BrewersNation Stops by to Talk Brewers
-Dexter Sports
9:19 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox
Recently I have been in contact with Jim Breen, Administrator and Lead Author of BrewersNation, one of, if not, the best Brewers blogs out there. Jim was nice enough to answer a few questions of ours. Here is what he had to say.
DS: First of All, How would you evaluate the first third of the season so far for the Brewers?
BN: I would give the Brewers a C for the beginning of the season thus far. It has been frustrating to watch the Brewers struggle offensively and on the pitching mound. Bill Hall has been a big disappointment at third base, and I feel JJ Hardy has regressed a bit from last season. The only consistent producers on the offensive side thus far have been Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. The team as a whole has not been hitting anywhere close to its potential, but they have had flashes of breaking out of their funk in the past couple weeks. We'll have to see.
The starting rotation cannot be characterized as anything other than a disappointment. Ben Sheets has been stellar on the mound, but Yovani Gallardo's injuries has hurt the team a lot. Suppan has been much better than last season, but I'm not completely convinced his success will lack. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's gotten better as the defense behind him has gotten better. What about Carlos Villanueva, Dave Bush, and Manny Parra? They have really let down the organization, in my opinion. They have flashes of brilliance, but they cannot harness it for more than a single start....or even just a few innings. The starting pitching will have to improve for the Brewers to have any shot at climbing above .500. Seth McClung is an intriguing story, but his lack of control tendencies are a big cause for concern. Milwaukee has a lot of talent that is not producing on the mound.
The revamped bullpen has been much better than advertised (minus Derrick Turnbow and Eric Gagne). The Brewers took another hit when David Riske hyper-extended his elbow, but Tim Dillard has responded exceedingly well to a May call-up. I suspect he'll stick around for a while. Salomon Torres, Brian Shouse, and Guillermo Mota have been solid all around. The problems the Brewers are experiencing do not stem from the bullpen.
I give them a C overall because there is a lot of talent on this team. They now need to produce. They are not young prospects anymore. It's time to get more consistent and prove you belong in the big leagues.
DS: We have seen the Brewers sign Ryan Braun long term, The Brewers have made a statement of keeping young talent. Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, Yovani Gallardo, Corey Hart and Prince Fielder all on one year contracts, who do you expect to be locked up? Who should the Brewers let go of?
BN: I don't think the Brewers will lock up anyone, to tell you the truth. Corey Hart is the most likely candidate (and the most deserving, in my opinion), but he's too close to his arbitration years to make it economically-viable for the Brewers. They could save money by trying arbitration, or simply going year to year. A small market team like the Brewers cannot afford to handcuff their funds right now. The inconsistency of Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy are perfect examples of why you do not lock young players up long-term, besides the rare exception. Many Brewers fans want Prince Fielder locked up, but he's going to demand far too much money.
Milwaukee would be wise to look at moving J.J. Hardy near the trade deadline if they are still struggling. The team has a budding superstar in Alcides Escobar in the minor leagues, and he could be ready as early as next season. I believe that J.J.'s power binge last year was an aberration, and he will not hit those numbers again. He's a fine defender, and the Brewers could get a couple quality prospects for him. With that said, I don't think Doug Melvin will do anything like that. I suspect Bill Hall's name will be thrown around.
DS: With the MLB draft coming up, The Brewers have a good opportunity to improve their system with numerous supplementary picks. In the Dexter-Sports Mock Draft, the Brewers went after catcher Jason Castro of Stanford in the first round. Explain where you think the Brewers need to focus in the draft to make their good system that much better.
BN: I've seen Jason Castro's name connected to Milwaukee in the past week or so. He's a power-hitting catcher, and a lefty at that. He makes a lot of sense for Milwaukee in a certain sense, but I don't think that's where Milwaukee needs to go...or will go for that matter. Jonathan Lucroy and Angel Salome are fine catching prospects that provide the same type of power that Castro does. One shouldn't overlook Vinny Rottino either. The Brewers organization are pushing for Vinny to make the transition behind the plate.
I believe the Brewers need to get some polished arms in the system. Much of the bullpen is not signed past this year, and the Brewers do not have any better options in the starting rotation than they are throwing out there right now. I suspect Jack Z will take a couple of college arms and a high-risk, high-reward high school arm. RHP Joshua Fields is a possible choice, but I really think the Brewers are leaning towards LHP Christian Friedrich from Eastern Kentucky. He's a solid arm that has very little risk (as far as pitchers go, at least). He's someone the Brewers could push through the system fairly quickly. The same with Fields.
DS: We have heard of the AA Huntsville trio; Matt LaPorta, Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar. Tell us about one prospect, that we might not know, that could impact the Brewers in the short future.
BN: How about OF Michael Brantley. The 21-year old has been tearing up Huntsville along with the Big Three you alluded to. He's a true lead-off hitter...something the Brewers are lacking in the big leagues right now. Brantley is hitting .328 with 22 RBI and 16 stolen bases. The power will come. He's still a young man who is filling into his body. He does have 10 doubles, but more power would be nice. The real reason I love the guy is his plate discipline. Remember he is 21-years old. How many prospects that age have a 22:11 BB:K ratio? The scary thing is that his plate discipline should improve as he matures in the league. He's still a couple years out of the big leagues, I believe, but he's one to watch. Perhaps for 2010.
