Forgive me if I sound dumb in this entry. The following thoughts are only those of an idiot fan. Not only that, but I just got done watching the season premier of Jersey Shore and I can't say I've ever been more ashamed than today to be an American. But it's entertaining stuff. Moving from people undeserving of attention to those who warrant some recognition, the Milwaukee Brewers just completed an 8-1 home stand and finished it off with an anything-but-boring series victory over the Tony LaRussa-led St. Louis Cardinals. Anybody else lose a little bit of respect for that franchise? Over the last couple years, it's safe to say that LaRussa has managed to turn one of the most proud franchises in baseball into complete thuggery. LaRussa managed to steal the attention away from what was really important, and that was two teams fighting for a pennant in August. Maybe I'm just an idiot fan, but what I saw from the Cardinals in that series - the complaints about the lighting in the stadium from LaRussa - pitcher Chris Carpenter claiming that the Brewers were stealing signs - LaRussa ordering pitcher Jason Motte to throw at Ryan Braun...TWICE - Yadier Molina bumping and spitting in an umpire's face while arguing a strike three called...and only getting suspended for FIVE GAMES - I'd be embarrassed to be a Cardinals fan.
Trust me. I was a lot more infuriated on Tuesday night than I am tonight, a night that featured a game in which the bush league moves of Tony LaRussa took place and the Brewers eventually lost in extra innings. Now that I've calmed down (for the most part), I would like to turn my attention back to baseball. The Brewers are now 62-50, 12 games above .500 (the most they have been above .500 all season) and three games above the Cardinals in the Central. If there's one thing that the series with the Cards proved for Milwaukee, it's that a lot of guys are beginning to tickle the ball pretty well. I mean, who's NOT feeling it at the plate right now? Corey Hart has raised his average over 20 points in the last week, we've seen the turnaround of Yuni B in the second half, Braun and Fielder have both recovered from mini-slumps, Tony Plush continues to do his thing at the plate, in center and in the interview department, Jonathan Lucroy is still hanging around .280, and then there's Casey McGehee...I know I've been calling for McGehee's head for the better part of the season, but the complaints were warranted. McGehee hadn't found it at the plate all year, but with the loss of Rickie Weeks to injury and the troubles in the five hole, manager Ron Roenicke went back to what he started with - McGehee was hitting fifth again.
Low and behold, McGehee went OFF on the newly acquired Edwin Jackson and hit three dingers off of Jackson before Wednesday's game came to a close. McGehee had five home runs before Wednesday; he now has eight. In fact, he was 2-5 in Tuesday's game, so I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that this was McGehee's best two-game stretch of the season. And that's the thing...it was only two games. But McGehee has shown signs of snapping out of it. He's been staying inside the ball better and using all fields (his first, second and third home runs went to right, left and center field respectively) while hitting the ball hard. I'm not going to get ahead of myself and jump back on the Casey McGehee bandwagon just yet, but nobody's happier than me to see him succeed. All in all, the Brewers' offense exploded against the Cardinals...and to think I predicted the three game series wouldn't see any high scoring games. The Crew put up 23 runs on Carpenter, Jaime Garcia and Jackson, and the later was left out to dry because of how many relievers were burned in Tuesday night's marathon. Hopefully the bats can stay hot as they move forward into another series with the Astros. Oh yeah, and then the Brewers travel to St. Louis to play another series with the Cards - three of the nine remaining against the fighting LaRussa's. If my math is correct, Molina won't be playing in one of the games as a result of serving his suspension, but with the way he played on Wednesday I wouldn't mind seeing him in there.
There's the red-hot Brewer offense, and then there's the suddenly not so solid pitching. After having some ridiculous number of straight quality starts, Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf struggled over the past two games and luckily, the offense was able to step it up to keep the Brewers in the game. But I'm still not concerned one bit about our starting pitching because this is just one instance for Marcum and Wolf, two guys with sub 3.50 ERAs who have been reliable all season long. That and the emergence of Zack Greinke (finally) has me sleeping well at night. The bullpen? Ehhhh...yeah they're alright for the most part. K-Rod hasn't exactly prevented heart attacks in the eighth inning, but so far he hasn't cost us any wins. Takashi Saito is reliable for the most part, but he's a big reason why the Brewers didn't sweep the entire home stand. Axe has been incredible...so has Hawk...so has Loe...wait a minute - so has Kameron Loe? Yes, you heard correctly. The man has 41 scoreless appearances on the year, and that's nothing to joke around about. Loe is a shut-down pitcher against righties and as long as RR continues to use him in the right situations, he will continue to provide a huge boost late in games. So while the pitching has been a little suspect lately, there's no reason to get up in arms. If anything, the Astros should help us all feel better.
