What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 14 - Houston Astros / All-Star Break

The Milwaukee Brewers traveled down to Houston to play the Astros in the final series before the All-Star Break. This would be a match-up of 2 very bad teams but at the same time the Brewers were technically still in the NL Central race. The Astros on the other hand can't wait to move to the AL West. They are shipping out all of their Major League talent as they go into full on rebuild mode. So excuse me if I didn't really pay attention much to this series. It meant nothing. Wins are always good. Don't get me wrong. But the sooner they lose games the sooner they will start to sell off their assets and retool for next year. Let's call it what it is - a lost season. Other teams see it as they are scouting Zack Greinke in preparation for trading for him so why doesn't Brewers management see it? Or maybe they do and they are just trying to appease the fans. Who knows man. All I know is that it has gotten pretty boring for me to watch Brewers games because there is nothing on the line. It doesn't matter if they win or lose so why should I hang nervously on every pitch hoping for the big strikeout or clutch hit?

That leads me into the next event of this week - The All-Star Game and the surrounding festivities. If I thought that the Brewers/Astros series didn't matter, then why the hell was I watching this shit? I don't know. I guess it's one of those things that I've always done and will continue to do because I don't have anything better to do with my time. It's amazing what my life has become. So you can read about what I thought about Prince Fielder winning the Home Run Derby or Ryan Braun finally getting a hit in the All-Star Game later in the article but before you jump down there check out this video of Kevin, BK and myself breaking down the Brewers 1st half of 2012. Or drinking a lot of box wine and acting like complete idiots in AK's backyard. I think we manage to do a little of both although I don't know because I haven't watched it myself yet because I don't need to see myself acting like a fool. I already lived it. But if you want to check out what kind of nonsense comes out of our mouths then I implore you to hit play on the video below. But don't say that I didn't warn you. But having Cousin Kevin, BK3 and the Ice in the same video should be warning enough for you. It's your fault if you subject yourself to this nonsense. But do it anyway. You know you want to.

Friday July 6 - Sunday July 8. Milwaukee Brewers vs Houston Astros at Miller Park. Games 83 - 85 of 162. It's kind of hard to remember the weekend. Although it is Monday it seems like it was so long ago. I listened to the game Friday night and knowing my Brewers history, I knew they were going to win. Gallardo has dominated Houston in his career to the tune of a 10-1 record with a 2 ERA or some shit. He went 6 innings, giving up just the 1 run. Houston is also a very bad team and got worse by trading away Carlos Lee. Saturday seemed like it was already in the books as a W, but Greinke got ejected after throwing just 4 pitches. He did allow a run and spiked the baseball after a close play at 1st. We lost all momentum from there and I didn't get to see the results because I was on my way down to Chicago to see Tenacious D. I got back to Milwaukee Sunday morning around 11am and intended on watching the game, but I passed out first outside in the sun and then on the couch. Greinke started this game as well and gave up all 3 runs, so congrats to Marco Estrada and the bullpen for finally doing their jobs and keeping us in the game. Apparently we went into extra innings again (Brewers lead the majors in extra inning games, the result of a weak bullpen and lack of clutch hitting) but we won. 5 games under .500 and 8 games behind Pittsburgh at the All-Star Break. Brewers 7, Astros 1. Astros 6, Brewers 3. Brewers 5, Astros 3.

Monday July 9. 2012 MLB Home Run Derby at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. I watch the HR Derby every year. I have for some time. Probably every year since 2002 when I saw it in person while working at Miller Park during the All-Star Game and surrounding festivities. I suppose I was cheering on Prince Fielder this year because I still like the big guy. You can't blame him for taking the money and trying to get a ring. He wasn't going to do that in Milwaukee. A lot of people on Facebook, Twitter and the radio were crying because he left us and that kind of B.S. That's garbage and also why I ignore social media and talk radio most times. People are idiots. We're a small market team and he wanted large market dollars. Plain and simple. On the current scale he makes what he should and he out-priced himself off this team. That's why I've had it with that nonsense. So congrats to Prince. Well done. Keep winning things and I hope you win a World Series ring. After all, isn't that the whole reason you went to Detroit? Or was it really all about the money? Who cares and who knows. I'm done with this. 2012 Home Run Derby Champion - Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers.

