Milwaukee Brewers Update

- Corey Hart was activated from the 15-day DL today.  He had been out with an emergency appendectomy.  He won’t return to the lineup until Wednesday.  Said Hart , “I feel like I can come back here and do some things.”  I want to steal [bases], but I don’t know if my legs are there quite yet.”

- Mat Gamel was recalled to the active roster today, but manager Ken Macha said Casey McGehee will get the bulk of the starts at 3b until the end of the season.  A semi-puzzling move, as Gamel is seen as the long-term answer at third, not McGehee.

-  Manny Parra left Tuesaday’s start against the Cardinals in the first inning with neck spasms.  Carlos Villanueva replaced him on the mound.  Parra is probably day to day.

- Ryan Braun is back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game after missing Monday with “aches and pains” in his shoulder.  His bat certainly would’ve helped as the Brewers were shutout on one hit by Chris Carpenter.

-  The Brewers purchased the contract of relief pitcher John Axford from AAA Nashville on Monday.  Axford, 26, had a 2.77 ERA at three levels this season.  He’ll work in middle relief for the Brewers.

-  The team released relief pitcher Jesus Colome on Sunday.  He was activated from the DL on Friday after suffering from a forearm strain, and he was let go to clear space on the 40-man roster, assistant GM Gord Ash said.

-  Yovani Gallardo will have his next start skipped.  Gallardo has pitched a career-high 175 innings this season, and the Brewers don’t want to put too much strain on his arm since the team is out of the playoff race.

-  Mike Cameron will be out until at least Friday with a strained hamstring.  Corey Patterson and Jody Gerut will fill in until Mike is healthy enough to return.

I know the Brewers are all but dead in the playoff race, but c’mon, Ken Macha, there’s no reason to have Corey Patterson lead off ballgames.

Mike Cameron, the usual center fielder, has missed the past several games with a strained hamstring, and he has said he will be out until Friday at the earliest. Jody Gerut should be the clear choice to play centerfield in Cameron’s absence, but Macha feels, for whatever reason, that Corey Patterson of all people is the man for the job.

This is the same Corey Patterson that has a career .695 OPS and is a liability in the outfield.  He was once a can’t-miss prospect with the Cubs in the early 2000’s, but his high strikeout rate and inability to take a walk derailed his once-promising career.

Let me repeat that - Corey strikes out a ton and doesn’t walk at all - sounds like perfect leadoff material to me!  Not.

I watch the Brewers intently, and until recently, I had absolutely no reason to dislike Macha as Brewers manager.  Sure, his style of managing didn’t really fit the club - he refuses to let players try and steal bases and his laid back personality is probably a cause of the Brewers inability to hold a lead and put the clamp down at the end of games, but from a strategic standpoint, Macha has made all the right decision.

Even though the team isn’t playing for anything, you’d still like him to act like he cares.  He’s passed on pinch-hitting late in games, still plays Kendall every day, and has given the aforementioned Patterson two consecutive starts in center field, with who knows how many more starts on the horizon.

He should be fired after the season.  Macha is more suited to manage a team like the good Oakland teams he had earlier in the decade.  He needs a veteran team that plays station to station baseball to be successful.  Sorry, Ken, that’s not the Brewers.

Rickie Weeks had successful surgery today to repair a tendon in his left wrist.  Weeks had the same surgery performed on his other wrist a couple years back.

He will miss the rest of the 2009 campaign.  Needless to say, this is a huge blow to the Brewers.  Weeks was playing great baseball so far this year, and was finally starting to hit the ball like he’s supposed to.

Rickie had a .272/.340/.517 line in 37 games this year.  He had 9 homeruns and 24 RBI, and was on pace to shatter both of those numbers.

GM Doug Melvin said the Brewers will try and fill Weeks’ void internally, meaning Craig Counsell, Casey McGehee, and recent callup Hernan Iribarren will all see time at 2b for the rest of the season.  Brewers prospect Alcides Escobar will begin working out at 2b in an effort to expand his versatility in case of additional injuries at the Major League level.

