The San Francisco Giants are normally a pretty good team because of their pitching, but coming into this series they weren't exactly lighting the world on fire. They were a few games under .500 and their ace Tim Lincecum came into the game with a 5.74 ERA, a clear indication that the 2-time Cy Young winner was struggling big time. Now was the time to jump on the Giants and take them down Jack-style. They climbed the beanstalk and stole the hen that laid golden eggs but when they went back for the harp that played by itself they heard the familiar words, "Fie Fie Foe Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!" It was then that the Brewers offense was discovered and squashed by the boot of the Giant's foot. I should have seen this one coming though because the Brewers always seem to do well against the premier pitchers. How many times have we seen them beat Lincecum, Johann Santana or knock around Roy Halladay and then struggle against a Bud Norris or some guy from AA making his major league debut? Too many times to count.
After taking down Lincecum and then being dominated by Madison Bumgarner in game 2 we still did have a chance to win the series against Matt Cain of all people in game 3, but once again failed to win a series. They even tied it up in the 9th inning to take it to extras but lost in the 11th inning the moment Tim Dillard took the mound. Tim Dillard has lead a pretty incredible life so far. If you don't believe me, then check out his legend in my 2012 preview of the Brewers pitching staff. He has done some amazing things but pitching isn't one of them. The only reason that Tim Dillard continues to pitch is because of little Tommy Sampson, a cancer victim from Dillard's hometown of Sarasota, Florida. With his dying breath at the tragic age of 7, he told Dillard that his dream was to grow up and pitch in the Major Leagues, which was something that he sadly would never be able to realize. So even though Dillard is not the greatest pitcher he still goes out there every day and pitches for Tommy. He even wears the number 48 because Tommy died on the 8th of April. I'm a fan of Dillard the man but Dillard the pitcher needs to go away. His pitching is distracting him from continuing to grow his legend. The worst thing about this weekend was that it was Cinco de Mayo and my Birthday, so it put a little damper on the festivities. But I didn't let it ruin my good time because as a born-again Mexican I will celebrate despite adversity. And then I had a bunch of family and friends over for the game on Sunday which was my Birthday. So I still had a great time regardless. I hope the Brewers players are doing the same or else it's going to be a really long season for them.
Everyone is high on the Cincinnati Reds. I'm not. I'm high on something else. Settle down you NARC, I'm high on life. Among other things. Only pure things touch this heavenly body so hands off ladies. You don't get to touch me unless you have a clean soul. I have some incredibly high standards. That's probably why I've managed to stay single all these years. But I digress... The Cincinnati Reds were the sexy sleeper pick to win the division and I can see why. They have a pretty damn good offense and if their pitching remains consistent they have a chance to unseat St. Louis as the head of the table in the NL Central. It was no fluke when they won the division in 2010 but I expected them to get swept by Philadelphia that year because they were still a young team experience wise. Now it's a few years later so for their sake it is hopefully behind them. But I don't believe in the Reds because I don't believe in Dusty Baker to lead his team to victory. I was at the Monday night game and we didn't get in until the 2nd inning or so like usual. So we missed the only run the Brewers scored (a Ryan Braun solo homerun) and there was no energy the rest of the game. And that about sums up the season so far - lack of energy. Last year Tony Plush led the charge and Prince Fielder added the BeastMode. Where is the fire this year? I understand they've been losing since day 1 but you have to rally to come back from behind. This team is all nap and no rally. Tuesday's game showed promise but then they lost Wednesday's game. They don't even build on wins by carrying it over to the next day. I don't know what else to say here. But keep reading below to see what I said the day after the games in my cubicle.
