Results tagged ‘ John Axford ’
Milwaukee Brewers on ESPN Top 500 MLB Players List
ESPN is slowly revealing its list of the best 500 players in baseball, heading into the 2012 season.
This was determined by a team of 34 “experts” (their word) were given a list of the top 600 players projected to play in the Major Leagues this season.
Using a 0-10 scale, they evaluated “only the quality of each player for the 2012 season” which means no past performance should be factored in, though we know that likely won’t be the case.
In the event of ties, ZiPS was used to project performance and therefore break those ties.
I make this post to pull out the Brewers players as they are revealed.
The surveying took place over the last two weeks of February, so I’m very interested to see where Ryan Braun’s final ranking comes in.
Ages listed are as of July 1, 2012.
Without further ado, here are the Brewers that have been revealed to this point on the list:
Rank – Name – Position – Age – Twitter handle (if appicable)
# 6 – Ryan Braun - LF – Age: 28
# 42 – Zack Greinke - RHP – Age: 29
# 53 – Yovani Gallardo - RHP – Age: 26
# 84 – John Axford - RHP – Age: 29 - @JohnAxford
# 90 – Rickie Weeks – 2B – Age: 29
# 130 – Shaun Marcum - RHP – Age: 30
# 133 – Aramis Ramirez - 3B – Age: 34
# 144 – Corey Hart - RF – Age: 30
# 173 – Francisco Rodriguez – RHP – Age: 30 - @El_kid_rod57
#232 – Randy Wolf- LHP – Age: 35
# 320 – Alex Gonzalez - SS – Age: 35
# 330 – Jonathan Lucroy – C – Age: 26
# 331 - Nyjer Morgan - CF – Age: 31 - @TheRealTPlush
# 362 – Chris Narveson – LHP – Age: 30 - @sleep_trick
# 458 – Carlos Gomez - CF – Age: 26 - @C_Gomez27
# 461 – Mat Gamel - 1B – Age: 26 - @JMGamel
I will be updating this post daily as more names are announced.
(A cool little bonus to the list is that ESPN is including confirmed Twitter handles for players when they know them, and while they’ve included Chris Narveson’s, they skipped both Gomez’ and Gamel’s. I have included them in this post.)
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #40 Jose Veras
We’re inside six weeks, faithful (or first-time) readers. If you look to the right-hand side of the page, and are reading this on the day it was first posted, you’ll also notice that we’re a week away from on-field action against another team.
It’s an exciting time of the year to be sure. One where, in a normal set of meteorological circumstances, we’d be talking more about the trading of the seasons from winter to spring.
Do you see what I did there?
One off-season removed from the trading which brought us Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, today “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” profiles the only trade acquisition this current off-season:
Jose Veras.
Milwaukee’s recent addition will once again take the mound in Miller Park, though in a relief role unlike last off-season’s additions.
Acquired in exchange for 3B Casey McGehee back in December, Jose Enger Veras was recently described on Twitter by Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy as “gigantic” when he reported to Maryvale for the start of Brewers Spring Training. In the tradition of reporting that a player has reported to camp in the “best shape of his life”, the term was met with some worry by those that read it. McCalvy clarified that he simply meant that Veras, who stands 6’6″ and is listed at 240 pounds, is every bit of human that his bio suggests.
Veras, 31, pitched exclusively out of the bullpen last year for the Pittsburgh Pirates (as he has throughout his professional career) where he posted a line of 2-4, 3.80 ERA, 71.0 IP, 54 H, 32 R (30 ER), 6 HR, 34 BB, 3 IBB, 79 K. He held opponents to a .206 batting average, and his WHIP totaled 1.24 for the year. He was 1-for-8 in Save opportunities for the Pirates, and hasn’t saved a game since 2007 when he was 2-f0r-2 for the New York Yankees. In other words, neither incumbent closer John Axford, nor incumbent setup man Francisco Rodriguez need worry about their jobs.
That isn’t to say that Veras doesn’t have late-inning value. He was the primary setup man for Pirate closer Joel Hanrahan and appeared in 79 games. His talents and level of ability definitely fit better in the 7th inning, which for the record is where the Pirates would’ve pitched Veras in 2011 had Evan Meek been healthy the entire season. The 7th inning just so happens to be a spot where the Brewers have an opening (actually, two) created by the free-agent departures of LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito.
