Brewers @ Nationals 5/23 - 5/26 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 17 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

During Memorial Day weekend, the Brewers were be in our Nation's Capital to spend the weekend honoring our servicemen by hitting some baseballs around the yard. I honestly can't think of a better way to honor the War Veterans than by partaking in America's pastime. This was a four game series against arguably the worst team in the National League (the San Francisco Giants come close, but they have some stellar young pitchers in Tim Lincecum [on my fantasy team] and Matt Cain [on your Mom's fantasy team] and we all know that pitching and defense wins games [although some would say that it is Bill Hall]). If they can't win here on the road, then they can't win at all. I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of watching the Brewers play road games. When are we going to get some good old fashioned home Brew? I'll tell you when - as soon as these Washington diplomats stop filibustering and get some work done instead of wasting the taxpayers' money. For those of you who aren't savvy to political jargon, that means at the end of this series.

Game 1 (Friday) - Jeff Suppan (2-4, 4.47 ERA) vs Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.13)

Today was a rather disappointing day. You wouldn't expect one error to completely unravel a good team, but that is just what happened in today's game. Suppan was pitching well until the 6th inning, when the normally sure handed JJ Hardy misplayed what should have been an inning ending double play and allowed the inning to continue. The Nationals would go on to score 4 runs in the inning (all pf which were unearned thanks to the error) and the Brewers never recovered. It certainly didn't help that the offense fell asleep at the wheel and that the only RBI came from Jeff Suppan on his 1st hit of the year. The pitcher raised his batting average for the year from .000 to .050 and drove in the only run. That is how you can tell that the offense is stagnant again tonight. Once again, the Brewers collected a good amount of hits (8) and walked 2 times, but they left 7 men on base and hit into 2 double plays. They continued to struggling with runners in scoring position and made this game difficult to watch. There's not more that I can say about this game except for I long for the days when we get to watch the Brewers play at Miller Park again. This is turning out to be one rough road trip. Final score Nationals 5, Brewers 1.

Brewers record : 22 - 26

Game 2 (Saturday) - Seth McClung (2-1, 3.55 ERA) vs John Lannan (4-5, 3.57 ERA)

Seth McClung made his first start of the season, and to be quite honest with you, I was very surprised with his performance. I've been real down on Seth McClung since he joined the Brewers, mostly because I felt like he was a taller, red headed, Irish Turnbow - hard throwing, wild and erratic. And like Turnbow, if he can find the strike zone, he can be very effective. If not, he'll walk a ton of batters and watch as his ERA skyrockets. I never really understood why Melvin and Yost were so high on McClung, and how they chose him to remain in the bullpen as the long reliever. While he isn't a true long relief man, nor is he a starter, he does a good enough job as both to remain on this team. So far, he has an ERA under 4 for the season, and in his start today, he went 5 innings giving up 2 runs, 4 hits, no walks (the key stat), and struck out 4 batters. He only threw 68 pitches, but seeing as this was his first start since spring training, Yost did the right thing by pulling him after 5 innings. Villanueva made his first appearance out of the bullpen, and tossed a scoreless inning, and looked like the Villanueva that we remember from the 1st half of 2007. Hart and Cameron each hit home runs to back McClung and the boys, and Gagne's replacement, Salomon Torres, came in for the 9th to record his 2nd save of the year. It was an all around good game, but don't get too excited because it is just the Nationals. We're supposed to beat teams that suck more than we do. But a win is a win, and a win on the road is huge for a team that still doesn't know how to consistently do it. Final score Brewers 5, Nationals 2.

Brewers record : 23 - 26

Game 2 (Sunday) - Manny Parra (2-2, 5.11 ERA) vs Tim Redding (6-3, 3.59 ERA)

This was one of those classic roller coaster games. Manny Parra wasn't incredibly effective, and he ended up being replaced by recent call-up Mark DeFelice in the 5th inning after giving up 6 runs. The Brewers had yet to muster up anything at all offensively, and it looked like they were just going to go out quietly and lose yet another road game. Then the super exciting 6th inning happened. Fielder led off with a single. Corey Hart then hit a 2 run home run. Russell "the Muscle" Branyan then powered a double to right, but Mike Rivera and Craig Counsell obviously didn't get the memo that the Brewers were trying to rally back, as they both recorded outs. Thankfully, big Joe Dillon hit a 2 out single to score Branyan. Weeks got hit by a pitch, and followed Dillon home on Cameron's double. Then, Gabe Kapler slapped a single into right that scored Cameron, and suddenly were were tied at 6. Fielder returned to the plate for the 2nd time in the inning, and lined to right for the final out. And just like that, the Brewers were right back in this game. Recent call-up Tim Dillard did a wonderful job holding the score tied at 6 by tossing 2 scoreless frames, but then things quickly got sour in the bottom of the 9th. With the score tied at 6 in the 9th, Yost made the right move by putting in Guillermo Mota, his set up man. You have to play trying to get to extra innings, and the closer needs to be save for the save opportunity. Mota didn't get the job done, and the winning run scored on a wild pitch an I once again felt the sadness overcome my body. That was a rough one, and I know I sound like a broken record, but that was a game that we need to win on the road, but because we suck on the road, we end up losing all of those close ones. It's rough, but the light is starting to peak over the horizon because soon we will be back home at The Keg and we will tap that shit for some cool refreshing home Brew. Final score Nationals 7, Brewers 6.

Brewers record : 24 - 27

Game 2 (Monday) - Ben Sheets (5-1, 2.93 ERA) vs Jason Bergmann (1-1, 4.50 ERA)

