Tap's Hangover Cure: Carlos Gomez, The Ninja Turtle

Carlos Gomez is the clubhouse jokester without question for the Milwaukee Brewers team. He loves to have fun with the guys and always seems to do weird things. So it shouldn't come as a surprise when Gomez dressed up in a full Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume to bother Mark Reynolds doing an interview with International Talk on MLB Network. The reason Gomez has the full costume is for his son, Yandal, who loves the Turtles like any four-year old. But apparently he wanted to meet Donatello, not Leonardo.   You have to love this stuff as a Brewers fan and a baseball fan really, the team is having fun again and it seems like the rain cloud that hovered over them  (WATCH THE VIDEO HERE, my browser can't support iframes, I guess)

Also Reynolds's 'Count' shirt with Garza's name and goatee on it is a must-have. I need it badly.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Nationals

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 - Milwaukee might be struggling in the month of July, but Braun has found his stroke at the plate. He added hits in all three games this weekend including a two-run homer on Saturday night amid a blowout. Additionally, at least one of Braun's hits scored a run for the Brewers this weekend. If other parts of Milwaukee can get working with Braunie, it would be a beautiful thing. While his average has not went over .300 yet, Braun still rocking an eight-game hitting streak into their home trip this week.

Khris Davis - A good weekend for the young Brewers left fielder who had another home run against Stephen Strasburg on Friday night and drove in a run on Sunday putting the Brewers temporarily ahead in the game. It might be unknown but Davis currently has a seven-game hitting streak for the Brewers. It is good to see him still being able to handle pitching in July. Davis being a reliable hitter is going to help Milwaukee in a major way.

Ryan Zimmerman - Have we officially put Zimmerman on the known Brewer Killer list? He probably deserves a spot there. He had two hits in each game of the series, drove in two runs on Saturday night and hit a game-tying home run on Sunday. While it is encouraging to see how Milwaukee handled Stephen Strasburg, it is discouraging to see how Milwaukee pitchers cannot figure out Zimmerman. He hurt the Brewers all weekend.

Aramis Ramirez - Clutch is such an arbitrary thing to talk about when it comes to sports. I probably talk about it too much, but it is the one 'old man' thing I still like to think exists in sports so sue me. Ramirez came up with a two-run, two out single putting the Brewers up four runs against one of the league's best pitcher. Rami always seems to come through for this team. He added two more hits in Saturday's blowout.

Marco Estrada - I know he has been a whipping boy for this team, but he saved Milwaukee's bullpen on Saturday night. He pitched nearly six innings and yes did give up three runs yet preserved the pen for a team that doesn't have a day off until July 31st.

Lowlights
Matt Garza - Should we really be mad at Garza for his performance on Saturday night?  I am going to say no. There are a couple factors playing in here.  The first one is Garza didn't pitch since last Thursday. From what I gather he is not one to pitch out of his usual five-day rotation and do it well. The second is all of the hits were bullshit. It wasn't like Garza got hit around like a ragdoll in that inning. He caught some bad luck, and yes, Ron Roenicke should have walked Wilson Ramos to face the pitcher instead Ramos drove in two runs putting the Nationals up 5-0.

Mark Reynolds - I believed in Mark Reynolds to start the season. I wanted him to be 'my guy' and be like 'I told you so!!!' at some point. Hell, I nearly bet my buddy Eric that I would get five dollars every time he hits a homer and give him a dollar every time he strikes out. I am glad I decided against taking that bet. Reynolds has been a shell of himself in the last two months, and Milwaukee is back to looking for a power bat for the next two weeks.

Yovani Gallardo - There are certain things in life where you just don't want to believe it to be true like the Lyla Garrity-Tim Riggins relationship (FNL comparsions are going to be heavy in the coming weeks FYI). Everyone keeps saying how Yo cannot pitch in the fourth through sixth innings. Like everything goes to shit and things change for Gallardo. It happened again on Sunday. Milwaukee had given him a two-run lead only to have it evaporate by the sixth inning. He is a third starter at best, more likely a fourth.

Rob Wooten in the Ninth - I don't really get the move by Roenicke on Sunday afternoon. Tom Gorzelanny hasn't allowed a run since coming back from injury albeit not pitching in the most high-pressure situations. He would have seen one or two lefties and could have handled a second inning if he got through the first one. It stresses the need for middle reliever before the trading deadline.

