Brewers 40-man roster

[bjkrautk]

I think keeping Ishikawa to start the year is a way to give Gamel a day off about once a week. The organization feels (for reasons I'd only be speculating on) that Mat needs to be protected a bit this year, which is why there was talk of Corey Hart getting time at 1B vs. LHP.

 

Obviously, Corey's ST injury means he'll be taking additional days off himself during the month of April. I think the team sees Ishikawa as the best available option (right now) to face LHP when they want to give Gamel a day off. [EDIT: For some reason, I thought Ishikawa was a right-handed hitter. This move makes less sense to me now that I know he's a lefty himself.]

 

I hope that most days, he'll be the first bat off the bench when the Brewers need a PH; I much prefer that possibility to bringing him in via double-switches.

[3and2Fastball]

So.... there'll never be a game where 2 of Weeks, Ramirez and Gonzalez are out?

 

I wonder who the emergency SS is, or the emergency 2B? Braun? Gomez?

 

I hope Roenicke realizes Ishikawa should never hit vs LHP (.288 career OBP vs LHP, .332 OBP vs RHP)....

 

There must be some other move happening down the line. Izturis makes Yuniesky Betancourt look like Ernie Banks

[PKBadger]

Ramirez and Gonzalez each played 149 games last year, and are presumably healthy right now, so I don't see how this move equates to "a lot of starts" for Izturis as monty alluded to above.

 

In a freakish situation where both have to be removed from the game....well, we probably lose that game and then Conrad joins the team the next day. Big whoop, and unlikely to happen.

[jerichoholicninja]

Isn't Ishikawa just a super-light version of Gamel, but with a proven track record of failure? Stupid, stupid, stupid. And Ron's comments even more stupid.

 

Why can't Doug just hire some math nerd from MIT to manage this team. I'm so sick of guys who make decisions based on veteraness, battlerness, grittiness, etc.

[monty57]

Ramirez and Gonzalez each played 149 games last year, and are presumably healthy right now, so I don't see how this move equates to "a lot of starts" for Izturis as monty alluded to above.

 

In a freakish situation where both have to be removed from the game....well, we probably lose that game and then Conrad joins the team the next day. Big whoop, and unlikely to happen.

 

I would assume that a DL stint would bring Green to the Brewers, but what happens if Gonzalez, Ramirez and Weeks all stay relatively healthy with only a few day-to-day injuries. Let's say they average 145 starts each. 162-145 = 17*3 = 51 starts for Izturis at say 4.5 PA/start, that's 230 PAs + say 70 or so PAs as one of the only RH on the bench (he's a switch hitter and the only other RH is Gomez, who will start 1/3 or so of the games), so that's around 300 PAs for one of the worst bats in MLB. 300 PAs is roughly a half a season of a full-time player. If Gonzalez gets hurt, then Izturis could see a lot more PA's.

 

Izturis' OPS for the last few years in reverse order: .450 (only 30 AB), .545, .622, .628, .618, .612

 

As a backup SS, he's okay to stash away and only see 10-15 starts and almost no pinch hit opps. As the only utility IF who could easily see 300 PA, he's not good. Conrad is actually a good option vs LHP (OPS vs LHP .893, .810, .856 over the last three seasons). The only reason Ishikawa is on the team is because he reminds Roenicke of Kotsay and he liked (mis)using Kotsay. We would have been far better off with Conrad than Ishikawa on the roster. This move is likely to cost us some wins.

[PrinceEatMeat]

So say Izturis has already entered the game at 2B, SS, or 3B. Then someone gets hurt at one of those positions. Who the heck is gonna come in and play the IF? I guess they'd have to move Gamel or Braun to 3B or something.

[fondybrewfan]

I guess I can't get to upset about the 25th/26th guy on the roster. If we talking straight pinch hitter I would prefer Ishikawa over Conrad. However if you anticipate the 25th guy having to play in the field more than 1 day a week Conrad makes more sense.

 

Weeks, Gonzalez, and Ramirez probably shouldn't be expected to get anymore than 1 day off per week; so Izturiz probably will play more than I would like and Conrad would have partially solved that problem. But I think it came down to RR liking Ishikawa's bat over Conrad as that is the primary role of the last guy on the bench.

 

Probably another good aspect of keeping Ishikawa is because Izturiz is the only infield replacement that RR will hesitate to use him in any pinch hitting role; obviously a positive since he can't hit a lick.

