Coming into Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Cubs, a common sentiment echoed by Brewer fans on the web and on the radio was the hope that Mike Cameron's return from suspension might somehow change the dynamic on offense. Well, the early returns on that are certainly promising. Cameron went 3 for 5 with a double and a walk, which was certainly helpful in it's own right. Even more encouraging was the fact that the other hitters managed to pound out 14 additional hits (3 more doubles and a triple) and took 3 more walks, scoring 10 runs in all on a cold night with the wind blowing in at Wrigley. Even more encouraging is the fact that all of this was done almost exclusively off of right handed pitchers, with only one walk issues to a southpaw.
Of course, it is too early to say that this is the end of the prolonged hitting slump for the Brewers lineup. Even if it is, it's not really going to be possible to point to Mike Cameron's return as the cause of this with any sort of certainty. After all, the Brewers spent much of the last home stand hitting balls hard, but right at fielders. Often that sort of performance precedes a breakout on both a team and individual basis. All I can really say with any certainty is that it feels good to get the offense going again.