Argh. This is like a breakup. Obviously, there's not the same permanence, but when I think of Miller Park, I think of the times we had. Here's his game log from Baseball Reference for that series. So, so precious.
It was like the first movie you saw on a date together -- maybe "Clear and Present Danger," when your date leaned over to you and said "If you close your eyes right now, it sounds like Darth Vader is Han Solo's boss," and you couldn't believe how awesome that was, and now it's all ruined. Ruined! You can't even watch "Clear and Present Danger" now, and you sure don't want to watch a baseball game in Miller Park.
Aw, heck, of course you do.
The Brewers have been hot, winning six straight, and 14 out of their last 18. They've won nine straight at home, and 12 out of their last 13. Oh, good.
How have they been winning? Quality starting pitching and good hitting. But let's all look at Jonathan Lucroy, the Brewers catcher, and make him feel uncomfortable. Just stare and glower. He's ruining everything.
| Pos | AB | HR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Jonathan Lucroy | 112 | 5 | .321 | .369 | .509 | .878 |
| 1B | Prince Fielder* | 186 | 11 | .285 | .380 | .548 | .928 |
| 2B | Rickie Weeks | 198 | 8 | .288 | .366 | .490 | .856 |
| SS | Yuniesky Betancourt | 164 | 3 | .232 | .260 | .348 | .607 |
| 3B | Casey McGehee | 188 | 4 | .255 | .319 | .378 | .697 |
| LF | Ryan Braun | 186 | 12 | .306 | .398 | .575 | .973 |
| CF | Carlos Gomez | 162 | 2 | .222 | .281 | .327 | .608 |
| RF | Corey Hart | 87 | 4 | .264 | .312 | .483 | .795 |
| Team Totals | 1689 | 54 | .255 | .322 | .415 | .737 | |
| Rank in 16 NL teams | 8 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| Pos | AB | HR |
Oh, he's not ruining everything because he's been a poor hitter -- on the contrary, he's been fantastic. He's ruining everything because every other hitter in that lineup is exactly who they were supposed to be. There isn't one surprise other than Lucroy. Prince Fielder is hitting like Prince Fielder. Ryan Braun is hitting like Ryan Braun. Down the line, it's almost perfect. It's almost what we nerds have been hoping for this whole time -- players so reliable that the game can be played entirely by a computer! There aren't any 2010 Aubrey Huffs surprising the world with their strong play, and there aren't any 2011 Aubrey Huffs stinking up the joint. Playing the Brewers is like playing a Strat-O-Matic set.
Except for Lucroy. Had to go out and "improve his play" and "hit better," the selfish twit.
What all those numbers also mean is that the Brewers can hit. The Giants can pitch, so it will be a pretty good match-up on that side. The match-up that afears me?
That guy vs. the entire Giant lineup. The ERA is sparkly, as is the K/BB ratio, but the part that freaks me out is this: his average fastball velocity this season has been 86.4 MPH. That's ridiculous. It's also not his best pitch, and he only throws it 30% of the time, or just a little more than knuckleballer R.A. Dickey does. Marcum also has a cutter that he throws 13% of the time, but for the most part, he's an offspeed machine. Over half of the time, he's going to throw a breaking ball or changeup, and it makes it so his fastball is untouchable too. Amazing.
So obviously we're on the same page, right?
Oh, yeah. You'd better believe it. 110 pitches thrown, 81 sliders. Hey, if Marcum can do it ...
Hitter to watch
Jonathan Lucroy. It's right there.
Pitcher to watch
Come on. It's Shaun Marcum. It's right above you. Work with me.
Prediction
The series will end with some of us standing 500 feet from Buster Posey's house, per the court order, and playing "In Your Eyes" from a boombox that we hold above our heads.