Monthly Archives: May 2009

Posted by Steve

These sure have been a fun couple of weeks.  The Crew has won 12 of their last 15 games, and for the most part has been playing well in all aspects during this stretch.  Bronson Arroyo threw batting practice yesterday; it’s always fun to have a laugher like that every now and then.  We even had a Steve Fanboy box score a couple days ago in Pittsburgh in which Rickie Weeks hit the game-winning homer and Mark DiFelice got the win (despite allowing a run).

Making things that much better is Ryan Braun’s negative MRI.  It is very strange that nobody has been able to figure out what’s going on with him, but everything we hear is that playing shouldn’t have any negative affects, so really I guess that’s all that matters.

It’s also encouraging that J.J. Hardy has been really hitting the last few games.  I wasn’t worried about Hardy because he’s started slow before.  He also has been known to go on serious tears, so hopefully we’re seeing the start of one right now.

It’s wayyy too early to be seriously looking at playoff odds, but I check them regularly just for kicks.  PECOTA currently has the Brewers at 33.5% chance at the playoffs, which seems reasonable with what people should have expected for this year: a solid team with a chance to be good and possibly add a piece or two at the deadline.

What I find interesting is 33.5% is only good for the third-best odds in the NL Central behind the Cubs and Cardinals, yet not one team in the A.L. West has odds as high as the Brewers.  With baseball’s schedule pitting teams so heavily against others in their division, the quality of the teams in your division have about as much say in a team making the playoffs as the actual talent on your team.  Last year the Brewers would have won the NL West, but because they were in the Cubs’ division they didn’t even come close to winning the Central.

Not really sure where I was going with that… Just an observation.

I like the Crew’s chances of keeping this going the next few games.  Looper vs. Micah Owings tonight is a matchup in the Brewers’ favor, and they have the edge on each pitching matchup in the series against the Cubs with Carlos Zambrano missing on the DL.

Posted by Steve 

I am officially extremely worried about the long-term health of Ryan Braun.  It’s appearing more likely that his injury isn’t an intercostal strain at all, but more likely related to his back, and maybe just his back.

The Disabled List Informer is a blog run by a physical therapist that attempts to decode vague team diagnoses and determine what’s actually wrong with a player.  He expressed concern in March about Braun’s issue, and speculated then that it may be a more serious spinal condition.  Apparently the red flag is that his pain is not relieved by rest, because rest heals muscles.  If you click the link in that post, you’ll see the author seemed pretty convinced last August that his condition was not an intercostal muscle sprain but more likely spine-related, possibly a herniated disc.  The fact that it has lasted several months seems to back that up.

I’m hoping the Brewers have finally taken/plan to take an MRI, because this has really gone on long enough.  If this is a chronic problem, the Brewers’ season is in serious jeopardy.  Not to mention the long-term financial commitment the team made to Braun last year would suddenly be looking scary.

I’m not trying to panic here; unfortunately, it seems like there is plenty of evidence that warrants this level of concern.  He’s continuing to miss time, and a trip to the DL wouldn’t really surprise anyone at this point.