Looking back, that rotation is literally in tatters.

Greinke was traded to the Angels when the Brewers thought they were out of contention. Marcum went on the disabled list for over two months, and has a 5.70 ERA in five starts since returning. Wolf was released towards the end of August after he was unable to ever find himself as a starter this season. Narveson went down after just his second start in April with a torn rotator cuff.

In other words, Gallardo has been the one staple of the rotation. The Brewers have had to dip into their farm system to find the rest of their current rotation. And, I have to say, most of them have filled in admirably. Marco Estrada, who pitched out of the bullpen to start the season, was the first guy the Brewers turned to, and, despite the fact he hasn’t been able to notch many wins, he’s been very solid. Mike Fiers, who was having just a mediocre year at Triple-A Nashville prior to his call-up, has come up and established himself as a perennial Rookie of the Year candidate. Mark Rogers was solid before his shut-down, but Wily Peralta has been dominant since taking his rotation spot.

Let’s say the Brewers don’t make any starting pitching-related moves this offseason. The 2013 rotation would look something like Gallardo, Estrada, Fiers, Rogers, and Peralta, since Marcum is leaving via free agency. There are plenty more prospects who will get a chance in ’13 Spring Training, but these pitchers are the ones with the most experience (despite the fact some of them still have very little experience).

There is definitely a lot of inexperience in that rotation, but, if they all pitch to their ability (and get solid run support while doing so), they could all be successful in the Majors. And, personally, I’d almost like to see the Brewers experiment with that next year.

But we know they won’t, because there’s too much risk involved. The Brewers will more than likely go after at least one free agent starter. But, many consider the 2012-13 offseason’s starter front to be one of the worst in years. The highlights will be Greinke, Marcum, Ryan Dempster, and that’s really about it, at least for big names. Greinke is definitely the safest of the three, and he expressed the possibility of re-signing with the Brewers this offseason. But we might have to wait and see if he’s still around after waiting for the $15 million per year that he isn’t going to get.

Since it’s more than likely the Brewers won’t pick up one of those three, I’d almost like to see the Brewers try an experiment of young, in-house starters in the rotation, like I said earlier, and I’d like to see that for a few reasons.

First off, it would keep the Brewers from thinking they need to make an actually unnecessary move that would make the team worse. The most recent examples of that are Wolf and Jeff Suppan. Now don’t get me wrong; I liked Wolf. He had a solid year and a half under his belt with the Crew prior to his release. But things weren’t clicking this year, which makes me worry about the Brewers signing a similar veteran over this offseason. I don’t think I need to explain my reasoning for Suppan.

The front office will probably think that veteran presence is needed in a young rotation, but Gallardo should be at the point of his career where he can start setting an example for the guys behind him and serve as that “veteran” (although he’ll only be 27 next year). Estrada hasn’t been on the Brewers for very long, but he’s been around. I don’t think the Brewers should waste money on getting that “veteran starter” this year.

My second reason is that the Brewers have something that they didn’t have previous years in which they needed a veteran guy: they have a ton of prospects that are big league ready. Fiers, despite his inconsistency recently (which could be due to fatigue from his first year in the Majors), should have a rotation spot locked up for next year. Before his shut-down, Rogers was giving the Brewers a chance to win every time out. It’s too early to say about Peralta, but, after three dominant starts, a good Spring Training next year could net him a rotation spot. And then there are all the prospects (i.e. Hiram Burgos) and the recent draft picks (i.e. Taylor Jungmann, Jed Bradley) that haven’t even made it to the Majors yet.

Even though Gallardo is the only pitcher who has a spot locked down for next year, the Brewers have so many starting pitching prospects that they’ll have to be able to get something out of at least some of them, particularly the ones who are getting big league experience this year. This could be the makings of a very dominant future rotation for the Brewers; why not get a glimpse of it next year?

For those of you coming in late, here is what started all of this:

This is a 5 week project, in which 5 select individuals will nominate two former Brewers as candidates for “The Hall”. At the end of those 5 weeks, RtB will put up a poll in order to induct 2 players in to the first ever class of the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

In my humble opinion, there was never a doubt that he would be a first ballot Hall of Won’t Misser, either. 

So, as we discussed yesterday, rather than a speech I just wrote a little obituary for his career as a Brewer.  Enjoy.

Eric Gagne

This French-speaking, Looney spending, steroid abusing, baseball journeyman, was lucky enough to end his major league career as a Milwaukee Brewer.  Luckily for Brewers fans, he did not “retire” wearing our jersey.  Rather, his career simply ended due to horrific play and absurd contract demands, which the Brewers met for one heinous season. 

December 9, 2007 was the day that the Brewers lit $10 million dollars on fire and called it an acquisition.  Gagne was brought in to close games after the complete breakdown of Derrick Turnbow, and the departure of Francisco Cordero.  Eric lasted about 3 weeks as the Brewers closer, blowing 3 of his first 6 save opportunities. 

4 days after signing Gagne to this absurd contract, the infamous Mitchell report was released.  In that report, Eric Gagne was listed as a user of Human Growth Hormone going all the way back to 2002 (coincidentally the highest points of his career were from ’02-’04).  This is something he has never admitted to, or denied.  But the timing of the report and his signing with the Brewers, cast a dark shadow over his time in Milwaukee before it had even begun.

When you pay a man $10 million dollars to close out games, you expect results.  Gagne was given 17 save opportunities and converted 10 of those, which means he only saved 60% of the games he was brought in to save.  If I only did 60% of my job, I would be fired without my boss even giving it a second thought.  But, the Brewers had not inflicted enough pain on themselves, so following the 2008 season they re-signed him to a minor league deal.  Luckily for us, he injured his shoulder, and he was immediately released. 

