Milwaukee Brewers aim at making maximum use of second-half of the season – MLB News
The Milwaukee Brewers’ new closer Francisco Rodriguez said on Thursday, July 19, that making most of the second half is the goal of the team. Rodriguez was referring to the three-game series scheduled to start from Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds currently seem poised to dominate the National League Central Division with the phenomenal performance they have put on so far. Sitting atop the ranking, the Reds will have first of the strongest challenge in the second half of the season by the Brewers.
With high spirits, characteristic of the Brewers, the team is heading to Cincinnati. It’s Rodriguez who hopes that the team will display a good show there even if the first half has not remained particularly inspiring and satisfying.
He takes a leaf from the past year resurgence exhibited by the Brewers that stunned many game pundits.
"Right now, I just want to get back in the race. That's what I want so bad," said Francisco Rodriguez. "We had such a great run last year in the second half, and we believe as players, these 25 guys on this ballclub, that we can make it again. That's going to be our goal."
What apparently goes to the Brewers advantage right now is the absence of Joey Votto from the Cincinnati Reds. Recently undergoing surgery on his knee, the first baseman will take at least a month to recover.
The Brewers are seeing it as an opportunity to make the maximum use of it. With the dynamics of the Division changed, Ryan Braun struck an optimistic note.
"You just don't know. You never know," Brewers' left fielder Ryan Braun said. "Joey Votto is out for the next month -- that completely changes the dynamic of the division. When one of the teams ahead of you loses its best player for a month, that changes everything.”
Whether the Brewers are able to utilise the opportunity is something unpredictable and uneasy to say. However, it goes without saying that the Reds do face a challenge in the form of the confidence and passion driven Milwaukee Brewers as the three-series game commences.
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