2010 Milwaukee Brewers Year End Review - Pitchers

You can point fingers anywhere you want as far as the lack of success since the Milwaukee Brewers went to the postseason as the NL Wild Card team in 2008. Most people point the finger at the lack of quality pitching. Losing Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia is enough to turn over any pitching staff, but the offense was supposed to be good enough to overcome it, right? Almost. In 2009 the Brewers had the 26th worst (out of 30 MLB teams) pitching staff, and were only slightly better than the Washington Nationals for worst in the National League. That year the offense was majestic and helped the Brewers finish at 80-82, which was a disappointment considering that the year before they made it to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years. So I was one of many that thought we could compete in 2010 with an average staff only if the offense continues to put up big numbers. Gallardo was out for the majority of the 2008 season do to a torn ACL, and he had a pretty good 2009 season (13-12, 3.73 ERA) so you had to figure in 2010 he would show some more improvement and continue to mature as the ace of this staff. 2009 also saw fill-ins like Mike Burns, Carlos Villanueva, Seth McClung pitching in the rotation with perennial underperformers Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush and Manny Parra, along with batting practice tosser Braden Looper. That group was just terrible. In order to right those wrongs, Doug Melvin signed the 2nd best free agent pitcher Randy Wolf and brought back a steady innings eater veteran in Doug Davis. He also added veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins to a bullpen that was coming back mostly intact from last season that was actually quite good but broke down after the All-Star break because the starters failed to go more than 5 innings per game. Since the bullpen had to cover on average 4 innings per game all of the pitchers out there were overworked. Gallardo would certainly improve, and Wolf and Davis average around 200 innings a year, so we appeared set going into 2010. But like always, appearances can be deceiving. Gallardo was good but not great, Wolf sucked for the first 3 months of the season, and Davis was ineffective when healthy and spent the majority of the season on the DL. Add to that a bullpen that had a complete overhaul by the end of the season, and of the 8 pitchers I listed as part of the bullpen, only 3 of them would finish the season in the bullpen. The pitching staff in 2010 was better than the 2009 one, but not by much. They still finished 26 out of 30 MLB teams, but they moved up to 14th worst out of 16 National League teams as the Diamondbacks and Pirates took those final 2 spots. Add to the fact that the offense wasn't as good as in 2009 and the Brewers finished the season with a 77-85 record. You can blame it on the pitchers, blame Grandpa Macha, blame it on the offense and hell, you can even blame it on the rain. But let's face it, the game begins and ends with pitching. And in 2010 they just weren't that good again. But before we turn the page to 2011 with the very much improved pitching staff, we must first compare my preseason predictions from my "25 Brewers in 25 Days" segment to the actual 2010 stats upon the completion of the 2010 season. And even though we are trying to forget about the past, here we go.

Starting pitcher - Yovani Gallardo 2010 prediction: 3.21 ERA, 16-8 record, 221 innings pitched, 215 strikeouts, .225 batting avg, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs

2010 actual stats: 3.84 ERA, 14-7 record, 185 innings pitched, 200 strikeouts, .254 batting avg, 4 HRs, 10 RBIs

Gallardo started out the year on a roll. He made his first Opening Day start (albeit a loss) and stood at 8-4 with a 2.58 ERA, 111 innings pitched and 122 strikeouts, which earned him his first All-Star Game selection. But then he tweaked his side (a left rib cage strain) which caused him to miss pitching in the All-Star game. He just wasn't the same after the break, and his 2nd half stats were ugly for an ace of the rotation - 6-3 record, 5.77 ERA, 73 innings and 78 strikeouts. But although some may not qualify him as an ace quite yet, he still did get 14 wins, which is something that Ben Sheets never did. And Gallardo is only 25 years old and really only has had 2 full seasons in the majors, so there's plenty of upside, maturity and improvement for this young right hander. And since Manny Parra will never come around, for now he is the sole representative of our homegrown starting pitching. So he has to succeed or else our farm system is a total failure. But it won't be, because Gallardo is the man. Especially at the plate. In the National League in 2010 there were 12 home runs hit by pitchers, and Gallardo hit 1/3 of them (or 4 for those of you who can't so simple math.) That feat, plus his .254 batting average (which was better than Gomez, Escobar and Kottaras to name few) earned him his first Silver Slugger award, given out to the best hitter at every position. 2o1o was just another stepping stone towards greatness for this young stud.

Starting pitcher - Randy Wolf 2010 prediction: 3.85 ERA, 13-10 record, 203 innings pitched, 152 strikeouts, 1 howl from me for every strikeout.

2010 actual stats: 4.17 ERA, 13-12 record, 215.2 innings pitched, 142 strikeouts, some howls but nowhere near the total of 152

When the Brewers signed Wolf prior to the 2010 season he was the 2nd best free agent on the market. When he sucked big time with a 6-8 record and a 4.56 ERA prior to the All-Star break people were already labeling him the left handed Jeff Suppan. His ineffectiveness and 3 year $29 million contract certainly put him the same breath as that loser, but I knew that Wolf was better than that. And I told everyone to calm and see how he pitches in the 2nd half. And everyone was able to relax because after the break he was 7-4 with a 3.41 ERA. Unfortunately his first half struggles were a common theme across the entire pitching staff (excluding Gallardo) and the Brewers were out of the race long before the race for the postseason even started. So when everything finally gelled for him and others in August and September it was too little too late for the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers. Let's hope to God history doesn't repeat itself in 2011.

Starting pitcher - Doug Davis 2010 prediction: 4.08 ERA, 12-12 record, 208 innings pitched, 138 strikeouts, 98 walks

2010 actual stats: 7.51 ERA, 1-4 record, 38.1 innings pitched, 34 strikeouts, 21 walks

Signing Doug Davis was actually a decent move on Melvin's part consider the need for pitching and the couple of good years he was coming off of with the Diamondbacks. I personally didn't care for it because I remember suffering through Davis' starts from the first time he pitched in Milwaukee (2003-2006) because he worked slow and walked a lot of batters. But I would have been ok with it had he put up numbers similar to his 2009 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks - 9-14, 4.12 ERA with 203 innings pitched. His win total would have been better with the Brewers and the number of innings would have certainly saved our bullpen arms had he stayed healthy. He spent the majority of the season on the DL thanks to a heart condition and elbow problems. For $4.25 million dollars we got an 8 ERA and 38 innings. But how was Doug Melvin supposed to know that? That's the problem with small market teams when they make a gamble (Eric Gagne anyone?) - it ends up biting them real bad if that player fails. And that is exactly what happened. So it's pretty safe to say we won't see Doug Davis putting on a Brewers uniform for a 3rd stint with the Brewers any time soon.

Starting pitcher - Dave Bush 2010 prediction: 4.35 ERA, 12-11 record, 189 innings pitched, 132 strikeouts and the distinction of being the only player on the roster where I can shout out his name and totally be referring to something else.

2010 actual stats: 4.54 ERA, 8-13 record, 174.1 innings pitched, 107 strikeouts, and I still love Bush no matter what everyone else says about me.

Bush had a so-so 2010 season which would be his final one in Milwaukee. I always did like the fact that Bush went after hitters and threw strikes. Sometimes this came back to bite him as he gave up more than his fair share of homeruns (28 in 2010) and always seemed to run into a wall in the 6th inning. I don't think fans in Milwaukee gave him enough respect during the time he was here, but in all honesty he was just average. He was no better than a #5 pitcher but he was always surrounded by 3 other #5 pitcher's in the starting rotation. I do wish the best for Bush in the future, but average pitching just won't cut it anymore (it never should have) when you are trying to put together a winning team. So long Bush, it's been an up and down 5 years for you in Milwaukee, but just know that you at least had one fan here who was always cheering you on.

