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September 2008 - Posts
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Dale Sveum and the Milwaukee Brewers announced their postseason roster. In a surprising move, Brad Nelson will accompany the team over veteran Joe Dillon. I wrote earlier today that Nelson should have been considered over Tony Gwynn Jr. to leave some room for the versatile Dillon on the squad, but the team felt that Gwynn was needed to give the team another option in the outfield if it is needed. Ben Sheets will not be on the active roster for the playoffs, which has to be devastating for the long-time Brewer. His elbow is simply not healthy, and he would be hurting the team by trying to pitch against the Phillies. He will be replaced by Yovani Gallardo on the postseason roster. The team did reward Sheets and five other Brewers by granting them privilege to don uniforms in the dugout with the team. David Riske, Joe Dillon, Vinny Rottino, Gabe Kapler, and Russell Branyan will also be joining the team in uniform. Players like Tim Dillard, Alcides Escobar, and Mark DiFelice will be with the team, but not in uniform. The young left-hander, Mitch Stetter, will replace David Riske on the playoff roster to give Dale Sveum another lefty at his disposal against the left-handed heavy Phillies. With Stetter, Brian Shouse, and Manny Parra, the bullpen could be much better than many believe. Salomon Torres will still have to step up in the ninth inning if the Crew is going to go anywhere in October. Per Tom Haudricourt, here is your postseason roster: Pitchers (12)
RHP Dave Bush
RHP Eric Gagne
RHP Yovani Gallado
RHP Seth McClung
LHP Manny Parra
LHP CC Sabathia
LHP Brian Shouse
LHP Mitch Stetter
RHP Jeff Suppan
RHP Salomon Torres
RHP Carlos Villanueva
Catchers (2)
Jason Kendall
Mike Rivera
Infielders (7)
Craig Counsell
Ray Durham
Prince Fielder
Bill Hall
J.J. Hardy
Brad Nelson
Rickie Weeks
Outfielders (4)
Ryan Braun
Mike Cameron
Tony Gwynn Jr.
Corey Hart
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First and foremost, make sure you check today's links in the Round 'em Up.
Cinderella teams come and go every year, but it's the one that sticks around the longest that makes the great story. The Brewers have had a tremendous amount of ups and downs this season, culminating in the firing of their manager. But have things really changed all that much, since Sveum has come aboard? The thought is yes, but ultimately, the numbers would indicate otherwise. A few months ago I wrote a piece responding to a bunch of people saying this team's strength is its big bats. After a little bit of number crunching, I figured out that the strength of this team is undoubtedly pitching. It still is. The Brewers went 6-1 in their last six games, scoring 35 runs to average five runs per game. But there's a bit of a scary and encouraging note to this. Brewers hitters batted .231/.312/.371 over that period for a whopping OPS of .683. Ouch. The slumps have continued in mighty fashion, but were saved only by a few long balls and incredible pitching. Just think about the two wins against the Cubs and you'll know what I'm talking about. The Brewers gave up just two runs in their victories, accumulating just 13 hits and giving up the identical amount. Somehow the Brewers were able to outscore the Cubs 8-2 over that time. The reason being, CC, Seth and Soup all avoided the big inning and the long ball. So what's so encouraging about this scary thought you may ask? In the previous seven games the Brewers were 1-6 and hit .234/.320/.385 for a blistering .705 OPS. Hot! Or not at all. This time around they managed just 25 runs for an average of 3.6 runs per game. That's just not going to cut it. But here's where it gets interesting. During that time, the Brewers had three sacrifice hits and no sac flies. In the final seven games of the season, they had five sacrifices and four sacrifice flies. Dale Sveum said he wanted to play small ball, and he's doing it, and doing it to perfection. Stats say that it's pretty much a bad idea to bunt and try and steal bases. Your run expectancy usually goes down, with the exception of bunting with runners on first and second with no one out. But considering how rough this offense has been over the past month, Sveum suddenly realized that the Brewers can't sit and wait for the long ball or consecutive hits. They have to move runners over to third when they can and scrape some runs together until the bats come alive again. Nerves have gotten to this team a bit. The offensive production has dropped considerably over the past month. In August, they hit .269/.343/.449. In September, .227/.311/.370, and it makes you want to throw up a little. But having a manager that understands the situation his team is in and has adjusted his strategy, has helped a considerable amount. Hopefully this low average and slugging percentage will remedy itself in Philadelphia. The Phillies are tossing two lefties in the first three games, which is a positive for the Brewers who hit .269/.348/.458 against lefties and .246/.317/.421 against righties. Whatever the splits may be, if the Brewers want to be that Cinderella story and the next Wild Card winner to make their way to the World Series, they're going to need a little bit more out of the offense.