Charlie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Appropriate YouTube Video 


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

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

Charlie.

Brewers First Half 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.

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: Brewers-Reds (7/4-7-6)

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 - This is the Matt Garza Brewers fans hoped for when Milwaukee signed the right-hander. This might be peak Garza, but still it was a joy to watch him pitch on Saturday afternoon. Garza looked completely dialed in with a complete game shutout only allowing two hits and struck out nine batters. Finally, Garza's ERA dipped below four, the first time it has been under four since April 14th, but Garza did have a 2.88 ERA in the month of June.

Jonathan Lucroy - He really didn't have a good series, but it is worth giving him credit for calling a great game on Saturday with Garza. Lucroy did also add a home run on Friday trying to bring the team back after a four run deficit early on. I honestly cannot remember the last time Lucroy wasn't on the highlight-lowlight chart for highlights. He deserves it almost every time out.

Logan Schafer - It has to be tough being Logan Schafer and other Brewers that get shifted around in Triple A and MLB. Schafer took his knocks but made the most of his opportunity on Sunday playing for Ryan Braun with a triple and double off Mat Latos whose been virtually unhittable lately. I like Elian Herrera, but it seems like Logan really helps out the team more. He is a better defender whom can play all three outfield positions and seems to come up with big hits every now and again.  

Aramis Ramirez - Good weekend for the All-Star starter at third base. He played really well on Saturday having two hits and driving in the only run of the game. Ramirez had hits in both of the other games as well. Ramirez also made a hell of a defensive play late in the game on Saturday with a bunt which is always a detriment of Garza

Lowlights
Ryan Braun's back spasms - Another Braun injury to deal with which really does suck even though it is not considered to be serious. This seems like Braun's sixth or seventh injury already this season, and yes that's probably an overreaction yet it is just a bummer. Braun is having a fine season, but it is unfortunate for him. Hopefully, this doesn't delay what seemed to be the start of a Braun hot streak too.

Kyle Lohse - We really shouldn't be concerned about Lohse because he arguably has been the best Brewers pitcher of the season, but the last four starts are a little unsettling. Three of the four starts he has given up three runs with a couple unearned runs mixed in there as well, and he goes only five innings in two of the last four starts. Lohse's runs came quick on Friday, and before you know, Milwaukee is trailing by four runs in the fifth inning.

Will Smith - As we talked about this in the last couple weeks, this had to be expected from Smith. He cannot be perfect for the rest of the year. Smith was so good and him regressing a bit shouldn't be surprising at all. Granted, Smith giving up a two-run homer to Known Brewer Killer President Jay Bruce is much better than him giving up multiple hits allowing multiple runs yet I realize this is flawed logic.

Carlos Gomez - Milwaukee had a road trip from hell and so do Gomez with going two for 18 during the five games. He dipped below .300 for the first time since May 23rd. I am not very concerned with Gomez's recent struggles. It is the law of large averages. He goes on a huge hitting streak and it seems inevitable there will be a little dip there.

Gotta figure out Cincinnati - At some point, Milwaukee will need to win a series against Cincinnati. They play them 10 times in the month of September. Cincinnati has the pitching and they might make a move for some hitting at some point in the trade deadline. Brewers need to find their way against the Reds sooner rather than later. Next matchup comes at The Keg on July 21st.  

Charlie.

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.

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.  

Brewers-Diamondbacks Preview (6/16-6/20)

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

Pitching Matchups 

Monday: Wily Peralta (6-5 2.90) vs. Brandon McCarthy (1-9 5.29) 8:40 pm FSNWI

Tuesday: Kyle Lohse (7-2 3.00) vs. Wade Miley (3-6 4.71) 8:40 pm FSNWI

Wednesday: Matt Garza (4-4 4.17) vs. Chase Anderson (5-1 3.21) 8:40 pm FSNWI 

Thursday: Yovani Gallardo (4-4 3.51) vs. Josh Collmenter (4-4 4.05) 2:40 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch 

1.) Milwaukee's Payback for Arizona - It might not mean much to Milwaukee, but Arizona took two of three from Milwaukee in early May. You would think the Brewers want to excert a little revenge especially since not a lot of teams have done well against Milwaukee this season. Three out of the four pitchers faced this week did not pitch in the last series. They need to avoid known Brewers killers, Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt if they want to have a good series. 

