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.

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-Pirates (6/6-6/8)

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
Yovani Gallardo - What a bounce back performance for Yovani. We started to wonder if it was okay to worry about him with having a 6.55 ERA for the last six starts, and he proved all doubters wrong on Sunday. Brewers starter dominated with seven strong innings, only allowing four hits, striking out eight and walking only one. Gallardo also worked out of a massive bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning. Given how the final inning turned out plus Gallardo throwing 121 pitches, it might be one of the most impressive Brewers start of the season.

Jonathan Lucroy - It does get really repetitive to have the same player on here multiple times, but Johnny Luc had another great series. Sunday, Lucroy provided three of the four Brewers hits including the double which helped score the only run for the Brewers. He also helped frame the called questionable strike three in the eighth. Lucroy had a big day Saturday with two hits with a run driven. He will probably not be a starter, but no one on this Brewers team deserves to be an All-Star more than Lucroy this year. What a season thus far.

Lyle Overbay - I wondered about what Overbay's role on this team could be if the Brewers ended up signing up Kendrys Morales, but he signed with Minnesota so we didn't have to cross that bridge. Overbay once again came up big in the clutch on Saturday. Clint Hurdle decided to intentionally walk Scooter Gennett paving the way for Overbay to be up with the bases loaded. He delivered with a two-run single, and Milwaukee had the lead which they never gave up for the rest f the game. He might not be this clutch all the time, but Overbay has had moments with this team in 2014.

Francisco Rodriguez - There are certain closers whom you would never associate with four-out saves. One of those would be Francisco Rodriguez. But he got an opportunity on Sunday with the bases jammed in the eighth. He struck out Russell Martin and moved to the ninth inning. Rodriguez didn't make it easy on himself as he walked both Sterling Marte and Ike Davis yet he got out it with a Travis Snider force out and Josh Harrison lining out to center. Great resolve by Frankie on Sunday getting the much-needed save.

Jean Segura - Along with Rodriguez, Segura played a large part in Sunday's win late.  Segura made a diving stab a hit up the middle by Travis Snider which would have scored a run without question. Before Segura made the majors, people thought he would be destined to be a second baseman, and he has done a great job at proving people wrong.  He didn't really have a good weekend at the plate but still, his defense paid dividends.



Mitch's Facebook Status - I know I am one for hyperbole at times, but our SnoTap writer Mitch Pratt had a great Facebook post involving his parents. Worth noting, his dad didn't end up wearing a Hank The Dog t-shirt but still funny nonetheless. I will let Mitch take it away from here, but I couldn't agree more with him.

Lowlights
Tyler Thornburg and his injury - Hopefully, it is just a strained forearm and nothing more serious. Thornburg heads to the Disabled List after having his worst outing of the season giving up five runs on only three hits. It was ugly in all ways possible for him, and it was unfortunate Ron Roenicke left him in to fry when he clearly didn't have it on Friday. Hopefully, it is a short stint on the DL for Thornburg and he will be back to his dominant ways.

Kyle Lohse - It is almost like everyone put the proverbial jinx on him with much hype about Lohse's commanding start against Chicago two Sundays ago, and then he goes out having his first bad start of the season. Only second time this year where Lohse wasn't able to finish the sixth inning, and he ended up giving up eight runs in total. Sometimes, you just don't have it as a pitcher. I see it as a blip on the radar. Blowups happen from time to time.

Russell Martin - Honest question... Why does Martin always start shit when the Brewers are in town? He was involved with the tussle around April and said he wanted to fight Martin Maldonado in the offseason. This time around, he overreacts to a called strike three late in the game getting himself and his manager run from the game. Martin always seems to ramp up the theatrics when he is playing the Crew. He also looks like Jack Parkman with those shades on.

Blow out weirdness - Brewers have only lost by five or more runs five times this season. Two of those times have been at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates in very lopsided wins. But it is humorous because these are only two of the Pirates three wins against Milwaukee this season as they have dropped 10 games to Milwaukee already this season.  I think Pittsburgh would take two more close wins instead of just having three victories over their older brothers of the National League Central.

Charlie.

Brewers-Pirates Preview (6/6-6/8)

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:     Kyle Lohse (7-1 2.60) vs. Brandon Crumpton (0-2 6.85)    6:05 pm FSNWI
Saturday:  Matt Garza (3-4 4.43) vs. Edinson Volquez (3-4 4.25)        3:05 pm FSNWI
Sunday:    Yovani Gallardo (3-4 4.08) vs. Charlie Morton (2-7 3.31) 12:35 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Continued success for Kyle Lohse - I talked about this a week ago or so, but Lohse is really pitching like an ace. The talks of him being the number one on this staff grew after his 93 pitch complete game shutout on Sunday. So what does he have for an encore? He pitched well against the Pirates in the two times he faced them in April. He nearly went complete at Miller Park, and at PNC, he pitched well with a poor defensive effort behind him. What's weird is many of the good Pittsburgh hitters have good numbers against Lohse in decent sample-sizes with the winner being Jose Tabata hitting over .400 against him.

