The Brewer Advent Calendar #12: Rickie Weeks
by Rubie Q on Feb 8, 2010 12:00 PM CST
44 comments
Who's that struggling to break through Door No. 12? Why, it's Rickie Weeks -- and, actually, if you could help Rickie out by opening that door, it'd be much appreciated -- we don't want him to hurt his wrists again ...
DISCLAIMER: The following statement has not been sanctioned by BCB, KL, SBN, NATO, or any other acronym:
Rickie Weeks is the single most important position player on the Brewers roster this season.
Before you shout me down, hear me out:
At this point, a little less than two weeks before Spring Training, we know that: Prince and Braun are more or less givens, and, to a lesser extent, so is Zaun; Alcides and CarGo should give you excellent defense, and any offense will be a bonus; and Hart, in all likelihood, will continue to drive us up the wall. The only real unknown, I think, is McGehee.
In my mind, if this team is going to contend, Rickie Weeks is going to have to make good on the promise he showed last season and make The Leap. If he can put it together (and, probably more importantly, keep it together), the top of that lineup -- Weeks, (whoever), Braun, Fielder -- looks awfully imposing. And I'll also be able to forgive myself for ruining last season by prematurely dubbing it The Summer of Rickie Weeks. (Again: sorry 'bout that.)
Here's your Rickie Weeks Nugget of Goodness: we spend so much time focusing on the things that Rickie can't do that we often forget what he's really good at -- letting the baseball hit him. Rick's already No. 2 on the Brewers all-time HBP list:
| PLAYER | HBP | GAMES PLAYED |
| Geoff Jenkins | 95 | 1234 |
| Rickie Weeks | 62 | 482 |
| Fernando Vina | 58 | 528 |
| Jim Gantner | 52 | 1801 |
| Brady Clark | 50 | 549 |
44 comments | 0 recs |
Selig to get statue at Miller Park
The Brewers announced today that they will honor Major League Baseball Commissioner and former team owner Bud Selig with a statue at Miller Park’s Home Plate Plaza.
Selig’s statue will join those of Hank Aaron and Robin Yount, which were unveiled on April 5, 2001, the first year of Miller Park’s existence. The first two statues were donated by the Allan H. (Bud) Selig Foundation.
The ceremony to unveil the new statue will be staged on Aug. 24 at 1 p.m. at Miller Park.
about 14 hours ago
lar
4 comments
0 recs
Monday's Mug is under Dachshund Delay
by KLSnow on Feb 8, 2010 6:46 AM CST
in Site News
48 comments
Hey folks,
Sorry to have to do this to you (and on a Monday, no less) but there won't be a Mug today. Gorman is sick and needs to get to the vet this morning and I'm on a tight schedule today, so I'm most likely not going to be able to come back and finish it later.
If you still need your fix, feel free to scroll down and read Noah's Weekend Mug. And if you have a link that you can't wait to discuss, feel free to leave it in the comments so others can enjoy it as well.
The Mug will return at its normal time tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience, thanks for understanding.
48 comments | 0 recs
The Brewer Advent Calender #13: Corey Hart
by NoahJ on Feb 7, 2010 4:00 PM CST
5 comments
Open up door number thirteen and you find Brewers starting Right Fielder Corey Hart!
Where to start with Hart? Well, to begin with, a lot of fans don't like the former 11th round draft pick. That might be because Milwaukee fans have seen the potential that he has and what he can bring to the lineup when in 2007 he had a slash line of .295/.353/.539 with 24 HR and 23 SB. Obviously that would look fantastic in the 5 spot in the Brewers lineup behind Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, however since that year his numbers have been dropping off to .260/.335./.418 with 12 HR and 11 SB in 2009, after posting a .300 OBP in 2008.
Now, Corey Hart is in his second year of arbitration and is seeking a $1.55M raise over last season, which is $650,000 more than the Brewers are willing to give him. Now, it appears as though Doug Melvin might take a player to arbitration for the first time in his Brewers career as Hart rejected the Brewers final offer.
Corey Harts struggles hitting the low and away breaking ball have been well documented, but perusing Fangraphs plate discipline stats for Hart reveal a couple of interesting statistics. Though he has had close to an average first pitch strike percentage most of his career, in 2008 he had 10% more first pitch strikes than the MLB average--perhaps contributing to his .300 OBP. And in 2009, increasing the perception that he is a free-swinger, he led all Brewers with at least 200 PA in Swing%.
5 comments | 0 recs |
The Two Weeks Away Weekend Mug!
by NoahJ on Feb 7, 2010 12:54 AM CST
35 comments
Some things to read while showing your generosity.
