Good for Prince. The Brewers slugger has a huge lead in the National League with 26 homeruns now and the next closest guy is Adam Dunn with 20. Throw in a league leading 59 RBIs and a .379 OBP and you’re looking at a guy who’s an early MVP candidate. And the voters have rewarded him as he now leads a tight race at first base for the All Star Game. I knew Prince had a 50 homer season in him, I just didn’t know it’s be this soon.
The Brewers extended their lead over the (enter name of second place team, currently the Cardinals) to 7 1/2 games after a three game sweep over the struggling Giants. They got some solid pitching in the first two games and while Claudio Vargas wasn’t all that great in the finale, he was picked up by the offence and he improved to 6-1 on the season. Bill Hall hit his eighth homerun and he drove in five runs. With J.J. Hardy an Fielder having the seasons they’re having, Bill Hall has only been okay so you wonder what’s going to happen when Bill Hall finally catches fire.
Ben Sheets is starting to pick it up as he gets back that ace tag. His strikeout rate is way down, but he’s won his last four and seven out of his last eight. Just as impressive, when Sheets gets the start, the Brewers are 9-1 in his last ten starts, which is the very definition of ace. He also finally notched his first complete game and he’s been pitching into the seventh inning more regularly. The Brewers have a nice lead, but they’ll need Sheets down the stretch if they really want to do something.
Francisco Cordero has been quite the pick up for the Brewers. He has 44 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings and he has 27 saves in 29 attempts. Not too shabby for a guy making just over $5 million. Then again, he is playing for a contract so there’s some motivation there. As is the chance to play for a ring.
Johnny Estrada has done what we expected when we dealt for him. He leads the team with a .291 batting average and while there’s not a lot of pop, it’s there. The defense has been below average but the offense more then makes up for it. And you know what you get. He doesn’t walk a lot, but he also doesn’t strike out a lot so you’re getting a catcher who puts the ball in play more times then not.
This weekend is a three game set against a poor Royals team and the Brewers have a 1-0 lead in the third. Two out of three and maybe a tough series by the Cards sure would be nice. I’d like a ten game lead by the All Star break.
