RISP: The Scariest Acronym For A Brewer Fan

As a fan, you hate to see things keep happening every year.  For Marquette, it is that they never have a big man who can make an impact on the game.  For the Green Bay Packers, they have played down to their opponent way too many times, take the 7-3 loss to Detroit for an example.  For the Milwaukee Brewers, it's scoring with runners in scoring position. 

The Brewers went 2 for 23 over the last two games in the split against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and right now, they are hitting .21l with RISP on the road.  That is a sign that this team is nowhere near being a team who can challenge for the National League Central.  The Brewers have had this problem for what seems like my entire life. I cannot tell you how many times I can remember the Crew leaving the bases loaded with less than one out. Their other specialty is having one or two in scoring position with two out, Ryan Braun on deck, and they strikeout to end of the inning. 

I cannot decide what's more frustrating in baseball... having a team whose bullpen blows every game (see Houston Astros) or having a team who cannot deliver the big hit. I think that's asking if I would rather drink gasoline or antifreeze, both suck. The other thing with the lack of clutch hitting is it doesn't seem to just randomly appear so I think the RISP will be the root of most problems for the Brewers this season on the road because it sure as hell isn't pitching. Randy Wolf had one bad inning where he made a mistake with Matt Kemp, and was able to maintain his composure through five. 

Hopefully, the bats come out in Petco Park but that place is a house of horrors for the Crew. I believe the Crew gets going around nine tonight.  

-Charlie. 

Time To Solve The Road Woes

The Milwaukee Brewers had a successful home stand going 5-1, putting their record at home at 13-6. The Crew has been nearly untouched when they tap the keg at Miller Park. But when they leave the friendly confines of Miller Park, they struggle like a Double A Baseball team with a record of 6-15.  I am one not to worry about things too early, but I really think the Brewers need to start showing some promise on the road in the upcoming four games on the West Coast. To me, it would be a sign that this team isn't average and inconsistent at best.

I know the Crew does not play well on the west coast, I really cannot explain it either. I don't know if the players get caught up in nice weather, the strippers, or the Sunset Strip, but they cannot seem to lock down on the West Coast. With their record currently at 18-21, winning the last five of six, the last thing the Brewers could afford to do is lose 3 of 4 and then be back where they started at the beginning of May. The NL West right now is garbage, and the Brewers take advantage of it this week.

They did last week against the San Diego Padres who they play again for two later this week. I mean excuse the Wednesday afternoon implosion, they played pretty solid against the Spanish Fathers. The Brewers send out Shaun Marcum tonight who is the Brewers best pitcher right now, and Randy Wolf goes the following night who has been a mixed bag all year. But Wolf has always seem to pitch well in his home state of Californina.  I also know these two guys need to have solid starts to try to preserve this bullpen. The rate we are going, I think Kameron Loe's arm will fall off the mound in a horrifying scene at some ballpark in the middle of June.

My dad and I talk all the time about how the Brewers are a team of mental giants.  They overthink everything, and I do believe they think they cannot hit the ball outside of Miller Park. Both of these stadiums are tough to get the balls into the bleachers so it will take a string of singles for the Brewers to get victories this week before heading back to Miller Park for another large home stand. If the Brewers could say get three out of four, the Brewers could be looking at a great month of May. 

-Charlie.

Brewers-Pirates Preview

I don't know what to think about the Milwaukee Brewers' season so far. It is like a bad season of Entourage right now where you get a couple good episodes here and there, but it's really just a shit season.  The Brewers have been far too inconsistent for me to consider them worthy of challenging for the NL Central crown.  They have owned the Pirates like I do with life so hopefully that trend continues for the both of us.



Friday
James McDonald (2-2 5.65) v. Yovani Gallardo (3-2 5.11)- Don't let McDonald's numbers fool you, he has pitched very well in his past three starts. He is a guy who a lot of people expected to make some noise for Buccos so the Brewers could have their hands full. Yovani takes the rubber after a near no-hitter on Saturday afternoon. I swear my motivation post inspired him to do great things. Yovani needs another good start in an attempt to get on track.

