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July 2008 - Posts
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UPDATE 07-31-08 12:40pm - - The rest of the info on the Ken Griffey Jr. deal is in per Danny Knobler at CBS Sportsline. The Reds will get minor leaguers Danny Richar and Nick Masset from the White Sox, and the Reds will pay most of Griffey's remaining salary. Griffey has signed off on the deal as well, so the deal is in the books.
- Arthur Rhodes will not be a Milwaukee Brewer this season. The Florida Marlins, who are unexpectedly busy this afternoon, nabbed him for right-hander Gaby Hernandez. That's not a terrible return for the Mariners, even though Hernandez' home run rate in Triple-A is highly concerning. Nothing to complain about on Seattle's end, as Rhodes was a late free agent pick-up early in 2008.
- The Manny Ramirez saga continues. It does appear that the talks are stalling, but Manny has signed that he would accept a deal to Florida. That is a big step in the right direction for the two teams. It has also been said that the Pirates will back out of the deal completely if they don't get what they want. My guess is they want Jed Lowrie from Boston. That's just a hunch though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Brewers got crushed for the second night in a row, but today is the non-waiver trade deadline. This will provide the baseball world with tons of news and rumors until 3pm CT. The Crew does take the mound at 1:05pm in the series finale, so hopefully the game is more interesting than the deadline. That would be a change from the last couple nights. - Milwaukee has been brutal at the plate with runners in scoring position. Since the All-Star Break, the Crew is hitting a putrid 19-115 (.165) in those clutch situations. Only the Tampa Bay Rays are in a bigger slump with RISP. We all know the team is pressing, and there is nothing Ned Yost can do to calm the guys down at the plate. It's going to come down to players buckling down and simply doing their job. Just put the bat on the ball. Don't try to be a hero. It will come around though.
- Team Wisconsin laments over the beating the Crew took last night and says the team should call up Mat Gamel in September. Apparently, Sports Illustrated agrees with that sentiment. The Brewers should not call up Gamel unless he is going to get consistent playing time. It appears Huntsville will not make the playoffs, unless they go on a second half tear in the final month of August, but Gamel needs to work on his defense on his own where he can get personalized attention. The team may want to get his feet wet for next season, but they cannot call him up just to sit on the bench and pinch hit once a week. He needs more consistent work than that.
- Al's Ramblings wonders if the Brewers would consider sending Carlos Villanueva to the Rockies for Brian Fuentes. No thanks. I'll keep the cheap and effective reliever over the two-month rental who tanked it late last season.
- Al also quotes the Seattle Times as saying the Crew will either get Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado before the deadline. Neither of these players are much of an upgrade, especially for what Doug Melvin would have to offer to get it done. The bullpen is not that bad. Eric Gagne looks serviceable lately, and Guillermo Mota has been taken out of meaningful situations. That seems pretty good to me.
- Doug Melvin said yesterday that there is nothing going on the trade front, yet he might have a little something up his sleeve. I'm encouraged by all the reports that say the Brewers are unwilling to part with any more top prospects. That indicates no big move is just around the corner. That is, unless the Crew wants to do something drastic like ship out Carlos Villanueva or Rickie Weeks. Doubtful.
- How would this starting rotation look with Yovani Gallardo in the mix? Brewers fans just may get to find out in September. The organization is cautiously optimistic that the young right-hander can rejoin the team and be effective in the final month of the season. If that doesn't give you a reason to smile on this gloomy morning, I don't know what will.
- The Brew Town Beat wants the Crew to send Rickie Weeks down to Nashville and call up Tony Gwynn Jr. to help jumpstart the offense. The problem with that is that Gwynn wouldn't get much playing time. Yost still favors Gabe Kapler in center over Gwynn, and it's more beneficial to the young man's development to stay in the minors until September. It will be interesting to see what the Brewers do this off-season. They will likely pick up Mike Cameron's option, but that doesn't mean I will be happy about it.
- Right Field Bleachers says that the Mike Cameron of 2008 is the Geoff Jenkins of 2005. That doesn't make me feel good.
- Brew Crew Ball interviews RHP Donovan Hand. The big right-hander has flown through the system thus far in his one-year professional career, but has slowed down a bit in Huntsville. He is now on the 7-day DL with an undisclosed injury. Here's to hoping he will be back throwing that hard sinker sometime soon.
