Series 45 - Milwaukee Brewers vs New York Mets September 1 - September 3 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WIThe New York Mets are currently in 1st place in the NL East, but since the Philadelphia Philles are nipping at their heals, that puts both of these teams somewhat in 2nd place for the NL Wildcard. Whichever team is not in the lead of the division is a danger to us in our pursuit of the playoffs, so every game against either team is huge because we need to beat them, gain a win, and hand them a loss. It goes without saying (but never does because I keep saying it) that every single game is September is huge, but this series was bigger, because if the season were to end today, we would be playing the New York Mets in the 1st round of the playoffs. The Cubs would play the Diamondbacks because the Diamondbacks have the worst record out of all the teams in the playoffs. Normally the team with the best record (the Cubs) would play the Wild Card winner, but some rule stipulates that you cannot play a division opponent in the 1st round, so that is why the playoff structure shakes out like it does. If we end up making the playoffs as the Wild Card winner (because we still have a chance to win the division with 6 games remaining against the Cubs), we will play the Mets or the Philles, so this series is a pretty good preview of things to come. We will also play the Phillies from September 11 - 14, so then we'll see how we stack up against that team. Since this Mets series is done and gone, I can say that we better figure out how to play ball with the big boys before we meet them in October. The Mets didn't really manhandle us, they just straight up outplayed us, and showed the Brewers that they were a better, more complete team. While I think that it is an accomplishment and a step in the right direction to just make the playoffs after a 26 year drought, losing in the playoffs is going to be devastating because after this year we lose CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets. And then suddenly the pitching staff that has been carrying us during the 2nd half of 2008 now has a ton of question marks. But enough worrying about that; we'll figure that all out in the offseason. For now, we need to learn how to beat teams that are just as good as we are if not better than we are. Beating team like the Mets, Cubs and Phillies has just become our #1 priority for the 2008 season, because those are the teams standing between us and that magical month called October. And if this series is any indication, they have to learn to do it quick, or else it will be the October that they have been quite accustomed to - the one where they get to watch playoff baseball from their couches in the comfort of their own living rooms. Let's hope they get to watch it from the cold hard pine of the dugout bench. But until then, on with the wrap-up.
Game 1 (Monday) - Ben Sheets (12-7, 2.97 ERA) vs Johan Santana (12-7, 2.71 ERA)
I was super excited to go to work today on Labor Day. Most people would be pissed that they had to work when everyone else has the day off, but since I was getting holiday pay from my real job, I didn't mind working at Miller Park and getting holiday pay there as well. That means I would be getting paid like a prostitute today, except that the money was all mine and I didn't have to pay my pimp. What a sweet deal! Even if I wasn't working, I would have found a way to get into sold-out Miller Park for this marquee matchup of Sheets vs Santana. I am never worried about us going against Santana, since we have seen him many times over the years when he was with the Twins. Don't get me wrong, he is one of the premiere pitchers in the league, but it is my opinion that we always play pretty well against him. I'd look up Santana's career stats against the Brewers, but you all know that I'm too lazy for that shit. So I didn't worry about that. So my profound thanks goes out to Ben Sheets for giving me something to worry about. Sheets left the game in the 5th inning with tightness in his groin (how many times have I told you to stop pulling your groin Benny, you'll go blind that way!) and although it was seen as a precautionary measure, everyone in Milwaukee knows this one all too well. We were just waiting for the other show to drop and see Ben Sheets' name on the disabled list, which would almost kiss our season goodbye. But he made his next start against the Padres, so I now know that everything is ok. But back to this game. The Brewers had a 2-0 lead going into the 7th inning, but Shouse allowed a run, but still left the Brewers with a 1 run lead. Then Automatic Gagne came in in the 8th inning and allowed 3 runs (2 of them on a homerun to Delgado) to put the Mets up 4-2 and crush Ben Sheets' hope at winning a career high 13th game. I call Gagne Automatic (a term which is usually reserved for someone who is close to 100% perfect) because I can use it ironically because it's almost a given that Gagne will blow it or give up a few runs. He's this year's Derrick Turnbow even after this year's real Derrick Turnbow was sent down to the minors back in April. It's no wonder that that capacity crowd of 41, 476 joined in a chorus of boooooos and rained them down on the worthless Canadian. If I wasn't in the kitchen counting out my money and getting free eats, I would have joined them. I normally don't like to boo my own players, but Eric Gagne sucks. He really sucks. He sucks more than, uh... (I guess since I'm being unrated because no one reads this blog) a prostitute. Whore. Slut for money. It was awful. So the Mets take game 1, Sheets leaves with an injury, and Chicken Little says that the sky is falling. Right now I'm almost willing to believe him, but I still won't take the kid who cries Wolf seriously. Go figure. Final score Mets 4, Brewers 2.
Brewers record : 80 - 57, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card
Game 2 (Tuesday) - Manny Parra (10-6, 4.10 ERA) vs Jonathon Niese (0-0, 15.00 ERA)
Manny Parra had a tall order today - succeed where others before you had failed. He had to go deep into the game, since obviously our bullpen can't be trusted with a lead. Sheets left after the 5th inning, and that really didn't work out too well for us. Like he has too many times of late, Manny wasn't up for the challenge. He only went 5 innings and gave up 5 earned runs, but when he left the game, the scored was tied at 5. So I guess you really can't blame him for the loss today, because the Brewers had every chance to win this one. After the Brewers rallied for a 4 run 5th inning to tie the game, they pretty much shut it down. They brought in Torres with a tie game in the 9th, and he kept it tied, but the offense failed to walk this one off. And then Ned ran Torres out there for the 10th, and although I know that he's a durable multi-inning pitcher, I think that it is a mistake to allow your closer to pitch 2 innings. Wanna know why? Because this shit happens. Torres allows men to reach base and there are runners at the corners with no outs. A sac fly scores the runner, and the Mets take the lead. The Brewers then fail to score and the game is over. I know that there aren't really any other options in the bullpen as far as reliable pitchers, but Torres can't throw every inning of relief and still be counted on as the closer. He should not have been pitching the 10th inning today, and it cost the Brewers the game. I hate to point fingers, especially since he has been so good (6-4 record, 2.47 ERA, 26 saves) but Torres should only pitch multiple innings when he has to come in for the 8th, then he should stick around for the 9th. I hate to bash Ned Yost because it is as trendy as Crocs, but maybe it's time to get a manager who can recognize trends and mistakes, then learn from them. I wouldn't mind giving an established managers with post-season experience a chance to skipper this team, because it seems like Yost's Brewers always have a 2nd half fall-off. More on that later, I'm sure. Final score Mets 6, Brewers 5.
Brewers record : 80 - 58, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card
Game 3 (Wednesday) - Dave Bush (9-10, 4.33 ERA) vs Oliver Perez (10-7, 3.86 ERA)
So if you think Manny Parra was given a tall order, then what the hell was Dave Bush given? He was asked to prevent a 3-game sweep at home against the Mets. And how did he respond? Poorly. Very poorly. The Mets scored 6 runs in the 1st inning, and this game was over before the majority of fans even took their seats. It's too bad they weren't carrying radios, because if that were me, I would've heard the score, then turned around and headed back to the parking lot. I call myself a pretty big Brewers fan, but even the diehards know when to admit defeat. I'd still listen to the game on my radio in the Miller Park parking lot, but the beer and food would be a hell of a lot cheaper and it would cost less money to get drunk enough to forget about this abismal series. I don't really even want to talk about this game anymore, but you knew that this game was officially over in the top of the 9th inning when Brad Nelson was playing 1st base, Alcides Escobar was playing shortstop, and Matt Gamel was playing 3rd base. And Mike Rivera, who previously was playing 1st base, replaced Kendall as the catcher. And at that moment we looked like the Brewers that I knew all too well over the course of the years - playing the September call-up players in preparation for next year because you've already given up on this year. It sucks that it happened, but at least Escobar got his 1st major league hit. Despite the team loss, that's got to be a good individual feeling. I wouldn't know... Final score Mets 9, Brewers 2.
So that was rough. Rough like sandpaper. Rough like sandpaper when it is the only kind of paper that you have been given to wipe your ass with after taking a poop. Sorry for the graphic image, but I just had to demonstrate how rough it really was. So not only did we fail against the Cubs at Miller Park back in July, but we now failed against another playoff contender in the Mets. These Brewers are not instilling me with a lot of confidence, and I'm trying so hard not to push the panic button. My fingers are dangling nervously above it, but until we are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, I refuse to panic. But that doesn't mean that I'm not really uneasy during every game, sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my finger nails and looking for a drop or swig of alcohol to ease my pain. I wish that Kazaam would pop out of his magic jukebox so that I could wish that Shaq never made that movie, and then I would use my 2nd wish to get the Brewers to the World Series in whichever way possible. Then I would use my 3rd wish for an unlimited supply of money, because if you've got money, you can do just about everything. Even SuperModels. But it would all be a moot point since when I used my 1st wish to wish Shaq never made Kazaam, Kazaam would disappear and void my remaining wishes, so the Brewers won't make the playoffs and I won't have dollars to trick SuperModels into going out with me. But I would be given the key to every city on Earth, because I would have rid the World of Shaq's abomination of a movie. And with notoriety comes money and chicks. The only thing missing would be the Brewers in the World Series. But if I had money, I could build a super team. So maybe there is a way that I can make everything work. I'll have to figure that out. The only thing that I know is that Shaquille O'Neal and Kazzam have something to do with it. That is the first piece of the puzzle. What happens from here on out is the mystery...
Next up - September 4 (Thursday) - September 7 (Sunday) Milwaukee Brewers vs San Diego Padres at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI
- pookon -
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