Highlighting and Lowlighting the Brewers' Week

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
Not having the Cardinals clinch at Miller Park - HAHA SUCK IT HARD ARIZONA.  Look, I could not complain if St. Louis went down Bernie's slide after being very critical of Arizona's response to the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the NL West crown at Chase Field. It was nice to see the Brewers get at least a game from St. Louis.  One of the biggest things for next season is the Brewers have to be better against the Cardinals in general.

Carlos Gomez - Great week for Gomez in general. He had a masterful Cubs series and then played pretty well against St. Louis. It is pretty clear he was bothered by injuries for the month of August and a little bit of September. Now that he is fully healthy, it appears Gomez is playing better again.  GoGo had a couple home runs this week including a big triple last night against St. Louis in a series he did not play as well as the Chicago one. Hopefully, he finishes strong in the final week.

Aramis Ramirez - You just sort of wonder with Ramirez. He spent most of the year banged up, but Rami looked great this week against Chicago and St. Louis. Ramirez had a couple home runs and also drove in multiple runs including a five RBI game on Friday night. I still believe Ramirez has some left in the tank, but the Brewers need to have someone there to back up Rami if he goes down with multiple injuries next season.  

That was Norichika Aoki's first double since Aug. 9 and just his third since July 22.
— Andrew Gruman (@AndrewGruman) September 23, 2013

Nori Aoki - He had a great series against St. Louis going 8 for 11 also taking some walks, but this is sort of a telling stat by FOX Sports Wisconsin Andrew Gruman. Aoki is not producing to the levels we saw last season. With the Brewers having a loaded young outfield, Ryan Braun can move to right field. I think he a big enough arm and the Brewers add more power to their already big lineup if Khris Davis is in left field.

Tyler Thornburg - Truly making a case for why he deserves to be the fifth starter when the 2014 season rolls around in March. Thorny looked great again this week once again going six innings, something he has done for all of his starts this season. In the last three starts, Thornburg has only allowed four runs and the only real issue is he still walks a couple guys a game. He is a starter to at least begin the season, folks.  

Sean Halton - Pretty good week for the young Brewers first baseman as he hit a grand slam on Wednesday night pushing the Brewers ahead in the game against the Cubs. He had another homer that week as well. Halton is a fine player, but certainly not the answer at first base. I do not think Halton is a good enough player to be an everyday player although he could be a vital bench player next season.

#Brewers avg 31,248 fans in 2013, outdrawing the playoff-contending Reds, Pirates, Orioles, Indians, Royals and Athletics. Good job, fans!
— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) September 23, 2013

Miller Park support - Also add the Tampa Bay Rays who the Brewers outdrew this season. It speaks to the team and the city honestly. Both have done a great job supporting this team through thick and thin. There are still knuckleheads out there (Green Bay has plenty of them too), but this team gets support unlike any time before. They like I will hope there is October baseball next year.

Lowlights
No Jean Segura - This is sort of a bummer. Another Brewer went down with an injury and naturally to troll Wisconsin fans alike, it is a hamstring injury. I doubt we will see much of Segura to finish the season. Honestly, if he is hurt, just let him sit out the rest of the season unless he feels 105 percent. (JUST KIDDING, LOSE EVERY GAME THIS WEEK, TANK! TANK! TANK!)

ESPN's Ryan Braun lovefest - ESPN Sunday Night Baseball decided to remind Brewers fans about Ryan Braun and made some unqualified opinions on the Brewers fans. There is really no need to try to open a wound that is practically closed. There has been so little discussion about Braun since mid-August honestly. Sure, it is worthwhile talking a little bit about it, but taking up almost a whole inning talking about him is not great.  The worst part is I DVR'd the part of it and watch it because I am a complete loser.

Rob Wooten - First real bad game from The Owl on Saturday night. It happens and I am encouraged by all the young relievers for the following season.

Mike Gonzalez - WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE.

Kyle Lohse - It is crazy how bad Lohse has been against the Chicago Cubs this season. In general, Milwaukee has played well against Chicago this season, but this was the only team Lohse seemed to have problems with this year.

