Brewers System Report: Games of July 26, 2010

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MILWAUKEE (MAJ: 48-53; National League Central): The Brewers beat Cincinnati 3-2.  Rickie Weeks hit a two run homer to tie the game 2-2.  Jim Edmonds hit a pinch hit home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Brewers the lead.  John Axford pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.

NASHVILLE (AAA: 55-47; Pacific Coast League American Northern Division): The Sounds won 12-6 at Albuquerque.  Lorenzo Cain ('09) went 3-for-5 with two triples and three RBI for Nashville.

HUNTSVILLE (AA: 49-52 overall; 16-15 second half; Southern League North Division): The Stars lost 2-1 at Jacksonville.  Wily Peralta ('09) made his Double-A debut and allowed a run on six hits over six innings.  The Suns broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the bottom of the ninth for the win.

BREVARD COUNTY (Advanced-A: 45-54; 18-12 second half; Florida State League North Division): The Manatees were off on Monday.

HELENA (Rookie: 17-18; Pioneer League North Division): The Brewers lost 10-2 at Orem.  Helena had 11 hits in the game.

AZL BREWERS (Rookie: 20-9; Arizona League Central Division): The Brewers beat the Reds 5-3.

BREWERS SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY:

Cincinnati (Edinson Volquez 1-1) at MILWAUKEE (Yovani Gallardo 9-4) 7:10pm CDT

Omaha at NASHVILLE 7:05pm CDT

HUNTSVILLE: OFF DAY

BREVARD COUNTY at St. Luci6:00pm CDT

HELENA at Orem 8:05pm CDT

AZL BREWERS at AZL Reds 9:00pm CDT

Welcome back to the booth, Mr. Baseball!

When Bob Uecker was on the mend, I came up with an idea to invite him to Time Warner Cable Field for a rehab stint in our radio booth before he got back to Miller Park. He didn't need it.

Mr. Baseball is back in the booth tonight for the Brewers game against the Nationals.

SportsCenter took a break from their Yankees/Red Sox/LeBron coverage to put together a nice video of some top Uecker moments in Milwaukee (Final out of the '82 ALCS, Sveum's homer to beat the Rangers on Easter Sunday in '87, Robin Yount's 3,000th hit, Braun's homer in '08). Unfortunately, I cannot find that video anywhere.

So, here is a video that I stumbled on last night for Rain Delay Theater. Bob Uecker with Howard Cosell in Casey at the Bat.

Doug Davis

Doug Davis is making his way back to Milwaukee by way of Appleton next Wednesday.

The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that Doug Davis will make a rehabilitation start for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The left-hander will start the game on Wednesday, June 30 when the Rattlers host the Quad Cities River Bandits at 12:05pm.

Click through for details.

Your 1970s Milwaukee Brewers!

The Brewers website has this story on the early days of the Milwaukee Brewers.

At 10:15 p.m. on March 31, 1970, Bud Selig received official word that he, along with a group of investors, had won the franchise for just $10.5 million in federal bankruptcy court and the Seattle Pilots were headed to Milwaukee to become the Brewers.

With Opening Day scheduled just seven days later, the move was a swift one. When the players learned of the move, doubts arose in their minds.

Will they have uniforms for us? Where will I live? What about all my stuff in Seattle?

Those questions would all soon be answered, but not without a few stressful weeks in Milwaukee.

Opening Day pitcher Lew Krausse, who had been recently married before the 1970 season, had a lot more to deal with after the move than some. With it being his first year with the club, Krausse was not yet settled in Seattle and had sent many of his belongings ahead of him to the city.

Originally thinking he was "getting ahead of the game," Krausse's decision to send his stuff to Seattle only further complicated the move to Milwaukee.

"They said, 'Well, you're going to Milwaukee,'" Krausse recalled. "It was just really hectic. We came up here, flew the whole families on charter planes and stayed in hotels for four to five days; and with kids, it was mess."

