Adam McCalvy of mlb.com sat down for an interview with Doug Melvin in a story published yesterday. As usual, he provides some insights into questions Brewers fans may currently have.
On Ben Sheets- When asked about the wisdom of long-term megadeals, Melvin responds with "you can do a history of all the long-term contracts with pitchers, and not many of them pay off." He then points out such ill-advised deals as the ones given to Chan Ho Park, Darren Dreifort, Russ Ortiz, and even the recent deals given to A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay. Is it possible Melvin's already having some regrets about the money he gave to Sheets?
On the current starting rotation- Based on his comments, it looks like the current pecking order to fill in in the rotation if Sheets can't go and before Rick Helling returns is Dana Eveland, Jose Capellan and Justin Lehr. He clearly states that he feels Zach Jackson and Dennis Sarfate aren't ready yet. Dana Eveland will be called up and will start this week if Sheets can't go.
On Carlos Lee- Of course, Melvin doesn't commit either way on this one. He gives a pretty standard answer here- that they have no plan yet.
Finally, when asked about the Brewers' chances of contending for the playoffs, Melvin feels that "if you look around you see that we're as talented as any other club". It's nice to hear that kind of confidence coming from your GM.
Not that it wasn't expected, but it's good to see that Melvin is calm and collected about the Crew's recent rotation injury problems. One of the great things about the team as it's currently constituted is its depth. I'm sure there are many teams around baseball who would love to have a Dana Eveland or Ben Hendrickson to spot-start if two of their rotation members went down with injuries. Every team has rough spots, and the good ones find ways to get through them.
Just a quick final note- BP's Prospectus Hit List today drops the Brewers to 9th in baseball, noting that they're now underperforming expectations by almost 4 wins based on adjusted run differential. Going to San Diego- where the Padres have won 9 in a row- and taking 2 of 3 would be huge.
Tags: Roy Halladay, San Diego Padres, Doug Melvin, Darren Dreifort, Milwaukee Brewers, Russ Ortiz, Chan Ho Park