Brewers acquire Ransom
-Benny K.-
Cody Ransom has played for the San Francisco Giants, the Houston Astros, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Arizona Diamondbacks his 1o years of professional baseball. On Wednesday, he was claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks by the Brewers, the team his D-Backs were scheduled to play a 3 game series against.
On Friday, Ransom found himself in the opposite dugout for that series, staring at his old team from afar.
Ransom seems relatively happy about being on the Brewers. “Good. I got a job. At that point, I was excited to be staying in the big leagues and not going back to Triple-A somewhere. We’ll see how it goes,” he said.
In recent years Ransom has become more of a third baseman by trade. However, with Milwaukee facing injuries to both Alex Gonzalez and Cesar Izturis, a shortstop may be needed. Ransom is happy to oblige. ”I enjoy playing there,” he said. “That’s where I played basically my whole career before 2007, 2008. I’ve played there quite a bit in the minor leagues the last few years; some games last year (in the majors); a couple of games this year. I’m very comfortable there.”
The 36 year-old righty was hitting the ball well before being picked up by the Crew. His batting average was .269, he had 7 home runs, and 14 RBIs in only 17 games. “It gives us a little more offense. He’s a very good hitter,” said Ron Roenicke.
We’ll have to hope so. Ransom is likely to be the everyday shortstop now with Izturis out. He’ll become another key to unlocking a division title . . . which we are currently 6 games away.
Weeks- The Slump: Coming Soon
May 25th is the release date for Rickie Weeks’ debut album entitled The Slump. Weeks was featured before as a rapper and a jaw harp player on Ryan Braun’s first album Pitching Blues. However, in his solo career it appears he has chosen to travel down a more alternative rock path reminiscent of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Little River Band.
Although the album focuses more on darkness, sadness, and feeling like you just can’t make contact with the ball, the music is bright, promising, and bouncy.
Duritz: “Everything as an artist I’ve ever stood for is exemplified by this young man.”
Weeks shows us that he has instantly developed great songwriting, ability to play the bass, and the charisma to attract and then collaborate with Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix (oh. . . wait . . . that was a mistake), Snoop Dogg, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, The Beach Boys, Peter Gabriel, the reggae star known as Shaggy, Swedish indie-progressive-Christian-heavy-jazz legends Toasted Rabbit, and Wisconsin’s own Bon Iver.
Here’s the track listing:
1. Slump (ft. Snoop Dogg and Shaggy)- 5:43
Weeks sings a touching and empowering chorus as Snoop Dogg and Shaggy fight over the microphone and try to rap over each other in the background.
2. Lead-off Hitter- 2:01
Happiness. Weeks compares the way the batting order relates to life and human emotions. It is one of the best metaphors in the most complex songwriting I’ve ever heard.
3. Not the Lead-off Hitter Anymore (Adam Duritz)- 5:01
Sadness. Weeks shows us more emotional depth with the help of shaky-voiced Adam Duritz.
4. .159 (ft. Bruce Springsteen)- 3:26
Sting: “Rickie’s style is unique.”
No, the song isn’t about Highway 159. It is Weeks’ batting average at the time he wrote the tune. He explains that “It is so much more than a number. Make ya feel great or like a cucumber.” This southern rock/blues masterpiece features harmonica, buzzy guitar, and Springsteen’s raspier than usual vocals.
5. Nature, Trees, and Beards (ft. Bon Iver)- 4:32
Not really sure about this one.
6. Strike 1/Strike 2/Strike 3 (ft. Toasted Rabbit)
Almost entirely instrumental, this song is supposedly about a man discovering a baseball and a glove in the year 3113.
7. Help Me Ron (ft. the Beach Boys)- 3:11
Weeks, with the help of the Beach Boys, begs Ron Roenicke to help him get the love for the game back in his heart.
Bon Iver: “Weeks is great.”
9. Diamond Grass (ft. Sting and Peter Gabriel)- 4:05
“Diamond Grass” celebrates everything we love about baseball. The smell of the brats, the crack of the bat, and the feel of the dirt on your cleats are described in great detail by Weeks as Sting and Gabriel share beautiful harmonies in the background.