Starting / relief pitcher - Chris Narveson 2010 prediction: 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 the players on the team (along with Parra) who's name sounds so much cooler when you say it like a Pirate. Chris Naaaaarrrrr-veson.

2010 actual stats: 4.99 ERA, 12-9 record, 167.2 innings pitched, 28 starts

I didn't realize until now that Naaaaaaaaarrrrveson made 28 starts in 2010. He started the season in the bullpen because he was out of minor league options, which means that if he didn't make the major league team he could be claimed off of waivers from another team instead of providing depth in the minors. So instead he provided depth in the majors. Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra battled for worst starting pitcher on the team, and the award only goes to Suppan because of his longevity of suckiness. So Narveson was a starter then by default. Someone needs to toe the rubber in the first few innings of the game after all. And that is where Narveson had his troubles. I don't feel like looking up the stats this time, but I swear that he gave up at least 1 run in the 1st inning of every one of his starts. If I was going to a game and I knew he was pitching, I would stay in the parking lot drinking until the bottom of the 2nd. I just got sick and tired of seeing him give up early runs. We used to joke that he would give up a "gentleman's 3" in the first inning, which is a nice way of saying he fucked up the beginning of the games. But after that he was usually pretty good. So if he figures out a way to get out of the 1st without putting the Brewers in a big hole, he's going to be a great asset to the starting rotation and be the perfect #5 man. I'm high on Narveson, mostly because I love talking like a pirate and looking like an asshole while doing it.

Starting / relief pitcher - Manny Parra 2010 prediction: 4.14 ERA, 13-10 record, 171 innings pitched, 120 strikeouts and the be Manny that we always knew that he could be.

2010 actual stats: 5.02 ERA, 3-10 record, 122 innings pitched, 129 strikeouts

Panny Marra. That's what my cousin Tommy and I call him. What the hell are we going to do with you? I think it's pretty safe to say that he is done as a starting pitcher. Once again I don't feel like looking it up, but I saw with my own eyes how he would often break down the 3rd time through the lineup when he was a starter. The answer to that? They made him a reliever and he would never see the same batter 3 times in a game. And he excelled in that role. It's a shame though because he certainly has the physical talent and all the tools to be an effective starter, but he just can't get his head on straight enough to put those skills to use as a starting pitcher. I'm with Doug Melvin for sticking with this guy and holding on to homegrown talent, and he certainly will be with the team in 2011 in the bullpen. But if he fails in that role, it's don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Relief Pitcher - Trevor Hoffman 2010 prediction: 2.12 ERA, 3-1 record, 35 saves in 38 chances, blow my mind with "Hell's Bells" for another year and record save #600 of his storied Hall of Fame career.

2010 actual stats: 5.89 ERA, 2-7 record, 10 saves in 15 chances, and one final Hells Bells to end them all the night of save #600

Trevor Hoffman. What a rough year he had. It was crazy to predict that at age 42 he would repeat one of his career best years that he had in 2009. After converting 37 of 41 saves with a 1.83 ERA it was a no brainer to resign him for 2010. And then he blew 5 of 10 saves in April in March that helped contribute to that 9 game losing streak that cost the Brewers their season and Hoffman's job as closer. No one doubted his heart and mind, and his work ethic was top notch. He was more physically fit than guys half his age. And although it hurt his pride and his longtime fans to see him in a setup role for John Axford, he performed well enough to earn a few more save opportunities. Then on September 7, 2010 a light crowd of less than 25,000 stood on its' feet when "Hells Bells" echoed off Miller Park's walls and roof panels. And Trevor Hoffman, despite all of the struggles that he went through in 2010 notched save #600. Some people may not give a lot of credit to closers or think that #600 is not a big deal (because it will soon be eclipsed by the New York Yankee's Mariano Rivera) but I was there that day sitting above the bullpen in the left field bleachers when Trevor jogged out in the 9th. And to me that day will be as memorable as other Brewers milestones like Robin Yount's 3,000th hit and Ben Sheet's 18 strikeouts (both of which I was also in attendance for). There's just something about seeing history and in the case of Hoffman, something that had never been done before. So even though Hoffman didn't help out too much on the field, it's the intangibles that he brought to the young arms and minds on the pitching staff that will carry over to 2011 and beyond. And if he was able to help out guys like John Axford and Zach Braddock, then at least some good can come out of a bad situation.

Relief Pitcher - LaTroy Hawkins 2010 prediction: 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.

2010 actual stats: 8.44 ERA, 0-3 record, 0 saves, 18 strikeouts, 16 innings pitched

I questioned this signing. It came out of nowhere and it was especially puzzling considering that he was signed to a 2 year contract. We have seen first hand the dangers of signing relievers to multi-year deals (David Riske) and once again it didn't work out in our favor. This 38 year old only pitched 16 innings and when he did get in a game he was terrible, Guillermo Mota style. We used to use the phrase Say no ta Mota in 2008, pleading with Ned Yost not to use him in a game. Sadly for us Hawkins wasn't around enough in 2010 for us to come up with something clever to shout at him. Thankfully he will be around again in 2011, but hopefully he'll be good enough that we don't have to make fun of him. But we will anyway because that is what we do.

Relief Pitcher - Todd Coffey 2010 prediction: 2.75 ERA, 3-3 record, 78.2 innings pitched, 57 strikeouts, 11.95 seconds fastest sprint time to the mound and millions of fans knowing when it's Coffey Time.

2010 actual stats: 4.76 ERA, 2-4 record, 62.1 innings pitched, 56 strikeouts

It's Coffey Time!! Or else it used to be. Coffey was the workhorse of the bullpen in 2009 but he couldn't match the success he had in 2009 despite being a fan favorite. His sprint in from the bullpen got the crowd fired up in a way that only the Klement's Racing Sausages could, but that didn't help him find success on the field. He was still decent in 2010, but since he was due a raise through arbitration, the Brewers decided not to tender him a contract, making him a free agent in 2011. I'm sure that the Brewers (and the fans) would have loved to keep him around, but at the end of the day it's a business and he simply was going to cost too much for the production that you would have gotten out of him. So I'll miss Coffey. He sprinted out of my heart just as fast as he sprinted into it. He's another player that I wish the best for in 2011.

Relief Pitcher - Mitch Stetter 2010 prediction: 2.79 ERA, 3-1 record, 68 games appeared in but 42 innings pitched and the same awesome delivery.

2010 actual stats: 14.73 ERA, 0-0 record, appeared in 9 games, 3.2 innings pitched

Mitch Stetter appeared in 9 games, 3.2 innings. That pretty much sums it up right there. He just wasn't that good, and since Manny Parra and Chris Narveson were stewing around in the bullpen there just wasn't a need for a situational lefty. And then Zach Braddock was called up in late May and excelled in that situational lefty role so much to the point that Stetter wasn't even one of the September callups. I think Stetter still could be part of the Brewers future, but he's going to need an injury or ineffective play (and knock on wood those don't happen) from a fellow reliever to see the Major Leagues in 2011. But it is still nice to have that bullpen depth just in case. Especially becaise Stetter is just damn filthy when facing lefties.

Relief Pitcher - Claudio Vargas 2010 prediction: 3.17 ERA, 1-2 record, 48 innings pitched and the last player named when you ask the common fan to name all of the players on the 25 man roster.