- The Baseball Analysts take a look at the best and worst defenders in the league. There is a long method that I will not bore you with, but J.J. Hardy makes the list as a top-20 defender. Sorry to disappoint you all, but Rickie Weeks is not one of the worst fielders in the league. I know, blasphemy, right?
- Manny Ramirez may finally be traded in a three-team megadeal, but the Pirates and Marlins seem to be holding things up. The Pirates are asking for more than they should get...as always. The Marlins are insisting that Mike Stanton not be included in the deal, while the Pirates won't give it up. Now some of the Red Sox front office don't want to see Manny traded. If he takes 6 seconds to run to first again tonight, they may regret that. Ramirez is dogging it and trying to get traded out of Boston.
- The Reds have agreed to send Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox. These talks flew extremely low under the radar. There is no word as to who the Reds would get in return for this deal, but Griffey would still have to sign off on the deal. He has been in the league 10 years and with the same team for 5 years. He has his 10-and-5 protection clause.
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The struggling Milwaukee Brewers certainly hit the red-hot Chicago Cubs at the wrong time. Ryan Dempster spun a gem against the quiet Brewers offense, and the Cubs knocked the ball around the ballpark. Some defensive miscues and the inept offensive attack all contributed to the 7-2 defeat. The Crew is now four games back from first place and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for second place and the Wild Card lead. What a dreadful homestand for a team that normally plays its best ball at home. I'm largely going to ignore the pitching in this article, as I thought Manny Parra threw the ball reasonably well. His command was off at times, but he mostly kept the ball down in the strike zone. The Cubs hit some difficult pitches to score runs. That doesn't even consider the first two runs that never should have scored. Even the ball Mark DeRosa hit up the middle in the top of the first was not well hit. Parra jammed him and the ball just found the right place in the diamond. Parra could have pitched better, but he deserved a better fate than what he got. Another example is the ball Reed Johnson somehow hit up the middle. The ball was practically down in the dirt, but he got a piece of it and shot it up the middle for an RBI-single. Carlos Villanueva couldn't have put that ball in a better spot. The Cubs hitters are just on fire right now. They are a scary team when their offense is pounding out double-digit hits every game. Let's take a look at the offense: - J.J. Hardy has been cooling off a bit at the plate, but you cannot be too upset about that. He's been so incredibly hot at the plate that he has been due for a little regression for some time. His 0-4 at the plate tonight was disappointing. He was not alone though. Don't put too much stock in his performance the last couple days. Hardy will have some peaks and valleys like everyone else, and he's just in a little lull right now. The only concern is his lack of walks right now. He's trying to hit his way out of his slump. That rarely works. Ask Prince Fielder.
- I will bunch Ryan Braun and Corey Hart in the same group. Calm down at the plate! It seems they commit to swinging at a certain pitch before it is even thrown. They have the best intentions. They are just trying way too hard to bring in runners in scoring position. How many high fastballs has Braun swung at in the past two games? Hart is swinging at every change-up he sees. The problem with that is the balls are in the dirt or nowhere close to the strike zone. An 0-8 night with 6 strikeouts is pathetic. They need to relax at the plate and take what the pitcher gives them. Kind of like Prince, again.
- Speaking of Prince Fielder, he has been the only Brewer lately with a solid approach at the plate. Wednesday night was a perfect example of his relaxed and mature approach at the dish. The big guy went 2-3 with an opposite field single and a solo home run and a walk. He is rarely swinging at a pitch he cannot handle, and he is content to take a walk. Other Brewers hitters need to take a page out of Prince's book and shorten their swings and just put the bat on the ball. This obnoxious amount of strikeouts simply needs to stop. It causes things like Manny Parra getting a lead-off double then him not scoring to happen quite a bit.
- I have decided that Bill Hall and Mike Cameron do not have poor plate discipline. They simply have horrendous pitch recognition. How many times did Cam and Hall argue balls and strikes on pitches that had been called strikes all night? Any fastball seems to surprise them late in the count. Perhaps they are guessing pitches? It's sad when Manny Parra looks more comfortable at the plate than your #6 and #7 hitters. It feels like they are automatic outs when stepping up to the plate.
- The offense as a whole needs to relax. Even Jim Skaalen says every player at the plate is trying too hard and pressing. They all want to hit the ball out of the park and be the hero in the biggest series of the year. It's causing them to strikeout too much and not help the team. It is causing them to lose confidence, which simply causes a longer slump. It's a vicious cycle, and the Crew needs to break it in the near future, or the second half could be very much like how April went for the Crew's offense. That is not what any Brewers fan wants.