It's always a relief to see Ben Sheets take the mound in a must win situation. With the win today, the Brewers split the 4 game series and make it a 4-6 road trip. That's not good, but it certainly could be a lot worse seeing as how we limped out of Boston and dove into our own personal Hell known as PNC Park. It certainly won't get any easier when we get back to Miller Park to face the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, and Arizona DiamondBacks, but at least we'll be at home. Sheets was going strong, but was pinch hit for in the 7th inning because the Brewers were in the midst of a rally that eventually tied the game at 2. Sheets pitched 6 complete innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 6. He only threw 86 pitches, and would have gone a few more innings if the Brewers would have been able to score some runs earlier in the game. The big story of the night was Carlos Villanueva completely dominating out of the bullpen, much like he did in the 1st half of 2007. Carlos says that he prefers so start (as most pitchers do) but in order to have great success, he needs to be in the role that he most excels in, and for now, it's the bullpen. He pitched the 9th and 10th innings with the game tied at 3, and struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced. Maui-Wowee! Hatchi-Matchi! Scooby-Dooby! Fielder led off with a double in the 11th inning, and Corey Hart bunted him over to 3rd. Russell "The (home run or strikeout) Muscle" did that latter and left Fielder at 3rd with 2 outs. But then pinch hitter Gabe Kapler came through big again and hit a single to give the Brewers the lead. Salomon Torres came on for a perfect 3 up, 3 down inning and record his 3rd save of the year. As far as I'm concerned, Gagne can ride the pine on the DL for as long as he wants. Torres doesn't seem phased at all in the final inning, and doesn't seem to have command issues. Granted it is still early in the season (I can still say that for a little bit longer) but he has pitched 33 innings, 25/13 K/BB ratio, 29 hits (1.27 WHIP), an ERA of 2.73, and 4 wins 1 loss with 3 saves. That's pretty darn good for a closer. We can see if Canada wants Gagne back, but seeing as how they've already deported all of their comedians, singers, and athletes (we have all of their hockey players), it's obvious that Canada doesn't want anyone except bears. So that means we're stuck with him, so once he's healthy he better be good. But he's gonna have to earn the closer job back from Torres, because for right now at least, Torres is doing a damn good job. Final score Brewers 4, Nationals 3.Brewers record : 25-27

It could have been better (because even when we're not playing well, I still think that we're better than the Nationals) but then it could have been a whole lot worse. All you ever hope for is to play .500 ball on the road, and currently the Brewers are 13-18, which is obviously below .500. You then hope to play above .500 at home and finish with a winning record and maker the playoffs. Sounds easy, right? It's easy for most teams, but it hasn't been easy for the Brewers since they are still chasing their first return to the playoffs since 1982. It's times like this that really frustrate me because I know that he Brewers are better than a sub-.500 team. We've come too far (I've come too far) and they've put too much effort in (I've put too much effort in) to accept failure at this point. Sure, our goals and expectations are looking like they're a little bit lofty at this point versus where they were before the season, but if you don't set the bar high, then what's the point? We shouldn't settle for mediocrity, so at what point do we start getting upset that the Brewers aren't living up to their potential? I'm going to give it a few more weeks before I get worried. I refuse to throw in the towel until we're mathematically eliminated, and seeing as how that can't happen until September, we're still in it to win it baby. I don't like to make excuses, but so far, the Brewers have played the least amount of home games of all 30 Major League teams! The schedule definitely works out in our favor in the 2nd half of the season, so I'm hoping that the recent trend of starting off hot and fading after the All Star break gets reversed this year and the Brewers will be turning up the heat from July - September and play some kickass October baseball games.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves May 27 (Tuesday) - May 29 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Pirates 5/20 - 5/22 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 16 - Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

PNC Park has been anything but kind to the Milwaukee Brewers since it opened in 20001. In fact, it's been rather like Hell on Earth. The Brewers (coming into this series) have a 20-42 at PNC Park, and although it is a beautiful stadium, I'm sure that the team dreads playing here. I really don't understand why they play so poorly here, because it's not like the Pirates have been good since 2001. They have 483 wins versus 649 losses (excluding 2008 because the season isn't finished yet) which gives them a winning percentage of .426. Hardly itimidating at all if you ask me. I'm pretty sure that I have a higher winning percentage since 2001 because I have moved out of my parents house, graduated from college, held several steady jobs, appeared in Playboy.com and in a beer pong documentary (Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong) and got 2 Brewers tattoos. I guess I'm not really much of a loser after all. Those are some pretty sweet accomplishments.

Game 1 (Tuesday) - Manny Parra (2-2, 4.40 ERA) vs Paul Maholm (2-5, 5.03)

Rickie Weeks sucks. I've been defending him for a long time (for over 2 1/2 years) and I'm close to being done. I hate to say that I give up, because Goonies never say die. I'm a Goonie, so I'll never give up on Weeks, but it's time for Weeks to shape up or ship out. We've been told for years about his potential, and we've seen flashes of it from time to time. Last August and September, he was on an absolute tear. He was hitting home runs like crazy and getting on base, and most importantly, scoring runs. The only thing that has made his .190 batting average and .323 on base percentage bearable is his 33 runs scored. In this game though, he did go 2 for 4 and scored 2 more runs to that total. At least he's scoring whenever he gets on base, but a .200 batting average and a .341 OBP just won't cut it as a leadoff hitter, especially since he strikes out a good amount (35 in 47 games). He has shown some signs of getting better, but his performance thus far in 2008 is one of the reasons we're playing sub-.500 baseball. Manny Parra, on the other hand, is showing vast improvements on the mound. If he could go deeper into games (5.2 innings in today's game) it would greatly improve a pitching staff that is still reeling after the loss of Gallardo. Parra gave up only 4 hits and allowed 0 runs while striking out 6 batters, and he continues to look better every single outing. We need him to be this good every time, but if he's better, then I can sleep a little easier at night knowing someone else besides Sheets can be effective on the mound. The offense continued to roll, scoring 7 runs on 14 hits and 2 home runs (Cameron and Hart). The only blemish in this game was the appeance of Eric Gagne in the 9th inning with the Brewers leading 7-0. He gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs and couldn't even make it out of the inning. Torres had to come in and finish it up and secure the victory. The only good thing that came out of Gagne's horrid performance was that he went on the DL following the game. While I don't wish injury upon anyone (get well soon bro), maybe he can use those 15 days to get physically and mentally sound because whether you like it or not, we're going to need Gagne at 100% if we want to win games this year. Seeing as how this year is going so far, I wouldn't find it too hard to believe if Gagne became the 1st pitcher who found a way to earn a blown save while on the DL when he was not even present at the ballpark. Now that would be a story worth telling, even better than this sweet victory. Final score Brewers 7, Pirates 2.

Brewers record : 21 - 24

Game 2 (Wednesday) - Ben Sheets (5-1, 2.92 ERA) vs Ian Snell (2-3, 4.84 ERA)

I love it when Ben Sheets pitches a game. We have to at least try to sign him for a couple of years when he becomes a free agent after this season. He stabalizes that entire rotation and almost always gives the billpen an extra day of rest. When he's not injured, he's the only consistant pitcher on the entire staff (unless you count the consistantly bad like that canuck Gagne) and gives the team a chance to win every single time he's out there. Sheets pitched a complete game and gave up only 1 run but the Pirates had many chances as Sheets also allowed 11 hits. The difference between Sheets and all of the other starters that we have is that when Sheets allows men on base, he actually tightens up and pitches better. He doesn't appear to ever get rattles when pitching from the stretch. His 2008 2.92 ERA and career 3.78 ERA are evidence of those assumptions. Most of his runs come on home runs or early runs allowed before he settles in. I don't have statistical evidence of those situations, but I have watched enough of Ben Sheets over his now 8 seasons in Milwaukee to draw up my own conclusions without evidence to back it up. Besides, this is all merely fan speculation and opinion; if you want to spew out comebacks or you're own information, start your own damn blog. The Brewers scored only 4 runs, but with Sheets on the hill, it's almost always enough to win. The victory guarantees a series win on the road at PNC Park, which is (if you've been following along with me) a rareity around these parts. Good victory, bringing us within sight of the .500 mark and it gives us a chance for the elusive sweep tomorrow. Final score Brewers 4, Pirates 1.