[brwrsfan]

From a pure hitting perspective, it makes sense. From every other aspect I don't get it. It least just one backup IF at every position other than 1b (and a medicore one at that with Izturiz). It could really hamper us with versatility and the double switches that are often required in NL games. I don't like it...hopefully it's short lived.

 

The ONLY thing I do like about it is it gives us a power threat off the bench...marginal one, but it's something I guess.

[3and2Fastball]

So say Izturis has already entered the game at 2B, SS, or 3B. Then someone gets hurt at one of those positions. Who the heck is gonna come in and play the IF? I guess they'd have to move Gamel or Braun to 3B or something.

 

The (very) positive side of this is: that is the precise reason why Roenicke will be hesitant to have Izturis pinch-hit! Somewhat like only carrying 2 catchers and not pinch-hitting a catcher prior to the 9th inning....

[TooLiveBrew]

I guess what bothers me about this roster management (shared blame to Melvin & Roenicke imo) is the Brewers are going to “go with this for a while and see how it plays out.” (RR quote) What I read as implicit in that comment is that the braintrust is aware they're not necessarily making the best decision... which I guess you could say for any time you make a roster move, it's possible you didn't make the best call, but it still bugs me.

 

The approach is really frustrating. You have two guys in Maysonet & Green that, ability-wise, are a better net duo than Iz+Ish. But the Brewers are going to wait to see if the latter combo will continue to be underwhelming MLB performers? I hate Melvin's penchant for stashing guys in the minors because they have options, & keeping useless or easily-improved-upon vets because he'll lose them otherwise. Why on earth would you worry about losing a guy like Izturis or Ishikawa when you got them for free in the first place? They're the definitions of replacement-level players -- freely available.

 

(I realize part of having Green at Nashville is to get regular at-bats, but I feel he's at the point in his development where it'd be more beneficial to get him at-bats as a PH & utility player at the big-league level)

[MVP2110]

I don't necessarily agree with this move although I don't think its the end of the world. Ishikawa should be a solid pinch hitter. Although I don't think Conrad would have been horrible. Conrad is who I would have chosen

[Baldkin]

I would assume that a DL stint would bring Green to the Brewers, but what happens if Gonzalez, Ramirez and Weeks all stay relatively healthy with only a few day-to-day injuries. Let's say they average 145 starts each. 162-145 = 17*3 = 51 starts for Izturis at say 4.5 PA/start, that's 230 PAs + say 70 or so PAs as one of the only RH on the bench (he's a switch hitter and the only other RH is Gomez, who will start 1/3 or so of the games), so that's around 300 PAs for one of the worst bats in MLB. 300 PAs is roughly a half a season of a full-time player. If Gonzalez gets hurt, then Izturis could see a lot more PA's.

 

Izturis' OPS for the last few years in reverse order: .450 (only 30 AB), .545, .622, .628, .618, .612

 

As a backup SS, he's okay to stash away and only see 10-15 starts and almost no pinch hit opps. As the only utility IF who could easily see 300 PA, he's not good. Conrad is actually a good option vs LHP (OPS vs LHP .893, .810, .856 over the last three seasons). The only reason Ishikawa is on the team is because he reminds Roenicke of Kotsay and he liked (mis)using Kotsay. We would have been far better off with Conrad than Ishikawa on the roster. This move is likely to cost us some wins.

 

I just wanted to quote this, as I heard the news on the radio and just got home and was about to post the same thing. There was 0 reason to do this. Giving Izturis that many ABs this season would be criminal, and will cost the Brewers games.

[TooLiveBrew]

I genuinely wonder if the Brewers are working with something related to Taylor Green's service time here. Maybe the plan is to keep Ishikawa until whatever threshold has been passed, related to Green's potential MLB service time, and then call up Green?

 

Nevermind, there's probably zero chance that's what Melvin is doing. But it was a thought that occurred to me.

[PKBadger]

The 51 starts for Izturis estimate implies that the roster remains unchanged for the entire season, which is a bold assumption for April 4. This is part of the reason that I'm indifferent. That final roster spot is probably going to change hands several times based on injuries, ineffectiveness and the needs of the major league club.

[markedman5]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/04/brewers-claim-josh-stinson.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[monty57]

The 51 starts for Izturis estimate implies that the roster remains unchanged for the entire season, which is a bold assumption for April 4. This is part of the reason that I'm indifferent. That final roster spot is probably going to change hands several times based on injuries, ineffectiveness and the needs of the major league club.

