Pookon's Ill Blog: Brewers @ Pirates 8/29

Series 44 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates August 29 - August 31 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

PNC Park has always been a house of horrors for the Brewers, but now they love it just as much as visiting fans do. It's because the Pirates are really that bad. You hate to guarantee anything, but now it seems like a game against the Pirates is a guaranteed win. We are better than them in every single way, except for the logo of course. Sorry, but a cursive script and a stick of barley ain't got shit on a growling pirate. I can probably say that I like beer more than I like pirates, because beer is more real to me, but we aren't the Milwaukee Beers. That team name is reserved for Coop, Remer, and Squeak. We're the Milwaukee Brewers, the guys that make the beer. So what if we're not as cool as pirates; we brew cold fresh joy for thousands. We brew 10,000 bottles of beer a day, and I drink 45 off of the assembly line and I'm the asshole. God damn brewery! I'd give anything in the world to have that feeling back again. A lot of my friends have made the road trip

out to Pittsburgh to see the Brewers play the Pirates, and they all conclude that PNC Park is by far the nicest looking stadium in Major League Baseball. Looking at pictures like the one above and watching it on TV make it really look sweet, but I've been told that they really don't do it justice. It's right on the river, and the downtown area unfolds in the backdrop so that you have something to look at when the Pirates are batting. Ouch. Sweet burn. I've always held off going to PNC Park because of the Brewers horrid record there, mostly because I don't like traveling 554 miles to see a loss. Wait, Pittsburgh is only 554 miles from Milwaukee? That's like a 9 hour drive. What the hell have I been waiting for? Unfortunately this was the last time in 2008 that the Brewers would be playing at PNC Park, and I obviously did not go. If I would have, it would have been the first thing that I talked about in here and I would be simply gushing about how sweet of a trip it was. I've just made it my #1 priority for 2009 to make a road trip out here. As soon as the Brewers 2009 schedule comes out, I'm going to block out the days and ask off of work so that I can get out here and visit this gem and see it with my own eyes. I'm sure that I can get some kids willing to go out there. Unless the Pirates somehow figure out how to be a good baseball team, it's almost a guaranteed series victory. Just like this one was. So on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Friday) - Dave Bush (9-9, 4.12 ERA) vs Tom Gorzelanny (6-9, 6.61 ERA)

This game was the wild card of the 3 for the Brewers since Suppan is currently 4-0 in August and CC is well, CC. But lest we forget that Dave Bush has also been performing above expectations in the month of August, and we are going against Tom Gorzelanny, who probably isn;t too happy to see us again. In the 2 times that he has faced the Brewers in 2008 (1 start at PNc and 1 star at Miller) he got absolutely shelled by the Crew. In the 1st inning, it looked like the same old Gorzelanny that Brewers fans knew and loved. Rickie Weeks lead off with a single, then JJ Hardy took a walk. Ryan Braun then lasered a shot into the first row bleachers for a quick 3-0 lead. I thought that they were going to keep piling it on against Gorzelanny, but he settled in after that and those 3 runs were the only ones that we would score for the remainder of the game. It was ok though, because Dave Bush was on his game today and he limited the Pirates to 1 run over 6 2/3 innings. Shouse, Gagne, and Torres came in and kept the Pirates off of the scoreboard. So with a win today, things were looking really good going into the rest of the series. Final score Brewers 3, Pirates 1.

Brewers record : 78 - 56, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card

Game 2 (Saturday) - Jeff Suppan (10-7, 4.49 ERA) vs Paul Maholm (8-8, 3.81 ERA)