Brewers record : 22 -24

Game 3 (Thursday) - Dave Bush (1-5, 6.56 ERA) vs Tom Gorzelanny (4-4, 6.44 ERA)

With these two pitchers starting the game, you had to believe that this would be a high scoring affair. Since I don't follow the Pirates on a regular basis (and who does, judging by the attendance at the ballpark), I don't know much too about Gorzelanny. The name sounds familiar, and I'm willing to bet that we face him a few times every year. Judging from his numbers this year, it looks like he sucks, but I guarantee you that he doesn't suck as much as Dave Bush. I love Bush (and who doesn't, heh heh...snicker - I love when my juvenile side takes over) but just like with my boy Rickie Weeks, I find it hard to support him in 2008. If he was 1-5 because of some bad luck or shoddy defense, I could maybe understand his poor showing in 2008. Chris Capuano didn't pitch exceptionally well in 2007, but he certainly didn't deserve the 5-12 record that he had that year. The offense and the defense let him down in about 7-8 of the 25 games that he started. Bush on the other hand, can claim sole responsibility of his 1-5 record with an 6.56 ERA. 34 of his 36 runs allowed this year have been earned, and he has given up plenty of hits (50), walks (18), and home runs (10). I've claimed extreme loyalty to this team, but I have to be quite honest in saying that I didn't watch the entire game when I would have been able to do so. I watched up until the 4th inning when Bush gave up 4 runs, then went in the other room to watch a movie with my friends. Unless there's something that makes me physically unable to catch the entire game, I never turn it off or switch channels. It doesn't matter if we're losing by 10 runs; the players have to stick it out until the end of the game so I owe it to them to do the same thing. But it's getting to a point where I knew that the Brewers were going to lose this game after falling behind 4-1 at PNC Park with the chance of completing the sweep for the 1st time in their history at PNC Park. But just like the chances of me dating a supermodel, I just knew that it wasn't going to happen. I like to be optimistic (remember the half/all full beer analogy?) but there's some things that are just impossible. Let's try to be happy with winning the series at Pittsburgh. Final score Pirates 8, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 22 - 25

The Brewers have never swept the Pirates at PNC Park, and they have been playing them there since 2001. When you consider that the Pirates have had 15 consecutive losing seasons, it makes it very difficult to believe that the Brewers have played so poorly against the perennial last place Pirates. Then you consider that the Brewers have been a bad team as well (better since 2005) and a horrible road team, it all makes sense. I would have love to seen a sweep by the Brewers on the road (because we've seen far too many sweeps of the Brewers on the road) but shit happens man. You can't always get what you want, but just for once, could I just have a Brewers team that makes the playoffs? Is that too much to ask? This may sound a little too extreme, but I wish that I had terminal cancer so that I could ask the Make-A-Wish Foundation for my last wish to see the Brewers make the playoffs. They have to make that shit come true or else they are not doing their jobs correctly. How could they allow me to die without realizing my last and final goal of my life on Earth? Hopefully I'll get to see them play post-season baseball without developing terminal cancer. It must be hard having terminal cancer. I wouldn't know.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers @ Washington Nationals May 23 (Friday) - May 26 (Monday) at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

Brewers @ Red Sox 5/16 - 5/18 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 15 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, MA

This series was anticipated by many people, but for some of us (mostly me) were upset that it was finally here. I had planned to travel out to Boston with my friends Lorge, Casey, Balkman and Denise to check out these 3 games, but for lack of funds and time off of work, I chose to change my plans and go to Florida to visit my Dad instead. While I feel like I made the right decision (I don;t get to spend a lot of quality time with my Dad) I was still upset when the series began because I felt like I could have and should have been there. I bet it was exciting to go to Boston, but I still plan on visiting Fenway before they tear down the place (sadly, I'll never make it to Yankee Stadium). Since I now know the outcome of the Brewers/Red Sox series, I'm glad that I didn't spend all of my hard earned dollars and use all of my vacation time to go out there, no matter how cool it would have been. Hindsight is always 20/20, or something like that. I never got any of those goofy "speak philosophically to sound smart" lines. I'm more of the "say something inappropriate and make a fool out of myself" lines such as watching the Brewers get swept out of Boston would have sucked balls. Big balls. I'm a real classy dame.

Game 1 (Friday/postponed to Sat morning 2:55 pm CST) - Jeff Suppan (2-3, 4.78 ERA) vs Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-0, 2.15 ERA)

When I was sitting at work on Friday, I was watching the weather reports, and it became quite apparent that there was no baseball to be played today in Boston. One of the beauties of have the retractable roof is that you always know the game will be played, despite the weather's intentions to ruin it. The only problem with it is that they don't even crack the roof open until June at Miller Park because they claim keeping it closed can create a more comfortable atmosphere for their clientele. I think that is bogus. Baseball is meant to be played outside, so unless it is snowing or raining, the Keg should be tapped (in layman's terms - roof should be open). The roof on Miller Park does have its flaws, but I won't get into any of the mechanical problems. My biggest problem is that even with the roof and panels open, you still feel like you are indoors. Small price to pay for baseball game assurance, I guess. So I guess it goes without saying that this game was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday afternoon, and the Saturday afternoon game was pushed back to Saturday night. The Nationally televised game would see Jeff Suppan pitch against the Japanese wonder Daisuke Matsuzaka. Suppan struggled early, giving up 4 runs in the first 2 innings. That proved to be too big of a hole for the Brewers offense to dig themselves out of. They did manage to put up 2 runs (albeit none of them earned) against Matsuzaka, who earned his 7th victory of the year and proved that pitching is the most important aspect of a baseball game. You can't win without it, and your offense only has to score 1 more run than the pitcher gives up. When the pitching gives up 3 runs, it's not too hard to nail down the victory, and Milwaukee suffers their 3rd straight loss. Braun did hit his 11th home run of the year off of Papelbon in the 9th, and hit it up over the Green Monster for a majestic, but otherwise unimportant home run as it did not affect the win/loss aspect of the game. Oh well, at least there's another game tonight and most teams usually split doubleheaders, right? Final score Red Sox 5, Brewers 3.

