If you follow me on Twitter, you know I've been critical of the Brewers and their selection of bobblehead giveaways for this season, as a whole. I mean, they aren't exactly impressive with guys that have not been on the team for a full season getting their own bobble, or going to the other direction with another Robin Yount bobble in yet another different uniform. As someone already with 65 bobbles in my collection, I'm allowed to be a littel critical and recognized as a bit of an expert.
That was, however, until the team unveiled the new Gold Glove Carlos Gomez bobblehead giveaway set for April 26. I was lucky enough to get a gold jersey'd Gomez bobble last season and was very impressed with it and this year's ups the ante while commemorating the first Brewers gold glover since Robin Yount.
A couple things play a part in me loving this bobble so much. The first is Gomez is fast becoming my favorite player. With Corey Hart out of town, and Braun in turmoil (I still love and support), Gomez was the bright spot of the team last season in making his first All-Star game.
This bobble has the Gold Glove and his feet are not even on the ground! Yeah, it's pretty awesome.
This falls in line with the other bobble that has been released, although as a season-ticket-holder exclusive in the Jean Segura All-Star bobble from last season. The fact that it will be released in limited fashion will make it that much sweeter.
If the rest of the bobbles deliver like these have, already, I may have to eat crow in the bobblehead department this season.
With players starting to arrive in Maryvale for Spring Training, it's time to start looking at the Brewers lineup. I've been giving it some thought and it would appear every spot seems to be locked up except the top two spots and the discussion is between Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura.
Both had breakout years last year in making the All-Star team and with a healthy roster this year, could be the cogs that push the Brewers into playoff contention. But who hits where?
Norichika Aoki hit leadoff most of last season with Segura hitting second and Gomez hitting third with Ryan Braun suspended. So Segura has the recent history of hitting second and he fits the position with his average and speed.
Gomez has hit leadoff before and has a .238 career batting average. That's not a good average for that spot, but that was pre-2012 when he put everything together and turned the corner. Last year he had career highs wth a .284/.338/.506 slash line. Those are numbers that would fit great at the top of the Brewers lineup.
His 77 stolen bases the last two season would also fit nicely at the top and are part of what helped him finish ninth in NL MVP voting last season. He has shown the ability to be able to do the little things you would think of with the stereo typical leadoff hitter, as well as show the power that has made him a threat anywhere in the lineup.
Segura has spent the vast majority of his MLB career in the No. 2 slot and has shined there. The 23-year-old had 44 stolen bases to lead the NL last year. He hit leadoff in one game in his career, so there is no history to look at there.
The "old" ways of doing things with the stereotypical hitters in the No. 1 and No. 2 slots go out with the window with this team. It would be about building as much of a cluster as possible with guys. Of course Braun will remain in his third spot, Aramis Ramiez hits fourth and Jonathan Lucroy would follow him in the fifth slot. With those spots set, it would make sense to put guys at the top of the order who can cause chaos on the basepaths and put pressure on pitching to not only get the hitter out, but keep runners in check.
Gomez has gotten worlds better at taking pitches and waiting for his pitch. Three years ago, Ron Roenicke would not dare put him in the top half of the lineup, but now he makes the most sense at the leadoff spot. With Segura right behind him, those are two hitters in front of the big boppers who can take bases and help manufacture runs when needed.
In the future Segura could be the guy who hits leadoff, but right now, he is best suited for the No. 2 spot behind Gomez.
As the calendar turns to February today, it's serious time to start thinking about Spring Training. The Brewers don't report until February 15, but things are already building as to five key storylines to follow when the Brew Crew gets into Marvale Baseball Park outside Phoenix.
Topping the list of what to watch for is Ryan Braun. Simply, how will he respond to his lowest year as a pro and probably person? On top of the suspension that forced him to miss the final 65 games of the 2013 season, Braun battled injuries and missed almost 40 more games. As I wrote last month, it will be interesting to see how Braun responds to being back this season. Any offense the team missed last season can be addressed with a healthy Braun in the middle of the lineup. Things are going to get dicey on the road this season when opposing fans let Braun hear it.
Are the Brewers asking Braun to deliver MVP caliber numbers? Simply, no. They are just looking for production in line with the back of his baseball card. That would be in the area of about a .312 batting average with 36 home runs and 112 RBI.
Braun won't need to do too much if the first base position, No. 2 on my list of Brewers storylines to watch, delivers more than it did in 2013. First, the Mark Reynolds signing, then the return of Lyle Overbay, have shown that the organization realizes it's a need, but doesn't mean it will be a shining star this season.
The team was banking on Corey Hart sticking around, and his absence will create a mix and match solution for the short term
The third story to watch is the Rickie Weeks riddle. What will the Brewers do with him in spring training. These things have a way of working themselves out, but the Brewers have basically hinted they plan to trade Weeks and start with the season with Scooter Gennett at second base. An $11 million guy in a platoon seems a bit much for the Brewers to handle and they would probably like to pawn off some of that salary, but would need to open up the spot fo Gennett, if he delivers in Spring Training, too.
