Never Forget

I get it. The Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers are a combined 12-0. It's awesome and surreal, don't get me wrong, but I'll have plenty of time to talk about the success of Wisconsin football. For now, the Brewers should get your undivided attention for one last time this year.

Last night, when the clock struck midnight on the Brewers' magical run, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I've sat through countless playoff defeats from the Packers, the Badgers, the Bucks and the Golden Eagles as a die-hard fan of Wisconsin sports, but NOTHING has ever hurt as bad as losing game 6 of the National League Championship Series to the hated St. Louis Cardinals. I sat with my head in my hands for several minutes, trying to allow all the unforgettable memories from the past season override the agony and despair of the season being over at the hands of a team who I hope a rivalry will continue to grow with. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who questioned the decision to start the lifeless corpse of Shaun Marcum or the idea to go with a lineup that didn't give the Brewers the best chance to win, but the fact of the matter is that the Brew-City Bombers ran into a buzz-saw Sunday night. The Cards were the hotter team, but not necessarily the better team...I refuse to acknowledge that. From the day that Nyjer Morgan went to Twitter to begin a mini war of words and tell St. Louis to "have fun watching the Brewers in October from their couches," the Cardinals went on a tear. Whether you want to blame it on what Plush would consider some friendly trash talk, managers like Tony LaRussa and players like Albert Pujols don't need to be given any extra motivation to succeed, and that's exactly what they've done. Succeed. Succeed beyond expectations.

As difficult as this may sound right now, none of those things should be what defines the 2011 Milwaukee Brewers. The expectations were higher than ever heading into April because of acquisitions like manager Ron Roenicke, Morgan, Takashi Saito, Shaun Marcum (ugh) and Zack Greinke, and they got even higher towards the end of July and the beginning of August by adding all-time single season saves leader Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez and utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. All of these additions were somehow pulled off without losing any core players like Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks and Yovani Gallardo, although the farm system was left almost completely decimated. But just like when the Brewers traded everything and the kitchen sink for C.C. Sabathia three years ago, fans supported the moves. They were all-in, just like General Manager Doug Melvin. Naturally, I made some predictions:

1. Shaun Marcum will win 15 games. (WRONG, although a lack of run support didn't help)
2. Prince Fielder will either collapse under the pressure of a contract year or have a career year because of the motivation of a contract year...then walk after '11. (RIGHT (so far), it was a career year without question...Prince has yet to walk though)
3. Nyjer Morgan will eventually become the main guy in center field after starting the year in a platoon with Carlos Gomez and the Crew once again realizing Go-Go sucks. (RIGHT, although by the end of the year I was calling Gomez's name)
4. John Axford won't top his 2010 season in the closer role but do enough to stay in it. In addition, set-up man Zach Braddock will be an absolute beast. (PAINFULLY WRONG for obvious reasons)
5. The Brewers will rank in the bottom five in the MLB in defense. (BARELY WRONG, they were 24th, but are currently dead last in postseason defense)
6. Zack Greinke will not perform as well as expected, but Yovani Gallardo will succeed thanks to a lack of pressure. (KIND OF RIGHT)
7. The Brewers will acquire a key bench player mid-season. (RIGHT, Hairston)
8. Manager Ron Roenicke will win NL Manager of the Year. (STAY TUNED)
9. Mark Rogers will be called up at some point during the season and make some key spot starts...maybe even earn the fifth spot at some point. (WRONG, Rogers was injured/we didn't end up needing any rotation replacements)
10. Sergio Mitre will make one start and then find his way to the bullpen, where he had some success last year with the Yanks. (WRONG, but who cares)
11. Mat Gamel will not be touched in the minor leagues (barring injuries at the major league level), but will replace Prince Fielder in 2012 at first base. (WRONG, unfortunately, but he may be the opening day guy in 2012 at first)
12. Milwaukee Brewers 2011 record: 91-71, 1st place in NL Central (PRETTY RIGHT, 96-66, a franchise record in wins, was enough for 1st in the Central)

Some of these predictions are still pending, but let's move on.

Roenicke brought a lot of excitement to the table and it took him some time to feel out the cast of all-star players and the situation he walked into, but any realistic fan knew there would be some growing pains. He had an aggressive style of managing, which naturally excited Brewer fans, and eventually he figured out the right assortment of players to put on the field and implemented strategies in certain situations once he got a feel for the club. It was a slow start to the season, partly due to a lack of chemistry, but mostly due to injuries to several key players. Players came back, and things started to click, especially once Greinke returned from his freak basketball injury. They hung around the top of the division for the next few months, and the post-All Star game additions Melvin made were enough to jump-start the Crew once again, despite the gruesome ankle injury Rickie Weeks sustained, and give them a comfortable edge in the NL Central. Throw in the inspired performances of potential MVPs Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, the leadership in the rotation of Yovani Gallardo, the shut-down closing ability of John Axford, and the Brewers simply showing more will to win than their opponents - many times in heart-stopping fashion - and that in a nutshell is why the Brewers landed in the postseason.

So Milwaukee, the smallest pro baseball market in the league, drew the Arizona Diamondbacks in round one, a team they battled with until game 162 to earn home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. I was fortunate enough to earn the right to buy tickets to game 2, but decided to pass. Ha. Yeah, right. They won that game for me along with game 1 thanks to a dominating performance by our ACE, Yovani Gallardo. Of course, the road woes crept back into the minds of the Brewers and as much as I felt it wouldn't happen, there would be a game 5 at Miller Park. Speaking of Miller Park, if that stadium could seat 100,000 people, it would have been filled each and every game this postseason. The SMALLEST MARKET in baseball. What about Chase Field in Phoenix, you ask? Game 4, there were roughly 10,000 empty seats in the D-Back's home ballpark. That's embarrassing. Also, it gave me the feeling that the Brewers deserved to win this series, even after the lackluster performances by Marcum and veteran lefty Randy Wolf. The night of Saturday, Oct. 8 rolled around and I was planning on watching the final game of the series either on my own coach or from one of the many bars located in Oshkosh, but then I remembered something. Kyle's mother, who had purchased four standing room only tickets to game 5, was giving her tickets to Kyle, which meant I had to consider if I wanted to or would be able to go. Of course I wanted to go, and thanks to the gracious gesture of my roommate Will, I drove his van down to Milwaukee Sunday morning for the biggest baseball game in Milwaukee in decades. Flash forward to about 7:30 PM...

Can I even explain this moment? Probably not. Gomez, a defensive replacement, singles to left. He takes second on a wild pitch. Plush knocks one up the middle, Go-Go scores the NLDS-clinching run. Hysteria ensues. The Keg was flowing. If there is one moment of my young life that I'd never forget, it was being at Miller Park when Gomez crossed home and the ten minutes that followed, fans going absolutely nuts, the building maybe the loudest it had been at any point during the actual game. Unforgettable to the maximum meaning of the word. I embraced tens of hundreds of random people and made sure to snap some pictures, capture the moment on video and grab a few pieces of confetti for keepsake. I know the Brewers would eventually lose in six games the next series, but being there for that moment might just make up for it alone. The only thing I missed as a result of attending game 5 was T-Clutch shouting obscenities into the TBS microphone held by Sam Ryan. Shouldn't have been standing there, Sam.

Most of you who talk to me regularly about baseball, are friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter probably already know what I'm about to tell you about the Cardinals/Brewers suds series II, but I'll go through it nevertheless. After the first few games, it was apparent who wasn't going to help contribute to the Brewers' run at a World Series, and those names included Corey Hart (slumping at the plate, useless in the field), Nyjer Morgan (one of the most clutch hits in Brewer history, I know, but facing the same struggles as Hart), Rickie Weeks (simply not healthy enough to contribute in any way) and Shaun Marcum (completely out of gas). Marcum's performance in game 2 was hard to watch, but not as hard to watch as in game 6. Usually, when you give up more runs than record outs, you're in trouble. The fact of the matter is that Marcum had never gone past 200 innings in his career and Roenicke was leaving him for dead by putting him out there in an elimination game. Sure, he had a very short leash...if even a leash at all...but he never should have been out there in the first place, and it was enough to set the tone for how the Crew's final game in 2011 would end up. And of course, Hart, Plush and Weeks were all out there for game 6 as well. What should have the stubborn Roenicke done for game 6? I know it sounds extreme and idiotic, but...

