SB Nation - John Koronka

Marlins Transactions

craig — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:21:26 -0000

In case you missed them over the weekend there have been some changes to roster.

With Alfredo Amezaga tweaking his knee Saturday, the Marlins decided to play it careful, so they have called up Alejandro De Aza from AAA and sent down reliever Carlos Martinez.

The drops them back to 12 pitchers.

Fredi Gonzalez said this way they can get by without Amezaga four a couple games. Consensus is that he will be OK and won't need to go on the DL, but they didn't want to be forced to use him with a short bench.

In order to make room for De Aza on the 40-man roster, VandenHurk was placed on the 60-day DL.

In case you are wondering, why Carroll wasn't recalled, a player who is optioned can't be recalled for 10 days.

In other news:

John Koronka was DFA'd after Sunday's game. I'm guessing he will have no trouble clearing waivers.

The Marlins selected the contract of right-hander Brian Sanches from Triple-A New Orleans, filling the pitching staff vacancy created when the they designated John Koronka for assignment following Sunday's game.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez has said either Burke Badenhop or Hayden Penn will take Koronka's rotation slot and face the Rays Friday. The guess here is Penn gets the call. He's been throwing better than Badenhop of late and has shown consistent glimpses of swing and miss stuff.

As for Sanches, he is deserving of the promotion. In 16 games for the Zephyrs, he went 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA, four walks and 22 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings. Sanches has been the closer there, saving four games and holding opponents to a .206 average.

If you look at Sanches' major league stats, he tends to walk a few too many hitters but he did do a decent job of striking some out.

We will see what transpires. But whatever happens, it can't be worse than Koronka having a spot in the rotation.

Brian Sanches' stats.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:12:32 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Manny Parra, center, gathers with his teammates to discuss their blatant disrespect for the game and untucked shirts.

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Some things to read while waiting for lunch.

If all had gone according to plan, the Brewers would be enjoying an off day on the road today and getting ready to open a series with the Astros tomorrow. Instead, they're in St. Louis waiting for tonight's makeup game, and probably won't get to Houston until early tomorrow morning. Some notes on tonight's game:

Kyle Lohse, who pitched the first couple of innings of Friday's rainout, will start for the Cardinals.
He'll face Braden Looper, who has something to prove to a Cardinal organization that decided not to pursue him after the 2008 season.
Tonight's game will be televised in HD.

Rickie Weeks will not be with the team tonight. He left last night's game in the first inning with a sore left wrist and will travel to Phoenix to get it checked out by the specialist that performed the previous surgeries on his right wrist (Also noted in FanShot). Barring something unforeseen, Weeks is expected to rejoin the team tomorrow but doesn't know when he'll be ready to play.

Jason Kendall enters today's game with 1999 career hits. If he picks up a hit in the next couple of days, he may reach 2000 before Todd Helton.

Saturday's game was the Brewers' third 1-0 contest of the season, and they're now 2-1 in those games. Trevor Hoffman picked up the save in that game: UmpBump has a look at his early success and Adam McCalvy reports on a prank Hoffman pulled on Ken Macha over the weekend.

Of course, a fair amount of the credit for Saturday's shutout goes to Jeff Suppan, who pitched seven innings and allowed just eight baserunners. The Bucky Channel says Jeff Suppan is making them like him.

How much credit for the Brewers' early success belongs to Ken Macha? Jeff Fletcher of MLB FanHouse sees Macha's fingerprints in some of the changes in the team's philosophy, and also offers some insight into the role of third base coach Brad Fischer.

When will we get to see Mat Gamel? No one seems to know. FanGraphs was excited to see him come up, but he has just one plate appearance in three games as a Brewer, and none since Thursday. Ken Macha has said Gamel wasn't just brought up to ride the bench, but Saturday's game saw Craig Counsell pinch hitting instead in a key situation, and Todd Coffey was allowed to hit for himself in the late innings yesterday.

