SB Nation - David Riske

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:38:02 -0000

Craig Counsell slides right into the projected 2010 roster.

Some things to read while she digs for her phone.

It's finally time to back off the comments about Randy Wolf not wanting to be here. Wolf said all the right things in his introductory press conference yesterday, and now actually appears happy to be a Brewer. Jen Lada was also at the press conference, and tweeted four quotes giving a nice feel for Wolf and the organization's excitement to have him.

The Brewers also announced Craig Counsell's new deal yesterday (FanShot). Counsell will earn $2.1 million next season along with some playing time incentives. The Bucky Channel says moves like this one are "crucial when trying to make a smaller market team a contender." Fire Doug Melvin is fine with the move, as long as Counsell doesn't take playing time away from Mat Gamel.

With Wolf and Counsell officially on board and LaTroy Hawkins (physical on Wednesday) and Claudio Vargas (physical on Friday) expected to be added by the end of the week, Adam McCalvy notes that the Brewer 40 man roster is about to be full, which might mark the end of any major Brewer moves in free agency. Two notes on that:

If you're still waiting for the Brewers to sign another starting pitcher, odds are you'll be waiting for a while. Adam McCalvy said Doug Melvin probably regrets comments he made months ago suggesting the Brewers were looking to sign two starters.
Secondly, the 40 man roster may be full, but it's a "soft" full. Room could almost certainly be made by outrighting new acquisition Luis Cruz or Tim Dillard, who would most likely go unclaimed at a time of year when no one has many 40 man spots to spare.

The roster crunch was one of the reasons cited for non-tendering Mike Rivera. Brewed Sports isn't too happy with the decision, and also notes that non-tendering the team's lone returning catcher pokes a hole in arguments used to support starting Jason Kendall last season.

Speaking of crowded situations, you can add David Riske to the list of pitchers to pencil into a bullpen spot to start the season. Doug Melvin said Riske expects to be ready for spring training (FanShot). That's bad news for Chris Smith, Chris Narveson, Zach Braddock and Chuck Lofgren, among others, who now may be fighting for one roster spot. If Mark DiFelice hadn't gone down, they'd all come to Maryvale on the outside looking in. A lot can happen between now and then, of course.

And speaking of Chris Smith, Brewerfan.net asked someone from the Brewer organization to verify some of their option info, and discovered that Smith doesn't have any options left. Obviously, Smith wouldn't be a major loss, but it's possible someone would claim him if he were available.

Meanwhile, we reached the final conclusion of the Mike Cameron era in Milwaukee yesterday, as he agreed to a two year deal with the Red Sox (FanShot). Cameron's strikeouts and one memorable dropped fly ball made him a polarizing talent as a Brewer, but most advanced metrics seem to agree on his significant value, and you'll rarely hear anything negative said about him as a teammate and clubhouse presence. If you missed it last night, Jordan has a goodbye post for him.

How lucky are the Brewers to have Ryan Braun? I think we occasionally forget how rare it is for a player to have an impact as immediate as his in the major leagues. Braun hit the second most home runs of any major leaguer in their first 162 games, and also collected the tenth most hits, making him the only player to appear on both lists.

Speaking of luck, Braden Looper's 14 wins last season made him the most unlikely winner in major league history.

Another day, another new poll for our BCB All Decade Team. You have until 4 pm today to select a catcher, and until 4 pm tomorrow to select our final starting outfielder. So far Damian Miller and Geoff Jenkins are leading those votes, respectively.

After looking at the candidates at catcher, I'm starting to wish I had gone this route instead: Camden Chat has an All-Awful lineup for the 2000-2009 Orioles.

And actually, speaking of awful: Rob Neyer has a ranking of the Top 100 players of the 2000's, and while former Brewers CC Sabathia (#25), Mike Cameron (#36), Ray Durham (#71), Jose Valentin (#88) and Corey Koskie (#92) are on it, Prince Fielder is nowhere to be found.

Around baseball:

Angels: Signed Hideki Matsui to a one year, $6.5 million deal.
Astros: Re-signed outfielder Jason Michaels to a one year deal.
Blue Jays: Signed catcher Ramon Castro to a one year, $1 million deal.
Mariners: Signed catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to a minor league deal.
Marlins: Signed pitcher Clay Hensley to a minor league deal.

Of course, the biggest transaction "announced" yesterday appears to be far from done, and may take several days to be made official: A three way deal would send Roy Halladay to the Phillies, Cliff Lee to the Mariners and prospects to the Blue Jays. You might recognize this trade as one several bloggers mocked Ken Rosenthal for suggesting over the weekend. I guess he knows something after all.

Happy birthday today to 2005-2006 Brewer Rick Helling, who turns 39.

Drink up.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:04:13 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Ryan Braun celebrates with Prince Fielder after Braun hit a two-run home run against the Nationals in July.

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Some things to read while not crossing the line.

Ryan Braun was a unanimous pick for The Sporting News' Postseason NL All Star Team (FanShot). Prince Fielder was left off the team to make room for some guy named Pujols.

As it turns out, though, it's not all good news for Braun. As noted in this comment in yesterday's Mug, Braun missed the cutoff for becoming arbitration eligible as a Super 2 player by just 12 days. If Braun had qualified, the Brewers would have owed him an additional $6 million over the course of his contract.

