Round ‘em Up: Thursday

UPDATE 07-10-08 1:55pm - Ned Yost says Milwaukee has no interest in releasing Guillermo Mota.  Oh good.

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Well, ladies and gentlemen. The Milwaukee Brewers pretended Glendon Rusch was the second coming of CC Sabathia last night. All the Brewers hitters (perhaps with the exception of Bill Hall) looked utterly lost against the left-hander. It’s not like he had an ERA of over 6 and a half coming into the game…

• Last night, Pete from Brewers Fanatics ran the first installment of The Brewers Blog Roundtable. Jared from Right Field Bleachers and myself took most of the questions, and we have a podcast for you all to listen to. As of right now, the Roundtable is going to be a sort of question-and-answer format. We are very open to making it a live call-in show if the audience is big enough. Until then, I will simply post the podcasts here for you to listen to.

  The first installment is a little rough, as Pete is getting used to the software. It was also our first run at the program, so it will get smoother down the line. It’s a pretty good product for the first try though. Enjoy.

  Brewers Blog Roundtable

• Tom Haudricourt says enough is enough with Guillermo Mota. He fully expects Mota to be designated for assignment today. I completely agree that he will be DFA’d, but it will probably not come until after today’s game. What if the Crew needs someone to handle mop-up time? Might as well get a few more innings out of Mota before cutting him loose.

  TH thinks Luis Pena will get the call to the big leagues. He struggled with his stuff to start the season, but has really turned it on as of late. Nashville’s closer has a 1.78 ERA in his last 30 1/3 innings. Not bad at all.

  I think that Doug Melvin and Ned Yost will go with big league experience at this point in the season, however. He may not have much, but Tim Dillard showed that he’s capable of handling himself on a big stage. It’s true that he lost his command a bit, but has been throwing the ball much better with the Sounds lately.

• In-Between Hops believes it may only take a trip to the DL to get Mota back on track. If only things were just that simple…
• The Brew Town Beat is absolutely ecstatic that Haudricourt is calling for Guillermo Mota’s head. Mota has been exceptionally awful over the past month and a half, and it is about time for Milwaukee to cut their losses and DFA the big guy.

  I also notice that Brew Town mentions me in their post when they criticize people for saying Mota has thrown good pitches like the pitch against Joe Mauer. I don’t shy away from criticism. That was a good pitch, and Mauer simply beat him. The problem is that Mota has not thrown many good pitches since that point. I did not defend him in the least bit against Arizona or last night. It was one game, and I stick by it. With that said, Mota’s time in Milwaukee has drawn to a close.

• Brew Crew Pub says something is missing from the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers. It is patience and a high on-base percentage. Agreed. I’m not sure Kenny Lofton is the best choice here. I would much rather send Rickie Weeks away from a high OBP second baseman like you’re suggesting. To my knowledge, Huntsville has not tried Alcides Escobar at second base.

  What would I suggest? This is clearly me in a dreamworld, but how about a package that sends Rickie Weeks, Brad Nelson, and Zach Braddock for Brian Roberts and George Sherrill? Both Roberts and Sherrill will be under Milwaukee’s control past the 2008 season, and it would provide the Brewers with a very solid arm in the bullpen and a bona fide lead-off hitter. The package would probably need another prospect though. Perhaps someone like a Alexandre Periard.

• Ned Yost does not want Ryan Braun to participate in the Home Run Derby. Milwaukee’s manager does not want Braun messing up his swing for the second half. I’m more worried about his sore hand at this point…
• Between the Green Pillars takes an excellent look at the Manny Parra situation. He is on pace to throw more innings than the Brewers organization originally wanted him to. History has shown that pitchers are at a higher risk for injury if they make a big jump in innings pitched like Parra is on pace to do. The author believes Milwaukee will not hold him back, as the CC Sabathia trade signifies that the team is all in for this season.

  I would agree with that, but I also do not fall in the camp that believes Parra’s innings should be limited this season. Younger pitchers coming out of high school do need to watch their innings, but Parra does not have a young arm. He has been slowed by injuries, yes, but he is not new to throwing on the mound. Older relievers that have never thrown many innings do just fine when stretching out their arms. In my opinion, Parra is certainly capable of going more than 163 innings. If he starts to experience a bit of “dead arm,” then Ned Yost should worry about it.

• Something tells me that Jason Kendall was a good pick-up this off-season.
• The Junkball Blues takes a look at what Chicago gave up to get Rich Harden compared to what Milwaukee gave up to get CC Sabathia. He concludes that Harden did cost a bit more than Sabathia, as he should.