As of this writing, we are officially less than two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting! Unfortunately for 2009 Brewer Felipe Lopez, he is still wondering where he is going to find a job for 2010. Brewers Daily has joined the party wondering why no team has signed him yet. I actually didn't realize that he had a 4.6 WAR last season, though his reputation for being lackadaisical in the field would seem to indicate that he won't be worth as much defensively next year. His offensive talents should probably land him a deal sooner or later, though.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham ranks Lopez as it's second best available free agent hitter, behind Johnny Damon. Also on the list at number four is Russell Branyan. Now, maybe I am biased a little by my well-documented man-crush on the guy, but they seriously have him ranked behind Hank Blalock?
I don't remember seeing anyone else mention this, but our old friend Battlekow notes that the Brewers have signed 19 year old Dominican pitcher Eduard Reyes, who posted some pretty great numbers in the DPL, though in what looks to be a small sample size.
Want another reason to dislike the Cubs? Here's one: They are trying to get every other team in the Cactus League to help fund a new spring training stadium in Mesa by having a leaguewide ticket fee. The reasoning behind it comes down to the Cubs being the largest spring training draw in the MLB, thus helping the entire leagues attendance so I guess I can kind of understand it.
Around the Majors:
Rockies: Signed INF Melvin Mora to a one year, $1.3M contract
Padres: Agreed to a one year, $1.25M contract with C Yorvit Torrealba
Phillies: Signed Japanese pitchers Shigetoshi Yamakita and Naoyo Okamoto to minor league deals
Blue Jays: Signed reliever Kevin Gregg to a one year, $2.75M contract
Nationals: Signed pitcher Shawn Estes to a minor league deal
Mariners: DFA'd pitcher Yusmeiro Petit
Athletics: Traded Pitcher Dana Eveland to the Blue Jays for a PTBNL or cash
We might be coming near to the end of the constant Jarrod Washburn to the Brewers rumors, as he may be considering retirement if he doesn't find a deal somewhere.
If you have an interest in Baseball nicknames, over at The Hardball Times Bruce Markusen is going to be taking a look at the history of them over the next year. This weeks installment focuses on nicknames received due to a player defensive deficiencies.
And over at Fangraphs, Patrick Newman has had a pretty fascinating series of posts answering questions about Japanese and Asian baseball. It has run in three parts, one, two and three.
I don't know how to read time signatures. Hank Aaron's birthday was Friday. It was also in that day's mug. Whoops. But hey, as KL notes in the comments, it's morineko's Seth McClung's birthday today!
That's all I've got this weekend, unless you're wondering what to make for your Super Bowl party.
35 comments | 0 recs |
The Brewer Advent Calendar #14: Chris Narveson
by morineko on Feb 6, 2010 4:00 PM CST
in Conversation Starters
1 comment
Hey, what's a spare left-handed starter (#4 in the 2010 depth chart!) doing behind the door?
Chris Narveson was the recycled Cardinals starter who Brewers fans really didn't discuss. As a minor league free agent, there wasn't the salary to complain about. He settled in as a swingman by the end of his 2009 return to the major leagues. He did a great job filling in for Manny Parra in the rotation in September, as we'll see in the chart.
The other thing to note about Narveson is that his presence in a team's organization seems to confer luck. He was drafted by the Cardinals in 2000 and traded to the Rockies in 2004. The Cards made it to the WS that year. Narveson was then traded to the Red Sox in 2005 and was claimed off waivers by the Cardinals later. Despite his absence, the Rox and Sox made it to the WS in 2007 (but he was in their systems recently!) Narveson, of course, pitched at one point for the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers signed him as a free agent for the 2008 season. Could this mean...?
More seriously, he was one of three Brewers pitchers to have double-digit strikeouts in a start in 2009.
| Pitcher | Date | IP | K |
| Yovani Gallardo | 2009-07-01 | 7 | 12 |
| Yovani Gallardo | 2009-04-29 | 8 | 11 |
| Yovani Gallardo | 2009-07-30 | 7 | 11 |
| David Bush | 2009-09-12 | 7 | 11 |
| Chris Narveson | 2009-09-23 | 5.2 | 10 |
1 comment | 0 recs |
CHONE projections have Brewers at 81 wins, tied for second
Ten games back of the first place Cardinals, tied with the Reds for second and two games up on the fourth place Cubs.
2 days ago
KLSnow
14 comments
0 recs
Luis Cruz leaves game with apparent leg injury at the Caribbean World Series
In the bottom of the eighth inning of Mexico's game against Venezuela, Cruz slid awkwardly into second base, taking the base across his shin.
He had to be helped off the field, and was replaced defensively in the ninth.
3 days ago
KLSnow
8 comments
0 recs
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis
|
91 | 71 | .561 | 0 | Lost 6 |
|
Chicago
|
83 | 78 | .515 | 7.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Milwaukee
|
80 | 82 | .493 | 11 | Won 3 |
|
Cincinnati
|
78 | 84 | .481 | 13 | Won 2 |
|
Houston
|
74 | 88 | .456 | 17 | Lost 3 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
62 | 99 | .385 | 28.5 | Lost 2 |
(updated 2.8.2010 at 10:44 PM CST)
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