Welcome back Brewer fans! I know it's been a while, but I've had a rough winter. That coupled with the fact that other than signing Jeff Suppan, (what a great Christas gift that was!), there hasn't been much to write about.
But with the Winter Warmup last week, the countdown to Opening Day is officially on. Pitchers and catchers report to training camp in just a few short weeks, and April 2 can't come soon enough for me.
The Winter Warmup was the official introduction of Jeff Suppan and new announcer, Brian Anderson. Daron Sutton did get on my nerves a bit with the whole refusal to believe in the jinx thing, but he was a great announcer most of the time, and Mr. Anderson has some large shoes to fill. He seemed a little nervous after he took control of the Warmup broadcast, but that's to be expected, and I'm sure he loosen up with time. Just out of curiosity, what will become of the Buckethead Brigade?
Jeff Suppan, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber in his first official introduction to Milwaukee. I also thought it was extremely classy of him to show up in a suit and tie while the other guys' attire was substantially more casual. He presented himself very well, and seemed genuinely excited about being in Milwaukee. An indication that Suppan definitely wants to be here is a complete no-trade clause in his contract for the first two years, and he has veto power after that. That's definitely a good sign.
Suppan joins Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargus in a starting rotation that, dare I say it, looks to be one of the best in the National League. We have five solid, dependable starters, along with Carlos Villanueva waiting in the wings. I know it's been said before, but 2007 could be the year. Fingers crossed!
That's it for now. I mainly just wanted to let my four or five faithful readers know I'm still kicking. 76 days till Opening Day! Until next time, go Brewers!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Monday, October 02, 2006
Road Trips
I finally made the trip down to Wrigley Field this season, and although the Brewers lost, I still had a good time. I thought you all might like to see some of the photos. You can see them all here. I couldn't go to Wrigley and not get a photo in front of the famous sign!
I also just spent the weekend in St. Louis closing out the season. Again, the Brewers lost on Saturday, but they pulled out a win for me on Sunday, so at least I have one road win for the season.
As much as I hate to admit it, the new Busch Stadium is very nice. Very red, but very nice. Lots of open air spaces and padded seats! There are fantastic views of the Arch and downtown, and you can check out those photos here, as well as photos of my other adventures in St. Louis here.
Interesting At Bat
I thought you hard core baseball fans might appreciate this photo. As I'm sure all of you know, Barry Bonds hit a homerun at Miller Park that broke Hank Aaron's National League Homerun record . I don't typically take photos of opposing team members, especially ones I don't respect, but for some reason, I took this photo of Barry Bonds.
As it turned out, the ball in Cappy's hand is the one that ended up behind the centerfield wall. Which means this is the pitch that resulted in the HR that broke the NL record. Pretty cool, huh?
Wrapping It Up
Well the baseball season is over, at least for the Brewers. I can say that at least they ended on a high note, beating the Cardinals Sunday in St. Louis. Now the team, and the fans, look to 2007 and what our team will look like come April.
The biggest question seems to be Geoff Jenkins. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a Brewer uniform next season. He's owed $7 million for 2007 season, and I can't imagine who would take on that salary, considering his offensive slump this season. Then again, I can't see the Brewers paying some of that just to move him and open a spot on the bench. And honestly, it's not like his season was completely atrocious. Yes his numbers fell off, but I still think we haven't seen the last of Jenkins.
Another big question is Tony Graffanino. He said he wants to come back. Doug Melvin and Ned Yost want Tony to come back. The issue, from what I've read, is getting Graffy enough playing time. My prediction is that we've seen the last of Corey Koskie. He hasn't really shown any improvement since his July 5th injury. I don't know how long post traumatic concussion syndrome is supposed to last, but it's been three months already with no noticeable improvement. Assuming his contract is insured or the Brewers can otherwise get out of it, I think Koskie is gone.
So what to do about third base? What to do about shortstop, for that matter? Bill Hall has certainly shown he can handle shortstop, and has pretty much earned the spot heading into the off season. From what I've read, JJ Hardy is going to have to get the job back, because right now it belongs to Bill. So that means Bill probably won't be at third every day next season.
