Is there anything missing on Brewers run for the Title?

[Wesrob1]

Just a few questions that popped into my head. Of course, this is under the assumption we are still in the race or have made the playoffs.

1. Who is our speed guy off the bench?
2. Who do you want on the mound if we need to get through 1 last inning to make it into the next round or win it all?(I'm sure this has been brought up somewhere before)
3. What will our bench look like for the postseason?
4. And our bullpen?

Thanks for your input, if you choose to post your answers/opinions.

[Postseason2006]

4. We need a BP upgrade.

[Tbadder]

Marmol

[1992casey]

1. Who is our speed guy off the bench?

 

Probably Counsell. The Brewers don't need one to cover the outfielders, so really, the team is already in good shape.

 

2. Who do you want on the mound if we need to get through 1 last inning to make it into the next round or win it all?

 

That's way up for grabs. It could even be Sheets or Sabathia if circumstances are right.

 

3. What will our bench look like for the postseason?

 

I'd guess it'll be a lot like it is now.

 

4. And our bullpen?

 

It's too soon to tell. Hopefully, there's an acquisition or two along with some questions about some of our current guys being ironed out.

[owbc]

We're not going anywhere without an improved bullpen. It's just way too important and we saw what happened last year.

 

We've been playing well, but I'm not saying anything about our chances until after the Cubs series next week. As far as I'm concerned, the Cubs are still the better team. Their offense is going to wake up sooner or later and they will win 95 games.

 

I would just love to take an 8 game winning streak into Friday's game, however.

[Ennder]

The bullpen is the only real question mark at this point.

 

There are other spots I'd like to see improved but the bullpen is the only real disaster waiting to happen spot.

[eanelson4]

Marmol

 

Yikes. Have you seen him lately?

 

7.36 ERA in June

11.37 ERA to date in July

 

I think I'll pass.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Olney was saying the supply of relievers is plentiful at this point. I'd like to see us go after Sherrill. The want a SS, but it's not like we'd have to part with Escobar.

[Tbadder]

Yeah, you're right. I think I'll change mine to Rausch.

[eanelson4]

Olney was saying the supply of relievers is plentiful at this point. I'd like to see us go after Sherrill. The want a SS, but it's not like we'd have to part with Escobar.

 

After a performance in the all-star game like that, I would bet Sherill has a pretty big price tag for a reliever. Also, I read somewhere (yesterday?) that the Brewers probably aren't willing to put up what it takes to get Sherill, which is fine by me.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be suprised if we were done trading. After seeing what the D-Backs stole Rauch for, we certainly could have beat that trade w/o touching any of our truly good prospects. Maybe we weren't high on Rauch, or the Nats were high on that guy (can't recall his name) they traded for, but I would have to think that we could have had him if we wanted. Thats just the feeling I got after seeing that trade go official yesterday.

[Invader3K]

One solid reliever and we're set, in my opinion.

[DatHoser]

Definitely bullpen help. Picture this: game 7 of the NLCS, the series starts in 2 days, Brewers up 5-4 in the 7th but bases are loaded and one out for Sheets, who is losing it. CC & CV pitched the night before. Who do you go to with confidence?

[jhart05]

What are we missing?

 

How about bandwagons parked around the Milwaukee area picking up fans?

[Chio151]

I have confidence in Carlos V, Riske, Torres, & Shouse

 

I still think Stetter could be very useful going forward.

 

Mota COULD find his way back.

 

Gagne is the enigma. If Gagne turns it around, we'll be fine. If he doesn't, we're short.

 

Best fix, in my mind, would be to simply replace Mota with Stetter for the stretch.

[lukevan]

I'd go with Torres in that situation, no doubt. I don't care if it's not the 9th.

 

I think the Brewers will add one more steady reliever, maybe Fuentes. Even if we encounter an injury to one of our best position players, we have depth at almost every position to soften the blow.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

A couple more wins over the Cards and maybe they drop out of the reliever acquisition market.

[eanelson4]

A couple more wins over the Cards and maybe they drop out of the reliever acquisition market.

