The Brewer Nation

September 2009: Personal Milestone Time

September 2008 was a time for celebration for both the Milwaukee Brewers and their fans. A playoff berth, the team's first since appearing in the 1982 World Series, was clinched on the final day of the regular season and the streamers rained down inside of Miller Park. One of the longest playoff droughts in Major League Baseball came to an end and the city of Milwaukee rejoiced.

September 2009, on the contrary, has been a time of hoping to finish the year above .500 in the win/loss percentages. It has become a time of cringing whenever an opponent takes a lead in a ballgame. It has become a time of fans clamoring for the return of both Packer football and, to a lesser extent, Bucks basketball. (And when you're ready for the return of Bucks basketball, you know things aren't going particularly well with the beermakers.)

Another thing that this edition of September is providing, but on the optimism end of the spectrum, is individual players chasing down personal- and team-bests in the game most driven by numbers.

September 19th gave us the falling of a team record when Prince Fielder finally broke his tie with a another Brewer first baseman, Cecil Cooper, in regular season RBI. Fielder hit a sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the 8th inning in a game which the Brewers would go on to win. Congratulations to the "Heir to the Throne" as he set another Brewer record.

September 20th gave us three things. First, a nice moment before the game when Prince Fielder was honored for setting the aforementioned RBI mark. Instead of, as what usually happens when a player is honored for something prior to a game, just Manager Ken Macha coming out with a trophy, the entire available team and coaching staff joined Macha for the recognition. What's more, Cecil Cooper himself (in town because the record was broken against the visiting Houston Astros of which Cooper is the manager) also came out to congratulate Fielder. Cooper received a loud ovation from the sparse crowd. I know because I was there.

Second, the 3rd inning gave us our second milestone in the last two days when Yovani Gallardo recorded his third strikeout of the game which brought his season total to an even 200. Gallardo struck out Astro pitcher Felipe Paulino to reach the mark and then, if for no other reason than to prove he didn't have to get it against the pitcher, struck out Astro lead-off man Michael Bourn for the second time in the game to end the Top of the 3rd inning with 201 strikeouts. Gallardo would end his day after five scoreless innings with seven Ks, giving him 204 on the season. He is definitely ready to officially assume the "Ace" role next year when the Brewers open their 40th anniversary season on April 5th. Though enough about April. We're still talking about Septembers.

The third thing that was accomplished this September was the felling of another team record for Fielder. It happened today as well when Fielder was walked for the 100th time this season. He is the first Brewer to ever reach the century mark in free passes (which makes sense why it's a team record then, doesn't it?) and in doing so he broke his tie in that category with Jeromy Burnitz (who, for what it's worth, is tied for 3rd in single-season RBI total with 125).

Fielder also extended his RBI mark today when he reached a personal threshold by slugging his 40th home run of the year. All in all, a couple of nice days that come during a current stretch of good play that has seen the Brewers win five in a row and eight of their last 10.

Oh, and as for that finishing with a .500 or better record thing from before? The team took another step in the right direction today by drawing to within a game of even as they increased their record to 74-75.

After all, it might be a time for personal milestones, but a little bit of a good feeling based on the team's fortunes wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Pujols As Petulant as Anyone, Just Smarter About It

Here's fair warning, and you'll already know the result here before you finish reading, but this blog could go one of two ways. It might be a three paragraph post just to prove my point, or it could quite easily balloon into a marathon of topics that cover the enormity of what's gone on in the Brewers' world since the Brewer Nation's interview of Brooks Hall.

So like I said, you'll know just by scrolling down and seeing how long this post is, but I'm about to find out as I type. So...let's get to the discovery portion of our show...

Tonight, I went to Miller Park expecting to see the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the St. Louis Cardinals. Some people might say that my expectations were the stuff of folly, especially since the redbirds hung a blown save on Trevor Hoffman (only his third of the year) en route to handing the Brewers their 72nd loss of the year (which matches last season's total, coincidentally).

Anyway, as I sat in Section 415 looking down upon the field, I saw my favorite pitcher of all time (yes, John Smoltz) give up three runs in the first two innings. Having hit him well in St. Louis a few days ago, it was encouraging to see the Brewers get off to a good start tonight. Alas, 'twould not hold up this evening. As I mentioned above, Hoffman was touched up for just his second home run of the year when Matt Holliday dented the batter's eye by sending a good pitch from Hoffman deep.