2.) Scooter's lead-off success to continue? - As we noted this morning in highlights/lowlights, Scooter Gennett is excelling in the leadoff role. He had multiple hits in all three games against Cincinnati this weekend plus he played well in the series against New York. Scooter setting the table for the big bats in the order is crucial, and it is nice to see a guy step up while Jean Segura is currently struggling on the offensive end.  

3.) Handling Josh Collmenter - One of the biggest Brewers killer of recent memory. Milwaukee cannot seem to unlock the code against him. I don't know if it is the delivery or the fact he throws the ball very slowly compared to other pitchers, who knows really. For reference, Milwaukee batters only have eleven hits off him with no home runs and only two doubles. I don't know if this will be the time they break Collmenter but it would be ideal. 

4.) Waitin' on Ryan - Currently, Ryan Braun is in a slump, and he has been struggling at the dish. For the month of June, Braun has been pretty bad with only .183 average with only eleven hits. Chase Field is a hitters friendly ballpark meaning it could be the breakout series Braun needs to get him his jump started for the month. 

5.) My love for West Coast baseball - Simply put, I am a night owl. I usually stay up until 1:30 or 2 AM regularly so the west coast baseball is a nice treat every once in awhile because I get to watch baseball into the night. It also helps when there are no other sports on anymore at night.  

Appropriate YouTube Video 


Sorry this went up late. I got caught up in the World Cup.

Prediction
Split would be ideal. 

Highlights-Lowlights: Reds vs. Brewers (6/13-6/15)

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 - Who knows what changed with Yovani in the last couple starts, but he has come back to life. Gallardo delivered another great start only allowing one run in seven innings giving up six hits with eight strikeouts. In the last two starts, Gallardo allowed only one run striking out 16 batters with only 10 hits off of him. Yovani is not going to be this good all the time, but it is refreshing to see him bounce back after the brutal six-game stretch. You wonder if it motivated him to see Kyle Lohse starting to get attention as the quote 'ace' of the staff. I could be looking too far into it, but Gallardo does seem to be handling opposing batters like he did at the start of the year.

Scooter Gennett - You think he likes the lead-off spot? In the last four starts for Scooter Gennett, he has two hits in each of the games. He really does seem to flourish in a spot where Gennett says he is the most comfortable. He had two doubles on Saturday and added another one yesterday which drove in a run therefore he is not just getting on-base with singles, Gennett adds a little bit more. It would be great if he started taking more walks. Gennett's OBP is only .335 which isn't good for a player hitting .296.

Carlos Gomez - He continued his hitting ways this week as Gomez extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Gomez added a big hit on Friday night driving in the game-tying run. Gomez had two hits on Sunday as well as the run scored to tie Saturday's game. It is fair to say Gomez is the straw that stirs Milwaukee's drink. He helped ignite all of the big Brewers innings this weekend. Even though he dropped to fourth place in the All-Star voting, I think it is guarantee he will be in his second-straight All-Star Game.

Khris Davis - He started the scoring attack on Friday night with a solo home run off Homer Bailey, Davis' first home run since June 5th against Minnesota. Davis had a productive groundout Saturday to tie the game late on Saturday as well. The most important thing is Davis hasn't wavered after the hot streak he had in late May. He could have faltered a little bit, but Davis remained consistent throughout the last 10 games which is encouraging to see from a young player.

Ryan Braun's home run - He didn't really have a highlight weekend as Braun only had one hit during the weekend dropping his average to .281, the lowest its been since April 23rd. But we will not worry about that right now. Braun hit his first meaningful home run of the year. Eighth inning with one out and a runner on second, he hits an opposite field home run. People are waiting on Braun to get hot again, and with two hitter-friendly ballparks, he might have an opportunity to breakout.

Lowlights
Marco Estrada's home runs - They continue to be a problem for this Brewers team. He gave up homers to Billy Hamilton, Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips allowing for the first five runs of the game. Milwaukee came back to tie the game at three only to see Estrada giving up a two-run shot in the subsequent inning. It is not good right now. He didn't even walk a batter today. They were all gopher balls. Estrada is a problem on this Brewers roster right now. I don't know how starting him again will help this Brewers team because it seems like a given Estrada giving up at least one homer.

Matt Garza's defense - PUKE. Matt Garza's defense reared its ugly head on Friday night with a short-arm throw to second base and airmailing a ball into the stands later in the game. He had four unearned runs. Garza actually pitched great if it weren't for the errors as he only gave up an earned run. Garza's next start is against Arizona, and I fully expect them to try to bunt more offense plus try to put more pressure on him as teams will notice this start.

