CV to start on Tuesday

[hawing]

Considering that Carlos was left in for his longest stint in over a year, probably without being optimally stretched out, I thought he did all right. Put differently, after observing Monday's game, I imagined an outing even worse than he turned in.

[clancyphile]

Can't say I was, either - Dillard probably should have gotten the start - he did slightly better - and might have been able to keep it close.

 

The rotation is falling apart. Aside from Gallardo, the cupboard's almost bare unless you count Dillard and Cody as back-enders.

[brains and braun]

I agree with hawing that I didn't think CV did that badly. Based purely on anecdotal evidence, I think he pitched better than the outcome suggested. Although, that ball Adam Dunn hit may still be in orbit. I wouldn't mind seeing him go again as opposed to some of our other options. Maybe it will help him find somewhat of a groove.

[Invader3K]

Saw this stat from Haudricourt: "In 6 of the last 8 games, the Brewers pitching staff has given up 8 runs or more."

 

Yeah, not really keeping us in games.

[Diskono]

Villanueva hasn't pitched more than 3 innings in a long time, so it isn't surprising that he got hit hard in his 4th inning. Dillard has shown that he can be very good in middle relief, and very bad in a starting role, so I'm not surprised that he didn't do well in extended innings. Next time through the rotation, Villanueva should be able to pitch a little deeper into the game, which is good - now we might need both of them to start.

[Invader3K]

Gallardo, Looper, Parra, Villanueva, Dillard.

 

Not exactly a championship caliber rotation if I ever saw one.

[Ennder]

I was screaming at the TV telling them to take him out after 3. It was just so predictable that he would struggle in the 4th given how stretched out he was. As for CV, I don't think he'll ever be a good starter. The combination of flyball pitcher and walks too many just isn't a good recipe.

[fondybrewfan]

Gallardo, Looper, Parra, Villanueva, Dillard.

 

Not exactly a championship caliber rotation if I ever saw one.

We might as well just bring up some of our A-Ballers at this point. Wow that is terrible.

[Invader3K]

Well, the thing is that Villanueva has proven himself to usually be reliable out of the bullpen...so having him be a starter just weakens an already taxed bullpen even further.

[sheethead]

Considering that Carlos was left in for his longest stint in over a year, probably without being optimally stretched out, I thought he did all right. Put differently, after observing Monday's game, I imagined an outing even worse than he turned in.

Five earned runs in four innings is terrible, no matter how its sliced and diced. But yeah, I was imagining worse. Woe is Brewer fans, woe.

[RU Rah Rah]

I was screaming at the TV telling them to take him out after 3. It was just so predictable that he would struggle in the 4th given how stretched out he was. Yeah

Yeah, the adherence to conventional wisdom (the starter must stay in until he gets shelled) frustrates me in this context, too. I think trying to go something like 3-3-3 with some combination of Villy, Dillard, etc., might actually work out pretty well, but it will never happen.

[sheethead]

A guy sitting behind me asked why Dillard was batting in the 7th. I told him it was because he hadn't given up 3 runs yet. I am definitely on the same page with Macha, but too bad its a sarcastic page in a Garfield novel.

[silversurferr]

Villaneuva is a barely average pitcher at best. The answer is not Villy or Dilly; the answer is how do we get some arms? Both in the bullpen and the starting rotation. Suppan, Villy, Dilly, Smith, Burns......these are the types we suffered through in the 90's!!!!!!!! Hoffman has been great, but he makes me extremely nervous with the strikout- walk- laser-beam out-pattern. He is not a closer for a contending team. Make a trade or pack it in for the year and make a trade this winter. Hardy and Hart must go for pitching, ASAP.

[JJHardy7]

CV didn't do all that bad before his pitch count got high, but again he shouldn't have started IMO without being stretched out. I hope we at least leave him in the rotation for a few starts and let his arm build up a bit. I will be pretty upset if he's moved to the pen now so Dillard or someone else from AAA starts. The way the pitching is going I don't see any harm in letting him get a few more starts. I'm not a huge CV fan as a starter, but it's not really fair to him or the Brewers for that matter to put him in the situation he was in last night especially if he's one and done.

[joepepsi]

I'm worried this is going to force Melvin to overpay for some average-ish innings muncher.

[Diskono]

I'm worried this is going to force Melvin to overpay for some average-ish innings muncher.

and hoping for another Doug Davis-type nugget mining.

 

edit: by that, of course, I mean 2003 scrap-heaper-turned-ace Doug Davis.

[Ennder]

At this point I'd rather see them trade Hardy or Hart for some pitching prospects than pick up some mediocre guy.

[joepepsi]

Hart should still be relatively cheap next year. He's at least treading water and is not a bad 6 or 7 hitter. Hardy is going to be to expensive to justify keeping, especially with Escobar. Hopefully there's a big market contender who can tolerate the inconsistent bat, with the hope he bounces back for a big year in 2010.

[Invader3K]

Got a tweet from McCalvy that Villy will get at least one more start. Joy.

[Brawndo the Thirst Mutilat]

Hart should still be relatively cheap next year. He's at least treading water and is not a bad 6 or 7 hitter. Hardy is going to be to expensive to justify keeping, especially with Escobar. Hopefully there's a big market contender who can tolerate the inconsistent bat, with the hope he bounces back for a big year in 2010.

I bet the difference between Hardy and Hart salary-wise next year isn't very much. Based on what they signed for this year to avoid arbitration, and the fact that neither one of them is going to have the kind of year statistically that earns an unusually large raise, you're probably looking at about $6-6.5 mil for Hardy and $5-5.5 mil for Hart.

 

Escobar does make Hardy easier to move, but Hardy's defense at a difficult position makes him much more likely than Hart to substantially outperform his cost.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't think the slams on Villa's last outing are completely fair. This is a guy that worked as a one or two inning RP, and wasn't stretched out at all. He pitched three great innings, and as he neared or passed his projected pitch count for the day, he ran out of gas & got hit. I think it's also fair to include that he had success facing the lineup in just the first go-round, but I will definitely wait to be really critical. I thought he was fantastic for the innings in which he should have been expected to step up.

[craigharmann]

I don't think the slams on Villa's last outing are completely fair. This is a guy that worked as a one or two inning RP, and wasn't stretched out at all. He pitched three great innings, and as he neared or passed his projected pitch count for the day, he ran out of gas & got hit. I think it's also fair to include that he had success facing the lineup in just the first go-round, but I will definitely wait to be really critical. I thought he was fantastic for the innings in which he should have been expected to step up.

I think that's the point. He was put in a no-win situation, and that's what happened. There is no way that you can take a guy who isn't stretched out, and expect him to do great things! They should have said right off the bat, he's going X amount of pitches, or X amount of innings, then the next guy comes in. Or let Dillard, who is already stretched out, start and have Villy piggyback with him.

[TooLiveBrew]

The Brewers said prior to his start he would have a pitch count of 60 pitches. He left the game at 67 pitches, and entered the 4th inning at 46. It seems the second turn through the order was not a great idea, and perhaps setting a pitch count of 60 was too greedy for a reliever whose previous high was 56 over 3 innings (7/20 @ PIT).