Brewers will take time to make pitching decisions
On surface, it would seem worrisome the Milwaukee Brewers have not identified starting pitchers for the games Tuesday and Wednesday in Oakland. Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday he didn’t consider that a pressing issue, however.
“That’s next week,” Counsell said. “We’ve got a weekend of games and an off day on Monday. So, we can put off decisions. We don’t have to make those decisions today. That’s how we’re going to treat it, and when you have some uncertainty, that’s the best way to treat it, put the decision off as long as you can.”
A new element was thrown into the mix Friday night, when left-hander Gio Gonzalez left his start against Chicago in the seventh inning with shoulder tightness. He recently spent more than a month on the injured list with shoulder fatigue, so an immediate red flag went up.
But Gonzalez has not been scratched yet from his next start, which would be the Wednesday game in Oakland if he stayed on the regular five-day schedule.
“Gio reported today with normal soreness,” Counsell said. “I don’t think we’re going to have an answer for a couple of days on this one. I think there’s a chance he makes his next start still. He wasn’t going to throw today anyway. As he starts to throw, then we’ll have an idea.
“It can be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. We have some flexibility.”
Gonzalez said he remained “very hopeful” of taking his next turn but admitted he had to see how things go the next few days.
“I’m always mentally ready,” he said. “Physically, we’ll see where it goes from here.”
The Brewers already were without a starter for Tuesday against the A’s because right-hander Jhoulys Chacín went on the injured list with a strained right lat muscle after his start Wednesday
against Cincinnati. And the Brewers already were planning to move forward without their best starter, Brandon Woodruff, expected to miss six weeks with a strained left oblique.
“There’s a good chance that Tuesday’s starter comes internally,” Counsell said, probably referring to Adrian Houser, who has moved back and forth from rotation to bullpen in recent weeks.
“We’ll play the weekend and then we’ll figure that all out. Somebody is going to pitch for us. I’m confident we’ll be able to provide a pitcher (each day).”
Another factor in the mix is that the trading deadline is 3 p.m. Wednesday. You can bet the Brewers are trying to acquire at least one starting pitcher to get them through this crisis with their rotation.
In a bizarre way, Counsell noted the missing starting pitchers actually are helping the Brewers this weekend in their series against the Cubs because
they can carry an extra offensive player, infielder Travis Shaw, who returned from Class AAA San Antonio, as well as nine relief pitchers.
“We have quite a big series here at home,” he said. “It’s helping us get more players here now to help for today’s game. So, it’s helping us this weekend that we don’t have to make these decisions now. Fortunately, we’ve got some time to decide all this.”
Well aware that a certain group of fans wants to know these things in advance, Counsell smiled and said, “Apologies to fantasy baseball people.”
Gamel has been right fit
When president of baseball operations David Stearns traded out fielder Domingo Santana to Seattle last December for out fielder Ben Gamel, he said he thought Gamel would be a better fit on the Brewers roster as a left-handed bat who could play all three positions.
It has turned out that way but Gamel also has shown a knack for delivering big hits, as he did Friday night. Gamel, who did not start the game, singled in two runs in the bottom of the eighth to send the Brewers to a big 3-2 victory over the Cubs. It was his third gamewinning hit this season in the eighth inning or later, including a ninth-inning RBI double against San Francisco on July 13.
“He is the fit that we thought he was going to be as far as a left-handed hitter, able to cover the three (outfield) positions. That was important,” Counsell said. “The big hits are how it has rolled, how it has happened.
“That is icing on the cake, for sure. He has done exactly what we had hoped. He came up in a big spot and came through.”
Entering play Saturday, Gamel, 27, had appeared in 91 games, including 49 starts (28 in left field, 12 in center, nine in right). He was batting .251 with five home runs, 26 RBI and .340 OBP.
“I think there’s still room for development,” Counsell said. “I think he’s kind of a late bloomer, and we’re still going to get more out of him.”