Daniel Chodos

Did the Brewers really not have enough offense already? Just when it seemed like the team’s slugging percentage couldn’t get any higher, the newly acquired C.C. Sabathia has demonstrated his prowess at the plate, clubbing two home runs and a double in his first three starts with his new team. A career .289 hitter coming into Friday night’s game, it should not come as a huge surprise that the 290-pound behemoth can hit a baseball, but Brewers fans have to consider his Zambrano-like performance at the plate as a major bonus (perhaps Jason Kendall can move back to the 9^th spot on the days Sabathia takes the mound!)

Incidentally, Sabathia has now logged back-to-back complete games after his more-than-stellar debut as a Milwaukee Brewer - his latest effort a four-hit, 10 strikeout gem against the punchless Giants. For this reason, some may argue that the major attribute Sabathia brings to the Brew Crew is in fact his pitching ability, and not in fact his monstrous bat!

But seriously, now that Milwaukee fans have seen what Sabathia brings to the table, the question must be asked: was he worth the price?

As a free agent going into the 2009 season, Sabathia can only be seen as a rent-a-player. In exchange for the hefty lefty, the Indians were awarded Brewers monster-prospect Matt LaPorta, former Blue Jay top pitching prospect Zach Jackson, 2006 late-round pick Robert Bryson, and a scrub to be named later.

Despite the 25-year old Jackson’s first-round pick pedigree, he has failed to live up to expectations over his minor-league career. He has a tough time keeping the ball down against hitters, and does not compensate by throwing hard enough to generate a high strikeout rate. As a result, he is way too hittable and gives up far too many longballs to be considered major-league material at this point in his career.

Bryson, on the other hand, is seen as a potential long-reliever who can ring up hitters like it’s his job. With a plus fastball and slider, he could emerge as a successful third starter, but seems more likely to be destined for someone’s bullpen. He is only 20-years old and can pitch effectively against both righties and lefties, so his future looks quite bright.

LaPorta, however, is the real prize here. Arguably the best player in the entire minor leagues going into the trade, LaPorta didn’t miss a beat once he transferred to Cleveland’s Double-A affiliate Akron. He is generally described as a “classic power hitter,” possessing a good eye at the plate and raw power to all fields. He is not likely to hit consistently for a high batting average, but that is a sacrifice any team should be willing to make.

Now that I’ve spent three paragraphs upsetting Brewers fans about what they just lost, it’s time to step back to reality, and look at the positives. There are three key points here:

1) You didn’t need LaPorta. He can play the corner outfield spots and first base. Even the fair-weather Brewers fan is aware that Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Prince Fielder (aka, the middle of the order) currently occupy these positions. With no DH in the National League, Ned Yost would be left with few options once LaPorta was called up to the Show (which, incidentally, had to happen by this September, given his crushing minor league success).

2) The future is now in Milwaukee. In case you didn’t notice, the Brewers are awesome. And they’re getting better. Sabathia solidifies a rotation that lost two key cogs in Yovani Gallardo and Chris Capuano for the season, giving the team arguably the best 1-2 punch in baseball, with Sheets and Sabathia pitching as many as four times in a potential playoff series. As we know, postseason success is an excellent recipe for future performance (both at the gate and in the win column), so there is little reason to panic at present.

3) Losing free agents means more draft picks. If the Brewers are unable to re-sign both Sabathia and Sheets, Milwaukee may be able to pick as many as five players in the first two rounds of the 2009 amateur draft. Given that Milwaukee management was chastised for selecting a player – in LaPorta – that the organization did not need, having five such choices is certainly a good thing.

The bottom line is that things are looking up in Wisconsin these days (with or without Brett Favre in the state!) It should be borne in mind that the Brewers have a future superstar in the form of third baseman Mat Gamel. Despite his Ryan Braun-like deficiencies in the field – he has committed 22 errors so far this season – he is leading all of Double-A in slugging percentage, at .612. By next season, the Brewers will have to decide how to use Gamel, leaving Doug Melvin and co. with the same problem they had this season with Matt LaPorta.

That’s not such a bad problem to have!

Daniel Chodos

The Brewers’ defense is proving itself to be a real enigma this season: at times their players look like fielding superstars, and at other times they look like a little league squad.

Take the club’s July 3 game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks as an example. The second inning began with a routine ground ball to third baseman Russell Branyan, which he promptly bobbled, allowing the leadoff batter to reach first base. Branyan followed up his error by picking up a tough short-hop on a surefire double play ball, and made a decent throw to Rickie Weeks, who was covering second base. Weeks was able to handle the throw, but dropped the ball as he attempted to transfer it from his glove, thereby losing any shot at the twin killing.

The next batter hit a laser into the hole at shortstop. J.J. Hardy dove headlong to stab the ball, quickly hopped to his feet, and made a strong throw to Weeks to retire the lead runner. Hardy followed up his highlight reel play by charging a hard hit chopper that just passed the pitcher’s mound, and fired a strike to first base to retire the side.

