John Curtis was a major league pitcher for 15 seasons and has been in the Brewers organization for six years now.  He is currently the pitching coach for the Single-A West Virginia Power.  Some general information can be found at my THT article here.  When he describes a pitcher's stuff as "average" don't think that is a knock on the guy.  A league average fastball is a pretty darn good pitch.  I only had a few moments with Curtis before the game started so I got right down to business.  

BCB: I want to ask you your thought on some pitchers on this years team starting with Evan Frederickson.

John Curtis: Well Evan is new to us so I haven't seen a lot of him.  Big arm.  We see this kid will either be a starter or a lights out closer.  He has a good slider and is working on his change-up.  He has had trouble controlling it right now and overall command is something we are working on right now.  We have him in the bullpen right now and he has shown good composure in some difficult circumstances.  We are happy to have him you don't see a lot of left handers who throw as hard as he does.

BCB: What about today's starter R. J. Seidel?

JC: R.J. is one of the top prospects on the team.  He is a kid that believe it or not is actually still growing into his body.  He has shown he can pitch in this league.  Our only concern with him now is strength.  Can he get stronger and carry a hundred pitch games back to back?  His fastball has been close to average maybe half the time he has been out there but we expect that it could become above average.

BCB: I've read that his change-up is his best pitch.  Is that the case?

JC: Well he has struggled with it this year, believe it or not.  I believe he was rated as one of the top change-ups in the organization last year but I don't think that is true.  At one time it may have been good and was ranked high but he has struggled with it this year.  He jumps a little off the rubber but all the equipment is there.

BCB: Is that a control issue or is he not hiding the pitch well?

JC: It is a control issue--the speed, velocity difference is there.

BCB: What about Roque Mercedes, who pitched yesterday?

JC: Mercedes has made tremendous progress this year.  He is a guy who has to use a good mix of his pitches.  His fastball has been close to average.  Good slider, good curve ball, and good change-up.  He has done a heck of a job for us.  He struggled early in the year and that is why the numbers aren't there but the biggest thing for me is he has made a seamless transition to the bullpen.

BCB: Is that where you project him staying moving forward?

JC: I think that is where the future is for him.  He has done both for us and has given us some quality spot starts recently as well.

BCB: I saw Jeremy Jeffress pitch here last year and when I saw him pitch he was lights out and then he got suspended.

JC: He is a major leaguer waiting to happen.  Not unlike Gallardo.

BCB: Would you put him in that category?

JC: Sure, this kid is going to be a major league pitcher.  He is smoothing the hard edges there still working on commanding his secondary pitches but the fastball is there he is a tremendous athlete and a good attitude.

BCB: Do you think he has the off-speed stuff to stay in the rotation?

JC:  Absolutely.  Good curve ball.  His change-up is excellent and he is only going to get better.

BCB:  Speaking of change-ups I heard that the Brewers require a minimum number of pitches to be change-ups.  Is that the case.

JC: Yes, ten percent.  Ten percent of your pitches every night should be change-ups.

BCB: Do you worry about throwing a change up to a similarly handed batter?  Some teams seem to shy away from that.

JC: Not necessarily.  You often hear that it is bad for a lefty to throw a change up to left handed batters but with righties I don't have a problem with that.  The two things they have to learn is command of the pitch and when to use it.  They have to understand that the effectiveness of that pitch works off the fastball and they have to establish the fastball first.

BCB: Do you prefer the circle change or the straight change when you are teaching it to a pitcher?

JC:  I prefer whatever works.  Some kids have trouble with the circle change and maybe a box change is a little more comfortable pushing the ball back in their hand.  When Will Inman was here he wasn't comfortable with the circle change so we went with a box change with him.  It is whatever works.

BCB: The Padres have him down around three quarters now...

JC: He looked almost side armed when I saw him in the futures game.

BCB: That was a bit of a surprise to me considering the success he had had over the top.  Were you surprised by that?

JC: If it works for him, great.  I know that deception is a big part of his game and now down there he is going to have a lot of deception.  I don't know if you saw that Weaver kid [Jared Weaver] in college but he was way down here and now the Angels have him up here.  To me that is where Inman has to go but his doing good work there and he is a great kid.

BCB: Thank you very much!

Season sweep of the Giants, and the Brewers' first road sweep in California since 2002, eh? I'll take it.

Friday's Win Expectancy Graph
Saturday's Win Expectancy Graph
Sunday's Win Expectancy Graph

Friday's BR Box Score
Saturday's BR Box Score
Sunday's BR Box Score

Of course, the weekend's biggest news is the acquisition of Ray Durham for two minor leaguers. The immediate question: Where and how much will he play? Ned Yost defended Rickie Weeks yesterday and says he'll play Durham "a couple days a week, maybe."

In the meantime, the Brewers may have kept another team from making a move, as well: Sam Mellinger says the low price the Giants received for Durham, plus with the fact that they're paying a large chunk of his salary, may keep the Royals from reaching a deal to trade Mark Grudzielanek and his $4 million salary.

The grand rotation experiment begins today, as Seth McClung starts on the road in St. Louis, his first start as part of the road/home platoon at the end of the rotation. If all goes as planned and the team sticks with the platoon, Dave Bush would then get three of the next four starts, including Saturday against Houston and the following Thursday against the Cubs.

Speaking of Dave Bush, Baseball By Paul thinks he'll come back to Earth and now is a good time to sell high. Paul also predicts a hot second half for Prince Fielder.

The Brewers have moved up to 8th in Phil Rogers' power rankings, or seventh if you want to be a purist and argue that team power rankings should only include actual teams.

