The right pitch
Brewers betting low-key Brett Anderson is a good fit in an “eclectic” starting rotation.
The Milwaukee Brewers knew they were getting a veteran left-handed, ground-ball specialist when they signed Brett Anderson to a one-year, $5 million free-agent contract last Dec. 13.
The social-media prowess? That was just a bonus.
Not to suggest that the native Texan is prolific on Twitter or Instagram, because he’s far from that. Anderson is more low-key funny, preferring to lay in the weeds and then throw out a oneliner on topics ranging from labor relations in baseball to COVID-19 to MMA and anything else that might tickle his fancy.
“Sarcastic,” is how he described his social-media style to reporters Sunday morning.
“I’m dry, kind of like my persona now – just in Twitter form, I guess. I just kind of sit and wait and then if I see something or think something’s funny, I throw it out there and kind of ride the line of, I’m sure, what our social media people think is acceptable sometimes.
“But that’s kind of where I’d like to be. Maybe some profanities my parents probably don’t like as much here and there, but I think it’s funny. So as long as I don’t get reprimanded, then I’ll continue what I’ve been doing.”
The Brewers are hoping Anderson, 32, keeps doing what he did last season with the Oakland A’s, when he turned in arguably the best season of his 11year career with a 13-9 record and 3.89
earned run average (10th-best in the American League) in 176 innings.
COVID-19 will limit Anderson’s impact to just over 10 starts with the Brewers, with his first scheduled for Saturday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. That’s provided the blister on his left index finger that forced him out after two innings of a scrimmage start last week is healed sufficiently by then.
It’s an issue that’s popped up previously for Anderson – usually in Arizona during spring training. He even was forced to the injured list for a month with one while pitching for the Dodgers in 2016, but this time around the situation doesn’t appear as serious.
“It’s a day-to-day deal,” Anderson said. “I’ll play catch today and see how it responds, and go from there. Nothing too crazy. Hopefully, it continues to get better. It’s been getting better since my last outing but you don’t want to push it too far and have it rip open.”
Anderson, with 188 career appearances and 176 starts to his credit, has also had a pair of back surgeries, Tommy John surgery in 2011 and spent time on the IL with shoulder, forearm, ankle, foot and finger injuries -- a list long enough for a player with twice his tenure.
But the career-high-tying 31 starts Anderson made last year for the A’s showed he’s still capable of taking the ball every fifth day and giving his team a chance to win (Oakland was 20-11 behind him in 2019) when he’s feeling right physically.
“I’ve always thought I’ve been a pretty decent pitcher whenever I’ve been healthy, but that’s obviously been an issue over the course of my career,” Anderson said. “Last year I was able to go out there and take the ball every time I was asked to, and hopefully I am this year, too.”
When Anderson is successful it’s because of his ability to get hitters to beat the ball into the ground – not exactly a bad idea when pitching half your starts at Miller Park.
He comes into 2020 having induced ground balls on 56.8% of his offerings, using a repertoire that can include up to five pitches.
“Brett’s mission when he goes out there is to put the ball on the ground,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We have to play defense behind Brett. I think it’s really important that we convert outs. The ball is going to be on the ground and sometimes it’s going to find holes, but we have to convert the outs that we can get.
“Double plays are a part of his game. We have to turn double plays. So, that’s what he relies on. He’s got a good sinker, he’s got a cutter and those are pitches that keep the ball on the ground.
“When he’s right, that’s what we’re going to see, and we have to make plays for him.”
At this point, Counsell has announced the fireballing Brandon Woodruff as his opening-day starter with Anderson going in Game 2, giving the Cubs quite the difference in looks on consecutive days.
Also in the rotation is veteran Josh Lindblom, who seemingly throws about 10 different pitches and sinker-ball specialist Adrian Houser, with hard-throwing youngsters Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta both likely to see starting duty as well over the course of the 60game sprint.
“I think we’ve got a very eclectic mix,” Anderson said. “Right-handed, lefthanded. We’ve got power guys, finesse guys. You look at Burnes and I pitching the last time (in the same game) – you’ve got two polar opposite styles, contrasting the way we go about it. I think that’s good.
“The other team, over the course of a three- or four-game series isn’t going to see the same style pitcher too many times. It’s always good to keep teams on their toes and see different styles, day in and day out.”
Anderson is one of several new faces on the Brewers and in a normal season he’d already be well-acquainted with his teammates and the staff.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s now trying to re-familiarize himself after the three-month layoff while at the same time respecting all the guidelines put in place by Major League Baseball.
He’s also learning another new town – his sixth as a big-leaguer – on his own while his wife, Morgan, and soon-tobe-1 son, Brody, remain back home.
“My family’s not here so I’m basically a hermit,” Anderson said. “I go to my apartment and come to the field, and that’s about it. I might drive around if I get too bored.
“I’m a creature of habit and like to come to the field and stuff, but that can’t happen as much this year, so you have to do some other things to get your mind off baseball a little bit. Nothing is normal this year. That’s kind of been the theme.
“You have to be adaptable and be able to adjust on the fly.”
Kind of like a shark. Reporters also learned Sunday that Anderson is fond of the ocean-dwelling predators after he was asked if the shark he has as the background on his Twitter account was a subtle nod to his personality.
“I like ‘Jaws.’ That’s kind of the significance behind that,” said Anderson, who won’t be searching for entertainment starting July 28, when “Shark Week” starts on Discovery Channel.
“I like sharks. I like ‘Jaws.’ I guess if you want to delve into it that way, maybe that’s kind of a subconscious thing.”