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.

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-Cubs Preview (5/16-5/18)

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

Pitching Matchups
Friday:     Kyle Lohse (4-1 2.75) vs. Jeff Samardzija (0-3 1.45)             1:20 pm FSNWI
Saturday: Matt Garza (2-3 4.98) vs. Edwin Jackson (2-3 4.56)              1:20 pm FSNWI
Sunday:   Marco Estrada (3-1 3.28) vs. Travis Wood (3-4 4.91)           1:20 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Rickie Weeks weekend - If Rickie Weeks spends any time on the bench, it is clearly out of spite from his manager. We already talked a bit in Highlights/Lowlights this morning regarding the Weeks redemption tour. It needs to continue in Chicago. I realize Scooter Gennett is the future second baseman of this team, but right now, Rickie needs to stay in the lineup before the bottom falls out. Honestly with Carlos Gomez out and the way Weeks excelled in the one hole yesterday, he should just stay there until Gomez comes back hopefully on Sunday. Weeks numbers at Wrigley Field are nothing to write home about, but right now, I don't think any of that matters to him.

2.) Scooter to play third or left field? - Let me keep beating this drum. Scooter Gennett told Joe Block he would be open to playing/learning outfield, but no one has asked him yet. I still cannot believe they haven't talked about putting him at third base although Mark Reynolds' defense looks like Brooks Robinson of late yet we cannot expect that to continue all season. He has a .287 average and to keep him out of the lineup with a struggling offense really hurts the team as a whole. The only real way seems to be for Reynolds to play first base and Scooter third base. It will be interesting to see how this storyline progresses in the next couple of weeks.

3.) Carlos Gomez's health - Hopefully, the Sports Illustrated cover jinx is not a real thing in Milwaukee. Even though he is suspended, it really has to do with his back injury right now. It is a weird situation because the Brewers do not have a day off until May 29th meaning the Brewers probably need to be careful with this one especially with the way Gomez plays the game. I will say the offense looks more quiet without Gomez versus where they were without Ryan Braun. And yes, it doesn't help Aramis Ramirez is out of the lineup as well. Speaking of his cover story, this is an AWESOME comment from Gomez.

#RichPeopleConversations RT @nelses1: Carlos Gomez y'all pic.twitter.com/4FPqQLrn2p”
— Jaymes Langrehr (@JaymesL) May 16, 2014

4.) Struggling Cubs but offense is still potent - Chicago is a weird team. They are 13 games under .500, they have lost nine out of their last eleven games, but in the two wins, Chicago scored 12 and 17 runs. They have also been in extras three times during this struggle session for the Cubs. Additionally, eight of the games have been outside The Friendly Confines. I guess what I am trying to say is... Yes I know the Cubs are 13 games under .500 but they have the ability to score runs, keep games close and find ways to win if their bullpen isn't involved so don't be cocky Brewers.

5.) Chicago's weather issues - It is the middle May, we are a week away from Memorial Day weekend so we should be ready to bust out the tanktops, right? Welp the weekend in Chicago looks like complete shit this weekend minus Sunday. 50 percent chance of rain on Friday, 30 percent chance of rain on Saturday. The nice thing is we have two games during the day meaning we could wait out the rain for awhile plus some of us will be working during the first two games as well.

Appropriate YouTube Video


Rickie Weeks' walkup song right now and one of my favorites in the last six months.  It also is getting played in every NBA arena everywhere. 

Prediction 
Brewers need to get off to a good start to a long 10 game road trip. Winners of their last four of five, I am going with they take Saturday and Sunday. The Shark dominates the Crew this afternoon.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Pirates-Brewers (5/11-5/13)

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 - When Marco gave up a first inning home run to Known Brewer Killer Neil Walker, I thought here we go again with Estrada in the month of May. But he proved me wrong taking control of the baseball game from there with six strong innings giving up only five more hits and no more runs after the Walker solo shot. Estrada giving up nine home runs is concerning but expected. He is a fly ball pitcher and he works a ton of change-ups. If one of those hang, it will head out of the ballpark. Estrada's ERA is down to 3.28 after Tuesday's performance, and that's pretty damn good for a back-end starter.

Rickie Weeks - Did you know Weeks is hitting .625 for the month of May? Do you know people still hate Weeks like the plague? Do you know he is the better option at second base right now? Weeks is playing his ass off. He had two opposite field hits on Thursday afternoon with a double and a home run. Weeks had a big RBI pinch hit on Tuesday night. He is on complete fire folks. Either get with it, or get behind. Also, let's stop with the trade nonsense right now. I will write about this next week whether Weeks is still hot or not but it's the wrong move by the Brewers.

Wily Peralta - We need a losing effort horn like The Solid Verbal Podcast because Peralta dazzled again knocking his earned run average to 2.05. Peralta pitched great going seven innings only allowing one run and gave up five hits with striking out four batters. For the season, Peralta only walked 10 batters in eight starts this season, and in the last two, he walked just one batter. The biggest criticism about the young right hander was his control. It seems to be fixed, at least for now, and if that's the case, the Brewers could be looking at a frontline pitcher.

Khris Davis Walk-Off - I wish I could explain Khris's thrill for the dramatics, but it seems like he has it. Three big extra inning hits on the road that all helped the Brewers win baseball games, and then a walk-off hit at home. With this team likely to be contending for a National League Central crown, Davis' ability to be clutch in the moment is a big, big thing. Hopefully, he puts it together in other innings than the ninth or extras though.