There's not much else for Brewer news today, so let's jump straight into the minor league notes:

Project Prospect has a look at four major Top 100 prospect lists issued before the season, the differences between them and what they say about their respective publications. Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress each appeared on all four lists. Angel Salome appeared on three.
Behind their pay-wall, Baseball-Intellect has some video and a scouting report from a Jake Odorizzi game in Helena in July. I haven't seen it myself, but if you're a subscriber (or have some time to kill and $3 to burn), then it might be worth a look.

Clearly, the Brewers have some holes that need patching this offseason. Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks thinks they could fix one of them by cloning Bob Uecker.

In the meantime, since the Brewers have yet to perfect the cloning technology, they're looking to hire a retail merchandising assistant.

Bobby Valentine sat down with reporters yesterday after interviewing for the managerial vacancy in Cleveland, and told reporters he doesn't know anything about the team, the AL Central or the American League. As one might imagine, that's raised a few red flags...but I also think Ken Macha might have said something similar if asked the same question after his interview in Milwaukee last year.

Speaking of people whose stock might be falling, Nationals Enquirer has a look at some of the red flags surrounding likely #1 overall pick Bryce Harper. If the Nats don't select Harper first overall, it's possible his salary demands and other factors could lead to him falling precipitously in the draft, and he could be a candidate for the Brewers. This topic also came up in yesterday's Mug comments, where Jeff made a great point:

One problem with Bryce is that he’s really young. By opting for community college, he’s getting himself into the draft a year earlier than high-school picks.

That’s good for him in the long run, but remember that the team that drafts him only cares about his first six years in the bigs.

Now, maybe Harper will be like A-Rod, show up and mash, but if he forces his way to the big leagues by age 19, he’s a FA at 25, with his prime ahead of him. "The potential to be one of the greatest players of all time" is only relevant if you’re buying some of his seasons of greatness.

The bloom is off the rose in San Diego, where Gaslamp Ball is now refusing to refer to Anthony Gwynn Jr. as "Tony" until he finishes a full season batting .300. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but it's a slow news day.

Since today's Mug is short, you'll probably have some time to kill once you're done reading it, and if you do, I highly recommend this Sporcle quiz asking for each team's career leaders in hits, home runs, wins and saves. I got 57.

Happy birthday today to David Riske, who turns 33.

Drink up.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:12:48 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

This could be the end of the line for Mike Burns as a Brewer. Now that he's off the 40-man roster, Burns will be eligible for minor league free agency this offseason.

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Some things to read while getting a text from Batman.

The Brewers have started the offseason roster shuffle, outrighting Mike Burns to AAA to clear a space on the 40-man roster (FanShot). Yesterday I suggested that the move might have been made to clear a roster spot for a minor leaguer (like Adam Heether), but as Adam McCalvy notes, the Brewers will also need to make room for Rickie Weeks, Mark DiFelice and David Riske, who are currently on the 60-day DL.

It hasn't been announced publicly, but in a mailing to season ticket holders the Brewers mentioned February 20 as the day pitchers and catchers will report to Maryvale for spring training in 2010. If you're looking for a to-the-second update on the countdown, look no further than the sidebar to your right, where TheJay has installed a countdown clock. I'm not sure where I'd be without TheJay on this one: I broke the site twice yesterday trying to install one of my own.

In the meantime, Doug Melvin has 128 days to assemble a winning team and/or bemoan the perils of small market economics. Fire Doug Melvin has a flow chart to predict his decision-making process.

That chart does not, however, include an answer to this question: i94 Sports looks at the Brewers' current situation with Prince Fielder, and wonders if they should be looking to trade him.

The Championship Series round of the 2009 playoffs opens tonight but, before the first ball is thrown, we have weather issues to discuss. Tomorrow and Saturday's scheduled games in New York are both questionable due to predictions of rain, and the schedule could get messy if either or both games have to be postponed.

Speaking of things that could get messy, the Dodgers are less than 24 hours away from their first game in the NLCS, but the biggest news surrounding the team might be the separation and pending divorce of owners Frank and Jamie McCourt. This could be even messier than the situation in San Diego, as Jamie McCourt was just named CEO of the Dodgers in April.

On to brighter topics: Even with the playoffs back in action this weekend, a lot of eyes will be turned towards Arizona, where Stephen Strasburg is expected to make his professional debut Friday night. Meanwhile, the Javelinas dropped their second straight game to Surprise yesterday. You can check out today's Fall League Update for more on that game.

Certainly, Ryan Braun has had one of the better early careers in Brewer history, and one can make a case for his inclusion among the best in major league history. But was he the best player drafted in 2005? The Beltway Boys make the case for Ryan Zimmerman.

As the 2009 Rule 5 Draft approaches, Bucs Dugout has a look back at how the Pirates handled 2008 Rule 5 pick Donnie Veal, who was the subject of some "aggressive" placements on the DL and some extended minor league rehab assignments that don't seem to fit within the spirit of the rules regarding the draft.

Meanwhile, Matt LaPorta will be behind schedule in spring training in February after having surgery yesterday on his left hip and big toe. His rehab is expected to take 4-6 months.

On this day in 1982, Willie McGee homered twice as the Cardinals beat the Brewers 6-2 in Game 3 of the World Series.

