Blurb Potential Pitching Rotation Part 4: Randy Wolf

Today is part four in a four part series highlighting Brewers pitchers. Sorry that this is so late.

Once again the stats I made up are the same, if you want to know what they are, look at previous Blurb's from this week.


Overall: Starts: 32, 13-10, 3.61 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, Short Starts: 2, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 21, Bad Starts: 8
Home: Starts: 15, 7-3, 3.40 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, Short Starts: 1, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 11, Bad Starts: 4
Road: Starts: 17, 6-7, 3.81 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, Short Starts: 1, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 10, Bad Starts: 4

Wolf's is a good pitcher to have in your rotation because he has similar stats at home and on the road. Wolf has the second most quality starts (21, second to only Gallardo with 22) of the top four starters, but he also has the most bad starts (8).

Wolf will also be valuable to the Brewers because he has prior postseason experience. In two prior starts for the Dodgers, Wolf has had two no decisions where he pitched 9 IP, and gave up 5 ER, for an ERA of 5.00

If the Brewers play the Braves in the first round Wolf is a very valuable pitcher because of the Braves inability to hit lefties (.229 vs. .252 vs lefties). Good thing we have an abundance of lefties in the bullpen, oh wait...

Wolf would be a good #2 starter vs the Braves at home, but because of Gallardo and Grienke road troubles Wolf will have to be pushed down to #4. I would like to see him maybe being used in the bullpen for game 1 or 2, if the opportunity arises. The Braves struggle vs. lefties, and lefties are an endangered species in Milwaukee.

If the Brewers play the Diamondbacks with homefield advantage, I would consider pitching Grienke on 3 days rest if the Brewers are down 2-1. That would and move Wolf, and set up Gallardo pitching Game 5. Although the Diamondbacks aren't as bad hitting lefties as the Braves, another lefty in the pen wouldn't hurt.

The Blurb's Suggested Playoff Rotation:

vs. Braves Home
1. Grienke
2. Gallardo
3. Marcum
4. Wolf
5. Grienke

vs. Diamondbacks Home
1. Grienke
2. Gallardo
3. Marcum
4. Wolf (Unless Brewers down 2-1 then Grienke pitches)
5. Grienke (Unless Grienke pitches Game 4 then Gallardo would pitch)

vs. Diamondbacks Road
1. Marcum
2. Wolf
3. Grienke
4. Gallardo
5. Marcum

No Blurb tomorrow, but one will be up by Tuesday.

Please Comment and Go Brewers!

Brewers Blurb 9/21 Potential Pitching Rotation Part 3: Yovani Gallardo

For Today's Blurb, we continue the comprehensive look at the starters who should be starting playoff games (Grienke, Marcum, Gallardo, and Wolf). First, lets look at Gallardo's stats.

Once again, the stats that I made up are the same: Short starts (Starts less than 5.0 IP), Bad Starts (Gives up more than 5 ER).

Overall: Starts: 32, 17-10, 3.60 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, Short Starts: 4, Complete Games: 1, Quality Starts: 22, Bad Starts: 6
Home: Starts: 15, 10-2, 3.13 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, Short Starts: 2, Complete Games: 1, Quality Starts: 10, Bad Starts: 2
Road: Starts: 17, 7-8, 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, Short Starts:2, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 12, Bad Stars: 4

Gallardo is a hit or miss starter, you never know what you will get from him. Although that is usually the case, he is on a hot streak lately, and almost unbeatable at home. In his last seven home starts, he has only given up more than two ER just once (8 ER vs . St. Louis). In his last twelve starts only once has he allowed more than 3 ER twice (Both vs. St. Louis).

Gallardo is one of two starters who has postseason experience (the other one being Wolf). In his two postseason appearances in 2008, he pitched 7.0 IP, gave up only four hits, and allowed 0 earned runs (3 unearned). Postseason experience is valuable on a team like the Brewers with little of it to go around.

I trust Gallardo enough to be a number 2 starter at home, and hopefully provide the playoff experience necessary to make a deep run in the playoffs. In a road series, I'd pencil him in Game 4. Keep the pitchers in their comfort zone, and Gallardo's is Miller Park.

