View From Bernie's Chalet - Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Podcast & Blog

VFBC Podcast Episode 36 "Mike Fetters Edition"

2012-01-10T20:22:00.004-06:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Reaction To Fielder's Big Deal w/ Tigers 0:00-22:00
Break
Latest on Braun (Appeal, Accepts MVP Award) 23:00-40:00
Break
Aoki Signs 2 Year Deal, Expectations & Role 41:30-56:30
Break
News & Notes (Counsell Front Office, On Deck, Roster, Arbitration) 57:30-1:12:30

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2012-01-10T20:16:00.002-06:00

"Are you happy with the deal the Brewers signed Aramis Ramirez to?"

Yes: 80%

No: 20%

VFBC Podcast Episode 35 "Bill Castro Edition"

2011-12-21T21:38:00.002-06:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Latest on Braun Drug Test Situation :00-21:00
Break
ARam Signing/McGehee Trade 22:03-41:21
Break
Winning Bid for Aoki 42:22-54:11
Break
News & Notes 55:18- 1:10:14

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-12-20T17:41:00.001-06:00

"Do you believe Ryan Braun?"

Yes: 80%

No: 20%

Stand By Your Man

2011-12-13T19:18:00.006-06:00

I will never forget my close friend Aaron's 30th birthday party. Not just because it was landmark birthday for a dear friend of 10 years but because it was the night I felt like a kid again, when I learned their was no Santa Claus. That was my initial feeling and thought when a little before 7pm I seen the crawl at the bottom of ESPN on the muted TV flashed the breaking news. "Ryan Braun tested positive for PED's (of course ESPN called it PED's when in fact it was synthetic testosterone which is just a prohibited substance) in October and faces a 50 game suspension under the MLB drug testing policy." As people at the party were chatting and enjoying drinks and various hors d'oeuvres we quickly un-muted the TV to hear the horrible news. We were all in shock to say the least.

It wasn't long after that when the text messages and calls starting rolling in on my phone. Like I said, I was in shock, I felt like I just found out an awful secret that I never wanted to know. I felt, angry, mad, sad and almost betrayed all at once. But then I took a step back and thought about it. No way in hell Ryan Braun would do this. It's not possible. He is too smart, too good a guy and he would never let his family, friends, fans or the Milwaukee Brewers down like this. And I don't believe he did. Because something just is not right about this entire situation. And I plan to stand by Braun and feel he is innocent. I am fully in the #FreeRyanBraun movement that Vince at Miller Park Drunk has started. Even bought the shirt to prove it!

While Braun has not had a chance to speak publicly in a press conference yet because of the ongoing appeal, he has told people through text messages that it is "BS and he is 100% innocent." Various handlers of Braun have said the same. Saying things like "there has never been a case like this" and his positive test had very "unusual circumstances."

Another thing fishy about the test is that it found an insanely high level of testosterone, like too much for any human to have in their system. So it seems to be the entire situation is just not right. He did test positive, but the positive test seems to have a lot of oddness around it. And as soon as Braun was notified of the positive test, he asked for a retest. Sources close to Braun said the retest came back negative. However it is not clear if the retest was of the "B" sample of the original or a new sample that Braun gave at a later date. This is why people should not be jumping to conclusions that Braun is guilty. There is way to much stuff out there that points to his innocence and all the facts do not seem to be in yet. Not to mention the fact that Braun has undergone testing since he was drafted in 2005 and never once had a positive test. And that includes at least two tests during the 2011 regular season. So if you are one of the people calling for Braun to be stripped of his NL MVP award, just knock it off and come down from Mt. Pius. That is not happening nor should it.

Look, I might just be ignorant to the entire thing and I sure am a little biased. But I am going to stand by Ryan Braun through this ordeal and I do believe he is 100% innocent. Nothing he has done or said in his entire career point to him doing something like this. It's just not him. Everything he does he thinks about before he does it and is as smart and savvy as any athlete I have ever seen. So why would he take anything illegal or banned by MLB? And come on, Ryan even said it himself a few years back. If he took any PED's or steroids, he would hit 60 or 70 HR's. Last time I checked he never hit more than 37 in a season. Oh and one more thing, when Ryan is found innocent, I want those hacks at ESPN to issue public apologies and kiss Braun's ass. Fact is, none of us should know about this right now. Privacy was breached before this whole ordeal was wrapped up. It's bullshit. And expect Braun to play with a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder in 2012, monster year coming up and another division title for the Crew.

-Jason

Say Car RamRod

2011-12-13T19:03:00.005-06:00

Casey McGehee was dealt yesterday for Pittsburgh reliever Jose Veras, a move that no Brewers fan worth their salt didn't see coming. With the signing of Chicago's Aramis Ramirez Milwaukee found themselves without need of the 3rd baseman's services. Not only do I love this move, but Melvin proves me wrong again by pulling some great deals off these past couple days. After giving K-Rod his money, and signing mediocre shortstop Alex Gonzalez, I was worried that other areas, such as additional bullpen arms and the absence of a true clean-up hitter, would suffer. Now we made a 3 year $34-$37 million contract offer to Ramirez, and added much needed depth to our bullpen.

Jose Veras may not be a household name, but what he does do for the club is add another hard throwing righty into our pen. By adding Veras the Brewers now have 2 bullpen arms that can consistently hit 95 mph or better on the gun. Over the last two years Veras has also posted a positive WAR, had a K/9 of more than 10, and had a ground ball ratio hovering around 40%. Every indicator on paper says that this trade was a straight up steal by Milwaukee who only lost a backup third baseman at best. But, while Brewer Nation may be happy trolling through the Bucs forums is a different story. Most Pirates fans are not happy with this deal, but it was justified on their end as well, and they got more seasoned help for young corners Pedro Alvarez and Garrett Jones who struggled mightily last season.

I personally am slightly sad to see McGehee go. Not really for what his bat brought to the team, or his defensive prowess at third, but because I have loved this guys story from day one. Unknown infielder comes over to the Crew after being released by the Cubs, plays out of his mind, and becomes cemented into our hearts and the Milwaukee lineup after just killing Chicago every chance he got. Baseball activities aside McGehee was also a great person, donating time and money to charities close to his heart due to his son's condition. Even in June 2011 when Casey was batting .177 I defended him, and tried to make a case for Casey to rebound, sadly, as we all watched, that didn't pan out.

I guess the Brewers, and the resident's of the great state of Wisconsin, can say we took two good third baseman out of the quicksand of Wrigley Field with the inevitable signing of Aramis Ramirez to a 3 year deal. At first this is going to be a little strange for me, kinda like if we would have signed Jim Edmonds 4-5 years ago, but no one can deny that his bat is legit. We get about a match on the defense with McGehee, but his offensive numbers he puts up every year are on par with Casey's memorable 2010 season. Last season in 149 games the slugger batted .306 with 26 home runs and 93 RBIs. He has had four season in which he has hit over 31 home runs, but those days may be a thing of the past since he hasn't hit 30+ since 2006.

A-Ram serves two purposes since he not only fills a questionable position both in the lineup and in the field, but he also makes a weak and slowly sinking Cubs team that much weaker, and no matter what Epstein does this year I think it may be another 3-4 years before the the northsiders will be relevant again. Will A-Ram give us the power we lose from Fielder? No, but it's as close as we are going to get, and with Mat Gamel set to go at first we could see even better power numbers than last season with Prince if he can match even 2/3 of what he did in the minors. A-Ram also has a bit of an injury history to keep track of that may cause problems down the line.

So, Melvin appears to have done it again, and Milwaukee is setting up for a bright season. Hopefully it is not darkened by the cloud of PEDs and tarnished reputations. But, no need to dwell on the drakside since after the signings of both K-Rod and A-Ram, not to mention getting a mid tier reliever with a great breaking ball for next to nothing, Brewers fans have a lot on their plate this season, and we will see what RRR has up his sleeve. Now say car RamRod!

-Alex

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-12-12T21:30:00.002-06:00

"Would you approve of the Brewers signing Aramis Ramirez to a 3 year deal?"

Yes: 66%

No: 33%

Double Vision

2011-12-11T10:26:00.002-06:00

Doug "The Wizard" Melvin has been hard at work in these dark days of December. It's just too bad that his magic seems to have weakened this off season. With the signings of Alex Gonzalez and K-Rod fresh in my head I have to ask...why? Granted nothing could match the fireworks we got last year as word traveled around about lucrative pick ups, and head scratches, and long shot payoffs, but are the Brewers grasping at straws to try and hold on to a contending team after the loss of Prince? Straw number one for me would be the signing of Yuni's more agile, and older, brother Alex Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has had a spotty history at best with most of his employment coming because of his glove, not his bat. In 13 seasons Gonzalez has a batting average of .247, and even Kotsay is laughing at that number. But, the story gets deeper when you take into account the fact that he has a steadily rising K%, up 6% since 2009, the inability to take any walks, career average 4.8%, and a propensity to swing at outside pitches. Really stacked up back to back Yuni would be his offensive peer, and if we want to get really real historically Yuni and Gonzalez are only separated by .002 in career fielding percentage (FP).

I wanted someone other than the Cuban Ballerina too, but that doesn't mean that we just go and sign his doppelganger. Granted it is obvious that Gonzalez saves a ton more runs when we look at the vast expanse between Gonzalez and Yuni's UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating). UZR is compiled differently than FP in that it takes into account variables that get left out since FP is a simple formula, putouts and assists divided by putouts + assists + errors, while UZR will tell you how efficient the player is at turning 2, saving runs with their arm, and comparative stats against league averages. Yuni carries a -48.8 career UZR, and Gonzalez owns a career 44.3...only a small difference.

So, Gonzalez has at least proven to me on paper that we can expect the same level of production with better defense and I am OK, but not happy with this move. I am a lot happier with this than the handcuff/blessing K-Rod may or may not be. If Milwaukee brass finds a way to land a big hitter like Aramis Ramirez than my jets may be cooled, but for now I am simmering for a take off. With a group around the horn with not too much depth I worry that we are slowly turning into Oakland; great pitching, mid tier offense. We will see after the frozen tundra thaws if Melvin has a couple more tricks up his sleeve, that or Mr. Attanasio is gonna have to bring all his suits in to get the pockets let out.

-Alex

Scrap Heap Relievers To Mend The Brewers Woes

2011-12-05T22:39:00.003-06:00

The bullpen is dismantled after the departure of LaTroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito and Francisco Rodriguez. The Brewers still have stud closer John Axford, Kameron Loe and Marco Estrada, but outside of those key players from 2011, the Brewers do not have a good fix inside their system. A few remaining players that could star in the back end of the bullpen seem to be set to start in Nashville. Melvin prides himself in signing a diamond in the rough, so could he find a couple cheap fixes for the bullpen? Here are a list of injury plagued players and players who hit rough patches who many don’t expect the Crew to go after. Most of them are cheap options that can easily fill the big holes left.

1. David Aardsma- Aardsma, just 29, was a stud closer in Seattle whenever he could stay on the field. Despite much success, injuries plagued the young player and kept him from defining himself. Although he missed all of 2011, Aardsma had a great amount of success in 2009 and 2010. In ’09 Aardsma had 38 saves despite taking over for Seattle prospect Brandon Morrow part way through the season. In 2010, in just 41 innings before suffering his injury, Aardsma saved 31 games. The closer is not in the market to be the leader of a bullpen, but has proved he is very capable of being a setup specialists during his time backing up Morrow. With his recent injury history Aardsma could come in on a small incentive based contract and could fill the role K-Rod left at the end of 2011.

2. Joel Zumaya- Zumaya was once the closer to be prospect of the Tigers system. The flamethrower consistently hit triple digits and blazed away competition. He was always successful, with a career 3.05 ERA, Zumaya is another strong bullpen candidate that missed all of 2011. Zumaya is ready to throw, as he showed execs the other day during his personal demonstration, and strikes out major league hitters with the best of them. Zumaya is another player who would come in on an incentive based, maybe even minor league contract. Contention may drive up his price, but the Brewers chance at contention could make Zumaya attracted to Milwaukee. Plus, he’s only 27.

3. Pat Neshek- Neshek was once THE setup man of the American League. Setting up Joe Nathan, Neshek had two complete seasons with an ERA under 3.00 and striking out 9 or more per 9. Neshek then went through surgery, but could not return to form. Neshek hasn’t surpassed 25 innings in the last three years he’s pitched, and missed one year all together. However, the ability is still there, but control isn’t. Neshek does not seemed primed to get a major league contract, and coming in a spring training invite could prove impressive enough to make the bullpen.

4. Kerry Wood-Wood is one of THE bullpen FA’s going into 2011. The reason he is under the radar? Everyone expects Wood to go to the Cubs or retire, however, Wood just wants to stay somewhere, where his family is comfortable. Milwaukee’s close proximity to Chicago would not require him to take his family away from their comfort. They would also get someone who struck out 10/9 IP and walked 3/9. Wood is a great late inning reliever, and would cost some money, but may be willing to part with the Cubs if he stayed close enough.

5. Brad Lidge- If you could get as high profile a closer as they come, with as much explosion and injury risk as you could ask for Brad Lidge would be your man. I don’t know Lidge could be pulled away from closing duties, but he will most certainly be reliable if healthy. Lidge, pulled himself together in Philly, could he do the same in Milwaukee? The next best benefit of Lidge? He probably only wants a one year deal, if he is doing his normal performance come July, you could flip him to a contender if the Crew can’t compete.

6. Mike Gonzalez- Gonzalez was primed to be a closer. He was one of the top bullpen players, posting a 2.42 ERA in 70+innings for Atlanta. Gonzalez is a hard throwing lefty, who just lost his stuff. Location wasn’t a problem as much as he lost his ability to strike people out last season. Also, Gonzalez, allowing 1.8 HR’s per game last season was hurt by letting the ball out of the park. The Brewers need a lefty in the bullpen. Gonzalez can pitch against lefties, allowing a .217 career BA against them. Maybe a LOOGY role might be his best role, and the Brewers would be smart to buy when his stock is low. If he gets his pitches back together, Gonzalez could even pitch full innings, as righties never faired that well against him either… until 2010. In 2011 though righties hit .287 against him while lefties still only managed a .214 BA.

-Brad

My Hope/Realistic 25 Man Roster Prediction For 2012

2011-12-03T11:44:00.006-06:00

I have been contemplating posting a 25 man roster prediction for sometime now. Obviously, this early into the offseason it is hard to really pin down a good projection of what the club will look like. I mean hell, we have not even got to the Winter Meetings in Dallas yet. But with some recent rumors on players the Brewers are "in on" I have decided to come up with what I hope the roster looks like on Opening Day 2012. I like to think this is also a realistic option.