I couldn't find a Brewer birthday today, so you'll have to settle for Jim Palmer, losing pitcher in the final game of the 1982 season that sent the Brewers to the postseason, who turns 64 today.

That's all I have for you today, unless you wanted to read about Ben Sheets' number getting retired.

Drink up.

Too Soon, the Victor Martinez Era Ends

Jay — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:27:42 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Talent, dedication and leadership put Martinez in the front rank of this era's signature stars.

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In case anyone is having trouble understanding the deep sobbing of Indians fans over the departure of Victor Martinez, here are a few of the things that Martinez represented and embodied in his time here: Hope and faith. Great hitting, situational and otherwise. A new beginning. A slugging, switch-hitting catcher, the kind of player you build a team around. Leadership in the clubhouse and on the field. The possibility of a small-market club getting over on big-market clubs. Genuine devotion to his team.

Victor Martinez was the total package; he was family. An era in Cleveland Indians history ended this week, and though it featured a half-dozen major stars, this era belonged to Victor Martinez. He authored the greatest season ever by an Indians catcher in 2007. In fact, he owns three of the five best seasons by an Indians catcher, and this year, he was on his way to notching a fifth entry in the top 10. He is the greatest catcher in franchise history — this cannot be disputed with any seriousness, and in fact, with all due respect to Alomar and O'Neill and everyone in between, there isn't even a close second.

It is a cruel world in which the Indians do everything right with a player, and the player does everything right for the Indians, yet he's still out the door after just six short years in the majors. Until the past week, few dared to see this move coming. This love affair — among team, player, city and fans — was going to end someday, but we assumed we had another year and a half at the very least. In our hearts, if not in our brains, we all wanted it to last much longer.

It is, simply, too soon.

In June 1996, the Indians drafted Paul Rigdon, Sean DePaula, John McDonald, Mike Bacsik, and David Riske, among many others. In July 1996, they signed 16-year-old switch-hitting shortstop Victor Martinez out of Cuidad Bolivar, Venezuela. It was a sign of the times; Latin American signings loomed large over draft picks in this era across baseball, and especialy for the Indians. In an alternate universe, Martinez became the slowest-running shortstop in big-league history. One suspects the Indians never worried about whether Martinez would hit enough to be a middle infielder, but rather, they saw a player whose unique physical gifts and raw intelligence could make him an outstanding catcher. Martinez had that knack for getting good wood, certainly, but he was also a fascinating athletic specimen who not only could switch-hit but also switch-throw, as he often shagged balls in the outfield and threw them back in left-handed.

Martinez looked like a good prospect when he debuted with the short-season Scrappers in 1999, but he really opened eyes in 2001, when he emerged as the Carolina League's best player at age 22, posting an 882 OPS, and he was also voted the league's best defensive catcher by opposing coaches and managers. He followed that up with a jaw-dropping season for the Aeros in 2002, during which he lead the Eastern League in OPS by over 100 points.

There is a generation of Indians fans who more or less discovered the minor leagues in 2002. Information about baseball (and especially about sabermetrics) exploded on the Internet through the late '90s, as the Indians dominated their division and made multiple postseason appearances. As the decade drew to a close, the Indians farm system was so bad that it was becoming a punchline within the industry, but we knew nothing about that. As John Hart planned his timely exit, the Dolan family okayed one last glorious charge for the Jacobs Era Indians, deficit spending to one more division title in 2001. After one more first-round exit for the Vizquel-Thome cohort, changes would have to be made, as the old talent got older while the young talent simply wasn't there.

By the time the Indians traded Robbie Alomar to the Mets in December 2001, Baseball America had started to provide significant content online, including their constantly cited rankings — rankings by organization, rankings by position, rankings by league — you name it, they had a ranking for it — which gave us some kind of concrete sense of how valuable guys like Alex Escobar and Billy Traber were. The Baseball Cube had increasingly complete minor league stats for prior seasons. And while milb.com wasn't yet up and running, most minor league clubs had their own websites, where fans around the world could go to check the box scores and track the progress of special prospects, the guys we hoped would be our future stars.

So when the Indians made The Trade on June 29, 2002, we all scurried to BaseballAmerica.com to find out how Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee measured up (and oh, yeah, might have glanced at that other guy, too, but only for a second), and in the weeks that followed, we got in the habit of looking at those Bisons and Aeros box scores every day. The season was in shambles, but unlike the fans of a decade earlier, we were conditioned to believe that another great era could be just around the corner. So every morning we just had to know, how are our future Belle-Baerga-Loftons doing today?

Much to our surprise, the most impressive player we found in those box scores was not a new acquisition, but rather a shockingly impressive prospect named Victor Martinez. This switch-hitting catcher was — by far — the best hitter in his league. Not super-young, but young enough. A slugging catcher, and rated as a good-to-great defender to boot, Victor Martinez was too good to be true. It turned out that the farm system hadn't been completely devoid of talent. We had at least one home-grown gem, one guy worth believing in. More than any other one player — and notably more than Escobar, Phillips or Lee — Martinez put up the numbers in 2002 that told us that another Era of Champions was not only possible, but worth getting excited about.

I mean, it was a 993 OPS! By a catcher! Are you kidding me? Obviously we were going to have another Great Team, because what better way to start building a Great Team than by grooming a slugging catcher?

