Recap: The Brewers ran through yet another "let's kickstart this thing with some veteran leadership" offseason and once again it worked out terribly. In classic bad team fashion they owned the year poorly - 6-12 in April and 10-24 as of May 19th - before showing some life, where "life" is defined as "winning about as many games as they lost" for a couple months. Then they went 12-18 and 10-19 down the stretch to make some fans forget about the good times and others put up hope that they were only bad because they were trying new things. To which I say, that's only a reason for optimisim if the new things work. All in all, this team was the worst team in the American League and there was really only one club - the Minnesota Twins - who were even close.
1974 Outlook: The former Seattle Pilots carry the Pilots Curse and it may never be broken... unless Seattle gets a new team. Let this be a lesson, sports organizations! No former Seattle team can ever make it in a new city! The Brwers do have a couple of decent looking prospects including 20 year old character actor James Hong (note: not his real age) and 25 year old singist Steve Winwood (that is his real age) and so they could conceivably be competitive in a few years... perhaps when/after the city of Seattle wins their lawsuit against MLB and gets a new team via expansion.
Chris Allen
LHP No. 29
RL, 6'2" 201 lbs.
Born 1944-03-23
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 IOW AAA | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1.85 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 14 |
| 1971 OAK MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.35 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 31.0 | 40 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 14 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.85 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 34.2 | 21 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 3 | 7 | 0 | 4.12 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 63.1 | 75 | 31 | 29 | 23 | 39 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
I wouldn't exactly say that the 29 year old Chris "Dream" Allen's career was resurrected after the Brewers claimed him off of waivers from the Yankees in May but... he was okay enough in a middle-relief, decidedly non-LOOGY role. In spite of 5 bad appearances with New York at the top of the season, Allen actually pitched much better as a reliever (3.60 ERA) than a starter (6.38) and given all the youth the Brewers would like to try out in the rotation that might have been the last chances he'll get in the rotation. It should be noted that all of Allen's starts came in his really awful 1-1, 6.55 September, where he also allowed 3 runs in 3.2 IP in relief, too. I don't know what to make of that but I wanted to share.
Allen's out pitch is a change up and so his splits tend to be pretty even. He does have a curve that he mixes in, mostly when he's starting or has to throw more than an inning or so in relief. He's reportedly not a great fit in the Brewers' clubhouse but still may find a role if he can get the opponents' average down a bit (hitters hit .293 against him last year). If not, hey, that's what spring training is for, right?
Fernando Ceballos
CF No. 31
RR, 6'1" 202 lbs.
Born 1943-06-29
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 MIL MLB | .225 | 136 | 520 | 54 | 117 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 9 | 75 | 14 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .206 | 61 | 180 | 14 | 37 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 5 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .171 | 13 | 41 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .231 | 86 | 303 | 30 | 70 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 2 | 48 | 18 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Ceballos had been slotted into a 5th-ish OF role after being pushed into starting in 1971 and even opened the year in AAA. He didn't hit but it didn't matter, as the major league club traded off their starter Ross Poynor in a salary dump. Ceballos held the starting job from May to July: he was pretty OK in May and June but fell off a cliff in July, hitting .155 and propelling the team to look elsewhere for the rest of the year.
Even when he's playing well, Ceballos hits for about as empty an average as you'll see in the league. Everything that comes off his bat is a single and he walks so little that he just barely missed having an OBP (.232) lower than his batting average. This is a man with a literal career *high* of 9 bases on balls. He'll swing at anything that moves and unfortunately not come into contact with much. Ceballos does have good speed although again it's largely wasted on the offensive side of the ledger thanks to never getting on base to use it. Defensively he's a solid centerfielder - the fact that he's the best defender on the 40 man roster probably says more for the quality of Brewers' fielding prospects than it does for Ceballos but he does have excellent range and a good arm.
What will the team do with Ceballos in 1974? At this point they know what they're getting and what they're getting ain't much. They have two other guys on the roster who look like they can play center, which is two more than you would normally have before you use a guy like Ceballos. Then again, he's started here before...
King Decker
RHP No. 27
RR, 6'3" 201 lbs.
Born 1947-02-23
[/code]
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 IOW AAA | 6 | 13 | 0 | 3.44 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 188.1 | 148 | 85 | 72 | 133 | 127 |
| 1971 OAK MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13.1 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | 13 | 4 | 0 | 2.72 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 151.2 | 120 | 50 | 46 | 83 | 141 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6.12 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 47.0 | 55 | 35 | 32 | 31 | 29 |
| 1973 TUC AAA | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1.80 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 60.0 | 43 | 12 | 12 | 23 | 40 |
| 1973 OAK MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.62 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11.2 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3.22 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 150.2 | 142 | 56 | 54 | 74 | 87 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
[/code]
Decker was a mid-level prospect for the A's (a 4th round draft pick) who never really worked out for them and following a bad start and demotion to AAA the Brewers were able to acquire him for cash considerations. He came to Milwaukee and really pitched to the home park, posting a 6-2, 2.43 record at home for the year (which also means a 3-6, 4.32 on the road). Decker came onto the team like gangbusters with a 3-1, 1.74 June and that was good enough to keep him pitching every 4th day in spite of a kind of pedestrian 6-6, 3.89 record the rest of the way.
Decker throws a 12 to 6 curve that scouts say is one of the best in baseball. Problem is, he goes through long stretches where he can't control it and when that heppens he turns into a 2-pitch pitcher and gets creamed. His 4.4 BB/9 was not good and was miles better than what he'd done in the pros for Oakland in 2 stints (6.0). You wouldn't expect a guy like this to go long into games and Decker doesn't have any kind of great reserve of stamina that would allow him to muscle through 130 pitch outings. He does, unlike some guys on this staff, have a nice pickoff move and caught more runners than stole on him last year.
Decker's 26 and likely is what he is at this point. For the Brewers that probably means he's going to fit into the middle of the rotation until he proves he can't handle the smoke.
Elio Di Rupo
OF No. 20
LL, 6'4" 200 lbs.
