Road Trips

I finally made the trip down to Wrigley Field this season, and although the Brewers lost, I still had a good time. I thought you all might like to see some of the photos. You can see them all here. I couldn't go to Wrigley and not get a photo in front of the famous sign!

I also just spent the weekend in St. Louis closing out the season. Again, the Brewers lost on Saturday, but they pulled out a win for me on Sunday, so at least I have one road win for the season.



As much as I hate to admit it, the new Busch Stadium is very nice. Very red, but very nice. Lots of open air spaces and padded seats! There are fantastic views of the Arch and downtown, and you can check out those photos here, as well as photos of my other adventures in St. Louis here.

Interesting At Bat

I thought you hard core baseball fans might appreciate this photo. As I'm sure all of you know, Barry Bonds hit a homerun at Miller Park that broke Hank Aaron's National League Homerun record . I don't typically take photos of opposing team members, especially ones I don't respect, but for some reason, I took this photo of Barry Bonds.

As it turned out, the ball in Cappy's hand is the one that ended up behind the centerfield wall. Which means this is the pitch that resulted in the HR that broke the NL record. Pretty cool, huh?

Wrapping It Up

Well the baseball season is over, at least for the Brewers. I can say that at least they ended on a high note, beating the Cardinals Sunday in St. Louis. Now the team, and the fans, look to 2007 and what our team will look like come April.

The biggest question seems to be Geoff Jenkins. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a Brewer uniform next season. He's owed $7 million for 2007 season, and I can't imagine who would take on that salary, considering his offensive slump this season. Then again, I can't see the Brewers paying some of that just to move him and open a spot on the bench. And honestly, it's not like his season was completely atrocious. Yes his numbers fell off, but I still think we haven't seen the last of Jenkins.

Another big question is Tony Graffanino. He said he wants to come back. Doug Melvin and Ned Yost want Tony to come back. The issue, from what I've read, is getting Graffy enough playing time. My prediction is that we've seen the last of Corey Koskie. He hasn't really shown any improvement since his July 5th injury. I don't know how long post traumatic concussion syndrome is supposed to last, but it's been three months already with no noticeable improvement. Assuming his contract is insured or the Brewers can otherwise get out of it, I think Koskie is gone.

So what to do about third base? What to do about shortstop, for that matter? Bill Hall has certainly shown he can handle shortstop, and has pretty much earned the spot heading into the off season. From what I've read, JJ Hardy is going to have to get the job back, because right now it belongs to Bill. So that means Bill probably won't be at third every day next season.

Rickie Weeks will be back at second, barring any new injuries, and Prince Fielder owns first. Tony Graffanino can play every infield position, even though he prefers second. Assuming Koskie is done, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tony at third next season. Or perhaps move Bill to third, JJ at short, and use Tony as a super-utility man. Either way, I really want to see Tony in a Brewer uniform next season.

Corey Hart seems a lock for the outfield next year, but he's the only one. Kevin Mench has struggled since coming to the Brewers, but Doug likes him, so he might get another shot. Tony Gwynn has done well in his time in the bigs, but I really think he needs a little more time in AAA.

Brady Clark is under contract for next season, but that doesn't mean he can't be traded away. His number weren't spectacular this season so he could be difficult to move. Then there's Gabe Gross, not to mention Laynce Nix. You know what? I'm actually just going to skip this, because it makes my head spin to consider all the possibilities for the outfield. I'll leave it to Doug and Ned and just wait and see!

As far as the starting rotation, I'm seeing Sheets, Davis, Capuano, Bush and Villanueva. Carlos has certainly proved that he can compete at this level, and has more than earned a shot at the starting rotation for next year.

I read that, mercifully, Dan Kolb will probably not be back next year. Francisco Cordero's option will most surely be picked up, as he has more than earned the closer's job. Assuming Derrick Turnbow can get his mechanics tightened up, he and Matt Wise will be great for the setup spot, leaving Rick Helling and Jose Capellan for middle relief. Not sure if Geremi Gonzalez will be back. Brian Shouse will almost certainly be back, used solely as a lefty specialist.

So those are my early predictions for next year. It will surely be an interesting winter as changes are made and the team starts to shape up. Only 181 days till opening day!

Ugly, Ugly and More Ugly

Last night I did something I've done only once before: I turned off the game in the disastrous 7th inning. And I even missed the worst of it. Once Derrick Turnblow walked in the 6th run for St. Louis, I had had enough. I decided to watch "Nip/Tuck" instead. It was much more gratifying, even though I would check on the game during commercials.

First commercial - score had gone from 6-2 to 8-2. Second commercial - 10-2. Third commercial - 12-2. I stopped checking after that and didn't turn back until after the game. I had seen enough to realize that once again, the terrible two (Turnbow and Kolb) had struck again.

The post-game was somewhat interesting. A reporter in the media room finally asked Ned Yost what I've been wondering since July. "How many times are you going to keep throwing Turnbow in there to lose games?" Exactly. How many chances does this guy get? How many losses does it take for Yost to realize that Turnbow isn't getting it back any time soon??

I guess Ned finally picked up the clue phone that had been ringing for two months because he said, in no uncertain terms, that Derrick would no longer pitch in games that were still winnable. Too bad he didn't get that clue weeks ago. I wonder what our record would be at this point if we had won all the games that were lost by Derrick. At this point in the season, I'm too lazy to go back and do the research. But I do know that we'd be a whole hell of a lot closer to .500 than we are now.

Once again, I am baffled by the hype surrounding Ben Sheets. I guess I should have been a fan in 2004 when he apparently had his breakout season, because I still haven't seen anything that justifies his bloated salary. But that's just my humble opinion.

Has anyone else noticed that the three starting pitchers who make the least money are the only ones who have been out there to take the ball every 5 days? Capuano and Davis have done it two seasons straight, barring any snafus the rest of this season, and Bush has been there every time it's been his turn. I wonder if that means that Cappy and Bush will start getting hurt once they start getting big money?

So the season that started off so promising will end dismally. Fan that I am, though, I will continue to go to games and support the guys, all the while telling myself, "maybe next year." Until next time, go Brewers!

Has Anyone Else Noticed . . .

All season we kept hearing about how great it was going to be to get Sheets and Ohka back in the starting lineup. Getting them back would be like making a monster trade that no one else could make. So we all waited patiently for them to come back, thinking we would explode in the second half.

Well, what I noticed is that the team hovered around .500 all season, but when Sheets and Ohka returned, the record plummeted into the basement. Coincidence? I noticed last season too, which was mostly played without Sheets, the team managed to stay afloat and finish with a non-losing record. The year that Sheets was so outstanding was one of the Brewers worst, I believe. Again, coincidence?

Some people will scream lack of run support, but come on. That excuse can't be used for every game of every season. True, we've had a revolving door lineup this season, but I just found it very interesting that with all the injuries and what not the first half of the season, the team still managed to stay in the race. Then as soon as we get our "ace" back, the race becomes one to cellar instead of October.

Here's hoping our backup ace can get the job done tonight in PNC Park. Until next time, go Brewers!

Unrealistic Expectations, or Just Bad Manners?

Ok, in order to discuss my chosen topic today, I have to reveal something somewhat embarrassing about myself, so here goes. Those of you who know me also know that I've had a huge crush on Chris Capuano for a while now. And no, not because he's a baseball player or just because he's "cute" or whatever. I always respected his talent as a pitcher, but was never interested in him socially until I found out how smart he is. (Phi Beta Kappa from Duke for cripes' sake??) What can I say? Smart guys turn me on. From interviews, articles, and his weekly call-in on the Hog, I found out that he and I actually had quite a few things in common.

My well-meaning friends had convinced me that Chris would surely say yes to a date with me, should I be given the opportunity to meet him, and I, deluded as I was, believed them. Hey, I'm an educated, independent, intelligent, not bad looking woman, so it's not completely far fetched. But I digress.

So I thought about how I could get his attention in a way that would convey the fact that I was more interested in his brain than his pitching arm. It turns out that he is fascinated with vampires, as am I, and he had read all of the Anne Rice vampire books, as had I. Because I was a fan, I knew that she had released a 20th Anniversary Edition of "Interview with the Vampire," and each book was autographed. As soon as I remembered that edition, I knew I had my "in."

So I started looking online for a copy I could afford. $35 direct from the publisher, or $50 - $200 on eBay and similar sites. Well I liked him but not that much. I kept looking and found one that was priced under $20. I decided that wasn't too much to waste should he blow me off, so I ordered it, and then waited for the opportune moment to give it to him.

Some of you may know that August 19th was Chris's birthday, and he was one of the scheduled signers for Autograph Friday on the 18th, so I decided that was a good time. I sat by the dugout and waited for him to finish his session. Thankfully, a kid next to me called him over to sign a baseball card, saving me the embarassment of having to yell at him.

He came over, and I told him I had something for him, gave him the book and said that I had heard he was a fan. He agreed, saying that he was a huge fan. I told him that this was the autographed 20th Anniversay Edition, and from his response, he seemed to be pretty floored by it. He thanked me, saying how great it was, but that I shouldn't spend money on him. I told him to consider it a birthday gift. Then he offered to sign something for me. I told him I'd rather take him to dinner. He just smiled and continued signing cards for the kids next to me. I gave him my business card, said he should call if he changed his mind, and I walked away.

That was over two weeks ago. Of course I was crazy to think that I'd actually get a date out of it, but wouldn't you think I'd at least get a "thank you" card or something? Maybe he was raised differently, but where I grew up, when someone gives you a gift, you send them a thank-you note. He didn't even bother to ask my name at the park when I gave him the book. I had always thought Chris was a totally classy guy, but this incident has completely changed my views. He really would have just said thanks, taken the book and walked away without ever having asked my name or anything, like it was no big deal, and he was entitled to things like that.

So now I put the question to you all out there. Did I have unrealistic expectations in thinking I'd receive, at the very least, a note of thanks, or is this just really bad manners? I'd welcome any comments any of you might have, aside from telling me how lame it was that I thought he might really go out with me. I already know that! Until next time, go Brewers!