Now for a short segment on football. One more signing was made by the Packers since my last post, and that was fullback John KUUUUUUUUUUHNN much to the delight of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the entire Packers' fan base. That should basically be it for Green Bay as far as signings and cuts until we get a few games into the preseason and the roster has to be slimmed down. A few things to note thus far: first round draft pick Derek Sherrod is seeing time at left guard, the only position on the offensive line that is in question right now. With Chad Clifton protecting Rodgers' blind side and last year's first rounder Bryan Bulaga holding down right tackle, Sherrod wouldn't have a chance to see much playing time at his natural position, thus the move to guard. I'm in full support of this move because quite frankly, we don't really have anyone else to fill the void that Daryn Colledge left (in my opinion, we didn't lose much - with the money the Packers offered College, they didn't think so either). There is also a three-man rotation going on at the outside linebacker position opposite of the Claymaker between Brad Jones, Erik Walden and Frank Zombo, so we'll see how that shapes out over the course of training camp. Defensive line is also a question with Cullen Jenkins gone, but Ted Thompson must like what he has up front with B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett and Mike Neal among other guys like Howard Green and C.J. Wilson. More battles? How about at strong safety (Morgan Burnett v. Charlie Peprah) and running back (Ryan Grant v. James Starks v. Alex Green). It's difficult to say what will end up happening with the safety situation, but I can't see Burnett overtaking Peprah...at least not right away. Peprah performed nicely for Green Bay last season after Burnett went down, so I think it's his job to lose right now. Meanwhile, the Packers seem to have the perfect dilemma at the running back position. Starks is going to push Ryan Grant and there will probably be somewhat of a platoon between the two, and then there's Alex Green, who can come in for third down situations because of his pass catching ability. Personally, I've seen enough of Ryan Grant and James Starks proved that he could step in and do some things Grant could not...like, you know, not run straight forward all the time. Should be fun to see how all of the aforementioned position battles shape out.
The Wisconsin Badgers football team has just begun hitting the practice field, so I'll have more on them pretty soon. In fact, August 10 is the set date for my Badgers' season preview, so get ready for that. I know I'm ready for a little college football and if I could attend a game in Madison that was even half as awesome as the Ohio State game last year and watch Russell Wilson play, I'd be satisfied. Despite my love for the Big Ten (12), I was assigned to cover the Big 12 (10) for a college fantasy football site. I must admit that I'm a little out of my element covering this conference, which might be obsolete in the next few years, but it's a pretty cool gig and it led to me taking part in my first college fantasy football league...yes, those exist. I'll let you know how it goes, especially since I'm forking up $20 for it. Speaking of fantasy football, I should probably get going on starting up my annual league...
...AHHHHH, I GOTTA GO!
Showing posts with label McGehee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McGehee. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
A Star-Studded Crew
As I drove home from a relaxing weekend up north earlier today, I tuned into everyone’s favorite play-by-play man Bob Uecker to catch the majority of the Brewers game versus the Twins. Coming off such a thrilling victory from the night before courtesy of a four-run ninth sparked by a Tony Plush two-run double on his 31st birthday, the Crew arguably got its most important victory of the year. The Twins had built up a 7-0 lead through four innings on Saturday and the Brewers appeared poised to lose yet ANOTHER road series, but the comeback of all comebacks occurred thanks to Nyjer, the bullpen and the correct strings being pulled by Ron Roenicke. With the win, the Brewers pulled back into a tie for first place with the Cards and had old Uncle Mo back on their side…or so we thought.
Flash forward to my two-plus hour drive home. After a monster five-run fourth inning, Milwaukee was well on its way to another victory, sole possession of first place and returning home with a little swag. But there was a problem. Zack Greinke was on the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers. The man who the Brewers received in return for four of the best prospects in the Brewers’ system has been anything but dazzling. Today was yet another example. Greinke, who has had little success against the Minnesota Twins throughout his career, decided a five run lead wasn’t going to cut it and allowed the Twinkies to cut the Brewers lead to 6-5 before he left with a two-run lead after six innings. This is one thing…a big thing, mind you…but at least Zack “Heart” Attack had the lead when he left the ballgame. The other Zach…my boy Zach with an “h” Braddock let a few guys on to my dismay but probably should’ve been given the chance to get out of the inning even with the righty (and all-star) Michael Cuddyer strolling up to the plate. Even if he wasn’t given the chance (which he wasn’t), let’s ponder the situation for a moment. There’s a guy sitting in the ‘pen who can get out lefties and righties equally effective and has an ERA of…get this…f---ing 0.43 in 23 games. His name is LaTroy Hawkins. I’m starting to get the feeling that I’m one of the few people who knows this. Am I missing something? Is an ERA of 4.73 better than 0.43? Is the ability to ONLY get out righties better than having the ability to get out BOTH righties and lefties? According to Mr. Roenicke, it most certainly is! And you know what? That’s all that matters. Two hits, a walk, a costly error and four runs later, the Brewers are walking out of Minnesota with a disgusting taste in their mouths after what should have been a memorable holiday weekend.