Friday May 4 - Sunday May 6. Milwaukee Brewers vs San Francisco Giants at AT & T Park. Games 26-28 of 162. Game 1 started out on a good note with a 3-run 1st inning against Lincecum that snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak. The offense finally showed some life and some plate discipline and were able to take game 1. Fantastic. Then game 2 came crashing down literally when Alex Gonzalez slid into second and messed up his knee, leaving the game. We know now that like Gamel, it is a torn ACL and he is out for the season. An already lifeless offense lost 2 of their hottest players on this roadtrip and Carlos Gomez went on the DL and Ryan Braun has an achillies issue. This team is falling apart and they look lifeless. The offense is still a problem and everyone is hitting below their career averages. Now we have Travis Ishikawa and Caesar Izturis as everyday players? Dear God we need help. The Giants outplayed us but it wasn't hard. The Brewers are outplaying themselves. They came home limping after a 3-6 roadtrip and I just called out May 23rd as Judgement Day as to whether or not this is a lost season. Stay tuned. I don't like where this is going. Brewers 6, Giants 4. Giants 5, Brewers 2. Giants 4, Brewers 3.
Monday May 7. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park. Game 29 of 162. The Brewers wake up today looking up at 5 other teams in the NL Central. That's right folks - your Milwaukee Brewers are in last place. The worst part is that it could only get worse if they don't turn it around soon. The clocki is ticking and it's getting harder to deal with this as the days go by. So we already know that St. Louis has us beat in all aspects of the game. And now we look outmatched vs Cincinnati too. The worst part is that it doesn't look any better. I'm as die hard as it gets and I hold out hope until they are mathimatically eliminated, but when Brauny is your only offense and you score just the 1 run you're in for a whole heap of trouble. They just look like a team that is lost and searching for an identity. The problem is by the time they find it (even if they find it) they might be in too big of a hole to dig themselves out. I'm not ready for losing again. I'm not ready for failure. I'm not ready for this. Reds 6, Brewers 1.
Tuesday May 8. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park. Game 30 of 162. This game was one of those that could be a turning point if followed up properly with another win or at leasta stretch where they go 7 for 10. If not then it was just a good game. But oh what a game it was. Brauny continues to hit and he's back above .300. Lucroy had a clutch 2-RBI single and is leading the team with a .313 batting average. Ramirez, although still in the low .200s, continues to drive in runs and his bases clearing triple sealed the deal. Arf! Arf! Arf! Nyjer Morgan looked like Tony Plush again with one of the best catches to rob a homerun that you'll probably see all year. And Travis Ishikawa showed why he is getting starts at 1st base. It's not his bat (0 for 4) it's his defense. I still would like to see Taylor Green start every day though. But the night wouldn't be complete without a shoutout to my new favorite player, if only for the opportunity it guves me to yell HAIL CAESAR!! I love it. Nice homerun. Enjoy it, because you probably won't hit another one for a month. Nice game. Brewers 8, Reds 3.
Wednesday May 9. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park. Game 31 of 162. Remember what I said about yesterday's game? Well that's all a moot point now because they failed to win this one. It's certainly not from a lack of trying. Zinke (Zack Greinke) was outstanding, going 8 innings of shutout ball and striking out 11 hitters. Ryan Braun hit another homerun. The Brewers had bases loaded in the 9th inning. But they lost. When it's bad, it's pretty damn bad I guess. After watching the offense continue to be erratic you have to wonder if they can ever get it going. And what grinds my gears is that Greinke's performance today was probably his best of the season and we wasted it. We saw it right out there in broad daylight and we wasted it. That's what frustrates me the most. You have to win this game. I don't know what else to say. When the season is over and (heaven forbid) you don't make the playoffs, I will point at games like this as proof. But they do it to themselves. But we are the ones who get screwed over. Reds 2, Brewers 1.
5 games below .500. Gee, this is a lot of fun. Now is the time to turn it around with a very favorable schedule coming up with games against the Cubs, Mets and Astros. Each of those series are very winnable despite the Mets and Astros series being only 2 games a piece. You just hope to win the series against the Cubs and split the other two for a nice little 4-3 week. The time is now to make baby steps and gradually improve the record by winning more than they lose and you have to do it like going 1 over .500 because they haven't shown the ability to win 4 in a row or 5 out of 7 games. Baby steps. That's what we need. It's cliche as all hell but they have to take it one at a time and just win games. Screw tomorrow. Win today and figure it out later. Or else.
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman
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