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Highlights-Lowlights: Reds v. Brewers (9/13-9/15)

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
Carlos Gomez - Remember how I complained about Gomez's last two months?  He obviously was also tried of hearing about it too. On Friday night, Gomez drove in five runs providing all of the Milwaukee Brewers offense for the night. He also drove in runs on Saturday and Sunday as well, but Gomez's biggest play came in the ninth inning of Sunday's game. He robbed Jay Bruce of a three-run homer or possibly an extra-base hit. Just give this man the Gold Glove.



Kyle Lohse - Like Gomez, he scuffled a bit in the last couple of weeks and Lohse found a way to shutdown the Reds Friday night with a complete game. Lohse retired 23 straight batters before giving up a hit in the ninth inning. He looked stellar against the Reds mixing in all of his pitches and Cincinnati had no answer for him. It cannot be stated enough how good of a year Lohse is having this season.

Sean Halton - Second straight time appearing in the Highlights section but it is deserving as Halton capped off a four run comeback by the Brewers on Sunday afternoon. Halton hit a home run off Zach Duke (Yes that Zach Duke) in walk-off fashion. I said it last week and I will repeat myself here, there is absolutely no reason why Yuni B or Juan Francisco at this point.

Jean Segura - Good weekend for Mean Jean. He had not been struggling, but let's just say, he was sort of stagnant not making the plays he had during the year. Segura had a massive two-run triple during the Brewers comeback on Sunday.   He had two stolen bases and two runs on Friday making sure Gomez had ducks on the pond.

Lowlights
Michael Blazek - Not a great appearance for the young Brewer on Saturday afternoon.  The Brewers had cut the lead down to 4-3 in the fourth inning and Blazek came into the game in the 6th. As many have done before him, Blazek surrendered a two-run home run to Joey Votto to push the lead back out to three. That is a killer.

Aramis Ramirez's injury - It has been a rough year for Rami. He has battled through all sorts of injuries and banged up his wrist again on Friday.  It is fair to say this is a concern at this point with Ramirez's age and still having another year left on his contract.

Johnny Hellweg -  He did not handle the Reds very well on Saturday afternoon. Hellweg struggled in the first two innings of the game with giving up two runs in both innings. After that, he settled in nicely. There are still kinks to work out with Hellweg. I do not know if he is ready to be a big league starter yet, only time will tell with that one.

Michael Gonzalez - Yup, still here.

Charlie.

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Highlights & Lowlights: Brewers at Cubs

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
Scooter Gennett - Good weekend to be Scooter. He had a big three-run homer on Friday's game to pull the Brewers back within striking distance of the Cubs, and hit the ball pretty well throughout the weekend.  I really do wonder if he expects an apology fruit basket from me. It is becoming harder and harder for me to say next year it should be an open competition.

Yovani Gallardo - How about this guy?  Yo has looked like an ace since coming off the Disabled List. Now does this upset you off as a fan?  I guess, I mean if Yo's pitching well all year, the Brewers probably finish .500 which would drive me insane.  The biggest hope is this string of great starts translates to the following year.  People kept pointing to him pitching for Mexico at the World Baseball Classic as a reason why he struggled early on and I am starting to buy into that notion.

Logan Schafer - He had the big hit on Saturday afternoon as the Brewers trailed 3-1, Schafer cleared the bases with two outs after Juan Francisco failed to get a runner in with less than two outs.  I have no idea what Schafer's future is with this organization seeing as the outfield will be crowded next season, but I have enjoyed watching him play this season for the most part.



Johnny Hellweg - A little bit better outing than what we have seen from Hellweg in the past. He drew a lot of groundballs and really only made two mistakes to Luis Vallbuena and Brian Bogusevic. I would rather have Hellweg giving up home runs than putting a bunch of people on-base having it look like Gas House Gorillas on the base pads.

Junior Lake - Yeah this seems like a guy I do not want to play against for the next couple of years. Lake had a big grand slam on Friday to vault the Cubs over the Brewers and then provided the only offense Sunday with a huge home run. He is also one of those players you want to say his full name because Junior is always Ken Griffey Jr. until the end of time and Lake feels like you should be adding Michigan, Erie or Ontario after it.

