The Sunday Cycle- a quick look at four key takeaways from the prior week of Brewers Baseball.
Current Record: 4-2, Tied- 1st Place, NL Central
Single:
All signs point to Scooter Gennett as the go to at 2nd base this year. Gennett has been solid out of the gates, with some timely hitting with RISP. On the flip side, Rickie Weeks has shown no signs of improvement at the plate, and has looked terrible defensively in his two starts.
Double:
It should concern Brewers fans greatly to hear that Ryan Braun is “relying on adrenaline” to play through a nagging thumb injury this early in the year. The word ‘surgery’ has been whispered by many over the past week, posing the obvious question: why was this not dealt with last August? It’s not often a player gets a half a year away from baseball- any significant time missed is not going to help Braun’s cause in Milwaukee.
Triple:
The Brewers managed a three game sweep of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox during their home opener, a feat that hasn’t happened since the 07’ Mets swept the defending champion Saint Louis Cardinals.
Home Run:
I know it’s early, but this may be the best pitching staff the Brewers have seen in quite some time. Yovani Gallardo (2-0, 0.00 ERA) is commanding his pitches and dealing stuff worthy of the ace title he has always been given but never truly lived up to. The starting rotation has combined for 5 quality starts (would have been six without any of the four defensive miscues Saturday evening), and a 1.65 ERA good for second best in the league. The bullpen has been equally as reliable, posting a 1.02 ERA and 12 consecutive scoreless innings. Good pitching is the key to winning baseball, and it looks like Milwaukee may finally have a rotation that could do some damage from top-to-bottom.