Published: May 10, 2008 12:08 am            

Mitch Stetter hopes this trip to the majors is for the long haul

TERRE HAUTE — Conventional baseball wisdom suggests: “It’s easier to make it to the major leagues than it is to stay in the major leagues.”

Yes, no and/or maybe might be the correct answer — depending on when you ask — if that statement was put forth to former Indiana State University left-handed pitcher Mitch Stetter.

Stetter, 27, toiled four seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league system — the last three at Triple-A Nashville — before finally getting his long-awaited call to the majors Sept. 1, 2007.

During the Brewers’ failed playoff drive last September, Stetter was called upon six times in relief. He had a 1-0 record, allowing two runs in five innings.

“It was a great experience, getting the news,” Stetter said of his first major league callup last fall. “Being out there on the field, get a taste of the majors. Helped me gain a comfort level.”

After the season, Stetter pitched for the Brewers’ team in the Arizona Fall League for about a month and a half. Then it was back home to Huntingburg for the winter months, fully confident of making the Brewers’ roster this spring.

But Stetter found out in spring training, having options — of the baseball variety — is not necessarily a good thing. Caught up in a numbers game, the Brewers optioned Stetter back to Nashville on March 22.

“I thought they may want two lefties in the bullpen and have a chance of making it,” he said. “So I went in with a lot of confidence and try to keep pitching well … and I pitched pretty well.

“When they sent me down, they just told me they didn’t have any room and I had options … I could get optioned down and some other guys can’t. They had signed a lot of veteran guys and just didn’t have room to start out. They told me to be ready, that anytime I could be called right back up.

“It was disappointing, kind of a letdown. I’ve seen that happen to guys from year to year being in Triple-A. You kind of see how they take it. Some of them don’t take it too well, others have a good attitude about it. The big thing for me was when I got sent down was to keep a positive attitude about everything … just kind of know I was going to get another chance.”

Stetter did indeed stay positive, not allowing an earned run in five outings with the Sounds. His good attitude and work ethic soon paid off, as he was recalled to the Brewers on April 17.

“There were a stretch of games where they used [lefty reliever Brian] Shouse like a bunch of days in a row and they were facing some teams with a lot of left-handed hitters,” Stetter said of his being the second lefty reliever added to the roster.

“[Milwaukee] just got done with a day game in St. Louis and we had a night game in Nashville … we were actually on the field getting ready to take batting practice. Our manager got a phone call and I think everybody kind of knew somebody was going to get called up or whatever.

“He told me he wanted me shag in for him, he was going to hit fungoes … he told me right away, he goes like ‘Hey, you’re going up for the Cincinnati series.’ [Being recalled is] not quite as exciting as that first time last year, but it’s still pretty exciting to hear.”

Stetter hit the mound pitching after rejoining the Milwaukee ballclub. In the past three weeks, he has appeared in 10 games through Thursday, not allowing a run in nine of the games. He was also thrown into a wide variety of pitching situations.

He picked up his first hold this year in a 9-8, 12-inning win vs. St. Louis on April 22. The next day, he pitched two scoreless innings to gain his first victory of the season in a 5-4 win vs. Philadelphia. The only runs he’s allowed cost him his first loss — a two-run home run by Houston’s Hunter Pence — on May 4.

Talk about contrasts, he was even summoned into a strictly mop-up role, striking out the final Cubs’ batter in the ninth inning — bailing out teammate Derek Turnbow in the process — in a 19-5 loss at Wrigley Field last week.

“Every game it seems since I’ve been here has been a close game,” Stetter mentioned. “So it helps out getting in there right off the bat.”

On his aforementioned victory, he stated, “In the bullpen, wins and losses are one of those things that fall in your lap sometimes. You can give up a few runs and still get a win. It doesn’t necessarily reflect on how well you pitch.

“I guess a hold or whatever, those are good … you’re not going to get a save or anything in the sixth, seventh or eighth inning. But if you can keep the score where it is, definitely getting those holds are a good thing.”

Despite his early success, Stetter was still a bit nervous about his remaining with the team on April 27. He was referring to his club’s excess number of pitchers and the impending return of centerfielder Mike Cameron from the suspended list.

“We had 14 pitchers with Mike Cameron coming off the [suspended list]. It was one of those things where I had options where they could just send me back down. I was kind of a little nervous, but they optioned out [starting pitcher Dave Bush].

“You try not to worry about all that stuff, but you never know what’s going to happen and how they keep the team together.

“Everything is going well. Just trying to keep everything one day at a time, one pitch at a time when you’re out there [on the mound]. Try not to get caught up in it all, it’s only been one month of baseball. So far I’ve had a pretty good month.”

The easy-going Stetter is liking the camaraderie of this year’s Brewers, saying, “Everybody is really nice. It’s a great team, a great core of young guys … then you have a few veterans to help hold it together. It’s just a fun thing to be a part of.”

He also speaks highly of the Brewers’ new closer, Eric Gagne.

“You get to see a guy like Gagne do what he did a few years ago,” he said. “I looked at his numbers … it’s just an honor to play with a guy of that caliber.”

Despite the Brewers’ failure to win down the stretch last season, Stetter thinks of that as a positive motivator for this year.

“I think so, being in a playoff race and kind of falling out of it at the end kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I think they know what they are playing for this year, hopefully we get that good taste in our mouth this year.

“You never know. It’s a long season.”

        

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