Brewers @ Astros 5/2 - 5/4 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 11 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Hoston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

The Astros have always been a very good offense team, but as for pitching - not so good. Sure, they were good a few years ago (2004-2006) when they had Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettite and Roger "The Cradle Robber"...I mean "The Rocket" Clemens, but then again, with those pitchers, who wouldn't be? A lot has changed, and can you honestly tell me that you know who Brandon Backe, Shawn Chacon, Chris Sampson and Wandy Rodriguez are? Neither can the Astros fans, but those men make up the starting rotation behind Roy Oswalt. With the addition of Tejada (joining Lee, Berkman, and Pence) the Astros are going to score a lot of runs, but their starting 5 and the bullpen is suspect. You've got to bear down on them with good pitching, and it should be enough to win the game. This series was going to be a good chance for Carlos Villanueva (game 1) and Manny Parra (game 2) to step up and pitch effectively, deep into the game, and pick up the slack for their good friend Yovanni Gallardo. Carlos and Manny had spent time with Yovanni in the minors, and they are the second wave of core players that form a close knit bond (behind the first wave of Fielder, Weeks, Hardy, etc.). I knew that they'd be emotional going into the game with the loss of Gallardo for the season, and they both have a chance to turn that emotion into results on the field. I knew it was gonna be a tough test for these pitchers at this odd park (with the short porch in left and the ridiculous deep abyss in center field) but they needed to prove themselves here if we have any hope of salvaging this season.

Game 1 (Friday) - Carlos Villanueva (1-3, 5.56 ERA) vs Roy Oswalt (3-3, 5.57 ERA)

The Brewers found themselves at a disadvantage right from the get go as they squared off against the only real pitcher on the staff in Roy Oswalt. Braun hit a 2 run home run in the 1st inning, and the Brewers added 2 more in the 5th to make it 4-0. Villanueva was pitching really well, and you could tell that he was on a mission. Then it just turned into mission impossible and blew up like that red and blue piece of chewing gum. Villanueva hit a wall in the 5th and 6th inning, giving up 6 earned runs off of 4 home runs and was eventually saddled with the loss. I don't know what it is about these pitchers when they get into the 5th/6th (the 3rd time through the lineup) when they just implode. That was the best thing about Gallardo - he had poise and confidence beyond his years and aside from one poor start (against the Rockies last August) he would never blow up and give up a ton of runs. These other kids need to figure it out and pitch effectively later into games or else our bullpen is going to get overworked again and we can kiss the playoffs goodbye. Sure, the offense put up 4 runs (which is mediocre) but 4 runs just isn't enough to beat a high powered offensive team like Houston. Besides, who cares how runs you score if you let the other team score more than you? Then your offense becomes negligible because your pitching staff can't shut the other team down. It was a disappointing day for the Brewers and for Carlos Villanueva, both of whom need to get their shit in gear so that we don't see more games like. When you score 4 runs against the ace of a staff, you better be sure that you end up winning that game. I'm disappointed with this one. Astros 6, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 16 - 13

Game 2 (Saturday) - Manny Parra (1-2, 5.86 ERA) vs Brandon Backe (2-3, 4.42 ERA)

Manny Parra had a very nice minor league career before joining the Brewers in late 2007. In 6 seasons, he won 34 and lost 16, struck our 528 as opposed to giving up 147 walks and had a 3.07 ERA. He even threw a perfect game (allowing no hits, no walks, no errors, thus not allowing any one to reach base and retiring all 27 batters faced) in his second start at AAA Nashville on June 25, 2007. He was named Brewers minor league pitcher of the year, and was called up to help an ailing staff that was struggling after Sheets went down with his finger injury. Parra would have been a big part of the September playoff run, but he broke his thumb (on his pitching hand) on a bunt attempt on August 30 and didn't pitch again in 2007. He was destined for the starting rotation in 2008, but was helped out by Chris Capuano's injury (which is still very unfortunate, because I was one of many who tabbed him for a great bounce back year) and the release of Claudio Vargas. So far in 2008, he has yet to hit his stride. With the loss today, he falls to 1-2 on the year with a 5.86 ERA and an ugly 1.99 WHIP (walks and hits per inning), which is highest on the team. Like his pal Carlos, he was cruising along until the 5th inning, when he allowed 5 runs. Once again, I wasn't able to watch this game, as I was at my Mom's Caberet performance at a local church, but I was getting text updates on my phone. Every time that my pocket vibrated during that 5 run 6th, a groan could be heard coming from the back of the cafeteria, and I wasn't criticizing the performance on stage (which was excellent, by the way. Go Mom!) The Brewers offense once again failed to score with men on base and have just been struggling mightily to come up with clutch hits and knock in runs. Now that you've seen the stats and heard the news, it's no surprise that the Brewers lost this game. Another wasted opportunity for Manny to prove his worth to this team. He's not in danger of losing his job, simply because there's no other pitchers to take his spot in the rotation, but he just needs to start pitching better. Final score Astros 6, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 16 - 14

Game 3 (Sunday) - Ben Sheets (4-0, 2.29 ERA) vs Chris Sampson (1-3, 7.96 ERA)

This one hurt real bad. Now that Gallardo is out for the season, we need to take advantage of every single start that Sheets makes. Given his recent track record, it's only a matter of time before he ends up on the disabled list, so we need to win each and every time he goes out to pitch. This was also the final game of a 3 game series, and the Brewers lost the first two, so it was important to not get swept. Obviously, to some people (cough, choke, Gagne, cough) it's not that important. Sheets pitched decently, going 6 innings and giving up 4 runs, but the offense bailed him out by scoring 6 runs. The bullpen held the lead going into the 9th inning, and Gagne came on for his 10th save attempt. You know by now that his 10th save attempt quickly turned into his 5th blown save on the year. The Brewers eventually lost the game in the 12th inning on a Hunter Pence home run, which sucked really bad. What made it worse was the fact that the only games that I get to watch live are Sunday games, so for me it is really important to see a good game when I actually have the time to watch one. I'm such a die hard fan that I felt like the Brewers really let me down on this one. I kind of took this one personally, and I hate to admit it, but I knew that Gagne was going to blow this one from the moment he stepped out on the mound. Why? Because we haven't had anything good happen to us since Gallardo's injury. When it rains, it pours. Some may say that releasing Turnbow was a good thing, but I still think it is a rarity to find a pitcher of his caliber, so his ineffectiveness and eventual release has and will hurt this staff. Oh well, he's gone, now we have to worry about the people who are still here. It's going to be a real long season if the bats don't start getting hot and the pitchers don't start executing. Let's hope that it doesn't happen. Final score Astros 6, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 16 - 15

This was a real let down. Thankfully I'm so dog gone busy these days that I don't have time to watch the Brewers on TV or in person, or else Id be really mad watching them play like a bunch of 2nd rate little leaguers. I should know, I was one of them. The 1 year that I played little league, I played on a team called the Dons for my church of St. Catherines. The other team, the "A" squad, was called the Cavs (short for Cavaliers, I think). My brother James, Reck athlete of the century (you'd understand if you met my family) played for them, as if every other good athlete at my school/church. The rejects (it's a harsh word but fitting I guess - would you prefer Goonies?) I mean Goonies played for the Dons (which is short for Donatellos, I think). Sure, we loved the game and we played hard and tried our best, but we just weren't as talented as every other team in the league. The best thing about the Brewers, is even though they might play like little leaguers right now, they have more talent and potential then we could ever imagine. They're 1 big hit or one good start out of breaking out of this start, and I work in call center answering stupid questions from stupid people. Even though they are scrutinized under a microscope right now and constantly berated for every single pklay they make on talk radio, in the newpaper, and on Internet message boards, I'd trade every thing I own to be in their position right now. They get to baseball for a living. How sweet is that?

Next up - Brewers @ Marlins May 6 (Tuesday) - May 8 (Thursday) at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, FL

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers @ Cubs 4/29 - 5/1 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 10 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

For some reason unknown to me, the Commissioner of MLB (Milwaukee native and former Brewers owner) Allan H. "Bud" Selig allowed the schedulers to have 6 total games played at Wrigley in April in the cold while comfy climate controlled Miller Park sits vacant. When I saw the schedule, I was bitching about it (friendly confines my ass!) but now I love it. Since this series is over, I'm not spilling the beans by telling you that the Brewers are 4-2 against the Cubs at Wrigley this year, winning both of the series. This second one was a whole lot more dramatic, but then again, what Brewers/Cubs game isn't? Both teams could be sucking big time, but they play like the greatest teams in baseball history when they play each other. There's something about the rivalry that brings out the best in these players, but good or bad, at least we're always in for some thrilling games. These 3 would be no exception to the rule.

Game 1 (Tuesday 29) - Ben Sheets (4-0, 1.64 ERA) vs Jason Marquis (1-1, 4.45 ERA)

Ben Sheets was making his first start since returning from his triceps injury and his stint on the nonofficial DL. While he wasn't placed on the 15 day DL, he sat in the dugout during his injury and took up a roster spot, making the Brewers the only team in the league carrying 14 pitchers. It was purposely done so that Sheets could come back when he was ready, not when a calendar said he could return. Today was 10 days since he last pitched, so not putting him on the 15 Day DL seems to have worked out for this team. Today was also important because Mike Cameron would be playing in his first game of the season after sitting out the first 25 because he tested positive for a banned stimulant. I'm not going to get on him for that; call me gullible, but i believe Mike when he says that he didn't purposefully take the banned stimulant. Major Leaguers have a very strict list of things they can or cannot ingest, and it gets pretty specific. For instance, because of the ingredients in certain things, they are allowed to drink Red Bull energy drinks but not another brand such as Mountain Dew's Amp or Monster Energy Drink. It sounds crazy, but it also doesn't allow for players to illegally have an advantage over other players, even if that advantage is just minuscule. Oh well, that's in the past, and Mike Cameron is back, and judging by his performance today, he was eager to get back on the field. We all knew he'd play spectacular defense, but today his bat was on display for all Brewers fans to see. Cameron went crazy on Chicago, going 3-5 (1 double) with 1 walk, 2 RBI's, and 2 runs scored. The rest of the Brewers offense follwed suit, combining for 17 hits and scoring 10 runs. Lou Pinella (manager of the Cubs) played Jason Marquis (right handed pitcher) tonight, skipping Rich Hill (left handed pitcher) because the Brewers hitters are all righties (with the exception of Fielder). Smooth move sweet Lou, that one really worked out well for you. I guess you forgot that good hitters don't care what side the pitcher throws from, they're just going to go out there and hit. As I previously mentioned, they did hit the mess out of the ball tonight. Sheets was wildly uncharacteristic (think Turnbow starting a game a pitching for 5 innings) as he gave up 3 ER on 7 WALKS (yikes!) and threw 108 pitches in 5 innings. But he pitched just good enough to secure the victory and the offense and bullpen overcame a 7th inning rally by the Cubs. Gagne came in for the 9th and recorded his 8th save. Final score Brewers 10, Cubs 7.

