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-Cardinals

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 - I am fully on-board with the Thorny for starter in 2014. I am sorry I cannot hide my feelings about it right now.  He might be a shutdown reliever when it is all said and done, but why not give Thorny a chance for the 2014 season? He just seems ready to pitch in the rotation at least to start the season. I like how he handled the Cardinals for the most part this week and also did not buckle under pressure when he gave up some runs.

Sean Halton - This guy gets a chance to play on Thursday night and he delivers with a home run and three RBIs. I do not think Halton is the answer at first base, but just put him there for the rest of the season. I rode along with the Juan Francisco bandwagon, but he seems like a lost puppy dog right now. Yuni B is Yuni B so just stick Halton there for the rest of the season and be done with first base.

Wily Peralta/Marco Estrada - Both Peralta and Estrada starts summed up Brewers-Cardinals in 2013 in a nutshell. Peralta and Estrada both carried no-hitters into the sixth inning before they both gave it up before the final out then the Brewers lost both games including one where Peralta got the lost thanks to a quick hook from Ron Roenicke for Michael Gonzalez (Oh we'll get there). Just unreal, they pitched well, they deserve to be here.

Scooter Gennett - I swear he just puts a dopey picture of me up in his locker room and thinks that I am the blogger who talks all sorts of shit about him. Gennett has hit over .400 in the last month plus he went .500 during the road trip. All he does is hit the baseball and honestly, it is getting harder each week to defend Rickie Weeks being the starting second baseman. I love what Weeks brings to the table, but my goodness, Gennett is making a statement.

Lowlights 
Michael Gonzalez - I started putted Gonzalez in the lowlights for the last couple of series just to be an ass and to be funny, but this is deserving spot. Gonzalez is my least favorite Brewer of the season. I am going to be creating a post looking back at what Brewer bothered me the most in the last decade. I just cannot believe he is still allowed to pitch on this team. Unless this is a plan to tank, I am completely for it. I do not care Gonzalez owned up to it either. He stole money from this team, complete robbery.

The Overuse of Brandon Kintzler - Does Milwaukee forget Brandon Kintzler had all sorts of shoulder issues in the last couple of years?  He has pitched great in the second half of the season but there is no reason why he should be pitching after throwing 30 pitches the day before even if he told Ron Roenicke that he could go out there. It will suck if he gets hurt next year and we can all point to why it happened.

Carlos Gomez - I have no idea if regression hit Carlos Gomez or he started reverting to his old ways but GoGo is having a terrible two months. For the month of August,  he hit .197 in August and currently in the month of September, Gomez is hitting .207. I mean maybe it was unrealistic to expect Gomez to continue at the pace he was going at earlier this season, but it would have been cool to see him stay the course.

Not really a lowlight, but a disappointing Jean Segura fact - This one from Andrew Gruman of FOX Sports Wisconsin kind of bummed me out. I wish Segura would have stayed above .300 for the whole year.

Jean Segura strikes out and his average drops to .299 for the first time since Opening Day. Hasn't finished a day under .300 all year.
— Andrew Gruman (@AndrewGruman) September 11, 2013

-Charlie.

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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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