My relaxing weekend up north had all of a sudden turned into a distressing car ride that forced me to reach deep inside myself to avoid taking the Chevy Cavalier off of a bridge. This game had several underlying stories that I would like to attack. The one that stood out to me the most was the Mat Gamel start at third base. Think RR might be sending a certain someone a message? I’ll give you a hint. He struck out to end Sunday’s game and snapped his bat over his thigh in frustration. I was flat out shocked by the decision to start Gamel at the 5...and to put McGehee in a spot at the end of the game that could easily result in failure with how low his confidence is right now. Throughout the season, the Brewers’ organization has been pretty strict with keeping Gamel at first because they want him to get accustomed to the position by the time King walks out of Milwaukee. McGehee has been struggling…badly…but I don’t think it was necessary to stick Gamel at third base. DH makes sense. I understand wanting to give Rickie some time off from second, but this was REALLY making a statement. I feel terrible for McGehee. He is someone who worked extremely hard to get where he is today and one of those guys that you want to root for. Having said that, I think the best thing for McGehee right now is a two week stint down in Nashville to get things figured out. Casey has options left and the Brewers could bring up another reliever to help give the bullpen some depth (the Brewers carried an extra position player with them last week). The next decision regards Gamel. Does he stick with the Brewers and play more third while McGehee finds his stroke? Does he also head back down to AAA since the Brewers no longer need a DH? So many questions and so many answers I don’t have. What I would like to see is for us to send down McGehee, keep Gamel up, start him every day at third and replace him in the seventh or eighth inning on defense. Let’s face it…the guy can hit. He’s struggled so far with the big league club, but with more consistent playing time comes more production with a guy like Gamel. We’ll see what Roenicke decides to do.
Another situation that made Brewers’ fans a little uneasy this weekend was the injury to Ryan Braun. It was reported that Brauny, who holds a current 22-game hitting streak, strained his left calf Saturday night and that’s why he was replaced late in the ballgame. Thankfully, he said he was feeling okay today but didn’t play, which was a wise choice. Even if Braun has to miss another game or two in order to feel right, it’s much better to be safe rather than sorry. Besides, we want to see Braun out there starting for the NL All-Star team come July 12th. Speaking of the All-Star game…
The Brewers have three starters in the All-Star Game for the first time in franchise history (if that’s not a possible foreshadowing to what this season has in store, I don’t know what is). Weeks gets the starting nod at 2nd base over Brandon Phillips while fellow teammates Prince Fielder and Braun also start alongside him. Of course, what comes with the unveiling of the all-star rosters is the controversy and snubbing of players more deserving than some who make the Midsummer Classic. And that’s what I’m here for. Believe it or not, as far as the National League is concerned, I thought the fans did a better job than the managers and players as far as selecting players. The American League…not so much. For those who don’t know, the fans select the position player starters, the players elect the bench players and the starting manager (the World Series’ coaches) pick the pitchers. Also, since there is a rule that pitchers who pitch next Sunday cannot pitch in the ASG, there will be a few other deserving guys invited to Phoenix (like Ax). Without further ado, here is MY AL and NL All-Star squads compared to what they really are (keep in mind that every MLB team has to have a representative in the ASG).
AMERICAN LEAGUE
STARTERS:
C – Alex Aliva (DET)
1B – Adrian Gonzalez (BOS)
2B – Robinson Cano (NYY)
SS – Derek Jeter (NYY) CABRERA
3B – Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
OF – Jose Bautista (TOR)
OF – Curtis Granderson (NYY)
OF – Josh Hamilton (TEX) ELLSBURY
DH – David Ortiz (BOS)
RESERVES:
C – Russell Martin (NYY) PAUL KONERKO (CHW)
C – Matt Weiters (BAL)*
1B – Miguel Cabrera (DET)
2B – Howie Kendrick (LAA)
3B – Adrian Beltre (TEX)
SS – Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE) JHONNY PERALTA (DET)
OF – Michael Cuddyer* (MIN)
OF – Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) ADAM JONES (BAL)
OF – Matt Joyce (TB)
OF – Carlos Quentin* (CHW)
DH – Michael Young (TEX)
PITCHERS:
SP - Josh Beckett (BOS)
RP - Aaron Crow* (KC)
SP - Gio Gonzalez* (OAK)
SP - Felix Hernandez (SEA) C.C. SABATHIA (NYY)
RP - Brandon League (SEA)
RP - Chris Perez (CLE)
SP - David Price (TB) MICHAEL PINEDA (SEA)
RP – Mariano Rivera (NYY)
SP – James Shields (TB)
RP – Jose Valverde (DET)
SP – Justin Verlander (DET)
SP – Jered Weaver (LAA)
SP – C.J. Wilson (TEX)
* = Only representative from team
FIVE all-star snubs in the American League
TOUGH TO LEAVE OFF = Victor Martinez (DET), Adam Lind (TOR), Ben Zobrist (TB)
WHAT’S THE DEAL with the two backup catchers? Throw in another 1st baseman instead.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
STARTERS:
C – Brian McCann (ATL)
1B – Prince Fielder (MIL)
2B – Rickie Weeks (MIL)
SS – Jose Reyes (NYY)
3B – Placido Polanco ARAMIS RAMIREZ (CHC)
OF – Ryan Braun (MIL)
OF – Matt Kemp (LAD)
OF – Lance Berkman (STL)
RESERVES:
C – Yadier Molina (STL)
1B – Gaby Sanchez* (FLA)
1B – Joey Votto (CIN)
2B – Brandon Phillips (CIN)
3B – Chipper Jones (ATL) POLANCO
SS – Troy Tulowitzki* (COL)
SS – Starlin Castro* (CHC)
OF – Carlos Beltran (NYM) ANDRE EITHER (LAD)
OF – Jay Bruce (CIN)
OF – Matt Holliday (STL) ANDREW McCUTCHEN (PIT)
OF – Hunter Pence* (HOU)
OF – Justin Upton* (ARZ)
PITCHERS:
RP – Heath Bell (SD)
SP – Matt Cain (SF)
RP – Tyler Clippard* (WSH)
SP – Roy Halladay (PHI)
SP – Cole Hamels (PHI)
SP – Cliff Lee (PHI)
RP – Joel Hanrahan* (PIT)
SP – Jair Jurrgens (ATL)
SP – Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
SP – Tim Lincecum (SF)
RP – Jonny Venters (ATL) HUSTON STREET (COL)
SP – Ryan Vogelsong (SF) TOMMY HANSON (ATL)
RP – Brian Wilson (SF)
FIVE all-star snubs in the National League
TOUGH TO LEAVE OFF = Jonathan Lucroy (MIL), Ryan Howard (PHI), Carlos Gonzalez (COL)
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH all of the Giants’ pitchers? Share the wealth, would ya?
