So I had my day all planned for today. I was going to go down to Chicago and see the Brewers and Chris Capuano take on the Cubs at Wrigley. I was a little concerned about the forecast for rain all day, but I thought I'd just wait and see. I checked the weather last night before going to bed, and again first thing this morning. The weather channel online predicted 80-90% chance of rain every hour, all day today. Not wanting my first experience at Wrigley to be cold and wet, I decided to stay home and watch the game on TV.
Well lo and behold, after a 30 minute rain delay, the game started, (with no rain), and now in the 5th inning, there is still no rain. I'm trying not be frustrated, because this is the only day game I could attend at Wrigley this season. I guess I have to look at this as Murphy's Law. Because I didn't go, it's not raining. But had I gone, it would probably have rained all day and they wouldn't have played. I guess I'll have to settle for seeing the Brewers play the Cubs at Wrigley during a night game.
Just wanted to get that off my chest. I'm going back to watch the Brewers stomp the Cubs. The score is currently 7-0 going into the bottom of the 5th. I'll be back after the game with my comments on the series. Go Brewers!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Number Crunching
So I was checking out the Brewers page on ESPN.com, and found a list of the players' salaries for this season. Putting it mildly, that was some interesting reading. I'd like to break this down a bit.
Rickie Weeks will cash in for $1,220,000 this season. I wonder how much per error that will equal out to? Rickie currently ranks 90th in the National League for hits, at 16. He's at 127th for RBI's with 5. His batting average of .242 puts him at 169th. He does rank in the top ten for a couple of stats, though. Strikeouts, for instance. He ranks 6th, with 23. And he checks in at 2nd for errors, not just in the National League but in all of baseball, with 7. He's bettered in this category only by Edwin Encarnacion of the Reds, who has 8. These stellar stats are worth $1.2 million dollars?
Now let's take a look at JJ Hardy. He's going to bring in around $355,000 this season. Rickie's making about 3 1/2 times more than JJ. JJ is tied with about 135 other guys, including Prince Fielder, with one error. This is in both leagues. Hardy presently has 22 hits, as do about 6 other guys in the National League, which lands him about 35th, and his nine RBI's put him at 9th. JJ sits in the 117th spot for batting average, at .272, and 49th for his 13 punchouts. Not super fantastic stats, but clearly better than Weeks, who brings home a much larger paycheck. How is that fair? But wait, it gets better!
Prince Fielder, still a rookie, leads the league in hits, with 30. He ranks third of all Major League batters. He's tied with 9 other players in the National League with 13 RBI's, good for 33rd place, and his batting average is currently .361! This puts him 30th, but only nine players ranking above him have played in more than 10 games. Granted, he's 10th for K's, with 21, (remember his 1 for 11 start to the season?), but those are still some pretty damn good stats, no matter how you shake it. So does Prince bring home a king's ransom? Nope. He's the lowest paid player on the team, bringing home a paltry (yeah right!) $329,500 this year.
Let's look at this now. Hardy has the most experience in the majors, and Prince is playing the best of all of our Baby Brewers, but Rickie makes more than three times what they do? How about the accountants start docking Rickie $10K each time he makes an error? I wonder how that would affect his defense?
So what do all of these numbers mean? Nothing really. I just thought it was interesting that this guy who keeps screwing up so badly makes so much more money than guys who play solidly every day. What's even more interesting is that Rickie is, I think, the 10th highest paid player on the team. You'd think for $1.2 million a year, Rickie would take time for a little extra fielding practice, or extra batting practice. You'd think he'd do whatever he needed to do to earn that paycheck. Ned Yost doesn't seem to be worried about Rickie's current situation. At least that's what he tells the reporters. He keeps saying that he expects Rickie to struggle.
I want to know for how long? How long will he wait for Rickie to find his swing or his glove or whatever? Our payroll is not huge. This is a well known fact. I can't see Doug Melvin continuing to throw good money after bad. Doug has been all about getting the most for the money. Look at the Koskie deal and what a bargain that was! Rickie's not signed to a multi-year deal, at least not to the best of my knowledge. He keeps playing like he has been and he probably won't be, at least not with the Brewers. Seriously, Rickie, get it together.
