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.
Showing posts with label Gallardo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gallardo. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
First half (56.8%) Review for the Crew
The timing of the All-Star Game has really thrown me off. Usually when baseball reaches the Midsummer Classic, people assume that the season is halfway done. In reality, the Brewers were through 81 of their 162 games a few weeks ago and have technically now completed 56.8% of their season...so let's just call the following the 46/81 review for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Record: 49-43, T-1st in NL Central
Team MVP: 1B Prince Fielder, .415 OBP, 22 HR, 72 RBI
Team Cy Young: Yovani Gallardo, 10-5, 3.76 ERA, 104 K
I already did a mini-season review for The Sports Jury, but I'll be putting my blood, sweat and tears into this one so you've come to the right place. With baseball getting a little breather with the exception of the Home Run Derby (currently putting me to sleep) and the ASG, it's a good time to reflect on what the Brewers have accomplished so far this summer. If you wanted to take the short route in summing up the Brewers, it could be done with one word...inconsistent. There probably isn't a better team to root for than Milwaukee if you're looking for some health problems. The Brewers could easily be looking up to the division leader instead of the ones on top if they didn't manage several heart-stopping comebacks, although they have also let a few leads slip away late in ball games. Earlier in the season, I wrote about how there is something different about this team than in past years and I still believe that to this day. When the Crew hit their lowest point of the season and were 13-19, they picked themselves up and went 21-7 from May 7th to June 6th. Since that time, they have had their ups and downs, but here they are...in 1st place. And that's what really matters.
Before the 2011 season began, General Manager Doug Melvin realized the trend that was going around baseball. Teams were loading up on pitching...and it was working. The other trending topic, if you will, was teams loading up on defense. This hasn't been as much of a success (see: Seattle, Oakland, Chicago White Sox), and Melvin decided that he wasn't going to go the defensive route...we'll get to that later. The two pitchers that the Brewers gave up so much for were Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, who have gone a combined 14-6 so far this season. Yeah, you can go ahead and complain about Greinke's struggles...and he certainly hasn't been right for the majority of the season...but the way he pitches to contact (99 Ks & only 16 walks), works fast and keeps the defense on its toes can't be overlooked. Hitters reward Greinke with lots and lots of runs, which explains his solid record despite his 5.45 ERA. Before the season, I thought that Greinke wouldn't perform as well as expected, but Gallardo would succeed due to some pressure being taken off his shoulders. And in my mind, Yo has been the rock of this team and that's what makes him the M-V-Pitcher for the Crew. Gallardo has been healthy all season (unlike Marcum and Greinke), has already reached double digits in victories and has gotten HUGE wins when the Brewers needed them the most (when they were 13-19, after losing 6 of 7, etc). I still have faith in Greinke coming around, but as long as he keeps getting Ws, I'm happy. As for Marcum, he might only have seven wins (thought he would get 15), but he should probably have ten or 11. He has either pitched in a lot of low scoring games or watched Kameron Loe take the opponent off the hook with his blown saves...I'll get to that and the rest of the 'pen later. It's okay. There's still time for Mr. Marcum to reach the 15 win plateau. To round out the starting rotation, Randy Wolf has been a pleasant surprise (3.65 ERA), but he's kind of a dick for not letting Johnny Lucroy catch him so I'm not going to give him any further praise. Last but not least, we have the Narve-dog, Chris Narveson. 6-5 with a 4.75 ERA for a number five starter? Yes, please. There's no question the performance of the starting rotation is why the Brewers are where they are right now. For those of us that are religious, let us pray for continued good health and more wins. Here are the grades:
Yovani Gallardo: A- ... An All-Star last year, he has become very reliable.
Shaun Marcum: A- ... A true pitcher, Marcum almost always keeps team in games.
Randy Wolf: B+ ... Always keeps hitters guessing but has struggled of late.
Zack Greinke: C ... Tends to miss too much with his spots and it kills him.
Chris Narveson: B- ... Like I said, I'll take his numbers for a #5.
Overall: B+
It's hard to argue with who the most valuable player for the Milwaukee Brewers has been so far. Perhaps Ryan Braun has an argument for this honor with his gaudy average and productive numbers hitting in front of Prince, but that's the thing. It's partly due to hitting in front of Prince. Fielder has embraced being in the final year of his contract and is making his case for not only a massive pay day, but also MVP of the National League. In my season preview, I noted that King would either collapse under the pressure of a contract year or have a career year. I think I'll give myself a correct prediction on that one up to this point. Speaking of correct predictions...Nyjer "Tony Plush" Morgan. Even before the season began, I felt like a giddy school girl every time I thought about what Plush could bring to the table once coach Ron Roenicke finally decided it was time to give the Carlos Gomez experiment a rest. The result has been spectacular defense, a .327 batting average, speed on the base paths and possibly the most entertaining interview in the history of sports. Alright. It's time to go through all the position players the Brewers currently have on the roster:
LF Ryan Braun: A ... A total stud in the 3-hole. Not much more can be said.
OF/1B Mark Kotsay: B- ... Surprisingly clutch, but a liability in the field.
OF/IF Josh Wilson: B ... Was he the key bench player pick-up the Crew needed?
CF Carlos Gomez: C ... Can become likable when accepting the role he plays.
OF Nyjer Morgan: A- ... This guy should get a job setting tables. Or in comedy.
RF Corey Hart: B ... His numbers are about where you'd expect, so can't complain.
3B Casey McGehee: D- ... Terrible at protecting Prince and at the hot corner.
SS Yuniesky Betancourt: D+ ... Hasn't really done much of anything for MIL.
IF Craig Counsell: C- ... Can't be too harsh. Solid with the glove, good teammate.
2B Rickie Weeks: B+ ... Definitely Weeks' best year to date, but still bad w/glove.
1B Prince Fielder: A ... It's a damn shame that he's leaving Milwaukee because...
1B Mat Gamel: INC ... Gamel still hasn't figured it out at the Big League level.
C Jonathan Lucroy: B+ ... Putting up league leading numbers among NL catchers.
C George Kottaras: C ... A nice power threat to have and handles Wolf well.
Overall: B ... Even though it appears on paper that this offense is fairly impressive, there doesn't seem to be enough help around Braun and Fielder. We all know about McGehee and the lack of production from Yuni B and I think there is a simple solution: take Weeks out of the lead-off spot. We've seen how well Plush gets on base to start rally after rally, and therefore I think he has the ability to assume this role from Rickie. Morgan has hit first before in his career and Weeks is better suited in the five hole because of his immense production as far as lead-off hitters are concerned. Perhaps it's too drastic of a move for Roenicke to make in his first year of managing, but this might be it for awhile for fans in Milwaukee. He needs to do whatever it takes to get as much out of this squad as possible. Just think about it...Morgan, Hart, Braun, Fielder, Weeks to start off a ball game? With Lucroy as the anchor to keep things respectable at the bottom of the order? I'm salivating. One last thing...I didn't think Gamel would be brought up this year (at least not until September) and I still wish he hadn't. Gamel needed as much time as possible in the minors to get used to first base for next season and it didn't happen. This was due in part to Roenicke wanting an extra bat for interleague play and the awful play of McGehee. There's no way he's back on the roster with his .115 average after the All-Star break.
Finally, the bullpen. I believe that this is one of the more difficult aspects of a big league club to manage. It's shown this year in Roenicke's first year as skipper as it took him about 85 games to realize that Loe simply couldn't handle the 8th inning role. I've harped on this enough, but ever since LaTroy Hawkins assumed this role, have the Brewers lost a lead? No, sir. Other than that, the Ax Factor John Axford has been very reliable as the Brewers' closer and many guys have come and went. As of now, the Brewers only have six relievers on their roster...the six mainstays that should remain at the major league level as the season continues. Here are the grades:
John Axford: A- ... Hasn't been quite as good as '10, but hasn't let many get away.
LaTroy Hawkins: A ... With a 1.08 ERA, he has earned the setup role behind Ax.
Kameron Loe: C ... Incredibly effective against righties, but has seven loses.
Marco Estrada: C+ ... Has faced some difficult tasks as the long-inning man.
Zach Braddock: C ... He is clearly still dealing with some issues after DL stints.
Takashi Saito: INC ... Has been solid since returning from injury; could be key.
Overall: B- ... When the Brewers have the lead late and the bullpen is called upon, it hasn't exactly been lights out. In fact, Estrada and Loe have combined for 30% of the Brewers' losses and the bullpen overall has lost about half of the games for the Crew, which is rather staggering. Braddock has battled with a sleeping disorder, which is especially disappointing to me because I'm a huge Braddock guy and I thought he would play a very important role for the Brewers this season. However, if the Brewers want to do things this year, they will need Braddock to figure it out. Hopefully, with Hawkins and Axford taking the last two innings of games in which the Brewers hold the lead, Milwaukee can shorten the ball game.