Born 1951-07-20
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SAL A | .226 | 64 | 230 | 28 | 52 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 68 | 4 |
| 1972 SAL A | .341 | 90 | 334 | 57 | 114 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 54 | 50 | 58 | 15 |
| 1973 SHR AA | .324 | 84 | 333 | 46 | 108 | 21 | 4 | 13 | 53 | 27 | 36 | 6 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .242 | 52 | 186 | 21 | 45 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 28 | 7 | 31 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .288 | 19 | 80 | 11 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Di Rupo finished the season as the team's starting centerfielder. Still just 22 years of age, the 22 yaer old poli sci major out of Belgium should have been overmatched. But he wasn't and now he's got at least a dark horse of a chance to start in CF going forward. Di Rupo's shown some excellent contact hitting in the low minors along with some pretty solid pop. He'll turn on a pitch that's up in the zone but he's also got no problems going with an outside pitch, a good combination. As he's risen through the minors he's seemed less and less able to draw walks; hopefully that's a trend that reverses itself as he gets more experience. He's a solid if unspectacular centerfielder who likes to run around in the dugout like a tall, skinny version of David Eckstein (who?).
1973 is probably too soon to call it for Di Rupo but this kid looks like he'll be something special, mark my words.
Eddie Dimmock
C No. 12
LR, 6'1" 201 lbs.
Born 1942-05-17
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CAL MLB | .214 | 41 | 117 | 11 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 24 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .185 | 18 | 54 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| 1972 CAL MLB | .205 | 41 | 83 | 12 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .180 | 72 | 211 | 9 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 51 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Once upon a time Dimmock and Sam Rahn were competing catchers on strong National League teams: Dimmock started for the still-relevant Dodgers in '69 and '70, Dimmock was the Phillies' main back stop from 1970-71. Now they're competing for a job on the worst team in the league. As the better defender and left-handed side of a potential platoon you'd expect Dimmock to get more at-bats but even catchers have to get hits sometimes and Dimmock hasn't hit over .214 since 69 (he hit .260 that year). This year they tried platooning him early, got away from it after a .227 April and .205 May, and then handed him the job vs RHP in September again only to see him go 11-58 (.190) for the month.
Dimmock's bat is sloooow and he just can't get around on fastballs at this point. He did launch 2 mistakes into the stands this year, his highest total since 1970, but... that ain't power. Overall he OPSed 180/223/237, so not even a 600 OPS. That's bad! On defense, this team isn't the best out there at holding runners but Dimmock still threw out 36% of guys while also not doing that bad-for-pitchers stuff that "good" catchers do with calling fastballs on suspected steal attempts. Dimmock was never particularly fast and a decade of handling catching duties in professional baseball has turned him into one of the slowest guys in the league.
The best thing about Dimmock is that he tries hard and sets a good example for those around him - as good as an example as you can set, anyway, when your best is a .180 average.
Jon Douglas
RHP No. 16
RR, 6'1" 198 lbs.
Born 1942-05-29
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 HOU MLB | 5 | 11 | 28 | 3.25 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 91.1 | 68 | 39 | 33 | 33 | 78 |
| 1972 HOU MLB | 4 | 9 | 18 | 4.33 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 | 62 | 37 | 35 | 34 | 53 |
| 1973 LAD MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 13 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 4 | 6 | 11 | 5.19 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 43.1 | 43 | 26 | 25 | 17 | 31 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Douglas is a former All-Star closer for the Astros who lost his job in Houston because he has a tendency to melt down in pressure situations. It's not the greatest look for a stopper. Houston just straight up sold him to the Dodgers, who then lost him to Milwaukee on a waiver claim in late May. The Brewers did a lot of these kinds of claims last year. Many of them worked out. This one? Maybe not so much. They dropped the 31 year old Douglas straight into that stopper role but in the late months especially he frankly burned them (5 blown saves) more often than he helped them (4 actual saves) while allowing 15 runs in 17 innings over August and September (that's a 7.94 ERA for those scoring at home).
Douglas throws heat, a fastball that breaks sideways instead of straight up like most fastballs thrown that hard, along with a change. He generally likes to go after guys, which was fine in the massive Astrodome but proved really bad in Dodger Stadium and then Milwaukee County Stadium; he allowed 12 HRs last season in the 2 stops combined. To some degree, hey, a guy who challenges the hitters is a good man to have pitching the 9th for you. You need to be successful a bit more often than this.
If Douglas is still on this team next year, it's probably in a lesser role (they already moved on in terms of the closer to the 23 year old John Landis, who only threw 17.1 IP last year so won't get a write-up)... but man, that fastball is a lot to want to chase after and maybe Douglas will figure out how to keep the ball down in the zone given that this is likely his last chance.
Marius Gaddi
RHP No. 2
RR, 6'2" 200 lbs.
Born 1942-07-28
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 PHI MLB | 16 | 20 | 0 | 3.46 | 40 | 40 | 12 | 298.1 | 286 | 125 | 115 | 92 | 233 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 11 | 16 | 0 | 3.95 | 36 | 36 | 6 | 257.1 | 232 | 122 | 113 | 102 | 168 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 6 | 19 | 0 | 4.32 | 32 | 27 | 4 | 185.0 | 206 | 107 | 89 | 61 | 122 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Gaddi was the Brewers' attempt at bringing in veteran leadership for the 1973 season. Some experts figured this was doomed to failure from the start, as Gaddi has never been a real "leader" type. Others said hey, why not, this is a guy who could really use a change of scenery. Things went substantially worse than either camp could have predicted. Gaddi got zero support, it's true, but he also gave up an awful lot of runs. He was somehow 3-4 at the end of May despite an ERA approaching 5 (4.94) and that's where the bottom dropped out for the former 27 game winner: 1-4, 3.86 in June, 1-5, 4.00 in July, 0-6, 3.99 in August before he was pushedo ut to the bullpen in September. Okay, so yeah, the "no support" calls coming from Gaddi himself had some merit but... wow.
Gaddi still throws with a lot of velocity, although he won't slow down and that's cut into his stamina in recent seasons. The Brewers might have been guilty of leaving him in a bit too long, in fact, in April and May. At the same time this is a guy who completed 17 out of 37 starts in his record-setting 1970 season (27-5, 2.31) and it was reasonable to conclude he could work through it. His ability to strike guys out also didn't really rebound from a big drop in 1972 and those years of being a top-5 strikeout man might be behind him. Gaddi still has a snappy slider and a deceptive change in addition to the riser though so it wouldn't be surprising to see a return to form. He did lower his walk rate to a reasonable 3.0/9 level and the 10 wild pitches, although man, that's a lot of them, were his lowest total since 1969. Gaddi's never been good at holding runners and the last 2 years he's descended into being very, very bad: 26 out of 31 guys stole on him in 1972 and this year it was 18 of 21.
Gaddi at this point in his career is an enigma wrapped up in a riddle. In some ways a move to the bullpen might be the best option but in many others why would you move a guy with this kind of talent to short relief unless you really, really had to?