Tuesday July 10. 2012 MLB All-Star Game at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. I don't know why I watched the All-Star Game. I haven't watched a Brewers game on TV in weeks (I listen to them on the radio so I can get other shit done) but yet I wasted 3 hours of my life on this meaningless game. Sure, for whomever goes to the World Series it matters cause the NL has homefield advantage, but that won't be the Brewers. Halfway through the game I grabbed my guitar and started to jam, which is the best thing that happened that night. And yes, I understand Brauny went 2 for 3 with a RBI and a run scored. And that both of those hits were for extra bases (double, triple). I don't care that he got robbed of a single and would have had a chance at the cycle. And I certainly don't care that he made a great catch taking away a hit from former teammate Prince Fielder. So why did I watch? I have no idea. Just because I always have and I didn't know what else to do. That's just the way it goes I guess. On to the "2nd Half" of the season. National League 8, American League 0.

The Brewers have a couple of days off following the All-Star Game and then go on a crucial stretch against all 3 teams in the NL Central that are ahead of them in the standings - Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Even though they are still 5 games under .500 and 8 games behind the 1st place Pirates, technically they still have a chance to get back into the race. I didn't believe that they could but that's because I checked out the minute Lucroy went on the DL but other people were still holding on. Since I'm like 2 weeks late on this we all know the outcome of that 9-game stretch but I'll let you wait to read my reaction when I post it in the next few days. Until then figure out something better to do with your life.

 - pookon -

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

What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 13 - Arizona Diamondbacks / Miami Marlins

This week saw the Brewers (a disappointing 2012 team in their own right) play against another disappointing team the Arizona Diamondbacks in a rematch of the 2011 National League Division Series. We all know how that one ended. And we all liked it. A whole lot. But from the get-go you could tell that this was a whole different year for the two snake bitten teams. I don't know the D'Backs' situation but the Brewers are plagued by injuries and poor performance. I know some of the Arizona players are playing below their usual standards (most notably Justin Upton who is well below his career avg, HRs and RBIs at this point) bu they still sit at .500. That's more that I can say about our Brewers. I pay so much attention to our team that I can't follow other teams so I don't know aside from the peripheral stats how they are doing. Then they play us and I get a pretty good idea of how we stack up against them. And I can honestly say that despite the overall records, we are better than the Diamonbacks. This Brewers team has a whole lot of talent they just need to put it all together on the same night. Every night it's a different story. The offense. The starting pitching. The bullpen. The Manager. The fans. The Shadows. The Polish Sausage. Joe Block. Enrico Pallazzo. The 6th Man. The One-Armed Man. The people under the stairs. The Ace in the hole. The Groundhog. The House of Representatives. The man, the myth, the legend. You catch the drift. It's a different thing every night. I don't know what to say anymore so I'm going to move on to the next series. I'm drunk off of box wine and I have my shirt off. Don't judge me.

The Marlins made a heralded move from Florida to Miami (in essence they stayed in the same city but changed their name) and from Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins Stadium/Landshark Stadium/Sun Life Stadium into a baseball only park of their own, Marlins Park. This new stadium opened just in time for the 2012 season and they spent a lot of money on free agents Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle to make their team relevant again. But for the most part they have disappointed the South Beach crowd with a 38-41 record prior to this series. The Marlins have already won 2 World Series Championships (1997, 2003) since they were brought into the league in 1993 while the Brewers have won none while appearing in only one World Series in 1982. Which franchise would you rather be? No offense, but I would take the Florida/Miami Marlins. I need to see a World Series Championship before I die. And seeing as I only have 9 years left on this planet (I don't expect to live past 40) it better happen soon while I'm conscious enough to appreciate it. This was a huge 4 days for the Brewers as they looked to set the ship in the right direction and also for me as I would be hanging out in Veteran's Park on Milwaukee's Lakefront for the 3rd of July Festivities. This is a huge time for me and one of the many traditions that used to be Timmy's that I now have had to take on in order for them to continue. I will not let these things end. Rage for Timmy is all about keeping some of the things going that he embodied. Tradition was huge for Timmy and I will grind myself to the bone and wear out my last spark of energy in order to keep this thing going. So excuse me if the Brewers took a backseat from July 2-4 as I cared more about the setting up, day of and recovery from the most important single day of my entire year (July 3rd). That having been said, I still was able to catch enough of these games to get a good understanding of where we stood at this point in the year. If you've been following along this year we're in the same position as we've been all year long - 4-6 games under .500 and clinging to life support.