  People keep overlooking the fact that Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and Eric Patterson have all spent time in the big leagues. The Cleveland Indians did not get that from a single player from Milwaukee. Matt LaPorta may fizzle out before getting to the big leagues. After all, Nelson Cruz is still raking in Triple-A…

• The Cub Reporter says that Rich Harden may not be under Chicago’s control through the 2009 season like everyone believes. That would certainly change the dynamics of the trade completely. (Tip of the cap to Right Field Bleachers for this one.)
• Dugout Central says that Billy Beane is a dangerous GM to be making a deal with. He never loses a big trade. Most of the pitchers he loses end up fizzling out due to some sort of injury (Mark Mulder) or ineffectiveness (Barry Zito). I don’t know if I agree with the article when it says Tim Hudson has been mostly ineffective for two seasons. I definitely wouldn’t want that 3.16 ERA from this season or that 3.33 ERA from 2007. What a poor performance…

Prince reigns over Pittsburgh

Prince Fielder may be struggling at the plate, but sure saved the Brewers tonight with timely hitting in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In a 1-1 game in the bottom of the ninth, Rickie Weeks battled back from a 0-2 count to draw a huge walk to start the frame. That turned out to be a huge boost for the team.

J.J. Hardy then sacrificed his 16-game hitting streak by laying down a sac bunt to move Rickie to second base. Pittsburgh reliever Tyler Yates chose to next intentionally walk Ryan Braun to get to a struggling Prince Fielder and to set up the double play.

Brewers fans rose to their feet in support of their Prince. Yates started him off with a couple fastballs on the outside part of the plate to head in the count 0-2. The right-hander then tried to make Prince chase a ball at his eyes. Prince appeared to be too eager at the plate and almost obliged. Now down 1-2, I thought Yates was going to bury a ball in the dirt, as Prince showed he wanted to swing at everything. Instead, he tried to sneak an outside fastball by the big lefty. It didn’t work. Prince served a line drive to left-center field that scored Rickie from second. 2-1 Brewers. Ball game.

Milwaukee got an absolute gem of a start from right-hander Dave Bush. He changed speeds beautifully all day, and his curveball stayed down in the zone all day. Bushie had fantastic control this evening, especially on the outside corner. I’m not sure how often it has happened all season, but he did not walk an opposing batter all game, while striking out six.

It turned out that Dave Bush needed to pitch well tonight, as Paul Maholm also spun a gem on the mound. Besides a nice opposite field home run from Mike Cameron, Pittsburgh’s left-hander went eight innings without surrendering another run. His curveball and change-up fooled Milwaukee hitters all evening. Tonight’s game was the epitome of a pitcher’s duel.

Even Eric Gagne threw the ball well, pitching the top of the ninth without giving up a run. He gave up a hit and struck out one. While his velocity has gone way down since injuring his shoulder, the command has been a thousand times better. His change-up has been absolutely nasty for him, falling right through the zone and fooling opposing batters. The command on his fastball has been much better. He has been able to work the corners much more effectively than before his stint on the DL.

The lack of velocity will be a hindrance of Gagne, but the better control may land the former closer 8th inning duties. If he is able to keep up the fine performances, I wouldn’t mind that at all. Don’t worry, that’s not a self-fulfilling prophecy at all.

There is some news on the C.C. Sabathia trade front.

Tom Haudricourt reports that Doug Melvin is waiting for a response from the Indians on their trade proposal. All signs point to the package being Matt LaPorta/Taylor Green/Lorenzo Cain. The Indians will probably wait until Monday or Tuesday before deciding on anything. They could perhaps ask for more in return, but nothing new seems likely to occur before Monday.

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney says that the Indians are fielding other offers from the Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tampa seems more focused on a right-handed outfielder and probably lacks the motivation to make a strong offer for Sabathia. If they do decide to make a play, however, Milwaukee may be on the outside looking in. Tampa has an incredible farm system and can outplay the Brewers. They will test the waters, but most likely will look elsewhere.

The Dodgers need a shortstop, but could change gears and hone in on the left-hander. They should have enough to get the deal done. It all depends on the motivation and the transparency of their proposal. Olney says Los Angeles has a tendency to balk at proposals. They will say one player is available, then back off and say he’s not.

Most likely, the Philadelphia Phillies will be the toughest opponent if they choose to be aggressive. Their farm system does not have as many offensive five-star prospects, but they could offer more players to get the deal done. I have heard that Philadelphia prefers Erik Bedard though.

Records: Brewers (48-39); Pirates (40-46)

Hero of the Game: Prince Fielder

The award could easily go to Dave Bush for his gem of a performance, but I came away from the game very impressed with Fielder’s resilience in the ninth inning. He has fought his swing the past couple weeks, but the big guy came up big to win the game. After trying a little too hard on the first three pitches, the fourth pitch from Tyler Yates turned out to be the charm. He didn’t overswing and took the ball where it was pitched. A great win for the Brewers.

Goat of the Game: Jason Kendall

Jason just didn’t look comfortable at the plate tonight. He did call a superb game for Dave Bush this evening, but he went 0-3 at the plate. The catcher doesn’t really deserve the Goat. Sorry, Jason.

