25 Brewers in 25 Days : Randy Wolf

In the offseason, the Brewers signed left handed pitcher Randy Wolf to a 3 year $29.75 million dollar contract. At first I was pretty excited about this because we desperately needed quality pitching. The 9 Brewers starters that were used in 2009 combined for a National League worst 5.37 ERA. I thought that the Baltimore Orioles were worse than us, but further review shows they also had a starters ERA of 5.37. So congratulations 2009 Milwaukee Brewers starters - you were officially the worst group of pitchers in the entire League. So Brewers GM Doug Melvin was forced to do whatever he possibly could do to correct that problem. Even if it meant overpaying for Randy Wolf. It will take 3 years to get the final results to see if Wolf was worth it, but in the wake of losing players like Fielder, Weeks and Hart, Melvin had no choice but to try and fill the biggest hole on the team and make a push to return back to the playoffs.

Baseball is currently trending towards young cheap talent. Superstars will still get the big bucks, but there's a reason that players like Braden Looper still don't have a job. No one wants to pay veterans large amounts of money if they aren't guaranteed to perform at a high level. Wolf was coming off his best year since 2003, and he was the 2nd best free agent starter on the market to John Lackey, who signed with the Boston Red Sox for 5 years, $82.5 million. I like the Wolf signing if he gives us a low 4 / high 3 ERA. Any higher than 4.4 and it has the symptoms of turning into overpaying a veteran who is no better than the #5 starter. Like Jeff Suppan. The nice thing about Wolf is that he is a lefty and has a career ERA of 4.13. So even if he plays at his career average, he should still throw 190 innings and give up 4 or less runs per game. And that's fine with me.

Wolf is going to be counted on to provide a stabilzing force in the starting rotation. Gallardo is going to be the #1 pitcher and will perform up to the expectations of that. We know exactly what we are going to get from the #3 pitcher, the reacquired Doug Davis, but the last 2 spots in the starting rotation have yet to be determined from a group of pitchers including Jeff Suppan, Manny Parra, Dave Bush and Chris Narveson. Regardless of who occupies those spots, Wolf must have a good year and be on par with #2/3 pitchers of opposing teams or else we're gonna be in trouble. I hate to put too much pressure on a single player, but Randy Wolf has to remain steady all year if we are going to contend for a Division Title or the Wild Card. I can't say it enough, and I'm sure this won't be the last time you hear it from me, but pitching and defense is the recipe for success. And adding Randy Wolf to that mix should certainly sweeten that pot. He will be one of the players I will be keeping a watchful eye upon because like I said, the last thing that we need is another Suppan.

I'll get into the Suppan contract when I write my entry about him, but basically we gave him over $10 million a year for 4 years and it has really come back to bite us in the ass. In no way, shape or form has Suppan earned a dime of that money. We'll probably always remember how bad "Soup" burned us, but Randy Wolf can help alleviate that pain by picking right up where he left off last year. It's going to be a challenge since he will pitch the majority of his games at Miller Park, which certainly allows more homeruns than Dodger Stadium where he pitched last year. To be honest with you I'm getting tired of speculating on the future and I'm getting all antsy for the season to start so that we can see how everything shakes out.

The most exciting thing about the Randy Wolf signing is that I now have a new quasi-sexual phrase to yell out at Miller Park that won't get me in trouble - WOLF MAKES ME RANDY!!! Last year the Loge Level probably had enough of me shouting JJ MAKES ME HARDY!! because I did it whenever the opportunity presented itself. But near the end of the year when Hardy lost playing time to Alcides Escobar and Craig Counsell, I had to resort to yelling other suggestive things that weren't as hilarious. The Wolf signing also got me excited because I had another opportunity to bring attention to myself and get back on TV. I was really looking forward to the 2010 season because I was going to start the Wolf Pack. I had this really great idea to get a group of guys together, go to all the games that Randy Wolf pitched, wear wolf masks and gloves and howl whenever he struck out a batter. I thought that it was the greatest idea ever. As I made preparations, I told one of my friends about this idea. He humored me for a minute then said, "Kind of like what the fans did in Philadelphia?" I stared blankly at him while he told me that this was not an original idea. I didn't believe it until I Googled it. For some reason reading about it on the Internet made it seem more real. So my idea was shot because I didn't want to come off as a cheap imitation. But that still won't stop me from wearing my sombrero at every game and howling towards the moon when Wolf strikes out a batter. I'm pretty sure that has never been done before. Now just don't try and steal my idea.

But about 2 weeks ago I didn't have to purchase a wolf mask because I was well on my way to being a wolf. I was growing out my beard and hair in an effort to be cast in Teen Wolf 3: Fat Teen Wolf. One drunken night I recorded an episode of the Pookcast where I laid out my entire plan. I have since shaved off the beard because the movie studios were not interested in my movie idea. It probably would have helped it I wrote up a script as well, but I never got out of the development and initial casting phase. What does that have to do with Randy Wolf? Nothing, but I needed an excuse to post this picture somewhere. Randy Wolf looks nothing like a wolf, but he can be hungry like one and prey upon the opposing batters if he puts up a stat line like the one that I am predicting for 2010:

3.85 ERA, 13-10 record, 203 innings pitched, 152 strikeouts, 1 howl from me for every strikeout.

The 2010 season won't be made or broken by the performance of Randy Wolf. That distinction goes to players like Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and Manny Parra. But Randy Wolf will have a big say in deciding the Brewers overall fate. By the career stats that he has put up, he most certainly is better than any of the pitchers (with the exception of Gallardo) that we had on the team last year. If he performs like he should, he will slot nicely in the #2 or #3 spot in the starting rotation. For now he will be taking the ball for the first time (when it counts) in the second game of the season on April 6th against the Colorado Rockies, because the #3 spot belongs to newly reacquired pitcher Doug Davis. Davis pitched for the Brewers from 2004 - 2006 then was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade that in retrospect should have never happened. I always liked Doug Davis and I am glad that he is back in a Brewers uniform, even if he adds another left arm into a rotation that is already lefty-heavy. 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days - Yovani Gallardo

In Spring Training of 2008, Yovani Gallardo underwent surgery on his left knee to repair la torn meniscus in his left knee. He would open the season on the DL. He returned to action on April 20th only to once again have to go under the knife after suffering an injury on May 1 against the Cubs. Running to first base to cover after a Reed Johnson grounder, he collided with Johnson and stepped awkwardly on the base then crumbled to the ground. Everyone feared the worst, but when he got up and pitched the next 2 innings, I breathed a sigh of relief. News came out the next day (after a MRI was done) that Gallardo tore his ACL in his right knee and he would miss the rest of the season. Even though it was only May, our playoff hopes were shot down that day.