RF Morgan, CF Gomez, LF Braun, 1B Fielder, 3B Hairston, SS Betancourt, C Lucroy, 2B Counsell, P Gallardo/Estrada

Gallardo on three days rest? But it's only three days rest! And then he can't pitch in game 7! Shut up. Even if Gallardo can't go here, pitch Estrada. He was a gem spot starter.
Counsell over Weeks? He hit .170 on the season! Yeah, but the Brewers needed defense, and Counsell >>> Weeks in that regard. Oh, and Weeks hit .146 in the playoffs.
If you were against playing Plush, why is he in there? Because he's the best DEFENSIVE option in right, plus there needs to be someone in the lineup with lead-off experience.
Hairston in the 5 hole? And Yuni in the 6? Why mess with that chemistry towards the bottom of the lineup? Sorry, you're right. Protecting Prince isn't that important.

And if you even question having Gomez in there because it was against a righty, don't even look at me.

I hated the idea of starting Mark Kotsay in game 3 and then I hated not having him in there in game 5. I hated how our defense sucked, making Greinke's game 5 start look bad when it really wasn't. I hated how Roenicke wouldn't give Taylor Green a chance to at least pinch-hit instead of continuously marching out McGehee (why even put him on the roster then?). I hated a lot of the decisions that were made in the NLCS, only proving why 29 years of experience managing trumps one year. I appreciate what guys like Marcum, Hart, Weeks and Plush did for us all season long and they were a HUGE reason why the Brewers got to the point they did, but just because someone helps you get to where you are doesn't mean they have to go the distance with you. Man, I sound like a dick. No wonder I don't have a girlfriend.

So what's next? First things first, I don't think I can bring myself to watch a single inning of the World Series. I said the same thing in 2007 after the Packers' depressing loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship game about the Super Bowl, but I watched it. Not this time. I hate the Cardinals way too much and not seeing the Brewers in the first World Series of my lifetime just hurts too much. Plus, I really have some school work to catch up on after watching all this playoff baseball. Once the World Series comes to a close, we as Brewer fans have a few things to root for:

Ryan Braun or Prince Fielder (or both) winning the MVP award.
Ron Roenicke, despite his joke of a managing effort in the NLCS, winning the NL Manager of the Year.
The Brewers front office continuing to push forward and making this team as competitive as possible.
Fielder returning in a Brewer uniform in 2012 without crippling our payroll for the next decade.

For as greedy as I am, I would be happy to see two of these things happen and for as awesome as personal accolades are, I hope those two things are the last two listed. What else will be going down as soon as free agency hits in a few weeks?

Yuni B will probably be gone.
Craig Counsell will be gone.
K-Rod will probably be gone.
Haiston will probably be gone.
Hawkins will probably be gone.
Saito will probably be gone.
Kameron Loe might be gone.

Greinke will be back.
Marcum will be back.

Prince Fielder. Sigh...this is probably it, Brewer fans. Over six years of the big fella crushing baseballs, cracking that boyish smile in the dugout and celebrating with Ryan Braun after each home run. Not sure if you caught this, but Prince still hasn't left out returning to Milwaukee according to the post-game interview he gave last night. His exact words were "the amount of fun...it's just been the best, easiest year I've ever had for me mentally, just going out everyday and playing hard. This year's been awesome...HOPEFULLY I'LL BE HERE FOR MORE YEARS TO COME, but if not, it's been cool."

Yeah...that's just me clinging on to the last string of hope. The way everyone got choked up when the team left the clubhouse for the final time this season, especially Casey McGehee, who's son has cerebral palsy. Fielder was especially supportive, and just thinking about the embrace they had before Prince left for good is bringing tears to my eyes as I type this. The tone of players, coaches and Prince himself give off the impression that one of the greatest players in Brewers franchise history is walking into greener pastures, if you catch my drift. If this is indeed the case and the Brewers, who will certainly make a strong push to bring back Fielder's services, are unable to re-sign Prince, then that money should be used to fill other voids that will undoubtedly be left. Despite losing so many studs from the farm, there are still promising youngsters that will have their shot to make the big league club next season and free agents brought in to do the same. As much as I want to get into that discussion right now, I'll save it for another time.

Right now, let's just remember what the 2011 Milwaukee Brewers and Prince Fielder gave us: the highest of highs and at times, the lowest of lows. Moments we'll never forget. The deepest playoff run in 29 years. And in Fielder's case, six-plus years of the greatest display of power to march through Wisconsin in...well...perhaps ever. What a ride it was, and maybe what a ride it will continue to be. Just like back in '08, now that I've gotten a taste, I want the whole thing. This will forever be the sport I love the most, and it's still hard to accept that I must move on. The success in Madison and Green Bay will help me cope. Okay. We've given the Brewers the time they've deserved, but while you're tuning in to football, basketball, hockey or any other sport this winter, NEVER FORGET the ride a group of 25 men gave you last summer, and remember how we all enjoyed every second of it.

Sports are amazing.

See you next year.

To BE the Best, You Have to BEAT the Best

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't the best team in the MLB by any stretch of the imagination, but they are the best in the National League at a few things. They score the most runs. They have the highest team batting average. They have the biggest d-----bag manager in the history of baseball. So going into their mid-week series against the Cards, the Milwaukee Brewers were not only looking to hold on to first place...they were looking to continue their dominance of St. Louis and eliminate any hope the Cardinals had of winning the division. Maybe the latter isn't possible just yet as the Crew and the Cards still have to tangle six more times and play 44 more times apiece. But to once again prove me wrong in my prediction that the Brewers would only take one game home from Busch Stadium (which I'm perfectly fine with, by the way), Milwaukee won the series 2-1 and extended their division lead to four games. Behold the power of beer.

To make my prediction even more wrong, I thought the one game we would squeeze out would be in game three when Yovani Gallardo went up against Chris Carpenter. AAAAYYNNN! Wrong. Gallardo (pronounced gah-lard-oh here in America) just didn't have it and left plenty of pitches over the plate, especially for Albert Pujols, who had four hits and a dinger. Yovani has definitely had his ups and downs, but at the beginning of the series with the Cardinals, he had the best ERA and most wins among Brewers' starting pitchers. He's now third in ERA behind Shaun Marcum and...get this...Randy Wolf. Wolf's dominant outing on Wednesday came in the one game I thought we would for sure lose, and the one man Wolf pack jumped on the prove Dave wrong bandwagon and now leads the team's starters in ERA. But going back to Gallardo; I'm trying to figure out why this guy can't put it all together...all the time. Obviously, Yovani is a great talent and still only in his mid-20s, but he has plenty of experience at The Show by now and just when you think he's figured it out, tonight happens. Granted, Yo didn't have the best effort from the defense tonight, but usually our pitchers don't because our D is border line atrocious.

One of the theories I read and agreed with was how it looks like Gallardo struggles when he works slowly. I've always been a believer in working quickly, but not rushing. I do it in many aspects of life...like back in my heyday when I pitched and nowadays when I disc golf and golf among other things. Get your mind out of the gutter. Anyway, getting back to Yo...he was a bit deliberate out on the mound tonight against the Cards and he wasn't even close to hitting his spots. To be honest, he's lucky to have only given up five runs, but it didn't matter in the end as the Brewers would fall because of a lack of clutch hitting and poor defense to go along with a bad outing for Gallardo. These are things Brewer fans have probably seen enough of and also things that the Brewers haven't been doing lately, but I guess every now and then there's a slip-up. Besides, without Ryan Braun in the lineup to keep everything cool with his laid-back Jewish attitude, we had to expect a semi-meltdown. But a 5-1 road trip is exceptional, especially when going up against the second place Cardinals and considering the Crew's ridiculous home-and-away split. Along with Gallardo speeding up his process on the mound and being unable to make adjustments, I'd like to see more of Jerry Hairston Jr. at second base. For what we gave up for him, there's no excuse to have him sitting on the bench as much as he has been. Hairston should be receiving more playing time at second than Lopez in my mind and will continue relieving Tony Plush in center whenever a lefty is on the hill. Otherwise...keep pushing on, Brewers. I'll have a front row seat in the Beerpen tomorrow night (thanks, Kyle) to undoubtedly heckle the Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder and beg Corey Hart to toss me a baseball. Speaking of Corey, don't be an idiot and give up a triple to Pujols again. Thanks.

