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KTE - The Milwaukee Brewers and the Best Record in Baseball

TransMonk May 10 2007 01:01 PM

With a record of 24-10, the Brewers come to New York sporting the best record in baseball. Wisconsin fans are excited for their Brew Crew and the lead they have opened up in the NL Central. Some local writers have begun comparing them with the 2006 Tigers and the 2005 White Sox due to their hot start. While those comparisons may be premature, the Brewers have a lot of talent and a ton of momentum coming into Shea. Reasons the Brewers should be excited: Milwaukee has the best record in the majors and has a franchise high 6.5 game lead in their division. The last (and only other) time they had such a lead was in August of 1982. They have won 6 in a row and 9 of their last 10. Considering the other teams in the NL Central, it is now the Brewers’ division to lose. They have not lost consecutive games since their second series of the season and have only lost 2 in a row once. Reasons the Brewers should be humble: The Brewers have played 21 of their 34 games at home where they have a 16-5 record. On the road, they are 8-5. On their recent 9-1 home stand their opponents were the Cardinals, Pirates and Nationals. They have only played 9 games against teams with winning records all year and are 5-4 in those games. The Brewers will get their biggest test of the early season over the next few weeks when they play 3 at the Mets, 4 at Philly, 3 at home against the Twins, 3 at the Dodgers, 3 at the Padres and then 3 at home against the Braves. A good team can beat bad teams, but a great team can beat the better teams that they face. If they perform well over this tough stretch to finish May, I’ll be much more willing to drink the Kool-Aid. After all, on this date last year the Cincinnati Reds lead the NL Central. Pitching Probables: Friday 05/11: Jeff Suppan (5-2, 2.63) vs. Jorge Sosa (1-0, 2.84) Saturday 05/12: Ben Sheets (2-2, 4.04) vs. Mike Pelfrey (0-4, 6.39) Sunday 05/13: Chris Capuano (5-0, 2.31) vs. Oliver Perez (3-3, 3.48) The Brewers get an edge in the pitching matchups as they run out the top 3 of their rotation against the Mets’ bottom 3. Jeff Suppan looks as if he was worth the free agent money that Milwaukee gave him last year and is the veteran leader of the staff. Ben Sheets has remained injury free for almost 6 weeks and is their power pitcher. Chris Capuano was an All-Star last year before having a sub-par second half. The Brewers have not lost a game Capuano has started this year. The Brewers starters have a 3.42 ERA on the year, which ties the Mets for the best in the NL. The Milwaukee bullpen is one of the best in the NL with a 3.16 ERA and a league best 16 saves. Setup man Derrick Turnbow has a 1.76 ERA following his 2nd half meltdown last year. Closer Francisco Cordero has 15 saves and has only allowed 1 run in 16.1 innings. Combined, these 2 pitchers have 46 strikeouts in 32 innings. The Brewers are undefeated when leading after 7 innings (20-0). Lineup Probables: 2B – Rickie Weeks (.248 BA, 5 HR, 13 RBI, .352 OBP, .471 SLG, 7 SB) Weeks has not yet blossomed into the leadoff hitter that he has the potential to be. He does not hit for average and he has 24 Ks in 121 at-bats. Still, he leads the team in walks and has reached base in 29 of the 31 games he’s played in. He has decent speed and a little pop as well. SS – J. J. Hardy (.341 BA, 9 HR, 27 RBI, .395 OBP, .622 SLG, 0 SB) Like Weeks, Hardy is in his 3rd full year in the majors. He is one of the major reasons that the Brewers offense has been clicking so well. Milwaukee has gotten better than expected results from Hardy and they hope his excellent numbers continue. He has a career-high 20 game hitting streak that he brings into New York. 1B – Prince Fielder (.287 BA, 10 HR, 29 RBI, .372 OBP, .574 SLG, 0 SB) Prince looks to improve on his decent rookie season in 2007. Both his power and contact numbers are up from a year ago and he is Milwaukee’s most consistent HR threat (T-2nd in NL). Prince leads the team in Ks with 27 but was named NL Player of the Week last week. His middle name is Semien. CF – Bill Hall (.267 BA, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .346 