Brewers 1982

Covering the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the 1982 season, in real-time, as it would have happpened.

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Letters to the Sports Desk (6/10/82 Milwaukee Journal)

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The following is extracted from the “Letters to the Sports Desk” in the Milwaukee Journal from June 10, 1982. Enjoy!

Dear Harvey: no chew, please

Harvey Kuenn
Park it, Harvey!

Dear Harvey [Kuenn],

Congratulations on becoming the new manager of the Brewers. I wish you all the luck in the world, but I’m sure you know how to handle it. You’ve faced greater adversity before.

I have one suggestion for you. On future TV interviews would you kindly not chew tobacco? It’s revolting to look at a black mass in your mouth, and a little dripping down the side. In living color. I was eating. Need I say more?

Please take your wad and park it when speaking.

I have often wondered why baseball players consider this vile habit part of “their thing.” In no other sport do I see it so blatantly used. I hope Audrey doesn’t use it, too.

Also, Mike Caldwell lighting a cigaret in the dugout is a no-no for all the youth of America.

MRS. ELMER WEISER (Whitewater)

Rollie: shave, then keep quiet

I wish Rollie Fingers would shave off that goofy mustache, concentrate on his pitching, keep his big mouth shut and stop criticizing [former] Manager Buck Rodgers for trying to do a good, honest job.

I’m sorry the Brewers hired Rollie Fingers. He’s a troublemaker and will never be an asset to the team. He should have been fired, not Buck Rodgers.

STEVE STEWART (Milwaukee)

Well, Harry Dalton really took the easy way out by firing Buck Rodgers. The Brewers lose a few games, so Dalton feels he has to appease the fans.

And we all know who the Brewers’ biggest fan is — Bud Selig. Pressure was coming from the top on Dalton for a change, a spark, something to get the Brewers winning, and firing Buck was the easiest thing to do.

Rodgers is the same manager who managed the Brewers to the playoffs in 1981. He is also the same manager who managed Rollie Fingers to his Cy Young and MVP awards. The main difference in the team this year is the players are all a year older.

I’d like to commend Buck Rodgers for all he’s done for the Brewers and the City of Milwaukee. He brought us to the playoffs, something no other manager has done. And when he left us, he left with class, just like the class man he is. Buck, you’ll be missed in Milwaukee.

CAROL WESTON (Milwaukee)

When Buck Rodgers was fired, he mentioned that two “cancers” were members of the Milwaukee Brewers. And, like many times before, The Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel took it upon them to identify these “cancers.”

Well, readers of the Journal and Sentinel, as few as they may be, the two Milwaukee papers blew it again. These two “cancers” happen to be The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel.

The Journal and Sentinel, continuing to do their “backseat” managing for the last three or four weeks, did more damage than any of the 25 players put together.

Even though the Brewers started to come out of it this last week, the Journal and Sentinel continued to bring up that “14 of the last 18” or “15 of the last 21” phrase. Why can’t you say the Brewers have won “two of the last three?” Is it too hard to be optimistic?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a big Buck Rodgers fan. But I believe the guy should have been given a little bit more time. Seven games out is not that big a deficit. Only George Steinbrenner has shown less patience.

DAN LAVINIO (Greenfield)

I wonder how Steve Aschburner would like it if one day he picked up The Journal and there in big headlines was, “Who wants Steve Aschburner? Not The Journal Readers!”

I am not necessarily a Brewer fan, but I can’t remember when I have been so outraged and offended as I was on Sunday, May 30, when I read the headline, “Who wants Roy Howell? Not the Brewers.”

What gives The Journal the right to totally devastate a family and a young man in the prime of his life by writing such a mean and hateful headline?

Sure, the Brewers are down on their luck, but why pick on one player? If he did indeed lack confidence in his playing ability, can you imagine what the headline and article must have done for his confidence?

In my opinion, those six words could crush a young man’s spirit for the rest of his life. The headline and article brought me close to tears for the dreadful hurt this must have caused Roy and his family.

VIRGINIA ULRICH (Mequon)

Brewers a New Team under Kuenn?

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A day off today? Not fair for any pundit trying to gauge this team. It is far too easy to take this down time to proclaim the Brewers a new team under interim manager Harvey Kuenn.

So I won’t do it.

Harvey Kuenn
Could Harvey Kuenn be a difference maker?