Everyone expected Ben Sheets to land on the DL during the summer, but in a contract year, he was able to avoid it. And then on July 7th, Brewers GM Doug Melvin pulled off a blockbuster trade and got the highly coveted CC Sabathia for the reignited playoff run. That move was seemingly impossible for a small market team to pull off. Sabathia had an amazing 2nd half run in 2008, but this is about Gallardo. Sheets then made his annual trip to the DL on September 10 (which would keep him out the rest of the year and all of 2009) and things looked a little bleak. But then Gallardo made unforeseen return back to the club just in time for the playoff push, and ended up starting Game 1 of the NLDS against the Phillies at Citizen’s Bank Park. This was the new most important game for the Brewers in 26 years (surpassing the Wild Card clinching game from a few days prior) and the man on the mound was all of 23 years old and making only his 5th start of the year.

Gallardo has the makings of a future ace because of his poise and calmness on the mound. Even though at the time he only had 134.1 innings pitched in the majors, he stood before the hostile crowd of 43,647 Phillies phans and pitched a gem that lost a lot of its shine courtesy of Mike Cameron. My Mom says never say never (she also says don’t drink before noon, don’t slouch and watch your mouth, but I do all those things anyway) but I will never forgive Mike Cameron for botching a play in the 3rd inning. I know he’s no longer on the team, so I don’t want to give him too much attention, but he misplayed a Chase Utley liner that he should’ve caught and the Phillies scored 3 runs that inning in what ended up being a 3-1 Phillies win. Mike Cameron was known as a great defender, and he has 3 Gold Gloves to back that up. I remember being so upset that I yelled at my TV for a minute straight with tons of swears and I specifically remember saying, “GOLD GLOVER MY ASS!!!” All of the runs that Gallardo gave up that day were unearned. But Cole Hamels did shut down the Brewers that day and hold them to just one run, so I can’t hate on Cameron that much. But I can sure as shit praise Gallardo for his rehab and conditioning that allowed him to come back and pitch after undergoing knee surgery. The Brewers, as you know, would eventually go on to on to lose the NLDS 3 games to 1, but Gallardo’s comeback after missing the entire season will always be one of the highlights from that playoff series.

The 2nd World Baseball Classic took place in March of 2009, and Gallardo desperately wanted to play for the Mexican team. Baseball is no longer played in the Summer Olympics, so the WBC is the only time these athletes get to compete on a Worldwide level for National pride. Gallardo is very proud of his Mexican heritage, and he wears jersey #49 as a homage to former Brewers pitcher and Mexican-born Teddy Higuera. Since he was coming off a season in which he had surgery on both knees and pitched a total of 28 innings, the Brewers coaching staff suggested that he do not play, even though they couldn’t flat out tell him not to. They didn’t want Gallardo to play for Mexico in a “meaningless tournament” (I put it in quotations because the WBC is viewed differently across the spectrum) and risk him getting injured when he is such an integral part of the Milwaukee Brewers. Gallardo decided not to play and instead focus on preparing for the 2009 season with the Brewers.

Gallardo is huge for the Brewers because pitching and defense wins games. Not Bill Hall. Look at last year’s pitching staff and tell me which one of them wins games. Manny Parra? Dave Bush? Jeff Suppan? Braden Looper? Mike Burns? Seth McClung? Carlos Villanueva? Nope. None of the above. The only pitcher on the starting staff last year that was worth a damn was Gallardo. I’ll make a case for Parra and Bush in the next few days, but it’s good to see guys like Looper, Burns and McClung booted out of town. And Suppan? If you can’t wait to read that article I’m right with you. Because I can’t wait to write it. But enough of that crap, let’s talk some more about how good Gallardo is.

But first I gotta bring this up. Gallardo’s only fault is that he tries to be a little too fine with his pitches and be a big strikeout pitcher (last year he was 5th in the NL with 204 strikeouts). Gallardo does have a really good fastball and some good secondary pitches, but too many times he aims to strike out the batter on the corners and tends to throw a lot of pitches and ends up giving up a good amount of walks. Last year it wasn’t unusual to see Gallardo have 100 pitches in the 5th inning with 3 walks. But the difference between Gallardo and someone like Manny Parra is that walks and pitch counts never seem to phase him. He never looks nervous, never seems to be overthrowing and he always seems to be in control. The thing that Gallardo does is that he executes his pitches when he has to and gets out of jams.

My personal favorite Gallardo moment came on the 2nd day of the 2009 season. I was in San Francisco for those games, and Gallardo was going up against Randy Johnson. Not only did Gallardo outpitch the future Hall of Famer, but he became the first pitcher to hit a home run off of him when he socked a 3 run shot in the 5th inning to put the Brewers ahead for good. I went with my Uncle Opening Day, but he had to get back to Southern California and couldn't stick around to watch this one. Since I didn't know anybody in San Francisco, I went to the game by myself and sat alone in the upper deck of the left field. They ended up being some pretty nice seats and there were a couple of Brewers fans sitting in the row in from of me. So in actuality, I wasn't really alone when I was cheering like crazy when Gallardo made history. Gallardo should have been starting Opening Day against Tim Lincecum, but Ken Macha didn't want to "throw him into the wolves" after missing the majority of the 2008 season. Understandable in a way, but absolutely ridiculous in many more because as I've already pointed out, if any of the pitchers on the Brewers staff can handle an Opening Day start against one of the top pitchers on the NL, it's Gallardo. Even though Macha has been known to prefer the veterans over the kids, he has all but officially said that Gallardo will start the 2010 Season Opener even though newly acquired veteran Randy Wolf would seem to be his choice. Looks like Macha is realizing that this kid is the real deal, and he most definitely will put up better numbers in 2010:

3.21 ERA, 16-8 record, 221 innings pitched, 215 strikeouts, .225 batting avg, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs

Slotting Gallardo in the #1 spot will pit him up against the best of the best, which could effect his win total. But I'm still putting it at 16 because of how many games the Brewers lost 1-0 when Gallardo was on the mound. I feel as a whole our offense (and our defense for that matter) will be better than last year, so that should help to decrease his ERA and increase his win total. The only thing that concerns me is the number of pitches he throws in a game and his walk totals. Gallardo was shut down last year with 2 weeks left in the season. It was the right move to make because the Brewers were well out of the pennant race and there was no reason to jeopardize his future with overworking him. But in order to be competitive in the final days of September, we're going to need Gallardo to still have some Christmas on his pitches during the playoff push. The other thing that we really need is for Randy Wolf to not be another Jeff Suppan. The Brewers signed Wolf to a 3-year $29.75 million dollar contract. Coming off of a career year for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wolf was the 2nd best pitcher available on the free agent market. We desperately need him to not suck if we plan on having any success this year. 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Gregg Zaun

New catcher Gregg Zaun was brought in to replace Jason Kendall. I didn’t have a problem with Kendall, but apparently he was asking for (and got from the Kansas City Royals) a two year deal at $3 million per year. Since they have something like $25 million being paid to useless players (Jeff Suppan, Bill Hall and David Riske) they had to cut back where they could (letting Cameron, Kendall and Felipe Lopez become free agents) to afford to acquire some new pitchers (Randy Wolf and Doug Davis). We have two really good catching prospects in Angel Salome and Jonathon Lucroy, but both of them look to be not quite ready for the big leagues. We may see them at some point during the year if Zaun or the back-up catcher (to be determined) suffers an injury, but one or both of them should be on the big league club in September when the rosters are expanded from 25 to 40. So Zaun is basically a fill in until one of those two (or both) are Major League ready.

