Wednesday's Frosty Mug
by Kyle Lobner on Jun 24, 2009 9:40 AM CDT
in Milwaukee Brewers News
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PrintSome things to read while moving around to the right side.
Still waiting for the Brewers to make a move for a frontline starting pitcher? Sounds like you'll be waiting for a while. Doug Melvin says it would be almost impossible to trade Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar, the Brewers' two most valuable prospects. It seems unlikely the Brewers will be able to make a big splash in the market without dangling at least one of them.
Meanwhile, Mike Burns will take the mound tomorrow in place of Dave Bush, who was placed on the DL with microtearing at the base of his right triceps (Also noted in FanShot). Bush is expected to remain out through the All-Star Break, which should give us enough time to figure out what "microtearing" is.
Crews continue to work to repair flooding damage on the service level at Miller Park. Twins.com beat reporter Kelly Thesier reports the indoor batting cages and weight room are still out of service, and the furniture and carpet in the visitors' clubhouse had to be replaced. The link also has a quote from Ron Gardenhire and a joke from Doug Melvin.
The Brewers are not playing well at the moment, but there are still reasons for optimism. For one, interleague play is almost over. Secondly, projections and power rankings still seem to like the Crew: Beyond the Box Score's Poor Man's Projected Standings still have the Brewers winning the Central, and The National Post has the Brewers holding steady at #3 in their NL Power Rankings.
How valuable is J.J. Hardy's defense? He's hitting .218/.299/.336 in 2009, but Driveline Mechanics says his defense has been good enough to keep him at a league-average level. Hardy has been worth approximately 7.4 runs with the glove in 2009.
Here are today's minor league notes:
- Eric Arnett will make his professional debut tonight for Helena, but don't blink or you might miss it. Arnett's Twitter says he'll go "a couple innings," and the Brewers have suggested they'll look to keep his workload down.
- Manny Parra allowed just one run and threw 59 of his 93 pitches for strikes for Nashville last night. He walked two and struck out three.
- Zach Braddock, #16 in our community prospect rankings, has been promoted to AA after striking out 40 and walking just 4 in 24.2 innings for Brevard County.
Most Brewer fans would say we've had plenty to complain about lately, but apparently it hasn't been enough for The Brew Town Beat, which has moved on to the topic of Chris Smith's unbent cap.
A relatively quiet day around the majors:
Indians: Designated Luis Vizcaino for assignment.
Reds: Placed Wilkin Castillo on the DL with a torn labrum.
Here's today's "Jamie Moyer is old" update: Moyer made his major league debut in 1986, the same year Braves starter Tommy Hanson was born. Tommy Hanson hit a batter last night, meaning pitcher's born in Moyer's rookie year have now delivered 100 HBP's.
There's fan friendly, and then there's Padres assistant GM Paul DePodesta, who went pick by pick breaking down rounds 16-50 of the Padres' 2008 draft.
Oh, and Ryan Braun wants you to recycle.
Drink up.
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Hear hear, Ryan!
I’ve been using my Remtee to clean up around the house instead of paper towels. Not only does it decrease how much I add to landfills, but the shirt actually looks better.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
by roguejim on Jun 24, 2009 10:03 AM CDT reply actions 11 recs
I was hoping...
We were maybe going to see a line of designer recycling bins…to go with his shirts and bats.
by TheBurningRom on Jun 24, 2009 10:11 AM CDT up reply actions
he'd be holding a pool ball
screaming into the camera, and throwing some paper into a recycling bin
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
by tcyoung on Jun 24, 2009 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
A good Remetee joke
Always gets a rec from me.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by Kyle Lobner on Jun 24, 2009 10:35 AM CDT up reply actions
Does it work as well as this?
"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."
let's try this again
"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."
To recap...
So Manny Parra is throwing stirkes, Bush is going to be just fine, the Crew is going to win the Central, and Ryan Braun is going to see to it that the rise of our oceans will slow and the earth will begin to heal.
