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Brewers vs. Phillies: Game 4 roundtable

The Capital Times  —  10/05/2008 9:10 pm

The Capital Times sports staff answers three big questions after the Brewers' season-ending 6-2 loss to the Phillies in Sunday's Game 4 of the National League Division Series:

1. After a dismal start Sunday and a dismal September, where does Jeff Suppan go from here? He's signed through 2010 with a club option for 2011.

Dennis Punzel: He's probably their fifth starter next year, and at $12.5 million, an expensive one. Can't see anybody else taking him on, but then teams will be signing equally mediocre starters for that kind of money this winter in free agency.

Dennis Semrau: If the Brewers can find a taker, let him go. He was acquired for his reputation of finishing strong, recording a 3-3 record and 3.00 ERA in nine previous postseason appearances. But combined with his overall performance in September added to Sunday's 15.00 ERA and three homers allowed makes him a contender for a back of the rotation slot at best next year.

Adam Mertz: First off, only with the benefit of hindsight and a lack of historical perspective can one criticize Brewers owner Mark Attanasio for stepping up and personally sealing the deal that brought Suppan to Milwaukee. Even Attanasio, who has made a fortune in finance, had to know that he was violating basic principles of the market and "buying high" for that $42 million deal, as Suppan was coming off a great 2006 postseason.

It's not fair to question Suppan's fortitude, but there's no mistaking the fact that his margin of error is so slim that it's hard to ever feel comfortable with him out there. Dale Sveum used the very Ned Yostian phrase "he was one pitch away" to describe Suppan's performance Sunday. Trouble is, if Suppan isn't concentrating 110 percent on every pitch he's going to offer up a meatball from time to time, as he did with Pat Burrell on the three-run bomb.

The Brewers are stuck with Suppan for at least one more season, unless they can trade bad money for bad money and exchange for someone else's disappointment. Their best bet is to slide him down into the fifth spot in the rotation and keep their fingers crossed.

Todd D. Milewski: If the Brewers get back to the same situation next season, it's going to be hard to see Suppan as a big-time postseason pitcher after Sunday's stinker of a start. After the way Yovani Gallardo pitched in relief after the damage had been done, and assuming neither CC Sabathia nor Ben Sheets is around, you have to think the rotation will be built around Gallardo, with Suppan far down.

2. Are the Brewers capable of playing small ball, like interim manager Dale Sveum wanted, without offseason personnel changes?

Punzel: Some of small ball can come from concentrating on it more, but a good part of that will have to come with some personnel changes.

Semrau: It all starts with finding a leadoff hitter who can get on base and set the table. That has to be a major priority. But GM Doug Melvin will have to tweak the roster even though Sveum believes he has some players who can change. Whoever is in charge, learning how to play small ball more consistently has to be a priority in spring training next March.

Mertz: Leaning toward no as an answer. Players certainly can adapt, as Sveum suggested in his postgame press conference Sunday when he noted that Bill Hall executed a rare hit-and-run on Saturday, and that changes have to be instituted from the start of spring training, not with two weeks left in the season.

But it's unusual for a player at the major league level to overhaul his game, except perhaps for pitchers who develop some finesse to go with their power. Take a look at the personnel on a team like the Twins. Those are entirely different skill sets than what the Brewers have in stock.

Milewski: The Brewers have the running potential in Corey Hart, Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks and the like, but getting them on base is going to be the hard part. Sveum said he thinks the players currently in the clubhouse can get the job done, but, to be honest, that's tough to imagine. What's the line about a tiger not changing his stripes? I don't know if an offseason is going to be enough to change things.

3. Did the Brewers meet expectations this season?

Punzel: In the end they probably came close to expectations: a playoff caliber team that stumbled toward the finish line, was clearly not as well-rounded as the Phillies, but still played one game longer than the Cubs.

Semrau: Yes, they won 90 games and made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years so fans can finally quit obsessing on 1982. That club didn't win the World Series, either, although it got there and won six games along the way. Winning one game in the playoffs was another step in the process. And it was one more victory than the more talented but choking Cubs could manage.

Mertz: Yes, if you're talking about expectations in April and heading into the postseason. No, if you're talking about expectations on July 28, at the outset of the series at Miller Park against the Cubs, or Aug. 31, when they were cruising toward a postseason berth. On those occasions, they were the second-best team in the National League.

But fast forward to this series. With Ben Sheets sidelined and the lineup scuffling, I figured it'd take two more magical outings by CC to advance to the NLCS. The warts the Brewers have shown in the last month make you stare in awe at the fact they won 90 games this year.

Milewski: I'd say yes. This is a team that, especially with the Sabathia trade, should have been in the playoffs. But this is a team that, looking at everything else, should be exactly where they are today — watching the rest of the proceedings.

The Capital Times  —  10/05/2008 9:10 pm