2010 actual stats: 7.32 ERA, 1-0 record, 19.2 innings pitched

Claudio Vargas is garbage and bringing him back in 2010 was a poor decision. Sure, he had a 1.78 ERA with the Brewers after they acquired him in a trade with the Dodgers in 2009 and he was pretty cheap at just $900,000. Listen to me, calling $900,000 cheap. You know what I could do with that kind of money? Throw one hell of a sexy party. And save some of the leftover money to buy a replacement liver that I'm eventually going to need. But in baseball money anything under a million bucks is chump change. So when he struggled mightly along with the majority of the bullpen, he was cut loose and replaced by minor league talent. Now that both Doug Davis and Claudio Vargas have both failed, could we please stop bringing back former Brewers pitchers?

Relief Pitcher - Carlos Villanueva 2010 prediction: 4.84 ERA, 4-6 record, 52 innings pitched all in relief and the first one to get sent down to the minors when a roster spot is needed. But he will also be the first one recalled back the Majors should someone get injured.

2010 actual stats: 4.61 ERA, 2-0 record, 52.2 innings pitched (all in relief), but spent the last half of 2010 in AAA.

Carlos Villanueva wasn't that bad in 2010. But truth be told he wasn't that good either. I don't remember him pitching 52 innings in in 2010 and I watch every single game. That really shows you just how effective he was this past season. I kind of remember when he was sent down to the minors, and I wasn't surprised when he wasn't called back up until September. And even then he threw only a handful of innings that month and just like that he was gone again. Carlos was versatile as a starter and reliever but with all due respect, he just wasn't very good at either one. And like all of the other relievers that went before him, so he went as well. And no offense to him or his family, but he won't be missed. Just another name in the revolving Rolodex of pitchers for the Brewers.

Starting pitcher - Jeff Suppan 2010 prediction: He sucks, is overpaid and is a complete waste of space. Suppan sucked the Brewers into a financial hole which crippled the team. But it was their fault for giving him the money...

2010 actual stats: 0-2 record, 7.84 ERA, 15 games, 2 starts

Fuck Jeff Suppan. He should have to give some of that money back. When the Brewers finally cut the dead weight that was once a decent pitcher the entire city of Milwaukee cheered. I didn't write an entry for him because he wasn't on the 25 man roster when the season opened. He started the season on the DL, and for all I cared he could have stayed there. But even though he eventually pitched a couple of innings in 2010, I still keep him another DL, one that has many names. Disappointing List. Disgusting List. Doodoo List. Deadweight List. DeadToMe List. Dingy List. DudedUpGutterTrash List. And so on and so on and so on and so on. I don't have all day. But I really wanted to write about Suppan because I had so much to say about him, but now that I have my platform for doing so, I just don't feel like it anymore. It's obvious now that signing Suppan was a complete and utter failure, but at the time of the signing I was excited about it. Suppan had just come off of a fantastic postseason where he had a big hand in helping the Cardinals win the World Series and he was brought on board to add stability to the pitching staff. I never expected him to be an ace; that's ludicrous for me even to type it out right here. But all that I asked is that he finish around .500 with a 4 ERA and 200 innings pitched. Was that too much to ask? Apparently that was, and the 4 year $42 million contract is the biggest bust in Brewers history, which is why we definitely cannot resign Prince Fielder and give him the $20-25 million a year that he will command. If $42 million saddled us for 4 years, think how much $160-180 over 7-8 years will do to us? That's another topic for another day, but basically a small market team like Milwaukee cannot afford to make costly mistakes, and that is exactly what Jeff Suppan turned out to be. The Soup's gone bad. Send that shit back to the kitchen.

So if you were able to make it through all of that reading without making your head hurt (and I doubt you did because it made my head hurt writing it) you will have learned at least 2 things - pitching is what drives a team towards success and pitchers come and go in the blink of an eye. By the end of the season guys like John Axford, Braddock and Kameron Loe were the go to guys in the bullpen while Narveson and Chris Capuano were getting the starts at the back end of the rotation. Some of the guys who helped to stabilize the pitching in the latter half of the year will be back again in 2011 but how will they fare in a full season? That my friends is a topic that will be covered in a few days. Brewers, Brewers, Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

2010 Milwaukee Brewers Year End Review - Offense

Today is Sunday February 13, and Pitchers and Catchers have started reporting to Spring Training. Brewers P/C don't need to officially report until Wednesday February 16th, although most if not all of them will be there before that date. Since baseball season is underway (in my opinion at least) you would think that I would be talking about the 2011 season. Oh no my friends. I have some unfinished business that for whatever reason I didn't get around to doing in the offseason. Back in October of 2010 I posted my overall review of the Brewers Season, where I recapped their record and a couple of predictions that I made before the season. I wanted to keep the Brewers fever going during the cold winter months, and although it never truly leaves me, the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Bucks stole some of the thunder this winter. Obviously you now know that the Packers won the Superbowl and were the focal point of Wisconsin sports talk for the majority of the offseason. And what about the Bucks? They're currently 10 or so games under .500 and desperately trying to grab hold of the 8th playoff spot. So this season is basically a wash. But enough about the Packers and Bucks. I came here to talk Brewers, and specifically the 2010 season that was another on the long list of disappointing Brewers seasons.

If you've been following along with this blog then you will know that I did a 2010 preview entitled "25 Brewers in 25 Days" using the 25 days prior to Spring Training to predict the players on the Opening Day roster as well as to provide my prediction on their 2010 stats. Now that the 2010 season is over (as it has been for the last 4 months) I am able to compare my preseason stat predictions with their final 2010 stat line and provide a brief commentary on their overall season. This section focuses on the 13 offensive players that I had profiled. My early predictions are highlighted in red and their actual stats are highlighted in green. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to write this because comparing my stat line with the actual ones was one of the things that I was most looking forward to doing once the 2010 season ended. You've already waited 4 months for this, so I won't make you wait any longer.

1st Base - Prince Fielder 2010 prediction: .305 avg, .405 obp, 42 HRs, 136 RBIs, 105 walks. He will once again make the NL All-Star team and will finish in the top 3 of the NL MVP voting.

2010 actual stats: .261 avg, .401 obp, 32 HRs, 83 RBIs, 114 walks.

Prince Fielder had one hell of a down year. Most players would take 32 HRs and 83 RBIs any year and consider it a good year. But Fielder is not most players. In fact he is better than most players. These are his lowest numbers since his 1st full season in 2006. What makes it worse is that in 2009 he had an NL high 141 RBIs. Maybe pitchers were throwing around him (leading to an NL high 114 walks) and he had to be more selective at the plate. Maybe his upcoming free agency (after the 2011 season) and the possibility of being traded was worrying him. Maybe he was trying to shoulder too much of the load to make up for another woeful pitching staff. Maybe he just had a bad year. Whatever the case may be, Fielder just flat out didn't do his job in 2010. The majority of his homeruns were solo shots and his strikeout numbers increased. His overall attitude seemed to have changed as well. Call it Grandpa Macha not letting the kids have fun or being on the losing end of games too often, but Fielder just wasn't himself. In 2011 he is entering a contract year, and I look forward to a more Fielder-like year for the big man.

2nd Base - Rickie Weeks 2010 prediction: .280 avg, .345 obp, 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.

2010 actual stats: .269 avg, .366 obp, 29 HRs, 83 RBIs, 112 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 15 errors. Weeks was not selected by the fans or players to be on the NL All-Star Team.