Saturday
Jeff Karstens (2-1 3.61) v. Chris Narveson (1-3 4.38)- So happy to see that asshole Karstens take the mound on Saturday afternoon.  I think it's fair to say that Karstens has been the chief instigator for a lot of the Brewer-Pirate bad blood. I hope for 4 long balls from Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.  Narvie needs to get on track quickly or I would recommend Marco Estrada take some of his starts. He is having problems again with the big inning, and it's hurting the Brewers.

Sunday
Kevin Correia (5-3 3.25) v. Zack Greinke (1-1 5.40)- Correia had the Dave Bush Disease where he blew up in the sixth inning against the Brewers earlier this season in April.  He has good stuff and has pitched well this season therefore you cannot expect another bad start. Greinke tows the rubber for his second-straight home start. With the Sunday crowd, you always get a good atmosphere, and I assume it will be even better for him.

-Charlie.

Inside Miller Park: Greinke's Home Debut

Thanks to the sheer genius that is Curly, Murph, Seitz and I were able to attend last night's Brewer game for five dollars. As most of you know by now, it was newly acquired and fresh-off-the-DL Zack Greinke's home debut.

The Brewers' brass thought it would be a good idea to hand out white towels for the first 30,000 fans to cross the turnstyles last night. Unfortunately, there were only 27,000 and change in attendance but the atmosphere was pretty much there.


Greinke came out rolling with two Ks in the top of the first. Obviously, we were a little late arriving to Miller Park and kind of lost track of time while slamming beers and eating raw chicken in the parking lot so we missed the top of the first...barely. Zack made up for our stupidity though by striking out two more in the second inning on his way to 9 Ks for the night in six innings of work.

He was getting a little shaky by the sixth with his velocity dropping and things of that nature but he punched out the Padres' Brad Hawpe with men on with two outs in the sixth. At first, I thought they should have left him in but after thinking about it, Roenicke made the right decision getting him out. Of course, it's easy to say that when the bullpen holds up their end of the deal.

Kameron Loe got into a jam in the 8th when he immediate put men on the corners with no one out. Then Yuni Betancourt (a man not known for his leather) made the best play I've ever seen in person.

He tracked down a sharp grounder up the middle, did the ol' backhand flip to Weeks from his glove in which Weeks bare-handed and tossed to Prince at first for the double play. A run did score but he may have saved the game with that play. The crowd gave him a standing ovation for his web-gem.

It was nice to see John Axford come in and work a fairly clean ninth for the second time in three days. He worked around a one out single to earn his sixth save of the year in eight chances.

Greinke picked up his first victory (of many) and looked fairly sharp last night. You have to take it with a grain of salt since it was against the Padres who have been shutout 8 times this year and don't have any three-hundred hitters. It was good to see though.

Motivating The Milwaukee Brewers

(Might be the greatest montage of all time)

The Milwaukee Brewers have lost seven straight games, and find themselves in last place in the National League Central.  They also have the worst record in the National League along with two other teams. While I am not ready to join the done club, I am starting to get worried. It feels like this losing streak will never end, and the Brewers are making all the wrong moves whether it be pitching, defense, offense, etc... I thought about doing this a couple beers deep tonight to really get fired up, but instead, I restored to coffee, heavy metal, and this montage to rally the troops right now.



As Bruce Boudreau said once upon time, "So shit's not going right?  It's not f---ing working the last 10 days, f---ing, get your heads out of your ass, fucking make it work by f---ing outworking the opposition."  Seriously, sums up how the Brewers are playing right now.  A couple things are not working in the Brewers favor in what will be known as The Road Trip From Hell...

1.) The bullpen is having trouble holding leads, thank Uecker the Crew sent Sean Green's corpse to Nashville, and hopefully the others can figure that shit out because if they cannot, Milwaukee will be looking up at the rest of the division for the entire year.

2.) When the Brewers get down in game, they give up. They don't think they can rally and make something happen. When I can tell in Eau Claire, Wisconsin that you have quit on that game, nothing is more effing frustrated than that.  That has to stop immediately. If the Brewers get down in the next couple of games, I would like to see Ron Roenicke get tossed out of game... just flip shit on an umpire.

