There's something brewing - A Badenian going America

[Loeffle]

October 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

World Series

25th October 2008

Boston at New York: 2-1

W: J. Lester (2-1); L: P. Humber (0-2)
SV: H. Okajima (1)
HR: - / -
Boston leads series, 3 to 2.

[Loeffle]

October 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

World Series

27th October 2008

New York at Boston: 1-5

W: D. Matsuzaka (2-1); L: J. Maine (3-1)
HR: - / K. Youkilis (3)

2008 World Series goes to

B o s t o n

* * * * * * *

[Loeffle]

October 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


29th October 2008

The following teams axed their GM's today:

- Yankees (80-82) / Doug Melvin
- Rangers (59-103) / Rafael Mora
- Reds (68-94) / Tom Groves
- Cardinals (86-76) / Walt Jocketty
- White Sox (79-83) / Kenny Williams
- Phillies (82-80) / José Rodríguez
- Pirates (74-88) / Dana Littlefield

Also two managers were sent packing:

- Ozzie Guillen / White Sox (79-83)
- Bruce Bochy / Giants (76-86)


Hall of Fame Induction:

- Randy "Big Unit" Johnson: 295-158-3, 3.34 ERA, 4047.1 IP, 3290 H, 1502 BB, 4714 K (last team Arizona)
- Greg "Mad Dog" Maddux: 352-227, 3.17 ERA, 6006.0 IP, 4711 H, 1017 BB, 3347 K (last team San Diego)
- Jim Thome: .278, 511 HR, 1420 RBI, 1489 BB, 2091 K

[Loeffle]

October 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


30th October 2008

Trade:

The Rangers sent reliever Mike MacDougal (4-2-1, 6.79 ERA) to the Padres for minor league LF Cecil Horn (.289, 8 HR, 64 RBI, 50 SB - A)

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


5th November 2008

Trade:

The Rockies sent reliever Daniel Hanna (9-4-21, 3.15 ERA - AAA) to the Royals for minor leaguers LF Dave Brown (.362, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 9 SB - R) and starter Fernando García (5-1, 2.95 ERA - R).

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


9th November 2008

American League Golden Gloves

P - Roy Halladay (Toronto - 1st)
C - Joe Mauer (Minnesota - 1st)
1B - Eric Young Yr. (Vancouver - 1st)
2B - Ian Kinsler (Texas - 1st)
3B - Alex Rodriguez (New York - 2nd)
SS - Bobby Crosby (Oakland - 1st)
LF - Jeff Fiorentino (Baltimore - 1st)
CF - Cameron Maybin (Detroit - 1st)
RF - Willy Mo Pena (Boston - 1st)


National League Golden Gloves

P - Kris Johnson (Buffalo - 1st)
C - Justin Towles (Houston - 1st)
1B - Adam LaRoche (Pittsburgh - 1st)
2B - Freddy Sanchez (Pittsburgh - 1st)
3B - Scott Rolen (St. Louis - 2nd)
SS - Brian Bixler (Pittsburgh - 1st)
LF - Cody Haerther (New York - 1st)
CF - Carlos Beltran (St. Louis - 1st)
RF - Carlos Gomez (New York - 1st)

The 74-88 Pirates are a good example that defense alone won't win championships.

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


10th November 2008

American League Rookie of the Year

1B Michael Aubrey (Detroit)
.306, 156 G, 625 AB, 99 R, 191 H, 32 2B, 4 3B, 22 HR, 86 RBI, 57 BB,
77 K, 1 SB, 0 CS


National League Rookie of the Year

LF Eddy Martinez-Esteve (San Francisco)
.304, 131 G, 503 AB, 91 R, 153 H, 40 2B, 2 3B, 23 HR, 87 RBI, 67 BB, 75 K, 3 SB, 0 CS

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers - Playoffs
Manager and GM Fritsche

2008 individual review:

#95 SP Dave Bush
18-8, 3.10 ERA, 31 GS, 229.2 IP, 207 H, 52 BB, 147 K, 1.13 WHIP, 8 CG, 2 SH
Bush had a career year and did way better than expected. He pitched like a true ace and will also be on the staff next season.

#18 SP Brandon Webb
16-11, 3.31 ERA, 32 GS, 228.1 IP, 220 H, 63 BB, 162 K, 1.24 WHIP, 4 CG, 2 SH
Webb was in shock when I got traded to Milwaukee. As a result he was rather inconsistent and sometimes not very reliable. We hope though that he will develop into our ace next season.

#57 SP Chris Capuano
18-7, 4.08 ERA, 31 GS, 222.2 IP, 213 H, 62 BB, 147 K, 1.24 WHIP, 4 CG, 1 SH
He did a lot to earn his 18 victories, as he was a very dangerous batter as well. Not on a level with Webb or Bush, but usually reliable against teams with many left handed batters.