On injuries:

Red Sox RP David Aardsma is on the DL with a sore groin.
A's 1B Daric Barton hit his head on the bottom of a swimming pool during the All-Star Break and has been DL'ed.
Reds RP Jared Burton has been placed on the DL with a strained right latissimus muscle.
White Sox SP Jose Contreras has been placed on the DL with elbow tendinitis.
Jermaine Dye left yesterday's game after being hit in the knee with a pitch.
Ryan Freel is out for the rest of 2008 after having surgery to repair a torn tendon behind his right knee.
Rays RP Gary Glover has been placed on the DL with a calf strain.
Orioles LHP Adam Loewen has a stress fracture in his elbow and has decided to give up pitching.
Pedro Martinez threw a bullpen session yesterday, but won't pitch Tuesday as scheduled.
Angels OF Gary Matthews Jr. has a slight tear in his knee but will play through it.
Mets OF Trot Nixon underwent season-ending hernia surgery.
Roy Oswalt has been placed on the DL with continued soreness from a left hip abductor strain.
Mets OF Angel Pagan may need season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum.
Mariners SP Carlos Silva left yesterday's start with back spasms but may make his next start.
Billy Wagner will have an MRI today after suffering cramping in his shoulder yesterday.
Marlins OF Josh Willingham missed yesterday's game to rest a sore wrist after being hit by a pitch Saturday.
Dmitri Young, who is diabetic, is on the DL after missing two straight games with high blood sugar and lightheadedness.

Apparently Scott Linebrink is using acupuncture and other methods to relieve the pain of migraines and some back issues he's been having. I've been known to get migraines related to Linebrink as well, especially when Joe Thatcher and Will Inman pitch well.

I'm sure this debate has been hashed out before, but it doesn't usually give me the urge to sing "One of these things is not like the others." Dugout Central asked four writers to name the greatest living pitcher. Your nominees: Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens...and Dwight Gooden.

Murray Chass would like to know why it's been 2 1/2 years since Don Baylor worked in baseball.

Week 15's blogpoll results for AL Awards (conducted over the break) are up at this link. Ian Kinsler was the surprise winner for MVP, with Cliff Lee taking the Cy Young and Evan Longoria lapping the field to win the Rookie of the Year. If you read the comments, I actually only wrote about half of what's quoted to me...the part about catchers belongs to someone else. Here's my ballot:

MVP:
1. Ian Kinsler
2. Grady Sizemore
3. Alex Rodriguez

Cy Young:
1. Roy Halladay
2. Justin Duchsherer
3. Cliff Lee

ROTY:
1. Evan Longoria
2. Greg Smith
3. Nick Blackburn

Oh, and if you ever find yourself stuck in a conundrum, where a team either has the option of paying you $20 million for next season or letting you become a free agent and likely make significantly less, the way to show that team you want to stay is almost certainly not tanking in a pinch hit at-bat against the Yankees. Just saying.

Drink up.

The All-Star Futures Game is on ESPN2 at 11:30 AM CT (no, not a misprint), with the pregame show airing an hour beforehand. "Third baseman" Mat Gamel, unequivocally the crown jewel of the system, is the only Milwaukee farmhand playing, thought erstwhile Brewers Matt LaPorta and Will Inman are also both on the US team, as is unsigned 2005 draft pick Jake Arrieta.

Brewers Futures Game alumni include Kyle Peterson (1999), Ben Sheets (2000), Nick Neugebauer (2001), Corey Hart (2002), Bill Hall (2002), J.J. Hardy (2003), Dave Krynzel (2003), Prince Fielder (2004), Rickie Weeks (2004), Hernan Iribarren (2005), Nelson Cruz (2005), Ryan Braun (2006), Yovani Gallardo (2006), and Alcides Escobar (2007).

Current or former Brewers who played on in the game prior to joining the organization include Francisco Cordero (Detroit - 1999), Russell Branyan (Cleveland - 1999), Alex Sanchez (Tampa Bay - 1999), Peter Bergeron (Montreal - 1999), Joe Lawrence (Toronto - 1999), Tomo Ohka (Boston - 1999, 2000), Ryan Anderson (Seattle - 1999, 2000), CC Sabathia (Cleveland - 2000), Eric Munson (Detroit - 2000), Mike Rivera (Detroit - 2001), Grant Balfour (Minnesota - 2001), Lyle Overbay (Arizona - 2002), Brett Evert (Atlanta - 2002), Jorge de la Rosa (Boston - 2002, 2003), Chris Narveson (St. Louis - 2003), Jose Capellan (Atlanta - 2004), and Zach Jackson (Toronto - 2005).

Feel free to use this as a game thead, or just to talk about what a studly slugger Gamel is.

[editor's note, by battlekow] I conducted this interview in Spring Training, but it reads funny without the introductory questions, so just pretend it's March.

So far this year, Will Inman has handled his promotion to High-A ball with aplomb. His line so far features a 1.51 ERA in 35.7 innings, with a league-leading 43 strikeouts, six walks, 30 hits, and two home runs; basically, he's duplicating his ridiculous numbers from last year. In between duplications, he was nice enough to answer a few of my questions:

How are you feeling so far this spring?

Everything's going pretty well. I'm just trying to get some innings in, make sure I get on the mound, get some experience. It's the beginning of the year, so I'm just trying to get everything back in shape, game intensity-type stuff, face some hitters, get in some situations, just get ready for the season.

Do you think you're headed to Brevard to start the season?

They don't really tell us anything, but I'm going to go ahead and guess that, but at the same time, I don't really know.

How would you feel about being a manatee?

A manatee, boy, I guess that would be great. I mean, I don't know what else to say about that. I've never been to Florida really in my life, so probably play there and enjoy the good weather, and just try to have a good season

Have you seen hornymanatee.com?

[alarmed pause] No, I haven't.

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