Trevor Hoffman is clearly struggling this year. His change-up still looks but he just can’t seem to get guys to chase it. His fastball hasn’t been fast for a number of years now but he’s been placing it on a tee for hitter thus far. People have been saying for years that his age is going to eventually catch up to him and this might actually be the year. Hoffmann is a warrior and answers questions honestly after each outing and I love that about him. He owns up to his struggles and is humble in his successes. I do not believe it is quite time to give up on him this season. He’s a future hall of famer and he deserves a longer leash.

But…..

We might want to start thinking about other options. The Brewers do not have much of a back-up plan to Hoffman. They do not have a young arm they’ve been grooming as a future closer. I think it’s time they start to think about that. You look at some of the better closers over the last 10 years and they were all groomed as setup men before they were named the teams closer. Broxton worked behind Gange and Saito, Lidge worked behind Wagner, K-Rod behind Percival, Heath Bell behind Hoffman, and even the great Mariano Rivera worked behind John Wetteland.

So looking at the Brewers right now who is the best option? My opinion is Manny Parra. I don’t want to make this seem like I’m giving up on him as a starter but more that he can be better used and a future closer. Parra will be 28 at the end of this year so he’s not old by any means. At the same time he’s at the age where this is all he’s going to be. Parra’s window to break in and be successful is starting to close. If we move him to a potential closer now he could be there for several years.

The Brewers should start to consider moving him to the back of the pen. Let him start working some 7th and 8th innings to get a feel for that. Of course if they want to do this they will have to bring Stetter back up and drop someone off the roster. I don’t see who that could be at this point but we’ll look past that for now. The Brewers should also make it mandatory that Parra sits next to and rooms with Hoffmann for every road trip and during every game. Let Hoffman start to mentor him and see what he’s capable of doing.

Parra has been criticized in the past for not being mentally tough enough. This is not something you want as a question mark for your closer. Yet Parra has shown flashes that he can be great and has the stuff the get anyone out. With some seasoning and time he can be taught to harness that into one inning 3 or 4 times a week. He won’t need to bear down for to hours coming in and out of the game every 20 minutes.

Plus his stuff is good enough to be a front line starter so he’d be lights out as a closer. All closers are failed starters at some point in their career. Weather they made the move in college, the minors, or in the majors most pitchers don’t set out to be closers. Eckersley, Hoffmann, Pappelbon, and Gagne were all supposed to be starters at some point in their career. Derrick Lowe and John Smotlz were great closers at one point in their career. Parra would be able to let loose on his fastball and probably clock out in the mid 90′s. You mix that in with his slider and then have Hoffman refine his change-up and Parra could be dominant in that position.

If he’s successful he provides the Brewers with a young closer that could hold down the fort for years. The Brewers won’t need to fill the void each year with an old closer that’ll only be around for a couple of years. Plus Parra should come at a cheaper price and we can then to spend that money elsewhere (maybe on Prince or a starter).

It’s not the ideal situation but at least it’s a plan. Right now we are counting on Hawkins and Hoffman to shut teams down at the end of the game. Both have struggled this year and we know aren’t going to be around for years to come. We need to start looking to move some youth into the back end of the pen. Parra would be a great start to that transition. He makes the most sense as well. His stuff is clearly good enough to get guys out and miss bats. Plus he has a good amount off major league experience. I’d rather have a guy in that position whos pitched in the majors under that pressure over a guy who’s pitching in the minors.

-Ross

Random Baseball Thought

I just saw the Lastings Milledge highlight where he was tagged out after he thought he hit a grand slam and failed to run the bases. What the hell is wrong with players? How hard is it to just run hard out of the box and then once it goes over the wall slow down. It’s a joke and if John Russell does not bench Milledge for multiple games he should be fired. There is no excuse to not run out a ball that you hit. To hustle takes zero talent, it’s all about effort. If you lack the effort to run out a ball then you don’t deserve to play for a few games.