Brewers pitching needing to rely on themselves….

First and foremost, let me say Congratulations!!!! Congratulations to CC Sabathia for the wonderful display and effort he has taken upon himself.  He may not get the Cy Young Award, but deserves at least a “team changing” award.  Showing his leadership in helping to give this young Brewers staff the confidence to believe in themselves, regardless of their record against some really good clubs, is only one aspect that makes CC, CC.  As a side note; What CC has done, I wound never wish on my own worst enemy.

But it’s apparent that CC can’t do it himself.  Even a horse needs a break.   So who can fill in the “TBD”?  It’s foolish to believe that there is another man in the Brewers lineup that can do what CC has done, or for that matter, come remotely close.  And it’s obvious that Sheets is going to be sitting out with another injury until he says good bye to the Brewers, regardless of the outcome of the playoffs. 

It needs to be a collective group and a team effort.  All the starting pitchers need to put their egos and self interests aside, and jumping onto this belief. Here’s an example of said believe in full display; Guys like Coffey and Gallardo are playing like they have nothing to loose and reckless abandon.  Coffey doesn’t have a contract beyond this season and Gallardo could have gone and enjoy the Florida sun, instead of coming back to pitch on a leg that everyone expected not to ready until next year.  But these two guys came into a very explosive situation and have displayed that they can carry their own.

It should be noted that Gallardo did only pitch 4 innings and hasn’t seen the lineups, as well as the wear and tear, like the rest of the team.  But how can one not take notice to effort, the drive, commitment, and control of a player that wasn’t expected to come back until next year.

Now the rest of the rotation has to show the same kind of gusto and ferociousness. 

Parra will be a good player, but the Brewers need him to be good now.  It’s time for him to get a grip on his emotions and step up to the plate, literally.  He has shown promise and that’s why they brought him up as soon as they did. 

August was good for Dave Bush, but he has shown that he’s volatile if he feels like he’s getting backed against the wall.  Opposing teams know that if they can’t get runs on Bush in the first inning, they can remain patient, because the 5^th and 6^th innings have been his sour spot.

This is not to say that these two example are probable or expected, but baseball is a game of history and stats.  And with this history opponents can measure what to expect and when to expect it.  I

Pitching staff wide though, there can’t be a mentality of a “rotation” per say, like they’ve seen they’re entire careers.  All Brewers pitchers, regardless of whether they’re starters, relievers, or closers need to have a “minute men” mentality and be ready to be called up at a moments notice.

Sveum shouldn’t be expected to “roll the dice” when it comes to picking his starters.  He should be saying, ”Dave, grab your glove… Parra don’t sit down”.  This would hopefully give the Brewers staff a certain sense of urgency, while letting the rest of the staff know that Dale has confidence enough in them to bring them in whenever and in whatever situation.   

And it may not fall into a situation where Dale will need a pitcher for a while.  But it would be comforting to know that there’s a bull pen that can be relied on, regardless of the situation. 

There are a lot of Diamonds in that bull pen.   And all have shown how bright they can shine, but if they can collectively shine, it will definitely be blinding for the opposition.

I know I’ll be watching the playoffs….with shades on!!!!