Archive for the ‘Milwaukee Brewers baseball club’ Category
What is Wrong with the 2013 Milwaukee Brewers?
So far in 2013, the Milwaukee Brewers are a riddle wrapped in an enigma, then enclosed by a tesseract. (Yes, they are just that frustrating.)
Before you ask me how a riddle can be wrapped in an enigma, much less be enclosed by a tesseract, think about Jean Segura. Think about how this young man has been among the National League’s top hitters thus far, and currently leads the league with a .355 average. Then think about his main claim to fame — running the bases in reverse.
Then think about Carlos Gomez, a guy who’s never met a low, outside fastball he didn’t like to wave at. He, too, is among the NL’s league letters in hitting, something that is astonishing enough to perplex. This is a guy with a career .253 average, folks . . . yet he’s currently hitting .329. (Go figure.)
Then consider that not one, not two, but five Brewers in the starting lineup — Segura, Gomez, Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez (in a limited sample) and Norichika Aoki — are currently hitting over .300 — which is astonishing. (Also, reserve infielder Jeff Bianchi, who just came off the DL, is hitting .357 thus far.)
But the rest of the team doesn’t have even a .250 hitter among them, as Yuniesky Betancourt continues to slump from his extremely fast start, Rickie Weeks’ woes continue, and Jonathan Lucroy’s bat has gone ominously silent.
Still, despite all that, the biggest problems with the current Brewers squad lies more with the starting pitching than it does their inconsistent hitting. The starting rotation consists of Kyle Lohse (1-5, 3.76 ERA), who’s pitched decently to better but has had little run support, Yovani Gallardo (3-4, 4.50), who’s had some good outings and some bad ones, Marco Estrada (3-2, 5.44), who’s had the run support Lohse has lacked with a mostly subpar effort, and two rookies — Hiram Burgos (1-2, 6.58) and Wily Peralta (3-4, 5.94) — who’ve mostly proven that they deserve to be sent back to AAA forthwith.
Look. The 2013 Brewers have a decent bullpen, even though John Axford hasn’t truly been up to snuff. (Looking better lately, though, and he pitched a fine inning in Monday night’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.) Guys like Burke Badenhop, Tom Gorzelanny (currently on the DL), Mike Gonzalez, and even the recently brought up Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) have done well, while closer Jim Henderson has saved eight games in eight chances, which is quite good.
But the 2013 Brewers only have two legitimate starters in Lohse and Gallardo. Estrada would be better off as the Brewers long man and spot starter, but as he’s the third-best healthy starter the Brewers currently have, he’s in the rotation to stay. And really, while Burgos and Peralta have both shown flashes of competence, they’ve mostly shown that neither one is ready to be a big league pitcher, day in and day out.
Complicating matters is the lack of healthy players Brewers manager Ron Roenicke has to call upon. Roenicke still awaits first baseman and power hitter Corey Hart, who is now slated to return sometime in June according to Adam McCalvy. Roenicke also awaits the return of pitcher Chris Narveson, who’s certainly a much better option even coming off major shoulder surgery than either Peralta or Burgos. (Perhaps better than both put together.)
And both Braun and Lucroy are playing despite persistent neck stiffness because there really isn’t anyone else to put in their slots. Mind you, it’s very difficult to replace someone who’s won the Most Valuable Player Award like Braun. But when no one can out-hit the currently light-hitting Lucroy, you have major problems.
Basically, I see the Brewers’ problems as threefold.
- They need two more good starters before they’re going to be able to be consistently competitive.
- They need the return of both Hart and Narveson, even if the Brewers “brain trust” of General Manager Doug Melvin and Assistant GM Gord Ash decides to keep Narveson in the bullpen.
- They need far better situational hitting than they’ve shown thus far, as it’s inexcusable to have someone hit a triple (like Lucroy did the other day) to lead off an inning but have him still standing on third base at the end of the inning because no one can figure out how to hit a long fly ball to get him home.
If the Brewers can fix all of these things within the next three weeks, they may manage to salvage their season . . . and, not so incidentally, their manager’s job.
But if they can’t fix it, someone’s head is going to roll. And that person is most likely to be Ron Roenicke, even though he’s obviously not to blame for the Brewers total inability to bunt, hit sacrifice flies, or do whatever it takes to score runs, nor is he to blame for Peralta and Burgos not being quite ready for prime time just yet.
For the latter, I blame Doug Melvin and Gord Ash. They had to know that it’s risky to start out a season with not one, but two rookie pitchers, no matter how well Peralta pitched at the end of last season and no matter how good Burgos looked in the World Baseball Classic, yet they were actually prepared to go with three rookies if they couldn’t come to a deal with Lohse or another veteran starter.
