Brewers Hunger Strike : Day 2

One more loss! One more loss which could've been a win! And you call yourselves professionals. I have never, ever seen a worse group of twenty-five players! You don't think as a team, you don't play as a team, you don't even LOSE as a team! You've all got your heads so far up your butts, you can't even see the light of day! One more loss and I... I'll do this...[throws a chair at a rack of bats] to each and everyone of you! There's this thing called talent... they don't have any of it!! That is courtesy of the great George Knox (played by Danny Glover in the movie Angels in the Outfield) who couldn't have said it any better. In case you haven't been following, the Brewers just lost their 9th straight game and I am starting Day 2 of my Hunger Strike. After the 2nd loss against the Cincinnati Reds (which resulted in a 2 game sweep) I vowed to stop eating until the Brewers win another game.

I was feeling pretty good about tonight. Randy Wolf was 8-1 with a 3.07 ERA in his career against the Pittsburgh Pirates. And let's not forget that the Brewers outscored the Pirates 36-1 in a 3 game sweep of the Pirates at PNC Park on April 20-22. After going 0-6 at Miller Park against the Braves and the Phillies and 0-2 against the Reds at Great American Ballpark, you would think that PNC Park would be a safe haven considering their success there this season. But when the Pirates scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning I knew that this game was over. That is because the Brewers were 3-21 (now 3-22) when the opponent's score first. That means that the Brewers only have a 14% chance to win if they don't score first! That is fucking pathetic! I understand that playing from behind is tough and having the upper hand puts you in a position of power, but when a team gets ahead of you in the 2nd inning you still have 7 FUCKING INNINGS TO SCORE SOME GOD DAMN RUNS AND BE IN A POSITION TO WIN THE GAME!!! It's like the other team scores and they collapse and are like "I'm the bag. Let's phone this one in and try again tomorrow." Fuck that. This shit is absolute horseshit and I personally have never seen the Brewers play this poorly.

Our current record (as of May 19, 2010) is 15-25 for an embarrassing 10 games under .500. That includes the current 9 game losing streak. What the hell happened? Every single day they figure out a way to lose the game. One day it's the starting pitching. The next day it is the offense. Then the bullpen blows a lead. Then the offense struggles. And then the defense messes up a routine grounder and extends an inning. Something is wrong with this team. And unless something happens soon were in for a pretty long summer here in Brew City. But maybe, just maybe things have to get worse before they get better.

How much worse can things get than 10 games under .500? If they keep losing at this pace manger Ken Macha will almost certainly be fired. While not all of this is necessarily his fault, someone does have to die for the sins committed by this team. And the manager almost always takes one for the team. I have nothing against Ken Macha but it is in my opinion (and apparently I'm not alone in this thinking) that he is not the right manager for this team. I don't think that he is bad but his laid back style is not conducive this this fiery team. Dale Sveum seems to be the right man for the job and the sooner that Macha gets fired the sooner that Sveum can take over. After all, Sveum managed the team that won the NL Wild Card in 2008 and made the 1st playoff appearance since 1982. Why Melvin didn't give him the job and hired Macha instead is beyond me. I guess I'm just not as smart as Doug Melvin is. But I believe that the players respond better to Svuem that they do to Macha and something needs to be done to light a spark underneath this team to turn them around. An old man who is sleeping during the game so that he can wake up at the crack of dawn to get his senior discount on his Moons Over My-Hami at Denny's tomorrow morning fails to connect with the youthful players on the roster. It's science.

The other reason that things need to get worse before they get better is so that the Brewers can fall so far out of contention this year that they are forced to trade Prince Fielder. This is a good thing. We need pitching. Our biggest bargaining chip is pound for pound the biggest player on our team. The Prince. I don't want to hear that Melvin is even considering signing Fielder to a long term contract worth in excess of $20 million per year. That would absolutely cripple the franchise much like Melvin did when he was GM of the Texas Rangers and he signed Alex Rodriguez to that absurd deal. Only recently (some would argue last or maybe even this year) have the Rangers recovered from that payroll debacle. If 2.5 million fans pass through the turnstiles at Miller Park every year, the Brewers payroll should hover around the $80 million mark. So if you pay Prince you are telling me that you are going to commit 20% of your total money to 1 player? Are you out of your fucking minds? That is a recipe for disaster! Sure Prince is a great player, but the game starts and ends with pitching. Prince can only do so much, but he can't throw a no hitter or keep the other team off of the scoreboard. So Prince needs to be traded for Major League ready pitching or some high level pitching prospects. And if the trend continues Prince is going to be traded sooner than later, which would be a wonderful thing.

So I'm on to Day 2 of my Hunger Strike. I emailed the Sportsradio 1250's Usinger's Brewers Post Game show with this little nugget, "Sparky maybe you should start the sleep strike now. I personally started a Hunger Strike after yesterday's loss and I will not eat until the Brewers win another game. 30 hours and counting. From the looks of it I am going to go hungry for a while. I'm doing all that I can to get the Brewers going because there is no way the team is this bad. Let's go Brewers - end my Hunger Strike. - Iceman on the Eastside." Sparky's response was "He's not eating? The Brewers are going to kill someone. They may kill him. A hunger strike? I don't advise that. That's not a good idea." Then Tim Allen chimed in with "I'm going to get a taco on the way home." Let it be known that Sparky has vowed to start a sleep strike if the Brewers lose both games in Pittsburgh. I'm not willing to go that far because I will go batshit crazy if I don't sleep for a few days, but I have no problem going a few days without eating because I am fat. I have reserves. I can handle not eating for a couple of days, but the way that the Brewers are playing it might be more than a couple of days. If anything Sparky's not sleeping is more detrimental to his health than my not eating. But what the hell do I know?

Tomorrow the Brewers complete this brief 2 game series against the Pirates before heading up to Minneapolis for a weekend series. Chris Narveson has been pretty good as a staring pitcher in late 2009, Spring Training of this year and in the 4 starts he has made in 2010. But his 5th start will have him faced with a daunting task - keep the Brewers in the game long enough to avoid their 10th straight loss. Even though being a Major League baseball player is right up there in my top 3 wishes, I would not want to be in Narveson's shoes tomorrow night. But the best thing about baseball is that there is almost always tomorrow because they play 162 games. You know the Brewers can win tomorrow. It could happen!

- pookon -

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

Brewers Hunger Strike

This shit has got to end. I'm not going to join the "Done Club" or stop watching the Brewers. I would never do that. But something is wrong with the Milwaukee Brewers. They have now lost 8 games in a row and were set to break out of that funk when Trevor Hoffman blew his 5th save of the season and drop the Brewers to an all time low. Sure, it's been worse. I remember working at Miller Park in 2003 when the Brewers lost 106 games and we were lucky to draw 15,000 fans a game. I was in my 2nd season of work there and I was often sent home early because I was low on the seniority. Of course I always stuck around to watch the end of the game, but it was really difficult to do that. I hope with all of my heart that it doesn't revert back to those days. I have decided to go on another Hunger Strike to try and end the Brewers losing streak. This will be my 3rd time starting a Hunger Strike but it will be the 1st time that I am doing it for a specific reason. I vow not to eat until the Brewers win a game. If they happen to win tomorrow (Wednesday May 19) against the Pittsburgh Pirates, then I will amend my Hunger Strike to last until the Brewers win a series. Desperate times call for desperate measures and these are truly desperate times as far as I'm concerned. I haven't seen the Brewers play this bad in the past 7 years, and unlike Ken Macha I didn't live through Prohibition, the Stock Market Crash, the Great Depression, World War II and all of the other troubling times in US History over the past 80 years. So I don't know how to deal with adversary.

