Braun to sign 7 year deal with Brewers

By giving Braun a seven-year extension beyond this year, the Brewers would buy out Braun’s first year of free agency. Team owner Mark Attanasio said earlier this year it would make no sense to do long-term deals with any of the club’s younger stars without buying out at least a year of free agency.

Wonder what Prince’s reaction to this will be?

Milwaukee J-S blog: Capuano headed for another Tommy John

It appears Brewers left-hander Chris Capuano is headed for the second “Tommy John” reconstructive elbow surgery of his career.

Assistant general manager Gord Ash told me that Capuano began experiencing discomfort in his elbow during throwing drills Monday in Phoenix. He will visit orthopedic surgeon James Andrews tomorrow and could have the surgery as soon as Thursday, which would knock him out of surgery for approximately a year.

Capuano began experiencing discomfort in the elbow in spring training and an MRI revealed at least a partial tear of the ligament.

SportTicker: Cardinals’ Molina, La Russa ejected

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and manager Tony La Russa were ejected in the fifth inning of Monday’s contest against the Milwaukee Brewers. Both were ejected by plate umpire Paul Schrieber for arguing balls and strikes.

Upon getting ejected, Molina took off his catching gear - his shin guards and chest protector - and left it, along with his glove, at home plate.

JS Online: Headhunters no surprise to Yost

Milwaukee: Land of a thousand dances...around questions.

Ned Yost expressed no surprise that it only took a six-game losing streak for some people to start calling for his skin.

“It doesn’t surprise me a bit,” the Milwaukee Brewers’ manager said Friday upon returning home after his reeling club was swept in both Houston and Florida. “It doesn’t concern me, really, or bother me.”

Why doesn’t it bother Yost?

“The thing that matters is that the people who know the game understand what’s going on,” said Yost, who was being skewered on radio shows and message boards. “You’re not going to make everybody happy. There’s no way.

“You have to know in your heart that you’re doing everything you can do, that you’re not cutting any corners. My entire focus is on the players and this organization. It’s not productive (to listen to the critics).

“If you look where we’ve come from, six years ago, it’s a process but we’re definitely taking steps forward. You can’t make everyone happy.”

STL Post-Dispatch: Redbirds let a win flutter away

Rather than rationalize his fourth loss, Isringhausen suggested a meeting today with manager Tony La Russa, pitching coach Dave Duncan and general manager John Mozeliak to find at least a temporary alternative to using him in the ninth inning.

“I’m just getting sick of embarrassing myself and letting my team down,” Isringhausen said.

Friday’s collapse came with two outs and none on in the ninth inning. Consecutive base hits and a walk loaded the bases before Weeks sent a single to left that in turn sent Isringhausen from the field with his head down and twitching his glove.
...
“I remember in ‘06, I had an explanation; I just wasn’t telling anybody. Now, I don’t have an explanation,” he said. “I’m just pitching like a second grader.”
...
La Russa, Duncan and Isringhausen insist there is no physical problem.
...
“They can’t keep sending me out there when I’m pitching the way I’m pitching. We’re going to have to figure out some kind of remedy. I’m sure that remedy will give me some time off from that role and we’ll get somebody in who can do a better job right now,” [Isringhausen said].

AP: Gallardo confirms he’s having surgery on his right knee

Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo confirmed Friday that he’ll have surgery on the torn ligament in his right knee, likely ending his season. Gallardo said he believes there’s no chance he could avoid the operation on his anterior cruciate ligament, and that it would occur sometime next week.

“I wish I was able to, but I know for sure that I want to be at 100 percent, the last thing I want to do is try to go out there and pitch with it and maybe hurt something with the pressure on it,” Gallardo said.
...
“That sucked the wind out of us,” Melvin said of Gallardo’s injury. “But we can’t let that happen. A lot of teams have injuries. The frustrating part is he and Ben have never been able to pitch on a regular basis for us.”

Gallardo said doctors told him there’s a 98 percent success rate with the surgery, and Gallardo hopes there’s a chance he can return in September or October.

Yost might be toast……

My name is NOT Michael Hunt yet I STRONGLY approve of this message.

If the Brewers don’t snap out of it soon, Mark Attanasio could make the move with justifiable cause. The owner has been remarkably loyal to his holdover employees, but Attanasio is a businessman first, and a pragmatic one at that. He is banking on a 3 million house at Miller Park based on what were realistic expectations for this team.

And somebody is stealing my lines!

