Results tagged ‘ Escobar ’
Your 2010 Milwaukee Brewers Lineup
So, I’m still banking that one of these days Doug Melvin is going to call me up and tell me he is so impressed with my blog and my loyalty to the Brewers he is going to give me the keys and let me drive the Brewer Express to the playoffs. Seriously. I have dreams about this at least once a month, but usually as the season approaches, they get more and more consistent. So Doug, if you ARE reading this, I’m going to give you a little free advice-call it me helping you on good faith. If I were to be in charge, this is how I would set the line up for this season…
1. Rickie Weeks, 2b
Rickie Weeks was our leadoff hitter last year before he went down. And you know what? Both he and the Brewers were on a record setting paces. Weeks was being mentioned in MVP talks and the Brewers were winning lots of games. So I ask you this: Why change? We can argue what a “prototypical” lead off hitter should be, runs above average, puts the ball on the ground, can bunt, plays above average defense, the list goes on. But why not Weeks? A guy who can hit for power and hit in the gaps, has showed improvement on defense every year, and has great speed. Plus, he is an intense guy who gets along with his teammates. He’s a spark plug who will get lots of at bats and for the Brew Crew, that might be a good thing.
2. Carlos Gomez, CF
After hemming and hawing for a while, this was not as big of a decision as I made it out in my head to be. Gomez was traded for our number 2 hitter. He has great potential, and would be able to move Weeks around the bases while being protected in the lineup by Braun and Prince. In other words: He’s going to see pitches to hit, very hittable pitches. Let’s see what the kid can do and let him loose in one of the safest spots to hit in all of the National League.
3. Ryan Braun, LF
If you are like me, you’ve thought at least once what our team would look like if Braun could play defense. We would have 3rd base locked up for a long time, and we would be trying to find an outfielder. Maybe we don’t make some of the other moves we have made since Braun made the switch. Either way, he was our 3-hole hitter, and will always be our 3-hole hitter.
4. Prince Fielder, 1b
I hope that at least once this year, Prince lays down a bunt to third base when they play the over-shift on him. I’m also hoping for another sweet celebration when he has his first walk-off. And I can’t wait to see what happens when he breaks his dad’s single season HR record.
5. Casey McGehee, 3b
With Gamel going down, this is even a more simple choice. McGehee did wonderful in this spot last year, and I don’t see why it will not continue. The truth is, Prince will be pitched around as much as possible this year, no matter who is hitting behind him. The goal is to not let that be an option, and for Casey to come through when they walk Fielder in front of him. Not too worried.
6. Corey Hart, RF
With his new goggles and his weight loss, I see Hart doing better things at the plate then last. He is one of our best base runners, and can bunt, hit for power, and hit for contact. Probably all in the same game. Hart has the ability to mold his game offensively as the Brewers see fit. I just hope he can stay out of hitting into double plays and striking out too much.
7. Gregg Zaun, C
Zaun was not brought onto the team for his bat, so his role in the 7-hole will be to make sure the pitcher always gets up in the same inning he bats. You’ll understand when you see who I am batting seventh. Zaun wlll have to able to hit some bad balls for basehits, and he MUST not hit into double plays. A seasoned veteran, I feel like these are 2 things that should be easier for him than anyone else on the team. By the way, does anyone else think he kind of looks like Bernie Brewer?
8. Pitcher
Our pitchers did a lot better with bunting in ’09, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
9. Alcides Escobar, SS
Escobar has great speed and is getting better with his on-base percentage. Batting him 9th allows more opportunity for him to steal bases. If he was our lead-off hitter or our #2 hitter, he would have to stay put once Braun and Fielder were up, which is smart baseball. But in the 9-hole, he can steal while our #1 AND our #2 hitter are up. He can jump start the top of the order and cause problems by getting lots of attention from pitchers in their stretch. A win-win for everyone.
Starting Rotation
1. Yovanni Gallardo-our ace in the hole.
2. Randy Wolf-please don’t be another Suppan!
3. Doug Davis-good to have you back double D!
4. Dave Bush-I’m excited to see the many phases of your facial hair this year
5. Manny Parra-Totally earned the starting spot. My hat is off to you, sir.
Mr. Melvin and Mr. Macha, if you decided to go with this line-up and NOT give me credit, I’ll understand. Just send me those free tickets in the mail.
Random Thought of the Day
-Gregg Zaun has his own website. That’s so cool. Click HERE
-Ben
#21 for the Brewers, but #1 in your hearts!
X-factor. Webster’s defines it as “a hard-to-describe influence or quality; an important element with unknown consequence.” In order for the Brewers to go far into the season and for game in August and September to matter at all, they will need an offensive x-factor to help out. During Yost’s first few seasons, and when J.J. Hardy went down with injury, Bill Hall was that X-factor. A lot of people might argue that Corey Hart was the X-factor for the offense 2 years ago when we made the wild card. We already know what our superstars Braun and Prince are going to do for us. We know what Weeks is capable of. But who can give us that spark? Who can the team count on for clutch hits, plays on defense, sacrifice bunts, breaking up a double play, or anything else that goes under the radar of statistical gurus. I think first you have to know how you are defining your X-factor. My top three criteria are:
1) Unknown Potential
2) Charisma
3) An everyday player
“An everyday player” criterion helps weed out all pitchers. Although pitching will be a HUGE part of this year, they do not get to influence every game individually. So that shortens the list to the starting 8 in the field.
It’s hard to root for players who can’t smile and the fans can’t get behind. Anyone who has been to Miller Park and sat in the right field bleachers knows that during anytime during the game you can yell to Hart and ask him how many outs there are, and he’ll put up the correct number of fingers. Fans LOVE this! Bill Hall had a grin that went from ear to ear. For this reason, I can take off the list McGehee, and Weeks. Nothing against these 2 guys, but they are all business. They work hard and do their job.
X-factors always seem to surprise people with their talent level. They are able to catch people off-guard and get the crowd excited with simple base hits and stolen bases. They are not superstars. Braun and Fielder are both superstars, so you can take them off the list. Greg Zaun has been playing baseball for a long time and he isn’t going to surprise you with his bat. And while I think everyone wants to be surprised by Hart, we might all be disappointed.
This leaves us with 2 players: Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez. Between the 2 players, I think Escobar has more potential and is more charismatic. He is also playing short stop, where one of the more popular Brewers played for several years. Escobar puts the ball in play and can make almost any play he wants in the field. He has a huge smile on his face all the time.
Escobar also wears the same number I wore in little league (21), which is when I played short stop. I think he probably weighs the same amount I did during little league as well. Escobar is going to bring a lot of spark and enthusiasm to Miller Park, and I can’t wait to see what happens.
What do you think?
-Ben
Random Thought of the Day:
I don’t know if I can handle a year and a half having to hear about Prince Fielder and his contract. I think we all know that Scott Boras will never let him play in Milwaukee. But there is way too much baseball to happen before now and the end of the 2011 season. We need to get some guys in now and win. And then we will not have to deal with talks about trades. Because being a buyer (CC Sabathia) is way much more fun than being a seller (Carlos Lee, Nelson Cruz). Bottom Line: Winning Makes everyone happy
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