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

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

Pitching Matchups 

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

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

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

Five Things To Watch 

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

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

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

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

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

Appropriate YouTube Video


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

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

Charlie. 

Running Diary of Cardinals Fans Mad at Jonathan Lucroy

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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



  And this....



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Charlie.

SnoTap Thing of the Day: Lock In Luc

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

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

Charlie. 

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.

Brewers-Cardinals Preview (4/28-4/30)

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 & TV Time
Monday:      Yovani Gallaro (2-0 1.42) vs. Michael Wacha (2-2 2.10)  7:15 pm FSNWI
Tuesday:      Kyle Lohse (4-1 2.38) vs. Lance Lynn (4-1 3.30)             7:15 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Matt Garza (1-2 4.09 vs. Shelby Miller (2-2 2.86)          12:45 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1. No Braun? No Segura, how ugly could it get? - There will probably be no Ryan Braun for three-game series, Jean Segura is missing tonight at least so it could get pretty nasty for the Crew. They struggled mightily without Segura and Braun yesterday with Jason Hammel, and it could get even worse with the three strong young starters from St. Louis. Although you never know with baseball meaning this could be a big week for Jonathan Lucroy if you do play fantasy baseball getting more chances or even grabbing Jeff Bianchi if you are desperate as he will see more plate appearances.

2. Shhh but St. Louis has zero offense right now - Besides the 7-0 blowout of Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon and an 8-0 drubbing of Washington last week, the Cardinals have 15 runs in nine games.  That's not great. Their offense is scuffling to say the least, and even despite their success against Milwaukee throughout the years, it is not like their offense is humming right now. It is weird too because four of the big hitters on St. Louis' team are hitting the ball reasonably well, but none of their secondary players are contributing right now.

3. Yovani's stale Busch success - In the last three years, Yovani has been abysmal against St. Louis and even more terrible when pitching at Busch Stadium. He allowed 42 runs in 53 games yielding an ERA of a little over seven. He has given up 15 home runs against St. Louis which is the most against any team in that same three-year span. Yovani battled a demon already in Boston, and he will attempt to do it again at Busch tonight with this one being a bigger demon. The first time through the order will be the big thing. If Yovani goes scoreless through the first two or three innings, he could be on his way to exorcising this one. If he did, that would be HUGE moving forward with this team.

4. Expecting the blown save - This sounds horrible, but I am waiting for Francisco Rodriguez to blow a save. I am not ready to live in a world where he blows only one or two saves. I mean it could happen as J.P. said in Angles In the Outfield, but at some time, it would have to come to the end. This would be a brutal series to blow a save because honestly, the expectation is maybe one win for the Brewers so if Frankie blows one or two this week, it would be a huge disappointment.

5. Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller, the Sequel - OH NOT THESE GUYS AGAIN. Both Lynn and Miller were awesome against the Brewers at Miller Park, and now they return to face the same order sans Braun and Segura at Busch Stadium. In two starts after his Brewers start, Lynn has only allowed three runs in 12 innings. As for Miller, he hasn't allowed a run since giving up a home run to Aramis Ramirez so this will probably end well for the Brewers.

Appropriate YouTube Video


Let's go with Dumb and Dumber. I feel terrible about this series, worse than I did against Boston so this works. Let's try to win one here, boys.

Prediction 
I am expecting a sweep. I told a guy at the bar on Saturday night if the Brewers lose all three of them adding the loss on Sunday, they are still eight games above .500 and still have a 1.5 game lead on St. Louis. Also this great note from J.P. Breen

In 2011, the #Brewers did not finish above .500 against the #Cardinals, yet the team won 96 games and won the NL Central crown.
— J.P. Breen (@JP_Breen) April 28, 2014

Charlie.