Category Archives: Uncategorized

Was hiring Ken Macha the 9th worst thing Doug Melvin has ever done?

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Ryan thinks so. His post is in bold. 

9) Hiring Ken Macha as manager.

One of the hardest things any general manager has to do is to hire a field manager and obviously Melvin hasn’t hit a home run with any of his three managerial hires.

I grant you that I write on a blog where our sole purpose is to nitpick managers, but I think it actually seems really easy, since the baseline for hiring a manager is “terrible”.

Still, at least Ned Yost accomplished the successful “breaking-in” of those 2000-05 draftees

He was a tactical disaster. Did you know that he had Chris Getz and his .250 OBP lead off for the Royals yesterday?  .250 OBP. 

and Ron Roenicke has a career 197-172 record.

RRR career WP% – .534

Macha – .540

The Ken Macha hire was basically a disaster from start to finish. Yes, it’s true he wasn’t given much in the way of a starting rotation to work with,

Since this is a post about Doug Melvin why don’t we take a look at said pitching personnel?

Braden Looper – 5.22 ERA

Yo – 3.73 ERA

Suppan – 5.29, but he was just one pitch away from like 3.4. Or so I’m told.

Parra – 6.36

Bush – 6.38

Villanueva – 5.34.

Ron would have best-buddied Looper into a 4.00 for sure though.

and he was tactically more in line with my thinking than either of the other two,

Hey, we agree!

but his inability to run a functional clubhouse ultimately kept him from being given the chance with a good rotation in 2011.

So…shouldn’t this mistake be “firing Ken Macha?”

What makes the hire worse was that he came to Milwaukee with a reputation for being hard to get along with,

The 2009 BP annual has this to say on the subject:

“Failures in clubhouse communication (some of them involving his once and future catcher, Jason Kendall) dogged Macha during his time in Oakland; Brewers fans will have to hope that his newfound autonomy doesn’t prompt him to unleash a flurry of bunt signs restrained during four years under Billy Beane, on an unsuspecting National League.”

I hate Jason Kendall too.

 but that didn’t seem to matter. At the end of the day, 2009 and 2010 represent tremendously blown opportunities for contention and Ken Macha was at the helm for those two debacles.

Spoken like someone who believes in pitcher wins. 

The Journal Sentinel and Rickie Weeks

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What’s up with the Journal Sentinel and Rickie Weeks?

Rickie Weeks has been terrible this year, it’s certainly a story. I don’t know how big of a story it should be, but it’s a story. It’s not the only story though, the Brewers are struggling with one of the worst starting pitching staffs in baseball, are starting Yunieksy Betancourt and his .261 OBP at 1B, catcher Jonathan Lucroy is struggling mightily and is still batting 5th, Yovani Gallardo has taken a step back with a velocity drop and is bad. You get the picture.

So there are a lot of issues with this team and Rickie is certainly among them, but…there are a lot of issues with this team.

With that in mind, here is a sample of the Journal Sentinel coverage from May 18th to May 21st:

  • 5/21/13 – Brewers lose 3-1, Rickie goes 0-2 with a walk and the only run. What little offense the Brewers managed, it was largely due to Weeks getting on base. The JS runs a picture of Weeks to accompany the game story with this quote: Rickie Weeks tosses his helmet aside after popping out against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. Weeks finished 0 for 2 and saw his average dip to .168.
  • 5/20/13 – Blog post: “Ron Roenicke on Rickie Weeks remaining in the lineup”
  • 5/20/13 – Lineup blog post: “Aramis back, Rickie Weeks in lineup”
  • 5/19/13 – Lineup blog post: “Bianchi to get start, but not at 2B”
  • 5/18/13 – Blog post: “Rickie Weeks ‘just working to get better’”
  • 5/18/13 – Lineup blog post title: “Jeff Bianchi starting at second base”
  • 5/18/13 – Notes column headline “Weeks gets another day off”
  • 5/18/13 – Michael Hunt column: “Scooter Gennett has impressed at every level.” An article about a minor league player with a career OPS of .755.

That’s 8 headlines or stories involving Rickie Weeks in 3 days.

Going back to the 13th, Michael Hunt penned a column “With Rickie Weeks, its wait and see” which this caption on the picture: “It is hard to envision the Brewers benching someone who makes $10 million a year like Rickie Weeks”

I’m sure the JS is getting tons of feedback on Weeks, the comments certainly would back this up, and they write accordingly. That’s fine and the need to generate discussion, not just report is a reality in today’s media (See: ESPN and Tebow). However, the intense focus of a single player by the Milwaukee media just seems a bit odd and is getting to weird levels with the focus on Weeks, especially after games when he actually performs well.

I’m a Brewer fan and pay a disproportionate amount of attention to the Brewers vs other teams, so did a quick look around the league at other high-profile players who are struggling:

  • BJ Upton has started the year .153/.245/.243. A quick look at the Atlanta Journal Constitution Braves homepage has 8 blog items, none of them about Upton
  • Ike Davis is off to a .149/.229/.248 start in New York. This has to be bad. The New York Daily News has 10 blog posts on the front page, one of them mentions Ike Davis.
  • Brett Lawrie is hitting .186/.248/.347, there isn’t a mention of him on the Toronto Sun’s Blue Jay page.