What can you say about Eric Gagne that hasn’t already been said about Milli Vanilli; he cheated to get to the top, he came crashing down with a thud, and now he is only spoken about in the past tense. 

If the Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss was created for Jeff Suppan, Eric Gagne was not far behind.  He is another shining beacon of the Brewers continued efforts to piss away money on mediocre talent. 

Eric Gagne will not be missed by Brewers fans, so we lay him in his final resting place.  He will always be revered as on of the great “Won’t Misser’s” of all-time. 

His family should be proud, this is the only award he earned without steroids as a baseball player. 

And with that, we shut the door on “The Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss” for 2012.  One last time I would like to thank Colin Bennett, Steve over at Brewers Keep Turning Up The Heat, Steve Sievwright, and Justin Hull from the Home Stretch on WSCO Radio. 

Be sure and tune in next year for 10 more nominees, and 2 more Brewers…We Won’t Miss!

This man was my personal favorite, which is why I nominated him.  Based on the voting, I was not alone in my spite and bitterness.

For those of you coming in late, here is what started all of this:

This is a 5 week project, in which 5 select individuals will nominate two former Brewers as candidates for “The Hall”. At the end of those 5 weeks, RtB will put up a poll in order to induct 2 players in to the first ever class of the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

In my humble opinion, there was never a doubt that he would be a first ballot Hall of Won’t Misser. 

Since this is not the Hall of Fame, I thought it would be pointless to write a fake speech on his behalf.  So, I decided I would write an obituary for him instead.  That seems appropriate since we are, more or less, laying him to rest. 

Jeff Suppan

Jeff was a good man, excellent father, terrific friend, and the worst pitcher, per dollar, the Brewers have had in the past 2 decades. He was acquired for his playoff prowess, only to self-destruct in his lone Brewers postseason appearance.  By the time Suppan left Milwaukee, his career was in ruins. The former NLCS MVP, reduced to rubble by a monster contract and 3 plus years of piss-poor  performances.

Suppan was the Joker to my Batman, the fly to my ointment, the Tom Cruise to my marriage. Hate is a strong word, but most appropriate for how I loathed this man every time he even got near the pitchers mound. 

When I was going to a lot of Brewers games (’07 and ’08), I would map out games that he would not be pitching in. Not so much because I did not want to see him pitch, but because I did not want other Brewers fans to have to listen to me shout profanities at him from my seat. I did that for you Brewers fans, because some of you genuinely liked that glorified tee-ball stand.

At some point, Jeff should have grown a mustache. That beard never did him any favors, so why not go with the official facial hair choice of the organization. If he would have donned a mustache, perhaps my complete and total discontent for him would be nothing more than a mild nuisance. Let’s be real, mustaches seem to make everything, at the very least, a little bit better. But without a mustache, you are nothing more than Grizzly Adams chucking apples at a bear in the woods…just for Millions of dollars that you never really earned.

A good friend of mine once told me that Jeff Suppan was a poor man’s Greg Maddux, just with worse approach, command, and overall ability. In my mind, that makes Suppan a homeless man’s Greg Maddux. That is how I will remember Jeff.  As a homeless Greg Maddux. 

In all honesty, I created the Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss so that Jeff Suppan could be in it. He is the poster child for everything that Brewers fans have come to loathe about this organization during the early to mid 2000′s.  Big contracts with little to no results.  Jeff Suppan IS the Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss. When we attempt to nominate two more players into this club next year, they will all be measured by Jeff Suppan and his ability to suck the life out of an entire fan base. Good luck, future nominees.  You are going to need it.

Congratulations on this blatantly fake honor Jeff.  You earned it.  May you rest in peace…in San Diego.   

 Check back in tomorrow as I unveil our 2nd inductee.  No one will be surprised…

On a personal note, I would just like to offer my heart and soul to the victims of the tragedy that took place in Colorado over the weekend.  I have personal attachments to 3 of the victims, two of whom died on Friday.  The pain that I feel, can not even begin to compare to how some of my friends and most of the state of Colorado must feel.  Tragedies of this nature are hard to wrap your brain around, but we can not let them change how we live our lives.  That can not be stressed enough. I would encourage everyone to continue going to the movies.  Film is one of America’s greatest art forms, and the Dark Knight Rises is a beautiful piece of art.  Please be good to each other, because in the end…that is all we have.

Our "Hall" will be alot like this, only smaller, less prestigious, and in my basement.

Well, the time has finally come.  No more guests, or week long waits for new nominees.  The nominees are all in, and per our agreement it is time for the RtB faithful to vote on which two players will be inducted into the inaugural class of “The Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

If you just found your way to the ballot box, here is what we have been doing over the past 5 weeks:

This is a 5 week project, in which 5 select individuals will nominate two former Brewers as candidates for “The Hall”.  At the end of those 5 weeks, RtB will put up a poll in order to induct 2 players in to the first ever class of the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

Again, I would like to thank the gentlemen who dedicated their time and talents to research each of these “gifted” players; Colin Bennett, Steve Alstadt, Steve Sievwright, and Justin Hull.  Without them, this dream of mine would have been nothing more than fantasy.  Do yourself a favor and follow each of them on Twitter.  I linked all of their names for you.  If you are a Brewers fan, you have no excuse to not be following these guys. 

Ok, enough foreplay sailors.  Below you will find the list of 10 nominees, and the man responsible for their place on the list.  Make sure you take the time to educate yourself on these gentlemen.  I will attache the articles to each ex-Brewers name, that way you will have a reference point in your voting.

Before we start, I want to thank you our readers for really getting behind this silly idea.  I have heard from all kinds of people and made lots of new friends.  Everything I write and work on is designed for your enjoyment, so it is always nice to hear from our readers.  Thank you for your support. 

