Brewers vs Cubs 9/26 - 9/28 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 52 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs September 26 - September 28 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

When the 2008 Brewers schedule was released in September of 2007, I boldly predicted that the season would be decided in the final weekend of this year when the Brewers squared off against the Cubs. I was only halfway right, because I predicted that they would be battling for the division title. Since the Cubs had already wrapped up the NL Central title and homefield advantage for the playoffs, they were just playing for pride and division rivalry. The Brewers however, had just a little bit more at stake LIKE THEIR 1ST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE IN 26 GODDAMN YEARS!!! All eyes were on the Mets/Marlins series because both the Brewers and Mets entered this weekend deadlocked in a tie for 1st place in the NL Wildcard. It was tough to not scoreboard watch, because none of that matters if we don't take care of business and win, but I couldn't help but root for the Marlins. Seeing how shitty that the Brewers have played in September so far, we were going to need a little (ok, a lot) of help from others just to make it to baseball's sacred postseason. The fact that they were playing the hated Cubs really didn't make it easier on the fans, because "Wrigley Field North" would be anywhere from 30% - 50% full of jackass Cubs fans who can't get a ticket to hangout in the toilet they call Wrigley Field. It kind of takes the homefield advantage out of the equation, but that just means that whatever Brewers fans didn't sell their tickets to Cubs fans would just have to cheer twice as loud. Any Brewers fan that sold their ticket to a Cubs fan should be ashamed of themselves. In fact, I'm working on finding out who did it, so that we can issue them a lifetime ban from Miller Park for their inexcusable actions. I know that Cubs fans are jerks, but this was the most important series of the entire year, and the Brewers really needed you to be there to support the shit out of them. From the time when the gates opened and the 1st Cubs fan walked through the turnstile, there were already 1 too many Cubs fans in Miller Park. Thanks a lot assholes for allowing those FIBs to infest our park with their suckiness. You're a great benefit to us all and our cause. But enough about harping on the fans that did not attend - that's not the reason why I started the 2008 Brewers season Wrap-ups; I did it to reflect on the games and give my 1st hand insight into this magical season. So with 159 games down and 3 to go, we needed to win at least 2 out of 3 and hope the Marlins take 2 of 3 from the Mets just to make it to the playoffs. Show me something more exciting than this, and I'll show you a liar (you). There is nothing better than this weekend, so let's get on with the wrap-up so that I can tell you all about it.

Game 1 (Friday) - Jeff Suppan (10-10, 4.96 ERA) vs Ryan Dempster (17-6, 2.96 ERA)

Jeff Suppan has so far had a very forgettable September. His losses and ERA are up, and lately you just can't count on him to put your team in a position to win the game. It's terrible, because he used to be such a big game pitcher and exactly the guy that you would turn to in this must win situation. He had a magnificent September back in 2007 to keep the Brewers in it as long as they were, but this September in 2008 has been a nightmare for him (and all of us). So why then, did the Brewers run him out there to pitch in this game? Because they simply didn't have any options remaining. Sure, Carlos Villanueva or Seth McClung maybe could have started today, but both of them have been so incredible out of the bullpen that Svuem probably didn't want to disrupt that. So while we all held our breath waiting for Suppan to screw it up, he made us feel relaxed enough to exhale. Suppan wasn't especially sharp, allowing 8 hits in 5 innings, but he limited the potent Cubs offense to just 1 run on a Jim Edmonds homerun. in the 2nd inning. The Brewers got that run back in the bottom half, and it stayed tied until the 6th inning, when the Brewers took a 1 run lead. I was able to watch this entire game, and I once again had the Mets game constantly refreshing on my iPod. When the Mets lost to the Marlins, I was brimming with excitement. But the Brewers were clinging to just a 1 run lead, and the Cubs, as we all know too well, are very capable of a big comeback inning. That's why Rickie Weeks' pinch-hit 3 run homer in the 7th inning nearly sealed the deal. But some Brewers pitcher still needed to close this game out, and we all know that Torres is not the man for the job (given his track record against the Cubs this year). That is why the hero of the game today was none other than "Big Red" Seth McClung. He came on in relief of Suppan in the 6th inning, and tossed 4 scoreless innings of 1 hit ball. Simply amazing. I know that the Cubs really aren't trying too hard, but McClung deserves some recognition for his job well done today. With a Mets loss and a Brewers win, we move up to a huge 1 game lead in the Wildcard standings with 2 games to play. Plus we beat the Cubs today. It's always a good day when we beat the Cubs. Final score Brewers 5, Cubs 1.

Brewers record : 89 - 71, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card (1 game ahead of the New York Mets)

Game 2 (Saturday) - Ben Sheets (13-9, 3.09 ERA) vs Ted Lilly (17-9, 4.09 ERA)

Ben Sheets exited his last start with elbow problems, and although everyone in the world begged him to not go out and pitch if he wasn't 100% healthy, Ben Sheets went out there and pitched. The Cubs threw out a lineup of bench players (Fukudome, Cedeno, Hoffpauir, Ward, Johnson, Fontenot, McGehee, and Blanco) so that they could rest up all of their regulars. I thought that the Cubs were sending out replacement players, and I half expected to see Shane Falco, Clifford Franklin, and Nigel "The Leg" Gruff take the field under the tutelage of Jimmy McGinty. But this was real life, not my favorite movie. In reality, the Cubs were sending out 16 game winner Ted Lilly, but the Brewers have historically hit well against left handed pitchers. But the worst that could happen did, and all hell broke loose at Miller Park. Ben Sheets gave up a 1st inning homerun to Daryle Ward (who was batting a majestic .216 with 3 homeruns and 15 RBIs coming into the game today) and just really didn't have anything today. He didn't even had bad stuff, he had nothing. When he gave up 2 more runs in 3rd inning, he was pulled for Mark DeFelice and everyone saw the Ben Sheets that we have known all too well during his tenure in Milwaukee - the one that has spent more time on the disabled list than on the pitching mound. We all knew that Sheets just threw his last pitch in a Brewers uniform. But there was no time to lament over Sheets' mysterious injuries in his career, we still needed to figure out a way to win this ballgame. Dave Bush came in after DeFelice, and he went 3 innings and didn't even give up a hit. He was supposed to start this game had Sheets not been ready to go, and I know that second guessing is easy because it happens after the fact, but maybe, just maybe, he should have started while Sheeter shut it down and rode the pine. Too late for that. The Brewers scored a run in the 7th, and 2 more in the 8th to make it a 4-3 ball game. With the Brewers down by a run, Sveum put in his closer Salomon Torres, and Torres once again sucked the big one against the Cubs. He gave up 3 runs without recording an out, and this game was suddenly out of hand. The Brewers had a chance to come back and win this one, but they failed. Since the Mets won, they fell to a tie in the Wildcard lead with 1 game left to play. That means tomorrow's game (game # 162) was for all of the marbles. A Brewers win and a Mets loss, and the Brewers go to the playoffs. A Mets win and a Brewers loss and the Mets go to the playoffs. If both win or if both tie, then there is a 1 game playoff at Shea Stadium on Monday to determine the Wildcard winner. God I hope it doesn't come down to that. This is just too thrilling and exciting for me to handle. Final score Cubs 7, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 89 - 72, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card (tied with the New York Mets for 1st)

Game 3 (Sunday) - CC Sabathia (17-10, 2.70 ERA) vs Angel Guzman (0-0, 5.59 ERA)

