Oh, how things can change in just two or so years.

Today, it’s the complete opposite. The Brewers offense has been sub-par, to say the least, this year. They’re .239 team batting average is the third-worst in the National League, only ahead of the awful offenses of the Pirates and Padres. Braun is still here and producing (but I have to admit he’s had some very bad at-bats lately, despite his success). Offseason pickup Aramis Ramirez finally appears to be heating up. The other consistent power source as of late, surprisingly, is Martin Maldonado (note that he was hitting .198 at Triple-A Nashville prior to his call-up). But, other than that, the offense is as inconsistent as it’s ever been. Corey Hart has produced solid power numbers at times, but it feels like he’s even streakier than in recent years. Weeks has been hitting below the Mendoza line pretty much all year, and it looks like he’s becoming the 2012 version of Adam Dunn.

But the one thing the Brewers can take pride in- at least right now- is the consistency of their starting pitching, especially lately. Coming into today, Brewers starters had a 2.25 ERA in their last nine games. And that ERA probably went down after Michael Fiers’ nice performance in Minnesota today. Unfortunately, though, the Brewers starters’ record in this ten game span is just 4-1. Not to say that’s a bad record or anything, but, thanks to the offense and bullpen, the starters aren’t factoring in near as many decisions as they should. And, the Brewers’ record in this span of great pitching is 6-4. That does include series wins against the Padres and Twins, but the crushing blow was the sweep in Kansas City, despite great outings from Zack Greinke, Randy Wolf, and Shaun Marcum. Wolf and Marcum should have each had wins that series, but the Brewers’ bullpen, paired with some questionable defense, managed to embarrassingly lose those games.

This run of starting pitching will have to return to earth eventually, but, before it ends, the Brewers need to capitalize on it. Their record currently stands at 30-35, fourth in the NL Central. Had the Brewers been able to win those two games they blew in KC, they could be hovering around .500, rather than sitting at the position they’re in. That position is 7.5 games behind the first place Reds, who are on a tear after winning their fifth consecutive game today. So the Brewers are still in shouting distance because of where we are in the season, but now is the time to pick up ground. The starting pitching has responded to this, but the offense and bullpen have yet to get the memo. They’ll need to soon if the Brewers want to make a season of this.

This afternoon we got our second look at Randy Wolf.  And, for the second time, Randy did not disappoint.  Wolf threw 2.2 innings, no hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts.  That paired with his two shutout innings earlier this week…that puts him just shy of 5 scoreless innings to start ST.  Randy must be playing for one last contract, I guess.  Might as well try to dominate all season.  I have found that it never hurts to be good at what you do, so I encourage this behavior.  We have had our ups and downs together, but I would like to see you have another season like 2011.  If you do that, you will be off my S-list.

Speaking of my S-List…I really did not want to like Brooks Conrad.  Primarily, because I did not want him to take away the roster spot for Taylor Green.  Truth is, that old guy has got some game.  Their is no doubt that he can play defense.  Those 3 errors in the playoffs a few years ago must have been a fluke.  Conrad has made some big time plays at 2nd base so far this spring for the Crew.  Then today, we got to see why he is known as one of the best power pinch-hitters in baseball.  In the bottom of the 4th inning, Brooks launched a solo-shot to the opposite field.  I have not seen it, but it didn’t sound like there was any concern about it clearing the fence.  He also had a single in his first at-bat.  In the end, he will be the new Mark Kotsay.  Let’s just hope that he is better…than Mark Kotsay.  I can still loathe Mark Kotsay, even if he is in San Diego.  He can run, but he can’t hide from my dislike of him.  And for the record, I like Conrad more than I like Kotsay, but it is early…. 

Milwaukee Brewers catcher

Conrad was not the only home run hitter today.  Nyjer Morgan hit a home-run.  I am not joking, that happened.  Mat Gamel hit a home run for the second day in a row.  Never going to complain about that.  Last, but certainly not least, was Jon Lucroy.  By far the hottest batter on the team, Lucroy went 3 for 4 today, including that homer.  He also caught 6 innings of no-hit baseball.

Randy Wolf no hit 2.2, Juan Perez no-hit 1.1, Francisco Rodriguez no-hit 1 inning, Manny Parra no-hit 1…but then gave up a hit to the first batter of the 7th inning.  That aside, Parra only allowed that one hit in two full innings.  Amaury Rivas also threw a very nice inning.  At this point, I honestly thought they were going to shutout the Indians.  It helped relieve my anxiety, knowing that the score was 12-0.  Zach Braddock came out for the 9th…and…well, he got pimp slapped (couldn’t think of a better way to say it, is pimp slapping still relevant?).  Walked the first batter, got an out, walked the next batter, got another out, and then Adam LaRoche doubled.  12-2 was the final.  Finally, some signs of life from this team.

Great game to listen to.  The Brewers scored in every inning accept the 1st.  Everyone hit…accept Ryan Braun, but I am not worried.  Not while Jonathan Lucroy is on the team.  That little Tasmanian Devil is batting .636 on the spring.  Logan Schafer and Caleb Gindl continue to hit with relative ease. Every Brewers batter who had at least 2 AB’s had a hit (accept Braun).  Things seemed to be clicking today.  Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, but if nothing else it was nice to see them score runs. 

