Pitching Meltdown Continues

Posted on | August 1, 2009 | 2 Comments | by BigSnakeMan

In a confirmation of the Brewers pitching woes, General Manager Doug Melvin reacquired former starter Claudio Vargas from Los Angeles.  I’m sure we all remember what a stellar job Vargas did in his last stint in Milwaukee.  Actually, Vargas did a credible job for the Dodgers, posting a sub-2.00 ERA while working out of the bullpen.  At this point, any help at all on the pitching front would be a positive development.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Brewers drove the point home Friday night by blowing a 7-1 lead in San Diego, eventually losing to the Padres 11-7.  Like Jeff Suppan before him, I’m beginning to get the sense that the Brewers may signed Braden Looper a year or two too late.  After pitching reasonably well for the first couple months of the season, Looper has regressed more to the level of the expectations I had for him when the Brewers first signed him.  If the Brewers had any semblance of a starting rotation, Looper would be a good candidate to provide some effective innings in relief.  Unfortunately, with 3 other pitchers already on the DL, that’s not even close to being an option.

Though it’s hard to argue with what CC Sabathia provided for the Brewers last year, I have to wonder what this year’s team would have looked like if Melvin had used that trade package on a player that would have been around for a few years (say, maybe, Matt Cain?). 

The joke in the ’50s for the Braves was ‘Spahn and Sain and pray for rain’.  Right now, for the Brewers, it’s Yovani Gallardo and take the rest of the week off.  The way things are going, I’d even welcome the return of David Riske.

I predicted before the season that the Brewers prospects would ultimately be limited by the quality (or lack thereof) of their pitching staff, but this is even worse than I imagined.  Judging by the tone of comments from some of the players after last night’s game, only a miracle will keep the rest of this season from spiraling out of control.

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