Round ‘em Up: Friday

UPDATE 07-11-08 3:04pm – Baseball America picked their minor league All-Star team last week. Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, and Matt LaPorta all made the squad. It is amazing how stacked Huntsville is, even with the departure of LaPorta. (Tip of the cap to Aaron for this one)

Dixieflatline from Brew Crew Ball has a great post that takes a look at the horizontal movement of Dave Bush’s pitches and attempts to figure out why he has struggled on the road. Ned Yost says the mound at Miller Park is to Dave’s liking. That could play a big part, as Dave has far more movement on his pitches when he’s at home. Give it a look. It’s great stuff.

I never wish injury onto anyone, but the Milwaukee Brewers get some good luck this weekend. Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang will miss his scheduled start against the Brewers due to a strained forearm. The injury is not serious, but it will allow the Crew to dodge him. Harang has killed Milwaukee when pitching against them throughout his career. In 2008 alone, the big right-hander has two starts and is 1-0. He went eight innings in both starts and only gave up one run in each game. Thank goodness the Crew doesn’t have to deal with Harang this weekend.

The Junkball Blues analyzes the amount of extra-base hits the Brewers hit.  No surprise, the majority of these hitters are extra-base hit machines.  The league average is about 1/3 of the hits to be for extras.  The only players for Milwaukee that do not live up to that are Craig Counsell and Jason Kendall.  No surprises there.

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I know I usually write an NL Central Review on Fridays, but it takes far too long to write. The response is not nearly as high now as it was at the beginning, so I think I will begin to include more NL Central news in the Round ‘em Ups instead of a separate post each week. I apologize if you were looking for the Review today, but I would rather spread the information out through the week and give more continuous attention to the NL Central.

• In case you did not know already, Corey Hart officially made the All-Star team thanks to your votes! Chuckie Hacks has the video of the Brewers mobbing Corey and giving him a little beer shower during his press conference. You want to know why people say Milwaukee’s clubhouse is great? Take a look at the video. It’s obvious that the guys truly like and respect each other.
• Bill Chuck from Dugout Central takes a look at the NL All-Star team and has a little commentary after each player. He doesn’t have Corey on the list though, so it must have been written before the final vote ended.
• ESPN.com has an interview of CC Sabathia with reporter Amy Nelson. It’s nice to see that CC is an articulate young man who is genuinely excited about being in Milwaukee. When asked about how much money it would take to keep him in Milwaukee after the season, however, he gave a very evasive answer. He says he wants a winning team with a great attitude. Perhaps Milwaukee can be that place for him.
• ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark says Zack Greinke was Milwaukee’s Plan B if they were unable to score Sabathia. This is interesting, as all reports have said Greinke is not on the market and will not be until after the season is over. The reliever idea is intriguing though.
• Aaron from Brew Crew Pub has a recap of the Colorado Rockies series. Let’s hope the Reds series goes a little better this weekend. The Crew needs to go into the All-Star Break on a high note.
• SportsBubbler names RHP R.J. Seidel the Prospect of the Week. His change-up is electric. It’s nice to see the LaCrosse native put a couple good outings together. I still see him in a relief role, but it will depend on how he handles Brevard County next season. Eric Fryer is also mentioned in the Three Up category, but they make it sound like he hasn’t done anything until this week. He has raked since being promoted to West Virginia. Get used to the name.
• The Hardball Times has a great piece that breaks down the mechanics and projectability of RHP Jake Odorizzi and LHP Evan Frederickson. The general consensus is that Odorizzi is something special, and the Brewers were lucky to get him with the #32 pick. I had not heard this before, but Jake is apparently trying out a four-seam fastball and has seen his velocity jump up to 95. With such a wiry frame, he should be able to add a couple ticks to that fastball too.Frederickson, on the other hand, did not receive much praise from THT. The author actually refused to rate Evan because the video being used did not match the reports of him. He was throwing much too slow. His control was still horrible though.
• The Brew Town Beat gives everyone in the batting order a theme song when coming up to bat. This is a nice light piece to kill some time while you’re at work.
• The Seattle Mariners finally released former-Brewer Richie Sexson. When you’re as tall as he is, a drop from productivity is a big fall. I suspect he’ll land somewhere. Not Milwaukee though. Don’t get excited.
• Cardinals Diaspora thinks its time for another NL Central team to negotiate a deal with Billy Beane. This time, the target would be Joe Blanton. If you really want Joe Blanton and his 5.00+ ERA, I will not stop you. St. Louis’ pitching coach, Dave Duncan, has worked wonders with the Cards’ pitching staff in 2008, but this may be asking for a little too much.
• Do you think the Cardinals aren’t worried about the big moves made by the Brewers and the Cubs this past week? You’d be wrong. St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa is asking for the front office to get him help right now. He does not want to wait for the return of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in mid-August. He wants that help right now. It’s nice to make other teams feel nervous.
• JoeSportsFan.com has the 7 Worst Trades in the last decade. That Aramis Ramirez deal to Chicago remains one of the worst deals that has affected the Milwaukee Brewers. Every time I think about that deal, I just get upset. How did that seem like a good idea at the time? I know hindsight is 20/20, but seriously. What was Pittsburgh thinking?

I promised you all some big news either yesterday or today. I’m still working on it. The news just didn’t quite happen when it was planned. Stay tuned though. I’m not just teasing you all, don’t worry. Something is actually happening, and it is significant.

Bush fantasti-K against the Rox

Obviously, the game was not on TV today, so I was not able to watch it.  I did listen to it and see the highlights, however.  Here is the extended boxscore, if you are curious.

With all the attention on CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets (and rightly so), Dave Bush went out and gave a performance to remember.  It’s too bad that the game was not televised for anyone to see it.  The right-hander went 8 innings strong and struck out 13 batters.  And you thought Big Ben was impressive yesterday.

I was surprised Yost let Bush go 120+ pitches, but with the All-Star Break coming up, it should not be a problem.  Bushie had fantastic control this afternoon.  For the second start in a row, he did not walk a batter.  That is absolutely key for someone like Bush.  The strikeouts are just an added plus.  He has made an extremely strong push for the final spot in the rotation once Jeff Suppan comes back from the DL.  In his last two outings combined, Bush has gone 16 innings and only given up one earned run.

Dave Bush is notoriously a slow starter.  In his career, he has had an ERA above 5.00 in April and May.  When the weather heats up, however, so does Bush.  That is what we have seen this season as well.  He had a 3.65 ERA last month, and those numbers have only improved in July.  It looks as if the best option for Milwaukee is to move Seth McClung to the bullpen and give the ball to Bush every fifth day.  The ‘pen sure could use some help, considering how well Guillermo Mota has been pitching.

Speaking of Mota, Ned Yost says his mechanics are off.  He is “collapsing his back side,” which is causing his pitches to have little or no movement.  Mota and Mike Maddux are working extremely hard on correcting this fault.  Apparently, they corrected this before the season started, and Mota simply reverted back to his old ways.  I may simply be hard-headed, but I believe a part of it has to do with his reluctance to throw his change-up.  I will not beat that comment to death again though.  Hopefully, Maddux and Yost can get that situation worked out quickly because Mota has been absolutely brutal in the past two months.  The only question I have is: Why did it take 2 months for Maddux and Yost to notice this if they corrected it before?

Back to the game.  The offense came out to play today after getting embarrassed last night by Glendon Rusch.  Perhaps they all read everything being said about them last night, as the Crew walked four times today.  Not great, but certainly not bad.  J.J. Hardy and Corey Hart both hit home runs this afternoon.  Hart made the All-Star Game, by the way.  If you all have not seen the team mob him during the press conference, you should check it out.  Hart’s daughter got a good part of it too.  Congratulations, Corey.  You definitely deserve it!

Someone that deserves some ink is Gabe Kapler.  He produced again this afternoon, going 3-4 with three doubles and two RBI.  The comeback story is never-ending it seems.  I would love for Ned Yost to give Kapler more at-bats, but those at-bats are difficult to find.  Mike Cameron has been swinging the bat better as of late, and his defense is top-notch.  Did you see a couple of the plays he made last night?  He rarely makes a false step in center field and almost always takes a direct path to the ball.  It is an joy to watch him in the field.  Gabe provides the team with a more than capable fourth outfielder though, and that is extremely valuable.

Records: Brewers (51-41); Rockies (39-54)

Hero of the Game: Dave Bush

How can you go eight innings, give up only three hits, surrender zero earned runs, strike out 13, not walk a batter, and not get the Hero of the Game?  The only thing I would like to see is Dave have one of these performances on the road.  He always has been lights out at home, but has consistently struggled on the road.  He will need to deliver in his first road start after the All-Star Break to cement his status as Milwaukee’s #5 starter.

Goat of the Game: FSN North

Why was this game not on TV?  I understand the team does not have a contract to televise every game, but a game like this should never be only shown on tape delay.  Mark Attanasio should get a deal to televise all 162 games in the works.

On Tap

LHP Manny Parra will look to get the Brewers on a winning streak before the All-Star Break.  The Brewers will go up against RHP Josh Fogg, which is slightly concerning.  Yes, Josh Fogg is terrible, but he also went five innings and only gave up one earned run earlier in 2008 against the Brewers.  As Aaron said, the Crew has a way of making soft-tossing control pitchers look like aces.  Let’s hope the Brewers are patient at the plate and take their walks.  The game will start at 7:05pm CT.

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

After falling to a little bit of a hangover last night, the Brewers will trot out CC Sabathia to the mound to a sold-out crowd.  Yes, yes…I will be there.  Perhaps I can get a picture of the big guy.  Probably not though, as I will not be close at all to the action.  Who cares?!  The atmosphere is going to be electric.

• CC Sabathia is very excited to be in Milwaukee.  He is a little worried about his batting average going down – yes, the man has a sense of humor.  The big lefty is saying all the right things on his first day in Milwaukee.  He’s always been a fantastic clubhouse guy who is extremely charismatic.  Can’t complain about that.
• Here is some audio from the CC press conference.
• The agent of Michael Brantley and Taylor Green has a blog.  The latest news is that both Brantley and Green are on the table for Cleveland’s PTBNL.  Why would you get rid of Brantley?  He had all the makings to be Milwaukee’s lead-off hitter and center fielder in just a couple years.  I can only hope the fact that he does not fit into Cleveland’s plans (because of Grady Sizemore) steers them towards Green.  Taylor Green is a great player, but he is not as polished as Brantley.
• Yahoo! Sports has a nice little article about how excited Milwaukee is to have CC Sabathia on the team.  The management is extremely excited.  Giddy, in fact.  I never realized that David Riske and CC were such good friends.  They have been texting and calling each other for over two weeks about the impending trade.  CC may like his time in Milwaukee a whole lot.
• Jim Powell says Doug Melvin cements his status as one of the game’s best GMs through this trade.  The news about Michael Brantley changed this for me.  If Brantley is the PTBNL, only a playoff berth will ease the pain.  If it is Green, I will be upset…but not heartbroken.  I just do not understand how Doug could even consider giving up two of the “Huntsville 5″ to get a 3 month rental.  If CC signs an extension after the year, the deal becomes a steal, even if Brantley is included.
• Dixieflatline from Brew Crew Ball analyzes how much CC will affect the win-loss record in Milwaukee.  After a some calculations, it comes out to about 10%.  I’ll take that.
• The Hardball Times has a great breakdown of the trade.  It assumes that Taylor Green will be the PTBNL.  I agree that Cleveland most likely wouldn’t have been able to draft someone of Matt LaPorta’s value next season.  He’s a very advanced bat for his age.  The one issue I have is that the article says CC will provide some wins because it will push Seth McClung to the bullpen and send Randy Choate to the minors.  There is a problem with that logic.  Choate isn’t on the big league squad…
• In-Between Hops says Brewers fans can thank Mark Attanasio for the Sabathia move.  I couldn’t agree more.  The article mentions something about the Brewers finishing in the red this season, but there is no way that will happen.  Did you see the ticket sales in the first two days after the trade?  Enough said.
• Right Field Bleachers has their week InReview segment.  I do enjoy the part about Corey Hart.
• The Brew Town Beat is hoping Yovani Gallardo will be back in September.  I did see the article from Baseball Prospectus that says Yo is already throwing from 45-feet and has a chance to be back in Sept.  Just do not rush him back from his injury.  He is a huge part of the team’s future.  Gallardo will almost certainly come in from the ‘pen if he returns.  There is simply not enough time to stretch his arm out and get him into the starting rotation.
• Brew Crew Pub has a recap of last night’s game.  The Brewers played flat baseball.  There was no emotion.
• Brewers Fanatics has a Prospect Watch on OF Cutter Dykstra.  There isn’t much for a scouting report in there, but he is certainly someone to watch down in Helena.  He is showing solid plate discipline already, which is exceptional for a high school prospect.
• Philly.com says the Phillies could not compete in the Sabathia sweepstakes because they did not have high-caliber position prospects that Cleveland demanded.  They will most likely shift their attention to Erik Bedard.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates expect SS Jack Wilson to stay exactly where he is.  Reports said the Los Angeles Dodgers backed out of the Sabathia race to focus on Wilson, but it seems that is no longer the case.  If LA wants Alcides Escobar and Zach Braddock, I wouldn’t mind taking Clayton Kershaw off their hands…
• ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark thinks the Brewers just upgraded their team in a big way, but he still likes the Chicago Cubs in the division.  Oh really?  ESPN went with a big-market team?  Excuse me if I don’t gasp in amazement.
• A few Brewers fans had been clamoring for a trade for RHP Justin Duchscherer from Oakland during the off-season.  That is unlikely, as Justin wants to sign an extension to stay with the As.  He’s been absolutely phenomenal this season.

On a side note, the big news I promised for the site should happen around the end of the week.  Stay tuned.  I am quite excited.

Home runs cannot push Crew past Twins

The offense did it’s part, but it wasn’t enough.

Corey Hart’s two homers were not enough to overcome Minnesota’s seven runs.  J.J. Hardy confused everyone watching by socking a two-run home run to the opposite field.  A monster blast by Russell Branyan was not enough.  The 12 hits pounded out by the Crew were not enough to pull out the ‘W’ tonight.