2.) Dreading a first base platoon - With the Brewers being back in National League ballparks, it means Aramis Ramirez will be moving back to third base. It also means Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay will be taking over the role of first baseman. Both players are hitting around the .210 mark, but more importantly, Reynolds has 13 home runs with 10 against right-handed pitchers. I pray on everything holy Ron Roenicke doesn't platoon these two players because there is no reason Overbay should be getting starts over Reynolds for a platoon sake. Personal opinion, I would rather see Hunter Morris as the left-handed first base versus Overbay even though he's probably not as good as a defensive first baseman.

3.) Yovani's redemption? - We already talked about in Highlights/Lowlights regarding how bad Yovani has been in the last six starts. He typically has done well for his career against Pittsburgh. Gallardo needs what Garza got last Monday. A carefree start where he was able to move through the lineup and take care of business. But Garza did that by going right after batters and that's something Gallardo cannot seem to do as of late especially the second time around in the order. Batters are feasting when they see Yovani for a second time around. Something has to change. I have no idea if they can make that quick of a fix, but it is needed as soon as possible.

4.) Pittsburgh is sort of, kinda of, warm right now - Pittsburgh currently sits three games under .500 seven games behind the Brewers. Grantland's Jonah Keri wondered if they were beginning to hit the regression train with their limited spending and pitching decisions. Pittsburgh's fanbase went at Keri like defensive parents at a soccer match. Weirdly, it feels like 2009 Milwaukee in Pittsburgh. But I will say this, they won six of nine games on the West Coast coming into this series. Milwaukee might be heading into a buzzsaw, and Pittsburgh knows damn well it could be in second place by the end of the weekend if it is a really good one (Granted, they would still be several games back, but regardless, it should be motivation).

5.) Which Volquez comes to PNC on Saturday? - One of the players prominently featured in Keri's column is Volquez talking about how bad he has been defensively all season plus giving up eleven home runs in 65 innings pitched. Volquez is having an up and down year truly. He pitched well against the Brewers earlier this season in two starts but has known to hit a wall against Milwaukee. The last couple games for Volquez were solid, he only gave up two runs, but only pitched five innings.

Appropriate YouTube video


I went with a clip from 'She's Out of My League.' One of my sneaky favorite movies and it takes place in Pittsburgh so there you go.

Prediction
I understand Milwaukee beats up Pittsburgh, but something tells me the Brewers could drop two here. I will go against the voice in my head and say they find a way to scrap out two wins.

Smart, not Selfish Move For Rickie Weeks to Decline Outfield Opportunity

Ask most Milwaukee Brewers' fans opinion on Rickie Weeks, you will hear pretty much the same thing. Weeks is a frustrating player to watch as he tends to strike out too much for people's liking and doesn't have the defense, some would like at the second base position. But despite all of the negative fan reaction, rarely do we ever see Weeks react against the fanbase. He never made comments about how he 'hates the booing' or didn't want to be in Milwaukee because Scooter Gennett took his job. Overall, Weeks rolls with the punches and knows he will get an opportunity again.

Over the weekend, Ron Roenicke let the media know Weeks was asked if he wanted to learn left field to get some more playing time and he declined. Many people saw this as a selfish move by Weeks. The Brewers second baseman responded with a huge weekend.  It is really hard to understand the frustration of the fans with Weeks not wanting to learn another position at his age. Left field would have been a terrible idea for Weeks, but now an opportunity presents itself to have Gennett and Weeks both in the lineup.

Weeks is not a left fielder or an outfielder, let's clear that up right now. I might be mistaken, but management whether it be Ken Macha, Ned Yost or Roenicke asked Weeks to try out center field or it might have been a hot topic with the fans. Weeks either declined or it never actually happened. The thing with Weeks is he understands his defense isn't very good. At times, he can be instinctive and make some nice plays, but nothing at second base would make you think Weeks could play another full-time position. He feels the most comfortable at second base, and Weeks will probably not move positions unless it was an absolutely need. It is not about being lazy or selfish, rather knowing and playing to their strengths versus trying to do too much.

One thing people might not be considering about Weeks in the outfield would be the amount of shit he would get from the pinheads in the bleachers. Fans would assault Weeks in left field thinking they could finally give the much criticized player a piece of their mind. Some people believe this wouldn't happen, but Brewers fans are a fickle bunch with insanely high expectations at times. I don't think they would handle having Rickie in left field well despite him playing well in the last week. Weeks knows left field might not be good for his strength of play, but also for him not hear from the fanbase up close and personal.