Here…we…go.

Jeff Suppan — Nom: Lou Olsen

Guillermo Mota — Nom: Lou Olsen

Eric Gagne — Nom: Colin Bennett

Dave Bush — Nom: Colin Bennett

Glendon Rusch — Nom: Steve Alstadt

Kevin Mench — Nom: Steve Alstadt

Jeffrey Hammonds — Nom: Steve Sievwright

Gary Sheffield — Nom: Steve Sievwright

Ben McDonald — Nom: Justin Hull

Billy Jo Robidoux — Nom: Justin Hull

 Now, in order to vote, you must go back to the RtB Home Page and scroll down a bit.  Look to the right side ———————>

There you will see the poll and you are allowed to vote twice, no more and please no less.  You get two votes, so please use them. 

Voting will cease on the 5th of July.  At that time, we will crown our inductees.  My hope is that we can reveal the first two class members live, on the RtB podcast (which you should already be listening to).

Happy voting everyone.  Go Brewers!!!!

No Ashley.  No I will not.

From that singular inquiry came this amazing project.  I hate to see it go, but I love to watch it walk away…

To finish things off, I have brought in a very special guest.  Many of you will know Justin Hull from his radio talk show “Home Stretch” on WSCO Radio in Appleton.  He also works in the station as a Producer.  If you follow him on Twitter @JH1570, or like his page on Facebook, he posts the links to every show. 

In my opinion, Justin is one of the best young radio hosts that the state of Wisconsin has to offer.  I would love to listen to him call a ballgame.  His show gets me through my work week, so I am honored to have him be a part of this project.  Trust me, when you live 2,000 miles away…having some intelligent, Brewers talk radio is just priceless.  And he talks with Kyle Lobner on a fairly regular basis, who I am also a big fan of. 

Justin has a wealth of baseball knowledge, and he was kind enough to drop two of the finest entrants into the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.  It’s possible that some of you will read these names…and have no idea who we are talking about.  But part of the healing process, is learning from past mistakes.

Here is a quick catch-up if this is your first time to the party, here are the 4 previous rounds of nominees 1, 2, 3, 4.  Or if you’re lazy…  

This is a 5 week project, in which 5 select individuals will nominate two former Brewers as candidates for “The Hall”.  At the end of those 5 weeks, RtB will put up a poll in order to induct 2 players in to the first ever class of the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

So far, the nominees look like this: : Jeff Suppan, Guillermo Mota, Eric Gagne, Dave Bush, Glendon Rusch, Kevin Mench, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Gary Sheffield

This is Ben McDonald...already looking mediocre

Ben McDonald - Holy crap…talk about a mind blower.  Ben McDonald found his way into the spotlight back in 2009, drawing comparisons to Stephen Strasburg.  Ben McDonald was the can’t miss pitching prospect out of LSU, in the 1989 MLB Draft.  He was taken 1st Overall by the Baltimore Orioles.  Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote a very impressive piece about the similarities between McDonald and Strasburg.  Give it a read.  But we are not here to talk about that. 

The Brewers went ahead and signed McDonald prior to the ’96 season.  For the most part, I remember being excited about it.  I was still a little young, but he was a name I had heard of.  Which was something the Brewers hadn’t had since Robin Yount retired in 1993.  The problem was, I do not ever really recall him pitching for the Brewers. 

Overall Grade: C-

Brewers Stats:

56 starts, 20-17 record, 3.96 ERA, 3 Complete Games, 348 hits, 156 Earned Runs, 256 K’s, 103 walks, and no balks (not sure why I added that, but…it stays)

To me, this is the most telling stat: in 1996 Ben McDonald’s WAR was 5.1, but in 1997 it plummeted to 1.5  making him only a game and a half better than a random Triple-A pitcher.  So either he was really good in ’96, or the team was terrible…I lean towards the latter.

Money/Contracts:

This is quite the blunder.  In 2 seasons for the Brewers, McDonald collected a staggering $7.5 million dollars.  This marks the first time that the Brewers were screwed by Scott Boras.  Somehow that turd found a team stupid enough to pay big money for an average starting pitcher.  Not to mention the fact, that he only made 14 starts in 1995 due to injuries.  Yet, the Brewers found it necessary to sign him to a high risk, low reward contract. 

McDonald’s deal was reckless and unwarranted.  There was no reason to suspect the team would be any better with a sub-.500 “Ace” on the hill.  The stipulation of this contract is no Ben McDonald’s fault, but it does not excuse his poor and uninspired play as a Brewer.

Likeability:

Not much bad to say about the guy.  While he never lived up to expectations in the big leagues, that hardly makes him a bad dude.  These days he is coaching little league baseball for his son on the Louisiana bayou.  In all of the pieces I read about the guy, there is nothing that would lead you to believe that he sucked in this category.  If anything, he is probably the nicest guy amongst all of our nominees. 

Closing Thoughts:

When the Brewers signed Ben McDonald in January of 1996, I was ecstatic!  A former 1st overall pick, a guy with a sub-4 career ERA in Baltimore (3.89 at the time of signing) and a name that I had heard of.  I think the latter was the biggest thing.  On a team that featured the likes of John Jaha, Greg Vaughn and Matt Mieske, McDonald was someone that people outside of Milwaukee had heard of.  He was supposed to be BIG TIME!  Instead he was, just ok.  Milwaukee had seen many OK players over its history, but this was supposed to be different…and it just wasn’t.  In 2-seasons with the Brewers, McDonald was 20-17 with a 3.96 ERA.  Again, OK numbers but I think we were all expecting more.  Especially when you consider that he signed a pretty nice contract (made 2-million in 1996 (with a $500,000 signing bonus) and 5-million in 1997) with the Brewers.

