Team Preview - Milwaukee Brewers
by Michael White on May 3, 2010 6:38 PM PDT
in Team Previews
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Season Series: First meeting of the year.
The Milwaukee Brewers are headed to Chavez Ravine in a bit of a tailspin. The club has lost 8 of its last 10 games including 3 of 4 this weekend in San Diego. After the Dodgers rebounded nicely winning 3 of 4 this past weekend, the Dodgers actually have a better record than Milwaukee who comes into town with a record of 10-15.
Old Friends: Randy Wolf, Craig Counsell
Position Breakdown:
1st Base- Prince Fielder is not playing anywhere near the level he's capable of. The man many of us wanted to acquire via trade whilst relegating James Loney to the DFA line, is currently slugging only .340 with a wOBA of only .326. Fielder has only hit 2 homeruns on the year coming off a year where he hit 46 of them. Let's hope he doesn't break out of this slump any time in the next few days.
2nd Base- Rickie Weeks is quite the capable hitting second basemen when healthy. Weeks is having a solid year so far coming off a wrist injury in 2009. On the year Weeks has posted a wOBA of .364 with 4 homeruns. In Weeks last full season at second base (2008) he posted a UZR of <3.4.>
SS- Alcides Escobar is a 23 year old shortstop who spent most of 2009 in AAA. Escobar wasn't much of a hitter in the minor leagues (wOBA of .351 in AAA) and hasn't done much so far in 2010. Escobar has a sub .300 wOBA and has a dreadful OBP of .282. Escobar's defense was considered his strong point as he came up through the minor league ranks and was the reason Escobar was a highly regarded prospect.
3rd Base- Casey McGehee is having a very solid year so far at the plate and he comes into this series with a wOBA of .404. The strong performance at the plate is due to an excellent slugging percentage of .552 and a ISO of .253. In 2009 McGehee had a UZR of <7.3> at third base.
Catcher- Gregg Zaun has been around the league a long time. The former La Canada St. Francis Knight was drafted in 1989 by the Baltimore Orioles and made his debut in 1995. Zaun has never been much of a hitter and has struggled so far this year posted a wOBA of .275.
CF- Carlos Gomez started the season as the starting CF but left Friday's game in San Diego due to injury. According to Brew Crew Ball Gomez should be back for the series in Los Angeles as an MRI on his knee was negative. Gomez was having a much better season at the plate after struggling last season in Minnesota as he currently has a wOBA of .357 despite a below average OBP of .310.
LF- Ryan Braun, the former Granada Hills Highlander, is the Brewers franchise player. Unlike Fielder, Braun continues to mash the ball posting a wOBA of .454 and an ISO of .222. Braun is currently posting a career high BB% of 12.9% and has 5 homeruns on the year. The former third baseman has always been a pretty terrible fielder and posted a UZR of <13.2> last season.
RF- Corey Hart continues to be an average to solid right fielder at the plate. On the year, Hart has posted a wOBA of .347 and 3 homeruns. Hart has some pretty good pop with an ISO of .182 which is in line with his career line. Interesting note, Hart went to arbitration this offseason with the Brewers and won an arb reward of $4.8MM this season. In 2009 Hart had a UZR of <5.6.>
Reserves
Jim Edmonds started the year in a potential platoon with Corey Hart in right field and has been pretty solid in his limited plate appearances. On the year Edmonds has an impressive wOBA of .389 in his year 40 season.
Jody Gerut has been primarily a pinch hitter though he has been playing CF with Gomez injured. I hope Gomez is still injured as Gerut is a terrible hitter posting a wOBA of .225 in limited plate appearances and in a full year posted a wOBA of .286 in 2009.
Craig Counsell has appeared in 20 games this season as a pinch hitter and occasional starter at third base and short stop. Counsell continues to be a pretty capable utility man posting a wOBA of .336 last season in 130 games.
George Kottaras is the 27 year old backup catcher for the Brewers. Kottaras has some pretty good pop as he already has 2 homeruns in 34 plate appearances. Kottaras posted an ISO of .125 and .213 in AAA with Boston in 2009 and 2008 respectively.
Starting Pitching for our Series:
Game 1- Chris Narveson will be making his second start on the season after pitching in the bullpen in the early part of the season. On the season, Narveson has posted an x-FIP of 5.29 compared to an x-FIP (again mostly out of the bullpen) of 4.18 the prior year after being called up from AAA.
Game 2- Doug Davis has a really ugly ERA this season of 8.87 and a record of 0-3. His x-FIP of 3.88 has been quite solid so far which indicates that Davis has been fairly unlucky. As pointed out above, Milwaukee doesn't exactly have a great defense and Milwaukee is considered a much more hitter friendly park (remember the approximately 250 combined homeruns the Dodgers and Brewers hit last season at Miller Park) than Dodger Stadium. The poor defense probably explains some of the .473 BABIP but bad luck is clearly at play.
Game 3- TBD figures to be a pretty tough matchup, especially considering the Dodgers website indicates TBD will be pitching for the home town team. Considering I believe Ely has been announced the starter for Game 3, I'm sure somebody can figure out who is starting for Milwaukee since I couldn't find it.