Rickie Weeks will cash in for $1,220,000 this season. I wonder how much per error that will equal out to? Rickie currently ranks 90th in the National League for hits, at 16. He's at 127th for RBI's with 5. His batting average of .242 puts him at 169th. He does rank in the top ten for a couple of stats, though. Strikeouts, for instance. He ranks 6th, with 23. And he checks in at 2nd for errors, not just in the National League but in all of baseball, with 7. He's bettered in this category only by Edwin Encarnacion of the Reds, who has 8. These stellar stats are worth $1.2 million dollars?
Now let's take a look at JJ Hardy. He's going to bring in around $355,000 this season. Rickie's making about 3 1/2 times more than JJ. JJ is tied with about 135 other guys, including Prince Fielder, with one error. This is in both leagues. Hardy presently has 22 hits, as do about 6 other guys in the National League, which lands him about 35th, and his nine RBI's put him at 9th. JJ sits in the 117th spot for batting average, at .272, and 49th for his 13 punchouts. Not super fantastic stats, but clearly better than Weeks, who brings home a much larger paycheck. How is that fair? But wait, it gets better!
Prince Fielder, still a rookie, leads the league in hits, with 30. He ranks third of all Major League batters. He's tied with 9 other players in the National League with 13 RBI's, good for 33rd place, and his batting average is currently .361! This puts him 30th, but only nine players ranking above him have played in more than 10 games. Granted, he's 10th for K's, with 21, (remember his 1 for 11 start to the season?), but those are still some pretty damn good stats, no matter how you shake it. So does Prince bring home a king's ransom? Nope. He's the lowest paid player on the team, bringing home a paltry (yeah right!) $329,500 this year.
Let's look at this now. Hardy has the most experience in the majors, and Prince is playing the best of all of our Baby Brewers, but Rickie makes more than three times what they do? How about the accountants start docking Rickie $10K each time he makes an error? I wonder how that would affect his defense?
So what do all of these numbers mean? Nothing really. I just thought it was interesting that this guy who keeps screwing up so badly makes so much more money than guys who play solidly every day. What's even more interesting is that Rickie is, I think, the 10th highest paid player on the team. You'd think for $1.2 million a year, Rickie would take time for a little extra fielding practice, or extra batting practice. You'd think he'd do whatever he needed to do to earn that paycheck. Ned Yost doesn't seem to be worried about Rickie's current situation. At least that's what he tells the reporters. He keeps saying that he expects Rickie to struggle.
I want to know for how long? How long will he wait for Rickie to find his swing or his glove or whatever? Our payroll is not huge. This is a well known fact. I can't see Doug Melvin continuing to throw good money after bad. Doug has been all about getting the most for the money. Look at the Koskie deal and what a bargain that was! Rickie's not signed to a multi-year deal, at least not to the best of my knowledge. He keeps playing like he has been and he probably won't be, at least not with the Brewers. Seriously, Rickie, get it together.
Brewers Tomahawk Braves in Series Sweep
The Brewers’ pitching staff was certainly on top of its game this week as Big Ben Sheets closed out the series with his first win of the season, and recorded the team’s first-ever sweep of the Atlanta Braves. This was not only the first sweep of Atlanta, but also the first time the Brewers have won a series against the Braves in Milwaukee since moving to the National League. This was an outstanding series for Brewers pitchers.
Southpaw Chris Capuano started things off on Monday with his outstanding performance, and right hander Tomo Ohka tossed a beauty on Tuesday. Ohka pitched seven strong innings, giving up seven hits, two runs and walking none. Jose Capellan, who has looked great in his last few outings, pitched a hitless frame, as did closer Derrick Turnbow to notch his seventh save of the season in as many attempts.
Big Ben looked phenomenal today, starting off the game with three straight strikeouts in the first inning. His speed is back up; one pitch registered 96 miles an hour in the sixth, and his curve ball is as nasty as it ever was. Sheets fanned nine in his six innings of work, giving up only six hits and two runs. Ben walked one, but it was his first walk of the season. That’s one walk in 18 innings pitched, with 25 punchouts, and only eight earned runs. It looks to me like Benny is back.
