Milwaukee Brewers

Patchwork Brewers handle Pirates 5-1 to even series

Shaun Marcum pitched very well to get the Brewers back on track.

Good:

• Marcum went 7 strong innings allowing just 1 run. He allowed 5 hits, walking none and striking out 8. Kameron Loe and Jose Veras pitched the final two innings and only allowed a single walk between them.
• Rickie Weeks was on base all 4 times he came to the plate with 2 hits and 2 walks. Aramis Ramirez added 2 hits of his own. Cody Ransom and Brooks Conrad were the main run producers with 2 RBI for Ransom and 3 for Conrad. Conrad also picked up his first hit as a Brewer (finally) with a 2-run HR in the 4th that ended the scoring. 
• Ransom also made a fantastic play in the field to get out of an inning. The Brewers haven’t made in error in 6 straight games and have only 1 in their last 12 games.

Bad:

• Aramis Ramirez was pulled in the 7th inning with a strained quad. He will be examined tomorrow by the team doctor.
• Corey Hart was unproductive today after a couple hits yesterday. He seems to be feast or famine lately, either picking up multiple hits or going 0-fer. This is what I have come to expect out of him and why he will never be considered an elite player. He is a two-time All-Star that can disappear from the lineup for days at a time.

Brooks Conrad connects on a 2-run shot in the 4th. The only one more relieved about his first hit than the fans is Conrad himself. He had been destroying pitching at AAA Nashville but couldn’t get a hit in Milwaukee. He is never going to be a great major leaguer, but there is no reason that he can bat .400 in AAA and not be able to contribute at least a little at the major league level.

Ryan Braun missed the game today and it is possible that he will miss the game tomorrow too. He injured his hip when trying to slide different to avoid a flare-up of his injured Achilles. Ron Roenicke mentioned that they want to solve these lingering issues once and for all. Could that mean a trip to the DL? I would think no, but it may not be the end of the world. Braun won’t stop playing the game the way he wants; stealing bases, sliding, diving for balls. He is doing what he can to help his team, but unfortunately it may be hurting everyone more in the long run.

Tomorrow is the series finale and rubber match. The Brewers send Mike Fiers to the mound to try to match his superb outing against the Dodgers. He will face off against the Pirates’ John McDonald who has been having a really good season thus far.

Brewers win and lose on the same day

Really? Now Jonathan Lucroy? This is the first injury to a player that was actually playing well and this one is going to sting. He is out 4-6 weeks with a fracture from his wife dropping a suitcase on his hand. This one ranks up there with Steve Sparks separating his shoulder trying to tear a telephone book in half after watching Tony Robbins. (That was a while ago, you young’ns may not remember that one, or even know who Steve Sparks is.) Well, say hello to Martin Maldonado. Get used to him too, he will probably be replacing George Kottaras as the backup catcher soon enough. Also, Michael Fiers will be recalled from AAA Nashville to make a spot start tomorrow. It makes sense that Maldonado will get the start because of his familiarity with Fiers and Kottaras’ need of rest.

Shaun Marcum was very good today. The Brewers needed it.

Good:

• The starters have been solid for the most part, and they needed it tonight. Marcum went 7 inning allowing only 1 run and striking out 9. John Axford pitched a strong 9th for the save.
• Aramis Ramirez had a couple hits, including a HR, and a couple RBI. Rickie Weeks knocked in the other run.

Bad:

• Francisco Rodriguez continues to have issues. He wasn’t horrible tonight, but it is obvious that he isn’t the same as years past, although I can’t seem to place what is wrong.
• The Brewers only managed 4 hits and their 7-8-9-1 spots were 0-fer. Luckily the stretch of Norichika Aoki, Ryan Braun, and Ramirez were effective enough. All of the runs were scored by those guys.

Ramirez is congratulated by teammates after tying the game at 1 with his 4th HR.