Maybe I just caught the sports sections at a good time, and those players are just 3 who I could think of off the top of my head, I realize articles about struggling players happen all the time. It just seems as someone who reads the JS Sports page daily, they are bordering on trolling with their Rickie Weeks coverage.

Cards v. Brewers, Just the Facts

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1. The Brewers have played 42 games. 10 of those (23.8%) have been against the 1st place Cardinals.

2. The Cardinals have hit 80 singles in the 10-game match-up. The Brewers have hit 73.

3. The Cardinals have 24 extra-base hits. The Brewers have just 18.

4. The Cardinals have 26 walks. The Brewers have 18.

5. The Cardinals have grounded into 8 double plays. The Brewers have grounded into 14.

6. The Cardinals put runners in scoring position 93 times. The Brewers put runners in scoring position 74 times.

7. The Cardinals got a hit with runners in scoring position 34 times for a BA with RISP of .366.

8. The Brewers got a hit with runners in scoring position 18 times for a BA with RISP of .243.

It may have seemed like the Cards nickel-and-dimed the Brewers to death this season, but they were just better offensively. They were also better pitching-wise but you don’t really need a big breakdown to see that.

Rosiak Chat Winners and Losers

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Before we get into this weeks’ winners and losers, a quick “get well soon” to Haudricourt from the RRSMB crew. He is a role model to us all. JS and Twitter won’t be the same while he’s out.

Here are your winners and losers from this week:

WINNER: Q: Derek, Superior, WI – Are relief pitchers allowed to throw more than one inning? It sure would be nice if they were. Then maybe some guys would be rested instead of using everyone all the time.

Derek, we love you.

LOSER: Q: craig, brookfield – is it accurate to characterize what you and haudricourt do with the brewers as journalism? it seems like you guys hardly do more than serve as a mouthpiece for the organization.. relaying the desired narrative. considering journal communications and the brewers are long standing business partners, is it unrealistic for fans to think the beat writers will do anything beyond soft peddle the coverage?

Oh jeez Craig, its sports, what exactly do you want them to do? And Haudricourt is awesome, how dare you.

WINNER: Q: Brad, Jackson, WI – Todd thank you for these chats, it’s great to have this type of forum available. With Axford’s continued failures, is sending him to AAA an option. And if they did would bringing up Tyler Thornburg be an option?

A question that needs to be asked.

LOSER: Q: Tom, Milwaukee – Todd, Bigger disappointment for the Brewers, Jason Arnett or Mark Rodgers? Both must frustrate the heck out of mgtm!!

I hope this is Haudricourt trolling Rosiak from his hospital bed, because neither of these players are real.

WINNER Q: Ben, Farmington Hills, MI – It is encouraging that we finally have some pitching depth in the minor league system. My question is about impact bats. Are there any prospects that project to be everyday players by the end of 2014?

This is an OK question. I’ll put this here because there are no other winners from today’s chat. The rest are all losing questions.

LOSER Q: Mateo – Good Morning Todd, It’s been tough to watch the Brewers collectively the first six weeks of the season. But it has been fun watching Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura. I know Gomez worked out with Manny Ramirez in the offseason, and Segura follows Braun’s workout regimen. Do you see anything that fans don’t in terms of preparation that has contributed to their offensive success thus far? If both keep it up, they’ll be starting in the All-Star game in July.

Even though Rosiak missed it, what a lame steroid troll attempt

LOSER: Q: Bill, DePere – As crazy as it sounds would the Brewers consider trading Gallardo? He cannot beat two division rivals (Cards & Reds) and his velocity has dropped the last three years. Personally I do not believe he has the mental toughness to be a no. 1 starter.

Mental toughness! In 2011 Gallardo Went 8 innings of 1 hit ball in Game 1 of the NLDS, then followed it up by going 6 innings of 1 run ball in Game 5 to lead the Brewers to one of their best wins in franchise history. Is it his velocity drop or his mental toughness? Pick a lane Bill!

That will conclude this week. Get well soon Tom.

Is Rickie Weeks a Good Player in a Prolonged Slump,

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Or is he a bad player who (hopefully) has occasional hot streaks? For most if his career he’s been a good player, and occasionally a great player. I’ve been hoping that he’d snap back to that level of production and telling myself that it’s early. Thing is:

  1. It’s not that early anymore, and
  2. Given what we know of last year, we almost have the dreaded “large sample size”, and
  3. Rickie’s been hurt a lot, which doesn’t help you when you age, and,
  4. Rickie’s kinda old, and
  5. Rickie doesn’t have the best body type and has always been stretched at 2nd base, and
  6. He’s slower.

Yes, players do slump for more than a year. Yes, most players are not washed up by their 30th birthday, but the VAST majority of players never slump for a year, and some guys are essentially done when they’re 30.

