Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones tips his cap to Brewers fans after receiving a standing ovation on Monday. Photo: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

This is very special for me, because normally I only do this with Brewers players.  I think in this case, we can all make an exception.

Chipper Jones is arguably one of the greatest 3rd baseman to ever play the game of baseball.  There is no doubt in my mind, that he is the greatest 3rd baseman of my generation.  And even though he isn’t a Brewer, he is one of my favorite baseball players.  Since today is the final time that he will show his face at Miller Park in a players uniform, I thought it only fair to take a look at some of his highlights against the Brewers.  You will note that I focused on home runs, because aside from that, there were not too many other amazing Chipper moments against the Crew.  No game winning hits, or game winning defensive plays (we should count ourselves lucky).  But do not be deceived, he waxed the Brewers for 19 home runs during his career.  Not too shabby.

Chipper Jones, We Hardly Knew Ye

Chipper Jones hit his first home run against the Brewers in 1998.  It was career home run number 75 already, which was pretty impressive.  The home run was hit to DEEP left field off of Chad Fox (almost forgot he existed) on a 1-2 count.  It was in a game at the newly opened Turner Field.  Jones hit 2 more homers against the Brewers in 1998, career bombs number 90 and 99.  Number 90 came off of Steve Woodard at Old Milwaukee County Stadium, while number 99 was off of Brad Woodall at Turner Field again. 

In 1999, he single-handedly swept the Brewers out of County Stadium, by hitting a home run in 3 out of the 4 games in the series.  Those bombs came off of Horacio Estrada, David Weathers, and Scott Karl (all possible 2013 nominees for the Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss).  The 3rd and final home run was career number 120 for Chipper, this was only his 5th full year in the league…and it was only May.  He tacked on one more home run before 1999 was over, it came against Bill Pulsipher (who?) and it was career number 133 for Chipper.

Chipper hit his first home run at Miller Park on May 1st of 2002.  He launched a first inning, first pitch, shot to right center field.  Rafael Furcal (current Cardinals jerk) was on base at the time.  It came against Brewers “superstar” Ruben Quevedo.  It was his 231st career home run.

The next two bombs that Chipper hit, came against current Atlanta Braves teammate Ben Sheets.  Chipper launched a 2-run shot and a solo shot off of Sheets, one came at the tail end of 2002 and the other at the start of the 2003 season.  Sheets is the only Brewers pitcher Chipper homered off of more than once….oh, no wait….that is not true at all.

On June 7th of 2009, Chipper Jones homered off of Manny Parra (current bullpen disaster) twice in the same game.  The first was a solo home run in the 3rd inning, and the second was a 3-run blast.  Those counted as career shots number 414 and 415.  This was really the only single game where Chipper dismantled the Brewers single-handedly.  Not bad, when you consider that he demolished the Phillies and Mets for the past decade and a half. 

All-in all, Chipper hit career home runs — 75, 90, 99, 118, 119, 129, 133, 197, 231, 239, 256, 284, 332, 384, 414, 415, 420, 433, and finally number 456 (which happened on April 15th of this season against Chris Narveson) against the Brewers.  He homered off of — Chad Fox, Steve Woodard, Brad Woodall, Horacio Estrada, David Weathers, Scott Karl, Bill Pulsipher, Jimmy Haynes, Ruben Quevedo, Ben Sheets (2), Luis Vizcaino, Tomo Ohka, Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra (2), Carlos Villanueva, Dave Bush, and Chris Narveson.

The reason I wrote this is, when I was a kid Paul Molitor left for Toronto and Robin Yount was in the twilight of his career.  There were not any Brewers players, after Yount left, who I admired and wanted to be like.  Pat Listach and John Jaha where nothing more than one year wonders.  Chipper Jones filled that void for me.  I remember cheering on the Braves in the 1995 World Series.  At that time he was today’s equivalent of Mike Trout.  1995 was the first year that I played little league and I wore number 10 (even though my favorite number was 12) because I wanted to be like Chipper Jones. 

Today is the last time we will see him in Miller Park, so if you are going to the game tonight, treat him like the hero he is.  Remember, the Braves and Brewers share a very strong history together.  So in a way, Chipper is kind of a Brewer at heart…at least for me. 

Thank you Chipper, for everything you have given the game of baseball.  I wish that I could repay you for what you gave me in my childhood, but this will have to do.  Best of luck to you in all of your future endeavors.  And thank you for joining Twitter.  You are a laugh riot.

