It is not common that a team will take three of four in a series despite being outscored, yet that is what happened with the Brewers and Cubs at Wrigley Field this week. The Brewers won the first three games by a combined total of six runs and lost today 8-0.
Despite Greinke's meltdown today, the Brewers demonstrated that they are simply better than the Cubs. I do not believe Chicago is going to be a threat in the division until at least 2014 and I will be impressed if they win 75 games this year. They're a collection of scrappers and gamers that would compliment a contender quite well, but by themselves make for a pretty crappy ball club.
Next up for the Brewers are the Atlanta Braves. Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are forever indebted to the Braves for blowing a 10.5 game wild card lead last season. Conversely, I'm a little more sour about the collapse because, what the hell, had the Braves made the playoffs instead the Brewers would have made the World Series. But that was last year and this is now. Moving along...
Five things to watch for:
1) There are few things that inspire less confidence than the Aramis Ramirez's start to the 2012 season. He's currently 2 for 22 with three walks and zero home runs. His .374 OPS would not win the batting title in most seasons. Sooner or later he'll start picking things up, but will he pick things up at his 2010 pace or his 2011 pace?
2) Norichika Aoki is known for having long at-bats while playing in Japan. He held to form in his first start on Wednesday, seeing 29 pitches in four plate appearances. Aoki is still something of an unknown, but for now the evidence suggests he has the make up to be a tough out with a decent batting average. Or top put it another way, another Nyjer Morgan.
3) The Brewers have been outscored 28-8 in their losses. Baseball teams lose a lot of games every year. Even the good ones lose 70ish times. Even more, a good game that results in a loss is still a good game. That said, the Brewers could be a little more entertaining in defeat. Considering I expect them to lose a game or two in Atlanta, I'm morbidly curious what the carnage will look like.
4) Shaun Marcum will be starting on Saturday and once again I'm going to pay special attention to how he performs. If he can put together a sharp start it will all but eliminate any fears his performance in the playoffs last season caused.
5) Randy Wolf starts on Friday and Chris Narveson starts on Sunday. Both are soft-tossing lefties that throw a lot of junk. How will Narveson fare on Sunday when the Braves have essentially had a chance to practice against him?
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