It was not surprising Monday when Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost said he decided to plug veteran right-hander Rick Helling into the starting rotation for the game tonight against Detroit at Miller Park.
<TABLE style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 20px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: italic 10px/12px verdana, arial, helvetica; COLOR: #666; PADDING-TOP: 0px" align=middle>Advertisement</TD></TR><TR><TD class=ad_display align=middle><SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!-- DisplayAds('Middle1',160,600);// --></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://oascentral.onwisconsin.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/jsonline.com/sports/brewers/story/438500/1782143927@Middle1"><!-- --></SCRIPT><!-- --><!-- ---------- Advertising.com Banner Code -------------- --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript> var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 * Math.random())+1); document.write('<SCR'+'IPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" '); document.write('SRC="http://servedby.advertising.com/site=700588/size=160600/bnum='+bnum+'/optn=1"></SCR'+'IPT>'); </SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://servedby.advertising.com/site=700588/size=160600/bnum=20991861/optn=1"></SCRIPT><!-- ---------- Copyright 2000, Advertising.com ---------- --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>What was unexpected was the decision to keep 22-year-old right-hander Carlos Villanueva on the pitching staff in a relief role rather than returning him to the minors to start games.
"I imagine we'll keep him," Yost said. "Villanueva can pitch in several areas. He can pitch long or in the middle, or an inning or two if we need him."
The latest pitcher to get a chance to fill one of the spots vacated by injured starters Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka, Villanueva pitched six scoreless innings in his first major-league start last week in Cincinnati. Rather than continuing to count on a young, inexperienced pitcher, Yost decided to go with the 35-year-old Helling.
Yost remembered how well Helling performed late last season after Sheets went down with a torn muscle behind his pitching shoulder. In six September starts, Helling was 2-1 with a 1.69 earned run average.
"He's always been a workhorse out there," Yost said. "You expect him to go out there and be on the attack."
Yost also figured that the regular schedule of pitching every five days would be better for Helling's elbow than getting up and down on a moment's notice in the bullpen. Various tests performed on Helling's elbow ruled out structural damage but he admitted that it didn't feel as solid as before the injury.
"In all honesty, it doesn't feel much different than it did two months ago," he said. "I don't have any doubts about its stability. It's just a matter of figuring out what kind of treatment is best for it.
"I hope it goes away completely but I don't know if it will. I have good days and bad days, and even some pain on some pitches. I've pitched through a lot of things but never a sore elbow. But I told them don't worry about my arm. I'll do whatever it takes."
Helling said he wasn't completely convinced he was ready to return until his last outing with Class AAA Nashville, when he pitched seven strong innings (three hits, one run, no walks, five strikeouts) and showed command of all of his pitches.
He said he wasn't sure whether the elbow problem cost him velocity on his fastball but added, "I've never been a (radar) gun guy anyway."
It might not be the best timing for Helling's return to action. Pudge Rodriguez, a former batterymate in Texas, now catches for the Tigers.
"He probably has caught more of my games than anybody else, by far," Helling said. "He will give them as good a scouting report as they can get."
<TABLE style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 20px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: italic 10px/12px verdana, arial, helvetica; COLOR: #666; PADDING-TOP: 0px" align=middle>Advertisement</TD></TR><TR><TD class=ad_display align=middle><SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!-- DisplayAds('Middle1',160,600);// --></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://oascentral.onwisconsin.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/jsonline.com/sports/brewers/story/438500/1782143927@Middle1"><!-- --></SCRIPT><!-- --><!-- ---------- Advertising.com Banner Code -------------- --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript> var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 * Math.random())+1); document.write('<SCR'+'IPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" '); document.write('SRC="http://servedby.advertising.com/site=700588/size=160600/bnum='+bnum+'/optn=1"></SCR'+'IPT>'); </SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://servedby.advertising.com/site=700588/size=160600/bnum=20991861/optn=1"></SCRIPT><!-- ---------- Copyright 2000, Advertising.com ---------- --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>What was unexpected was the decision to keep 22-year-old right-hander Carlos Villanueva on the pitching staff in a relief role rather than returning him to the minors to start games.
"I imagine we'll keep him," Yost said. "Villanueva can pitch in several areas. He can pitch long or in the middle, or an inning or two if we need him."
The latest pitcher to get a chance to fill one of the spots vacated by injured starters Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka, Villanueva pitched six scoreless innings in his first major-league start last week in Cincinnati. Rather than continuing to count on a young, inexperienced pitcher, Yost decided to go with the 35-year-old Helling.
Yost remembered how well Helling performed late last season after Sheets went down with a torn muscle behind his pitching shoulder. In six September starts, Helling was 2-1 with a 1.69 earned run average.
"He's always been a workhorse out there," Yost said. "You expect him to go out there and be on the attack."
Yost also figured that the regular schedule of pitching every five days would be better for Helling's elbow than getting up and down on a moment's notice in the bullpen. Various tests performed on Helling's elbow ruled out structural damage but he admitted that it didn't feel as solid as before the injury.
"In all honesty, it doesn't feel much different than it did two months ago," he said. "I don't have any doubts about its stability. It's just a matter of figuring out what kind of treatment is best for it.
"I hope it goes away completely but I don't know if it will. I have good days and bad days, and even some pain on some pitches. I've pitched through a lot of things but never a sore elbow. But I told them don't worry about my arm. I'll do whatever it takes."
Helling said he wasn't completely convinced he was ready to return until his last outing with Class AAA Nashville, when he pitched seven strong innings (three hits, one run, no walks, five strikeouts) and showed command of all of his pitches.
He said he wasn't sure whether the elbow problem cost him velocity on his fastball but added, "I've never been a (radar) gun guy anyway."
It might not be the best timing for Helling's return to action. Pudge Rodriguez, a former batterymate in Texas, now catches for the Tigers.
"He probably has caught more of my games than anybody else, by far," Helling said. "He will give them as good a scouting report as they can get."
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