Here's where we get to the point of the title of this post. Prior to Holliday's at-bat, with the Brewers clinging to a one-run lead, Albert Pujols drew a five-pitch walk. (Side note: By this point I was down in the 9th row of Section 115 courtesy of a couple of friends that left early and handed off their duckets.) I wasn't watching Pujols reach first base, so I don't know if there were any pleasantries exchanged between Pujols and Prince Fielder, though I doubt it. But regardless of that, I make mention of Pujols being on 1st base because as he scored the tying run he turned to wait for Holliday to score to congratulate him as any good teammate would do. It's what he was doing while waiting for Holliday that I take issue with.

But before we get to that, let's go over my real issue with Albert Pujols. Much has been said about the Milwaukee Brewers and their propensity for enjoying what they do. A lot of "old school" baseball people have spoken out about the Brewers' post-game celebration of untucking their jerseys. Brewers fans know why they do it and to hell with anybody that takes issue with an innocent display. But Albert Pujols and the Cardinals, the keepers of the morality in baseball apparently, took major offense to it. It got to the point, because the Brewers beat the Cardinals a bunch in a row including sweeping them in St. Louis earlier this year, that after a walk-off victory at Miller Park, the team and coaches sprinted into the dugout in a childish, sure, (yet awesome) overreaction on the part of the Brewers. Pujols and Cardinals whined about that as well.

So, given all that, Pujols apparently thinks that all showmanship and gamesmanship and grandstanding and showboating and celebrating are all disrespectful, right? Well, not quite. Apparently Pujols thinks that anything that can be picked up on by cameras because it's a big demonstration or somehow stands out is the problem. Like when the Brewers walked off against the San Franciso Giants on Sunday afternoon which lead to the following image of the Brewers celebrating as a team.

So, he either thinks that about just the grandiose displays or he's a gigantic hypocrite. Then again, it might be that he's both.

Pujols, after all, likes to give a hop step from time to time when he knows he got a hold of one. He also likes to walk down the first base line, bat in hand, watching home runs fly and then grandly tossing his bat aside as if to say that he didn't even need it to hit a home run. He also makes a spectacle of pointing up to the heavens as he steps on home plate after each home run.

But tonight, it was something else altogether that I took issue with. Pujols, as I said, was awaiting Holliday's arrival at home run to score the go ahead run. Holliday's trot around the bases started with a hop step, by the way, so Pujols had better speak out about his teammate's disrespect, but I digress. Pujols, while waiting, was burning a hole somewhere. At first, I thought it was at Hoffman because the angle made sense as Hoffman was waiting for a ball to be tossed back to him. However, as Hoffman walked back to the mound, Pujols' eyes did not follow him. Instead, it became clear where Pujols was staring.

It was down the first base line, about 100 feet away, into the eyes of Prince Fielder. Pujols was sporting a cocky, shit-eating grin on his face all the while. Fielder, to his credit, made no indication that the staredown was taking place, but Pujols did not look away until Holliday scored and he was lining up a high-ten for his teammate.

So, was Pujols' look (which screamed "Take that and shove it up for ass, Fielder!", by the way) respectful simply because it wasn't noticed? Was it the "right" way to do things because he didn't grandstand but still got his message across? Was his smirk appropriate because it didn't cause anybody else to notice that he was needling the Brewers' star?

Perhaps you think it was all those things. Either way, I'd like to read your thoughts below in the comments. But personally, by now you know how I feel about it. And that is to say that celebration is fine with me and if you earned the situation that allows for that celebration, then you may do just that. Yes, it's annoying when it happens to you, but as has been said countless times about the "untuck 'em" philosophy of the Brewers, if you don't want it to happen, then don't allow the situation to occur in which it happens.

To finish off this thought, though, Pujols shouldn't be doing anything of the sort since he has such an issue with everything that's done at the expense of the Cardinals. If you want to do things like staring down your opponent with a arrogant smirk plastered to your face, Albert, then stop whining when in kind is done to you. That's all I'm saying.

But again, Brewer Nation...what do you think?

Brooks Hall Interview Transcript

Hey everyone! The Brewer Nation podcast team was fortunate enough to be joined earlier today by the Milwaukee Brewers' 4th round draft pick from the 2009 First-Year Player Draft: Brooks Hall.

To listen to the interview, please download the podcast by heading here. As I write this, the latest podcast has not yet been posted, but it should be shortly. Until then or if reading is your thing, below is the transcript of that chat.

Enjoy!

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Big Rygg: Alright guys, Adam "Big" Rygg here along with Cary Kostka for the Brewer Nation blog. Doing us the gigantic favor of joining us today is Brewer draft pick 2009 4th Round draft pick selection, Brooks Hall out of T.L. Hanna High School.

Brooks was, like I said, the 4th round pick overall; Pitcher; had one heck of a senior year down there in South Carolina and like I said he was nice enough to join us today so thanks to Brooks.

How's it going today, man?

Brooks Hall: Going good. It's going good. Just got done playing golf today.

