Round ‘em Up: Wednesday

Those are a couple of pictures I got of CC Sabathia during his pre-game warmup. They’re not very big on here, but program I’m using doesn’t let it get much bigger.

The atmosphere inside Miller Park was absolutely electric last night, and the Brewers did not disappoint. The Crew sent the fans home happy with a 7-3 victory over the suddenly hot Colorado Rockies.

In the first inning, Ryan Braun launched a 430′ home run into the left field bleachers. The guy behind me one row and two guys to the left caught the ball. I was about three feet away from getting my glove on it. How awesome would that have been? Oh well. Another day, another time, maybe.

Let’s get into the news.

• Jim Powell says CC Sabathia delivered in a big way last night. The “Sabathia era” is now in motion, no matter how short of a time it would be. He has some audio from Sabathia himself, Doug Melvin, and the in-game audio from last night. In Sabathia’s post-game comments, he said he was overly excited and tried to overthrow a bunch of his pitches. I agree with that completely. It’s understandable that he was trying to impress the Miller Park crowd that gave him two or three standing ovations before even throwing a pitch.
• In some other trade news, Ken Rosenthal from FOX Sports is reporting that Milwaukee is showing interest in San Francisco’s second baseman Ray Durham and lefty reliever Jack Taschner. Durham makes a lot of sense for the Brewers, as Rickie Weeks is struggling again to find his swing. Taschner, on the other hand, is a little bit of a mystery to me. Mitch Stetter has better stuff than Jack, and Mitch is much younger. I would much rather Doug Melvin target someone like Jon Rauch from Washington. That would also deepen the bullpen past this season.
• Milwaukee finally signs second-round draft pick RHP Seth Lintz. There was a bit of confusion last month, as a report had been leaked that Lintz had signed with the Crew when he hadn’t. That’s all inconsequential at this point. The young man went 9-0 with a 0.57 ERA in high school down in Tennessee last season. That’s not too bad. He will report to AZL Brewers very soon.
• Driving home from the game last night, I turned on ESPN radio to see if the Cubs won or lost last night. After learning that they pulled out a win, I found out they traded for Rich Harden from the As. What?! That was quick! Chicago gave up Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and minor-league catcher Josh Donaldson. The Cubs also received reliever Chad Gaudin to ease the load on Carlos Marmol. Not many Brewers fans are going to admit this after the big Sabathia trade, but this move by the Cubs hurts. I really thought they were going to be stuck with A.J. Burnett. By giving up Gallagher, however, their starting pitching depth is extremely thin. They cannot afford for Harden to get injured, and that is obviously no guarantee.
• I never thought I would write this in 2008, but FOX Sports’ Dayn Perry actually wrote something positive about the NL Central. In fact, he even says good things about the Brewers! I’ll give you a second to catch your breath. He still gives the edge to the Cubs down the stretch, and it is very hard not to. Perry is right about something else, too. This is going to be a fun ride to the end of the season.
• How did the Brewers react to the Rich Harden acquisition? Exactly as they should. Ned Yost couldn’t care less, and Doug Melvin loves the competition. The article also quotes Mark Attanasio saying that Doug Melvin is going to be looking for another piece before the trade deadline. Don’t get too excited though. Milwaukee simply cannot afford another big-name player. Their payroll is extremely high right now, and their is no room on the roster to add someone.
• The Brew Town Beat is reporting that MLB.com contributor for Milwaukee said on the radio this morning that the back-end of the rotation will be a platoon once Jeff Suppan returns from the DL. Seth McClung is going to pitch on the road, and Dave Bush will take the ball at home. The statistics would argue that is a perfect solution, but I think McClung should move to the bullpen. It is extremely unlikely they will both be able to stay fresh pitching every 10th day or so. Give the ball to Bush every fifth and move McClung to the ‘pen. His control has improved greatly and could thrive in a late-inning role.
• In-Between Hops takes a look at the Home Run Derby swing curse. It has long been suspected that the Home Run Derby messes up a player’s swing for the second half. Case and point, Bobby Abreu. This post, however, says it is a myth and gives some convincing statistics to back it up. Let’s hope Ryan Braun doesn’t come back from the All-Star Break trying to hit a home run every at-bat. Prince Fielder already does that.
• Chuckie Hacks has an update on Derrick Turnbow in case you forgot about him.
• Dugout Central hands out the mid-season Cy Young awards for both the NL and the AL. The clear-cut favorites are Edinson Volquez for the National League and Cliff Lee for the American League. There are others in the discussion, however. I just don’t understand how the article cannot even mention Ben Sheets in the Cy Young mix. That 10-2 record with a 2.77 ERA not doing it for you? Yes, Volquez has been better, but give Sheets his due. Mention him in the discussion.

