Series Preview: Diamondbacks @ Brewers
The Arizona Diamondbacks (9-12) took two of three games to silence the Cubs fans who invaded Chase Field for their final home stand of April. The Snakes finish the month by embarking upon an eight-game journey that will take them through the first week of May. Stop No. 1 on the itinerary is Milwaukee, where the Brewers (11-10) will host the Diamondbacks for a four-game set. The Brew Crew are winners of their last three series, the most recent a sweep of the visiting Pirates.
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Milwaukee is a young team frothy with home-brewed talent. The organization has produced Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, JJ Hardy, Corey Hart, everyday players between the ages of 24 and 27 and entering their primes. While the Brewers have had somewhat less success developing pitchers, any franchise would be glad to have starters Yovanni Gallardo (23) and Manny Parra (26).
But Milwaukee is also an aging team, worn like the seat of a favorite bar stool. Catcher Jason Kendall (34) and center fielder Mike Cameron (36) are baseball-ancients, especially for their positions. The Brewers' feature a pair of 34-year olds -- Jeff Suppan and Braden Looper -- in their rotation and rely on 41-year old Trevor Hoffman as their closer.
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Milwaukee made the postseason in 2008, falling to the soon-to-be champion Phillies in the NLDS. Can the mix of cusp-of-their-prime talents and well-travelled veterans again produce a winner? It's possible, although for two reasons it appears unlikely.
First, the offense is explosive but not fully mature. As Arizona has demonstrated, young hitters can excel when they get on a roll. The Brewers' offense (especially the outstanding left fielder, Braun) is further along than the Diamondbacks'. But as a team, they have a similar propensity to strike out. Besides Braun, the bats have also been streaky in the extreme. It's an offense that certainly can win; it's just not the kind of well-oiled machine that would make a return to the playoffs especially likely.
Second, the Brewers' staff does not have the oomph in 2009 that it did during last season's run at the playoffs. In 2008, Milwaukee acquired lefty CC Sabathia in trade and he carried the club to a wild card berth. Ben Sheets, for years the Brewers' ace, also pitched valiantly. Both starters left via free agency, Sabathia in a megabucks deal with the Yankees and Sheets ... into the wilderness. The right-hander underwent elbow surgery in the off-season and remains unsigned.
Offensive inconsistency could be overcome if the pitching were dominant. (That's the method the Diamondbacks hope to employ.) Milwaukee's two starters most likely to dominate have departed. Now, the offense will have to be outstanding to make up for a pitching staff that looks no better than middle-of-the-pack. Sorry, Brewers, but we don't think you have it in you.
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The Brewers need to find a leader from among a set of starters better suited for back-of-the-rotation duties. Gallardo (12-6, 3.25 ERA, 1.183 WHIP, 155 K, 54 BB in 169 IP for his career) certainly could be the guy, but he missed most of 2008 with injuries and needs to show he has the durability to be an ace.
Fortunately for the Diamondbacks, on this road trip they will not face Gallardo. He tossed eight scoreless innings on Wednesday, surrendering two hits and a walk while setting down eleven Pittsburgh batters on strikes. Gallardo will not pitch again until after the Snakes leave town. Against the rest of the Milwaukee rotation, Arizona batters stand a better chance.
| STARTERS | KEY MATCH-UPS |
| Scherzer v. Suppan | Fielder/Hardy v. Scherzer: 3/6, 2 HR ... Young/Jackson v. Suppan: 7/16, 2 HR |
| Garland v. Parra | Brewers v. Garland: 13/42, 1 XBH ... Snakes v. Parra: 3/31, 0 XBH |
| Haren v. Looper | MIL v. Haren: 16 PA, .167 / .333 / .167 ... ARI v. Looper: 44 PA, .293 / .341 / .488 |
| Petit v. Bush | Fielder v. Petit : 2/4, 2B, BB ... Young/Reynolds v. Bush: 8/16, 2 2B, 3 HR, BB, 5 K |
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This early in the season, teams are still finding their identities. For the Snakes sake, we hope that's true. The series in Milwaukee looks like a fair fight. A 2-2 draw seems the likely outcome, but we give Arizona a slight edge on the strength of its starting rotation.
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