I've been a huge Weeks supporter for years now, and in 2010 he showed what he can do when he stays healthy for an entire season. Weeks was statistically the best leadoff hitter in all of the MLB and my mouth salivates thinking what he could do if he was batting 3rd or 5th in the lineup. But he was so damn good right there at the top that you can't possible move him now. You can see by my stat predictions that I had him having a good year, but he went on to have a great year. As for not making the All Star Team I think that he was obviously snubbed, but thinking back to the first half of the year I remember that he started out alright but by the time he really heated up and started putting up big power numbers, it was too little too late to be recognized for his efforts. When all was said and done Weeks played in a career high 159 games and his stats are a reflection of him staying healthy and producing like the player he was supposed to be when he was selected with the #2 overall pick in the 2003 draft. His stolen base numbers were not reflective of his ability to get on base, but as you will see with all of the players where I predicted stolen base totals, everyone came out on the low end. This was not the player's fault, but rather Macha's philosophy about stealing bases and being aggressive on the base paths. Weeks is a free agent after the 2011 season, and I'm all for offering him a contract extension for a couple more years. We'll see what happens in the next few days, but Weeks is the new ignitor and is crucial to the Brewers offense in 2011. You're my boy Rickie!!

Shortstop - Alcides Escobar 2010 prediction: .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.

2010 actual stats: .235 avg, 57 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, 20 errors but he still had multiple SportsCenter Top 10 defensive plays.

Here is the first of many apologies that I have to make on my 2010 predictions. Even though I could honestly tell you how the players will produce in any given year, I like to set some lofty goals. You can call it "drinking the Kool-Aid" and having blind loyalty to your team or a certain player, but I set high goals because I want to see them reach them. I was really high on Alcides Escobar. I even gave him the nickname "The Wonderkid." Every player is going to have some ups and down during their rookie year, but Escobar mostly had downs. At times he looked lost at the plate and on the field and some questioned whether he was brought up to the Majors too soon (like Rickie Weeks) and that we should have held on to JJ Hardy for another year. Replacing Hardy on and off the field (the ladies sure did love him) was a tall task, and most people in Milwaukee didn't even give him a chance. And for the haters out there they won't have the opportunity to give him another chance as he was one of the players sent to Kansas City in exchange for Zack Greinke. I believe he will have a good year offensively and defensively, but unfortunately I will be seeing his slick Web Gem plays only on SportsCenter, and he'll be wearing a Royals jersey. Time will tell on Escobar, but giving up prospects is a small price to pay for getting a former Cy Young winner and establishing a winning mentality.

3rd base - Casey McGehee 2010 prediction: .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.

2010 actual stats: .285 avg, 23 HRs, 104 RBIs, 17 errors

You always worry about how a player will perform the year after a breakout season. I scaled my expectations down a little bit not because I didn't believe in Casey McGehee, but because I wanted to give him a little breathing room should he fall short. Kind of the opposite thing I did with Escobar, right? McGehee proved that he belongs in the Major Leagues after toiling in the Cubs Minor League system for years and being claimed off waivers by the Brewers. Where Ryan Braun and Mat Gamel have failed as the long-term 3rd basemen Casey McGehee has succeeded. We now have a big enough sample size to prove that. McGehee was in my opinion, the team MVP in 2010 and the only stable member in a lineup that saw everyone else go up and down more times than a marathon roller coaster rider. He did have 17 errors, but 3rd base is generally a position that sees a lot of mistakes. Just ask Braun (26 in 2007) and Gamel (an astonishing 53!! in 2007 at Single A Brevard County) about that. McGehee is under contract for a couple more years, so expect similar production from him in 2011.

Infield - Craig Counsell 2010 prediction: .280 avg, .351 OBP, 2 HRs, 33 RBIs, 110 games played, veteran leadership and still James' favorite player.

2010 actual stats: .250 avg, .322 obp, 2 HRs, 21 RBIs, 102 games played and James' former neighbor now that James lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

Craig Counsell is the glue that holds this team together. A player of his kind with the experience he brings is invaluable, so I hope that the Brewers hang on to him until the day he decides to retire. Counsell turned 40 last year but saw action in plenty of games thanks to his ability to have a productive at bat as a pinch hitter and his versatility on the field. Joe Inglett was the primary pinch hitter, but Counsell got his fair share of appearances in 2010. Weeks' health and McGehee's production kept them on the field for 159 and 157 games respectively, so Counsell saw most of his action at shortstop (42 games) when Escobar needed a mental break or played his way out of Macha's lineup. I was at the game in Washington D.C. when Counsell hit a grandslam to highlight a 10 run outburst in the 1st inning of that game. It's not often that he contributes to the runs in the box score like that, but what he brings cannot be displayed in a stat line. He has veteran leadership and 2 World Series rings, and will once again play a pivotal role for the 2011 Brewers. Besides upgrading the pitching staff (which they did with the additions of Greinke and Marcum0 I said that the most important thing the Brewers had to do was resign Craig Counsell. Done and done. 2011 is shaping up to be a good year.

Infield/Outfield - Joe Inglett 2010 prediction: .278 avg, 2 HRs, 33 RBIs and not on the roster for the entire 2010 season. I know I always try to say something wacky or funny at the end of the stat line, but since the Brewers bench is so lefty heavy eventually they're going to have to have a right handed batter sitting in the dugout. And unfortunately Inglett is the most likely candidate to be replaced. That is unless he proves that he doesn't deserve to be replaced.

2010 actual stats: .254 avg, 1 HR, 8 RBIs and spent the entire year on the Brewers 25 man roster.

Inglett was mostly used as a pinch hitter and excelled when called upon to do that, hitting for a .294 avg and led the Major League with 20 pinch hits. When he did get an occasional start (when it seemed everyone was banged up and Alcides Escobar was playing left field) he hit .197 and provided minimal offensive impact as far as runs scored (15 all year) and runs batted in. He was a decent option off the bench who who could play 2nd, 3rd, SS and the corner outfield positions if a starter was a late scratch or in a blowout. He's the kind of player who is the 25th man every year and only spends 1 year with the roster, like Tony Graffanino in 2007, Gabe Kapler in 2008 and Frank Catalanotto in 2009. Let's hope that Mark Kotsay in 2011 has the same kind of impact in 2011, which is not a sarcastic comment because all of the players listed did their job as a role player and positively impacted that season.

Catcher - Gregg Zaun 2010 prediction: .254 avg, 8 HRs, 41 RBIs and 101 games caught.

2010 actual stats: .265 avg, 2 HRs, 14 RBIs and 28 games caught.

Gregg Zaun was signed to mentor our young catching prospects and play the majority of the game for a year until someone like Jonathon Lucroy or Angel Salome was ready to catch on an everyday basis. I totally had forgotten about Zaun because he suffered a season ending shoulder injury in May and will not be on the roster in 2011. Zaun started out the 2010 season going hitless for a handful of games and was finally starting to show some offensive life when he got injured. Although you never want to see someone get hurt (except for people getting kicked in the balls and children falling down) it was a blessing in disguise as Lucroy was "thrown into the wolves" and ended up catching 75 games in his rookie year. That should give him enough experience to be the everyday catcher in 2011 and have another old guy (Wil Nieves) to mentor him like Zaun should have.

Catcher - George Kottaras 2010 prediction: .245 avg, 3 HRs, 18 RBIs, 52 games played and wondering why he's being interviewed by Telly Hughes and not some hot blonde.

