Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Podcast Recorded: Friday, May 25, 2012

Did you miss the last podcast or interview with firstbase prospect Nick Ramirez?

Head to the podcast archive at: http://sportprofiles.wordpress.com/podcast-central/

The Brewers have now lost three starters (Chris Narveson, Mat Gamel, Alex Gonzalez) to injuries that, barring a quick recovery by the two surgically-repaired ACLs, will cost them the balance of the 2012 season. They’ve lost games by other players both on the Disabled List but already back (Carlos Gomez), not to the DL but just missed a few games (Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun, and maybe Aramis Ramirez after getting drilled in the elbow last night), and finally two more players that have gone down to the DL over the past two games (Cesar Izturis, Marco Estrada) that were filling in for guys lost for the year.

The shortstop position has been a mess. The team claimed 36-year-old Cody Ransom off of waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks to replace Edwin Maysonet on the roster, but after Izturis’ hamstring injury Maysonet is coming back up to, presumably, backup Ransom now. There really isn’t much more that General Manager Doug Melvin can do about the shortstop position right now.

What he does have some options at, however, is what this post is here to discuss.

Melvin announced through the media that he expected recently-injured starting pitcher Marco Estrada to miss “three or four starts”. The diagnosis since then is that Estrada could miss “4-6 weeks” which of course is a lot more than four starts.

Given that Melvin has options, I took to social media and asked who my followers and friends would like to see fill Estrada’s void. This was asked when we were under the assumption of “three to four starts”, but I’m not sure that Estrada being out longer would affect the answers much.

Here now are the answers, ordered by the number of mentions the player received:

Total Votes: 51

Manny Parra: 13
Wily Peralta: 9
Tyler Thornburg: 8
Roy Oswalt: 7
Anyone but Manny Parra: 4
Michael Fiers: 3
(the rest of the list is presented alphabetically by last name since they’re all tied with 1 vote)
Brian Baker
Chorizo
Teddy Higuera
Brooks Kieschnick
Jonathan Lucroy (with George Kottaras catching)
Jason Marquis
Kevin Millwood (via trade)

Obviously some people went for a humorous response (Higuera, Chorizo, Kieschnick), and I’m sorry to inform seven of you that Roy Oswalt isn’t coming to a team in the Brewers current state (record and otherwise).

The beat writers seem to think that Ron Roenicke is backing off of Manny Parra as an option, and that Parra will likely remain in the bullpen, but he got the most votes here. Also, assistant GM Gord Ash made comments that while Thornburg is “in the discussion”, his likelihood of getting chosen is low because he’s not on the 40-man roster already and that must be a consideration.

But, seeing the list here, do you agree? Who would you vote for if you haven’t already?

Or is this the guy you want on the mound on Tuesday?

I was going to comment on the promotion with a simple tweet or two, but couldn’t fit my thoughts succinctly enough into its format of 140 characters.

I’m not one for using multiple tweets to get a point across so I thought I would put those thoughts down into a blog post. This is that post.

Following the “Where’s Bernie?” promotion from last summer where lawn-gnome-like Bernie Brewer figurines were placed at various locations around southeastern Wisconsin, the Brewers dealt with a lot of negative fallout from what should have been a tremendous success surrounding a unique idea.

That negative fallout was when, to put in bluntly, assholes decided to horde many more Bernie Brewer figurines than they needed, or were entitled to. One infamous woman tweeted pictures of her entire trunk filled with Bernies. She was vilified and eventually turned many of the statues over to charity.

She, and others like her, deciphered clues for many days in order to figure out where the Bernie statues would be located and then arrived much earlier than they were supposed to, stalking the workers tasked with setting out the prizes.

Kids that were super excited for the chance to go on a treasure hunt for a unique prize were crushed when, simply because their parents followed the instructions, there were no more figures to be had.

Sports talk radio stations blasted the promotion as an abject failure, stating how greed should have been accounted for. I was vocal in my thought that the promotion had perfect intentions but also some miscalculations in execution.

The popularity of the promotion was obvious to all involved though, regardless of the hoarders, so the organization wanted to do something again this year.

To their credit they seemed to have succeeded.