I don’t know too much about Zaun except that Zaun is old! He should’ve been out of the game years ago, but he can’t stay home because he hates his wife! You’ve all met her at the Christmas Party. She’s the one that gets plastered and calls him a retard! But seriously, Zaun is 39 years old, but he looks like he is still in pretty good shape because he’s only caught over 100 games in a season 4 times in his 15 year career. That hopefully means less wear and tear on the body, because the catcher of all people bears the brunt of the long season the most. Or at least in my opinion. He is also a switch hitter, which should balance out the right-handed heavy lineup that the Brewers put out on a daily basis. And he does have more power than Jason Kendall (but honestly I think I have more power than Kendall) which should help in the bottom half of the lineup that is usually devoid of power.

And speaking of being old, I heard Gregg Zaun say that he has a 5 year plan. What is it? Don’t die? I hope that during a mound conference with Yovani Gallardo, Zaun doesn’t mumble like an old curmudgeon about Gallardo not trusting his fastball. Because I don’t need to see Yovani saying, Hey Old Man River – shut your mouth or I’ll break your hip. And what's with the second g in Gregg? What does that one stand for, Grandpa? But I shouldn't talk shit about him because he probably has more money that me, has a hot wife and I'm certain that he could kick my ass. But perhaps Zaun’s age, experience and knowledge of the game will help to turn around the League’s worst pitching staff from last year, because that is exactly what he is being asked to do.

One of the things that they always said about Kendall was that he called a good game. It sure didn’t seem like he was calling good games last year. Or maybe he was and the pitchers were really just that bad. You can study your opponents and call pitches that expose their weaknesses, but unless the pitcher executes, the results will be less than spectacular. Zaun has been learning each individual pitcher that he will be catching and he will continue to do so for the rest of Spring Training. When the team heads North for the Home Opener, there’s still going to be some room for improvement. Like a few other players on this team, Zaun is going to be a work in progress and will have to be given a bit of a pass in order to get acclimated to the styles of his teammates and to hitters in the National League.

But one thing that he has been doing in Spring Training is hitting the shit out of the ball. He's batting .429 with 1 HR and 9 RBIs (for the team lead). While that is definitely well over his career batting average of .251, it's still good to see that the old man has a little gas left in the tank. Maybe being surrounding by what is still a pretty young team has invigorated him. Whatever the case may be, I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. My friend Marco works for a sports talk radio station in Baltimore, MD. Gregg Zaun played for the Baltimore Orioles for the 1st half of the season before being traded to Tampa Bay. I asked him for his opinion on Zaun. He said that his offense and defense were what you'd expect for a catcher in their late 30's, but the main point that he hit on was that Gregg Zaun would be an excellent mentor for a younger catcher. Matt Weiters of the Orioles is their prized catching prospect. Zaun worked with Weiters in Spring Training then basically kept the plate warm for him until Weiters was ready to play every day. I hope that during Spring Training he is helping out Lucroy and Salome and teaching them the ins and outs of being a Major League catcher. I had hoped that one of those two would be his back-up during the regular season so that they could continue the learning process, but that doesn't seem very likely.

The Brewers claimed George Kottaras off of waivers from the Boston Red Sox and gave him an opportunity to win the back-up job. They also signed Matt Treanor (pictured, with his wife Olympic Gold medal winner Volleyball player Misty May-Treanor) to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. Right now both of those players have the edge on Lucroy and Salome because they both have Major League experience. If the season started tomorrow, Kottaras would be the back-up because of the way he is playing this spring (.318 avg, 1 HR, 3 RBIs and bats left-handed) versus Treanor (.235 O HR, 2 RBI and bats right handed). The Brewers seemed convinced to have a bench full of lefties so Kottaras would fit that mold. It's too bad though, because I was really looking forward to seeing Misty May-Treanor at the games. All of the players wives/girlfriends hang out up on the Club Level, and I see them most every game. So even though Kottaras is a "better fit" for the team (because I would prefer to see Lucroy as the back-up so that he could get some valuable innings of experience) I am going to miss out on the hotness that is Misty May-Treanor. So much for me living the dream... But Gregg Zaun's stats will be more reality based than dreamlike:

.254 avg, 8 HRs, 41 RBIs and 101 games caught.

And speaking of looking forward to, I am really excited about Yovani Gallardo. This guy is a stud, and although he didn't have ace-like numbers last year (13-12 record, 3.73 ERA, 185.2 innings pitched, 204 strikeouts and 94 walks) he's well on his way to becoming an elite pitcher in the National League. Yo is only 24 years old (most pitchers don't hit their prime until the late 20's ) so there are plenty of more opportunities for him to improve. But he will definitely be counted upon to be the ace of this staff and go up against the other elite pitchers in the NL like Tim Lincecum, Chris Carpenter and Johan Santana. I have the feeling the Gallardo is going to have a monster year, 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days - Corey Hart.

Corey Hart is a Bitch. No Love in February for Corey Hart. Today is Judgment Day for Corey Hart. Hart Attack: Meet the $4.8 Million Dollar Man. The Brewers need Hart to win in 2010. Miles and miles of Hart... Eric Gagne called, he wants his goggles back. What more can I say about Corey Hart that I haven't already said? At this point, not too much. I'm not going to rehash the stats from the last few years and all of the shit I said about it. Feel free to click any of the links above if you need that information. In short, Corey Hart needs to rebound from last year like I need to stop hitting the bottle whenever I get depressed. The Brewers are counting on Corey Hart to regain his form because they need his power bat in the lineup. After losing JJ Hardy and Mike Cameron (two guys who each are capable of hitting over 20 homeruns) and replacing them with Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez (two guys who will be lucky to each hit 5 homeruns) the Brewers need to get that power from somewhere else. A healthy Rickie Weeks should help that, and Corey Hart should also be able to fulfill that role. With the top 5 spots in the lineup seemingly set, Corey could provide some much needed pop to the bottom of the order.

His offensive woes have been covered in grand detail by me in the past, but I don't know if I ever said much about his defense. Like Ryan Braun, Hart is an infielder turned outfielder. I don't know how many people know that because he's always been an outfielder at the big league level. But since he hasn't been manning that spot for his entire life, he's still a work in progress. We've watched him make spectacular plays and also some pretty boneheaded ones. But this season I feel like he will put it all together and along with Braun and Gomez, form a damn good defensive outfield. Within the last few years he was clocked as the fastest guy on the team, which certainly will help him get to more fly balls.