So that’s that. If you have any comments on my selections/changes or the original selections, feel free to mention them in the comment section below and we can get a nice little discussion going. Either way, I’m right so you’ll just have to deal with it. I would like to go back to the Brewers for a moment. I think I’ve harped enough on the poor performances of Zack Greinke, Kameron Loe and Casey McGehee, the terrible play on the road, and the stubborn ways of coach Roenicke (although he does mix things up in other ways), but now that we’ve reached July it’s kind of just something us Brewer fans have to deal with the rest of the way. You can look at Greinke’s injury as an alibi for his struggles, but perhaps this is all we’re going to get out of him. Maybe now that he has essentially hit rock bottom, he will break out of it and take the inexistent pressure off of himself. Brewer fans never expected all that much from Greinke if they were realistic in the first place. He’s only had one really good year (the year he won the Cy Young). We thought that he would at least bring some quality starts to the table and he’s failed to do that on a consistent basis. We can only hope that Greinke finds what he found a few years ago with the Kansas City Royals…otherwise, he is what he is. McGehee? You know what I think should happen with Casey. Roenicke? He needs to keep learning as he continues on through his first year of being a manager. Loe? He can go take a hike. Or just face righties…and that’s it. Even though a victory on Sunday would’ve given the Brewers sole possession of first in the Central, they managed to get through this wretched road trip and maintain a division lead. Now that the Crew is back home, it’s time to pump some confidence back in Milwaukee.
Happy 4th!
Flash forward to my two-plus hour drive home. After a monster five-run fourth inning, Milwaukee was well on its way to another victory, sole possession of first place and returning home with a little swag. But there was a problem. Zack Greinke was on the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers. The man who the Brewers received in return for four of the best prospects in the Brewers’ system has been anything but dazzling. Today was yet another example. Greinke, who has had little success against the Minnesota Twins throughout his career, decided a five run lead wasn’t going to cut it and allowed the Twinkies to cut the Brewers lead to 6-5 before he left with a two-run lead after six innings. This is one thing…a big thing, mind you…but at least Zack “Heart” Attack had the lead when he left the ballgame. The other Zach…my boy Zach with an “h” Braddock let a few guys on to my dismay but probably should’ve been given the chance to get out of the inning even with the righty (and all-star) Michael Cuddyer strolling up to the plate. Even if he wasn’t given the chance (which he wasn’t), let’s ponder the situation for a moment. There’s a guy sitting in the ‘pen who can get out lefties and righties equally effective and has an ERA of…get this…f---ing 0.43 in 23 games. His name is LaTroy Hawkins. I’m starting to get the feeling that I’m one of the few people who knows this. Am I missing something? Is an ERA of 4.73 better than 0.43? Is the ability to ONLY get out righties better than having the ability to get out BOTH righties and lefties? According to Mr. Roenicke, it most certainly is! And you know what? That’s all that matters. Two hits, a walk, a costly error and four runs later, the Brewers are walking out of Minnesota with a disgusting taste in their mouths after what should have been a memorable holiday weekend.
My relaxing weekend up north had all of a sudden turned into a distressing car ride that forced me to reach deep inside myself to avoid taking the Chevy Cavalier off of a bridge. This game had several underlying stories that I would like to attack. The one that stood out to me the most was the Mat Gamel start at third base. Think RR might be sending a certain someone a message? I’ll give you a hint. He struck out to end Sunday’s game and snapped his bat over his thigh in frustration. I was flat out shocked by the decision to start Gamel at the 5...and to put McGehee in a spot at the end of the game that could easily result in failure with how low his confidence is right now. Throughout the season, the Brewers’ organization has been pretty strict with keeping Gamel at first because they want him to get accustomed to the position by the time King walks out of Milwaukee. McGehee has been struggling…badly…but I don’t think it was necessary to stick Gamel at third base. DH makes sense. I understand wanting to give Rickie some time off from second, but this was REALLY making a statement. I feel terrible for McGehee. He is someone who worked extremely hard to get where he is today and one of those guys that you want to root for. Having said that, I think the best thing for McGehee right now is a two week stint down in Nashville to get things figured out. Casey has options left and the Brewers could bring up another reliever to help give the bullpen some depth (the Brewers carried an extra position player with them last week). The next decision regards Gamel. Does he stick with the Brewers and play more third while McGehee finds his stroke? Does he also head back down to AAA since the Brewers no longer need a DH? So many questions and so many answers I don’t have. What I would like to see is for us to send down McGehee, keep Gamel up, start him every day at third and replace him in the seventh or eighth inning on defense. Let’s face it…the guy can hit. He’s struggled so far with the big league club, but with more consistent playing time comes more production with a guy like Gamel. We’ll see what Roenicke decides to do.