The Blurb's Suggested Playoff Rotation

vs. Braves Home
1. Grienke
2. Gallardo
3. Marcum
4.
5. Grienke

vs. Diamondbacks Home

1. Grienke
2. Gallardo
3. Marcum
4.
5. Grienke

vs. Diamondbacks Road

1. Marcum
2.
3. Grienke
4. Gallardo
5. Marcum

Predictions:

Yesterday's Prediction: Brewers 3, Cubs 2
Yesterday's Result: Brewers 5, Cubs 1
Record: 3-1

Great start by Marcum on the road. I wonder if they would have used K-Rod in a save situation last night.

Today's Prediction: Cubs 2, Brewers 1

Matt Garza is on fire right now. Randy Wolf still should put up a good outing.

That's all for the Blurb today, tomorrow will conclude the Potential Pitching Rotation series with Randy Wolf.

Brewers Blurb 9/20 Potenital Playoff Rotation Part 2: Shaun Marcum

Disclaimer #1: Before I begin, just a quick note. From now on, I'm not going to be doing any game previews, or Rapid Response's, I will still try to do a full recap the next day, but I will focus on the Blurb as first priority, and if I have time do a recap. The reason for this is that the Blurb's enormous staff (of one person), is trying to juggle college, work, and the Blurb, and foolishly bit off more then he could chew. Another advantage to this, is that I can spend more time on the Blurbs. For example, yesterday's Blurb was lame. It was too short, and there was barely a paragraph of analysis. The reason for that was I trying to do to much. Now with the shortened load I can focus more of my time and energy on the Blurb, and maybe some recaps. Thanks for understanding and enjoy Today's Blurb!

Disclaimer #2: I use some "stats" that I made up in this blurb, here are their definitions.
Short Starts = Starts less than 5.0 IP
Bad Starts = Gives up 5 or more earned runs

And now without further ado... The Blurb.

For today's Blurb we continue the comprehensive look at each of the Brewers starters that would be pitching in the playoffs. Grienke (Monday), Marcum (Today), Gallardo (Wednesday), and Wolf (Thursday). Today we begin our look at Marcum with a quick glance at his stats.

Overall: Starts: 31, 12-7, 3.40 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, Short Starts: 3, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 19, Bad Starts: 5
Home: Starts: Starts: 16, 5-4, 4.39 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, Short Starts: 1 (1 due to injury), Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 8, Bad Starts: 5
Road: Starts: 15, 7-3, 2.31 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, Short Starts: 2 (1 due to injury), Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 11, Bad Starts: 0

Marucm's stats are the complete opposite of Greinke's. They are perfect rotation partners due to the fact that one is dominant at home, and the other is dominant on the road. That being said, while some of Greinke's and Marcum's numbers may be similar, they aren't all similar. Marcum actually has a lower BAA (.224 compared to Grienke's .237), and a lower HR/FB rate (8.4% compared to Grienke's 13.0%), probably the result of a slower fastball.

Now let's look at Marcum by himself. First get rid of two of his short starts, they were from when he was injured, and the start following that when he pitched only 3 IP. The other short start was from the first game of the year. Since then, he has zero short starts. Think about that, Marcum is giving you at least 5 IP every single time he goes out there. In a playoff game, if you can get your starter to give you at least 5 innings, then Roenicke can proceed to the four closers, Saito, Hawkins, K-Rod, and Axford, and hopefully win a game. Couple that with his dominant 2.31 ERA on the road (and the not so dominant 4.39 ERA at home) and the choice is clear. Marcum starts Game 3 if they are playing the Braves with homefield advantage (setting up a road start for Marucm). If the Brewers do not have homefield advantage, then Marcum should start Games 1 and 5 with Grienke pitching Game 3 .

The Blurb's Suggegested Playoff Rotation

vs. Braves Home
1. Grienke
2.
3. Marcum
4.
5. Grienke

vs. Diamondbacks Home
1. Grienke
2.
3. Marcum
4.
5. Grienke

vs. Diamondbacks Road
1. Marcum
2.
3. Grienke
4.
5. Marcum

Another advantage of this rotation, is that if the Brewers have a home series in the first round and it goes five games, they can still set up Marcum to pitch Game 1 of an away series in the next round.

That is all for the Blurb today, now on to the predictions (From now on Predictions will be included in the Blurb).

Predictions:

Yesterday:

Prediction: Brewers 6 Cubs 4
Result: Cubs 5 Brewers 2
Record: 2-1

It was about time I got my first prediction wrong. Nice outing by Dillard, not so much by Estrada. (Check back next week for a Blurb post on Tim Dillard, and Marco Estrada). Hairston broke his hitless streak!

