Results tagged ‘ Craig Counsell ’
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #3 Cesar Izturis
It’s Tuesday as I type.
It’ll be Friday as I drink liquids and eat a bratwurst…at 10am or so.
Three short days remain until Opening Day. It’s going to be a fun ride this season and I hope you’ll all have ample opportunity to get to Miller Park this year and enjoy that ride.
A man looking to enjoy a full season of Major League Baseball is the subject of today’s profile. He is backup infielder:
Cesar Izturis.
After missing all but 17 games in 2011 and all but 19 games in 2010, Cesar David Izturis is hoping for another season in the sun where he actually gets some time on the field.
2011 began okay for now 32-year-old native of Venezuela, but he was placed on the disabled list on May 18th with an ulnar nerve injury. He returned in early August, but three days later was banged for the rest of the season with a groin strain.
He signed his free agent contract with Milwaukee on December 2, 2011 and was an immediate consideration for the backup utility infielder spot vacated when Jerry Hairston, Jr. signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Craig Counsell retired.
Izturis can perform capably on defense at 2B, 3B and SS, and when he was told he would be added to the 25-man roster at the end of the Spring Training it came as no real surprise. That’s because despite his defensive struggles this spring, he’s the only legitimate MLB-caliber player who could backup at shortstop that the Brewers had in camp. He’s also a switch-hitter which adds value. He can pinch hit for anybody and then double-switch into a number of positions.
Managers appreciate that kind of flexibility.
Now, having said all of that, Izturis isn’t exactly a good player anymore.
Recent track record shows a trend of injury and ineffectiveness. He’d have to overcome a bit of that history in order to stick in a normal situation, but in Milwaukee he’ll get more of a chance then he otherwise might. But if his glove doesn’t come around, he’ll be jettisoned when the team can find a more capable option.
Then again, players who can man shortstop, that come cheap, and can switch-hit aren’t exactly your standard unemployment line fodder. They tend to have jobs.
As far as 2012 is concerned though, it’ll be a success if Izturis can stay healthy, and convert outs into outs when he’s asked to give starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez a breather. He’ll need to contribute in a pinch-hitting role on occasion as well, but he’s on the team primarily because he is physically able to play shortstop. Don’t sell that point short in your mind.
The biggest concern?
If anything, it’s that the elbow nerve issue last year comes on an elbow which underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2005. It’s a minor concern really, but he missed almost three months with that injury and Father Time catches up to all athletes eventually. He hasn’t shown any issues with it so far this spring, but as far as I can tell he didn’t have any issues last spring either.
Just something to keep our collective eyes on.
Again, though, if Izturis can answer the bell and provide the services he is on the team to provide, nobody will be able to complain with much authority throughout the year.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #29 Edwin Maysonet
It feels like I’ve only written one of these articles in over a week.
That’s probably because I have only written one article (#33 Eric Farris) in the past eight days. That’s because a significant chunk of the 30′s are consumed by coaches, plus one number is unavailable (thanks for the memories, Mr. Fingers!).
All that said, let’s get right into today’s profile:
Edwin Maysonet.
There has been no bigger point of contention among Brewers fan over the past few seasons than that of how the shortstop on the team is performing.
Last year the position was manned by stalwart and lightning rod Yuniesky Betancourt. Betancourt brought relatively ineffective play, a penchant for making the routine seem incredibly difficult at times, but also a knack for coming through when you least expected it.
Yuni B. was shipped out following the 2011 season and Alex Gonzalez (who will be profiled on March 26th) was brought in to be the starter. Despite his inconsistency, the one thing Betancourt could be counted on for was answering the bell.
He started 146 games at shortstop for the Brewers in 2011. Alex Gonzalez won’t be doing that and therefore a capable backup is needed this year more than it was last year.
The thing is, the capable backup options on the 25-man roster all dried up this offseason as well as Jerry Hairston, Jr. followed his wallet to Los Angeles and Craig Counsell retired from the game altogether.
For Maysonet, opportunity is knocking loudly and clearly.