Records: Brewers (60-48); Cubs (64-44) Game Changing Play Ryan Theriot's two-RBI triple in the sixth inning took all the wind out of Milwaukee's sails for the game. It put the Crew down 4-1, and it felt like a repeat of Tuesday night all over again. After that play, the Brewers seemed to almost concede the loss to the Cubs. It's depressing to watch a team play that has no fire, and that's what Milwaukee looked like after the sixth inning. They appeared to stop trying. On Tap The Brewers and Dave Bush will try to take the series finale against the Chicago Cubs and Rich Harden. The game will start at 1:05pm CT at Miller Park. At this point, one out of four would seem like a victory for the Crew. Hopefully Bush looks sharper than he did in his last outing. Good thing that road-home platoon is working.
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Nashville Sounds (43-68), 22.0 GB | Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | R | H | E | Nashville
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | | 5 | 8 | 0 | Sacramento
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 6 | 1 |
LHP Sam Narron - ND, 7.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K - 4.57 ERA
RHP Luis Pena - (W, 2-2) 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K - 5.91 ERA
DH Jay Gibbons - 3-4, 2B, run - .333 BA
LF Hernan Iribarren - 4-4, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, run - .279 BA
Huntsville Stars (18-21), 5.0 GB LHP David Welch - ND, 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K - 3.45 ERA
RHP Juan Sandoval - (L, 2-4) 2.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - 3.38 ERA
CF Lorenzo Cain - 1-4, HR (2), RBI, 2 K - .253 BA
DH Alcides Escobar - 1-3, 2B, BB, SB (27) - .333 BA
Brevard County Manatees (15-21), 6.5 GB Double-header postponed due to rain.
West Virginia Power (27-12), -- GB LHP Daniel Merklinger - (L, 4-8) 5.2 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs (2 ER), 2 BB, 5 K - 5.71 ERA
RHP Pedro Lambertus - 1.0 IP, 2 hits, 4 runs (0 ER), 3 BB, 3 K - 4.05 ERA
2B Eric Farris - 2-3, 3B, run - .280 BA
RF Caleb Gindl - 3-4, 2B, run - .294 BA
LF Steffan Wilson - 2-4, RBI - .276 BA
Helena Brewers (1-2), 2.0 GB | Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | | R | H | E | Helena
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 5 | | 15 | 14 | 0 | Great Falls
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 10 | 15 | 3 |
RHP Santo Manzanillo - ND, 3.0 IP, 7 hits, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K - 8.46 ERA
RHP Mark Willinsky - (W, 3-1) 3.0 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K - 4.50 ERA
DH Michael Roberts - 3-5, 2B, HR (3), 5 RBI, BB, 3 runs, 2 K - .303 BA
RF Mike Vass - 2-5, 2 RBI, BB, run, K - .235 BA
1B Brock Kjeldgaard - 2-6, 2B, RBI, SB (6), 2 runs, 3 K - .293 BA
AZL Brewers (1-1), 1.5 GB RHP Damon Krestalude - (L, 0-3) 2.0 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K - 2.79 BA
CF Cutter Dykstra - 1-2, 2 BB, K - .300 BA
2B Allixon Cequea - 4-4, 2B, RBI - .282 BA
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The Brewers are sending out left-hander Manny Parra to stop the bleeding tonight. It may not be a good match-up for him. Manny tends to nibble and get into 2-2 and 3-2 counts quite often. The Cubs will not be a team to chase too many pitches, so his pitch count may be quite large early in the game. Let's hope not. The Brewers offense has been relatively non-existent with runners in scoring position lately, so the Crew will need a big night from Parra. - Brewers Bar is again upset with Ned Yost. The Brewers manager should have visited the mound to calm down Ben Sheets during the sixth, or at least give him a break to get his thoughts together. I agree that it was strange that neither Yost or Mike Maddux came out for a little pep talk, but I highly doubt it cost us the game. You can talk to the Brewers hitters and their 10 strikeouts about that.
- For those who thought Ray Durham was going to get more consistent playing time, that is now highly unlikely to happen. After fouling a pitch off his right shin, Durham is day-to-day with a pretty nasty bruise. That seems about on par with how the homestand has gone thus far...
