The Redemption of Ryan Braun

At the start of July, questions were raised about Ryan Braun. People didn't think he had it anymore in the same way he did before his suspension. Many started to consider Braun a second or third banana of the team with Jonathan Lucroy submitting an Most Valuable Player-like season, same with Carlos Gomez. Braun became an afterthought as the team was winning without the strong play of their once-leader. Just when people thought Braun was another player, he tears through the month of July like a hellcat and making everyone remember his name.

Braun is having the best month of his season thus far, and an argument could be made for him to win National League Player of the Month.  Braun is currently hitting .356 with an OBP of .405 as he has three home runs in the month with 10 of his 21 hits being extra-base variety.  Braun is currently on a 12-game hitting streak with only two games this month where he didn't have a a hit.  The strikeouts are down as well with only 14 in July. In five of the last six games, Braun drove in at least one run which means he is not producing meaningless hits, he is making them count every night out.  Last night in a 9-1 victory over New York Mets, Braun hit a massive 432 foot home run to left-center something we haven't seen all season.

ESPN's Buster Olney wrote an article on Tuesday morning where he pondered about Braun's pulling ability. Basically, the numbers showed Braun didn't have it like he did before his suspension. Olney did infer about not taking the PED's factored in to the Brewers slugger not being able to... well slug anymore. Braun did take the PED's not to make himself better more so to cure the lingering injuries that would be bother him although it is unknown how long Braun was a user. The national media made the assumption he did for his entire career versus one-time during an MVP run. I like to believe the latter yet I am not ignorant if that makes any sense.

Braun's injuries are the exact reason why the numbers were down this season, not the lack of PED usage. These are all the injuries Braun dealt with this season thus far... Oblique, hand, thumb and back injuries plagued him all season. All of those injuries directly involve his swing, most notably his ability to pull the ball hence why Braun's numbers to opposite field are off the charts. It is more impressive Braun found a way to change his complete approach at the plate amid all of the injuries and still be a productive player. Instead, we are staying up late at the night wondering why Braun isn't a power hitter and inferring it had something to do with special pills.

Ryan went Stone Cold Steve Austin on the haters with two middle fingers chugging beers on the way. That blast on Thursday night was a 'I am back, and you're all in big trouble.'  When the pull power isn't there, you don't hit 432 foot blasts. Braun has went through hot streaks in his career, and I feel we are on the verge of another one. This 12-game hit streak is child's play right now for what Braun is going to do in the the coming weeks.  It is almost like Braun wants to throw his name into the ring for MVP consideration. It is not ridiculous think about if he gets uber-hot for the next two weeks where the ball is flying out of the park, and his average gets around .320, he will need to be in the conversation.

Braun is back and his demise was greatly over-exaggerated.

Charlie.

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 Need a Cautious Trade Deadline Approach

In life, there are times where we do things just because society tells us we are supposed to do it. For example, most Saturday nights are when people go out and get drunk off their minds during the college stages of their life. Fear of missing out on a good time sets in and even if a person doesn't want to go out, they end up spending money and getting drunk because they would be judged otherwise by their friends. That next morning might feature a hangover, maybe a 'I'm Sorry' text to a person from the opposite sex and the last thing you are doing is checking the bank account. This can happen in sports too. Milwaukee Brewers need to avoid FOMO and only make a trade if the player will vault Milwaukee into the playoffs. 

There are multiple needs for the Brewers right now. First base is still a nightmare even though Lyle Overbay has been an adequate option for a left-handed platoon. Brewers could use some more help off the bench in other regards as well. They also could really use a bullpen pitcher whether it be a middle reliever or an eighth inning guy as Will Smith's regression train continues to motor on in July. There are obvious needs for the Brewers team, but honestly, they shouldn't make a move just to say to the media and fans, 'Hey!  We did something before July 31st, check it out!!!'  

If Milwaukee doesn't make a move, many people will be upset at management, but where the frustration should be is with Major League Baseball's parity. Eight teams are within eight games of the American League Wild Card's second spot with Houston and Texas really being the only two officially out of the race. The National League is a complete mess with all three divisions featuring ties at the top of their standings with Miami and New York still hanging on by a thread.  Parity also means there will be many more teams wanting to be sellers when it comes to making trades. They aren't going to be many fire sale teams, and the one team who might do it, Philadelphia, doesn't have the greatest deal of parts. 

Currently, the two names brought up for the Brewers so far have been Jake Peavy and Ryan Howard which is like feeding me a well done steak. Both do not add much value to the Brewers current team plus they both cost a great deal of money even though it is likely to acquire either player will not take much.  Either of those players would be moves just to show their fans and media they are making a push towards the playoffs. It is likely Peavy is off the table given Boston becoming red hot of late which also means Koji Uehara is off the table making me a sad teddy bear.  If Milwaukee wants to talk about acquiring Steve Chisek or Ryan Dunn from Miami, I am more interested in a move like that versus a sexy, high-profile name. 

The other thing that needs to be recognize is the trade deadline is really at the end of August. They do the waiver claim situation at the end of August where teams can claim players for the long haul. There is a chance Milwaukee might not make a move in July, but could end up still adding a player or two in August.  People will be ready to raise their pitchforks at Melvin for not making a move, but in all honesty, the making moves process is not over until September 1st. 

Milwaukee's name will come up in plenty of trade talks in the next two weeks, but it doesn't mean every single one of them is coming to Milwaukee, good and bad.  Trade deadline season is here and it is much more fun to be buyers than sellers. 

Charlie. 

Reds-Brewers Preview (7/21-7/23)

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.  

