Brewers vs Astros 7/25 - 7/27 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 34 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Houston Astros July 25 - July 27 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

After that hugely successful road trip, the Brewers returned to Miller Park, a place where they have historically played well. I would not be available for these games because of previous commitments (my family vacation up North at Afterglow) but I was excited about them nonetheless. Since the Brewers had just won 8 games in a row, exciting was brewing and tummies were rumbling for some free George Webb's burgers. If the Brewers win 12 games in a row, then Webb's will serve up 1 free hamburger to every customer who waits in line on the designated day. It's only happened once (in 1987 when the Brewers opened the season by going 13-0) and the Brewers have come close one other time (I believe it was 2004ish) but this is the closest that they have come since. Although I always want the Brewers to win, I was secretly hoping that they would lose, because if they won, then I would have to miss out on the free burgers because I was out of town. I know that I selfishly placed myself and my own wants in front of the teams, which is why I am willing to accept full blame for the Brewers losing game 1 of the series and ending their winning streak at 8 games. My bad. From now on, I will stop putting the needs of the few (me) above the needs of the many (everyone else) cause I'm a real jerk if I think that it'll all work out. So forgive me Brewers nation, I know not what I do. All that aside, now let's get on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Friday) - Manny Parra (9-3, 3.72 ERA) vs Wandy Rodriguez (6-3, 3.18 ERA)

I usually get pretty excited about Friday games because I get off of work at 7:00, and I usually am able to watch the majority of the game. I watched the last half of the game, but to be honest with you, I really wasn't playing attention. It's not because the Brewers really folded in the 7th inning (although that certainly helped) it was because I was packing for my week long vacation at Afterglow Lake Resort in Phelps, WI. There's nothing in the world as sweet as that place, and my mind was a little preoccupied with anticipation of the upcoming week. It's a good thing that I had something to be excited about, because there was nothing in this game worth getting excited over. The Brewers scored a run early in the 2nd inning, but that was the only run that they would be able to push across the plate today. Manny Parra and David Riske combined to give away the game in the 7th inning by allowing 3 runs to score, but the loss cannot be blamed on them, since Parra went 6 innings and gave up only those 3 runs. No, the loss has to be blamed on the offense for failing to get more than 5 hits and 1 run against a Houston pitching staff that really isn't that good in my opinion. Normally I'd be pissed, but I had bigger fish to fry and better things to worry about. Tomorrow nothing else would matter. Final score Astros 3, Brewers 1.

Brewers record : 59 - 44, 2nd place NL Central

Game 2 (Saturday) - Dave Bush (5-8, 4.51 ERA) vs Brandon Backe (6-10, 4.73 ERA)

Although I call myself a fan of Dave Bush and defend him almost as much as I defend Rickie Weeks (one of my faults in life), I always worry when he takes the mound. But I shouldn't worry about Dave Bush when he pitches at home. Except for today. Since I wasn't watching this game on TV (I was too busy laying on the beach or swimming in the lake) I could only gather information from the scoring update text messages that I get on my phone. When I saw that the Brewers won 6-4, I got excited, but now after reading the Brewers wrap-up on their website, the game doesn't look as simple as the box score. The Brewers were down 4-2 in the 7th inning when Ryan Braun hit a two run homer to tie the game, then the Brewers finally scored with runners in scoring position in the 8th inning, then Torres worked the 9th for his 20th save on the year. It's good to get a win, especially after the embarrassing debacle that the Brewers called a game yesterday. I guess it really wasn't that bad considering that they didn't blow the game away by committing tons of errors, but it's always rough when your offense gets shut down. Good work by the crew, now let's win another tomorrow. Final score Brewers 6, Astros 4.

Brewers record : 60 - 44, 2nd place NL Central

Game 3 (Sunday) - Jeff Suppan (5-7, 5.04 ERA) vs Randy Wolf (6-10, 4.79 ERA)

Today was a rough day for me and for the Brewers. I don't know why the Crew had it so rough, but I know why I did. I raged it too hard up on Kurutz's Kourt at Afterglow, and S'd the B (slapped the bag of box wine for you non-CTers) too hard and woke up with a box wine hangover. I don't know if any of you reading this have ever had BW hangovers, but they are one of the worst ones in the world. There's a pretty good reason why they sell those 5 liter Franzia boxes for $9 - $11 dollars. Today was a day game, but I was more excited to hang out on top of the raft and eat lunch and drink beer. To be quite honest with you, I steered as clear away from this game that I possibly could have, and by the looks of it, I'm glad that I did because this game could have single handily ruined my day. Suppan and McClung combined to pitch 7 innings, allowing 16 hits (11 Suppan, 5 McClung) and 11 runs (8 Suppan, 3 McClung). Needless to say, both of them had a bad day. The offense scored some runs, but it just wasn't enough to overcome that deficit. This sucks. If I ever picked a day to voluntarily not pay attention to a game, this was it. But as far as I was concerned at the time, I couldn't care less about the Brewers. But just make sure that they don't hear this, becuse if they find out that I gave up hope and caring for a day, they would be devastated. Besides, I'm like the only one who still believes in Rickie Weeks. If he finds out he's lost his only fan (well, besides his Mom) then he may start to cry. I can't let him do that. I believe in you Rickie!! Final score Astros 11, Brewers 6.

Brewers record : 60 - 45, 2nd place NL Central

So we just swept a 4 game series of St. Louis at Busch Stadium, then lost 2 of 3 to the Houston Astros at Miller Park. Talk about being inconsistent. That's probably the biggest problem with the Brewers this year. There is no reason why they should have lost this series, but there's no sense crying over spilled box wine. The only thing that we can do from here is to not let this series negatively influence our play during the Cubs series. Since that is long and gone (but not from my memory, stupid Cubbies) I know that it lingered with them for a while. Losing at home sucks balls, and I'm sure that this won't be the last time that I'm closing out this blog entry with negative comments. But I'll part ways with you right now, and leave all that negativity brewing for my wrap-up on the Cubs series, because there is plenty of it to go around.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs July 28 (Monday) - July 31 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Cardinals 7/21 - 7/24 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 33 - Milwaukee Brewers @ St. Louis Cardinals July 21 - July 24 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

Busch Stadium has not been a very kind place to the Brewers, but in the last few years, none of the stadiums not named Miller Park have so I'm not going to go off on this particular stadium. Although I know that you'd like me to bitch about a place called Busch because Busch Light and Budweiser beer sucks, but I'm not going to do that either. And why not you say? It's because they suck so much that it is completely obvious to make fun of them, and that would just be too easy. I will however, defend Busch Stadium as a great place to watch a ball game, and I now wish that I could have taken 4 days off of work to travel down to St. Louis to see this series. It certainly would have been well worth it. I couldn't do it because I would be taking off an entire week to go up North to Afterglow, which is so amazing that I wouldn't trade anything (except for maybe a Brewers World Series Championship) to not go. I have to budget my time and money this year, which explains why I only made road trip this year (Minnesota), which will most likely be my only one. I certainly hope that I can make it back there this year (they have a 2 game series from the 26-27 of August on a Tuesday and Wednesday) but I really don't think that I will make it. Oh well, there's always next year. OK, so now on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Monday) - Seth McClung (5-5, 4.13 ERA) vs Joel Pineiro (3-4, 4.52 ERA)

I'll once again skip the Seth McClung debate because he once again pitched a good game. A gaggle of other relievers had to come in to follow him up, but that is because McClung rarely pitches past the 5th inning. On Mondays I only work until 7:00 pm, so I was following this game on the bus ride home. Joey Kanz and were we going to he Oriental Theater to see The Dark Knight at 10:15 pm this night, but I met him at Vittuchi's around 8:30ish and caught the final few innings. The Brewers were up 3-2 in the 9th when Torres blew his 4th save of the year to allow the game to go into extra innings. I made Kanz promise to go to Landmark Lanes with me to get nachos and $2 long island ice teas before Batman, and while we were walking from Vitucchi's to Landmark, Bill Hall hit a homerun that put the Brewers up 4-3. We did get to see the Brewers score 2 more runs, and Torres stayed in to get the win, which puts him at a very nice 5-2 with a 2.73 ERA for the year so far. Not too shabby. We were going crazy in the basement of the Landmark, but it wasn't just because of the long islands and nachos, it was because the Brewers had won yet another game on the road and were able to pick up a game oin the 2nd place NL Central, 1st place Wild Card leading Cardinals. To make things better, we went and saw The Dark Knight after the game and it was freakin' awesome, and it might actually be the best movie of all time. I will have to see it one more time to verify that statement, but I'm pretty sure that it is accurate. I'd have to agree with Ice Cube and say that Today was a Good Day. Final score Brewers 6, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 56 - 43, , 3rd place NL Central

