The Milwaukee Brewers have struggled mightily this season with a disappointing 19-30 record, but you cannot blame Ron Roenicke for the teams poor performance. Doug Melvin is the one to blame. He assembled this team and Roenicke can only do so much with the little amount of talent he has. Here are three reasons why all of the blame should be placed on Melvin:
1st -- Pitching wins championships and the Brewers lack the pitching to be competitive. Their starting five is filled with average pitchers who are at best middle to back end of the rotation pitchers and they have all been dreadful this season. The Brewers pitching staff holds a 4.48 ERA overall and that is mainly because Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Mike Fiers, Wily Peralta and Hiram Burgos all hold an ERA close to or well over five. The only exception is Kyle Lohse who has had a solid season as the ace of the Brewers staff. The Brewers have struggled to find any consistency from their starting rotation and it has really hurt them this season.
2nd -- Doug Melvin made the decision to bring back John Axford this offseason and made him the closer before Spring Training even began. Axford has been dreadful this season posting a 6.64 ERA with ZERO saves and three blown saves in 20 1/3 innings, and has already been removed from the closer role. With the Brewers now having to use different options in the ninth inning, it has hurt the entire bullpen.
3rd -- As a small market ball club, you need to have a strong farm system to be competitive year in and year out. The Brewers have a weak farm system that was ranked 29th by Keith Law of ESPN entering the season. With no pitching or hitting prospects projected to have huge upside, the present and future is not bright for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The blame has to be put completely on Doug Melvin's shoulders for this disappointing season and he should be fired for this. He has not been able to build a consistent playoff contending team over the course of his tenure because he does not know how to build a team through the draft and develop prospects and it is finally starting to show.
Showing posts with label Mike Fiers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Fiers. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Chris Narveson vs. Mark Rogers for the 5th Spot in the Brewers Starting Rotation
With the Milwaukee Brewers' pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in less than a week, the most compelling position battle will be for the fifth spot in the Brewers starting rotation. Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, and Mike Fiers are already penciled in the Brewers pitching rotation, with highly regarded pitching prospect Wily Peralta expected to be the number four starter. This leaves Mark Rogers and Chris Narveson left to battle for the number five spot. Both of these pitchers have many things to like about them, with only a few things that could hurt their chances at winning the fifth spot in the Brewers rotation.
First, Chris Narveson has more experience than Mark Rogers at pitching in the majors. He has not been overly impressive in his career with a 4.67 ERA in 394 2/3 innings. He does struggle with his command at times, but even with his struggles, he has a respectable strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 7.4 in his career. Narveson is also coming off of a season where he only made two starts due to shoulder injury to his pitching arm, and when he did pitch, he struggled mightily having a 7.00 ERA in nine innings. Chris Narveson isn't a bad option for the Brewers as their number five starter because of his experience, but he is coming off of an injury that could hurt his chances of winning the fifth spot in the rotation.
Mark Rogers, once the highly touted pitching prospect who the Brewers drafted fifth overall out of high school in 2004, is finally trying to become a fixture in the Brewers starting rotation this spring training. Mark Rogers has had a taste of the major leagues in 2010 and 2012 when the Brewers called him up in September, but due to multiple injures over his career, he hasn't developed into the ace the Brewers always envisioned him being. In his limited time in the major leagues, Rogers has shown glimpses of being an excellent pitcher, with a 3.49 ERA in 49 innings. He has also shown great control with only walking 17 batters, while striking out 52 batters in those 49 innings. Mark Rogers definitely has more potential and talent than Narveson, but his lack of experience could cost Rogers a spot in the starting rotation.
One of these pitchers will make the starting rotation while the other pitcher will either be sent to the bullpen, or will be pitching for a different team on Opening Day because both of these players are out of minor league options. Mark Rogers will be the number five starter for the Brewers because he is overall a better pitcher with more potential than Narveson, and the Brewers can not afford to let a talented arm like Rogers sit in the bullpen or on another team.
First, Chris Narveson has more experience than Mark Rogers at pitching in the majors. He has not been overly impressive in his career with a 4.67 ERA in 394 2/3 innings. He does struggle with his command at times, but even with his struggles, he has a respectable strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 7.4 in his career. Narveson is also coming off of a season where he only made two starts due to shoulder injury to his pitching arm, and when he did pitch, he struggled mightily having a 7.00 ERA in nine innings. Chris Narveson isn't a bad option for the Brewers as their number five starter because of his experience, but he is coming off of an injury that could hurt his chances of winning the fifth spot in the rotation.
Mark Rogers, once the highly touted pitching prospect who the Brewers drafted fifth overall out of high school in 2004, is finally trying to become a fixture in the Brewers starting rotation this spring training. Mark Rogers has had a taste of the major leagues in 2010 and 2012 when the Brewers called him up in September, but due to multiple injures over his career, he hasn't developed into the ace the Brewers always envisioned him being. In his limited time in the major leagues, Rogers has shown glimpses of being an excellent pitcher, with a 3.49 ERA in 49 innings. He has also shown great control with only walking 17 batters, while striking out 52 batters in those 49 innings. Mark Rogers definitely has more potential and talent than Narveson, but his lack of experience could cost Rogers a spot in the starting rotation.
One of these pitchers will make the starting rotation while the other pitcher will either be sent to the bullpen, or will be pitching for a different team on Opening Day because both of these players are out of minor league options. Mark Rogers will be the number five starter for the Brewers because he is overall a better pitcher with more potential than Narveson, and the Brewers can not afford to let a talented arm like Rogers sit in the bullpen or on another team.
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