Road Woes Continue

So why can't the Brewers win consistently on the road? Do they miss their wives/girlfriends? Do they miss sleeping in their own beds? Could it be stomach issues from eating strange food? I don't know, but someone needs to figure something out if this team intends to finish over .500 this season.

Last night was another example of what the Brewers do when they travel. Everything started off great; we had a 3-1 lead. But then Eveland threw a meatball to Jr. and that was all she wrote.

I can think of all sorts of excuses for why the Crew loses on the road, but none of them would fly. Other teams win on the road, why can't we? Are our guys just a bunch of sissies who miss their favorite pillow? I don't think so, but something afflicts them once they get on that charter. Hmmm, maybe opposing teams have planted fake flight attendants on our guys' charter, and these girls are drugging our players! Or hypnotizing them into forgetting how to play! Even better, they're being brainwashed into believing they actually play for the other team!!

It would be nice if there was an easy answer to be found. I just find it difficult to swallow that our guys can play so damn well in Miller Park, but turn into the Three Stooges when they go somewhere else. If we continue to play like this on the road, even Pittsburgh will have a chance to sweep a series this season. God forbid we get swept by, or even lose the series to Pittsburgh.

The Crew has one more chance tonight to redeem themselves at Great American Ballpark before going on to face an even tougher opponent in Phildelphia. Maybe since tomorrow is an off day, they can regroup and go into Philly with a different mindset. It would certainly be nice to go in there coming off of a win today. I sure don't want to fall under .500 again any time soon.

On the upside, the two guys called up from AA this week performed pretty well last night. Joe Winkelsas had me worried at first with that lead off walk to load the bases, but he worked out of it to finish the inning. It would definitely be understandable that he would be nervous up there. There aren't many 32-year-old, ex-drug addicted, former garbage man/pitching coach rookies running around MLB. After reading his story, though, you can't help but root for the guy to do well.

Carlos Villanueva threw a scoreless frame last night in his first outing in Brewer blue. He allowed only one hit, but no runs. In fact, Winkelsas and Villanueva were the only Brewer pitchers to not allow runs last night, and Villanueva was the only pitcher other than Eveland to record a strikeout. And these guys came from AA!

I read that there were probably some guys in Nashville who were pissed off becuase they were passed over in favor of the guys from Huntsville. But you know what? Most of those guys in Nashville had their chance. Fernandez, Adams, and Sarfate have all been up to the show this season, and apparently they couldn't get it done, or they wouldn't be back in AAA. But that's just my opinion. The story on the Brewers' website also noted that the bullpen was far from settled, and more changes are likely. Changes for the better, I hope, because I would hate to see it get any worse!

Ned Yost was ejected from the game for the second time this season after the home plate umpire had a "discussion" with Brady Clark in the first inning. Neither Ned nor Brady will elaborate on what actually transpired, but it seems Bill Welke called Brady "bush league" for sticking out his left elbow, perhaps in an effort to get hit by a pitch. Ned waited until after the inning to confront the ump, but once he did, he got hot in a hurry!

This morning on 102.9 The Hog, Bob and Brian talked with Brewer pitcher Chris Capuano about being able to understand what Ned was saying by lip reading. Well, I didn't have to lip read at all. Thanks to FSN, anyone watching the game last night got a big bomb dropped in their living room. An F-bomb that is. Immediately after Ned was ejected, he clearly said, "I will not get the F*%$ out!" Could that be the first time the F-word was actually audible on broadcast television? Thanks to some timely camera shots and minimal lip reading ability, we've all seen players express their frustrations, but last night was the first time I actually heard it. At least it made for a very interesting first inning.

It looks like Doug Davis will be the sacrificial lamb, uh I mean, starting pitching tonight in Cincy, going up against Brandon Claussen for the Reds. Claussen was the pitcher who gave up four of the five homers that the Brewers hit in that one inning back on April 22 in Miller Park. With any luck, Claussen hasn't improved since then and we can get some runs on the board.

Well that's all I have for now Brewer fans. Hopefully Davis and the rest of the Crew can stop the bleeding, pull out a win, and take us into Philly on a high note. Until next time, go Brewers!