That's that for the players. How about first-year manager Ron Roenicke? Obviously, Roenicke has made his mistakes along the way, but I would be hard pressed to find anyone that totally dislikes the man...at least not at the level of Ned Yost or Ken Macha. I think this has a lot to do with Roenicke's aggressive style of managing. He likes to put runners in motion and has put on a few squeeze plays that have been very effective. Of course, sometimes this style doesn't work and players will turn aggressive base running into flat out stupid baserunning, but you can see the progression of Roenicke. He keeps things loose and it shows in the attitudes of the players. Over the course of the last home stand while not having the luxury of Ryan Braun in the lineup, Roenicke made some crucial decisions that probably helped the Brewers win an extra game or two. I really look forward to seeing how Roenicke manages down the stretch as this club (hopefully) remains in the thick of the playoff race.
Okay. So it turns out that the Prince Fielder contract situation isn't the only elephant in the room. The Brewers' defense appeared to start off strong, but now they find themselves 22nd in the MLB in fielding percentage. Just three more spots and they'll fulfill my prophecy and finish in the bottom five of the league. Like I talked about in my last post, the Brewers are basically willing to bite the bullet and try and win games behind their stellar starting five and the big boppers in their lineup. So far, so good. Milwaukee is in first, but they face a daunting road trip after the break where they have to travel to Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco. It isn't quite make-or-break, but it's pretty damn close. Considering how much the Brewers have faltered away from home and the level of competition they will be facing on this west coast swing, we have to set our expectations at a reasonable level. If Milwaukee can manage to stay within a game or two of the division leader after the trip, I'll be more than happy. But it would be nice if by some sort of miracle, the Brewers found out the secret to winning on the road during their three days off.
For those keeping track of my pre-season predictions at home, that's five correct, three wrong, and four pending (Roenicke manager of year (at this point, ATL and PIT beat him out), Marcum wins 15 games, Rogers makes a spot start or two (looking doubtful), and the Brewers will win the division and go 91-71 (need to go 42-28 rest of the way)) as of now. Remember to root on the National League tomorrow in the ASG because, you know, this time it counts or whatever.
Record: 49-43, T-1st in NL Central
Team MVP: 1B Prince Fielder, .415 OBP, 22 HR, 72 RBI
Team Cy Young: Yovani Gallardo, 10-5, 3.76 ERA, 104 K
I already did a mini-season review for The Sports Jury, but I'll be putting my blood, sweat and tears into this one so you've come to the right place. With baseball getting a little breather with the exception of the Home Run Derby (currently putting me to sleep) and the ASG, it's a good time to reflect on what the Brewers have accomplished so far this summer. If you wanted to take the short route in summing up the Brewers, it could be done with one word...inconsistent. There probably isn't a better team to root for than Milwaukee if you're looking for some health problems. The Brewers could easily be looking up to the division leader instead of the ones on top if they didn't manage several heart-stopping comebacks, although they have also let a few leads slip away late in ball games. Earlier in the season, I wrote about how there is something different about this team than in past years and I still believe that to this day. When the Crew hit their lowest point of the season and were 13-19, they picked themselves up and went 21-7 from May 7th to June 6th. Since that time, they have had their ups and downs, but here they are...in 1st place. And that's what really matters.