I said on Twitter the other day that when I watch Weeks I’m reminded of Carlos Baerga and Jose Vidro (though they’re switch hitters, which is important for later). They were big-bodies 2nd baseman who hit for some power, and saw pretty steep declines around the age of 30. Baerga especially aged extremely poorly partially due to injuries.* A more optimistic comp who shows up in both PECOTA and on B-Ref’s comps list is Kelly Johnson, who has experienced Weeksian slumps in his age 29 and 30 seasons but who has, at least so far, bounced back this year:

2011: .222/.304/.413

2012: .225/.313/.365

2013: .275/.361/.471, (32 games)

Career until 2010: .269/.352/.447

So maybe there’s hope there, but then again, maybe not. Johnson is an interesting character in his own right. He had the same career year as Rickie Weeks in 2010 when Weeks was the most valuable 2nd baseman in baseball. Johnson had a 5.4 fWAR, 3rd among 2nd baseman only to Weeks and Cano at 5.8. He then experienced a precipitous decline. Here’s a side by side of Weeks and Johnson since 2007:

Johnson                               Weeks

2007                       3.3                                          3.1

2008                       2.3                                          2.3

2009                       .6 (106 games)                   1.3 (37 games)

2010                       5.4                                          5.8

2011                       1.7                                          3.4

2012                       .5                                            1.1

They look pretty close over the course of their careers, and Johnson is off to a nice start this year, (and read this) but there’s one huge difference between the two. Kelly Johnson bats left/throws right. This season he has feasted on RHP, hitting .288/.369/.534 in 84 Pas versus .241/.343/.310 against LHP. Johnson has not always had such extreme splits, but as players get older the difference often grows. Johnson, by virtue of his left-handedness, can probably survive this for quite a while as most pitchers (and people) are right-handed and as you can see, the Rays have been good about limiting exposure to the weaker side.

Rickie Weeks isn’t exactly raking against lefties, but he’s noticeably (over .200 points of OPS) better against them**. In 41 Pas against LHP Weeks is hitting .212/.366/.364 with 1 HR and 2 doubles. In 108 Pas against RHP he’s hitting .170/.278/.245. Looking at batted ball data the contrast is even starker for Weeks. He doesn’t have a good BABIP in general (.273 v. L, .246 v. R), but while both are lower than his career .303, there is more reason to believe that he’s been unlucky against lefties than righties. His LD% against lefties is a very solid 26.1%. 20% of his flyballs have left the yard against lefties. Against righties his GB% is four points higher, his LD% is 6.5 points lower, he hits way more infield flies, and only 6.7% of flyballs have left the yard. I’m not sure how to look up contact rate splits on Fangraphs so maybe someone can help me out there, but we have enough to conclude that Weeks has been better in almost every measure against lefties, and by a fairly substantial amount.

Let’s assume for a second that Johnson and Weeks are truly similar, or, at least were until very recently.  They had similar peak seasons, similar ascents, and similar declines. They both had quick bats in their youths and hit everyone pretty well. But when you get old and your bat slows down, it suddenly starts to matter which side of the plate you stand on. The big advantage in being a lefty is simple demographics. Johnson has obviously been better than Weeks this year, but just look at the different ways they‘ve been exposed to their weaknesses.

Another common Weeks comp is Dan Uggla, a right-handed hitter. He’s hitting .197/.309/.409 in 36 games this year. He has an OPS of 1.002 in 38 PAs against LHP and a .628 OPS in 111 PAs v. RHP. If you reverse those opportunity numbers you have an All-Star, but with this breakdown in the aggregate you basically have Yuni. A low OBP guy “with some pop.”

If you want my prescription on possibly saving Weeks, put him in a strict platoon for a while. Put him in situations where he can succeed. This will limit his time for a bit, and I actually don’t even care if his platoon partner is a lefty or not, but if your goal is to build his confidence, this is a way to do it. If you want to get the most out of him, for now, this is the way to do it.

I’m not sure if Weeks is a bad player who will have occasional hot streaks, or a good player who will have occasional slumps at this point, but his comps and the side of the plate he stands on suggests that he may now be the former. That’s not a good thing, but at least there’s a way to deal with it.

*He had a minor comeback from 2002-2005, driven mostly by a crazy year for Arizona in 2003, but mostly he was washed up after 1999.

**Over his career this is truer of Weeks than of Johnson. Weeks has always hit lefties better, Johnson historically is more balanced.

Ron Roenicke is not the Problem*

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Maybe its just that I follow the @JSComments feed, Haudricourt’s weekly chats and catch the occasional bit of Bad Sports Radio, but I feel like I need to say that this season isn’t really Roenicke’s fault. Or, its as much his fault as 2010 was Ken Macha’s fault.

People who are calling for Roenicke to be fired – stop it, you’re making people who have legitimate gripes and still get the shakes when they think about Mark Kotsay playing CF look like idiots.

We started this blog in 2011 after this game in which the Brewers lost 1-0. In this game Ron Roenicke had Yuniesky Betancourt at 3rd base with one out in the 5th inning, and Randy Wolf at the plate. He decided to put on the squeeze play. Wolf didn’t make contact with the next pitch and Yuni was hung out to dry.

Read that again: he attempted a squeeze play with Randy Wolf and Yuniesky Betancourt in the 5th inning.

To top it off, Wolf doubled on the next pitch and the Brewers would go on to lose 1-0.

That actually happened and is the stuff that drove/drives me nuts and makes me question RRR’s sanity.

But I digress, here are some numbers:

  • 3.53
  • 4.70
  • 5.40
  • 6.05
  • 6.86

Those are the ERAs of the starting staff. You’re not wining many game with those numbers. It really is that simple. All the other stuff is just noise.

Sure he still struggles with basic baseball stuff like the fascination with having an 8th inning guy, and the bunting is still confusing, albeit as Disciples of Uecker point out, slightly less this year (I think its random SSS as bunting varies greatly from month to month for every team) and whatever he’s trying to do with John Axford.

