McClung, DiFelice and Rivera non-tendered

[Invader3K]

He becomes a free agent, per Adam McCalvy.

[trwi7]

Seth classy all the way.

[jwill535]

Hate to see "Not Todd Coffey" go, but to be honest he is just a guy in baseball terms.

[Invader3K]

Heh, I notice one person specifically he did not thank in that Tweet.

 

I liked him, but they had to clear some salary room, so the decision is understandable. I hope he gets to be an integral part of some other team's bullpen (hopefully not in the NL Central).

[DuWayne Steurer]

He's expendable at this point. It's cool that he had nice things to say about the org, city, and fans, but it looks like the bullpen is pretty well set at this point.

[Vgmastr]

I'll never forget that Friday night game against the Cubs the last weekend of the season in 2008. We're tied with the Mets for the Wild Card, game tied at 1 after five, and McClung comes in and pitches four scoreless, picking up the win and a game on the Mets. Definitely my favorite McClung memory.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'll never forget that Friday night game against the Cubs the last weekend of the season in 2008. We're tied with the Mets for the Wild Card, game tied at 1 after five, and McClung comes in and pitches four scoreless, picking up the win and a game on the Mets. Definitely my favorite McClung memory.

We had a bonfire in our back yard that night and listened to the game. When Weeks hit the three run bomb I ran a lap around the entire house yelling "WE'RE GOING TO THE *expletive* PLAYOFFS!!!" over and over.

[hawing]

Through the 9th inning of that Friday game with the Cubs in September 2008, I was standing in the living room clapping, and when Seth finally got the third out I jumped and screamed and sent our cats running.

That, and the game in May or June 2008 that featured McClung vs. Randy Johnson - and not only did the Brewers win, but Seth got his first two MLB hits off Randy Johnson (albeit the 2008 Randy Johnson) - are my favorite McClung memories. Thanks, Seth.

[kramnoj]

I've probably mentioned it here before, but Trenni and Drew on the DList said that nobody enjoyed being a big leaguer and a Brewer more than McClung.

 

If he doesn't get a gig elsewhere, I'd love to see him come back on a minor league invite.

[giffted1]

No matter where McClung goes from here, he'll always be one of the heroes of that 2008 team. He had his bouts of wildness at times, but that performance against the Cubs was huge. I hope he does well wherever he ends up and would love to see him back in Milwaukee.

 

Thanks for the hard work, the classy comments, and the memories, Seth.

[twobrewers]

Too bad his numbers weren't a little better.

 

His persona would have been a perfect fit as a closer in Milwaukee.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Seth McClung...you will be missed you big lug. I just loved how that guy embraced being a Brewer. I would love to have him back for some depth, but my guess is Macha wasn't a big fan. He'll always be a true Milwaukee cult hero. I'm sure he'll make a great Brewerfan.net interview some day.

[hawing]

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/2008/11/26/sP7r2T7S.jpg

[sargennm]

I'm calling my shot right now. He'll replace Bill Schroeder on Brewers broadcast in 10 years.

[AJAY]

I am really going to miss Seth McClung. He seemed like an absolutely awesome person and I know he loved being a Brewer. He always had very kind things to say about the fans, the city, and the organization. I loved how he would use twitter to interact with fans.

 

My favorite memory will always be of him jumping up and down in the bullpen after Ryan Braun hit the magical homerun that helped us win the wild card. I have seen that clip a million times and it never gets old. I will also never forget how he pitched four dominant innings and struck out a bunch of Cubs when it came down to crunch time during the final weekend of 2008. It was awesome the way he got such an electric standing ovation.

 

I wish him nothing but the best in the future.

[Tbadder]

I never get sick of total class. Best of luck seth and a long and happy life.

[TooLiveBrew]

Heh, I notice one person specifically he did not thank in that Tweet.

 

Hah, nice catch, Invader. He even made sure to mention his previous manager. If Macha seemed like a better manager, I guess his apparent lack of rapport with some/many players wouldn't bother me as much.

 

Thanks to big Seth... I still wish we could've seen you launch a pitch a country mile into the Dew Deck, but as others have mentioned your contributions in that magical '08 season will not be soon forgotten. Good luck to you, Not-Coffey http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[HiAndTight]

I've probably mentioned it here before, but Trenni and Drew on the DList said that nobody enjoyed being a big leaguer and a Brewer more than McClung.

 

If he doesn't get a gig elsewhere, I'd love to see him come back on a minor league invite.

 

You know, for all us grunts out there in the middle class working 40 hour weeks, guys like this are a whole helluva lot easier to follow than some players who can't feed their families on 21 million over 3 years. Just for an example.

 

It makes me feel better that he's not only such a good guy, but that pitchers who throw in the mid 90's with a bugs bunny type curve, regardless of how inconsistent it may be, will get chances with other teams.

[saget]

That sucks. I always loved McClung. It's too bad he had a down year; I don't see why he can't bounce back and put up 2008 numbers again next year. I'll miss him.

[Oldcity]

I didn't like him much as a pitcher, but he was a likable guy. Aside from that game he finished against the Cubs, another fun memory is him jumping around like a little kid in the bullpen when Braun hit his homer in that last game.

[JJHardy7]

I got the chance to talk to Seth a few times and he's a great guy. I was always rooting for him after I saw how intense he was warming up in AAA. The guy really loves baseball and like others have said loved being a Brewer. I wish things would've worked out a little bit better in Milwaukee, but there seemed to be some tension with him (one of many players I think) and Macha. I wish him nothing but the best with his next organization. It's a lot easier to root for a guy (even when things go bad) when you know the player cares not only about his job, but also about the team, city, fans, etc.

[Ennder]

We should have never tried him as a starter after the success he had shown as a RP. Just one of the many problems that came from our lack of depth at SP last year. A lack of depth we still have unfortunately. We need to at least sign some AAA arms if not another major league arm with Parra starting in AAA.

[EbbaStClaire]

I also loved McClung. In my view his development as a pitcher was mishandled by the Brewers once Maddox left. If it would have been up to me McClung would have been developed as a starter. Maddox got him to throw an 88 mph sinker with great movement in addition to his 95 mph fastball and his curve. What McClung needed was innings to develope his control. If the Brewers would have groomed him as a starter last spring he would have had a chance to be a more effective pitcher instead of one with erratic control. The philosophy that a relief pitcher who pitches one inning ever so often can come into a game as an emergency starter seems ludicrous to me. The idea should be that out of spring traininng somebody like McClung should be able to throw 75-80 pitches. Then he can do either short relief, long relief or start.

Keeep his arm strong and pitch him more frequently to improve his control. Basically the same thing is happening to Villy. The Brewers can't decide what to do with him either but in his case fastball control seems to be the big issue.

[yount19.u]

We should have never tried him as a starter after the success he had shown as a RP.

 

These are my thoughts exactly. I know McClung wanted to start, but he pitched so well at then end of '08 and start of '09 as a set up man the Brewers should have just left well enough alone. As a reliever, his velocity was up and he was able to be more aggressive with his fastball. When they started him, or used him as just a long reliever, he became much more hittable since he had to tone it down in order to not run out of gas too soon, and his fastball has little movement. He lost that bulldog mentality on the mound and was visibly tired from being overused. I'm surprised the Brewers weren't able to get anything for him in a trade.

[Invader3K]

I agree trying him as a starter was a mistake. I don't blame Macha for that, as he was basically up against the wall with no other viable options. If they had just left him alone in the bullpen, I think he would have had a more successful season.