Brew-haha

 

At the moment, the Brewers are still in control of the NL Central. The Cardinals are a few games behind them and within striking distance, but the Brewers, like the Cardinals, have been no stranger to losing streaks in addition to dominant streaks. 

The problem I continue to have with the Brewers is, despite their superior managing, superior pitching and superior bullpen in opposition to the Cardinals, the Brewers really don't have a strong core like they used to. Hell, with Yelich only doing so well, they don't really have a great tentpole player right now. And it does help that there's a lot of not-too-showoffish players like Willy Adames, Kolten Wong, Victor Caratini, Hunter Renfroe, Luis Urias and Omar Narvaez just doing their thing, but...how does that compare to a Cardinals lineup where 7 out of 9 guys are hot as hell right now? This is a team that can hit for power, but only Yelich and Andrew McCutchen have over 80 hits. And yes, there's 6 guys with over 10 homers, but a lot of them are kind of one-dimensional hitters. At the very least, Hunter Renfroe, who's a one-dimensional hitter but he's one of the best of them, is doing well right now.

I mean, I don't want to prescribe this team to just leave it to the pitching, because that's what's shutting teams down and winning games, but...I don't know if the lineup's gonna be anywhere near as good as the pitching this year. Corbin Burnes might be up for another Cy Young, that's honestly where we're at. If sportswriters voted properly, he'd be up for his first one, but you know, something about Wheeler not being dominant enough, I dunno. Lauer, Woodruff and Ashby are right there with him. And yes, Hader's been a bit unreliable as of late, but he's still got 28 saves and he's still Josh Hader. Not sure if he's at Chapman 'what the hell do we do with this guy' mode yet.

The Brewers could very well take the division and ride it towards glory, but I'm not seeing the momentum-energy and roster-packing this team had even last year. I assume they're gonna make some deals at the deadline? It'd certainly help to pick some people up, bolster the lineup and outlast the Cardinals. I bet the Cardinals are gonna go for pitching, though, so it's really gonna be who can outmuscle the other, and right now I still think the Cardinals can outhit the Brewers. I'd like to be proven wrong.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who no-hit my team earlier this year.

Brew Perspective

 Okay, the lineup-heavy approach has been shifted. Now the Brewers have become a 'let's just strikeout the other team into submission and hope we somehow outscore them' sort of team. Which...I guess works.

Having Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Josh Hader all on at once is a dangerous combo for the rest of the NL Central, and so far the pitching has been the highlight of Brewers baseball this year. Burnes only recently gave up his first walk of the season, Peralta and Woodruff have 61 Ks each, and even the surprisingly tight bullpen, featuring Hader, Eric Lauer, J.P. Feyereisen, Brent Suter, Brad Boxberger and Devin Williams all pitching well, has been aiding things. Only Houser seems to have given up a great deal of runs so far. I'm glad the Brewers have figured out the pitching situation, because this had been a few years of trial and error in the making.

Unfortunately, now that we've gotten the pitching sorted out, now the lineup needs work. Yelich is hurt, Hiura is back in the minors after not hitting, the fun bench infielders like Daniel Robertson and Jace Peterson are both injured [robbing the team of depth], and giving starting roles to Billy McKinney, Luis Urias and Dan Vogelbach have illuminated how much of a skeleton crew this team has become.

At the very least, Omar Narvaez is having another strong season behind the plate, and is hitting pretty well for himself [.347]. Kolten Wong and Avisail Garcia are also hitting well, for power and otherwise, and Tyrone Taylor is beginning to come into his own. But the reality is that the homegrown quality of this lineup has completely vanished. Keston Hiura could still come back fine, but with the departure of Orlando Arcia, this team became more about who is around and signed here, and less about who actually came up and can help things. 

Right now, the entire lineup is made up of people from other farm systems. I said this about the Mariners last year and then they brought up Evan White, Taylor Trammell and Jarred Kelenic. Tyrone Taylor is a Brewers product, but he's also not really a starting piece yet. So until they bring up, like, Bryce Turang or whoever's the next big prospect...I don't know if I can really get behind this lineup. It's not theirs. Lorenzo Cain is really the only other Brewers farm product actually trying, but he barely counts because he was one of the many Brewers farm products traded away in the last 10 years. 

Again, at least the pitching's doing well right now. At least there are good performers. But I still worry about the Brewers' identity and farm system dilution. 

