The Old Milwaukees

Red Sox among clubs checking on Edmonds

July 30, 2010

The Boston Red Sox recently called the Brewers to inquire about the availability of outfielder Jim Edmonds, who still wasn't sure as of Friday afternoon whether he wanted to be traded to a contender.

Brewers unlikely to make splashy trade

July 30, 2010

Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said it was "highly unlikely" that the team would make a major deal before Saturday's 3 p.m. CT non-waiver Trade Deadline. But he refuted reports that the Brewers had pulled Prince Fielder or Corey Hart -- or any of their other players, for that matter -- off the market.

#RedSox, among others, have asked #Brewers about OF Jim Edmonds. He’s not sure he wants to be…

July 30, 2010

#RedSox, among others, have asked #Brewers about OF Jim Edmonds. He's not sure he wants to be traded:

Game Thread #104: Brewers (48-55) at Astros (42-59)

July 30, 2010

Can the Brewers spoil game 1 of the J.A. Happ Era?

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Follow the jump for tonight's pitching matchup, lineup and more!

Tonight was scheduled to be Roy Oswalt's turn in the Astros rotation, but now that he's a Phillie he'll be replaced by J.A. Happ (1.76 ERA, 5.13 ERA), making just his fourth start of the 2010 season. After making two starts in April, Happ spent three months in the minors before returning to the major leagues on Sunday, and allowing three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings against the Rockies.

Happ is a lefty and, as you might expect, he's better against lefties, holding them to a career .224/.292/.367 line. Righties fare significantly better, at .252/.327/.410. He throws in the upper 80's (89.2 mph average fastball), with a below average slider and an average changeup. No Brewer has faced Happ more than four times, and no one has taken him deep. Prince Fielder (2-for-4 with a pair of doubles) has had the most success.

Meanwhile, it's impossible to tell what to expect from Manny Parra (5.33 ERA, 4.44 FIP), who had one of his better starts of the season on Saturday. Parra held the Nationals to two runs on four hits over six innings, walking three and striking out four. Before that, it had been over a month since his last quality start.

Parra is getting crushed by lefties this season, allowing them to hit .391/.443/.652 in 110 PAs. He's also allowing a ton of baserunners, with a 1.704 WHIP. Among major leaguers with at least 80 IP, Parra's WHIP is the third worst:

Pitcher	Team	IP	WHIP
Brad Bergesen	BAL	88	1.750
Ryan Rowland-Smith	SEA	98.1	1.719
Manny Parra	MIL	81	1.704

Six Astros have faced Parra at least ten times, and four of them have fared very well:

Player	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Hunter Pence	22	.200	.273	.300	.573
Carlos Lee	21	.529	.619	.824	1.443
Lance Berkman	18	.357	.500	.500	1.000
Michael Bourn	15	.357	.357	.857	1.214
Jeff Keppinger	15	.250	.357	.333	.690
Pedro Feliz	10	.500	.500	.800	1.300

I haven't seen a lineup yet, but after reading Jordan Schelling's Twitter I do feel like I watched last night's entire episode of Jersey Shore.

And in the bullpen:

Todd Coffey pitched 1 inning (21 pitches) Wednesday, and also pitched on Tuesday.
David Riske pitched 1 inning (11 pitches) Wednesday, and also pitched on Tuesday.
Carlos Villanueva pitched 1 inning (33 pitches) Wednesday.
Kameron Loe pitched .2 innings (27 pitches) Wednesday.
Chris Capuano pitched 3 innings (59 pitches) Tuesday.
Trevor Hoffman pitched 1 inning (6 pitches) Tuesday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (21 pitches) on Monday.
Zach Braddock has not pitched since July 19th.

Enjoy the game!

Brewers write plan for better pitching success

July 30, 2010

Brewers GM Doug Melvin revealed some of the "Milwaukee Brewers Pitching Development Organizational Plan" to reporters this week. It includes new guidelines for both amateur and professional scouting, plus a streamlined player-development process that emphasizes the team's increased focus on biomechanics.