There will never be a way to prevent greed altogether (evidenced by the figurines which are already posted on the internet auction site: eBay) but that the Chorizo statues were placed around Miller Park was a necessary stroke of genius.

The workers were able to control access, monitor the strictly-enforced “one figure per searcher” rule, and help erase many of the bad feelings surrounding last year’s event.

The only true negative this time was there you had to be close to Miller Park to have a legitimate chance. There were no figurines as far away as New Berlin let alone Green Bay or Madison. It was a very necessary change for the promotion to have success this time around, however.

The other major change this year over last was that the date of the giveaway was kept quiet. Chorizo disappeared from Miller Park just this past Saturday, with the culmination happening just about 13 hours ago.

Do I think that there are a few changes that could be made should they do something like this again? Absolutely. I don’t think it would ultimately be necessary to limit all of the statues to just Miller Park. I also think that they can promote it a little better than basically forcing fans to assume that there were more figures to be had this year. (Or even hoping that there weren’t.)

All in all, the Brewers should consider the “Where’s Chorizo?” promotion to have been a success, just one with the opportunity to be improved upon should they decide to pursue a similar idea again in the future.

Melvin’s extension carries through the 2015 season, while Roenicke’s contract will go through 2014 with a Club Option for 2015.

Melvin was named to his post on September 26, 2002 and is in his 10^th season with the Brewers. He was named the 2011 Major League Executive of the Year by Baseball America after the Brewers won a franchise-record 96 games and advanced to the National League Championship Series. He was also named Co-Executive of the Year by The Sporting News and won the Rube Foster Legacy Award, presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to the National League’s top executive.

“In two of the past four years we reached significant milestones by advancing to the Postseason, and we have reached a point where we expect to field a perennially competitive team. This was one of my highest priorities when I first became involved with the Milwaukee Brewers, and we could not have accomplished it without the efforts of Doug Melvin and his Baseball Operations staff,” said Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio. “Doug is one of the most respected leaders in the industry, and he is a key resource for me as we continue to work toward building a championship team.”

In Melvin’s tenure with the Brewers, he has engineered many key trades and signings, including trading for four of the game’s top pitchers – CC Sabathia, Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum and Francisco Rodriguez. Each of the four played critical roles in helping the Brewers advance to Postseason play (2008 and 2011). In addition, he signed many of the team’s key, home-grown players to long-term contracts prior to their free agent years, including Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo, Corey Hart, Jonathan Lucroy and Rickie Weeks.

Prior to joining the Brewers, Melvin also served as General Manager of the Texas Rangers (1996-2001) where he helped lead the franchise to its first-ever Postseason berth in 1996.

“I want to thank Mark Attanasio and his ownership group for their confidence in me and my staff, and for their support year in and year out,” Melvin said.  “I believe we have built a winning culture here at the Brewers, and we embrace the higher expectations that naturally come along with that change. I also want to thank the fans of this team as they over-deliver in every way. Milwaukee is a very special city to me and my family, and we are proud to call it home.”

Roenicke was named the 18^th manager in franchise history on November 4, 2010. The 2011 campaign marked his first as a Major League manager, and he made the most of it. Roenicke led the Brewers to their first division title since 1982 and a franchise record of 96 wins. The Club defeated Arizona in the National League Division Series in five games to advance to the National League Championship Series.

“Ron has been a tremendous addition to our staff and his leadership is instrumental in not only guiding a successful team, but also developing one of the best clubhouse environments in all of baseball,” Melvin said. “He and his staff have worked tirelessly to put us in a great position to win, and he has been very supportive of everything we are looking to accomplish. On behalf of Mark Attanasio and everyone in the organization, we congratulate Ron on his extension and look forward to what believe will be continued success for the Milwaukee Brewers.”

Roenicke’s efforts in 2011 led to a second-place finish in voting for National League Manager of the Year. He came to the organization after serving 11 seasons on the staff of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, first as its third base coach (2000-2005) and later as bench coach (2006-2010).

“I want to thank Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin and everyone else with the Brewers for giving me this opportunity,” Roenicke said. “I also want to thank the players and our coaching staff for their efforts, and just as importantly, our fans for their incredible support.”

From what I’ve heard at this time Lee had not accepted the offer.