Nelson Hernandez
DH/OF No. 3
RR, 6'0" 192 lbs.
Born 1942-11-07
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SD MLB | .224 | 37 | 152 | 18 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 5 | 35 | 2 |
| 1971 CHC MLB | .298 | 66 | 245 | 39 | 73 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 34 | 28 | 38 | 2 |
| 1972 WIC AAA | .296 | 35 | 135 | 19 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 9 | 26 | 0 |
| 1972 CHC MLB | .220 | 87 | 314 | 31 | 69 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 26 | 54 | 7 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .133 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .228 | 80 | 224 | 23 | 51 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 16 | 39 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Hernandez has taken a journey over the last 3 years and if the rumors we're hearing about a big trade that will bring "back" a well-known slugger are true, he could soon be off to his 4th team in 4 seasons. Hernandez is a 2-time All-Star, making the midsummer classic in 1969 and 1970, but has really fallen on some hard times when he ought to be in his prime. His 27 HR season in 1970 appears to have been a fluke and I don't know how he managed to pick up 16 triples that year because he has average speed at best. To make a case for Hernandez he's not a "pure" DH, mostly playing the spot because the young Brewers have guys they'd rather try in the outfield ahead of him.
Hernandez is by no means a bad guy to have in the clubhouse, although now that he's 30 he might be a bit old for this particular team. If he can get his average back up - who knows, maybe he just can't hit in Milwaukee - he could be a useful 4th outfielder / pinch-hitter.
James Hong
DH/2B No. 26
LR, 5'12" 167 lbs.
Born 1953-02-22
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 NEW S A | .409 | 6 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1971 DAN A | .302 | 44 | 172 | 33 | 52 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 22 | 31 | 1 |
| 1971 LYN A | .000 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 WR A | .400 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 CHL AA | .268 | 11 | 41 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1971 EVA AAA | .326 | 12 | 43 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .263 | 52 | 198 | 31 | 52 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 30 | 19 | 48 | 1 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .255 | 92 | 322 | 40 | 82 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 28 | 48 | 52 | 7 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .351 | 40 | 151 | 24 | 53 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 5 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
James Hong isn't fooling anyone with that "1953" birth year except I guess for the MLB registrar. Still, if he really is 20 AND HE IS NOT he's a future superstar in the making. Even if he's not AND HE'S NOT he's awwwwwfully good. In spite of missing most of the season with a broken wrist and then a strained oblique muscle, Hong raised his average nearly 100 points compared to the year before while flashing grade A power and some pretty solid clutch hitting. He struck out a bit too much but at his age WHICH IS PROBABLY LIKE 30 he could still cut way down on those and really justify that average.
Hong actually did a pretty solid job of fielding, too. I graded him below Wing-fung Yi (see below) primarily because the 29 year old Yi knows the tricks of the trade, but Hong's got good range and really only isn't considered a shortstop or 3rd baseman because of a poor arm. He's also got a lot of natural speed ("supernatural" might be a better term) that he was able to turn into steals last year at a solid clip. He's no real threat to bunt or do a hit and run with but this is a middle of the lineup guy; you shouldn't be playing small ball with Hong anyway.
In spite of a good head for baseball and a willingness to do anything the coaching staff asks of him, Hong is considered a disruptive influence due to the fact that he is an evil genius and is always plotting to take over the world. If the Brewers can just see past that, they've got a multi-time All Star in their midst.
Jordan Irons
LHP No. 45
LL, 6'6" 205 lbs.
Born 1944-11-18
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SLC AAA | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3.49 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 28.1 | 25 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 |
| 1971 CAL MLB | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.57 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 45.1 | 53 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 22 |
| 1972 SLC AAA | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.30 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 66.1 | 43 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 25 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.70 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 26.2 | 31 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4.88 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 42.1 | 46 | 23 | 23 | 26 | 8 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 10 | 12 | 0 | 3.65 | 29 | 29 | 6 | 189.2 | 203 | 93 | 77 | 67 | 65 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
It really feels too late in an expansion team's development cycle to have a guy like this be the staff ace and yet here we are. Irons was once upon a time drafted with the first pick of the 2nd round but injuries derailed his career. He always seemed to pitch well against the Brewers, however, and perhaps that's why they traded for him in May of 1972. In the end, it cost them a 4th outfielder type in Jared Farrell so hey, in that respect it worked out okay.
Irons came into the minors with a solid fastball and a good 12-to-6 curve but as his heater has slowed down he's added more and more pitches to try and make up for the lack of movement. Now he's a classic slop-balling lefthander. he does do a decent job of keeping the ball down and he forces hitters to beat him with several hits - or walks - at once so that's nice. His quality start ratio was just over 50%, which is not great, and he seemed to have run out of gas last year, posting a 1-4. 5.47 September that included a hamstring strain that took him out of the game on September 10 and which he never really recovered from (note: he did but that's my excuse).
On a good or even an average team a guy like Jordan Irons is a 5th starter / spot man. The Brewers are neither of those and so he was not only their "ace" in 1973, he's their de facto ace for 74.
Peter Jenni
OF No. 14
RR, 5'10" 177 lbs.
Born 1949-04-20
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 DAN A | .316 | 75 | 294 | 33 | 93 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 39 | 26 | 40 | 12 |
| 1971 EVA AAA | .263 | 10 | 38 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 SA AA | .277 | 50 | 188 | 20 | 52 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 29 | 18 | 7 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .282 | 58 | 216 | 21 | 61 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 10 | 34 | 7 |
| 1973 SHR AA | .143 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .303 | 38 | 119 | 12 | 36 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .236 | 58 | 203 | 18 | 48 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 25 | 7 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Boy, do the Brewers love rushing their prospects. I guess when you're a 95 loss team that comes with the territory. Jenni was drafted in 1971 and by the end of that same year was in AAA already. They did manage to keep him down in 72, thanks I'm sure to the fact that they pushed him to AA San Antonio for the first half of the year, but when he opened 1973 hitting .300 and with Fernando Ceballos being... Fernando Ceballos, they had practically no choice but to call him up. What they got out of him wasn't the best in the world and was made worse by a .205 month of August. 8 days later his season ended with a torn abdominal muscle.
Jenni has yet to show the power that scouts insists he has. Maybe it's centerfielder power? He attacks the ball all over the plate but hasn't figured out pitch selection just yet, both in the sense of waiting out for a walk and for waiting for something he'd like to hit very far. He's got a combination of speed and decent contact skills that ought to translate into a good average in the major leagues once he puts it all together and he's got good if not great speed to sit towards the top of the lineup if he can do so. Defensively he's OK; as a centerfielder there are certainly better guys out there but his bat really isn't suited for the corners (at least not yet). Jenni does work hard when he's not doing weirdo physics stuff.