 3.) If Yovani struggles this afternoon, put his ass on the Disabled List saying he has elbow tightness or as I like to call it, The Jeff Suppan Special. Surely, the Crew can find someone better than Yo right now.  I hope he finds a way to get shit done against the Cardinals this afternoon.

4.) Start playing small ball again. They were in the beginning of the year, and it's disappeared into thin air. Start manufacturing runs, instead of looking for the long ball.

If you want me to provide some optimism, they only play on the road seven more times this month. Currently, their record stands at 5-14 on the road, and 8-5 at home. Hopefully, the fans at Miller Park can rally around this team without the boos and start providing additional motivation.  I am holding out hope that this something we as fans can laugh at by August 1st. But who knows, it has to start today against Kyle Lohse. The Crew have to turn the corner in the upcoming 10 days, or it could be another disappointing Milwaukee summer.

In case, the Brewers continue to look like a Class-A ball club this afternoon.  Here is an awesome Kate Upton video that can make any man feel better.



-Charlie.

Free Write: Twigs Breaks Down the Brewers' Farm System

Twigs gives us a great look at the Brewers' farm system. He answers a lot of the questions we had after we emptied out the cupboard to acquire the very famous Zack Greinke. Enjoy.


By Tyler Olsen


Not so long ago current Brewers stars such as Weeks, Fielder, Gallardo and former star J.J Hardy were all dominating the minors together.  While the Crew’s current crop of minor leaguers doesn’t quite compare to the world beaters before them, there are still some nice prospects floating around.

 Wily Peralta 6'0" 240lbs Throws R 21 years old
       
Wily was signed as a 16 year old free agent out of the Dominican Republic.  Started out in Rookie ball at Helena in 2006 and made his way to double A Huntsville at the ripe age of 21.  His prospect forming season came in 2009 with the Single A Timber Rattlers club where he posted a respectable ERA of 3.47, with an outstanding K9 rate of 10.21 and just 46 walks in 103.2 innings pitched.  In 2010 his K9 rate dropped to 6.36 between A+ and double A in 147 innings.  So far in 2011 through four starts he has posted a 2.31 ERA in 23 innings with 6 walks and a K9 rate back over 10.  Wily has a live arm, throwing 92-95 with some nice, but raw breaking pitches.  The Crew was trying him out for their 5th starter role this spring so it’s obvious that the pro club thinks very highly of him.

Austin Ross 6’2” 200lbs Throws R 22 years old
        
An 8th round draft pick out of LSU in the 2010 draft, Ross has become a nice sleeper starter prospect in the system.  He throws 90-93 with a solid curve, but a below average change-up that needs to be worked on.  Through four starts with the Timber Rattlers so far this season he has been outstanding.  In 25 innings pitched he has posted a 1.08 ERA, K9 of 7.56, only 6 walks and opposing batters are hitting just .140.

Erik Komatsu 5’10” 190lbs Bats L 22 years old
        
Folks, meet your solution to the Carlos Gomez debacle.  Another 8th round pick this time from the 2008 draft out of college baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton.  Komatsu gets on base with the best of them; in 2010 with A+ Brevard County he had an OBP of .413, batted .323 with 28 stolen bases.  So far this year with double A Huntsville he has posted .471(!) OBP and slugging .512 for a top prospect OPS of .982.  He plays a pretty good CF and if he develops some power, look out.

D’Vontrey Richardson 6’1” 200lbs Bats R 22 years old
        
Easily the most toolsey player in the Brewers minor league system.  He was drafted by the Nationals in the 2006 draft but did not sign, instead deciding to enroll at Florida State to play baseball and also quarterback for the football team.  The Brewers saw the athleticism oozing out and took him in the 5th round of the 09 draft.  Amazing highlight reel outfielder with a cannon arm.  Extremely raw at the plate, but you just pray he figures it out because his ceiling is high as anyone the Brewers have.