Not Much to Say

Hey there, Brewer fans. Sorry I've been MIA lately, but I really haven't had much to say. I'm afraid if I get on here and start commenting on the recent games, I might not stop. Nothing has gone right for the Brewers as of late, or the whole season, for that matter. I'm just very frustrated lately and wouldn't be able to think of anything positive to focus on.

So, with that being said, I'm trying to stay optimistic and not focus on the fact that the Crew needs to go 19-10 the rest of the season to even finish at .500. Maybe they can get it started tonight against Houston.

So until next time, go Brewers!

Mercedes-Benz Field Haus

I was fortunate enough to watch last Friday's victory over the Astros from the new Mercedes-Benz Field Haus. My friends Lea and Matt were kind enough to invite me after Lea's dad won 20 tickets in a silent auction. I was very excited because I knew the picnic area meant free beer and food!

As it turns out, you get only two free beers per ticket. Luckily, Lea's kids and a few others were underage, so we had plenty of tickets to go around. The buffet included standard ballpark fare - hamburgers, hot dogs, brats - as well as BBQ chicken and cookies. Not a bad spread, all in all. It was also really great to not have to wait in line for a beer, or have to miss any of the game while you go get one. We had our own personal bartender, who did a very nice job keeping our beer cups full!















I was a little disappointed in the view. Don't get me wrong. It was pretty cool to basically be on the field, but it was hard to see what was going on in the infield. I spent most of the evening watching the game on the screens installed inside the field haus. As you can see from the photos, you get a great view of the outfield, as well as a nice shot into the visitor's bullpen.




The one thing I complain about when I attend games is the lack of instant replay on close calls. But in the field haus, you get the excitement of being at the game, with the benefit of television.

There is one other aspect to the field haus that is pretty cool. You have to go through the field bleacher section to get into the field haus, and there is an usher stationed there who opens the gate for you every time you go in or out. There is something to be said for being able to come and go from an area that is restricted, so to speak. I know it sounds kind of snotty, but there's that feeling of "I can go in and you can't" as you walk through the bleacher section. Makes one feel somewhat superior for a couple of hours. It's also kind of neat to look up into the front row of the field bleachers and see the faces looking down enviously at the folks sitting in the picnic area. Of course these feelings were all very short-lived, as I was back in the loge section for the game on Tuesday.

In addition to the beer and food, Field Haus ticket holders get to take home a replica batting helmet. I insisted that Lea and I take a goofy photo wearing our helmets. That photo, as well as some others taken from the field haus, can be seen by clicking here, or on the link to the right. Until next time, go Brewers!

PNC Park

The Brewers finally won a series there. Of course the one game they lost was the one I attended. But perhaps my presence in the park spread some good karma that bolstered the team on to the next two victories. Probably not, but it's a nice theory.

And it's a very nice park. I arrived early and parked across the river, wanting to walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, as I'd seen so many fans doing when I watched the games on television. Not to mention that it's much less expensive to park in a garage across the river and walk. It's also a treat to see the great views of downtown Pittsburgh from the bridge.

I take a leisurely stroll across the bridge, and set out in search of the will call window to pick up my ticket. As it turns out, I was able to print out my ticket from a self-serve kiosk just outside the left field entrance. This was very convenient, as there was quite a line outside the manned ticket windows.

My seat was on the other side of the field from where I printed my ticket, so I took that as an opportunity to check out the outside of the stadium. Patio tables offered outside seating for the restaurants lined up along the East side of the building, and for a moment, I forgot it was a baseball stadium.

I walked completely around the building, to the entrance closest to my seat, and the views from the West side of the building were just as spectacular as those from the East side. My ticket is scanned, and then I'm technically inside the park, but I'm still outside. That's because the gate through which I entered provides access to the riverwalk that runs behind the stadium.

Of course, there were no signs indicating which direction I should go to get to my seat, so I was walking blind for a while. I finally found signs at the top of the stairs as I entered the lower level concourse in right field.

I made my way down to the field and watched some batting practice. I was surprised that not one Brewer player came over to the side of the field to greet the fans, some of whom, like myself, had traveled from Milwaukee. I always thought it would be easier to talk to the players, get autographs, etc., on a road trip because there would be fewer fans for them to deal with, but apparently not.

After batting practice, I decided to check out more of the park. I walked around the lower level concourse and marveled at the food selections, but was even more impressed by the area provided in which to eat the wide variety of food.



At Miller Park, when you hit the concourse area on the lower level, you can go no further than the vendors and restrooms. At PNC Park, however, the concourse extends beyond the vendors to an outdoor picnic area, complete with views of downtown and the Allegheny River, and decorated with twinkle lights. It was somewhat similar to the beer garden outside Friday's at Miller Park, but much larger, and simply provided a very nice place to sit and eat.

After my little tour, I made my way back to my seat, which was very good, and watched the game. Those of you reading this already know how it turned out, so I won't bother rehashing it here. The between-inning entertainment was fun, and the scoreboard also included closed captioning for the hearing impaired, which I thought was a nice touch. I also got to experience what life is like for baseball fans who don't have a retractable roof when it started raining in the 7th inning. As the locals ran for cover under the concourse, I simply donned my rain coat and continued to watch the game. For once the weather channel was accurate, and I had come prepared!

Instead of racing sausages, PNC Park has racing pierogies. The race starts on the big screen, and shows cartoon images of the pierogies racing through downtown. Then the "live action" pierogies enter the park at the right field corner and race to the edge of the visitor's dugout. Not nearly as exciting as our sausages.

After the game, the Brewer fans were once again disappointed as the players quickly retreated into the clubhouse. A few stayed behind to sign balls for the kids, though, which I thought was very nice seeing as how they had just lost.

All in all, I had a great time at PNC Park, in spite of the final outcome on the scoreboard. It truly is a gorgeous ballpark, and I look forward to returning. To see all of my photos from PNC Park, just click here, or on the link to the right. Until next time, go Brewers!

Short and Sweet

Well the Brewers have won two in a row against the Cubs. (About time!!) Of course they lost on Tuesday, when I was there. So far I'm 0-3 in games in my ticket package. I'm definitely going to explore other options for next season. But that's neither here nor there.

Dave Bush was "wildly effective" last night, according to him and Ned Yost. Call it whatever you want. It worked for me! He even carried a no-hitter into the 6th when, in my opinion, Bill and Daron jinxed it away. They were talking about it nonstop, and as soon as they shut up about it, the very next batter got a hit. When will they learn?

Doug Davis managed to notch another win today in an exciting rubber match. It looked like the guys might try to give it away there in the end (pay attention in the outfield fellas!), but once again, Francisco Cordero worked out of it. I'm loving this guy so far!

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to keep this short today. I'm heading out of town in the morning and still have many things yet to accomplish. I'll be in Pennsylvania visiting family, and with any luck, I'll be able to watch the Brewers play the Braves on TBS. On a very exciting note, I will be at PNC Park Monday night when the Crew takes on the Pirates. Maybe you guys will see me in the crowd! Until next time, go Brewers!

Sheets Hurt? Again?

I wasn't a Brewer fan yet when Ben Sheets had his big breakout season and got the big fat contract. I really started watching in 2005, and I never saw a lot from Ben that impressed me. At least not enough to justify his $38 million contract. Everyone kept telling me how great he was, but I never saw it.

So naturally, I was skeptical when Sheets came off the DL once again. But in his first three starts, he pitched well. Really well. So well that I started to believe all the hype about Ben Sheets, that he really was that good.

Then he pitched tonight. Sheets lasted just one inning, leaving the game with pectoral tightness. I can't help but wonder what is going on with this guy? Being from Louisiana myself, I would hate to think that Ben is just a wimp. But come on. A tight chest muscle? Isn't that something that should have been sufficiently stretched before the game? Or shouldn't it have been discovered when Ben threw his warm up pitches? How do you suddenly discover that your muscle is tight?

At least the bullpen came in and rescued Sheets. Geremi Gonzalez had a little trouble, giving up three runs, but Rick Helling threw three shutout, no hit innings. It really just pisses me off that the Crew was actually able to come back and score three against the Cards, but not win. I just want to tell Ben to suck it up. Needless to say, the faith that had started to build in Ben Sheets is out the window.

The Crew still has a chance tomorrow to win the series with Chris Capuano on the mound. He said during an interview today that he felt like he worked some things out in his last start in Colorado, throwing five great innings after struggling through the first three. I guess we'll see. Until next time, go Brewers!

Trading Up

First off, to Francisco Cordero, Tony Graffanino, Kevin Mench and David Bell, welcome to Milwaukee!! Secondly, to all those naysayers out there who blasted the Carlos Lee trade, it looks like Doug Melvin knows what he's doing after all. The four new players acquired over the last week have made their presence known, in a most positive way, and I, for one, am thrilled to see management putting their money where their mouth is.

Francisco Cordero, criticized by some as being overrated and useless, has been spot on in all three appearances for the Crew. Not to say that he's infallible, but it was a blessed relief to have someone to come in and bail out Turnbow yesterday when it was obvious he hadn't worked out whatever is ailing him. I don't know that Turnbow couldn't have finished out the inning, but the way he's been pitching, I was glad to see someone else come in and get the job done.

It would be hard for Kevin Mench to be more productive that he's been since first buttoning up his Brewers uniform. One for four with an RBI on Saturday, and three for four with all four RBIs yesterday. Granted, he doesn't have the offensive numbers that Carlos did, but I'm seeing a lot more hustle in left field, and Mench is a player who hits for contact, which is something much needed in the Brewer lineup.

As is David Bell. This was a player I'd actually heard of, and seen play, so I knew what he was capable of. Again, he's another guy who's going to hit for contact. He's a veteran who knows how to play and is accustomed to playing everyday, unlike Old Man 'Rillo. Bell went one for three on Saturday, and scored two runs. He was 0 for four on Sunday, but his defense made up for his lack of offense.

My point is that these guys came in and were effective immediately. The fact that Doug Melvin traded for major leaguers versus prospects proves that management is still in it to win it, and more importatly, shows that Mark Attanasio is willing to do what it takes to field a winning team.