BR: Excellent. Probably a beautiful day for it down there.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: Excellent. Well, yeah, like I said, I had sent you those questions so let's get into those real quick and we'll see where it takes us.

Hall: Okay. Alright.

BR: How did you feel, obviously you must have known you had some pro scouts at some of your games...

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: ...you been on people's radar screens, how did it feel when you actually got that call that you had been drafted by a professional baseball franchise?

Hall: It was, I mean, it was a good feeling. The first day went by in a flurry and I didn't get picked then. So the next day, I mean, all my friends went down to the beach. I was down, I was actually on the beach when they called me. I was actually sittin' on a beach when I got drafted.

BR: That's great.

Hall: It was great.

BR: Just having the opportunity to relax, not having to worry about it, that's probably definitely good.

Hall: Yeah, tell me about it. It was a little nerve-racking.

BR: I'll bet. You just don't know what your future's going to hold there.

Hall: That's right.

BR: Now did you expect to be drafted, I mean, in the fourth round? Did scouts kind of give you any indication of, you know, where...

Hall: Yeah, somewhere, yeah. First five rounds I thought. That's what they were telling me. I just, I mean, I just knew that. Probably if I didn't get hurt this year, it probably would've been a lot better, but I think my injury did something to it, a little bit but...

BR: And you recovered from that, or how's that going?

Hall: Yeah, I recovered from that. It was nothing big. It was just like a little strain in my forearm. Just stuff like that happens.

BR: Oh, sure. Day-to-day baseball stuff.

Hall: Yeah, I came back one-hundred percent, so I was fine.

BR: Excellent. Excellent. Now, and I ask this question only because I just haven't been able to find the information anywhere but have you signed a pro contract yet, or...?

Hall: No, not yet. I think it'll be like in the next week, the next few weeks. It's gonna have to be before the 17th. I mean, they said they'll get it done. They'll get it done it's just the commissioner, the baseball commissioner's, taking too long. I signed over slot money so it'll just take them a while.

BR: So then your plan then is definitely to sign and begin your pro career and forego the commitment to South Carolina?

Hall: Yeah, I'll be moving to Arizona after I sign. So I'll be out... I'm not going to South Carolina, no sir.

BR: Excellent. That's good news for Brewer fans, I'll tell ya.

Cary Kostka: For sure.

BR: We could definitely use some quality arms in the system, no doubt about that.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: Now, considering, obviously your accomplishments on the mound like you had a great senior season, you pitched that perfect game that we'll get to in a second here... But I mean you do, I assume, see yourself, in your pro career, as a starting pitcher?

Hall: Yeah, as a pitcher. Yes, sir.

BR: Okay. Yeah, I noticed that you had also been listed as an infielder, I believe a third baseman, so I wasn't sure, you know, exactly what the scouts were telling you but I assume getting picked that high that pitching was...

Hall: Yeah, I'll be a pitcher. I had some teams looking at me as an infielder but I don't think I would've been picked as high.

BR: Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking there too. Now, about then your pitches that you do throw... I had read that your fastball is clocked, routinely, over 90.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: How hard do you throw? What kind of pitches do you throw?

Hall: This year, I mean, this year I got up to 96. It was 96 this year.

BR: Okay.

Hall: I'd say a couple of games. I mean I'm usually like 92, 93 on the fastball there. I got a slider, a circle change and a curveball.

BR: Oh, so you throw four pitches?

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: Excellent. And just because I've never had the fortune of seeing you pitch in person, do those breaking pitches, do you throw them for strikes or are they more of the swing and miss strikeout pitches or what?

Hall: No, I throw them for strikes, yes, sir.

CK: If there was a major league pitcher that looked, that pitched, just like you...

Hall: Yes, sir?

CK: Who would that be?

Hall: Who would that be?

BR: Yeah. Who do you compare yourself to that's currently in the game? Is there anybody out there that you think has your same kind of style? Same kind of pitch selection?

Hall: Uh...I don't really know. I don't really know that. I mean, not really, I guess. That's a hard question.

BR: Yeah, obviously we kind of sprung that one on you there. But, we were just kind of curious if you had been told by anyone that "Hey, you remind me of...". That type of thing.

Hall: No, I haven't had anybody tell me anything like that. No, sir.

BR: Okay. Now did you have...who was your baseball hero growing up? I'm sure you had to have at least one.

Hall: Derek Jeter.

BR: Yeah?

Hall: Yeah, that's my favorite player.

BR: Excellent. Yeah, he's a very, obviously well-known and Hall of Fame, future Hall of Famer. So, not a bad choice at all. Personally, mine was Robin Yount but again, I'm a little bit older, so...

CK: They're both shortstops.

