MNBrew

More on Macha's Suppan remarks earlier, courtesy of TH's latest blog entry. So even if it's purely idle speculation, there's obviously something about how it came across that struck the beat writers as quite different from the norm, and therefore worthy of such speculation: Macha said Parra and Narveson will split the Brewers' exhibition game Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels. But, when asked what Suppan would be doing that day, Macha said, "Hopefully, I'll be able to answer that tomorrow. That's my best answer." That cryptic response made reporters wonder if something is going on with Suppan, if perhaps the Brewers are thinking about not keeping him despite his $12.5 million salary in 2010. An official from another club said he had not seen Suppan's name on the release waiver wire, so that process apparently had not begun. Maybe it's nothing more than having to wait until Tuesday to hear that Suppan is pitching in a minor league game to get his work in. But usually a pitcher, especially a veteran pitcher, knows what his assignment is the day before he's scheduled to pitch. Let's just say some red flags went up with Macha's response to that question.

Odd man out for the rotation? Pretty obviously, yes. And no big deal. He had some success out of the 'pen that first year when he came up (granted, limited sample, but that's all we have to go on).

Per Witrado in today's "Manager's Briefings," there just may be something in the wind . . . or not. But obviously it was enough to catch TH's attention: Manny Parra and Chris Narveson will split tomorrow’s game. Narveson will start and Parra will come in behind him. It isn’t clear what Jeff Suppan will do yet, but Macha said it’s a possibility that the team has a camp game on the minor league side that Suppan can get work in. That smells a bit fishy. If Suppan is scheduled to line up in that fourth or fifth spot, which he’s sort of been slotted to do through this spring, then he should be pitching in the “A” game. The fact that Macha doesn’t know what Suppan is supposed to do yet seems odd. Is it a release waivers deal? Is he in the mix for a trade? Is he going to be DFA’d? Does this mean absolutely nothing and Suppan is just not pitching in the main game and there’s nothing more or less to it? There are scenarios in play, but we’ll have to stay tuned to see what comes of this uncertain situation. It’s just weird because the staff usually has these things mapped out as far as a pitcher’s schedule is concerned. Especially Rick Peterson. Kudos to AW for the observation & analysis. . . . and to my original point, it sure seems obvious to everyone that keeping Suppan really wouldn't be a good "baseball" decision.

You'll note my including Hart & Parra together was on the premise that Hart indeed proves a complete, irreversible trainwreck.

If Saunders is close to big-league ready, I'd take him in a heartbeat. Cain may be close, but none of the others really are. If Hart continues to be a trainwreck, Gomez persists in a stupid approach at the plate (why does that element of his game bring Alex Sanchez back to mind?), and Gerut proves he's not worthy of starting . . . . it just wouldn't take much to prove we're really fairly shallow for OF depth at the top of the system. If Saunders is really that decent and Seattle would take Hart & Parra for him, I might give that real consideration.

Sadly, it's not looking like VALUE will be the final determining factor, but rather SALARY combined with other players having remaining minor league options.

Lowell can still hit, which means hit can do one thing right. That's one more thing right than Suppan can do.

Jeff Suppan = good guy Jeff Suppan = poor pitcher Jeff Suppan = $14.5M of payroll no matter what Lord knows, I want to know what's going to happen. And I'd love to see Suppan NOT pitching for the Brewers ever again. But with more than a week to go, we're all trying to make too much out of every line & shadow on every tea leaf. Much could still happen, such as: - injuries to other Brewers pitchers not named Suppan - the Brewers actually biting the $14.5M bullet now rather than later - the Brewers, knowing Suppan's not realistically a bullpen candidate and that the $14.5M looms ominously, still make him the #5 to see how it goes, then eventually release him if it goes as badly as feared I think we all know where this well could end up (and we'd all be very happy). What's more up in the air is the route the road will take to get there.

1. The idea of keeping Suppan into the regular season at all really pains me. I can see the logic of the financial side of trying to get something out of him. I just think it's a terrible baseball decision no matter how you slice it. Fortunately, I don't think the front office is wanting to give him much of a leash. Then, once he's gone, greater "normalcy" could be restored to the entire Brewers' pitching staff. 2. Thanks, JB12, for your p.1 reply on Villy's ascending years. He was quite a good starter when they first brought him up, but bumped to the bullpen when they had too many starters. Then he flourised more in the 'pen. He was excellent at the end of '08 and in the playoffs. In general, it seems like he's been most successful when he's putting regular & substantial innings on his arm. Putting him in the AAA rotation seems like a great strategy to get that groove & some confidence going. Longer chunks of pitching at once -- using all pitches in more than short bursts, facing the opposing order maybe 3-4 times, etc. -- could pay dividends (in the form of him pitching like the "Villy of Old") whenever he gets brought back up. 3. Logan, Villy has an option left. He doesn't have to go through waivers to get sent to AAA. It's that simple given his ML service time. If it were anything other than that, we'd be hearing that regularly in all the beat writers' discussions & analyses of the pitching permutations, combinations, and conundrums.