It's amazing that a guy who looks like he rolled out of an episode of Teen Mom, did not pan out in the big leagues.

Billy Jo Robidoux - If you have never heard of this guy, don’t feel that bad about it.  It’s hard to liken him to anyone because he was such a huge deal in Triple-A and never figured it out in the majors.  So, I guess he is just like almost every major leaguer ever…

What made Billy Jo Robidoux so depressing (aside from his name and general appearance) was that the team really gave him every opportunity to succeed as a player, and they got squat in return.  They gave him 4 seasons to prove that he belonged in the big show, but he could not stick.  Robidoux was the first, in a very long line, of strong minor league players in the Brewers farm system, who completely fizzled out when they got to the major league club.  He might as well have never been a Brewers at all….luckily for us, he was. 

 Overall Grade: C

Brewers Stats:

385 AB’s, 85 hits, 4 HR, 38 RBI, .221 batting average, 61 walks (by far his most impressive stat), 83 strikeouts(spoke to soon), and he grounded into 12 double plays.  Now none of these seems awful…until you look at his career in the minor leagues.

2236 AB’s, 688 hits, 73 HR, 415 RBI’s, .308 batting average, 404 walks, 360 strikeouts, and a .412 on-base percentage.

Now we can all see why Blo Jo Robidoux belongs on this list.

Money/Contract:

There is very little record of how much money Robidoux made in his playing days as a Brewer.  I think it safe to assume that the mid-80′s were not baseball’s most financially frugal days.  While the Brewers made every effort to keep him on the team, there was no reason to over pay for the guy.  When his contract came up, they let him sign with the White Sox. 

We have had some real whoppers on this list so far, but Robidoux probably scores the highest in this category (or worst, depending on how you look at it).  While we won’t miss him because he could not produce on the field, his contract was not a hindrance to the team. 

Likeability:

I mean, just look at the guys picture.  What else do you need to know? 

Closing Thoughts:

I am not sure if it was; his .342 average, 23 homers and 132 RBI in double-A in 1985 or his distinction of “Future Star” by Topps Baseball Cards, but Billy Jo was expected to do great things.  He never did.  After 4-years of raking the ball in the minors, Robidoux bounced back and fourth from the Majors and Minors until 1988.  In 4-seasons with Milwaukee, Billy Jo batted just .221 with 4-homers and 38-RBI, a far cry from his expectations.  The Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox later gave him a chance to crack the big leagues.  Crazy thing was, Robidoux was just 26-years old during his final season in the Big Leagues, 1990 in Boston.  High expectation but little results…(where have we heard that before in Milwaukee?)

This week, our old friend Steve Sievwright is going to provide us with two Brewers that he does not long for.  You all should remember Steve from his march to the MLB FanCave this past March, or at the very least from all of his work for our site in the past.  He allowed Colin and I to practically live through him as he made the Top 30 finalists for the 2012 FanCave.  Once he was robbed the opportunity to live in the Cave, he came to our site and shared every detail of his trip to Brewers spring training.  Then he got settled and played an entire season of MLB 2K12 as the Brewers, just so he could tell us how it went.  When Steve first heard about this project, he lobbied to be a part of it.  Since he is RtB family, I instantly agreed.  And trust me, Steve did not disappoint (foreshadowing). 

Ok, if you are getting to the party late, here is the deal:

This is a 5 week project, in which 5 select individuals will nominate two former Brewers as candidates for “The Hall”.  At the end of those 5 weeks, RtB will put up a poll in order to induct 2 players in to the first ever class of the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

And here is the list so far: Jeff Suppan, Guillermo Mota, Eric Gagne, Dave Bush, Glendon Rusch, and Kevin Mench

So, without further adieu, let’s see who Steve likes…err dislikes, either way it’s correct.

This can be all yours. Although, I can't imagine why you would wan't it.

Jeffrey Hammonds- Just mentioning his name should make you feel empty inside. It should take you back to a black hole in the Brewers’ past that, at the very least, I would like to forget. Hammonds was a free-agent pickup in 2001, but not just any pickup.  A pick-up that, at the time, was the largest contract in Milwaukee Brewers’ history. Injuries kept him from playing very much, but when he did take the field for the majority of a season, it was in 2002. AKA: the worst season (56-106) the Brewers’ ever played.

Overall grade: F

Brewers stats:

65 RBI, now that sounds like a completely average year right? Well, it would be except that’s the amount of RBIs Hammonds had in his 3 years as a Brewer.  Stats as a Brewer are as follows:

.248 BA/.321 OBP/65 RBI/69 Runs/16 HRs

Here’s the key stat: 187 games. In three years! Three abysmal years. 49 games in 2001, 128 in 2002, and 10 (yes 10!) in 2003. All years were cut short by stints on the DL.

Money/Contracts:

Don’t let the others fool you, THIS is the worst contract in Brewers’ franchise history. 3yrs/21.75 million dollars.  And, as mentioned, this was the richest contract to date for our organization. I know this isn’t a fair comparison, but that means Jeffrey Hammonds was guaranteed to make more money as a Brewer than Robin Yount. In 2002, he made almost $8 million to hit .257 with 41 RBI. In 2003, Hammonds was cut after playing 10 games and hitting .158. For those 10 games he was still paid $300,000. I wish I could get paid that much for doing nothing.

Likeability:

When it comes to likeability…I couldn’t find much wrong with the guy. It was frustrating to watch and painful to go through; but technically there wasn’t anything wrong with him (at least when being compared to my next nominee).

Closing thoughts:

Terrible play, terrible contract, and the most terrible season in Brewers’ history. I can’t say much more about it really. Here’s a fun fact about how bad this situation was though: in 2003, there was Jeffrey Hammonds bobble-head night, unfortunately it was a few days after he was already cut from the team. I can’t even stand writing about this so…

With all factors taken in to consideration I hereby nominate Jeffrey Hammonds to The HoBWWM.

