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Series Preview: Brewers at Cardinals

By Jeff Sackmann

Now it's time to take on the big boys.  The Cubs are still pretenders, and the Marlins aren't expected to contend, but...the Cardinals?  These are the guys we need to take down.  

Here are your pitching matchups for the weekend:

I'm always reluctant to predict a sweep, but there certainly aren't any matchups this series that shout "Cardinals win!"  I'm not drinking the Braden Looper kool-aid--I think Sunday is the game that makes him wish he were still a setup man.

That said, just about anything could happen with these three pitchers.  Reyes is inexperienced, but this guy thinks he's a Cy Young sleeper.  Wells is a mediocre pitcher who has shut the opposition down so far this year.  And Looper...well, his career numbers against lefties are 304/370/463.  Given how heavily the Brewers can stack the lineup with lefties, it could be a long day (though a short outing) for Braden.

As for the offense, it's a little weird right now.  Guys like Chris Duncan and and Scott Spiezio are hitting well (as is Gary Bennett, who is 5 for 10, which I can guarantee you he NEVER did for the Brewers, and if you check and find out he did, Retrosheet is lying to you), while Albert Pujols is hitting .176.  I don't doubt for a second that Prince Albert will wake up soon, and probably put up another MVP season.  But let's just hope he's nervous about filing his taxes, and the problem won't go away until after the weekend.

Most importantly, I'm seeing a Cardinals fan friend of mine on Saturday night.  It would be very useful to me if the Brewers won the first two games of the series.

Here's some news from the Cardosphere:

  • Viva El Birdos: What's up with Pujols?

  • Fungoes offers up some suggestive numbers about Suppan and Looper.  I hope he admits how silly that was after Looper starts getting crushed.

  • Gas House Graphs: Nothing particularly newsworthy, but this guy takes the FanGraphs WPA graphs and writes nightly blog entries based on them.

  • Get Up Baby: Randy Keisler?  Replacing Chris Carpenter?
No April series is all that important, but especially after losing two of three at home to the Cubs, it sure would be nice to make a statement at Busch.  And not just so I'll have bragging rights on Saturday night!

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