Daniel Chodos

The Brewers’ defense is proving itself to be a real enigma this season: at times their players look like fielding superstars, and at other times they look like a little league squad.

Take the club’s July 3 game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks as an example. The second inning began with a routine ground ball to third baseman Russell Branyan, which he promptly bobbled, allowing the leadoff batter to reach first base. Branyan followed up his error by picking up a tough short-hop on a surefire double play ball, and made a decent throw to Rickie Weeks, who was covering second base. Weeks was able to handle the throw, but dropped the ball as he attempted to transfer it from his glove, thereby losing any shot at the twin killing.

The next batter hit a laser into the hole at shortstop. J.J. Hardy dove headlong to stab the ball, quickly hopped to his feet, and made a strong throw to Weeks to retire the lead runner. Hardy followed up his highlight reel play by charging a hard hit chopper that just passed the pitcher’s mound, and fired a strike to first base to retire the side.

There you have it: a couple of bad plays, a few great plays – there couldn’t be a better microcosm for the Brewers’ season defensively.

But while the Crew’s infield confounds Brewers fans, the performance of Milwaukee’s outfielders leaves little to be desired. Ryan Braun has made a surprisingly smooth transition from third base – where, as we all know, he was awful – to left field. As an outfielder, Braun has made a grand total of zero errors to go along with six outfield assists. At times, Braun is prone to poor decision making – such as diving wildly for would-be singles instead of simply playing the ball on a hop – but such mental lapses all forgivable, particularly since he is still a young player learning a new position.

Corey Hart is also proving himself defensively this season, showing tremendous range as he takes advantage of his tall frame and good speed to track balls hit to the gaps. Meanwhile, Mike Cameron has lived up to his billing as a defensive specialist who covers a lot of ground in center field. With these three gentlemen patrolling the grounds, Brewers pitchers can confidently throw strikes, knowing fly balls will find a leathery home more often than not.

Speaking of Brewers’ pitchers, I must add to my previous comments about Manny Parra. After struggling away from home through most of the 2008 season, Parra has thrown back-to-back gems on the road, tossing shutouts against contenders Minnesota and Arizona. He has now gone 11 straight starts without a loss, and deserves serious consideration for a spot on the NL All-Star team.

If the Brewers make the anticipated trade for the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia, their rotation would prove to be one of the most formidable in the National League. Moreover, with Ben Sheets at the top of the rotation and Yovani Gallardo expected back at full strength next season after tearing his ACL this April, there is good reason for fans to believe Brewers’ pitching will continue to complement their impressive offense for years to come.

Daniel Chodos

Kudos to anyone who recognized the “Camp Grenada” reference.

A few weeks ago, Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy expressed some frustration with his inability to sustain any kind of hot streak at the plate. He mentioned in an interview that he was having difficulty driving the ball, feeling as though the only hits he could muster were measly little singles.

These concerns can officially be put to rest, after Tuesday night’s game in Arizona. Hardy was entering the game with a 12-game hit streak, but perhaps more importantly he slugged 10 extra-base hits during that span. On Tuesday, against no less than Randy Johnson, Hardy smacked two home runs, giving the Brew Crew some early momentum against the lanky lefty.

Hardy is a notoriously streaky hitter. Brewers’ fans may recall Hardy’s outstanding performance during a month-long in April and May last season when he hit 14 dingers in just 33 games, earning him a selection to the AL All-Star Team. However, while the weather got hot Hardy got ice cold, hitting only three home runs in June and July, while he watched his batting average fall nearly 50 points after hitting .304 over the season’s first two months. In short, enjoy Hardy’s hitting heroics while they last, because another cold streak may be around the corner.

Hardy isn’t the only member of Milwaukee’s supporting cast who is contributing. Ten days ago, Rickie Weeks came back from his knee injury with a burst, going for multiple hits in three of five games upon his return. Jason Kendall has pushed his batting average back up into the .270s.

But the Brewer who has impressed me the most lately is none other than Bill Hall. Admittedly, Hall is only seeing spot starts against lefties, and his batting average has shrunk close to the Mendoza Line. But Hall is showing he’s a team player again, after making controversial comments through his agent that he would like to be traded. Several times in the past few games, Hall has been the first player out of the dugout to greet a teammate after a home run. Such acts of good sportsmanship should not be lost on Brewers fans, as they are the hallmark of nearly all successful teams.

Another reason for the Brewers recent success has been the emergence of young Manny Parra. Coming into the season, Parra was hyped along with the Reds’ Johnny Cueto as the starting pitcher most likely to win the Rookie of the Year Award. However, for Parra, getting his feet wet as a major leaguer was more like a drowning. In his first six starts, Parra produced a mediocre 5.86 ERA, winning only one of those games. But more disturbingly, during that time Parra was constantly pitching himself out of trouble, particularly as a result of too many bases on balls. His high walk totals prevented Parra from pitching deep into games and clearly caused him to lose confidence in his mechanics while on the mound.