Dan Kolb threw a scoreless seventh inning, giving up only one hit, to set things up for Matt Wise. Matt, thank goodness, looked to be back to top form today as he tossed a hitless frame for the Crew, striking out two along the way. Once again, the save went to Derrick Turnbow, who got into a little bit of trouble and gave up a couple of runs, but he was able to pitch out of it to record his eighth save of the season.
The last three starts by our pitchers are known as 'quality starts,' a phrase discussed during the pre-game interview with Chris Capuano last night. According to Chris, this is a somewhat newly created statistic. A quality start is when a starting pitcher throws at least six innings, and gives up three or fewer runs. These last three quality starts by our pitchers mean our bullpen got lots of much needed rest. That's great news as we head into a three game series against the Cubs at Wrigley this weekend.
Dave Bush, who was spectacular in his last start, throwing a complete game shutout, goes up against veteran Greg Maddux on Friday. Maddux is currently sitting on an ERA of 0.99. This should be an interesting match up, as both of these right handed pitchers have done extremely well so far this season. None as well as Maddux, obviously, who leads Major League starters with his ERA. The Brewers are looking to improve their all time record against the Cubs, which is currently 62-61, in favor of Chicago. We won nine of 16 last season, but dropped four of six at Wrigley. We have to do better than that this season guys!
Well that's it for now. I hope to see some of you out at Wrigley this weekend to cheer on our guys. Until next time, go Brewers!
Southpaw Chris Capuano started things off on Monday with his outstanding performance, and right hander Tomo Ohka tossed a beauty on Tuesday. Ohka pitched seven strong innings, giving up seven hits, two runs and walking none. Jose Capellan, who has looked great in his last few outings, pitched a hitless frame, as did closer Derrick Turnbow to notch his seventh save of the season in as many attempts.
Big Ben looked phenomenal today, starting off the game with three straight strikeouts in the first inning. His speed is back up; one pitch registered 96 miles an hour in the sixth, and his curve ball is as nasty as it ever was. Sheets fanned nine in his six innings of work, giving up only six hits and two runs. Ben walked one, but it was his first walk of the season. That’s one walk in 18 innings pitched, with 25 punchouts, and only eight earned runs. It looks to me like Benny is back.
Dan Kolb threw a scoreless seventh inning, giving up only one hit, to set things up for Matt Wise. Matt, thank goodness, looked to be back to top form today as he tossed a hitless frame for the Crew, striking out two along the way. Once again, the save went to Derrick Turnbow, who got into a little bit of trouble and gave up a couple of runs, but he was able to pitch out of it to record his eighth save of the season.
The last three starts by our pitchers are known as 'quality starts,' a phrase discussed during the pre-game interview with Chris Capuano last night. According to Chris, this is a somewhat newly created statistic. A quality start is when a starting pitcher throws at least six innings, and gives up three or fewer runs. These last three quality starts by our pitchers mean our bullpen got lots of much needed rest. That's great news as we head into a three game series against the Cubs at Wrigley this weekend.
Dave Bush, who was spectacular in his last start, throwing a complete game shutout, goes up against veteran Greg Maddux on Friday. Maddux is currently sitting on an ERA of 0.99. This should be an interesting match up, as both of these right handed pitchers have done extremely well so far this season. None as well as Maddux, obviously, who leads Major League starters with his ERA. The Brewers are looking to improve their all time record against the Cubs, which is currently 62-61, in favor of Chicago. We won nine of 16 last season, but dropped four of six at Wrigley. We have to do better than that this season guys!
Well that's it for now. I hope to see some of you out at Wrigley this weekend to cheer on our guys. Until next time, go Brewers!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Capuano Thrills, Mother Nature Chills, and Rickie Reeks
JR Radcliffe thought perhaps the drop in temperature in the 8th inning last night was Mother Nature’s homage to Corey Koskie, the native Canadian who blasted a 7th inning homer to propel the Brewers to victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves. This win put the Brew Crew back at .500, and notched another win for leftie Chris Capuano, a win that Rickie Weeks seemingly tried to throw away with both hands.