The Brewers once again asked CC to pitch on 3 days rest, and he once again took the ball in a do-or-die game. Hard to believe that they play 162 games (which is a lot compared to all of the other major professional sports) and that the season comes down to just 1 day, and the final day of the season at that. That's why baseball to me is so exciting, because so many things can happen during the final weeks depending on the matchups. I awoke early and suited up for the game, fully expecting to work today. When I got there, to my surprise I found that I wasn't on the schedule. Normally I would have been pissed because my boss told me that I was working, but today was anything but normal. I stayed punched in for a half hour while they tried to work it out, but I said screw it, I'm just gonna go somewhere and watch the game. My friend and former roommate Fresno Chris was there, and I had a ticket from my friend and current roommate Joey Kanz to give to him. So I met him outside of Friday's in the outdoor smoking patio. He had some Miller Lites on him, so I downed a couple of beers (free drink count : 2) while we were chatting. Then my Uncle Gary and his friend Dennis walked by, so I hung out with them for a minute. My Uncle bought me a beer (free drink count : 3), and then I got a ticket from him to give to my brother James' friend Dave. So that means the game hasn't even started yet, and already I have had 3 free beers, 2 tickets, and 1 free admission to the game (via my employee badge). I sat down in left field level section 128 (my Uncle's seats) for about an inning with Dave and James, then I had to move because I was occupying some dude's seat, and he arrived and finally claimed it. I then went up to the club level to watch the game, sitting in the wheelchair section 310. The cashier Theresa allowed me to get some food, so I got a nachos grande, bag of peanuts, and a large mountain dew (free drink count : 4.) That is where I spent the majority of the game (about 3rd inning on) where I nervously ate my peanuts and paced back and forth. We all now know what happened during this game, but let me play it out for you (and me) so that we can one day look back at this as the greatest game that we have ever seen. Yep folks, I am putting this game at #1 on my list of all-time Brewers that I have attended. CC retired the side in the 1st inning, and it looked like this one was getting off to a great game when Mike Cameron singled (something he hasn't done often in the leadoff spot) to start out the Brewers half of the inning. But that's about all that happened for a long while. The Mets/Marlins game got a late start due to a rain delay, and every time that the Marlins score popped up on the left field video board, the crowd went nuts. I've never seen so many Marlins fans (if only for 3 days) in my entire life. The Cubs decided to use a cadre of bullpen arms (mostly September call-ups that would not be on the postseason roster) to throw the 9 innings in today's game, and I think the constant switching off left and right handed pitchers with different styles really threw off the Brewers batters, because after Cameron's leadoff single, another Brewer wouldn't reach base until the 7th inning, when Ray Durham leadoff with a double. The Cubs had scored in the 2nd inning, and this was looking like no more scoring would go on today. But not so fast! Durham, as I said, reached on a leadoff double. He moved to 3rd on Braun's ground out. Then with a base open at 1st, Fielder was intentionally walked. JJ Hardy then worked a nice at bat into an unintentional walk, and the bases were loaded with 1 out and Corey Hart at the plate. And then came one of the worst at bats that I have ever seen in my life. Hart struck out swinging on 3 total pitches that were all low and outside. All he had to do was lift one to the outfield for a sac fly to tie the game. Corey Hart just looked lost up there at the plate, which has pretty much been the case for him since the All-Star Break. And then came Craig Counsell. He worked an excellent veteran at bat to take a walk with the bases loaded to force in the tying run. He may never hit above .250, play every day, or knock in a bunch of RBIs, but he does the little things like working counts, moving runners over, and playing great defense - 3 things that no one else on this club knows how to do. Kendall grounded out to end the inning. Sabathia was still cruising along, and it looked like he would be going to distance today. Former Brewer Wes Helms had just hit a homerun to put the Marlins ahead of the Mets, and the cheering had just stopped at Miller Park in bottom of the 8th inning, and then came the moment that will always give me chills when I watch/listen to the in-game call. Cameron singled, then Ryan Braun crushed a first pitch fastball from Bob Howry into the Brewers bullpen for the lead in the game. That place just erupted with screams, and I saw more high fives than I've ever seen in my entire life. People were going apeshit up in there. It was so loud, I thought that the glass panels were going to break. With that homerun, Braun just joined the likes of Yount and Molitor for greatest Brewers player ever, even though he's only been on the team less than 2 years. For me though, it's hard to imagine a Brewers team without Braun. It's a good thing that we got his ass locked up for like 6 years. And at $45 million, it's a steal! He's only gonna get better. The crowd quieted down at the end of the inning, but it didn't take long for them to get amped up again when CC walked out to the mound to pitch the 9th inning and go for yet another complete game. After getting the lead man out, CC allowed a single to Ryan Theriot. But then Derreck Lee hit into a double play, and the Brewers did it...well at least they did their part. Miller Park was rocking hard, but a Mets win over the Marlins could force a 1 game playoff at Shea Stadium tomorrow (Monday) so it wasn't over until that game ended. But the Miller Park staff put the Marlins/Mets game on the big screen in centerfield, and I went back down to section 128 to hang out with my brother James. Because of the rain delay, we joined the Mets game in the 8th inning, and had to sit (not gonna lie, but I was standing because I was too nervous to sit) on the edge of our seats to see if we were going to the playoffs.When Marlins pitcher Matt Lindstrom collected the final out to seal the 4-2 victory for the Marlins, millions of Mets fan knew that feeling of a late season collapse all too well, after seeing it happen last year in 2007. But no one in Miller Park cared, because our team was the NL Wildcard Winner and was going to the playoffs in 2008. Music blared over the loudspeakers, confetti and streamers fell from the rafters, players doused each other and some lucky fans with champaigne, and thousands of fans who stuck around Miller Park hugged, high fived, and roared in celebration for this wonderful moment. I was right in the middle of the festivities, and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else to revel in this victory. These are my people, and although some of them were stepping on and off the bandwagon during our September swoon, I kept the faith theh entire time. I may have not believed they's make the playoffs, but until the team is mathematically elimninated, they still have a chance. It might take 162 games to get there, but the fact that we got there speaks volumes for this team's willingness to push through adversity and focus on the final goal. And what a roller coaster season that it was, and despite what happens in the playoffs, I will always be able to refer to this team as the 2008 National League Wildcard winning Milwaukee Brewers. So this game ended, but the fun for me on the Greatest Day of my Life did not, but I'll get into that in just a minute. Final score NL Wild Card Winning Milwaukee Brewers 3, Cubs 1.

Brewers record : 90 - 72, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card

The following is an entry that was supposed to be by itself and labeled the Greatest Day of my Life, but I'll just include it on here because I already told you about the 1st half of the day in the Game 3 Wrap-Up. We hung out for a while to soak it all in, then we went over to Friday's to get another drink. Dave was buying, so I got a Captain and Coke (free drink count : 5) and got rowdy with some Brewers fans. Things started to die down at Miller Park, so we went out to my Uncle Mike's house. Today was my little cousin Joey's baptism, but I missed it due to the fact that I need to be at the game 2 hours prior to the start, and since I don't have a car, I need to leave my house on the bus 1 1/2 hours prior to that. So that means if the game on a Sunday starts at 1:00 pm, I need to leave my house at 9:30 am. So I had no choice but to miss his baptism. But we went over to hang out, with my family, and I grabbed a couple of more beers (free drink count : 7). Since we were already out in Menominee Falls, we stopped by J. Reiley's, which is a bar owned by Dave's brother Mike. James bought me a beer (free drink count : 8) and we sat at the bar. James had to work at 5:00 am tomorrow morning, Jenny at 7:00 am, and I had to work at 8:00 am. We were all ready to turn in and head off to bed, but James' friend (one of his co-workers from the HD) called and said that the Brewers were partying over at Karma on Ogden and Van Buren. So of course we had to stop there. I got to meet and party with CC Sabathia (who is all of 6'7" and 290 lbs, and was really wasted that night), Mike Cameron, Bill Hall, and Prince Fielder. I stood behind Fielder, and I realized that I am Fielder's white body double. He's the same height and same build as me, but I have to imagine that he's stronger and in better shape than I am. I got CC's and Bill Hall's autographs, and got to mingle with them for about a half hour. After those guys left, James bought me yet another beer (free drink count : 8) and his friend bought me a shot (free drink count :9). It was after midnight, and I really should have been going home and into my warm and cozy bed, but I went out to BBC's to meet up with my roommate Paul. I finally paid for a drink today (paid drink count 1), and before you think that I was freeloading all day, I didn't bring any money with me because I was expecting to make money at work. I grabbed some bills, and Jenny and I (James went home cause he had to work in less than 5 hours) went out. While I was there, I talked with some other Brewers fans, and they ended up buying me a shot of Goldschlager (free drink count : 10). Jenny and I finished off the pitcher of Miller Lite, then we went back to my house. Since Jenny worked across the street at Beans and Barley (I live above Vittuchi's) she slept over on the pull-out couch. So at about 1:30 am, I finally went to bed and officially closed the book on the Greatest Day of my Life. So getting to the playoffs was an exciting thrill ride, I expect the playoff games to be exactly the same. I altered my work schedule so that I will be home from work by 2:00 pm so that I can sit on my couch, pop open a few beers, and soak up every moment of my 1st Brewers postseason in my non-baby life. The whole reality of this hasn't really sunk in yet, but I'm sure that it will tomorrow. Hells yeah bitch.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies (Wednesday October 1st, 2:00 pm CST) - Game 1 of National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

- pookon -

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

Brewers vs Pirates 9/23 - 9/25 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 51 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates September 23 - September 25 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

