Well, here we are, Memorial Day brats fully digested and, far more importantly, Memorial Day respects paid to our country’s honored heroes. May we keep them in our thoughts and thank them for everything from freedom to baseball to hot dogs to apple pie.
But especially freedom and baseball.
Which reminds us that, with the calendar flipped to June, we can now officially look at the MLB standings. At least that’s what my official copy of Baseball’s Unofficial Rules says: “Thou shalt not look at the standings until after Memorial Day, lest you turn into a pillar of Diamond Dry.” I’d lend you a copy, but some books are best left unwritten.
So brush off the dust, get out the white gloves, and run your fingers down to the National League Central. There, just beneath Tony La Russa’s inflated ego, you’ll find the Milwaukee Brewers, a mere 2.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers are 30-25 and, over the past 20 games, one of baseball’s hottest teams.
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| Manager Ron Roenicke has the Brewers playing like the contenders they should be. |
This may come as a shock to folks who buried the Brew Crew after its 0-4 start. Or those who waited on burying them until they lost a seventh straight game in early May. But then, baseball is all about surprises. And, for that matter, patience.
No other sport so lends itself to rash reactions that can be proven so wrong with the simple passage of time. And for proof, look no further than these hometown Brewers.
Remember when Yovani Gallardo was either hiding an injury or had forgotten how to pitch? This was practically gospel on May 2, when his earned run average was a Suppan-esque 6.10. Now, he’s won five straight, chiseled the ERA to 3.89 and is Milwaukee’s reigning Pitcher of the Month.
Remember when closer John Axford was the second coming of Derrick Turnbow? Axford blew two of his first five save chances and even got the dreaded bobblehead day, a surefire way to follow in Turnbow’s tortured footsteps. Now, all Axford has done is convert 10 straight save chances, a 17-inning stretch in which he’s only allowed four earned runs.
It goes the other way, too. In April, some kept a straight face when touting Chris Narveson as a Cy Young candidate. After all, he threw 14 shutout innings to start the season. Now, his 4.68 ERA reflects his role as a No. 5 starting pitcher.
And at one point, pigeons thought they were safe at Miller Park, until a certain hawk showed up.
But all things considered, 30-25 feels about right for the Brewers with a third of the season in the books. This is a team that was supposed to pair a dangerous offense with a vastly improved pitching staff, and it has. It’s a team that was supposed to be defensively challenged, and it is. It was supposed to have question marks at shortstop and center field, and it does.
Most importantly, it’s a team that was supposed to challenge for a division title, and it should.
There is still room for improvement here. Zack Greinke and Cory Hart, slowed by early-season injuries, have yet to show their full potential. And Takashi Saito, expected to be a bullpen fixture, has barely been in the bullpen at all, thanks to his own injury troubles.
But to paraphrase the immortal words of Dennis Green, the Brewers are who we thought they should be. As summer arrives, Milwaukee’s boys of summer are contenders. Which should make it a summer worth watching.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter, where I tweet as howiemag. And tune in every Tuesday morning at 6:30 when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie.