Another situation that made Brewers’ fans a little uneasy this weekend was the injury to Ryan Braun. It was reported that Brauny, who holds a current 22-game hitting streak, strained his left calf Saturday night and that’s why he was replaced late in the ballgame. Thankfully, he said he was feeling okay today but didn’t play, which was a wise choice. Even if Braun has to miss another game or two in order to feel right, it’s much better to be safe rather than sorry. Besides, we want to see Braun out there starting for the NL All-Star team come July 12th. Speaking of the All-Star game…
The Brewers have three starters in the All-Star Game for the first time in franchise history (if that’s not a possible foreshadowing to what this season has in store, I don’t know what is). Weeks gets the starting nod at 2nd base over Brandon Phillips while fellow teammates Prince Fielder and Braun also start alongside him. Of course, what comes with the unveiling of the all-star rosters is the controversy and snubbing of players more deserving than some who make the Midsummer Classic. And that’s what I’m here for. Believe it or not, as far as the National League is concerned, I thought the fans did a better job than the managers and players as far as selecting players. The American League…not so much. For those who don’t know, the fans select the position player starters, the players elect the bench players and the starting manager (the World Series’ coaches) pick the pitchers. Also, since there is a rule that pitchers who pitch next Sunday cannot pitch in the ASG, there will be a few other deserving guys invited to Phoenix (like Ax). Without further ado, here is MY AL and NL All-Star squads compared to what they really are (keep in mind that every MLB team has to have a representative in the ASG).
AMERICAN LEAGUE
STARTERS:
C – Alex Aliva (DET)
1B – Adrian Gonzalez (BOS)
2B – Robinson Cano (NYY)
SS – Derek Jeter (NYY) CABRERA
3B – Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
OF – Jose Bautista (TOR)
OF – Curtis Granderson (NYY)
OF – Josh Hamilton (TEX) ELLSBURY
DH – David Ortiz (BOS)
RESERVES:
C – Russell Martin (NYY) PAUL KONERKO (CHW)
C – Matt Weiters (BAL)*
1B – Miguel Cabrera (DET)
2B – Howie Kendrick (LAA)
3B – Adrian Beltre (TEX)
SS – Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE) JHONNY PERALTA (DET)
OF – Michael Cuddyer* (MIN)
OF – Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) ADAM JONES (BAL)
OF – Matt Joyce (TB)
OF – Carlos Quentin* (CHW)
DH – Michael Young (TEX)
PITCHERS:
SP - Josh Beckett (BOS)
RP - Aaron Crow* (KC)
SP - Gio Gonzalez* (OAK)
SP - Felix Hernandez (SEA) C.C. SABATHIA (NYY)
RP - Brandon League (SEA)
RP - Chris Perez (CLE)
SP - David Price (TB) MICHAEL PINEDA (SEA)
RP – Mariano Rivera (NYY)
SP – James Shields (TB)
RP – Jose Valverde (DET)
SP – Justin Verlander (DET)
SP – Jered Weaver (LAA)
SP – C.J. Wilson (TEX)
* = Only representative from team
FIVE all-star snubs in the American League
TOUGH TO LEAVE OFF = Victor Martinez (DET), Adam Lind (TOR), Ben Zobrist (TB)
WHAT’S THE DEAL with the two backup catchers? Throw in another 1st baseman instead.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
STARTERS:
C – Brian McCann (ATL)
1B – Prince Fielder (MIL)
2B – Rickie Weeks (MIL)
SS – Jose Reyes (NYY)
3B – Placido Polanco ARAMIS RAMIREZ (CHC)
OF – Ryan Braun (MIL)
OF – Matt Kemp (LAD)
OF – Lance Berkman (STL)
RESERVES:
C – Yadier Molina (STL)
1B – Gaby Sanchez* (FLA)
1B – Joey Votto (CIN)
2B – Brandon Phillips (CIN)
3B – Chipper Jones (ATL) POLANCO
SS – Troy Tulowitzki* (COL)
SS – Starlin Castro* (CHC)
OF – Carlos Beltran (NYM) ANDRE EITHER (LAD)
OF – Jay Bruce (CIN)
OF – Matt Holliday (STL) ANDREW McCUTCHEN (PIT)
OF – Hunter Pence* (HOU)
OF – Justin Upton* (ARZ)
PITCHERS:
RP – Heath Bell (SD)
SP – Matt Cain (SF)
RP – Tyler Clippard* (WSH)
SP – Roy Halladay (PHI)
SP – Cole Hamels (PHI)
SP – Cliff Lee (PHI)
RP – Joel Hanrahan* (PIT)
SP – Jair Jurrgens (ATL)
SP – Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
SP – Tim Lincecum (SF)
RP – Jonny Venters (ATL) HUSTON STREET (COL)
SP – Ryan Vogelsong (SF) TOMMY HANSON (ATL)
RP – Brian Wilson (SF)
FIVE all-star snubs in the National League
TOUGH TO LEAVE OFF = Jonathan Lucroy (MIL), Ryan Howard (PHI), Carlos Gonzalez (COL)
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH all of the Giants’ pitchers? Share the wealth, would ya?