- The Brew Town Beat reminds us why Cubs fans are not considered classy on any level. Apparently, they are not taught how to speak correctly in grade school either. That's fine, our stadium is better, and they are legitimately concerned about our team when their payroll is huge. Once in a while I like to remind Cubs fans that they should have a better team on the field because they have the cash to do so. If they get beat, it's much more depressing than the Pirates losing. At least the Pirates have a legitimate reason. Cubs fans don't really like that. They usually respond by saying, "It doesn't matter!" or "We're still better than you!" Good arguments.
- Battlekow from Brew Crew Ball has a great look at how some of the biggest Brewers prospects are doing thus far in the season. He attempts to account for luck and park effects. It's interesting that Alcides Escobar is projected to be a little better hitter in the bigs than most project. Chris Dennis from Helena also gets a huge boost in numbers due to a lot of bad luck. It will be intriguing to see if his numbers jump up due to that.
- Russell Branyan has not been getting regular playing time, and his swing has taken a turn for the worst because of it. He did hit a big home run on Monday night, but that has been rare since early June. Brewers fans will still remember the torrid stretch in late May where he hit his 11 home runs, especially his pinch hit, game-tying home run. That was sweet.
- Brewers Fanatics has another Prospect Watch posted, this time for LHP Evan Frederickson. He supposedly has a big fastball, but his velocity is terribly inconsistent. The mechanics are way too long, which account for the massive variation in velocity. It will be interesting to see if the Brewers play with his delivery during the off-season. They would be wise to, in my opinion.
- Coming back from injury surprisingly early, Chris Errecart is back with the Huntsville Stars. Their offense has been struggling lately, so perhaps Errecart's bat can light a fire under the team. He has big power and a fairly high average, but his plate discipline is horrendous. That will have to change next season in Nashville for him to have a chance with the Brewers. If it doesn't improve, he'll likely be traded.
- Remember how the Brewers traded Rob Bryson to the Cleveland Indians? He is reporting shoulder discomfort. That is never a good sign. I hope it's not too serious and he's back on the mound relatively soon. Still, the Brewers might have known something about that before trading him. Doubtful, but a possibility.
- Josh Kalk from The Hardball Times takes a look at when pitchers "double up," or throw the same pitch twice in the same zone. As you can expect, fastballs are never good to throw in the same place twice. Someone should tell David Riske that. He has quite the penchant for throwing two letter-to-shoulder high fastballs twice in a row to try to induce a pop up. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't. That's what happened with Aramis Ramirez Monday night. That was scary enough, thanks.
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This wasn't supposed to happen against Milwaukee's pocket aces. For the second evening in a row, the Chicago Cubs topped the Milwaukee Brewers in Miller Park. The difference Tuesday night was the fact that Milwaukee didn't put up much of a fight. The offense didn't show up, and Ben Sheets faltered in the sixth inning. The game appeared to be a pitcher's battle from the beginning, with the two teams embracing very different approaches at the plate. The Brewers came out swinging against Carlos Zambrano. This kept his pitch count low and the runs off the board. They could simply not get good wood on any of Zambrano's pitches. The Cubs, on the other hand, worked the count and drove up Sheet's pitch count early in the game. The differences between the two offenses became apparent, and it's fairly obvious to see which approach worked. The Cubs trounced the Crew 7-1 in a laugher. Milwaukee's struggles at the plate can best be understood by looking at the first inning. Ray Durham shot a ball up the middle to start the game with a lead-off single. Brewers fans around the country saw this as a sign of good things to come. That feeling was quickly erased, however, after J.J. Hardy grounded into a double play. Ryan Braun then struck out on a pitch that was not even close to the strike zone. Eight pitches and Zambrano got out of the first inning unscathed. The offense struggled all night after that. Can someone tell Mike Cameron that he can swing when he has two strikes on him? That guy strikes out looking more than any power hitter I have ever seen. I'm not exactly sure what he was looking for in the second inning, but that fastball middle-in apparently was not good enough for him. I would say to put Gabe Kapler in for a few games, but his offensive rhythm is gone because of a lack of playing time. Ironically, however, Milwaukee's only run came on a Cameron RBI-double. Jason Kendall looks utterly lost at the plate as well. I understand he is not in the lineup to be an offensive force, but he can do something else than fly out to the right fielder once in a while. It would at least make me feel like he has a chance at getting a hit. He will get on a little hot streak where the singles fall in from everywhere, and that time cannot come soon enough. I'm sure I do not speak for just myself when I say it feels like an automatic out when he's at the plate. Fortunately, he's done a heck of a job behind the dish all season. The Crew will be happy to have him back next season. In general, the Brewers have been horrid with runners in scoring position. They are dead last in the league since the San Francisco series, and that can be attributed to the free-swinging ways of Milwaukee's young hitters. Am I the only one that sees that Rickie Weeks will either strike out, pop up to the second baseman or get a hit to left field? There is almost literally no other option for him. Corey Hart and Ryan Braun are guaranteed to swing at the first pitch with RISP, and Mike Cameron will likely look at a called third strike. The team needs to understand that they simply need to get the bat on the ball. With a runner on second with no outs or one out, the team does not need a home run. Shorten up the swing and try for right field. I'm sure Jim Skaalen has hammered it into their heads all season, but it's time to put the theory into practice. The Cubs do it, which is why they rarely fall into an offensive funk like the Brewers are in currently. Extra base hits are nice, but with RISP an no outs, a nice little single or a grounder to the right side of the infield would do just fine. Tell Russell Branyan that before he strikes out with a guy at first and second with no outs in the second inning. Needless to say, the Brewers didn't score. This team has some serious team OBP issues to work out in the off-season.