Make sure to click on the video for the original Bernie Brewer, a mustache-free Robin Yount, and Hank Aaron's final home run.

Lots of stuff

The once and future beat writer has been busy.

There was this blog entry with some stuff that didn't make the paper from Fan Fest on Tuesday.

He spoke with GM Doug Melvin at the Leadoff Experience last night.

Prince Fielder was the big question. But, this Q & A covers many of the Q's to which you may want A's.

Today's news from the home page

Doug Melvin will be the special guest at the 2010 Lead-off Experience.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will celebrate the start of their second season as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers by welcoming a VIP from their parent club's front office. Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Melvin is scheduled to be the featured guest at the annual Lead-Off Experience on Wednesday, April 7.

The program will feature an autograph session with the players, dinner, and an interactive question and answer session at The Wave Bar & Ballroom. Festivities begin at 5:30pm with the autograph session and a cash bar. Dinner is scheduled to be served at 6:30pm.

Call the Timber Rattlers for tickets. (920) 733-4152

Also, Erik Miller is in The Interrogation Room.

Q. What did you take away from your 2009 season in Wisconsin?

A. My 09' season, being my first full season, taught me a lot about what it truly means to be a professional ball player. I learned how to cope with the every day ups and downs the game can bring upon a player. With a 140 game season, I learned how to stay on a more emotionally consistent level every day and not let the little things bother me as much. The fans are also something I had never experienced. Every day before the game they are peering into the dugout as we strapped on our cleats just waiting for us to step out and sign a ball, or hat or whatever it was they had. To me, seeing the joy the fans got out of watching us play was something that inspired me.

More at the link.

My Big Brewers Blog Book

Duk at Big League Stew has put together a series of links to follow the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2010 season. He calls it a blog book. It is not all-inclusive, but there are some familiar names.

We'll be there (UPDATED)

The Timber Rattlers will be at Brewers On Deck with a booth, bobbleheads, and ticket specials.

I'll have more details later today and update this post with that information.

For those of you unfamiliar with Brewers On Deck it is...

set for Sunday, January 31 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Midwest Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee. Brewers On Deck is the annual winter fan festival that sets the winter fires of Wisconsin roaring toward the warm breezes of Spring Training in Arizona.

Brewers On Deck will feature a number of activities for the entire family. Autographs and photos from Brewers players and coaches, interactive games in the Kids Area, Q&A sessions and game shows with Brewers players, coaches and broadcasters, the latest Brewers merchandise-including 40th Anniversary logo apparel-and many other features will all be a part of Brewers On Deck.

Again, we'll be there...and by we, I mean other people from the front office and Fang. Not me. It's a group effort.

UPDATE:

Here is the link.

The main details:

The Timber Rattlers will be offering ticket deals for attendees of the event. Fans can receive either a bobblehead from the Rehab Series or co-branded Timber Ratters/Brewers hats with a purchase of the On Deck ticket specials. Select team merchandise, including various popular co-branded items, will also be available at the table.

See you there.

Peruse these

Tom Haudricourt posted his Baseball America Chat and his Baseball America story on his blog. The chat is him taking questions about the Top 30 list that he put together. A lot...and I mean a lot of questions about Cody Scarpetta in the chat. Here is the fourth question about the former Rattler pitcher.

Mike (Milwaukee): How in the world does Cody Scarpetta not make the top 10 when the team puts him on the 40 man roster last year and goes out and is the #9 prospect in the Midwest league? Thats horrific!!!!

Tom Haudricourt: I'll answer one more Scarpetta question (it seems like every other one is about him). Being ranked No. 13 is no insult. And, as noted earlier, a signing technicality forced the Brewers to put him on the 40-man roster a few years earlier than otherwise would have happened (his original contract was voided because of a finger injury). Everybody, settle down. Scarpetta's a fine prospect and the Brewers really like him. And, as for why being No. 9 in a low Class A League would put you in the top 10 automatically, I don't understand your thinking. We considered potential impact in the majors in ranking prospects. Again, lucky No. 13 is no insult.

