Braddock optioned to Nashville, Herrera DFA'd -- Latest: Herrera still on 40-man roster

[JohnBriggs12]

Get him a cot and let him sleep in the bullpen if need be, just wake him up around the 7th inning.

 

Mickey Mantle came to the park regularly with hangovers if not still half in the bag. You didn't see Casey Stengel or Ralph Houk disciplining him.

[owbc]

It's a shame to see lots of ignorance remaining regarding sleep disorders.

 

Of course Braddock could play his whole career without addressing the problem, and if he played in any other era he would probably have been forced to deal with it.

 

But the idea is to maximize Braddock's ability. If he gets the condition under control, he can worry more about pitching and less about sleeping. He can be a better teammate because he will show up on time and not be groggy all the time.

 

As for Mickey Mantle, he had a serious problem with drinking and it should have been dealt with in the same manner:

Mantle spoke with great remorse of his drinking in a 1994 Sports Illustrated cover story. He said that he was telling the same old stories, and realizing how

many of them involved himself and others being drunk - including at

least one drunk-driving accident - he decided they were not funny

anymore. He admitted he had often been cruel and hurtful to family,

friends, and fans because of his alcoholism, and sought to make amends.

That being said, the Braddock demotion does raise some red flags. I suspect that either the condition is more serious than the Brewers are saying, or there are additional problems that the fans are not aware of.

[Pack Attack]

This is a very strange move. They need a healthy Braddock. I think you guys are right, there's more to this than we will probably ever know.

[BoKnowsBall]

Wasn't Braddock diagnosed as bipolar in minors? Or am I getting him confused with someone else? I wonder if that is playing a part in this as well.

[monty57]

Probably not good to speculate when there is obviously information to which we should never be privy. I hope the best for Braddock and hope he can get the issues under control. When he's on, he's certainly a big boost to our bullpen, so I'm sure the Brewers aren't sending him down for no reason.

[Pack Attack]

Wasn't Braddock diagnosed as bipolar in minors? Or am I getting him confused with someone else? I wonder if that is playing a part in this as well.

You are correct.

 

bit.ly/mD4rMX

[Invader3K]

If they are demoting him because of it, I think it's probably a fairly serious situation and Roenicke and company aren't going to comment too much on it (out of respect to Braddock). Suggesting Braddock should just shrug it off or sleep on a cot in the bullpen is pretty condescending to the situation.

 

Hopefully he'll be able to get this sorted out and maybe be back around the All-Star break or so.

[Diggr14]

sounds like Drugs or mental health/anxiety issues to me.

 

 

They probably do know a lot more than they are saying, but due to privacy issues, they can not and should not say anything. These issues are personal. Zach will need more than a demotion to help sort this out, he will definitely need counselling and support if this is the case. I highly doubt it is just "sleep related".

[Kricket755]

If they are demoting him because of it, I think it's probably a fairly serious situation and Roenicke and company aren't going to comment too much on it (out of respect to Braddock). Suggesting Braddock should just shrug it off or sleep on a cot in the bullpen is pretty condescending to the situation.

 

Hopefully he'll be able to get this sorted out and maybe be back around the All-Star break or so.

I would think the Brewers would take the approach of not commenting much. That is why Roenicke's comments about showing up late are interesting. Without giving any more insight into the situation and clarifying that there is a larger issue at hand, it is easy for to take that as Zach being a slacker and the demotion being more disciplinary (especially the casual fan without any other knowledge of the situation). With that said, I didnt see Roenicke make the comments so I dont know the context.

 

I have a brother-in-law with a sleep disorder. Without a lot of knowledge on the issue, I believe is relatively mild, but the effects are very real and noticeable. In the case of my brother-in-law, he struggles driving anytime after 9 without drifting into sleep, and any conversation at night

can be over suddenly if he is sitting (Its not narcolepsy. He's been tested). I am not pretending to Zach's issues he is dealing with, but I hope he is able to find some balance. The travel/schedule of a baseball player is probably not an easy place to deal with an issue like this.

 

[trwi7]

Oh jeez.

 

Roenicke said he wouldn't hesitate to use him should the need arise, and that he didn't necessarily project as just a LOOGY.

"He's got some funk for a right-hander, too, because he's got a screwball," Roenicke said. "The velocity's not going to be real high, 81 to 84, screwball and curveball."

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/124012634.html

[Funketown]

Oh boy.

 

Here are his splits, per Baseball-Reference:

vs. RHB: 226 PA, .362/.420/.533/.953

vs. LHB: 177 PA, .206/.270/.284/.554

 

If that doesn't scream LOOGY I don't know what does. Everything Roenicke says concerns me more.

[Raw Biz]

Oh boy.

 

Here are his splits, per Baseball-Reference:

vs. RHB: 226 PA, .362/.420/.533/.953

vs. LHB: 177 PA, .206/.270/.284/.554

 

If that doesn't scream LOOGY I don't know what does. Everything Roenicke says concerns me more.