Brewers record : 15 - 11

Game 2 (Wednesday 30) - Jeff Suppan (1-1, 5.19 ERA) vs Ryan Dempster (4-0, 3.16 ERA)

I'm not going to spend a lot of time dwelling on this game. It's too upsetting to bring it back into my memory. Why? Because the Cubs mollywhooped the Brewers to the tune of a 19-5 beatdown. Jeff Suppan just couldn't get it together, as he went 3.2 innings giving up 11 hits, 11 runs (8 earned), and saw his ERA jump nearly 2 full points. The relievers didn't fare so well either (it would have been nice to have Dave Bush in the bullpen, but he was sent down to AAA to make room for Gallardo) with Seth McClung the default long man. McClung was ok eating some innings, going 3 strong and only giving 1 run while striking out 5 and walking 4. Not perfect, but ok. Turnbow, on the other hand, had a complete meltdown. He was asked to pitch an inning (the 8th and final inning so that everyone could go home and forget about this loss) and completely blew it. He threw 43 pitches, gave up 4 hits, 4 walks, 6 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. Stetter had to come in and bail him out once again, and Wrigley is officially the only place where Turnbow gets cheered instead of booed. Turnbow has been abysmal this season, with his ERA now standing at an ugly 15.63. Needless to say, Turnbow was designated from assignment and now his career sits in limbo as he waits to see if someone else picks him up. If not, he will go down to AAA and work it out. I'd be fine if he was gone forever, but I'll kind of miss the wild and crazy guy. Oh well, if you don't produce, then you can't play. Plain and simple. There's no time left for losers if we want to be the champions. There's still one more game left in the series, and although today was horrible, there's always tomorrow and we could still get out of Chicago with the W in the series. Final score Cubs 19, Brewers 5.

Brewers record : 15 - 12

Game 3 (Thursday May 1) - Yovanni Gallardo (0-0, 1.80 ERA) vs Carlos Zambrano (4-1, 2.11 ERA)

By now, all of you know that Yovanni Gallardo tore his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season. Since we had already been struggling, this news comes as a huge blow and the Brewers 2008 season is starting to a complete tailspin. It's up to the offense to carry the mediocre pitching that we have remaining, and it's up to Ben Sheets to stay healthy if we don't want to take a complete nosedive. Gallardo had pitched 4 innings of 1 run ball when he jumped over Reed Johnson at first base and landed awkwardly on his right knee. It looked bad, real bad, but he got up and continued pitching for another inning. Some people thought that he seriously dodged a bullet, but most people could see by the way he landed that an injury had to occur. The 2nd party was right - our future ace and #2 pitcher would not be able to help us any more in the 2008 season. During the game, the players didn't know this (it was not revealed until an MRI was done the next day) so they kept on chugging along and came back from a 3-1 deficit against Kerry Wood in the 9th for a 4-3 victory. The expense that it came at is way too great, as we will without a doubt now finish out of first place because Gallardo is truly one of a kind. Braun came through huge today, going 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs (including a solo home run) and is showing continued signs of getting back on track. Gagne came in for the 9th and recorded hsi 9th save of the season. Today was a really good win - on the road, against an NL Central opponent, against Zambrano, and a 9th inning comeback rally. I love to hear those Cubs fans at Wrigley boo their own players. What a bunch of losers. Brewers 4, Cubs 3.

Brewers record : 16 - 12

That was a huge series win, and the Brewers are now 4-2 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field for the year. The loss of Yovanni Gallardo has the ability to destroy this young team (much like the loss of Sheets did last year) but if some of the younger players step up, we could still win without him. Sheets needs to stay healthy, and we need to win whenever he starts. Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva have the stuff to be good #3 and #4 pitchers, they just need to trust themselves, execute pitches, and work deeper into games. Losing Gallardo is huge, but not season ending. They have way too much talent on this team to collapse like that, and I'm sick and tired of people on message boards and calling into radio stations throwing in the towel and calling it a season. There's still 5 months left people! That's a whole lot of games. If it gets to mid season and we suck balls, then maybe it's time to go apeshit and panic. Not yet. Hey, relax guy.

Next up - Brewers @ Astros May 2 (Friday) - May 4 (Sunday) at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

I Hate the Cubs

My Mom always told me to not use the word hate when describing my distaste towards others because hate is such a strong word. Mom, you're always right, except in this case. I HATE THE CUBS. I really really hate them. Some of their fans can be ok, and the few times that I have gone down to Wrigley Field, I have been treated alright by the fans (aside from some good natured razzing.) Since Milwaukee is so close to Chicago, I have some friends who are Cubs fans (like my good friend Keith) so I know that we can coexist. I don't hate individual people (although I could see myself punching Carlos Zambrano in the face if I ever met him), I hate everything about the Cubs. I hate their city, hate the fans, hate the stadium, hate the players, hate the rivalry, hate their attitude. There's something about the Cubs that gets under my skin and makes my blood boil. I get so worked up whenever the Brewers play the Cubs and go crazy before, during and after the game. If the Brewers are winning, I'm beside myself and overcome with joy because I love to see a victory come at the expense of the Northsiders. If the Brewers are losing, I'm angry and livid because I know that the Cubs fans will be talking shit because they think they're better than us. And if the Cubs win? I boycot everything sports related, from the Internet, to ESPN's Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter, as well as National publications. Why? Because they kiss the Cubs asses. People call them lovable losers because they haven't won a championship in 100 years (because every team just has a bad century), but I just call them losers. The organization has no class and does whatever it can at the expense of everyone involved to win. And when they don't, they blame it on a goat or on some dude named Bartman. When all you do is point fingers to show where the blame lies, you might as well turn that finger back on your self. It's your fault your team sucks. Deal with it.

I know that I'm not the only one who hates the Cubs. Take a moment go to on the Brewers Blog on the Jsonline website (http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/) and you'll find a lot of other people fed up with the Cubs organization. And according to the image on the right, even Jesus hates the Cubs. When the savior of the human race and the only Son of God hates something, you know that they have to suck. I've never know Jesus to be a liar, and I'm 99% sure he wasn't. If he was, then he would have been in direct violation of his Dad's commandments. I'm pretty sure everyone here knows what happens when you disobey Daddy - you get the belt. Nobody wants that, and even though Jesus had superpowers, I'm sure that even he could feel that leather striking him on his backside. You saw him crying in Jesus Christ Superstar when Pontius Pilate had him whipped 39 times. Jesus not only feels his pain, he feels your pain too. Jesus is The Man, and if he hates the Cubs, who am I to disagree with Jesus?

I'm feeling higher than the kids in my neighborhood right now after a come from behind Brewers victory on Thursday May 1, which I will discuss later in my Brewers @ Cubs Series Wrap-Up (shameless plug, coming soon on Pookon's Ill Blog). I'm pretty sure I used 1 of my Genie wishes, and probably 1 of my on a shooting star wishes today to ensure this victory and a series win over the Cubs at Wrigley. I wish that I could have been at the game today to watch the disappointment set in and watch the fans boo their own players. They deserve it, after throwing garbage and dumping beers on our right fielder Ryan Braun. How did he respond? You'd think by doing something classless like giving the finger or shouting back, but oh no, he's a classy guy because he is a Milwaukee Brewer. He responded by hitting a game winning 2-RBI double in the top half of the next inning. Sweet move Brauny. That one stung those fans and made them realize how worthless they are. Nobody messes with my team.

I'm sure there's some redeeming quality that the Cubs possess, but I'm too blinded by my hate to see it. You can blame me entirely for not being open minded about this aspect, but to be quite honest with you, I have no problem continuing my hatred for the Cubs. Just seeing that C logo pisses me off, especially last year when Cubs fans came to Miller Park when the Cubs were NOT playing the Brewers for the sole purpose of cheering AGAINST the Brewers. I'm sorry, but that is complete and utter bullshit. Granted, the Brewers and Cubs were in a neck and neck race for 1st place going into the end of the season, and I was definitely cheering against the Cubs, but i wouldn't go down to Wrigley wearing Brewers gear and do it. That's asinine. I just couldn't believe that I was seeing that. What a bunch of assholes. It's reasons like that why I hate the Cubs and all of the baggage that comes with them. There's plenty more, but those are a just a few examples proving my point.

It's going to be a long season battling and trading 1st place with the Cubs, but I have no doubt in my mind that the good guys will win this one and make 2008 the happy ending dream come true the Brewers have been waiting for since 1982. The Brewers are just too good of a team and the players are so genuine and deserving of great success for it not to happen. If it doesn't, I will view it as a great injustice and go on a hunger strike or something. Screw the Cubs, peace - I'm outta here.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Get me Outta Here

I'm a little bitch cause I whine and complain about shit but don't do anything about it. This is a picture of me at work whining about my job and how much I dislike it. Without getting into too many details, I don't really like the customers that frequent our company's resources. Randall in the movie Clerks said it best, "This job would be great if it wasn't for the fucking customers." Amen brother. I can mostly deal with people. Even stupid people. It is true that there are no stupid questions, only stupid people, so I understand that I have to answer the same questions every single day. Since I'm quite used to that, it's time for me to stop bitching about that shit. If stupid people didn't have questions, then I wouldn't have a job because my job entails answering questions. I've come to peace with that nonsense. Now that I've resolved that issue, I still need something to bitch about. Thankfully I have my hours. I work from 1:30 - 10:00 pm 5 days a week (including alternate Saturdays.) Bascially, this means that I cannot work the majority of the Brewers home games, but I also am unable to watch the majority of the away games. This really sucks, because I have been able to do that since 2002 when I started working at Miller Park. Since there are no opportunities for advancement at my current job (although I just speculate on that, I never actually checked it out) I have to deal with it or find a new job.

