Milwaukee Brewers: News and Notes (3/19)

Right Field BleachersMar 18, 2009

Wednesday’s Game: Brewers 4, Diamondbacks 1
Record: 9-8-2

Wednesday’s Game

The Brewers offense didn’t manage much Wednesday. Luckily they didn’t have to as Yovani Gallardo threw five no-hit innings in leading the Brewers to the victory.

Brewers News

Check out the numbers comparison of Brian Roberts and Orlando Hudson at a similar age to Rickie Weeks. This won’t make many Brewers fans feel better about Rickie Weeks, but it just goes to show that he’s not as bad as many think he is.

Everyone gets on Weeks because of the incredible expectations that were put on him since the day he was drafted. Thus far I think he has been an average, or slightly above average player. There is still plenty of time for him to develop.

Brandon Phillips anyone?

I linked to the JSOnline blog yesterday that talked about Ken Macha’s concern with Carlos Villanueva’s poor spring. Because of his spring struggles, Macha has decided to start Villanueva this coming Sunday. They’re hoping he’ll build up his arm and get into a similar rhythm that he has had in spring trainings past.

Bill Hall, along with every Brewers fan on Earth, hopes he returns to his 2006 form. I’m not saying this is impossible, but I just don’t see Hall ever having a year like that again. That being said, I do think he’ll have a bounce-back year to a certain degree.

Hey, we’ll take any improvement, right?

The concern over Trevor Hoffman’s sprained oblique seems to have elevated today. Never a good sign. Damn those obliques!

These projections have the Brewers with the third best starting pitching in the NL Central.

SI decided to join the “after the departure of CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, Yovani Gallardo will have to prove he’s an ace for the Brewers to have a chance in 2009″ club.

Are Tony Gwynn Jr’s Milwaukee Brewers days coming to an end? I’m thinking so.

What do you expect out of Jeff Suppan in 2009? This one should be easy as he’s the same pitcher year in and year out. A .500 winning percentage, 4.6 ERA, etc. It’s not his fault the Brewers over-paid.

The Junkball blues analyzes the Brewers roster.

Minor Leagues

Baseball-Intellect lists the top five Brewers prospects. One through five are as follows: Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel, Brett Lawrie (already at number 3, wow), Angel Salome, and Jeremy Jeffress.

Check here for what they have to say about each, including best case, most likely outcome, body type, player grades and scouting report.