Monday:      Mat Latos (2-1 2.79) vs. Wily Peralta (10-6 3.72         7:10 pm FSNWI
Tuesday:      Homer Bailey (8-5 4.21) vs. Jimmy Nelson (1-1 5.40)  7:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Mike Leake (7-8 3.63) vs. Kyle Lohse (10-4 3.16)      1:10 pm MLB Network

Five Things to Watch
1.) Figuring out Cincinnati - If there has been one team in Milwaukee's side this season, it is Cincinnati. The Brewers have not won a series against their division rivals yet this season. I believe they are the only team this season to take two road series from Miller Park. This is a different Cincinnati team that Milwaukee played earlier this month. Reds will be without Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips leading to their offense go silent this weekend against New York as the Yankees swept them.

2.) Mat Latos' dominance against Milwaukee - In two starts this season, Latos controlled the Brewers bats pretty well. In 14 innings pitched, Latos gave up only six hits and two total runs in two starts versus Milwaukee this season. Ryan Braun is the hottest Brewer on the team right now, and he struggles mightily against Latos only having two hits in 20 at-bats against the tatted up righty. Therefore it really doesn't matter that Latos never beat Milwaukee at Miller Park. It would be great to see the Brewers break through against Latos early and often. Latos' last start featured Pittsburgh jumping on him pretty hard with two home runs and five runs surrendered in five innings.

3. Johnny Luc looking for a spark - One of the things flying under the radar is Jonathan Lucroy is having a horrible month along with the team. Lucroy only has five hits in 38 at-bats. It is hard to think what's wrong with Lucroy right now. The book may have changed on Lucroy a bit where teams have figured him out slightly. I wonder if Lucroy will start doing things a little differently, or possibly Ron Roenicke mess with the lineup again putting Lucroy second ahead of Braun. He needs a good week to rite the ship, I don't think it is cause for concern.

4. Jimmy Nelson the sequel - This will be the second time with Nelson starting in the rotation. I don't think this is a do or die start for Nelson even though Marco Estrada pitched adequately on Saturday. Nelson faced a buzzsaw in a hot St. Louis team going up against a top five National League pitcher. Nelson will now face a Reds lineup that features a couple big bats in Jay Bruce, Devin Mesoraco and Todd Frazier yet not dealing with Votto or Phillips help him a little bit on Tuesday night.

5. Reds Road Losing Streak - All of the sudden, Cincinnati has lost six straight games on the road. They were terrible this weekend in New York. This is a little bit of a do or die series for the Reds. If they were to get swept, Cincinnati heads towards .500 again but if they were to win a couple games, the Reds build a little momentum trying to make a run at the NL Central Division title. Cincinnati only scored six runs over the weekend with three walks and 51 strikeouts. It could be Milwaukee's time to strike.

Appropriate YouTube Video 


I found this song on my Spotify playlist this morning and I think it fits perfectly for both teams. Pressure by Youngblood Hawke.

Prediction
Milwaukee hasn't won a series against a team not named Colorado since mid-June. It is about time to win a series. Brewers get two out of three.

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.

SnoTap's First Half American League Awards

I am pretty confident every blog across America has their own awards for the season, but I have to add SnoTap's to the mix. There are some standard awards with a couple different ones in there as well. Look for the National League version to come out later this afternoon. 

AL MVP
Mike Trout OF, Los Angeles Angels - It is finally time to embrace Trout as the MVP of the American League. We could argue all day that he deserved it in the last two years as well. The numbers right now for Trout are pretty solid with him leading the American League in WAR, OPS (Only player over 1,000) and second in runs scored, OBP and Slugging Percentage. Also it doesn't hurt that Los Angeles is one of the best teams this season unlike the last two years.

AL Cy Young:
Scott Kazmir, P, Oakland A's - Yup, King Felix doesn't bring his second Cy Young back to Seattle. There can be a case made for Kazmir whose having a better year than Hernandez in my opinion. He allowed less hits, runs, earned runs than Felix even though Kazmir gets trumped when it comes to WAR and strikeouts. Further, the reason some of his numbers are down is due to having one less start than Hernandez on the season. I think he is worth consideration at this point.  

AL Rookie of the Year: 
Jose Abreu 1B, Chicago White Sox - Just hand him the trophy today. There is no one whom will come close to the season the Cuban sensation is having for the White Sox. He leads the league in home runs with 29, and there is a chance he could hit 50 or more for the season. Additionally, he leads the American League in Slugging Percentage. It is not just home runs either as Abreu is hitting .292 on the season. Not out of the realm of possibilities for Abreu to be considered for the MVP when it's all said and done.  

AL Surprise Team:
Seattle Mariners - Even though it should have been expected Seattle would get better with their free agent acquisitions of Robinson Cano, Corey Hart and others, they still need to win games. We saw with Toronto last season where they brought in all sorts of talent and didn't win. Seattle is seven games over .500 and have 50 wins already. Sadly, they play in the toughest division in baseball. If Seattle would be one or two back if they were in any other AL division, they are the second team in the Wild Card.

AL Disappointing Team: 
Boston Red Sox - This is a no-brainer. The World Series champions have fallen off a cliff from last season. They are nine games under .500 with a run differential of negative 38. It doesn't seem like things will get better for this team. What's weird is they aren't completely out of it in the AL East. Currently, they are 9.5 games back from first place and if they go on some tear, Boston could be right back in the race.

AL Breakout Player: 
Michael Brantley OF, Cleveland Indians - It was between two Indians as to who would take this honor, but I went with Brantley given that he is still excelling while Lonnie Chisenhall has been sort of falling off in the last couple of months. Brantley already has his career-best in home runs with 15 and his average is up to .322, the highest of his career. Further, Brantley is four doubles away from matching his 2013 total.

AL Regressing Player: 
Brian McCann C, New York Yankees - I am not saying New York overpaid for McCann's services, but I am not saying they didn't. McCann is not having an enjoyable experience in the Bronx yet. He is only hitting .239 with 10 home runs on the season. McCann had a terrible June going .198 with only two hits going 17 of 86 for the month. McCann's July has been far different so maybe he will have a second half surge.

