My good friend and radio co-host, Dan Needles, likes to use the word "kvetching," which I gather refers to complaining, often of a chronic nature.
Well, a lot of Brewers fans are kvetching about the team's recent play. Many of them want Ned Yost fired, Rickie Weeks benched, Prince Fielder forced to eat a steak with a side of pork ribs and Eric Gagne placed on the first vehicle headed out of town.
Perhaps we can curtail the panic (and whining) with a bit of research from the 2007 season.
The four teams in the National League playoffs last year were Arizona, Chicago, Colorado and Philadelphia.
Here is a look at their records in the month of April:
Arizona -- 16-11
Chicago -- 10-14
Colorado -- 10-16
Philadelphia -- 11-14
Here are their records at the end of May:
Arizona -- 32-23
Chicago -- 22-29
Colorado -- 25-29
Philadelphia -- 26-27
As you can see, the Diamondbacks were strong out of the chute, but they stumbled a bit down the stretch and had their fans panicking. Fans of the Phillies and Rockies spent much of the first half clamoring for ownership to fire their respective managers. And, the Cubs didn't really catch fire until Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett got into a tussle in the dugout, Lou Piniella snapped on the field and Aramis Ramirez stunned the Brewers with a game-winning homer.
The bottom line: three of the four 2007 playoff National League playoff teams entered the month of June with losing records.
I'm not saying that the Brewers' sluggish start on offense and the injury to Yovani Gallardo are positive developments. I'm just saying that it's way too early to panic.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.