So I have nothing left to do but go on a Hunger Strike to do my part in reversing the voodoo curse that has been placed on the Brewers in 2010. On paper they are not this bad. I profiled all of the players on the 2010 Opening Day roster on this blog and told you about my opinion on each of the players. While there are some players that I don't necessarily care for (Gregg Zaun, Jody Gerut, Doug Davis and Jeff Suppan to name a few) there is no way that the Brewers should be 15-24 as of May 18th. The most ridiculous stat is that the Brewers are currently 4-14 at home in Miller Park. In all of the years of bad Brewers teams that I have watched over the years, the one consistent thing was that the Brewers were a good home team. I know you hate stats but here are the home/road splits over the last few years.

2005: 46-35 home, 35-46 road.
2006: 48-33 home, 27-54 road.
2007: 51-30 home, 32-49 road.
2008: 49-32 home, 41-40 road.
2009: 40-41 home, 40-41 road.
2010: 4-14 home, 11-10 road.

As you can see, the Brewers have historically played better underneath the roof at Miller Park. For a team that owes it's payroll to 3 million + fans walking through the turnstiles at home, that's not a really good way to keep the home crowd happy.

We just got swept AT HOME by the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on the last homestand. That shit was fucking pathetic. I can no longer sugar coat it. The Atlanta Braves came to Milwaukee with a 5-and-fucking-14 road record and they won ALL 3 GOD DAMN GAMES HERE. That is inexcusable. I can understand the Phillies beating us because they are the best team in the National League. But that still doesn't mean that they should sweep us. We should at least be able to steal a game from them. But for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010, every day they find another way to lose.

On most days it is the starting pitching. Adding Randy Wolf and Doug Davis was supposed to stabilize the rotation and add "innings eaters" to the starting 5. But the common theme this year is that the Brewers starters reach the 100 pitch count by the 5th inning and end up giving up a shit ton of runs in the 6th inning because they are all tired out. Then the bullpen has to cover the last 3 innings of the game and all hell breaks loose. One day Carlos Villanueva gives up a boatload of runs. Then the next day Todd Coffey gives up 5 earned runs. Then the next day after that, Trevor Hoffman blows another save. But before that, the Brewers pitching staff has a good day but the offense decides to score only 2 runs. Then Prince Fielder goes 0-4 at the plate and strands a couple of runners in scoring position. I don't need to go on, because you get the point that every single fucking game the Brewers find another way to lose. It's frustrating. If you can't already tell I'm on the edge and just about to lose it. Something has to change and it needs to happen really soon because the excuse of "well, it's still early in the season" only works for a few more days. At 39 game into the season, we're just about 1/4th of the way into the year (40.5 would be the actual mark). The 25% point is a pretty indication of how the season is going to play out because once players have over 100 at bats, you get a pretty good indication of where they are going to end up. And it also shows you how the team as a whole is doing.

Maybe my expectations were too high. After 2008 when the Brewers reached the playoffs for the first time in 26 years they followed that up with an 80-82 record with the worst pitching staff in all of baseball in 2009. I though that Randy Wolf and Doug Davis could bring the staff back to average (with the maturation of Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra) and the offense would win more games than they would lose. Technically it is still early (but when does that phrase no longer apply?) but it is almost June. I'm sick and tired of this shit! It's no fair that my teams (Brewers, Packers and Bucks) don't get to win Championships. But that is a different topic for a different day. It's summer, so for now I will concentrate on the Brewers.

Whew. Long story short I am going on a Hunger Strike until the Brewers win a game. If they happen to beat Pittsburgh in game 1 of the 2 game series (which is very likely) then I will be on my Hunger Strike until the Brewers win a series. I don't know if my actions will cause the Brewers to right their wrongs and start winning again, but it certainly won't hurt. Hell, some people fast for 40 days and 40 nights in preparation for the coming of Christ and some fucker named Gandhi took long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest. So if that shit worked for Gandhi it can work for me. Throughout my life I have believed that I am an instrument of God, and right now God wants me to go on a Hunger Strike to help the Brewers win. The Lord does work in mysterious ways. If any of you want to join me in this quest feel free to abstain from eating until the Brewers win a game or the series. When they get on a roll (as all good teams do) we will rejoice in the fact that it was our actions that caused the Brewers 2010 season to take the massive turnaround that was necessary to salvage the season.

I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get the Brewers back on the winning path. Lord knows that I'm dedicated to this team and will go to extremes to get that record back above .500. Will it be enough? If I go on a Hunger Strike will it really help the team win? Are they really just that bad? Will Lassie ever alert the town Sheriff that Timmy is stuck in the well? All these answers and more are coming soon on the next edition of Pookon's Ill Blog. Hopefully by then I'll be eating because the Brewers have figured out how to starting winning again.

- pookon -

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

I'm pushing 30...

But for the time being I'm still 29. Fuck. That's all I really have to say for now. But I'm old and getting older but I still act like I'm 5 years old. So I guess it's not all bad though because I'm living the dream. I'm just not living my dream because nobody wants to marry a 29 year old ugly dude who acts like a 5 year old. So the women are staying far away from me until I get my act together. Maybe year 29 is the one where this 1,000 piece puzzle finally comes together. Probably not because I'm too busy watching Brewers games and drinking by myself in a darkened room. Oh well. Perhaps I'll accomplish all those things other people do when I'm 30. 30 is the new 20 after all, right? Whatever it may be, I control my own destiny and it's time to stop sitting on my ass thinking about what I can do and just go out into the world and start doing it. If I ever listen to my own advice, 29 will be the best year of my life. If I continue to ignore myself, then 29 will be just like every other year. It's in my hands. Like Allstate motherfucker!

- pookon -

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

Pookcast Episode 10: The Sports Edition with Brian

I had originally intended to a sports episode of the Pookcast with my brother James when I went to visit him in South Carolina back in November of 2009. He declined to participate, saying that he wasn't comfortable with appearing on the internet for everyone to see. As you know from visiting pookon.com, pookon's ill blog and my twitter site, I live my life in the public eye and don't give a shit about what people think about me. I had a laundry list of questions that I wanted to ask him. Questions like, "How hard is it to follow your favorite teams (Brewers, Packers, Bucks) when you are living in a different state?" "Is it difficult to start following a new team (in South Carolina all they care about is the University of South Carolina Gamecocks) and getting accustomed to reading about them in the newspaper and hearing about them on the radio?" I've lived in Milwaukee for my whole life except for the 2 years that I spent in college at UW-Oshkosh. And even when I was there all of the sports coverage was about the Packers and Brewers, so it was just like being in Milwaukee. So I really wanted to get his opinion on all of this, but he wouldn't sit down and talk with me. So I turned to Plan B - my cousin Brian. No one is as opinionated as he is and more passionate about Wisconsin sports. Brian was more than willing to sit down with me and talk sports. We covered a lot in this short 20 minute time period, and I know that we could have gone on for hours but there's no way you would have sat and watched that. I'm surprised if you actually watch this shit. But if you make to the end you will get an extra special treat that I'm sure you weren't expecting and that you definitely will be fortunate to receive. You're welcome. Enjoy Episode #10 of the Pookcast, and stay tuned to the Pookon Empire for more exciting content in the future.

Part 1





Part 2




- pookon -

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

Milwaukee Brewers 2010 Season : First Impressions

The Brewers lost to the Cubs this afternoon, but I'm not yet ready to get into that one. I hate the Cubs and the city of Chicago so much that I'll need a couple of days to burn off the steam caused by this Brewers loss. But I do want to rant a little bit about the first week of the season and a couple of the first impressions I got from watching the Brewers at Miller Park. Let it be known that these are based on small sample sizes and therefor may not be true in another week or month's time. But as of today, Monday April 12, this is how I feel.

I'll start out with a few positives.

