Yesterday it was announced that LHP Chris Narveson would be spending a few days out in the bullpen. This move was not made based on performance, or due to his little thumb injury. In fact, this move was made due to the number of off days the Brewers have over the next week and a half. If Narveson stayed in the rotation, it would throw off other starting pitchers schedule of 5 days rest. In one case, Zack Greinke, it would go from 5 days to 7 days of rest, which apparently no one was a fan of (especially Roenicke and Kranitz).
This move is interesting to me. Perhaps most interesting, is the fact that this is a likely NLDS preview. Once you make it to the playoffs, you have to tighten things up. What does that mean? You take your 4 best starting pitchers (Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Wolf) and use them exclusively. Should something happen to one of them, or they have a rough outing, you can bring in a reliable left handed pitcher from the bullpen. Narveson is too good of a pitcher to be left off the playoff roster ( Barry Zito of the Giants last season), so you prep him now for his role in the playoffs. This makes a lot of sense.
Another interesting aspect of this story is that Narveson is totally cool with this move.
"It’s good to keep guys on their regular rest, and this is just one of the casualties of it. I’ll go to the bullpen now for a couple of days, and if I get a chance, go out there and try to do the job. In the postseason, if you have to come out of the bullpen, this kind of prepares you or helps you to do that. I told [coaches], all it is is a change of routine."
How selfless can you be? This is a guy who sees the big picture. Narveson knows that something special is Brewing in Milwaukee and he is just happy to be a part of it. This could not be working out any better. The team needs him out there and he is more than willing to be out there. (Not to mention the fact that Marco Estrada is much better as a starter than out of the bullpen.) Narveson has really been impressive this year, I think that he has a very bright future with this franchise and this move only solidifies his commitment to this team. My hat goes off to Chris Narveson.
BREAKING NEWS: Starting on Monday, the RtB staff will be breaking down the 5 greatest mustaches in Brewers history. We would love to have as much feedback from all of you as possible. Tell us if we are right or wrong, but when it comes to mustaches…no one is ever wrong. Be sure to look for that starting next Monday with our #5 greatest Brewers mustache.
Brewers Magic Number : 22
If you did not know, today is an off day for the Crew. That being the case, I would maybe kick back and root for the Pirates to smoke the Cardinals tonight. Go Brewers!!!!
This is for Joe; Hey Cardinals fans!! Scoreboard!!