We have played some stellar baseball against the Pirates this year, and like the local schoolyard bully, we have beaten them up pretty bad. This series could not have come at a better time. See, we needed wins bad, real bad. What better team to get wins against than a team that we already had a 11-1 record against (including 6-0 at home)? We needed some momentum big time going in to the final series against Chicago, and there was no doubt in my mind that we needed to win out the season just to have a chance to make it to the playoffs. The Brewers had an off day on Monday September 22, but the Mets played the Cubs and lost. In fact, the Mets are playing a huge 4 game series against the Cubs, and it was the first and only time that I cheered for the Cubs. It hurt really bad to have to root for the FIB Southsiders to win, but one of my friends made it easier by saying that we shouldn't root for the Cubs, we should root for the Mets to lose. No matter what semantics you use to describe this awkward situation, for 4 days only, I was saying let's root root root for the Cubbies!, if they don't win we don't go to the playoffs. I'm sure that both the Mets and Cubs knew what was at stake here for the Brewers, because it was pretty hard to ignore it. All you have to do is turn on SportsCenter or log onto the internet and be constantly reminded that the Brewers were seeking a return to the postseason for the 1st time since 1982. That year has been emblazoned into our memory for the past few years, so I'm ready for a new year to take it's place. Can it be 2008? If the Brewers take care of business at home against the Pirates and Cubs, and the Mets tank it just like they did last year, then we'll be popping champagne right along with the players as we dance in October. But we have to get there first, and the first order of business is to take down the Pittsburgh Pirates and put a couple more W's in the appropriate column. Let's now stand up, cheer our asses off, and get on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Tuesday) - Dave Bush (9-10, 4.25 ERA) vs Jeff Karstens (2-6, 4.03 ERA)

I got home from work just in time to see the Brewers score 2 runs in the bottom half of the 1st inning. Cameron reached on an error, and Braun sent a laser beam triple to center field that Nate McClouth (Pirates center fielder) just barely missed on an all out dive. The ball caromed off of the indentation in the center field wall and started heading away from McClouth and towards right field. Braun scored on the play, and originally I thought that he just hit an inside the park homerun. I guess I was just cheering too loudly to hear Brian make the call that Braun scored because of a throwing error by McClouth. Oh well, we still scored 2 runs in a very promising 1st inning. But Bush gave them all back plus 1 in the top of the 2nd, when all 3 batters that he walked (including the pitcher Karstens) came around to score. It was tough to watch that shit. Walks almost always come back to haunt you, and I cringe whenever a Brewers pitcher walks a man to start off the inning. Those 3 runs proved to be costly cause the Brewers just couldn't put together any offense after that. I was worried that we would get shut down today, and I was even more nervous when I saw that the Mets won. We certainly couldn't afford to fall further back of the Mets in the standings, so today was a must win. In the 7th inning, Mike Cameron hit a double scoring Counsell and Lamb, and the Brewers took a 4-3 lead. Guillermo Mota, who has been pitching so well lately, chose a really bad time to serve up a homerun, and the Pirates took a 5-4 lead. The season seemed to be crashing down around us just when we were on the verge of greatness, but then Jason Kendall came through with a clutch hit in the 8th to score Hardy. Torres came in with the score tied 5-5, and kept it that way to give the offense the chance to walk this one off and send the crowd home happy. And that is exactly what they did tonight. With 2 outs, Braun legged out an infield single, which gave Prince Fielder a chance to win the game. He connected on a pitch from TJ Beam and sent it deep into the Toyota Tundra Territory for a huge walk off homerun. I was yelling and jumping all around my apartment, and it's a good thing that there aren't any dead bodies in the vicinity because I was yelling loud enough to wake the dead. I sure hope the bar downstairs heard me, because I sure as hell couldn't hear them. They should've been going crazy. Damn fairweather fans. The Brewers gave me something to cheer about though, and I loved every second of it. 5 games to go now baby. This is freakin' exciting. Final score Brewers 7, Pirates 5.

Brewers record : 86 - 71, 2nd place NL Central, 2nd place NL Wild Card (1 game behind the New York Mets)

Game 2 (Wednesday) - CC Sabathia (16-10, 2.80 ERA) vs Paul Maholm (9-9, 3.71 ERA)

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The Brewers were in a must win mode, so it was no surprise when they brought CC Sabathia back on 3 days rest to face the Pirates. We probably could have thrown Carlos Villanueva or Jeff Suppan out there against the Pirates, but neither of those were guaranteed wins. CC is as sure as they get to being guaranteed, so it was nice to see him out there. Things didn't start out so hot, as CC ran into some trouble early and needed 28 pitches to get out of the 1st inning. But he didn't give up any runs, so it could have been a whole lot worse. The Pirates did manage to get on the board in the 3rd inning, but the Brewers took the lead in the 4th thanks to some patience at the plate. Maholm couldn't find the strike zone, and both Weeks and Kendall walked with the bases loaded to score some runs after Fielder had already knocked one in. And it turns out that those 3 runs were all that CC needed (as usual) to win the ballgame. Just to be safe, the Brewers tacked on a Badger Mutual Insurance run in the 6th inning to put them up 4-1. CC made it through 7 innings, and although Torres gave up a run in the 9th inning (continuing his recent struggles on the mound) the Brewers were able to hold on and win this one. And since the Mets lost today, the Brewers pulled back to even in the Wildcard standings with 4 games left to play. Wow. This is the most incredible time that I have had in my entire life and I can't imagine anything being as exciting as this year's playoff race. Final score Brewers 4, Pirates 2.

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Brewers record : 87 - 71, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card (tied for 1st with the New York Mets)

Game 3 (Thursday) - Yovanni Gallardo (0-0, 1.88 ERA) vs Zach Duke (5-14, 4.82 ERA)

Today's game was one of the best games that I have ever seen in person. I would easily place it in the top 5, but I don't think that I could call it the #1 of all time. It was mega important because of what was at stake, and also because Yovanni Gallardo was making his 1st start since May 1st when he went down with a torn ACL. All eyes were on him from the beginning of the game, since he would be on a limited pitch count (somewhere around 70 pitches). He started off a little shaky, but ended up going 4 innings (57 pitches), while striking out 7 and only allowing 1 run. The Brewers really couldn't have asked for anything more out of him. My God did Yovanni look good today. It mad me wish that he never got injured and that we would have had him for the entire year. But then I have to ask myself a question - if Gallardo had stayed healthy all year, do we still go out and trade for CC Sabathia? I don't think that we would have, because Gallardo would have been that front of the line pitcher that could have stabilized the rotation just like CC Sabathia did when he came to Milwaukee. But who knows what could have been, we only know what is, so we welcome Gallardo back onto the pitching staff with open arms and loud ass cheers. As promised, Dale Sveum emptied out the bullpen in an effort to win the game at all costs, and the bullpen answered by holding the Pirates to just that 1 run. Unfortunately, the Pirates starter and relievers also held the opposing team to just 1 run in regulation. By the 7th inning, the Brewers players and fans had already learned that the New York Mets had defeated the Chicago Cubs, so we needed to win if we wanted to remain tied for the Wildcard lead. Things were looking a little bleak, but at least it was tied 1-1 in the 9th inning, which is always favorable for the home team. But the Brewers came up empty in the 9th. We went into extra innings, and Coffey (a real nice and surprising waiver pickup who will be in the Brewers bullpen next year) and Stetter blanked the Pirates. In the 10th inning, Weeks singled, Kendall bunted him over, and Durham and Counsell walked, which made way for Ryan Braun to be the hero today. Braun launched a 2-2 pitch into the leftfield bleachers for his 1st career grandslam and 1st career walkoff homerun. I moved down to the leftfield bleachers (I was working tonight up in the Club Level) for the final 2 innings, and it was electric out there. Hell, the whole goddamn stadium was electric tonight. Everyone who entered got a white Brewers towel, and in the 10th inning, everyone was on their feet waving the towels and screaming like crazy. When Braun leaped into the arms of his teammates at homeplate, the place went absolutely nuts. The players then made their way back to the dugout and to the clubhouse. The fans kept on cheering their asses off and wouldn't shut up until Braun came back out for a curtain call. What a way to end the series and remain tied at the top of the Wilcard standings. Final score Brewers 5, Pirates 1.