Today's Prediction: Brewers 3, Cubs 2

Please Comment and Go Brewers!

Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs Series Preview

The Milwaukee Brewers begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs today.

Player to watch:

Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun

Can Braun keep up his MLB leading batting average (.336)? Can he get a few home runs, and some RBI's and contend for the triple crown? Probably not going to happen, but you can't count him out.

Chicago Cubs: Bryan LaHair

This 30 year old first baseman only had one other stint in the major leagues, with Seattle, where he hit .250. This year he is hitting .424 for an OPS of 1.300 (But only in 33 AB's) Obviously, he isn't going to be a 1.300 OPS hitter the rest of his career, but he is on a tear right now.

Pitcher to Watch:

Milwaukee Brewers: Shaun Marcum

In his last two starts, Shaun Marcum has a 8.04 era. Both of those starts were at home.Marcum is a better pitcher on the road where he will get his start this week, so maybe this is just what he needs to bounce back.

Chicago Cubs: Matt Garza

Garza is on fire. In his last nine starts, he has a 2.54 era with a 4-2. He is a tough pitcher to hit right now, and should present the Brewers with their toughest challenge of the series.

Pitching Matchup's

Note: The Bold text isn't the game prediction, it is just showing the better pitcher right now.

Game 1: Chris Narveson (10-7, 4.40 era) vs. Casey Coleman (2-8, 7.06 era)
Game 2: Shaun Marcum (12-7, 3.40 era) vs. Randy Wells (7-4, 4.93 era)
Game 3: Randy Wolf (13-9, 3.45 era) vs. Matt Garza (8-10, 3.51 era)

Prediction: Brewers win series 2-1

Chris Narveson should win the first game, although I am a little bit worried because this is his first start in a while. But I think that the Cubs will win one of the two other games. But still, winning a road series isn't to bad. Lets Go Brewers and get a 5-1 road series.

Sorry no preview today.

Prediction: Milwaukee 6 Cincinnati 4

Please Comment and Go Brewers

Blurb 9/19 Potential Playoff Rotation Part 1: Zack Grienke

Note: For the purposes of this argument, I am assuming that the Brewers will play the Braves in the NLDS with home-field advantage. If that is not the case, than I will adjust accordingly if that situatuion presents itself.

The 2011 playoffs are coming sooner than you think, but who should start where? Should it be Greinke, Marcum, Gallardo, Wolf? Or should we drop Wolf and put him in the bullpen? There are many questions regarding the playoff rotation, and in the Blurb this week, I will examine in a four-part series each of the starters that would be pitching for the Brewers in the postseason (Narveson is not included). Lets start with the number 1 starter in the rotation right now. Zack Grienke

First lets look at his stats.

Overall: 15-6, 3.75 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, Short Starts (Starts less than 5.0 IP): 2, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 19, Bad starts (Gives up more than 5 ER): 4
Home: 10-0, 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, Short Starts: 0, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 11, Bad Starts: 1
Road: 5-6, 4.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, Short Starts: 2, Complete Games: 0, Quality Starts: 8, Bad Starts: 3

Grienke is a different pitcher at home than he is on the road. In the confines of Miller Park, he is an ace, but on the road he's a back of the rotation guy. Or is he? In his last 14 starts (since July 8th) , he has only given up more than 2 ER once (the one exception being the second game of the Pittsburgh doubleheader where he gave up 7 ER in 6.2 IP).

Greinke should start in Game 1 and Game 5 in the NLDS. That would set him up to have two home games, which should equal two victories.

Milwaukee Brewers 8 Cincinnati Reds 1 Full Recap

The Brewers are a pitching-first team. Last year, I couldn’t imagine ever saying it, but this series proved why that is true. The Brewers were sliding, but then Wolf, Gallardo, and Grienke pitched three strong outings, and completed the sweep of the Reds. During which, the bats came alive. This team has a good lineup, but isn’t a hitting first team, which is a good recipe for a deep playoff run.

Now on to the actual game. Grienke could have won the game yesterday with almost no help at all. Greinke was pitching a no-hitter through 4.2 IP, and only gave up two hits the whole day. During one stretch yesterday, all six outs in a row were strikeouts (it would have been consecutive strikeouts, but Betancourt had an error). Grienke had one rough inning, but he got out of it with just one run given up. Zack pitched strong into the seventh until he was lifted for Dillard, and eventually Saito who both had one-two-three innings. Saito’s performance was especially impressive given the fact that he got through his inning needing only five pitches. Saito’s cause was helped out by a spectacular diving play by Carlos Gomez. That is a great sign for Gomez, as he looks confident in the shoulder again. But the story of the day for the defensive side defiantly was Zack Grienke.

