Opening day reactions and my beef with G-mail.

So during the opening day game against the Cincinnati Reds I had a nice running blog going on. I stole this idea from my favorite sports writer Bill Simmons, and it was going pretty good. During the end of the sixth inning I checked my school email and because my school email is a G-mail account it logged me out of my account linked to my blog without telling me. So i continued to write the running blog only to discover that after the game everything I typed after the sixth inning was not saved. So not only did I have to deal with the gut punching loss but also the loss of the last half of my work. Oh well, here is a reaction to the game.

Right up until the 9th inning everything was looking good. Weeks and Gomez hit back to back homers to start a season for the first time in MLB since the 69 Reds. Gallardo had a solid start, the bullpen was doing well, minus the home run given up by Loe, the offense was looking great and the defense was holding up. It looked like we were going to win this game easy and start the season off on a great note. Then the 9th inning happened.

The inning started with a first pitch shot by Brandon Phillips that Braun played perfectly off the hall and held Phillips to a single. No real nerves yet, but not the start you hope for.

Joey Votto was next and walked on 5 pitches. Still not worried, but then came the key play.

Scott Rolen grounds to third and McGehee tries to tag Phillps going to third. He misses the tag and can't throw out Rolen at third and everybody is safe, loading the bases with no outs. I can what McGehee was trying to do but in that situation you go for the standard double play. You have a 3-run lead in the 9th, just get those 2 outs. Needless to say I am very worried now.

Axford gets Jay Bruce to strike out after a long at bat. One out bases still loaded. Deep exhale, but not out of it yet.

Johnny Gomes flies out on the first pitch which took a jumping catch by Gomez to get the out. Run scores by a sacrifice fly but still 2 outs and a 2 run lead, only one more out to go, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Axford starts out Ramon Hernandez with a slider for a strike, good start.....

Axford throws a high fastball and it gets hit out of the park for a walk off 3-run home run. Dammit.

Everything the Brewers had going for them seemed to go against them in the 9th. They had played good defense the whole game but McGehee's mistake hurt. The pitching was good but Axford looked flat. He struggled with location and relied very heavily on his fastball. He only threw two sliders and one curveball the whole inning.

I don't want to jump to any rash conclusions as it is only one game but its not a way you want to start a season. The whole team looked really good up until the 9th inning and then the meltdown began. I'm not sure what was with Axford but he just looked flat. It could be nerves being opening day or the fact he didn't pitch much during spring but its something that needs to be resolved fast because we need him to be locked in all year. Also you don't want to be blowing games to division opponents, especially the Reds who will be the main contender for the division title.

Still got 161 to play, lets just hope we don't have many more like this one.

Brewers 2011 season predictions

When the clock hit zero and the Packers were officially crowned Super Bowl champions, I was jumping up and down and cheering as loud as possible. When the excitement settled down I thought to myself, now its the Brewer's turn. And after the moves this off-season you have to think it could be a possibility. With the trades for Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum the Brewers take a "win now" attitude that hasn't been seen since the 2008 trade for CC Sabathia. So the hype for the Brewers is growing as the season gets closer and its time I weigh in and give my say on how I think this Brewer season will play out.

I think the only way the Brewers make the playoffs is if they take the division. I think the wildcard will come from the NL East because the Phillies and Braves are just too good for both of them to not get a playoff spot. So the Brewers will have to take the division, something I feel is definitely within there reach. There are a couple reasons I think we will win the division.

Reason #1

New look team

Last year it was pretty obvious where the issues lied with the Brewers. The worst pitching staff in the major league won't win you many games and definitely won't get you into the playoffs. So Brewers GM Doug Melvin went to work this off-season making sure we wouldn't go back-to-back years with the worst pitching staff in the league. Melvin also went out and got a new manager and there isn't much you can say about Ron Roenicke until the actual games start but he seems to be doing well through the spring and hopefully that success carries over.

Reason #2
Injuries

The St. Louis Cardinals are a very good team, even without Adam Wainwright, but his injury could potentially help the Brewers because he is a such a good pitcher and with him gone it means the Cardinals have a hole in their rotation that might not be filled. You also can't forget about the Albert Pujols contract situation that might affect the Cardinals. The Cubs are still trying to fully figure out their roster as they just cut Carlos Silva but it appears they have already found his replacement from within. The Reds may be without Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey to start the year. Although not all these injuries will last the whole season, it could give the Brewers the extra wins they need to give them a fast start and hopefully hold onto the lead of the division, although the Brewers are facing strong injury concerns of their own. (more on that later)

Reason #3

The Offense

Prince Fielder had a down year last season and he still put up decent numbers. Casey McGehee and Corey Hart had great seasons last year and although Hart will most likely miss the start of the season, there is no reason to believe that both of these guys can't do it again. If those two can continue to produce, Fielder gets back on track, and Braun stays the course he has set, the Brewers could possibly have four 100 rbi hitters in their lineup. Rickie Weeks is finally becoming a consistent offensive threat. Jonatha Lucroy should have a better offensive year, once he gets healthy. The two main holes are center field where we will wait to see if Carlos Gomez will finally figure out offense and at shortstop with Yuniesky Betancourt. While it remains to be seen if everybody can replicate last years offensive numbers, if they can the Brewers will have one of the most fearsome offensives in the entire league, which will help out the new pitching staff.

So those are the key reasons I think the Brewers will succeed this season but there are also some reasons why I think they might not make the playoffs.

Reason #1

Injuries

This is a huge one. Injuries can kill any teams season (see 2010-2011 Milwaukee Bucks). It also doesn't ease the tension when your prized off-season moves are the ones getting hurt. Greinke hurt his ribs and will miss the first couple of weeks. Marcum has shoulder tightness and although it sounds like he won't miss any regular season time, it's always a thing to worry about when a pitcher has any issues with a shoulder. Corey Hart will miss time with a rib injury. Lucroy will miss the start of the season, along with Latroy Hawkins. Just as injuries across the NL Central can help the Brewers they have to worry about their own injury concerns. Hopefully everybody heals fast.

Reason #2

The Bullpen

The bullpen was very strong last year but I am concerned about it this year. All those guys had to pitch a lot of innings last year and they might not have as much energy this year as a result from the workload last season. Although there doesn't seem to be concern for the bullpen, they improved with trades in the off-season, bullpens can change from year to year. Hopefully the good pitching from the bullpen continues but I'm not so sold on all the pitchers the Brewers will have come out of there to try and preserve the lead.

So when you break it down I only have a couple issues I'm concerned with, with this years team, but they are big ones. The injuries are something that needs to be a concern all year, especially after so many players got hurt in spring training. With that being said, its no reason to panic....yet.

The Brewers have everything they need to win the division. Good pitching, good hitting, good enough defense. So the Brewers have, on paper a team to take the division. Do I think they will actually do it? Yes, yes I do. Its here in print, the Brewers will be the 2011 NL Central Champs.

Here are my other picks around the league and playoff picks.

AL East: Boston NL East: Philadelphia

AL Central: Chicago NL Central: Milwaukee

AL West: Texas NL West: San Fransisco

AL Wildcard: New York NL Wildcard: Atlanta

Boston over Chicago Philadelphia over Milwaukee
New York over Texas San Fransisco over Atlanta
Boston over New York Philadelphia over San Fransisco

World Series: Philadelphia over Boston