On Tap

RHP Jeff Suppan will battle LHP Zach Duke in the series finale at Miller Park. The Crew looks to sweep the Pirates and continue their fine play. The game starts at 1:05pm CT on FSN North.

Round ‘em Up: Wednesday

Last night was a little frustrating to watch down the stretch, but the Brewers were able to pull out a win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 2008 Brewers certainly have a knack for making their wins tough at the end of the game. They need a few blow-out wins. My heart gets a little stressed out after wins like last night.

• Brew Crew Pub has a recap of the game from last night. Make sure you show BN reader Aaron a little love.
• Jim Powell has an interview with Ryan Braun about the All-Star Game and a mailbag from last night’s game. He has a little token recap of the game, but nothing in-depth.
• In case you were confused last night, Rickie Weeks missed the game because of a stomach virus. I’m not sure how long he will be out, but stomach viruses can last for a few days. At least Joe Dillon has looked incredibly solid in his past couple games. It might be good for him to get a few more at-bats.
• Before last night, Milwaukee had not scored in 22 and 1/3 innings against relief pitchers. It is amazing that they have won as many games on this road trip as they have with those numbers. Part of the struggles have been due to the lack of patience at the plate. The streak ended last night when Mike Rivera it that ridiculous opposite-field double at his eyes.
• FOX Sports Fantasy Baseball says that Salomon Torres appears to have secured the closer’s role in Milwaukee. Really? Perhaps the fact that Ned Yost said Torres is Milwaukee’s closer was a little too subtle. Sheesh. Salomon has been 13 for 13 in save situations since Eric Gagne went on the DL. Of course he’s staying put.
• Al’s Ramblings has a quote from Peter Gammons on his blog today. It says that scouts believe there are at least five legitimate major league players on that roster. Another scout says that Huntsville has the best prospects he has ever seen in a minor league system. Jack Zuriencik, I thank you on behalf of all Brewers fans.
• Ken Rosenthal from FOX Sports says that the Brewers are interested in RHP Vicente Padilla. Rosenthal says that it would take quality young pitching to get Padilla out of Texas, however. The 30-year old right-hander has a 4.06 ERA playing in the tight Texas ballpark. Let me put it this way, Vicente Padilla is not my first, second, or third choice for a starting pitcher acquisition. In fact, he was not on my radar. Doug can do better than that.
• Dugout Central has a nice look at the year thus far, giving a bunch of stats on every team in every division.
• The Baseball Analysts has a Triple-A All-Star team on its site. Today, the site selected its starting rotation and bullpen. Mark DiFelice is coming out of the ‘pen. His walk-to-strike out ratio is ridiculous. I very much like DiFelice and think he can be a productive member of Milwaukee’s bullpen in September and into next season.
• Diamond Hoggers gives Ben Sheets the NL Comeback Player of the Year award. I understand the logic, but Gabe Kapler deserves a look for that award. He was completely out of baseball last season and is now hitting north of .300 in the major leagues. That’s a comeback.Oh, and I utterly disagree with Joey Votto being the NL Rookie of the Year. I’ll excuse it though, as the site has an obvious Cincinnati bias. Not that it’s a bad thing. This site may or may not have a pro-Milwaukee bias.
• C Michael Roberts made quite the debut last night for the Helena Brewers. He homered in his first professional at-bat, and also had a two-run triple later in the game. Not bad, young man.
• The Philadelphia Phillies demoted Brett Myers to the minors yesterday, and he surprisingly accepted the move. This all but cements Philadelphia’s inclusion in the starting rotation market. They are said to covet Erik Bedard, but C.C. Sabathia could become a real possibility in a couple weeks.

Bush struggles as Brewers are snake bitten

Brewers fans enjoyed the Dave Bush affectionately known as “Cy Bush” the past couple starts.  His fine performances did not carry over to Monday night, however.

Dave Bush returned to form, giving up multiple runs in the first and fifth innings.  That is vintage Dave Bush if I ever saw it.

He gave up a double and a triple in the first, which ended up costing the Crew two runs.  It sacrificed all of the momentum gained in the top of the first.  J.J. Hardy looked very comfortable at the plate again tonight.  He plated Rickie Weeks with a double to start the game, and later scored on a Prince Fielder single to right.  All seemed right in the world in the top of the first.

The Brewers right-hander must have decided that Milwaukee’s 2-0 lead was just too good to be true.  After giving back those 2 runs, things calmed down until the fifth.  Both Bush and Doug Davis appeared to have found a groove.

That groove ended for Milwaukee in the fifth, however.  Dave Bush strikes again.  He gives up three more runs to the slumping D’Backs order, and Milwaukee was never able to recover.  Doug Davis consistently kept the Brewers hitters off-balance after the first inning, and Milwaukee struck out a lot against the Diamondback relievers.

