The All-Star break is more of a mental break than a physical break for these players. That's kind of how I feel. Sure it's great to have a couple of days off to rest the legs and arms but more often than not players do better with regular playing time, a regular routine and a reoccurring spot in the rotation. But given the way this season has gone with the constant losing and the bullpen blowing some big games, I know these guys could use a few days away to not think about baseball and instead hang out with their kids and their sexy wives. I know I wouldn't mind hanging out (and in) Emily Kuchar (Zack Greinke's wife) for a few days. I'd show her what it's like to be with someone who doesn't have Social Anxiety Disorder. What does that even mean? I'm getting off track here again. I can't talk about baseball when I'm thinking about banging broads. Wait... aren't you supposed to think about baseball when banging broads so that you'll last longer? So the two are forever connected whether you like it or not. So get used to this kind of off-topic talk around here. So essentially I'm not going to change. I talk more about banging chicks than an obviously gay guy who is trying to prove to his friends and family that he is straight. Wait... what does that say about me? Am I secretly gay? I don't even know anymore. What was I talking about? Oh yeah - the series right after the All-Star Break against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I completely forgot. Thanks for getting me back on track.
The Pirates find themselves tied for 1st place with the Cincinnati Reds coming out of the All-Star Break and are no joke anymore. There used to be a day when we would board their ships, steal their treasure and rape their women, but now balance in the world has been restored and the Pirates are no longer the ones being pillaged and plundered. That having been said, this series was at Miller Park where the Brewers still dominate even in a down year, so it was no surprise to anyone that they won 2 out of 3 games. This 9 game stretch against the 3 teams ahead of us in the division (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis) was deemed as the deciding factor that makes them buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. It was a perfect opportunity to gain some games on the front runners so might as well give it a shot, right? At the time I thought their were too many hurdles to jump to get back in it and they haven't shown any ability to put together a nice winning streak, but I'll admit that I got a little excited when the offense started showing some life. For a minute there I believed that the Brewers could compete again in 2012. And then came the St. Louis Cardinals.
Before you get on my case - yes, I know that the Brewers won 2 out of 3 from the Cardinals and did what they had to do to gain another game in the standings. But in the 1st game Axford blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th by letting the Cardinals score 3 runs and take the game and killed all momentum that the Brewers had built by beating Pittsburgh. The next day Axford was pulled from the closer's role and KRod was the next player to step up and teeter dangerously on the edge. Sure, he got a save in games 2 and 3 but each of them were marred by walks and allowing the tying and winning runs to reach base. Somehow he was able to wiggle out of it but it gave me no confidence in anyone in that bullpen. Not that I had any left after this season had completely drained me out. Even though they won they looked really ugly doing it, almost like they won on accident. And on Wednesday's series finale they scored 3 runs in the 1st inning via errors by the Cardinals and 3 of those 4 runs were unearned. It was nice to see something go our way for a change but I had that feeling that it was a little too late. Look if we were in 2nd place and only like 3 games out I would be excited. But we are still in 4th place and like 7 1/2 games back. That's rough man.
Before you get on my case - yes, I know that the Brewers won 2 out of 3 from the Cardinals and did what they had to do to gain another game in the standings. But in the 1st game Axford blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th by letting the Cardinals score 3 runs and take the game and killed all momentum that the Brewers had built by beating Pittsburgh. The next day Axford was pulled from the closer's role and KRod was the next player to step up and teeter dangerously on the edge. Sure, he got a save in games 2 and 3 but each of them were marred by walks and allowing the tying and winning runs to reach base. Somehow he was able to wiggle out of it but it gave me no confidence in anyone in that bullpen. Not that I had any left after this season had completely drained me out. Even though they won they looked really ugly doing it, almost like they won on accident. And on Wednesday's series finale they scored 3 runs in the 1st inning via errors by the Cardinals and 3 of those 4 runs were unearned. It was nice to see something go our way for a change but I had that feeling that it was a little too late. Look if we were in 2nd place and only like 3 games out I would be excited. But we are still in 4th place and like 7 1/2 games back. That's rough man.