Dillard pays price for implosion and sent down

UPDATE 06-20-08 - I’ve also updated the signed prospect list.  Be sure to check that out.

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Hi all! This is Jim. I’m in Boston, MA right now, but my hotel room has internet connection! Just stopping by to see what’s going on with the site.

I’m glad to see Dan is keeping up so well with the site. It’s a lot of work too keep up with it, but he’s passing the call with flying colors.

Anyway, here’s some news. After imploding last night in the ninth inning, Tim Dillard has been sent down to Triple-A. To replace him, Milwaukee called up left-hander Mitch Stetter. Doug Melvin hasn’t played around with the bullpen in the last week or so.

This move may have happened more because Melvin wanted another lefty in the ‘pen, and Mitch has regained his control in the minors. I wouldn’t be so quick to blame Dillard for this demotion. He’s looked good on the mound, throwing a 95-96 mph fastball with ease. The control has been a bit of a problem in his past couple starts, but it should come around nicely.

Tim Dillard will be back in Milwaukee sometime this season. You can count on that.

Stetter walks his way out of Milwaukee

Well, here’s a move I did not see coming.

Mitch Stetter got sent down to Triple-A Nashville today.  His demotion can be blamed on his wildness.  After walking the bases loaded against the Los Angeles Dodgers yestarday, Doug Melvin and the Brewers called up left-hander Zach Jackson to be the second lefty out of the pen.

Jackson got shelled as a starter in Nashville, but has been much more effective in the ‘pen.  It is an intriguing move for Milwaukee.  Stetter showed some great stuff, but two bad outings in a row cost him his big league gig.  Mitch will be back up in Milwaukee again.

So, Doug has shown that he’s not afraid to demote people who have been struggling.  I like that in a GM.  It will be interesting to see what Doug has up his sleeve in the upcoming weeks.  I just hope he does not try to appease Brewers fans by mortgaging the future for a couple more wins this season.  Milwaukee needs a perennial contender…not just a one-and-done team.

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.

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.

Sheets exits early in Brewers victory

The Brewers were having enough trouble with their starting pitching staff before Friday night.  Sure, the Brewers won the game, but an air of uncertainty and anxiety hangs over the victory.

Why so somber, you ask?  Ben Sheets left the game after the fifth inning due to tightness in his triceps muscle.  He only threw 60 pitches and was pitching a lights-out game, but Ned Yost took him out for precautionary reasons.  No need to take any chances in April.

If that were the case, all would be okay.  We could be cautiously optimistic about Sheets’ next start.  Then the team revealed more bad news.  Sheets actually has had soreness in his triceps muscle since his start against the New York Mets.  He’s been receiving treatment for it every day.  I have a headache…

The rest of the game did happen, however, and the Brewers bullpen got a little scare late in the game.  Newly promoted Mitch Stetter loaded the bases in the eighth inning, but struck out the next two batters.  David Riske finished off the inning to preserve the 5-0 lead.  Riske then gave up a bunt single to Ken Griffey Jr. and a single to Brandon Phillips and Adam Dunn.

Enter Eric Gagne.  Edwin Encarnacion got a ridiculous bloop single to fall in shallow right, and all looked down for the Crew.  Gagne proceeded to strike out the next two Reds to finish out the game.  It was a heart-racer though.

Bill Hall seems to have benefited from the switch to sixth in the batting order.  Yes, I’m preemptively calling that after one game.  He absolutely smashed a two-run home run off of Bronson Arroyo.  Billy may not be hitting for average, but he certainly has his power stroke going.

Records: Brewers (10-6); Reds (7-10)

Hero of the Game: Eric Gagne

Eric came into the game and successfully halted the Cincinnati rally.  He gave up a bloop single to Edwin Encarnacion, but he struck out the next two to finish the game.  His change-up was absolutely electric today, and he had a nice fastball today.  93-94mph is exactly where he needs to be.  A tip of the cap goes to Eric today for saving the game.

