W: Randy Wolf (3-2)
L: Cesar Valdez (1-1)
ARI HR: Mark Reynolds (10)
MIL HR: Jody Gerut (2), Ryan Braun (6)
Finally, we don’t have to hear about Chad Moeller every time a Brewer is one leg short of a cycle. Instead, we’ll hear about Jody Gerut.
Of course, cycles are pretty much meaningless, random, and rely quite a bit on luck. That much is clear when you consider the last Brewer to hit for the cycle was Chad Moeller, and the fact that Gerut had a grand total of 4 hits coming into Saturday night. But they’re still fun to see when you’re watching a game live, and honestly, it gave me a reason to keep paying attention to a game I normally would have slowly tuned out of towards the end.
Is Gerut’s success against the Diamondbacks indicative of future performance? Probably not. He took advantage of some of the National League’s worst pitching, and was lucky enough to hit the ball into parts of the park that let him get the last two legs, the triple and the double. But I do think it shows that Gerut deserves more playing time than he’s seen to this point, and it also shows that like anyone else, he’s better when he’s getting consistent at-bats.
We saw something similar last year, when Gerut went on that late-season hot streak when Corey Hart was out after his appendectomy. It’s why so many of us were puzzled (or even upset) when the Brewers signed Jim Edmonds, a move that pretty clearly meant Gerut would get less opportunities to play. This is a guy who put up an .845 OPS in 356 plate appearances in 2008, playing in Petco Park.
It appears that Carlos Gomez won’t be going to the DL, so hopefully he’ll be back soon. It’s important for Gomez to get consistent at-bats if he’s ever going to improve. But if Gomez misses significant time in the next week or two, I can say I have no problems with seeing Gerut in the lineup more.
Just please, Macha, don’t stick him in right field if Jim Edmonds is starting in center. I have no problems having both of their bats in the lineup, but if you’re going to do it, for the sake of our sanity, please put the better defender in centerfield. Thanks.
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