Everything is going our way…
Old Hat
Brew Town Beat is late to the party on the Chris Smith unbent cap thing.
If Ryan Braun wants to use his fame for causes like getting more people to recycle or something like that, then I think that’s cool. I think if more stars spoke out on issues and causes, more would get supported.
"If lovin’ Braun is wrong, I want to be a repeat offender!"
RIP Nick Adenhart - Stop Drunk Driving
Not to get political
But I have always loved the show Penn and Teller’s Bullshit, which is on Showtime… they had a show where they took down some misconceptions on recycling and the assumed positive effects
I am all for Braun telling people to stop recycling!
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
I watched about nine minutes of that before giving up on it.
Maybe recycling isn’t as great as it’s cracked up to be, but:
1) If any recycled material, even a small percentage of it, is actually reused, then it’s not going into a landfill, and that’s a positive.
2) If any recycled, non-renewable material like plastic or aluminum is being reused, then it’s reducing our dependency on a finite resource.
Both of those are good things.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by Kyle Lobner on Jun 24, 2009 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
definitely
sure…energy usage is up on certain items recycled, but other things are simple to be recycled (most plastics) or recycling is already integrated into the process of making the item to begin with (paper).
Less landfill waste means less dumping in oceans and destruction of ecosystems at large.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 24, 2009 2:44 PM CDT up reply actions
I wouldn't trust anything from that show
They interview a doctor or scientist on their side, and then interview the craziest guy they can find on the other ….very very scientific
captainbok: What do you like the most about milwaukee
Jeff Suppan: Captain Bok, that is a great question. Does "Bok" mean Book of Knowledge? My favorite thing about Milwaukee are the Brewers.
Last Nights Game
I’m pretty sure Jeff Suppan tried to kill me via heat exhaustion. But Soup gave us a Soup game, and really I feel the defense completely let Suppan down. He got out of it with a K that “Good Defense” Kendall let by, and then the botch double play by Hardy cost us a good 5 runs.
I don’t expect Suppan to win us games, but he kept us in it, just the team around him crumbled.
I can’t believe I’m defending Suppan.
And unsolicited, even.
Because Suppan wasn’t even tagged in this morning’s Mug.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by Kyle Lobner on Jun 24, 2009 11:00 AM CDT up reply actions
Ha!
The internets and talk radio were bashing Suppan. Granted he’s a horrible, horrible contract, but I felt this need to defend him.
What is wrong with me?
I get the feeling if Parra was on the mound last night
Certain areas of the internet would talk about his lacking the intelligence to bear down after the errors.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
Manny Parra pitched bad last night
He took the loss. That’s all that matters. I’d rather a guy who gives up eight runs and wins than a guy who loses.
he can allow 20 runs there for all I care
I just want him to throw strikes and make em swing the bat. his problem was getting too finesse-y. get your head back in the game, manny, and come back and dominate.
::Another 95% plus FanGraphs win goes right down the fucking tubes:: Indians fan after Prince's Grand Salami
by Wizzyconsin on Jun 24, 2009 12:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Agreed.
I’m glad he got some outs and what not, but the 93-59 pitches-strikes ratio is still pretty disappointing to me.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by Kyle Lobner on Jun 24, 2009 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions
63.4% if I calculate correctly.
That does not seem bad to me. 2 BB in 7 innings doesn’t seem bad either.
it's not bad, but hardly exemplary
especially since
(a) the AAA zone is a bit bigger
(b) the hitters (except for the other Manny) aren’t as good, so he shouldn’t have as much reason to nibble
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 24, 2009 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Parra and his propensity for walks drive me as crazy as the next guy, but his two AAA starts look like he is at least trying to be aggressive. He threw 75 of 114 for strikes (66%) in his previous game, and last night his walks came in the the 6th and 7th innings. It would be interesting to see a pitch by pitch log, but I don’ t know if AAA has them.
I always wonder about that
If you really want a pitcher to be aggressive, shouldn’t he be throwing at the head of the first batter he sees?