With the main competition being Fernando Ceballos, Jenni has to be considered the complete and total front-runner for the starting CF job in 1974.
Pat Jones
3B/1B No. 5
LR, 5'11" 200 lbs.
Born 1937-05-02
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 MIL MLB | .316 | 53 | 155 | 21 | 49 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 18 | 0 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | .274 | 43 | 84 | 8 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .214 | 6 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .234 | 45 | 107 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 2 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .303 | 102 | 366 | 47 | 111 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 44 | 13 | 30 | 15 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
How, exactly, did the 36 year old Jones manage to wiggle his way into a starting job for the first time in 3 years? On the one hand, sure, the Brewers really had no business handing the gig off to an oldster; on the other, it's not like they had anyone else to offer the job to. Even at that, they initially handed the job off to Francisco Carrasco (not listed in here because he is no longer on the 40 man roster) but the former Phillies project hit .230 with no power and was outrighted to the minors entirely in early July. Jones took up the slack with an overachieving Ghulam Nabi Azid getting a long look in September. Oh, and also he somehow managed to make the All-Star Game this year. Bad year for third basemen I guess...
Jones is a veteran hitter who knows how to do the job. He's not a big power threat - in fact, the 8 HRs were one off from his career high - but while his career .272 average doesn't necessarily show it, he's a guy who will straight up put the ball in play and hit to all fields. He does have a particular love for the high, hard one, although he'll forgo it and choke up on his swing with 2 strikes. Jones still has good, solid speed. If the 60s was more of a running era he might have had some 30 steal seasons; even so, 15+ at 36 years of age seems about right. He no longer has the range of even an average third baseman but his arm is solid enough that he won't hurt you out there.
It's really hard to project another 300+ at-bat season out of Jones but then again last year came out of nowhere. Really, all it'd take is a come-down from Azid.
Anatoly Karpov
SS/2B No. 10
RR, 5'10" 164 lbs.
Born 1951-06-27
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 GB R | .352 | 54 | 216 | 37 | 76 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 47 | 32 | 41 | 9 |
| 1971 NEW S A | .260 | 22 | 77 | 4 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 3 |
| 1972 DAN A | .300 | 29 | 110 | 15 | 33 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 24 | 6 |
| 1972 SA AA | .219 | 9 | 32 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 1973 SHR AA | .413 | 15 | 63 | 16 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .306 | 17 | 72 | 6 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 2 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .318 | 58 | 214 | 32 | 68 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 12 | 35 | 5 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Did the entire 1971 draft class play in the major leagues for this team last year? The 5th overall pick from 2 years ago, Karpov rose to the major leagues after not even a month in AAA and looked really nice as a hitter when he wasn't on the sidelines with a nagging hamstring injury. After just 48 games he is already the Brewers ALL TIME LEADER for shortstops in triples and is 5th overall in that category. He strikes out too much to be a consistent .300 hitter in the major leagues but the power does seem to be for real (at least, for real as a shortstop). Fielding-wise, he doesn't have a good arm and is mostly a shortstop on this team because the Brewers already have a load of second basemen. Still, he's got really good range and won't embarrass anyone out there. Karpov stole 35 bases in college; I don't see that necessarily happening in the majors but he does have some nice speed. Like a lot of speedy, scrappy guys like him, he'll lay down the bunt when asked and sometimes when not asked: even with his power, it's a tool he can use to pick up a cheeky base hit.
I might pump the breaks on Karpov becoming a "grandmaster" of Shortstops but I do think he'll be a solid starter throughout his 20s.
Bob Keith
DH/OF No. 23
LL, 6'2" 208 lbs.
Born 1948-02-20
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 QUI A | .200 | 21 | 40 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 1971 SA AA | .228 | 86 | 276 | 19 | 63 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 42 | 84 | 1 |
| 1971 TAC AAA | .125 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .295 | 81 | 264 | 41 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 30 | 39 | 51 | 0 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .338 | 28 | 74 | 15 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 2 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .253 | 67 | 150 | 10 | 38 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Out of all the men to play outfield/first base/DH for the Brewers last year, Keith was one of them. After finding his way into the Milwaukee organization after having been drafted by the Cubs, Keith dallied with .300 in AAA Evanston in 1972 and hit well over it to open 73 so the Brewers decided to see if he could do the same in the big leagues. Turns out, he did not. Keith is a low runner who hits a lot of ground balls and in the major leagues he struck out way too much. He does have a good eye for pitches but seemed overwhelmed by major league breaking stuff last season. He's not a good fielder although his decent enough hands and good arms make him one of the team's better candidates for a corner outfield spot, at least defensively. He was asked to punch-hit 23 times and the results, let's just say, were not great: 2-22 with 8 Ks and a grand total of 2 RBI.
Keith faced lefties just 6 times last year and that's probably the role he'll see with this team in the future, assuming, of course, that he sticks with the major league team. He'll turn 26 in February so the clock is ticking.
Jun Kim
RF No. 15
LL, 6'0" 200 lbs.
Born 1938-09-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BOS MLB | .283 | 111 | 396 | 43 | 112 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 43 | 37 | 60 | 7 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .247 | 113 | 421 | 47 | 104 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 47 | 40 | 74 | 8 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .239 | 113 | 435 | 54 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 43 | 42 | 62 | 14 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
How much is veteran leadership really worth to a team like the Milwaukee Brewers? Honestly, probably not all that much. For the second straight year, Jun Kim was a bit of a disappointment compared to his last season in Boston - although maybe people should pump the brakes on that, as he's a .248 career hitter. Last year saw a dip in power and roughly a month missed with back issues that at this point have to be considered part of what you get out of the guy.
When Kim is in the lineup his hitting can best be described as good enough given the defense he brings. He had 14 steals, his highest total since 1970, which is nice, although a good team probably doesn't put him anywhere near the top of the lineup to take advantage of that speed. Kim probably won't win his 7th Gold Glove this year but he's very much in the running with a plus-plus arm that led to 13 baserunner kills in right field and enough range that in another life he could have been a CF. You know what? Maybe he'll win that 7th GG after all. He's exactly the kind of veteran leader he's hyped up to be in the clubhouse. As much as Kim wants to play for a winner, sending him away from that locker room could also open things up for some real rifts given the young disruptive and selfish players on the team.