It’s extremely early in the process to determine anything definitively, but if camp broke today and the Brewers faced the Cardinals tomorrow and the starter could only make it through six…it would be a safe bet that Jose Veras would get the ball first in a close game where the Brewers had the lead.
Veras features a big fastball (range: 92 MPH – 97 MPH with a 94.1 MPH average velocity), curve ball (range: 75 MPH – 82 MPH, average: 78.6 MPH), and split-fingered fastball (80-86 range, 83.8 average).
He is a strikeout pitcher, as evidenced by his 79 strikeouts in 71.0 innings last year and his career 249 strikeouts in 247.1 innings pitched. When batters put the ball in play against him, the ball tends to head skyward. His career ground-out-to-fly-out ratio is 0.81 and was actually 0.68 in 2011.
Bottom line: He’ll contribute positively much more often than not, but like any relief pitcher is prone to give up runs in bunches. In the 19 appearances in which Veras allowed runs to score on his record, he allowed multiple runs nine times. To put it another way, he seems to be a very on or very off pitcher (just based on hard numbers), so it will be part of manager Ron Roenicke’s job with the help of bullpen coach Stan Kyles, to make sure they can identify the days when they might be getting an off Veras.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #57 Francisco Rodriguez
When you have an opportunity to acquire a player who should greatly improve the weakest spot on your team and all that you appeared to have risked was a significantly-valued vesting option of which you already had a built-in deterrent, you pull that trigger.
It looks even better when you work out a situation with the player’s agent to completely remove the vesting option.
It looks better still when the two players-to-be-named-later in the deal going to the trading partner are a guy you picked up off waivers and who performed terribly for you and another low-level pitching prospect that wasn’t exactly on anybody’s radar.
Then when your team goes on to dominate over a lengthy stretch of the season, win its division and advance deep into the playoffs, in no small part because of the dominance of the back end of the bullpen to which the acquisition was added…
That’s the stuff that contract extensions for General Managers are made of.
While it didn’t directly lead to additional years added onto Brewers GM Doug Melvin’s contract, any fan of the Milwaukee Brewers will recognize that all of this rhetoric describes the deal struck late in the evening on July 12, 2011. The deal that resulted in the Brewers acquiring a premium bullpen arm which they utilized as a setup man for incumbent closer John Axford, of course, means we’re profiling #57 on our countdown to Opening Day:
Francisco Rodriguez.
Last July I wrote the following in this space:
“General Manager Doug Melvin has fired the first salvo in the coming race for superiority in the National League Central Division.
Francisco Rodriguez is now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Following the completion of the All-Star Game, a contest that saw the National League emerge victorious for the second straight year, K-Rod was acquired late Tuesday evening from the New York Mets for two players to be named. This immediately upgrades the Brewers’ bullpen, to say the least.
Given that Milwaukee was owner of 20 losses by members of its bullpen (worst in MLB to this point), it was about as obvious as Prince Fielder’s winning of the All-Star Game MVP tonight that the Brewers needed help. Boy did Melvin ever deliver.
Rodriguez comes to Milwaukee with a 3.16 ERA and 23 saves (of 26 chances) in 42 games.
K-Rod also brings with him to Milwaukee a thirst for winning and an ability to set up should the Brewers choose to have him fill that role.”
I certainly seemed to know what I was talking about. K-Rod was used as the primary setup man to John Axford for the balance of the season following his acquisition. This resulted in many victories being nailed down that, as I referenced in the quote from last year, otherwise may very well have been lost because of the shaky setup options early in the year.
Following the trade, Rodriguez pitched 29.0 innings in 31 games during the regular season. Those innings saw him allow six runs on 23 hits and 10 walks (1.44 WHIP). K-Rod also struck out more than a batter an inning (33 K) while with Milwaukee and tallied 17 holds.
In the postseason, K-Rod gave up on one run in 5.0 innings pitched (1.80 ERA), striking out eight, walking four and allowing five hits.