Capuano was hot, hot, hot last night (and yes I’m talking about his pitching!), and Rickie Weeks was not, not, not. Chris was, again, near flawless in this outing, throwing 105 pitches in seven innings, 76 of them for strikes, allowing one hit, one run, one walk and fanning six. In fact, his strike to ball ration was 3.6 to 1. Chris now owns the top spot for strikeouts, not just in the National League, but in all of MLB. Pretty impressive, Chris!
Unlike Rickie Weeks, who racked up two more errors last night, bringing his official total up to seven for the season. Ned Yost said this is to be expected from Rickie, and has no concerns. I’m hoping that’s just the sound bite that he gave to all the reporters for Rickie’s sake, and that behind closed doors something is being done about this situation. Rickie simply cannot continue at this pace.
Last night’s flubbed double play could have lost the game had Matt Wise not been able to pitch out of the bases-loaded situation Weeks’ error put him in. A spectacular play to first by Corey Koskie on an Andruw Jones ground ball ended the inning and preserved the lead. Matt Wise was just a bit off of his usual level of fierceness at the mound, but much better than his last outing in Houston when he gave up five runs, and Dave Bush’s win. It’s nice to see Matt pretty much back to form.
The save, of course, went to “Rock Star” Derrick Turnbow, who is now 6-6 for the season. It’s amazing to see what happens to the crowd at Miller Park when Derrick comes through that bullpen door. I think all 11,660 fans in attendance were on their feet as Turnbow jogged out to the mound. Of course, it might have been in an effort to keep warm as the wind picked up and temperature dropped, but I doubt it. Derrick Turnbow has become a hero in Milwaukee, and I’m thrilled he’s going to be around for a while.
Tomo Ohka hopes to improve his record to 2-1 as he takes the mound tonight against fellow right-hander Tim Hudson. Tomo currently has an ERA of 4.09, while Hudson is sitting on 6.08. Both have struggled through some early starts so tonight should be an interesting match up.
I have to send a thank you out to the fan sitting in front of me last night for the headline. I had been trying to figure out how to comment on Rickie’s errors in a way that incorporated his name, and the guy in front of me last night shouted out “Rickie Reeks!” So thanks! That’s all I have for today Brewer fans. Head out to the park or tune in to FSN tonight to cheer our guys on to another victory. Until next time, go Brewers!
Capuano was hot, hot, hot last night (and yes I’m talking about his pitching!), and Rickie Weeks was not, not, not. Chris was, again, near flawless in this outing, throwing 105 pitches in seven innings, 76 of them for strikes, allowing one hit, one run, one walk and fanning six. In fact, his strike to ball ration was 3.6 to 1. Chris now owns the top spot for strikeouts, not just in the National League, but in all of MLB. Pretty impressive, Chris!
Unlike Rickie Weeks, who racked up two more errors last night, bringing his official total up to seven for the season. Ned Yost said this is to be expected from Rickie, and has no concerns. I’m hoping that’s just the sound bite that he gave to all the reporters for Rickie’s sake, and that behind closed doors something is being done about this situation. Rickie simply cannot continue at this pace.
Last night’s flubbed double play could have lost the game had Matt Wise not been able to pitch out of the bases-loaded situation Weeks’ error put him in. A spectacular play to first by Corey Koskie on an Andruw Jones ground ball ended the inning and preserved the lead. Matt Wise was just a bit off of his usual level of fierceness at the mound, but much better than his last outing in Houston when he gave up five runs, and Dave Bush’s win. It’s nice to see Matt pretty much back to form.
The save, of course, went to “Rock Star” Derrick Turnbow, who is now 6-6 for the season. It’s amazing to see what happens to the crowd at Miller Park when Derrick comes through that bullpen door. I think all 11,660 fans in attendance were on their feet as Turnbow jogged out to the mound. Of course, it might have been in an effort to keep warm as the wind picked up and temperature dropped, but I doubt it. Derrick Turnbow has become a hero in Milwaukee, and I’m thrilled he’s going to be around for a while.
Tomo Ohka hopes to improve his record to 2-1 as he takes the mound tonight against fellow right-hander Tim Hudson. Tomo currently has an ERA of 4.09, while Hudson is sitting on 6.08. Both have struggled through some early starts so tonight should be an interesting match up.