Anyway, my hope is that the Brewers will start to remember their situational hitting skills and use them more frequently. (They did a good job scratching and clawing for a run tonight, but then again, the guy hitting the RBI groundout was Nori Aoki, who happens to be the best situational hitter on the club.) That, along with some more run support for Lohse and two additional quality starters if the Brewers can somehow acquire them, can turn around the 2013 season and save Roenicke’s job.
But that’s a tall order, as every team in the league knows that the Brewers need pitching — and will make them pay high to get it.
———
Note: Stats had not yet been updated as that sometimes takes a few hours after a loss when I’d originally composed this blog. The records, averages, etc., have been fixed, as has the information about Corey Hart’s proposed return. (That Hart’s rehab goes slowly isn’t entirely a surprise, but as many fans have hoped Hart would return sooner rather than later — and as I’m assuredly among that particular group of fans — I’d said that I believed Hart would return on the first available date as I hadn’t yet checked out McCalvy’s blog post.)
Saturday Odds and Ends (May 2013)
Folks, there’s a number of things to cover, but I have only a limited amount of time to cover ’em all. So let’s get started with a shameless plug, shall we?
Since you already know about HOW BEER SAVED THE WORLD, please check it out. I would really appreciate it. (Links available in the prior post.)
Next, due to my health continuing to be problematic at best, I won’t be reviewing anything at Shiny Book Review this week. I do hope to review two books by Karen Myers — good, solid fantasies about fox-hunting, dogs, and just a bit of the Wild Hunt for good measure — very soon. I also have books by Ash Krafton and Chris Nuttall that I’ve read and am pondering, but am not quite ready to review . . . anyway, I plan to review these four books as soon as I can, starting with at least one book by Karen Myers next week over at SBR. So please, stay tuned.
As for everything else . . . my favorite baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, lost a heartbreaker at home this afternoon to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6. The Brewers had tied the game in the bottom of the 8th on a suicide squeeze, perfectly executed by Nori Aoki, so things looked as if the Brewers might actually be able to win against the Cardinals at home. Unfortunately, when Brewers closer Jim Henderson entered in the top of the ninth, he ended up giving up a run partly because he didn’t hold his runners on base very well. Had he done a bit better at that, the Brewers and Cardinals might still be in extras right now, tied with a score of 6-6, because Henderson pitched well aside from that.
A health update: I continue to have problems with what I’ve been told are “the remnants of bronchitis.” Because I have asthma, these remnants continue to cause me to feel completely wiped out. I’m able to concentrate better, providing I continue to rest much more than usual, and I have been able to resume work on a difficult edit in progress. I’m also thinking about various stories and worked on one of them, albeit in prose notes form only (no dialogue, a couple of brief character sketches, and scene setting), earlier today.
So that’s progress, of a sort. But it is slow.
I just have to remember that even incremental progress is still progress. And that it’s important that I keep trying . . . as if I could ever forget.
Anyway, there were a number of other stories that caught my eye this week — Howard Kurtz getting fired from the Daily Beast due to a factual inaccuracy in an article Kurtz wrote about NBA basketball player Jason Collins (Kurtz said initially that Collins didn’t explain that he’d actually been engaged to a woman for eight years, which wasn’t true — in Collins’ first-person Sports Illustrated piece, Collins clearly says that he was engaged to a woman. Kurtz’s newspaper made a correction later, saying that Collins had “downplayed” his engagement instead, which makes more sense, but apparently Kurtz himself did not make this correction.), Harper Lee suing to regain her own copyright for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD due to what appears to be an unscrupulous agent giving her bad advice in order to profit himself, and, of all things, a second grade teacher in Colorado who taped the mouths of her twenty-eight students shut. She’s currently on paid administrative leave as, apparently, doing this to her twenty-eight students is not considered a crime in Colorado.
I’d love to write about those three things — any, or better yet, all. But right now is not the time, as I continue to have problems drawing a full breath. As long as this condition persists, my energy level is just not going to be what it should no matter how strong my will is that wishes it otherwise.
At any rate, all I can do is to get up every day and try my best. I’m doing that.
My hope is that I’ll be able to feel better soon and do much more of what I’m accustomed to doing — writing, editing, and playing music (I can’t do the last at all, and it’ll probably be at least a few more weeks before I can even make an attempt, considering) — rather than how I feel right now: more than a tad guilty for leaving three juicy blog subjects on the cutting room floor, all because my health just won’t allow me to do them justice right now.
Baseball Second-Guessing . . . Does it Ever Work?
Folks, as I continue to watch my favorite baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, stumble out of the gate, I have revisited a few of my baseball blogs from the past week-plus. Some of the comments I’ve made obviously were insightful — I suggested bringing up Blake Lalli, mostly because we need three catchers if two of them are likely to play due to being short-handed on the infield — but some were clearly not.
I wonder, sometimes, if this is how Brewers manager Ron Roenicke feels. Roenicke has all sorts of stats available to him that I’m not likely to ever see — even in these days of WAR (Wins Above Replacement), BABIP (Batting Average of Balls in Play), and other esoteric stats — and yet, he, too, can be wrong and get second-guessed. Frequently.