Before I go:
This isn’t real. It was used to get a point across. None of these artists actually collaborated with Weeks or commented on him. Weeks doesn’t actually have a career in music.
I hope you read this little note before you starting searching the Internet and iTunes in an attempt to purchase this “album.” Toasted Rabbit is actually a band, either.
April showers bring May . . .
Brewers News, Updates, and Stats
from May 15th, 2012
-Benny K.-
MLB lays off Das
The man that voted to exonerate the suspension on Ryan Braun for an alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, Shyam Das, has just been fired by Major League Baseball. The MLB has not commented. However, they had expressed their opinion beforehand that they were displeased with Das’s ruling being based more on the technicalities and the handling of the sample than that of the test result itself.
“Shyam is the longest-tenured panel chair in our bargaining relationship,” said MLB players union head Michael Weiner. “For 13 years, from the beginning to the end of his tenure, he served the parties with professionalism and distinction.”
Das released a statement yesterday and said, “I had the distinct privilege to serve as Chair of the MLB-MLBPA Arbitration Panel for almost 13 years. I have the greatest respect for the representatives of both parties I worked with during that period, and I wish the parties well in their ongoing relationship.”
Eventful time for the Ax Man
John Axford sadly saw his streak of consecutive saves be broken at 49 on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. He surrendered 3 runs, only 1 earned off of a triple by David DeJesus. The Brewers still managed to come back in the ninth, hold on, and win in 13 innings. Axford left the game to go to the hospital where his wife, Nicole, was going into premature labor.
He left this note (on the left) at his locker after the game for reporters to read. 
“Once I got into the locker room once the inning finished, (clubhouse manager) Tony (Migliaccio) said your wife needs to talk to you, and my attitude changed immediately. I realized there’s more to life than what just happened out there on the field. I was obviously very upset with the way it went. The last two outings haven’t been the greatest. But kind of like I put in my note, the luck just hasn’t been there, it seems like, the last two times.”
Things are fine now as the “contractions stopped.” Axford said, ”Baby’s great, she’s great. Everything’s doing well. They just wanted to stop the preterm labor to make sure the baby gets a little bigger, a little bit stronger.” The couple is excepting their son, Jameson, on June 28.
Notable Brewer stats
Edwin Maysonet has 3 hits in his 7 at-bats, one of which was a grand slam against the Cubs.
Ryan Braun leads the team in RBIs (21), home runs (10), stolen bases (6), runs (24) , and hits (38).
Recently called up Bruce Conrad has had 15 at-bats this year and not gotten on base once.
Taylor Green played at first base on Sunday for the Brewers, he played the position only 23 times in 7 years of minor league play.
Zach Grienke is 7th in NL strikeouts with 46. Yovani Gallardo is tied for 9th with 45. Nationals prodigy, Stephen Strasburg leads with 56.
Travis Ishikawa to replace Gamel
-Benny K.-
Mat Gamel tore an ACL in his right knee on the night of May 1st as he attempted to field a foul pop-up in a game against the San Diego Padres. Gamel will now have to have surgery. He’s most likely out for the rest of 2012, leaving Travis Ishikawa as the #1 guy on the team.
“I was hoping to get a start, but not like this. I’d much rather have three pinch-hits or one inning of defense than see this,” says Ishikawa. “The guy was playing hard, had just missed a couple of days with the (bruised) shoulder. That’s all he does is play hard. He was going after a foul ball aggressively, going 100%.”
Although Ishikawa has bopped in 5 runs and hit 2 home runs so far this year, he is still struggling at the plate. He currently posts a .172 batting average (or 5 f0r 29.) But now, as a starter, Ishikawa is determined to show the organization that he is the right man for the job. ”I’m going to approach that the same way I’ve been approaching it. Whatever my role is going to be in this time, I want to be as good as I can possibly be to help the club,” Ishikawa says.
In the 281 games Ishikawa managed to get while playing for the San Francisco Giants from 2006 to 2010 he hit .265 with 15 home runs and 80 RBI in 603 at-bats. All of 2011 was spent in Triple AAA where he only managed to play 56 games due to a shoulder injury. He would later sign as a minor-league free agent with Brewers.