There was also an offensive explosion yesterday, particularly in the first two innings where the Brewers jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Top performers of the day include: Prince Fielder (), Ryan Braun (3/4) raised his average to .336 today leading the majors, Corey Hart (With a homer, double, and a single), Rickie Weeks (Double, 2-rbi single), Logan Schafer got his first MLB hit, but Carlos Gomez had the best day of all. Even though he only went ___ he had a homer, nearly had another, and a ____. Combine that with his defense, and there is no question on who should win Position Player of the Day.

Pitching Player of the Game: Zack Grienke (7.0 IP, 2H, 1ER, 10K)

Position Player of the Game: Carlos Gomez

The Brewers magic number is down to four.

Later today, the Blurb will begin its four part series to determine the order of the rotation vs. the Braves, and the Diamondbacks should they play either team at home in a five game series. The order in which I will be discussing each pitcher has in no way any determination on what the Blurb believes its role should be in the playoffs.

Blurb Schedule

Monday: Potential Playoff Rotation Part 1: Zack Grienke

Tuesday: Potential Playoff Rotation Part 2: Shaun Marcum

Wednesday: Potential Playoff Rotation Part 3: Yovanni Gallardo

Thursday: Potential Playoff Rotation Part 4: Randy Wolf

Friday: Week In Review/Brewer of the Week

Saturday and Sunday: No Blurb

Please comment, and GO BREWERS! Lets get another sweep!

Milwaukee Brewers 8 Cincinnati Reds 1 Rapid Response

The Milwaukee swept the Reds with a 8-1 victory today.

Zack Grienke pitched a dominant seven innings, with ten strikeouts, and only giving up two hits and one run. I love how the pitching staff is trying to 1-up each other.

Yuniesky Betancourt has had errors in three consecutive games.

Casey McGeehe is hitless in his last 15 AB, and Taylor Green's hitless streak is at 10.

Schafer got his first hit! Roenicke must have been reading this blog.

How about the speed in the outfield in the 9th (Schafer, Gomez, Morgan). When Nyjer Morgan is your left fielder, you have got some speed.

Nice job by Gomez getting a two-hit game (including that homer). If he can provide any kind of offensive contribution at all (even a .240/.290/.400 type line) with the speed that he has, and his defensive skills, he can be a very dangerous weapon.

Aren't you glad that we have Braun for the rest of his career? 3/4 today raised his batting average to .336.

Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds Game Preview

Milwaukee goes for the sweep, but can Matt Maloney and the Reds stop them?

Pitching for the Brewers today is Zack Grienke (14-6, 3.87 ERA). Grienke has given up more than two earned runs only once in his last thirteen starts. His strongest pitch is his slider which is almost 14 runs above average.

His opponent today is Matt Maloney (0-2, 6.88 ERA). Maloney has only started 1 game in his 7 games pitched this year, in that game he gave up 3 ER in 2 IP. Matt only has one plus pitch which is his changeup (1.6 runs above average) and he throws it a bunch (26% of the time).

Advantage: Brewers

Note: All stats vs. opposing pitchers in the last 5 yearsa

Brewers Lineup

1. RF Corey Hart (.281 Avg/.354 OBP/.502 SLG) vs. Maloney (.000/0 HR/0 RBI)
2. CF Carlos Gomez (.214/.262/.364) vs. Maloney (.000/0/0)
3. LF Ryan Braun (.333/.398/.595) vs. Maloney (.000/0/0)
4. 1B Prince Fielder (.297/.411/.547) vs. Maloney (.000/0/0)
5. 2B Rickie Weeks (.270/.350/.473) vs. Maloney (.000/0/0)
6. 3B Casey McGeehe (.230/.287/.351) vs. Maloney (1.000/0/0)
7. SS Yuniesky Betancourt (.251/.270/.378) vs. Maloney (.000/0/0)
8. C Jonathon Lucroy (.264/.308/.388) vs. Maloney (.000/0/0)
9. P Zack Grienke (.167/.222/.238)

