The Milwaukee Brewers officially signed free agent starter Braden Looper on Thursday, February 12, 2009.  The deal is for one year and $4.75 million, with a mutual option for the 2010 season.  Looper has been a reliever and closer for most of his career, but for the past two years in a Cardinals uniform, he has made the transition to starter.  In 2007, he went 12-12 with a 4.94 ERA and in 2008, he finished with a 12-14 record, but a much-improved 4.16 ERA.  He will add much needed quality depth to the Milwaukee pitching staff, most likely allowing Seth McClung to move back to the pen.  His 199 innings logged last season would have been first among Brewers starting pitchers in 2008.

Hello Brewershomeplate readers!  It’s been a long time since the unfortunate end to Milwaukee’s Postseason appearance, but with Spring Training fast approaching, it is time to provide a little insight into what I believe the Brew Crew will look like this year.

Offense:

First and foremost…NEXT TO NOTHING HAS CHANGED!  Every starter 1-8 in the lineup (although the order will probably be shifted) was a Brewer starter in 2008.  Although this is great for team chemistry that is many times lacking in today’s free agent era, the offense…well…it plainly and simply was mediocre at best last season.  Pitching carried the team through the season and into the playoffs, though the offense probably got a little more of the limelight what with Ryan Braun’s legendary home runs and such.  Conversely, the bench will be very different in ‘09.  Gabe Kapler (Tampa Bay Rays), Russell Branyan (Seattle Mariners), and probably Ray Durham either have parted ways with Milwaukee or are going to.  This is not good news, as those players managed to provide key sparks to the team when it needed it the most.  Notably, Branyan’s ability to hit a home run any time he strode to the plate, or Kapler’s hard-nosed defense and offensive saavy.  Durham managed to keep the struggling Rickie Weeks motivated at 2nd base and came up with quite an impressive highlight reel himself in the waning months of the 2008 campaign.  The bench this year will still feature the ever-dependable vet, Craig Counsell as well as late-season acquisition Mike Lamb, who will probably be a platoon starter with Bill Hall at 3rd base this year.  Several wild cards to make the bench are Trot Nixon (the ex-Boston Red Sox outfielder), Tony Gwynn Jr., Casey McGehee, a 3rd baseman plucked off waivers in the off season, and perhaps Matt Gamel, the highly touted 3rd base prospect.  Mike Rivera will again be Jason Kendall’s backup at catcher.  So look for the offense to be slightly more productive in ‘09, considering the chemistry and new hitting coach, Dale Sveum, who should relate to the players a lot more effectively than the departed Jim Skaalen did.

Pitching:

This is where things could get messy.  The two greatest starting pitchers perhaps ever to don a Brewers uniform are leaving.  CC Sabathia is a New York Yankee, and Ben Sheets is being courted by the Texas Rangers, and although he hasn’t signed with anyone (there is talk of elbow surgery in his future), he has made it clear being a Brewer is not interesting to him any longer.  That throws the young Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra likely to the top of the starting 5.  Dave Bush should be number 3, with Jeff Suppan behind him at 4.  The 5th spot in the rotation is a little more confusing, as Seth McClung could be a possible answer here, but his flashes of late-inning brilliance may place him in the bull pen.  Carlos Villanueva will be the set up man or long reliever, as he never really settled into a groove as a starter.  The new member to the pen is Trevor Hoffman, a much safer and predictable new closer than Eric Gagne was, because his best seasons were brought about by his pin-point control and wicked changeup (which he hasn’t lost by the way), not steroids.  Guillermo Mota, Salomon Torres, and Brian Shouse are gone as well as Gagne, and that could create a void Trevor Hoffman, Jorge Julio, and Mitch Stetter may or may not be able to succesfully fill.  Julio has been unraveling his past couple years, and Stetter is quite young (albeit he certainly has talent).  Hoffman is certainly aging, but is definitely serviceable (unfortunately, his mid 80s fastball is a little more hittable than Torres’ low 90s sinkers were)  So the pen should be about as good if not slightly better than in 2008.  The starting rotation will almost certainly not produce another 90 win season, BUT, there is enough talent there for new pitching coach Bill Castro to perhaps mold into a legitimate Wild Card contending staff.