Not sure what else to blab about, really. I'll definitely have more after the Packers break the seal on their preseason schedule Saturday and will be sure to preview the Wisconsin Badgers upcoming football season sometime next week as well along with the normal Brewer chatter. Out of the Badgers camp, I've been hearing a few different things...Russell Wilson is getting comfortable in the Badgers' offensive system and finding Nick Toon to be one of his favorite targets. Hopefully he begins to take a liking to tight end Jacob Pedersen as well; that would bode well for my fantasy team. Also, there was a no-name backup receiver who will miss some time because of a hernia (ouch) and there have also been some talks about the Badgers' kicking situation, which is interesting. Because returning starter Phillip Welch is nursing a leg injury, red-shirt freshman Kyle French has been getting some looks. I have a bone to pick with Mr. French because back when he was attending my rival's high school, he beat us with a 48-yard field goal as time expired. Brutal. Ruined my night. Better not do it again.

In Packerland, there are a few noteworthy items to touch on now that I think about it. Today, former Packer running back Ahman Green officially retired. Green had some solid years earlier in the decade for the Green and Gold and also signed on with the Pack in '09 when Green Bay was hurting at RB depth. He's Green Bay's all-time leading rusher which speaks for itself. We'll see if that and his five 1,000+ yard seasons running the ball in a Packer uniform will be enough to get him enshrined in the Packer Hall of Fame...I have little doubt that it will. And did you hear about this, folks? Clay Matthews, who saw his production fall off quite a bit in the second half of the season last year, has a pretty good excuse as to why: HE HAD A BROKEN LEG! Umm...what? This guy is nuts. Although the golden haired linebacker did say that it was feeling fine by the Super Bowl in which he made one of the biggest plays in Green Bay Packer history, this shows Matthews' incredible perseverance and makes me proud to be a fan of the Pack.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Looking forward to Saturday. And hopefully, looking forward to the fall for more reasons than football.

Trust Issues

Happy one year Balls, Brats and Beer anniversary! It's been a fun ride.

You know what's insane? The Green Bay Packers play on August 13. Yeah...that's Saturday. I'm more than excited to see actual football again, but there's another team in Wisconsin that deserves just as much if not more attention for the next few months or so. Lately, this team has been winning, winning and...winning. They have created a lot of buzz around the state of Wisconsin with their play at home and their play in general, winning 11 of their last 12 games and stretching out a three game division lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. Did I mention that all 12 of those games were against division opponents? Granted, six of them were against the lowly Houston Astros, but three were against the Chicago Cubs (just had an eight game winning streak) and the other three were against the hated Cardinals. The Brewers are 65-50 and about to face off against the Cards again in what has become a two team division race; this time in St. Louis. It's just as big as if not bigger than last week's series at Miller Park because we are that much closer to playoff time and it will be a tougher task for the Brewers to go into a hostile environment and succeed. When it's all said and done, I expect the Crew to take one game of the three game set to retain the division lead, but of course the fan in me would like to see the Brewers win AT LEAST one game.

A two game lead would be nice to have heading into the weekend series against the struggling (to put it lightly) Pittsburgh Pirates. The ongoing season series with St. Louis will only continue to get bigger as we get later into the season - the Brewers have nine more to go against the Cardinals. Before this series begins on Tuesday, there's something I'd like to address: trust. As the season has progressed, I've found myself gaining more and more trust with the Milwaukee Brewers - in the first month of games or so, I trusted:

Ryan Braun
Prince Fielder
Rickie Weeks*
Shaun Marcum

These were all players that in mind deserved to be All-Stars, and three of them were. Notice how the low number of players correlates with how poorly the Brewers were playing early on in the season. However, as more games were played and more players came back from injury, I began to trust more players like:

Jonathan Lucroy
Yovani Gallardo
Randy Wolf
John Axford
Nyjer Morgan

The Brewers were performing better and barely managed to be in first place once we got to the All-Star break (which seems so long ago now), and then they had to survive a brutal road trip. By going 5-6 in Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco, the Brewers somehow managed to remain in first and that's when they went on their recent tear. In the first part of the second half of the season, many more players started to become reliable which helped the Brewers get over the losses of Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez to injury:

Corey Hart
Yuniesky Betancourt
Zack Greinke
Kameron Loe
Takashi Saito
LaTroy Hawkins

Current trust count: 15 (Hitters: 7, Pitchers: 8)

Other players on the roster, like Casey McGehee and Francisco Rodriguez, are on their way to earning my trust, which would make a total 17 players on the trust list. McGehee's three home run outburst showed he might be getting his stroke back (finally) and although K-Rod has had some sketchy moments in his time in a Brewer uniform, the Brewers have yet to lose a game as a result of K-Rod. Some guys simply don't play enough to earn my trust (Josh Wilson, Mark Kotsay, George Kottaras, Carlos Gomez*, Tim Dillard), some haven't been in a Brewer uniform long enough to earn my trust (Felipe Lopez, Jerry Hairston Jr.) and some haven't quite performed well enough to earn my trust (Craig Counsell, Marco Estrada, Chris Narveson). Agree with my reasoning or not, the point is that we feel better about this team each and every day. When the offense was struggling, the pitching was superb; as of late, with the pitching not performing quite as well, the offense has been pounding the baseball. This helps explain how close the number of players I trust is between pitchers and hitters. And just because I don't trust a player doesn't mean I don't think they are performing well for their role. This season, I began to take a liking to Go-Go because I could accept that he was only good for world class defense in center and good base running. With the Narve-Dog, he is probably one of the most reliable number five starters in baseball. Other players provide good depth and fill in nicely when needed.

Not much to complain about these days, and that's saying something, because I almost always have something to b---- about. Playing poorly on the road? The Brewers are 8-6 on the road post All-Star break. Replacing McGehee? He is beginning to provide stability in the five hole. Lack of production from guys not named Braun and Fielder? Almost everyone has stepped their game up on offense over the past week. Kameron Loe? Totally shutting down hitters in any situation he's called on to enter. So on that note, be sure to check out the Cards/Brewers series this week. It's a biggie and who knows what fireworks we'll be treated to with that nut case Tony LaRussa sitting in the opposing team's dugout.

Like I said at the beginning of the post, the Packers' opening preseason game is right around the corner. There have been a few minor injuries that some players are dealing with (most notably Greg Jennings (hip flexor), Tramon Williams (hip flexor) and Mason Crosby (ankle)), but for the most part we should be seeing everyone participate in the game Saturday against the Cleveland Browns. Earlier talks around the Packer practices have revolved around how the offense has looked sloppy, but this has to be expected considering how much time players missed during the lockout. I didn't get a chance to watch the Family Night intrasquad scrimmage since I was up north, so I'm excited to see the 2011 Packers in action for the first time and give my feedback on the game.

Along with a season preview for the Packers, a look ahead for the much-hyped Wisconsin Badgers will be coming soon. I know I said that I would be previewing Bucky on August 10, but I feel like that's too far away from the start of the season (September 3), so I'll plan on waiting another ten days before I do my write-up on the Badgers. And since Green Bay begins their season on a Thursday night on September 8, I'll give my Packers' preview about five days after my Badgers' preview. Last year I was a rookie blogger and didn't know what to write about right off the bat, so I was a tad early on my football season previews. Sorry to let you all down, but we've got a good Brewers team to distract us from that disappointment you're feeling.

Thanks for staying with me over the past year. Let's hope there are many more to come.

