Saturday, March 28, 2009

Brewers "30 Teams in 30 Days" Recap

I am going to post recaps of MLB Network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" for all the other teams in the NL Central so you can get a look at the Cubs division rivals. Today we start with the Brewers.

Greg Amsinger hosted and was joined by Dan Plesac and John Hart for the Brewers season preview. Trenni Kusnierek did reporting and interviews from Spring Training in Arizona.

  • John thinks that the Brewers were a great baseball story last year in their run to the postseason.
  • The Brewers were 25th in MLB in batting average in 2008, 5th in HR, 4th in ERA, 6th in saves, and 8th in Opp. Average.
  • Jason Kendall think Yovani Gallardo is a future Cy Young winner

Gallardo talks with Trenni:

  • The off season was very hard for him.
  • He has been rehabbing his knee.
  • The most important thing for him is to forget about the injuries.
  • He wants to get 32-34 starts and get close to that 200 inning mark this year.
  • Yovani loves to hear things like what Kendall said about him.

-Kendall will not catch as many innings as he did last year.

Trevor Hoffman talks with Trenni:

  • Hoffman is excited to be with a young team and have a chance to get back to the playoffs.
  • He gets a sense that there is something special with the Brewers team.
  • Trevor says it has been fun being the new guy on the block.
  • He likes being looked at as a leader.
  • It is a neat feeling to be in the Brewers clubhouse right now.

Offseason arrivals:

  • Braden Looper
  • Trevor Hoffman
  • Chase Wright
  • Jorge Julio
  • Trot Nixon

Departures:

  • CC Sabathia
  • Ben Sheets
  • Brian Shouse
  • Salomon Torres
  • Eric Gagne
  • Guillermo Mota
  • Gabe Kapler

Possible Rotation:

1. Yovani Gallardo

2. Dave Bush

3. Jeff Suppan

4. Manny Parra

5. Braden Looper

More about the pitching:

  • Dan says Gallardo has the goods but has not been battle tested for 162 games.
  • John says Manny Parra has really good stuff.
  • Hart calls Dave Bush the stabilizer.
  • Plesac thinks Braden Looper is going to be key in the rotation.
  • Hoffman knows how to get it done and is a leader according to Hart. Plesac says Hoffman will use up all the rest of the gas left in the tank this year.
  • John says the 7th and 8th innings are going to be big questions for the Brewers.

Trenni with Prince Fielder:

  • Prince says that the fact that they clinched in the last game last year shows how every game counts.
  • Fielder says it doesn't matter how you start the season, it's how you finish.
  • He says "it's real cool" that he knows he is with Milwaukee for the next few years.
  • The loss of CC won't hurt the team that much according to Prince.
  • Fielder would love to be with the Crew for a long period of time.

Brewers possible batting order:

  • Rickie Weeks, 2B
  • J.J. Hardy, SS
  • Ryan Braun, LF
  • Prince Fielder, 1B
  • Corey Hart, RF
  • Bill Hall, 3B
  • Mike Cameron, CF
  • Jason Kendall, C

More on the infield:

  • Dan doesn't think Fielder is that bad of a fielder at 1B.
  • Plesac thinks Prince will get even better as he learns the league more.
  • Hart thinks J.J. Hardy is very underrated.
  • John thinks Weeks needs to improve his glove.
  • Dan says Kendall is as tough as they come.
  • Hart thinks Bill Hall is going to get a shot starting at 3B.

Greg and John were joined by Brewers GM Doug Melvin:

  • CC did everything and more than what the Brewers expected.
  • Doug likes the Braden Looper signing.
  • The Brewers have a solid front office and the key is that they all trust each other.
  • Doug gives credit to the fans for coming out and supporting the team in the years that they were not winning.
  • Gallardo is a big game pitcher. Parra has a lot of physical ability.

Corey Hart joined Trenni:

  • Hart doesn't want to have a bad September like he did last year.
  • Corey was in the spot light for the first time and it was just a learning curve when he did not hit well in the final month of 2008.
  • He always plays good defense and does not take his bat to the field or his glove to the plate.

More on the Brewer's outfield:

  • John thinks Corey Hart has tons of ability.
  • Plesac says Braun is the best low ball right handed hitter in the NL.
  • John used one of Ron Santo's favorite words when he called Braun a "gamer."
  • Cameron is the stabilizer to the outfield.

J.J. Hardy with Trenni:

  • Hardy says that losing to the Phillies in the NLDS "sucked".
  • J.J. says that the expectations are high again and they know what to expect this year.
  • Ken Macha stresses fundamentals and those are very important.
  • He is still trying to figure out how to get hot at the beginning of the year and stay hot for the whole year.

List of Brewer's homegrown players:

  • Yovani Gallardo
  • Manny Parra
  • Prince Fielder
  • Rickie Weeks
  • Bill Hall
  • J.J. Hardy
  • Ryan Braun
  • Corey Hart

More on the homegrown talent:

  • Hart says this is how you win when you are a small market team.
  • John says it is a tribute to the entire organization.

Top Prospects:

  • Jeremy Jeffers, RHP
  • Jake Oddrizzi, RHP
  • Wily Peralta, RHP
  • Alcides Escobar, SS
  • Brett Lawrie, C
  • Mat Gamel, 3B

More on those guys:

  • It is not if but when for Escobar according to Hart.
  • John says that Gamel is very close to the big leagues.
  • Dan thinks if Jeffers takes care of his off the field issues he could be in the rotation soon. Jeffers has long term potential.
  • Hart says position players are a little easier to scout and develop than pitchers.

Sausage Race

  • Brett Wurst
  • Stosh JonJak
  • Guido (last place with only 12 wins)
  • Frankie Furter (First Place, 26 wins)
  • Cinco

Brewers Attendance for last 5 seasons:

  • 2003- 1.7 M
  • 2004- 2 M
  • 2005- 2.2 M
  • 2006- 2.3 M
  • 2007- 2.8 M
  • 2008- 3 M

Dan says Miller Park is one of the best kept secrets in MLB.

Brewers All-Time Team:

Starting Lineup:

  • Paul Molitor, DH
  • Robin Yount, SS
  • Gorman Thomas, CF
  • Prince Fielder, 1B
  • Ryan Braun, LF
  • B.J. Surhoff, C
  • Geoff Jenkins, RF
  • Jim Gantner, 2B
  • Don Money, 3B

Manager- Harvey Kuenn

Pitchers and Bench:

  • Ted Higuera, SP
  • Dan Plesac, CL
  • Ben Sheets, P
  • Rolie Fingers, P
  • Ted Simmons, C
  • Cecil Cooper, 1B
  • Jeff Cirillo, IF
  • Ben Oglivie, OF

Ken Macha said that the Brewers have a great group of young guys.

Predictions:

  • Dan- 2nd
  • John- 4th

I'll continue my recap of the other NL Central Teams "30 Clubs in 30 Days" episodes. Up next is the Cardinals.

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