Casey McGehee was big last year. Just how big was he? About 6'1" and 195 pounds (insert rimshot). Ok, that was my clever attempt at humor, but it is the morning and daylight savings time robbed me of an hour of sleep. That jerk. But in all seriousness, where the hell would we be with out Casey? When the Brewers claimed him off waivers from the Cubs prior to the 2009 season I thought nothing of it. The Brewers (and most Major League teams) claim guys off waivers all of the time who fail to make an impact with that club. But this guy was different. The reason I don't think anybody saw it coming was that Bill Hall was given the chance to be the everyday 3rd baseman and Mat Gamel was the apparent heir to the Hot Corner as soon as he was ready for the job. But then Gamel got injured during Spring Training and McGehee swooped in and took advantage of every situation. Veteran players usually get a pretty long leash when it comes to their position on the diamond and their playing time. Younger players have to go out and prove that they belong in that spot. And Casey McGehee played so well in Spring Training of 2009 that he made the Opening Day roster for the 1st time and will now be counted on to be the Brewers every day 3rd baseman.But even though he had the numbers (2009 Spring Training - 27 games, .328 avg, 6HRs and 16 RBIs) to prove that he was a capable of performing in the Majors, he needed a little help from some of his teammates to land the starting gig. First off, Bill Hall was the returning 3rd baseman and was once again given the position without competition. I myself said that Bill Hall would return to win games once again because I so wanted to be right, but boy was I wrong. Bill Hall failed miserably both offensivly and defensivly, and lost playing time. But before that happened, Rickie Weeks was lost for the season. At that point, Casey (along with Craig Counsell) started playing 2nd on a regular basis, and by June he found himself in the lineup almost everyday at either 2nd or 3rd base. He was doing so well offensively that Macha had no choice but to pencil him in somewhere every game.
Towards the end of the year, Casey's name was
mentioned as a Rookie of the Year candidate. The entire city was pulling for him, but he just didn't have enough at bats during the year to rack up the attention grabbing stats that the voters look at. It also didn't help that Casey plays in one of the smallest media markets in the league, which never allowed him to get the exposure that he needed to win the award. You can make the argument that Ryan Braun won the award under the same circumstances, and I certainly would agree with you on that one. But Braun did it with more flash and style, and also had the numbers to back it up. As a diehard it pains me to say this, but compared to the other candidates, Casey McGehee did not deserve to win NL Rookie of the Year, so it was justified that he finished 5th in the voting. But he did still put up great numbers for a guy who we picked up for nothing and was instrumental in the Brewers offense in 2009.The biggest thing that Casey did last year and hopefully will continue to do this year is provide protection for Prince Fielder by being productive in the #5 spot in the lineup. Having that consistent threat to hit homeruns and knock in RBIs batting behind Fielder makes pitchers think twice about putting him on base intentionally. I always thought that Corey Hart had the necessary skills to effectively fulfill that role, but you all know how I feel about Corey Hart. Let's just hope that Casey McGehee doesn't fall off the edge of the Earth just like Hart. I would much rather see him be more like Ryan Braun and avoid that sophomore slump that everyone says is coming. But not everybody watches these players day in and day out like I do. Casey McGehee (or Buster McGehee as Tim Allen of Sportsradio 1250 calls him) came from being a relative unknown to being one of the fan favorites in Milwaukee. We were looking for an answer at 3rd base after Bill Hall played his way out of town, and so far Mat Gamel has failed to accomplish anything once he is given the chance to perform at the Major League level. McGehee us under team control, so there is a big possibility that he could be the everyday 3rd baseman for many years to come. Hopefully he can convince the Managers and Coaches that he is the answer, and we'll know soon enough once the season starts. How will we be able to tell? Mat Gamel will start the season in AAA, and if he starts playing more often at 1st base or in the outfield, that's a pretty good sign that they feel he is being blocked at 3rd base on the big league club. And that will most certainly be a good thing.
I'm hours behind my deadline (looks like I totally bit off more than I can chew, as I had a wicked crazy weekend that prevented me from being awake / sober enough to write this article) so I'm going to have to wrap this up. I don't yet own a Casey McGehee jersey, but I plan on buying one soon because I have the feeling he'll be around Milwaukee for many more years to come. But before I go, I have to leave my 2010 predictions for Casey McGehee:.278 batting average, 18 HRs, 75 RBIs and solid defense at the hot corner. His batting average will probably fall off a bit due to the pitchers having better scouting reports on him, but his HR and RBI numbers will remain the same due to the people in front of him staying productive.
I already mentioned that I hope he takes the Ryan Braun route and avoids the sophomore slump. Speaking of Braun, he is next on 25 in 25. Ryan has already put up some crazy ridiculous numbers in his first 3 years in the big leagues, so it's hard to believe that he can get better. But Ryan Braun can and he will. And he's also a better baseball player than Prince Fielder. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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