The offer I heard about would be for a prorated, one-year deal with a base salary of $2 million with incentives worth up to $6 million more.

As with any contract offer, negotiations can still take place which could change these terms.

Lee would need to work out for the team as a part of the negotiations.

If Lee does accept the offer, there has been talk that he’d need about 15 minor-league games to get ready.

I’ll keep my ear open if anything else is passed my way on this topic.

***UPDATE: Doug Melvin confirmed to the media that they did talk to free agent 1B Derrek Lee but that signing him is “not going to happen”.***

—

In the same message, I was told that the Brewers are also tossing around the idea of making a contract offer to a certain free agent starting pitcher.

More on that if they get further down the proverbial road.

Mat Gamel placed on 15-Day Disabled List

Mat Gamel suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while chasing after a foul ball during Tuesday night’s game in Petco Park against the San Diego Padres.

As a result, Gamel was placed on the 15-day DL in order to open a spot for his replacement on the 25-man roster (more on that in a minute).

Immediate Impact: Gamel needs surgery to repair the injury and will likely miss the remainder of the 2012 season. An ACL tear isn’t necessarily a year-long (or more) rehabilitation for a baseball player like it is for a football player. In fact, on the Brewers right now is an example of a player who was able to return in just under 5 months.

Yovani Gallardo was injured in a collision at first base on May 1, 2008 and came back at the tail end of September, and even started a game in the playoffs that year. It is possible.

Long-Term Impact: This injury comes at the worst possible point for Mat Gamel. He finally was making something of his chance to play everyday this season.

Unfortunately, playing the game hard sometimes has consequences which Gamel must now deal with. Normally a top prospect type getting his first real chance at filling an everyday role would get that same chance the following year after an injury like this. Gamel’s case is unique in that he is a few year’s older than a top prospect normally is when getting that first real chance.

In my humble opinion, Gamel’s age won’t make a difference despite many already claiming that it will, nor should it make a difference.

Gamel will be right back in the mix for the everyday first baseman’s job when camp opens in Maryvale Baseball Park next February. He’ll have to play his way to keep the job (like anybody else), but to think that he’ll be out before camp even gets going is a bit ridiculous, from where I’m typing.

The contract of Brooks Conrad was purchased from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Conrad added to the 25-man roster

With Gamel’s injury comes an opportunity for someone to join the 25-man roster. That someone was veteran infielder Brooks Conrad.

Conrad was in big league camp with the Brewers after signing a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. He performed well enough offensively but struggled in the field and was the last position player cut at the end of Spring Training when paring the roster down to 25 men.

Immediate Impact: Conrad was placed with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and suffered an early shoulder injury while diving into a base. He recovered from that injury and was hitting .400 (20-for-50) with 10 extra-base hits including five home runs. In just 15 games, Conrad had driven in 13 on a club that was struggling for offense as a whole.

Long-Term Impact: After making a tough decision at the end of Spring Training, Brewer manager Ron Roenicke now gets both of the men he had to choose between. This situation could end up being a long-term one if either Travis Ishikawa or the switch-hitting Brooks Conrad take the opportunity and run with it.

It seems like it will be a platoon situation for now with Ishikawa getting the majority of the starts not only because he hits left-handed but because he is exponentially the better fielding first baseman. Conrad does switch-hit and is better as a right-handed hitter facing left-handed pitching.

If this situation doesn’t work and the offense suffers too much as a result, there are a couple of other options. Corey Hart could play some first base down the line and minor-leaguer Taylor Green has already started at first base for the Sounds after Conrad’s call-up.

But for now, it appears as though it’ll be an Ishikawa/Conrad platoon for the time being.

Zach Braddock was unconditionally released by the Brewers

In order to get Brooks Conrad available to be added to the 25-man roster, he first needed to be added to the 40-man roster. Many of us assumed that since Mat Gamel would be out long-term (60 days without breaking a sweat), that Gamel would simply be added to the 60-day disabled list which temporarily removes him from the 40-man roster.

This was not the case.

In a bit of a surprise, General Manager Doug Melvin decided that it was time for once-promising left-handed pitcher Zach Braddock to search out a change of scenery in an attempt to continue his career.