OBP, .448 SLG, 1 SB) Hall is off to a slow start after having a break out year in 2006 when he hit 35 HRs. The Brewers made local headlines when they signed him to a sizeable contract extension over the off-season. He is transitioning from an infielder to centerfield this season and had 4 errors in his first 11 CF appearances, but none since. He is just starting to hit his stride as he has hit safely in 9 of 10 games with an average over .350 in that span. C – Johnny Estrada (.314 BA, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .340 OBP, .490 SLG, 0 SB) Estrada was an off-season acquisition for the Brewers and in my opinion is one of their best in years. Estrada has experience with the Phillies, Braves and Diamondbacks and has always been able to hold his end of the bargain with his offensive numbers. This year is no exception. He has hit safely in 21 of 25 games this season and is batting .381 in his last 11 games. LF – Geoff Jenkins (.333 BA, 6 HR, 16 RBI .383 OBP, .598 SLG, 0 SB) After a below average 2006 campaign, Jenkins has solidified his spot in leftfield that many local pundits thought he may lose this year. Jenkins is the veteran leader of the offense and was an All-Star in 2003. The longest tenured Brewer is 3 HRs away from career #200. RF – Cory Hart (.257 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .321 OBP, .371 SLG, 5 SB) Hart shares the RF duties with Kevin Mench and Gabe Gross. He is looking to build on a 2006 season where he hit .283 with 9 HR in limited action. He is the player with the most speed after Weeks on the team. 3B – Tony Graffanino (.219 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .301 OBP, .260 SLG, 0 SB) Tony, like much of the lower 3rd of the Brewer lineup, has struggled this year. Craig Counsell has made 17 starts at 3B as well and has not produced much better (.197 BA, 0 HR, 7 RBI) Brewer Bench: The Brewers have a decent bench. In addition to Mench, Gross and Counsell, Tony Gwynn Jr. has had the hottest bat of the bench going 5 for 14 in pinch hit situations with 4 RBI and 2 BB. The Brewers do not have a pinch hit HR this season and only 6 pinch hit RBI in 41 at-bats. On the flip side, when their regulars sit, the Brewers as a team do fare pretty well. They are 8-0 when Damien Miller starts behind the plate and 10-0 when either Gwynn Jr. or Gabe Gross starts in the outfield. Defense: The 2007 Brewers defense is much improved over previous years. They have made just 1 error in their last 10 games and rank 6th in NL fielding percentage. Rickie Weeks has just 1 error through his first 31 games this year at 2B…he had 10 errors through his first 31 games of 2006. Who’s Hot? (last 7 days): Mets: Paul LoDuca (.455 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI), Jose Reyes (.375 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI), Carlos Delgado (.292 BA, 1 HR, 2 RBI) Brewers: J. J. Hardy (.429 BA, 3 HR, 8 RBI), Prince Fielder (.385 BA, 4 HR, 11 RBI), Johnny Estrada (.350 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI) Who’s Not? (last 7 days): Mets: Carlos Beltran (.167 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI), David Wright (.194 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI), Damien Easley (.211 BA, 1 HR, RBI) Brewers: Tony Graffanino (.133 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI), Cory Hart (.167 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI), Rickie Weeks (.250 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI) Metly ex-Brewers: Julio Franco, Willie Randolph, Jose Valentin Brewerly ex-Mets: None I’m looking forward to this series as it should show a lot about both the Brewers and the Mets. The Brewers need to show that their start is not a fluke and that they can play with the big boys. The Mets need to build on what was a positive west coast trip and see if they can establish some space between them and the Braves in the NL East while facing a formidable opponent at home.

metirish May 10 2007 01:10 PM

Excellent KTE. Wright is hitting .375 since he shaved the head,like that means anything...saw Prince Fielder chugging around the bases last night and he beat the tag at home,he's as big as Mo Vaughn.