I know, some of you are going to say that he would have given Carlos more money if he was serious about turning this team around, but honestly, I wouldn't have given Carlos five years either. Carlos was determined to test the free agent market. He turned down about $50 million for four years. He didn't even bother to counter because the two sides were so far apart. I really think he would have rejected any offer the Brewers made. He wants to see how much he can get. I'm sorry, I liked Carlos and his offensive production, but he's simply not worth the kind of money he's looking to get, not in the NL. If he gets the kind of money he wants, it's going to be AL. I just can't imagine that any NL team will give him $75 mil for five years. But I could be wrong. It's been known to happen.

I also like the fact that Doug Melvin made a move now, instead of keeping Carlos for the season, then losing him in return for draft picks. He went out and found players we can use now, who will make an impact now. And I'd be willing to bet that we'll be able to keep at least a couple of them. We have an option on Cordero for next season, Mench has a couple of years of arbitration eligibility, which can be bought out, and I don't think Bell would even be offered a long-term big money contract at his age. Granted, 33 isn't old in reality, but it's ancient if you're looking for a long-term deal in the NL.

So to get back to my original point (rambling induced by too many margaritas at lunch!), I think Doug Melvin did a bang up job in getting the team some quality players to fill the voids left by Weeks, Hardy, Koskie, and Lee (and Turnbow if you consider his lack of dependability lately).

So with the help of the new Brewers, we took two of three from Cincy, and are now five games back in the wild card race. Thanks to a four game sweep by the Cubs of St. Louis, we're 8 1/2 back from first place. The Crew takes on the Colorado Rockies tonight, who sit a half game above them in the wild card standings.

We have one of our most dependable pitchers on the mound, leftie Chris Capuano, even though he's struggled since the All Star break. Chris goes up against Aaron Cook tonight, who is 6-9, with an ERA of 3.88. For July, however, Cook is 0-2, with an ERA of 5.23 in five starts. Here's hoping Cappy can get back to his usual form and beat the crap out of the Rockies tonight with help from his new teammates. Until next time, go Brewers!

In Other News . . .

Loyal listeners of WKTI heard me on the radio this morning having a chat with Reitman and Mueller and Amy Taylor about the upcoming Brady Street Artisan Food Festival. Those of you who read my profile know that I work in PR, and my firm has been retained to promote the one-day festival. Yes, I do manage to hold down a full-time job between going to Brewer games and writing this blog. Gotta pay for those tickets somehow!

I'll be going to Pittsburgh next month to see the Crew take on the Pirates at PNC Park, and would welcome suggestions or tips from anyone who's been there. This trip will be my first time seeing the Brewers play on the road and I'm pretty excited about it, even with their dismal road record. The cameramen always seem to find the Brewers fans during away games, so be sure to watch on TV. You just might see me in the stands!

My friend Jodi and I ran into Ben Sheets at Moe's last night. After working a little late in preparation for our radio shows this morning, we decided to go downtown and have a drink, and there was Ben, waiting on some takeout. I congratulated him on his great outing the other day, said how glad I was to have him back in the rotation, but Ben didn't seem to want to talk. Nor was he interested in the drink we offered to buy for him. Guess he thought I was trying to hit on him. Well no offense Ben, but tall, dark and married isn't my type. Just some southern hospitality from one Louisiana native to another.

Well that's it for now. Let's all send some good vibes to the Crew tonight as they take on the Reds once again in a crucial three game series. Good luck, boys! Until next time, go Brewers!

Hasta La Vista, Carlos

Well it's official. El Caballo is gone. News leaked out this morning that Carlos Lee had rejected a four-year, $48 million deal late last night. I guess he didn't want to stay in Milwaukee after all. Or perhaps $12 million a year just wasn't enough. Or that fifth year was the straw that broke the horse's back. At any rate, Carlos Lee has been traded to the Texas Rangers, along with Nelson Cruz, for Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, Laynce Nix and minor leaguer Julian Cordero. On the positive side, at least he was traded out of the National League.

One of the hosts of a local sports radio show was after Mark Attanasio's head this morning, and seemed to get really annoyed with all the callers who didn't agree with him. I hate to tell you, dude, but I don't agree with you either. Yes, we all know that Mark has a lot of money. But it's not his job as the owner to personally finance the entire payroll for our team. And even if it was his responsibility, I would have a hard time committing to Carlos for five years. He's not known for his hustle in the outfield, and he's only 30. How quick is he going to be in three years? Four years? Five years? If we played in the American League, absolutely, five years, done. Carlos would be DH bound. But I agree with Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio, and wouldn't have offered five years either.

Yes it really sucks that we're losing one of, if not our best, offensive producer. But Bill Hall isn't too far behind Carlos in home runs, and Bill, Geoff Jenkins and Prince Fielder are all have respectable RBI numbers.

One of the sports radio callers this morning said that certain things have to fall into place in order for a team to make a run for the playoffs, and those things haven't fallen for the Brewers this season. The team has been plagued by injuries that depleted the bullpen and middle infield. Then there was the bullpen meltdown and the revolving door starting rotation. I can only imagine where we might be if we'd had JJ Hardy all season. What could we have done if we'd had Ben and Tomo all season? Or hell, even if we'd had at least one of them?

We'll never know, obviously. I honestly think contention this year was possible, had we had our full roster healthy. Yes I'd still love to make a run for October, but at this point I'd almost be happy with a winning season. Baby steps, you know?

The Cincinnati Reds are in town, again, for the biggest series of the season for the Brewers. Previously it was thought that this series would be the deciding factor in whether Carlos would stay or go, but now it's become about any kind of run for the postseason. If the Brewers have any chance at all, they have to sweep the Reds. There is no other option.

Tomo Ohka faces off against Eric Milton tonight, the same matchup we saw in Cincy on Sunday. Tomo got the win in that game, throwing eight outstanding innings to lead the Crew to a 4-1 victory. I'd love to see an encore performance tonight. Until next time, go Brewers!

There's No Place Like Home

So it would seem for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brew Crew beat the spit out of the Pittsburgh Pirates last night, 12-8, in front of 30,252 fans, myself included. (I hadn't been to a game since July 5th, and was in desperate need of a fix!) It looked like the game would be more of a blow out early on, but some sloppy defense in the 6th allowed the Pirates to come within six. It had to feel good for the team to come home after that dismal road trip and get a win in front of that huge crowd of screaming fans.

For the most part, the fans were screaming in excitement, but quite a few boo birds rained down on Chris Barnwell after he took over for Rickie Weeks at second base. I hate to say it, but his "defense" last night makes Rickie look like a Golden Glover. He ran into shallow center and flubbed a pop-up that could have been handled easily (or so it appeared) by Tony Gwynn or Geoff Jenkins, and collided with Prince Fielder behind first base on another pop-up that Prince or Jenkins could have pulled down with no problem. Didn't anyone ever tell this guy to call the ball? Or get out of the way when someone else does?

Luckily it all worked out for the Brewers, even though the inning was severely extended and the Pirates scored three runs. Hard luck pitcher Doug Davis finally scored his 6th win, even though he had been very effective in his last few outings, (he had fallen victim to the bullpen more times than I want to count), and my attendance record climbed back to .500, at 10-10.

Matt Wise appeared to have much better control over his change up last night, after struggling with that pitch for a while. He was throwing it too hard, and getting the speed up into the mid-80's. Last night it looked very effective, ranging in the mid to high 70's, and Matt breezed through his two innings of work, giving up only one run and striking out three. It was quite a relief to see some effective relief coming out of the bullpen.

Speaking of pitching, as you all know, Big Ben Sheets makes his return to the mound tonight. I'm cautiously optimistic about Ben's comeback. The stabilization of the starting rotation has been so hyped over the last 11-12 weeks, but I really don't want to get my hopes up. The guys still have to play effective defense, and they still have to produce some offense. The starters can't do it all. The stars will not magically align and rain losses down on the Cardinals and Reds just because we got our starting rotation in order. We still have to win. A lot. Especially on the road.

I cautiously submit that the Brewers' second half schedule shouldn't be as challenging as the first half, but with their propensity to lose against bad teams, you just never know. They have several matchups with the Cubs (and God knows they have to redeem themselves for losing three of four earlier this month), Pittsburgh and Houston. If they can play up to their ability consistently, they could legitimately make a run for the post season.

Of course a lot of this depends on how they play over the next six days. The trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and the Brewers are still somewhat in contention. As you all know, this is relevant in deciding whether the team will keep Carlos Lee or trade him away. Personally, I want to keep Carlos, but from what I've heard, he's looking for big payday. Rumor has it that the Brewers have offered $10 million per year for four years, but Carlos wants $15 million for five years. That's a $35 million dollar difference and I honestly don't think the Crew can absorb that kind of salary. Ultimately, it's going to come down to how greedy Carlos wants to be.

I know that sounds crappy, but it's the truth. Seriously, how much money does one person really need? Can he not feed his family on $10 mil per year? Does he really need that extra $5 mil to run his cattle ranch, or gas up his big old truck? He's banking $8.5 million for this season, so $10 mil for next year would be $1.5 million raise. That's more than twice what Matt Wise is making for the whole season, and that's just how much Carlos's salary would increase. So it all boils down to how greedy he's going to be. He keeps saying how much he likes Milwaukee, and how much he wants to stay here, blah blah blah. Well Carlos, this is your chance to prove it. Until next time, go Brewers!

Enough is Enough

Well it seems Ned Yost finally got a clue. According the Brewers' website, Derrick Turnbow is getting a rest from his closing duties. It looks like Dan Kolb will get the ball in save opportunities, but that doesn't thrill me much more than Turnbow has lately. Personally, I'd rather see Jose Capellan get the ball.

It's honestly way past time for Yost to make this move. Turnbow cost Doug Davis two wins this month, and he cost Chris Capuano his 11th last night. Of course Chris, as gracious as he always is, refused to put the blame on Turnbow, saying he let the Reds back in the game when he walked the lead off batter in the 7th, then gave up a home run. Not many players could be that gracious in that situation, so kudos to Chris.