If Aramis Ramirez goes on the Disabled List before Tuesday night's game, an opportunity presents itself where Weeks and Gennett could get on the field at the same time. Both are hitting over .275 right now, and with the Brewers' injury concerns, they need to be in the lineup. Weeks might not be comfortable in the outfield, but why couldn't he play third base or Gennett for that matter?  Range needed is limited, and I could see the struggle of fielding bunts yet that's about it. Mark Reynolds moved to first base to have all three in the lineup with Lyle Overbay on the bench is the way to be in the next couple of weeks with Ramirez out. Roenicke has shown a little more creativeness this season and hopefully he will think about this in the following couple weeks.

Who knows when Weeks redemption will end, but right now, it is enjoyable to see how well Rickie is excelling. My assumption would be Weeks is on the trading block right now, and they are just waiting for the rest of the team to get healthy, or maybe Brewers are happy to have two strong second basemen.

Charlie.

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.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Cubs (4/25-4/27)

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
Matt Garza - There is something about facing your former team, or I would like to think it has to be sort of cool about it. Garza had been struggling in the last couple starts, and he put together for a strong seven innings start notching his first win as a Milwaukee Brewer. Garza allowed only four hits and striking out seven batters only walking one batter. Garza had all of his pitches working confusing and befuddling Cubs batters. Hopefully, this is the start of strong performances for Garza. If Garza gets hot, it will only continue for Milwaukee's impressive start with their starting pitching.

Francisco Rodriguez - Once again, Frankie had a big weekend with two saves on Friday and Saturday. K-Rod has eleven straight saves in April setting the record for consecutive saves for the month of April. Rodriguez's month has been one of the best in baseball only allowing four hits in 13 appearances and walking three batters over eleven games. He also has struck out 19 batters. Rodriguez known for '30 Pitchers of Terror' in the first two terms with Milwaukee, but right now, Rodriguez is averaging 14.8 pitches per appearances. At some point, you have to expect some struggle, but right now, it's Frankie's world and we are just living it in.

Marco Estrada - Even though he gave up a home run in the eighth inning, Estrada has another strong outing for the Brewers. He went seven-plus innings giving up only allowing four hits, two of which happened to be home runs, something that happens to Estrada given the way he pitches the baseball. It is encouraging to see Estrada succeed at Miller Park. He struggled mightily last year inside The Keg, and it is good to see him bounce back in a major way in the first month of the season.

Jeff Bianchi - The unsung hero of Saturday night's game against Chicago. Jean Segura suffered a bat to the face by Ryan Braun leading him to leave the game, and Bianchi stepped in delivering two hits including a big two-run single helping the Brewers to break open the game against the Cubs. Bianchi continues to be a solid and reliable option for Milwaukee off the bench.

Lyle Overbay - OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO chants were reigning down on Miller Park on Friday as Overbay blasted his first home run of the season. He added another hit in the game as well as had one in Sunday's loss giving him three hits in eight at-bats this weekend. Overbay's average is up to .273 on the season which is a massive improvement from how he started off the year. I would assume the platoon goes back to being more stringent with the success of Overbay lately and Mark Reynolds scuffling a bit at the dish.

Carlos Gomez's 'Aww' moment - If you missed it on Sunday, Carlos Gomez made a girl's day by signing her bobblehead box then giving her hug. Love to see those kind of moments.



Lowlights
Ryan Braun's Intercostal Strain - It's been a real up and down month for Braun as he has belted six home runs yet still bothered a bit by the thumb issue that plagued him last season, he is dealing with a intercostal strain which will keep him out three to five days. He could possibly pinch hit against St. Louis on Wednesday, but I doubt we see Braun until the weekend. If he needs to hit the Disabled List to recover, it's not the worst thing in the world to get him back 100 percent especially this early in the season.

Jean Segura's face -Milwaukee got very lucky when Braun's bat met Segura's mouth. He only needed stitches with the jaw not being broken or Segura suffering a concussion. He will be day-to-day with a chance he could play tonight against the Cardinals. Good to see he did not suffer too serious of an injury.

Saturday night brawl - Friends of the program went to Saturday's night game and saw this taking place in the 400 level of Miller Park. Apparently, it went on for five good minutes with beer being thrown in the stands. Brewers-Cubs have a rivalry, but it doesn't usually get to this point. Hopefully, it was just a rowdy Saturday night and this doesn't become a usual occurrence.



Aramis Ramirez - Did somebody tell him it's April?  He did have two sacrifice flys knocking in two runs, but he also did not register a single hit this weekend. Something to keep an eye in the coming week will be if Rami's struggles at the plate continue.

Charlie.

Charlie.