Wow. If the sports weekend were any more depressing around here, we’d be a Dr. Drew reality show.
Milwaukee neither needed, nor desired, Andrew Bogut to prove that elbows should bend in one – and only one – direction. But on Saturday, he gave it to us anyway. Now the heart and soul of the Bucks will spend the rest of the season just like you and I: watching it from the sidelines, which won’t do much for the team’s playoff odds. After all Bogut’s done this season, it’s just plain sad.
And Milwaukee didn’t need, but certainly desired, another championship to celebrate. Yes, merely surviving as a franchise was a big victory for the Milwaukee Wave, but the team wanted more. In Sunday’s Major Indoor Soccer League title game, however, the Wave lost a 6-0 lead and fell 12-6 to La Raza de Monterrey, which is not an all-inclusive Mexican resort, but the MISL’s westernmost outpost. A raucous crowd of 5,204 fans hoped for better news at U.S. Cellular arena, but instead watched La Raza do celebratory dances on the Wave logo. And legendary coach Keith Tozer looked like he’d rather watch a continuous loop of William Hung singing “Achy Breaky Heart.” (Yep, it exists.)
So basically, a Monday never looked so good. And being an Opening Day Monday made it look all the better. Especially since the Brewers should make the playoffs this year.
Sure, the Brewers lost the opener. But it should sap no more than 1/162 of your total joy. And who cares if not a single, solitary expert at Sports Illustrated expert picked the Brewers to make the playoffs? (Which might actually be good news. Because SI also said the Bucks would be the worst team in the Eastern Conference, and how’d that work out?)
Look, Opening Day should be happy day. And even though the Brewers lost, there was plenty of happiness in the Brewers clubhouse. You just had to look for it a little harder.
For one thing, Prince Fielder has a new tattoo. It’s on his right forearm and represents one of his sons. Seems little Jadyn Fielder has a signature stick figure he likes to draw, so Prince took it to a more permanent level.
“I just put it on me,” Prince says. “He saw it one day and he was happy.”
See? Happy.
Need more good news? Ryan Braun has a new restaurant in town – Ryan Braun’s Waterfront. And someday, Ann Christenson will tell us if his grub’s as good as his club.
“We had a tasting the other night,” Braun says. “A lot of positive feedback.”
See? Positive.
OK, you want something more baseball-specific. Well, Rickie Weeks’ wrists work, and he says they’ve been that way for a while. Moreover, judging by a solid spring and a few nifty defensive plays on Monday, his glove seems to be working, too. Which may be why general manager Doug Melvin quipped that nobody talks about moving Weeks to the outfield anymore.
“I’m good. 100 percent,” Weeks says. “November when they told me to hit, I was ready.”
After his hot start last season, the only thing standing between Weeks and excellence may be his health. So if he stays ready, Milwaukee’s Big Two of Fielder and Braun may become a Big Three.
That should be enough to beat back your Brewers pessimism, right? No?
I know. You’re going to bring up everyone’s favorite big bad boogeyman. You’ll say they don’t have a great pitching staff, so they can’t really be great.
But the thing is, they don’t need a great pitching staff. They just need an average one. Because a year ago, they won 80 games with a bad one. That’s how good their offense was.
So is this staff at least an average one? Well, they replaced two bad starters (Braden Looper and Manny Parra) with two who certainly look to be better. Looper and Parra both posted ERAs north of 5.21 last year. Wolf and Davis were both under 4.13. That’s a significant improvement. Moreover, Milwaukee’s success doesn’t hinge on the success of Jeff Suppan. That’s a remarkable improvement.
And I think it’s improvement enough to get the Brewers back in the postseason. Sure, it’ll probably be as a Wild Card, but don’t buy what everyone’s selling about the St. Louis Cardinals being some unbeatable juggernaut. Remember, a year ago, everyone was selling the same line about the Chicago Cubs, who promptly re-established themselves as lovable losers.
St. Louis’ bullpen is, to put it kindly, vulnerable. And the Cards’ biggest stars are also some of their most fragile. Albert Pujols battled a balky back in the spring. And judging by his history, ace Chris Carpenter could be banished to the disabled list by a strong gust of wind. Yes, the Cards are favorites to win the division, but certainly not overwhelming locks.
Am I saying the Brewers are playoff locks? Of course not. Baseball’s a funny game. Just ask Bob Uecker. But I will say this: I’ll be more surprised by the Brewers missing the postseason than I will be if they make it.
So yes, you can take Dr. Drew off speed dial.
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