So with as good as Rodriguez was for the Brewers in 2011, and with a mutual contract option being in play, a casual fan might think that retaining K-Rod would be the no-brainer of the offseason. However, the salary that the mutual option called for was incredibly cost-prohibitive for the Brewers. Therefore, the right-hander was allowed to become a free agent.
Perhaps as a gamble counting on K-Rod’s desire to close games and his agent Scott Boras’ ego to find his players lucrative deals, the Brewers offered salary arbitration to Rodriguez. This offer, when declined, would garner extra draft picks in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft for Milwaukee when K-Rod signed with another team.
This didn’t happen exactly the way that some had predicted.
Rodriguez did apparently have a multi-year offer from San Diego to close games at some point during the offseason, but shortly before the deadline to accept salary arbitration, the deal fell apart. This lead to Boras accepting salary arbitration, a move that while the Brewers claimed they were prepared for, they couldn’t have truly expected it.
Many fans and media members alike immediately worried about the salary that K-Rod might get in an arbitration situation. After all, he had made over $13 million in base salary in 2011. Could Rodriguez get $14 million? $15 million? After all, he had performed very well and performance is usually rewarded with a raise in the arbitration process.
I was never concerned. As archived somewhere in the timeline of my Twitter timeline and on more than one Facebook post, I surmised that his salary would go down for three reasons: First, K-Rod’s last contract was drafted in an off-season of lucrative deals. Second, he wasn’t filling the same role on this arbitrated contract year as he was when he received his last contract. Third, even if you argued that he’d be a closer if not for Axford’s presence (which is true), this was an off-season flooded with closers which resulted in lower than you might otherwise expect deals being signed.
Jonathan Papelbon will average over $10 million on his new deal with Philadelphia, Heath Bell will average $9 million, and even fellow Boras client Ryan Madson only got $8.5 million on a one-year deal with Cincinnati. In other words, the market did not dictate a salary north of $13 million for a setup man…even a great one like Rodriguez.
So, the Brewers and Boras settled on a one-year deal which will pay K-Rod $8 million with up to $625 thousand in incentives.
With all of this positive, though, there is also some negative to remember.
Late last year, Rodriguez said to the media that he was unhappy with the Brewers front office because he was lead to believe that he’d have opportunities to close from time to time. With Axford’s dominance (as summarized a couple of days ago in Axford’s entry) it just never became a defensible option. Rodriguez was probably playing a bit of self-glossing because at the time he was planning on going into free agency as a closer in a couple of months. He was reminding GMs out there that he viewed himself as a closer and that closing is what he wanted to do.
Of course, with any confident and self-assured player (as all elite athletes are to some degree), there is always going to be a certain amount of looking out for number one. Was it perhaps a bit of poor timing in the middle of a pennant race? Yes, but I also believe that K-Rod wasn’t saying what he said in an attempt to disrupt the Milwaukee clubhouse. He was simply hoping to position himself favorably in the coming hot stove season.
Media and fans didn’t take it that way, as a rule, and simply saw a complainer that wasn’t being a team player. Questions came up continually about why K-Rod would do such a thing when he did it. Sentiment was so strong about it, in fact, that when K-Rod accepted arbitration the prevailing commentary was that he gave up all rights to complaining about his setup role for the entire season.
With that, I wholeheartedly agree. He was traded into a setup role in 2011. I understood his frustration when he voiced it. In 2012, however, he chose money and setting up. It was his call, he made it, and now it’s on him as a professional to accept it and play hard in it.
But like I wrote seven months ago, if there’s one thing that I’m sure about Francisco Rodriguez, it’s that he has an unquenchable thirst to win. Money aside, role aside, politics and chemistry aside, K-Rod wants in 2012 what we all want in 2012: a World Series Championship.
Rest assured that he’ll give it everything he’s got to make that a reality.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #58 Mike McClendon
Welcome back to this lengthy consecutive days streak for the “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” series.
Yesterday, which was 59 days away from Opening Day, saw the first legitimate 2012 big leaguer profiled in John Axford.
Today, which is 58 days away from Opening Day, sees a guy who bounced back and forth a couple of times between Milwaukee and Nashville over the past couple of seasons:
Mike McClendon.