Rob Wooten - Not the best outing for Mr. Wooten. He gave up six straight hits and allowed five runs. He is the first pitcher since John Gelnar in 1970 to give up six straight hits in an appearance without getting an out. Let's chalk this up to a bad outing by him. It is a bummer to see because the Brewers had a chance to get back into this game only being down a run and Wooten puked all over his shoes. It happens now and again unfortunately.

Francisco Rodriguez - Yes he got a save on Saturday night, but he blew the game on Friday night. That's one you would have loved the Brewers to have after coming back from a four-run deficit, but K-Rod gave up a run leading to Cincinnati's win. I have no idea what's wrong with closers when they are playing in non-save situations, but the wheels always seem to come off for them. Hopefully, Frankie will find the secret of pitching in non-save situations.

Irving Falu - Ron Roenick gave Jean Segura a night off on Friday night, and it did not work well for the Brewers.  The now-Nashville player Irving Falu added a couple errors to give Milwaukee four on the night with him and Garza's ineptitude on defense. He also came up multiple times in big spots with runners on and Falu went like a fart in the wind. Happy to see him back in Nashville.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Twins-Brewers (6/2-6/5)

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

Highlights
Jonathan Lucroy - We have talked a lot about him in the highlights section. He is almost a given Lucroy is somehow featured, but Luc is having a great season.  He added a little power this week doubling his home run total having two home runs this week. He also added multi-hit games in Monday and Thursday's game with scoring runs in three of the four games.  Lucroy hit both dingers late in the game giving his team much-needed insurance runs in both wins.

Matt Garza - We have been critical on the blog of one bad inning that would come back to bite Garza, but this Monday, we got the full Matt Garza greatness. He pitched really well going six and a third innings with eight strikeouts and only giving up six hits. Garza seemed in control of all his pitches and did not really get phase when Minnesota started to threaten a little bit. He mixed his pitches real nicely. Hopefully, we can seeing this more from Garza.

Aramis Ramirez - Quite the way to welcome yourself back to the roster by hitting a three-run bomb on Wednesday night to tie the game on Wednesday night. Ramirez mashed the ball and looked like he's been on the roster all season. He added a hit on Thursday which resulted in a run as Khris Davis hit a go-ahead two-run homer. It is good to have Ramirez back in the lineup and makes the Brewers that much more a dangerous offense. What to watch this weekend is how he plays third base. My guess is he will play two of the three games, probably missing Saturday's game.

Khris Davis -  A man-crush is growing with Davis. The last 15 to 20 games has shown great improvement by Davis in all facets of his game. Taking a tough pitch the other way and it results in a home run is a fine piece of hitting from Davis. Arguably the best we have seen from Davis in his career. He has a hit in his last three games including scoring at least one run. Davis' average is up to .259, the highest its been since April 23rd. Davis seems to be really taking all the coaching to heart and putting it on the diamond.

Carlos Gomez - What a Thursday night for him. It has been awhile since we had a Carlos Gomez game where he finds a way to get himself involved in many ways of the game. He made a great catch that included a DX crotch chop at the end of it. Gomez hit a big three-run homer the half-inning after Wily Peralta gave up a grand slam. Gomez has a hit in his last four games and scored a run in the last three of them. The average might be down slightly but Gomez played a large part in Thursday's win.



Lowlights
Yovani Gallardo - Is it time to push the panic button on Yovani?  The last six starts his ERA has been 6.55 and in the last three of four games, Gallardo gave up at least two home runs. It is a complete mess for him right now. Gallardo went through these struggles last season around the same time of the season. He went on the Disabled List and figured some stuff out and finished strong. He is nibbling a bunch on the corners in an attempt to make the perfect pitch. Gallardo doesn't trust his pitches, and that's a problem.

Double plays - Hopefully, this is a trend that ends with Minnesota. Milwaukee had players on bases throughout the four game series yet they hit into seven double plays. Brewers could have definitely swept the Twins had it not been for the double play monster especially on Tuesday. That's a killer for this team as they are built on the home run so you hope every now and again, they can do it without one.

Will Smith - This was bound to happen at some point, right? Smith is finding a little bit of regression which is perfectly okay because let's be real, no one is expecting Smith to be a sub one ERA reliever for the entire season. Smith will also be fine. There is no reason to panic. He needs to rework his command a little bit, and it will be fine for him.

