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The Brewers Will Be Back

Pat LackeyPosted Oct 5th 2008 9:04PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, NL Central

The conventional wisdom right now is that when the Brewers traded for CC Sabathia this June, they loaded up for a one year run at the playoffs. Both CC and Ben Sheets will be free agents after the World Series ends and losing those two from a rotation that finished the season up so poorly seems like an awfully daunting task. That's just a cursory look at things, though. A deeper look reveals something entirely different.

First off, all indications are that the Brewers will make a run at CC. They have some budget room with Sheets, Eric Gagne, and maybe Mike Cameron coming off of the books. Even if they can't keep pace with the Sabathia bidding (which seems likely), they should have in-house replacements in Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra. Gallardo has all the makings of a true future ace and looked fairly strong in his return from a torn ACL late in the season. Parra had a great two-month stretch from May through July this year and has nice minor league numbers. They're not Sheets and Sabathia yet, but most teams would kill to have two young pitchers like Gallardo and Parra.

Beyond that, the key components of their lineup will all be back next year and there's no reason to think that any of them are going to suffer any kind of appreciable drop in production. In fact, guys like Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Hart are all young enough that they should still be improving. They'll have five first round picks next year after Sheets and Sabathia sign elsewhere, and they should have a nice chunk of change to spend on free agents until Mat Gamel and Jeremy Jeffress are ready to help the big club. Don't count the Brewers out next year, just because Sheets and Sabathia are leaving at the talking heads are telling you to.

Gallardo Let Down by Brewers Defense

Andrew JohnsonPosted Oct 1st 2008 9:31PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, MLB Playoffs

When you look at the Brewers on paper -- say like when you're trying to make your playoff predictions -- it's easy to get lost in the glare of all the power they possess. Prince Fielder. Ryan Braun. J.J. Hardy. Corey Hart. There's a lot of pop in the lineup, even outside of the middle of the order.

All that raw power makes it easy to ignore the things that Milwaukee doesn't necessarily do well -- like play defense. The Brewers are decent up the middle, but weak on the corners in the infield. Mike Cameron is the only plus defender in their everyday lineup.

The irony, of course, is that Cameron's miscue hurt Milwaukee most in Game 1. His awkward misplay of Chase Utley's sharp liner, which took off in the whipping wind at Citizens Bank Ballpark, led to two Phillies runs. That was all the Fightin's needed with Cole Hamels dealing.

But those runs were set up by a more unforgivable sequence earlier in the third inning. After a leadoff single by Carlos Ruiz, third baseman Bill Hall bobbled Hamels' sacrifice bunt attempt, blowing a chance to gun down the slow-footed Ruiz at second. Then Rickie Weeks dropped Hall's throw at first, spoiling the consolation out and setting up Cameron's gaffe.

The Brewers probably didn't have much of a chance with the way Hamels was dominating, but they made it a moot point with their poor defense. The pair of miscues cost them runs and probably cost starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo, who was on a tight pitch count, an extra inning on the mound.

It's cliche, but you can't give a good team extra outs and expect to win. Milwaukee doesn't have the type of defense or the type of pitching staff -- save CC Sabathia -- where it can afford to make fielding blunders. If the Brew Crew doesn't sharpen its glovework, it's going to be a very short return trip to the postseason.

MLB Playoff Debates: Phillies vs. Brewers

Pat LackeyPosted Sep 30th 2008 3:30PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, Phillies, NL Central, NL East, MLB Playoffs


Every four years, Major League Baseball's postseason intersects with a presidential election. This is one of those years. In the spirit of the season, we here at MLB FanHouse have divided the playoff teams up for a series of debates. Here Pat Lackey and Mullet discuss the NLDS between the Brewers and Phillies.

Mullet: This series may turn out to be the least competitive of all the four first-round matchups out there. There are a lot of reasons the Phillies should take care of the Brewers in three or four games, so I'll start with this one: Brad Lidge is 41-for-41 in save opportunites this season. The Brewers bullpen, meanwhile, has Eric Gagne and Guillermo Mota. You've seen it as much as I have, bullpens win in the playoffs.

Pat Lackey: It makes me vaguely sick to my stomach to point this out, but since mid-July Eric Gagne has a 3.52 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He's not the Gagne of old, as his strikeouts are way down (17 in 23 innings over that span), but he's at least done a good job of keeping guys off of the bases for the home runs he inevitably gives up. The Brewers will likely turn to Salomon Torres in a pinch before either of the guys you named and until a couple hiccups down the stretch, he was very good this year.
Continue Reading MLB Playoff Debates: Phillies vs. Brewers

Brewers Ride Sabathia, Braun to Wild Card; Mets Choke Again

Pat LackeyPosted Sep 28th 2008 5:21PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, Mets, NL Central, NL East


With the Brewers and Cubs playing on WGN and the Mets and Marlins on TBS, the NL wild-card race played itself out in dramatic fashion for a national audience this afternoon. In a ten-minute span that gave every baseball fan in the country sore thumbs, three home runs decided the the final playoff spot in the National League this year. With both games tied entering the eighth innings, the Mets bullpen surrendured home runs to Wes Helms and Dan Uggla to fall behind 4-2. Immediately after that, Ryan Braun launched a two-run home run to the same spot he hit his walk-off grand slam earlier this week. Both scores held up, and the Brewers are going to the playoffs for the first time in 25 years.