 

Wrong. It's only July. If they are 4 games back, that doesn't drop them out of any race for the division (or WC) or the market for a reliever.

 

We need to remember. There is a LOT of baseball to be played yet.

[JohnBriggs12]

Forget Fuentes. The Rockies have been asking for the moon for him. Besides, in that division, who can rule them out of it?

 

I'm not sold that the many secondary relievers that could be had are any better than the guys the Brewers have. Stetter and perhaps even Choate will be up in September to add the lefties. Gagne might blow up every now and then, but 4 of his 5 appearences this month have been stellar. Riske and Villanueva have been solid. With 6 starters, the extra guy gives them cover in long role.

 

No team is going to go from now until October without the bullpen occasionally letting a game go. I think the Brewer pen, especially considering the ability of several starters to go very deep, is enough to win.

 

I think a lot of the "Brewers are a reliever short" stuff is national media stuff over Gagne signing and his early season struggles. While this is not a great bullpen, it's still pretty good and it's been through the wars enough not to let a bad game carry over or a particular situation overwhelm them.

[cwolf2012]

Does anyone have a decent list of who is available? I could probably go through the rosters of every bad team and figure it out, but it's way easier to ask you all to do my work for me.

[JohnBriggs12]

Bullpens are blowing games all over both leagues on a daily basis. There are no Sabathia reliever equivalents out there that are available at any cost. The Brewers right now have a veteran, healthy group. That's more than most teams can say. If a decent guy falls into your lap, fine. But it's not going to make that much difference in all likliehood.

[eanelson4]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/the-lefty-relie.html

 

Since I believe we would be looking for a lefty reliever (right?), this is the list we should probably look at. Breaks down guys who could/should be available. Pretty concise.

[lukevan]

The Rockies may be asking for a lot for Fuentes now but that asking price will come down due to the market being flooded with available relievers. You might get another guy at a cheaper price and the Rockies may decide not to trade him if they don't get the deal they want. Fuentes is mostly just an example of who the Brewers would probably be looking at.

 

I agree, the Brewer bullpen is not that bad. Torres has stabilized the 9th inning and Gagne/Riske/Shouse/Villanueva is a decent combination. Adding CC will ease the pressure on the pen as well. We are much better off than last year at this time. However I don't expect the Brewers to stand pat considering they have already moved most of their chips into the playoff pot if all it will cost is another prospect or two.

[eanelson4]

However I don't expect the Brewers to stand pat considering they have already moved most of their chips into the playoff pot if all it will cost is another prospect or two.

 

Thats what I thought too, but why wouldn't we go after Rauch (a guy who is under control for another year and a half) if all it took was a AAA guy who doesn't project to much in the majors. I think DM might be happy with the bullpen as is.

 

Personally, I think the pen has been pretty solid since Torres moved to the closer role. Our pen isn't nearly as bad as people say it is (media creates a firestorm over it)

 

We are: #1 in NL in Saves

#9 in NL in Bullpen ERA (much of which is probably due to a few guys struggling, but they are getting back on track)

#7 in NL in Bullpen BAA

#15 in NL in IP (pretty fresh arms still)

 

Overall, it looks like our bullpen is middle-of-the-road thusfar, just a tick behind the cubs, yet people say our bullpen is awful. With the veterna arms we have, there is a lot of opportunity for these guys to get it straightened out and there have been signs of this in the last couple of weeks (save for that ugly ARI game). I agree with the logic that if a guy falls in our lap and is too cheap to pass-up, great, but I don't belive we HAVE to go out and get someone to surely be contenders.

[cwolf2012]

Is Stetter really that bad of a LHP that we need to acquire another one? If we get a bullpen arm, just get the best one we can get at a reasonable price. Stetter will not be appreciably worse than several of the LHPs on the market, so why burn prospects to get one?

[And That]

While it is not imperative that the Brewers add another good reliever to the mix, the bullpen is the most obvious place to add talent, and it is undeniable that the team would be more talented with another good reliever. If Melvin gets a good deal, especially for a guy that'll be around after this year, might as well pull the trigger.