Venom Strikes » Tyler Roberts

D-Backs vs Brewers: Series Preview with Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew

Tyler Roberts — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:15:07 +0000

To preview the Arizona Diamondbacks next series starting today against the Milwaukee Brewers I exchanged five questions with Benjamin Orr, a staff writer at Fansided’s Brewers site, Reviewing the Brew to get an inside perspective of what the Brewers have been through this season. Here are Orr’s answers to the five questions I asked him.

Roberts: First off, how has the Brewer offense coped without one of it’s main catalysts in Prince Fielder helping Ryan Braun shoulder the load ?

Orr: Well, it’s been sluggish all season. While Fielder did add a lot, I don’t think even having him this year would make that huge of a difference considering how the rest of the line-up is doing. I wrote a few articles back on how Ryan Braun was really a one man team offensively. Aramis Ramirez has been turning a corner and has been batting around .314 for the month of June. Norichika Aoki started off great, that is when Ron Roenicke decided to finally start him, but his production has somewhat been at a standstill lately. Corey Hart has been hot then cold so the inconsistency hurts. As for the rest of the team, it’s been really abysmal. Rickie Weeks pretty much forgot how to hit and with the Brewers going through a plethora of first basemen and shortstops, it’s been hard to keep up constant production. Lately though, the bats seem to be waking up, but Braun is definitely still the driving point behind it. Hopefully whenever it is Jonathan Lucroy comes back, he can pick up where he left off.

Milwaukee Brewer outfielder, Ryan Braun, follows through on a hit against the Chicago White Sox during interleague play. Braun and the Brewers will play host to the Diamondbacks for a three-game series. (Image: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE)

Roberts: Offensively Braun has been having a good year, but who are the Brewers who aren’t household names anywhere other than Milwaukee that we should know about?

Orr: Well, it’s hard to say, but I’d have to say Norichika Aoki. This is Aoki’s first year in America and he’s done pretty well. As I mentioned before, he’s hit somewhat of a slump now, but the home runs he has been hitting has been surprising. Aoki is also really fast not only around the bases (as he did hit an inside the park home run this season), but in the outfield as well which makes him great because Roenicke can put him anywhere out there without worry. Pitching wise, I’d have to say Michael Fiers. Fiers made his debut in September last year and was called up to fill the pitching void when we lost Chris Narveson and then Marco Estrada (who is back and filling in for the injured Shaun Marcum). In his five starts this season, Fiers is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA and has accumulated 31 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched.

Roberts: What has happened to Yovani Gallardo this season, he seems to be struggling mightily despite normally being the staff ace. Why is that?

Orr: It’s not really that Gallardo has struggled, it’s just more or less his ERA ballooned after pitching against the St. Louis Cardinals twice so far this season. While Gallardo has struggled in division games, outside of those, his outings have been pretty fair, giving up three runs or less. He still goes long into games so it helps the team overall. He’s also been the victim of some tough luck losses, in which he only gave up two runs. I really have no concerns about Gallardo for the rest of the season because he’s been pretty decent outside of NL Central games and if he can continue to pitch well, we’re fortunate to have him alongside Zack Greinke.

Roberts: Zack Greinke has been pitching phenomenally all season, yet is being mentioned in just about every trade rumor regarding the Brew crew? Are the Brewers really going to be sellers this early in the season?

Orr: I doubt it. Greinke likes Milwaukee and we like him. While the downside would be losing Greinke, we would get quite a bit in return for him, but I doubt that he’s going anywhere before the trade deadline. If Greinke does go anywhere, it’ll be after the season when he’s a free agent. The Brewers’ front office has a mission of trying to resign both Greinke and Marcum after the season. In all honesty, they’re both good, but we’d rather try to keep Greinke if push comes to shove. If the Brewers are sellers on anyone, I’d actually say it’d be the back-up catcher George Kottaras. With Martin Maldonado doing well and Lucroy coming back sometime in mid-July, there’s no reason to have three MLB capable catchers on an NL roster so Kottaras will more than likely be the odd man out.

Roberts: The Brewers are leading the league in one of the strangest statistics in baseball: hit by pitches. Why do you think they are getting plunked so much?

Orr: I really couldn’t tell you, but the one player in particular that gets hit a lot is Rickie Weeks. I think maybe they’re leaning into pitches to get on base because the offense has been so sub par this season. Okay, that was a joke. Honestly, it’s very strange and it’s just bad, or good luck, however you want to put it. It helps the OBP rise for players and really, as long as it doesn’t cause a season ending injury, the Brewers need more baserunners.

I want to thank Benjamin Orr for taking the time to answer my questions and all the Brewer fans which have read this article. We wish you luck in the three-game series and hope it will be a good one. The series begins tonight at 5:10 p.m. MST with Arizona’s Ian Kennedy taking the mound against Milwaukee’s Randy Wolf.

For all things Venom Strikes like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @venomstrikes, you can also follow me on Twitter @roberts_843.