And here is a bit about some maybe, possibly, potential Rattlers...

Patrick (Milwaukee): Which prospects do the Brewers intend to fast-track in 2010? I'm assuming Eric Arnett and Kentrail Davis would seem to be the most likely candidates. Any chance Del Howell might be given an aggressive placement to open 2010, and could Scooter Gennett open the spring with Wisconsin? Will Lawrie be given the chance to stick at AA Huntsville after skipping Brevard County late last year?

Tom Haudricourt: I'd say yes to most of your questions because they are all talented players. But Lawrie might go to Brevard because of his young age. Players can always be elevated in season. One of the reasons the Brewers drafted advanced pitchers in '09 was with the hope of getting them to the majors ASAP. Gennett signed too late to play so he might have some rookie ball in his future.

If you haven't already seen it, go read the whole thing.

On to the pitching question...There is a lot of the recent history of bad luck, bad breaks, and various other bad things in the set up of the article.

Then, there is this

Ash wants to learn if the Brewers are doing anything fundamentally wrong that has slowed the progress of pitching prospects. One tactic on the agenda is the use of young starters in tandem, with each pitching half a game to limit their pitches.

“We had one of these symposiums about four years ago," said Ash. “From that one, we came up with the idea of tandems in the lower levels.

“Now that we've had some history with tandems, we want to review that. Is it a good thing? Not a good thing?"

Ash said a novel thought by Melvin will be batted around.

“Doug has this idea that starters never get the feel of what it's like to pitch in the eighth and ninth innings (in the minors)," said Ash.

“He's had this long-held idea that it might be a good idea to start (games) with the bullpen and have the starter come in, in the fourth inning and having him pitch four through nine.”

With input from farm director Reid Nichols and minor-league pitching coordinator Lee Tunnell, who replaced Jim Rooney last year, each pitching coach in the system will be evaluated.

“What you can't forget is that a big part of the equation is the player himself," said Ash. “I think you have to be satisfied that (instructors) work hard, that they are intensive in their approach.

“If you're sitting in the clubhouse playing cards or watching TV, you're not working at it. Beyond throwing bullpens and sides, there's video work and enough research from games where you can print out the guy's game and see where was he in the strike zone and things like that.

“We'll exchange ideas and come up with what our game plan is going to be. I don't expect it to be revolutionary. I just want to refine it and make sure we're all on the same page, even to the point of recruitment."

In hiring new pitching coach Rick Peterson after the season, the Brewers also committed to his somewhat unique system based on biomechanics that will be used throughout the organization. Peterson breaks down a pitcher’s mechanics into minute detail with the aim of assessing his chance of injury while also improving performance.

Here is an SI article from December of 2003 about Peterson's philosophy and techniques.

The Rick Peterson experience opens next month for New York Mets pitchers. A few weeks before the start of spring training Peterson, the pitching coach who signed a three-year contract with the Mets in November after six seasons with the Oakland A's, will shepherd many of his new charges into the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI), a biomechanics lab in Birmingham. Peterson will ask them to don unflattering spandex suits. He'll attach computer sensors to various body parts. Then he'll tell them to relax and go through their regular bullpen routines while six high-tech cameras, each snapping 240 frames per second, record every motion and muscle twitch.

...

Peterson, 49, has been opening minds and eyes since the A's hired him in 1998. He might be the prototypical 21st-century pitching coach. He's an information junkie whose oft-repeated motto is, In God we trust; all others must have data. But he balances that obsession with New Age visualization techniques, yoga and sermons about the importance of the mind-body union. "Any controlled movement takes skill, physical conditioning, and mental and emotional strength," says Peterson. "You need all three sides of the triangle to succeed."

