Meet Treveon.  An amazing young man who was selected to be this year's "Bank Mutual Junior Broadcaster".  Treveon and I hung out on the field, inside the Brewers' dugout, and in the broadcast booth.  Also, he got the chance to meet his favorite Brewer....Prince Fielder.   I know it's an experience that will stay with Treveon forever.  Thanks to our terrific partners at Bank Mutual for another successful season. 

Check out all the photos of Treveon in the broadcast booth and in the dugout.

Best,
Cory

Wow.  What a day, huh?  Part of my morning routine before a workout is to read the newspapers.   Both the Journal Sentinel and the opposing team’s local paper.  Needless to say, when I saw the headlines my jaw dropped.  I wasn’t surprised that the Brewers made a few moves, but I never expected to see 3 significant roster changes in about a 15 minute span.   

Baseball, like almost any other profession, is performance based.  In fact, I wrote about that back in the spring.  I felt that Brad Nelson, Chris Duffy & Casey McGehee deserved to make the team based on the numbers they produced during spring training.  That philosophy doesn’t change during the regular season.   JJ Hardy is batting 229 with 11 HR & 45 RBI’s.  Bill Hall is hitting 201 with 6 HR & 24 RBI’s.  Both guys will tell you their current numbers at the plate don’t warrant a roster spot.  Hopefully, Hardy will get a little mental break and start tearing up Triple-A pitching.  Hall, meanwhile, will get a fresh start with a new organization.  Both guys are terrific to be around.  When you travel with a team for 6-months you can build relationships quickly.  I can’t say enough good things about JJ Hardy & Bill Hall.  However, nice guys don’t always finish first.   

Bill Castro’s time with the Brewers goes back a long time.  He worked in the bullpen for several years before getting his shot to be a big-league pitching coach in 2009.  Folks, the numbers don’t lie.  The Brewers pitching staff, both starters & relievers, ranks near the bottom in several categories in the National League.  Baseball, like all the other professional sports, you always need a “fall guy.”  You can’t fire players but you can fire coaches.  That’s what happened to Castro.  Is it his fault injuries to Jeff Suppan & Dave Bush forced some dramatic changes to the starting rotation?  Of course not.  However, something needed to change and unfortunately he found himself caught in the middle.   This entire day has caused quite a bit of controversy.  As always, your views and opinions are welcomed. 

Best,

Cory

For most of us, baseball’s trading deadline is among the more exciting times of the year.  In a span of a few weeks teams can truly reshape their roster in a variety of ways.  Some teams look to “sell” off key parts that can, and should, bring plenty back in return.  On the other hand, there’s always a few teams that try to make that blockbuster move to give themselves a legitimate shot to win it all.  Now, where do the Brewers fall in this mix?  Honestly, I have no clue. 

Despite a rough July, the Brewers are still in contention for the division crown.  The wild card, however, is looking tougher & tougher each day due to the amount of teams the ‘Crew would need to leapfrog.  So, with all that said, I believe Doug Melvin when he says the team is still in a “buying” mode.  The problem facing the front office right now, though, is at what price?  What the Brewers did last year was amazing.  Nothing short of that.  Acquiring Sabathia was risky, but the team can still see positives from that trade nearly a year later.  The buzz that’s been hovering over this team all year had a lot to do with what Sabathia and the Brewers accomplished last year.  However, as great as that was, you have to be careful how often do it. 

Trading away key prospects each year can put an organization in trouble if you can’t sign big name free agents during the off-season.  The Brewers’ payroll is around $82 million dollars.  Which in this day and age is pretty impressive.  Is it worth it right now for the Brewers to acquire a Roy Halladay when there’s no guarantee he’ll be here for more than a year or two?  And, what will it take to get him?  Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, Manny Parra, etc?  Would all the Brewers’ problems right now be solved by making a trade like that?  The Brewers have some terrific young players in their system.  Some difficult times in the last 10 years led to some important drafts, and the Brewers made some outstanding choices.  But if you keep trading away your youth, and can’t make some big moves in the free agent game, is it worth it in the end?   

Again, the trade deadline is a fun time for fans, broadcasters, etc…However, I’m not so sure the men & women working in front offices around the country agree. 

Cory

All the sports have them.

Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, and even NASCAR.  

What am I talking about?  Simple, All-Star games. 

Baseball, however, is my favorite.  I am not just saying that because the aforementioned sport provides my employment, but I love the game and all the events leading up to it.  Yes, the slam-dunk contest is great.  Better than the home run contest?  Not so sure about that one.  Another reason I am a fan of the all-star game is the debate that goes on every year at this time.  I enjoy hearing all sides explain why “X” player belongs on the NL roster more than “Y”.  It’s like the old debate between Bird vs. Magic.  Representatives from both sides will argue their point till their red in the face, but no matter what, they’ll never change your opinion.  

I look up and down the NL roster and you can make a debate for a few guys.  In the end, however, I have no problem with the 32 selected.  Carlos Beltran is out with a knee injury and will likely miss the game next week, so that will force at least one change.  Yadier Molina has had a better first-half than Russell Martin & Geovany Soto.  Hanley Ramriez will win an MVP in the coming years.  David Wright has been among the league leaders in several categories this year.  Chase Utley is as dangerous as any left-handed bat in the game.   Raul Ibanez, prior to his injury, was the best free agent signing by any team.  Ryan Braun has hit for power and average since the second week of April.  Not to mention his number against left-handed pitching are ridiculous.  Finally, you’ve got Pujols.  No need to explain that one.  Are there some guys who were snubbed?  Always.  Just a couple that come to mind.

Trevor Hoffman:
The future hall-of-famer has been everything the Brewers could’ve hoped for and more.  It’s no coincidence that the Brewers starting playing better baseball when he came off the DL.  He is a calming influence, not to mention a work ethic that is second to none, that has had an amazing effect with this team.  As for his numbers?  1-1, 1.93 ERA, 23.1 IP (Innings Pitched), 5 BB, 19 K’s, and 18 saves in 19 opportunities.   Are those all-star numbers?   You bet.  In addition, I was surprised to see he was not among the final 5 for the Sprint Final Vote contest.  Trevor’s always been a fan favorite and his numbers this year certainly deserve consideration.

Mitch Stetter:
Is there a better left-handed set-up man in the NL?  If so, name me a couple and I’ll be happy to debate with you.  Just ask Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, Jim Thome, Shin Soo-Choo, Johnny Peralta, etc.  Stetter has struck out 34 batters in 27.2 innings pitched.  If you really want to get technical that’s around 11 strikeouts per-9 innings.  Not many pitchers can brag about numbers like that.   His franchise record of 15-consecutives outs via a strikeout is a feat that we won’t see duplicated for some time.  What was working against him during this process is the fact that set-up men, usually, don’t make the cut.  The way that rosters are built today rewards starting pitchers and closers.  

I could name some more guys from across the league but Trevor & Mitch certainly performed like all-stars in the first-half of the season.  The ’Crew has an important week before the break.  Let’s get some wins.

Best,
Cory

During spring training, I recall doing a few radio interviews and in nearly all of them I was asked at some point about Manny Parra.

“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