Flipping the Bird

Forgive me if I sound dumb in this entry. The following thoughts are only those of an idiot fan. Not only that, but I just got done watching the season premier of Jersey Shore and I can't say I've ever been more ashamed than today to be an American. But it's entertaining stuff. Moving from people undeserving of attention to those who warrant some recognition, the Milwaukee Brewers just completed an 8-1 home stand and finished it off with an anything-but-boring series victory over the Tony LaRussa-led St. Louis Cardinals. Anybody else lose a little bit of respect for that franchise? Over the last couple years, it's safe to say that LaRussa has managed to turn one of the most proud franchises in baseball into complete thuggery. LaRussa managed to steal the attention away from what was really important, and that was two teams fighting for a pennant in August. Maybe I'm just an idiot fan, but what I saw from the Cardinals in that series - the complaints about the lighting in the stadium from LaRussa - pitcher Chris Carpenter claiming that the Brewers were stealing signs - LaRussa ordering pitcher Jason Motte to throw at Ryan Braun...TWICE - Yadier Molina bumping and spitting in an umpire's face while arguing a strike three called...and only getting suspended for FIVE GAMES - I'd be embarrassed to be a Cardinals fan.

Trust me. I was a lot more infuriated on Tuesday night than I am tonight, a night that featured a game in which the bush league moves of Tony LaRussa took place and the Brewers eventually lost in extra innings. Now that I've calmed down (for the most part), I would like to turn my attention back to baseball. The Brewers are now 62-50, 12 games above .500 (the most they have been above .500 all season) and three games above the Cardinals in the Central. If there's one thing that the series with the Cards proved for Milwaukee, it's that a lot of guys are beginning to tickle the ball pretty well. I mean, who's NOT feeling it at the plate right now? Corey Hart has raised his average over 20 points in the last week, we've seen the turnaround of Yuni B in the second half, Braun and Fielder have both recovered from mini-slumps, Tony Plush continues to do his thing at the plate, in center and in the interview department, Jonathan Lucroy is still hanging around .280, and then there's Casey McGehee...I know I've been calling for McGehee's head for the better part of the season, but the complaints were warranted. McGehee hadn't found it at the plate all year, but with the loss of Rickie Weeks to injury and the troubles in the five hole, manager Ron Roenicke went back to what he started with - McGehee was hitting fifth again.

Low and behold, McGehee went OFF on the newly acquired Edwin Jackson and hit three dingers off of Jackson before Wednesday's game came to a close. McGehee had five home runs before Wednesday; he now has eight. In fact, he was 2-5 in Tuesday's game, so I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that this was McGehee's best two-game stretch of the season. And that's the thing...it was only two games. But McGehee has shown signs of snapping out of it. He's been staying inside the ball better and using all fields (his first, second and third home runs went to right, left and center field respectively) while hitting the ball hard. I'm not going to get ahead of myself and jump back on the Casey McGehee bandwagon just yet, but nobody's happier than me to see him succeed. All in all, the Brewers' offense exploded against the Cardinals...and to think I predicted the three game series wouldn't see any high scoring games. The Crew put up 23 runs on Carpenter, Jaime Garcia and Jackson, and the later was left out to dry because of how many relievers were burned in Tuesday night's marathon. Hopefully the bats can stay hot as they move forward into another series with the Astros. Oh yeah, and then the Brewers travel to St. Louis to play another series with the Cards - three of the nine remaining against the fighting LaRussa's. If my math is correct, Molina won't be playing in one of the games as a result of serving his suspension, but with the way he played on Wednesday I wouldn't mind seeing him in there.

There's the red-hot Brewer offense, and then there's the suddenly not so solid pitching. After having some ridiculous number of straight quality starts, Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf struggled over the past two games and luckily, the offense was able to step it up to keep the Brewers in the game. But I'm still not concerned one bit about our starting pitching because this is just one instance for Marcum and Wolf, two guys with sub 3.50 ERAs who have been reliable all season long. That and the emergence of Zack Greinke (finally) has me sleeping well at night. The bullpen? Ehhhh...yeah they're alright for the most part. K-Rod hasn't exactly prevented heart attacks in the eighth inning, but so far he hasn't cost us any wins. Takashi Saito is reliable for the most part, but he's a big reason why the Brewers didn't sweep the entire home stand. Axe has been incredible...so has Hawk...so has Loe...wait a minute - so has Kameron Loe? Yes, you heard correctly. The man has 41 scoreless appearances on the year, and that's nothing to joke around about. Loe is a shut-down pitcher against righties and as long as RR continues to use him in the right situations, he will continue to provide a huge boost late in games. So while the pitching has been a little suspect lately, there's no reason to get up in arms. If anything, the Astros should help us all feel better.

Now for a short segment on football. One more signing was made by the Packers since my last post, and that was fullback John KUUUUUUUUUUHNN much to the delight of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the entire Packers' fan base. That should basically be it for Green Bay as far as signings and cuts until we get a few games into the preseason and the roster has to be slimmed down. A few things to note thus far: first round draft pick Derek Sherrod is seeing time at left guard, the only position on the offensive line that is in question right now. With Chad Clifton protecting Rodgers' blind side and last year's first rounder Bryan Bulaga holding down right tackle, Sherrod wouldn't have a chance to see much playing time at his natural position, thus the move to guard. I'm in full support of this move because quite frankly, we don't really have anyone else to fill the void that Daryn Colledge left (in my opinion, we didn't lose much - with the money the Packers offered College, they didn't think so either). There is also a three-man rotation going on at the outside linebacker position opposite of the Claymaker between Brad Jones, Erik Walden and Frank Zombo, so we'll see how that shapes out over the course of training camp. Defensive line is also a question with Cullen Jenkins gone, but Ted Thompson must like what he has up front with B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett and Mike Neal among other guys like Howard Green and C.J. Wilson. More battles? How about at strong safety (Morgan Burnett v. Charlie Peprah) and running back (Ryan Grant v. James Starks v. Alex Green). It's difficult to say what will end up happening with the safety situation, but I can't see Burnett overtaking Peprah...at least not right away. Peprah performed nicely for Green Bay last season after Burnett went down, so I think it's his job to lose right now. Meanwhile, the Packers seem to have the perfect dilemma at the running back position. Starks is going to push Ryan Grant and there will probably be somewhat of a platoon between the two, and then there's Alex Green, who can come in for third down situations because of his pass catching ability. Personally, I've seen enough of Ryan Grant and James Starks proved that he could step in and do some things Grant could not...like, you know, not run straight forward all the time. Should be fun to see how all of the aforementioned position battles shape out.

The Wisconsin Badgers football team has just begun hitting the practice field, so I'll have more on them pretty soon. In fact, August 10 is the set date for my Badgers' season preview, so get ready for that. I know I'm ready for a little college football and if I could attend a game in Madison that was even half as awesome as the Ohio State game last year and watch Russell Wilson play, I'd be satisfied. Despite my love for the Big Ten (12), I was assigned to cover the Big 12 (10) for a college fantasy football site. I must admit that I'm a little out of my element covering this conference, which might be obsolete in the next few years, but it's a pretty cool gig and it led to me taking part in my first college fantasy football league...yes, those exist. I'll let you know how it goes, especially since I'm forking up $20 for it. Speaking of fantasy football, I should probably get going on starting up my annual league...

...AHHHHH, I GOTTA GO!

Daylight Come and I Wanna Stay Home

It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The Brewers come back home after dropping out of first place on the road, only to continue their dominance at Miller Park (now a ridiculous 39-14 at home) and reclaim the top spot in the Central. Winning six straight may look impressive on paper, but the teams the Brewers have been whooping up on, the Cubs and the Astros, are in a bad place right now. It's been a joy to watch the Crew kick teams of a lower caliber like these around, especially because they should (and especially because it's the Chicago Cubs), but I have my eye on the upcoming series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Before we size up the Cardinal series, I wanted to look back at some of the deals that went down for the Brewers over the past week. The first move General Manager Doug Melvin made was one that's hard to argue against - acquiring second baseman Felipe Lopez from the Rays for cash. Lopez had success here during his stint with the Brewers in '09, when he also replaced Rickie Weeks due to injury, and therefore it makes sense to bring in someone who is already comfortable with Milwaukee as well as someone who is proven at the position. That's not to say Felipe wasn't having his struggles this season (his numbers were anything but impressive at Tampa), but Lopez should at least bring some kind of stability to second while we wait for Weeks to return. Originally, the Brewers brought up Eric Farris, who hasn't quite earned a spot in Milwaukee, from Nashville to get a start here and there while Craig Counsell and Josh Wilson shared some time at second as well, but the day after Farris came up, Lopez was dealt for. Speaking of short stints in The Show, outfielder Brett Carroll was up for a whole week before being designated for assignment when Milwaukee traded '10 minor league player of the year Erik Komatsu to the Nats for Jerry Hairston Jr.