The offense could not bail out Dave Bush, but I cannot help but think the Crew could have pulled out the win had Dave been able to quiet the D’Backs in the first inning.  Should have, would have, could have, though.  That doesn’t put any tallies in the win column.  I do wish, however, that Dave Bush could do that more consistently.

Records: Brewers (44-38 ); Diamondbacks (42-41)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

J.J. started off the game right with a double that scored Rickie Weeks.  The Brewers shortstop has looked much more comfortable at the plate in the past week or so, and he showed that tonight.  He followed up that first inning double with a 3-5 night, adding another double to his stat line.  If J.J. can heat up in the second spot with Rickie getting on base ahead of him, this Brewers offense would be downright scary.

Goat of the Game: Dave Bush

You need to figure out those first inning woes.  That’s all that needs to be said.  Figure it out, or you’ll be on the outside looking in after the trade deadline.

The second Goat of the Game goes to Ryan Braun.  He has looked downright awful at the plate the past couple games, and it continued tonight.  Striking out twice and grounding into a double play, Ryan seemed to kill any momentum the offense tried to get going.

On Tap

Jeff Suppan has scuffled a bit in his past couple outings.  He will look to turn that around Tuesday night against the future hall-of-famer, Randy Johnson.  Randy shut down the Crew pretty easily until the late innings in his last start in Milwaukee.  The game starts at 8:40pm CT.  This is a big game for Milwaukee.  The squad needs a big win.

Home runs cannot push Crew past Twins

The offense did it’s part, but it wasn’t enough.

Corey Hart’s two homers were not enough to overcome Minnesota’s seven runs.  J.J. Hardy confused everyone watching by socking a two-run home run to the opposite field.  A monster blast by Russell Branyan was not enough.  The 12 hits pounded out by the Crew were not enough to pull out the ‘W’ tonight.

A long story short…one cannot blame Milwaukee’s offense for losing tonight’s game against the Twins.  Even Rickie Weeks continues to swing a pretty good bat since coming off the DL this week.  It may just be me, but Rickie always seems to rake after coming off an injury.  Just an observation.

The infallible Seth McClung came down to earth a bit this evening, struggling through 4.2 innings and giving up five runs.  Minnesota managed nine hits off the big right-hander.  Seth simply didn’t have his ‘A’ stuff tonight.  Heck, he didn’t even have his ‘C’ stuff.  After the bunch of fine performances in the past couple weeks, however, I am more than willing to look past this start.

Seth’s control was spotty at best today, as he found far too much of the plate far too often.  He seemed a little reluctant to throw the curveball this evening, and the Twins hitters jumped on his fastball.  The big man put together a poor outing in every sense, and he will look to rebound next week.  Let’s hope he does in a big way.  The rotation has begun to rely on Seth at the back-end.  If he begins to lose his command, the Brewers may seriously begin to push the C.C. Sabathia envelope.

With a tie game, Ned Yost turned to Guillermo Mota to preserve the 6-6 tie.  Mota has been struggling over the past month, but he looked to be throwing the ball quite well tonight.  Even Joe Mauer’s go-ahead solo shot was a 96 mph fastball at his shoulders.  That is not a location mistake.  A pitcher cannot do anything but tip his cap to the hitter at that point.  It was a good pitch.  Mota couldn’t go to the slider on an 0-2 count to a lefty.  If he hung it, it was gone.  He and Kendall made the right decision, and Mota threw it where Kendall wanted it.  Joe Mauer simply connected.  Ballgame.

The Brewers made it interesting in the top of the ninth against closer Joe Nathan, but were unable to capitalize.  Prince Fielder was up at the plate with runners and first and second.  A grounder to first base ended the threat, however.  Fielder is still over-aggressive when he has the chance to win the game in the ninth.  He needs to relax more at the plate.  Maturity will help alleviate that tension though.  It will come.

Records: Brewers (43-36); Twins (44-36)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

I know Corey Hart hit two home runs today, but J.J. did something I never thought I would see again.  He drove the ball with authority to the opposite field and hit a home run.  The Brewers shortstop went 2-5 in the two-hole in the lineup.  He has continued to look pretty good since being moved to the two spot.  If Hardy can consistently drive the ball to right field with authority, pitchers will have to pitch him inside again.  Brewers fans should know what Hardy can do with an inside fastball.  His scorching start to the 2007 season should be an indicator of that.  He mashes the inside fastball.

Goat of the Game: Seth McClung

This award cannot go to Guillermo Mota tonight.  He did not throw a bad 0-2 pitch to Joe Mauer.  It was shoulder-high and at 96 mph.  What more can you ask for from Guillermo?  The all-star catcher simply deposited his strikeout pitch over center field.