DS: One of the main issues concerning the media around Milwaukee is the closer issue. We at Dexter-Sports feel that Solomon Torres is a fine fix at least until Eric Gagne gets back. What are you feelings on the situation? Should the Brewers go get a closer?
BN: Salomon has done just fine. He's actually making a bid at stealing the job outright. I highly doubt he wants to give back the closing duties to Eric Gagne after he returns. Salomon has been pounding the strike zone...something foreign to Gagne this season. The ninth inning is in good hands with Salomon. The Brewers do not need to be shopping for a closer. As a team under .500, they are not buyers. They shouldn't be sacrificing the years to come to appease the fans that are too shortsighted to understand the consequences of trading two or three top prospects away for an injury-prone closer like Huston Street. No, the Brewers are just fine in the pen right now.
DS: Finally, we just got to know, who is your favorite Brewer all time?
BN: This is going to be extremely odd, but my favorite Brewer is Chris Capuano. He has alienated me a bit in the past couple years with his struggles on the mound, but I still wear my Capuano jersey with pride. I love his work ethic and his attitude towards the game. He does not have overpowering stuff, so he has to outwork and out-think the opponents. That and his change-up is nasty. I very much enjoy watching hitters lose their balance and swing over his change-up. It will not be a popular choice, but I'm sticking with it.
9:19 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox
Recently I have been in contact with Jim Breen, Administrator and Lead Author of BrewersNation, one of, if not, the best Brewers blogs out there. Jim was nice enough to answer a few questions of ours. Here is what he had to say.
DS: First of All, How would you evaluate the first third of the season so far for the Brewers?
BN: I would give the Brewers a C for the beginning of the season thus far. It has been frustrating to watch the Brewers struggle offensively and on the pitching mound. Bill Hall has been a big disappointment at third base, and I feel JJ Hardy has regressed a bit from last season. The only consistent producers on the offensive side thus far have been Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. The team as a whole has not been hitting anywhere close to its potential, but they have had flashes of breaking out of their funk in the past couple weeks. We'll have to see.
The starting rotation cannot be characterized as anything other than a disappointment. Ben Sheets has been stellar on the mound, but Yovani Gallardo's injuries has hurt the team a lot. Suppan has been much better than last season, but I'm not completely convinced his success will lack. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's gotten better as the defense behind him has gotten better. What about Carlos Villanueva, Dave Bush, and Manny Parra? They have really let down the organization, in my opinion. They have flashes of brilliance, but they cannot harness it for more than a single start....or even just a few innings. The starting pitching will have to improve for the Brewers to have any shot at climbing above .500. Seth McClung is an intriguing story, but his lack of control tendencies are a big cause for concern. Milwaukee has a lot of talent that is not producing on the mound.
The revamped bullpen has been much better than advertised (minus Derrick Turnbow and Eric Gagne). The Brewers took another hit when David Riske hyper-extended his elbow, but Tim Dillard has responded exceedingly well to a May call-up. I suspect he'll stick around for a while. Salomon Torres, Brian Shouse, and Guillermo Mota have been solid all around. The problems the Brewers are experiencing do not stem from the bullpen.
I give them a C overall because there is a lot of talent on this team. They now need to produce. They are not young prospects anymore. It's time to get more consistent and prove you belong in the big leagues.
DS: We have seen the Brewers sign Ryan Braun long term, The Brewers have made a statement of keeping young talent. Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, Yovani Gallardo, Corey Hart and Prince Fielder all on one year contracts, who do you expect to be locked up? Who should the Brewers let go of?
Milwaukee would be wise to look at moving J.J. Hardy near the trade deadline if they are still struggling. The team has a budding superstar in Alcides Escobar in the minor leagues, and he could be ready as early as next season. I believe that J.J.'s power binge last year was an aberration, and he will not hit those numbers again. He's a fine defender, and the Brewers could get a couple quality prospects for him. With that said, I don't think Doug Melvin will do anything like that. I suspect Bill Hall's name will be thrown around.
DS: With the MLB draft coming up, The Brewers have a good opportunity to improve their system with numerous supplementary picks. In the Dexter-Sports Mock Draft, the Brewers went after catcher Jason Castro of Stanford in the first round. Explain where you think the Brewers need to focus in the draft to make their good system that much better.
I believe the Brewers need to get some polished arms in the system. Much of the bullpen is not signed past this year, and the Brewers do not have any better options in the starting rotation than they are throwing out there right now. I suspect Jack Z will take a couple of college arms and a high-risk, high-reward high school arm. RHP Joshua Fields is a possible choice, but I really think the Brewers are leaning towards LHP Christian Friedrich from Eastern Kentucky. He's a solid arm that has very little risk (as far as pitchers go, at least). He's someone the Brewers could push through the system fairly quickly. The same with Fields.
DS: We have heard of the AA Huntsville trio; Matt LaPorta, Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar. Tell us about one prospect, that we might not know, that could impact the Brewers in the short future.
DS: One of the main issues concerning the media around Milwaukee is the closer issue. We at Dexter-Sports feel that Solomon Torres is a fine fix at least until Eric Gagne gets back. What are you feelings on the situation? Should the Brewers go get a closer?
DS: Finally, we just got to know, who is your favorite Brewer all time?
