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.

Another Shot in the Arm

When you're right, you're right.

A week ago, when I reviewed the pre-All-Star break Milwaukee Brewers and apparently dealt out incorrect grades to each player on the roster, I suggested that the Crew make a rather ballsy move. I believed (and have since before the season even began) that Rickie Weeks should be removed from the lead-off spot in the lineup and hit in the five hole. Thankfully, Brewers' manager Ron Roenicke is an avid reader of the blog and decided a change was necessary after dropping the first two games of a four game series at Colorado. Although he didn't put Tony Plush first in the order like I had suggested, he did swap Corey Hart with Rickie Weeks and low and behold, the Brewers are 2-0 with Hart first and Weeks fifth. The change had an immediate impact on Saturday when both Hart and Weeks went yard, with Weeks' blast coming in the top of the ninth after Fielder got on base. Weeks' home run was not only noteworthy because it gave the Brewers the lead, but because it shows how important it is to have a run producer hitting behind King because of how much Fielder gets on base. And as if Weeks' blast Saturday wasn't enough, he was part of the tie-breaking rally in Sunday's win over the Rockies in the fifth inning. In other words, this appears to be a solid move by RR and he knows when to heed good advice.

With the two wins over the Rockies, the Brewers split the series, gained some momentum heading into the Arizona series and won consecutive road games for the first time in six weeks. Plus, the Brewers once again responded to the Pittsburgh Pirates being in first place and jumped back into the driver's seat in the NL Central. That's right, folks...the Brewers are in first...AGAIN. Something tells me this division race is going down to the wire and I'm going to have to go to the well for some heartburn medication. Let's hope it isn't dry.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, just like we have throughout the entire season whenever the Brewers go streaking. The Brewers are playing the three best teams in the NL West in ascending order during this road trip, which means it's only going to get harder this next week. Milwaukee played the D-Backs right before the All-Star break at home and lost two of three, so it's not going to be easy going into Phoenix where it can't possibly be any warmer than here. Holy hell it's hot right now. Then again, Prince appears to enjoy playing there judging by his MVP performance in this year's ASG. Speaking of the All-Star Game, the Brewers were the main attraction not only during the Midsummer Classic with Fielder, but also immediately afterward. Of course, I'm talking about the kind-of-blockbuster deal that brought K-Road, Francisco Rodriguez, to Milwaukee. So far, I can't say that I'm disappointed in the single season saves record holder. All K-Rod has done since putting on a Milwaukee uniform is get a win and a hold in his only two appearances thus far. Gotta admire how General Manager Doug Melvin continues to push any remaining chips he has in the middle of the table. They might not always pay off, but if the Brewers really are going for it all this season, making moves like trading for Greinke and K-Rod are needed.

To recap: The Brewers are 2-0 when Rodriguez pitches and 2-0 when Rickie Weeks hits fifth in the lineup. Yes, this means that the Brewers will never lose when either of these things happen...simple as that. But really, I really, really, really like the two moves I discussed above. Should be interesting to see when K-Rod gets his first opportunity to save, especially since Ax has been a little iffy lately.

Tough day for America. The U.S. Women lost in the World Cup Finals to Japan, a game they certainly should have won, and both Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson faltered after both being at or near the top of the leaderboard during the Open Championship on Sunday. Oh well. I'll continue to care about women's soccer every four years and golf roughly four times a year. Stay cool, everyone.