David Riske threw 30 pitches in the bullpen before Saturday's game and could be headed out for a minor league rehab assignment in the near future. With the strength of the current bullpen, that could be a very long rehab assignment.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Cody Scarpetta threw five hitless innings for Wisconsin yesterday, and sat down with The Official Site's Mason Kelley to talk about his philosophy.
Mike Burns, who wasn't expected to start the season in the rotation for Nashville in the first place, improved his record to 6-0 with a win yesterday.
Cutter Dykstra, #11 in our prospect rankings, was demoted from Wisconsin to Helena over the weekend, and will learn to play second base at that level (h/t Rattler Radio). Helena's season doesn't open until late June, so Dykstra will spend some time in extended spring training breaking in an infielder's glove.

Balking Traditionalism reports the Brewers are second in the NL in Wins Above Replacement, and Summer Loving moved them up to fifth in their power rankings.

Here's a nice note on the fan-friendliness of the Brewer organization: The Brewers charge a $2 "convenience fee" for the right to purchase tickets online, the lowest in all of baseball.

Nearly a week has passed, but blogs continue to pile on The Happy Youngster, as they should. The Biz of Baseball, Miller Park Drunk and True Blue Brew are just three of the dozens of sites that have taken note.

Around the league:

Marlins: Designated John Koronka for assignment.
Mets: Signed catcher Javier Valentin and reliever Tom Martin to minor league deals, and placed Carlos Delgado on the DL with a hip impingement.
Nationals: Designated reliever Logan Kensing for assignment, placed catcher Jesus Flores on the DL with a bruised shoulder and DL'ed starter Scott Olsen with shoulder tendinitis.
Orioles: Placed Luke Scott on the DL with a sore left shoulder.
Padres: Claimed infielder Josh Wilson off the DL from the D-Backs and designated reliever Duaner Sanchez for assignment.
Pirates: Acquired starter Eric Hacker from the Yankees for AAA reliever Romulo Sanchez and placed Tyler Yates on the DL.
Phillies: Designated Miguel Cairo for assignment.
Rangers: Are expected to sign reliever Mike Hinckley, who opted for free agency after being DFA'd by the Nationals last week, to a minor league deal. They also placed closer Frank Francisco on the DL with biceps tendinitis.
Rays: Placed Pat Burrell on the DL with stiffness in his neck.
Rockies: Reliever Matt Daley has been placed on the DL after tripping on a bat home plate umpire Bill Welke attempted to kick out of the way.
Tigers: Reliever Juan Rincon has declined a minor league assignment and is now a free agent.

By now, you've probably heard about yesterday's Rays-Indians game, where pitcher Andy Sonnanstine ended up batting third due to a scorecard mistake. Marc Lancaster has a list of Sonnanstine's feats.

Remember months ago, when we wanted the Brewers to sign Odalis Perez? After he refused to report to Nationals camp on a minor league deal this spring, he remains unsigned, and Jorge Says No! wants to know why.

Will Odalis Perez find a job before Cecil Cooper loses his? Cooper is having his decisions second-guessed in Houston, and it doesn't sound like his team is behind him at all.

Ben Sheets hasn't started throwing yet and says he hasn't started thinking about who he'll pitch for once he's healthy, but he was in Arlington over the weekend, paying a visit to Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux.

When you're as small at Tim Lincecum, as young as Tim Lincecum, you throw as hard as Tim Lincecum and you rack up as many innings as Tim Lincecum, I guess you shouldn't be surprised when your velocity falls like Tim Lincecum's.

This year, maybe you'll actually get some sleep in October: Major League Baseball is changing World Series start times to get the games going earlier.

Oh, and it's probably pretty difficult to bring a harp on the road.

Drink up.

John Koronka may be up for awhile

craig — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:11:25 -0000

After last night's game Fredi said he thinks John Koronka will remain in the rotation.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he anticipates Koronka staying in the rotation for the immediate future.

Of course, that really isn't up to Fredi since the roster decisions are made by the front office, with Fredi's input I'm sure, and his job is to manage the ones they give him.

