Monthly Archives: February 2009

More good news

Posted on February 24, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

Just a few more things to add to the most recent cornucopia of thoughts.

I somehow managed to omit probably the best news of the past week:  Yovani Gallardo will not be pitching in the World Baseball Classic.  With how much the Brewers have riding on Gallardo this season, this was a risk they really couldn’t afford to take.  The decision was left up to Gallardo, but I’m sure the Brewers made it known they would prefer him not to play.  Yo is probably the most important (or at least most irreplaceable) player on the team.

That’s why I don’t fully understand Ken Macha’s hesitation to “put pressure” on Gallardo.  Macha has said he probably won’t start Gallardo on opening day to keep said pressure of him.  Thing is, Gallardo hasn’t shown any tendency to be adversely affected by pressure at any point in his short career.  In fact, we’ve heard him praised for his poise.  If the Brewers were willing to start him in Game 1 of their first playoff series since 1982 after missing most of the season, why can’t he handle being the opening day starter?

Not that I’m overly concerned with him not starting on opening day–it really doesn’t matter much as long as he’s pitching every fifth day.  I just find it curious that Macha seems worried he can’t handle it.

——–

Last year’s first rounder, Brett Lawrie, is switching positions from catcher to second base.  I can’t blame him for this move.  Lawrie is projected to be a quick riser (Baseball America already has him in their top 100 prospects, and he hasn’t even played a minor league game yet!), and moving to second should help him move quickly.  His offensive game is advanced, but learning to catch probably would have slowed his progression somewhat.  Not to mention the Brewers have two promising catchers ahead of him in the system in Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy.

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Ned Yost seems so far away.  Several times I’ve discussed things I liked about Yost, mainly the fact that he rarely sac bunted and he rarely issued intentional walks.  Things I didn’t like about Yost were, as shown by the Sha-wuuhhh? tag, even more documented here.  The absolute worst was his bullpen management, but I was also very critical about his tendency to leave starting pitchers in for high pitch counts with regularity.

Everything I’ve heard so far from Macha has indicated that he will be better at the things Yost did poorly without straying much from the things Yost did that I liked.  A perfect example is this entry from TH’s blog.  No more pitcher abuse!

Again, we won’t know anything for sure until we see his strategy in actual games, but something tells me he will infuriate me much less frequently than Ol’ Ned.

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Posted in Cornucopia of thoughts

Spring training mixed bag

Posted on February 24, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

There has been a good amount to talk about lately with the Brewers.  Nothing too huge, but a bunch of tidbits.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to post lately.  It’s getting down to the wire–I’m making the big move to Pennsylvania this week, and I still have a lot to do.

An example of how this has been affecting my baseball-following patterns: I was asked this weekend what I thought of the new Baseball Prospectus handbook.  My response?  “Wow, I didn’t even know it was out yet!”

Every year I purchase the BP and Baseball America Prospect handbooks in the packaged deal from Amazon, and they arrive as soon as they’re released.  Not that I’m excusing this misstep, but with everything going on I apparently missed the release date.  Not to worry; I picked it up today and I’m sure I’ll be doing the normal piece on it soon.

On to the cornucopida.

———-

Corey Hart agreed to terms just before an arbitration hearing, meaning no Brewer has gone to arbitration since Doug Melvin has been GM.  I’m not really sure how impressive that actually is–obviously it’s a good thing not to potentially alienate your players–but I’ve heard people discuss this as though it’s a big feather in Melvin’s cap.  I don’t think it’s that huge of a deal, but oh well.  All I know is this was about the fourth or fifth time we’ve seen this paragraph around this time of year:  “No Brewer has ever gone to an arbitration hearing under Doug Melvin, but that could end this week.  The team has not made any progress with INSERT PLAYER NAME to this point, and both sides are preparing to go to a arbitration.”

———-

The signing of Eric Gagne to a minor league contract was a very pleasant surprise.  I have liked the idea bringing Gagne back for a lesser deal before but never thought they’d get him for that.  The Brewers have Spring Training to evaluate and decide whether Gagne will be added to the roster.  If they don’t, he’ll be cut with minimal cost to the team.  If he’s kept, he’ll make a base salary of $1.5 million with the potential to earn another $3 million in incentives.  Gagne was very solid in the second half, and this is a very low-risk (no risk if they don’t keep him) signing.