A long story short…one cannot blame Milwaukee’s offense for losing tonight’s game against the Twins.  Even Rickie Weeks continues to swing a pretty good bat since coming off the DL this week.  It may just be me, but Rickie always seems to rake after coming off an injury.  Just an observation.

The infallible Seth McClung came down to earth a bit this evening, struggling through 4.2 innings and giving up five runs.  Minnesota managed nine hits off the big right-hander.  Seth simply didn’t have his ‘A’ stuff tonight.  Heck, he didn’t even have his ‘C’ stuff.  After the bunch of fine performances in the past couple weeks, however, I am more than willing to look past this start.

Seth’s control was spotty at best today, as he found far too much of the plate far too often.  He seemed a little reluctant to throw the curveball this evening, and the Twins hitters jumped on his fastball.  The big man put together a poor outing in every sense, and he will look to rebound next week.  Let’s hope he does in a big way.  The rotation has begun to rely on Seth at the back-end.  If he begins to lose his command, the Brewers may seriously begin to push the C.C. Sabathia envelope.

With a tie game, Ned Yost turned to Guillermo Mota to preserve the 6-6 tie.  Mota has been struggling over the past month, but he looked to be throwing the ball quite well tonight.  Even Joe Mauer’s go-ahead solo shot was a 96 mph fastball at his shoulders.  That is not a location mistake.  A pitcher cannot do anything but tip his cap to the hitter at that point.  It was a good pitch.  Mota couldn’t go to the slider on an 0-2 count to a lefty.  If he hung it, it was gone.  He and Kendall made the right decision, and Mota threw it where Kendall wanted it.  Joe Mauer simply connected.  Ballgame.

The Brewers made it interesting in the top of the ninth against closer Joe Nathan, but were unable to capitalize.  Prince Fielder was up at the plate with runners and first and second.  A grounder to first base ended the threat, however.  Fielder is still over-aggressive when he has the chance to win the game in the ninth.  He needs to relax more at the plate.  Maturity will help alleviate that tension though.  It will come.

Records: Brewers (43-36); Twins (44-36)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

I know Corey Hart hit two home runs today, but J.J. did something I never thought I would see again.  He drove the ball with authority to the opposite field and hit a home run.  The Brewers shortstop went 2-5 in the two-hole in the lineup.  He has continued to look pretty good since being moved to the two spot.  If Hardy can consistently drive the ball to right field with authority, pitchers will have to pitch him inside again.  Brewers fans should know what Hardy can do with an inside fastball.  His scorching start to the 2007 season should be an indicator of that.  He mashes the inside fastball.

Goat of the Game: Seth McClung

This award cannot go to Guillermo Mota tonight.  He did not throw a bad 0-2 pitch to Joe Mauer.  It was shoulder-high and at 96 mph.  What more can you ask for from Guillermo?  The all-star catcher simply deposited his strikeout pitch over center field.

Seth McClung, on the other hand, had a terrible outing.  The big right-hander was unable to preserve any lead Milwaukee had over Minnesota, and it eventually came back to bite the Crew.  I look forward to next week when fans can see how he responds to this start.  He’s done nothing but impress thus far, so I suspect that will continue next week.

On Tap

Rookie left-hander Manny Parra will battle veteran right-hander Livan Hernandez tomorrow night in Minneapolis.  The game will start at 6:10pm CT.  Manny looks to rebound from a below-average start, but it will not be an easy task against the surging Twins.  Control will be key for Manny tomorrow evening.

Prince’s Power Hour Propels

The big boys came out to play in the Milwaukee Brewers’ final game against American League opposition, the Baltimore Orioles. Home runs from Corey Hart, Bill Hall, and a pair from Prince Fielder bailed out an out-of-sorts Manny Parra. Sprinkle in some nice defensive plays and a season-tying high for double plays and the result was good 7-3 victory finishing off a 6-3 homestand for the Crew.

From the get-go it looked like Parra might set up Milwaukee for a long afternoon. His pitch locations were off and a tight zone from the home plate umpire wasn’t helping his cause. Parra walked six guys including four in the first three innings. Two of Baltimore’s three runs were walks that came around to score.

Rickie Weeks was back in the lineup today (and in the lead off spot in the order) and looked shaky early on. Jason Kendall caught Jay Payton off of first, but Weeks, attempting to get Payton out, dropped Kendall’s throw.

Fielder has also looked shoddy on defense recently (something that he had looked to improve this season. He misplayed a bunt single in the second inning failing to pick up the ball and get it to Parra at first base. Earlier in the season is looked as though Fielder was making big strides in his defensive play, but in the last few series he has made several mistakes on plays that should be outs.

If the defense has fallen, the offensive game of Fielder has shown brightly. Prince belted a double and two home runs today. Fielder was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. His monster, two run blast in the seventh gave the Crew some breathing room heading into the closing frames.

The secondary storyline of the game is the positive defensive plays that the Brewers made to back up the struggling Parra. Ryan Braun made two outstanding sliding catches (the one in the sixth was ESPN’s #5 “Web Gem” today) to rob Baltimore of base hits. The infield also turned five double plays on an Oriole team that has the grounded into the least amount of double plays in the American League (45). Weeks was strong on his DP turns (something that has been troubling… low throws to first) and made a fantastic play to end the seventh inning.

Guillermo Mota and David Riske both continue to struggle in relief appearances this afternoon issuing two walks apiece. A strikeout for Riske and two nice defensive plays by JJ Hardy and the already mentioned Weeks grab bailed out David. It took an appearance by Salomon Torres and a double play to get Mota off the hook in the ninth. Mark DiFelice had a good outing, going 1-2-3 in the sixth, but otherwise this bullpen is starting to worry. There are a bunch of bright spots (DiFelice, Torres, Shouse), but they can’t pitch everyday and allow the inconsistent guys to shake down games.

Records: Brewers (41-34), Orioles (38-36)

Hero of the Game: Prince Fielder

The Prince has been going on a power binge of late. He’s got five home runs in the last six games. For June all of his vitals are skyrocketing. Take a look at his May/June comparisons:

Stat May June

On Base Percentage .358 .432

Average .294 .343

Slugging: .450 .757

Promising stuff from the kid.

Goat of the Game: Davillermo RiskMota

What’s up with these guys? I know the zone was tight, Parra struggle with his stuff all night, but Riske and Mota’s inability to find a strike lately is looking Gagnesqe. I guess I’m particularly worried about Riske because I never was that high up on him since the beginning of the season. For the money we paid for him I feel like the Brewers haven’t gotten a lot of relief security.

A few good outings early in the season was marred by several rough outings before going on the DL. Since being activated from the DL two days ago, Riske has participated in the almost-loss on Thursday against Toronto and stunk it up today. These sorts of trouble should be worked out with a player before he comes back from his rehab stint in the minors. I know he blew threw the opposition in his one inning of work in Nashville, but there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe and seeing he’s all there.

On Tap:

The Crew hits the road to take on the Atlanta Braves. Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4, 4.05 ERA) is on the mound versus Ben Sheets (8-1, 2.74 ERA). Game time: 6:05 CT.

By: Dan Wiersema

Small Ball, Sheets Win the Night

The polar opposite of the night before where all seven of the Brewers’ runs came courtesy of the home run ball, the Brewers put their faith in timely hitting, smart base running, and another solid, albeit short, outing from Ben Sheets. The victory last night, 5-4, guaranteed another series win for the Crew and the win over the Blue Jays meant the Brewers are sitting on a three game win streak.

Sheets, who threw six innings, was relieved by Carlos Villanueva, who quickly gave up two hits and a run in 2/3 of an inning of work. The relief pitching was more troubling when Guillermo Mota came in to work the eight. Showing a troubling pattern of alternating strong appearances with downright scary appearances, Mota brought out his Halloween game allowing three hits, a walk, and a run in only 23 pitches.

Salomon Torres to the rescue. Torres showed up in the eight inning with two outs, escaped unscathed and proceeded to record his ninth save of the season the next inning.

Besides a little solo home run love from Russell Branyan in the second and Mike Cameron in the sixth it was the small ball that propelled the Crew to the win. The key inning was the bottom of the fourth, with the game tied at ones, when Corey Hart lead of with a ground rule double. Hart would then be put over to third by Branyan’s sac fly. On the ensuing play Cameron rolled what amounted to a swing bunt back to the Jay’s pitcher Shaun Marcum. Hart, on a dead sprint from third, beat the fielder’s choice throw at home and Cam was safe at first (he should have made it to second as the catcher spiked the ball after Hart was safe).

Cam stole second, advanced to third on Jason Kendall’s single, and scored on a squeeze play. Squeeze plays have been notoriously bad for the Brewers this year with either the batter or runner missing the calls on multiple occasions leaving runners for dead, but this one played out perfectly, if not a bit unmethodically (if that’s a word). Sheets put down a great bunt, catcher Gregg Zaun looked Cameron back to third and threw Sheets out at first. That was when Cam broke for home scoring without even having to slide.

Sheets working from the mound look good in the opening frame striking out two, but unraveled a bit as the game went on. Sheets walked for batters, tossed two wild pitches, and gave up several hard hits. Yost lifted Sheets for a pinch hitter in the sixth, a call that I second guess.

Records: Brewers (38-33), Blue Jays (35-38 )

Hero of the Game: Mike Cameron

I’ve been harping on Cameron a bit lately, but last night he epitomized an all around solid baseball player. He mixed small ball with the powerball scoring Hart on his (very) small ball and scoring himself with a solo homer later in the game. But it was his smart base running to sneak a run in from third in the fourth that gets the big kudos. The box score 1-for-4 doesn’t show how intelligent one is on the base paths to try to take home plate on a bunt, hold, then break for the base, and beat the tag with some great speed. Good work, Cam.

Goat(s) of the Game: Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder

Both the big men in the line up had “oh fer” nights. RB and PF came to the plate and left empty all four times and racked up two Ks each. The plate discipline is looking a bit shaky guys… work it out.

On Tap:

David Bush (2-7, 5.37) takes on AJ Burnett (6-6, 4.90) in the matinée wrap up of this Interleague series. Which Bush will show up? Game time 1:05 CT on FSN.

By: Dan Wiersema

Brewers ride homers in win

If anything is clear over the past couple weeks, it is the fact that the Brewers can still hit the long ball.

Everyone was concerned with the power outage in Miller Park for the first couple months, but that is no longer a problem.  Fans are again saying the Brewers are relying too much on the long ball.  My how things change…

Ryan Braun went deep twice, while Russell Branyan and Prince Fielder knocked a homer a piece.  Even Craig Counsell joined the homer barrage against the shell-shocked Toronto Blue Jays.  Yes, things got so bad for the Jays that the light-hitting Craig Counsell hit a home run.  The Brewers certainly knocked around Dustin McGowan and company tonight.

That is pretty much the whole story with the offense this evening, but Manny Parra should not get lost in translation.  He spun a gem through seven innings.

Working around four walks and four hits, the Brewers lefty held the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless before giving up the reins to the ‘pen to close the game out.  Most of his walks came early in the game, and he looked stronger as the game wore on.  That is the kind of night Manny can give Milwaukee consistently.  He definitely has the stuff to get the job done.  It appears as if he’s gaining the confidence too.

Mark DiFelice also looked good out of the pen.  The journeyman right-hander pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game.  It could have simply been that Toronto gave up at the end of the game, but Mark pounded the strike zone and genuinely looked good.  Someone doesn’t want to go back to Triple-A when David Riske comes back.

Records: Brewers (37-33); Blue Jays (35-37)

Hero of the Game: Ryan Braun

What can you say about Ryan Braun?  He has been an absolute stud at the plate and better than advertised in left field.  When he centers on a ball like he did off Dustin McGowan, the ball has that special sound to it.  He’s a stud and there’s nothing else I can say about it.

Goat of the Game: Corey Hart

Corey is the “goat” because he went 0 for 3 and left a guy on base.  Not a bad night, but the worst of the Crew tonight.  It’s fine though, just don’t do it again Corey.

On Tap

RHP Ben Sheets will face RHP Shawn Marcum in Game 2 of the series tomorrow night at Miller Park.  The game will start at 7:05pm CT.

Lack of defense and control dooms Brewers

This morning I was feeling rather calm concerning the Brewers.  After tonight’s game, however, I have been reminded about what this team lacks.

You simply cannot win games with stupid mental errors.  Ryan Braun needs to learn to hit the cut-off man.  I understand he’s trying to preserve the lead, but the margin for error is so small.  You have to play the percentages at that point.  He did show off his arm on that play, however.  Corey Hart has got to stay in front of the ball in the outfield.  The cardinal rule in the outfield is to keep the ball in front of you at all costs.  He cost the Brewers a run in the ninth inning.  Bill Hall needs to get out in the field further when Mike Cameron is up against the wall.  He cost the Brewers another run.  A lack of concentration on the defensive side of the ball cost the Brewers tonight.

What to do about it?  Bill Hall cannot play second base.  Three errors in two games at the position is not going to cut it.  With that said, Joe Dillon looked solid at second today.  I can forgive Ryan Braun for making an aggressive play.  He’s inexperienced in the field, and he let his emotions get the better of him.  The coaches will sit him down and explain the situation.  He will make the right choice the next time.  Corey Hart, on the other hand, has no excuse.  Overrunning the ball and then trying to lazily reach down to pick up the ball is inexcusable.

Jeff Suppan threw the ball quite well today.  His solid outing was overshadowed by the length of the game and the dramatics near the end, but seven innings of two-run ball is impressive.  Soup has been a rock in the rotation this season.  He’s truly earning his money thus far in 2008.

The relievers, however, struggled mightily.  Carlos Villanueva did not have his usual control on the mound, leaving the ball up in the strike zone for the Twins to slap all over the field.  He just hasn’t had his “A” stuff in his last couple outings.  Fans shouldn’t be worried, however.  The young right-hander has been the model of consistency in the bullpen the last couple seasons.  He will bounce back.