Friday June 29 - Sunday July 1. Milwaukee Brewers vs Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park. Games 76 - 78 of 162. This is the first time Arizona has played at Miller Park since we ended their season with a victory in Game 5 of the NLDS. What a difference it is this time around. Milwaukee is 36-42 and in 4th place in the Central and Arizona is 39-39 and in 3rd place in the West. Both teams won over 90 games last year and are having disappointing seasons. Looking at the scores below you can understand why - they are the same teams. Inconsistent offense and pitching. Sure Saturday and Sunday were fun but watching Randy Wolf get shelled on Friday wasn't. I'm done with that guy. Ryan Braun proved on Saturday that the fans are wrong not to elect him an NL starter in the All-Star game (and this is coming from me!) and Gomez was outstanding when put in the right spot and used properly (like he was on Sunday). I think I summed up the weekend alright. I worked all 3 games for the first time in a while so I was too busy making money to offer a full analysis. Sue me. I certainly have the scratch to pay legal fees now. Diamondbacks 9, Brewers 3. Brewers 10, Diamondbacks 2. Brewers 2, Diamondbacks 1.

Monday July 2. Milwaukee Brewers vs Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Game 79 of 162. Tonight was the beginning of a very long couple of days. I only got to hear part of the game on the radio because I was busy setting up for the 3rd of July fireworks. And sadly I heard the losing part of the game where Greinke gave up 5 runs in 5 innings and not the part where Ishikawa tied it up or Aoki bunted home the eventual winning run. But after everything was set up and the cars were parked up the hill for the night I could sit and relax a bit and have a nice cold adult beverage. Bu even still I don't remember listening to the game. That's because so much planning and preparation goes into the 3rd of July that I wanted to do nothing else but sit by the lake and relax. Like almost every other day this season the Brewers were secondary to whatever else I was doing. In years past I would have had a problem with that. But this isn't years past. Things change. I've changed. Brewers 6, Marlins 5.

Tuesday July 3. Milwaukee Brewers vs Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Game 80 of 162. Regardless of what BK3 will tell you, this was an awful game even though they won. When you have a 9-2 lead in the 7th inning you shouldn't ever be tied in the 9th, losing in the 10th and have to rally back to win the game. I wish I could be more pissed off about this but July 3rd is my favorite day to sit and listen to a Brewers game. Laying out by the lakefront with a beverage in hand, trying to find some shade and hanging out with my family. There isn't a whole lot better than that. Having slept only 2 hours the night before, I was too hot (it was in the mid-90's) and tired to really pay attention so I can't really get into details about this one. All that I know is for one of the first times I can say that I'm glad that I wasn't at this game. There is no reason why anyone should be subjugated to bad baseball. Congrats to the offense for putting up runs and then putting up more but the bullpen (10 runs in 4 innings) should be ashamed of themselves. They are a bunch of losers this year. I don't know what happened. Are the losses of Saito and Hawkins that huge? Except for them it's the same guys. What the hell? Brewers 13, Marlins 12.  

Wednesday July 4. Milwaukee Brewers vs Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Game 81 of 162. Here we are at the statistical halfway point of the year. It's fitting that it falls on a disappointing game because that about sums up the 2012 season. After riding the high that was last year we're really riding the lows now. I was passed out for most of this game (thanks to the July 3rd festivities) but it still was no surprise to me that the result was reality and not just some conjured up nightmare. Wolf was cruising then decided to lose this game himself before letting the bullpen do it again. But once again the offense rallied back (they haven't been the problem lately) but Axford blew another save with 2 outs, 2 strikes and no one on base of course. A solo homerun to a batter hitting under .200. A batter with a girl's name (Gaby). Ridiculous. I should have seen it coming. Christ, it happens often enough this year. There was no comeback magic left and the offense can't bail out the bullpen every day. And we're right back to 5 games under. This is why we need to sell. Every time we get back in it we take another step back. They've been doing it all year. And they'll keep doing it. Marlins 7, Brewers 6.

Thursday July 5. Milwaukee Brewers vs Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Game 82 of 162. Same old crap. Different day. Once again we fall to 6 games below .500 and split a series that should have been won. That 4 game winning streak was nice but now we followed it up by losing 2. Hurray Hurrah. They just can't get things going man. The worst part is that I said that very same thing back in May when they were struggling. They haven't been doing any better since then. When is the rest of the world going to realize it? And by world I mean Roenicke, Melvin and Attanasio. Maybe they do know but can't say it because it's a bad PR move to admit defeat. Oh c'mon guys. The fans know. Or at least the ones who have half a brain and aren't complete morons. Any Brewers fan who thinks they can still win the division or make the playoffs should be expelled from Brewers Nation. I get it - have faith. Be a homer. Love your team. But don't be an idiot. Don't be uneducated. Be a little realistic. Have you watched or listened to this team? Is this a playoff team? No. Is this a winning team? No. Then what they hell are they? Marlins 4, Brewers 0.