I have to send a thank you out to the fan sitting in front of me last night for the headline. I had been trying to figure out how to comment on Rickie’s errors in a way that incorporated his name, and the guy in front of me last night shouted out “Rickie Reeks!” So thanks! That’s all I have for today Brewer fans. Head out to the park or tune in to FSN tonight to cheer our guys on to another victory. Until next time, go Brewers!
Monday, April 24, 2006
Reversal of Fortune
Anyone watching the Brewers play the Reds on Sunday after Saturday’s amazing win could only be wondering one thing. What happened? Did the guys get over confident? Did they stay out too late celebrating Saturday night? Are the retro uniforms not such a great idea? (The Brewers have yet to score even one run in the “new” Sunday uniforms.) I guess one good turn deserves another and the Reds returned Saturday’s favor on Sunday, stomping the Brewers 11-0.
First of all, what’s going on with Doug Davis? His last two outings have been absolutely disastrous, not something we want to see from our #2 pitcher three weeks into the season. His effort wasn’t helped Sunday afternoon by the pea-sized strike zone determined by home plate umpire Greg Gibson. Davis’ attempts to nibble around the outside corners of the plate were denied repeatedly, and batter after batter was walked. Milwaukee pitchers walked a total of 13 batsmen yesterday, nine by Davis alone, who tied a club record. Four of those walks ended up scoring runs.
Some batters made it to first after being hit. Three Cincy batsmen got free rides after taking one for the team, two in the case of Austin Kearns, who, as Bill Schroeder put it, “has a home and a condo on the disabled list, and doesn’t want to visit either of them.” One of the runners put on base after being hit scored a run for the Reds. Combine that with the walks that scored runs and we have a total of five runs being scored on zero hits. Amazingly enough, the Reds stranded 15 runners throughout the course of the game. I guess we were lucky we didn’t lose by more than just eleven.
The loss this time really can’t be blamed on bad calls by the umpires either. Larry Vanover was safely at third, and we never got runners far enough for him to screw up a call for us, so he wasn’t a factor today. There was one stinker at first though. I can’t remember exactly which inning or who threw the ball to Prince, but it was early in the game, and the runner was clearly out. Even Daron Sutton laughed during the instant replay and said over and over, “he’s out!” But that one out that wasn’t would have had little effect on yesterday’s outcome.
I do have a theory of my own, and you all are welcome to debate this with me. Baseball is a very superstitious game, full of routines and streaks. I personally believe in jinxes, and it seems that Bill Schroeder and Daron Sutton are guilty of committing a few of them. Take yesterday for example. Aaron Harang was pitching on three days rest, and Bill and Daron took us threw Harang’s different stats after four and five days rest. They noticed that he pitched better with more rest, and said that maybe we could take advantage of the fact that he’s pitching after only three days rest. Jinx. Harang carved up our batters like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Later in the game, no sooner than Derrick Turnbow took the mound did Daron say he hadn’t given up a single run all season. Jinx. Turnbow gave up a three run homer.
During Davis’ fourth start in Houston when he gave up nine runs, once he left the game, Daron and Bill commented that every time he’s pitched, the team has been behind when he left the game and they always came back and won. Jinx. The Brewers lost that game 13-12.
Is anyone else seeing a pattern here? There are lots more times that this has happened during broadcasts. These are just the most recent examples. Maybe I’m being overly superstitious, but Bill and Daron, I’m begging you. When you make statements that like, knock on wood, throw salt over your shoulders or something. Our guys need all the help they can get right now! Better yet, save the comments till afterward and avoid the threat of a jinx altogether.
Of course I could just be grasping at straws, trying desperately to explain why my team is playing so erratically. But baseball is a superstitious sport. Crash Davies said it best in “Bull Durham.” “If you believe you're playing well because you're getting laid, or because you're not getting laid, or because you wear women’s underwear -- then you are!” Hmmm, think someone should get Doug Davis a garter belt?
In other news, Rickie Weeks committed another error yesterday. I know you’re all in shock over that one. Officially, he’s committed only five errors, but we all know it’s closer to eight or ten. But thanks to hometown scoring in other parks, and the need to give their batters hits, he’s officially saddled with only five. So to emulate Daron Sutton, Rickie is on pace to end the season, ‘officially,’ with 42.6 errors. Figure in hometown scoring and he’ll likely screw up closer to 55 times. Way to go Rickie!
