when was the last time we were so handcuffed by injuries?

[djoctagone]

i'm trying to remember the last time the brewers were severely handcuffed by injuries . . .

 

having randy wolf pinch hit today with the game on the line was a huge wake-up call . . . and thankfully, it prompted the brewers to disable gerut and return stern.

 

the only instance i can think of is the final days of the 2008 season . . . sheets and kapler went down. we'd lost another pitcher (parra?) as well. and then we lost weeks. were there others unavailable?

 

i consider this a severe handcuffing for a number of reasons:

 

1. when we needed an outfielder, the only outfielder on the 40-man (cain) was out with an injury and we gave up our 40th spot to stern.

2. when we needed a catcher, the only catcher on the 40-man (salome) was out with personal issues and we lost even more roster flexibility by purchasing lucroy's contract.

3. when we moved riske and gamel to the 60-day disabled list, they both had already started their minor league rehab assignments . . . meaning their tenures off the 40-man roster will be short-lived.

4. while not directly related to injuries, we've been playing with one less position player than what we're used to.

5. when playing at target field, we were unable to rest fielder by allowing him to dh.

 

again, aside from the end of 2008, i can't recall any other time the brewers have been at less than full strength. memories, anybody?

[dadofandrew]

Very minor issues thus far. They had 14 pitchers once for a few days when Sheets had to miss a start. These things happen when you have the big picture in mind, options, 40 man spots, and so on.

 

They weren't in any trouble late in '08, they had 37 guys up.

[JohnBriggs12]

Injuries aren't handcuffing them. Bad roster moves are. It's one thing to have 1 pitcher that only pitches in mopup situations. The Brewers have 2 and for a few games, they had 3.

 

They also haven't had a righthanded bat on their bench all year. That wasn't so bad when they were rotating Edmonds between CF and RF, but now with Gomez healthy and Hart hitting, they start virtually every game with a short and completely lefthanded bench.

 

They need to fix things by dropping at least one pitcher. They should either deal for a RH bat or roll the dice and bring up Heether. Sure Heether's numbers aren't impressive, but he's on the 40 man, hits right handed and isn't a catcher.

[owbc]

I think the injuries have actually helped. I like this team much better with Estrada, Lucroy, Axford, and Braddock than I did with Davis, Zaun, Stetter, and Hawkins. The outfield situation is concerning, though.

 

This is a wild theory, but it seems like we had too many slow-throwing pitchers on the roster. I think opposing offenses were getting used to 3 days of 85-90 mph pitches from almost everyone on the Brewers staff. They were basically getting acquainted to only seeing slow pitches. Better to have a mix of slow and hard throwers on the staff to keep the opposing team off balance.

[RockCoCougars]

These injuries really aren't too bad. No one of substance is out, except for maybe Gamel. Actually guys like Hawkins and Davis being injured might be a plus, and the injuries to Edmonds, Gerut, Zaun, etc. aren't really a big deal. Does anyone want to see Riske come off the D.L.? I didn't think so. As I see it right now, the only problem with these injuries is that there is no room on the D.L. right now to stash Soup away if he happens to get 'hurt' when the Capuano deadline comes.

 

This is nothing. If you want to talk handcuffed by injuries, there was about an 9 year period from 1983-1991 where the team was definitely handcuffed by injuries.

[greendaler]

I don't want Gallardo to be our right-handed pinch-hitting option off the bench-as he was Tuesday night.

[djoctagone]

is the current situation worse?

 

we're still without hart and edmonds, and had been without braddock. given a thirteen-man pitching staff (fourteen if you count inglett), we're thinner than the olsen twins.

 

thank goodness tomorrow is an off day.

[FVBrewerFan]

I would say the Brewers are less affected by injuries this year than the average in MLB. When i look at injuries, I look at big names first. KNOCK ON WOOD, but Fielder, Braun, Gallardo, Wolf, Weeks, Hart, Escobar, et.c haven't had any significant injuries. And no, I don't think what Gallardo went through or Hart IS going through are significant injuries.

 

Basically, they're entire rotation has been health, with the exception of Davis...no loss anyhow. They've had a couple injuries i nthe bully, but every team goes through that. Nobody in the entire line-up other than Zaun is out for the season- and the Zaun injury has been a blessing.

 

Honestly, I don't want to sound condescending...but sometimes as fans we always think our team has the most injuries, get all the bad calls...etc.

[DHonks]

What is shocking is their poor usage of the DL over the last 2-3 years. It always seems that when we wait for someone to get over a bruise or strain, it takes 7-10 days. At that point, why not use the DL? Seriously, this team has only Braun and Gomez as outfielders that can play. Last night we utilized two infielders in the outfield! If Macha would also let relievers (not named Axford) throw two innings, he wouldn't burn through 3-5 of them per game.

[logan82]

Couldn't DL Hart. Can't trade players on the DL.

[DHonks]

logan, you can! They're just known as a PTBNL

[greeg35]

I'm surprised how many of me didn't know that (or about trading recent draft picks the same way) until this week...

[logan82]

logan, you can! They're just known as a PTBNL

Forgot about that.

 

PTBNL for top prospects