Before the 2011 season began, General Manager Doug Melvin realized the trend that was going around baseball. Teams were loading up on pitching...and it was working. The other trending topic, if you will, was teams loading up on defense. This hasn't been as much of a success (see: Seattle, Oakland, Chicago White Sox), and Melvin decided that he wasn't going to go the defensive route...we'll get to that later. The two pitchers that the Brewers gave up so much for were Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, who have gone a combined 14-6 so far this season. Yeah, you can go ahead and complain about Greinke's struggles...and he certainly hasn't been right for the majority of the season...but the way he pitches to contact (99 Ks & only 16 walks), works fast and keeps the defense on its toes can't be overlooked. Hitters reward Greinke with lots and lots of runs, which explains his solid record despite his 5.45 ERA. Before the season, I thought that Greinke wouldn't perform as well as expected, but Gallardo would succeed due to some pressure being taken off his shoulders. And in my mind, Yo has been the rock of this team and that's what makes him the M-V-Pitcher for the Crew. Gallardo has been healthy all season (unlike Marcum and Greinke), has already reached double digits in victories and has gotten HUGE wins when the Brewers needed them the most (when they were 13-19, after losing 6 of 7, etc). I still have faith in Greinke coming around, but as long as he keeps getting Ws, I'm happy. As for Marcum, he might only have seven wins (thought he would get 15), but he should probably have ten or 11. He has either pitched in a lot of low scoring games or watched Kameron Loe take the opponent off the hook with his blown saves...I'll get to that and the rest of the 'pen later. It's okay. There's still time for Mr. Marcum to reach the 15 win plateau. To round out the starting rotation, Randy Wolf has been a pleasant surprise (3.65 ERA), but he's kind of a dick for not letting Johnny Lucroy catch him so I'm not going to give him any further praise. Last but not least, we have the Narve-dog, Chris Narveson. 6-5 with a 4.75 ERA for a number five starter? Yes, please. There's no question the performance of the starting rotation is why the Brewers are where they are right now. For those of us that are religious, let us pray for continued good health and more wins. Here are the grades:
Yovani Gallardo: A- ... An All-Star last year, he has become very reliable.
Shaun Marcum: A- ... A true pitcher, Marcum almost always keeps team in games.
Randy Wolf: B+ ... Always keeps hitters guessing but has struggled of late.
Zack Greinke: C ... Tends to miss too much with his spots and it kills him.
Chris Narveson: B- ... Like I said, I'll take his numbers for a #5.
Overall: B+
It's hard to argue with who the most valuable player for the Milwaukee Brewers has been so far. Perhaps Ryan Braun has an argument for this honor with his gaudy average and productive numbers hitting in front of Prince, but that's the thing. It's partly due to hitting in front of Prince. Fielder has embraced being in the final year of his contract and is making his case for not only a massive pay day, but also MVP of the National League. In my season preview, I noted that King would either collapse under the pressure of a contract year or have a career year. I think I'll give myself a correct prediction on that one up to this point. Speaking of correct predictions...Nyjer "Tony Plush" Morgan. Even before the season began, I felt like a giddy school girl every time I thought about what Plush could bring to the table once coach Ron Roenicke finally decided it was time to give the Carlos Gomez experiment a rest. The result has been spectacular defense, a .327 batting average, speed on the base paths and possibly the most entertaining interview in the history of sports. Alright. It's time to go through all the position players the Brewers currently have on the roster:
LF Ryan Braun: A ... A total stud in the 3-hole. Not much more can be said.
OF/1B Mark Kotsay: B- ... Surprisingly clutch, but a liability in the field.
OF/IF Josh Wilson: B ... Was he the key bench player pick-up the Crew needed?
CF Carlos Gomez: C ... Can become likable when accepting the role he plays.
OF Nyjer Morgan: A- ... This guy should get a job setting tables. Or in comedy.
RF Corey Hart: B ... His numbers are about where you'd expect, so can't complain.
3B Casey McGehee: D- ... Terrible at protecting Prince and at the hot corner.
SS Yuniesky Betancourt: D+ ... Hasn't really done much of anything for MIL.
IF Craig Counsell: C- ... Can't be too harsh. Solid with the glove, good teammate.
2B Rickie Weeks: B+ ... Definitely Weeks' best year to date, but still bad w/glove.
1B Prince Fielder: A ... It's a damn shame that he's leaving Milwaukee because...
1B Mat Gamel: INC ... Gamel still hasn't figured it out at the Big League level.
C Jonathan Lucroy: B+ ... Putting up league leading numbers among NL catchers.
C George Kottaras: C ... A nice power threat to have and handles Wolf well.