Brewers record : 20 - 22

Game 2 (Saturday/postponed to Saturday night 7:35 pm CST) - Dave Bush (1-4, 6.05 ERA) vs Tim Wakefield (3-2, 4.33 ERA)

The night game Saturday night wasn't televised, so I only had the internet and text messages to update me on the happenings of this game. From what transpired during these 9 long innings, I guess I'm glad that I wasn't able to watch this game. Dave Bush was just kind of blah during this game, going 6 innings and giving up 5 runs on 5 hits. The Brewers offense chipped in a little bit to help bail him out, but the defense struggled mightily and doomed the chances fo winning. The Brewers fell to an early 5-o hole, but 3 runs on both the 6th and 7th allowed the Brewers to take a 6-5 lead. But then the errors started to affect the line score. Nothing ever seems to line up for this team. The pitching was ok, but the offense overcame that, but it wasn't strong enough to combat the 4 ERRORS! committed by the defense. It takes one hell of an offense (which the Brewers really don't have right now) to overcome that Goliath. It always comes down to pitching and defense, which were pitiful. Against the world champions on the road, you just can't screw those things up. It's no wonder that they lost, and unless they start playing better, it's going to be one long ass season. To pick a positive in this game, Corey Hart did join his teammate Braun when he smacked a home run atop the Green Monster in the 6th inning and the Brewers actually had some productive base hits with runners in scoring position. Of course none of that matters because the only stat that counts is the L in the loss column, but we're trying to be optimistic, right? After all, the beer glass is always half full until we drown our sorrows by emptying it. And since this is Wisconsin, there will never be a shortage of beer. Hooray Beer!! We can always look at it as being all the way full because every time we drink it, we can refill it! And when we're drunk, we no longer care about optimism and we just go and pass out. And then we wake up in the morning, puking our guts out with a massive hangover and wonder what the hell happened last night. And then we swear we will never drink again, but then start all over later that night. And that my friends, is the Circle of Life. Oh yeah, final score Reds Sox 7, Brewers 6.

Brewers record : 20 - 23

Game 3 (Sunday) - Carlos Villanueva (2-5, 6.43 ERA) vs Josh Beckett (5-3, 4.67 ERA)

My sister graduated from college (UW-Milwaukee) on Sunday May 18, and I was almost too hung over to attend the ceremony. I barely made it out of bed and settled in at the top row in the US Cellular Arena and thankfully missed the opening 900 speaches from a bunch of professors, doctors, and local politicians. I did get to hear my sister's name called, but I was just a bit late to hoot and holler and shout out "Jenny Reck!" like I should have. I will now chalk that up as one of my biggest regrets in life. As I sat up in the nosebleeds at The Cell, I got constant updates with the score changes. And I mean constant updates. There was so much scoring in this game I thought that it was Prom Night (hey-oh!) but much like my Prom Night, none of the scoring benefited my best interests (bazing!) The Brewers did manage to hit 4 home runs (2 by Braun, 1 by Hart and 1 by Fielder) but the Brewers pitchers combined to give up 11 runs with 4 of those being home runs. Is it too harsh to assume that the Brewers are going to give up a lot of runs and lose every tkme that Carlos Villanueva pitches? I don't mean to be rude, but the guy has a 6.43 ERA. What the hell happened to Carlos? He used to be so good and now he just sucks. I knew that he took the Gallardo injury especially hard because they are very close friends, but enough is enough. Stop pouting and go out there and kick some ass. It's no surprise that he was moved to the bullpen soon after this last dismal performance. Hopefully he can work out the kinks and rejoin the starting rotation, because we desperatly need him to pitch well if we hope to salvage this season and compete for the NL Central title. The Brewers offense finally put a couple of runs on the board and the pitching once again falters. Why can't everything just go right at the same time? It works for every other team (seemingly) so why do we have to be the perrenial losers? I'm getting too old for this losing shit. Final score Red Sox 11, Brewers 7.

Brewers record : 20 - 24

Ouch baby, very ouch. I recently spoke with my friend Lorge and I asked him about the trip to Fenway. He said the park was amazing, the seats were great, the fans were loyal and for the most part nice and tolerable, and the experience was overall a great one. But there was one exception - the Brewers got swept. That just put a damper on the mood for the weekend, and hung like a rain cloud over the wonderful memories. I completley understand how he feels about that, because I was furious that we weren't able to steal a game from Boston and I was back here in the homeland. I've been in hostile enemy territory during a beatdown of the Brewers before, and it's not very pretty. I have not, however, suffered through 3 straight road game losses in person, and I hope I never will. Watching it on TV or the internet is bad enough. I'm still planning on going out to Fenway someday, and I hope that it will be to watch the Brewers play (and beat) the Red Sox. Seeing as how this is their first appearance at Fenway since they were in the American League in 1996, I'm anticipating another 12 year wait until I get to see that. There could be one exception to that rule, and that would be if the Brewers played the Red Sox in the World Series, but I'd have to be a mega gazillionaire to afford those tickets. And seeing as how the Brewers aren't playing like a team that will make it to the World Series, I figure I have some time to save up that money. If only I wasn't spending all those dollars on hard alcohol and beer to drown my sorrows after countless Brewers lossess in 2008. I'm drinking way too much these days, but I'd probably still be drinking in celebration if the Brewers were winning. That's what alcoholics do - they drink. Cheers.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates May 20 (Tuesday) - May 22 (Thursday) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

- pookon -

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

Brewers vs Dodgers 5/13 - 5/15 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 14 - Los Angeles Dodgers vs Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

After coming off of a huge series win against the division leading Cardinals (who are now in 2nd place to those wretched FIB Cubs) the Brewers will face the Los Angeles Dodgers for they only time at Miller Park this year. The Dodgers were coming into Milwaukee having lost their last 5 games in a row, and you just knew that the struggling Brewers wouldn't be able to keep that streak going. The Brewers have to take advantage of these early home games because at this stage in the year, they are few and far between. It may be just me, but it seems like they are playing an awful lot of games on the road, and I'm starting to tire of these 10-day 9 game road trips, especially when they are starting to struggle on the road again. Because of my job (that cruel bastard), I would have to watch these three weekday games from the confines of my lonely cubicle. At least I get rowdy and everyone in the office looks at me when the Brewers hit a home run. It's easy to elicit stares when you hoot, holler, and woo-hoo! for seemingly no reason. I like being the office oddball. It's just about the only thing I like about it. Screw my job; on with the wrap-up.