After trading top prospect Brett Lawrie for Shaun Marcum, along with Jake Ordoizzi, Jeremy Jeffress, Lo Cain, Alcides “Web-Gem” Escobar for Zach Grienke the farm system was looking a little bare.  But with some solid prospects still in the wings and two top 15 picks in the June draft, the cupboard looks to get restocked for the future.

Brewers-Braves Preview: The Arrival of Greinke & The Return of Plush.

After a lackluster performance this weekend at the Juice Box in Houston, the Milwaukee Brewers have to recover. They scored 1 run in the last two games, which concerns me a tad but Bud Norris/Wandy Rodriquez both seem to confuse the Brewers like a cat chasing a laser pointer.  This is a huge week for the Brewers playing Atlanta and St. Louis, I personally feel they need to be 5-2 and start to develop some consistency.

Monday 

Yovani Gallardo (2-1 5.70 ERA) v. Jair Jurrjens (2-0 1.23 ERA)- I really hope this is a turning point for Yo's season. I worried that he was playing through some pain, but according to him, he is just fine. He pitched great against the Braves earlier this season, obviously hoping for the same results. Jurrjens is off to fast start to the season, but the Crew has hit him well in years past.

Tuesday 
Marco Estrada (1-0 3.00 ERA) v. Tommy Hanson (3-3 2.57 ERA)- Estrada deserved pitcher of the month of the Brewers because he bridged the much needed gap for Zack Greinke.  Hopefully, he can go out on a positive note tomorrow night. Also it will be good to have Nyjer Morgan on the bench again for the Brewers as he scheduled to come off the DL Tuesday. Hanson always faces the Brewers and seems to have good success except against Ryan Braun. The Hebrew Hammer has 4 homers against Hanson, I hope for three more on Tuesday night.

Wednesday 
Zack Greinke (0-0 0.00 ERA) v. Tim Hudson (3-2 3.48 ERA)- This is the marquee game of the series with the debut of Mr. Greinke. I don't know what to expect, while I want an awesome start, I understand he might be shaky.  Hudson is no slouch against the Brewers in years past, and has pitched fairly well to start off the 2011 season.

Thursday 
Shaun Marcum (3-1 2.21 ERA) v. Brandon Beachy (1-1 3.47 ERA)- Marcum got his swagger back in Houston on Friday night shutting down the Stros' for eight innings, and hopefully that will translate against the Braves. He pitched well against them earlier this season.  Beachy has faced the Crew once and beat them up pretty bad.  I assume this will be a pitchers duel.

-Charlie.

First Taste: Miller Park Hawk v. Tony Plush

Like I said last night, there was outpouring support for the Miller Park Hawk yesterday. There were so many different searches looking for information on the hawk.  I personally am flattered, but now, I am wondering who is the better fake Twitter follow: Miller Park Hawk or Tony Plush, the gentleman alter-ego of Nyjer Morgan.  I mean the Hawk tweets consistently, but Plush brings it everyday at least one time.  In case you don't Tweet, I will give you the best tweets from both of them.  Vote on the poll in the upper right hand corner.  

Best tweet for Miller Park Hawk: Hopefully MPH won't require a #slumpbuster after tomorrows game. What was Ryan Braun's girls number again? #caw

Best Tweet from Tony Plush:  Plush decided a DL stint was like being locked in a Chekhov story, minus the profound mysteries. There was only sadness.

-Charlie.

Reds-Brewers Preview: Time For Some Revenge

The Chicago Cubs are still the number one rival for me, but the Cincinnati Reds are damn close.  They have a ton of unlikable players such as Edinson Volquez, Jonny Gomes, Bronson Arroyo, Brandon Phillips, and Joey Votto, only because he pronounces his last name wrong according to my buddy Mike who shares his last name.

They are also managed by Dusty Baker who I cannot stand because he is always given way too much credit than he really deserves. All that needs to be said is how does it feel Dusty that you managed yourself out of a World Series ring, and destroyed Mark Prior's career. Here are the matchups

Monday

Bronson Arroyo (2-2 4.24) vs. Chris Narveson (1-0 2.19)- The former corn-rowed Arroyo always seems to face the Brewers and that sucks because he does pretty well against them. The Brewers though in past couple days have exorcised some Brewer killers like Brett Myers/Wandy Rodriquez. The Brewers as a team have only hit .254 against Arroyo, but he has lost his last two starts which is worth nothing.  Narveson should be 3-0 if not for two bad innings. I love the things Narvie has done so far this year, he needs to be aware of the hanging off-speed stuff against Cincy's power bats. 