I hate starting a new job. I hate dressing up nice, acting professional, pretending to care about work, making new friends, learning a new system, and all of the bullshit that comes with starting a new job. I've had lots of jobs in my life, but the ones that I liked I stayed at for a long time. I have been working at Miller Park since 2002. I worked at UWM from September 2002 - May 2007. I worked at AMC/General Cinema Mayfair Mall for 3 years. I don't really like change. I've settled into this job, and although there are plenty of negatives, I just really don't like change that much that negatives can't force me to do something about it. Well, besides bitching of course. So I'll just sit here in my cubicle and type up some rant on my blog. At least I have the time to do that. If I wasn't granted access to the Internet, then I'd surely be up out of this bitch. Sooner or later I'll have to do something about it, because I need more dollars if I'm ever going to move out of my Mom's house. (Note to readers - I do not live in my Mom's house, and haven't since 2002. I just did that for dramatic effect, which I have now ruined thanks to my explanation.) But I really do need more dollars because I need a car and need to buy things for my future girlfriend (cause ugly people need money for girls to like them.) This job just isn't paying me enough, but to be quite honest, I do not do enough work for them to necesitate giving me more money. So I guess once again I have come to the conclusion that I just shut up and stop bitching. Sounds easy enough, no? But I won't do it because I just don't really like change.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers vs Marlins 4/25 - 4/27 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 9 - Brewers vs Marlins at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

The funny thing about the early part of the season is that there are so many surprises. Many people had picked the Mets to win the NL East (solely based on the addition of Johan Santana) with the Braves and Phillies fighting for second place / the NL Wildcard. Nobody expected the Florida Marlins to be leading the division at 22 games into the season. The Marlins have been pitching well and hitting well, so naturally they have been winning games. By now we're all familiar with the way the Marlins organization goes about it's business - put together a winning team, win a championship, then sell off the team for prospects. It worked for them in 1997 and 2003, and recently they traded away Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera for six prospects. How can you possibly be a fan of the Marlins when they trade away their best players as soon as they start to cost money through salary arbitration? It's no wonder that they only draw an average of 16,000 fans at Dolphin Stadium (a football venue that seats 76,500, although they limit the seating capacity to 38,560 for baseball games). The place is so big that it looks like nobody goes to see the Marlins play whenever I watch the Brewers play against them in Miami. Given the way that the owners run the team, I completely understand. But enough of that for now (we'll save the talk for when the Brewers play in Miami from May 6-8) because they are playing at Miller Park, where the crowds get all rowdy in the parking lot and bring the noise inside the closed roof in the final weekend of April.

Game 1 (Friday 25th) - Yovanni Gallardo (0-0, 0.64 ERA) vs Scott Olsen (3-0, 2.06 ERA)

I'll start out by addressing three things. 1 - with Sheets still ailing because of the triceps injury, Gallardo is now the ace of this staff. He would need to pitch like an ace to hold the Brewers together until Sheets returns. 2 - I would be able to watch the majority of this game because I was getting off of work at 7:30 pm (instead of the usual 10:00 pm). And 3 - I put $5 on the Brewers to win this game, which by most standards is not a lot for wagering. But I think like Mr Wendel, and $5 may mean a snack to you but it means a big deal to me. I really couldn't afford to lose that money. I bet you can see where this one is going. 1 - Gallardo did pitch very well (7 innings, 6 hits, 0 earned runs!, 5 strikeouts) and on any other day would have qualified for the win, but...the Brewers offense couldn't put any runs across the plate. Which leads me to my next point, 2 - I got home around the 5th inning and got to watch the remainder of the game but I guess it didn't matter. The Brewers scored 0 runs off of 6 hits. That's right - they got shut out. Which leads me right into my third point, 3 - I lost that $5 and I hold the Brewers accountable for paying it back someday. The game was semi exciting, as it saw both teams deadlocked at 0-0 at the end of regulation, and once again, the Brewers were going into extra innings. Guillermo Mota came in on the 10th and basically gift wrapped this one for the Mets by allowing them to score 3 runs off of 2 hits and 3 costly walks. I don't really blame Mota (although he does get partial credit, as well as a big L on his stat sheet) because the offense just really sucked it up. Mark Attanasio - if you're reading this, even though I knew it was a gamble, I want my $5 back. Final score Marlins 3, Brewers 0.

Brewers record : 13 - 10

Game 2 (Saturday 26th) - Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 4.66 ERA) vs Mark Hendrickson (4-1, 3.68 ERA)

Today was a big day. Perhaps the biggest day on the Milwaukee CHBPL calendar - Brodey's Brewer Funday Extravaganza, or BBFE. This was the 8th incarnation of our annual beer pong/get drunk and go to the Brewers game event, aptly titled "The Ocho", a reference to the ESPN channel that features obscure sports, such as dodgeball, in the movie of the same name staring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. Now I love the Brewers (some would say that I love them more than life itself) but there was no way in hell I would be able to pay attention to the game today. We started playing the beer pong tournament at Live (a local bar) around 11:30 am, and the tournament lasted until 3:30 pm. During that time, I played over 6 games of pong, did 3 shots, and drank a few side beers. I was good to go, and we still hadn't reached the parking lot for pre-game tailgaiting. Once there, I drank a few more beers, ate some food, and hang out with some new and old friends. Inside the stadium, I bought another beer then met my friend Keith at Friday's for a long island ice tea. So what's the point of all this? I just wanted to prove that I drank too much and that I wasn't able to follow the game at all. I don't remember anything about the game. I remember all of the other events, but as soon as I stared down onto the field from high up above in Bernie's Terrace, I couldn't focus or pay attention. I meant to tape the game so that I could actually watch the game, but I forgot. I remember by the time I walked into the stadium (and I was there almost on time), we we already down 1-0, so I was worried we were in for a disappointing loss (like yesterday). I read later that night that the Brewers responded well, scoring 3 runs total in the 2nd and 3rd innings, and it was quickly 3-1 Brewers. The Marlins tied it up at 3 in the 8th, but Fielder hit a solo home run to dead center (I do remember that) in the bottom of the inning and Gagne worked the 9th for his 7th save. I did go sleep, excuse me, pass out that night with the happy feeling that the Brewers had won and another successful BBFE had occurred. All of the happy feelings left me however when I bowed down to the porcelain god and said my prayers from 4:00 am until 5:00 am. That's right ladies and gents - I blew big chunks. Small price to pay for an evening of fun with 50 of your closest friends. Man I love BBFE. Final score Brewers 4, Marlins 3.

Brewers record : 14 - 10

Game 3 (Sunday 27th) - Manny Parra (1-1, 4.94 ERA) vs Ricky Nolasco (1-2, 5.13 ERA)

I was once again in attendance for this game, as I was scheduled to work in the club level as I do for every Sunday home game. I love working at Miller Park on Sundays because business is usally slow (despite large crowds, an enigma) and I get to watch the majority of the game. It's nice when the Brewers actually play well, because if they're sucking it up, then I would be upset that I'm watching a crap-load of a game. Everything was going alright, and besides the Brewers offense once again taking the day off, the pitching was going above and beyond to keep the Brewers in the game. 1 person who felt like screwing everything up was our resident Wild Thing Derrick Turnbow. With the Marlins holding a 2-1 lead in the 7th, Turnbow was summond to hold the lead. He must not have gotten the message correctly. He did everything in his power to blow the game, including walking 2 and giving a hit to load the bases with no outs. Thankfully, Yost pulled him (how quickly the boos can turn to cheers) and Mitch Stetter, the young lefty, came in a pulled one of the most dazzling escape acts I've seen. He struck out 2 batters and got the last to foul out, ending the inning. Bill Hall came in when Stetter did as part of a double switch, and Hall made his presence known in the bottom of the inning by hitting a solo home run that tied the game at 2. It stayed that way until the 10th (another extra innings game) when WES FREAKING HELMS hit a homerun off of Seth McClung to give the Marlins the lead. That pissed me off so much because Helms sucks. That was garbage, and I still think that McClung should not be on this team. In a related note, Dave Bush was sent down to AAA to clear a roster spot for Mike Cameron, and I think that is also garbage. Bush should be kept in the bullpen and we should get rid of the trash in the bullpen (Turnbow and McClung) because as evidenced in this game, both of them suck balls. Big balls. Something should be done soon with either of them (in all fairness, McClung hasn't been that bad) because we can't keep worthless pitchers on the roster if we expect to win this year. Final score Marlins 3, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 14 - 11

The Brewers ended this 7 game homestand with a dissapointing 3-4 record. Although the sample size is rather small because they are not playing a lot of home games, they still are not dominating people at home like last year. They currently sport a 7-6 home record, but once again (the theme for the month of April) it is still early and there is no cause for panic. Let's face it - the Brewers kind of suck right now. Look at the final scores from these past few games. The pitchers have been doing a decent job keeping the team in the game by giving up 5 or less runs for the majority of the season. When that happens, it is up to the offense to score more than the opposition for the win. We're not winning because we're not scoring runs. It's as simple as that. We should be lucky to be 14-11 right now, considering how bad the offense is playing. I'm not going to rattle of stats such as hitting with runners in scoring position or the individual batting averages of every player. I'll just say that everyone is to blame because there is not one player who is playing well - everyone is just average or worse. There's no way that they keep hitting this bad all year, and I hope they break out of it against this series in Chicago, where they cannot afford to lose to a NL Central opponent that is ahead of them in the standings. I sure hope they sweep the Cubs as well (or at least take the series) because a victory tastes so much sweeter when it's at the expense of those FIB Cubs.