- Casey McGehee. I wondered myself in his "25 in 25" article if he would be as good as he was last year or if he would suffer a sophomore slump. Manager Ken Macha started out the season with McGehee batting in the 6th spot but has since moved him back to the #5 spot where he belongs. He has responded with batting .348 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs, including a huge walk-off homerun on Sunday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. I know it's only 6 games, but he's looking really good. His Spring Training numbers were bad (.197 avg, 1 HR, 7 RBIs in 24 games) but from what I saw and heard, he was hitting the ball really well just always right at someone. It sounded like he hit into some bad luck outs and couldn't catch a break. So now he's finding some holes in the defense and picking up where he left off last year. And looking good while doing it.

- Rickie Weeks. Picking up right where he left off last year before the wrist injury, Weeks has once again gotten off to a hot start, batting .368 with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs and 6 runs scored. As the fire starter in what has been a explosive top half of the Brewers lineup, Weeks is setting the table for the big boys behind him. And since he is showing off his power, there are no doubts in my mind about that surgically repaired wrist. I hope to the baseball gods that he keeps this up because I have been waiting for years to buy a Rickie Weeks All-Star Jersey.

A few neutrals in here.

- Corey Hart. I bet you've been waiting for me to talk some more shit about him, but I don't have anything to say at this point. That's because Hart hasn't had the opportunity to start on a regular basis and therefor doesn't have the consistent at bats to show me which Corey Hart we will be getting. Will it be 2008 All-Star Corey Hart? Or 2009 "What a Loser!" Corey Hart? He does have a homerun and a couple of RBIs, but Jim Edmonds has started in just as many games in right field (3) as Corey Hart has, so Hart hasn't been given the chance to prove anything as of yet. And believe it or not, I want Hart in the lineup every day so that I can know if I'm right about my prognosis on his 2010 season.

- 3-3 is not too damn bad. Considering that we were playing the Colorado Rockies (92-70 last year) and the St. Louis Cardinals (91-71 last year). Both teams went to the playoffs last year, and if not for 1 pitch, we would have started out the season 4-2 instead of 3-3. Both teams look to be just as good or better, so these 2 series kind of showed me how the Brewers potentially match up against them in 2010. We can hang with the big boys. but we got a lot of work to do if we want to be able to be better.

And now for some negatives.

- Gregg Zaun. I try to remind myself that it's only 6 games into the season, but Zaun has yet to get a hit and has bounced into several rally killing double plays. I thought that we got rid of Jason Kendall and Johnny Estrada. I let it known before that I wasn't a big fan of the Zaun signing and made fun of his age. And I'm nowhere near accepting of his play calling so far. George Kottaras hasn't really been any better, and his defensive shortcomings have already been exposed. I was also not a fan of him being on the 25 man roster, as I made it well known that I would rather have prospect Jonathon Lucroy as the backup catcher. This is one sore spot in the lineup that needs to improve. Big time.

- Manager Ken Macha. So far I have no problem with his in-game decisions. His lineup card really grinds my gears though. First off, Casey McGehee (as mentioned) should have been batting 5th since Opening Day. That has been fixed. Secondly, Corey Hart should play everyday. That looks like it is being fixed. But Macha is still in the red because he is batting rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar in the #8 spot, where he has a slim to no chance of succeeding. He is getting nothing to hit because he's in front of the pitcher, and Macha refuses to "throw him to the wolves" by allowing him to bat in the top half of the order. So not only are his offensive talents completely wasted, he's not even given a chance to develop them.

- Milwaukee Brewers fans. For the most part they suck. Hoffman gave up a two run homer to Stavinoha on Friday night's game, and although it was heartbreaking, Hoffman did not deserve to get booed as he walked off the field. Show some class Milwaukee. Hoffman is a Hall of Famer and the All-Time saves leader, and even the best players are going to hit some rough patched every now and then. Yeah it sucked that he did it so early in the season (and once again on Sunday night) but don't boo the man. We don't do that here. If we do, then we're no better than the Cubs fans that we loathe. Brewers fans (with the exception of a small minority) are not baseball fans, they are at Miller Park because the Brewers are winning and tailgaiting is a fun thing to do. Most everyone is wasted and doesn't know shit about the game. I'm sure that I'll catch a lot of crap for saying this, but I personally know that no one was there with me back in 2003 when the Brewers were losing 106 games. We got a lot of bandwagon jumpers here, and as much as I like to criticize I also realize that the Brewers payroll is above $80 million because over 3 million people come through the gates each year. But is it too much to ask the fans to have 1 less beer and learn 1 more thing about the game of baseball?

- Jeff Suppan. He hasn't even started a game yet but he's already affecting the team. When he is activated off of the DL on Thursday to start against the Cubs, someone else has to go. And chances are the person who gets sent to the minors or released altogether will not deserve it, but Suppan gets to start because he's making all that money. While there is no good solution to this problem, it just goes to show how difficult it is to manager this roster with Suppan being on it, whether or not he is active. In a few days (probably Wednesday night) I will be writing my long awaited "25 in 25" article on Jeff Suppan, just in time for his 1st start of the year.

Those are just a few of the many early observations I have made. I can go on and on (Fielder has yet to hit a homerun, Trevor Hoffman blew 2 saves, Doug Davis is way worse than he was the last time he was with the Brewers, Yovani Gallardo has been anything but ace-like, Carlos Gomez is fast, the Bratwurst has yet to win in the Sausage Race, and so on.) but I'll save some of those for another day. I know that I already write too much and none of you have the attention span to make it to the end of the article. If you feel like I do, then join me in taking a deep breath, counting backwards from three and reminding yourself that it is only 6 (now 7) games into the season. There are still 155 games to go. That's a whole lot. So relax. I will if you will.

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Carlos Villanueva

Tomorrow is Opening Day. Now don't get me wrong I love baseball more than anyone else and I'm super excited for the season to begin, but at this very moment, at 11:26 PM the night before, I am more excited to be done with "25 Brewers in 25 Days." This thing has been downright brutal and I only slipped up once (when I was too drunk to write the Dave Bush article a few nights ago). I was going to do a recap of this series, and I may still do that, but for now I'll just say that I was right on 23 of the 25 men to make the Opening Day roster when I planned out this project back in early March. The only ones that I had missed were George Kottaras (my pick was Jonathon Lucroy because I'm so high on him) and Carlos Villanueva. Carlos would have been an automatic lock if not for the Brewers need to hold on to both Manny Parra and Chris Narveson or risk losing them. What threw a big wrench into the machine was that Carlos Villanueva had a minor league option remaining, and they could send him down to AAA Nashville and still hold on to him. So I held off on including him in this feature until it shook itself out. And then Jeff Suppan went on the DL with "cervical disc pain" in his neck. And just like that, Villanueva made the team. But for how long? That question will be answered once Suppan's DL stint is over and he is reactivated.

Carlos Villanueva came up to the Major Leagues as a starter, then flipped back and forth between the starting role and the bullpen. In his first 3 years with the team (2006-2008) he was fairly effective. Take a look at these stats so you can understand why Carlos Villanueva has been an important member of this pitching staff. 2006 - 3.69 ERA, 2-2 record, 6 starts and 53.2 total innings pitched. 2007 - 3.94 ERA, 8-5 record, 6 starts and 114.1 total innings pitched. 2008 - 4.07 ERA, 4-7 record, 9 starts and 108.1 innings pitched. Then 2009 hit and Carlos hit rock bottom - 5.34 ERA, 4-10 record, 6 starts and 96 total innings pitched. A quick glance through those stats and the first thing that stands out is that he got progressively worse as the seasons went on. But last year he did have a 4.84 ERA as a reliever, which is a little on the high side but still not that bad. It seems like the Brewers now see him as just a reliever, and if he knows his role and sticks with that, he might be able to have more success with it. Some guys (like I mentioned in the LaTroy Hawkins article) are just better at one role versus the other. If Villanueva makes it through the entire season as a reliever we just may have the stats to back that up.

