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: 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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Brewers-Cardinals Preview (9-10-9-12)

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 Probables and TV Times 
Tuesday: Wily Peralta (9-14 4.51) v. Shelby Miller (12-9 3.19)        7:15 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Marco Estrada (6-9 4.49) v. Lance Lynn (13-10 4.37) 7:15 pm FSNWI
Thursday: Tyler Thornburg (1-1 2.08) v. Joe Kelly (8-3 2.74)           7:15 pm FSNWI

Five Things to Watch: 
1.) Road warriors - The Milwaukee Brewers have turned into a good road team for the second straight year. In the last seven series, the Brewers have won five of the series and split the other two.  This will probably their truest test of their feat. Do I think this will translate to something in 2014?  Probably not because every year is different, but it is nice to see the Brewers playing well on the road.  Last year, my dad had all sorts of theories of why the Brewers were better on the road than they were at home and now he does not have the same ones. I am a little disappointed he has not even tried some new theories about it.

2.) St. Louis is being St. Louis - They have won the last five of eight games including their sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Joe Kelly like any other young pitcher in the St. Louis organization figured out how to pitch effectively. The Cardinals are also hitting the ball pretty well in these last couple of games as well. Just in time for the Brewers!  

3.) Spoilers and I am not talking Breaking Bad - The Brewers play St. Louis twice in the next couple of weeks and they play Cincinnati once. They could really do some damage to the NL Central race and also the overall National League race. It is kind of a shame the Brewers do not have the final series against one of these teams because that would make it more exciting. While I still do not want to see the Brewers win, it would still be fun to hear the Brewers name be brought up in October as playoff ruiners (That's not a word, who cares).  The only problem here is the Brewers are on national TV in the next two weeks and this team is NSFW for national audiences.

4.) Will Marco cure his Cardinal blues? -  He is absolutely awful against the Cardinals. Estrada's ERA is over six against the Cardinals for his career.  Estrada has not pitched since August 31st and he did alright against Los Angeles. The silver lining with his last Cardinals start, he only allowed one walk but he still gave up two home runs so I have no idea where Marco stands against St. Louis.

5.) Why I am a pathetic Brewer fan -  I want to see the Brewers sweep the Cardinals. I do not care about what I have said about wins and losses for these three games. I would take all the pleasure in the world to see the Brewers sweep the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Once again, I am pathetic.

Charlie.

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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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Milwaukee Brewers-Texas Rangers Preview (8/13-8/14)

From now on, we are previewing the upcoming series with a variety of things. The pitching matchups with the TV times, five things to watch, notable musician from the opposing team's area, Twitter follows from the opposition and a prediction. 

Probable Pitchers and TV Times
Tuesday:      Marco Estrada (4-4 4.96) v. Alexi Ogando (5-3 3.28) 7:05 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Tyler Thornburg (1-0 1.72) v. Matt Garza (2-1 3.38) 7:05 pm FSNWI

Five Things to Watch
1.) What the hell are the Brewers doing with Thorny? - I thought we were done with Thornburg as a starter, but it appears the Brewers are trotting him out for another start. My assumption is Yovani Gallardo is not quite ready to go and they want to go with their best pitcher not in the rotation. My buddy Eric talked about his annoyance with how the Brewers have managed Thornburg and I am starting to feel the same way. Texas will be his toughest test yet. I am still rooting for him.

2.) Red hot Rangers - The Rangers have won eight straight games and won the last nine of ten making a blazing impact on the AL West race as well as the American League standings. They are benefiting off having a weak schedule in the past week facing the Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros and now getting the Brewers. That's like having three straight open-book exams.  Although the Crew has pitched better in the month having a team ERA for starters at 2.37 and playing generally better, but Milwaukee is not facing world-beaters either.

3.) Hello old, misogynistic friend - Matt Garza is pitching well since getting traded to the Rangers from the Chicago Cubs although he seems to run the same circles as Don Draper.  He also tends to pitch well against the Brewers having a 2.66 ERA in seven starts against the Crew. It is hard to remember a time when the Brewers got to Garza pretty good. Hopefully no one decides to bunt against Garza leading him to call out their wife or significant other.  