I've previously mentioned that Suppan was 4-0 in the month of August. Well, make that 5-0 now. He's been helping himself by going 7 innings and giving up 3 or less runs, but a 7 run cushion from the offense doesn't hurt either. The Brewers scored a few runs early, including Corey Hart's 20th home run of the year in the 2nd inning, giving him the distinction of being the only player in Brewers history to have back-to-back 20/20 seasons (20 homeruns, 20 stolen bases). With great players like Yount and Molitor in their history, that's a pretty sweet distinction. Maholm is a pretty good pitcher, and he kept us in check for most of the game, but we ripped him apart for a 5 run 6th inning that put the game out of reach. Cameron once again was the hero of the day as he finished 2-4 with 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored, and 1 homerun. Not be overlooked, Billy Hall had himself a nice little Saturday too. He went to Home Depot, maybe Bed Bath and Beyond - he doesn't know if he'll have enough time. But he did go 2-5 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. The Brewers kept tacking on runs throughout the game, which is something that they usually fail to do. Case in point - scoring 3 runs in the 1st inning yesterday and then shutting it down. Thankfully the pitching staff keeps shutting down inferior teams like the Pirates. Truth be told, the Brewers really only needed to score 4 runs today, but hey bring on the pain boys. Score them runs, because no lead is safe when the bullpen (Gagne, Riske, Mota) come in to pitch. I personally would have no problem if the Brewers went out and scored 11 runs every game, but that is probably one of the most obvious statements that I have ever made. It would be damn hard for even the worst pitching staff of all time (for example 10 Derrick Turnbows on 1 team with 1 Gagne thrown in for good measure) to lose more than they win when their offense scores 11 runs per game. Since we don't always score 11 runs a game, I'm gonna sit back and enjoy this one. And I'm done. Final score Brewers 11, Pirates 3.

Brewers record : 79 - 56, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card

Game 3 (Sunday) - CC Sabathia (15-8, 2.82 ERA) vs Jeff Karstens (2-4, 3.62 ERA)

The pirate is supposed to be fierce, shifty, sneaky, dangerous, crafty and merciless. These Pirates are none of the above. They should just start calling themselves the Pittsburgh Pilates. You know, the exercising method that involves breathing, centering, concentration, control, precision, and flow and efficiency of movement that chicks do. And now I have successfully pissed off a baseball team, the city that loves them, their fan base, and women everywhere. I knew that I had it in me. Truth be told, most teams look silly against CC Sabathia, but the Pirates looked especially silly because they only managed 1 hit in this game that shouldn't have even been a hit. Andy LaRoche hit a check swing bunt towards 3rd base, Sabathia went to bare hand it, picked up the ball, then dropped it, allowing LaRoche to reach 1st base. The official scoring was a base hit, although any pitcher makes that play 10 times out of 10 if they field the ball cleanly. The Brewers tried to argue the call, and even sent in a video and explanation to major league baseball in an attempt to get the call reversed, but the league officials stuck with the original call and Sabathia was denied his 1st career no-hitter. But hey, a 1-hit complete game shut-out is nothing to hang your head upon though. Rickie Weeks lead of the game with a homerun, and like always, that is all that Sabathia needed. That didn't stop the Brewers from tacking on 6 more runs in the 7th and 8th innings though. They decided to kick the Pirates while they were down, and for once it was nice to be on the kicker side of this fight than the kickee side. The Pirates didn't have a chance from the moment that CC stepped on the mound, and this win was an easy one. Hmm... maybe a little too easy. Final score Brewers 7, Pirates 0.

Brewers record : 80 - 56, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card

I like Pittsburgh. I like it a lot. Prior to the 2008 season, I didn't really care for it, but now they are my new best friend. I like a best friend that lets you continue to beat them up and doesn't put up too much of a struggle. We still have 3 more games at Miller Park against these Pirates (from September 23-25) so we'll see if we can improve on our current 9-1 record against them. I really don't think that it will be too hard, and it looks like we'll have 3 practice games against this AAA team before the final series of the year against the hated Chicago Cubs. If the Brewers do keep playing this well against Pittsburgh at PNC Park, then I will definitely go there next summer. Who's with me? I know of a few people that I can count in, but I'm looking for someone with a reliable car that could drive my ass out there. Applications will be provided here on Pookon's Ill Blog sometime next year - but only serious parties need apply. So Amanda Hugandkiss, Seemore Butts, Heywood Jablowme, and Oliver Pantsoff : don't even bother. If I see your name on the top of the application, I'm discarding it, no matter how sweet your resume looks. But if you have a car that you are willing to drive me in, then you automatically get the job. I'm looking at you Heywood. Grrrrrrr. Oh, and for the record, Heywood is a chick. Don't you dare be getting the wrong idea Sir or Madam.

Next up - September 1 (Monday) - September 3 (Wednesday) Milwaukee Brewers vs New York Mets at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com