Coaching

Dale Sveum is still a member of the Milwaukee coaching staff, but not in a manegerial role.  He is the hitting coach and Ken Macha, the ex-manager of the Oakland Athletics, is taking the big chair.  Willie Randolph, the ex-New York Met’s manager, will be the bench coach.  Needless to say Macha should do a better job making the tough decisions than Ned Yost did, and Willie Randolph will probably be a little harder on the players than Robin Yount or Dale Sveum before him were, which could certainly be what the younger players need to keep themselves motivated.  Mike Maddux, the wizard of resurrecting pitchers plucked off the scrap heap’s careers is now a Ranger coach, and long-time bullpen coach Bill Castro probably will not do quite as good a job as Maddux did.  But he knows his players and their tendencies well, and that is a very good sign.  All in all, the coaching staff is miles and miles ahead of where it was at this point last year.

My Projected Lineup by Position:

1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Rickie Weeks
SS: J.J. Hardy
3B: Bill Hall/Mike Lamb/Casey McGehee
C: Jason Kendall
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Mike Cameron
RF: Corey Hart

My Projected Season Numbers

Final record: 87-75
Standings: 2nd place, NL Central, NL Wild Card runner up

Jeff Suppan had been knocked around again and again in September (with an ERA over 10 in the month), and he was hit hard again on Friday by the Cubs. The difference? He pitched his heart out to keep the game in control, and managed to do just that in 5.0 solid innings. Jim Edmonds, who has dominated Brewer pitching all year, hit an opposite-field solo blast in the 2nd to put Chicago ahead 1-0. It could have easily been 3-0 if not for Mike Cameron. In the 1st, Cubs’ powerful rookie Micah Hoffpauir crushed a two-out pitch from Suppan to the gap in right center. The savvy center fielder read the ball perfectly off the bat, but to catch the ball, it took a spectacular diving play to retire the side and save two sure runs.

Catcher Jason Kendall, who gunned down a potential base-stealer and Hoffpauir trying to stretch a single into a double later on, hit a huge two-out RBI double to knot things firmly at 1-1 in the 2nd. Suppan gave up more hits after Edmond’s homer, but settled down mightily, and even recorded 5 strikeouts along the way; four to some of the best Chicago had to offer (Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Micah Hoffpauir). He did not record his 11th win of the year, for the game was tied going into 6th. Ray Durham started things with a booming double off lefty Sean Marshall that bounced over the wall in left, and Ryan Braun worked his way on with a walk. But Prince Fielder struck out swinging and J.J. Hardy was retired on a harmless pop-out. This set the stage for a game-changing bloop single by Corey Hart that scored Durham and put the Crew ahead for good. In the 7th, reliever Seth McClung, who had just pitched a pair of sparkling innings, was allowed to hit, and he reached on catcher’s interference.  The Cubs’ Chad Gaudin then balked, letting the huge flamethrower get to second.

Mike Cameron then coaxed a single between third and short, putting runners at the corners for Rickie Weeks, who had replaced Durham due to an injury.  Weeks, criticized by many (including myself) all year long, wasted no time in giving Milwaukee another boost in their run for the playoffs.  He lined a three-run home run to left to give his club some more breathing room, and he was even prompted to a curtain call by the deeply appreciative crowd of 44,804 (mostly Brewer fans by the way).  McClung did the rest, finishing things off with a fiery demeanor that made the night even more amazing for Brewer fans, who cheered raucously once they saw the final from Shea Stadium: 6-1 Marlins over the Mets.  Milwaukee is now 1.0 games ahead of New York in the Wild Card chase.

Offensive MVP: Rickie Weeks (1-1/1R/1HR/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Seth McClung (4.0IP/1H/0ER/1BB/6SO/Win-6th)

The odds are certainly stacked against the Milwaukee Brewers.  They would have to combine a miraculous winning streak with a full-blown collapse by the New York Mets to have a CHANCE at backing into the post season, but the fact of the matter is they still have a chance.  Seth McClung couldn’t get out of the 4th inning, but reliever Todd Coffey bailed him out of a bases-loaded jam with two key strikeouts.  Prince Fielder hit a solo shot off of Reds’ starter Bronson Arroyo, and also crushed a two-run double in the 4th.  Corey Hart picked up two RBIs off of sac flies, J.J. Hardy knocked in a run, and Ryan Braun collected #99 of the year as the Brewers rolled to an emphatic 8-1 win.  The Mets failed to hold onto a late lead in Atlanta and lost 6-7.  The Crew trails New York by 1.5 games going into tomorrow’s off day.  Milwaukee’s overall road record in ‘08 was 41-40.