For every good thing the Brewers do they do another thing that is equally as bad. They (barely) won the series against the Diamondbacks and then go ahead and split the series against the Marlins. Nothing has been solved and at the end of the week we still sit 6 games under .500 and 8 games behind the 1st place Pittsburgh Pirates. That's been the story on repeat for the entire 2012 season. Up next is a series against Houston which they should easily win and then the All-Star Break where they will hopefully recharge their batteries and get ready for the second half. If they still want a piece of this thing they have to come out like gangbusters over the next few weeks. Time is gonna tell you whether or not this team has a chance. I'm still calling this one as being over because 8 games back is a tough hole to dig out of and they haven't been at .500 for like the entire year, but I have been wrong before. And I might be wrong again.

 - pookon -

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

Drunken Live Tweet - Heavyweights

Heavyweights is one of my favorite movies ever. I don't like to rank movies because I love so many of them and I rarely ever hate a movie because I find at least something of value in each one of them. This is also why I own so many movies and watch them over and over again. I watch movies like people watch TV (I don't watch TV shows or anything on TV outside of the occasional Brewers game) except that I usually put them on in the background while I'm working on something else like this blog or pookon.com. My cousin Brian (BK3) loves this movie too and we often quote it knowing that most people have no idea what we are talking about. It's surprising that there are so many people who haven't seen this 90's classic. It's from the same guy (Steven Brill) who wrote the Mighty Ducks so it has a lot of the same child actors like Karp, Russ Thompson and Goldberg. Oh and it's also written by Judd Apatow and has Ben Stiller in it. That alone should make you go watch this movie right now. And when you do you should check out my Drunken LiveTweet Commentary that I did on it on night in preparation for my epic Goonies commentary. So I'm sorry if this is a little brief or that it isn't that funny. I was just watching this movie and drinking so that I could warm up for what I knew would be the best Drunken Commentary ever in The Goonies. Don't worry, I'll get around to posting that someday but for now enjoy Heavyweights.

It looks like I watched Super 8 before I watched Heavyweights (which I watched before The Goonies) so now you have an idea of how many movies I end up watching in a average day when I have nothing better to do. I know that I always blamed my hideous physique, my asshole attitude and the disdain of human company for the reason I'm still single but I might have to toss in my habit of sitting by myself drinking and watching movies instead of going out and meeting people as another reason. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me but I have no desire to date, get married and have kids and shit like everyone else. I just want to hang out and do nothing. I probably have some issues or something that can be unpacked by a psychologist or balanced out with medication but I don't think anything is wrong with me. I'm just different I guess. So if you want to be different with me then you know how to reach me. If not then continue to do whatever you were doing before and have a nice day.

#Super8‬ may be one of the best movies I've seen...ever. It's my kind of movie. It's a shame I waited this long to watch it.

I really wanted to ‪#LiveTweet‬ ‪#Super8‬ but I got so wrapped up in the movie. I had to enjoy my 1st time. When I go for 2nds I'll do it. 

My ‪#FortuneCookie‬ just told me "your present plans are going to succeed." My plan tonight was to get drunk! ‪#yahtzee‬!! 

Afterglow is the sweetest fucking place on the Earth, but how much sweeter would it be if they got a blob? ‪#Heavyweights‬

You're fatter than I am! Why don't u go to camp? Listen up you Mighty Duck fuck! Don't talk to George Bluth Sr. that way!‪ #Heavyweights‬

When Timmy saw Pat Finley in The Family Man he started chanting "Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!" ‪#Heavyweights‬

Nurse Julie is one of the hottest movie characters ever. That strawberry blonde hair is enough to send me to the infirmary. ‪#Heavyweights‬

Jerry Stiller can achieve in 2 minutes of screen time what some actors fail to do in 2 hours - make me laugh hysterically. ‪#Heavyweights‬

Of course Karp knows each ahthas names - they're his Mighty Ducks teammates Russ Thompson and Goldberg. ‪#Heavyweights‬

I'd like to have Nurse Julie as my partner in the "body system" if you know what I mean. Boddddddaaaayyyy! ‪#Heavyweights‬

Gerald's father is Maury Garner. Typical old guy name. What kid is named Maury? Or Herbert, Eugene Howard or Walter. ‪#Heavyweights‬

Girl: why don't they just lose weight? Other girl: why don't you show them how to throw up after meals like you do? ‪#SickBurn‬‪ #Heavyweights‬

I'm surprised that my parents never sent me to fat camp. Must have considered me a lost cause. Or couldn't afford it. ‪#Heavyweights‬

My goal in life is to prove that Russ Thompson learned the knuckle puck at Camp Hope and not on the streets of L.A. ‪#Heavyweights‬

I got some real Tony Perkis hair going on right now. I'm Perkasizing! Too bad I don't have his body... ‪#Heavyweights‬

While the campers were munching on pizza + ice cream sundaes, Pat Finley was with Nurse Julie munching on something else.‪ #Heavyweights‬

Pat Finley is my hero. So all I have to do is be a camp counselor and I get some sweet Nurse Julie puss? ‪#Heavyweights‬

I love that Tony Perkis Sr. is Maury Finkle, founder of Finkle Lighting Fixtures. Do it. Do it. Do it. ‪#Heavyweights‬

Nurse Julie as the Statue of Liberty is like a fantasy come true. I'd do either of them. I love me some USA. ‪#Heavyweights‬

I had a crush on this chick in high school that looked like Nurse Julie. I never even worked up the nerve to talk to her. ‪#Heavyweights‬

All this Nurse Julie talk makes me think 2 things - I'm incredibly lonely and "keep it in your pants Reck!" ‪#Heavyweights‬

It's amazing how you hold on to one thing forever. You read all that Nurse Julie talk above. I'm not in love with Nurse Julie. I'm in love with that girl from High School that I knew for 4 years, had many classes with and lived in my neighborhood yet I never ever said one word to. Welcome to my sad and pathetic life. I just thought I'd throw that in there in case you were wondering if I've always been an idiot or if it was something that I grew into over the years. I don't understand my life or the people that keep coming back for more of it. All of you reading this right now should be ashamed of yourselves for contributing to my endless insanity. But coming back here and humoring me like someone in the world gives a damn is one of the worst things that can happen to a guy that is constantly alone. It gives me hope that someone out there actually cares about what I say or do. I can't have constant human connection. It is something that I don't know how to deal with. I wasn't meant to be a part of normal society. I've always been one of those fringe people who are kind of on the edge between what is normal and what is strange. I'm not quite normal enough to fit in with all of you. And I'm not strange enough to find a clique that will accept me. So like many movie heroes/villains (think the Incredible Hulk but not strong, not green, not angry and with a gut instead of muscles) that is forced to walk the Earth alone because there is no one else out there like them that understands. 

Sucks to be you reading this because now you are a part of the journey. You came here to see what I thought about the movie Heavyweights and you are saddled with this diatribe. I apologize for that. In some movies you can figure out the ending 5 minutes into the film but this is one of those with a twist ending that goes BAM and leaves you with one of those "I didn't see that shit coming!" feelings. It'll happen more times than not around here because I'm pretty god damn random. But of course if you've ever been here before than you already knew that. Hell of a day. Hell of a life. How did I get here? That question can be figured out with careful research. The bigger question is where do I go from here? That's the million dollar question. With a million possible answers. Who the hell knows where to start. I certainly don't. Or else I would have done that already.

 - pookon -

www.pookon.com

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

http://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman

What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 12 - Chicago White Sox / Cincinnati Reds

I wonder how many current Brewers fans know that the team used to be in the AL Central until the 1998 season when they moved. If I had to do an informal poll at Miller Park of people younger than me (I'm 31) I bet the majority of them would not know that to be true. That's because the casual drunken fan who is there on a Friday night has only been a fan over the last 5 years or so when the Brewers got good again. Those people weren't helping me try to fill up Milwaukee County Stadium because there were only about 14,000 of us there on a hot summer night in the mid-90's. I guess I can't blame them because if you are 21 in 2012 you would have been 4 years old in 1995. So I don't expect you to remember those days nor would I have expected you to be there unattended like I was. Granted I was 14 and would ride my bike or get dropped off by my parents, but still I went. Where am, I going with this? I'll tell you. I remember when the Brewers played the White Sox in regular division play during the season and not just once every 3-4 years as part of Interleague Play. I don't know why I care to bring this up because it's not your fault that you aren't as old as me. Count your blessings that you won't be dead in 10 years. You probably are even good looking and have a girlfriend too. I hate you 21 year olds. All this is a moot point thought because Interleague play will be expanded to last the entire year to balance out the uneven leagues (remember that the Houston Astros are moving to the AL West) and I'm certain we will play the White Sox on a more regular basis. Not that I'd want to. I don't want to be tempted to roadtrip it to the South Side where I could get robbed, stabbed or raped (heaven forbid a cruel world exists that all 3 would happen at the same time). No thank you, I'll stay safe up here at cozy Miller Park.

The Cincinnati Reds are in 1st place in the National League Central and we have to take 2 out of 3 games if we want to gain any kind of ground in the division and have a chance at the Playoffs. You see, it doesn't matter how the rest of the league is doing. You just need to keep pace with the other teams ahead of you in the division to make the playoffs. Screw the Wild Card. It doesn't happen too often, but look at the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. They won the NL Central with 83 wins (the Brewers finished 8.5 games back with 75 wins) then went on to win the World Series. All you have to do is make the playoffs and anything can happen. Unfortunately in 2012 that's not a possibility. Please tell me without crossing your fingers or with a smirk on your face that this team is better than the Reds, Pirates and Cardinals this year. This series was a pretty good gauge as to how we stacked up against the competition and as you saw, it wasn't very good. The offense was dormant in the worst way and almost got no-hit by Bronson Arroyo but at least was able to sneak out of town with a win on getaway day but still sit 7 1/2 games back. I know it's possible to come back from that but do you see it happening? They can't even win more than 4 games in a row. And usually after winning those 4 games they drop 3 of the next 4 and slide back to 5-6 games under .500 again. It's just not our year folks. Enjoy the game but do so without expectations.

Friday June 22 - Sunday June 24. Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field. Games 70 - 72 of 162. I was hoping for good things to happen on Chicago's South Side, but then again nothing good ever happens down there. I'm just glad none of our players got shot or killed. Then again, would anyone notice the difference? I bet the reanimated zombie corpse of Cody Ransom could also strikeout 4 times in a game. And I know the body of Nyjer Morgan lying in the morgue would also take off for 3rd on a 3-1 count thinking the count was full. I don't get this team. They rode the pitching performances of Greinke (Friday) and Fiers (Sunday) and both resulted in 1-0 games with each taking one game. But Saturday saw Randy Wolf and the Brewers bullpen fail a little more than Dylan Axelrod and the White Sox pen. That was on courtesy of our 2nd tier pitchers like Loe, Veras and Dillard, who is sticking around because of his legend alone. He sucks as a Major League pitcher. He should go back to creating custom made rocket jets for the rich and famous. So this Brewers team loses another series and we're back to 6 games under .500. Up next is NL Central's 1st place team Cincinnati. This should be interesting. We need to win now. Brewers 1, White Sox 0. White Sox 8, Brewers 6. White Sox 1, Brewers 0.

Monday June 25. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark. Game 73 of 162. The worst part about losing to the team that is in 1st place in your division is that you fall a full game back in the standings. The Brewers as of today are 7 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds and if they lose the next two, could fall way out of it and almost be forced to become sellers. While that would be for the best in the long term for this team, this year would suffer and the fans would stay away. No 3 million fans, no money for Scotty from the paying customers. But the trading deadline is the end of July so we don't have to make those decisions yet. But in one week it will be the statistical halfway point (at 81 games into a 162 game season) so the clock is ticking. If this offense doesn't find a way to be consistent you are going to see more games like this. And thanks to that offense who scores as much as an awkward teenager, we'll be on the losing side of these games more often than not. When all the injuries started piling up and guys we forced to start who weren't starting material, I took my emotions out of this season. so whatever happens happens man. Unless something major happens don't expect me to get my panties in a twist. Reds 3, Brewers 1.

Tuesday June 26. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark. Game 74 of 162. Remember a few weeks ago when I said getting swept by Kansas City was the lowlight of the season? Well, we've got a new one today. The Brewers offense was miserable for 7 innings and were getting no-hit by BRONSON FREAKING ARROYO! Then they showed a huge amount of life and resiliency by tying the game up at 3 thanks to Taylor Green (who collected the first hit), Corey Hart (who drove in the first runs) and Norichika Aoki (who drove in the tying run). Seemingly giving all the momentum back, John Axford was brought in for the 8th inning (WTF!?!) and gave it all back with 1 pitch, allowing the Reds to take the lead via a Drew Stubbs homerun. Then Skips O'Donnell closed off the game and somersaulted off the mound like some god damn little kid on the playground. That was pretty f'n embarrassing. Yeah I know we did the whole "BeastMode" thing last year so we should be ready for some retribution but that was tough to stomach. So now we're 8 games under .500 and 8 1/2 back of the Cincinnati Reds. Umm Brewers fans, what makes you think this team is good and can make the playoffs? Sell! Sell! Sell! Reds 4, Brewers 3.

Wednesday June 27. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark. Game 75 of 162. They had to win this one or else the season was over. Plain and simple. You can't get swept by the division leader and call yourself still in it. So things kind of came together today and they had a good showing. Whoop dee freaking doo. Where was this yesterday? Or the day before that? Or the day before that? Or the day before that? Or the... well you catch my drift. All I'm saying is so what. I've been saying it for a long time. Before this win they lost 4 in a row. How often do they win 4 in a row? Or 8 out of 10? Never. Well they may have done it once this year. But the bottom line is they don't string together victories so they still sit 7 games under .500. Until they get closer to having a winning record nothing matters. But they gotta start somewhere, right? Now let's see what we can do with a homestand. If they can't put up back to back winning series in the next week or so then everyone is expendable. For the right price of course. Change is coming. Brewers 8, Reds 4.