Does anyone else realize that if the Brewers had back the five games that Turnbow has blown this month we'd be tied with Cincinnati for 2nd place in the NL Central? More importantly, we'd be tied for the wild card. If that doesn't put things in perspective, nothing will.

Until I read the webpage this morning, I was convinced that Ned Yost was going to singlehandedly guarantee that Carlos Lee would be gone in a few days. So I'm glad to see that he's addressing the situation and doing something about it, instead of continuing to trot Turnbow out to the mound to blow game after game.

That's about it for today. Not much else to say. The offense got it done last night, Chris Capuano was back to form, and the defense was there. Once again, the Brewers won a game on the road and Derrick game in and gave it away. Enough said. Here's hoping something different will happen tonight. Until next time, go Brewers!

Can I Count??

Someone help me out here. The last two stories I've ready by Adam McCalvy on the Brewers' website (July 19, July 20) mention that the team has lost nine of its last eleven games. I look at the schedule, and I see seven losses out of the last eleven games.

3 games against SF (July 17, 18, 19) 1 win, 2 losses
3 games against AZ (July 14, 15, 16) 1 win, 2 losses
4 games against CHC (July 6, 7, 8, 9) 1 win, 3 losses
1 game against CIN (July 5) 1 win

When I count, I get eleven games, four wins, seven losses. Can someone please help me out and tell me how Adam McCalvy comes up with the Brewers losing nine of their last eleven?? Have I forgotten how to count?

'Pen Strikes Again

I'm a bit frustrated today, and don't have much positive to say. Once again, the Brewers blew an opportunity to capitalize on losses by St. Louis and Cincinnati. Or should I say Geremi Gonzalez blew it? Or Derrick Turnbow blew it? I keep hearing so much about how lousy the team plays on the road, but after the last two games, I'm wondering how many of those road losses were actually lost by the bullpen, as opposed to just generally bad play by the team as a whole.

Something has got to give with Turnbow. I like the guy, don't get me wrong, and I'm not one to start ripping on a player after one bad outing. But he's blown every save opportunity he's had in July. His ERA for July is 29.70, and his regular season ERA has ballooned to 5.54. He keeps saying that he's worked out whatever mechanical difficulty he was having, but his stats tell a different story. The powers that be keep saying "he's our closer" and keep trotting him out there. And he keeps blowing it. This must change.

I used to know, without a doubt, when Turnbow came in, game over, Brewers win. But now, it's almost automatic to assume he's gonna blow it. Ned has to do something different. Throw Turnbow in only when we have a bigger lead. Let Matt Wise pitch in close games. Let Jose Capellan give it a shot. Seriously, could it get much worse? Doug Melvin said we wouldn't think of trading Carlos Lee unless we went into a major tailspin. Well, I'd say at least a minor spin is upon us.

Getting the starting rotation back in order obviously wasn't as big as a deal as everyone made it out to be. Tomo Ohka looked great on Tuesday. He did his job. He was the exact same pitcher we had before his injury. He doesn't have explosive stuff, but he gets the job done.

So why didn't we win? This is what we were waiting for, right? To get our starters back? Well it doesn't do a damn bit of good to have great starters if the bullpen is going to come in and piss away the lead. In my humble opinion, it's not so much the starting rotation that needs examination right now. Something has got to be done about the bullpen situation.

It also appears to me that Geoff Jenkins hits infinitely better in the 7th spot than he does in the 3rd. I don't know if there's less pressure on him, or he gets better pitches or what, but he seemed to be much more consistent when he was lower in the lineup. That change worked for Brady Clark. He wasn't doing well in the leadoff spot, but he started doing much better in the 8 spot.

I can't even rip on Rickie Weeks anymore, because he finally got his head of out his butt and started playing some damn good defense. (knock on wood!) The offense is still inconsistent, but blowing a 6-1 lead is just unacceptable. That's something the Cubs would do. Come on, guys. You're better than that!

At this point, any and all suggestions are welcome, because something has to be done if the Brewers are going to have any chance of contending this season.

Helling is My Hero!

Rick Helling got thrown into a major mess last night in San Franciso. 6th inning, bases loaded, no outs, Brewers up by four, tying run at the plate. A good outing would be to get out of the jam with only one or two runs across. Helling took out the Giants, 1-2-3, nothing plated. That's a save if I ever saw one. Helling was absolutely masterful last night, not to mention efficient, throwing only 37 pitches in his three innings of work. In fact, Rick faced only 9 batters, and retired every single one. Zach Jackson got the win, but that 'W' was a gift from Rick Helling.

The entire team played pretty masterfully last night, displaying some of, if not the best defense I've ever seen. Jeff Cirillo, Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks turned an outstanding double play off of a bunt attempt. Gabe Gross chipped in on a DP with Mike Rivera when he threw that rocket from shallow center, and Rivera pulling a Sal Fasano block at home plate to tag Vizcaino. I could go on, but you get the idea. These guys played like a team for a change, and it was an absolute thrill to watch, even if I did have to stay up till after midnight to see it all. (did I mention that I hate West Coast trips??)

And speaking of thrilling, how about the offense last night? Bill Hall crushing a three run homer into the stands in left field. Mike Rivera blasting a two run homer to right center. Mike Rivera scoring between the feet of Giants' catcher Eliezer Alfonzo. (Outstanding call by home plate umpire Gary Darling, by the way.) A three-hit night for Prince Fielder; two hits for Carlos Lee; two for Jeff Cirillo plus a walk; two walks for Rivera; a hit for almost everyone else.

The best part? The majority of this offense came against All-Star Jason Schmidt, who shut out the Brewers on May 3 at Miller Park, (his first of four wins in May), and went on to win NL Pitcher of the Month.

Jackson's outing last night wasn't exactly pretty, but it got the job done, with lots of help from his defense. Sadly, last night might be the last we see of Zach for a while as tonight marks the long-awaited return of Tomo Ohka to the Brewers' rotation. Someone has to be sent down to clear a roster spot for Tomo. My suggestion would be Dana Eveland, but in order for Zach to continue to get starts and sharpen his skills, he would be the logical choice. And with Dana working from the pen and not starting, he can't do as much damage as in previous stints with the Crew. At least Zach would, most likely, get sent to AAA Nashville, which is a promotion in a sense, since he got called up from AA Huntsville. We'll all know for sure at some point today.

But back to Ohka. He said he wanted to come back sooner, but trainers wouldn't let him for fear of re-injury to his shoulder. As outstanding as Helling was last night, I'm sure we all remember his not-so-glorious comeback from the DL. Here's hoping that Tomo has a better first outing. He's going up against former Brewer Jamie Wright, who is winless in his last eight starts, and says without hesitation that he is ready.

Someone left me a comment suggesting that I make more predictions since Milwaukee won last night and St. Louis lost. (see yesterday's post) Well, I don't make predictions, but I do cross my fingers and wish real hard! Is it wrong in a situation like this to root for the Mets, the Braves and the Cubs? Just this once, of course!

So here's hoping the Braves can once again tomahawk the Cards, fingers crossed that the Mets can continue their domination and beat the crap out of Cincy, and maybe, just maybe the Cubs can muster something to get past Houston. Anything's possible. Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. Until next time, go Brewers!

Crew Bites Back

Finally, the Brewers give me something to write about, as they defeated the Diamondbacks last night, 10-5, avoiding a sweep and snapping the five game losing streak. Adam McCalvy mentioned this "all road" losing streak in his article on the Brewers' website, as he discussed how the team usually plays so badly away from home. Call me crazy, Adam, but I would have sworn those last three losses before the All-Star break were at Miller Park. Or maybe he's referring to the sweep at Minnesota, (which occured before the last homestand), plus the two losses at Arizona. Hmmmm.

At any rate, the second half has not gotten off to the blistering start that we all hoped for, (and need if we're going to keep Carlos Lee beyond the end of this season). Well actually, I take that back. The Brewers did get off to a good start, defeating the Diamondbacks Friday night, that is until Derrick Turnbow came in and gave it away on four pitches. D-Bow said he felt good, he just "left one up" in the strike zone to Estrada, who pounded a two-run homer to snatch away the Brewers' victory. Well, Derrick, it's your job not to leave one up.

Derrick also mentioned before the All-Star game that he was looking forward to sitting in the dugout and picking the brains of all the other closers. Apparently the only brain he picked was Trevor Hoffman's.

I just don't even want to talk about Saturday's game. It was just plain ugly, which is a suprise considering we had Chris Capuano on the mound. I guess that's what eight days of rest will do to you. Maybe Ned should have gone with his original plan of having Chris pitch Friday, and Davis on Saturday. Or maybe if Phil Garner had, I don't know, maybe played one of the players that he didn't pick, instead of favoring his own guys, Chris could have stayed sharp.

I have my own theory about the Brewers' inconsistency, and I've mentioned it before. I believe the team is hexed by their announcers. During the Minnesota series, (I think,) Daron was going on and on about how the bat of one particular Twin had been so quiet. The word "quiet" was still coming out of his mouth when the player in question hit a home run. An awkward silence, then "till now." That home run started a deluge of hits by the opposing team from which the Brewers never recovered.

Yesterday, Jim Powell was talking about how Dave Bush was throwing a no-hitter. The second after the words had been spoken, literally the next pitch, Bush have up his first hit of the game. Isn't it a well-known superstition that you never mention a no-hitter until it's over?

Those of you who watch and listen to all the games, as I do, know that this happens with alarming frequency. Bob Uecker never makes comments like the ones mentioned above. He sticks to the cold hard stats until after the at-bat, or inning, or whatever the case may be. I'm fully convinced that if Bill and Daron could simply shut up and just call the game, the Brewers would win a lot more. Of course, this theory isn't grounded in any kind of reality, but it gives me somewhere to focus my frustration when the team loses, instead of actually facing the reality that they may not be the playoff contending team I believe them to be.

By the time the team gets back to Miller Park on the 24th, it will have been 19 days since I last attended a game. (I'm already starting to go through withdrawals.) The next homestand is huge, as we are playing division rivals Pittsbugh and Cincinnati. Well, actually because we're playing Cincy, a team that really needs to be taken down a few pegs. I hope you will all join me in welcoming the Crew back to Miller Park, and cheering them "northward" in the division standings.

But first, rookie Zach Jackson takes on All-Star Jason Schmidt and BALCO, I mean Barry Bonds tonight in San Francisco. "Zachson," as he has been dubbed by the HOG's Bob and Brian, is coming off a tough loss against the Cubs on July 7. Schmidt, is coming off a July 9 loss to the Dodgers, and hasn't recorded a win since June 6.

St. Louis begins their series against the surging Atlanta Braves tonight, but Cincy and Houston both have the night off. Cincinnati will take on the Mets starting tomorrow night, and Houston begins a series against the Cubs. With any luck, Atlanta can take a couple from St. Louis, NY can beat the crap out of Cincy, and the Cubs can find some magic against Houston. If the stars can align and we can take at least a couple from San Fran, then a couple from Cincy, (and Bill and Daron could stop jinxing the team!), we could be looking pretty good heading back to the Brew City next week.

So let's all stay up late the next few nights (I hate West Coast trips!) and send some good karma to our boys out in California. Until next time, go Brewers!

Good News, Bad News, and Lots of Rain

That title pretty much sums up my day yesterday. The good news, obviously, was that Phil Garner removed his head from his behind and chose Chris Capuano to replace Tom Glavine. Glavine took his regular start yesterday, which made him unavailable to pitch on Tuesday.

During a press conference before the game against the Cubs yesterday, Chris talked about how he grew up watching Tom Glavine play for Atlanta. So even though Chris was a Red Sox fan growing up, Glavine was his favorite pitcher. Chris said he hadn't thought about his selection from that angle (replacing his childhood idol) until a reporter mentioned it during the press conference. He said the whole experience was still very surreal, and hadn't quite sunk in yet. Chris and the other Brewer All Stars, Derrick Turnbow and Carlos Lee, traveled to Pittsburgh in style, on board a private jet, courtesy of owner Mark Attanasio.

I must say that I am more and more impressed with Mr. Attanasio as time passes. First he came in and increased our payeroll, helped propel our team to its first non-losing season in years, and took a genuine interest in the Milwaukee area. He bought a share of the Milwaukee Admirals, funded an exhibit at the Art Museum, and promotes programs that work with area kids. To top it all off, he outbid Bill Hall to buy the pink bat that Bill used on Mother's Day to hit his game-winning home run. Mr. Attanasio then presented the bat to Bill's mother, Vergie. Mark is a hands on owner, and frequently attends games, both at home and on the road. He even sits out in the stands with the fans as opposed to a fancy owner's box. It seems he is genuinely committed to seeing this team improve, and contend for years to come, and I, for one, welcome his enthusiam. He also hinted during a radio interview on WTMJ that money wouldn't be an obstacle to re-signing Carlos Lee.

The bad news goes without saying: the dismal series against the Cubs this weekend. I guess I was too quick in commending Ned Yost for making pitching changes before things get out of hand. He didn't make a move when Davis walked the bases loaded. He didn't make a move when the Davis walked in a run. He didn't make a move until after Davis gave up a two-run double. Once again he waited until all the horses had escaped before trying to close the barn door.

Since there is nothing inspiring worth writing about concerning the Brewers today, I thought I would shift to something non-baseball related. (this is where the lots of rain comes in) I went to Summerfest Sunday night to see just one act, Marc Broussard. I'm sure most of you have never head of him. He's a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Carencro, Louisiana, and has a large following within the state. I was introduced to Marc's music by a friend of mine when I went home to Louisiana for Christmas last year.

Anyway, due to the torrential downpour yesterday, Marc's show was cancelled. Apparently, he heard the large crowd that was still gathered (in vain hope that the show would go on), and came onstage with his acoustic guitar. Then he jumped down into the pit between the barrier and the front of the stage and sang to us. He sang only one song, but I thought it was extremely classy of him to acknowledge his fans. Then he went around to the side of the stage, talked to the fans, took pictures, and sang some more. This is definitely one guy to watch. For more information on this up and comer, go to www.marcbroussard.com.

Ok, enough with the non-baseball talk. I just needed to focus on something positive for a moment, because the Brewers going into the All Star break with a losing record is certainly not positive. In fact, we're sitting in exactly the same spot we were last season going into the break, two games under. One positive, however, is that we might actually see Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka in the lineup by the end of July. Both pitchers' rehab starts went well, and for the first time, Sheets said his arm didn't hurt. Fingers crossed that we can get these guys back in the rotation sooner rather than later. Another good thing to focus on is that our second-half schedule shouldn't be nearly as grueling as the first half. Of course that could just be wishful thinking. The Brewers seem to win against great teams and lose against crap teams. This team sometimes reminds me of Forrest Gump. The Brewers are like a box of chocolates, you never what you're gonna get. Until next time, go National League!

Cappy Still Our All Star

Phil Garner must not care too much about winning the All-Star game. Otherwise he would have chosen Chris Capuano to replace Pedro Martinez over his own Astro Roy Oswalt. Anyone watching Cappy's masterful performance last night would have to agree that he deserves to be in Pittsburgh next week.

Chris continued his dominance over the Cubs last night at Miller Park, recording his second complete game shutout of his career. Ironically enough, both came against the baby bears, and most likely would be three if he hadn't gotten hit by that liner from Aramis Ramirez last week.

Cappy limited the Cubs to six hits in his latest outing, and did so very efficiently, tossing only 97 pitches, 66 for strikes. Last night's game was also Cappy's 17th quality start of the season, which leads MLB. I guess Phil was too busy to read up on other pitchers before selecting Oswalt. Just for fun, though, let's compare the stats from this season.

Cappy -10-4, 3.21, 19 G/GS, 2 CG, 2 SO, 129.0 IP, 127 H, 49 R, 46 ER, 10 HR, 3 HBP, 25 BB, 112 SO, 1.18 WHIP, 17 QS
Oswalt - 6-5, 3.10, 17 G/GS, 2 CG, 0 SO, 119.0 IP, 123 H, 44 R, 41 ER, 9 HR, 3 HBP, 24 BB, 80 SO, 1.24 WHIP, 13 QS

Cappy has five no decisions, but the team has gone on to win three of them, which means that the Brewers are 13-6 when he starts. Oswalt, on the other hand, has six no decisions, and the Astros went on to win just two. So in total, Houston is 8-9 when he starts.

Two shutouts leads the majors, and only five other pitchers have recorded more than two complete games. (five MLB pitchers tied for 1st with 3 complete games) 17 quality starts leads the majors. Cappy is tied for 4th in MLB with 10 wins. Six wins doesn't even get Oswalt in the top 50. Chris is tied for 5th in the majors with 112 strikeouts; Oswalt sits 36th. But hey, Oswalt has a better ERA. That must have been the deciding factor for Phil. Don't even get me started on National League stats, cause Oswalt would be taking an even worse beating!

Looking at these numbers, it's easy to see who I'd want on my team. But then again, maybe Phil is pretty sure his team isn't going to be in the World Series this year, so what difference does it make to him who has home field advantage?

Ned Yost said he wouldn't call Garner to lobby for Chris, but would give him his opinion should he call. Maybe today Ned should call Phil and offer to help him pull his head out of his butt. Don't worry, Chris. That Cy Young award this year will make up for the All-Star snub! In the meantime, enjoy Cape Cod during the break. Go Brewers!

Roster Shuffles and Rehab Starts

For those of you who have been calling for Chad Moeller's head on a AAA plate, you got your wish. Moeller was DFA'd after the game last night, and minor leaguer Mike Rivera was called up to replace him. Moeller said he understood the decision, and would accept the assignment to AAA Nashville should he clear waivers. "I don't know why in the world I would go elsewhere," Moeller said. "I have too many people who like me here, and I like the organization. I just didn't hit. Plain and simple. There isn't any other reason."

Mike Rivera, on the other hand, has been hitting. He's hitting .298 for Nashville with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 58 games. This is in stark contrast to Moeller's .184 this season with two home runs and five RBIs, and just five hits in his last 52 at-bats. I'm personally sad to see Chad go, because he is a very nice guy, but the Crew needs solid, dependable offense at every position if they're going to make a push for October.

As I mentioned earlier, Carlos Villanueva was optioned to AAA Nashville after the game last night, and Dana Eveland was recalled. Ned Yost made this move to get a fresh arm in the bullpen going into the series against Chicago. Villanueva also wasn't scheduled to make a start for 13 days because of the upcoming All Star break, but with this shuffle he can get some work in the minors.

Speaking of working in the minors, Ben Sheets will finally go on his first rehab assignment this weekend. He's scheduled to throw 65 pitches with AAA Nashville on Sunday in Round Rock, TX. He'll rejoin the Brewers for a workout in Arizona after the break, then throw 85 pitches in an Arizona League game before being re-evaluated. Ben says he's "cautiously optimistic" about rejoining the team for August and September.

Tomo Ohka is slated to make his second rehab start this weekend in Florida, and another in Arizona in mid-July. His status will be evaluated after that start. Jorge De La Rosa was in Milwaukee for evaluation recently, but will make at least three more rehab starts before rejoining the Brewers' bullpen.

JJ Hardy may be off on a rehab start by mid-July as well. He's resuming fielding drills this week, and will leave for a rehab assignment on July 13, barring no other complications.

It looks like slowly but surely our walking wounded are finally on the mend. We could have an amazing second half if we get all these guys back in uniform soon!

Once again, voting continues for the last spot on the NL All Star team, and Cappy is still trailing Nomar Garciaparra. Get to your computers and vote vote vote until 5 pm tonight! Until next time, go Brewers!

Brewers Clinch Sweep in 13th

I never have had the good fortune of actually being in the ballpark for the truly amazing victories. Bill Hall's Mother's Day homerun? Watched it on TV. Carlos Lee's Father's Day homerun? Watched it on TV. The five-homerun-inning game? Listened to it on the radio. Every single extra inning victory this season? TV or radio. Well not last night, my friends. I was there, front and center, through all 13 innings, as the the Brewers handed the Reds their 5th straight loss, climbed back up to .500, and moved into sole possession of 3rd place in the NL Central. In fact, the Crew is now only 3.5 games out of first place.