Jeff Suppan wasn’t great, but his bullpen was, at least until it mattered most.  Suppan went 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, including 2 homeruns.  Prince Fielder drove Rickie Weeks in from second in the first, but Milwaukee found itself playing from behind late.  Then in the seventh, Bill Hall walked and Jason Kendall was hit by a pitch to set the stage for pinch hitter Ray Durham.  He blasted a three-run, game-tying homer to right field to wake up the crowd, but sadly, the hit did not wake up his teammates’ bats.  They went on to strand scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity in the ninth and tenth innings.  They even got solid relief pitching, but it didn’t matter.  The Reds won 5-4 on an RBI single by Brandon Phillips, and Milwaukee lost their 7th game of this absolutely pitiful homestand.  They are now 2-7 on it.

Offensive MVP: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips (1-5/1R/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Reds CP Francisco Cordero (1IP/0H/0ER/0BB/1SO/0HR/Save-29th)

Alex’s Take:

I believed before the game that a loss tonight would almost definitely break the Brewers’ morale and send them spiraling into weeks of more bad baseball that would knock them out of the playoff hunt.  The game I saw tonight, though the outcome stung mightily, did not look like a team that was ready to fold.  Ned Yost really didn’t make a bad decision at all in managing his bullpen, though putting in Eric Gagne might’ve been a little questionable.  Seth McClung blowing the game, well, Yost didn’t have a lot of experienced guys to pitch in a pressure situation, and unfortunately, the big righty couldn’t keep the game tied.  As for the offense, things still look pretty bleak in the middle of the order, but hopefully Durham’s emphatic homerun will spark something, though it didn’t Tuesday.  It’s strange to me, because I thought for sure I would totally give up on 2008 with a loss that eventually did happen, but the Phillies and Cubs both lost, CC Sabathia is pitching tomorrow in a game the Brewers desperately need to win, and who better to have on the mound in a game you desperately need?  The thing is, they are up 3.0 games in the Wild Card with 17 games remaining.  A ten game monster road trip is right around the corner, and these are the cold, hard facts.  The Crew must simply SURVIVE the trip, go 5-5 (4-6 with wins against the right teams could cut it) that would most likely keep their heads above water with a home stand against not-so-great team after the trip.  The Crew have been downright awful at home lately, yes, but a 5-5 road trip would probably inspire the team to powering into the post season.  I’m as harsh a critic of the Crew as anyone, but I STILL HAVE HOPE!

Dave Bush continued to prove that he is a very good bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher with another strong outing that gave him his 8th win of the year.  He threw 7.0 3 run innings on Friday, on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts.  By the time he left, the bullpen had very little to worry about.  Zach Duke, the Pirates starter, started strong, pitching a scoreless game through three, but he unraveled in the fourth and fifth frames.  Down 2-0, the always-resilient Crew bit Duke hard for 3 runs thanks to some tricky infield hits and defensive blunders by Pittsburgh.  Ryan Braun led off with a single, but the ball was thrown away from first-baseman Adam LaRoche and Braun got to second.  Prince Fielder then walked, and Corey Hart delivered with a booming two-run double.  He ended up on third on another error, this time by right fielder Jason Michaels.  Bill Hall drove him in with a sac fly.  J.J. Hardy made history in the fifth when he belted his 20th homerun of 2008, a solo shot that put him in very elite company.  Only two Brewers shortstops had ever hit 20 or more homeruns in back to back seasons: Jose Hernandez and the great Robin Yount.

The offense exploded in the seventh, when Milwaukee sent nine men to the plate.  Pinch-hitter Laynce Nix walked and was tripled in by Rickie Weeks, who scored on a Hardy double right after.  Hardy was driven in by Braun, who hit a ground-rule double.  Braun then stole third and scored on a weird play.  Prince Fielder chopped out to second baseman Freddy Sanchez, but Sanchez took his time on the play, making a lackadaisical throw to first.  Braun smartly bolted for home as the flip to first was made, and he scored easily.  Corey Hart was then hit by a pitch, sending Mike Cameron to the plate.  He drilled a two-run, opposite field homerun that collided with the right field foul pole and extended the Brewers lead to 10-3.  Eric Gagne surrendered one run in the eighth, but Seth McClung tossed a scoreless frame in the ninth to seal the emphatic victory.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (2-5/2R/12B/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (7.0IP/7H/3ER/1BB/2SO/1HR/Win-8th)

