The struggling Milwaukee Brewers certainly hit the red-hot Chicago Cubs at the wrong time.

Ryan Dempster spun a gem against the quiet Brewers offense, and the Cubs knocked the ball around the ballpark.  Some defensive miscues and the inept offensive attack all contributed to the 7-2 defeat.  The Crew is now four games back from first place and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for second place and the Wild Card lead.  What a dreadful homestand for a team that normally plays its best ball at home.

I'm largely going to ignore the pitching in this article, as I thought Manny Parra threw the ball reasonably well.  His command was off at times, but he mostly kept the ball down in the strike zone.  The Cubs hit some difficult pitches to score runs.  That doesn't even consider the first two runs that never should have scored.  Even the ball Mark DeRosa hit up the middle in the top of the first was not well hit.  Parra jammed him and the ball just found the right place in the diamond.  

Parra could have pitched better, but he deserved a better fate than what he got.  Another example is the ball Reed Johnson somehow hit up the middle.  The ball was practically down in the dirt, but he got a piece of it and shot it up the middle for an RBI-single.  Carlos Villanueva couldn't have put that ball in a better spot.  The Cubs hitters are just on fire right now.  They are a scary team when their offense is pounding out double-digit hits every game.

Let's take a look at the offense:

• J.J. Hardy has been cooling off a bit at the plate, but you cannot be too upset about that.  He's been so incredibly hot at the plate that he has been due for a little regression for some time.  His 0-4 at the plate tonight was disappointing.  He was not alone though.  Don't put too much stock in his performance the last couple days.  Hardy will have some peaks and valleys like everyone else, and he's just in a little lull right now.  The only concern is his lack of walks right now.  He's trying to hit his way out of his slump.  That rarely works.  Ask Prince Fielder.
• I will bunch Ryan Braun and Corey Hart in the same group.  Calm down at the plate!  It seems they commit to swinging at a certain pitch before it is even thrown.  They have the best intentions.  They are just trying way too hard to bring in runners in scoring position.  How many high fastballs has Braun swung at in the past two games?  Hart is swinging at every change-up he sees.  The problem with that is the balls are in the dirt or nowhere close to the strike zone.  An 0-8 night with 6 strikeouts is pathetic.  They need to relax at the plate and take what the pitcher gives them.  Kind of like Prince, again.
• Speaking of Prince Fielder, he has been the only Brewer lately with a solid approach at the plate.  Wednesday night was a perfect example of his relaxed and mature approach at the dish.  The big guy went 2-3 with an opposite field single and a solo home run and a walk.  He is rarely swinging at a pitch he cannot handle, and he is content to take a walk.  Other Brewers hitters need to take a page out of Prince's book and shorten their swings and just put the bat on the ball.  This obnoxious amount of strikeouts simply needs to stop.  It causes things like Manny Parra getting a lead-off double then him not scoring to happen quite a bit.
• I have decided that Bill Hall and Mike Cameron do not have poor plate discipline.  They simply have horrendous pitch recognition.  How many times did Cam and Hall argue balls and strikes on pitches that had been called strikes all night?  Any fastball seems to surprise them late in the count.  Perhaps they are guessing pitches?  It's sad when Manny Parra looks more comfortable at the plate than your #6 and #7 hitters.  It feels like they are automatic outs when stepping up to the plate.
• The offense as a whole needs to relax.  Even Jim Skaalen says every player at the plate is trying too hard and pressing.  They all want to hit the ball out of the park and be the hero in the biggest series of the year.  It's causing them to strikeout too much and not help the team.  It is causing them to lose confidence, which simply causes a longer slump.  It's a vicious cycle, and the Crew needs to break it in the near future, or the second half could be very much like how April went for the Crew's offense.  That is not what any Brewers fan wants.

Records:  Brewers (60-48); Cubs (64-44)

Game Changing Play

Ryan Theriot's two-RBI triple in the sixth inning took all the wind out of Milwaukee's sails for the game.  It put the Crew down 4-1, and it felt like a repeat of Tuesday night all over again.  After that play, the Brewers seemed to almost concede the loss to the Cubs.  It's depressing to watch a team play that has no fire, and that's what Milwaukee looked like after the sixth inning.  They appeared to stop trying.

On Tap

The Brewers and Dave Bush will try to take the series finale against the Chicago Cubs and Rich Harden.  The game will start at 1:05pm CT at Miller Park.  At this point, one out of four would seem like a victory for the Crew.  Hopefully Bush looks sharper than he did in his last outing.  Good thing that road-home platoon is working.