This is not just some organizational guy who continues to play at Triple-A simply because he’s been there for a while and nobody better has come along. Maysonet, 30, has seen big league time with the Houston Astros in parts of two seasons. He has started 17 games at the Major League level.
So how did he come to the Brewers anyway?
After the Astros made him a 19th round draft pick in 2003, Maysonet made his debut just over five years later on September 7, 2008. The Astros designated him for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot in September of 2010. The Brewers, being perilously thin in the upper levels of the minors as the shortstop position scooped Maysonet up on a minor-league free agent contract which was signed in mid-December of that same year.
The Brewers have used Maysonet primarily in the shortstop role, though he is capable is playing second and even third if necessary.
He’s got the arm strength and range to play short (despite a team-high 23 errors last year), but in order to beat out fellow non-roster invitee (though 11-year MLB veteran) Cesar Izturis for the job he’ll have to contribute something offensively.
In 2011 for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Maysonet hit .290/.347/.386, with 111 hits in 383 at-bats. The thing holding Maysonet back though is that his batting average is what’s commonly referred to as an “empty” one. He did have 29 extra-base hits, but only three home runs. He also doesn’t run as evidenced by his two stolen bases in three attempts. As for the run production stats, he only scored 57 and only drove in 39.
In this series of profiles I am focusing on the men that have a chance to make the roster and provide a legitimate contribution either from the 40-man roster or, in this case, as a non-roster invitee. Backup shortstop is the most open competition in camp and therefore anybody in big league camp that can play the position warrants consideration.
All that being said, and while I’m not saying that Izturis is necessarily the answer either, there is a reason that Yuniesky Betancourt was the starter all year and that when they needed a backup middle infielder in July and for the balance of the season in 2011 it wasn’t Maysonet’s number was not called.
Could he change the minds of those in charge and warrant himself a spot on the 25-man roster? Sure. That’s why he’s there. He’ll even earn some points when not playing is Izturis’ poor defense continues much longer. But the problem facing Maysonet is simply an overall lack of impact ability.
Bottom line: He’s a nice piece at Triple-A and in a short-term pinch he probably could man the post for a handful of games, but I honestly feel like it would take a major event for him to beat out yet another mercenary.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #52 Cody Scarpetta
Three of the last four days in our player preview countdown to Opening Day have been lost to Brewers coaches. Yesterday’s culprit was bullpen coach Stan Kyles who wears #53 when in uniform.
Today however, and for the next seven days following today, a player wears the number in question. That would make it eight straight for “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”, a stretch which shall not be broken this year and which is only duplicated once, but this stretch includes a non-roster invitee to Spring Training who I’m still debating on whether to profile. Unless I hear an outcry of want, that player, Juan Perez who was assigned #46 when the Brewers acquired him, probably won’t be previewed.
I won’t be holding my breath while waiting for his fan base to cry out in support, but I still haven’t officially made up my mind. After all, I strive to preview players on the 40-man roster and/or those who could contribute to the 25-man roster at some point in 2012. The only thing working in Perez’ favor is his handedness.
But enough about those other members of the Brewers organization; as it is 52 days until Opening Day, we are here today to discuss the player who wears 52:
Cody Scarpetta.
Working as a starting pitcher for each of 23 appearances in 2011 as a member of the Double-A Huntsville Stars, Cody Michael Payne Scarpetta posted a season linescore of 8-5, 3.85 ERA, 100 H, 61 R (50 ER), 8 HR, 61 BB, 98 K, 1.38 WHIP over 117.0 innings pitched. He held opponents to a .234 batting average.
Scarpetta’s play in the first half of the minor league season earned him a reward of sorts. With a bit of an overworked bullpen just before the Major League All-Star Game break, Milwaukee officially optioned Mat Gamel back to the minor leagues on July 10, 2011 and called up Scarpetta for a game that same night against the Cincinnati Reds.
With the game tightly contested the entire way (eventually won by the Brewers with a bottom of the ninth walk-off from Craig Counsell), Scarpetta didn’t enter the game and therefore has no official Major League career to speak of yet. The fact remains that Scarpetta was in uniform for the game and no doubt learned plenty from his 24-hour tour of Milwaukee.