#44 SP Chris Volstad
9-11, 3.93 ERA, 28 GS, 194.2 IP, 204 H, 49 BB, 127 K, 1.30 WHIP, 5 CG, 2 SH
Pitched only once for us after we claimed him off waivers from the Yankees. We don't know yet what to do with him next season. He's young, but our starters did well this season.

#46 SP Yovani Gallardo
12-9, 3.85 ERA, 27 GS, 175.1 IP, 181 H, 71 BB, 129 K, 1.44 WHIP, 1 CG, 1 SH
A fan favourite who was more than once "just one game" away from getting demoted. Our scouts say he's already over the peak of his career at the age of 22. We will see what happens as he did better than Villanueva.

#11 SP Carlos Villanueva
5-7, 4.17 ERA, 17 GS, 121.0 IP, 118 H, 32 BB, 94 K, 1.24 WHIP
Regarded as our top starter prospect, he was called in July and did ok for being Nr. 5 starter. But is he good enough for more?

#51 SP Manny Parra (on the DL until the start of 2009 season)
6-2, 2.84 ERA, 14 GS, 82.1 IP, 74 H, 27 BB, 66 K, 1.23 WHIP
Parra did very well until he went down with a season ending injury in June. If he recovers completely, he will take a spot on the starting rotation, but whom will he replace?

#35 SP Freddy Garcia
5-5, 4.98 ERA, 18 G, 6 GS, 65.0 IP, 71 H, 9 BB, 57 K, 1.23 WHIP
Garcia was unlucky that our rotation did rather well this season. He would be perfect as backup if someone on the rotation goes down, but he wouldn't accept that role. Free agent next week?

#91 MR Elmer 'Victoria' Dessens
3-1-1, 5.19 ERA, 50 G, 60.2 IP, 70 H, 22 BB, 47 K, 1.55 WHIP
Elmer did ok this season even if he was not as effective as last year. He's 37 and its unclear if he will come back for another season with us.

#55 MR Jeremy Accardo
4-2-4, 3.58 ERA, 62 G, 60.1 IP, 57 H, 17 BB, 55 K, 1.23 WHIP
Struggled when he arrived from Arizona during the season, but developed into a right handed rock in our bullpen. Welcome back in 2009!

#14 CL Soichi Fujita
1-3-25, 2.00 ERA, 48 G, 36.0 IP, 31 H, 9 BB, 26 K, 1.11 WHIP, 92,6 % SV
Did fine as our closer after having a cold spring. His minus is his very low stamina and that he is not a big strikeout pitcher.

#27 SP Aaron Cook
1-2, 4.91 ERA, 4 GS, 33.0 IP, 36 H, 12 BB, 14 K, 1.45 WHIP, 1 CG
Was picked up as free agent when it looked as Gallardo and Villanueva couldn't get the job done. As they improoved, Cook began to struggle. Will he be back next season?

#94 MR Jose Capellan
1-3-2, 5.91 ERA, 33 G, 32.0 IP, 36 H, 10 BB, 24 K, 1.44 WHIP
Struggled badly when he was called up to repeat his 2007 performance. Next year might be his make it or break it season.

#76 MR Akinori Otsuka
3-4-1, 5.58 ERA, 40 G, 30.2 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 24 K, 1.83 WHIP
Was simply awful after coming over from Philadelphia. At the of 36 it's not sure if he can bounce back. With Wise and Accardo two spots for righties are already occupied in the 2009 bullpen.

#5 MR Brian Shouse
3-1-1, 4.21 ERA, 47 G, 25.2 IP, 29 H, 5 BB, 14 K, 1.32 WHIP
Brian did well against lefties, but struggled when asked to face righties. Would be happy if he accepted a minor league contract to act as emergency backup for next season. He's 40 now.

#27 MR Mitch Stetter
0-1-0, 5.57 ERA, 34 G, 21.0 IP, 22 H, 8 BB, 12 K, 1.43 WHIP
More or less the same problem as Shouse. He's much younger, but has much less potential. Free agent or AAA next year?

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers - Playoffs
Manager and GM Fritsche

2008 individual review:

#12 LF Ryan 'Calamity' Braun
.323, 157 G, 617 AB, 120 R, 199 H, 39 2B, 5 3B, 38 HR, 126 RBI, 63 BB, 117 K , 23 SB, 1 CS.
Braun had another monster season and even if most if his numbers dropped slightly is the heart of our lineup. He was also solid in left field, collecting 11 assists while commiting 4 errors only.

#50 1B Prince 'Naughty Chow' Fielder
.302, 162 G, 612 AB, 111 R, 185 H, 33 2B, 2 3B, 28 HR, 120 RBI, 98 BB, 113 K, 25 SB, 6 CS.
Prince struggled offensively, but stole 25 bases and was very good defensively. He should hit at least hit 40 homers next season.