Goat of the Game: David Riske

He did come in during the eighth inning and keep the Reds scoreless.  He also came in during the ninth inning and lost his control.  He fell behind 3-1 to Adam Dunn.  Riske is seriously lucky that Dunn did not take that belt-high fastball right out of the park.  The control has been a little sketchy for Riske lately, and that needs to improve.  On a lighter note, however, Riske is known as a slow starter.  If he can only improve throughout the season, I’m excited to see it.  He could use a little lighter workload though.

On Tap

Jeff Suppan will take on the phenom, Johnny Cueto at 12:10pm CT.  Let’s be 2-0 against the kid.

Round ‘em Up: Friday

Here’s a short smattering of links while I gear up for Friday’s NL Central Review:

• Prince Fielder is on pace to hit as many home runs as he did last season.  Through 15 games in ‘07, he had only one HR.  We’ve brought up this point before though.
• Prince Fielder may have not been getting too many hits early in the season, but 7 of his 13 hits came with runners in scoring position.  That’s being productive.
• Bugs and Cranks outlines the situation at the end of the rotation.  Yovani Gallardo will be coming back.  Who will get knocked out?
• Even Ken Rosenthal is obsessed with Gabe Kapler.  Then again, aren’t we all?
• John Sickels from Minor League Ball takes a very in depth look at Carlos Villanueva.  John’s stuff is always good.
• The Brewers call up Mitch Stetter!!!  Hernan Iribarren gets sent back down to Triple-A.  He did well while he was here though.  We’ll see him again.
• Derrick Turnbow is not happy with his role in the bullpen.  Well, throw more strikes and get more people out, and that will probably change.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

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

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

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

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

Round ‘em Up: Escobar, Mota, LaPorta

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

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

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

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

Brewers pitchers shine in wins

Since Milwaukee had its first split squad games today, this will be the first time that I put both games into one post.  In case you didn’t see the scores, Milwaukee beat Seattle 2-0.  Milwaukee turned the tables on the Mariners from last week and only allowed them to put two hits on the scoreboard.  Oakland also fell to the Brewers, 5-2.

Records: Milwaukee (7-4); Seattle (4-6); Oakland (8-3)

Batting

There was generally no offense to speak of in the Seattle game.  J.J. Hardy recorded a two-RBI double in the third inning to score the only two runs of the day.  Rickie Weeks continued to struggle at the plate today.  He went 0-3 with a strike out.  He is now hitting only .130 this spring.  It looks like those “breakout” projections are going to be a little off unless he can pick it up sometime soon before Opening Day.

The Oakland game gave Brewers fans a little more offense, but most of it came from minor league players or reserves.  Tony Gwynn Jr. continued his fine play at the plate, going 2-4 at the plate.  Cole Gillespie played in his first Spring Training game of the year, and he started it off in a big way.  He went 1-1 with a three-run bomb in the 8th inning to put the Brewers up on Oakland for good.

Pitching

In the Seattle game, Claudio Vargas pitched brilliantly.  Claudio threw five scoreless and hitless innings, while only allowing one walk.  He had the best pitching performance by a Brewers starter so far this spring.  This certainly gives him a strong case for a starting rotation spot, or perhaps he simply increased his trade value.  We’ll have to see.

Also in the Seattle game, Derrick Turnbow seems to have found a nice groove, as he pitched another scoreless inning.  He struck one batter out and did not allow a batter to get on base.  Seattle’s first hit came against Eric Gagne in the seventh inning, but it didn’t much matter.  Eric shut the door on the rest of the batters he faced and also posted a scoreless inning.  It’s very nice to see those two have a couple nice outings in a row.  Minor leaguers Erasmo Ramirez and Tim Dillard also pitched scoreless innings to hold Seattle scoreless for the game.

Now to the Oakland game.  Non-roster invitee, Chris Narveson, also had a very successful outing for the Crew.  He pitched four scoreless innings with two strike outs, while giving up two hits and a walk.  The 26-year old used to be a prospect in the St. Louis organization before needing surgery on his arm.  It looks like he’s bounced back rather nicely and could provide some quality depth in Nashville this season.