So if you’re mad at Roenicke for playing Rickie Weeks, think the team isn’t fired up enough or blame him for Gallardo and the rest of the dumpster fire SP rotation being bad, google Ron Roenicke, find this site and think we agree – we don’t. Go away.

*This year

JS Chat Winners and Losers Part III

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Haudricourt is back!  And he took like 500 questions. Good rebound from Rosiak and his 16 question performance last week.

Away we go….

WINNER

Q: Joan Brayer, Janesville, Wisconsin – Dear Mr. Haudricourt, My question to you sir …………….How do I purchase two autograph copies of your book? I saw your interview on FSN and your book sounds awesome!! I would like to compare some of the things in your top 100 list as to what I have done thus far with the Brewers! Just a few…….last Thursday night for the 5th year in a row I obtained Bob Uueker’s autograph. This time it was on his nestling doll! I have had his book signed, a ball, a Brewer tee shirt with his name and number on it and stories and pictures to prove. This is done in a very quiet manner as I try to obtain items for breast cancer, raffles, silent auctions etc. I have the items myself and obtain all my autographs. Done with preparation, timing, luck and with God’s help! One of your books will go towards that purpose! Plus the other I am most anxious to read. That night I tried to get Y. Molina’s autograph on a small pink bat to no avail. We watched his brother Jose come up in the minors in Rockford Illinois! I got to see Johnny Damon at Miller Park when Brewers played Tampa. We also watched him come up in Rockford. At that game he autographed his book and a Rockford program that had his cover on the year after he was there. In that program is a picture of my husband, our daughter Sarah and myself with a sign I made. Caught his eye coming off batting practice! Have you ever saved a person’s life or administered first aid at a ball park? Being a RN, I ‘ve done it too many times!!! Have you sat at the very top of Miller Park with a sign that reads “Down in front?” I know you have sat in Brewers dugout………..I have too with my Dad, Husband and sister……On a Brewer caravan through Beloit I won the greatest door prize!!! Ben Sheets, “the Rock” and Gorman Thomas was the one who drew out my name!!! To sit in the dugout was part of the package! I would give anything for a baseball(s) that my dad signed that day to some little boys. Their mom was with them……we come out of the dugout…they see my dad with white hair and cane and think he is some baseball player. The mom asked if he played and he replied during WWll. He never played baseball but he is very much responsible for the love I have of the game!!! Dad put Johnny Acco for an autograph! That in itself is a long story! Have you won a 50/50 or picture up on Jumbotron for winning last year US Cellular picture with cut out with John Axford and one of my infamous signs? I won the 50/50 in the early part of the season last year and on the Jumbotron in late September of last year! Have you had a fan from opposing team want to buy your Brewer baseball cap because the way you had it made up? Have you won bets or dares going to a ball game at Miller Park and pull it off? Someone dared me to go to Miller game wearing a Boston baseball cap and a New York Yankee jersey! I did and the Alzheimer’s organization received the payout. Have you been in charge of a family tail gate at Miller Park? You see I love baseball!!!!! I am 62, night before birthday this year 4/3 was at my first game of season! Earlier stated I am a RN and I am also a 3 1/2 years breast cancer survivor. During my cancer surgeries and appointments I would take a baseball bat and wear a jersey. The bat was sign by the most important people I have ever obtained autographs from during my treatment! I have 4 large bats and two small ones with the goal of taking them to Cooperstown as I have never been there and definitely on my “Bucket List!” I love baseball movies with one of my favorites “A league of Their Own!” I plan on going to the 70th anniversary of the AAGPBL as I volunteered to do whatever they needed help with and my services as a RN. Miller Park use to have gals come but I don’t believe it has been years. Plus many of these gals are no longer with us………..Pepper Paire-Davis passed away this past February. I think this just might be the longest question you have been asked! Sorry about that………….I just love baseball and would like to know how to get your book. I cannot make your signing there tomorrow. I thank you! Play Ball! Joan Brayer 4502 Hearthstone Drive Janesville, Wisconsin 53546 (phone number redacted, but she actually posted it, and did you really read this whole thing? Kudos). 

This is an insanely long question. Joan seems like a nice woman and I wish her the best.

WINNER:

Q: Simba, Fond du Lac – All the attention getting paid to Weeks struggles, is anybody concerned with Lucroy and how he has looked this year. Might be time to get Maldonado a few more starts. He is by far the better defender and they would not be losing much with the bat right now. Do you agree?

Nice of Ted Simmons to pop in. Lucroy has looked terrible this year. I don’t know if I’d give Maldy the “by far” better defense (especially pitch framing), but Lurcoy has not been good and it seems like no one cares/notices.

LOSER:

Q: Greg Underwood – Do you see any player down on the farm that will help the big league club this year? I know injuries usually dictate moves, but I am thinking of a Ryan Braun type of player.

A Ryan Braun type player? Like a guy on a HOF type track? I think you would have heard of such player had he existed. To answer your question though – yes they do, his name is Scooter.

WINNER:

Q: Ben, Unity, WI – Is there a noticeable change in Gomez’s approach at the plate that is allowing him to hit so well this year?

Sure

LOSER:

Q: Carl “Lazagna” Swenson, De Pere, Wisconsin – Tom: in your years covering the Brewers, do you recall the Famous Racing Sausages ever joining in a bench clearing brawl, or a race suddenly turning into a fist fight that precipated a bench clearing brawl? Or have the races always been controversy-free? Thanks for clueing me in and doing such a good job.