Game 2 (Tuesday) - Jeff Suppan (5-6, 4.65 ERA) vs Kyle Lohse (12-2, 3.35 ERA)

Jeff Suppan returned from the DL to start the game today, and for the first 3 innings, I kind of wished that he stayed on the DL. He put the Brewers in an early hole by allowing 3 runs (2 in the 1st inning) and I got nervous. But Suppan has pitched well against his former team since joining the Brewers, and he settled down and went 7 innings only giving up those 3 runs. The Brewers offense was virtually shut down by Kyle Lohse, but finally struck gold against him in the 7th and 8th innings to tie the game at 3. In the 9th inning, Bill Hall (last night's hero) once again won games by hitting his 14 homerun of the year, and Torres came on for his 18th save. It was another sweet come from behind win, and another road victory, which put their winning streak at 5 games. Nice. Final score Brewers 4, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 57 - 43, 2nd place NL Central

Game 3 (Wednesday) - CC Sabathia (10-8, 3.30 ERA) vs Braden Looper (9-8, 4.49 ERA)

With 2 victories already in the bag in this 4 game series, the Brewers turned to the big man CC Sabathia for the series win, and CC didn't disappoint. He once again went 9 innings, and tossed a complete game 3 hit shutout. He struck out 7 batters, and is quickly earning my vote for team MVP despite only joining the Brewers in early July. The offense did just enough for the win, as JJ Hardy and Ryan Braun each hit solo homeruns. There really isn't anymore left to say except that CC Sabathia is amazing. The Brewers gained another win over the Cardinals, and now find themselves in 2nd place in the NL Central and 1st place in the NL Wild Card. The win today guaranteed a series win and put them in line for the sweep with their former ace Ben Sheets on the mound tomorrow. Final score Brewers 3, Cardinals 0.

Brewers record : 58 - 43, 2nd place NL Central

Game 4 (Thursday) - Ben Sheets (10-3, 2.87 ERA) vs Todd Wellemeyer (8-4, 4.19 ERA)

Ben Sheets finally rebounded with a good outing, and the Brewers won for the 8th straight time and made it a perfect 7 games out of 7 on this just completed road trip. In all of my years following the Brewers, I don't remember the Brewers ever sweeping 2 straight series on the road, so for me this road trip was amazing. Gagne picked up the win when the Brewers scored 2 runs in the 9th inning on Ryan Braun's 2 run homer off of Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin, and Torres picked up his 19th save of the year. Sheets didn't get the victory today, but he is just 2 short of tying his career high and 3 wins away from a career record. I don't like to promise anything or write checks that my body can't cash, but I'd say that Ben Sheets is guaranteed to finally post more than 12 wins this season. Figures. It is a contract year after all. Oh well, as long as he doesn't suck and hurt this team. We need more good outings from him if we want to win big this year. Final score Brewers 4, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 59 - 43, 2nd place NL Central

And just like that, the Brewers found themselves in 2nd place in the NL Central and 1st place in the NL Wild Card. They have a chance to do some more damage in the NL Central with an upcoming 7 game homestand against the Astros and Cubs, so we have no place left to go but up from here. Anything else (hint hint) will be a real disappointment, especially since we are finally starting to play better on the road. Now we need to continue playing really well at home, and make up some games against the Cubs. Since I already know the answer, I could share that with you right here. But I'm not going to do that; you are going to have to wait for my wrap-up on those games if you don't already know. But you do already know, so there is no reason why you should be reading these, right? I sure hope that you do have a reason for tuning in to read these Brewers reports, or else why the hell should I keep posting them? I'll tell you why - it's because the Brewers refuse to give up on the 2008 season, and neither will I. I'm gonna stick with this wrap-up nonsense and keep it going all the way into into October. Besides, Goonies never say die. And neither will I. See you next time neighbor.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Houston Astros July 25 (Friday) - July 27 (Sunday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Giants 7/18 - 7/20 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 32 - Milwaukee Brewers @ San Francisco Giants July 18 - July 20 at AT & T Park in San Francisco, CA

I meant to do a Homerun Derby and All-Star Game wrap-up, but it is now August 3rd and I am already about 3 weeks behind. I'm gonna try and keep it short and sweet. Ryan Braun fared pretty well in the Derby, but eventually ended up taking 3rd place with a total of 14 homeruns. Not too darn bad for his 2nd season in the big leagues. He didn't fare as well as the NL starting left fielder in the All-Star Game, as he went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. Ben Sheets (the NL starting pitcher) fared much better, as he pitched 2 innings giving up 1 hit, 2 walks, and striking out 3. Corey Hart (elected as the 25th man on the roster by the fans) played a little more than he intended (8 innings) and got 3 at bats but he went 0-3. The game lasted 15 innings, but the AL came out on top for like the 10th consecutive year. So that means that the AL will once again have home field advantage in the World Series. Sucks for the Brewers if/when they make it that far. So that's it for the All-Star game and the surrounding festivities, so now on with the wrap-up. This was a pretty important series for the Brewers, and it is important to win a few right out of the gate to start out the 2nd half of the season.

Game 1 (Friday) - CC Sabathia (9-8, 3.51 ERA) vs Matt Cain (5-8, 4.08 ERA)

CC Sabathia played the final game of the first half, then started out the 2nd half with a bang in his start today. San Francisco's offense is laughable (with the exceptions of Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand) but they are a young team that is rich in starting pitching. 3 of those young studs would be pitching during this series, and it started with Matt Cain. The Brewers didn't need much offense today because CC pitched another complete game, and he only allowed 1 run off of 4 hits. The offense decided to score some runs anyway, and they really stuck it to them in the 7th (4 runs scored) and 9th (3 runs scored) innings. Fielder and Cameron each hit homeruns, but they couldn't steal CC's thunder as the Matt LaPorta trade is looking like a genius move. Final score Brewers 9, Giants 1.

Brewers record : 53 - 43, 3rd place NL Central

Game 2 (Saturday) - Ben Sheets (10-3, 2.88 ERA) vs Johnathon Sanchez (8-5, 4.10 ERA)

What the hell happened to Ben Sheets? I thought that this was supposed to be a contract year? After being named the NL starter in the All-Star game, you would think that he would be motivated to not suck. I guess not. Sheets pitched only 5 innings and gave up 9 hits and 4 runs (only 2 earned in what turned out to be a sloppy game by both teams) and he looked a little bit more like Jeff Suppan than Ben Sheets. He ended up with a no decision in the game since the offense scored 7 runs in the final four innings to bail him out. I could go more into the game, but you don't want to read about that. The best part of the game is when Prince Fielder launched his 20th homerun of the year into McCovey cove beyond the right field wall. That homerun was also the 100th of his young career, and a Milwaukee Brewers fan out there in a kayak ended up scooping it up out of the water. Prince eventually got the ball back, which I'm sure is going to wind up on his mantle back home along with his other mementos. It was nice to see Prince dump one on the cove, since it was something that he could not do at the 2007 Homerun Derby at AT & T Park. Prince wasn't very impressive, which made Braun's performance that much better. It is without a doubt that we locked up the right guy (Braun) to a multi-year contract. Don't get me wrong, I love Prince, but you and I both know that he's bolting for the big dollars as soon as he becomes a free agent. But we still have some time until that happens, so let that be the last time that I mention that here. Final score Brewers 8, Giants 5.

