Being under the radar suits Marcum just fine

February 28, 2011

 Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum are total opposites, but the Brewers hope their new right-handers are alike this season in one category: wins.

Prince has words with Giants lefty Zito

February 28, 2011

 Prince Fielder's famous "bowling ball" celebration from a 2009 win over the Giants earned him a Barry Zito pitch in the back during the 2010 Spring Training opener, and the bad blood seems to have spilled into 2011. Fielder had some words for the Giants left-hander again Monday after working a first-inning walk at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Marcum fans three in Brewers spring debut

February 28, 2011

 Right-hander Shaun Marcum, one of the Brewers' key offseason additions to the starting rotation, retired the first four hitters he faced but surrendered solid hits to the next four in the Brewers' 10-9 loss to the Giants on Monday.

Brewers lose to Giants, beat Cubs in Cactus League Openers

February 28, 2011

 It wasn't the best day for Mike McClendon.

Giants 10, Brewers 9
W: Javier Lopez (1-0)
L: Mike McClendon (0-1)
S: Casey Daigle (1)

HR: Brendan Katin (1), Mark DeRosa (1)

Brewers 5, Cubs 3
W: Tim Dillard (1-0)
L: Randy Wells (0-1)
S: Brian Garman (1)

HR: None

Today's big stories:

  • Shaun Marcum pitched a 1-2-3 first to lead off his Brewer career against the Giants, but struggled in the second inning, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out three over two innings of work, and didn't walk any.
  • Tim Dillard allowed a run on two hits against the Cubs over two innings, and didn't walk or strike out anyone.
  • Yuniesky Betancourt, batting third against the Giants, drew a walk.
  • Brendan Katin hit the lone home run of the day for the Brewers, a two run shot in the sixth inning against the Giants. 
  • Today was a pretty good day to get a look at some of the Brewers' top pitching prospects, as Wily Peralta (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER v Giants), Cody Scarpetta (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K v Cubs) and Amaury Rivas (1.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H v Cubs) made their spring debuts. 
  • The roughest outing of the day belonged to Mike McClendon, who allowed four runs on five hits and a walk in 1.1 innings against the Giants, picking up the loss.
  • Cody Hawn hit a two run single with two outs in the ninth to bring the Brewers back within a run against the Giants, but pinch-runner T.J. Mittelstaedt was caught stealing to end the game.
Of course, with eighteen innings of baseball played today, odds are I missed some other storylines. Feel free to bring them up in the comments.

The Brewers head to Camelback Ranch tomorrow to take on the White Sox at 2:05.


Gindl, Gomez help Brewers top Cubs

February 28, 2011

 Caleb Gindl hit an RBI triple and scored on Zelous Wheeler's double Monday to spoil Kerry Wood's first appearance back with the Cubs as the Brewers beat their National League Central rivals, 5-3.

Brewers say Hart will miss two weeks of games

February 28, 2011

 Brewers right fielder Corey Hart will spend the next two weeks in "rest and recovery" for a strained muscle along his left rib-cage, the club announced Monday.

Greinke set for spring debut with Crew

February 28, 2011

 Brewers manager Ron Roenicke is as excited as anybody to see Zack Greinke pitch in a Brewers uniform Tuesday, when the team's biggest offseason acquisition makes his unofficial debut against the White Sox.

Game Thread #-31/32: Brewers v. Giants, Brewers @ Cubs

February 28, 2011

It's been months since I've had a reason to post this:

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via assets.sbnation.com

Bust out your Rally Lobsters and get ready for Cactus League baseball!

Follow the jump for pitching matchups, lineups and more from today's split-squad doubleheader!

Pitching Matchup(s):

First, the home game: Shaun Marcum (3.64 ERA, 3.74 FIP in 2010) takes the mound in a Brewer uniform for the first time today against the Giants. Marcum (like all the other Brewer starters) is expected to throw around 35 pitches in his spring debut, which likely means two innings. 

Marcum's repertoire will probably be toned down a bit today, but when he's on he relies on one of the game's best changeups, which was worth +3.35 runs per 100 pitches in 2010 according to FanGraphs. When he's not throwing the changeup, he throws a high 80's fastball, a cutter, curve and slider.

He's faced the Giants once in his career, in an interleague matchup in 2010. He pitched five innings in that game, allowing one earned run on four hits, walking five and striking out eight in five innings.

