Aug. 24, 4-3 win over Pittsburgh

Another Extra Inning Sunday at Miller

The ending on this one wasn't as great as Kapler's HR, but JJ Hardy knocking in Rickie Weeks on JJ Hardy bobblehead day was huge. Lot of heros today, but not who you'd expect. Braun and Fielder were hitless. Brewers had bases loaded no out and 1 out, and the heart of the order failed to capitalize. And Sabathia didn't have his best stuff, but still managed to work around the jams he got into and gave up only 1 run in 6. The Pirates stranded 14 for the game. Cameron had a career day with 5 hits, Bill Hall snapped an 0-16 with 3 hits and Guilermo Mota helped sway my opinion by working out of Villy's bases loaded, no out jam in the 12th.

Aug. 23rd, 6-3 win over Pittsburgh, 75-55, 4.5 GB
Still a Good Guy
I know I'm down on Suppan alot, mainly because I don't think his performance warrants his salary, but the rotation would be rough without him. He eats innings and can get out of jams by pitching to contact, but he also gives up the long ball (22 after this game) and walk total is higher than I'd like (54 in about 150 innings). All that said, the little I've heard from him in person makes it hard to hate the guy. He's been in the league a long time and on most staffs, he'd be a 2 or 3 (in my opinion, pitching is that bad these days). Against poor teams like the Pirates, you expect him to be good, and he was. He came out in the 8th after scattering 8 hits and gave up only 3 runs with some smart, veteran play. He picked Niger Morgan off 2b in the 1st, started 2 double plays himself and worked out of a 1st & 3rd no out in the 3rd.

Braun hit his 32nd in the 4th (3RBI on the day) on an 0-2 count and Fielder had 2 RBI's, 3 in the series as the lone lefty in the starting lineup against the Bucos left handed dominant rotation.

The Cards lost to Atlanta in late innings, but the Cubs won, so the Crew gains in the Wild Card and stays put for the division.

Aug. 22nd, 10-4 win over Pittsburgh, 74-55, 4.5 GB
Could Be Worse, Could be A Pirate Fan
Years of finishing below .500 were matched with the Pittsburgh Pirates until 2005 when the Crew finally broke even. Since then, the Pirates have continued to lose and seem to be constantly "rebuilding". I think they are on their way to 16 straigh losing seasons, which would tie them with the Phillies for the the worst stretch in the history of the game. Thankfully, the Crew is closing in on a convincingly successful season, but I still get leary of playing the Pirates because they just seem to play the Crew tough no matter how bad they are.

My new favorite pitcher, Dave Bush, was touched for a run in the 1st and 2nd, but no dingers or walks, and settled down enough that the bats could do their work in the 4th against lefty Zach Duke. Braun infield singled and moved to 2nd on a throwing error. After a Fielder walk, Hart brought them both home with a 2B that Niger Morgan misplayed in the OF. Hall had a sac fly to make it 3-2, but Rickie Weeks struck out with 2 on to end the inning. Hardy hit a solo shot in the 5th and Bush started cruising, thanks to 2 runners caught stealing by Kendall.

Bush gave up a solo show in the 7th, but in the bottom of the inning, the floodgates opened. Nix leadoff walk, Weeks 3B, Hardy 2B, Braun 2B and a Fielder smash to Freddy Sanchez at 2B led to Braun scoring from 3B on a heads up play when he saw Sanchez was sleeping. Cameron hits his 22nd HR and the Crew is now up 10-3. The Crew was a single short of hitting for the cycle in the inning, almost a winner in the Menard's big inning giveaway. Gagne and McClung finished it off. Bush gets his 8th win.

With the Nationals finally playing like a big league team today, the Crew gained a game on the Cubs.