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Milwaukee Brewers News ClipsSunday, February 22, 2015
Brewers have no room for error with just 5
starters
By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel
Feb. 21, 2015
Phoenix — Outwardly, the Milwaukee Brewers'
decision-makers express little concern about the lack of
depth in the starting rotation entering spring training.
But logic tells you they have to be nervous.
You'll spot more unicorns than see teams making it
through 162 games with only five starting pitchers. In
fact, it's not unusual for clubs to have difficulty making it
through exhibition season without at least one starter
having an issue.
Yet, as the Brewers' pitchers and catchers prepared for
their first official workout Sunday at Maryvale Baseball
Park, the team depth chart listed only five starters with
major-league experience in that role. That included a
total of 13 starts by No. 5 pitcher Jimmy Nelson, whose
2014 rotation debut was a rocky one (2-8, 4.76 ERA in
12 starts).
Nelson moved into the top five when veteran Yovani
Gallardo was traded to the Texas Rangers in January.
The Brewers' opening day starter the past five seasons,
Gallardo had been Mr. Reliable in the rotation, pitching
at least 180 innings for six consecutive years.
You get a better understanding of the thinness in starting
pitching when you look at the team's depth chart. Listed
at No. 6 is right-hander Taylor Jungmann, who made it
to the Class AAA level for the first time in 2014.
Seventh on the depth chart is right-hander Michael
Blazek, who has 18 relief appearances in the majors but
no starts.
There is little wonder that general manager Doug Melvin
seems resigned to looking for starting help before camp
comes to an end.
"There's always guys available at the end of the spring,"
said Melvin. "There are other people that you may find
that aren't here yet. Those things take care of themselves.
"There will be guys out there who signed minor-league
contracts and may be available. You have to have
flexibility with that sixth spot. You've got to have
somebody who can go up and down (in the minors
without requiring waivers). You can't have a guy locked
into a major-league contract.
"Probably our eyes are open a little bit more (this spring)
than last year because we knew we had Fiers and Nelson
down there (at the Class AAA level). You just hope you
don't have injuries at the first part of the year."
Manager Ron Roenicke, who had seven pitchers make
starts in 2014, said he will leave it to Melvin to find help
if injuries do occur.
"That's something that he's looking at and wants to make
sure we'll be OK there," said Roenicke. "You're always
concerned about depth. The difference in a team that
financially can go get what you want is you know if the
depth isn't there, you just go out and buy somebody. We
have to be smart in what we do.
"There will be some players there at the end of camp if
something happens where we need more depth."
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The good news is the first three starters in the all-righty
rotation — Kyle Lohse, Matt Garza and Wily Peralta —
can be counted on for many quality outings, all things
being equal. Melvin would like Garza to shake free of his
recent injury history and pitch 200 innings for the first
time since 2010. Garza was limited to 27 starts and
1631/3 innings last year by an oblique strain.
Mike Fiers, who resurrected his career with a brilliant
showing (2.13 ERA) over the final two months of last
season, is slated to be the No. 4 starter, followed by
Nelson. Melvin noted that many teams are going with
inexperienced starters at the back of their rotation.
"When you look at the No. 4 and 5 starters, most clubs
are going with younger guys," he said. "After that, it's the
depth of your minor-league system. Jungmann had a
good second half in Triple-A. We'll try to get him some
innings here."
Lohse, who has compiled a 24-19 record and 3.45 ERA
over 63 starts in his first two seasons with the Brewers,
will be counted on again to provide stability on and off
the field. Asked how he thought the rotation would fare
without Gallardo, Lohse offered a diplomatic answer.
"We have five guys," said Lohse. "That's not something I
really want to get into. We've got what we've got here
and I feel good about what we've got.
"It's not my job, who puts on these uniforms. I'm here to
take care of my part and try to help my teammates. If we
can stay healthy, I like our chances."
Peralta, 25, made a quantum leap from his rookie year to
his sophomore season in 2014, jumping from an 11-15
record and 4.37 ERA to 17-11, 3.53. The way Lohse sees
it, Peralta doesn't have to worry about being better than
that.
"I don't think he needs to," said Lohse. "That's the main
thing for him, to not say, 'I need to do better than last
year.' That's something I'm going to try to impress on
him. There's going to be a lot of pressure put on him to
do better than last year. He was pretty darn good last
year."
Nelson might have fallen into that trap in 2014, trying to
live up to his top-prospect ranking and ultra-success at
Class AAA Nashville (10-2, 1.46 ERA in 17 games). He
pressed at times and had trouble locating his signature
pitches — a fastball and slider.
