Best Play: Down 2-1 early, the Brewers didn’t quit against Brandon Finnegan and the Reds. With two down in the third inning, Jonathan Villar drew a walk; four pitches later, Hernan Perez smacked a four-seam fastball into center field for a double. Villar slid home, knotting the score at two runs apiece. Villar’s two-bagger (+.134) […]
Author: Ryan Romano
The One Thing That’s Gone Right For Milwaukee Pitchers
Central in the Great Brewers Pitching Meltdown of 2016 has been a complete loss of control, on the part of pretty much everyone. The rotation has the seventh-worst walk rate in baseball, at 9.3 percent, and the bullpen’s 11.2 percent clip ranks third-to-last. Taylor Jungmann walked so many batters, he went down to Triple-A (where he’s […]
Game 44 Recap: Mets 3 Brewers 1
Best & Worst Play: It turns out that Noah Syndergaard fella can pitch pretty well. Across seven innings, he allowed a lone run on six hits and no walks, while piling up 11 strikeouts. Once the Mets took the lead with a two-run fourth inning, the Brewers’ win expectancy never rose above 40 percent. The […]
Anatomy of a Gem: Junior Guerra Cube-ifies the Cubs
The Brewers don’t pitch well. You know it, I know it, so let’s not dwell on it. In a long and dark rebuilding year, a few dominant performances will occur — not often, but enough to prevent fans from burning down Miller Park. Over the course of the season, I’ll highlight as many of these explosions […]
Tyler Thornburg Gets Moving
The collapse of the Brewers — the reason why David Stearns has undertaken a deep rebuild — occurred because the farm system stopped producing talent. Virtually every top draft pick from the middle years of Doug Melvin’s tenure either flamed out or was dealt in win-now type trades. As a result, the team placed in […]
Game 31 Recap: Brewers 5, Reds 4
Best play: You know how the Brewers don’t really have a bullpen? Well, that also applies to the post-Aroldis Chapman Reds. John Lamb, who threw a solid start for Cincinnati, departed after four innings with an injury; from there, Milwaukee slowly chipped away at the 4-1 deficit. Hernan Perez led off the fifth with a dinger […]
Jeremy Jeffress Is Taking Off
Remember in the offseason, when everyone thought the Brewers’ bullpen might carry them to surprising success in 2016? Man, were we wrong. To this point, the Brew Crew has: the fourth-worst relief ERA- (116) the third-worst relief FIP- (133) the worst relief cFIP (106) Of all the things that have collapsed for the Brewers this season, the […]
Game 24 Recap: Brewers 14 Marlins 5
Best Play: The Brewers laid it on the Marlins in this game, and the floodgates opened in the third inning against Tom Koehler. Leading 2-1, Jonathan Villar reached on an infield hit, then stole second. Ryan Braun brought him around with a single to right, increasing the score to 3-1 for Chris Carter. After working the count […]
The New, Improved Ryan Braun
Over the past year-ish, in keeping with the traditions of a rebuilding club, the Brewers traded away virtually every veteran with value. Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers, Gerardo Parra, Aramis Ramirez, Jean Segura, Khris Davis, Francisco Rodriguez, and Adam Lind all headed out the door, and too many prospects to count came back in their place. […]
Game 19 Recap: Brewers 8, Phillies 5
Worst Play: After allowing one run in both the second and third innings, Wily Peralta got into a groove, retiring seven batters in a row. He entered the sixth frame with the Brewers and Phillies tied 2-2, but that wouldn’t last. Freddy Galvis led off with an infield hit for the Phillies, and two batters later, […]