BR: They were both shortstops.

Hall: I like Brooks Robinson too. That's who I was named after, so...

BR: Oh! No kidding...

CK: Really?

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: That I wouldn't have known. See, now I may as well ask it since it was brought up, "Brooks", is that your middle name because I saw on the roster that...

Hall: Yup. That's my middle name, yes sir.

BR: Okay. And that's just, you choose to go by that then. That makes sense to me obviously with the baseball connection there.

Hall: Yeah. Yes, sir.

BR: But, alright then. So, then, like I said, like I alluded to before let's just ask the question here: Throwing that perfect game, I mean obviously, yeah, it's high school...yeah, it's only seven innings...but I mean still that's one heck of an accomplishment in anybody's life so.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: What did that mean to you, what did that feel like, when you got that last out? How did you feel going through the game?

Hall: Well, that, I mean, that whole game, I mean I never thought about it until I never even thought about the perfect game that I was going to have one until like the last inning. Like and that last out it was nerve-racking. I mean I got the guy to 0-2 and then he grounded out to my shortstop and I was hoping he wouldn't make an error.

BR: Yeah, you gotta rely on a lot of other people in a game like that.

Hall: Yeah, it's tough in high school because the defense isn't that good, so...

BR: Right.

Hall: But, I mean they played good defense so I mean they helped me out.

BR: Excellent well yeah, I mean, not everybody on your team is going to go on to pro ball, so...

Hall: Yes, sir. That's true.

BR: Well, hopefully you've got a couple of those up your sleeve as you go through the system and when you debut in the major leagues.

Hall: I know.

BR: Cary, you got any other final questions?

Hall: Sir?

BR: I'm just asking my partner here if he's got anything else to ask.

Hall: Oh, okay.

CK: No, not really.

BR: Okay. Well, Brooks, I'm going to keep your number here in my phone, definitely and as you work your way up through the system it'd be great if we could touch base with you again down the road.

Hall: Yeah. Yeah, just call me.

BR: Absolutely. And when you, if you, once you sign your contract if they bring you to Milwaukee you know, feel free to give me a shout and I can definitely give you and your folks a little view of the city if the team doesn't set something like that up. I'd be glad to do that.

Hall: Alright, thank you, man. Thank you.

BR: Alright, well thank you for taking the time and hopefully we'll see you in a Brewer uniform sooner than later, man.

Hall: Hopefully.

BR: Alright, take care of yourself.

Hall: You too.

---

And there you have it, Brewer Nation. A nice interview with a 2009 Milwaukee Brewer draft choice. Brooks sounds like a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. The sky could definitely be the limit for an 18-year-old pitcher that throws four pitches for strikes already.

Keep your eye on the minor league system and watch for Brooks as he progresses through it.

Oh, and as soon as Brooks makes it to the Timber Rattlers (assuming he doesn't jump over them for some reason), you'd best believe I'll be making it a point to get up there to meet this young man in person.

Again, though, to hear the interview in it's entirety along with the rest of this week's podcast, just follow the link at the top of the post and enjoy!

Sincere and numerous thanks to Brooks Hall again for his time today.

Where For Art Thou, Offense?

What a night for the Milwaukee Brewers...and I mean that in a negative way.

Save for back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches by Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee, the Milwaukee Brewers were unable to muster any offense on a night when they were once again playing against a National League Division's worst team.

In the Brewers' defense, the San Diego Padres had been playing quite well when Milwaukee came to town on Friday. That was evidenced by the fact that they were able to overcome a 7-1 deficit on Friday night. However, despite the Brewers scoring 7 runs with two outs in the 2nd inning of Friday's game, the Brewers have been very quiet at the plate in this series.

What's more, they got an acceptable start from journeyman Mike Burns in the game tonight but Burns may as well have given up three hundred runs as three since there Brewers were unable to put more than two on their own on the board in support.

Burns gave up those three runs over 5.2 IP, giving way to Mitch Stetter with men on in the inning and two away. Claudio Vargas, pitching in his first game since being reacquired by the Brewers prior to the non-waiver trading deadline, allowed one huge insurance run to score in the bottom of the 8th inning. Heath Bell came on, and after allowing a leadoff single to McGehee, struck out Cameron, got Frank Catalanotto to fly out to left and induced a pop out off the bat of Jason Kendall to end it.

Not everything is going wrong for Milwaukee lately, but enough things are going wrong at the same time so that the end result is a loss.

Last night we had a solid run total despite it all coming in one inning, but the pitching staff and defense couldn't hold San Diego down. Tonight, we got good enough pitching to win most nights, but the offense decided to go to sleep for the most part.