The Brewers were carried today by CC Sabathia, who pitched on three days rest for his third straight start. Somehow, he's gotten stronger in each start and today he threw a complete game four-hitter, holding the Cubs to one run and giving the Braun and the Brewers' offense the chance they needed. He looked so strong today that manager Dale Sveum let him hit for himself leading off the bottom of the eighth inning of a 1-1 game with the season on the line.

The Mets, meanwhile, watched their season crumble at the hands of the Marlins for the second straight season. Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala served up the two key home runs today after Carlos Beltran had tied the game at two with a two-run homer in the sixth. The Mets put runners on in both the eighth and ninth, but couldn't find the game tying hit, clinching their second straight September collapse. That Omar Minaya extension looks brilliiant today, doesn't it?

Walk-Off Night in the NL Wild-Card Race

Pat LackeyPosted Sep 25th 2008 11:33PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, Mets, NL Central, NL East

It's a cliche if I say that tonight was a wild night in the NL wild-card race, right? Because as lame as that sounds, this was one crazy night for the Mets and Brewers. The Mets got things started by storming back from a 6-3 deficit with a run in the seventh, two in the eighth, and one in the ninth on a walk-off Carlos Beltran single. Apparently they thought that losing the wild-card lead because Mike Hoffapauir went 5-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs was as insane of an idea as it sounds.

The Brewers, however, wouldn't be outdone tonight. Yovani Gallardo made his return after almost five months on the shelf and sparkled in four innings, strikiing out seven Pirates and only allowing one run, thus proving that cynical bloggers don't always know what they're talking about. Still, the Brewers went into the ninth inning tied with the Pirates because they couldn't figure Zach Duke out. That set the stage for Ryan Braun to hit a walk-off grand slam (the Brewers' second walk-off in three games against the Pirates) and keep pace with the Mets. Wild.

The season is a three-game season now with the Mets hosting the Marlins in what could be the last three games at Shea Stadium while the Brewers host the Cubs at Miller Park. Whichever team misses the playoffs is going to be labeled as a choker, but they were both fighting that reputation pretty hard tonight.

From the Windup: The Brewers Have Pulled Out All the Stops ... but Why?

Pat LackeyPosted Sep 25th 2008 9:00AM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, NL Central


From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

The Brewers have had a wild few weeks. The standings might say they're tied with the Mets for the wild card, but they don't tell the whole story. It's well documented here and everywhere that the Brewers had a 5 1/2-game lead in the NL wild-card race on Sept. 1st and the whole thing was gone on Sept. 15th, which lead to Ned Yost's firing. Since then, the Brewers have been treading water and even with their near-epic collapse, they're still in the thick of things 10 days after Yost's firing.

So what's the deal in Milwaukee? Why did this team collapse? Can they still make the playoffs? What happens if they do? What happens if they don't? The Brewers don't generally come up in converstations about baseball's most enigmatic teams, but there's hasn't been any team that's more interesting or compelling than Milwaukee in 2008.
Continue Reading From the Windup: The Brewers Have Pulled Out All the Stops ... but Why?

From The Windup: The Cubs Are Going to Win the World Series

Tom FornelliPosted Sep 19th 2008 9:00AM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Cubs



I remember back in May 2005, the Chicago White Sox were off to a fantastic start to the season. Halfway through the month they had a 29-12 record, and a 5 and a half game lead over the Twins. Most people don't believe me when I tell them this, but at that point, I knew the White Sox were going to win the World Series that season.

I didn't care that they hadn't won a title since 1917, or that they had only played the first quarter of the season. I knew that 2005 was going to be the year. It was at that point that I went to an online betting site and put money down on it at 15-1 odds. I wasn't risking a large sum of money, for I wasn't making these big time blogger dollars at the time, but it was enough to make their eventual championship all that much sweeter.

Of course, I didn't view it as a risk. As I said, I knew they were going to win it all. I wasn't exactly sure what I saw in that team up to that point, but there was just this feeling about them, I guess you could call it swagger. I'm not even exactly sure just what the hell swagger means, but whatever it is, the White Sox had it that season. When they were down four runs going into the ninth inning, I still felt like they were going to win, and more importantly, so did they.

I haven't had that feeling about the White Sox since, and I don't have it this year. Of course, there's only one team in baseball that I do have that feeling about, and I've had it for a while, I just haven't found the courage to tell anyone about it.