Now, I’m still not backing off what I said last night about Rickie Weeks. Weeks has a well-known tendency when in a serious slump to wave at the outside fastball. He’s done it for years, he’s unlikely to ever change, and because of this, he’s not the world’s best hitter to have up in a clutch situation.
Batting Weeks fourth was possibly the best choice considering the others tried at clean-up since Aramis Ramirez went on the 15-day DL (Alex Gonzalez and Jonathan Lucroy) did not do well. At least it was a change, and with change comes the possibility for better even if it doesn’t always happen.
My blog last night (the first half of it, anyway) was more about how frustrated I was that Weeks wasn’t pinch-hit for by either Martin Maldonado or Lalli, both of whom were still sitting on the bench. Maldonado has been an acceptable hitter with some power, while Lalli is a bit of an unknown quantity and might’ve taken St. Louis Cardinals’ closer Mitchell Boggs by surprise. And either of them could’ve done the same thing as Weeks — struck out on four pitches (the MLB recapper says only three, which I find odd) — but with greater panache.
That is, if panache matters in a 2-0 loss where the Brewers only garnered two hits, one by Nori Aoki in the first and one by Jean Segura in the ninth.
Speaking of Segura, I’m glad his injury wasn’t serious enough to put him on the DL. I’d called for that when I thought there was absolutely no way the Brewers would bring up another position player except by putting one of their few reasonably healthy ones on the DL; considering how Segura and Aoki are among the few bright spots on the team (Braun is hitting for contact and has a .406 average, though he took “the collar” with an 0-4 with 3 Ks last evening), it would’ve been a shame to shut Segura down.
So that’s a suggestion I made that obviously would’ve been a bad move for the team. And since I go off all the time about how I don’t understand this, that, or the other move by Roenicke, I may as well admit when a move I’d have made definitely wouldn’t have worked.
And two other suggestions I made — those of bringing Chris Capuano onto the Brewers and putting Chris Narveson back in the starting rotation for the Brewers — obviously won’t work at the moment, either. Capuano should get several weeks in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation now that former Brewers ace Zack Greinke is on the DL due to an injury to his collarbone sustained in a recent bench-clearing brawl with the San Diego Padres. (Carlos Quentin, who precipitated that brawl for the Padres, has been given an eight-game suspension. He’s appealing, so he’s still playing, but eventually he’ll have to sit.) And Narveson is on the DL with a blister on his pitching hand, so he’s obviously not a candidate for the rotation at this time.
One other suggestion I made requires more thought and far more information — that of sending Wily Peralta back down to AAA ball. Peralta had a good, solid start against the Cubs on Tuesday evening despite some horrible weather. But because it was so cold, and no one hit particularly well in that game for either side, it’s possible that Peralta’s performance looked a bit better than it actually was.
Even so, Peralta now has one terrible outing, and one good one. His ERA remains higher than it should be at 4.50 in twelve innings of work. I’m not convinced he’s the best answer over time, but he’s probably the best pitcher the Brewers have available unless they want to bring up Hiram Burgos from AAA Nashville. (Or until Capuano becomes available again down the line, providing “Cappy” can stay healthy.)
The main thing to remember with the Brewers right now, if you’re an ardent fan, is this: it’s still a young season. Anything can happen, no matter how bad things look right now. We have had some good pitching from Kyle Lohse and Jim Henderson (with relievers Figaro, Gorzelanny and even Gonzalez looking better every game) and some good hitting from Aoki, Segura, and Ryan Braun. Alex Gonzalez’s fielding all over the infield has been solid. Yuniesky Betancourt hasn’t been bad, especially considering he was a very late signee and had no Spring Training with the club. And so far, Maldonado has continued his hitting ways, as in a limited sample (four games), he’s hitting .286 thus far.
So it’s not hopeless.
Just remember, fellow fans, that it’s much easier for us to second-guess. I don’t often say something like this, because it is blindingly obvious, but here goes: Since we’re not there in the clubhouse, and we don’t know who has what nagging injury to deal with, or who may have come in hung over that might temporarily be in Roenicke’s doghouse for good reason, or who has the flu and can suit up to make things look good on the bench but can’t really play, we don’t have all the facts most of the time.
All of that said: I’d still have put in Maldonado, or maybe Lalli, to pinch-hit for Weeks last night. (I stand by that and will stick to it.) Though they are at least playing today — Maldonado’s catching for Yovani Gallardo, and Lalli is about to make his first-ever big-league start at first base — so maybe they’ll spark the Brewers to a big win.
Here’s hoping.