Michael Melton McClendon is a 6’5”, 225 lb, right-handed relief pitcher who made his MLB debut on August 14, 2010 after being selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th round of the 2006 amateur draft.
McClendon has had a fair amount of success in the big leagues, given his inauspicious promotion and use in mostly low-leverage situations.
He stayed up with the Brewers from his debut in 2010 through the end of the season. His MLB campaign saw the Texas native appear in 17 games, totaling 21.0 innings pitched. His first two appearances were 3.0 inning jobs, which shows that he wasn’t exactly designated for “close and late” situations. The balance of his year resulted in a line of: 2-0, 3.00 ERA, 21.0 IP, 15 H, 7 ER, 2 HR, 7 BB, 21 K. He held opponents to a .195 batting average and saw his WHIP finish at 1.05.
The next year, McClendon got a nice look in the spring but wasn’t brought north to Milwaukee. He began the season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds where he would pitch in three games (1-0, 6.1 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, .174 BAA) before being recalled to Milwaukee on April 19th.
McClendon would pitch that same night against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing just one walk in an otherwise perfect ninth inning, sealing up a win for Milwaukee.
That appearance kicked off a 2011 for McClendon that would see him pitch in eight more games for the Brewers before being sent back to Nashville due to the return of Zach Braddock from the disabled list. In those nine appearances, McClendon only gave up runs twice. One was a true blow up type where he allowed three earned runs on five hits (including one home run) in an inning and two-thirds at home against San Diego. I remember, because I was there! It was that game where the Padres scored eight runs in the eighth inning en route to a 13-6 victory.
Otherwise, another very encouraging season from McClendon. He totaled a 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings, won three games, finished with a 1.32 WHIP after surrendering 15 hits and three walks. He did strike out 10 over the nine games as well.
The other lasting legacy of McClendon’s time in Milwaukee was the introduction of the quick pitch to many fans. LaTroy Hawkins used it a few times as well, but McClendon really brought it to the forefront of Brewers fans’ minds.
Back in Nashville, McClendon finished the Triple-A season with 38 appearances, all in reliefe. He tossed 58.2 innings, and produced a 5-6 record, 3.53 ERA and recorded 8 Saves.
Looking at the total picture, it was a solid season for McClendon. He has things to work on, but so does every player. The bottom line for the team is that he’s shown flashes of being a reliable and capable option for a call-up in the case of injury to one a member of the bullpen.
Barring injury, Mike McClendon isn’t likely to make the 25-man roster out of Spring Training. He will start the regular season in Nashville’s bullpen. These are likelihoods that you can feel comfortable with.
I just suggest that he keeps at least one carry-on bag packed.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #59 John Axford
Opening Day is 59 days away.
59 days from the regalia and tradition of team introductions, bunting hanging from stadium facades around the league, and thunderous applause when the home team pitcher delivers the first pitch of the season.
For #59 on the Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers countdown, despite it not being an exact match by calendar day Opening Day is the anniversary of his worst outing of the season.
Of course I’m talking about Milwaukee’s bullpen ace and resident purveyor of all things facial hair:
John Axford.
That’s right, Brewer Nation, we’ve finally reached the point in the countdown where players with significant amounts of MLB service time will start showing up in this space.
John Berton Axford hails from the great north and has a well-documented path to the big leagues. It’s not one that I’ll rehash here, but if you haven’t heard about his time as a cellphone salesman and bartender, nor read about how Jay Lapp braved treacherous weather to see Axford throw one cold, Canadian day, do yourself a favor and head to Google when you’re finished here.
Standing 6’5″ makes Axford an imposing presence on the mound. He may not be Kameron Loe out there, but Axford utilizes his height very well in his delivery.
The right-hander features a high-octane fastball that has tickled 98 MPH on the radar gun, a slider with good movement and a curve that keeps hitters plenty off-balance.
No doubt you’ve seen many a hitter throughout the 2011 season swing under and behind a fastball that crosses the plate at or higher than his neck. Well, that happens because Axford’s curve ball moves so well that it makes his fastball up and out of the strikezone extremely tantalizing to swing at.