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[Insert opening here.]
Yovani Gallardo
will be pitching Game 1 of the NLDS tomorrow. It's a big gamble on
the part of Dale Sveum, as Yo is still trying to come back from
tearing his ACL back in May. He has only thrown in one game since
that time, so his stuff may not be as good the second time around.
Not to mention the riskiness of sending such a young pitcher into
the biggest Brewers game in 26 years.
Then again, I
trust Yo on the mound far more than any other Brewers pitcher not
named CC Sabathia. It's the only decision that could have
been made, but Milwaukee is banking on a lot to go right. Speaking
of CC Sabathia, he will be pitching Game 2 on three days rest again.
He's a horse.
Believe it or
not, Bud Selig still cares about the Milwaukee Brewers. He was not
afraid to admit he had tears in his eyes after the Crew made the
postseason. Either it was happiness, or sadness that he didn't
still own the team. After all, he could have been cashing in on the
Crew playing October baseball. I'm not that cynical though.
Jeff Cirillo
stops in to write for Right Field Bleachers. He talks about the
upcoming Phillies series and how he's gained respect for a hand-full
of Brewers pitchers.
Tom
Haudricourt says the Brewers need to make some difficult roster
decisions. In my opinion, Ben Sheets should not be included
on the postseason roster, as he almost certainly won't be able to
pitch again this season. Yovani Gallardo takes that spot.
The next issue is to replace David Riske. Sveum will most
likely go with another lefty and give Mitch Stetter a shot.
I'd love to see Mark DiFelice make the roster, but that's
highly unlikely. Finally, Gabe Kapler will most likely be
replaced. TH says that Tony Gwynn Jr. presumably will get
the nod. Gwynn doesn't bring anything but speed to the table
though. I'd much rather see Brad Nelson get the call and
have a good lefty bat to come off the bench.
Tim Kurkjian
from ESPN.com previews the Brewers-Phillies series and says the Crew
will fall in five games. I'm not sure what I predict will happen
quite yet, but Kurkjian makes some persuasive arguments. Ryan
Howard has been on an insane hot streak too. Take a look at the
preview. It's good stuff.
On the other
hand, Baseball Musings takes a look at the head-to-head stats
between the Brewers and Phillies and gives the Phillies a 75% chance
of winning. The problem with that is that Milwaukee is playing far
better baseball at this point than they were earlier in September
when the Crew got swept in Philly. There is some context that must
go with numbers, believe it or not.
Josh Kalk
from The Hardball Times has a short preview of the Phillies series.
He predicts that the Crew will take the series in five games, but I
cannot help but think its because he's a Brewers fan. I'm not sure
I see where the argument comes from other than from faith. Then
again, if CC Sabathia is throwing in Game 5, I have full
confidence that Milwaukee can pull out the “W” and the series.
Beyond the
Box Score says that fans cannot give CC Sabathia a mulligan
for his first few starts of the 2008 season, but his numbers have
been historically good since that point. The amazing thing is that
his BABIP is the highest other than Roger Clemens on that
list. That means CC has been pitching lights out while batters are
still having average luck getting the ball in play. Sabathia's not
lucky, just good.
Jeff Sackmann
at Brew Crew Ball writes an Ode to Carsten Charles. CC averaged 7.7
innings per start. That's ridiculous.
Brew Crew
Ball also has an Ode to the other CC, Craig Counsell. While
many argue that his bat is useless (and it largely is), his OBP has
gone nothing but up in the last three months. His OBP in September
is an impressive .450. Not to mention we all know that he has a
penchant for walking in important runs with the bases loaded.
Before Brewers fans lament over the fact that Craig has been seeing
more playing time, they should read the Ode to the other C.C.
The PTBNL
story may finally be coming to a close sometime today. Since the
Brewers made the playoffs, the Indians get to select the fourth
player that will be included in the trade package. The Cleveland
Plain Dealer is reporting that Cleveland will choose either Michael
Brantley or Taylor Green, which has been speculated for
quite some time. It seems the Indians are leaning towards Brantley,
but they have injury reservations about both players. It's going to
be difficult to see either player depart the Brewers farm system,
but CC Sabathia has obviously been worth the price. I'm simply
surprised Taylor Green is not their choice. They must feel he's not
suited to play second base in the majors.
The Brew Town
Beat argues that CC Sabathia should with the NL Cy Young
award. I have been arguing against this for the past couple months,
but I have completely turned around on this issue. CC has by far
had the biggest impact of any NL pitcher on his respective team,
while putting up insane numbers that are far better than anyone
else's. He went three straight games on three days rest, for
goodness sake! Not only that, but he also finished that third game
with a complete game that put the Crew in the playoffs. It's a
no-brainer, in my opinion.
