Grading the 2009 Brewers

With giving out grades to the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers my criteria is simple. Did the players produce to what was expected from them based off their track records? 

A-plus
Prince Fielder .299 avg.  46 ding dongs and 141 RBI, 138 strikeouts to 113 walks. Awesome and a privilege to watch him play this season. 

Ryan Braun 203 hits, .320 avg.  with 32 home runs, 114 RBI and 113 runs scored, 20 steals.  Imagine if he wasn’t hampered by injuries in the rib cage area.   

Trevor Hoffman 37 of 41 in save opportunities and a 1.83 ERA.  Entrance was an awesome sight. I felt like I was at a WWE event. 

Craig Counsell hit .285 and played all over the field. 39 year old utility man gave me more than expected with the triples. 

A

Yovani Gallardo took the ball 30 times and struck out 204 hitters.  Still walks too many and needs to learn to pitch to contact.  What more could you have expected from a 23 year old power pitcher. 

Casey McGehee nut up to play through constant knee pain and provide some pop behind Fielder.  I hope he is able to rehab his knee and come back in spring training to compete for the job at the hot corner.

Braden Looper won 14 games with a 5.22 ERA and gave up 39 HR.  How is this worthy of an A?  Because he far exceeded the expectations I had for him this season.  He took the hill 34 times and gave the Brewers a chance to win most of his starts.  Run support is the reason for the high win totals.   

Felipe Lopez batted .320 with the Brewers and finished with 187 hits this year.  Would still like to see him on the roster for 2010, but something drastic would have to happen. 

Mitch Stetter moved from just a lefty specialist to a guy that can pitch an inning.  Struck out the side against the Twins one June 24th.  Made Justin Morneau look like Antone Williamson. If you don’t remember him, he was bad.  

Claudio Vargas .175 opponents batting avg.  Is tremendously slow on the mound, but pitched much better than I anticipated.  His appearances were too short to make me use no-doze.  

B

Mike Cameron played well in center and provided some pop to the lineup.  Not a guy that makes contact with runners on but, we already knew that.  Was a good player for the Brewers, but I think they’ll go in another direction.  Perhaps my buddy Juan Pierre. 

Todd Coffey rubber armed reliever ran out of gas due too many appearances.  I would be amused to see him used in a pinch running role. Appeared in 83 and 2/3rds innings and only allowed 18 of 58 inherited runners to score.   

Alcides Escobar slick fielding shortstop showed good plate discipline in limited work. 

Mark DiFelice 3.66 ERA over 59 appearances with 48 strikeouts to 15 walks.  He got hurt, but I would like to see what he has in spring training.  

C

Dave Bush 6.38 ERA and stint on DL didn’t hide the fact that he was getting rocked this year. Was never able to fully come back from the injuries. 

Frank Catalanatto a lefty contact hitter that didn’t produce once the he received more playing time after.  A .182 pinch hitter with 1 HR and 9 RBI not enough to merit a roster spot in 2010. 

Jody Gerut played better once he received more playing time at the end of the season.  I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him back next season as 4th outfielder. 

Corey Hart appendectomy and season ending injury to fingers hurt his ability to build off .305 batting average in July.  The walks increased but the power numbers tailed off. 

D

Seth McClung was regarded as the sixth starter coming out of spring training.  He should never ever start a game, period.  Is a power arm best suited for long relief. 

Manny Parra didn’t take that next step forward and was sent to down to Triple A to work on mechanics.  6.36 ERA is unacceptable and Brewers must figure out if there’s upside or if this is it.  Whether or not he’s traded will give us their answer. 

F

Mike Burns 3-4 with a 6.86 ERA. Overall, he was 3-5 with a 5.75 ERA in 15 appearances, with 10 home runs allowed in 51 2/3 innings.

J.J. Hardy .229 11 HR 47 RBI isn’t what we’ve come to expect.  Hardy’s hotties may have to find someone else to cheer for (ADAM BURNETT)

Jason Kendall bat and ability to throw out runners has dwindled.  He is a serviceable backstop, if part of a time share. 

Chris Smith appeared in garbage time and gave up 11 gopher balls. 

Jeff Suppan opponents batted .309 and a 1.69 WHIP don’t add up for the Crew’s highest paid player.  Does a tremendous amount of charitable work, but just isn’t a good pitcher in this ballpark.  A change of scenery would be the best thing for him. 

Carlos Villanueva was bounced between pen and rotation and couldn’t find success in either role.  4-10 with a 5.34 ERA didn’t help matters.  Team needs to give him a role to concentrate on and leave him alone. 

David Weathers 1-3 with a 4.88 ERA in 25 appearances wasn’t what the Brewers traded for.  He got hit really hard and may be nearing the end of the road. 

Incomplete

Jason Bourgeois showed some speed in limited action

Mat Gamel hard to judge him due to lack of regular at-bats.  Shouldn’t have been brought up just to DH. 

Chris Narveson didn’t get to see enough of him to know exactly what we have.  4 starts and 17 sporadic relief appearances make it difficult to analyze.  The 10 strikeout performance means something to me. 

Corey Patterson why he was even on the roster is a question I would like answered. 

Mike Rivera it’s tough to grade a guy with 114 at-bats sporadically spaced out for the season. 

Rickie Weeks was on fire before injury.  I drafted him in a couple of drafts and was riding high with the hot streak.  Definately took a step forward but, will he ever be able to stay healthy?

Tags: Brewers