Series 12 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, FLI've previously mentioned several time that I have to watch the majority of the games from my computer on one for he gamecast/stattracker programs online while I am at work. Tom Haudricourt and Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provide play by play updates on the Jsonline Brewers Blog, but it just isn't the same as watching the game. For this game, I didn't care that I wasn't able to watch it. The headline for the post-game wrap-up on the Brewers website says it best - Brewers offense stymied. There's no better way to put that. Kudos to you, Adam McCalvy (Brewers.com beat writer). For the second time this season, the Brewers couldn't get anything going against Scott Olsen as they managed just 2 hits against him for the entire game. Suppan gave up 3 runs in 5 innings, and the bullpen (as it has been all year so far with one notable exception - cough, Gagne, cough) was phenomenal, giving up only 1 hit and no walks while striking out 4 in the final 4 frames. The Brewers finally did manage to rally against Olsen, when Weeks drew a walk to lead off the 9th. Braun and Cameron got out, but Fielder singled and Dillon walked, bring Bill Hall "Wins Games" to the plate with the bases loaded with 2 outs and the Brewers down by 3. Well, that was the 2006 Bill Hall, and this year's version is a bit different. Bill Hall "Kills Rallies" flew out to right field against closer Kevin Gregg (who is on my fantasy team) and the Brewers got shut out and the losing streak climbed to 4 games. The Brewers have just fallen to a .500 record for the year. Final score Marlins 3, Brewers 0.
We lost to Burke Badenhop. Are you serious? That name sounds made up. We just can't buy a win right now. You'd think that with Mark "Moneybags" Attanasio as our owner, he could pony up the dough and buy us just one win to pull us out of this slump. I like Dave Bush. I've been a fan of his since he first came over in the Lyle Overbay trade. Sure, at times he's had some trouble and is prone to blowing up and giving up a big inning, but he mostly stays on the attack and has a good strikeout to walk ratio. That was 2006 and 2007. In 2008, there's a different kind of Dave Bush out there pitching. He's the one who only made the starting rotation because Yovanni Gallardo was on the DL. He's the one who got sent down to AAA when Gallardo rejoined the starting rotation. And he's also the one that only got to come back to join the starting rotation when Gallardo tore his ACL and is out for the season. This Dave Bush is struggling, and it is quite evident in his performance today. 6 innings, 5 hits, 6 ER, 2 walks, 2 home runs and 2 big innings (allowing 3 runs in the 3rd and 3 in more the 6th). Combined with the Brewers lack of offense (Rickie Weeks' 2 run blast to left field) and you have yet another loss. Things are really looking bleak right now, and we're just a few more losses from a season ender. I know it's still early, but falling behind the 1st place Cardinals any more than 5 games will be difficult to make up. Bush needs to start pitching better and the offense needs to contribute if the Brewers want to watch October baseball from somewhere else other than their TV sets. Final score Marlins 6, Brewers 2.
Brewers record : 16 - 17
The Brewers were in danger of getting swept for the 2nd consecutive series, but apparently that wasn't alarming enough for the players and coaches to perform at their highest level. I'm really not one to complain about Ned Yost and his managerial skills (or lack thereof, depending on who you talk to) but this particular move irked me. His team had just lost 5 in a row, and pitching and offense we to blame for those losses. Villanueva would have to go out and pitch well for them to win, because with the exception of Gagne, everyone in the bullpen currently has an ERA hovering between 3 and 4. Yost cannot control how effectively his starter pitches, but he does make the line up every day. For a team that is struggling to score runs, I don't see how a lineup like this can be effective :
2B Rickie Weeks - .188, 5 HR, 13 RBI
CF Mike Cameron - .211, 3 HR, 8 RBI
1B Joe Dillon - .267, 0 HR, 5 RBI
LF Ryan Braun - .257, 5 HR, 23 RBI
SS JJ Hardy - .241, 1 HR, 9 RBI
3B Bill Hall - .213, 7 HR, 19 RBI
RF Gabe Kapler - .279, 4 HR, 13 RBI
C Mike Rivera - .316, 1 HR, 4 RBI
P Carlos Villanueva - .154, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Your best (debatable) offensive player Prince Fielder (.248, 4HR, 21 RBI), your best overall hitter average wise Corey Hart (.299, 1 HR, 16 RBI) and best on base guy Jase Kendall (.369 OBP) are riding the bench in a must win situation. How can you expect to win this game? Sure, players do need a day of rest, but there is a scheduled off day on May 19th! And they just had an off day on May 5th. Don't give that "rest your starters" crap Ned, I think that is absolute bullcrap. There was no reason why Fielder or Hart should be sitting during an important game like this. I can understand Kendall because Rivera needs some playing time too, seeing as how Kendall is expected to start upwards of 130 games this year. But c'mon, if you run garbage/replacement players out there, then don't be surprised that your team just lost it's 6th game in a row. The decision to make Villanueva a full time starter (versus reliever/long man/spot starter) this year is now looking like a bad choice, seeing as how Villanueva is only pitching an average of 5.1 innings per game and has an ERA of 6.46. In retrospect, there really weren't any more choices, seeing as how they were going to release Vargas and Capuano got injured. If Gallardo was healthy, then you could have possibly used Villanueva in the bullpen, but that ship has sailed since we all know Gallardo is out for the season. We have no choice but to stick with Villanueva for this year, and I honestly think that he can pull it back together and pitch effectively. After all, stats don't lie and last year he posted an 8-4 record with a 3.94 ERA with 114.1 innings pitched. That's pretty damn good for a starter/reliever, if you ask me. He just has to do what all young pitchers have to do when they have average/above average stuff - make adjustments to hitters when they make adjustments to you. He still has time to salvage this season and contribute to the 2008 season, he just needs to start doing it now. So I bet you noticed that I haven't said much about this game, and that's because there's nothing to say. The Brewers had 9 hits, but only scored 2 runs. Villanueva pitched 5 innings, giving up 10 hits and 7 earned runs. Offense sucked blah blah blah pitching sucked blah blah blah. Same old story, different day. It's completely unnecessary to say that the Brewers lost, but I'll do it because it stings. Sick burn! Marlins 7, Brewers 2.
Brewers record : 16 - 18
Sometimes I'm thankful that I'm am unable to watch all of the games on TV, especially these past 6 when they have been playing like crap. If I would have been at home (say if I worked a 9-5 job) I would have been watching these games, and since I am a true fan, I never turn off a game, even if they are losing by a lot (like the 19-5 loss to the Cubs). Sometimes when they are ahead of behind by a lot, it gives the commentators (especially Uecker) time to tell some interesting and off the wall stories. For me, it's always worth it to watch the games and be able to watch the players so that I can assess their performance beyond what the stats and wrap-ups tell me. Then I provide my insight on this blog, and then nobody reads it. I know because I get my daily stats courtesy of Google Analytics. So I'm wasting what little energy I have left in my fingers when I type this - read people, and comment back with your thoughts? Why are people totality avoiding me? I don't suck as much as the Brewers starting rotation! (Cheap shot.) Oh well. I guess we'll take solace in the fact that the Brewers are returning home to Tap the Keg, and seeing as how it is spring madness (1/2 price seats $26 or less and $1 hot dogs and sodas) expect Friday - Sunday to be sold out. It seems to me like the Brewers have been playing an unusual amount of games on the road (21 on the road vs 16 home) and they were playing quite well until the recent 6 game road losing streak (9-12 road vs 9-7 home). Here's hoping that a good night's sleep and a bit of good old fashioned home cooking does this team well and we can rattle off a few wins and get this ship headed in the right direction.
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