Monthly Archives: June 2008

Who saw this coming?

Posted on June 15, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

I’m talking about Seth McClung, and if you said you did, I probably wouldn’t believe you.  Another impressive outing from McClung today.  Check out some of these numbers.  3.94 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 38 Ks, 20 BBs.  His sudden ability to throw strikes is pretty incredible.  38/20 isn’t anything great, but since he’s been a starter he’s only walked seven guys in 21.2 innings.  He has amazingly walked one batter in his last 18 innings.  For a guy who has averaged 5.3 walks/nine innings over his career, this has been a bizarre turnaround.

This is taken with a decent-sized grain of salt, as he’s only made five starts.  Even if he crashes and burns the rest of the season, though, he’s already done more to help the team than I expected this season.  And if Melvin/Yost/Maddux somehow stumbled onto a serviceable starter, it would be a godsend to the Brewers.

If nothing else, it’s already a cool story.  McClung seems genuinely thrilled to be a big leaguer.  I like watching dudes who just throw extremely hard, so that’s fun as well.  This seems a lot like Turnbow in the sense that both threw extremely hard, but both experienced success when they cleaned up their motion and took just a bit off their fastball for added control.  Also, he’s only 27, so if he somehow gets decent, that’s pretty encouraging.

Needless to say, I’m definitely intrigued by Seth McClung at this point.

—————

In other news, I’m a jackass.  At the game today, I attempted to seize my moment of glory, only to fail miserably.  You may remember this post from last year in which I described my only chance to catch a foul ball.  Until that point, I didn’t think I really cared about catching a foul ball.  Ever since that kid snatched that one away from me, though, my outlook seems to have changed.  Since I always figured I’d never get one hit at me in the first place, I wasn’t too worried about it.  But once I had one hit at me and it was stolen away, everything was different.

Apparently that was on my mind today.  In about the fifth or sixth inning, Brendan Harris hit a high pop-up into the stands.  It was surprisingly high, and as it slowly came down I realized it was coming very close to me.  This was my moment of glory, my chance to atone for last year’s gaffe in Pittsburgh.

Because I had that thought in my head, I did not realize in time that it wasn’t going to end up as close to me as I orignally thought.  I ended up leaning over like three people to make a lunge for it.  The ball landed directly on the middle finger of my right hand and bounced away, leaving me with no baseball and a badly sprained finger.

In the seconds after, I wasn’t sure what felt worse:  the overwhelming embarrassment for injuring myself at a baseball game (while sober, nonetheless), the incredible pain in my finger, the guilt for knocking the ball away from the guy who would have caught it or the shame for being a frickin’ hypocrite.

My brother was quick to point out that I had a slim chance to get the ball and that I probably had no business going for it, and he was right on both counts.  I ridiculed that kid for ruining my good chance at a foul ball, yet I did the same sorry thing myself a year later.  I guess I no longer blame him, because he obviously realized something I didn’t:  If you get somewhat close to a foul ball at a game, you’re going for it, whether you have the best chance for it or not.

So the moral of the story:  Instead of a foul ball, I sit here typing through pain in my swollen middle finger.  I should have fun at softball tomorrow trying to get a glove on this hand.  Yep, I’m a moron.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Milwaukee Brewers 2008

We missed a week of Bill’s scouting reports…

Posted on June 12, 2008 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Dan

Though I never got around to posting it, I did actually pick the clear cut winner for the week we missed. It was the game we attended at Miller Park, Brewers vs Astros (May 31). On the way in, on a TV showing the FSN broadcast, Bill’s report on Brian Moehler was as follows:

- 3.43 ERA

-5th Start

-Last Night

Alright. The first point, was that Brian Moehler had a 3.43 ERA as a starter to that point. He had some unsuccessful relief appearances raising his total ERA however. The best part, is that this was over TWENTY FIVE innings! For his career, as a starter (over 240+ innings) his ERA is 5.70! That seems way more relevant. Neither stat really offers any insight as to how to attack the nasty repertoire of Brian Moehler, but let’s at least get it right. On to the second point: I don’t really get this one at all. It ironically points out the sample size shortcomings of his first bullet point and offers no other insight at all. No mention of the 40-some other starts with a near 6.00 ERA he has posted since 2005. The third point: Last Night? What? Looking back, the game played the night before was a 5-1 Brewer win. Nothing exceptionally noteworthy happened. Brandon Backe allowed 3 HR in 5 IP, but that isn’t really unusual (2.1 HR/9 innings this year; 1.39 for his career). So, either Bill is offering some especially sound baseball advice (don’t get shelled) OR Bill and Brian Moehler had a wild night on the town the night before. I won’t ruin this blogs streak of 2+ years without anything grossly inappropriate being posted, but I hope it’s the former.

A few quick thoughts by YOURS TRULY:

With Alfonso Soriano, Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright missing significant time, the Brewers time to close this gap in the central is now. The Brewers play the Cubs 10 times (6 in September, and 7 are home games) and the Cardinals 6 times (all in July, and road games). While the Brewers don’t match up with these teams while they’re shorthanded, if they take care of their business they can hopefully get within 3 or 4 games, and that can be erased very quickly in the final 2 months, with so many head-to-head matchups (That is a run-on sentence I refuse to rewrite).

One more point: The Cubs are 28-8 (.777) at home and 14-16 (.466) on the road. The Crew is 19-10 (.655) at home and 15-21 (.416) on the road. Both these teams are very strong at home, and considerably less so on the road. The Cubs have, however, played 7 more home games than the Brewers. As this evens out, the Brewers will certainly make up ground.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Projections, Uncategorized

Could you actually name a dog Micah?

Posted on June 9, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

After missing a week, The Piggly Wiggly Scouting Report of the Week is back in all its glory. The lucky winner is Micah Owings of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bill’s Scouting Report on Owings:

Bulldog

Awesome Stuff

Big Bat

Bulldog. Unless that happens to be the name of Bill’s bulldog, he’s talking about Owings’ competitive nature, toughness on the mound, refusal to give in, blah blah blah. I don’t know how the bulldog thing caught on. Dave Bush is often referred to as a bulldog. I think it’s along the lines of scrappiness and grit. You know that clip from a few years ago of Ned giving the pep talk on the first day of Spring Training? Well, I’m pretty sure he could have said, “We got your fighters; we got your gamers; we got your hard workers; we got your bulldogs,” and nobody would have thought twice about it. And why bulldog? Why not pit bull, doberman, german shepherd or mastiff? Or why not another animal entirely? Badgers and rhinos seem tough to me.

So, yeah. Apparently Bill is saying Owings is a competitor. I don’t see how that information is very helpful.

Awesome stuff. Ok, yeah, I guess. Owings was a high draft pick, and he was expected to be a good pitcher. He’s been pretty solid this year. Fine, I guess his “stuff” is “awesome.” Moving on.

Big Bat. Really? People needed this to be pointed out for the 945th time this season? Seriously, if there is one thing Micah Owings is known for, it’s being a pitcher who can rake. I guarantee that if you spent an afternoon at any MLB stadium asking people who Micah Owings is, the majority of responses would be, “Dude, that’s that pitcher who hits a buncha homers!” Why not tell us how to approach him– best to swing early, or better to work a count and wait him out? Does he induce grounders, or is he a fly ball pitcher? Anything like that would be more helpful then telling us that he is a good hitter at this point.

—————

So on a Brewers note, Rickie Weeks is heading to the DL with a sprained knee and Hernan Irabarren has been recalled. Rather than playing Counsell and Dillon at second, I really hope we see Hall there quite a bit. It will give Hall a chance to play more, and it keeps Dillon away from second base. Dillon simply does not have the range to play at second. I’d use Branyan/Dillon at third with Hall at second, giving Counsell a couple starts against tougher righties.

Of course this is the team that refused to play Corey Hart in center at all when Mike Cameron was serving his suspension, so I’d be surprised if this happened.

