The Brewers Pitching Staff with Lucroy Behind the Plate

Visibly we've seen Randy Wolf have problems with Jonathan Lucroy's calls, and now we see Will Nieves get a start over Lucroy with Yovani Gallardo on the mound. This isn't a situation where Lucroy needed a day off, the Brewers manager opted to sit Lucroy with a struggling Gallardo on the mound.

Taking a closer look, it appears there might be something to Gallardo struggling with Lucroy.  However, Lucroy seems to be handling everyone else just fine.

YO GALLARDO - In 2010, Gallardo had a 2.66 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 88 innings.  When Jon Lucroy was catching Gallardo in 97 innings, he had a 4.92 ERA. In 2011, Gallardo has a 2.70 ERA with Nieves/Kottaras catching 20 innings vs a 9.37 ERA with Lucroy catching 16.1 innings.

CHRIS NARVESON - In 2010, Narveson had a 5.49 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 60.2 innings.  When Jon Lucroy was catching Bush in 107 innings, he had a 4.71 ERA. In 2011, Narveson has a 1.45 ERA with Nieves catching 18.2 innings vs a 8.79 ERA with Lucroy catching 14.1 innings.

RANDY WOLF - In 2010, Wolf had a 4.33 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 203.2 innings.  When Jon Lucroy was catching Wolf in 12 innings, he had a 1.50 ERA.  In 2011, Wolf has a 2.90 ERA with Nieves/Kottaras catching 31 innings vs a 0.00 ERA with Lucroy catching 6.2 innings.

DAVE BUSH -  In 2010, Bush had a 4.22 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 83.1 innings.  When Jon Lucroy was catching Bush in 91 innings, he had a 4.85 ERA.

MANNY PARRA - In 2010, Parra had a 5.55 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 58.1 innings.  When Jon Lucroy was catching Parra in 63.2 innings, he had a 4.38 ERA.

SHAUN MARCUM - In 2011, Marcum has a 4.22 ERA with Nieves/Kottaras catching 10.2 innings vs a 1.38 ERA with Lucroy catching 26 innings.

Obviously, the 2011 numbers are a very small sample, but I threw those numbers in there just out of curiosity. 

Randy Wolff scrapped Lucroy right from the time he laid eyes on him in 2010, struggling through 12 innings.  Parra and Narveson had lower ERA's with Lucroy in 2010. Bush was slightly worse with Lucroy behind the plate.  The biggest discrepancy belongs to Gallardo, who was about 2.5 runs better per 9 innings with Zaun or Kottaras catching instead of Lucroy in '10.  Also off to a rough start with Lucroy in 2011 compared to Nieves/Kottaras.


As I put this together, Gallardo pitches great through 5 innings, then blows up in the 6th, all while Nieves is catching.  Clearly Lucroy catching Gallardo isn't the sole problem with Gallardo's recent struggles, but it could very well be a contributing factor to his subpar production based on these stats.

God Bless America

I really hope they have an inspired rendition of "God Bless America" during the Brewers vs Bravest game tonight. I hope all of MLB does for that matter. They should bring out the big time singers instead of playing the standard recording.

"We will not tire. We will not falter. We will not fail. You can run, but you can't run forever. You can hide, but we will find you" - George W Bush

Marco Estrada

He went 7 innings, gave up just two runs, and had guys swinging and missing an awful lot last night. What also amazed me was that he wad touching 94 mph plus on the radar gun. I don't think the gun was inflating the numbers because Mike Leake was sitting at just 89 mph. Estrada commented after the game that even he was surprised by his velocity.

It is clear Estrada is pitching too well to be removed from the team when Greinke comes back. The smart move would be to move Estrada to the pen... it won't be easy to clear the spot but he deserves a shot at staying on the team.

It's conceivable he could stick around the 94 mph velocity, working less innings out of the pen. That, combined with his above average changeup, he looks far too good to risk losing him to free agency.

Braun's deal

This is truly a remarkable contract. Things we know:

-Braun signed a new deal worth $105 million dollars in guaranteed money. From present time until his new deal is over, he will actually get $145.5 million in total guaranteed money. Safe to say he is now filthy rich.

-Braun is one of only 2 total major league players signed through 2020. (Tulowitski)

-Braun will be just about turning 37 years old when the deal is up. I will be just about 36 years old. That makes me feel pretty damn old.

