Turnbow Has To Go

With the Brewers trailing 13-5 in the 8th, Derrick Turnbow entered last nights game with a chance to answer critics and let us know if he's a major league pitcher . After 2/3 innings of work and 6 runs surrendered, Turnbow let us know alright, he's not capable of pitching at the major league level.

Ned Yost already knew he couldn't trust Turnbow in tight spots, he even admitted as much after Turnbow's performance over the weekend. Last night though, Yost should have realized he cannot trust Derrick Turnbow period.

Whatever Turnbow had is gone. His fastball isn't as intimidating anymore because he has no second pitch. Last nights performance could end up being the best thing to happen to the Brewers this season. Maybe it will be the final straw for Doug Melvin and Ned Yost, and they'll finally realize Turnbow has no spot on this roster.

His performance this year has been absolutely terrible. Turnbow's lone bright spot on the season was the save he picked up against the Phillies. Other than that, 0-1 and a 15.63 era. Turnbow has pitched in 8 games this season, going 6 1/3 innings. In those innings, he's served up 11 runs (all earned) and given up 12 hits. The most alarming statistic is his walks. In just over 6 innings, Turnbow has walked an astound 13 batters and only struck out 5. In 4 of his 8 outings he's given up at least 1 run, 2 or more in 3 of the 4. More than that, he's walked at least one batter in each of his 8 outings. I cannot even begin to describe how unacceptable that is.

The Brewers knew what they had coming in. In their heart of hearts, they knew they couldn't trust this guy anymore - they hoped the could but they knew better than that. Why do you think they didn't just add a closer, they added 3 other setup men?

If they continue to try and hide him on the roster, he's only going to hurt them. After last night's performance, the decisions should have been made this morning to place him on waivers. No team in their right mind is going to put a claim on him. Even if some team thought they could salvage Turnbow, they'd be hesitant to do so because of the more than $3 million salary that comes with him. Thats really their only option. He has zero trade value.

For the life of me I don't get how they so easily gave up on Bush and optioned him down, yet Derrick Turnbow continues to have a spot on this roster.

Assuming they eventually outright release him or at least send him down to AAA, I thought I'd put together a list of potential Nashville Sounds players to take his spot:

Erasmo Ramirez
Ramirez has pitched 10 2/3 innings this season, giving up 2 earned runs, striking out 6 and only walking 1. His low walks total is a far cry from what we've seen out of Turnbow. Ramirez is also a left hander who's pitched in the majors before with the Rangers, A's and Marlins.




Ben Howard
Howard is a right hander who can go multiple innings. He's bounced around the minor leagues, spending time with the AAA affiliates of the Red Sox, Marlins, Padres, Indians and Cubs to name a few. This season in Nashville he's 1-0 with a 2.31 era in 11 2/3 innings. Howard has also appeared in the majors before, having pitched for the Padres from 2002-2003 and spent 2004 with the Marlins. Sadly, he is probably most known for being involved in the car accident that killed his teammate Mike Darr.

Russell Branyan
Russell "The Muscle" many fans probably remember from his stint with the Crew in 2006. Branyan still holds the distinction of hitting two of the longest home runs I've ever seen at Miller Park, including arguably the longest shot in Miller Park history. He has a high propensity for drawing walks and striking out, as well as crushing the long ball. He leads the sounds in doubles and is second on the team in RBI, but the most astonishing turn of events is his batting average. He's batting an eye-popping .368 after 23 games this season. Branyan is capable of playing both third and first, as well as both corner outfield spots. His bat off the bench may be just what this right handed heavy team needs.

Joe Dillon
10 days have passed since his demotion, so Dillon can be recalled. Dillon is a favorite of Yost, and as we've seen very versatile. Although Yost does like him, I think Branyan would get the call before we see Dillon again. Dillon can play all of the infield positions well, but Counsell is their top infield reserve. As we've seen last year, Dillon can struggle judging flies in the outfield. Dillon really is a career AAAA player. He does enough things well, but doesn't really do anything that good.

Dave Bush is probably the obvious choice to take the roster spot, but Bush needs to remain in AAA for at least 10 days, barring injury.