Edgy DC May 10 2007 01:26 PM

So, two or three years ago, when I Know More Than You About the Minor Leagues magazine was telling me that the Brews had the top system, and pretty clearly, and I thought, "Ah, so what, they'll blow it," I was foolish?

DocTee May 10 2007 01:29 PM

Great KTE-- I now Know the Brew Crew. IIRC there is a CPF-like Brewer Board-- they were petitioning for a return to the "ball-and-glove cap" here a few years back. "Ben Sheets has remained injury-free for almost six weeks..." Classic.

metirish May 10 2007 01:31 PM

Not foolish at all,the Selig family probably owned the team then,things seem different with this franchise now...not saying that Bud was a terrible owner but..

TransMonk May 10 2007 01:40 PM

The Seligs were crappy owners. The new ownership has done much more in the past couple of years to make this club competitive. They have always done okay developing players...they just always let them go when contract time came around. The Bill Hall signing was huge. It was the biggest deal that the Brewers have ever given a player with only 3 years of MLB experience. 4 years and $24 million with a club option for '11. Signing Jeff Suppan was huge (although he was a little overpriced) 4 years and $42 million. They offered Carlos Lee a ton of money last year which he turned down, but I believe it was $12+mil/year. Spending money is a very new thing for Milwaukee, but right now it seems to be working. Their attendance is good, fan enthusiasm is increasing. It's a good time to be a Brewers fan.

Nymr83 May 10 2007 02:00 PM

]Ben Sheets has remained injury free for almost 6 weeks a common misconception about sheets is that he is injury prone. he was in the top 10 in innings pitched in 2002, 2003, and 2004 and threw 156 in 2005, only last year did he miss a ton of time and he's not yet 29. ]Like Weeks, Hardy is in his 3rd full year in the majors only if you count time spent on the DL. counting this year he has a mere 639 ABs in the majors. ]Estrada was an off-season acquisition for the Brewers and in my opinion is one of their best in years it was a fair trade, Doug Davis is pretty good ]Hart shares the RF duties with Kevin Mench and Gabe Gross Hart, Jenkins, and Mench are all platooning at the 2 corner outfield spots with gabe gross also getting some at-bats and tony gwynn jr seeing the occassional start. this team has too much outfield depth and could really benefit from moving Mench for a 3rd baseman or something edit- edited to change language that sounded sarcastic when it wasnt meant to me.

Willets Point May 10 2007 02:19 PM

Oh shit, Jeff Suppan! He totally owns us!

TransMonk May 10 2007 02:30 PM

True, Sheets did compile innings in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He did miss chunks of the past two years and has a history of bulging discs, dizziness and shoulder tendonitis....and like you say he's only 29. Brewers fans know that winning the division will be much easier if Sheets plays an entire year for the first time since 2004. Hardy is green, shouldn't have said full year. He had a floppy ankle last year...literally. Davis is good...Damien Miller not so much. The Brewers have pitching, they needed a catcher. I agree with the log jam in the outfield. I really thought Jenkins would be traded during the last offseason. He was not at all happy about platooning and many around here thought they could have received something in return from an AL team.

Nymr83 May 10 2007 02:34 PM

Jenkins thought so too. He and Mench were both complaining over the offseason, but now that they're winning everyone seems to have shutup. It hasn't hurt that Hart fucked up his wrist, giving the manager an excuse to bench him alot the last week.

OlerudOwned May 10 2007 02:35 PM

I'd really like to see the Mets rough Suppan up.

TransMonk May 10 2007 03:13 PM

Here is the Brewers ezboard fan forum: [url]http://p092.ezboard.com/Brewerfannet-Forum/bbrewersfandemonium[/url] They are already on page 2 of the IGT for tomorrow's game.