Will the Crew be able to put it together tomorrow afternoon and salvage one win against the NL West's worst? With Carlos Villanueva on the bump for the beermakers, there are no guarantees.

It doesn't get easier by any stretch of the imagination on Monday night either as after the Brewers finish a three-game series against the last place Padres, they start a three-game series against the class of the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But it all boils down to the fact that the Brewers have been unable to put enough parts of the game together at the same time to win some ballgames at the most crucial stretch of the season.

Four hits tonight (two of them the aforementioned solo home runs) and while they accumulated nine hits on Friday night, only three of those came outside of that big 2nd inning. Throwing that inning out, that's only 7 hits in 17 innings. That's not going to get the job done unless the Padres start walking 10 hitters a night.

The Padres, owners of the league's worst team batting average mind you, have amassed 17 hits and 12 hits in the two games thus far in this series. Yes, that's 29 hits in 16 innings. You don't have to look much farther to figure out why they've won these two games.

Bottom line, the Brewers need to get it figured out and fast if they're going to keep it close into September this year.

I'm not in the mood for silver linings on this one, but perhaps a post in the coming days will focus on some positives that can be picked out of the dreck that's being dumped on the field lately.

Until then, let's just remember that tomorrow's another day and that at 3pm tomorrow afternoon, the game is 0-0.

Let's get one tomorrow and try to keep our head above water for a bit longer.

You Don't Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

...and in Felipe Lopez' case, who needs one?

Good Lord does Mike Burns need the Dave Bush treatment from a couple of seasons ago under nervous Ned Yost.

Of course I'm kidding, but let's call a spade a spade here. Burns' home/road splits are damn near comical at this point. Check out these stat lines as a starter:

3 Starts: 2-1, 4.67 ERA, 17.1 IP, 14 H, 9 ER, 4 HR, 4 BB, 12 K

2 Starts: 0-2, 12.91 ERA, 7.2 IP, 15 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 3 BB, 6 K

Look, it's not like I'm saying that his numbers at Miller Park are awesome, but he did beat Johan Santana there and also threw a game with 7 Ks and no BBs.

I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Let's move on though, shall we?

Felipe Lopez did not disappoint. Bringing some much needed honor back to uniform number 3, all Lopez did in his Brewer debut was drop a 4-for-4 night tacking on a walk, scoring a run and looking like an incredibly smart pick up by Doug Melvin...well, for the most part anyway. He did muff a throw from Hardy (to be fair, the throw was a bit high) in the 8th inning which allowed Jeff Karstens to score after he had been plunked earlier in the inning. Regardless of that fact, however, he was stellar at the plate which is exactly what he needed to be on this night.

Quite obviously, Lopez is going to make some outs from time to time, don't kind yourself. But in a reactionary world, one in which some were questioning the decision to trade for Lopez, it was a nice display to say the least.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, Lopez big night wasn't enough as there were a combined 3 errors by Brewer fielders (the others being given to Prince Fielder and Craig Counsell respectively) that led to the Pittsburgh Pirates finally snapping the 17-game losing streak against the Brewers that they had been enduring for quite some time.

But, all streaks come to an end eventually. The important thing is that we come out tomorrow with renewed vigor and determination to start another winning streak against the Bucs. After all, Braden Looper is on the hill and every Brewer fan should know the kind of run support he's been getting.

So Let's Do This Thing Called "Breaking It Down"

Unlike some people and places, I don't like to analyze many things at the spur of the moment when a little thought is warranted.

Don't get me wrong, breaking news is fun to slice and dice and there are definitely times when that is appropriate if not downright fun. And breaking a story with analysis or not is always fun. I broke Salomon Torres' retirement last year. Yup, I had it first. But that's beside the point.

The point that I'm getting at is that now, after a few hours, it is time to analyze exactly what the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers brings to (and takes away from) the ball club.

Felipe Lopez - 2B/SS/3B - DOB: 5/12/1980 (29 years old) - B/T: S/R

.301/.364/.412, 345 AB, 104 H, 44 R, 18 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 34 BB, 59 K, 6/9 SB

Okay, so there are the season-to-date numbers. That includes an 0/4 in today's game against St. Louis. Lopez has, even with that 0/4, amassed 8 hits in his last 20 ABs. That's .400 over his last 6 games. What's better, over the last 10 games, his batting average has gone from .305 to .301.

How is that better, you ask? It displays consistency. In those 10 games, he has been shut out of the hit column three times (though did still manage to score a run) but he manages to bounce back. It's a quality that has been sorely missing at times from Brewer hitters this year for the most part.

Lopez is a switch-hitter and has hit LHP at a .313 clip while handling RHP as well to the tune of .298. Unfortunately for the Brewers, the most negative split Lopez has in his hitting is his split between night and day games. The Brewers have lost a lot of day games in a row, and Lopez only hits .237 in those games as opposed to .327 at night.