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
milb.com has Gameday for AAA and AA games
You could go back through his two starts pitch-by-pitch if you so desired.
It was a great selection of awesome.
I really really hope the sarcasm-dar is beeping on this one
I can’t really tell.
I last May, still no more than Nick Neugebauer not.
Yeah, agreed
Brewers Baseball and other assorted nonsense (mostly the assorted nonsense) at my blog, What's a Tararrel?
Starting pitching
Not so much in connection with the Brewers, but Tom Glavin and Pedro’s names keep coming up as possible back-of-the-rotation options for teams looking for pitching. Not sure how I feel about Glavin, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the Brewers sign Pedro. I know Melvin said prior to the season that this wasn’t really an option, but I think our lack of depth has clearly been exposed to the point where we need to consider other options.
Speaking of older pitchers looking for teams, does anybody know what the story is with Mike Mussina? I know he ptiched in the WBC. Is he looking for a team, or is he more or less retired at this point? I would guess retired, but you never know.
Also, how bad do things have to get before we start considering Sheets? I realize the Rangers are the odds on favorite to sign him, but is this something Melvin needs to look into. I have absolutely no confidence in anyone other than Yo right now.
I miss CC.
"You guys know me. I take a long time to analyze things."
- Ned Yost
by SunglassesAtNight on Jun 24, 2009 12:41 PM CDT reply actions
Mussina is retired
Sheets is basically out for the season. If somebody signed him, it would be to a multi-year deal to rehab in 09 and pitch for them in 2010.
Glavine and Pedro are basically old and washed up. I’m guessing that Mike Burns is better than either right now.
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 24, 2009 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Sheets
I really have not been monitoring that closely at all. Is Sheets no longer on track for a mid-season return? I thought his original plan was to sign with a team around the end of July/early August. My logic was that if no teams are willing to offer him that much, then a half-year deal could be good for both teams. We get the obvious pitching help and Sheets gets a chance to prove himself post-surgery and audition for a multi-year deal elsewhere. Obviously, if he won’t be healthy enough to pitch the rest of this year, that’s not an option.
"You guys know me. I take a long time to analyze things."
- Ned Yost
by SunglassesAtNight on Jun 24, 2009 1:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Maybe there is some Sheets news I haven't heard
but he has to be able to pitch – he might be physically able this season, but maybe not – and he has to be willing to sign here. Maybe I’m reading too much in to it, but it seemed like there was some unhappiness on both sides of the relationship.
A note I found from the original date of surgery says:
he couldn’t come back until August “at least.” Remember that he’d need to do a fair amount of in-game rehab work. Maybe not a full month, but at least 3-4 rehab starts, all before he pitches one major league inning. Given that we still haven’t heard rumors about him signing somewhere (now that it’s after the draft, the compensation issue is moot), I’d guess that, at best, mid- or late-July is when he could start rehabbing.
And it could be worse than that.
Actually, not as much need to speculate. Here’s a comment from a q&a with a Rangers beat reporter:
Sheets has started range of motions drills, a precursor to throwing a baseball. Judging by where he is in his rehab, it doesn’t appear he’ll be ready to be effective late in the season.
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 24, 2009 1:28 PM CDT up reply actions
Think he'd let us sign him on the last day of the season
Just to let him walk in the offseason? If his “value” is based on more than the last season, we might recoup a Type B pick for him.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
Wow
That would be a great way for DM to stick it to the compensation system!
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
unlikely that sheets would agree
he might try to pawn that off on the rangers though if they weren’t going to bite for a multi-year themselves.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 24, 2009 2:48 PM CDT up reply actions
if he signs with the rangers
is he sticking it to DM?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
or paving the way to resign with the Brewers in 2011?
