“You can’t win ‘em all…

…if you lose the first one." (or as of today, two.)

Welcome to another season of Brewers’ baseball! I’m happy to announce that not only have our Milwaukee Brewers gotten off to a 2-0 start over the likely basement-step-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates (since the Reds will be in the cellar itself), but also that the offense appears to be clicking. Once Prince settles down by getting that first hit, the fans will begin to realize that there is another reason to stand up, arms overhead, and yell "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" this season. That reason, of course, being for the Offense.

Speaking of the offense means mentioning the lineup too. Although I’ve ready many people that were questioning the reports of a probably J.J. Hardy in the two-hole prior to the beginning of the season, I’ve heard nothing if not quiet since. It’s been my experience that when a reporter/sports writer is correct, they’ll let you know about it as fast as their media outlet allows by patting themselves on their back. When they’re wrong, they usually admit their mistake….but they tend to wait a while in doing so. Hardy is the type of guy you want batting second. Patient enough to allow lead-off hitter Brady Clark an opportunity to attempt to steal a base, should that be the call, and not a guy who swings and misses a whole lot either, especially with two strikes on him. Clark will get on base; he proved that last season. Hardy will move Clark around the bases effectively, getting Clark into scoring position for the RBI guys, Geoff Jenkins and Carlos Lee. And once Prince Fielder starts contributing with that big, big bat…well, that’s why the top of an order is considered the most dangerous. And I’ll be back with a second guest commentary on our defense, so I’ll talk about the leather Fielder has been flashing so far this season in that post.

But talking up slots 1-5 isn’t meant to discount our 6, 7 or even 8 hitters. Most teams in the league (with the obvious exception of a team like the Yankees who have Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui handling the job) would kill to have a hitter in the 6-hole with the pure ability of Rickie Weeks. He not only "Ichiro’d" two of his hits last night through pure hustle, but he laced a third hit into the gap and picked up Fielder’s slack nicely.

And to have a stable, consistent veteran like Corey Koskie batting 7th? Yeah…I’ll take that any day of the week. Unless the Crew is facing a left-handed starter. Then I get "stuck" with Billy Hall? LOL I think I’m okay there too, yeah.

When Damian Miller calls the game, you know that there is a solid contributor just before the pitcher. It’s a nice thing to have. Even Chad Moeller will have games where he handles his business in the batter’s box. Moeller has hit for the cycle in his career. Has Derek Jeter or Pete Rose ever done that? Nope.

The point being, our offense can get the job done. An average of six (6) runs per game (which obviously will fluctuate) would do wonders for our pitching staff.

Let’s get ‘em on, move ‘em over, and knock ‘em in.

GUEST COMMENTARY BY: Adam Rygg