There you have it: a couple of bad plays, a few great plays – there couldn’t be a better microcosm for the Brewers’ season defensively.

But while the Crew’s infield confounds Brewers fans, the performance of Milwaukee’s outfielders leaves little to be desired. Ryan Braun has made a surprisingly smooth transition from third base – where, as we all know, he was awful – to left field. As an outfielder, Braun has made a grand total of zero errors to go along with six outfield assists. At times, Braun is prone to poor decision making – such as diving wildly for would-be singles instead of simply playing the ball on a hop – but such mental lapses all forgivable, particularly since he is still a young player learning a new position.

Corey Hart is also proving himself defensively this season, showing tremendous range as he takes advantage of his tall frame and good speed to track balls hit to the gaps. Meanwhile, Mike Cameron has lived up to his billing as a defensive specialist who covers a lot of ground in center field. With these three gentlemen patrolling the grounds, Brewers pitchers can confidently throw strikes, knowing fly balls will find a leathery home more often than not.

Speaking of Brewers’ pitchers, I must add to my previous comments about Manny Parra. After struggling away from home through most of the 2008 season, Parra has thrown back-to-back gems on the road, tossing shutouts against contenders Minnesota and Arizona. He has now gone 11 straight starts without a loss, and deserves serious consideration for a spot on the NL All-Star team.

If the Brewers make the anticipated trade for the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia, their rotation would prove to be one of the most formidable in the National League. Moreover, with Ben Sheets at the top of the rotation and Yovani Gallardo expected back at full strength next season after tearing his ACL this April, there is good reason for fans to believe Brewers’ pitching will continue to complement their impressive offense for years to come.

Daniel Chodos

Kudos to anyone who recognized the “Camp Grenada” reference.

A few weeks ago, Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy expressed some frustration with his inability to sustain any kind of hot streak at the plate. He mentioned in an interview that he was having difficulty driving the ball, feeling as though the only hits he could muster were measly little singles.

These concerns can officially be put to rest, after Tuesday night’s game in Arizona. Hardy was entering the game with a 12-game hit streak, but perhaps more importantly he slugged 10 extra-base hits during that span. On Tuesday, against no less than Randy Johnson, Hardy smacked two home runs, giving the Brew Crew some early momentum against the lanky lefty.

Hardy is a notoriously streaky hitter. Brewers’ fans may recall Hardy’s outstanding performance during a month-long in April and May last season when he hit 14 dingers in just 33 games, earning him a selection to the AL All-Star Team. However, while the weather got hot Hardy got ice cold, hitting only three home runs in June and July, while he watched his batting average fall nearly 50 points after hitting .304 over the season’s first two months. In short, enjoy Hardy’s hitting heroics while they last, because another cold streak may be around the corner.

Hardy isn’t the only member of Milwaukee’s supporting cast who is contributing. Ten days ago, Rickie Weeks came back from his knee injury with a burst, going for multiple hits in three of five games upon his return. Jason Kendall has pushed his batting average back up into the .270s.

But the Brewer who has impressed me the most lately is none other than Bill Hall. Admittedly, Hall is only seeing spot starts against lefties, and his batting average has shrunk close to the Mendoza Line. But Hall is showing he’s a team player again, after making controversial comments through his agent that he would like to be traded. Several times in the past few games, Hall has been the first player out of the dugout to greet a teammate after a home run. Such acts of good sportsmanship should not be lost on Brewers fans, as they are the hallmark of nearly all successful teams.

Another reason for the Brewers recent success has been the emergence of young Manny Parra. Coming into the season, Parra was hyped along with the Reds’ Johnny Cueto as the starting pitcher most likely to win the Rookie of the Year Award. However, for Parra, getting his feet wet as a major leaguer was more like a drowning. In his first six starts, Parra produced a mediocre 5.86 ERA, winning only one of those games. But more disturbingly, during that time Parra was constantly pitching himself out of trouble, particularly as a result of too many bases on balls. His high walk totals prevented Parra from pitching deep into games and clearly caused him to lose confidence in his mechanics while on the mound.

Since then, Parra has shown dramatic improvement. In his past eight starts, he has improved his record from 1-2 to 8-2, lowering his ERA to 3.95 during that stretch. Despite these advances, Parra’s performance at home continues to be markedly better than his pitching on the road. Such drastic home/road splits are not uncommon for young pitchers getting accustomed to the major league lifestyle, but he will need to show that he can pitch in less friendly confines in order to pitch consistently over the course of a season. However, Parra’s convincing 2-hit victory in Minnesota on June 28 may be a step in the right direction.

Notwithstanding his recent success, walks continue to be a problem for Parra: in his past three starts (all wins), Parra has given up 14 walks, while only allowing 11 hits. You can bet that pitching coach Mike Maddux is teaching Parra to nibble less, and just go after hitters. Once these lessons take hold, there’s no telling what kind of success Parra will enjoy at the major league level.