Next up - Brewers @ Cubs April 29 (Tuesday) - May 1 (Thursday) at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers vs Phillies 4/23 - 4/24 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 8 - Brewers vs Phillies, Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

The Philladelphia Pillies made an amazing run at the end of last year and ended up winning the NL East division title. They did get swept by the Rockies in the 1st round of the playoffs, but who wouldn't have been. Colorado put together one hell of a September (and October) last year. The Phillies are mostly the same team they were last year (which is a pretty damn good team) but they would be featuring 1 addition that had Milwaukee fans standing and giving a rousing ovation - outfielder Geoff Jenkins. The Brewers declined their team option of $9 million dollars so that they could move Ryan Braun to left and play Corey Hart everyday in right. That officially ended Jenkins' 10 year playing time with the Brewers and his 13 year tenure. Needless to say, he got a warm response from the crowd who appreciated his efforts. Jenkins always gave 100%, and was one of the most underrated outfielders in the majors during that time period. In my opinion, he should have won a Gold Glove, and it's a little surprising that he was never even a runner up. We would have loved to keep him on the team, but with the lineup we have now, there was just no room for him any more on the roster. We wish him well, and the hometown fans really congratulated him for his efforts. Classy move by these fans for a classy player. It's just too bad that Jenkins had to play for 10 years on a Brewers team that really wasn't that good. I hope he plays well in Philly, because the fans are notorious for being overly critical, and lash out with boos that could drown out any other noise. These are the fans that booed Santa Claus and pelted him with snowballs in 1968 during an Eagles halftime show. Jenkins has been known to fall into mini slumps, and I hope they don't get too down on him. But it's good to recognize Jenkins coming back to Milwaukee, but now let's get back to the series wrap-up.

Game 1 (Wednesday 4/23) - Dave Bush (0-3, 6.75 ERA) vs Cole Hammels (2-3, 2.75 ERA)

This was supposed to be Ben Sheet's start, but since he exited the game against Cincinnati with a sore triceps, the Brewers elected to have him skip this start. Dave Bush, who had been displaced from the rotation by the return of Yovanni Gallardo, had 1 more chance to plead his case to stay on the Major League roster with an effective performance today. He would have his hands full with the Phillies roster that features 2 recent MVPs (Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, injured, who would not be playing in this series) and 1 future MVP (Chase Utley). To make matters worse, we would be playing against Cole Hammels, one of the toughest young lefties in the league. It was important for Bush to pitch well and the offense to overcome their recent struggles. Well, Bush pitched good enough (4 ER in 6 innings pitched, all coming on home runs though) and the offense turned into the Prince Fielder show as he went 2-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI's. So much for all of that lack of power cause he's a vegetarian talk. With Gagne sidelined after multiple days of pitching, Derick Turnbow had to come in for the save, and despite everyone in the stadium being on the edge of their chair watching the game from between their fingers, Turnbow executed the save. Final score Brewers 5, Phillies 4.

Brewers record : 13 - 8

Game 2 (Thursday 4/24) - Jeff Suppan (1-0, 3.48 ERA) vs Jamie Moyer (1-1, 4.05 ERA)

The Brewers wasted a 7 inning, 5 hit, 1 run performance by the reliable Jeff Suppan by making too many mistakes on the basepaths and stranding too many people on base. Phillies starter Jamie Moyer throws a Reagan era fastball (in the mid-80's) which must have kept the Brewers hitters off balance for some reason. They managed 9 hits and took 4 walks, but could only score 1 run, which is rarely enough to ensure a victory. The Brewers players looked silly as they got picked off twice by Moyer (Weeks and Hall both stealing second) and Corey Hart got caught by the left fielder Pat Burrell trying to stretch a double into a triple. It;s nice to see the Brewers being aggressive on the basepaths, but when you're struggling to score runs, it's not a good idea to make outs on the bases. The normally steady David Riske has been struggling as of late, and in this game he gave up the game winning double to Pat Burrell on an 0-2 count after allowing Dobbs and Utley to reach base with 2 outs. Riske placed the blame on himself for losing this game, but despite his recent woes (his ERA is now at 7.36) this loss was a team loss. Well, the whole team minus Jeff Suppan. He deserves more than the 1 win (which he got in his first start in Chicago) that is currently on his record for the season. This game was then mostly forgettable, and the Brewers ended up splitting the series with the Phillies. Final score Phillies 3, Brewers 1.

Brewers record : 13 - 9

Hey, it could've been better, but you know, it also could've been worse. That's the only beauty of a tie. Granted, you did not win, but hey, at least you didn't lose. I personally don't like 2 game series because they normally end up being split because teams are usually so even matched that you need more than 2 games to decided a clear cut winner. The better team (for the majority of the time) should always come out ahead in a 3 game series. There are always some exceptions (such as a bad team getting hot and a good team struggling to swing the bats) but you almost can pick the winner of a series ahead of time. No one really thinks or expects that the Baltimore Orioles will sweep the Boston Red Sox. When it does happen, it's a shock and a rarity, and is also usually the top story on ESPN's Sportscenter. But enough about that, let's get back to the real story. The Brewers missed a chance to take 2 games against a good team in the Phillies, and they should have won the second game. When you get 7 really strong innings from your starter, it's up to the bats to get going and your bullpen to hold the lead. The offense and bullpen just didn't do that today. We missed an opportunity to get another W in the win column and risk falling further and further behind the NL Central leading Cubs. Thankfully it is still early in the season and we have plenty of chances to catch up. On the negative side, we also have plenty of chances to screw up this season. Let's hope that we take the first opportunity and bring it together and kick some Cubbie ass. Lord knows that's what everyone in Wisconsin wants them to do.

Next up - Brewers vs Marlins April 25 (Friday) - 27 (Sunday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

www.pookon.com

Brewers vs Cardinals 4/21 - 4/22 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 7 - Brewers vs Cardinals, Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

The Cardinals came to Miller Park for a short 2 game series, and it was the second time within a week that these two teams would be squaring off. The biggest difference was that the games were now being played in our back yard at The Keg (Miller Park) where the Brewers have historically played well. Currently, the Cardinals are still leading the NL Central and although it is still early in the season (a common retread around here) it is important for the Brewers to win against NL Central opponents and the division leader so they can stay near the top of the division. I'll keep saying it - a win now counts the same in the standings column as a win in September.

Game 1 (Monday) - Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 5.09) vs Adam Wainright (2-1, 2.73)

This game was a pitching rematch of the game on April 16th, and unfortunately the results remained the same. Villanueva has yet to find his groove, although he looks like he is pitching better in every outing. I wish I could say that his job is secure once Sheets returns to action, but I can't guarantee that. The Brewers are carrying 14 pitchers to avoid placing Sheets on the DL, but once Cameron is activated (April 29) it looks like a pitcher will be sent down to AAA. Bush has the proven track record (and innings pitched), while Parra and Villanueva are struggling to pitch past the 5 inning and both also have high ERAs. Both of these guys are essentially pitching for their jobs. Villanueva made the decision difficult by pitching 7 strong innings giving up 3 hits and 2 runs, but he did walk 4 batters. The defense was a little suspect behind him, and the normally sure handed Corey Hart made 1 error and a costly defensive miscue that allowed those 2 earned runs in the 3rd inning. Turnbow came in with the score tied at 3 in the 9th and gave up a run that cost the Brewers the victory. His appearance in this game was debated heavily by second guessers, but Gagne had pitched in the last few games and was in desperate need of a day off. Who else was Ned supposed to go with? I know Turnbow has struggled this year, but last year he was mostly phenomenal as a setup man. If he's in your bullpen, you're going to have to use him in pressure situations eventually, so I support Ned on this call, even if Turnbow did lose the game. It hurts a bit, but when you play sloppy defense and score 3 runs, you can't expect to win. Final score Cardinals 4, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 11 - 8

Game 2 (Tuesday) - Manny Parra (1-1, 5.40) vs Kyle Lohse (2-0, 2.54)

I mentioned in the paragraph above that Villanueva would be pitching for his job, well the same goes for Manny Parra. Both pitchers are young enough to benefit from getting work in at AAA and try to extend their outings (Parra has been unable to pitch past the 5th inning) without it hurting the parent club. Sheets is in line to make his start on April 29th, so a pitching change is about to happen. Cameron is also coming back from his suspension, and since the Brewers are currently carrying 14 pitchers, 1 of those pitchers will be sent down to make room for Cameron. A second pitcher could go as well if they were considering having an extra bench player (an infielder, like Joe Dillion) therefor putting their number of pitchers at 12. So who goes? I might save that for a future blog entry, but Bush and Turnbow (two marked pitchers) have been pitching better lately whereas Parra is still struggling. It wouldn't surprise me if he got sent down to AAA to iron out the bumps in his game. This game was a bit of a wild one, as both starters went 5 innings or less. Parra threw 106 pitches in 5 innings, and the bullpen was taxed as the game lasted 12 innings. The bullpen pretty much emptied out as Stetter, Riske, Shouse, Torres, Gagne, Mota and McClung all made appearances. Gagne did blow his 4th save of the year, but could have gotten out of it if Rickie Weeks could learn how to throw at Prince Fielder's chest instead of his shoes. A good 1st baseman picks the throw clean, but Prince is still young and working on his defense. Anyway, the game went into extras and the Brewers ended up winning it in the 12th when Gross walked, stole second, scored on Kapler's base hit, then kept on running all the way to Tampa Bay. That's right, after the game, it was announced that Gross had been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a case of Genuine Draft and a box of Hot Pockets. I think we got the better end of the deal, but we lose a little bit because we can no longer call for a Gross Sac when he's batting with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. I guess I won't look like a perverse weirdo anymore, because I won't be standing in the bleachers yelling, "I wanna see a Gross sac!" Most people out there don't get it and mothers just cover their children's ears. I wish him well, but the truth was that we had 5 outfielders who are better than him. There was a lot of offense in the game tonight, but the final score was Brewers 9, Cardinals 8.