Okay, here's a bottom line paragraph (there will be a couple of these in this post). Lopez doesn't blow away any offensive category, but he contributes across the board. He plays solid defense, at multiple positions, and hits well from both sides of the plate. He can lead off effectively as evidenced by his .350/.411/.510 line in 143 ABs from the leadoff spot. What's more, against the NL Central team not named the Brewers this year overall, Lopez is hitting 26/68 which equates to a .382 batting average. Sounds good to me.

Enough about Lopez' individual batting numbers. Let's move on to what his presence adds to the team.

Lopez will, by all accounts, start every day at 2B. This will either put Casey McGehee and Craig Counsell into a hard platoon at 3B or, more likely, will allow Craig Counsell to go back to what he was excelling so greatly at during the first two months of the season...coming off the bench and providing days off here and there for the starters at second, third and short.

McGehee has been handling RHP more than well enough (36/113, .319) while also hitting lefties just fine (14/43, .326) so there should be no issues offensively with starting McGehee as the main 3B. His defense has been suspect at times at the hot corner, but late-inning defensive replacement work is what Bill Hall is best-suited for at this point anyway, should you need to take advantage of it.

If there is a tough righty on the hill, maybe Counsell gets the start at SS or 3B. It stands to reason that Lopez will be starting every day unless he needs a day off. No real reason to platoon an effective switch-hitter.

So what does Lopez cost this team?

The most glaring, direct consequence of the addition of Felipe Lopez is the demotion of Mat Gamel back to AAA Nashville. Gamel hasn't been playing a whole lot, to be fair, and when he has he's only been midly effective.

I am still very much in the camp that believe Mat Gamel will hit, and hit a lot, when it's all said and done. Really, though, with an everyday 2B in Lopez, forcing McGehee, Counsell and Hall to find time at 3B (and Counsell some at SS as well), it just made too much sense to have Gamel playing every day down in AAA. He needs to continue to develop, and playing maybe twice a week isn't going to accomplish that.

Lopez also cost the Brewers that which they sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in order to complete the trade. Milwaukee sent two minor league players to the desert in OF Cole Gillespie and P Roque Mercedes. Personally, while I had tempered hopes for Gillespie, and didn't know a lot about Mercedes, I think it's a fair bounty. The last place D'Backs gets some potential down-the-road help and the Brewers get what has been missing since Rickie Weeks was lost for the season with his wrist injury.

(And I'll be honest, I think I like that we didn't pick up Doug Davis from Arizona as well. We need a bigger pitching piece in order to help solidify our rotation and by not getting Davis we are that much more in the market on those bigger names. I'm not saying that we'll end up with Roy Halladay, but it's nice to know that we still could, right?)

And finally, looking down the road, Lopez is only on a one-year contract. He is also only 29 years old. This leads to the best thing in a General Manager's arsenal come the offseason: Options. (And I mean that as in choices.)

If Weeks rehabs well in the offseason and Lopez wants to sign elsewhere, so be it. If Weeks struggles to come back and we want coverage at 2B and Lopez enjoys the remainder of 2009 in Milwaukee, then perhaps he resigns here. There's also the possibility that maybe Craig Counsell decides to retire. Lopez can play all of the positions that Counsell can as well, though ultimately that's probably the least likely scenario as Lopez will no doubt be in line for a starting job next year should he want one.

But anyway...

Lopez is set to join the Brewers later today in Pittsburgh and will no doubt be starting and leading off against Ross Ohlendorf in the top of the 1st inning. Can't say that I don't like the way that sounds.

Let's see what he can do.right away. What do you say?

Listen to Me on the Radio in about 10 hours!

Hey everyone! I have been given the opportunity to be on the radio tomorrow (technically later today, Sunday, July 19th) morning just after 11:00am.

Local sports talk radio leader WSSP (1250 AM) does a pre-game show prior to every Brewer game. It starts an hour before game time and the second segment they do is the Roundtable where the host throws out questions at the different panelists.

Well, despite tomorrow's host's best efforts, I was selected as one of the three members of the roundtable courtesy of the host of WSSP's post-game show, Tim Allen.

Tomorrow's host of the pre-game show, Steve "Sparky" Fifer, will ask questions of us three panelists and we do what the name of the segment implies by going around the "table" by all taking turns on either the same question or, usually, different questions.

It's going to be fun, and even though Sparky told Tim Allen that he was nuts for choosing me, I have a feeling that I'll be the best panelist on tomorrow's show. Based on the fact that Sparky chose his panelist because the guy called in first and the third panelist was chosen to be a bur in Sparky's saddle, it shouldn't take much.

