The Crew, the Crew, the Crew is on Fire! We don't need no water let... 'em burn!

I chat about the Brewers plenty on Twitter and need to just take a moment to say: The Brewers make my liver quiver.
Yes. I said it.

I suppose I'm not used to rooting for a winning team. I'm a Bears fan on top of my Brewers fanaticism for crying out loud.

A couple new updates:

Zach Greinke is 9-0 for starts at Miller Park.

The Brewers are currently .810 since the All Star Break (23 for 27). That record is the best since the Oakland A's in 2002.

The "Magic Number" as of tonight is 23.

Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Nyjer Morgan will be on the August 24, 2011 cover of Sports Illustrated.
                            Nyjer "Tony Plush" Morgan says: "I'm so fired up," he said. "I never thought a guy from the east side of San Jose                                 would be with two of baseball's favorite players on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's pretty cool being with those                                 two guys on there."

The "Cover Boys" Collectively went 7 for 12 at bats after they found they'd be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Brewers have already had two 17-hit games in 2011. One tonight. The other was on April 22, 2011

Beautiful stats. More to come!

After a 10-game road trip the Brewers finally are back at Miller Park to face the Padres and Pirates.

So much chatter is whirling with excitement of Cy-Young Greinke's Miller Park debut. I'm glad to hear there's still excitement in the air. After going 2-8 on the road, Brewers fans still have something to be excited about. The possibility to see a (future) legend pitch for their team. My team!

Greinke's Brewers debut left a little to be desired, though. Hopefully being back "home" will help calm him. The kid does get anxious.

The one question plaguing us fans (and I'm sure, the coaches as well): Where the heck is our offense!? Braun is now the only starting player with a BA still over .300. He hovers at .307 at first pitch tonight. The only other player with above .300? Nyjer Morgan at .379, though he's only been to the plate 29 times versus Braun's 127 AB. Morgan just broke his finger and will be out for about a month. Fab. (Remember he was just out for over a week with a bruise.)

The question: is Dale Sveum, hitting coach, responsible for this slide in production? The whole offense was looking dominant through April. Their performance this month has us yelling "MayDay! MayDay!" In my opinion, Sveum has nothing to do with the lack of contact. I say it's all in their heads. They better shape up, and fast.

The next two series are absolutely critical. For the fans. For the team's psyche. For the playoffs!!!

Solution: the guys should go old-school and show their stirrups! It worked for Yovani. He almost had a No-No. I'll settle for the shutout aided by the Axman.

Randy Wolf.

A couple of years ago that name wouldn't mean much to a Brewers' fan. This year, though, Wolf has been making waves. The veteran pitcher is underestimated. I'll admit, I was a little nervous going into today's game. A Halladay-Wolf matchup seemed daunting. Especially after the Brewers exhausted the bullpen in the Monday series opener in the 12-inning win (6-3) against the Phillies. Noteable: Shawn Marcum gave up no earned runs Monday. Axford looked shaky.

Tonight was an icing-on-the-cake for the start of the week. The Phillies had not yet lost a series this season. Until they met the Brewers.

Braun reached base 4 times and had one homer . McGehee went yard for three runs on Herndon after Halladay took a seat.

Inconsistency is still plaguing my favorite team. How could they possibly beat the Phillies twice after losing three to the Nationals? THE NATIONALS!? Oh. They now have Ankiel (from the Cardinals). LaRoche isn't bad if he's in a do-or-die situation.  They also have Jason Werth who's been a weapon in the past.  I digress.

I'm quite proud of Randy Wolf. Perhaps because I'm always a sucker for the underdog. I'd say out of the current pitching lineup, he's the one that I hear other fans groan about.

According to Brewers writer Adam McCalvy, the last time Roy Halladay allowed 6 earned runs was over a year ago. The Phillies were playing the Yankees. GO CREW!

The Brewers need to iron out their inconsistencies. The boys really do have  a chance this year, if they can keep their heads in check. And their bodies healthy. I'm eagerly anticipating Greinke's arrival. Hawkins, Parra and Hart won't be long. Maybe with our complete team we could see streamers & champagne at Miller Park once more.

Here's hoping!

Helluva game pitched by the very young Brewer's Ace, Yovani Gallardo on Tuesday. His first start at Miller Park for the year. The Crew never allowed a runner (there were only 2) to reach second base. Oh, Yovani is also the only one who scored in the game with help of Ryan Braun's bat.
Yovaini's 3rd career shutout.
His 4th career complete game. Faboosh!

The Brewers were the last team to win a game in the National League. Oh well. Better late than never!

1-4 is MUCH better than oh-and-four. We'll be okay. The Red Sox still haven't won, neither have the Tampa Bay Rays. Ha!

All I can say is I'm more than impressed by the way the young (younger than me!) Yovani performed on Tuesday. He looked like a veteran Ace pitcher. It was just beautiful.

And then on Wednesday we bring in Marco Estrada. Wait, who? For a minute I was embarrassed because I did not recognize the player's name. He got called up from AAA the day before (oh, maybe I should start paying attention to those players too). Word on the street is Roenicke wasn't willing to try out Mitre because he's only good for about 4 innings. Our bridge pitchers just aren't there yet. They were already worn out from the series in Cincinnati (the series-that-shall-not-be-named). So the team "waived" goodbye to Dan Merklinger to make room for Estrada.

Estrada helped lead the Crew to a 5-4 victory.

It looks like Estrada's staying. But time will tell. He gave up six hits and a three-run homer served by the Braves' Jason Heyward. Time will tell. Greinke actually pitched a simulated game today, Friday April 8.

Thursday's game we saw Shaun Marcum once again. He makes me nervous. It didn't help that he had a shaky first two innings. He walked two in the first two innings, and then gave up two runs in the second. Yipes. He looked shaky and then brought it all together and regained command. Hey, I might like this guy!

Brewers win 4-2 recording a W for Marcum and the second save in a row for closer John Axford.

The rest of the team is obviously energized by the overnight turnaround by the pitching staff. I know I'm encouraged.

I still believe Nyjer Morgan is an amazing addition to our clubhouse. He's a character. Speaking of, you can follow his alter-ego on twitter: @Tony_Plush.  Now you'll know why some of the commentators refer to "Tony Plush." You're welcome.

Next up: goat for dinner. That'll get those Cubbies running back down to Chi-town where they belong. On the mound tonight: veteran Randy Wolf vs. big boy Carlos Zambrano.

Oh, the Brewers go into tonight's game 3-4. Just thought I'd throw that in there. GO CREW!!!!