Daniel Chodos

In 2007, Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun hit the majors with a splash. When he was called up to the big club, word on the street was that the 2005 5^th overall pick from the University of Miami had a strong bat and could run well, but was also prone to striking out a lot. In his short time in the majors, Braun has more than lived up to this billing, smacking more home runs than anyone else in Major League history to start his career other than Albert Pujols

While Braun became the talk of Wisconsin, his fan base stretched far beyond the Dairy State. The reason for all this hype was not only Braun’s success at the plate, but also his Jewish background.

Not since Shawn Green reached All-Star heights as a Toronto Blue Jay in the 1990’s have North American Jews been able to lay claim to a ballplayer with as much potential as Ryan Braun. However, some of these fans were disappointed to learn that Braun does not truly consider himself Jewish, having grown up half-Catholic and half-Jewish, and observing “no faith” throughout his upbringing. Notwithstanding this secular reality, Jewish publications anointed Braun “The Hebrew Hammer” (see Irwin Cohen’s The Jewish Press article), partly as an homage to Milwaukee legend “Hammerin” Hank Aaron, while also borrowing from the cute but mediocre Adam Goldberg movie of the same name.

Entering the 2008 season, Milwaukee fans could only cross their fingers in the hope that their latest “Hammer” could keep up the seemingly unsustainable pace he set for himself in his rookie campaign. These fans may have been complaining during April, when Braun failed to hit dingers with any kind of regularity, fanning far too much while walking a grand total of once throughout the first month of this season.

However, from that point on, the Southern California native has picked up where he left off last September. The key to his increased success has been his increased patience at the plate, which has permitted him to zero in on a particular pitch, and work the count in his favour. This approach forces opposing pitchers to pound the strike zone early in counts, thereby giving Braun the luxury of being more aggressive on the first and second pitches in his at-bats.

Braun has been particularly successful from mid-July onwards, blasting home runs in five of his past six games, while lifting his batting average above .300 for the first time all season on the strength of back-to-back 4-hit games.

And it seems as Braun goes, so do the Brewers. Winners of their first seven games following the All-Star Break, Milwaukee’s offence has clicked like never before this season, landing them in a first-place tie with the vaunted Chicago Cubs entering their four-game series with the North Siders, a team that stood more than 10 games in front on the Brew Crew as late as mid-May.

Another of the team’s major run producers has been the formerly disgruntled third baseman Bill Hall. In a series at the St. Louis Cardinals, the man from Mississippi achieved a rare feat by hitting game-winning home runs in back-to-back games. After demanding a trade earlier this season, Hall has clearly become more comfortable with his role on the team, raising his average 30 points from .208 to .238 in the process.

As for the pitching department, Salomon Torres has given me a chance to stop complaining about the Brewers’ bullpen by successfully converting all but two of his save chances since being anointed the team’s closer in late-May. Eric Gagne has performed well since returning from the DL, having put up goose-eggs in seven of eight appearances in that time. However, it seems unlikely Torres will cede his job back to Gagne unless his performance slips considerably.

One more name you can cross off the list of potential closers for the Brewers is Derrick Turnbow. The flamethrower who had previously served as Milwaukee’s stopper lost complete control of his command after his demotion to Nashville, is now officially lost for the season after tearing his rotator cuff. Given that he’s in the final year of a three-year contract, Brewers fans may have seen the last of Turnbow and his 100-mile per hour fastball.

Daniel Chodos

Is it just me, or does the National League Central remind anyone else of the NBA’s Western Conference this past season?

During this past basketball season, the Los Angeles Lakers upset the balance of power in their conference by acquiring elite Spanish center Pau Gasol from the woeful Memphis Grizzlies. In response to this transaction, the Phoenix Suns panicked somewhat, trading malcontent Shawn Marion for aging center Shaquille O’Neal. Less than two weeks later, the Dallas Mavericks traded a group of players to the New Jersey Nets for point guard Jason Kidd.

Just like that, three sure-fire hall of famers entered the Western Conference, putting their respective teams in a better position to compete for a championship. More importantly, with every move, the rest of the conference felt greater pressure to make a move of their own in order to stay ahead of the proverbial 8-ball.

Moving back to baseball and the Brewers, GM Doug Melvin may have started a similar domino effect when he made a pre-deadline splash by acquiring dominant lefty C.C. Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians. The division rival Chicago Cubs responded by trading a package of young players for injury-prone Canadian ace Rich Harden, who will team up with All-Stars Carlos Zambrano and fellow Canadian Ryan Dempster to give the Cubbies a devastating trio of righties.

With these moves, it would come as a shock to nobody if the St. Louis Cardinals – currently a game in front of the Brewers – make a trade for a front-line starting pitcher. The likeliest candidate is Blue Jays fireballer A.J. Burnett, who sounds unwilling to remain with his current club following the 2008 season and who tends to thrive in August and September.

Perhaps in anticipation of such a trade, Melvin may not be done making deals to improve his ball club. Over the course of the weekend, rumors have swirled that the Brewers were considering a 4-player deal that would send a pair of prospects to the Giants for veteran second baseman Ray Durham and left-handed reliever Jack Taschner. This deal would solidify the Brewers sometimes shaky bullpen – in particular adding a much-needed southpaw to the mix – while, at the same time, adding a career .277 hitter to pick up the slack for the underperforming Rickie Weeks.

