Jody is a girl's name. I just wanted to get that one out of the way at the beginning of this so I don't have to address it later. But then I met a guy named Jody and found out that Jody is a guy's name too. Who would've thought? There's another guy named Jody and he's on the Brewers Opening Day roster. Jody Gerut is on that roster because of the lack of better options in the outfield. I hate to break it to you like that, but I don't see why we are carrying a back-up outfielder that hit .236 with 5 HRs and 21 RBIs last year. Oh yeah, that's because he is a back-up and didn't play enough to effect the final outcome of the season. That was true last year, but this year of the 3 starting outfielders (Braun, Gomez and Hart) Braun is the only player that you could write in permanent ink to play in over 150 games. Gomez is young and has yet to prove he belongs (but he is given that shot this year) and Hart just flat out sucks. So there is a definite possibility that Gerut may play close to 100 games combined between Center and Right Field. Yikes. But why is on the team? Like I said, because there are no better options.
The Brewers counted on Hart to not suck. They even offered him a long term deal that he foolishly turned down. Great for us though. But the problem is that we don't have any viable options in the minor leagues to fill in when certain outfielders fail. I can't name one prospect that is major league ready to play on this team. The closest is Lorenzo Cain, but he missed most of last year due to injury, or else I may be writing a feature article about him rather than Carlos Gomez. And depending on Casey McGehee's sophomore year, 3rd base prospect Mat Gamel might be moved out there if he can't handle the defensive aspects of the hot corner. Plus he'd need some time in the minors where it "doesn't count" to get adjusted to the position. And there are also concerns that his bat is inconsistent. Like we need another one of those on the team. So Gerut gets a spot based on that and a few other things.
Gerut had the spot locked up before Spring Training began thanks to the lack of depth and a couple of other reasons. First off he can play all 3 outfield positions well. Secondly, he bats left handed, which should get him some at bats in a right hand heavy lineup. Thirdly, he's only making $2 million this year meaning that he comes pretty cheap. He also came to Milwaukee in a trade with San Diego for Tony Gywnn Jr. (son of Padres great Tony Gwynn) in another trade that shouldn't have happened. Doug Melvin will give Gerut every chance to succeed so he can convince the fans that the trade worked in our favor. Seeing as how Gwynn Jr. didn't do so hot last year, I think Melvin made the right move. But time will tell on that one. And although I said bad things about Gerut, I did notice that his stats and performance on the field vastly improved once he got regular playing time in August and September when Hart was out with an injury. If that is any indication, he'll do just fine when he plays more than once a week and hit more like he did in San Diego when he had a .296 avg with 14 HRs and 43 RBIs. Kind of like I hope that Craig Counsell doesn't see regular playing time, I hope the same for Gerut because that means something is wrong with 1 of the 3 starters. But I have a feeling that he won't be quite as bad as last year.
Tony Gwynn Jr. was a fan favorite who never proved himself when he had the opportunity to convince the Brewers top brass that he belonged here. Since he was wasting away in the minors they did the right thing and traded him to a team where his name alone would get him regular playing time to prove himself. I wished him good luck. So Gerut came to town he was instantly disliked and was never given a fair shot. It didn't help that he was horrible in his pinch-hit appearances and started off by going 4-41 at the plate for a .098 average with 2 RBIs. But like I said, when he got the opportunity to play every day, he went 34-120 for a .283 average with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs. Gerut looks like he is going to get the chance to be the .283 player instead of the .098 player. And people will like him even though he has a girl's name.
But my favorite thing about Gerut is that Steve "Sparky" Fifer of Sportsradio1250 was so convinced that Gerut wouldn't make the Opening Day roster that he promised on the air that he would wear a dress to Opening Day of he did. To understand how awesome it is that Sparky will have to wear a dress, you'd have to listen to him on the radio and understand his personality. He's one of those really passionate sports fans that is extremely opinionated. Basically you either love him or hate him. And whichever one you choose, you'll certainly laugh when he shows up wearing a dress. Sparky is one of those guys who is in radio for a reason - they have a great voice with an ugly ass body. His head is way too big and he's a short silly looking guy. So at least we have that to look forward to. We can also look forward to Gerut having these stats in 2010:
.256 avg, 9 HRs, 43 RBIs, semi-regular playing time and still having a girl's name, despite the fact that I have met guys named Jody.
