Jeff Bianchi bunting. Pretty much sums it up. Photo: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Today it was reported, by multiple outlets, that the Brewers had agreed to bring back Alex Gonzalez to sure up the infield.  This news was met with both positive and negative fan reactions.  Many Brewers fans began to wonder if this meant that Jean Segura would be going back to the minors, while others wondered if Gonzalez could be a complete utility infielder like Jerry Hairston was during our 2011 playoff run.  The answers to those questions seemed pretty straight forward, Jean Segura is the starting shortstop and Gonzalez has never played any position other than shortstop in his MLB career.  There was one question that kept coming up that peaked my interest: What would become of Jeff Bianchi?  And people were really upset about it, let me try and put this into perspective for those of you out on the ledge.

What’s really amazing about this is, many of you will have absolutely no idea who I am talking about…

Jeff Bianchi was drafted in 2005 by the Kansas City Royals.  In 2010 he had Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, which lead to his eventual designation for assignment.  Then the Cubs scooped him up for a grand total of 32 days, before he was again designated for assignment.  The Brewers grabbed him and plugged him into the minor league system for some infield depth.  He made his major league debut last July as a member of the Brewers(wearing #14) and was not anything terribly special.  Bianchi is the perfect example of “potential” clouding people’s judgement of his talent.  Yes, the kid shows flashes of offensive prowess.  Yes, he can play multiple positions.  But is he a future starter?  Nope.  Is he ever going to start for the Brewers?  Not a snowballs chance in hell.

The Brewers claimed Bianchi off of waivers from the Cubs,  Casey McGehee style.  Only this time we didn’t get the same bang for that buck.  Bianchi only saw the batters box 76 times and hit a saucy .188 in those opportunities.  Actually…that is pretty close to what we got from Casey McGehee towards the end there.

So for those of you who seemed to be really bummed out, let me put your minds at ease.

YES.  This is the end of the Jeff Bianchi era in Milwaukee.  Had he chosen to stick around for Spring Training, rather than running off to play in the World Baseball Nobody Gives A Crap, (For Italy!!  I might add) he might have had a 5% chance.  Now, if he had another minor league option or two, there would be no need to even write this article.  Since Jeffy B made his MLB debut this past season, we could control him for another couple of years.  Sadly (for some of you), he can only remain a Brewer if he is on the MLB roster and that just isn’t happening now.

As you can probably tell by my tone in this article, I could not possibly care less.  No seriously, try me.  Alex Gonzalez is a better player, who brings a veteran presence and some more leadership tot his fairly young team.  Any of you who are crying over this turn of events, why don’t you lobby Bianchi to stay state side and give himself a chance of staying in Milwaukee.  Otherwise, let it go.  It was fun while it lasted, but I promise you that by this time next year you will be sitting with your buddy at a bar saying, “Whatever happened to Jeff Bianchi?”.  And the odds are, neither of you will know and you will both let it go.  Or you will whip out your smart phones, only to find out he is sitting in baseball limbo without any more options and no team willing to invest a major league contract in a guy who can’t hit at the major league level.

Players come and go every day in major league baseball.  I will guarantee you, right now, that there will be a new “Jeff Bianchi” this season.  Just like there is every season.  My guess, is that it will be either Caleb Gindl in the outfield, or Scooter Gennett at 2nd base.  But I will hold off talking about those two gentlemen.  That is another article for another day.

Say your goodbyes Brewers fans.  If you are foolish enough to watch the “World Cup of America’s Past Time”, you can say Buongiorno as he starts at shortstop for team Italy.  And for the record, he was born in Pennsylvania.

Courtesy of http://bostonsports.mlblogs.com/2009/03/08/one-guy-is-out-the-other-gets-a-raise/

Crosby, 33, owns a career batting average of .236, so why would the Brewers take a chance on him? The Brewers are in need of a veteran presence, much like Craig Counsell or Gabe Kapler in recent years. Not only does Crosby have eight years of major league experience under his belt, he can aid Jean Segura and accelerate his progression.

Here’s what Doug Melvin had to say about Crosby via Tom Haudricourt:

He’s going to come to camp and get a chance to make the club as a backup infielder. He can play all three infield positions. We might carry two (extra) infielders.