Anyway, sorry for littering the Scouting Report of the Week with some crap about baseball. What was I thinking?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Bill's Scouting Report of the Week

More on my undying disdain for small ball

Posted on June 9, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

Yesterday’s was one of those frustrating games that happens to result in a win.  I thought the Brewers should have felt pretty lucky to take that game.  A number of thing’s bugged me about how the game played out, but one in particular really got me all hot and bothered (and not in a good way).

Having Corey Hart bunt in the eighth inning last night was incredibly stupid. First of all, bunting with guys on first and second is a big pet peeve of mine anyway, for a couple reasons. First of all, you already have one guy in scoring position. Why give up an out in that situation? Secondly, it’s much easier to force out the lead runner in that situation than with just a runner on first (which is what happened, but I’ve always felt that way. not just a hindsight thing).

When you apply that to the Brewers’ case yesterday, it only gets worse. If a terrible hitter was at the plate, I might understand more. Hart is the last good hitter in the lineup at that point. Having Corey Hart bunt to set up chances for Bill Hall and J.J. Hardy (against a righty, no less) defies anything close to logic. The only other possible defense you could use is to stay out of the double play. Well, Hart’s the fastest guy on the team. Playing to keep him out of a double play is useless.

That dumb call cost them a chance at a big inning and important insurance run(s). If it weren’t for Sal Torres, it very well could have cost them the game.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Base Clogging, Milwaukee Brewers 2008

Doesn’t this seem familiar?

Posted on June 7, 2008 by | 1 Comment

Posted by Steve

Here’s a quote from Ned Yost after last night’s game.  The article is from the Journal-Sentinel.  Yost used Guillermo Mota with a 4-1 lead in the eight inning, even though Carlos Villanueva had just cruised through the seventh.

Had the Brewers gotten Kendall home, Yost said he would have stuck with Villanueva another inning. Why?

“It’s not a save situation,” Yost explained.

Again, the formula. Villanueva would have been entrusted to protect a four-run lead but Mota got the call with a three-run margin.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it happened like a year ago.  In fact, I ranted about it then, too.  The most annoying thing is that most managers would do this; it’s not just Ned.  The save stat has frickin’ ruined bullpen management across baseball.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Ned Yost... Sha-wuuhhh??

Santo beats ‘em all

Posted on June 7, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

I was listening to the Cubs-Dodgers game on the radio. Late in the game, this conversation occurred.

Pat Hughes: The Cardinals play in Houston tonight at 6:00.  They entered today three and a half games behind the Cubs.

Ron Santo: So do the Cardinals play tonight?

Hughes: Yes… 6:00.

Santo:  Mmm hmm.  And that’s against the Rockies, right?

Hughes: (Slight pause) No… They’re in Houston.  It’s actually Milwaukee who’s in Colorado.

Santo: Oh, I thought I said Houston (chuckles).

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Brett Lawrie it is

Posted on June 5, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

I’ll write a more complete summary of the early rounds of the Brewers’ draft tomorrow, but quickly I want to say that I’m pretty excited about this pick.  This was the player the Brewers wanted, and it looked for a time like he wouldn’t last to pick 16.   All reports have him as an elite offensive talent, and even if he doesn’t stick at catcher, his offense should be good enough for many positions.  I’ve seen multiple comparisons to Russell Martin, which would obviously be great.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

2008 Draft

Posted on June 5, 2008 by | 1 Comment

Posted by Steve

I wanted to write something about the draft because of the abundance of high picks the Brewers have this season.  Due to the picks acquired from Type A free agents Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink, the Brewers have six of the top 62 picks in this year’s draft. They own picks 16, 32, 35,

The top few players in this draft are not considered sure-things, so it’s probably a good draft to be sitting in the middle of the pack.  There are many college first basemen expected to go in the first round, but that’s where the Brewers probably have the least need of all.  The top few picks are expected to be Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt, Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego, Buster Posey, C, Florida State, Tim Beckham, SS Georgia (high school) and Eric Hosmer, 1B (high school).  Most mock drafts have Tampa Bay selecting Posey with the first overall pick.

