Brewers News

CC is gone. But to soften the blow, the Brewers have decided to send along his pal MiKe Cameron (that capitalized K is not a typo).

The deal isn't finalized yet, but it looks like the Brewers would receive 24 year-old outfielder Melky Cabrera (Cameron will be 36 in a month). Here is a comparison of the players:

Cameron

2008: 120 Games, 444 AB, 108 Hits, .243 Avg., 54 BB, .331 OBP, 142 K, 69 R, 25 HR, 70 RBI, 17 SB
-1 charged error, but Cameron exhibited decreased skills in the OF

Cabrera
2008: 129 Games, 414 AB, 103 H, .249 Avg., 29 BB, .301 OBP, 58 K, 42 R, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 9 SB
-4 errors last year in the outfield
-In 2007 he hit .273, and in 2006 he hit .280

Are the Brewers getting a fair deal? Cabrera doesn't seem to bring much to the team, but he is young and doesn't strike out as much as Cameron.

Brewers Win, Lose Sheets, What Next?

The Brewers win for the first time in a week, but in the process they may have lost Ben Sheets for the remainder of the season. Of course.

Sheets was a little more reliable this year than he has been recently. He started the most amount of games since 2004, and for the first time in his career he won more than 12 games. His ERA and strikeout numbers were also the best since 2004.

In the JSOnline story, Sheets says that he is optimistic that he will be able to pitch again, and that this pain has been bothering him since late August. Back on September 6, he pitched a complete game shutout against San Diego, a 1-0 win for Milwaukee.

Since the All-Star break, Sheets is 3-5 with an ERA and WHIP higher than before the break when he went 10-3.

Can the Brewers clear yet another hurdle and make the playoffs? After tonight, they remain 1/2 game behind the Mets for the Wild Card.

Weeks or Belliard?

Ronnie Belliard, a former Milwaukee Brewer, has been back in town recently as his Washington Nationals are visiting the Brewers for a 4-game series (right now, it looks like Milwaukee is going to pull off a sweep). Belliard spent the first 5 years of his career with Milwaukee, and his return got me thinking about whether or not I would want him at second base or Rickie Weeks.

Check out the comparison:

2008

Weeks: .229 Avg, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 70 Runs, 15 SB, .334 OBP, 47 BB, 87 Ks, .980 Fielding %

Belliard: .248 Avg, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 29 Runs, 3 SB, .351 OBP, 31 BB, 43 Ks, .974 Fielding %

Belliard edges Weeks in a few categories (batting average, OBP, strikeouts), but he is also older and actually worse than Weeks defensively. Right now, in 2008, I would stick with Weeks (actually, I would go with a third option, like bringing Escobar up from the minors...or bringing back Trent Durrington).

But Belliard has put up some impressive numbers offensively in his career. His career average is nearly 30 points higher than Weeks', and last season he hit .290. He has never struck out over 100 times in a season (something Weeks can't boast), he was an All-Star in 2004 with Cleveland, and he helped St. Louis in the 2006 postseason - he collected 12 hits in the divisional and league championship series. Defensively, Belliard does have a better career fielding % - .979 for Belliard, compared to .965 for Weeks. Belliard's best seasons are probably behind him now, but he did have a few good seasons while with Cleveland and St. Louis from 2004 to 2006.

It will be interesting to see, when both Belliard's and Weeks' playing days are over, which player has the better numbers.

Marvelous Manny

Manny Parra picked up his 6th victory last night in the Brewers' series opener against the Blue Jays. Parra has been a big reason for the recent success that Milwaukee has had.

After a loss on May 3 to the Astros, in which he only lasted 4 innings, Parra's record was at 1-2, his ERA was at 5.86, and he was averaging only 4 2/3 innings per start.

Now check out his numbers:

-He is 6-2, and has won 5 of the last 6 games he started.

-He is now averaging 5 1/3 inning per start.

-His ERA is down to 4.22. In his last 8 starts, his ERA is 3.40.

-He has 39 strikeouts in his last 47 innings.

Weeks To DL; Where Will The Brewers Go?

Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks is being placed on the 15-day DL. The injury happened Friday night in Colorado, on an illegal slide that Jeff Baker from the Rockies got away with.

Weeks' numbers through 59 games:

.210 Avg

229 AB

48 Hits

30 Walks

.325 OBP

7 HR

20 RBI

43 Runs

10 SB

49 Strikeouts

So the question is, will the injury to Weeks be a negative or a positive. Many fans have been rather vocal about their displeasure for Weeks and Mike Cameron (who is hopefully moved from the #2 spot in the hitting order). Here's hoping Joe Dillon sees some more playing time:

29 Games

.282 Avg

39 AB

11 Hits -

9 Walks

.429 OBP

0 HR

3 RBI

7 Runs

1 SB

8 Strikeouts

Rickie Weeks

The JSOnline Brewers Blog has a post on Ned Yost sticking with Rickie Weeks in the leadoff spot.

Here are Weeks' numbers so far this season, and how he ranks in the NL:

.187 Avg. (92nd)

.315 OBP (70th)

.651 OPS (84th)

31 Runs (10th)

29 Hits (94th)

23 Walks (17th)

7 SB (11th)

30 Strikeouts (33rd)