6/11 Brewers Nationals Series Recap

The Scores:
Milwaukee Brewers 5 Washington Nationals 0
Milwaukee Brewers 6 Washington Nationals 0
Milwaukee Brewers 5 Washington Nationals 4
Milwaukee Brewers 7 Washington Nationals 1

MVPs of the Series:
Brewers Starting Rotation: 31.1 IP, 21 H, 3 BB, 30 K, 2 ER, 3 Ws
Lastings Milledge: 7/17; HR, 2 RBIs, 2 SBs, R

The Brewers rotation took advantage of a powerless team that was aggressive early in the count. The results were astounding. Back to back complete game shutouts by the pocket aces, a seven inning one run performance by Manny Parra and a six and a third, one run performance from back end starter, Dave Bush. And the best part of it all is what these performances did for the bullpen. After a day off on Thursday last week, the Brewers started a 13 day 13 game stretch, where starting at home for three, then six on the west coast and three more back at home. The three days of rest for the bullpen via the off day and the two CGs, allows quite a bit of flexibility. Big nod to the rotation for taking advantage of a bad team.

Milledge continued his recent hot streak this week with a solid performance all around. The unfortunate thing for him is that it offered little to no production, as the rest of his teammates couldn't get a hit if their pay check was on the line. Milledge is hitting .409/.469/.795 in his eleven games in August. While this production is obviously going to come down quite a bit, this is the guy the Mets thought they had before he was traded. Unfortunately his character issues combined with disappointing performances pushed him out. Perhaps Lastings has found himself a little bit, and that could pay off for the Nationals as they try to produce a winning team after getting a new ballpark.

What was the Difference?:
In such a dominating performance, it's almost impossible to pin point one thing, but the Brewers long ball paid dividends yet again. Eight launches led to nine of the Brewers runs, all of which seemed to have come in pivotal situations. Gabe Kapler hit a walk off solo shot on Sunday. Rickie Weeks hit a solo shot to tie the game on Monday afternoon. Corey Hart hit a two-run go ahead blast to lead the Brewers to victory on the same day. The Nationals, on the other hand, did their best to use the long ball, but came up short with their two blasts on Sunday.

Causes for Concern:
That Nationals are just bad. Poor defense, no power, no bullpen and one solid starting pitcher. I understand the revenue boosts that come with new stadiums, and perhaps the team is simply building that revenue so they can build a team, but right now things in DC look pretty bleak with almost no light at the end of the tunnel. It may perhaps be a stretch to think of it them like the Brewers organization before they built Miller Park. But I've seen the type of people and the amount of hard work it takes to make a contender out of garbage, and I believe there's a rare breed of people that can make it happen. Unfortunately, I have trouble believing the Nats front office is that breed considering they've brought in guys like Dmitri Young, Ronnie Belliard and Cristian Guzman.

If there's anything the Brewers should have fear about, it's the fact that they continue to rely way way too much on the long ball. This weekend they were able to accumulate a ridiculous amount of walks, 30, in just four games. But this season has proven that we cannot rely on these to get us through, one because the Brewers will be facing better pitching and two because the Brewers offense does not really have the plate discipline they showed this weekend. It's a sick feeling to see a team that's so good, have a big Achilles' heel. You just have to hope that when the weakness exposes itself, the strengths of this team can overcome it, which for much of the season it has.

Causes for Excitement:
I tell you what, I've seen John Lannan pitch twice now, and I really like what he's brought to the table. While his walk total is still a red flag, Lannan has the composure on the mound to be a solid pitcher in this league for quite a long time. He's got a solid and deceiving change with great action and fastball that's just good enough to sneak by most hitters. Toss in Milledge perhaps living up to his offensive potential, and the Nationals have at least a few pieces in place. It may not be much, but it's a start.

Did I mention the Brewers took THIRTY walks this weekend? God that just makes me drool. The thing that befuddles me is that only one of those walks scored via the homeruns the Brewers smoked. Nevertheless, the Brewers anemic offense did show up this weekend, but the 30 walks allowed them to push through the top of their order over and over again. Eventually lightning struck. As a result, the Brewers picked up four wins, 1.5 games on the Cubs and two games on the Cardinals. Even better, the Brewers head to the west coast this week to take on another last place squad in the San Diego Padres. The Cubs have an excellent record, but don't forget they have played ten extra games against the weak NL West. It's about time the Brewers get their own piece.