Results tagged ‘ George Kottaras ’

Opportunity knocks for catchers

With No. 1 catcher Jonathan Lucroy expected to spend the next month recovering from surgery for a fractured pinkie, there exists the real possibility that either George Kottaras or Wil Nieves, or perhaps Mike Rivera, will make his first-ever Opening Day start. None of those players were celebrating that possibility on Thursday morning. 

“It’s always sad to see one of your teammates getting hurt,” said Nieves, who joined the Brewers as a free agent in December. “I don’t see George or Lucroy or the other guys as competition, I see them as teammates.”
Said Kottaras: “I’m just going to go out and do what I needed to do in the first place. I’m going to try to get better, and that was the whole goal coming in.”
 
The catchers were working on fielding throws from the outfield on Wednesday morning when a ball skipped on the hard infield and fractured his right pinkie finger. Lucroy finished the drill, but later underwent x-rays that revealed the broken bone. 
“The grass was a little bit fast and the ball was skipping hard,” Nieves said. “You feel bad for him, but I told him, ‘You’re going to be fine.’ I know he was excited for this season, and he still should be excited. If he misses a couple of games, it’s not going to be a big deal. He’s a strong kid.”
Lucroy is expected to miss about four weeks, putting him on track to be healed about a week before the Brewers’ March 31 opener in Cincinnati. But Lucroy might have to stay back in extended Spring Training to get back into hitting and throwing shape.
The Brewers will make those determinations deeper into Lucroy’s rehabilitation. 
Nieves has been a part of five Opening Day rosters — two with the Yankees and three with the Nationals — but has never started. In Washington, the reserves lined up along the foul lines while the starters ran in from the outfield on a red carpet, with fireworks exploding overhead. 
Rivera was on the Opening Day roster in 2008 and 2009. Kottaras was on Milwaukee’s Opening Day roster last year. 
“I feel one step ahead because I know some of the guys and I’m so used to catching them in the past,” Kottaras said. “When I came in last year I didn’t know anybody, their tendencies and so forth. having that year’s experience with the guys, I feel more comfortable.”
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Cain gets start in series finale

For the third straight day against the Reds, the Brewers lineup featured a different starter in center field. After Carlos Gomez and Chris Dickerson started the first two games, manager Ken Macha had rookie Lorenzo Cain in the lineup Wednesday.

At shortstop, rookie Alcides Escobar got a second straight day off, with veteran Craig Counsell in the lineup once again. When asked Tuesday about starting September callup Luis Cruz instead of Counsell, Macha said he would not do it against a contender like the Reds.
The only other change to the usual lineup featured George Kottaras behind the plate, as he typically is when veteran lefty Randy Wolf is on the mound.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Counsell  SS
Cain  CF
Kottaras  C
Wolf  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Could Lucroy behind plate help struggling Parra?

MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Ken Macha shook up his catching rotation Saturday night, putting rookie Jonathan Lucroy behind the plate with lefty starter Manny Parra.

 

Over his past three outings, Parra had been paired with backup catcher George Kottaras, as a result of Lucroy’s struggles with stopping Parra’s splitter, which resulted in several wild pitches.

“I had that because of balls getting back to the screen on the split,” Macha said. ” I just feel that we’re going to try this fit because of results we can get with Manny, so we’ll try somebody else back there.”

In three starts this month with Kottaras behind the plate, Parra has a 1-2 record with a 10.89 ERA, allowing 19 earned runs over 16 innings on 28 hits, including five home runs.

Conversely, in five starts with Lucroy catching during the month of June, the Brewers left-hander went 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA, allowing 13 runs on 29 hits (four homers) over 29 innings.

Parra’s had 36 strikeouts against 13 walks in June, compared with 12 against 7 this month.

So does Macha think having Lucroy behind the plate is the going to result in a better outing for Parra?

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Macha said. “How did he do last time out? Sometimes catchers and pitchers get on the same page and it happens.”

– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter

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Hart out of lineup; Edmonds, Inglett in

With All-Star right fielder Corey Hart sporting a protective wrap on his right wrist after injuring it last night on a long foul ball in the third inning, Brewers manager Ken Macha has Joe Inglett starting in right field for Saturday’s contest against the Nationals.
Alongside Inglett will be veteran Jim Edmonds in center field. Additionally, catcher Jonathan Lucroy is in to start, despite left-handed starter Manny Parra being on the mound. Recently, George Kottaras had gotten the start behind the plate with Parra on the mound.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:

Weeks  2B

Inglett  RF
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Edmonds  CF
Escobar  SS
Lucroy  C
Parra  LHP
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Kottaras, Counsell in starting lineup

It’s Cerveceros Day at Miller Park and the Brewers are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since winning five in a row from June 20-25.

