Brewers Braves Series Recap

The Scores:
Milwaukee Brewers 4 Atlanta Braves 1
Milwaukee Brewers 4 Atlanta Braves 3
Milwaukee Brewers 2 Atlanta Braves 4

MVPs of the Series:
Rickie Weeks: 5/12; 2 2Bs, 3B, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs, SB, BB
Kelly Johnson: 4/12; 2B, 2 Rs, 3 RBIs, BB

Rickie has come off the DL with a vengeance. Despite a poor game on Tuesday, Rickie has hit the ball hard almost every time up. In today's game, he was the only Brewer to really look (ok sound) good at the plate, taking pitches and driving balls to the gaps. The result was a close game despite another awful game by the Brewers.

Kelly Johnson was in some way responsible for five of the Braves eight runs this series. That alone gives him the honor. Johnson did absolutely everything series to give his team a shot without Chipper in the lineup. He worked the count, found holes, played excellent defense and ran the bases excellently. They'll need him to continue doing this if Chipper cannot get back any time soon. Every pinch hit means they can't put him on the DL retroactively.

What Was the Difference?:
The Braves defense. Nothing really sticks out this series as far as the difference between these two squads. Both teams played two terrible games, the Brewers on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Braves on Monday and Tuesday. But the difference was the four errors, well five on Tuesday, which turned out to be the decisive game in the series.

Causes for Concern:
The Braves need Chipper Jones back and fast. This offense struggled terribly with him out of the lineup. The Braves managed 21 hits in the three game series, but only eleven in the first two games. It seems like the protection Chipper brings and his almost .500 OBP is absolutely essential for this group to have any success. Reuben Gotay just won't cut it and Omar Infante came up limping on Wednesday afternoon. The infielder situation is starting to look bleak. It might be in the best interest of the Braves to just put Chipper on the DL and let him get healthy because the they're going to need the extra help, especially if Infante is limited in any fashion.

The Brewers may have taken this series, but it wasn't pretty. After game one the patience and plate discipline practically disappeared. I couldn't even watch the game on Tuesday without screaming every couple of seconds at the idiotic moves by both teams. Baseball like that makes me sick and really question the ability of the players. It's like this team is a two headed monster. Which one goes to battle depends on whether or not they're on the road or particularly confident that day. This means they could make a huge run for a long period of time, and at the other end fumble for just as long. That's scary, but the Rockies did it last year. They just fumbled at the wrong time.

Causes for Excitement:
The Braves have something in Charlie Morton and Jorge Campillo. I was impressed with both of these guys, though I didn't get to watch yesterday afternoon's game. I did get to see him on my birthday. Both of these pitchers showed excellent control of their stuff even if their stuff isn't phenomenal. The Braves organization always seems to find these very serviceable guys, who just do the work they're asked to do. I know Campillo impressed a lot of folks yesterday, even if it was the free swinging, poor disciplined Brewers he made look silly. It should be fun to see how long he can sustain this immense success considering this is he is 29 and this is first full season in the bigs.

Rickie Weeks was incredible this series. He struggled at the plate on Tuesday, but he more than made up for it in the field and at the plate the other two games. Rickie, who recently just came off the DL, simply shortened up his swing. He's got lightening quick hands and if he simply lets his ability takeover and tries not to do too much, he's got as much talent as any one on this team. I'm a bit of a Weeks apologist. The guy deserves the leadoff role because he has the best concept of the strike zone on the team. But it's such a mental thing with him. He always seems to be pressing to hard. It's when he goes in there and just lets things happen, this kind of series happens. Hopefully he's got things completely figured out and we'll see sustained success the rest of the season.