3 up and 3 up

I know its been a very long time but since only two people read this blog I don't think most people really mind I haven't written in a while. I need an angle to write about and haven't really come up with one and still don't really have one but I don't really want to go to sleep at the moment so here it is.

This team is really good, much better than our record shows even though we are in first place. These past couple series, minus this sweep, have been really hard to watch as we were losing to teams we should have beat, except the Red Sox. The bullpen continues to be shaky minus Axford and the offense explodes one night and then gets three hits the next. With that being said, I am very happy with where we are in the season right now. Coming fresh off this sweep and the Cardinals getting swept we now have a three game lead in the division and interleague play is almost done, three against the Yanks in New York and then three again against the Twins but in Minneapolis.

The best thing about this sweep was how everybody was not only playing great but everybody was clutch. On Friday, Prince hits the go ahead double, Loe cruises through the 8th and Axford the same in the 9th for a good win that was much needed. Offense keeps rolling into game two and the Brewers blow out the Twins 11-1. Then game three we have clutch hitting again, Narveson pitches great and Loe and Axford finish off the game.

For as hard as I have been on the team they have really come around since that terrible start. The thing they have given me as a fan so far this season is hope. Although the play is still inconsistent, when they are playing like they should they look almost unbeatable, and thats what you want to see from your team.

From this sweep the Brewers have three games in New York which should be very interesting, I think the Brewers can do some damage there and hopefully leave with two wins. The Brewers should be able to handle the Twins in their stadium like they did this weekend but you never know, but we should be able to get two out of three. Then we have three games against the Diamondbacks who have been playing well and then finally four games against the Reds and then the All-Star break. I think this stretch will be tough but the Brewers should be able to handle it and they could be going into the All-Star break with some good momentum.

PS: Please ignore any grammar or spelling mistakes, I typed this up very quickly and was mostly just to get another post up. I need to let my two readers know that I'm still here.

First place!

Between the combination of school and work I haven't been able to write a post in what seems like forever. There is also the fact that I couldn't think of anything to write about. I've realized that when your team is playing better there isn't a whole lot to say that wouldn't be constantly repeating yourself. The Brewers have been the best team since May 8th with a record of 24-8 and are firing on all cylinders. I wanted to come up with an angle for a blog post but just couldn't figure one out. Then the Cardinals came into town.

I dislike the Cardinals, you could say borderline hatred. I don't like Pujols, I don't like LaRussa, I just have no love at all for anybody in that organization, except maybe John Jay, only because his name is cool. I love when the Brewers beat the Cardinals and I love it even more when we sweep them putting us in first place.

Yes thats right, the Brewers are in first place. I can't say it enough. We are in first place. Ok, ok its only a half-game lead but its still something to be happy about. The weekend series could not have started any better.

The Brewers blew out the Cards in game 1, 8-0 backed behind a great outing by Narveson, who really needed it. A 5-3 win in game 2, and a comeback win in game 3 gave the Brewers the sweep and sole possession of first place.

The starting pitching has been great these past couple weeks, the bullpen has been mostly solid and the offense has been better than I could have ever hoped, mostly led by Prince Fielder.

Prince is just playing on another level right now and its fun to watch. Every at-bat he has this past week you have to sit and watch because you just know he can blast a homerun at any second. When Prince and Braun are playing well the offense seems to follow and Prince is just on fire right now so everybody is following suit.

The Brewers won't have much time to celebrate being in first place as there schedule is incredibly hard these next couple weeks. Four games at Chicago, three games in Fenway, three games against the Rays followed by three against the Twins at home. Then they end the month with three games in New York against the Yankees and start July with three games in Minnesota. I would be scared out of my mind if the Brewers weren't playing as well as they are now and even so I'm still nervous. The last time the Brewers went into Fenway they were blown out and the Red Sox are also white hot right now. The Brewers never seem to play the Twins well at all and the Yankees are well...the Yankees. It will be interesting to see how the Brewers stack against some of the AL's best teams and hopefully we come out on top. It could be a long couple of weeks but I don't really care right now. We are in fist place and looking to keep it that way.

Marcum trade paying off for Brewers so far

It has been a while since I posted something and I was really struggling to come up with something. I was going to say something about the Brewers great play but the series loss to the Reds made me rethink that. They are playing well but I didn't want to just write about that. The Brewers made some big moves this offseason and the one that seems to be paying off the most right now is Shawn Marcum.

Who would have thought that the guy who only tops out at 89 miles per hour on his fastball would be the most consistent pitcher for the Brewers so far this season? He doesn't have the most wins, that belongs to Gallardo who is on a hot streak of his own but with Marcum on the mound you know what you are going to get each start. He has only pitched under six innings once this season and that was the first start of the year. He strikes guys out, gets the outs when he needs them and keeps the team in the game, exactly what you want from your starter.

He leads all Brewer starting pitching in ERA with a 2.78. He leads all starters in innings pitched with 77 and two-thirds. He as the most strikeouts and the least walks not counting Greinke. The production from Marcum has been outstanding so far this season and there doesn't seem to be any signs of it slowing down.

The thing with Marcum is he uses his off-speed stuff and he is so good at it that it gets really fun to watch. You can see the hitters getting frustrated as they continue to swing and miss at pitches that usually hover around the low 80's for speed. All of his pitches have movement and he has near perfect control of all his pitches all the time. His outing against the Reds strong lineup was impressive as until the 7th inning he had given up only 1 hit. He ended up only giving up two runs on five hits and added seven strikeouts. It was a shame the bullpen couldn't hold onto the win for him.

I was expecting Marcum to do well when we made the trade for him this offseason but I have been impressed and I think he has exceeded those expectations so far this year. For what the Brewers gave up for him you have to be impressed with what we have gotten back. Its been a good start for Marcum and hopefully his strong pitching continues later into the season.