I appreciate the complexity & difficulty of SS's situation. But for a guy that signed a minor-league contract, and did so that late in the off-season, it should've been incredibly obvious that he had no inside track on anything. But he had as good a shot of making the Brewers as he did making about any other team. The saddest thing about the situation is that he just plain pitched poorly (of course, it's also sad, the fact that he can't see that as being why he's not still battling for a spot on the Brewers' roster). Nice idea to bring him to camp. Multiple scenarios existed where he could've made the team. It's just that none of those really came close to happening.

The move in question is the optioning of Axford. After he was bad in his first appearance, he's been very good before giving up that run today. Reading the blog in the JSOnline and TH's tweet on the subject, it's pretty clear that's what Macha meant. It's too early for any of the other legitimately speculated things to play out.

There was a deal on mlbtraderumors.com today saying how the Diamondbacks may need more pitching. Offer to pay $12M of the net $14M owed Suppan to get him outta town. He stunk again today. The financial ramifications aren't otherwise going to change. But by cutting Suppan, they may be making a better baseball decision. Remember just how well the Seligs' financially motivated decisions helped the on-field product and the baseball results? Please, Mark A., don't go retro. Cut Suppan now or deal him & most of the cash to pay his salary to anyone who'd take him.

I'll amend my previous anti-Suppan rant with this **asterisk**: The **ONLY** way I would be okay seeing Suppan remain a Brewer for a while is if a few other pitchers got hurt and his presence in the rotation did not cost the Brewers keeping Bush, Parra, Narveson, Stetter, Villanueva, or other prospects for the long run. Once the injured guys make it back (or sooner if he still stinks), it's buy-out time.

Heether's worth rooting for an I think will still get some time in the bigs this year. But this is also his 1st ML spring training, and he'll have 2 options left after this year, so he's not necessarily heading elsewhere anytime soon. Counsell won't be here forever. And Inglett's still more of a middle IF than corner IF, which means that if he's around for a while, Heether could prove a worthy complement. Inglett, however, does have a decent MLB track record under his belt, so having him on the team isn't necessarily a bad thing. If a starting IF goes down, I still think it's more likely a current (Counsell or Inglett) bench player starts and Heether comes up . . . unless it's Gamel coming up to play everyday 3B.

Recte44, we alums of the same fine HS are often on the same wavelength, but not in this case: Parra indeed has given the Crew results -- far more so to be optimistic about than Suppan. Parra's '07 callup was VERY productive, however limited late in the year. His '08 was decent even though, as I recall, he wore down badly in September (as did most of the rest of the team). No matter how you slice it, Jeff Suppan is still terrible. Despite his success in St. Louis, his 3-year trend in Milwaukee is scary. His new "motion" stuff was so successful that he gave up 4 HRs in 4 IP the other day, only 2 of which were wind-aided. Parra hasn't proven he's totally worthless, although his '09 showing has justified decent doubts that he must prove wrong. However, he still showed ability at times in '09 but became such a mess & never could build the confidence needed to get back on track. Where he lost it was in his head, not in his talent & skills. I don't think anyone can really make the same argument for Suppan. Parra 2007: 0-1, 3.76 ERA, 9 G (2 starts), 26.1 IP, 25 hits, 1 HR, 12 BB, 26 K, .255 BA, 1.41 WHIP 2008: 10-8, 4.39 ERA, 32 G (29 starts), 166 IP, 181 hits, 18 HRs, 75 BB, 147 K, .278 BA, 1.54 WHIP 2009: 11-11, 6.36 ERA, 27 G (all starts), 140 IP, 179 hits, 19 HRs, 77 BB, 116 K, .306 BA, 1.83 WHIP Suppan 2007: 12-12, 4.62 ERA, 34 G (all starts), 206.2 IP, 243 hits, 18 HRs, 68 BB, 114 K, .298 BA, 1.50 WHIP 2008: 10-10, 4.96 ERA, 31 G (all starts), 177.2 IP, 207 hits, 30 HRs, 67 BB, 90 K, .298 BA, 1.54 WHIP 2009: 7-12, 5.29 ERA, 30 G (all starts), 161.2 IP, 200 hits, 25 HRs, 74 BB, 80 K, .309 BA, 1.69 WHIP In spite of his awful late-season slump in '08, Parra was still a much better pitcher in '08 than Suppan. Only Parra's BB rate was appreciably worse. Overall he was still a rather respectable SP in '08. In '09, Parra had a worse year, especially in terms of ERA & BB rates (& therefore WHIP; Parra's hit rate is fractionally better; the BB rate is what's worse). But in most other areas he wasn't any worse than Suppan and was actually noticeably better. I want to see Suppan bought out right now. Get him outta there. Here's how I hope to see the Opening Day pitching staff: Starters: 1. Gallardo, 2. Wolf, 3. Davis, 4.-5. (2 out of the 3 of) Bush/Parra/Narveson Bullpen: 1. Hoffman, 2. Coffey, 3. Hawkins, 4. Vargas, 5. Stetter, 6. Villanueva, 7. (the 3rd guy of) Bush/Parra/Narveson Axford & Schoeneweis & Braddock & maybe Estrada would be the next few guys I'd look at for the 'pen. Riske might eventually contribute. Lofgren & the loser of the Bush/Parra/Narveson battle would be the next 2 guys in line for turns in the rotation. Capuano might contribute if this inflammation thing is only a mild hiccup on the recovery road.

