Highlights & Lowlights: Cardinals v. Brewers (8/19-8/21)

While the Brewers are struggling this year, there are still good and bad things about each series, this is why we created Highlights & Lowlights to praise and criticize at the same damn time.

Highlights
Aramis Ramirez - Big week for Rami with two home runs against the Cardinals with a two-run shot on Monday and three-run shot on Wednesday to pull the Brewers back within four runs. When Ramirez gets hot, he is damn near unstoppable to pitch to. The waiver wire is rolling around in the coming week and I wonder if Rami will be claimed.

Sean Halton - Nice week for Halton who went back down to Triple A on Wednesday afternoon. He had three RBIs in a win on Tuesday and he had another one Wednesday. Like Khris Davis, Halton seemed to be seeing the ball better the second time around in the major leagues. Good to see from the young first baseman.

Wednesday's Bullpen - Yes the Brewers started off in a seven run hole but the bullpen led by Donovan Hand and John Axford held the Cardinals at seven for most of the game allowing the Brewers to slowly creep back in the game. Also thanks Mike Gonzalez for giving up a run, pal!  You're the best!

Logan Schafer - He played well this week against the Cardinals with multiple runs batted in and a home run. I do not know if the Brewers really have that much value in their new outfielders but they might be able to trade one or two next season because there will be no need for all of them.

Lowlights
Juan Francisco - Really rough series for Francisco where he struck out multiple times with runners in scoring positions. Bad look for Fat Juan this week and the natives are restless with him. I realize he is struggling, but have a little patience with this guy. I truly think he could develop into something special in the coming years, but my assumption is he will not be on this team in 2014.

Tom Gorzelanny - First bad start for T-Gorz. He was probably due for something like seven runs in two innings. Hopefully, T-Gorz is not hitting the regression train here, but it should not surprise Brewers fans if it happens in the coming weeks.

Brandon Kintzler - Like T-Gorz, he had his first bad appearance since July 4th.  Kintzler pitching great, but he was due for blowup.  He ended up giving up multiple runs allowing the Cardinals to win the game on Monday night. With all his shoulder issues, I am kind of concerned about how much Ron Roenicke is trotting him out there.

Yadier's dominance - Seriously, he is the number one Brewer killer with Troy Tulowitzki as the vice president. Glad Yadi came back from injury to play against the Brewers though!

Charlie.

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Highlights & Lowlights: Brewers v. Giants (8/5-8/8)

While the Brewers are struggling this year, there are still good and bad things about each series, this is why we created Highlights & Lowlights to praise and criticize at the same damn time.

Highlights  
Tyler Thornburg  - For whatever reason, Thorny has become my newest mancrush on the team. I cannot explain why, but I just enjoy watching him pitch and perform. He did well again on Monday night giving up one run and worked around giving up seven hits in six innings. It bummed me out he will be heading to the bullpen. While I believe Thornburg could be an excellent reliever, I still think he has a chance to be competent starter. As they put him in the bullpen, hopefully they utilize him much more than they did before he had the two starts.

Khris Davis - A player who deserves some starts this weekend in left field. Davis saved some runs on
Wednesday night with a great catch in left. Davis is not known for his fielding, but he bailed out the Brewers ensuring the Giants only got one run. He also hit a homer on Wednesday as well as a double on Thursday and six of his eleven hits have been extra-base hits. Hopefully, he will get into the mix with Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer for starting time.

Marco Estrada - A hearty welcome back for Marco as he dazzled the Giants in five innings giving up only one hit and striking out six Giants batters. Who knows what the Brewers will do with Estrada moving forward. If he performs poorly to end the year, I doubt Estrada is on the 2014 roster but if he performs like he did on Wednesday, Estrada will probably be a fourth starter for the team next year.

