Brewers vs Cubs 7/28 - 7/31 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 35 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs July 28 - July 31 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

The Brewers started this series just 2 games behind the Cubs, with a chance to really do some damage in the NL Central and take over that coveted 1st place in the division. What could have been a dream result ended in a nightmare, and I'm once again glad to say that I was unable to be present for any of these 4 games. You see, I was still up at Afterglow, but I had convinced the man running the joint, Pete, to put the games on in the lounge. About half of the people that go up there hail from Illinois, and the rest come from Wisconsin. There's a few other people from the rest of the country sprinkled in their, but all of the people that I hang out with up there come from the good state (Wisconsin) and the evil state (Illinois). The winner of this series would have series bragging rights, so there was a lot on the line, for the Brewers and for us. Without further ado, I bring you the 2nd most anticipated series of the entire year. 2nd you say? Then what's the 1st? That would be September 26th-28th, which is the last series of the year, at home, against these same Chicago Cubs. Many people had forecast that the division winner would be determined during these final 3 games, and that it would come right down to the wire. I personally hope that it doesn't come down to that, because I couldn't handle it if the Brewers lost to the Cubs and missed the playoffs. So this 4 game series at Miller Park was incredibly huge, especially if it would come back to haunt us later in the year. This would be a really great chance for the Brewers to not screw it up. Unfortunately for all of us in Brewers Blue, they did not get that memo. So on with this depressing wrap-up.

Game 1 (Monday) - CC Sabathia (10-8, 3.33 ERA) vs Ted Lilly (10-6, 4.49 ERA)

What better way to start off this series then with a bang? We'd be sending big CC Sabathia against lefthander Ted Lilly. The game started at 7:00 pm, which was conveniently after the annual Afterglow potluck dinner. Since everyone was already gathered at the fire pit, nearly 40 people wandered up into the lodge for the game. I brought along some cans of PBR and the remainder of my box wine, and was instantly disappointed when the Cubs scored a run in the 1st inning and the Cubs fans high-fived each other. Soriano hit a homerun in the 3rd to put the Cubs on top 2-0, and the shit talking began. But it was quickly quieted in the 6th inning, when JJ Hardy and Ryan Braun hit back-to-back solo homeruns. It went crazier when Corey Hart hit a double to score Prince Fielder, although Hart was thrown out at 3rd. But the Brewers scored 3 runs, and took the lead. In the 7th, the Cubs scored again, but Russell the Muscle hit a pinch hit homerun to tie it back up at 4 a piece. The Cubs scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but the Brewers didn't have any comeback magic left in them. The worst part about the game was that I kept on asserting my love and support for Rickie Weeks, who went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts today and made a costly error in the 7th that allowed the Cubs to score that inning. My brother James and my Uncles were giving me a hard time because I'm the last person (besides Yost and Week's Parents) who still believes in him. The Cubs fans were all excited, the Brewers fans were all upset, and I went to sleep feeling sad. Going to sleep sad is never a good thing because all kids are supposed to think happy thoughts and have sweet dreams. On this night, I guess I just wasn't one of those kids. Final score Cubs 6, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 60 - 46, 3rd place NL Central

Game 2 (Tuesday) - Ben Sheets (10-4, 3.14 ERA) vs Carlos Zambrano (12-4, 2.80 ERA)

We needed a rebound win today, and we needed it really bad. The Brewers couldn't win behind their true Ace CC Sabathia, so they would have to do it behind their former Ace Ben Sheets. After the huge letdown that was game 1, I didn't really even bother to watch this one. When I heard that Ben Sheets absolutely imploded in the 6th inning, gave up 5 runs and the Cubs batted around, I was thankful that I was too busy swimming to watch this game. No amount of explaining and rational can put a positive spin on this game, and it was, as the old man on I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry said, an abomination. There's really not much else to say, except that the Brewers got a garbage run in the 9th inning to avoid the shutout. Final score Cubs 6, Brewers 1.

Brewers record : 60 - 47, 3rd place NL Central

Game 3 (Wednesday) - Manny Parra (9-4, 3.93 ERA) vs Ryan Dempster (12-4, 2.90 ERA)

After losing the 1st 2 games behind Sabathia and Sheets, I really didn't have high hopes for the Brewers and Manny Parra going up against Ryan Dempster. I'm still pissed off that Dempster has been successful as a member of the starting rotation, since he hasn't been a starter since like 2002. How can a guy who was only a closer (1 inning per game) suddenly become an effective starter who tosses 7 innings a game? The guy's arm should be falling off by now, but he is 12-4 with a sub 3 ERA. That's just one of the 1000s of reasons that I hate the Cubs. The Brewers were outplayed and outmatched once again, and the Cubs were just rolling right over the Brewers. It looks like it was really rough, and I steered clear away from this one as well. Just thinking about it is making me angry...and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Moving on. Final score Cubs 7, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 60 - 48, 3rd place NL Central

Game 4 (Thursday) - Dave Bush (5-9, 4.69 ERA) vs Rich Harden (6-2, 2.04 ERA)

Our 3 best pitchers (Sabathia, Sheets and Parra) couldn't get it done, so I knew there was little hope for Dave Bush to walk away with the victory. I held out hope for this game, because Dave Bush has been sparkling when pitching at home, but when he gave up a grand slam to Jim Edmonds in the 4th inning (after giving up a solo homerun to him in the previous inning) I walked out of the room. Yes, the same Jim Edmonds who couldn't cut it with the last place San Diego Padres and was released on waivers. That same Jim Edmonds is now tearing it up for the Cubs. Go figure. I hate to give up, toss in the towel, raise the white flag, or capitulate to the enemy, but at that point I was straight up sick of the Cubs. I had better things to do with my time (like win at horseshoes and swim the keg route) then to watch this crap.

Brewers record : 60 - 49, 3rd place NL Central

Disgusting. Abysmal. Upsetting. Uncalled for. Way out of line. Bogus. Ridiculous. Nonsense. Blasphemous. Horrendous. These are just some of the words (at least the ones that I can print without my Mom washing my mouth out with soap) that come to mind when describing this series. Instead of making up some ground, we fall to 5 games behind the Cubs. Sure, there's still plenty of time to make up those games and attempt to take the NL Central crown away from the Cubs, but after this series, it doesn't look very likely. It's going to be a huge uphill struggle to win the Central, but thankfully we are still in the lead for the NL Wild Card. While you should always go for the gold (NL Central Champions), I have no problem settling for the silver (NL Wild Card) since it has been 26 years since we've been in the playoffs. It was a rough series for the Crew, but at least I didn't have to be one of those fans sitting in sold out Miller Park watching their home team get steamrolled by those FIBs from the South. Now that would have really sucked.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves August 1 (Friday) - August 2 (Sunday) at Turner Field in Atlanta, GA

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