On to Ben Sheets. Big Ben looked dominate in the early going. His velocity was up in the early innings, and his curve had a nice break to it. The Cubs did lay off the balls down in the zone fairly well all night and drove up his pitch count early. The fatigue set in during the sixth inning, when Chicago pounded out five runs against Milwaukee's ace. The biggest blow came when Ryan Braun made a horrendous sliding attempt at a ball hit by Kosuke Fukudome. It skipped by the Brewers left fielder and ended up being a two-RBI triple. Four singles later, the Cubs had a 6-0 lead and had dashed all hopes the Brewers had at stagging a comeback against Zambrano. One interesting thing I noticed during the game was that Sheets used his change-up a lot. This is incredibly encouraging, as a solid third pitch could make Ben that much better on the mound. It would not allow hitters to sit on the curve on an obvious off-speed count. Unfortunately, that solid change-up did not translate into a good start. It will serve him well down the road, however. There is nothing wrong with Sheets. He has not thrown the ball exceptionally well in recent weeks, but it is not unusual for pitchers to fall into a lull for a couple weeks. He will pull himself out of it, and the team will improve dramatically because of it. In his last six starts, his ERA has been a whopping 4.75. The funny thing is I would take that from Jeff Suppan right now. With that said, Sheeter does need to get his act together on the mound. Milwaukee's post-season hopes largely lie on his shoulders. This team may simply go as far as CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets take them.
The Crew dropped their second in a row to the Cubs and their third in a row. They are now three games back of the Cubs in the NL Central and only one game ahead of the Cardinals. This has been a disastrous homestand for Milwaukee. Who would have thought the team would desire to get back on the road? Records: Brewers (60-47); Cubs (63-44) Hero of the Game: Mike Cameron For all the criticism I have given Cameron for consistently looking at called third strikes, he quietly put together a pretty good night at the plate. He doubled in Russell Branyan for the Brewers' only run of the game and got on base three times Tuesday night. His decent walk rate and above-average defense in center will guarantee continued playing time, but his bat needs to improve. He is over 15 points below his career batting average, which is saying a lot when it is a whole .249. It will be interesting to see if Milwaukee decides to pick up his option for the 2009 season. My guess is they will opt out to save money, but there are not too many appealing options this winter. Goat of the Game: Ben Sheets An ace cannot give up 11 hits and 6 earned runs in an important game. Ryan Braun's interesting play in left field certainly contributed to his less than stellar line, but his pitches were catching far too much of the plate far too often. This game reminded me very much of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he imploded in the seventh inning, giving up three home runs. Let's hope he doesn't catch the Dave Bush disease and make a habit of giving up big innings in the sixth and seventh inning every game. On Tap Left-hander Manny Parra will try to stop the bleeding against right-hander Ryan Dempster and the Cubs in Game 3 of the series. The game will start at 7:05pm CT at Miller Park. This match-up doesn't appear to stack up too well for the Crew. Dempster is a right-handed strikeout machine. Milwaukee has made them look pretty good throughout the season. Add Milwaukee's recent offensive struggles to the mix, and it might be a long evening.
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