Edgy DC May 10 2007 04:35 PM

Let's catch up.

Rockin' Doc May 10 2007 04:40 PM

TransMonk - "They are already on page 2 of the IGT for tomorrow's game." Damn!! We suck!! Great job on the KTE thread, Monk.

SteveJRogers May 10 2007 05:38 PM

HA! I like that they link to us though.

Rockin' Doc May 10 2007 06:08 PM

I have to admit, that is one hell of an IGT they have started for game one. They certainly seem to be an enthusiastic bunch.

Elster88 May 10 2007 07:23 PM

Nice to Delgado in the hot section. I like that board. We've chatted with them the last couple of years IIRC.

Kid Carsey May 10 2007 07:43 PM

TM: >>>Here is the Brewers ezboard fan forum<<< That wOOgiE22 knows how to kick off an IGT!

DocTee May 10 2007 08:14 PM

What the hell is WOAH SOLVDD?

Gwreck May 10 2007 08:32 PM

Great KTE. Nice job TransMonk.

seawolf17 May 10 2007 08:34 PM

Do you think they'll trade wOOgiE22 to us? That's one helluva IGT post. He even spelled New York correctly.

Nymr83 May 10 2007 08:45 PM

seawolf17 wrote: Do you think they'll trade wOOgiE22 to us? That's one helluva IGT post. He even spelled New York correctly. Maybe they'll agree to a wager, if the Mets win this weekend woogie starts our IGTs, if the Brewers win we send them stevejrogers to start lots of threads about nothing.

Johnny Dickshot May 10 2007 09:04 PM

Bill Hall hit 35 home runs last year?

Gwreck May 10 2007 09:14 PM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Bill Hall hit 35 home runs last year? None more devastating than the 10th inning walk-off on Mothers' Day last year vs. the Mets. Hit with a pink bat. Only homer Bradford ever allowed as a Met.

Johnny Dickshot May 10 2007 09:21 PM

Ah yes. I spent last mother's day being a dad. I gotta start paying attention.

Frayed Knot May 10 2007 09:26 PM

Great KTE - nailed everything worth knowing. Like most suddenly good teams, the Beermakers are doing it with a mixture: - new guys coming through: Weeks, Fielder, Hardy; - old guys bouncing back: Jenkins; - seemingly out-of-nowhere success stories: Hall, Turnbow - plus some calls that could have gone either way (and still might) like Suppan, being real good so far And, if all that weren't enough, their only real weakness at the moment is 3rd base where minor leaguer Ryan Braun is tearing things up (.358/.426/.716) and may arrive within the next few weeks. They also got a hot-shot pitcher - Yovani Gallardo - on the brink in case anything breaks down.

TransMonk May 10 2007 10:50 PM

Gwreck wrote: ="Johnny Dickshot"]Bill Hall hit 35 home runs last year? None more devastating than the 10th inning walk-off on Mothers' Day last year vs. the Mets. Hit with a pink bat. Only homer Bradford ever allowed as a Met. I was at that game...the day after my bachelor party...I was a hung over mess. That was the crappiest game I've ever been to in person.

MFS62 May 11 2007 06:45 AM

Good job on the KTE. Looks like there aren't too many schlemeils and schlemazels in Milwaukee since the Seligs, Laverne and Shirley are gone. Later

Johnny Dickshot May 11 2007 06:59 AM

Today's Snooze which on the front page condemns comments regarding rape and murder aired on a comedy program over satellite radio, finds it appropriate to point out Milwaukee is the home of Kato Kaelin and Jeffery Dahmer.

metirish May 11 2007 07:08 AM

I say it every year but I like that Brewers board a lot,seem like an intelligent lot........ ] This feels weird having future IGTs up before the current game ends? Like we're messing with destiny? Can we have Brian or some moderator lock those threads until the game before it ends? Baseball is all about superstitions. Don't mess with the baseball gods. That is bad karma...