This latest injury could very well be the beginning of the end for the Brewers hopes this season. No one injury is going to kill a team, but the sheer number of guys that have gone down in the last month is probably enough to derail any hopes the Crew had in working their way back into the playoff picture. But, who knows? Last year everyone thought that Rickie Weeks going down was going to hurt the Brewers bad, but they proceeded to have the best month in the history of the team (and one of the best months by any team ever!). In no way am I saying that this is going to happen; I’m only saying that the game is unpredictable (hell there is a whole twitter feed dedicated to that @cantpredictball) and we don’t know what will happen.

Blogger Ryan Topp (@ryantopp) tweeted a bit ago “This sucks, but Lucroy wasn’t going to stay hot forever. Quite possible that Kottaras outdoes what JL would have done anyways. #brewers” Then he followed it up with “…of course, that last tweet assumes Kottaras isn’t eaten by a bear in downtown LA tonight. #brewers” That sums up what this month has felt like for Brewer fans. The team hasn’t been playing well and it seems that every day there is another guy going down with an injury. 

Brewers drop finale in extras

Shaun Marcum pitched pretty well after a 2-run first inning.

Good:

• Marcum lasted 6 innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. He gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 3. He could have probably lasted another inning or maybe two if they didn’t need to pinch hit for him.
• Jose Veras, Manny Parra, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kameron Loe combined for 4 scoreless inning of relief allowing the Brewers to come back and tie the game in the ninth.
• Aramis Ramirez had 2 RBI and Travis Ishikawa had a pinch hit double that tied the game in the top of the 9th.

Bad:

• Tim Dillard gave up the winning run, and I’m not sure why he was even in the game. Kameron Loe pitched the 10th inning and threw only 7 pitches, yet Ron Roenicke put Dillard in to start the 11th. He gave up a lead-off single, a sacrifice to move the runner over, an intentional walk, an unintentional walk, and then a bloop that scored winning run. He got the ball down like he was supposed to and the guy just kind of popped it into the outfield. 
• The Brewers offense was pretty anemic again. They were 2-10 w/RISP. 

Nyjer Morgan scored in the first after his first BB of the year.

Rickie scores while Buster Posey levitates.

The injury bug really bit the Brewers hard this past week. Losing three position players over the span of 4 games is going to sting any team. The loss of Mat Gamel stings because he was a young guy who is taking over for a departing superstar. It would have been fun to watch his development, although I’m not positive he was going anywhere. He showed little pop and his defense was average at best. Losing Carlos Gomez hurts a bit, but only because he was really playing well. There are replacements on the current roster and he wasn’t an everyday player. Of the three guys, he looks like the one that will return the soonest. Losing Alex Gonzalez may hurt the most because there isn’t anyone to replace him. There are options to replace Gamel and Gomez, but the Brewers organizational depth at SS is very weak (like a lot of teams). Cesar Izturis is NOT an everyday Major League SS. And neither is Edwin Maysonett. Gonzalez is having an MRI tomorrow to assess the severity of the injury. It didn’t look good and Ron Roenicke didn’t sound very optimistic, but Gonzalez himself said he didn’t think it was serious enough for surgery. 

The Brewers come back to Milwaukee tomorrow to face off against the Reds. It will be Yovani Gallardo facing off against Bronson Arroyo.

Brewers shut out, Gamel hurt

Mat Gamel hurt himself chasing a foul ball that he made virtually no effort in catching. 

Good:

• Shaun Marcum pitched very well. He kept his pitch count low and kept the Padres off of the bases, for the most part. 