Axford mixes pitches well, doesn’t rely on any specific sequence, and throws his off-speed stuff for strikes. It makes for a tough assignment in the ninth for any group of opposing hitters. It’s an assignment that resulted in Axford converting 46-of-48 Save opportunities throughout 2011.
If you haven’t been paying attention to the Brewers since April 18, 2011 (by the way, the Brewers won the NL Central Championship and beat the Diamondbacks in the NLDS), Axford rattled off 43 consecutive Saves from April 23rd through the end of the regular season. It was that security in the 9th inning that championed the Brewers to a team-record 96 victories.
After all, there’s nothing worse as a hitter than working hard to take a lead into the late innings only to have the lead evaporate within a few pitches.
Which brings us back to why I mentioned Opening Day 2011 at all. It was in Cincinnati on March 31st where the Brewers hitters (with some help from solid pitching) sent the defending NL Central Champion Reds into the bottom half of the ninth inning down by three runs. Axford entered from the visitors’ bullpen and, for whatever reason, couldn’t get the job done that day.
He surrendered a run to make the Brewers’ lead 6-4. Then, with two men on base, he served up a pitch to Ramon Hernandez that the Reds catcher deposited over the outfield wall giving his team a 7-6 victory.
This was Axford’s first day without his on-the-job mentor from 2010, future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman. It was the first game of the year, one that saw a Brewer (Rickie Weeks) lead off a season with a home run for the first time. It was a win that was basically in the bag.
But then it wasn’t.
There is plenty of talk in the sabermetric community that “closer’s mentality” is a myth. It’s something that is made up by agents as a way to justify higher salaries for the gentlemen that record the final three outs of a tight ballgame. I tell you this: whether you believe in the idea that closers are a different breed by designation, John Axford certainly is.
Normal men might have allowed that crushing loss to affect them for a long time. Normal men might have pitched tentatively the next time (or 10), trying to avoid a game-losing home run and allowing the opposition to nickel and dime him to a loss anyway.
Not Axford. He ticked off three saves, blew one on the aforementioned April 18th when he gave up a single run to the Phillies in a game that the Brewers ended up winning in extra innings anyway, and then didn’t blink the rest of the year. Sure, he gave up a run here and there, but was perfect much more often than not.
In fact, in Save situations after April 18th, Axford gave up a single run only six times. That’s 37 spotless Saves. Of the six blemishes, one was an unearned run in Colorado (you can probably remember that defensive 9th inning if you try), and three more were from solo home runs. In other words, only twice over 43 consecutive Saves was Axford hit enough where the other team was able to manufacture a run.
I think everyone can agree that Axford had a pretty good season.
The other thing to remember is that several leads were blown before Axford even had a chance to take the mound. If-come-maybes notwithstanding, Axford could have had a chance at a 50-Save season. Even without those games, Axford still set the team record for Saves in a single season.
Going forward into 2012, Axford returns as one of the top closers in the game today. With what figures to be an offense that is down in run production from 2011, a quality bullpen will be more important than ever. After losing setup men LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito to free agency, the trade for Jose Veras and return of Francisco Rodriguez after the team expected K-Rod to depart will prove to be very important moves. Their play in front of Axford will greatly influence the team’s success.
The bottom line is that the ninth inning is still where the money is made though in that respect with John Axford, the Milwaukee Brewers are awash in riches.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #63 Frankie De La Cruz
A late start to today’s installment of “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”, but that’s certainly not due to a lack of consideration for today’s player. Rather it was caused by an extreme case of exhaustion on the part of yours truly after a long night Wednesday into Thursday. If you’d like some proof, go look at when the Michael Fiers article was posted and then added an hour or so onto that for my bed time.
Enough about me. That’s not why you’re here.
You’re here because being 63 days away from Opening Day on April 6, 2012 means you get to read about a pitching prospect that logged big league time in 2011 while wearing jersey number 63.
That man is none other than Eulogio (pronounced ay-oo-low-HEE-yo) De La Cruz.