So that’s that. If you have any comments on my selections/changes or the original selections, feel free to mention them in the comment section below and we can get a nice little discussion going. Either way, I’m right so you’ll just have to deal with it. I would like to go back to the Brewers for a moment. I think I’ve harped enough on the poor performances of Zack Greinke, Kameron Loe and Casey McGehee, the terrible play on the road, and the stubborn ways of coach Roenicke (although he does mix things up in other ways), but now that we’ve reached July it’s kind of just something us Brewer fans have to deal with the rest of the way. You can look at Greinke’s injury as an alibi for his struggles, but perhaps this is all we’re going to get out of him. Maybe now that he has essentially hit rock bottom, he will break out of it and take the inexistent pressure off of himself. Brewer fans never expected all that much from Greinke if they were realistic in the first place. He’s only had one really good year (the year he won the Cy Young). We thought that he would at least bring some quality starts to the table and he’s failed to do that on a consistent basis. We can only hope that Greinke finds what he found a few years ago with the Kansas City Royals…otherwise, he is what he is. McGehee? You know what I think should happen with Casey. Roenicke? He needs to keep learning as he continues on through his first year of being a manager. Loe? He can go take a hike. Or just face righties…and that’s it. Even though a victory on Sunday would’ve given the Brewers sole possession of first in the Central, they managed to get through this wretched road trip and maintain a division lead. Now that the Crew is back home, it’s time to pump some confidence back in Milwaukee.
Happy 4th!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Meanwhile, back at the ranch
There may be a lot going on these days around sports, like the NBA Finals (go Mavs), NHL Finals (go Canucks), the NFL lockout (yawn), the College World Series (eh) and the baseball season starting to get in full swing, but for us here in Wisconsin, there isn't too much to cover. Basically, it's the Brewers and more Brewers, leaving me with little to choose from when it comes to Wisconsin sports - the focus of this blog. I don't mind. I love the Brewers and baseball has always been my favorite sport, but some of you may be interested in other topics, although I feel as though I've done a good job of mixing up what I talk about when it comes to the Brew Crew. If you would like to hear me babble about something else, feel free to leave a comment after you're done reading this post. I'll also do my best to brainstorm. For now, baseball is what's happening for people around Wisconsin and thankfully the Brewers are winning, making them fun to write about. Tonight, I'd like to go a different route and look at different places the Brewers should begin to look if they want to bolster their squad for the stretch run as players in the farm system begin to make their case for a call-up and as the trade deadline nears.
The Brewers are in a nice place right now at this point of the season. The days of panic are behind us and the Crew is only a half game out of first place coming into play on Sunday. This doesn't mean it's time to relax; it's time for the Brewers to look for the areas that need improvement. With the Brewers doing so well lately, nothing should be extremely tampered with...only slightly. However, now that the baseball season is nearly two and a half months old, it's time to stop waiting on certain players to hit their stride. It might sound harsh, but you can't wait this long for professional baseball players to remember how to hit a ball or find the strike zone. Having said that, it's time to pinpoint the players that can expect to see less playing time and see where the Brewers should look, whether it be in their system or across the league, for help.
*DISCLAMER* I hope that the four players on this unfortunate list all begin to figure it out more than anyone, but for the sake of argument and to be fair to other Brewer fans who have the same concerns as me, here it goes.
REPLACE: Yuniesky Betancourt
Coming into the season, I knew that Betancourt would be a downgrade from Alcides Escobar in the field, but I thought he would at least hold his own at the plate. Yuni B is 0/2...8 errors, just 3 HRs and a .230/.256/.340 just doesn't cut it for me, although Escobar has arguably been worse if you can believe it. He is the origin for my former fantasy baseball team name "I'm Betan Our Defense Sucks," which wasn't holding true for awhile, but thanks in part to Yuni B, the team defense of the Brewers has dropped into 15th in the Majors (9th in the NL).
REPLACE WITH: Josh Wilson & Craig Counsell
There isn't anything in the minor leagues, so the Brewers need to look elsewhere on their roster. In my mind, there shouldn't be any more of a demotion than to a platoon for Betancourt since there really isn't anything better available, and it appears that a platoon is already in the works. Counsell has started the last two games at shortstop and Wilson is hitting over .300 with 2 HRs ALREADY after being claimed off waivers from Arizona in almost strictly a pinch-hitting role. Also, they are much more reliable in the field compared to Yuni. Betancourt is likely a free agent after the season is over (team option for $6 million), so the Brewers shouldn't bother to look around the league during the season.
REPLACE: Casey McGehee
I'm hesitant to say this because of how crucial McGehee has been to the Brewers offense over the past two-plus seasons, but it just hasn't been working for the Brewers' third baseman. McGehee is sporting a sub-.230 average with just 4 HRs and has 11 ERRORS! Youch. Can you imagine what kind of season Prince would be having if he had any kind of protection? Ok. I can maybe understand if Casey remains playing almost everyday at third, but it's a no-brainer to throw Corey Hart in the five hole so that pitchers feel at least a little compelled to throw to Fielder. McGehee certainly doesn't have King's back so far.