Bullpen:
Former division rival Trevor Hoffman remains the closer for Milwaukee, and has not pitched well. On the year Hoffman has an x-FIP of 6.61 and an ERA of 11.70. Carlos Villanueva has led Milwaukee in games pitched and has pitched pretty well so far. On the year Villanueva has an x-FIP of 3.18 and an ERA of 0.64. He's a strikeout pitcher with a K/9 of 11.57.
Series Prediction:
Fresh off my accurate prediction in the Pittsburgh series preview, I figure I'll press my luck and pick another series victory for the Dodgers. The Dodgers have the good fortune to catch Milwaukee while they are flailing, in the middle of a long road trip to the West Coast, and without facing the club's top 2 pitchers (though Wolf doesn't particularly scare me anyway.) The Dodgers figure to be a pretty tough out at home and I pick another series victory. Dodgers win 2 of 3.
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No matter how many times I am reminded of it, I have no memory of Craig “I can hold my bat higher than anyone else” Counsell as a Dodger.
by Eric Stephen on May 3, 2010 7:50 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
He was pretty forgettable
Did well enough to not be relegated to the Mark Sweeney Hall of Dreadful, but basically did nothing good to get remembered either. Vin spent a considerable amount of time gushing over him, however.
what he do
besides have a 0.69 ERA and throw a no hitter with 5 wins in april..
per DH
The Dodgers are expected to replace Furcal with veteran shortstop Nick Green, who after Monday’s game is batting an altitude-enhanced .219 in 20 games for their triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque. A key reserve for the Boston Red Sox last season, the 31-year-old Green signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers over the winter.
Carroll – not enough range – no hit
Green – has range – no hit
Hu – has range – no hit – eyes wiggle when nervous
by 68elcamino427 on May 3, 2010 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
And Hu is on the roster already
so Hu should get the call in my book. At least he has upside, rather than (wanting to make us go) upside his head.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
What evidence do you have that Hu has an upside? He has had lots and lots of opportunities over the last two (or is it three?) seasons to display it. All he has displayed is an upside down.
What evidence do you have that he doesn't?
He’s had much more limited at bats than you seem to think he has, and a chunk of those happened when he had the vision problem. It’s clear to me now that he’s not going to be a full time starter, at least not for LA, but he’s still young and has shown some ability in the minor. Why you’d want Nick Green over him would baffle me.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Not sure if already covered
But best wishes to ex Dodger Dave Roberts in his battle with cancer. You are in my prayers.
by oshea2002 on May 3, 2010 8:26 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
This sounds familiar
via twitter:
metstoday
Holy Turk Wendell! With his 2-inning appearance tonight, Fernando Nieve is on pace to appear in 99 games in 2010. #bullpenburnout
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Won't Green need to be
released when Furcal comes off the DL?
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Because they wouldn’t want to lose Green, and Carroll isn’t really a capable SS backup.
Although, the most logical move is to get rid of GA.
So is promoting Green over Hu when both do the same job. This is the Dodgers, they prefer veterans over younger players.
Remember, Green’s back.
If his back acts up and Furcal is unavailable
Then it’s Hu and who’s next after that?
Torre prefers Green over Hu
by 68elcamino427 on May 3, 2010 9:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Nick Green doesn’t have an opt out clause at triple-A BTW.
This is just the Dodgers wanting Green up.
Green does have an opt-out…he had a primary opt out on April 4, which he waived. But he has a secondary opt out, on May 15.
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=5057587
Hope this is not an indicator of Furcal not being available for an extended period of time
But it kinda does have that look.
by 68elcamino427 on May 3, 2010 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Presenting to everyone Andre Ethier
Your NL TRIPLE CROWN leader right now!
Ivan Rodriguez
is hitting .400, but is 6 PA short of qualifying. Per the rules, if you give him an out for every PA he is short, he would be hitting .366, which is higher than Ethier’s .365
but isnt it if you are not qualified for the BA title
you dont qualify at all?
Ethier is doing awesome
no doubt about it. I hope he keeps it up, too, just like everyone else here does.
But if he hits .169/.260/.217 for a month — like he did last year, May 6 – June 1 — it’s up to everyone to keep rooting for him.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
I wonder how long David Freese can keep up what he's doing..
He was a fringe minor leaguer that the Cards acquired from the Padres for Jim Edmonds a few years ago.
Rasmus and Freese seem to be playing way over their heads, but the NL Central may already be over.
since it is 3.1 PA per game
shouldn’t you divide 26 by 71.5 equaling .363636 rounded to .364.
by MammothDodger on May 3, 2010 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Nope
1) determine the minimum number of PAs
In Pudge II’s case, they have played 25 games....25 × 3.1 = 77.5, rounded to 78 PA
2) add hitless ABs until player has enough PA to qualify
Pudge has 72 PA, but his 26 for 65….add 6 PA…26 for 71 = .366
by Eric Stephen on May 3, 2010 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Anyone know MIL TBD
Will it be bush or yovani?
by SeanMillerSavior on May 3, 2010 9:33 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Just saying that the man is capable of going into extended slumps.
It might happen. You should prepare yourself, just in case it does.
I hope it doesn’t, of course, and I’m not even predicting that he will. He might be great all season long. But he also might look real bad for several weeks this summer, and if he does, we all have to remember what he did for the team in April.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
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