Marcum will face Barry Zito (4.15 ERA, 4.25 FIP), who has been quietly solid for most of the last two seasons, pitching 391 innings and posting a value of 4.3 fWAR. Of course, he'll always be overshadowed by his ridiculous contract.

Zito throws four above average pitches, according to FanGraphs: A mid-to-upper 80's fastball, a curve, slider and change. None are very far above average, though: They're all estimated between 0 and +0.5 runs per 100 pitches.

Zito faced the Brewers twice last season and posted a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings, walking seven and striking out ten. Ryan Braun took him deep once. He won't get another chance today, since he's playing in the other game.

Against the Cubs, Tim Dillard (did not pitch in the majors in 2010) gets his first chance to prove he deserves consideration for a roster spot. Dillard hasn't appeared in the majors since allowing six earned runs in 4.1 innings in two relief appearances in 2009, but posted a 4.12 ERA in 109.1 innings for Nashville last season, making eight starts and 33 relief appearances.

Dillard is unlikely to make the Brewers out of camp this season, but assuming he sticks with the organization he's got a shot at making some history: He's five wins, 100 innings and 90 strikeouts away from being the Sounds' career leader in all three categories.

Dillard will face off against Randy Wells (4.26 ERA, 3.93 FIP) in his first start. For a guy who looked like a career minor leaguer a couple of years ago, Wells has turned into a solid major leaguer. Since being called up in 2009 he's made 59 starts as a Cub with a 3.65 ERA.

Wells has a three pitch repertoire: He works right around 90 with his fastball, relies heavily on a slider (27.1% of pitches) and throws a fair number of curveballs (17.5%). According to FanGraphs the slider was his only above average pitch in 2010, at +2.08 runs per 100.

Wells faced the Brewers three times last season and was knocked around a fair amount: He posted a 6.23 ERA in 17.1 innings, allowing 27 hits and a walk while striking out 18. Prince Fielder is a career .400/.438/.667 hitter in 16 PAs against him...but that doesn't much matter, since Fielder is playing the Giants today.

Lineups:

Via Adam McCalvy, here's today's lineups:

v. Giants:

Rickie Weeks 2B
Jeremy Reed RF
Yuniesky Betancourt SS
Prince Fielder 1B
Casey McGehee 3B
Brandon Boggs LF
George Kottaras C
Chris Dickerson CF
Brendan Katin DH

@ Cubs:

Carlos Gomez CF
Craig Counsell SS
Ryan Braun LF
Mark Kotsay 1B
Luis Cruz 2B
Wil Nieves C
Erick Almonte DH
Caleb Gindl RF
Zelous Wheeler 3B

Coverage

WTMJ has the Brewers-Giants game. There's no Brewer broadcast of the other game, but WGN has the call for the Cubs. Both broadcasts are available via Gameday Audio.

Enjoy the games!


Monday’s Frosty Mug

February 28, 2011

 George Kottaras is the subject of one of my favorite Picture Day photos.

Some things to read while speaking the truth.

After weeks of preparation the Brewers are finally ready to play games for the first time today (FanShot), as they open exhibition play with split squad action against the Cubs and Giants. Shaun Marcum will take the mound for the first time against the Cubs, while Tim Dillard faces off against the Giants. Adam McCalvy has the full lineups, with Brewer regulars relatively evenly spread over the two games.

While most of the Brewer position players will likely see action today, Corey Hart will be out: He's going to miss a few days with soreness in his side.

Hart can grab a spot on the bench next to Jonathan Lucroy, who isn't allowed to take part in drills until he sees a doctor again this week to check on the progress of his surgically repaired pinkie finger.

Most of us don't get too worked up over spring training games, and here's a quick reminder why: Don't Bring In The Lefty has a chart showing virtually no correlation between spring training and regular season records. Even in a somewhat meaningless chart, though, the 2009 Brewers get a dubious distinction: The .240 drop between their spring (.734) and regular season (.494) winning percentages was the largest in the majors since 2003.

As their final tune up for today the Brewers played an intrasquad game yesterday, headlined by a Yuniesky Betancourt home run and a Prince Fielder bunt single against the shift. It sounds like it's possible Fielder could employ that strategy more often this season.

Even if the bunt was a one-time event, it's great to see Fielder having fun this spring. Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports said new management should let Fielder enjoy himself again in 2011.