Julian Tavarez, on the other hand, hasn’t shown any consistency since being signed.  The movement on his pitches is phenomenal, but the control has been notably absent.  In his 1.1 innings of work, he gave up four hits and three walks.  The veteran worked from behind the whole night.  He’s not cutting it on the mound.  If he wants to get the ball in important situations, throwing strikes is key.

Amidst all the frustration that ended the night, fans at the ballpark tonight were treated to a dandy.  In the ninth inning, the Brewers trailed by one with two outs.  Russell Branyan gets the call to pinch hit.  He has one job at the plate: Tie the game.  On a fastball middle-in from Twins closer Joe Nathan, Russell absolutely clobbered a solo home run to tie the game at four a piece.  All looked right for the Crew going into extra innings.

Things even looked better when Prince Fielder connected on a high fastball in the bottom of the 11th.  The towering shot appeared to clear the wall just over the fingertips of Carlos Gomez, but the umps ruled it a triple.  Boos rained in from around Miller Park, and Ned Yost came out on the field to argue the call.  After seeing the replay, however, it was clear the ball bounced off the inside corner of the wall and back into the field of play.  The umpires made the right call.  A game of inches indeed.

Yost went back into the dugout and play resumed, but Milwaukee was unable to plate Prince home from third.  Mike Cameron swung at a ball way off the plate and hit a dribbler to the pitcher’s mound.  The momentum shifted to the Minnesota Twins, and they never looked back.  A rough, rough game for the Crew tonight.  They should have won the game multiple times.

Records: Brewers (35-33); Twins (34-35)

Hero of the Game: Russell Branyan

Russell had the touch for late-inning heroics today.  After sitting on the bench the entire game, the Brewers’ skipper called on him with two-outs in the bottom of the ninth against Joe Nathan.  Russell didn’t get cheated in his at-bat.  He absolutely killed a Nathan fastball into right-center field.  How clutch can you be?

This will be immensely unpopular, I’m sure, but Russell needs more playing time.  He has been better than advertised defensively at third base, and he’s seeing the ball incredibly well.  I understand he has not hit lefties well this year in the big leagues, but he had pretty good success in the minors.  You can say it was the minors all you want, but everyone said that before he got called up too.  Look how that turned out.  Give the guy a chance.  Bill Hall has sure proven he doesn’t deserve regular playing time.

Goat of the Game: Corey Hart

Yes, Julian Tavarez pitched horrendously.  This “award” has to go to Corey this evening though.  Besides the costly error in the ninth inning that made everyone’s collective heart sink in their stomachs, the Brewers lead-off hitter went 0-6 with two strikeouts.  Corey has been one of the most consistent players this season, so I will cut him some slack.  The young right-fielder should take this loss personally, however.  That error in right was pathetic and just a lack of concentration.

On Tap

Brewers right-hander Seth McClung will battle fellow right-hander Scott Baker tomorrow at Miller Park.  The Crew will hope not to get swept by the Minnesota Twins.  The contest will begin at 1:05pm CT.

Bats Support Sheets’ Outing

An up-and-down afternoon for Ben Sheets was held up by another home run barrage from the Milwaukee Brewers bats. Corey Hart, feeling right at home in the lead-off spot, Prince Fielder, Mike Cameron all connected for long balls in a monster second inning to lift Ben through his start.

From early on Sheets was having trouble with his curveball. The power curve that usually slams down on opposing hitters was hanging up in the zone allowing the Astros to feast on some early chances. With the curveball looking shaky Miguel Tejeda launched a fastball into the stands for a early Houston lead. Fielder evened the match with a solo shot of his own. Cameron put the Brewers ahead with a solo home run of his own; a lead the Crew would not surrender. Hart continued his power binge smashing a three-run home run.

Sheets struggled over the next two innings giving up an RBI single to Michael Bourn in the second and a solo home run to Darin Erstad in the third. Sheets looked out of sorts. His curveball wasn’t dropping and he seemed to be taking much longer in between pitches. Normally, Sheets works very quickly from the stretch, but this afternoon he was pacing about the mound instead of setting and pitching right away.

Whatever problems he had early on, Sheets put the Astros on lock-down like a prison warden after a riot. He retired Houston in order in the fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth and seventh innings, Sheets found his payoff pitch curveball. He dropped the hammer on Hunter Pence in the sixth and Tejeda and Lance Berkman in the seventh. Sheets finished the afternoon with a season-high nine strikeouts, with six of those coming in his last four innings of work.

Some poor glove work by Fielder in the eight made the game interesting, setting up a two-run Mark Loretta home run, but the gap between the Brewers and Houston was restored in the ninth with super-sub Gabe Kapler solo shot and an RBI single from Ryan Braun.

Records: Brewers (35-31), Astros (33-34)

Hero of the Game: Corey Hart

I LOVE this guy. I wrote yesterday that his two home runs should silence any critics of a previously soft bat and another home run today, one that put the Crew on top and gave Sheets the breathing room he needed to get comfortable, should put those critics six feet under. Hart even managed to make improvements on his defense with a great foul ball catch in the I-can’t-remember-inning.

Another point I wanted to make is that Hart’s success with the long ball has been parallel to the Brewers success as a team in the home run category. The Crew launched 10 home runs in the Houston series, including nine in the last two games. Over the last 12 games the Brewers have put 25 ball into the stands.

Goat of the Game: Lance Berkman

Its nice to put Jerk-man in this spot after his performance from Friday night. Berkman was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against Ben Sheets, including the one in the seventh where he looked like a total chump going after Sheets’ dirt ball. Not to mention he playfully hugged Fielder when trying to run out the third strike in said dirt. No one touches Princey.

On Tap: Dave Bush (2-6, 5.85 ERA) hits the mound against Minnesota’s Kevin Slowley (2-6, 5.26 ERA) in the opener of the Brewers’ nine-game homestand against the Twins, Blue Jays, and Orioles.

By: Dan Wiersema

Round ‘em Up: Thursday

It’s getaway day in Houston, and the Brewers will have Ben Sheets on the mound.  If the Crew can pull one out today, it will be a .500 road series.  That would certainly be a moral victory for Milwaukee after their performances on the road lately.

Unfortunately, the Astros have a history of being a Sheets-killer in Houston.  Lance Berkman has had Benny’s number his whole career, and so has the lowly Brad Ausmus.  We’ll see how it goes today.  After calling the Brewers would pounce on Brandon Backe last night, I’m feeling lucky again today.  Ben Sheets is due to have a dominating outing.  He’s been good the last couple outings, yes, but not dominate.  I have a feeling Ben’s going to come out with his A-game today.

• J.J. Hardy tweaked his surgically-repaired left shoulder during last night’s game.  It has been an ongoing problem throughout the year for J.J., but he says he can play through it.  I wonder if another surgery will be in order this off-season…
• Some of the readers here at BrewersNation have been wondering why the Crew hasn’t been running more often.  Look for that to change with Corey Hart at the top of the batting order.  Corey is looking forward to running more often.  Ned Yost, however, says the law of averages will cause the same number of runners to be on base ahead of Corey in the leadoff spot as when he batted fifth.  Yes, Ned.  Those averages that say Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder get on-base much more often than say…the pitcher.  Goodness…
• In-Between Hops says its time for Milwaukee to make its move.  Alfonso Soriano is injured for Chicago.  Albert Pujols is injured in St. Louis.  The Crew is just about to start a 9-game homestand, while Chicago goes on the road.  The time is now, Scott says.
• The Brew Town Beat is pleasantly surprised after last night’s game.  Something that has been overlooked is Jason Kendall’s monster home run.  It was not a cheap shot, either.  It would have gotten out in almost any park.  The article says that Corey Hart should stay at the lead-off spot after Rickie Weeks returns from injury.  Corey is the best protection behind Prince Fielder that Milwaukee has.  He is a run-producer that just happens to be fast.  We’ll have to see, but I’m not sold on the idea.
• Between the Green Pillars writes about the Brewers starting to sign their draft picks.  It is reported that second-round pick RHP Seth Lintz will sign today with a $900,000 signing bonus.  That’s about $300,000 more than he’s slotted by Major League Baseball to receive.  I agree with the article when it says it’s nice to see the Brewers get their priorities straight and ante up the cash to get quality prospects in the system quickly.
• Alex Eisenberg from The Hardball Times breaks down the swings of some of the top position players chosen in the first round.  He says that he likes the swing of Brett Lawrie more and more every time he sees it.  Lawrie loads his hands beautifully, which generates a lot of raw power.  Alex gave Brett a B+.  That tied for the highest grade given to a prospect on the list.
• The Brewers plan on leaving Mat Gamel down in Double-A Huntsville throughout the year.  It is traditionally known as a pitcher’s league, but Gamel has absolutely dominated pitching this season.  The Brewers want to bring Gamel along slowly through the top echelons of the system.  I personally think its more because they want Gamel to work with manager Don Money on his defense more.  His throwing motion and his footwork has improved dramatically over the past year, and Don Money is a big part of that.  Doug Melvin and Gord Ash want to keep Gamel where he will flourish this season.  It will be interesting to see whether or not Gamel can make a run for a big league job in 2009.
• CF Lee Haydel is the fastest Brewer in the farm system, hands down.  The Charleston Daily Mail reports that Lee is working on harnessing his speed and learning the fine points of the game.  He needs to hit the ball on the ground more and let his speed work for him.  The skills are very raw, but remember…you can’t teach speed.

Post of the Day

Jacksonville.com has a great article on Mat Gamel.  I did not know this, but Mat was cut from his first Junior College team.  He was stuck behind a star in the Junior College ranks, and apparently thought about quitting baseball all together.  The article gives a nice behind-the-scenes look at what almost never happened for Mat.  He almost never stuck with baseball, and Brewers fans would be without Milwaukee’s best minor league prospect right now.  It’s funny how things work out for the best sometimes.

Power Propells Players

A few days ago a commentator on this blog wrote that he was concerned about right fielder Corey Hart’s lack of power so far this season.  Hopefully all of those concerns have been eliminated because it was the power bat of Hart that lead the Crew to a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros.

For as punchless as Milwaukee was last night, the opposite was true for the Crew against a far less capable Brandon Backe.  He tried to locate the same inside pitches that Roy Oswalt was throwing (with great success) the night before, but he was off all night.  The result was hit after hit for the Crew (12 in all) that found the 3rd base line or the stands.  The Brewers ended a five game losing streak at Houston’s “Juice Box.”

Hart, of course, wasn’t the only hero for the Brew Crew. His 3-for-5 night, with two home runs, a double, and four RBIs makes him our “hero,” but more on that later.  Manager Ned Yost’s line up moves, looking pretty poor in the opening game of the Houston series, played out with much more success.  JJ Hardy got on in the first inning with a double only to be replaced immediately by Ryan Braun with his RBI double.  It would set the tone for the evening.

Pitcher Manny Parra was looking strong through four innings before getting roughed up in the fifth, but his teammates bates were available to bail him out. After three consecutive wins and going deeper into the games, this start was a bit disappointing for Parra.  The bullpen was rested, though, and Carlos Villanueva and Mota (rebounding strongly from a rough Rockies game) proved to be solid. Mike Cameron, Russell Branyan, and Jason Kendall all provided timely home runs to create some breathing room for the Crew.

The trouble spot of the evening happened in the bottom of the fifth when shortstop Hardy appeared to re-injure his surgically repaired left shoulder and was replaced in the line up by Bill Hall.  Craig Counsell (the starter at second in Yost’s “soft platoon”) took over at SS and Hall fit in at second.

Despite this dark spot, Yost’s line up-shake up, in the absence of Rickie Weeks, proved to be very effective last night.  Hart was electric in the lead off spot and Branyan was equally up to the task of protecting Prince Fielder, although he hardly needed any protection after another tough evening.

Records:Brewers (34-31); Astros (33-33)

Hero of the Game: Corey Hart

In a night full of solid hitting, Hart was the brightest star.  The Brewers’ most consistent hitter was again amazing.  Despite his lack of power hitting, he has been just mashing the ball.  I was never concerned about the few homers as long as he kept on making solid and consistent contact with the ball.  Now the home run ball caught up with his base hit ball.  His only blemish was the missed diving catch late in the game. 

Goat of the Game: Prince Fielder

Fielder had an “oh-fer” game on Tuesday night and a 1-for-5 night yesterday.  As on Prince was just a week or so ago, he has slipped.  Prince has looked very comfortable at home, but shaky on the road and one might be able to connect the Brewers subsequent road woes to those struggles.  For the Crew to compete consistently on the road, Fielder has to be available too.  His defense has been pretty solid this year and his play last night as the cut off man cut another runner down on the bases (last night’s victim… Carlos Lee, whose out and prevented RBI was the difference for a while in a tight game).

On Tap: The Brewers will try and secure road series win with their ace on the mound.  Ben Sheets(6-1, 2.62 ERA) works against Brian Moelher (3-2, 3.76 ERA) in a matinee game with first pitch at 1:05 CT.

By: Dan Wiersema

Round ‘em Up: Tuesday

After a day off yesterday, the Brewers will look to continue their winning ways against the Houston Astros tonight. Let’s hope the Crew does not make a habit of getting swept in Houston. That would be less than desirable, I suppose. What’s in the news you ask? Don’t worry. I have you covered. There are articles that will most likely be up during the rest of the day, so I will add more to the bottom of the post if anything of interest is written.

• SportsBubbler analyzes the offensive problems through the past 99 games. Most of the article is fairly obvious, but there are a couple of points that stand out. Perhaps Prince Fielder is not the home run hitter fans believe him to be. The stats are interesting. Next, Corey Hart and his power-outage has definitely hurt the team. To me, he appears to be simply trying to get the bat on the ball and let his legs do the work. If he’s going to hit around .300, I have no problem with average power. Yes, he can do more, but I don’t want to sacrifice the average.
• How about a series preview for the Milwaukee-Houston three game set?
• Adam McCalvy has a mailbag up for Brewers.com. Sometimes I find reading an article written by someone that is paid by the MLB to be pointless. Do you really think Adam is telling the fans what he really thinks about things? He cannot criticize the team too much, as he would probably get in trouble from the team. That doesn’t seem to lend itself to honest journalism, does it?
• Right Field Bleachers has an interview with the Brewers’ 35th overall pick, LHP Evan Frederickson. The big left-hander can throw gas, but will he be able to find the strike zone on a consistent basis? The Brewers think he will be.
• Speaking of interviews, how about a video interview with CF Michael Brantley? He’s quietly tearing up Huntsville along with the other prospects down there. Perhaps not so quietly anymore. He’s getting a lot of love from BrewersNation.
• Dugout Central says that Rickie Weeks is an overrated prospect. That is false. He is not a prospect anymore. Rickie Weeks is a every day second baseman in the major leagues. One could argue that he is not producing like people thought he would, but he is not a failed or overrated prospect.
• The Hardball Times has a nice article about how fatigue effects a pitcher’s fastball. It turns out that the speed does not decrease very much throughout the start for most pitchers, Ben Sheets is a great example of that. The movement, however, is a different story. Fastballs get straighter and straighter later in the game, which is why pitchers are less effective. The story has some pretty graphs if you are a visual learner.