#6 SS/2B Cesar Izturis
.351, 131 G, 501 AB, 85 R, 176 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 46 RBI, 41 BB, 51 K, 28 SB, 10 CS.
Izturis was much more than we could have expected. Great defense and a very good leadoff hitter without any power.

#13 RF/CF Shane 'Flyin' Hawaiian' Victorino
.262, 152 G, 487 AB, 81 R, 128 H, 24 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 63 RBI, 54 BB, 77 K, 22 SB, 14 CS.
Was in a platoon with Gross. Not fish, not flesh. Might return as fourth or fifth outfielder?

#15 CF Justin Upton
.267, 120 G, 446 AB, 79 R, 119 H, 20 2B, 10 3B, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 66 BB, 87 K, 17 SB, 16 CS.
Center field is his. Did very well in the playoffs when batting fifth. Maybe we will experiment a bit in that direction next season?

#31 C Johnny Estrada
.317, 145 G, 439 AB, 50 R, 139 H, 23 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 81 RBI, 28 BB, 58 K, 1 SB, 0 CS.
Had a career year. Doing great against righties, but is almost useless against lefties. Good platoon with Blanco. Doing ok behind the plate.

#96 RF Gabe Gross
.250, 156 G, 436 AB, 69 R, 109 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 94 BB, 94 K, 4 SB, 0 CS.
Gross had an off year in all categories. But he was one of our players in the postseason batting 2nd. He's high OBP is an advantage, but maybe there are better players available?

#28 3B Mark Reynolds
.247, 114 G, 360 AB, 36 R, 89 H, 20 2B, 0 3B, 14 HR, 62 RBI, 33 BB, 98 K, 1 SB, 1 CS.
Wasn't the improovement over Hall as we hoped when he arrived from Arizona. Strikes out a ton, but is reliable in defense. Let's give him more to develop.

#20 SS/2B Alcides Escobar
.276, 115 G, 286 AB, 52 R, 79 H, 20 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 22 RBI, 27 BB, 55 K, 24 SB, 6 CS.
He was called up when Weeks went down with injury. And he could give us much more than we hoped. In addition to rock solid defense, he had some success as a batter as well. Has the edge over Infante to start next season.

#99 2B Omar Infante
.256, 94 G, 234 AB, 37 R, 60 H, 16 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 18 BB, 34 K, 4 SB, 1 CS.
Was signed when Weeks got injured, but lost with the time the battle against Escobar to become an every day starter. Might not be around next year.

#17 3B Mat Gamel
.230, 116 G, 204 AB, 19 R, 47 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 24 RBI, 23 BB, 44 K, 0 SB, 1 CS.
Didn't show why he belongs on the active roster. Next season he has to show more than solid defense ...

#30 C Henry Blanco
.212, 100 G, 203 AB, 20 R, 43 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 17 BB, 36 K, 0 SB, 0 CS.
Blanco was superiour behind the plate, nailing 50 % of base stealers. He hit also a couple of clutch homers when starting against lefties. Welcome back in 2009, Henry!

#43 2B Rickie Weeks
.301, 40 G, 146 AB, 32 R, 44 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 25 BB, 26 K, 8 SB, 1 CS.
Rickies injury was a big blow for us as he was a big offensive weapon in the first two months of the season. He won't be back until June. Most likely Izturis and Escobar will replace him, offering better defense, but no power.

#45 OF Tony Gwynn Jr.
.262, 49 G, 65 AB, 8 R, 17 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K, 4 SB, 1 CS.
Gwynn went all the way down to AA, as he struggled at AAA. LF is occupied by Braun and we have a better fielder in CF with Upton. Can Gwynn proove us wrong and bounce back to the big leagues?

#22 OF Lorenzo Cain
.207, 48 G, 58 AB, 11 R, 12 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 9 BB, 12 K, 3 SB, 0 CS.
Did very well at AAA, but struggled in the big leagues. At the age of 22, he still has time to develop.

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


11th November 2008

American League Cy Young

CL J.J. Putz (Seattle)
7-4-46, 1.67 ERA, 67 G, 70.0 IP, 59 H, 14 BB, 58 K, 1.04 WHIP, 95,8 % SVO


National League Cy Young

SP Jake Peavy (San Diego)
21-6, 3.26 ERA, 34 GS, 223.2 IP, 186 H, 45 BB, 229 K, 1.03 WHIP


Astros closer Brad Lidge (4-12-29, 4.94 ERA) signed a new two year contract worth $8,560,000.

