News
Trade winds may blow over Crew's rotation
Milwaukee (49-49) vs. Washington (30-68), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
07/26/09 6:37 PM ET
MILWAUKEE -- Tim Dillard joined the Brewers from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday, but his arrival didn't stop manager Ken Macha from wondering aloud whether the team, strapped for starters, might get more help ahead of Friday's non-waiver Trade Deadline. |
"The Trading Deadline is coming, and Doug [Melvin, Milwaukee's general manager] is trying to help the club," Macha said. "I don't want to try to create expectations, but he's trying to make the club better, and I'm sure if he finds a starting pitcher who can help out, it's something he would do.
"Here again, the starters that are available are kind of limited -- and expensive." Jeff Suppan will start for the Brewers on Monday, the opener of a four-game series against the 30-win Nationals. After that, the rotation is in limbo, and Macha remained curiously hesitant even after Sunday's 10-2 loss to the Braves to name his starting pitcher for Tuesday. Never mind that Dillard was 10-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 19 Nashville starts and is coming off an eight-inning outing in which he allowed only one hit and no runs while throwing just 65 pitches. Earlier in the day, Macha was asked whether he'd be surprised if the Brewers did not make an addition before Friday's Deadline. "I just know how much effort has been put into trying to look at our needs as a whole and fill those needs," Macha said. "Typically, when you get into this, the further away you are from the Deadline, the higher the price is. The closer you get to the Deadline, [prices drop]. It's a bit of a waiting game." Of principal owner Mark Attanasio, who was in Milwaukee over the weekend to participate in trade talks, Macha said: "I think Mark is a very competitive guy, and he wants to win. Not only that, but we have a tremendous fan base here and the fans are supporting us. [Attanasio] is very appreciative of that. He showed last year that he's willing to go out there [and make a trade]." At the same time, Macha cautioned, Attanasio and Melvin want to field a perennially competitive team, and thus they are hesitant to gut the farm system. So far, Melvin has said publicly that he'd like to hang onto top prospects Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar. "It's a balancing act," Macha said. The Brewers have been linked in published reports to all of the supposedly available arms, from Toronto's Roy Halladay and Cleveland's Cliff Lee at the top of the list to Arizona's Doug Davis and Jon Garland, Seattle's Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn and Kansas City's Brian Bannister. Bedard dropped off the list on Sunday when the Mariners placed him on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury, which may or may not make Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik more likely to move Wisconsin native Washburn. The Trade Deadline is at 3 p.m. CT on Friday. Teams can still make trades after that, but players must pass through waivers first. Pitching matchupMIL: RHP Jeff Suppan (5-7, 4.71 ERA)
Suppan gave up four home runs in 3 1/3 innings to get a no-decision against the Pirates in his last start. It was his shortest outing of the season and he trailed, 5-2, upon leaving. The Brewers eventually took the lead, but lost, 8-7. Suppan has yet to face Washington this year, but is 3-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 starts against the franchise in his career. WSH: RHP Craig Stammen (3-5, 4.14 ERA)
Stammen put up his fourth consecutive quality start, and it helped the Nationals defeat the Mets, 3-1, at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. Stammen (3-5) was perfect through the first four innings, but David Wright broke it up in the fifth with a single to center. Tidbits
Injured right-hander Seth McClung will not travel with the Brewers on their upcoming road trip to San Diego, Los Angeles and Houston. He'll remain in Milwaukee instead to rest his sprained elbow. Fellow disabled righty Dave Bush, however, will travel with the team, because he's already back to throwing. ... One sign that the Brewers' schedule has not been kind: Through Sunday, they had faced every National League team but the Nationals and the Padres, the clubs with the league's two worst records. That's about to change, because after hosting Washington for four games beginning Monday, the Brewers travel to San Diego for a three-game series. ... Milwaukee hasn't lost a home game to the Nationals since 2006. The Brewers were 4-0 against Washington at Miller Park in 2008 and 3-0 in 2007. Since Miller Park opened in 2001, Milwaukee is 17-7 at home against the Expos/Nationals. ... Including Sunday's loss to the Braves, the Brewers are 1-18 when reliever Chris Smith appears in a game. ... Craig Counsell has a hit in nine straight games. He is batting .444 (16-for-36) during the streak. ... Macha offered his congratulations from afar to Jim Rice, who along with Rickey Henderson and Joe Gordon was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Macha was a catcher for the Pirates' Double-A affiliate in 1973 and played in the same league as Rice and fellow Red Sox prospect Fred Lynn. "Jim was quite a hitter," Macha said. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Brewers (TBD) vs. Nationals (Collin Balester, 0-1, 6.00), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Brewers (Manny Parra, 4-8, 6.42) vs. Nationals (Garrett Mock, 0-4, 7.06), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Brewers (Yovani Gallardo, 9-7, 3.09) vs. Nationals (J.D. Martin, 0-1, 7.50), 1:05 p.m. CT
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