Kim at this point is who he is. He's unlikely to find a starting job on a contending team unless said team really, really values defense in an outfield corner position but he'd still have some value as a part-timer, perhaps sitting vs LHPs (he hit just .203 against them last year) with maybe the best established outfield arm in all of baseball.
Sincere Littleton
1B/OF No. 32
RR, 6'0" 200 lbs.
Born 1943-01-29
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TAC AAA | .260 | 107 | 281 | 45 | 73 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 51 | 37 | 0 |
| 1971 CHC MLB | .000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 WIC AAA | .233 | 110 | 365 | 53 | 85 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 54 | 43 | 58 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .190 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .243 | 76 | 239 | 40 | 58 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .276 | 48 | 105 | 12 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
A team like the Brewers is exactly where you'd find a former busted prospect like Littleton and to his credit in the 105 at bat run he had in 1973 the soon-to-be 31 year old finally seemed to come through on his prodigious potential. The Cubs could never quite find a spot for him in the OF corners or at first base but in Milwaukee he had plenty of time to do that, not to mention 16 appearances as a pinch-hitter, which might be his future job here or elsewhere.
Littleton has decent power and gets on base a lot. He's hit a combined .262 with the Brewers over the past 2 years but even if that's his ceiling as a contact hitter it's pretty OK given all the other things he does. He's not a great fielder by any stretch but is also not absolutely horrible at the corner OF positions or at first base. He's got no speed to speak of. Sometimes a guy like this becomes a journeyman because he has a bad attitude but that's not the case with Sincere (who also has one of my favorite OOTP-generated names), who works hard and doesn't speak out much.
I personally think that Littleton will have a spot on this roster next year and, well, I'm the one who's opinion counts the most, but you never know with a guy like this. He's at that age where guys do just suddenly fall off a cliff and Littleton isn't super far from being a AAAA player anyway.
Victor Marin
RHP No. 8
RR, 5'11" 178 lbs.
Born 1941-04-09
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CHC MLB | 5 | 10 | 0 | 4.19 | 36 | 15 | 3 | 150.1 | 161 | 83 | 70 | 53 | 93 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | 4 | 14 | 1 | 3.94 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 150.2 | 157 | 73 | 66 | 49 | 83 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.25 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 86.2 | 86 | 45 | 41 | 26 | 65 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
I look at this guy and a. in my head his nickname is "Victor the Mariner" which b. leads to me thinking "hey this guy will be the Diego Segui of this save" (this save?). But no, I think that's unlikely; if Marin has another season or two like this one... well, he already might not get another big chance. Marin served as the Brewers' guy in middle relief and had almost as many meltdowns (8) as shutdowns (9). He did a good job of generating strikeouts but hitters had a bad habit of collecting lots of hits off of him anyway. When he throws in relief, which last year was all the time, he throws a good high 80s/low 90s cut fastball along with a devastating change. When he starts or has to go longer innings he tends to work in a show-me slider.
Marin is basically a 2-pitch pitcher so really works best in relief, although of course the Brewers will use him wherever he needs to be used. I am personally crossing my fingers and hoping for a resurgent 1974 because, look, I like his name.
Jacquot Mazzucato
DH No. 31
LL, 5'10" 183 lbs.
Born 1948-08-27
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PFD AA | .235 | 64 | 183 | 26 | 43 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 28 | 25 | 37 | 2 |
| 1971 DEN AAA | .291 | 51 | 134 | 23 | 39 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 44 | 18 | 20 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .229 | 121 | 362 | 38 | 83 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 57 | 39 | 77 | 3 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .138 | 23 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .155 | 30 | 103 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 27 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
It's not looking great for Mazzucato. After the 25 year old posted a lowkey solid 1972 season for the Brewers, they stuck him back in the lineup this year expecting more of the same. Instead, he failed to make contact with the ball, striking out more than a quarter of the time, and by early June the team had enough and sent him down to get more seasoning. He... did not get more seasoning, in fact the AAA manager barely used him except as a pinch-hitter, and it's entirely possible that we've seen the last of this guy.
Mazzucato is a guy who doesn't pull the ball as much as you'd expect with a profile like his. He does have a big uppercut swing which, when things went right, led to a good amount of round trip tickets but last year just led to a lot of ugly whiffs. He's defensively... adequate, with good hands making up to some degree for a lack of range. He's also a vocal guy in the locker room but in a good way... when he's hitting at least. Will we see him again? Ever?
Ghulam Nabi Azid
IF/LF No. 18
RR, 5'9" 186 lbs.
Born 1949-03-07
[code]
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 NEW S A | .313 | 57 | 208 | 36 | 65 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 34 | 20 | 43 | 1 |
| 1971 DAN A | .267 | 18 | 60 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 0 |
| 1972 SA AA | .310 | 41 | 145 | 21 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 24 | 16 | 0 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .347 | 68 | 176 | 24 | 61 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 34 | 23 | 33 | 0 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .248 | 108 | 355 | 47 | 88 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 36 | 49 | 61 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .296 | 42 | 152 | 15 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 16 | 21 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
[/dode]
Nothing about Nabi Azid as a prospect led anyone to believe he'd get promoted so quickly - the future Indian statesman was a 15th round pick in the 1971 draft and even this year filled a utility role for the AAA team - but he did and now, following a nice September, he might even have a future with this team. Nabi Azid has bested .300 at a couple stops now and hit .296; still, scouts think his lack of speed and only average ability to avoid Ks will keep him to around a .270ish average. If the power he displayed in AAA last year translates, maybe that's still enough. Nabi Azid played several positions with Evanston but mostly 3rd in the major leagues. He's nothing super fantastic at the hot corner, as he lacks the range and the arm to be an elite guy there. Still, the versatility should keep him in the league for a while.
How high will this guy soar? Let's be realistic, this is probably someone with the upside of a league average player. On a team as bad as the Brewers that looks like a star.
Kozue Nakamura
DH/1B No. 13
RR, 5'11" 203 lbs.
Born 1942-04-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 MIL MLB | .313 | 150 | 565 | 60 | 177 | 29 | 2 | 4 | 65 | 46 | 56 | 0 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .320 | 36 | 128 | 17 | 41 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .174 | 41 | 132 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .278 | 71 | 198 | 22 | 55 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 12 | 17 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
After an amazing 1971 that earned Nakamura a trip to the All-Star Game and then an amazingly awful 1972, the 31 year old Japanese native split the difference in 1973. The problem is, a .278 average with no power is really not enough to keep you in a full-time role, not even with the Brewers. Nakamura did go 6-20 as a pinch-hitter. He's got a good clutch bat and can mash lefties well (284/337/375 last year... okay so "mash" isn't the best word but he did hit 100% of his HRs off of southpaws). Nakamura's a solid line drive hitter and has good bat control, so there's always that temptation that maybe he could become a .300 hitter again. His issue is, he does basically nothing but contact-hit so he'd almost have to be a .300 hitter to carry a regular job.