The Brewers now have no leadoff hitter on their roster, something that is a major concern.  Corey Hart got the startat leadoff for Tuesday’s series opener in Houston, but he is a pretty poor choice given his ability to drive in runs and inability to draw walks.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Brewers go out and either sign a free agent or test the trade market for a 2b.  Ray Durham proved last year that he can still play, but he’d be even worse than Rickie defensively.  Mark Grudzielanek is out there as well, and at age 38, he can still play a decent 2b.

As for the in house options, Iribarren is probably a role player at best, and Counsell is likely an injury waiting to happen if he gets everyday playing time.  Both of them are left handed bats, something this lineup could use.  McGehee is solid but may be playing out of position at second.

Former Brewers Mark Loretta and Ronnie Belliard are probably available in a trade, but Melvin believes in the players the team already has.

Time will tell how Rickie’s injury will affect this team, but one can’t help to think it’s going to be a major blow as the dog days of summer approach.  Until then, hopefully the Brewers’ current 2b options perform well.

The Brewers have made a couple moves in the last 24 hours to shake up the roster.

Backup catcher Mike Rivera will return from an ankle injury, sending Carlos Corporan back to AAA Nashville.  Rivera was put on the DL April 29th with an ankle contusion from the result of a play at the plate.  Rivera, the personal catcher for Dave Bush, will ironically be activated before today’s game.  And who pitches today for the Crew?  You guessed it, Dave Bush.

Perhaps the bigger news is the promotion of Brewers top prospect Mat Gamel to the big league club.  Gamel, who is perhaps known for his poor defense as much as his big bat, will take the place of the struggling Brad Nelson.

Nelson was outrighted to AAA Nashville, and since this is his second outright assignment, he can refuse it and become a free agent.

Nelson’s struggles have come as a bit of a surprise, especially after having a very good spring for the Brewers.

“I’ve had two good Triple-A years, two good winter ball years and then a great spring,” Nelson said. “Now comes the time when I need to excel, and it’s not there. I didn’t see it coming.”

Brewer fans have been frustrated with Nelson after his 0-21 start to the season.  This is understandable, but only getting time as a pinch hitter isn’t the easiest thing to do.  Nelson is a player that needs consistent playing time to produce, and he just wasn’t getting it with the club.  He will definitely be back with the Brewers later in the year if he accepts his assignment to Nashville.

Gamel will probably fill Nelson’s pinch hitting role, but he will certainly get a majority of the DH at-bats in the upcoming interleague series against the Twins, Indians, and Tigers.

Until then, Macha plans to use Gamel frequently.  “This guy is our top prospect, so I don’t have any plans to have him sitting on the bench,” Macha said.

Gamel was hitting .336 with 8 homeruns and 31RBI in AAA.  His 1.075 OPS (on-base% + slugging %) was good for third in the Pacific Coast League.  He certainly has the ability to be a big time lefthanded bat off the bench for the Brewers.

Ryan Braun will miss his third consecutive game on Monday night with back stiffness, leading manager Ken Macha to create a makeshift lineup against the Pirates.

Bill Hall will make his first career start in left field in the absence of Braun.  Casey McGehee will start at Hall’s normal position, third base.

Hall played a little left field in some exhibition games a couple years back, but has never officially started a Major League game there.

Hall played 130 games in center field in 2007, so the experience will not be completely new for him.  Hall is a goodenough athlete to play just about anywhere on the diamond.

Macha felt the need to get Hall into the lineup somehow - he is a career .571 hitter against Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm in his career, with 16 hits in 28 at bats.

X-rays on Braun’s back were negative, and the Brewers hope to get him into the lineup within the next couple games.

UPDATE: Hall was tested with 2 chances in the first inning of tonight’s game.  He made a spectacular diving catch, but was removed from the game after his first at bat in the top of the second, being replaced by Chris Duffy.

It appears to be cautionary, but losing Hall for any extended time could definitely hurt the Brewers this week.

 AP Game Recap

MILWAUKEE (AP)—Tony Clark’s drive to left nicked the foul line. That’s all the Diamondbacks needed for a comeback win.