Stranded Runners - This has been a small theme to the season. Brewers end up having a player on third base with one or two out, and they fail to drive them in. This goes along with the double play business, but also this team needs to be more opportunistic because when they are hitting, this offense can put up five to six runs nightly.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Orioles-Brewers (5/26-5/28)

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
Khris Davis - What a week for this guy whose red hot in his last 10 games. Davis has moved his average from .215 to .251 in 10 days with hitting three straight home runs. Davis went 7 for 11 drawing three walks as well and scoring five runs as well. It shows you why teams do not give up on players and keep giving them chances. For the year, Davis' strikeout total is 49, but in his eight-game hitting streak, he only stuck out four times. Who knows if this is just a hot streak, but it is clear he figured something out at the plate in the last couple of games.

Carlos Gomez - Mr. Feel Sexy is doing the damn thing at the cleanup spot. It is like Gomez never wanted to leave the four spot. Gomez is hitting .476 from the cleanup spot with a nine-game hitting streak featuring a majority games with him at the cleanup position. Even the inning he got hit by the pitch by Bud Norris on Wednesday, he stole a base, took third on a sac fly and scored on another sac fly. He manufactures runs for this team, and him leading off any inning has a chance for the Brewers to score a run. I think he is right up there for the first two-month MVP and definitely in consideration for Player of the Month. Oh he also got hooked up with some kiwis.

Thx to everyone over at @ZESPRIkiwifruit for the Kiwi, remember ppl Kiwi is good 4 your health!! pic.twitter.com/Q91cuiccS6
— Carlos Gomez (@C_Gomez27) May 28, 2014

Yovani Gallardo - Pretty good series for Yo as he drove in the game-winning run on Tuesday night in one of the more inexplicable Brewer win this season, and then went out to pitch pretty strongly minus Nelson Cruz only allowing four hits, striking out five batters getting his first win since April. Gallardo looked better as the game went on Wednesday night. It showed he had a little bit of rust at the beginning of the game and bounced back nicely through the near seven innings.

Nelson Cruz - One of my five things to watch featured 'Avoid Nelson Cruz' and the Brewers clearly did not. He hit three home runs this series with two home runs on Wednesday and one Tuesday. He now has 19 homers for the season. The guy seems in a complete zone. Gallardo couldn't pitch him outside or inside as Cruz hit both of them far out. Good move by the Orioles to take a flier on him with a one-year eight million dollar deal. Me thinks he will get a lot more money this offseason.

Will Smith - It seemed like Ron Roenicke gave Smith a break during the road trip. He only pitched twice against Atlanta and once against Miami. But the Brewers needed him on both Tuesday and Wednesday night. He had two strong outings striking out all four batters he faced on Wednesday night, and stopping the bleeding on Tuesday night with the disastrous seventh. Usually, the All-Star Game doesn't send relief pitchers but I feel like Smith is deserving of an All-Star bid at this point of the season.

Lowlights
Khris Davis' Death Threat - It was reported on Tuesday, Davis received a death threat around the Cubs series via social media. Just complete stupid. Sometimes I wonder why athletes use Twitter because there is so much bullshit out there. Glad to see Davis didn't let it affect his play.

Matt Garza's Seventh - It appears this is becoming a theme when Garza pitches in a series. He has one blowup inning. I do think this one could have been prevented. Garza could have been pulled after the Jean Segura error knowing he has a tendency to lose his mental stability, but instead, Milwaukee kept him in leading to a three-run homer by Steve Pearce. Garza pitched well for six innings. He struck out nine batters and looked in control for the most part. Roenicke needs to do a better job of pulling Garza a little quicker before it mushroom clouds on him.

Seventh Inning in General - What the hell is going on with this inning? It is becoming downright scary when opposing teams step up to the plate in the seventh. In the last six games, Milwaukee pitchers have allowed 12 runs in the seventh inning. That's an obvious problem. I don't know if it is a bullpen issue or a Roenicke issue of keeping pitchers in for too long. This will start to become a storyline for a bit until something changes with this hexed inning.

Playing the Orioles - Jesus, I feel for opposing AL East teams. It sucked to play against the O's. No disrespect either, they are a pretty good team, but they just don't quit. Their pitching isn't top notch, but that offense can keep them in any game. It is nice to know the only time the Brewers can play the Orioles again this year is the World Series. Just glad I don't have to watch the Brewers play this team consistently because this series was exhausting.  

