More of the same; the fans still think the Brewers are probably a bad team, but that’s old hat. That’s occurred since December. Now, of course, the trick is convincing people that when you lose the effectiveness of two starters almost simultaneously, you’re going to hit some rough times.

This coming stretch of games, over the next 3-4 weeks, is a crucial point for the Brewers. Not to win, not to lose, but to stay put; to stay even. With two rotational replacements inked for the moment, there is no better time for the Brewers to simply stay the course, win in whatever ways possible.

I think people underrate the effect losing two starters that opened the season as rotational mainstays. That surely does not mean a team is bad, but to those that would like to be convinced of its truth, there is usually no better time to point out that the team looks bad.

Matt Cain (4-0, 5 GS, 2.33 runs average, 6.94 IP/GS; 4 quality starts) @ Yovani Gallardo (3-1, 5 GS, 2.67 runs average, 6.06 IP/GS; 2 quality starts)

Let’s call this a power match-up: two of the Top 10 NL pitchers (minimum 64 IP) face one another to open the series; both are on rather strong stretches as well, although Gallardo’s outings are a touch shorter than those of Cain.

Cain is so good because of the simplicity of the whole operation: 92 MPH fastball, change, curve, slider, thrown at rather equal clips. The 75 MPH curve is Cain’s main off-speed choice, followed by the 86 MPH change and the 85 MPH slider. Few hits, a touch high on the walks, but that’s obviously not hurting his overall results. A “regular” righty, meat and potatoes ace.

Gallardo put together one of his first efficient and long starts when he took the hill in Detroit. The righty really only has two other outings this season that were more efficient than his 107 pitch, 7 IP effort in Hockeytown: in consecutive starts from April 24 to April 29, Gallardo collected his first complete game in 106 pitches, and then followed that with a 116 pitch, 8 inning affair. If Gallardo can keep this kind of efficiency, his consistency will follow, and his pitch workload will immensely improve.

Barry Zito (3-2, 5 GS, 5.60 runs average, 5.46 IP/GS; 2 quality starts) @ Seth McClung (0-0, 5 G, 5.63 runs average, 1.60 IP/GS; n/a quality starts)

It seems rather odd, but talk of Zito’s fastball slowing down seem really over-exaggerated. Given the way people talk about him, I thought that he used to throw 88 or 89 consistently, but really, it couldn’t have been that consistent; during his great years in Oakland, he averaged 87 MPH at his very best, and sat around 86 in his last season on the other side of the bay. His first two seasons in San Francisco saw his fastball drop to 84-85 MPH (closer to 85 MPH last year), and now he’s back up between 86 and 87. Oddly enough, he is now featuring a third breaking / off-speed pitch, which comes in between 79 and 80 MPH, and he throws it more frequently than his bloop curveball (which is now thrown as hard as ever).

Big Seth McClung, one of last year’s rotational heroes, one of last year’s best swingmen in the NL, one of Brewers’ fans new favorite folk heroes, the kind that roams the mountaintops so heartily and leave footprints so large that entire rivers following in his trail; big Seth McClung is at it again. With Bush on the DL with a microtear, McClung takes over and looks to accomplish precisely what he did last year: work consistently out of the rotation, keep the team in games, and pitch a few quality starts in the meantime.

Jonathan Sanchez (0-4, 5 GS, 7.59 runs average, 4.74 IP/GS; 0 quality starts) @ Jeff Suppan (2-1, 5 GS, 4.50 runs average, 5.60 IP/GS; 2 quality starts)

One swingman in, another one out? America’s favorite erratic left-hander west of the Mississippi, Sanchez is pitching for his rotational life. Manager Bruce Bochy says that it’s all in the breaking balls and change ups, or more specifically, Sanchez’s inability to control them. Of course, it would help if he threw them. In a distinctly anti-Manny Parra breakthrough, Sanchez throws his fastball over 70% of the time, and splits time equally between his breaking ball and change up.

Suppan’s stretch of serviceable, quality starts was snapped during a 5 inning, 7 run affair against the Twins, but we should not despair yet. Suppan showed signs of cracking on May 26, too, during a 3.7 inning, 5 run affair against the Cardinals. From that outing, he returned with four straight serviceable and quality starts, allowing only 7 runs in 23 innings.