have you heard that before?  Oh yes, I said that just a couple days ago.  It’s funny how people write that stuff like they thought of it first.  (Yes, I do realize that I was not the first to come up with that too.)
• Mark Rogers, a former first-round pick for the Crew, is experiencing more pain in his shoulder.  I believe he should be re-named Mark Prior Jr.
• How about some good news for the day?  Doug Davis has been declared “cancer-free.” Doug had been battling thyroid cancer and had surgery a few weeks ago.  That is fantastic news for the ex-Brewer.  Let’s hope that he gets back on the mound very quickly and that the cancer is indeed gone for good.
• Another ex-Brewer, Richie Sexon, charged the mound last night against the Texas Rangers.  Richie charged after Kason Gabbard threw a ball up and in on the big righty.  This is a rather humorous video, as the ball was not very close to Richie’s head.  Plus, he apparently need