This move I question. Did the Brewers really need to give up one of their better prospects for Hairston? It's going to be a rental since his contract is up after the season...Komatsu is only 23 and was having a pretty solid year down in Huntsville, so it's not like he was was bad or anything...Hairston is versatile, but he's only going to have so many chances to play, especially once Weeks and perhaps Gomez return from injury. I trust our management and I certainly think Hairston can contribute and gives the Brewers more depth, but my personal opinion is that this trade was not only unfair, but also unnecessary. It bothers me that younger players in the system haven't been given a legitimate chance (other than Mat Gamel) to help out the Big League team. Those that read this blog regularly know by now that I think Taylor Green should have been called up by now. I worry that Green is on the PTBNL (Player to be Named Later) list in the K-Rod trade, a trade in which the Brewers must give up two players to the Mets after the season ends based on Rodriguez' performance in Milwaukee. Shouldn't we all be worried? Look at Green's numbers...insanely good. And with all of the problems the Brewers have had with putting a quality bat in the five hole, why not put Green there? He has some experience at second base this season, which is where he would probably have to play since Casey McGehee's leash apparently still has more slack. But it's not only the Taylor Green thing that bothers me...it's other guys not getting a legit shot, like Caleb Gindl and Brett Carroll. I can understand the argument that if they are going to play at the Major League level, the Brewers want them to basically have an everyday role (we've seen how that's hindered Gamel's progress), but you can't assume that since Gamel struggled in that position that other guys would as well. Gindl probably wouldn't hardly play at all since he's a left-handed hitter like Morgan, but Carroll had pretty respectable numbers in AAA and bats right-handed, so he would be guaranteed a spot every time a lefty was out of the mound. I'll leave it at this: as long as the Brewers haven't included Gindl or Green on any PTBNLs, they WILL be in a Brewer uniform in the very near future. Here's to them not being traded soon...we've already dealt away enough young talent over the past year for me to stomach.

One more note about the Brewers and the trading: since there wasn't much of a market for lefty relief pitchers, it doesn't appear that Milwaukee is going to make a move for one...perhaps they will after the deadline once a player has to clear waivers, but word on the street is that there isn't much available. My feeling is that once teams begin to fall out of the playoff race and realize they can't contend, they will be willing to part ways with players they weren't going to earlier in the season and the Brewers might see someone on the block emerge that they want to take a stab at. With lefties Mitch Stetter and Manny Parra both out for the remainder of the season and Zach Braddock continuing to struggle on the mound, the Brewers are left with zero left-handed options in the bullpen. They managed to shore up their depth because of Weeks and Gomez going down, so this is really the one glaring issue on the Brewers' roster right now. That, and Casey McGehee.

Wow...judging by my tone so far, you'd think the Brewers are out of the playoff race. There are so many good things that outweigh the bad on this team (I literally just got out every quip I have with the Brewers). Just a few minutes ago, the Brewers completed a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Astros to complete their second straight sweep. Axford closed it down for the 28th straight time even though K-Rod gave up a run in the eighth on a wild pitch...the bullpen has been on lock-down mode recently now that Loe has essentially become a righty specialist and guys like Hawk and Saito can be called upon before the eighth inning. Over the past 16 games, a starting pitcher hasn't given up more than three runs. Crazy. Corey Hart is catching fire...so is Prince...so is Yuni B...so is Braun. Lucroy is anchoring the bottom of the order nicely and had 4 ribbies today. Greinke is figuring it out. And the Brewers took care of business, winning six games against the Cubs and 'Stros that they should have. See? It's (almost) all good. Just don't want people getting the wrong idea.

Back to the Cardinals series. It's rather big. It makes me wish I was living back in Sussex for the summer so I could attend at least one of the games against STL. The Cards will be within three games of the Brewers no matter what once the series begins, so it's a chance for either St. Louis to regain first in the Central or for the Brewers to stretch it out to a comfortable lead. Should be a good one and hopefully a well-attended series. CAN'T WAIT!

Alright. Get ready for this. I'm about to talk about something that hasn't been discussed on this blog for quite awhile. FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While several NFL teams have been wheeling and dealing during this free agent signing frenzy, the Packers have made their fair share of moves while flying under the radar of media coverage...just like Teddy T would like it. The first news to come out of Green Bay revolved around linebacker Nick Barnett, who was informed that he would either be traded or released. Eventually, Barnett was released and as of a few hours ago, is now a Buffalo Bill. He was always someone who was good but not great for the Packers, but Barnett brought a lot of life and energy to the team and worked hard to get where he was in the league. Good luck with the rest of your career, Nick. The other players who were cut by the Pack were OT Mark Tauscher, LB Brandon Chillar, LB Brady Poppinga and DT Justin Harrell. I'm not too disappointed to see Harrell and Poppinga go, but I'm holding out hope that Chillar will be re-signed for less money because I think he would still bring something to the Packers, especially since Green Bay is all of a sudden quite thin at middle linebacker. I'm sure that guys like Brad Jones or Erik Walden would be able to jump into the middle to relieve Hawk and Bishop every now an then, but Chillar would add more depth at linebacker. And after seeing the Packers' Super Bowl run last season, we all know depth is a good thing. Other players who were free agents and signed on somewhere else were Daryn Colledge (Arizona), Brandon Jackson (Cleveland) and Cullen Jenkins (Philadelphia). Colledge and Jackson...fine. Jenkins...ouch. He will be missed.

The Green and Gold didn't only get rid of players; they made some signings as well. Green Bay re-signed kicker Mason Crosby, who has made a total of zero at-least-semi-difficult-clutch field goals during the course of his NFL career. He's got a boot, there's no doubt, but Crosby needs to figure out how to rise to the occasion before I'm on board with his return to the Packers. And just today, thanks in part to Plaxico Burress going to the Jets, James Jones returned to Green Bay. I'm torn on this one. One part says: this makes the Packers' receiving corpse ridiculously deep (Jennings, Nelson, Driver, Jones, rookie Randall Cobb)...it's insurance for when Driver inevitably stops playing football...Jones' has a very high ceiling and if he can overcome his case of the dropsies, he'll be very valuable. The other part says: he drops way too many passes and he gets in the way of Cobb's development. His play this year will hopefully help me become untorn - turns out that isn't a word. Along with Crosby and Jones, the Packers also signed all of their draft picks. It should be interesting to see how many things play out over the next month. Where will Derek Sherrod fit into the offensive line...how will the running back situation play out with Grant, Starks and now Alex Green thrown into the mix...will the Packers' receiving group be considered the best ever...how will the Packers add more depth to the front seven? Tune in to find out.

Football is back. The Brewers are cruising. Ahhh...life is good.

Damage Control

I will admit I said I'd be happy if the Brewers were only a game or two out of first place once they got done with the West Coast circus known as their 11-game road trip. Today, I have different feelings. Sure, the Brewers were somehow still tied for first place once they returned to Milwaukee (they are now 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh and St. Louis after play on Monday), but then something hit me...this team is better than 54-49. At least five or six games better than 54-49. And while Ron Roenicke bringing an aggressive-minded style to Milwaukee has been exciting at times, it's been just as frustrating if not more. Oh yeah. Don't forget about the defense, either.

Let's get one thing straight: this isn't the brightest Major League Baseball team to ever assemble. I won't name names, but over the course of this post you'll probably be able to pick up on a few of the guys that have been responsible for the Brewers underachieving thus far in 2011. The game on Sunday against the San Fran Giants is a prime example of how to throw away a ballgame, and it's definitely not the only game the Brewers have let slip down the drain this season. Sunday's game started off on a good note, just as many games have this season. This time, it was Ryan Braun continuing his home run tear by bopping one out in the top of the 1st off of starter Madison Bumgarner (no, I didn't make that name up). And just like so many times this season, the Crew seemed content with the offensive output they contributed early in the game. It seems as though pitchers make adjustments against our hitters as the game goes along when it's supposed to be the other way around. Hitting coach Dale Sveum preps his hitters well for what they'll see from an opposing pitcher, but then seemingly doesn't give tips on how to approach the same pitcher or other pitchers later on. Perhaps it's just a recent trend, but I've seen it multiple times this year...the Brewers jump out early, maybe even score five or six, and then get a little too comfortable. That happened on Sunday. Braun went deep...and that was that.

