Stetter optioned to Nashville

[danzig6767]

ClosetBrewerFan]I'm shocked by all the complaints on this. We had three lefties in the bullpen, now we are down to two. This isn't about performance, its about who has options left. Stetter has one left, Parra/Narveson do not. Unfortunately, that is part of the game. If its between Stetter and CV going down, I think Melvin made the right choice.

Fair or not, people simply hate Suppan. The wolves will only back off if Suppan isn't a trainwreck on the mound. If he gets lit up on a regular basis, it's inevitable that large numbers of fans will be irate until Suppan is either let go or put into the garbage man role in the bullpen.

 

Plus, i think some are skeptical as to whether a guy like Parra would be effective in the loogy role. Last year lefties hit .287 off Parra with a 1.75 WHIP, that might have something to do with his over the top motion and lack of great slider or curve that makes it very rough on left handed hitters. On the flip side, lefties hit .178 off Stetter last season.

[Schlitz001]

I suppose if Stetter has 2 options left, then this is the correct decision at this point. Most of the outrage is not so much for the Stetter vs. Villy decision, but the fact that this decision even has to be made at this point. It still feels like we are wasting options and disrupting the balance of the bullpen in order to open up a spot for a struggling Suppan. I really hope he pitches well tomorrow and Parra/Narveson fit in well into the LOOGY role.

[logan82]

So we send down our LOOGY so that we can use either Parra or Narveson as a LOOGY when we should be keeping them stretched out in case we need them to start. Instead we keep Villanueva who can go multiple innings a role that could easily be capably filled by either Parra or Narveson. I kind of get the feeling Macha doesn't really like Parra and he is only on the roster because Melvin doesn't want to lose him.

[Mr QL]

I don't really see why Claudio Vargas is on this team. Maybe they'll bring Stetter back once Vargas inevitably goes to the DL or gets DFA'd.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Mark my words -

 

Suppan is going to pitch 6-7 innings tomorrow and throw very well, saving us from the sweep and giving everyone false hope. He will then do a Ruben Quevedo impression in his next five starts, but tomorrow's start will buy him about three months from Ken Macha.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ken Macha sucks. This is the second line of my post, just so it technically isn't a one-liner.

[Invader3K]

Suppan is going to pitch 6-7 innings tomorrow and throw very well, saving us from the sweep and giving everyone false hope.

I'm almost thinking something like this happens, just for the sheer irony. Then maybe the fanbase will turn their collective wrath to Doug Davis for a while until Suppan reverts to his previous form.

[Tbadder]

As was correctly pointed out we never should have gotten this far. This is a domino that has fallen because of a domino that tipped over long ago--commitments to older pitchers who are at best mediocre.

 

Macha does suck. In fact he's probably giving sucking a bad name. The manager's first job is to give his team the best chance to win, and he steadfastly refuses to do this. What we should be hearing from Macha is the hew and cry of a manager forced to use players he knows aren't as good as others at his disposal. It should be in the paper; it should be a public feud with Melvin and Mark.

[joepepsi]

I like Stetter, but LOOGYs are overrated. The fact is, they face righties more often than lefties. The secret is to have good starting pitching and an offense that give you a 3 run cushion going into the late innings. Granted it didn't work yesterday, but it will work 80% of the time.

[sheethead]

Granted it didn't work yesterday, but it will work 80% of the time.

 

If you only win 80% of the games where you have a 3 run lead going into the 8th inning, you aren't going to have a very good record at the end of the year.

[joepepsi]

Well, I was including the 7th as a late inning (good starting pitching should get you 6 innings). the w/l record depends on how many games you get a 3 run lead....

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't know if Lee was unavailable, but I heard on the radio that the Cubs trainer didn't want Lee taking batting practice or doing any team drills at all today. So, there is at least a chance that he would have been unavailable.

They showed him in sitting in the dugout with a bat in his hands, but that could have just been a fake out by Piniella. I did hear Drew Olson speculate that he was available and may have been taking swings in the underground batting cage, though.