Brewers record : 12 - 8

Same team, but a little different results. Not too much different, because instead of losing the series, they ended up splitting this short 2 game set. The Brewers improved to 12-8 on the year, and have been above .500 since the season started. They still are in second place in the division, and we'd like to see them occupy that top spot, but the truth is that they are not all clicking on the same cylinders right now. You couldn't honestly tell me that the Brewers are playing 100% to their abilities right now and playing flawless baseball because it's a lie. I'll go into more details in my blog entry titled Brewers Report : Don't Panic, so I'll spare you for now. It's too soon to get worried, and we should be excited that we are 12-8 despite some major and minor flaws in our game. Things are looking up, and hopefully some of the guys on this team could find their swing. They probably didn't realize that they were supposed to be looking for it, hence the delay in the searching. But if all goes well (and it will) we'll all be excited as hell come October.

Next up - Brewers vs Phillies April 23 (Wednesday) - April 24 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

It's not easy being Green

Normally I really don't care too much about the Earth. I do my part, just like everyone else, but I don't really go above and beyond to make sure that out planet still exists when our children's children are here. I recycle glass and plastic, paper and cardboard, and use public transportation (because I don't have a car and it's my only way to get around town.) I figure that those things are good enough for me to to claim that I am helping out in the cause to save our planet. There are some things that I could be doing, like campaigning for our government to make large scale changes, or picketing business that dispose of materials in a manor that hurts our environment, or going out and planting trees and ensuring that nature is protected. There are already people doing that, and I'm sure that they could use more on their side. I could write my congressman and express my concern. I could encourage others who do not recycle to think about the harm they are doing by wasting materials. I could do so much more, but I am not a very proactive person. I care enough to do a little, but don't care enough to make a difference. I simply do not put it at a high enough priority to devote enough time to this cause. I've got so much else going on in my life, but then again, who doesn't? We find time for the things that are important, so I guess this isn't important to me.

But it should be. I have no doubt that the Earth will be the same as it is today during my tenure on this planet. I'll only be here for another 60 years tops, which isn't enough time (although it could be, we never know) for a complete meltdown of all natural resources. I believe that when I die, the grass will still be green, the sky and water will still be blue, and the Earth will still look fantastic from space. I don't have kids, so it's hard for me to make changes now so that they will benefit from our efforts instead of paying dearly for our mistakes. I'm sure that your whole outlook on life changes once you have children because you end up being responsible for another person and make decisions based upon their best interest. I used to say who cares, I won't be here to deal with it should the Earth get all messed up. But I should care.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days at the Atlantic Ocean near Melbourne, Fl. Those few days were absolutely wonderful. It kind of got me thinking - what if I was unable to go outside and enjoy beautiful weather? What if we are unable to swim or play in the water because it was toxic? What if we couldn't leave our houses because we couldn't breathe the air? I also visited the NASA Space Center in Cape Canaveral, and thought about how lucky and fortunate that we are to have a planet to live on. All of the other planets in our solar system do not have the capability of supporting human life. Where do we go if we screw up our planet? Nowhere, because there is nowhere to go. If we kill our planet, we die right alongside it. I sat in my Dad's backyard underneath a palm tree and enjoyed every single second of hit. I closed my eyes, felt the sun on my face, listened as the slight breeze blew through the yard, and laid down on the moist grass. Some day, someone may not be able to do that. That's frightening to think that someone cannot share in that same simple joy that I felt just a few days ago.

I guess I will keep an open mind in the future about changing my habits and promoting new ones to others, looking for the things that I can do to make the future a brighter place for all of Earth's inhabitants, not just the humans. We all share this one planet, and we all gotta try not to mess it up. I do what I can do for now, and remain open about future possibilities. I go to sleep every night with the comfort of knowing that I'm at least doing something, but is it enough? I don't think it will ever be enough. For everyone who gives 100%, there's a person out there who gives 0%. It seems like everyone would be canceled out, but if everyone does nothing, then we're screwed. Personally, I'd love to break even most of the time and win every so often so that we win in the long run. We can only hope. Some may say that I care and post this only because it is Earth Day, and you're kind of right. It gave me the idea, but it's a start and all it takes is a good idea and a good imagination to get things rolling in the right direction. Here's hoping that I follow up on this idea.

So go outside and enjoy the world. Do a little bit to help keep it Green and fantastic. Sit around for a little and listen to nature. Carpool or take the bus instead of driving. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Care about what your actions are doing to the planets. Think before you drink. I feel better off for writing this, even though I feel like it is falling on deaf ears. I know that no one reads this, but if 1 person does and stops to think about their impact on the environment, then I have done my job. It's really not easy being green, but I'll sure as hell try.

- pookon -

www.pookon.com

Brewers @ Reds 4/18 - 4/20 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 6 - Brewers @ Reds, Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

The Brewers continue this current 9 game road trip with the last stop in Cincinnati before coming home. On April 8 - 10, the Reds gave the Brewers their first series loss of the season (at home no less) so the Brewers were looking to get even by taking the series from Cincinnati at their home ballpark. After losing 2 of 3 to St. Louis, it was important that they try to take the series and finish this road trip with a winning record.

Game 1 (Friday 4/18) - Ben Sheets (3-0, 0.96) vs Bronson Arroyo (0-2, 5.48)

Sheets has been nothing short of magnificent this year so far, and if he stays healthy (the eternal question) he will without a doubt be an 18 game winner and possibly a Cy Young candidate. That's always the biggest IF of every season since 2004. In my opinion, had he been on a contending team (instead of one that went 67 - 94 and finished last in the NL Central at 37.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals) he would have won the NL Cy Young Award. In 2004, Roger Clemens won the NL CY Young. Compare their stats :

Roger Clemens (Houston Astros) : 18 - 4, 2.98 ERA, 33 starts (0 complete games), 214.1 innings pitched, 218 strikeouts

Ben Sheets (Milwaukee Brewers) : 12 - 14, 2.70 ERA, 34 starts (5 complete games), 237.0 innings pitched, 264 strikouts

Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks) : 16 - 14, 2.60 ERA, 35 starts (4 complete games), 245.2 innings pitched, 290 strikeouts

I put Randy Johnson on there because many people say that he deserved to win it that year, and by stats alone, he dominates Sheets and Clemens. The biggest thing working against him (much like Sheets) was the fact that the Diamondbacks had a dismal 51 - 111 record. Wow. It's hard to give someone an award, regardless of performance, when they play for a losing team. I guess I can understand the baseball writers of America when they voted for Clemens (Houston did win the wild card and make it to the NLCS) but I still think that Sheets should have won it.

So what's the point of all this? I previously mentioned how lights-out Sheets can be IF he stays healthy. On Friday's game, he didn't stay healthy. I was at a Pirate Dinner Theater show in Orlando (you'll hear more about that when I update my website) so I was only able to get text updates. I didn't find out until after the game that Sheets only threw for 5 innings (60 pitches) before leaving with a sore right triceps. Currently (4/21) Sheets is slated to miss his next start, although there is no talk about him jumping on the DL. If he's out for an extended amount of time, we're in for some trouble. He is scheduled to start again on 4/29 against the Cubs (which is the same day Mike Cameron returns from his suspension) so hopefully we'll be at full strength. Bill Hall continued his dominance over the Reds by hitting a 2 run home run, and the Brewers bullpen (although giving up 2 runs) held on to secure the victory for Sheets. Gagne (Milwaukee's other lightning rod, joining Manager Ned Yost) saves the game for his 5th on the year. Final score Brewers 5, Reds 3.

Brewers record : 10 - 6

Game 2 (Saturday 4/19) - Jeff Suppan (1 - 0, 4.13) vs Johnny Cueto (1 - 1, 3.42)

I was at the NASA Space Center in Cape Canaveral during this game, so once again I was only able to get text updates on my phone. I would have liked to be able to watch some of these games, but I was in Florida, and I'm sorry to say that I had better things to do. Soup had struggled his last time out against the Mets, but he is a veteran pitcher so I knew he'd be ok. Suppan was going up against Cueto for the second time this season, and he once again stepped it up and pitched well against this young stud. Corey Hart hit his first home run of the year and Bill Hall once again came up big against the Reds. Hall had 2 hits and 3 RBI's, including the game winning 2 RBI double in the 10th inning that put the Brewers ahead 5 - 3. Gagne came in and pitched a perfect 10th inning for his 6th save this year. Suddenly that $10 million dollar chance isn't looking so bad after all. Final score Brewers 5, Reds 3.

Brewers record : 11 - 6

Game 3 (Sunday 4/20) - Yovanni Gallardo (0 - 0, 1.29) vs Aaron Harang (1 - 2, 2.83)

Today's game saw the much anticipated return of the wonder kid Yovanni Gallardo. To make room from him, someone needed to go, and in a surprising move, Joe Dillion was sent down to AAA and the Brewers held 14 pitchers on their 25 man roster (normally they keep 11 pitchers). I was flying home from Florida prior to the game, and landed in Chicago just as the game was starting. By the time I got back to the car, the game was on and I was able to reach AM 620 for the Brewers broadcast. They don't call it the biggest stick in the state for nothing. Driving back from Chicago was ridiculous, and I would go from 60 MPH to a complete standstill in a matter of seconds. For the majority of the time, I was traveling at a robust 20 MPH. Normally I would have been upset, but since I got the Brewers game on the radio, I figured I could spend some time in the car listening to Uecker. This was a game showcasing the pitchers in a duel. Gallardo pitched 7 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run (solo HR by Encarnacion) while Harang went 8 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run (solo HR by Hardy, his first of the year). It was all tied at 1 -1 going in to the 10th inning, and the Brewers struck first. Thanks to an error and a wild pitch, the Brewers put the score at 3-1 and Gagne came in for the 4th straight day for the save. This time, it didn't work out as planned. Gagne gave up a home run to Encarnacion (his 2nd of the game) and the tying run to Paul Bako (former Brewers catcher) on another solo home run. After walking the next batter, he was pulled in favor of Soloman Torres, and Torres gave up 2 hits including the game winner to Ken Griffey Jr. and suddenly he Brewers lose the game. There's a lot of debate over Gagne's durability (he's had multiple injuries over the last 3 years) and that he shouldn't have even been in this game (Turnbow should have been given the chance for the save). The Brewers have a lot of options (Torres, Mota, Turnbow, Riske) in the bullpen who all have saves in their career, so why not go with one? I hate to second guess Yost, mostly because it is way overdone in Milwaukee, but this decision did not work out today. C'mon!? Paul Bako? He has 16 career home runs in 10 seasons! Hardly an offensive threat. Oh well, That's why you play 162 games in a year. Final score Reds 4, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 11 - 7

Although the final game in the series was a disappointment, we have to be excited that we came home from a road trip to New York, St. Louis, and Cincinnati with a 5-4 record. So far, the Brewers own a 7-4 road record, which is pretty damn good. Once again, it's early, but since the Brewers bats are struggling to get hot, we have to take every ounce of good news and run with it. To be quite honest with you, I think it's a good sign that we were battling on the road. It points to good things to come if the Brewers keep this up. Thankfully we return back home (where we have historically played well), and it's hard to believe that we've only played 6 games there thus far. It's gonna be a tough one, but hopefully they can get going and start swinging the bats again. I know they can do it, they're too good of a team to be struggling.