You may be saying to yourself “Eulogio? I remember a Frankie De La Cruz, but not this other guy.” Both men are listed at 5’10” and 215 pounds. Both will be 28 years old by Opening Day. Both hail from the Dominican Republic. Lots of similarities, wouldn’t you agree? Well, as Mac McGrath once said about Babe Bennett and Pam Dawson, “They are, in fact, one in the same.”
Frankie De La Cruz has logged big league innings with four different teams in the four years he’s been on a big league roster. Originally with Detroit, he was traded to the Marlins organization as a part of the Miguel Cabrera deal. After exhausting his final minor league option, he was traded from Florida to San Diego in March of 2009. De La Cruz was then designated for assignment by the Padres just over a month later after the Padres had to call up a starting pitcher (Chad Gaudin) to cover some injuries.
After spending the 2010 season pitching in Japan, De La Cruz signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers prior to the 2011 season. He wound up pitching in 11 games for Milwaukee, allowing four earned runs over 13.0 innings pitched. His major issue in previous big league stints, walking batters, didn’t flare up as much with Milwaukee. He “only” walked five while allowing 10 hits. It worked out to a 1.15 WHIP and clearly aided him in compiling a 2.77 ERA.
What the future holds for De La Cruz as a member of the Brewers organization is something of a mystery, however. He is out of minor league options and the Brewers have a number of bullpen arms returning to the team after being out with injuries in 2011.
Manny Parra, Zach Braddock, and Brandon Kintzler all stand to have a shot to head north as a part of the Brewers bullpen. Parra is out of options also, but Braddock and Kintzler both could be optioned down if Doug Melvin decides that depth is a focus.
It may seem like the numbers game isn’t set up to work in the favor of De La Cruz, but he has an opportunity to pitch his way to Miller Park this spring. If I had to formulate a guess as to the bullpen right now, it’d be John Axford, Francisco Rodriguez, Kameron Loe, Parra, Marco Estrada and José Veras all making the team for sure.
The departures of LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito to parts out west opens up a couple of jobs, but De La Cruz is hardly guaranteed of a spot. He was left off of the post season roster last year, after all, and only has a total of 32.0 innings pitched over his career.
Working in his favor are a fastball and curveball that once lead to a #6 ranking in the Detroit Tigers prospects list by Baseball America. These pitches haven’t developed as dominatingly as some no doubt hoped when he was labeled as a future big-league closer, but the raw stuff is still there somewhere.
Bottom line for De La Cruz is that despite relatively effective appearances for the Brewers in 2011 after being called up to replace an injured Chris Narveson on the roster, nothing is close to guaranteed for FDLC going into 2012.
He’ll have to pitch well from the jump in order to force his way back onto the 25-man roster. Is it doable? Certainly. Is it likely? That remains to be seen once the mitts start popping in Maryvale on February 20th.
“Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” Series Will Return
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be reviving my “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” season preview series for the blog. It’s been too long.
In the series I preview Brewers players on the 40-man roster (along with some non-roster invitees too) the same number of days before Opening Day by their uniform number.
For example: Nyjer Morgan wears #2. He therefore gets previewed on April 4 which is two days prior to Opening Day (April 6). Likewise, John Axford who wears #59 will be looked at on February 7, so on and so forth.
I’m looking forward to this and thought it made good sense to bring the series back this year because of all the roster turnover this off-season.
I hope you’ll come along for the ride!
Milwaukee Brewers S.W.A.T. Team Indeed Special
The Milwaukee Brewers have been gaining in both popularity and recognition on a national level due to their superb play as of late. This popularity led the FOX broadcasting network to option games on consecutive Saturdays to become a part of their national broadcasts.
During a pre-taped segment at Miller Park (the game today is part of a three-game series at Citi Field in Flushing, NY) FOX broadcaster Chris Rose discussed various topics with several Brewers players, including one Nyjer Morgan.
The story of Tony Plush is one that has not really been tackled by this blog despite my extensive discussion about it on Twitter. I won’t rehash anything here but suffice it to say that Morgan is more than a bit unique. In fact, in the taped segment Prince Fielder agrees with Rose’s assessment of Morgan as “a little crazy”.
The reason for this post is not, however, due to any of Morgan’s actions, hand-gestures, yelling or otherwise. Instead it is being written to expound on something Morgan uttered when he was in the midst of being quizzed on Milwaukee Brewers trivia by Rose.
