Monthly Archives: August 2007

Posted by Steve

Okay. I have taken my much-needed mini-Brewers sabbatical. Sorry about not posting much lately, but can you blame me? The saying “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” does not exclude low-traffic bloggers.

There’s so much to say about this collapse, but I’ll sum it up quickly. The Brewers have burned through an 8 1/2 game division lead and a 14-over .500 mark. Depressingly, the Crew now sits at .500, and has been gawdawful for a couple months. The pitching, once considered a strength, has become their worst enemy. Sheets went down, Capuano imploded, Suppan hasn’t been great, Vargas is bad and Yo and Villy are out of gas. Meanwhile they still can’t play on the road, and they were just swept by the San Francisco Dinosaurs. What a time to be entering the biggest series of the season.

But here’s the crazy part: The Brewers can still make the freaking playoffs.

I’m calling this my last ditch effort. It culminated by me wearing an old Little League Cubs shirt when I played baseball on Sunday (the same shirt that got me my ironic nickname). After Sunday’s creative loss, anger told me the season was over; I didn’t know how else to respond.

But then, something a bit strange happened. I happened to hear the Cubs improbably blow a first-and-second-with-no-outs chance in the ninth against Arizona, and something like rationale began to set back in. As Ron Santo squealed in agony after Jacque Jones grounded into the final out, I started to realize I still have some hope. I’m not sure why, and I’m pretty sure I hate myself for it, but it’s definitely there. I also realized something else: The Cubs aren’t that good either.

Of course, that’s the only reason I have hope. The Cubs aren’t very good. If they were good, the Brewers would be packing it in, and Dale Sveum might soon be interim manager. But as it stands, the division-leading Cubs are only 66-63. Amazingly, if the Brewers can go 2-1 at Wrigley, they’ll be only a half game out of first*.

This isn’t going to be easy. As Rick Braun notes in the JS’s nifty new Brewers Blog, the Brewers have TBA listed for Wednesday and Thursday’s starting pitcher. Braun also correctly notes that this is generally a bad sign.

The biggest reason for my semi-optimism is the impending return of Ben Sheets. When the Baseball Gods struck us down with a blister under a blister on Ben’s already torn middle finger, it just seemed like icing on the cake. But as of late Monday night, reports indicate the Brewers still have hope for Sheets making a start on Wednesday or Thursday. I’d rather not speculate on what could happen if Sheets can’t make that start, because it would be ugly.

Not that the Brewers should want to send out Claudio Vargas anyways, but his back injury could prove devastating if Sheets can’t start. Vargas would have gotten a start in Chicago, but now it sounds like either Manny Parra or Carlos Villanueva will take his spot. They might both have to pitch if Sheets can’t go, which in all likelihood would burn out the bullpen once again. And of course my biggest worry is that the Brewers rush Sheets back only to irritate the blister and keep him out even longer.

Even if Sheets can go (how effective will he even be in his first start back?), the Brewers are going to need some serious offensive output to win the series. The Cubs conveniently send their three best starters to face the Brewers, so that will be no easy task. I’m calling for a big series from Hardy, Hall and Weeks, since the Cubs are sending out two lefties. Braun and Fielder could combine for three home runs; I’d be alright with it.

The way I see it, here’s what the Brewers need to do to give themselves a shot. First, don’t get swept in Chicago. A series win would be huge, but they almost have to win one game. A Cubs sweep and a 4.5 game deficit would be pretty darn devastating. Second, get Sheets back to health. There’s no telling what boost an ace pitcher can give to a struggling team. Finally, stay within three games by September 1. Then call up a buttload of players to the expanded roster. They can add a bunch of relievers, pinch runners (I’m actually calling for Tony Gwynn!) and another catcher so they can pinch-hit later in games.

I thought about coming on here and writing about Yost being fired and potential changes next season, but it’s not quite to that point. There’s over a month of baseball left, and as bad as the Brewers have played, they’re still in it. It’s time for a rally, Brewer fans. Don’t lose hope yet. Dig out your lucky skivvies, hats, socks and shirts. Watch Harvey’s Wallbangers. Listen to “Eye of the Tiger.” Do what ever you have to do to get yourself geared up for the stretch run. And of course, put on everyone’s favorite Brewers jingle.  Be like the creepy baby.  Let’s hear your rally cry! But most of all, don’t lose hope! This thing ain’t over yet.

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*Note: For the sake of my mental health, I am refusing to acknowledge the Cardinals’ chance to win the division. This is despite the fact that the Cards are two games out of first.

Posted by Steve

Before I even say anything, I just want to assure our (tens of?) loyal readers that I have no intention of abandoning BBKTUTH in light of my newfound fame. I’ll always remember my roots.

(In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m referring to the seven-second close-up FSN had of Glenn and me in the bleachers at last night’s game in the seventh inning.)

But moving on… I returned this evening from a fun one-day trip to Phoenix. We saw Dave Bush pitch a nice game and the Anti-Gwynn hit a grand slam.

That’s my trip in a nutshell. Here’s a more detailed description.