One thing you can say about Victor's career in the majors — and perhaps the key to why he is so beloved — is that he never once disappointed in his six years with the club. Oh, sure, he spent some time on the DL, including the bulk of 2008, and he had his deep slumps, but those never lasted more than a month or so. In his first full season, he overcame a slow start in the first 10 games to post a 1015 OPS over the next 60, earning his first All-Star appearance in the process. He shattered the club record for RBI by a catcher with 101, and perhaps most surprising, he settled in as the club's cleanup hitter. More than that, he emerged incredibly quickly as the glue that made a group of players feel like a winning team. He played with passion, joy and persistence, always smiling or shouting, and he famously had a different handshake for every single player in the clubhouse. By the middle of that first full season, he was as close to a team captain as the Indians would have this decade.

He was rewarded the following April with a five-year guaranteed deal, locking in his services through the 2010 season — and clearly, we all felt, this was more than enough time for us to reap the rewards of his superstardom. Before Grady Sizemore had even won a starting job with the Indians, Martinez was already locked in — on the field and off, in the box scores and under contract — as the cornerstone of the new-look Indians. That year, Martinez went on to be the key player in an improbable 67-34 surge that took the team to the brink of the postseason, posting an OPS of 900 in June, 916 in July, 1058 in August, 925 in September — and yes, a 902 OPS in that final, horrendous week.

In 2007, Martinez again took center stage as the MVP of one of the best teams in the majors. Best player, you ask skeptically, on a team with two legit Cy Young candidates? Yes, Victor was that squad's MVP — in part because he called 63 of the 67 games those two Cy contenders started, in part because he started a staggering 142 games at catcher that season, in part because he handled a shakey relief corps and helped them get the job done far more often than they should have been able to, and last but not least, because he was simply the best hitter on that team. (Go ahead, look it up.)

Fans of all generations remember that 2007 squad as their favorite Indians team ever. The season ended in disappointment, as 61 out of the last 61 have, but that team delivered dozens of great moments, and through it all, we had the persistent sense that this wasn't just a great group of ballplayers, but a group of great guys as well. We've heard from Shapiro so often — admittedly, too often — that the Indians aspired not just to win a championship, but to win with a certain kind of player, with a certain kind of person. Victor was everything Shapiro ever wanted a Cleveland Indian to be — not only a stellar performer but also a great teammate, devoted to his family at home and his family at the ballpark. The pain in both men's voices spoke volumes this week. Not only is this not what the fans wanted, it isn't what either one of them wanted. What they wanted was a championship not just for the Indians, and not just for Victor Martinez, but for the Victor Martinez Indians. Our favorites.

They came close. That era is done now. It ended quickly and harshly this week, the moment Cliff Lee was traded, the moment the Indians started focusing on a season beyond Victor's contract, which almost certainly, prudently, meant a season beyond when Victor could be a star player on a small-market club competing for a championship. He was our best and greatest hope in 2002, the leader of our revival in 2004 and 2005, and the best player on our favorite team in 2007. It ended far too soon.

Reviewing Dayton Moore at the Deadline: 2007

royalsreview — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:51:04 -0000

Continuing our look back at Dayton Moore's performance at the trade deadline. For 2006, click here.

The 2007 Royals were the first Royals team since 2003 that did not lose at least 100 games, though at 69-93 they were hardly a factor in the AL Central. They reached the level of "not laughably bad", which is more or less where the Royals have stayed. In 2009, through 99 games, the Royals were 40-59. In 2007, they were 43-56. In a way, it should come as too much of a shock that this stagnation has occurred: after a very busy first year on the job, Dayton Moore has stopped aggressively shopping players.

The 2007 trade deadline was the beginning of this new phase, a phase that apparently will continue through 2009. Although the 2007 deadline did produce one of the better trades of Dayton's tenure, his inability or reluctance to do more makes the 2007 deadline an incomplete success

July 13, 2007: Dan Christensen traded to Tigers for Roman Colon. Christensen was one of the many Baird Era guys who found new addresses in 2006-7. A pitcher drafted in the fourth round of the 2002 draft, Christensen is now in the Seattle system. Considering the long odds that Christensen will ever contribute at the Major League level, snagging Roman Colon -- yes, a former Brave -- was not a bad move. Colon is no great shakes, but after spending 2008 in Omaha, he's appeared in 22 games with the Royals this season. He has a live arm, but little control (11 walks in 24 IP) and is your standard issue mediocre to poor bullpen arm. Then again, the Colon trade was less a case of Dayton's great scouting abilities than a case of the Tigers needing to part way with Colon. The Tigers likely gave Colon away for so little because he had punched Jason Kamuth -- who was trying to break up a fight between Colon and another pitcher -- so severly that Kamuth needed plastic surgery on his face. Cool!

July 25, 2007: Royals release Scott Elarton. Hours after a horrible Elarton start against the Yankees that had me questioning the meaning of life, Dayton parts ways with one of Allard's worst signings. Elarton was signed to a two year, eight million dollar deal for 2006-7. He was terrible. Moore showed a willingness to move on... from somebody else's mistake.

