Melvin: McClung May Get A Start

[RU Rah Rah]

Not a totally insane concept -- he has started previously (as mentioned above).

 

He did start, sort of like how Braun played 3b.

 

I agree to leave him where he is having success.

(Laughs.) I hear you.

 

[Mr QL]

Eh, why not. Not like anyone we throw out there will be better. May as well experiment until something works.

 

Shouse needs to start.

[And That]

Melvin: McClung May Get A Start

 

You know, after getting home from a long day of whatsis, I do not want to have one of the first things I read on the internet make me throw up.

 

Blast you, Doug Melvin.

[GAME05]

there are so few guys on this team doing well, i just don't know about changing one of those guys' roles. i'd be more in favour of moving around a poor performer and hoping he succeeds in the new role.

[Ennder]

There is a good pitcher in McClung somewhere, that doesn't mean he'll actually become a good pitcher though. I wouldn't point at any innings spent on those tampa bay teams as proving anything though, every pitcher for those teams was miserable because the offense and defense were both miserable.

[Fatter than Joey]

I wouldn't point at any innings spent on those tampa bay teams as proving anything though, every pitcher for those teams was miserable because the offense and defense were both miserable.

 

False. Every pitcher was not miserable.

 

Scott Kazmir was able to post some pretty decent/acceptable seasons, as were pitchers like Shields, Hendrickson, Corcoran, Victor Zambrano, Rob Bell.

 

McClung has consistently walked ~6 dudes per 9 IP. Even last year in AAA, he walked over 6 guys per 9. It seems to me, that he has done well enough pitching garbage innings for the Brewers. Given that our rotation is definitely going to have some more 5/6 inning starts, it would seem to me our BP is going to log a lot of innings, and I'd rather have McClung soak up the less meaningful ones.

[JJHardy7]

I wouldn't point at any innings spent on those tampa bay teams as proving anything though, every pitcher for those teams was miserable because the offense and defense were both miserable.

 

That's fair enough. I'm just a little anxious to see how he pitches with more work and hopefully that's out of the bullpen. I know I've stated this on this site a few times, but the 2nd half of last year McClung was starting to feel healthy for the first time since the tommy john surgery. It's not always the physical part, but also the fact that you're one pitch away from having to go through the rehab part. There's a ton of mental issues involved in it too. Some guys make it back from that and some don't.

[Thurston Fluff]

I think the Brewers are in the auditioning stage right now. We may see several pitcehrs get one or two chances to show what they have until someone shows they can handle the job. I guess it makes some amount of sense to put the long man in the audition.

[Fatter than Joey]

I guess it makes some amount of sense to put the long man in the audition.

 

I disagree. If you start McClung and he goes 4 IP, who comes in?

 

I'd rather see if Parra and Villy can improve, and Bush is much better than McClung.

[Ennder]

They need to just stick with Parra and CV, these are young guys and they are going to have growing pains. Almost all young pitchers struggle exactly the way they are right now and we need these guys to get that experience and turn into pitchers and not just throwers.

[JohnBriggs12]

They need to just stick with Parra and CV, these are young guys and they are going to have growing pains. Almost all young pitchers struggle exactly the way they are right now and we need these guys to get that experience and turn into pitchers and not just throwers.

 

Ender, what makes you think it's not Bush who would just trade places with McClung?

 

I tend to agree with you about Villanueva and Parra. Parra should gain confidence out of his outing last night. We know Villanueva's capable of good games. We've seen him do it. Both these guys need a confidence boost and some run support to get their heads on straight.

 

McClung is a horse. He threw 72 pitches against Cubs. I have no doubt he could go 90-95 pitches. If he had decent control, he should get 5 to 6 decent innings. It's certainly worth a try .

 

By the way, is starting McClung any different than what the Cardinals have done with Wellemeyer? Wellemeyer was always one of those hard throwing relievers who never quite got his act together. Now he's making one quality start after another. Not to mention are there two guys more similar physically than Wellemeyer and McClung? How they chose baseball over football is beyond me.

[Ennder]

Swapping McClung and Bush could work, somehow I doubt it would be a huge difference one way or the other but you never know. I just don't want them to mess with CV and Parra because they aren't pitching like experienced guys. You have to expect some pitch count issues with those guys and some inconsistency. That is what the majority of young guys start out like. We kind of got spoiled by Gallardo since he was such a natural poised young pitcher.

[DrWood]

I wouldn't point at any innings spent on those tampa bay teams as proving anything though, every pitcher for those teams was miserable because the offense and defense were both miserable.

 

False. Every pitcher was not miserable.

 

Scott Kazmir was able to post some pretty decent/acceptable seasons, as were pitchers like Shields, Hendrickson, Corcoran, Victor Zambrano, Rob Bell.

 

McClung has consistently walked ~6 dudes per 9 IP. Even last year in AAA, he walked over 6 guys per 9. It seems to me, that he has done well enough pitching garbage innings for the Brewers. Given that our rotation is definitely going to have some more 5/6 inning starts, it would seem to me our BP is going to log a lot of innings, and I'd rather have McClung soak up the less meaningful ones.

 

McClung both struck out and walked many fewer batters as a starter than as a reliever.

[jazzytrav]

I wouldn't mind swapping McClung and Bush just to give it a try. But I agree that it shouldn't come at the expense of Parra or Villy. I know previously I had hoped that Parra would see some time in AAA yet this year to figure some things out, but hopefully he turned a corner last night with a semi-decent outing.

 

For some reason, Bush just can't get stretched out enough to be successful after 5 or 6 innings. I would trust him more as a reliever than McClung, so maybe he'll be a good guy to have in the pen while Parra and Villy figure things out and sometimes have early high pitch counts.

[logan82]

Parra at some point needs to go to the pen or AAA to cut down on his innings. I think he can improve and want him ready at the end of the year.