Capuano DL'd : Torn ligament in left elbow (reply #88); no surgery FOR NOW-try 3-4 weeks of rehab (reply #161); Tommy John surgery Thurs., May 16th (reply #192)

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I do think that it's very much not nice and not classy to wish for anyone to be injured.

If I wanted to be classy, I'd be a politician or something. I want the Brewers to win games. I don't care how nice or classy I am. If the only way to get Capuano off the opening day roster in favor of a better pitcher is a minor elbow injury then I'm glad it happened. If you are a "fan" of a team that is short for "fanatic". Fanatic and Classy usually don't go together in the same sentence. I admire Cappy for making good of most of his time with the Brewers, but we are a winning team now. It's time to let talent be more important than veteran savvy and grittiness. I apologize for not being classy.

[JohnBriggs12]

An MRI for Capuano could mean they want to make certain he's okay before they deal another pitcher. I get a feeling something is cooking.

[dadofandrew]

Capuano and Gallardo will almost certainly open on the DL, as neither will be able to be at 100% on 3/31.

 

Doug and Gord will certainly "assist" in picking the 25 man roster to help them keep all players of value they would otherwise lose. The idea they would lose a quality pitcher and then have to bring up an inferior arm at the first sign of injury or ineffectiveness is about as short-term thinking as you can get...and the team did not get where they are by looking at how to do the best over the first 15 games rather than 162.

[MillerParkSouth]

from Haudricourt's latest blog:

Parra and Dave Bush had been pitching on the same day but Bush has been pushed back to pitch Friday. Read into that what you want but it might be a clue that both Parra and Bush are making the rotation.

 

We haven't talked to manager Ned Yost yet to see if it means anything. He has been in meetings with all of the organizational brass, no doubt trying to reach conclusions on some of the position battles in camp.

I really hope that if for some reason Manny is up to start the year it is only until Yo gets back. I love Manny and I think he's going to be great, but it will be a lot easier to monitor his innings in Nashville and with his injury past, I don't think we want to take any chances with him.

 

So are we looking at something like this:

 

Sheets

Soup

Bush

Vargas

Parra

 

Cappy and Yo on DL, Villanueva to AAA? or does Bush go to AAA with Villy in the rotation?

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Villanueva to AAA?

I know there's a good chance of this happening, but what a traveshamockery would that be.

[bork]

Friday was Sheets day to pitch, since it lines up with opening day. Do they both pitch? Gallardo already is supposed to pitch the minor league game.

[rluzinski]

I'm sure Yost gets input but it's going to be Melvin who ultimately decides the starting rotation. And I appreciate that people want to see Villy in the rotation. He's young and has certainly shown some promise. Where I disagree is with the idea that he is such a talent as to make the idea of him not in the rotation to start the season a travesty. I could see him in the majors for many years. I just I don't think he's significantly better than any of the other bottom of the rotation options the Brewers have right now.

[Gopher74]

I seriously can't stand how Yost says that ST will determine who goes where, but then he says performance from the seasons past like the vets is big, but then Vargas is doing great in ST, so now he could potentially be in the rotation.

Well of course that's how it's going to be. When you've got several pitchers who are all close, why wouldn't you use Spring Training to evaluate a pitcher? Now of course past performance is going to come into play. I mean, it's not one or the other. Ben Sheets isn't going to lose his spot in the rotation because of a poor spring, nor should he, but with pitchers who are close, then I don't see anything at all wrong with using ST'ing to seperate guys.

 

And as for Vargas, he's looked really good in the Spring, and that change that he seems to have developed is huge. So again, it's a combination of the two, and not to sound rude, but how else would you like him to do it?

I just think some people need to relax and allow a decision to be made. I honestly don't know where you get the rotation that Yost will go with, but yesterday Haudricourt suggested that it would be Parra making the rotation. The point, nobody knows, so getting all worked up at Ned Yost right now is patently absurd.

And with regard to Chris Capuano, I don't know why you think he's going to be in the rotation, but I have yet to read or see anything that suggests he will be. In fact, everything seems to point to just the opposite.

 

I think a best case scenario is that we put Capuano on the DL, then stash him in AAA for the 30 or 45 days(I don't recall how long someone can be on a rehab assignment for). If he's very good in AAA, then you can deal him, or feel better about giving him a couple stats with the big league club.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I just I don't think he's significantly better than any of the other bottom of the rotation options the Brewers have right now.

You may think that, but we pretty much know what we're going to get from Cappy, Bush and Vargas - Extreme Mediocrity. Why not go with the upside of Villanueva?

[JohnBriggs12]

Could someone please explain this?

 

Claudio Vargas pitched his way out of the Brewer rotation last year. He did not make another start after August 24th even though two other starters, Sheets and Parra later went down with injuries.

 

Chris Capuano also pitched his way out of the rotation in 2007. He did not start a game after August 19th until Sheets went down with an injury.

 

The September rotation was Sheets (until he got hurt), Gallardo, Suppan, Villanueva, and Bush. All of those guys were in the rotation because of merit not the result of injuries. Except for Gallardo, the rest are healthy at this time.