Gary Sheffield-  

Whereas a bad point in time, contract, situation as mentioned above can be really terrible. This is one that makes my blood boil.  When someone doesn’t want to be where they are and then start to plague the team, that is terrible. Here’s a guy with all the talent in the world and just chooses not to use it, just because he didn’t like being moved to 3^rd base?  What’s worse is that he goes on to have an arguably a Hall of Fame career, but around these parts he’s known for the attitude.  After the Brewers got rid of him it had a major impact on our franchise.

Overall Grade: D

Brewers Stats:

His stats as a Brewer were fine, especially for being an 18 year old kid.  In 1991, his last year in Milwaukee, he was limited to only 50 games because of injury, but hit only .194 during that time. In four years he never hit more than 10 HRs in a season, a far cry from his stats later in life (though that might have something to do with his inclusion in the Mitchell Report). In his best season, he played 125 games hitting .294 with 10 HRs, 67 RBI, and 25 SB.  What a waste.

Money/Contracts:  

This might be the one area that doesn’t completely kill his situation. In his time in Milwaukee he didn’t even make $700,000. But then again he claims that in 1991 Bud Selig offered him a long-term big money contract but later reneged on it. Which will give way to the next section.

Likeability:

So his stats were fine to average and he didn’t cost us much, but this category is where Sheffield earns his nomination.

What didn’t he hate?  He thought Milwaukee was a frozen hell, that County Stadium was a dump, that the weather sucked, and that there weren’t enough black people. That covers pretty much everything.  I’m sure he hated the food and probably Bernie Brewer on top of it.  He claims Milwaukee brought out the hate in him.  He said that if the official scorer would give him an error, that he would throw one in the stands and show him what an error really is (though there’s no record of this and later he would take that back and said maybe he did it in the minors, poor Helena Brewers). There was the whole, “was it or wasn’t it a broken foot”, “the phantom contract”, and of course calling our pitchers girls because they wouldn’t throw at players after he was beaned. Bottom-line I’m pretty sure he wasn’t and still isn’t likeable…whatsoever.

Closing Thoughts:

Gary Sheffield…all the talent in the world, held back by a terrible attitude. Went on to have a great career, a career that started improving as soon as he hit San Diego after we traded him (steroids). Clearly he didn’t want to be here, which is a real shame. In 1988-1992 it was still the heyday of Yount, Molitor, and Higuera.  With all of those great Brewer players, Sheffield could’ve gone down in Milwaukee history as a good guy and a legend, but chose to go the other way.

Overall I believe these two players to be the leaders (or maybe the dregs) in two important categories: Contract and Likeability. One needed to learn how to love and forget how to hate and the other had no business getting paid as much as he did for what little he was able to do.

So I nominate Jeffrey Hammonds and Gary Sheffield to the HoBWWM. 

And in my opinion they are two clear 1^st ballot HoBWWMer’s.

But, as always, here is what we are doing: 

This is a 5 week project, in which 5 select individuals will nominate two former Brewers as candidates for “The Hall”.  At the end of those 5 weeks, RtB will put up a poll in order to induct 2 players in to the first ever class of the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

This week I asked RtB staffer and cultural attache of  Guinea-Bissau, Steve Alstadt, to throw two more nominees our way.  All I asked him for was two nominees, a grade, and some closing thoughts.  But Steve said, “No way. I got this Olsen.”  Who am I to argue with a political diplomat.

What you are about to read was written entirely by our resident cheese, wine, and Guinea Bissau cultural references expert.  If you like Steve’s work, be sure and check out some of his other Brewers work on our site as well as his other site Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turning Up The Heat! 

Glendon Rusch -   Perhaps no poor soul epitomizes the total futility of the early 2000s Milwaukee Brewers than Glendon Rusch. Those teams were dreadful—in 2002 they lost 106(!) games. Rusch was the anti-ace of the staff. In Milwaukee for two years, the only thing he made headlines for was losing games at an alarming rate. Making matters worse was the fact he went to the Cubs in 2004 and put together a good season as a reliever and fill-in starter. 

**Lou’s Side Note: Rusch went to High School right down the street from where I live in the Seattle, WA area**

Steve’s Overall Grade: D

Brewers Stats:

As head of that historically bad 2002 team, Glendon Rusch lost 16 games. He gave up over a hit per inning and had an ERA of 4.7. Yet, because the team was so bad, he racked up 210 innings—simply because they had nobody better!

How did he follow it up in 2003? With a much, much worse season, that’s how. How does a 1-12 record with a 6.42 ERA (!!!) and 12.5 hits per nine innings sound?

During his tenure as a Brewer, his ERA+ was 78. League average is 100. Oof. 

Money/Contract: 

This is one of the reasons I only went down to a D for Rusch. I have been unable to find his salary, but it couldn’t have been that much. The team had a payroll of $50 million in 2002 and $40 in 2003, so they almost didn’t have room for bad contracts.

Like-ability:

I don’t remember much about Rusch as a person, other than he had that blood clot scare after he left the Brewers. I remember people honestly feeling sorry for him because of all the losses, though.

Steve’s Closing Thoughts:

I only went with a D because Rusch truly wasn’t as bad as his true numbers indicate. He wasn’t even the worst pitcher on that 2003 team; Fangraphs has Wayne Franklin as the worst pitcher in baseball that year. Rusch being here is almost a team award for the Brewers of 2002 and 2003. He was the poster boy, because he had all those losses. A closer look at his numbers reveals something fascinating. His ERA was an amazingly bad 6.42, but his fielding independent pitching (FIP) in 2003 was 3.87! That implies that the defense behind Rusch was terrible and artificially deflated his numbers. Plus, the losses were often a result of poor run support from a heinous offense. So, really, this honor should go to Glendon Rusch/The 2003 Milwaukee Brewers.