Carlos Gomez - Brew Crew Ball this week made a case for Gomez being the MVP of the National League. They do point out it is highly unlikely this happens but it cannot be overlooked that Gomez has the best Wins Above Replacement in all of the National League.  The future is truly bright with Gomez and the Brewers. Kudos to Doug Melvin for signing him in spring because I do not know if the Brewers could pay him if he were a free agent this offseason.  

Rob Wooten - THE OWL.  He has not allowed a run yet although did not hold the game on Monday night. I am starting to believe he might have a future with this team. The Brewers could have a bullpen of Brandon Kintzler, Tyler Thornburg, Alfredo Figaro, Jim Henderson and Wooten next year and I would definitely be okay with it.

Lowlights
Brewers Eighth Inning on Monday - What a disaster and microcosm of the season this inning was on Monday. Mike Gonzalez and John Axford both pitched awfully including Axford throwing away an intentional walk pitch like he was Rick 'Wild Thing' Vaughn. Truly pathetic inning for the Brewers.

Yuniesky Betancourt - I want one good reason why he still plays regularly and after you give me that, I want to know why he is on this team.  Wasting a roster spot for a young guy who could make an impact for this team.

Rickie Weeks's Hamstring - Truly a bummer to see Weeks go down on Wednesday night. I doubt if he will be back this season. Maybe the final two weeks of the season, but I would not press my luck we are seeing Weeks. Someone want to explain to me how the hell the Brewers keep having hamstring issues? Just a weird season or a training issue. Good news for Scooter Gennett fans, this will be his time to prove what he's worth on the team.

Charlie.

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Highlights & Lowlights: Brewers at Cubs (7/29-7/31)

While the Brewers are struggling this year, there are still good and bad things about each series, this is why we created Highlights & Lowlights to praise and criticize at the same damn time.

Highlights
Jean Segura - Easily, the MVP of the doubleheader. Segura looked like his forearm was alright even if he
took two games off.  He hit a home run off Carlos Villaneuva to put the Brewers on the board and had the game-winning double in the 7th inning. In the second game, he did not start but came in the ninth as the Brewers trailed and beat out a single in the 9th. He proceeded to score the go-ahead run by trusting the ball would fall in the outfield. Segura is a good to great player, but it is his hustle that is an added bonus.

Rob Wooten - Another very nice surprise from Nashville this year. The Brewers Triple A team is awful this year yet it seems like there are some gems there. Wooten has pitched great since his time up with the Brewers starting last Saturday. He bridged the gap in Game 1 of the doubleheader after John Axford gave up multiple runs. If Wooten is not nicknamed 'The Owl' by the end of August, we have failed as a society.

Tyler Thornburg - OH ME SO THORNY.  I hoped Thornburg would do damn thing on Tuesday night because I feel like he deserves to start after his great bullpen work. The pressure amplified as Yovani Gallardo went down in afternoon. If Thornburg pitched well, he probably takes Yo's spot in the rotation. He did everything and more with going a strong six innings only allowing four hits with six strikeouts. Thornburg might be the player to watch in August.

Khris Davis - It is not like he had a great series here. Davis had one moment, but it was a big one drilling a three-run homer to tie the game in seventh inning of Game 1. Davis's two homers since his call-up have been to the opposite field which is good to see from the young hitter.

Wrigley Field Foul Pole - Way to be there for the last 90-plus years, thanks I appreciate it because I did not have to watch a Wellington Castillo walkoff.

Lowlights
Juan Francisco catching ability - This really does not make sense at all.  I realize Francisco is a third baseman by trade, but still there is no excuse to drop two baseballs at first base. That is something 7th graders do not have happened to them in Little League. Someone needs to send Francisco to Tom Emanski school of defense.

Yovani Gallardo's hamstring - While the supposed Brewers ace struggled in the month of July, it was disheartening to see him go down with a somewhat serious hamstring injury. Who knows how long Gallardo will be on the shelf, but when he does come back, hopefully he finishes strong for the season.

Game 1's Fifth Inning - What a disaster this was for the Crew. They lose Gallardo with two strikes and two outs with the bases juiced.  Ron Roenicke decides to bring in John Axford which I did not agree with given his recent struggles of late.  