Next up - Brewers vs Cardinals April 21 (Monday) - 22 (Tuesday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers @ Cardinals 4/15 - 4/17 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 5 - Brewers @ Cardinals, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

The St. Louis Cardinals were picked before the season to finish at the bottom of the division barely above Pittsburgh. They are currently sitting pretty in 1st place and their questionable pitching staff has been outstanding. Anytime that you play the division leader, you need to step it up and bring you A game because it will allow you to make up a whole game in the standings. Granted it is early, so there is plenty of time to make up ground, but a win in April counts just as much for the season total as a win in September, so it is important to win these early ones. We have been a poor road team, and we also haven't played well in St. Louis, so this series could be a struggle for a team that is already struggling. Well, on with the wrap-up...

Game 1 (Tuesday) - Dave Bush (0-2) vs Braden Looper (2-0)

Dave Bush was pitching for his job today. Yovanni Gallardo is days away from returning off of the DL (he was with the team over the weekend in New York just in case the Brewers needed an extra arm if there was a rain delay or a cancellation of a game) but got sent back down to Nashville to make a final rehab start. He will rejoin the team for the next series at Cincinnati, so something will be happening to one of these pitchers. Bush pitched a lot better, going 6 innings and allowing 3 runs off of 6 hits and striking out 5, but the offense completely vanished once again. The only mustered 1 run off of 3 hits, and basically phoned in this performance again. After today, only 1 thing is certain - Dave Bush will still be on this team. He's got too much experience to go down to AAA Nashville, and lest we forget that he throws strikes, makes every start and has won 24 games in the last two years. Some people question whether or not wins matter (because pitchers like Sheets have never gotten more than 12 in a season) but i think they do because it shows that a starting pitcher pitched well enough and long enough to keep his team in the game to win that game. The Brewers offense fell asleep at the wheel, and would need a wake up call or else they would sleep through the remainder of the series. Final score Cardinals 6, Brewers 1.

Brewers record : 8 - 5

Game 2 (Wednesday) - Carlos Villanueva (1-1) vs Adam Wainright (1-1)

I had the "pleasure" of watching this one at a sports bar in downtown Orlando by myself sitting at the bar. Thankfully the bar tender was really hot, and I somehow got at least 2-3 beers for free. I needed those free beers to ease my pain and sorrows while watching this game. My Dad was at choir practice, so I was watching this alone, and got to watch the beginning of the game through the 5th inning. Villanueva wasn't very good, giving up 5 runs off of 8 hits (2 home runs) in 4.2 innings of work. Gallardo is on the verge of returning to the rotation, and neither him nor Bush or Parra has locked up a spot in the starting 5. We had to drive back to Melbourne (it was getting late) so I was only able to follow the rest of the game on mlb.com's mobile internet site on my cell phone, which is where I saw the 9th inning comeback against Isringhausen (who is on my fantasy team) that fell 1 run short of victory. The two bright spots were certain members of the bullpen (Torres, Shouse, Riske) pitching extremely well to keep the Brewers in the game and the resilient offense that staged the comeback attempt. They came up just a bit short, and ended up losing the game. Final score Cardinals 5, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 8 - 6

Game 3 (Thursday) - Manny Parra (1-1) vs Kyle Lohse (2-0)

This game was an important start for Parra, as his job was on the line as well with the iminant return of Gallardo. Parra is starting to show that he cannot go deep into games, although the sample size of data to base this claim upon is small at this time. The Brewers may elect to send Parra down to AAA so that he could work on going deeper into games without it affecting the win/loss total of the major league club, which is in a win-now mode. I still believe that Parra and Villanueva should be starters, and Bush should be a true long man in the bullpen. McClung should be gone, because we don;t have the time to allow someone to try and find their control while they are pitching in major league games. If McClung pitches strikes, he has some good stuff and can fool the hell out of the batters, but like Turnbow, that's a mighty big IF. We don't have room for 2 Turnbows on this team, and we also don't have the liberty of trying things in the NL Central, which is stronger than anyone gives it credit for. I was at the Ocean playing in the surf during this game, so I was only able to get text updates on my phone. It looked bleak for a while, and we didn't score until the 8th inning, putting up 3 runs to tie the game at 3. I was back in Melbourne when the game was tied, and was checking the score on my phone while drinking with the landlord in his backyard while my Dad's dog Percy chased roosters. The lanlord keeps chickens and roosters in a coop, and let them out so the dog could have some fun. I got back to the computer to watch the 10th inning on ESPN's gamecast and saw Prince Fielder hit his long awaited first home run of the season to put the Brewers ahead. I whooped it up like crazy, then realeased a collective sigh qith the rest of the entire Brewers nation. Hopefully the debate about Prince's lack of power (which some people claim is a direct result of him choosing to become a vegetarian and blaim his lack of power on a lack of meat intake) will cease. Gange came in for the 10th inning and notched his 4th save of the season. Final score Brewers 5, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 9 - 6 (tied 2nd NL Central)

Thankfully we were able to salvage one of the games in this series, as it is important to win against an NL Central team (even more important right now because St. Louis is leading the division.) I have to constantly remind myself that it is still too early in the season to panic or draw conclusions, but so far they are 3-3 on this road trip with three more games to go this weekend against Cincinnati. All that they need to do is play .500 baseball on the road and we'll be in good shape. The Brewers were 51-30 at home in 2007 (48-33 in 2006) good for best in the National League, so as long as we play .500 on the road, we should be able to make the post season and I finally will be able to give a damn about October baseball. It's pnly April, and we are still without 2 of our starters (Mike Cameron in his suspension and Gallardo on the DL) and both will be back soon. We'll see where we are when we're at full strength, but I have no doubt we will be better off when both of those guys join the team. Gallardo should be back this weekend at Cincinnati, so it will be interesting to see how the rotation and bullpen shakes up. I'll definitly be covering that in my next wrap-up, but that will be in a few more days. I'm gonna go to the beach and enjoy this sweet-ass Florida weather. See you next time.

Next up - Brewers @ Reds April 18 (Friday) - 20 (Sunday) at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Who are these people?

I work in a call center for the vacations department of a major airline company (name withheld due to the content of this article). If you were to book a trip on our website, have a problem, call customer service, you will talk to me. If you are a moron, please do not call that number. Also - if you are a dumbass, have an IQ level of a monkey, or spew out garbage every time your mouth is open, don't call that number. I am done talking to you, and I have all of your addresses on file. Look in the mail, soon you will be receiving your "I'm with stupid t-shirt" with an arrow pointing straight up to your face. For crying out loud, why do you call me? What a bunch of losers!!! If you are cheap and cannot afford to go to Las Vegas, DON'T GO TO LAS VEGAS. If you can't afford to travel, you can't afford to gamble your money away. And please, don't yell swear words at your kids when you are talking on the phone to me. Not only should you not be shouting the F word at your kids, but in doing so, you are essentially shouting it at me too. It's annoying, and uncalled for. You might not be professional, but at least try to act like it while you are on the phone. I know I'm just another faceless keyboard jockey on the other end of the phone, but that doesn't mean that you can treat me like shit. In the words of Stephanie Tanner - how rude.

And please stop calling me M'am. I am not a lady. I am a guy, a man, a dude, a bro, or more professionally, a sir. Calling me M'am, honey or sweetheart does not make me feel like a man. It is degrading. There is nothing wrong with women. I love women. I love women a whole lot. I think they're great, I just don't like to be called something that I am not. Now sometimes I speak in a high voice when I get excited, but I am anything but excited when I answer the phone and have to do work. Granted, there are some burly manly women (Berta from 2 1/2 Men comes to mind) that might speak in a lower voice, but I have never met one that is named Scott. Some of the older lady travel agents sometimes call me dear or honey, and I don't take offense to that because their terms of endearments are from generations past. Older people just don't understand that it's not ok to call a young man in his late 20's honey or dear, so I just let it slide. Besides, you can't get mad at old people. It's not their fault that they are senile. Just go ahead and try and yell at Blanche, Dorothy, Rose or Sophia - you know, the Golden Girls! I'm sure that that old dame Sophia will sock you in the mouth if you try to sassy talk her. I dare you. Now don't get me wrong, I love that show, and I love those broads, but that would be an episode that I'd love to see! Hey, I guess they're right. Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose. They won't go dyin' on you, they'd whoop your ass!