Lowlights
Juan Francisco = Doghouse - An Internet favorite is currently hanging around in Ron Roenicke's doghouse. First, who knew RRR had one, second, he is in there pretty bad. Francisco has not started a game since September 3rd so if he does start Tuesday against St. Louis, it will be his first start in a week. Additionally, he pinch-hit in every game this weekend and struck out every time. Not a great look for Fat Juan.

Kyle Lohse - He had his first bad start in over two months. I mean the one against Pittsburgh was not stellar two weeks ago, but this is what I would qualify as a bad start. This is how good Lohse has been in the second half, his ERA, still sitting at 3.59, is the highest its been since July 13th.  My assumption is he will bounce back this week playing his former foes, St. Louis.  

Jean Segura's defense - When is it okay to start worry about Segura's defense? Like are we there yet with him or should we wait until middle of next year?  I am starting to see why people pegged him as a second baseman for the future. Segura has the overall tools to be a shortstop, no doubt about it, but he tends to be lackadaisical out there from time to time. My assumption is it is a youth thing and he will clean it up yet it keeps happening so I worry like my mother does when I describe my weekends.

Michael Gonzalez - Yup, he's still here.

Charlie.

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Brewers-Cubs Preview: 9/6-9/8

Yes, it is September and the Brewers are still playing baseball even when there is football going on. Yes I know this is crazy, but it's true.  We preview the rest of the series moving forward.  

Pitching Matchups and TV Times
Friday: Kyle Lohse (9-8 3.32) v. Chris Rusin (2-3 2.74)                    1:20 pm WGN
Saturday: Johnny Hellweg (0-3 10.97) v. Jake Arrieta (2-1 3.77)       3:05 pm FSWI
Sunday: Yovani Gallardo (10-9 4.31) v. Scott Baker (Season Debut) 1:20 pm FSWI

Five things to watch
1.) Call Me Maybe? - It came out Ryan Braun made random phone calls to season ticket holders apologizing for me what he did with the Biogenesis scandal. We already know where I stand on Braun and I feel like he owes these fans nothing yet this is still a stand-up move. A man had to swallow his pride and tell the everyone he messed up.  I do not think people understand how hard it is to tell random people who probably do not like you, say 'I am sorry.'

2.) Who can tank more this weekend? - I doubt either of these teams will actually tank, but it would be funny to see how two low-level baseball teams try to lose the game. In all seriousness, both teams probably do not want to win these games as they are trying to maintain where they stand in the MLB Draft.  As today, the Cubs would have the fourth pick in the MLB Draft while the Brewers would have the fifth pick.  There are five teams separated by three games. Exciting stuff I know.  

3) A football palate cleanser - Maybe I am alone here, but I will definitely spend some time with the Brewers this weekend if I get a chance up in Green Bay. I just like to have another option other than football. Usually, the go-to option is golf but they are a break until the following weekend. I definitely want to check out Johnny Hellweg on Saturday and see if he has the Brewer Bounce Back as Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett and Caleb Gindl all did when they came back to Milwaukee.

4.)  Why do people shit on Kyle Lohse? - I have no idea why people think Kyle Lohse is a bad value. Yes I was not a fan of the deal in March. But the Brewers really have a legitimate number two starter and this year, Lohse has been the number one. He is having another great year as he has a 3.32 ERA, over 100 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.20. I look forward to watching Lohse pitch for another year as a Brewer pitcher.

5.) Anyone notice how the Brewers-Cubs do not play weekend series very much? - This is a bizarre thing to talk about but I feel like these two teams always play during the week? Why is that? It seems logical for these two teams to play over the weekend because fans of both teams can spend a whole weekend either in Chicago or Milwaukee. I realize this is pretty trivial, but there is not much to talk about with two teams being a combined 40 games under .500.  

Charlie.

