Votto impresses in Reds sweep of Crew

Entering this 3-game series with the Brewers were 13 games back of the first-place Reds.  After a sweep the deficit is now 16 games.  Cincinnati has a deep rotation, solid bullpen, and a good lineup.  Most importantly Joey Votto should win the N.L. MVP. .325 avg, 32 ding-dongs, 97 RBI, .424 OBP, and .603 SLG get my vote.    

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Tags: Aroldis Chapman, Brewers, Joey Votto, Reds, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun, Scott Rolen

Brewers announce AFL attendees

The Brewers will send 2B Brett Lawrie, OF Logan Schafer, IF Eric Farris, RHP’s Michael Fiers, Jeremy Jeffress, Brandon Kintzler, and Mike McClendon to the Arizona Fall League.  The Brewers farm hands will play for the Surprise Rafters.  Farris and Kintzler have been playing at Triple-A Nashville.  McClendon was at Nashville, but is currently in the Brewers bullpen.  Fiers, Jeffress, and Lawrie are playing at Double-A Huntsville.  Schafer has been missing in action since the middle of June with a groin injury. 

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Tags: Arizona Fall League, Brett Lawrie, Brewers, Jeremy Jeffress

Brewers Sweep Pirates

The Brewers bounce back with a 3-game sweep of the Pirates.  The Brewers finish 5-4 on the 9-game homestand.  Jonathan Lucroy had a great series as did the bullpen.  Trevor Hoffman also moved closer to making history.    

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Tags: Brewers, Chris Dickerson, Chris Narveson, Jonathan Lucroy, Jose Tabata, Pirates, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun

Gallardo not injured in robbery

Yovani Gallardo and Brewers club house attendant Alex Sanchez were robbed at gun point early Friday morning.  The incident took place in the parking lot of a Hispanic supermarket located on the Southside of Milwaukee.  Sanchez sustained minor injuries.  The robber took money and jewelry.  Gallardo was the losing pitcher in the Brewers 7-1 loss to the Dodgers Thursday afternoon.  I don’t blame Gallardo or Sanchez for being out at 2:30am.  They are grown men allowed to live their lives however they choose.

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Tags: Brewers, Yovani Gallardo

Brewers Brain Trust links back to 70’s Pirates

In 1972 the Pittsburgh Pirates selected University of Pittsburgh 1B Ken Macha in the 6th round, Shortstop Willie Randolph of Tilden HS (Brooklyn, NY) in the 7th round, and signed Pitcher Douglas Melvin from Chatham-Kent Secondary School (Chatham, Ontario).  The Gulf Coast Pirates rookie ball team had Willie Randolph and Douglas Melvin in 1972.  Advancing to Double-A in 1974 were Willie Randolph and Ken Macha playing for the Thetford Mines of the Eastern League.  Both made the jump up to Triple-A in 1975 with the Charleston Charlies of the International League.  Among their teammates on the Charlies were former Major Leaguers Kent Tekulve, John Candelaria, Bobby Valentine, Art Howe, and RBI Baseball Legend Tony Armas.

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Tags: Art Howe, Bobby Valentine, Brewers, Doug Melvin, John Candelaria, Ken Macha, Kent Tekulve, Pirates, RBI Baseball, Tony Armas, Willie Randolph

Brewers get swept at home

The Brewers get swept at home by the Dodgers.  Ryan Theriot continues to feast on Brewers pitching.  Rod Barajas was a monster in the opener of the series as well.  It’s the storyline for each game or series that the Brewers lose, the starting pitching didn’t hold up their end of the deal.       