What do we know? We know that Buck Rodgers was a bad fit. We tried to accept him for a while. We blamed a bad attitude here, bad luck there. But Brewers fans have collectively come to the realization that the reason for their team’s under performance may have been much easier to explain than we thought.

When rumors surfaced of Rodgers’ demise weeks ago, you couldn’t find a player who had their manager’s back. And whether it was Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons, Mike Caldwell, Pete Vuckovich, Roy Howell, Jim Gantner or the countless other malcontents, someone was always spouting off.

Players weren’t happy. They didn’t respect their manager. The inmates were running the asylum, and they were plenty crazy. Should it be any wonder that they played below expectations?

Roy Howell is a role player. He never understood his role. As a result, he was never happy when each day passed by and he wasn’t on the lineup card. Isn’t this a communication issue? Howell should never be surprised about when he will or will not be playing.

Buck Rodgers lacked confidence in his starting pitchers, often giving them the hook rather than letting them fight their way through jams. Based on complaints from Mike Caldwell, it’s also possible that he lacked respect for pitchers in general. Is it any wonder that the rotation as a whole has been shaky?

In steps Harvey Kuenn, destination unknown. He’s known as a loose leader, one who wants his players to relax and have fun. He’s a communicator. He’s everything that Buck Rodgers wasn’t.

The change, whether directly or indirectly, resulted in a win. One win in one game. But what we saw were things we had seen rarely during the past two months. A starter fought through his own jam and pitched a complete game, shutting down the opposition during the final three innings. The offense was timely, collecting 12 hits. And the defense didn’t commit an error.

Most importantly? The players are happy. For the most part, that was rarely the case under Rodgers, even after a win.

Soon after being fired, Rodgers didn’t hold back when referring to two cancers on the team. Given the time to cool off, he hasn’t backed down: “I can’t say too emphatically how good this club is, except for a couple of players. I know who they are, the players know who they are and the front office knows who they are. They may have tried to stab me in the back, but they didn’t get me fired. They’ve stabbed everyone they’ve been involved with in the past, and they’ll do the same in the future.”

We shouldn’t be surprised about reports surfacing that Mike Caldwell, during a card game on the May 30 flight after a 7-3 win over the Angels, said, “I hope we lose 10 games in a row just to get rid of that sucker.”

The Brewers are littered with strong personalities. They need someone to lead them. They don’t need someone who is paranoid, constantly worried about who is trying to stab them in the back. This happens when a leader fails to communicate or loses the respect of his team.

Does one win mean that the Brewers are World Series bound? Absolutely not. At .500 and in fifth place in the AL East, it may be too late to completely repair the damage. But there is every reason to believe that the atmosphere in the Brewers clubhouse is going to improve. The results should follow.

In other words, I just wrote an entire article doing what I said I wouldn’t in the opening paragraph. I have proclaimed the Brewers a new team after one game.

That’s what a day off will do to you.

It is Time for Change at the Top

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Buck Rodgers
Buck Rodgers is a bad fit for this veteran team.

In 1981, the Brewers were a loose, professional and happy bunch. They also won, and whether the former bred the latter or vice versa, the personality of the team and the results were starkly different last season than through May 23 of this season.

Far too much is going wrong:

  • Two players have demanded a trade already at some point in 1982. Charlie Moore started the trend in spring training and only agreed to stay once he was assured playing time in right field. Roy Howell requested his trade during the spring as well and continues to be unhappy about his role as the third third baseman. Yet there are no takers of his paltry batting average.
  • Rollie Fingers, who won both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 1981, has been less than perfect in 1982. He has lost five times when entering tied games. He’s also shown his displeasure with the way that he has been used.
  • Pete Vuckovich injured his ankle either when sliding down a slick hill behind Royals Stadium in a rain storm prior to the game or when a video game fell on it. Either way, his absence caused immediate problems on the staff (Jerry Augustine started that game in Kansas City and allowed 12 earned runs in five innings) and Vuke threatened to take legal action when rumors surfaced that he was less than forthcoming about the source of his injury.
  • Bob McClure was hit on the elbow by a line drive and missed time as well. The Brewers’ brass made a serious miscalculation when neither pitcher was replaced on the roster and the Brewers instead went with an eight-man staff while they awaited their return.
  • While there are some offensive players performing well (Paul Molitor is hitting .301, Robin Yount .291 and Cecil Cooper .340), others are downright offensive. Gorman Thomas went the entire month of April without a home run and is hitting .228. Ben Oglivie is hitting .224 and catcher Ted Simmons is hitting .203 and continues to look like his best days are behind him.
  • The Brewers aren’t getting consistent pitching. The staff is led by Moose Haas with a 3.22 ERA, but Mike Caldwell‘s is 4.45, Bob McClure’s is 5.14 and Randy Lerch‘s is 5.36, all pitchers who have made several starts. Pete Vuckovich may have a 3.79 ERA, but he hasn’t pitched since May 6.