That was my immediate thought when I heard him make that statement. So far it seems like Roenicke ignores stats completely and just uses his eyes. He's talked about how McGehee looks better at the plate (despite little XBH, low BA, low OPS, etc.), how Kotsay looks like he can still cover CF (despite all various defensive metrics saying he is useless), how Loe has good movement on his sinker (despite it staying up in the zone giving up a ton of runs and hits), and now how Herrera has a funky pitch (despite the fact that it gets murdered by righties). Somebody should just print off all these stats, shove them in this face, and ask why, despite this evidence, he still does the things he does.

[Paulus88]

He must be doing it on purpose to break Brewerfan because looking at Braddock's numbers and concluding he's a LOOGY and then saying Herrera isn't despite the statistical evidence is beginning to approach Dusty Baker/Joe Morgan territory.

[1992casey]

The sample's small, but give the massive gap between the splits, I'd have to think there's some validity to them.

 

Are there any minor league splits readily available?

[monty57]

Maybe Dusty just didn't like him and made him face Pujols 226 times. That's about the only way a .953 OPS against wouldn't be a big sign saying "Don't use against RH hitters."

[rluzinski]

The guy tops out at 84 MPH. I shouldn't be had to figure out his odds are bad when the batter has a platoon advantage.

[RockCoCougars]

This guy looks like a 'mini-me' Mike Myers. Please make him go away.

[cwolf2012]

"Roenicke said he wouldn't hesitate to use him should the need arise, and that he didn't necessarily project as just a LOOGY.

 

"He's got some funk for a right-hander, too, because he's got a screwball," Roenicke said. "The velocity's not going to be real high, 81 to 84, screwball and curveball.""

 

This guy is not a LOOGY, but Braddock is? Are you freaking kidding me? Just how unaware is RRR?

[geddymd73]

A sleep disorder isn't going to cause you to show up late. The alarm clock will still wake you up. You might be too tired and wiped out to pitch but it's not an excuse for being late. Sounds like it's more than likely mental health issues that can more easily be worked out in the minors where there is less pressure. I'm just speculating here but why else would someone not get themselves to the ballpark on time even if it's just to show they can't play. He's a great pitcher but if he's only available once or twice a week we can't afford to keep him on the roster until he works through things. Put him in the minors where he has less pressure and can hopefully work through whatever it he has to work through. Hopefully we see him back later in the year.

I agree. With a sleep disorder, you generally wake up several times a night, and are often easily startled or awoken. It shouldn't make you late. Its not like he's waking up at 6-7am and getting to a job at 8am late like the rest of society. Millions of people have this to some degree. I even think I do to some extent. A little more discipline and keeping to a schedule is what he needs. I am sure that he was warned on several occasions, went over the limit, and then they had to sit him down and tell him that "we can't have this".

[jeffy]

Everyone seems to have their own idea as to what his sleep disorder is, mostly these seem to be based on projecting whatever their own sleeping issues have been.

 

Now I will do the same http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif...

 

I thought I had heard Bill Schroeder talking about Braddock's problem in a way that made me think that he has trouble getting enough sleep because he is thinking about things too much. This is a problem I have, I'll be going over and over something in my mind and not be able to fall asleep. Then sometimes I'll start stressing over the very issue of not being able to sleep...it's 2 am and I am still awake, I have to get up in 3-1/2 hours...

[jackalope02ca]

If a player has an issue on getting there on time he gets a teammate to pick him up or someone else or gets someone from the team to call him that's it's time to get in a cab and get over to the ballpark if he can't drive. There is obviously a lot more to this story than the general public is aware of. I wish him the best and hopes he gets his life straightened out. In todays day and age a sleep disorder is not an excuse for being late. He's a professional. If anyone of us shows up late every day for work eventually we'd get fired. So you make adjustments or put in place a system that gets done what needs to get done. He was optioned to the minors and not put on the DL so there has to be more to this story or the players union would be all over it.

[hawing]

This sheds a little more light on the roster move (excerpt follows):

 

 

Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said Zach

Braddock's disciplinary demotion to Triple-A Nashville would end as soon

as the pitcher "is able to demonstrate that he is able to follow the

requirements" of a Major League reliever.

 

 

In a surprise move late Wednesday, the team optioned Braddock to the

Minors and recalled another lefty, Daniel Ray Herrera, who arrived at

Wrigley Field about 90 minutes before the Brewers and Cubs finished

their four-game series.

 

 

Braddock, who was about 10 days removed from a stint on the disabled

list for a sleep disorder, had been tardy on a number of occasions,

manager Ron Roenicke said.

At least, it establishes that discipline is involved. How related it is to Zach's sleep disorder and/or other disorders is unknown (and possibly should remain as such to fans).

 

 

[Raw Biz]

I'm guessing it's mostly disciplinary as it says so in the first sentence. Now I'm just wondering if it's actually sleep-related or something else.

[fondybrewfan]

Jeesh this guy is really bad. Couldn't they have waited to send Braddock down until after they face the Red Sox?

[RockCoCougars]

I'd rather have a 50 something Jesse Orosco than this Herrera character. I'm not sure what Braddock has been up to, but it hasn't really seemed to affect his performance on the field. I hope that this doesn't turn into a case of the team cutting off their nose to spite the face.