Milwaukee Brewers Roster Moves: Narveson to 15-day DL, Hart Moved to 60-day DL and Lalli Brought up from AAA
Folks, after the Milwaukee Brewers barely held off the Chicago Cubs in Chicago’s home opener yesterday, 7-4 (the Cubs left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth), I knew the Brewers would have to finally make a roster move or two.
However, I didn’t necessarily expect these moves.
First, left-hander Chris Narveson was placed on the 15-day DL with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. Narveson will probably be on the DL for longer than 15 days, and could be there as long as six weeks.
Second, the Brewers brought up the man I suggested a few days ago that they might want to take a look at — catcher/first baseman Blake Lalli. Lalli’s much more familiar with the contemporary pitching staff than either of the two incumbent catchers, Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado — and the way things have gone with the injury bug, the Brewers have had to play both catchers at the same time (Lucroy has caught, while Maldonado has played first base).
This way, the Brewers will always have at least one catcher on the bench into the late innings of every game. That’s a move I applaud.
The main reason, though, I’m only cautiously optimistic that these moves will help is this — to get Lalli on the 40-man roster, the Brewers had to transfer Corey Hart to the 60-day DL. The other choices to go to the 60-day DL were Aramis Ramirez, Mark Rodgers, Jeff Bianchi, and Taylor Green. The Brewers hope to have all of those players back by mid-May, particularly Ramirez.
However, there has been no really good news in the saga of Taylor Green. He has a problem with the labrum in his left hip, which he sustained in Spring Training. He’s been on the DL since March 22, and it’s unlikely he’ll play much before mid-May, if at all.
Everyone else — yes, even Rodgers — can be expected to come back well before that time. But with Green’s vexing injury, if I’d been Doug Melvin, I’d have been interested in putting Green on the DL instead.
Consider, please, that Green is a marginal player at this point, while Hart is a solid contributor with two past All-Star appearances to his credit. (Mind you, Green could still well improve, does play multiple positions, and is usually a solid defender.) That hip labrum will need a good amount of time and rest to improve, considering surgery does not seem to be in the cards. And injuries like this can nag you all season long if not properly treated to begin with . . . which is why with a known “fast healer” like Hart on the roster, I’d have been much happier with moving Green to the 60-day DL instead.
I am pleased that Lalli has come up, because I think he has tons of potential and it’s a very good thing to have another catcher on the roster. I’m not happy that Narveson has sustained this odd injury, but maybe it’s for the best that he’s been put on the DL. And, of course, I’m quite displeased that the Brewers moved Hart to the 60-day DL rather than Green under the circumstances.
But as the moves have been made, there’s nothing to be done about it.
Milwaukee Brewers 2013: A Dreadful First Week
The Milwaukee Brewers 2013 season is well underway, and there’s only one thing any observant writer can say: The Brewers look dreadful in just about every respect.
While there are some good things happening — Norichika Aoki’s four hits today (during his promotional bobblehead day), a clutch Sunday double by rookie OF-3B Josh Prince, the strong six innings pitched by Kyle Lohse on Friday, and the two good relief appearances by Jim Henderson among them — there are many more extremely frustrating things going on, which befits a team with a woeful 1-5 record.
First, and worst: The Brewers have faced many injuries already this season. Consider that half the Brewers starting infield is currently on the disabled list (DL) — first baseman Corey Hart, of course, had knee surgery back in February, and third baseman Aramis Ramirez tweaked his knee while sliding into second base on Friday evening. In addition, both prospective utility infielders, Taylor Green and Jeff Bianchi, are on the DL along with backup first baseman-outfielder Mat Gamel (out for the year), while Brewers rookie starting shortstop Jean Segura sustained a bruised left thigh on Sunday and is now considered “day-to-day.”
But the most frustrating injury is to Brewers’ MVP Ryan Braun, who is out with neck spasms. While not on the DL, he’s unable to play — the closest he’s come to actually getting in a game since Friday was standing in the on-deck circle earlier today — and that means that the Brewers three best hitters are currently unavailable.
That doesn’t mean the Brewers aren’t trying in the hitting department. They certainly are. Players like Aoki, Prince, the recently signed Yuniesky Betancourt, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez are all doing their best to score runs.
Second, many players are playing out of position due to injury. Betancourt and Gonzalez between them, shortstops by trade, have played every position except second base, while Prince, an outfielder, played third base for the first time since AA ball on Sunday due to a lack of bench players.
Third, while the Brewers are carrying eight relief pitchers, half of them aren’t doing well. The worst of the lot has been closer John Axford, who has an ERA of 20.25 and a record of 0-1 (being the pitcher of record this afternoon in an eleven-inning loss) with one blown save, four home runs, and six earned runs given up in 2 and 2/3 innings pitched.
Now, it is still early, so Axford’s extremely depressing ERA is misleading. But giving up six earned runs — with four of ’em being HRs — in less than three innings worth of work is extremely concerning. Worse yet, Axford has not looked sharp; his “three up, three down” tenth inning today is also, and quite unfortunately, misleading in that Axford gave up two fly ball outs that went to the wall (one in the deepest part of left center, the other to left) before striking out the third batter only after throwing a pitch wildly over the umpire’s head on a 1-2 count.
