Brewers Weren't Ready for the Big Stage

Yankee bats, Brewers mistakes add up to 12-2 win.

When the Yankees were looking for a starting pitching this winter, Zach Greinke's name came up fairly often.

The Royals were looking to deal, and former Cy Young winners have always caught the eye of Yankee fans and media, so Greinke found himself in the mix.

The major argument against him was that he has exhibited something of a fragile personality in the past, leading to the eternal questions about whether  he could handle New York.

It ended up being moot once the Brewers stepped in and dealt for Greinke, but anyone still wondering about how the bright lights would affect the righty got their chance to find out on Tuesday night.

After less than two innings of work, it was a TKO victory for those who insist that only a select few can ever make it in the Big Apple.

Greinke was gone after two innings, 56 pitches and seven runs, results that had more than a few people stroking their goatees and cackling with evil glee. While Greinke didn't pitch well -- he walked three batters after walking only eight unintentionally all year -- it is fairly ludicrous to chalk Tuesday night's debacle up to an inability to pitch in New York.

If you wanted to make the same argument about the Brewers defense, however, go right ahead. Nyjer Morgan fell down trying to catch a Curtis Granderson popup that turned into a triple, the team employed bizarre defensive alignments seemingly designed to give away hits, and third baseman Casey McGehee played like he spent batting practice daydreaming.

That was all in the first inning. Throw in a Nick Swisher three-run homer in the second and the 12-2 final was academic. 

Not that the Brewers minded adding in a few more bells and whistles. There was a balk, an automatic ball four when Zach Braddock went to his mouth on the mound and assorted other shenanigans that somehow resulted in zero errors for the Brewers.

Meanwhile, Freddy Garcia kept his head down and the Yankee bats just kept on swinging their way to another June victory. They're 16-8 for the month and 13-4 since being swept by the Red Sox in a series that seems a lot less significant now.

Despite that impressive run, Jorge Posada is trying to get people to believe the team really misses Derek Jeter. We're not really buying that one, but it is a nice reminder that the Yankees haven't even been at full strength.

Does that mean July will be even better?

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.

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