Nakamura could very well stick with the team as a right-handed pinch-hitter and platoon mate for Sergio Sicre. Fans expecting a repeat of 1971 will probably be disappointed but if you take a wider view this is a guy who was left unprotected in the 1970 Rule V Draft: anything they get out of him is pure gravy.
Philippe Petit
RHP No. 19
SR, 6'4" 193 lbs.
Born 1949-08-13
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 DAN A | 13 | 8 | 0 | 2.55 | 28 | 28 | 12 | 228.2 | 185 | 83 | 65 | 72 | 204 |
| 1971 EVA AAA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.38 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 26.0 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | 9 | 11 | 0 | 3.67 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 159.0 | 144 | 67 | 65 | 57 | 116 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.39 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 43.0 | 47 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 31 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | 10 | 7 | 0 | 2.41 | 25 | 25 | 3 | 178.2 | 144 | 49 | 48 | 51 | 140 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.58 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 42.2 | 45 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 27 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Philippe Petit followed the Luther Vandross model (see below!) of getting after batters in the high minors and then not having that stuff translate to the big leagues. Petit did generate a few whiffs off a good, solid curveball, which he also kept from hanging much in the major leagues. He throws in the low 90s and has a hitch in his get-up that scouts think will add a mile or two to his fastball once he fixes it. Petit did not complete a single game in the major leagues and barely averaged 6 innings a start. Some of that was the Brewers trying to limit his usage - this man has throws a *lot* of innings since getting drafted in 1970 - but Petit just doesn't seem like a guy who's going to regularly be able to pitch into the late frames.
Petit is also 24 and as noted he's got some areas where he can improve. You could do worse than having a guy like this throwing 6-7 innings a night for 30 or so starts a year.
Sam Rahn
C No. 24
RR, 5'12" 200 lbs.
Born 1941-02-07
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .261 | 125 | 448 | 47 | 117 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 52 | 34 | 79 | 0 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .167 | 9 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 1972 MON MLB | .172 | 30 | 87 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 19 | 0 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .070 | 25 | 71 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .228 | 98 | 294 | 32 | 67 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 44 | 72 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
So... this is the state of catching in the American League: Sam Rahn was an All-Star this year. Rahn isn't a great hitter, has zero power, and isn't even that great of a defender but he's a "leader" and I guess to be fair he was hitting .271 at the time of the Midsummer Classic so... there you go, Rahn's first All-Star appearance. Coming out of the break he hit 5-22 for the rest of July, then had a .118 August, and by September the Brewers were using different guys behind the plate so he only got 16 more at-bats (he got hits in 3 of them). So, yeah, a .151 average in the second half. Not great!
It's a big question as to whether or not Rahn had an extended streak of bad luck or if that was a sign he's done because, man... in years past he's been a guy who, I wouldn't say he ever excelled because of his hitting but when he started for the Phillies for 2 years that was on the back of .288 and .261 averages. Now he's really slow and strikes out an awful lot so it's kind of hard to see how he could consistently hit .250. Defensively I maybe oversold his deficiencies: he's fine at blocking the plate and can calm down a young pitcher, but his arm is not very good anymore. This year he threw out just 28% of stealers. That's been an up-and-down skill for him but in 1970 that was as high as 40.8%.
Even though he ended the year on the bench for the most part, the main guy they replaced him with, Eddie Dimmock, wasn't any better and is just as old as Rahn. They've got a couple of minor league "prospects" who are 25 and didn't clear .200 at their levels; although there's an intriguing (unnamed) player for them in rookie ball, he's a good 3 years away still. Rahn is probably the guy for 1974.
Angelo Ramos
RHP No. 44
SR, 6'0" 201 lbs.
Born 1935-06-22
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 MIN MLB | 13 | 19 | 0 | 3.95 | 41 | 41 | 11 | 302.1 | 331 | 138 | 133 | 69 | 199 |
| 1972 MIN MLB | 11 | 12 | 0 | 4.01 | 30 | 30 | 5 | 208.2 | 213 | 103 | 93 | 53 | 106 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.90 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 40.1 | 45 | 25 | 22 | 10 | 9 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Ramos is tied for 4th in major league history in wins... with 230. I feel like that says a lot more about OOTP's handling (under-handling?) of pitchers in the 50s and 60s along with the way that good starters flame out early a lot than anything else. Still, even though he was clearly slipping in his last season in Minnesota, Ramos still had enough left that the Brewers decided to pick him up and make him their #1 starter, shipping off minor league 3B Francisco Martinez to get him (I guess in fairness, too, Martinez was not a minor leaguer, necessarily, when the Brewers traded him). Ramos posted a near-5 ERA, got batters out with guile and gamesmanship more than actual stuff, and then revealed that he was suffering from arthritis in his elbow in mid-May and was shut down for the year.
Ramos has got nothing left and it's really hard to see him making a roster in 1974. The end is here. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer, probably making it on the first ballot in fact. That's what 9 All-Star apperances get you. I personally wish that he'd have had more 20-game seasons and overall victories but hey, it is what it is, and a 230-147 career record with 2 World Series rings is pretty nice.
Jose Ramos-Horta
1B/3B No. 6
RR, 6'2" 202 lbs.
Born 1949-12-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BEND SA | .310 | 56 | 200 | 35 | 62 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 26 | 39 | 5 |
| 1971 QC A | .190 | 6 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1972 STC A | .267 | 103 | 405 | 66 | 108 | 11 | 0 | 17 | 65 | 60 | 83 | 1 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .277 | 86 | 274 | 28 | 76 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 23 | 50 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .250 | 28 | 84 | 8 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Don't be fooled by that name! Ramos-Horta is a 23 year old from Timor in South Asia. He's another Brewers "prospect" who was pushed up into the high minors out of necessity and then got ML playing time because that's what you do with guys who did well at AAA. Horta has got good bat control and could hit in the .290s in the major leagues but in order to do so he'll have to figure out right-handed pitching first: last year he went 8-23 vs lefties but just 13-61 (.213) vs RHP with no power to speak of. He's got a gun for an arm, already one of the best in baseball, although a relative lack of range and great hands probably keeps him from being Gold Glove material (or a shortstop).
