There is no player on the Milwaukee Brewers roster more upbeat and optimistic by nature than ebullient left-hander Brent Suter.
Suter candidly and openly admitted Wednesday, however, that a nightmarish outing in the 2020 postseason in Los Angeles put him in a big funk going into the offseason.
“I had trouble moving past it for sure,” Suter said after pitching a scoreless inning in the Brewers’ exhibition game against San Diego in Peoria, Arizona. “I came home, didn’t even want to eat. I was pretty much in a depression for a little bit.
“I just had to get off the mat. Once I started training again for this season, it made those feelings kind of go away a little bit. But it still hurts. You compete and work all year to get to the postseason and to have a heartbreak performance like that stays with you a little bit. But it motivates you; you learn from it and get better from it. It was fuel for the fire for offseason work.”
Suter, a swingman who has filled spots in the rotation whenever needed, was given the ball for Game 1 of the wild-card series against the powerful Dodgers, who went a major-league best 43-17 during the pandemic-shortened season. He was filling in for right-hander Corbin Burnes, sidelined at the end of an otherwise brilliant season with an oblique strain.
Normally a fast worker who pounds the strike zone, Suter let the moment get him too excited and he issued five walks in 1⅔ innings, leading to two runs. That proved the difference in a 4-2 victory by Los Angeles, which won the next night, 3-0, to sweep the series.
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It was a devastating turn of events for the normally ultra-positive pitcher, who had trouble shaking it off afterward.
“It lasted pretty much the whole offseason, but it was really bad the first week, week and a half,” he said. “I was pretty much in depression for the first seven to 10 days. It took my wife (Erin) to snap me out of it.”
But others also came to the rescue, Suter said.
“It was mostly my wife but my parents and in-laws – we were trying to keep our circle small – I was talking to them. Former and current teammates called to pick me up. And then there were people in the Milwaukee community who were unbelievably supportive. Like, it was unbelievable. They picked me up when I was down. I can’t thank them enough for that.
“They reached out in emails, direct messages, it didn’t matter. There was a large outpouring of support in my lowest moment. So, that really meant a lot.”
Suter said he watched videos of his outing against the Dodgers afterward but decided he had to move on and look forward to this season.
“I watched it several times those first couple days, then I decided that was the last time I was going to watch it. So, I haven’t watched it since early October. I learned what I could from it and didn’t watch it again because it was not good memories.
“I learned that I let the game speed up on me a little bit. I could see that with my breathing. I was doing my breathing exercises but I wasn’t fully committed to the breath, if you know what I mean. I’ve been doing a lot of meditation and relaxation techniques over the offseason to make sure the tempo doesn’t get away from me.
“Also, my mechanics were really bad, so I cleaned up my delivery and arm path a lot this offseason. That was another big-time change that added fuel to the fire. I was stepping across my body and jumping out way ahead. I was doing that all season, pretty much, but I got away with it until that last game.
“It was rough but when we have failures like that, everyone goes through them, not necessarily in those big moments, but everyone goes through them in this game and life in general. It’s not how hard you get knocked on the mat. It’s how you get back up. I’m trying to be that much better for it.”
No hurry with Williams
Craig Counsell is in no hurry to take the wraps off reliever Devin Williams this spring.
The Brewers manager said he didn’t plan to use Williams in a Cactus League game until after the team’s second scheduled off day, March 17. The leaves only 13 games on the spring schedule, including two in Texas against the Rangers after breaking camp in Arizona.
Williams ended his sensational 2020 National League rookie of the year season with a shoulder issue that prevented him from pitching in the playoffs. Accordingly, the Brewers have taken it easy on the 26-year-old right-hander in the early days of camp, allowing him to work at a slower pace.
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“That’s what the schedule reads for him,” Counsell said of the delay in pitching Williams in a game. “That puts him in a good place to start the season. But, when we start you that late, you have to have good days.
“Because we decided to start him late and put a little bit bigger foundation under him before we start his games, we have to stick to the schedule.”
Williams appeared in 22 of the Brewers’ 60 games in the pandemic-shortened season, pitching 27 innings. He allowed only eight hits and one earned run with nine walks and 53 strikeouts, a remarkable rate of 17.7 per nine innings.
That performance not only earned Williams top rookie honors in the NL but also reliever of the year in the league.
Counsell also plans to take it slow with his other star reliever, left-handed closer Josh Hader. He is going to pitch Friday in a “B” game but will get plenty of rest between outings.
“It’ll be a pretty soft schedule, to be honest with you,” Counsell said. “But he’ll be on a regular schedule.”
Stretching out Rasmussen
Right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who made his big-league debut last season with 12 relief outings, became the first Brewers pitcher to go two innings this spring in an 8-5 victory over the Padres. Rasmussen allowed no hits with two walks and three strikeouts while working to sharpen his slider.
“We’re trying to extend Drew a little bit and I thought he pitched really well,” Counsell said. “He had good velocity and his slider, that’s a pitch we’re trying to take little steps forward with it.
“I thought he did a nice job with it today. His misses were right on the plate, which is a good place for him to be. So, nice job.”
Asked if Rasmussen would be stretched beyond two innings this spring, Counsell said, “Yeah, I think you could see that. I think you will see that, actually, yes.”
Rasmussen, who pitched in an intrasquad game before exhibition play began, said it was great competing “against someone other than ourselves.” And he seemed all for being stretched out for longer appearances.
“Yeah, just a little bit to see how my body handles it and see how quickly I bounce back, and that kind of stuff moving forward. Now’s the time to kind of experiment with that kind of stuff, so that is the plan right now.
“I think it bodes well for me to come out of the pen and start (if needed); giving the organization and the club more options helps me out. So, if I were asked to start, I’d love to, however, if the bullpen is what they see my future being, then I’m happy to be there as well.”
Non-roster invitee Pablo Reyes blasted a three-run homer in the victory and 2020 first-round pick Garrett Mitchell snapped a 5-5 tie with an RBI single in eighth inning, making him 2-for-2 this spring despite not playing any pro games entering camp.