Instead, Yost continues with the Kevin Bacon refrain from “Animal House” that “all is well,” when everyone knows that all is not well.

Gee, somebody finally noticed this endearing element of Milwaukee’s moronager.

Some of that may have been because Yost is perceived as defiantly stubborn when it comes to admitting his mistakes.

Excuse me will you?  I have some oil that needs to be boiled.  And where did I leave that pile of feathers??

Whoops, almost forgot, sign-up sheet to rent a torch is on the desk.  I already have one. 

And it’s lit...................

JS Online: Yost, Gagne are not yet ready to panic

Rickie Weeks came into the game with a bit of a curious statistic: He was fourth in the league in runs scored with 28. However, Weeks was hitting .197 and had an on-base percentage of .324, and both numbers are low for someone scoring so many runs. He lowered both statistics by going 0 for 3 Tuesday.

Of course, Yost didn’t see anything odd about it.

“Rickie’s a run scorer,” he said. “There’s nothing weird about it.”

Hidely-holism.

TSN: Deveney: Mike Cameron tarnished his own good story

Terminate Him: The Cameron Chronicles.

But a good nature and a willingness to give interviews should not obscure the fact that Cameron failed those tests last year. Stimulant abuse is every bit the problem in baseball that steroids/HGH abuse is—stimulants are addictive, and they’re deadly. Cameron failed tests in July and September (MLB rules allow one failed stimulant test with no penalty). He asserted that the test results came from tainted supplements, but by last year, the league had instituted a policy of selling approved supplements to players through team trainers. Cameron should have gotten supplements that way. Besides, the odds of getting two tainted supplements within three months are pretty slim. If he knew he had tested positive in July, he should not have been taking supplements in September.

Cameron is a clubhouse leader, which should help the young Brewers survive the season’s grind better than they did last season. If this team is humming in September, Cameron will be a big part of the story. But we should not simply give Cameron a pass because we like him.

Cameron might be lying about his stimulant use. Even assuming he is being truthful, assuming the positive tests came from some sort of tainted energy drink, he still committed a sin of stupidity. That reality—and the resulting suspension—is part of this story, too.

TSN: Fraley: Nothing’s brewing in Milwaukee

Manager Ned Yost and his Milwaukee Brewers unraveled under the pressure of meaningful September games last season.

That might not be a problem this season because the Brewers will not be playing meaningful September games unless Yost can get the club straightened out in May.

...This should not be a surprise. Gagne is a shell of the dominant closer who had 152 saves in 158 chances while holding opponents to a .168 batting average from 2002-04. Since, Gagne has 34 saves in 43 chances while allowing a .263 average.

Gagne never will return to his 2002-04 form. He has been injured since then. It also is increasingly apparent that the allegations Gagne used performance-enhancing substances, detailed in the Mitchell Report, were well-founded.

Melvin acted out of desperation in giving Gagne a one-year deal worth $10 million. Francisco Cordero had bolted to Cincinnati as a free agent, leaving the Brewers without a dependable closer. They still lack a bullpen security blanket, which is one of many problems Yost must address soon. There will not be a later for him or the Brewers.

It also is increasingly apparent that Fraley used his super-duper steroid sniffing powers for all to enjoy!

ESPN: Tejada Promises Sick Child HR, Delivers!

When Miguel Tejada met 8-year-old Jacob Scott on Friday, he was so touched by the little boy with muscular dystrophy he promised him a home run. Tejada fulfilled his vow to the youngster by hitting the first of three straight Houston home runs in a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Astros hit five homers in the game.

“I was so excited,” said Tejada, who’d never promised a home run before. “I know it’s hard to tell someone you’ll hit a home run and do it. But today when I went to lunch with this kid I wanted him to be happy. So I told him I’d do it.”

This worked out a lot better than in Seinfeld.

Sports Network: Turnbow DFA’d

The Milwaukee Brewers announced Friday they have designated relief pitcher Derrick Turnbow for assignment.

Do they keep him if he clears waivers? Will he want to stay? And what about Bob?

Gallardo has torn ACL

Gallardo is easily the best pitcher on the Brewer staff and it’s not close.  The saving grace is that this spares his arm for another year though the Gallardo injury likely gives Melvin/Yost an excuse for the 2008 season not ending as hoped.  Though I know one old, cranky, son of a b*tch of a Brewer fan who won’t buy that claim.

Here hopes the lad makes a full recovery.