WTF. If you’re going to troll Tom, be better please.

WINNER:

Q: – A few relief pitchers at Nashville have been throwing well, Hand, Wooten, Sanchez and even Olmsted has been throwing well. He has too many walks though. If the team needs help, which pitcher is most likely to be called up?

I like this question, something I’ve been wondering too.

LOSER

Q: George, Appleton – I think part of Gomez and Yuni’s success to start the season is due to them batting in tandem specifically Gomez ahead of Yuni for most of their hot streak. Yuni hardly saw the field for the first 2 weeks of the season and Gomez struggled. Gomez and Yuni really took off starting with the last game of the Cardinals series and you will notice they have batted in tandem almost daily since then. Do you think these two batting in order has had a significant impact on their success thusfar?

You know the Yuni love has jumped the shark when people are crediting his presence in the batting order for Carlos Gomez’s hot start. Jeez.

WINNER:

Q: Steve, Cedarburg, WI – Who is in charge of the replay at Miller Park? There is never a replay of a close play–ever! Is this a Brewer or a MLB decision? Is this common practice at other stadiums? The Bucks and Packers replay all the action

I’ve also noticed this and wondered what MLB’s comment would be. Its frustrating to be at the game and not have close plays shown.

LOSER:

Q: wiscal – What do you think Billy Bean would do if he were the GM and R&R keeps Weeks batting 5th and Axford pitching in close games?

This response would actually probably be a good Badgernoonan post.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that “Bean” has played guys who are struggling before.

LOSER

Q: Appleton Fox, Appleton/WI – Do you think Mark Antanassio is wearing blinders in thinking Doug Melvin and Ron Roenicke actually know what they are doing? Melvin had made so many costly personnel blunders it borders on being criminal. Roenicke is completely lost when it comes to making rational managerial moves. Are the Brewers stuck with these 2 losers because Antanassio can’t see their incompetence?

Step off the ledge Mr. Fox.

The Yuni-pocalypse Is Nigh: Sports Talk Radio Edition

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It is May 9.

To date, the Milwaukee Brewers have played 32 baseball games.

In those 32 baseball games, Yuniesky Betancourt, the most stubbornly irremovable piece of flotsam that ever drifted into Major League Baseball, he of the career OPS+ of 83 and cumulative WAR of 0.0 and UZR of (roughly) negative-a-billion, who somehow bluffed his way into 57 games last season on the Royals’ glorified AA roster and then gacked up an OBP of .256 (TWO-FUCKING-FIFTY-SIX!), has hit eight home runs. He has driven in 24 runs. His OPS+ is a knee-buckling 121.

Naturally, given those circumstances: shit’s getting weird.

Witness the extended discussion of Betancourt’s place on the roster that took place during yesterday morning’s edition of the “Chuck & Wickett” program on Milwaukee’s least not-favorite* sports talk radio station, 1250 WSSP.

* At least that’s how I’m interpreting the Arbitron numbers, which show WSSP with like a 1.1 something or other number, which … you know what? Let’s not pretend either of us cares enough to figure out what that number means.

I’ll do my best to keep my editorial comments to a minimum.

(NICKELBACK INTRO, BECAUSE SPORTS RADIO)

WICKETT: There’s a lot of questions coming out of that ballgame yesterday, Chuck, and one of them that you and I are talking about: what do you do with Yuniesky Betancourt? I mean, the guy leads the team in home runs, he’s performing much better at the plate than I think anybody would have guessed, considering what we all know Yuniesky Betancourt to be. You know, Corey Hart’s going to come back, we assume, at the end of this month … But when Corey comes back, and we’ve heard Doug Melvin say “he’s our first baseman”; well, hell, what if Yuni B’s got 15 homers by that point? He’s got 8 already.

I’ll say this: if Yuni has 15 home runs by the end of May, I’m not wearing pants to work for a week. I’ll eat mustard — like, just mustard — for dinner for a week. I’ll start a blog that’s strictly Yuni fan fiction, about Yuni and his pet jaguar running a successful bed and breakfast and moonlighting as the crime-fighting duo of “Yuni and Spots” in their free time.

This has been a long way of saying: I’m relatively confident Yuni will not hit 7 more homers in the next three weeks.

CHUCK: Well, look at the first base job. It was supposed to be Mat Gamel’s, OK? Mat Gamel got hurt and never could answer the bell. Coming out of spring training, when you realized Corey Hart wasn’t going to be able to make opening day and he was going to be out for two months, it was going to be Alex Gonzalez at first base. He reluctantly decided, “OK, I’ll play first base,” he did a nice job there in spring training, but couldn’t hit his weight coming out of spring training and he still can’t. So he’s been reduced to kind of the role coming off the bench, and Yuni Betancourt, who they picked up late in spring training coming off the Phillies’ roster, he’s been the man.

WICKETT: I don’t see Alex Gonzalez lasting 162 games with this Brewer club. I really don’t. I don’t see “A-Gone” on this roster. I know that he’s pretty cheap, he can play a couple of positions, but Chuck: I mean, if you’re getting this out of Yuniesky Betancourt, and they throw Jeff Bianchi in there at third as a defensive replacement, and they’ve got these other guys they’re shuffling around – Lalli and Prince and all of that. … Do you need Alex Gonzalez? Because he came in yesterday and had one of the meekest swings I’ve ever seen a major league baseball player have that isn’t a pitcher. He flew out to right and that was it.