His speed also comes in handy on the base paths, and on several occasions he has been called the smartest baserunner on the team. Recently at the Brewers On-Deck event in January of this year, during a Q & A session with the coaches, I asked 3rd base coach Brad Fischer who is the best baserunner. His answer was Corey Hart and he brought up his ability to go from 1st to 3rd and that he rarely runs into outs on the bases. I remember also hearing that under Ned Yost, Corey always had the green light to steal a base. Because he chose the right times and studied the moves of pitchers and catchers, he ended up producing runs and put a lot of added pressure on the pitcher. As you know from watching Manny Parra, pitching can be a real mental game. Once you get inside the pitcher's head, you can really open up the game and score some runs. When Corey Hart gets on base, he's always a threat to steal, which can be a big distraction to the pitcher and catcher. It's little things like that that make Corey Hart a valuable member of this team.

But even though I've said nice things about him in the past and on this page today, I still don't have the Hart to call him my friend. You'd think that I would love Corey Hart because I tend to hang out with tall goofy looking guys. Some of my best friends fit that profile. Aaron Spiering. Brodey Callies. Joey Kanz. Matt Salmon. Abraham Lincoln. I give Joey Kanz the most crap about it because of the way he reacts to my constant playful verbal assaults on his goofiness. Like when I go away on vacation, I promise to bring him back a t-shirt as a souvenir. I then ask him, what size do you wear? Extra goofy? Aaron can handle when I give him shit because he can dish it back to me faster than I can come up with another clever line. Brodey is so self deprecating he'll probably make fun of himself before you get the chance to make fun of him. And Salmon just gets made fun of by everyone, so he has mental toughness and just lets it all slide off his shoulders.

All of my tall goofy friends have found a way of handling the comments from those around them, but so far all Corey does is complain about the fans who pay his salary and make up excuses. He needs to come up with some kind of defense mechanism to prevent him from lashing out inappropriately. Hey Corey - if you need some advice from my friends let me know. I know that you read my blog so you have a way to get in touch with me. Corey, we talk shit about you because we care. Has anyone ever noticed that the people who give you the most shit are the people who really love you the most? That's because most of the time they aren't serious about it and they know you well enough to understand that you can handle it. And Corey, I only say that crap because I do care and I want you to do well. I can always use another tall goofy looking friend.

My man Toby told me to lay off Corey Hart and to stop giving him a hard time. And I will… for now. Corey Hart gets a clean slate heading into the 2010 season because it sounds like he has put his problems (contract dispute, daddy issues and poor eyesight) behind him. He also reportedly showed up to Phoenix 20 pounds lighter and with more muscle. I’m all for people staying in shape, especially athletes when their jobs and performance depend on them being in peak physical condition. But if his Spring Training stats (.208 avg, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs) are any indication, we’re in for a rough year. But I’m a huge proponent against using Spring Training stats for any kind of prediction, lest we forget how JJ Hardy, Chris Duffy and Brad Nelson performed in Spring Training last year. They were the 3 hottest hitters down in the valley of the sun, but none of them are currently with the team, and in the regular season Brad Nelson went 0 for 27 before they cut him. So although Spring Training stats don’t mean jack shit, I’d still rather see Corey Hart play well because it can only benefit the team if he does.

Corey Hart has been a hot topic of debate this entire winter. My friend Mike at work and I were discussing his offseason antics nearly every day, and here are his predictions for Hart’s 2010 stat line:

.285 batting average, 26HRs, 83 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.

Although I’d love to see that happen, mine is nowhere near as generous for a guy coming off a couple of poor seasons. Maybe it’s just because I got burned by Hart in the past and now I’m scarred for life, but these are my stat predictions for Hart in 2010:

.267 avg, 16 HRs, 66 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and even more goofy looking now that he’s wearing goggles. I have a feeling that like Carlos Gomez, Corey Hart may also lose playing time to Jim Edmonds and Jody Gerut if he doesn’t improve from last year. But since he is at the core a very good baseball player, he will get every opportunity to succeed.

So for the time being, the name calling will cease. Corey Hart can sleep easy at night knowing that I am no longer poking fun at him. But if Corey slips up, then it’s on like Donkey Kong. Corey Hart better now give me a reason to start talking shit about him. And speaking of talking, I really can’t say much about the next featured player Catcher Greg Zaun. And that’s because (like Gomez) he is a newcomer to the Brewers who spent most of his career in the American League. All I know about him (before doing research) is that he is similar to (last year’s catcher) Jason Kendall, only older, less expensive and with a little more pop in his bat. Zaun has only caught more than 100 games in a season 4 times in his 15 year career (as opposed to Kendall catching like 140 + every year), so now more than ever the backup catcher spot will be very important. There’s no fewer than 4 guys competing for that spot in Spring Training. 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Carlos Gomez

Newly acquired centerfielder Carlos Gomez has a lot of potential. Where have we heard that before? I can't fool you, you know that I'm talking about 2nd baseman Rickie Weeks. Potential is about the only thing these two players have in common though, as Gomez is more of a defense first player whereas Weeks is all about the offense. And from the look of this picture, Gomez is also all about the ladies. When I did a Google Image search for Carlos Gomez and this came up, I knew that I just had to use it. I wish that I could say pictures like this on the outfield wall were the reason that Gomez struggles at the plate, but if he can clearly see this hottie from 400 feet away, he should be able to tell if the baseball coming at him is a changeup or a slider. And since he then would have go-go-Gadget vision, he should be able to see the ball so well that his batting average would rival that of the great Ty Cobb. But I don't think his vision is the problem for his offensive struggles (he doesn't search for excuses and blame his eyes like Bill Hall or Corey Hart). In fact, I don't really know why he has yet to put it together at the plate. And I attribute that to the fact that I just haven't seen enough of him to formulate my own opinion. Only 2 Spring Training games have been televised thus far, and for the last few years he played with the Minnesota Twins. I'm sure that at some point during the year when I am able to watch him play some more games, I'll come up with my own theories.

Last year Gomez hit .229 with 3 HRs, 28 RBIs and 51 runs scored. That's pretty terrible, but the nice thing about it is that there is tons of room for improvement. Maybe a change of scenery and the words and support from a new coaching staff will help him reach that potential. But for the time being I can compare him to two baseball players - 1 real and 1 fictional. The real one people in Milwaukee know well from watching him roam center field the last few years - Mike Cameron. With Mike Cameron you knew that you would be getting stellar defense and a low batting average out of him, but you would also be getting 25 HRs and 80 RBIs. In Cameron's case you could ignore the strikeouts and low avg because of the defense and power numbers. Gomez doesn't have power, so that's why a fictional baseball player comes to mind - Willie Mayes Hayes (from the movie Major League). Early word on Gomez is the he hits too many pop flies, and since he doesn't have power, they end up being caught. With his speed he should hit the ball on the ground and leg them out. I wish that Dale Sveum would make him do 20 push-ups for every ball that he pops up, but I don't think that the Player's Union would allow that.