The Micro Brew Review: 7/30/10

July 30, 2010

Recap

Nashville (AAA): The Sounds started their weeks off nicely enough by winning two of their final three in their series against the Albuquerque Isotopes (LAD). They then won their first game against the Omaha Royals before losing the next two. After their 4-3 week, the Sounds are now 56-49 for the season, good for third place in the PCL american North division, now 2.5 games back of the first place Iowa Cubs.

Huntsville (AA): The  Stars lost a tough one last night, but they still had a pretty nice week overall. They started off by winning three in a row against the Jacksonville Suns (FLA) before losing the final game in that series. They took the first game in their series against the Mississippi Braves, but lost night to even the series. After finishing 4-2 this week, the Stars are now back above .500 at 17-16, third place in the Southern League North Division and two games back of the Tennessee Smokies (CHC).

Brevard Co (A+): In what will probably go down as the best week in Brevard baseball this season, the Mantees went 6-0 since the last Review. No, you're not seeing things or reading that incorrectly- the Manatees did not lose once this week. They started off by winning both ends of a double-header against the Fort Myers Miracle (MIN), followed by another win against Fort Myers. They then took three against the St. Lucie Mets. After their big week, the Manatees are now 21-12, but they are still two games back of the first place Daytona Cubs (what's with all the Cubs affiliates being in first place?).

Wisconsin (A): The Rattlers started their week off by splitting a double-header with the West Michigan Whitecaps. They then won their first game against the South Bend Silver Hawks and split a double-header against the Silver Hawks. They've lost two in a row in their current series against the Peoria Chiefs (CHC), including a tough 9th inning loss last night. After going 3-4 this week, the T-Rats are now 15-17, fifth place in the Midwest League Western Division, six games back of the first place Quad Cities River Bandits (STL).

Helena (R+): The Helena Brewers had a pretty decent week, going 4-2 overall. They split the last two games against the Ogden Raptors (LAD) and took two of three from the Orem Owlz (LAA). Last night they won their first game in a series against Great Falls Voyagers (CHW) in 15 innings on a two-run homer by Greg Hokpins. Now at 19-18 on the season, the Helena Brewers find themselves in third place in the Pioneer League North Division, three games back of Great Falls.

Arizona (R): The Arizona Brewers started their week off by winning three in a row against the Arizona Dodgers, Mariners, and Reds. They lost their next game against the Arizona Reds before winning their final game of the week against the Arizona Royals. Their 4-1 week left them at 21-10 on the season, padding their lead in the Arizona League Central Division to six games ahead of the second place Arizona Dodgers.

Transactions

• 2B Eric Farris, LHP Mike Ramlow, 3B Kyle Dhanani, and LHP Tony Butler were activated from the 7-day DL
• UT Johnny Raburn, RHP Michael Fiers, IF Steve Braun, and RHP Andy Sauter were placed on the 7-day DL
• DSL Brewers Leonard Lorenzo, Allixon Cequea, and Erickson Salaya were were suspended.
• RHP Jeremy Jeffress was promoted from Brevard Co. to Hunstville.
• RHP Robert Hinton will be joining Jeffress there, as he was demoted from Nashville to Huntsville. 

Five Up

1. Mat Gamel: Despite only collecting two hits over his last two games, Mat the Batt had a pretty great week. This week he went 14-32 (.438) with 2 homers, 3 doubles, and 12 RBIs. But with a trade of Corey Hart or Prince Fielder looking increasingly unlikely, he might have to wait a little longer to bring his batt to Milwaukee.
2. Joe Koshansky: Koshansky's game is power, but he also flashed a little average this week. He went 9-20 (.450) this week with 3 homers and 5 RBIs.
3. Hunter Morris: This year's 4th round pick is having a pretty nice debut season; he's been a solid regular for pretty much the entire time he's been with the Rattlers. This week he went 7-16 (.438) with 2 homers and 3 RBIs.
4. Kyle Heckathorn: Now residing in Brevard Co., Kyle Heckathorn has picked up right where he left off. In his first two starts for the Mantees, the big righty has pichted 13 innings and only allowed 3 ER. He only struck out 6, but he's not really known as a big strikeout pitcher anyway. Keep up the good work, Heck.
5. Donovan Hand: The recently promoted Hand is off to a great start in Nashville. In four appearances this week Hand pitched 4 scoreless innings and only allowed 1 hit.