I see no way or no how that the Brewers re-sign Prince Fielder. It is a pipe dream and I wish they would just totally move on from him. In his place I think the best option is a Gamel/McGehee platoon at 1B. It is really now or never for Gamel and I think he deserves a shot. I go with McGehee in the platoon with Mat because I have the Brewers signing Aramis Ramirez to play 3B on hopefully no more than a 3 year deal. Aramis would slide right into the cleanup spot behind 2011 MVP Ryan Braun. At SS, the Brewers do not seem to want to give the amount of years Rafael Furcal or Jimmy Rollins seek or the amount of money Jose Reyes wants. With Clint Barmes already signed to the Pirates that leaves bringing back Betancourt or signing his offensive clone but much better glove man Alex Gonzalez. That seems like an easy choice, A-Gon all the way. On the bench I see them going with a younger better defensive backup Catcher in Martin Maldonado and resigning Jerry Hairston to serve as the #1 bat off the bench and a super sub that can play all over the OF and IF.

The starting rotation should be the exact same as it was in 2011 unless Doug Melvin has some kind of sneaky tricky trade up his sleeve. In that case the most likely arms to slide into the rotation would be either Michael Fiers or Wily Peralta. As for the bullpen I think the re-sign Saito over Hawkins and then go with all players that are already in house. I would not mind a trade for the White Sox Matt Thornton or signing someone like Frank Francisco, but assuming all the arms I listed below are healthy I think it is a damn good bullpen. Most of what I have heard is Braddock is recovered from whatever personal/mental issues he had and will be ready for Spring Training and same goes for Manny Parra and Brandon Kintzler and their physical injuries.

Of course a lot can happen between now and the start of Spring Training in Maryvale, AZ in February. But right now I think this would be a very good playoff contending club and it could be a realistic one based on the players, money and contracts.

Starting Lineup:

1. Corey Hart - RF
2. Nyjer Morgan - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Aramis Ramirez - 3B
5. Rickie Weeks - 2B
6. Mat Gamel - 1B
7. Alex Gonzalez - SS
8. Jonathan Lucroy - C

Bench:

Martin Maldonado - C
Jerry Hairston - IF/OF
Casey McGehee - IF
Taylor Green - IF
Carlos Gomez - OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Zack Greinke
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf
Chris Narveson

Bullpen:

John Axford
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
Zach Braddock
Manny Parra
Brandon Kintzler
Marco Estrada

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-12-03T11:25:00.001-06:00

"Who should be the Brewers #1 contract extension candidate?"

Zack Greinke: 71%

Shaun Marcum: 14%

John Axford: 14%

VFBC Podcast Episode 34 "Rollie Fingers Edition"

2011-11-22T22:32:00.001-06:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Ryan Braun, NL MVP! :00-18:59
Break
SS Search Update 19:54-37:19
Break
Greinke & Marcum Extension Talk 38:11-56:13
Break
News & Notes (40 Man Roster, Sveum, Melvin, Kotsay) 57:15-1:16:51

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-11-21T18:11:00.002-06:00

"What uniform do you think Prince Fielder will be wearing in 2012?"

Brewers: 0%

Cubs: 10%

Rangers: 50%

Nationals: 0%

Orioles: 20%

Angels: 0%

Somewhere Else: 20%

Where The Brewers Real Focus Should Be

2011-11-16T21:57:00.004-06:00

So we are to a point where the Milwaukee Brewers have done their usual nothing in free agency, much like many other teams, and as big offers go out to big free agents we have to wonder if the Crew will make a big move. If they do, fantastic, but it’s time to stop writing about the hopeful prospects of signing someone like Reyes and talk about what I believe the Brewers should focus on during this offseason.

For starters, the bullpen. One of the big reasons the Brewers were considered such a strong team in the playoffs was their shut down bullpen that ranked 5th in the MLB with a 3.32 ERA, that was much stronger in the second half. Right now the bullpen is a major factor, and can be fixed with a few pieces reassembled. Adding Saito or Hawkins will make for a strong 6th/7th swing man and then finding a power arm by trade, free agency or within the system will help. Still the bullpen could be even stronger with a few more pieces, and Melvin has always been very good at piecing these things together.

Plugging the holes is the next important thing. The obvious ones are there, SS, 1B but then the bench needs to be filled with some experienced starters. Melvin seems stuck on getting Hairston back into the lineup and I have no problem with that. I think 1B will be filled by Gamel and then sign an incentive contract for a 1B who is slightly past their prime, much to the history of Melvin. I think the outfield spot missing on the bench will be filled inside the system, and would love to see a cheap alternative come in at short for Yuni, most likely being Clint Barmes. As far as McGehee’s weak season goes, I think Green on the bench with a possibility of replacing or platooning with Casey would be a cheap resolution and there is your answer with the bench, filling all open spots.

Finally, and I consider this most important, resign at least ONE key starter. I think it is very important to extend this staff beyond the years it is together for. Marcum, Greinke and Wolf are free agents after the year. I think it is easy to let Wolf go, but Greinke and Marcum may leave in free agency. Yovani Gallardo will also leave the team in 2013, completely destroying the staff. I think the Brewers expect to lose two of the aforementioned pitchers internally. It appears they have a desire to get Fiers or Peralta into the rotation and condition them to be a successful part of the 2013 staff. The Brewers also have two first round college picks and Cody Scarpetta. The Brewers don’t have a great history in developing their own pitching talent, especially for the rotation. In fact the only strong success stories come from Gallardo and Sheets.

From my point of view, in order to remain competitive, the Brewers are obligated to resign one of Marcum, Gallardo and Greinke. I think the biggest deal comes in signing Gallardo. It seems like Yo only gets better and better, even though he doesn’t have much to improve. It looks like his value will only increase throughout the years. I would go into finer details, quoting WAR and ERA and wins, but any Brewer fan has noticed Gallardo’s increased dominance inside 4-6 shaky performances a year. If he can limit those big mistake games, Gallardo is going to be poised to make major money. Right now it appears he’s very under the radar and can probably be put on a 5 year contract for $80 MM or less, which is a deal for elite pitching.

Marcum and Greinke then would depart next year. I think Greinke’s comfort level will be increased if the team can compete again, but first the Brewers would need to have another good season, maybe even make the playoffs. Greinke appears ready to stay for comfort, but also wants money. Another playoff run could set the Brewers up for just that. In the coming years the only major piece outside of pitching the Crew will need to replace is Cory Hart, which appears to be easy with the depth of outfield depth in the system. The money can be placed into pitching without large concern in the future, and pitching provides ability to compete for years to come. Marcum will also be considered midmarket when he departs, so if Greinke were to depart, Marcum could probably still be locked in for a similar contract to Gallardo.

This is what I think the team should focus on over the next few months. Signing a few more players for the bullpen, filling the empty roles on the bench and finding a shortstop (everything else seems to be an inside job) and resigning at least one of the star pitchers on the team. Got any disagreements? Challenge me with a comment, and I will get back to you and tell you if you changed my mind or made me more passionate to my plan.

-Brad

VFBC Podcast Episode 33 "Bobby Hughes Edition"

2011-11-03T20:24:00.001-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

BBWAA and Blogger Awards Recap 00-17:06
Break
Minor Moves (Options/Outrights) 18:08-26:51
Break
Brad's Top 50 Free Agent Prediction List 28:19-48:08
Break
News & Notes 49:10-1:07:58

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-11-03T18:09:00.002-05:00

"Realistically, who is the best option at SS in 2012?"

Yuniesky Betancourt: 0%

Clint Barmes: 77%

Rafael Furcal: 0%

Jose Reyes: 11%

Jimmy Rollins: 0%

Jamey Carroll: 11%

Top 50 Free Agent Predictions

2011-11-02T14:51:00.004-05:00

Using the top 50 list from MLB Trade Rumors here is where I think the top 50 MLB Free Agents will land this offseason. Enjoy!

1.Albert Pujols-St. Louis Cardinals
I cannot imagine the Cardinals not shelling out the money to retain their franchise star. Pujols is the St. Louis Cardinals and much like Dan Marino or John Elway it’s hard to imagine him in any jersey but the one he started in. Along with that, I am not sure there is a need for him on any team that can spare the money.

2.Prince Fielder-Boston Red Sox
On the other hand, Fielder will need to go somewhere where his career will be long. Even though he wants to stay a defender as well, no general manager can place him there. The Red Sox can let long time DH, David Ortiz walk and sign a better one in Prince Fielder, who will give the Red Sox a new Big Papi and Manny when he combines with Adrian Gonzalez. It will be the best 3 and 4 combo the MLB has seen in nearly 50 years.

3.Jose Reyes-Milwaukee Brewers
To site the reason for this please see the 2012 wish list. Doug Melvin and Mark Antanasio are willing to spend money and will want to keep the offense competitive. There is nothing that would make a bigger impact out of resigning Fielder.

4.CJ Wilson-Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays want to compete and are doing so by having an amazing rotation. Wilson, although not a star, can back up the amazing talent coming from Toronto’s farm system. If he joins their staff they can make a mark on the east much like the Rays have the past few years.

5.Yu Darvish-Japan
Darvish doesn’t seem to want to come to America quite yet. I’m guessing this year will end the same as last, with Darvish in Japan, teasing MLB execs for one more year.

6.Edwin Jackson-Washington Nationals
Jackson is looking for somewhere that won’t trade him. He has had 6 teams in 8 years of his Major League career and I am sure wants to save some of his paycheck for himself rather than paying the movers. Washington is much like Toronto but not quite as competitive. They have proved they want to spend money on Free Agents and Jackson will love the guarantee to stay in one town.

7.Jimmy Rollins-Philadelphia Phillies
Rollins is frequently injured, aging, decreasing in ability and wants too much money. No one needs a shortstops that bad to take these risks, so I think Philly will get a discounted gift in retaining their long time shortstop.

8.Aramis Ramirez- Cincinnati Reds
Ramirez is still potentially an elite Third Baseman offensively. The Reds need offense at the hot corner. Collecting around 30 RBI’s off Rolen’s injury replacements last year and not able to rely on Rolen to be healthy year in and year out. Ramirez could be a big gain to the Reds and with a gain in the rotation could be a top competitor in the NL Central again.

9.Carlos Beltran- San Francisco Giants
The Giants need someone like Beltran, a leader and someone solid in the field and at the plate, Beltran can still play well in the corners in the outfield and well at the plate. He won’t be the MVP candidate again, but certainly can help the Giants get the few runs they need to win with their amazing staff.

10.Jonathon Papelbon- Boston Red Sox
Where else would Papelbon go? He is no longer one of the best closers, but is still good. The market isn’t that thick and Bell and Rodriguez might be the next best things, but cost more to bring into Boston. Heath Bell seems reluctant to leave San Diego and K-Rod will be looking to snag another record deal, but it won’t happen. Boston most likely need Pap to stay and close the door in the East.

11.Michael Cuddyer-Minnesota Twins
Cuddyer seems content to finish his career where he started it and the Twins should get a hometown discount at that. But Cuddyer could seek somewhere new with plenty of room in Right Field and at First Base, Cuddyer will have his pick after Pujols and Fielder sign.

12.Mark Buerhle-Florida Marlins
Buerhle the last few years has always spoken highly of comfort. He said he wanted to remain in Chicago, but Ozzie Guillen may draw him down south with him. This is a rough prediction since Buerhle seems to think that his family is best in the Midwest. I think he rather follow his manager and play with the always nagging Marlins.

13.David Ortiz-Seattle Mariners
The Mariners need to make a move, with the GM on the hot seat and the team sinking faster than the Titanic they might need to make a big move. I cannot see them grabbing a big name like Fielder, but Ortiz will be useful enough and cheaper so he can assist the Mariners in some way and probably finish his career in the West Coast.

14.Ryan Madson-Phillies
Again, the Phillies would be crazy to let this one go. Plus where else can Madson run off to? What other team will continually get him in the playoffs.

15.Hiroki Kuroda-Oakland Athletics
Kuroda will only survive in the DH role. The Athletics seem content to pay him decent money to sit there. He won’t go anywhere and I don’t think he wants to.

16.Carlos Pena-Chicago Cubs
Even with Theo in the front desk, I cannot see the Cubs snagging a top Free Agent. With Fielder and Pujols going somewhere else, Pena will stay in Chicago for a slightly cheaper fee than last year.

17.Francisco Rodriguez-Florida Marlins
The Marlins need a big name, and K-Rod will be that name. He wants to close, the Marlins have the opening and Guillen plans to make an impact.

18.Roy Oswalt-Texas Rangers
The Rangers lose one ace in CJ Wilson and sign an old Texas ace in Oswalt. Everything makes sense here.

19.Javier Vazquez-Retirement
Vazquez has clearly wanted to turn it in. Strong pushes show his cap will be hung up and he will no longer play anywhere.

20.Heath Bell-San Diego Padres
Bell wants to stay in San Diego. San Diego needs a closer, another thing that just makes sense.

21.Coco Crisp-Washington Nationals
The Nationals need speed and lots of it. Crisp can do that, and sometimes more.

22.Hisashi Iwakuma-Minnesota Twins
The Twins made an investment on Iwakuma and will want a return. For that they will need to bring back the middle infielder and hope he turns out to help them return to the playoffs.

23.Kelly Johnson-Detroit Tigers
Tigers need a little bit more power in their lineup. Johnson is a big time power middle infielder and may be what the Tigers were missing when the Rangers trounced them in the ALCS. I could see Johnson being what the Tigers think they are missing.

24.Josh Willingham-Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates almost had a winning season. In fact, for a while they even had a fan base. Willingham will help the offense, but the pitching still needs big time help. It doesn’t seem like the Pirates know that.

25.Paul Maholm-Seattle Mariners
As I said, most of the Mariners staff is feeling the heat. They will be drawn to Maholm’s big year, pay too much and get little reward. Maholm will fail in the AL, unless the Mariners strong defense can back up Maholm sinkerball performance.

26.Grady Sizemore-Tampa Bay Rays
I see the Rays making a big risk move here. I can see them sending Upton out of Centerfield over to another team and take in some strong prospect. Then they can sign a gold glove discounted centerfielder. It’s a high risk/high reward type of move, and the Rays could pay for it long term, but it could be the move of the year.

27.Bartolo Colon-Retirement
It always seems Colon will have a home somewhere, but I can’t see anyone biting on a small role pitcher like Colon. As useful as he can be filling in for an injured starter he is no longer full time, and will either get a minor league incentive contract or be done all together.

28.Erik Bedard-Boston Red Sox
Bedard is coming into the offseason uninjured which is amazing considering his history. I think the Red Sox loved what they got last year and want more of it. They will sign Bedard for a decent deal, and maybe for a few extra years.

29.David DeJesus-Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers will need some help in the corners. DeJesus can help and will keep the Dodgers offence at par with last year.

30.Jason Kuebel-Chicago Cubs
I can see the Cubs adding some proven outfield help after unsuccessful attempts with minor leaguers and bad contracts. Kuebel will add power in the hitter friendly ball park and could provide much more value than this.

31.Ramon Hernandez-Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have no more catching staff, they will need someone. Who better than Hernandez who proved to be a valuable fill in and can be a great starter. He will give the Pirates some much better veteran leadership that the young team needs.

32.Jeff Francis-Kansas City Royals
Francis found success in Kansas City, why not stay there and see where things go.