Brewers record : 54 - 44, 3rd place NL Central

Game 3 (Sunday) - Manny Parra (9-2, 3.68 ERA) vs Tim Lincecum (11-3, 2.79 ERA)

Manny Parra did it all today, and he must have been taking some lessons from CC Sabathia. He pitched well into the 7th inning (finishing with a run line of 7.2 innings pitched, 2 runs off of 7 hits and 9 strikeouts) for the longest outing of his career. He even added a RBI single in the 2nd inning. The Brewers ran into a little trouble in the 8th and 9th innings, but they were able to hold on for the win. Shouse was brought on in the 9th to finish the game, but he was unable to get out of the inning. He gave up 2 runs, but his ERA still is a fantastic 2.41. I'll certainly trust him any time he steps out of that bullpen. The only bad part was that we once again had to use Torres on a day when he normally should have had a day of rest. Regardless of what happened, the end result was what we had wanted, and the Brewers put another W in the win column. Final score Brewers 7, Giants 4.

Brewers record : 55 - 44, 3rd place NL Central

Well how about that. Talk about a nice way to burst out of the gates after the All-Star break. I really don't remember the last time that the Brewers swept a road series, but I could look it up if I really wanted to. Since I don't want to look it up, I'm just going to lie and say that it has been 2 years since the Brewers swept an opponent on the road. If you chose to believe my incorrect data, then it's your fault. Don't say that I didn't warn you, because I tried to tell you that I didn't feel like being an investigative reporter. Screw that man, I'm just here to dribble some blood on this screen and call it art, but my guess is that you'd probably call it crap. What do I have to be so morose about? I've been given so many chances and opportunities in life, but all I do is scream out Death you are my bitch lover. I guess I'm just telling that mean ocean.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs St Louis Cardinals July 21 (Friday) - July 24 (Thursday) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers vs Reds 7/11 - 7/13 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 31 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds July 11 - July 13 at Miller Park in Milwaukee,WI

This is the last series before the unofficial halfway point known as the All-Star game. It's always important to go into the break on a good note, because most of these players (with the exception of Sheets, Hart and Braun) will have 4 days off to have this series play over and over in their head before they resume playing baseball. Sure, they'd probably tell you that they don't think about baseball during the break because they are too busy relaxing and spending time with their families, but you know that somewhere in their minds they are analyzing the first half of the season and looking forward to the 2nd half, where they will be trying to avoid the yearly 2nd half melt down and collapse. I never like when they lose to a division rival, but at least the Reds aren't nipping at the Brewers' heels for the Wild Card lead. Although a loss is never good, we could afford to lose, although using that logic doesn't make me feel any better about this series. I did feel good going in to this series, despite the split in the previous series with Colorado that should have been a series win. We've got Parra and Sabathia going against the lowly Reds, how can we lose the series? Pitching and defense. Pitching and defense lost the series. You already knew the outcome since this is a post-game wrap-up, but I still encourage you to keep reading. See you again at the bottom of the page, but for now on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Friday) - Manny Parra (8-2, 3.78 ERA) vs Josh Fogg (2-2, 7.94 ERA)

On Friday nights I usually only work until 7:00 pm CST, so that means that I am able to get home in time to watch the final 5 innings of the game if it started at 7:00 pm. I was super excited to watch this game, since Many Parra would going for win #9 (when he really should be going for win #11, but more on that later) against Josh Fogg, who has been most sucky this year. Everything was going great, as the Brewers had a 5-2 lead in the 7th inning. Mike Cameron, the supposed former gold glover who was supposed to shore up our defense, lost a line drive in the lights and dropped it, which eventually allowed 3 runs to score in the inning. I had my windows open because it was summer, but I bet the neighborhood heard more words that days than they should have, and I bet mothers were covering their children's ears. I was quite livid. I'd expect that out of Weeks, Hart or Braun, but not Cameron. I know people make mistakes, but veteran superior defensive players should not make those errors. Gold Glover my ass. The mistakes continued in the 8th inning, when Shouse and Torres (and a costly Bill Hall error) allowed the Reds to score another run. Torres threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded to allow the run to score, and I almost threw my TV through the wall. I normally don't get terribly angry during sports games, but today I was pissed because the Brewers should have and could have won today. The defensive miscues and pitching mistakes cost Manny Parra a win, and he will once again be stuck with 8 wins for the year. I don't mean to complain about 8 wins (versus 2 losses) because it is a great win/loss ratio, but he should be at 10-2 right now. Boo hoo, stop whining you're giving me a headache. Now we have to try and pull out a win against the fireballing rookie Volquez tomorrow, which doesn't seem very likely. Final score Reds 6, Brewers 5.

filler

Brewers record : 51 - 42

Game 2 (Saturday) - Seth McClung (5-5, 4.16 ERA) vs Edinson Volquez (12-3, 2.29 ERA)

To be quite honest with you, I didn't expect the Brewers to win this game. Braun publicly stated that the team played like they didn't expect to win during the series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, but that is the only time that a player has said anything. Did you really expect Seth McClung to outdo rookie phenom (and NL ERA leader) Edinson Volquez? If you did, then you are the World's greatest optimist. Seth McClung started out real bad, giving up a 3-run homer to Adam Dunn in the 1st inning, but then settled down to pitch 7 innings and strike out 7 batters. I was working at the park this game, and I get off at the bottom of the 7th inning. So that means that I was sitting up in the wheelchair section (#110) in the right field club level seats watching this horrific 9th inning. We were only down 4-2, then Eric Gagne came in and gave up 2 solo homeruns then allowed 2 more men to reach base. To make matters worse, Yost put in Mota, which I thought was like sending a man out to walk the plank towards his eventual watery grave. Mota was being sacrificed tonight, and I secretly said to myself that I hoped Mota allowed the inherited runners to score. I got my wish when he gave up a single that allowed both runs to score, then I started going apeshit up in the club level booing and yelling out "Say no ta Mota!" as people started to file out of the stadium. I never like to see the Brewers lose, but the only joy that I took out of this game was the feeling that Mota has to be cut soon, since he just really sucks balls and is now a Turnbow-sized liability to this team. Tough loss today, but hopefully the exposure of the back end of the bullpen will warrant some personnel changes. Final score Reds 8, Brewers 2.

filler

Brewers record : 51 - 43

Game 3 (Sunday) - CC Sabathia (8-8, 3.67 ERA) vs Homer Bailey (0-2, 7.00 ERA)

filler

Having lost the first 2 games in the series and looking to enter the All-Star break on a positive note, the Brewers would need some kind of magic to pull it off. Thankfully Doug Melvin pulled a rabbit out of his hat when he acquired CC Sabathia. CC is huge, and I'm not just talking about his 6'7" 290-pound frame; I'm talking about his presence on and off the field. His arrival has brought a winning attitude into the clubhouse, and his play today on the field was probably the single best performance by a pitcher this year. Sure, Sheets has had a few shutouts and complete games, and Dave Bush flirted with a no hitter and struck out 13 batters, but today CC pitched a complete game and hit a homerun, which turned out to be the winning run in the game. CC hit a Prince Fielder sized homerun to right field in the 3rd inning and the place went nucking futs! It's was sweet, but the place went just as crazy in the 9th inning when Craig Counsell sent a sac fly to right field to score Bill Hall with the game tied at 2, and the Brewers avoided the sweep. What made it sweeter was the fact that Francisco Cordero gave up the run (although it was charged to Weathers). How does it feel to be battling with Pittsburgh for last place? Just remember that you could have been playing for a good team. At least you have plenty of money to dry your eyes with. I just hope that it was worth it CoCo. Good win today. Final score Brewers 3, Reds 2.