Reds Lineup

1. 2B Brandon Phillips (.296/.347/.447) vs. Greinke (.167/0 HR/0 RBI)
2. SS Edgar Renteria (.260/.319/.363) vs. Grienke (.250/0/1)
3. 1B Joey Votto (.320/.429/.549) vs. Grienke (.500/3/3)
4. RF Jay Bruce (.259/.344/.483) vs. Grienke (.200/0/2)
5. LF Yonder Alonso (.364/.437/.610) vs. Greinke (.000/0/0)
6. 3B Juan Francisco (.238/.273/.429) vs. Greinke (.000/0/0)
7. CF Drew Stubbs (.247/.322/.369) vs. Greinke (.566/0/0)
8. C Devin Mesoraco (.174/.208/.391) vs. Grienke (.000/0/0)
9. P Matt Maloney (.000/.000/.000)

Position Comparaison

1B: Advantage: Cincinnati
2B: Cincinnati
SS: Cincinnati
3B: Milwaukee
LF: Milwaukee
CF: Cincinnati
RF: Milwaukee
C: Milwaukee

Milwaukee Brewers 10 Cincinnati Reds 1 Rapid Response

The Milwaukee Brewers slaughtered the Cincinnati Reds 10-1. Here is the Rapid Response.

How dominant was Gallardo today, he now has 25 K's in his last 13 IP. I wish it was a playoff game so they would let Gallardo stay in for another inning or two instead of taking him out at 100 pitches. He is definatly making the case to be the #1 starter in the playoff rotation (More in Monday-Thursday's Blurb).

Prediction: Weeks plays 9 innings tomorrow. I think because they sat him out today, they are setting him up for a whole game tomorrow.

Nice two days for Braun. Yesterday he hits 2 homers, and joins 30-30 club. Today, 3-5 with another homer, and he's leads the N.L. in batting average.

Is anyone else as high on De La Cruz as I am? He only has given up one earned run in his last eight innings, also he's only given up four hits in that time. Now if only he could get some more work...

Yonder Alonso, my player to watch for the Reds this series, went 1-4 with a homer today. Nice pick if I do say so myself.

Game Prediction: Brewers 3 Reds 1
Result: Brewers 10 Reds 1
Record: 2-0

Please Comment, and Go Brewers!

Player of the Week

The Brewers Blurb first player of the week is...

Prince Fielder!

Prediction

Milwaukee 3 Cincinnati 1

Sorry for no preview. Please Comment and Go Brewers!

Milwaukee Brewers 6 Cincinnati Reds 3 Full Recap

Here is the in-depth recap:

First Inning:

3-and out for the Brewers. Nothing special here.

Wolf gets off to a bit of a dicey start, but some nice defensive plays save him from a lot worse. Braun makes a nice running catch, and Weeks made a nice play to stop the bleeding. I still think though if Weeks was 100% he wouldn't have to dive there.

Second Inning:

That was a shot on that curveball for Fielder. Enjoy your Fielder bombs while you can, because we're running out of them. Rickie Weeks fly out. Then the two outs in the lineup follow suit.

Wolf starts to settle in.

Third Inning:

Wolf gets robbed by Dave Sappelt. Morgan Walks (Hell has frozen over)! Kotsay makes him pay for it with a two-run homer to deep center (Who would have guessed those two at-bats). Not to be outdone, on the very next pitch Braun goes the other way for a solo shot. Arroyo really does give up homeruns. Fielder walks, then Weeks pops up and Arroyo lazily makes Votto run all the way over from first to catch a pop-up that lands a foot in front of him.

Green makes a nice effort, but can't get Brandon Phillips on an infield single. Wolf gets some payback on Dave Sappelt, with a buetiful curveball for strike three. Weeks starts a double play with two on to get out of the inning.

Fourth Inning:

The two outs do what they are supposed to do, then Kottaras mimicks them.

Wolf strikes out Heisey on an inside fastball. 1-2-3 inning #2 for Wolf.

Fifth Inning:

Kotsay doubles but Braun can't drive him in on a nice save by Votto on a bad throw by Janish.

Wolf strikes out Janish on a high fastball. Arroyo does the same.

Sixth Inning:

Fielder strikes out. Weeks walks and is lifted for Schafer. Schafer does a nice job to avoid a double play, but Betancourt strikes out to render that action useless.

Another 1-2-3 inning, another Wolf strikeout.

Seventh Inning:

Kottaras goes yard on a breaking ball. It will be nice to have some power off the bench in the playoffs. After getting Wolf, Arroyo is taken out.