2010 actual stats: .203 avg, 9 HRs, 26 RBIs, 67 games played and never interviewed by anyone, not even Craig Coshun. That's because Kottaras sucks.

I didn't really care for George Kottaras. In fact, the only reason that I liked him at all is because he was the butt of a lot of my jokes this season. I think it was Sparky on Sportsradio 1250 who said that his name sounded less like that of a baseball player and more like that of an accountant. So for the latter half of the season I always addressed him as my accountant George Kottaras when I spoke of him in person or on the Twitter, much like when I say to James your friend and former neighbor Craig Counsell when speaking of him. I guess Kottaras was a serviceable backup to Lucroy, even if he was in danger of batting his weight (185) for most of the season (insert rim shot after my other Kottaras joke). He did hit 9 home runs, but a .203 batting average just doesn't cut it in my book, even if you are hitting in the #8 spot. The backup catcher is one of the few positions open in Spring Training, so we'll see if Kottaras comes back for another year to do the Brewers taxes and maintain their financial records.

Outfield - Ryan Braun 2010 prediction: .317 avg, 35 HRs, 111 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 188 hits, 2 new clothing lines launched and 1 new restaurant opened.

2010 actual stats: .304 avg, 25 HRs, 103 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, 188 hits

Ryan Braun is a very difficult player for me to comment on. I have grown a distaste for him and would not like him except for one thing - he plays for our team and he puts up fantastic numbers. So while he certainly put up numbers close to what I expected him to, he had a pretty rough 2010. He started off pretty hot, hitting .355 in April with 5 homeruns and 20 RBIs but in June he hit .264 and July a paltry .200, bringing his season average down to it's low point of .273 on July 30. You can blame the pitching staff and Trevor Hoffman blowing saves all you want for the lack of success in 2010, but some of that blame needs to fall on Braun and Fielder for not producing runs. The Milwaukee Brewers are built on offense and need to consistently put up 4-5 runs per game in order to finish with a winning record. At times Braun looked like he didn't care and wasn't giving 100% effort. He may have been hurt because after all he has missed time in the past due to oblique strains. Maybe his mind was on designing some new gay overpriced t-shirts. Or perhaps he was picking out new appetizer options for Ryan Braun's Waterfront Bar & Grill because the Clams Casino and Shrimp Scampini weren't selling well. Whatever it was something was affecting his play, and in July the went as he went, and we were out of the pennant race before it even started. Then all the sudden he got really hot and made his year look more like a Ryan Braun type season stat line. If only he gave 100% all year long we may not have had the same results. But then again, a stellar Braun doesn't make up for Doug Davis, Manny Parra and Dave Bush. No one man could. I don't need Braun to be amazing, I just need him to be consistently good all year long, not just when he feels like it.

Outfield - Carlos Gomez 2010 prediction: .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.

2010 actual stats: .247 avg, 5 HR, 24 RBIs, 38 runs scored, 5 errors, 97 games played, .298 obp

Gomez came to Milwaukee as a defensive stud with an powerful yet inaccurate arm with tons of speed and potential, but he had one problem - he couldn't get on base to take advantage of his speed. And Carlos Gomez was exactly as advertised. In the "25 in 25" entry I likened him to Willie Mays Hayes in Major League and it was just that - he hit the ball in the air too much instead of putting it on the ground and trying to leg out a base hit. And he also struck out a good amount (72 times in 97 games) with helped with his on base percentage of .298 which is unacceptable for anyone on the team, let alone one with blazing speed. When he did get on base he was a nightmare for the defense and would often end up at 3rd after the throw to 2nd on a stolen base attempt wound up in the outfield. He was really fun to watch circle the bases or cover ground in the outfield so much to the point that I gave him the nickname "Go-go-go-Gomez." But my predicitons were pretty spot on and he eventually lost playing time to Jim Edmonds, Chris Dickerson and later Lorenzo Cain. Those players will not be on the 2011 roster (Edmonds was traded midseason, Dickerson just sucks and shouldn't make the roster and Cain was part of the package that brought Greinke to Milwaukee) so Gomez comes into the season set to start in centerfield. This is a make or break season for Gomez, because if he doesn't work out, the Brewers need to find someone who will.

Outfield - Corey Hart 2010 prediction: (my friend Mike's prediction) .285 batting average, 26HRs, 83 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. (My prediction) .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.

2010 actual stats: .283 avg, 31 HRs, 102 RBIs, 7 stolen bases, 145 games played

I've been holding off on writing this segment because I was totally wrong on Corey Hart. It pains me to admit it, but I underestimated his performance in 2010. I sound like a broken record, but for as many times that I knock him down, I always want him to succeed to prove me wrong. For players like Rickie Weeks and Acides Escobar I hold them to high expectations because I do expect a lot out of them. For Hart I set the bar low because then anything above that is a bonus. And Hart certainly quieted all the doubters and naysayers by putting up career numbers and earning the $4.8 million dollars that he got in arbitration. Hart also made the NL All-Star team and was the starting right fielder, so I bet a lot of other people were eating their words by midseason. Hart was rewarded for his fine play in 2010 with a 3 year contract extension, so I will have no choice but to cheer him on for the remainder of his days in a Brewers uniform. Did I mean all of those nasty things I said about him? Yeah. Do I regret saying them? Nope. Will I cheer for Corey Hart? Yeah. Do I still dislike him for all of the times he burned me in the past? Yeah. Am I willing to give him another chance? Yeah. Is he still a bitch? Hell yeah. I'm done talking about Corey Hart because I know that this is a neverending story that will see its fair share of happy and sad passages. Before I leave you let me once again state that I wish for nothing but success for Corey Hart in 2011, because if he does well then the team does well. And at the end of the day what the players as individuals do doesn't matter because the overall performance of the team is what shows up in the W column. But screw Corey Hart. Nobody makes me look like an asshole. NOBODY!!

Outfield - Jim Edmonds 2010 prediction: .261 avg, 17 HRs, 52 RBIs and a handful a highlight reel plays that will shoot him to the top of SportsCenter's Top 10 plays of the day.

2010 actual stats: .286 avg, 8 HRs, 20 RBIs, 73 games played

I was shocked when the Brewers signed Jim Edmonds but I knew that he would find his way into the lineup. Gomez had the indications of an underperforming season and Corey Hart didn't necessarily light the world on fire in 2009. In fact, Edmonds started on Opening Day in right field and was on the All-Star ballot. Edmonds got a fair amount of playing time and looked like the Edmonds of old who has won 8 Gold Gloves in his career. It was spectacular to watch a natural centerfielder who made plays look easy and took great routes on balls in the outfield. It reminded me of (and made me miss when we had) Mike Cameron. Hopefully he was able to work with Braun and Hart (who are both converted infielders) on their outfield defense in the short time he was here. Towards the end of his time in Milwaukee Edmonds was hampered by injuries and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds when we had fallen out of (but to be truthful we were never really in it) playoff contention. Both of those led to him falling short of my predictions, but if we were in the hunt for October I have no doubt he would have been a huge factor.

Outfield - Jody Gerut 2010 prediction: .256 avg, 9 HRs, 43 RBIs, semi-regular playing time and still having a girl's name, despite the fact that I have met guys named Jody.

2010 actual stats: .197 avg, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, 32 games played and he still has a girl's name despite what babynames.com says (when Jody was the 153rd most popular name in 1970).