So, Axford has not looked good. Mike Gonzalez (13.50 ERA), who came in today in relief of Axford, has had a good appearance and at least two bad ones. And aside from Henderson, Brandon Kintzler, Alfredo Figaro and Chris Narveson, every other reliever has had at least one bad outing amidst a good outing or two.
Fourth, the starters, as a group, have also looked awful. A bad relief pitching corps could be circumvented if the starters were up to snuff. Unfortunately, the only starter who’s actually looked good to date is Lohse (with a sparkling 1.50 ERA). Gallardo (5.73 ERA) has looked, at best, serviceable. Estrada (7.20 ERA) looked awful against Arizona. Mike Fiers (10.80 ERA) had a forgettable start. Peralta (6.70 ERA) has looked overmatched since spring training.
As to who is available among starting pitchers? Well, former Brewers lefty Chris Capuano (12-12, 3.72 ERA in 2012) is a forgotten man in the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen, and is a better pitcher than Estrada, Fiers or Peralta. Narveson, who is in the bullpen probably because the Brewers are afraid of re-injuring his surgically repaired left shoulder, is also a better pitcher than Estrada, Fiers or Peralta. Those two pitchers would give the Brewers two lefties on the starting staff, and would at least make it harder for opposing teams to tee off on Brewers pitchers.
Also, Aaron Harang (10-10, 3.61 ERA) has already been designated for assignment by his new team, the Colorado Rockies. Harang, too, is a much better pitcher than Fiers or Peralta, and is probably better than Estrada. So if I were the Brewers, I’d certainly be willing to give Harang a look-see.
There are also two quality relievers currently without teams. One, Francisco Rodriguez, is well-known to the Brewers and is unlikely to be signed due to his 2012 struggles with the team. But the other, Brian Wilson, would be an intriguing choice — while Wilson would undoubtedly need time in Arizona in extended spring training before getting some rehab appearances in the minors, at least the Brewers would know that help would eventually be on the way.
My advice is as follows:
- Send Axford to a sports psychiatrist (if Axford isn’t already seeing one), as that may help.
- Sign Wilson, which would give Axford some competition, as Axford seems to do better when someone is seriously competing with him for the job.
- Trade for Capuano (and maybe even Harang).
- Send Peralta down, as it appears he needs more time in AAA ball, and think seriously about sending Fiers back down as well.
- And, last but not least, put Segura on the DL and call up Blake Lalli. The Brewers need a third catcher badly, and Lalli worked with the Brewers staff extensively in spring training due to both Lucroy and Martin Maldonado playing for Teams USA and Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. Lalli also hit well in the spring, and certainly cannot hurt the Brewers any at this point.
The last move is necessary because the Brewers are unwilling to put Braun on the DL and obviously cannot handle having only three healthy bench players. In Sunday’s eleven-inning game, the Brewers actually had to use Lohse, the best hitter of the available starting pitchers, as a pinch hitter because that was the only move left for manager Ron Roenicke. But Lohse struck out to end the game (of course).
As it stands, though, I feel sorry for Axford. I’m sure he’s trying his best, as is everyone else on the team — you don’t get into professional sports if you aren’t interested in doing well for yourself and your team, after all. But it’s obvious that something is still not right with Axford, and my guess is that whatever is it has more to do with his head than his mechanics or his will.
I just hope he can sort it out, and get back to pitching the way Brewers fans know he can. Or it’s likely to be another long, frustrating season for the Brewers in 2013.
Milwaukee Brewers to Start Five Right-handers in 2013
With the recent acquisition of right-handed pitcher Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012), the 2013 Milwaukee Brewers pitching rotation is now set.
The odd thing is, all five starters — Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Lohse, Mike Fiers and Wily Peralta — are right-handers. It’s highly unusual to go with an all right-handed starting rotation in this day and age, especially when you have a capable left-hander like Chris Narveson on your roster.
“But Barb,” I can hear you saying. “Narveson was injured last year. Don’t you remember? Season-ending arm injury, the 60-day disabled list, the whole enchilada?”
Of course I remember. But until Lohse was signed this past week to a three-year deal (the widely-reported terms were for $33 million over that time span, with some money being deferred), the Brewers’ brain trust maintained that Narveson would not be on a pitch count and would be in the starting rotation. Then, they suddenly changed their minds after Lohse was signed.
What I’ve seen out of Lohse over the years is heartening. He’s a smart pitcher, as Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez said in several news reports (including this one from ESPN Wisconsin’s Drew Olson). He has a steady, even temperament that works well with other teammates and rarely riles up opponents. And he’s saying and doing all the right things thus far, which you’d expect out of such a savvy veteran.