Peterson's program isn't for everyone—Oakland lefthander Mark Mulder, for one, was less than enamored with some of the coach's techniques—but it has proved effective. The A's had the American League's lowest team ERA in each of the last two seasons and didn't rank lower than third during Peterson's tenure. More impressive is his track record for keeping pitchers healthy. Under his watch no A's pitcher suffered a major elbow or shoulder injury.

Something to think about, eh?

Q & A with Boz

The Prodigal Beat Writer spoke with Chris Bosio and the full article can be found here.

Q: Are you disappointed your contract wasn't renewed?

A: I think we all did the best we could with what we had, considering the injuries, which played a major role on where we finished this year. But we finished strong, and I wouldn't change anything. I'll go through the interview process. And that fact that I'm one of the candidates, that's a big deal. Honestly, I expect to be (with the Brewers) in Arizona next spring.

There is a lot more at the link. Including audio of his thoughts on Trevor Hoffman and comparing Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to Paul Molitor and Robin Yount.

Also, Bosio is hosting his golf outing today to benefit research into fighting cancer and leukemia.

Brewers 9 @Cardinals 7 (10 innings)

Boxscore

Brewers sweep eases sting of tough year

It was an unpredictable, not to mention disappointing, season for the Milwaukee Brewers, but who could have imagined it ending with John Axford retiring Albert Pujols?

"He started the year in (Class) A ball," said Trevor Hoffman, who set the stage Sunday for Axford's first major-league save by blowing only his fourth all year. "He finishes the year by getting Albert Pujols. I don't think he could have envisioned that."

It was a wild and crazy ending for the Brewers as they recovered to topple St. Louis, 9-7, in 10 innings at Busch Stadium.

The three-game sweep of the sluggish NL Central champs was too late to salvage a winning season for the Brewers (80-82), but it beat the alternative of slinking away in a flurry of defeats.

While admitting to a man it was disappointing not to even challenge for a repeat berth in the postseason, it was a day of notable personal achievement for several players. Prince Fielder capped a remarkable season with two home runs and three RBI, allowing him to tie Philadelphia's Ryan Howard for the NL crown with 141.

Brewers 5 @Cardinals 4

Boxscore

Braun reaches 200 hits in victory

Never one to lack for confidence, Ryan Braun admitted he surprised himself with his intensity over the past week in pushing to compile 200 hits in a season.

"I don't think I've ever been able to have this level of focus as far as trying to achieve one singular goal or singular event," said the Milwaukee Brewers' all-star leftfielder.

"I think my level of concentration and focus on every at-bat is probably more intense than I've ever been able to do before. I'd like to be able to channel that emotion and that feeling. I've been able to focus and concentrate on being locked in on doing nothing but centering the ball up the last two weeks, and knowing I had to do that to get to this point."

Braun eliminated the suspense early Saturday, reaching 200 hits in grand style with a two-run homer in the first inning off St. Louis veteran Kyle Lohse to help the Brewers take a 5-4 victory over the mistake-prone Cardinals.

Braun later added an infield hit to finish the day with 201 hits, which tops the National League. One week earlier, Braun was sitting on 186 hits and wondering if it would be possible to get to 200 by season's end.

Oh, it was.

Braun...collect[ed] 15 hits over a seven-game period, batting .455 in the process. After pounding his coveted 30th homer in the first of those seven games, Braun concentrated on getting base hits, taking an opposite-field approach.

Sunday*
MIL: Jeff Suppan
STL: Joel Pineiro
1:15pm CDT
*Final Game of the Season for Milwaukee

Brewers 12, Cardinals 6

Boxscore

Late run surge gives Crew improbable victory

The fates of the two starting pitchers showed how bizarrely this game turned around.

Milwaukee's Braden Looper exited after six innings, trailing, 6-1, yet became the Brewers' first 14-game winner since Cal Eldred - a pregame visitor - in 1993.

St. Louis' Adam Wainwright departed in the seventh inning with that same 6-1 margin yet was denied becoming the only 20-game winner in the major leagues this season.

That's how dramatically the game changed at Busch Stadium on Friday night.

