Don't look now, but the Brewers are in first place...again. After a brutal stretch in which the Brewers went 1-7 and dropped all the way down to third place, Yovani Gallardo made a decision that some of you may find stupid, but that I find ingenious. After losing the first two games in a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks (and losing back-to-back games for the first time at home all year), Yo decided it was time to mix things up. He was given the option of choosing what uniform the Brewers would wear on Wednesday for his start and Gallardo went an interesting route. Normally designated for just Friday home games, Yo went with the retro uniforms in order to try and change things up. Whether it was the uniforms (it was) or just coincidence, Gallardo pitched brilliantly and Casey McGehee had a clutch pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh to giving Yo a W along with the Brewers.
Next it was Chris Narveson's choice as far as which uni the Crew would be sporting and naturally he also went with the throwback ball and glove logo. Even though things got a little dicey towards the end of the ball game, the Brewers were able to ride another three-run home run from Home Run Derby participant Rickie Weeks and a strong start from the Narve-dog to a win over the Cincinnati Reds. And wouldn't you know it...the Milwaukee Brewers are 47-42 and tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for first place yet again in the NL Central. I don't care if you believe in jinxes or are superstitious. The stuff makes a difference no matter which way you cut it. The Brewers needed a swift kick in the ass and a breath of fresh air. The swift kick came after Tuesday's loss to the Dbacks when manager Ron Roenicke held just the second closed doors meeting of the season. The breath of fresh air was mixing things up...wearing the retro unis more than once in a week and on totally random days...the same unis that a certain team wore back in the early 80s.
The comparisons between the two teams - the 1982 American League Champion Brewers and the 2011 Brewers - are downright scary. Both relied on the home run. Both had an upper tier pitching staff. Both put lots of runs on the board. Both were terrible with the gloves. You could say that the 2008 team that reached the postseason for the first time in 26 years had basically the same characteristics, but in my mind, this team's defense is a little worse than '08 but has better pitching. In an interesting article from Bill Simmons' new website "Grantland.com," these same comparisons were brought to the forefront. It talked about how the Brewers have an extremely below average defense with the exception of a few players based on the new Sabermetrics statistics. However, the strength of the Brewers' lineup coupled with the key off-season moves that brought in some quality arms has helped overcome this problem. The author then brought up Zack Greinke. Greinke has been a sore subject around Brewers Nation because of his disappointing ERA, which exceeds 5.50. But the fact of the matter is that Greinke plays to contact, even with his high K/9 ratio along with his K/BB ratio, which is among league leaders. What's unfortunate for Greinke is that he has virtually no help behind him with the exception of Nyjer Morgan or Carlos Gomez. To help make up for these circumstances, the Brewers have given Zack Attack enormous run support, which explains his current 7-3 record. With Greinke starting tonight, look for plays that above average defenders would make that the Brewers are unable to execute. Hopefully Greinke is able to receive his usual run support while still having a solid outing.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that the Brewers have enough to overcome their shoddy defense...they just need to figure out how to make up for it by using good defensive positioning, having pitchers pitch batters a certain way based on this positioning and putting up a s--- ton of runs on the board...which has been difficult without Ryan Braun the last five games (2-3). Along with this realization, the Brewers have made a rather noticeable change when it comes to their late game situation. Instead of trotting out the utterly useless Kameron Loe ever eighth inning and watching him look completely incapable of retiring lefties, LaTroy Hawkins was handed this role. In his two games as the setup man, Hawk has allowed an earned run but has two holds...which is really all that matters. Don't get me wrong. I have the utmost faith in Loe when it comes to getting righties out, but he's just not someone that can be counted on to get through an inning or two late when the game is on the line. As you all probably know by now, I have been on the LaTroy Hawkins bandwagon for quite awhile...at least when it comes to him compared to Loe. Currently, the Brewers only have six pitchers in the bullpen because they haven't made a roster move since interleague play (Saito, Braddock, Low, Estrada, Hawk, Ax). What I anticipate happening is Gamel heading back down to triple A fairly soon so that he can continue getting work at first base. I think he was being held over McGehee's head the past couple weeks because of the struggles the Brewers' third baseman has been having. Gamel even received the starting nod at third base a few times during his time with the big league club, but I think McGehee's huge, enormous, gargantuan, spectacular home run on Wednesday was enough to keep him with Milwaukee and for Gamel to head back to Nashville. All for the better. I never wanted to see Gamel up with the Brewers this year anyway, but it made sense to bring him up to DH and to light a fire under Casey McGehee's behind.
So let's hope we see those retro unis on our beloved Milwaukee Brewers Friday night. Knowing Zack Greinke, he probably couldn't care less about what uniform he wears. Aside from Brewer talk, I don't have much for you guys. NBA Lockout. NFL Lockout (not for long hopefully). No college sports ongoing. Yeah. Doesn't leave me with much. Oh well. Let's see the Brewers stay hot into the All-Star break and Ryan Braun get healthy. the Brewers can only stay afloat for so long without the Hebrew Hammer out there.
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