4.) SnoTap's Scooter watch - Even though it is two games, I will still be keeping an eye on how Scooter Gennett does against two solid pitchers. It is not like I want Gennett to fail, rather I am more than interested to see how he does with regular starting time, something people have pleaded for in the last couple of months.  If you are curious when I will eat crow about him, it will probably be May of 2014.

5.) Glad it's not Yu - First of all, what an awful pun. Big shoutout to the MLB schedule, the Rangers rotation and everyone else who made it possible for Yu Darvish to start on Monday instead of Tuesday.  The Brewers facing King Felix then Darvish would have been impossible.  

Music from Texas? Uh..Dallas? Arlington?


Probably our hardest music one because Texas is way too big so we reduce it to Dallas area.  With that, we found a lot of popular artists from the Dallas area and decided to go with Meat Loaf. Why? I have no idea honestly. One of the forgotten guys in music.  

Rangers Twitter follow
Lana Berry is one of my 2013 MLB Twitter follows. She claims not to be funny in her Twitter bio but I tend to find her funny then again I won worst jokes in high school so the bar is probably pretty low for me.

Charlie.

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Milwaukee Brewers at Seattle Mariners Preview: (8/9-8/11)

From now on, we are previewing the upcoming series with a variety of things. The pitching matchups with the TV times, five things to watch, notable musician from the opposing team's area, Twitter follows from the opposition and a prediction. 

Pitching Matchups/TV 
Pitching Matchups & TV Times
Friday:     Kyle Lohse (7-7 3.23) v. Joe Saunders (10-10 4.58) 9:10 pm FSNWI
Saturday: Tom Gorzelanny (2-4 2.78) v. Hisashi Iwakuma (10-5 2.75) 8:10 pm FSNWI
Sunday:   Wily Peralta (8-11 4.42) v. Felix Hernandez (11-5 2.39) 3:10 pm FSNWI

1.) Brewers against King Felix - This will be the game to watch for the series. Felix Hernandez is one of the best pitchers in baseball and will be facing the Brewers for the first time in his career. Sometimes, Milwaukee goes completely unpredictable and does well against the elite pitchers in baseball. Other times, they end up no hit. Let's hope for the first one. It still will be fun to watch Felix against the Crew, too bad we did not get a Braun vs. Hernandez matchup. :(  

2.) Handling of the Bullpen - With Tyler Thornburg making his way back, it will be interesting to see what Ron Roenicke does moving forward. I realize I am no expert, but I would try to avoid using Mike Gonzalez as much as possible. John Axford pitched well on Thursday, but he is still shaky at best. I would love it if they used more of Rob Wooten and Brandon Kintzler this weekend.

3.) Junior goes into Mariners Hall of Fame - I do not know one person who grew up in the 90's and did not love Ken Griffey Jr. One of the more likable guys to play the game and had the purest stroke in baseball during that time.  Additionally, I think every kid wore their hat backwards because of Junior.  For me personally, my favorite moments of Junior are him launching balls out of the Kingdome and his video game for Super Nintendo that I played for countless hours.

4.) We finally meet again - This is pretty cool from Andrew Gruman of FOX Sports Wisconsin. This is the Brewers lineup in 1998 when the Brewers and Mariners last played in Seattle.

#Brewers lineup last game in Seattle: Loretta 2B, Valentin SS, Nilsson DH, Cirillo 3B, Voigt 1B, Banks LF, Williams CF, Dunn RF, Matheny C
— Andrew Gruman (@AndrewGruman) August 9, 2013

Remember when Brian Banks was going to be the next Brewer?  Good times. Also I have no idea who Dunn is, I assume it's Adam older brother.  

5.) Seattle's outfield defense - I am not one to throw stones as the Brewers are pretty awful at defense, but Raul Ibanez definitely have some issues out there... Same goes for Michael Saunders whom lost a ball in the sun but I cannot find the GIF.