Brewers record : 88 - 71, 2nd place NL Central, 1st place NL Wild Card (tied for 1st with the New York Mets)

Boy, the Pirates must really hate the Milwaukee Brewers this year. The Brewers finished the season with a 14-1 record against the Pirates, with the only loss against them coming at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. That's not just beating a team, that's mollywhooping and manhandling them. If the Brewers go on to make the postseason, it will be because of teams like the Pirates. Sure, you gotta win the big time important games, but if you don't beat up upon the teams that are worse than you are, then there's no use talking about October baseball. Our 14-1 2008 record against the Pirates was awesome, and the Pirates streak of consecutive losing seasons adds another year. It must suck to be them, but I can't feel bad for that team, the city, or their fans, because I'm way too busy getting excited about our team, our city, and our fans. After all, Pittsburgh was last in the playoffs in 1992, so they haven't been suffering nearly as long as we have. Sure, we're getting better and playing competitive baseball until the end of the year. We've got a good mix of young players and veterans. We've got a great pitching staff. We have an owner who invests money in the team. We have a general manager who does what it takes (trading the top prospect Matt LaPorta for CC Sabathia, firing Ned Yost with 12 games remaining) to field a competitive team. We have the fans (over 3,000,000 passed through the turnstiles at Miller Park) who continue to come out to support this team. And then we have me, a diehard Brewers fan who has been waiting for this moment for my entire life. Come to think about it, I kind of do feel bad for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans. Except for the sweet ass team name and logo, there's not too many reasons why I'd be proud to call myself a Pirates fan if I was one. I guess they do have it pretty rough. But teams like Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay have really turned it around lately, so who's to say that the Pirates aren't next? I don't mind if they do, as long as they still let us beat them 14 out of 15 times a year. Wouldn't that be awesome if the Brewers and Pirates were 1 and 2 (respectively) in the division next year? That would be like a complete opposite of 5 years ago. And just to make it sweeter, the Cubs and Cardinals would have to be dwelling down in the cellar. Man that would be cool. Yeah right, in my dreams. So get hyped, and enjoy every moment of this playoff run while it lasts Milwaukee. It could be another 26 years before baseball is this exciting in late September again. Here's hoping that it won't be. Take care.

Next up - September 26 (Friday) - September 28 (Sunday) Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

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

Brewers @ Reds 9/19 - 9/21 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 50 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Cincinnati Reds September 19 - September 21 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

Thankfully this 10 game roadtrip is coming to an end, but we gotta get through Cincinnati to get back home to Milwaukee. You can never overlook a team that is out of contention for the playoffs, because they are so pissed off about their season that they want nothing more than to ruin your season. Or at least it appears that way. I do believe that is why they call it playing spoiler to the other team. I know that the Reds are in evaluation mode right now (so much for being picked to be the surprise team to win the NL Central) but I'd rather like it if the Reds could just let the Brewers win a few here and take it easy on them. But no one in their right mind would ever do that, so we just have to go out there and hope for the best. I'm getting tired of wishing, hoping, yearning, praying for some miracle, and all that bogus jazz. I want results, and I want them now. But I have to be patient and let the rest of the season play out, and be satisfied with the results. Those results better be damn good or I'm about to flip out again after yet another disappointing Brewers season. But not yet - gotta lay 'em out for them to play 'em out. This sucker isn't over yet, no matter how bleak things have been looking lately. So on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Friday) - Jeff Suppan (10-10, 5.06 ERA) vs Ramon Ramirez (1-0, 2.45 ERA)

This game was just downright ugly. I'm really not sure that I have seen many games as bad as this one, and I at least can be thankful that this kind of thing doesn't happen every day. Jeff Suppan was nothing like his former late season dominant self, and in fact, he was quite the opposite. He allowed 3 runs off of 6 pitches to open the game, and it just got worse after that. By the time that he was out of the ball game, he had given up 5 runs off of 5 hits and 2 homeruns. Manny Parra was asked to come in the game and eat up some innings, and even though he went 4 innings tonight, he also gave up 5 runs. But he one-upped Suppan by allowing 4 homeruns. Tim Dillard gave up yet another homerun to the Reds in the 8th inning, making it a total of 7 homeruns that the Reds hit today. Yikes. I read after the game that the Pepsi smokestacks out in centerfield ran out of fireworks because they shot off too many of them during the game. Bill and Brian were saying that it was like a heavy fog was rolling in off of the Ohio River. I just hope that the fog was strong enough to push this game out of my memory, because it certainly is strong enough to push our playoff hopes further and further away. Final score Reds 11, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 84 - 70, 2nd place NL Central (9 games back of Chicago), 2nd place NL Wild Card (2 games behind Philadelphia)

Game 2 (Saturday) - CC Sabathia (15-10, 2.85 ERA) vs Johnny Cueto (9-13, 4.62ERA)

Things were getting worse by the day. One of the reasons that the Brewers signed Jeff Suppan is because he is a consistent veteran pitcher who has been there before and is not supposed to feel the pressure in the big games. He's supposed to perform at times like yesterday when the Brewers needed him most. As you can tell by the results, that didn't happen. In fact, it was far from it. So that's why this game was huge. We needed to rebound badly, and we once again turned to CC Sabathia to bail us out of this current predicament. CC didn't pitch all that bad, but he pitched bad enough to suffer his 2nd loss as a Brewer and his 2nd in a row after losing to the Cubs last time out. CC allowed 4 runs, but only 1 of them was earned thanks to Prince Fielder's 16th error of the season. With all this talk of Chad Johnson legally changing his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, I think that we should all persuade Prince Fielder to legally change his name to Prince Error. Cause he certainly isn't much of a fielder. It's simply inexcusable for a 1st baseman to commit that many errors in a year. After all, 1st base isn't really that hard. Besides left field, it's the easiest position to play. You just stand there are people throw you the ball. Wow, sounds real tough Prince. Way to cost this one. I was upset big time because the Wildcard is slipping away, but I was super pissed off because we were watching the game over at my Aunt Linda's house. My cousin Tyler is a huge Cubs fan, and he kept on reminding me that the Brewers lost and the Cubs won, and that the Cubs won the National League Central Division title. Yeah, like I needed to be reminded that we totally suck right now. And then he made it even worse (it was possible) by wearing an Alfonso Soriano jersey style t-shirt. When I saw it, I told him that there was only 1 player on the Cubs that I hated more than Soriano, and that was Carlos Zambrano. While I was busy drowning my sorrows in a glass of Captain and Diet Mountain Dew, the kid goes and changes into his Zambrano jersey t-shirt. I wanted to give him an atomic wedgie so bad, but I didn't because he's probably still feeling the effects of the one that James gave him like 4 years ago on the 3rd of July at the Lakefront. No need to further scar the kid. After all, he's already got it bad enough cause he's a Cubs fan. The Brewers tried to put up enough runs to cover the 4 that CC gave up, but surprise surprise, they couldn't scrape together a few runs. Tell me if you've ever heard that one before. So once again we failed to win a game when CC is on the mound. Damn it. It's looking very bleak, and with a week to go, we're 2 1/2 games back in the Wildcard race. Egads. But we're not mathematically eliminated, and that my friend, is all that counts right now. Final score Reds 4, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 84 - 71, 2nd place NL Central, 2nd place NL Wild Card (2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets)

Game 3 (Sunday) - Seth McClung (5-6, 4.17 ERA) vs Bronson Arroyo (15-11, 4.66 ERA)

So after losing games 1 and 2 of this series, the Brewers turned to Seth McClung (?!?) to stop the bleeding and right this ship back into the winning direction. And for the most part, he succeeded. He went a shade over 3 innings, but only gave up 1 run, which would be the only run that the Reds would score today. Knowing that, you need to stand up and give a nice applause to the bullpen (including McClung) for limiting the Reds from scoring today so that the offense could have a chance to put up some runs without ever being behind and playing in a pressurized comeback mode. Coffey, Villanueva, Gagne, Mota and Torres all chipped in to keep the Reds off of the board, and Svuem is showing good managerial skills in using all of his available resources to win games at all costs. The Brewers were going up against Bronson Arroyo, who has been putting together a very nice 2nd half this year, so I knew it would be a tough game for the Brewers to scrape out a win. But they did just that, and scraped out a rather nice one. Fielder hit a solo homerun in the 2nd to keep his scorching hot streak going. And then the Brewers did something that they haven't been doing lately - they tacked on some runs. Fielder collected 2 more RBIs today when he doubled in Braun and Counsell in the 4th. The Reds committed an error in the 5th that allowed 2 more runs to score, and luck was finally starting to swing back on our side. This was one Sunday that you wouldn't catch me watching football (although my roommates insisted that I put football on the main TV in HD so that everyone could be happy and I could watch the Brewers game on the secondary TV) because there were bigger and better things on TV. I had the Mets game constantly updating on my iPod, and rejoiced when the Brewers won and the Mets lost, to cut their deficit in the Wildcard race to 1 1/2 games. With 6 games left to go (all at home) and 1 1/2 games between us and the playoffs, this is about to get really ridiculously interesting and exciting. Hell, I've been along for the ride for 156 games, why would I suddenly get off? Final score Brewers 7, Reds 1.