Immediate Impact: Well, for Braddock the immediate impact is that he needs to find another team to offer his services to. He’s had several personal problems from a sleep disorder which landed him on the disabled list to rumored bouts with anxiety and even worse issues. For his sake, I sincerely hope that Braddock gets whatever medical and/or personal help he needs. He has a bag full of talent if he can ever harness it again.

For the organization, this really has no immediate impact. Braddock was taking up a valuable 40-man roster spot while providing absolutely no return this year. Not only was he not ready to contribute at the big-league level, he was on Nashville’s restricted list and wasn’t even with the team. He didn’t throw an inning for the Sounds all year.

It’s a sad situation from a humanity perspective, but when talking purely from a business and baseball standpoint, the 40-man roster spot that Braddock was, in all fairness, wasting became too valuable.

Long-Term Impact: Should Braddock find his control, command, and stuff again down the road, then this may end up looking like a bit of a loss for the club. Braddock not only has a live arm when he’s right, including plenty of velocity, but the arm that he pitches with is his left arm. Guys like that continue to find jobs in baseball until they can’t go anymore…and then they still get another job after that if they want one.

Melvin has been a little gun shy about jettisoning LHPs recently after being burned when Jorge De La Rosa actually turned into something later in his career. As a result, Melvin has continued to give Manny Parra multiple chances and everyone figured that the same would be done for Braddock.

Apparently enough was enough though and Melvin felt it was finally an appropriate time to make the move that he made.

—

So there you go! Just a little recap of today’s moves with some opinion thrown in for flavor.

MILWAUKEE – Brewers fans have the well-earned reputation for filling the ballot boxes with All-Star votes for Milwaukee Brewers players year in and year out. With at least one Brewers player elected to start in every All-Star Game since 2007, including three elected starters last season, Milwaukee fans demonstrated that it doesn’t take the largest market to be heard as they voted for their favorite Brewers in almost unheard of numbers.

And while it may still be April, it’s time to ramp up and Vote Brewers!  This season, eight Milwaukee Brewers players are featured on the ballot for the 83rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game to be held on Tuesday, July 10 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.  Brewers fans will again have the opportunity to show their overwhelming fan support by helping decide which players will be named to the Midsummer Classic through the 2012 MLB In-Stadium All-Star Balloting Program and the 2012 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot.

Brewers players on this year’s All-Star ballot include C Jonathan Lucroy, 1B Mat Gamel, 2B Rickie Weeks, 3B Aramis Ramirez, SS Alex Gonzalez, OF Ryan Braun, OF Nyjer Morgan and OF Corey Hart.

Beginning today, fans are able to vote online at brewers.com and beginning Monday, May 7, fans will be able to vote through in-park balloting at Miller Park.

At brewers.com, all fans voting 21 or more times for their favorite Brewers will be entered into a drawing to win Ryan Braun’s Miller Park Suite for a night, complete with tickets, food and a personal visit from the 2011 National League MVP.  There is a maximum of 25 votes per email address.  More information and rules may be found at brewers.com.  Additionally, fans voting online will be eligible to purchase Field Outfield and Club Outfield seats for select Brewers games at a savings of up to 50% (details available after voting at Brewers.com).

Those visiting Miller Park are encouraged to vote early and often via paper ballot at the All-Star Polling District, set up during Brewers home games along the first base concourse. In-park balloting at Miller Park begins on Monday, May 7 and continues through Tuesday, June 19, comprising 23 home dates.  The Vote Brewers! campaign will feature event staff decked out at home games in promotional t-shirts, and signage along the Miller Park fascia and behind the plate. In addition, media partners FOX Sports Wisconsin and Newsradio 620 WTMJ will be promoting the initiative on broadcasts, and the World Famous Klement’s Racing Sausages will help distribute voting information around the city. There will also be voting parties staged during the balloting period.

With every 10 ballots turned in to the All-Star Polling District, fans will receive one raffle ticket that will enter them in a drawing for the opportunity to win a collector’s item daily, ranging from game-used memorabilia to player autographs. A drawing will be held during every home game through June 19 and the winning ticket will be announced during the game.  Rules will be available at the Polling District.