Seth McClung, on the other hand, had a terrible outing.  The big right-hander was unable to preserve any lead Milwaukee had over Minnesota, and it eventually came back to bite the Crew.  I look forward to next week when fans can see how he responds to this start.  He’s done nothing but impress thus far, so I suspect that will continue next week.

On Tap

Rookie left-hander Manny Parra will battle veteran right-hander Livan Hernandez tomorrow night in Minneapolis.  The game will start at 6:10pm CT.  Manny looks to rebound from a below-average start, but it will not be an easy task against the surging Twins.  Control will be key for Manny tomorrow evening.

Sup, Offense Off in Finale Loss

Following his disastrous 1 2/3 inning performance in his last outing, Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan was hoping for a solid outing in his side’s finale against the Atlanta Braves. Suppan was actually very good through four innings allowing only two runs, but ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up two more. All in all it was the bats that failed to back up Sup in his pitching this afternoon, putting up two runs in the third. Final score: Braves 4, Brewers 2.

Suppan had never won at Atlanta and this afternoon would not be his day either. Braves starter Jorge Campillo was a Brewers killer on both sides of the game. Through seven innings he allowed only four hits and two runs alongside six strikeouts. With the bat Campillo stroked two hits and came around to score both times.

In the end, the Crew walked away from Turner Field with two of three and a solid start to their road trip. Rickie Weeks was solid again (I didn’t give him props for his 3-for-4 night earlier) going 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot. Watch out NL if Weeks continues this tear.

The bats have been a little off in Atlanta, but super pitching from Dave Bush and Ben Sheets kept the Braves at bay. Suppan was decent (not a “quality start,” but decent), but the bats couldn’t support the guy.

Records: Brewers (43-35); Braves (38-41)

Hero of the Game: Rickie Weeks

About the only guy who came to play. Since Sheet’s effort overshadowed Weeks’ 3-4 outing before I’ve got to give him credit today. When he came back off the DL I thought maybe Yost wouldn’t put him back up top (who else would go up.. I don’t know) and see if he could earn the spot back, but he has hit exactly how a leadoff guy should. Runner-up credit goes to Mike Rivera who grabbed another spot start and made it look like Jason Kendall was still behind the plate and at bat (and that’s a good thing).

Goat of the Game: Prince Fielder

After roasting the Orioles at home, Fielder was down right bad in the “ATL.” No hits, no walks, a few defensive blunders, and 2 Ks for the fat man. Here’s to hoping he puts another fly ball of the speakers in the Metrodome.

On Tap:

Travel day tomorrow, but the I-94 series continues in Minneapolis on Friday. Scott McNasty (5-3, 3.79 ERA) hits the hill against Nick Blackburn (6-4, 3.68 ERA). The Twinkies lead the season series 2-1.

By: Dan Wiersema

Prince’s Power Hour Propels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hero of the Game: Prince Fielder

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

Stat May June

On Base Percentage .358 .432

Average .294 .343

Slugging: .450 .757

Promising stuff from the kid.

Goat of the Game: Davillermo RiskMota

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

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

On Tap:

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

By: Dan Wiersema

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

After a day off yesterday, the Brewers will look to continue their winning ways against the Houston Astros tonight. Let’s hope the Crew does not make a habit of getting swept in Houston. That would be less than desirable, I suppose. What’s in the news you ask? Don’t worry. I have you covered. There are articles that will most likely be up during the rest of the day, so I will add more to the bottom of the post if anything of interest is written.

• SportsBubbler analyzes the offensive problems through the past 99 games. Most of the article is fairly obvious, but there are a couple of points that stand out. Perhaps Prince Fielder is not the home run hitter fans believe him to be. The stats are interesting. Next, Corey Hart and his power-outage has definitely hurt the team. To me, he appears to be simply trying to get the bat on the ball and let his legs do the work. If he’s going to hit around .300, I have no problem with average power. Yes, he can do more, but I don’t want to sacrifice the average.
• How about a series preview for the Milwaukee-Houston three game set?
• Adam McCalvy has a mailbag up for Brewers.com. Sometimes I find reading an article written by someone that is paid by the MLB to be pointless. Do you really think Adam is telling the fans what he really thinks about things? He cannot criticize the team too much, as he would probably get in trouble from the team. That doesn’t seem to lend itself to honest journalism, does it?
• Right Field Bleachers has an interview with the Brewers’ 35th overall pick, LHP Evan Frederickson. The big left-hander can throw gas, but will he be able to find the strike zone on a consistent basis? The Brewers think he will be.
• Speaking of interviews, how about a video interview with CF Michael Brantley? He’s quietly tearing up Huntsville along with the other prospects down there. Perhaps not so quietly anymore. He’s getting a lot of love from BrewersNation.
• Dugout Central says that Rickie Weeks is an overrated prospect. That is false. He is not a prospect anymore. Rickie Weeks is a every day second baseman in the major leagues. One could argue that he is not producing like people thought he would, but he is not a failed or overrated prospect.
• The Hardball Times has a nice article about how fatigue effects a pitcher’s fastball. It turns out that the speed does not decrease very much throughout the start for most pitchers, Ben Sheets is a great example of that. The movement, however, is a different story. Fastballs get straighter and straighter later in the game, which is why pitchers are less effective. The story has some pretty graphs if you are a visual learner.