But he may not make it through the entire season. I would go so far as to say that no team in the history of baseball has ever gone throw the entire season with the same 12 pitchers that were on the Opening Day roster. It has to be impossible. Between injury, trades and poor performance guys go on the DL, go to another team or go down to the minors. So given that he has an option remaining, and the fact that there are a couple of promising prospects down in the minors (Zach Braddock, John Axford and Josh Butler to name a few) who should see some playing time this year. And then a player has to go when Suppan returns. Because you know with his $12.5 million dollar salary he's going to get at least 10 starts to prove that he belongs in the starting rotation. If he's healthy that is. So it is up to Carlos to do whatever he can to stay in Milwaukee instead of Nashville. Because after the year he had in 2009, he's got a big ol' target on his back. But if he goes down to Nashville at least he can share an apartment with Mat Gamel. Because unless Casey McGehee totally falls apart ("I hope not") Gamel's going to be down there for the whole year. So it took an injury to shake out the pitching staff and we still don't have a body occupying that 5th spot in the starting rotation. That spot (when it is needed on April 15th or 16th) is still listed as TBA and could be filled by Suppan (assuming he only needed 15 days on the DL), Parra or Narveson. So there are still a ton of questions to be answered. But as of today, the 25 man roster is set for Opening Day.

So Carlos Villanueva made the cut... for now. But he will definitely have to pitch better than he did in 2009 to stay there. This is going to be another difficult one to predict, but I'll go ahead and give it the "old college try":

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.

Well, that's it. 25 days, 25 articles, 25 men on the Opening Day Roster. It's been a very interesting journey but it's time for Opening Day and time for the games to start counting for real. I'll come on here every now and then and do some kind of Brewers write up because I know that this won't be the last time this season I'll have something to say. Just think, the minute that Corey Hart says or does something stupid I'll be on here to rant about it. And we all know that it is coming sooner rather than later. But I can't help feeling like I forgot something. Kind of like when you leave to go on vacation and you feel like you left the oven light on or you forgot your 8-year old son Home Alone when you went with the rest of the family to France. It's nagging in the back of my mind. What could it be?

BUT WAIT!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THERE IS ONE MORE PLAYER WHO HAS $42 MILLION REASONS WHY HE DESERVES TO BE FEATURED IN "25 BREWERS IN 25 DAYS". AND THAT WOULD BE EVERYONE'S FAVORITE BREWERS PLAYER - THE ONE AND ONLY JEFF SUPPAN. It may take me a couple of days to write this one, because I do need a day or two to recharge my batteries. Hell, I just gave you 25 feature articles in 25 days. But I do thank you for following along with me, and I do promise you that the Suppan article will be a fantastic grande finale to close out this segment of Brewers coverage on Pookon's Ill Blog. Because everyone who has followed the Brewers over the last 3 years can agree with me that there are plenty of things to say about Jeff Suppan. And surprisingly enough, not all of them are bad. SAY WHAT!?! I know you're dying to find out what good I could possible say about "Soup", but that my friends is a topic that will be covered tomorrow (or in the next few days). Brewers, Brewers, Keep Turning Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Chris Narveson

Chris Narveson was the savoir of the Brewers starting rotation last year. Unfortunately for them it was too little too late. By the time he was given the opportunity to start on September 13th, the Brewers were 14 games behind the 1st place St. Louis Cardinals and well enough out of the Wild Card race (12 games back). The worst part about it was that he excelled in that role, posting a 3.38 ERA with a 1-0 record in 4 starts (overall he was 2-0 with a 3.83 ERA). How is that a bad thing? That’s because the other pitchers who filled in for the injured starters were absolutely terrible. Mike Burns was 3-4 with a 6.86 ERA, Seth McClung had a 12.27 ERA as a starter and Carlos Villanueva had a 6.52 ERA as a starter. I know that’s a lot of numbers that I just threw at you, but looking at the stats sometimes is a whole lot more effective than me just telling you to believe everything that I say. I’ve said it before that a whole lot of what I do on here is speculation and opinion, but I do actually make my claims after reviewing enough evidence to make non-baseball people mad. If you really wanted, I could be overly technical in my presentation, but I prefer to keep this thing conversational.

I’ve been criticized about my writing style before, but I love it because I write just like I talk. Only when I talk I usually swear more. I try to keep the profanity to a minimum, but then that eliminates most of my language. But maybe then the angels will come help us out. Then in the 9th inning I’ll put in Hemmerling for Mitchell, and a drunk wifebeater wearing fan will yell at me to go back to Cincinnati. But when an angel helps Hemmerling score a wacky in the infield homerun, they’ll want me to stay. But once again, I’m on this wild tangent because I really don’t have too much to say about Chris Narveson, which is why this article is being written 1 day before Spring Training. Because the next thing I have to say about Narveson couldn’t have been said at the beginning of March, it had to wait until now.

Chris Narveson had the best Spring Training of all of the 7 starting candidates. In 13 innings over 5 games he did not give up an earned for an obvious 0.00 ERA. He did give up 10 hits and 5 walks though, but thanks to the defense behind him and 10 strikeouts he was able to work out of a lot of jams. So his 0.00 ERA might be a little misleading. The next best pitcher was Randy Wolf with a 3.15 ERA. Spring Training stats don’t mean jack shit, but Chris Narveson is on the roster primarily because he is out of minor league options. They’d rather keep him in the bullpen (where he has been effective in the past) in order to preserve pitching depth than to risk losing him. So it is my opinion is that Chris Narveson will play a very important role for the Brewers this year.

As the 2nd lefty in the bullpen he can pitch multiple innings and allow Stetter to be the situational lefty that his stats suggest he should be. And as a starter he can do a spot start (like if another pitcher strains a muscle warming up for the game) or fill in for a couple of weeks every 5th day if someone lands on the DL. And unlike McClung or Villanueva I have the feeling that Narveson is going to be successful in that role. Call it a hunch or ESPN, but I just have that kind of feeling that he is going to be an impact player and be able to bail us out and stop the ship from sinking if it gets to that point. Either way, Narveson will be well known and well liked by the people in Milwaukee before the year is over. And that you can print in Rolling Stone magazine.

Chris Narveson’s 2010 stat line is very difficult to predict, because there is no way of telling how much time he will spend in the bullpen versus the starting rotation. And there are too many outside factors that could play a part (such as injuries, trades, demotions to the minors, etc.) that could force him into either role. But since he is starting the 2010 season in the bullpen, I’m going to predict that he will be a relief pitcher for the majority of the year and not see significant starting time until July or August when Suppan gets cut or ends up on the DL. So it’s going to look something like this:

3.92 ERA, 8-3 record, 98 innings pitched, 6 starts and unable to become a permanent fixture in the starting rotation thanks to Wolf, Davis and Parra (3 other lefties in the starting rotation.) He also holds the distinction of being one of players on the team (along with Parra) who's name sounds so much cooler when you say it like a Pirate. Chris Naaaaarrrrr-veson.

Although Narveson is unsure of his role on the team, I’m pretty sure that he is just thankful to be there. Being on the Major League team is a hell of a lot better than being in the Minors. But the next pitcher (and the last player on the 25 man roster) knows his role on the team by now. Carlos Villanueva came up as a starter but struggled in that role. He has proved to be a decent reliever, but if not for Jeff Suppan’s trip to DL to open the season, he probably would’ve started the season with AAA Nashville. So I’m guessing that he too is thankful just to be with the big league club. But how long will Villanueva be on this team? There are couple of factors in play that will lead to that decision, but that my friends is a topic that will be covered tomorrow (actually tonight since tomorrow is Opening Day). Brewers, Brewers, Keep Turning Up the Heat!