I give Gagne a lot of credit.  He likely could have taken this type of deal with several teams, but he came back to the place where he was relentlessly booed.  He basically apologized to Melvin for not performing up to his contract last season, and now he’s giving the Brewers a very team-friendly contract to see if he can make up for it.  I’d like to see him make the team, and I think he will.  I’d venture to guess they will only take one of Mitch Stetter and R.J. Swindle (both lefties), and I’d rather see Gagne on the team than Jorge Julio.  Eduardo Morlan, the 22-year-0ld reliever taken by the Brewers in the Rule V draft, will be another main competitor to Gagne.

My favorite detail around the signing of Gagne is the fact that he amazingly got laser eye surgery in the off-season and will no longer need his sweet-looking glasses.  Why is that a favorite detail you ask?  Because this is a baseball blog, and it is the third time in a year I can legitimately use the tag, “The wonders of laser eye surgery.”

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Ken Macha said last week that he will likely give Jason Kendall at least one day off per week.  While this should be common sense, it is great news after Yost’s use of Kendall last year.  It sounds like we’ll be able to tell that Mike Rivera is a member of the team this year.  That’s a good thing–not so much because Rivera is good as the fact that Kendall isn’t good or young enough to be playing so much.

Macha said he’s considering pairing one pitcher with Rivera as a way to get him into the lineup on a regular basis.  Manny Parra seems to be a logical candidate.  He and Rivera played together quite a bit in the minors, and Rivera caught Parra’s perfect game in AAA in 2007.

———-

Cory Provus was introduced last week as Jim Powell’s replacement.  He comes to the Brewers from WGN Radio.  Yep, he worked for the Cubs.  And yep, he’s a lifelong Cubs fan.  A lot of people are upset about the Brewers hiring someone who rooted for the Cubs growing up.  I admit I do find it odd and a bit annoying, but if the guy calls a good game and gets excited when the Brewers do well, I won’t really care.  At the very least I’m going to give him a fair chance before I pass judgment.  Jim Powell was from Atlanta, yet he was able to get plenty excited when the Brewers did well.  Also, he was able to be awesome.  If Provus is half as good as JP I’ll be happy with the hiring.

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Finally, on to a seemingly terrible idea.

Moneyball the book?  Outstanding.  A classic.

Moneyball the movie? Huh?!

Yes, this is real.  It’s apparently really going to happen.  Is there any way this could be half as good as the book?  And is there any way it isn’t horribly “Hollywooded” up to the point that it completely ruins the point of Moneyball?  I mean, Billy Beane being played by Brad Freaking Pitt?

I just don’t see a market for the movie.  People who aren’t into baseball won’t want to see the movie, and people who liked the book will probably be put off by the Hollywoodiness.  Am I wrong in thinking this?

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Posted in 2009 Hot Stove, Cornucopia of thoughts, The wonders of laser eye surgery

An Ode to The Man

Posted on February 16, 2009 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Steve

I’ve been out of town for the past week.  There are some newsworthy things to talk about, but I’ll put that off another day.  Pitchers and catchers reported this past week, and for the first time in almost a decade Ben Sheets is not at Brewers’ camp.  That is, for severe lack of a better term, a huge bummer.

Though it’s debatable, the Brewers are probably losing the best pitcher in their history.  He leaves the Brewers high on the list of several statistics: 5th in ERA (3.72), 5th in Innings Pitched (1,428), 1st in strikeouts (1,206), 3rd in games started (221), 1st in WHIP (1.201) and 2nd in strikeouts/9 innings (7.6).

This post gave me another excuse to look back at his absurd 2004 season, undoubtedly one of the most overlooked seasons for a starting pitcher in the last 30 years.  You know how annoying it was to keep hearing about 1982 before the Brewers made the playoffs?  That’s what it’s like with me and the 2004 season of Ben Sheets.  This probably isn’t something to brag about, but I’ve had his 2004 numbers memorized for a long time: 2.70 ERA, 264 strikeouts, 32 walks, 0.98 WHIP.  Looking through the Brewers’ franchise single-season leaders actually made me laugh.