The Brewers’ minor league system is still relatively strong (particularly in AA), but several graduations into the majors have left it thinner than it’s been in the last several years.  This draft will go a long way towards replenishing the system.  The Brewers have built their team around the draft more than just about any team in baseball, so tomorrow is literally one of the most important days in the last five years or so for the franchise.  If scouting director Jack Zduriencik can hit on a few of those top picks to incorporate into their current young MLB core, they will be set up terrifically for the future.

The Brewers have obviously had great success developing positional players, but the pitching has been a different story.  Manny Parra and Yovani Gallardo have been the only impact pitchers brought up in the Brewers system in the last several years.  It might be tempting for the Brewers to load up on pitching with most of their top picks, but I’d actually be surprised if this happened.  Most of the elite pitchers will be gone by pick 16, and the first couple rounds are deeper on the offensive side.  Here’s where the “best player available” policy comes into play.

Just like last year, if you want great information on the draft, check out brewerfan.net.  Patrick Ebert scouts players for Perfect Game, and posts a ton of great info there.

A  few things about Jack Z:  First of all, he was named Baseball America’s Executive of the Year last season, which was the first time a non-general manager won the award.  So basically, he’s really good.  His policy is to take the best player available, no matter the position or perceived need.  Finally, he’s notorious for keeping their target players close to the vest leading up to the draft; mock drafts tend to vary greatly with the Brewers’ pick.

I’m not going to pretend I have any inside info, nor am I going to write an all-out “preview,” because I pretty much only know what I’ve read at places like brewerfan.  Instead, I’ll just give a quick summary of some of the players that people are throwing around with the Brewers’ pick.  Keep in mind, nobody was predicting Matt LaPorta for the Brewers at number seven last season.  Most thought they’d take pitcher Phillipe Aumont, and instead they provided the shock of the first round.

Anyway, here are some players that might be the pick.

Brett Lawrie, C/3B

Lawrie’s Canadian, and the Brewers are very active in scouting Canada.  He’s a catcher right now, and he’ll likely either be a catcher or third baseman down the road.  His athleticism is considered a strength.  Lawrie has risen quickly as of late, with strong recent offensive performances.  My unscientific observation is that Lawrie is the preferred pick of most of the draft gurus at brewerfan.

Anthony Hewitt, 3B?

The Brewers like to draft players with great tools.  When they selected LaPorta last season, Zduriencik said they like getting a player who is the best at one certain tool.  LaPorta was the best power bat available in the draft, and Hewitt is considered the best athlete.  The biggest question is on his hitting, which is obviously a pretty big question for a first round pick.  There are also mixed opinions on what position he profiles as.

Jemile Weeks, 2B

The Brewers drafted Rickie’s little brother out of high school a few years ago in the eighth round, but were unable to sign him away from the University of Miami.  Going to school has paid off for Weeks, as he’ll now be a first round pick.  I saw him as a freshman All-American a few years ago at the College World Series, and he’s definitely a dynamic player.  He profiles as more of a true leadoff hitter than Rickie, but with less power.

Joshua Fields, RP

Fields is the best college closer in the country, and he has put up some absurd numbers for the Georgia Bulldogs this season.  I’ve read scouting reports that claim he’d be good enough to pitch in the Brewers’ bullpen right now.  Fields doesn’t typically fit the Jack Z mold of a high-ceiling player, but if they feel he’s worthy of the pick they might go for him.  Teams have seen mixed results with taking closers in the first round, but some successes include Huston Street and Chad Cordero.

Tim Melville, RHP

Melville is a tall, right-handed high school pitcher.  History generally indicates that if the Brewers are taking a pitcher in the first couple rounds, he’s going to be a high school pitcher.  Melville is considered a mid-first round talent.

Zach Collier, CF

Collier is a left-handed center fielder out of high school.  He is a strong hitter, and that left-handedness is always a plus.  He has good speed, and is expected to hit for power as a pro.

