Brew To Their Word

 

As expected, the Cardinals caught up to the Brewers and have made things very close in the NL Central. What you may not expect is that the Brewers took this opposition as a tip to shift back into high gear, and they've won four straight agains not just easy teams like the Reds but also...well, the Cardinals. So, for those of you who thought they'd just defer to the Cardinals for the rest of the year because that's what tends to happen...that doesn't seem to be the case yet.

It's been clear how injuries have really knocked this team back, and losing Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff and now Aaron Ashby to injuries has been a bit of a setback. The Brewers have employed some decent replacements so far- their biggest asset so far has been Jason Alexander, Scott's brother not Jerry Seinfeld's friend, who's had a 2.42 ERA through 4 starts. They've also brought up Aaron Small, and though they seem to be using him cautiously, he seems to be on the right track. I'm a bit puzzled as to why they got Chi Chi Gonzalez up starting games instead of Small, as Gonzalez was a bit wobbly in his starts in Minneapolis, but...look, at this point Craig Counsell knows what he's doing, so I just assume he sees something in Gonzalez that he doesn't see in Small right now. Of course, if Gonzalez botches his start, expect Small back up in no time.

Willy Adames is back off the IL, and has 13 home runs and 33 RBIs in 47 games. Even with lost time he still leads the team in home runs, tied with Hunter Renfroe. And, of course, Adames' defense is still as good as it always was, and he's filling a bigger role in Milwaukee than he did in Tampa arguably. This is also a team that actually re-signs people, so he could be on the right track. 

I honestly think this is a perfectly consistent team, with the lineup very much on the same page, and people like Hunter Renfroe, Omar Narvaez, Daniel Robertson, Rowdy Tellez and Victor Caratini can all have nice nights whenever they need. My worry is that the Brewers are a fairly standard, small team with quiet efficiency, and the Cardinals have an incredible lineup, incredible prospects and a 40 year old ace. The Cardinals have more exclamation points, and I still think they have a better chance of conquering the NL Central. The Brewers need to prove me wrong. A true hero needs to emerge, and if it's not gonna be Christian Yelich, it needs to be someone like Adames.

Coming Tonight: I think this guy's one of the few Astros that it's okay to like?