When Trevor Hoffman went into the tank this season the Brewers called up 27-year old righty reliever John Axford and threw him into the closer’s role and he’s running with the job. He has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Brewers this year and he is 3-1 with 7 saves, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Axford has only given up 16 hits in 20 innings pitched this year with a stunning 25 strikeouts. Axford not only has the stuff to succeed buy he definitely has the look with a cool handlebar moustache which harkens back memories of Hall of Fame closer Rollie Fingers. The Brewers need Axford to keep up the good work because they can’t afford to blow any more games late.

24-year old righty swinging catcher Jonathan Lucroy has won the starting job at catcher for the Brewers. He has played in 11 games for the Brewers so far this season and he is 15 of 44 (.341 avg, .705 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 2 stolen bases. Lucroy was the Brewers’ #5 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America so I think it’s a good move for them to go with him behind the plate. 27-year old lefty swinging George Kottaras will serve as Lucroy’s backup. He has played in 34 games this season for the Brewers and he is 22 of 102 (.216 avg, .822 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. Kottaras has shown a pretty good eye at the plate so far this season as he has walked 27 times while whiffing 22 times. The Brewers hope that Lucroy will be able to handle the starting job the rest of the way in 2010.

27-year old righty swinging 2B Rickie Weeks has been solid this year for the Brewers. He has played in 63 games for the Brewers this year and he is 68 of 263 (.259 avg, .791 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Weeks has whiffed 75 times already this season but he has always been a free swinger. I don’t see the Brewers trying to change Weeks’ batting style at this point in his career but I’m sure that they are praying that he can stay healthy this year.

42-year old righty reliever Trevor Hoffman could be nearing the end of his baseball career. He has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Brewers this season and he is 1-4 with 5 saves, a 9.90 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP. He has given up 28 hits (7 homers) and he has walked 11 batters in only 20 innings pitched so far this year. He has 596 career saves which has him only 55 ahead of Mariano Rivera of the Yankees who is showing no signs of slowing down. Compounding Hoffman’s awful pitching has been rookie John Axford’s fast start as the Brewers’ closer. If Hoffman doesn’t start pitching well soon I look for the Brewers to cut him loose.

Righty swinging 2B/3B/OF Paul Molitor was one of the best players in Brewers’ history. In 15 years with the Brewers, Molitor made the All-Star team 5 times and he won 2 Silver Slugger Awards. He was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2004. Molitor played in 1,856 games with the Brewers and he was 2,281 of 7,520 (.303 avg, .811 OPS) with 1,275 runs scored, 160 homers, 790 RBIs and 412 stolen bases. Molitor was #2 all-time in games played (1,856) in Brewers’ history. Molitor is the Brewers’ all-time leader in stolen bases (412) and he’s #3 in hits (2,281), #3 in batting average (.303), #9 in OPS (.811), #2 in runs scored (1,275), #9 in homers (160), #3 in RBIs (790), #2 in doubles (405), tied for 2nd in triples (86) and he’s #2 in walks with 755. If Molitor would have played his whole career with the Brewers he would have been the best player in team history.