Music from Seattle 

Let's go with Nirvana because they helped launch the grunge music and style era from Seattle.

Mariners Twitter account to follow 
Jeff Sullivan formerly of Lookout Landing is your best bet for Mariner snark and entertainment this weekend.

Prediction
I never want to predict a Mariners sweep but this feels like a sweep if the Brewers do not win Friday.

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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Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs Preview (7/29-7/31)

From now on, we are previewing the upcoming series with a variety of things. The pitching matchups with the TV times, five things to watch, notable musician from the opposing team's area, Twitter follows from the opposition and a prediction. 

Pitching Matchups and Start Times
Monday:                 Kyle Lohse (7-7 3.37) v. Jeff Samardzija (6-9 3.94) 7:05 pm FSNWI
Tuesday: Game 1 - Yovani Gallardo (8-9 4.88) v. Carlos Villanueva (2-7 4.23) 1:20 pm FSNWI
               Game 2 - TBD                                   v.  Jake Arrieta (0-0 0.00) 7:05 pm FSNWI
Wednesday:            Wily Peralta (7-10 4.57) v. Edwin Jackson (6-11 4.89) 7:05 pm  FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Will we see some #DugoutHugs? - The Cubs have already traded three players from their team, Scott Feldman, Alfonso Soriano and Matt Garza, can anymore be one the move? There has been some talk about Kevin Gregg, but that's probably the last player to be on the block for Chicago. Milwaukee does not seem like they are moving Lohse and Gallardo, but there is still a chance they could send off Jim Henderson and John Axford. We will be on the lookout for #DugoutHugs in the coming days.

2.) Yovani's bad July continue? - For me, he is the biggest disappointment of this dumpster fire season. Gallardo has been absolutely terrible of late.  He did pitch well against Miami, but that's about it plus I could pitch scoreless against the Marlins for at least three innings. For the month, Yovani's ERA is 7.56 and he has given up 21 runs with 12 walks and only 20 strikeouts. It seems like his confidence is completely shook and hopefully, the Chicago winds are not blowing out Tuesday afternoon.

3.) Guessing the TBD - I will put half of my fake money on Tyler Thornburg. He seems like the logical decision here or Alfredo Figaro. Either one would be great to deliver a spot start. I might be alone here, but I have really enjoyed year two of Thornburg. I think he's pitched really well for the Brewers. Hopefully Thorny gets a chance at starting this week. Figaro would be a fine option. He really has not pitched much since being back on the team last Wednesday, but he did well for his short time as a starter.

4.) Jean Segura's forearm - He did not play on Sunday, and honestly as much as I love watching Mean Jean, there is no need for him to push himself to play. The Brewers are a sparkling 18 games under .500, he can seriously take his time to get back. My assumption would be either he plays today and one game in the doubleheader, or just a single game in the doubleheader. It would be completely illogical for him to play all four games of this series, but then again Ron Roenicke is a robot so who knows.

5.)  Cubs are a little bit hot - They pitched awesome over the weekend in a sweep of San Francisco basically holding the Giants to only a total of three runs and they got no more than five hits in any of the three games. Do you know the Cubs are only seven games under .500?  Do you also know the Cubs have won five of their last seven games?  They are playing good baseball, and I honestly think this team is a year away from actually contending for a playoff spot. Good news for the Brewers!

Music from Chicago


I could really be standard and go with Kanye West, and this one is still pretty basic. Eddie Vedder is the choice. While Pearl Jam started out of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest as most of grunge music did, Vedder is from Evanston, Illinois and he is a massive Chicago sports fan. Pearl Jam recently played a concert at Wrigley.

Cubs' Tweeters  
Justin Jabs and Sean Powell are both great follows if you need Cub news and baseball in general. I am not just saying that because they are Cubs fans whom put up with my Brewer nonsense either.

Prediction
Hoping for a split, but I feel like this is a three out of four for Chicago.

Charlie.

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