Brewers: 1 Month Down, 5 to go.

Well, it’s May 1st and your Milwaukee Brewers are 16-9. That would make for a 3.5 game division lead and only a half game behind the BoSox for the best record in baseball. As a bonus, the next 9 are at Miller with 7 of those against the Pirates and Nats. The bully has been solid, starting pitching has been great, and they are whiffing at a much lower rate than in years past. The new hitting coach should get a raise and/or extension.

If you haven’t realized it yet, this is it. This is the year. We’ve been waiting for October baseball for a loooooong time.…no excuses not to have it be this year. Here’s why:

The Division Sucks. In the West or East, Milwaukee might win 95 games and not get make the playoffs. In the central, 84 could win it. Oh, and I don’t buy the argument “…yeah big deal, so the Brewers are beating up the Central teams.” Well, guess what division they play in? THE NL CENTRAL!!! If they beat up their own division, and play close to .500 ball against the other teams….NLC pennant.

Depth: I really think this team is too deep to suffer a prolonged, disastrous 3-14 streak….especially with the quality rotation. Every day there’s a better than 50/50 chance the starter will pitch 6 good innings. Heck, Sheets has pitched poorly and they are still 7 games over .500. Good starting pitching prevents long losing streaks. The position depth is also key. If Jenks hits one of his ice cold streaks, start Mench or Hart…and there’s not a huge drop off. And you can more than live with Gwynn, Miller, or Gross with the occasional start.

Record: 16-9, 7 Games over. Do you realize all they have to do is play .500 ball the rest of the way to finish 85-77? That should be enough.

Studs: Rickie Weeks, Ben Sheets and Billy Hall haven’t played close to their abilities. If they turn it around, look the F out. The only guy playing out of his mind is Jenks. His .333 average will probably come down a bit. Then again, it’s a contract year, so you never know. Suppan’s ERA (2.55) will probably jump by at least a run. Also, I expect CoCo (0.00 ERA) to blow a save here and there. That’s it, everyone else is at or below their standard seasons.

Aquino: He's in AAA.

The Brewers are set up for long term success, but you never know what St. Louis, Chicago and/or Houston will do next off season…lets bring home the division in 2007!!!