Jason Castro, C

Castro is the catcher at Stanford, and is considered the third or fourth-best catcher in the draft.  If the Brewers are looking for a quick riser at catcher, they might take Castro despite the presence of solid prospects like Jonathan LuCroy and Angel Salome already in their system.

————————

There are 5-10 more names at least that I’ve heard as possibilities for the Brewers, but these players are the ones that seem most likely to me.  Even still, I would not be at all surprised if the Brewers take someone I didn’t even mention.  Not that I pretend to know which players are better than others, but from what I’ve read, I probably prefer Lawrie or Collier.  I’d be intrigued by Fields only because we’d likely see him in Milwaukee within a year.  I also like Weeks a lot, but I’m not sure there’s room for him with Rickie at second currently.  Again though, that whole best player thing can throw a wrench in that idea.

Tune in to the draft tomorrow on ESPN2 if you can.  I’m definitely excited to see what the Brewers do with their abundance of picks tomorrow, so much so that I’ll be recording it and watching it after work.  No, I don’t think that’s unhealthy or weird.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in MLB Draft

Brewers=Fun

Posted on June 4, 2008 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Steve

How’s a guy supposed to get any work done when all these runs are piling up?  Ok, that’s all.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Beefcake Kapler, Earthquake Alarm Clock, Jack Bauer wears Russell Branyan pajamas, Milwaukee Brewers 2008

What to do with Bill Hall?

Posted on June 3, 2008 by | 2 Comments

Posted by Steve

The news of the day is Bill Hall’s agent revealing that Hall would like to be traded. I don’t blame Hall for wanting to be moved, as his playing time will surely be cut down with the early success of Russell Branyan. Hall’s done everything the team has asked as far as position changes are concerned, and he hardly complained about it. At the same time, I don’t blame the Brewers for wanting him in a platoon, because he mashes lefties and provides good depth.

I do blame Hall for the way he’s going about things, however. What’s wrong with his agent talking privately to Doug Melvin to request a trade? Making this public only lowers his value, and it can become a distraction to the team. It sort of makes Hall look like he isn’t a “team player,” even though I don’t think that’s the case, because his gripe comes during a hot streak when the player replacing him is en fuego. It also seems like Hall is totally baffled as to why he’s been benched, almost as if his lack of production isn’t justification to lose a starting job.

As far as third base is concerned, it’s hard to give away Hall when the Hall-Branyan platoon has the potential to have very good production. Hall has a career OPS of .861 against lefties, while Branyan has a career OPS of .818 against righties. I’d be alright with a platoon of Branyan and Joe Dillon. They’d lose a little production against lefties, but that’s still probably solid production overall from third base.

My bigger issue is infield depth overall. Hardy is still not hitting, and I suppose they may try Hall at short at some point if Hardy doesn’t turn things around. More importantly, though, is what the Brewers would do if they traded Hall and then an infielder got injured. Things could get ugly in that scenario.

Then there’s Hall’s trade value right now. Contrary to this quote from his agent Terry Bross, it’s at an all-time low.

“If Billy’s not going to be an everyday player, it’s probably best for him and the team to be traded,” Bross said. “They could get a pitcher for him that would really help the team. I’m sure there are some teams out there that could use a third baseman or shortstop.”

That quote makes me think Bross needs to get a clue. What pitcher could they get for Hall that would “really help the team?” Hall isn’t producing offensively, and even his defense has taken a nosedive now. Not to mention his contract gets pretty pricey in the next few seasons: $6.8 mil next year, $8.4 mil in ’10 and a $9.25 mil club option in ’11 with a 500K buyout.

I can see a little demand for Hall from a few teams, particularly as a shortstop (The Rays and Jason Bartlett’s brutal .581 OPS are an obvious one). Thing is, considering his contract and Hall’s currently low value, what could the Brewers even get for him?

It’s definitely worth exploring a trade, but in my eyes, the best and most-likely scenario will be to keep Hall in his current role as a platoon third baseman and for infield depth. Hopefully his numbers improve a bit, and then he can improve his value for a possible trade in the off-season.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Milwaukee Brewers 2008