If you’re not one of those baseball nerds who follows every single thing going on in the Milwaukee Brewers Organization, don’t worry, because The Sports Bank’s Nick Grays has you covered with what happened in the past week and what’s going on in the future.
And if you are one of those nerds, feel free to join in on some good old analysis of America’s pastime in the Brew City.
This week we talk about a couple of injuries to key Brewers and Zack Greinke’s not-so hot start to the year!
By: Nick Grays
Cactus League Standings
Milwaukee Brewers (5-4, 8th Place)
Through nine games, the Brewers are in the middle of the pack after losing their last two. I wouldn’t put too much stock into these standings because they realistically mean nothing. For example, the Kansas City Royals are currently in second place at 6-2 and the Chicago White Sox are in dead last at 1-6. I can assure you that the Royals and White Sox will end up on opposite ends of the Al Central during the regular season.
Nonetheless, the Brewers had some notable performances in their first week of competition.
None bigger than third-baseman Casey McGehee’s (pictured above) offensive onslaught versus the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. McGehee wasn’t able to score a multi-year deal in contract talks earlier that day, but did connect on two home-runs to finish 3-for-3 from the plate with four RBI.
Minor League Catcher Anderson De La Rosa hit a three-run walk-off home-run to lift the Brewers to a 11-9 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. De La Rose’s home-run was the fifth bomb hit in that game by Milwaukee.
Last Week’s Headlines:
Hart and Lucroy Remain Injured
As previously mentioned with Cardinals Adam Wainwright in last week’s check-in, all the hype during spring training has to do with injuries. The Brewers are no exception with outfielder Corey Hart dealing with a strained oblique and catcher Jonathan Lucroy ailing with a broken pinkie.
During workouts on Saturday, Hart further tweaked his injury and is not expected back for a couple of weeks. Hart has dealt with many injuries in his young career and I would expect him to bounce back with no problems. Luckily for Milwaukee, it’s much easier for a hitter to get back to game-speed compared to a pitcher working his self back into playing mode.
Lucroy’s injury should be of lesser concern to fans as he is able to catch. He’s expected to be back around the beginning of the regular season and may start off kind of slow in regards to batting average. The important facet of his game will be the establishment of chemistry with the Brewers new starting rotation.
Greinke Off to a Slow Start
All eyes were on Zack Greinke during the first week of Cactus League Play. If first impressions mean anything, fans were probably a little disappointed. His first start was decent, but I wouldn’t say the same about the second. His start on Saturday versus the Rangers was not very good as he struggled to get ahead of the count and struggled with his velocity as well.
“That made things a lot harder. But, overall, I felt a lot more comfortable out there than the last outing. I was coming closer to executing pitches. I just got hurt being behind in the count too much,” said Greinke.
Once again, I wouldn’t worry much, Greinke will be fine when the regular season begins. Watching pitchers progress in Spring Training is a thing of beauty.
Looking Ahead:
More Spring Training Games
Monday – @ Cincinnati Reds (6-3) 2:05 PM
*Televised on Fox Sports North
Tuesday – vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (2-7) 3:05 PM
Wednesday – @ Arizona Diamondbacks (3-8) 2:10 PM
Thursday – vs. Colorado Rockies (5-3) 2:05 PM
Friday – vs. Oakland A’s (4-5) 2:05 PM
*Split-Squad
Saturday – vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (3-8) 2:05 PM
*Split-Squad
Sunday – vs. Kansas City Royals (6-2) 3:05 PM
What did you think of the Brewers first week of competition? Will Corey Hart or Jonathan Lucroy missed time have any effect on the team? Will Greinke look better before the start of the season? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior editor at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Brewers. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.