REPLACE WITH: Wilson, Counsell, Taylor Green (AAA)
Like I mentioned before, Wilson and Counsell should be no more than platoon guys and can help give McGehee some more time off, but this Green guy is intriguing. A 25th round pick in the 2005 draft, Green has hit .299 with 8 HR and 32 RBI between AA Huntsville and AAA Nashville. He has slowly progressed through the minors, but the guy is only 24 and in my mind the next in line should the Brewers not look out of their system for another third baseman after McGehee's time ends in Milwaukee (McGehee is arbitration eligible after '11). This is especially true with Mat Gamel being groomed as the first baseman in-waiting after Prince leaves town, even though there has been some grumbling from fans about Gamel coming up to play third...I hope not. DO NOT touch Gamel. Please.
REPLACE: Kameron Loe
Now I'm not saying replace Loe completely; just in the setup role. Other guys have proved that they are much more deserving than Loe for the job, most notably LaTroy Hawkins and Marco Estrada. Loe's numbers up to this point are a 5.28 ERA and a 2-5 record in 34 appearances (most on the club...why?). Sound like setup numbers to you? To even further my case, Loe has proven that he is basically just a righty specialist because of his tailing sinker. Lefty hitters have had their way with Loe, so I think it's safe to say that he should be demoted to a specialist role like Stetter with lefties. Oh yeah, and he's a free agent after the year is up. C'mon, it's your contract year!
REPLACE WITH: LaTroy Hawkins
It's hard to argue with this selection. Estrada has been good as well and can pitch to both righties and lefties, but he also has his share of blown leads and poor performances. Braddock, in my mind, deserves to be the seventh inning guy even as he is coming off of injury, but that role has been undefined all season. Hawkins has a minuscule .059 ERA. I can see how Roenicke may be cautious in using Hawkins since he's coming off injury, but he's proven to have his velocity back and be able to get the job done all season, unlike Loe. You can only give guys in the bullpen so many chances to keep their spot. Even Trevor Hoffman got the boot and now look what the Brewers have at closer.
REPLACE: Wil Nieves
This may be minor compared to the first three guys on this list, but Nieves sees the field once every five starting pitchers and that's only because Randy Wolf doesn't like the way Jonathan Lucroy calls a game. Nieves is hitting a dismal .146 in 19 games, but to his defense it's difficult to get in a rhythm when playing so infrequently (just 16 games all year). Still, there has to be a guy put in his place that is used to this situation who can at least hit at a respectable average, especially if Lucroy goes down with an injury.
REPLACE WITH: Mike Rivera
I've always like Rivera and was kind of excited when I saw that he was back with the team a few weeks ago after spending last season in the Yankees' system. Rivera was always a guy that I thought deserved more playing time and he doesn't deserve the fate the Brewers are giving him. He would certainly be my option to back up Lucroy in the big leagues and undoubtedly the guy I'd call up to be the main guy if Lucroy for some reason wasn't the guy at catcher anymore.
OTHER UP-AND-COMERS:
AAA - 1B - Mat Gamel*
AAA - OF - Caleb Gindl
AAA - P - Mark Rogers*
AAA - P Amaury Rivas
AAA - 2B - Eric Farris
AA - P - Wily Peralta
AA - P - Cody Scarpetta
A - SS - Scooter Gennett*
A - P - Kyle Heckathorn
A - P - Jimmy Nelson
A - P - Tyler Thornburg*
* = guys I'm legitimately jacked up for
During the course of this entry, the Brewers once again defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-3. Zack Greinke improved to 6-1 and the Ax Factor shut down the birds in the 9th to record his 17th save. Milwaukee is now 37-28, which is good enough for the 4th best record in the big leagues. Amazing to see how quickly this team has turned it around since getting off to such a slow start, but when guys like Prince and Brauny are hitting like they are with solid starting pitching and a shut-down closer, this should be happening. The Brewers are one victory away from claiming first place in the Central Division. Feels good to type that out on the screen...let's just hope it becomes the norm.
The Brewers are in a nice place right now at this point of the season. The days of panic are behind us and the Crew is only a half game out of first place coming into play on Sunday. This doesn't mean it's time to relax; it's time for the Brewers to look for the areas that need improvement. With the Brewers doing so well lately, nothing should be extremely tampered with...only slightly. However, now that the baseball season is nearly two and a half months old, it's time to stop waiting on certain players to hit their stride. It might sound harsh, but you can't wait this long for professional baseball players to remember how to hit a ball or find the strike zone. Having said that, it's time to pinpoint the players that can expect to see less playing time and see where the Brewers should look, whether it be in their system or across the league, for help.
*DISCLAMER* I hope that the four players on this unfortunate list all begin to figure it out more than anyone, but for the sake of argument and to be fair to other Brewer fans who have the same concerns as me, here it goes.
REPLACE: Yuniesky Betancourt
Coming into the season, I knew that Betancourt would be a downgrade from Alcides Escobar in the field, but I thought he would at least hold his own at the plate. Yuni B is 0/2...8 errors, just 3 HRs and a .230/.256/.340 just doesn't cut it for me, although Escobar has arguably been worse if you can believe it. He is the origin for my former fantasy baseball team name "I'm Betan Our Defense Sucks," which wasn't holding true for awhile, but thanks in part to Yuni B, the team defense of the Brewers has dropped into 15th in the Majors (9th in the NL).
