Aug. 4- LA 17 MIL 4
53-54, -5 CHI
Ugly Game and Prince's Temper
This game got ugly in the span of the 10 news while I was directing. Yovanni Gallardo struggled mightily, giving up 4 in the first inning. However, the Crew was able to whittle it down to a 1 run defecit in the 5th, when Gallardo started to unravel. He gave up a home run to Manny Ramirez, didn't make it out of the 6th and then Mitch Stetter and Mike DeFelice couldn't save the Brewer's from a 7 run outburst that included a Manny 2 run double and a embarrasing fly ball that dropped between Braun and Cameron.

When the game really got interesting is after the game. Upset with being hit by Mota to retaliate for Chris Smith hitting Ramirez, Fielder actually tried to get into the Dodger's clubhouse after the game. Guillermo Mota is known for tattooing hitters, but I think it's easy to see that perhaps a 13 run blow out had something to do with Fielder losing it as well.

Aug. 3- MIL 6 LA 5
53-53, -4 STL
Hoffman Barely Saves Parra's Fine Performance
Aside from a throwing error that led to a lone run in the 3rd and 7th, Manny Parra cruised into the 9th, having probably his best start of the season... maybe of his career. Things got a little dicey in the 9th however, and even Hoffman had trouble keeping the best team in baseball down. The Dodgers ended up scoring 3 in the final frame, but Hoffman got Manny Ramirez to fly out with the bases loaded to end the game, and the Crew won the first game of a series for the first time in a LONG time.

The 6 runs were about as much as could be expected facing Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw. Thanks to 4 consecutive walks following a Braun single in the 4th, the Brewers got on the board. Then in the 5th, the Crew chased Kershaw when they loaded the bases, but Jeff Weaver only allowed 1 run to score when Mike Cameron hit into a double play. That 3-1 lead was padded in the 6th, when one of Braun's 4 hits was a 3 run homer, his 22nd of the season.

Aug. 2- MIL 6 SD 1
52-53, -4½ STL
7th Inning the Difference
I go into the control room to tape an interview with a dreadlocked soccer player with the game tied 1-1 and come out to see the Crew has jumped out to a 5 run lead on the strength of a 3 run Felipe Lopez double.

Carlos Villanueva started the game and worked around 4 walks to pitch 5 good innings and give the Brewers a chance to win on Prince Fielder's league leading 93rd RBI. However, Claudio Vargas work in the 6th almost blew it. He gave up the tying run and only retired 1 hitter before Mitch Stetter had to come in and mop up. Thankfully, the rally in the 7th, that started with a Frank Catalanotto RBI and needed 4 Padre pitchers to extinguish, kept the Crew from getting swept.

Catalanotto started the game in right for Corey Hart who was in the hospital with abdominal pain.

Aug. 1- SD 4 MIL 2
51-53, -5½ STL
Decent Performance by a Starter Blown
Mike Burns, recalled 4 days after being sent to Nashville to take Suppan's slot in the rotation gave the Crew something they haven't had much of, a good chance for the offense to win. 3 runs only in 5⅔ innings, the Brewer's offense should be able to make that stand up against one of the worst teams in the NL? Unfortunately not. Back to back homers by Fielder and McGehee in the 6th were all that the bats managed and thanks to Will Venable's 2nd homer against the Brewer's this series and Tony Gwynn, Jr.'s performance as the leadoff man he never was in Milwaukee, the Crew started August with a loss. Not a way to put a 9-17 July behind you. I feel happy for Gwynn, (who was 2-5 with a run and RBI last night), but it be nice if his .296 average would take a break from killing the Crew.

July 31- SD 11 MIL 7
51-52, -4½ STL
2nd Inning Outburst Wasted
When I turned the game on after getting back from dinner, things looked good. The Crew had a 6 run lead and should have been able to win their 3rd in a row for the first time since June 17th. Padres starter Chad Gaudin almost escaped the 2nd when he struck out J.J. Hardy and Jason Kendall struck out with the bases loaded, but Braden Looper's 2 run single helped get the Crew started with a lead, and Felipe Lopez followed with his own RBI single. Then Braun's grounder with the bases loaded again scored another when Chase Headley threw wildly to first. Fielder brought 2 more in with a single and Corey Hart chipped in another, and all Looper had to do was throw strikes.

That apparently meant "grooved" strikes as he started letting the Padres tattoo him all over Petco. Will Venable nailed a 2 run dinger in a 4 run 4th and Looper was pulled after 5. Tim Dillard wasn't much of an improvement, taking over for Looper and giving up 3 runs of his own while only recording 1 out in the 6th. By the time the 7th rolled around, the Crew was only down 2, but it may as well have been 10, the offense just shut down, getting only 2 hits and 1 walk in the last 3 innings.

