Brewers 2nd Half

The Brewers are starting to really slip and are on the verge of being out of contention. I think the next few weeks will be very important to the rest of the season. If they are able to get out of the mess and are in a clear 2nd after from the embarrassing Cubs and the Astros I think they will be okay.

With the acquisition of Felipe Lopez, they finally have their true leadoff player. If Lopez can continue to hit around .300 and have plus speed we could score a lot more runs. Braun is having a streak that is verging on the longest slump of his career and the Brewers need him back to his old self to turn their fortunes. Thank God for Prince Fielder who is becoming a stud and the MVP of the Brewers this year.

The pitching is getting worse and it seems as though this will be the weakness down the stretch. In the beganning of the year I was so impressed with the staff and the bullpen, but that has gone away and we look worse than cynics predicted preseason. Yovanni has not gotten the run support he has needed to win but has pitched okay down the stretch. The other starters all seem to be about "4" or "5" on most staffs. So we have an ace and 4 "5"s, which causes stress on your bullpen. Coffey has been solid but a lot of the shut down relivers for the Brewers have been slipping. McClung and Villy are "Gagnesque" when they go into a game, you just start to cringe.

I think in order to make a playoff run, hitters like Hardy and Hart have to step up and half GREAT 2nd halfs. I also believe our starting pitchers need to make it later in games and have quality starts and I think we have a shot.