It all starts off worse then it ended last season. Just when no one thought that the Brewers could top their 106 loss season last year they are doing just that. The Brewers before this season had never started the season worse then 0-5. To go back to that time, you have to go back to the time of "Members Only" jackets and the battle between Pac Man and Ms. Pac Man. Personally, I thought that Ms. Pac Man had a sexy side that Pac Man lacked but, I am getting off of the topic. The last time the Brewers started 0-5 was way back in 1984. Surprisingly in that time, they had greats like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Don Sutton gracing the field in a Brewers' uniform. This season, the Brewers wanted to turn back from their 2002 season and start over. However, doing this would prove to be as difficult as drinking coffee with a fork. Let me show you what the Brewers have done in their first six games of the season.

3/31: Loss @ St. Louis (9-11)
4/2: Loss @ St. Louis (0-7)
4/3: Loss @ St. Louis (4-6)
4/4: Loss vs. Giants (5-7)
4/5: Loss vs. Giants (5-6)
4/6: Loss vs. Giants (0-5)

Count them up, 0-6! The worst start to a baseball season in franchise history. I can't help but look past the losses. We have already been shutout two times. That is the thing that really catches my eyes. Other then the shutouts, we have lost by no more then 2 runs. I don't really care about those losses. That shows that we are in it to the end but, there was at least one fatal mistake that killed the team that given day. But, losing 7-0 and 5-0 so early in the season is the stat that is just unbelievable. It can't continue. The fact is the Brewers are not going to go 0-162, my head is still high for a fairly decent season (80 losses). The offense has been coming from the players that we thought would give no offensive production, Richie Sexson has gotten off to a hot start, what could be wrong? If you look at it, our bullpen is what has bit us. Our one strong point coming into the season looks to be another talent in the "weakness" column. The Brewers should be 4-2 right now, but a lack of pitching success has thrown us to this record start.

Looking at the week ahead now, the Brewers need to pick up the slack on the road. Here is the upcoming 2-series schedule.

Note: The game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on 4/7 was snowed out. So, the Brewers/Pirates scheduled off day on 4/8 was moved to 4/7 and they will start the series on that day (4/8).

4/8-4/10 @ Pittsburgh Pirates
4/11-4/13 @ Arizona Diamondbacks

Local Perspective:

It has been said before, there are no high expectations for the Brewers during this season, and during their first 2 series they have been able to fulfill that! Fans are getting sick of seeing a loosing team and so are the workers at the stadium. Talking with the workers, a very disappointed mood was in the air during the last 3 games against the Giants at Miller Park. All of which, the Milwaukee Brewers failed to win.

A lot of fans and workers wanted to make a quick scapegoat for the loses with excuses like “They are playing the NL champions!” These excuses are flat out uncalled for! The Brewers promised fans that they would see good baseball during this season. This season, thus far, the Brewers have already showed their undeniable ability to loose their first 6 games of the season, a record first. The Milwaukee Brewers have never in history lost their first 6 games of the season. To me that is not playing good baseball. Aside from the losses, the Brewers played the majority of the games with the same bad baseball that we saw last season. To me, the Brewers Administration has not kept their promise for good baseball so far. Hopefully that is the next thing that changes.

Going to a game, you can definitely sense a difference already with game attendance. Opening Day was a sellout with 42,570 people showing up, the next day approximately 20,000 people showed up and Sunday only about 13,000 people showed up for the game. For a while the excuse from fans for going to the game was, wanting to see Miller Park. The excuse last year was, wanting to see the stadium that the All-Star week was being hosted from. This year’s excuse is, wanting to see the supposedly reformed team. Although people should understand that it takes more than one year to completely reform a baseball team, let alone a baseball team that had its worse year in franchise history last year, the Brewers don’t even look like they have changed at all from last season at all with the exception of some new players.

The Brewers should start working on something to keep fans, because with the way it is going so far, people aren’t going to care about the stadium and its changes anymore. Hence, unfortunately the Brewers will loose more fans. Hopefully with the Brewers’ potential they will be able to fix the team before they don’t have a reason for the team, like the fans!

Brewers Offensive Starters:

C Eddie Perez: Eddie and Keith Osik will split time behind the plate but so far Eddie has seen the majority of the time. He has two homeruns (his first homers since 1999) and is looking good behing the plate. He is an upgrade from Bako and Machado.

1B: Richie Sexson: Richie Sexson is known for his slow starts. He has tabbed himself as the "worst first half player in baseball." However, starting last season he did a complete turnaround. He started the season hot, and ended on a cold note. He will get plenty of playing time throughout the season but, he will take more days off since he has two capable back-ups in John Vander Wal and Wes Helms. The Brewers do not want him to be beat up like last season. He could barely run the bases after August because of the wear and tear on his hamstrings. He will rebound in the power numbers back to his 2001 form.

2B Eric Young: E.Y. has started the season as a pleasant surprise. He has shown that he can still play with the young guns in the league. After coming off to a horrible first half of the season last year, he still ended with a batting average at .280. He is currently, the only Brewers with a stolen base and he already has multiple homeruns. Look for him to be strong all season although his power numbers wont keep up with him.

3B Wes Helms: Wes came over to Milwaukee in the offseason knowing that he will get the majority of the playing time at 3B but, he knew that Keith Ginter was nipping on his heels for the spot. Helms isn't expected to play great, he is just expected to help the left side of the infield be more stable then it has been during the last five years.

SS Royce Clayton: Royce has been playing better then the former Brewers SS Jose Hernandez so far this season. It wont hold up but, it is always nice when a player jumps out of the gates quickly. The defensive wizard has always had a good bat and he should put up fairly decent numbers this season.

LF John Vander Wal: He has until Geoff Jenkins comes back to patrol LF. The Brewers wanted to have a fairly deep OF since all of their outfield last season sat out a large majority of the time. Vander Wal and Podsednik are only a couple of names. He wont get that much playing time, starting this week.

CF Alex Sanchez: Coming off of a broken leg, he looks to pick up where he left off on the basepads, only a bit smarter. So far this season, he has a hot bat but has been caught stealing twice in two attempts (one blown call). He will swipe a lot of bases this season and should be near the top of the league in that category.

RF Jeffrey Hammonds: Jeff says he is 100%. It just doesn't seem like his bat speed is there. His shoulder is still a little weaker then it should be but, I am looking for him to be healthier then he was last season. Don't look for his Coors Field numbers but, he will produce for the Brew Crew.

Injuries: OF Geoff Jenkins: Geoff was sent to take place in a rehab start in Indianapolis. He was eligible to come off of the DL Saturday the 5th and could start in the Brewers lineup tomorrow in Pittsburgh. He sprained his left (non-throwing) wrist in Spring Training and has healed rather slow. He was only supposed to be out a week but, has missed around a month.

Next Week: Well, that's if for this column. Look for the next Brewers Column to be up over the next weekend. Here is what you can find in the next column...

*Player Stats for SP's and RP's
*Geoff Jenkins. Will he stay Healthy?
*Player of the Week
*Brewers History

Well, if you have any questions or comments you can e-mail me at bucksbeat@aol.com . Remember to post in the Brewers Forum and to check out my column every week. If you are a Brewers fan, you admit that we aren't to good. If you are a Red Sox fan, you point the finger at the Bambino. And, if you are a Cubs fan.....please stay a Cubs fan, and take a shower.