Finally, these people who call are complete morons! I understand that you call customer service or a help desk if you don't know something, but these people are clueless. They are absolutely hopeless, and I sure hope that they don't breed because their spawn would dumb down the world, much like the vastly underrated Mike Judge comedy Idiocracy. These people calling me surely must love those electrolytes. People call here asking about a product that we don't offer, and they confuse us with someone else. WE ARE (Company A), NOT (Company B) DUMBASS!! What the hell is wrong with these people? If they were to simply use the limited brain power that they have to actually think for a second, they would answer their questions themselves and not have to bother me!! But the more that I about, if people knew the answers and didn't have to call me, then I would be out of a job and I wouldn't have anything to bitch about. So it looks like either way it happens, I'm screwed so I better just deal with it or go out and get a new job. This sucks.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers @ Mets 4/11 - 4/13 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 4 - Brewers @ New York Mets, Shea Stadium, Queens, NY

This was the beginning of a very important road trip for the Brewers. If they are to win the NL Central or a Wild Card and make it to the playoffs for the first time since 1982, they would have to learn how to play well and win on the road. After the acquisition of Johan Santana (and despite the early injury to Pedro Martinez) a lot of people are picking the Mets to win the NL East. This series would show how we match up against one of the supposedly best teams in the NL. I personally don't think the Mets are that good, especially since some of their guys (Delgado, 35 and Beltran, 31) aren't getting any younger. And also their best player, Jose Reyes, is sidelined with a hamstring injury. It still is tough to play in New York in front of some of the most hostile fans in sports, but I had a feeling that the Brewers were going to come out of this one alright.

Game 1 (Friday) - Manny Parra vs Nelson Figueroa

The Brewers offense just couldn't figueroa Nelson out. This ex-Brewers pitcher (2002) hadn't pitched in the majors since 2004 and was only activated to momentarily take the place of the injured Pedro Martinez. The Brewers only managed 2 hits the entire game, but they made the most of them by scoring 2 runs with those hits. Parra pitched alright, but was pulled in the 5th after only throwing 74 pitches so that Joe Dillon could take some swings and hopefully spark the sputtering offense. It didn't help. Yost was also trying to get the lead in the game by pulling the pitcher early because rain was supposed to come and postpone if not cancel the game. If the game is called because of rain and a certain number of innings have been played (I think it is 6 but don't quote me, I'm too lazy to look it up) then whoever is leading (if they are unable to resume the game) is declared the victor. Yost was trying to win before the rain came. But it never came, and it didn't matter because the Brewers' offense took the day off. As Harry Doyle (Bob Uecker) in Major League would say, "Two runs off off...two hits? That's all we got - two God Damn hits?" Needless to say, we lost. Mets 4, Brewers 2.

Brewers record: 6 - 4

Game 2 (Saturday) - Ben Sheets vs Johan Santana

This is the match up that got me really excited. We always know that Sheets will most likely be getting match up against the other team's ace (as he did against Zambrano for the Cubs and Zito for the Giants) but this one in particular got me jazzed up because the Brewers always played well against Santana when he was with the Twins. Santana would be making his home debut at Shea, and even though he would never admit to it, I bet there's pressure on him to earn the record contract to which he signed in the offseason, such as the case was with Jeff Suppan last year (although he's only a #3 pitcher, .500 pitcher who eats up innings and keeps you in the game. Milwaukee fans were way too hard on him to live up to is hype/contract. A guy of Suppan's talent makes $10 million a year now. That's the going rate for a pitcher of his caliber). Sheets gave up his first runs of the season in the 1st inning, and I got worried real fast that this would be a disaster and our offense wouldn't be able to come back, but Sheets settled in and retired 18 in a row until the 8th inning. The offense did just enough, scoring all 4 of their 5 runs via the home run (Hall, Weeks and Kapler each hit one). Sheets pitched in with a RBI sacrifice bunt that scored Corey Hart when Santana threw to first to get Sheets out. It was some clever base running for Hart, who is right up there with Jose Reyes as the best base stealer in the National League. Gagne came in and recorded his second save of the season, and the rest is history. Final score Brewers 5, Mets 3.

Brewers record: 7 - 4

Game 3 (Sunday) - Jeff Suppan vs Oliver Perez

After winning the opener in the series and splitting the middle game, the series would come down to the Sunday finale. Both Suppan and Perez had been pitching well this season, so we knew that it would come down to which ever offense could score the most runs. We had no idea that it would take 9 runs to barely edge the Mets and take the series victory. Suppan was off of his game today, giving up 6 runs off of 9 hits and 2 walk in 4 innings. The bullpen did a nice job the rest of the way and Gagne got his 2nd save in as many days, to bring his season total to 3. But the real story was the offense, who hit up the Mets for 9 runs off 11 hits. Rickie Weeks and Gabe Kapler each hit a home run for the second consecutive day, and the offense looked it's best since the home opener on April 4th. If you like watching an offensive showdown, then this was the game for you to tune into. I was excited to see that life had seemed to return to the Brewers' bats, but they could use some more hits and soon, so that the batting averages could get back to an acceptable number. But screw those stats, the only one that matters is the W, and they earned that one today. Final score Brewers 9, Mets 7.

Brewers record: 8 - 4 ( 2nd place NL Central)

This was a huge series win for the Brewers, who needed to prove that they can win on the road if they wish to be successful in 2008. Like I said before, many had predicted the Mets to finish on top of the NL East, so this series gave us an opportunity to see how we stack up against the other good teams in the league. Our pitching is decent (with tons of room for improvement, thanks to the unproven arms of Gallardo, Villanueva and Parra) and our offense is way better than they have been playing so far this year. We're 8-4 right now, without all of the cylinders firing at that same time. Once everything starts clicking all at once, we'll be an unstoppable force brewing in the NL Central and heaven help any team that comes up against us.

Next up - Brewers @ Cardinals April 15 (Tuesday) - April 17 (Thursday) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers vs Reds 4/8 - 4/10 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 3 - Brewers vs Reds, Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI

A lot of writers and "experts" (I put quotation marks around that because I don't consider them to be experts, just very opinionated) have picked the Cincinnati Reds to be one of the surprise teams of the year and a dark horse candidate to finish on top on the NL Central. This was our first opportunity in this young season to see if they are right. This series was also the first time Francisco Cordero returned to Milwaukee following his much publicized departure to the Reds for a 4 year $46 million dollar contract. I know for sure that I will boo him for leaving over $4 million dollars (Brewers offered him 4 years $42 million) but I have the right to because I paid for some of his salary by going to games and buying merchandise. Aside from that, it will be good to see how the Reds match up against the Brewers in 2008.

Game 1 (Tuesday) - Jeff Suppan vs Johnny Cueto

I had the pleasure of being in attendance for this amazing game. Cueto came just as advertised, and any critics who said that the Reds didn't have any pitching were wrong. I hate to laud opposing players, but you've got to give credit where credit is due. This kid was downright nasty, striking out 8 in 6 innings of work. In his major league debut last week, he struck out 10. This kid is going places in this league. I just hope that he cools off before we face him next time. Although Cueto pitched well, Suppan (albeit less dramatically) upstaged him by allowing only 1 run in 7 innings. I know it's early in the season, but Suppan is looking really good. I'll give some of the credit to Kendall for working with the pitchers, but I think Suppan will be earning his check this year. Suppan was in line for the win, but Gagne gave up a home run to Corey Patterson with 2 strikes and 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning to force the game into extras. It sucked a lot, but the Brewers ended up winning in the 10th with a little bit of small ball. They made it look easy, as Hardy led off with a single, Dillon sac bunted him over, Kendall hit a single sending Hardy to third, and Weeks followed with a game winning RBI single. Just like that, everyone (for the most part) forgot about Gagne's blown save and reveled in the win. Final score Brewers 3, Reds 2.

Brewers record : 6 - 1

Game 2 (Wednesday) - Dave Bush vs Josh Fogg

Dave Bush was coming off of a rough outing in Chicago, but he would have every opportunity to prove himself in front of the home crowd with a decent start today. It never happened. He gave up 2 early runs in the second, and appeared to be throwing just fine until he hit a wall in the 6th inning, and left the game after giving up 6 hits, 5 runs, walking 3 and striking out 4 in 5.1 innings. With Bush out, you would think that our bullpen could keep it close and allow the offense to come back, right? Wrong. Derrick Turnblow and Seth McDung came in a allowed the Reds to score 7 more and officially put this game out of reach. This was one of the games that we toss out and forget about, and chalk it up as a forgetful loss. I'm glad I was at work and was only able to watch this one on ESPN Gamecast stat tracker. The only high points of the game were Braun's 4th inning solo home run and Bill Hall's impressive 4th home run of the season in the 9th. Aside from Bernie rocketing down the slide for those, this game was only exciting for the visiting team. Final score Reds 12, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 6 - 2

Game 3 (Thursday) - Carlos Villanueva vs Aaron Harang

Carlos Villanueva made his 2nd start of the year and it was a tough one - squaring off against Reds ace Aaron Harang. Villaneuva held his own until the 7th inning when he finally buckled and gave up 3 runs, which was all that the Reds needed to win because the Brewers bats couldn't muster up anything after the 2nd inning. Harang kept the boys quiet, and Cordero pitched a scoreless 9th for his second save and quieted the booing from the amassed crowd. There isn't too much to say about this game besides the fact that we just got dominated by Harang, who once again was able to go deep in the game against our offense. The Brewers quietly ended the home stand with a 4-2 record, which still isn't that bad. It would have been nice to win the series at home, but at least we're still above .500 and if our offense picks it up, we'll be playing some really good baseball for the rest of the season. Final score Reds 4, Reds 1.

Brewers record : 6 - 3

It sucks to lose a series at home, especially against an NL Central rival. I'll give the Reds some credit; they came out swinging the bats and throwing strikes. The Brewers offense just kind of fell apart. The bats stayed dormant for the duration of the series, and the Brewers only scored 8 runs (versus giving up 18) so there's no secret as to why they lost the series. I hate to see us being beaten by the Reds, because that proves the sportswriters right who picked the Reds to finish atop the Brewers in 2008. But then I tell myself to relax and avoid hitting the panic button because we're only 9 games into a long long season and there's still plenty of innings to be played. Next up would be a 3 city roadtrip to New York, St. Louis and Cincinnati. As you may recall, the Brewers have struggled on the road over the last few years, so if they wanted to prove their NL Central dominance, now would be a good start to showing those other teams that the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers team is no joke. I think they'll do it, but we'll see.