The Milwaukee
Brewers will be seeing more of Kyle Lohse next season. The
right-hander signed a four-year $41M deal with the St. Louis
Cardinals yesterday. He is another example of the wonders Dave
Duncan can do with a pitcher's arm. Many people are criticizing the
deal and comparing it to the Carlos Silva deal with the
Mariners, but Lohse is a better pitcher than is Silva. Lohse will
also still be working with Dave Duncan, which helped him immensely
in 2008. With that said, however, Lohse is not work $41M. I'd
rather have him than Jeff Suppan for that cash though.
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Brewers Nation is still on cloud nine after yesterday, so let's see what people are saying about the Milwaukee Brewers making the PLAYOFFS! "I'm going to be a cheerleader for awhile. I ain't got no choice. It
doesn't look good (to pitch again this year) but you never know. I
won't stop trying."
"You become a fan of an organization when you're in it for eight
years. People who don't think you do are bogus. In the end, good times.
It's a lot better than celebrating 106-loss seasons." -- Ben Sheets - "I've been here six years. I'm just happy for everybody that's been
here. It's been an emotional roller coaster for anybody who has been
part of this." -- Doug Melvin
- "It's unbelievable. I came back here two years ago because I thought
this was a bunch of guys who could get this done. To validate that
decision and make it come true for the people of Milwaukee, it's
special. I'm so happy we could do it for everybody in this city." -- Craig Counsell
- "I sent Ned an e-mail. He
went through 93% of the season. I backed Ned and supported him." -- Doug Melvin
- "Ned did an unbelievable job for six years, got this organization back
on track. It's unfortunate what happened, that ownership felt whatever
it felt. Ned Yost deserves a lot of this credit. He'll always be a dear
friend." -- Dale Sveum
- "A total of 3,068,458 fans came through Miller Park this season, for
an average of 37,882 fans per game. That's 89.3% of capacity at Miller
Park and testimony to strong fan support.
What is notable is the fact that the Brewers passed the Boston Red
Sox in attendance this year. The Red Sox drew a total of 3,048,250 fans
this season, good for 10th place in attendance in Major League
Baseball. The Brewers were ninth in the league in attendance." -- Don Walker (Milwaukee JS) - "With the effort, Sabathia completed one of the best National League
pitching performances in the live-ball era. Now, it's on to the
playoffs. Sabathia's postseason history is shaky, as his performance
against the Red Sox in last year's ALCS was not impressive. In his
career, Sabathia is 1-2 with a 7.17 ERA in four postseason starts." -- ESPN.com's Baseball Tonight
- "Might Yovani Gallardo get the start for the Brewers in game one, or will it go to Manny Parra?" -- Baseball Musings
"When Ryan Church flied out to end the Mets’
season, I was moved to tears. It might just be the Wild Card and, yes,
this feat only marks the beginning of a quest for something much
greater. But I wasn’t alive in 1982, and I grew up cheering for a
losing team. To many of us these sensations and the concept of baseball
in October are foreign.
Remember today as the first time in 26 years when
the last day of the season marked the eve of another season’s
beginning. Savor this moment and hold it tightly, wrap yourself in it –
don’t blink. I’ve never seen champagne showers in Brew City, and it may
be a long time before it happens again… but I’m not thinking about that
right now, I’m not thinking about the Philadelphia Phillies or Ben
Sheets likely having thrown his last pitch in a Brewers uniform." -- Right Field Bleachers - "I was at the game yesterday and I can’t even begin to recount how
incredible it was. I’ll certainly try, but I’m not sure I have the
words to describe the instantaneous release of 26 years of frustration." -- Right Field Bleachers
- "So if you're scoring at home, in 2008 the Brewers were 67-41 after Brad
says they were "done" (version 1.0 and 2.0). But when he's publicly
back on board with the club for 22 days, they play .350 ball." -- Chuckie Hacks
- "BREWERS DO IT -- NL WILD CARD CHAMPIONS!!!" -- Brewers Bar
The Yost Infection has the Top 10 moments from Sunday's game.
How about some pictures from yesterday's game?
