The Sunday Cycle- a collection of four of my thoughts from the prior week of Brewer’s Baseball.
Current Record- 10-2, First Place- NL Central
Single- There will be very few Sunday Cycles that recap a week of baseball during which the Brewer’s did not lose a single game. While putting together extended winning streaks is important, I think avoiding long losing streaks is what truly propels a team to the playoffs- something this team looks well equipped to do. “It’s a sprint not a marathon.” yeah, sure, fine… but the Brewers are on a NINE game winning streak. Enjoy it, Milwaukee.
Double- Ryan Braun must have read last week’s Sunday Cycle. After a rather concerning start to the season, Braun batted .417 this past week with 10 RBIs, including 3-HR showing against the Phillies during their home opener. Combined with Ramirez’s timely hitting, if healthy, this could be one of the best 3-4 combos in baseball.
Triple- Tyler Thonrberg (2-0, 1.17 ERA, 0.52 WHIP) looks unhittable right now. Appearing three times this past week, Thornberg did not allow a single batter to reach base. He works very quickly (one of my favorite obscure qualities in a reliever), and is pounding the strike zone, tossing 74.7% of his pitches for strikes. He also provides an extra layer of security for the starting rotation should someone go down due to injury.
HR- The Brewers sit at 10-2, the best record in baseball. The last time the Brewers were 8 games over .500 was on June 6, 2011, during a season in which they would go on to win 96 games and the NL Central. Out of the prior 30 MLB teams to start the season 9-2, 20 of them would have qualified for the playoffs under the current two-wild card format; those teams averaged 90 wins. Is it October yet?
Balk– I like to consider myself a well-informed Brewer’s fan, but I made a prediction before Friday’s game that was proven so embarrassingly incorrect that I feel the need to come clean. In the parking lot before the game, I gave my “personal guarantee” that the game would sell out. It was the first Friday home game of the season, the team was red hot and in first place, and tickets were 50% off due to the annual five-county celebration. Final attendance numbers came in just above 27k, a mere 15,000 short of a sellout. Woof.