The sad thing is that might have been enough for a victory had the Crew not resorted to bonehead baseball. In the top of the second, Milwaukee got their lead-off man on in Yuni B and then up stepped Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy flew out to center...and Betancourt got doubled off. Huh? In the bottom of the third, the Giants tied it up thanks to a double by the pitcher...it happens, I guess. Here's the thing, though...Gallardo also doubled in the third, got to third base with one out after a sacrifice...and was stranded. And then there was the bottom of the fourth, where third baseman Josh Wilson decided that it wasn't necessary to wear sunglasses on a bright afternoon day in California and watched a pop-up land two feet to his left to lead off the half inning. Thankfully, this mistake didn't end up costing the Brewers or end up resulting in the go ahead and game winning run and...wait...it did? Shucks.

On Satuday, the Brewers also made two crucial errors on the basepaths, including an awful call on Rickie Weeks at home plate that cost Milwaukee a run and an extension to their lead. Still, mistakes are being made on the bases in addition to the field. Today, I heard an alarming and yet unsurprising stat - the Brewers lead all of baseball in outs on the bases with 54. Here's the kicker...that doesn't even include caught stealing. Ouch. Normally, the players who are getting thrown out are the ones with the most speed, like Nyjer Morgan and Rickie Weeks, but rarely do we see people like the recently injured Carlos Gomez or stolen base leader Ryan Braun make an out on the bases. It partly comes back to Roenicke's insistence on being aggressive. I apologize if I've said this before to you in person or on the blog, but there is a distinct difference between aggressive baserunning and stupid baserunning, and there has been a lot of the latter going on this season. Do you realize how many games stupid baserunning has cost this team? At least a couple. AT LEAST. Tack on the joke of a defense the Brewers run out behind their starting pitchers each and every game and we're talking about another couple games. I hope you're starting to realize the sneaky value that Go-Go had on Milwaukee. Even in the games where Gomez entered in the eighth inning or later, he had an affect with his glove and his feet. Even with his limited playing time as the season wore on, Gomez is second on the team in SBs.

Now let's be real...we knew coming into this season that the Brewers were willing to take some hits on defense in order to improve their pitching and keep their dangerous offense intact - when Alcides Escobar was essentially swapped for Yuni B is the most telling evidence - but the idiotic baserunning blunders are something that can be avoided...especially when people like Braun, King and Weeks are at the plate or due up. There are ways to avoid these mistakes and it's knowing when to take calculated risks. By now, players should be smart enough to know when it's time to take off or hold and hopefully RR has realized by now that being "aggressive" on the bases can easily be and has been taken out of context this season. We've seen Roenicke go through his fair share of growing pains as a first year manager, but we've also been treated to more exciting baseball and RR has also bounced back from his mistakes to pull a rabbit out of his hat every once in awhile. I've been fine with Roenicke this season for the most part and think that it's unfortunate that he couldn't have had more time to work with these players seeing as how this is a do-or-die season for the Brewers.

In the end, it comes down to this: the two biggest problems this season for the Milwaukee Brewers have been defense and baserunning, with a sprinkle of un-clutch hitting and poor middle relief. One of the major issues can be fixed internally. One cannot (the funny thing is, the Brewers are actually the second best fielding team in the division despite being 23rd in the league in regards to errors. The only team above Milwaukee? Cincy...in 6th. That's why they aren't going away easily). If the Brewers want to make a move to shore up their bench, replace the struggling Casey McGehee, get better defensively or all of the above, that would be fan-flipping-tastic. But I think defense should be the number one priority as Milwaukee nears the July 31 trade deadline (then McGehee...then bench). They've already dealt for a solid arm in the pen and now it's time to trade once again. If they don't, a few things could happen. This team could get by with what they have now and sneak into the playoffs, not get by with what they have and flounder down the stretch, pick up a player off waivers once the trade deadline passes or search from within their farm system for what they need. It was nice to see the Brewers play better than usual on the road (5-6 on the recent road trip) despite some tough losses, and if they can continue to sure up their play away from home while maintaining their dominance at Miller Park, a move isn't necessarily necessary.

But it would be nice.

A Literal Shot in the Arm

Can anyone remember the last time they were excited about a Wisconsin Badgers quarterback? Badger football has made a living out of building up a legitimate running attack that runs behind a ginormous offensive line. This then allows the quarterback to benefit from defenses packing the box and running the play action, throwing primarily from the pocket and darting passes no more than 15 to 20 yards down the field. Rarely does Wisconsin design a play that allows for the QB to roll out of the pocket or try and create a play for themselves. Boy, are Badger fans in for a surprise this fall. On Monday, it was confirmed that former N.C. State quarterback and minor league baseball player Russell Wilson would be leaving the Colorado Rockies' Single A affiliate to play football for Wisconsin next season.

Wilson, who graduated in three years at N.C. State, was selected in the fourth round of the MLB draft last season, but was struggling early in his baseball career. Since he graduated college so quickly and only played three years of football, Wilson has a year left of eligibility. Thanks to the current state of the Badgers' football program, a stud offensive coordinator in Paul Chryst and uncertainty at the quarterback position, Wilson decided to take his talents to Madison. Instead of announcing this during a one hour special on ESPN, Wilson humbly decided to make his first appearance as a Badger on College Football Live. And Badger fans, you're not going to believe this, but Wilson can do more than just throw the football...he can run with it, too. This is one of the main reasons that Badger fans can get excited for football this season. Even with the departure of several key guys like Lance Kendricks, J.J. Watt and John Clay, the Badgers return eight starters on defense, two 1,000ish yard rushers in Montee Ball and James White and now will be adding one of the best QBs in ACC history. I don't have to run through all of the numbers to convince you that Russell Wilson makes this Badgers team noticeably better and a lot more unpredictable on the offensive side of the ball. Along with his ability to create plays with his feet, Wilson was a very effective passer with the Wolfpack. He's unconventional when it comes to the Wisconsin norm to say the very least...that's what so many people will like about him when they tune in each Saturday to watch him go to work. In my mind, with the recent happenings in Columbus (Tressel resigning, several players suspended, Pryor leaving town) and the addition of the versatile Wilson, the Badgers are contenders in whatever stupid name was given to their division. There are still many challenges on the schedule that Bucky must confront, but once it's confirmed that Russell Wilson has won the quarterback "battle", expectation should be higher than what many thought they would be in 2011. And thank goodness...the end to last season still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

With my NBA draft talk in the past, the NFL in a 100+ day lockout and the only active Wisconsin professional team being the Brewers, there isn't all that much to talk about besides the future. What Brewer fans hope for in the future is a playoff birth and maybe more, but should the Brewers run into teams like the Phillies, Red Sox or Yankees late in the postseason, some things are going to have to change with this team. There are guys on this team that get it and some that still seem to struggle with the pressure that comes along with being a first place ball club. Thankfully, the players I'm talking about (Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Marcum, Wolf) have been able to pick up the slack that other players cannot (McGehee, Betancourt, Greinke). The latter mentioned can't sit back and expect to not contribute while still watching this team succeed. At the moment, the Crew is good...but not great. Sure, the American Leauge is a totally different animal, Milwaukee is basically the smallest market in baseball and they have landed the two best teams in the AL...on the road. But the Brewers have the pieces to be a great team this season and maybe this season only should Fielder visit Mr. Free Agency this winter. It isn't the year for Casey McGehee to be completely useless behind Prince or for Zack Greinke to have a 5.00 ERA. There is little margin for error for a team like the Brewers, even with the talent they have assembled this season.

