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 RBIs2010 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 walks2010 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.
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 pitchedMitch 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 startsFuck 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.comemail: pookondotcom@gmail.com
There is a slight delay getting this entry for Brewers catcher Jonathon Lucroy posted today. That's because I feel like I'm Bill Fucking Murray (and I know that isn't his middle name) in Groundhog Day because I've already written this article. But somehow, right as I was putting the final touches on it, I highlighted it and deleted all of the text in here. Since Blogger autosaves this shit every few seconds, it saved the draft of nothing versus the 2 hours of work that I already put into this. What I had already written about Lucroy was well thought out, inspirational, had plenty of anecdotes and factual data to support my claims and it was devoid of most humor. That is because the catching position is no joke. I'd rewrite that article but I can't anymore because I'm drunk now. And I'm I'm pissed off. So what you are going to get is me trying to retell that story through blurry angry eyes, so strap on your pads, grab your mask and glove, and get behind the plate because I'm going to throw you some fastballs and the occasional curveball in the dirt.
The catching position is the most important one on the field because he is similar to the quarterback in football - he calls the plays, sets up the players on the field and he controls the pace of the game. The catcher never gets any credit for what they do. If a pitcher does well he gets the recognition, but if he does poorly he often gets blamed as well. Some of that responsibility should fall on the catcher's shoulders as well. And Lucroy has the responsibility of turning around a pitching staff that has been ranked at the bottom of the league for the past 2 seasons. But he is going to get some help. A lot of help. New additions like Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum and Takashi Saito plus returning pitchers like Gallardo, Narveson and Axford that have another year of experience should make his job a little easier. But it still is a monumental task to be a catcher. It's a lot more than catching the ball and throwing it back to the pitcher. Hell Rube Baker in Major League II couldn't even do that shit. So what kind of shit does Lucroy need to do besides squatting behind the plate? Let me try to tell you without boring you to death.
And that's paragraph was only about calling the game and it was abbreviated at that. A catcher also has to worry about his offense and defense. When it comes to catching, there are few of them who are offensive studs, so bare minimum a catcher needs to have good defense and be able to block a ball in the dirt. A strong accurate arm and the ability to throw a runner out trying to steal a base is a plus as well. And then anything they bring to the plate offensively is bonus. That is why a catcher usually hits in the #7 or #8 spot in the lineup in front of the pitcher. Sure there are exceptions but for every Joe Mauer, Buster Posey and Brian McCann you have a George Kottaras, Jorge Posada and Kurt Suzuki. But when I was looking over 2010 catcher stats, I noticed that there weren't too many catchers who were absolutely terrible last year (minimum of 100 games caught) so it looks like the offensive game of the catcher is improving. I know that Lucroy would be the first to tell you that he needs to step up his game because he himself has said that his 2010 stat line is not indicative of his talent: .253 AVG, .300 OBP, 4 HRs and 26 RBIs. But the kid is still young and he still has time to improve at the plate. And speaking of being young, I went back to Center Street Park where I played Cub Scout softball to relive some old memories and talk about Lucroy:
