Prospect Watch: Manny Parra

Two Words.... Perferct Game. That's what Manny Parra had in his last outing for Triple-A Nashville. The Sounds won 3-0. Parra was promoted to Triple-A when Yovani Gallardo got the call to the big leagues.

After two starts in Triple-A Parra is 1-1 with a 1.20 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15 innings of work. In Double-A Parra went 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA which lead the Southern League. After battling injuries the last few seasons Parra looks to be back on track.

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Shrek's Role With the Team

What is the point of having Kevin Mench on this team? What purpose does he serve? The man has ONE walk the entire season and it was an intentional walk. That's 153 AB's, ONE walk. Has anyone ever done this? This really is amazing feat. He also has very little power, 2 Home Runs and he's supposed to be a power hitter.

With the emergence of Corey Hart Shrek only gets to play in LF against lefties. Is it worth over $5 million a year for this? Gabe Gross could at least draw some walks and get on base. I'm sure Tony Gwynn could give this team better production. Perhaps Mench will be traded around the deadline? But maybe not. You can be pretty sure he won't be with the team next season though. Remember when Mench was complaining before the season started how he's not a platoon player and should play every day. Well that didn't make Brewers fans very happy and he hasn't had the type of season that would change anyones mind. Don't let his .275 average fool you, Kevin Mench hasn't been that good.

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Yo's Gotta Stay

Yovani Gallardo made his second start Sunday and well.... he NEEDS to stay in the rotation. He's just too good not to be in it. Yo went 7 innings and struck out 8 batters while allowing 5 hits and only 1 run. Granted this was against the Royals but it's still impressive. After two starts Yo's ERA is 2.70. Message to Vargas and Bush, and perhaps even Mr. $12 Million a year Suppan, you need to be productive to stay in this rotation. Yo is a stud and there's no way he should be moved to the pen.

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Billy's Back; Brewers Sweep Giants

The Crew swept the Giants winning the series finale 7-5. Billy Hall hit his SECOND Grand Slam of the year and had 5 RBI's in the win. Hall now has 8 Home Runs on the season. Billy's starting to heat up and it's nice to see.

This team is really starting to roll. The Brewers are 8-2 in their last 10 and are in 1st place by 7.5 games. Next up for the Brewers, the Kansas City Royals. Jeff Suppan will take the mound for the Crew. Soup has been struggling lately so hopefully he turns it around. Former Brewer, Jorge De La Rosa will pitch for KC. Former Brewers tend to pitch well against the Crew but I have a feeling the Crew can shell Jorge.

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Prospect Watch: Yohannis Perez

The Brewers made some noise in the off season when they signed shortstop, Yohannis Perez, a Cuban defector. Perez was sent to Double-A Huntsville after Spring Training. He's not gotten off to the start the Brewers hoped for. Through 56 games Perez is batting only .195 and has a .260 OBP. He's homerless with only 16 RBI's. He's posted a .496 OPS. Yohannis has committed 9 errors. He's not turning in a very good season, hopefully he ups his game soon.

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1-0 for Yo

Yovani Gallardo was impressive in his Brewers debut, a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Gallardo went 6.1 innings while only giving up 4 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 4. Gallardo also contributed with the batting. He had a hit and an RBI while drawing a walk. Gallardo is now batting an amazing .500 on the season. Watch out Ted Williams.

Prince Fielder and Corey Hart continue to rake. Both had homers. And it was announced Prince has passed Albert Pujols in the All-Star voting which is amazing. A Milwaukee Brewer could be starting in the All-Star Game, incredible.

Francisco Cordero locked down the save. He now has 26 on the season. Coco should be joining Prince at the All-Star Game.

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Crew Takes Another Series

Despite falling to the Twins 10-9 on Sunday the Brewers have won their second consecutive series. The Crew currently stands at 38-31 with a 6.5 game lead for 1st place in the division.

A player that has really been catching my eye lately is Corey Hart. He's been just awesome at leadoff. Hart is currently batting .301 with a .378 OBP and has 7 Home Runs while stealing 12 bases. Hart is the total package and now that he's getting consistent playing time he's showing it.

Then there's Prince Fielder. What is there to say about him? Prince is just a beast. He hit an inside the park Home Run yesterday. What can't he do right now? He has 25 taters on the year and has to be the front runner for NL MVP right now. He's just incredible.

Yovani Gallardo makes his highly anticipated debut tonight. There hasn't been a debuting pitcher surrounded with this much hype in quite some time. I can't wait to watch Yo dominate, I have a feeling it's going to be a memorable debut. Our friends at From the Uecker Seats have a pretty good preview of the series. They preview every Brewers series and do a great job.

