Nineteen days ago, I scoffed at the notion that the first nine games of the second half of the season would make-or-break the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers.

Then nine days ago, after a 4-2 start to the second half, I said the team came out of the gate responding to that pressure put upon them.

Now here we are on July 27, four days before the trade deadline and the Brewers have lost seven straight and fallen 10 games under .500.

Hope for the postseason is all but gone. So is ace Zack Greinke, and potentially several others.

Yet in the Brewers last nine losses only two have been by more than two runs. On the year, they have played 39 one-run games, losing 22 of them, many because of a shoddy bullpen.

"I think it's a testament to them as to how we've been playing," manager Ron Roenicke said. "Almost every game is a one run game. If we would've quit, we would've quit a long time ago. We're not going to quit.

"No matter what phase is not going the way we would like it. It could the offense, if the offense isn't scoring runs at all I would still feel confident our pitching staff would go out there and do a good job. So, everybody knows that it's got to be a whole team thing. Last year, the whole team went well. This year, the whole team as a group hasn't been consistent in all aspects of the game and that's why we're unfortunately where we are."

I've been proven right, and wrong, by this team through 98 games. Brewers fans can only hope they continue to prove Roenicke right over the last 64.