July 30- MIL 7 WSH 3
51-51, -4 STL
Gallardo Leads a Game where Everything Works and Suppan, Hall Out
The bats, the starting pitching and the bullpen all worked and for the first time since June 30th, the Crew has won 2 in a row. Tied at 3 in the 7th, Mike Cameron, who led off the inning with a double, sneaked in under a tag at the plate after Jason Kendall chopped a ball to Ryan Zimmerman at 3B. The Crew got another one that inning when Craig Counsell was safe on a botched DP relay and Casey McGehee (who singled) scored from 3B.

With the lead, Macha ends Yovanni Gallardo's great day that included double digit strike outs and brings Todd Coffey to pitch a perfect 8th after throwing 2 innings last night. Mitch Stetter closes out the 9th after the Crew tacks on 2 more on a Cameron sac fly and a wild pitch. Craig Counsell and Prince Fielder had homers for the Brewer's earlier in the game and the Crew is back to .500.

It was announced after the game that Bill Hall has agreed to go to Nashville to work on his hitting and Jeff Suppan will go on the DL. Who on earth will Brewer fans dog?

July 29- MIL 7 WSH 5
50-51, -4½ STL
McGehee PH Dinger Ends Skid
A beautiful note to Casey McGehee's night was added when I read the JSO article that said his 2 year old son, who has cerebal palsy, threw out the first pitch before the Brewer's 1st win after dropping 3 in a row to two of the worst teams in baseball. Down a run in the 6th, McGehee, hitting for Manny Parra, nailed a 2 run shot that put the Brewer's in front. The offensive outburst help make up for the "not so perfect" Parra, who toiled in the first 2 innings (giving up 4 and walking 2 runs in), but settled down to allow only 1 more run in his 6 inning stint.

After the game, McGehee spoke with tears about how inspirational it is to see his son living his life despite the horrible card he's been dealt. He also added how he asked Prince to walk his son out to the mound before the game because his son, like most kids, just likes Prince. There is something likeable about the big slugger that can be simultaneosly fear inspiring to an adult but sort of "teddy bear" like to a kid.

July 28- WSH 8 MIL 3
49-51, -4½ STL
Villanueva No Better as Starter
It was a leadoff HR to Nyjer Morgan and a 4 run 4th that made Carlos Villanueva's 1st start since early '08 a rough one. Tim Dillard, who I would have preferred to see start, didn't fair much better. After overcoming 4 walks and 2 hits to pitch 3 scoreless innings, he unraveled in the 8th when Christian Guzman hit a 3 run bomb.

Ryan Braun supplied the offense with his 21st homer and a triple, plus J.J. Hardy was 3-3, but the rest of the offense was anemic against Collin Balester who got his 1st win of the season.

News also came down today that Jueff Suppan has an oblique strain and will be reevalutated Thursday as to whether he can make his start this Saturday. This pitching staff is decimated.

July 27- WSH 14 MIL 6
48-49, -4 on CHI
Below .500 Again
No such luck in turning things around with a 4 game home series against the Nats. Despite having the worst record in baseball, the Jeff Suppan and the Crew found a way to make the "Team that Should Not Be" (seriously, why didn't the league contract Montreal when they had a chance? I know, because it would have left an odd number of teams in the league) into the best story in baseball on a Monday night. Right fielder Josh Willingham hit two grand slams (one in the 5th off Suppan and 1 in the 6th of Mike DiFelice) and Ryan Zimmerman had a solo shot with 3 runs scored to counter Ryan Braun's 2oth dinger of the season and Corey Hart's 2nd tater in two days. The bullpen, already depleted with Looper's short outing yesterday and the plan to have Carlos Villanueva start tomorrow (instead of Tim Dillard who was doing well as a starter in Nashville?), was the reason Macha trotted Suppan out there for the 6th, where Suppan surrendured 4 more of his 10 earned before leaving for DiFelice.

The Crew also demoted Mike Burns and called up R.J. Swindle to try and stop the pitching mess that is making the next few weeks before Dave Bush's expected return seem REALLY long.

July 26- ATL 10 MIL 2
49-49, -3 on STL
Another Day Game Loss for The Crew
50 points lower in day games. That's in regards to the Brewer's team batting average and the difference between the best hitters at night and worst hitters in the day for the NL.

Looper was skating by through 5 innings, allowing on 1 run until a 4 run 6th that included a 3 run Casey Kotchman home run. Then the bullpen combo of Mark DiFelice, Mike Burns and Chris Smith gave up another 5 in 3 innings of work. The lone offense was Corey Hart's 2 run dinger in the 6th off Derek Lowe who was able to limit the Brewers to 2 runs on 9 hits over 6 innings of work.