Mark Rogers and John Axford signed their 2011 contracts over the weekend, leaving Casey McGehee as the team's lone unsigned player. The deadline to agree to 2011 contracts with pre-arbitration players is today, so the Brewers will either cut a deal with McGehee or renew his contract, probably before today's first pitches.

Other notes from camp:

Back at home, single game tickets went on sale on Saturday and over 98,000 were sold. Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar has a look at the possibility that the team will set a single season attendance record in 2011.

I guess it's time once again to reveal myself as a worrywart: David Pinto of Baseball Analytics has some graphs showing one of the reasons Yuniesky Betancourt is so bad at getting on base: There's a massive hole in his swing in the middle of the strike zone.

Speaking of Pinto, here are his two most recent posts on defense:

  • Brewer third basemen are 12th in baseball in Pinto's Probabilistic Model of Range over the last five seasons, but Casey McGehee ranks fourth worst.
  • Brewer right fielders are 21st overall, and Corey Hart is rated below the median.

Here's something to keep an eye on as the regular season approaches: Edinson Volquez is tentatively scheduled to pitch against the Brewers on Opening Day, but at this point he's still not allowed to pitch in front of paying fans due to a visa issue. Volquez is in the States on a travel visa, not a work visa.

In the minors:

Around baseball:

Indians: Signed pitcher Chad Durbin to a one year, $800,000 deal.

Today's former Brewer notes:

  • Jody Gerut, who had been in camp with the Mariners this spring, has decided to retire.
  • Plunk Everyone notes that Fernando Vina scored a run after being hit by a pitch 33.1% of the time, the sixth highest percentage among major leaguers who were hit at least 100 times.
  • Mark Loretta was the subject of Friday's Cold Stahoviak at 7th Inning Stache.
  • Minor League Ball looks back at the career of Jim Edmonds.
  • The B-Ref Blog noted that the Brewers are one of just 17 teams to have four players collect four or more hits in the same game - they did it against the Blue Jays on August 28, 1992.

Here are my favorite spring training stories from the weekend:

I'm not sure if this is an interesting statistical note or just an anomaly, but over the weekend Sky Kalkman noted that a player who steals 40 or more bases over a two year stretch is significantly more likely to still be in the majors seven years later. Some of that could probably be attributed to age: The average base-stealer is likely younger than the average major leaguer.

In sad news today, former Seattle Pilot and 1970 Brewer Greg Goossen has died. He was 65.

With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday to:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm suing a bobcat.

Drink up.


Reviewing the BCB Omnibus Posting Guide

February 28, 2011

Morning folks,

As you might have noticed, today is a very big day. In a few hours, the Brewers will take the field for the first time in a season many of us have very high hopes for. I've seen some new faces around here recently and we'll likely see more in the coming weeks and months.

As such, I wanted to take a moment this morning to remind everyone of the rules and procedures we live by here. Even if you're a longtime regular, please take a moment to glance at them once again.

Regarding features:

The correct use of FanPosts and FanShots has been outlined well in other places, like this post at South Side Sox, so if you'd like a full, detailed overview of their intended use and how to tag them, head over there. If you'd rather not go into that much depth, here's a basic overview of how to use them.

FanPosts are designed to be used to start a conversation on a specific topic, not unlike a front page story. FanPosts can be promoted to the front page if the moderators decide to give them a wider audience. They have a 75-word minimum: If you don't have 75 words to say on a topic, consider using a FanShot. If your FanPost isn't 75 words long and you end up using filler to complete it, don't be surprised if I delete it.

FanShots are designed to highlight a link, image or piece of news the community may be interested in. If you find something interesting and Brewer related, a FanShot is the place to post it. FanShots, especially those containing breaking news, are frequently promoted to the front page and/or mentioned in the Frosty Mug.

Help the cream float to the top and the crap get flushed

Underneath every story, FanPost and FanShot, there are two buttons I want to draw your attention to. They're also available under every comment, in the "actions" menu.

Please click Rec for comments, FanPosts and FanShots you would recommend for others to read, whether it's because they're insightful, funny or just good. A comment recommended three times will be highlighted in green to draw others' attention to it. A FanPost or FanShot recommended five times will receive featured status, keeping it at the top of the list for a period of time. You can also rec front page stories: a front page story that receives enough recs will be moved into the "Featured Stories" section.

