Seriously, who cares about Claudio Vargas? I'm pretty sure that his Mom does, but poll the majority of Brewers fans and they'll certainly remember his stint with the team in 2007 rather than his half-season in 2009. In 2007 as a starter he was 11-6 with a 5.09 ERA in 23 starts. As his stats indicate he was a beneficiary of tremendous run support as he also gave up too many runs per game to make them interesting. Vargas was not well liked in Milwaukee that year because we traded away Doug Davis (who with Arizona that year had a 13-12 record with a 4.25 ERA) to get him. His 1st time in Milwaukee ended with him getting cut during Spring Training days before the 2008 season began. So it surprised everyone (including me) that we brought him back in 2009. But like every M. Night Shyamalan movie, there's a twist! This time when he took the mound for Milwaukee he was pitching solely as a reliever. And whatever happened when he made the transition from starter to reliever, it certainly worked. In 28 games covering 30.1 innings with Milwaukee in 2009, he had a 1-0 record with a 1.78 ERA. That performance was rewarded with a 1-year contract to stay with the Brewers and hopefully add some more stability in the bullpen.
As mentioned before (in a previous "25 in 25" entry), the bullpen is shaping up to be a strength of this team. Vargas should help solidify that if he is in 2009 form instead of 2007 form. Many pitchers have transitioned successfully from starter to reliever and ended up prolonging their career because of it. I wrote about LaTroy Hawkins doing that, but the most famous as of late has to be John Smoltz. Smoltz is the 2nd pitcher in Major League history to have both a 20 win season as a starter and a 50 save season as a closer, and is the only pitcher to have 200 career wins and 150 career saves. I'm not being ridiculous and comparing Vargas to Smoltz, but it helps to show that someone can transition quite easily from starting to relief. But let me also point out that Smoltz was a hell of a starter, while Vargas was mediocre at best.
Vargas will not be counted on to be fantastic, because Todd Coffey fills those shoes rather well. All that Vargas has to do is not suck. He can even have a mid 3 ERA and still be effective. But if his ERA starts climbing into the 4s or 5s, then the fans will certainly take notice, grab their pitchforks and torches and run him out of town just like they have done many time in the past. I don't believe that will happen, because Vargas (albeit with a limited sample size) seems to have found his place in the bullpen. I would compare him to Carlos Villanueva, who may or may not make the team this year. He also has pitched in both roles, and for some reason has been more effective in relief. Some things just kind of click in different ways for different people. And like old guys always say, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. And so far Claudio Vargas ain't broke as a relief pitcher.
The only interesting tidbit that I have to share about Vargas is when my cousin Kevin and I got our picture taken with him at the Brewers On Deck event in January (pictured at the beginning of this article). For all of the photo opportunities with the popular players, the lines stretched as far as the eye could see (like when we got our picture with Corey Hart). Vargas was sitting on the stool with no one in line to get their photo with him, so we kind of felt bad that he was being ignored. I didn't know who he was until I saw the back of his jersey, but after the picture I shook his hand and wished him well in the 2010 season. That guy has banana hands and a death grip handshake. I could have swore that I felt a couple of bones break in my right hand, and if I didn't believe it before, I had no doubt in my mind that this guy was a pitcher. He must have some kind of grip on that pitch to be able to control the ball enough to evade the bat of the hitters he is facing. I was impressed by that, and I walked away feeling like less than a man than he was. But he could make me feel a whole lot better if he has a 2010 season like this:
3.17 ERA, 1-2 record, 48 innings pitched and the last player named when you ask the common fan to name all of the players on the 25 man roster.
But one player that everyone in Milwaukee knows is back-up infielder Craig Counsell. Counsell grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay and went to the high school there. He currently resides there and is a fan favorite. And it's not just Milwaukee that loves him; he gets a standing ovation every time he plays in Arizona be it a regular season game or a Spring Training game. And he's even wearing a rival uniform when the Arizona fans applaud him. Craig Counsell also has the distinction of being the favorite Brewers player of my brother James, but he loves him for reasons far different than every other Brewers or Diamondbacks fan does. 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
As mentioned before (in a previous "25 in 25" entry), the bullpen is shaping up to be a strength of this team. Vargas should help solidify that if he is in 2009 form instead of 2007 form. Many pitchers have transitioned successfully from starter to reliever and ended up prolonging their career because of it. I wrote about LaTroy Hawkins doing that, but the most famous as of late has to be John Smoltz. Smoltz is the 2nd pitcher in Major League history to have both a 20 win season as a starter and a 50 save season as a closer, and is the only pitcher to have 200 career wins and 150 career saves. I'm not being ridiculous and comparing Vargas to Smoltz, but it helps to show that someone can transition quite easily from starting to relief. But let me also point out that Smoltz was a hell of a starter, while Vargas was mediocre at best.Vargas will not be counted on to be fantastic, because Todd Coffey fills those shoes rather well. All that Vargas has to do is not suck. He can even have a mid 3 ERA and still be effective. But if his ERA starts climbing into the 4s or 5s, then the fans will certainly take notice, grab their pitchforks and torches and run him out of town just like they have done many time in the past. I don't believe that will happen, because Vargas (albeit with a limited sample size) seems to have found his place in the bullpen. I would compare him to Carlos Villanueva, who may or may not make the team this year. He also has pitched in both roles, and for some reason has been more effective in relief. Some things just kind of click in different ways for different people. And like old guys always say, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. And so far Claudio Vargas ain't broke as a relief pitcher.
The only interesting tidbit that I have to share about Vargas is when my cousin Kevin and I got our picture taken with him at the Brewers On Deck event in January (pictured at the beginning of this article). For all of the photo opportunities with the popular players, the lines stretched as far as the eye could see (like when we got our picture with Corey Hart). Vargas was sitting on the stool with no one in line to get their photo with him, so we kind of felt bad that he was being ignored. I didn't know who he was until I saw the back of his jersey, but after the picture I shook his hand and wished him well in the 2010 season. That guy has banana hands and a death grip handshake. I could have swore that I felt a couple of bones break in my right hand, and if I didn't believe it before, I had no doubt in my mind that this guy was a pitcher. He must have some kind of grip on that pitch to be able to control the ball enough to evade the bat of the hitters he is facing. I was impressed by that, and I walked away feeling like less than a man than he was. But he could make me feel a whole lot better if he has a 2010 season like this:
3.17 ERA, 1-2 record, 48 innings pitched and the last player named when you ask the common fan to name all of the players on the 25 man roster.
But one player that everyone in Milwaukee knows is back-up infielder Craig Counsell. Counsell grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay and went to the high school there. He currently resides there and is a fan favorite. And it's not just Milwaukee that loves him; he gets a standing ovation every time he plays in Arizona be it a regular season game or a Spring Training game. And he's even wearing a rival uniform when the Arizona fans applaud him. Craig Counsell also has the distinction of being the favorite Brewers player of my brother James, but he loves him for reasons far different than every other Brewers or Diamondbacks fan does. 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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