Bullpen Help On The Way

By now you have probably seen all over various Brewers blogs that RHP Jesus Colome will most likely be called up tomorrow from AAA Nashville. Colome was released by the Nationals last month and the Brewers picked him up and sent him to Nashville. All he has done there is throw 7 scoreless innings with 11 K's to 2 BB's. He has a mid 90's fastball and could turn out to be a nice option out of the pen in middle relief. And if not, he can't really be any worse then RJ Swindle or Chris Smith have been out of the pen. Those two are the most likely options to be the player sent down to make room on the roster for Colome. The Brewers don't really have any pitcher out of the pen other then Coffey that can throw gas so Colome will be a welcome addition.

I have to say, those west coast games really take it out of me. I was not able to stay awake for any of the games in their entirety's. I usually made it through 6 innings watching on TV and then fell asleep listening to Uecker and Cory on the radio of my alarm clock on sleep. And I still woke up every morning this week very tired and yawning my way through work at the office each day. Thank God the west coats trip is over, although in September the Brewers do head to Arizona, but those games are on a a weekend. Yeah!

As for the Fielder incident on Tuesday night, it was what it was. He was upset and let his emotions get the best of him. We have seen this before with the Manny Parra shove incident last season. Prince can be a very calm mild mannered guy, but every so often some clicks in his head and he kind of goes off the deep end. Almost a little scary, but I appreciate the passion and intensity. I'm just thankful he was not suspended any games for what he did, I thought for sure he would get at least one game. Especially since you don't hear about that kind of thing really ever happening. First time in my 27 years that I have heard of a player going to the other teams clubhouse in rage.

Reader Poll Results

"Which Brewers prospect will have the best MLB career?"

Mat Gamel: 14% (2 Votes)

Alcides Escobar: 57% (8 Votes)

Brett Lawrie: 28% (4 Votes)

Taylor Green: 0% (0 Votes)

The Downfall

With today's news after the Brewers won their second game in a row and split a four game series with the Nationals that Bill Hall accepted an assignment to AAA Nashville to work on his swing and Jeff Suppan after some terrible starts, was put on the 15 day DL with an oblique strain it seems these two have hit rock bottom (if they hadn't already). Also, not related to today's news but with the season long slump of JJ Hardy and the setback after Tommy John surgery for Chris Capuano which will not allow him to pitch in a game this season, it appears these four guys have all been on a downfall after showing promise. They have all experienced highs that gave Brewers fans like myself hope that they could be keys to a possible World Series title someday. But instead, they may end up just being known for one thing, which may have started their downfalls. Those horrible performances on a daytime sopa opera "The Young And The Restless" during the 2007 season. Let's take a look back.....

Should Suppan and Capuano be giving advice on a fasbtall? Neither guy can throw more then 90 MPH.

If that actor could throw 95 MPH, he would be a much better option then Suppan. And would anyone want a training session from him for anything other then how to throw batting practice?

Perhaps they should not have been talking about going to the World Series, spitting in the face of the baseball Gods.

Suppan will probably be holding onto that 2006 playoff performance for his next contract to.

I'm not sure Chris Capunao was ever the best lefty in the NL Central, much less the entire league.

Bill Hall has had some big game winning hits, but has not put together a big season since 2006.

I wish at some point this season JJ would have a "hot" bat and a long hitting streak, both our doubtful at this point in time.

And Hardy, the guy who makes the women in Milwaukee's panties wet and the guys puke when he GIDP has the lamest line of the whole shitty performance; "She can warm up with me anytime, I'm gonna need her name and number." JJ, you are a douche bag.

This whole thing was a constant poke at the baseball Gods. And today with the Hall and Suppan news I finally pieced everything together. This soap opera gig was a bad idea, for everyone and has damaged these guys for a few years now. None of them have been the same, well Hardy was pretty good in 2008.

As I Sit Here Watching Tonight's Game.....

Manny Parra really has not pitched that bad. Sure he walked two run in, but all night he has seemingly got ahead of hitters and is not really having much of a problem getting the first 2 outs. But he is having trouble putting hitters away and closing out innings getting that 3rd out. His fastball has looked very crisp tonight consistently between 93-96 MPH. If he can really find a what his strike out or "put away" pitch is he could really have turned his young career around. I'm just not sure yet what that pitch is? His curve or his split? He really needs to work on making one of those real good to go with his good fastball and change. Sure the 5 runs Parra has given up don't look very good, but he has gone 6 innings with 7 K's and has worked ahead most of the night. All encouraging signs for Manny. As hard as I have been on him at times here, I'm not gonna give up on. In this his fourth start since his Nashville stint you can see improvement and a guy with more confidence. Still just has to refine and work on a few things. And as they say, you can't teach being a lefty who throws in the mid 90's.

I Do Not Believe Carlos Villanueva Gives Us The Best Chance To Win

But apparently Ken Macha does. Today in his pregame presser with the media Macha named Villanueva his starter for tomorrow's game vs Washington. This is a sick joke right? A bad dream? A sick demented twilight zone? No, it's truth and fact. A guy with a 6.18 ERA out of the bullpen and a 2-7 record will make a start for the Brewers tomorrow.