In all likelihood, Crosby will be out of a job once Spring Training is over. He will have to turn some heads and play out of his mind to beat out Bianchi, and I don’t see that happening. But, if I’m Bianchi, I would erase my name off of the World Baseball Classic roster, report to Spring Training early, and prove to Ron Roenicke that I belong on the team. There’s no point in playing in the WBC if you don’t have a guaranteed roster spot, even if your competition is laughable.

If somehow Crosby does in fact make the squad, he will just be another verson of Cesar Izturis—a veteran player who can’t hit to save his life. It just seems like another foolish signing to me.

What are your thoughts on Bobby Crosby? Can he make the team? Leave comments and questions below! Follow Justin Schultz and @ReviewngTheBrew on Twitter. Be sure to like us on Facebook, too.

Today catcher Jonathan Lucroy will officially be back as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. But that will only be one change to the team that has seen a multitude of them over a disappointing 2012 season.

With Lucroy’s move back to the Majors, he brings with him Nashville Sounds closer Jim Henderson. The pair will be replacing back-up catcher George Kottaras – who was designated for assignment – and shortstop Jeff Bianchi who was optioned back to the Nashville AAA club.

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So just what are we getting from this move? This is what Baseball America said about Bianchi coming in to last year, when he was still with the Royals organization:

If it wasn’t for injuries, Bianchi likely would be starting for the Royals, but he has had one completely healthy year in six years of pro ball.

Bianchi has had a tough road through the Minors, but even with all of the injuries he has outperformed his peers. In his struggles with injuries, he fell off the radar after climbing into the top 20 prospects in Kansas City’s system only a few years ago. Now, after eight seasons and finally turning the corner on injuries, it looks like Milwaukee may have found a diamond in the rough.

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Brewers manager Ron Roenicke hopes Bianchi and Thornburg can made a positive contribution to the team. (Image: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE)

Manager Ron Roenicke announced the Bianchi, 25, will not assume the role of the everyday shortstop and General Manager Doug Melvin said Thornburg, 23, will assume a role in the bullpen and possibly start for the Brewers later on this season.

Thornburg made his first Big League start on June 19 against Toronto, giving up one run through five innings until hitting a wall in the sixth. He gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs and finished the night with five runs in 5.1 innings with two strikeouts.

He takes the place of reliever Tim Dillard, who was outrighted to AAA Nashville.

A Reviewing the Brew interviewee in April, Thornburg has made his way into Baseball Prospectus’ Top 50 Midseason Prospects. In 14 starts between AA Hunstville and AAA Nashville, Thornburg is 9-1 with a 3.04 era and a WHIP of 1.075.

Bianchi (pronounced Be-YANKEE)  replaces utility infielder Taylor Green, who was optioned to Nashville following Sunday’s victory in Houston.

“He’s versatile, can play anywhere in the infield. They like him down there. They say he’s a pretty heads-up player. Offensively, he can do a lot of things — good hitter, can bunt, can hit and run. So, they liked him,” Roenicke told reporters following the All Star Game.

In a previous article, Bianchi was listed as a Dark Horse to receive a promotion this year and the prediction has come to fruition. He was leading the Southern League with a .351 batting average while in Huntsville before receiving a promotion to Nashville, where he was batting .305 with one homer and 13 RBI in 51 games.

The  former Royals farmhand has never had a Big League at-bat, but expects to receive an occasional start behind Cody Ransom and Cesar Izturis.

Feb 26, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Wily Peralta (60) during photo day at Maryvale Baseball Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Don’t be scared.  When I say cut, I just mean re-assigned to the Brewers various minor-league teams.  Of the 9 total players, 5 of them are pitchers and 4 of them position players.  Most of these moves were expected, but there are two players in particular that I was surprised to see on this list.  Those two players will be my focus this Sunday afternoon.

