There is no team in the MLB that needs the All-Star Break more than the Milwaukee Brewers. Sputtering into the mid-summer Classic, the Brewers have gone 1-7, losing a series to the Miami Marlins and getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

My first take heading into this past week was about just how important this last week of the first half was. Playing series against the terrible Marlins and the decent Pirates, the Brewers could have a couple series wins to have maintained, if not grown, their division lead.

Instead, they have lost the lead and are now down 2.5 games to the Chicago Cubs.

But even still, amongst all the doom and gloom, the Brewers are tied for the most wins in the National League, are up one game over the Atlanta Braves for the first Wild Card spot, and are sending a record five All-Stars to D.C.

So no, that is not the sky falling, that is just people coming back to Earth.

At 12 games over .500 and in the midst of possibly one of the best seasons in franchise history, you would be hard pressed to find someone who, at the beginning of the season, would not be happy with that.

With that, we get to the takes.

Brewers players should sit out the All-Star game

I saw this take on twitter and to be quite frank, was dumbfounded.

This season the Brewers are sending a franchise record five players to the All-Star game. Relief pitchers Josh Hader and Jeremy Jeffress will be joined by position players Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich and Jesus Aguilar.

Aguilar was voted in by a smashing 20.2 million fans in the Final Fan Vote (second only to the voter turnout for Justin Turner in 2017) and Jeffress was added as an injury replacement.

Some fans, mainly the one who posted this mind-numbing take, are quicker to look at the Designated List of injured Brewers.

Ryan Braun, Zach Davies, Junior Guerra, Manny Pina, Eric Thames, Jonathan Villar and Matt Albers are all on the DL, and hoping to return healthy this coming week.

With this last stretch of games, a grueling 36 games in 38 days, those injuries have started to pile on and are partly to do with last week’s struggles.

So some fans just want the players to get the extra days rest and ensure they are ready to go, come Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But I’m here to tell those fans that they are being way over the top and selfish.

For a guy like Jeremy Jeffress, this is one of the biggest moments of his life. Battling through personal, off the field issues and finding a true home where he has and continues to thrive in as a Brewer. And arguably, he has been almost better than Josh Hader, who is in the conversation as the best reliever in baseball this year.

Just listen to what it means for him.

This is why fans are selfish to want players to skip the game and rest. Fans should instead be happy for the players who have devoted so much to the organization.

Verdict: Over-reaction

 

Tyler Saladino should be the everyday shortstop

Right now, sure. There are few in the way of other options within the organization right now.

Saladino is currently hitting for a .303/.361/.487 line in 76 at bats for the Brewers. Once again,  David Stearns pulled the trigger on a middle infielder who is outperforming expectations.

During the dreadful past week, Saladino was actually one of the few hitters who could make anything happen outside of Yelich and Cain.

With the injuries and the lack of production from the likes of would be starter Orlando Arcia, Saladino looks like a sight for sore eyes. But don’t fool yourself. The bulk of his production is coming against right handed pitchers. Against lefties, he has a mediocre .250 average, only two RBIs and a paltry .300 slugging percentage.

A short term stop-gap, sure. But nothing more.

Verdict: Over-reaction