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Manny Parra

Manny Parra. What do we do with Manny Parra? That's the question that has to be answered this year. Like a lot of players on this team, he has a lot of potential and upside. But this 27-year old lefthander has yet to really put it all together. The problem with Manny Parra is that is seems to be all in his head. Without knowing him personally, I have no choice but to speculate on things like this. But I have intently watched these players for several years, so I feel like I am qualified to make these claims. And if I'm wrong then no troubles bubbles. After all, this site and these articles are just my opinions backed up for statistical evidence that tries to rationalize it all. And if you don't like it, start your own Brewers blog and counteract my claims. I'd love to debate you on the internet. Glad I got that out of the way. Other players with potential like Rickie Weeks have had a hard time getting there because they can't stay healthy. Manny Parra has been fine physically, but he seems to lose control in certain situations.

He has great velocity and he throws 4 pitches with lots of movement, and back in 2007 at AAA Nashville, Parra pitched a perfect game. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term (I don't know why I'm explaining this because you wouldn't be reading if you didn't know shit about baseball) a perfect game is when the pitcher (or a combination of pitchers) do not allow a batter to reach base and retire 27 consecutive opposing batters. To accomplish this feat (as only 18 pitchers have in Major League History) the pitching and the defense (because if a batter reaches base an account of an error, there is no possibility for a perfect game) needs to be spot on. Granted Parra did this at AAA, but regardless of which level you do it at it is still a pretty impressive feat. That was a little pointless and time consuming, but I felt that it was necessary to point out that Manny Parra is capable of pitching well and we should not give up on him yet.

As I have mentioned before (most likely in the Gallardo or Stetter article, I'm too lazy to go back and look at my own work) the Brewers have historically had difficulty drafting pitchers and moving them up to the Major Leagues. That is why Manny Parra's success with us is all the more important. We don't want to see him put it together as a member of another team. In 2008 he was 10-8 with a 4.39 ERA. Not too bad for his rookie year, but he's certainly capable of being much better. In 2009 he was being counted on (along with Gallardo) to anchor the pitching staff and provide the second half of a very good 1-2 punch. But Manny failed to deliver and was sent down to the minors to figure it out. After he returned he had a few good outings mixed in with the terrible ones, but they weren't enough to make his overall stat line look respectable. He finished with an 11-11 record with a 6.36 ERA. Obviously it was a big step backwards. This year we brought in two new lefties (Doug Davis and Randy Wolf) plus Chris Narveson emerged as a fantastic option at he end of last year and in Spring Training of 2010, so the question is what to do with Manny. He's out of options so he could and would be claimed by another team if we tried to send him back down. For all the reasons mentioned before plus a previous situation including former Brewers prospect Jorge De La Rosa, we need to stick it out with Manny and allow him to blossom in a Brewers uniform.

Jorge De La Rosa was a pitching prospect in the Brewers minor league system. He was ineffective as a reliever and had a 4.46 ERA in 2005. In 2006 he fell off the deep end and sunk to a 8.60 as both a starter and a reliever and he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. After struggling there he found himself with the Colorado Rockies, and in 2009 he went 16-9 with a 4.38 ERA. A lot of people including the Brewers management now feel like we gave up on him too early and we should have given him more time to work it out. But unfortunately 2010 for Manny is a make it or break it kind of year, as we simply do not have the time to allow a starting pitcher have a 6+ ERA. Parra is starting 2010 in the bullpen and could find himself in the starting rotation, but that is to be determined. There are several other factors to be considered before assigning him to that role.

The Brewers already have 2 lefthanders in the starting rotation but that might increase if Chris Narveson continues where he left off last year. Jeff Suppan is currently on the DL which does temporarily open up the 5th spot for Parra, but first he will have to pitch in relief and earn that spot. I do believe that Manny is more effective in a starting role because of his mental instability. It takes a certain mindset to be a reliever rather than a starter because often you have to come in the game in tight situations and get out of the jam. If a starter gives up 3 runs every time they go out and pitch, that's considered pretty damn good. But if a reliever gives up 3 runs every time they go and pitch, that's pretty damn bad. A starter always has a little more leeway because they can start the game by giving up a run or two but then settle down and have a quality start. Manny Parra seems to have some kind of mental breakdown when the going gets tough. Most pitchers find a way to work out of the jams the create, but when Manny gets bad the floodgates open and the runs start flowing for the other team.

But that is where new pitching coach Rick Peterson comes in. If he can work with Manny to stay cool, calm and collected when the pressure starts to mount, Manny can be that #2 pitcher that everyone has predicted him to be. Manny has the best pure talent of any pitcher on the staff, and when he is on he dominates the competition. It is truly a pleasure to watch him pitch when he dialed in, but like I said it's frustrating to see him when he is not. Manny Parra is 27 years old, which seems a little too old to still be considered young. But a lot of pitchers get into their prime in their late 20's or early 30's, and I have a feeling that Manny is about to do that. 2010 will be a very important year for him, and he's going to have a breakthrough year if he puts up stats like this (assuming that he starts, which is what he has to do if he is to benefit the team):

4.14 ERA, 13-10 record, 171 innings pitched, 120 strikeouts and the be Manny that we always knew that he could be.

This is assuming that Manny Parra does find his way into the starting rotation. One player that may have a say in that is Chris Narveson, who came out of nowhere last year and became the answer to the starting pitching woes. Where other pitchers failed to step up and help the team, Narveson succeeded and earned himself a spot on the 2010 Opening Day roster. Like Parra, he too is currently pitching out of the bullpen. But if he pitches anywhere near like he did last year and in Spring Training of this year, it's going to be really hard for Manager Ken Macha to leave him out of the starting rotation. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Dave Bush

Dave Bush is one of those players (like Rickie Weeks) that I always loved even when no one else did. He was the key piece in the Lyle Overbay trade in 2006, and I don't think that most people realize how good he is. That's because with pitchers (unless they are super like Yovani Gallardo) you don't really notice them unless they are bad. And while Dave Bush has been really good a few times (he took 2 no-hitters into the 7th or 8th innings as a member of the Brewers) he's mostly been an average pitcher who has had a couple of bad outings as well. Aside from 2009 when he was injured, Bush was everything that you could ask for in a #4 pitcher. In 2006 he was 12-11 with a 4.41 ERA. In 2007 he was 12-10 with a 5.12 ERA. In 2008 he was 9-10 with a 4.12 ERA. He started off hot in 2009, but then a freak injury really messed up his entire season. I'll get to that in a little bit. But aside from being injured in one year with the Brewers, he was the most consistent starter. He gave you 185-210 innings of 4-5 run ball. As the #4 guy you can go with that, especially when he wasn't costing the Brewers a lot of money. I believe he's only going to be making something like $4 million this year, which is great considering that other pitchers who have the same statistics (Suppan at $12.5 million and Wolf at $9 million) are getting paid a hell of a lot more to basically do the same job.

But what separates Bush from Suppan is that Bush has a sweet Mountain Man beard. In the offseason when most players go to warmer climates like Arizona and California, Bush goes back home to Maine where he enjoys woodworking, hiking and camping. But he also attacks the strike zone, sometimes to a fault. He hates to give up walks and he's not afraid to pitch close to a batter. He regularly lead the team in hit batters. The phrase that they always used to describe Bush was "Bulldog Mentality" because he attacked so fiercely and was relentless in throwing strikes. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. Such is the tale of a .500 pitcher.

But what separates Bush from the majority of other .500 pitchers is that he has the stuff to be really good, and you have the feeling that he is due for a breakout season. His insistence on throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count to a batter almost cost him his job though, as it looked like he was headed towards the bullpen in 2010 because he does have experience pitching in relief. I would like to mention that he did not fare so well in that role. Some pitchers are starters and some are relievers. You'll rarely find one that can flip between the two roles effectively in the course of a season. You'll see pitchers that began their career as starters only to convert to relievers later on or vice versa. That's because preparing to start once every five days is a hell of a lot different than pitching every other day in the bullpen. Of the 7 projected starters (Gallardo, Wolf, Davis, Bush, Parra, Suppan and Narveson) only Bush and Narveson have proven to be effective coming out of the bullpen, and after an injury plagued 2009 and an effort to keep pitching depth, it seemed like he was ticketed for that spot. But then Macha named him the #4 starter, and I couldn't be happier for my man Bush.