Game 1 (Tuesday) - Carlos Villanueva (2-4, 6.00 ERA) vs Brad Penny (5-4, 5.09 ERA)

Today was another chance for Carlos Villanueva to go out there and quiet the critics that have been calling for his head after starting out the 2008 season on a sour note. Villanueva showed flashes of brilliance on the mound last season, but so far had been unimpressive. Today, he looked like he was back in form. He went 6 solid innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) and 8 hits. The bullpen held the Dodgers to just those 3 runs throughout the rest of the game. But the big story was Ryan Braun continuing to swing a red hot bat. He went 2-4 with a triple and a double, and his 2 RBI's in the 5th inning put the Brewers ahead for good. His batting average is now up to .294 and he's played better than average defense so far in left field. I know it's early, but this recent surge for Braun should earn him his first trip to the All Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York City this summer. Gagne came in (much to the disappointment of the home crowd) for the save in the 9th inning, but he quieted the skeptics by earning his 10th save of the season. He had to work around a hit and a walk to do it, and just once, I would love to see Gagne throw a clean inning and record a save. Oh well, no sense clinging onto the negative aspects because the Brewers won. Sweet. Final score Brewers 5, Dodgers 3.

Brewers record : 20 -19

Game 2 (Wednesday) - Manny Parra (1-2, 5.03 ERA) vs Derek Lowe (2-3, 4.62 ERA)

Manny Parra pitched really good today, and he deserved his 2nd victory of the season. Unfortunately, Guillermo Mota couldn't allow him to chalk another one up in the W column. Manny did all that he could to help the Brewers win, and even came through with a 2 RBI single in the 2nd inning to put the Brewers on the board. He pitched into the 7th inning, and only gave up 1 earned run (thanks to Fielder's error) and struck out 4. Once again, a good start was wasted by shoddy defense and the bullpen's lack of ability to close a game. It looks like it doesn't really matter who we run out there in the 9th inning - someone will find a way to blow it. If it's not Gagne, then someone else can get in there and destroy any hopes we have of going to playoffs. I hate losing. I think that anyone who competes would tell you the same thing. Losing sucks balls. There's nothing more disappointing than losing and watching the other team celebrate their victory. And when you basically hand them the victory by playing ineffectively, it hurts so much more because you knew that you lost it for yourself. Baseball is a silly game in the fact that it can be won with one swing of the bat, and then it's over. There's no shot at redemption and there are no do-overs. Thankfully there's 162 games, and until the end of the season, there's almost always a tomorrow. But seeing as how the Brewers have been playing lately (with the exception of the series against St. Louis), tomorrow is just another chance for the Bad News Brewers to screw it up. And we're right back down to .500. C'mon guys! We're better than a .500 team! Final score Dodgers 6, Brewers 4.

Brewers record : 20 - 20

Game 3 (Thursday) - Ben Sheets (4-1, 3.25 ERA) vs Chad Billingsly (3-5, 4.34 ERA)

Call this start by Ben Sheets your prototypical Jekyll and Hyde performance. In the first 6 innings, he allowed only 3 hits and no runs. In the 7th inning, he turned into a monster and served up 6 runs on 6 hits including 3 home runs. It went from being another spectacle by our ace to a downright ghastly afternoon. And at home no less. The Brewers offense was stagnant again, but Ryan Braun continued to be a stud, showing of his excitment of his 8-year $45 million dollar contract with a solo home run to left, his 10th of the year. That's right, the Brewers finally did something right by locking up Braun for 8 years (including 2 free agency years) so it's now safe to assume that Braun is the face of this franchise. I need to go out and buy me a 2nd Ryan Braun jersey cause 1 just isn't enough. I should buy 1 in every style (home blue, home white, road gray, retro, batting practice) so that I can wear 1 for every day of the week. I know that the week has 7 days, so I'll just work on a 5-jersey rotation. Once he makes the All Star Team, I can buy an All Star Ryan Braun jersey so that only leaves me 1 short for the week. That leaves me 1 day where I can wear another deserving player's jersey, which at this point is limited to Corey Hart and Prince Fielder. Im glad that at least one player is doing well right now, because it allows me to sing praise for that one player instead of bitching about players that suck right now. And you really don't want to hear me bitch about 22 players. At least I don't bash Yost like a pinata like every other fan in Brewers Nation. That's one thing that I will be trying my darndest to stay away from in this blog. I figure that you hear about that shit every time you open the newspaper, listen to the radio, and turn on the TV, so why in the hell would you want to hear it from me too? Final score Dodgers 7, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 20 - 21

I thought that we had the series locked up after strong starts by Villanueva and Parra until the bullpen fell apart again. But then I felt a sigh of relief because we had Sheets on the mound. Victory, as it appeared, should have been ours. But just like the Labyrinth, things aren't always what they appear to be. And also like Labyrinth, the Brewers gave away their little brother Toby to David Bowie, the Goblin King (with the tight pants) and it's just not fair. I'm sick and tired of being a loser. If the Brewers lose, I feel like I lose too, so lately I'm just pissed off because they keep finding ways to give the games away. The Sheets blow-up was unavoidable - sometimes pitchers (even one of Sheets' calibur) have a rough inning. You just hope that it doesn't affect the outcome of the game and the series by a whole lot. Naturally, it almost always does, and it meant the difference between winning and losing the series. We fall a game below .500 and head out on a rough 9-game, 10-day road trip to Boston, the dreaded city of Pittsburgh (Brewers have a 20-42 record at PNC Park) and the new Nationals Ballpark in Washington D.C. This upcoming road trip could make our break our season, even though it is still only May. I sure hope that it doesn't come down to that, but I have a feeling like this will be one of the turning points (be it good or bad) of the 2008 season. God help us.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers @ Boston Red Sox May 16 (Friday) - May 18 (Sunday) at Fenway Park in Boston, MA

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers vs Cardinals 5/9 - 5/12 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 13 - Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

The Cardinals are so far the surprise team in the NL Central. Nobody picked them to finish better than 3rd or 4th in the division because their pitching was suspect. They are no where near the pitching stability that they were a few years ago (2006)when they won the World Series. The 2006 rotation consisted of Chris Carpenter (DL), Mulder (DL), Suppan (Brewers), Marquis (Cubs) and Weaver (Brewers AAA team Nashville Sounds). Compare that to 2008 rotation of Wainwright, Lohse, Looper, Wellemeyer and Pineiro. Most of them are converted relievers because of the injuries to Carpenter and Mulder. They do rank 11th in the majors with a team ERA of 3.82 (compared to the Brewers team ERA of 4.56, good for 24th). Not too bad for a couple of replacement players. The Cardinals currently occupy the top spot in the NL Central, but the Chicago Cubs are lurking right behind them. With any luck, the Brewers could make up some ground with a good series, and concentrate on getting above .500 before we worry about our standing in the division. Seeing the way the Cardinals had been playing in 2008, it was shaping up to be a good 4 game series.

