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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.

So far, though, that hasn’t happened, and only the negatives of the trade have emerged.

Jose Veras, Brewers reliever

Veras is struggling, to say the least, especially recently. In that wild 13-inning game two days ago, Veras entered the game in the seventh with a 1-0 lead. After getting a quick out, he gave up a triple, hit a batter, then gave up a walk. Ron Roenicke decided he’d seen enough, and handed the ball over to Kameron Loe, who promptly gave up a go-ahead grand slam (although the Brewers would come back and win the game). Veras also pitched in today’s game, but it wasn’t much better- he gave up yet another run on two hits. His ERA has been ballooning lately, and, after today, it sits at 7.20. That is not what you want to see from one of your setup guys.

Now, we knew the wildness was coming. Veras’ career BB/9 is 4.9, which is extremely high, especially for a reliever. But he’s gotten away with it most of the time, because his K/9 is 9.2, which isn’t bad. So far in 2012, though, both of those stats rose. Veras’ K/9 right now is 10.9, which is great, but it gets negated by all of the other stats. His current BB/9 is a whopping 6.4, which is just flat-out unacceptable. He also has an 11.6 H/9. So, if you add up all of those walks and hits, you get a WHIP of 2.000.

Yep, he’s averaging two baserunners per inning. No wonder he’s getting hammered so badly. Normally, I would say get him the heck out of the bullpen before his ERA reaches 10. But who would they replace him with? Mike McClendon and his 10.13 ERA? The Brewers’ bullpen depth- and the guys they have in the bullpen right now- is awful. They can usually rely on Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford late in the game. But K-Rod has had a questionable start to the season, racking up three losses already. And Axford blew is first save since April of 2011 last night, and his ERA isn’t sparkling too much right now either. So I guess I shouldn’t just be bashing Veras right now- our entire bullpen is crap.

Anyway, like I said earlier, the Brewers received Veras in exchange for McGehee, who was a star for two years with the Brewers before his average dropped 60 points in 2011. He isn’t doing the greatest for Pittsburgh right now, hitting .262 with no home runs and four RBIs. But that’s still a higher batting average than our entire infield combined.

So I’m starting to wonder if the Veras trade was a bad decision, which is the way it’s looking right now. I’m confident Veras will get better as the season goes on, but it’s a matter of when he gets better, and if it’s too late by then.

Whether or not he gets better, though, that still really doesn’t change the fact that our bullpen is not a strength. We have Axford, Rodriguez, Veras, Tim Dillard, Manny Parra, Loe, and Vinnie Chulk (although I doubt he’ll be up for much longer). Parra’s having a solid season, but he’s a long reliever, so that doesn’t really help in hold/save situations. Other than him, though, literally everybody is questionable. I’m hoping Doug Melvin makes another blockbuster move by the trade deadline to get a reliever (we also need infielders), otherwise this is going to be a very long season.

With that in mind, it’s time for my second annual report on the state of the NL Central months before these kinds of things become relevant. This addition is just full of new features, so feel free to use them in your debates or to shower praise/ridicule on me for the remainder of the year.

Without further ado – I present to you the Official Reviewing the Brew NL Central Breakdown. All teams appear in the predicted order of the 2012 standings.

Tonight marks the eve of the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers quest for the World Series.  It is not an evening any of us should take for granted.  Believe you me, my wife is not taking it for granted, because starting tomorrow she loses me until October…and if I am lucky enough, November.   

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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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Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Thanks to ‘Brewers On Deck’, I was able to learn a great deal about the 2012 Brewers.  Based off of skipper, Ron Roenicke’s comments, I would say that I am not the only one.  Roenicke had plenty to say about what he expects from the 2012 Brew Crew.

We think the offense, the more creative we get, the more opportunities we have to score runs without home runs, the better off we’ll be.  This is going to be a good team.

Well, at least the skipper thinks the team will be good.  Although, I doubt that even if this was the worst team in history, any self-respecting skipper would admit to that…accept for Ned Yost maybe. 

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That would be Veras, a right-handed setup man who can throw in the mid-t0-high 90′s. Last year, with Pittsburgh, he went 2-4 with a 3.80 ERA while setting up for All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan. He obviously won’t serve that same role with the Brewers, but still will have big shoes to fill.

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Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

One of my favorite stories from ‘Brewers On Deck’ last week, was that of Aramis Ramirez and the controlled climate.  While it is impossible to deny that I inadvertently created a Harry Potter film title just now, Ramirez is really looking forward to playing in Miller Park.  And why wound’t he?  Playing in a dome can be a power hitters best friend, and Chicago weather totally blows.  Oh, and did I mention that Miller Park is climate controlled!!  Or how about the fact that our locker room wasn’t built during the Teddy Roosevelt Presidency!!  Suck on that baby bear lovers.

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Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

Last season, the Brewers bullpen was pretty solid.  Occasionally they would slip up, but for the most part the bullpen was a strength of the 2011 Brew Crew.  Thanks to free-agency and an unusually tight pocket book, the Brewers were unable to retain two of the biggest pieces of that bullpen, LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito.  That left the team a little thin on relief arms. 

During the off-season the Brewers were financially handcuffed, thanks in part to K-Rod accepting his arbitration (Scott Boras screwing us again).  That single move cost the Brewers $8 million dollars, virtually destroying any chances the Brewers had of signing any arms through free-agency.  So, the team had to get creative and also has to put a great deal of faith in the young arms of this organization.

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