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Tags: Andre Ethier, Brewers, Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Rod Barajas, Ryan Braun, Ryan Theriot

A Little Late for Parra to the Pen

Chris Capuano will replace Manny Parra in the starting rotation.  At this point of the season I don’t agree with this maneuver.  13 games out of first-place means playing your young players.  Manny Parra is 0-5 with a 7.42 ERA over his last 8 starts.  Parra is 3-10 with a 5.65 ERA and in 33 appearances.  In 16 starts, the enigmatic southpaw is 2-7 with a 6.19 ERA 88:48 K:BB.  The 6^th inning of a Manny Parra start reminds me of the Twilight Zone.  The ability to get thru a lineup 3 times is nonexistent.  Runners on base and mental errors continue to plague his game.  Parra and Carlos Gomez have similar mental lapses in their games.  Sometimes Parra doesn’t trust his stuff and nibbles too much, then other times catching too much of the plate is the problem.  Each start by Parra contains frustrating miscues that should no longer be part of the equation.  I don’t care if Parra just needed a mental break or not, the season is over in about a month.  Rest in October because you’ll be a spectator for postseason play.  If Chris Capuano was really part of the club’s long term plans wouldn’t he have been put in the rotation sooner?

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Tags: Brewers, Chris Capuano, Manny Parra, Twilight Zone

Brewers Prospects Combine on a No-Hitter

Jake Odorizzi threw 8 frames of no-hit ball and Adrian Rosario pitched a perfect 9^th to combine for a no-hitter as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers shut out the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-0.  Odorizzi struck out a career-high 10 in the no-hitter.  Odorizzi is 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA with 43 earned runs allowed in 116 innings.  The 20-year old hurler has 130 strikeouts and 37 walks on the year with an opponent’s batting average of .213.  Odorizzi was the 32^nd pick on the 2008 First Year Player Draft.  His repertoire isn’t limited as he has a good fastball, slider, and curveball.   He’s moved up a level each of his 3 seasons and I would expect to see him pitching at Double-A Huntsville next season.  Keep Odorizzi in mind when looking at the lack of depth in the Brewers farm system.  This is one of the young arms that will hopefully be able to make a mark in the Brewers starting rotation in late 2012 or 2013.  While that doesn’t help in the near future, rushing up a pitcher before his full maturation is often a disaster waiting to happen.

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Tags: Brewers No-Hitter, Jake Odorizzi, Timber Rattlers

Riske Business Done in Milwaukee

The Brewers have released reliever David Riske.  The 3-year deal worth $13 million was not a good investment for Milwaukee as Riske pitched in 45 games during the 2008 season before undergoing Tommy John surgery.  2009 was spent coming back for the surgery and this season he just did have the stuff to pitch in a meaningful role in the bullpen.  Keeping Riske to pitch in a mop-up role with a 5.01 ERA this late in the season would be a waste of his time and the teams.  He had some decent appearances upon returning in June, but has just lost it as of late.  In his last 10 appearances, Riske gave up 18 hits and 10 earned runs in 11.1 innings with a 7.94 ERA.  The Brewers weren’t going to sign Riske to another deal and can use the roster spot to take a look at another player.    

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Selig is Worthy of a Statue

The Brewers will honor Allan H. (Bud) Selig with a statute at Miller Park’s Home Plate Plaza.  Commissioner Selig’s statue will be alongside those of Hank Aaron and Robin Yount.  He’s a very polarizing figure among baseball fans.  His reign over baseball has local media lining up to kiss the ring, hailing him as the greatest commissioner in the history of sports.  Other national personalities view him in a different light.  I appreciate the wild card round and interleague play being brought into the game.  The All-Star Game shouldn’t have any bearing on anything, period.  The drug testing was a day late and a dollar short for my book.  Blame for the steroid era can go round and round, but Selig deserves his fair share.  A large segment of the fan base grew tired of his daughter running the team.  I’m not a supporter of Selig, but I am very grateful for his contributions to Milwaukee.  Without Bud Selig, who knows if baseball would have come back to the Brew City?  I have fond memories of going to Brewers games when I was a kid.  The Brewers and County Stadium fueled my need for baseball.  I don’t believe he’s a good commissioner, but he does deserve a statue for bringing baseball back to Milwaukee.  With 3 statues up at Miller Park, the question I will continue to ask is where’s Paul Molitor’s statue?  I park in the Molitor lot each game I go to and walk into the stadium wearing my Where’s Molitor’s Statue shirt.

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Tags: Brewers, Bud Selig, Paul Molitor