Game 1 (Friday) - Manny Parra (1-2, 5.79 ERA) vs Todd Wellemeyer (3-1, 3.56 ERA)

I only remember a few things from this game, but I do have a very good reason for that. May 6th was my 27th Birthday, and my older brother James bought possibly the best birthday gift I could ever receive - tickets to the Brewers game sitting at Friday's Front Row Sports Grill. The table was right above the Brewers bullpen, and offered a unique and exciting viewpoint for the game. We also got food vouchers in the amount of $37 per person, which I used mostly on alcohol, and after many fine Leinenkugals 4 Seasons and Long Island Ice Teas, I only remember two things about the game. 1 - Trenni Kusnierek is super hot in real life (vs TV life). I mean smoking hot. Grrrrrrrr. If she were a president she would be Baberaham Lincoln. In Latin she would be called "babia majora". She's magically babelicious. That definitely made my night. I even hooted and hollered at her, and she actually looked at me. Get out of here, right? Yeah, zeroed in on me like a tractor beam. But then she sent me this John Deer letter saying a bunch of things like i wasn't paying attention to her, I don;t know, I wasn't really listening, but I know that I wasted my opportunity with this fine female. Oh well. The other part that I remember was the 9th inning. Corey Hart and Bill Hall swing at the first pitch and were out. We're down by a run and Isringhausen throws 2 pitches and gets 2 outs. My birthday was starting to suck. Then JJ Hardy singles, Kapler singles, and Kendall draws a walk. Then comes Rickie Weeks, who knocks a pitch into left field, scoring Hardy and Kapler. BREWERS WIN! And just like that, the day went from being disappointing to absolutely amazing. Funny how things can turn around so quickly. The Brewers snapped their 6 game losing streak and I had a great evening with my brother James, his fiance Janelle, my best friends Aaron and "Mad Man" Dave, and my Uncle Gary. The icing on the cake is that I later found out that I was on TV, and my friends, cousins, and family members called me to tell me the good news. We went out and uh, partied after the game (heh heh heh) and all is well that ends well. This was perhaps one of the greatest days of my life, and although I know I say that a lot (look for a future blog entry with that title) this time I really mean it. Final score Brewers 4, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 17 - 18

Game 2 (Staurday) - Ben Sheets (4-0, 2.53 ERA) vs Joel Pineiro (2-2, 4.05 ERA)

This game was broadcast on the Fox network as part of the Saturday baseball series. It wasn't broadcast nationally, but it was within a good enough area to expose the Brewers to people who otherwise haven't been able to watch them on TV. I had to work at my stupid job during this game, so I had the "privilege" of once again following this game on ESPN's gamecast. I previously mentioned how important it was for the Brewers to win every start that Ben Sheets makes, especially now that Yovanni Gallardo is lost for the season. Sheets pitched well, going 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs. The Brewers offense continues to struggle, but Prince Fielder hit a home run in the 8th to tie the game at 3. Yost brought in struggling closer Eric Gagne to pitch the 9th, which is what you are supposed to do in a tie game at home in the 9th. You would hope that the closer can keep runs off of the board and give the offense the chance to walk off a win in the bottom of the 9th. You can hope that, but with Eric Gagne on the mound, hope is all but lost at this point. Gagne gave up 2 runs in the 9th, but since the game was tied, it does not technically count as a blown save. He did however get saddled with the loss, and more importantly, his reputation as a lights out closer and his career save percentage are as tainted as Roger Clemens' and Barry Bonds' careers. I wanted to like Gagne, especially cause he has sweet hair and goggles and because he is from our neighbor to the North (Canada). But I just can't like a guy who goes out there and blows the game 50% of the time that he is on the mound. No team can compete at a high level and win championships if they cannot finish the game. I will still refrain from booing him at the games, but I will sure as hell be nervous every time he's on the mound. After the game, Gagne told Yost that he needs a mental break and should be relieved of the closing duties for the time being. Knowing Ned, Gagne will be back on the mound in a tight situation before the week is out. Color me disappointed. Cardinals 5, Brewers 3.

Brewers record: 17 - 19

Game 3 (Sunday) - Jeff Suppan (2-2, 4.63 ERA) vs Braden Looper (5-2, 4.21 ERA)

I have the non quotation marked privilege of working nearly every single Sunday game, including today's. Today was special because it is Mother's day, and some players would be using a pink bat to bash the breast cancer out of the baseball. Bill Hall was excited to once again swing the pink lumber, seeing as how he hit a game winning home run in 2006 and a useless solo shot in a blowout loss to the Mets in 2007. I was one of many hoping for him to hit his 3rd Mother's Day home run, but for him, today's game would look like the rest of his season - 0-3 (although he did walk and score a run). It was ok though, because a new Mother's Day hero emerged in his first time out swinging the pink bat - the Hebrew Hammer himself, Ryan Braun. Braun hit 2 booming solo home runs in the 3rd and 5th innings. Those home runs ended up being the winning runs in a close game that saw two pitchers combine to earn the save. Suppan reverted back to his old form, going 7 innings and only giving up 1 run. Gagne rode the bench (with despite the criticism, is one hell of a way to earn $10 million dollars. That's a lot of dollars!) and Torres and Shouse each worked the 9th and Shouse picked up the save. I have a terrible memory, but it seems like these Mother's Day games stick with me. Bill Hall's walk off home run in 2006 was magical, and I always tear up when I watch the highlight on TV. Ryan Braun's two homer game well stick with me for awhile as well, but I also will remember today because I once again disappointed my Mother by not getting her a present (not even a card or flowers!) She gave me that, "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" look and threatened to disown me. That didn't really happen, but I had to add it because I like to lie and exaggerate the truth beyond belief. Get excited, get hyped, because Braun is swinging the bat well and the pitchers are going into the 7th inning. We could be turning the corner here. Brewers 5, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 18 - 19

Game 4 (Monday) - Dave Bush (1-4, 6.06 ERA) vs Adam Wainwright (3-2, 2.95 ERA)

If you would have told me before this game that Dave Bush was going to out pitch the Cardinals' default ace Wainwright, I would have told you that you're crazy. You didn't need to do anything more than look at he stats to make a claim based on previous performance, but maybe this is a sign that Bush has turned a corner and is reverting back to his 2006 form. Wainwright gave up 8 runs in 6 innings pitched, and Bush only gave up 1 in 6 innings. Bush's comeback performance was overshadowed by non other than the Hebrew Hammer Ryan Braun. For the 2nd consecutive day, Braun smashed 2 home runs, but once again they were both solo shots. It's nice to see Braun hitting for average and socking dingers, but it upsetting to see that the guys before him (mostly Weeks and Cameron) aren't able to get on base when he's doing it Peter. I try not to dwell on the negative following a Brewers win, but unfortunately, the bullpen faltered in this game but the offense scored enough runs to win the game. Gagne came in the 7th and pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 run, 2 hits, and 2 walks, and still boasts a gangly 1.88 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). Mitch Stetter showed his youth and inexperience by walking 4 batters in 2/3 of an inning, and even walked in a run before being pulled for Mota, who recorded his 1st save on the season when he struck out Rick Ankeil on a full count to end the game. This one could have gotten out of hand, but the Brewers came away with the victory and the series win. Final score Brewers 8, Cardinals 3.