The level of performance that earned him that one-day callup would not carry over to the 2011 Arizona Fall League where, in five appearances (four starts) as a member of the Peoria Javelinas, Scarpetta lost three games and allowed 16 earned runs on 13 walks and 14 hits, two of which were home runs, in just 7.1 innings pitched. That was bad for an ERA of 19.64 and a WHIP of 3.68!
Small sample size or not, and regardless of the fact that the AFL is littered with on-the-cusp talent, it’s clear that Scarpetta simply didn’t have much of anything to offer in Arizona. The future remains bright enough for Scarpetta, though, and he likely could contribute out of the bullpen if needed in 2012.
For a look at how he got to this point, let’s go back and review Scarpetta’s early years as a professional.
Scarpetta was originally drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Guilford High School and forewent a commitment to Creighton University to sign with the Brewers organization. In an odd circumstance, Scarpetta (who is still only 23 years old today) had his original deal voided because of an injury and when the team resigned him it was forced to add him to the 40-man roster at the end of the same year (2008) or risk losing him to the Rule V Draft.
What that also means is that Scarpetta’s minor league options began having to be used up immediately to keep him in the system beginning with the 2009 season. Normally a player has three options but with the unique circumstances of Scarpetta’s situation, the league granted a fourth minor league option to the Brewers on Scarpetta therefore allowing them to stash him in the minors for one more year before doing so would require exposing him to waivers first.
As you can surmise, 2012 will be an important year in Scarpetta’s development as his final minor league option will be used.
Scarpetta will be working on a fastball that’s already been described as “very good” and sits in the low 90s, a plus curveball that was described as “the best in the system” by Baseball America prior to the 2011 season and a changeup which, while improved, is still developing. He’ll need all three of those pitches to profile well if he’s to get a legitimate shot at joining a Brewers rotation that could, technically, have four openings in 2013. As it stands today, Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum will both be free agents at the end of 2012, Randy Wolf could become of a free agent if the Brewers decline their 2013 option and Chris Narveson becomes arbitration-eligible prior to the 2013 season which could always lead to a non-tender if Narveson doesn’t perform well enough this year.
Preparing for that final step, Scarpetta will take the next step in 2012 by most likely beginning the year in the rotation for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. If he doesn’t start in Triple-A, he’ll likely be one of the first looks for an early-season promotion thereto.
To be successful at the highest minor league level, Scarpetta will have to overcome the command and delivery issues that have some baseball people saying that his best (or possibly only) path to the majors is a complete dedication to the bullpen. It’s been said that Scarpetta has “enough stuff” to start, but you have to be able to control that stuff to be successful at starting.
Listed at 6’3” and 244 pounds, Scarpetta has good size and a build that should hold up well throughout a season regardless as to his eventual role. Naturally everyone in Milwaukee hopes Scarpetta can be an effective contributor in the rotation, but again it remains to be seen if he’s got those kinds of chops.
With pitchers and catchers set to officially report to Spring Training in just five days, and all the uncertainty beginning in 2013 both individually and with the big league pitching staff, the most important season so far in Cody Scarpetta’s career is about to get underway.
What he does with it could make all the difference.
Milwaukee Brewers 25-Man Roster Comes Into Focus…For Now
By: Big Rygg
- Yovani Gallardo
- Shaun Marcum
- Randy Wolf
- Chris Narveson
- John Axford
- Takashi Saito
- Kameron Loe
- Sean Green
- Zach Braddock
- Mitch Stetter
- Sergio Mitre
- Brandon Kintzler
- George Kottaras
- Wil Nieves
- 1B – Prince Fielder
- 2B – Rickie Weeks
- SS – Yuniesky Betancourt
- 3B – Casey McGehee
- Bench – Craig Counsell
- Bench – Erick Almonte
- LF – Ryan Braun
- CF – Carlos Gomez
- RF – Mark Kotsay
- Bench – Jeremy Reed
- Bench – Nyjer Morgan
All- Decade Roster
By: Big Rygg
Here is my 25-man roster (complete with starters, batting order, rotation and bullpen assignments). We will be recording a podcast in the semi-near future to no doubt dissect this (and surely Cary will disagree with a few choices).