I got to attend this game courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers and WE Energies. I wrote last week that I won four tickets to an upcoming game, which I won by voting online in the WE Energies High Energy Player of the Year Sweepstakes. I had specific games I could choose from, and last night was one of them. Praise be to the baseball gods that I picked last night, and got to witness that spectacular game firsthand, along with my friends Sheila, Lea and Matt (pictured with me below).



The Crew even claimed two spots in Sportscenter's Play of the Day countdown last night. Gabe Gross's diving catch in shallow center was #7, with the #1 spot being claimed by none other than Bill Hall and Corey Koskie, and their unbelievable "double catch" behind third base. Even Felipe Lopez had to applaud their effort, even thought it was his popup that was caught.

The only negative to last night's game was the lack of enthusiasm from the remaining crowd during the late innings. Quite a few "fans" left before the end of regulation, and even more trailed out as the game progressed. I would have thought that the fans who chose to stick it out would be the diehards, the ones on their feet, cheering, yelling, jumping up and down (like me!). But the fans who stuck around last night could have been watching golf for all the noise they made. Even into the 11th inning and beyond, the crowd would become almost completely silent between plays. I had to look around to make sure they were still awake! The lack of spirit certainly wouldn't have inspired me if I had been on the field last night. Our guys put on a great show for us Milwaukee, and we have to muster way more spirit than what was evident in Miller Park last night. I'm happily walking around without a voice today as a result of showing them my appreciation for all their hard work againt the Reds!

The Reds' trouble apparently didn't end when they left the field last night. Relief pitcher Brian Shackelford was arrested shortly after midnight last night at Miller Park on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault. Not much information was released, only that it involved a woman, and apparently took place on Monday. Shackleford faced one batter last night, Prince Fielder, and struck him out.

I had planned to write a little something about Ned Yost a few days ago, but he seemed to correct the situation I was going to discuss. I thought I would mention it today anyway since he addressed it again last night. During that horrendous Twins sweep, it seemed Ned was leaving the pitchers in too long before bringing in relief, in essence, closing the barn door after the horses got out. By the time Ned got around to sending in a reliever, the Crew was already so far in the hole that it was a pointless move.

I was very happy Tuesday to see that this trend seems to be at an end. Doug Davis had pitched a stellar game, and I wanted him to be able to finish it. He earned the right to finish that game, but he started to get in trouble in the top of the 9th. Ned promptly called in Brian Shouse, who recorded the last out and got the save. Ned didn't wait to see if Doug would get out of the jam, or deeper into it. As much as I wanted Doug to get his complete game, I think Ned made the right move.

He did it again last night. Villanueva had pitched a good game through the first five innings, but at the first sign of trouble, Ned went to the pen. Of course, I'm sure he never imagined he would go through almost the entire pen before the night was over. At any rate, I'm glad to see Ned seems to be more proactive these days in terms of bringing in relievers.

Our most reliable starter, Chris Capuano takes the mound tonight against Greg Maddux and the Chicago Cubs. Except for his last outing, Chris has been an innings eater all season, and he will certainly need to eat some tonight. I don't know if there is anyone left in the bullpen to work tonight, should Chris need early relief. No one except Dana Eveland, that is, who was called up last night after the game when Carlos Villanueva was optioned to AAA Nashville. Dana is a scary option after his last few outings for the Crew, but apparently he's been doing well for Nashville. Let's hope Chris can hold the Cubs off for a while and we won't need to go to Dana!

Incidentally, Chris is second in the All-Star vote to Nomar Garciaparra. Voting ends today at 5 pm, so get to your computers and cellphones and vote vote vote! We need to get Cappy to Pittsburgh!

That's it for now Brewer fans. Keep voting until 5 pm tonight! Until next time, go Brewers!

Vote for Cappy!

Ok Brewer fans, this is your chance to show your support for your team. Chris Capuano is in the running for the last spot on the National League All-Star team, but it's up to us to get him there. We all know he deserves to be there. He should have been picked already, and not have to rely on voting, but that's the way it goes.

Let's all show Cappy our support and get him to Pittsburgh. You can vote through your cell phone. Text the word "vote" to 36197. Thirty cents a pop. Or go online to mlb.com and submit your votes there.

The Brewers are doing their part to help Chris get to Pittsburgh as well. Kiosks and computers will be set up during this weeks' homestand so fans can vote. Brewers' closer Derrick Turnbow has even filmed a commercial asking for support for Capuano.

Come on everybody. The Brewers haven't had three all stars since 1983. It's time to change that. Vote for Cappy!

Brewers Reach .500, Again

Hello again, Brewer fans. I made it back from the heat of Louisiana and now I'm ready to talk baseball. I kept track of my beloved Brewers via ESPN while I was gone, and I had to do a double-take a couple of times. Surely that crawl line didn't say we lost 6-5 to KC? I thought it was a joke the next day when I saw that we got shut out by KC. KC?? Are you kidding me?

I can deal with losing two to Detroit, ( I don't like it but I can deal), because they are the best team in baseball. But losing two of three to the worst? Exactly how do the Brewers plan to contend this season when they're getting shut out by the freaking Royals?? I can't comment too much on this series, however, because I didn't get to see any of it. Brewers highlights on Sportscenter, or even Baseball Tonight, are a very rare thing. Believe me, I was looking! Hell, ESPN didn't even feel it was necessary to include the final lines for our pitchers in the crawl.

At least we got the best of Chicago. We won one we should have lost, and lost one we should have won, but we took three of four from the Cubbies, and that's always a good thing. How sweet was it to watch Derrick Turnbow smoke a fastball past Derrek Lee yesterday? D-Bow pitched his first four-out game since last September, and notched his 23rd save of the season. Matt Wise was still suffering a bit (apparently) from the nasty run-in with the salad tongs, but he managed to get out of a couple of jams without two much damage.

I still don't understand how you cut your finger open on a pair of salad tongs. I can see a pinch maybe, but a bleeding cut? Do we need an instructional video sent to the clubhouse? Incidentally, Journal Sentinel Food Editor Nancy Stohs offered some safe dining tips to Matt in her column today.

Geremi Gonzalez recorded his first win as a Brewer, despite screwing up a play that my 4-year-old niece could have made. That goof cost the Brewers when Jacque Jones lined a two-run single to cut the Crew's lead 1. It also cost the Brewers in terms of their bullpen. Ned was forced to call in the cavalry sooner than he wanted to, but at least they got the job done. It wasn't pretty, but they got it done.

So as June fades into July, the Brewers are once again at .500, but can they stay there as they travel to Minneapolis to take on the white-hot Twins? The Twins have been on a definite hot streak lately, and they have a great record in the Metrodome, 27-10. This is not good news for a team that usually doesn't play great on the road. But hey, streaks are made to be broken right?

Carlos Villanueva is the man being given the ball tonight to try to do just that. The Twins are offering up Brad Radke to face Carlos, and Radke doesn't have a good history with the Crew. Radke is 3-7 against the Brewers, with five straight losses. Maybe our guys can take advantage of that.

On the other hand, Carlos has been doing his homework. Apparently his downtime in Chicago was spent watching film of Twins batters, and creating his own scouting report for each one. You gotta hand it to this kid. He's really not letting any of this phase him. How many young guys could keep it together the way he did when he made his first start against Cincy? On ESPN, no less! He's here and it seems like he plans to stay. Good on you, Carlos. Go get 'em!

NO MORE MOELLER?

It looks like backup catcher Chad Moeller may be in jeopardy of losing his job. Ned Yost wouldn't say for certain, but he did say that Chad's lack of productivity had the plate had been duly noted. I guess it's hard to justify keeping him around when we've got Mike Rivera tearing up AAA. Time will tell. We all know something needs to be done. We all know Chad was the last Brewer to hit for the cycle, (in 2004), but as Janet Jackson would say, what have you done for me lately?

INJURED ARMS ON THE MEND

It looks like our DL may get a bit smaller in the coming weeks. Tomo Ohka is scheduled to pitch this weekend in Brevard County, Florida. This will be the first of (most likely) three minor league rehab starts for Ohka. Ben Sheets is scheduled to throw batting practice this weekend in Minnesota, and says he might soon be ready for a rehab assignment. Jorge De La Rosa is currently on rehab assignment and combined with Travis Phelps last night for a five hitter in AA Huntsville.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Brewers are currently even at 40-40, while this time last year, they were 37-42. Not going to make any predictions, but it's always good when your current record is better than it was the same time last year. At the beginning of the season, Ned Yost set a goal to win 1 1/2 - 2 extra games per month in order to improve on last season's record. At five games better than last season after three months, (not counting tonight, obviously), it looks like the Brewers are on pace to achieve that goal.

And finally, as I was writing this post, I got a call from Kelly with the Milwaukee Brewers telling me I had just won four tickets to this Wednesday's game against Cincinnati. How about that? Until next time, go Brewers!

No Baseball for Me

Not by choice, of course. I'm leaving in the morning to go spend some time with my family in Louisiana for my niece's birthday. That means I won't be able to watch or listen to the KC series, and I'll miss the first two games of the Cubs series. Thank goodness for ESPN. At least I can find out each night who wins.

I also won't be able to post anything until after I get back Tuesday night. My sister has dial-up internet, which is about as reliable as Kerry Wood getting back on a mound this season, so I won't risk writing something that could be lost to cyberspace at a moment's notice.

Quickly though, I have to point out that Chris Capuano was once again outstanding yesterday. He kept his team in the game through seven innings, and his team gave him his 8th win. He also notched his 15th quality start of the season.

Props to Rickie Weeks for turning around that wicked fastball from Zumaya yesterday. Rickie also hasn't made an error in 16 games, I think. Way to go, Rickie. Keep it up!

Most importantly, I hope our guys don't get lazy going into KC thinking it's going to be an easy series. Let's not forget how we got embarrassed by Pittsburgh at PNC Park. That cannot happen again. Seems like that always happens when we play the teams who aren't playing well.