Five Down

1. D'Vontrey Richardson: To say D'Vontrey had a bad week is really an understatement. The Rattlers' CF collected only 2 hits this week (2-23, .087). Here's another fun fact: Richardson has 13 errors this season. 13 errors! As an outfielder! Obviously errors aren't the best way to judge fielding, but that's Soriano-level.
2. Khris Davis: A week after I ranted about how Davis deserves a promotion, he goes and lands himself on the down list. The Rattlers' OF only went 3-19 (.158) and didn't hit a single HR. You're making me look bad, Khris.
3. Stosh Wawrzasek: Not only was Stosh eliminated from Minors Moniker Maddness, he also had a rather forgettable start. In his one start this week, he allowed 6 ER on 8 H, 1 BB and 2 HR in only 3.2 innings. Hopefully next week will be nicer to him.
4. Yadiel Rivera: Rivera collected only 1 hit this week (1-14, .071). He's got an OPS of .489 in his first professional season. But I hear he's got a great glove!
5. Brooks Hall: The big righty made only one appearance this week, and it will probably go down as the worst start in his very, very young career. In 2.1 IP he allowed 6 ER on 1 H, 1 BB, and 1 HR.

Friday’s Frosty Mug

July 30, 2010

Some things to read while continuing to search.

The final 24 hours before the trade deadline are generally a pretty exciting time, but the Brewers are working hard to limit your expectations. Doug Melvin has reportedly pulled Prince Fielder and Corey Hart off the market, telling opposing GMs he still feels like he has a team with a chance to contend. (FanShot)

I think many/most of us will be disappointed if the Brewers fail to make a move between now and tomorrow's deadline, but Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar isn't among us: He took a look at the return other sellers are getting and concluded the Brewers need to stay away from this market.

The Brewers open a series in Houston tonight, and now have half a day to get ready for a new starting pitcher. Roy Oswalt was scheduled to pitch for the Astros tonight, but the Brewers will instead face J.A. Happ, making his debut just one day after being acquired from the Phillies.

John Axford remains one of this season's lone bright spots. Adam McCalvy reminds us of his unusual road to the big leagues.

Rickie Weeks is another bright spot, and Miller Park Drunk reminds us that he's been on the bandwagon since the beginning.

Meanwhile, "What's Wrong With Ryan Braun?" is starting to become a daily feature. Brewers Daily notes that Braun is hitting just .236/.268/.401 since May 10th.

I'm not sure that using the home run as a primary source of offense is that terrible of a strategy in and of itself, but it does create statistics like this one: Tom Haudricourt noted that the Brewers are 42-30 when they hit a home run, and 6-25 when they don't.

They're also 0-1 when giving up 450 foot grand slams to Brandon Phillips. That shot was Wezen-ball's Home Run of the Day for Wednesday.

In the minors:

• Wisconsin Sports Tap has a great position-by-position breakdown of Brewers in the minors in this week's Farm Report. It's a little scary how bare the cupboard has gotten at catcher and shortstop.
• The affiliates went 2-3 yesterday. One of those wins came in Helena, where third baseman Greg Hopkins hit a walkoff home run in the 15th inning to propel the H-Brewers to a 10-8 win over Great Falls. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Helena managed to win in extra innings despite blowing an 8-0 lead.

Doug Davis hasn't contributed much to the Brewers this season, but at least he's contributing to the community: Caitlin Moyer has the details on his upcoming bowling outing, to raise money for the Miracle League of Milwaukee.

On power rankings:

• Beyond the Box Score has the Brewers at 21, down five spots.
• Yahoo has the Brewers at 21, up one spot.