Tuesday 

Mike Leake (3-0 4.94) vs. Marco Estrada (1-0 3.21)- I will lose all hope in Brewer fans if they do not make a couple signs making fun of Leake's shoplifting case. Surprisingly, Leake hasn't faced the Brewers yet so who knows what the Crew will be in for. Leake's season has been weird, he had one bad start but other than that, he hasn't allowed more than four hits.  Estrada might deserve the pitching MVP this month because he plugged a worrysome hole better than most.  Like Narveson, he needs to make sure to keep the ball down or there might be some gopher balls heading out of Miller Park  

Wednesday 

Sam LeCure (0-1 4.15) vs. Yovani Gallardo (2-1 4.88)- The Brewers have seen LeCure in relief efforts, but not in a starting role.  LeCure started the season off strong, but recently gave up four homers in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But the Brewers never seem to handle new pitching matchups very well. Yovani could use a good start. After his sparkling performance against Atlanta, Yo has been less than stellar. I would like to see a strong start from him, win or lose.  

It's not a must that the Brewers take two of three from the Reds, but man, it would be awesome.  I feel the Crew needs to make some sort of statement to the Nati because right now, the Reds have ownership over the Brewers, gotta change that. 

-Charlie.

First Taste: Miller Park Hawk Just Killin' It

(Props to CBS Sports for the photo)

A Cooper Hawk (by the way, Adam McCalvy gets jumped on in the comments about him calling it a falcon, if that was you... get a life.) somehow managed to get into Miller Park yesterday, and took down a pigeon in left-center inbetween innings. I think we need to make him our unofficial mascot for the 2011 season, and he also has a Twitter account that has reached over 1,000 followers (still not as good as Tony Plush).  We can hope he or she pecks one of Dusty Baker's eyes out tonight.  

-Charlie.

Best Brewer Easter Ever.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter with one of the most memorable Brewer comebacks in history. The Crew start the year off 12-0.  There are some excellent Uecker calls in this one, and I think Coach would probably stop reading the blog if I didn't post this video sometime today.  Sorry for the lack of content, school is getting busy for all us at the Tap.  Enjoy, maybe more from me today.

-Charlie.

Brewers Getting Brooms Ready in Philly

I never thought I'd say those words but today the Milwaukee Brewers have put themselves in a position to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies. You have to go back to 2006 for the Brewers last sweep of the Phillies, when they did it at Miller Park.

Since then, the Phillies have been in back-to-back World Series and beat the Tampa Bay Rays the 2008 Fall Classic. They have also added pitchers like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt to the equation.

Snap back to reality, I was prepared for the Brewers to get pummeled in Philadelphia after playing some real bad baseball in the Nation's capital this past weekend. I might be jinxing it with this post but I feel better about facing Cliff Lee than I do facing Roy Halladay, especially with Randy Wolf on the bump against Halladay.

Much to my pleasure, Wolf rose to the occasion and pitched very well last night. Correct me if I'm wrong Brewer fans, but that is two consecutive quality starts out of 2010's prized pitching acquisition. I'd be lying if I said Wolf got lucky a few times here and there last night but that's what has to happen for Wolf to keep us in the game.

And the offense did the rest.

We put up single runs in the second and third innings and in the sixth as Wolf continued to keep Phillies' hitters off balance. Then in the seventh frame, the Brewers busted the game open. The highlight of the inning was a first pitch, 3-run HR by Buster McGehee to welcome Philly reliever David Herndon to the game. Two of those runs were put on Halladay's tab giving him 6 ER over 6.2 innings.