I’m not particularly upset about this at all. Yes, I’m disappointed that Gamel got hurt so early in the year. But, I believe that Ishikawa can pick up Gamel’s slack. He is a good defender at first, he has above average power, and he is a lefty. If you think about it, he really is a lot like the player he is replacing.
If Ishikawa does have issues over at first than the Brewers still have other options. They recently called up Brooks Conrad, a minor league outfielder by trade who can play first, from their farm system. Corey Hart has also discussed possibly getting time at first with Ron Roenicke and there is always the possibility of trading.
This Month
We are off to a very slow start both from the plate and from the mound.
Let’s just use the pitching as an example. Our pitching has the worst ERA in the NL, the top spot for hits surrendered (210), the top spot for runs surrendered (117), and they have given their opponents the highest batting average in the NL .287. Not good. Yet, the Brewer pitching has struck out 174 batters, third in the NL. That’s kind of the way the rest of the team is working as well. The stats certainly aren’t pretty, and the team isn’t playing at the level that you’d except, but the Brewers somehow still have a decent record just under .500.
Granted, 9-12 is the not the record you’d want from a team that just made a near-World Series run the year before. And being only a game ahead of the Houston Astros and a game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the standings is not exactly what you’d except either. But with this kind of poor play . . . where we are now, we are lucky to be.
So now, I’d like to compare this extremely slow start to the start we had last year, a start to a season that ended up great.
This month:
The Brewers team batting average is .236
April of last year:
The Brewers team batting average was .276
This month:
The Brewers overall ERA is 5.38.
April of last year:
The Brewers overall ERA was 3.44.
This month:
Ryan Braun leads the team with 20 hits.
April of last year:
Ryan Braun led the team with 34 hits.
This month:
Kameron Loe leads the team with an ERA of 3.12 in 8.2 innings of relief.
April of last year:
Mitch Stetter led the team with an ERA of 1.69 in 5.1 innings in relief.
This month:
The Brewers are 9-12.
April of last year:
The Brewers are 12-12.
Aoki getting in a groove
-Benny K.-
Last night, “Nori” Aoki went 2 for 4, hit his first major league home run, and scored twice. Aoki is currently second place in batting average among Brewer players (behind George Kottaras) hitting at .357 with 5 hits and 2 RBIs in 14 at-bats. Is he getting used to the MLB?
Ron Roenicke was asked if Aoki might replace Nyjer Morgan as the left-handed hitting part of the Brewers center field platoon. The answer was precise and direct.
“No.”
Then he thought about a bit more. “We’ll see. It could come to that,” said Roenicke. But right now we’ll probably stick with what we’re doing– I like what Nori’s doing. I think it’s great. We’ll try to get him in when we can. But we’ll probably stay with what we’re doing.”
Despite Morgan’s breakout 2011, he currently bats .135 and has had a frustrating 2011 so far. Aoki is having a different 2011. He will soon get his second start, his home run in the fourth inning of last night’s loss to the Rockies didn’t win the game but it managed to break the control that Jhoulys Chacin had over the Brewers’ offense to that point, and he got a “curtain call” from the fans.
“It’s different starting in front of the home crowd here,” Aoki said with the assistance of his translator, Kosuke Inaji. “I can feel the energy from the fans. Maybe they helped me get that home run in the fourth inning.”
“He wants to play. He wants to play a lot more,” Roenicke said of Aoki. “Hey, he’s doing what he can to show us that he should be. So he’s doing his part. Everything we’ve asked of him, he’s doing. We’ll see. If we can get him in there more, we’ll try to do it.”
You’ve probably heard me say this a lot on this blog. It is one of my famous words. Wait.
Aoki has 14 at-bats for his career in the MLB. Nyjer Morgan has 1660 at-bats for his career in the MLB. Over those 1660 at-bats Nyjer has been hot and cold, played great and had slumps. My opinion is that Roenicke should wait for Nyjer to get out of this slump. I don’t think Nyjer will hit this bad for more than another week or two.
However, if this slump continues into mid-May than I think the green light should be given to Aoki. Things could get very interesting in a scenario like this. But until then, Aoki will get small chunks of playing time here and there. He will try to impress Roenicke, his teammates, and the organization in hopes that later this season, he may start.
