The Brewers Bar Weekly Hangover 5/24/15

Each Sunday evening we will review our favorite and least favorite events of the previous week, and share our perspective on how the team is doing.  Please enjoy responsibly.

Cheers! (Best event/news of the week)

Brewers Win a Series Against Not-the-Cubs: For the first time this season, the Brewers began the third game of a series in a position to sweep.  Even better, it was against a contending Detroit Tigers team instead of another cellar-dwelling team.  As a fan of one of the worst teams in MLB, I can at least enjoy the fact that other teams must feel humbled when they lose to the Brewers.  Also, the second game that clinched the series victory included one of those moments baseball fans live for – back to back to back homers.

Not surprisingly, the Brewers failed to sweep.  At least they didn’t lose by ten!

Buzzkill (Worst event/news of the week)

Will Smith Suspended for Something Apparently Everyone Does: For the second year in a row, Smith was at the center of shenanigans in the seventh inning at Turner Field.  Last year, he had to enter a game without warming up because the Brewers bullpen was in complete disarray and no one knew who was supposed to be ready.  On Thursday, he was ejected for using a foreign substance to get a better grip on the baseball, and was subsequently suspended for eight games (pending appeal).

Even if you’ve followed baseball for some time, it’s hard to get a strong grasp (so to speak) on the unwritten rules, not to mention the written rules that are permissible to break.  The Brewers-friendly coverage from Tom Haudricourt says: “It’s an accepted practice throughout baseball on chilly nights for a pitcher to use a tacky mixture to get a better grip on the ball, no matter what the rule book says about banning foreign substances.”

The umpire that ejected Smith, crew chief Jim Joyce, said after the game, “I touched [his arm] and immediately knew it was a foreign substance. Unfortunately for him, he has to be ejected.”  That word choice suggests Joyce did not feel particularly enthusiastic about enforcing this rule.  It seems that Smith’s mistake was being too obvious about breaking a rule that players and umpires don’t feel strongly about following – i.e., the foreign substance was clearly visible and glistening under the stadium lights.

Although it may not hold up, an eight-game suspension seems excessive for such a wink-wink violation of the rules.  It just underscores that the Brewers aren’t getting away with any mistakes they make this year.

Have One on the House (Brewers player who deserves a drink)

Ryan Braun: Given the fact that Braun broke rules everyone cares about a great deal, there’s going to be an extra layer of scrutiny when he underperforms.  Like almost everyone else on the team, Braun had a terrible April, and his batting average dipped as low as .222 earlier this month.  Since then, he seems to have turned things around.  This past week in Detroit and Atlanta, Braun went 8-for-21 (.381) with three homers and 11 RBI.  His average has crept up to a respectable .270.  Remember when were all worried that his thumb was going to be a major storyline this season?

Time to Sober Up, Pal (Brewers player who made me want to drink)

Jonathan Broxton: When the Brewers traded for Broxton last year, it seemed like a solid move to shore up late inning relief.  Broxton used to be a closer, and I’ve heard enough baseball guys like Bill Schroeder talk about how closers have ice water in their veins that I’m willing to believe anyone with closing experience is a manly man.  In any case, it turns out Broxton (like seemingly everyone else on the team) is performing well below his career averages.  At the start of play today, he had a 7.71 ERA and a 1.714 WHIP.  It was Broxton that let the third game of the Detroit series get away, giving up three runs in the eighth inning when there were two outs and nobody on base.  I guess there’s a reason he’s a former closer instead of a current closer.

Back on the Wagon (Thoughts on the week ahead)

The NL West comes to Milwaukee this week, starting with the defending world champion San Francisco Giants.  On today’s Brewers-Braves broadcast, Schroeder and Brian Anderson mentioned the Giants just DFA’d former Brewer Casey McGehee, and speculated another run in Milwaukee might not be a bad idea.  They referred to McGehee as a “fan favorite,” which seemed inaccurate.  McGehee had a career year in 2010, followed by a season in which he performed poorly and was replaced by Jerry Hairston.  More recently, McGehee was on the Marlins when Mike Fiers hit Giancarlo Stanton in the face with a pitch.  McGehee was one of the most vocal instigators in the ensuing bench-clearing incident, and was ejected.  Do fans really have fond memories of this guy?  Am I missing something?

The Diamondbacks come to town next, but the thing I’m looking forward to most about the upcoming weekend series is the opening of The Selig Experience on Friday.  I expressed skepticism about The Selig Experience when it was first announced since it sounded a little too much like hero worship to me.  I look forward to seeing it for myself and providing a lightly biased report.

(Image: Robin Buckson/Detroit News)