The Brewers lost to the Cubs this afternoon, but I'm not yet ready to get into that one. I hate the Cubs and the city of Chicago so much that I'll need a couple of days to burn off the steam caused by this Brewers loss. But I do want to rant a little bit about the first week of the season and a couple of the first impressions I got from watching the Brewers at Miller Park. Let it be known that these are based on small sample sizes and therefor may not be true in another week or month's time. But as of today, Monday April 12, this is how I feel.
I'll start out with a few positives.
- Casey McGehee. I wondered myself in his "25 in 25" article if he would be as good as he was last year or if he would suffer a sophomore slump. Manager Ken Macha started out the season with McGehee batting in the 6th spot but has since moved him back to the #5 spot where he belongs. He has responded with batting .348 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs, including a huge walk-off homerun on Sunday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. I know it's only 6 games, but he's looking really good. His Spring Training numbers were bad (.197 avg, 1 HR, 7 RBIs in 24 games) but from what I saw and heard, he was hitting the ball really well just always right at someone. It sounded like he hit into some bad luck outs and couldn't catch a break. So now he's finding some holes in the defense and picking up where he left off last year. And looking good while doing it.
- Rickie Weeks. Picking up right where he left off last year before the wrist injury, Weeks has once again gotten off to a hot start, batting .368 with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs and 6 runs scored. As the fire starter in what has been a explosive top half of the Brewers lineup, Weeks is setting the table for the big boys behind him. And since he is showing off his power, there are no doubts in my mind about that surgically repaired wrist. I hope to the baseball gods that he keeps this up because I have been waiting for years to buy a Rickie Weeks All-Star Jersey.
A few neutrals in here.
- Corey Hart. I bet you've been waiting for me to talk some more shit about him, but I don't have anything to say at this point. That's because Hart hasn't had the opportunity to start on a regular basis and therefor doesn't have the consistent at bats to show me which Corey Hart we will be getting. Will it be 2008 All-Star Corey Hart? Or 2009 "What a Loser!" Corey Hart? He does have a homerun and a couple of RBIs, but Jim Edmonds has started in just as many games in right field (3) as Corey Hart has, so Hart hasn't been given the chance to prove anything as of yet. And believe it or not, I want Hart in the lineup every day so that I can know if I'm right about my prognosis on his 2010 season.
- 3-3 is not too damn bad. Considering that we were playing the Colorado Rockies (92-70 last year) and the St. Louis Cardinals (91-71 last year). Both teams went to the playoffs last year, and if not for 1 pitch, we would have started out the season 4-2 instead of 3-3. Both teams look to be just as good or better, so these 2 series kind of showed me how the Brewers potentially match up against them in 2010. We can hang with the big boys. but we got a lot of work to do if we want to be able to be better.
And now for some negatives.
- Gregg Zaun. I try to remind myself that it's only 6 games into the season, but Zaun has yet to get a hit and has bounced into several rally killing double plays. I thought that we got rid of Jason Kendall and Johnny Estrada. I let it known before that I wasn't a big fan of the Zaun signing and made fun of his age. And I'm nowhere near accepting of his play calling so far. George Kottaras hasn't really been any better, and his defensive shortcomings have already been exposed. I was also not a fan of him being on the 25 man roster, as I made it well known that I would rather have prospect Jonathon Lucroy as the backup catcher. This is one sore spot in the lineup that needs to improve. Big time.
- Manager Ken Macha. So far I have no problem with his in-game decisions. His lineup card really grinds my gears though. First off, Casey McGehee (as mentioned) should have been batting 5th since Opening Day. That has been fixed. Secondly, Corey Hart should play everyday. That looks like it is being fixed. But Macha is still in the red because he is batting rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar in the #8 spot, where he has a slim to no chance of succeeding. He is getting nothing to hit because he's in front of the pitcher, and Macha refuses to "throw him to the wolves" by allowing him to bat in the top half of the order. So not only are his offensive talents completely wasted, he's not even given a chance to develop them.