Heether's just been added to the 40-man for the first time this winter. That means the Brewers have all 3 options remaining on him. At this point, assuming Heether's in Nashville, it's like they have another potential McGehee ready to be called up should someone get hurt and should it not be Gamel, who, after last year, probably won't be brought up if steady regular playing time isn't part of the scenario. Oeltjen? Don't rule him out so quickly, either. If someone in the OF gets hurt, TO's the like OF callup because Cain's more a part of the future core (or at least more likely to be -- my hunch), and like Gamel, they're gonna want him playing regularly. Since Oeltjen wasn't originally Brewers property, and since he's been up & down to the bigs before, the Brewers don't have as much as stake re: Oeltjen's development and may be more likely to bring him up for a very part-time bench role (i.e., 5th OF and more regular PH-er).

The Twins haven't decided anything yet. Rauch is the only one on the current roster w/ closing experience.

Two problems with a couple of the above points: 1. Morales is injured and out for a while. Drew Butera or an actual prospect have been talked about as the potential Mauer backup 'til Morales is healthy again. 2. Mijares has been inconsistent from a character standpoint as well as a pitching standpoint. I'd think the Twins would favor keeping Mijares in a less-crucial role than closer until they had to try him there.

Whoops. Then I put Loretta there. I like Gantner a lot, but I think Loretta was the better 2B over the course of his Brewers career.

I loved Jim Slaton, but I'd hardly consider him among the Brewers' top 5 all-time homegrown rotation. Wegman was about the equivalent (11-yr, all-Milwaukee career). Bosio was clearly better. Sorenson (low K rate & terrible K:BB ratio) was similar to Slaton but only pitched in Milwaukee for 4 years. Outside of his first 2 years, maybe 3, Eldred was not very good. Much of the Brewer Nation love for Slaton seems to come from 3 things: 1. longevity in Milwaukee (12 seasons) 2. decent but generally unspectacular contributor 3. he was a part of the '78-'83 Glory Years era Put that together and it clearly adds up to the fact that Slaton was the pitching equivalent of Jim Gantner. And Gumby, if you really look at it, actually wasn't nearly as good of a 2B as Fernando Vina. Apply modern metrics and it'd be hard to disagree that Gantner's .671 career OPS is hardly worthy of ANY all-time club status. He was a great guy, a native Cheesehead, and a huge part of the glue of the team. But again, sheer longevity combined with non-sucky play and being part of the club's Glory Years era can do wonders for how someone's remembered! My list: C - B.J. Surhoff 1B - Fielder 2B - Vina SS - Yount 3B - Cirillo LF - Braun CF - Thomas RF - Jenkins DH - Molitor Rotation: Higuera Sheets Gallardo Haas Bosio

The size of "Brewers" script on the Lee pic a few comments up . . . I like that. I don't mind "Milwaukee" on the new ones (though I'm mostly indifferent) but it sure seems a whole lot smaller. Maybe I'd like it a little more if it were more comparable in size to the "Brewers" script.

Quick thoughts: - I hate the old powder blues. I was SO glad when they got rid of 'em just before Randolph arrived as a player. I hope they don't ever return. - Love the old logo, though, but wish we'd see it in the current colors (which I like tons better). - Love the fact that, in spite of all the enthusiam for the ball/glove M/B logo, the current logo is still the primary. Finally, regarding "Milwaukee" on the road alts vs. "Brewers" on the regular roads? Much ado about nothing. Total non-news to me. Blah. The Twins do the same thing & no one cares (& for that matter, most folks here never noticed) -- esp. since they have 6 different official uniform variations.

Sid Roberson. And maybe he would've panned out had he not gotten injured and never really pitched again. One of the few bright-light pitching prospects to make it all the way up and pitch decently in the mid-Bando/Garner years. Kevin Barker, Joey Meyer (still can't figure why after a half-decent rookie year, he flat out disappeared), and the last near .400 hitter in our organization above A-ball, Lavell Freeman. George Canale was never good. Nor was Carlos Ponce.

Our flotsam for their jetsam. If you'd take Hart outta the deal, it'd seem like a no-brainer.

An element of perspective is vital here: If Edmonds gets a normal amount of OF playing time that would be typical for a 5th OF, any impact of his defensive regression would be hardly noticeable given how relatively small a sample that would be. I have to agree with Melvin's approach: Low-risk, high-reward. If Edmonds does great, then it was a shrewd move. If he totally sucks, it should show enough (a la Trot Nixon) and he won't be around -- or at least not for any prolonged period of time. If he's still "got it," then he's on the team. If he doesn't, then he's gone at practically no cost.