I'm going to try and provide a commentary on each Milwaukee Brewers series when they end, which sounds pretty ambitious considering that we will have a total of 51 series before the season ends (not including playoffs, which will get their own columns when we get there). Knowing how lazy I can get, and how infrequently I update, I doubt that I will make even a quarter of them. But I'll raise a beer to being ambitious and trying to accomplish a goal. 2008 will mark the first Brewers since in the last 7 where I will be unable to watch nearly every single game either in person or on TV. My current work schedule has me working from 11 or 1:30 until 10 pm, so I have to watch the gameday statracker online. I try to tape the games on DVR, but that means that I know the score before watching the game, which takes some of the fun out of it. The whole reason for doing a wrap-up is so that I can comment on the game after the fact, because that is when I will have been able to see it.
Series 1 - Brewers @ Cubs, Wrigley Field, Chicago.
MLB couldn't have picked a worse time to open a season in Chicago than March. What were they thinking? Granted, this would be a showdown between NL Central rivals who finished only 2 games apart last year. Even though it's early in the season, every game played against each other counts heavily in the standings. But the weather is terrible in early April, and Miller Park has a roof and is climate controlled? Doesn't make sense. Oh well, on with the wrap-up.
Game 1 - Ben Sheets vs. Carlos Zambrano
This game was delayed due to rain, and the overall weather sucked. Once again, it's April in Chicago. Hell-lo? After a 40-some minute interruption (which made me miss taping the game in its entirety due to the DVR time settings (which will come into play later) - damn you rain delays!!) we got to see one hell of a pitchers duel. Both Sheets and Zambrano brought their A games, with Sheets pitching 6.1 innings giving up 2 hits and striking out 7, and Zambrano pitching 6.2 innings giving up 3 hits and striking out 5. Neither gave up a run. Each bullpen was pitching well and the score was deadlocked at 0 until Kerry Wood came on to face the heart of the Milwaukee order in the 9th. A series of well played events saw the Brewers jump to a 3-0 lead, and they passed the ball over to their new closer (and $10 million dollar man) Eric Gagne. Gagne gave up a single, a walk, and a 3 run home run to Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome. I literally fell out of my office chair. In my opinion, (aside from Ben Sheets having a season ending injury) nothing worse could have happened for the Brewers at that time. With all of the talk that has been going on in the off season such as overspending on an HGH doping, Mitchell Report named Canadian; I could hear the doubters and Yost-bashers screaming for not resigning Cordero (although Cordero chose not to resign with us). Gagne settled in and retired the next three batters, and this rain-lengthened game was about to get longer. We were going to extra innings. The Brewers didn't take long to score, thanks to a double by Craig Counsell, some small ball, and a sacrifice fly from new Brewers hero Tony Gwynn Jr. David Riske, who I think is the most underrated pitcher on the staff, came in to close the game by pitching a 1-2-3 10th inning. Just like that, after all of that excitement, the Brewers were 1-0 and had beaten the rival Chicago Cubs at their own ballpark on Opening Day. Fantastic. Final score Brewers 4, Cubs 3.
Brewers record : 1 - 0
Game 2 - Jeff Supan vs. Ted Lilly
Both teams had off Tuesday, which I thought was weird. But anyway, on Wednesday afternoon the Brewers got off to a booming start as Rickie Weeks crushed the first pitch of the game out of the stadium and onto Waveland Ave. That set the tone for the rest of the game. Suppan was solid, and the defense was in prime force behind him, which is crucial for a ground ball pitcher like Suppan. The Brewers kept tacking on runs throughout the game, and besides Weeks' first pitch home run, none of the others were scored via the long ball. The Brewers came up big in clutch and situational hitting, and the Brewers players combined for 8 runs on 14 hits. All around, it was just a great day down at Wrigley for the Brewers, and they improved to 2-0. Final score Brewers 8, Cubs 2.
Brewers record : 2 - 0
Game 3 - Dave Bush vs. Ryan Dempster
Dave Bush was an interesting choice to start game 3, given his career numbers at Wrigley Field and against the Cubs in general. I personally would've chosen Villanueva and started the veteran Bush in the home opener, but I'm just a fan, not the Manager. Dempster, a staple in the Cubs bullpen for the last few years, was making his first start since 2005. Dempster was solid, but Bush was not (allowing 5 walks and a hot batter, ouch!) as the Brewers lost 6-3 and the Cubs salvaged a win in the series. The offense was decent, but they mostly got shut down by the Cubs pitching. All 6 runs were charged to Bush, who after a so-so spring training, is not making a good cause for him to keep his job once Yovanni Gallardo comes off of the DL. The game started with a bang (literally) when Rickie Weeks bowled over Cubs catcher Giovanni Soto and scored in the 1st inning, but that was basically the only exciting part for the Brewers in the game. The rest was understandably forgettable. Final score Cubs 6, Brewers 3.
Brewers record: 2 - 1.
The most important part about this series is that we beat a division rival on the road and won the series. I am satisfied if they win 2 out of every 3 games, because that would give them a record of 108-54, which would be astonishingly good. That is a little farfetched, but winning the series would help them get to the 90-72 record that should be good enough to win the division or the wild card. We also beat the Cubs at their own park, and nothing makes me happier than seeing the Cubs fans get upset and boo their own players. What a bunch of losers.
Next up - Brewers vs Giants, April 4-6.
- pookon -
http://www.pookon.com/
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