UPDATES 06-10-08

• (Hat tip to battlekow at Brew Crew Ball) OF Lorenzo Cain has been promoted to Nashville. It is interesting that he skips Huntsville, as Matt LaPorta or Cole Gillespie seem to be in line for promotions as well. Perhaps Milwaukee wants the core of prospects in Huntsville to learn how to win together, so they can translate that winning attitude to the big leagues. Familiarity and continuity definitely help.
• RHP Seth Lintz, the 53rd pick overall, will sign with the Milwaukee Brewers for $900,000. The high school pitcher dominated in Tennessee, but signability remained a concern. This is a great signing for the Brewers. Seth obviously needs plenty of seasoning down on the farm, but he’ll be a great asset in the minors.Here’s a list of other draftees that have signed:

  15th-round pick RHP Mark Willinsky.
  17th-round pick RHP Damon Krestalude.
  20th-round pick RHP Liam Ohlmann.
  24th-round pick LHP Brandon Ritchie.

• Now I know why I wait until around noon to do the Round ‘em Up.  I end up missing a lot of good articles that don’t come out until later in the day.  Minor League Ball has a nice little profile of OF Michael Brantley from Double-A Huntsville.  John says that Michael will need to improve his power to keep the pitchers honest if he wants to be an everyday, big league player.  I agree with that, but Michael is only 21-years old.  His power has already improved this year a bit, and he’s continuing to grow into his youthful body.  It still has plenty of room to grow some muscle.  His BB:K ratio is still amazing though.  I’d love him to be on the team for that fact alone.
• SportsBubbler gives away its Prospect of the Week award.  It goes to RHP Jeremy Jeffress.  I don’t understand how it cannot go to LHP David Welch.  The guy throws a no-hitter and follows it up with a one-run performance.  That’s player of the week caliber right there.  In fact, he’s the fourth player mentioned.  What does David have to do to get player of the week?  Throw two no-hitters?!

Parra Perfect, Bats Bash in Sweep

I’m working really hard on my alliteration so look out for more tongue-twisting headlines on the site. Moving on… the Brewers pulled out the brooms for the second consecutive home series and swept away the NL West leading Arizona Diamondback, 10-1. Manny Parra went seven innings (his longest outing of the season thus far) and the offense banged out 14 hits to cap what has been an amazing homestand for the Mil-town side.

Gabe Kapler started the game in centerfield and I can say that this was both a surprising move, yet totally appropriate. Mike Cameron, while solid defensively, has been a disaster at the plate. I saw the numbers before the game and he strikes out on average every 2.95 ABs (swear to God that it seems higher than that lately though). Manager Ned Yost, ever the loyal dog, usually sticks with his strugglers because he’s “not concerned with that,” but instead through us a welcome curve ball (which Cameron would have missed.. ha!) and put the ridiculously hot Kapler in the starting line-up.

Kapler started the scoring for the Brew Crew with a RBI double in the first and Parra would give up his only run in the third, but the scoring binge was reserved for the third and fourth innings when the Brewers smashed out nine hits and nine runs.

Corey Hart produced an in-the-park home run to score three (en route to a four RBI night)and Kapler was 4-for-5 (hit total tying a career high) on the evening. Parra was sharp as ever striking out eight, tying his career high. Oh, and Russell Branyan hit another homer run… big surprise there

Records: Brewers (32-28), Diamondbacks (32-28 )

Hero of the Game: Jim Skaalen

Let me paste the box score first, then I’ll comment.

Milwaukee	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Weeks, 2B	5	1	1	0	0	2	2	.209
Kapler, CF	5	2	4	1	0	0	0	.330
Braun, LF	4	2	2	2	1	0	2	.299
Fielder, 1B	3	2	1	1	1	2	2	.280
Hall, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.228
Hart, C, RF	4	1	2	4	0	0	2	.290
Branyan, 3B-1B	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	.321
Kendall, C	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	.244
Counsell, SS	4	0	1	0	0	2	2	.236
Parra, P	3	1	1	0	0	1	1	.208
a-Dillon, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286
Tavarez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Villanueva, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.143
Totals	36	10	14	10	2	8	11

If I were Skaalen I’d been pretty darn pleased with this. Every regular Brewer, with the exception of Jason Kendall dropped a hit on Arizona… even Parra got a double! This Brewers team has found something special recently, picking up 12 of their last 16 games winning five series and sweeping two since the disastrous Boston roadie.

Despite being near the top of the NL in strikeouts, looking like chumps at times to Randy Johnson last night, and registering 8 Ks this afternoon, the Brewers are benefiting from some awesome offensive production. Players like Hart and Ryan Braun have been on target for sometime, but Prince Fielder and JJ Hardy are now coming online. Add to the fact that guy like Kapler can pretty much produce automatically as a pinch hitter, sub fielder, or as a starting has to put a smile (or whatever he does) on Skaalen’s face.

Goat of the Game: Jason Kendall

Sorry, dude. You got the collar, you get the goat. Shhh…. I don’t want to hear anything about you getting that nice RBI sac fly to score Princey. Shhh… I don’t want to hear anything about your 42% caught-stealing percent. Shhh… no excuses that Cameron wasn’t in the line-up to strike out a lot and take the goat. It’s all yours tonight. Just don’t let it happen again.

On Tap: The Brewers hit ye ol’ dusty trail to Colorado where Ben Sheets (6-1, 2.71 ERA) will face off against the Rockies’ Ublado Jimenez (1-6. 5.37 ERA). Game time: 8.05 CT.

By: Dan Wiersema

Subs sparkle against ‘Stros

Fans at sold out Miller Park were a little disappointed when arriving at their seats in the ballpark.  Every person received a Ryan Braun bobblehead at today’s game, but the excitement may have faded away rather quickly after reading the starting lineup for Milwaukee.

After securing the series win last night, Ned Yost chose to give five starters a day off this afternoon.  Players that usually warm the bench during the week got to start together.  Russell Branyan, Mike Rivera, Craig Counsell, Joe Dillon, and Gabe Kapler got the start for the suddenly surging Brewers.  They did not disappoint the fans.

The excitement quickly returned to Miller Park after Houston starter Shawn Chacon got chased out of the game after only completing one inning.  The right-hander struck out Joe Dillon and Gabe Kapler to start the game.  Things got ugly for the Astros after that.

Chacon hit Ryan Braun and walked Prince Fielder.  Corey Hart then beat out a broken-bat single to short.  While Lance Berkman couldn’t believe Corey was called safe on the play (Corey should have been out, by the way), Braun never stopped running from second base and scored without a throw.  1-1 tie.

Russell Branyan coaxed another walk out of Chacon, and the bases were loaded for Mike Rivera.  The seldom-used backstop then got a fastball right on the wrist.  Trainers checked Rivera’s wrist as he walked to first base, and Prince Fielder walked across home plate.  2-1 Brewers.

Fans have been cooling on Craig Counsell for his lack of offense, but the veteran shortstop put it into another gear today.  Counsell took the first pitch he saw and roped it into the right field gap for a two-RBI double.  4-1 Brewers.

That first inning opened the floodgates for the Brewers offense.  In the fourth inning, the Crew put up six runs, and it easily could have been many more.  Ryan Braun, who hit a laser over the right field wall earlier in the inning, came up with the bases loaded and two outs.  He got a little overanxious at the plate and bounced an easy ground ball to Miguel Tejada at short.

Russell Branyan continued his fine play for the Brewers.  He clobbered a two-run home run to the opposite field in the fourth inning.  Getting on base has not been a problem for Russell since his call-up a week ago.  In today’s game, the third baseman homered and walked, while striking out once.  He did hit a laser-like line drive to center his final at-bat, but it was right at Michael Bourn.  The offense looked goooood today.

After pitching seven innings of two-run baseball in his last outing, Dave Bush looked for a little consistency on the mound.  He gave up a solo home run to Mark Loretta in the first inning, and things weren’t looking up for Bush early in the game.

The offense must have sparked a fire in Bush after the first inning, as he settled in nicely to pitch another seven innings of solid, one-run baseball.  Ned Yost had to have been pleased with Bush’s outing today.  We all know that the Brewers manager loves Bush’s “bulldog mentality” on the mound, but fans love it when that turns into production during games.  Dave is pounding the strike zone more often in his last two starts, and he’s utilizing his cut fastball more.  His curveball is not nearly as slow and loopy, but has developed into a sharper curve.  That mechanical adjustment has turned into better command of the pitch.

Break out the brooms, Brewers fans!  The Milwaukee Brewers successfully repaid the favor to the Houston Astros and swept the slumping ‘Stros.  This has turned into a fine homestand for the Crew.

I would also like to point out that the Brewers hitters looked extremely good at the plate tonight.  I don’t mean they pounded out 10 hits and scored 10 runs.  They played with much better plate discipline tonight.  Shawn Chacon threw 40 pitches in the first inning.  Jack Cassel followed with 26 pitches in the second inning.  Brewers hitters were battling back from 0-2 and 1-2 counts to get it to 3-2.  I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that the Brewers scored 10 runs through four innings when the Brewers were taking a lot of pitches.  The plate discipline was lost later in the game as players lost their focus a bit.  I hope that doesn’t translate to tomorrow’s game.

Records: Brewers (29-28 ); Astros (30-28 )

Hero of the Game: Milwaukee’s bench players

If you include Russell Branyan in this group, Milwaukee’s bench players went 8-19.  That’s a cool .500 batting average for this afternoon’s game.  The group also accounted for one home run and seven RBIs in the game.  It gets better.  They were hit by two pitches and drew four walks during the game.  Ned Yost couldn’t have drawn it up any better before the game.  A good team can be made a great team because of it’s bench.  The Brewers are not a great team, but they are playing like it at the moment.

Goat of the Game: Shawn Chacon

Shawn struck out the first two batters of the game.  He then hit Ryan Braun and absolutely imploded on the mound.  His final line: 1.0 IP, 2 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K and an error trying to pickoff Braun at first.  Chacon lost his composure on the mound, and the Brewers hitters capitalized in a big way.

On Tap

RHP Jeff Suppan will take on ex-Brewer LHP Doug Davis, as the Brewers welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to town tomorrow.  The first pitch will be at 7:05pm CT.  This series will be difficult for the Crew, as Arizona is a very fine baseball team.  The team cannot get comfortable after sweeping the Astros.  Momentum can turn very quickly in baseball.

Homers give Parra plenty of support against Astros

The Brewers remember all too well the drubbing they got the last time the team played the Houston Astros.  It marked the beginning of a 6-game losing streak on the road.  Manny Parra made sure it didn’t happen again.

The inconsistent lefty showed great stuff last night, regularly hitting 93-94mph on his fastball.  His four walks were a bit misleading, as his command was much sharper overall.  It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a pitcher.

Perhaps it was Houston’s Miguel Tejada that knocked some confidence into the young pitcher.  In the first inning, Miggy hit a laser-like line drive that hit Parra in the stomach.  Milwaukee stared another injury in the face, but Manny showed resiliency and pitched another five innings of one-run ball after the first.

The offense jumped on the opposing starter, Brandon Backe, early in the game.  Mike Cameron and Ryan Braun hit back-to-back jacks in the bottom of the first inning.  That was all the support the Brewers pitching staff needed to win the game.  It was a nice change for the Brewer faithful.  The team has not won too many games that weren’t nailbiters.

Speaking of Ryan Braun, he has been playing with an inner-ear infection.  Reports say that Ryan is experiencing dizziness and a lack of hearing in his right ear.  After a 4-4 performance last night, however, I think Ryan should keep that infection around for a while longer.  Just kidding, Ryan.  Get better soon!  Just keep the bat hot…

Carlos Villanueva looked superb in the bullpen again last night, going two strong, scoreless innings and striking out two Astros.  The young right-hander may have found a niche for himself in the bullpen.  Yost will have to make certain he doesn’t get worn down in August like he did last season.  Lessons learned, Ned…lessons learned…

The big fella accounted for the other home run Milwaukee hit during the game.  Prince Fielder hit an absolute laser beam over the right field wall for a two-run homer.  It was nice to see Prince get back in the home run column, but I would especially like to see him hit an opposite field home run sometime soon.  When Prince got on his power binges last season, he consistently took the ball the opposite way.  He hasn’t done that in 2008 yet.

Records: Brewers (27-28); Astros (30-26)

Hero of the Game: Manny Parra

This award could have gone to Ryan Braun quite easily, but the offense was unneeded today, as Manny gave Ned Yost and the Brewers a very strong outing tonight.  His pitch count was extremely reasonable tonight, which was a nice change for Manny.  He only had 87 pitches through six innings.  50 of those were strikes.  Last night’s outing gives Manny something to build upon.  His consistency needs to improve if the Brewers are going to make a run for the division in the coming months.  All signs point skyward for Manny, but he showed how quickly things can turn around last weekend in Washington.

Goat of the Game: Corey Hart

Sorry Corey.  You went 0-4.  Rickie Weeks went 0-3, but got hit by a pitch, stole a base, and scored a run.  Russell Branyan at least walked once.  You took the collar.  Get ‘em next time, kid.

On Tap

RHP Ben Sheets will face RHP Brian Moehler tomorrow night in Miller Park.  The Brewers look to secure a series victory against the Houston Astros.  The first pitch will go out at 6:05pm CT.