I fully recognize that Wickett was talking about Sea Bass here, but if ever there was a biography or a 30 for 30 on Yuni Betancourt, it would be called: “He Flew Out To Right And That Was It: The Yuniesky Betancourt Story.”

CHUCK: I brought this up a couple of weeks ago, and this is when Yuni wasn’t hitting as well as he’s hitting right now; he was OK, but he’s just on a major tear right now. I think this was after week 2; I asked this to Adam McCalvy, I said: “Is Yuni or Alex Gonzalez going to be designated for assignment?” And of course, every time Yuni hits a home run, I hear about it on Twitter. Because everybody thought Yuni was going to be this good. … Nobody saw this coming from Yuni, so don’t kid yourself. But Gonzalez, Mike; Bianchi played third last night, Gonzalez does not have any range anymore, coming off that knee surgery, mid-30s. They really like Bianchi, he’s back again, he filled in for Aramis Ramirez at third base. Made a nice play behind the bag … I don’t know if Gonzalez makes that play.

WICKETT: I don’t think he does. Well, let me take that back. I don’t know if he does or doesn’t. I don’t want to make this a “bash on Alex Gonzalez.” … He looks slow, when you’re 36, 37, it’s different than when you’re 25 coming off ACL surgery. But the bigger question, and we’d love to hear from Brewers fans … when Corey Hart comes back, what do you do with Yuniesky Betancourt? I’m not gonna lie, five weeks ago, I didn’t think we’d be having this conversation. But he’s got 8 homers, assuming he stays warm – I don’t expect him to ever stay this hot – but what can you do with him? Let’s say he’s got 10 home runs, 12 home runs by the end of May; what do you do with him? Does Corey automatically get his job back at first?

Yes.

We’ve heard Doug Melvin say that before. Is that still the policy?

Yes.

Cuz you can’t take that bat out of the lineup.

You can. And you should.

But there is a bat you can take out of the lineup, if you like: if Rickie Weeks is still struggling, can you move Yuniesky Betancourt to second to keep his bat in the lineup, if Corey gets his job back at first? Does Corey get Wally Pipp’d? Does Corey get dealt? What do you do? Can’t believe we’re saying this, but can you do without Yuniesky Betancourt’s bat in the lineup?

CHUCK: You’d have never thought you’d say those two words in the same sentence, Mike, or those two phrases, but no, you’re right: you almost have to keep him in. And when you picked him up, you didn’t expect to have to use him in the everyday part of the lineup. But you ended up having to do it anyway. And sometimes he’s batting in the cleanup spot, when Ramirez isn’t in there. He’s been excelling. He’s been great. I don’t know how you take him out of the lineup, but still, I’m not the biggest Corey Hart fan in the world, but the guy who’s gonna hit 25 home runs and hit .270 and be as good defensively as he is at first base, it’s hard not to put him back into the lineup.

WICKETT: Do you think Betancourt can play second base?

He can, for sure. It’s much the same way that, say, Martin Maldonado can play second base, in that: it would be a terrible, terrible fucking idea and anyone who thought that it was a viable long-term option at second base should be immediately and irrevocably sterilized, but yeah: he’s got two arms, a head, and legs. He can play second.

CHUCK: I don’t know.

Gratuitous, but whatever: there’s a goddamn Google machine right there, champ.

WICKETT: Can he be any worse than Rickie? I mean, since Willie Randolph took over years ago as the instructor for Rickie Weeks as a bench coach, Rickie Weeks became a better second baseman.

CHUCK: Are you talking defensively? Rickie’s still a better second baseman defensively, but hitting-wise, Betancourt is on a different level than Rickie. He had a hit last night, but he hasn’t been very good.

WICKETT: I don’t even know if Rickie’s that much of a better defensive second baseman than Yuni B at this point.

CHUCK: We don’t know about Betancourt playing second base, that’s the thing.

We do.

WICKETT: I don’t know if he’s ever done it.

Oh, for God’s sake.

CHUCK: I think he did for a little bit in Kansas City last year.

WICKETT: Betancourt is hitting .276 but he’s got 8 home runs. And here we are in the first week of May, second week of May. Meanwhile, Rickie Weeks is batting almost a hundred points lower, at .193.

CHUCK: If it wasn’t for Betancourt, he’s one of the big reasons why they’ve hung around the .500 mark, with some of those injuries. And when they picked him up and they put him in the starting lineup and they had to put him in there, you didn’t want him to be bad. You didn’t want him batting .150. Well, he’s not hitting .150. He’s actually been a major contributor, he’s held his own and been better than he’s ever been.

WICKETT: What do you do when Corey Hart comes back, Brewer fans? Can you move Yuni B?

CHUCK: Well, when they picked him up, Mike, you know there was a groan among Brewer fans. “Oh no.”

WICKETT: I laughed. I didn’t groan. … Your calls coming up next.

(AD FOR BUTCHER’S SHOP, BECAUSE WISCONSIN)

WICKETT: Nobody expected Yuni B to be this good. Leads the Brewers in home runs. He and Braun are tied in the National League for seventh, with 24 RBI. His home runs: 8 on the year, he’s tied for fifth. So the question is on the table right now: what do you want to do with Corey Hart when he comes back at the end of the month? This all, by the way, it just might be way too early to be talking about this, because if we know anything about Yuniesky Betancourt, he could go 1 for his next 25.

