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The Mets and the Brewers have had very opposite seasons in 2012. In the first half of the year when the Mets were over .500 and playing relatively well, the Brewers looked like they were dead and gone. Milwaukee had a 47-56 record at the end of July and traded their stud pitcher Zach Greinke to the Angels for prospects. It looked like despite still having the reigning NL MVP*, Milwaukee did not have the pieces in 2012 after seeing Prince Fielder walk away during the offseason.
But, while the Mets fell into their recent 2nd half swoon, the Brewers started to get hot, hot, hot. They went 16-12 in August and an incredible 9-3 so far in September. They have won 18 of their last 23 games and if the Mets are looking to break this recent crappy streak, Milwaukee may be the wrong team to be playing this weekend. The Brewers are coming off of a sweep of Atlanta (those Braves that swept the Mets last weekend) and find themselves tied with Philly (another team left for dead by some) just 3 games back of the second wild card.
Friday, September 14, 8:05 EST
Niese (L) 10-9, 3.47 ERA vs. Fiers (R) 9-7, 3.05 ERA
Mike Fiers is a 2009 draftee of the Brewers who is having a very nice rookie season. He has an amazing 111 Ks to 30 BB ratio in 109.1 IP and has a 2.65 ERA at home. He is a very promising sign for Milwaukee’s rotation in the absence of Greinke.
Saturday, September 15, 7:05 EST
Mejia (R) 0-0, 4.50 ERA vs. Marcum (R) 5-4, 3.71 ERA
Marcum has been a very consistent pitcher over the past few years. He missed some time during the middle of this season, but otherwise has been busy putting up steady numbers in the Brewer rotation. Mejia will be making his first start in 2012.
Sunday, September 16, 2:05 EST
Young (R) 4-7, 4.39 ERA vs. Peralta (R) 1-0, 3.47 ERA
Wily Peralta is making his third start for Milwaukee this season. His Nashville numbers were not jaw-dropping, but he strikes out nearly one batter per inning. RA Dickey was scheduled to make this start for the Mets, but Young will give him an extra day’s rest instead.
The bullpen is full of ex-Mets and had been an problem for them earlier in the season, but they have straightened out many of their late season worries.
John Axford 28 SV, 4.62 ERA, 60.1 IP, 53 H, 31 ER, 7 HR, 35 BB, 76K
Francisco Rodriguez 3 SV, 4.86 ERA, 63 IP, 61 H, 34 ER, 7 HR, 30 BB, 63K
Kameron Loe 2 SV, 3.88 ERA, 62.2 IP, 67 H, 27 ER, 7 HR, 18 BB, 53K
Jose Veras 1 SV, 4.03 ERA, 60.1 IP, 58 H, 27 ER, 5 HR, 37 BB, 74K
Manny Parra 0 SV, 4.45 ERA, 54.2 IP, 53 H, 27 ER, 2 HR, 29 BB, 59K
Livan Hernandez 0 SV, 5.40 ERA, 33.1 IP, 34 H, 20 ER, 5 HR, 7 BB, 28K
Jim Henderson 3 SV, 3.92 ERA, 20.2 IP, 22 H, 9 ER, 1 HR, 10 BB, 28K
Tyler Thornburg 0 SV, 5.79 ERA, 14 IP, 17 H, 9 ER, 7 HR, 7 BB, 12K
Brandon Kintzler 0 SV, 2.84 ERA, 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 2K
Josh Stinson 0 SV, 0 ERA, 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 BB, 0K
Starters:
C Jonathan Lucroy - .322/.377/.512/.888, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB
Lucroy was the bright spot in the Brewers’ darkness during the beginning of the season. He is having a breakout year and has been a consistent contributor to Milwaukee’s lineup all season.
1B Corey Hart - .278/.340/.514/.855, 27 HR, 77 RBI, 5 SB
I consider Hart a Met-killer. He has delivered game changing home runs more than a couple times. He is a steady slugger who has moved in from RF to cover first this season.
2B Rickie Weeks - .230/.332/.406/.738, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 13 SB
Weeks had a horrible start to the season (think Ike Davis). But like Ike, he has plowed his way back to barely respectible via the long ball.
SS Cesar Izturis - .235/.248/.333/.582, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB
Izturis was brought in to provide veteran defense at short. He hits like most dependable defensive veteran shortstops.
3B Aramis Ramirez - .296/.361/.529/.890, 23 HR, 91 RBI, 7 SB
Ramirez is not Prince Fielder, but his numbers have been very good this season. Many Milwaukee fans scoffed at this signing when it was announced, but ultimately, I don’t see how they could be disappointed with his stat line. Sunday is Aramis Ramirez bobblehead day at Miller Park.
LF Ryan Braun - .310/.385/.593/.978, 38 HR, 100 RBI, 23 SB
Braun is having another strong season in response to his somewhat tainted 2011 MVP season. He leads the NL in home runs and is second in RBIs.
CF Carlos Gomez - .249/.296/.452/.748, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 32 SB
Remember Carlos? He’s never been known for his bat, but rather his speed. However, his 16 home runs this season are as many as he had in 2009-2011 combined.
RF Norichika Aoki - .287/.355/.427/.781, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 24 SB
Aoki is Milwaukee’s Japanese import and his success this season has made him a fan favorite. He has been impressive during the recent Milwaukee hot streak.
The Bench is left-heavy (to combat their mostly righty lineup). Morgan is available to platoon with Gomez.
OF Nyjer Morgan - 310 PA, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 11 SB, .240/.300/.305/.605
C Martin Maldonado - 235 PA, 7 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, .280/.333/.421/.754
1B Travis Ishikawa - 140 PA, 4 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .270/.338/.443/.781
IF Taylor Green - 104 PA, 2 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .198/.279/.341/.620
SS Jean Segura - 94 PA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 SB, .241/.287/.276/.563
SS Jeff Bianchi - 59 PA, 3 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .185/.228/.370/.598
OF Logan Schafer - 7 PA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .167/.286/.167/.452
2B Eric Farris - 3 PA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, .000/.000/.000/.000
I will be attending all three of these tilts. I was hoping for a chance to see Wright break the hits record, but it looks like that will happen at home next week. I was hoping for a chance to see Dickey win his 20th, but now I won’t see him win at all. I’m looking forward to seeing Mejia, but I’m disappointed that I will not see Harvey or McHugh. Still, I’ll root hard for the visitors this weekend while getting full on beer and sausage.
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