Most Overplayed Storyline:
Justin Verlander and Kate Upton - I am over this relationship. People love to talk about it whether it was them going on vacation or being at a basketball game. It is time to retire this being important in our day-to-day life. By the way, Verlander leads the league in earned runs and ERA so that's good.

Bold Prediction
One of the AL West Big Three will miss the playoffs - I don't know how bold of a prediction this but right now, the AL West is the class of the American League. Four teams are four or less games back from Seattle for the second position. Los Angeles seems like they will take the other Wild Card, but we have seen the Angels go into bad swings before too.

Charlie.

Brewers First Half Pitching 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. If you missed the offense grades earlier this afternoon, check em out.   

Kyle Lohse - Personally, I feel he is the best pitcher on the team thus far. Lohse has been the most consistent Brewer of the bunch. Every now and again, he blows up, yet there have been some stellar performances including a complete game shutout against Chicago. Lohse's career in the last five years or so have been really unbelievable if you think about it, great consistency from him. GRADE: A

Francisco Rodriguez - The return of K-Rod. He probably takes Milwaukee's Cy Young because they had no idea who would close games for Milwaukee. Rodriguez closed the first game, and he continued for the rest of the first half of the season with no signs of slowing down. Most of Frankie's runs have came in non-save situations with only three blown saves on the season. The only thing to worry about a little bit is the amount of home runs he has given up in the past couple months. GRADE: A
G only allowed one run in the last two months and only allowed 15 hits in that timespan as well. He's been as good as anyone in the bullpen. Truly impressive performance from Duke. GRADE: A

Will Smith - It is really hard to be critical of Smith because of a bad month recently with the Brewers. Smith pitched so well for the first three months of the season. He looked like an All-Star for a long-time during the season and then Smith hit the regression wall. It happens to a great deal of players in baseball. If anyone needed the All-Star Break, it was Smith. Hopefully, the two appearances against St. Louis where he pitched two scoreless innings is the step in the right direction. GRADE: A-

Wily Peralta - This has been a breakout season for Wily. The numbers don't really show what Wily did for the 'first half' of the season. He had a real strong start to the season with his ERA getting as low as 2.12 by late May. Peralta had an average month of June despite him winning all five starts, but the glimmer of hope came in final start in a stellar start against St. Louis where he pitched seven innings giving up no runs and three hits. GRADE: B

Matt Garza - What a turnaround for him. Many people were ready to bring out the pitchforks for Garza after struggling for his first two months of the season. Yes, he cannot field his position to save his soul, but Garza is pitching his ass off right now. He had a strong June with having an ERA under three for the month along with some strong outings against Minnesota, Arizona and Cincinnati (Terrible defense from him but whatever). The first two starts in July for Garza, he only allowed five total hits with two runs. If he becomes a front-line starter for the second half, it will be like Milwaukee had made a trade for a pitcher. GRADE: B

Yovani Gallardo - This first half has sort of defined Yovani Gallardo's career. He had some great starts including a strong sart to his season and then he fell apart for awhile then bounced back a little bit. Gallardo's inconsistency continuing to be frustrating for Brewers fans because you see the potential in some starts then it all goes to shit in another one. GRADE B-

Tyler Thornburg - You kind of forget about him because he hasn't played in over a month and a half with his last start being against Pittsburgh in late May. Thornburg came out blazing in the first month of the season proving everyone right when they said 'You know Thornburg could be a great reliever.' He then scuffled in the month of May. Who knows what Throny we will get when he comes back. GRADE: C+

Rob Wooten - It is hard to really judge Wooten's season right now. The reliever's ERA is abnormally high because one blowup appearance against Cincinnati in June. If he can whatever he had in May where Wooten had an ERA of 0.71, that would be ideal. He is not a bad reliever where you worry when he comes in, but Wooten needs to be a little more solid. GRADE:C+

Brandon Kintzler - Here's where my frustration with Kintzler. He seems to choke it up in big, clutch moments. This worries me as we get closer and closer to the month of October plus need clutch outings in August and September. I know this paragraph sounds a little JS Comments-like but he has been on the losing end of a walk-off four times this season already. GRADE: C-

Marco Estrada - It has not been a good year for Marco. He gave up 27 home runs in the first half of the season. What honestly did him to lose his starting position was the month of June. He gave up 24 runs, 30 hits and seven home runs leading to a 7.45 ERA. Estrada could have a totally different second half as the Brewers long relief pitcher. GRADE: D+

Wei-Chung Wang - It is honestly hard to talk about him because it really isn't fair to talk about how he's done so far this season. I am extremely surprised he is still on a MLB roster. GRADE: Incomplete.

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.

MLB All-Star Game: Brewers Shine, Waino Misstep, Jeets & No Tony Gywnn Tribute?

When All-Star Game happen no matter what the sport is, the recap of it is usually a pretty light one. We discuss a little bit about the game, but mostly, the discussion is about the plays that happen or one inning where all of the action took place. Moreover, team beat writers are talking about how their guy or guys did out there versus having any sort of reason to write about controversy. This year is completely different. There are so many storylines emerging from the All-Star Game and you wonder if it's due to social media or just a weird year?

Milwaukee Brewers were fortunate to get three players starting in the All-Star Game with Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy, two of them made an impact for the National League on Tuesday night. Ramirez added two hits including a double scoring the first run of the game. Lucroy was the first catcher since Mike Piazza to get two doubles and two RBIs. Anyone whose a baseball fan should be happy for Luc as people begin to focus on how he is a great baseball player not just the whole issue with the faux rivalry with Yadier Molina. 