Next up - Brewers @ Mets April 11 (Friday) - 13 (Sunday) at Shea Stadium in Queens, NY

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers vs Giants 4/4 - 4/6 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 2 - Brewers vs Giants, Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI (Brewers home opener)

The Brewers held their opening day on Friday April 4th, and this would mark the 1st time since I started working at Miller Park (2002) that I would be missing an opening day. My current job does not allow me to have a lot of vacation time, so I had no choice but to miss the opening game of the series. I would however, be working the Saturday and Sunday games. I cried for a minute, but I got over it quickly. When asked by others why I was crying, I just told them that I had something in my eye because there is no crying in baseball. Deal with it, I told myself, and I did. A magical weekend it was, and a recap I will bring you.

Game 1 (Friday) - Carlos Villanueva vs Johnathon Sanchez.

I know what you are thinking - who is Johnathon Sanchez? Good question, but it is one that I do not have an answer for you. There's a lot of people who I don't know on this Giants team, and I challenged myself to name 5 people on the team (I came up with Barry Zito, Tim Lincecum, Dave Roberts, Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand.) This was an intense game, but I doubt the drunkards in the stands realized it. Opening day is an excuse for bus loads of kids to skip school , work, life and get wasted and annoy the hell out of the real fans who are there for the game. Most Milwaukee baseball purists will avoid opening day altogether, and instead attend the day after. The day after is always a little more subdued and people cheer when necessary, not just because they are drunken buffoons. I appreciate the big crowds, and I realize that they are bringing in extra revenue that will be put back into the stadium and the team, but at the same time I'm sick of these bandwagon fans. Where were they back in 2003 when the Brewers lost 106 games? Not at the park because I was there, didn't see you, and I remember that they were lucky to draw 15,000 fans on a weeknight. Oh well, enough with the bitching, on with the recap. The Brewers offense exploded, and a good start by Carlos Villanueva was almost overlooked when the Brew combined for 13 runs on 16 hits. Bill Hall led the way with 3 of those hits and 6 of those RBIs (hitting 2 majestic home runs). I watched this game on TV later in the weekend, and it was awesome to see how good the Brewers offense could be. Final score Brewers 13, Giants 4.

Brewers record : 3 - 1

Game 2 (Saturday) - Manny Parra vs Kevin Correria

Game 2 saw the much anticipated 2008 debut of Manny Parra, whose 2007 season was cut short due to a broken thumb on a bunting attempt in early September. He would not pitch for the remainder of the year. He had a stellar spring training until his last two starts, and his play (as well as being the minor league pitcher of the year and pitching a perfect game for AAA Nashville) earned him a spot in the rotation and resulted in the release of Claudio Varags. He came out in full force on Saturday, throwing a variety of pitches including some nasty stuff. He held the Giants hitless through 5 innings despite 2 errors and sloppy defense, and struck out 7. He left in the 6th inning with a 4-2 lead. The bullpen did a decent job holding the lead, and Kapler's pinch hit home run in the 7th proved to be the game winner. Gagne came out in the 9th win a 1-run lead (to thunderous applause from the home crowd, looks like they've forgiven him for that Chicago fiasco) and nailed down his first save of the year. This is a game that a good team is going to win; in the past few years we would've lost this one. Final score Brewers 5, Giants 4 and Manny Parra earns his first major league win.

Brewers record : 4 - 1

Game 3 (Sunday) - Ben Sheets vs Barry Zito

With wins in games 1 and 2, the Brewers were going for the sweep, and who better to have on the mound than longer time Brewers pitcher and staff ace Ben Sheets. Sheets was coming off a no decision in Chicago where he pitched 6 innings and did not give up a run. From the first inning of the game (where he struck out the side on 10 pitches) I knew this was going to be a good one. The sold out crowd for Prince Fielder bobblehead day was electric, and the loudest that I have heard them in a long time. When Sheets recorded the 3rd out of the 1st inning, the place went absolutely nuts. I could only imagine what this place would be like during the playoffs. Kapler and Braun each hit solo home runs for the second consecutive day, but the story of the day was Ben Sheets throwing only his 2nd career complete game shut-out. It stuck me as odd that he only did this once before in his 7 year career, but then I remember how injury prone he has been over the last few years. Then I also remember how dominant he was from 2002-2004, but then I also remember how poor the offense and defense was behind him. Add all of that together and it makes perfect sense. If Sheets can stay healthy this year (in a contract year, so he will) I'm willing to bet with our improved defense that Sheets will put up a whole lot more zeros on the board. Zito continued to falter in the month of April, and the Brewers easily swept the Giants out of town. Final score Brewers 7, Giants 0.

Brewers record : 5 - 1

I'm excited that the Brewers are off to a 5-1 start, but I also have to relax because it's only the first week of the season and there's still 154 games to go. A lot can happen over the course of the season, and especially after the now infamous 24-10 start (which will go down in Wisconsin Sports history just like 4th and 26) a lot of people are hesitant to believe in quick starts. The Brewers have a history of falling short after the All-Star break (and especially in the month of August) but I believe that this current team is better and stronger than any team since 1992.

Next up - Brewers vs Reds April 8 (Tuesday) - April 10 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers @ Cubs 3/31 - 4/3 : Series Wrap-up

I'm going to try and provide a commentary on each Milwaukee Brewers series when they end, which sounds pretty ambitious considering that we will have a total of 51 series before the season ends (not including playoffs, which will get their own columns when we get there). Knowing how lazy I can get, and how infrequently I update, I doubt that I will make even a quarter of them. But I'll raise a beer to being ambitious and trying to accomplish a goal. 2008 will mark the first Brewers since in the last 7 where I will be unable to watch nearly every single game either in person or on TV. My current work schedule has me working from 11 or 1:30 until 10 pm, so I have to watch the gameday statracker online. I try to tape the games on DVR, but that means that I know the score before watching the game, which takes some of the fun out of it. The whole reason for doing a wrap-up is so that I can comment on the game after the fact, because that is when I will have been able to see it.

Series 1 - Brewers @ Cubs, Wrigley Field, Chicago.

MLB couldn't have picked a worse time to open a season in Chicago than March. What were they thinking? Granted, this would be a showdown between NL Central rivals who finished only 2 games apart last year. Even though it's early in the season, every game played against each other counts heavily in the standings. But the weather is terrible in early April, and Miller Park has a roof and is climate controlled? Doesn't make sense. Oh well, on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 - Ben Sheets vs. Carlos Zambrano

This game was delayed due to rain, and the overall weather sucked. Once again, it's April in Chicago. Hell-lo? After a 40-some minute interruption (which made me miss taping the game in its entirety due to the DVR time settings (which will come into play later) - damn you rain delays!!) we got to see one hell of a pitchers duel. Both Sheets and Zambrano brought their A games, with Sheets pitching 6.1 innings giving up 2 hits and striking out 7, and Zambrano pitching 6.2 innings giving up 3 hits and striking out 5. Neither gave up a run. Each bullpen was pitching well and the score was deadlocked at 0 until Kerry Wood came on to face the heart of the Milwaukee order in the 9th. A series of well played events saw the Brewers jump to a 3-0 lead, and they passed the ball over to their new closer (and $10 million dollar man) Eric Gagne. Gagne gave up a single, a walk, and a 3 run home run to Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome. I literally fell out of my office chair. In my opinion, (aside from Ben Sheets having a season ending injury) nothing worse could have happened for the Brewers at that time. With all of the talk that has been going on in the off season such as overspending on an HGH doping, Mitchell Report named Canadian; I could hear the doubters and Yost-bashers screaming for not resigning Cordero (although Cordero chose not to resign with us). Gagne settled in and retired the next three batters, and this rain-lengthened game was about to get longer. We were going to extra innings. The Brewers didn't take long to score, thanks to a double by Craig Counsell, some small ball, and a sacrifice fly from new Brewers hero Tony Gwynn Jr. David Riske, who I think is the most underrated pitcher on the staff, came in to close the game by pitching a 1-2-3 10th inning. Just like that, after all of that excitement, the Brewers were 1-0 and had beaten the rival Chicago Cubs at their own ballpark on Opening Day. Fantastic. Final score Brewers 4, Cubs 3.

Brewers record : 1 - 0

Game 2 - Jeff Supan vs. Ted Lilly

Both teams had off Tuesday, which I thought was weird. But anyway, on Wednesday afternoon the Brewers got off to a booming start as Rickie Weeks crushed the first pitch of the game out of the stadium and onto Waveland Ave. That set the tone for the rest of the game. Suppan was solid, and the defense was in prime force behind him, which is crucial for a ground ball pitcher like Suppan. The Brewers kept tacking on runs throughout the game, and besides Weeks' first pitch home run, none of the others were scored via the long ball. The Brewers came up big in clutch and situational hitting, and the Brewers players combined for 8 runs on 14 hits. All around, it was just a great day down at Wrigley for the Brewers, and they improved to 2-0. Final score Brewers 8, Cubs 2.

Brewers record : 2 - 0

Game 3 - Dave Bush vs. Ryan Dempster

Dave Bush was an interesting choice to start game 3, given his career numbers at Wrigley Field and against the Cubs in general. I personally would've chosen Villanueva and started the veteran Bush in the home opener, but I'm just a fan, not the Manager. Dempster, a staple in the Cubs bullpen for the last few years, was making his first start since 2005. Dempster was solid, but Bush was not (allowing 5 walks and a hot batter, ouch!) as the Brewers lost 6-3 and the Cubs salvaged a win in the series. The offense was decent, but they mostly got shut down by the Cubs pitching. All 6 runs were charged to Bush, who after a so-so spring training, is not making a good cause for him to keep his job once Yovanni Gallardo comes off of the DL. The game started with a bang (literally) when Rickie Weeks bowled over Cubs catcher Giovanni Soto and scored in the 1st inning, but that was basically the only exciting part for the Brewers in the game. The rest was understandably forgettable. Final score Cubs 6, Brewers 3.

Brewers record: 2 - 1.

The most important part about this series is that we beat a division rival on the road and won the series. I am satisfied if they win 2 out of every 3 games, because that would give them a record of 108-54, which would be astonishingly good. That is a little farfetched, but winning the series would help them get to the 90-72 record that should be good enough to win the division or the wild card. We also beat the Cubs at their own park, and nothing makes me happier than seeing the Cubs fans get upset and boo their own players. What a bunch of losers.

Next up - Brewers vs Giants, April 4-6.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/