One of the reasons that I had to wait until today to write this article because there was so much uncertainty of who would be the 5 pitchers in the starting rotation. A lot of that cleared up when Bush was named the #4 guy and Jeff Suppan went on the DL, and it also helps that the Brewers don't need a 5th starter until like April 15th or some shit. But back in 2009 Bush's future with the Brewers was pretty damn cloudy. On June 4th last year, Bush got hit in the right arm with a comebacker off the bat of Haley Ramirez, and he was never the same for the remainder of the season. After spending something like 6 weeks on the DL, he pitched so poorly in the 2nd half of the season that he finished with a stat line of 5-9 with a 6.38 ERA and only 114 innings pitched. You could tell that something was wrong and that his arm was bothering him because he just didn't look right. Remember that this was the same Dave Bush that pitched in Game 3 of the 2008 NLDS (the first Brewers playoff home game since 1982) with the Brewers down 2-0 in the series, and he ended up getting the win. To go from that high to this low must have surely disappointed him. So he came into Spring Training with something to prove, and his mentality and performance earned him the #4 spot. His right arm certainly helped too because you don't want too many lefties (such as Wolf, Davis, Parra and Narveson) in the starting rotation, plus Jeff Suppan was just so bad that Bush was pretty much handed the spot. But his history with the team also didn't go overlooked, and he will be a solid pitcher in that starting 5.

The other reason why I like Bush is because of his name. I love Bush. I always wanted to hold a sign like this one at Miller Park because unless I was blocking someone's view of the game, they couldn't ask me to put the sign away. So I would be able to say that I love Bush (referencing the player wearing #31 on the Brewers roster) while at the same time saying that I love bush (referencing female genitalia). I could even shout "I love Bush!" when he strikes out a batter because for all they know, I was cheering him on. Once again, I am making it look like I all I do is shout quasi-sexual things at the ballpark but it couldn't be further than the truth. Ask anyone who has been to a game with me, and they'll say that I waste more of my energy coming up with random and clever things to shout that going for the obvious sexual reference. But it's still fun to drop the Bush line, because even if they get what I'm really talking about, there was nothing they could do about it.

One more thing on this topic and then I will cease to mention it. We used to have an outfielder named Gabe Gross. Let's just say that on days when Bush was pitching, the manager did not put Gross in the 8th spot in the lineup in front of the #9 batter Bush, no matter how funny it would look in the scorecard or up on the giant video board. And if you just realized that I am extremely childish, then you are pretty new to this blog. One thing that isn't childish will be Dave Bush's stat line in 2010 if he doesn't get struck by a line drive and sit out half the season with a freak injury:

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.

I always wanted a Dave Bush jersey. I almost got one a few years ago but at the time I was still trying to complete my set of all of the position players and Bush just kind of got lost in the mix. He's got to be a free agent pretty soon, and if he signs an extension or a new contract with the Brewers I will be motivated strongly to get one. I own only 2 jerseys of Brewers pitchers with one being Yovani Gallardo and the other being Manny Parra. The Brewers will do whatever they can to keep Gallardo in that blue #49 jersey for the remainder of his career, but Parra's #26 is in jeopardy. When I got my Parra jersey he was wearing #43, so that has already changed. And if Parra doesn't get out of his head and finally put it all together this year, we may see him in a different jersey but this time the front of the jersey will have changed. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

Sorry, no 25 Brewers in 25 Days : Dave Bush...yet

Hey guys. If you're here looking for the Dave Bush article, you've come to the right place but I've let you down. I'm now officially a day behind. I know it's no excuse, but last night I went out for a boot at the bar with my friends and I was too drunk and tired to write the article when I got back home. In all fairness it was over 70 degrees last night and I stayed out later because of that. We were sitting outside and having a great time. I'm kind of a loser and I don't go out and hang out with friends too much, so when I do I tend to take advantage of it. So I'm one behind, but I will write that as soon as possible and get that posted up here for the people who have been following me since Day 1. I have heard lots of positive feedback, and once again I'm sorry for failing on my promise. But if I get all 25 players profiled in 25 days, doesn't it still count?

So I guess if you're ready this then you're already here, so take a couple of minutes and catch up on some the entries that you may have missed. And then check back sometime later for the Dave Bush and Manny Parra articles. I'll get that to you as soon as possible. Have a great day and I hope you're heading out to Miller Park tonight for our first taste of Brewers baseball, which will be amazing even though the game doesn't count. Later.

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Joe Inglett

There's a reason that I am writing this article with about 5 days left to go until Opening Day. For starters, at the beginning of Spring Training the 2nd backup infielder was one of the few positions that was up for grabs, so I didn't know until recently who I would be writing about. Secondly whomever fills that role won't really impact the club very much unless they start playing an extended amount of time due to the injury of one of the regular infielders. And by that point it won't matter because we would have lost a key component in our lineup. And finally, even though it looked like Joe Inglett had the edge on the job pretty early on for a couple of reasons that I will discuss in a minute, I had to wait until he played enough in Spring Training so that I would have something to talk about. So it looks like now is the time to talk about new Brewers infielder Joe Inglett, who is looking to join the ranks of Casey McGehee, Todd Coffey and Scott Podsednik as another great waiver pickup by GM Doug Melvin.

Inglett was put on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and claimed by the Texas Rangers. Then the Rangers put him on waivers and the Brewers claimed. So in an offseason when he was technically on 3 different teams, do you think he would have guessed that he would have been on an Opening Day roster? The guy is 31 years old, but he has only played for like 2 1/2 seasons in the Major Leagues. Podsednik was 27 when we picked him off of waivers, and he went on to have a career year and nearly win rookie of the year. The same obviously can't happen with Inglett, but some players often blossom with a change in scenery and another shot. He gets the change of scenery in Milwaukee, but I wonder how much he is going to play. He got to see a good amount of action in Spring Training and hit .216 with 1 HR, 8 RBIs and 9 walks for a .347 OBP. I'm going to sound like a broken record when I once again talk about not putting stock into Spring Training stats, but he must have showed something down in Arizona that impressed the Brewers management.

And that thing that he showed was versatility, which is vital to a backup player if they ever want to see their name in the starting lineup. Look at Craig Counsell (2nd base, 3rd base and shortstop), Jody Gerut (leftfield, centerfield and rightfield), and Jim Edmonds (leftfield, centerfield, rightfield and Prince Fielder's backup at first base should he take a day off). Inglett can cover 2nd base, 3rd base, shortstop, leftfield and rightfield, so I'm sure that Manager Ken Macha will figure out a way to get him in there once a week. If not, he will be one of the first options off of the bench to pinch hit. And in the National League when you have the pitcher hitting, those men riding the pine often find themselves going into the game cold with a chance to make a huge impact late in the game. That is why you see a lot of veterans in pinch hitting roles instead of younger players. Guys that have been around for a while (either major or minor league veterans) know what they need to do to prepare for that one and only at bat they get that day. Chances are they also might enter the game in a double switch, and be brought in for defensive purposes as well as getting that one crucial at bat. Does Joe Inglett have what it takes to help the Brewers off of the bench? We'll see soon enough.

The only thing that I remember about Joe Inglett is that he hit a grand slam against us on June 19, 2008 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. That sounds like a really random and trivial thing to remember, but that day was anything but trivial. The reason that I remember it was because it was a Sunday and I was working at Miller Park. At the time I was working 2nd shift at my "day job" so weekend games were the only ones that I was able to watch in person. The Toronto Blue Jays were in town for interleague play, and Brewers pitcher Dave Bush took a no-hitter into the 8th inning with the Brewers comfortably leading 8-0. Bush gave up a triple to former Brewers 1st baseman Lyle Overbay who then scored, and the Brewers went into the 9th leading 8-1. Then a couple of garbage pitchers (David Riske and Tim Dillard) came in for some garbage time and ended up giving up 6 runs, including a 2 out Grand Slam to Joe Inglett. And then we had to bring in closer Solomon Torres for the save, and the Brewers won 8-7. Just like that the game went from a no-hitter to a save situation, and I was all lit up with frustration. At the time I was doing a wrap-up after each series on this blog, and if you want to read my immediate reaction after that game, click on this link. After that I never heard about him ever again, at least until the Brewers claimed him off of waivers. I don't expect him to have another crushing moment like that, but I do expect him to have this stat line in 2010:

.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.

