Milwaukee Brewers 2011 - 25 in 25 - LaTroy Hawkins (17 of 25)

LaTroy Hawkins is old and I wish I could say that his body just broke down last year. That wasn't the case though because he hurt his shoulder and the rest of the body was fine. He tried to rehab it through rest and mall-walking, but he eventually had rotator cuff surgery in August to repair his busted up shoulder. 2010 was a lost year thanks to his shoulder and his numbers weren't pretty. He only pitched 16 innings and was just about as bad as he could be: 0-3 record with a 8.44 ERA. You could tell that something was wrong with him because over the past 8 years (despite being in his mid to upper 30's) he averaged a 3.05 ERA which is pretty damn good for any relief pitcher, let alone someone of his age.

Look at me talking about him like he's 90 and he fell in the driveway and broke his hip while walking to the mailbox one morning. 39 is not that old. It used to be when I was younger but in 6 weeks I'll be 30 and less than a decade away from being Hawkins' age. Of course though when I'm 39 he'll be 49 and that's old as shit. If Hawkins is still playing baseball when he's 49 then I will serious ask myself what the hell I did with my life because at 49 I'll be feeling so old I wont even be able to watch baseball without my body hurting. That's if things continue to go the way they currently are. I feel so much older than I actually am, but like everything else that has gone wrong in my life, I also blame the booze for this one as well.

And that's all that I really have to say about LaTroy Hawkins. I could throw some more old jokes out there but I used them all up talking about Gregg Zaun last year. Remember that guy? Hell of a signing that was. I'm all about signing veteran players because they have the experience that these young kids lack and they hopefully won't buckle under the pressure of a pennant chase and the big moments where they have to be clutch because the game or even the season is on the line. But I'm not all about giving them a two year contract worth $7 million dollars. That's a lot of doll hairs for what Hawkins gave us last year, so he has a lot of catching up to do if he will at least be able to come close to being worth that deal. Cousin Kevin and I came up with some very interesting things to say about and to LaTroy Hawkins if he happens to watch this video. For the safety and well being of myself and my family I hope that he does not watch it.

If you've been following along with this years "25 Brewers in 25 Days" then you might question why I love this team because all I do is make fun of every player on the team. But it's all out of love and I suppose that is just something that I do. Ask any of my friends or family and they will tell you that I make fun of them constantly. Maybe I'm just a dick and that's why no women find me attractive. I would change my life Ebenzer Scrooge-style but what's the fucking point anymore. No one cares about me like no one cares about LaTroy Hawkins. I bet there are some people out there rooting for me to fail so that they can get vengeance from me screwing them over and talking shit about them, just like I'm hoping the failure of Hawkins will prevent the Brewers from giving 2 year contracts to aging relievers in the future. If Hawkins weren't making so much money and if the Brewers weren't trying to recuperate something from the 2 year contract, he'd be cut long before he could put up this 2011 stat line:

1-4 record, 4.78 ERA, 53.2 innings, 39 strikeouts and be just as terrifying to watch as the Izey Bird in Cass Street Park.

I'm not looking forward to watching LaTroy Hawkins in 2011. He could defy my expectations and have a great year. But we do know that the as long as he is healthy the Brewers will keep running him out there until he is Jeff Suppan bad and they have no choice but to cut him and eat the remainder of his contract. But one player that I am excited to watch is Brewers closer John Axford. I feel like I've seen this guy before. Hard throwing righty. Battled control problems in the minors. Bounced around from team to team. Signed by the Brewers. Signature hair. Closer. Yeah I'm talking about Derrick Turnbow. The Brewers are putting a lot of faith in Axford that he doesn't turn out like Turnbow, but like all things only time will tell on this one. But like Turnbow before him I'm going to sit back and enjoy the ride because Axford is a guy that has a great personality and makes the games exciting. But does that make him a great pitcher on a playoff contending team? I'm not sure, 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 : LaTroy Hawkins

I was surprised when the Brewers signed LaTroy Hawkins to a 2 year deal worth $7.5 million dollars. Multiyear deals for relievers tend to come back and hamper the team in the long run, kind of like David Riske’s contract (3 years, $13 million) that he hasn't lived up to. After one mediocre season, he's currently on the DL rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He's trying to come back and pitch in 2010, the final year of his contract. Most relievers are (and should be) given a 1 year deal because the bullpen is often a revolving door. Here is the list of relievers used out of the bullpen last season – Todd Coffey, Carlos Villanueva, Seth McClung, Trevor Hoffman, Mark DiFelice, Chris Smith, Mitch Stetter, Claudio Vargas, Chris Narveson, David Weathers, Jorge Julio, Mike Burns, John Axford, RJ Swindle, Jesus Colome, Tim Dillard, Josh Butler, Dave Bush and David Riske. I know that's a long list, and I could have just said that we used 19 different pitchers, but I was trying to prove my point.

The first couple you probably remember because they stayed on the major league team for the entire season and had an impact on the team’s overall success. But some of those guys (like RJ Swindle and Jesus Colome) did not, so they weren’t around for long. And once the 25-man roster is set and the starters have been named, there's sure to be a couple of names on the Opening Day roster who will not be on that list when the season ends in October. Yeah you heard me, I said October. That's because the Brewers are making it back to the playoffs. But I will say how deep they are going in the playoffs, because there's so many factors that are going to go into determining that. But once again I'm off subject. You can tell I don't know shit about LaTroy Hawkins.

So at first the Hawkins deal looks like a bit of a question mark, considering that he is 37 years old. But the more that you look at it, the more that it makes sense. Then it hit me – LaTroy Hawkins is insurance in case something happens to Trevor Hoffman. I pray to God that it doesn’t, but the main focus of the offseason was pitching depth. Hawkins does have closing experience, and has 87 career saves. Compare that to the other backup closers Coffey (11) and Villanueva (5) and you can see that he is the obvious choice to come in the 9th should Hoffman be overworked or (heaven forbid) be injured. By signing him to a 2 year deal, you keep him around for next year in case you can’t find another closer on the free agent market or if one of the minor league pitchers being groomed to be the major league closer (like John Axford) isn’t ready yet. Whichever scenario plays out, it will be good to have another veteran arm in the bullpen whether he is setting up or closing.

LaTroy Hawkins career statistics aren’t the greatest (4.51 ERA, 60-81 record) but that is skewed by his ineffectiveness as a starter (6.11 career ERA) but then improved when he made the move to the bullpen (3.29 career ERA as a reliever). He seems to be getting better with age, and he vastly improved in the past few years. Last year he really shined (2.13 ERA with 11 saves) and was given a nice contract by the Brewers after coming off a big year. Just like Randy Wolf. And just like I said about Wolf’s contract, I hope Hawkins’ doesn’t come back to haunt us later this year or the next. But $3.75 million per year isn’t a whole lot to pay for a pitcher of his caliber, even if the rap sheet on him is that he leaves the ball up sometimes and is prone to giving up homeruns. But if there was one thing that I heard during Macha’s press conferences last year was that all of the Brewers pitchers left the ball up in the zone, hence the high ERAs. That is where new pitching coach Rick Peterson comes in. He has the monumental task of improving the pitching staff top to bottom, and if he can work with Hawkins and keep him on the track he's been on in the last few years, it won't be hard to imagine this line for 2010:

3.23 ERA, 4-2 record, 5 saves, 45 strikeouts and a better understanding to the fans of Milwaukee of what kind of pitcher he is.

Remember how I said that relievers tend to come and go so fast that you forget that they even pitched for you team? That's why I don't have a jersey of any relief pitcher from the Brewers. I will soon be getting a Trevor Hoffman because the guy is a future Hall of Famer, and a throwback Rollie Fingers (Brewers closer from 1981-1985) would be awesome, but a Todd Coffey jersey would be amazing. That's because from the moment he arrived in Milwaukee in September of 2008 he instantly became a fan favorite when he sprinted out of the bullpen and into their hearts. 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