Alex’s Take:

It is a good sign that Milwaukee jumped all over a struggling pitcher and ball club.  Earlier on in the year, it seemed as though the Crew would often play down to the level of teams with far worse records than they, but on Friday, everything played out correctly and then some.  I’m going to single out fan-favorite shortstop J.J. Hardy for today.  Earlier in the year, I did not want him in the starting lineup, but he has bounced back so well that I have to admit I was wrong before.  He is becoming a very reliable piece to the offensive puzzle, setting the table for the big boys and driving in a bunch of runs on his own, and he deserves a little more credit than he gets, what with stars like Braun, Fielder, and Hart usually stealing the spotlight.

Dave Bush followed in his fellow starting pitchers’ footsteps with a very good start against Washington on Monday afternoon.  He pitched 6.1 innings, giving up a single run on five hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.  The offense was boosted by a leadoff homerun by Rickie Weeks, who had yet to homer in Miller Park in 2008, which tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first.  The game remained knotted up until the fourth inning, when Corey Hart blasted a homerun to score Prince Fielder and himself.  Next inning, Fielder doubled in Gabe Kapler with two outs to pull his club ahead 4-1.  In the seventh, the Crew capped off their scoring witha a two-run, two out double by struggling backup infielder Craig Counsell (he hit a looping line drive that was almost brought in by a diving try, but trickled past Willie Harris) to score Kapler and Fielder.  Later on, Bill Hall drew a bases loaded walk to get an RBI the easy way.  Brian Shouse, David Riske, and Seth McClung teamed up to finish the game for Milwaukee.  The 7-1 victory sealed a 4 game sweep of Washington for the Crew.  They also pull to 17 games over .500, the highest such mark since the days of Yount and Molitor.

Offensive MVP: Corey Hart (2-4/1R/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (6.1IP/5H/1ER/2BB/6SO/Win-7th)

My Take:

Ned Yost commented that this series was a lose-lose situation for Milwaukee.  If they swept, they were supposed to; if they failed to sweep, what’s up with those Brewers?  But thankfully, they swept.  Bottom line: Milwaukee had to prove they could play winning baseball at home again and they did.  Dave Bush looked like an awfully good #5 starter, and the bullpen was strong.  The offense collected quite a few runs with two outs, and the Crew is now 17 games over .500!

Ben Sheets pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 earned runs.  Seth McClung relieved him and gave up 2 more runs.  Guillermo Mota pitched .2 scoreless.  The Brewers stranded 8 runners in the game.

Offensive MVP: Braves SS Yunel Escobar (1-3/2RBI/0BB/0K/0HR)

Pitching MVP: Braves SP Jorge Campillo (7IP/6H/0ER/0BB/6SO/0HR)

My Take:

You win some, you lose some.  I wouldn’t read too much more into this 5-0 loss than that.  The only thing that is concerning is how mediocre Ben Sheets has been lately.

Jeff Suppan was atrocious on Sunday afternoon, giving up 8 earned runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work.  He also walked one and struck out 3.  The Brewers were up 4-1 thanks to a Prince Fielder sac fly in the first, a Mike Rivera double in the second, and a two-run shot by Ryan Braun in the third.  But Suppan was hit and hit hard in the fifth, surrendering seven runs that were capped off by a three-run shot by Geoff Blum, his second of the day.  Milwaukee tallied one in the sixth off a J.J. Hardy single that scored Russell Branyan from second, but reliever Seth McClung gave up 3 earned runs off of 5 hits and 3 walks in only 2.0 innings pitched to crush any hope of a Brewer comeback.  Astros starter Randy Wolfe struggled, giving up 3 earned runs in 4.1 innings of work, but Chris Sampson relieved him and handcuffed the Brewers for the next few frames, giving up only 1 earned run.  In the ninth, Rickie Weeks tripled and scored on a ground-out by Hardy.

