John Axford Eyes Another Strong Finish
IRISH IN THE PROS BY WES MORGAN J
Axford, whose MLB-best streak of 49 consecutive saves came to an end May 11, had six saves, an ERA of 4.73 and 23 strikeouts in 131 through May 20.
⁄3 103 innings
PHOTO COURTESY MILWAUKEE BREWERS JUNE/JULY 2012
order to compete for the Milwau- kee Brewers last season. The high dose of daily caffeine, however, wasn't as much a performance enhancer as it was a performance enabler. The same can be said for any first-time father. With the birth of his son, J.B., last June, Axford figured out how to juggle parenting and compet- ing at the major league level as the Brewers' closer. The saves kept piling up last season for the right-handed pitcher at the same rate as missed hours of sleep. "Once again, it's very similar to baseball with a lot of ups and downs," Axford said. "He had jaundice, colic, reflux, so at the beginning he wasn't sleeping much the first six weeks he was with us. God bless him, he was great to have and we absolutely loved every second we could have with him, but [my wife and I] didn't sleep until the sun came up every single day. "He was pretty upset and pretty miserable for the first six
ohn Axford knew his only choice was to turn to drugs in