Gomez is probably the fastest player on the team, which is amazing considering that the Brewers also have Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart Alcides Escobar and Ryan Braun. But the problem with Gomez is that he can’t get on base enough to take advantage of that speed. His career OBP is a measly .273, which is horrendous considering that he has little to no power. That means his only asset is his speed, and he’s not even putting himself in a position to use it. So like Rick Peterson (the Brewers new pitching coach) has his hands full with Manny Parra, Dale Sveum has the fortunate / unfortunate (depends on how you look at it) task of getting Gomez on base more often.

The nice thing about Carlos Gomez (just like Alcides Escobar) is that we are only really counting on him to provide defense for the team. I don’t know how many of you really follow baseball on a regular basis, but pitching and defense win games. Sure homeruns are great and here in Milwaukee we love to watch Bernie go down the slide, but there are more games won by a score of 4-2 than 10-2. Fans love the offense barrage, and the Brewers can certainly bring it, but the pitching and defense needed to be improved if we could talk about playoffs again. I’ll get to the pitching in the next few days, but I believe as a whole the defense has greatly improved. Fielder, Weeks, Braun, McGehee and Hart are more experienced at their positions than they were a year ago. Escobar and Gomez have more speed and range than the seasoned veterans (Hardy and Cameron) that they replaced. Catcher Greg Zaun is older and will probably be worse than Jason Kendall was last year and the pitching staff is probably the same as last year. We won’t be a top 5 defense, but we certainly should not be near the bottom of the barrel like we usually are.

I don’t have a jersey of Carlos Gomez because I want to wait to see whether or not they are committed to him long term. So instead of a picture of that I have provided a picture of Gomez Addams. Because every time that I hear the name Gomez, that is what comes to mind. It's too bad that Raul Julia died after making Street Fighter. He never got a chance to redeem himself. He must have felt bad for unleashing that unholy beast upon the world, and realized that he could either be the sacrificial lamb or live a long life knowing you helped create that monstrosity. I too would have died to atone the sins which that movie brought upon the world. But back to Carlos Gomez. We have a young centerfielder Lorenzo Cain moving up through the minor leagues, and if not for an injury that kept him out most of last year, I wonder if it would be Cain and not Gomez tracking down balls in center. Speculation runs rampant in baseball, so time will only tell if Gomez is the answer or if it is someone like Lorenzo Cain. But if Gomez puts up numbers like I'm predicting, the decision might be easy:

.240 avg, 4 HR, 38 RBIs, 65 runs scored, stellar defense and lose playing time to Jim Edmonds and Jody Gerut as the season goes on.

With Gomez I'm hoping that I'm wrong about his stats. But these numbers are pretty consistent with his brief major league career. I'm hoping that Dale Sveum can turn him around and make him more than just a defensive player. And speaking of being wrong, I have a feeling that Corey Hart is going to come out and stick to all the haters and people who doubted him. If you've been following my blog posts over the last few months, then you know how I feel about Corey Hart. But after everything I have said (and trust me, I've said more than my lion's share of shit about Hart) how could I possibly add anymore to the ongoing Corey Hart saga? But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Ryan Braun

Left fielder Ryan Braun. I can say a million things about him. And very few of them (ok, so maybe only 1 of them) will be bad. It's going to look like I have a total man crush on this guy. But I suppose that I do. And I can admit that without feeling like any less of a man. I don't find Ryan Braun attractive (but I can understand why the ladies do) and I'm not gay (but not that there's anything wrong with being gay). It is perfectly acceptable to have a man crush on another dude because a man crush is, "A strong and extremely complicated positive emotion that a straight male feels towards another male. It is by no means homosexual, although it could possibly involve some degree of sexual attraction. This is not the type of sexual attraction that one would actually pursue; it is merely a complex sort of desire out of "fantasy" that is driven by jealousy and/or great admiration." And it's mostly because Ryan Braun is the only man that I would admit gave me the greatest day of my life.

The day was September 28, 2008. The Brewers were tied with the New York Mets for the NL Wild Card. In order for the Brewers to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982, they had to win and the Mets needed to lose. Sounds simple right? I remember almost every second of this game, but I won't go into too much detail here. I thought I was originally scheduled to work this game, but when I went to punch in, my name wasn't on the schedule. At most jobs you'd be pissed because you put your life on hold and you traveled to get to work. But this isn't most jobs. When I get off work early or come in when I'm not scheduled, I get to sit and watch baseball. The fact that I was watching this for free instead of catch bits while I was working allowed me to commit it all to memory. It probably also helped that I wasn't drinking because I didn't have any money. The Brewers were playing the hated Cubs who had already clinched the NL Central, but that didn't stop the asshole fans from migrating to "Wrigley North." With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th inning Ryan Braun hit a two run homer (pictured above) that put the Brewers on top. Miller Park went fucking nuts. To this day when I see that highlight, and trust me they play it often around these parts, it still sends chills down my spine as I relive that memory. People might point out that he wouldn't have had that chance to win the game had CC Sabathia not kept the scored tied 1-1, but Ryan is the hero because he was our guy. CC was just a rental, and everyone knew it. But Ryan Braun is the face of the franchise.

The Mets lost to the Marlins and the Brewers advanced to the playoffs, and even though they lost to the Phillies in the 1st round that year, they are making a bid to return to the playoffs this year. And although in 2009 the team as a whole took a step back with an 80-82 record, Ryan Braun has shown no signs of slowing down. After batting .324 with 34 HRs and 97 RBIs in 2007 that saw him win NL Rookie of the Year, he followed that up with a .285 avg 37 HRs and 106 RBIs. As the league adjusted to him (much like they always do to 2nd year players) Braun made the necessary adjustments as well, and in 2009 he had a .320 avg 32 HRs and 114 RBIs. The two best stats that don't show up in the standard line are walks (57) and hits (203). Why do I feel like those stats are better than the impressive average and power numbers? Because in 2007 he only took 29 walks and in 2008 he took 42. Seeing his walk numbers increase shows patience at the plate, which will force the pitchers to give him good pitches to hit. And when Ryan Braun gets a pitch to hit - see ya! And speaking of hits, Ryan Braun became the first Brewer to top 200 hits since Paul Molitor in 1991. In addition to Molitor, Braun joins Cecil Cooper and Robin Yount in the Brewers 200 hit club. That's some pretty impressive company.