• I have never felt such high temperatures in my life. It reached 111 degrees yesterday, which seems to be no big deal in Arizona. But to me it felt like I was in an oven. Everyone talks about the dry heat, and how you don’t really sweat, but I don’t really buy that after experiencing it myself.
• It’s pretty random to see palm trees and cacti alongside roads, but it was definitely cool.
• Phoenix establishments seem to use a similar technique to market their products/services: Attractive 18-24 year-old females. And there was certainly no shortage of them. As a PR major, I can fully endorse this strategy–Fred McGriff style.
• Downtown Phoenix seems like a happenin’ place.
• Arizona doesn’t seem to have fully bought into the Diamondbacks (Do they know they aren’t as good as their record? Somehow I doubt that’s the reason.) 12,000 on Monday night and last night there was 27k. 27,000 is a nice crowd, but I couldn’t tell it with my ears. Their fans rarely cheered, and it was almost as loud when the Brewers scored as when the D-backs did.
• Nevertheless, they have a nice stadium. It’s definitely more “indoorsy” than Miller Park, even if their roof was open. But they have some decent deals on team apparel, a wide selection of restaurants inside the stadium, and some unique attractions like the swimming pool.
• There was an awesome heckler. The half-inning after Gross hit the salami, the guy yelled to Gross, “Hey Gross! Is that your first home run of the year? Come on man, it ruined my night!” Then thirty seconds later, “Oh, well at least I hear you’ve been hot lately! Never mind!”
• Not a whole lot else to say about the game itself, except that we figured out we had been on tv when a bunch of our friends started calling us. Kind of funny.

But anyway, time to go. The Brewers just broke Brandon Webb’s scoreless innings streak, so maybe they’ll have a chance. The Arizona offense just doesn’t scare me.

Posted by Steve

I’m also not sure why I care that the Cubs lost today with the way things have been going lately.

But yeah, I’m again taking advantage of the cheap airfare and flying to Arizona tomorrow to brave the 110 degree heat and catch the game.

But because I want to say something positive about the team, here’s a few things:

• Ben Sheets pitched a simulated game today, and reports are that he looked good. He developed a “hot spot” on his finger so they cut the outing a bit short, but it didn’t sound serious. Sounds like the blister would be the only thing keeping him out if he has to wait a while.
• Yo looks great tonight after two rough starts. That’s a great sign.
• Gabe Gross is back up. Oh, and he’s been hitting too.
• Rickie Weeks is also heating up.
• They Brewers are currently winning 9-0 in the sixth.

That’s all I have. They’re playing terribly, but if they are still within a game or two by the time Sheets returns they’re in good shape.

Posted by Steve

But I’ll come up with something anyway. I really don’t have much to say about the Brewers right now, except for that they’ve completely fallen apart. It’s easy to say the season’s not over (they’re technically still alone in first in this embarrassment of a division) but after considering the way they look right now, you have to think the .500 mark is in jeopardy.

I keep going back to one guy: Ben Sheets. At the beginning of the season many (including myself) said the team would go as far as Sheets could take them, and that they wouldn’t make the playoffs if he missed any significant amount of time. It looks like that’s proving to be correct. Sheets is back soon, which is the only reason I haven’t lost all hope, but he’s already missed several starts. If the Brewers miss the playoffs, we’ll know that’s why.

Losing Sheets doesn’t account for players like Chris Capuano and Bill Hall underperforming, the offense falling asleep or the hideous team defense. But it probably accounts for some of the bullpen woes. Sheets was a threat to go nine innings any time he pitched and you knew the bullpen would get a rest. Instead, the pen has to go three or more innings every friggin night.

Still, there’s no reason the Brewers should be a bad team without Sheets, which is exactly what they’ve been. They’re awful in every aspect at the moment: offense, defense, starting pitching, bullpen.

Dave Bush is the only starter I have confidence in, and after that it’s probably Suppan. Yo was great, but after two terrible starts I’m wondering if they’re just a couple bad starts or if his arm is reaching it’s limit. Capuano can’t throw strikes to save his life right now, and Vargas is a human home run allowed.

Meanwhile, Yost just recently got rid of his 13th pitcher and finally gave himself a full bench. Gabe Gross should have been back weeks ago, as the Brewers are hurting badly for a high OBP guy.

And during this entire time, the Cubs have been struggling almost as much… Which has left the door open for the Cardinals, of course, who all of a sudden are acting like they’re a halfway decent team. I never thought I’d say this, but I’d almost prefer the Cubs win the division over the Cardinals, because I actually believe the Cubs are a halfway decent team. The Cardinals are a bad team outside of Pujols. Notice I said “almost” though. I’d never want the Cubs to win anything over anybody.

By the way, this seems as good a place as any to slip in this paragraph. This goes back to the Tony La Russa discussion a few posts ago. I have a perfect example of why I can’t stand him. Here’s the scenario: Saturday. Cardinals lead 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Two outs, nobody on base. Naturally, La Russa makes a double-switch.

So anyways, I’m not sure there’s anything more that can be said at this point. Either they wake up, or things continue going south, they finish in third place and below .500 and Yost is probably fired.

