Davies set for his first spring outing
PHOENIX – Right-hander Zach Davies will make his first exhibition appearance of the spring Wednesday for the Milwaukee Brewers, after some starters have pitched twice, but manager Craig Counsell explained that Davies is not behind schedule.
“There’s a plan,” Counsell assured. “Don’t be in a rush. It will work out; he’ll be ready for opening day, he’ll be ready to pitch in the rotation. There are no health issues. He’s fine. We’re on a good schedule.”
Of Davies’ work this spring, Counsell said, “He’s been great. D.J. (pitching coach Derek Johnson) has been happy with his (bullpen sessions) and his live (batting practice). He’s been great.”
Counsell has not announced his opening day starter but Davies, Chase Anderson and newcomer Jhoulys Chacín will man the first three spots, in some order. Davies didn’t miss a start last season and was one of the top winners in the National League, going 17-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 33 outings.
Davies, 25, is a finesse pitcher who relies more on location than velocity, so exhibition games provide opportunities to work on his command and get a feel for all of his pitches.
“In spring training, you’re always trying to refine a pitch,” Counsell said. “I don’t know if Zach so much has to add a pitch. I think at times Zach thought his change-up could have been better last year. The change-up is such a feel pitch. You’ll hear that from a lot of guys. ‘If I can throw it a lot in spring training, I can get a feel for it.’”
Davies got off to a slow start, posting a 5.40 ERA in his first 15 starts and 2.87 ERA over the remaining 18. But Counsell noted how well he pitched in the 2017 spring camp, making the erratic first few months unexpected.
“Zach has had really good springs, then the last couple of seasons he hasn’t started out great,” Counsell said. “His spring trainings have been really solid; he’s been really sharp. Then, the earlyseason starts haven’t gone well for him.
“That’s a hard one for us to explain, frankly. Then he gets it going again at some point in the season. That’s a little bit what’s on his mind.”
Finding playing time: The additions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain will have an impact on the playing time of other outfielders but also on Hernán Pérez, a super utility player who has seen action all over the field.
Pérez is getting a shot at playing time at second base but it remains to be seen if he can approach the 432 at-bats he accumulated last year in 136 games.
“He has played a lot,” Counsell said. “This is what I’d tell you, and I think ‘H.P.’ would tell you, he’s got a step to go offensively to get more at-bats. That’s where I sit with it, and he sits with it, too. There’s another step of growth offensively.
“He got himself on the field because of his defensive versatility, as much as anything. He’s certainly an excellent base runner. That gets him on the field, too. With ‘H.P.,’ I don’t make plans for him. I just plan on him playing. When you play a lot of positions, you know there will be needs during the season.
“You don’t need to figure it out. That’s the value in it. He provides the answer. He’s a player who’s going to play a lot at different positions.”
Finding love: Nate Orf found an unexpected benefit from babysitting for a teammate last year: a girlfriend.
While playing at Class AAA Colorado Springs last May, the Brewers infielder / outfielder and teammate Brett Phillips volunteered to babysit for another teammate, Eric Sogard, so he and wife Kaycee could have a date night. The Sogards have two children, daughter Saydee and son Knix.
“We had a day game and afterward we went to their place to take care of the kids,” said Orf, in the Brewers’ spring camp as a non-roster player. “While they were out on that date, he got the call from the Brewers that he was being called up. He came back and said, ‘I’m going to the big leagues.’
“A lot of people don’t realize it, but I’ve been a ‘manny’ during the off-season, so I have a reputation for that kind of stuff. I was a babysitter for a family at the gym I train out at. They needed some help with the kids, so I volunteered.
“I presented that (background) to Kaycee. Everyone knows their kids. They are fantastic. Me and Phillips had some fun with them.”
What Orf didn’t know at the time was that the Sogards had a regular nanny, Ashley Estrada, who couldn’t be there that day. He later met her, and as they say, romance happened.
“We’ve been going strong ever since,” Orf said. “She was their babysitter when ‘Sogie’ played for Oakland. She lives in the Bay Area. We don’t get to see each other a lot. That’s the tough part of it, and I wasn’t sure it would work out like it did because I didn’t get to see her for a month and a half.
“But she’s living the baseball life and knew exactly what that’s all about. She has helped the Sogards for three years, so that tells you a lot. They are world-class people. She’s able to be here this spring quite a bit, so that’s great.”
Eric Sogard said his family couldn’t be happier for the new couple and the role they played as match-makers.
“It is really neat,” Sogard said. “She’s a great person, and so is Nate, so it has worked out great. You never know how things are going to work out.”
So, the Sogards now have two options for babysitters – Orf and Ashley. And that couple has each other, so it’s all good.