The Brewers held their opening day on Friday April 4th, and this would mark the 1st time since I started working at Miller Park (2002) that I would be missing an opening day. My current job does not allow me to have a lot of vacation time, so I had no choice but to miss the opening game of the series. I would however, be working the Saturday and Sunday games. I cried for a minute, but I got over it quickly. When asked by others why I was crying, I just told them that I had something in my eye because there is no crying in baseball. Deal with it, I told myself, and I did. A magical weekend it was, and a recap I will bring you.
Game 1 (Friday) - Carlos Villanueva vs Johnathon Sanchez.
I know what you are thinking - who is Johnathon Sanchez? Good question, but it is one that I do not have an answer for you. There's a lot of people who I don't know on this Giants team, and I challenged myself to name 5 people on the team (I came up with Barry Zito, Tim Lincecum, Dave Roberts, Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand.) This was an intense game, but I doubt the drunkards in the stands realized it. Opening day is an excuse for bus loads of kids to skip school , work, life and get wasted and annoy the hell out of the real fans who are there for the game. Most Milwaukee baseball purists will avoid opening day altogether, and instead attend the day after. The day after is always a little more subdued and people cheer when necessary, not just because they are drunken buffoons. I appreciate the big crowds, and I realize that they are bringing in extra revenue that will be put back into the stadium and the team, but at the same time I'm sick of these bandwagon fans. Where were they back in 2003 when the Brewers lost 106 games? Not at the park because I was there, didn't see you, and I remember that they were lucky to draw 15,000 fans on a weeknight. Oh well, enough with the bitching, on with the recap. The Brewers offense exploded, and a good start by Carlos Villanueva was almost overlooked when the Brew combined for 13 runs on 16 hits. Bill Hall led the way with 3 of those hits and 6 of those RBIs (hitting 2 majestic home runs). I watched this game on TV later in the weekend, and it was awesome to see how good the Brewers offense could be. Final score Brewers 13, Giants 4.
Brewers record : 3 - 1
Game 2 (Saturday) - Manny Parra vs Kevin Correria
Game 2 saw the much anticipated 2008 debut of Manny Parra, whose 2007 season was cut short due to a broken thumb on a bunting attempt in early September. He would not pitch for the remainder of the year. He had a stellar spring training until his last two starts, and his play (as well as being the minor league pitcher of the year and pitching a perfect game for AAA Nashville) earned him a spot in the rotation and resulted in the release of Claudio Varags. He came out in full force on Saturday, throwing a variety of pitches including some nasty stuff. He held the Giants hitless through 5 innings despite 2 errors and sloppy defense, and struck out 7. He left in the 6th inning with a 4-2 lead. The bullpen did a decent job holding the lead, and Kapler's pinch hit home run in the 7th proved to be the game winner. Gagne came out in the 9th win a 1-run lead (to thunderous applause from the home crowd, looks like they've forgiven him for that Chicago fiasco) and nailed down his first save of the year. This is a game that a good team is going to win; in the past few years we would've lost this one. Final score Brewers 5, Giants 4 and Manny Parra earns his first major league win.
Brewers record : 4 - 1
Game 3 (Sunday) - Ben Sheets vs Barry Zito
With wins in games 1 and 2, the Brewers were going for the sweep, and who better to have on the mound than longer time Brewers pitcher and staff ace Ben Sheets. Sheets was coming off a no decision in Chicago where he pitched 6 innings and did not give up a run. From the first inning of the game (where he struck out the side on 10 pitches) I knew this was going to be a good one. The sold out crowd for Prince Fielder bobblehead day was electric, and the loudest that I have heard them in a long time. When Sheets recorded the 3rd out of the 1st inning, the place went absolutely nuts. I could only imagine what this place would be like during the playoffs. Kapler and Braun each hit solo home runs for the second consecutive day, but the story of the day was Ben Sheets throwing only his 2nd career complete game shut-out. It stuck me as odd that he only did this once before in his 7 year career, but then I remember how injury prone he has been over the last few years. Then I also remember how dominant he was from 2002-2004, but then I also remember how poor the offense and defense was behind him. Add all of that together and it makes perfect sense. If Sheets can stay healthy this year (in a contract year, so he will) I'm willing to bet with our improved defense that Sheets will put up a whole lot more zeros on the board. Zito continued to falter in the month of April, and the Brewers easily swept the Giants out of town. Final score Brewers 7, Giants 0.
Brewers record : 5 - 1
I'm excited that the Brewers are off to a 5-1 start, but I also have to relax because it's only the first week of the season and there's still 154 games to go. A lot can happen over the course of the season, and especially after the now infamous 24-10 start (which will go down in Wisconsin Sports history just like 4th and 26) a lot of people are hesitant to believe in quick starts. The Brewers have a history of falling short after the All-Star break (and especially in the month of August) but I believe that this current team is better and stronger than any team since 1992.
Next up - Brewers vs Reds April 8 (Tuesday) - April 10 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI
- pookon -
http://www.pookon.com/
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