Bad:

• Hits were hard to come by. They only managed to get 5 guys on base the whole game.
• Francisco Rodriguez failed to keep it tied again. I know it is just a perception, but it seems that every time K-Rod comes into a tie game or a game where the Brewers are trailing by 1 or 2 runs he can’t keep the other team off the board, especially against marginal talent.
• The Padres must have seen something in Marcum’s delivery that allowed them to get a good jump. They stole 3 bases off of Marcum and would have had 4 if Jonathan Lucroy didn’t make a perfect throw. 
• I guess Gamel’s injury fits in the “Bad” category, mostly because I didn’t want to make a “Who cares” category. I’ve seen a few people praising Gamel on tumblr and it confuses me. He is hitting around .250 with little power and isn’t walking much either. Apparently people had lower expectation than I did, because I expected more than what he has given. If he is hurt for an extended period, Travis Ishikawa and Brooks Conrad (who is tearing up the PCL) will probably platoon at 1st until he comes back. 

The Brewers wasted an excellent start from Marcum last night.

The Brewers are back in action this evening. It is a 5:30 start, so nobody has to stay up until after midnight to watch the game. The Brewers send Yovani Gallardo to the mount and the Padres are trotting up Jeff Suppan. 

Brewers drop another nail-biter, 4-3

This was one of the two times that Jonathan Lucroy tagged out Ramon Hernandez at the plate.

Good:

• Shaun Marcum had another solid start. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings and struck out 5.
• Norichika Aoki hit an inside the park home run (the first HR of his career) and added a double later on. He was one of the few bright spots in another lackluster offensive performance by the Brewers.
• Mat Gamel also had two hits and was the other bright spot.
• Aramis Ramirez made a solid stop and an ok throw home to save a run in the 6th. Lucroy made a nice pickup and tag to finish the play. It was pretty close and I didn’t see a good replay, but the call could have went either way. Hernandez didn’t complain too much, so I assume they got him.

Bad:

• Another poor offensive performance for the Brewers. Ryan Braun started the season hot, but has been pretty terrible the last 4 games. Rickie Weeks is struggling. Corey Hart is doing his normal thing (i.e. he gets hits when it doesn’t matter and strikes out any time there is anyone on base.) Nyjer Morgan didn’t play, but has been terrible. Even guys who have been hitting well, like Lucroy, are under .300. 
• Alex Gonzalez was a special kind of shitty today and deserves his own bulletpoint.
• John Axford allowed 3 hits and made an error in his inning of work. He took the loss.

Another decent start by a Brewers starter was wasted by no offense.

It is obviously early in the season, but the offensive woes are frustrating. They have been facing middle of the road pitching, for the most part, and they just can’t seem to get anything going. I’m not worried about Braun, Weeks, Hart, or Ramirez; they all will hit, and probably sooner rather than later. I would expect that Aoki gets a bit more playing time going forward. He may not start the next two days, but don’t be surprised if Braun gets a day off soon and Aoki is in his spot.

Atlanta series so far

Friday

Alex Gonzalez is greeted in the dugout after hitting a home run.

Good:

• Offense came to play. Ryan Braun had 3 hits to pace the Crew. Mat Gamel, Corey Hart, and Alex Gonzalez each had 2 hits, with Hart and Gonzalez also hitting a HR. George Kottaras also had a HR.
• They lost the lead, but fought back to tie the game. 
• The usually maligned early relief guys actually held their own. Marco Estrada, Kameron Loe, and Tim Dillard combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.
• The aggressively running Brewers stole three bases (Braun, Gamel, and Aramis Ramirez).

Bad:

• Randy Wolf started off beautifully, but the wheels fell off in the 5th when he gave up 6 runs and couldn’t get out of the inning.
• Francisco Rodriguez had a bad night, giving up 2 quick runs when he came into the game in the 8th with the score tied.
• Randy Wolf was picked off of 1st after laying down a lousy bunt that got Kottaras thrown out at 2nd. This happened in the disastrous 5th inning.
• Nyjer Morgan continues to struggle.

Rickie Weeks avoids the sliding Jason Heyward to turn the double play.

Saturday

Shaun Marcum pitched very well for the second time in a row. 

Good: 

• Shaun Marcum twirled a gem. After the Braves and Brewers combined for 27 hits on Friday, they combined for a measly 8 on Saturday. Unfortunately 3 of his 5 base runners allowed happened in the same inning and two runs scored. Other than that he pitched excellent.
• Jose Veras came in and pitched an effectively wild inning.
• Carlos Gomez had a nice diving catch in CF and he collected another hit. He is playing as well as anyone on the team right now.

Bad:

• It sucks to hold the other team to only 3 hits and lose the game because your offense can’t muster more than a single run.
• Ryan Braun had a boneheaded play in left that sort of led to the Braves scoring. The runs would probably have scored anyway because of a long Juan Francisco double that would have knocked them in.
• The two times the Brewers tried to mount comebacks in the 8th and 9th they were thwarted by strikeouts, their backup shortstop’s inability to get the ball past the pitcher, and a curious PH appearance by George Kottaras for Jonathan Lucroy.

Norichika Aoki looks like he could use some fiber.

I say the decision to pinch hit Kottaras was curious not because Kottaras isn’t hitting well. He is seeing the ball well and has power to spare. Problem is, Jonathan Lucroy is hitting well too and is much more of a contact hitter than is Kottaras. With a guy on third who can run (Braun) all it would take is a semi-deep fly ball to tie the game. Kottaras is a feast or famine type hitter and is more likely to strike out than Lucroy (which he did). Also, Lucroy is an excellent bunter and Braun is an excellent baserunner, trying a squeeze play in that situation would have been risky (especially since the Braves may have been expecting it), but wouldn’t have been the worst idea in the world.

Much like last season at this time, the Brewers just haven’t been able to tie everything together yet. Braun, Lucroy, Hart, Gomez, Aoki, and Kottaras are all hitting very well, but Weeks, Ramirez, Morgan, and Gonzalez are all scuffling at the plate. Same with the pitching staff, Zack Greinke and Yovani Gallardo have each pitched one excellent game and one terrible game in their two starts. Randy Wolf is having issues missing bats, he has given up a combined 17 hits in his two starts. Both Marcum and today’s starter Chris Narveson have pitched well in their combined 3 starts. The bullpen has had their share of successes and failures as well. We need to be patient, this is a team with a good amount of talent and they will more than likely be in the playoff race until the end, barring anything unforeseen.

Brewers start Cubs series with a 7-5 win

Shaun Marcum pitched very well, despite missing most of Spring Training with shoulder issues.

Good:

• Marcum pitched very well, giving up 3 runs (one of which wasn’t really his fault) in 6 innings of work. He made two bad pitches and both were hit a long way. They were both high fly balls and, with the wind as it was, there was no way they were going to stay in the yard. He minimized damage by not walking a batter. The third run scored when Nyjer Mogan lost a ball in the twilight sky and Geovany Soto chugged in for a triple. 
• Ryan Braun continued his hot start with 2 more hits, including another double. Morgan, Mat Gamel, and Alex Gonzalez also had 2 hits each. Rickie Weeks hit a laser for a home run down the left field line. Some kid looked like he was going to try to catch it, but he wisely pulled back before the ball got to him. Every starter had at least one hit except Jonathan Lucroy (who got hit and had a sac fly). Every starter had at least one run or RBI.
• The Brewers executed two successful squeeze plays. A suicide squeeze with Marcum at the plate and Gonzalez running. Perfect. Later on, Carlos Gomez bunted a ball, either by himself or planned, that scored Gamel. It may have been a called safety squeeze, or it is possible that Gomez was trying to bunt for a hit.
• The Brewers stole two bases (Braun and Gamel).
• Jose Veras and Francisco Rodriguez pitched scoreless innings.

Bad:

• The ninth inning was a (near) disaster. It took 3 pitchers a total of 40 pitches to get through the inning. John Axford finally locked down the save, but not with out making a few fans hold their breath.
• Nyjer Morgan lost a ball in the sky (or lights) and was picked off of second. He had a couple of hits, so I would say it evens out.
• The defense struggled for the first time all season. They committed 1 error in the first 3 games combined, but had 3 tonight. Gonzalez got a hard luck error when he threw a ball in the dirt to Gamel early on. It was a play that Gamel should have made, but still not a great throw. In the ninth, Aramis Ramirez booted a ball that could have been an inning ending double play and Gomez mishandled a single and was charged with an error when the runner advanced to second.

Ryan Braun was lustily booed each time he stepped up to the plate. Before the game he sort of joked that he always got booed at Wrigley, so tonight would be no different. Either way, it had little effect on him and it is something that will happen everywhere the Brewers go. 

The game got a bit hairy in the ninth, with John Axford striking out Starlin Castro for the final out. Castro had a career long hit streak and reached base safely streak going from last season. I like to imagine that Axford let him get up again just to make that lazy-eyed, error-machine think that he had a shot at extending those streaks, only to shut him down. Or maybe I just dislike Starlin Castro.

Final note: There is not a Brewer that frustrates me more than Corey Hart. He has looked great since he came back from his injury. He goes on tears that can carry an offense. The guy has somehow made two All-Star teams, even though he hasn’t hit better than .295, he has only had 30+ HRs once, and he has only had 100+ RBI once. But he can carry an offense when he is hot. The thing that bugs the hell out of me, HE CAN’T HIT A SLIDER!!! Why haven’t opposing pitcher figured this out? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen him wave at a slider out of the strike zone. It’s like I can see it coming. He certainly can’t. Although he loves them. 

Shaun Marcum and the Brewers agree on a 1-year deal

Marcum signed a 1-year $7.7 million deal and is set to become a free agent after this season. I’m glad they reached an agreement, but the number is a bit high for my tastes. I like Marcum, but his late season swoon does concern me a little bit. There still has not been any word on what the issue was. It could have been fatigue or an injury or just a bad stretch for him personally. I’m sure he will bounce back; he is a good pitcher, but it still it would be nice to know that it was a fluke and not a serious problem.

Also, the Brewers have announced their bobblehead schedule for the season.

4/22 Jonathan Lucroy (meh)

5/13 Yovani Gallardo (I’m going)

6/10 Nyjer Morgan (Very nice)

7/1 Italian Sausage (not a chance)

7/29 Bob Uecker (Excellent)

9/16 Aramis Ramirez (ok)

Player Grades - Starting Pitchers

You can tell that a team’s starting pitchers are solid when there were only 6 guys to get starts all season long. The Phillies only used 7 and the Giants 8, and their starting pitching staffs are nothing to scoff at.

Marco Estrada

The Brewers lone spot starter, Estrada pitched pretty well in his starts. Out of his seven starts I would say he pitched very good in 5 of them, so-so in another (he got the win), and he got blown off the mound in one other start. Not too bad extrapolated out to a full season. He had some good and bad stretches as a relief pitcher, he was primarily used in mop-up duty and long relief. The starters were pretty good about going deep into games and the Crew didn’t get blown out too much so Estrada didn’t get much regular work. I was particularly impressed with Estrada’s 3 spot-starts for Chris Narveson when he went on the DL in August. Marco is 28 years old and I’m not sure where he is going to be or what role he will play next season. All 5 regular starters are coming back (as of now). I’m sure if he is still with the club he will get a shot at stealing that 5 spot or continue to be the spot starter/long relief guy.

Final Grade - B-/C+ (Hard to judge this one, he did what he was supposed to do and even exceeded expectations)

Chris Narveson

Narveson was solid as the Brewers 5th starter. His numbers weren’t great. His ERA was still a bit too high and every season his strike out numbers have diminished. While his numbers weren’t outstanding for a number 5 starter he was pretty good. And knowing you can count on one guy for that spot means a lot. One of the issues with the Brewers in 2009 and 2010 was their inability to find a consistent #5. Of course it helps that the team added two top of the rotation starter in the off-season, effectively bumping Narveson and Randy Wolf down to the 4/5 slots. Such is life. Narveson regressed a little from 2010, numbers-wise, but still put up solid stats. Next year Narveson will be 30 years old and figures into the Brewers rotation plans.

Final Grade - C+ 

Randy Wolf

Even though he was effectively the #4 starter in the rotation I would argue that there were times during the season that Wolf could have been considered the ace of the staff. He had a very solid year, even if his win/loss totals may not show it. A ‘quality start’ is defined as a start of at least 6 innings pitched and 3 earned runs or less. Wolf had 21 such starts, second on the team. In seven of those quality starts Wolf failed to get a win, he either received a hard-luck loss or a no decision. He was a workhorse too. His pitchers per start average was second on the team and he started 33 games, tied with Yovani Gallardo and Shaun Marcum. Wolf is definitely the elder statesman of the staff and he has had a solid career. He has shown no signs of slowing down, 2011 was one of his best of his 12 year career and he figures to be back in the Brewers rotation in 2012.

Final Grade - A- (Had a very good year made even better considering he was the #3/4 starter.)

Shaun Marcum

Shaun Marcum had a good season. I find it somewhat unfortunate that many people will remember Marcum’s 2011 for his struggles in the playoffs (struggles may be an understatement) and not his season as a whole. Pre-All Star Break, Shaun Marcum was the best starting pitcher on the Brewers. Starting on September 9th, he gave up 34 runs in 34 innings and that includes an 8 inning, 1 run game against the Cubs. Was there an injury involved? Was he tired? We probably will never know, but something was definitely going on. Whatever it was, I don’t think you can put the blame on Marcum. My feelings on the matter, and I posted something at the time, was that Ron Roenicke should have sat Marcum down for Game 6 of the NLCS and let Narveson or Estrada have the ball. Of course Marcum is going to want the ball; a player doesn’t get to the major league level without WANTING to go out there every day. Roenicke should have made the tough decision to sit him. And that is an extremely tough decision. How do you tell a guy that he isn’t going to get a chance at redemption on a national stage? Especially since without Marcum the Brewers would probably not even be in that position in the first place? That is what the manager is there for, making the decisions that the players would never make for themselves. Anyway, Marcum will be 30 next season and will be a top of the rotation guy for the Brewers again. 

Final Grade - B+ (There were times when he was the best on the staff, but floundered down the stretch.)

Zack Greinke

Early in the season some Brewer fans had unrealistic expectation for Greinke. Granted, he had a rough start to the season, with his rib injury and a relatively high ERA after his first several starts. While his ERA numbers weren’t anything to stop the presses about, all of his other numbers were pretty outstanding. He was 16-6 and led the league in K/9IP. His sabermetric stats were solid as well. He had a BABIP (batting average on balls in play) of .311, near the top in the league for qualified starters, indicating that his high ERA may have at least in part due to a bit of bad luck. Zack was the gem of the Brewers acquisitions in the off-season and helped propel them to their first Division Championship since 1982. Zack Greinke is going to be back this year and figures to push Yovani Gallardo for ace of staff. The Brewers’ front office have not really discussed their plans yet (probably because of the Prince situation), but you have to think that they will work hard to sign Greinke to an extension after Prince signs wherever he is going to sign. 

Final Grade - A- (The dumb injury and high ERA kept him from a sold A.)

Yovani Gallardo

Gallardo ended up as the top pitcher on the Brewers staff. He led the team in numerous categories. One of the things that was nice about this season is that there were times when it was difficult to say who was the best starter in the rotation. The top 4 guys were pretty close for most of the season, Gallardo was the most consistent. He is also the youngest and the one that is signed for the longest. Yovani and Ryan Braun are the two guys that the Brewers have chosen to build around and, as of now, it seems like the correct decision. Gallardo was also the Brewers’ best pitcher in the postseason and may have played the biggest role (along with Braun) in them advancing to the NLCS. Yo will be back next year, battling with Greinke, Marcum, and Wolf for best starting pitcher. It is definitely nicer knowing you have 4-6 quality starting pitcher options going into a season.

Final Grade - A

Brewers drop Game 3, still lead 2-1

This pretty much sums up the night for the Crew

GOOD:

• Corey Hart hit a solo home run to pull within a run in the third inning.
• The Brewers bullpen made another solid appearance. Kameron Loe gave up an unearned run in the 5th, but Chris Narveson and Marco Estrada pitched scoreless innings of relief.
• The Brewers still lead the series 2-1 and face a lefty in Joe Saunders tomorrow. A number of the Brewers hitters hit lefties better than righties. (Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and Jonathan Lucroy to name a few)

BAD:

• Shaun Marcum did not have it tonight. He struggled from the first inning on and was finally lifted in the 5th. This is his second straight bad start. (I was thinking sub-par or less than stellar, but BAD fits much better) I said something about it earlier and I will not rehash that, but I have more to say in a bit.
• Jerry Hairston Jr., who has been a great addition to the lineup, made an error in the fifth that lead to a run. Also, he saw a total of 6 pitches in 3 plate appearances. That is pathetic. Corey Hart only saw 9 in 4 plate appearances, not much better. Surprisingly, Yuniesky Betancourt had some of the best numbers on the team when it came to seeing pitches. 
• Only mustering 3 hits is a pretty poor showing. You have to tip your cap to Josh Collmenter though, he has had the Brewers’ number all year long.

Shaun Marcum may be wearing down. He has been a great number 3 starter for the Crew this season, don’t get me wrong, but he has given up 26 runs in his last 5 games. And that includes an 8 inning, 1 run performance against the Cubs. I’m all for rewarding the players who have gotten the team to this point, but I think that Ron Roenicke has to think long and hard about how he sets up his rotation for the NLCS, if and when the Brewers get there. It doesn’t help that Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson haven’t exactly been blazing any trails either, though. 

Obviously tonight was a pretty disappointing game. The Diamondbacks fans are pretty riled up and I’ve seen some Brewer hate, but that is to be expected. Surprisingly, I have yet to receive any D-Back fan hate personally, although I haven’t done anything to draw their ire either. I also have a “Don’t Feed The Trolls” policy, if someone wants to have a real argument with facts and give and take, I’m all for it. If someone wants to just spew hate and ridiculousness, I’m like Roger Murtaugh, too old for that shit. (Some of you may not be old enough to catch that reference) I have to admit, if it were the Diamondbacks players having as much fun as the Brewer players, while kicking our asses on the field, I probably would be a little tired of “Beast Mode”, as well. I was at the game Sunday and was loving every minute of it, but stepping back and trying to take an outsiders view it may be a bit over-the-top. Home runs, big RBI, highlight defensive plays, by all means, deserving of “Beast Mode”. Two out singles with no one on, I think it would be better to refrain. Just call me Buzz Killington.

Wrapping up, tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully the bats come to play and Wolfie has a solid start. I don’t want this series to come back to Milwaukee. 

Finally, I have an opportunity to purchase NLCS tickets….problem is, no money. Tomorrow the wife and I have to have a little pow-wow to see if we can scrounge up enough to get a ticket or two. Fingers crossed. GO CREW!!!

Zack Greinke taking the mound for game 2

Zack Greinke will take the ball on three days rest for the second straight time on Sunday in Game 2 of NLDS vs the Arizona Diamondbacks. Greinke’s home numbers have been ridiculous (11-0, 3.13 ERA, 119/22 K/BB ratio), which is why he is going instead of Shaun Marcum. Conversely, Marcum has excellent road numbers (8-3, 2.12 ERA), the reason he is going to pitch game 3 in Arizona.