"It was a crazy game without a doubt," said infielder Craig Counsell, as the Brewers reveled in the visiting clubhouse after stunning the Cardinals, 12-6, in perhaps their most improbable victory of the season.

"We took some advantage of things. The game seemed to turn pretty fast. The vibe in the stadium totally changed."

Some of those "things" included five wild pitches, most by St. Louis since 1954, including four that scored runs. The Cardinals also committed errors on two run-scoring plays as the bullpen and defense took some fine work by Wainwright and sprayed graffiti all over it.

Saturday's Game
MIL: Carlos Villanueva
STL: Kyle Lohse
12:10pm

@Rockies 9, Brewers 2

Boxscore

In a giving mood
Loss lets Colorado in playoff door

Standing in a nearly empty dugout about an hour before the game, Ken Macha raved about Manny Parra's raw, natural ability.

The manager of the Milwaukee Brewers praised the Parra for what seems to be limitless potential and an arm and frame capable of supporting his rise.

Then again, the question with Parra, the left-hander the Brewers were counting on to make a huge leap forward this season, has never been his physical capabilities.

It's always been his head and how he has dealt with pressure.

After having a solid September despite missing three starts, Parra wrestled with himself in his final outing and left without making it through the third inning. The poor start helped the Colorado Rockies clinch the National League wild card berth with a 9-2 victory to complete a sweep of the Brewers on Thursday afternoon at Coors Field.

The loss also assured the Brewers will not finish .500 after finishing above the mark the previous two seasons.

Friday's Game:
MIL: Braden Looper
STL: Adam Wainwright
7:15pm CDT

@Rockies 10, Brewers 6

Boxscore

Suppan shelled again
Colorado closes in on wild-card berth

The Milwaukee Brewers talked a lot about sending guys into the fall and winter on good notes and feeling positive about how they finish this season.

That's what you get when your team falls out of the race early and continues to sputter toward the conclusion.

For right-hander Jeff Suppan, this was - maybe - his last chance to end his season on such a vibe.

The good news was he pitched a hair better than he did in his previous start.

The bad news is that previous start was absolutely horrendous, making somewhat mild improvement still not so great.

Following that last start against the Phillies - 4 1/3 innings, 12 hits, eight runs, seven earned - Suppan stepped on the mound at Coors Field for what would be his final start of the season Wednesday night.

When he stepped off, he had given up eight runs on 10 hits in six innings as he helped the Colorado Rockies to a 10-6 victory and a step closer to winning the National League wild card, which could happen Thursday with a Rockies victory or Atlanta Braves loss.

Thursday's Game
MIL: Manny Parra
COL: Aaron Cook
2:10pm CDT

@Rockies 7, Brewers 5 (11 innings)

Boxscore

Spoiler bid spoiled by pinch-hit homer in 11th inning

So much for their first real chance at playing spoiler to someone's season.

The Milwaukee Brewers walked into Coors Field saying all the politically correct things about wanting to play hard and not concerning themselves with what other teams might be playing for.

But still, it's nice to have a purpose, some sort of meaning late in the baseball season after your team has long been out of the postseason picture.

With a shot to matter in the National League wild-card race, the Brewers started strong, faded, came back but eventually squandered the opportunity in a 7-5 loss in 11 innings Tuesday night to the Colorado Rockies, who extended their wild-card lead over the Atlanta Braves to three games.

For the Brewers, it was their 80th defeat of the season, one in which they'll now be pleased to modestly finish .500 to extend their streak to three consecutive seasons at that mark or better.

Wednesday's Game:
MIL: Jeff Suppan
COL: Jason Hammel
8:05pm CDT

Phillies 6 @Brewers 5

Boxscore

Dealing with hole truth
Early deficit too much to overcome

The home finale for the Milwaukee Brewers was emblematic of the primary shortcoming that took apart their season shortly after the all-star break.