Coming Tonight: 11 homers, 40 strikeouts. What can't this man do, besides be on a competitive Angels team apparently?

Spring Training Custom: Narvy Edition

So, to say the least, it's gonna be an interesting year for the Brewers.

The last two years, the Brewers have had some impressive teams, made some playoff runs, accumulated a lot of talent, and made a name for themselves as a threat in the NL Central. After 2019, they lost Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, Chase Anderson, Eric Thames, Zach Davies, Junior Guerra, Jordan Lyles, Travis Shaw, Trent Grisham, Gio Gonzalez and Drew Pomeranz.

That is a lot of people. And they're all in camp with other teams right now, ranging from potential competitors like the White Sox, underdogs like the Padres and Blue Jays, and...the defending champion Nats who scooped up Thames.

In terms of who they gained in their absence, uh...well, let's start with the starting catcher for this year, Omar Narvaez. Narvaez is one of those guys who's been a solid, average catcher on some very unspectacular teams, like the White Sox and Mariners. Last year, Narvy had his best season to date, with career highs in RBIs, home runs, average and WAR. All good stuff. He is replacing Yasmani Grandal at catcher, and Grandal was an All-Star and favorite in Milwaukee. Narvaez is a very different catcher than Grandal, and is more of your baseline, average catcher, rather than the offensive standout that happens to catch. Yes, Narvaez was one of the offensive highlights of his team last year...but that team was the 2019 Mariners.

You look deeper, and you see the new pieces are exactly those...pieces. Pieces of other teams that were just added onto this one. The new infield recruits include Eric Sogard, Jedd Gyorko, Brock Holt, Ryon Healy, Logan Morrison and Justin Smoak. While Smoak and LoMo seem to be doing alright, the others are still trying to figure out how to adapt to their new teams. Even Sogard, who came to life in 2019, is possibly reverting back to his normal levels of production.

Even the pitchers seem very piecemeal. Eric Lauer, Brett Anderson and Shelby Miller are all looking at starting spots, and they all look very odd in Brewers uniforms. Then again, so do a lot of the homegrown people vying for rotation spots. It's really illuminated how little the Brewers have left in terms of starting pitching when Freddy Peralta is the one making news by being signed to an extension.

The only real addition to the fold that seems to not only be doing well in camp but has some sort of status is Avisail Garcia, who's a solid outfield bat AND is batting .286 right now. That's the kind of replacement I can get behind, because he has a chance to be a real factor in subsequent Brewers teams. Otherwise, you're looking at a parade of people auditioning to be on a banner behind Yelich, Cain and Braun for a bit. I dunno how long a lot of these guys will last, though Narvaez and Garcia look good.

If the Brewers hope to continue to be relevant in this division, especially as the Reds and Cardinals grow, they're gonna hope these new additions pan out in a big way.

Coming Tomorrow- Mr. .247 himself.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2019: Mariners

 I don't really know what else there is to expect from the Seattle Mariners except for heartbreak. Because that's what keeps happening. After an impressive start, the Mariners reverted to their old ways, unshelled Leake, Edwin and Bruce, and failed to recover from Mitch Haniger's injury.

Dee Gordon was left to be the veteran leader of this team. He's down to 22 in terms of steals, which is a far cry from his season high of 64 in 2014, and hit .275, which is his best in Seattle but nowhere near his Miami average. At least he was able to rock those awesome Pilots uniforms this year.
Why Him in 2019?: One of four to get 100 hits in Seattle.
2020 Prediction: He's gonna decide whether he wants to hit more for power next year, and his steals are gonna go down further.

 Mitch Haniger was expected to lead this team with power in 2019, and while he did that in April, his numbers lessened in May and June and he was on the IL from June on. Yes, his 15 homers are an impressive first-half number, but without a sturdy second half, it's not much.
Why Him in 2019?: You can argue that the Mariners' complete dissolution is because of his injury.
2020 Prediction: Will hit 30 home runs, but as he's on the trade block, not sure if it'll be for Seattle.

 Domingo Santana came to Seattle in a trade for Ben Gamel, and while Gamel had the more prolific bench year, Santana was embraced as a member of the outfield, leading the league in RBIs at one point despite finishing with only 69. His homer total, 21, is also dwarfed by his 2017 total.
Why Him in 2019: Came through in the wake of Haniger's injury, and was the most potent power performer in the outfield in 2019.
2020 Prediction: The Haniger-Santana-Smith outfield is so mismatched that it won't last. Santana could be hitting off the bench midway through the year.