This roster was constructed with an eye on best players at positions, but also with an eye on making what could be a legitimate 25-man roster with capable bench players and not all closers in the bullpen, etc.
First will be the roster listed alphabetically by position with starters marked with an asterisk.
SP (5) – Jeff D’Amico, Doug Davis, Yovani Gallardo, CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets
RP (7) – Todd Coffey, Francisco Cordero, Chad Fox, Trevor Hoffman, Curt Leskanic, Brian Shouse, Bob Wickman
C (2) – Henry Blanco, Damian Miller*
INF (6) – Ryan Braun*, Russell Branyan, Craig Counsell, Prince Fielder*, Bill Hall*, Jose Hernandez*
OF (5) – Corey Hart, Geoff Jenkins*, Gabe Kapler, Carlos Lee*, Scott Podsednik*
My rotation shakes out as follows:
1 – Ben Sheets (as a nod to his longevity with the team)
2 – CC Sabathia (he was that dominant in his short stint)
3 – Yovani Gallardo (future ace would make an amazing #3 on this team)
4 – Doug Davis (long tenure, LHP, consistent numbers)
5 – Jeff D’Amico (very solid statistics despite only 33 starts with the Brewers)
The bullpen stacks up like this:
Closer – Trevor Hoffman (yes, only one season but an amazing season as closer)
Set up – Francisco Cordero (flame-thrower, closing experience in the 8th inning)
LOOGy – Brian Shouse (of top three including Mitch Stetter and Ray King, Shouse was best and most consistent)
Others in the bullpen would share back-up 8th inning and the short work
And for my batting order…
CF – Scott Podsednik
SS – Jose Hernandez
3B – Ryan Braun
1B – Prince Fielder
LF – Carlos Lee
RF – Geoff Jenkins
2B – Bill Hall
C – Damian Miller
PITCHER
I am more than happy to explain my selections for this roster and I will…on the podcast. Be sure to download it when you see the post telling you that it’s there.
Happy New Year. Happy New Decade.
How about a couple or several division championships this decade?
Milwaukee Brewers Sign Five, Including C Zaun
By: Big Rygg
The Hot Stove season in baseball can be a very exciting time. It’s the first real baseball-heavy stretch of time in the sports media since the end of the World Series and, chance are, the first time you’ve really heard much about your team since the end of the regular season.
The big event during the off-season in baseball are the four days collectively known as the Winter Meetings. The Winter Meetings are a gathering of all of Major League Baseball’s General Managers (amongst other MLB officials). A ton of agents and even usually a handful of players make the trip as well. It is a chance for everybody to meet face to face and, thusly, to get a LOT accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. Groundwork is laid, dialogue is begun, negotiations get underway and, when all the stars align, players get signed to contracts.
In 2008 the Milwaukee Brewers were a part of the big storyline of the Winter Meetings, that of course being the CC Sabathia sweepstakes (congratulations to CC for winning a World Series Championship, by the way). That didn’t work out in Milwaukee’s favor, but it certainly was fun to have all the national media focused on the Brewers for a couple of days.
Last year, Doug Melvin was focused pretty much solely on Sabathia during the Winter Meetings and didn’t really accomplish anything. This year, however, Melvin is casting a much wider net into the free agent waters, specifically into the Sea of Starting Pitching. It has been said that the Brewers are basically looking into every available free agent pitcher. Having signed two arms already (the rehabbing Chris Capuano along with John Halama), the Brewers have gotten started fairly quickly this year. The Winter Meetings don’t even start until this coming Monday, for what it’s worth.
But, two pitchers that are questionable at best if one were to rely on them to start 20 games in 2010 (and for Capuano that games-started number could be one) is not enough for this team. Fortunately, Melvin, assitant GM Gord Ash and the rest of the front office realize this fact.
And, since pitching isn’t the only need for this organization, the Brewers have been active in areas other than pitching too. The Brewers made a trade in acquiring a new center fielder, Carlos Gomez, from the Minnesota Twins for SS J.J. Hardy. They signed a 16-year-old (pending age verification) shortstop, a young OF prospect who had a taste of the big leagues last year in Trent Oeltjen and a new starting (more on that later) catcher in the tastefully-named Gregg Zaun.