I have no problem with a pitcher getting a second start after a less than impressive outcome in the first. Actually, I'm all for it. While Koronka has pitched in the majors in the past, he was making his Marlins debut in the hometown of his immediate family which I would guess would add to the butterflies.

However, it might help if he didn't show every pitch in his repertoire to every batter the first time through the order. Major league hitters tend to adjust when they see everything you've got and none of them are blowing anyone away.

If Koronka does indeed get a second start and it mirrors the first, it is time to consider adding the Hopper to the rotation for the time being and getting someone else to do the long right-handed relief.

Your mileage may vary.

Brewers 6, Marlins 3

KLSnow — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:59:02 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

7 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers' Prince Fielder hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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W: Manny Parra (2-4)
L: John Koronka (0-1)
S: Trevor Hoffman (6)

HR: Prince Fielder 2 (7), Rickie Weeks (8), Mike Cameron (7)

MVP: Prince Fielder (+.445)
LVP: Jason Kendall (-.039)

Win Expectancy Graph
SB Nation Coverage

For almost four innings, it didn't look so good. Manny Parra allowed three runs in the first two innings and John Koronka, making his first start since 2007, was holding the Brewers scoreless. All of a sudden in the fourth, though, Prince Fielder connected for a two-run home run, and after a Rickie Weeks solo shot in the fifth, Fielder hit another two-run shot to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead they never relinquished.

All told, Parra allowed just those three runs in six innings on six hits and two walks, striking out eight. Carlos Villanueva, Mark DiFelice and Trevor Hoffman pitched one perfect inning each to finish the game.

More Marlins camp moves

craig — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:10:03 -0000

The Marlins made even more adjustments to the camp roster.

The Marlins continued to pare down their roster after Tuesday night’s game, releasing infielder Dallas McPherson and reassigning outfielders Michael Ryan and Alejandro De Aza, and left-hander John Koronka to minor league camp.

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The moves bode well for Brett Carroll, who is the only reserve outfielder remaining in camp.

I am a fan of Carroll, let's face it, he plays the game all out. He has also been very good at every level in the minors when he is getting consistent AB but I'm not sure his situation is anywhere near set as the fourth outfielder. Oh sure, he is the only one left in camp but that doesn't mean anything. (Sadly)

The Marlins don’t have a left-handed backup outfielder in camp but Gonzalez also hinted the team might find someone from outside the organization in the coming days…

Now while it may be better for Brett to play everyday in New Orleans than ride the pine in Miami Gardens, it is kinda odd how spring training matters for some and not for others.

In case you are wondering who the Marlins are considering bringing in.

The Marlins, who are sniffing around for a lefty bat off the bench might have some interest in Geoff Jenkins, who was released Tuesday by the Phillies.

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From the Marlins' perspective, he could be this year's version of Luis Gonzalez -- only seven years younger. Gonzalez, who is still floating out there as a free agent, has been linked again to the Marlins. But I'm told the interest in him is "minimal" and that Jenkins would be a more intriguing option.

I am a proponent of veterans make better pinch hitters than the younger guys, though I can't back this up with stats. However, it just seems to make sense: the younger guys have only played full time and the older ones are more experienced at coming in off the bench cold.

That said, there does become a time when youth should be served.

Taylor Tankersley optioned to Triple-A

craig — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:52:51 -0000

Taylor Tankersley is New Orleans bound.

The Marlins optioned reliever Taylor Tankersley after the left-hander had another poor outing, allowing four earned runs while recording only one out against the Houston Astros.

"We've got to get him fixed," said manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Tankerlsey, who has given up 15 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings (20.25 ERA) this spring, was optioned to Triple A New Orleans.

Tankersley has skills but somewhere along the line has lost confidence in his abilities.

For my money, that probably means that Renyel Pinto and Dan Meyer will be the left-handers in the bullpen. While John Koronka's name is being mention, and if the Marlins go with three left-handers he could stick. However, should the Marlins go with two, Koronka has options whereas Meyer does not. Also you have to consider that in the past Meyer has the better starting stats of the two, in case a long left-handed reliever is needed.