Friday July 13 - Sunday July 15. Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park. Games 86 - 88 of 162. Pittsburgh is leading the NL Central. Everyone in the 3-Rivers area is surprised. Shit, I bet even the players on the team are surprised they're in 1st place. One person who isn't though is Andrew McCutchen. That guy is a beast. His version of the Predator Monster would whoop Rickie Weeks' Predator Monster's ass. It wouldn't even be fair, even if Rickie activated his self-destruct nuclear bomb. McCutchen could survive that because no one beats McCutchen. Why am I talking about this and not the series? Because there's nothing more to say. Sure we took 2 out of 3 against the 1st place team and gained a game. Sure we're 4 games under .500 when we used to be 5. These are steps in the right direction. But since this is the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers I'm sure they'll figure out a way to screw up over the next 6 games against NL Central opponents St. Louis and Cincinnati. The offense showed up this weekend. Nice to see them again. But it's a case of too little too late because we're in too deep of a hole. Can't possibly dig ourselves out now. Brewers 10, Pirates 7. Pirates 6, Brewers 4. Brewers 4, Pirates 1.
Monday July 16. Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park. Game 89 of 162. I'm getting pretty tired of this F'n S. And to think over the weekend the G D Brewers had me convinced that they were going to make a run at it over the next 6 games after winning the series against Pittsburgh. I hate getting my heart broken. But it's my fault. I said in April or May that they didn't have the moxy or attitude or spark of a winning team. What the hell happened yesterday? First Greinke was pushed back until July 24th which would give him 10 days between starts. This fueled all sorts of trade rumors and speculation, which contradicts the "we're still in it" attitude that Melvin and Attanasio have. How can you be in it and sit your best pitcher? I call B.S. He's as good as gone. "Recharging his Batteries." What the hell is that shit? I'm so done with caring. Especially after John Axford blew the game with the Brewers up 2-0. He walked 2 hitters and was behind in the count to everyone. He's lost it man! I'm way way too busy and stressed out to focus any more of my time, emotions and life to a team that is going to constantly disappoint me. I'll still watch. Always will. But I'm completely detached. Maybe I'll stop doing this write-up. Who knows. Cardinals 3, Brewers 2.
Tuesday July 17. Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park. Game 90 of 162. The Brewers stay on life support for another day. But there's no vital signs. There's no cure. It's still a terminal illness. The family just hasn't decided to pull the plug yet. That's pretty much it. Ron Roenicke did what he had to do and pulled Axford from the closer's role and KRod made it pay off by getting the save last night despite allowing a leadoff double and the tying run to sit on 3rd. So we won. So what. We're still 4 games under .500. We're still 8 games out of 1st behind Cincy. Stop me if you've heard this one before. Thanks for stopping me. I'm still going to keep writing though. Neiner neiner neiner. I do what I want. Winning these games is the worst thing this team can do for the current and future success of this franchise. What they are doing is stringing people along and delaying the inevitable. They are giving people hope. At 8 games under/back in the division in mid-July the time to trade is now. Unfortunately with Greinke on the shelf and KRod closing, we don't have anything of value. We're screwed. Sometimes it sucks to be a fan of this team. Brewers 3, Cardinals 2.
Wednesday July 18. Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park. Game 91 of 162. I don't know how to feel about this game. Sure, a win is always great and they took 2 out of 3 from the Cardinals. But I can't get terribly excited because we're still under .500 and still 7 1/2 games out of 1st place. I think the only thing that would get me back on track would be a sweep over Cincinnati coming up this weekend. Even without Votto I think that's impossible. But back to this game. Thornburg was alright but I'm still waiting to see some glimpse of brilliance and he needs to keep the ball in the yard. The bullpen was actually decent today (although KRod tried to Axford it in the 9th. Sorry, I couldn't resist saying that) but overlooked was the fact that the Brewers were gifted those 3 runs in the 1st due to multiple errors. Maybe it's Karma coming back in a good way and things are now going our way, but I need more proof. I've seen too much negativity this year to be overwhelmed by a single win. But it's a step in the right direction. Brewers 4, Cardinals 3.
So did that wet your whistle? Make you feel all nice and warm inside? It shouldn't. It is a fool's error to believe that this team has the ability to go on a long winning streak which is required if they want to join in the battle for the NL Central crown. All you have to do is point at the bullpen and all of your hope is stymied. We got the Reds and Phillies (all on the road mind you) coming up but I didn't give a shit about that because I was up at Afterglow. Aside from 2008 when the Brewers played the Cubs in a crucial 4 game series while we were up there (a lot of people at Afterglow hail from the Chicago area) Brewers baseball doesn't matter at Afterglow. That's one of the reasons why I'm 3 weeks behind on this series. Nothing else has mattered lately and I had the Afterglow blues when I returned home and I didn't feel like working on this shit. Especially with the fallout that happened with the (spoiler alert!) 7 game losing streak and the Zack Greinke trade. But I'll cover that in next week's Crewbicle post. See you then ya crazy bastards!
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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