Allow me to focus on the new backstop in Milwaukee for a bit. There has been much discussion amongst fans already as to what exactly the Brewers are gaining by signing Zaun as opposed to simply retaining the services of two-year starter Jason Kendall instead.
First and foremost to this off-season’s agenda of acquiring as much starting pitching help as possible, this move saves the Brewers money. Kendall earned $5 million last year. With so many servicable options available on the upcoming market, Melvin made the decision that the team couldn’t afford to pay $5 million for a catcher again. There was never a report on whether Kendall flat out told Melvin to take a hike or whether he would’ve considered resigning at a reduced rate. Kendall was said to have greatly enjoyed his time as a Brewer, so it’s nice to think that he would’ve at least considered it.
To focus on what actually happened, though, is to realized that Gregg Zaun was approached by as many as six teams in this first week of free agency. He has said that the Brewers separated themselves pretty quickly from the pack. It helped that Milwaukee could offer a chance to be the primary starter. nearly-40-year-old catchers (or ballplayers of any position at that age) seldom hear those words. Now, Manager Ken Macha has seemed to be a no nonsense guy in his first year. That would seem to indicate that if Zaun isn’t performing at an acceptable level, then he would lose a start or two per week as whomever the backup winds up being will gain that playing time. Zaun is veteran enough in this league to know that performance is what hangs onto a job.
Should Zaun falter and his backup be called on…well, I don’t know what to tell you at this point because there is no certainty who that backup will be. Rumors flew (and continue to fly) since the end of the season about giving highly-touted prospect Jonathan Lucroy a shot to make the leap from AA to the big leagues. Then again, had prospect Angel Salome not missed so much combined time in 2009 due to injuries, might it be his name that would’ve been getting ballihooed about? There’s also the realization that Mike Rivera has been a decent backup the last few seasons as well at the big league level, thereby making him the devil they know, so to speak. Backup catcher is a much more important decision this year because Gregg Zaun will not be starting 130+ games.
Enough sidebarring. What else is the team gaining with Gregg Zaun behind the dish? How about more power, a higher batting average and, since Zaun is a switch-hitter, a second left-handed bat against right-handed pitchers. A little more balance can make a big difference.
As for the things Kendall excelled at (blocking the plate, blocking up pitches in the dirt, calling a game), Zaun is good at all of those things too. Let me put it this way, without going to find defensive statistical numbers… When you’re 38 years old and still playing in the big leagues, it’s usually not because of your stick anymore, especially behind the dish. Why do you think Henry Blanco is still playing? A cannon arm is among the top reasons why.
So when you add it all up, is there really any debate as to whether or not the Brewers made the right call? Of course there is. That’s the beauty of baseball and of all sports. Until the games are played on the field/court/rink/etc, you never know. But at least in baseball, statistical analysis provides a pretty darn good idea.
Despite all of this, though, the team needs more help. Formally offering a contract to Craig Counsell is a good start (depending on the value of said contract), but it’s hardly enough. The Winter Meetings begin in Indianapolis, Indiana in three days. With Doug Melvin and company being able to spread their focus around in 2009, let’s all hope that more irons in the fire yield better results in the long run.
You Don’t Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
…and in Felipe Lopez’ case, who needs one?
By: Big Rygg
Good Lord does Mike Burns need the Dave Bush treatment from a couple of seasons ago under nervous Ned Yost.
Of course I’m kidding, but let’s call a spade a spade here. Burns’ home/road splits are damn near comical at this point. Check out these stat lines as a starter:
3 Starts: 2-1, 4.67 ERA, 17.1 IP, 14 H, 9 ER, 4 HR, 4 BB, 12 K
2 Starts: 0-2, 12.91 ERA, 7.2 IP, 15 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 3 BB, 6 K
Look, it’s not like I’m saying that his numbers at Miller Park are awesome, but he did beat Johan Santana there and also threw a game with 7 Ks and no BBs.
I’m not saying, I’m just saying.
Let’s move on though, shall we?
