Grading the Crew's first half - The Good, the Bad and the Yuni



Prince doing the limbo, or hitting bombs.



So here we are at the Mid-Summer Classic having just witnessed that thrilling spectacle of batting practice, err Home Run Derby, that saw the AL just squeak by the NL by about 4,000 homers (I'm guessing Prince picked the fat kid at recess before the good athletes based on his performance as NL captain).

Anyway, I digress. With a little break in the action til the Crew's 11-game trip out west that starts on Thursday I thought it would be fun to break down the first half and hand out some grades (Carlos Gomez is getting fitted for his dunce cap as we speak).

Without further ado, let's break down the Brewers first half:

STARTING PITCHING

This has been an area of strength for the most part. The starters have kept the Crew in games and have done a decent job going enough innings to save the bullpen (let's just pretend those games at Boston and New York were exhibition).

Shawn Marcum has been a pleasant surprise, while Zach Greinke has been a major disappointment. At least Greinke is a good interview though... Yo has been Yo, mixing in some head-scratchingly bad outings with mostly good, while Wolf and Narv Dog have been about exactly what you expect from Wolf and Narv Dog - hey that sounds like a good name for a cop show. Overall, the starting pitching has done its job and if Greinke can get on track the Crew will continue to contend in the 2nd half.
GRADE: B

RELIEF PITCHING

If it wasn't for the Ax Man I'd probably be inclined to give the bully an F. The Brewers awesomely mustached closer, while making things a little interesting at times, has been the saving grace of an overall mediocre at best unit.

Old Man River Hawkins has had a nice resurgence, although he has struggled a bit when put into more high-stress situations - that would be of late after "8th-inning guy" Kameron Meat Pitch was finally somewhat relieved of that duty.

I pretty much pray every game that our starter can go 8 and then we get the ball straight to Ax in the 9th, although we usually have to sweat through some Saito/Loe/Hawkins/Braddock/Dillard/Estrada and Lord knows who else might appear in the pen at some point. And can someone please get Zach Braddock a pillow out in the pen so he can catch a few Z's and not go back on the DL due to lack of nap time???

Oh and one more thing - If I have to listen to our broadcasters talk about how good a job Marco Estrada has done this season I may go on a murderous rampage. I cringe every time he takes the ball...
GRADE: Overall: C-

OUTFIELDERS

It's good to see Brauny isn't taking his cues from Cletidus Hunt (there's a blast from the Packers past that everyone would rather forget) on how to play after getting a big contract extension. T Plush has been awesome, Corey has been OK and will hopefully have a hot 2nd half to make up for missing the first month plus.

Carlos Gomez is exactly where he belongs, pinch-running for the statues in our lineup in late-game situations and making the occasional defensive replacement appearance. And what the heck has gotten into Mark Kotsay??? Your Love could be the greatest walk-up song ever and may have saved the season for both Kotsay and the Crew given Kotsay's recent heroics in Braun's absence.
GRADE: A-

INFIELDERS

I almost feel like I need to break this down into right side and left side of the infield. On the right side you have two All-Star starters who are putting up top-of-their-position type numbers. On the left side you have two guys you could probably replace with giant garbage cans and get about just as much defensive range and offensive production from.

Prince and Rickie are fun to watch every AB, Casey and Yuni make me want to claw my eyes out so I don't have to watch anymore. I heard at one point Yuni was 5th in the voting for NL All-Star shorstop. I didn't realize the rest of the 16 teams didn't play anyone at that position because that's the only explanation I can think of for him being that high - either that or he created a ton of email accounts for himself and voted 25 times for himself from all of them...

But let's focus on the good here. Sure Casey is hovering near Uecker status this season at the plate, but at least he's hit a couple of game-winning homers. Prince and Rickie are top-notch and let's give Yuni credit, at least he didn't spike himself.
GRADE: Overall B- (Left side D-, Right side A-

CATCHER

I'm giving the catchers their own category because catchers never get attention or glory and I was a catcher in Little League for a few years, so I have a soft spot in my heart for them. I'm telling you catcher's interference is the most unfair rule in baseball - you're the one who gets hit with a bat and the hitter gets first base? What the hell is that??? ... Sorry just had a bad flashback there...

Jonathan Lucroy has been as dependable as you could hope both behind and at the plate and if he continues to develop he has a chance to be an All-Star at some point. I miss Wil Nieves only from the standpoint of I wanted to see how many AB into the season he could go without getting an RBI. That Kotteras Hanrahan has been an OK backup, but thankfully Lucroy plays a lot.
GRADE: B+

MANAGING

I like Rickee Roonn's (that's our anagram for Ron Roenicke) aggressive style and the fact that he doesn't take the Hank Mace (Ken Macha) "let's try to hit 10 homers a game to win" approach. At times I question his unwillingness to work around guys who have consistently killed our pitching or set up force plays in walk-off situations for the opposing team but at least he has some animation in the dugout and if he's going to lose, he's going to go down swinging. Let's face it, anything would be better than watching Macha stand there with his arms folded over his chest and not moving (I'm not even sure if he was breathing) for 9 innings.
GRADE: B

OVERALL OUTLOOK

Well, they're in first place so that has to count for something. By the same token they certainly could be quite a few more games over .500 but aren't largely thanks to the bullpen and the offense faltering mightily on the road. The 11-game road trip after the break will be a huge litmus test for this team and could determine if they're going to be a second-half factor or not.

Anyone who's followed the Crew over the years knows they usually put up at least one respectable half of the season, but that's generally either after they're already eliminated at the break or before they lose about 20 in a row in July/August.

If Greinke gets on track, Loe's GPS takes him somewhere other than Miller Park and our lineup stays healthy then this team should be in it for the long haul.
OVERALL GRADE: B

This is Dante, signing off. I'm not even supposed to be here today!