Ryan Braun continues to swing a hot bat as well. He homered of Halladay in the third last night and was on base four times against the perennial Cy Young candidate. Before the Brewers' home opener they had various members of the local media on as part of an hour and a half pre-game show and I believe it was Journal Sentinel writer Michael Hunt who predicted that Braun would win the MVP in 2011. While it's way to soon for me to jump to that conclusion, he could find himself in the discussion if things continue to go well for him and the Brewers.

I'm fairly confident in the Brewers' ability to get the W today. In one career start against the Brewers (I know, it's a small sample size), Cliff Lee allowed seven runs in six innings back in 2009. Let's hope history repeats itself.

Wolf Needs To Avoid A Howler

Randy Wolf has been a polarizing character during his time in Milwaukee.  There really doesn't seem to be an in-between with him, either it is a great performance, or it is absolutely nothing.  The last start against Pittsburgh was terrific, and the general concern with people is Wolf cannot string together two good starts. Tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers need something out of Wolf going up against arguably the best pitching in the game, Roy Halladay. There is some signs for the Wolf Man to be successful. He is an ex-Phillie therefore being comfortable in the City of Brotherly Love plus the Phils have seen their struggles from left-handed pitchers.


I am not saying Wolf needs to win this game, I am just asking for a quality outing developing some consistency. For example, seven innings, six hits, two runs would be adequate, and it's ridiculous of me to expect him to outduel Halladay especially on the road.  But Wolf gets paid a feasible amount of money to get the job done in situations such as tonight where the Brewers' backs are against the wall in terms of pitching. It would mean the world for the Crew if they only had to use three or less pitchers tonight with the bullpen doing more work than Christoper 'Big Black' Boykins over the last two days.  

I would like to see Wolf earn more respect amongst the fans and maybe that happens if he goes toe-to-toe with Halladay.  Wolf had a great second half of 2010, which was forgotten by most because they jumped off the bandwagon by the All-Star Game thus they only remember his horrific start.  I see the tweets out there comparing him with Jeff Suppan, which is a bit much if you ask me, but it's time for Wolf to earn his keep throughout the whole year, instead of a couple months during the season.

-Charlie.

Brewers-Nationals Preview

Sorry this is late, but I had busy day.  Here is the preview for the Brewers series this weekend against the Washington Nationals; where no one will care about the series due to the Washington Capitals hosting the New York Rangers. Here are the matchups...

Friday 
Chris Narveson (1-0 0.00) v. Tom Gorzelanny (0-1 8.41)- People are worried about a bad start from Narveson because he is getting a ton of hype behind him in the first two weeks and I'm worried everyone is jinxing him. I can't blame people for driving the hype machine because he is doing some great things. I cannot believe Gorzelanny still has a job in the Major Leagues, the guy has been a joke since Pittsburgh. Watch for Ryan Braun who is 9 for 19 against Gorzelanny.



Saturday 
Yovani Gallardo (1-0 2.70) v. Jason Marquis (0-0 3.65)- Yo had a rough start on Sunday, but he got an extra day off so I think he will come back strong Saturday afternoon. Marquis has had his way with the Brewers when he played for the Chicago Cubs, and he is guy the Crew needs to jump on early before he gets started.  Braunie, Tony Plush, and Craig Counsell all have great numbers against Marquis.

Sunday 
Marco Estrada (1-0 5.14) v. Livan Hernandez (1-1 3.50)- Is is just me or has Livan been around for the last 20 years?  I am always amazed that he is able to play at a high level even at his weight and age. The Brewers have struggled against him in the past. I will be interested to see how Estrada responds in his first road start. Not to mention it's against his former mates. Like any Estrada start, I hope for the best.

-Charlie.

Brewers-Pirates Preview

The Brewers should really call the first part of this nine game road trip, the Tony Plush Tour. Nyjer Morgan plays his two former teams in back to back series. The Brewers lost Takaski Saito with hamstring injury putting him on the DL, but got Jonathan LuCroy back who is recovered from a hand injury suffered in early spring training. I liked the move to keep three catchers, and send Jeremy Reed down especially with Corey Hart expected to be back next weekend.