The previous paragraph was prompted by the first game of the Yankees series Tuesday night. Greinke lasted two innings. McGehee failed to hit when in a position to contribute and brainfarted on defense. The Brewers looked starstruck as Kyle so rightly stated. This isn't acceptable. Professional athletes can't act like they've never been in New York and then go on to play like they just stepped on a professionally kept baseball field for the first time. Hopefully it's just something that the Brewers needed to get out of their system, but wait...wouldn't that have already happened in Boston, another city rich with baseball tradition and a stadium revered around the league? Apparently not. Now I'm not going to throw away all hope and overreact about the Brewers struggling against one of the best divisions ever assembled. I just don't want Brewer fans thinking that because we can beat up on teams like the Twins and Pirates, we should start acting like this is the best team to strut across Milwaukee. The Brewers have a long way to go yet, but they have the right core in place to keep this team's head on straight. Let's just be thankful that interleague play isn't year-round and that the Brewers have received some nice breaks so far this season. Pujols' time on the DL has helped the Crew at least stay in contention for the division lead and once he gets back, it would be nice for the Brewers to hold a somewhat comfortable lead over the Cards. The Bucs have been surprisingly good for their standards, but in the end they don't have the horses or the experience to contend in the end...kind of like the Brewers in '06. Everyone says the Cincinnati Reds will be there in the end and I don't argue against this, but they haven't shown that they are division-winning quality like they were last season when they came out of nowhere to make the playoffs. Milwaukee has been lucky but good for the most part. Right NOW could not be a more important time to show how good they really are.

The Return of the Road Woes

At the close of the Chicago Cubs/Milwaukee Brewers' series, I was tempted to hack away at my keyboard in disgust after watching my favorite baseball team get out-dueled by their most hated rival. Instead, I decided to wait and see how the Brewers would respond to such a lackluster performance (on the field and from the manager) because of how often they have done just that...responded. To be real, taking one out of three from the best team in baseball in their home park can't be viewed as a failure. In fact, it's a good way to avoid getting your parachute tangled up while falling toward the ground. It's not the Red Sox series I'm concerned about, the beginning of the most brutal interleague schedule ever created by mankind...it's not Gallardo getting one of his few stinker performances out of the way against the best hitting team in baseball...it's not watching our ace, Shaun Marcum, have to leave the game with a hip injury and possibly miss his next start...it's not even Roenicke's insistence to continue using Kameron "Loe No" in the 8th inning time after time...it's the freaking Cubs' series that bothers me, and the potential return of the road woes for the Milwaukee Brewers.

An alarming stat was brought to my attention a few days ago by my roommate Kenne. The Brewers haven't won a season series against the Chicago Cubs since 2005. Can you believe that? Even with the recent struggles on the North Side, the Cubs have still managed to own Milwaukee, and what makes it even more frustrating is that it's always the same guys that beat us. Aramis Ramirez had the game winning RBI off of Loe in game one while Ryan Dempster continued his domination of the Brewers...Ramirez then promptly hit a game tying home run off of Marco Estrada, who, by the way has also not been of much help lately but was still thrown into a (sort-of) pressure situation in game two...and then in game four, after the Brewers outscored the Cubs to take game three, Greinke left far too many pitches over the plate while Rickie Weeks was gunned out twice at second by Fuku and the Brewers dropped three out of four to the Cubbies. Each starting pitcher had games they would rather forget during the road trip save for Randy Wolf, who had two stellar performances and a victory to show for his efforts. The struggles for the starting five on this trip was concerning considering they have been the key to this team's success over the course of the season. Just when we thought Greinke had finally turned the corner, he failed to step up in a game the Brewers really could've used. Gallardo did the same against the Red Sox earlier today.

The starting pitching wasn't the only aspect of the Brewers that saw a decline in performance while on the road this past week. Manager Ron Roenicke's coaching style cost the Brewers a chance at victories in both game one and game two of the series against the Cubs. Calling a suicide squeeze for Randy Wolf with Betancourt on third and one out in the fifth inning was pushing his luck a little too far for my liking. And to top it all off, Wolf crushed one to right for a double right after Betancourt was caught in a rundown when Wolf whiffed on the squeeze bunt. Later on in the same game, Loe trotted out for the eighth and that was that. In game two, RR decided it was best to insert his second worst reliever statistically into the eight inning slot instead of his worst and the result was even more catastrophic...a blown lead and eventual loss in the tenth following another questionable decision from Roenicke: not having Dillard intentionally walk Starlin Castro to set up a double play with a runner on third and one out. It's decisions like this that makes my head hurt, especially against THE FREAKING CUBS. Ugh. So frustrating. I like Roenicke. I really do. His crafty use of the shift. His aggressive style of managing. But playing the percentages like with the infield shift should be applied to other facets of the game...like walking a runner to set up a chance at a double play or a force out at home...or calling for a squeeze with your pitcher in a 0-0 game in the fifth instead of having some faith in his hitting ability. RR is learning the material as he goes, but don't fail an exam against the Cubs for God's sake.

That's about all the complaining I have for you and this is why: despite going 2-5 on the last road trip in which the Brewers visited the two oldest stadiums in baseball and proceeded to play like they were the oldest team in baseball, Milwaukee is still in a tie for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals thanks to the Cards also faltering over the last week. Every division in baseball is tight at the top with the exception of the NL East (Phillies = scary), so we Brewer fans have to accept the fact that this is going down to the wire and it won't be easy on the ole' ticker. But the biggest reason that I can remain optimistic is because the Brewers get to return home now, where they are 25-9!!!!! Decent. The two teams that will pay visit to Mil-town this week are the Tampa Bay Rays (39-33, 3 game winning streak) and the cross-state rival Minnesota Twins (31-39, 7 game winning streak). Because these teams play in the American League, I can't say I'm an expert on either the Rays and the Twins, but I am aware that the Twins have been on an absolute tear as of late. They looked so awful earlier in the year, but Minnesota isn't a team that can be kept down for long. The Twins always play the Brewers tough so it should be a good challenge for the Crew. You'll see me start to complain again if the Brewers fail to have a winning home stand before having to travel to New York and Minnesota, so for all our sakes....Go Brewers.

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It's time to take a step in a different direction and evaluate a few other sport-related activities around Wisconsin. Last Thursday, the Packers finally received their Super Bowl rings for winning Super Bowl 45 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The rings, which are fully described in this article, are ridiculously amazing. But why get the rings now during the lockout instead of afterward? Coach Mike McCarthy gave a good explanation, saying that the team doesn't want to reflect on the past and get distracted by the Super Bowl victory while preparing for next season. Good call, Mike. The rings were handed out during a private ceremony, just as McCarthy would like it. This is the last time I'm talking about football until this damn lockout gets lifted.

Well, pro football at least. Over the last few weeks, there has been some speculation that former North Carolina State quarterback and current minor league baseball player Russell Wilson could come play for the Wisconsin Badgers. Wilson, who has another year of eligibility remaining, currently plays in the Colorado Rockies farm system and has strongly considered leaving baseball so he can pursue football. He has narrowed his options down to Wisconsin and Auburn. Wilson would be eligible to play this season since he wouldn't be transferring from a different school, but first Wilson has to make a decision between which sport he wants to play. According to the recent rumblings about Wilson, he his still very torn between playing baseball, where he hasn't exactly torn it up, and football, where a strong senior season could give him a legitimate chance to play in the NFL. Reports have said that Wilson is favoring Wisconsin, which I believe can be attributed to the genius ways of offensive coordinator Paul Chryst, a guy who could find himself at the helm of a college football program in the very near future. Hopefully Russell makes the right choice and becomes a Badger.

And last and also least, our beloved Milwaukee Bucks. In case you didn't notice, I rarely talk about the Bucks because, well, they aren't very good. Their franchise has been run extremely poorly ever since Ray Allen was traded away for a sack of s--- and all the death of Robert "Tractor" Traylor did a month or so ago was remind me of how Milwaukee thought it would be a good idea to trade Dirk "future hall-of-famer" Nowitzki and a 1st round pick for Tractor. Unreal. Of course, his death is very tragic but the horrible memories came flooding back. Arguably, the Bucks have the curse of the Dirk pinned on them for many years to come. But the Bucks are the NBA franchise I root for because they play 25 minutes away from where I grew up and I'm a homer. Because it's my job to write about sports in the Midwest for The Sports Jury, I decided to do a piece on the Bucks for the website. It includes a look at what went wrong last season, what the Bucks need to do to return to the playoffs and some of the prospects that Milwaukee should be targeting in the NBA draft coming up next Thursday. As far as other articles I've written for the site, feel free to take a look at my archive and see if anything interests you. Yes, the picture for my profile on the site is me with a mo-hawk and my 6th grade basketball jersey on.