- Milwaukee Brewers fans. For the most part they suck. Hoffman gave up a two run homer to Stavinoha on Friday night's game, and although it was heartbreaking, Hoffman did not deserve to get booed as he walked off the field. Show some class Milwaukee. Hoffman is a Hall of Famer and the All-Time saves leader, and even the best players are going to hit some rough patched every now and then. Yeah it sucked that he did it so early in the season (and once again on Sunday night) but don't boo the man. We don't do that here. If we do, then we're no better than the Cubs fans that we loathe. Brewers fans (with the exception of a small minority) are not baseball fans, they are at Miller Park because the Brewers are winning and tailgaiting is a fun thing to do. Most everyone is wasted and doesn't know shit about the game. I'm sure that I'll catch a lot of crap for saying this, but I personally know that no one was there with me back in 2003 when the Brewers were losing 106 games. We got a lot of bandwagon jumpers here, and as much as I like to criticize I also realize that the Brewers payroll is above $80 million because over 3 million people come through the gates each year. But is it too much to ask the fans to have 1 less beer and learn 1 more thing about the game of baseball?
- Jeff Suppan. He hasn't even started a game yet but he's already affecting the team. When he is activated off of the DL on Thursday to start against the Cubs, someone else has to go. And chances are the person who gets sent to the minors or released altogether will not deserve it, but Suppan gets to start because he's making all that money. While there is no good solution to this problem, it just goes to show how difficult it is to manager this roster with Suppan being on it, whether or not he is active. In a few days (probably Wednesday night) I will be writing my long awaited "25 in 25" article on Jeff Suppan, just in time for his 1st start of the year.
Those are just a few of the many early observations I have made. I can go on and on (Fielder has yet to hit a homerun, Trevor Hoffman blew 2 saves, Doug Davis is way worse than he was the last time he was with the Brewers, Yovani Gallardo has been anything but ace-like, Carlos Gomez is fast, the Bratwurst has yet to win in the Sausage Race, and so on.) but I'll save some of those for another day. I know that I already write too much and none of you have the attention span to make it to the end of the article. If you feel like I do, then join me in taking a deep breath, counting backwards from three and reminding yourself that it is only 6 (now 7) games into the season. There are still 155 games to go. That's a whole lot. So relax. I will if you will.
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
I'll start out with a few positives.
- Casey McGehee. I wondered myself in his "25 in 25" article if he would be as good as he was last year or if he would suffer a sophomore slump. Manager Ken Macha started out the season with McGehee batting in the 6th spot but has since moved him back to the #5 spot where he belongs. He has responded with batting .348 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs, including a huge walk-off homerun on Sunday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. I know it's only 6 games, but he's looking really good. His Spring Training numbers were bad (.197 avg, 1 HR, 7 RBIs in 24 games) but from what I saw and heard, he was hitting the ball really well just always right at someone. It sounded like he hit into some bad luck outs and couldn't catch a break. So now he's finding some holes in the defense and picking up where he left off last year. And looking good while doing it.
- Rickie Weeks. Picking up right where he left off last year before the wrist injury, Weeks has once again gotten off to a hot start, batting .368 with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs and 6 runs scored. As the fire starter in what has been a explosive top half of the Brewers lineup, Weeks is setting the table for the big boys behind him. And since he is showing off his power, there are no doubts in my mind about that surgically repaired wrist. I hope to the baseball gods that he keeps this up because I have been waiting for years to buy a Rickie Weeks All-Star Jersey.
A few neutrals in here.
- Corey Hart. I bet you've been waiting for me to talk some more shit about him, but I don't have anything to say at this point. That's because Hart hasn't had the opportunity to start on a regular basis and therefor doesn't have the consistent at bats to show me which Corey Hart we will be getting. Will it be 2008 All-Star Corey Hart? Or 2009 "What a Loser!" Corey Hart? He does have a homerun and a couple of RBIs, but Jim Edmonds has started in just as many games in right field (3) as Corey Hart has, so Hart hasn't been given the chance to prove anything as of yet. And believe it or not, I want Hart in the lineup every day so that I can know if I'm right about my prognosis on his 2010 season.