July 31, 2007: Octavio Dotel traded to Atlanta for Kyle Davies: An early high point of the Moore regime. Dotel had signed a one year, $5 million dollar deal, with a number of appearance escalators, in December. Everyone's assumption was that Moore had taken a chance on the oft-injured Dotel on the chance that, if healthy, he could be traded. Dotel made his first appearance with the Royals in late May, and eventually appeared in 24 games, notching 11 saves. On deadline day, this actually happened, with the Braves, yes the Braves, sending back the promising but inconsistent prospect Kyle Davies. Davies has started 46 games for the Royals since, but like JDLR and Odalis Perez, has turned in an ERA+ of 85. Davies has improved a little since his Braves days, though he hasn't made a great leap forward, and his numbers remain all over the place. His 1.8 WAR season in 2008 makes him one of Dayton's better pickups, especially considering the price paid was a partial season of Dotel.

That's it, two trades and a no-brainer DFAing.

The Colon trade was ok, but basically pointless. The Dotel-Davies trade was a very good deal however, probably the best trade of Dayton's career. (However, it's 2009 and Davies is in Omaha, so let's not go crazy.)

In spite of two ok-to-good trades, in retrospect, it is clear that a more aggressive approach would have better served the Royals long-term. The bottom line is that Dayton should have done more.

The biggest mistake was at second base. Not trading Mark Grudzielanek was an absolute mistake. It was a mistake at the time and it's a mistake now. Grudz was hitting .305/.346/.441 on July 30th, and was only owed ~2 million of his $4 million dollar salary. You have to find value for Grudz in that situation. And if you can't find the value you want, you settle for what you can get. Work with the salary and turn it to your advantage if you can in the form of another body. Whatever it takes. The Royals, of course, stuck with Grudz, and it worked out so well for them that they started 2009 with Mark Teahen playing second.

Dayton's second mistake at the 2007 deadline was holding onto David Riske. Riske had a 2.22 ERA with 11 holds at the deadline, and was only owed ~1 million in salary, with an affordable club option for 2008. Again, get something. Get a body. Take a bad contract from someone else, package it with Riske, and get two bodies. Now, of course, we know that Dayton loves collecting mid-tier veteran relievers.

Lastly, there's the possibility of buying at the deadline, as the Mariners just did. No, it wouldn't have been easy, but rebuilding the Royals was never going to be easy.

Supposedly, the Royals were going to rebuild around Dayton's scouting acumen. (Which frankly, should not be taken as a given anymore.) What better chance to display it than finding a 19 year old kid languishing in obscurity in some other system that turns into a useful player? Instead, Dayton quickly fell in love with his ability, real or otherwise, to scout 33 year old veterans, which is how we ended up with the Jose Guillen Generation.

Nearly all of Dayton's 2006 moves ended up being losing trades for the Royals, but most of them were chances worth taking. For whatever reason, after 2006, Dayton's mentality seems to have changed by 2007. Perhaps the success of the Meche signing convinced him he could win soon, especially with Greinke, Gordon and Butler lying around.

As it turned out, he was wrong then, and wrong now, and we're still paying for it.

2009 Trade Deadline Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

Charlie — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:57:09 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Will the Brewers be willing to part with a young player like Mat Gamel at the deadline?

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Buyers or sellers?

Buyers. The Brewers are just three games back of the Cardinals in the N.L. Central, and three games behind the Giants in the Wild Card race.

Short-term need

Whether or not they're ready to admit it, the Brewers' best chance of upgrading would be grabbing a catcher who can hit even a little. So far in 2009, the Brewers have wasted 309 punchless plate appearances on Jason Kendall, many from the leadoff spot. No amount of nice work with pitchers can make up for a .282 slugging percentage. Milwaukee might be wise to talk to a team like the Pirates, who need prospects and have two credible starting catchers in Ryan Doumit and Jason Jaramillo, but so far I haven't heard of any trade rumors involving the Brewers acquiring a catcher.

Instead, Milwaukee is likely to look for a starting pitcher--even with Manny Parra, who was tremendous in his return from injury against the Cardinals shortly before the All-Star break, and Dave Bush, who seems likely to finish his rehab assignment within a week or two, the Brewers' current rotation consists of Yovani Gallardo and a bunch of mediocrities. (Parra showed better velocity in his Cardinals start than he did earlier this season, and he should be able to bounce back after a poor beginning to the year, but I wouldn't count on him being any better than a league-average starter down the stretch.)

GM Doug Melvin appears unwilling to part with top youngsters Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel, though, so he'll have to be creative to find a pitcher who could improve on the Brewers' back-end starters. They don't really need a starting pitcher who can just take the ball every fifth day; they need a starter who's good, and that generally takes real prospects to acquire.

The Brewers have been mentioned in rumors about Roy Halladay. Melvin hasn't denied the Brewers are interested, but he didn't seem aware of the details of Halladay's contract last week, so it seems unlikely the Brewers are seriously pursuing him.

Long-term need

Realistically, what Milwaukee needs most is for the rest of the division to stay mediocre. They're very much in the playoff hunt this season despite losing C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets from last year's squad. But their corps of young hitters is getting expensive, and costly deals for lesser players like Jeff Suppan, Bill Hall and David Riske aren't helping them. Gallardo, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun may still be young, but this isn't really a dynamic young team anymore. Their time is now and the very near future.