Chicago Tribune: Cubs blow it in 9th against Milwaukee (RR)

[The ending] provoked manager Lou Piniella into a postgame tirade after he smacked a dugout water cooler in the fateful ninth inning.

“You got a two-run lead going into the ninth and you let one get away… it’s a tough loss,” Piniella said.

He was just warming up.

The following question—the one that set Piniella off—was whether he’d thought about replacing sore-legged left fielder Alfonso Soriano with Reed Johnson in the ninth inning. Soriano helped the Brewers’ ninth-inning rally get started when Gabe Kapler’s fly ball sailed over his head for a double.

“You’re damn right I thought about it,” Piniella snapped back. “You think I’m stupid or something?”

The briefing ended with Piniella muttering profanities on his way out the door.

MIL Journal-Sentinel: Turnbow’s fate twisting in the wind

Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost spent time Thursday discussing the Derrick Turnbow situation but neither would say if any plans are in the works to remove the embattled reliever from the roster.
...
“What do you want me to do, make a move today, right now?” said Melvin after emerging from his meeting with Yost in the visiting manager’s office at Wrigley Field. “If we make a move, we’ll let you know.

“It’s not fair to Derrick Turnbow to tell the media what we’re doing before we talk to Derrick Turnbow, on anything. If there’s any move we’ll let you know. We’ve got to look at how the club is and see if we can fix a spot here or there.”
...
The 30-year-old is out of options, meaning he would have to clear waivers to go to the minors. Should the Brewers place Turnbow on waivers and he clears, he would have the right to refuse the assignment and become a free agent. He would forfeit his $3.2 million salary by doing so, however.

That salary might also make other clubs reluctant to claim Turnbow, especially the way he has thrown the ball lately. It takes 72 hours for a player to clear waivers, so the Brewers might already have asked for waivers on Turnbow.

David Bush sent to the minors

I didn’t use the Journal-Sentinel’s article heading.  Figured that would send the discussion in the wrong direction.

As to the subject at hand:

After spending the last two-plus seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting rotation, the 28-year-old right-hander was told Sunday afternoon he was being optioned to Class AAA Nashville. The move was made to clear a roster spot for the return Tuesday of centerfielder Mike Cameron from a 25-game suspension.

Bush, who won 12 games in both 2006 and 2007, but was 0-3 with a 6.75 earned run average in four starts this season, sat with head bowed in front of locker for several minutes after answering questions from the media in the home clubhouse of Miller Park.

“I really haven’t had time to process everything just yet,” said Bush. “I wish I had a better answer for you.”

Many things worked against Bush, not the least of which was that he had a minor-league option remaining. Because he had three years of service time in the majors, he had to clear option waivers, which generally is a formality (players can be pulled back if claimed).

Without an option, Bush would have had to clear outright waivers to go down. He could not have been pulled back if claimed by another club, and also would have had the right to decline the assignment, at the price of forfeiting his $2.55 million salary.

A pitcher had to go once right-hander Ben Sheets was cleared to return to action Tuesday night in Chicago after missing a turn with triceps soreness. Bush filled in for Sheets the last time through the rotation but the Brewers were carrying 14 pitchers, leaving them with a thin bench.

The Future of Yovani Gallardo

Scouting Yovani Gallardo…

The fact that Gallardo is a good athlete with relatively clean mechanics should keep his injury risk low for a pitcher. With his combination of stuff, command and poise, Gallardo has the qualities to be a top-of-the-rotation starter for a very long time.

AP: [Pujols plays 2B,] Kapler singles in winner as Brewers top Cards in 12

Slugger Albert Pujols wound up playing second base for the first time in his big league career.

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen (1-1) walked Gabe Gross with one out. Gross then easily stole second, with Pujols covering the bag.
...
Pujols began the game at first base, and shifted over in the bottom of the ninth after shortstop Cesar Izturis left because of a bruised right forearm. The Cardinals were carrying 13 pitchers and were short-handed, so Aaron Miles took over at short, catcher Jason LaRue moved to first and Yadier Molina came in to catch.

SportsTicker: Brewers trade [Gabe] Gross to Rays

After scoring the winning run in Tuesday’s 9-8, 12-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Gabe Gross was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Brewers acquired righthander Josh Butler, who will report to Class A Brevard County of the Florida State League.

In his second year with the Brewers, the 28-year-old Gross batted just .209 (9-for-43) in 16 games this season.

The Brewers needed to open a roster spot because outfielder Tony Gwynn has been recalled from his rehab assignment at Class AAA Nashville and will be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.