Anyway, I hope you all will pick up my slack and cheer for me while I'm out of town. I'll be back to root for the guys on Wednesday. Until next time, go Brewers!

Close But No Cigar

Apparently, home plate umpire Brian Gorman isn't familiar with the "foot outside the batter's box" rule. If he was, then Magglio Ordonez would have been out before he had the chance to hit the double that scored what turned out to be the game winning RBI's. Most of you will remember that Brady Clark was called out on this very rule by Alfonso Marquez in Philadelphia back on May 27. Bill Schroeder and Darren Sutton commented that this was a very obscure rule, and one that was not called very often.

Well Marquez has made fans aware of this rule now, and many people around me in the stands were complaining about the lack of call on Ordonez's positioning in (or out, as it were) the batter's box. Personally, I don't give a crap whether this rule is enforced or not, but we can't have one rogue umpire who calls it when it suits him. It's gotta be all or nothing.

But back to my point, Magglio Ordonez had not just part of his foot, but his entire foot at least eight inches outside the back line of the batter's box. The rule says that a batter is out when he hits a ball, fair or foul, with one or both feet outside the batter's box. Brady had only part of one foot outside the box and he was rung up. Brian Gorman, are you paying attention?

I'm not saying that's the only reason the Crew lost last night, but it didn't help. Neither did that crappy throw from Matt Wise to first, or the crappy throw from Corey Koskie to first. Neither one of them had a play. Hold the ball, give up the base, but don't give up a run on a bad play, which is exactly what they did.

It really was a shame, too, because Doug Davis was brilliant last night. Doug held the Tigers to three hits through seven innings, walked only one (which is huge for Doug), and struck out nine. He also picked off a runner at first, although the first base ump didn't agree with me, or my entire section, for that matter. My section (213) was directly above first base, and trust me Eric Cooper, Doug nailed that runner, and you blew the call. (Seems like a lot of that was going on last night. No wonder the Tigers have the best record in baseball. Do they take this umpire team with them all the time?)

Before I forget, props to Geoff Jenkins for that spectacular catch he made last night to take a hit away from Pudge Rodriguez.

I'm not sure what's going on with Matt Wise. He used to be lights out all the time, but he hasn't been reliable at all lately. I never used to get nervous when Matt came into a game, but these days, it seems like it's a crap shoot whether he'll be on or off. He gave me one of his signed photo cards at a Friday night autograph signing, and told me I could throw darts at it. If he keeps pitching like he did last night and making stupid errors, I might take him up on it.

Moving on. Rick Helling is back with the Crew and takes the mound for his first start this season again Zach Miner. I mentioned the other day that this looks like it should be a good matchup for Helling, but I'm not one to say anything to jinx the team. As I mentioned the other day, Miner has thrown only 17 innings this season, and has allowed 14 hits, five ER's and three homers. He's walked five and struck out eight. During his last start in Tampa Bay last week, he threw 32 pitches in the first inning alone before he settled down. This is a matchup in which (hopefully) Helling's experience will benefit the Crew.

One negative that Rick will have to overcome tonight is Pudge Rodriguez. Rodriguez was Rick's catcher in Texas, and can provide probably the best scouting report the Tigers could hope to get. Rodriguez is a dangerous hitter in his own right, (.304 career average), but it's going to make it a lot worse that he probably knows what's going to be thrown at him. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Rick has something up his sleeve that Pudge hasn't seen.

That's all I have for this edition Brewer fans. Until next time, go Brewers!

Hafner at bat

Lee Delivers Sweep for Crew

The Brewers are back to .500 tonight thanks in large part to Carlos Lee. Carlos delivered a one-out, two-run homer to propel the Crew to a 6-3 victory over the Indians today. It was the third victory in as many days for the Brewers, who swept Cleveland in the weekend series. Let's recap.

FRIDAY

Chris Capuano pitched probably the best game of his career Friday night, tossing seven outstanding innings, limited the Tribe to only six hits, two runs, and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts. In those seven innings, he threw 109 pitches, 74 for strikes. Friday's game marked the 14th quality start of the season for Chris. Incidentally, he know holds the record alone for the most quality starts in MLB, as Mike Mussina got tagged for six ER's in 5.2 innings of work on Thursday. Mussina is now 13 for 15 in quality starts, and Cappy is 14 for 15. Good job, Cap!

Chris was definitely on top of his game Friday, and has picked up more than his share of the slack left by the ailing Sheets and Ohka. Apparently he changed his between-starts routine, and it seemed to have worked like a charm. Congrats, Chris!

Another positive I noticed was Rickie Weeks' lack of errors in recent games. Could it be that he's finally worked out whatever was causing his fumble fingers? Only time will tell, but it's encouraging so far that he hasn't committed an error since June 4. Keep it up Rickie!

I'm sure many of you remember the day that Brady Clark was called out for having part of his foot outside the batter's box a couple of weeks ago. Well I noticed Friday night that Travis Hafner had his entire foot outside of the box on every at-bat. I guess no one else really follows that rule, huh? Too bad for Brady that day that he didn't have Joe Brinkman behind the plate. I've included a photo of Hafner in the batter's box. It's not a great shot, but I'd be interested to hear anyone else's thoughts on the foot placement.

SATURDAY

Dave Bush continued the pitching mastery on Saturday night, going eight innings for the Crew, allowing only two runs on four hits. Bush has struggled with consistency a bit this season, so it was great to see him pitch so well. He didn't strike out twelve, but he kept his team in the game. Bush was tough tonight, and it sucked he couldn't get the win. He threw 75 of 110 pitches for strikes, fanned 6, and walked only two. The win went to Jose Capellan, who pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing only two hits.

The team got the win, though, thanks to a laser beam shot to right field off the bat of Geoff Jenkins in the bottom of the 9th. I must admit I groaned a bit when Geoff came up to bat, because he has been so streaky lately, and prone to strikeouts. But he delivered big time on Saturday, and clinched the series win with his big one-out single. Guess he felt like he needed to do something to get the crowd to stop booing him.

The defense was strong again, and no errors for anyone. Gotta keep that up!

SUNDAY

Bill Hall hit a walk-off home run on Mother's Day, and Carlos Lee countered with one of his own on Father's Day, securing the three-game sweep for the Crew. This series marks the first time the Brewers have swept the Indians since 1989.

Zach Jackson wasn't particularly sharp today, lasting only three innings. But he did manage to get out of a couple of jams, and allowed only two runs on eight hits. He wasn't pitching badly; 50 of his 78 throws were for strikes, but I think Ned thought it best to get him out of there while the getting was still good. He did record his first major league (and first professional) hit of his career, and scored his first run when Corey Koskie hit one out to right field.

Geremi Gonzalez managed to hold the Indians down during his three innings of work, allowing only one run on two hits. Dan Kolb and Brian Shouse each tossed a scoreless inning, and Derrick Turnbow finished it off, striking out the side to record the win.

As I predicted on Thursday, this was a great series, and every game came down to pitching. For a change, thankfully, our guys got it done better, and got run support when it counted. The whole team contributed offensively throughout the series, and played tight defense as well. Our pitching staff seems to have further stabilized, and finally, finally, thank goodness, Rick Helling is ready to come off the DL.

It's not yet clear what his role will be once a change is made, but Tuesday's pitching roster has been changed from Villanueva to "to be announced." Based on that, it looks like Helling will get the start on Tuesday, but you never know. It was announced originally that Jackson would get the start on Monday, which meant Davis would have started today. But Ned decided Saturday to switch it around so that everyone would get five days rest instead of four.

HERE COME THE TIGERS

I'm actually glad that he made that change. The Detroit Tigers come to town for a three game series starting tomorrow, and this team currently has the best record in MLB. Not that I doubt Jackson's ability, but I much prefer having veterans going up against a team like Detroit. If Helling does get the start on Tuesday, (Tuesday's schedule on Yahoo! sports lists Helling as the starting pitcher), then we'll have Davis, Helling and Capuano taking on the Tigers.

This is going to be a tough series for the Brewers, but they seem to play well against teams that are doing well, so maybe that will be the case again this time. The pitching matchups look to make for some interesting games. Doug Davis, (4-4, 5.07) faces Jeremy Bonderman, (6-4, 5.07) tomorrow night, Rick Helling, (no stats) possibly takes on Zach Miner, (2-1, 2.65) on Tuesday, and Chris Capuano, (7-4, 3.30) will duel with Nate Robertson, (7-3, 3.43) on Wednesday afternoon.

Zach Miner could be the reason for the Villanueva-Helling switch, if that is in fact the case. Miner has appeared in only three games for Detroit, tossing seventeen total innings. Perhaps Ned thinks this would be a good match up for easing Helling back into the rotation. I don't know, but it should be interesting.

But all in all, this was a fantastic weekend for Brewers baseball. They swept the Tribe, made it back to .500, and have their most experienced pitchers on the mound to face, at least statistically, the best team in baseball. Let's all head out to the park and show some support! Until next time, go Brewers!

2 Out of 3 Ain't Bad

The Brewers finally managed to win on the road this week, taking two games of three from the hard hitting Cincinnati Reds. Of course, they played only three games on this road trip, but I'm focusing on the positive here.

And speaking of positive, how about Carlos Villanueva? I don't know if it was a fluke, beginner's luck, or the fact that there wasn't much in the way of a scouting report on him, but this kid kicked butt yesterday. Thank goodness we had a good start the day we were on national television!

Carlos threw six innings, gave up four hits, and no runs. No runs! In his first major league start. Starts don't get much more quality than that. Leave it to the rookies to show up the veterans yesterday. Reds rookie pitcher Elizardo Ramirez was on the mound for Cincy. It was a pitchers duel to the end, and their side won, unfortunately, when veteran pitcher Dan Kolb who gave up the game-winning home run to Adam Dunn.

But back to the positive. I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but it seems like the sinking ship that has been our pitching staff is starting to bail out the water and right itself. Newbie Zach Jackson was confident, aggressive and effective in his start, and Villanueva was just about lights out yesterday. If this continues, it means we will have a starting rotation that isn't rotating. It means we might have an effective starting rotation that can carry the team until Tomo Ohko and (if?) Ben Sheets return from the DL.