Felipe Lopez did not disappoint. Bringing some much needed honor back to uniform number 3, all Lopez did in his Brewer debut was drop a 4-for-4 night tacking on a walk, scoring a run and looking like an incredibly smart pick up by Doug Melvin…well, for the most part anyway. He did muff a throw from Hardy (to be fair, the throw was a bit high) in the 8th inning which allowed Jeff Karstens to score after he had been plunked earlier in the inning. Regardless of that fact, however, he was stellar at the plate which is exactly what he needed to be on this night.
Quite obviously, Lopez is going to make some outs from time to time, don’t kind yourself. But in a reactionary world, one in which some were questioning the decision to trade for Lopez, it was a nice display to say the least.
Unfortunately for the Brewers, Lopez big night wasn’t enough as there were a combined 3 errors by Brewer fielders (the others being given to Prince Fielder and Craig Counsell respectively) that led to the Pittsburgh Pirates finally snapping the 17-game losing streak against the Brewers that they had been enduring for quite some time.
But, all streaks come to an end eventually. The important thing is that we come out tomorrow with renewed vigor and determination to start another winning streak against the Bucs. After all, Braden Looper is on the hill and every Brewer fan should know the kind of run support he’s been getting.
Let’s get to it tomorrow night!
So Let’s Do This Thing Called “Breaking It Down”
By: Big Rygg
Unlike some people and places, I don’t like to analyze many things at the spur of the moment when a little thought is warranted.
Don’t get me wrong, breaking news is fun to slice and dice and there are definitely times when that is appropriate if not downright fun. And breaking a story with analysis or not is always fun. I broke Salomon Torres’ retirement last year. Yup, I had it first. But that’s beside the point.
The point that I’m getting at is that now, after a few hours, it is time to analyze exactly what the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers brings to (and takes away from) the ball club.
Felipe Lopez – 2B/SS/3B – DOB: 5/12/1980 (29 years old) – B/T: S/R
.301/.364/.412, 345 AB, 104 H, 44 R, 18 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 34 BB, 59 K, 6/9 SB
Okay, so there are the season-to-date numbers. That includes an 0/4 in today’s game against St. Louis. Lopez has, even with that 0/4, amassed 8 hits in his last 20 ABs. That’s .400 over his last 6 games. What’s better, over the last 10 games, his batting average has gone from .305 to .301.
How is that better, you ask? It displays consistency. In those 10 games, he has been shut out of the hit column three times (though did still manage to score a run) but he manages to bounce back. It’s a quality that has been sorely missing at times from Brewer hitters this year for the most part.
Lopez is a switch-hitter and has hit LHP at a .313 clip while handling RHP as well to the tune of .298. Unfortunately for the Brewers, the most negative split Lopez has in his hitting is his split between night and day games. The Brewers have lost a lot of day games in a row, and Lopez only hits .237 in those games as opposed to .327 at night.
Okay, here’s a bottom line paragraph (there will be a couple of these in this post). Lopez doesn’t blow away any offensive category, but he contributes across the board. He plays solid defense, at multiple positions, and hits well from both sides of the plate. He can lead off effectively as evidenced by his .350/.411/.510 line in 143 ABs from the leadoff spot. What’s more, against the NL Central team not named the Brewers this year overall, Lopez is hitting 26/68 which equates to a .382 batting average. Sounds good to me.
Enough about Lopez’ individual batting numbers. Let’s move on to what his presence adds to the team.
Lopez will, by all accounts, start every day at 2B. This will either put Casey McGehee and Craig Counsell into a hard platoon at 3B or, more likely, will allow Craig Counsell to go back to what he was excelling so greatly at during the first two months of the season…coming off the bench and providing days off here and there for the starters at second, third and short.
McGehee has been handling RHP more than well enough (36/113, .319) while also hitting lefties just fine (14/43, .326) so there should be no issues offensively with starting McGehee as the main 3B. His defense has been suspect at times at the hot corner, but late-inning defensive replacement work is what Bill Hall is best-suited for at this point anyway, should you need to take advantage of it.