Mark Reynolds defense - When Milwaukee signed Mark Reynolds, most people including myself, saw it as a way for the Brewers to add some power, but no one expected him to be this good on defense. He made two run-saving plays on Thursday afternoon including the start of a great double play after Tyler Thornburg walked the first two batters in the eighth. With how bad the Brewers were at defense last season, this is a much-needed boost to their piss poor defense of last season. It's appreciated.

Lowlights
Ron Roenicke has a decision looming and it's terrifying - I have no idea how the whole Scooter and Rickie thing is going to play out. We never had this problem last season because Weeks never really got hot all year minus the one little spurt when Gennett got called up. Roenicke has to know he cannot move Weeks from the lineup, but at the same turn, Gennett is playing too good to keep him on the bench. I hope he just rides the hot hand for awhile and see what happens. Heaven help me if he continues to straight platoon.

Francisco Rodriguez - You know this is a lowlight because it is the reason why the Brewers lost on Wednesday night as Frankie gave up four straight hits leading to three Pirates runs. But it is a good thing. Rodriguez isn't going to be perfect all year. I would much rather have him 'blow up' in a tied game versus him blowing a three-run save or something dumb like that. He did fine on Thursday afternoon and hopefully, it will continue this weekend.

Andrew McCutchen - I don't really call the best players on teams, Known Brewer Killers, unless it is Troy Tulowitzki whose the president of the club. But McCutchen usually does some serious damage against the Brewers. But he went 1 for 12 with only one run scored. It is apparent McCutchen is bothered a bit from his foot injury he sustained on Saturday. I don't think for one season the Brewers figured out McCutchen or something dumb like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the Disabled List or takes some time off this weekend.

Spotty Brewers offense - Even though they won two of three against the Pirates, it doesn't mean their offense didn't look like complete shit at times. They only scored one run on Wednesday night and nine out of eleven batters before Weeks's single in the eighth inning struck out. Carlos Gomez not being in the offense might be hurting this team more than the Braun injury. The jury is still out on that one, and who knows how long they will be without Gomez yet let me tell you, it isn't that fun.

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.

Random Thoughts From a Tuesday Miller Park Adventure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

Charlie.  

Pirates-Brewers Preview (5/13-5/15)

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

Pitching Matchups
Tuesday:      Gerrit Cole (3-2 3.64) vs. Marco Estrada (2-1 3.53)                7:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Francisco Lirano (0-3 4.64) vs. Wily Peralta (4-2 2.17)           7:10 pm FSNWI
Thursday:     Wandy Rodriguez (0-4 7.65) vs. Yovani Gallardo (2-2 2.92)  12:10 pm 620 WTMJ

Five Things To Watch
1.) Bad blood anyone? - The last time these two teams met, the same two pitchers were pitching and Gerrit Cole chirped at Carlos Gomez after Gomez had bat flipped a triple leading to a big fight. Everyone is saying there will be no antics in this game, but I am thinking this first game will be chippy. Both teams want to set the tone of the series. I don't think Cole will try to hit Brewers players nor will Milwaukee do the same, but there will be many chippy things happening throughout the game. It should be a ton of fun. If nothing happens at all, I will be very bummed out. With how banged up Milwaukee is, a fight wouldn't be a good idea even though I love a good fight.

2.) Let's play everyone's favorite game... Guess the lineup!!!!! Let's say Carlos Gomez is suspended for the first two games of the series, Aramis Ramirez is headed to the Disabled List and Ryan Braun is coming off of it. I could see a lineup featuring Rickie Weeks, Jean Segura, Scooter Gennett or Logan Schafer hitting leadoff. I could see them moving Jonathan Lucroy to the clean up position. Hopefully, Ron Roenicke gets creative with his lineup versus going with something lazy by having both Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay in the same lineup. Here is the nine I want for the first two games but it's probably unrealistic.... 2B Rickie Weeks, 3B Scooter Gennett, RF Ryan Braun, C Jonathan Lucroy, 1B Mark Reynolds, SS Jean Segura, CF Logan Schafer, LF Khris Davis

3.) Marco needs to rebound from tough May start - After starting off the season strong, Marco Estrada has not been the same in May. In the first four starts of the season for Estrada, he had six walks combined with three of them coming in a single game against Boston. In the last two, Estrada has walked six. Additionally, home runs have been an issue with both Cincinnati and Arizona hitting two out on the Brewers righty. Estrada is still making it to the sixth inning which is good as he has went six or farther in all but one of his games, yet still, there needs to be a little more improvement from Estrada whether it is limiting his home runs or walks.

4.) More likely to break out... Wandy or Francisco? - Two of the three Pirates pitchers are struggling to star the season. Wandy Rodriguez is coming off the Disabled List to face Milwaukee, the last team he faced in April. He could return to his old school Brewer Killer form causing some chaos for a team that struggles during afternoon games at Miller Park. Liriano is another story. Six of his eight starts have seen the supposed Pittsburgh ace giving up at least three or four runs. One of the technically 'good' starts, Liriano only pitched two innings and the other one happened on Opening Day against Chicago.  

5.) Pittsburgh's not so hot road record - Pirates have played 23 of their first 37 games at home to start the year meaning there is not much to their away statistics yet. But right now, they have lost 10 of their first 14 games away from PNC Park including a sweep at Milwaukee in mid-April. It will be interesting to see if the road demons ride again, or if Pittsburgh reverses their luck.

Appropriate YouTube Video


You had to know it's coming....

Prediction
I am feeling two of three from Pittsburgh. If Milwaukee can do that, they would be 5-4 on this homestand which would be adequate. Although I will say it appears like Milwaukee is building a little May momentum after two late-inning wins.

Charlie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: 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.

Highlights-Lowlights: D'Backs-Brewers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Charlie.