Rose asked Morgan if he knew what the nickname of the 1982 Brewers offense was. As any Brewers fan with knowledge of the team prior to 2008 would know, it was “Harvey’s Wallbangers”. Morgan didn’t know this, admitted as much, but said that he knows that this group is calling themselves the “SWAT team”.
This could have a simple reference to swatting baseballs with baseball bats but I like to think of it in another way whether Morgan meant it as such or not.
S.W.A.T. is an acronym for specialized police forces around country and elsewhere. S.W.A.T. stands for Special Weapons And Tactics. This a moniker that, quite simply in my estimation, personifies the 2011 Milwaukee Brewers perfectly.
Let’s take that in halves and I’ll show you what I mean.
Special Weapons: The Milwaukee Brewers have plenty of players that can be categorized as “Special Weapons”. Here’s an incomplete list.
- Ryan Braun: Former Rookie of the Year. Four-time elected All-Star Game starting outfielder. Currently second in the National League in batting average. Leading the NL in runs scored and slugging percentage.
- Prince Fielder: Youngest player to ever hit 50 home runs in a single season. Two-time elected All-Star Game starting first baseman. Recipient of MVP votes several times. Batting over .300, with 28 HR, 96 RBI. Leading the NL in RBI. Second in the NL in OBP and OPS.
- Nyjer Morgan: Spark plug that always seems to be in the middle of game-winning situations and game-turning plays. Recently had a double-digit game hitting streak. Getting on-base multiple ways. Keeps the clubhouse loose and keeps everybody relaxed during the grind of the season.
- John Axford: Second in the National League (and all of MLB) in Saves. Current owner of a 34 consecutive Saves streak. Three pitch arsenal which can all be thrown for strikes. 97-98MPH heat. Outstanding control. Came out of nowhere to take over the closer role from future member of the Hall of Fame, Trevor Hoffman and has converted saves since then at a 92.4% clip.
- Take your pick of the Starting Pitchers. They are currently on a spectacular run of efficiency and dominance. The only recent hiccup was Randy Wolf’s start on August 20 in New York but otherwise it’s been a tremendous past few weeks. Getting stronger at the right time. Here are a couple of highlights from the new members this year to the Brewers’ rotation.
- Zack Greinke: 12-4 record. Former AL Cy Young Award winner. Currently 9-0 at Miller Park this season (the team is 11-0 in his home starts). 151-29 K-BB ratio.
- Shaun Marcum: 11-3 record. 2.47 ERA on the road. .227 opponent batting average. Has played stopper more than a couple of times this year.
Again, that’s an incomplete list because several others could be on it but let’s move ahead to…
Tactics: Under first-year manager Ron Roenicke, the Brewers have employed several tactics that have helped them defeat opponents on a consistent (and lately near constant) basis. Here are a handful of examples.
- Over-Shifting: The Brewers have shifted a lot this season as a way to help make up for a lack of range amongst three-quarters of their infield. Not only have they shifted against the biggest left-handed hitters by having the shortstop play up the middle or even on the first-base side of second-base, but they’ve also flipped the script and done the opposite against right-handed hitters by having the second baseman play up the middle on several occasions. This has led to many batted balls that would normally be easy hits against a standard defensive alignment to wind up as outs in Fielder’s glove at first.
- Squeeze Plays: When Roenicke took over he warned everyone that this team would be much more aggressive on the base paths. The result has been mixed at times with the baserunners running into several outs as they tested their own limits or simply miscalculated their odds for success. However one base running tactic that Roenicke has used several times this year with good success has been the suicide squeeze (with its less exciting cousin the safety squeeze sprinkled in as well). There have been a couple of bad examples lately due to missed signs, but they are still employing the tactic.
- Five-man Infield: Late in games when the opponents have the winning or tying run at third base with less than two outs, Roenicke has made it a habit to head to the mound to talk to his pitcher and infield, and to beckon left fielder Ryan Braun in from his normal spot to fill space on the dirt instead. This has worked more often than it has failed but just the radical idea of trying it makes it a specialized tactic indeed.
