Brewers can turn corner on this roadtrip

About the time the Brewers started the season 0-4 many of the naysayers or "nonbelievers" out there figured they could cash out on the season after just five days.
Well, the Reds did win the NL Central last season and are a damn good team, so those of us that know baseball and know you can't get too up or down hung around for a full week of baseball and now have a 5-5 team on our hands with things looking to get better on this nine-game road trip to the East coast.
The Brewers showed what they were made of coming back to Miller Park and going 5-2 against the Braves and Cubs. Now it's time for the Pirates and Nationals before heading to Philly to trade body blows with the Phillies.
What the Brewers showed during the homestand was what most people that know the team figured they'd show. Yovanni Gallardo was great in getting the first win of the season and so-so Sunday as Casey McGehee belted a home run in the eighth to down the Cubs. Shaun Marcum showed improvement and should keep getting better when the rain ends and he takes the hill Wednesday in Pittsburgh. And let's not forget Chris Narveson who could show he belongs with the Zack Greinke's, Gallardo's and Marcum's with his not allowing a run in 13 innings thus far without allowing a run. And that's just the starting pitching.
Prince finally hit a homer, Ryan Braun is hitting the long ball and in bunches and for the first time I can remember both seem to be absolutely hot at the plate right now. With both of them grooving together, the Brewers are almost untouchable. Yes, they need guys on in front of them and with Rickie Weeks off to the start he is off to and either Nyjer Morgan or Carlos Gomez doing just enough in the No. 2 slot, runners were finally on when they went yard over the weekend against the Cubs and it paid off.
During the homestand, the Brewers played the type of baseball most of us expected them to play. Well, everyone but Randy Wolf, but let's not get too greedy here, people. And to think they will be getting Jonathan Lucroy back tomorrow night and Manny Parra and LaTroy Hawkins should be joining the team in the coming days in the bullpen. Then, attention can turn to the "Big Two" on the DL in Corey Hart and Zack Greinke who are both at least two weeks away from returning to the big league club.
Until then, getting to maybe a couple games above .500 would be where to expect this team to be and put themselves in a spot to rattle off some wins and make the move they have to in order to challenge the Reds for the division. At least, that's what I see them being capable of.
For those that had written them off after four games, fans like that aren't really fans at all. They look for a reason and an excuse to jump ship and just seem way too negative. Will the Brewers lose four games in a row again this season? Probably. But they'll also win four games in a row a couple times, too, so you're not supposed to get too high or low.
This team now is pretty good and when the pieces all return, will be one of the top teams in the NL both offensively and with pitching.


I didn't have a chance to catch Monday Night Raw last night, but Twitter caught fire last night when Adam "Edge" Copeland announced his retirement due to the pain he's been struggling with in his neck. He leaves as the World Heavyweight Champion and the WWE Superstar who has held the most titles in the history of the company.
Those are the on-paper accolades, but the man was more than just titles. As he mentions in the video, he was part of some great moments. If you know me, you know I am pretty partial to John Cena, but real recognizes real and it was great to watch John and Edge go at it week after week a few years back. The two played great off one another and brought out the best in each other in the ring and on the mic. It was so fun to watch.
The defining moment for Edge, though, is his ability in the ladder match. No one man redefined one match in the last 10 years. He was just so creative in how to use the ladder.
It is sad to see him leave the sport (yes sport), but it's good to know his name lives on and legacy will be felt for a long time.

Now to the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. If you haven't seen the trailer for the new Fast and Furious movie, "Fast Five", you're missing out. It is the first movie I'm looking forward to this spring and summer and looks to be great. Of course it's great to see the boys kick ass and drive great cars, but Jordana Brewster steals the show. She will be on the cover of the May issue of Maxim, which should be great. Be sure to check out the full gallery, here. Below is a sample. You're welcome!

Saturday will be a telling day in Roenicke era for Brewers

It might be hard to fathom, at first, but Saturday night's tilt with the Reds for Ron Roenicke and the Brewers will be very telling how how much the skipper, just one game into his tenure and his managerial career, has rubbed off on his team.
You would normally see the team take on some of its manager's qualities through the course of the season, but with the way Thursday's game unfolded, Saturday should have some signs all over it to show us how much the players are buying into Roenicke's formula as manager.
The game was going according to plan until the bottom of the ninth inning derailed everything and swung against the Brewers in Roenicke's debut. I know baseball players are programmed to forget what happened the day, but in the first game, with a new manager, with (maybe unfairly) high expectations surrounding the team, players have to know the skipper has their back.
As I wrote yesterday, Thursday was just one game of 162. From the players perspective, yes they had the spring to get used to their new manager, but at the same time still weren't in games that mattered. The off day today had to be spent at least having the conversation with Axford telling him he's still the guy. And telling Casey McGehee that he made the play he though was right.
For McGehee, Roenicke already showed him he had his back by coming out to argue the call. Something that makes him stick out even more after just one game as the manager. He was out arguing two calls Thursday. Something that maybe the previous manager of the team does not do. He showed he stood behind his players until the end.
Some will say he wasn't so stern after the game. Well, to that I say the game was over and in the game of baseball, it was already lost. Yes, it was a heartbreaker, but it was nothing to jump off a bridge over. As the guy leading the team, his demeanor, even at the Major League level, could be picked up by the players. If he's not too down by it all, they won't be down that much on the game and can move forward with the season.
The one thing about Roenicke that has stood out the most has been his transparency and honesty when asked about certain situations. He doesn't waste the media's time and was hardly putting on a sherade after the game Thursday after the loss. He truly was ready to move on. He will go back to Axford in the ninth inning. He did not dance around the fact that the baseline rule he went out to argue was too close to make a call. The umpire made a call and stuck with it. There was nothing more Roenicke could do.
The sun will come up Saturday morning, and the Brewers will play Saturday night. After being proven right with a couple moves that saw Carlos Gomez hitting second in the batting order and Wil Nieves catching on Opening Day, Roenicke can only hope to have that same magic for Game 2 of the season. This time, let's hope it lasts for nine full innings, not just 8 and a half.

It's late on a Friday night and the Nussie Hunter can only think about what the weekend holds. There are two great events going on, besides the Brewers games, in the Final Four and Wrestlemania. The WWE is known for having some of the hottest women in the world working for them. The Bella Twins are no exceptions. Just look at them. There's not only one, but two of them. Yes, I follow them on Twitter and they're funny, too. You can see more of them (and the rest of the amazing WWE Divas) on WWE.com, here.