Chris Narveson was the savoir of the Brewers starting rotation last year. Unfortunately for them it was too little too late. By the time he was given the opportunity to start on September 13th, the Brewers were 14 games behind the 1st place St. Louis Cardinals and well enough out of the Wild Card race (12 games back). The worst part about it was that he excelled in that role, posting a 3.38 ERA with a 1-0 record in 4 starts (overall he was 2-0 with a 3.83 ERA). How is that a bad thing? That’s because the other pitchers who filled in for the injured starters were absolutely terrible. Mike Burns was 3-4 with a 6.86 ERA, Seth McClung had a 12.27 ERA as a starter and Carlos Villanueva had a 6.52 ERA as a starter. I know that’s a lot of numbers that I just threw at you, but looking at the stats sometimes is a whole lot more effective than me just telling you to believe everything that I say. I’ve said it before that a whole lot of what I do on here is speculation and opinion, but I do actually make my claims after reviewing enough evidence to make non-baseball people mad. If you really wanted, I could be overly technical in my presentation, but I prefer to keep this thing conversational.
I’ve been criticized about my writing style before, but I love it because I write just like I talk. Only when I talk I usually swear more. I try to keep the profanity to a minimum, but then that eliminates most of my language. But maybe then the angels will come help us out. Then in the 9th inning I’ll put in Hemmerling for Mitchell, and a drunk wifebeater wearing fan will yell at me to go back to Cincinnati. But when an angel helps Hemmerling score a wacky in the infield homerun, they’ll want me to stay. But once again, I’m on this wild tangent because I really don’t have too much to say about Chris Narveson, which is why this article is being written 1 day before Spring Training. Because the next thing I have to say about Narveson couldn’t have been said at the beginning of March, it had to wait until now.
Chris Narveson had the best Spring Training of all of the 7 starting candidates. In 13 innings over 5 games he did not give up an earned for an obvious 0.00 ERA. He did give up 10 hits and 5 walks though, but thanks to the defense behind him and 10 strikeouts he was able to work out of a lot of jams. So his 0.00 ERA might be a little misleading. The next best pitcher was Randy Wolf with a 3.15 ERA. Spring Training stats don’t mean jack shit, but Chris Narveson is on the roster primarily because he is out of minor league options. They’d rather keep him in the bullpen (where he has been effective in the past) in order to preserve pitching depth than to risk losing him. So it is my opinion is that Chris Narveson will play a very important role for the Brewers this year.
As the 2nd lefty in the bullpen he can pitch multiple innings and allow Stetter to be the situational lefty that his stats suggest he should be. And as a starter he can do a spot start (like if another pitcher strains a muscle warming up for the game) or fill in for a couple of weeks every 5th day if someone lands on the DL. And unlike McClung or Villanueva I have the feeling that Narveson is going to be successful in that role. Call it a hunch or ESPN, but I just have that kind of feeling that he is going to be an impact player and be able to bail us out and stop the ship from sinking if it gets to that point. Either way, Narveson will be well known and well liked by the people in Milwaukee before the year is over. And that you can print in Rolling Stone magazine.
Chris Narveson’s 2010 stat line is very difficult to predict, because there is no way of telling how much time he will spend in the bullpen versus the starting rotation. And there are too many outside factors that could play a part (such as injuries, trades, demotions to the minors, etc.) that could force him into either role. But since he is starting the 2010 season in the bullpen, I’m going to predict that he will be a relief pitcher for the majority of the year and not see significant starting time until July or August when Suppan gets cut or ends up on the DL. So it’s going to look something like this:
3.92 ERA, 8-3 record, 98 innings pitched, 6 starts and unable to become a permanent fixture in the starting rotation thanks to Wolf, Davis and Parra (3 other lefties in the starting rotation.) He also holds the distinction of being one of players on the team (along with Parra) who's name sounds so much cooler when you say it like a Pirate. Chris Naaaaarrrrr-veson.
Although Narveson is unsure of his role on the team, I’m pretty sure that he is just thankful to be there. Being on the Major League team is a hell of a lot better than being in the Minors. But the next pitcher (and the last player on the 25 man roster) knows his role on the team by now. Carlos Villanueva came up as a starter but struggled in that role. He has proved to be a decent reliever, but if not for Jeff Suppan’s trip to DL to open the season, he probably would’ve started the season with AAA Nashville. So I’m guessing that he too is thankful just to be with the big league club. But how long will Villanueva be on this team? There are couple of factors in play that will lead to that decision, but that my friends is a topic that will be covered tomorrow (actually tonight since tomorrow is Opening Day). Brewers, Brewers, Keep Turning Up the Heat!
- pookon -
