What Brewers Need to Stay On Top
Courtesy of AP News
The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting atop the National League Central division with a 1.5 game lead over both the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds. Ever since the All-Star break this team has seemed to finally kick it into high-gear, playing a better brand of baseball and actually being able to produce runs rather than solely rely on their pitching. Their 12-12 record may not necessarily show that, but for a while, the Brewers appeared to have an inability to score runs, which they have seemed to remedy at least slightly with two games over the past week having scored 12 runs or more.
The trade deadline was important for the Brewers in helping to bolster what the team already has. They picked up Carlos Santana from the Pittsburgh Pirates to help with their first base production and Santana is now their main, everyday first baseman. So far, it has been less than great for the Brewers, as in his last 7 games, Santana is hitting .161 with 5 hits in 31 at-bats. They picked up Mark Canha from the New York Mets to add a quality utility hitter, which is also not working out great, as in his last 7 games, Canha is hitting .192 with 5 hits in 26 at-bats. Both of these players will likely turn that around and if they are able to succeed, it could bode quite well for the Brewers. To help out the bullpen, they got left-handed pitcher Andrew Chafin from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who has looked great, with the exception of one bad appearance against the Colorado Rockies, where in a late, extra inning situation, he gave up 4 runs to cost the Brewers the game. The Brewers also received two more relief pitchers, but both were optioned to minor league clubs.
These moves, while maybe not the most beneficial now, could do a lot of good for this Brewers team once all the players settle in and are able to have decent production. It also helps that they have some easier opponents for the next couple of series before they face some tougher teams. They are playing the Rockies right now, then play the Chicago White Sox before playing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers. It then settles back down for some easier teams, the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres. The Brewers will need production from all their current guys and trade deadline pick-ups if they want to stay atop the Central Division, especially with how well the Cubs have been playing and the potential damage the Reds can do. The Brewers, luckily, still have two more series against the Cubs to be able to hold down top spot in the division, but they don’t play the Reds again, so it is all a matter of playing quality, strong baseball throughout the rest of the season to be able to make it to October.