filler

Brewers record : 52 - 43

So they narrowly avoided the sweep, but for a while there I wasn't sure. I bet the farm on CC and the Brewers to win the 3rd game in the series, so I was a little nervous until the end of the game. Don't tell the government, but I use online gambling sites to place wagers on the Brewers. It is supposedly illegal to gamble on the internet, but since these sites are housed overseas, so that government can't do anything about them. The only problem is that you have to go through a 3rd party (such as eWallet or Paypal) to deposit and withdraw funds from the site. I put $55 on the Brewers to win, and since they were heavy (pun intended because CC is a big guy) favorites to win, I only won $22. But hey, it was something. It was a hell of a lot better than losing $55, which was the other alternative. Although we lost the series, we are going into the All-Star break on a positive note, and Sheets will be the starting pitcher for the NL, and Braun will be the starting left fielder. Corey Hart is a backup, and the rest of the team gets a few days off to spend time partying or chilling with their families. I'd like to do a quick wrap-up on the All-Star game and Home Run Derby, but since I'm already behind, I don't know if I'll do it. Stay tuned though, and don't you go dying on me!

fille

Next up - Monday July 14th - The Homerun Derby; Tuesday July 15th - National League @ American League (the All Star Game) at Yankee Stadium in New York, NY

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers vs Rockies 7/7 - 7/10 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 30 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Colorado Rockies July 7 - July 10 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

After sweeping the Pirates, things were looking pretty good with the Rockies coming into town. In any other division, the Rockies season would be over, but since they play in the dismal NL West, they are still in it this year despite sporting a record of 37-51. They are only 7 games back of the division leading Diamondbacks, and they still can catch them if they get hot in September like they did last year (when they won like 20 out of 21 games to close out the year). No matter what the record is, you can never count out a team that is still in contention. I took this series and this team lightly, and I don't mean to spill the beans, but we should've done more in this series than we did. There are some teams that we are supposed to beat (like the Pirates this weekend and the Rockies this week), and although it is a tall order to ask the Brewers to win a 4 game sweep, you should be able to take the series when you have McClung, Bush, Sheet and Sabathia going. Wait..what? That's right, I said Sabathia, as in CC, the former ace from the Cleveland Indians. You already know that the Brewers dealt Matt LaPorta and other prospects for a 3 month rental of Sabathia (who is a free agent after this season), but that won't stop me from gushing all over for the rest of the season. Ok, I really got to get caught up here, so on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Monday) - Seth McClung (5-4, 4.15 ERA) vs Ubaldo Jimenez (4-8, 4.21 ERA)

This is one of those games that the Brewers should have won. They play terrific ball at home, but for some reason they couldn't win today. It must be because everyone was so head over heels about the recent trade that sent Matt LaPorta and 3 other prospects to Cleveland for CC Sabathia. It must have been on Seth McClung's mind today, as he only went 4 2/3 innings. The Brewers offense tried to make a comeback in the 8th inning, but they could only muster up 3 runs. Those 3 runs would not be enough, since McClung and Villanueva had each allowed 2 runs. The Brewers ended up losing by a score of 4-3, and after the 3 game sweep of the Pirates, things weren't starting out the way that I hoped they would have. Fielder hit another homerun today, but it just wasn't enough to grab the victory away from the Rockies. But it was a good sign that the big man is getting hot, and we'd need his bat to get going if we wanted to win this year. He's an integral part of this team, and although he's struggling a bit when compared to last year (which I think was a career year, since you can't expect someone to hit 50 homeruns and 119 RBIs every year) if he comes around this team will be alright. Today is easily forgettable, especially since CC Sabathia will be making his much anticipated and well publicized debut as a Milwaukee Brewer tomorrow. Final score Rockies 4, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 49 - 40

Game 2 (Tuesday) - CC Sabathia (7-8, 3.79 ERA) vs Mark Redman (2-4, 7.07 ERA)

I've wished for many things in my life. I've wished for a million dollars, the ability to fly, or to find the girl of my dreams, but I now wish more than anything that I could have been there for CC Sabathia's debut as a Brewer. My stupid job got in the way, so I had to settle for watching it on ESPN's gamecast during the game and Time Warner's DVR later that night. How's that for some product placement? CC wasn't sharp today, but it was one of those games that you could tell that everyone on the team banded together and wanted nothing more than to get him the win in his first start as a Brewer. He only lasted 6 innings, and he gave up an unusually high 5 walks, but I would attribute that to nerves. He is being touted as the "missing piece" and "savior of our season", but he is just a man, and that man can only take the mound every 5th day. It was a sellout crowd today, so I can understand how electric it was inside that joint. I don't blame CC one bit for being a bit erratic today. No one since Neo in the Matrix (who was asked to be the One and save the world) has been asked to do more. Ok, so I guess Jesus Christ was asked to do more since God told him to die so that mankind's sins could be forgiven. But CC is right up there with Neo and Jesus Christ in turns of being called upon to be the savior of mankind. Yeah, I just said that. Call me blasphemous. Do what you got to do. CC did get the win, and the Brewers offense backed him up. Ryan Braun gave him a 3 run cushion in the 1st inning, when he belted a homerun to make the score 3-0 from the beginning. They scored another 3 runs in the 7th inning, and the home crowd went nuts as CC and the Brew Crew won the game tonight. It sucks to give up Matt LaPorta, and I know that this won't be the last time that I mention it, but if we make the playoffs, it will be worth it. I'll mortgage the future for chance to win now. I'm sick and tired of this waiting bullshit; I've been waiting for 25 years. The Sabathia deal is arguably the best thing that has happened to Wisconsin sports since 1996 (when the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl) and I know for a fact that this will be one long and exciting ride in 2008. CC wasn't perfect in his Brewers debut, but at least he left some room for improvement. Final score Brewers 7, Rockies 3.

Brewers record : 50 - 40

Game 3 (Wednesday) - Ben Sheets (10-3, 2.85 ERA) vs Glendon Rusch (2-3, 6.25 ERA)

People always talk about following up a tough act. If the opener kills the crowd, then the headliner needs to go out there and straight up murder the crowd. My friend and former roommate Aaron Spiering took me to see Chris Rock at the Pabst Theater back in like 2005. Rock's good friend J.B. Smoove opened up for Rock, and he was drop dead hilarious. Although I knew that Chris Rock would be funnier, it was hard to imagine that it was possible at the time because J.B. was ridiculously funny. Smoove did his thang, and made way for Rock, who brought the house down with his comedy act. Why do I bring this up? Is it so that I can state the obvious and tell you that Chris Rock is one funny mother fu#&er? No, because you already know that. I bring this up because Ben Sheets has huge shoes to follow, as he is suddenly thrown into a rotation where he is now the co-ace of the pitching staff. Sheets was decent, as he went 6 innings and struck out 11 Rockies, but that turned out to not be enough as the offense was not able to overcome the 3 earned runs that Sheets allowed, and the bullpen was unable to keep this game close. There are very few times that I get flat out pissed off during a Brewers game, but this was one of them. Do you remember Glendon Rusch? Yes, the same Glendon Rusch who went 11-28 as a Brewer with a plus 5.00 ERA as member of the 2002-2003 Brewers? Yeah, that guy. Turns out that guy dominated us tonight and held us to 1 freakin' run. That's right ladies and gents, he out dueled Milwaukee Ace Ben Sheets tonight, and it is simply atrocious and uncalled for that he was able to keep us in check tonight. Color me disappointed with the offense tonight. So Big Ben only gave up 3 runs, so we should win, right? Wrong. Guillermo "say No Ta" Mota came in and gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning, and put this game out of reach. This game summarizes everything that is wrong in this world - Glendon Rusch dominates us and Mota still has a job. Damn it. This game is a perfect example of the thinking that there is always tomorrow. Final score Rockies 8, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 50 - 41

Game 4 (Thursday) - Dave Bush (5-8, 4.39 ERA) vs Jorge De La Rosa (3-5, 7.26 ERA)

Talking about how good Dave Bush pitches at home is the same as talking about how much of a surprise Seth McClung has been in the starting rotation - overdone and overplayed. Dave Bush outdid himself today. Do you remember when he took a no hitter into the 8th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays? This game was better, as he went 8 inning giving up 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 13 batters, a career high. Bush has always been known as a pitcher that pounds the strikezone, but today he really poured it on. And like always, he chose to be perfect on a day when he didn't have to be. Just as Dave Bush exploded off the mound, the Brewers offense exploded at the plate, scoring 11 runs off of 12 hits. Corey Hart and JJ Hardy hit homeruns today, but it was really a team effort as the Brewers steamrolled the Rockies today. There's npt really much else to talk about today, as the score really tells the whole story here. Now that's what I call domination. Final score Brewers 11, Rockies 1.