Brewers record : 85 - 71, 2nd place NL Central, 2nd place NL Wild Card (1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets)

So the Brewers take the final game of this series, and finish with a winning record on the road at 41-40. They haven't had a winning road record for some time, so that's got to be a good sign that better things are on the horizon. We've got a good record at home and a good one on the road, but none of that really matters unless we are at least 1 game better than the next best team. As we've seen in previous years like 1992 (when we finished 92-70 but did not make the playoffs because there was no Wildcard team in the playoffs) your record really doesn't mean squat if you aren't playing baseball in October. The last roadtrip of the year was really rough on this team, but the good news is that they would be coming back home to play the Pirates and the Cubs. The Brewers have totally owned the Pirates this year and are currently 11-1 against them. And the Chicago Cubs have already clinched the NL Central, so they most likely will be resting some of their starters. If they still do happen to play their regulars, you'd have to imagine that they won't be giving it their all, because there is no real reason to do it. So we got that going for us. I only know one thing for sure - this thing is really gonna come down to the last minute and I'm gonna love every single minute of it. But we'll see about that. No sense getting all excited about something later that I don't have any control over right now. But it feels so good that baseball still matters to people in Milwaukee that aren't named Scott Andrew Reck. See you in a few...

Next up - September 23 (Tuesday) - September 25 (Thursday) Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Cubs 9/16 - 9/18 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 49 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs September 16 - September 18 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

And so continues the most wretched roadtrip that the Brewers have ever seen, not only in terms of difficulty, but also in terms of the implications it has on their season. The city of Philadelphia has a longstanding tradition of having unruly fans, and Citizens Bank Park is a hitters park, which wasn't kind to the Brewers considering that Ryan Howard is just mashing the living shit out of the ball right now. Too bad we caught him while he was hot. Too bad, so sad. So that series is over (thank God!) and we can now concentrate on this one. The Cubs are the best team in the NL this year, but for once it doesn't really pain me to say it. It's hard to argue with their style of play. They have the right mix of guys who can hit for average and power, play above average defense, and for the most part, they have a pretty solid pitching staff. Sure, their bullpen is a little weak, but so it every other team's this time of the year. You really can't argue with their versatility and the depth of good quality players on the bench. It seems that anyone on that team can make a spot start and really hurt you. I won't do this often (because I love nothing more than to bash and hate the Cubs), but I have to say that I respect their plate discipline. They show incredible patience at the plate, and don't swing at a lot of garbage pitches outside of the zone. That shows in their batting average (8 players batting at .285 or above) and on base percentage (9 players with an OBP of .350 or above). Compare that to the Brewers batting average (3 players batting above .285) and on base percentage(3 players with an OBP of .350 or above) and you can easily see what the Cubs are leading the NL Central and the Brewers are not. The Brewers are lucky to win 80 + games with a 2nd baseman (Weeks) batting .234, a center fielder (Cameron) batting .240, and a 3rd base tandem batting .224 (Hall) and .227 (Counsell). I'm amazed that we could scratch out as many wins as we did. Up until September, our pitchers have been throwing out of their minds (crazy good) so now that they have come back down to reality, it's no surprise that we are losing games. But the Cubs are guaranteed a playoff spot, and for some reason the Brewers play well here at Wrigley Field. This ought to be an interesting series. It always is between these two clubs. Starting with this series, I am temporarily working normal people hours from 9:30 am - 6:00 pm, so that means I get home at 7:00 pm just in time to take my pants off, pop open a beer, and watch the Brewers game. For the next few hours until bedtime, I would either be clinging to the edge of my couch hanging on for dear life, or nervously pacing around my living room. Brewers-Cubs games always make me tense up because it's never over until it's over. Well, that's enough talk up here in this section, so I'm gonna get moving on with the wrap-up. Oh yeah, and f#*k the Cubs.

Game 1 (Tuesday) - CC Sabathia (15-9, 2.88 ERA) vs Ryan Dempster (16-6, 3.02 ERA)

The big news before this games was that the Brewers fired Ned Yost with 12 games remaining in the season and have given Dale Sveum a chance to lead the team to the playoffs. I won't mention that much here, because I already wrote a separate entry about that. Check it out here, if you have not already done that. The bigger story, in my opinion, is how would the players react from here on out and whether or not it was the right move to get them to the playoffs. So after losing all 4 games in Philadelphia, the Brewers needed to rebound badly with a win today, and they sent the best possibly candidate up to the mound to do it. CC Sabathia has been nearly flawless, with his only tough game coming against these same Cubs back in July at Miller Park. Turns out that the Cubs are the one team in the National League that he can't handle, for whatever reason. The Brewers were going up against Ryan Dempster, and it still pisses me off that he's been this good all year long. He was a decent closer, but he was known to blow quite a few games. As soon as I heard that he was going to be a starter again, I was happy because I knew he would suck. Turns out I don't know shit about the Cubs, and I'd kinda like to keep it that way. But there's no way that he should be a 16 game winner with a 3 ERA. That's just wrong. Sabathia got touched for a run early (the 1st inning) and never looked right out there. He allowed 2 more in the 3rd and 1 more in the 7th (homerun by Soriano), and his night was over. He was responsible for 4 out of the 5 Cubs runs today, which normally wouldn't be too bad, but the Brewers offense has been so sluggish lately. The Brewers did show a little life today, and Prince Fielder was an absolute beast. In the 6th inning, he hit a crowd stunning blast that ended up on Sheffield Ave (outside the right field bleachers) to pull the Brewers within a run to make the score 3-2. But then Soriano hit his homerun to put the Cubs up 4-2. Fielder hit another homer in the 8th inning, this time to center field, to bring the game back within a run. The Cubs then scored 1 in their half of the inning to make it 5-3. So every time the we scored, they scored too. This sucked big time. The Brewers got 1 more run in the 9th inning against Kerry Wood, who is also excelling in his new role. But then Prince Fielder struck out looking on a nasty curveball with the bases loaded to end the game. He already hit 2 homeruns in the game today, so you can't expect him to do it all. He's good, but he's not that good. Very few players can just be totally untouchable, and while Prince may someday get to that level, he's still a pretty young and raw player. So it was tough to watch them lose another one for 2 reasons. 1 - they dropped out of 1st place in the Wild Card lead thanks to the Phillies taking over the NL East division lead. 2 - CC Sabathia was handed his 1st loss as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, which essentially closes the door on his CY Young Chances. He would have had to be perfect to be in contention for that award. But none of those matter right now because we just need to freakin' win. And if we can't win while CC is on the mound, then God help us. Final score Cubs 5, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 83 - 68, 2nd place NL Central (8 games back of Chicago), 2nd place NL Wild Card (1/2 games behind of the New York Mets)

Game 2 (Wednesday) - Ben Sheets (13-8, 2.98 ERA) vs Jason Marquis (10-9, 4.39 ERA)

So after the disappointing game yesterday, I exhaled a sigh of relief that we would have Ben Sheets going today. That sigh became a scream when Sheets exited after the 2nd inning with arm problems. He has some elbow trouble, and it is doubtful that he will make another start this year. Same old Ben Sheets; we can't even count on him in a playoff chase in a contract year. So this game could have quickly got out of hand, but Sveum emptied out the bullpen and DiFelice, Coffey, Villanueva, Stetter, Gagne, Mota and Torres all saw action. Torres was the only one out of those 7 who allowed a run, and that was in the 9th inning (obviously) of a game that was already over. But with the explosive Cubs offense that has the potential to score big in 1 inning, the game is never over until it is over. Which was why I was so relieved to see out # 3 in the 9th inning. The Brewers scored 3 runs early when Prince Fielder continued his scorching hot streak by clearing the bases with a double. And with no outs in the top of the 1st and 3 runs on the board, the Brewers never looked back. They scored 3 Badger Mutual Insurance runs in the 7th inning to give the bullpen a little breathing room (Sheets allowed a run in the 2nd inning and the Brewers had been clinging to a 3-1 lead) and while I was clinging to the edge of my couch waiting for the other show to drop, it never did, and the Brewers won the game. The Brewers bullpen did a really nice job holding the vibrant Cubs offense to only 2 runs today, but it's going to take a masterful performance by Dave Bush (who has horrible career numbers against the Cubs) and the Brewers offense to take this series tomorrow. But we'll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes. Enjoy the victory today, especially because 84 wins already guarantees a better record than last year's 84-79 season. But 84 wins will not be enough to win the NL Wildcard, so we gotta come back tomorrow and win another one. But Dale Sveum gets hi s1st win as Brewers manager, and the Brewers chalk up 1 more in the W column. Final score Brewers 6, Cubs 2.

