After winning the NL Central in 2011, the Milwaukee Brewers, who are currently 15-19, have been a big disappointment in 2012.Â
The team's pitching has been a mess, as evidenced by it ranking 27th in team ERA. While the hitting has been the better of the two (16th in runs), the team's .236 average proves it hasn't been by much.
And unfortunately, a big turnaround doesn't seem likely.
Here are 10 reasons the Brewers should hit the panic button.
Aramis Ramirez's Struggles Might Be Season-Long
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The Brewers signed Aramis Ramirez in the offseason with the hope that he could try to fill the production void of Prince Fielder. Unfortunately, all Ramirez has done is simply show how much the now-Detroit Tiger meant to the Brewers offense.
In a team-high 126 at-bats, he's only hit two long balls, and his slash line is currently .228/.281/.390.Â
Now, if you wanted to be optimistic, you could say that Ramirez is a proven player and will turn it around. But if you look a little deeper, the evidence points to the contrary.
In his tenure with the Cubs, Ramirez had an extremely severe home/road split. If you look from 2009 to 2011, Ramirez's slash line at home was a very solid .329/.385/.555 and on the road it was only .246/.306/.432. Point being, Ramirez hasn't done much outside of Wrigley as of late.Â
On top of that, at age 33, Ramirez's performance is declining anyway due to age.Â
The signs just don't point to a huge bounce-back the rest of the way for him.
Ryan Braun IS Hitting
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Entering the 2012 season, some were concerned that Brewers star Ryan Braun would mentally be affected by the steroid allegations, and his play would suffer.
Others suggested that he would have an off year because the protection in the lineup afforded to him by fleeing first baseman Fielder was gone.
Well, that hasn't been the case at all. Braun currently has 10 home runs, an OPS of 1.022, and a slash line of .306/.386/.636.
Braun is giving the Brew Crew everything it could ask for out of the three-hole, and yet the team is still struggling mightily.
Key Players Lost to Injuries
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The Brew Crew has been decimated by injuries lately.
Carlos Gomez, who was hitting the ball well (.281/.320/.480) to begin the year, recently strained his hamstring and was placed on the 15-day DL. He should be back soon, but Alex Gonzalez, Chris Narveson and Mat Gamel will all likely be out for the season.
Needless to say, season-long injuries to key contributors are tough for any club to overcome.Â
The Brewers were already looking at a difficult climb to the top of the NL Central standings, and it just became that much harder.
Run Differential
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The Brewers' run differential currently sits at -29. Such a total ties them for 29th in MLB and ties them for the worst in the National League.
From that, you can deduce that the Brew Crew is actually fortunate to be at 15-19, and tied for fourth in the NL Central. Case in point: the Houston Astros.  The club tied for fourth with the Brewers has a differential 35 runs better than them.
The Brewers don't just have to turn it up a notch; they will have to do a complete 180 if they want to seriously contend. Â
Rickie Weeks' Failures at the Plate
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Rickie Weeks received negative X-rays on his hand after it was hit by a pitch in last Friday's game, so even though he might be out for the next couple of games, there's no concern of him being out for an extended period of time. However, there is concern about his bat when he does return.
Weeks has been absolutely dreadful at the plate to start the season; he has only 19 hits in 120 at-bats. He also has an OBP of .308, which is actually 16 points higher than his slugging percentage (.292).
It's difficult to pass off Weeks' performance as simply a slow start given the severity of his struggles. There has to be real worry among Brewers fans if he will be able to fully right the ship.
Top of the Order Hitting
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The Brewers have severely lacked production from the top of the order in 2012.
At the leadoff spot, Brewers hitters are batting .188, which ranks 29th in the bigs. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better at the two-hole, where hitters are batting .219, good for 25th in MLB.
The continued failure to put guys on base for the heart of the order will prevent this offense from becoming one of the better ones in baseball, which it needs to given the team's pitching issues (4.69 team ERA).
Yovani Gallardo's Struggling with Control
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Some could say that Gallardo's (5.35 ERA) struggles have been overstated. That he's only had two bad starts (six ER in 3.2 IP and eight ER in 2.0 IP), and has been fine otherwise, not giving up more than three ER in any of his other five starts. But ER's don't tell the full story with Gallardo.
Against him, opponents have a slash line of .284/.349/.458 and have an OPS of .807.  And as his opponents' high OBP indicates, he's struggled with his control. In only 38.2 innings, he's walked 16 batters.
He has exhibited such problems in the past, as he was third in MLB in walks in 2009 with 94, but seemed to have overcome them, especially in 2011 when he only walked 59 in 207.1 IP.Â
The fact that those problems have resurfaced has to concern a Brewers team needing him to pitch like an ace.Â
Bullpen Issues
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The Brewers bullpen has been a complete mess in 2012. The team's relievers have a combined ERA of 4.88 and opponents have a .282 batting average against them, which rank 28th and 29th in all of MLB, respectively.
And the two guys the bullpen counts on the most in the eighth and ninth, Francisco Rodriguez (5.28 ERA and 1.43 WHIP) and John Axford (6.10 ERA and 2.03 WHIP), are very responsible for those poor ranks.Â
Both guys have proven track records that suggest they will turn it around, but the Brewers simply can't afford to wait any longer. That holds especially true for Axford, who blew a save in his last appearance and took the loss in the one prior.
Randy Wolf's Poor Start
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Randy Wolf was solid for the Brewers last season, eating up over 200 innings, and posting an ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.32. He was viewed as useful No. 4 starter entering 2012, but unfortunately, things haven't gone as planned.
Opponents are hitting .317 against Wolf this year, and he has an ERA of 5.63 and a WHIP of 1.72.
Now Wolf has been a pretty consistent pitcher over the years, so it wouldn't be a stunner for him to turn things around.
But at age 35, there's a good chance it's the beginning of the end for Wolf.Â
The St.Louis Cardinals Are a Great Team
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Unfortunately for the Brewers, any chance at first place goes through the reigning champion St. Louis Cardinals.
And any belief that the departures of Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa would severely hinder the Cardinals has been put to rest through the first fifth of the MLB season.
With the help of free-agent signing Carlos Beltran, the Cards have been one of the best teams in baseball this season, with a run differential of +65, the second-best mark in all of baseball.
Also, they have experienced such success without staff ace Chris Carpenter, who opened the season on the DL with a shoulder injury.
Simply put, it'll be no easy task for the Brewers to keep up with this club.
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