Don't hate.

Go Brewers.

Not all that, but a bag of chips

Here's a fun fact for you. The Milwaukee Brewers come into play Wednesday 14th out of 16 National League teams in pitching when it comes to ERA (4.27). To be honest, I was extremely surprised to hear this at first because of how much the Brewers' pitching has seemed to improve this season compared to 2010 (4.58 ERA, also 14th in NL). But when I put things into perspective, it makes sense that the Brewers are where they are because we have seen an increase in pitching performances all over baseball. It's strange to see pitchers have this much success so early in the season because it normally takes some time for pitchers to shake the rust off their arms. This brings up a few questions. 1. Does this mean that pitchers will continue to dominate hitters this season? 2. Why are pitchers beginning to regain control in the pitcher/hitter duel?

1. I don't think so. Just like the way pitchers make adjustments based on who's at the plate, hitters are able to pick up on a pitcher's tendencies. However, I do believe that pitchers will still hold an advantage simply because of my answer to the second question.

2. This is a two part answer. First of all, the steroid era has essentially come and went. Players 'roiding up and smashing the ball out of the park helped bring a lot more fans to the park, but now the combination of a bad economy and better pitching/lack of the long ball has dropped attendance a bit. Basically, the people who have stopped coming to the park aren't true baseball fans, so I guess it's for the better. The other major factor? The cut fastball. This pitch is just dirty. Pitchers all over the league are starting to pick up on this notion. In fact, pitchers have reinvented themselves and salvaged their careers because of the cutter. It's very difficult to pick up the break because of how slight it is, but it's enough to throw off hitters, causing them to break their bats when it comes in on them, hit a dribbler off the end of their bat when it's going away or completely whiff on it altogether. It's different from a slider because the break on a slider begins much earlier, although it does have more of a bend. Even so, a hitter can adjust much easier to the slider than the cutter because of the spin on the baseball. Back in the day, I dabbled with the cut fastball but could never quite figure it out. Would mastering this pitch have helped extend my baseball career? The 69 mile-per-hour gopherball that I tossed at Miller Park last Saturday answers that question.

Enough with the boring lessons of baseball that no one cares about. Let's assess the Brewers as we near the end of the first-third of the season. 30-25? Sure, that's not bad, especially while being towards the bottom of the NL in pitching. Thankfully, the Brewers have made that up by scoring the 3rd most runs in the league and having...wait for it...THE THIRD BEST FIELDING PERCENTAGE IN THE LEAGUE!!!!! WHOA!!! I believe I said the Brewers would be one of the five worst fielding teams in the Majors. What I failed to mention was that I was drugged prior to making that prediction. Jokes on me I guess. They say that as long as you're doing well in two of the three major categories (Hitting, Pitching, Fielding), you're going to be in the running towards the end of the year. And as far as the Brewers' pitching is concerned, it's only going to get better. My main reason behind this statement is Zack Greinke. He hasn't been all that Brewer fans had hoped for before the season when many were resting playoff hopes on Greinke's back, but a 4-1 record can't be frowned upon too badly (the 5.29 ERA on the other hand...). Shaun Marcum HAS been all that AND a bag of chips. As I'm currently typing this and flipping back and forth between Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals and Game 3 of the Brewers/Reds series, Marcum has been cruising along. He doesn't blow you away with his stuff, but he is the definition of a pitcher; hitting his spots and throwing the pitch that the situation calls for. Tonight in particular, Marcum is using is change-up very effectively, especially against Jay Bruce (who has been on fire as of late). Greinke is beginning to come around and his last appearance proved it...he was without his best stuff, but the Zack Attack was still able to go six innings and only allow two runs because he stuck with his slider, the only pitch that was working for him. Oh and by the way, Greinke has 45 K's to go against just six walks. Greinke is well on his way.

There have been a few causes for concern for Milwaukee that could come back to bite them when the playoff race starts to heat up. For one, the Brewers don't have a lefty in the bullpen because of injuries (Zach Braddock, Manny Parra) and poor performance/injury (Mitch Stetter).

Quick update: Jay Bruce just hit a two-run homer. I'm an idiot.

The Brewers can't expect to be true contenders if they don't have that situational southpaw to call out from the pen to face a dangerous left-handed hitter. Unfortunately, Manny Parra continues to have setbacks and was recently placed on the 60-day DL because of elbow problems. Whether or not Parra will be back at all this season is difficult to say, but Braddock is very close to returning to the bigs and will provide a boost to a bullpen that has had it's ups and downs. Stetter hasn't been the same guy he was two years ago when he was on my good side, but I think that he will continue to be given opportunities to succeed with the big league club because of the lack of competent lefties in the Brewers' farm system/the injury to Parra. Another concern for the Crew is the trouble on the road. Currently, the Brewers are 9-18 on the road compared to a 21-7 record at home. Wow, talk about a split. I understand being more comfortable at home and having the support of your fans, but can it really make that much of a difference? Apparently so. Whether it's just all mental or the strength of opponent, the Brewers need to overcome this problem. The fact of the matter is that good teams are able to win a respectable amount on the road and then build up a solid record by winning two out of three at home time and again. The Cardinals, who currently lead the Brewers by 2.5 games, have had just as much success at home as on the road. This leads me to believe that the Cardinals will be able to hold their lead on Milwaukee because they will naturally begin to win more at home...UNLESS the Brewers begin to win more on the road.

Like I said before, the Brewers stand at 30-25 while sitting 2.5 games behind the front-running Cards and sitting 2.5 games ahead of the third place Reds, whom the Brewers have had their troubles against (2-6). They are 1-2 against St. Louis, so many battles against the Cardinals will ensue to help settle matters in the NL Central. To finish up my rundown of the Brewers, I'm going to do some rankings based on the bullpen, starting pitching, fielding and hitting. Enjoy.

BULLPEN:

1. John Axford (His stats may not be incredible, but he's doing his job)
2. Marco Estrada (Doing a solid job in the middle-relief role & gives you innings)
3. Kameron Loe (An absolute work-horse who helps keep a lead into the 9th for Ax)
4. LaTroy Hawkins (A minuscule ERA but a lack of high-pressure situations)
5. Sergio Mitre (Also a low ERA, but see Hawkins)
*Zach Braddock will be in this top five when he returns from injury

STARTING 5:

1. Shaun Marcum (A 6-2 record with a sub-3 ERA...he pitches for us?)
2. Yovani Gallardo (Recently bumped his ERA under 4 & has seven victories)
3. Randy Wolf (ERA below 3.50, but far too inconsistent for my liking)
4. Chris Narveson (For being the #5, have to be pleased with the Narv-dog's numbers)
5. Zack Greinke (Managing to get W's thanks to offense & starting to come around)

FIELDING:

1. Carlos Gomez (His combination of speed and...speed in center makes him #1)

Quick update: Kameron Loe now dropped to 4th in bullpen rankings after giving up a 2-run homer to Joey Votto and getting the loss, allowing the Brewers to lose ANOTHER series on the road. Wonderful. Brewers are now 30-26, 3 GB of Cardinals.

2. Corey Hart (Pretty solid arm and covers a lot of ground in the outfield)
3. Craig Counsell (By far the best fielding infielder on the team)
4. Ryan Braun (One of two full time players (Gomez) without an error)
5. Prince Fielder (Vastly improved picking the ball and surprisingly agile)

HITTING:

1. Ryan Braun (Duh)
2. Prince Fielder (Off to the best start to a season he's ever had, taking his walks)
3. Rickie Weeks (Have to wonder when this guy moves into a run-producing spot)
4. Jonathon Lucroy (Has put up very solid numbers in a short period of time)
5. Nyjer Morgan (That's right...I said it)

Number of road series' won by Brewers: 1 (Pirates)
Does that count? No.