The only possible downside has to do with Lohse’s age. He’s thirty-four. Very few pitchers have been able to pitch well for three straight years at thirty-four. But it’s possible that Lohse will do very well and buck the trend, especially as he seems to be much like former Brewers pitcher Chris Capuano with regards to work-ethic and training regimen.
The signing of Lohse was welcome, as it now gives the Brewers two solid starters in Gallardo and Lohse, along with experienced swingman Estrada (now firmly ensconced in the starting rotation). But the Brewers will still have two pitchers in their starting rotation with little major league experience in Peralta and Fiers, which is why it’s so puzzling that Narveson was put in the bullpen despite a solid spring.
Of course, Narveson is coming off major surgery. The Brewers obviously don’t want to reaggravate any shoulder problems that may not have healed properly, which might be considered a wise move considering what happened to New York Mets starter (and left-hander) Johan Santana — about to miss all of 2013 after re-aggravating his left shoulder. Many past Brewers pitchers recovering from injury — including Capuano, Ben Sheets, Mark Rodgers, and others — have been placed on pitch counts while they get back to full arm strength. And every good baseball fan knows that it’s far easier for a manager to keep a pitcher to a stated pitch count if he’s coming out of the bullpen,
This, of course, is provided that the manager doesn’t overuse the relief pitcher by calling upon him several days in a row, as doing so negates any advantage sticking to a strict pitch count could possibly bring.
At any rate, Lohse is now in the Brewers’ fold. That’s good.
But it remains to be seen what the Brewers will get out of Fiers and Peralta, especially as Peralta’s exhibition start against the Chicago White Sox last night was, to be charitable, awful. (Four runs in four and a third innings is not good by any stretch of the imagination, even if two were unearned.) Peralta actually looked so shaky in the third inning that it was surprising when Brewers manager Ron Roenicke left him out there long enough to get rocked in the fifth.
Because of how young Peralta is, I’d say he’s the most likely candidate to be sent down if he’s unable to regain the form he flashed during the Brewers end-of-the-season run toward the second Wild Card spot. Which is why if I were Narveson, I’d bide my time, and be prepared to pitch multiple innings when called upon in order to stay as “stretched out” as possible (so a spot start, or return to the rotation down the lines, is less difficult).
Because it seems to me that if Narveson does all that, he’ll be rejoining the starting rotation sooner rather than later regardless of how Peralta and Fiers actually perform.
MLB: In Pursuit of Ryan Braun, Again?
Folks, some stories seem like broken records.
Take the story broken by Yahoo Sports through its blog “Big League Stew.” The headline reads, “MLB’s PED Vendetta Against Ryan Braun: Seeks Informants, Offers Immunity for Players Testimony.”
This article points out that Major League Baseball, in its infinite whatever, is using the Biogenesis Clinic information that has been leaked to the press as a way to go after Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun. Braun is the only major leaguer known to have successfully appealed a positive drug test, and MLB apparently just cannot handle it at all.
Instead, they wish to punish Braun after the fact despite losing their case in arbitration against Braun in 2012 — legally binding arbitration, at that.
MLB is even willing, according to an article at USA Today by Bob Nightengale (which the Yahoo Sports blog references), to grant some players immunity even if they test positive for PEDs themselves. Which seems extremely counterproductive if MLB’s interest here is in the cleanest sport possible . . . but more on that in a bit.
The reason MLB is upset is because their officials insist that Braun used performance-enhancing drugs due to a highly elevated level of testosterone in Braun’s urine sample back in 2011. Braun won his appeal in 2012 (here’s my earlier blog post on the subject); at the time, MLB “vehemently disagreed” with the decision. Later, MLB fired arbitrator Shyam Das, which looked terrible from a public relations standpoint — as apparently, the only arbitrators they want are the ones who rule in MLB’s favor.
As Ray Ratto pointed out in this column from February 23, 2012 (note that the lack of punctuation is also in the original column; the look of this has not been altered in any way save to cut out one link):
Rather than announce that Braun had won his appeal and had been found not guilty according to the procedures and protocols set up and approved BY Major League Baseball, it chose instead to swine-slap Das ruling, deciding that when they say guilty, they mean guilty.Now we dont know whether Braun hornswoggled the arbitrator, the system or nobody at all. We wont call him innocent or guilty. We will say, though, that he played by baseballs rules, he followed baseballs procedures, he went through baseballs process, and he was found not guilty.Thus, it is inconceivably bad form for baseball to scream about the result just because they wanted it to be something else.
Obviously, I agree with this assessment.