Mitch Stetter worked one scoreless inning and struck out two A’s.  Luis Pena continued his fine spring by throwing another scoreless inning.  He may make a charge for a bullpen spot if he continues to pitch like this.  Everyone that’s seen him pitch this spring has said that he’s looked extremely good.  Seth McClung gave up one run on two hits, while striking out one.  That is certainly not a bad outing, but compared to all the scoreless frames Brewers pitchers put up, it does look that way.  Fantastic work by Brewers pitchers today.

On Tap

Dave Bush gets the start tomorrow against the Chicago Cubs at 3:05pm CT.  Dave looks to rebound from a couple rough starts.  Ned Yost called him out yesterday and said that Dave needs to show some major improvement to secure a spot in the starting rotation.

Padres pound minor league pitchers, beat Brewers 12-4

Today’s game is one of those that looks a lot worse than it actually was. The game was going along smoothly through six innings, with the score being 2-1 in favor of the Padres. Then some pitchers from the Brewers’ minor league camp came in the game to eat some innings for Ned Yost. I guess it’s fair to say that it didn’t go too smoothly. As a group, Erasmo Ramirez, Robert Hinton, Steve Hammond and Josh Wahpepah gave up 7 hits, 9 walks, and 10 runs over three innings. Yost said that they were all overthrowing the ball, but it still must have been painful to watch.

Batting

Brewers regulars were pretty quiet at the plate tonight. The only projected starter that had an RBI was J.J. Hardy with an opposite-field RBI single to score Rickie Weeks. Jason Kendall and Prince Fielder were the only other starters who got hits, and they were only singles. Brad Nelson did hit a three-run shot in the 8th inning, though. That was the only spark of life in the Brewers bats today.

Matt LaPorta finished 1-1 from the plate today. He had a pinch hit single in the 4th inning, and he is now batting .571 in Spring Training so far. I think this is going to prompt a new daily feature in the game recaps called…LaPorta Watch.

LaPorta Watch = 1-1, a pinch hit single in the 4th inning.

Pitching

Jeff Suppan pitched two innings today and gave up two innings.  Suppan did not throw too much other than fastballs today, but he still gave up three hits and hit a batter today.  As suspected, he did not sound too concerned about the start.  Typical Spring Training stuff from a veteran pitcher.

Derrick Turnbow, on the other hand, was absolutely lights out today.  He pitched a 1-2-3 inning with all three outs coming via the ground out.  Yost said that Turnbow could not have pitched any better than he did today, which is a great sign heading into the regular season.

Besides D-Bow and Soup, the only other potential big league pitcher that threw today was Mitch Stetter.  A Brewers fan at the last game Stetter pitched at pointed out that Stetter looked a lot better than his line showed.  Stetter didn’t have to worry about an unseemly stat line today.  He made quick work of the Padres, allowing a hit, striking out one batter, and giving up no runs.  Solid work.

Records:  Milwaukee (2-3); San Diego (2-2)

On Tap

The Milwaukee Brewers take on the division rival Chicago Cubs.  Claudio Vargas will take the mound against Chicago’s Ryan Dempster.  The game will start at 2:05pm central time.

A’s get revenge, win 11-4

Oakland evened up the two-day series against Milwaukee today, winning 11-4.  Jack Cust started off the scoring for the A’s in the first with a grand slam off Dave Bush.  The pitchers struggled overall today.

Batting:

It is difficult to say that the Crew had a bad day at the plate, as they managed to post 12 hits.  Prince Fielder went 2-3.  Hardy went 3-3 with three singles, and Corey Hart finished the day 2-3 with a two-RBI triple off Alan Embree.   Gabe Gross hit his first home run of Spring Training today, belting a solo shot in the 7th.

Rickie Weeks had a rough day at the plate, going 0-3 with three strikeouts.  That is not the ideal line for a leadoff man, to say the least.  I do know that Ricky was focused on taking pitches, but striking out three times is unacceptable at the top of the order.

Pitching:

Dave Bush, Eric Gagne, and Derrick Turnbow all struggled today for the Brewers.  Bush gave up a first inning grand slam to Jack Cust, after letting the first the batters get on base.  He was able to right the ship in the second inning and get through unscathed.  Gagne, in his much hyped debut, could simply not keep the ball down today.  Even all three of his outs were fly-outs.  After his outing, Gagne said that he felt tired and began to overstride in his mechanics.  I’m a little concerned that Gagne felt tired after a simple bullpen session today…perhaps something to keep an eye on.  Turnbow gave up a two-run homer to Bobby Crosby and walked someone in one inning of work.  Mitch Stetter also struggled mightily in the 8th inning, giving up three hits and allowing one run.