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Something Good Brewing

The Brewers win streak now stands at 3 games after a win over the Minnesota Twins in Friday's series opener. The Brewers clobbered the Twins 11-3. Jenkins had a grand slam and Prince had his 24th Home Run of the year. The team has won 3 games in a row for the first time in I don't know how long. The bats are starting to come alive with the exception of the no-hit game.

Add Yovani Gallardo to the winning mix and the Crew really has something brewing. Gallardo will make his debut at Miller Park on Monday against the San Francisco Giants. The Giants are one of the worst teams in the National League and have a pretty poor lineup so I think Yo will do well.

The Crew is 37-30 on the season and still has a 5.5 game lead in the division. When a team struggles as much as the Crew has and is still in 1st place by 5.5 games that's a good thing. I have a feeling the continuous losing has come to a close and this team will start playing playoff calibur baseball again.

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Prospect Watch: Jeremy Jeffress

2006 1st round pick, Jeremy Jeffress is off to a hot start in his first season of pro ball at Single-A West Virginia. In four starts Jeffress is 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA. He's struck out 14 batters in in 18.2 innings pitched and currently has a WHIP of 1.23.

His first start of the season wasn't great but he has been lights out since. It's very nice to see Jeffress have some immediate success. Now we'll see if he can keep it up.

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Gallardo to Get the Call; Cappy to DL

With Chris Capuano's recent injury it looks like he'll be headed to the DL. Yovani Gallardo is expected to take his place according to Brewers.com. Gallardo, 21, went 8-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 13 starts at Triple-A Nashville and has 110 strikeouts which lead the entire minor leagues. He actually pitched better than that 2.90 ERA would indicate, he had one bad start where he was roughed up but otherwise he's been absolutely dominant. It's too bad Cappy has to go to the DL but I cannot wait to see Yo pitch at the MLB level.

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Verlander Tosses No-No Versus Crew

Not too much to say about this really. This is how its been going for the Brewers lately. Definitely not the start to this series the team needed. At least Bill Hall had three walks.

Watching this game was pretty depressing. Being a Brewer fan isn't a ton of fun right now and why is Ann Carroll still doing Brewers Live? When the Brewers get no-hit I don't want to hear Ann Carroll's annoying voice in the post game. I just changed the channel. She makes a bad game even worse. Please get someone else to host Brewers Live!!!

Cappy and Sheets are next in line to pitch for the crew. Please win....

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Tigers on Deck

Tonight the Brewers begin a 3 game series with the Detroit Tigers. If recent performance has anything to say about this series the crew has no shot. The Tigers are 36-26 while the crew just dropped 2 out of 3 to the Texas Rangers, the worst team in baseball.

It's hard to be optimistic about the Brewers right now the way they've been playing. Still, the team has a 5.5 game lead in the division. If there is a positive right now Prince Fielder is the best player in baseball. He's batting .298 with 23 Home Runs, which leads the majors, and has 51 RBI. Make sure to vote for him to start the all-star game, he deserves it.

Ryan Braun has also been doing a great job. He's batting .317 with 4 Home Runs. It's too bad Weeks got hurt because Counsellino still gets to play everyday now. This lineup needs more consistency.

Bill Hall has just fallen off the face of the earth. Billy is slumping, a .252 average, .309 OBP, and only 6 Home Runs with 21 RBI. He's struck out 56 times already. I don't know what the deal is with him. I'd like to see Yost move him up a couple spots in the lineup, having him bat 7th doesn't do much for his confidence. Put him ahead of Johnny "I don't know what a walk is" Estrada. Squeeze in a few more AB's for Bill and stop subbing him late in games. Maybe he'll snap out of his funk then.

Jeff Suppan (7-6. 3.92) takes the mound tonight for the Brewers against Justin Verlander (6-2, 3.12). This is an important game for the crew. If they win that makes two in a row which is a winning streak. This team hasn't had enough of those lately. Suppan, Capuano, and Sheets are all pitching this series so the crew has a shot at winning it. A sweep against a team like the Tigers would mean a great deal and be a huge boost for team morale.

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Prospect Watch: Lou Palmisano

After struggling the last two seasons and losing his place as the organizations #1 catching prospect to Angel Salome, Lou Palmisano has come on strong in 2007. Palmisano is batting .324 with a very impressive .449 OBP and a .942 OPS for Double-A Huntsville. He has 4 Home Runs and 34 RBI while only committing 1 error on the season.