Last season, Ryan Braun led National League outfielders in voting for the fourth straight season and led all NL players in voting for the first time (5,928,004).  He is the only Brewers player to ever be elected to start in four consecutive All-Star Games (did not play in 2011 due to injury).  Rickie Weeks was selected to his first All-Star Game as the NL’s starting second baseman and Prince Fielder started and made his third All-Star appearance in 2011.  In 2010, Braun and Corey Hart started for the Brewers (Hart was named as a starter after an injury to Atlanta’s Jason Heyward).

In 2009, Braun and Fielder joined Trevor Hoffman as All-Stars.  In addition to Braun in 2008, Hart was named that year to the National League All-Star team via the Monster All-Star Final Vote.  In 2007, Fielder received the second-most votes in the National League en route to his first career All-Star team, becoming the first Brewers player to be voted to the All-Star Game since Paul Molitor was selected at third base in 1988.  A complete list of All-Stars in franchise history can be found on page 283 of the 2012 Brewers media guide.

The 2012 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on Sunday, July 1 on the 2012 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show on TBS.  Both the National League and American League teams will have eight fan-elected starters.The pitchers and reserves for both will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers.

Fans can vote for the Major League All-Stars online at brewers.com through Thursday, June 28 at 10:59 p.m. CT.

Affectionately known as “Mr. Baseball,” Uecker is currently in his 42^nd year calling play-by-play on Newsradio 620 WTMJ-AM and the Brewers Radio Network.  The former-player-turned-broadcaster has completed 30 seasons as the club’s lead announcer and is celebrating his 57^th year in professional baseball in 2012.

Uecker’s popularity with baseball fans, both on radio and television, afforded him other opportunities.  He did color commentary and play-by-play announcing on NBC and ABC covering regular season baseball, the League Championship Series, the World Series and MLB All-Star Games.

In addition to his baseball work, Uecker was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and hosted two syndicated television shows, “Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports” and “Bob Uecker’s War of the Stars.”  He also appeared as a spokesman for Miller Lite Beer, in a major role on the ABC hit series “Mr. Belvedere,” and in six feature films including Major League and Major League II.

Uecker was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2001 and honored with the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence in 2003.  The five-time Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year is also in the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame.  During his days as a player, Uecker was a member of the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals World Series Championship team.

Previous NAB Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductees with baseball ties include Vin Scully, Jack Buck, Harry Caray and Mel Allen.

Uecker will miss tomorrow’s Brewers game at Miller Park to attend the induction ceremony.  Dave Nelson will join Joe Block in the broadcast booth for the game.  Uecker will be back in the booth on Wednesday for the Brewers-Dodgers game at Miller Park.

It was announced last month that the Brewers will honor Uecker with a statue placed outside Miller Park.  The statue will be placed near the Home Plate Plaza and will be dedicated on August 31.

Well, we couldn’t think of one either and so Cary and I got together and did just that.

This edition features an interview with Brewers fan Megan Brown.

We also had planned on interviewing Brewers prospect Nick Ramirez (#10 on Keith Law’s top prospect list for the Milwaukee Brewers), but finished the podcast before we could connect. We ended up reaching him afterward so we recorded that interview on its own and have posted it as well.

Here is the link to the full podcast:

http://sportprofiles.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/bnation_04142012.mp3

Here is the link to just the Nick Ramirez interview:

http://sportprofiles.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/nick-ramirez-interview.mp3

—

You can follow our guests on Twitter! We plug their accounts in the recordings.

The Crew took the first three games in the series and looked good heading into an opportunity for their first ever four-game sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field. They fell painfully short of that goal, but more on that later.

The fact is that in a venue where the 96-win 2011 Brewers only won two games all year, leaving town with three notches on the bedpost is certainly an acceptable outcome.

For more on each game’s individual happenings, read on!

Game 1 – Monday – Brewers (1-2): 7, Cubs (1-2): 5

Winning Pitcher: Shaun Marcum (1-0, 4.50) Losing Pitcher: Shawn Camp (0-1, 7.36)
Save: John Axford (1)

In the opening tilt of the series, the Brewers not only scored early (RBI sac fly by Aramis Ramirez, plating Nyjer Morgan), but often (scoring runs in six of their nine frames).

