With Molly out for 10 days, here's the Crew's new leadoff hitter.
OAKLAND, Calif. — I’m not one to panic, especially after the 18-3 start to a season. And I’m not necessarily worried that the Brewers lost 4-1 to the A’s today in Oakland.
After all, it was Dave Stewart, the A’s ace, on the mound. And the Crew was due for a letdown game. So, let’s take a deep breath and realize this team is 18-3 and in first place in the AL East by four games.
But …
And there’s always a but. But we saw this offense for the first time without Paul Molitor, who pulled his hamstring in a rundown last night and aggravated it later in the game. Brewers GM Harry Dalton said Molly would be on the shelf for at least 10 days but that a trip to the disabled list wasn’t ncessary.
“In the next 11 days, we play seven games,” Dalton told the Milwaukee Sentinel. We know he’s going to mass at least that many games. That gives us some time to see how he does.”
We know how the Brewers do without Molly, who was batting .395 to lead the AL and was definitely the MVP of the first month of the season. Last season, the Crew went 25-31 when he missed 56 games in three different stints on the DL.
As for this season, they’re 0-1. It’s a small sample size, but we have history, recent history, to tell us the Brewers aren’t as good without Molitor in the lineup. Manager Tom Trebelhorn said Robin Yount will lead off against righties while Juan Castillo will lead off against lefties.
“You can’t lose a player playing as well as [Molly] was without having an effect on the club,” Dalton told the Sentinel. “But we’re fortunate we have a lot of people playing well right now.”
You wouldn’t have been able to tell today, as the Crew, who are hitting .295 as a team, scratched out only three hits against Stewart. Meanwhile, Bill Wegman gave up four runs, three earned, with the biggest blow being Reggie Jackson‘s 522nd career homer in the third.
“That one pitch did it,” Wegman said. “I knew it before I threw it.”
What no one else knew, though, was how well this team would play to start the season. Any Crew fan would take 18-3 in April. Hell, we’d take it in any month. Here’s hoping, despite Molly’s hammy, the Crew will continue to roll.