Brewers record : 51 - 41

So there was 1 great game (the Dave Bush start), 1 eagerly anticipated game (the CC Sabathia start), 1 disappointing game (the Ben Sheets start) and the close game that the Brewers should have won (the McClung start). There's a little bit of everything; it's just too bad that that we split this series instead of winning it. After the series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, a split against the Rockies is viewed as a let down. We really should have taken 3 out of 4, but to be quite honest with you, it's really tough to do that. You expect your team to win 2 out of 3 at home, but a 4 game series is almost always split between the 2 teams. We have no choice but to take it. At least we split the 4 games, it could always be worse. We do have the Cincinnati Reds coming to town next, and so far this year they have been consumed with fighting off Pittsburgh and Houston for the "dubious" title of NL Central loser. Here's hoping that we finish off the first half on a good note, but since I already know how the Cincinnati series ended, I can't say that I am happy about it. Sorry to let the cat out of the bag, but if you don't know about the Brewers current situation, then you truly have been living underneath a rock. I've never lived underneath a rock (although I have been to the House on the Rock) so I don't know what it is like to be out of the loop. If you are one of those people, then let me know if it really sucks to be you. If I don't hear from you, then I'll just make an assumption that it does suck to be you. But lest I forget that if you make an assumption, you make an ass out of you and umption. Touche.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds July 11 (Friday) - July 13 (Sunday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers vs Pirates 7/04 - 7/06 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 29 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates July 4 - July 6 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

Today is the beginning of the last homestand before the All Star break, which is a great opportunity for us to gain some games on the NL Central leading Cubs and the NL Wildcard leading Cardinals. Of course, we can only gain games if those other teams lose, but we can't even worry about gaining ground unless we start winning. We win, then hope that they lose. That's kind of how it works. The nice thing about this series is that I would be able to attend 2 of the 3 games, and although I would be working them, it's a bit of a rarity for me to be there for the majority of the homestand. So I got that going for me. That's pretty much it as far as introductions go, as the Brewers face off against the last place cellar dwelling Pirates. So, I guess it's time to get on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Friday) - Ben Sheets (10-2, 2.77 ERA) vs Tom Gorzelanny (6-7, 6.57 ERA)

What better way to get things going than with a Ben Sheets outing? A victory is almost guaranteed, seeing as Sheets has been near perfect this year and the Brewers are phenomenal at home. Today's game was played during the day, and since it is a holiday (the 4th of July) they figured that people would be able to come during their day off and fill this sucker up. They figured correctly. Another sold out crowd got to watch the Brewers and Ben Sheets band together to start this series (and homestand) off with a bang. There were some fireworks today, but it's wasn't because we were celebrating our nation's Independence (that happened last night in Milwaukee and will happen later tonight in the surrounding communities). There were fireworks in Miller Park by JJ Hardy, who is on a ridiculous hitting streak where he has raised his batting average nearly 50 points and by Bill Hall, who continues to crush left handed pitching. 3 lefties are starting this weekend, so Hall looks to get some considerable playing time. Since he went 3 for 4 tonight with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored (with 1 of those hits being a homerun, and another being a double) it's got to be good to be Billy Hall this weekend. People were booing the mess out of him earlier because his struggles led to the platoon with Russell Branyan. Then when the Muscle started tearing the cover off of the ball, people booed him whenever he came into the game. People, Bill Hall doesn't deserve that; he just said what anyone would have said in that situation. Nobody wants to be benched, and no one wants to be bad at their job. Bill Hall is having an off year, but he's not going to fix it by riding the pine. I've always been a big Hall supporter, and I will continue to do so even if he's having a rough year. But good show tonight Mr. Hall, and the Brewers offense picked up Sheets on a day that they didn't have to. To use a Yostism, Sheets was really battling today, and only lasted 5 2/3 innings. Good work by Carlos Villanueva in the 7th-9th innings, as he only gave up 1 hit and 1 walk. He saved the bullpen after Sheet's short start. Nice. Final score Brewers 9, Pirates 1.

Brewers record : 47 - 39

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Game 2 (Saturday) Dave Bush (4-8, 4.74 ERA) vs Paul Maholm (5-5, 4.05 ERA)
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How magnificent is Dave Bush at home? I'm going to tell you. Fantastic. Stupendous. Unbelievable. Ridiculously good. How bad is Dave Bush on the road? I'd say a couple of words, but to protect the eyes of children, they would include characters such as #%&*! and other random characters that Qbert screams in his little word bubble when a snake or a ball falls down on him. I wasn't able to watch this game since I was at Summerfest to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. When I can't watch the game on TV or on the internet, I get text messages on my phone with scoring updates. When I wasn't getting updates for this game, I started to get nervous because that means that both offenses were getting shut down today. When the Brewers mighty offense is held in check, it is very rare that our pitching backs them up to hold down the opponents offense, but today Bush was able to do it by holding the Pirates to 1 run on 4 hits in 8 innings while striking out 7. Gagne pitched the 9th inning, and got the win when Prince Fielder his an RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to get the walk off victory in front of the near sell out crowd. And who scored that winning run? Rickie Weeks, who reached base via a walk. JJ Hardy's 16 game hitting streak came to an end when he laid down a sac bunt in the 9th to get Weeks in scoring position. Now that's a team player that cares more about the overall goal (to win games) versus individual goals (hitting streaks). Well done Mr. Hardy, way to be a team player. You get a gold star and your name on the board for displaying honor and selflessness in your performance today. That's why they call it a sacrifice. Oh, and Tom Petty rocked my socks off, just like he does every time that he comes to town. I wish that I could remember more, but i was pretty wasted. Story of my life, but just don't tell my Mom that. Final score Brewers 2, Pirates 1.

Brewers record : 48 - 39

Game 3 (Sunday) - Jeff Suppan (5-6, 4.71 ERA) vs Zach Duke (4-5, 4.23 ERA)

Going for the sweep against the Pirates today, and Jeff Suppan had a chance to rebound from some poor outings as of late. Unfortunately he continued with another bad outing today. He only lasted 3 innings (75 pitches) and allowed 6 runs on 5 hits including 2 homeruns. Yuck. Fortunately (the West Bend Mutual Insurance Silver Lining!) the Brewers offense picked up the slack and spared him the loss, as he settled for a no decision. Stetter got the win in relief when the Brewers scored 4 runs in the 4th inning and the rest of the bullpen kept the Pirates scoreless. The Brewers offense poured it on, and totalled 11 runs off 16 hits and featured 2 homeruns by JJ Hardy and 1 by Ryan Braun. Bill Hall went 3-5 today with 3 RBIs, and ended up having a very productive series against the 3 left handed starters. Nice. Whereas yesterday was a pitchers showcase, today was nothing but offense. We just happen to have a better offense than they do. Nah nah nah nah nah, we're better than you are. Hope it's not too dark and scary in the basement Pittsburgh. Final score Brewers 11, Pirates 6.

Brewers record : 49 - 39

That's a really nice way to start out the homestand, and I'm ecstatic that I could be a part of it. I wish that we could play all of our games at home, and even though we played well in Pittsburgh this year, there's no way that we would have been able to sweep them at PNC Park. Hooray hurrah, and all of that other fancy hooplah that surrounds a series sweep. Get hyped. As Borat would say, "Very nice, I like." I just hope that he doesn't say that he wants to have a sexy time with someone's mother-in-law that I know. That would be rough. But the close to the "unofficial" half way point of the season has started of with a bang, with fireworks shooting off inside and outside of Miller Park. Let's roll into the All-Star break on a good note. This certainly was a nice start.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Colorado Rockies July 7 (Monday) - July 10 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

trying some mobile blogging shit

The kids (Sarah, Jenny, Timmy, and myself) sitting in a big ass Leinenkugel's chair at Summerfest.