"He's got to go out there and figure out how to be
consistent, how to consistently throw pitches that are
quality," said Lohse. "You saw that with Wily two years
ago. He'd get excited and things would get away from
him. Then he made that step last year, being able to
control what he's doing out there.
"That's something that Jimmy can learn. He's got great
stuff. He's just got to figure out how to put it into a big-
league game without letting it get away."
Indeed, Peralta can relate to Nelson's first-year struggles.
In fact, all Peralta has to do is remind Nelson how much
he improved the second time around to give
encouragement to the former second-round draft pick.
"I knew I was better than I showed my rookie season,"
said Peralta. "I learned what it takes to be more
consistent. You get more comfortable and do the things
you can do. Don't try to do too much. Just go out there
and pitch. I tried to overthrow at times my first year.
"You don't have to be perfect. Just go out and try to have
fun and pitch your game. He's got enough talent. His
stuff is unbelievable. He just has to calm down and not
try to do too much. Just throw one pitch at a time. Don't
3
worry about expectations. I've been there. I know what
it's like."
BY THE NUMBERS
3.69 ERA for the starting rotation in 2014, ninth in the
NL.
76 Strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings by Mike Fiers last season.
2.04 Walks per nine innings for Kyle Lohse in 2014.
143 Hits allowed last season in 163 1/3 innings by Matt
Garza.
278 Walks by the 2014 starting rotation, fifth-fewest in
the NL.
Brewers will hold off naming bullpen closerBy Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel
Feb. 21, 2015
Phoenix – While the Milwaukee Brewers have one
obvious choice already on their roster in Jonathan
Broxton and another candidate with previous experience
in camp in Chris Perez, general manager Doug Melvin
said the plan right now is to hold off on officially naming
a closer.
"Broxton’s closed before, but we’re not going to anoint a
closer at this point," Melvin said on Saturday morning.
"We’ll wait and see. Let guys throw, get in shape and
maybe mid-spring we’ll talk about it."
Broxton, 30, was acquired by the Brewers last Aug. 31 to
serve as a setup man for Francisco Rodriguez but with
118 career saves, a $9 million salary and a right arm
that's still powerful enough to pitch the ninth inning, he
remains the in-house favorite to win the job.
He hasn't served as a primary closer since 2012,
however, when he was with the Kansas City Royals. He
saved 11 games in just over 2 1/2 seasons after being
traded to the Cincinnati Reds, serving mostly as the setup
man for Aroldis Chapman over that span.
"He has the ability to do it," said Melvin. "Lot of
emphasis put on that part of the game. Closers are
somewhat hot and cold, unless they're somewhat
established.
"(Philadelphia's Jonathan) Papelbon was very good last
year and they didn't win. (Atlanta's) Craig Kimbrel was a
lights-out closer and they didn't win. So I try to not put
so much emphasis on it, because there's so many other
ways to lose ballgames to focus on one inning of every
game.
"There's no doubt you need to have a good bullpen,
though."
Perez, 29, signed a minor-league contract with the
Brewers on Feb. 4. He has 133 career saves to his credit
after serving as Cleveland's closer from 2010-'13, and
fits perfectly Melvin's strategy of adding a second
reliever with experience in the role to provide depth.
But there remains the possibility that the Brewers could
add another arm to the mix for that spot. Rodriguez
remains on the market as a free agent despite saving 44
games for the Brewers last season, and the door still
doesn't appear to be fully closed on a trade for Papelbon.
Melvin wouldn't comment on the state of possible talks
with the Phillies, but acknowledged the lines of
communication have remained open with "K-Rod."
4
"I don’t know if it’s active, but we still have
conversations," Melvin said. "Mark deals more with that.
(Agent) Scott (Boras) keeps calling Mark."
Braun won't be restricted as camp begins
Henderson, Thornburg also coming along well in
recovery from injuriesBy Adam
McCalvy / MLB.com | @AdamMcCalvy | February 21,
2015
PHOENIX -- While Brewers players underwent their
annual physical exams Saturday, Brewers officials
expressed continued optimism for three important
players returning from injury-plagued seasons: right
fielder Ryan Braun and relievers Jim
Henderson and Tyler Thornburg.
Braun underwent a surgical procedure in October to
relieve an inflamed nerve in his right hand. Former
closer Henderson (shoulder) and April star Thornburg
(elbow) rehabbed without surgery. All three should be
close to full participants when formal workouts get
underway next week.
Of Braun, assistant GM Gord Ash said: "The only
instruction from the medical staff was just to eliminate
any extra hitting. There's no restriction on the regular
routine. Just minimize extra hitting."
