Brewers Fail To Make Impact at Deadline

Heading into the final day of July the Milwaukee Brewers were still in the thick of the NL Central as they sat in third place with the Houston Astros. However, by only trading for a former Brewer reliever they put themselves in a difficult position to reach the playoffs.

Before the All Star Break many around the state had their hopes up for the Brewers. They were on top or in second place in the NL Central while they had key players such as JJ Hardy, Bill Hall and Corey Hart struggling.

While some of the key offensive figures were struggling the pitching for Milwaukee was superb as all of the starters (except Manny Parra) were having great years. Injuries struck the staff as Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan landed on the DL which required manager Ken Macha to go to a patchwork rotation.

The glaring holes in the rotation were a need that the Brewers needed to and failed to address at the trade deadline. The Brew Crew did not want to trade any of their top prospects such as Matt Gamel to get Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay but the only move they made was to trade fan favorite Vinny Rottino to get Claudio Vargas. 

Sure Vargas can step into the rotation for the Brewers but with other pitchers on the market it was a shame the Brewers could not get them. Wisconsin native Jerod Washburn was traded from Seattle to Detroit after trade talks broke down with the Brewers and the Mariners. Former Brewer Doug Davis was on the market as well and was a fan favorite during his years in Milwaukee.

The Brewers might have made a move that will help their rotation a little bit but in the end it looks like another playoff draught will start in the Brew City.