Couple this with the fact that Rick Helling is scheduled to make another rehab start tonight, meaning he could actually be back in the lineup on Tuesday. Again, I hate to get ahead of myself, but it seems things are looking up for the Brewer bullpen. (fingers crossed, knock on wood!)

I certainly hope that is the case as interleague play resumes this weekend when the Crew takes on the Cleveland Indians. These two teams seem to be pretty well matched. Both are three under .500, and are at about the same spot in the standings. Cleveland is 3rd of five teams in the their division, and we are 4th of six teams in ours.

The Brewers do seem to have one big advantage. The Indians don't play great on the road, and the Crew plays better at home. Cleveland is 13-19 on the road, and the Brewers are 21-15 at home. We have our most reliable pitcher on the mound tomorrow night (Chris Capuano for those of you who have been living under a rock the last couple of months), followed by Dave Bush on Saturday and Doug Davis on Sunday. Cappy will face CC Sabathia, Bush goes up against Jake Westbrook, and Davis takes on Paul Byrd.

The pitching seems fairly well matched up too. Sabathia is 5-2, 2.62 and Cappy is 6-4, 3.35. Bush is 4-6, 5.04 and Westbrook is 6-3, 4.77. Finally, Davis is 4-4, 5.07, while Byrd is 5-5, 4.81. (Technically, Zack Jackson should be up to pitch on Sunday, and is listed as the starting pitcher on Yahoo! sports, but I read in the Journal Sentinel that Jackson's start will be pushed back to Monday in order to keep Cappy, Dave and Doug on their normal rotation.)

At any rate, it should be a fun series. Friday night is autograph night, and Sunday is Cecil Cooper Bobblehead day, so come on out and cheer on our guys. Until next time, go Brewers!

Lucky #13

How about Zach Jackson tonight? True, it wasn't a quality start, but he kept his team in the game, and his team gave him his first major league win as the Brewers defeated the Reds 6-5 in Cincinnati. Congratulations Zach on a job well done.

Zach, in only his second big league start, pitched seven strong innings. It wasn't necessarily a pretty outing for Zach, allowing four home runs, nine hits and five earned runs. But he struck out six, and walked none. That is huge. This kid came up from AA, and has been outstanding. He spent only one year in the minors, but is pitching like he's been the majors for years. He's confident and aggressive, and doesn't get rattled easily. He's doing what Dana Eveland, Justin Lehr and all the others couldn't do; go after batters, keep the team in the game, and eat up a lot of innings.

Jackson's seven-inning stint preserved the bullpen, who had to eat up five innings yesterday when Bush couldn't go the distance, and five innings on Friday, when De La Rosa left the game with his finger ailment. If you haven't figured it out, I'm trying to avoid talking too much about the weekend series, as there wasn't much good to write about except, of course, Chris Capuano, who recorded his 13th quality start of the season. (Incidentally, I was at Alpine Valley Saturday night at the Jimmy Buffett concert, with my sports radio in hand, following the game between songs!)

But I digress. The point is that our bullpen is once again rested and should be ready to go tomorrow, if need be. Hopefully it shouldn't come to that, as Doug Davis gets the start tomorrow, and has been throwing the ball much better lately.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Bill Hall and his outstanding catch tonight. I thought for sure that ball would hit, but Bill made an amazing belly-flop catch to record the out. What an athlete that guy is. Once again, Doug Melvin, I'm begging you. Multi-year contract!!

As I have mentioned repeatedly, the team wins when everyone contributes offensively. Once again, everyone in the lineup, except Jackson, got a hit, a walk, or hit by a pitch. Rickie Weeks was on fire at the plate tonight, notching three hits, an RBI and a run scored. His good buddy Prince Fielder chipped in with two hits, two RBI's and a run scored.

All told, tonight was just a great effort by everyone on the team. There were outstanding defensive plays, smart at bats that resulted in walks and runs scored, and confident aggressive pitching. The holy trinity will win it every time.

As I mentioned, Doug Davis takes the mound tomorrow night against Bronson Arroyo in game 2 of the series. Arroyo has been pitching very well since joining the Reds, carrying an ERA of 2.31 and a record of 8-2. On the other hand, Doug is starting to become more consistent in his outings, and pitched seven innings in his last start, allowing only three earned runs. The Brewers need to jump on Arroyo early and make the Reds go to their bullpen, which has been struggling lately.

TO TRADE OR NOT TO TRADE?

I would also be remiss if I didn't address the Geoff Jenkins trade issue. One of my readers brought to my attention that I have been silent on the subject of Jenkins. (Thanks, Steven!) There has been a lot of talk lately about possible trades involving either Jenkins or Carlos Lee. Even Journal Sentinel columnist Michael Hunt put his two cents in today. I'm no GM, so I don't really understand all the finer workings of trades and salaries and such. Jenkins has been consistently productive, on average. The problem is that he goes through low lows and high highs. All those streaks and slumps average out to pretty good numbers over the course of his career. But it seems that he streaks when it really doesn't matter, i.e. we're already out of the hunt.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I apologized to Jenks for badmouthing him last season when he went through his slump before the All Star break. I felt bad because he had been on such a tear since then. Well I'm back to badmouthing, and this time, I won't apologize! I hate to see one of our "power hitters" go through such a slump, but I have to trust that the GM and Mr. Attanasio will do what's best for the team when decision time rolls around. I do know that Mark and Doug have money to work with, although the exact amount wasn't revealed. (Doug let that little tidbit slip at the Pen and Mike Luncheon last month.) So like everyone else, I will continue to jump and down and curse the television when Jenkins records 2-4 punchouts per game, and jump and down and scream when he starts hitting again. And like everyone else, I will wait and see what happens come July 31st.

Until next time, go Brewers!

Padres Out, Cardinals In

Talk about a great week for our starting pitchers to get it together. Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, Zach Jackson, and Doug Davis all notched quality starts this week, and pitched a combined total of 28 innings. This means that our bullpen had to pick up only eight innings all week, and that is great news for the Crew with the Cardinals coming to town today for a weekend series.

Chris Capuano started things off on Monday night with a win. He didn't have his best stuff, but he managed to keep the team in the game, and tossed six innings. He even contributed offensively with an RBI single. Chris took his record to 6-4, and the Crew snapped that ugly eight game losing streak, once again cementing Cappy's title of "streak stopper."

Dave Bush took over Tuesday night, and pitched a complete-game gem. Bush finished the game with only 105 pitches, 74 of them for strikes. Dave did it all on Tuesday. He was almost lights out on the mound, made some great defensive plays, and almost socked one out of the park. He had to settle for an RBI double, but still a great night for Bush. That Overbay trade just keeps looking better and better.

Zach Jackson made his first major league start on Wednesday and was fairly impressive. He gave up ten hits, but managed to induce three double-play grounders to end three different innings. Even though the team lost, Jackson didn't. The loss was credited to Matt Wise, who gave up back to back homers. The important things to take away from this, though, are that this kid came into his first major league start, pitched aggressively, showed no nerves at all, and pitched into the seventh inning. Not only that, but he almost hit one out of the park during his first major league at bat, and was on track to get a win from his first start. Did I mention that Overbay trade?

Finally, Doug Davis finished off the Padres on Thursday, throwing seven innings, holding San Diego to only thre runs, but was denied the win once again. Davis just can't catch a break when it comes to getting a decision. Besides going seven innings, the big shining bright spot of this outing for Double D was that he issued no walks. That is huge for Doug, who has been called stubborn by our on-air commentators. They say Doug would rather just walk some batters than give them something to hit. At any rate, Davis kept the guys in the game, and Brady Clark and Bill Hall delivered a win to take this series 3-1, and win the season series four games to three.

There were other heroics this week, for sure, but those of you who read this probably watch the games and read the sports sections, so you don't need me to rehash all the things you've already seen and read. I just mainly wanted to focus today on the stellar job done by our pitching staff this week. I just think it's going to be huge for us this weekend to know our bullpen is well rested and ready to take on the Cards, should the need arise.

Jorge De La Rosa takes on Mark Mulder tonight to start the series. In his last two starts, Jorge has started out strong, but faltered after a few innings. I think this might have something to do with the fact that he's still being stretched out as a starter. He went three innings in his first outing, then five in his second. If he can stay in and toss four or five strong innings tonight, keep the runs low, then our bullpen can come in and finish it off.

Mark Mulder, who carved up our Brewer hitters in the opener in St. Louis, has lost his last three starts. He's given up at least three earned runs in those last three outings, and got touched for eight against San Diego on May 28th. He's also allowed five homeruns in his last two starts, and gave up 12 hits to the Cubs on June 3rd.

Chris Capuano will challenge Jason Marquis on Saturday night. Cappy is currently 6-4, with an ERA of 3.31. He has recorded 76 K's to only 22 walks in 87 innings of work. Marquis has a record of 8-4, with an ERA of 5.03. He has notched only 32 strikeouts versus 31 walks in 77 innings. Marquis has a WHIP of 1.34 as opposed to Cappy's 1.18.

Sunday afternoon has Dave Bush facing off against Jeff Suppan. Bush's record is only 4-5, with an ERA of 4.45. His WHIP has remained low, though, at 1.14. Suppan, on the other hand, sports a 1.49 WHIP, 5.01 ERA and a record of 5-4. K's to walks for Suppan is 36 to 25, whereas Bush is 69 to 20.

Cardinals' pitchers have better records, but higher ERA's, than most of our pitchers. In my humble opinion, though, I think that has a lot to do with their power hitter Albert Pujols. I would imagine they typically get a lot of run support from him, as well as the rest of their lineup, so they can afford to give up a few runs here and there. But the Cards have lost three of the four games they've played since Pujols went on the DL. They were just swept by the Reds, and finished 3-6 in their last homestand.

I would say this is a great chance for the Crew to kick the Cards while they're down, but our guys seem to struggle against teams who have been struggling, and come on strong against the hot teams. This weekend would be a good time to reverse that trend. Until next time, go Brewers!