Brewers eke out a win in extra innings

Prince Fielder, Gabe Kapler, Carlos Villanueva, and Salomon Torres may have saved Ned Yost his job for the time being.  They were the instrumental players in the extra frames and led the Brewers to a victory over the Washington Nationals 4-3.

Prince served an opposite-field double over the head of Ryan Langerhans.  I wasn’t completely sure what happened next was the correct move, as Corey Hart sacrifice bunted Prince to third.  If he would have done this earlier in the count, it would have made plenty of sense.  A 3-1 count though?  You have to let the best clutch hitter on the Brewers do some damage there.

The move appeared to be the incorrect one, as big Russell Branyan struck out for the fourth time of the game to follow Corey.  Gabe Kapler picked up his teammates, however, and laced the first pitch he saw into center to score Prince.  Milwaukee had a chance to add to that one run lead, but Rickie Weeks grounded out to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Salomon Torres then came in and shut the door relatively easily on the Nats.  It was very nice to see a Brewers closer breeze through in inning.  Perhaps Ned has found someone he can trust at the back-end of the bullpen.  Torres sure looked good this afternoon.

I cannot tell you how impressed I was with Carlos Villanueva today.  After struggling in the rotation and getting flak from every Brewers fan and their mother, Carlos came into the game in the ninth inning and struck out the side to send the game into extras.  He then set the Nats down 1-2-3 again in the bottom of the 10th to prolong the game.  In that inning, the young man struck out the first two batters before getting Christian Guzman to ground out to Craig Counsell.  Carlos was sharp today.  Perhaps there is something to the closing idea that The Brew Town Beat has thrown out for the past couple weeks.

The Brewers were down early after Ben Sheets gave up a first inning home run to Christian Guzman on a hanging curveball.  Benny pitched fairly well today, going six innings and striking out six.  He could have gone more, as the Brewers’ ace only had 86 pitches.  The Brewers needed offense though, so Ned pulled Benny in the top of the seventh in favor of Joe Dillon.  Joe reached on an error.

Overall, this was a good win for the Brewers.  They split the series with the Nationals, and the team went 4-6 on the road trip.  After getting swept by the Boston Red Sox, I cannot complain.  I have no way of proving this, but my gut tells me that the Brewers saved Ned’s job today with this extra innings win.  Gord Ash, Doug Melvin, and Mark Attanasio were on hand today.  They were no doubt scouting the skipper to see how he handled himself.  So far, so good for Ned.

Records: Brewers (24-27); Nationals (22-30)

Hero of the Game: Gabe Kapler

Gabe saved the Brewers today with his RBI-single in the top of the 11th.  After sitting on the bench all day, he steps into the batters box and lines a first-pitch fastball into center to score Prince Fielder.  It turned out to be the winning run.  One of the most difficult aspects of baseball is being a pinch-hitter, and most batters take a pitch or two to get comfortable in the box.  Not Gabe.  Not today.  He manned up and roped one to center.  I’ll consider today’s win a Memorial Day present.

Goat of the Game: Russell Branyan

It’s tough to give Russell the Goat after being so excited about his being called up yesterday, but he definitely deserves the award.  After a very nice performance in yesterday’s game, Russell struck out four times tonight.  The big one came in the top of the eleventh, as he only needed a sacrifice fly to get Prince home.  Instead, Russell swung at the first three pitches and quickly got sent back to the dugout.  Rough outing for Branyan today.

On Tap

Milwaukee will head home tonight and start a tough homestand tomorrow against the Atlanta Braves.  The struggling Dave Bush will looked to straighten himself out against the veteran Tim Hudson.  The game will start at 6:05pm CT.

McClung is McSolid in D.C.

The hard-throwing Seth McClung certainly knows how to make a good first impression.

After fans (including myself) have been lamenting over his inability to throw strikes as a starter, Seth comes out this evening and pounded the strike zone for five very strong innings…with zero walks.  So much for my theory about his BB:K ratio.  Seth was taken out after the fifth and only 68 pitches (46 of which were strikes), presumably because Ned is still stretching Seth’s arm out.  No use in putting too much pressure on his arm this early in the season.

Offensively speaking, Corey Hart continued on his homer binge, socking his fifth home run of the season off John Lannan.  It was a very balanced attack tonight.  Every Brewer position player collected a hit, except for Ryan Braun.  The left fielder took the hat trick, striking out three times. 

Mike Cameron also had a strong game, going deep in the 8th inning.  He finished the game with 2 hits and scoring twice.  That is the player the Brewers paid for during the off-season.  I’ve said it many times before, but when Rickie Weeks and Cam are getting on base with regularity, Milwaukee’s offense is infinitely better.  Funny how that works out.

As Ned Yost promised, the closing duties tonight went to Salomon Torres.  It was interesting that Salomon threw almost exclusively fastballs tonight.  My guess is that he did not wish to make a mistake with a hanging off-speed pitch with a three-run cushion.  Even though Bill Hall forced Torres to get five outs instead of three, the former Pirate was able to retire the side yielding no damage.

Records:  Brewers (23-26); Nationals (21-29)

Hero of the Game:  Seth McClung

No, Seth didn’t pitch a complete game.  No, he didn’t pitch a scoreless five innings even.  What Seth did bring to the rotation was hope.  Brewers fans around the country are now hopeful that Seth McClung and his mysterious “mechanical adjustment” are the answers to the fifth spot in the rotation.  The big right-hander pounded the strike zone, which is a refreshing sign.  With his velocity and his nasty curveball, Seth does not need to work the corners so much.  He simply needs to throw strikes.  McClung’s solid outing this evening has caused me to get my hopes up for him this season.  Do not disappoint me, Seth.

Goat of the Game:  Bill Hall

Sure, Ryan Braun took the collar and struck out three times.  Billy had two errors in the ninth inning, however, and almost made the game too close for comfort.  I told you the Brewers cannot even win comfortably.  They need to make everything nerve-racking.  Even though Bill has shown the capability to make highlight plays at the hot corner, he is also showing the propensity to be incredibly error-prone.  His play is making Russell Branyan infinitely more appealing.

On Tap

Left-hander Manny Parra will battle Washington’s Tim Redding tomorrow afternoon to decide the series.  The game will start at 12:35pm CT.  

Bill Hall will be sitting out the game, so I don’t have to be mad at him so much tomorrow.  Seriously, two errors in the ninth?

Bush Gets Bashed, Pirates Avoid Sweep

Having secured the first road-series win against the Pirates since 2006 the brooms were out, but another rough outing by Dave Bush left the home team Bucs off the hook.  The embattled starter, switching spots with Jeff Suppan in the rotation, gave up six runs between the fourth and fifth innings to blow open a close game.  Final score: Pirates 8, Brewers 4.

Stranding runners was a huge problem for the Crew last night again as they left 14 runners on base.  Cory Hart had a solo shot in the fourth inning to give the Brewers a 1-0, but the lead was short lived as a flawless Bush imploded.

Pirates pitcher Tom Gorzelanny had a high pitch count early in the game, but the Brewers continued to get him out of jams as they couldn’t capitalize.

Bush had back-to-back massive collapses in the fourth and fifth innings, surrendering a two-run shot to Jason Bay and five total hits for four runs.  The fifth was just as bad at the hot-hitting Nate McLouth got his third hit of the evening (4-for-4 for the night), a throwing error by Prince Fielder, and a Xavier Nady solo homer scored runs for the Bucs.

The Brewers comeback came short as Gabe Kapler scored Bill Hall on a RBI pinch-hit single in the sixth and Joe Dillon also scored JJ Hardy on a pitch-hit RBI single in the seventh. Rickie Weeks hit another homer to save face for the Brewers in the eight.  More stranded runners in both theses innings were bad news for the Brew Crew.

The game was pushed out of reach by a seventh in two run tally by the Pirates against Brewer’s reliever Zach Johnson whose bad seventh was softened by a 1-2-3 eighth.

Records: Brewers (22-25), Pirates (22-25)

Hero of the Game: Dave Bush, Innings 1 through 3

Bush was lights out for the first three innings giving up only one hit and retiring eight straight after giving up that hit.  The defense backed him up solidly, too.  Bush sprayed a variety of ground outs and flyouts to his teammates providing effective cover for a struggling offense in the final game of the series. Like a abused wife in a Lifetime Channel movie I was thinking this time would be different, but…

Goat of the Game:  Dave Bush, Innings 4 and 5

He just never fails to disappoint.  Just when all was well in the world, Bush drops a bomb on us.  These two innings were a disaster.  Whatever Bush has early in games he certainly throws it all away later in games.  The pitches that were outs innings 1 through 3 were dropping for hits all over the field.  I can’t say right now, but Villanueva versus Bush is like choosing between the lesser of two evils because Bush has now given up 10 homers compared to V-Dub’s 12.

On Tap:  Jeff Suppan (2-3) opens the series against the Washington National’s Odalis Perez (1-4) in DC.  The Brewers hope to win the road series against the struggling Nats in order to save face on this troublesome road trip and start next week’s home stand on the right foot (ha! stand! foot! hilarious!).  First pitch: 6:05pm.

By: Dan Wiersema

Big Ben goes the distance

I was a little worried coming into tonight’s game.  Eric Gagne was on his way to Milwaukee to get tests done on his right shoulder, so he was unavailable tonight.  The bullpen lost another arm as well because Seth McClung is scheduled to start on Saturday.  Carlos Villanueva technically was available tonight, but I don’t think Ned Yost had any plans to use him.  Needless to say, the Brewers’ ace, Ben Sheets, needed to eat up some innings tonight to save the depleted bullpen.

Brewers fans got more than they hoped for tonight.  Ben Sheets pitched a complete game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, scattering 11 hits over the nine innings and only allowing one run.  The one run came on a Xavier Nady solo home run in the fourth inning.

Ben may not have had his best stuff tonight, but he was more than effective.  He struck out five batters in the first four innings, but only retired one more Pirate on strikes through the next five.  The pitch count was a little high, but those 123 pitches are a little less concerning in the cooler weather.  Pirates hitters jumped on Ben’s first pitch fastballs all night, and they pounded out 11 hits.  It all came for naught, however, as Ben consistently worked out of jams and got the Pirates hitters to pop out numerous times.

The offense may be coming together.  The Crew may have only put four runs on the board, but hitters consistently hit the ball hard and still matched the Pittsburgh hit total with eleven.  Ryan Braun and Corey Hart continue to see the ball very well.  Ryan hit a two-strike pitch from Ian Snell to the deepest part of the ballpark and got an RBI-triple.  Corey followed up Ryan’s triple with a two-strike, two-out bloop single.  It may not have been pretty, but the 6′6″ right fielder kept the bat in the hitting zone and put the bat on the ball.  He protected with two strikes.  That’s all a hitter can do.

Folks, Rickie Weeks has officially arrived as a fully-functioning lead-off hitter.  In the past four games, the second baseman is hitting .412 with 3 RBI, a home run, and 5 runs scored.  It is no coincidence that the offense has been producing much more when Rickie hits well.  Rickie even flashed a little leather in tonight’s game, snagging a tough chopper on a bad bounce.  I cannot say enough about how well Rickie is playing right now.  He is an exciting player when he sees the ball well.

The Brewers clinched the series tonight.  That means that Milwaukee just won a series in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2006.  Chew on that bit of knowledge.

Records: Brewers (22-24); Pirates (21-25)

Hero of the Game: Ben Sheets

What can you say about a guy that goes out on the mound and gives a struggling team a complete game when the bullpen was shorthanded?  He’s a bona fide ace in every sense of the word, even if he is a little injury prone.  I’m not sure how many change-ups he threw for the entire game, but he began to work in the change a bit in the ninth inning.  That pitch could be huge in saving his arm down the stretch of the season.  Benny mixed in a solid curveball today with a pretty good fastball.  The Pirates don’t get cheated up there at the plate.  They pounded out 11 hits today, but Benny was able to limit the damage to one run.  I tip my cap to you tonight, Ben.  You proved to all the Brewers fans around the country tonight that you are the ace of the staff, whether or not Yovani Gallardo is healthy.  Well done.

Goat of the Game: Craig Counsell

I’m not completely sure there was a true goat of the game tonight, but Craig was the only Brewer to take the collar tonight.  Even Ben Sheets had a hit tonight.  Craig did not play a bad game.  He’s just the only one to give the goat to tonight.

On Tap

Dave Bush will swap spots in the rotation with Jeff Suppan for tomorrow evening’s game.  Bush will take on lefty Tom Gorzelanny in the third game of the series.  The Brewers will go for the sweep tomorrow night at 6:05pm CT.

Bats continue to tease in Brewers win

UPDATE 05-20-08 11:55pm - I didn’t report on Eric Gagne leaving the game with the trainer, as no one seems to be worried about it.  More information is in, however.

Gagne is complaining of “stiffness” in his shoulder.  It is not pain.  It is not tightness.  It is stiffness, I guess.  I’m not sure if this is a cop-out on his part, or there is really something wrong.  I will know more tomorrow, and I, of course, will pass it your way.

——————————————————————————-

After pounding out 14 hits and scoring 7 runs, the Milwaukee Brewers look to be on the verge of breaking out of its offensive slump. This is one of the few games where multiple hitters put together good games. Let me show you:

Weeks – 2-4
Cameron – 3-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, BB
Braun – 2-5, RBI
Hart – 2-5, HR (3), RBI
Hardy – 2-4, BB
Hall – 2-3, 2B, RBI
Kendal – 1-4, RBI

Prince Fielder is the only Brewer to not record a hit today.

The most encouraging aspect of tonight’s game had to be the work of Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron at the top of the order. When they are getting on base with consistency, the offense is completely different. Pitchers have to pitch Ryan Braun and Fielder differently. The middle of the lineup is like a firecracker waiting to go off and scatter hits in twenty different directions.

I’m not ready to declare the offense back on track tonight. Notice the “tease” in the title. The Crew needs to do a little more than string two games of solid offense together first. The offense has to put hits together on someone other than a left-handed pitcher who had a 5.02 ERA last season. They need to not squander runs on the basepaths. I realize I am being a little harsh and nitpicky, but I can definitely see the team reverting back to its sluggish ways tomorrow.