Tuesday 

Shaun Marcum (1-1 4.29 ERA) v. Kevin Correia (2-0 1.29 ERA)- Marcum looked better in his performance against Atlanta on Thursday, and I think Brewer fans will see continued improvement from Marcum in tonight's game. Corriea has done some damage against the Crew with only Casey McGehee and Rickie Weeks hitting him well.  I expect a pitcher's duel tonight.     

Wednesday 

Randy Wolf (0-2 7.20 ERA) v. Paul Maholm (0-1 2.19 ERA)- The Wolf man has started off slowly once again this season. Unlike in Cincinnati, the Brewers gave him run support against the Cubs, and he failed to deliver with another poor outing. Hopefully, he can rite the ship Wednesday night. Only Ryan Braun has good success against Maholm, which worries me. But the Brewers as a team have only hit .222. Prince Fielder is 3 for 42 in his career against Maholm.  Brewer fans should hope for a close game where the bullpens decided the game late.

Thursday 

Chris Narveson (1-0 0.00 ERA) v. Charlie Morton (1-0 2.08 ERA)- Every other Brewer fan and I love the way Narverson is throwing the ball right now. He seems to have a true command on his offspeed stuff especially his curveball, which is borderline unhittable. Morton had a horrendous 2010 campaign, but he is off to a strong start in 2011. Hopefully, the Brewers can get to Morton as his numbers have not been great against the Crew in his short career. 

-Charlie. 

The Red Hot Prince

Fielder won NL Player of the Week for
April 3rd through the 10th

There are just some things that I got used to in the month of April. The weather slowly gets nicer, classes are coming down to the end as I scramble to boost my grades my up, and Prince Fielder struggles out the gate. The first five full seasons of Fielder's professional career always seemed to be stuck in neutral for the beginning part of the season.  This year things have changed in April at least for Fielder as he has began the season hotter than any first baseman in the Major Leagues. 

Fielder's first ten games have been stunning for an usual slow starter. Right now, Fielder is hitting .400 with  a .488 on-base percentage, and .686 slugging percentage. Also this only began in the third game against Atlanta where Prince had a four RBI day.  It's not like Prince is going on an absolute homer tear either, he is spraying the ball to all parts of the baseball field. At least in my opinion, it is a calculated risk  for opposing teams to have a shift for Fielder.  He is not pulling the ball as much anymore plus his early numbers against lefties have been outstanding.



When Fielder is playing at this level, he is damn near impossible to figure out as an opposing pitcher. Brett, a Cubs fan watched the game with me on Sunday and tried to tell the TV to not pitch Prince inside. Once, Geovanny Soto positioned himself on Prince's inner half, Brett sighed knowing to expect the worst on the next pitch. Brett knew Prince was hitting that pitch out of Miller Park, which he did, contributing to a 6-5 Brewers win on Sunday night.

I know baseball is a long season, and Prince will not stay hot for the entire year. His usual April slump might get replaced by two miserable weeks in July because baseball is a long season and all about streaks. But right now, I am going to enjoy Prince getting off to a monster start.

-Charlie.

Brewers-Cubs Preview

This is the biggest rivalry for Brewers' fans. It's not so much for the Flatlanders because they see the Cardinals as their true rival. I hate to admit this, but we are like Maryland Terrapins to the Cubs due the Chicago-St. Louis rivalry is like Duke-North Carolina.  Now, the Cubs cannot be compared to Duke or North Carolina because that  means they would have to win championships... HEYOOOO!  Anyways on the old blog, I frequently gave a preview of the series so you can impress that smokeshow later today.



Friday
Carlos Zambrano (0-0 4.50 ERA) v. Randy Wolf (0-1 13.50)- Ugh, I do not like this matchup at all for the Brewers tonight. Big Z always pitches well at Miller Park plus the Wolf Man has been shaky all year so far if you include Spring Training. The Brewers need to hope that they can rattle Zambrano's cage early, and get him out of his rhythm.

Saturday
Matt Garza (0-0 3.86 ERA) v. Chris Narveson (0-0 0.00)- The only guys who have faced Garza on the Crew have previously played in the American League, which probably means this is his first start against the Crew. It could be a good thing with Garza not understanding how to pitch Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. But I have seen the opposite where a Brewer killer is born on the spot. If Narveson pitches like he did on Monday, the Brewers should win, no questions asked.