This was and still is their formula for defeat: The starting pitcher digs a big early hole that a relatively potent offense is unable to overcome. A close-but-no-cigar finish leaves everyone feeling empty.

"When you get behind and don't have a lead after six innings, it's tough," said manager Ken Macha. "When the starter gives up a bunch of runs early and you don't score runs early, it makes it tough.

"That's kind of the way things have gone."

Until the very end of the home season. With diminished right-hander Dave Bush surrendering nine hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings, the Brewers fell behind by five early before rallying to lose by a single run, 6-5, Sunday at Miller Park.

Brewers are off today.

@Brewers 7, Phillies 5

Boxscore

Braun to the rescue
His homer in ninth caps comeback

Ryan Braun hadn't been sitting on 29 home runs forever.

It only seemed that way.

"I felt like every time I looked at the scoreboard, I saw a huge '29' staring back at me," said the Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder.

When Braun steps to the plate Sunday, a huge "30" will be staring back at him instead.

Braun made No. 30 count in a big way Saturday night, blasting a two-run shot to right-center in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Brewers a dramatic 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, much to the delight of a Fan Appreciation Night crowd of 40,141 at Miller Park.

Perhaps the only disappointment came when Braun arrived at home plate to an intentionally muted celebration with his teammates. No one fell backward, as with Prince Fielder against San Francisco three weeks ago.

"No fun allowed," said Fielder, referring to the negative reaction that creative celebration drew from the Giants and others in the game.

"We had some good ideas, but it's not worth it," said Braun, who hadn't hit a home run since Sept. 11 and had just one since Aug. 28.

"Everybody's interested in seeing what we'll do. But it's just not worth it to us. People take it the wrong way. We put it on the back burner."

Sunday's Game:
PHI: Joe Blanton
MIL: Dave Bush
1:05pm CDT

@Brewers 8, Phillies 4

Boxscore

Bats help Parra sail through Phillies
Left-hander shows no rust from layoff

If Manny Parra was going to fall, there was going to be a pretty comfy cushion to crash into.

The Milwaukee Brewers left-hander made his first start since Sept. 8 after neck stiffness kept him out of three slotted turns.

And the offense did its best to give him some wiggle room against one of the National League's best left-handers.

The Brewers cuffed around Philadelphia Phillies southpaw Cliff Lee and scored big in two innings to take out the reigning World Series champions, 8-4, Friday night at Miller Park.

Lee was tagged with four runs in the first inning and three in the fifth, the majority coming on home runs, and Parra was steady in seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits.

He struck out eight to tie a season high and walked one.

Manager Ken Macha planned to limit Parra to about 75 pitches and hoped to get five innings out of him. Parra was at 77 pitches after five, but his innings were stress-free and Parra said he felt fine, so the skipper let him work and he finished with 92 pitches.

"You had to like what you saw with Manny Parra tonight," Macha said. "Only one walk, eight strikeouts, gave us seven innings.

"He said he felt great. He was throwing the ball terrific."

Tonight's game:
PHI: Kyle Kendrick
MIL: Braden Looper
6:05pm CDT

Phillies 9, @Brewers 4

Boxscore

Suppan slapped around by Philadelphia again

In this yard, with this match up, is where the trek sadly ended.

Miller Park was the setting for Game 4 of last season's National League Division Series between the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers.

And right-hander Jeff Suppan, signed to a four-year, $42 million contract because he was supposed to be nails those situations, got the ball.

Three innings, three home runs and five runs later, Suppan was out of the game and the Brewers were eliminated from the playoffs.

Suppan met the powerful Phillies lineup again Thursday.

Same park.

Same results.

Suppan allowed a dozen hits, including five consecutive in a six-run fifth inning, and the Phillies sent him off the field to a smattering of we-still-care boos from the Brewers faithful in what eventually became a 9-4 loss, although this time the stakes were not nearly as high.

Tonight's game:
PHI: Cliff Lee
MIL: Manny Parra
7:05pm CDT