In closing, I read a very amusing story on Brew Crew Ball today about Wayne Franklin.  That is not a joke.  It is a birthday article for Wayne Franklin.  Wayne Franklin was Jeff Suppan before we had Jeff Suppan.  Kyle Lobner does a nice job of not focusing on how awful Franklin was in Milwaukee.  It is worth a read, if you are in the mood for a trip down horrible nightmare lane.   

Go Brewers!!!

At yesterday’s ‘Brewers On Deck’,  Brewers head negotiator Teddy Werner said that negotiations with Shaun Marcum were “making good progress”.  Here is my question for Teddy, what kind of negotiations?  Because if I am being real with Mr. Werner, a one year contract for Marcum is about as useful as a house in Seattle made of cardboard. 

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     There has to be a reason.  Science tells us, that for every action there is an opposite and equal re-action.  This fact, along with my reading of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has lead me down a road of nonsense.  I can not sit by and believe that Roenicke continues his love affair with Kotsay because he is simply “a left-handed bat”.  After watching Roenicke pull Jon Lucroy in the bottom of the 9th inning on Wednesday, in favor of Kotsay, it dawned on me that something fishy is going on inside the Brewers organization.  How is it that Kotsay and Ron Ron are attached?  What happened in each of their lives that has given them this super-human bond, capable of clouding all sense of judgement?  I have a few theories. 

Warning: If you hate sci-fi and general non-sense, it is best to turn back now.  While these are intended for nothing more than humor, some of you may not enjoy it.  This is what I have been reduced too.  These are the only things that make sense to me anymore.

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In a way I have mixed emotions about Looper. At times he did struggle, but other times he was not that bad. I guess we will have to see how this works out for the Brewers. The Brewers right now still have four returning starters in Yovani Gallardo, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra.

Braden Looper is another pitcher the Brewers must decide on as well. Looper presents an interesting problem as at times he pitched well and other times he looked bad and has a 6.5 million option the Brewers must decide on.

Lackey is a starter the Brewers could use, but in the end they must weigh if signing him is worth what you may lose. If the Brewers did sign Lackey they would have to surrender a draft pick which is 14th in the draft. I do not know if I would want to lose that pick. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.

After seeing the Milwaukee Brewers were trailing 6-1 at one point I thought to myself another loss was coming. The Cardinals had Adam Wainwright pitching and he was mowing down Brewers hitters. To my shock though the Brewer kept fighting and came back to get a 12-6 win and deny Wainwright his 20th win of the season.

Braden Looper starter for the Brewers and he is probably still shaking his head trying to figure how he won this game. Looper went 6.0 innings giving up 10 hits and six earned runs to garner the win. The Brewers bullpen came in and shut the door for the Brewers to preserve the win for Looper.

The Brewers pounded out 12 hits with Craig Counsell getting three hits and Ryan Braun getting two. Braun also drove in three runs by himself and Prince was issued three walks as well. Fielder is starting to see pitchers are trying to avoid him and this year his walks have really increased.  I have to give the Brewers credit for fighting back after being down 6-1. They could have gave up and just played it out, but they did not. They wanted to win and went out and did just that.

Even though the playoffs have been gone for a number of weeks it’s good to see the Milwaukee Brewers have not given up on winning games. Ryan Braun hit a walk off home run in the ninth inning to give the Brewers a 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. This win makes it two in a row against the World Series Champions and at least the Brewers are still playing hard.

Braden Looper started for the Brewers and went 6.0 innings giving up five runs with only three being earned though. Looper did give up two home runs which has been a problem all season long for him and many of the other Brewers pitchers as well. The bullpen pitched well with Trevor Hoffman picking up the win.

Ryan Braun was the hitting star yesterday with a 3 for 5 day and a walk off home run to win it. The Brewers as a team did get 11 hits and got the ones they needed when it counted the most which is very important.  Most of the season the Brewers could not get the timely hit, but yesterday they did which was nice to see.

So much for the winning streak the Brewers had, so long to the good pitching performances we had, back to the same old Brewers. Last night at Miller park the Cubs flexed their muscle and battered Milwaukee pitchers for a easy 10-2 win over the Brewers. A dose of reality set in for the Brewers fans after winning five straight games.

Braden Looper started for the Brewers who had pitched well in his previous start, but last night lasted just 4.0 innings. Looper gave up 10 hits and seven earned runs and was probably glad that he got pulled anyways. The bullpen pitched okay at least they only allowed three runs rest of the way so that was not to bad I guess.

The Brewers did manage 12 hits off of Cubs pitching, but besides two home runs from Mike Cameron they really had nothing to show for it.  The Brewers were 1-9 with runners in scoring position. If you bat like that you will not win very many games at all. The only good thing is the Brewers season is coming to an end so we will not have to see many more games like this.

Braden Looper pitched well enough to win and Alcides Escobar had one of the best games of his Major League career to give the Brewers a 9-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. Looper got his 13th win the most of his career and right now he is probably pitching better then any of the Brewers starters right now.

Looper only pitched 5.0 innings giving up nine hits and five earned runs. I would like to see Braden Looper pitch longer, but it seems he gets tired and starts to leave pitches up in the zone. This is where he makes mistakes and it cost him a lot. The bullpen pitched well and even Todd Coffey pitched a scoreless inning which was a real shock to me. Guess this day I can’t get on him about blowing it.

Alcides Escobar lead the Brewers 13 hit attack with four hits and Cory Hart had another good game as well for the Brewers. It seems when the Brewers score early and give the pitchers some cushion they seem to do much better. The problem is the Brewers hitters have been very inconsistent this year so it really has been tough on the pitchers at times this year.