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
Quoted From A Dallas Newspaper
On June 11th
WILSON: Sheets has started range of motions drills, a precursor to throwing a baseball. Judging by where he is in his rehab, it doesn’t appear he’ll be ready to be effective late in the season. But that doesn’t mean the Rangers won’t try to sign the Type A free agent over the next few months. He can negotiate with any team. And now that the First-Year Player Draft has concluded, he can be had without a team having to surrender a pick. There are no guarantees, even though Sheets had a deal with the Rangers in February before failing a physical, has a home in Highland Park, and he’s rehabbing with Rangers physician Keith Meister. They sure look like the favorite, though.
by TheBurningRom on Jun 24, 2009 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Looks Like Jeff Beat Me To It..
All I have to add then is that Cappy is closer to making a return than Sheets is.
by TheBurningRom on Jun 24, 2009 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Cappy
Is he throwing off a mound yet?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Last We Heard From McCalvy...
At the end of May he was on track to start throwing off a mound on June 5th, and would need a 3-4 weeks of BP sessions before throwing to hitters.
by TheBurningRom on Jun 24, 2009 2:30 PM CDT up reply actions
slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
process, apparently.
::Another 95% plus FanGraphs win goes right down the fucking tubes:: Indians fan after Prince's Grand Salami
and he was on steriods
just never came out…
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
Let Smith and Burns have a shot
Who knows they could be pretty ok!??!
captainbok: What do you like the most about milwaukee
Jeff Suppan: Captain Bok, that is a great question. Does "Bok" mean Book of Knowledge? My favorite thing about Milwaukee are the Brewers.
Agreed
Its not the end of the world to have a couple of AAA guys who are performing well take 6 starts this year. I think Parra will get it together, and Bush has a solid, if unspectacular, track record.
I wouldn’t mind bringing Sheets back because if he is healthy, he would obviously be the second best pitcher on the staff. If Glavine and Pedro had anything left they wouldn’t be available.
I also would not mind Smith getting a shot, but I think Chase Wright gets the nod on Saturday.
Pretty sure Chris Smith is viewed strictly as a reliever.
If not for Macha’s apparent fetish of using the most recently called-up pitcher almost strictly for mop-up duty, his workload would probably be more like what he did at AAA, i.e. mostly single-inning appearances (though in much higher leverage.for Nashville).
SBN sites are acting really jumpy
and I see that they’re putting ads in the background/borders. Anyone else notice the jumpiness?
Manny's final 2 pitches of the 2 Manny at bats
It would have been nice to see more of the at bats. Having the camera follow Manny R as he walks away is a bit much. Manny P does a bit of a stare when he Ks Manny R. I’m not fond of that behavior, but its good to see that Manny P is feeling his oats a bit as they say.
Curse of the Paulino
Am I the only one that thinks that our current bout of bad luck against the Twins harkens back to the loss of Paul Molitor to free agency, followed by him eventually winding up on the Twins?
Is it a less (or more?) severe version of the “curse of the Bambino” due to the trade of Babe Ruth from Boston to New York, whereupon Boston could never again get their asses to the world series (at least for oodles of years)?
Clearly, we should make some form of overture to get Paul to sign a note of support for the current Brewers.
I don't think it has as much to do with Molitor ...
as it does with Joe Mauer’s impossibly good lucks. I mean, how in the hell are you supposed to concentrate when there’s somebody really, really, really good looking out there? I get lost in his eyes, and I’m not even on the field.
/ man love
Curse of the Paulino
Isn’t that what the Pirates had the last few years?
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
I went through it last night...
I am pretty sure I had some sort of crazy heat hallucination that Nick Punto was intentionally walked.
by Bernie's Mustache Wax on Jun 24, 2009 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Have fun
I was 6-0 to start the season. Then I went to the metrodome and saw a loss. After last night, I’ve now witnessed 3 losses in person. I’m 6-2 at Miller Park, and 6-3 overall. They better turn it around next week against the Mets!
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Mets
On a side note.. I met (no pun intended) a pretty cool Mets fan last night from Pennsylvania at the game. He’s working in Illinois for the month, and decided to go see a NL game.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I suspect the grill actually cooled the air, no?
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Cincinnati
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Houston
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Milwaukee
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
St. Louis
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
(updated 2.10.2012 at 1:01 PM CST)
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