After a month of being stuck doing group projects and writing essays for school I am finally done with school for the summer.  Now it is time to get back to writing about the Crew.

Yes, the Crew is still winning the division but they are really going to need to turn it around.  With the Cards crawling their way back to second place they can not have any more 2-9 stretches.  Yeah, the Cards are still under .500 and 6.5 games back but we still have months of baseball left.  The good thing is our bats are starting to get hot again and we have a couple series coming up that we should win. 

Prince Fielder come on down!! This guy is playing straight up lights out the last couple games.  He can do no wrong with his bat.  Tied for the lead in HR’s for the entire league and he is hitting these HR’s with people on.  The combo of him and Hardy is going to be sick to watch for the next couple years.  Hardy has cooled off a bit since his early tear but he is still putting the ball in play and driving runners in.  Now add the fact that Braun just got brought up and is proving he is worth all the hype.  Hopefully he will continue to produce and with Prince behind him they will have to pitch to him, because you know if you’re an opposing pitcher you do not want to see Prince at the plate.  Now the one question mark that is left is Bill Hall.

Bill Hall was never meant to be a player that is going to get you 35 HR in a season, or at least I did not expect him to be.  He had a great year last year and I expected similar numbers but most likely a drop in RBI’s and HR’s.  This is fine as long as he can keep getting on base and goes back to hitting for gaps and not hitting for HR’s.  However if he did become a consistent 35 HR that would greatly improve Prince Fieders game.  The Brewers are soon going start watching Prince take a lot of walks.  That is why we are going to need somebody behind him to make pitchers pitch to him.  I’m not saying we need to make a trade, if Hall can get himself back to last years form then we will be alright.  Otherwise maybe we make a move around the deadline.  Not sure if any player we got we would actually be able to resign, but even a nice rental player would be nice and greatly improve our chances of making a run to the series.  Trade Aquino, Gross, and maybe another prospect for another big bat and then bring up Gallardo and we are looking pretty.  At the moment I’m am still alright with Gallardo in Nashville, but if Bush continues to struggle I would not object to bringing the kid up.  He has some real good stuff, the kind of stuff aces are made of.  Of course I would much rather have Bush pitch well and let the kid develop a little longer, but I can hide my excitement to see him pitch in the big leagues.

After a horrible month for both the Brewers and my school work I see clear sky’s ahead.  Out of the 10 series we play this month I look for us to win 8 of them.  Series win number one comes tomorrow with another win over the fish!

JT Brewer

The Milwaukee Brewers have a chance to show they are for real with a series win in New York.  To New York this may just be another series, however this series is very important to the Brewers. This is the type of series that could really propel this team to new heights. Yes, I understand they are off to their best start in over 20 years and they have the best record in the league and are dominating the NL central, but this is the series I have been waiting for since they started their season. I can’t say I expected them to jump out the gate so well and be so dominant, but I did expect them to be challenging for the division and possibly a World Series. The Mets were the favorite last year and they are the favorite once again this year. However the Brewers have been making some serious noise so far this season and if they win this series you can expect that noise to get even louder. The Mets will not be pitching their best for this series but it doesn’t matter. If the Brewers win this series or better yet sweep this series the confidence that they already have is going to go through the roof. The Brewers will be throwing their top three pitchers and I feel that they have the chance to sweep the Mets. If they are unable to sweep I still expect them to win the series. The Brewers are for real this year and when they win this series the rest of the league will take notice.

JT Brewer

     After another successful series against the Pittsburgh Pirates taking three of the four games at home, the Brewers will welcome in the struggling Washington Nationals.  As much as I can’t wait for the following series to begin against the NL favorite New York Mets, this series could be a big confidence booster heading into a six game road trip.

     Capuano looks to draw first blood as he tries to remain unbeaten while facing off with Matt Chico.  Chico however has struggled though out the year recording an ERA of 6.59.  Even though Sheets has been proclaimed the ace of the staff Capuano as of late has been the more consistent of the two.  If Capuano can continue on his winning ways he will be looking at a second straight All-Star apperance.  This is a game I would expect the Brewers to win.

     Dave Bush will try to get himself back to .500 with a win in the second game against Jason Simontacchi while Vargos will try to remain unbeaten as well as he closes the series VS. a winless Jason Bergmann.  If the Brewers want to be taken series as a playoff caliber and possibly a World Series type of team these are the teams that they can not lose to. I expect the Brewers to continue their dominance as of late and sweep past the Nationals and into New York continuing to hold onto the best record in baseball. 

      Even though it is only May, the series with the Mets will be a good indicator as to what kind of team this really is.  Now I don’t expect them to sweep out the Mets, maybe not even win the series but I would like to see one win and quality outings in the other two games.  With Suppan and Sheets both scheduled to start I would think that one of the two can get a win and if Capuano closes the series possible surprise some people and take the series. The question so far this season is, can the Milwaukee Brewers of 2007 be the Detroit Tigers of 2006?  I would sure love them to be, except I’m a greedy kind of guy and would like to see them in the World Series.  Go Crew

JT Brewer

      The Milwaukee Brewers have a chance to take serious control of the NL Central this weekend as they finish out their series with the Pirates. Yes, it is only April but it has been an April to remember for Brewer fans, with the Brewers eight games above .500 for the first time in nine years and 4.5 games ahead of the second place Pittsburgh Pirates.  Now I am not declaring the Crew Central champs quiet yet, but this year looks to be the most promising year for the Crew to step out of the cellar and into the sport light. The pitching is there as well as the run support for the first time in a long time. With a solid rotation that ranks in the top five in ERA and a bullpen that has been just as impressive.   If you’re going to try to beat the traffic you can pack it up after the 7th inning if the Brewers have the lead as the boost an astonishing mark of 13-0 when leading after seven.

        Not to be out done by the pitching staff the bats have come alive as well and are also ranked in the top five in runs scored this year.  The biggest improvement on last years team has to be that they are no longer leaving base runners stranded in scoring position, going from dead last in 2006 to 6th in 2007.  Once again yes, it is April but it’s an April to remember and a great start to a season that could see the Brewers back in the post season for the first time in 25 years.

JT Brewer