The other back-up outfielder on the 25 man roster doesn't have a girl's name. That's because he is the one and only Jim Edmonds. Just like Trevor Hoffman, I could have never imagined Edmonds being in a Brewers uniform, especially after all the harm he caused us while playing with the Cardinals and the Cubs. Even though Edmonds is turning 40 this year and he has lost a step in the outfield, he will most certainly see some playing time out there because you can't teach experience. And the one thing that Braun, Gomez and Hart lack is experience. Although Edmonds can't help them with that (you might even argue that he is going to take some of that away from them) what he can help them with will be worth every penny that he is being paid this year. If you are going to learn, you might as well learn from the best. And while calling Edmonds the best is sure to cause a stir and plenty of debate, you can't argue that in his prime he was pretty damn fantastic. 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
Gerut had the spot locked up before Spring Training began thanks to the lack of depth and a couple of other reasons. First off he can play all 3 outfield positions well. Secondly, he bats left handed, which should get him some at bats in a right hand heavy lineup. Thirdly, he's only making $2 million this year meaning that he comes pretty cheap. He also came to Milwaukee in a trade with San Diego for Tony Gywnn Jr. (son of Padres great Tony Gwynn) in another trade that shouldn't have happened. Doug Melvin will give Gerut every chance to succeed so he can convince the fans that the trade worked in our favor. Seeing as how Gwynn Jr. didn't do so hot last year, I think Melvin made the right move. But time will tell on that one. And although I said bad things about Gerut, I did notice that his stats and performance on the field vastly improved once he got regular playing time in August and September when Hart was out with an injury. If that is any indication, he'll do just fine when he plays more than once a week and hit more like he did in San Diego when he had a .296 avg with 14 HRs and 43 RBIs. Kind of like I hope that Craig Counsell doesn't see regular playing time, I hope the same for Gerut because that means something is wrong with 1 of the 3 starters. But I have a feeling that he won't be quite as bad as last year.Tony Gwynn Jr. was a fan favorite who never proved himself when he had the opportunity to convince the Brewers top brass that he belonged here. Since he was wasting away in the minors they did the right thing and traded him to a team where his name alone would get him regular playing time to prove himself. I wished him good luck. So Gerut came to town he was instantly disliked and was never given a fair shot. It didn't help that he was horrible in his pinch-hit appearances and started off by going 4-41 at the plate for a .098 average with 2 RBIs. But like I said, when he got the opportunity to play every day, he went 34-120 for a .283 average with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs. Gerut looks like he is going to get the chance to be the .283 player instead of the .098 player. And people will like him even though he has a girl's name.
But my favorite thing about Gerut is that Steve "Sparky" Fifer of Sportsradio1250 was so convinced that Gerut wouldn't make the Opening Day roster that he promised on the air that he would wear a dress to Opening Day of he did. To understand how awesome it is that Sparky will have to wear a dress, you'd have to listen to him on the radio and understand his personality. He's one of those really passionate sports fans that is extremely opinionated. Basically you either love him or hate him. And whichever one you choose, you'll certainly laugh when he shows up wearing a dress. Sparky is one of those guys who is in radio for a reason - they have a great voice with an ugly ass body. His head is way too big and he's a short silly looking guy. So at least we have that to look forward to. We can also look forward to Gerut having these stats in 2010:
.256 avg, 9 HRs, 43 RBIs, semi-regular playing time and still having a girl's name, despite the fact that I have met guys named Jody.
The other back-up outfielder on the 25 man roster doesn't have a girl's name. That's because he is the one and only Jim Edmonds. Just like Trevor Hoffman, I could have never imagined Edmonds being in a Brewers uniform, especially after all the harm he caused us while playing with the Cardinals and the Cubs. Even though Edmonds is turning 40 this year and he has lost a step in the outfield, he will most certainly see some playing time out there because you can't teach experience. And the one thing that Braun, Gomez and Hart lack is experience. Although Edmonds can't help them with that (you might even argue that he is going to take some of that away from them) what he can help them with will be worth every penny that he is being paid this year. If you are going to learn, you might as well learn from the best. And while calling Edmonds the best is sure to cause a stir and plenty of debate, you can't argue that in his prime he was pretty damn fantastic. 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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