Ramos-Horta's got to be considered for at least some kind of a role on the big-league team in 1974, perhaps in a platoon arrangement until he finds his sea legs.
Lionel Richie
2B No. 4
LR, 5'11" 192 lbs.
Born 1949-06-20
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1972 DAN A | .200 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 SA AA | .289 | 41 | 114 | 24 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 20 | 0 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .227 | 26 | 44 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .277 | 71 | 238 | 32 | 66 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 30 | 19 | 34 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .282 | 50 | 181 | 22 | 51 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 8 | 23 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Richie's been absolutely rushed through the minors after having been drafted in the 4th round in 1972 but so far he's come through when he's had the chance. Richie belted 18 HRs between AAA and the major leagues, seeing his first big-league action on the final day in May. My immediate concern for a middle infielder with this kind of pop is that he'd strike out too much but he seems to have at least decent if not outstanding bat control, granted that we don't have a lot of minor league records to work with and so have to go on scouting recommendations. Like a lot of good power hitters Richie prefers the inside fastball and will drive it a country mile if you let him.
The downside of Richie is that he lacks the range to play up the middle and the arm to move to 3rd. He is a good enough hitter to perhaps justify a move into the outfield, although that's not perfect either, as he's got very little experience and his other attributes don't indicate he'd ever be a plus fielder out there either. Richie is really, really slow. In college he was 13/19 in steals, which I can't even think about; in the pros, he's attempted exactly zero steals so far in his career and may never try for one. He's also not liable to take an extra base on a hit unless it's off the wall and sometimes not even then.
Richie sees himself as a future star singer and comes across as a bit conceited in the locker room. In some ways this might insulate him from the general attitude in there, which got a bit snippy with all the losing. Still only 24, he also figures to play a lot, which should also keep the old morale up.
Sergio Sicre
1B/LF No. 7
LL, 6'1" 200 lbs.
Born 1946-02-04
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 LOU AAA | .256 | 116 | 390 | 53 | 100 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 62 | 51 | 36 | 0 |
| 1971 BOS MLB | .200 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .280 | 42 | 125 | 11 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .281 | 103 | 356 | 40 | 100 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 38 | 27 | 39 | 0 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .284 | 128 | 462 | 53 | 131 | 23 | 1 | 7 | 54 | 54 | 52 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
After bouncing around from the expansion Royals to the Red Sox organization, Sergio Sicre has gotten himself locked into a role with the Brewers as the team's starting first baseman and #3 hitter. He doesn't really have the power to be an elite player at the position but, well, the Brewers are not exactly an elite team and he gets the job done. He's also seen his playing time shaved in September in each of the last two years and that'll probably happen again in the future: a team like the Brewers always has someone they want to try out in the majors and 1st base and DH are the two easiest positions to put them.
When he did start, Sicre had 89 at-bats against lefties but the results - .225/0/7 - make you think that maybe he'd be better off in a platoon role. Breaking pitches from left-handers absolutely kill him. Conversely he hit .298 with a nice .379 on-base percentage vs RHP; those are 3-hole hitter numbers for most teams. Sicre doesn't have the natural skills to play any defensive position well and really struggled in the outfield this season and with the Royals in seasons past. He's really slow for a 27 year old and needs to rely on good bat control and an ability to spray the ball to all fields to hit for average. The bat control does make him a good hit and run man.
Sicre seems like a good bet to stick in this role for a 3rd season, although having looked at his numbers he really needs a platoon mate.
Guido Temudo
SS No. 11
RR, 6'2" 190 lbs.
Born 1946-10-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 EVA AAA | .176 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1971 MIL MLB | .203 | 64 | 192 | 15 | 39 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 24 | 25 | 1 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .191 | 127 | 388 | 23 | 74 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 34 | 59 | 3 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | .278 | 13 | 36 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .190 | 72 | 168 | 9 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 29 | 4 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
It's a little surprising that Temudo is only 26; the Venezuelan international has been in baseball since the early 1960s when he initially discovered by the Giants. He finally got a chance to start in the major leagues last year and, let's be honest, showed why he'd never gotten a chance before. Temudo is a classic good-field, no-hit shortstop. Thanks to a 206 at-bat run in 1970 where he hit .257 he has a career .208 average (I say "thanks to" because he's hit under .205 in the 3 years since), has 7 total HRs in 954 major league at-bats, and while he's not horrible at fouling off pitches and working out an eventual walk, he still carries a career .279 OBP. Fielding-wise he's a solid but not great shortstop who won't make errors or lapses in judgement out there.
Temudo has "career backup" written all over him although if he learned to hit even just a little he could be a multi-year starter. And if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicyle.
Luther Vandross
RHP No. 17
RR, 5'12" 164 lbs.
Born 1951-04-19
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 QUI A | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2.40 | 17 | 17 | 5 | 138.2 | 104 | 54 | 37 | 73 | 119 |
| 1971 SA AA | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3.64 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 74.0 | 68 | 34 | 30 | 37 | 43 |
| 1972 SA AA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.99 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 33.0 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 13 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5.57 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 101.2 | 127 | 66 | 63 | 28 | 83 |
| 1973 SHR AA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.90 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 22.0 | 23 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 21 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.55 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 84.2 | 61 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 78 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3.59 | 20 | 13 | 2 | 107.2 | 113 | 47 | 43 | 45 | 56 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Vandross didn't have the kind of rookie year that fills your heart with joy and wonder but on the other hand I guess just being able to pitch effectively in the major leagues is a positive. Vandross has a less than fantasatic fastball and hasn't yet mastered any of the four pitches that he throws, which has led to a situation where he was generating lots of strikeouts in the minor leagues but not much at all in the majors. He still wasn't bad per se in Milwaukee, which made him stand out a bit in that regard because while they're not terribad the Milwaukee pitching staff isn't exactly anything great either.
Vandross' improvement really hinges on an ability to find movement with his pitches, particularly his change of pace. And if this doesn't work out he always has R&B music to fall back on.
Ignazio Visco
RHP No. 42
RR, 6'1" 196 lbs.