Clark’s two-run, pinch-hit double highlighted a four-run eighth inning, and Arizona rallied for a 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

Reliever Carlos Villanueva (1-3) was trying to protect a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth.

He retired the first two batters, but Conor Jackson walked and took third on Mark Reynolds’ single. Todd Coffey came on to face Justin Upton, who hit a slow roller in the grass down the third-base line letting Jackson score. Clark followed with his hit that replays appeared to show just catching the outside edge of the left-field line. Chris Snyder singled in Clark to make it 5-2.

“I haven’t seen the replay yet,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said of Clark’s hit. “From what I heard, it hit the far side of the chalk. It’s not my call.”

The Brewers felt just the opposite.

“Clark’s ball was called fair regardless of what I saw or what anybody else saw,” said Coffey who allowed an inherited runner to score for the first time this season.

Brewers manager Ken Macha ran from the dugout to question third base umpire Brian Gorman and was told the ball hit the line.

“I haven’t seen the replay,” Macha said. “I just know by the reaction of Jason Kendall and Bill Hall who were jumping up and down.”

Melvin was happy to see the Diamondbacks take advantage of some opportunities as the Brewers’ bullpen failed to hold a lead. Milwaukee rallied for four runs in the seventh to beat Arizona on Thursday.

“The Justin hit was a big one for us, too,” Melvin said. “We haven’t been getting too many breaks. He hits a little nubber out front of third and beats it out. Tony puts a good swing on the next ball. We’ll take it.”

Clark added: “You can’t script a full swing dribbler down the third-base line for a hit to tie the ballgame,” Clark said. “That was a big at-bat.”

Macha said Jackson’s at-bat was key.

“It all started with a two-out walk,” he said. “Walks will kill you.”

Tony Pena (3-0) pitched 1 2-3 innings for the victory. Chad Qualls worked the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

Diamondbacks starter Jon Garland held the Brewers scoreless through six innings, striking out Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron with runners at first and second in the sixth. But the Brewers broke through in the seventh when Kendall’s groundout scored Craig Counsell, who led off with a double and took third on a single by Hall.

“I’m glad that he didn’t get stuck with that loss, that we came back,” Melvin said. “He’s pitched in that fashion for us all year. Most of the games that he’s in, he’s in there late in the game and they’re close games. We haven’t given him much run support.”

Pena relieved Garland. Pinch-hitter Chris Duffy singled to left to score Hall as Milwaukee grabbed a 2-1 lead.

Milwaukee starter Manny Parra, a left-hander, dominated the eight right-handed batters in the Diamondbacks’ lineup, except for switch-hitting Felipe Lopez.

Lopez, who finished with three hits, singled and went to third on Eric Byrnes’ double. Parra struck out Jackson, but then walked the next two batters to force in Lopez as Arizona went ahead 1-0. Chris Young flied out to end the inning. ^Notes: Melvin kept SS Augie Ojeda on the bench for the second consecutive game due to a groin strain. Jack Wilson started again for Ojeda. Wilson was selected from Triple-A Reno on April 26 to replace Stephen Drew (left hamstring) who went on the 15-day disabled list. … Macha decided that SS J.J. Hardy, who is batting .156 and in a 1-for-20 slump, needed a couple of days off to regroup. Craig Counsell took his place in the lineup. … Parra failed in his fifth attempt to win his first game of the season.

…..

It’s incredibly frustrating to see Villanueva struggle like this.  I’m still waiting for him to be put in more low leverage situations with the game not on the line.This was also one of Coffey’s rare implosions since he’s been with the Brewers, and I wouldn’t look too much into it unless he puts together several bad outings.The Brewers’ offense has been suspect lately.  You don’t expect the team to light up guys like Ian Snell and Max Scherzer, two very good young arms, but Jon Garland is just an innings eater with average offerings.

The pitching matchup doesn’t get any easier for the Brewers tonight as Dan Haren (2-3, 1.54) will throw against Braden Looper (2-0, 2.45).

Haren has been the victim of terrible run support this season, but he has the stuff to completely shut down the Brewers tonight.