33.Chris Capuano-New York Mets
Same thing for Capuano. Sure the Mets are looking what they have in youth but with the comeback season Cappy had they might be foolish to not give him a second look at a bit more money this time.

34.Tsuyoshi Wada-Baltimore Orioles
It gets harder and harder every year to predict who is willing to take the huge risk of a Japanese prospect. The Orioles have nothing to lose by bringing in an unknown and maybe pulling away big in the process.

35.Clint Barmes-Houston Astros
The Astros may be starting over, but they will need something to make them a little secure somewhere. Barmes could be used a lot of places, but the Astors may need him more just for some security in their lineup.

36.Casey Kotchman-Milwaukee Brewers
With Milwaukee picking up Reyes, they will have enough offense, but Kotchman can provide decent power and a good average along with stellar first base defense. He will fill in for Fielder well if the Brewer do not go on with Mat Gamel at first.

37.Freddy Garcia-New York Yankees
Garcia proved very serviceable in New York. He is a solid starter and very valuable as a long reliever. The Yankees need one more person than Sabathia to be reliable. Garcia can do that, just not nearly as well.

38.Aaron Hill-Arizona Diamondbacks
If the Diamondbacks plan on repeating their success they will need Hill. A surprising contributor down the stretch he can play everywhere and the Diamondbacks still have question marks Hill can answer.

39.Johnny Damon-Tampa Bay Rays
Damon is almost done, but still has something left in the tank. He can still play a little left field and can be a solid DH for the Rays. They are very young, a little experience won’t do any wrong in their lineup.

40.Aaron Harang-Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have a good staff. Harang can make it great. He had a good year in San Diego, although a pitcher’s park Harang was once an ace, and we know he can be again. Having something to compete for in LA may give him the boost he needs to make the rotation the Angels have the edge they need to win the West again.

41.Jamey Carroll- Minnesota Twins
The Twins do need middle infield help. Carroll can give them one good year of service. Why not take him up on it?

42.Rafael Furcal-St. Louis Cardinals
I think the Cardinals consider Furcal to be the change they needed to move towards the World Series. If that is their belief that will make them stupid to not bring him back.

43.Juan Pierre- Oakland Athletics
What will the A’s do without something from the scrap heap. Pierre has some life in his speed and Oakland has always liked someone who can create runs. Pierre will do just that and help keep Oakland at nothing above average.

44.Frank Francisco-Milwaukee Brewers
Francisco has been known to give up a lot of home runs. He was also once a very valuable reliever. The Brewers need something that can replace K-Rod. Francisco is certainly no Rodriguez but he is a power pitcher and can help if he can limit the long ball.

45.Jason Marquis-San Diego Padres
San Diego may have an obsession with trying to return life to lost players. Marquis is just that. Maybe the playoff magic will return and the run the Padres made 2 years ago will be successful.

46.Joel Pineiro-Pittsburgh Pirates
He could compete in the Central in the ’09 but not in a system without Dave Duncan. The Pirates are looking for anything that will bring them a winning team.

47.Jonathon Broxton-Los Angeles Dodgers
Broxton had surgery, but before that was damn good. Why not let him stick around and be as big a contributor as he was in 2010.

48.Joe Nathan-New York Mets
The Mets love big names. Nathan would be the biggest name on the market two years ago in pitching this season. If he can bounce back from Tommy John surgery the Mets will be very happy with their non-aggressive but big return closer.

49.Kerry Wood-Retirement
The Cubs should bring him back, but I believe they are sick of the year in year out game. Wood was good, but I think it’s done.

50.Bruce Chen-Houston Astros
The Astros don’t have the prospects to fill a rotation without forcing someone into the bigs too soon. Chen is good, he won’t turn the Astros into winners, but maybe he will make them at least less bad.

-Brad

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-10-25T18:15:00.001-05:00

"What grade do you give Ron Roenicke for 2011?"

A: 37%

B: 31%

C: 12%

D: 6%

F: 12%

My 2012 Milwaukee Brewers Christmas Wish List

2011-10-23T20:50:00.002-05:00

So with the Brewers’ season over and the World Series at most a week from being completed, I am getting anxious for free agency to begin. I am constantly looking at the roster and areas for improvement, especially a few ways I think the team can make up for one big loss in Prince Fielder.

At this point I believe it is safe to say Prince Fielder is gone. I know management say they can make him a competitive offer, but there are teams with bigger budgets that will certainly be bidding the Brewers into a hole they cannot get out of financially. However the Brewers do have some pocket depth to deal with and may be able to make a bang financially in the market.

Now let’s stop with the introduction and get to the roster I would WANT to see in 2012 and the reasons I would love it. Below this is a more reasonable wish list.

1B: Mat Gamel
2B: Rickie Weeks
SS: Jose Reyes
3B: Taylor Green
C: Jonathan Lucroy
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Nyjer Morgan/Carlos Gomez
RF: Corey Hart
UTL: Casey McGehee, Jerry Hairston Jr., Logan Schafer, Martin Maldonado
SP: Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf, Wily Peralta
BP: Kameron Loe, LaTroy Hawkins, Marco Estrada, Chris Narveson, Mitch Stetter,
SU: Frank Francisco
CL: John Axford

Now, this is clearly a dream team and a lot of hope. The budget you save by having two non-arbitration players starting on your roster can open a lot up in your budget, including a star like Jose Reyes. If the Brewers can’t get Fielder, I think Reyes is an amazing second candidate to bring a star onto this offense. I think it’s safe to assume that Taylor Green can be as much an asset at third as McGehee was in 2011. His bat is electric, with great power and contact, and his defense is better than McGehee’s which will help. Reyes and Gamel will certainly be better than Betancourt and Fielder, not that either can replace Fielder, but Gamel can be a 20 HR player and a very good #5 hitter on a team while Reyes will be a ++++ replacement to Betancourt. If Peralta is at least a shimmer as good as he was in AAA he can already bolster a fantastic pitching staff. I see him as being comparable to Alexi Ogando and moves a versatile full inning lefty in Chris Narveson into the pen.

The oddest choice I see here was Frank Francisco as a set up man. My opinion here is formed from K-Rod as set-up last year. It’s nice to have a power closer as the 8th inning pitcher, but Francisco has shown some rust, but can still be an electric player. There are plenty of closers on the market that can fill a closers spot on another team, I see Francisco getting left aside and being a very cheap sign. He’s a good risk pick with high reward that and probably be easily replaceable. Otherwise I could see a AAA player replacing Francisco on the Bullpen roster with a trade off at the 8th inning much like the first portion of 2011. I see something like this being more successful and providing some insurance should Axford need time off.
That was my all time high for pickups in getting an all-star MVP candidate in Reyes, it would make the Brewers offense nearly as good as 2011 if not better depending on the performance of the Rookies at the corners, but I have strong belief that they could fulfill most of their expectations.

Here is my realistic hopes for the 2012 season:

C: Jonathan Lucroy
1B: Michael Cuddyer
2B: Rickie Weeks
SS: Clint Barmes
3B: Casey McGehee
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Nyjer Morgan/Carlos Gomez
RF: Corey Hart
Bench: Jerry Hairston Jr., Taylor Green, Logan Schafer, Martin Maldonado
SP: Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf, Chris Narveson
BP: Kameron Loe, LaTroy Hawkins, Marco Estrada, Mike McClendon, Mitch Stetter, Cody Scarpetta
CL: John Axford

So this is what I think can happen. Barmes is a cheap available starter that does not bring star power, but can easily replace Betancourt and be much better both offensively and defensively (then again so is anyone in the Majors you put at SS, including bat boys). Cuddyer is someone who can bring in a great bat that would put a dent offensively at the corner where Prince once sat. Cuddyer can hit near .300 and 20 bombs supporting a strong offense, and with the power that he’ll be around in Milwaukee could see large increase in RBI’s and runs scored.

I think the above roster is a decline in bull pen from last year, but otherwise just as formidable if not more than the 2011 Brewers roster, it may not have two MVPs but it certainly has a lot of boom for the buck, and Cuddyer will probably come cheap with the bidding war some teams may get in over Pujols and Fielder, where the Brewers can sneak in and get Cuddyer cheaply if the Twins don’t lock him down first.

It would be nice to have the first roster since on paper it looks a little better but the second roster is probably just as good and could still win a division and go far in the playoffs.

-Brad

VFBC Podcast Episode 32 "LaTroy Hawkins Edition"

2011-10-20T20:28:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Review of All Things NLCS :00-35:30
Break
Very Early Look at 2012 Team 36:20-58:49
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Final Chalet Award Winner 59:50-1:10:49

And Suddenly It Was Over

2011-10-17T20:49:00.005-05:00

As I watched the last few innings of game 6 last night with no real hope of a Brewers comeback in sight I was upset. I wasn't quite fuming with rage, but I was about as pissed off as I could be without screaming expletives and throwing things at my TV. I would say it was more like bottled up rage. I was trying to play it cool and keep it inside as I was watching the game with my wife, who hates when I yell and scream at the game and my friend, who always plays it cool. The NLCS started with an exciting game 1 that the Brewers won at Miller Park and I felt about as high and confident in the team as I had all season, and that is saying something. But that high and confidence did not last long as the team played pretty awful the rest of the series save for Randy Wolf's outstanding game 4 performance at Busch Stadium.

Then Mark Kotsay was called upon one more time by Ron Roenicke to pinch hit in the 9th inning of game 6 and as I watched him strike out to end the game I came to the realization that I had watched the last out the Brewers would make in 2011 and it was going to be a long winter thinking about what happened in this series and what could have been. But maybe more importantly it was going to be another long, cold and snowy Wisconsin winter before I get to see the Brewers play baseball again. And that might be more depressing than losing the NLCS in 6 games at home to the hated St. Louis Cardinals.

When I went to bed after the game I figured I would wake up today still feeling angry about the way things ended. Specifically the starting pitching, the defense, Braun & Fielder's lack of hitting vs the Cardinals and of course Ron Roenicke's decision to start Shaun Marcum for a third time after he had been destroyed his previous two starts and clearly had NOTHING left. But to my surprise I woke up with a different outlook. I felt much more sad and disappointed in the way the season ended, but joy over the thought of the journey. The biggest reason is I remembered all the awesome things that happened to the Brewers in 2011. Of course years down the road when Brewers Nation talks about the 2011 team it will always be brought up how they lost the NLCS to the Cardinals.

But Brewers Nation will also talk about clinching the NL Central Division title at home, I was there and it was amazing. Brewers Nation will also talk about the thrilling game 5 victory in the NLDS, I was also at that game and it was an absolutely insane moment I won't ever forget. Sharing that with my wife our friends and a bunch of random strangers was incredible. Brewers Nation will also talk about the franchise record 96 wins, Braun and Fielder's MVP caliber seasons, all the great pitching performances from Gallardo/Greinke/Marcum/Wolf/Narveson, Fielder's All-Star MVP, Axford's amazing season, the K-Rod trade, the SI cover, all the highlight reel catches in CF from Gomez, Jerry Hairston's hot postseason, everything Nyjer Morgan/Tony Plush did, all the beast mode stuff and so many more things I can't think of now but when I hear them I will say "oh yeah! That was awesome!"

So while the ultimate goal for the Brewers was not reached, that should not take away from what was one of the best seasons in franchise history. It was an incredible ride and with Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash and even Ron Roenicke leading the charge I like the clubs chances of sustaining success and making more trips to the playoffs in the upcoming years.

-Jason

NLCS Game 4 Preview UPDATED

2011-10-12T20:06:00.004-05:00

Who: Brewers (Randy Wolf) vs Cardinals (Kyle Lohse)
When: Thursday October 13th at 7:05 pm CST
Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis, MO
TV: TBS
Radio: 620 AM WTMJ/540 AM ESPN

Must win. Well, technically game 4 is not a must win for the Brewers in that if they don't, they won't be eliminated. However, if the Brewers can't pull out a game 4 win over the Cardinals they will find themselves down 3-1 and would have to win 3 in a row over a very hot Cardinals team to win this series. It wouldn't be impossible, but it sure is not something they would want to have to try. This series becomes a series again if they can pull it to 2-2 because it would guarantee that the series would head back to Miller Park for game 6 and possibly a game 7.

Randy Wolf pitched awful in his NLDS start vs the Dbacks. His start was on par with the two awful starts by Shaun Marcum in these playoffs. However, Wolf did have some pretty good success vs the Cardinals this season going 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA. Something positive the Brewers can hang their hats on going into game 4. I know it is a simple formula, but I think the two biggest keys to tonight's game, besides NOT starting Mark Kotsay in CF, is to score early vs Kyle Lohse. Get a lead and get some confidence going. Couple that with Wolf tossing a scoreless 1st inning. That has been hard for Brewers starters this postseason. If Randy can do that, maybe string together a few scoreless to start the game I think the Brewers will be in a great position to win tonight.

Roenicke rolled the dice on Wednesday night by making the ridiculous decision to start Mark Kotsay in CF. Now in fairness, Mark did walk twice and hit a solo HR. But his base running mistake and two misplayed balls in the 1st inning were unforgivable. Kotsay was not alone in misplaying a ball in the outfield though, Corey Hart misplayed a ball hit by David Freese that looked like a routine fly out. Hart is not playing well in the field, not hitting and he just looks very slow in everything he does. My hope is that if Roenicke was willing to put Kotsay in CF last night that he will be willing to bench Hart tonight in favor of Kotsay or play Gomez in CF and Morgan in RF. It at least makes the defense better and who knows, maybe brings more offense as neither of those three can hit any worse then Hart is right now.

Just get the series back to Miller Park and good things can and will happen.

-Jason

UPDATE: Just tweeted what I found on Baseball Reference, in Randy Wolf's last two starts at Busch Stadium: 2-0, 16 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB, 0 HR. Comforting. Here is to another stellar outing at Busch for Randy!

NLCS Game 3 Preview

2011-10-12T07:58:00.008-05:00

Who: Brewers (Yovani Gallardo) vs Cardinals (Chris Carpenter)
When: Wednesday October 12th at 7:05 pm CST
Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis, MO
TV: TBS
Radio: 620 AM WTMJ/540 AM ESPN

So we have it. The Brewers and Cardinals are split 1-1 going into the game tonight, just like how they split the season. The story today? Aces take the mound and try and get a huge advantage.

This game could not be more important for the Brewers after getting bowled over by St. Louis on Monday. Milwaukee has gotten beaten up on in the playoffs, even under the normally steady hands of the Shawn Marcum. It cannot help their confidence to lose as handedly as they did at home. The only good outcome from game 2 was that the Brewers didn’t give up a Grand Slam.

Now it is up to Yovani Gallardo, who has been outstanding so far in the post-season. However, much like how the Diamondbacks were a team the Yo saw his best success; the Cardinals are a team that has shown Gallardo the worst. In 11 starts, Yovani is 1-7 with a 5.66 ERA. Very uncharacteristic of the pitcher that led the team in wins. This year held true to form for Yovani as he went 1-4, getting his very first win against the Cards and a 5.70 ERA.