John Axford hasn’t been spared from this, either. After April of 2011, this guy was one of the premier closers in the game. He broke Francisco Cordero’s previous Brewers save record of 44 by notching 46 saves, which was tied for the National League lead with Craig Kimbrel of the Braves. Axford also boasted a stellar 1.95 ERA in 2011. He even appeared on the Cy Young Award and MVP ballots, placing ninth and 17th, respectively.

But it’s been a completely different season for Axford this year. Every so often, you’ll see a closer with a high ERA, but sometimes it’s deceptive because he has a better ERA in save situations. But that isn’t the case with Axford; his 5.08 ERA tells you every bit how bad he’s been in the closer’s role, as do his league-leading eight blown saves.

From what I’ve seen- and I’m sure other would agree- it’s Axford’s confidence that’s making him falter. In 2011, he looked like he was in complete control on the mound. This year, his body language looks different, and he almost looks scared to throw certain pitches. That certain pitch is probably the curveball, which he seems to have lost all control of this year. In 2011, he’s devastating 12-6 curve, paired with the high-90’s fastball and slider, was what made him such a dominant closer. The curve just hasn’t been there for him this year, and he was probably struggling to adjust.Until recently, that is. Axford converted saves in the last two games of the Cubs series. He looked like he was in 2011-form in the last game, as he struck out the side. The one thing I noticed was he didn’t rely on the curve; he got by using the fastball-slider combination. That tells me he’s finally adjusted to closing without the curveball.And Axford knows that now. Apparently, Axford personally asked Ron Roenicke for the closer’s role back. He said he wanted to restore order in the bullpen, and took blame for the inconsistency of the bullpen the past few months by not being able to lock down the important closer’s role.Axford’s problem all year, starting with that blown save in Kansas City, was confidence. But, it had to have taken confidence to personally ask the manager for the role that he’d been struggling in back, which says his confidence is starting to return. Now Axford needs to continue bringing that confidence back to the mound in the ninth inning, and he could be back into 2011 form before we know it.

(Rimshot, hold for laughter)

(Still holding)

But seriously folks, we’re here to celebrate the best of the rest of the National League in our season so far. The National League’s awards stack up just the same as Brewers awards did: MVP, one Silver Slugger, one Gold Glove, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Best Reliever. Without further ado, let’s get this show on the road.

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After Prince Fielder left via free agency last offseason, everyone thought the Brewers would still be able to contend. And, if they had a healthy team, they could have contended. But, injuries took their toll, and now it’s come to this.

The Brewers are currently 34-41, fourth place in the National League Central. They started an extremely crucial three-game series against the Reds in Cincinnati the day before yesterday, when their record stood at 33-39. The Brewers needed to capitalize on this series and at least take two of three, but were unable to do that. Instead, they took one of three, which could be a difference maker- 7.5 games back is definitely better than 9.5 games back. But, the way things have gone lately, it appears that the long winning streak the Brewers need to get back in the race is highly unlikely to happen.

With each passing day, and each depressing loss (sometimes a win is thrown in every few days), the Brewers are looking more and more like sellers. And who is the biggest trade piece that everyone is interested in?

Unfortunately, it’s Zack Greinke, who has been far and away the Brewers’ best pitcher this year. With his win today, he’s 9-2 with a 2.82 ERA, and is bound to be an NL All-Star. He also finished June 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA. He’s been the Brewers’ ace and stopper all year. To cap that off, he’s invincible at Miller Park, owning a 15-0 record there since joining the Brewers.

With all that said, though, we have to take into account the business side of baseball. In the past, Greinke expressed his interest in remaining in Milwaukee long-term, but things have become complicated since then. Last year, Greinke fired his agent, and was acting as his own agent for a few months during the offseason. He finally did hire a new agent early this year in Casey Close. But, on that same day, Matt Cain signed a six-year, $127 million deal with the Giants. Greinke and Cain were both to become the most coveted free agent starters on the market in the 2012-2013 offseason, but obviously Cain’s deal affects Greinke. In other words, he’s probably out of the Brewers’ price range, which is likely why the conversations between Close and Doug Melvin have subsided.

So, unless the Brewers come out of nowhere and sign Greinke to an extension- which still isn’t completely ruled out, behind-the-scenes discussions could be going on- before the All-Star break, he’s as good as gone. And now we’re hearing about possible suitors; two in particular.

