Posted December 14, 2010, 10:15 p.m. CT
By BOB BRAINERD
FOXSportsWisconsin.com
MILWAUKEE -- On a frigid Wisconsin afternoon, newly acquired right-hander Shaun Marcum celebrated his 29th birthday by donning a Brewers jersey at a meet-and-greet Miller Park luncheon. But the way starting pitchers have labored in Milwaukee of late, you could make a case it was the Brewers unwrapping a present.
"I know one of our offseason goals, our No. 1 goal, was to acquire more pitching for our ballclub," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin. "Prior to going to the winter meetings we had some activity going on, but this came as a little bit of a surprise to us, being able to acquire someone of Shaun Marcum's abilities."
The price tag to swing a deal for the former Blue Jays starting pitcher was steep, depending on the angle you take when this trade goes under the microscope. Minor league second baseman Brett Lawrie, a Canadian and former first-round pick of the Brewers in 2008, swaps franchises so the Brewers can address their desperate need on the bump.
"This is kind of a dream come true to come back to the Midwest," said Marcum, a Kansas City native who still calls Missouri home. "And to play in a division and with a team that I think is very close to being in the playoffs, just like they were in '08."
And how does it feel to escape the brutal American League East?
"A lot better now after Boston went out and did what they did," said Marcum, referring to Boston's acquisition of outfielder Carl Crawford. "But being in that division, I learned a lot -- learned a lot about myself, learned how to pitch. When you're in a division like that, you can't just throw."
No doubt, a daunting task every fifth day, and yet Marcum was able to post more than respectable numbers in Toronto, going 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 31 starts. The Blue Jays' Opening Day starter cobbled together 20 quality starts, and logged a career-high with 195.1 innings pitched.
The Brewers are hoping all of those numbers transfer and translate to a dependable starting pitcher hurling against National League foes.
"Shaun is an excellent strike-thrower and one of the better competitors we saw pitch last season," said Melvin. "He has the ability to pitch at the top of the rotation along with Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf. He fills a hole in our staff that we needed to fill."
Now comes the dicey part. Every Brewers pitcher seems to have some string attached from his past that makes fans hold their breath. For Marcum, it's the "Tommy John" surgery he endured that shelved him for the entire 2009 season.
"It was tough," said Marcum. "It was not a lot of fun. When I was injured, a couple pluses were I got to spend some time with family, but obviously you're away from the game that you love. It's a long process. For me it took about 18 months. Some people come back quicker, but at the same time, I got to do a lot of film watching, get my body in better shape, get my shoulder strength up, and I think that helped me last year. I got to throw more innings than I ever have, and when it came to September, I felt stronger in September than I did in April and around the All-Star break."
Marcum silenced the doubters by going the distance in 2010, and he also gave himself peace of mind as the doubts hovered over him.
"It was, when I got down to Florida last year for spring training," said Marcum on the lingering aftershock. "But then, when we opened the season, I really didn't have any thought about it because once I take the ball and get out on the mound, my job and my No. 1 focus is to get the other hitters out."
Even before going under the knife, Marcum was never a blow-hitters-away kind of guy anyway. He credits his brother for teaching him the mechanics on how to pitch at a young age, but a summer league coach who refused to allow his pupils to toss breaking balls until they were 14 or 15 years old gave Marcum the excuse to ply his trade as a nasty changeup pitcher.
"To be successful when you don't have a 95-mph fastball, you have to be able to pitch inside and knock people down," said Marcum, who later added that if a teammate gets plunked and the manager gives him the high sign, he plans on protecting his teammates without being a headhunter.
"I just think of myself as a guy that's going to go out there on any given day and compete, locate all of my pitches and go deep into the game to give the team a chance to win."
That's all the Brewers are asking of Marcum. This isn't some overpaid free-agent signee, but with that former first-round pick forfeited, Milwaukee fans will expect at the very least an upgrade in the rotation. Asking Marcum to do more than he is capable of on this staff would not be reasonable.
"I don't know if the hitters were blind on the days that I pitched or what it is," joked Marcum. "I've been blessed, able to locate my pitches and mix all of my pitches in for strikes. That's one thing that I did as a young kid was learn how to throw strikes, learn how to throw and pitch where I wanted to.
"There are days when I miss, and on those days, you're going to see a lot of home runs hit by the other team."
There was a nervous, muffled chuckle when Marcum made that remark, no doubt because the Brewers have been to that movie before. With fingers crossed and oxygen inhaled, Marcum's assignment will be a complimentary piece to Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf, whom the Brewers hope will to return to form.
After that, Doug Melvin?
"Somewhere along the line you might have to give someone in your system a chance too," said Melvin. "I've looked around at a lot of these pitchers who are available and then look at Chris Narveson. Throw his numbers out there with a lot of these guys and it's very surprising how his performance is against these guys with career 4.50 to 5.00 ERAs."
Don't assume that comment means Melvin is done shopping for another arm. For now, the Brewers have at least one more promising pitcher to offer up into the NL Central mix. They also have a player who can't wait to soak up what Milwaukee has to offer.
"I talked to (former Brewers catcher) Gregg Zaun a couple days ago and he enlightened me on what I have to look forward to," said Marcum. "I talked to (free agent pitcher) Dave Bush as well, and everything I heard from both guys is this is a great place to play (with) good teammates, and that's one thing I'm looking forward to.
"I was here in '08 playing against you guys and got to see the atmosphere, the fan support, the players that were here, and it's an opportunity I'm looking forward to."