Francisco Rodriguez's Monday - I kind of hinting at this on Friday with our Brewers-Marlins preview about my concern with the lack of games Frankie had played in during this last 15 game span. He only has five appearances, and I think that had something to do with his unraveling on Monday. I did think he pitched well on Tuesday night, but the fact Rodriguez needed only one out is maddening.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Cubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Charlie.

Tapping The Keg Episode 88

Charles and Mitchell return for the latest and greatest (Not really) edition of Tapping The Keg podcast. We lead off the podcast with talking about smartphone etiquette around friends and others, this leads to another conversation regarding Tinder which is always good.  We move to talk about the Milwaukee Brewers more so about Rickie Weeks role with the team right now. Why we both agree left field would have been a bad idea. Matt Garza is also discussed. Topic moves to recapping Green Bay Packers draft selections which we both like a lot. NBA Playoffs discussion about the drama at the end of Los Angeles-Oklahoma City game and why we think two series are ending tonight. We finish with NBA head coaches with some hockey talk because why the hell not.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Yankees-Brewers (5/9-5/11)

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
Rickie Weeks - On Saturday night, Rickie Weeks got his chance to start after having five straight pinch hits.
He made the most of two starts this weekend as Weeks went five for nine driving in three runs. Weeks looked absolutely great out there.  The thing about Weeks and this has been true throughout his career, 'When Rickie is right, he is really right.' If I am Milwaukee, I would ride the hell out of his hot streak and see what happens from there. I will have more today about Weeks turning down the chance to play left field.

Mark Reynolds - Nobody really talked about this subplot this weekend, but Reynolds played with a chip on his shoulder this weekend. He played for 36 games for the Yankees last season and struggled mightily for them. Reynolds showed off some great leather at both first and third, sent a homer flying on Friday night and oh by the way, he had a walk off to send Milwaukee home on a late Sunday afternoon. Reynolds' offense has been so valued from this team with all the injuries they have dealt with for the first 40 days of the season.

Jonathan Lucroy - Big weekend for the Brewers catcher as he drove in a run in every game this weekend including his second home run of the year on Saturday. He came up with a big hit on Sunday afternoon with the team in need of a hit as runners were on first and second and the Brewers were stranding base runners left and right. Lucroy is another guy that if he gets warm, look out. We haven't seen red hot Lucroy where he is hitting the ball out of the park consistently and having extra bases all over the place. If he gets warm, it could be added value.

Masahiro Tanaka - I am very happy he will be playing in the American League East this season, and the only other time Milwaukee could see Tanaka would be the World Series. He is the real deal and going to make a push at Cy Young. Tanaka's control is incredible and seems like he could be an ace for this Yankees team in the not-so-distant future.

Will Smith - Currently, the Brewers seem to have revolving door at who is the true set-up man of this team. Right now, the spotlight is on Smith. He pitched in the two wins when Milwaukee was ahead in the eighth inning. Both games Smith utilized his nasty slider to strikeout three batters in two innings. Smith's ERA is currently at 0.45 which is phenomenal for the Brewers left-hander. Smith should never be a left-handed specialist for this team.

Lowlights
Khris Davis - What the hell is going on where with Khris at home? My dad would make the assumption Khris is probably partying too much at home leading him to only hit .100 at the friendly confines of Miller Park. I myself cannot explain it. We have seen it in the past where the Brewers use a home and away platoon. When the Brewers get back to full strength meaning Ryan Braun is healthy and Carlos Gomez isn't suspended, Logan Schafer deserves to get some looks in left field.

Aramis Ramirez's hamstring - Old age is a bitch. Ramirez made what looked like a routine play and heard a pop in his hammy meaning he will likely be headed to the Disabled List. Ramirez had two hits on Saturday with a home run before hurting himself. We will see what happens with his season from here. Hopefully, this is a 15 day thing, but it could be longer, you never really know with hamstrings.

Yovani Gallardo's Fourth Inning - Almost all of the action in Yovani's stat line happened in one inning. He allowed all four runs in the fourth including a three-run homer by Yangrevis Solarte. He gave up four of the five hits given up also in the fourth. Gallardo didn't pitch that well, but curious to see what happens if he doesn't give up the homer.