They could also use a centerfielder--Mike Cameron will be a free agent after the season.

Big leaguers on the market?

Gamel's name will continue to come up if the Brewers continue to be connected to Halladay, but it's unlikely Milwaukee will trade anyone from its 25-man roster.

Minor league strength

The season hasn't been particularly kind to the Brewers' minor league system--a number of their best prospects (including Jeremy Jeffress, Cutter Dykstra, Lorenzo Cain, and Angel Salome) have been disappointing this season. But Escobar has handled Class AAA pitching fairly well and 2008 first-rounder Brett Lawrie has been terrific, and a number of starting pitchers have played well at age-appropriate levels in the low minors--Wily Peralta, Cody Scarpetta, Daniel Meadows and Evan Anundsen all bear watching. Also, the Brewers had five picks in the first two rounds of the 2009 draft, so they should be able to recharge fairly quickly.

Take on short-term money to win?

If last year's decision to take on salary for Sabathia wasn't the sort of bell that would get the Brewers' ownership salivating, then I'm not sure what would be. The Brewers also already took on salary when they traded for Jody Gerut in May. The issue for the Brewers isn't so much money, it's whether they'll be willing to part with the young players required to bring another star to Milwaukee. They already traded Matt LaPorta last year; the idea of trading Gamel, Escobar or Lawrie may be a bit much for the Brewers, who aren't the Yankees and really need a flush farm system to succeed.

For more coverage of the Brewers, check out Brew Crew Ball.

Scalding hot Rox head north to face team full of "All-Stars"

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:24:28 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

Yovani Gallardo didn't start Opening Day, but he has lead Milwaukee to the third best record in the NL.

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Many eyes will be on the MLB Draft each of the next three days, but June 9-11also marks a showdown between the NL's hottest team and the NL Central leader.

Sometimes the winding road leads to the top of the mountain. After starting a disappoint 3-8, Brewers fans were left to wonder if they overrated their team just a little bit. However, Milwaukee rebounded for first-year manager Ken Macha, winning a ridiculous 21 of 26 from April 22 to May 19, beginning with a win by tonight's starter Braden Looper.

It was about time to switch gears again, and the NL Central leaders promptly lost 6 of 8. So are they going up or down now? Well, neither. They swept Cincinnati to finish May and are 3-4 in June, with no winning or losing streak greater than 2 games. They're actually just treading water the last week plus. Quite frankly, it was the Rockies who gave them their 2.5 game lead in the division.

Like the Rockies, the Brewers have found themselves on the road frequently, playing 7 more games out of Wisconsin than at home. Still their 16-9 mark at Miller Park is impressive, and only the Dodgers and Red Sox have fewer home losses in the league.

The Rockies won the season series with the Brewers last season 4-3, winning the home series and splitting the 4-game set in Milwaukee. Colorado is 9-7 against teams from the Central divisions, 8-5 on the road.

Brew Crew Ball

Milwaukee Brewers (33-24, L1, 1st)

Tuesday-Thursday : 3-game series at Miller Park

The Bats: C

Quick...name the top two most valuable NL outfielders this season. You probably got Raul Ibanez, who is having a fantastic year in Philly. But I bet you didn't think Mike Cameron was #2 in the National League. Cameron has always been a solid fielder, so a plus year offensively would figure to push him up the charts. He has a .396 wOBA (better than every Rockie save Brad Hawpe) this season thus far despite just a .317 BABip.

Then, of course, you have Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun to deal with. It's a high-risk, high-reward team. Milwaukee is hitting below .250 as a team and they are sixth in MLB in striking out, but they are also tied with the Rockies for fifth with 67 HR. Their lineup is not as barren as the Cardinals', but outside of Macha's 3-5 hitters, there really isn't much there. Their team wOBA is just .330, which is slightly below league average. Main culprits are Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy and Corey Hart, all of which are having very disappointing years thus far. Rickie Weeks was on the cusp of breaking out before being injured May 17.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI
Craig Counsell - 2B	.311	1	9
J.J. Hardy - SS	.228	5	24
Ryan Braun - LF	.310	12	38
Prince Fielder - 1B	.298	15	54
Mike Cameron - CF	.278	12	30
Bill Hall - 3B	.209	4	13
Corey Hart - RF	.243	6	23
Jason Kendall - C	.216	0	16

Jody Gerut has only gotten two starts since being acquired from San Diego for Tony Gwynn Jr. Mat Gamel has been starting frequently, signifying Gerut's status is the fifth outfielder.

The Arms: B

Milwaukee's staff is ranked 9th in ERA with a solid 4.14 mark. That might be surprising when seeing ERA's of 4.65, 4.66 and 6.86, but their bullpen has been a lynchpin. With a bullpen ERA of 3.10, Ken Macha possesses the third best MLB pen by ERA. They also lead the majors in team saves, have the fewest bullpen losses (6) and allow just a .210 average against, best in the bigs.

Trevor Hoffman

#51 / Pitcher / Milwaukee Brewers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 13, 1967

Only Heath Bell has more saves than Trevor Hoffman, who has no blown saves, and has allowed zero runs and 8 baserunners all year. Throw in the fact that we miss their worst two starting pitchers by ERA - Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra - and we will be getting their best shot from the mound.