In a nice blend of small ball and…big ball, I guess…the Brewers got a solo home run from Rickie Weeks in the third and RBI extra-base hits from Mat Gamel (triple) in the sixth inning and Ramirez (double) in the Brewers’ next frame. Milwaukee also picked up RBIs by way of both a safety and suicide squeeze, and a pair of sacrifice flies.

The only real point of concern came in the bottom of the ninth when, sporting a 7-3 lead and with closer John Axford having just thrown 27 pitches the night before, manager Ron Roenicke called on Manny Parra to finish out the game.

Parra allowed a leadoff double and was lifted for Tim Dillard once the left-handed hitters were done. Dillard walked Geovany Soto which forced Roenicke’s hand.

Axford entered the game and allowed his first batter faced to single home a run on Parra’s linescore. With men at second and third and only one out, Axford struck out David DeJesus but then walked Darwin Barney to load the bases.

In a beautifully-called and executed sequence, Axford then struck out Starlin Castro on three pitches to end the game.

Game 2 – Tuesday – Brewers (2-2): 7, Cubs (1-3): 4

Winning Pitcher: Chris Narveson (1-0, 3.60) Losing Pitcher: Paul Maholm (0-1, 13.50)
Save: Francisco Rodriguez (1)

A cold night in the Windy City saw a team of (mostly) hooded men residing in the first base dugout.

The hoods designed to keep a player’s head and neck warm could also be pulled up to cover the face while running the bases, and the sight of so many of the Brewers wearing them caused many fans to invoke a “ninja” theme to the evening’s events.

It was a mostly fitting description for the early part of the game as the Brewers struck blows to the Cubs starting pitcher repeatedly. The loudest blow of the night for Milwaukee came from the first hitter in the batting order to plays sans shroud, Alex Gonzalez. He made plenty of noise by blasting a three-run home run into the left-center field bleachers, capping the scoring at five for the frame.

The ninja thing might have been a perfect description if not for the fact that Corey Hart and Mat Gamel were both hit by pitches in the first inning. After all, ninjas are supposed to be incredibly stealthy and therefore shouldn’t be able to be plunked.

Or something.

The Cubs were never really in this game, though they did cut the lead to three runs in the third inning.

There was more ninth inning drama as well. The Brewers once again put a four-run lead up against the Cubs final three outs and put a non-closer on the bump to begin the ninth.

After Kameron Loe had pitched two mostly brilliant innings of scoreless relief, Jose Veras was given the first chance to slam the door but hung a curveball to Geovany Soto which was blasted into the stands for a home run. After striking out the scuffling Marlon Byrd, Veras walked the pinch-hitting Bryan LaHair.

The situation now being a three-run lead with the tying run in the on-deck circle made it a Save opportunity. With John Axford having thrown over 50 pitches over the previous two days, manager Ron Roenicke had decided prior to the game that the Ax Man was off limits tonight. Roenicke walked to the mound and signaled for a right-hander to enter the game.

Francisco Rodriguez jogged to the mound looking to record his first Save as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

K-Rod needed just seven pitches to get through the final two hitters. He secured Chris Narveson’s first Win of the year by striking out David DeJesus and inducing Darwin Barney to ground out to Alex Gonzalez.

The Brewers had just guaranteed themselves no worse than a series split, but had eyes for more.

Game 3 – Wednesday – Brewers (3-2): 2, Cubs (1-4): 1

Winning Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo (1-1, 5.91) Losing Pitcher: Ryan Dempster (0-1, 1.88)
Save: John Axford (2)

Yovani Gallardo’s start on Opening Day was brutal. (You can click here for that recap.) A lot of people were questioning the staff ace and his abilities, which is ridiculous but they were, and were looking for a bounce-back start against the Cubs.

Gallardo delivered.

Going seven strong innings, only allowing one run (earned) while scattering five hits and two walks, he struck out six Cubs hitters on the day. He shaved nearly nine runs off of his ERA (early season small sample sizes are fun!), nearly a point and a half off of his WHIP, and thousands of doubters off his back about his admittedly rough start five days earlier.