As for the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame:

• Anonymous Eagle closed out their nominations with George Thompson and Al McGuire.
• Bucky's 5th Quarter nominated Pat Richter.

Around baseball:

Astros: Acquired J.A. Happ and two minor leaguers from the Phillies for Roy Oswalt, and acquired first baseman Brett Wallace from the Blue Jays for one of the minor leaguers.
Dodgers: Designated reliever Jack Taschner for assignment.
Orioles: Are expected to announce on Monday that Buck Showalter has been hired to manage the team.
Padres: Acquired infielder Miguel Tejada from the Orioles for a minor leaguer.
Pirates: Released reliever Brendan Donnelly.
Rangers: Acquired infielder Jorge Cantu and cash from the Marlins for two minor leaguers, and placed second baseman Ian Kinsler on the DL with a groin strain.
Tigers: Designated 1B/3B Jeff Larish for assignment.
Twins: Acquired closer Matt Capps from the Nationals for catcher Wilson Ramos and a minor leaguer.

The Mets are 4-10 since the All Star break and have fallen 6.5 games back of the Braves in the NL East, so their desperation is understandable: Ron Hart of Associated Content says they've contacted the Brewers to request permission to fire Willie Randolph again.

I haven't been devoting much time to the ownership/bankruptcy situation in Texas, because most of the daily reports are much ado about nothing. With that said, this story could have some interesting ramifications: The Rangers still owe $42 million in deferred compensation to five players, most of it to Alex Rodriguez and Kevin Millwood. If the team somehow manages to avoid paying those debts, don't be surprised if the MLBPA makes a move to attempt to curtail deferred money in future contracts.

Elsewhere in baseball economics: Here's a telling note on how bad attendance issues are for the Rays: They have baseball's second best record and they've made a World Series appearance recently, but this weekend's series with the Yankees will be the first time they've ever sold out three straight regular season home games.

Speaking of home games, the Padres won last night to improve their all time home record to 1656-1656, the first time they've been at or above .500 since they were 8-8.

The Padres' bench coach is former Brewer Ted Simmons, who Baseball Past and Present named one of the Ten Most Underrated Baseball Players of All-Time.

On this day in 2001, the Brewers traded David Weathers to the Cubs for Ruben Quevedo and outfielder Peter Zoccolillo.

Happy birthday today to:

• Wisconsin Timber Rattler D'Vontrey Richardson, who turns 22.
• 1992 Brewer Scott Fletcher, who turns 52.
• Former Milwaukee Braves minority owner, Brewers owner and major league commissioner Bud Selig, who turns 76.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the countdown has started. (h/t Jay Jaffe)

Drink up.

Brewers Position Pitchers

July 30, 2010

When Joe Inglett took the mound for the Brewers on Tuesday night, it added some flair to the end of an otherwise deflating blowout.  Flipping a mixture of 52, 53, and 56 mph pitches to Cincinnati hitters, he recorded three outs on six pitches.  Shortly after he took the mound, Twitter started buzzing with news that Inglett was the first Brewers position player to take the mound since Trent Durrington in 2004.

Inglett and Durrington are not the only position players to take the mound in Brewers history.  In fact, there have been eight position players that have pitched for the Crew in seven separate games.  After the jump, you can find a run-down of these games in reverse chronological order.

• July 27, 2010 - Joe Inglett
  
  As mentioned, Inglett took the mound in a blowout.  With the Reds up 12-4 in the top of the ninth, Inglett was called upon to finish the ballgame.  He came in, threw six soft tosses, and walked back to the dugout with a 0.00 career ERA.
• April 17, 2004 - Trent Durrington
  
  With the Brewers trailing 10-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park, the Brewers called upon workhorse reliever Luis Vizcaino.  Thirty-eight pitches later, he had recorded two outs, allowing two home runs and four runs in the process.  After Orlando Palmeiro worked a ten-pitch walk, Vizcaino was replaced by third baseman Trent Durrington.  Pinch hitter Jose Vizcaino swung at Durrington's first offering and flew out to right field.  Unfortunately for Durrington, his notable moment was not shown live in Milwaukee; FSN North was late coming back from commercial.
• June 20, 2001 - Mark Loretta
  
