Milwaukee Brewers 2011 - 25 in 25 - Chris Narveson (13 of 25)

Brewers starter Chris Narveson was pretty good last year as the #5 starter as long as you take away the 1st inning. But you can't take the 1st inning out of his stats much like you can't take this headache out my head that was the result of a long night of drinking. You have to take the good with the bad when evaluating something overall. The problem with Narveson was that he almost never escaped the 1st inning without allowing a couple of runs, which often put his team in a hole that was difficult for them to dig out of. I can handle 1 or 2 runs, but when you give up a Gentleman's 2 runs (which on paper equates to at least 4 runs) then I have a problem. Here's hoping that he corrects that problem because outside of that he's a pretty solid back of the rotation pitcher. But one of the good things about his 1st inning struggles is that he gives the fans more time to hang out in the parking lot tailgaiting before the game. I like to try to get in by the start of the game (although that rarely happens when I'm drinking) but on games that Narveson is starting I know that I can wait until the bottom of the 1st inning because no one wants to see their starter get hit around in the opening frame of the game. Yeah man! No one wants to see that shit! So come on Narv-dog, figure that shit out so the offense doesn't have to bail you out big time every game.

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and I stayed out until bar close with my best buddy Mike Bates. I got about 3 hours of sleep and I have to work at 9:30am, which is in about an hour as I am writing this. So I don't really fucking feel like saying anything else about Narveson that you already know. He's a #5 starter. There's nothing really special about him or else he's have a higher slot in the rotation. But every team needs one, and if our starting 4 get healthy (which is a frustrating thing to think about now that Marcum tweaked his shoulder and Greinke as mentioned will already miss the start of the season) he is a nice compliment to the pitching staff every 5 days. I knew going into this that I would have nothing to say about Chris Narveson, which is why I filmed the video that you are about to watch. Suffice to say I could have just posted this video and not typed a damn word here. In my opinion it's that good.

So there you go. I know that you wonder about me sometimes. Once I get the rum in me strange things happen. But if that rum gives me to idea to wave a pirate flag and talk like a pirate then so be it. If that is the consequence for drinking then I'll be a jolly fellow and suffer those consequences every single time. And speaking of suffering, I refuse to suffer through a 1st inning blowup by Chris Narveson this year. If it is my choice (say when I go to the game as a fan instead of being there as an employee) I will chose to enter the game in the bottom of the 1st inning so I don't have to witness Narveson's first inning problems. But one thing that I can't chose is this stat line (which doesn't make any sense because it is my prediction and I am the only one who is choosing this shit. Leave me alone I'm tired and I'm pissed off I have to work today. I just want to fucking sleep all day):

10-13 record, 4.85 ERA, 174 innings pitched, 133 strikeouts and once again he will hear his name shouted Pirate style from the left field bleachers by yours truly. NAAAAAARRRRVESSSSSSON!

I don't really give a shit about Chris Narveson. No offense man. I'm sure that he's a hell of a guy in real life but he's one of the minor pieces of this puzzle and he's not vital to our success this year. One could make that same argument about the next player on the 25 man roster, the one and only Craig Counsell. But I would argue that he's extremely important to our success in 2011, so that is an argument worth having. Aside from improving the pitching staff I said that the next most important thing was resigning Craig Counsell. Either Doug Melvin was listening to me (at Miller Park I do work at the sections right in front of his suite on the Club Level so who knows) or he understands the role Counsell plays on this team. Every team needs a savvy veteran with post-season and World Series experience, and Counsell is able to bring that to the table. When we get back to the playoffs this year he will then play a pivotal role in most people's eyes, but I think that he has already started doing that in Spring Training. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Roll out the Barrel! We'll have a Barrel of Fun!

- pookon -

www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com