St. Louis Cardinals found a way to screw up the All-Star Game. I didn't even know that was possible but here we are. Mike Matheny's arrogance was the start of it and Adam Wainwright finished it with the fanbase sprinkled in. Matheny wanted his guy to start the All-Star Game. Despite Clayton Kershaw's tremendous two-month stretch, Wainwright was the option even though he started on Saturday.  The first batter he faced was the legend Derek Jeter who hit a double off him. It led to a bad first inning for Wainwright as he gave up three runs including a two-run homer to Miguel Cabrera. Unlike a normal game, the players are available to the media earlier than usual, and Wainwright gave his thoughts on the first inning.

Wainwright said he 'grooved' a couple pitches to Jeter as a sign of respect. This took over the game in the social media realm as everyone rushed to criticize Wainwright for his bullshit attitude towards the whole thing. He acted like 'Ha!  I am a great baseball player, would that inning really happen to me?!' He made an excuse for struggling in his only inning. That's pathetic. Wainwright rushed to backtrack saying it was a joke which many of the media whom were there said, the Cardinals ace didn't joke there. Basically, Wainwright should have kept his mouth shut about the whole thing. There is no need to explain what happened there just say 'Derek hit a good pitch.'  He looked like a complete assclown. Naturally, the St. Louis fanbase believed Lucroy was the reason for Wainwright or Waino as they call him, struggles which is so Cardinals it hurts truthfully. The fanbase is full of world-class idiots and some of the worst in baseball. My favorite was Lucroy distancing himself away from 'grooving' pitches as he explained how the first batter was called. 

The Cardinals weren't the only ones with pie of their faces, Major League Baseball and FOX Sports ended up having a major misfire as well. After the game, people begged the question where was a tribute for Tony Gywnn who died a month ago and is revered as one of the best players in baseball. FOX Sports 1 did do a tribute before the game, but most of the time when baseball or any sport loses one of the best, they find someway to honor them on a grand stage. MLB should have done something Gywnn and Don Zimmer for that matter. Both men cared about the game of baseball so much and loved it dearly. The fact, baseball decided to ignore some of their greats is truly odd and puzzling.

The weirdness increases when you think about how much time MLB and FOX dedicated to Jeter. He is one of the best players to ever live as well as one of the most-respected guys in baseball. The latter is a huge part to why this all happened last night. Deadspin counted Jeter's name said a cool 100 times within the three and a half hour broadcast. I had little to zero problem with all of the Jeter theatrics. The guy deserved all of it. The two at-bats were both hits, he nearly made a great play to get Andrew McCutchen and honored like one of the best of the last 25 years. This is the type of stuff that makes All-Star Games for baseball so cool.

Although it made me pleased Jeter didn't get the Susan Lucci Lifetime MVP award as Mike Trout took home the crown. Trout deserved it as he drove in the first run of the game for the American League and the winning run in the fifth as well. Trout's two hits were a triple and double netting him his first of what will probably be many MVP trophies. On a night where MLB honored Jeter, it was cool to see one of the best young players take home the All-Star MVP.

Now begins the push to the playoffs. For some, this is where baseball becomes fun knowing there might be a chance for October baseball. It also becomes deathly terrifying in that same regard holding on to a slight lead in the division. Just remember Milwaukee was the only team helping the National League on Tuesday thus talking myself into an eight-game winning streak.

-Charlie.

Home Run Derby Disaster

Major League Baseball is trying to desperately to get more viewers watching their product. Right now, there is a decline from what we have seen in other sports. It is not to say MLB is pushing the panic, but there seems to be a worry that things are not getting better by any means. They tried to do something different with the bracketed competition for the Home Run Derby, and it completely sucked despite getting a worthy winner in Oakland's Yoenis Cespedes. He deserves the title without question, but the final should have been pitting Jose Bautista against Cespedes. 

The fact we got a final of Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier versus Cespedes when we should have had Giancarlo Stanton facing off against him is a goddamn shame. Stanton grew cold having to wait for over an hour to hit a baseball. Stanton brings back memories of Josh Hamilton where we remember the first round of home runs, but he didn't win the tournament. Hell, Stanton didn't even get there. MLB could still do the competition, but they need to rework how the bracketing works so they avoid an issue like this year where Stanton gets ousted because he can't ride the momentum which is exactly what Cespedes did to win a back-to-back Derby crowns, the first person to do it since Ken Griffey, Jr.. (H/T @cjzero for the GIF)

To make it more competitive, select the 10 players, do the traditional ten outs for the first round but instead of brackets, rank them from the most home runs in the competition to the least amount. It's a free for all for the first round where the top home run hitters get to pick when they go and then eliminate five batters advancing only four to the second round. The top home runner hitter faces off against the least amount of homers with seven outs instead of ten, and it goes to brackets to finish it off. This adds more of a strategy to it without anyone getting cold. 

This whole day ended up being a disaster for MLB. There was an hour delay. The weather is unseasonably cold for Minneapolis and everyone is talking about how bad the Derby was this morning. Not a great way to  start All-Star week.

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: Nationals-Brewers (6/23-6/25)

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
Marco Estrada - He has been the punching bag of this Milwaukee Brewers team for some time now, but he delivered a big start when the Brewers needed him. They were on the verge of getting swept for the first time this season. They are coming off a 16 inning heartbreaking loss the night before meaning the bullpen is completely taxed. Estrada is facing Stephen Strasburg as well. Estrada only gave up two hits, two runs and only walked two batters. And he went for 6 plus innings. Overall a great start for the Brewers fifth starter and hopefully, a step in the right direction.

Scooter Gennett - Look I was wrong about Scooter. I basically scorched the earth when he got called up to replace Rickie Weeks. I didn't want Scooter to fail, but I was convinced he wouldn't be a better player than Weeks. I couldn't have been more wrong. I want to apologize about how much I bungled the whole thing last summer. He's been great for the team. Gennett has the second-highest batting average since August 2013 in all of Major League Baseball. Scooter hit a grand slam and drove in an added run in the only Brewers win this week.

Yovani Gallardo - It continues to be a great month for Yovani, and my assumption would be he will win Brewers Pitcher of the Month. He again pitched great in a no-decision against Washington on Tuesday night. Gallardo only gave up four hits in six innings. If Gallardo is this way for the most part for the rest of the season, Milwaukee can contend with anyone. Whatever he went through in the month of May, he is over it. Gallardo's ERA is now down to 3.23 and keeps pitching strong for the Brewers.

Ryan Braun - In the sixth inning, Braun stepped to the plate with runners on second and third with two outs. He is having a disastrous June for the greater part, but this is a situation where Braun has to deliver the big moment. He did just that with a two-run single giving the Brewers the lead against the tough Jordan Zimmernmann. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for the Brewers slugger. It seems like we are just waiting on a Braun hot streak

Mike Fiers - Even though he is hanging out in Nashville for a couple days, he did a great job for Milwaukee on Tuesday night despite taking the loss. Fiers went four innings only giving up four hits with two of them coming in the 16th inning. Fiers also struck out four batters and had no issue with the Nationals bats. He made a campaign pitch to be a starter on Tuesday night.

Lowlights
Carlos Gomez's Extra Inning At-Bats - This was easily the most frustrating part of the whole series. Not the 16 innings, not the lack of hitting in the first two games, but Gomez's at-bats in the extra frames. He had a chance to win it twice and jumped over the first pitch both times when the pitchers were a bit shaky in the first place. Gomez is the biggest first-pitch swinger in baseball so it's understood he would swing at the first pitch a great deal of times. It is honestly hard to be mad at him, but he needs to show a little more discipline in late at-bats.

Will Smith - Another player on the Brewers where it is hard to be mad at, but Smith didn't do his job on Tuesday night giving up a home run to Anthony Rendon. Is it time to push the panic button on Smith? Probably not because he played at such a high level in the first three months of the season. Smith giving up three runs in his last 10 appearances isn't a big deal... yet.

16 Inning Baseball Games - I realized how much I hated late extra-inning games. I like West Coast trips without question because of the late night atmosphere for a night owl, but my goodness, the 16 inning game on Tuesday night was horribly boring. The game dragged on and no one could get a hit to save their soul. Maybe 16 inning games are more exciting when we have teams going back and forth with runs, but Christ, this was bad.

Scary Nats - Brewers thankfully got a game from Washington, but this is a scary team without question. They have front line pitching with Strasburg, Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez. They will be getting back Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos. Additionally, the Nats have a great bullpen. This is a lethal team moving forward.

Charlie.

Nationals-Brewers Preview (6/23-6-25)

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:     Gio Gonzalez (3-4 4.85) vs. Matt Garza (4-4 4.02) 7:00 pm ESPN2/FSNWI 

Tuesday: Jordan Zimmermann (5-4 2.95) vs. Yovani Gallardo (5-4 3.34) 7:10 pm FSNWI   

Wednesday: Stephen Strasburg (6-5 3.24) vs. Marco Estrada (6-4 5.22) 1:10 pm MLB Network 

Five Things To Watch 

1.) Happy to be home - Milwaukee has spent 15 of the last 18 on the road. They did pretty well winning eleven of those 15 games including the current four game winning streak the Brewers are on as they head back to Miller Park for the week. The only series they have lost in that time span was the one at home versus Cincinnati. Hopefully, Washington doesn't pose too much of a problem. They won their last two games, and the Nationals beat Milwaukee two out of three last season at Miller Park.

2.) Aramis Ramirez month to continue? - It is the hot topic of the Brewers offense right now. Aramis Ramirez exploded on the West Coast and hopes to keep it going against Washington. He will be facing three tough pitchers with only have real success and experience against Jordan Zimmerman. Ramirez is flourishing hitting behind Carlos Gomez and his hitting streak right now because it always seems like Rami has a duck or two on the pond to drive in consistently. Ramirez being healthy and playing at this level is so important to the Brewers being a deep postseason contender.  

3.)  Jordan Zimmermann returns to Wisconsin -  One of Wisconsin's own returns to the home state which I am sure the folks at FS Wisconsin will talk a great deal about in the coming days. Zimmerman is one of the better pitchers in baseball for the month of June. In four starts, he has only allowed three total runs with scoreless outings in two of them. The last two times through he has seen barely any run support as Washington has only given him one run in the last two outings. Against Milwaukee, he has been virtually unhittable with a sub-one ERA at Miller Park in the last three years. Brewers will have a tall task Tuesday night.  

4.) Time to strike - St. Louis is five and a half games back of Milwaukee currently. Both Jaime Garcia and Michael Wacha are on the Disabled List with shoulder issues. St. Louis is embarking on a three-team West Coast trip where they will be playing Los Angeles and San Francisco. Milwaukee needs to make a dent here in the division. I am not saying this race will be over by any means as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are hanging around too, but Milwaukee can definitely tack on some games to their lead before the All-Star Break. 

5.) Possible playoff preview - Who knows how the cookie will crumble but these two teams could meet in the playoffs. They see each other again right after the All-Star Break in Washington for three games so a tone can be set. I don't know if winning four of six will really make that much of an impact come October, but it is still nice to know you can beat a team you might see in the playoffs.  

Appropriate YouTube Video


In honor of playing our nation's capital, let's get a little American in this blog post. Also I am emotionally hungover from Sunday's World Cup and need a bounce back.

Prediction 
Honestly, I want to say Milwaukee can get two out of three, but with two great Washington pitchers, I don't really feel comfortable saying they can grab two here. Brewers will have to manage with a one win this week.

Charlie. 

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.