  Will Cunnane's first and only start for Milwaukee did not end well.  The righthander ran out of gas in the fourth inning, allowing six runs in the frame.  He was replaced by equally memorable Brandon Kolb who allowed five runs in the fifth inning.  With the Crew trailing 11-4 in the eighth inning, Mark Loretta pinch-hit for reliever Mike DeJean and stayed in the game to pitch.  He allowed Pokey Reese to single and walked Juan Castro, but strikeouts of opposing pitcher Chris Nichting and center fielder Ruben Rivera kept the Reds scoreless.
• August 3, 1991 - Rick Dempsey
  
  Listing in reverse chronological order makes it a bit harder to note this, but in this game Rick Dempsey became the first and only Brewers position player to pitch in two games in the same season.  Pretty good work for a guy who only spent one season in a Brewers uniform.  Dempsey, better known for his rain delay entertainment than his pitching skills, entered the game in the top of the ninth with Milwaukee down 14-5.  After walking Gary Pettis, he induced three consecutive force outs at second base.  Another minor note: in the bottom of the inning Rangers DH Kevin Reimer moved to right field, meaning the Rangers forfeited the designated hitter for the rest of the game.  Reimer would do the same thing for the Brewers three times in 1992.
• July 2, 1991 - Rick Dempsey
  
  For Dempsey to make a second pitching appearance in the same season, he quite obviously needed to make a first.  He took care of that during a 14-4 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.  A first pitch double by Kevin Romine was followed by an eight-pitch at-bat by future Brewer Tom Brunansky culminating in a pop-up to short.  A groundout to short was followed by consecutive singles, making Dempsey the only Brewers position player to allow a run while pitching [edit: Sal Bando and Buck Martinez did as well, see below].  Another future Brewer, Jody Reed, flew out to right to end the inning.
• May 15, 1989 - Terry Francona
  
  After the Oakland Athletics teed off on Don August, Mark Knudson, and Paul Mirabella for seven innings, Francona was called upon to pitch in the bottom of the eighth.  The score was 12-2 and Francona successfully kept the Brewers within ten runs.  He faced only three batters, inducing flyouts from Terry Steinbach and Tony Phillips before striking out Stan Javier.
• August 29, 1979 - Sal Bando, Jim Gantner, Buck Martinez
  
  I listed these games in reverse chronological order simply to put this one last.  Jim Slaton just didn't have it on that night, allowing five runs before being pulled in the first inning.  When Reggie Cleveland didn't do much better and Paul Mitchell allowed four runs in the fourth without recording an out, the Royals were suddenly up 13-4.  With the pitchers incapable of pitching, manager George Bamberger turned to his fielders.  Third baseman Sal Bando took the mound and threw three innings, quite possibly a record for position players.  He allowed three runs in his three frames, but none after dealing with Mitchell's mess in the fourth.  After the game, he ascribed part of his success to his secret weapon: "I threw two wet ones [spitballs] because I couldn't get my breaking ball over."
  
  Jim Gantner took over from Bando in the seventh, allowing singles to Jamie Quirk and Al Cowens but no other damage.  His clean inning wasn't enough for Pennsylvania's Beaver County Times to learn his name (scroll up and to the right).  Catcher Buck Martinez followed Gantner to the mound in the eighth.  Martinez walked Willie Wilson before recording two force out at second.  Unfortunately, Hal McRae's subsequent double scored Jerry Terrell from first before Amos Otis popped out to end the inning.  One final thought: reading Milwaukee Journal sports editor Bill Dwyre's reaction to the game puts Tom Haudricourt's writing style in perspective.

Joe Inglett's brief foray into the world of major league pitching puts him on an interesting list of Brewers players.  While early pinch-hitting success earned him respect, it probably required a truly strange occurrence for him to make it into Brewers history even as a footnote.  Fortunately for him, the Reds obliged with an offensive outburst at just the right time.