 

You said "Ramirez and Gonzalez each played 149 games last year, and are presumably healthy right now, so I don't see how this move equates to "a lot of starts" for Izturis as monty alluded to above." I was simply clarifying my point as to how Izturis could end up with far more PA's than many of us would like to see him get. Nothing too bold, just a simple illustration. I certainly hope it doesn't come true, but I could see it happening.

 

As far as the final roster spot, are you alluding to Izturis, who is the only backup SS we have and therefore has to remain on the team, or Ishikawa, who Roenicke likened to his 2011 pet Mark Kotsay? Last year, many were guessing that Kotsay's tenure may be short-term, but he ended up playing a lot because Roenicke invented ways to make sure he got playing time. I think something serious will have to happen for one of these guys to not be on the roster.

 

Conrad is a utility guy at AAA, so he's not going to force his way onto the roster. Almonte is the AAA 1B, and after last season Miller Park would implode if Almonte was called up. Green will get called up if Weeks or Ramirez goes on the DL, but this won't affect Ishikawa's roster spot. I think the only way Ishikawa goes bye-bye is if, while he is misused in the OF, he literally spins in crcles trying to catch a fly ball, trips and falls over and the ball bounces off his head while he is lying on the ground, bouncing over the wall for a game-winning home run. Other than that, I fully expect to see Izturis and Ishikawa on the MLB roster all season.

[MVP2110]

Honestly for a bench bat Kotsay wasn't that bad last year. Yes he got mis-used being forced to start early in the season and at center. But if Ishikawa puts up the same line Kotsay did last year off the bench I would be happy.

[Baldkin]

Honestly for a bench bat Kotsay wasn't that bad last year. Yes he got mis-used being forced to start early in the season and at center. But if Ishikawa puts up the same line Kotsay did last year off the bench I would be happy.

 

If Ishikawa steals ABs or starts from Aoki it will be a crime. If he gets anywhere near the 255 PA's Mark Kotsay got or the 50 games Kotsay started it will be criminal.

[monty57]

Honestly for a bench bat Kotsay wasn't that bad last year. Yes he got mis-used being forced to start early in the season and at center. But if Ishikawa puts up the same line Kotsay did last year off the bench I would be happy.

 

I posted this in the "transactions" forum on outfielders, but since many don't probably read that forum, I'll repost here, as I think it fits:

 

From 3/26/12 article on the Brewers' site:

 

Pestano is a right-handed pitcher, but Aoki has also shown a knack for hitting left-handers. He homered Sunday off Dodgers ace and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw in a 10-pitch at-bat.

 

"This guy could end up being our 'right-handed hitter' on the bench, which sounds weird," Roenicke said.

 

This is why Ishikawa made the team. Roenicke intends on Aoki being the team's primary "RH bat off the bench" (even though he's left handed) and Ishikawa being the team's primary "LH bat off the bench." I'd bet Ishikawa will be the backup corner OF vs RH (which is dumb because defense matters, but I'll bet it happens) and Aoki will only play OF when Gamel sits and Hart plays 1B vs LHP.

 

This makes more sense to Roenicke than using Conrad, who destroys LHP, as the RH bat off the bench, and using Aoki, who plays excellent defense, as a corner OF. Aoki's ability to hit LHP and RHP would make him a good option to occasionally rest Hart & Braun, but he'll pretty much rot on the bench while Ishikawa learns OF on the fly in MLB games.

[RockCoCougars]

Based on the performance of '25th men' breaking camp with Brewers over the past several years (Almonte, Nieves, Duffy, Nelson, etc., etc.), I'll set the over/under for Ishikawa's batting average at about .170.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ishikawa actually isn't a terrible choice in terms of hitting/pinch-hitting (if he's never used against LHP). His v. RHP production should be a nice step up from what Kotsay gave last season, actually.

[djoctagone]

waiver claim rhp josh stinson (from the new york mets) puts the 40-man roster at 38 (i haven't seen a formal announcement regarding travis ishikawa).

 

once ishikawa is added, the roster's at 39, which leaves room for mark rogers when his suspension ends in the coming days.

[MNBrew]

There are plenty of teams over the years who've kept a primarily-1B backup as one of their reserves, and probably then mainly for his bat. It's just so rarely ever been the Brewers who've done so.

 

Sooner or later, if Izturis is Counsell 2011 v2.0 (solid D, invisible bat) to the point of most Brewer fans wishing you could DH for the backup SS, Melvin's proven before that chances good are some roster adjustment/improvement would occur to address the problem.