First, let’s go over the position players.  None of these are surprising to me, so let’s get them out of the way.  Jeff Bianchi, Eric Farris, Zelous Wheeler, and Patrick Arlis were the four position players excused from big league camp.  Zelous Wheeler showed some flashes of talent, but he is just not ready for the big show.  Eric Farris will be joining him on the Triple-A Nashville squad for 2012.  Both Wheeler and Farris are good infielders who will benefit from a full season in Nashville.  Jeff Bianchi will fill in the infield at Double-A Huntsville.  While young catcher, Patrick Arlis has been returned to minor league camp for seasoning.  There is some talent in this group, so none of these guys should be disappointed.  There time will come. 

As for the pitchers, some of them were obvious, while a couple of them were a bit premature I think.  Mike Fiers, Amaury Rivas, and Santo Manzanillo were all optioned to Triple-A Nashvilee.  They all belong there for now.  They were all given opportunities and in my opinion, these three young men just need more game experience.  I expect big things from Fiers and Rivas in the coming years. 

Let’s start with Mark Rogers.  This organization has wasted far too much time on this guy.  After his little drug suspension episode from last season, I fully expected the team to cut ties and let him go.  They didn’t.  He was drafted in 2004 and we have seen him in 4 major league games.  At some point, you have to cut your loses.  How long can you expect to keep this guy in the organization?  I appreciate that he was the 5th pick overall, but if he is not competing to be on the big-league roster…what is he still doing here?  We have plenty of young arms to be in the Triple-A starting rotation.  At this point in his “growth”, I can not see the benefit of having him on the organization.  Either watch him throw through all of Spring and add him to the roster, or cut him and be done with it.  This guy is a waste of time and I am officially done with him.

Wily Peralta was not given enough opportunities.  This kid is going to be something special, but you needed to give him more exposure to major league batters.  Yes, in his limited experience he got throttled, but we need a clearer view of this guy.  My only real question on his removal from the roster is, what was the rush?  In his last ST appearance, Peralta threw two scoreless innings against the Padres.  I am just surprised that he was not given more of an opportunity to excel.  Wily is so young that he could probably use another full season at Triple-A, that is not what bothers me about this.  Peralta is one of our top prospects and I wanted to see more of him.  I know that is selfish, but I don’t care. 

Today’s fat trimming has basically cemented Nashville’s pitching rotation: Rogers, Peralta, Fiers, and Rivas.  All four of these guys will benefit from pitching in Triple-A, but I just wish we could have seen more this spring.  But, they are gone and in all likelihood not going to be with the Brewers in 2012. 

On an unrelated note, the Brewers will be the focus of MLB networks “30 in 30″ series on Monday at 7pm CST.  For me that will be 5pm, so I will have to speed home from work in order to catch it.  Set your DVR’s, VCR timers, computers, and so on.  Don’t miss it.

Go Brewers!!

Having Braun back can make all the difference in the world. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Let’s face it, we all want the momentum from 2011 again. Ryan Braun’s back, we’ve got new faces in Aramis Ramirez and Alex Gonzalez alongside others and the pitching is still solid. So why exactly is 2012 critical? I know even though Prince is gone, we still have guys who want to play for Milwaukee and not for the money. I’m hoping that a selective few are a part of that and not just money-hungry athletes, I’m looking at you Zack Greinke. There’s a lot of concerns the Brewers face, such as the obvious how does life go on without Prince, will the pitching stay consistent and how can we fare against the Cardinals who won the World Series?  There’s a lot more than that, but focusing on the positives,  two good years in a row would be great for our ball club and here’s to hoping that doesn’t fade!

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Oct 5, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez (right) celebrates with teammate George Kottaras after hitting a two run home run in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during game four of the 2011 NLDS at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

In 2011, the Brewers went to great lengths to fill their bench with aging veterans to help the team.  From what I saw this off-season, the team ran out of money, so they could only afford one or two old guys.  From my personal standpoint, this is excellent news.  Veterans should be starters, not bench warmers.  You need to have the young guys getting some opportunities to play in the big leagues, thus your bench should be littered with promising young talent. 

Over the past few seasons, the Brewers have gotten away from that.  Thanks to K-Rod and some well deserved raises, the team did not have the funds to add three to four players worthless players to fill the bench.  Since that is the case, lets meet the some potential bench candidates for the 2012 Crew.

So, here are our options and who I think will be on the opening day roster.

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