Brewers Purchase Pirates

It's official. The Milwaukee Brewers now own the Pittsburgh Pirates and have for some time now. With the 6-5 win over the Bucs last night, the Brewers have now made the Pirates their victims 14 straight times. It currently marks the longest MLB active win streak over one team.

The Brewers have also won 17 straight against the Pirates at Miller Park.

Trevor Hoffman earned his first save last night coming back from injury and helped the Crew improve to a .500 record at 10-10. They have won their last three series (Phillies, Astros, Pirates). Yovani Gallardo will try and help the Brewers sweep the Pirates today at noon.

And Here We Go!

The Brew Crew started like the sausages right out of the gate, slow. But, they seemed to turn the corner and are putting it together with pitching and hitting. Plus, Trevor Hoffman's back. He pitched a quick ninth last night in a non-save chance. Ryan Braun is pounding the ball and Prince Fielder is starting to hit too. Jeff Suppan has pitched decently the past two games and Manny Parra even pitched alright in his last outing but was hit with the loss after a Weeks error allowed two runs. The only guy that really needs to get something going is surprisingly JJ Hardy.

St. Louis Cardinals are not going to be as good as they have been throughout the year. They will fade in the stretch just like they did last season. But, right now they are a dangerous team, one of the best. The Chicago Cubs are struggling and although early, seem to be beatable.

Dave Bush is on the mound tonight following his near no-hitter against Philadelphia. Bush will face Paul Maholm and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NL CENTRAL STANDINGS:
1. Cardinals 14-6
2. Pirates 11-8
3. Reds 10-9
4. Cubs 9-9
5. Brewers 9-10
6. Astros 8-12

Brauny's Back in a Big Way

Redemption. Isn't it sweet? In all reality, the past is the past, but the present series win gets the Brewers right back on track after struggling the first few series of the year.

Ryan Braun played a big part in getting the Brewers back on that track with a monster series against the former World Series Champs, the Philadelphia Phillies. The left fielder who has struggled so far, broke out of his slump going 8 of 10 with six RBI, three home runs, and three base on balls which raised his average to .327.

The Brew Crew improved their record to 6-9 and are currently sitting 4.5 games back in the Central Division.

NLDS Matchup: Can the Crew turn it around against Philly?

The Phillies are 5-6, the Brewers 4-8. Neither team is looking like a playoff contender. But, tonight will be a match up of last year's NLDS where the Phillies won the series 3-1. Each team is missing pieces. For the Phillies it is their struggling ace Cole Hamels, for the Brewers, well a lot of pieces are going wrong. Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Jason Kendall, and JJ Hardy all are struggling at the plate. The pitching has lacked and the Crew is missing closer Trevor Hoffman. But Hoffman will be back Sunday and it is only a matter of time before Brauny and Fielder start crushing the ball. Also, it is only a matter of time when Cole Hamels starts pitching well (he was my first pick for fantasy pitcher so he better). Both teams will turn it around and it should make for an interesting series none the less. It would be nice for the Brewers to get some revenge and get their season going starting tonight.

Gallardo Back on Track

The Brewers still cannot figure it out, but Yovani Gallardo is back on track after getting roughed up against Cincinnati. He had one bad inning against the Reds that spoiled his last outing and his team backed him up with six runs but that wasn't enough that time around. This time the Brewers hitting spoiled his gem. Gallardo pitched six innings of shutout ball and had 7 k's. Carlos Villanueva came in relief but a Rickie Weeks error scored the only run of the game for the New York Mets, who gave Johan Santana his second win of the season. There were no extra base hits in the game.

Crew Off to a Disappointing 2009, but Hope Lingers

Sure, the Crew are off to a 3-6 start and have lost all three series (@ Giants, Cubs, Reds). But, hope lingers. Hey, I am a positive guy and know the talent on the Brewers. They played it close with the Cubs, even could have won the series if Reed Johnson hadn't caught Prince Fielder's grand slam. A few more timely hits could have given the Brewers all series wins, but that can happen when athletes are working out early season kinks. Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Jason Kendall have so far been in big slumps, but Rickie Weeks, Mike Cameron, and Billy Hall are all hitting the ball pretty well. It is only a matter of time before Fielder, Braun, and Kendall get their stuff together. The pitching will eventually get it together too and Braden Looper so far has been the best on the staff. Jeff Suppan is terrible, Yovani Gallardo has one bad inning that led to a loss, and Manny Parra pitched alright his last outing. Dave Bush has pitched solid but will get better over time as well. The Brewers will be fine, I don't think there are any disbelievers in that category that think the Crew will continue their struggles.

Brewers Could Make Push for Peavy

Jeff Suppan is terrible. I cringe every time he throws a pitch. The Brewers are starting to doubt his ability. I am not sure why they are starting to disbelieve in Suppan now- the guy was awful last year, but no Ken Macha wants a guy that gives up a ton of home runs and cannot find the strike zone to be the ace. What a joke. Anyways MLBTraderumors.com, ESPN and the Chicago Tribune have the Brewers considering a Jake Peavy trade or possibly picking up Pedro Martinez. Heck, why not trade for Peavy and pick up Martinez. Martinez would only cost $5 million. Pull the trigger right now- the Brewers after all paid Eric Gagne $10 million to blow a bunch of games for them last season. More on Peavy from the Chicago Tribune.