Rickie Weeks will be back at second, barring any new injuries, and Prince Fielder owns first. Tony Graffanino can play every infield position, even though he prefers second. Assuming Koskie is done, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tony at third next season. Or perhaps move Bill to third, JJ at short, and use Tony as a super-utility man. Either way, I really want to see Tony in a Brewer uniform next season.
Corey Hart seems a lock for the outfield next year, but he's the only one. Kevin Mench has struggled since coming to the Brewers, but Doug likes him, so he might get another shot. Tony Gwynn has done well in his time in the bigs, but I really think he needs a little more time in AAA.
Brady Clark is under contract for next season, but that doesn't mean he can't be traded away. His number weren't spectacular this season so he could be difficult to move. Then there's Gabe Gross, not to mention Laynce Nix. You know what? I'm actually just going to skip this, because it makes my head spin to consider all the possibilities for the outfield. I'll leave it to Doug and Ned and just wait and see!
As far as the starting rotation, I'm seeing Sheets, Davis, Capuano, Bush and Villanueva. Carlos has certainly proved that he can compete at this level, and has more than earned a shot at the starting rotation for next year.
I read that, mercifully, Dan Kolb will probably not be back next year. Francisco Cordero's option will most surely be picked up, as he has more than earned the closer's job. Assuming Derrick Turnbow can get his mechanics tightened up, he and Matt Wise will be great for the setup spot, leaving Rick Helling and Jose Capellan for middle relief. Not sure if Geremi Gonzalez will be back. Brian Shouse will almost certainly be back, used solely as a lefty specialist.
So those are my early predictions for next year. It will surely be an interesting winter as changes are made and the team starts to shape up. Only 181 days till opening day!
The biggest question seems to be Geoff Jenkins. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a Brewer uniform next season. He's owed $7 million for 2007 season, and I can't imagine who would take on that salary, considering his offensive slump this season. Then again, I can't see the Brewers paying some of that just to move him and open a spot on the bench. And honestly, it's not like his season was completely atrocious. Yes his numbers fell off, but I still think we haven't seen the last of Jenkins.
Another big question is Tony Graffanino. He said he wants to come back. Doug Melvin and Ned Yost want Tony to come back. The issue, from what I've read, is getting Graffy enough playing time. My prediction is that we've seen the last of Corey Koskie. He hasn't really shown any improvement since his July 5th injury. I don't know how long post traumatic concussion syndrome is supposed to last, but it's been three months already with no noticeable improvement. Assuming his contract is insured or the Brewers can otherwise get out of it, I think Koskie is gone.
So what to do about third base? What to do about shortstop, for that matter? Bill Hall has certainly shown he can handle shortstop, and has pretty much earned the spot heading into the off season. From what I've read, JJ Hardy is going to have to get the job back, because right now it belongs to Bill. So that means Bill probably won't be at third every day next season.
Rickie Weeks will be back at second, barring any new injuries, and Prince Fielder owns first. Tony Graffanino can play every infield position, even though he prefers second. Assuming Koskie is done, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tony at third next season. Or perhaps move Bill to third, JJ at short, and use Tony as a super-utility man. Either way, I really want to see Tony in a Brewer uniform next season.
Corey Hart seems a lock for the outfield next year, but he's the only one. Kevin Mench has struggled since coming to the Brewers, but Doug likes him, so he might get another shot. Tony Gwynn has done well in his time in the bigs, but I really think he needs a little more time in AAA.
Brady Clark is under contract for next season, but that doesn't mean he can't be traded away. His number weren't spectacular this season so he could be difficult to move. Then there's Gabe Gross, not to mention Laynce Nix. You know what? I'm actually just going to skip this, because it makes my head spin to consider all the possibilities for the outfield. I'll leave it to Doug and Ned and just wait and see!
As far as the starting rotation, I'm seeing Sheets, Davis, Capuano, Bush and Villanueva. Carlos has certainly proved that he can compete at this level, and has more than earned a shot at the starting rotation for next year.