Yovani can succeed however. The pitcher is known to rise to the occasion in times of need, as proven when Yo has a 2.06 ERA during August, possibly the biggest month of the Brewers stretch and ended the season on an incredibly good note. Yovani showed against the D-Backs that even when he doesn’t have his best stuff he can succeed when the Brewers need him. (Oh and in 21 Post-Season Innings, Gallardo has a 0.86 ERA.)

On the other side we see Chris Carpenter. Carpenter’s numbers regressed this season but that does not make him any less dangerous as he proved in the NLDS. Carpenter had a very rough Game 1, where the Phillies were able to overcome a very early 3 run deficit in the first inning against the Cardinals ace. However, in Citizens Bank Park, facing the best team in the NL against a former Cy Young winner and strong candidate this year, Carpenter rose to the occasion throwing a shut out to lock the Cardinals in for a series against the Brewers.

Carpenter, life time has put up decent, but not ace like numbers against the Brewers since his major league debut. In 15 starts he has gone 6-6 with a 4.58 ERA. This year’s number was a little better, going .500 again with an ERA under 4.

The key to the Brewers winning? Score early. Gallardo works very well with a lead, as do most pitchers, but Gallardo will need everything he has to win this game. Time and time again St. Louis has proved it can handle what the Milwaukee Ace is delivering. If the Brewers can get to Carpenter, they can really do damage to a weak Cards bullpen.

Yovani will need to watch Pujols. It seems the normally dangerous Alberta has turned on his post-season magic yet again and is twice as dangerous as normal. Walk Pujols, or limit him with runners on.

This series is not over, and I suspect it to be an intense tug of war type of match up. As proven during the series, these teams can win against each other, any time, any place, any way.

-Brad

NLCS Game 2 Preview

2011-10-10T12:13:00.005-05:00

Who: Cardinals (Edwin Jackson) vs Brewers (Shaun Marcum)
When: Monday October 10th at 7:05 pm CST
Where: Miller Park Milwaukee, WI
TV: TBS
Radio: 620 AM WTMJ/540 AM ESPN

The guy who makes those terrible wigs La Russa calls hair must be working overtime after last nights blowup by the Brewers in the 5th in game one of the NLCS. Total team effort and home runs from Fielder and Yuni B. gave the Crew the lead after being down 2 against Jaime Garcia. Greinke scuffled to gain control of the game until he got the lead, then settled in enough to get the job done in the end, and pulling out yet another win at home backed by huge run support. The real key to this game and it's impact on Game 2 will be the Cardinals use, or over use, of their bullpen, which seemed to have someone new warming up every inning.

It took the Cardinals six pitchers to get through the game after Garcia was chased after not recording an out in the 5th. In comparison the Brewers where able to use just 4 pitchers, and keep their bullpen ready for today's game. This mismanagement of pitching, and the fact that none of their relievers got through clean innings save Rzepczynski, gives Milwaukee the edge in a game that features a pitcher in Edwin jackson that has a history of being on or very off. While his last start against Milwaukee went well, only giving up 1 run in 7 innings, this is the post season. Jackson got into a groove getting to face .500 or below teams, and now he has serious pressure to perform at a high level that he may be uncapable of.

In almost 200 innings between STL and TOR, Jackson has senn his K/9 dip from previous years to 6.67, which, given he is in essence a power pitcher, seems odd. He has posted up his best WAR over the past two seasons, each time it was 3.8, so Jackson may finally have found his style of pitching and is working hitters more than just trying to wildly strike someone out. Paralleling him is Marcum, who after a very successful season is trying to win his 1st post season game.

Marcum is as solid as you can ask for. Up until September Shaun was the go to guy to get a win on the road, but his recent scuffles coming into the post season have left a bad taste in some Brewers fans mouths. But, how can you be nervous of an alrady established pitcher who has beat his career averages in BB/9 (2.56), HR/9 (0.99), ERA (3.54), and FIP (3.73) as well as finally breaking the 200 inning plateau. The two guys pitching tonight are a wash almost with the slight edge given to Marcum. The only way Jackson will find a win tonight is if he gets Milwaukee to hit a lot of ground balls (43.8 GB%) and keeps them off balance enough to be able to eat innings.

With a righty on the mound we should see Morgan back in the two hole, and with the way Hairston is swinging the bat the bottom of the order will be happy to have him slide into 6th. The key to the Brewers winning today will be to get after Jackson early and throw him off his game. Patient eyes will be a huge factor since Jackson can put some serious movement on some of his pitches. If they get to him early La Russa will have no choice but to dip into that pen again, which will set up a great opportunity Game 3 against their best pitcher. The pressure is on the Cardinals to win, but beast mode may have to pop their bubble and send them on packing to St. Louis.

-Alex

NLCS Game 1 Preview

2011-10-08T14:32:00.004-05:00

Who: Cardinals (Jaime Garcia) vs Brewers (Zack Greinke)

When: Sunday October 9th at 3:05 pm CST
Where: Miller Park Milwaukee, WI
TV: TBS
Radio: 620 AM WTMJ/540 AM ESPN

"Shit just got real". That is what I tweeted after the Cardinals defeated the Phillies last night to set up this epic rematch of the 1982 "Suds" Series. 29 years after the Cardinals defeated the Brewers in 7 games to win the World Series the two teams will meet in the NLCS for the right to represent the National League in the World Series. While this matchup is certainly not what Yankees vs Red Sox is on a national level, it is a very heated rivalry that could produce the type of intensity and drama that those two teams have brought to numerous ALCS'.

These teams do not like each other. It is clear. LaRussa and the Cards have had issues with the Brewers pretty much since the Braun/Fielder era began. The Cardinals do not like swagger. They consider themselves the police of baseball, the keepers of the unwritten rules and are to "classy" to actually enjoy the game and have fun, much like their fans. They hated the Brewers "untucking" after wins 2008 and 2009 and things have only gotten worse with the Brewers adding Nyjer Morgan this season the whole "beast mode" celebrations. The rivalry came to a boiling point in their final regular season meeting when Morgan and Chris Carpenter exchanged "fuck yous" and Albert Pujols decided to run in and start shit, the benches cleared but no physical altercations occurred.

When the playoffs started many people could see this matchup happening and hoped for it. Two very good teams who don't like each other meeting in a 7 game series for the NL pennant. It has classic written all over it. As Bart Scott of the Jets would say: "CAN'T WAIT."

Since both teams had to use their aces (Gallardo and Carpenter) in game 5 of their NLDS games they will not be available in game 1 of the NLCS. Instead Roenicke and LaRussa have to go to their number 2's, Zack Greinke will toe the rubber for the Crew and Jamie Garcia for the Red Birds. Greinke has been incredible at Miller Park for the Brewers. They did not lose a single start he made their all season. On the year Greinke was 16-6 with a 3.83 ERA in 28 starts, 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA vs the Cardinals. The most impressive stat for Zack was his 10.5 SO/9 that led the NL. Jamie Garcia like Greinke had a very good 2011 campaign. He went 13-7 with a 3.56 ERA in 32 starts, 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA vs the Brewers. The Brewers the past two years have struggled to hit and score runs vs Garcia, it will be important to score early and get to him before he settles in. Unlike Zack, Jaime is more of a pitch to contact pitcher.

The season series between these two teams was split at 9 games a piece. They are about as evenly matched as two teams can be and they obviously know each other very well. I expect a grind it out series that will go the full 7 games. With the home field advantage I have full confidence that the Brewers will pull it out and advance to the World Series.

-Jason

VFBC Podcast Episode 31 "Dave Bush Edition"

2011-10-06T21:18:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

NLDS vs Dbacks "Good, Bad & Ugly" :00-19:51
Break
Prospects At Arizona Fall League 21:09-30:18
BReak
NLCS/ALCS Previews/Predictions 31:11-44:36
Break
Preview/Chalet Award Winner 45:27-56:54

VFBC Staff 2011 NL Award Ballots

2011-09-30T18:10:00.006-05:00

Jason

NL MVP:
1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Justin Upton
4. Prince Fielder
5. Joey Votto
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Clayton Kershaw
8. Albert Pujols
9. Roy Halladay
10. Jose Reyes

NL Cy Coung:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Roy Halladay
3. Cliff Lee
4. Cole Hamels
5. John Axford

NL ROY:
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Wilson Ramos

Alex

NL MVP:
1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Prince Fielder
4. Clayon Kershaw
5. Albert Pujols
6. Roy Halladay
7. Joey Votto
8. Cliff Lee
9. Justin Upton
10. Craig Kimbrel

NL Cy Young:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Roy Halladay
3. Cliff Lee
4. Ian Kennedy
5. Cole Hamels

NL ROY:
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Brandon Beachy

Brad

NL MVP:

1. Ryan Braun

2. Matt Kemp

3. Prince Fielder

4. Lance Berkman

5. Troy Tulowitzki

6. Albert Pujols

7. Justin Upton

8. Joey Votto

9. Shane Victorino

10. Clayton Kershaw

NL Cy Young:

1. Clayton Kershaw

2. Roy Halladay

3. Cliff Lee

4. Ian Kennedy

5. John Axford

NL ROY:

1. Craig Kimbrel

2. Freddie Freeman

3. Vance Worley

VFBC Podcast Episode 30 "Matt Mieske Edition"

2011-09-29T21:19:00.002-05:00

This was recorded Thursday night. Should have been up for all to enjoy on Friday morning. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties with the file, but it is all fixed and ready to play here or download on iTunes. Thanks again for the support. Go Brewers!

Breakdown of The Show:

Division Champs! :00-20:54
Break
ALDS Preview/Predictions 22:05-45:20
Break
NLDS Preview/Predictions 46:40-1:09:49
Break
Preview/Chalet Award Winner 1:10:44-1:18:56

25 Man NLDS Roster Prediction

2011-09-25T21:19:00.011-05:00

Because I just love predicting rosters so much, here it is. To me the only two hard decisions are the last bench spot which I think comes down to Josh Wilson or Taylor Green and could go either way but I think you go with another lefty bat, specifically one with some power. Second hard decision is the final bullpen spot, which probably comes down to Estrada, Dillard or De La Cruz. I think Marco gets the nod there because of the experience factor. Of course they could end up only keeping 6 pitchers in the pen and going with an extra bench player which would probably mean both Wilson and Green make the roster. Interesting decisions for the brain trust.

Starting Lineup:

1. Corey Hart - RF
2. Nyjer Morgan - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Rickie Weeks - 2B
6. Casey McGehee - 3B
7. Yuniesky Betancourt - SS
8. Jonathan Lucroy - C

Bench:

George Kottaras - C
Jerry Hairston - IF/OF
Craig Counsell - IF
Taylor Green - IF
Mark Kotsay - OF
Carlos Gomez - OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Zack Greinke
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf

Bullpen:

John Axford
Francisco Rodriguez
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
LaTroy Hawkins
Chris Narveson
Marco Estrada

-Jason

Episode 30 Coming Thursday Night

2011-09-25T20:47:00.004-05:00

We will not be recording episode 30 on our normal Monday or Tuesday night schedule. Going to wait till Thursday night when we know all the playoff details, should be up late that night or early Friday morning. Will have a full playoff preview on the agenda and of course our reaction to the thrilling division clinching win on Friday night which yours truly attended. As you can imagine, it was one of the most amazing nights of my 29 year lifetime. In the meantime I will have my 25 man NLDS roster prediction up on Monday sometime, so look for that if you so choose. Thanks again from Alex, Brad and myself for listening/reading. We appreciate it. Go Brewers!

-Jason

VFBC Podcast Episode 29 "Chris Bosio Edition"

2011-09-20T22:06:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Braun joins 30/30 Club, Batting Title/MVP Ahead? :00-16:17
Break
Lining Up Playoff Rotation 17:32-31:46
Break
Minor League Wrap 32:33-49:40
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 50:39-1:03:33

VFBC Podcast Episode 28 "Prince Fielder Edition"

2011-09-15T20:12:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

K-Rod and Fielder Stir Pot With Comments:00-16:14
Break
Rickie Weeks Returns To Lineup/Impact 17:25-30:02
Break
Casey McGehee, Human Rally Killer, Time To Bench? 31:34-45:08
Break
Preview/Chalet Award Winner 46:44-56:24

The Pregame Speech The Brewers Need

2011-09-10T10:02:00.004-05:00

Last night Brewers.com writer Adam McCalvy tweeted something about this coming weeks season finale of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", the greatest comedy on TV. I tweeted him back that perhaps the Brewers brass should bring Yari in from "Curb" to give a pregame speech much like the one below from last weeks episode. Maybe this motivation could get the Brewers to string some wins together and clinch this damn division. Got to keep this nice in lose when the team goes through a rough patch like they are right now. Larry David definitely knows how to keep it loose. Enjoy!

Milwaukee's Survivorman

2011-09-07T20:16:00.002-05:00

Les Stroud could learn a thing or two from Milwaukee's talented young backstop Jonathan Lucroy. Not only has he found success this year in the big leagues, but he has survived hitting in the virtual wasteland that has been the bottom of the Brewers order at times. Production has been scarce being surrounded by the likes of Mark Kotsay, Carlos Gomez, Yuni B, and a strewn field of other pinch hitters, pitchers, and wayward bats. But, through it all Lucroy has managed a very productive season, making the times the other hitters find water in the desert that more effective.

Starting with McGehee the bottom of the order has been trying to find it's way this year. Some bats like Casey (.237) and Yuni (.252) have had success in small doses, each contributing 121 RBIs to the Brewers game. Each have been efficient at times, but each have still gone on long slumps where it seems that each at bat is another out, or more. Mark Kotsay (.260) has been the marginal hitter we all knew he would be, and Carlos Gomez's .215 average isn't helping anybody out. The only bat that has had success around Lucroy is Nyjer Morgan, but now he has cemented a spot in the two hole, and Lucroy is once again left to tow the line.

Through all the roster tweaks, and player shuffles Lucroy has still managed a .278 average, and 56 RBIs, over 381 at bats in 2011. Much of his production is due to a very healthy line drive rate (24.4%) and a very luck driven swing with his BABIP sitting at an unholy .335. This is nothing new though. Lucroy has posted BABIPs and averages higher than he has this season in the minors while striking out less. The sharp rise in K% from 14.8% in his first big league season in 2010 to 21.5% this year may have everything to do with it being his first full season of work at starting catcher. He is handling a top level pitching staff, and is playing one of the most physically demanding positions in baseball. But, Lucroy may just be pressing at times because of the hitters around him, and the opportunities he has.

This should be the beginning of a long illustrious career for the Brewers catcher. With 11 home runs this season so far he could be a possible 15-20 guy next year. What he will have to work on is his eye and taking more walks, but that will come with maturity. Because Lucroy has always maintained a good batting average when given regular time he won't hurt the Crew there as long as his contact rates don't continue a downward trend. With steady rises in OBP, and maintaining an edge of power, Lucroy should continue to find success in Milwaukee. So, the next time you think we are stuck in the desert remember that Luke will lead us to water, even if we are far from home.