1-2-3 Inning, 1 K. This getting repetative? I'm not complaing, Wolf has retired 13 in a row.

Eigth Inning:

Braun goes the other way again to join the 30-30 club. Fielder bloops a single, but then the three outs come up, but Betancourt isn't given an oppurtunity to get an out because Green gets two for him.

Hairston almost makes a great play, but it drops in for a single. There goes 13 retired in a row, nice job Wolf. Two more singles bases loaded. K-Rod comes in for Wolf. After getting Alonso, my player to watch of the series for the Reds, to fly out. Votto does his thing with a two-RBI single. Nice job by K-Rod remembering to back up Kottaras. Bruce grounds into another double play.

Ninth Inning:

Betancourt does his thing. Kottaras walks. Lucroy grounds into a double play ball, but Kottaras forces Phillips to jump so he can't complete the play. Morgan has two walks in a game, I've seen it all. But Gomez is Gomez and the inning is over.

Axford is in the building.

Once again Betancourt does his thing with an error. But he makes up for it by starting a double play. Fielder does a nice job of picking up the throw from the dirt. Single. Out. Game Over.

Axford gets his 40th consecutive save. Brewers beat the Reds. Magic Number down to 7. Brewers up one game on Arizona, now if only the Cardinals could have lost.

No game preview today, but there will be a late blurb sometime before the game where I will give the game prediction.

Please Comment and Go Brewers.

Milwaukee Brewers 6 Cincinnati Reds 3 Rapid Response

Every games recap here at the Blurb will be done in two phases:

1. The Rapid Response will usually be posted within one hour of the completion of the game (Player of the Game finalists will be named)
2. The Full Recap will be posted the next day. The point of this is to sleep on the game before I write a full recap, so as to better objectively cover the game (Player of the Game named)

Here is the Rapid Response.

Brilliant move by Ron Roenicke by starting Mark Kotsay today. Kotsay probably should have gone 3-4 today if it weren't for Brandon Phillips amazing catch.

The sixth spot contained two players with sizable hitless streaks Jerry Hairston Jr. (0 hits in his last 18 AB's), and Taylor Green (0 hits in his last 10 AB's).

I wish they would let Logan Schafer bat sometime, or at least let him play in the field (maybe they did and I missed it) instead of always only having him pinch-run. It would be refreshing to see him instead of Carlos Gomez in one of these garbage games.

Interesting decision to let Lucroy catch the 9th, either Roenicke has confidence in Lucroy's catching ability to let him catch in the 9th instead of Kottaras, or he just wants Lucroy to get some more practice. Maybe all of this speculation about Kottaras being a better catcher than Lucroy is wrong?

Congrats on entering the 30-30 club Ryan Braun. You are only the second player in Brewer history to accomplish this tremendous feat. The other player was Tommy Harper who did it in 1970.

Also congrats on 40 consecutive saves for John Axford only two more to get to half of Eric Gange's 84 consecutive saves.

Pre-Game Prediction: Brewers 5 Reds 4

Result: Brewers 6 Reds 3

Record: 1-0

Hey, at least I got the winner, and the runs scored correct

Finalists for Players of the Game

Ryan Braun, Randy Wolf, Mark Kotsay, John Axford

Sorry this is up so late, more coverage from tonight's game tomorrow, including the Player of the Game award.

Please Comment and Go Brewers.

Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds Preview Part 2: Lineup

All stats vs. pitchers in the last 5 years

Milwaukee Brewers

1. CF Nyjer Morgan (.308/.355/.435) vs. Arroyo (.250 0 HR 0 RBI)
2. RF Mark Kotsay (.260/.315/.342) vs. Arroyo (.143 0 HR 1 RBI)
3. LF Ryan Braun (.329/.395/.579) vs. Arroyo (.257 2 HR 6 RBI)
4. 1B Prince Fielder (.294/.402/.542) vs. Arroyo (.225 3 HR 7 RBI)
5. 2B Rickie Weeks (.271/.350/.475) vs. Arroyo (.182 2 HR 4 RBI)
6. 3B Taylor Green (.320/.320/.440) vs. Arroyo (.000 0 HR 0 RBI)
7. SS Yuniesky Betancourt (.251/.270/.374) vs. Arroyo (.333 1 HR 3 RBI)
8. C George Kottaras (.247/.295/.454) vs. Arroyo (.167 0 HR 0 RBI)
9. P Randy Wolf (.179/.179/.232)