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I lost my voice Saturday night, doing everything in my power to motivate the Brewers to a victory that I thought, for sure, was going to send the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs. 'The Mets are going to lose one more to the Marlins. All it takes is one more,' I said. But as the Cubs fans at Miller Park drowned out my screaming after Kosuke Fukudome hit his bomb on Saturday, I realized that my idea of sitting CC Sabathia on Sunday so he could pitch game one of the playoffs no longer made sense. The man has been too good and his fram allots him far more stamina than your average ace. The Mets delivered. And so did CC, in a bigger way than I could have ever imagined. The game, for the most part, was discouraging in so many ways. Poor AB after poor AB against the Cubs worst bullpen pitchers forced Brewers' fans into shouts of displeasure, but oddly enough, no boos. Well, there were boos, but only when the PA announcer called out Cubs names over the speakers. It was then I realized that things were on the up and up. While the Brewers' hitters were clearly tense and nervous up there, the fans constant encouragement offered an unbelievable amount of trust and confidence. A confidence they responded to.
Sabathia was absolutely dominant, and nobody in the stands was willing to lose on a first inning error by the first baseman who carried this team out of its September swoon, especially CC. Up to this point in his career, CC had struggled with the Cubs hitters, mostly because they were right handed heavy and knew their strike zone. Sabtathia's stuff is so good that once he gets ahead, he gets a considerable amount of batters to swing at pitches out of the zone. The Cubs rarely do that, and CC finally adjusted to their style and made many of them look a little lost. The key? Change of speed. CC's didn't throw nearly as many fastballs as he usually does. Instead, he stuck with a plethora of change-ups and cutters (which I still think is a slider) that ranged from 83-87 MPH. The results were incredible. CC pitched a one run complete game victory that ended with one of those unbelievable cutters to induce a double play from Derek Lee. But CC didn't do it all by myself. The defense played well all day with the exception of Prince's blunder and when you looked at the pitchers coming up, all that every one kept saying was, this is the one. We're going to score this inning. When Corey Hart struck out in the seventh I thought I was going to be sick. Three straight pitches well out of the strike zone and a wasted bases loaded opportunity dwindling in front of me. When Craig Counsell swung at the second pitch in the dirt, I almost had a heart attack. But the veteran quickly realized that Michael Wuertz couldn't hit the strike zone if his life depended on it. It seemed the excitement of the game got to him more than anyone. But then there was that magical eigth inning. Ten people in front of me and ten people behind me sat with their cell phones watching play by play of the mets game. I looked to my left at TGIF's grill and saw the people eating go ballistic and pointing to the stands. Wes Helms' solo homerun gave the Marlins the lead. Mike Cameron hit a one out single to put a runner on. After a very deep fly ball Ryan Braun stepped to the plate. The crowd was buzzing in a way I had never heard before and then Braun took at a hack at the first pitch. That hack sent the ball over 400 feet and the crowd erupted. I was so excited I couldn't even scream. I just held my hands over my head, fists clenched and closed my eyes. Eighty games over the last two seasons and who knows how much money, and it's finally paid off. It was well worth every penny. And now the playoffs are a reality. While they won't be able to get away with playing the same kind of baseball they did on Saturday and Sunday, the Brewers have shown they are more than capable of beating any team in the National League. The scary thing now is that Ben Sheets is no longer able to pitch this season. This seriously diminishes the Brewers chances at a successful playoff run, but it needs to considered if Sheets can be pulled off the playoff roster. It's a big risk to waste the spot, especially considering the other positive options that we could replace him with. What a year! What a season! What a season that hasn't ended yet!! I can tell you this city is in a tizzy. I stopped at the 24-hour Hot Corner frenzy today and there wasn't a single playoff shirt available, with the exception of XL navy blue 2008 MLB playoffs shirts. A pep rally is set to go down at the Summerfest Grounds this evening from 4-8, where the Brewers will stop by for a brief time before shipping out to Philadelphia where they will play the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Here are some moments to remember from this year as we wait for our first playoff game in 26 years: Back to back shut outs from CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets A 20-7 August
Ryan Braun's two-run blast off of Jason Isringhausen in the top of the 9th to sweep a four game series against the Cards How about Badger Blogger reporting Ned Yost's firing three months early? Oh the insanity! A 14-1 record against the Pittsburgh Pirates: Domination! JJ Hardy's ability to show that he hasn't peaked yet. I'll be the first to admit I thought last year was going to his career season, and I'm happy I was wrong considering the number of player that underperformed this season. Corey Hart's average and OBP leave much to be desired, but he is the first Brewer in history to have back to back 20/20 years. Ken Rosenthal said it was a good idea for the Brewers to trade Rickie Weeks of Brian Roberts... Rickie Weeks hits a three run bomb on Friday to give the Brewers a game one victory against the Cubs on Wild Card Weekend Jim gives some of his own in his post earlier this morning.
And finally... This Will Give You Goosebumps
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