UPDATES 06-10-08

• (Hat tip to battlekow at Brew Crew Ball) OF Lorenzo Cain has been promoted to Nashville. It is interesting that he skips Huntsville, as Matt LaPorta or Cole Gillespie seem to be in line for promotions as well. Perhaps Milwaukee wants the core of prospects in Huntsville to learn how to win together, so they can translate that winning attitude to the big leagues. Familiarity and continuity definitely help.
• RHP Seth Lintz, the 53rd pick overall, will sign with the Milwaukee Brewers for $900,000. The high school pitcher dominated in Tennessee, but signability remained a concern. This is a great signing for the Brewers. Seth obviously needs plenty of seasoning down on the farm, but he’ll be a great asset in the minors.Here’s a list of other draftees that have signed:

  15th-round pick RHP Mark Willinsky.
  17th-round pick RHP Damon Krestalude.
  20th-round pick RHP Liam Ohlmann.
  24th-round pick LHP Brandon Ritchie.

• Now I know why I wait until around noon to do the Round ‘em Up.  I end up missing a lot of good articles that don’t come out until later in the day.  Minor League Ball has a nice little profile of OF Michael Brantley from Double-A Huntsville.  John says that Michael will need to improve his power to keep the pitchers honest if he wants to be an everyday, big league player.  I agree with that, but Michael is only 21-years old.  His power has already improved this year a bit, and he’s continuing to grow into his youthful body.  It still has plenty of room to grow some muscle.  His BB:K ratio is still amazing though.  I’d love him to be on the team for that fact alone.
• SportsBubbler gives away its Prospect of the Week award.  It goes to RHP Jeremy Jeffress.  I don’t understand how it cannot go to LHP David Welch.  The guy throws a no-hitter and follows it up with a one-run performance.  That’s player of the week caliber right there.  In fact, he’s the fourth player mentioned.  What does David have to do to get player of the week?  Throw two no-hitters?!

Weeks goes on the disabled list

The Milwaukee Brewers put second baseman Rickie Weeks on the disabled list this evening with a sprained left knee.  The move will presumably be retroactive to Saturday, but no confirmation on that point just yet.

To fill the roster, Hernan Iribarren has been called up and will join the team in Houston tomorrow night.  You may remember Hernan from when he was on the big league squad for a few days in April.  He has a .333 batting average in the majors this season, a .273 BA in the minors.

The good news is that Milwaukee does not want to rush Rickie back from the injury.  It’s better to suffer for a couple weeks than a couple months if his injury does not properly heal.  Couple that pragmatic fact with Rickie’s history of being a slow healer, the team appears to have made the correct decision.

Even though Iribarren has played second base much of his minor league career, the organization moved him to center field this past off-season.  He will presumably be a backup infielder now that Joe Dillon and Craig Counsell will split time at second depending on the pitcher.

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.

Pitchers’ Duel Goes Brewers Way

If you were to tell me that we were in for a pitchers’ duel last night, frankly, I would have been very surprised.  It’s not that I don’t think that Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan can’t throw a good game, but Jo-Jo Reyes?  The Braves lefty walked into Miller Park with a 5.84 ERA after having just been shelled by Arizona last week.  Well, color me surprised as the Suppan and Reyes faced off over eight (almost) scoreless innings.  I’m pleased to write that the Brewers came out on top, 1-0.

I’ve said it before, but the Brewers plate discipline has made many pedestrian pitchers look like staff aces and last night was shaping up to be a dozy for the Crew.  Reyes handcuffed the Milwaukee bats, striking out eight and allowing only three hits over seven innings.

Suppan was equally masterful.  He gave up only four hits and while his walk count was higher than usually (five) he countered that with a season-high in strikeouts (seven).  Suppan was supported by some awesome defensive plays that help strand eight Braves batters on base.

Reyes was marching right along until the bottom of the eighth when he issued his third walk of the evening to JJ Hardy.  Braves manager Bobby Cox brought in Blaine Boyer and Jason Kendall bunted Hardy to second.  Things were looking a bit perilous when pitch hitter Joe Dillon struck out to leave next batter Rickie Weeks with two outs.

Weeks had other ideas as he laced a perfect shot that hugged the third base foul line to bring Hardy home with a RBI triple.

Weeks’ contribution was good enough as Salomon Torres came into to record a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his fourth save of the season.

