NewsMacha planning his moves for road trip
Milwaukee (34-29) at Cleveland (28-36), 6:05 p.m. CT
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
06/14/09 7:25 PM ET
MILWAUKEE -- Ken Macha will be returning to his American League managerial roots during the Brewers' weeklong Interleague trip to Cleveland and Detroit, but that doesn't mean his job will be much easier. Macha needs a designated hitter throughout the six-game junket, and with left-handed opponents scheduled to start three of those games, he faces some interesting lineup choices. He was studying the numbers on Sunday morning before the Brewers finished their series against the White Sox. "I had just started looking at it when I was so rudely interrupted," he joked with the reporter who had found Macha doing his research. |
The Brewers haven't been to Cleveland since 2001, when they took two of three games from the Indians. The teams played their last regular season games in 2006, when the Brewers swept a three-game home series.
The Indians are starting right-hander Carl Pavano in Monday's series opener, so Macha will have a number of left-handed bats to choose from. But Cleveland has left-hander Jeremy Sowers slated to pitch on Tuesday and lefty David Huff on Wednesday, and left-hander Dontrelle Willis is lined up to start on Saturday for Detroit. Those games could be more complicated. Typically, Macha sits second baseman Craig Counsell and third baseman Mat Gamel against lefties, going with Casey McGehee at second and Bill Hall at third, which leaves him with just one right-handed bat -- backup catcher Mike Rivera -- on the bench. If Macha is wary of putting both of his catchers, plus his emergency backstop (McGehee) into the lineup all at once, he'll have to use one of his left-handed hitters in those games. Gamel was eager to volunteer. "I actually feel more comfortable against lefties than righties," Gamel said. "I eliminate the changeup against lefties, because they don't really throw it that often. I kind of eliminate that in my head, and that helps." The Brewers promoted Gamel on May 14 so he would be available to serve as the designated hitter for an Interleague series in Minnesota. After the Brewers lost second baseman Rickie Weeks for the season to a wrist injury, Gamel stuck. In 25 games, Gamel is batting .224 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. It's a significant drop from his first 33 games at Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .336 with eight homers and 31 RBIs. "I'm a little bit frustrated, because I'm not doing offensively what I want to," Gamel said. "It's part of the adjustment, learning the game up here. In the big leagues, if I take a good swing at a fastball, I'm not going to see it again. In the Minor Leagues, the guy might keep feeding you fastballs. You have to adjust to that. "It's been a good learning experience, for sure. I made some adjustments with my 'load' just today, and it has me back to feeling the way I did in Nashville before I came up here. I felt better today than I did a week ago." Gamel still isn't sure how long he will stick in the big leagues. "But I'm not worrying every day about it," he said. "I'm just going out and playing hard and working every day until they tell me I have to go back down. Hopefully, I can stick a little longer. It's been fun, and I can't complain about anything but my performance." Macha said he had not discussed adding a right-handed bat from Triple-A Nashville for the trip. He likes Counsell's experience and Gamel's power. "We'll take a look at it," Macha said. Pitching matchupMIL: RHP Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA)
Bush was struck near the right elbow by a line drive on June 4 in Florida, but he made his start as scheduled on Wednesday against the Rockies. It was one to forget. Bush slogged through five innings with 110 pitches and saw a 2-1 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit when he surrendered three consecutive doubles with one out in the fifth inning. Bush is winless in his last four starts, going 0-3 in that span with a 6.75 ERA (16 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings). He's 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Indians and has averaged better than seven innings in those outings. CLE: RHP Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40 ERA)
Pavano followed up his most brilliant outing of 2009 with a real clunker against the Royals on Wednesday. After tossing a three-hit shutout of the White Sox, he was bruised and battered for nine runs on 11 hits with one walk and four strikeouts in just 4 2/3 innings in the loss against the Royals. It was the second time this season he has given up nine runs in an outing, the first being his Tribe debut on April 9 in Texas. Pavano is 2-2 with a 4.09 ERA in his career against the Brewers. Tidbits
Monday is "Major League" day in Cleveland, in honor of the 1989 film that featured Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker, and all fans in attendance will receive a bobblehead doll featuring fictional Indians closer Rick Vaughn. Uecker will throw a ceremonial first pitch. ... The Brewers hold a slight edge in the all-time series between the teams, 202-201, but they are 99-104 in Cleveland, including a 12-16 mark at Jacobs/Progressive Field. The Brewers have never swept a series in Cleveland. ... The Brewers have lost six of their last seven games, including five of six on the just-completed homestand, and are 1-5 in Interleague Play this season. They were swept in Minnesota in their only other road Interleague series. ... Previously slumping right fielder Corey Hart has hit in five straight games and notched his first multi-homer game of the season on Sunday. ... Shortstop J.J. Hardy is headed in the other direction. He went 0-for-4 on Sunday and is hitless in his last 28 at-bats. Macha said he would consider dropping Hardy from the No. 2 hole in the batting order.
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• Tuesday: Brewers (Yovani Gallardo, 6-3, 2.88) at Indians (Jeremy Sowers, 1-3, 5.10), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 5-4, 4.48) at Indians (David Huff, 2-2, 7.39), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Off-day
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