The biggest problem, though, is a lack of leadership. Whether Buck Rodgers is a poor leader or simply a bad fit for this team, his players do not have his back. They routinely call him out in the press and refuse to sugarcoat their feelings about the man in charge.

And that, along with the swirling rumors that former team captain Sal Bando is ready to take over, are the main reasons that it is time to make a change. Even when they win, the team isn’t happy. They aren’t loose. And they aren’t professional.

It is time that the Brewers find a leader, as Bud Lea of the Milwaukee Sentinel said, who is more of a den mother than a major league manager. They need a leader who will stroke egos and let his players play instead of micromanaging with strategies that many of his players aren’t comfortable carrying out.

The Brewers need a player’s manager, and they need him now.

Pitching a Problem for Crew

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Rollie Fingers
Rollie Fingers leads the Brewers in strikeouts with 23. There is something very wrong with that.

The Brewers have a day off today, which gives us an opportunity to take a closer look at how the team stacks up with the rest of the league. Let’s focus on the dreaded “P” word: PITCHING.

I don’t think anyone needs to tell you that the Brewers have pitching problems. They’ve lost games in the past week by scores of 17-3, 9-7 and 13-2. Part of it is due to injuries. Both Pete Vuckovich (ankle) and Bob McClure (elbow) are out, and they haven’t been replaced on the staff. So not only is the team lacking two of it’s more dependable pitchers, but there is no depth to be found.

Once you look at the pitching leaders, you see just how dire the situation is. Mike Caldwell has one shutout, technically putting him in the top four (tied with several pitchers) in that category. Rollie Fingers is third in saves. But otherwise, no Brewers pitcher gets a sniff of the top.

The fourth best qualifying ERA in the American League is 2.15. The best qualifying ERA on the Brewers is 3.62, from Moose Haas. For goodness sake, Rollie Fingers is tied with Haas for the team lead in strikeouts with 23. The closer leads the team in strikeouts! By comparison, the fourth most strikeouts in the AL comes from starter Dennis Eckersley, with 42.

You can complain until you’re blue in the face about the offense. But this team needs more consistent pitching to win.

Stats through 5/16/82

AL Wins
1. La Marr Hoyt (CHW) – 7
2. Ron Guidry (NYY) – 5
3. Jack Morris (DET) – 5
4. Geoff Zahn (CAL) – 5
NL Wins
1. Don Sutton (HOU) – 6
2. Dickie Noles (CHC) – 5
3. F Valenzuela (LAD) – 5
4. Bruce Berenyi (CIN) – 4
Brewers Wins
1. Pete Vuckovich – 4
2. Randy Lerch – 3
3. Jim Slaton – 3
4. Dwight Bernard – 2
 
AL ERA
1. L Hoyt (CHW) – 1.43
2. Geoff Zahn (CAL) – 2.07
3. Don Aase (CAL) – 2.11
4. J Matlack (TEX) – 2.15
NL ERA
1. S Rogers (MON) – 1.93
2. S Sanderson (MON) – 2.34
3. B Berenyi (CIN) – 2.35
4. Mike Scott (NYM) – 2.36
Brewers ERA
1. Moose Haas – 3.62
2. Pete Vuckovich – 3.79
3. Mike Caldwell – 4.12
 
AL Strikeouts
1. Floyd Bannister (SEA) – 49
2. Gaylord Perry (SEA) – 47
3. Ron Guidry (NYY) – 42
4. Dennis Eckersley (BOS) – 41
NL Strikeouts
1. Mario Soto (CIN) – 66
2. Steve Carlton (PHI) – 63
3. Steve Rogers (MON) – 43
4. Tim Lollar (SDP) – 41
Brewers Strikeouts
1. Rollie Fingers – 23
2. Moose Haas – 23
3. Pete Vuckovich – 20
4. Dwight Bernard – 18
 
