The Brewers lost a game on Sunday. A game they should have won. I won't make any bones about it. It was a game they pretty much let slip away.
But, I'm not going to go off the deep end here. I won't follow some of my colleagues in the media by piling on a team that just took two out of three from a team on the road. I won't ride the same roller coaster that some of Brewer Nation seems to be on right now.
You can't get too high over any one win (unless it clinches your first playoff spot in twenty-six years). You can't get too low over any one loss.
A baseball guy - someone way smarter than I am - once told me that teams will win sixty games a season and lose sixty games a season. It's the other forty-two that will make or break you.
Sunday's loss in Atlanta wasn't one of those forty-two.
You might be tempted to question Ken Macha's decision to let Jason Kendall swing away with a runner on in the top of the ninth. Yes, I think Macha should have had Kendall bunt. But I cannot argue with Macha's philosophy that you play to win on the road. He was playing for the win. He was playing for the sweep. He was going for the kill. Part of me likes that. Still, I would have had Kendall bunting.
I'm not going to get on Macha, though. He's an improvement over the guy that was in the dugout last season. Anyone who argues that is arguing from a position of weakness. And, he's done enough good things already this season that I will give him a pass for not having Kendall bunt.
You might be tempted to pile on reliever Carlos Villanueva for the way he pitched on Sunday. I ask you to fight that temptation. So, Villanueva pitched badly. It happens. Brad Lidge of the Phillies was the only guy I ever saw that went through a season without blowing a game. Besides, since the return of Trevor Hoffman from his oblique injury, Villanueva has been good. Heck, he's been better than good. Call it good-plus if you will. One game isn't going to change my mind about Villa's season.
At the end of the day, the Brewers still took two out of three from the Braves on the road. I'll take that. As a fan, you have to take it. A sweep would've been nice, but that's easier said than done on the road.
To listen to the reaction I heard following the game on Sunday, you would think this team wasn't 33-24. You wouldn't think this team was leading the NL Central. You would think this team was the same team that stumbled out of the gate in April.
When did Milwaukee become New York or Chicago? I expect Yankees, Mets, and Cubs fans to react that way. I expect the fans and media in those cities to get emotionally worked up. I expect something different from Brewer Nation.
Just think back to last year. This team was in a tailspin after being swept by Boston in May. This team did everything they could to hand the wildcard spot to the Mets before Ned Yost was fired. What happened? The Brewers made the playoffs on the last day of the season. Once they did that, the struggles in May and September were forgotten as quickly as you could snap your fingers.
There's a lesson to be learned there. That lesson is simply this. There's a time to get worked up about a loss and a time when you have to just let that loss go. This would be a time to let that loss go.
I know that some of you are scratching your head because just a couple of years ago I would probably have gone on the radio and reacted much in the same way a lot of people did following Sunday's loss. Maybe I'm getting wiser in my old age. Maybe being off the air these last seven months forced me to take a step back and see things more clearly. I don't know. You can make the judgment for yourself.
I'm not going to say the Brewers don't have their share of problems. They do. What I am saying is that those problems haven't cost them anything. Yet.
And even if they do, I'm not sure that going out and bringing in big name reinforcements would be the way to go.
I know Manny Parra is struggling. I know there are a lot of people who would like to see him in the bullpen. Some would like to see him work his problems out in the minors. There are those that wouldn't mind seeing either Tom Glavine or Jake Peavy come in as his replacement. I don't think that's the way to go.
First of all, Glavine is forty-three. He thinks he can still pitch at this level. I don't know how many of the decision makers around Major League Baseball agree with him. It's not like he has a lot of people knocking on his door right now. I don't think there is much left in his gas tank. Glavine would be wise to just hang it up now before he gets released again.
As far as Peavy is concerned, don't get me wrong - I'd love to see Peavy here. I'd bring him in without worrying all that much about his contract. That's not the problem.
The problem is that Padres GM Kevin Towers is asking for a lot in return for his ace. The White Sox were ready to give up four top prospects (including their best two pitching prospects) for Peavy. The Cubs might be tempted to pay the Pads what they want too, especially if they can't make a move up the standings over the next month.
But, teams like the Cubs and White Sox can afford to do that. The Brewers do not operate that way. I don't want to give up Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar just yet. Not just a year after dealing top prospect Matt LaPorta to Cleveland in the CC Sabathia deal. The Brewers - like most smaller market teams - cannot do that two years in a row.
The Brewers also have their problems at third base. Bill Hall had lasik surgery this past off-season It was supposed to help him hit righties better. To say it hasn't worked would be an understatement.
A lot of fans want the team to get rid of Hall and see Gamel get more playing time. I want Gamel to get the bulk of the time at third base, too. But trading Hall isn't possible right now. He has a big contract that he hasn't lived up to. Other teams might have a tough time justifying acquiring a player like Hall. On top of that, it's not like Hall has done a whole lot on the field since hitting 35 HR's in 2006.
What I'm saying is that the Brewers are stuck with Hall. But, let's try and look at this in a positive way. Hall might be expensive, but useful, especially when you consider his versatility. He can play third, he can move to the outfield, and he can play other positions as well. He's shown a willingness to move around this year - indicating to Macha he will not let his ego get in the way of this team's success.
Hall might actually come in handy. Sure, Craig Counsell has been hitting over .300, but he hasn't shown that he can do that consistently while playing every day. I can't help but think his hitting will return to the level it's been at for years. You have to play him at second while he is hot (and he has done a good job of filling in for the injured Rickie Weeks). When he cools off, you might have to look in a different direction. Hall might be handy when that time comes.
If you're the Yankees, you can simply make a trade and bring in a high priced player to help fix your problems. Again, the Brewers are not the Yankees. And besides, when was the last time the Yankees actually won a World Series? (That would be 2000 if you're keeping score at home.)
It's real easy for fans and media to say a team should do this, trade for this player, and cut this guy. But - and believe me I know it isn't easy - fans need to keep an even head about a six month long season. I won't give you the whole marathon/sprint argument.
I will point to last season, when the Brewers overcame adversity and clinched a playoff spot on September 28th.
Remember that before you start ranting about a loss on a Sunday in early June.
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