#1 in strikeouts in a season: Ben Sheets, 2004

#1 in strikeouts/nine innings: Ben Sheets, 2004

#1 in walks/nine innings: Ben Sheets, 2004

#1 in WHIP: Ben Sheets, 2004

Sheets had an 8.25 K/BB rate in 2004.  Number two in Brewers’ history?  Dave Bush in 2006 with 4.37.  LOL.

I can’t stress how incredible that is to have a k rate that high while having a bb rate that low.  Comparing this to starting pitchers in the last century, you’ll find he’s in pretty good company.

K/BB rates

#1 Bret Saberhagen, 1994: 11.00 K/BB ratio

#2 Curt Schilling, 2002: 9.58 K/BB ratio

#3 Pedro Martinez, 2000: 8.88 K/BB ratio

#4 Greg Maddux, 1997: 8.85 K/BB ratio

#5 Pedro Martinex, 1999: 8.46 K/BB ratio

#6 Ben Sheets, 2004: 8.25 K/BB ratio


sheets1

Sheets had several great games, but two stand out for me.  One was the 18-strikeout performance against the Braves in 2004.  Dan and I were listening to that game on the radio, and I vividly remember Uke’s voice cracking as he was calling the ninth inning.  His stuff has never been better than it was that day.

The other game is the one from the picture above: The 1-0 shutout last year on September 6 against Jake Peavy and the Padres.  Side note: this was the game Rickie Weeks made his spectacular defensive play, so this was a great day to be a Steve mancrush.

Ben has certainly had better statistical games–he “only” had seven strikeouts that game–but the setting is what made it memorable.  Most of Sheets’ great outings over his career were wasted on bad teams and terrible run support.  Obviously, 2008 was different.  The Brewers sorely needed a win to stay in the wildcard lead.  Sheets had been battling a groin strain, and we now know he was also fighting elbow pain.  So what did he do?  Only gutted out a 120-pitch complete game shutout.

Everyone credits Sabathia with putting the team on his back (and rightfully so), but as usual, Sheets seems to have been overlooked.  This game likely did him in–he didn’t pitch effectively the rest of the year–but they needed that game and he pitched through pain when he probably shouldn’t have even been out there.

I remember watching that game.  I watched the entire thing by myself, and I remember wanting that win for Ben so badly.  After being so great on bad teams for so long, I just wanted to see him perform down the stretch run in a playoff race.

Normally composed, Sheets was as fired up as I’ve ever seen him when he closed out that game.  When he told the fans at the playoff rally last year that the high of making the playoffs was worth all the losing years, you really believed him if you had watched that Padres game.

Personally, there are things I’ll miss even more than the great numbers and killer curveball.  Things like his hilarious at-bats and listening him talk about his hitting.  When the Brewers acquired Carlos Lee, Sheets was excited that he’d be getting more protection in the lineup.  He routinely walked around on the field with his glove on his head.  He gives hilarious interviews, like this one here.  He has just an awesome personality.

I realize I’ve done just about everything short of declare my undying love for Ben Sheets, but he’s been my absolute favorite player on the team I love.  It’s fine if you still think that’s weird, but that’s the only justification I have for it.  It bugs me to no end that he’s been so unappreciated in his time here; if I hear one more person say he was overpaid the last four years I’ll probably start yelling and lose control of my bodily functions (fangraphs shows he far over-performed his contract with the Brewers).  It will make that Mike Cameron argument at the New Year’s party look like cool party banter in comparison.

In a way it seems fitting that I’m leaving Milwaukee this year and won’t be here for opening day.  It just wouldn’t seem totally right without Ben Sheets on the mound.

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Posted in Uncategorized

The rotation is now set

Posted on February 9, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

TH reports the Brewers are signing Braden Looper.  No word on the contract yet, but I’m sure it’s only one year since that’s all anyone is getting at this point.  It’s probably similar to the deal Randy Wolf signed for $5 mil plus incentives.