 The Mariners finally managed to get themselves a decent catcher in 2019, as Omar Narvaez hit .278 with 22 homers and had a 2.1 WAR, which must have been a relief after years of people like Miguel Olivo, Kenji Johjima and Mike Zunino failing at that position. Unfortunately, Narvaez was traded, just like that, to the Brewers.
Why Him in 2019?: Best Mariners catcher in years.
2020 Prediction: Will bring similar numbers to Milwaukee; they won't exactly be screaming for Grandal.

 Mallex Smith finally made a game appearance for the Mariners (after being traded there only to be traded to Tampa a day later), and became a speedy, hit-piling outfielder for them. Smith led the team in stolen bases, and led the non-Narvaez Ms in hits.
Why Him in 2019?: Proved the team can win games on speed without exhausting Gordon.
2020 Prediction: Another similar season, but will once again be bogged down by plate woes.

 Austin Nola's brother is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but Austin himself finally made it to the bigs and made a nice name for himself in Seattle. 31 RBIs in 79 games isn't bad, especially considering that Nola was essentially the starting 1st baseman after Edwin left.
Why Him in 2019?: Probably the most prolific rookie addition to the lineup
2020 Prediction: A bit more impressive on a full season, but something will prevent him from being seen as legitimate.

 In Narvaez' absence, the Ms will have to start Tom Murphy, which won't be a problem, seeing as Murphy led the lineup in WAR. Murphy also hit 18 homers and 40 RBIs in 75 games, and led the team in SLG with .535. A guy like Murphy, if he keeps it up, could be a solid offensive tool for Seattle.
Why Him in 2019?: Cause he did more in 75 games than most of the team did in 162.
2020 Prediction: Will hit 30 homers, but his defense will slow down a chance of legitimacy.

 Shed Long was the guy who was traded for Sonny Gray, then subsequently traded to the Mariners at the beginning of 2019. So some eyes were on him immediately. Long was a pretty impressive swingman, being pristine in the outfield and pretty durable in the infield, as well as hitting 15 RBIs in 42 games.
Why Him in 2019?: One of the few call-ups that made a gradual impact in Seattle.
2020 Prediction: Might get lost in the shuffle with Kyle Lewis and Austin Nola surging, but will still post 100 hits.

2019 was Felix Hernandez' last year as a Mariner after 15 strong ones throwing fire. It's become evident that the fire that one powered Felix's fastball has gone out, as he threw a career-low 57 strikeouts over his 15 starts. He also had a 6.40 ERA and only one win, but the fans still gave him a memorable send-off, which says a lot about that fanbase.
Why Him in 2019?: Last year of a Mariners HOF tenure.
2020 Prediction: Likely retirement, but someone could sign him to a minor league deal.

Coming Tomorrow- Some Miami Marlins. I didn't expect to need to make this many pitchers for this team for Uncustomed Heroes this year.

Hot White Sox? In September?

Two things that actually happened:
1. The White Sox won two games out of a three game series against the New York Yankees.
2. The White Sox SHUT OUT a the Boston Red Sox 9-0, with James Shields on the mound.

The Sox, since mid-August, have been winning a bunch of games, even against tough teams like the AL East ones. How?? Well...this team isn't that bad anymore.

A lot of the guys who were doing well, like Jose Abreu, Carlos Rodon, Yolmer Sanchez and Tim Anderson, are still doing pretty well. But they've also picked up, and called up, new talents like Ryan LaMarre and Omar Narvaez, who've both been fantastic this year. And...Michael Kopech may be their ace for the next 5 or so years. His stuff has been phenomenal so far. He's even making Reynaldo Lopez look good again.

And yeah, the team's still pretty flawed. Like...Jace Fry may be a questionable choice for closer, or Nicky Delmonico shouldn't still be starting, or Yoan Moncada still hasn't lived up to expectations. But they're winning games now, and they're proving that they could win more games if given a few more extra pieces, and a lot more attention.

I'm not saying a White Sox run is going to happen...but it could. And how weird would that be?

Coming Tonight: A Pirates pitcher who's just trying to finish the season with his dignity intact.