The Milwaukee Brewers made the playoffs last season for the first time since 1982, and their foundation of youth seemed to indicate they would at least be in the race for 2009. Sure, losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets would hurt the pitching staff in a big way, but the Crew would have a full season of Yovani Gallardo. And they were in the thick of the race for a while. Since July 1, though, the Brewers are 12-23 and have fallen 6 1/2 games out of first place in the mediocre NL Central. Wednesday morning, Brewers brass finally decided enough is enough and made three pretty significant transactions:
1. Pitching coach Bill Castro was fired and replaced by Triple-A pitching coach Chris Bosio -- who won 67 career games for the Brewers.
2. J.J. Hardy was sent down to the minors, while big-time prospect Alcides Escobar got the call to the majors.
3. Bill Hall was designated for assignment.
It would appear the relatively embarrassing 13-6 loss to the Padres Tuesday night was the straw that broke the camel's back as general manager Doug Melvin sent a clear message to his team. He's not messing around. Obviously, their starting pitching leaves much to be desired, but the team as a whole has too much talent to be under .500 this late in the season.
Castro's firing is basically window-dressing -- just like when the Cubs fired Gerald Perry earlier this season. I'm not sure Bosio can all of a sudden make Manny Parra fulfill his potential and I know he can't wave some wand and magically make Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan into decent starting pitchers.
Hardy has been a colossal disappointment this season. After a 2008 season that saw him hit .283 with 24 home runs, 74 RBI and an .821 OPS, he has failed to live up to those standards. He's hitting just .229 with an abysmal .667 OPS. His power is down, but his plate discipline has been worse. His extended hot streaks, which were a signature of his in both 2007 and 2008, haven't shown up yet. He's still only 26, so a look in the minors could easily get him back on the right track.
Escobar will get a good look at short. The 22-year-old has a .353 on-base percentage and 42 stolen bases in Triple-A in 2009. He could be a better fit for the Brewers powerful lineup than Hardy, considering they could use a few more table-setters. He also figures to be a much better defensive player, considering his superior range. If he sticks, the Brewers would have offseason trade bait. Someone would surely take a shot at Hardy, considering his age and how well he hit the ball his first two seasons. Maybe they could get some starting pitching in return.
As for Hall, his 35-homer season (2006) is a distant memory. He's hitting .217 with a .660 OPS in the past two seasons, which isn't even remotely close to being usable in a major league starting lineup. It's doubtful the Brewers can get anything of value back in a trade within the next 10 days, and they are already stuck with his sizable salary. Therefore, I expect him to accept his assignment to minors. The real question is if the Brewers will want him to take it, or if they'll just wash their hands of Hall by releasing him.
These moves could help, but what really needs to happen is for all the players to just start playing better. If they do, they still have a shot to climb back into the race. The rest of their August schedule is as weak as one I've ever seen at this point in the season. They have 18 games left against the Padres, Astros, Pirates, Nationals and Reds.
Time will tell if these moves propel the team, but for now, everyone in the organization should be put on notice: Melvin is not tolerating failure.
