R.J. Anderson likes the Milwaukee hire of Rick Peterson as their pitching coach.

Peterson also seems to know a little bit about how pitching works. As demonstrated in multiple interviews, he doesn’t pound the “first-pitch strike” philosophy; instead he focuses on winning the first three pitches. He knows the value of the swinging strike and groundball, and he doesn’t seem to carry a notebook of clichés and labels for each of his pitchers.

Of course, it helps to have pitching talent, which Milwaukee sorely lacks. The Brewers scored 4.85 runs per game, third in the NL, but allowed 5.05 runs per game, second to Washington. If Milwaukee can hold that offense, Peterson needs to find a way to drop the runs allowed 1/2 run to get the team to 86 wins. At that level, with a little luck, they could make the playoffs.