"I talked to [agent] Nez [Balelo] the other day and he
was saying how Ryan was feeling great," Brewers GM
Doug Melvin said.
The Brewers have planned all along for Braun to be the
Opening Day right fielder, but Henderson and
Thornburg's status has been murkier. All winter, the
Brewers planned as if neither reliever would be ready for
Opening Day.
Now that it appears either or both could be bullpen
options from the start, "it makes a much better picture,"
Ash said.
"I wouldn't use the word 'restricted.' I would [say] we'll
be protective," Ash said when asked about the two
pitchers. "They're not going to necessarily march out
there on what would be a regular basis. They might get
an extra day off here and there. All the reports have been
very good so far."
Ash added some words of caution: "It's early. They
haven't faced hitters. Their bullpens have been good."
Some other notes from Saturday media sessions with
Melvin, Ash and manager Ron Roenicke:
• The Brewers don't expect any late arrivals in camp this
year, in part because Spring Training itself is so late.
That allowed players from out of the country more time
to get their paperwork in order.
• Pitching prospect Johnny Hellweg, who underwent
Tommy John surgery last April, should be game-ready
by the end of camp, but the Brewers are plotting a
cautious approach. Hellweg could remain in extended
spring training before an assignment to warm-weather
Class A Advanced Brevard County.
• The Brewers signed infielder Donnie Murphy to a
Minor League contract Friday to provide some depth at
Triple-A Colorado Springs.
"He's a guy that our analytics people have been high on,"
Ash said. "You want to add as many weapons there in
Colorado, offensively, as you can, so he fits into that
category."
5
Brewers in no hurry to anoint closer
Broxton, Smith, Jeffress, Henderson among
internal optionsBy Adam
McCalvy / MLB.com | @AdamMcCalvy | February 21,
2015
PHOENIX -- Instead of simply naming their most
experienced incumbent reliever to the role, the Brewers
plan to wait to publicly announce a closer.
With Francisco Rodriguez gone to free agency (though
he's still available and on Milwaukee's radar), the
Brewers' current candidates are led by Jonathan
Broxton, the former Dodgers and Royals closer acquired
last August in a trade. But the Brewers are high on left-
hander Will Smith, believe right-handerJeremy
Jeffress has a bright future and have Jim
Henderson coming back from a shoulder injury. They
also have been linked recently to both Rodriguez and
Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon.
"Broxton has closed before, but we haven't decided who
will," general manager Doug Melvin said. "We're not
going to anoint a closer at this point. We'll just wait and
see. Let guys throw and get in shape. Probably mid-
spring we'll talk about it."
Broxton is 18th among active players with 118 career
saves and, according to Melvin's figures, has converted
84 percent of his true save opportunities. The Brewers
threw out his blown saves as a setup man, believing they
skew the numbers because a pitcher can't earn a save in
those opportunities.
Since 2008, Brewers closers have converted the same
percentage of saves: 84 percent.
"So he has the ability to do it," Melvin said.
Said manager Ron Roenicke: "Broxton, he's a guy that
we're going to lean on and hopefully it works out. But we
also know he can't pitch like Frankie [Rodriguez] can
pitch, where he could go five, six days in a row. Not
many guys can."
So far, the Brewers have balked at agent Scott Boras'
asking price for Rodriguez and the Phillies' asking price
for Papelbon. Melvin would not discuss the status of
trade talks with Philadelphia, but did acknowledge that
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio continues to hear from
Boras.
"[Having a premier closer] doesn't guarantee anything,"
Melvin said. "Papelbon was very good last year and [the
Phillies] didn't win. Craig Kimbrel was a lights-out
closer and [the Braves] didn't win. I try to not put as
much emphasis on it, because there's so many other ways
to lose ballgames. There's no doubt you need to have a
good bullpen, though."
Melvin defends Brewers' offseason moves
General manager still seeking to bolster starting
pitching depthBy Adam
McCalvy / MLB.com | @AdamMcCalvy | February 21,
2015
PHOENIX -- Doug Melvin's Spring Training office is
dominated by a bank of windows overlooking Maryvale
Baseball Park, but it's not the room's most interesting
feature. The west wall holds a huge dry-erase board with
the Brewers' internal depth chart, a work in progress sure
6
to see some changes in the six weeks before Opening
Day.
Pointing at the names on that board Saturday morning,
the veteran general manager forcefully rebutted the
notion that the Brewers should have done more over the
winter to address last season's collapse.