Cincinnati Reds

1. 2B Brandon Phillips (.296/.348/.450) vs. Wolf (.273 4 HR 5 RBI)
2. LF Dave Sappelt (.247/.273/.318) vs. Wolf (.000 0 HR 0 RBI)
3. 1B Joey Votto (.319/.428/.550) vs. Wolf (.320 0 HR 3 RBI)
4. RF Jay Bruce (.262/.349/.489) vs. Wolf (.450 2 HR 2 RBI)
5. CF Chris Heisey (.257/.309/.506) vs. Wolf (.000 0 HR 0 RBI)
6. 3B Miguel Cairo (.267/.333/.407) vs. Wolf (.500 0 HR 0 RBI)
7. C Ramon Hernandez (.281/.337/.451) vs. Wolf (.429 0 HR 0 RBI)
8. SS Paul Janish (.204/.251/.252) vs. Wolf (.385 0 HR 1 RBI)
9. P Bronson Arroyo (.120/.120/.160)

Advantage:

1B: Cincinnati
2B: Cincinnati
SS: Milwaukee
3B: Cincinnati
LF: Milwaukee
CF: Milwaukee
RF: Cincinnati
C: Cincinnati
P (Hitting): Milwaukee

Please Comment and Go Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds Game Preview Part 3: Predicition

The Milwaukee Brewers are the better team on paper, but is it just me or do they always struggle against the Reds espically away from home. But Bronson Arroyo is just too bad of a pitcher, and I just fell that the Brewers are on the verge of a run.

Prediction: Milwaukee 5 Cinncinnati 4

Please Comment and Go Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds Preview Part 1: Pitching

Randy Wolf (12-9, 3.44 era) will pitch for the Brewers tonight. He is coming off a fantastic last two starts (8.0 IP, 1 ER vs. St. Louis) and (7.0 IP, 2ER vs. Philadelphia). As with all the other pitchers in this rotation, Wolf is fighting for positioning on the playoff rotation. He is establishing himself as a good postseason option, but he is often vulnerable to a bad outing (He has given up five or more earned runs in two out of his last five, and three out of his last eight starts).

Wolf throws a 88mph fastball around half of the time. He also throws a 84mph slider and a 68mph curveball about 20% percent of the time, and a 79mph change-up the rest of the time. His two plus pitches are his fastball (8.2 runs above average), and curveball (5 runs above average. His slider is 3 runs below average, and his change-up is 2.4 runs below average.

Bronson Arroyo (8-11, 5.28era) is pitching for the Reds. Arroyo has given up five or more runs in two of his last three starts. His last start he gave up 6ER in 1IP. Arroyo will give up a few homeruns (2.05 HR/9) which should play into the hands of the Brewers.

Bronson throws five pitches. He throws his 87mph fastball 47% of the time and it is more than 22 runs below average. He also has a slightly above average 85mph cutter, which he throws 3% of the time, and a below average 80mph change-up pitched around 18% of the time. His two best pitches are his slider (75mph, thrown 16%, 3 runs above average), and his curveball (72mph, thrown 12%, 3.4 runs above average).

Advantage: Brewers

Please Comment and Go Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Cincinnati Reds Series Preview

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds begin a three-game series today.

Players to watch:

Milwaukee Brewers: Rickie Weeks

How will Weeks continue to recover from his injury. He has played ok so far, but he still needs to show some improvement especially in his defence.

Cincinnati Reds: Yonder Alonso

In the Reds last 30 games Yonder Alonso his hit .347/.429/.571 with a 1.000 OPS. He has had 3 HR's despite limited playing time. This guy will be dangerous for a long time either for the Reds, or whoever else will end up having him.

Pitcher to watch:

Milwaukee Brewers: Fransisco Rodriguez

Although K-Rod is complaining, he is still performing well for the Brewers (2.31 era, 23.1 IP). Will he keep it up, or will he lose motivation, and start playing poorly? The plot thickens.

Cincinnati Reds: Edinson Volquez

Edinson Volquez just completed his first major league start since July (5IP, 2ER, 4H, 4BB, 3K). Can he have another decent start, or will he revert to his poor pitching of earlier this year?