Jody Gerut opened the season as the 5th outfielder and saw little playing time during the season. He failed whenever he was in the lineup or when he was called upon to pinch hit. The only thing that he did in 2010 was replace Chad Moeller in the trivia question "Who was the last Brewers player to hit for the cycle?" That's right ladies and gents. Some chick masquerading as a dude went 4-6 with a single, double, triple and a homerun in a 17-3 blowout victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Then on August 13 he was released by the Brewers in a long overdue move that ended the horrible trade the sent Tony Gwynn back home to San Diego. Good riddance.

Well that covers the offense players that I profiled in my "25 in 25" blog posts. Notably absent are contributions from rookies Jonathon Lucroy and Lorenzo Cain, who didn't start the season on the 25 man roster. As mentioned, both saw playing time at some point in the season due to injury (Lucroy for Zaun) and ineffective play (Cain for Gomez) and only one of them will be profiled in the 2011 "25 Brewers in 25 Days" that I plan on writing. So while the pitching staff proved to be a revolving door for both the starters and relievers, the offense was mostly in tact for the majority of the year and mostly performed up to my expectations. The offense hasn't been the problem in the Fielder/Braun era so that only leads the finger to be pointed at the other half of the team - the pitchers. The Brewers pitchers had something like the 2nd worst ERA among Major League teams in 2010, which is why they gave up the farm for Greinke and Marcum. But before we can talk about and predict the 2011 pitching staff, we must first reflect on the gang of 2010 that once again failed so miserably and led to the Brewers finishing under .500 for a second consecutive season. But that my friends is a topic that will be covered in a few days. Brewers, Brewers, Keep Turning Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

World Series of Beer Pong 6 - Day 3 (Pookcast Episode 18)

With a 5-7 record we obviously were not good enough to make the playoffs on Day 3. In fact, I haven't made the playoffs since the last time that I played with Hummel at WSoBP II. So for the last few days I have used Day 3 to get drunk and check out Las Vegas. I've been to Vegas almost a dozen times now, so there's not really much more to see. So I decided instead to hang out in the room and do nothing. Kind of a wasted way to spend the day if you ask me, but at the time I was tired as shit and really didn't feel like moving around. Eventually I got off my ass and fulfilled my yearly goal of eating at In-N-Out Burger. This video I took at night recounts my Day 3 of the World Series. I hope that I recalled all of the events that happened that day, but to be quite honest with you if I didn't remember all of them I have no memory whatsoever, because I really didn't do much that day. But all is well that ends well, and a bad day in Las Vegas is better than a good day back in Milwaukee when I'm stuck at work. Thanks again for sticking with me through another World Series of Beer Pong, and since I've already decided to go back for Year VII, I will start practicing at an earlier date so that I can be ready this year. I will return to the playoffs on Day 3 or my name isn't Iceman! Later dudes.



- pookon -

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

World Series of Beer Pong 6 - Day 2 (Pookcast Episode 17)

After going 2-4 on Day 1 I wasn't very optimistic about Day 2. We would have to go 4-2 just to finish with a .500 record, and would have to win all of our games to finish at 8-4 and have an outside chance of reaching Day 3. So while making the Playoffs wasn't going to be easy, finishing at 6-6 seemed to be an achievable goal. But after losing the first game of Day 2 my hopes were dashed that we could put up a respectable record. But we got our shit back together and won the next two games before dropping another two, then won mthe last game of Day 2 to finish on a high note. So Hummel that Shit closes out the WSoBP VI with a 5-7 record and -20 cups or something, which was "good" for a 324th place finish. But we were still in good spirits, as you can see from this video of Hummel and I recounting our experiences from Day 2.






- pookon -

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

World Series of Beer Pong 6 - Day 1 (Pookcast Episode 16)

When I woke up this morning Lethal Weapon was on TV, which made me think of Danny Glover's line, "I'm getting to old for this shit." Let me state for the record that I'm glad that I'm here and I'm also having a great time. But Hummel that Shit finished with a 2-4 record and have little to no chance of making the playoffs. What ever. That's a story in itself that I will write at another time. Mainly I was feeling pretty old this morning because my body is all kinds of sore from walking, drinking and not sleeping. I'm feeling more and more like an Old Man every day that I'm out here, and I don't think that I can handle Vegas they way that I used to. Granted I'm not hung over this morning because I sobered up well before bed time, but I'd be lucky if I got 5 hours of sleep last night. I usually average around 6 hours a night back home, but back home I don't subject my body to this kind of abuse. I wouldn't be surprised if my body was pissed off at me and decide to give up on me. Despite having an asshole, I don't think that my body is one, so I have a good chance of making it through the day still standing. So while while I'm struggling to stay alive out here (in more ways than one) check out a recap of Day 1 in this video. Thanks for all the support and I just want to let you know that I won't let you down. (but please have some low standards and be understanding. Also be gentile...)

- pookon -

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

World Series of Beer Pong 6 - Drunk in Las Vegas (Pookcast Episode 15)

This is the 6^th time that I am out in Nevada for the World Series of Beer Pong. We always arrive here on the 1^st of January, but the tournament doesn’t start up until the 2^nd. For me that means the first day is a day when I am able to get drunk and enjoy Vegas, which usually involves me walking around on the Strip with some form of malt liquor in my hand. This year my choice would be Steel Reserve because I saw a toothless degenerate wandering around drinking one and he looked like he was having a good time. In fact, I would go on to say that this bastard was my hero, even though he was someone that you certainly would not look up to in normal circumstances. But the streets of Las Vegas are anything but normal, especially when a lunatic like me is wondering around vocalizing his thoughts for all to hear. When I started the Pookcast I meant it to be the audio version of this blog so that you could hear the tone of my voice and see my non-verbal reactions when I'm talking, which are two things you just can't get from reading written word. So here is me drunk in Las Vegas doing an episode of the Pookcast. Tournament play begins today so wish me luck. I know I'm going to need it this year. I'm definitely on the wrong side of my beer pong career, and we basically need to catch lightning in a bottle or have drunken recall take effect to do well out here. Later dudes.

- pookon -

www.pookon.com

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

World Series of Beer Pong VI - January 1-5 in Las Vegas

The Iceman retired from beer pong in 2010 after WSoBP 5. Well then it's a good thing that the WSoBP 6 takes place all the way into the future in the year 2011. Or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. At this point I'm going to go ahead and take a positive look at it because I have yet to play a game out there (I'm still in Milwaukee at the moment) and have yet to witness the embarrassment that has become my beer pong career. More on that later of course. It's something like 3 in the morning right now and my flight leaves in 6 hours. I just wanted to get on here and let you know that I will be updating this blog while I'm out in Vegas for a more detailed look at my time at the WSoBP that my Twitter account and Facebook statuses (or stati? Either way they will be plural because there will be a lot of them) cannot provide. If I'm feeling up to it, I will post some pictures and write a detailed account of the day's activities. If I am too drunk I will record an episode of the Pookcast and tell you about it myself. From my mouth. So that's basically it. You know how to follow my adventures and make sure you chime in with encouragement or comments saying damn it Iceman you're just too old to still be playing beer pong. I appreciate all kinds of feedback. Sometimes it's just nice to know that there's someone out there who gives a shit. Especially if you are a single woman. Let's face it, I'm almost in my 30's and I'm definitely not getting any cuter. So you know how to reach me.