One player that proves that he belongs in the starting rotation is righthander Dave Bush. Aside from 2009 when he got struck in the arm with a line drive in June and never recovered, he has been the most consistent pitcher of the various starting 5s since he arrived in Milwaukee prior to the 2006 season. His history earned him the #4 spot in the rotation, which figured to be overloaded with lefthanders. A good year out of Bush will help to improve and solidify a starting rotation that has been well documented as the worst in all of baseball in 2009, but that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : George Kottaras

I'm going to start out this article by George Kottaras was my last choice to be the Milwaukee Brewers 2010 back-up catcher. From what I have seen of Jonathon Lucroy, I thought that he would be the perfect candidate for the back-up job because he would learn from Gregg Zaun while at the same time not be facing a lot of pressure to perform at the Major League level. Apparently they feel like he could use some more regular playing time and he has been assigned to AA Huntsville. He's good enough to play at AAA Nashville but the starting catcher there is my 2nd choice for the Major League back-up job, Angel Salome. Since the top brass obviously wants them to both play everyday and get ready for their future with the Brewers, they couldn't play on the same team. Lucroy and Salome are both just 23 years old, so they will no doubt have their shot when the time is right. Gregg Zaun isn't getting any younger so it's hard to believe that he'll be around more than a year. Matt Treanor (whom I previously mentioned is married to Misty May-Treanor) was traded to the Texas Rangers, which opened up the back-up spot for Kottaras.

Kottaras is still pretty young (at 26 years old) and he's only played in 48 games in the big leagues. So he too could stand to learn a lot from Zaun. Last year he studied under Jason Varitek when he was with the Boston Red Sox, and he was the personal catcher of knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. That had to be a ton of fun to catch that guy. Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker (a former Major League catcher) has a great line about the knuckleball, "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up" Uecker always has the best lines and stories. Kottaras didn't get a whole lot of playing time with the Red Sox, especially since he got injured and then the Sox acquired Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians. Kottaras would spend the rest of the year at AAA. When the Red Sox put him on waivers, GM Doug Melvin snatched him up because you can never have enough depth at the catching position. Melvin has made a lot of good waiver claims in the past (Scott Podsednik, Derrick Turnbow, Todd Coffey and Casey McGehee to name a few) so we'll see if he works his magic again.

Last year with the Red Sox Kottaras hit .237 with 1 HR and 10 RBIs. He only had 98 at bats in 45 games so those numbers are going to be a little low. Zaun should start around 100 games give or take, so Kottaras should see similar playing time give or take a few depending on Zaun's performance. So unfortunatley we might be looking at similar numbers. But Kottaras is regarded as an offensive catcher, and while I once again have to mention to not use Spring Training statistics as a guide, he did make a good impression on the Brewers management by hitting .333 with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs this spring with his new team. That and some of the scouting reports that they had on him made him the winner of the back-up catching position. Time is only going to tell on his longevity with the Brewers, because like I mentioned, there are a couple of catchers down in the minors waiting to take the starting role.

If Kottaras does well he just might find himself sticking around with the team and splitting time behind the dish with one of the up and coming young catchers. And if not then no harm, no foul. We took a chance on this guy and if it doesn't pan out then we're in no worse shape then we were before. That would also mean that Salome or Lucroy could get an early call up to be his replacement. I'm going to be keeping a watchful eye on both of our Major League catchers so that I have a further understanding of who they are and what kind of game that they play. And speaking of playing games, I'd like to play Naked Twister with that reporter. Grrrr. Right hand yellow! Left hand boob! I'm sorry for giving you that image. Actually no I'm not. I warned you on the top of the page to beware for all types of Ill Shit on this blog. And I also don't like to apologize for who I am because that it was makes me me. And if you don't like it you can get the hell out of here. But you don't like it, you love it. Which is why you are still reading this article even after I mentioned playing Naked Twister. But one thing that you will like rather than love is Kottaras' 2010 statistics:

.245 avg, 3 HRs, 18 RBIs, 52 games played and wondering why he's being interviewed by Telly Hughes and not some hot blonde.

The next player featured in "25 Brewers in 25 Days" is another newcomer who like George Kottaras, will see limited playing time in 2010. That would be utility infielder Joe Inglett, who also was a waiver wire pickup in the offseason. Although extremely versatile (he can play 2nd, 3rd, shortstop and the corner outfield spots) Inglett probably won't be playing too often because he is the backup to the backup infielder (Craig Counsell) and the backup to the backup outfielders (Jody Gerut and Jim Edmonds). I hope he enjoys pinch hitting and does a good of it because at least for the time being, that's going to all that he is going to do. But pinch hitters are very important role players, especially on a National League team. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Jim Edmonds

As a Brewers fan I am all too familiar with Jim Edmonds, but I am used to seeing him in center field while the Brewers are up to bat. Sometimes I swear to God that there were two of him out there, because there was no way on this green Earth that one man could get to every single ball that was hit in the air and catch it. It didn't matter if it was hot over the outfield fence or if it was a sinking line drive; the ball always magically found its way into the webbing of Edmonds glove. This made me hate the guy beyond belief, but damn it I respected him. Edmonds is one of the greatest defenders of all time, and he has 8 gold gloves to prove that. I tried to find a video of one of his spectacular catches, but they don't exist on the internet due to MLB copy-writes and restrictions. Apparently they were reproduced or retransmitted in any form, and the accounts and descriptions of the games were disseminated without the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball. C'mon guys. They tell you in each and every broadcast not to do it, and then you go and do it. Idiots. But I can use these pictures, even though I think that I'm supposed to give credit or link to some site or something. And even though I have ads on the side and the goofy underline ads, I don't make any money off of this site so I think that it is OK. If you feel otherwise go ahead and comment below. I don't have that option on there to look pretty. It would be nice if someone used that shit every so often. But back to Edmonds because that's what this article is about, right?

After 5 years in an Angels uniform, 8 years with the Cardinals then 2 brief stints with the Padres and Cubs, it's weird to see Jim Edmonds on our side. And even though this 40 year old has probably lost a step or two, he's still a better defender than Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Jody Gerut. Carlos Gomez gets a slight edge over Edmonds because of his speed, but it is only a slight because Edmonds has experience and instinct. You can't teach either of those things, you just have to learn them with time. But if there was anyone who can teach Gomez how to be a better defender (and he's already a plus defender) and help converted infielders like Braun and Hart become true outfielders, it's Edmonds. The should be able to pick up all the subtleties and nuances of of Edmonds goes about his business, and he should be a huge benefit to a relatively young team. Like I mentioned with Trevor Hoffman being a mentor to the pitching staff, Edmonds will do the same with the outfielders and Counsell will likewise help the infielders. Every team needs veteran presence and leadership, and having 3 guys like Hoffman, Counsell and Edmonds puts us a step above the rest in my opinion.

