The Brewer Advent Calendar #7: Todd Coffey

 Need a pick-me-up to get through Friday afternoon? Just open up door #7 and find...Todd Coffey!

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As the above picture suggests, Coffey has spent the bulk of his career with the Cincinnati Reds. He made his debut for the Red Stockings on April 19, 2005, and wound up pitching in 213 major league games for the Cincinnatis. After spending parts of four seasons in Cincinnati, he was designated for assignment on September 9th (some birthday gift, huh?) to make room for other players to be called up. The Brewers, needing a jolt in the bullpen, swooped in and claimed him off waivers. He pitched well for the Crew, appearing in nine games without allowing a run and striking out seven while walking two. He even won a game for good measure. Coffey will open 2009 competing for a spot in the Brewers bullpen. Hopefully he can build on his solid finish to the 2008 season.

Now for some interesting notes about Todd Coffey in stylish bullet point form:

• Reds radio announcer Jeff Brantley, known for his major league career, his opinion on Edwin Encarnacion's clutchitudinarianity, and extreme dislike of Kip Wells, once said this about Coffey: "It is difficult to pitch with both hands around your throat." Coffey's response? Longtime baseball scribe Hal McCoy remembers:
  

  "Todd Coffey, now with Milwaukee, pitched a 1-2-3 inning against the Reds then ran into a railing in front of the Brewers dugout because he was staring at the radio booth where Jeff Brantley was seated."

• Coffey is no Jeff Suppan, having struggled against Milwaukee as a Red (5.06 ERA,  21 1/3 IP). He's had better luck against some other division foes, though, most notably St. Louis (1.00 ERA, 18 IP, 5 BB - 3 IBB, 9 K) and Chicago (3.33 ERA, 24 1/3 IP, 4 BB, 19 K).
• Did you know that Coffey is only the third Brewer ever to have the name Todd? The others were 1993 Brewers' first round supplemental pick Todd Dunn and 2003 starting pitcher Todd Ritchie who fell victim to a rotator cuff injury. Todd is the second Coffey in major league history, and his name is much less unfortunate than the first guy's.
  
• Well, even if you knew that, did you know that Todd is not Coffey's first name? It's true. His full name is Justin Todd Coffey. He's not the only prospective 2009 Brewer to go by his middle name. The others are:
  
  Jon Corey Hart
  Michael Seth McClung
  John Bradley Nelson
  Christopher Trotman Nixon
  Sebern Chase Wright
• Last but not least: when he first took the mound for Milwaukee, Coffey did something no other Brewer had ever done before: he wore #60 in a regular season game.