Game 2's Seventh Inning - This inning was definitely worse than the one above because the defense could not have been more shittier. They kicked around the baseball throughout the inning basically causing Burke Badenhop to give up two runs. While there is a lot of Triple A talent out there, it still does not excuse all the errors.

Alfredo Figaro - Not a great outing back from injury. He did not look good last night. Hopefully, it will be a blip in the radar.

Charlie.

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Highlights & Lowlights: Brewers at Rockies

While the Brewers are struggling this year, there are still good and bad things about each series, this is why we created Highlights & Lowlights to praise and criticize at the same damn time. 

Highlights
Caleb Gindl - When the Ryan Braun story came out, one of the optimist parts of it were to see the worth of the young Brewers playing in his place. Gindl played great over the weekend with two big games. He had three extra-base hits in his last two games along with runs scored in both of them as well. Right now, he is currently leading in competition against Logan Schafer and providing a little pop to the Brewers lineup probably helps things. It is disappointing to see him batting fifth in the order though, but that's how the Brewers season is going.  

Nori Aoki - Pretty solid stretch for Mr. Aoki right now as he is on a nine game hitting streak including two straight games with a home run. He is normally not known for his power and it probably has something to do with playing in Colorado. It does not appear Aoki will be traded in the upcoming week although with the Biogenesis suspensions looming, there might be more interested teams who would want Aoki. It is a great time for him to be hot.  

Troy Tulowitzki - I know we call people Brewer Killers all the time, but honestly, Tulo is the biggest one of them all. He homered twice in the series and had multi-hit games as well on Saturday and Sunday. For the season, he is hitting .400 against the Brewers and for the last three years, Tulowitzki has hit .328 which is the fourth highest average against an opposing team (Cincinnati is in the lead with a .395 average). I love Tulo, he's one of my favorite players when he's healthy, but I would drink heavily if he ended up playing for a National League Central team.

Ryan Braun drama has 'died down' a bit - Is it still in the news? Yes. But it does not really seem to have the same traction as it did at the beginning of the week. Braun will probably reappear in the news sometime when he talks to the media which I believe will happen next week. I know nothing but I feel like at some point he will be forced to speak to the media. I myself do not need it, but a lot of people want it so damn bad for whatever reason.

Lowlights
Wily Peralta - When I was going to do my Brewers preview that never happened because of work, I wondered if Peralta would struggle in Colorado because it is place of shattered dreams for pitchers. He did not pitch well at all.  Is it a blip in the radar or is Peralta coming back down to earth? I think it is a blip and he will do just fine.

John Axford - Not a great weekend for the Ax man. He gave up a homer to the Brewer Killer Tulowitzki on Saturday and then on Sunday, he gave up the lead with back-to-back doubles from Tulo (SHOCKER) and Michael Cuddyer. This is the first time Axford has gave up runs in consecutive appearances since the beginning of April. Odds there are Brewer fans wondering if he is trying to implode his trade stock? Unfortunately, too many of them to count because people are idiots. Ax should be fine, just a bad series.

Ninth Inning Rain Delays - This could be one of the worst things in the world. I watched the game as I went from bar to bar on Saturday night. I saw it was in a rain delay and most of the televisions at the bars turned it to SportsCenter instead of watching Sophia-Craig-Jerry talking from the Wisconsin Dells. Also if the Rockies were up 7-5 in the top of the ninth, this game would have been 100 percent have been called in the first 30 minutes, that's a fact.

Rickie Weeks - Anyone notice his July has not been great?  Weeks is currently hitting .184 for the month with two home runs and 23 strikeouts. I have no real idea what to make of Weeks season. He had one good month and it has been shit for the rest of them. I do not know if he is hurt, or if he is mailing it in. I like Weeks, but he is not having a good year whatsoever. Might be one of the bigger disappointments to the season.

Charlie.

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