Knuckle Curve » milwaukee_brewers

Brewers Sign Kapler

Geoff Young — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:05:57 +0000

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed outfielder Gabe Kapler, who spent 2007 managing the Class-A Greenville Drive. Welcome back, G-Kap:

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Brewers Acquire Torres, Who Mulls Retirement

Geoff Young — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:34:57 +0000

There’s no denying that Solomon Torres is an interesting guy. He first arrived in the big leagues as a 21-year old back in ‘93 and didn’t do much. Then he disappeared after the ‘97 season, only to return in ‘02 and become a solid reliever for the Pirates.

Now Torres has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, but according to reports, he may retire rather than report to his new team. Quoth the soon-to-be-36-year-old:

It’s a giant move, and I have to make a decision if I want to go forward… This is going to change my life, my family’s life. If I leave them here, they’re going to have to be without me for a full year. If I take them with me, they’re going to be affected.

Wait, wasn’t Torres just asking for a trade, like, five months ago?

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Braun, Pedroia Win Rookie of the Year

Geoff Young — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:19:07 +0000

Milwaukee Brewers “third baseman” Ryan Braun and Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia have been named 2007 Rookie of the Year for the NL and AL, respectively. Braun just beat Colorado’s Troy Tulowiztki in the NL, while Pedroia easily won in the AL.

You are so smart: In our polls, Braun nosed out Tulowitzki, 180-172, and Pedroia took 75% of the votes. Hooray for us, hooray for Braun and Pedroia, hooray for everything.

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Examining Braun

Geoff Young — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:26:06 +0000

Rich at Baseball Analysts takes a look at Milwaukee Brewers phenom and leading (what, there are others?) National League Rookie of the Year candidate, Ryan Braun. In case you’ve missed it, Braun is hitting a robust .343/.388/.663 so far. Big deal, right? Um, yeah…

To put Braun’s numbers in historical perspective, he is on pace to produce the highest AVG, SLG, OPS, and OPS+ of any first-year player in the modern era. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Southern California is in elite company with such greats as Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Mize, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, and Ted Williams.

Sure, but is he any good?

When we adjust for home ballpark and era, Braun’s OPS+ of 168 would rank as the best first season in the annals of modern baseball.

Well, I’d say that qualifies. Finally, I love this line (small sample and all): .468/.543/1.013 against LHP. I don’t care if it’s only 79 at-bats, that’s freakish. Which, come to think of it, is a good word describe Braun and what he’s done so far as a rookie…

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Verlander Tosses No-No

Geoff Young — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:36:42 +0000

Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander spun a no-hitter Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. Yep, he shut down the likes of J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder, and Geoff Jenkins for a full nine innings. Walked Bill Hall all three times, but hey, a guy’s got to know his limitations.

Verlander fanned 12 batters on the night. You know how many pitches he threw? 112. That’s sick.

Another thing that’s sick is Verlander’s improvement this season. He was outstanding as a rookie, but check this out:

Justin Verlander, 2006 vs 2007
Year	Age	IP/GS	ERA+	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9
Stats are through games of June 12, 2007, and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.
2006	23	6.20	125	9.05	1.02	2.90	6.00
2007	24	6.46	156	6.96	0.75	3.21	7.29

Talk about nice trends. Verlander’s hits and homers are down, his strikeouts are up, and he’s working deeper into games. Oh, and he hasn’t reached his physical prime. What’s not to like?

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Brewers Bullpen Go Boom

Geoff Young — Wed, 30 May 2007 19:28:39 +0000

I am watching the Atlanta Braves destroy Milwaukee’s bullpen. The Brewers took a 2-1 lead into the eighth, and it’s now 8-2, Atlanta, with two out in the inning. The NL Central is just brutal… Post from: Knuckle Curve

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Dodgers, Brewers Swap Spare Parts

Geoff Young — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:23:16 +0000

The Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt right-hander Elmer Dessens to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Brady Clark. Dessens is 36 years old and can be counted on for 70 innings or so of league average performance. He’s nothing special but guys like that are useful to a pitching staff because they allow a team to save their stud relievers for high-leverage situations without making huge sacrifices in quality.

Clark is 34 years old and is coming off a disappointing season in which he batted .263/.348/.335 for the Brewers. Clark sports a career .278/.358/.389 line and can play all three outfield spots. When he’s in center, he’ll likely provide the Dodgers with a slight upgrade offensively over the faster and richer Juan Pierre. And yes, I would say that even if Clark hadn’t graduated from the same college as I did.

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