Well, today is the day I man up.
Continue Reading From The Windup: The Cubs Are Going to Win the World Series

Eye Toward October: Sept. 17

Andrew JohnsonPosted Sep 17th 2008 2:05AM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Rays, Red Sox, Twins, White Sox


With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

- Chaos Reigns in NL: The Brewers firing their manager with two weeks to go in the season and the wild-card lead says a lot about the state of their club. But it also says plenty about the wild and wacky National League. A dozen days remain in the regular season, and anyone who tells you they can sort the senior circuit out is plainly lying.

The Dodgers and Cubs are almost certainly bound for the playoffs. Three principle teams -- the Mets, Phillies and Brewers -- are battling for the two remaining spots, but the Astros are within striking distance, and the Marlins, who still have Houston, Philadelphia and New York left on the schedule, even have a sliver of a hope

For now, the Phillies appear to have the edge in the NL East after rallying past the Braves and into first place. For now, the Mets appear headed for another collapse, done in by a rickety bullpen and an offense that can't seem to scrape out a clutch hit. For now, the Brewers appeared destined to wilt, no matter who is managing them.

But the Phils still have a spotty back of the rotation, New York still has Johan Santana and David Wright and Carlos Delgado and Milwaukee still has CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder and it showed plenty of fight against the Cubs Tuesday night. If the Brewers and Mets win and Philadelphia loses Wednesday, we'll know even less than we do now.

None of these teams are great, but just based on the sheer unpredictability of the races, the NL is about as entertaining as it possibly could be.
Continue Reading Eye Toward October: Sept. 17

From The Windup: NL MVP Race Wide Open, Aramis Ramirez a Dark Horse

Matt SnyderPosted Sep 3rd 2008 9:00AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Cubs, NL Central, MLB Awards, MLB Fans



From The Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Though it shouldn't be, as Brinson told us yesterday, the NL Cy Young race is likely a closed deal as things currently stand -- unless Brandon Webb keeps laying eggs. The Rookie of the Year race won't even be a contest with Geovany Soto running away with it. The MVP, however, is wide open.

In order to make sure we leave no stone unturned, let's examine the criteria. First of all, there are two predominant methods taken when people want to argue about MVP.

1. Bloggy/Spreadsheet Guy Who Never Played Baseball Method: Look at VORP. Whoever has the highest VORP should be the MVP, because the game of baseball isn't played on a field with human beings. It's played on a computer spreadsheet with robots that don't feel emotion or pressure.

2. Old, Stubborn Writer Guy Method: Check out the Triple Crown numbers for the everyday players on contending teams. If you have a 1.500 OPS and 200 steals and play Andruw Jones (circa 2003) defense on a last place team, you just don't count. You can't possibly be valuable to a team unless said team is good.
Continue Reading From The Windup: NL MVP Race Wide Open, Aramis Ramirez a Dark Horse

Ryan Braun Is Living the Good Life

Tom FornelliPosted Aug 9th 2008 7:28PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, NL Central, MLB Gossip, MLB Media Watch

There are a lot of reasons for men to be jealous of Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. First and foremost, there's the fact that he gets to play the game of baseball for a living while the rest of us can only watch it or play it on our XBox. Then there's the fact he gets paid money to do it, and a lot at that seeing as how he signed that eight year $45 million extension earlier this season.

Marisa Miller Snapshots

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Television personality Robert Verdi and model Marisa Miller attend a party hosted by Vans and Marisa Miller celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Television personality Robert Verdi and model Marisa Miller attend a party hosted by Vans and Marisa Miller celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Television personality Robert Verdi attends a party hosted by Vans and Marisa Miller celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Television personality Robert Verdi attends a party hosted by Vans and Marisa Miller celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Model Anya Kop attends a party hosted by Vans and Marisa Miller celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Model Anya Kop attends a party hosted by Vans and Marisa Miller celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Model Marisa Miller hosts a party with Vans celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Model Marisa Miller hosts a party with Vans celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Model Marisa Miller hosts a party with Vans celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - JULY 16: Model Marisa Miller hosts a party with Vans celebrating Vans by Marisa Miller at Cabana at the Maritime Hotel on July 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

    Getty Images



As if those weren't enough, here's the final nail in the coffin. While we spend our days off from work doing running errands or watching crappy reality television, Ryan gets to spend his shooting commercials with Marisa Miller. God I hate Ryan Braun.
On a sun-dappled Friday on the baseball field behind Brookfield East High School, Braun took on what even he admitted beforehand might be a more daunting task: trading lines with supermodel and magazine cover girl Marisa Miller in a viral video for a new Remington men's hair-care product.

"Aren't you baseball all-star Ryan Braun?" Miller said to Braun as cameras rolled and a large crowd of technicians, actors, aides, associates, gofers, spectators and hangers-on stood by quietly from a safe distance.
Continue Reading Ryan Braun Is Living the Good Life
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