I would like to wish a very happy and safe New Years to everyone and may 2011 and the decade of the teens bring you all the shit that the 00's promised but failed to deliver. I'm looking at you Flying Car. I'm going to start the new year as I have every year for the past 6 years - drunk of my ass playing beer pong in Las Vegas. Maybe some day I will grow up and forget all about this Tom Foolery, but that time is still not upon us. So look out for some more updates and all of the other Ill Shit that you've come to expect (which I also have delivered) over the years. Wish me the skill to hit nothing but foam and the ability to Just Play. May the wise wisdom of The Godfather always be in the forefront of my mind and let my partner Hummel pick me up when I fall down. Let me forget that I am supposed to be a responsible adult and that at the World Series of Beer Pong I can be accepted for who I am without having to put up a front or make excuses for my behaviors. But most of all let me remember that beer pong is a game and that games are supposed to be fun, so grant me the poise to have the same attitude and demeanor in victory as well as in defeat. Also please someone tell me what the hell I am writing about...

Hummel that Shit!

- pookon -

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

Pookcast Episode 14 - World Series of Beer Pong 6

I tried so hard to retire from beer pong. I've been playing for about 8 years now and decided to call it quits after the World Series of Beer Pong 5, which took place in Las Vegas in January 2010. After failing to make the playoffs (Day 3) for the 3rd consecutive year with Joey Kanz as my partner (while compiling a personal WSoBP worst record of 5-7), I figured I was on the decline and I should hang it up before I embarrass myself any further. And for the most part I was ok with life without beer pong. I played in a satellite tournament in Green Bay back in February (faithful visitors of Pookon's Ill Blog will remember that as the night that I recorded the "Fat Teen Wolf" episode of The Pookcast), then I played with Brodey and Aaron at a bar back in June or something and then one more time about a month or two ago. So I have only played beer pong 3 times this year, and only one of them was in a competitive setting. That sounds like retirement to me. Then I was working on the Pookon.com WSoBP 5 story. And I got nostalgic. Then one drunken night I was worrying about turning 30 next year, and how I don't feel comfortable wearing khakis (like I do at my day job) and how I much I love the beer pong community because I am accepted there. So I decided to sign up for the WSoBP 6. I also had to fulfill a promise that I made to Hummel one drunken night earlier in the year when I told him I would be his partner at the WSoBP if he couldn't find anyone else to play with. So all of that brings us up to date

The following occurred after a long night of drinking with former CHBPL members Brodey, Lorge, Casey, Denise, Aaron, Charlie, Felicia and TJ. When I got home I was a sad drunk and I poured my heart out a little bit and realized how much I really did love the WSoBP and beer pong in general. So check out the videos below if you want to see my softer side. If you think I'm just a whiny little pansy that never amounted to anything, then your viewpoints will be validated by watching this. Some of you might watch this and fall in love with me all over again, just like you did in Last Cup. And most of you don't give a shit. Whatever it is, thank you once again for spending time with me via the Pookon Empire. Later dudes.

Part 1



Part 2



- pookon -

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

Your 2011 Milwaukee Brewers manager is... Ron Roenicke?

The first thing that you are probably asking right now is, "Who the hell is Ron Roenicke?" Trust me, you're not alone. The only reason that I know of him is because I follow Brewers news like white guy follows a suspicious noise into a creepy dark house in a horror movie. Roenicke was the bench coach on the Anaheim Angels for the last 5 years under one of the finest managers in the American League - Mike Scioscia. He had been with the organization for the past 11 years and managed in the minor leagues but this will be his first time managing in the majors. Roenicke was the dark horse candidate for the open manager job in a group that included former Mets manager (and favorite for the job) Bobby Valentine, former Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin and White Sox bench coach Joey Cora. There are many reasons why I didn't feel like Roenicke had a snowcone's chance in hell at his gig, but in the end I really like the hiring and I am very much looking forward to seeing who he picks for his coaching staff and to see if he is the right fit for this team. The first question will be answered before baseball resumes down in Spring Training in February, but the second questions may take years to answer. Let me set the record straight on my opinion of the last 3 Brewers managers before I continue.

Ned Yost. He was the lightning rod of criticism, but the majority of that didn't take place until the last 2 years of his reign as skipper. I liked Ned Yost until that point. When Yost took over for Jerry Royster the team was in complete dissary. Coming off of their worst season in franchise history (56-106) Yost guided a the newest crop of Brewers youngsters back to respectability. Some might argue that it was the talent (Fielder, Braun, Weeks and others) that would have been good regardless of who was managing them, but from what I noticed Yost was really good at sticking up for his players and never ripped them in public. What happened behind closed doors I'll never know, but he was loyal to his players to a fault. You might argue that he stuck with some players too long (like Suppan and Bill Hall) and he couldn't manage a bullpen to save his life. But I liked Ned Yost as a manager of a team of younger players. But he just wasn't the manager to take the team to the next level, which is why he got fired with 12 games remaining in the 2008 season.

Dale Sveum. He will be remembered by Brewers fans for 2 things - his walkoff homerun on Easter Sunday in 1987 to keep the winning streak alive and for managing the Brewers in the final 12 games of the 2008 season and the 4 games of the NLDS. As anyone in this current generation of Brewers fans will never forget, the Brewers won the NL Wild Card on the final game of the season and made the only playoff appearance in their lifetime (so far). As soon as Sveum took over for the Brewers he shook up the lineup and showed the willingness to play small ball (bunting, using the hit and run, stealing bases, etc.) and not rely on the home run. It also appeared that the players responded better to him because he was a better fit for the team than Yost was at that time. His lack of managerial experience probably prohibited him from getting the full time gig. That job went to Ken Macha. Svuem however stayed with the team as hitting coach, a position that he still retains to this day thanks to a new 2 year deal.



Ken Macha is old. Well uh... why uh... you'll have to talk to Rick on that one. I didn't see that pitch. Probably because you were too busy napping or doing crossword puzzles in the dugout. I hated the Macha signing from the beginning and it is now easy to see that Macha wasn't the right manager for this team. To be fair he wasn't given a whole hell of a lot to work with as far as pitching goes but of the manager's job is to motivate his team and put them in the best position to win, then Macha failed. I'll talk more about Macha in my 2010 season wrap up of the Front Office / Coaching Staff, but I believe one of the main reasons that Ken Macha was hired is because the Milwaukee Brewers were one of the last if not the last team to hire a manager with Playoff experience. Macha had done well with the Oakland A's in 2003-2006, but a lot of that may have had to do with the fact that he had a couple of pitchers that you might recognize - Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito (when he was in his prime as a Cy Young Winner). But the main reason I didn't like Macha was because he was an American League manager. And he managed the Brewers like an American League team.

So what does this all have to do with Ron Roenicke? He is known as being very player friendly and has good relationships with the men on his teams (like Torii Hunter, pictured) which sounds an awful lot like the negatives associated with Ned Yost. He also has had no previous Major League managerial experience, which was the big knock against Dale Sveum. And although in the minors he managed in the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants systems where they play by NL rules, all of his experience in the majors has been as a member of the Angels. An American League manager, which was the big knock on Ken Macha. So if he possesses characteristics of the 3 previous Brewers managers that did not succeed, why the hell would the Brewers feel that he would be a good fit to manger here? I'll tell you why (in my own opinion of course.)

