Visibly we've seen Randy Wolf have problems with Jonathan Lucroy's calls, and now we see Will Nieves get a start over Lucroy with Yovani Gallardo on the mound. This isn't a situation where Lucroy needed a day off, the Brewers manager opted to sit Lucroy with a struggling Gallardo on the mound.
Taking a closer look, it appears there might be something to Gallardo struggling with Lucroy. However, Lucroy seems to be handling everyone else just fine.
Obviously, the 2011 numbers are a very small sample, but I threw those numbers in there just out of curiosity.
YO GALLARDO - In 2010, Gallardo had a 2.66 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 88 innings. When Jon Lucroy was catching Gallardo in 97 innings, he had a 4.92 ERA. In 2011, Gallardo has a 2.70 ERA with Nieves/Kottaras catching 20 innings vs a 9.37 ERA with Lucroy catching 16.1 innings.
CHRIS NARVESON - In 2010, Narveson had a 5.49 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 60.2 innings. When Jon Lucroy was catching Bush in 107 innings, he had a 4.71 ERA. In 2011, Narveson has a 1.45 ERA with Nieves catching 18.2 innings vs a 8.79 ERA with Lucroy catching 14.1 innings.
RANDY WOLF - In 2010, Wolf had a 4.33 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 203.2 innings. When Jon Lucroy was catching Wolf in 12 innings, he had a 1.50 ERA. In 2011, Wolf has a 2.90 ERA with Nieves/Kottaras catching 31 innings vs a 0.00 ERA with Lucroy catching 6.2 innings.
DAVE BUSH - In 2010, Bush had a 4.22 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 83.1 innings. When Jon Lucroy was catching Bush in 91 innings, he had a 4.85 ERA.
MANNY PARRA - In 2010, Parra had a 5.55 ERA when Gregg Zaun or George Kottaras was catching him in 58.1 innings. When Jon Lucroy was catching Parra in 63.2 innings, he had a 4.38 ERA.
SHAUN MARCUM - In 2011, Marcum has a 4.22 ERA with Nieves/Kottaras catching 10.2 innings vs a 1.38 ERA with Lucroy catching 26 innings.
Randy Wolff scrapped Lucroy right from the time he laid eyes on him in 2010, struggling through 12 innings. Parra and Narveson had lower ERA's with Lucroy in 2010. Bush was slightly worse with Lucroy behind the plate. The biggest discrepancy belongs to Gallardo, who was about 2.5 runs better per 9 innings with Zaun or Kottaras catching instead of Lucroy in '10. Also off to a rough start with Lucroy in 2011 compared to Nieves/Kottaras.
As I put this together, Gallardo pitches great through 5 innings, then blows up in the 6th, all while Nieves is catching. Clearly Lucroy catching Gallardo isn't the sole problem with Gallardo's recent struggles, but it could very well be a contributing factor to his subpar production based on these stats.