This experimental posting was sent from my mobile phone to my email, then to my blogger account. I could have just waited till I got home and connected to my personal computer, but I wanted to see if I could succesfully mobile blog. How do you like the way that shit works!?!

- pookon -

www.pookon.com

He's #1 on the field, #1 in millions of Harts, and now #25 on the National League All-Star Team

Thanks in large part to the overexcited Brewers fans who are finally rallying behind their team, Corey Hart was voted as the 25th man on the NL All Star Team. For too long, he's been overshadowed by the likes of Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and JJ Hardy. He was selected in the 11th round of the 2000 draft, which barely got any notice as compared to his current teammates (who, with the exception of Hardy {2nd} were drafted in the 1st round.) I've already designated an award each year named after him for the player that puts up great numbers but gets no love outside of the city of Milwaukee. This award was previously known as the Goeff Jenkins Most Underrated Player Award, but has since been renamed after Hart since Jenkins' departure. If Jenkins had played on any other team than Milwaukee (which was a terrible when he started to decent/good upon his exit) he would have most certainly won a Gold Glove. He certainly was one hell of a defender who gave 110% every time, and even the Brewer bashers can't refute that. Corey Hart, although a solid defender, is not at Gold Glove status yet, but it's ok since he is a converted infielder. He's what people refer to as a 5-tool player - he hits for power (1) and average (2), has good baserunning skills and speed (3), and good throwing (4) and fielding (5) ability. It's hard to believe that it took the country this long to finally recognize a player of his ability. Even though it is long overdue, I'm glad that they finally got it right. Corey Hart will join other deserving teammates Ryan Braun (the NL's starting Leftfielder) and Ben Sheets (quite possibly the NL's starting pitcher) on the NL Roster, and will most likely see time as a late inning replacement. I hope that he gets on base so that he can show the nation that he is the best and most underrated baserunner in the league. Watch him sometime and you'll see exactly what I mean. No one on the Brewers team is as smart and quick as he his, and Yost has appropriately given him the green light to steal in all situations. Classy move Milwaukee, by giving the final roster spot to someone who truly deserved it. No offense to David Wright, Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand or Carlos Lee, but those players have had their chance to shine and will continue to do so in the future. Hart has been overlooked for far too long, and this is his moment to stand in the spotlight. Good move by the people who cast over 8 million votes that vaulted Hart into the All Star game. I know that I'm a bit too biased in this matter, but as a true baseball fan, I believe people made a good call. And a good call deserves a Miller Lite. It's Miller time! First CC Sabathia, now this? What in the hell is this team going to do for an encore? I suggest the playoffs, so that this town will be rocking as hard if not harder than it did in 1982. Only time will tell on that once. Stick around Milwaukee, and you'll see what's brewing.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

Vote for Corey Hart damn it!

Vote an unlimited amount of times. I've already voted over 1,000 times. Let's show everyone that Corey is #1 on the field and #1 in our Harts! Voting ends Thursday July 10th at 4pm CT, so get out there and vote kids!

- pookon -
http://www.pookon.com/

CC Comes to Save the Day!!

Everyone in Milwaukee is buzzing about the recent acquisition of CC Sabathia. Wait...you don't know about it? Then you've been living under a rock these past few days or you hate sports. I hate to break it to you, but you suck. My sincerest apologies do go out to people who actually live under rocks, but c'mon - you know that it sucks to live under a rock. Get a real house you dirty hermit. This is possibly the greatest thing to ever happen to the Milwaukee Brewers (with the 1982 American League Championship and signing Ryan Braun to a 7 year contract coming in at 2/3 possibly all tied for 1st) and I'll tell you why.

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#1 - It shows that the Brewers are serious and legitimate contenders in the National League, and even in all of baseball. With this signing, it shows that we are no longer the small market team that cries about not being in the same realm as the Yankees/Red Sox/Cubs. We are just as good if not better than those teams and their $150 million plus payrolls.

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#2 - It shows that Mark Attanasio/Doug Melvin/Ned Yost are committed to doing whatever it takes to get the Brewers back to the postseason for the 1st time since 1982. I'm only 27, so I was 1 the last time that the Brewers were in the playoffs. That means that there are hundreds of thousands of Brewers fans who have never seen their favorite team play October baseball. That's insane. If it means giving up their top prospect, so be it. I want to win.

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#3 - It shows that they have one of the best teams top to down in all of baseball. That means from the low single A ball clubs to the Major League Brewers. The AA Hunstville Stars are regarded as the best prospect laden ball club in Major League history! They sent 10 players to the Minor League All Star game. That's insane. We could afford to trade LaPorta because we have guys at all levels who can replace him. They may never be the stud that he is, but we don't even know if he will be a stud. I'm willing to win now instead of waiting 3 years to see if LaPorta is as good as advertised. I'm tired of waiting. I've been waiting my whole damn life.

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#5 - They are rewarding the fans for showing their support for the team. I've been working at Miller Park since 2002, and I remember when we were lucky to have 15,000 fans in attendance. Miller Park is sold out or at near capacity every single Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Those fans are coming to support the Brewers, and it's good to see that the ownership group is taking that money and putting in back into the team instead of putting it in their pockets.

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#6 - If players like CC Sabathia agree to come here (I'm not sure if he had a no trade clause with teams that he could/could not be traded to) that shows that players recognize that we are a franchise headed in the right direction. Veteran players like Mike Cameron, Jeff Suppan and Jason Kendall came here for that very same reason, and that only opens the door for future signings.

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#7 - If Yovanni Gallardo can be back in late September/early October, then the Brewers would have the best starting rotation in all of baseball with Sheets, Sabathia, Parra, Gallardo and Suppan. I don't want him to rush back and injure himself long term, but can you imagine how freakishly intimidating that rotation would be? Wow.

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#8 - Even though there's a 99 % chance that Sabathia does not sign a contract keeping him here past this year, there's still a chance that he could really like it here and decide to stick around. If worst comes to worst, we make it to the playoffs then lose him to free agency, and then receive two top draft picks for next year. Seeing how the success that Jack Zduriencik and his team have done in the past (Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, JJ Hardy, Rickie Weeks, Yovanni Gallardo, Manny Parra, etc.) there's no reason to believe that he won't strike gold again.

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#9 - I have never seen the city of Milwaukee get this excited about something. Sure, everyone was gaga back in 1996 when the Green Bay Packers won the Superbowl, but that was a statewide celebration. The Brewers are a representative of the State of Wisconsin, but they really are Milwaukee's team.

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#10 - Did you ever see this happening in Milwaukee? I'd ask you to pinch me, but that would be kind of creepy and weird. If you asked for a sign that this team is for real and that we are winning it all, then this is it. Good show Brewers organization, and way to stay classy. (Sorry, I really wanted 10 things to put on here, and this was the best I could do on short notice.)

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Get hyped Milwaukee, this is one of the biggest things to ever happen to your Milwaukee Brewers. If this doesn't get you all jazzed up, then you are not a fan. Miller Park will definitely be tapped tonight (sold out and rocking) so pity for those of you (and myself) who will not be there to see CC's Brewers debut. Watching it on television, on the internet, or on mobile devices. Whatever you do, strap yourself in, hold on tight, and get ready for the most exciting 2nd half run in Brewers history. You're probably saying that he is just 1 man, what kind of difference can he make? He is going to pitch amazing (he's a CY Young winner for crying out loud) and his presence alone should elevate the play and attitudes of the people around him. Naysayers beware - if you dare naysay around me, I'll knock you out. You better believe it. Be excited for once in your life, and believe that the Brewers can do it. I know we've had several long heartbreaking years of failure and disappointment, but the time has come that all of that shit ceases abruptly. And if I'm wrong, at least I went down with the ship. But God I hope I'm right. I've been waiting 26 years to be right.

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- pookon -

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http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Diamondbacks 6/30 - 7/3 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 28 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Arizona Diamondbacks June 30 - July 3 at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ

These 4 games are the conclusion of the 10 game, 11 day, 3 city road trip. After winning 2 in Atlanta and dropping 2 at Minnesota, we could either post a losing record, winning record, or tying record based upon the outcome of this series. So it's that important to win as many games as possible. Now I know that kind of sounds like an obvious understatement, but it's mega important for us to win as many games as possible on the road since we have historically been a horrible road team. It would be a high order to win 3 of the 4, since we would be going against some tough pitchers in Doug Davis, Randy Johnson and Brandon Webb, but I held out hope because the Arizona offense is pretty terrible. Over the past few years, the starting rotation has been their strength, so if we can overcome that, we should have no problem winning a few games down here. I'll be just fine with a series split, because it would give us a .500 roadtrip, but anything else would be icing on the cake or gravy on the mashed potatoes. Take whatever food analogy that you want, and feel free to invent your own, but I'm going to get away from that and continue on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Monday) - Dave Bush (4-8, 5.06 ERA) vs Doug Davis (3-3, 3.79 ERA)

This game got off to a promising start, with Rickie Weeks taking a walk, JJ Hardy scoring him on a double, then Prince Fielder knocked him home on a single and the Brewers got off to a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, it all kind of went down hill from there. The Diamondbacks responded by scoring 2 runs in the bottom half of the 1st inning and grabbed the lead for good with a 3 run outburst in the 5th inning. Dave Bush has been really good lately, and while he wasn't horrible today, he gave up 5 runs off of 9 hits in 5 innings of work. The road woes for the Brewers continue and the Diamondbacks anemic offense did enough to work the scoreboard in their favor. This was a pretty average road game for the Brewers that featured mediocre offense, defense, and pitching, which is why they usually lose these games. There's not too much more to talk about here, but hopefully tomorrow we'll rock Randy Johnson like we did back on June 3rd at Miller Park. Final score Dbacks 6, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 44 - 38

Game 2 (Tuesday) - Jeff Suppan (5-6, 4.30 ERA) vs Randy Johnson (4-7, 5.46 ERA)

Randy Johnson started off the season going 4-0, but is now riding a 6 game losing streak going into tonight's game. The Brewers touched him for a loss back at Miller Park, but when he left in the 6th inning, he still gave the Dbacks a chance to win it. It would be a totally different story today, as the future hall of famer wasn't very sharp today. The Brewers knocked him around for 7 runs off of 8 hits and 3 homeruns, including 2 by JJ Hardy and 1 by Joe Dillon. It was Dillon's first homerun of the year, which makes him the last non pitcher on the roster to hit a homerun. Yes, even Craig Counsell and Jason Kendall have hit homeruns this year. It's pretty significant because it was his first in the majors as a Brewer, and in his minor league career (spanning 10 years) hit hit 152 homeruns, and was among team leaders at AAA Nashville in 2007 when he hit
20 homeruns. He was always viewed as a power hitter, but until today, he had yet to display that power with the team. Hopefully this is the 1st of many to follow. Enough about Joe Dillon (I still don't know why people are so high on him) - let's talk about JJ Hardy. Lately, he has just been tearing the cover off of the ball and regaining his power stroke. He hit 2 homeruns today, and finished 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. If you're scoring at home, he singlehandedly accounted for about half of the offense today. The Dbacks made a push to win the game, but the Brewers bullpen (with the exception of Mota, who gave up a run in the 8th) was able to hold onto the lead and escape with the win. Final score Brewers 8, Dbacks 6.

Brewers record : 45 - 38

Game 3 (Wednesday) - Seth McClung (5-3, 4.18 ERA) vs Yusmeiro Petit (0-1, 3.29 ERA)

Micah Owings was supposed to pitch today, but he was scratched due to a "tweaked gluteus muscle". Isn't the gluteus area your ass? How do you tweak your ass? It takes a real winner to teak an ass muscle. I don't ever claim to be an athlete, but I still don't understand how you can tweak an ass muscle by running, jumping, diving, and swinging a bat. If there are any doctors or athletic trainers out there who know how this is possible, please let me now. I'm not much of an ass man, but this idea intrigues me because I previously didn't think that this was humanly possible. So instead of going against Micah Owings, we have to face this cat Yusmeiro Petit. That sucks, because we really roughed up Owings in Milwaukee on June 4th to the tune of 5 runs off of 8 hits in 3 innings. So that's the bad news. But the bad news continued when Petit pitched more like Pettitte (Andy, of the Yankees) and shut us down for 1 run (2 hits) over 6 innings. The good news is that the resilient Brewers battled back for 3 more in the final 3 innings, including a pinch hit homerun by Rickie Weeks in the 8th inning. Torres came on for the save in the 9th inning, and stayed perfect for his 15th save of the season. Oh, and McClung once again pitched well today. Wait...you thought that I would do a wrap-up of a series that featured Seth McClung and not mention how much of a surprise that he has been since he joined the rotation? You don't know me then. Shame on you. Final score Brewers 4, Dbacks 3.

Brewers record : 46 - 38

Game 4 (Thursday) - Manny Parra (8-2, 3.69 ERA) vs Brandon Webb (12-4, 3.43 ERA)

On the 3rd of July, I spend the day out in Veterans Park with my family in preparation for the fireworks at night. If you're not aware of this, let me be the one to inform you that the city of Milwaukee holds it's July 4th celebration on the 3rd of July, complete with a grand fireworks show at night. I have been going down to the lakefront with my family for close to 25 years now, but the high point of the last few years has been crowding around the radio with friends and family and listening to Uecker and Powell call the Brewers game. I was really looking forward to this game because the Brewers had already won 2 in the series, and they had a chance to go for the win against perennial Cy Young Candidate Brandon Webb. Talk about an uphill climb. Hardy and Cameron each hit homeruns off of Webb, who gave up 5 runs off of 9 hits in 6 innings of work. But the Brewers roughed up Webb (which is very rare) and nothing to show for it, despite a magnificent performance my Manny Parra, who allowed 4 hits and no runs in 6 innings. Stetter pitched a scoreless 7th inning, then Gagne, fresh off of the disabled list, pitched a scoreless 8th inning. We were up 5-0 in the last inning of the game, and we were 3 outs away from the series victory. And then Cinderella's glass slipper fell off. I told my Uncle Gary during the commercial break that we would win this game as long as they didn't put in Guillermo Mota. And what did Ned Yost do? He put it Guillermo Mota. The result? The Brewers lost, and in grand fashion. Mota, Shouse, and the infallible Torres combined to give up 6 runs off of 6 hits while recording 0 outs. It was simply heartbreaking, and extremely disappointing to listen to. I could imagine how bad it would have been if I was actually watching the game. My Uncle Gary brought up a good point - he said that the Brewers never win on July 3rd when we're hanging out at the Lakefront, which isn't true because they last posted a victory in 2006. I think he was just too clouded by today's game and last year's 6-2 ugly loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates where the Brewers committed 4 errors in one of Capuano's 12 losses on the year. This one hurt, really bad, and no amount of alcohol could make it hurt any less. Slapping the bag of box wine later that night with Jenny and Paul certainly helped a little bit, but it stings now that I have to write a wrap-up of this game. I've got to move on from this one, or else I'll be hitting the bottle hard in just a few minutes. Final score Dbacks 6, Brewers 5.