The D: B

Milwaukee has committed 32 errors, three less than the Rockies and good enough for middle-of-the pack. However, note that they lead the majors in UZR/150.

Ballpark: Neutral

Miller Park has a multi-year park factor of 100, the very definition of neutral.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 6:05 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Hammel	2-3	4.50	1.60	31	14

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Braden Looper	5-3	4.65	1.39	35	21

Wednesday, June 10, 6:05 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	1-6	5.28	1.42	64	28

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Yovani Gallardo	6-2	2.84	1.08	71	28

Thursday, June 11, 12:05 MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Aaron Cook	4-3	4.50	1.40	32	26

Brewers pitcher YTD. Dave Bush suffered an injury in his last start and has yet to be given a green light for Thursday.

Prince Fielder is always a terrifying human being, but lately especially. He is 11-for-21 the past week with HR and 4 BBs. That figures to be a 1.790 week OPS, just for fun. Ryan Braun is 8-for-25 in that same span, also with 3 HR. And as noted above, Trevor Hoffman has yet to allow a run all season in 17 appearances.

J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart, Bill Hall, and Mike Cameron are all struggling. The four batters have combined for just nine hits in the past week.

Rickie Weeks (wrist) is still on the 15-day DL for an injury he suffered in May 17's game. David Riske was placed on the 60-day DL the first week of the season, yet the Brewers bullpen has managed just fine in his absence. Dave Bush (elbow) is listed as probable for Thursday's start.

Poll

How much will this momentum carry over?

Completely - this team is unstoppable...Miracle in Milwaukee?

18 votes

An 8-game streak is too much to ask, but we're going to take this thing

37 votes

St. Louis was overrated and so was that series. We'll come back to earth and drop this series

20 votes

A better team, and their best three starters agaisnt our worst three. Sounds like a setup for a sweep to me

16 votes

91 votes | Poll has closed

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:38:23 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

Dan Uggla tags Mike Cameron during an inning where two Brewers made outs on the basepaths.

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Some things to read while watching out for whammies. (h/t C. Trent Rosecrans)

With any luck, this could be the last morning I'll ever have to wake up and discuss a disastrous Jorge Julio outing. Here are what some others are saying about him:

Quevedo at the Buffet wants him gone.
Brewed Sports wants him gone.
CZWief wants him gone.
Between the Green Pillars wants him gone.

Julio did, however, become just the second pitcher named Jorge to hit a batter named Jorge in MLB history. So there is that. Jorge Cantu, by the way, was the victim in the other case too, getting hit by Jorge de la Rosa.

But, it might all be over today. The Official Site says the team is expected to call up a pitcher and it could be Mike Burns, who is 6-2 with a 2.98 ERA for Nashville. It won't be David Riske, who will undergo Tommy John surgery today.

Even with Julio's disaster last night, the Brewers had too many opportunities to come away with just four runs, including one inning where Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron both made outs on the bases, with Fielder getting caught trying to steal third.

Also, Mike Cameron and Ryan Braun left last night's game early with injuries suffered in the sixth inning. Cameron is suffering from "knee irritation" and is day-to-day, while Braun says he's fine after fouling a ball off his leg.

Meanwhile, the Marlins will make a couple of roster moves before tonight's game. Cristhian Martinez, who won last night's game, has been optioned to AA to make room for Anibal Sanchez, who is expected to start tonight. They also optioned catcher Brett Hayes to AAA and are expected to recall Alejandro de Aza. (hat tips to Fish Chunks and TheJay in last night's recap)

Could Corey Hart be on the move? The Detroit Free Press mentioned a quote from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggesting the Tigers might be one of several teams interested. Tom H.'s Twitter, however, said Doug Melvin called the notion "pure nonsense." Just another case of Cafardo being Cafardo.

Here's something cool from down in the minors: At The Old Ball Game has frame-by-frame photos of the delivery of Joshua Butler, who's quickly regaining prospect status this season.

Need your daily draft fix? Andy Seiler has a new mock draft of the first three rounds, and has the Brewers selecting RHP Drew Storen (Stanford), 3B Matt Davidson (California HS), RHP Alex Wilson (Texas A&M), SS Daniel Fields (Michigan HS), 2B Josh Kobernus (U. of California) and RHP Eric Smith (Rhode Island).

On Power Rankings:

Inside the Majors has the Brewers holding steady at #3.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star moved the Brewers up from ninth to sixth.
Foul Balls moved the Brewers down from third to fourth in the NL, but kept them at #6 overall.
WhatifSports moved the Brewers up from seventh to fifth.

The Brewers are asking you to help them make Miller Park a better place to watch a game, one belligerent drunk at a time. Follow this link to learn how to text security re: that douchebag in your section. Extra points for the first person who uses it to report/eject The Happy Youngster.

Around the league:

Giants: Designated reliever Pat Misch for assignment.
Indians: Released David Dellucci.
Mets: Placed Angel Pagan on the DL with a groin strain.
Phillies: Mike Koplove exercised a clause in his contract allowing him to become a free agent.

The Reds bullpen got a bit of a workout last night too. Edinson Volquez, in his first start back off the DL, left after one inning with numbness in his pinkie and ring fingers. Hal McCoy says Volquez is headed back to Cincinnati to get it checked out but does not believe it's serious.