Sunday
TBD v. Yovani Gallardo (1-0 1.20 ERA)- The infamous TBD who is taking the place of Andrew Cashner, I would assume Sean Marshall will probably get the go maybe John Grabow if Mike Quade's feeling frisky. Yovani is off to a fast start, and Yo has done pretty good against the Cubbies therefore I think he can get done for the Brewers in the final game of this series.

I like the Brewers in the Saturday/Sunday matchups way more than Friday. Tonight is the only game that makes me nervous especially since we made plans to head out to the bar tonight to watch the game because FSN considers Bucks-Pistons the more important game, but that's another topic for a another time. Go crew like always.

-Charlie.

First Taste: Keep The FIBS Out Of Miller Park

Didn't think I would do it? You don't know me well enough.  I had to play something to fire up the Brewers fans up for the first game against the Chicago Cubs. Will the Brewers probably lose by 10 because I threw up this video up today?  Yup. Fant and Brett are pretty good Cubs fans, but I don't like most of them. I enjoy this song like some did with Stairway to Heaven.  Enjoy the weekend, don't start fights with Cubs fans, usually they are the more immature ones even though it's not even their stadium.

-Charlie.

Closing Time: Fighting For Ryan Braun's Love

A fight at Brewers' Opening Day between two women it appears like in the video. I wouldn't call neither of these women, Money Mayweather or Mike Tyson, but they do get some good blows in.  Sorry for the slow day, I was busy with school plus there is nothing going today. We will back tomorrow with a Masters preview and potentially wishing you a Happy Skirt Day depending on the weather conditions.

-Charlie.

Three Reasons Not To Push The Brewers' Panic Button

Rickie Weeks is off to another
fast start this year. 

I love Brewer fans because there are so many different categories of the actual fan. For example, some just expect the worst because the Brewers have failed to deliver countless times. Some jumped on and off the bandwagon like they are a teenage girl trying to decide if something is cool or not. I am in the category of the optimist. I always believe things will work out therefore I am here to talk you off the ledge. I realize no team who started 0-4 has won the World Series, and I also know since the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks, no team has gone to the playoffs starting 0-4. But honestly, I am not that worried.  Sure, the back end of the bullpen is off to a rough start, which scares me a bit, but other than that, I have some reasons why there is no need to worry.



1.) Young Manager- Let's remember this is only Ron Roenicke's first four games in his managerial career. Not to mention, he did most of his work in the American League therefore he hasn't dealt with the various chess matches that go on in the National League. I personally think Roenicke will start to get it in the next two weeks. He made some nice adjustments for tonight's game against the Braves starting Nyjer Morgan, Mark Kotsay, and Craig Counsull who all have nice numbers against Derek Lowe.

2.) Injuries, Injuries, Injuries- The Brewers have a bevy of injuries to start of the season with key contributors like Corey Hart, Jonathan Lucroy, and Zach Greinke.  All of those guys added to this roster grew the Crew serious depth, but right now, there are some holes. I doubt Kotsay and Morgan will both be starting when the Brewers are at full strength. Not to mention, Hart in the two hole will be great for the Brewers, definite upgrade over Carlos Gomez. This is a good look at the Crew's injuries by Stephania Bell of ESPN.com

3.) The Schedule- If the Brewers played the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks to start the season and the record stood the same as today, I would be freaking out. Instead, they faced two playoff teams who obviously want to prove last year was not a fluke. I expected a split against the Braves, and at least one in Cincinnati, but that didn't happen. That means my estimations to star the season was 3-4, which people would still be mad about that record too. Even from my optimistic approach, I did not expect a fast start to the season.  

Baseball is a long season, people forget that for a variety of reasons. Will I start worrying if the Brewers can only take 1 out of 4 against Atlanta?  Probably, but even that would not make me think this team is done for. One of the great things about baseball is there are six months in a season meaning you can afford one bad month, and I would rather that be April than September.  

-Charlie.