Records: Brewers (26-27); Braves (28-25)

Hero of the Game: Jeff Suppan

I said it already, but Soup’s night was a masterstroke.  Finally, we’re getting some mileage out of our starting pitchers.  After struggling to make six innings for a lot of our guys, seeing Suppan and Sheets pull extended duties and get quality outings from McClung and Bush has to leave Brew Crew fans with some optimism and the bullpen a big sigh of relief.

Getting back to Suppan, I usually expect that he’ll give up a few hits and tally a few runs being the ground ball pitcher he is.  Suppan’s style requires a tight defense behind him and after Hall’s error in the second I thought this might be another night where the bats would have to be the major contributor.  The defense tightened up (in fact on the next play it was superb D by Kendall, Hall, and Weeks to turn a cross diamond double play) and was above average all night (finishing in style with Hardy’s layout snag to end the game).

Suppan, obviously, had no runs with seven strikeouts… a total that is very un-Suppan-like.  I felt like I was watching something special last night and I was willing to bet that Ned Yost would have walked him out for the ninth if his spot in the line up didn’t come in the crucial eighth.

Runner-Up Hero: Rickie Weeks. Knocks in the only run of the night… need I say more?  Sure? How about 2-4 (making up 2/3rds of the Brewers hits) and some solid DP turning on the defensive side.  That’s the Pretty Rickie we like to see.

Goat(s) of the Game: Mark Texiteira and Ryan McCann

I know Jim usually has to pick a Brewer for this part, but I didn’t want to do the whole wrap without commenting on a bit of drama that helped Suppan get out of the eighth innings thanks to a few PO’ed Braves.  Texiteira got all huffy about a called third strike (there were a TON of them last night… Reyes has six Ks on called third strikes) and spent a few moments belly aching about the call.  The real drama came when the next batter McCann had the same issues with home plate umpire Mark Wenger.  After a first called strike McCann refused to get back in the box and according to new rules set down at the owner’s meetings umps can charge a strike to stalling batters or have the pitcher throw even thought the batter isn’t in the box.

I’ve never seen a more uncomfortable pitch thrown in my life then the second called strike that Suppan threw with McCann half in the batter’s box.  Suppan subsequently struck out McCann who had more words for Wegner and Cox came out to argue his batter’s case.  No one was tossed, but a bit of stubbornness on the part of the Braves batters cost them some ABs when chances were few and far in-between in this game.

On Tap:

The Braves march out Jorge Campillo (1-0, 0.86 ERA) against Seth McClung (2-1, 3.55 ERA) this afternoon to try and steal one game of the series from the Brewers.  It will be the battle of the stretched out relievers as Campillo makes his third start of the season and McClung his second.  The game gets started at 12:05pm and is ON FSN (schedule change).  Good thing, too. I’m recovering from knee surgery and this is just what I need to get through a boring day on the couch.

By: Dan Wiersema

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

Big Ben goes the distance

I was a little worried coming into tonight’s game.  Eric Gagne was on his way to Milwaukee to get tests done on his right shoulder, so he was unavailable tonight.  The bullpen lost another arm as well because Seth McClung is scheduled to start on Saturday.  Carlos Villanueva technically was available tonight, but I don’t think Ned Yost had any plans to use him.  Needless to say, the Brewers’ ace, Ben Sheets, needed to eat up some innings tonight to save the depleted bullpen.

Brewers fans got more than they hoped for tonight.  Ben Sheets pitched a complete game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, scattering 11 hits over the nine innings and only allowing one run.  The one run came on a Xavier Nady solo home run in the fourth inning.

Ben may not have had his best stuff tonight, but he was more than effective.  He struck out five batters in the first four innings, but only retired one more Pirate on strikes through the next five.  The pitch count was a little high, but those 123 pitches are a little less concerning in the cooler weather.  Pirates hitters jumped on Ben’s first pitch fastballs all night, and they pounded out 11 hits.  It all came for naught, however, as Ben consistently worked out of jams and got the Pirates hitters to pop out numerous times.

The offense may be coming together.  The Crew may have only put four runs on the board, but hitters consistently hit the ball hard and still matched the Pittsburgh hit total with eleven.  Ryan Braun and Corey Hart continue to see the ball very well.  Ryan hit a two-strike pitch from Ian Snell to the deepest part of the ballpark and got an RBI-triple.  Corey followed up Ryan’s triple with a two-strike, two-out bloop single.  It may not have been pretty, but the 6′6″ right fielder kept the bat in the hitting zone and put the bat on the ball.  He protected with two strikes.  That’s all a hitter can do.

Folks, Rickie Weeks has officially arrived as a fully-functioning lead-off hitter.  In the past four games, the second baseman is hitting .412 with 3 RBI, a home run, and 5 runs scored.  It is no coincidence that the offense has been producing much more when Rickie hits well.  Rickie even flashed a little leather in tonight’s game, snagging a tough chopper on a bad bounce.  I cannot say enough about how well Rickie is playing right now.  He is an exciting player when he sees the ball well.