Brewers record : 19 - 19

The Brewers are finally back up at .500 following the 6 game road losing streak at Houston and Florida. The best part about it is that they did it at home against the 1st place Cardinals. I know that I can write whatever I want down here because you never got past the part where I posted the pictures of Trenni Kusnierek. Oh Trenni Kusnierek! So hot! Want to touch the hiney!Aroooooo! That Trenni Kusnierek is one hot piece of ace, I know from experience dude. If you know what I mean. Well, not me personally but a guy I know. Him and her *got it on*. Wooo-eee! No, No, they didn't. But you could imagine what it'd be like if they, eh, eh... good, great, grand, wonderful. Sadly, no milk will ever be our milk. Eh he heh heh heh...awkward... Well, enough with the silliness, because I know that I've already taken up enough of your time tonight. Thank you for reading, smell ya' later Aligator..

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Los Angeles Dodgers May 13 (Tuesday) - May 15 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

Brewers @ Marlins 5/6 - 5/8 : Series Wrap-Up

Series 12 - Milwaukee Brewers vs Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, FL

I've previously mentioned how ridiculous the fan base is at Dolphin stadium (where they draw an average of 12,000 fans a game) and how the team trades away it's best players whenever they are up for salary arbitration and start to cost the team money. The current payroll for the Florida Marlins is a paltry $22 million dollars (which seems like a lot of money to the common folk) but compared to the Brewers $81 million and the New York Yankees $209 million, it looks like nothing at all. But still this team is comprised of young players giving their all in hopes to score a large paycheck someday, and they are still young enough to remember the fundamentals and pure joy of the game. I don't know if the Brewers just don't have it, but they just look like they are lacking on a lot of different levels. It could just be a little bit of a slump, which is what I hope it is. We have been told for years to wait for all of these young players to come up tot he big leagues and then we'd be set. That time has come, so not it is time for us to start winning. And not just winning games, winning championships. I'm sick and tired of losing, so winning better start now. It looks like I picked the wrong series to start complaining about winning right now.

Game 1 (Tuesday) - Jeff Suppan (1-2, 5.22 ERA) vs Scott Olsen (4-1, 2.22 ERA)

I've previously mentioned several time that I have to watch the majority of the games from my computer on one for he gamecast/stattracker programs online while I am at work. Tom Haudricourt and Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provide play by play updates on the Jsonline Brewers Blog, but it just isn't the same as watching the game. For this game, I didn't care that I wasn't able to watch it. The headline for the post-game wrap-up on the Brewers website says it best - Brewers offense stymied. There's no better way to put that. Kudos to you, Adam McCalvy (Brewers.com beat writer). For the second time this season, the Brewers couldn't get anything going against Scott Olsen as they managed just 2 hits against him for the entire game. Suppan gave up 3 runs in 5 innings, and the bullpen (as it has been all year so far with one notable exception - cough, Gagne, cough) was phenomenal, giving up only 1 hit and no walks while striking out 4 in the final 4 frames. The Brewers finally did manage to rally against Olsen, when Weeks drew a walk to lead off the 9th. Braun and Cameron got out, but Fielder singled and Dillon walked, bring Bill Hall "Wins Games" to the plate with the bases loaded with 2 outs and the Brewers down by 3. Well, that was the 2006 Bill Hall, and this year's version is a bit different. Bill Hall "Kills Rallies" flew out to right field against closer Kevin Gregg (who is on my fantasy team) and the Brewers got shut out and the losing streak climbed to 4 games. The Brewers have just fallen to a .500 record for the year. Final score Marlins 3, Brewers 0.

Brewers record : 16 - 16

Game 2 (Wednesday) - Dave Bush (0-4, 6.98 ERA) vs Burke Badenhop (1-2, 6.31 ERA)

We lost to Burke Badenhop. Are you serious? That name sounds made up. We just can't buy a win right now. You'd think that with Mark "Moneybags" Attanasio as our owner, he could pony up the dough and buy us just one win to pull us out of this slump. I like Dave Bush. I've been a fan of his since he first came over in the Lyle Overbay trade. Sure, at times he's had some trouble and is prone to blowing up and giving up a big inning, but he mostly stays on the attack and has a good strikeout to walk ratio. That was 2006 and 2007. In 2008, there's a different kind of Dave Bush out there pitching. He's the one who only made the starting rotation because Yovanni Gallardo was on the DL. He's the one who got sent down to AAA when Gallardo rejoined the starting rotation. And he's also the one that only got to come back to join the starting rotation when Gallardo tore his ACL and is out for the season. This Dave Bush is struggling, and it is quite evident in his performance today. 6 innings, 5 hits, 6 ER, 2 walks, 2 home runs and 2 big innings (allowing 3 runs in the 3rd and 3 in more the 6th). Combined with the Brewers lack of offense (Rickie Weeks' 2 run blast to left field) and you have yet another loss. Things are really looking bleak right now, and we're just a few more losses from a season ender. I know it's still early, but falling behind the 1st place Cardinals any more than 5 games will be difficult to make up. Bush needs to start pitching better and the offense needs to contribute if the Brewers want to watch October baseball from somewhere else other than their TV sets. Final score Marlins 6, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 16 - 17

Game 3 (Thursday) - Carlos Villanueva (1-4, 6.46 ERA) vs Mark Hendrickson (5-1, 3.56 ERA)

The Brewers were in danger of getting swept for the 2nd consecutive series, but apparently that wasn't alarming enough for the players and coaches to perform at their highest level. I'm really not one to complain about Ned Yost and his managerial skills (or lack thereof, depending on who you talk to) but this particular move irked me. His team had just lost 5 in a row, and pitching and offense we to blame for those losses. Villanueva would have to go out and pitch well for them to win, because with the exception of Gagne, everyone in the bullpen currently has an ERA hovering between 3 and 4. Yost cannot control how effectively his starter pitches, but he does make the line up every day. For a team that is struggling to score runs, I don't see how a lineup like this can be effective :