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


12th November 2008

American League MVP

3B Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay)
.341, 152 G, 618 AB, 105 R, 211 H, 34 2B, 4 3B, 37 HR, 122 RBI, 35 BB,
81 K, 11 SB, 5 CS - .374 OBP, .589 SLG, 69.5 VORPNational League MVP

3B Miguel Cabrera (Florida)
.348, 152 G, 592 AB, 99 R, 206 H, 33 2B, 2 3B, 39 HR, 95 RBI, 66 BB, 124 K, 3 SB, 1 CS - .410 OBP, .608 SLG, 88.0 VORP


Trade:

The Rockies sent 1B Brad Hawpe (.223, 13 HR, 44 RBI) to the Rangers for minor leaguers 2B Pablo Ramos (.234, 1 HR, 28 RBI - R) and starter Seong-chae Kim (3-1, 2.93 ERA - A).


We released C Mike Rivera (.226, 3 HR, 14 RBI - AAA), and MR Justin Orenduff (3-1-1, 5.47 ERA - AAA).

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


15th November 2008

Trade:

The Royals sent reliever Eddy Rodriguez (3-6-2, 4.38 ERA) to the Blizzards for minor league catcher Gilbert Buenrostro (.278, 7 HR, 54 RBI - AA).

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


16th November 2008

Trade:

The Padres sent left fielder Jose Cruz Jr. (.270, 4 HR, 25 RBI) to the Orioles for starter Carlos Silva (9-15, 6.46 ERA) and minor league left fielder Júlio Díaz (.322, 2 HR, 31 RBI - A).

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


17th November 2008

MR Brian Shouse (4-3-2, 4.89 ERA) signed a new one year contract worth $680,000.


Trades:

The Twins sent SS Alberto Gonzalez (.265, 2 HR, 41 RBI) to the Indians for reliever Macay McBride (6-1-1, 4.09 ERA).

The Blizzards sent CL Jay Marshall (1-7-34. 2.90 ERA) and $540,000 in cahs to the Royals in exchange for minor league starter Lee Robertson (5-5, 3.87 ERA - R) and RF Luis Manuel (.335, 2 HR, 28 RBI - R).

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


19th November 2008

Salary Arbitration Results:

SP David Bush - $3,718,500
SP Chris Capuano - $2,080,000
OF Shane Victorino - $380,00
1B Prince Fielder - $6,617,600
2B Rickie Weeks - $5,962,000
MR Jeremy Accardo - $1,283,400
MR Jose Capellan - $855,600
MR Akinori Otsuka - $1,920,00

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


21st November 2008

Minor leaguers 2B T. Brewer, SS G. Rodriguez, CF D. Ford, LF M. Baxter, SP C. Oxspring, LF R. Davenport, as well as
starter Freddy Garcia and reliever Elmer Dessens became free agents.


Trade:

The Giants traded CF Antoan Richardson (.286, 3 HR, 34 RBI) and minor league reliever Flint Wright (1-0-0, 3.48 ERA - R) to the Phillies for 3B Michael Costanzo (.292, 24 HR, 62 RBI).

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


22nd November 2008

Starting pitcher Andy Pettitte (4-7-1, 5.39 ERA) signed a new 1-year contract with the Yankees. He'll earn $2,250,000.

[Loeffle]

November 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


25th November 2008

Trade:

The Rockies sent starter Ubaldo Jimenez (7-7, 5.99 ERA) to the Reds for minor league starter Josh Ravin (10-9, 3.99 ERA - AA) and C Rey Gonzalez (.253, 3 HR, 52 RBI - A).

[Loeffle]

December 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


1st December 2008

We lost 2B Vinny Rottino (.284, 3 HR, 27 RBI - AAA) to the Blizzards and SP Will Inman (4-7, 5.29 ERA - AA) to the Royals in the Rule V draft.

We signed SS Angel Berroa (.315, 9 HR, 39 RBI - AAA) to a minor league contract.

CF Johnny Damon (.277, 21 HR, 76 RBI) signed a new 2-year contract worth $29,640,000 with the Yankees. Their new Brazilian GM seems to be even more crazy than the last one.


Trade:

The Royals sent 1B Mark Bellhorn (.246, 19 HR, 53 RBI) and minor league closer Felipe Gonzáles (2-0-21, 0.38 ERA - R) to the Indians for starting pitcher Scott Lewis (2-6, 5.23 ERA) and minor league left fielder Stephen Douglas (.322, 5 HR, 47 RBI - A).

[Loeffle]

December 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche


3rd December 2008

RF Magglio Ordonez (.317, 23 HR, 93 RBI) signed a new three year contract worth $63,000,000 with the Tigers.

SP John Lackey (18-8, 3.53 ERA) signed a new four year contract worth $37,320,000 with the Angels.

We claimed MR Samuel Gervacio (5-2-8, 4.03 ERA - AAA) off waivers from Houston.