The Brewers clinched the series tonight.  That means that Milwaukee just won a series in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2006.  Chew on that bit of knowledge.

Records: Brewers (22-24); Pirates (21-25)

Hero of the Game: Ben Sheets

What can you say about a guy that goes out on the mound and gives a struggling team a complete game when the bullpen was shorthanded?  He’s a bona fide ace in every sense of the word, even if he is a little injury prone.  I’m not sure how many change-ups he threw for the entire game, but he began to work in the change a bit in the ninth inning.  That pitch could be huge in saving his arm down the stretch of the season.  Benny mixed in a solid curveball today with a pretty good fastball.  The Pirates don’t get cheated up there at the plate.  They pounded out 11 hits today, but Benny was able to limit the damage to one run.  I tip my cap to you tonight, Ben.  You proved to all the Brewers fans around the country tonight that you are the ace of the staff, whether or not Yovani Gallardo is healthy.  Well done.

Goat of the Game: Craig Counsell

I’m not completely sure there was a true goat of the game tonight, but Craig was the only Brewer to take the collar tonight.  Even Ben Sheets had a hit tonight.  Craig did not play a bad game.  He’s just the only one to give the goat to tonight.

On Tap

Dave Bush will swap spots in the rotation with Jeff Suppan for tomorrow evening’s game.  Bush will take on lefty Tom Gorzelanny in the third game of the series.  The Brewers will go for the sweep tomorrow night at 6:05pm CT.

Bats continue to tease in Brewers win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hero of the Game: Corey Hart

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

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

Goat of the Game: Eric Gagne

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

On Tap

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

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

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

The Milwaukee Brewers are in Pittsburgh for the next three days and will try to take the series from the Pirates. You know the season isn’t going as planned when your team is looking up at the Pirates in the standings. It’s time to turn the ship around boys. Let’s take the series from Pittsburgh (where we’ve notoriously had problems playing) and get back on track.

• Starting out the day…we have “The Firing That Wasn’t.” Yesterday, we had the whole Badger Blogger incident. What is surprising is that Tom Haudricourt is taking most of the blame for reporting on the subject. It probably did not help his cause that he bashed blogs in his post… Here’s a nice wrap-up of the story from Brew Crew Ball.The Yost Infection has a nice addendum to the story as well.
• Tom Haudricourt wrote a piece today on JJ Hardy and his struggles at the plate. I know everyone questions themselves when in a slump, but JJ has a history of not having confidence in himself. After last season, he admitted to not believing in himself after slumping in the second half. Does this look much different? No. JJ needs to step it up mentally. The Brewers need his bat in the lineup.
• The SportsBubbler has one of the best posts today. I have noticed this trend, but I have not taken the time to write about it. I’m glad someone finally has. . . The Milwaukee Brewers pitchers have very large problems finishing innings. I don’t know if it is a lack of killer instinct or what, but Brewers pitchers have had problems all season with two outs. It drives Brewers fans crazy. Give the article a look.
• In-Between Hops has a nice little anecdote about the Brewers struggles on the road. I’m not sure how much truth there is in the story (and I think we’ve all learned to not trust “personal sources” like Badger Blogger), but Ned Yost is an awful manager if these stories are true.
• View from Bernie’s Chalet has a shake-up for the batting order. It’s a fine idea, but I would put some tweaks in it. I would still have Rickie Weeks lead off. His OBP is still high (higher than Ryan Braun’s in fact), and he scores runs. I would bat Jason Kendall second. I know everyone is concerned about his double-play tendencies, but his OBP is high enough to dismiss that. That would shove JJ Hardy and Mike Cameron down in the order.Also, I do not understand why everyone is upset about Mike Cameron. Did you think we were getting a .300 hitter who was never going to strike out? Obviously not. He averages about 20 home runs and a .240 average per year. He looks to be on that pace now. He’s just in a lull.
• How about a preview of the Brewers-Pirates series? Okay. There you are.
• The Brewers got released Abraham Nunez once receiving Callix Crabbe back from the San Diego Padres. It’s not much of a loss. Nunez was awful in Nashville anyway. Not “impressive…very, very, very impressive” like Ned Yost said during Spring Training. Abraham signed with the New York Mets yesterday.
• Brew Crew Ball has post that attempts to look at who the Milwaukee Brewers will draft in the first round of the First Year Player Draft in a couple weeks. Most of the mock drafts the post looks at do not even include the Brewers in their projections, but it is a nice attempt to shed some light on the situation. I look forward to the draft in June, and I’ll cover it more extensively in the coming weeks.

Be sure to check back later in the day, as contributing author Dan Wiersema should have an in-depth article posted sometime today.  I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, so I’ll also be interested in what he has cooked up this week.

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 d