I hate being negative. I really do. I know that it doesn't seem like it but I wanted the Brewers to be good this year. I want them to be good every year. I was born in 1981 so I have pretty much only known failure in my adult life as a Brewers fan until 2007. So while I am overly optimistic at the beginning of the year there always comes a point where you realize that it just isn't our year. The sooner you accept it in 2012 the less likely you are to get your heartbroken. Go ahead and hold on to hope. I've done that for way too many years to do it again. If we can't gain any ground in the division nor make any kind of significant climb back to .500 then what is the point of talking about trading FOR players to make a playoff push? No sense further depleting our already thin farm system and elongate the rebuilding process. No thank you. I've sat through too many rebuilding years and would like to get it finished as soon as possible so we can be competitive again. And if that means trading Greinke then have at it. Trade anyone who isn't nailed down or named Braun, Gallardo or Lucroy. Up next we got a couple of teams who are performing below expectations in the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Miami Marlins. Now is the time to make a run as the All-Star Break looms but I just don't think they have it in them. Too many things are going bad for the team to expect any kind of miracle to happen.

  - pookon - 

www.pookon.com

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

http://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman

What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 11 - Minnesota Twins / Toronto Blue Jays

I'm a little behind here (like a child's tushie) but I have a pretty good reason. It's life man. I've been living so much that I don't have a lot of free time to sit here and type. Ok, so I take that back a little bit. I don't have the time to sit here and type about the Brewers. I'm doing plenty of work over at all of my other internet sites but the Brewers aren't doing enough to get more of my time which is sadly limited due to 2 jobs and other commitments. If I only have a limited amount of time, why am I going to waste it bitching about how wasted this Brewers season has been. But apparently I had plenty of time to sit and explain that to you instead of writing about this current team. I don't get myself. I'm an enigma. But here we go anyway. I was up in Minneapolis to visit my friends Mike and Katie and their kids Reese and Mason (who is my Godson) and I brought along Cousin Kevin for the ride. We only went to the Saturday game because of time (we were still driving up there on Friday night) or money (tickets for Saturday's game cost us $27 to sit in the last row of the upper left field bleachers so we chose to watch Sunday's game at the bar). I had better things to do that weekend instead of focus all of my attention to the team and even while I was watching the games I was talking about other things with my friends. So many other good things happened that weekend that it was damn near impossible for me to remember something about the Brewers games instead of everything else. Once again life gets in the way. But that's the way it should be. Life should get in the way of Brewers baseball instead of the other way around. I have no regrets.

The Brewers came home after a 2-4 roadtrip to play against the lone Canadian team the Toronto Blue Jays. The offense finally showed up but once again the pitching (both starters and bullpen) were downright ugly so they had to be bailed out again. This series was notable for two things which oddly occurred on the same day. Tuesday's game was the Uncle Rick game and also the Major League debut of highly touted AA prospect Tyler Thornburg. My Uncle Rick either drives far everyday to work or during the day at work. I still haven't figured out what he does for work but I do know that he fills up at BP to take advantage of their Brewers promotion. With every 8 gallon fill up you get 1 punch on this card. After like 8 punches or something you get 1 free Terrace ticket. My Uncle fills up so often that he is able to get something like 20 free tickets. That's an astounding number. That's like a 160 fill ups of 8 gallons or more since the time when the promo started until mid-June. I'm guessing the promo started in April when the season began. That's enough to take the entire family to the game (well, at least the ones who were able to make it.) I took off of work because that day, June 19, is also Cousin Kevin's birthday. So we raged. And Tyler Thornburg made his much anticipated debut and it didn't go exactly as planned as he gave up 5 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings with all the runs coming off of homeruns. But the Brewers offense stormed back only to see Axford blow another save and send us all home upset. But we still raged. And Curtis was there. But even though the Brewers did win the series they still hover around 5 games under .500 and fail to make a move closer to competing for the division crown or a wildcard. With the trade deadline coming next month you have to wonder if they will start selling off players. Failure to get back to .500 almost makes that decision easy, eh?

