News and notes: Rogers shut down, Ransom goes away, Bob Uecker is awesome

Mark Rogers succeeds, gets shut down
Mark Rogers pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball last night in a 9-3 Brewers win, and during the telecast team owner Mark Attanasio strongly hinted it would be Rogers' last start of the season. Rogers has struggled with injuries in a big way during his career and has pitched a career-high 134 1/3 innings between AAA and the majors this season, so the move to rest him for the remainder of the year was expected and makes sense. No word yet on who will take his rotation spot, but with September's roster expansion all up ons, there are plenty of young options to choose from.

Rogers has pitched well during his seven-start stint and has made a compelling case to be a part of the 2013 starting rotation. He wasn't very efficient last night (something of a theme for him), but his modest five strikeouts are deceiving as he induced a lot of swinging strikes from the Pirates hitters. A Mark Rogers shirsey may find it's way onto my back before the start of next season.

Brewers hold Cody ransom from the D-Backs
Utility infielder/strikeout whisperer Cody Ransom was hilariously claimed on waivers by the Diamondbacks, the team the Brewers claimed him from in May. Ransom annoyed Brewers fans by striking out at a truly epic clip, but contributed good defense, power, and could take a walk. If nothing else, he provided this awesome moment as well as the pun in the above headline. 2B/SS Eric Farris was called up to replace him.

Bob Uecker the best
Regardless of what you may think of Governor Scott Walker, it was pretty badass of him to declare yesterday Bob Uecker Day in Wisconsin. Uecker had his statue unveiled outside of Miller Park on Friday, and a cast a characters including Bob Costas, Bud Selig, and Dick Ebersol were at the game to celebrate Uecker's glorious awesomeness and fellow baseball voices Vin Scully and Marty Brennaman wished him well through video feeds.

I encourage anyone who has not watched Friday's game to do so, as it was filled with many heartwarming moments as well as plenty of humorous ones. Also, the Brewers wore their retro jerseys and won, so that's a bonus. And of course, everyone should go see the statue when they have a chance.

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Can the Brewers count on Mark Rogers next year?

Despite a disappointing season, it's not all frowns for the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers. They've had encouraging performances from many young players, namely Jonathan Lucroy, Martin Maldonado, Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, and Carlos Gomez. But even though those players (as well as Nori Aoki) have been pleasant surprises, the guy who had the most to overcome might be former pitching prospect Mark Rogers. A 2004 first-round pick, Rogers has had a whopping four two shoulder surgeries as well as two wrist surgeries since joining the Brewers organization. He was an afterthought coming into the season, and honestly, I thought he was done as a baseball player after the wrist surgeries and subsequent poor minor league performance in 2011. If you had told me that he would secure a major league rotation spot before Tyler Thornburg or Wily Peralta, I would have called you a filthy liar.

But I would have been wrong. Rogers pitch fairly well in AAA Nashville, and earned a promotion to the Brewers' starting rotation following the Zack Greinke trade. While his major league numbers (5.02 ERA) seem just okay after five starts, there's evidence he's been unlucky; that lofty ERA is accompanied by a .316 BABIP, 67.9 LOB %, and an inflated 15.4% HR/FB rate, leading to a 3.79 FIP and 3.32 xFIP. In short, better things may be in store. Of course, that's assuming he stays healthy.

In eight seasons in the organization, this is only the second time he's eclipsed 100 innings pitched (2010 being the other). The team has hinted at shutting him down after a couple more starts, which is not only good for his health but should give the team an opportunity to get a look at Hiram Burgos, Peralta or Thornburg in the major league rotation. It's a double-edged sword; while it keeps his workload in check, if any of the aforementioned youngsters are lights-out in his absence, it could cost him a spot in the majors next year.

Looking at what's currently in the organization, a 2013 rotation could consist of Yovani Gallardo, Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, and two of the group of Rogers, Peralta, Thornburg, Chris Narveson, and perhaps Burgos. And that's assuming the team doesn't make a trade or go after a free agent or two, which would further muddy the waters. The team will likely try to contend in 2013, meaning that the likelihood of them going into next season with the above rotation is very unlikely.