- Strict Platoons: Most contending teams don’t have strict platoons at any position. The Milwaukee Brewers have two. First is the fact that Randy Wolf and starting catcher Jonathan Lucroy haven’t ever been able to get on the same page when it comes to the way Wolf likes to pitch a game. Therefore, Lucroy does not catch Wolf at all. Backup catcher George Kottaras does instead. Wolf feels more comfortable so it makes sense. The other strict platoon is in centerfield. After the plan to begin the season wasn’t effective, Nyjer Morgan began starting against all right-handed pitchers with Carlos Gomez starting against lefties. Once Gomez got hurt coupled with Morgan’s stellar play, many fans were calling for Morgan to start every game. This wouldn’t have been the best option and it wasn’t the option Roenicke went with. Other players have filled the role against lefty starting pitchers and Morgan has continued playing at a high level due to being put in the best position to succeed.
With all of these examples of tactics and weapons, I think it’s pretty clear that whether “T-Dot” intended it or not (and let’s be honest, he probably did), S.W.A.T. is an absolute personification of the 2011 Milwaukee Brewers.
Simply stated it’s another dynamite drop from the silver-tongued Tony Plush, aka Mr.Eezzy Breezzy, aka Mr.Gotta B Startin Somthin, aka Mr.Professional Tony Gumble, aka T-Dot…Nyjer Morgan.
This S.W.A.T. team is highly talented, highly trained, and will take down an opponent with skilled precision and remarkable play.
The National League has been on notice for a while. The nation itself is taking notice as well.
It’s about time.
Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Francisco Rodriguez And Cash For Two Players To Be Named
By: Big Rygg
General Manager Doug Melvin has fired the first salvo in the coming race for superiority in the National League Central Division.
Francisco Rodriguez is now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
K-Rod was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers on July 12, 2011
Following the completion of the All-Star Game, a contest that saw the National League emerge victorious for the second straight year, K-Rod was acquired late Tuesday evening from the New York Mets for two players to be named. This immediately upgrades the Brewers’ bullpen, to say the least.
Given that Milwaukee was owner of 20 losses by members of its bullpen (worst in MLB to this point), it was about as obvious as Prince Fielder’s winning of the All-Star Game MVP tonight that the Brewers needed help. Boy did Melvin ever deliver.
Rodriguez comes to Milwaukee with a 3.16 ERA and 23 saves (of 26 chances) in 42 games. He also has finished 34 of those games, a number which we’ll refer back to in a minute.
K-Rod also brings with him to Milwaukee a thirst for winning and an ability to set up should the Brewers choose to have him fill that role. Obviously Milwaukee already has an elite closer in John Axford (23-of-25 in saves, 2.83 ERA) so one would think that the Brewers have already internally discussed who will fill which role going forward.
Personally I would prefer Axford to continue to close for two reasons. First, he’s been excellent this season after easing into game action. Opening Day in Cincinnati saw Axford blow his first save chance of the season by way of a grand slam home run by Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez. In April an opportunity was lost against the Philadelphia Phillies, a game which the Brewers ultimately won anyway in extra innings. You say you want another example of his performance? How about going the entire month of June without giving up a run until its final day, and even that run was an unearned one?
Besides Axford’s individual performance, there is another reason to want him to continue to set up. Remember how I mentioned that Rodriguez has finished 34 games this season? I brought it up because he has a vesting contract option worth $17.5MM should he finish 55 games this season. Given the Brewers’ propensity to play close ballgames, whoever closes stands to finish plenty between now and the end of the year.
Sure, the Brewers could afford to pay Rodriguez that sum for one year in 2012 should Prince Fielder depart in free agency (and perhaps that’s part of their design to compete again next year if that happens), but how the team spends that sum of money is a topic for another day.
Suffice it to say that this trade will no doubt send ripples throughout the NL Central specifically and the rest of the league as well as teams take their turns in the chess match that is a Major League Baseball pennant race.
—
***UPDATE*** Reports coming down now that the money that came to the Brewers was $5MM. Also, the Mets will get a list of five minor leaguers and will make their decision by September.
Brewer Nation
Recent Comments