Brewers record : 84 - 68, 2nd place NL Central (8 games back of Chicago), 2nd place NL Wild Card (1/2 games behind of the New York Mets)

Game 3 (Thursday) - Dave Bush (9-10, 4.22 ERA) vs Rich Harden (10-2, 2.03 ERA)

Dave Bush did a fine job today limiting the damage to only 2 runs, and the bullpen continued to impress as Coffey, Gagne and Mota each contributed with scoreless innings. But that will all go overlooked as Torres blew a 6-2 lead with 2 outs in the 9th inning in a damaging and ill-timed loss to the Cubs. The Mets won today, so the Brewers fell to 1 1/2 games back in the Wildcard, which could be a whole lot more damaging than this game 3 loss. The Brewers offense was aided by some shoddy Cubs defense in the 6th inning when they scored 4 runs, and with Torres coming on in the 9th with a 4 run lead, this game looked like it was over. But according to Bluto (John Belushi in Animal House), "Over? Did you say 'over'? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!" He ran out of the room, and Torres and the Brewers ran out of steam. They eventually lost the game in the bottom of the 12th inning, and I lost my lunch. I mean it. I literally got sick from watching the Cubs win this game. Today was really tough, but that is why there is always tomorrow. But the Brewers better watch it, because they are running out of tomorrows. Ug-ga-ly loss today. Final score Cubs 7, Brewers 6.

Brewers record : 84 - 69, place NL Central (9 games back of Chicago), 2nd place NL Wild Card (1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets)

It was bad, but honestly it really could have been worse. Had the Cubs swept the Brewers, they not only would have been almost officially out of the Wildcard race, but the Cubs would have clinched the National League Central division title with the Brewers sulking back towards the visiting dugout. Thankfully that didn't happen, but that final game in the series is still pissing me off because not only did I have to watch it, but now I have to talk about it. It still could have been worse though, because some of my friends were at the game and had to witness this devastating loss in person. Although I'd never do it, at least I could've changed the channel on the TV or shut it off. They couldn't shut out the annoying Cubs fans who were jumping around like a bunch of recently freed caged monkeys. They said that some Cubs fans were screaming in their faces and rubbing it in big time. And people wonder why I hate the Cubs. Them and their FIB fans can all go to hell. Thankfully this is the last time that the Brewers have to play at Wrigley Field this year, but those FIBs will all be up at "Wrigley Field North" come the final series of the year. Hopefully I get to kick some of them out for drunk and disorderly conduct. If not, then I'll just cut them off so that they get pissed off that they can't drink any more beer in my section of the stadium. That will show them. So the woeful roadtrip continues on down the line to Cincinnati, and we'll see how that one goes. Oh wait...we already know. But I'm not going to talk about that here - I'll save that shit for a different day. Until then : Ted - don't forget to wind your watch!

Next up - September 19 (Friday) - September 21 (Sunday) Milwaukee Brewers @ Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Phillies 9/11 - 9/14 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 48 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies September 11 - September 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

This was the beginning of the last roadtrip of the season. It was one that would see us go to Philadelphia for 4 games, Chicago for 3, then finish it up at Cincinnati for 3 games before ending the season at home. It would be a brutal 10 games that could make or break our season. Since Philadelphia currently trailed by 4 games in the Wildcard race, we could either make up some ground on them, remain tied at 4 games up, or fall to a tie for the Wildcard lead. The Brewers were in the driver's seat and had full control over their destiny, so they could chose the road that looked the most passable and free of all detours and road construction. They had all of the chances here to succeed, but as you already know, they pissed it all away and sucked it up big time. I won't waste anymore of your time rubbing it in that the Brewers are playing horribly right now, because that would be like poring salt into open festering wounds. Salt is good on the rims of margaritas, but it doesn't bode well with bleeding cuts. So with that in mind, let;s get on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Thursday) - Ben Sheets (13-8, 2.97 ERA) vs Jamie Moyer (14-7, 3.68 ERA)

Count today as one of those roadmarker games in the 2008 Brewers season. When we look back and think about what might have been, this game will always be fresh in my mind. It's because this game is the start of the end of our season. Going in to this game, we were 4 games ahead of the Phillies in the Wild Card race, which is a pretty healthy number. Granted Jamie Moyer has had a pretty good year, and the Phillies offense is something that you don't want to mess with, but I was still in the camp that believed that the Brewers were a better team. Boy was I wrong. Ben Sheets had a chance to prove that he was still that stopper that the Brewers needed to stop the bleeding, but even he couldn't contain the outpouring of suckiness that was flowing free like the mighty Miss filled to the brim with flood waters. He definitely wasn't perfect today, but he wasn't half bad either. The Phillies offense (mainly Ryan Howard, who is on a ridiculous tear right now) just outpowered and outmatched the Brewers, and this game unfortunately was over in the 1st inning when the Phillies scored 2 runs. The Brewers have just lost it, and there's no turning back now. This is by far the biggest and most important series of the year, and since CC Sabathia pitched the finale against Cincinnati, he would be unavailable for this series. That means after the Sheets loss today, Manny Parra, Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan would have to buckle down and lead the Brewers to victory. I don't like those odds, especially with the way that the Brewers have been playing so far in September. Sucks to be a Brewers fan today. It's the cross I have to bear by being a fan. You'd think that they could at ;east win one meaningful game for me, right? Wrong. Final score Phillies 6, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 83 - 64, 2nd place NL Central (5 1/2 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card ( 3 games ahead of Philadelphia)

Game 2 (Saturday) - Manny Parra (10-8, 4.28 ERA) vs Cole Hamels (13-9, 3.11 ERA)

Friday's game was rained out, and on Friday my cousin Brian texted me and told me some good news - at least the Brewers wouldn't lose today. But since the Brewers are in the middle of totally tanking it, I'm sure that they could find a way to lose a game without even playing today. Kind of like how Ice Cube in the movie Friday got fired on his day off for stealing boxes. If any team could do it, it would be the 2008 Brewers. So they pushed this game back to Sunday night. And the Saturday game went ahead as scheduled, and the results stayed the same. Manny Parra has totally hit the wall, and I don't know if it is inexperience or the gas tank being on empty, but has just lost it. I commend him for everything that he has done this year, and next year I think he will be a fine addition to our pitching staff, but he may have very well thrown his last pitch in 2008. You just can't count on him anymore this year. Parra succeeded in turning in the shortest start for a Brewers starter this year by going a minuscule 1 1/3 innings, and he gave up 5 earned runs in that small time frame. Truth be told, it really didn't matter how many runs that Manny gave up because the Brewers offense can't do shit right now. It may have just as well been 500 runs instead of 5, because we were in a hole that we couldn't dig ourselves out of. You've heard this story before, but I can't help but tell it again - the Brewers pitched poorly, committed some errors, scored some garbage runs late, and ended up losing the game. Sounds like a normal September to me. So the Brewers lost. What else is new? Final score Phillies 7, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 83 - 65, 2nd place NL Central (6 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card (2 games ahead of Philadelphia)

Game 3 (Sunday afternoon) - Dave Bush (9-10, 4.24 ERA) vs Joe Blanton (7-12, 4.82 ERA)

So we already lost 2 of the 1st 4 games, and we turned to Dave Bush (?) to turn it around. Sure, he's been pretty consistent (12 wins in 2007 and 2006) and had a really good August (4-0 I think), but it was going to take more than that to win a game here in Philadelphia. Bush was actually pretty good today, going 6 innings and giving up only 3 runs. So it was tied at 3-3 in the 8th inning (thanks to homeruns by Durham and Cameron) when Brain Shouse came on to pitch in the 8th inning. Yost chose Shouse because of the matchups, but Shouse failed today and the Brewers gave up the lead. And then the Phillies kept piling on the hurt and ended up scoring 4 runs in the 8th inning to tell this game a bedtime story, tuck it in, and put it to bed for the night. The Philadelphia offense was even kind enough to preemptively pack lunches for tomorrow morning and to also leave some spare change just in case the Brewers wanted to get a snack or a soda out of the vending machine tomorrow. So they really took care of the Brewers in this game, and they sealed the deal on the series victory. The only solace that I could find in this game is that most doubleheaders result in a split between the two games (so since the Phillies took the 1st game, the Brewers were supposed to take the 2nd game). So that means that the Brewers were almost guaranteed to win the 2nd game, right? Wrong. Final score Phillies 7, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 83 - 66, 2nd place NL Central (6 1/2 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card (1 game ahead of Philadelphia)

