Should Brewers Fans Start to Panic?

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Should Brewers Fans Start to Panic?

It has now been 31 games and very little has changed. The Brewers are having tremendous problems. Offensively they still have not broken loose, and on the mound they still have troubles. Whether it is a lack of depth in games by the rotation or a lack of closure by the bullpen. They are underperforming. So is it time to panic now?

First off on the offensive side of the game, they are still searching for the right combination. Rickie Weeks has been at bat 116 times this season and has turned in a .164 batting average. It appears this problem is directly correlated to the lack of production by Weeks. He started as the club's leadoff man, but his struggles led to manager Ron Roenicke moving him to the second spot in the lineup. The only consistent hitters in the lineup are Ryan Braun and the catching core. And with the injuries, they still have not found a suitable replacement for these hitters. So as a whole, it is time to panic with the offense. Last season the Brewers were also 13-18 but they were getting players back from injury, this season they are losing players. And they do not have the team depth to replace them. So Brewers fans start panicking because they have not shown many signs of getting out of this season long slump. Soon if it doesn't get better it might be time to make a change and replace the coach responsible for the lack of offense.

On the mound, Milwaukee has had some outstanding performances this season by the starting rotation, but they have certainly struggled too. For a good example, Wednesday afternoon, Zack Greinke pitched eight dominating innings, but the Brewers lost. Actually the starters have begun to pitch much better. But the bullpen is still struggling. In particular the late inning relief, which was expected to be the team strength, has been its weakness. Francisco Rodriguez has struggled to an ERA of over 6. And the closer John Axford has been good in closing games but has struggled in most of his outings this season. So Brewers fans if the bullpen keeps struggling then panic, but the pitching was the strength of the club ;last season so they are capable of turning things around. So to summarize on this aspect, no need to panic yet. But at this point it is getting close to panic time.

Defensively there is no need to panic either. The big concern for the remainder of the season will be the replacement for Mat Gamel at first. But it should be fine. Milwaukee has been good on defense this season, and should continue to be for the rest of the season.

So in review the offense has been the key problem. Pitching has been average. Anything could happen. The Brewers had the same record after 31 games last season. But things were not this bad.

So the Brewers101.com opinion: Panic

by Dan Bentson