Pitching seems to always be a need no matter the team and the signing of Matt Garza makes it less of one for the Brewers. The bullpen, however, does have plenty of unanswered questions. Most of those revolve around roles for those who will spend their time in front of Friday's Front Row Sports Grill at Miller Park. Jim Henderson is slated to start the season as closer, but the signing of Garza has bumped Tyler Thornburg to the bullpen as a possible set up man, along with the newly acquired Will Smith from the Royals in the Nori Aoki trade. Brandon Kintzler's name has been mentioned as a setup man, as he came through in that role at the end of last season. Rob Wooten saw time and shined last year, as well, so he should be back. Beyond those names, things are open for discussion. Do the Brewers take a look at Francisco Rodriguez once again (He is available)? Does a non-roster invitee like Zach Duke make the team?
How that plays out will likely decide the No. 5 storyline of the spring. What does the future hold for manager Ron Roenicke in Milwaukee? As I wrote this week, whispers are circling that if things don't end well this season for the Crew, Running Ron, the Brewers could part ways with him. Now I don't see that happening, barring a complete collapse, but that won't stop people from talking. Roenicke has shown at times he thinks way outside the box with his stealing of bases and bunt calls from guys who should not give up an at-bat, but those are marginal things. As a whole, he has not lost the clubhouse at all in his time here. The last two seasons, the team could have cashed out on the season and they came back to finish strong. That's a sign of something that should mean he sticks around for at least another year.
A couple others worth mentioning that just missed the list...
How do Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez follow up their breakout 2013 seasons?
Can Aramis Ramirez avoid a major injury this season and be a factor at the plate?
Will Jim Henderson, who had not closed Major League games before, be able to back up his 2013?
Can Kris Davis make it as an every day left fielder?
If you had told me prior to last season the Brewers would extend Carlos Gomez into his free agent years, I would have said they were crazy. Well, that's exactly what the team did today in tying up the center fielder through the 2016 season.
After last season's success, which was Gomez finally realizing what the Twins, Mets and Brewers had all hoped for, it's a move that is very telling of a Brewers franchise, finally gaining financial stability and gaining credibility along with the ability to sign players long-term.
Signing Ryan Braun through the 2020 season makes sense because he's an MVP. Signing Yovani Gallardo makes sense because he has the potential to be the ace of a pitching staff. Signing Gomez initially seems like a stretch, but actually makes sense, too. The 27 year old had already cemented himself has a stellar defender, but the Brewers were waiting for him to emerge as the type of offensive player they could rely on to play every day.
Baseballreference.com shows they finally have that player. Gomez had his career best output last season in many key offensive categories. His batting average (.260), on-base percentage (.305), slugging percentage (.463) and OPS (.768) are reasons why he now has a $24 million contract. He also had career highs in doubles, homers and stolen bases.
While he still showed signs of that player who seemingly had a bet going with Yuniesky Betancourt as to who could be worse at the plate (he struck out 98 times and walked just 20 times last season), the offense was livable consistently for the first time since he arrived in Milwaukee last season.
As Gomez told Adam McCalvy in his story on Brewers.com, he knows he has work to do. Manager Ron Roenicke agrees, but likes the direction Gomez is going and should be part of a solid team that will remain together until at least 2015.
The contract extension for Go Go comes just in time for the year he gets his first bobblehead. Fittingly enough it is of him making a catch. It's what he does best. Plan for it June 9!
Just a couple of weeks ago in this space I talked about areas that were weaknesses for this Brewers team and one of the glaring ones was Carlos Gomez. The center fielder lost his starting job last year because of his performance in the batter's box, but with the trade of Lorenzo Cain to Kansas City, Gomez has earned another chance. As I said last night in this space, I don't get too worked up over spring training, but can get encouraged by what I see.
History will show that Casey McGehee was a long shot to make the 2009 roster as a non-roster invitee to camp, but hit his way onto the team that spring and became the starter at third base within a couple months. The rest is history.
Go-Go has an equal task of proving he is the right man to start in center field for the Brewers. Neither myself or the team have much concern about his ability to play in the field. He came into camp knowing he had to work on his approach at the plate and to this point, he has.
In playing in 10 games, in which he has 33 ABs, he has 12 hits, good enough for a .364 average. (Full spring stats are here) Again, I'm not getting too excited over this, but it shows his work with hitting coach Dale Svuem have helped him considerably. It is a small sample, but he has yet to take a walk and the one area he has to improve most is in his on-base percentage. He has a career .296 OBP so it's an area he has to work on. Roenicke has said not to expect big changes from him, but if there is a move in a positive direction, it could be sign of things to come if he continues to work on it.