Game 4 (Sunday night, makeup of rainout on Friday) - Jeff Suppan (10-9, 4.85 ERA) vs Brett Myers (10-11, 4.06 ERA)

They played a doubleheader today due to the rainout on Friday, and Jeff Suppan was given the ball to not fail today. They really didn't ask a lot of him. It's not like the Brewers coaches asked him to throw a no-hitter or a complete game shoutout; they just asked him to not suck. Apparently that was too big of a task to ask Jeff Suppan to do today. He followed Parra's start with another short start of his own - 3.2 innings pitched and 6 earned runs. The Brewers signed him to a 4-year $42 million dollar contract for his veteran leadership and playoff experience, and also to start and perform well in games like this. You need a calming presence on the mound to go out there and pitch well and avoid a sweep to a team that is fighting against you to overtake you in the standings, and Suppan was just no match for these Phillies today. Now I like Suppan a lot, and I think that he is a great guy, I certainly appreciate all that he has done for the community and all of the charitable efforts that he has spearheaded and contributed to, but this kind of garbage just cannot fly with a team that is in a win now mode. So the free fall begins (or continues?) and this is turning into a September to forget. Green Day sang "Wake me up when September ends." They must have been looking ahead into the future at the 2008 Brewers season. The Brewers basically gave up today, and the evidence is in the box score. They only mustered up 1 run on 2 hits, and that only run came on a Prince Fielder solo homerun. The other hit was courtesy of Ray Durham in an otherwise meaningless 4th inning. Every loss is tough, but this one really hurt because it put the icing on the cake for this series. Final score Phillies 6, Brewers 1.

Brewers record : 83 - 67, 2nd place NL Central (7 1/2 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card (tied with Philadelphia)

Wow. So that totally sucked. We came into Philadelphia 4 games up in the Wildcard race, and we leave tied at even with the Phillies. This series really couldn't have gone any worse. But if there is one thing that I have learned from Galaxy Quest it's "Never give up, never surrender." Until the Brewers are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, I will still sit here in my dream world and pretend that Milwaukee has a good baseball team that is capable of making it into the playoffs. C'mon guys! How freakin' hard is it? You were giftwrapped the Wildcard on Christmas morning, but by the time that you saved the supposed best present for last, it turned out to be a giant lump of coal. So all of the other kids are playing with their slingshots and toy trains, and you've got this giant black mineral. Well done sirs. Way to piss of your fan base that has been aching for this moment since 1982. I hope that you guys don't sleep well at night, cause then you will know what it is like to be me. I've tossed and turned in agony over this team and wanted nothing more than to see a playoff team before I die. I really don't think that I am asking too much. Hell, I'm not even asking you to win in the playoffs. I'm just asking you to get there so that we can stop saying 26 years and 1982 in the same sentence time and time again. In the words of Danny Glover, I'm getting too old for this shit. But even Lethal Weapon got 3 sequels, which is more than I can say for the Milwaukee Brewers. They haven't got shit to show for 38 years worth of dismal futility (thanks for the word choice Balkman). Ryan Braun called this series a "complete and total disaster.", and I can't agree with him any more. The Brewers came into town 4 games ahead of the Phillies in the Wildcard race, and they leave town tied for the Wildcard with the Phillies. I don't think I could be any more pissed off than I already am, and they only thing that could make me more mad is if the Brewers fail to make the playoffs. By the way that things are going right now, that's more of a reality than I ever dreamed was possible. But it's not over yet, and I will not give up until the Brewers are mathematically eliminated.

Next up - September 16 (Tuesday) - September 18 (Thursday) Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers vs Reds 9/08 - 9/10 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 47 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds September 8 - September 10 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

So there have been 5 disaster games out of 7 so far on this homestand, so you'd think that the Brewers would want to win a few to help ease the pain, right? Wrong. Granted they would be going up against a young and up and coming Cincinnati Reds team that just took 2 out of 3 against the Chicago Cubs, but they're still the Reds. I don't care if they have been playing better lately, they are still a 64-79 2nd to last place team. Those are the kind of teams that you have to beat in September if you wish to make it to the playoffs. In August, the Brewers had no problems beating up on teams like these Reds, the Padres, Pirates, Nationals, Astros and Braves. But then the calendar page turned to September, and suddenly the light switch was turned off and the Brewers started playing these teams differently. The only theory that I can come up with is one of the beauties of September - the rosters expand and they call up players from the minor leagues. For those teams (like the Reds and the Padres) who are out of contention, they chose to play their young guys as a semi-audition for the next year. It's like, let's run these kids out against major league pitchers/batters and see how they do and then reevaluate them next year in Spring Training. Since a lot of these players are new to the big leagues, there is little to no scouting reports on them and they have a lot of potential to change the tide of the game against a contending team. So even though they have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they still have a chance to do some damage and spoil the dreams of another team that is trying to get to the playoffs for the 1st time since 1982. Looks like someone forgot to tell the Brewers that even though it is September, it is OK to beat up on the lesser teams. You have to win games right now at all costs, but it seems like the disappointing homestand just didn't get any better. It was a rough one, but we have no choice but to get on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Monday) - Dave Bush (9-10, 4.23 ERA) vs Edinson Volquez (16-5, 3.23 ERA)

Dave Bush had a real rough start in the finale against the Mets, so there was no where left to go but up from there, right? Right actually. Normally when I ask those questions, I usually answer with a wrong and then complain a whole lot. But not today. Well, I will complain today but I'll spare you for the moment. Dave Bush looked like he was that dominating pitcher that he was back in August, and he went 8 innings and gave up only 2 runs. The Brewers offense scored a hefty 5 runs (well, at least hefty for this homestand) and were in position to win the game. Since I promised that I would b complaining on here later on, I have no choice but to keep that promise right now, no matter how much it pains me to type this. With a 4-2 lead, Yost chose to bring in his closer in a must-win situation. It didn't matter that Bush basically shut down the Reds and only threw 99 pitchers, because your closer is supposed to do just that - close out the game. We all knew what happened next. The Reds loaded the bases with recording an out, then Patterson hit a single off of Torres' leg for an infield single. So now 4-3 with no outs. Keppinger then hit a double off the wall in left to score 2 runs, and the Reds had a 5-4 lead. I swear all of North Ave. heard me screaming at the top of my lungs and throwing furniture around my apartment. The bar downstairs must have though that either a grisly murder or a wrestling match was going on upstairs. This was a game that they couldn't afford to lose, but yet somehow they figured out a way to do it. And that is what sets Milwaukee back from the other playoff contenders - the inability to win when it matters. Cordero came in and shut the door for the Reds and the Brewers drop a heartbreaker in Game 1. Bush was great, but Torres couldn't hang on. At least we're OK cause we got Suppan going tomorrow, right? Wrong. Final score Reds 5, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 82 - 62, 2nd place NL Central (4 1/2 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card (3 games ahead of Philadelphia)

Game 2 (Tuesday) - Jeff Suppan (10-8, 4.63 ERA) vs Ramon Ramirez (0-0, 2.25 ERA)

I got off of work at 7:00 pm today, which is really odd for a Tuesday, but I wasn't about to complain. My Dad was in town for a few days, and he was planning on going over to my brother James' house to hang out. When we got there, he already had some burgers on the grill and some cold LandShark Lager in the fridge. Talk about a hospitable host. So I sat down on the leather couch, ate my burger and corn on the cob, and watched the Brewers game on a 56" flat screen TV. 1 of those 4 was bad, and it wasn't the leather couch, the food, or the giant TV. It was the Brewers game. Jeff Suppan was the usual - 5 innings, 4 runs. The Brewers offense was their usual for September - only 1 hit through 6 innings. I was getting tired for no apparent reason (although it may have been getting tired of watching the Brewers suck) so I hitched a ride home with my Dad. On the way home, we drove along Lake Drive, which is a nice long scenic ride. It gave us time to listen to the radio long enough to hear Ray Durham hit a 3-run pinch hit homerun to tie the game at 4. But I got home and watched on TV as the bullpen couldn't hold on as Seth McClung gave up a run in the top of the 11th to put Cincinnati up for good. Francisco Cordero came in for the bottom of the 11th and shut the Brewers down, and they lost their 3rd game in a row and their 7th in this horrifying month of September. Final score Reds 5, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 82 - 63, 2nd place NL Central (4 1/2 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card (3 games ahead of Philadelphia)

