May 16: Will Brewers Bully Cardinals?
The Cardinals had it handed to them by the Milwaukee Brewers last season, losing 10 of 15 games in the season. The Brewers won 10 of their final 13 against the Cardinals and pulled away in September to win the NL-wild card race.
In 2009, it was thought that the Brewers might take a step back, because free-agent starting pitcher CC Sabathia defected to the Yankees. Another ace, Ben Sheets, wasn’t re-signed and is sitting out this season as a free agent, rehabbing from arm surgery.
But as the Brewers enter Busch Stadium for a 3-game weekend series, they’re rolling. They’re the hottest team in baseball, having gone 17-5 since April 22.
And that Milwaukee rotation that was supposed to take a hit this season? Hasn’t happened. Let’s take a look at the factors that have carried the Brewers to a first-place tie with the Cardinals in the NL Central as the teams renew their rivalry:
* Starting pitching: Over the 17-5 stretch the Brewers starters have a 3.24 ERA. For the season, they’re tied for first in the majors with 21 quality starts. Yovani Gallardo, Dave Bush and Manny Parra have been terrific. Gallardo gets upstaged by others, but he’s emerging as one of the best young starters in baseball. Old pals Jeff Suppan and Braden Looper have struggled, but Suppan’s ERA since April 22 is a respectable 3.75.
* Trevor Hoffman: Believing that he was too old, and that his velocity was decreasing, the Cardinals and other teams took a pass on the future Hall of Fame closer after the San Diego Padres let him walk as a free agent. It’s a long season, and perhaps Hoffman will deteriorate later, but he’s off to a sensational start. Hoffman is a perfect 8 for 8 in save opps, and he’s allowed three hits, no walks and no earned runs in 9 IP, with a .103 batting average against him. His control has been outstanding. And his velocity is still decent enough to make his classic changeup effective. Overall, the Milwaukee bullpen is a plus. Mitch Stetter is doing a first-rate job as the LH specialist, and Seth McClung is a valuable go-to RH before Trevor time. During this 17-5 streak the Brewer bullpen has a 2.95 ERA with 7 wins, 11 saves, and a .194 BA against.
* Run Prevention: With sharp starters and a good bullpen, the Brewers have allowed 3.64 runs per game over the last 22, and that’s the lowest in the majors over that time.
* Booming Bats: No surprise here. In the 17-5 spree the Brewers are ranked 3rd in the majors in OPB, 3rd in slugging, 3rd in runs scored, and lead the NL with 31 homers. The Cardinals will try their best to cool off a lot of hot bats this weekend.
Here are the big guns with their stats over last 22 games:
Prince Fielder: 7 HR, 25 RBIs, .667 SLG
Rickie Weeks: 7 HR, 17 RBI, .581 SLG
Ryan Braun: 5 HR, 19 RBI, .606 SLG
J.J. Hardy: 3 HR, 13 RBI, .500 SLG
Bill Hall: 4 HR, .561 SLG
Mike Cameron: 3 HR, 13 RBI, 8 doubles, .521 SLG.
And the Brewers just called up their top prospect, slugger Mat Gamel, from Class AAA to get him ready to serve as a DH during interleague play.
* New Manager: Ken Macha is certainly an upgrade over the deposed Ned Yost.
The Cardinals are hurting right now, and are missing much of their firepower due to injury. The Brewers will be a big challenge this weekend.
Will the beatdown from 2008 continue?
Thanks for reading…
-Bernie
I have not paid much attention to the Brewers this season. Do they still untuck their jerseys after a victory?
Yes, the Brewers still untuck after a victory. I’m not sure why Cardinals fans get so worked up over it. It was brought to the team by Mike Cameron as a tribute to his father. So, Pujols does his little tribute after a hit or whatever, But that’s okay, I guess. The team (and it’s not everyone, some guys just don’t) does it as a small gesture for a hard-fought win? Why does this bother you? It seems like there are greater injustices in the baseball world. What pitcher is LaRussa going to have throw at Braun’s head?
Bernie…no snarky comments this time welcoming the fans of the Brewers to the big leagues? Quite a suprise! I guess you will wait until Monday to do that after that classy LaRussa tries to start a beanball war by hitting Braun…..again.
you don’t pay much attention to the cardinals or LaRussa because LaRussa hates when either a cardinals pitcher or an opposing pitcher comes close to hitting a batter in the head. But Braun deserves to be hit, he’s one of the most arrogant players in the league.
What a bunch of whining posts! The Brewers have NEVER hit Cardinals’ players? Imo, the Brewers need to learn some respect for the game and their opponents (maybe that’s why they get beaned). The untucking bothers me because it feels disrespectful, especially when you are at somebody else’s ballpark. It’s showing up the other team, rubbing salt in the wound, if you will. Not very sportsmanlike, imo. The fact that the Brewers can’t understand that says a lot about them. And this business about untucking your shirts after a hard day’s work because Cameron’s dad did it? The little point you all keep skipping over is that he did it WHEN HE GOT HOME. The Brewers can do whatever they want with their jerseys once they’re off the field and on their way to their locker room. But, I think it’s disrespectful to do it while they’re still on the field, especially when they’re not in their home ballpark. JMHO.
Wait a second…he “deserves” to be hit? Classy.
So, watching Pujols staring at his home runs isn’t disrespectful? Or arrogant? Whatever. If your team doesn’t want to see the shirts come out, then tell them to stop blowing leads in the 8th inning, as a start.
I just wanted to take the time to say THANK YOU to the Brewers Fans for the FINE comraderie over the last few years and for Fernando Vina,while we had him,great player…the season is early we have injuries,but best of luck to you this series,we have plenty of injuries so you can put your money where your mouth is.Second of all,I think that you are lucky that Selig doesn’t own your team anymore since he would probably try to move your team to the AL East now, since that is where C.C. went.Let’s see you win a division in the next decade before you talk smack….as it is I don’t think that the Card retreads that you picked up will be lucky to last the whole season,let alone your closer…..we have 4 1/2 months to go,Good Luck.
Don’t let Fielder hurt you. Walk him as much as you can. They has success with Atlanta by walking Chipper, but forgot to do it with Howard.
I’ll bank on the Brewers winning a division within the next decade. And until, as and after that happens, I will loudly support my team. Your Bud Selig “rip” is played out and corny. Much like your team (save Pujols and Ankiel).