With that said, Bill Hall and JJ Hardy are looking better. Billy is shooting the ball up the middle (granted it was against a lefty) and drawing walks. Hardy is driving the ball a little more. It is certainly nice to see Corey Hart get the power back in his bat. He has hit two home runs in the past three games, and the opposite field power he flashed today proves he’s seeing the ball better.

Anyway, enough about the offense. I just haven’t had the opportunity to write good things about that subject lately. On to the pitching. Manny Parra pitched decently today. He almost got a quality start again for the Crew, but his pitch-count was far too high early in the game. The lefty only had one walk in his five and two-thirds innings, but he did not pound the strike zone. Again, that is simply getting picky in a well-pitched game by Manny.

Seth McClung, who will be in the starting rotation starting Saturday, relieved Manny and got out of a two-on, two-out jam. He then quickly dispatched of the Pirates in the seventh, sitting them down one-two-three. I’m not totally convinced Seth can flourish as a starter, but I am willing to give him a try. It is intriguing at least. He will need to develop a third pitch more consistently if he is going to succeed in the second or third time in the order. The announcers are claiming he’s working on a change-up, but that is still up in the air.

The success of Eric Gagne, on the other hand, is not up in the air. The closer came into the game in the ninth inning to get some work and looked utterly awful. The control was not there, he gave up a home run to Jason Bay, and he made another pitcher work in a blowout. I will not get too upset, as I am busy enjoying this win, but I am clearly not happy about it.

Records: Brewers (21-24); Pirates (21-24)

Hero of the Game: Corey Hart

As Dan pointed out today, Corey has been the most consistent Brewer in the lineup this season. People have been concerned with his lack of power, but his power stroke has been heating up the past few days. He socked another homer this evening, taking former Brewers-prospect Marino Salas to right with authority. Corey went 2-5 and is batting .303. Solid, solid, solid.

I considered Mike Cameron for the hero, but his baserunning gaffs were too much to overcome. You cannot get doubled off on a line drive to the right fielder. The caught stealing was not his fault, but it certainly killed the momentum the Brewers had in the fifth inning. Still, the Brewers would obviously benefit greatly if Cam got the stick working.

Goat of the Game: Eric Gagne

Really Eric? You felt it necessary to come in during the ninth inning and try to ruin the happiness that ran through me during the game? That is just cruel. He fell behind hitters. His fastball lacked the pop we have seen in the past couple weeks. It could just be because he has not pitched in a while. Either way, I am annoyed.

On Tap

Ben Sheets will face Ian Snell as the Brewers attempt to clinch the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road. The contest will start at 6:05pm CT. It should be a good one if you like pitching.

Ten Optimistic Things To Think About

It’s been a couple rough weeks for Brewers Nation (not this site, the fans) with the double sweep in Houston and Florida, the surprising losses at home against the Dodgers, and another sweep in Boston. Trolling through the comments section on sites around the web, one would think that its time to start propping ourselves on the ledge of the US Bank Building in Milwaukee and strongly consider jumping.

As Jim wrote, it’s no fun heading into Pittsburgh looking up at the Pirates in the standings. Being what it is us Brewers’ fans need some lifting up, and I thought I’d put together a post to life the spirits of the Brewers faithful. No calling for Yost’s head or Week’s bat here. The following is ten reasons to still be optimistic about your 2008 Milwaukee Brewers.

* This is not the 2004 Brewers

Granted the Brewers are sitting in last place for the first time since 2004, but this team is certainly not those Brewers. In 2004, the only reliable pitcher on the staff was Ben Sheets and of course he got injured again. Lyle Overbay starred for the offense. These 2008 Brewers are more experienced and talented that the former squad that had a decent season through the All-Star break and then suffered a terrible collapse to finish 67-94.

Of course I could make the comparison that this Brewers squad is not one of many other terrible Brewers teams, but that’s not the point. The point is that rather than looking at the 2004 season as the beginning of something positive we should be looking at the 2008 season as a continuation of the franchise’s growth. Many expected 2008 to be the breakout season for the Brew Crew, but that may or may not be the case.

Either way, compared to four years ago, this year’s team in infinitely more talented. They will not rely on single players to carry the team. People like Jeff Suppan in the rotation and other young (and improving pitchers) will back up Sheets and while Overbay is gone, there are no solo stars on this year’s team. A Prince Fielder is not alone or a Ryan Braun is not alone or a Corey Hart is not alone. The fact that I listed three players (any could more) shows that this offense is not alone in talent like teams of old.

* Its only ¼ way through the season

I’m a teacher so there are not many students that I give up on after just one quarter of the school year. One of the best things that the Brewers have going for them that, at this point, the season is still young. After about 40 games in we are certainly not the perfect position, but certainly not in the worst position either.

Anyone that was also a fan last year knows that strong or weak starts to the season have little bearing on the end result of a season. The Cubs played absolutely wonderful post All-Star break and the Colorado Rockies played out of their minds to close the 2007 season. With almost 120 games to play and any number of combinations of risings and fallings of the various NL Central teams, this Brewers team is by no means finished. The squad has all of the tools to be competitive. The only thing needed is consistency.

* Corey Hart

Speaking of consistency I hear that Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart is legally changing his name to Corey Consistency. Mr. Consistency has been that and more for the Brewers. If 2008 was supposed to by Rickie Weeks’ breakout season, Hart may have stolen his thunder. Currently batting nearly .300 and getting extra-base hits like they’re going out of style, Corey has been the rock in the Brew Crew’s line up of struggling hitters.

* Braun is on a tear (no sophomore slump)

If you asked me earlier in the season if I was worried that Braun was being crushed under the weight of expectations for his second Major League Season you may have gotten a “yes” out of me, but after a slow start the $45 million dollar man has shown that he will probably avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. His batting average is soaring in the three-hole of the lineup and he is making big time pitchers look like chumps. At this pace he could add a MVP trophy next to the Rookie of the Year one.

* Melvin is on the case

Which is why it’s so important that Doug Melvin nailed Braun down to that eight-year, $45 million contract. Some Brewers fans are concerned that his off-season bullpen moves are not ironing out, but no one can doubt that this GM is trying to establish long-term success while balancing short-term expectations. The Mike Cameron move showed that right now we want success, but Melvin is clearly trying to establish success alongside development with Braun the future of left and possible Hart, Gwynn (although unlikely) and LaPorta being groomed for the outfield.

Melvin is working on signing such players as JJ Hardy, Prince Fielder, and Hart to long-term deals and getting vocal people like Braun to sign first and encourage others to follow suit is the right steps to take.

* Attanasio has got the big bucks and a small ego

All of which wouldn’t be possible except for the support and checkbook of Daddy Warbucks, Mark Attanasio. Time and time again Mr. Attanasio has not only spoken of building a long-term contender, but he has put his money where his mouth is. He has even made comments that said, if need be, he would shell out some money to strengthen the rotation this year.

Attanasio bought the Milwaukee Brewers not just so he could have a play-thing, but because he saw potential in the massive amount of talent the Brewers have and its incredible fanbase. This is not a Steinbrenner owner with fingerprints all over the management decisions. Attanasio is active without being overbearing.

* The young arms will improve

Pitchers like Carlos Villanueva and Manny Parra take a lot of flack because they don’t hold up quite so well the third time through the order, but often times that blurs the fact that these pitchers (along with the injured Gallardo) have great stuff. Part of being a young pitcher is that there is a massive learning curve and just like Fielder has to adjust to not being pitched inside as much these young pitchers are talented and smart enough to recognize that they must (and will) improve to become more dominant as the season goes on.

It’s easier for offenses to focus their lenses on these pitchers because they are studying one player, but our guys have to study countless batters for each game and re-work their pitch selection and delivery to go deeper into games. They will.

* Kendall is not Estrada

So it’s important that a man like Jason Kendall is behind the plate instead of Johnny Estrada. Kendall brings much more talent offensively and defensively than the embattled 2007 catcher Estrada. A hot beginning of 2008 and some great clutch hitting thus far has made Kendall’s 9-hole batting an essential part of many Brewers offensive outbursts. Offensively, Kendall is sniffing around .300 as a career hitter, walks a lot, and strikes out few and far in between. A far cry from the painful hitting of Estrada (who I swear to God only got hits with 2 out and no one on). After playing runner-up to Estrada as the worst defensive catcher in baseball last year, the 12-year veteran has pushed his caught stealing percentage is above 30 percent.

Even more important than the offense/defense numbers is that an experienced catcher that molds well with his pitching staff. This is why I worry less about our young pitchers, because Kendall knows how to call a

game and given his work ethic he will only work harder to improve these kids.

* The defense is stronger

Of course I started writing this part before the six errors in Boston, but I’ve made the point in a previous column that the defense is far and away better than it was last season. Numbers show that they are near the bottom in errors and tops in fielding percentage. Moving Braun away from the hot corner and signing Mike Cameron have been well-documented. Are they perfect? Hell no. But improvement is always a step in the right direction. The point above about Kendall is just one more area of less concern with the 2008 Brewers.

* There’s always next year

This one isn’t so much about the 2008 season (obviously, because I’m saying next year…), but Brewers’ fans need to keep everything in perspective. Expectations were and continue to be massively high for this season. Those expectations may cost someone who shall remain nameless his job and maybe even result in a few Brewers finding new homes, but most sane people realize that harnessing young talent is an on-going process. Melvin and the ownership are working on securing these young lads for the long-term, but not everything works out as quickly as the fan base expects.

Whether or not this season is a wash doesn’t mean all is lost. These are not the Florida Marlins which, in the past, have assembled one year teams and then dissembled them. Teams like the Brewers are being built for the long-term. It has been 26 years since the Brewers have sniffed the post-season so as much as it pains me each year to say it… there’s always next year if this one doesn’t work out.

By: Dan Wiersema

Sheets shelled in seventh

Ben Sheets was the model of efficiency through six innings. The Brewers ace had his best stuff, keeping the ball down and pitching to contact to keep his pitch count low. He was locked in a scoreless dual with Dodgers starter, Chad Billingsley.

Then came the seventh inning. Andruw Jones clobbered a shoulder-high fastball out of the park, and Jeff Kent followed by depositing a belt-high curveball over the fence. The Dodgers then added insult to injury when the relatively powerless catcher, Greg Bennett, hit a three-run bomb on another belt-high curveball. Why did Sheets struggle? His pitches were belt-high. Big league hitters will not miss those.

The offense reverted back to its listless ways today. Ryan Braun hit a home run in the eighth inning, but the Crew only managed two hits prior to the seventh inning. One of those was by Ben Sheets. It’s not a positive situation when Benny is providing half of your offense. Something needs to be done with this offense. I’ll think about stuff and write an article this weekend.

Records: Brewers (20-21); Dodgers (21-19)

Hero of the Game: Brian Shouse

This is only because he prevented the game from becoming a laugher in the ninth inning, cleaning up Mitch Stetter’s mess. Stetter walked the bases loaded. Shouse got out of it unscathed, however.

Goat of the Game: Ben Sheets

I feel bad giving Ben the goat because he pitched a great game until the seventh inning. Still, there is a reason the game is nine innings long. I am willing to look past this game as an aberration. Sheets had good command until the seventh, walking no one. Perhaps he got a little fatigued later in the game and started to get the ball up. Yes, I’m grasping for straws here. There is no way he was tired…his pitch count was under 80 pitches to start the seventh. I don’t know what happened.

Links

Because I missed the Round ‘em Up for the day, I decided to include some links here. To all that were concerned about tomorrow’s NL Central Review, there will be one tomorrow…don’t worry.

• David Riske got placed on the 15-day DL today with a hyper-extended right elbow. Tom Haudricourt also says that there is a bone chip or a bone spur that may need to be cleaned out. David will be out for a while.
• Right-hander Mark DiFelice has been called up to fill Riske’s spot in the ‘pen. DiFelice started for Triple-A Nashville and was 3-0 with a 3.91 ERA. He had only one walk in 23 innings and struck out 28 strikeouts. How’s that for a BB:K ratio?!
• ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark is reporting that the Brewers made a major push for Julian Tavarez this week. After Boston released him this week, I thought the Brewers may make a play for him. I just didn’t realize it would be considered a major play. The Brewers would rather keep Jeff Weaver in the mix and pay him less anyway.
• Between the Green Pillars wonders whether or not Carlos Villanueva should be moved to the bullpen. I understand the logic, and it could be interesting. In fact, I believe they might do that once June approaches. They will want to get Jeff Weaver up in the big leagues before they lose him because of the opt-out in his contract.
• Is it time to move Rickie Weeks down in the order? No. He may not be hitting much, but he does get on base. When he does get on base, he scores. Plus, who else do you want to put at the lead-off spot? Mike Cameron? Yesterday should show you how that would work out…and please do not tell me Corey Hart. He is the only protection that Prince Fielder has right now.

Two more for Braun in Brewers win

Ryan Braun told anyone who would listen in Houston that he was on the verge of getting on a major hot streak.  He sounded like a player who hoped to get on a hot streak more than anything.

It turns out that Ryan did not lie.  Braun hit two more solo home runs today off of Cardinals starter, Adam Wainwright.  Both were shots to left field, and he set the pace for a balanced Brewers offensive attack.  How often have I gotten to type that this season?  Not very…

The Crew got its third straight quality start, as right-hander Dave Bush went six strong innings.  The struggling Bush got his first win of the season, only giving up one run and striking out one.  In the first inning, it was clear that Bushie had his good stuff.  Normally hitting 87-88mph on the gun, Dave came out firing fastballs in the 90-92mph range.  He gave up a home run to Rick Ankiel on a hanging curveball in the top of the first inning, but Bush shut the Cards down after that.

I was slightly surprised to see Dave pulled after only six innings.  His pitch count was at a manageable 92 pitches.  Ned Yost must have wanted Bush to feel good about his outing, so he pulled him before anything bad could have happened.  That, and Ned saw a prime opportunity to get Eric Gagne some work in a pressure-free situation.