But hey, please listen to the On-Deck show tomorrow morning on WSSP 1250 AM starting at 11:00am. If you won't have access to a radio during that window, you can stream the show online as well by heading to http://www.sportsradio1250.com and clicking the "Listen Now" button in the upper right.

Thanks Brewer Nation!!

At Least They Got It Right In The End

Yeah, the Brewers lost today. It was an annoying game in which the Brewers got their first hit in the 1st inning, loading the bases in the first thanks to a couple of walks, but were unable to push a run across. Heck, they weren't even able to register another hit for quite a while. It was a LONG day with lots of pitches, especially early.

But that's not what this post is about.

What this post is about is a little ceremony that took place prior to the game. In a short bit, Manager Ken Macha was handing out offical All Star Game jerseys to the Milwaukee Brewers selected to the game.

But what's this? There are three Brewers standing to Macha's right for the ceremony. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are announced and handed jerseys with their names and numbers on the back of them. Then PA Announcer Rob Edwards says that earlier in the day it was announced that Dodger Closer Jonathan Broxton was pulling out of the game with an injury and that replacing him would be a man that deserved to go in the first place in Brewer Closer and all-time MLB saves leader Trevor Hoffman!

Apparently the word came down late enough that they couldn't get a Hoffman ASG jersey whipped up in time so Macha ended up handed Hoffman a Braun jersey as well which led to a humorous moment when Hoffman turned the back of the jersey to the camera and fans.

But it was nice to see the Phillies and NL All Star team Manager Charlie Manuel finally realized when all of Milwaukee (and the rest of the NL) already knew. Trevor Hoffman is having an All-Star-worthy season.

An interesting thought in all of this? Jonathan Broxton pitched in Milwaukee on Friday night, throwing a VERY long 10th inning as Milwaukee did its best to rally from a 6-run deficit. How ironic would it be that Broxton gets hurt in Milwaukee which allows the Brewers' closer to make it to the All Star Game?

But yes, the Home Run Derby is Monday evening, eminating from Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Milwaukee's own Happy Youngster (thehappyyoungster.mlblogs.com) will be in attendance in the front row behind the Cardinal bullpen. Cheer him on, but more importantly cheer on Prince Fielder as he takes on several big bats in the Derby.

An Excerpt from the Play-By-Play of My Evening

This post will be short and sweet. Here is a recap of a small chunk of my evening.

Ryan Braun is at the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning after Trevor Hoffman unfortunately blew a save.

I happen to glance up at the bullpen since because Ken Macha didn't double-switch to bring Hoffman into the game, they had to pinch-hit for him in the top of the 10th inning.

So I glance up at the bullpen and see a right arm throw a ball and as the player's back turns to me I see a # 12.

I say, out loud, "Well, the game's over one way or the other now. Either we walk off now or they'll basically do it in the 10th."

If you don't know what happened, go check out the box score.

Good night Brewer Nation.

There's a lot to catch up on...

...so let's get going.

Hey Brewer Nation! Thanks for dealing with our collective hiatus from the written word over the past couple of weeks. It's been a crazy length of time for both South Side Rob and me. Suffice it to say that my hiatus is over and I'll be posting more often going forward.

Anyway, like I said in the lead...let's get going.

When I last posted, the Milwaukee Brewers were 37-29 (put away your calculators, that's 8 games over .500) and held a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals (then 36-30) as the Crew sat atop the National League Central.

While the Brewers have lost more than they've won over the past 18 games, they now sit 4 games over .500 at 44-40, and are one game behind the St. Louis Cardnials (who remain six games over .500 at 46-40) as the Redbirds sit atop the NL Central.

Casey McGehee has emerged as a potential NL Rookie of the Year candidate, Manny Parra threw his way to the minors and has hopefully pitched his way back to staying in the rotation for the remainder of the year. (Let's be honest with ourselves...As much as I like Seth McClung and Mike Burns as people, they aren't ever going to make up 40% of a playoff rotation.) Jody Gerut still can't get a hit to save his soul. Prince Fielder is still tearing the cover off the ball.

But let's hit on a few big items specifically, shall we?

And let's get the negative out of the way.

Ryan Braun vs. Doug Melvin

I'm happy to say that this happened, exploded, was reacted to and overreacted to, and has nearly gone away from the mainstream media before I had the chance to comment here on the blog.

What I am on record as saying is that Braun was out of line in the words he chose to express his feelings. We all agree that the pitching hasn't been up to par, which was especially evident in the Cubs series, but the words Braun said called out half of his team whether he intended it that way or not.

