If It's Not One Thing, It's Something Else
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by user Sigglecow
At first, it was starting pitching. Tomo Ohka and Ben Sheets went to the DL and left two open spots in the starting rotation. Dana Eveland, Ben Hendrickson, and Jorge de la Rosa all failed (spectacularly) to fill them. However, recent callups Zach Jackson and Carlos Villanueva have done great jobs filling the 4 and 5 spots. I'm not saying they'll be great forever, but they'll be a big help, at least until Sheets and Ohka come back.
But what to do with Villanueva and Zackson when they do come back?
Which brings me to my point: If it's not starting pitching the Brewers need, it's something else. Namely, relief pitching.
Yesterday, watching the Brewers-Cubs game, I was confident the entire time Bush had the ball. (That's even saying something because I'm usually only completely confident when Capuano's pitching). But as soon as I saw Dan Kolb on the mound, I thought, "Oh jesus, here we go." We had a 3 - 1 lead when he came into the game. Five hits, five runs, and two outs later, it's 6 - 3 Cubs. Thanks, Dan. Now, I know a pitcher's going to get knocked around every once in a while. It happens. Unfortunately for relief pitchers, it's more noticeable when it does. But this is ridiculous. Off the top of my head, I don't know how many games we've lost directly as a result of Kolb (and Wise, and hell, even Turnbow). But I know it's enough that we'd be comfortably above .500, and given how close the NL Central is (minus the Cubs and Pirates, of course), perhaps even a lot closer to first.
So here's what I suggest:
Step 1) Get rid of Kolb (call up one of the few remaining minor league pitchers to basically sit in the bullpen and do nothing, unless we're winning by a lot).
Step 2) Put Rick Helling in the bullpen. The guy had two terrible outings (despite striking out the side on nine pitches), but he can be good one or two innings at a time. He can basically take Kolb's spot.
Step 3) When Sheets and Ohka come back, put Zackson and Villanueva in the bullpen, and get rid of Rick Helling and Matt Wise. Perhaps in a trade for a relief pitcher and/or some good bats just so that the eventual Carlos Lee trade won't be too devastating.
Assuming that Sheets and Ohka settle back into a good pitching routine shortly after returning, the Brewers will then not only have a dependable starting rotation of Sheets-Ohka-Capuano-Davis-Bush, but they'll also have a dependable bullpen of Zackson, Villanueva, Capellan, Gonzales, Shouse, and of course, Turnbow.
Date
Thu 06/29/06, 7:00 am EST