AL Saves
1. Salome Barojas (CHW) – 9
2. Dan Quisenberry (KCR) – 9
*3. Rollie Fingers (MIL) – 8
4. Rich Gossage (NYY) – 8
NL Saves
1. Bruce Sutter (STL) – 11
2. Neil Allen (NYM) – 9
3. Tom Hume (CIN) – 8
4. Gene Garber (ATL) – 7
Brewers Saves
1. Rollie Fingers – 8
2. Dwight Bernard – 1
3. Jim Slaton – 1
 
AL Innings
1. Ken Forsch (CAL) – 71.0
2. S McGregor (BAL) – 69.7
3. Rick Langford (OAK) – 68.0
4. Gaylord Perry (SEA) – 65.0
NL Innings
1. Steve Carlton (PHI) – 65.0
2. F Valenzuela (LAD) – 63.0
3. Mario Soto (CIN) – 62.7
4. Jerry Reuss (LAD) – 61.0
Brewers Innings
1. Moose Haas – 49.7
2. Mike Caldwell – 48.0
3. Pete Vuckovich – 40.3
4. Randy Lerch – 35.7
 
AL Hits Allowed
1. Rick Langford (OAK) – 73
2. Scott McGregor (BAL) – 69
3. Gaylord Perry (SEA) – 66
4. Mark Bomback (TOR) – 62
NL Hits Allowed
1. Steve Carlton (PHI) – 67
2. Bob Forsch (STL) – 60
3. J Eichelberger (SDP) – 59
4. Nolan Ryan (HOU) – 59
Brewers Hits Allowed
1. Mike Caldwell – 56
2. Moose Haas – 55
3. Pete Vuckovich – 40
4. Randy Lerch – 39
 
AL Shutouts
1. Dennis Eckersley (BOS) – 2
2. Dave Stieb (TOR) – 2
3. Geoff Zahn (CAL) – 2
*4. Mike Caldwell (MIL) – 1
NL Shutouts
1. Mike Krukow (PHI) – 2
2. Tim Lollar (SDP) – 2
3. Rick Mahler (ATL) – 2
4. Jerry Reuss (LAD) – 2
Brewers Shutouts
1. Mike Caldwell – 1
 
AL Complete Games
1. Ken Forsch (CAL) – 5
2. Rick Langford (OAK) – 5
3. Jack Morris (DET) – 5
4. Dennis Eckersley (BOS) – 4
NL Complete Games
1. F Valenzuela (LAD) – 4
2. Mike Krukow (PHI) – 3
3. Rick Mahler (ATL) – 3
4. Steve Rogers (MON) – 3
Brewers Complete Games
1. Mike Caldwell – 2
2. Pete Vuckovich – 1

Brewers Mediocre, but Well Positioned

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After 16 games, what do we know about the Milwaukee Brewers? They’re up, they’re down. In the end, they’re pretty mediocre. They’ve won more than they’ve lost, but they’ve also feasted on teams like the 7-11 Toronto Blue Jays.

The concern about this team is that we expected them to be the best (or one of the best) teams offensively this season. They haven’t been that so far. Other than a couple of blow-outs of the Blue Jays, they’ve been very average. You’ll see that in stats listed below. Very average in number of runs scored, hits, home runs… you know, all of the metrics you’d use to measure the effectiveness of an offense.

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Early Overreaction

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Rollie Fingers
The performance of Rollie Fingers is one of many things not going as expected early in 1982.

The 3-6 Brewers have a day off today, and depending on how you look at it that’s either a good thing or a bad thing. They’re in the midst of a five-game losing streak, and everything possible is going wrong. Starting pitching is struggling. Relief pitching, including Rollie Fingers, has been awful. The offense, until the final game of the Rangers’ series, has done nothing of late.

On one hand, it’s good to get a day off to shift focus. It also helps guys like Robin Yount, Larry Hisle, Charlie Moore and Jim Slaton get healthy.

On the other, it just gives you another day to think about how badly things are going. Many players will tell you that when in the middle of a losing streak, they want to get back out there as soon as they can to end it. Too much downtime can just make it worse.

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