Last night's loss, dropped the Brewers twelve games under .500, to 22-34 with a .393 winning percentage. This would put the Brewers on pace to finish with the same W/L record as the 1969 Seattle Pilots, which was only surpassed by the stallions that made up the 2002 Milwaukee Brewers.
Now, I thought last night's loss was relatively well pitched. However since we dipped under the .400 mark for the first time in a long time at this point in the season, (66 games), I thought it would be interesting (if not entirely depressing ) to see how this pitching staff matches up against some of the others in the previous 42 seasons of Brewer baseball.
1.) Most pitchers used in a season. The 2006 Brewers used 27 pitchers to get through the season, and on the other end of the spectrum, the 1977 and 1978 Brewers used only 13. Currently the 2010 Brewers have already used 18 pitchers, which is more than 20 other Brewer seasons. I have a hard time envisioning the Brewers getting 10 more pitchers on the bump this season, however it could happen when Dave Riske's arm gets reattached and callups are made in September.
2.) Most starters used in a season. Before the season started we had some discussion centering around Jeff Suppan and the need for a team to have 6-7 starters on their roster. The 1969 Seattle Pilots hold the franchise record at 17 starters, followed by the 2002 Brewers (and others) at 13. The strike-shortened 1981 Brewers only used 6 starters, and 9 Brewer teams (including 2007 & 2008) used only 8 starters. Currently the Brewers have used 9 starters which is as many as the Brewers used all of last season. Of course the Brewers will hit double digits at some point, while I don't see them getting up to 17 starters, I could certainly see 13 happening.
3.) Most finishers used in a season. I'll be the first to admit, I am not sure that there is much significance here, but let's look at the bullpen as well. The 1999 Brewers and the Seattle Pilots hold the mark at 20. The 2010 Brewers are already at 11, and place 30th out of 42 seasons.
4.) Most homeruns given up. The Brewers have given up 58 homeruns already this year. The Brewer record for homeruns given up was 219 back in 2006. If you look at the rate at which the Brewers are giving up HR's for every 9 innings, the current team is the 5th worst overall, whoring up HR's at a 1.25 clip. The 2007 Brewers were the worst at 1.44 and the 1977 Brewers were the best at .51
5.) Most runs given up. The Brewers have given up 321 runs already this year. In 1996 the Brewers gave up 899, which of course is a franchise record. The current Brewers however are on pace to eclipse the 900 run plateau, as they are allowing 5.73 runs a game, whereas the 1996 Brewers "only" allowed 5.55 runs in every match.
6.) Most walks given up. To date the Brewers have given up 231 walks. The record is held by the 2000 Brewers staff which handed out 728 free passes. The current Brewers aren't on pace to catch the 2000 team, as they are allowing 4.27 BBs per game compared to the 4.47 per game that the 2000 team allowed.
7.) How do the Brewers rank against the NL overall in 2010. Before the games today here is how the Brewers rank....
Runs/Game - 15th
ERA - 15th
Saves - 15th
Hits - 16th
Runs - 15th
Earned Runs - 15th
Homeruns - 14th
Walks - 15th
WHIP - 16th
On a positive note the Brewers are currently 4th in strikeouts and strikeouts per 9 innings in the NL.
Have a nice weekend!