"You guys have been writing we didn't do much to turn
the club over or whatever," Melvin said. "I don't know
how you see that. Almost a third of the club is not here
that was here last year. You guys keep writing that we
didn't do anything, but you don't have Rickie
Weeks here, [Marco] Estrada's not here, [Yovani]
Gallardo's not here, Zach Duke's not here, [Mark]
Reynolds is not here, [Lyle] Overbay's not here."
When it was suggested that most of those players were in
secondary roles, Melvin said, "I don't know why we
would turn over the regulars. Why would you turn over
[Ryan] Braun, [Carlos] Gomez, [Jonathan] Lucroy,
[Jean] Segura?
"If you look at our club from Spring Training at this time
last year and now, it's a huge turnover. A lot of new
faces. We didn't go trade Lucroy or Braun like Oakland
traded Josh Donaldson. That's the thing. We didn't do
like the Braves and trade [Justin] Upton. They're sort of
transitioning. We believe there's good enough talent to
compete.
"We won 82 ballgames. We're frustrated that we didn't
play well down the stretch, but we won 82 and there's
such a fine line from 80 wins to 90 wins. That can be
overcome by better play. Sometimes the best way to
improve your club is the individuals on the club."
In his case for improvement over this time last season,
Melvin counts the Brewers' 2014 in-season additions,
including outfielder Gerardo Parra and
relievers Jonathan Broxton and Jeremy Jeffress. In
October, the Brewers addressed first base by
acquiring Adam Lind. In January, they traded Gallardo
to Texas and opened a spot in the starting rotation for
former top prospectJimmy Nelson, adding two young
players in the process (reliever Corey Knebel and
infielder Luis Sardinas) who could crack the Opening
Day roster this year.
Melvin did acknowledge the Brewers are not deep in the
starting rotation, which has only five established pitchers
for as many spots. The initial backup is right-handed
prospect Taylor Jungmann, who has never pitched in
the Major Leagues. The Brewers also will "stretch out"
right-hander Michael Blazek as a starting pitcher this
spring, and he's currently next after Jungmann on the
depth chart.
"There's going to be some guys that are out there,"
Melvin said, referring to the potential for an addition this
spring. "You have to have flexibility with that sixth spot,
someone who can go up and down."
Will Melvin more actively seek pitching during this
Spring Training compared to years past?
"Probably your eyes are open a little bit more, because
we knew we had [Mike] Fiers and Nelson down there
last year," he said. "You just hope you don't have injuries
the first part of the year."
AG opinions say Biloxi can't sell naming rights
to ballfield Attorney general's opinion means
city has to look elsewhere for revenue sourcesBY MARY PEREZ
[email protected] Twitter:
MaryPerezSHFebruary 21, 2015
7
BILOXI -- The agreement between Biloxi and the
Shuckers minor league baseball team calls for the city to
earn an extra $50,000 a year to help repay the
construction bond for the stadium by selling the naming
rights for MGM Park's playing field.
But opinions from the state attorney general say that isn't
legal in Mississippi.
When the organizers of the Dixie National Livestock
Show and Rodeo wanted to include a sponsor in the
name of the event, the AG opinion said, in part, "… a
state agency may not change the name of a state
sponsored event to include the name of a private
commercial venture."
That opinion was reiterated when the DeSoto County
Convention and Visitors Bureau wanted to lease the
naming rights to its coliseum complex.
To help the city cover the revenue it would have gotten
from the sale of the playing field's naming rights, Tim
Bennett, owner of Overtime Sports and part owner of the
Shuckers, has offered an alternative.
"It's a fairly simple fix," he said. "It's legal for me to pay
the city from revenues generated off the video board."
Under the contract between the city and the team, Biloxi
is required to supply a video board at the stadium.
But when the bid came in at more than $1 million,
Bennett -- who put together the deal to get the stadium
built and the team to Biloxi -- told the City Council that
the team would buy two video boards if the city pays to
install them.
That cost is estimated to be about $500,000 -- half the
amount the city would have to pay for a scoreboard,
although the exact cost won't be known until the city
goes to bid on the installation.
The large board in right center field will be one of the
largest in the league, he said, and the smaller video board
in left field will display advertising.
Under Bennett's proposal, the city would receive
$100,000 in ad revenue each year from the smaller board
in exchange for paying for the installation. That totals $2
million over 20 years.
In December, the City Council voted unanimously to pay
the cost to install two video boards at MGM Park but
hasn't yet gone to bid. The stadium is expected to open in
a few months.
Bennett said he will keep working to help Biloxi pay the
debt on the stadium.
"It continues to be a cooperative effort between me and
the city," he said.
8