It's not all bad for Rogers, however. While he hasn't been very reliable, there's reason to believe he could still push hard for a rotation spot no matter what the team does to supplement the pitching staff. Among his likely competitors, Peralta has struggled greatly with control in the minors, Thornburg might be too small to be a SP and has had trouble with the long ball, and Burgos hasn't proven himself in the majors yet. Estrada would seem to have a leg up on a rotation spot, but has pitched well in the bullpen before and may be a better fit for a relief role than Rogers. While a relief spot may seem good for Rogers in theory, less innings for him may not equate health; he's be pitching less innings, sure, but he'd likely be throwing harder more often. And the team has shown no interest whatsoever in making him a reliever. Not to mention that despite everything that's happened to him, he's still touching 97 mph with his fastball and breaking a wicked slider.

Personally, if I were running the team next year (read: I won't be) I'd give him every opportunity to win a starting rotation spot. While it's small sample size, it's hard to ignore a 31/9 K/BB ratio, which is what he's done in the majors this year. That kind of strikeout ability has a lot of value for a 4th or 5th starter, even if he's only going five or six innings a start. And if he once again can't stay healthy (I doubt he would lose a spot due to performance), the team would have options for replacing him. Can they count on him? Probably not, but because of there backup options, they don't really have to.

News and notes: Rogers awesome, Thornburg demoted, Kyles fired

Rogers shines in debut
Starting pitcher/Zack Greinke replacement Mark Rogers pitched very well on Sunday, keeping the Nationals offense at bay to the tune of two runs in 5 2/3 impressive innings. Rogers was effectively wild, issuing only one walk and getting Nationals batters to chase outside pitches consistently (all seven strikeouts were of the swinging variety). He threw primarily fastball-slider, with a handful of changeups and curveballs mixed in, and  his fastball was still touching 98 mph in the 6th inning. He showed the ability to throw the slider for strikes as well as the willingness to throw it against lefties and when he was behind in the count.

Predictably, the bullpen blew the game in spectacular fashion, as they were unable to hold down leads of 7-3 and 9-7 on the way to losing the game 11-10 in extra innings. Nonetheless, Rogers' performance was encouraging and he'll be an interesting watch for the rest of the season.

Stan Kyles fired
The team announced today that bullpen coach Stan Kyles was jettisoned an what is likely a glorified PR move. It's hard to comment on this story without having any clue how much the bullpen coach actually does, but the bullpen has been horrific in just about every way, with every single reliever having regressed from previous norms (exception being Manny Parra, who is in his first year as a RP). Lee Tunnell, who was the Minor League pitching coordinator, has been announced as the new bullpen coach. Closing quotes from Kyles here. Classy way to go out, but doesn't strike me as the words of a man convinced he did a good job.

Thornburg demoted 
Tyler Thornburg was optioned back to AAA Nashville following Sunday's loss, for the sole purpose of getting back into a rhythm as a starter. Thornburg hadn't made a smooth transition to the bullpen, and suffered some dead arm last week after pitching in back-to-back days. A corresponding move has yet to be announced, though manager Ron Roenicke said a relief pitcher would be called up in Thornburg's place.

Zack Greinke traded, Mark Rogers joins the neighborhood

I believe it was a philosopher that once said, "give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it". Zack Greinke would not give the Brewers his heart, so to speak, by signing off on a proposed $112 million contract extension, and GM Doug Melvin was left with no choice but to trade him.

And trade him he did, to The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (a name which literally translates to "The The Angels Angels of Anaheim") for SS Jean Segura and RHP's John Hellweg and Ariel Pena. The Brewers did well in this trade (better analysis than mine here and here), and hope still remains that Greinke could return in the offseason if the free agent market plays out that way.

Former first-round pick Mark Rogers will start in Greinke's place on Sunday, as fellow rotation candidate Tyler Thornburg is experiencing a sore arm. Rogers had a cup of coffee with the Brewers during the 2010 season and has overcome a slew of arm troubles to make it back to the majors. Rogers' seasonal number in AAA Nashville don't look all that impressive (6.99 K/9, 4.63 BB/9, 1.23 HR/9, 4.72 ERA), but he's pitched very well as of late, giving up just nine hits and two runs over his last 19 innings with 20 strikeouts.

As an aside, I have the vision in my head of Aaron Rodgers and Mark Rogers in a western-style showdown, with Aaron Rodgers drawling "this town ain't big enough for the two of us". Mark Rogers would almost certainly lose the duel, seeing as he would likely suffer a shoulder injury trying to draw the gun from it's holster.