Spector: Nine Innings: Gabe Kapler

Spector and another good guy (no, not B. Mitchel Reed)...Gabe Kapler.

7. What did you get out of your experience last year that you bring back as a player?

GK: Just another great baseball experience. Another angle of seeing the game. I’ve seen the game from a lot of different angles in terms of different roles on different teams. Prospect, 57th-round draft pick, seen it from those angles. A guy who’s thought of well in an organization, a guy who’s left for dead in an organization. I’ve seen it from a bench player’s perspective and a starting player’s perspective. And the managerial goggles, it’s a whole different way of seeing the game. It subconsciously adds to the baseball experience.

8. What is one thing that you have not done in your career that you’d like to accomplish?

GK: That’s a good question. It’s a specifically good question because it’s something I think of all the time. Right now, I feel like I’m pretty thankful and at peace with what I’ve accomplished, and everything else is icing.

AP: Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets to be skipped in rotation

Brewers ace Ben Sheets will skip his start on Wednesday because of soreness in his right triceps that caused him to leave his last start.

Sheets will be replaced in the rotation by Dave Bush, who got passed over Sunday when Yovani Gallardo returned from the 15-day disabled list.

“That’s the plan,” general manager Doug Melvin said Monday night before the Brewers started a two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
...
With Sheets missing his next start, he won’t be scheduled to pitch again until next Tuesday in Chicago, the first of a nine-game road trip for Milwaukee after a day off on Monday.

That would give the 29-year-old ace in the final year of a $38.5 million, four-year contract 10 days to rest.

AP: Reds rally against Gagne for 4-3 win in 10 innings

Edwin Encarnacion and Paul Bako hit consecutive homers off Eric Gagne in the 10th inning Sunday, and Ken Griffey Jr. followed with a run-scoring single that sent the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
...
Gagne (1-1), pitching for the fourth straight day, gave up Encarnacion’s second solo homer of the game and Bako’s first homer of the season to open the inning. He left after walking Scott Hatteberg.
...
Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo, activated off the disabled list before the game, allowed only four hits through [seven] innings. The right-hander proved his surgically repaired left knee was fine by throwing 112 pitches.

AP: Sheets leaves after 5 innings with tightness in triceps

Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets left the game against the Cincinnati Reds after only five innings Friday night because of tightness in his right triceps. Sheets allowed two singles in five innings, leaving with the Brewers ahead 5-0.
...
He left the game for a pinch-hitter after only 60 pitches, 39 of them strikes.

In four starts, Sheets has allowed only three earned runs in 28 innings.

MIL Journal-Sentinel blog: What Prince had to say

I thought you folks would like to hear some of the comments from Prince Fielder after he hit his first home run of the 2008 season today—a two-run shot in the 10th inning that gave the Brewers a much-needed 5-3 victory over St. Louis.

Fielder, who teammates said was starting to feel the pressure of not hitting a homer, thought for a moment about acting cool upon returning to the dugout. But he just couldn’t.

Instead, Fielder started hopping up and down, arms raised, as teammates mobbed him and started pounding on his helmet and slapping hands. Suddenly, kindergarten broke out.

“I was trying to act tough but I couldn’t hold it,” said Fielder..."It was like Little League. Just jumping up and down like a kid.”
...
While he tried to tune it out, he was well aware that many were pinning his power drought to his announced decision in spring training to become a vegetarian.

Making light of that situation, teammate and friend Joe Dillon preceded Fielder into the post-game clubhouse and loudly announced, “Prince had steak and eggs for breakfast!” Dillon, of course, was kidding.

Haudricourt: Turnbow unhappy with role

Holds Haudricourt with Turnbow…

Brewers reliever Derrick Turnbow is so upset over being relegated to what he calls a “mop-up” role in the bullpen that he asked his agent to contact general manager Doug Melvin to see what the plans are for the beleaguered right-hander.

..."I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me,” Turnbow said this afternoon before the second game of the series against the Cardinals. “It bothers me a lot.

“(Manager) Ned (Yost) has to make the decisions he thinks are best for the team. It’s my job to go out there and prove him wrong, and earn the spot back in the set-up role. (I had) 33 holds last year and I feel like I got demoted to mop-up role, or whatever.

“That’s the way the game is. You’ve got to earn your right every day you’re here to be in that set-up role. I’ve got to go out there and prove I’m worthy of doing it.”