Brewers-Rockies Preview (6/20-6/22)

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 

Friday:     Marco Estrada (5-4 4.82) vs. Christian Bergman (0-1 3.75)  7:40 pm FSNWI 

Saturday: Wily Peralta (7-5 2.98) vs. Christian Fredrich (0-0 0.00)       3:10 pm FSNWI   

Sunday:    Kyle Lohse (8-2 3.09) vs. Tyler Matzek (1-1 3.75)              3:10 pm FSNWI 

Five Things To Watch 

1.) Exorcising Coors Field's Demons - In the last two years, Milwaukee has won one of six games at Coors Field. This is not a place that treats the Brewers well in the past couple years. Brewers have not won a series in Denver since 2005 (To be fair, Milwaukee got a split in 2011 during a four-game series at Coors Field). That was nine years ago! Victor Santos and Chris Capuano were the winning pitchers of the series. WES HELMS hit a home run in the first win of the series. Hopefully, things can change this weekend.

2.) Marco Estrada's Do or Die Start - Everyone expecting the worst with Marco Estrada tonight at Coors Field. I really do believe if Estrada struggles again tonight, Jimmy Nelson will face Colorado next weekend at Miller Park. Estrada has been downright awful in the last month or so. Estrada needs to avoid the walks without question because he will probably give up a home run or two tonight, that's the expectation. Everyone is expecting a dumpster fire so hopefully Estrada will use that as motivation and deliver a complete gem. 

3.) Trying to avoid Troy Tulowitzki - We always talk about Brewers killers, but maybe the most notable and the President of the whole thing is Troy Tulowitzki. Whenever he faces Milwaukee, he mashes against the Brewers. In the last three years, Tulo has 24 hits against Milwaukee with a little over half of them being for extra-base hits including five home runs. This equates to an average of about .358.  For the season, Tulowitzki has 18 home runs with batting .356 having an MVP-like season as well as three of his last seven games featured three hit games.  

4.) Dealing with a no-hit team - The last game Colorado played they did not fare well losing 8-0 with Clayton Kershaw no-hitting them striking out 15 batters. Colorado is come in pissed wanting to make a point. Now, they were swept by the Dodgers where Colorado only scored three runs. Is the regression monster looming given how outrageous their offensive numbers have been this season and Milwaukee catching them at the right time?  Or is this a case of Colorado being a wildly inconsistent baseball team?   

5.) Carlos Gomez hit and on-base streak deserves attention - I don't know why people haven't talked about Carlos Gomez's streaks right now. He reached on-base 32 straight games whether it be on a walk, error or base hit. Gomez also has a 15-game hitting streak going which is the best of his career. Honestly, I believe Gomez can have a field day at Coors Field. It seems like a place where he could completely rake and have a massive series. 

Appropriate YouTube Video


I have to go with the Dumb and Dumber line about John Denver. So good every time.

Prediction 
As much as I want to think the Brewers will reverse their luck here and take a couple games, I have them winning one. Let's go with Peralta's start on Saturday.  Usually when the opposing team has three pitchers with a combined four total MLB starts plus one making their Major League debut would give you encouragement, Milwaukee makes those guys look like Cy Young. Even one win gives the Brewers a .500 West Coast trip.   

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-D'Backs (6/16-6/19)

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
Aramis Ramirez - It is going a little under the radar but Aramis is starting to turn the corner like he usually does in the summer. In the last seven days, Ramirez is hitting .370 with 10 hits, three doubles and two home runs. He had quite the series in Arizona as well with three hit day on Monday night driving in two runs breaking the 3-3 tie in the eighth. Ramirez added a towering solo home run on Tuesday and sparked the Brewers scoring on Thursday. If Rami gets hot with how this team is already playing, look out National League. It might not be pretty for the rest of them.

Elian Herrera - Got to give Elian some love for the series. He had a good series starting in three out of the four starts. Many people were concerned about Herrera filling in for Carlos Gomez in the first two games, but he did just fine out there. Additionally, Herrera delivered at the plate with two runs driven in plus having a two-hit night on Monday. It really never made sense why the Brewers kept sending him back down to Nashville. He has a pulse at the plate, and he knows how to play multiple positions. Herrera might not be the best option, but he is a quality bench player for this team. Yeah I said it.

Yovani Gallardo - In the last three starts, Gallardo has pitched 21 innings with only giving up two runs. At the beginning of the month, Gallardo's ERA was a little over four and now it is down to 3.34, basically two-thirds of a run in a mere three games. Gallardo had everything working on Thursday as he pitched more to contact than trying to get Diamondbacks strikeouts. If Gallardo pitches this way for Milwaukee, they will be very hard to beat. They do not need to have an actual ace, but if they have pitchers who have ace-like runs for a month, that will pay off in a major way.

Matt Garza - In the last series, Garza made the lowlights, and much of that reason was his horrid defense. But only one run was earned for Garza in that game. He pitched well again on Wednesday giving two earned runs in nearly eight innings of work. It is the first game all season where Garza didn't walk a batter. In fact, he has only one total batter in the last two starts. I don't know whether it was a comfort thing for Garza, or he is finally used to Jonathan Lucroy/Martin Maldonado calling the game. But he has been much improved this month.

Khris Davis - Did you know Khris Davis is from Arizona? I swear I heard that at least 10 times over four games. He had a good series back in his home state with a big three-run homer on Wednesday night providing the only offense for the Brewers. Davis also added two RBIs in Monday's win. He keeps playing his ass for the team. Davis is currently on pace for .261 with 26 home runs this season. Pretty strong first season debut for him. .

Lowlights
Brandon Kintzler - I don't know how upset I want to be at Kintzler. At one point, he has only given up two runs since May 23rd which is pretty damn good given he had a rough start to begin the month of May. But the other part of it is it appears Kintzler struggles when put into tight situations. He blew the game against Cincinnati and Arizona earlier this season in back-to-back outings, nearly lost the game against New York earlier this month and struggled again on Wednesday night. I easily get the most nervous when Kintzler heads to the mound in late-game situations.