Eric did get in two innings of work, but it did not go as well as planned.  His command still alluded him with his fastball and change-up…basically all his pitches.  He induced a double play to get out of the seventh unscathed, but he gave up a run in the eighth after Skip Schumaker laced a single to right that scored Cesar Izturis.  Eric may need a little more work than previously thought before regaining the closer role.

Mitch Stetter entered the game in the ninth inning and made it interesting.  Mitch walked four out of the six batters he faced, and he left the contest with the bases loaded.  Ned Yost then called upon Guillermo Mota to finish off the game.  It worked out, as Guillermo struck out Ankiel to end the game.

The Brewers broke it open in the third inning.  Corey Hart delivered a two-RBI single with two outs, and two more scored when Bill Hall reached on an error.  Billy later homered off Wainwright for his eighth long ball of the season.

Records: Brewers (19-19); Cardinals (23-17)

Hero of the Game: Ryan Braun

What can you say about a player that had back-to-back multiple home run games?  He’s obviously found a comfort zone at the plate.  Ryan even took a walk in the game.  That is only his seventh free pass of the season.  All Brewers fans would like to see that number climb, especially in front of Prince Fielder.  Ryan finished the day two for three, even though he looked to be safe on his final at-bat.  His batting average is now .288.  Last year’s Rookie of the Year has finally found his stroke at the plate.  It is fun to watch him hit the ball when he’s on a tear like this.

Goat of the Game: Prince Fielder

You will not see this name here very often this year.  Prince had a game to forget this evening.  He struck out with the bases loaded in the third inning.  That could have potentially killed the Crew, but Corey Hart picked up his teammate with that two-out single to score two runs.  Prince looks utterly lost at the plate right now.  He’s trying to hit a home run on every pitch, and he’s trying to pull every ball he sees.  The big guy needs to slow down a bit at the plate and take a couple pitches the other way.  Home runs will come in bunches for Prince.  The Brewers simply need a few base hits from him now.

On Tap

Carlos Villanueva and the Milwaukee Brewers will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to Miller Park tomorrow.  Villy will look to give the Crew its fourth straight quality start.  He will take on the hard-throwing Brad Penny in Game 1 at 7:05pm CT.

Looking towards the future

After the Houston series, I began to think about how the Brewers will look a few seasons down the road.  How many years do we have before our core hits free agency?  Interestingly enough, a post on Brew Crew Ball offered a look at this same topic.  I’ll add a couple different things though.  I wrote this article a little off the cuff, so I may have forgotten a couple of prospects or different scenarios.  It will, however, be a good little summary of what the Brewers have in the foreseeable future.

• J.J. Hardy – arbitration eligible 2008-2010, FA in 2011
  

• Prince Fielder – arbitration eligible 2009-2011, FA in 2012

• Corey Hart – arbitration eligible 2009-2011, FA in 2012
  

• Rickie Weeks – arbitration eligible 2009-2011, FA in 2012

• Bill Hall – signed through 2010 w/ club option for 2011, FA in 2012

• Ryan Braun - arbitration eligible 2011-2014, FA in 2015
  

• Yovani Gallardo – arbitration eligible 2011-2014 (I believe), FA in 2015

• Carlos Villanueva – arbitration eligible 2010-2013, FA in 2014

As roguejim points out on BCB, it appears that 2012 will be the season where the core of the 2008 Brewers will walk.  What will the Brewers do?  What should they do?

First of all, if the Brewers want to have any hope of building a perennial winner, the organization cannot hand out big contracts that will handcuff the team for years to come.  Jeff Suppan got one of those deals.  It is not team friendly.  The Brewers cannot make a habit of signing players to long-term deals.

This is why I am wary of giving players like Ben Sheets and Prince Fielder long-term contracts.  People are being incredibly short-sighted with Sheets.  I understand he is a bona fide ace when in the rotation, but that is never a certainty.  Someone like Soup is making $10M per year.  You can only imagine what Sheeter would cost the Brewers.  They cannot set aside that type of money to an unknown entity.  Yovani Gallardo will be around to take up the ace position in the rotation, so Brewers fans should not fret too much.  Jeremy Jeffress is an intriguing arm in the farm system that could make a large impact in the rotation in just a couple of years.  Zach Braddock is more of a long-term project, but his arm is one to watch.  He’s a lefty that could step into the rotation in three or four years.  The Brewers also have a boatload of picks in the first three rounds of this seasons draft.  Jack Z will most likely draft a couple of college arms that can rise quickly through the system.  Ben Sheets will certainly be missed, but the Brewers cannot afford that price tag.

How about Prince Fielder?  Surely there is no one in the farm system that can replace that beast.  I will grant that point.  Prince is a special player, and a leader in the clubhouse.  If anyone would be worth a long-term deal, it would be Prince.  That is, if we were someone like the Chicago Cubs or the Atlanta Braves, he would be worth that type of contract.  The Brewers are a team that needs to build its core from within, and players like Prince Fielder allow Doug Melvin and Jack Z to develop a deep farm system.  When 2011 comes around, Prince can bring in four or five elite prospects and major league ready players.  Look at what Seattle gave up for Erik Bedard.  Do you really think the price of an elite player will dwindle by 2011?  The price may actually get steeper.  Prince will demand somewhere around $15-17M per year, and the Brewers can definitely not afford that contract.  The Brewers must get prospects for Prince.  They must replenish the system when they have the chance, especially when you have a player like Mat Gamel or Matt LaPorta that can step in to fill the void.  I’m sorry Brewers fans, but Prince will have to go.

J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall will be the first players that will give Milwaukee a difficult and delicate situation do deal with.  Hall looks to have found a home at third base, but his average leaves a lot to be desired.  Is he worth that $9.5M in 2011?  Is he worth the money when players like Mat Gamel and Taylor Green will be waiting in the wings by 2011?  If Bill can raise his average, the answer is a resounding yes.  That is a big if, however.  The Brewers organization may even look to trade Hall if Gamel can improve his defense at the hot corner.

J.J. Hardy, on the other hand, presents a much more difficult decision.  He is an absolute fan favorite, especially amongst the crowd that has two X-chromosomes.  Hardy is a fantastic defensive player, even if his range is a little limited.  His throws are right on the money consistently.  Fans never have to hold their collective breath when he fires the ball to first.  Besides his offensive explosion last year, however, Hardy has not proven that he can cut it offensively at short.  He is a dead pull-hitter, and prolonged slumps are not foreign to J.J.  Alcides Escobar will also make this decision more difficult.  His defense is better than J.J.’s, but he has much less power.  Melvin and the Brewers organization love Escobar at short, so his big league career is all but a foregone conclusion.  If I had to make a decision, I would trade J.J. when he is in the midst of a hot streak at the plate.  It would not be a popular move, but teams would give up a lot to get a young shortstop like Hardy.  Alcides is perhaps a year away from the big leagues, and Abraham Nunez or Craig Counsell could provide a stop-gap until then.  Hardy is the most expendable amongst all these players, and Melvin would be wise to make a move with Hardy before his stock goes too far down because of his lack of offense.

Rickie Weeks will ride out his time in Milwaukee.  I have no idea how his tenure will end, as he has the talent to be an All-Star second baseman.  He has not been able to turn that talent into consistent success at the big league level, however.  The Brewers have no one on the horizon that can play second base exceptionally well.  Callix Crabbe appeared to be promising, but the Brewers lost him to San Diego in the Rule 5 draft this season.  The farm system does have Michael Bell, who is a power-hitting second baseman that reminds me of Dan Uggla.  He strikes out too much and needs to improve his defense, but he can hit the long ball.  Eric Farris will be interesting this year though in his first season of professional baseball.  He could be someone to watch as a potential successor to Weeks at second.  Until then, the Brewers will deal with the ups-and-downs associated with Rickie Weeks until he becomes a free agent in 2012.

The outfield appears to be a strength for the upcoming years for the Milwaukee Brewers.  Corey Hart and Ryan Braun are not going anywhere anytime soon, and they are both excellent candidates for a long-term contract that would buy out their arbitration years.  I would not advise locking these players up to a long-term contract, but it could work out in the team’s favor with Ryan if they can get him locked up in the upcoming months.  At that point, Ryan would be more apt to take a pay-cut down the road in favor of getting paid more in the coming years.  The team could then buy out one of his free agency years.  Corey Hart could also be a candidate for this type of deal, but he is a little too close to his arbitration years to work out in the team’s favor.  Plus, the Brewers farm system is chock full of solid outfield prospects.  Matt LaPorta is the obvious candidate for an outfield gig, but so is Tony Gwynn Jr. Further down in the system, Hernan Iribarren made an impressive debut for the Crew last month.  He is a scrappy hitter that could make a run at a big league job next season.  Caleb Gindl and Lorenzo Cain are also intriguing prospects that could be elite players in a couple years.  In short, there are plenty of options for the Brewers in the outfield.

Now on to the pitching.  Yovani Gallardo, Carlos Villanueva, and Manny Parra will be with the team for the foreseeable future, but only Yo has proven to be a solid major league pitcher.  Parra and Villanueva certainly have the stuff and the make-up of a good major leaguer, but they have not proven it yet.  The farm system is a little concerning when it comes to pitching though.  Jeremy Jeffress and Zach Braddock are good arms in the farm system, as I said earlier, but they are a couple years away.  Zach Jackson has proven to be a bust thus far.  I do not see him in a big league uniform in Milwaukee, unfortunately for him.  He is a lefty, so Milwaukee will give him a chance though.  A pitcher to watch is Steve Hammond in Double-A Huntsville.  His strikeout rate has skyrocketed this season, and success has followed closely.  He has a developed arm, as he is 25, so the Brewers could push him up the ladder in the next year or so.

There are a couple of relievers in the farm system that could make some noise in Milwaukee in the coming years.  Both Omar Aguilar and Luis Pena are flame-throwing pitchers that are rising up the system.  Pena may get called up this season, and Aguilar could see Double-A in the coming months if his success continues.  A prospect who is more of a sleeper is Tim Dillard.  He has recently moved to the bullpen, and he has found success in Nashville.  He is a durable reliever that has good stuff.  Tim could become a reliever in the mold of Salomon Torres, someone who is durable and effective.

Besides those prospects, there is not too much on the horizon for Milwaukee concerning pitching.  That is one reason why trading J.J. Hardy could be such a beneficial option.  It could bring back a proven starter, while still securing a couple top prospects.  Milwaukee’s organization and Brewers fans cannot be shortsighted and try to win now and mortgage the future.  If they play their cards right, they have a chance to be a small-market team, yet compete for years to come.  They may just need to follow the mold of Oakland’s Billy Beane and make a couple of unpopular moves to secure success in the future.  The Brewers have the personnel to make such a franchise, they just need to put the plan into motion.

Home runs bury Brewers

Games like this are difficult to deal with. Everything looked great going into the fifth inning. Carlos Villanueva threw the ball beautifully to start the game, mixing speeds and striking out Astro batters. The Crew hitters jumped on Roy Oswalt early to take a 4-0 lead. I was incredibly happy at that point.

Even after the fifth inning, everything looked to be okay. Carlos did not allow a base-runner for 3 2/3 innings, but Hunter Pence ended Carlos’ shutout with a two-run bomb in the bottom of the fifth. The Crew entered the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead.

Then the proverbial sh…stuff hit the fan. Villanueva gave up back-to-back-to-back shots to Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, and Carlos Lee. Hunter Pence added his second home run of the game later in the 8th inning off David Riske. That’s a lot of home runs in the second half of the game. It’s tough to handle.

There is some good news in the carnage, however. The big boppers, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, look to be getting hot at the plate. Braun hit a two-run homer in the first inning. You know Ryan is starting to feel it at the dish when he begins to take pitches to the opposite field with power. He’s a special hitter like that. Prince went 3-4 with a double off Oswalt. Prince is also starting to take outside pitches to the opposite field. I know the Brewers lost today, but the offense appears to be getting on track.

More evidence for that comes from Corey Hart and Bill Hall. Between the two of them, they had five walks. If Corey and Bill can get on base with regularity like this, the team will naturally score more runs.  That is, they will score more runs in that situation if J.J. Hardy can actually knock in some runs with any consistency.  I do not mean to single him out, but this has been a little ridiculous lately.  He needs to take the ball to the opposite field more.  He needs to drive the ball more.  It’s easier said than done though.

Records: Brewers (16-13); Astros (14-16)

Hero of the Game: Ryan Braun

Ryan continues to heat up at the plate, as he has raised his average up to .283 in the past week or so.  I said it before, but he is starting to drive the ball to all fields.  Pitchers cannot pitch around Braun when he gets this hot because Prince Fielder is still behind him.  Braun is returning to his Rookie of the Year form, and the Brewers need that on this road trip.  The Crew needs to hit a little better with a runners in scoring position.  By a little better, I mean a lot better.

Goat of the Game: Carlos Villanueva

Carlos was throwing the ball well early in the game, but it did not last.  He gave up the lead on back-to-back-to-back jacks.  That classifies as a Goat of the Game if I have ever seen it.  Carlos has thrown the ball well in the past couple starts before this, so I would tend to think that his breakdown is an aberration rather than the rule.  His fastball-changeup combination begins to get less effective as the game wears on, but it should not lead to that many home runs.  He simply let the ball get up in the zone.  Carlos will bounce back.  He proved that last season.

On Tap

Manny Parra will battle Brandon Backe in Game 2 of the series tomorrow night at 6:05pm CT.  Manny needs to step it up tomorrow.  The Crew needs a win.

Brewers sloppy in loss to Phillies

The Milwaukee Brewers should not have lost this game.  There is absolutely no excuse.  Jeff Suppan pitched seven innings of one-run ball…an absolute gem of a game.

With a right-handed power-laden lineup against a soft-throwing left-hander, this game was made for the Brewers.  The offense, however, could not handle Jamie Moyer.  Rickie Weeks and Bill Hall both got picked-off, which naturally kills any momentum the team had gathered to that point.  Corey Hart tried to stretch a no-out double into a triple, and got gunned down easily.  That cost the Brewers a run.  The Brewers had the bases loaded in the seventh.  No runs scored.  Tony Gwynn Jr. and Rickie Weeks both struck out looking against Tom Gordon.