Friday June 15 - Sunday June 17. Milwaukee Brewers vs Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Games 64 - 66 of 162. People need to stop saying that the Brewers still have a chance to make the playoffs. But Scott - they just won 2 out of 3 from Minnesota. That's good, right? Sure I guess. But as of today they went 2-4 on the roadtrip and sit 8.5 games behind Cincinnati who is on a 6 game winning streak. And we still sit 6 games under .500. Just sit back and enjoy the ride folks, but don't expect a parade at the end. It's not happening this year. We can barely score runs just like I can barely stay awake today. Damn what a weekend I had. Minnesota is a lot of fun. Probably the best state (aside from the Motherland of Wisconsin) that I've been to. But of course it all has to do with the people you're with. I already checked out today at work. But truth be told I never checked in. You need to be awake for that. I fell asleep at work, thought I was dreaming, then realized it was the truth. Living the nightmare is what I'm doing now, both today by powering through this day and also this really tough Brewers season. I want to dream happy dreams. Brewers 5, Twins 3. Brewers 6, Twins 2. Twins 5, Brewers 4.

Monday June 18. Milwaukee Brewers vs Toronto Blue Jays at Miller Park. Game 67 of 162. When Brett Lawrie played his first game at Miller Park, I always had assumed he would be wearing a Brewers uniform. But he led off the game with a homerun as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday because back before the 2011 season he was traded for Shaun Marcum. So far it looks like Lawrie is going to be one hell of a player, but the truth is we don't win the NL Central in 2011 without good pitching and Marcum was a huge part of that, no matter the sour taste he left in our mouths with his poor pitching in the playoffs. Holy run-on sentence Batman! Although I'm sure what I did was grammatically correct, the game last night is more important than discussing the validity of the written English language. It wasn't a pretty game and Randy Wolf deserved to win (he hasn't won a game since late April). Ramirez provided the winning run on a homer that I still say is foul, even if the umpires using instant replay said otherwise. I think they just wanted to go home. It was a hot, muggy night and the Brewers took another baby step back to .500. But we aren't there yet. Brewers 7, Blue Jays 6.

Tuesday June 19. Milwaukee Brewers vs Toronto Blue Jays at Miller Park. Game 68 of 162. What a game. There was so much going on. I'll see if I can capture all of it. I showed up to work but didn't have to work so I hung out with Curtis, Brian, Jenny, Susie, Stacy and Tommy and other randoms for Kevin's Birthday/The Uncle Rick game. That implies Kevin was there too of course. And you know who else was there? Tyler Thornburg, the Brewers' best pitcher this year, who made the jump from AA Huntsville to make his major league debut. Perhaps Toronto wasn't the team for him to face, as they crushed 4 homeruns off him as he went 5 1/3 innings giving up 5 runs. Yikes. I hope he gets another shot before being sent down. The Brewers offense came back and scored 9 runs today with a whole lot of plate discipline and a grand slam by Aramis Ramirez. So that was real nice. But the Axford (who shouldn't have even been there in the first place after his son was born earlier in the day) blew the save by giving up 2 homeruns in the 9th inning and we're still 6 games under .500. I don't know why we can't get all things clicking at the same time and you almost never lose a game when you score 9 runs. That's atrocious. I just have that feeling this trend will continue and we'll never reach .500. Blue Jays 10, Brewers 9.

Wednesday June 20. Milwaukee Brewers vs Toronto Blue Jays at Miller Park. Game 69 of 162. The Brewers offense has shown a lot of life over the past week but the bullpen has fallen into complete disarray. Axford is blowing saves left and right and Veras isn't even healthy enough to pitch, yet he isn't on the DL. Manager Ron Roenicke is forced to use Tim Dillard and Juan Perez in close games because he has no other choice. So every day for the time being you just hope the starters go deep and the offense keeps pounding the ball. Thank God for the off day tomorrow which will give everyone a chance to rest. But that's in the future. Today we won the series on the bats of Hart, Gomez, Maldonado and Brauny. Lost in the shuffle is Gallardo who pitched ok, but still couldn't close out the 7th without giving up 3 runs. It could have been worse though. Much worse. Despite that we are still 5 games under .500 and I can't get excited until we get back to that mark. Nice back-to-back series wins, but let's keep the ball rolling down on the South Side of Chicago this weekend. Brewers 8, Blue Jays 3.

Up next is the last interleague series of the year against the Southsiders the Chicago White Sox (which is also the weekend of the Reck Family Christmas party which I can say was a great success because I'm talking to you from the future right now) and a showdown against the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds. Now is the time to make up some ground in this division before it is too late. It's the last week of June for crying out loud!! It is late! Time to nut up or shut up. Since the most vocal members of the Milwaukee Brewers (Shadows and Tony Plush) have already shut up, now is the time to nut up. These guys have talent. They just all need to rally at the same time and put this thing together. But it might already be too late and we might have already dug ourselves too deep of a hole. That's why I have put real life in front of Brewers life. I have total control (okay not total but you get my point) of my real life while I can't do shit about the Brewers. No sense worrying about something that you can't control. That's no way to live.

 - pookon - 

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