Edmonds didn't play in 2009, so there was concern that he wouldn't be able to come back and play at the Major League level. But this guy has looked phenomenal all spring and you can tell that he keeps himself in excellent shape. I never like to use Spring Training stats to prove a point, but so far (with a week to go before Opening Day) he has been one of the most productive players on the field with a .273 avg, 2 HR's and 12 RBIs. Like I mentioned in the Jody Gerut article yesterday, Edmonds should see his fair share of playing time for the exact same reasons (left handed bat, experience and the possible failure / inexperience of Hart and Gomez) that Jody Gerut will. I don't know if I mentioned this at all in any of the previous articles, but Manager Ken Macha tends to favor playing the veteran players over the youngsters. Edmonds was concerned about coming back to baseball if he was only there to ride the pine and provide insurance should someone get injured. But thanks to Macha's preference and the other reasons mentioned above, it won't be unusual to see Edmonds playing any of the 3 outfield positions on a regular basis, especially in the dog days of August and the playoff push in September.

I feel extremely confident in the playing ability of Jim Edmonds and the wealth of knowledge that he brings to this team. When the Brewers first signed him, the announcement came out of left field (shouldn't it have come out of center field?) but I instantly loved it. When I've seen guys like Brady Clark, Bill Hall and Scott Podsednik try to play center field, it'll be great to see Edmonds do it right. Granted we did have Mike Cameron the last two years, and Carlos Gomez is supposed to be no slouch out there (don't sell yourself short Judge, you're a tremendous slouch) Edmonds is the real deal. Now I'm not saying that Mike Cameron isn't, it's just that Jim Edmonds doesn't cost $10 million a year. I can tell that I'm really backing myself into a corner, but pit Cameron and Edmonds up against each other and you'll see that Edmonds leads in every single category. Or at least that's my prediction without actually looking it up. It is 2 in the fucking morning and I'm a day behind on this entry, so I'm going to fudge a couple of things and take some journalistic liberties. I don't think that you're supposed to do that, but screw it. I don't write for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, I write for Pookon's Ill Blog.

I'm counting on Edmonds to bring a lot to this team both on and off the field. Apparently this was GM Doug Melvin's idea as well and it is very similar to the Gab Kapler signing in 2008. If we get the same results from Edmonds that we got from Kapler (asking for the same is really reaching at this point in Edmonds' career) Edmonds' stat line in 2010 might look something like this:

.261 avg, 17 HRs, 52 RBIs and a handful a highlight reel plays that will shoot him to the top of Sprtscenter's Top 10 plays of the day.

When Edmonds was signed to a minor league contract it was just a formality and he was always in line to have a spot on the 25-man roster if he wanted it. There simply was no outfield competition in camp and all that he had to do was not play like an old guy and totally suck big time. But one position that appeared to have competition was the back-up catcher. In the entry on Gregg Zaun, I mentioned that there were no fewer than 4 players vying for that roster spot. I hoped that Matt Treanor would get the gig so that he would bring his hot wife to the ballpark but they instead went with 26 year-old George Kottaras. Kottaras was recently playing back-up to Jason Varitek and Victor Martinez on the Boston Red Sox and he only played in 45 games. He may end up playing in a few more than that depending on Zaun's ability to be productive on offense and to also stay healthy, but there's a chance that he'll be regulated to catching a particular pitcher (like Mike Rivera caught Manny Parra or Dave Bush last year). But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Jody Gerut

Jody is a girl's name. I just wanted to get that one out of the way at the beginning of this so I don't have to address it later. But then I met a guy named Jody and found out that Jody is a guy's name too. Who would've thought? There's another guy named Jody and he's on the Brewers Opening Day roster. Jody Gerut is on that roster because of the lack of better options in the outfield. I hate to break it to you like that, but I don't see why we are carrying a back-up outfielder that hit .236 with 5 HRs and 21 RBIs last year. Oh yeah, that's because he is a back-up and didn't play enough to effect the final outcome of the season. That was true last year, but this year of the 3 starting outfielders (Braun, Gomez and Hart) Braun is the only player that you could write in permanent ink to play in over 150 games. Gomez is young and has yet to prove he belongs (but he is given that shot this year) and Hart just flat out sucks. So there is a definite possibility that Gerut may play close to 100 games combined between Center and Right Field. Yikes. But why is on the team? Like I said, because there are no better options.

The Brewers counted on Hart to not suck. They even offered him a long term deal that he foolishly turned down. Great for us though. But the problem is that we don't have any viable options in the minor leagues to fill in when certain outfielders fail. I can't name one prospect that is major league ready to play on this team. The closest is Lorenzo Cain, but he missed most of last year due to injury, or else I may be writing a feature article about him rather than Carlos Gomez. And depending on Casey McGehee's sophomore year, 3rd base prospect Mat Gamel might be moved out there if he can't handle the defensive aspects of the hot corner. Plus he'd need some time in the minors where it "doesn't count" to get adjusted to the position. And there are also concerns that his bat is inconsistent. Like we need another one of those on the team. So Gerut gets a spot based on that and a few other things.

Gerut had the spot locked up before Spring Training began thanks to the lack of depth and a couple of other reasons. First off he can play all 3 outfield positions well. Secondly, he bats left handed, which should get him some at bats in a right hand heavy lineup. Thirdly, he's only making $2 million this year meaning that he comes pretty cheap. He also came to Milwaukee in a trade with San Diego for Tony Gywnn Jr. (son of Padres great Tony Gwynn) in another trade that shouldn't have happened. Doug Melvin will give Gerut every chance to succeed so he can convince the fans that the trade worked in our favor. Seeing as how Gwynn Jr. didn't do so hot last year, I think Melvin made the right move. But time will tell on that one. And although I said bad things about Gerut, I did notice that his stats and performance on the field vastly improved once he got regular playing time in August and September when Hart was out with an injury. If that is any indication, he'll do just fine when he plays more than once a week and hit more like he did in San Diego when he had a .296 avg with 14 HRs and 43 RBIs. Kind of like I hope that Craig Counsell doesn't see regular playing time, I hope the same for Gerut because that means something is wrong with 1 of the 3 starters. But I have a feeling that he won't be quite as bad as last year.

Tony Gwynn Jr. was a fan favorite who never proved himself when he had the opportunity to convince the Brewers top brass that he belonged here. Since he was wasting away in the minors they did the right thing and traded him to a team where his name alone would get him regular playing time to prove himself. I wished him good luck. So Gerut came to town he was instantly disliked and was never given a fair shot. It didn't help that he was horrible in his pinch-hit appearances and started off by going 4-41 at the plate for a .098 average with 2 RBIs. But like I said, when he got the opportunity to play every day, he went 34-120 for a .283 average with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs. Gerut looks like he is going to get the chance to be the .283 player instead of the .098 player. And people will like him even though he has a girl's name.

But my favorite thing about Gerut is that Steve "Sparky" Fifer of Sportsradio1250 was so convinced that Gerut wouldn't make the Opening Day roster that he promised on the air that he would wear a dress to Opening Day of he did. To understand how awesome it is that Sparky will have to wear a dress, you'd have to listen to him on the radio and understand his personality. He's one of those really passionate sports fans that is extremely opinionated. Basically you either love him or hate him. And whichever one you choose, you'll certainly laugh when he shows up wearing a dress. Sparky is one of those guys who is in radio for a reason - they have a great voice with an ugly ass body. His head is way too big and he's a short silly looking guy. So at least we have that to look forward to. We can also look forward to Gerut having these stats in 2010:

.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.

The other back-up outfielder on the 25 man roster doesn't have a girl's name. That's because he is the one and only Jim Edmonds. Just like Trevor Hoffman, I could have never imagined Edmonds being in a Brewers uniform, especially after all the harm he caused us while playing with the Cardinals and the Cubs. Even though Edmonds is turning 40 this year and he has lost a step in the outfield, he will most certainly see some playing time out there because you can't teach experience. And the one thing that Braun, Gomez and Hart lack is experience. Although Edmonds can't help them with that (you might even argue that he is going to take some of that away from them) what he can help them with will be worth every penny that he is being paid this year. If you are going to learn, you might as well learn from the best. And while calling Edmonds the best is sure to cause a stir and plenty of debate, you can't argue that in his prime he was pretty damn fantastic. But that my friends is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

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