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: Pirates v. Brewers 9/2-9/4

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.

Yes, highlights and lowlights when we have been inundating you with NFL predictions. I realize there are not much to those picks, but it is still fun for the staff to do.  The Milwaukee Brewers did play some baseball this week and they will this weekend. I started the whole 'Let's hope they play well, but still lose games' and they have done just that thus far.

Highlights
Khris Davis - He did not really have a big series, but my goodness, the kid hits a home run off Francisco Lirano, a pitcher whose been dominating the world in the last couple of weeks.  It might be his power numbers but I am growing pretty fond of Davis. I really do believe he has a spot on this team going forward in 2014.

Tyler Thornburg - Another one of the SnoTap favorites is Mr. Thornburg. He started his first game in awhile and pitched pretty well until the 7th inning when he was pulled from the game after putting two men on-base who later scored on a Neil Walker home run. Every time he pitches, I start believing Thornburg should be in the conversation to at least compete for a starting position on the team next season and if he does not make it, Thorny will be an awesome bullpen pitcher like we all thought in the first place. This is a win-win situation for the Crew.

Jonathan Lucroy - Luc keeps doing what he has been doing all season and driving in runs with the fanbase behind him. Speaking of the fans, FOX Sports Wisconsin Mark Concannon tried to bait Lucroy into a question about him being the face of the franchise. Lucroy really is the anti-Ryan Braun honestly in terms from the way he carries himself and the way he plays the game. Trust me, there will be some more Lucroy jerseys next year, but he is not way the face of this franchise.  

Nori Aoki - There is not much to say for Nori except for the fact him getting a hit off of Lirano which is a feat itself as a left-hander. Grantland's Jonah Keri pointed out today Lirano has the lowest OPS against lefties of all-time. Aoki is also hitting .340 against left-handers so Francisco ran into a brick wall.

Yovani Gallardo - We have not been doing this for awhile so I have failed to mentioned how right Yo has looked in the last couple of weeks. Gallardo might have been hurt for awhile before he went on the Disabled List hence the reason why he struggled throughout the month of July. Hopefully, this is sign of things to come although we have said this before.

Lowlights 
Throwing at Justin Morneau - So this was pretty stupid. Wily Peralta had a classic overreaction on the mound thinking Andrew McCutchen looked at his homer even though it shows him looking for the balls in the lights. Just a stupid move by Wily.  

Jim Henderson - He definitely has not been rock solid in his last two appearances. Henderson gave up two runs against Los Angeles on Saturday night and then another one on Tuesday. The secret is going to get out that he struggles with lefties.

Don't kill Carlos' Vibe - Jon Heyman of CBS Sports used Carlos Gomez's high WAR to make an argument against why WAR is imprecise. Look do I think Gomez will get some MVP votes, yes I do, but I think we can all realize Gomez will not get the same looks as others because WAR is just one part of the equation when trying to figure out who should be an MVP.  

Michael Gonzalez - He actually pitched well this series, I'm just going to keep putting him here until he is off the roster.

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Cheer for Brewers players, not wins in September

2013 has not been kind to the Milwaukee Brewers.  They have one of the worst records in Major League Baseball. Their star player is the mortal enemy number one in cites and states not named Milwaukee or Wisconsin.  The Brewers have more injuries than a M.A.S.H. unit and they cannot find one person to play first base even at a competent level. Thankfully, the season is over this month and the team can start looking forward to the 2014 season trying to compete in what figures to be a brutal division for the next couple of years.

Many people would ask 'Why would I watch this baseball team for the next coming weeks when I can forget about them like I usually do in the final month of the Bucks season?' Well the hope should be there is progress on the field with the young players, but they should not win any games.  Does that make any sense? No, but it is the hope for the following season.  

The baby Brewers as some call them have been encouraging in the last couple of months. Khris Davis and Scooter Gennett both are playing well enough to make many believe they should be on the roster in 2014. It is okay to get irrationally excited about these two players although it should be noted teams tend to catch up on these players as they continue to play in Major League Baseball. Davis and Gennett had massive Augusts and if they have another big month, they might be considered for a starting role especially Gennett.

This is the time where I apologize for my slighting of Gennett early on this season. It is not that I disliked him, I disliked the notion he would be an upgrade to Rickie Weeks. I still believe Scooter will come back down to earth and not provide the same offense Weeks has shown throughout the years.  I personally do not think anyone will take Weeks' contract from the Brewers. There is no real reason for me to believe someone will actually want him for 12 million dollars a year. If Weeks plays a platoon next year with Gennett, and excels maybe a team gets interested in him come June. But the one concern I have with Gennett v. Weeks is the majority of the fanbase is going to ridicule Weeks making him Milwaukee's least favorite player although they do that already with him.

It is hard to argue with Gennett's numbers and defense but I am going to at least make an attempt to fan some of the flames for the notion of Scooter being the second base of the future.  He has not hit a home run at Miller Park. His homers this season have came at Great American Ballpark, Arlington Stadium and SAFECO Field.  SAFECO is the only one where we can be impressed and Gennett is not known for power yet still the Brewers have lost some power from the second base position.  Even though Gennett hit a dazzling .423, he only had a .452 OBP.  He is not getting on-base as much as he probably should if he is hitting the ball that way.  .452 is an insanely high OBP but to only be thirty points higher than the average is worth noting that is not as stunning as others may make it out to be.