-Alex

VFBC Podcast Episode 27 "Brady Clark Edition"

2011-09-06T21:31:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Road Woes Gone :00-12:49
Break
11' Brewers Similar to 04' Red Sox 14:01-29:53
Break
Starting 5 all 10+ Wins 31:10-42:58
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 44:15-56:22

Milwaukee's Four Aces

2011-08-31T19:28:00.003-05:00

At the beginning of the MLB season, there were rants and raves around the baseball world about the pitching staff in Philadelphia. After all the Phillies had a formidable staff starting with one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last 20 years in Roy Halladay and followed it with Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Phillies’ homegrown ace Cole Hamels. It’s hard to argue against the idea that this set of pitchers is one of the most complete staffs that has been seen in baseball. The Phillies have three legitimate Cy Young candidates and are currently the best team in MLB as far as wins go.

The Brewers were considered the second best staff but were a staff of more than capable two slot starters. And Milwaukee and Philly both filled those roles well heading into the All-Star break, but something happened to Milwaukee that changed the shape of pitching in the NL around the break, the addition of Francisco Rodriguez. Since that point it seems that the Brewers starters have a new determination to pitch above their ability on paper and carry leads into late innings where a fierce Brewer bullpen has made it near impossible for teams to put a dent into the Brewers team ERA past inning 6.

Since the All-Star break, the Brewers actually have the best team ERA in the MLB at 2.89, where Philly sits at 3.27. Granted the dominate bullpen has assisted that ERA to become the best in baseball since the middle of July, but the Brewers staff has certainly assisted that mark helping the team go 32-11 in that mark (6 wins better than Philadelphia).

Possibly the only thing making the Brewers better than K-Rod could have done, is the absolute dominance by ace Zack Greinke. Greinke’s second half numbers have been past astounding, with a 6-2 record and a 2.35 ERA despite a 7 run outing, he has been the Major League’s best pitcher during that time, making it feel like a second coming of CC Sabathia in Milwaukee, carrying the Brewers down the stretch into the best playoff run in franchise history. Greinke’s absolute destruction of oppositions can be shown at his impressive 1.01 WHIP and .208 Opponents BA.

Greinke has even been better than the ungodly destructive Roy Halladay. Halladay, although nearly as good carries a 4-2 record with a 2.91 ERA, .6 points above Greinke’s in that same time span. Halladay has been a bit more touchable during that time with a 1.17 WHIP and a .271 opponent batting average. Halladay is a notorious inning eater as a pitcher, but has 20 innings less than Greinke since the break in one less start.

The rest of Milwaukee’s staff has been fantastic in the same period. Yovani Gallardo has carried a dominant line of 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA, 54 K’s in 59 IP and a WHIP of 1.02, marking his territory as the second ace in the Brewers’ staff. Randy Wolf has carried a stunning line of 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 55.1 innings. While Shawn Marcum, the hero of the first half for Milwaukee has a pedestrian (in comparison) stat line of 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13 in just 50.2 IP.

When you compare this to the Phillies, the Brewers’ staff lines up just a tad better. Cliff Lee has actually been the Phillie closest to Greinke with a 5-1 record and a 2.40 ERA, Hamels follows very close to Marcum at a 2-3 record but a 3.60 ERA (with some time on the DL) and the winning edge comes in when Oswalt starts going 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA.

Looking at this, should the NL come down to a fight between the Phillies and Brewers in a 7 game CS series you would feel great. Especially with Milwaukee’s unbeatable home record, the Phillies seemed backed against a wall.

It’s time to stop giving the Phillies national recognition and realize, the Brewers over the last 43 games are the best team in baseball, and lined up to be the best team in the MLB playoffs. It’s time for Milwaukee to get optimistic of their baseball team.

-Brad

VFBC Podcast Episode 26 "Jeff Cirillo Edition"

2011-08-30T05:48:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Taylor Green Freed! :00-18:32
Break
Narveson To The Pen 19:25-29:27
Break
Wily Peralta Dealing 30:36-43:15
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 44:32-57:37

Cy Axford

2011-08-29T20:27:00.002-05:00

The NL has a very strong unit of pitchers. From the three qualified CY Young candidates in Philly to the two phenoms on the bay, the NL league’s choice for the pitching MVP is wide indeed. The last place most voters will look for is the bullpen, but maybe they should adjust their eyes to Milwaukee’s ‘pen and stare down the mustachioed phenomenon, John Axford.

Axford is baseball’s leading closer in saves at 40. He is also entering baseball history in consecutive save marks with 37 astounding chances converted. The bullpen savior from last year is also leading Major Leaguer's in games finished. Already having worked 62.2 innings and striking out 73 in that time he has the makings to be the first CY Young reliever since Eric Gagne did it while taking a needle in the ass. Looking at comparable closers who have won the CY Young, if Axford keeps us the work, he could have a good chance.

Looking at a few outstanding CY Young winning closers, Axford has the makings. The last one was Eric Gagne. Gagne’s season is historic with 55 saves in 82.1 IP the only thing Gagne did that year that Axford can’t touch was the remarkable 137 K’s Gagne was able to obtain. Gagne also did not have the same competition in the NL, as Axford is competing with several starters with ERA’s below 2.5 and records approaching 18 wins.

The most comparable is Mark Davis who won the award while pitching for the Padres. Like Axford, Davis had many logged innings beyond his save mark. Davis finished the season with 44 saves, a very reachable goal for the Axe-man, but had an ERA under 2. That is a goal I think Axford needs to obtain to have any hope to win the CY Young.

With one month to go, Axford still has a great chance to become a valid CY Young candidate compared to the pitching company he would be competing with. In order to have a viable chance, he needs to continue his streak of consecutive saves, lower is ERA and continue to strike out batters at a phenomenal rate. The Brewers closer is by far the best closer in baseball this year and deserves to be in talks for a national award outside of the Rolaids’s Relief Pitcher. He has been one the NL’s most dominant pitchers and very much so deserves to be recognized. Unfortunately the climb to a CY Young will be a very steep hill for the Axe Man, but nothing a closer who is constantly faced with adversity cannot handle.

-Brad

VFBC Podcast Episode 25

2011-08-23T17:47:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Red Hot! 22-5 Run :00-19:12
Break
Weeks & Gomez Progressing, Roster Shakeup? 20:06-31:42
Break
Rogers and Arnett: Bigger 1st Round Flop? 33:33-46:09
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 47:25-56:49

Listener/Reader Poll Results

2011-08-23T12:37:00.002-05:00

"Who should get the bulk of the PT at 2B right now?"

Jerry Hairston: 73%

Felipe Lopez: 13%

Josh Wilson: 13%

Lessons Learned In 2011

2011-08-22T21:12:00.002-05:00

After the Brewers loss to the Dodgers on Thursday at the hands of Clayton Kershaw I got to thinking. This team is heading into the last month of regular season and is really showing what it can do without cornerstone second baseman Rickie Weeks. Roenicke has been able to do one thing so far, win ball games consistently. But, these outings against top quality pitching, not so nice to remember. The Brewers have thrived on offense, yet some ugly numbers jump out at you if you look at some key matchups this year.

When approaching this I decided I would use starts from the best pitcher(s) on teams we will likely see if we make the playoffs/WS. For my purposes I went with pitchers from the Phillies (Halladay, Lee), Braves (Jurrjens, Hanson, Hudson), Red Sox (Lester), Yankees (Sabathia), Giants (Lincecum, Cain), and the D-backs (Kennedy). The Brewers are 4-6 in 11 starts against top pitching talent from this pool. Opposing pitchers are holding hitters to 2.36 runs per start, a drop in production of almost 2 runs from their season average. The only no decision was in a Cliff Lee start against Narveson on April 20th which the Brewers ended up losing in the 8th on a Shane Victorino home run. So, this loss Thursday against Kershaw really didn't surprise me.
What is surprising is the plate discipline the team has shown when facing these elite pitchers. Almost every player on my list is at least making opposing pitchers sing for their supper. The lineup is striking out an average of 5.36 times per start, which given the talent pool of K hungry pitchers seems rather low. Only Sabathia managed to get double digit strike outs against the club. Patience will be vital if we face these pitchers again in Oct/Nov, especially the NL/AL East matchups.

Jurrjens just came back from injury and Hanson is currently down for the Braves, but their starting five may rival the Phillies with a superior bullpen. The Giants achillies heel will be their offense so no problems there, three pitchers threw shut outs against the Brewers, and none of them were by Giants starters. Arizona seems interesting with Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy tearing it up, but I just don't see that team going the distance. The Phillies and Braves still remain the best competition for the Crew in the NL, just like they were April 1st. Philadelphia is the only team from this list we play again in the regular season, so look for this late September matchup to be a good barometer of how the Brewers will fare in October.

Chemistry is something not shown as a stat in the box score, but when watching games pre and post ASB you can see a visible difference in how this team is playing. The Brewers own the 4th best record in baseball, and they have proven that they can win every way possible. The hits, walks, and drop off in strike outs are there, so a lot of it just comes down to timely hitting, and maybe a little luck. But, when you're on a roll like these boys in Milwaukee are sometimes that call goes your way, or a fielder takes the wrong angle, or Prince smashes one over the wall with the bases loaded.

-Alex

Zack, I Am Sorry

2011-08-18T12:43:00.006-05:00

I have to get this apology out of the way now, I have waited to long. And after his stellar 7 inning performance last night I am finally going to apologize to Zack Greinke. Zack, I am sorry for not believing in you. Yes, I was one of the many Brewers fans who were ready to jump ship on Zack Greinke after his horrific start at Yankee Stadium on June 28th in which he went only 2 innings gave up 5 hits, 3 walks and 7 earned runs. He got lit up and his body language told me he didn't really give a shit. His ERA sat at 5.63, yes his K/BB rate was stellar, but he seemed to be getting hit hard and also seemed to have a hard time focusing and getting out of jams. Many said he was just unlucky, I didn't buy it, I was too angry. I went as far to say on the podcast and on twitter that I wondered if the Brewers made the right choice by dealing Escobar, Cain, Jeffress and Odorizzi for Zack.

Well since that day, Zack has made me eat every last bad word I spoke or typed about him. In 9 starts since that blowup against the Yankees, Greinke has gone 6 or more innings (7 or more 4 times) won 5 games and lowered his ERA to a beautiful 3.92. Pretty impressive to lower your ERA from almost 6 to under 4 in just 9 starts. That is how good Zack has been over that stretch. His 151 K's to only 29 BB in 121.2 innings is flat out sick and he now has a 12-4 record to his name. The eye test shows that his stuff is sharper, especially his slider which has been so filthy it almost isn't fair for the opposition. To me he also seems to be focusing more and really buckling down with runners on base pitching out of the stretch. Something that I think he really struggled with during and before that Yankees start.

I should have never doubted that Zack would go on a run and start to pitch more like the guy that won the 2009 AL Cy Young award, but I did. I was frustrated. This was the guy that got everyone so jazzed up about how special this 2011 season could be back in December when Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew broke the news that the Crew had trade for Zack. And I just didn't think he was coming through like he should have. Well, he has and this season has been every bit the special season we anticipated. And if the Crew does hang on to this lead over the Cardinals and win the NL Central, there is no one I would rather have take the ball in game 1 of the NLDS than Zack Greinke (no offense Yovani and Shaun). He's earned it and proved it. He is the true ace.

-Jason

Calling All Gloves, Randy Is Up

2011-08-17T06:19:00.002-05:00

Going into 2011 there were a lot of new faces, especially on the pitching side, and with that came expectations and questions. Who is our number one now that we have three elite pitchers? The debate slightly cooled after Greinke's injury, but was refueled in May when Greinke returned and Marcum/Gallardo had been really heating up after some April scuffles. Now all the talk has shifted to Greinke, posting 44 Ks and only 10 walks since the All-Star break. Through all this one thing has remained a constant, Randy Wolf. While a number 4 pitcher on a staff isn't looked at as the guy you can put out there and not worry about, Wolf has proven time and time again that his experience, and his knack for being backed by great defense, are invaluable to the Brewers as we head down the final stretch.

Before the break the only pitcher with a lower ERA than Wolf (3.65) was Marcum (3.39), and Wolf pitched almost 7 more innings than Marcum in that span. He also held opponents to a .259 average which was good for 3rd behind Greinke (.258). After the break Wolf has been following the same path with his 2.34 ERA good for second best among starters behind Greinke (1.56) and again has pitched more innings than any starter. All other stats are comparable as well, so I think we should see much of the same from Wolf going into late August.

A few areas are troubling when you look at his body of work, the first of which being FIP. FIP, for those that don't know, stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, so basically things that the pitcher is accountable for are the only things factored into this equation (HR, BB, K, IP). Randy Wolf has a club leading 3.30 ERA, but his FIP sits almost 100 points ahead of that at 4.25. Why the huge gap? Well to put it kindly some would say Randy Wolf is "lucky". I would disagree and say that Wolf is a product of what he does, and the supporting cast behind him. There will be fly balls, but his 8.3% HR/FB ratio is actually below the league average of 10.6%, so more often than not he will give the defense a shot at the ball before he let's one leave the park.

We know a couple things right away when talking about Wolf, number one is he is not going to surprise anyone with a 95 mph fastball, maybe a 55 mph curve, and number two is he has always been a contact pitcher. The sooner people realize these facts the better it will be for all of us. When you become blind to other stats and focus on ERA, like a lot of casual fans do, you miss the big picture that is Randy Wolf. He has given up more hits than any starter, and has the highest WHIP (1.25) since the break, which explains the large gap between his ERA and his FIP. His .281 BABIP isn't a very lucky number, actually the opposite, so Wolf does and always will need good defense behind him. Last night against the Dodgers was a prime example of this style of play. Wolf walked 5 and earned himself 4 double plays and a triple play for his efforts. This was an exaggerated version of what I am talking about, but the results are there if the defense shows up.

Wolf is what he is, a rare breed, an often looked for but seldom found product. Without a doubt I can honestly say that I would be hard pressed to find a better number 4 on a staff not named the Phillies, in the entire league. Wolf gives you veteran leadership who is active with players and media, a personality that positively effects the clubhouse, and 30-35 starts in a season that you don't have to worry about as a fan or manager if you give him a good defensive effort to back him up. His pitches aren't pretty and he may not have swagger, but Randy Wolf will always be there when you need him. I think it's time to revive the Wolf Pack in Milwaukee, who's with me!

-Alex

Listener Poll Results

2011-08-15T12:39:00.001-05:00

"Did you like the deadline deals for Lopez & Hairston?"

Yes: 100%

No: 0%

VFBC Podcast Episode 24

2011-08-09T21:53:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Betancourt/McGehee On Fire! :00-12:54
Break
Gallardo, Is He The #1? 14:10-29:28
Break
Minor League Update 30:35-52:38
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 53:39-1:09:05

Listener Poll Results

2011-08-07T08:59:00.002-05:00

"Favorite food at Miller Park?"

