Position Analysis: The Bench

As we speak, pitchers and catchers are stretching and joking around with each other and other early reports. The remainder of the team is to report by February 23rd. It's an exciting time to say the least. Hopefully my father will get excited too and we can take a trip to Maryvalle to see them a bit early. That may over power the trip to Nashville.

Last night the Brewers and JJ Hardy were able to get to come to an agreement just in time to avoid a trip to Florida for an arbitration hearing. JJ will receive $2.65 million this year, which was below the medium point. I always loved this stat, but in all the years Doug Melvin has been here, no one has officially gone to arbitration. Just kind of shows you the kind of organization he runs.

In today's post we're going to go over the potential bench players Yost has at his disposal. I'm always weary of teams who say what Doug Melvin said a couple of days ago, which was that the Brewers bench is built for defense. Umm... isn't that what the AL is supposed to do? Because they don't pinch hit, and therefore, all of the moves can be focused on the defensive side of things. In the NL, pinch hitting is a hot commodity that gives you options at the plate during late innings and pitching changes.



The Vet: Craig Counsell

I, like many of the readers of this blog, am a bit of a Jeff Cirillo apologist, but it's only because of Craig Counsell. Craig has really only had one good year during his career which was a .316/.400/.421 stint in his first year with the Diamondbacks, but his career .257/.343/.347 tells you how not amazing he is. I appreciate the .343 OBP, but in 2006 and 2007, he's only managed a .327 and .323. An anomaly in 2005 put him at .350, but then 2003 and 2004 .328 and .330. It's been frustrating to look at that and see a guy like Jeff Cirillo leave the team with a .296/.366/.430. And while his numbers have dwindled every now and then because of sparse play, when he gets his games, he gets his money's worth. In his 2005 and 2006 stint with the Brewers, Jeff batted .281/.373/.427 and .319/.369/.414. Umm... Yes please, Jeff Cirillo apologist.

But this piece isn't about what we lost, it's about what we have and that is lefty bat, Craig Counsell. Craig batted a woeful .220/.323/.309 last year. Let's just say that if you slug lower than your OBP, you have some problems. The plus side of Craig, however, has always been his defense. In 278 chances last year, Craig only committed two errors. This was a great benefit for a team that struggled mightily in that are last year, even though his range isn't what it used to be. But does defense make up for a failure at the plate? I wish I could say so, but this team needed a more reliable AB in pitch hitting/platoon situations. I like the OBP vs Avg differential, but .323 is not serviceable, especially for a veteran like Craig.

Predictions: .235/.317/.310 with the same quality and versatile defense.

The Lefty Bat: Gabe Gross

I guess the word of the day is 'apologist'. Last year I got into quite a few heated debates with South Side Rob of the Brewer Nation blog about the potential and necessity to play Gabe Gross. To say the least, he was vindicated for parts of the year and so was I. Gabe's career numbers aren't really that good, going .245/.343/.410, but I want to point out the near 100 point differential between the OBP and batting average. This is why Gabe could be a starting outfielder, or at least a platoon outfielder in a lot of places around the league. The career numbers don't really do him justice, but a 2006 stint of .274/.382/.476 show that this guy has some serious potential.

Last season was a bit of a let down though. He started off the year, doing exactly what I expect out of him reaching base, 14 times in 31 ABs, walking in 8 of them. That's a .438 OBP for those without a calculator. But the lack of playing time and feeling that he deserved some playing time started to bog him down and those numbers fell, and they fell pretty drastically over the next few months, resulting in a demotion to AAA in July to get his bearings.

While there, Gabe raked going .355/.456/.605 in 20 games. Yeah, that's what the guy can do, and I guess Yost realized it and brought him back up. In August, Gabe hit .356/.366/.725, an amazing slugging, but a failed OBP, with only one walk. Apparently this was a wall that Gabe couldn't break through and he finished September with a .204/.317/.316 and ending the year with .235/.329/.437 totals. Again, the differential is great and the slugging suggests he has some pop, so you're looking at the biggest threat on the Brewers' bench.

Predictions: .255/.360/.440 With sub-par defense and some bombs. You can't expect an Auburn quarterback to be good on defense anyways.

Voyage Vet: Joe Dillon

Joe Dillon may have taken til the age of 31 to make it and stay in the big leagues, but he did it with hard work and claws that are wicked sharp. In 39 games with the Brewers last year, Joe went .342/.390/.500. Pretty impressive showing to say the least, but not necessarily convincing just yet. Dillon still has a lot to prove to me and to all of the other fans in Milwaukee. If you really want to call yourself a journey-man you have to make your stay a long one.

The upside of Dillon is his versatility. Even if he struggles at the plate, which he will, he can give us some defensive security at 1B, 2B, 3B and the corner OF positions, which is a lost art with most players. I just hope he becomes that guy that everybody continues to call the Journey Man, because if he loses that title, he's lost his game.

Predictions: .240/.330/.412 God I hope I'm wrong here. I like the idea of this guy on this team.

Hoffman Killer: Tony Gwynn Jr.

I've showed plenty of praise for this guy, and I think a lot of Brewers fans are rooting for him, but the unfortunate truth is, he's blocked on this squad by the move of Ryan Braun to left and the imminent arrival of Matt LaPorta. Barring injuries, this might be the last year we see Tony Gwynn have a legitimate shot at starting more than a couple of games, meaning he'll likely get traded down the road. But until that happens, I'll be rooting for him.

TG batted a meager .260/.326/.317 last year, but did manage 8/9 steals and two triples, one of which knocked the Padres out of the playoffs. He's got a lot of work to do all around, but he's speed gives him a step on defense and on the bases. Therefore, he becomes a pinch running threat off the bench. So put your best OBP guy up, get him on base and send in Tony.

There isn't much else I can say about Tony. Every feeling I have and everything I've seen hits on my instincts and it's not because his name is Gwynn. All he needs is better vision. I don't care about power, just OBP and with his speed, all he has to do is put the ball in play and run like the wind.

Predictions: .270/.340/.390 with about 10-15 SBs.

Minor League Coach: Gabe Kapler

Kapler's numbers are hardly impressive. He' a career .270/.331/.418 hitter with only two years of above a .350 OBP, but he has playoff experience, plays a decent OF and can back up first base when needed. The down side is he's coming of a ruptured Achilles tendon from 2005 and really hasn't been healthy since. Hopefully the year of coaching last year in the minor league affiliates last year, helped him stay off it and slowly strengthen it back up.

Predictions: .260/.329/.450 Nothing special, but what can you expect from a guy who hasn't played ball in a year?

I'm spent. Coaching analysis tomorrow. We'll see how nice I can be to Ned Yost after I read his interview with Haurdricourt tomorrow in the Journal Sentinel.