Brewers: Highs and Lows After 10 Games

Three series into the 2012 MLB season, the Milwaukee Brewers sit at 4-6, three games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central Division.

The Brewers lost two out of three games to the Cardinals to open the season, and bounced back to win three of four games against the Chicago Cubs. Over the weekend the Brewers lost three straight to the Atlanta Braves.

Milwaukee's starting pitchers have given up a combined 38 earned runs and 10 home runs in 52.2 innings, with Randy Wolf allowing a team high 11 runs on 18 hits in just 9.1 innings pitched (10.61 ERA). Brewers pitchers have been susceptible to big innings, and gave up four or more runs during several innings.

As a team, the Brewers have given up 57 runs, the most of any team in baseball. Milwaukee fielders have also committed 11 errors to begin the season, which is 4th most in the MLB. Alex Gonzales leads all Brewers with three errors, and seven Brewers have committed at least one error.

On the positive side, the Brewers have scored 43 runs on 74 hits, and are 3rd in the league with 14 home runs.

Kottaras hits a 2-run homer
against the Cubs

The Brewers have seen great production from their two catchers, Jonathan Lucroy and George Kottaras. The duo has combined for 12 hits, six runs, six RBI and five home runs.

Corey Hart is off to a hot start as well, batting .321 with four home runs and eight RBI.

The Brewers will need to eliminate the big innings and cut down on errors as they head to California to begin a three game series against the 9-1 L.A. Dodgers Tuesday night. Yovani Gallardo (1-1) will face Chad Billingsley (2-0).

Corey Hart Set to Return to the Milwaukee Brewers

According to sources for the Milwaukee Brewers, Corey Hart will return to the team for his first start on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how well he feels after his Monday night start for Triple-A Nashville.


Read the rest of the article here on the Bleacher Report.

Hart Rewarded for Hot Season

The Milwaukee Brewers and Corey Hart reached an agreement Monday on a three-year, $26.5 million contract extension. This comes after pre-season contract arbitration and numerous mid-season trade talks.

Hart was anything but hot coming into the 2010 season. The 2009 campaign and spring training of 2010 were not high points in Hart's career. He was left out of the opening day starting line-up and failed to make the All-Star Ballot.

Despite this, Hart has lit up the field throughout the first half of the season. He made the All-Star Team by way of the players' ballot, and ended up starting for the National League due to an injury to Jason Heyward.

After trade talks surrounded Hart, he publicly announced his preference to stay a Brewer.

"In years past, I think I've pressed too much to worry about what would happen next year," he said. "I told them all along I wanted to be here [in Milwaukee], because my family likes it there and it's a comfort level. Not having to worry about that now, I can take a deep breath and go out there and relax."

As of Monday, Hart is hitting .288, with 23 homers and 72 RBI's.

"The Brewers are very excited to have Corey signed for the next three years," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said in a statement issued by the club. "He is one of our drafted and developed players and with his two-time All-Star performances, Corey deserves this contract that will provide his family security. We appreciate his wanting to remain a Brewer and a part of the Milwaukee community."

Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, and the Brewers

,On Saturday, Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history, and the second this season (Oakland's Dallas Braden was the first). Halladay was absolutely nasty, making the right pitches at the perfect time and striking out 11 Marlins. This is just another great accomplishment for Halladay, who already has a Cy Young award and 7 All Star Appearances. With a 1.99 ERA, you'd think he'd be the frontrunner for this year's NL Cy Young, but a certain Colorado pitcher is blowing away the competition...

Rockies righty Ubaldo Jimenez has been absolutely lights out this season. He is the first pitcher to 10 wins and only two months have passed in the season. His ERA is filthy; 0.78 in 80 innings pitched. That means that he has only given up 7 runs all season. He even beat 2-time reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum yesterday. It is probably inevitable that his numbers will go up a little bit, but right now a Jimenez start essentially means a Rockies win. If he keeps up this pace, he is undoubtedly headed for an All-Star Game start, Cy Young award, and even in the running for NL MVP. We could be in for a historic season watching him.

Finally the Brewers. How disappointing this season has been. Already 9 games under .500, no one is fearing the beer right now. A couple thoughts:

• John Axford looks like a keeper in the Milwaukee bullpen. He throws super hard and has the potential, with fellow prospect Zach Braddock, to be in the back end of the Brewers pen for years to come. Plus he's trying to grow a handlebar mustache.
  
• I'm excited to see what Chris Capuano has to offer, as he is getting the start Thursday in Florida. I hope he does well, as he's come so far, but I don't think he could be as bad as Chris Narveson and Manny Parra have been.
• Corey Hart is on fire. Trade him while he still has value!
• How bad is the Brewers pitching? Besides having the third worst ERA in the majors (5.36), it is so bad that Brewers hitters lead the league in many of the major statistical categories and they still can't keep up. Ryan Braun is third in the NL with a .318 batting average, Casey McGehee is first in the NL with 41 RBIs and Corey Hart leads with 13 home runs. Alcides Escobar even leads the league with 5 triples. The old addage is that pitching wins championships and that is soooo true!
• Yes, everyone is saying this, but Jeff Suppan is horrible. Plain and simple. If the Brewers have better options than him, he shouldn't be on the team. I'm obviously not the person to determine that, but at this point money should not be a factor in deciding whether he stays or not.
• Bill Hall, still making roughly $8 million from the Brewers this season, threw a 1-2-3 inning for the Red Sox on Friday night.
  

Brewers ST Preview 2010: Outfield

Left Field: Ryan Braun. Enough said.

Center Field: Carlos Gomez was acquired from the Twins for J.J. Hardy this offseason. He has struggled offensively with Minnesota but the Brewers hope a change of scenery, a chance to play every day, and maturity will help him develop into a solid ball player. He replaces Mike Cameron, who was deemed too expensive to resign, yet like Cameron, he plays spectacular defense. Jim Edmonds was signed as a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training to compete for a backup job. I hope Edmonds will make the team, as he would be a solid backup, not to mention a great mentor to Gomez. Lorenzo Cain or Logan Schafer could emerge here in a couple years.

Right Field: Corey Hart is coming off of a very disappointing season. He only hit .260 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs and was out with an appendectomy for a month. He never seemed to hit his stride and many fans would like to see him replaced in right field. I’m torn on Hart. He is a very streaky player and when he’s on, he’s really good. Yet when he’s off, he’s downright horrible and has no plate discipline. This is a crucial year for him. If he doesn’t have a good year, the Brewers can’t justify paying him almost $5 million a year and will have to cut him. If he struggles, Jody Gerut will play more of role in right field.

Check back tomorrow for the Bench/Non-Roster Invitees

Check out my previous posts:

2nd Base and Shortstop

1st and 3rd Base

Pitchers and Catchers

Coaches