- 3-3 is not too damn bad. Considering that we were playing the Colorado Rockies (92-70 last year) and the St. Louis Cardinals (91-71 last year). Both teams went to the playoffs last year, and if not for 1 pitch, we would have started out the season 4-2 instead of 3-3. Both teams look to be just as good or better, so these 2 series kind of showed me how the Brewers potentially match up against them in 2010. We can hang with the big boys. but we got a lot of work to do if we want to be able to be better.
And now for some negatives.
- Gregg Zaun. I try to remind myself that it's only 6 games into the season, but Zaun has yet to get a hit and has bounced into several rally killing double plays. I thought that we got rid of Jason Kendall and Johnny Estrada. I let it known before that I wasn't a big fan of the Zaun signing and made fun of his age. And I'm nowhere near accepting of his play calling so far. George Kottaras hasn't really been any better, and his defensive shortcomings have already been exposed. I was also not a fan of him being on the 25 man roster, as I made it well known that I would rather have prospect Jonathon Lucroy as the backup catcher. This is one sore spot in the lineup that needs to improve. Big time.
- Manager Ken Macha. So far I have no problem with his in-game decisions. His lineup card really grinds my gears though. First off, Casey McGehee (as mentioned) should have been batting 5th since Opening Day. That has been fixed. Secondly, Corey Hart should play everyday. That looks like it is being fixed. But Macha is still in the red because he is batting rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar in the #8 spot, where he has a slim to no chance of succeeding. He is getting nothing to hit because he's in front of the pitcher, and Macha refuses to "throw him to the wolves" by allowing him to bat in the top half of the order. So not only are his offensive talents completely wasted, he's not even given a chance to develop them.
- Milwaukee Brewers fans. For the most part they suck. Hoffman gave up a two run homer to Stavinoha on Friday night's game, and although it was heartbreaking, Hoffman did not deserve to get booed as he walked off the field. Show some class Milwaukee. Hoffman is a Hall of Famer and the All-Time saves leader, and even the best players are going to hit some rough patched every now and then. Yeah it sucked that he did it so early in the season (and once again on Sunday night) but don't boo the man. We don't do that here. If we do, then we're no better than the Cubs fans that we loathe. Brewers fans (with the exception of a small minority) are not baseball fans, they are at Miller Park because the Brewers are winning and tailgaiting is a fun thing to do. Most everyone is wasted and doesn't know shit about the game. I'm sure that I'll catch a lot of crap for saying this, but I personally know that no one was there with me back in 2003 when the Brewers were losing 106 games. We got a lot of bandwagon jumpers here, and as much as I like to criticize I also realize that the Brewers payroll is above $80 million because over 3 million people come through the gates each year. But is it too much to ask the fans to have 1 less beer and learn 1 more thing about the game of baseball?
- Jeff Suppan. He hasn't even started a game yet but he's already affecting the team. When he is activated off of the DL on Thursday to start against the Cubs, someone else has to go. And chances are the person who gets sent to the minors or released altogether will not deserve it, but Suppan gets to start because he's making all that money. While there is no good solution to this problem, it just goes to show how difficult it is to manager this roster with Suppan being on it, whether or not he is active. In a few days (probably Wednesday night) I will be writing my long awaited "25 in 25" article on Jeff Suppan, just in time for his 1st start of the year.
Those are just a few of the many early observations I have made. I can go on and on (Fielder has yet to hit a homerun, Trevor Hoffman blew 2 saves, Doug Davis is way worse than he was the last time he was with the Brewers, Yovani Gallardo has been anything but ace-like, Carlos Gomez is fast, the Bratwurst has yet to win in the Sausage Race, and so on.) but I'll save some of those for another day. I know that I already write too much and none of you have the attention span to make it to the end of the article. If you feel like I do, then join me in taking a deep breath, counting backwards from three and reminding yourself that it is only 6 (now 7) games into the season. There are still 155 games to go. That's a whole lot. So relax. I will if you will.
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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