Yeah I was just fucking with you when I said that I'd have the John Axford article today. C'mon, man! Did you really think that after a week of teasing you with it that I would actually post it? You're smarter than that. But it will be here tomorrow because that is the final day before the season begins, and John Axford is the 25th man on the 25 man roster. I wanted to go out with a bang because these last few posts have been a little underwhelming. But at least I'm talking about the bullpen, right? I mean at least Green, Kintzler and Mitre will hang out with Axford in the bullpen, right? So by osmosis I'm really talking about Axford today. And yes, that is a picture of the Bullpen at good ol' Milwaukee County Stadium. I could have put a picture of the one at Miller Park but I was reminiscing a little bit. Plus I'm watching Major League as I type this, so it seems fitting to go old school. This year's bullpen will be anything but, as it looks like it will be filled with mostly younger guys. If it weren't for injuries to Zack Greinke, LaTroy Hawkins and Manny Parra that will have them start the season on the DL, these 3 pitchers probably wouldn't even have been on the Opening Day roster. But they are, so I have to talk about them.
Sean Green is a decent reliever that brings 5 years of major league experience and is mostly a groundball pitcher. He missed almost all of last year with a dreaded intercostal strain (like the one that keeps nagging Braun like a rude guest at his restaurant) but from 2007-2009 with the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets he averaged a 4.34 ERA with 72 innings pitched, which isn't too bad for a middle of the road bullpen pitcher. You need someone out there to eat some innings when a starter leaves early or a game goes into extras, so it helps to have a guy that's durable to pitch back to back days. Every bullpen in the Majors has a guy like Sean Green. Not everybody out there is going to be a hard throwing shut 'em down reliever because that's impossible. All you need some times is a guy to cover innings. There's 9 in a game, and you can't end it until you've played all 9. All this seems like a waste of space, but it takes one to write about it. I haven't done shit in my life, and if I made it to the big leagues like Sean Green has done, then I wouldn't consider my life the disappointment that it is today. As you saw last year, the bullpen rarely has the same players at the end of the season as it did on Opening Day, so it will be interesting to see who goes when Parra and Hawkins return. I hope that Doug Melvin has to make a tough decision when that happens, because that means everyone in the bullpen is doing their job.
Every year you're going to see a couple of guys like Brandon Kintzler in the bullpen. Signed as a minor league free agent 2 years ago, he's young enough (26) where he's still cheap (major league minimum salary), has minor league options remaining and also doesn't have a lot of experience which he could use to his advantage. When there isn't a lot of scouting on a pitcher, the batter doesn't know what to expect. That's one of the reasons why you see rookie pitchers have great success then get knocked around real bad their second year. And if they do, you can send them down to the minors to work on their command without affecting the Brewers record. That's why you'll see someone like Kintzler or Mike McClendon bounce up and down throughout the season. That's one of the reasons the bullpen door has to be a revolving one because it's always in use and the pitchers out there are constantly changing. If every bullpen was filled with high priced veterans, you'd have no more money left for the rest of the team. So look for Kintzler to be the first one optioned to Nashville when LaTroy Hawkins comes off of the DL. But if you're a fan of his (and who isn't?) don't worry - you're sure to see him back in the bullpen by the end of the season. At the very least he'll be back as a September call-up.
Of these 3 guys, Sergio Mitre is the most likely to hang around for the entire season. Taking the role of spot starter / long reliever vacated by Manny Parra's injury, he plays a very important part in the bullpen. Every team needs one of these guys too because there will be a time when a starter just gets lit up in the 1st inning and the manager has no choice but to take him out. And suddenly you have 6 innings to cover that you thought were previously alright, which is where this guy steps in. His career stats aren't very impressive but that's not what we're asking him to be. His main goal is to chew up innings and keep us in the game. He's going to give up a few runs but at the end of the day he will play an important role. The best thing about him is that he's giving himself a Wet Willy in this picture. Anyone who would do something that looney in ok in my book. Plus we basically got him for nothing. Sure Chris Dickerson's Mom might get upset I called her son nothing, but he basically was nothing to this team. But you have to admit trading him a few days ago for Mitre which opened up a spot to trade for Nyjer Morgan. The additions of Mitre and Nyjer made us a better team, so I'm all for it. Manny Parra is out of minor league options, so it will be interesting to see what happens when he's healthy and ready to join the team. Since the Brewers will start the season with 4 starters and 8 relievers, it will also be interesting to see what happens on April 6th when they need a 5th starter. Do they go with Mitre? Or do they call up Marco Estrada? And if they do who gets sent down? Since I'm sick and tired of speculating about shit like this, I'll just sit back and let it all play out.When Spring Training started there was really only 1 bullpen spot available, but as you can see 3 players now occupy this "last spot." Injuries are one of the hardest things to predict in any sport, and when they happen it completely changes the roster. Since I didn't know which pitchers would round out the bullpen, my buddy Lee and I didn't talk about them. Instead we chose to talk about a different pitcher entirely. Lee has been following along with this "25 in 25" series and took me up on the offer to appear in the video, and I let him choose the topic. And like almost all the videos in this series, it contains randomness and swearing, so proceed with caution.
These 3 players are on the Opening Day roster by default. Do they deserve it? Kind of, but would they have made it had there not been those injuries? Who knows. But I don't expect any of them to have a full season of stats. But I feel like Manny Parra's injury is going to last longer then they are letting on seeing as he has only throw 1/3 of an inning so far this Spring. Which means Mitre has the best chance of sticking around long enough to put up stats that can accurately describe his performance, so I'm only going to throw out a prediction for him. I could be wrong about Green and Kintzler, because there always has to be those guys coming out of nowhere having an amazing season which elevates the team from good to great. But I just don't see them being those guys. I've watched the team long enough to be able to see that kind of shit. But who the hell knows anymore. I've been wrong before and I will be wrong again. Hell, I might even be wrong about Mitre's stats in 2011:
2-4 record, 4.85 ERA, 54 innings and by the end of the year, like Carlos Villanueva in 2010, you won't remember him nor will you remember that he pitched that much.
There is only 1 more day until Opening Day, and there is only 1 more player left to be talked about in "25 Brewers in 25 Days." That would be closer John Axford. And this time I really really mean it. At this point, who the hell else could I talk about? And who the hell else would I want to talk about? Sorry for making you wait a week for this shit, but I really wanted to end it right. And although this article is massive both in length and in speculation, it's worth a read. But I'm going to let you make that decision because tomorrow I present to you the long awaited John Axford article. I'd tease more about him, but I feel like I've done enough teasing around here. But there is information on how you too can grow a sweet mustache just like Axford. I know that you've always wanted one, and I have the secret. I'd tell you now, 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
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