New catcher Gregg Zaun was brought in to replace Jason Kendall. I didn’t have a problem with Kendall, but apparently he was asking for (and got from the Kansas City Royals) a two year deal at $3 million per year. Since they have something like $25 million being paid to useless players (Jeff Suppan, Bill Hall and David Riske) they had to cut back where they could (letting Cameron, Kendall and Felipe Lopez become free agents) to afford to acquire some new pitchers (Randy Wolf and Doug Davis). We have two really good catching prospects in Angel Salome and Jonathon Lucroy, but both of them look to be not quite ready for the big leagues. We may see them at some point during the year if Zaun or the back-up catcher (to be determined) suffers an injury, but one or both of them should be on the big league club in September when the rosters are expanded from 25 to 40. So Zaun is basically a fill in until one of those two (or both) are Major League ready.
I don’t know too much about Zaun except that Zaun is old! He should’ve been out of the game years ago, but he can’t stay home because he hates his wife! You’ve all met her at the Christmas Party. She’s the one that gets plastered and calls him a retard! But seriously, Zaun is 39 years old, but he looks like he is still in pretty good shape because he’s only caught over 100 games in a season 4 times in his 15 year career. That hopefully means less wear and tear on the body, because the catcher of all people bears the brunt of the long season the most. Or at least in my opinion. He is also a switch hitter, which should balance out the right-handed heavy lineup that the Brewers put out on a daily basis. And he does have more power than Jason Kendall (but honestly I think I have more power than Kendall) which should help in the bottom half of the lineup that is usually devoid of power.
And speaking of being old, I heard Gregg Zaun say that he has a 5 year plan. What is it? Don’t die? I hope that during a mound conference with Yovani Gallardo, Zaun doesn’t mumble like an old curmudgeon about Gallardo not trusting his fastball. Because I don’t need to see Yovani saying, Hey Old Man River – shut your mouth or I’ll break your hip. And what's with the second g in Gregg? What does that one stand for, Grandpa? But I shouldn't talk shit about him because he probably has more money that me, has a hot wife and I'm certain that he could kick my ass. But perhaps Zaun’s age, experience and knowledge of the game will help to turn around the League’s worst pitching staff from last year, because that is exactly what he is being asked to do.One of the things that they always said about Kendall was that he called a good game. It sure didn’t seem like he was calling good games last year. Or maybe he was and the pitchers were really just that bad. You can study your opponents and call pitches that expose their weaknesses, but unless the pitcher executes, the results will be less than spectacular. Zaun has been learning each individual pitcher that he will be catching and he will continue to do so for the rest of Spring Training. When the team heads North for the Home Opener, there’s still going to be some room for improvement. Like a few other players on this team, Zaun is going to be a work in progress and will have to be given a bit of a pass in order to get acclimated to the styles of his teammates and to hitters in the National League.
But one thing that he has been doing in Spring Training is hitting the shit out of the ball. He's batting .429 with 1 HR and 9 RBIs (for the team lead). While that is definitely well over his career batting average of .251, it's still good to see that the old man has a little gas left in the tank. Maybe being surrounding by what is still a pretty young team has invigorated him. Whatever the case may be, I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. My friend Marco works for a sports talk radio station in Baltimore, MD. Gregg Zaun played for the Baltimore Orioles for the 1st half of the season before being traded to Tampa Bay. I asked him for his opinion on Zaun. He said that his offense and defense were what you'd expect for a catcher in their late 30's, but the main point that he hit on was that Gregg Zaun would be an excellent mentor for a younger catcher. Matt Weiters of the Orioles is their prized catching prospect. Zaun worked with Weiters in Spring Training then basically kept the plate warm for him until Weiters was ready to play every day. I hope that during Spring Training he is helping out Lucroy and Salome and teaching them the ins and outs of being a Major League catcher. I had hoped that one of those two would be his back-up during the regular season so that they could continue the learning process, but that doesn't seem very likely.
The Brewers claimed George Kottaras off of waivers from the Boston Red Sox and gave him an opportunity to win the back-up job. They also signed Matt Treanor (pictured, with his wife Olympic Gold medal winner Volleyball player Misty May-Treanor) to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. Right now both of those players have the edge on Lucroy and Salome because they both have Major League experience. If the season started tomorrow, Kottaras would be the back-up because of the way he is playing this spring (.318 avg, 1 HR, 3 RBIs and bats left-handed) versus Treanor (.235 O HR, 2 RBI and bats right handed). The Brewers seemed convinced to have a bench full of lefties so Kottaras would fit that mold. It's too bad though, because I was really looking forward to seeing Misty May-Treanor at the games. All of the players wives/girlfriends hang out up on the Club Level, and I see them most every game. So even though Kottaras is a "better fit" for the team (because I would prefer to see Lucroy as the back-up so that he could get some valuable innings of experience) I am going to miss out on the hotness that is Misty May-Treanor. So much for me living the dream... But Gregg Zaun's stats will be more reality based than dreamlike:.254 avg, 8 HRs, 41 RBIs and 101 games caught.
And speaking of looking forward to, I am really excited about Yovani Gallardo. This guy is a stud, and although he didn't have ace-like numbers last year (13-12 record, 3.73 ERA, 185.2 innings pitched, 204 strikeouts and 94 walks) he's well on his way to becoming an elite pitcher in the National League. Yo is only 24 years old (most pitchers don't hit their prime until the late 20's ) so there are plenty of more opportunities for him to improve. But he will definitely be counted upon to be the ace of this staff and go up against the other elite pitchers in the NL like Tim Lincecum, Chris Carpenter and Johan Santana. I have the feeling the Gallardo is going to have a monster year, 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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