The Rangers reportedly had a scout at the Brewers-Reds game today watching Greinke’s start. Texas would make sense as a destination for Greinke- they just lost Colby Lewis to the disabled list, where Derek Holland already is as well. Plus, the Rangers were interested in acquiring Greinke the same offseason that the Brewers landed him, so it makes sense that they’re still gunning for him. Also, another interesting note- there was speculation that Greinke was pulled from today’s game early because he had been traded to Texas, but it sounds like that was just a rumor.

Then, I read an interesting article earlier today about another possible suitor I hadn’t thought of: the Braves. They’re also looking for starting pitching help. They have Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson in place as duel aces, but, beyond that, their rotation is very foggy. The ERA leader of the Majors, Brandon Beachy, is out for the year, Jair Jurrjens is attempting to come back from injuries and ineffectiveness, and Mike Minor has been just flat out ineffective as well. Not to mention the injury history of both Hudson and Hanson. But there’s a more interesting story behind the Braves situation: they’re already planning to sign Greinke to an extension.

Now, let’s not get to ahead of ourselves, Atlanta. They may have been able to pull it off with Dan Uggla two offseasons ago, but I think they’re getting a bit cocky here. Plus, they’ve already said that they don’t want to give up the amount of prospects that the Brewers will likely want. If they can’t even commit that far, then odds are they won’t get him.

As much as we’ve loved Greinke this season, we may have to get our farewells ready soon. Unless Melvin pulls an extension out of nowhere- which, as recent history shows, he’s not afraid of doing- Greinke is as good as gone.

Maybe we’ll be blessed and Greinke stays in Milwaukee, but the odds are against us.

The Brewers look to Ishikawa's experience to help the lineup. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

I really can’t say this move that Ron Roenicke made is by any means surprising, but it is a good topic for discussion. Travis Ishikawa is the veteran player over Brooks Conrad and actually did fairly better than Conrad in Spring Training. Of course, Roenicke has announced that Ishikawa will be Mat Gamel’s back up at first, which if Gamel doesn’t produce, I’d be fine with Ishikawa at first. Though, what exactly does this all say for Brooks Conrad? Tough luck? Better luck next time? No. Conrad still can play and maybe will prove himself to have a Brewers’ roster spot later in the season.

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Having Braun back can make all the difference in the world. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Let’s face it, we all want the momentum from 2011 again. Ryan Braun’s back, we’ve got new faces in Aramis Ramirez and Alex Gonzalez alongside others and the pitching is still solid. So why exactly is 2012 critical? I know even though Prince is gone, we still have guys who want to play for Milwaukee and not for the money. I’m hoping that a selective few are a part of that and not just money-hungry athletes, I’m looking at you Zack Greinke. There’s a lot of concerns the Brewers face, such as the obvious how does life go on without Prince, will the pitching stay consistent and how can we fare against the Cardinals who won the World Series?  There’s a lot more than that, but focusing on the positives,  two good years in a row would be great for our ball club and here’s to hoping that doesn’t fade!

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May 9, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Jose Veras (43) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Reading Lou’s article really got me to thinking about the future of the Brew Crew. Does it start with pitching? How about with the offense? All I know that is you need to learn to crawl before you can walk. Brewer Nation does not want to see the Dark Ages again, and frankly, it starts with keeping what they already have. Jose Veras could perhaps be a stepping stone in the right direction, but nobody really knows at this point. He was traded to the Brewers in December for Casey McGehee, but he needs to prove himself before he can start demanding money. That said, the Brewers really aren’t in a position to start nitpicking at who they have and who they don’t. Takashi Saito is gone, K-Rod only has a year left and nobody really can say for sure how the younger guys like Amaury Rivas, Wily Peralta and Michael Fiers will even perform.

Looking at this situation realistically, the Brewers winning the arbitration case over Veras proves a point, they’re not messing around. Coming so close to the World Series last year, they want to continue this feeling of victory. To me, it really looks like the Brewers are saying “Hey, we don’t know how you’ll (Veras) perform, so you need to work to earn your pay”. That’s an approach most teams should take, especially when it comes to relief pitchers. Nobody wants a starter to pitch his heart out, go seven solid innings, giving up one run only to end the day with a loss or no decision. That solely falls on the shoulders of relief pitching and here’s to hoping Veras can give us that.

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     Chris Narveson takes the mound against Brandon Beachy.  This will only be the 4th start of Beachy’s career.  The Brewers need to take advantage of that fact and work the count.  Make the kid throw a lot of pitches early in the game.  As for Narveson, he just needs to be confident.  Sometimes Narveson starts to get hesitant with his pitches and that is usually when the wheels fall off of his pitching train. 

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