1. All of the other available managers were the wrong choice.

Bobby Valentine currently has a cushy job at ESPN as an analyst, and it would take a pretty penny to pry him away from that gig. Word on the street is that he was seeking Joe Girardi type money, who just signed a 3 year extension with the New York Yankees for $3 million dollars a year! That's a hell of a lot of money to pay a coach if you are the Brewers, and let's not even act like Valentine was that good of a coach anyway. His teams hovered right around .500 with the exception of 2 years with the New York Mets, which he led to the NL Pennant in 2000. And he hasn't managed since 2002. If he is that good of a manager, then tell me what he hasn't managed a team in 8 years? He may be a "sexy" name, but he was not the right fit for this market. Bob Melvin. Another manager with prior success that hasn't managed since then. He managed the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2005-2009 and was named manager of the year in 2007 when he led his team to a 90-72 record. That year the D'Backs won the NL West and lost to the Colorado Rockies, who were arguably the hottest team of all time that year (remember how the Rockies won 21 of the last 22 games to make the playoffs?) Melvin was fired in 2009 after the D'Backs got off to a slow start. And he was also reportedly one of the candidates for Brewers manager the year that they hired Yost. I thought he was the favotire for the job because GM Doug Melvin liked him then, and obviously still liked him enough to consider him for the job now. I would have been ok with B Melvin, but I still wouldn't have wanted him. Joey Cora. I'll be honest with you and say I don't know much about him except for the fact that he has been the bench coach under Ozzie Guillen for the Chicago White Sox since 2003. He was the youngest of the group at just 45 years of age and is looked at as one of the up and coming new managers. His named popped up in nearly every managerial search in the MLB lately, and he will no doubt be a good manager some day. I just don't personally care for Guillen so I can't speak highly of anyone working under him. I know that's unfair, but it's my opinion. Write your own blog and rub it in my face.

2. The Brewers are in a semi-rebuilding mode.

This, in my opinion, is the biggest reason they hired Roenicke. Face it, pitching and defense wins and we don't have a lot of pitching. We struck out with a couple of pitching selections in the draft and some of them had their path to the majors delayed either because of injury (Mark Rogers) or personal reasons (Jeremy Jeffress). If even one of those guys were in the rotation and Manny Parra panned out, you'd be looking at a very good rotation with Gallardo, Parra, Wolf, Rogers and Bush/Narveson. With the offense that we have had the last few years, that would have been good enough to succeed in 2009/2010. But that didn't happen, and our pitching prospects are down in single A. And the Brewers are going to trade Prince Fielder. It is going to happen. Whether it is during the Winter or before the July 31st deadline, he will be dealt for pitching prospects. So we are looking at possibly 2-3 seasons before those home grown pitchers mature and make it up here. Hopefully they do it like the Packers and rebuild right before our eyes and still remain competitive, just like they did when they passed the torch from Favre to Rodgers. With a good group of players like Braun, Hart, Lucroy, Escobar, Cain and McGehee, we have the talent to stay competitive while also rebuilding. That is why hiring Roenicke makes sense. He'll be given a little bit of much needed leeway as he gets accustomed to managing while waiting for our pitching prospects to reach the majors. With names like Valentine or Melvin, people will be expecting us to win now, and that simply can not happen until the pitching arrives. The fans may not like the hiring of an unproven manager, but that is exactly the way to go if the Brewers are indeed rebuilding the team and playing for the future. I just hope that the fans go easy on Roenicke and give him a chance before writing him off. It may be a year or two before we understand his coaching philosophy. At this point I'm willing to try anything.

3. Roenicke sounds like the right man for the job.

No former co-worker or employee is going to say bad things about that person unless they have some personal issues with them or do it out of spite. So far there has nothing but glowing praises for Roenicke by players like Torii Hunter, his former boss Mike Scioscia, former Angels bench coach and current Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Madden, former Angels pitching coach and current San Diego Padres manager Bud Black, and even from Brewers broadcaster Brian Anderson, who was the play by play man for the AAA San Antonio Missions in 1997 when Roenicke managed the team. Everything that I have heard says that he is a real stand up guy who is very good at communicating with the players on his team. This may change once he is the manager, because it seems like it is easier for the bench coach to play good cop to the manager's bad cop. The players will often go to a secondary manager on the team because the head manager is often the disciplinarian who makes all of the decisions. You don't want to tell the manager that you are mentally struggling or your right hamstring is a little tight because the manager may take you out of the lineup for a day or two to rest up. And as we've seen before, a starter can lose their job so easily by being out of the lineup and replaced by a younger player. Think of Casey McGehee replacing Bill Hall or Lorenzo Cain replacing Carlos Gomez. But I digress...

The other knock on Roenicke is that he is from the American League (like Ken Macha) and that he will play AL style baseball with a NL team. Not so fast. Yes, the Angels are in the AL, but they do play more aggressive baseball by stealing bases, setting up the hit and run, getting productive outs by sacrificing runners over and generally manufacturing runs. He's going to have his hands full teaching a bunch of free swinging home run hitters to play small ball, but we arguably have one of the fastest teams that we have ever had in franchise history. There's no doubt in my mind that Braun, Hart, Weeks, Escobar, Cain and Gomez each should easily steal more than 10 bases with the majority approaching if not going over the 20 base mark. If he allows his players to be more aggressive on the bases, we won't have to sit back and rely on the long ball to bail us out. And we saw how much our feast or famine offense hasn't worked in the past, so it's time to take a new approach. And what better than a new way of playing baseball with a new philosophy from a new manager to do it.

With all that having been said, I can come up with more reasons why Roenicke is a good hire... but I'm not going to. And least not right now. I've written far too much pertaining to a man that I have never seen manage a game for our team and that I know little to nothing about. Why is why I'm asking you to give this guy a chance before you give up on him and the Brewers. As you can see with the Milwaukee Bucks this year, it takes time for a new philosophy (a defense first mentality) and cohesiveness and teamwork (with new players) to take effect. These kind of things don't happen overnight and it may be until mid-season until we are operating at full speed. Same thing goes for the Brewers. First off Roenicke has to come in and lay down his ideas and managerial style. Then it is up to the players to buy into his style and put it it action. Most people wrote off Rick Petersen after the first few months of the season because our pitching didn't improve, but although it was a small sample size, our pitching staff had the 3rd best ERA in the major leagues in the month of September. This may be just a fluke, but if the players believed and trusted in his approach to pitching and got better as a result of it, aren't you glad that we still have him around? The baseball season is very long, and all that you have to do is stick around .500 for the majority of the season before making a push in the final half. Hopefully we can do that while both the players and Roenicke learn on the job and work together as one.

So it might be a couple of months into the season or even a full year before we can start to examine if Roenicke was a good hire and is a good fit for the team, but all I'm asking is that you give him a chance. If you believe as I do that the Brewers are kind of in a mini rebuilding mode, then you can't expect them to be a playoff team on Opening Day 2011. I appreciate the fact that you have high expectations and that you want your team to win because believe me, there is not too much more that I want in my life than to see the Brewers win the World Series, but you also need to stay ground and be realistic. It's not too hard to balance the two out. I think that is what being a true fan of the team is - you believe that every year your team has a shot and you root for them to win until they are mathematically eliminated but at the same time you are knowledgeable to understand their current situation. With the new focus in the minor leagues of drafting and developing our own pitching (which is something that should have been done years ago) and making adjustments at the major league level, I believe that the team is back on the right track after straying from the course during the "Asleep at the Wheel" years with Grandpa Ken Macha. All that we as Brewers fans did to do is be patient and believe. Why not be optimistic
and hope for the best? What do you have to lose? If the Brewers really are your team, don't you want to see them succeed? I know that you do, so give Ron Roenicke a chance to turn this ball club around. Now all of this once again is in my own opinion, but I believe that he is the right man for the job and we will return to the playoffs within the next 3 years. Because that is what I want. And once again I'm all in on the Brewers. I wouldn't have it any other way.

- pookon -

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