Analysis: Brewers vs. Cardinals (Opening Series)
-Benny K.-
It didn’t get much better than this. School is out, Easter is here, the weather is nice, and we were just treated to our first taste of baseball. Unlike any other series, the opening series this year was baseball at its best. It was a rivalry of the ages, a rematch of epic 2011 NLCS, an early reminder of the greatness of baseball.
Brewers fans know that any game against the Cardinals is going to be a good game. These three games, although the Cardinals took 2 out of 3, were not exceptions to the statement. Now, on the day after, we analyze what happened and why.
Game 1: Friday, April 6th
Cardinals- 11, Brewers- 5
Yovani Gallardo has never been the good pitcher he is against the Cardinals. Opening Day added more credibility to that statement.
In his career against the Cards, Gallardo has posted a 1-7 record with an ERA of 5.66.
On Opening Day, Gallardo had no rhythm and very poor command. To make up for bad command, he had to drop his velocity.
The results were dramatic and deep. Home runs were hit by Matt Holiday, David Freese, Yadier Molina, and Carlos Beltran before Gallardo managed to record 7 outs, before he was able to get past the 4th inning of play. ”I think our lineup, top to bottom, is better than last year,” said starter Jaime Garcia. “Our offense is unbelievable.”
Y0vani, however, had a different view of the game. “Today, I just stunk,” he said. “That’s all you can say.”
Don’t worry folks. Going back to 2011, Gallardo lost on Opening Day against the Cincinnati Reds. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he pitched 6 innings and surrendered 2 runs but at least we know that Yovani can get up and running again after a shaky start.
Game 2: Saturday, April 7th
Brewers- 6, Cardinals- 0
It was an unlikely dynamic duo that was the leading force behind the Brewers first victory of 2012. Corey Hart, who hit 2 home runs and batted in 3 RBIs, and Zach Greinke, who threw seven scoreless innings and proved he is a stellar pitcher at home, were the clear candidates for player of the game.
Hart underwent surgery March 6 for torn cartilage in his right knee. His rehabilitation was quick and he played five Minor League games and two exhibitions against the Diamondbacks. Judging by this performance, I think that he is recovering well.
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals starter recovering from Tommy-John surgery, pitched very well. But it was 1 pitch to Hart that ruined his outing, a sinker that he smashed into left field; a sinker that traveled 447 feet off of the bat. Hart later hit two-run shot to center off of Victor Marte in the 6th.
Greinke surrendered only 4 hits in his 7 innings of work, striking out 7 batters, and not giving up a single walk.”That’s as good as it gets,” Roenicke said. “That’s what we saw [from Greinke] in Spring Training, which is tremendous velocity, and life on the velocity. … If he does this for us, all this year, he’s going to have some kind of year.”
Game 3: Sunday, April 8th
Cardinals- 9, Brewers- 3
We saw a different kind of Lynnsanity on Sunday. Lance Lynn. Lynn limited the Brewers to 2 hits in his 6 2/3 innings of work. 
The only offense the Brewers managed to produce was a Braun single and another long homer from Corey Hart. Lynn struck out 8 and picked up his first big league hit in a stellar performance that was his third start in the MLB.
The bullpen of the Brewers in this game was very poor. Wolf surrendered 3 runs in 5 innings, which is an average start. But it was after that when the Brewers relievers gave up 6 runs to a hot a Redbird offense.
“They have a good, balanced lineup, they really do,” Wolf said. “I’m not saying they are, but I really hope they’re peaking now, because they look really good. The Beltran addition is a big addition. [Rafael] Furcal is where he left off. [David] Freese, the same way. Holliday is the one guy who is not on fire like the rest of them, but he is going to be one of their top hitters. So, I don’t think anyone went into the series thinking they were going to be less of an offensive threat without Albert. They’re still going to be really good.”
Norichika Aoki picked up his first Major League hit, a single over the third baseman’s head that he slapped into left. He later scored by hustling around the bases at full speed on an Alex Gonzalez double (his first hit as Brewer.)