A Quick Look at Some of Our Minor League Relievers

July 29, 2010

As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, Doug Melvin likes to spend money on the bullpen. In 2008 he went out and spent large amounts of Mark A's money on names like Eric Gagne, Guillermo Mota, and David Riske. In 2009 it was Trevor Hoffman. This season he brought Trevor Hoffman back and signed LaTroy Hawkins. Other than Hoffman's 2009, none of these free agents have had a lot of success.

As I’m sure you’ve also noticed, our bullpen has been a lot better since some of the veteran relievers were replaced with cheap, minor league relievers such as John Axford, Zach Braddock, and Kameron Loe. At the beginning of the year, these three were known as just a few of the promising relief prospects in the Brewers system, but there are plenty more after them. Here are a few to watch out for.

 

Brandon Kintzler: Originally drafted by the Padres in the 40^th round of the 2004 draft, Kintzler found himself in the Indy Leagues by 2007. After two mediocre years for Winnipeg and a pretty good half season in St. Paul, the Brewers were able lure him away from there and assigned him to AA Huntsville. He wasn't turning heads right away, posting a 4.54 ERA, but that’s not the case this year. In 20 games for the Stars this season, Kintzler posted a .40 ERA and was striking out more than a batter per inning. Since his promotion to Nashville, the righty has sparkly 2.70 ERA* and an even sparkly-er 0.750 WHIP. He’s walking only 1.4/9 inning and is striking out over 8 batters/9 innings. He was holding batters to a .167 AVG before landing on the DL.

Mike McClendon: Drafted in the 10^th round of 2006, the 25-year-old McClendon started the year off in AA Huntsville. After posting a .61 ERA in seven appearances there, he was bumped up to Nashville were he has continued to be rather impressive. In 21 games in Nashville (5 starts) McClendon has a 2.28 ERA. He’s striking out an even 7 batters/9 innings and is walking only 2.5/9 inn. Those numbers are even slightly inflated because of a few bad starts. If he keeps putting up good numbers like he his, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the majors in September

Donovan Hand: The righty Hand was drafted in the 14^th round of the 2007 draft and bounced back and forth between starting and relieving throughout his career, mostly starting. But this year he has been mainly a reliever and is getting some pretty decent results. He started the year off in Huntsville, but was recently moved up to Nashville. Through 32 games this year (1 start), Hand has a 2.84 ERA with a 1.289 WHIP. While he’s giving up plenty of hits (10.3/9 inn) and not striking out many (6.5 K/9 inn) he pounds the strike zone, giving up only 1.4 BB/9 inn.

Jeremy Jeffress: While we'd all like to imagine Jeffress as a starter, but it's been forecasted for many years that his future will be the bullpen; possibly as a future closer. After returning from a 100-game suspension, Jeffress dominated the Midwest League, not even allowing a hit over 8 innings. Things didn't go as well in Brevard Co., where he had a 5.40 ERA. He was giving up an even 9 H/9 inn. and walking way too many, over 6 batters/9 inn. Apparently his 1.700 WHIP was good enough for a promotion to Hunstville, where he has yet to pitch. There's so much potential there, hopefully Jeffress will be able to learn some control and start getting the results we all yearn for from him.

Andre Lamontagne: Wow, talk about aggressive movement. Last year’s 10^th round pick started the year off in Wisconsin and has already been promoted twice this year and is currently in Huntsville‘s bullpen. He actually pitched better in Brevard Co. than he did in Wisconsin. He’s not dominating Huntsville like he was dominating Brevard Co., but he’s still putting up a solid 4.35 ERA, which is actually inflated from one bad outing. He’s got some pretty solid peripherals too. This season he’s allowing only 6.7 H/9 inn., walking about 4.1 batters/9 inn., striking out almost a batter per inning, and is holding opposing batters to a .207 avg.; all of this good for a nice 1.204 WHIP. Lamontagne is already 24 so the aggressive promotions aren't exactly surprising. If he continues to pitch well in Huntsville, he'll probably start next year in Nashville, only a phone call away from the big leagues.