Brewers record : 46 - 39

What could have been a winning series turned out to be a series split in just 1 inning out of 36 total innings of the series. That 1 inning left a super sour taste in the mouths of all Brewers fans, and although there is still a lot of games to be played this year, I have no doubt that this one will go down as one of the worst losses for the year. The only possible thing that can clean this distaste out of my mouth is a kick ass homestand, and thankfully we are playing some sucky teams in Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Cincinnati. Following this 10 game roadtrip, we have a 10 game homestand. There's no doubt in my mind that they can go 7-3 on this homestand, but stranger things have happened in the past. One thing that I know for sure is that I get to work the games on July 4th and 6th, so I'll be there in person to watch at least two games that we should win. Come see what's brewing, because the Brewers are brewing up a barrel of fun.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates July 4 (Friday) - July 6 (Sunday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers vs Twins 6/27 - 6/29 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 27 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins June 27 - June 29 at The Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN

I really like coming up here to Minnesota because I have a couple of friends up here that I only get to see once or twice a year. Now that Mike and Katie Bates are living up in the real Northwoods (about 4 hours North of the Twin Cities, which if you're counting at home, makes it about a 9 hour drive from Milwaukee) so I haven't seen them since Christmas. Mike and I are best friends, so it's tough to go this long, but the big surprise was that Katie found out that she was pregnant on Christmas Eve, which would put her at 6 months pregnant since I've seen her last. I'm not normally one to gush and get all giggly over baby stuff, but I'm super excited and super happy for the two of them. They are quite possibly the greatest couple I've ever known, and I couldn't think of two more willing and deserving people to become parents. At least in 3 months it'll give them something to do way up in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully I'm able to meet that little Bates soon after it is born, cause I'd love to see if it takes on Mike's signature laugh. That was a lot of intro that really had nothing to do with the games, but you tune into this blog to read my take on these games and to find out what I was doing/thinking at the time. If you wanted stats, then you can go to mlb.com or espn.com. I won't stop you - hell, I've even provided the links so you don't have to try hard to go there. If you don't want to read about what I think, then what the hell are you doing on my blog? For some baseball talk, we have one of our steady starters (McClung), the rookie who just keeps getting better (Parra), and the incredibly fantastic ace (Sheets). If we can't win the series with those starting 3 pitchers (spoiler alert!) then we just have problems on the road. There figures to be a good amount of Brewers fans in the house, so maybe they can pretend that it is a home game. I'll let them think about that, but since we already know the outcome of this series, I won't dwell on that any longer. On with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Monday) - Seth McClung (5-3, 4.25 ERA) vs Nick Blackburn(6-4, 4.05 ERA)

I wanted to go up to Minneapolis for all 3 games, but ever since I started working at Mark Travel, I have worked every single Friday unless I took a vacation day or called in "sick" (like when I went to Las Vegas). When I call in "sick", they take my vacation time to cover the time that I missed. I can't have that, since I want to try and make it to as many days at Afterglow as possible. So I had to settle for watching this game once again on ESPN's gamecast from the not so comfy confines of my cubicle. Judging from what transpired during this game, I would've been very excited to be in attendance until the bottom of the 8th inning. McClung had a bit of a rough day, giving up 5 earned runs and only lasting 4 2/3 innings. The offense backed him up, but this one turned into a slugfest. The following players hot homeruns : Corey Hart (2 of them, actually), Russell Branyan, JJ Hardy, Alexi Casilla, Jason Kubel and Joe Mauer. Yeah, I know. It just really sucks that Mauer hit the final one out of those players, and it turned out to be the deciding factor in the game as the Twins won by 1 run. And who gave up that homerun? Current lightning rod and sports radio talk show fodder Guillermo Mota. Ouch. Final score Twins 7, Brewers 6.

Brewers record : 43 - 36

Game 2 (Tuesday) - Manny Parra (8-2, 3.95 ERA) vs Livan Hernandez (8-5, 5.22 ERA)

Since both Joey Kany and I had to work Friday night, it was our goal to leave early Friday morning so that we could stop at Leinenkugal's prior to the start of the game (6pm cst). We were supposed to leave around 8:00 am, but that soon turned into 10:30 am. By the time we got on the road, I knew that there was no way that we would get to the game on time if we were to stop at Leinie's for the tour. We rolled into Chippewa Falls around 2:30, and found out that the next tour we could go one would be at 3:30, so we elected to stick around, since this tour was one of the big reasons that we came up here. When we left town, it was nearly 5:00, and we were a little over an hour from the Twin Cities. Thankfully we were able to get a Wisconsin station carrying the Brewers game, as the hilarious voice of Bob Uecker carried us through enemy territory. We found a place to park and entered the stadium around the 4th inning, which was significant because the Brewers scored all 5 of their runs during the 1st 3 innings. So we missed all of the Brewers offense. What a shame. What we did catch however, was a brilliant (although the walks are still an issue) start by Manny Parra. He went 7 innings and only gave up 2 hits while striking out 6, although he did walk 4 batters. Riske came in and kept the shutout intact, but Stetter gave up a homerun to Kubel in the 9th to break up that shutout. That did give those Twins fans something to shout about, but I just pointed to the scoreboard and they cried into their laps. We sat up by Mike and Katie, and our seats were waaaaaaaay up in the leftfield corner and halfway behind a support beam. I mean waaaaaaay up there. I wasn't too upset though, because I was in the company of good friends and I only paid $12 for these seats. They are normally $8, but this was one of those premiere marquee games where they find a reason to charge the fans more money because of all of the visiting fans. I can't be too mad, because we do the same kind of shit to the Cubs fans when they come to Miller Park. After the game, we went out to the 7 Corners, a popular watering hole on the fringe of downtown, which I would say most resembles our Water Street (only with less popped collared douche bags). There were a ton of Brewers fans out drinking, because drinking is what Milwaukee kids do best. I high fived a lot of people, and yelled out Go Brewers at every opportunity. We drank some good beers at some good bars (the White Russians at Town Hall were superb) and hung out with some good people. I really couldn't ask for anything sweeter. Final score Brewers 5, Twins 1.

Brewers record : 44 - 36

Game 3 (Wednesday) - Ben Sheets (9-2, 2.83 ERA) vs Kevin Slowey (5-6, 3.47 ERA)

I got a real nice start this morning, drinking a my breakfast (a Leinie's Sunset Wheat) and trying to avoid Wilson, Katie's Aunt's behemoth of a cat. I don't even know if cat can sum up this beast, I would liken it to a Yeti or to Bigfoot. Yeah, it's like that. You might think that I am joking, but bring this subject up to Joey Kanz someday and he'll back me up on it. We got a late start this morning, but we decided to go out to a local bakery anyway to grab some munchies. We met up with Jess and his girlfriend, and everyone ordered some food except for me. I went to the car and filled up an empty 1 liter bottle of Mountain Dew with a mixture of Leine's Red, Sunset Wheat, and Summer Shandy. So in essence I just continued drinking my breakfast. It wasn't enough to get me going, but I was hyped up enough when I entered the stadium, and I was prepped to do some hardcore cheering. Only there was nothing to cheer about. Ben Sheets had a bad day, and he picked a rough time to do it. It was only his 2nd loss of the year, but he just didn't have his stuff today. He gave up an uncharacteristic 5 runs off of 9 hits (struck out 7) and got no help whatsoever from the offense. Kevin Slowey once again rocked us (in Milwaukee on June 13, he pitched 8 innings and held us to 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5) by going the distance (9 innings) and hold us to 0 runs on 3 hits while striking out 8. Ug-ga-ly. My friend Shawn (who resides in Minneapolis) is a Twins fan so he had no problem rubbing the loss into my skull. I would've beat him up, but aside from being a Twins fan, he's a really cool guy, so I'll just be laughing when our team makes the playoffs and his doesn't. There's not much else to mention here, as the Brewers lose this series against the Twins and fall to 2-4 against them this year. Final score Twins 5, Brewers 0.

Brewers record : 44 -37

So it sucks that the Brewers lost the series, especially when I paid $60 to fill up Joey Kanz's gas tank to get up here. All in all, it was a great weekend, and although I spent plenty of money on food and beer, you can't really put a price on good times with good friends. I miss hanging out with Mike and Katie, and I hope that someday they will decide to move back down to the city. I really don't see that happening though, because Mike's forestry degree requires him to work in places where there are forests. I don't really that the Urban Jungle of Milwaukee qualifies as the forest, but I'll seek some clarification on that by contacting my State Senator. This weekend was almost perfect, but since we missed out on the first few innings of Saturday's game, we missed all of the Brewers' offense in the series. Oh well, at least the Brewers are now 3-3 on this roadtrip, with a 4 game series against Arizona coming up. If they split that, then they have a successful roadtrip (playing .500 on the road is great for any team, even the mighty Red Sox), but if they win 3 of 4, then we have ourselves a winning road trip. That would be beautiful, but I'm perfectly fine with .500 ball on the road because we get The Keg rocking back in Milwaukee.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers @ Arizona Diamondbacks June 30 (Monday) - July 3 (Thursday) at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com