My favorite pitcher takes the mound tonight against Atlanta, and I’ll be there to cheer him on, proudly wearing my #39 jersey, with fingers crossed that he can get us back to .500. (knock on wood!) Good luck tonight, Chris, and go Brewers!
First of all, what’s going on with Doug Davis? His last two outings have been absolutely disastrous, not something we want to see from our #2 pitcher three weeks into the season. His effort wasn’t helped Sunday afternoon by the pea-sized strike zone determined by home plate umpire Greg Gibson. Davis’ attempts to nibble around the outside corners of the plate were denied repeatedly, and batter after batter was walked. Milwaukee pitchers walked a total of 13 batsmen yesterday, nine by Davis alone, who tied a club record. Four of those walks ended up scoring runs.
Some batters made it to first after being hit. Three Cincy batsmen got free rides after taking one for the team, two in the case of Austin Kearns, who, as Bill Schroeder put it, “has a home and a condo on the disabled list, and doesn’t want to visit either of them.” One of the runners put on base after being hit scored a run for the Reds. Combine that with the walks that scored runs and we have a total of five runs being scored on zero hits. Amazingly enough, the Reds stranded 15 runners throughout the course of the game. I guess we were lucky we didn’t lose by more than just eleven.
The loss this time really can’t be blamed on bad calls by the umpires either. Larry Vanover was safely at third, and we never got runners far enough for him to screw up a call for us, so he wasn’t a factor today. There was one stinker at first though. I can’t remember exactly which inning or who threw the ball to Prince, but it was early in the game, and the runner was clearly out. Even Daron Sutton laughed during the instant replay and said over and over, “he’s out!” But that one out that wasn’t would have had little effect on yesterday’s outcome.
I do have a theory of my own, and you all are welcome to debate this with me. Baseball is a very superstitious game, full of routines and streaks. I personally believe in jinxes, and it seems that Bill Schroeder and Daron Sutton are guilty of committing a few of them. Take yesterday for example. Aaron Harang was pitching on three days rest, and Bill and Daron took us threw Harang’s different stats after four and five days rest. They noticed that he pitched better with more rest, and said that maybe we could take advantage of the fact that he’s pitching after only three days rest. Jinx. Harang carved up our batters like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Later in the game, no sooner than Derrick Turnbow took the mound did Daron say he hadn’t given up a single run all season. Jinx. Turnbow gave up a three run homer.
During Davis’ fourth start in Houston when he gave up nine runs, once he left the game, Daron and Bill commented that every time he’s pitched, the team has been behind when he left the game and they always came back and won. Jinx. The Brewers lost that game 13-12.
Is anyone else seeing a pattern here? There are lots more times that this has happened during broadcasts. These are just the most recent examples. Maybe I’m being overly superstitious, but Bill and Daron, I’m begging you. When you make statements that like, knock on wood, throw salt over your shoulders or something. Our guys need all the help they can get right now! Better yet, save the comments till afterward and avoid the threat of a jinx altogether.
Of course I could just be grasping at straws, trying desperately to explain why my team is playing so erratically. But baseball is a superstitious sport. Crash Davies said it best in “Bull Durham.” “If you believe you're playing well because you're getting laid, or because you're not getting laid, or because you wear women’s underwear -- then you are!” Hmmm, think someone should get Doug Davis a garter belt?
In other news, Rickie Weeks committed another error yesterday. I know you’re all in shock over that one. Officially, he’s committed only five errors, but we all know it’s closer to eight or ten. But thanks to hometown scoring in other parks, and the need to give their batters hits, he’s officially saddled with only five. So to emulate Daron Sutton, Rickie is on pace to end the season, ‘officially,’ with 42.6 errors. Figure in hometown scoring and he’ll likely screw up closer to 55 times. Way to go Rickie!
My favorite pitcher takes the mound tonight against Atlanta, and I’ll be there to cheer him on, proudly wearing my #39 jersey, with fingers crossed that he can get us back to .500. (knock on wood!) Good luck tonight, Chris, and go Brewers!
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