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SnoTap Buzz: Tuesday August 20th

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING PURDUE. (SB Nation) 

Bill Barnwell makes a case for why momentum in sports is not an actual thing. I assume this will drive my buddy Eric off a cliff today. (Grantland) 

I am pretty sure I have linked everything Gabe Kapler has written for Baseball Prospectus and this is another extremely thought-provoking perspective. (Baseball Prospectus) 

Tim Brown felt Texas A&M is at fault for the Manziel madness. You know, I sort of agree with him here. I like Manziel, but it's pretty clear he rules the roost at College Station (CBS Sports) 

Remember how Kyle Lohse got claimed off waivers last week? Here is some speculation on who that team might be. (Brewer Nation) 

LeBron James finally shaved his head and came to the realization that his hairline was as deep as a Barry Bonds homer. (Business Insider) 

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St. Louis Cardinals-Milwaukee Brewers Preview

Probable Pitchers & Start Times
Monday:     Shelby Miller (11-8 2.97) vs. Marco Estrada (5-4 4.71) 7:10 FSNWI
Tuesday:      Lance Lynn (13-6 3.89) vs. Kyle Lohse (8-8 3.17) 7:10 FSNWI
Wednesday: Jake Westbrook (7-8 4.35) vs. Tom Gorzelanny (3-4 2.95) 1:10 620WTMJ

Five Things To Watch
Rivalry fire still burning strong - I understand Cardinal fans probably see Brewer fans as pissants when it comes to actually playing baseball due to the Brewers being 16 games under .500 but the rivalry is still burning bright. I would love to see the Brewers play a part in making sure the Cardinals miss the playoffs. In related news, I live a pretty pathetic life.

Will Marco continue his awesome August? - Since being off the disabled list, Marco has went out and
dominated against both San Francisco and Texas. He will now face the Cardinals, a team he has not fared will against for his career. Hopefully, Estrada can do more of the same tonight for the Brewers as they look for the third win in four games.

Yadi's return - Really pleased Yadier Molina returned to the ball club on August 15th so he could face the Brewers this week you guys. It will be interesting to see if Mike Matheny plans on using him throughout the series or just twice like he did during the Chicago Cubs series over the weekend. My guess is he will play the first two games of the series and then take the afternoon off on Wednesday as the Cardinals have a big four-game series against the Atlanta Braves starting Thursday night.

Defeating the former mates - Wins do not matter in baseball. No matter what Max Scherzer might tell you during bedtime stories, they are not that important. Kyle Lohse has not technically defeated his old teammates on St. Louis. I assume it would be nice for him and his great season thus far if he could put one over on the old ball club.

Can the Brewers hit Miller or Lynn? -  The Brewers scuffled their feet earlier in the year against both Miller and Lynn so hopefully this time around things are a little different. Milwaukee has had a little bit of luck against Lynn throughout the years but they looked helpless against Miller. If they get to Miller tonight, maybe they can translate to a good display of hitting against Lynn.

St. Louis Music


If you did not think this was Nelly, I do not know why you read this blog.

St. Louis Twitter account.
No actual person to follow this time rather it is someone who retweets all the negative things Cardinals fan throughout the day on Twitter at Baseball's Best Fans. It makes JSComments look like a petting zoo.

Prediction 
This is completely biased, but I am going with the good guys taking two.

Charlie.

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Nationals-Brewers Preview (8/2-8/4)

Pitching Matchups/TV Times
Friday:     Jordan Zimmerman (12-6 3.19) v. Tom Gorzelanny (2-4 2.83)
Saturday: Dan Haren (5-11 5.49) v. Donovan Hand (0-2 3.56)
Sunday:   Taylor Jordan (1-3 3.31) v. Kyle Lohse (7-7 3.22)

Five Things to Watch
Increased attendance due to vouchers? - As most of you know, the Brewers will start giving away 10 dollars for every fan that walks through the door in August to basically say sorry for their season and Ryan Braun. My assumption is there will see a little bump in attendance this week plus there is a bobblehead on Sunday. In the Miami series, they drew 30,000 on Friday and Sunday, then 37,000 on Saturday night. My guess is they will be over 35,000 on Saturday/Sunday and closer to 30,000 today.

Kyle Lohse's continued pitching dominance - In his three starts since the All-Star Break, Lohse has been damn near unstoppable.  He has only given up one run in his three stars with only three walks (All happened against Chicago) and has 16 strikeouts. Lohse's ERA is down to 3.22 as well. Washington is easily the toughest team he has faced since the All-Star Break but as we will talk about in the next point, it might be easier than others believed.