However, as of Sunday’s action, I am seeing Ray Durham standing in the San Francisco dugout, donning a Giants sweatshirt. However, since neither he nor Taschner has entered the game, it remains to be seen whether these players will wear Brewer Blue by week’s end.

There are good reasons beyond the NL Central Domino Effect for Milwaukee to add some depth. The division is swimming with good offensive clubs, some of which are flying under the radar.

For example, did you know that the Cardinals and Pirates are the only two teams in the major leagues which boast four players with an OPS – that’s On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage – over 900? On the Cards – a team known more for its pitching than hitting – Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus, Ryan Ludwick and Albert Pujols have all been crushing the ball all season long. On the Bucs – the last place team in the Central division – Xavier Nady, Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit have all had breakthrough seasons, while Jason Bay has re-captured his 2006 form.

Moreover, the division-leading Cubs are the majors’ only team to have five players with 50 or more RBI heading into the All-Star Break – that is, if you include Alfonso Soriano’s 41 ribbies from the leadoff spot despite missing nearly two months (incidentally, he’ll be returning to their lineup on Thursday). Furthermore, the Houston Astros’ Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman have combined more RBI than any two teammates in the majors besides the Phillies’ Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

There you have it: the NL Central is a dangerous place, and it’s only getting more ferocious as time ticks by. Though the Brewers have the weapons to compete, it never hurts to add a little extra firepower to the arsenal.

Daniel Chodos

Did the Brewers really not have enough offense already? Just when it seemed like the team’s slugging percentage couldn’t get any higher, the newly acquired C.C. Sabathia has demonstrated his prowess at the plate, clubbing two home runs and a double in his first three starts with his new team. A career .289 hitter coming into Friday night’s game, it should not come as a huge surprise that the 290-pound behemoth can hit a baseball, but Brewers fans have to consider his Zambrano-like performance at the plate as a major bonus (perhaps Jason Kendall can move back to the 9^th spot on the days Sabathia takes the mound!)

Incidentally, Sabathia has now logged back-to-back complete games after his more-than-stellar debut as a Milwaukee Brewer - his latest effort a four-hit, 10 strikeout gem against the punchless Giants. For this reason, some may argue that the major attribute Sabathia brings to the Brew Crew is in fact his pitching ability, and not in fact his monstrous bat!

But seriously, now that Milwaukee fans have seen what Sabathia brings to the table, the question must be asked: was he worth the price?

As a free agent going into the 2009 season, Sabathia can only be seen as a rent-a-player. In exchange for the hefty lefty, the Indians were awarded Brewers monster-prospect Matt LaPorta, former Blue Jay top pitching prospect Zach Jackson, 2006 late-round pick Robert Bryson, and a scrub to be named later.

Despite the 25-year old Jackson’s first-round pick pedigree, he has failed to live up to expectations over his minor-league career. He has a tough time keeping the ball down against hitters, and does not compensate by throwing hard enough to generate a high strikeout rate. As a result, he is way too hittable and gives up far too many longballs to be considered major-league material at this point in his career.

Bryson, on the other hand, is seen as a potential long-reliever who can ring up hitters like it’s his job. With a plus fastball and slider, he could emerge as a successful third starter, but seems more likely to be destined for someone’s bullpen. He is only 20-years old and can pitch effectively against both righties and lefties, so his future looks quite bright.

LaPorta, however, is the real prize here. Arguably the best player in the entire minor leagues going into the trade, LaPorta didn’t miss a beat once he transferred to Cleveland’s Double-A affiliate Akron. He is generally described as a “classic power hitter,” possessing a good eye at the plate and raw power to all fields. He is not likely to hit consistently for a high batting average, but that is a sacrifice any team should be willing to make.

Now that I’ve spent three paragraphs upsetting Brewers fans about what they just lost, it’s time to step back to reality, and look at the positives. There are three key points here:

1) You didn’t need LaPorta. He can play the corner outfield spots and first base. Even the fair-weather Brewers fan is aware that Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Prince Fielder (aka, the middle of the order) currently occupy these positions. With no DH in the National League, Ned Yost would be left with few options once LaPorta was called up to the Show (which, incidentally, had to happen by this September, given his crushing minor league success).

2) The future is now in Milwaukee. In case you didn’t notice, the Brewers are awesome. And they’re getting better. Sabathia solidifies a rotation that lost two key cogs in Yovani Gallardo and Chris Capuano for the season, giving the team arguably the best 1-2 punch in baseball, with Sheets and Sabathia pitching as many as four times in a potential playoff series. As we know, postseason success is an excellent recipe for future performance (both at the gate and in the win column), so there is little reason to panic at present.

3) Losing free agents means more draft picks. If the Brewers are unable to re-sign both Sabathia and Sheets, Milwaukee may be able to pick as many as five players in the first two rounds of the 2009 amateur draft. Given that Milwaukee management was chastised for selecting a player – in LaPorta – that the organization did not need, having five such choices is certainly a good thing.

The bottom line is that things are looking up in Wisconsin these days (with or without Brett Favre in the state!) It should be borne in mind that the Brewers have a future superstar in the form of third baseman Mat Gamel. Despite his Ryan Braun-like deficiencies in the field – he has committed 22 errors so far this season – he is leading all of Double-A in slugging percentage, at .612. By next season, the Brewers will have to decide how to use Gamel, leaving Doug Melvin and co. with the same problem they had this season with Matt LaPorta.

That’s not such a bad problem to have!