Since then, Parra has shown dramatic improvement. In his past eight starts, he has improved his record from 1-2 to 8-2, lowering his ERA to 3.95 during that stretch. Despite these advances, Parra’s performance at home continues to be markedly better than his pitching on the road. Such drastic home/road splits are not uncommon for young pitchers getting accustomed to the major league lifestyle, but he will need to show that he can pitch in less friendly confines in order to pitch consistently over the course of a season. However, Parra’s convincing 2-hit victory in Minnesota on June 28 may be a step in the right direction.

Notwithstanding his recent success, walks continue to be a problem for Parra: in his past three starts (all wins), Parra has given up 14 walks, while only allowing 11 hits. You can bet that pitching coach Mike Maddux is teaching Parra to nibble less, and just go after hitters. Once these lessons take hold, there’s no telling what kind of success Parra will enjoy at the major league level.

Daniel Chodos

Congratulations to Milwaukee pitcher Dave Bush for his performance against Toronto on Thursday afternoon. A former Blue Jay himself, Bush gave the Brewers his best start since 2005, when he 2-hit the Yankees in Toronto. After pitching a no-hitter through seven innings – his only blemish a walk to Gregg Zaun – the Jays got to Bush in the 8^th, scoring a run on two hits. In fact, Bush almost lost his win after being pulled from the game, watching the bullpen allow six 9^th-inning runs, just eking out an 8-7 victory, as Salomon Torres shut the door.

Bush’s gem capped off a 3-game sweep over Toronto, who played their usual lackadaisical style, evidenced by Alex Rios literally watching Prince Fielder circle the bases while the baseball sat at the base of the right field wall. The win improved Milwaukee’s record to 39-33, just two games out in the wild card race.

Meanwhile, the Brewers bats are absolutely on fire. Milwaukee’s fans should be most pleased that the team’s production is not only coming from the middle of the order, but from several “role” players. Within this group, the home run numbers pretty much speak for themselves; I’ll highlight a few in the paragraphs to come.

Ryan Braun. Braun has 17 home runs in his past 183 at-bats since the end of April, coming into play on Thursday. At this rate, Braun will finish the season with close to 50 HRs, a number he should reach as long as pitchers keep foolishly throwing his fastballs. The biggest difference for Braun since April has been his increased propensity to take pitches early in the count, allowing him to look for a ball he can drive. After walking zero times in his first 14 games, Braun has taken 12 free passes in the past two months. While a higher OBP would be desirable, Braun’s main contribution is his power, and his current walk rate should suffice to sustain his strong bat.

Russell Branyan. Talk about bargain-basement. In 2007, the Brewers signed Branyan for $1 million, with an option to renew. Given Branyan’s reputation for obscene power potential, but terrible plate discipline, Branyan had never been able to land a permanent role with a major league team, but was always seen as a useful ingredient. The Brewers signed him to a minor-league deal this season, and called him up in mid-May to platoon with the struggling Bill Hall. Since then, he’s tore up the league like nobody this season. In his first 63 at-bats since his call-up, Branyan smacked out a ridiculous 10 home runs. Yes, that’s one dinger every six at-bats. Talk about good value.

Mike Cameron. When Milwaukee signed Cameron this off-season, he was billed as a great defensive center fielder with 20-20 upside. Having played the previous two seasons in San Diego’s pitcher-friendly PETCO Park, his power numbers may have been deflated somewhat during that time, thus tempering expectations among Brewers personnel. However, since mid-May, Cameron has hit eight home runs in 97 at-bats, leaving him with 11 dingers in less than two months overall. At his current pace, Cameron looks likely to best his 2004 career high of 30 HRs. At 35 years old, the only question mark is his legs – but with five stolen bases in six attempts, Cameron may reach 20 swipes before the season is out.

Bill Hall. Hall may seem an odd fit on this list, but it bears recalling that the diminutive third baseman busted out of the gate with six home runs in his first 58 at-bats this season. With a 35-homer season is his rear view mirror, a more patient Hall could force manager Ned Yost to find a way to get his bat in the Brewers everyday lineup, possibly as a replacement for the injured Rickie Weeks at second base. At the very least, a marked improvement by Hall around the All-Star Break would allow a rejuvenated Milwaukee club to use him as trade bait for a veteran pitcher.

When you package the four aforementioned players with Corey Hart – who was recently moved back to the friendly fifth hole in the lineup – and IRS-fan-favorite Prince Fielder, Milwaukee could arguably boast the most impressive lineup in the National League.