It is August 18, 2017. The Milwaukee Brewers are one game out of first place in the National League Central, and four and a half games back of the Colorado Rockies in the Wild Card. So this west coast trip will not be inconsequential for the Brewers, a mere extended trip while playing out the […]
Category: Articles
Revisiting Villar and Braun
A week ago, the sky was falling. The Brewers had lost their fourth straight game in a six-game losing streak, dropping to third in the NL Central. Fans asked if this was the stretch where the Cubs would pull away from Milwaukee, and I wrote an article dreaming about a Brewers team with the 2016 […]
Ten Cent Beer Night
“Ten Cent Beer Night.” The phrase evokes a kind of disbelief in baseball fans of a certain age, that there could be a time when ballparks would run promotions that in hindsight seem like they would have such predictable consequences. Cleveland’s ten-cent beer night is up there with “Disco Demolition Night” as one of baseball’s all-time […]
Joaquin de la Cruz and Second Chances
Here’s a well-worn story: A Dominican kid signs a contract with a Major League team, plays ball for a few seasons, struggles to develop as a prospect, and gets cut. This sort of thing happens so often it’s scarcely worth reporting. The kid finds another job or starts a family and that’s that. At least […]
Weekend Recap: Walker, Nelson
Milwaukee righted what looked to be a lost week as they took two of three over the weekend against Cincinnati. The Reds were a sight for sore eyes again this season as the Brewers ran their record to 9-5 against the Cincinnati nine. The bats came alive with twenty three runs scored by Milwaukee over […]
The Fall of Jonathan Villar
Entering the season, I saw this Brewers team as full of uncertainty. The starting rotation was full of crapshoots; the starting lineup full of talented but unproven players. On my first look at the roster, I thought the closest to a sure thing the Brewers had was second baseman Jonathan Villar. At just 25 years […]
Pricing Neil Walker’s PTBNL
Sunday’s game featured an old face in a new uniform at Miller Park, as previous Pittsburgh Pirates nemesis and New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker came to Milwaukee via trade. Of course, Walker immediately made his presence felt, showing positional flexibility with a start at third base and going 2-for-4 with a run scored. […]
Revisiting 2014
Narratives can change relatively quickly in baseball. We are seeing that play out right now with our own beloved local nine; a month ago, they were a band of young sluggers that had spent two months in first place. Those Brewers appeared primed to shock the baseball world in 2017 and knock the Cubs from […]
What Happened to Jeremy Jeffress?
On July 31st, the Brewers traded right-handed pitching prospect Taylor Scott to the Texas Rangers for Jeremy Jeffress. Jeffress, a right-handed relief pitcher, is now on his third stint with the Brewers organization, spending time with the Royals, Blue Jays, and Rangers in between. Jeffress was a secondary, but still important, piece in the Jonathan Lucroy […]
Dreaming on Braun and Villar
If I handed the current NL Central standings to you on Opening Day, what explanation would you give me? There are a couple of routes you could take, but they would all probably include 2016’s star Brewers; Ryan Braun and Jonathan Villar. The duo placed one and two last year in VORP and BWARP among […]