Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers acquire Ray Durham from the Giants

chinmusic — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:24:26 +0000

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired 36-year old switch hitting 2B Ray Durham from the Giants for pitcher Steve Hammond and outfielder Darren Ford. This was a high price to pay for the Brewers if they are going to use Durham off the bench. I have a feeling that the Brewers are starting to lose patience with the very highly overrated Rickie Weeks at 2B. Durham played in 87 games for the Giants this season and he was 77 for 263 (.293 avg, .799 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 3 homers, 32 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Durham has had a successful major league career to date and the Brewers’ expect him to give them a boost on offense. Durham has now played in 1,934 games in his major league career and he is 2,024 for 7,301 (.277 avg, .787 OPS) with 1,228 runs scored, 189 homers, 862 RBIs and 271 stolen bases. The Brewers didn’t get Durham cheap as Hammond (#23) and Darren Ford (#21) were two highly ranked players in the Brewers’ farm system coming into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. Still, the Brewers are going for it now and they did make the major league team better by adding Ray Durham.

Mat Gamel is destroying minor league pitching this season for the Milwaukee Brewers

chinmusic — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:16:20 +0000

Russell Branyan and Bill Hall are just holding the 3B spot for the Brewers until Mat Gamel is ready for action and it won’t be long. The 22-year old lefty swinging Gamel has played in 92 games in AA-Ball this season and he is 143 for 381 (.375 avg, 1.045 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 15 homers, 81 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. A lot of teams were asking for Gamel in trade but the Brewers’ smartly resisted as he looks like he will be a very good player for them in the very near future.

The Milwaukee Brewers did well to keep shortstop Alcides Escobar away from the Indians

chinmusic — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:00:51 +0000

The Indians really wanted 21-year old righty swinging shortstop Alcides Escobar from the Brewers in the Sabathia trade but they said no and it was a smart thing to say. Escobar was the #3 prospect in the Brewers’ entire minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. Escobar has played in 89 games in AA ball this season and he is 125 for 382 (.327 avg, .797 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 7 homers, 55 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He is the shortstop of the future for the Brewers and they were darn smart to keep him.

The Milwaukee Brewers place Jeff Suppan on the D.L.

chinmusic — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:11:06 +0000

The Brewers have placed righty starting pitcher Jeff Suppan on the 15-day disabled list with joint irritation in his right elbow. Suppan has started 18 games for the Brewers this season and he is 5-6 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Suppan has not pitched too well this season for the Brewers but they will likely miss him despite adding C.C. Sabathia yesterday.

The Milwaukee Brewers acquire lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia from the Indians

chinmusic — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:51:13 +0000

The Milwaukee Brewers made a bold move to try to win the National League Central Division as they have acquired defending American League Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians. 27-year old lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia has started 18 games for the Indians this season and he was 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has also whiffed 123 batters in 122.1 innings pitched this season which shows that his stuff is still very strong. Sabathia has now pitched in 237 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 106-71 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Sabathia is going to be a free agent at the end of the season but the Brewers are worried about the here and now and this is a great move. He didn’t come cheap however as the Brewers traded outfielder Matt LaPorta, lefty starter/reliever Zach Jackson, righty reliever Rob Bryson and a player to be named later. LaPorta is the #1 prospect in the Brewers minor league system according to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook. He has played in 84 games in AA ball this season and he is 87 for 302 (.288 avg, .978 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 20 homers and 66 RBIs. 25-year old lefty Zach Jackson was pretty awful in AAA ball for the Brewers this season as he pitched in 22 games (6 starts) and he was 1-5 with a 7.85 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. Rob Bryson was the #11 rated prospect in the Brewers’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 22 games (5 starts) in A-ball this season and he was 3-2 with 5 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has allowed only 43 hits while whiffing 73 batters in only 55 innings pitched. The player to be named later is likely either 3B Taylor Green or OF Michael Brantley. This was a good trade for the Brewers who are well stocked in the minor league system so they felt comfortable in giving up the players they did for Sabathia.

Russell Branyan is playing very well for the Milwaukee Brewers

chinmusic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:35:52 +0000

The Brewers should seriously be thinking of just benching Bill Hall and playing Russell Branyan full time. Branyan has played in 31 games for the Brewers this season and he is 25 for 95 (.263 avg, 1.018 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 11 homers and 18 RBIs. With Branyan you have to take the good with the bad however as he has whiffed an alarming 33 times already this season. Branyan has more pure power than almost anyone in the majors and I really think he could lead the majors in homers if some team ever let him play full time. But, he no doubt would also set a major league record in whiffs.

Salomon Torres has been lights out as the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers

chinmusic — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:28:14 +0000

Salomon Torres likely won’t be giving Eric Gagne his old job back as the closer because he has pitched so well. Torres has pitched in 38 games this season (0 starts) for the Brewers and he is 4-1 with 13 saves, a 2.62 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Torres has taken full advantage of getting his big chance to close again after the debacle that was the 2007 season he had with Pittsburgh when he lost the closer job early in the year. Look for him to keep up the good pitching as he has been solid for the Brewers so far this year.

The Milwaukee Brewers designate Julian Tavarez for assignment

chinmusic — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:59:30 +0000

The Brewers have designated righty reliever Julian Tavarez for assignment. Tavarez pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Brewers this season and he was 0-1 with a 8.59 ERA and a 2.45 WHIP. The Brewers have activated David Riske from the D.L. to replace Tavarez in the bullpen. Riske has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Brewers this year and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 5.57 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The Brewers might have to finally realize that they likely wasted the money they spent on Riske as he doesn’t pitch well under pressure.

Here’s a trade the Milwaukee Brewers should make

chinmusic — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:52:37 +0000

The Milwaukee Brewers should rid themselves of the overrated Bill Hall by trading him and cash to the Minnesota Twins for Boof Bonser. Hall has not been the same since his breakout season of 2006 and now he’s crying like a little girl about playing time. The Twins need a upgrade at 3B if they are going to contend in the American League Central because playing Mike Lamb there will just not get the job done. Hall has played in 63 games this season for the Brewers and he is 46 for 213 (.216 avg, .675 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 9 homers, 25 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Boof Bonser has a big time arm but he always seems to have one awful inning that wrecks a otherwise good performance. Bonser has pitched in 17 games (12 starts) for the Twins this season and he is 3-6 with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Bonser has a good upside if the Brewers could coach him up as they need help in the starting rotation with Dave Bush pitching poorly right now.

Brad Nelson is blocked by Prince Fielder and others on the Milwaukee Brewers

chinmusic — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:31:15 +0000

25-year old lefty swinging Brad Nelson is off to a good start for the Brewers’ AAA team but he will have a hard time making it to the big leagues with the Brewers. That’s because they have Prince Fielder at the major league level and a lot of good prospects behind Nelson with higher upsides. If Nelson keeps swinging a good bat in AAA the Brewers might be able to get something for him close to the trade deadline as he is a talented player. Nelson has played in 63 games in AAA ball this season and he is 70 for 227 (.308 avg, .932 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 9 homers, 38 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.