On the other side, please use the Flag button to help us filter out abuses of the system and offensive material. If you see content in the FanPosts, FanShots or comments that qualifies as trolling, spam or is just offensive, flagging it draws the moderators' attention to it. We're usually watching as well, but user flagging helps us find offensive material faster, and knowing someone else found the material troubling as well sometimes helps us make the decision on whether or not to delete something.

On grammar and punctuation

If the Grammar Police were here, they'd pull me over every day and cite me for excessive comma usage. I'm not going to tell anyone how to write, what words to use and not use (cursing aside), or delete comments for misusing or failing to use capital letters. With that said, remember one of the cardinal rules of the internet: if your work looks like it was produced by a third grader, odds are it'll be read and treated that way.

Things I will not tolerate

Excessive aggressiveness. I recognize that's a vague classification, hopefully this guideline will help: This is a place to discuss the Brewers, not argue about them. We reserve the right to close comments on posts and/or delete comments if we feel that line is being crossed.

Cursing at someone. I'd rather we didn't curse in this space at all, but I recognize it will happen on occasion. I will not, however, tolerate cursing directed at other commenters. Again, we're here to discuss the Brewers, not start a barfight.

Namecalling. Again, this is part of the note on aggressiveness. Debate someone's point, don't call them a name for holding that opinion. Calling someone who disagrees with you an idiot adds nothing to the conversation and will not be tolerated.

Spam. There are correct and incorrect ways to promote your site or product. If you're only here to promote your stuff, odds are you're doing it wrong.

Trolling. It only takes me about three clicks to delete a comment and warn/ban the commenter, so if you're just stopping by to call Ryan Braun a crybaby, the only time you're wasting is your own. With that said, please make sure you have a good reason before you flag someone for trolling. Not every fan of another team who stops by this space is trolling - some of them just want to have a conversation about the team.

Furthermore, "calling someone out" is also trolling. So is building a straw man ("Some people around here think Miller Park should be bulldozed, but I think...").

Politics/Religion. There are enough places on the web for political debate. This is not one of them.

Illegal activity. Here are some specific things that can't happen here:

  • I know the MLB Blackout rules are asinine, but please don't share your favorite way to subvert them. I've seen links in the comments before for offshore proxies and other ways to get access to game broadcasts without paying, but that has to stop. If I see things like that happening on the site and don't delete them, I'm technically proxy to them. I'm not getting in trouble so you can avoid paying for MLB.TV.
  • Ticket reselling. I'd rather it didn't happen here at all but if you must, tickets must be sold at or below face value. I reserve the right to change this rule if ticket resale here gets annoying.

Those and any other illegal activities will be deleted on sight.

To sum up the rules a bit: This is a place for fans who are passionate about the Brewers. That passion is great, and if we can all be civil about it, we can have great conversation and debate about the team. However, you're only welcome to participate in that conversation if you can do so without being rude or offensive, causing the conversation to devolve into a shouting match, or taking part in illegal activity.

Enforcement

When I posted these rules last year, I was hopeful that simply posting the rules and deleting violations would be enough to keep things in line. Unfortunately, over time that's proven to not be the case. So, I've developed a relatively simple system for dealing with repeat offenders:

Step 1: The Warning Shot. If you're getting out of line, our moderators reserve the right to delete content you've posted that needs to be removed and/or post a reply to it asking you to stop. If you frequent the comments, you've probably seen me do this several times to debates that are getting out of hand. If a moderator asks you to tone it down, that's not an invitation to pick a fight with them. It's a request to please reconsider and stop what you're doing.

Step 2: One day suspension. If you've been warned and continue to do whatever it is you've been asked not to do, we'll ban you from the site for a day.

Step 3: One week suspension. If, after your original suspension has run its course, you again continue to violate the rules of the site (even after another warning), you'll be banned for a week.

Step 4: Lifetime ban. If you've violated the rules this many times, I give up.

Note: We reserve the right to skip the steps and go straight to a lifetime ban for egregious offenses. If your first comment here is obvious spam or trolling, we'll likely ban you and move on.

Having to police fights and offensive content is my least favorite part of this job. I thank you in advance for keeping it friendly and appropriate here so I don't have to worry about it.

At any rate, thanks for reading and welcome. Please work with us to help this site remain the best place on the internet for informed conversation on the Brewers.