Kevin Mench -  This may be a personal one more than the numbers back up, but I despise Kevin Mench as a baseball player. Actually, that isn’t a strong enough word. I loathe Kevin Mench the baseball player. If you recall, Mench was in Milwaukee for about a year and a half. He came to Milwaukee with Francisco Cordero in the underwhelming deal that sent Carlos Lee (and Nelson Cruz, doh) to Texas. He’s probably remembered for two dumb stories. First, he has a large head. People liked to joke about it. Secondly, he had that infamous shoe thing in Texas. Right after he switched to a larger shoe size, he had a stretch in which he hit some home runs and it became a story.

Also, mainly because I didn’t like him, I used to enjoy pointing out his resemblance to Voldemort.

Steve’s Overall Grade: D-

Stats:

2006: .230/.248/.317, for a cool .566 OPS in 133 plate appearances. He drew four walks.

2007: .267/.305/.441 in 308 plate appearances.

Plus, he was an awful outfielder.

Mench is the perfect example of why strikeouts are a horrible measuring tool for offensive players. For his career, Mench’s strikeout rate is just 12.9%. A player people like to rip on for strikeouts, say, Rickie Weeks, is at 23.1%. Yet, Weeks is a much better offensive player, because he gets on base so much more often than Mench ever did.  2007 is a good comparison for those two, actually. Weeks was 14^th in MLB in pitches per plate appearance, at 4.45. Mench was 11^th-worst  among all players with at least 300 plate appearances—just 3.31. Mench was a hacker, plain and simple, and hackers are my least favorite of all baseball players.

Aside: The worst in pitches/PA that year was Johnny Estrada, who I could have just as easily chosen for this segment. My God, and watching him “run” the bases… I have to stop now before I delete this entire thing and start all over using Estrada instead of Mench.

Money/Contract:

Mench didn’t make an exorbitant amount while he was here—somewhere around $4 million a year, if I remember correctly. That makes this all the more impressive in my eyes. My hatred was fixated purely on Mench as a baseball player, and had nothing to do with his contract.

Like-ability:

It seemed like his teammates liked him, or whatever, but I will never forget what cemented him forever in my HoF. I can’t find the exact quote now, unfortunately, but once he was asked about his lack of walks, and he said (paraphrasing) “They don’t pay me to walk. I’m not a mailman,” and he laughed. He laughed at the notion of walking. UGH.

Steve’s Final Thoughts:

There is one memory of Mench that stands out to me more than any other. The Brewers’ were in the midst of their epic 2007 collapse in which they blew a substantial division lead to the Cubs. The day was August 30, 2007 (not because I remember it this clearly, but because I looked it up). The Brewers were down two runs against the Cubs in the ninth inning. The closer at the time, Ryan Dempster, had just walked in a run. Mench was in the lineup that day, and he spot in the order came up. With three lefties on the bench in Geoff Jenkins, Craig Counsell, and Johnny Estrada, Ned Yost elected to let Kevin Mench, he of the .309 career OBP against righties, hit. And what does Mench do? After Dempster had just walked in a run? He lazily grounded out to shortstop on the first pitch. Game over. Commence rage.

If you missed part one, here is the link.  However, I know how lazy many of you are (beer and sausage, does not a motivator make), so here is a quick re-cap:

I nominated Jeff Suppan because he sucked and took our money, and Guillermo Mota because he sucked and has been busted for steroids (cough medicine according to the man himself) twice.

This week, I asked RtB Editor (and resident Brewers expert) Colin Bennett to grace us all with two nominees.  He did not disappoint, but we are going to have a very pitcher heavy nominee class.  Let’s get right into it.

Eric Gagne -   For years on end, there was no one in baseball more dominant at his position than Eric Gagne. Over the course of three seasons Gagne recorded a total of 84 consecutive saves. Then something happened – well actually a lot of things happened. The biggest being his mention in the 2007 Mitchell Report on Performance Enhancing Drugs. There was that, and the fact that one year later he joined the Brewers and completely obliterated any hopes of a future career.

Colin’s Overall Grade: D+

Brewers Stats:

Eric Gagne’s 2008 Line went something like this:  4-3 record, a 5.44 ERA, made 50 appearances, 46.1 innings of work, 28 earned runs, 11 home runs, 22 walks, and his middle name is Serge.  Not relevant to baseball…but still funny.

Eric Gagne’s 2008 postseason line: 2 games, 2 innings pitched, no runs, and 1 strikeout

While the stats themselves may not be terrible, let us consider that he started the 2008 season as our closer, but then he blew 3 saves in 6 attempts and Yost pulled the plug.  It got worse though, as Gagne was later removed from the set-up role after several lackluster outings.  He was replaced by Guillermo Mota, a fellow HOBWWM nominee.

Money/Contract: 

If my memory serves me correctly, Gagne had a nickname that should just about sum this part of his qualifications up.  We used to call him “The Ten Million Dollar Mistake”.  Do you all remember that?  I sure do.  What were the Brewers thinking?  This guy was so washed up at this point, that sea shells were jealous.  I doubt that any other nominee will even come close to Gagne in this category, he is the #1 loser in this category without a doubt.  $10 million dollars for a mid-5′s ERA…money well spent. 