After signing a 7 year contract extension at the beginning of the 2008 season for as much as $51 million when all is said and done, Braun probably gave up some money by signing past his free agency years. But by doing that he guaranteed himself financial security and showed the fans that he wants to be around for some time. In these days of professional sports when players move from team to team like the hired guns of the Old West, fans in Milwaukee are pleased to have some stability on the field. That and the fact that they can buy a player jersey and know that they can still year that next year to a game. Not everyone has baller status like me and owns over 30 jerseys, so they need to be selective with the one they purchase. Ryan Braun will not be a free agent until after 2015, so buying a Ryan Braun jersey is a pretty sure bet. So like Robin Yount before him, Ryan Braun has cemented himself as the face of the current franchise. And now for the 1 negative. Ryan Braun has quite a mouth on him. Tim and Sparky on Sportsradio 1250 call him "The Mouthpiece." There are plenty of documented occurrences when he publicly criticized his teammates and General Manager for the pitching failure of last year. Truth be told, he did say what everyone else in Milwaukee was saying, but as a member of the team you can't throw the people you work with (and the people who pay your salary) under the bus. He made some other comments as well, but my favorite is when he complained about the shadow problem at Miller Park. Because of the way the sun passes over the park during game days, the shadow cast by the roof creeps onto the field around the 4th or 5th inning. At some point the pitchers mound is in the sun and the plate is in the shade, so Braun among other bitch about it. In the last few years the Brewers record during home day games was atrocious, which doesn't make sense because you would think they could use that as a homefield advantage. So every time Braun would strike out, I'd kind of heckle him by saying things like, "It wasn't you man, it was those God Damn shadows!" or using Groundhog Day lines like, "Ha ha ha ha! Watch out for your shadow pal!" So my friends and I have started calling Ryan Braun "Shadows." But honestly, that is the only knock that we got on him.

Watching Ryan Braun play left field, it's easy to forget that he came up (and spent his rookie season) as a 3rd baseman. After committing an unholy 26 errors in 2007 at 3rd, he only has 2 errors in left field in the past 2 seasons. I know left field isn't the most challenging of positions to field, but that's still pretty damn good. His speed along with Carlos Gomez in center and Corey Hart in right combines to form the fastest outfield we have ever had. Miller Park isn't very spacious, but I have no reservations watching them roam the grassy outdoors of Petco Park or Dodger Stadium. So Braun is neither a liability on offense or defense, which in my opinion makes him the best player on our team (even better than Prince Fielder) because he can be classified as a five-tool player.

A-five tool player is one who excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, possesses good baserunning skills, speed and has plus throwing and fielding ability. I've already touched on Braun's average, power, speed and defense so the next logical category is baserunning. Despite hitting and being on base in front of the cleanup hitter Prince Fielder, Braun led the team with 20 stolen bases. It's usually a no-no to run in front of your biggest RBI machine because you don't want to run into unnecessary and costly outs. But Braun is quick and he is a smart baserunner, which actually ended up accounting for more team runs because he was constantly on the move. Scoring from 1st on a double or going from 1st to 3rd on a single sometimes can change the dynamic of an inning. For the time being Prince Fielder is the single most important piece of the Brewers offense, but once he in gone Ryan Braun will be the focal point. And after a few years studying under Prince's tutelage, he will be more than capable of leading this team on and off the field. If Ryan Braun puts up another year in his young but storied career, he will make the NL All-Star team once again and cement his place in Brewers history:

.317 avg, 35 HRs, 111 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 188 hits, 2 new clothing lines launched and 1 new restaurant opened.

I currently own 4 Ryan Braun jerseys - 1 alternate blue, 1 from each All-Star team he has made (in New York City and St. Louis) and my favorite, his jersey from when he played with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. But I don't have a jersey for tomorrow's featured player centerfielder Carlos Gomez. Gomez is one of the new acquisitions who came here from Minnesota in the JJ Hardy trade. Gomez kind of fits the mold of a Rickie Weeks in the fact that he has tons of potential but has yet to live up to it. But since he is 24 compared to Weeks' 27, he still has a couple more years of seasoning before we can determine his fate in the organization. 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Casey McGehee

Casey McGehee was big last year. Just how big was he? About 6'1" and 195 pounds (insert rimshot). Ok, that was my clever attempt at humor, but it is the morning and daylight savings time robbed me of an hour of sleep. That jerk. But in all seriousness, where the hell would we be with out Casey? When the Brewers claimed him off waivers from the Cubs prior to the 2009 season I thought nothing of it. The Brewers (and most Major League teams) claim guys off waivers all of the time who fail to make an impact with that club. But this guy was different. The reason I don't think anybody saw it coming was that Bill Hall was given the chance to be the everyday 3rd baseman and Mat Gamel was the apparent heir to the Hot Corner as soon as he was ready for the job. But then Gamel got injured during Spring Training and McGehee swooped in and took advantage of every situation. Veteran players usually get a pretty long leash when it comes to their position on the diamond and their playing time. Younger players have to go out and prove that they belong in that spot. And Casey McGehee played so well in Spring Training of 2009 that he made the Opening Day roster for the 1st time and will now be counted on to be the Brewers every day 3rd baseman.

But even though he had the numbers (2009 Spring Training - 27 games, .328 avg, 6HRs and 16 RBIs) to prove that he was a capable of performing in the Majors, he needed a little help from some of his teammates to land the starting gig. First off, Bill Hall was the returning 3rd baseman and was once again given the position without competition. I myself said that Bill Hall would return to win games once again because I so wanted to be right, but boy was I wrong. Bill Hall failed miserably both offensivly and defensivly, and lost playing time. But before that happened, Rickie Weeks was lost for the season. At that point, Casey (along with Craig Counsell) started playing 2nd on a regular basis, and by June he found himself in the lineup almost everyday at either 2nd or 3rd base. He was doing so well offensively that Macha had no choice but to pencil him in somewhere every game.

Towards the end of the year, Casey's name was mentioned as a Rookie of the Year candidate. The entire city was pulling for him, but he just didn't have enough at bats during the year to rack up the attention grabbing stats that the voters look at. It also didn't help that Casey plays in one of the smallest media markets in the league, which never allowed him to get the exposure that he needed to win the award. You can make the argument that Ryan Braun won the award under the same circumstances, and I certainly would agree with you on that one. But Braun did it with more flash and style, and also had the numbers to back it up. As a diehard it pains me to say this, but compared to the other candidates, Casey McGehee did not deserve to win NL Rookie of the Year, so it was justified that he finished 5th in the voting. But he did still put up great numbers for a guy who we picked up for nothing and was instrumental in the Brewers offense in 2009.

The biggest thing that Casey did last year and hopefully will continue to do this year is provide protection for Prince Fielder by being productive in the #5 spot in the lineup. Having that consistent threat to hit homeruns and knock in RBIs batting behind Fielder makes pitchers think twice about putting him on base intentionally. I always thought that Corey Hart had the necessary skills to effectively fulfill that role, but you all know how I feel about Corey Hart. Let's just hope that Casey McGehee doesn't fall off the edge of the Earth just like Hart. I would much rather see him be more like Ryan Braun and avoid that sophomore slump that everyone says is coming. But not everybody watches these players day in and day out like I do. Casey McGehee (or Buster McGehee as Tim Allen of Sportsradio 1250 calls him) came from being a relative unknown to being one of the fan favorites in Milwaukee. We were looking for an answer at 3rd base after Bill Hall played his way out of town, and so far Mat Gamel has failed to accomplish anything once he is given the chance to perform at the Major League level. McGehee us under team control, so there is a big possibility that he could be the everyday 3rd baseman for many years to come. Hopefully he can convince the Managers and Coaches that he is the answer, and we'll know soon enough once the season starts. How will we be able to tell? Mat Gamel will start the season in AAA, and if he starts playing more often at 1st base or in the outfield, that's a pretty good sign that they feel he is being blocked at 3rd base on the big league club. And that will most certainly be a good thing.