Of course it could be worse, we could trot Mike Burns or Seth McClung out there again. But throwing "Villa" out there is not much better then those two options. Most (myself included) thought tomorrow's starter would either be a guy the Brewers traded for (Washburn, didn't happened after heavy rumors) or Tim Dillard who the Brewers called up from AAA Nashville on Sunday. Dillard seemed like a better choice then Villanueva, he has been starting all year in Nashville with pretty good number all be them at AAA. 10-4 with a 3.66 ERA. Given the fact they gave Burns and McClung chances you would think Dillard would be next in line. I like Ken Macha and think he has done as good a job as he could have this season so far, but this move really boggles my mind. If the Brewers don't win tonight I have a hard time believing they can tomorrow to keep the chances alive of taking at least three from the lowly Nationals.

Prove me wrong Carlos and Ken. I'm rooting for you, but not with much confidence.

I'm Really Starting To Realize

After seeing the Brewers drop 2 of 3 to the Braves at home this weekend, I think for the first time this season I really see that this team really just is not that good. They are okay, maybe a little above average, but not really a playoff contender. It pains me to have to write that, but I think I really believe it now. The pitching staff both starters and bullpen is a complete mess, save for Gallardo, Hoffman, Stetter and Coffey. Pretty much everyone else has been average or below average, especially that 5th starter spot which has been terrible between McClung and Burns. Tim Dillard will now get a chance to fill that role Tuesday after getting called up from AAA Nashville yesterday. Looper has a nice W/L record but has given up a ton of homeruns and his ERA is not to pretty, same for Suppan save for his W/L record not being very good. Manny Parra has had two really nice starts since getting recalled from Nashville and one "okay" start so he is at least showing some improvement and promise.

The bullpen just can't be trusted. Outside of the three names I listed above. Smith, Burns, Villanueva, McClung and to a lesser extend DiFelice have all had issues and when any come into a tight ball game I'm not usually real confident they will keep the lead or keep the Brewers close if behind. Maybe I'm being a little to hard on Mark DiFelice, he has been almost outstanding against right handed hitters. But he just can't seem to get left handed hitters out at all. I know Al from Al's Ramblings has called him a "ROOGY" and he is probably right.

As for the offense, well it is a story of inconsistency outside of our two All-Stars Braun and Fielder. Those two have been there all year hitting for average, power and getting on base. Without them I would hate to even think where this club would be. Craig Counsell and Casey McGehee have been very pleasant surprises playing above their expectations and have filled in nicely for the injured Rickie Weeks and the disastrous Bill Hall. Felipe Lopez just got here, but looks pretty good thus far. The rest of the offense has been nothing to write home about. Especially JJ Hardy and Corey Hart. Those two have underachieved so much that it has really killed this team from having a consistent offense. Both have played WAY below expectations. And in todays game it looked like Corey Hart was really lacing in effort, which never sits well with fans or management. If they were even putting up numbers close to their career norms, I might not be writing this blog. And don't get me started on the bench, it's been terrible. Gerut (who dropped a ball a little leaguer would have caught today, just looked pathetic), Hall, Rivera and Catalanotto have not done much of anything to note.

Basically what I'm getting at is that this team is not one or maybe even two players away from being a real contender so I would hate to see the Brewers make a trade to mortgage the future for a player(s) that won't do much for us. Just stand pat with what we have and hope they somehow get hot and we sneak into the playoffs. If not, hey no big deal. I'm still gonna watch and support this team no matter what. Then you go into the offseason and you have some trading chips like Hart and Hardy that you can get more value for at that time. Next year Gamel and Escobar should be up and contributing and you get Rickie Weeks back who was playing outstanding before getting hurt, I still think that was a HUGE loss for this team that they never really recovered from. Right now the Brewers stand at .500, 49-49 and maybe that is who they really are.

Reader Poll Results

"Who scares you more when he pitches?"

Seth McClung: 11% (2 Votes)

Carlos Villanueva: 88% (16 Votes)

My Brewers Dream Trade Shattered By Peter Gammons

For a few weeks now I had been dreaming of a trade between the Brewers and the Boston Red Sox. They have been scurrying for a SS, we have two. One has been an All-Star and the other a super prospect ready for big league action. The Brewers need another starter, the Red Sox have a surplus of those. Add all that up and I was hoping to see a JJ Hardy for Clay Buchholz trade straight up. And until yesterday I still had hope it could possibly happen. We trade Hardy, bring up Escobar to play SS and then add a young stud pitcher to our rotation in Buchholz.

My dream was shot down yesterday as Peter Gammons reported that the Red Sox turned down a deal for all world hitting catcher Victor Martinez because the Indians wanted Buchholz. If the Sox wouldn't even move Buchholz for a guy like Martinez, there is no way they would deal him for Hardy. Buchholz seems to be as "untouchable" as can be.

And for the record, put me in the "don't make a deal for Halladay" camp. Way to expensive, no way would I give up 4-6 players for one pitcher who could opt to not even be here next season. The only way I would trade a combo of Parra/Lawrie/Gamel/Escobar plus others for Halladay is if we were absolutely guaranteed a World Series Championship and since that is impossible, I will pass on Doc, I hope Doug feels the same way.