He told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel he has been working on keeping his head straight when he swings. What you watch for is how that will continue if he hits a cold spell during the season and has to hit himself out of it. That's when he would have to push the most to get out of it. If he can stay true to what he has been working on and work himself out of those ups and downs during the season, he would be better for it and would become the player the team wants him to be.
If he doesn't, well the search would be on and he'd be one of the guys to get moved into a platoon in center field. At this point, it's worth another shot for Gomez and if he can hit .270 and have a .330 OBP the Brewers and fans would be thrilled. It's not an unreasonable leap to doubt that he can do it, but in four seasons in the Majors, he hasn't shown that he can just yet.
Switching gears to a little pop culture now. The Fighter was one of the best movies I've seen in a couple years. I was just happy it was a sports movie too. There is talk today Mark Wahlberg is working the idea around Hollywood about "The Fighter 2" continuing the story of Micky Ward onto his three epic battles with Artoro Gatti. He wouldn't break them up into separate movies, but do just one more movie with all three fights in there. After watching the video below, I'd say it has the makings to be something special, at least in the fight scenes.
Onto the Nussie Hunter portion of today's broadcast. I'm sure if you've paid any attention to the rags you've heard of Justene Jaro. Well, here sister Dawn is equally as amazing. Take a look at the sample below, then follow it up with a few better looks at DJ Mick.
Hope none of you were completely turned off by what Vaughan wrote Friday. Heard someone hacked the account and he took things over. Haha. OK, I gave him the keys to the Ferrarri and he actually did a damn good job. Might need him again in a couple weeks, so look out! I actually owe him multiple beers now.
Didn't get a blog up Monday or Tuesday because I was so damn frustrated with the performance with my Bears last Sunday. It got very ugly at time with Kurt Warner just killing them all game. The lone bright spot of the game was Greg Olsen, who caught three touchdown passes from Jay Cutler. Got a little quick side not before I get into anything regard that game. I know I talk a lot about Greg Olsen looking like He-Man. Take a look at G-Reg's photo here. Then peep the He-Man intro... Yeah, I'm not crazy. And yes, he did just miss out on being part of the ManCrush edition of the blog a couple weeks ago.
With a super short week for the team with a game Thursday night against the 49ers, and at the half-way point being 4-4, the season is in the balance in the next few weeks. The team says they are still confident they can save the season. It's not that I don't root for them (because I do), but I'm a realist and I have to be shown something encouraging and I haven't seen much of anything I like in the last few weeks. I'll do a big-time preview of the game tomorrow before I run to Buffalo Wild Wings to catch the game on NFL Network. (I hope to have checks in the mail from both companies by the end of the week, thank you!).
Don't adjust your television sets, that is one last J.J. Hardy sighting on these pages. I know a certain someone (AJ, hope you're doing OK!) was rather upset when word came down he was traded to the Twins. I'm a bit miffed the move didn't yield pitching because this team is in dire need of it. But this starts kicking over a few dominoes as the team looks to build for 2010. I'm not doubting Carlos Gomez taking over in center field. He's got amazing speed and plays a great game in the field. That should be great. He doesn't hit well, which will need to be addressed, but is a problem. With him taking over in center that means Mike Cameron is going to be out of town. Not a move I can say I endorse. Really was starting to like CAM (BOOGIE!), but have to go with a bit of a youth movement here to save funds to go after pitching. That means the news out today that General Manager Doug Melvin is becoming more comfortable with bringing catching prospect Jonathan Lucroy up to take over the catching duties. He might not get the 134 games Jason Kendall did, but he's likely to get a large portion of them. I don't mind any of these moves, I really don't, but as Journal-Sentinel columnist Michael Hunt said today, the youth usually means growing pains, and puts the team farther away from a pennant. Can't say I disagree with that. And why take a step back? The team has Prince Fielder's services for at least the entire 2010 season. Beyond, however, is uncertain as 2011 will be his final arbitration eligible year. The team needs to go for it now while they can.
One of the greats made it clear today he was hanging it up. Yep, Allen Iverson didn't want to come off the bench for the Memphis Grizzlies and has been given an extended leave of absence from the team. Not officially retiring, but it looks like it could be academic at this point. He is just fun to watch. For a guy that small to be able to do what he does is one of the most impressive things in all of sports. Kind of funny though how, even to this day, he is remembered for this "Practice!" press conference from his days back in Philly...
Alright time for a bit more a fun and uplifting part of the broadcast. Yep, the Nussie Hunter! Time to get into something a bit more fun than looking at V's mom and girl. Today it's all about Isla Fisher. Got the idea from Amanda the other day to get her in this segment and you know I can't really find a reason not to. Let's see, she was funny in Wedding Crashers, was awesome in what is my fave Rom Com Definitely, Maybe and most important she's married to Sasha Baren Cohen. That says something about her: she loves a guy that can make her laugh, something I think I'm pretty good at. Well, without further ado...
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