On a side note, I do not like the excuse “it’s only Spring Training, so I’m not worried.”  That seems to be a double standard.  If players perform well in Spring Training, fans and managers get excited and sing a player’s praises, yet when a player struggles, everyone is quick to say that it’s too early to make judgments.  While there is admittedly some truth to that statement, there needs to be some consistency.  If we are going to judge a player for playing well and praise him for that, the exact opposite should happen in Spring Training.

Manny Parra had an average outing today.  He pitched two innings of one-run ball, with a walk and a strikeout.  Manny did only give up one hit, but it was Jack Cust’s second home run of the day.  A little concerning is the fact that 4 of Manny’s outs were fly-ball outs.  That will not work in Miller Park.

Tomorrow:

Ben Sheets and David Riske are scheduled to pitch tomorrow for Milwaukee, as they will face the Colorado Rockies at 2:05pm central time.

Odds and Ends

Glad to see that everyone has found the new site. Don’t forget there’s a link to this week’s poll on the sidebar!

Now, on to Brewers’ news. Not too much is going on today, but here are some interesting reads:

• It seems that sports writers really do not like Jason Kendall. The Hardball Times just unveiled their “worst infield for the dough,” and Jason Kendall took the honors at catcher. The article is a little misleading, however. It uses last year’s salary numbers, and it only looks at the offensive output from Kendall. The Brewers did not sign him for his bat or his throwing arm. Melvin signed Kendall for the intangibles and his ability to make pitchers better.
• Sports Weekly published its 100 Names You Need to Know in 2008 today. Manny Parra and Mitch Stetter made the list for the Crew. Paul White, author of the article, seems to think that Stetter is above Choate in the bullpen depth chart. I’m not completely sold on that argument, but I think Stetter has the ability to play very well this year if the Brewers give him a chance.Interestingly enough, two former Brewers also made the list, LHP Joe Thatcher and 2B Callix Crabbe. Thatcher was one of the three players Melvin sent to San Diego for Scott Linebrink in the middle of the season last year, and he pitched brilliantly for the Padres last season. In fact, he pitched better than Linebrink did for the Crew after coming to Milwaukee. This is tempered some, however, by the fact that Linebrink gained Milwaukee two draft picks by being a Class A free agent.

  Callix Crabbe always put up very solid numbers in Triple-A Nashville for Milwaukee, but Rickie Weeks blocked his development. I was sad to see Callix go when the Padres drafted him in the Rule 5 draft this year, but it gives him the chance to play in the big leagues. Callix will compete for a utility role on the bench for the Padres this year, and let’s hope he gets it done. Good luck Callix!

• An interesting tool used for projecting offensive capabilities is the Lineup Analysis Tool. The Brewers look to be a very formidable offensive team again this year, with a best-case scenario of 5.22 runs per game. What would that lineup look like according to the Lineup Analysis Tool? Here you are:Weeks, Fielder, Cameron, Braun, Hart, Hall, Hardy, Pitcher, Kendall

  Yes, you read that correctly. This projection tool says our pitchers will have more offensive output than Jason Kendall. This is by no means an exact science, but it is fun to look at. Here are the rest of the projected lineups for the Brewers.

• Adam McCalvy takes a look at the Brewers’ bullpen for 2008. He notes that Melvin did a great job in acquiring many power arms that have 9th inning experience. The article does say that Gagne will be the closer for 2008, no question about it.One other interesting tidbit is that Yost said that he would prefer to have a second lefty in the bullpen to go along with Shouse, Gagne, Riske, Torres, Turnbow, and Mota. This would mean that Yost is looking towards either Mitch Stetter or Randy Choate. Like I said earlier, I think Choate has the advantage in this battle, but Spring Training can change everything.

  If Yost does put Choate or Stetter in the bullpen, it would leave the Crew without a long-relief option. Perhaps Yost is talking about Capuano or Parra in the pen? Who knows… I couple trades are still looming on the horizon for the Brewers with their surplus in starting pitching. It looks like the pitchers will have to bring their A-game in Spring Training. This is the kind of competition the Brewers system has longed to have for many years.