Brewers bats against Wade Miley - I don't know what I want to blame on this for the Brewers. They struck out eight times against Miley and couldn't figure out that the home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez was calling the inside corner every damn time. Miley always got a big strikeout when he needed it as he dealt with baserunners all night. Brewers just couldn't figure out the inside pitch which seems to be a bugaboo a little bit for this team.

Crybaby Diamondbacks - All this team does is bitch and moan about everything. We already talked about the whole hitting Ryan Braun thing and why it's stupid, but you should read if you haven't. But seriously, they acted like every strike three was a ball or if a call on the mound didn't go their way, they seemed to be so shocked a call could go against them. Grow up.

Will Smith's 1/3 inning - We need to figure out what happened here. Will Smith, a possible All-Star, basically comes in like he was Ray King or Brian Shouse instead of being the pitcher he has been this season. What made it even more puzzling is Arizona had two left-handers up in the next inning meaning Smith could have easily handled them. The only defense of Smith not pitching an extra inning is the fact he pitched three straight games along with four of the last five.

Charlie.

Running Diary of Cardinals Fans Mad at Jonathan Lucroy

In the last couple days, St. Louis Cardinals and their fanbase haven't been happy with the Milwaukee Brewers ad campaign for Jonathan Lucroy to make the All-Star Game. The whole thing went viral with a ton of tweets from angry Cardinals fans. But ESPN affiliate in St. Louis gave us video of Cardinals fans watching the video in real-time and reacting. I have to say, it is one of my favorite videos I have watched in a long time. Therefore, I had to do a running diary of the two minute video. (H/T @BradWeimer for finding this glorious video)  



.14 - Sarah Palin!  Real topical politician buddy. Acceptable answers would have been Lindsey Graham, Elizabeth Warren, Marco Rubio, Diane Feinstein. Watch the news once a century.  

.18 - That man was a laugh of someone you never double cross. Pretty sure he is putting out a hit for Lucroy.

.20 - His buddy trying to settle him down a little bit with a 'Oh it's the Brewers, what do you expect?' Like dude, it's just a video, no big deal.  

.23 - How do you not know there is a FOX Sports Wisconsin?  Like how do you think we get our baseball games? We gather around the radio like the 1940's?  Also sweet sweat stains or beer spills from your 16 oz Bud Light tallboys. Only thing worse than a 12 oz Bud Light is a 16 oz one.

.29 - This man whom shouldn't really be rocking stripes in any way shape or form. He puts out a challenge to Brewers fans like he is a professional wrestler, or a war will be started between the two cities.

.42 - The Brewers aren't a threat?  Oh, that's right, they have been leading the National League Central for over 70 days. My bad.

.48 - Nice #HOTTAKE on Molina there guy, but not a crybaby?  I present this as evidence.



  And this....



.51 - SHOUTOUT TO EVANSVILLE, INDIANA!!!!!!!!

.57 - That's one of the most obscene things you have ever seen in your life?  Gosh, you must not get out enough bud or not watch a ton of porn. One of the two.

1:01 -  What does this guy possibly want reversed exactly? Molina is in the lead for catcher of the National League. This isn't a challenge call, my man.

1:08 - FOX Sports Midwest (I didn't know that existed! What?!?!?!) wanted to do a response ad which would have been awesome, but naturally, St. Louis threw a wet blanket over it.

1:14 - I am honestly shocked it took us 74 seconds for someone to call the Cardinals organization 'classy', I really am.

1:19 - Proper way is building up the players... Jonathan Lucroy is a homegrown talent for Milwaukee. I have no idea what this guy is talking about.

1:23 - In the basement?  Your baseball team has been looking up to the Brewers for the last 70 or so days, dude. But keep living in fantasy world where the toilets are gold and everything tastes like candy.

1:27 - Honestly?  The guy with the Chive shirt and Cardinals jersey is probably right. Lucroy has quite the mountain to climb here with how popular both St. Louis and San Francisco are in the United States.

1:32 - FAT MACKELMORE TOUGH GUY ALERT!!!!!

1:47 - Yes, this is a mudslinging campaign. Lucroy is secretly running for President. I think this guy has us figured out, you guys.

1:59 - FAT MACKELMORE IS OUT FOR BLOOD. Not very 'classy' of him to want to kick Lucroy's ass.

-Charlie.

Clayton Kershaw's Perfect No-Hitter

People say all the time no-hitters are overrated. The reason being is usually one or two happen a year plus there are some like Edwin Jackson where they walk eight batters, hit one, yet still get a no-hitter. People revel in the perfect game with 27 up and 27 down because it is much more rarefied air. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw added a no-hitter to his resume last night in an 8-0 victory against Colorado, and it was not an overrated one by any means. Kershaw had quite possibly one of the best no-hitters in Major League Baseball. That is said without overreaction or hyperbole.

The only reason Kershaw didn't deliver the perfect game was Hanley Ramirez had an error at shortstop. Not a walk, but an error by the shortstop. Kershaw didn't walk anyone to lose his no-hitter.  In fact, he had only one count that reached three balls all night. This means out of the 28 batters Kershaw faced on Wednesday night, only one of them saw a three ball count. For reference, that would be .03 percent of the batters. What's possibly more impressive about Kershaw's no-hitter is it came against Colorado, one of the best hitting teams in baseball. Coming into the game, the Rockies led the lead in runs, only team with 700 hits, lead in doubles and home runs. Kershaw shut them down like Jon Taffer does to a kitchen serving under-cooked chicken.