Ratto’s words, however, have proven prophetic in how MLB has behaved with regards to Braun. Take a look at this (also from Ratto’s above-referenced column):
The process is supposed to be about finding the truth, not getting the desired result. The desired result IS the truth, and baseballs system says Braun didnt do what he was accused of doing.MLBs reaction, though, shows that for it, testing isnt about determining a players guilt or innocence, its about nailing guys.”As a part of our drug testing program, the commissioner’s office and the players’ association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute, a statement from Rob Manfred, managements representative on the three-man appeals panel, read. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”Vehemently disagrees? Its your system, Robbo, the one your negotiators demanded. Is it only a good system when you win? (emphasis added by BC)
And if that’s the case, MLB is going to keep going after Braun in the same way Inspector Javert went after Jean Valjean in Les Miserables — even though it will do no good, much harm, and cause much strife for all concerned.
Look. I’ve thought and thought about this, and I’ve come to the same conclusions as in my original blog post on the Braun/PED issue:
Braun has been an outstanding player from the time the Brewers brought him up. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2007. His lifetime numbers are comparable to his MVP numbers; over his last five seasons, he’s averaged 36 HRs and 118 RBIs a season, and has hit over .300 every year except 2008 (when he “only” hit .285); his lifetime batting average, over five complete seasons, is .312.
So I don’t really see where Braun could’ve been taking anything that was of an enhancing nature, especially if he’s never tested positive before (and indeed, he hasn’t).
Jumping a few paragraphs, I said back in 2011:
. . . my view is that Braun’s statistical performance was well within his own normals. So it’s very hard for me to believe that Braun actually did take anything illegal of the PED variety; because of that, and because of my admittedly laissez-faire attitude toward baseball players and legal drugs, I believe Braun should be considered innocent until and unless he is proven guilty.
And as we now all know, Braun was found not guilty.
Which makes me think that Braun had a point. He wasn’t juicing then, isn’t juicing now, and that as much as anyone’s performance can be in these days of high-tech nutrition and personal trainers, he’s as clean as they come.
Since Braun has been proven to not have taken PEDs under binding arbitration, MLB should really let it go. Because the longer they pursue this mindless vendetta, the more they look like Inspector Javert — and with far less reason than that fictional French bureaucrat of old.
My final take? I suppose it’s MLB’s prerogative to look silly, spiteful and stupid when it comes to this apparent vendetta against Ryan Braun.
But speaking as a long-time baseball fan, I wish they’d knock it off.
First Sign of Spring: Milwaukee Brewers, Bob Uecker on Radio
Today, while driving around and doing errands, I finally felt the approach of spring.
What was it? (Hint, hint: if you’ve read the title, you already know.) Was it that the days are getting longer and the nights a wee bit shorter?
Nope.
Was it that the snowfall we just got a few days ago started to melt today?
Again . . . no.
Instead, it was hearing Bob Uecker (along with partner Joe Block) call a Milwaukee Brewers game in Spring Training that reminded me that spring will soon be here. Uecker is a Wisconsin institution, as he’s announced for the Brewers since the early 1970s — not to mention being enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, due to his skill as an announcer.
Hearing Uecker’s voice went a long way toward alleviating the otherwise cold, drab and somewhat dank day. This despite the fact that I only recognized the name of one player from last year — Alex Gonzalez, who’s trying to make the team as a backup shortstop and utility player after suffering a season-ending ACL tear in early 2012 — and only a few of the names of the prospects, either. (I recognized relief pitcher Johnny Hellweg, though — he came over in the Zack Greinke deal last year from Anaheim.)
Uecker’s voice was enough to remind me that soon, Corey Hart’s injury will be healed. He’ll join Rickie Weeks, Aramis Ramirez, Nori Aoki, Yovani Gallardo, John Axford and others, probably by the end of April (which is Hart’s timetable, not the Brewers’, as the latter is sticking to the end of May initial diagnosis until Hart proves otherwise).
And because of the recent purchase of DirecTV in the household, I’ll once again be able to watch games (perhaps listening to Uecker on the radio, as I enjoy his call of the game so much), which I hadn’t been able to do since the earliest part of 2012.
(Short answer as to why: I needed a break from TV. I got it. Now it’s back. We’ll see how it goes.)
Anyway, it’s time to give three cheers for Bob Uecker, Joe Block, and the Milwaukee Brewers — harbingers of spring.
Hip, hip . . . hooray! (Repeat as needed.)
It’s Official — Brewers First Baseman Mat Gamel Tears His ACL Again, Is Out for the Season
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel apparently has the worst luck of any major league baseball player going these days.
Not one full week into the official start of Brewers’ Spring Training, Gamel has been confirmed as having torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. This is the same ACL he tore during his ill-fated 2012 campaign while running into that ditch the San Diego Padres call an infield.
So Gamel’s now torn the same ACL two years in a row. That, my friends, is abysmal luck.
Consequently, Gamel will be out all of 2013. (See this link, courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, for further details.)
