“How will he do in 2009?”

“Which Manny Parra will show up? The one that went 5-0 last June or the one that struggled down the stretch?”

There were a few more but I think you get the point. I said then, and I’ll say again, Manny is the key. I am a believer that a starting pitching staff can’t be all right handed. Look at the last two World Series winners. Phillies & Red Sox both had lefties in their rotation and won it all. The Brewers will have a couple weeks to play around with their rotation as they won’t need a 5th starter until next weekend’s series with the Giants. Manny won’t be ready by then but they’ll need someone. Could be Seth McClung? Could be Chris Narveson? (started a good bit last year at Nashville) Could be Chris Cody who was throwing well at Huntsville and just won his first game with Triple A-Nashville. Whomever the starter is, though, I hope Manny reclaims that spot in the 2nd-half of the season.

Now, as I say all of this, I completely agree with the decision to send him down. Ken Macha said it all the other day. Looking at his body language on Saturday, he just looked lost. He has a good arm but needs to rediscover the confidence that made him a major league pitcher.

This whole Manny Parra situation reminded me a lot of what I saw last year in Chicago. Remember Rich Hill? He pitched for the Cubs the last few years. In fact, he started game 3 of the NLDS vs. Arizona in 2007. However, last year he struggled from day one. He lasted a few weeks and was sent down to the minors early in 2008. He didn’t return all year and is now pitching with Baltimore. Confidence is what hurt Rich Hill and I hope that same doesn’t happen with Manny Parra.

Cory