Looper has been everything the Brewers could’ve asked for so far, and he’ll look to win his third game of the year.  The key for him is not walking anyone.  He walked 4 last time out against the Pirates, but got away with it by striking out 7 and working out of several jams.

Game time tonight is 6:05p.m. at Miller Park.

AP Game Recap

The Milwaukee Brewers couldn’t catch up with Max Scherzer’s 96-mph fastball. As it turns out, they didn’t have to.

After flailing mostly at air through six shutout innings by the hard-throwing Arizona starter, the Brewers scored four runs off the Diamondbacks’ bullpen in the seventh inning and held on to win 4-1 on Thursday.

In a significant test of Milwaukee’s more patient approach at the plate this season, the Brewers couldn’t score off Scherzer. But they did make him work hard enough to leave the game after the sixth.

“That’s the philosophy behind working the pitcher—you want to get into their bullpen,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said.

It was another momentum-building victory for the Brewers, who got their longest—and best—outing of the season from starter Jeff Suppan. Coming off a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh, Milwaukee has won eight of its last nine games after a rough start to the season.

“Just gritty,” said Mike Cameron, who had a two-run double in the seventh. “That was a sign of a really good baseball team, and hopefully we can continue to come up (big) in those situations.”

New Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his second save.

It was a hard-luck outing for Scherzer, who struck out seven in a dominant outing but again was denied his first career victory. Scherzer left the game with a 1-0 lead, but the Diamondbacks’ bullpen couldn’t hold on.

Tom Gordon (0-1) walked Bill Hall to lead off the inning, then allowed a soft single to Jason Kendall. Pinch-hitter Craig Counsell chopped a grounder to first baseman Chad Tracy, who ran all the way across the infield to tag Hall, who was frozen between third and home.

The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch by Gordon, and Rickie Weeks tied the game with an RBI single to left. Gordon then walked Corey Hart to load the bases for Ryan Braun.

“I was wild, and it cost us,” Gordon said.

Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin and Scherzer both backed Gordon.

“We still have confidence in him in that situation,” Melvin said.

Melvin brought in reliever Juan Gutierrez, who struck out Braun, then brought in left-hander Scott Schoeneweis to face Prince Fielder. Schoeneweis walked Fielder to bring in a run and give the Brewers the lead—a major rebound for Fielder, who managed to put aside the three strikeouts he had against Scherzer.

“My first couple years, I couldn’t do that,” Fielder said. “But as I get older, it’s kind of getting better and better.”

Cameron then smacked a ground-rule double to left field to score two more and put Milwaukee up 4-1.

Brewers reliever Mark DiFelice (2-0) got a pair of outs in the seventh to earn the victory.

Scherzer made his debut to rave reviews last April. But a combination of injuries, early exits and sporadic run support kept him from earning his first win. And Thursday was no different.

“I’m disappointed the team didn’t win—not that I didn’t win,” Scherzer said.

Scherzer repeatedly threw fastballs between 94 and 96 mph for strikes.

“I’ll tell you what—wow,” Suppan said.

Suppan wasn’t nearly as flashy but was almost as effective. He gave up a leadoff home run to Felipe Lopez in 6 1-3 innings. Suppan gave up only five more hits and no walks, exiting to applause with one out in the seventh.

Suppan acknowledged that his command is improving, but said he didn’t think he’s pitching much differently than he was early in the season.

“Other than the results,” Suppan said. 

By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } I can’t imagine how frustrating it must have been for Diamondbacks fans to watch their manager, Bob Melvin, keep Schoeneweis in against Cameron, only to watch him give up a double.  Schoeneweis is generally regarded as a lefty specialist, and should probably have been treated as such.  It’s very difficult to justify keeping a left handed pitcher in the game against any of the Brewers right handed hitters, who are all very good against lefties.A similar situation happened on Monday night against the Pirates.  Lefty John Grabow was brought in to face Corey Hart, who immediately got a hit to drive in a run.

With a team so stacked with right handed hitters who mash lefties, it’s unjustifiable to bring in a left handed pitcher to face them.  I can’t figure out why managers haven’t learned this yet.  As a result, the Brewers will continue to win games in the later innings if managers are willing to make those mistakes.

