For starters, Brewers need another quality pitcher
Posted by:
gwoelfel on
May 25, 2009 at
12:22AM CST
BY GERY WOELFEL
There isn't any reason in the world Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin needs to make a trade now.
After all, the Brewers are still atop the NL Central Division standing, albeit tied with the St. Louis Cardinals.
But Melvin should be poised to swing a deal and, as far as I'm concerned, the sooner, the better.
In being swept by the Minnesota Twins, the Brewers' two major weaknesses were clearly exposed:
1) They sorely need a leadoff hitter now that Rickie Weeks is out for the season.
2) They sorely need another quality starting pitcher.
Brewers manager Ken Macha can probably find a solution to the former problem with his current cast. My ever-humble suggestion would be to move Corey Hart to the top of the lineup.
Macha isn't likely to find a solution to the latter problem, though. That's where Melvin has to give him some help.
In the three losses to the Twins, each and every Brewers starting pitcher struggled. To wit:
-- Friday night, Manny Parra gave up nine runs, eight earned,in just three innings. Parra has yet to pitch into the seventh inning this season. His ERA is feeble 5.79.
-- Saturday night, Braden Looper lasted just six innings. He surrendered four earned runs, along with nine hits.
On May 2, Looper's ERA was an impressive 3.10. It's now an unimpressive 4.47.
-- Sunday night, Dave Bush departed in the sixth inning as well. He yielded four earned runs on five hits. He walked four.
While Bush had pitched well prior to Sunday's outing and still sports a nifty 3.92 ERA, he has a track record of being a mediocre pitcher. In fact, his career record is 46-47.
If the Brewers want to be a certifiable NL title contender, Melvin has to acquire a sure-fire No. 2 pitcher behind staff ace Yovani Gallardo. The sooner, the better.
"In being swept by the Minnesota Twins, the Brewers' two major weaknesses were clearly exposed: 1) They sorely need a leadoff hitter now that Rickie Weeks is out for the season. 2) They sorely need another quality starting pitcher."
I disagree. Their major weakness was: 1) Swinging for the fence. No patience. They had Zero walks in the last game. If they have no discipline, it doesn't matter who leads off. That goes for their lack of stolen bases too.
I hope Macha can "tighten up" this team for the Cardinal series. Pitchers perform better when they get some support from both on the field and from behind the plate.
This team needed another/better starting pitcher before the year even started. They have one #1 pitcher and 4 #4/5's Corey Hart leading off? you mean the same Corey Hart that has a career OBP of .322? No thanks! I think most teams have figured out that he can't hit a slider They don't currently have anyone on the team that is a prototypical lead off man, actually they haven't had one in a couple years now, they don't really have one in the minors thats close to moving up either.
Screwball- This team has shown more patience this year then they have in any other year that I can remember. The reason they were swinging early in the Minnesota series is because of the Twins pitchers ability to pound the strike zone..better to swing early then bat from behind all day. I think they even discussed this before the start of the series.
christ, they're in first place and had a WINNING road trip despite the sweep. you win on the road, no matter by how many games, it's a tough thing to do. way to overreact
Posted by: Brett Favre on May 26, 2009 11:36AM CST
Way to tell the whole story Gery. Milwaukee has the 6th best team ERA in baseball, not to mention the 2nd lowest batting avg against them. You could say the same thing about any other team, that they need more pitching. Maybe there aren't any studs after Gallardo, but they are good enough to keep them in the game where they have one of the best bullpens around. Seriously, Milwaukee has the 2nd best record in baseball. Go cover the Bucks or something, don't screw with the only winning team in Milwaukee.
I'm not suprised this guy comes out of the woodwork to criticize the Brewers when they struggle for the first time in a month and a half. Brett Favre is exactly right - Gery IS NOT telling the whole story. Where was he when the Brewers were winning series after series? I'm not saying the Brewers don't have potential problem spots but I wouldn't write a such a negative article as the one above. Every team has one issue or another - ask Cubs fans. But then again we have seen this particular "sports writer" write these types of articles time and time again, unless it's an article about the awful Milwaukee Bucks. Please Journal Times I wan't to support you, maybe even pay for a subscription, but I won't until I see more articles from guys like Peter Jackel. I agree with The Raytown Kid - winning on the road is tough. Also, the Twins are pretty hot right now. To leave this little fact our of your article is typical.
1) Yes I know and I agree. I was referring only to this series. 2) Yes I know, but there was a couple of spots where they should of got a walk/steal. Playing the Twinks in that ridiculous roller dome frustrates this Brewer fan (i.e. broken bat triple, pop-up doubles, lost in the lights, etc). 3) If they discussed this prior to the game, I missed it.
IMHO, I disagree (again) with GW as to what they should focus on. I don't think they have GLARING, CATASTROPHIC, MAJOR weaknesses. If they did, they wouldn't be where they are now, which seems to boggle GW that you can be swept and STILL BE IN 1ST PLACE.
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Posted by: trentonwilmore on October 27, 2009 6:06AM CST
The reason they were swinging early in the Minnesota series is because of the Twins pitchers ability to pound the strike zone..better to swing early then bat from behind all day. I think they even discussed this before the start of the series.
Posted by: trentonwilmore on October 27, 2009 6:06AM CST
I wan't to support you, maybe even pay for a subscription, but I won't until I see more articles from guys like Peter Jackel. I agree with The Raytown Kid - winning on the road is tough. Also, the Twins are pretty hot right now. To leave this little fact our of your article is typical.
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