Brat: 41%

Hot Dog: 5%

Cheese Fries: 11%

Cactus League Nachos: 17%

Brewer Burger: 5%

Pulled Pork Parfait: 17%

VFBC Podcast Episode 23

2011-08-03T20:36:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Weeks Injury/Lopez & Hairston Deals :00-28:21
Break
Zack Greinke On Fire 29:45-41:42
Break
Strong Bullpen Suddenly 42:42-54:37
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 55:41-1:16:54

How To Succeed In The NL Central Without Really Trying

2011-08-02T17:32:00.003-05:00

We all knew going into this stretch of games what the Brewers had to do. With the best win percentage at home in baseball, and a three team nine game homestand against the NL Central, the Crew needed to protect their slim lead on the division. Two series against the offensive juggernauts that are Chicago and Houston where the tasty looking ones in this stretch, and with St. Louis to wrap it up the Brewers could find themselves in great position going into August. So far in 7 of 9 games the Brewers have had 7 wins, including a classic last night when Milwaukee took on the Cardinals for the first game in the series. So how have the Brewers done it? To answer that lets delve into the stats sandwich that is this weeks box scores.

Take a look at the stats and you would see a lot of close games, small scores, and a lot of boxed zeros, so hitting must not have been that great right? The exact opposite seems to be true when the stats are stretched out over the span of those seven wins. Using batters with a minimum of 15 ABs over the past week as a guide Brewers hitters have a .328 average. They have also smashed the ball collecting 14 doubles and 30 RBIs in the process. The Brewers were also aggressive on the bases, not with stealing bases, but with forcing the opposing defense to be uncomfortable whenever guys got on. The "Roenicke Effect" seems to be working and other teams are trying to anticipate what the runner is doing even when they aren't doing anything. With everybody contributing, most on different days, the pitching staff had it's work cut out for it, but did they ever deliver.

The starting pitching has an ERA of 1.66 during the current 7 game win streak including two shut outs thrown by Wolf and Gallardo. But, it doesn't stop with the starting five because the bullpen, since the acquisition of K-Rod, seems to be a whole different animal and I am beginning to wonder if we even need a lefty in the pen. Batters who have had the unfortunate luck to face this staff over the past week are batting just .218 against starting pitching, and a meager .125 against the bullpen. K-Rod and Estrada are the only two bullpen pitchers to give up any runs since the beginning of the homestand, 1 apiece. Starting pitching has been economical as well, averaging 104 pitches a game, mostly due to the stellar work of our bullpen arms.

The one thing that the Crew still doesn't have is a semi reliable bench, with Kottaras' RBI and Run being the most stats produced from the dugout. With the addition of Hairston the bench should improve. Hairston should not only be a boost since he can play any position except pitcher and catcher, but he is a good influence in the clubhouse. Reading through Nationals blogs and posts after the trade there wasn't a bad thing said about him. The guy is a perfect fit that I for one didn't see coming here. While Hairston isn't known for power, he is a good defender and a reliable bat. This season his batting average (.266) is almost 100 points lower than his OBP (.340) so he should be a good play when we face lefties to platoon with Morgan, and have some chances to get on in front of the big boys.

My favorite moment this week was that we finally got to Ryan Dempster with some great pitching from Loe and a hot bat from Braun who went 3-4, a double for Hart, and a surprising 2 run triple from Casey. If we played the Cubs every week Casey McGehee would be MVP of the NL, maybe the training staff should work out some Waterboy type situation and make him picture every team as the Cubs. Didn't take much to beat Chicago in the second game as Greinke had a very Greinke-like performance and pitched 6 2/3 scoreless, and a Fielder home run was the difference. Biggest loss of the season as Weeks went down with a bad sprain that will take him out of play for 2-6 weeks. Luckily Melvin brought in Felipe Lopez for next to nothing and should be a serviceable option at second. Good outing by Marcum, and Braun hitting a triple short of the cycle, beat the Cubs and completed the sweep of the baby bears.
*Any stats from here on out mentioned in games played against the Houston Astros will be taken lightly, just as their offense will be the rest of the season. Crew sweeps away the garbage and heads to St. Louis to complete the NL Central trifecta.

In a great pitching matchup with Carpenter and Greinke on the mound the Brewers came out on top to snag the first win from under the Cards and put themselves up 3.5 games in 1st place heading into August. I'm no doctor, but people are not supposed to sweat like that Carpenter. Am I the only one who didn't need to see that in super slow mo? Now, the first two series are should wins while the Cardinals series is a must win, but even with the lack of completion this week these are all divisional games. Everyone of these series counts no matter what the teams record is we face. Complacency has been a trademark of this team in recent memory, so here's to hoping they keep having fun in 2011. Let's keep it rolling Crew so we can see more interviews from the professional, Tony Gumbel.

-Alex

Who Won The NL Central Trade Deadline?

2011-08-01T22:27:00.003-05:00

Everyone has been watching the NL Central race unfold as we move into the last months of the season, a tight race has set itself in place that has three of the teams racing for a playoff seat. Now with acquired players from the deadlines, the teams are ready for the stretch, but who improved their chances the most?

The Brewers have acquired exactly what they were looking for heading into July in some infield help that can get on base regularly and a very strong back end to the bullpen. With Francisco Rodriguez backing up John Axford, the Brewers have a back end to the bull pen that can lock a game up after the 7th inning. Doug Melvin also made an easy and cheap acquisition bringing back infielder Felipe Lopez. We can’t expect Lopez to recreate his 2009 season with the Brewers where Lopez had a line of .320/.407/.448 but Lopez provides a solid switch hitting bat, that is patient enough to take walks and some solid defense in the field while the Brewers only ended up giving a small amount of money and losing no one in an already depleted farm system. The Brewers also were able to obtain Jerry Hairston Jr. Hairston’s bat is similar to Lopez, while there is not much power, some speed combined with a high OBP Hairston is a needed addition to a Brewer lineup that just needs some defense and people to get on base. The other great advantage to Hairston is he can play almost anywhere, and well. Clearly what the Brewers need if Betancourt’s bat ever cools off. The Brewers really could have added a left hander for the bullpen, but with little options available to meet all of their needs, Milwaukee did the best it could to fill the holes.

The Pirates on the other hand are trading for help for the first time in nearly 20 years. Pittsburgh were able to get Gold Glove infielder Derek Lee to replace Lyle Overbay at first base. Lee may not be the power hitting, .300 AVG machine he was in his prime, but he is having a great season. Already hitting 12 HR’s and 43 RBI’s he will provide some assistance to Andrew McCutchen and an obvious upgrade at first base. The Pirates also traded for outfielder Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick isn’t the upgrade he would have been four years ago, but does add a little bit offense. Both of these trades would have given the Pirates anew 4 and 5 hitter a few years ago but not only give the Bucs a slight upgrade as the continue playing above their means.

The last team to improve was the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis already had a strong rotation, but made it devastating with the addition of Edwin Jackson. Jackson was having a very strong season to this point in the AL and now should only get better in the NL especially with the tutelage of Dave Duncan. Jackson can be devastating but I don’t really understand this trade simply for the strength of the Cardinals pitching staff before this point and the loss of Colby Rasmus. Rasmus was a great bat and defender, and the Cardinals already suffered from an offense that can’t always support its pitching even with the combination of Pujols and Holladay. After that trade the Cards then went on to add Rafael Furcal. Furcal is injury prone, having the worst season of his career and rusting with age and lack of play. The Cardinals have always been dangerous but with the loss of offense I can’t really say the won, but mostly broke even. The one advantage brought in with Jackson were the additions of Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel. Both, strong performers out of the bullpen so far this year, to fill in a somewhat weak bullpen, but both may equal the addition of K-Rod in comparison to the Brewers.

By no bias of myself I have to say that Milwaukee has won the trade deadline compared to its competing teams. I actually didn’t feel that way until this moment, but as I write this article I realize that Milwaukee has actually made improvements to its team while St. Louis created a hole as it plugged another one without truly answering any needs and Pittsburgh surely could not have made it’s team extremely better by trading for slight upgrades to assist a team that’s already playing well above its capabilities. Milwaukee on the other hand, gave up no Major League talent to acquire their new players and answered the problems of a weak back end to the bull pen and somehow managed to get infield help, with a trade market that barely provided any upgrades. Lopez and Hairston should be able to fill in for Weeks for a period and Hairston should be able to back up Betancourt or even replace him should Betancourt play like he did before July again. The Brewers are the winners of the trade deadline in their division although it may not appear so if nothing else but for the big name acquisition by the Cardinals.

-Brad

Listener Poll Results

2011-07-29T18:22:00.001-05:00

"One game to win, who gets the start?"

Yovani Gallardo: 10%

Shaun Marcum: 80%

Zack Greinke: 10%

Randy Wolf: 0%

Chris Narveson: 0%

VFBC Podcast Episode 22

2011-07-25T21:16:00.001-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

5-6 on 11 Game Road Trip :00-17:10
Break
Baserunning, Brewers Being Too Aggressive? 18:42-28:03
Break
Trade Deadline Preview 29:23-41:02
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/ Chalet Award Winner 42:18-54:23

I Gotta Go: A Nyjer Morgan Introspective

2011-07-24T13:26:00.003-05:00

Friday night in San Francisco the Giants fans made a big deal about something outfielders do everyday, he threw up the horns to signify two outs. But, as Tony Plush is want to do, he threw an extra underhanded slam to the fans in the stands which was misunderstood as a rude gesture. Cascades of boos fell on deaf ears as both Brewers players and staff saw nothing unusual going on. Morgan does this sort of thing, he riles people up, he plays at a high level of energy, and he doesn't hide his emotions. Should a guy be faulted for having a non-stop motor, I don't think so, but incontinent umpire Joe West disagreed and made his way to the Brewers dugout to talk to Roenicke about it. My question is do teams hate Morgan for his attitude or his play?

We all know there are bad boys in baseball. There are guys who make it their mission, Milton Bradley, to be the center of attention for the wrong reasons, and that I don't agree with. Now granted Morgan has had his share of on field incidents. Last year he cussed out some Marlins fans and took on Chris Volstad, which is a feat unto itself considering the Height/Weight difference of 8"/56 lbs. But, what he brings to the table when given the chance he has always produced. Since 2007 when he came up with the Pirates he hasn't posted a average lower than .294. Morgan also has two MLB seasons in which he stole 42 and 34 bases, which makes him all the more valuable these days after Carlos "Flash" Gomez went down with a broken clavicle. With Braun also still coming back from injury I am sure Nyjer will get his shots to run the rest of the way, much to the chagrin of the rest of the NL.

I mentioned this on episode 21 of the podcast, but the Brewers have also done something with Morgan that other teams didn't try, they embraced him. The city of Milwaukee took him in and made him our own. When you are allowed to be yourself it will take pressures off of you that are recorded on the stat sheets, but not always understood. But, the results are showing so far with Roenicke's approach and Morgan is putting up career numbers at the plate. T-Plush is putting together a nice slash line of .326/.359/.472 for a guy that wasn't even a thought until two weeks before the season started. Morgan seems a perfect fit to be in the lead off spot, however with a 2.3 BB%, and his sometimes scary bunting ability, the two hole should be a productive spot for him, and most likely his home for the remainder of 2011. Morgan also has a career high .145 ISO, and his 2.2 WAR is better than every player in the starting lineup, aside from Fielder (3.4) and Braun (4.1).

So, I pose this question to you readers. Do you think that Morgan does things to blatantly antagonize other teams, or do other teams/fans/league react negatively to his actions because he is not hiding his excitement? I always say that it's not cocky if you can back it up, and Morgan has done just that so far for the Brewers, and I will continue to defend his actions until I see otherwise. The guy is having fun in a game that may have lost some of that at times. He brings an energy to the field that Milwaukee hasn't seen in a long time, and he is a clubhouse boost not cancer for the Crew yet still gets labeled as such by outside franchises and broadcasters. Don't be upset that your teams fail at Plushdamentals, not everyone can play like a gentleman. I gotta go!

-Alex

VFBC Podcast Episode 21

2011-07-20T05:36:00.007-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

K-Rod Trade Thoughts :00-21:47
Break
Braun's Injury, Should He Have Been DL'd? 23:04-38:05
Break
Hart/Weeks Lineup Change 39:14-47:17
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 49:11-1:00:10

UPDATED: I would like to apologize for being an idiot and calling this episode 19 in and out of music breaks. Not sure what the hell I was thinking. At least I called it episode 21 at the start of the show! One other correction, I called Yankees All-Star setup man Brian Robertson. Of course, his name is David.

Yo's Woes

2011-07-15T20:07:00.002-05:00

After the absolute shelling of Gallardo last night at the hands of the Rockies marked the third time in his last seven starts that he failed to pitch past the 4th. Gallardo came into this season not with lofty expectations, but just to do what he has been doing to NL bats since his call up in 2007. But, this year he has had a definite split personality when it comes to missing bats, and especially so when it comes to road games.

Gallardo raised his ERA to 4.08 after giving up 6 to the Rockies in 4 innings, that puts him at second to last in ERA among Brewers starters, surpassed only by hard luck Chris Narveson (4.75). His WHIP, 1.41, also slides into 4th place among starters with the Narvdog again bringing up the rear. So far this year Gallardo leads the team in strike outs at 106, but also leads the team in hits after giving up 127. He obviously still has the stuff, so why is it that sometimes he just flat out loses it?

Gallardo hasn't lost any velocity on any of his pitches over previous years aside from his change, which he seems to be throwing 2 mph slower this season. So, it really comes down to placement of pitches, and maybe to a degree pitch selection, that is troubling Yo. Opponents are making contact 67.5% of the time outside the strike zone, which is more than 7% over his average. Contact% is also up to 81.2% of the time, a 2% increase over average. So, it seems that his main problem this year is location rather than stuff.

Gallardo isn't a victim of luck either as his BABIP, while high (.313), is close to his average. Also his line drive rates are down, and he is posting a career low in ground balls at 48.8%. But, giving up over 3 walks per nine, and seeing his K/9 diminish to a very average 7.86, we may have to endure some tough times ahead. While Gallardo hasn't been terrible, he has had some really bad starts, and so far in July his ERA is an even 5.00. The only month he did well, or dominated I should say, was May where he posted a 2.25 ERA. He has also has major troubles on the road with an ERA of 5.02 away from the Keg.

Maybe this season we will have to endure a little rollercoaster ride at times with Gallardo, but if he can find his groove again, and work on pitch selection/location I think that Yo will be just fine. Watching him give up 11 hits last night was hard to watch, but just remember that 5 games out of his last 10 starts he gave up 5 hits or less and had a combined 1.33 ERA in those games. So, it's not a matter of Yo being lost, he just needs to find his way home.

-Alex

Changing The Tune On K-Rod

2011-07-14T21:08:00.003-05:00

The K-Rod trade has been a story that Brewer fans have been patiently waiting to unravel. The trade happened during the break and the fans in Brewer nation have yet to see K-Rod play and still don’t know who the Players to Be Named Later are. Until something actually happens this trade will be a hard thing to judge, but I see one thing that makes this trade more worthwhile than most would think. K-Rod is the only current Brewer reliever with winning playoff experience.

