Thursday, November 22, 2012

Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers (83-79) – 3rd Place NL Central

Happy Thanksgiving readers!! Yes, that is right, us at the Full Count don’t even take Thanksgiving off (you can ignore the fact that I wrote this on Wednesday).  The off-season started off as a horrible one for the Brewers, with superstar Ryan Braun being suspended after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.  However, that suspension was appealed in late February due to a technicality (cough bullshit cough) and Braun put up another MVP caliber season.  However, the bullpen was ATROCIOUS and a late season push wasn’t enough to propel this team into the playoffs.


Pitchers- 2012 was the year of “Have you ever heard of this guy?” for the Brewers starting rotation.  While Zack Greinke was good before being traded and Shaun Marcum was good before getting hurt, the rotation received good performances from Mark Rogers, Marco Estrada, and Mike Fiers.  If you are not a Brewers fan and you have heard of these 3 guys, you are definitely in the minority.  The Brewers unquestioned ace is definitely Yovani Gallardo.  Gallardo led the team with 16 wins and had a very good 3.66 ERA.  He also struck out exactly a batter an inning over his 204 inning season.  The bullpen however, was historically bad.  Out of the 73 save opportunities that the team had, they only converted 44.  John Axford converted 35 of 44, which isn’t that bad, but replacement closers Jim Henderson (3 of 7) and Francisco Rodriguez (3 of 10) were just flat out awful.  I would however like a shout out for my baseball twin, Vinnie Chulk, who made me proud by having a Brewer worst 10.00 ERA.

Vinnie Chulk (Left) and Myself (Right)
The Resemblance is uncanny 

Infield- The corner infielders for the Brewers did what corner infielders are supposed to do in 2012.  First baseman Corey Hart hit 30 home runs, while batting .270 and driving in 83.  Former Cub Aramis Ramirez had a phenomenal season at 3rd base, hitting .300 and driving in 105 runs.  He also hit 27 home runs and led the National League with 50 doubles.  2nd baseman Rickie Weeks did not enjoy the same success however.  Weeks hit just .230, but did manage to hit 21 home runs.  Shortstop was a bit of a mess until the Greinke trade, when the Brewers received top prospect Jean Segura.  Segura wasn’t great, but the talented 22 year old managed to hit .264 and steal 7 bases in limited time after coming over.  Catcher Jonathan Lucroy was a great surprise, hitting .320, but he was limited due to injury.

I'd be happy too if I didn't have to play for a 100 loss team anymore

Outfield - Everything in the outfield revolves around Ryan Braun.  Take a look at this stat line: .319 batting average, 108 runs, 41 home runs, 112 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases.  Braun had a ridiculous year, and if it wasn’t for him testing positive for PEDs, he probably would have won the MVP award.  The other outfielders on the Brewers are much more known for their speed.  Right fielder Norichika Aoki had a great first year in the states, hitting .288 and stealing 30 bases.  Center fielder Carlos Gomez also played well, only hitting .260, but stealing 37 bases in the process.  The big disappointment of the season was Tony Plush, I mean Nyjer Morgan.  Morgan is a man of multiple personalities, however in 2012, neither one decided that they wanted to hit.  Morgan hit just .239 and lost a lot of playing time to Gomez in the process.   

Tony Plush decided to show up to this postseason press conference
 wearing what appears to be a Brewers army helmet

Twitter Account of the Day- Nyjer Morgan @TheRealTPlush

As always, follow us @TommyM44 @WadeCArthur @cniermann

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!! Let me leave you with this wonderful video about this amazing holiday.


We will be back tomorrow with Wade and his review on the Tampa Bay Rays

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