Like-ability:

Gagne is very well liked by his teammates and by the media. In fact, the guy has a reputation for being a terrific mentor and teacher to young pitchers throughout his career.  When his name was revealed in the Mitchell Report, Gagne immediately held a press conference and said the following:

I’m not denying it. I’m not saying I did it. I just can’t talk about it. It’s a touchy subject. It doesn’t just involve me. I’ve been straightforward about everything. It [stinks] that I can’t be about this. I’m not looking for sympathy anyway. I have to live with this the rest of my life. I’m going to have to explain this to my kids. It’s going to be on my resume the rest of my life.

Is Gagne a bad guy?  Hard to know, that is why we are leaving it up to all of you.

Colin’s Closing Thoughts:

In the course of just a few seasons, Eric Gagne became a man who specialized in snatching losses from the jaws of victory. He had seven blown saves in 2008, and four blown leads which is a stat I think Baseball-Reference came up with just to twist the knife on Gagne. He wasn’t terrible in 2008 and the team was 34-16 with him in the game, but Gagne was directly involved in all 16 of those losses. He had obviously lost his stuff and his signing was in the tail-end of Milwaukee’s mad dash for aging stars, and it was apparent that he just wasn’t going to fit. If anything positive really did come from Gagne’s career as a Brewer, it was the fact that he bought me (and like 10,000 other fans) tickets to a game where Ryan Braun hit a walk-off grand slam. Thanks, buddy.

Dave Bush -  Dave Bush is about as forgettable a pitcher as you will find in this day and age. In his career as a starting pitcher, Bush lost 13 more games than he won, had an ERA of 4.70, and is one of only 3 pitchers in the history of baseball to give up back-to-back-to-back-to back home runs. That will be his legacy. Is it any wonder that he found his way onto this list.

Colin’s Overall Grade: D

Stats:

DB’s pitching Line as a Brewer:  46-53 record, 4.80 ERA, started 144 games, logged 870 innings, allowed 910 hits, 464 earned runs, 129 home runs, 232 walks, and 605 strikeouts. 

DB’s playoff Line:  This is a little surprising… 1-0 record, in 1 appearance (only series win of the 2008 NLDS), pitched 5.1 innings, gave up 1 run, and struck out 3 batters. 

While his regular season numbers are…well, terrible.  I always forget that he won the team it’s first playoff game since 1982, so at least he has that to hang his hat on.  I feel like that one game will not be enough to save him from being inducted into “The Hall”.  

He also flirted with 2 no-hitters as a Brewer: once in 2008 against the Blue Jays (broken up in the 8th inning) and again in 2009 against the Phillies (broken up after 7.1 innings). 

Money/Contract:

Over his 5 years in Milwaukee, Bush was paid a little over $11.5 million.  Which compared to the 1yr – $10 million that Gagne got, doesn’t seem to bad.  However, when you are paying a pitcher $4 million a season (’09 and ’10), a 13-22 record during that stretch just does not cut it. 

Bush was not the victim of the free-agent over-pay, like our 3 previous nominees.  The Brewers acquired Bush in a trade with the Blue Jays.  In 2006 and 2007 he actually had winning records as a starter for the Crew.  Then it slowly started to spiral downward.  Bush lost velocity and movement on all of his pitches and therefore is no longer in the major leagues.  Is anyone else noticing a theme here?

So far, Bush probably has the most favorable grade in this category (or least favorable, depending on how you look at it).  Dave was not a complete waste of money, is what I am really trying to say.  He had some moments and contributed…what he could. 

Like-ability:

Dave is a very like-able guy.  Very quiet and soft spoken, did a lot of charity work while he was in Milwaukee.  Never had anything bad to say about anyone.  I wish I had more for you on that front.  Dave Bush has a sterling reputation amongst players and media…so, I got nothin’.

Colin’s Final Thoughts:

Remember Dave Bush? Chances are that was because you bought tickets to a game he was pitching, and he probably lost that game. I only say that because in 144 games started in Milwaukee, Bush lost 56 of them. 56. In his best years, Dave Bush only managed to have a game over a .500 record. I know records don’t account for much, but his is still pretty awful. His lowest loss total with Milwaukee came in 2009, when he went 5-9 in a season shortened by injury, and I assume, a lack of ability to get batters out. Among active pitchers, Bush has the tenth highest Walks per Nine Innings rating which is impressive considering that he isn’t playing Major League ball in 2012. I assume Dave Bush is now somewhere nice and quiet where he can spend his days growing his scraggly uneven beard and practice hitting the broad side of a barn.

Every team/sport has it’s own Hall of Fame or variations there of; Ring of Honor, Retired Numbers, and so on. But what about the players whose teams and fan-bases do not want them back, or want them associated with their team. I think that it is time those players got the credit they justly deserve. 

Over the next 5 weeks, 10 former Brewers will be nominated for consideration into “The Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”. Each week, a different RtB staffer, or friend of RtB will chose two players who are not very near and dear to their hearts.  I will then dissect why these men are worthy of this faux-honor. 

Once all 10 players have been nominated, you will vote on which two players belong in the first HOBWWM class. Qualifications break down into 3 primary categories; stats, money/contract, and overall likeability. This is where we will separate the men from the boys. 

To start us off, I have chosen two fairly recent Brewers; Jeff Suppan and Guillermo Mota.  

Jeff Suppan (37) doing his best to make into any "Hall" -- Photo: Robert Benson-US PRESSWIRE

Jeff Suppan – I know what you are all thinking, “What a Cheap Pick”. But who better for this type of honor? Plus, who knows about (hates) Suppan more than yours truly. That being the case, I am going to keep personal feelings out of this and focus on the categories at hand…I hate Jeff Suppan.  Ok, that was the last one.

Brewers Stats: One Word Description — laughable

Jeff Suppan’s regular season pitching line as a Brewer looks like this:  29-36 in 97 starts, 5.08 ERA, 577 innings pitched, 700 hits allowed, 326 earned runs, 221 walks, 302 K’s, and averaged 11 hits per 9 innings of work.  

