Brewers (7) vs Giants (6) 6/27 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Prince Fielder–His three-run porno shot got the Brewers off the shnide in the sixth inning, and his single in the ninth served as a walk-off in an improbable Brewer comeback. That extension the Brewers signed him to last off-season is looking more and more like a steal.
J.J. Hardy–I hate to too my own horn, but I believe it was right around the Cleveland series when everyone was ready to cut J.J. or trade him for Brad Penny, and I said he was about to break out. Even predicted he’d hit .300 from that point to the All-Star break. After tonight, from the first game of the Cleveland series to today he is now 13 for 43, a tidy .302 average.
Casey McGehee–Where would we be this month without this guy? He continues to pound the ball and show that he deserves to play everyday.
Todd Coffey/Mitch Stetter–These two just continue to do their jobs, and do them well. Coffey was even left in to lay down a sacrifice bunt and once again got the job done. That’s his third sac bunt for a reliever, pretty impressive.
Mike Cameron, defense–His outstanding catch on a ball that was going over the wall was a huge play in the game.
Less Filling:
Seth McClung–Never liked him, and don’t like him as a starter. Everyone says how “tough” he is and how much of a “bada$$”. Got some news for those folks, he’s a big softie. He looks like he’s going to cry most of the time out there, especially when he’s throwing straight fastballs (that often are 5 mph slower when he starts as opposed to comes out of the pen) and below average breaking stuff that gets pounded.
Brewers Management–Doug Melvin and Ken Macha, for deciding it’s a good idea to further tax the bullpen by putting McClung into the rotation. When you do that, the reliever has to go on a limited pitch count to build up arm strength. McClung was limited to around 75 pitches, which meant 4 innings. So now you are asking your pen to throw 5 innings, which puts them in a bad spot in this one, and for the next several games. Add in the fact that McClung isn’t a good option in my opinion, and it made a lot more sense to give a shot to Tim Dillard or fast-rising prospect Chris Cody, who started the year in Double-A but has pitched very well since his promotion to Triple-A recently.
Trevor Hoffman–That’s several times recently where he’s come in during non-save or middle of inning situations and not been effective. He’s a veteran, so you wouldn’t think those things would bother him, but they have. He’s leaving pitches up in the zone and not fooling anyone with his curveball.
Mike Cameron, offense–Since last year, this blog has served as the official barometer and accurate predictor of Cameron’s well-known streakiness. Cameron won’t get right until around the All-Star break, and until then will continue to hurt the team with his bat. His un-veteranlike move of swinging at the first pitch in the eighth resulted in a weak chopper to second for a double play that looked for a while like it was a momentum-killer for the Crew.
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