Game 3 (Wednesday) - CC Sabathia (15-8, 2.81 ERA) vs Bronson Arroyo (14-10, 4.65 ERA)

CC comes to save the day!! Well, not really, although any other pitcher might have done worse. CC went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs, which should have been enough to keep the Brewers in the game long enough to win it, although they did only score 1 run while he was still in the game. So that means when he exited, he was in line for his first loss as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. If I were a part of that team I would've done whatever was necessary to stop that from happening. But I'm not a part of that team, no matter how much I tend to think that I am. Thankfully that team came through by scoring a solo run in the 7th and a 2 spot in the 8th to go ahead. Torres came on in the 9th and saved a much needed win for the Brewers. CC settled for the no decision, but I'm sure that he was able to revel in the team win. It wasn't the biggest win of the year, but it sure was important to record the victory before heading out on the brutal final roadtrip of the season. Final score Brewers 4, Reds 3.

Brewers record : 83 - 63, 2nd place NL Central (4 1/2 games back of Chicago), 1st place NL Wild Card (4 games ahead of Houston)

I'd call it the worst homestand ever, but making that statement would force me to go back through the archived record books and analyze the data of seasons past to see if there was a worse homestand than this. So I'll just call the worst homestand in recent memory. They are right in the think of the playoff chase leading the NL Wildcard, then they get swept by the Mets, split the series with the Padres, then lose the series to the Reds. That means they finished this homestand with a 3-7 record. Not good for a team that desperately needs to win as many games as possible to secure that Wildcard entry into the playoffs. The Houston Astros made a surprising late season push to get themselves tied for 2nd place at 4 games out with the Philadelphia Phillies, who we will be playing in this upcoming homestand. This next series is the biggest one of the year, because the winner of it will probably make it to the playoffs while the loser gets to sit at home and cry. I'm a man, so I'm not much into crying (except during the end of Aladdin when the Genie gets freed of the lamp's magical spell) so we better not lose. But since I already know the outcome of that series, give me a second while I dry my eyes with these tissues. Damn it.

Next up - September 11 (Thursday) - September 14 (Sunday) Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email : pookondotcom@gmail.com

The Wheels have fallen off of the bus

NED YOST IS TOAST! I can see the headlines now. Soon they'll be splattered across every sports section in newspapers and the internet. Some of them (internet) are already displaying the story. In what has become the worst collapse in franchise history (from a team that is known for 2nd half collapses) the wheels have officially fallen off and the end of the Brewers season has begun. Some people think that this will spark a fire under the players' asses (which is what a shake-up like this is supposed to do) but I think that even though Yost deserved to be fired, now was not the time to do it. After the Brewers have lost 11 of 4 games this month, this firing is a panic move because they didn't know what else to do. Sure, it's been a move that has been a long time coming, but most fans will tell you that it should have been made last year. Hell, some people were even calling for Yost's head back in 2006 when they barely finished at .500 (81 - 81 on the final series of the year at Pittsburgh). All arguments (at least the ones that have sufficient data to back them up) have their warrant here, as Yost's decisions and managerial moves were scrutinized more that anything that I've ever seen. Fans screamed bloody murder when he kept on trotting out Gagne and Turnbow, and blasted him for his lineup decisions and constant shuffling of the lineup. Talk radio and newspapers had a field day with the tinkering that Yost did, and honestly I'm pretty sure that I have taken a few jabs at him on this blog here. I don't think that Yost's firing will have any impact on this year's team (and I'll happily eat my words if the players respond and go on a huge winning streak to close out the season and make the playoffs) and knew that it was going to happen during the offseason. Melvin said earlier this year that Yost's 2009 option was picked up on his contract, but that was just to quell the naysayers who were saying that Yost would be fired because it was the last year of his contract. Apparently 2009 doesn't mean shit to Attanasio and Melvin. Not me either. I haven't even begun thinking about the offseason because we are still mathematically eligible for the postseason. When (and if)we are not, then we can start once again looking towards next year like we always do. Time will only tell if firing Yost with 12 games remaining in the 2008 season was the right move to make.

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I'd like to take a second to say some good things about Yost, because I'm almost certain that people will only be saying negative things over the coming weeks.

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1 - He defends his players, sometimes to a fault, which takes the pressure off of the younger players. By refusing to call someone out or chew them right to their face, he instilled some confidence in the players. No one (aside from Gary Sheffield in his late Brewers days) wants to go out and fail at their job. So when Weeks boots a ground ball or when Manny Parra uncorks a wild pitch, Ned didn't yell, he just offered constructive criticism. But sometimes people respond better when you hold them accountable for their actions. Ned never seemed to do that. But he did allow players to work through their struggles. Sometimes the only way to learn is by making mistakes. And the only way to get better is to practice, have continuity and be repetitive. A player cannot break out of a slump by riding the bench. Yost would sometimes stick with players (I hate to say it, but Bill Hall) too long to the point where they were detrimental to the team. He was long known as a players manager, and especially right now, players like Ryan Braun are speaking out defending Yost and saying that he never lost faith in the players, so they didn't lose faith in him. But sticking to his guns and playing favorites regardless of the matchups cost him his job.

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2 - He did end the 13 year losing streak by guiding them to a 81-81 record in 2005, then took them to their 1st winning season since 1992 by finishing 83-79 in 2007 (despite a 2nd half collapse that saw us lose the NL Central division by 2 games). I've been working at Miller Park since the 2002 season, so trust me when I say that I've seen some bad teams. Now it could just be the players assembled by Doug Melvin and Jack Zduriencik (Brewers have drafted arguably quite well in the past few years), but it takes a manager to motivate the individual players and make them work as a team.

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3 - He never tried to make his team something that it was not. Let's face it, this is a power team that hits homeruns and is prone to high strikeouts. He took what he was dealt by Melvin and Zduriencik and ran with it. There's no sense trying to play small ball if you don't have that type of team. Truth be told, he could have tried to change it or use players like Counsell and Durham more often, but he really didn't have much of a choice.

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4 - He was the lightning rod of criticism from the fans, and for the most part he took it. How much would it suck if people were always talking shit about you. How would you respond? The team was better, the expectations were sky high, and maybe we thought that our team was better than it actually was. Maybe now we are seeing the Brewers for what they really are - a mediocre team. Mediocre teams do not make the playoffs, good teams do. In the end, the poor play by the Brewers players cost him his job because people always need somewhere to point the finger when things are going bad, and as manager, all of the fingers were pointing at him. It's not really fair, but in professional sports the coach almost always gets fired before the players are held accountable for their actions.

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5 - Gosh, it's really hard to come up with 5 good things about Ned Yost, which I guess is a reason why people couldn't stand the guy. I guess he deserves some credit for being a former Brewers player, even though he was just a backup. My big thing about Yost was his lack of experience. Did you know that the Milwaukee Brewers are the only Major League franchise that has never hired a manager with post-season experience? Kind of surprising, unless you are a Brewers fan. Everyone around the country is getting used to the fact that it has been 26 years (since 1982) since the Brewers were in the playoffs because it is mentioned in every recent article about them. That really sucks.

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To remedy this situation (which is one of the worst in Brewers history) the Brewers must make the playoffs this year (growing more and more unlikely with every passing day) or go out and hire a proven manager in the offseason, then make the playoffs in that manager's 1st season. If they make the playoffs either way, then maybe it was Ned Yost's fault that we sucked so much even though on paper we should be a very good team. Time will only tell on this one, which is one of the hardest things about it, because we have been waiting so God Damn long for a winning and competitive team, and we are sick and tired of the words "next year." We've spent far too much money and effort investing in this product, and we expect and demand results. So R.I.P. as the manager of the Brewers Ned Yost, but I highly doubt that you will be missed. That is unless someone else comes in here and really screws it up, which will go to show that you were right all along. Best of luck in your future though. But whatever you end of doing, please don't join the Cubs managerial staff then really stick it to us year in and year out. There's payback, and then there is inhumane cruelty. Don't be a dick Ned.

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- pookon -

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email: pookondotcom@gmail.com