2018 Brewers Optimism Thread!

[SomewhereInTime]

Your first place Milwaukee Brewers! Magic number down to 162!

[JohnBriggs12]

Positives to take from the opener are that 2 guys who had bad springs, Santana and Barnes, had good days. Santana put the ball in play all 5 ABs with 2 hits and Barnes struck out the side. Both guys are needed for this team to achieve.

[wallus]

Is anyone else thoroughly enjoying watching Lester struggle mightily against a sub-replacement level team?

It’s too bad he can be their 4th or 5th best starter and it not really be a detriment to them

 

Optimism thread...

[ThisIsMyCrew]

Love waking up to a 1-0 record in games that count! And we get to play again tonight!

[CheezWizHed]

Is anyone else thoroughly enjoying watching Lester struggle mightily against a sub-replacement level team?

 

I didn't, but wished I had. I'm optimistic that we will have many opportunities to see it again!

[pacopete4]

The Hebrew Hammer hitting our first dinger of the year after great ABs by Pina, Aguilar and Villar. Awesome night.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Sitting all alone in 1st place yet again. Hopefully this team takes up permanent residence in that spot.

[SomewhereInTime]

Magic number down to 160! Ryan Braun for MVP!

[liveforoctober]

Lorenzo Cain has not had a bad at bat yet. Rockets everywhere.

 

Orlando Arcia is really, really good at defending his position.

[Baldkin]

Magic number down to 160! Ryan Braun for MVP!

 

It's 161. I'm just saying.

[SomewhereInTime]

Magic number down to 160! Ryan Braun for MVP!

 

It's 161. I'm just saying.

 

Oh yeah Pirates won, forgot about them.

 

BUT THIS IS THE OPTIMISM THREAD, ITS WHATEVER NUMBER WE WANT IT TO BE!

[Pugger]

Fewer swings and misses, more putting the ball in play, advancing runners, and getting the run in from 3rd with less than 2 outs!!! Not being so home run dependent but still having plenty of thump, Hooray!!!

 

Mainly I'm just glad Keon Broxton isn't a regular and Thames won't be flailing away against lefties. Now we just need Derek Johnson to work his magic with the pitching staff.

 

Tomorrow's game can't come soon enough!

 

If the guys can do this consistently this season IS gonna be fun!

[JohnBriggs12]

Braun is looking like Braun of old and not the guy who the last couple years who couldn't get around on good fastballs and was content shooting them into RF. He's pulling it more and if he keeps that up, his HR total should rise closer to 30 again.

[MoreTrife]

Two games in, the same feel good vibe surrounds this team as last year. But last year we lost a TON of heartbreakers, like games one and two we would've lost last year. Great to win those and hopefully it continues.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Mentioned before, but the 2017 team couldn't win games like the first two of this season...their pen wasn't deep enough to go long into extras or keep them in the game if a starter struggled, and their offense couldn't put together crooked number rallies.

 

Their bench won't be as deep at times when more pitchers are needed, but it will still be better than last year. Great start to 2018!

[torts]

Yellich and Cain are amazing I love Stearns love love love love love love love love

[Jenkins5]

Cain, Yelich, Braun, Shaw, Santana......I am a big fan of our offense! Mix in Thames, Pina, and Arcia ....we got the fire power. I want to believe in Villar! I really do but so far this series his ABs look much like 2017 and we don't need those types of K's in our lineup. Outside of pitcher, he is the next closest rally killer.

 

This team will go as far as Anderson, Chacin, Suter, Davies, Woodruff allow us to. I'm a fan of our offense, bullpen but it will come down to those 5

[hurricanecrush]

Still on pace for 162-0...let’s do this!

[SeaBass]

15 runs scored last two games and only 1 team HR on the season. Fun to see some good hitting with RISP.

[SomewhereInTime]

Wonder when the last time the Brewers swept a team while hitting only one HR in the whole series. Probably not in my lifetime.

Your first place Milwaukee Brewers now have a magic number of 160! For real this time...

[TexasCheesehead]

Facing the Brewers meat of the order is going to be every pitcher's nightmare in 2018. We might very well have one of the top three scariest 1-2-3-4-5 trips in all of baseball.

[rcc]

This team is so much fun to watch. The new guys and Shaw will hit and get the runs in. Hader lights out. First place and now back home to Miller to keep it going.

[Eye Black]

One reason for optimism is that it seems this team is going to put the ball in play a fair amount more than last year. In 2017 the team strikeout rate was 25.6%. That was the worst in Major League Baseball.

 

While 2018 is obviously a very small sample size, in 130 plate appearances so far this season the Brewers have struck out just 22 times (16.9%). I realize better pitching lies ahead, but I think this team can reduce their strike out rate into the low-20% range this season which will be a marked improvement.

[Never Outhustled]

The team ERA is 3.

[young guns]

Sole best record in baseball, at least for a few more hours!