Currently on the Brewers roster, the only other two relievers with experience in the post-season are Takashi Saito and LaTroy Hawkins. Hawkins’ experience in the postseason is minimal. Although Hawkins has a number of games under his belt he has not been very successful during those games. Saito and Hawkins also have no winning experience in the grand daddy that is the World Series (Hawkins was with the Rockies in 2007, made two appearances in the late innings but never got the save)

This trade is as bold as the Marcum and Greinke trades because the Brewers are bringing in a reliever used to pressure and even more used to winning. During his time with the Angels, K-Rod helped win a World Series ring and was a regular contender in the playoffs. He is possibly the only late inning reliever left in the majors who is unfazed by pressure. Setting records and winning pennants, K-Rod has a long traveled history that the Brewers will cherish in the back of their pen (with many years in front of him).

Although the risks the Brewers have taken on K-Rod are large at the least, assuming a nearly $20 MM salary next year that they could use in the fight to keep Prince (not that I am any bit optimistic about their chances in that auction) and having a two closer committee in their pen could cause problems since K-Rod is none for having a little fire under his ass at all times. This may give the Brewers a competitive edge they need, since their only other traveled winner is Craig Counsell.

-Brad

Mystified By Melvin, The K-Rod Trade

2011-07-13T18:01:00.002-05:00

Waking up today I do what I always do, check and see if I missed any Brewers news since last night. Much to my surprise I found several articles on us landing big name closer Francisco Rodriguez. While the deal on the surface looks good I have a couple problems in what Doug Melvin has done here. Not that K-Rod isn't a great closer, or even that the compensation isn't right, but that is a role we already have filled by the very capable, and more cost effective, John Axford.

It seems this year that we have built a club around not only good hitting and quality pitching, but camaraderie and respect. Even Nyjer Morgan, a player with a long standing history of being a distraction in the clubhouse, has worked hard and was embraced by the fans in Milwaukee. But, with a high energy closer like Rodriguez has Melvin bit off more than he can chew with this trade?

Even though K-Rod has stated that he would be fine going to a setup role as long as he was traded to a contender I don't believe him. With the amount of money he stands to lose, coupled with his recent switch to agent Scott Boras, I believe before long K-Rod will be nipping at the heels of Axford to try and get some closing time. In my mind the Brewers could have made a better move that would not have caused the waves that are sure to come now, and all the questions about who the closer is for Milwaukee.

I'm curious to know why guys like Mike Adams (2.16 ERA, 2.65 BB/9, 9.27 K/9) , Kevin Gregg (4.00 ERA, 3.85 BB/9, 8.26 K/9), and Brandon League (3.85 ERA, 3.03 BB/9, 6.65 K/9) were passed over for the job. All these options are cheaper than K-Rod, and have a history of being setup guys and middle relievers more than closing games, and they also bear a distinct resemblance to most of the stats Rodriguez has put up in recent years.

Will K-Rod for sure be a cancer, no, but look at the facts:

1.Traded out of closers role that would have gotten him 17.5 mil if he reached 55 games finished.
2.Has a dominant personality that will be hard for Ron and crew to handle.
3.Will be a media distraction for a team that was already clicking before the break.

K-Rod does bring to the table an almost 10 K/9 rate, 3.16 ERA, and a 51.7% ground ball rate which are all nice to have. But, a career 3.97 BB/9 and a decline in velocity would make me think twice about employing him. Not only are we going to be out some cash, but the Mets also get two players from our already depleted farm system. They have 5 players to choose from by September and the names that are probably involved are for sure going to make us cringe. So, hang on Brewer Nation, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

-Alex

VFBC Podcast Episode 20

2011-07-11T20:58:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Tied For 1st Going To The Break/Look Back & Ahead :00-33:06
Break
Minor League Talk 34:05-46:32
Break
Revisiting Season Predictions 48:06-1:16:53
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 1:19:00-1:31:32

VFBC Podcast Episode 19

2011-07-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Recent Skid (Yankees/Twins/DBacks Series) 00:00-18:49

Break
Zack Greinke, Are You Concerned? 19:58-36:58

Break

Roenicke's Bullpen (Miss)Management 37:52-50:17

Break

Preview Week/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 51:51-59:56

VFBC Podcast Episode 18

2011-06-27T21:24:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Mat Gamel and Zach Braddock Are Free! Roster Moves 00:00-17:12

Break
Ryan Braun & Prince Fielder/How Special Is this Duo? 18:21-31:27

Break

John Axford, All-Star Closer? Should He Be Used In 8th? 32:44-48:36

Break

Preview Week/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 49:36-1:00:51

Questioning The Unquestionable

2011-06-26T14:05:00.009-05:00

After dominating the NL since he was brought over from Toronto Shaun Marcum has shown he was worth everything the Brewers gave up to get the big righty. After going down with a hip strain on June 17th Brewer Nation held it's collective breath as we awaited the news on his most recent injury. Initial reports say that he is fine and Marcum expects to make his next start against the Yankees, a club that he has seen more than any other pitcher on the Brewers staff. The Crew is 12-10 in June, including a 20 game stretch in which the Brewers did not have a day off, and pulled one of the toughest interleague schedules in recent memory. We need Marcum healthy to compete with elite offenses as we have seen, so is this most recent injury a bump in the road, or a glimpse of things to come.

In his entire time with the Blue Jays as a starter Marcum never went over 200 IP. He came closest last year with 195.1, but aside from that he has gone about 150 IP in 2007 and 2008. As it stands right now Marcum has thrown 94.2 IP, and looks to eclipse the 200 IP mark for the first time in his career. Not only is he looking to set that benchmark, but he is also posting career lows in HR/9 (0.86) and HR/FB (7.7%). He has also shown that he can control a game, striking out roughly 8 per 9 and walking just over 2. Given that he has been out performing his averages most baseball fans would expect a correction, but Marcum's problems may lie in his health and not his stats.Following his breakout campaign for Toronto in 2007 things were looking up for Marcum. He had just had his highest pitch totals of his career, went 12-6, and posted a 1.4 WAR on the season. But, just like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Marcum was shut down and would eventually have Tommy Johns surgery to repair his wing. Marcum did not pitch again in the majors until opening day 2010 and got his first win after TJS against the Oakland A's. The rest is history as Marcum had his best season, posted career numbers across the board, and had arguably his best win of his career, a contract with the Brewers.

So far Marcum is the ace that we all thought he was, and I am in no way trying to shake any confidence in Shaun, but in baseball we always look at history. Marcum has a list of injuries and ailments that seem to be red flags when it comes to IP. As I said before Marcum should reach 200 innings if he stays healthy the rest of the year, but the warnings should not be ignored. His ERA (2.95), WHIP (1.06), and opponent BA (.212) are nice to look at, but don't be surprised if Marcum has another injury as he eclipses 200. ZIPS updated estimates has Marcum pitching about 175 innings, which would be about 11 starts, and matching his win total from 2007. If he's healthy there is no doubt in my mind he will go the distance, and be able to help the Brewers in the post-season push.

-Alex

Why Is Kotsay Still Here?

2011-06-25T18:00:00.002-05:00

The Brewer world has been screaming about the fact that Mark Kotsay was used in a late inning situation as a pinch hitter, and who can blame us? Mr. Kotsay has proved to be one of the Brewers’ two automatic out players, with no pop in their bats, while perfectly good bench players remain in AAA.

I understand Roenicke’s reasoning in using him late because the numbers say that Kotsay has not been THAT bad. While no, he should not be used in a situation where a team needs base runners he has actually been formidable at the plate as a run producer. Kotsay in fact has 8 of his 9 RBI’s with runner in scoring position and he is hitting over .300 with runners on. So based on these numbers maybe it was the right decision for Roenicke to put him in, (although never in place of Jonathon Lucroy). Here’s where the numbers start to lie.

Although Kotsay has been productive with driving in runs (if you can call 9 RBI’s productive) and hitting with runners on, his slugging percentage in every situation is still far behind is average. In any situation Kotsay would need one hell of a base runner to turn his hits into scoring plays. So what is his use if he can’t hit it to the wall with runners on, and can’t hit or walk just to get on base, what asset does he serve? None.

Doug Melvin and Ron Roenicke let Kotsay waste opportunities while Brandon Boggs a switch hitter wastes away in AAA. Boggs in limited time has hit two home runs, 2 RBI’s (which compared to Kotsay and his playing time is infinitely better) and has a slugging percentage double that of Kotsays (although the two homers probably balloon that number).

For those of you that doubt, now you know, there is no reason for Mark Kotsay to be on the Brewers’ roster.

-Brad

Reviewing The JJ Hardy Trade

2011-06-23T12:19:00.004-05:00

With our recent rant about how useless Yuniesky Betancourt has proved to be so far this season, I decided to retrace our steps to our current situation at Shortstop and really with the legend that is Tony Plush. When the Brewers decided to trade Hardy, he was on a career low slope, hitting for a slash line of .229/.302/.357. With a huge power loss and production falling Hardy was forced out the door by the organization’s top prospect Alcides Escobar.

Escobar at this point was being praised at this point by most scouts as a gold glover with a bat that could develop into something that at least would not kill a lineup. So the organization dumped Hardy, and interest was low for a former All-Star Gold Glove caliber offensive threat that was JJ Hardy. The Brewers big search for pitching failed (although rumor has it they could have had some swell prospects) and they ended up with Carlos Gomez.

Gomez to this point as a Brewer has been a big disappointment, with only the advertised glove holding true and a centerfielder that was all but abandoned by two other organizations succeeding in his place. The Brewers have a stock pile full of OF prospects in their minor league systems (not all are ready for the majors) and Gomez is only being used in late inning situation with only one start so far this month, but the big hole is at the position that had so much depth it allowed the organization to trade what was once an important part of the lineup.

Currently Betancourt is a cancer in the Brewers lineup, killing most run producing innings, leaving a staggering 29 on-base in his last 6 games played (covering the three last series that the Brewers have lost). Hardy meanwhile has yet to hit Free Agency, and is playing like he means it hitting .301/.366/.530 compared to Betancourt’s .233/.255/.341. Gomez has been replaced in the lineup twice and both times by players who were with the organization to start a season, proving of no value. You may argue that Escobar may have been more valuable without the failure that was his first major league season.

The Brewers have received no gain after the trade that sent JJ Hardy away, and right now he would fill the only hole in the lineup that is keeping the Brewers from being successful. Not even two years later, the Brewers are rumored to be thinking about bringing Hardy back at a much higher price tag and losing him in Free Agency. I could think of one thousand other things I would have traded JJ Hardy for and most of them can be found in my trash can.

-Brad

Macha > Roenicke (At Managing A Bullpen)

2011-06-22T20:51:00.007-05:00

I have been a pretty avid supporter of Ron Roenicke as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers all season. I think he has done a good job for the most part and he seems like a chum fellow, but his management of the bullpen today and really as of late has been horrendous. Granted, he doesn't have the likes of Takashi Saito, Zach Braddock, Brandon Kintzler, Manny Parra, etc. Still, that is no excuse to continue to ignore righty/lefty splits and use Tim Dillard or Mark DiFelice, give Kameron Loe exclusive rights to the 8th inning and to leave LaTroy Hawkins rot in the pen when he could be used in a high leverage situation. He has made the mistakes a few different times already this season and one has to wonder at what point will he correct his bullpen mistakes and start making the right choices?

Does Roenicke ask for input from Rick Kranitz and Jerry Narron when making these decisions? If so, are they saying they are good or are they telling him different and Ron just goes with his own thought each time? I would be very curious to find out the answer to that question. If Kranitz and Narron have the same thoughts as Roenicke and they to are going along with some of these bullpen moves they are as much to blame. If Roenicke and his staff don't correct the mistakes with the bullpen management soon it could contine to cost the Brewers wins and ultimately the division. I would like to continue liking Ron, but if he keeps this shit up, I am going to have a hard time supporting him. Hate to say it, but it's the truth.

-Jason

VFBC Podcast Episode 17

2011-06-20T22:30:00.004-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Randy Wolf's Impressive Season So Far :00-13:34
Break
SS, What To Do With Yuni Betancourt? In House and Trade 14:56-34:15
Break
Minor League Talk 35:14-1:02
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 1:03-1:14:48

VFBC Podcast Episode 16

2011-06-15T21:35:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

What's With All The Roenicke Hate/Aggression? 00:00-201:03
Break
Roster Moves (No More Nieves, Kottaras Free!)/Lineup Talk 22:23-42:43
Break
Preview Red Sox Series/Chalet Award Winner 43:53-55:34

Casey On The Lookout For Lost Bat

2011-06-14T12:08:00.006-05:00

With his bad showing at the plate this season, and questions about his lack of value, Casey McGehee is making fans breath a sigh of relief that a contract extension wasn't signed. I am not one of them, and some fans should look past the initial numbers this season and try to remember what happened in previous years. This isn't some flash in the pan, got hot for two weeks, rookie call-up, as McGehee proved in over 1000 PAs the past two seasons where he boasts 170 RBIs and a batting average of .293. That is as consistent production from third base as you can ask for, but this season has been completely opposite from past seasons.

When I first took a good look at McGehee's stat sheet the glaring holes were obvious, like average, on-base, and slugging, but their had to be another story here than just bad mechanics or approach at the plate. Looking a little deeper you can see that his approach is about the same as his average, taking walks 7.8% of the time and striking out about 17% of the time. So, the next place I looked was his contact rates. Is he just swinging at bad pitches, or are players pitching around him? Neither appears to be true either since his O-Swing%/Z-Swing% are only slightly down, about 2%, however his Contact% has gone up and he isn't getting fooled anymore than usual at the plate.

In my mind the two stats that tell the biggest story on McGehee's slump is his BABIP and ISO. McGehee is one of the few batters in the majors to be pretty luck neutral, in that his BABIP is usually within a few points of his actual average, but down from .306 in 2010, he is sitting on a .252 and right now McGehee seems to finally have a black cloud over his head. With higher ground ball rates, and decreases in line drives and fly balls, Casey has seen his power go from an ISO of .179 to a paltry .094. With McGehee's lack of speed, and his usually average to below glove, he needs to find a way to bring his 100+ RBI power back into the Brewers line up. Casey seems to be trying everything to get his power stroke back, like changing his stance or just trying to hit for contact, but his best efforts so far have yielded no results except DPs and groundball outs.

Casey has been trying to work back, getting 3 singles in recent games, yet his average still sits at about .080 for the last week or so, with no production coming out of those singles either. With all these factors taken into effect the only conclusion I can come up with is it is a mental issue, and not so much a fundamentals problem. This guy can hit when he is on, no one would deny that, but is it possible that he is holding himself back at this point instead of settling into the role the Brewers and all fans want him to fill? Maybe it's just a matter of his bat speed being slower than past years, maybe it's pressure to perform at a high level because of the team around him, or maybe he is just the unluckiest player in baseball. One thing I do know is if he doesn't find a way to get on base soon he is going to be dropped in the order as opposing pitchers give Fielder nothing to hit knowing Casey and his .225 average are up next.