To top the game off, David Riske lost the game for the Crew in the top of the eighth inning.  He got the first two batters of the inning to strike out, and all things looked up for the Brewers.  Riske then walked Greg Dobbs, however, and gave up two 0-2 hits that cost the Brewers two runs in the inning.  I repeat, two 0-2 hits.  I understand it can happen once, but not twice.  Riske was understandably upset after the game.  He should be.

All in all, the Milwaukee Brewers should forget this game ever happened.  The Philadelphia Phillies practically handed the game to the Brewers, but the team gave it right back to them.  It’s about three and a half hours since the game ended, and I’m still seething mad.

Oh well, we play tomorrow again, right?  At least the Chicago Cubs lost…

Cardinals beat listless Brewers

This game was not enjoyable to watch at all.

The Brewers offense did not show up in any facet of the game, and the Brewers pitchers were unable to put away innings after getting two outs.

In a very important outing for Dave Bush, he performed like he always does.  He struggled early, settled down for a bit and pitched well, then blew up in the fifth inning.  Normally it is the sixth inning where Dave blows up, but he decided to try it a little early this game.

David Riske did not do much better.  He snagged a come-backer off the bat of Cesar Izturis to get two outs in the inning.  Instead of putting Skip Schumaker away, however, David threw a fastball right down the center of the plate.  Skip pounded it down the right field line for a two-out, RBI double.

Derrick Turnbow came into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning to keep the game manageable.  He did not do that, to say the least.  The Cardinals scored two runs off Turnbow to stretch the lead to 6-1.  Turnbow has been extremely reluctant to throw his curveball, and his command has been spotty at best.  He does not look dominant at all.

The bats did nothing.  Prince Fielder walked four times, and Corey Hart went 2-3.  Besides a single from Joe Dillon, nothing else happened.  Literally.  It was boring.

Records: Brewers (8-5); Cardinals (10-4)

Hero of the Game: Corey Hart

Corey kept his hot bat going after the off-day yesterday, finishing 2-3 and collecting the only RBI for the Brewers.  That’s it.  Like I said, boring.

Goat of the Game: Bill Hall

This award could go to any pitcher that took the mound today, save Brian Shouse.  Yet I felt that Billy played exceptionally poorly today.  He had two strikeouts and grounded into two double plays.  That is not the protection Prince Fielder needs behind him.  Bill was a rally killer today, and I think it is a matter of days before we see Corey Hart move ahead of Hall.  Billy has the power stroke going, but he is lacking everything else.  It was a rough day for Bill, but he was not alone.

On Tap

The Milwaukee Brewers will take on the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the series.  Carlos Villanueva will match up against Adam Wainwright.  Unfortunately, the game will not be on FSN North.  You will need to be in the Milwaukee area to see the game on TV.  I am not.  The game will start at 7:00pm CT.  GO CREW!!!  We need this game.

Reds pound Brewers to end winning streak

The Brewers may have taken the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but they certainly wasted little time in giving it back to the Cincinnati Reds.

Starter Dave Bush gave up five runs, only four of them earned, but he gave up three key runs in the top of the sixth.  Bush did not have very good stuff today, in my opinion.  He needs to keep his walk rate down, as he walked three more batters today.  His fastball got up in the zone.  I thought his curveball was fine, but why would any of the Cincinnati Reds swing at a curveball when they know they can get a belt-high fastball later in the count?

The bullpen did not help, either.  David Riske came in and had zero control of his fastball.  It was very straight and over the plate.  I was confused as to why he did not want to throw his splitter very much, but he must have not had a very good feel for it today.  He escaped the inning without giving up an earned run, but it does not mean he pitched well.

Derrick Turnbow displayed his characteristically wild command.  He walked Ken Griffey Jr. to start the inning, and Adam Dunn parked a home run just over the outstretched arm of Gabe Gross.  Actually, Gross should have had that ball, but that is a different story.  Seth McClung came in to mop up the game for the Crew in the eighth and ninth innings.  Instead of keeping the score manageable, Seth gave up five earned runs and walked three batters in two innings.  I understand momentum can be a big thing in baseball, but it was amazing how poorly everyone threw the ball once Bush started to struggle.

At the plate, all was fairly quiet.  Ryan Braun and Bill Hall both hit solo shots to continue their hitting ways.  Jason Kendall and Corey Hart had two hits a piece, but no one else got a hit in the game.  Dave Bush did in the fifth inning, but no other Brewer position player tallied a hit in the game.  With that said, the game was not out of reach until the bullpen blew up.

Poor games like this will inevitably happen.  The Crew started the season in great shape, and fans are kidding themselves if they think that a blowout was not going to happen this month.  The important thing is that the Brewers rally around Carlos Villanueva tomorrow and score a third-straight series win.

Records: Brewers (6-2); Reds (5-4)

Hero of the Game: Bill Hall

Billy hit another home run in the bottom of the ninth to put his season total up to four.  He is seeing the ball pretty well, and he has his power stroke back.  That is not the main reason for naming him the hero of the game.  I’ve been incredibly impressed with his defense this season.  Brian Anderson mentioned that Billy is making one highlight-caliber play per game at the hot corner.  I agree.  He has made the Brewers defense immensely better.  He made a very nice play on Ryan Freel, I believe it was.  He ranged to his right, picked the ball cleanly with his glove, spun, and fired a perfect ball to Prince Fielder over at first.  That play is not easy.  It certainly looked like it was though.

Goat of the Game: David Bush

David.  You simply cannot, I repeat cannot, come into the game in the top of the sixth and give away the lead your team just stole in the bottom of the fifth.  The momentum had begun to swing towards Milwaukee, and the bats looked like they were about ready to break out in a big way.  Instead of building on that momentum, Bush imploded and lost all momentum for the Brewers.  All Brewers fans know that David is susceptible to the big inning, but it always comes at the wrong time (if there ever is a good time).  I am sick of seeing the Brewers offense get the lead and then watch Dave Bush come in and give it right back.  I admit that David Riske did not help a bit after getting the call to pitch, but Bush started the carnage.  I can only hope that when Yovani Gallardo comes back from the DL, Bush is the pitcher to go.  I don’t know what to do with him at this point.  I will address this when I am in a better state of mind, but he needs to go.

On Tap

Carlos Villanueva will toe the rubber tomorrow in the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.  He will go up against Cincy’s ace, Aaron Harang.  The rubber match will start at 12:05pm CT.  This will be a tough match-up for the Crew, but they need this win badly.  Milwaukee does not want to head out to Shea Stadium on a sour note.

Parra impressive in Brewers win

Manny Parra was supposed to be nervous in his first start of the season for the Milwaukee Brewers.  He wasn’t.  Just ask the seven San Francisco Giants he fanned on his way to pitching five no-hit innings.  Manny began to tire in the sixth, and he was unable to make it out of the inning.

Still, the young Brewers hurler showcased a fine arsenal of curveballs, change-ups, and a low-to-mid nineties fastball.  The defense, which had been stellar in the first four games of the season, did not help Parra.  Craig Counsell made an awful throw to first early in the game, and almost tossed another one into the stands later in the game.  Bill Hall let a ground ball eat him up at third.

Manny was able to shrug off the sloppy defense behind him and hold the Giants hitless until the sixth inning.  He obviously began to tire.  His pitches began to inch up in the strike zone.  After an impressive 5.1 innings, Parra left the game only allowing two earned runs and striking out seven Giants.

David Riske then came into the game and got Jose Castillo to fly out to center field.  Ray Durham then tried to tag up from first, but Gabe Gross gunned him down at second to end the inning.  Actually, “gunned him down” is not quite correct there.  It was more like Gabe got lucky that the ball bounced right to Rickie Weeks at second base.  In the seventh, Riske lost his command and walked a couple hitters.  He was able to limit the damage and only allow one run.

I thought that Guillermo Mota threw the ball very well again today, even though he gave up a solo shot to Ray Durham.  Durham connected with a fastball that ran right over the plate.  Besides that pitch, Mota continued to show great stuff and great command.  He finished the inning giving up that lone run and striking out two.

On to Eric Gagne, the target for much criticism in the past few days.  Eric looked very good today, in my opinion.  It is easy to say that because he got the win, but he threw the ball much better.  He mixed up his pitches and featured his nasty change-up.  His fastball was not electric, but it does not have to be.  Gagne even mixed in a couple curveballs.  He kept Giant hitters off-balance very well.  I was very pleased with Eric’s performance today.

Enough about the pitching.  Rickie Weeks was unable to extend his consecutive runs scored streak to 18.  He just missed a home run in the eighth and drew a walk earlier in the game.  Ryan Braun clobbered his first home run of the young season, parking a hanging change-up from Kevin Correia over the bullpen in left field.  His plate discipline has been suspect this season, but that swing is still sweet.

The Brewer bench played fairly well today.  Mike Rivera had a two-RBI game, but that is a little deceiving.  He hit a little dribbler to the third baseman and beat it out, but on the play, Corey Hart continued hustling and scored from second on the play.  Mike did have a nice hit to center field to score Corey later in the game though.  In addition to Rivera, Gabe Kapler hit a pinch-hit home run in the eighth to stretch the lead to two.  It turned out to be the difference in the game.

Records: Brewers (4-1); Giants (1-4)

Hero of the Game: Manny Parra

I cannot say enough about the performance Manny had today.  He located the ball very well in the lower part of the strike zone, and his curveball was near unhittable today.  Parra had the curve working to get ahead of the count, as well as being his strikeout pitch.  I’m sure Mike Maddux enjoyed seeing that today.  The one pitch he did not feature today was his split-fingered fastball, but I expect he’s saving that for a rainy day down the road.

Manny weathered the storm that was the Brewers defense today.  He was forced to get four outs two (perhaps even three) times today, but he did not let it faze him.  The at bat with Rajai Davis to end the fifth inning obviously took a lot out of Manny.  He came into the sixth inning fatigued, and it showed with his command.  Nonetheless, I think Brewers fans may have gotten a little taste of what the rookie can bring to the mound this season.  He has special stuff.

Goat of the Game: The Brewers Defense

The defense did make some nice plays, I must admit.  Bill Hall made a sweet diving catch at third, and Prince Fielder climbed the later to snag a line drive early in the game.  Overall, however, the defense nearly cost the Brewers the game.  Craig Counsell had trouble with his throws early in the game.  Bill Hall needs to get in front of that grounder that ate him up at third.  Those ended up not costing the Brewers any runs, so I will let those fly today.

Mike Rivera somehow got his signals crossed with Manny Parra in the sixth inning, and the past ball allowed a run to score.  Rickie Weeks did not turn a double play in the seventh that would have gotten the Brewers out of the inning without allowing a run.  I realize that Prince could have dug out that ball, but there is no excuse as to why Rickie couldn’t have made that throw.  He had plenty of time to get it done.

Against a better team than the Giants, those types of plays are going to come back to bite the Brewers.  They had been very solid defensively this entire season up until today, so let’s hope that this game is just a fluke.  If it becomes a trend, however, Brewers pitchers and the team’s record will suffer.

On Tap

Ben Sheets will take on Barry Zito in a battle of the aces tomorrow at Miller Park.  The Crew guaranteed a series victory today with a win and will go for a series sweep against the lowly Giants.  The game is scheduled to start at 1:05pm CT.  Let’s break out the brooms, boys!

Round ‘em Up: Saturday

The Brewers are 3-1 and sitting atop the NL Central.  It has not even been one week since Opening Day, and I still cannot contain my excitement about this team.  That is probably due to the fact that I could not even remember a winning Brewers team until last season.  This is new territory for me, and I’m loving it every step of the way.

The Milwaukee Brewers will start Game 2 in their series against the San Francisco Giants in about an hour, but let me see if I can entertain you until then.

• Here is Milwaukee’s starting lineup for today.  Not to toot my own horn here, but I did call that Craig Counsell would be seen at shortstop sometime soon.  Try today.
• Manny Parra is prepared to take the mound today and pitch aggressively.  That is good news for the Crew, as he started to nibble around the strike zone and fall behind hitters near the end of Spring Training.  He needs to get back to what he was doing at the beginning of the spring.  He was pounding the strike zone with his fastball and getting to his splitter.  When his command is there, he has the chance to be a very good pitcher.  Here’s to hoping Manny comes out and impresses today.
• Doug Melvin and the Brewers are still having discussions with Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder about contract extensions.  Mark Attanasio said that it will not be easy to come to terms with either player, and there is no deadline.  I have said it before, and I will stick with it: Prince Fielder will not be signing a contract extension any time soon.  I expect that he loves Milwaukee, especially since his best friend Rickie Weeks still plays here, but he is set to break the bank next season.  Plus, Scott Boras is one of the most-hated people among baseball fans.  Ryan Braun, on the other hand, may sign one in the upcoming weeks.

  In addition, Tony Gwynn Jr. and his hamstring have not been getting along.  He will not be available today or tomorrow.  Tom Haudricourt speculates that some time on the DL might be in store for the young center fielder.  That would be too bad, as Tony started the season off in a big way this April.

• The Brewer Nation is sick of the national media’s obsession with the Chicago Cubs.  They want to see more attention paid to the Milwaukee Brewers because they are “clearly better in every area of the game.”  I don’t know if I would go that far, but I do agree that the “big city bias” is annoying as a Brewers fan.  At the same time, however, I do not have a problem with the Crew running under the radar for a bit.
• Jim Powell from The Sports Bubbler has an interview with Doug Melvin.
• Yahoo! is not impressed with some of the crazed drunken fans at Miller Park yesterday.  Frankly, women squatting and peeing on the pavement would probably make me turn the other way too.  Hopefully the nation knows that all Wisconsinites are not like that.  Not everyone from Wisconsin starts drinking at 7:30am in the back of a pickup truck.
• Yesterday I had the minor league boxscores up for the Milwaukee Brewers farm system teams.  If you did not notice, Matt LaPorta greeted Double-A ball with a grand slam.  Not a bad way to start the season.
• Dugout Central has a list of the 22 best NL hitters.  Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Corey Hart make the list.  It is nice to see Corey on that list.  He gets overshadowed much of the time because of the other two sluggers.