 

Now it appears that out of that group, the lone healthy guy most likely not to start the season in the rotation is Villanueva. This after a September where his ERA of 1.99 was second only to Gallardo's 1.36 and a spring where he's been as good as anyone. Yes I know Villanueva has options and Vargas doesn't and Vargas has had a good spring too, but how do you justify taking your second best starter from the prior month you played games that count and replace him with a guy who had to be removed from the rotation because of ineffectiveness last August?

 

Depth, smepth, go with the best and Villanueva's in that group.

 

They should start the season with what they ended with last year: Sheets, Suppan, Villanueva, Bush and Parra replacing Gallardo temporarily. Give the most shaky of that group. Bush, 10 to 12 starts and if he's getting knocked around, replace him. You could do the same with Villanueva if he struggles 10 or 12 starts in. That way guys who earned their spots last year have them to lose, not taken away. Assuming Capuano is DL'd, either deal Vargas or put him in the pen in the long man role (you may lose McClung, but that's why you signed 4 righthanded relievers in the offseason).

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

That would be the most logical way to go, but that would just make too much sense to happen.

[polwonks]

what about Narveson for long-relief? He looked really good this week- no Choate or Stetter or Cappy...

[OOOverbay]

According to JSONLINE's Brewers Blog, CV is most likely to be sent down. This is ridiculous, and Melvin owes this guy a spot in the rotation since he's been nothing but a class act since he's been up with us. He should have been a starter ever since he's been up, but he never complains. I am going to be P'd off if this is true.

[And That]

Capuano has a torn elbow ligament.

 

He'll miss significant time, to say the least. Possibly another Tommy John surgery in his future.

[RyGuy671]

Just saw the "bad" news on JSOnline's blog. You obviously never want to lose a decent starting pitcher to injury, and I do feel bad for Cappy, especially if he needs another TJ surgery. But we thankfully have plenty of depth with guys who all seem to be pitching better than Cappy the last year. It really couldn't have come at a better time, still in ST.

 

Sheets, Suppan, Bush, Vargas, Parra

 

then

 

Sheets, Yo, Suppan, then who? Probably Bush, Vargas with Parra back to AAA to hold innings down? Either way, it'll probably be the top 3 and Parra/Villy towards the end of the year.

[pogokat]

dang---there's no good way to spin that...now he's not depth and he has no trade value...this is the suckiest possible outcome in regards to capuano...on top of that, a second tj would probably kill his future effectiveness..

 

with that news, i think you've got to keep vargas and bush for the depth...now we've got sheets, suppan, bush, vargas, villy and parra healthy...ad gallardo back shortly...that's depth, but it's not the kind you can trade and cut from...

[jason21nl]

oh man, thats really bad for cappy. I don't care what the means for the Crew right now. Cappy is a really good guy, and this could really hurt his future as a pitcher. I feel bad for the guy.

 

and it makes me sick for people to actually say this good news because it may or may not help the Brewers.

[dlk9s]

Just saw the "bad" news on JSOnline's blog.

It's not "bad" news. It's bad news.

 

[And That]

The aforementioned blog was just updated - Tommy John surgery is now likely for Cappy, probably before Opening Day. Since his last TJ surgery had a recovery time of around 11 months, there's a chance he'd be back for the start of next season.

 

In other news, I think Manny Parra just made the rotation.

[craigharmann]

That totally is bad news. Not only for the Brewers and their pitching depth, but for Cappy who had a bad year last year, and I know I was really pulling for him to have a strong year. From every interview I've seen of him, I like the guy. He's a competitor and I hope he doesn't have to have another TJ surgery. That would not bode well for his future.

[RyGuy671]

Just saw the "bad" news on JSOnline's blog.

It's not "bad" news. It's bad news.

 

 

Yeah, the more I think about it (and especially now that he'll need surgery), it is obviously bad in all aspects. The silver lining is that we still have the depth to make up for it. I feel worse for Cappy than I do for the club, though.

[wOOgiE22]

According to Tom Haudicourt now that Cappy is injured, he feels that the Brewers rotation to open the season will be Sheets, Suppan, Bush, Vargas, and Parra with Villy going to AAA. Sucks for Villy, as he has pitched great this spring. I think he is a better option than Bush, but who knows with Bush he can either pitch a gem or give up 6 runs in an inning.

 

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/03/23/meeting-of-the-minds.aspx

[brewjihad]

I don't even know why I read the comments after JS blog posts, but they are terrible. Saying it's good news... NO. Anytime you lose depth, it's bad. And people get the impression that he was sooo bad last year... he wasn't. He got unlucky. And now this...

 

I hope he has the surgery and comes back strong and tries to make the rotation next year. But, sadly, his career is in trouble with two Tommy Johns.

[logan82]

Wouldn't he need an extra year after the 11 months to build arm strength back up so he is all the way back?

[JohnBriggs12]

What is bad from the team perspective is that they are paying $3.8 million for zero production. They would have been better off non-tendering him as they have plenty of candidates to take his place. I recall getting hammered when I suggested non-tendering him, even though they had enough cheaper replacements already on their roster.

 

Sadly for his many fans, he's likely pitched his last game as a Brewer. Arby rules won't let the Brewer cut his salary more than 20% and it would make little sense for the Brewers to pay $3 million or so to a guy who'll be coming off major arm surgery.