Lucas Luetge: Drafted in the 21^st round of the 2008 draft, the 23-year-old Luetge has had pretty decent numbers throughout his career. He spent all of 2009 in Brevard Co. and started there this year as well. His 2.29 ERA for the Manatees earned him a promotion to Huntsville, where he has a still-respectable 4.50 ERA. Right now, Luetge profiles as more of a LOOGY. Left-handed batters are hitting only .160 of Luetge this year, compared to .333 against righties.

Corey Frerichs: Drafted in the 30^th round of 2007, Frerichs missed most of last year with recovering from a torn ACL. This year, the 24-year-old righty is trying to get back on the radar, and is doing a pretty good job. In 34 outing this year for the Manatees, Frerichs has a solid 2.91 ERA and opposing batters are only hitting .206 off him. His sparkly 1.077 WHIP is built around his solid peripherals of 6.5 H/9 inn., 3.2 BB/9 inn., and 7.5 K/9 inn. I'd say he's deserving of a promotion to Huntsville sometime this year.

Dan Meadows: For someone drafted in the 49th round in 2008, Meadows is putting up some pretty good numbers. The 22-year-old lefty switched to relief full time this year and is getting some pretty nice results. In 31 appearances this year, Meadows has complied a 2.81 ERA with a 1.158 WHIP. He's striking out almost a better per inning and is limiting his walks to 2.1/9 inn.. Meadows has also not allowed an earned run in his last 8 outings, dating back to July 6th.

Jon Pokorny: Drafted in the 9^th round of last year’s draft, Pokorny has been one of the few bright spots in the Wisconsin bullpen. He’s holding opposing batters to a measly .208 avg. and is striking out 13.2/9 inn. He’s also limiting his walks to an even 3/9 inn. and allowing only 6.7 H/9 inn. His .358 BABIP also suggests that he’s even been a little unlucky. The left-handed pitcher has also had just as much success against righties as he has against lefties, holding them to a .220 and .180 avg., respectively

Do any of these minor league relievers have the same potential as Zach Braddock? Probably not. But some of them could be very solid arms that help fill out the future bullpen. And if Doug Melvin is still running the show, these homegrown relief pitchers could go a long way in preventing another unnecessary David Riske or LaTroy Hawkins-ish signing.

 

*All stats as of July 25th.

MACHAWATCH! July 29, 2010 Edition.

July 29, 2010

It's the craze sweeping the nation! 

You've heard of the Twist and the Charlie Brown and the Mashed Potato and the Cabbage Patch (is that a dance?  I'm not sure).

But now: it's the BREWERS SHUFFLE (also known as the Spinning Your Wheels Waltz):

Take two of four from the Braves on the road?  One step forward.

Split with the moribund Pirates -- and give up 29 runs in the process?  Bow your head in shame, slink back two giant steps.

Sweep the Nats at home?  Hey, not bad.  Shimmy up a step. 

What's that?  You missed Strasburg in that series with Washington?  That's OK.  Just ease up on the shimmy a little bit.

And then lose a home series to the Reds, getting bludgeoned 22-4 in the last two games?  Fall down, go boom.

All that marchin' in place isn't going to cut it, and it's not going to make the nullacct Managerometer^TM move an inch:

This week in MACHAWATCH!, we'll discuss why the next couple of months are a very dangerous time, check to make sure The Rapture didn't happen last night, and host a pinch hitter for @notkenmacha, who's once again MIA this week.  He said something about "nipping this Asian Carp thing in the bud once and for all," flashed me a "hang ten" sign, and then dove headlong into the Milwaukee River.  I don't know what the story was there, but I do know that it's time to jump.

This Week in The Most Dangerous Game Time: Here's the situation: there are 59 games left in the season.  The Brewers are dead in the water in terms of contending for the postseason.  Doug Melvin is apparently not going to sell off any of our major parts before the trading deadline.  Most importantly for our purposes: barring some kind of miracle run in the last two months, Ken Macha is not coming back next season.

