News
Vargas surprised by return to Brewers
Milwaukee (51-53) at San Diego (43-62), 3:05 p.m. CT
Claudio Vargas was 11-6 with the Brewers in 2007. (Jack Dempsey/AP)
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
08/02/09 1:48 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- Claudio Vargas didn't expect to be traded. He really didn't expect to be traded to the Brewers. But there he was on Saturday, wearing a Brewers jersey for the first time since the team surprised him with a pink slip 16 months ago because it had too many pitchers for too few spots. On Friday, the pitching-starved Brewers re-acquired the right-hander Vargas in a Trade Deadline-day deal with the Dodgers. Vargas returned in the eighth inning of the Brewers' second straight loss to the Padres, allowing a run on consecutive two-out hits. He will be back in the bullpen again on Sunday, when the Brewers finish their three-game series at PETCO Park. Asked if he was surprised to be dealt, Vargas responded, "Yeah, especially here. You never know what's going to happen. It surprised me because of what happened here." He was referring to March 2008, when the Brewers, who reported to camp that year with eight starters vying for five spots, decided to release Vargas a little more than a week before Opening Day, effectively setting their starting rotation. Vargas had been a member of that group for most of 2007, when he was 11-6 (and the team was 16-7 in his starts) despite his 5.09 ERA. The pink slip came as a surprise to Vargas, who was 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five 2008 Spring Training starts and was thought to be a favorite for one of the three unsettled spots in the rotation because he was out of Minor League options. "This is part of the business, and they needed somebody here," Vargas said Saturday. Vargas signed with the Mets last year and appeared only briefly in the big leagues, then suffered an elbow injury late in the season. Before he signed with the Dodgers, he underwent an MRI scan that revealed a small tear to his ulnar collateral ligament, and when he developed some soreness later in Spring Training, the Dodgers shut him down. Vargas underwent platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, a new form of treatment by which a patient's own blood platelets are concentrated and then re-injected to the site of an injury to speed healing. It helped then-Dodgers closer Takashi Saito avoid Tommy John elbow reconstruction last season. Vargas said it made a huge difference. He was activated on July 3 and posted a 1.64 ERA in eight relief appearances for the Dodgers. They moved him to clear a 25-man roster spot for recently acquired reliever George Sherrill. "We had a roster-spot problem a little bit and he wasn't going to get a chance to pitch here except in mopup-type roles," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said on Friday. "And Milwaukee had a need for him and a history with him. So we thought we'd clear up a roster space and give him a chance to pitch some place else and increase his opportunity to contribute." The Brewers don't have any immediate plans to stretch Vargas out to start. To make room for him on their own roster, the Brewers optioned right-hander Tim Dillard back to Triple-A Nashville. Dillard had been solid as a starter in the Minor Leagues this season but did not acquit himself well in two relief appearances in the Majors, allowing six runs on seven hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings. "The thing that always comes to your mind is, 'Did we give this guy an opportunity to perform?' I don't know," manager Ken Macha said. "He didn't have a finishing pitch. I thought he threw enough strikes." Pitching matchupMIL: RHP Carlos Villanueva (2-8, 6.61 ERA)
The Brewers are giving Villanueva at least one more chance to grab hold of a spot in the rotation after the right-hander surrendered five runs in four innings of his first start in more than a year. That was Tuesday against the Nationals, when the Brewers tabbed Villanueva over recent Triple-A call-up Tim Dillard because Villanueva has a four-pitch arsenal. He pitched well through three innings before the Nationals struck for four runs in the fourth including an Adam Dunn homer that bounced onto the sidewalk outside Miller Park. Villanueva threw 67 pitches, and should be able to reach the 80-pitch plateau in his second start. SD: RHP Kevin Correia (7-8, 4.75 ERA)
Correia earned his first win since July 12 with a solid six-inning outing against the Reds on Tuesday. Correia pitched six innings and gave up six hits and only two runs in the Padres 3-2 win. After coming off his shortest outing of the season, Correia returned to form to get his second win over the Reds this season. Correia hopes to continue his success against the Brewers who he has not faced this season. Tidbits
The Brewers hope to get more pitching help soon. Jeff Suppan (rib cage) is still in limbo, but Macha is holding out hope that he will be able to return from the disabled list when he's eligible Aug. 12. Dave Bush (triceps) will throw off a mound Sunday, his first step toward another Minor League rehabilitation assignment. The Brewers might shorten that process for Bush this time by sending him for one two-inning Minors start, then bringing him back to "piggy-back" with Villanueva in the Majors. The idea, Macha said, is that the Brewers don't want to waste big league innings. ... Milwaukee on Saturday picked up outfielder Corey Patterson, recently released by the Nationals, on a Triple-A contract. It had had a vacancy at Nashville since trading corner outfield prospect Cole Gillespie to the D-backs two weeks ago. Patterson, 29, has spent most of this year at the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., where he batted .275 with seven home runs, 40 RBIs and a .318 on-base percentage in 84 games. "He's made some adjustments hitting," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "His on-base percentage over the past month or so had improved." ... The Brewers' traveling press corps named Prince Fielder and Todd Coffey the team's top performers for July. Fielder hit .315 with five homers and 17 RBIs, and Coffey posted a 1.26 ERA in 11 games. The duo will be recognized on the next homestand. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FS Wisconsin On radio
• WTMJ 620 Up next
• Monday: Brewers (Manny Parra, 5-8, 6.50) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 8-5, 2.76), 9:10 p.m. CT
• Tuesday: Brewers (Yovani Gallardo, 10-7, 3.13) at Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 3-5, 4.44), 9:10 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Brewers (Braden Looper, 9-5, 5.03) at Dodgers (Jason Schmidt, 2-1, 4.50), 9:10 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.