Overall: B ... Even though it appears on paper that this offense is fairly impressive, there doesn't seem to be enough help around Braun and Fielder. We all know about McGehee and the lack of production from Yuni B and I think there is a simple solution: take Weeks out of the lead-off spot. We've seen how well Plush gets on base to start rally after rally, and therefore I think he has the ability to assume this role from Rickie. Morgan has hit first before in his career and Weeks is better suited in the five hole because of his immense production as far as lead-off hitters are concerned. Perhaps it's too drastic of a move for Roenicke to make in his first year of managing, but this might be it for awhile for fans in Milwaukee. He needs to do whatever it takes to get as much out of this squad as possible. Just think about it...Morgan, Hart, Braun, Fielder, Weeks to start off a ball game? With Lucroy as the anchor to keep things respectable at the bottom of the order? I'm salivating. One last thing...I didn't think Gamel would be brought up this year (at least not until September) and I still wish he hadn't. Gamel needed as much time as possible in the minors to get used to first base for next season and it didn't happen. This was due in part to Roenicke wanting an extra bat for interleague play and the awful play of McGehee. There's no way he's back on the roster with his .115 average after the All-Star break.
Finally, the bullpen. I believe that this is one of the more difficult aspects of a big league club to manage. It's shown this year in Roenicke's first year as skipper as it took him about 85 games to realize that Loe simply couldn't handle the 8th inning role. I've harped on this enough, but ever since LaTroy Hawkins assumed this role, have the Brewers lost a lead? No, sir. Other than that, the Ax Factor John Axford has been very reliable as the Brewers' closer and many guys have come and went. As of now, the Brewers only have six relievers on their roster...the six mainstays that should remain at the major league level as the season continues. Here are the grades:
John Axford: A- ... Hasn't been quite as good as '10, but hasn't let many get away.
LaTroy Hawkins: A ... With a 1.08 ERA, he has earned the setup role behind Ax.
Kameron Loe: C ... Incredibly effective against righties, but has seven loses.
Marco Estrada: C+ ... Has faced some difficult tasks as the long-inning man.
Zach Braddock: C ... He is clearly still dealing with some issues after DL stints.
Takashi Saito: INC ... Has been solid since returning from injury; could be key.
Overall: B- ... When the Brewers have the lead late and the bullpen is called upon, it hasn't exactly been lights out. In fact, Estrada and Loe have combined for 30% of the Brewers' losses and the bullpen overall has lost about half of the games for the Crew, which is rather staggering. Braddock has battled with a sleeping disorder, which is especially disappointing to me because I'm a huge Braddock guy and I thought he would play a very important role for the Brewers this season. However, if the Brewers want to do things this year, they will need Braddock to figure it out. Hopefully, with Hawkins and Axford taking the last two innings of games in which the Brewers hold the lead, Milwaukee can shorten the ball game.
That's that for the players. How about first-year manager Ron Roenicke? Obviously, Roenicke has made his mistakes along the way, but I would be hard pressed to find anyone that totally dislikes the man...at least not at the level of Ned Yost or Ken Macha. I think this has a lot to do with Roenicke's aggressive style of managing. He likes to put runners in motion and has put on a few squeeze plays that have been very effective. Of course, sometimes this style doesn't work and players will turn aggressive base running into flat out stupid baserunning, but you can see the progression of Roenicke. He keeps things loose and it shows in the attitudes of the players. Over the course of the last home stand while not having the luxury of Ryan Braun in the lineup, Roenicke made some crucial decisions that probably helped the Brewers win an extra game or two. I really look forward to seeing how Roenicke manages down the stretch as this club (hopefully) remains in the thick of the playoff race.
Okay. So it turns out that the Prince Fielder contract situation isn't the only elephant in the room. The Brewers' defense appeared to start off strong, but now they find themselves 22nd in the MLB in fielding percentage. Just three more spots and they'll fulfill my prophecy and finish in the bottom five of the league. Like I talked about in my last post, the Brewers are basically willing to bite the bullet and try and win games behind their stellar starting five and the big boppers in their lineup. So far, so good. Milwaukee is in first, but they face a daunting road trip after the break where they have to travel to Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco. It isn't quite make-or-break, but it's pretty damn close. Considering how much the Brewers have faltered away from home and the level of competition they will be facing on this west coast swing, we have to set our expectations at a reasonable level. If Milwaukee can manage to stay within a game or two of the division leader after the trip, I'll be more than happy. But it would be nice if by some sort of miracle, the Brewers found out the secret to winning on the road during their three days off.
For those keeping track of my pre-season predictions at home, that's five correct, three wrong, and four pending (Roenicke manager of year (at this point, ATL and PIT beat him out), Marcum wins 15 games, Rogers makes a spot start or two (looking doubtful), and the Brewers will win the division and go 91-71 (need to go 42-28 rest of the way)) as of now. Remember to root on the National League tomorrow in the ASG because, you know, this time it counts or whatever.
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