2B Rickie Weeks - .188, 5 HR, 13 RBI
CF Mike Cameron - .211, 3 HR, 8 RBI
1B Joe Dillon - .267, 0 HR, 5 RBI
LF Ryan Braun - .257, 5 HR, 23 RBI
SS JJ Hardy - .241, 1 HR, 9 RBI
3B Bill Hall - .213, 7 HR, 19 RBI
RF Gabe Kapler - .279, 4 HR, 13 RBI
C Mike Rivera - .316, 1 HR, 4 RBI
P Carlos Villanueva - .154, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Your best (debatable) offensive player Prince Fielder (.248, 4HR, 21 RBI), your best overall hitter average wise Corey Hart (.299, 1 HR, 16 RBI) and best on base guy Jase Kendall (.369 OBP) are riding the bench in a must win situation. How can you expect to win this game? Sure, players do need a day of rest, but there is a scheduled off day on May 19th! And they just had an off day on May 5th. Don't give that "rest your starters" crap Ned, I think that is absolute bullcrap. There was no reason why Fielder or Hart should be sitting during an important game like this. I can understand Kendall because Rivera needs some playing time too, seeing as how Kendall is expected to start upwards of 130 games this year. But c'mon, if you run garbage/replacement players out there, then don't be surprised that your team just lost it's 6th game in a row. The decision to make Villanueva a full time starter (versus reliever/long man/spot starter) this year is now looking like a bad choice, seeing as how Villanueva is only pitching an average of 5.1 innings per game and has an ERA of 6.46. In retrospect, there really weren't any more choices, seeing as how they were going to release Vargas and Capuano got injured. If Gallardo was healthy, then you could have possibly used Villanueva in the bullpen, but that ship has sailed since we all know Gallardo is out for the season. We have no choice but to stick with Villanueva for this year, and I honestly think that he can pull it back together and pitch effectively. After all, stats don't lie and last year he posted an 8-4 record with a 3.94 ERA with 114.1 innings pitched. That's pretty damn good for a starter/reliever, if you ask me. He just has to do what all young pitchers have to do when they have average/above average stuff - make adjustments to hitters when they make adjustments to you. He still has time to salvage this season and contribute to the 2008 season, he just needs to start doing it now. So I bet you noticed that I haven't said much about this game, and that's because there's nothing to say. The Brewers had 9 hits, but only scored 2 runs. Villanueva pitched 5 innings, giving up 10 hits and 7 earned runs. Offense sucked blah blah blah pitching sucked blah blah blah. Same old story, different day. It's completely unnecessary to say that the Brewers lost, but I'll do it because it stings. Sick burn! Marlins 7, Brewers 2.

Brewers record : 16 - 18

Sometimes I'm thankful that I'm am unable to watch all of the games on TV, especially these past 6 when they have been playing like crap. If I would have been at home (say if I worked a 9-5 job) I would have been watching these games, and since I am a true fan, I never turn off a game, even if they are losing by a lot (like the 19-5 loss to the Cubs). Sometimes when they are ahead of behind by a lot, it gives the commentators (especially Uecker) time to tell some interesting and off the wall stories. For me, it's always worth it to watch the games and be able to watch the players so that I can assess their performance beyond what the stats and wrap-ups tell me. Then I provide my insight on this blog, and then nobody reads it. I know because I get my daily stats courtesy of Google Analytics. So I'm wasting what little energy I have left in my fingers when I type this - read people, and comment back with your thoughts? Why are people totality avoiding me? I don't suck as much as the Brewers starting rotation! (Cheap shot.) Oh well. I guess we'll take solace in the fact that the Brewers are returning home to Tap the Keg, and seeing as how it is spring madness (1/2 price seats $26 or less and $1 hot dogs and sodas) expect Friday - Sunday to be sold out. It seems to me like the Brewers have been playing an unusual amount of games on the road (21 on the road vs 16 home) and they were playing quite well until the recent 6 game road losing streak (9-12 road vs 9-7 home). Here's hoping that a good night's sleep and a bit of good old fashioned home cooking does this team well and we can rattle off a few wins and get this ship headed in the right direction.

Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals May 9 (Friday) - May 11 (Sunday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

I'm Pushing 30...

...but I still know how to party!!! Yesterday was my 27th birthday, and my new overused joke is starting to get as old as me. When people ask me how old I am, I tell them I'm pushing 30. It's not that funny, I know. My last overused joke was a whole lot funnier. When people used to ask me what I was going to school for, I'd reply, "About 7 years!!" That one used to bring the house down. I maintain the fact that I still know how to party, but the truth is that I get partied out way faster and take twice as long to recover from it. Case in point - my family and friends too me out to a bar called RC's so I could go for the cheap Milwaukee beer cycle - Schlitz, Blatz, Hamm's and Pabst Blue Ribbon. And they're all just $2 each. What a great world we live in. I had enough beers at that bar, but decided to go out to Houligan's to drink from a boot. A big glass boot. There were 5 of us there, and we did 3 boots. Each boot holds about 2 liters of beer, and at 3 total boots, that's a lot of beer folks! I also did a couple of shots along the way between Houligan's and Vittuchi's, so by the time we got to this Mexican food joint Jalisco's, I was pretty Recked. Heh heh heh. The next morning, I was puking my guts out and stayed in bed until 2:30 pm. Even though I can still drink and party with the kids, I recover from it like a 27 year old. It took me nearly half the day (until around 5 pm) until I started feeling normal again. That's one of the roughest things about getting old. The worst part about it is that I don't usually have that day after to recover, and end up going in to work reeking of booze and looking like shit. Small price to pay for a sweet night on the town. I just have to learn that I am grown up now and have a professional job (and the khaki's and name badge to go with it) and that I can no longer call in sick whenever I want or show up but not do any work. It's rough, but I'm not a kid anymore. I'll always be a big kid and goof around and have fun and shit, but I just have to budget my goofing around time versus my super serious time. I think I can manage, but something inside me tells me that I'm going to screw this one up eventually because I refuse to grow up. So I'm going to keep on partying (it was my birthday, for crying out loud) until I can't party any more. I'm hardcore like that, and I refuse to be old and dumb. It may cost me a couple of years off of my life in the end, but who wants to be old when it sucks to do stuff? I'd rather live it up right now while I'll still mobile. Being old sucks, so I'm gonna rock while I'm still relatively young.

- pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/

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/