There's a reason that I am writing this article with about 5 days left to go until Opening Day. For starters, at the beginning of Spring Training the 2nd backup infielder was one of the few positions that was up for grabs, so I didn't know until recently who I would be writing about. Secondly whomever fills that role won't really impact the club very much unless they start playing an extended amount of time due to the injury of one of the regular infielders. And by that point it won't matter because we would have lost a key component in our lineup. And finally, even though it looked like Joe Inglett had the edge on the job pretty early on for a couple of reasons that I will discuss in a minute, I had to wait until he played enough in Spring Training so that I would have something to talk about. So it looks like now is the time to talk about new Brewers infielder Joe Inglett, who is looking to join the ranks of Casey McGehee, Todd Coffey and Scott Podsednik as another great waiver pickup by GM Doug Melvin.
Inglett was put on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and claimed by the Texas Rangers. Then the Rangers put him on waivers and the Brewers claimed. So in an offseason when he was technically on 3 different teams, do you think he would have guessed that he would have been on an Opening Day roster? The guy is 31 years old, but he has only played for like 2 1/2 seasons in the Major Leagues. Podsednik was 27 when we picked him off of waivers, and he went on to have a career year and nearly win rookie of the year. The same obviously can't happen with Inglett, but some players often blossom with a change in scenery and another shot. He gets the change of scenery in Milwaukee, but I wonder how much he is going to play. He got to see a good amount of action in Spring Training and hit .216 with 1 HR, 8 RBIs and 9 walks for a .347 OBP. I'm going to sound like a broken record when I once again talk about not putting stock into Spring Training stats, but he must have showed something down in Arizona that impressed the Brewers management.
And that thing that he showed was versatility, which is vital to a backup player if they ever want to see their name in the starting lineup. Look at Craig Counsell (2nd base, 3rd base and shortstop), Jody Gerut (leftfield, centerfield and rightfield), and Jim Edmonds (leftfield, centerfield, rightfield and Prince Fielder's backup at first base should he take a day off). Inglett can cover 2nd base, 3rd base, shortstop, leftfield and rightfield, so I'm sure that Manager Ken Macha will figure out a way to get him in there once a week. If not, he will be one of the first options off of the bench to pinch hit. And in the National League when you have the pitcher hitting, those men riding the pine often find themselves going into the game cold with a chance to make a huge impact late in the game. That is why you see a lot of veterans in pinch hitting roles instead of younger players. Guys that have been around for a while (either major or minor league veterans) know what they need to do to prepare for that one and only at bat they get that day. Chances are they also might enter the game in a double switch, and be brought in for defensive purposes as well as getting that one crucial at bat. Does Joe Inglett have what it takes to help the Brewers off of the bench? We'll see soon enough.
The only thing that I remember about Joe Inglett is that he hit a grand slam against us on June 19, 2008 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. That sounds like a really random and trivial thing to remember, but that day was anything but trivial. The reason that I remember it was because it was a Sunday and I was working at Miller Park. At the time I was working 2nd shift at my "day job" so weekend games were the only ones that I was able to watch in person. The Toronto Blue Jays were in town for interleague play, and Brewers pitcher Dave Bush took a no-hitter into the 8th inning with the Brewers comfortably leading 8-0. Bush gave up a triple to former Brewers 1st baseman Lyle Overbay who then scored, and the Brewers went into the 9th leading 8-1. Then a couple of garbage pitchers (David Riske and Tim Dillard) came in for some garbage time and ended up giving up 6 runs, including a 2 out Grand Slam to Joe Inglett. And then we had to bring in closer Solomon Torres for the save, and the Brewers won 8-7. Just like that the game went from a no-hitter to a save situation, and I was all lit up with frustration. At the time I was doing a wrap-up after each series on this blog, and if you want to read my immediate reaction after that game, click on this link. After that I never heard about him ever again, at least until the Brewers claimed him off of waivers. I don't expect him to have another crushing moment like that, but I do expect him to have this stat line in 2010:
.278 avg, 2 HRs, 33 RBIs and not on the roster for the entire 2010 season. I know I always try to say something wacky or funny at the end of the stat line, but since the Brewers bench is so lefty heavy eventually they're going to have to have a right handed batter sitting in the dugout. And unfortunately Inglett is the most likely candidate to be replaced. That is unless he proves that he doesn't deserve to be replaced.