In my mind, we should start playing for next season (and beyond) in the remaining games.  I fear and I suspect that we won't, given that Prince Fielder and Corey Hart, et al, will remain on the roster for the rest of the season, and given that Ken Macha is apparently going to do everything in his earthly power to win as many games as possible -- even if that means yanking his starting pitcher after 78 pitches and five innings the day after a game in which he was forced to use a position player to pitch the ninth inning.

In fact, yesterday's decision to pull Chris Narveson and force the beleaguered and overworked 'pen to cover four innings is a microcosm of the issue: getting Narveson out of the game at that juncture probably provided the best chance to win the game.  On the other hand, continuing to run Kameron Loe into the ground -- he's pitched in 26 games since being called up two months ago, and he'd thrown 2.0 innings in each of his last two appearances -- probably isn't in the team's best interests going forward.  (See, e.g., Todd Coffey in 2009.)

It's the same song, different verse for guys like Carlos Gomez.  There's no arguing that he's been an abject disaster at the plate this year (and that his "I just need a few 3-for-4s to get my average up to .260" comments show that he doesn't seem to grasp what he needs to do to be valuable to the team) and that Jim Edmonds is a better option with the stick (so long as he's not using his bat as a cane).  But, for better or worse, Gomez is going to be part of the team next season (and probably beyond that), and Edmonds, in all likelihood, won't be.  At this point, unless the Powers That Be have decided that Gomez is a hopeless cause, CarGo needs to be out there, even if he's running into outs at third base.  Sigh.

I say this knowing that Macha is in an incredibly difficult position; after all, self-preservation is the first law of nature, and he's obviously going to do everything he can to save his job.  That said, I hope that his actions this season don't hamper the team in 2011.

This Week in Apocalypse Now?: With his bench ludicrously depleted by Edmonds' lingering heel injury and Hart's bum wrist, Macha's deeply-held "never, ever, ever, ever play your backup catcher" belief was seemingly in dire jeopardy yesterday.  The Four Horsemen were on standby, the rivers were prepared to run with blood, and the locusts were sharpening their ... teeth?  Pincers?  (I don't know how locusts wreak such havoc, and they're gross to look at, so I'm not googling it.)

But, lo!  The 10-2 score in the latter innings made it likely that George Kottaras would stay on the bench, and the world would keep spinnin', and the Horsemen could return to their game of Parcheesi.  

Until Prince got hisself tossed from the game in the bottom of the eighth.  Whoopsie. 

Enter GeoKot at first. 

Exit life as we know it?

According to the National Weather Service, the sun rose at about 5:39 this morning, and there aren't any clouds of pestilence on the radar.  I think we're in the clear.  In the event, however, that you're reading this week's MACHAWATCH! in some kind of bizarre, purgatory-like state -- like, say, the infinite expanse where the Progressive Insurance lady apparently lives -- you have my deepest apologies.

This Week in @notrickpeterson: It's been awhile since we checked in with our (fake) mulleted friend, and, with @notkenmacha defending the seas and waterways, now seemed like as good a time as any to see how our phony pitching coach is doing.  I asked him what he thought of Joe Inglett's pitching debut on Tuesday:

Life is full of surprises, Rubicon. You'd know that if you'd attended my webinar: "Surprises and You: The Best Ways To Avoid Wetting Your Pants." It's the most important webinar I've ever held.

Well, I got a surprise this week when we activated our secret 26th man. I'd never heard of him before, but I think his name is Joe Dragnet. One look at him and you can tell I've never coached him before: His mechanics are awful, his velocity is low and he gets outs. His inning was over before I could even go out and put my hand on his shoulder.

So after the game I put on my lucky postgame windbreaker and went looking for Dragnet to get him signed up for some webinars, but I couldn't find him. Trevor Hoffman told me Dragnet lives in a secret cave under the bench in the bullpen, and I shouldn't go down there or I'll upset him. I haven't seen Dragnet since, and everyone else I've asked says they don't know what I'm talking about.

Hey, where're you going with my pants!?

Poll

Is is time to start playing for 2011?

• Yup
• Nope
• It was a month ago

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