Offensive MVP: Astros 3B Geoff Blum (2-4/2R/2H/2HR/4RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Astros RP Chris Sampson (2.2IP/2H/1ER/0BB/2SO/0HR)

My Take:

So long first place.  This was one of the tougher losses of 2008, but it is simply part of the ebb and flow of a 162 game season.  It would have been nice for the Brewers to have a little momentum going into their 4 game series with Chicago, but that’s just not the way it turned out.  Suppan is often up and down throughout a year, so he could easily bounce back next time.  The upcoming four games will say a lot about whether the Brewers are truly a contender or just a pretender, but even the outcome of that series should be taken with a grain of salt.

They had squandered opportunities to score again and again and again; they missed an opportunity to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the 9th inning due to some tough-luck ground balls; but the streaking Milwaukee Brewers did not miss the opportunity to quiet the always raucous Busch Stadium crowd in extra innings on Monday night.  In the opener of a very important 4 game series with Tony Larussa’s Redbirds, the Brewers, behind starter Seth McClung, found themselves down 2-0 right away when Troy Glaus hit a booming two-run double over center-fielder Mike Cameron’s head in the first inning.  But the burly right-hander did exactly what good fifth starters should do and settled down and pitched four consecutive scoreless innings to finish give his club a good chance to win.  He finished with only 5IP, struck out 5, and surrendered five hits while walking 2.

In the top of the fifth inning, McClung was put in position for the win when second-baseman Rickie Weeks, perhaps playing a little harder now that the veteran Ray Durham has come to town, sent a first pitch fastball from Cardinal’s starter Joel Pineiro flying into the triple deck (scoring Jason Kendall and Seth McClung).  Ahead 3-2 off the Weeks blast, Ned Yost employed two struggling relievers, Guillermo Mota and Eric Gagne in the sixth and seventh innings respectively.  The move paid huge dividends.  Mota worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless inning and Gagne blew away Cesar Izturis and Skip Schumaker and retired Aaron Miles on an easy grounder to finish the frame.  In the eighth, David Riske struck out one, walked one, and surrendered no runs or hits.  The Milwaukee offense stranded 11 base-runners in the first 9 innings of the ballgame, and that gave the pesky Cardinals plenty of opportunity to make a game of it.  Salomon Torres gave up a ground-rule double to catcher Yadier Molina to start off the bottom of the ninth and the stadium immediately came alive.  Slugger Ryan Ludwick was called out on strikes, but pinch hitter Jason LaRue dribbled a ground ball past the mound that Weeks couldn’t handle, and runners were on the corners.  Skip Schumaker hit a fly ball to medium left that Ryan Braun caught cleanly, but his impending throw to the plate sailed on him and St. Louis knotted it up at 3-3.  A gutsy decision by Ned Yost to allow Torres to pitch to Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols paid off and the side was retired.

The momentum had clearly shifted towards Tony Larussa’s club, but Brewers’ third baseman Bill Hall rapidly stole it back and then some.  He crushed the third pitch he saw from reliever Ryan Franklin and sent it into the center field stands to give Milwaukee the lead 4-3.  Kendall doubled with one out and Torres was allowed to bat, but he lined out to center-fielder Rick Ankiel.  With a huge insurance run on second and two men gone, Rickie Weeks hit a wicked grounder straight up the middle.  His counterpart, Aaron Miles, made an unbelievable diving stab, but it was all for naught as the usually dependable first baseman Pujols was out of position, and the throw sailed past the bag.  Jason Kendall scrambled around to score, and Weeks managed to reach second.  Hot-hitting shortstop J.J. Hardy promptly drove in Weeks with an RBI single, giving Milwaukee a 6-3 lead.  In the bottom of the 10th, Torres worked around a Troy Glaus one-out double and sealed the huge victory.  He was credited with a blown save and a win.

Offensive MVP: 2B Rickie Weeks (2-5/2R/1HR/3RBI/1BB)

Pitching MVP*: RPs Guillermo Mota/Eric Gagne/David Riske (3IP/0H/0ER/2BB/3SO)

My Take:

This one had the makings of an ugly defeat, but sheer determination by the Brewers gave them their fourth straight road victory.  The pitching was good all throughout the game, save the first inning of work by McClung, and of course, the ninth.  Salomon Torres did not pitch that badly, but ran into a little tough luck on grounders that just rolled past his outstretched glove and were poorly played by Rickie Weeks.  The way the team bounced back to earn a win against a divisional rival on national television is extremely encouraging, and with CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets pitching, a series win or split seems very possible.  The Brewers are now tied for 2nd in the NL Central and are only 2 games behind the Chicago Cubs, who lost to Arizona.