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1. Rockies infield has Hirsh's back
The Colorado Rockies had the best fielding percentage in all of baseball through Sunday's games. Perhaps no pitcher has reaped the rewards of a sure-handed defense as much as Tuesday's Rockies starter, Jason Hirsh. Behind Hirsh, the Rockies infield has committed only one fielding error all season -- a groundball up the middle bobbled by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki back in April.

But that only begins to explain what the Rockies defense -- particularly the infield -- has meant to Hirsh this season. The Colorado right-hander has benefited more than any other pitcher when it comes to the number of groundballs that fail to make it through for hits.

Only 12.5 percent of the grounders generated from Hirsh's pitches have been base hits. The league average is nearly double that (23.6 percent). Here are the five pitchers who have benefited most this season from reliable infields:

Pitcher Team Hits At-bats BAVG
Jason Hirsh Rockies 13 104 .125
Matt Guerrier Twins 11 86 .128
Orlando Hernandez Mets 17 118 .144
C.J. Wilson Rangers 9 61 .148
Chris Young Padres 15 101 .149


Hirsh has generated almost as many ground ball double plays (eight) as he has allowed ground ball singles (11). The Rockies righty will attempt to keep the ball on the ground Tuesday night against a Milwaukee Brewers team that puts the ball in the air more than most clubs.

As Milwaukee Brewers fans have discovered this season, there is much to obsess about when you have a first-place team.

Through the first four months of the season, Brewers fans have pretty much covered all the bases with their angst.

First there was no leadoff hitter. Then the offense was too reliant on home runs. The bullpen wore down because the starters weren't going deep enough into games. The National League caught up to the young hitters the second time around. The kids were getting burned out by the long season. The Brewers couldn't handle the pressure of being in first place in the NL Central. The veterans weren't pulling their weight. Manager Ned Yost couldn't light a fire under his team.

Here's the thing about those worries: They were all temporary. They were all typical of the slumps teams face during the six-month roller-coaster ride that is the baseball season.

There is one problem, however, that won't go away for the Brewers. It has been lingering under the surface since they won 24 of their first 34 games.

Milwaukee's starting pitchers simply aren't getting the job done. Indeed, if there is one thing that will determine whether the Brewers are good enough to outsprint the Chicago Cubs over the next eight weeks, it will be the performance of their rotation.

Crunch all the numbers you want, but the most telling statistic for the Brewers this season is their starters' ERA. Except for Ben Sheets, who again is on the disabled list, the season-long starters have ERAs that are unacceptable for a team with pennant aspirations.

Claudio Vargas, Chris Capuano, Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush have been disappointing to say the least. With ERAs ranging from 4.78 to 5.03, they have been the team's weakest link.

Too often, they have coughed up early leads or knocked the Brewers out of the game by surrendering a big inning. Their inability to go deep into games has put too much strain on the bullpen.

However, the greatest indictment of the rotation is that the Brewers are 2-22 when they score fewer than three runs. For the most part, if their hitters don't hit, the Brewers don't win.

While much of the criticism has centered on Suppan because of his $42 million contract, Capuano has struggled just as much if not more.

Vargas and Bush are five-inning, end-of-the-rotation starters, but Capuano and Suppan have underachieved after getting off to fast starts. Capuano is winless in his past 13 starts; Suppan is winless in his past eight after the bullpen's meltdown Sunday against Philadelphia.

Sheets, who has never been more than a .500 pitcher despite his great stuff, was finally looking like a true stopper when he suffered a debilitating injury for the third consecutive season.

In his absence, 21-year-old Yovani Gallardo has stepped in and become the Brewers' best starter. Not that there's any great distinction in that.

Despite their recent slide, the Brewers have enough talent and competitiveness to win the division.

But if Capuano and Suppan don't start pitching like they can and if Yost isn't willing to keep Gallardo in the rotation when Sheets returns, they're going to have a hard time staying in first place.

MadCityBucky wrote:When was the last time the Brewers won with Cappy starting?

Like 2 months ago?

MickeyDavis wrote:What the hell is Ann Carroll doing back?

MickeyDavis wrote:What the hell is Ann Carroll doing back?

MickeyDavis wrote:Ok we got one, the key is whether Cappy give it right back (plus more).

Captain Erv 40 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



The Capuano Theory of Relativity proves true.