There are a few odd things about this particular injury according to the Journal-Sentinel report. First, Gamel tore the middle of the ACL, not either end as is more common. Most surgical failures — which constitute about ten percent of ACL surgeries — will re-tear on either end of the ligament, rather than in the middle where the ligament should be the strongest. Second, Gamel had spent eight solid months of rehabilitation prior to reporting to Spring Training. His rehab consisted of strength and flexibility exercises, and I’m sure his therapy was of the absolute best.
Consider, please, that in order to be able to hit, run, and field — strenuous activity by any other name — a baseball player has to be able to move laterally without strain, swing a bat with full extension and run without noticeable problems. Gamel had been able to do all of this prior to reporting to Spring Training.
In addition, he’d passed two physicals, where presumably he ran on a treadmill, had to do various arcane flexibility exercises (some akin to yoga poses), and did so in front of various doctors and physical therapists. He was given a clean bill of health because he had proven that he was ready to resume his life as an active, everyday baseball player.
Otherwise, he never would’ve stepped out onto the field.
And now, Gamel won’t get the chance to prove that he has what it takes to make it in the major leagues. At least, not in 2013. And possibly not at all, as two ACL tears on the same knee within eighteen months are a huge red flag to every general manager of every team in major league baseball.
However, I had a thought that might prove useful . . . if not to Gamel, maybe to someone else recovering from such an injury. It’s a long shot, but hear me out.
Last year, I read GOOSE, an autobiography written by ex-Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Tony Siragusa. Siragusa doesn’t actually have a working ACL in one of his knees, but he was able to work around this by coming up with a unique strengthening and conditioning plan. Because of this, Siragusa was able to play for twelve years in the NFL and he never missed a game.
But you’d have never known he had that sort of durability coming out of college.
That’s because Siragusa was told that maybe he’d play two years, or perhaps three, for the NFL, all because he didn’t really have an ACL. From this article from 2001 at Philly.com by Jerry Brewer of the Philadelphia Inquirer:
(Siragusa’s) quite the story, perhaps a great symbol for the NFL today. It is hyped as a league of parity and a league in which a hardworking player can become a success without having a great pedigree.
It is a league in which a then-280-pound tackle from the University of Pittsburgh could go undrafted (mostly because he has no anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee), endure nine knee surgeries, and play 11 years in an NFL career that reaches a plateau on Sunday when he plays in his first Super Bowl.
A wise old doctor from Indianapolis once told Siragusa his knee would hold up for two years in the NFL. Maybe three.
“The doctor examined my knee, and he said, ‘You have no ACL in your knee,’ ” Siragusa said. “I said, ‘You’re a good doctor.’ “
Boiling it down to brass tacks, Siragusa set out to prove the doctor wrong. And he did — by going to one of his trusted past college coaches, if memory serves (it’s been well over a year and a half since I read GOOSE, mind you), then setting up his brutal training regimen. This is what allowed Siragusa to play, and play well, for twelve long years without a working ACL in his knee.
My thought is that if Siragusa could do this and play football, it might be possible for Gamel to do the same thing. Gamel is only 27 years old. He may, if he’s fortunate, be able to find a strength and conditioning coach that can duplicate whatever it was that Siragusa managed to do. If so, this would allow Gamel to build up his legs to the point that even if his ACL fails for an unprecedented third time, he can still play despite the injury.
As I understand it, what Siragusa did in his conditioning program was to strengthen all of the muscles around where the ACL should be. These other muscles took the place of the ACL — or at least bore the strain of a rough and tumble NFL season — so isn’t it conceivable that Gamel could strengthen these same muscles around his ACL, which might take enough pressure off the soon-to-be twice-repaired ligament to allow him to continue his career?
However, if what Siragusa did is not able to be duplicated, perhaps Gamel would be better off to consider coaching. Or figure out some other passions to cultivate along with baseball to help him pass the time.
As of right now, it surely seems to me that unless Gamel is able to duplicate whatever it was that Siragusa did, Gamel’s body is telling him that it’s time to make other plans. Gamel has heart, moxie, and drive — everything you want in a major league baseball player — but if his body won’t hold up, he just isn’t going to be able to continue.
That’s why I hold out at least a slight amount of hope that Siragusa’s regimen may work for Gamel. Because it seems to be the best hope Gamel has.
And any hope beats no hope at all. Especially if you’re the unluckiest Brewer this side of Brad Nelson (Mr. “0-for-21” himself).
————
Note: Corey Hart has said publicly here that he will help Gamel all he possibly can. Hart, who is truly a class act, said he feels for Gamel and will encourage him to continue to pursue rehab. The Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak quoted Hart as saying:
“I’m just going to hug him and hope things work out. He’s going to have to have support everywhere. This is a tough situation. The biggest thing for him is suport (sic) in here. I told him to move in with me and I’ll help as much as I can. I’ll be leaving before him (to go on minor-league rehab) so I’ll let him stay at the house.”
(This is just one more reason why Corey Hart is my favorite current Brewers player. Just sayin’.)
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