Now & Hader

Last year, the one troubling development in all of baseball was its lack of correct uses for flame throwing relievers. Jordan Hicks and Josh Hader were BOTH throwing absolute smoke through all of last year, and they were both used primarily as middle relievers or set-up men. It's not like there was a ton of closing competition either- both Corey Knebel and Bud Norris weren't exactly pristine in the ninth (though Norris had more saves than average). Hell, Tampa is just as guilty of this- Ryne Stanek is one of the deadliest relievers out there, and what is he used as? An opener. Because sure.

Either way, baseball seems to be righting itself a bit, as both Hader and Hicks have been handing ninth inning jobs, and both of them, but especially Josh Hader, have been doing well. Hader already has 5 saves and hasn't allowed an earned run yet. I hope he keeps it up.

The same goes for the Brewers, who have become...arguably even more powerful than they were last year. The Cain-Yelich combo is continuing its potency, as expected. Mike Moustakas has eased into his role as the everyday second baseman. Even Yasmani Grandal is doing well in his new uniform. Perennial weak spots like Orlando Arcia and Ryan Braun are both seeing their averages improve, and Ben Gamel and Hernan Perez have been great off the bench.

The problem has become starting pitching, though; only Zach Davies has an ERA under 4, and the inexperienced new starters like Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff are struggling. I honestly it's because the Brewers switched a bunch of their starters from 2018, including Chase Anderson and Junior Guerra, to the bullpen. Which I don't completely agree with, especially in Anderson's case; he was a fine starter, and got screwed out of a great deal. Jimmy Nelson will help alleviate things when he returns, but for now...Freddy Peralta, Jhoulys Chacin and Zach Davies need to keep things sharp as hell.

This is a flawed, human Brewers team, but it's not dooming them yet, even with the Cardinals closing in. They'll hopefully show their best talents in the next few weeks.

Coming Tomorrow- His team is back to where they left off...though I wish it wouldn't have gotten their after sweeping my Yankees.