Posted by Steve

Well, things are not going well right now, obviously. Just about every area of the team is hurting at the moment. I’m hardly even consoled by the fact that the Cubs are also struggling (who could have seen that coming?).

It is truly amazing how far up the ladder the injury of Ben Sheets reaches. Their bullpen has needed to throw more innings and they’re burned out.  Starters who are getting shelled are asked to stay out and eat innings. And they’ve obviously lacked that pitcher who they can count on for a great outing every five days.

And as I sit here typing and growing more frustrated as Todd Helton makes it 11-3 Rockies, I’ve been trying to come up with some ideas that might be able to stop the nosedive. Here’s a few things I came up with.

The offense has gone south, but the pitching is by far my main concern (as Matt Wise loads the bases… Wow). No loss is worse than any other, but the Brewers sure have had some deflating losses lately. Most stemmed from a meltdown inning where the opponent scores 3+ runs.

The way I see it, the bullpen is due for an overhaul. Just a quick summary of the pitching problems:

• Matt Wise can’t locate a pitch since he hit Pedro Lopez in the face. Obviously this seems to be a mental issue, so I won’t pretend to have a solution, outside of replacing him if it continues.
• Cordero is a completely different pitcher on the road. Home ERA of 0.58, Road ERA of 8.62. That’s insane. Plus he’s had a weird propensity not just to blow saves–but to blow games that aren’t even close. He’s blown three-run leads three times already.
• Carlos Villanueva is taxed. He was topping out at 87 mph tonight. He’s tired, and it’s not too hard to notice.
• Chris Capuano has been totally off, and Claudio Vargas has finally realized that he’s always been a bad starting pitcher.
• Turnbow’s still hit-or-miss.  His overall numbers are solid, but they come in roller coaster form.  Dominant or putrid.

Now some of these don’t have a clear-cut solution. Some the Brewers will just have to ride out and hope things turn around–Like Cordero (you can’t have a home closer and a road closer, which is something I’ve heard suggested on sports-talk radio). Not all of these have an easy solution, but I’ll fire away.  To me, the only guys I’d say don’t have to worry about job security are Turnbow, Shouse, Linebrink and Cordero.

DL Villanueva

He needs rest. He’s lost 5 mph off his fastball and his location is off. Give him at least a week off and then see how he feels. He might have to be done for the year. That’s the downside of using young pitchers.

Recall Rickie Weeks

I understand they wanted him to find his swing, but the Brewers can’t afford to wait any longer. Craig Counsell just cannot hit. Joe Dillon has four at-bats since he’s been up, so it’s not like they’re even using him. Not that it really means anything anyway, but Weeks has seven hits in 15 at-bats in the minors, so hopefully he’s doing something right. He is the one player I can think of within the organization whose addition to the lineup has a chance of sparking the offense.

Split Yo’s starts with Manny

We’re seeing firsthand what can happen if a pitcher gets overworked, so I hope the Brewers do what they can to prevent that from happening to Yo. If Parra and Gallardo switch off between starts/long man for the next month, it would potentially save Yo about 10-20 innings that can be used later down the stretch. It seems like an easy way to do that without hurting the team’s chances too much. Plus when Sheets comes back, you can replace a starter if he is still struggling (make your pick: Capuano, Vargas, Suppan even).

Unlock the revolving door to Nashville

Now’s the time to shake things up pitching-wise. Get some new bodies in here. If they DL Yo, they can send down Spurling and call up two new guys. Spurling’s been halfway decent at times, but they will hopefully find someone who can improve upon a pedestrian 4.5 ERA and a 1.5 whip (before Tuesday night’s outing). Depending on how Wise looks in the next few outings, he could lose a spot as well, unfortunately.

Just glancing over the Nashville Sounds’ web site, these guys stand out. Steve Bray, RHP, 1.61 ERA, 1.11 WHIP in 61.1 IP; Adam Pettyjohn, LHP, 3.42 ERA, 1.21 WHIP in 61.1 IP; Luther Hackman, RHP, 3.73 ERA, 1.32 WHIP in 41 IP; Mark DiFelice, RHP, 2.83 ERA, 0.94 WHIP in 28.2 IP. They could also give Seth McClung, the pitcher they got in the Balfour trade, a shot. Dare I even mention that Greg Aquino has been doing a decent job in Nashville?

And also I’m sure Doug is pouring over the waiver wire to see if any arms present themselves.

I want to make it clear that all those guys would fight for the last spot or two in the Brewers’ bullpen until September when the rosters expand. But every now and then guys like these get called up and have initial success, which is all the Brewers would need. Get a couple rested arms to Milwaukee and see what happens. It’s not going to be worse than what we’ve seen the past couple weeks.

Another related point is that the Brewers will actually use their September call-ups for more than a gratuitous look this year. Guys like Gabe Gross, Vinny Rottino and even Tony Gwynn (if used sparingly) can help provide depth on the bench.

Pray for a strong return from Sheets–and quick.

We’ve said that the Brewers won’t have a chance at the playoffs if Sheets misses more than a month or so. Well that’s happened, and it may already be too late. They need him back yesterday; once you plug him back into the top spot in the rotation, a lot of the problems will go away.