REPLACE WITH: Josh Wilson & Craig Counsell
There isn't anything in the minor leagues, so the Brewers need to look elsewhere on their roster. In my mind, there shouldn't be any more of a demotion than to a platoon for Betancourt since there really isn't anything better available, and it appears that a platoon is already in the works. Counsell has started the last two games at shortstop and Wilson is hitting over .300 with 2 HRs ALREADY after being claimed off waivers from Arizona in almost strictly a pinch-hitting role. Also, they are much more reliable in the field compared to Yuni. Betancourt is likely a free agent after the season is over (team option for $6 million), so the Brewers shouldn't bother to look around the league during the season.
REPLACE: Casey McGehee
I'm hesitant to say this because of how crucial McGehee has been to the Brewers offense over the past two-plus seasons, but it just hasn't been working for the Brewers' third baseman. McGehee is sporting a sub-.230 average with just 4 HRs and has 11 ERRORS! Youch. Can you imagine what kind of season Prince would be having if he had any kind of protection? Ok. I can maybe understand if Casey remains playing almost everyday at third, but it's a no-brainer to throw Corey Hart in the five hole so that pitchers feel at least a little compelled to throw to Fielder. McGehee certainly doesn't have King's back so far.
REPLACE WITH: Wilson, Counsell, Taylor Green (AAA)
Like I mentioned before, Wilson and Counsell should be no more than platoon guys and can help give McGehee some more time off, but this Green guy is intriguing. A 25th round pick in the 2005 draft, Green has hit .299 with 8 HR and 32 RBI between AA Huntsville and AAA Nashville. He has slowly progressed through the minors, but the guy is only 24 and in my mind the next in line should the Brewers not look out of their system for another third baseman after McGehee's time ends in Milwaukee (McGehee is arbitration eligible after '11). This is especially true with Mat Gamel being groomed as the first baseman in-waiting after Prince leaves town, even though there has been some grumbling from fans about Gamel coming up to play third...I hope not. DO NOT touch Gamel. Please.
REPLACE: Kameron Loe
Now I'm not saying replace Loe completely; just in the setup role. Other guys have proved that they are much more deserving than Loe for the job, most notably LaTroy Hawkins and Marco Estrada. Loe's numbers up to this point are a 5.28 ERA and a 2-5 record in 34 appearances (most on the club...why?). Sound like setup numbers to you? To even further my case, Loe has proven that he is basically just a righty specialist because of his tailing sinker. Lefty hitters have had their way with Loe, so I think it's safe to say that he should be demoted to a specialist role like Stetter with lefties. Oh yeah, and he's a free agent after the year is up. C'mon, it's your contract year!
REPLACE WITH: LaTroy Hawkins
It's hard to argue with this selection. Estrada has been good as well and can pitch to both righties and lefties, but he also has his share of blown leads and poor performances. Braddock, in my mind, deserves to be the seventh inning guy even as he is coming off of injury, but that role has been undefined all season. Hawkins has a minuscule .059 ERA. I can see how Roenicke may be cautious in using Hawkins since he's coming off injury, but he's proven to have his velocity back and be able to get the job done all season, unlike Loe. You can only give guys in the bullpen so many chances to keep their spot. Even Trevor Hoffman got the boot and now look what the Brewers have at closer.
REPLACE: Wil Nieves
This may be minor compared to the first three guys on this list, but Nieves sees the field once every five starting pitchers and that's only because Randy Wolf doesn't like the way Jonathan Lucroy calls a game. Nieves is hitting a dismal .146 in 19 games, but to his defense it's difficult to get in a rhythm when playing so infrequently (just 16 games all year). Still, there has to be a guy put in his place that is used to this situation who can at least hit at a respectable average, especially if Lucroy goes down with an injury.
REPLACE WITH: Mike Rivera
I've always like Rivera and was kind of excited when I saw that he was back with the team a few weeks ago after spending last season in the Yankees' system. Rivera was always a guy that I thought deserved more playing time and he doesn't deserve the fate the Brewers are giving him. He would certainly be my option to back up Lucroy in the big leagues and undoubtedly the guy I'd call up to be the main guy if Lucroy for some reason wasn't the guy at catcher anymore.
OTHER UP-AND-COMERS:
AAA - 1B - Mat Gamel*
AAA - OF - Caleb Gindl
AAA - P - Mark Rogers*
AAA - P Amaury Rivas
AAA - 2B - Eric Farris
AA - P - Wily Peralta
AA - P - Cody Scarpetta
A - SS - Scooter Gennett*
A - P - Kyle Heckathorn
A - P - Jimmy Nelson
A - P - Tyler Thornburg*
* = guys I'm legitimately jacked up for
During the course of this entry, the Brewers once again defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-3. Zack Greinke improved to 6-1 and the Ax Factor shut down the birds in the 9th to record his 17th save. Milwaukee is now 37-28, which is good enough for the 4th best record in the big leagues. Amazing to see how quickly this team has turned it around since getting off to such a slow start, but when guys like Prince and Brauny are hitting like they are with solid starting pitching and a shut-down closer, this should be happening. The Brewers are one victory away from claiming first place in the Central Division. Feels good to type that out on the screen...let's just hope it becomes the norm.
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