Lee is supposed to be in the lineup today. I have no doubt whatsoever that Piniella would have used him in that spot no matter what the trainer said. Again though Hawkins did not make a bad pitch to Fukudome. If I were to question anything, it was the positioning of the infielders. Weeks was shaded up the middle and Fukudome hit a routine grounder within reach of the standard 2nd base position.

[CheezWizHed]

Somehow, this just screams temporary move to me. Its almost like there is a bigger move on the horizon that maybe one of a couple options. And moving Stetter to the AAA club is just a way of letting them figuring out which next move to make. But that is just a gut feeling.

 

So between the options of Stetter and Villanueva to send to AAA, its a toss-up to me. But I think Stetter has better long term potential.

[jazzytrav]

But the move that wasn't made that should have, was to bring in Hoffman to face Theriot the batter before. If I'm paying a closer what they are paying Hoffman, that guy needs to be able to once and a while get 4 outs instead of 3.

Are you crazy? Closers pitch the 9th inning only! There doesn't need to be any logic behind it...that's just the way it is!

[MJLiverock]

Mark my words -

 

Suppan is going to pitch 6-7 innings tomorrow and throw very well, saving us from the sweep and giving everyone false hope. He will then do a Ruben Quevedo impression in his next five starts, but tomorrow's start will buy him about three months from Ken Macha.

I thought of this scenario as well, Suppan pitching well through some magical combination of stiff breeze blowing in and hung over cubs or something and then Macha/Melvin using it as justification to watch him get lit up for the next 10 starts before giving up. I imagine the press conferences where the two of them remind everyone of those 6 solid innings he threw in April and depite 30 or 40 wreteched innings since he is real close and just needs a chance to regain his form.

 

 

[Postseason2006]

So much for Suppan giving up two runs.

[monty57]

I don't have a problem with this decision, since it is between Villy and Stetter, and the Brewers had three lefties in the pen, which would force the righties in the pen to pitch way too much. The problem starts with Suppan in the starting rotation over Parra/Narveson, giving us three lefties in the pen to begin with. It then extends to Macha using Narveson as his LOOGY, and never using Stetter or Parra. Once you get past this, it's easy to see why sending the lefty with options down over the righty with options makes sense.

 

When either Suppan is finally shown the door, or when someone gets injured, we are going to find ourselves in the position of not having anyone to fill in, as Narveson will never pitch more than an inning, and Parra will pitch around one two-inning outing every two weeks. We'll end up putting Narveson in the rotation (I agree with Logan that Macha has something against Parra) and he'll be on a 3-4 inning limit for several starts, destroying our bullpen and forcing us to lose several more games than we should (above and beyond the extra games we'll lose because Suppan was named the #5 starter). Boy, if only someone could have seen this coming :-(

[TheCrew07]

I'm not upset about Stetter getting optioned to Nashville, 3 lefties in the pen was excessive.

 

However this is upsetting me greatly.

 

edit. fixed link sorry.

[JoeHova]

Link seems to lead to the "post a reply" yuku page. What happened that is upsetting?

[Flood Pants]

It's hard to justify sending down this year's version of Carlos Villanuava. He's been lights-out all spring and now to start the season, including a stellar "stop the bleeding" performance today. Stetter will be back as soon as a roster spot opens, I wouldn't worry too much.

[monty57]

What are you worried about TheCrew? At that rate, Parra will see 36 innings this year. Don't be greedy :-)

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm not upset about Stetter getting optioned to Nashville, 3 lefties in the pen was excessive.

 

However this is upsetting me greatly.

 

edit. fixed link sorry.

Ken Macha: prospect killer

[dragoon84]

I hate the idea of Suppan wasting any of our young pitchers' time. I'd rather watch Narveson or Parra struggle than watch a slow throwing veteran at the end of his rope, post a sure 5.00 ERA every fifth day. We've seen this before, he has a few good starts, but then a chain of blow ups and boos.

 

But, I'm not sure if letting Suppan go would be the best for our money situation IE resigning Fielder. Would there be any penalties for the outright releasing of Suppan?