One player that proves that he belongs in the starting rotation is righthander Dave Bush. Aside from 2009 when he got struck in the arm with a line drive in June and never recovered, he has been the most consistent pitcher of the various starting 5s since he arrived in Milwaukee prior to the 2006 season. His history earned him the #4 spot in the rotation, which figured to be overloaded with lefthanders. A good year out of Bush will help to improve and solidify a starting rotation that has been well documented as the worst in all of baseball in 2009, 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
Inglett was put on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and claimed by the Texas Rangers. Then the Rangers put him on waivers and the Brewers claimed. So in an offseason when he was technically on 3 different teams, do you think he would have guessed that he would have been on an Opening Day roster? The guy is 31 years old, but he has only played for like 2 1/2 seasons in the Major Leagues. Podsednik was 27 when we picked him off of waivers, and he went on to have a career year and nearly win rookie of the year. The same obviously can't happen with Inglett, but some players often blossom with a change in scenery and another shot. He gets the change of scenery in Milwaukee, but I wonder how much he is going to play. He got to see a good amount of action in Spring Training and hit .216 with 1 HR, 8 RBIs and 9 walks for a .347 OBP. I'm going to sound like a broken record when I once again talk about not putting stock into Spring Training stats, but he must have showed something down in Arizona that impressed the Brewers management.
And that thing that he showed was versatility, which is vital to a backup player if they ever want to see their name in the starting lineup. Look at Craig Counsell (2nd base, 3rd base and shortstop), Jody Gerut (leftfield, centerfield and rightfield), and Jim Edmonds (leftfield, centerfield, rightfield and Prince Fielder's backup at first base should he take a day off). Inglett can cover 2nd base, 3rd base, shortstop, leftfield and rightfield, so I'm sure that Manager Ken Macha will figure out a way to get him in there once a week. If not, he will be one of the first options off of the bench to pinch hit. And in the National League when you have the pitcher hitting, those men riding the pine often find themselves going into the game cold with a chance to make a huge impact late in the game. That is why you see a lot of veterans in pinch hitting roles instead of younger players. Guys that have been around for a while (either major or minor league veterans) know what they need to do to prepare for that one and only at bat they get that day. Chances are they also might enter the game in a double switch, and be brought in for defensive purposes as well as getting that one crucial at bat. Does Joe Inglett have what it takes to help the Brewers off of the bench? We'll see soon enough.
The only thing that I remember about Joe Inglett is that he hit a grand slam against us on June 19, 2008 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. That sounds like a really random and trivial thing to remember, but that day was anything but trivial. The reason that I remember it was because it was a Sunday and I was working at Miller Park. At the time I was working 2nd shift at my "day job" so weekend games were the only ones that I was able to watch in person. The Toronto Blue Jays were in town for interleague play, and Brewers pitcher Dave Bush took a no-hitter into the 8th inning with the Brewers comfortably leading 8-0. Bush gave up a triple to former Brewers 1st baseman Lyle Overbay who then scored, and the Brewers went into the 9th leading 8-1. Then a couple of garbage pitchers (David Riske and Tim Dillard) came in for some garbage time and ended up giving up 6 runs, including a 2 out Grand Slam to Joe Inglett. And then we had to bring in closer Solomon Torres for the save, and the Brewers won 8-7. Just like that the game went from a no-hitter to a save situation, and I was all lit up with frustration. At the time I was doing a wrap-up after each series on this blog, and if you want to read my immediate reaction after that game, click on this link. After that I never heard about him ever again, at least until the Brewers claimed him off of waivers. I don't expect him to have another crushing moment like that, but I do expect him to have this stat line in 2010:.278 avg, 2 HRs, 33 RBIs and not on the roster for the entire 2010 season. I know I always try to say something wacky or funny at the end of the stat line, but since the Brewers bench is so lefty heavy eventually they're going to have to have a right handed batter sitting in the dugout. And unfortunately Inglett is the most likely candidate to be replaced. That is unless he proves that he doesn't deserve to be replaced.
One player that proves that he belongs in the starting rotation is righthander Dave Bush. Aside from 2009 when he got struck in the arm with a line drive in June and never recovered, he has been the most consistent pitcher of the various starting 5s since he arrived in Milwaukee prior to the 2006 season. His history earned him the #4 spot in the rotation, which figured to be overloaded with lefthanders. A good year out of Bush will help to improve and solidify a starting rotation that has been well documented as the worst in all of baseball in 2009, 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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