Suppan’s Playoff pitching line: 0-1 in 1 start, 15.00 ERA, 3 innings pitched, 6 hits allowed, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strike outs, and was on pace to give up 18 hits if he had pitched 9 innings.  

These stats would be deemed ok, for say the 5th starter in a rotation.  The problem was, Suppan was not a #5 starter in our rotation.  In 2007 Suppan gave up 243 hits, which was the 2nd most by any pitcher in the league that year.  Which is depressing, because that was his best statistical year as a Brewers.  That season, ol’ Supp had his best Brewers ERA…4.62 

Money/Contract:

I have a hard time faulting Suppan for this.  The Brewers fell victim to one of sports biggest blunders.  Giving an average player, a huge contract, based solely on a singular playoff performance.  In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series and Suppan was a huge part of that.  Jeff was even awarded the NLCS MVP for his postseason work.  

And despite the countless times, this free-agency tactic has blown up in an organizations collective face…the Brewers thought they would give it a try. 

Our management was stupid enough to give him a 4-year, $40 million dollar contract.  Then to add to the stupidity, they back-loaded the contract.  So, as Suppan got worse, the team paid him more.  The guy got paid $12.75 million dollars in 2010, FOR MAKING 2 STARTS AND GIVING UP 27 RUNS!!!!!   While the money and contract were not entirely Suppan’s fault, if you are going to sign a contract of that size…you should probably try to win more games than you lose.  As we are all fully aware, Jeff did not do that.  Which is why I believe that this is one of the worst signings in the history of the Brewers organization.  And that is why I also believe that Jeff is most deserving of his spot in “The Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.   

Likeability:  

This is the hardest part of this.  Jeff Suppan is a super nice guy.  Now, I have never met him, but I have never heard anyone say a bad thing about him as a person.  Plenty of people rip on his pitching abilities, but no one can call this guy anything other than a model citizen.  Very involved in charity and community work, the guy is hard not to like (when he is not on the field, that is).

Jeff Suppan is not a bad guy, just a below average pitcher that a team way overpaid.  Do you think he deserves to be in the HOBWWM?

Guillermo Mota gives up the ball, after hallucinating about a purple hippo, due to cough medicine consumption. Photo: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Guillermo Mota — His time with the Brewers was brief and very forgettable.  Mota pitched in Milwaukee for one season, 2008.  The only thing I really remember about Mota, was that every time I watched him pitch (this was before I began writing for this site, so I did not have access to watch as many games) he started with a walk and followed it up with a home-run.  In fact, the one time I saw him pitch in person was with my family.  The Brewers had a 4-3 lead on the Pirates going into the 8th inning.  Dale Sveum (because he was the coach at this point), put in Mota to hold the lead.  Instead, Mota did what I knew him to do….walk, home run, Pirates lead 4-5.  Thank goodness for Prince Fielder winning that game in the bottom of the 9th.  But, that is a story for another time.

Brewers Stats: One Word Description — underwhelming

Mota’s pitching line in a Brewers uniform: 5-6 record, a 4.11 ERA, 58 games, 52 hits, 26 earned runs, 28 walks, and 50 K’s. 

Mota pitched in the playoffs for us (if you can believe that): No decisions, 1.2 innings, a 5.40 ERA, and he gave up a home run. 

There is a reason the team did not bring him back for 2009, he just isn’t that good.  His numbers speak for themselves.  There is nothing memorable or special about this guy.

Money/Contract:

You will notice that both of my nominee’s are in the pool for the HOBWWM because of getting overpaid and then underproducing.

The Brewers needed some more depth in the bullpen going into 2008.  Mota was the definition of a “filler arm”.  His best years where in the early 2000′s and he had been a sub-4 ERA bullpen arm for the better part of 4 years leading up to his Brewers run.

That aside, the Brewers agreed to pay Mota $3.2 million for a season of work.  Which, for those of you playing along at home, was (and still is) the biggest contract of his career.  Just another example of the Brewers over-reaching for a bullpen arm.  Something that they did quite frequently during the latter haf of the decade. 

Likeability:

This one is tricky because he is not necessarily a bad guy.  However, Mota has tested positive for Clenbuterol, a banned substance in baseball, not once…but twice.  Which Mota quickly blamed on Children’s cough medicine.  An acceptable answer…if you are 8years old, or making meth.

The first positive test came prior to the 2007 season, he was suspended for 50 games.  Which obviously added to his resume, since the Brewers then went out and paid him $3mil.  Then, just week ago, Mota tested positive again and received a 100-game suspension. 

Not too much dirt on the guy otherwise.  His teammates in San Francisco like him and are anxious to get him back, so take that for what it is worth. 

Closing Statement: 

Both of these men are deserving, for the same reason.  Had Suppan and Mota both pitched at a slightly higher level, none of this would be necessary.  The Brewers overpaid both of these men, putting an incredible amount of weight on their shoulders.  I can not even begin to imagine the amount of stress that puts on you to perform. 

In closing, while I can not blame either of these men for the money given to them, I can sure as heck blame them for their lack of performance.  When a player is paid a large amount of money, there are certain expectations that should be met.  I will not miss these two Brewers, because in the end they did not hold up their end of the bargain.  And that is why Jeff Suppan and Guillermo Mota deserve to be in the “Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”.

OK, so that may not be entirely true, but it’s still important to cruise around the blogosphere (or tumblverse, depending on where your loyalties lie) to catch up on the conversation with the man on the street. This new semi-regular segment hopes to capture those fan’s perspective and keep you informed on goings-on around the Central, without you having to actually surf through all of this news yourself.

We start with our Fansided friends from around the Central Division.

(more…)