To read my answers to Orr’s questions make sure you check out Reviewing the Brew at Noon EST on June 28.

Diamondbacks’ Hudson lands on the DL indefinitely

Tyler Roberts — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:30:09 +0000

After the drubbing Arizona Diamondback starter Daniel Hudson received in the first game of the away series again the Atlanta Braves, in which he only lasted 1 2/3 innings, it was announced he would serve his second stint on the DL this season.

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson grimaces as he is pulled from his start against the Atlanta Braves after only 1 2/3 innings of work. After the game it was revealed Hudson had tore an elbow ligament and would be out indefinitely. (Image: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE)

Hudson tore an elbow ligament according to an article by the D-back’s Steve Gilbert and will be out indefinitely. It is a blow to a rotation which has all but lived up to the hype and expectations laid on it at the onset of the season. This type of injury to the ulnar collateral ligament is one that requires Tommy John surgery, recovery from which normally lasts twelve months. Hudson will of course seek a second opinion on the matter which is standard in this type of case, but will more than likely not pitch until next season.

With Hudson out for the second time this season and being out indefinitely the speculation looks to who will fill the hole Hudson leaves in the rotation. Josh Collmenter will get the rotation spot for the near future, but as shown in the earlier stages of the season, he is not the long term answer at that position. With Ian Kennedy struggling and Trevor Cahill going through a rough patch, it is more important than ever to get a quality starter in the spot. Wade Miley has been the only steady pitcher in a rotation that was supposed to be filled with steady starters.

Today is the MLB debut of Trevor Bauer in the place of the injured Joe Saunders and the youth movement is well on its way. Bauer was sensational in the minors and his debut has been anticipated among Diamondbacks fans a la Bryce Harper and his debut in Washington for the Nationals. Bauer went 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA in Triple-A Reno and went 7-1 with a 1.68 ERA with Double-A Mobile.

Look to see Patrick Corbin make a return to the majors if Collmenter can not hold down the fort. Corbin went 2-3 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in his first stint with the parent club, but his minor league stats have been sensational. He is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA with Triple-A Reno and went 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA in Double-A Mobile before his call-up to the majors.

Another candidate to replace Collmenter if he struggles is Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs is the Diamondbacks’ No. 3 rated prospect and has spent all season in Mobile with the BayBears. His stat line is as follows: 5-4, a 2.84 ERA, with a 1.21 WHIP and 71 strikeouts. Regardless of what Collmenter does I think it is only a matter of time before Corbin or Skaggs are called up to replace him.

For all things Venom Strikes like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @venomstrikes, you can also follow me on Twitter @roberts_843.

Diamondbacks set to square off against Braves

Tyler Roberts — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:30:07 +0000

The Arizona Diamondbacks (37-35) are set to square off against the Atlanta Braves (38-34) in one of the highest anticipated series in recent memory. The Diamondbacks are winners of four in a row and seven of the last ten games.

Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder hits an two-RBI single against the Cubs. Upton has been on a tear lately hitting .400 with a .455 slugging percentage and a .750 on-base percentage in the last seven games. (Image: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE)

After a slow start to the season, everything seems to be falling in at the right time for the Snakes to make a run at the Los Angeles Dodgers (43-30) and first place in the NL West only 5.5 games back. Justin Upton has recovered from his early season struggles, hitting .400, with a .455 slugging percentage and a .750 on base percentage in the Diamondbacks last seven games.

As Upton goes, so goes the Diamondbacks and that shows in the four game winning streak. During the last seven games; Gerardo Parra is hitting a solid .500, Miguel Montero is hitting .476 with 9 RBIs, Willie Bloomquist is hitting .467, and Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .438.

The Diamondbacks pitching staff has been anchored by rookie Wade Miley, who is making a strong case to win NL Rookie of the Year over the Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper. Miley has gone 9-3 with a 2.19 ERA in 15 games. He has 64 strikeouts while only walking 18, with a WHIP of 1.01.

The Braves have had a couple of tough series, losing two in a row and six of the last ten. Tim Hudson will take the mound against Daniel Hudson, who hasn’t been the same since coming off the disabled list last month. Tim Hudson has been going the opposite way, only allowing five runs total in his last three starts.

This is as far as the Diamondbacks probable pitchers go, although the most anticipated announcement will be when manager Kirk Gibson announces who his starter will be for the Thursday game opposite Jair Jurrjens. The speculation is that it will be the much anticipated call-up of top prospect Trevor Bauer from Triple-A. Bauer only went two innings in his last start, to seemingly set up his MLB debut in place of the injured Joe Saunders.

Bauer has split time between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno, going 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA in 16 games, with a 1.32 WHIP and 116 strikeouts. Bauer has an unorthodox delivery that seems to suit him well and he should flourish if he does indeed get the call-up for the start against the Braves. With Bauer possibly being added to the rotation and the improved play of the Diamondbacks offensively, they are poised to make a run at the division title.

For all things Venom Strikes like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @venomstrikes, you can also follow me on Twitter @roberts_843.