I'm hours behind my deadline (looks like I totally bit off more than I can chew, as I had a wicked crazy weekend that prevented me from being awake / sober enough to write this article) so I'm going to have to wrap this up. I don't yet own a Casey McGehee jersey, but I plan on buying one soon because I have the feeling he'll be around Milwaukee for many more years to come. But before I go, I have to leave my 2010 predictions for Casey McGehee:

.278 batting average, 18 HRs, 75 RBIs and solid defense at the hot corner. His batting average will probably fall off a bit due to the pitchers having better scouting reports on him, but his HR and RBI numbers will remain the same due to the people in front of him staying productive.

I already mentioned that I hope he takes the Ryan Braun route and avoids the sophomore slump. Speaking of Braun, he is next on 25 in 25. Ryan has already put up some crazy ridiculous numbers in his first 3 years in the big leagues, so it's hard to believe that he can get better. But Ryan Braun can and he will. And he's also a better baseball player than Prince Fielder. 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Alcides Escobar

I may not be the first one to anoint rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar with a clever nickname, but I have been calling him by this name for years and it's time to make it public. I call him "The Wonderkid." Yes I know that Robin Yount's nickname was "The Kid" and I shouldn't be treading on his territory, but watch Escobar for a few minutes and just try and not be amazed at all the wonderful things this kid can do. At 23 years of age, he is still incredibly young by baseball standards. But there is no doubt in anyone's mind that he is ready for the big leagues. He's so ready that the Brewers traded away incumbent shortstop and fan favorite JJ Hardy to the Minnesota Twins so that Escobar could play everyday. JJ was one of the core players that were promised to be the future so many years ago. And although that group gave us our first winning season since 1992 and first playoff appearance since 1982, JJ's time in Milwaukee had come to an end. I know that JJ will bounce back with a good year up in Minnesota, but Escobar is just too good to keep him in the minors for another year playing "meaningless" ball.

Brewers fans haven't been promised a player like this since Prince Fielder, and even the casual fan knew his name as the Brewers top prospect. The kid is a defensive wiz, and his range and speed are simply unbelievable. I can go on and on about how amazing he his, but you'll probably never believe me until you see him in person. I bought into the hype because I'm kind of a sucker, but when I saw Escobar make tons of slick plays down in Spring Traing in 2009, I personally offered to help JJ Hardy go house hunting and to pack his bags. When Hardy struggled through all of 2009, the Brewers had no choice but to promote Escobar to the big leagues. In 38 games he hit .304 with 1 HR and 11 RBIs. I know that stat wise that doesn't look too impressive, but Escobar wasn't brought up for his bat. He was brought up for his defense and to get on base and score runs. Anything that he adds offensivly will be a huge bonus. I would like to get some video on here to visually show you his defensive skills, but until you see him on ESPN's Top 10 plays on a nightly basis (and you will) you will just have to believe me for now. In a Spring Training game last year, a ball was hit up the middle to the right side of second base. I already conceded that it was a base hit for the opposing batter. But then out of nowhere Escobar somehow appeared out of nowhere, dove to stop the ball, and delivered a cannon shot to beat the runner by a half step. I swear to God I almost had to change my shorts with how exciting that play was. If I had to guess my reaction to seeing that play in person, I'm pretty sure that the words, "Holy Shit!" and "Did you just see that?" were in there.

But words just don't do it justice. You have to see Escobar to believe what this kid is capable of. The best thing about him is that we are only counting on him to do one thing - play defense. Anything else that he does will be a bonus. His glove has been Major League ready for a few years, but the question with Escobar is if his bat would join his glove. In essence, he is almost the exact opposite of Rickie Weeks. But shortstop and center field is where you need solid defense, and Escobar will do that at the shortstop position every single night. His offense still needs a lot of work, which is something that he will have to do at the Major League level and he will struggle at times. You don't have to look much further than the fact that he has a career on base percentage of .333, which is not very good for someone with his speed. This kid is lightning quick, and if he can get on base he will steal more than I did while working at UWM. Unfortunately for Escobar his offense has always been a big IF.

But he did show some promise in the final few months of 2009, and in the Venezuelan Winter league, he led all players with a .393 batting average with a .440 on base percentage. Granted those are just winter league statistics, but that has to get you excited. Pair those numbers with a ridiculously good glove and you're looking at a kid who will win Rookie of the Year, be a perennial All-Star and be the first Brewers Gold Glove winner since Robin Yount in 1982. I mean it. JJ Hardy was very popular among the ladies, and even though Escobar is not nearly as pretty as JJ is, I know that he will win over fans of all ages, races and sexual orientations by pure skills alone. I remember at some point last year after JJ was sent down to the minors and Alcides was brought up, I could be heard yelling, "JJ WHO?" from the left field Loge Level. And although I always liked JJ and appreciated what he brought to this team, anyone who has seen Esocar play knows that he is better than JJ Hardy. Plain and simple. JJ was the past and Escobar is the future.

The first new Brewers jersey that I bought in 2010 was Alcides Escobar. I know for some people it might be a stretch to throw down for a jersey of a rookie that has yet to have success in the big leagues. But I'm confident that Escobar is here to stay and that he will live up to the hype that has seen him consistently be named the top prospect in Milwaukee's minor league system in the last few years. I've already predicted that Alcides Escobar will win the NL Rookie of the Year in 2010. I was one one of the people who was going apeshit last August and September when Escobar wasn't playing every day despite being the best option at shortstop. Brewers manager Ken Macha has shown a certain favoritism towards starting veteran players, but that turned out to be a clever ploy (I'm guessing this one was handed down by Doug Melvin) because Escobar came up something like 1 inning short of retaining rookie status going into 2010. This means that he will be eligible to win Rookie of the Year should he play well enough to deserve it. And I'm guessing that he does. I'd like to think that I am fairly accurate with my statistical predictions, but I am going to purposefully overshoot on Escobar in 2010 because I so want him to win Rookie of the Year with these numbers:

.310 batting average, 75 runs scored, 25 stolen bases and highlight reel defense. The second that he turns a slick "how did he do that?" play that he is well known for, the crowd and voting public will rally in his favor.

That's just about all that I can say about Alcides Escobar. Some things are better seen than read about. I hope if you are reading this you will get to see him either in person or on on TV so that you can get on board this train with me. Because it's gonna be some kind of wild ride with this Wonderkid, and hopefully some of the flash and pizazz that he displays will give us some more National love. 2010 has a ton of promise for several Brewers players, and the pendulum can swing violently one way or the other depending on the performance of guys like Escobar who are only counted on to do the bare minimum. Escbar has the force and momentum to push us over the edge if he plays anything like he did at the end of last year.

