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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Chris Narveson

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 -

http://www.pookon.com/

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com