If there is a tough righty on the hill, maybe Counsell gets the start at SS or 3B. It stands to reason that Lopez will be starting every day unless he needs a day off. No real reason to platoon an effective switch-hitter.
So what does Lopez cost this team?
The most glaring, direct consequence of the addition of Felipe Lopez is the demotion of Mat Gamel back to AAA Nashville. Gamel hasn’t been playing a whole lot, to be fair, and when he has he’s only been midly effective.
I am still very much in the camp that believe Mat Gamel will hit, and hit a lot, when it’s all said and done. Really, though, with an everyday 2B in Lopez, forcing McGehee, Counsell and Hall to find time at 3B (and Counsell some at SS as well), it just made too much sense to have Gamel playing every day down in AAA. He needs to continue to develop, and playing maybe twice a week isn’t going to accomplish that.
Lopez also cost the Brewers that which they sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in order to complete the trade. Milwaukee sent two minor league players to the desert in OF Cole Gillespie and P Roque Mercedes. Personally, while I had tempered hopes for Gillespie, and didn’t know a lot about Mercedes, I think it’s a fair bounty. The last place D’Backs gets some potential down-the-road help and the Brewers get what has been missing since Rickie Weeks was lost for the season with his wrist injury.
(And I’ll be honest, I think I like that we didn’t pick up Doug Davis from Arizona as well. We need a bigger pitching piece in order to help solidify our rotation and by not getting Davis we are that much more in the market on those bigger names. I’m not saying that we’ll end up with Roy Halladay, but it’s nice to know that we still could, right?)
And finally, looking down the road, Lopez is only on a one-year contract. He is also only 29 years old. This leads to the best thing in a General Manager’s arsenal come the offseason: Options. (And I mean that as in choices.)
If Weeks rehabs well in the offseason and Lopez wants to sign elsewhere, so be it. If Weeks struggles to come back and we want coverage at 2B and Lopez enjoys the remainder of 2009 in Milwaukee, then perhaps he resigns here. There’s also the possibility that maybe Craig Counsell decides to retire. Lopez can play all of the positions that Counsell can as well, though ultimately that’s probably the least likely scenario as Lopez will no doubt be in line for a starting job next year should he want one.
But anyway…
Lopez is set to join the Brewers later today in Pittsburgh and will no doubt be starting and leading off against Ross Ohlendorf in the top of the 1st inning. Can’t say that I don’t like the way that sounds.
Let’s see what he can do right away. What do you say?
Brewers Play Part of ChiSox from Major League
By: Big Rygg
For anyone that has seen the iconic, timeless, awesome movie that is Major League, you know that the Indians defeated the Yankees in a dramatic one-game playoff in order to advance to the post-season.
What they don’t tell you officially until Major League II is that the Erie Warriors lose in the ALCS to the Chicago White Sox, the team’s antagonist in the second film.
Well, the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Cleveland Indians in the stadium formerly known as Jacobs Field. And while the team won’t be taking a 757 back to Milwaukee (they’re headed to Detroit tonight), they put on quite a hitting display during a series which featured a Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn bobblehead giveaway, Bob Uecker throwing out a first pitch and even a Bob Uecker autographed jersey prize to a “follow-the-ball” video board game.
The totals for the Brewers in the three games? 30 runs on 40 hits!! (And that we gave up 25 runs on 34 hits? Who cares? We won all three games!!)
Individual totals for the hitters (in alphabetical order by player’s last name):
Ryan Braun 6/13, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
Mike Cameron 2/14, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Frank Catalanotto DNP
Craig Counsell 4/9, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
Prince Fielder 6/11, 3 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K
Mat Gamel 3/14, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
Jody Gerut 0/2
Bill Hall 1/10, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K
J.J. Hardy 5/12, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB
Corey Hart 6/14, 2 2B,1 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Jason Kendall 3/8, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Casey McGehee 3/9, 1 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Mike Rivera 1/4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Take a moment to really let that soak in.
I’d write more now about the series, but I started this last night after the game and am finishing it today after work because I fell asleep while writing it. Suffice it to say, it was an amazing three days for the offense.
Let’s hope that’s the part of our game we bring with us from Cieveland to Detroit.
Brewer Nation
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