It’s certainly n0t exciting, but it’s still a relief to know the Brewers won’t go into the season without a viable sixth starter.  Gallardo-Parra-Bush-Looper-Suppan-McClung is much better than Gallardo-Parra-Bush-Suppan-McClung-?

The Brewers can now either keep McClung in the bullpen or put him in the AAA rotation.  Personally, I’d be inclined to have him start in Nashville so he’s ready to be plugged in to the MLB rotation immediately.  There’s no doubt the Brewers will need a sixth starter at some point, and the bullpen seems stable enough to not need McClung right away.

Again, not an exciting move, but something like this needed to happen.

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Posted in 2009 Hot Stove

An answer that brings more questions

Posted on February 5, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Posted by Steve

We finally seem to be getting some clarity on why Ben Sheets has received little to no interest on the free agent market:  he may need surgery after all.  The torn flexor tendon in his elbow was apparently not healed enough for the Texas Rangers to sign him.  The article reveals Sheets and the Rangers came to a two-year agreement that was nixed only by a physical.

Now it seems that not only will Sheets not be pitching for the Brewers or anyone by the start of the season, but the Brewers may also have to pay for the surgery.  This has just gotten ugly.

So now that we have the answer to why he can’t find a job, we only have more questions.  Why wasn’t he advised to get surgery months ago?  Why did the Brewers offer arbitration?  And why on earth would Sheets reject it?

There are numerous mistakes on both sides of this.  Obviously, if he’ll need surgery now, someone made the wrong call when it was decided that the injury would heal on its own.  Sheets could have had the procedure months ago.

Secondly, it’s more difficult to tell who made the bigger mistake in arbitration–the Brewers for offering it, or Sheets for declining it.  Sheets made 11 mil in 2008, so arbitration certainly wouldn’t have been less than that.  He was probably looking at either 12 or 13 million bucks in 2009 had he accepted arbitration.  Now he can’t get a one year, $5 million offer.

Sheets blew millions by not accepting arbitration, and the Brewers risked blowing millions by offering it.  This shows that both sides were confident he was going to be healthy for 2009, which again just goes back to a costly misdiagnosis.

This is just an unfortunate situation all around.

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Posted in 2009 Hot Stove

It can’t hurt

Posted on February 4, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

TH reports the Brewers have added a couple pitchers today.  They acquired left-handed starter Chase Wright from the Yankees, who had put Wright on Waivers and had ten days to trade him.  The Brewers sent 2007 10th round choice, C/OF Eric Fryer to New York.

Looking in terms of need, this seems to make a lot of sense for both teams.  The Yankees have plenty of starting pitching, and Wright was no better than their eighth starter.  The Brewers are obviously in need of starting pitching and have plenty of outfielders in their system.

The numbers on Wright are encouraging.  He’s not very young at 26, but he’s done fairly well in the minor leagues.  Here are his 2008 numbers split between AA and AAA.

AA: 94.1 innings, 2.96 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 53 Ks, 34 BBs

AAA: 37.1 innings, 2.41 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 19 Ks, 9 BBs

Obviously, he’s not a big strikeout guy.  Fortunately, he also doesn’t walk many.  If the Brewers go to camp with the starters they have right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wright get a legitimate shot to win the fifth spot in the rotation from Seth McClung.

In case you’re curious, here are the numbers for Fryer from last season in A ball:

355 ABs, .335 average/.407 OBP/.506 SLG

So it’s not like the Brewers gave up nothing for Wright.  Fryer had a strong season in A, although he is a bit old for that level at 23.  I’d expect NY to put him in AA this year.

Anyway, these are the types of deals that make sense for the Brewers.  Targeting young-ish minor league starters with minor league success who are blocked in their system.  I still wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see the Brewers add one more MLB proven starter, but these types of deals at the very least provide good depth when it’s sorely needed.

The Brewers also signed Ramiro Mendoza to a minor league deal.  Mendoza hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2005 and he is 36, so this seems to be taking a flier without risk.

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Posted in 2009 Hot Stove