Born 1949-11-21
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 NEW S A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1.68 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 48.0 | 39 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 52 |
| 1971 DAN A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3.02 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 71.1 | 62 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 49 |
| 1972 SA AA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.96 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 25.0 | 28 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3.25 | 19 | 19 | 2 | 132.2 | 140 | 52 | 48 | 44 | 50 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4.68 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 63.1 | 64 | 34 | 33 | 36 | 24 |
| 1973 EVA AAA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.33 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 27.0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 20 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 9 | 15 | 0 | 4.03 | 30 | 27 | 6 | 176.0 | 199 | 83 | 79 | 81 | 95 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Like a lot of bad teams, the Brewers rushed Visco, a 2nd round pick in 1971 and economist out of Italy, through the minor leagues and like a lot of bad teams they're paying the consequences as Visco is a guy who's still learning the game in the major leagues. As of right now he's not really generating enough swings and misses from an assortment of stuff that just doesn't look like much. Maybe the slider and the change will eventually develop into out pitches but as of now Visco's a guy who tries to get guys to put the ball in play but doesn't really have the control to be a good finesse pitcher. He's also at this point in his career just not a guy who even bothers to look guys back to first base and runners stole 40 bases on him between AAA and the majors last season.
Visco's still only 23 so he could definitely turn into a pro starter. He also threw more innings than he ever had in his career previously and that really showed towards the end: Visco finished the season 3-7, 5.22 over the last 2 months with 30 walks in 62 innings pitched. Maybe just being more acclimated will help next year.
Steve Winwood
OF No. 55
LL, 5'9" 183 lbs.
Born 1948-05-16
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BUR A | .274 | 39 | 135 | 17 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 0 |
| 1971 BIR AA | .218 | 85 | 303 | 33 | 66 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 29 | 35 | 48 | 1 |
| 1971 IOW AAA | .244 | 12 | 41 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 1972 BIR AA | .212 | 25 | 85 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | .260 | 24 | 77 | 17 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 0 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .150 | 9 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .261 | 64 | 138 | 19 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 18 | 27 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .273 | 146 | 524 | 74 | 143 | 29 | 8 | 18 | 83 | 59 | 91 | 2 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
In a year where teammates Sam Rahn and Pat Jones made visits to the All-Star Game, Winwood somehow missed out. No accounting for taste, I guess. Acquired from the A's in a trade for Antonio Arredondo (who isn't even on the Oakland roster anymore) in June of 1972, Winwood has now clubbed 25 HRs and driven in 99 runners in just over a season's worth of work. He did tire out last year; he was hitting a triple slash of 282/359/409 at the end of August but was an awful 242/273/295 in September with no HRs and 22 Ks in 95 at-bats.
Winwood is wont to strike out a good deal even when he's on his game. He'll go after anything in the upper part of the zone and also likes balls low and inside for... reasons. The 8 triples last year will probably remain a career high, as he's only got average speed. He'll take what he can get on offense when teams are pitching around his power, power which itself is a bit of a late-career revelation as Winwood never looked quite this good in the A's organization. He doesn't get a good read on balls hit to his right especially, which makes giving him playing time in right field a real adventure.
You can probably write Winwood's name in the cleanup spot in ink in 1974... barring a certain trade that might be in the works. Most teams, he'd probably be a little further down in the order anyway.
Wing-fung Yi
2B/SS No. 21
RR, 5'10" 186 lbs.
Born 1944-09-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SYR AAA | .354 | 32 | 65 | 24 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 4 |
| 1971 MIL MLB | .268 | 56 | 183 | 30 | 49 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 29 | 27 | 9 |
| 1972 EVA AAA | .249 | 74 | 241 | 29 | 60 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 41 | 29 | 28 | 8 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .241 | 27 | 54 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | .258 | 123 | 431 | 62 | 111 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 54 | 67 | 51 | 17 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
When it comes to Yi, the Yankeew' loss was the Brewers' gain. He started for the Bronx Bombers in 1970 but a logjam up the middle that included future Hall of Famer Ty Stover meant that he found himself back in the minor leaguess in 1971. In spite of absolutely raking in AAA Syracuse, Yi was practically a throw-in for a deal for OF John Marsden (Ross Poynor came back as the main piece in that deal). Marsden did hit .302 the year before but wound up hitting just .196 for New York before he was dispatched to the White Sox. Yi, meanwhile, rode the Evanston-to-Milwaukee train in 72 and then established himself as something of a full-time starter again this year.
All that said, Yi faces an uphill challenge and yet another roadblock situation in Milwaukee. He lacks the arm to play short (or third, which he's never played anyway) so it's really second base that you've got to look to. And he's got a decent bat for a keystoner: Yi has a lifetime .260 average with 10 HRs and 59 RBIs per 162 games. The issue here is that the Brewers have two guys in James Hong and Lionel Richie whom they think they can do even better. That said, Yi's the best fielder of the three of them by a long shot. He's one of the fastest men on the team, which makes his lack of gap power all the more inexplicable. Yi can lay down a bunt if he has to but isn't adept at them.
Yi deserves a position... somewhere. Problem is, so do Richie and Hong and both of them are a lot younger, and there's only one second base.
Dave Zapata
LHP No. 35
LL, 5'10" 199 lbs.
Born 1942-03-21
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 EVA AAA | 9 | 5 | 13 | 3.35 | 44 | 5 | 1 | 96.2 | 90 | 41 | 36 | 39 | 52 |
| 1971 MIL MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.52 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 14.2 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 9 |
| 1972 BAL MLB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.18 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 47.1 | 44 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 28 |
| 1973 MIL MLB | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2.25 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 52.0 | 60 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 20 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Dave Zapata represents the finest roster moves the Brewers have made... and that ain't saying much. Zapata was an original Pilot, drafted out of the Atlanta organization. After sputtiering along for a couple of years, he did a solid job in AAA Evanston in 1971 they managed to find a taker for him in Baltimore, who sent them back 1B Mauro Magoni. Magoni did absolutely nothing with this team but the bigger story was that they found a taker for him at all. He proceded to be pretty bad for Baltimore last year, who stuck him on the waiver wire to send him down to the minors... and who came calling but the Brew Crew again? Zapata promptly rewarded them with the best season of his career.
Zapata did what he did in spite of pretty awful reverse splits vs lefties, who hit 351(!) off of him in 74 at-bats. Luckily forh im, righties hit .258 with a .333 slugging percentage... does that mean his future is just in generalized middle relief? On paper he definitely should be generating more outs vs lefties. He's got a solid, lively cut fastball, a curve, and a change, all of which he throws for strikes at various times. Zapata's even got decent velocity for a left-hander; his cutter reaches the low 90s on the gun sometimes. Also the control by raw numbers looks not great but realize that Zapata was also asked to throw 6 intentional bases on balls last season.
I'm not sure why I wrote so much about this guy. He's a pretty average pitcher, granted one coming off a career year (a career year that looks like a lot of smoke and mirrors but... well, there I go again). He's been a big help in several ways for the Pilots and Brewers and I don't see why he won't continue that trend.