Doug Melvin responded in the media, something he has never done before against a player to my knowledge (at least since taking over here in Milwaukee). Braun has been saying lots of things over the last couple of years, but again in the words he chose to use, he crossed the line a bit too far this time and Melvin let him know it. Should Melvin have taken it to the media? Probably not, but the way in which Braun took it there made a non-response a non-option for Melvin if he wanted the club to save face at all.

The two met, Braun apologized for the misunderstanding, we move on. Above, though, are some of my thoughts on it.

Speaking of St. Louis, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder...

Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder...St. Louis-bound!

The bad about this is that Trevor Hoffman isn't joining them (though hopefully someone will have to back out and maybe he'll be able to go). The positives are that both men are now two-time All Stars. Prince was the NL Starter back in 2007 at 1B and is a reserve this year. Braun became the first Milwaukee Brewer to be named as an All Star starter two consecutive years since some guy named Robin Yount back in '82 & '83. Sounds like impressive company to me.

Fielder will also be joining the three other National League first-basemen in the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 13th. For those of you that don't know who they are, the four men are Fielder, Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez. That should be one heckuva display as all four men have 20+ home runs so far in the regular season and Howard (the low man on that totem pole) is a past winner of the Derby.

Milwaukee's own Happy Youngster will be in attendance at the Derby as well. Look for the yellow shirt in the first row behind the St. Louis bullpen (from what he told me at the ballpark last night, anyway).

Rotation Situation

I use this heading to talk about the following things:

1 - The Death of Dave Bush's Beard. I will summarize this situation with one question: Was Dave Bush on the DL when his Beard was protecting him?

2 - The Rebirth of Manny Parra. Parra was sent to the minors sporting a 3-8 record and an ERA of 7.52. After putting together "quality" starts in four straight outings and five of six starts, Parra went on a run of futility that landed him in the minors. His ERA jumped nealry 2 runs in three starts. That's a lot when you get to June. Parra allowed a lot of runs, though, in accomplishing that feat. In those three starts combined, Parra amassed a stat line reading; 0-2, 11.1 IP, 21 ER, 25 H, 7 BB, 9 K. That's an ERA, over that span, of 16.68!!

Now, having said all that, Parra comes back to the Brewers to start his first game since June 13th at Miller Park when he lost to the Chicago White Sox. I think he'll be fine so long as he stays relaxed. Even though he might be pitching for his position in the rotation in the 2nd "half" of the season, he can't pitch that way.

3 - The Life of Roy Halladay Rumors. Lo and behold, Roy Halladay is on the block after all! Despite so many people saying that Halladay would never be moved this year, I told everyone that he was on the block. Sure, the Brewers might not end up with him, but it wasn't that hard to see coming despite the good doctor having over a year left on his contract if you were paying close enough attention. Halladay does also possess a full no-trade clause basically allowing him to hand-pick his next team or to choose to stay with Toronto. However, once your name gets dangled out there as possible trade bait, and you're a superstar (in talent if not in recognition outside of the AL East yet), you will be moved.

The Brewers have prospects that they could package together to get Halladay, of this there can be little doubt. It's really just a matter of whether or not Doug Melvin is willing to part with them, further depleting a farm system that lost two top prospects to Cleveland in the deal that brought CC Sabathia (and a playoff berth) to the city of Milwaukee. Another potential option that would help save a piece from the farm system would be to package a current major leaguer in with prospects. Regardless of what the winning team ends up spending, they will gain easily the best pitcher available this season. No Jake Peavy or Cliff Lee or Javier Vazquez or Jarrod Washburn or Erik Bedard or anyone else would make the impact that Roy Halladay can and most assuredly will make on a contending team.

So, the question here becomes...

What Would You Be Willing to Trade for Roy Halladay?

Here is how I worded it a couple of days ago.

Halladay is under contract for the next season. If only we had a larger sample size on Casey McGehee. I'd like Gamel's LH bat in the lineup going forward but with Rickie back next season, McGehee's ABs will come at 3B. I would be willing to move Gamel. Point two: I'd personally rather move Hardy and hang on to Escobar as his immediate replacement. That said, the Jays would certainly rather have Escobar what with his better range, more speed and cheaper cost. I would be willing to move Escobar, but only if we're able to sign Hardy to an extension. And pretty much any pitching prospect (with a couple of personal favorites excluded) would be fair game. Oh and feel encouraged to throw in a bat from last year like Canada's own Lawrie if that gets the deal done.

Anyway...

I'll go right ahead and close this down for tonight. There's more I could talk about, but a hugely long post is usually a skipped over post.

So, good win tonight over the Cardinals. Glad Hoffman slammed the door shut. Let's win a series tomorrow and then handle the Dodgers on our way to a nice three-day break for 23 of our 25-man roster.