Kershaw's no-hitter also featured him striking out 15 batters, a career-high for the Dodgers left-hander. He came within two strikeouts to tying Nolan Ryan for the most strikeouts when throwing a no-hitter. Kershaw struck out every batter whom started the game at least once. Josh Rutledge was the only player without a strikeout in the starting lineup, and Kershaw dusted him with a curveball in the eighth inning. For percentages, Kershaw struck out 53.5 percent of the batters he faced last night. Additionally, Colorado has only 528 strikeouts as a team this season, the only team with less strikeouts in the National League is the St. Louis Cardinals. No one should ever say this no-hitter is overrated.

Kershaw is moving into the category of one of the best to play the game.  With only being 26 years old, he is just beginning the prime of his career. Pedro Martinez went through a stretch from age 25 to 32 where he was virtually unhittable earning three Cy Young's in four years. I don't think it is out of the question to think Kershaw could do the same thing. There was some concern this year for him with the injury to begin the year, his blow-up start against Arizona, but the last month has been masterful for Kershaw as his ERA has gone down a full run. No-hitter probably aided it a little bit, yet he is rounding into form at the right time as the Dodgers push a struggling San Francisco for the top spot in the National League West.

In the last couple years, Kershaw has became a player where if he faces your team, you have to see him. That's how Randy Johnson was in his career, same for Martinez and Roger Clemens. Right now, if the Dodgers are playing Milwaukee at Miller Park and Kershaw is pitching one of the games, I am going without question. It doesn't even matter that the Brewers will likely lose the game, it's not about the win or loss. Rather it is about watching one of the best to ever play the game and telling those you have seen Kershaw pitch a game whether he dominated your team or not. He is that special of a baseball player.

Game Score is a stat by Bill James where it values the strength of a pitching performance. Kershaw scored a 102 which is the highest in Major League Baseball for any pitcher, and the second-highest in history next to Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game. Kershaw's no-hitter was not your prototypical one where the pitcher survives a couple walks here and there, no it was a perfect game by a pitcher with one mistake by a position player.

Charlie.

The Immaturity of the Arizona Diamondbacks Franchise

Arizona Diamondbacks are the least likable team in baseball. They do not have one of the biggest salaried rosters in baseball like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, but they do have a franchise full of sophomoric bullies. Their latest punk behavior featured D'Backs relief pitcher Evan Marshall hitting Ryan Braun intentionally after throwing behind him with one pitch and then actually hitting him on the next pitch with an open base on first. Marshall left with a standing ovation and got this kind of love from his manager, Kirk Gibson.

H/T @ChadMoriyama 

A manager championing the fact they loaded the bases in a 4-3 ballgame to prove a point is such an old jock mentality. Gibson seems like the type of guy whom would tell you consistently how he had a big package and his multiple sexual conquests. He wanted to prove a point by hitting Braun, the Brewers superstar and a man Gibson hates along with the rest of the D'Backs organization when in reality, they would love Braun on their roster. Braun is the Anti-Christ to Gibson and feels like his PED use caused Arizona to lose the National League Division Series (Hint: It was more about giving homers to Yuni B and Nyjer Morgan but whatever). 

This all boils from 2011 which was nearly three years ago. Gibson is like a jilted lover whom cannot get over the fact things didn't turn out in the right way according to his delusional brain. The fact Gibson had to prove a point that night was absolutely absurd even by his standards. Arizona had a 4-3 lead late in the game against one of the best teams in baseball and chose to hit Braun in order to face Milwaukee's best hitter and MVP candidate Jonathan Lucroy. Further, Lucroy hit a home run already that night. But Gibson had to puff out his chest and show Arizona means business playing 'right, gritty way' to play baseball. These are the decisions of an assclown truthfully. And the fanbase is completely brainwashed with their standing ovation of Marshall as they applauded a player getting hit by a pitch well over 90 miles an hour.  

It really didn't work out well for Gibson as Lucroy blasted a grand slam causing the usually reserved Brian Anderson championing the ball to get up over the wall in an unusual move of homerism from one of the best of the business. If an announcer like Anderson is fed up with Gibson, it speaks volumes to the absurdity of it all. This isn't one of those things where Arizona had a reason to hit Braun, they just did it because Kyle Lohse ran a couple pitches inside with no malice. Arizona is a team full of sensitive punks, and it stems from their manager Gibson and their General Manager Kevin Towers. No one wants to be shown up in that organization even if they are 14 games under .500.

If Towers were a smart man, Gibson wouldn't have a job. This Arizona team is by no means rebuilding, but Towers possibly more so than Gibson should be charged with murdering the future of this franchise. Trevor Bauer should be starting for this team. Same goes for Tyler Skaggs. Archie Bradley is simply hanging out in Triple A while this team struggles which is completely maddening.  Towers and Gibson are like the dumb and dumber of this organization bringing them down while Los Angeles, San Francisco and Colorado are on the rise in the coming years.

Who knows what will happen tonight. Matt Garza is the definition of a wild card basically Charlie Day of the pitcher rotation. Garza could easily hit Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero and things are completely on like Donkey Kong.  Something tells me this isn't the end with the Brewers and Diamondbacks.

Charlie.  

SnoTap Thing of the Day: Lock In Luc

This has been out for a couple days now, but Milwaukee Brewers made a campaign for Jonathan Lucroy to be a starter at the All-Star Game in July.  They made it into an attack ad like we annoyingly see every two years from various politicians. This is against Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals in which they ask 'Why do you want to vote another St. Louis Cardinals player into the All-Star Game?'  It is also great to have the noise of the crying baby with the picture of Molina as we all know he is a crybaby. This is a really smart ad by the Brewers because most people hate the faux 'Best Fans In Baseball' type attitude St. Louis presents with their fanbase. Hopefully, this will increase the votes for Lucroy.

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO BECAUSE BLOGGER IS BEING AN IDIOT. 

Charlie.