As they do so, they’ll once again be without the services of rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who is out with a sore right hand. Lucroy’s fellow rookie, Alcides Escobar also is out of the lineup.
In place of Lucroy and Escobar will be catcher George Kottaras behind the plate and veteran infielder Craig Counsell at shortstop.
Aside from those changes, manager Ken Macha also flipped the spots of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder once again, batting Braun third ahead of Fielder in the cleanup spot.
Here’s the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Counsell  SS
Gomez  CF
Kottaras  C
Bush  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Counsell at shortstop vs. lefty Bumgarner

As promised by manager Ken Macha, rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar got the day off Tuesday in the Brewers’ second of a four-game series against the Giants at Miller Park. 

Macha said he would give Escobar at least two of the final six games off before the All-Star break, and Tuesday was the first, as veteran Craig Counsell was in the lineup for the Crew with left-handed rookie Madison Bumgarner on the hill for San Francisco.
The rest of the lineup is as would be expected, with George Kottaras starting in place of rookie Jonathan Lucroy as lefty Randy Wolf takes the mound for Milwaukee.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Counsell  SS
Gomez  CF
Kottaras  C
Wolf  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Edmonds, Kottaras in starting lineup

One night after belting back-to-back home runs in the fourth to put the Brewers on top against the Mariners, speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez and rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy got the day off Saturday.

Gomez belted the eventual game-winning home run against the Mariners, but the speedy center fielder is back on the bench, in favor of left-handed hitting Jim Edmonds.

It’s beginning to appear as though manager Ken Macha plans to use Gomez and Edmonds in a strict platoon with Edmonds facing right-handed starters and Gomez starting versus lefties.
Behind the plate, catcher George Kottaras gets the nod as Lucroy sits one day after hitting his first career home run and taking his first curtain call.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Edmonds  CF
Escobar  SS
Kottaras  C
Wolf  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter 

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Counsell, Kottaras in starting lineup

It’s Family Day at Miller Park, which means the infield is filled with the likes of Yovani Gallardo Jr. and Jaden and Haven Fielder, among others. 

Today’s lineup is mostly the same as it has been the last couple games, with two exceptions. At shortstop, Craig Counsell will start in place of Alcides Escobar and behind the plate, George Kottaras will start after sitting three consecutive days.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Edmonds  CF
Counsell  SS
Kottaras  C
Gallardo  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Lucroy getting his shot behind the plate

MILWAUKEE — He hasn’t been named the No. 1 catcher for the Brewers’ just yet, but rookie Jonathan Lucroy is certainly going to get a chance to earn the spot.

 

Lucroy, who was called up on May 21 in place of injured starter Gregg Zaun, started his third straight game behind the plate for the Brewers on Saturday. With three starts on the homestand, Lucroy has doubled his career total.

One thing that Lucroy brings to the table is something the Brewers haven’t had all season, a catcher who can consistently throw runners out. In seven games — one of which he entered late as a pinch hitter — Lucroy has thrown out two of five runners attempting to steal.

“We’re trying to address the stolen bases,” manager Ken Macha said, referring to his decision to start Lucroy. “He’s certainly done a nice job so far with that.”

While throwing out base runners is just one of many parts of his job as a catcher, Lucroy admits it’s one aspect in which he really strives for success.

“I take a lot of pride in doing that; I fully enjoy throwing people out,” Lucroy said. “I do my best every day to be perfect in that regard because that’s one part of the game I feel like I can control.

“You really can’t control a lot of parts of the game, so I feel like I can really contribute a lot by throwing runners out and keeping guys off base the best I can.”

With Kottaras 0-for-7 on the current homestand and 3-for-25 with just three walks this month, Lucroy is getting his chance to show what he can bring to the table.

According to Macha, since he’s joined the big league club, Lucroy has been the hardest worker in the clubhouse, routinely arriving at the ballpark six or seven hours before the first pitch.

But as with every other position, it all boils down to results for Macha.

“Everybody gets an opportunity,” Macha said. “It’s up to production. So, get some hits, throw out some runners, catch a winner, that’s all part of the formula.”

Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com

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Kottaras batting 2nd, Gomez 7th

One night removed from their second consecutive walk-off win, the Brewers lineup features just one change, but it is a surprising one. 

Catcher George Kottaras, who has recently taken over as the team’s No. 1 guy behind the plate, is in the No. 2 hole, while center fielder Carlos Gomez is dropped to the No. 7 slot. Last night, Gomez batted second while Kottaras batted seventh.
The only other difference from last night sees Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder back to their usual positions as the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, respectively. 
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Kottaras  C
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Hart  RF
Gomez  CF
Escobar  SS
Parra  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter

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