The Nationals cannot score runs - This has been a problem for the Nationals all year long and a reason why they are four games under .500.  They are second to last in runs in the National League with only the putrid Miami Marlins are worse. From the numbers alone, it seems like Washington's batters applies a boom/bust attitude and it is home run or nothing. They are seventh in the National League in home runs yet near the bottom of the league in anything else meaning a lot of their bombs are solo ones as well. Brewers pitchers have been much better in the last two or three months so the Nats might not be out of the woods with their hitting ineptitude.

Jordan Zimmerman returns home and will he pitch better? - For those unfamiliar, Jordan Zimmerman is from Auburndale, Wisconsin and pitched at UW-Stevens Point.  Zimmerman is struggling big time lately giving up seven and five runs in his last two appearances and he scuffled his feet when he pitched against the Brewers in Washington. My prediction is Zimmerman will be pretty composed and pitch his ass off. I am not saying that because I am negative about the Brewers, rather hometown kids show up for their games when they are not there often.

WIll Caleb Gindl's hot play continue at Miller Park? - We talked about this during the other previews with Braun's departure from the team; if we would find a bright spot from Caleb Gindl or Logan Schafer. Gindl is excelling on offense thus far.  In the last five games where Gindl started, he has multiple hits. The only thing is he'll need to be better defensively. Hopefully, that will come with time.

Notable Musician from DC


Even though I am behind on him, I will recommend Wale for the weekend. I am a bigger fan of pre-MMG Wale, but both work for the weekend tunes.

Tweets to follow
I do not follow any Nats beat writers, but I do follow Dan Steinberg and Sarah Kogod, both Washington Post writers worth following.

Charlie.

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Highlights & Lowlights: Padres-Brewers (7/22-7/25)

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
Carlos Gomez - It is fair to say Gomez broke out of his slump on Wednesday night. He put the team on his back in a 3-1 victory with a 4 for 4 night with two doubles and two RBIs along with a stolen base. He followed it up with a 3 for 5 day on Thursday with a home run.  Gomez's average dipped to .289 on Tuesday and now it is back to .301.

Kyle Lohse - Fun facts abou.t Lohse's recent run... The last time he had two walks in a game was June 19th. Loshe has struck out five batters or more in the last three outings. Lohse's ERA is down to 3.37. He is dominating out there. Lohse is the ace of this staff. Now I say ace in a very rough sense but he's the best pitcher on the team. It is crazy there are not more teams wanting him for the playoff run.

Nori Aoki's Walk-up Song - Mike Vassallo, the Senior Director of Media Relations, is a big WWE fan. He talks about it from time-to-time on Twitter when not talking about the Brewers. He is a big fan of Fandango whom has an extremely catchy theme music. It is now Aoki's walk-up music. Love it.



Jim Henderson - After the Milwaukee Brewers traded away Francisco Rodriguez, they had a void at the closer position. People wondered whether it would be Henderson or John Axford. Ron Roenicke said it would be a closer tag team and it started with Henderson. He pitched well in the two appearances against San Diego this week.  

Lowlights
Juan Francisco - I promise I will leave Francisco off the next one as he was a highlight and now a lowlight, but this one has to do with his overall performance this week after being told he will be the primary starter at first base. In his last eight games, Francisco has six games where he had more than one strikeout. He needs to be a little more discipline at the plate. I like Francisco and could see him having a future with this team, but he needs to hit better with runners in scoring position.

Lohse & Gallardo Trade Value - FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal reported both players will likely not be going anywhere. Every indication says both of them are safe from leaving. The Lohse one does not make sense because he could be real valuable to a lot of teams right now and I believe if the Brewers could take some money from Lohse's deal, they could get some big time prospects. The Gallardo one does only because he's been awful in the last month.

Mike Gonzalez - Just leave the team. There is no reason for you.

Jean Segura Hitting Third - Another one of Roenicke's moves this week is saying Segura would be hitting third for the rest of the year.  This has not been going well at all.  Segura went 0-13 in the last three games all hitting from the third hole. Maybe it is a good idea to move him back to the second spot in the order? or something else?

Charlie.

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