The Brewers outfield is absolutely loaded. Ryan Braun will be back next year, Carlos Gomez will be as good of a player as he has ever been, and Nori Aoki is still a competent right fielder. Now add Khris Davis to the equation and Milwaukee has a strong outfield.  Davis had a huge August hitting six home runs and having 12 of his 23 hits being extra-base hits. The other thing that deserves some mention is Davis only struck out 12 times in August and for a guy with Davis' power plus his young age, this is impressive at least to me.

 The biggest problem with Davis moving forward is his defense makes him sort of a liability.  He cannot technically play any other position than left field plus I have no idea if he can be a full-time starter in the major leagues just yet. I drove the Aoki trade bandwagon, but for his value and price, the Brewers should keep him for another year at least until the month of June. Unless they are convinced, Braun can play right field which I do not think he has the arm for it, Aoki should be the option. Davis will make an excellent fourth outfielder for the 2014 season. Having a loaded bench makes teams in playoff contenders, and from the looks of it, the Brewers might have it.

While the hope is these young players develop nicely, the hope is for the Brewers to have a brutal September. That's right I said it. They are off to a good start losing their last four games.  It does not get talked about as much as it does in the NBA or NFL, but there is an upcoming MLB Draft coming up in June. The difference from picking fifth and ninth is just as big as it is in any other league. The Brewers being unsuccessful in September means their draft pick is higher next year.  Additionally, everyone believes Milwaukee has enough money to sign their draft whomever it may be next season.  

It is always a bummer to see Miller Park turn off its lights at the end of September, something tells me a lot of Brewer fans will be looking forward to not having to think about the 2013 team and hope the season was just a blip on the radar.

Charlie.  

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Highlights & Lowlights: Nationals v. Brewers (8/2-8/4)

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
Seeing my first Brewers win - I went to the game on Sunday afternoon with three of my buddies and had a great time for the most part.  We enjoyed our 10 dollar vouchers in mostly beer and I got nachos for a reasonable price. Additionally, the Brewers did not look inept on offense which made going to the game so much fun.  

Juan Francisco - Nice Sunday for Fat Juan. He had a productive out in the second inning grounding out to first base to score Caleb Gindl for the first Brewers run. In the 6th inning, Francisco doubled down the line scoring two runs to tie the game. The great part of Francisco's at-bat is it was against a left-handed pitcher. Moments like this are what make you want to believe in Fat Juan.

Burke's Irish Castle... Again - I talked about this place on Bluemound a couple weeks ago and we went there for brunch before the game. It could not have been better. We enjoyed their bloodies (Very good) plus some other drinks as well as their breakfast.  Once again, I recommend this as the spot to go before and after the Brewers game. I should do marketing with them honestly or tape our podcast there.

Brandon Kintzler - It has been a month since the Brewers reliever allowed a run. He is currently pitching the best out of the Brewers bullpen. It pleased me to see Ron Roenicke use him in more of a setup man role for Jim Henderson as John Axford is currently struggling. Kintzler should be the 8th inning man until further notice.

Bryce Harper - He did not do much while we were there on Sunday, but he put on a show for Milwaukee on both Friday and Saturday. Harper launched a home run on Friday increasing the Nationals lead and Saturday, he gunned Yuniesky Betancourt at second in what would have been a double against most left fielders.

Lowlights
Carlos Gomez's Friday - I never want to say one player cost a team a game but Gomez really hindered the Brewers on Friday night. He stole third with Francisco at the plate giving Wilson Ramos a chance to clearly gun down Gomez and of course, Francisco doubled to deep left-center. Gomez also misplayed a ball in the following inning that ended up turning into a run.

Mike Gonzalez - SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY THIS MAN IS STILL ON THIS TEAM. Kameron Loe of 2013 right here, folks!

Tom Gorzelanny's elbow - Who would have thought at the beginning of the year we would be concerned with the health of Tom Gorzelanny. He took a baseball off his elbow early on Friday evening and might be heading for the Disabled List.  I am curious if Marco Estrada or Chris Narveson will get the call for Wednesday night in San Francisco.

Nori Aoki - This happens with the Brewers right fielder. He will be ice cold for a week or two and then be absolutely red-hot for the next two. A true ebb and flow type of guy.

Hipsters at Baseball Games - First of all, there is a man wearing a stocking hat, Ray-Bans, scarf and a shirt that looked like his roommates were rats (Credit my buddy Bails for that joke) and he was with two women. We noticed them ahead of in seats that were not ours as we waited until the half inning to head down to our seats.  As we get to our seats, they end up sitting next to us and are PISSED it is so tight in the bleachers. Listen, you're at a baseball game on Sunday with a bobblehead, there might be less wiggle room than a Tuesday night but stop bitchin' about it please. We moved our seats because they were insufferable.

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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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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