Pitching Matchup's

Game 1: Randy Wolf (12-9, 3.44 era) vs. Bronson Arroyo (8-11, 5.28 era)
Game 2: Yovanni Gallardo (16-10, 3.66 era) vs. Edinson Volquez (5-5, 5.80 era)
Game 3: TBA vs. Dontrelle Willis (0-6, 5.04 era)

Prediction: Brewers sweep

I feel like Milwaukee is due for a sweep, even against the dreaded Reds. On paper this should be an easy series victory for the Brewers. But it is on the road, and the Brewers aren't always themselves against the Reds. Although what is their true self? September or August? Hopefully the August Brewers will show up now, throughout the rest of the season, and into the postseason.

Go Brewers

Blurb 9/16 Week in Review

For the Blurb today, I will be grading the Brewers over the last 7 days.

Grading System: In order to be included a player must have at least .1 IP per team game played, or 1 PA for team game played.
A: Amazing week: This player is playing out of his mind
B: Solid week: Not Great but good
C: Average week: Nothing to be ashamed of
D: Below Average week: A down week (or a good week for Yuni B)
F: Bad week: Too many of these should get a player kicked off the team (Yuni B)

A+:
A: Prince Fielder, Zack Grienke, Chris Narveson
A-: Corey Hart, John Axford
B+: Ryan Braun, Yovanni Gallardo
B: Yovanni Gallardo, Fransisco Rodriguez, Randy Wolf
B-: Rickie Weeks, Kameron Loe
C+: Nyjer Morgan
D: Yuniesky Betancourt,
D-: Jonathon Lucroy
F: George Kottaras, Jerry Hairston, Taylor Green, Casey McGeehe, Shaun Marcum, LaTroy Hawkins

Small Sample Size:
Thumbs Up: Takashi Saito, Michael Fiers, Marco Estrada, Carlos Gomez, Craig Counsell
Neutral: Josh Wilson
Thumbs Down: Mark Kotsay

If you have any questions on the grading of any player, leave it in the comments and I will respond.

Player of the Week Finalists:

Prince Fielder, Zack Grienke, Chris Narveson, Corey Hart, John Axford

Who do you think should be player of the week? Tell me about it in the comments. Come back tomorrow for the presentation of the Brewer Blurb Player of the Week Award.

Go Brewers

Prince Fielder: Distraction or Added Desire?

Disclaimer: The following blurb is heavily based on this article http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110914&content_id=24690804&notebook_id=24717800&vkey=notebook_mil&c_id=mil if you have not read this article I would strongly recommend that you read it before you continue.

Today is the first ever Blurb! In the Blurb, I will give you my rant of the day, and you can respond and give me your own opinion. Any suggestions on modifying the Blurb is always appreciated. Today's blurb is on Prince Fielder's comments on saying this is probably his last year with the Brewers.

We all knew that this was likely going to be Prince's last year, but why say that to the public now? Why throw your team under the bus with another distraction? If Prince is the leader of this team isn't that just a dumb move that will let their world series hopes slip away? Wrong.

Prince is providing extra motivation that this team needs. Now you could probably argue that the Milwaukee Brewers don't need any more motivation, but they are 3-9 in their last 12 games when they are playing real MLB teams (a.k.a. teams not named the Houston Astros). The amazing August is over, and this team is struggling in September. The Brewers are in a rut right now. Prince Fielder's words may snap them back to reality.

Even more dire is that Arizona is tied with the Brewers for home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs, and the Cardinals are only 5.5 games behind. Realizing the timing was perfect, Prince Fielder give his team a wake up call now all they have to do is act on it. It's all or nothing, management has been saying it earlier in the year with their trades. Now the big boy himself said it. There is no mistaking the level of urgency of this season for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Now it has been said lately by a few Brewer writers that momentum going into the playoffs is not necessary for winning the World Series. Now while this is true, it certainly doesn't mean that momentum doesn't help a team. Looking past their first opponent is a monster named the Phillies. They are a better team than us on paper. But one of the few advantages the Brewers have over the Phillies is that the Brewers window is mainly just this year, while the Phillies have the potential to be contenders for the next few years. This is an advantage because subconsciously the Brewers will be playing harder for their opportunity for their one shining moment (Sorry for mixing sports metaphors), while the Phillies will have more chances down the road, so naturally they won't have the same drive as the Brewers do. In baseball, you need to capitalize on your advantages, and by saying what he did, Prince Fielder is doing that. The Brewers can beat the Phillies. It won't be easy, and they will need every little break and extra motivation that they can get, but they can beat the Phillies.

Prince Fielder is being a smart leader by giving his team a wake-up call. Hopefully the Brewers will be smart enough to listen.

So that is the blurb, please comment.