It's exciting to see Lou hitting the ball well because the Brewers farm system isn't exactly loaded with catching prospects. Hopefully he continues to swing a hot bat.

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Mike Jones Has Tommy John Surgery

Mike Jones, the Brewers 1st round pick in 2001 has undergone Tommy John Surgery. Jones injured his elbow in the fourth inning of a game on May 6.

It doesn't look as if Mike Jones will ever pan out for the Brewers. He's battled injuries as long as he's been with the crew. He missed all of the 2005 season and some of 2006 with shoulder problems.

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Brewers Select Matt LaPorta with 1st Round Pick

The Brewers shocked everyone with their 1st round selection when they took Matt LaPorta, a first basemen out of Florida. LaPorta, 22, is a 6'1'' 215 pound right-handed batter and is known as a great hitter with power to all fields. In his senior season LaPorta hit .402 with 20 Home Runs, 52 RBI's, and had a .582 On Base Percentage. His OPS was 1.399, not too bad. He was a 2-time All-American.

LaPorta isn't considered a project and probably won't be in the minor leagues for too long. The Brewers plan on moving him to left field since Prince Fielder is clearly the Brewers first baseman and will be for a while. Some scouts question LaPorta's ability to switch to the outfield.

Here is his scouting video.

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Brewers Drop Series to Cubs

The Brewers lost the series finale to the Cubs today 6-2. The Cubs took the series 2 games to 1. It's pretty disappointing to lose the series, especially the way the Cubs have been playing recently. If there was a positive to the series it was Prince Fielder. Fielder is just raking right now. He hit his major league leading 21st Home Run today. Prince is just incredible.

Now the Brewers begin a 9 game road trip beginning Friday at Texas followed by Detroit and Minnesota. The Rangers are 21-37 this season and the Crew will have both Chris Capuano and Ben Sheets in action for the series. This is definitely a series the Brewers should win. Detroit and Minnesota will be tough so it's important for the Brewers to win the series with the Rangers.

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Prospect Watch: Will Inman

The last time we checked in with Will Inman he had a 1.27 ERA. Now it's ballooned all the way up to 1.33. He needs to get his act together. Inman currently stands at 4-2 and has a 1.33 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. His 84 strikeouts leads the Florida State League. He's allowed only 50 hits and has a WHIP of 1.00. Just sick numbers. Inman is having a Gallardo esque season at Brevard County and will most likely finish this season in Double-A Huntsville just like Gallardo did last year.

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Crew Finally Takes a Series

The Crew finally won a series after defeating the Marlins today, 3-0 at Miller Park. The Crew is now 32-25 and appear to be back on track. Ben Sheets got his 6th win of the season today throwing 6 shutout innings. Francisco Cordero recorded his 21st save.

Next up for the Crew is the Chicago Cubs for a 3 game series at Miller Park. Dave Bush (3-5. 5.64) takes the mound tomorrow for the Crew against Jason Marquis (5-2, 2.93). The Cubs have been struggling as of late so it'd be nice for the Crew take this series.

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Cubs Fight

This was just too good not to mention. Carlos Zambrano gave up 13 hits and 7 runs yesterday and then picked a fight in the dugout with Michael Barrett. Hilarious....only the Cubs....



If Bob Uecker was the Cubs announcer this would be the play by play...

"My God! Good news fans, the Cubs are showing signs of life for the first time in weeks. As a matter of fact they appear to be beating the crap out of each other. It looks like Michael Barrett is trying to hit Carlos Zambrano, and why not, everyone else in the league does. Barrett swings and misses. I don't know Monte it looks like Zambrano is carrying his left a little low. This could hurt him in the later rounds."

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A Winning Streak Begins

The Brewers have won 2 games in a row after defeating the Marlins Friday night 8-5. This is what we call a winning streak.

The Crew finally brought out the bats scoring 8 runs in the victory. Ryan Braun lead the way going 3-3 with 2 RBI's, and he hit his first Miller Park Home Run. Then there's KEVIN MENCH. Shrek went off for 4 RBI's. Where did this come from? Definitely nice to see and Tony Graffanino added 2 RBI's. Francisco Cordero locked down his 20th save of the season.

The Brewers now have a 6.5 game lead in the division with their 31-24 record. Chris Capuano will take the mound tonight versus Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim is off to a bad start so hopefully the crew can score some runs. With Ben Sheets pitching on Sunday the Brewers have a shot at sweeping the series and a sweep could definitely make fans feel good about the crew again.

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