-Braun and his agent initiated the contract talks.

-Braun signed the largest total money deal in Brewers franchise history.

-Braun is a Brewer for the next 9, possibly 10 years.

-Braun got a $10 million signing bonus. That's quite a lump sum bank deposit.

-Braun has a no trade clause in the contract.

-Braun didn't once mention to Melvin his existing "club friendly" deal in the negotiations.

-Braun deferred approximately $18 million of the total money until after the service time in the contract ends. He'll be receiving interest free payments through the year 2031. This means he is losing out on potentially another $1 million plus in interest. This amazes me more than anything. He did this to allow the team to still be able to sign good players in years to come.

Braun signs 5-yr ext. for $105 million to be a Brewer through 2020 season.

This is absolute fantastic news. Braun is basically a Brewer for life. $21 million per year average is a steep price, but to lock up one of the top 5 hitters in MLB during his full prime is a great thing for the franchise.

Of course this means Prince is 100% not going to be a Brewer next year, but realistically we already knew that.


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Ron Roenicke on Gomez

"I don't thinking that is where he's going to be all year. You look at some of the other starts guys have had where they're hitting .200. Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter, they're not going to hit .200. Carlos is not a .200 hitter."

You are correct, Ron, Carlos is a career .244 hitter, we have much brighter days to look forward to.


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Interesting quote from Braun

On Friday, the Brewers put 5 infielders with the game on the line to try and increase the likelihood of throwing Werth out at the plate on a ground ball.  They brought Ryan Braun in from left field to play shorstop basically.

"It seems like every year that situation comes up a couple of times," Braun said. "That's my natural position. I'm good at short. I'm comfortable there. I'm serious, I'm just waiting for an opportunity to get back there."

Wait... what?  Braun still thinks he can and should play in the infield?  I realize this is a very confident man talking, but he might be a little lacking in the self-aware department.

Braun is never going to be an infielder again after his efforts at 3B earlier in this career. And by never I mean never.  All this tells me is that Braun doesn't feel that comfortable in LF, or maybe not as comfortable as he could be.  It makes sense because he probably played in the infield for 20 years of his baseball life (tee-ball to the majors), and has only been in the outfielder for going on his 4th year.

Braun shouldn't be "waiting for an opportunity to get back there"... he should be 100% focused on becoming a better left fielder.  If he has doubts about his skills in the OF, this might have been a glimpse into that.

Locked in for 7-8 hours of baseball today

Feel free to check out my in-game comments via twitter @KevinPanzarella.

Wolf and Lucroy

George Kottaras was basically Randy Wolf's personal catcher in 2010 after a string of starts where Randy Wolf just couldn't get on the same page with then Rookie Jonathan Lucroy.

Wolf and Lucroy have been paired together once again for the game tonight. This prompted some quotes from manager Ron Roenicke (per JS):

"I know they talked a lot in spring training, I brought it to their attention they they need to work it out. 'Luc' is going to be our catcher. I don't want him to go through the season without catching (Wolf).

"I'm hoping with all the conversations they've had, they can work it out. It's a matter of getting to know what a pitcher likes in certain situations."

Let's just say they haven't quite worked it out yet.  Wolf and Lucroy have 3 mound visits/discussions/pep talks through 3 innings already.  Not exactly the ideal communication you are looking for.  Hopefully the veteran Wolf can get on the same page as the up and coming Lucroy.

Update: It seems to be pretty smooth sailing as the game goes on. No further mound visits and Wolf has 9 strikeouts through 6 innings.  

Zach Greinke story via Will Carroll of SI.com

Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) was on Sportsradio 1250 this morning discussing the Brewers.  He told a really interesting story about Zach Greinke:

Carroll said that last year with Kansas City, Greinke was pitching in a 2-1 game and started getting bored/distracted as the game went on.  So he said to his catcher Miguel Olivo "74".  He did this a couple more times in the next few innings before Olivo finally realized that Greinke kept calling his pitch speed on the stadium radar gun. 

That story basically says two things to me:  1. Greinke has amazing talent to be able to throw a pitch at exactly the speed he wants several times. 2. For him to pitch well for the Brewers this year, it's going to take about 10% physical ability (because it seems effortless almost for him), and 90% mental focus.