CHUCK: Yeah. Do you believe this guy could actually ride it out, keep this thing going for an extended period of time? It’s a hot streak for him: eight home runs, great, but he’s hitting .276. It’s not like he’s hitting .340. It’s not like he’s putting up GoGo numbers right now, .364. … But our expectations for Betancourt aren’t very high. He’s a scrap heap guy, you know, 30-year-old, 33, whatever it is. You didn’t expect him to do anything but he’s going beyond what we expected this far.

WICKETT: But if he stays this hot, how do you take his bat out of the lineup in favor of a guy coming off of the injury like Corey Hart? Do you think about moving him to second? Rickie’s been warm as of late. I just don’t know what you do. Rickie’s average has gone up about 30 points, 25 points in the last 10 games. And people still want to bag on him, because he’s not hitting .285, he’s hitting .193.

Oh no. I see where this discussion is going.

CHUCK: One-ninety-three. But if you get a hit every eight at-bats or so, your average is going to go up.

Math is not my strong suit, but I believe if you get a hit once every eight at-bats, you’ll be hitting .125.

WICKETT: He has been playing better, there’s no doubt. He has been seeing the ball better. Rickie’s walked in, what, seven of the last eight games? I didn’t think I’d say that ever. Ever since that 3-strikeout game against the Pirates, he’s been getting on base.

CHUCK: I still think, though, when Corey Hart comes back, the job is his. I don’t know if you want to trade him. At that point, you’re putting all your cards in Betancourt. You just want a bigger sample size of what Yuni can do. It’s only been six weeks of the season. Almost have to check back to see where we are Memorial Day weekend, when Hart’s gonna come back. It’s interesting, though: Betancourt’s ridden it out this far, and he’s been good, he’s been consistent out there, hitting the home runs, you mentioned the RBI, home run totals are up there among the major league leaders. You can’t take him out.

WICKETT: If he cools off, it’s a different story.

When (not if) he cools off, it will be the same story that we’ve seen each of the last eight years with Yuni. In fact, there’s quite a bit of evidence it’s already the same story, and Yuni’s just inexplicably squaring up the ball like he’s never done before and, in all likelihood, never will again.

But let’s try to stay positive. You hope that Yuni B does stay this warm. Over on Facebook, I’ll give you one guess what the overwhelming reaction is when we asked this question, what to do with Yuni B: Yuni to second, Yuni to second, Yuni to second, Weeks needs to sit for a long time, trade Weeks start Yuni at second, Yuni to second, and I can go on and on and on and on. Again, people aren’t really looking at what Rickie’s done in the last week-and-a-half. Rickie’s been pretty good getting on base. He’s not tearing the cover off the ball. …

WICKETT: Let’s talk to Zack, on the North Side. Good morning, Zack, you’re on 1250 WSSP.

Buckle up.

ZACK: Hey, what’s going on?

WICKETT: Not much.

ZACK (talking very loudly, with his mouth apparently pressed against the phone’s microphone): This shouldn’t even be a topic. HOW YOU CAN YOU JUSTIFY SITTING YUNI B, AND STARTING RICKIE WEEKS? Yuni B has been the spark. (Pause for effect.) Rickie has been the flameout.

Zack is upset.

WICKETT: Do you know what Rickie’s done in the last 10 days?

ZACK (still very upset): WHERE WOULD THE BREWERS BE RIGHT NOW WITHOUT YUNI B?

Zack will not be distracted by your data.

CHUCK: You got some numbers on Rickie in the last 10 games?

WICKETT: In the last 10 games, he’s raised his batting average 27 points.

CHUCK: That doesn’t take much at .150.

ZACK (not letting go): WHERE WOULD THE BREWERS RECORD BE RIGHT NOW WITHOUT YUNI B IN THE LINEUP?

Zack is persistent.

WICKETT: Probably not 15-16.

ZACK: They’d be well under .500 and probably at least 8 games back.

Zack hasn’t looked at the standings this morning.

CHUCK: Raising your average from .170 to .193 doesn’t take much.

WICKETT: It does if you’re Rickie Weeks.

CHUCK: When you’re hitting that low, .193 is still .193.

WICKETT: I’m just throwing things out there. Zack, we appreciate you telling us what to have as topics and what not to have as topics. That’s really great. The other question I have for you is: how do you know Yuniesky Betancourt can play second base?

Maybe he has a computer.

ZACK: I thought he could play any position in the infield.

Zack is befuddled.

WICKETT: I don’t know that.

Now Wickett is befuddled.

ZACK: He’s multi-talented in the infield, I don’t know what positions he’s played in his career, I know shortstop and first, but I’m assuming he’s spent some time at second and third.

Maybe Zack doesn’t have a computer.

CHUCK: Yeah, I think they brought him in to be a corner infielder, fill-in, at this point.

WICKETT: I mean, he’s 31. He didn’t exactly have the greatest range at shortstop two years ago.

ZACK (emboldened): Can I just make one more point, guys?

Zack has one more point to make, guys.

WICKETT: I love this phone call so far, so let’s knock it out of the park here, Zack.

ZACK (exasperated): How much is enough from Rickie Weeks? I mean, wouldn’t you call it quits on this guy?

Zack is at the end of his rope.

WICKETT: No.

ZACK (forging ahead): I mean, I think what he needs is a fresh start somewhere else. I think they just need to pull the plug, and I think what’s good for Rickie is just a fresh start with someone else.