Yesterday might have been Manny Acta's last game as manager of the Washington Nationals. Chico Harlan has a quote from Nats acting GM Mike Rizzo that he thinks implies Acta could be done.

Sean Berry, though, is back with the Astros after surgery to have cancer removed from his kidney. Good to see he's back and doing well.

If you're a frequent FanPoster (or would like to be), be sure to check out the new improvements to the FanPost editor, including the ability to autopromote your FanPost on your Twitter page.

Oh, and I only got four of the answers on Keith Law's stolen base quiz, but in my defense, I took it at 6:35 am.

Drink up.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:49:18 -0000

More photos » by Bob Levey - AP

Jody Gerut gets congratulations after his teammates learn he's going to be a Brewer.

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Some things to read while making golf more interesting.

The big news of the day today is yesterday's trade sending Tony Gwynn Jr. to San Diego for Jody Gerut. Here's a sampling of response from all over the web:

Doug Melvin said the Brewers were trying to upgrade their left-handed bench options.
Adam McCalvy says Melvin had interest in trading for Gerut for a while, and finally found the opportunity.
The BBTF Transaction Oracle predicts Gerut will hit .278/.335/.472 as a Brewer, which would be pretty good for a fourth outfielder.
Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases says Gerut is "a big upgrade in a reserve role for the Brewers," and calls the Brewers a big winner in this trade.
FanGraphs calls the move a salary dump for the Padres. Gerut is still owed about $1.3 million this season.
Meanwhile, Tony Gwynn found out about the trade from his dad, who's pretty excited to have him as a Padre.
Elias says Gwynn will become just the third player ever to play for the same team his father played in over 2000 games for, joining Pete Rose Jr. and Dale Berra. (Thanks to TheJay)
Gwynn made it to San Diego in time to draw a walk in the ninth inning as the Padres scored two in the ninth to beat the Giants last night.
Adam McCalvy has Trevor Hoffman, Mat Gamel and Prince Fielder's reactions to the trade.
At The Old Ball Game has been covering Gwynn in Nashville and called him "the most consistent player on the Sound’s team in 2009."
Brewers Bar compared the trade to Doug Melvin trading candy for water.
MLB Notebook criticized the Brewers for unloading young talent.
Big League Stew says the Padres must have made this move for PR reasons.
Tyler Maas of Bugs and Cranks says Tony Gwynn will get many more opportunities to ruin the Padres' playoff chances.
Quevedo at the Buffet is patting themselves on the back for helping get Gwynn on his way.
Chuckie Hacks says none of us would care if Gwynn's name was Jim Smith.

Gerut is expected to join the Brewers today. While no official announcement has been made, it's expected he'll take the place of Chris Duffy, who will be designated for assignment. He'll join the team along with R.J. Swindle, who was called up yesterday when Hernan Iribarren was sent back down. Having the DH for this weekend's series in Minnesota eliminated some of the need for bench flexibility, but the Twins' lefty-heavy lineup created the need for another situational lefty.

Interleague play will mean an increase in playing time for Mat Gamel, who is expected to DH all three games in Minnesota. Gamel doesn't doesn't seem to know what the team has in store for him once interleague play is over, but is keeping a good attitude about it.

It's possible Gamel will be seeing more time at third base. Bill Hall went 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts and grounded into a double play against Roy Oswalt last night in what might have been his last chance to prove he can hit right-handed pitching.

There appears to be a good sized community (or at least a loud community) of people in baseball who think Ryan Braun should be hit by pitches, but what about Corey Hart? Plunk Everyone lists Hart among the most likely targets with 0 HBP in 2009.

We have good news on the farm today as Taylor Green, ranked #8 in our Community Prospect Rankings, has finished his rehab assignment in Wisconsin and is headed to Huntsville. Green hit .400/.538/.600 in 20 ABs for the Rattlers.

Speaking of rehab assignments, David Riske is expected to head to Arizona to start his, according to Gord Ash's Twitter. Ash also reports Rickie Weeks is returning to Milwaukee to work with Brewer trainers. (Thanks to Aaron for the heads up.)

The Brewers continue to gain ground in power rankings: Yahoo has them at #6, up from 10 last week.

Around the league:

Astros: Designated infielder Jason Smith for assignment.
Rangers: Placed Vicente Padilla on the DL with a strained deltoid muscle. (h/t Baseball Musings)

The Brewers may not be interested in trading MLB ready pitching for Mark DeRosa, but it appears someone will be: MLB Trade rumors suggests both the Mets and A's as potential fits.

Someone could write a book about Brooks Kieschnick entitled "Anatomy of a Fan Favorite." Brooks sat down for an interview with Brewerfan.net, where topics discussed included his love for Milwaukee and dislike of the Cubs.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Randall Simon. If you're passing through Fargo today, you might see Simon playing for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and you might hear him talk about getting blackballed for clubbing a sausage.

Do baseballs really fly out of Minute Maid Park, or can we blame Jeff Suppan? Balking Traditionalism has the answer.

The blackout issue isn't getting resolved after all. A vote on the matter was tabled at the owners' meetings again this week, meaning the issue likely won't be resolved this season.

Oh, and apparently San Diego is the place to go if you want to get devirginized to fresh squeezed tangerine juice.

Drink up.

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.