The Brewers (12-10) and Diamondbacks (9-13) will play game 2 of the 4 game series tonight at Miller Park at 7:05p.m. CST.

Manny Parra (0-4, 6.52) will try and turn things around against Jon Garland (2-1, 5.47).

The Milwaukee Brewers completed yet another sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park on Wednesday.

The Brewers have won 15 straight against Pittsburgh, going back to May 22nd of last year.

“They’ve got our number,” Pittsburgh starter Ian Snell said . “They’re a good team.”

Brewers’ ace Yovani Gallardo pitched 8 innings, allowing only 2 hits with 11 Ks.  Oh yeah, he provided the only run of the game with his homerun in the 7th inning off Snell, who started for the Pirates.

“It’s just fun,” Gallardo said. “I’m sure I’ll be in the batting cage and on the field joking about it.”

Since starting 4-9, the Brewers have gone on to win 7 of the next 8, putting them at 11-10 on the young season, good for a second place tie in the NL Central Division.

The Brewers are doing it all right now with solid pitching, clutch hitting, and nice defense.  They welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks into Miller Park for a 4 game weekend series.

Thursday’s matchup will be the Brewers’ Jeff Suppan (1-2, 7.32) against Arizona’s Max Scherzer (0-2, 4.91).

Game time 7:05p.m. CST at Miller Park.

Trevor Hoffman made his Brewers debut last night against the Pirates, tossing a scoreless inning in a 10-5 Brewers victory.

He had been on the Disabled List with an oblique injury since the end of Spring Training.  Brewers’ fans are surely glad to have him back after the bullpen has seen its share of struggles.

The all-time leader in saves entered last night’s game to the classic AC/DC song “Hell’s Bells,” which has become Hoffman’s mantra as he enters the game in a save situation.

He would’ve entered last night’s game in a save situation had the Brewers not put up 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th.  Hoffman said after the game that Hell’s Bells will only be played in save situations from here on in.

“Everybody was pretty excited to hear the music,” said Hoffman. “The first one, I understand, everybody’s allowed a mulligan. We did it spring training, too, so we’ll try and not get the other team fired up.”

Hoffman allowed a couple deep fly balls to Mike Cameron in center on Monday, but got through the 9th unscathed, something only Todd Coffey and Mark DiFelice have been able to consistently so far this season.

Having Hoffman at the end of the bullpen should allow the struggling Carlos Villanueva to return to a low-leverage long relief role, something he excelled in last season.

The Brewers ended up 5-4 on their 9 game road trip, putting them at 8-10 on the season.

The team went in to Philadelphia and Houston and took two of three from each team, certainly exceeding expectations.

“Going into New York and playing in Philly, we came out of this pretty good,” Mike Cameron said . “Every game we lost but the blowout game in Philly we had a chance to win.”

The Brewers’ offense has been clicking of late from key contributions from Cameron, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun.

Cameron was 5-11 in the Houston series, and was even robbed on a terrific play from the Astros’ Michael Bourn, taking away at least a double.  He’s now batting .328 with a nice .431 OBP.

Braun has 13 hits in his last 23 at bats, including a 5-5 game with a couple of homeruns in the first game of the Philly series.  He also has walked 5 times against only 3 strikeouts in that stretch.  Braun raised his average from .212 to .338 on the road trip.

Fielder had a great game on Saturday with two homeruns, including the go-ahead bomb off of Houston closer Jose Valverde in the 9th inning.

The Brewers will head back to Miller Park for a 7 game homestand, including 3 games against Pittsburgh and 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Pirates have gotten off to a good start, thanks to their league-leading 2.97 team ERA.  They also lead the league with 4 shutouts.

They are not expected to keep that up, however, and the Brewers will look to keep the bats rolling against Jeff Karstens (1-0), Paul Maholm (3-0), and Ian Snell (1-2), the three probable starters for the Pirates on the series.

The Brewers will counter with Braden Looper (2-0), Dave Bush (1-0), and Yo Gallardo (2-1).

Game time for Monday’s game is 7:05p.m. CST at Miller Park.