Well I'm up against the deadline right now, and I have to get some sleep so that I can function tomorrow. I'm only 3 players in and I'm already complaining. Man, entries #22-25 are gonna be rough, especially as I get closer to Opening Day. But one player who didn't have it so rough last year was 3rd baseman Casey McGehee. After spending years in the minor leagues being blocked at 3rd base in the big leagues by Aramis Ramirez, he was put on waivers by the Chicago Cubs and claimed by the Brewers prior to the 2009 season. After finally getting a chance to play on an everyday basis, Casey McGehee shined in 2009. 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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Rickie Weeks

The leadoff man is incredibly important because he has the ability to set the pace for the entire game. 2nd baseman Rickie Weeks has been and will be the Brewers leadoff hitter if only by default (until Carlos Gomez or Alcides Escobar can prove they can get on base on a consistent basis). I would rather see him batting 5th or 6th because of his power and ability to drive in runs, but having him bat leadoff means so much more to the team than being a table setter. Because if he is batting leadoff that means that he is in the lineup, and having a healthy Weeks in the lineup dramatically changes the entire offense. Almost everyone will point a finger at the pitching staff for the team's failure in 2009, but for me the season started to spiral out of control on May 17, when Weeks suffered what would be a season ending wrist injury. The offense failed to click for a couple of weeks until Casey McGehee stepped in and stabilized it. By that time it was too late because the pitching staff fell apart and the offense couldn't overcome how terrible the pitching was. The one word that people always use when describing Rickie Weeks is potential. That's because he has plenty of it, but he has yet to get to the level that everyone believes he is capable of reaching. But time is running out for the oft-injured Weeks, and 2010 is once again a make or break year for him

Rickie Weeks was an amazing offense player in college at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His numbers in his senior year were off the charts. In 50 games he had a .500 batting average (seriously! I know math is tough but that's 1 hit every 2 at bats!) with 16 HRs, 67 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. He won the Golden Spikes award (given to the best amateur baseball player each year) that year as well as multiple other awards. The Brewers drafted him with the 2nd overall pick in the 2003 draft. Since arriving for good in the Major Leagues in 2005, he has had numerous injuries including torn tendons in both wrists, one that ended his season in 2006 and the already mentioned one that ended his 2009 season. The story on Weeks for his professional career was that he was a good offensive player, but his defense was for lack of a better word, abysmal. It sometimes looked like he had hands made of stone and that he was moving at the speed of light, and he sometimes would move too quickly and flub even the simplest of plays. But even though he has been a lightning rod for criticism, Rickie Weeks knows his flaws and he is one of the hardest working players I've ever seen.

I've been working at Miller Park since 2002, and we are required to be there when the gates open. I am an order taker on the Club Level. I can't take orders unless there are people in the seats, and anyone who is familiar with Brewers games know that tailgating is huge and that most people don't even settle into their seats until the National Anthem. And even then the stadium is only half full. In fact, for a sold out game all the seats aren't even occupied until at least the 3rd inning. The point is, without having customers to serve, I watch batting practice every single day. And I get to witness first hand the Coaches working with Rickie to slow down his approach defensively. When Willie Randolph was signed as the Bench Coach prior to the 2009 season I rejoiced, for I knew that he would be working one-on-one with Rickie and be able to turn him around. When I was down in Arizona for Spring Training that year, I went to Maryvale ballpark for pre-game workouts and saw the hands on approach that Willie used with Rickie. And I got incredibly excited for what Rickie could do in 2009.

The first Brewers jersey that I ever bought was Jeff Cirillo in the late 90's. The second was a personalized retro Iceman jersey. And the third was Rickie Weeks. My friends thought I was crazy. I have been Rickie Weeks' biggest supporter since he first got called up to the bigs in 2005. Which is why it has personally affected me to see him struggle so mightily and constantly be injured. Everyone from the National media to people calling into Sports Radio 1250's Brewers post-game show bashed him on a nightly basis, and I defended him to the bitter end. Rickie Weeks is a hustle kind of player that never gives up. He runs hard to first on every hit, be it a groundout or a single to center. His attitude and willingness to play hard every single minute on the field is inspiring. You can just see that he loves the game of baseball and will do whatever is necessary to better himself. When he finally started living up to that potential in 2009 (37 games, .272 avg, .340 obp, 9 HRs, 24 RBIs, 28 runs scored) I wore my Rickie Weeks jersey with pride with a big "I told you so" grin on my face. In the years past I was mocked for wearing it, but I did it anyway because I believed in him. I was loyal to a fault. People would say, "Iceman - Rickie Weeks? Really?" I am a Rickie Weeks fan. It was almost to the point where I was like a parent standing by my kid's side and cheering the loudest for him even when he screwed up. Then he would hit a homerun and I would yell out, "that's my boy!" Which is why it killed me so much when Weeks tore the tendon in his wrist when he got off to the best start of his career. I still believe that Weeks would have made the All-Star team, and I would have been so damn proud to wear that All-Star jersey.

But Rickie Weeks never made it further than May 17 in 2009. I previously talked about the importance of a leadoff hitter, so I feel that I should mention that Weeks isn't a prototypical one, so he has had to learn to be one at the Major League level. In fact, the majority of the learning that he has done has been at that level and under the watchful and ever criticizing eye of the public. It is my belief that Rickie Weeks will pick up where he left off last year and finally have that breakout year. Because if he doesn't, then unfortunately it may be time to find someone who can. Brett Lawrie (ranked in the top 100 of baseball's top prospects) was the Brewers #1 pick in 2008 and he is rising fast through the system. It's not too hard to believe that Lawrie could be starting in 2011, and by 2012 he should certainly be on the team. But Weeks won't have to worry about that if he puts up numbers like the ones I am predicting in 2010:

.280 batting avg, .345 on base percentage, 18 HRs, 61 RBIs, 101 runs scored, 29 stolen bases. He will also make the NL All-Star team. And because everyone is suspect of his defense, I am predicting that he has fewer than 13 errors.

Rickie Weeks is one of the two key pieces in the 2010 Brewers puzzle (with the other being Corey Hart) because he is the catalyst that ignites their explosive offense. Once again, pitching will dictate most everything, but I believe that if Weeks does well, the team overall will do well. And I sure hope that I am finally right because I'm tired of so many years of being wrong. I am going to keep on hyping Weeks and supporting him because after doing it for 5 years, what's one more? One can't be wrong for 6 years, can they?

Next I will be looking at the player who will be anchoring the middle infield defense along with Rickie Weeks - "The Wonderkid", shortstop Alcides Escobar. This highly touted defensive wizard has been talked about for years, and Milwaukee finally gets to see him for a full year after his anticipated debut last fall. But he's so good that the Brewers parted ways with fan favorite and core member of the Brewers youth movement JJ Hardy. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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