Vargas out, Villanueva in for Crew

by DaleCoop14 on Mar 25, 2008 4:53 PM EDT

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/03/25/brewers-release-vargas.asp

A bit of a surprising move today by the Brewers, as they release Claudio Vargas, even with Capuano going down for the year. So what do you all think of Villanueva? He will be 24 for the whole season after floating around in the minors for the better part of five years. Really, he has seen nothing but success in the majors with decent K/BB (138/64), 117 ERA+, 1.238 WHIP in 168 innings. Of course, this includes only 12 starts, and a whole lot of relief innings.

What kind of year can we expect from Villanueva in his first year as a full-time member of the rotation? Ceiling?

Updated title: Vargas out, Villanueva in: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Anyone Else and Love the Mythical Beast

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Interesting move

Villenueva probably deserved it.

Do you see him being the pitcher demoted once Gallardo returns in mid-April?

by grandslam84 on Mar 25, 2008 5:05 PM EDT reply actions

Villanueva pitched about 180 innings across levels in 2006 (though only 120 IP last year.) I think the Brewers are a bit more worried about Parra's increased workload than Villanueva's this year, as Parra only pitched 130 innings last year and had only topped 100 IP once before that.

My guess is Parra gets sent down where he can work some shorter, low-pressure outings for part of the season.

Ichiro, on facing Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul."

by DaleCoop14 on Mar 25, 2008 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Either that...

...or Bush continues to struggle with keeping the ball in the park after 5 innings and gets moved to the bullpen for awhile.

Ichiro, on facing Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul."

by DaleCoop14 on Mar 25, 2008 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions

dodgers/brewers

Villanueva pictched but a more mythical pitcher also made an appearance....

by npurcell on Mar 25, 2008 5:57 PM EDT reply actions

Boy did he ever

and his appearance was mythical as well.

Kersaw, for those who dont know.

by casejud on Mar 25, 2008 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Kershaw

I guess any excuse to talk about Kershaw is valid... lol.

Ichiro, on facing Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul."

by DaleCoop14 on Mar 25, 2008 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

made even more mythical, of course....

....by the fact the Dodgers keep pitching him on days with no MLB.TV coverage.

i had pretty much assumed the Dodgers had demoted him to minor league camp and left him in FL (without any coverage) when he hadn't pitched in so long.

any insight into why he made the trip to AZ with the big club? are they actually legitimately trying him out, or does Torre just want to see more of him for later? it doesn't totally make sense to me.

by bleedjaxblue on Mar 26, 2008 3:08 AM EDT up reply actions

a taste

Basically, if healthy, Kershaw is going to help the big club this year. So by keeping him with the big league team, they are just getting him comfortable with the daily routine and players and etc. So when he is called up, he won't be as nervous or as uncomfortable.

by npurcell on Mar 26, 2008 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions