Highlights-Lowlights: Reds-Brewers

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights
Wily Peralta - The young Brewers pitcher continue to dazzle in the last couple outings. He pitched great against Cincinnati going seven innings strong with three hits allowed, one run earned and five strikeouts. Peralta seemed in full control all game long with great command and did not face many problems all game long. In the last two starts, Peralta pitched 15 innings only allowed six hits and striking out 10 batters. The last part is key, it seems like Wily is pitching more to contact than anything else which is important.

Ryan Braun - I wanted to write a longer blog post about Braun, and I might do it on Friday regardless of how he plays against New York. Braun seems fully healthy for the first time all season. He had another great series against Cincinnati. Braun went 5 for 12 in the series driving in five runs with a home run as well. He is in complete control of his swing whether it be pulling the ball or taking to the opposite field.

Zach Duke - When Milwaukee signed Zach Duke in the offseason, I didn't think much of it. Personally, I thought Duke wouldn't be on the roster by this time, or I would hate him like I did Mike Gonzalez. Duke is the best left-hander in baseball in terms of ERA. He struck out the side in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's game. Duke also came in to get out Billy Hamilton in the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second.  He is one of the MVP's of the Milwaukee team thus far.

Mark Reynolds - Honestly, I had no idea if Mark Reynolds still existed with this Brewers team. He went radio silent for two months of the season then came through in a major way on Wednesday afternoon. Reynolds hit two home runs pushing the Brewers ahead by two runs and then added a solo shot in the eighth putting Milwaukee up by four runs and ensuring Francisco Rodriguez didn't have pitch for a third straight game. Hopefully, this is one of Reynolds' hot streak for the next couple of weeks.

Jean Segura - For the first time in a long time, Segura made an impact in a baseball game on the offensive side of the game. Segura had two hits on Monday night, one being a triple where he ended up scoring on a bad throw by the Reds defense, and he ignited the inning in the fourth scoring on Carlos Gomez's ground-rule double.

Lowlights
Instant Replay - If Major League Baseball is going to have instant replay, they need to use it right. Zach Cosart attempted to bunt the baseball to move the runners over, but the ball hit the bat plus his hand to go with it. The umpiring crew thought Cosart was hit by a pitch when in reality, it was a foul ball. Umpires felt sorry for Cosart because he had an injury. Simple as that. MLB needs to call it like they see it instead of trying to aid the player because he got hurt on the play. It doesn't mean shit, he still swung at the baseball.

Roenicke's not pulling Jimmy Nelson - With having a sweep, there is not much to complain about truthfully, but the manager of the Brewers had a couple mistakes this week with the pitching staff. Roenicke is damn lucky Jimmy Nelson did not get roughed up in the seventh when he gave up two straight singles then 'hit' two batters allowing a run in. Nelson still pitched great, but he could have really had a start spoiled in the seventh with Roenicke leaving him in too long.

Duke's one-pitch outing - This is another move by Roenicke that I failed to understand on Wednesday afternoon. Duke had only 13 pitches the night before and Hamilton swung at the first pitch. Duke could have easily stayed out for another inning saving Will Smith whose already pitching way too much for a day. Roenicke's logic on Wednesday afternoon baffled me. There is no reason Duke should have came out of the game.

Knowing these aren't the real Reds - I really hate to be a cynic. I really do, but we all know this isn't the Cincinnati team that owned Milwaukee for the first couple months of the season. They are without Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto plus missing some other pieces as well. Still, it is nice to build some momentum as well as a two and a half game lead in the National League Central.

Charlie.

Brewers-Nationals Preview (7/18-7/20)

Yes, your Brewers previews are back in full force. We have kind have been lacking on it during the month of July and honestly, I get real busy in the coming month so hopefully they will continue, same with highlights/lowlights.  

Friday:     Kyle Lohse (9-4 3.26) vs. Stephen Strasburg (7-6 3.46) 6:05 pm FSNWI
Saturday: Matt Garza (6-6 3.69) vs. Gio Gonzalez (6-5 3.56)         6:05 pm FSNWI
Sunday:   Yovani Gallardo (5-5 3.68) vs. Doug Fister (8-2 2.90)   12:35 pm FSNWI

Five Things to Watch
1.) Return of Jean Segura - Honestly, I throughly believed we wouldn't see Jean Segura in a Brewers uniform until the start of August or even longer than that. I couldn't imagine a person going through something like Segura did with his child dying at only nine months old.  There is no one I am pulling harder for than Segura. Dead serious, if Milwaukee doesn't make the playoffs, but Segura ends up hitting around .275-.280 having a great second half, I am perfectly okay with things. That would be a hell of a bright spot.

2.) Brewers Bounce Back - Even though Milwaukee won their last game before the All-Star Break, Milwaukee is losers of eleven of the last 13 games. This isn't an easy task for Milwaukee to start the second half against Washington with their three best pitchers and a team desperately needing wins as well. Washington is playing solid baseball for the month of July therefore it is very possible to expect Milwaukee to lose two of three games even if the Brewers need a couple wins. Both St. Louis and Cincinnati start off hard with Los Angeles at home for the Cards, and Reds heading to New York against the Yankees. Pirates get the lowly Rockies.

3. Ryan Braun's Unnoticed Hot Streak - He's been hurt for a little while missing a few games in July, but he's having a hell of a month. People are kind of unaware of the fact Braun is near the league lead in a lot of different categories including seventh in Slugging Percentage. Braun getting four days off could do absolute wonders for him and his back injury. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a big-time Braun series because he was starting to feel it against St. Louis last weekend. Braun also has some pretty solid numbers at Nationals Park for whatever it's worth.

4. Strasburg's revenge - One of the weirder things of the last month was Milwaukee trotting out a B-squad lineup, and they scored seven runs on Strasburg.  No one really saw it coming. Everyone expected a sweep. Since that start, Strasburg allowed a total of five runs striking out 26 batters in three starts since his time at Miller Park.  He has been pretty prettay good at Nationals Park so we will see what happens tonight against a fully loaded Brewers lineup.

5. Garza's Hot July - Another thing getting sort of hidden under the radar because everyone is pushing the panic button about the Brewers' terrible month.  Garza only gave up two hits against Cincinnati with no runs scored and carried a no-hitter into the sixth against Philadelphia. Sure things when to shit after that, but most of it wasn't Garza's fault. He has been great lately and it should be a fantastic matchup to see Gio Gonzalez go up against him.

Appropriate YouTube Video 


I am providing some calm music to relax everyone and not freak out if the Brewers drop off a cliff again this weekend.

Prediction
I have a terrible feeling they are going to lose two of three because all three pitchers they are facing are really cooking right now.  But I have a little faith and think they will bullshit their way into two wins this weekend.

Charlie.

Brewers First Half Offense Grades

This is an annual post here with SnoTap industries where we grade the Brewers offense and their pitching staff.  I would like to think I am a fair grader and some think I am a little too nice to people. Pitching grades are coming later. 

Jonathan Lucroy - Easily, the MVP for Milwaukee thus far this season and maybe the MVP of the entire National League. Lucroy is having a fantastic year. He had a rough July so far with his average dipping 20 points, that's okay because he is still at .315.  Lucroy has 42 doubles and only 42 strikeouts. Really strong start to the season for Johnny Luc. GRADE: A

Carlos Gomez - I nearly downgraded Gomez to an A- because I am a little concerned about his swing rate where he is a little too aggressive with pitches lately, yet it has been a banner year for Gomez again netting him an All-Star starting appearance. Currently, Gomez has a six-game hitting streak and starting to get warm again which is an encouraging thing for Milwaukee.  GRADE: A

Ryan Braun - Some people might think this grade is a little high, but there are couple reasons behind when Braun got the third-highest grade on the offense. First, Braun started the year with everyone wondering about where his head might be with all of the Biogenesis stuff. Second, he is starting to heat up in a major way which is going unnoticed given Braun is battling all sorts of injuries, he is hitting .364 for July with six hits in his last three game. GRADE: A-

Aramis Ramirez - You have to be impressed with what Rami is doing this season. He battled through an injury that kept him out nearly a  month, but before that, he had his hottest April ever then came back to give Milwaukee a much-needed lift. Ramirez had a torrent June month hitting .348 with 31 hits including six home runs. Ramirez is also playing solid defense at third base for Milwaukee as well. Even though he notched an All-Star appearance, I think the best is yet to come. GRADE: B+

Scooter Gennett - We have went over a couple times about how wrong I have been about Scooter. He is having a good season, and some of it had to do with moving to the top of the order. Gennett hit nearly .400 for the month of June with big extra-base hits as well as getting on-base. He bounced back nicely after having a terrible May where I called for his head as Rickie Weeks was excelling. Gennett is doing work for the club. GRADE: B+

Khris Davis - This has been a really impressive start for Khris because he had a great deal of pressure going into this year. He needed to replace the production of Nori Aoki in a different way. Davis hit the skids hard to start the year, and people wondered whether there was a needed platoon. He went on a complete tear for the next month and a half plus currently leads all Brewers in home runs with 15. Davis scuffled a bit in the last month, but he's been hitting around .260 before then which is encouraging. GRADE: B

Rickie Weeks - Even though he is a bench player and his run with the Brewers might be done soon, I am happy for Weeks. He had a good season after a terrible 2013 thus far. The run in May brought me back to the old Weeks days when he would have two great weeks hitting everything in sight. Hopefully, they keep him around until the end of the year.  GRADE: B

Lyle Overbay - I went back and forth whether I wanted to give Overbay a B or B-, but it ended with a B. People didn't expect much from Overbay this season, and many people wanted Juan Francisco over him. He is hitting .243 with an OBP of .322. That's nothing to be mad about honestly. Sure, you want more from first base, but it's been better than what Milwaukee had last season. GRADE B

Mark Reynolds - For the first couple months, it seems like the relationship with Brewers and Reynolds would be a wonderful one then he completely fell off a cliff in the last two months. Reynolds only has two home runs since the start of June and currently, he is hitting .100 for the month of July. What's the use for him if he is not hitting home runs. GRADE: C

Jean Segura - This might be a tough grade for him, but I am hoping he finds his stroke again. No greater story would be Segura having a massive second half of the season  as he is dealing with the death of his young son. Segura has been pretty tremendous defensively and right there for a Gold Glove even if Troy Tulowitzki will win it. GRADE C-

Charlie.

Phillies-Brewers: Everything Sucks.

It is really hard to have a blog post about highlights and lowlights when the team you do it for loses all four games against a last place. Simply, it cannot happen. This isn't a state of the Brewers blog, rather, trying to figure out what's going wrong and how it can be fixed. It should be known that baseball happens like this sometimes where it is terribly weird and things go terribly wrong. Milwaukee Brewers have lost nine of 10 games, only one win since June 28th and somehow things are still alright.

There are problems all over the place with Milwaukee right now. Where would you like me to start? Offense seems to be a main concern with everyone right now so let's start there. Carlos Gomez has been a shell of himself in recent weeks.  It seems like he reverted back to some of his old ways with more swings and misses than in the early stages of the season as Alec Dopp of Gammons Daily pointed out a couple days ago.  Ryan Braun's bad back isn't helping things either. He missed two games in the series plus batted fifth yesterday although still added a hit. Jean Segura's struggles where he is now batting .232 is a true life concern. That's a panic button for me. It could be a sophomore slump, but something needs to change at the plate for him.

Milwaukee is a weird one too when it comes to hitting because they have come up with hits in some of these games during the losing streak, just not timely ones. Rickie Weeks deep fly ball on Monday or Scooter rope right at a left fielder on Tuesday come to mind. Only the last two days where the Brewers had a combined seven hits are days really feeling like Milwaukee has zero offense whatsoever.  I keep thinking back to Tuesday. They had a four-run lead early with a Lyle Overbay grand slam. If they hold that lead and break the streak, does Milwaukee win one or two of these games?  Who really knows because the pitching failed them in that game.

Pitching is still an issue for this team. Some of it has been good like Matt Garza. He pitched great in his two starts in the month of July continuing on with a strong June. Wily Peralta is dealing with some issues right now giving up four or more runs in the last three starts with him blowing up on Tuesday night with a nine-run debacle. One could argue teams have gotten a better book on Peralta, and he needs to make some changes to what's he is doing out there. The other could say he pitched in two hitter friendly ballparks for only the first and second time and shit happens like the Philly start. It's a mix of both in my opinion. One of the major problems right now is giving up early inning runs. In the last four of five games, Milwaukee gave up at least one run in the first inning. Brewers are putting themselves behind far too often early.

It is not just starting pitching either. Will Smith has been a major problem. He could worn out from making 50 appearances already this season. If I had it my way, Smith isn't playing in the series against St. Louis.  He needs a week off. Ron Roenicke wanted to use him carefully, but it seems like the bullpen management from him has been shortsighted. At some point, Smith will be fine because all relievers go through shitty stretches like this unless they have unreal seasons. Brandon Kintzler hasn't been great, and only Rob Wooten seems like a sure thing at this point. All July has done is making it a priority for Milwaukee to make a deal for a reliever. They need one badly. If they could get a closer to basically do what they did in 2011, it would be vital to their success. Huston Street or Koji Uehara sounds awesome in a Brewers uniform.

The crazy thing about all of this struggle is Milwaukee still has the best record in the National League. They have lost nine of the last 10 and still have the top dog position. Brewers have brought St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh back into the fold as all three teams are four or less games back from the National League Central division. It is completely wide open. No one expected this to be easy and if someone did, they should really start watching more baseball. With St. Louis coming to town this weekend, Milwaukee could win two of three games and have a three-game lead heading into the All-Star Break. Any Brewers fan or player would have taken that in the month of March. Honestly, it feels right St. Louis and Milwaukee are tied at the All-Star Break. Brewers played a bit over their head in parts of June. It is hard to see the Brewers running away with this division.

The last weekend before the All-Star with Milwaukee holding a .500 record at home. This is a time to strike for them to gain back a little what's been lost in this already terrible month.

Charlie.

DON'T FREAK OUT: Milwaukee Brewers Edition

It was time. I told myself if the Brewers lose to Cole Hamels on Monday night, I would provide a little voice of reason talk. I realize there are people that will go with the sky is falling technique over the blind optimism, but I want to believe. It didn't help Milwaukee lost a game that pisses you off to the core and makes you wonder why do I care so much about this team?  Regardless, it is time to put on some happy music and think about what's ahead for the Brewers meaning yes you shouldn't worry about their recent scuffles.  

 Losing Streaks Happen - I realize Milwaukee isn't technically on a losing streak, but I am trying to provide perspective here. I am also not saying Milwaukee will win the World Series, but four of the last five World Series Champions had one losing streak five games or longer. Every good team has a rough patch in their schedule. May wasn't really that bad with Milwaukee ending .500 for the month. That still can happen with July as well. No team is perfect, and skids happen like this to every baseball team. They will bounce back.   

Marco Estrada isn't going to start all season - Milwaukee's management, both front and clubhouse, are stubborn without any question. Brewers Twitter is taking the pitchforks to Estrada right now and wants to see Jimmy Nelson whose dominating Triple A right now. Estrada isn't a good starting pitcher right now, and maybe, he needs a change of scenery. Further, there is nothing to think Nelson will be a much better pitcher than Estrada although I agree watching Nelson struggle is far different than seeing Estrada puke on his shoes every five days.  

They are going to make a move - I have no doubt in my mind Milwaukee will have a new Brewer before the trade deadline is over. Brew Crew Ball did a great job at looking at the three Boston Red Sox's players the Brewers might be interested in. Currently, the three Boston guys are the only ones rumored to be a possible Brewer. Doug Melvin downplayed a major trade which I have to think stands for "No, we are going to make a move at some point yet I have no idea what it will actually be ."  Milwaukee will not go quiet into the night with three teams nipping at their heels. 

Carlos Gomez will find his swing again - He is going through a slump which should be almost expected at some point. This guy has been completely on fire for months, and he had a bad week a his job. Haven't we all honestly. Sure, we don't get paid like Gomez, but he will find his stroke again. I wouldn't be surprised if Ron Roenicke changes the order if Ryan Braun ends up playing again tonight. I would go for a lineup of Scooter-Braun-Lucroy-Ramirez-Gomez  or Gomez-Braun-Lucroy-Ramirez-Scooter (Yes hitting Scooter fifth is not ideal, but hey, he gets hits so why not at this point?)  

Ryan Braun will go on a 'Ryan Braun' streak - I felt like we were so close to having that happen after the Toronto series, but he ended up hurting his back which made him miss most of Saturday's game and all of Sunday plus he had to leave Monday night from running after a lead-off double in the eighth inning. Although Braun is still stinging the ball despite the bad back issues. I am telling you this becomes a different team without question. The thumb will always be an issue for him, but Braun will come fresh at some point soon. 

A part of me still believes in Jean Segura - I am not saying he will end up being an All-Star in the second half, but I refuse to believe he is only a .240 hitter. I refuse to believe the numbers of him July 1st 2013 and beyond are Segura's true ceiling. He is going to figure this thing on offense. That's going to happen at some point, and when it does, Milwaukee becomes a more dangerous team. 

This isn't part of my whole "Don't freak out", but the fact, Milwaukee finishes the year by playing the division for the entire month except for a home series against Miami is what you want as a fan and player. They control their own destiny. If they want to bury the rest of division and we as fans are celebrating in mid-September, hell yeah, let's do it. If they want to screw around and Milwaukee fights for a division title to the final game of the year, welp better give me all the alcohol in the world.  

To quote the great Alfred from "Batman Begins", 'Why do we fall Master Wayne?"   "To pick ourselves back up again."  Everything will be fine, y'all. 

-Charlie.  

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Blue Jays (7/1-7/2)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights
Ryan Braun - The mild hot streak for Braun continued north of the border. Braun came through with two strong games with driving in the only run on Tuesday with a 2-out RBI double, and then Wednesday, he delivered again with a two-run triple. If Braun's tear continues this weekend, he could be back to .300 for the first time since June 11th.

Zach Duke - Two really good appearances from him. On Wednesday, he inherited a jam with two runners on with no out in the seventh innings in a tied game, and Duke got completely out of it. He forced a double play on a weak bunt attempt and struck out Dionner Navarro to end the inning. He also pitched a scoreless frame on Tuesday afternoon with another solid outing.

Marco Estrada - Yes, he did take a loss in the game against the Jays and inevitably, he gave up two home runs yet they were both solo shots. Estrada looked good again in his second straight start, and this isn't an easy lineup to deal with no matter whose the pitcher. Estrada obviously responded to the pressure when everyone called for his head. He just didn't get the run support.

Edwin Encarnacion - It is hard not to be impressed with the Blue Jays third baseman. I wrote about the Jays earlier this season. I think he will be a bonafide MVP candidate at the end of the season, and he hurt the Brewers dearly on Wednesday as Encarnacion took Brandon Kintzler deep in the ninth for a three-run walk off home run.

Jose Bautista - Oh Joey Bats is hurt? Oh he is?  Someone didn't tell Jose 'Don't call me bah-tista' Bautista. He mashed two first inning home runs in Milwaukee short trip to Milwaukee. I am happy this lineup is nowhere near the National League.  

Lowlights
Brandon Kintzler - Uhhhh.... We need to talk a little bit about Brandon. He isn't the same pitcher he was last season. It appears there is something missing from his game right now. Who knows the status of Jim Henderson, but if he could come back, it would be ideal for this team. Kintzler cannot handle big game situations like last night. The bright lights seem to get him. Kintzler's ERA has almost went a full run in under two weeks.

Jean Segura - Bad times for Seggy at the plate. It seemed like he was fixed earlier this season, but Segura struggled mightily in the past five days. In those games, Segura only has one hit in his last 15 at-bats. This dropped his average to .239, the lowest its been since April 29th. For the month of June, Segura only hit .196. Who knows what the issues are at the plate, but it is evident he is dealing with the sophomore slump.

Wily Peralta - Not a great outing from Peralta. Milwaukee gave him the lead twice, and twice, he gave up home runs. In the first, Bautisita sent a big fly out and then after the Brewers gave him a three-run advantage, Peralta gave up a two-run homer in the fourth from former Brewer Juan Francisco. This one is on Peralta. Sure, the offense probably needs more than four runs to beat the Jays, but that's all they needed last team if Peralta was strong.

Rob Wooten - Someone enjoyed Outkast a little too much on Sunday. I only jest with Wooten whom attended the concert. He hurt the lifeless Brewers chances on Tuesday as they were only down a run before Wooten gave up two runs in the eighth. For whatever it's worth, Wooten had five straight scoreless appearances after his five-run meltdown against Cincinnati before Tuesday happened,.

Brewers All-Star Vote Confusion

I am not an All-Star voter. I used to be, but as my days go on, I do not find the time to do it. Granted, I am not knocking it whatsoever. It is a cool way to incorporate the fans as well as drive up the support with social media campaign as they have done in the past couple of years. Two of the Milwaukee Brewers are National League MVP candidates with Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy. In turn, Milwaukee fans want to see those players in front of the national audience getting attention from the start of the game. They are driving up the fan votes elsewhere yielding some weird results thus far

The funniest thing about All-Star voting right now is the fact the most deserving Brewers player Jonathan Lucroy is not a starter right now and probably will not be with only a couple days left. Lucroy trails Yadier Molina by way too far of a margin, but hopefully, Matt Matheny will not be spiteful when it comes to adding him to the roster given how great Lucroy has been all season plus Evan Gattis is currently on the Disabled List. If Lucroy ends up on the 'Last Five', that might be one of the most disrespectful thing I have seen in all season. He is an All-Star and doesn't need a frivolous fan vote to get him into the dance at Target Field. Lucroy should tell them to eff off if this ends up being the case.  

There are a lot of confusing Brewers on the list. It is hard to decide what's the most confusing on the list... Jean Segura in second, Aramis Ramirez in first or Mark Reynolds in second. It sounds like one of the weirdest MFK's in the short-term history of the game. Let's start with Ramirez because there is a chance he could be starting in the All-Star Game especially since David Wright is flirting with the Disabled List battling an injury. The only guy in the top five deserving of being the All-Star starter is Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds. He is hitting .287 with 17 home runs with a .857 On-Base Percentage. If Cincinnati's fan base actually gave a damn and had decent attendance numbers, Frazier would be the pick for the third base All-Star. 

Segura and Reynolds make little sense at all.  Neither of these players are close to being All-Stars by any means. Segura plays really good defense and probably will be in some consideration for a Gold Glove yet defense doesn't usually earn you an All-Star game unless you are Omar Vizquel. Let's be clear, Segura isn't Vizquel by any way, shape or form. Although, most of National League shortstops not named Troy Tulowitzki have been slightly better than Segura, but not by a large margin so maybe Segura is not as ridiculous but he's been pretty damn bad offensively this season. Reynolds is also very confusing. Paul Goldschmidt, like Tulowitzki, will be the starter and deserves to be, but look at the list behind Reynolds... Adrian Gonzalez, Freddie Freeman, Matt Adams. Even though he battled injury, does anyone know Adams is hitting .324 this season?  For all of the Cardinal fans put in Yadier Molina, they have seemingly ignored the rest of their team which is such a Cardinals things to do.  

Some might ask why waste a bunch of words on this topic. It's fair because it will all be meaningless when starters are named over the weekend. But I find it interesting how Lucroy is a deserving number two compared to the fact all of these Brewers are near the top in other spots. It is clear the Brewers fan base did wonders to help Lucroy get closer in the two spot plus driven Gomez to the second position in the outfield to ensure his spot as well. 

From the looks of it, the Brewers will have two All-Stars with a chance at a third on offense then when it comes to pitchers, there will probably be one or two there as well. Milwaukee will have their hands all over Target Field's All-Star Game. 

Charlie.  

Highlights-Lowlights: Rockies-Brewers (6/26-6/29)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights 
Ryan Braun - Big weekend for Ryan Braun. I don't want to be like 'BRAUN BACK' and go all crazy because he owned Colorado's pitching which is as easy as finding a drunk underage Milwaukee suburbanite at Summerfest. Braun came through with his first walkoff hit in three years giving Milwaukee the win on Friday night. Braunie also added his eleventh home run in a loss on Sunday. In the last five games, Braun has two hits in four of them as well as driving in seven runs getting his average back to .290.

Kyle Lohse - Good start for Lohse on Friday night and probably deserving of the win, but things happen plus wins are silly. Lohse pitched well for seven innings working out of one jam that allowed a run, but nothing more. In the last two starts prior to this one, Lohse had allowed three runs and this one he only let one through seven innings with four strikeouts only yielding four hits. Good to see Lohse bounce back and hopefully the longish layoff will not affect him.

Lyle Overbay - I have said it before and I will say it again, I made a mistake with Lyle Overbay. He delivered a big sixth inning hit in Saturday's game driving in a vital insurance run which Milwaukee would need as Colorado slowly started to bang down the door. He added another hit in his only appearance for the weekend but came up in a big way. It has been really good to have Overbay on the roster plus I felt very comfortable with him playing defense for Matt Garza on the mound.

Carlos Gomez - He didn't really have a great weekend, but the three-run home run to lead off Saturday's game was ideal. Colorado obviously mad about losing to Milwaukee six straight times with the Brewers getting a walk-off the night before then BAM!  Carlos hits a homer. Also worth nothing since Gomez had his 0 for 6 night on Tuesday, he has one hit in each games putting him at four-game hitting streak meaning he has hits in 22 of his last 23 games.

Jonathan Lucroy - At this point, we are out of things to say about Lucroy, but once again, he came up big with some timely hitting driving in key runs in all three runs. Lucroy tied up the game Thursday night with a single after Wily Peralta gave up a grand slam. He put the Brewers ahead on Friday with the first run of the game in a tight pitcher's duel and added a RBI groundout on Saturday. Lucroy is a national treasure.

Lowlights
Injuries - Cramps, Face injuries, etc - Not a great weekend for the Brewers when it came to injuries. Jean Segura had to leave Saturday with cramping issues putting him out for Sunday's game, but it appears he will be back for Tuesday's game. Carlos Gomez had a collision with Braun leading to a face injury which could be described by the scene in Tommy Boy at the diner. Hopefully, Gomez will be back for the weekend. I don't really expect him for Toronto but with two days off this week, no reason to send him to the Disabled List.

Yovani Gallardo - Yeah not a great start for Yo, but I am not worried about it. There seems to be a vodoo hex over why Yo cannot beat the Rockies, the only National League team he hasn't beat for his career. It started off bad for him, and that's always how Yovani gets beat up is if he struggles early. I am a little worried about his seven-day layoff too.

Francisco Rodriguez - It was an up and down week for Frankie as he did get saves in both Thursday and Saturday's game. But he did blow one on Friday giving up a home run to Josh Rutledge. I am not worried at all about Frankie, but four runs in his last 10 appearances plus two home runs in the last week is never good.

Brewers schedule this week - Man, this sucks. We got two day games during the week which doesn't affect me too much but then we don't get a day game on the Fourth of July which is ludicrous. Further, they only play five games on which is a bummer, but Brewers do get some much-needed time off.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers vs. Rockies (6/20-6/22)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights
Jean Segura - This is more for his Friday than anything else he did over the weekend, but Segura came into Coors Field with a bang. He doubled his home run total with two dingers, his first multi-homer game of his career. They were important home runs too as Segura hit the first one after Colorado added two runs to pull the Rockies within one early on. Segura's second home run broke a tie and brought the Brewers back from trailing 6-4. He also added an RBI single in the next at-bat to complete the day. Segura can start building off this piece by piece he could get going again on offense.

Wily Peralta - Most people would look at a start where the pitcher gave up four runs and scoff he didn't really do his job, yet I disagree with how Coors Field been playing this season. Peralta went into the eighth inning with full control of the game. One of the things Brewers coaches have been trying to do more with Wily is him pitching to contact versus trying to get the strikeout every time out. He only had two strikeouts and really settled in after a tough first inning. Wily isn't yet an ace, but games like these where he needs to have a different approach shows ace-like abilities.

Aramis Ramirez - RED HOT. HOT HOT HOT. Rami usually does this in June and it is a sight to see really. He added a home run in the last two games, and his average has went from .261 10 games ago to .297. In his last eleven games, Ramirez is hitting .463 with nine extra-base hits. Further in the last four games, Ramirez has at least two hits. This is when the Brewers can really start cooking as Ramirez becomes damn near unpitchable and can win a game nearly by himself.

Scooter Gennett/Rickie Weeks - Good weekend to be a Brewers second basemen. Gennett got it going on Friday night with three hits including two doubles plus scoring on all three hits. The lead-off spot is paying off dividends as Scooter's average is up to .310 on the season. Weeks took over the spot over the weekend and added an RBI triple Saturday plus a two-hit game on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if Weeks gets a third straight start as Milwaukee faces another lefty or if Ron Roenicke will give Scooter a chance against a left-handed pitcher.

Carlos Gomez - The hitting and the on-base streak continue as Gomez pushes it out to 18 games with 35 straight on-base. He had multi-hit games on both Friday and Saturday along with driving in a run on Friday. Gomez continues to be one of the best Brewers on the team and continues to prove why he needs to start in the All-Star Game this coming July.

Lowlights
Colorado's Wild Pitch - Since MLB's videos do not want to work on Blogger, watch it here if you haven't already, but it is straight Micky Mouse silliness from the Rockies. I don't know how that happens. It feels like a computer glitch in MVP Baseball or something. It sums up the weekend though for Colorado's pitching staff whom gave up 28 runs over the weekend. These teams will meet again for four games this weekend in Milwaukee.

Marco Estrada - I am still not wild about anything Marco Estrada is doing right now for this team. He gave up seven earned runs on Friday and only three of them came from the home run. He shockingly got the win in the game against the Rockies, but there is really no reason for Estrada to be starting for this team. Estrada is the one problem for this team and Ron Roenicke will not believe it for reasons I cannot explain.

Francisco Rodriguez - Not the best Sunday for Frankie. Milwaukee held a two-run lead, and would have blown the save if it were not for a baserunning error by Corey Dickerson. Even though this was nerve-wracking, it is important for Rodriguez to have these kind of outings every now and again. I realize that sounds like flawed logic, but K-Rod cannot rest on his laurels knowing improvements are always needed.

Brandon Kintzler - Once again, not a great weekend for him. He battled through Sunday's outing with giving up three hits but finding a way out of the inning. Friday, he gave up a run which would make back-to-back outings. Hopefully, we are not going through another dip for Kintzler because it hurts how Milwaukee manages their bullpen.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Mets (6/10-6/12)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Jonathan Lucroy - Is this guy real life right now? Johnny Luc had another big series to cap off a fantastic eight-game road trip. He hit a two-run homer on Thursday night to break a 1-1 tie in the 13th inning as well added a run in on Tuesday night. Lucroy is currently hitting .336, but he had his average at .341 yesterday. No matter what happens with the All-Star game, Lucroy needs to be under consideration for the National League MVP right now. He is near the top of every offensive category other than home runs, but others have shown us in this era, home runs don't really matter in an MVP conversation. Lucroy handled this pitching staff perfectly and done a great job offensively.

Aramis Ramirez- Quietly, Aramis has came back pretty nicely for this Brewers team. He broke their home run drought comparable to my experiences on Tinder on Thursday night with a second-inning homer plus he added two more hits last night. In the first eight games back, Ramirez has six hits along with two home runs moving his average up to .261. I don't know if Ramirez will get warm here, but if he does, watch out. He's been known to just obliterate the baseball for a couple weeks.

Carlos Gomez - Does anyone know Gomez is on a 10 game hitting streak? Maybe, I am just a Luddite and missed this whole thing yet Gomey is playing pretty prettay well. He had hit in every game of the road trip. Gomez had multiple hits in three of these games including back-to-back games with runs driven in on Monday and Tuesday. He is in the starters group for the All-Star Game and he deserves it. The last time Gomez had an average under .300 was May 21st. Oddly enough, the last time he wasn't hitting in the cleanup position.

Wily Peralta - Milwaukee's manager Ron Roenicke asked Peralta to pitch more to contact and not try to strike out everybody in attempt to avoid his pitch count rising up. He did that on Wednesday night only striking out three batters. Peralta only allowed four hits through six and third inning with only one run allowed. Even though it was only three runs, Peralta actually had some run support to work with this game instead of Milwaukee putting up only one or two runs.

Brandon Kintzler - Is it really a highlight even when you have 40 pitches in two innings with four walks? I am going with yes because no runs were allowed in those two innings. Kintzler bridged the gap in two big innings, and he found a way to get it done. Sure, they were two Claudio Vargas-like innings and he got a favorable strike three at the very end, but still, a needed performance. Hopefully, he will figure out a bit because Kintzler will not always get this lucky all the time.

Lowlights
Ryan Braun - He does have hits and a run scored in the last two games, but Braun has seen his average dip to .294. It is a little flawed because he went one for seven last night in a 13 inning game. The more alarming thing is the amount of strikeouts. Braun has struck out at least once in the last six games and struck out three times last night. It could be the stadiums, and Braun needs some Miller Park love then heading to two hitter-friendly ballparks after it.

Marco Estrada - Another bad start for Marco as his home run and walk totals continue to rise at troublesome rates. Estrada gave up six runs on Tuesday night including a grand slam to Taylor Teagarden. We can argue all day if Ron Roenicke left him too long, but the fact remains Estrada cannot be giving up home runs to guys like that plus having all four walks score is never a good thing. The drum for Jimmy Nelson or Mike Fiers will continue to get louder.

Jean Segura - He is playing some great defense right now, and he did drive in a run on Wednesday night yet Segura is still struggling at the plate. In the last seven days, Segura is hitting .154 with only four hits in 26 at-bats. Granted, he added two of those last night, but hopefully, he will break out of his slump soon. I am curious to see where his spot in the order will be at the end of the day. It seems like like eighth or seventh when it is all said and done.

RISP problems - Once again, this has been a problem for the Brewers. On Tuesday night, they started to mount a comeback with runners on second and third with one out before both Aramis Ramirez and Khris Davis struck out. They would do the exact same thing on Wednesday night in the first inning. Too many men are getting left on-base right now. It is hard to complain with wins in four of the last five games, but still, Milwaukee needs to be a little more productive when runners are on third or second.

Charlie.

Brewers-Mets Preview (6/10-6/12)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Tuesday: Marco Estrada (5-2 4.19) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-0 3.21) 6:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Wily Peralta (5-5 3.03) vs. Jacob deGrom (0-2 3.19) 6:10 pm FSNWI
Thursday: Kyle Lohse (7-2 3.27) vs. Jonathon Niese (3-3 2.68) 6:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Catching New York at the right time? - All the sudden, the bottom has sort of fallen out of the Mets season. They were hovering around the .500 mark after taking three of four from Philadelphia, but then they were swept by both Chicago and San Francisco resulting in a disappointing end to their road trip. Although, none of their losses have been blowouts by any means. Five out of the six games, New York lost by two or less runs with the only one being a three-run defeat. While New York is losing games, they could have easily won three or four of them becoming one of the warmer teams in baseball. Milwaukee shouldn't take them lightly despite the six-game losing streak

2.) Patience Brewers fans, late-game winners could be possible - These could be three really frustrating games for everyone involved in watching the Brewers. New York has the starting pitching to make them a a competitive team, but they have one of the worst, if not the worst bullpen in all of baseball. New York has only converted 56 percent of their save opportunities this season. That's barely half! This explains all of the close losses this season, and as someone whom watched Milwaukee's 2012 bullpen puke all over their shoes consistently, I can relate with Mets fans on this one. It is literally one of the worst things to watch as a fan. If New York finds an offensive breakout which is about as probable as me hitting it off with a supermodel,  all hope is not lost with the Mets bad bullpen. Brewers will get a chance to comeback if they do trail in a game this week.

3.) Ideal situation for Marco Estrada? - The last month has not been kind to Marco Estrada. On April 26th, Estrada had an ERA of 2.87 and now it is sitting around 4.19 with the Brewers starter giving up 16 runs in his last four starts. He needs a good start. Enter in the New York offense which has been anemic all season plus Citi Field is as big of a pitcher's park as we get in baseball. This seems like the door opening for Estrada to have a big start and start trending back down with his earned run average. Curious to see how he handles the pressure of Michael Fiers being up in the big leagues because we all know what the story will be tonight if Estrada struggles again.

4.) New York media and Ryan Braun - We have talked about a little bit on the podcast, but not really in the blogs yet how the media has been generally quiet on Ryan Braun. Although with the New York media involved this week, you have to figure Braun will see some attention. I don't know if we will get a scathing editorial or a good story on Braun yet I am curious to see if he is a part of the media's plan this week. My assumption would be unless he does something big in a game this week, it will probably be pretty tame. With New York Yankees being in Seattle this week, all of the New York media's focus can be on Braun taking on the Mets. I assume he will get some boos as well which we all know Braun uses as fuel to mash home runs.

5.) Can Milwaukee build a winning streak? - Brewers have a chance to go 13 games over .500 at some point in this series, and that would be their best record since their 20-7 mark at the end of April. They finally won two straight after alternating wins since last Tuesday. It is not a bad thing per say rather just annoying to toy with my emotions trying to decide whether this team is warming up or not. Honestly though, one more win and the team secures a .500 road trip which all you can ask for.

Appropriate YouTube video


KFC from Barstool Sports is one of the biggest Mets fans out there. He would be a good Twitter follow this week and for other purposes too, he also has a great podcast network. Here's a sample.

Prediction 
Brewers take two of three meaning the Mets break their streak at some time. Niese or deGroom will make the Brewers bats go silent, most likely deGroom.

Charlie.

Twins-Brewers Preview (6/2-6/5)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Monday:      Kyle Gibson (4-4 4.18) vs. Matt Garza (2-4 4.84)              6:20 pm FSNWI
Tuesday:      Samuel Deduno (1-3 3.86) vs. Yovani Gallardo (2-3 3.56) 7:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Marco Estrada (5-2 4.03) vs. Ricky Nolasco (3-5 5.70     7:10 pm FSNWI
Thursday:     Wily Peralta (4-5 2.73) vs. Kevin Correia (2-6 5.87)         7:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Brewers continued Interleague success - For the last couple years, Milwaukee struggled against
American League teams, but this year has been different. Brewers have won seven of their nine games against the American League taking each series against the AL East foes they have faced this season. Stark contrast from the last two years where the Crew went 6-14 in 2013 and 6-9 in 2012. Last year, the Twins swept the Brewers in this four-game series during Milwaukee's abysmal May, and Minnesota has good fortune usually against the Brewers as well.

2.) Early inning scoring for the Crew - One of the big things that has helped the Brewers with their offense revival is the early inning scoring. They tend to put up runs quick and fast. They added a first inning run in five straight games last week which is really impressive. Twins have not been pitching well this season so Milwaukee could be poised to continue their success in the early innings. Even with their shutout loss, the Brewers are averaging 6.8 runs a game since May 25th. Twins have a little bit lumber, but they will need to be hitting if they expect to win some games this week.

3.) Gibson or Deduno will give the Brewers trouble - The first two pitchers Milwaukee is facing they haven't seen very much. Kyle Gibson is virtually new to the Brewers bats, and Samuel Deduno gave Milwaukee some trouble last year going seven innings, four hits and only giving up a run. Granted, the 2013 May team is way way different than the team we are watching on a nightly basis. Even though, their early inning scoring been a theme of late, I could see both games at Miller Park featuring the Brewers jumping on these pitchers, the second or third time through the order.

4.) Twins pitching has been a sore spot this season - They are not a good pitching team by any means even if I am concerned about Gibson and Deduno in the first two games. . The second batch of Twins starters feature two guys, Kevin Correia and Ricky Nolasco, having five-plus ERAs. Only three relief pitchers are under a three ERA for the Twins right now with one of them being their closer, Glen Perkins. Minnesota overall team ERA is 4.41 with opponents hitting .270 against them. Scary thing to think about if you're a Minnesota fan given how well the Brewers offense has been in the last 10 games.

5.) Josh Willingham, known Brewer killer - This is one of the Babe Ruth's of Miller Park. Willingham had two grand slams in one game at Miller Park along with other bad things happening to Brewers pitching. Willingham is coming off an injury, and naturally, he is red hot coming into this series. He has a home run in three of his last four games including a game-tying ninth inning home run yesterday in a win against New York Yankees. He would be the one player for the Brewers to avoid this week.  

Appropriate YouTube video


If you missed Grantland's Jonah Keri talking to Luke Edwards, the star of Little Big League, also known as Billy Heywood. It is awesome stuff.  I am pretty sure he will be involved in Wednesday game, but I might be drunk.

Prediction 
I am satisfied with a split in any which way it happens. Whether it is two wins at Miller Park or two wins at Target Field. It could also be one and one, whatever works for the Brewers to get two of the four.

Charlie.

Brewers-Braves Preview (5/19-5/22)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Monday: Wily Peralta (4-2 2.05) vs. Mike Minor (1-2 4.24) 6:10 pm FSNWI
Tuesday: Yovani Gallardo (2-2 3.07) vs. Julio Teheran (2-3 2.20) 6:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Kyle Lohse (5-1 2.88) vs. Ervin Santana (4-1 2.76) 6:10 pm  FSNWI
Thursday: Matt Garza (2-4 4.83) vs. Aaron Harrang (4-4 2.98) 6:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Overreacting to offensive struggles - I realize this weekend was a struggle in the biggest use of the word. but I don't think it is anything to be worry about yet. No Aramis Ramirez or Carlos Gomez in the lineup with Ryan Braun just coming back. Not to mention, the refusal to play Rickie Weeks against right-handers. They will likely have Gomez back on Monday, you can see Braun starting to feel it a little more and if Jean Segura gets hot, Milwaukee could be just fine. Atlanta's pitching staff is the best in the majors so we really shouldn't expect the Brewers to break out here, but it would be great if Milwaukee started to see the ball a little better with slightly more patience.

2.) Gomez and Braun at full strength - Really Milwaukee hasn't had both this guys healthy since late April and it is incredible to still have this team 10 games over .500. I am curious to see whether Gomez will be the same player right away, or if it will take him sometime to get back to his old Gomez ways. Back injuries are not an easy thing to comeback from and with the way Gomez plays, he could have some issues with a back injury. Braun seems fine and there are no plans to rest him until further notice. If both these players are cooking, there are not many tougher starts to a game than Gomez, player x and Braun.

3.) Braves pitching prowess? - Everyone knows about how good the Braves pitching staff has been this season, but are we starting to see them come back to earth a  little bit? Mike Minor might be the exception. He had only three starts and one of them was a six-run blowup against St. Louis, he came back six days later and pitched shutout ball. Ervin Santana has given up three or more runs in three of his last four starts. Two of Julio Teheran's last three starts have seen him give up at least three runs as well. The only one whose been surprisingly consistent is Aaron Harang giving up two earned runs a game in his last three starts bouncing back from his terrible start against Miami. Obviously, Craig Kimbrel and their bullpen is always a concern too.

4.) Braves' May record is a little misleading - Currently, they are 6-11 in the month of May and losers of four of their last five games. This would make some fans feels like the Brewers could have a good shot to play a team while they are down, but this all a little flawed. Atlanta played San Francisco and St. Louis twice this month already. This is not a 23-19 team rather one dealing with a tough part of their schedule. Although Milwaukee has found success with Atlanta in the past couple of years. The Brewers won four of the six games played against Atlanta last season with shutting them out four times.      

5.) Someone needs to get hot - This is a weak fifth slot, but it would be great if a Brewers player went on a hot streak. The odds are it would be Jean Segura whom is showing glimpses of seeing the baseball again. Mark Reynolds would be another player to get warm instead the strikeout machine that he has been lately. Johnathan Lucroy is probably the hottest Brewer right now other than Rickie Weeks and Lucroy isn't even that warm with hits in seven of his last 10 games.

Appropriate YouTube video


Let's go with some Ellie Goulding's "Burn" in an attempt to get some Brewers warm in this week in Hotlanta. Side note: I have to think Atlanta residents hate the term 'Hotlanta.'

Prediction

My head says the Brewers are losing three out of the next four games which would probably put them in a pretty bad spot, but my heart thinks the Crew will get a split. Maybe I am crazy.

Charlie. 

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Cubs

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Jean Segura -This is really just the Friday game for Seggy as he had a three hit game. He was the reason Milwaukee won their only game of the series. Segura scored in the first inning, and then knocked in two runners in the second. Segura is starting to get a little bit warm in the past week or so. Segura's average went up to .262 on Saturday, the highest it has been since April 14th. Personally, I don't think he should leave the second spot in the order.

Kyle Lohse - Even though Lohse gave up two home runs, he pitched pretty well on a cold Friday afternoon in Chicago.  He finished seven innings in only 92 pitches which is impressive only giving up seven hits in the process. Lohse once again is having a great season which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone whose watched him in the past couple years. In his nine starts this season, Lohse has pitched into the sixth inning or longer in eight of them. An impressive and underrated start to this season.

Matt Garza's Six Other Innings - First inning was such a bummer for Garza. After the bad start, Garza only allowed one hit and two baserunners. It is similar to what he did against New York in the past game as well. Hopefully, Garza can find a way to rite the ship in the first inning because he will start putting together some solid outings. I am not starting to freak out about Garza yet. He is doing some great things on the rubber, just needs to put all together.

Edwin Jackson - He continued his strong May with a tremendous start against the Brewers Saturday
afternoon. Jackson pitched seven inning only giving up four hits and striking out eleven batters. He has been an occasional thorn in the Brewers side from time to time and he was on Saturday afternoon feasting on Brewers weak bats. The closest the Brewers got was in the first inning with two two-out hits. Jackson could become an interesting trade option if Chicago messes around a bit with his biggish contract.

Lowlights
Matt Garza's First Inning - You have to believe the routine for Garza will be changing in the coming days. This is the second straight start where he has given up three runs in the first inning plus in his Arizona start, he gave up three runs in the first three innings as well. It could be that Garza is trying to make the perfect pitch and isn't getting comfortable right away leading to his struggles in the first frame. As I said above, Garza will be fine, don't go crazy folks.

Jeff Bianchi - I have no idea why Ron Roenicke decided he wanted Bianchi at third and Mark Reynolds at first, but it happened without much success at the plate. Bianchi is hitting .154, the lowest his average has been this season and for the month, he is hitting .091. Bianchi struck out five out of the six times he stepped to the plate this weekend. I think it is time for Bianchi to find a seat on the bench for awhile.

Marco Estrada - If there was one inconsistent starting pitcher for the Brewers, it's Marco.  He gave up two more home runs today making it 12 on the season. Estrada is leading the National League with home runs given up. This is becoming quite a problem for the Brewers fifth starter. He needs to get back into his groove a little bit with his changeup. Estrada told the media after the game he didn't really have a feel for his changeup which isn't a good thing at all. Playing at Marlins Stadium on Friday will definitely help him out though.

Ron Roenicke's lineup - Ugh. I wish I could write a complete rant about how Roenicke has royally screwed up this lineup but no one really listens to me. Rickie Weeks should have been in the lineup all weekend. Bianchi continues to be bad and Martin Maldonado stays on the bench despite a red-hot bat. Looks Roenicke needs to take some risks. This became a complaint of mine last year, but it seems like his robotic ways are rearing its ugly head yet again.

Carlos Gomez's body - Bummed out that he had the flu or food poisoning causing him to be miss two games in Chicago. I don't know if he could have helped the Brewers offense, but sure would have been a welcomed addition given how putrid they were over the last two games.

Charlie.

Random Thoughts From a Tuesday Miller Park Adventure

I decided to make another trip to Miller Park. It was too hard not to pass up the opportunity to drink four dollar beers, dollar dogs and four dollar nachos. Also, there were a chance for fireworks with the reunion of Cole and Gomez. Here is what I witnessed at the game. 

- We usually go to a bar before the game, and I finished a workout before going meaning I was starving. Waiting for the opportunity to have food at the game nearly killed me. Hearing the waitress ask about appetizers only to rebuff her crushed me inside.

- First thing we did when we got to the game is took advantage of the deal at Miller Park.  I ended up with what my buddy Mike called the 'Miller Park Happy Meal' - Plate of nachos, two hot dogs and a beer. All for 10 dollars.

- I understand the workers are usually working for a cause. I believe the first one was for a church so I will be nice, but what planet do you dress the nachos with cheese over the top versus in the little cup?  Thankfully, I didn't spill cheese nor was I with any female companion, but man, that could have been disastrous

- Losing a beer bet on a sausage race is one of the more depressing things to have happen to me in the past couple weeks. I bet my friend Chuck that the Bratwurst would win and the goddamn Italian Sausage ran like it was a 100M dash for the Gold Medal.  Horrible.

- Rickie Weeks is hitting .333. I am starting to love Weeks again. Glad I got to see him for one at-bat last night. He should be starting in the next two games against two lefties.  

- We had seats in the four row of the bleachers, but instead of being cramped in, we sat near the top of the section.  Why?  It felt better truthfully and there were a little under 25,000 in the ballpark so there was space to move around a bit.

- Although in our seats, some punk ass kids were dropping a soda and ice cubes from above. Thankfully, my man Dennis was carrying a big stick and vowed for it to stop. It did after a 10 cubes. I really wanted to go Tommy Boy on these scoundrels.



- Gerrit Cole is probably the least liked opposing player right now. He was booed lustfully throughout the game, and then when he hit Carlos Gomez, the boos were deafening. Cole didn't really struggle against the Brewers rather his defense was downright terrible throughout the game.

- One of the discussions we had was during the week what if Miller Park had an open seat policy where you could sit wherever you wanted in some of the seats. Personally, this would probably be chaotic and not work because generally, people are assholes. But it would be interesting to see what happens to upper deck if it were General Admission for 15 dollars during the week. I doubt it would ever happen unless we get to a utopia state.

- Overall, a solid Brewers win. They got some timely hitting from Jonathan Lucroy whose red hot right now. Jean Segura got a great BALL DON'T LIE double including another hit and Weeks had another big base knock. Nice start to the series

- 3-0 on the year and heading back against Baltimore in a couple weeks.  

Charlie.  

Yankees-Brewers Preview (5/9-5/11)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Friday:    Masahiro Tanaka (4-0 2.53) vs. Yovani Gallardo (2-1 2.47)  7:10 pm FSNWI
Saturday: CC Sabathia (3-4 5.75) vs. Kyle Lohse (4-1 2.72)                6:10 pm FSNWI
Sunday:    David Phelps (0-0 3.18) vs. Matt Garza (2-3 4.93)               1:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) The return of CC -  This is kind of awesome. I don't care if CC dominates the Crew on Saturday night, I am just happy to have him back at Miller Park. The 2008 Summer with CC was absolutely awesome where he pitched on three days rest multiple times, and if he had a better first half with Cleveland, he would have been Cy Young that season. I don't think anyone will boo CC and if they do, f--- those people. I hope he gets a standing ovation when he hits in the mound in the bottom of the first inning. I wish Brian Anderson was back so he could talk about CC's non-no hitter at Pittsburgh because that would have been the best. Look forward to have the big.. er smallish fella back in Milwaukee.

2.) Can Tanaka lose a game or will he strike out 20? - With how things are going for the Brewers, it would be classic of them to absolutely crush Tanaka tonight with six or seven runs in three innings. That would be hilarious and typical of the Brewers. But let's be real here, Tanaka is all that and a bag of chips right now. Brewers have trouble with strikeouts which could be bad news with Tanaka as he has struck out at least five batters in all of this starts this season. Additionally, Tanaka has gone at least 6.1 innings in his six starts this season. I will point out this against him though, the last three games he has given up five home runs with a potential open Miller Park... It could get ugly.

3.) Lineup changes happening or nah - Last year, Ron Roenicke kept moving his lineup around and this year it has been the complete opposite. This Brewers team is struggling in some of kind of way since Braun's absence. Brewers are currently averaging 3.8 runs in the last 10 games, but in two of those games, Milwaukee scored runs in extra innings and they had one eight run performance. Something needs to change with the lineup whether it is moving Aramis Ramirez down in the order or putting Carlos Gomez in more of a power, run-scoring spot. Also don't sleep on Jean Segura getting moved up, he seemed very comfortable there on Monday night.

4.) Matt Garza watch - Even though Matt Garza got the 'win' on Monday night, he didn't really pitched that well. He had trouble with the top of the Arizona order for the first two times through allowing three runs in the first three innings. He got comfortable in the next three settling down. I don't know what needs to be tweaked or if he just doesn't have it right now, but at some point, Garza needs to deliver another big start for this team.

5.) Miller Park finally open? - The weather this weekend seems like it could be a great one. Right now, it is beautiful out there albeit a bit windy. There is no good reason for the roof to be closed unless they are worried about the wind, but even at 10 pm, it seems like the temperate will be around 59 degrees. Tomorrow, it is going to be 70 degrees and the following day is 74 with a chance of rain. Roof should be open all weekend and if not, Milwaukee needs to toughen up a bit.

Appropriate YouTube Videos

Damn, I forgot a little bit how awesome that final week was with the two walk-offs, CC going complete in the final game.

Prediction 
Every fiber in body says the Brewers win only one or get swept this weekend, but I am in a good mood so we are going with two of three.  

Highlights-Lowlights: D'Backs-Brewers

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Carlos Gomez - He had one of his best offensive games of the year on Monday night. He went 2 for 2 with a home run and three runs driven in. He set the tone with a home run to lead off the game, and then drove in a big two-run single to help break open the game a bit. Additionally, he drew two walks where he had to work the count in a major way.  Wednesday showed the versatility of Gomez as he had two hits again, but this time they were both bunts.

Jean Segura's defense - The offensive numbers might not be there for Segura yet, but his defense has come around in a major way. Segura made three highlight reel plays over the three games, and maybe he is more than just a guy that will 'end up at second base in five years' like a lot of the critics believe will happen at some point. Segura might not be a Gold Glove shortstop, but he looks more than average out there.

Rickie Weeks - All the sudden, he has become a halfway decent pinch hitter. Weeks has three hits in his last four games when he came in to pinch hit plus he scored two runs in the process as well. Weeks probably deserves a start on Saturday night when C.C. Sabathia is on the hill.  Hopefully, this is the start of something strong for Weeks so he can become real solid tradebait for the Brewers in the coming month.

Martin Maldonado - He has only played 10 games this season, but Maldy is really contributing on the
offense end. He finished the year only hitting .169 in 2013, and so far, Maldonado bounced back nicely with a .350 average including his first home run of the year on Monday night putting the exclamation point on the Brewers win.  This could be short-lived, but if Maldy can add this sort of offense, I will wonder what his role becomes on the bench.

Lowlights
Brandon Kintzler - All relievers are going to struggle in the full grind of the 162 game season. But when it gets worrisome is when they are giving up big hits with the struggle. Kintzler has now given up two home runs in the last two appearances which is not a good thing at all. And here's the problem with Wei-Chung Wang in the bullpen, you cannot hide Kintzler. At some point, Kintzler  needs to go out there and cannot get work in only blowouts. Hopefully, he will rite the ship soon.

Lyle Overbay's error - This was an absolute killer yesterday. Overbay makes the error allowing the run in that ended up being the difference in a 3-2 game. But let's be honest, the whole Wednesday game was a dumpster fire. Four double plays hit into, a wild pitch that led to the runner being on third, BRONSON ARROYO getting said hit and dominating the Crew. It almost sucked worse than Tuesday.

Marco Estrada - It is weird for Marco because he doesn't give up many hits but he finds a way to give up runs which leads us to the problem... Home runs. Estrada is known for giving up home runs because of the way he pitches which isn't a problem when it is just a solo home run shot. But the problem is Estrada has given up six home runs in three games plus allowing 10 runs in his last three games. Estrada is probably coming down to earth a bit, but he needs to find a way to give up less home runs.

Aramis Ramirez - Obviously, Aramis didn't have a song called "Wake me up when June arrives." He is in a 3-44 slump. I think it is time for Ron Roenicke to do the usual move Rami down in the order for a month to get him right for awhile. I am totally okay with a lineup looking like Gennett-Segura-Gomez-Lucroy-Ramirez-Overbay/Reynolds-Davis-Schafer.  He needs to go back to what worked in the first month of the year. Or his elbow could be really bad which wouldn't be good.

Me - I thought Brian Anderson was back this week but apparently, he is doing the second round as well in the NBA.  Cue the music.



Charlie.

Random Thoughts From Cinco De Mayo at Miller Park

I have done this blog post before where I just note all the different stuff I see at Miller Park and then I write about it. Sometimes we see some real weird stuff, other times, it is pretty normal.  We saw all sorts of things on a beautiful (PSYCH) Monday night. 

- People wore a ton of sombreros on Cinco De Mayo: I mean there were all sorts of offensive stuff at the ballpark on Monday night. People wore sombreros in the first row of the stadium. Nobody really cared that it probably pissed off some Mexicans in the crowd.  If we really wanted to amp it up, might as well bring around the people giving out tequila shots and shaking people's heads with whistles.

- Why weren't they wearing Cerveceros jerseys?:  Look if we are going to do this thing right, bust out the Mexican heritage jerseys. I don't think that's offensive. In fact, I think that's a good idea. I wonder if Matt Garza had a choice.

- Most mailed in Sausage Race of all-time:  CONSPIRACY.  Everyone including Rob Edwards, the Brewers PA guy, was in on the whole thing with the Chorizo being well ahead of the pack with the Italian Sausage hanging behind dogging it. Seriously.  Try a little bit.

- Grown ass men acting like toddlers: Late in the game, a ball boy tried to toss the ball to a girl in the front row and it went straight through her hands. As the ball rolled up the stands, a bunch of probable dads wearing their New Balances or Asics with their dad jeans dived for the ball like they were goddamn teenagers. They did not give the girl back the ball and kept for themselves. She wanted it way more than you idiots.

-Friday's Smoking Lounge is where dreams go to die - I went with two friends to the game who are both smokers. They wanted to have a cigarette during the game so I joined them because my phone was slowly dying. We had people there rocking jorts, many overweight and the best was an older man, maybe a grandpa, dragging his kid or his granddad into the 40 degree cold to have a cigarette while the smoker only wore a t-shirt. All of it was pretty great.

- I bring the offense - Always nice when you go to the game where the Brewers find some offense. They only scored 10 runs in four games and scored eight runs in one game. Granted, Arizona's pitching is putrid. Carlos Gomez had an MVP game with a home run, big two-run hit to opposite field and two walks. Jean Segura found his stroke for at least a game. Martin Maldonado have been playing real well offensively for this team as well.

- Glad I didn't see Matt Garza freakout - He still gave up three runs. It wasn't an ideal start for Garza, but he got settled in pretty nicely after struggling in the first couple innings. I hope we can get one good Garza start in the near future. He will be fine folks.

- Crossing fingers at batters: There was a woman in front of me whom crossed her fingers at the batters asking them to deliver a hit like some divine intervention. It was nutty man. Equally nutty was the lady next to her whom had her Hank t-shirt and her Hank stuff animal.

- Rock Bottom - While we were gone, some kid puked in the middle of our section. If you are puking at a game on a Monday in some great seats, you need to rethink everything you are doing with your life.

- Take advantage of StubHub: We got these seats for 40 dollars. StubHub is your friend, not your enemy.

Diamondbacks-Brewers Preview (5/5-5/7)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Monday: Mike Bolsinger (1-3 5.79) vs. Matt Garza (1-3 5.00)      7:10 pm FSNWI
Tuesday: Josh Collmenter (1-2 3.77) vs. Marco Estrada (2-1 3.13)    7:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Bronson Arroyo (2-2 6.03) vs. Wily Peralta (4-1 2.04) 12:10 pm 620 WTMJ

Five Things To Watch
1.) Will the offense wake up? - The last time Milwaukee had five or more runs in a nine inning game was Saturday, April 26th against Chicago. That was also the last time Ryan Braun found himself in the lineup. There is a clear correlation with Braun's injury and the struggling offense. It also hasn't helped Aramis Ramirez has hit the struggle bus plus Jean Segura hasn't hit a hot streak. Not to mention, Khris Davis' OBP is a dangerously low .265. Arizona's pitching and defense are some of the worst in baseball so if there would be a time to break out, this week seems ideal. Diamondbacks pitching staff has a 4.95 ERA with 186 runs scored already with 167 earned. Houston seems miles away coming in second with 167.

2.) Matt Garza's bad April - This has not been the way Garza wanted to start off his Milwaukee's career. He seemed very frustrated after leaving the game with a thumb injury on Wednesday afternoon. Garza needs to put together two solid starts in a row, and it could start tonight against the Arizona offense. Now, their offense is a little better than their pitching, but the only player that really seemed to give Garza trouble in the Arizona's offense is Aaron Hill. Even if Garza scuffles his feet tonight, it should not be a cause for concern. It is still early in the season, and we have seen pitchers before rite the ship in the dog days of summer.

3.) Brewers dealing with pitcher's demons - We talk about Brewer Killers all the time because it is a fun part of being a fan, and something that seems more common with baseball versus any other sports. Josh Collmenter is one of the biggest ones of recent memory. Even though, it is an extremely small sample size, Brewers hitters have three total hits against him. THREE! Out of 23 so it is not a huge sample, but you get the point with Collmenter. Also Bronson Arroyo might have an ERA over six right now, but he only gave up seven runs in 27 innings pitched last season when he faced the Brewers as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Two out of the three pitchers this week are ones where Milwaukee had some issues with it.

4.) Not underestimating the opponent - Basically, this sums up number three, but just because Arizona struggled to start the season, it is not given Milwaukee will win two or three games this week at Miller Park. Diamondbacks are not a good team, but at the same point, I don't know if Milwaukee is a good one right now with their offense at the moment. Brewers need to set the tone early in all of the games. If they beat down Arizona in the early innings, Diamondbacks will likely be forced in submission thinking this is a 'Here we go again' sort of feeling.

5.) Return of Brian Anderson - This is pretty minor, but I missed BA. I know he talks too much about the Cardinals, but it will be good to have Anderson back in the fold as I believe his NBA Playoffs run is over. I could be wrong though. Either way, Anderson did a hell of a job with the playoffs and it's likely, he will be moving to the big leagues next season. We as a fans are pretty damn fortunate to have a guy like Anderson calling the games for the Brewers. Welcome back BA.

Appropriate YouTube Video




Of course, it will be Game 5 of the NLCS. Sat on my recliner, didn't turn on the lights, only got up to get beers. One of the greatest weekends of my life.  Gotta have Uecker's call. One of the best ever.

Prediction 
Brewers take two of three. No way they can get past Collmenter and Arroyo given their problems with both pitchers.

Quick Tap Episode Five

Quick Tap rolls on with another edition where we have a ton of fun especially with some of the questions today.  I promise I am going to find a way via Google for you to ask questions whenever you want instead of waiting for me to tweet out questions. We had some good ones this week which is good and it makes me happy. So here's what we received in the batch of questions.

Curt asks... "Ryan Braun hitting Jean Segura in the face makes him the worst person in baseball, right?" (He is obviously joking folks)

Adam asks... "How much would you give up to get Earl Thomas to the Green Bay Packers?"

Bryan asks... "Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast. Rank em."

Bryan asks... "If you were on Naked and Afraid, who is your partner and what's your survival tool."

Michael asks... "How are you?"

That took me to 14 minutes and I finished the six minutes talking about how I had to deal with racism on Saturday plus some Game of Thrones chatter.

Charlie.