I believe Casey will turn things around soon, and while 100+ RBIs is probably out of the question now, 75-80 isn't a long shot if he can figure out his problems at the plate. Long story short: He is a fan favorite who loves playing in Milwaukee and is involved in the community, really those are all intangibles that his stats aren't going to show. Give McGehee a chance and I think he still may surprise us all before it's over.

-Alex

Technical Difficulties Take 2

2011-06-13T21:42:00.005-05:00

Another week, another podcast missed. Once again Brad had issues with the studio he records our podcast in. The problem should be fixed tomorrow. If it is, Brad and myself will record a condensed episode 16 of the podcast Wednesday night. Unfortunately Alex will not be available for that recording due to his work schedule. Hope to have the full crew back for episode 17 next Monday night the 20th. Thanks again for checking out the blog and the podcasts, we really appreciate it. Go Brewers! Enjoy this video until next time. Oh yeah, I HATE Ryan Dempster.

-Jason

Sweet Diggs

2011-06-11T21:41:00.004-05:00

I don't care what anyone says, I really like these yellow/gold/mustard jersey's. They were special for tonight's "Cerveceros" night celebrating Latino heritage in baseball. I think they should put "Brewers" across the chest of these and make them a third home alternate jersey. Adam McCalvy tweeted after the game that Kameron Loe told him the guys really liked them and asked the clubhouse attendant if they could throw them into their regular rotation. That would be sweet!

-Jason

Everything Is Going Smooth, But.....

2011-06-09T12:39:00.003-05:00

There are two roster moves I would like the Brewers to make. First and foremost is DFA Wil Nieves. I'm sorry but he brings no defining quality to this team other than catching Randy Wolf every 5th day. He is supposed to be a defensive catcher and he would have to be with how bad he is at the plate. The thing is, I have not seen this great defense he brings to the team, have you? It's not like he blocks every pitch in the dirt and throws out runners like Pudge Rodriguez in his prime. So why is he still on the team? He's on a march to batting under .100. It's time for Doug Melvin to pull the trigger and free George Kottaras, who in my opinion is not that big of a downgrade on defense from Nieves and clearly has a better bat and some power potential. With Kottaras on the roster I wouldn't mind seeing Lucroy get a few more days off that way he can stay fresh.

The second move is a temporary one but a no brainer. When the Brewers travel to American League parks in Boston and New York in a few weeks they should recall Mat Gamel from AAA to serve as a DH in those interleague games. Gamel as usual is tearing up AAA pitching and he would be a nice left handed power bat in the lineup. This way the Brewers get a better bat than Kotsay, Counsell, Gomez or Wilson during that stretch of games and Gamel can face big league pitching and get regular AB's while he is up. It's two minor moves, but moves that I think will make the club even better then they have been over the past month and a half. Do it Doug!

-Jason

Damn You Technical Difficulties!

2011-06-08T21:10:00.006-05:00

I hate to say this, but for the first time since we started the show back in February, there will be no View From Bernie's Chalet podcast this week. First Monday night, our normal recording night Brad could not make it due to his work schedule. We then decided to re-schedule for tonight (Wednesday) but this time the studio where Brad does the show from in Whitewater, which has the recording equipment had some issues with the computer and a virus. Long story short it was a big pain in our asses.

We do hope and think that we will be back to normal and record episode 16 on Monday 6/13. Sorry about this, we love doing this show and we thank you for listening, wish we could have brought you a show this week. Don't worry though, we promise episode 16 will be the best one yet. We leave you with this kick ass video. Enjoy!

-Jason

Rickie Weeks Could Start At 2B In The 2011 All-Star Game

2011-06-01T12:35:00.003-05:00

And he just needs YOUR help! Right now Weeks is second in the NL for 2B voting behind the Reds Brandon Phillips. Weeks is having his third straight All-Star worthy season and it would be great to see he and Braun both representing the Crew starting for the NL at Chase Field in Arizona on July 12th. Rickie should get in via players and coaches votes if not selected to start by the fans, but lets not leave it up to them to snub him again. Go over to MLB.com and vote your max 25 times with each email account you have. When you go to games at Miller Park, stuff the ballot box with even more votes for Rickie. Ryan Braun is pretty much a lock to start in the OF for the fourth straight season, but Rickie is right there and he has a shot at it, lets get him there.

VFBC Podcast Episode 15

2011-05-30T21:07:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

8-1 Homestand! :00-18:49
Break
Ryan Braun MVP Candidate 19:53-32:44
Break
Gallardo's Turnaround 33:49-46:42
Break
Preview Week Ahead/Around NL Central/Brewer of The Week 48:08-57:31

VFBC Podcast Episode 14

2011-05-23T20:54:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

John Axford Settling In :00-1156

Break

Corey Hart Batting 2nd, Gomez 8th 13:01-22:23

Break

3 Catchers? Misc. Bench Talk 23:23-34:51

Break

Preview/Around NL Central/Brewer of The Week 35:36-43:27

VFBC Podcast Episode 13

2011-05-16T21:40:00.004-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Shaun Marcum's Great Start 00-11:13
Break
Interview with Kyle Lobner from Brew Crew Ball 12:09-26:26
Break
Emergence of Jonathan Lucroy At The Plate 27:52-37:34
Break
Preview Week Ahead/Around then NL Central/Brewer of The Week 38:42-46:44

VFBC Podcast Episode 12

2011-05-09T22:57:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Road Trip Woes 00:00-12:54
Break
Bench Issues 14:02-26:47
Break
Minor League Talk 27:56-49:32
Break
Around NL Central/Brewer of The Week/Preview 50:24-58:02

VFBC Podcast Episode 11

2011-05-05T22:30:00.002-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Greinke's First Brewers Start :00-13:10
Break
Yovani Gallardo's Woes 13:55-27:45
Break
Overall Team Struggles 28:50-44:20
Break
Preview (Cards/Padres Series)/News & Notes 45:36-54:42

Listener Poll Results

2011-05-04T19:34:00.001-05:00

"Do you like the Ryan Braun contract extension through 2020?"

Yes: 100%

No: 0%

VFBC Podcast Episode 10

2011-04-27T18:02:00.001-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Intro/Ryan Braun Extension :00-15:52
Break
Week Recap (Philles/Astros Series)16:55-31:48
Break
Roster Moves That Happened and Are Coming 32:55-42:42
Break
News and Notes/Preview (Reds/Astros Series) 43:56-51:27

Ryan Braun Now Officially A New Generations Robin Yount

2011-04-21T20:37:00.008-05:00

When I heard the news today while sitting in my cubicle at work the first thing I thought of was that Ryan Braun will most likely finish his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. Which will make my hope of Braun becoming a new generations Robin Yount come true. It is so rare in this day and age of sports for an athlete to spend their entire career with one club. This 5 year extension for Braun through 2020 (mutual option for 2021) makes that very realistic. The deal seems pretty good for the club as well as Braun. Although there is a risk anytime you give any player a deal for this length of time and dollar amount, as GM Doug Melvin said in the press conference today, you only do this type of deal for special players. Like Robin Yount before him, Ryan Braun is indeed a special player. No doubt in my mind he is worthy of this type of investment. I just hope that one day like Yount, Braun's #8 is retired into the rafters at Miller Park and that we Brewers fans get to witness a 3,000 hit or a 500th HR.

We will break the deal down much more in depth on episode 10 of the podcast this coming Monday night. Available on the site here as well as iTunes on Tuesday.

Listener Poll Results

2011-04-21T19:54:00.002-05:00

"Worst Brewers (semi) regular player in recent memory?"

Chad Moeller: 60%

Franklin Stubbs: 20%

Yuniesky Betancourt: 0%

Jesse Levis: 0%

Juan Bell: 20%

VFBC Podcast Episode 9

2011-04-19T18:00:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Offensive Woes (Betancourt, Gomez, Kotsay & Almonte Dreadful) 00-19:29
Break
Week Recap (Pirates/Nats Series) 20:46-34:12
Break
Defensive Alignments/Crazy Shifts/They Work 35:26-42:16
Break
Preview Week Ahead (Phillies/Astros Series) & News/Notes 43:30-52:11

Breaking News! (Not Really) VFBC Podcast Now Available On iTunes

2011-04-16T08:33:00.004-05:00

You asked for it and you shall get it. The View From Bernie's Chalet podcast with Jason, Alex and Brad is now available for download on iTunes. All 8 episodes and all future episodes will be there for you to download, sync to your iPod device of choice and listen to wherever you wish.

Just search the iTunes music store for "Brewers" or "View From Bernie's Chalet". Thanks again for listening, we really appreciate it.

Listener Poll Results

2011-04-13T20:57:00.001-05:00

"Who would you rather see in CF, batting 2nd?"

Carlos Gomez: 14%

Nyjer Morgan: 85%

VFBC Podcast Episode 8

2011-04-12T06:43:00.011-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Nyjer Morgan 00:00-15:24
Break
Week Recap 16:14-39:13
Break
Who do we send down 40:01-50:46
Break
News/Notes 52:12-1:00:18

VFBC Podcast Episode 7

2011-04-05T23:04:00.004-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Opening Day 00:00-17:35
Break
Reds Series 18:23-39:18
Break
Rickie Weeks Hot Start 40:16-49:44
Break
Preview Braves & Cubs Series/News and Notes 50:40-1:01:26

Listener Poll Results

2011-04-03T15:39:00.001-05:00

"How do you feel about the Dickerson/Mitre trade?"

I like it: 37%

I don't like it: 12%

Too early to tell: 50%

VFBC Podcast Episode 6-B (2011 Season Preview/Prediction Show)

2011-03-30T19:59:00.003-05:00

Here it is, the second part of our "long winded" Season preview/prediction show with our NL Picks. Spoiler: all three of us pick the Brewers to win the NL Central.

Breakdown of The Show:

NL Preview :00-45:47
Break
News and Notes 46:42-58:51

VFBC Podcast Episode 6-A (2011' Season Preview/Prediction Show)

2011-03-29T17:33:00.005-05:00

We got a little "long winded" with this show, had to separate it into two parts. First one available now with Trade talk and our AL preview/predictions. Second part available tomorrow night with our NL preview/predictions. Enjoy! (Please!)

Breakdown of The Show:

Intro :00-13:55

Break

AL Preview 14:42-55:34
To be continued....

Listener Poll Results

2011-03-26T09:24:00.001-05:00

"Will Carlos Gomez finally "break out" in 2011?"

Yes: 66%

No: 33%

25 Man Roster Prediction 1 Week Until Opening Day (UPDATE w/ Dickerson/Mitre & Morgan/Dykstra Trades)

2011-03-24T18:48:00.004-05:00

Starting Lineup:

C: George Kottaras
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Rickie Weeks
3B: Casey McGehee
SS: Yuniesky Betancourt
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Carlos Gomez
RF: Mark Kotsay

Bench:

Craig Counsell - IF
Will Nieves - C
Brandon Boggs - OF
Nyjer Morgan - OF
Erick Almonte - IF/OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf
Chris Narveson
(Marco Estrada up on 4/6)

Bullpen:

John Axford
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
Zack Braddock
Sean Green
Mitch Stetter
Brandon Kintzler (down on 4/6)
Sergio Mitre

Disabled List:

Zack Greinke
Jonathan Lucroy
Corey Hart
Manny Parra
LaTroy Hawkins

VFBC Podcast Episode 5

2011-03-23T18:37:00.005-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Intro/Roenicke And His Impact So Far? Positive :00-17:45
Break
Pitchers Having Poor Springs, Cause For Concern?: 18:22-33:18
Break
Minor Leaguers That Could Be Up At Some Point In 2011: 34:00-44:53
Break
News and Notes (Gamel To Play 1B, Estrada #5, Axford Merch) 45:23-56:06

Listener Poll Results

2011-03-16T20:44:00.002-05:00

"Who should be the Brewers 5th starter until Greinke returns?"

Mark Rogers: 73%

Amaury Rivas: 6%

Cody Scarpetta: 0%

Wily Peralta: 6%

Tim Dillard: 0%

Manny Parra: 13%

VFBC Podcast Episode 4

2011-03-15T17:48:00.003-05:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Injury Updates, Serious? (Greinke, Braun, Weeks, Hart, Parra, etc.) :00-25:29
Break
Bench Spots (Who gets the final couple spots?) 26:31-45:10
Break
Bullpen (Who gets the final couple spots?) 45:59-1:02:18
Break
News and Notes (Maple Street Press, Rick Peterson, Axford Theme Song) 1:03:33-1:17:16

25 Man Roster Prediction Three Weeks From Opening Day

2011-03-10T19:22:00.005-06:00

Starting Lineup:

C: George Kottaras
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Rickie Weeks
3B: Casey McGehee
SS: Yuniesky Betancourt
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Carlos Gomez
RF: Corey Hart

Bench:

Craig Counsell - IF
Will Nieves - C
Chris Dickerson - OF
Mark Kotsay - OF
Erik Almonte - IF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf
Chris Narveson
Mark Rogers

Bullpen:

John Axford
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
Zack Braddock
LaTroy Hawkins
Manny Parra
Sean Green

Disabled List:

Zack Greinke
Jonathan Lucroy

Listener Poll Results

2011-03-09T12:13:00.004-06:00

"Bigger threat to the Brewers in 2011?"

Cubs: 7%

Cardinals: 7%

Reds: 85%

VFBC Podcast Episode 3

2011-03-08T17:51:00.004-06:00

Break Down of The Show:

Possible McGehee Extension? :00-22:28
Break
Options For 6th Starter 23:20-41:25
Break
Spring Training Surprises/Youngsters 42:01-1:00:55
Break
News and Notes (Catching, Injury Updates, Broadcast Teams) 1:01:46-1:20:29
Close

YouTube Classic: MLB Network "All In One Place"

2011-03-06T13:30:00.004-06:00

One of the coolest commercials I have ever seen. Love the way they make it look like all these great players were all in studio 42 and interacting with one another. Talk about nostalgia. Best part, the appearance of Robin Yount.

VFBC Podcast Epiosde 2

2011-03-01T18:09:00.002-06:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Lucroy's Injury/Catching Options :00-17:02
Break
Greinke Interview/Interesting Cat 17:46-32:07
Break
Wainright Injury/Impact on NL Central 33:00-44:27
Break
Rotation Set/Marcum Home Opener 45:13-52:17
Break
News and Notes 52:48-59:26

Listener Poll Results

2011-03-01T17:47:00.003-06:00

"Where would you rather see Mat Gamel in 2011?"

Playing everyday in AAA Nashville: 50%

Bench in Milwaukee subbing at 3B, 1B, OF: 50%

VFBC Podcast Episode 1

2011-02-23T20:13:00.005-06:00

Breakdown of The Show:

Intro 0:00-3:55
What We Gained 3:55-21:45
What We Lost 21:45-37:30
Break
Biggest Question Marks 40:35-51:45
Replacements for Gomez/Betancourt 51:45-1:05
Break
Greinke in 3 Years 1:08-1:24
Break
Goodbye 1:27-1:33