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Loeffle · 10-22-2007, 05:01 PM

July 2007 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

With pitching slowly improoving and financials under control, we only had one major problem left: The Shortstop position.

JJ Hardy battled the Mendoza line early on and was sent down to regain his swing. Tony Graffanino who did very well and was on pace for 20 homers, injured himself just before the All-Star break. AAA Call-Up Alcides Escobar showed he's still a season or two away from reaching the Mayors.

The solution to our problem was Cesar Izturis who had been released by the Cubs. Thankful that we gave him another chance he simply exploded in his first month for us, hitting .406.

The emergence of Izturis allowed us to shop old warhorse Craig Counsell (.226 in 125 AB's) around in order to find some pitching talent. The Braves were willing takers sending highly rated pitchers Jeff Locke and Carlos Rivas. Why the Braves released poor Craig only two weeks after the trade is not known.

We also ended July with a 15-11 record, meaning standing at 58-49 on 1st of August. The Pirates led the Central with 59-48, while the Cubs (52-54) and Cards (51-55) seemed to be out of the race.

On the 31st of July we lost SP Yovani Gallardo for the season, which prompted us to call up Jack Egbert, who we received in the Suppan/Hart trade. Gallardo's injury put pressure on underachieving starters Sheets, Capuano and Vargas if we should make a playoff run.

Just before the trading deadline we make a trade with the Oakland A's receiving their star reliever Alan Embree (0.69 ERA in 26.0 IP with a 0.81 WHIP) for Minor Leaguer Jose Macias (2B) (batting .271 in 107 AB for AAA Nashville). As our Lefty Parra (7.54 ERA) showed more than once that he is not ready for the mayors and Shouse couldn't shoulder the workload against left-handed batter, Embree was considered a key acquisation for our unlikely playoffrun. We left wondering why the A's only wanted a free agent minor leaguer with no future at Milwaukee for him.

10-22-2007, 05:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
Loeffle All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Grand Duchy of Baden Posts: 672	July 2007 - Milwaukee Brewers Manager and GM Fritsche With pitching slowly improoving and financials under control, we only had one major problem left: The Shortstop position. JJ Hardy battled the Mendoza line early on and was sent down to regain his swing. Tony Graffanino who did very well and was on pace for 20 homers, injured himself just before the All-Star break. AAA Call-Up Alcides Escobar showed he's still a season or two away from reaching the Mayors. The solution to our problem was Cesar Izturis who had been released by the Cubs. Thankful that we gave him another chance he simply exploded in his first month for us, hitting .406. The emergence of Izturis allowed us to shop old warhorse Craig Counsell (.226 in 125 AB's) around in order to find some pitching talent. The Braves were willing takers sending highly rated pitchers Jeff Locke and Carlos Rivas. Why the Braves released poor Craig only two weeks after the trade is not known. We also ended July with a 15-11 record, meaning standing at 58-49 on 1st of August. The Pirates led the Central with 59-48, while the Cubs (52-54) and Cards (51-55) seemed to be out of the race. On the 31st of July we lost SP Yovani Gallardo for the season, which prompted us to call up Jack Egbert, who we received in the Suppan/Hart trade. Gallardo's injury put pressure on underachieving starters Sheets, Capuano and Vargas if we should make a playoff run. Just before the trading deadline we make a trade with the Oakland A's receiving their star reliever Alan Embree (0.69 ERA in 26.0 IP with a 0.81 WHIP) for Minor Leaguer Jose Macias (2B) (batting .271 in 107 AB for AAA Nashville). As our Lefty Parra (7.54 ERA) showed more than once that he is not ready for the mayors and Shouse couldn't shoulder the workload against left-handed batter, Embree was considered a key acquisation for our unlikely playoffrun. We left wondering why the A's only wanted a free agent minor leaguer with no future at Milwaukee for him. Last edited by Loeffle : 10-23-2007 at 12:44 PM.