Nearly exceeding his performance, however, was Cub starter Ryan Dempster. He too pitched on Opening Day for Chicago, but with much better personal results than Gallardo achieved. Dempster made it to the seventh scoreless, but allowed a one-out, two-run home run to George Kottaras which proved to be the difference in the game.

Gallardo was set to be pinch-hit for had Kottaras not come through, but instead he came back out in the bottom of the seventh and worked himself into and out of the only substantial Cub threat of the afternoon.

The eighth and ninth were by design after that, with both Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford striking out the side around two walks and one double, respectively.

Having hoisted the L flag atop Wrigley for the third consecutive game, the Brewers looked to do what they had never done before…

Sweep a four-game set from the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Game 4 – Thursday – Brewers (4-2): 0, Cubs (1-5): 8

Winning Pitcher: Matt Garza (1-0, 1.23) Losing Pitcher: Zack Greinke (1-1, 6.75)

When you head into the final game of a series with a chance to sweep that series, and you have one of the best pitchers on your staff starting, you feel pretty good about your chances that day. So, too, did the Brewers with Zack Greinke toeing the rubber on Thursday afternoon.

In a confluence of recent and unfortunate trends, however, Greinke pitched during the day and on the road. While coincidental at best, neither of those situations was particularly friendly to Greinke last season. (For the record: Greinke’s Win-Loss record was good during the day last year, but we all know how much that actually reflects his performance.)

Regardless of the circumstances, Greinke seemed out of sorts the entire day. He barely touched speeds with his fastball that he usually sits comfortably at. He normally sits 94-95, touches 97, but on Thursday he was sitting 91-92 and his high watermark only rounded up to 95. PitchFX information had Greinke topping out at 94.9 MPH, while averaging 92.64. (Those figures were quoted to me by mutual Twitter follow Jaymes Langrehr of the Disciples of Uecker blog. You can follow him on Twitter: @JaymesL.)

The second half of the Brewers pair of aces could only muster 3.2 innings pitched on Thursday afternoon, and he was charged with eight earned runs before it was all said and done. That was a far cry from his seven shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals five days prior.

The highlights of the game for the Brewers would be that two relief pitchers, who had been previously roughed up a couple of times, posted multiple, scoreless innings in relief of Greinke. Manny Parra took over in the fourth inning and pitched through the sixth, striking out four along the way while walking none. Tim Dillard then covered the seventh and eighth, also walking no one. Each relief pitcher allowed two hits while working.

Otherwise, Matt Garza simply had his way with every Brewer hitter not named Nyjer Morgan (two hits in four trips to the plate) or Jonathan Lucroy (one hit, one walk in three PAs).  Garza only allowed three hits through 8.2 innings pitched, while striking out nine and walking only two.

His only hiccup, if you can even call it one, was when Garza induced a ground ball back to himself off of the bat of pinch-hitter Norichika Aoki but then threw the ball way over and past first baseman Bryan LaHair, allowing Aoki to reach.

With Garza then at 119 pitches, Cubs manager Dale Sveum marched to the mound and lifted his starter in favor of Monday’s starter Shawn Camp. Camp got George Kottaras to ground out on four pitches to finalize things.

In Summary…

Like I said at the top, taking three out of four games at Wrigley Field is never a bad thing, regardless of whether you lost the final game with arguably your best pitcher on the bump.

Games against the very much so rebuilding Cubs are just as important, if not more so, as games against other opponents in the division. You must beat the teams which you are supposed to beat if you hope to approach last season’s franchise-best win total.

I really liked seeing solid starts from Shaun Marcum and Chris Narveson in their first turns, and was greatly encouraged by the fact that heavy use early didn’t affect John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez as they were both very good as usual.

The bats need to wake up a bit still. Look no further than notoriously slow starter Aramis Ramirez (2-for-22 to begin the campaign) as evidence of that, but there is plenty of time to turn things around.

After beginning 2011 with a 0-4 record and not winning for the third time on the road until their ninth try, being 4-2 after six with three victories away from Miller Park isn’t a bad place to be.

—

The Brewers are in Atlanta tonight for the first of a three-game series. Tonight is the Braves’ home opener. That game will be contested by Randy Wolf and Jair Jurrjens with the first pitch being scheduled for 6:35 Central Daylight Time.