John Axford is performing at a level rarely seen in the Big Leagues.  That’s because rarely does someone give up 4 homer runs in 3.1 innings of work make it to the show.  Axford and his Brewer cohorts are off to a very rough start this year, picking up where they left off last September.  Last year it was mainly the bullpen, this year it’s the entire pitching staff.  Milwaukee only has two starters who are legitimate big leaguers at this point.  Wily Peralta and Mike Fiers could develop into better starters, but for the time being, the Brewers are stuck with having only Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse.  Marco Estrada isn’t necessarily on the same level as Peralta or Fiers, and he’s certainly not on the same level as Gallardo and Lohse.  He’s somewhere in between.  Marco Estrada can be used as a good analogy for the entire Brewers roster at this point.  They’re somewhere in between a team that went to the NLCS two years ago, and a team that couldn’t close out a game to save their souls from last year.  There are remnants of the NLCS team in Gallardo, Axford, and Estrada.  But the bulk of the pitching staff is gone from that year.  With most of the offense staying the same, it’s hard to watch this team continue to be stuck between a serious contender and a NL Central punching bag

The lineup is still good and Ryan Braun is still raking.  Even though some names are similar on the mound, the results aren’t.  Through 8 games the starting rotation all have ERA’s over 4.5, save Kyle Lohse.  The bullpen has been equally as bad.  Specifically the aforementioned John Axford.  Not only has Axford given up 4 home runs already but he’s also walked 2 men and hit someone else.  Mike Gonzalez hasn’t got off to a good start either.  The old reliever hasn’t given up a bomb yet, but he’s walked 3 men and given up 5 hits and 3 runs in 2 starts.  It’s a small sample size and September is a long ways off.  Bringing in Kyle Lohse was great, he pitched excellent in his one start.  However, it’s starting to look like Lohse alone won’t be enough.  When you have Ryan Braun in his prime, you have to make a move.  It won’t happen soon, but the Brewers could really benefit from adding a true 3rd starter (who couldn’t?).  They’re close to what they were in 2011, but they’re also close to where they were late last year.  It’s up to the Brewers which way they want to trend towards.