Verdict:
I said it again and again before this series that the St. Louis Cardinals are still a very good team. This game is clear proof of it. The team that played the Brewers this weekend was good team. A team that cannot be counted out of the NL Central race and that should be looked at as World Series contenders.
I hope that everyone can see now that Albert Pujols was not the team in 2011. He was a key player and he played a very important role. He did not carry the team. I hope not to offend any lovers of Pujols when I say that the team, currently, can win without him.
NOTE: This is my last post before I go on vacation. Enjoy. I won’t be posting for a week or two.
2012 Predictions
With Opening Day for the Brewers coming up tomorrow, we find ourselves with baseball started up again. Yet, it seemed it was only a little while ago we were watching the Rangers and the Cardinals in the World Series. Maybe its just me. It usually is.
So now, with baseball in Milwaukee right around the corner, Brewers Today will give the 2012 predictions.
DIVISION WINNERS:
NL Central- St. Louis Cardinals
Adam Wainwright is back, the bullpen is in good shape, and besides Pujols, the lineup that won the Fall Classic is still intact.
NL East- Philadelphia Phillies
Sorry, kids. That rotation is just too good to not make the playoffs.
NL West- Arizona Diamondbacks
Young talent, Justin Upton, and solid rotation backed by Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, and newly added Trevor Cahill will edge out the San Francisco Giants and the LA Dodgers.
NL Wildcard- Milwaukee Brewers
The loss of Prince Fielder doesn’t help the Brewers but it doesn’t hurt them enough to keep them out of October. Consistent starting pitching, success from Ryan Braun, Mat Gamel, and Aramis Ramirez, and another great year from the Ax Men are able to push the Reds back into 3rd place in the Central and take the Wildcard.
AL East- Tampa Bay Rays
I’m never right about the AL East. Whatever I feel in my gut is always wrong.
AL Central- Detroit Tigers
Justin Verlander and a good lineup improved with Prince Fielder will easily take the Central.
AL West- Texas Rangers
AL Wildcard- New York Yankees
PLAYOFFS:
NLCS- Brewers vs. Phillies
ALCS- Tigers vs. Rangers
WS- Tigers vs. Phillies
CHAMPION- Tigers
AWARDS:
NL MVP- Matt Kemp, LA
NL Cy Young- Yovani Gallardo, MIL
AL MVP- Adrian Gonzalez, BOS
AL Cy Young- C.C. Sabathia, NY
NOTE: I’ll be on vacation for the next couple weeks so you won’t be getting any posts or updates. I’m okay and I’m probably thinking about the Brewers but I won’t be writing.
Lucroy gets 5 year contract extension
-Benny K.-
On Monday, March 26th, the Brewers signed Jonathan Lucroy to a contract extension of 5 years with a club option in 2017 for around $11 million dollars.
Lucroy is near-perfect for this situation. He has year and 136 days being in major league baseball and it is possible he could get salary arbitration next offseason as a “Super 2″ player.
If Lucroy becomes a “Super 2″ player, a five-year extension would pay for this season as well as the other four arbitration years and the total dollars would be adjusted.
Things work out very well.
“I think he will continue to grow. I think the more confident he gets, the more time he gets in the big leagues, his mind will open up and he’ll start seeing the whole picture. Once he does that, I think he’s going to be really good,” says Brewer manager, Ron Roenicke.
Lucroy was drafted out of Louisiana-Lafayette as a third-round pick. Since Mike Matheny, a Brewer in the 90s, Jonathan has been the first real “home-grown” Brewer catcher to be drafted by the organization, go through the minor leagues, and then play successfully in the majors.
Even though Lucroy only got 21 games with the Nashville Sounds in 2010, he still managed to play well in the MLB picking-up 114 starts, batting .265 with 12 home runs, and smashing in 59 RBI in 136 games overall. Lucroy has shown lots of potential and has the natural talent to become an all-star catcher in the near future.
“I know he was disappointed (last year) in some of the things offensively, but this guy’s a good hitter,” said Ron Roenicke. “Defensively, once the confidence gets there, he’s going to be good. I think the second half of the season we saw a way better thrower; we’ve seen it already in camp this year.”
Benny K.
The Conversation