The Journal Sentinel broke the story Wednesday night, not that anyone wants to read it...

Say, how about that Jon Lieber guy?  I hear he's good.

Yes indeed after a mini-vacation we are back in action here at Brew Crew Ball... Jeff has asked me to help out with the site here as work and family stuff have kept him ultra busy.

The Crew are 5 games below .500 at 35-40, having come off of a very solid 10 game stretch where they took 2 of 3 from Toronto and Minnesota and split with the Cubs (all teams with winning records).  

Saturday's game featuring career-first HR's by both Weeks and Fielder in a come from behind victory over the Twins ranks as one of my favorite baseball games I've seen in a long time. It's been a thrill watching Rickie Weeks, he's the real deal with incredible talent and amazing bat-speed.  It's way early to say such a thing (but of course I'll say it anyways!) but I think Weeks, barring injury, has Hall of Fame potential written all over him. Watching him fly around the bases on that triple was something else. Granted he's a work in progress in the field, but I'll think that'll come around for him.

Prince Fielder has a swing resembling Babe Ruth's like no-one else I've ever seen (Now, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as Ruth, just that his swing reminds me of Ruth's!!). The kid is going to hit 8 or 9 "routine pop flies" for Home Runs a season. His HR on Saturday was a monster shot, I think we'll be seeing plenty of those for year's to come in Miller Park. While there is much speculation that Fielder will be headed back to Nashville after the Cubs series when Russell 3TO Branyan returns, I think there is a chance that a deal for Lyle Overbay is in the works and we'll see Fielder staying in the big leagues.  I've added a poll about the Fielder/Overbay situation at 1B.  Personally I'd like to see Overbay traded to Boston for Stoppach, the 25 year old AAA catcher, who would be an upgrade over Moeller and likely a future starter starting in 2006.  (There are also rumors of the Brewers sending Bottalico or Santana to Boston for Stoppach... the Red Sox do need relief pitching help).

The next 13 games before the All-Star break will tell us alot about our Brewers and their chances at finishing .500 or above, as only 3 of those games are at Miller Park and the Brewers must improve on their 14-25 road record.  

Yes indeed after a mini-vacation we are back in action here at Brew Crew Ball... Jeff has asked me to help out with the site here, as work and family stuff have kept him ultra busy.  I'll be posting every day, including game threads as per usual.

The Crew are 5 games below .500 at 35-40, having come off of a solid 10 game stretch where they took 2 of 3 from Toronto and Minnesota and split with the Cubs (all teams with winning records).  

Saturday's game featuring career-first HR's by both Weeks and Fielder in a come from behind victory over the Twins ranks as one of my favorite baseball games I've seen in a long time. It's been a thrill watching Rickie Weeks, he's the real deal with incredible talent and amazing bat-speed.  It's way early to say such a thing (but of course I'll say it anyways!) but I think Weeks, barring injury, has Hall of Fame potential written all over him. Watching him fly around the bases on that triple was something else. Granted he's a work in progress in the field, but I'll think that'll come around for him.

Prince Fielder has a swing resembling Babe Ruth's like no-one else I've ever seen (Now, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as Ruth, just that his swing reminds me of Ruth's!!). The kid is going to hit 8 or 9 "routine pop flies" for Home Runs a season. His HR on Saturday was a monster shot, I think we'll be seeing plenty of those for year's to come in Miller Park. While there is much speculation that Fielder will be headed back to Nashville after the Cubs series when Russell 3TO Branyan returns, I think there is a chance that a deal for Lyle Overbay is in the works and we'll see Fielder staying in the big leagues.  I've added a poll about the Fielder/Overbay situation at 1B.  Personally I'd like to see Overbay traded to Boston for Stoppach, the 25 year old AAA catcher, who would be an upgrade over Moeller and likely a future starter starting in 2006, and another Boston prospect.  (There are also rumors of the Brewers sending Bottalico or Santana to Boston for Stoppach... the Red Sox do need relief pitching help).  This would allow Fielder to stay on in Milwaukee and would provide much needed power into the Brewer's lineup... the logical side of me doesn't want to see the Brewers use up time on Prince's arbitration clock, the fan in me wants to watch Fielder hit every day. Perhaps I'll just need to be patient and wait for 2006.

The next 13 games before the All-Star break will tell us alot about our Brewers and their chances at finishing .500 or above, as only 3 of those games are at Miller Park and the Brewers must improve on their 14-25 road record. There are many possible roster changes and trades that could happen in the next few weeks.

Much has been written about the surprising Brewers pitching staff, especially with Sheets on the shelf (until tonight!).  The notable thing right now is that with the Phillies' 12-5 win over the Braves earlier today, the Brewers are now 2nd in NL staff ERA.  The Crew is at 3.44, just behind the Marlins at 3.40.  A slightly better performance from Sheets than from Dontrelle Willis (hmm, maybe I shouldn't be putting money on this...) will put the Crew in first.  

Across MLB, the Brewers are now 4th, behind the ChiSox (3.23), Marlins, and Twins (3.41).  All of those teams haven't lost their ace, so I'd say we're doing pretty nicely.

And while I'm sorting stats: the Brewers are first in the NL in WHIP, which may well be a better indicator of pitching success than ERA.