Zack likes to swap a dollar for a quarter and two dimes and three pennies.

WICKETT: What frustrates you the most about Rickie Weeks?

ZACK: He’s never lived up to his potential. He’s never even gotten close to his potential. His inconsistency. His, just … the guy can tear the cover off the ball one game, and then the next four games, he can’t … he swings right through it!

CHUCK: Mike, have you turned a corner on Weeks, because I thought a couple of weeks ago you were done with him.

WICKETT: I mean, where he was a week-and-a-half ago, sure, but what he’s done … he’s warmed up. He’s getting on base, which we didn’t see a lot. Rickie Weeks has walked. He’s gotten on base via walk seven of the last eight games. Got a hit last night, so he was on base twice last night. Is that Hall of Fame material? Is that All-Star material? No. But I don’t know what people want out of Rickie Weeks.

At several points during this discussion, I found myself nodding in agreement with Wickett, which at first confused me because, as a sports radio host, he is a professional troll who isn’t prone to making arguments based on logic and data, and instead looks to stoke “debate” by taking contrarian positions. And then I got sad, because I realized: Rickie Weeks is apparently so unpopular amongst Brewer fans that it’s a contrarian position to defend him.

CHUCK: Well, better than .193. Although it doesn’t, some of these numbers you’re throwing out there are below expectations for a guy who’s a starting second baseman.

WICKETT: I got a tweet here from Jeff Rogers, @82Brew, writes at Mike Wickett: “Over the last 10 games, guys, he’s hitting .265, with a .390 on-base and slugging .412.” I mean, that’s Rickie’s numbers. There you go.

CHUCK: OK, it’s not .350. It’s .260.

With a .390 OBP. Please don’t lose that number. It’s very valuable (small sample size, obvi).

WICKETT: But it’s also not .089.

CHUCK: But I mean, still, that’s not good. Two-sixty over 10 games is not great. You can’t brag about that one at all.

You lost the OBP, didn’t you?

WICKETT: See, that’s the thing: this pisses me off what people do sometimes with this kind of stuff. Guys can be in a terrible slump the first 6 weeks of the season. Does anybody remember what Rickie Weeks did the last two months of the year last year? His overall numbers last year were terrible, but he hit .285 the last two months of the year. It’s like a football team that’s .500 through the first 12 games of the year, they’re 6-6, and then all of a sudden they get hot. Yeah, their overall record doesn’t look great, but damn, they got hot when they got into the post-season.

CHUCK: Ok, Mike, when you’re talking about a guy who hit .285 over the last two months of the season, it’s not like I’m like: “Oh, really? .285?” Now, .385, or .330.

WICKETT: Two-eighty-five is pretty damn good!

CHUCK: Over two months? Shouldn’t that be expected from Rickie Weeks?

No, because: (1) batting average is dumb, and (2) Weeks’ value has never been tied to his batting average.

WICKETT: That’s too high for an expectation for Rickie.

CHUCK: Well then, he shouldn’t be an everyday second baseman in baseball if .285 is too high for somebody. I mean, if you’re saying .285, shouldn’t that be the norm for a guy who’s playing second base for a team that we think is going to be a contender?

This is the list of second basemen who hit over .285 last season: Robbie Cano, Aaron Hill, Marco Scutaro, Daniel Murphy, Howie Kendrick, Dustin Pedroia, Jose Altuve.

WICKETT: I think it’s a bit high to expect that, but alright, I’m not going to argue about that.

CHUCK: What should you expect from a starting second baseman on a team that’s a contender? On this team, a guy that’s going to be a leadoff hitter, a 1-2 hitter, what’s the bar?

WICKETT: Just slightly below that, .270 or .275. Are we nitpicking five, ten batting average points? Sure.

CHUCK: OK, .270, then he better hit 20 or 25 home runs.

This is the list of second basemen who hit over 20 home runs last season: Robbie Cano, Aaron Hill, Rickie Weeks. (Also Ben Zobrist fits in there somewhere.)

WICKETT: OK, we gotta get more on this coming up. I think people have to take a look at the way things are trending. I mean, guys go through slumps. Braunie’s average was done to two-fifty-something the other day, people weren’t talking about … and I know the bar is set pretty high for him, I get that. But I can’t believe I’m sitting here having to defend Rickie Weeks.

CHUCK: Yeah, it sounds like you are.

WICKETT: What the hell is wrong with me?

CHUCK: It sounds like you are. So I don’t know where you are, because a couple weeks ago, with Weeks, it seemed like you were done with him.

WICKETT: Well, because a couple of weeks ago he was done.

A couple weeks ago it was April 20.

CHUCK: You were saying, “A .240 career, has he really been all that good?” Outside of one season?

WICKETT: Half a season.

CHUCK: 2010?

WICKETT: Yep. When he was the All-Star. That’s it.

That’s not it, but whatever.

It’s Chuck and Wickett. How the hell we got onto this side … we were talking about Yuni B and what to do with it.

CHUCK: Rickie plays a factor in it because people want Yuni to replace Rickie Weeks at second base. I don’t want to go that far. I’m riding Rickie out. I’m still on the Rickie train.

WICKETT: But you’re fighting me on Rickie Weeks!

CHUCK: I’m fighting you because I don’t know where you stand.

Sports talk radio, as summarized in 10 words.

My head hurts. I’m going to take all the Advil now.