Haudricourt: Brewers supposedly have signed Jeff Weaver

Spark it up!

I received a tip from a reliable source this morning that the Brewers have signed free-agent right-hander Jeff Weaver to an incentive-laden deal.

I’m traveling to St. Louis this morning and won’t be able to get it confirmed with club management until later but the source is pretty reliable. It will be interesting to see what the Brewers have in mind for Weaver, who went 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA in 27 starts with Seattle last season but did not sign with a team before the 2008 season began.

The Brewers probably will send Weaver to extended spring training and then Class AAA Nashville. This might be an effort to increase their starting pitching depth after Chris Capuano injured his shoulder in spring training and Claudio Vargas was released.

AP: Kapler has homer, 2 doubles in Brewers’ 9-7 win over New York Mets

Gabe Kapler has gone from minor league manager to major league hassle for opposing pitchers. Kapler, who managed in the Red Sox organization last season, homered for the second straight day, doubled twice and drove in three runs to help the Milwaukee Brewers beat the New York Mets 9-7 on Sunday.

“I just think overall it gives you a different perspective on how to approach an at-bat, how to approach a day,” Kapler said. “I wouldn’t try to label it—surreal, spectacular. I’m just playing baseball, enjoying being at the ballpark, enjoying being in the clubhouse, enjoying winning games, enjoying being with my teammates.”
...
The 32-year-old Kapler came out of retirement during the offseason and has four home runs in 26 at-bats. The last time Kapler had at least four homers in a season was 2004, with Boston. He didn’t get No. 4 that season until July 21, in his 159th at-bat.

Dayton Daily News: McCoy - Cueto - live and in color

Yost watched the 22-year-old [Johnny Cueto] put on a pitching clinic, Dominican style - 6 1/3 innings, two runs, five hits, no walk and eight strikeouts.

Over two major-league starts, Cueto has 13 1/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and zero walks. His record is only 1-0, though, because his teammates forgot to take their bats out of cold storage.

Cueto gave up a run in the third and a solo home run to noted Reds homicide artist Bill Hall and that home run in the seventh nearly plastered a defeat on Cueto’s nose.
...
And isn’t it time we critics (me included) get off Corey Patterson’s back a bit. Yes, most of us want to see Jay Bruce (who is hitting .211 at Class AAA Louisville, by the way). But Patterson’s home run was his third and he also drove in the first run of Tuesday’s game with a single.

He is hitting .269 with two doubles, three homers and six RBIs. I’m willing to back off a little - but, but, but…he STILL isn’t a leadoff hitter.

He has scored six runs, three on his own homers, and his on-base average is .286 and he has one walk. My dog, Barkley, gets two walks a day.

MIL J-S blog: [Francisco] Cordero says Brewers blew chance

I just talked with Francisco Cordero and he said the Brewers blew their chance to keep him as their closer by not agreeing to talk about a contract extension last spring. Cordero… signed a free-agent deal with Cincinnati in late November and is back in town as the Reds play the Brewers tonight. The Reds topped the Brewers’ four-year, $42 million offer to Cordero with a $46 million deal over the same term.

But Cordero said it never would have come to that had the Brewers agreed to talk about an extension last spring before the season began. He also said he would have signed for less money at that time.

“They would have taken a risk and I would have taken a risk,” said Cordero. “They could have had me for less money. They said they wanted to see me pitch.”
...
When the Reds came in with their $46 million offer, Cordero said his agent, Bean Stringfellow, told the Brewers they had a better offer from a team “in the same division.”

“I think (the Brewers) thought we were bluffing,” said Cordero. “We really did have a better offer. We said they needed to make a better offer. They didn’t do it.”

MIL Journal-Sentinel blog: Paying to pee outside Miller Park

Tailgating is not without its costs!

With portable toilets in short supply outside Miller Park today, some enterprising folks saw an opportunity to create their own comfort zones.

Beer-drinking tailgaters could have waited in line for more than a half-hour to relieve themselves at the parking lots’ official potties. Or they could have paid the parking lot businessman.
...
Most elaborate was the operation of Brenden Augustine of Waukesha in a parking lot east of the stadium, who mounted a rented portable toilet on the back of a pickup truck and was charging $5 a visit, or $10 for all-day access. Augustine said he and his buddies started the day charging $1 and $5, but raised the rates when a long line began to form for their toilet.

“Like I said, demand went up, and once demand goes up you’ve got to start charging more,” he said… “Opening day is our Super Bowl,” he said.