I read that, mercifully, Dan Kolb will probably not be back next year. Francisco Cordero's option will most surely be picked up, as he has more than earned the closer's job. Assuming Derrick Turnbow can get his mechanics tightened up, he and Matt Wise will be great for the setup spot, leaving Rick Helling and Jose Capellan for middle relief. Not sure if Geremi Gonzalez will be back. Brian Shouse will almost certainly be back, used solely as a lefty specialist.
So those are my early predictions for next year. It will surely be an interesting winter as changes are made and the team starts to shape up. Only 181 days till opening day!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Ugly, Ugly and More Ugly
Last night I did something I've done only once before: I turned off the game in the disastrous 7th inning. And I even missed the worst of it. Once Derrick Turnblow walked in the 6th run for St. Louis, I had had enough. I decided to watch "Nip/Tuck" instead. It was much more gratifying, even though I would check on the game during commercials.
First commercial - score had gone from 6-2 to 8-2. Second commercial - 10-2. Third commercial - 12-2. I stopped checking after that and didn't turn back until after the game. I had seen enough to realize that once again, the terrible two (Turnbow and Kolb) had struck again.
The post-game was somewhat interesting. A reporter in the media room finally asked Ned Yost what I've been wondering since July. "How many times are you going to keep throwing Turnbow in there to lose games?" Exactly. How many chances does this guy get? How many losses does it take for Yost to realize that Turnbow isn't getting it back any time soon??
I guess Ned finally picked up the clue phone that had been ringing for two months because he said, in no uncertain terms, that Derrick would no longer pitch in games that were still winnable. Too bad he didn't get that clue weeks ago. I wonder what our record would be at this point if we had won all the games that were lost by Derrick. At this point in the season, I'm too lazy to go back and do the research. But I do know that we'd be a whole hell of a lot closer to .500 than we are now.
Once again, I am baffled by the hype surrounding Ben Sheets. I guess I should have been a fan in 2004 when he apparently had his breakout season, because I still haven't seen anything that justifies his bloated salary. But that's just my humble opinion.
Has anyone else noticed that the three starting pitchers who make the least money are the only ones who have been out there to take the ball every 5 days? Capuano and Davis have done it two seasons straight, barring any snafus the rest of this season, and Bush has been there every time it's been his turn. I wonder if that means that Cappy and Bush will start getting hurt once they start getting big money?
So the season that started off so promising will end dismally. Fan that I am, though, I will continue to go to games and support the guys, all the while telling myself, "maybe next year." Until next time, go Brewers!
First commercial - score had gone from 6-2 to 8-2. Second commercial - 10-2. Third commercial - 12-2. I stopped checking after that and didn't turn back until after the game. I had seen enough to realize that once again, the terrible two (Turnbow and Kolb) had struck again.
The post-game was somewhat interesting. A reporter in the media room finally asked Ned Yost what I've been wondering since July. "How many times are you going to keep throwing Turnbow in there to lose games?" Exactly. How many chances does this guy get? How many losses does it take for Yost to realize that Turnbow isn't getting it back any time soon??
I guess Ned finally picked up the clue phone that had been ringing for two months because he said, in no uncertain terms, that Derrick would no longer pitch in games that were still winnable. Too bad he didn't get that clue weeks ago. I wonder what our record would be at this point if we had won all the games that were lost by Derrick. At this point in the season, I'm too lazy to go back and do the research. But I do know that we'd be a whole hell of a lot closer to .500 than we are now.
Once again, I am baffled by the hype surrounding Ben Sheets. I guess I should have been a fan in 2004 when he apparently had his breakout season, because I still haven't seen anything that justifies his bloated salary. But that's just my humble opinion.
Has anyone else noticed that the three starting pitchers who make the least money are the only ones who have been out there to take the ball every 5 days? Capuano and Davis have done it two seasons straight, barring any snafus the rest of this season, and Bush has been there every time it's been his turn. I wonder if that means that Cappy and Bush will start getting hurt once they start getting big money?
So the season that started off so promising will end dismally. Fan that I am, though, I will continue to go to games and support the guys, all the while telling myself, "maybe next year." Until next time, go Brewers!
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