BASEBALL MISCELLANY : BROCK’S BREW

Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and now free of the pressure of attempting to replace Steve Garvey, former Dodger Greg Brock is attempting to alter two impressions:

He can’t hit left-handers.

He can’t hit in the clutch.

Batting .326 with 4 home runs and 13 runs batted in through the Brewers’ 13-1 start, Brock has been at work in both areas, particularly in repudiation of statistics found in the Elias Baseball Analyst.

That book says that Brock was 3 for 52 in late-inning pressure situations last season. Those situations are defined as the seventh inning or later of a game in which the teams are separated by three runs or fewer. The .058 average is the lowest in the 12 years that the Elias News Bureau has been tracking that statistic, based on a minimum of 50 at-bats in late-inning pressure.

Now, consider Brock’s role in the Brewers’ 13-game streak, equaling the major league record at the start of a season:

Win No. 2: A single in the seventh inning of a 2-2 tie, contributing to a rally that produced the decisive run in a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Win No. 6: A single in the 11th inning of a 2-2 tie, triggering a three-run, game-winning rally against the Texas Rangers.

Win No. 9: A three-run homer in the eighth inning of a game the Brewers led, 3-0, leaving Juan Nieves free to concentrate on his no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.

Win No. 12: A single in the ninth inning of a game the Brewers trailed, 4-1, igniting a dramatic five-run rally against Texas.

Win No. 13: There was only early-inning pressure when Brock hit a two-run homer in the first inning in Chicago, propelling the Brewers to their record-tying victory.

As for left-handers, Brock sat out a game against Baltimore southpaw Scott McGregor and was otherwise 1 for 4.

Brock also had an overall on-base percentage of .436, hit in 10 of his 13 starts and helped take the sting out of an .061 start by former first baseman and current designated hitter Cecil Cooper.