Matt Garza's First Inning - Another start where Garza looks like complete shit in the first inning and then settles down. This leads me to believe Garza is trying too hard in the beginning of the game. Remember the comments were Garza believes 'he is letting the team down right now.' He could be overthrowing early on then realizes he needs to relax. Hopefully, Garza will find a way to figure out his first inning issues soon because it is a slight concern. Starting 3-0 in the first doesn't really work this well.

Francisco Rodriguez's streak ending - Just bummed to see it leave. Hopefully, Frankie bounces back alright when he faces Pittsburgh or the next team he will face.

Charlie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Appropriate YouTube Videos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Appropriate YouTube Video




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

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

Highlights-Lowlights- Brewers-Cardinals

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
A SERIES WIN AGAINST ST. LOUIS!!! - Cannot stress enough how big this was for the Brewers to take a road series from St. Louis. If the Cardinals were to sweep the Crew or win one game from them, the narrative in the coming months was 'Well Brewers are a good team, but they cannot beat St. Louis.' Now, they are sort of reborn. Brewers have been better at Busch Stadium than you think being the best NL Central team there. This will be a fun rivalry for the rest of the season, and it is more even than we thought before this week started.

Tyler Thornburg - Once again, Thorny played a big role in Milwaukee winning two of the three games this week. He pitched a third of an inning on Monday night where he walked one batter and struck out another then came up massive on Tuesday night.  Thornburg pitched a perfect ninth and 10th inning with four strikeouts bridging the gap and earning the victory as the Brewers scored a run in the eleventh. What more can be said about Thornburg? He looks like an All-Star set-up man right now, and a part of me believes he could be a old school closer in the future.

Khris Davis (Only in Extra Innings) - Let's be honest here, Davis did not have the greatest series. He struck out four times on Monday night only to get the go-ahead triple in the 12th inning. Davis scuffled his feet again on Tuesday night, but then in extras, he doubled to lead off the 11th which he scored on the Lyle Overbay single. This is the third time in April where Davis had a big hit in extras. It almost seems like he focuses more in the extra innings because he knows the importance of his at-bat. If somehow the Brewers staff can figure a way to have Davis play like that all the time, they will be great.

Zach Duke - Where the hell did this come from? We see this in the big leagues from time to time where a journeyman comes out of nowhere and becomes a dominant reliever. People thought Duke would be the second coming Michael Gonzalez, but he has been nothing but. Duke saved Milwaukee on Monday night with two strong innings bridging the gap paving the way for his second victory of the season. He added a couple more strikeouts in their defeat on Wednesday afternoon. Who knows when this dream ends, but I enjoyed it right now.

Carlos Gomez - When all of the other heavy artillery weapons were down, Gomez still had a big series with two more home runs pushing his average up to .293. The homer on Tuesday put the Brewers ahead in the seventh inning coming up big for the team. That's the scary thing about Gomez. He seems to live for the moment, and when he gets an opportunity to be the star of the team, he lives for it.

Yovani handled Busch - He may not have got the decision, but Yovani handled Busch Stadium pretty well for the first time since the crazy rain delay game in 2012. He did give up a couple home runs, and it's okay to be worried about his lack of strikeouts yet at the same time, he weathered the storm. The last couple years would have seen Yovani blow up at something like that instead he persevered.

Lowlights
Wei-Chung Wang - He was sent in as the sacrifical lamb on Wednesday as the Brewers took Garza out of the game as a precaution. Wang struggled allowing four runs with his ERA at 15.00 which is shockingly down from 18.00, the last time he appeared against Pittsburgh.  But he gave up four runs on six hits which isn't good. We will have a discussion later today about the decision for Milwaukee to keep Wang.

Matt Garza's thumb - He sounded frustrated after he left the game with a bruised right thumb in four innings of work. Garza said it will be a one time thing, and he will be pitching Monday. I am not ready to push the panic button on Garza yet, but we are getting a little closer. He is the only key cogs to get off to a slow start. I think it is nothing to worry about, but we can have another discussion in May if it continues with Garza.

Elian Herrera's throw from right - This was one of the biggest DERP plays of the season for the Brewers. This would be common practice for 2013.



Aramis Ramirez's elbow - He is apparently in the lineup tonight which is good, but hopefully, Ramirez isn't affected by it too much. I couldn't understand FSN Wisconsin's Bill Schroder saying 'Hey, whatever it takes to score the run' when Ramirez is in obvious pain.

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.