With the cost of ANY pitching help being too high in my opinion, I'm quickly getting to the point where I might concede the season and just hope for a +.500 record, which was my goal at the start of the season. It's a damn shame though, because the amazing fan turnout at Miller this season deserves more.

July 25- MIL 4 ATL 0
49-48 2½ back STL
Really Need to Get Some Pitching
With the odds of the Brewer's acquiring Roy Haliday slim, the fans should be damn thankful the Crew has a starter with as bright a future at Yovanni. I don't know where this team would be without him. However, it makes me also wonder how good they could be with just 1 more good arm. Hell, now that McClung is on the DL, they also have a bullpen that looks much worse than it did 2 months ago. Amazing what two arms on the DL and a pitcher like Villanueva falling apart (he took his 7th loss yesterday) can do to a team. Plus, remember when David Riske was going to be part of the bullpen. And what about Chris Capuano, how nice would it be to have him now?

As for the game, it was ALL Gallardo. 7⅓ innings, 4 hits, 4 walks, 6 Ks and a 2-3 day at the plate in which he got the scoring going with a single in the 5th. I guess it was a good day for the offense to fall asleep against Tommy Hanson. Casey McGehee's pinch hit RBI was a nice AB for the Crew as well considering how horrible the bench has been this season.

Once again, I'm going to throw some Kew-Dohs at my man professional hitter Craig Counsell who was 2-4 with an RBI in his new spot, number 2 behind Lopez. Counsell is now batting .299 at age 38 and outperforming all other position players his age. Great article by Tom Haudricourt this Sunday comparing Counsell to guys like Jason Giambi, Ken Griffey, Jim Thome or Gary Sheffield who are either playing poorly or benefitting from DHing or a light work load, not the daily grind that Counsell has had being an everyday infielder.

July 24- ATL 9 MIL 4
48-48 3½ back STL
Back to .500 and Feeling the Division Slip Away
I thought this division would be tough, but now that the Cards have Matt Holliay and Chicago and Houston (hooray Cecil Cooper) climbing back into it, I'm doubting weather the Crew have the ability to stay in the race.

Friday's loss to Atlanta showed just how many holes there are in the pitching staff. Although Counsell's 2 run double and Braun's 2 run homer in the 5th tied the game and kept Manny Parra off the hook for a little while, the bullpen just couldn't hold things together. Villanueva, Chris Smith and McClung gave up 5 in 3⅔ innings and Javier Vazquez was solid after the fifth, striking out Fielder 4 times in his 7 innings of work.

July 22- PIT 8 MIL 7
48-47 -2 on STL
Pittsburgh Figuring Out Crew
For a long time, the Pirates could do nothing right against the Crew. Now, thanks to Jeff Suppan serving up 4 taters in 3⅓ inlcluding 2 to Ryan Doumit, the Pirates were able to take 2 of 3 from the Brewers and send the Crew back to Miller with a 3-4 road trip result.

The offense did try to overcome Suppan's start with a good offensive day. Ryan Braun brought 2 in with a dinger in the 1st and 3 more in 5th with a bases loaded, 3 run double in the 5th. That 5th also contained a Casey McGehee 2 run shot that chased Pat Maholm from the game.

All that, plus a Bill Hall RBI, gave the Crew a somewhat comfortable 7-5 lead until Seth McClung surrendured 2 in the bottom of the 5th which set up Brandon Moss' leadoff homer in the 9th off Mitch Stetter. Moss was batting .250 with 0 home runs off lefty's coming into the game, however Stetter fell behind a let one get over the plate to give 21,000 in Pittsburgh something to cheer about.

July 21- MIL 2 PIT 0
48-46 -2 on STL
Looper Gives Crew Best Start of the Season
After a rough June, when most Brewer starters faltered, Looper has improved in July and last night gave the Crew 7 innings of 0 run ball at PNC Park. He got some help with a 1 out diving catch by Mike Cameron in the 7th with a man on that sealed up a narrow win. Pittsburgh righty Virgil Vasquez was also able to work out of trouble as well. The Brewer's made him look good by not drawing any walks and only cashing in on 2 of their 9 hits in Vasquez' 6⅔ innings, both RBI singles by Prince Fielder that scored Craig Counsell. Counsell was 3-4 in the 2 spot, playing 3B now that Lopez is getting the nod at 2B.

July 20- PIT 8 MIL 5
47-46 -3 STL
Pirates Win One
For the first time in 18 games, the Buccos figured out a way to beat the Crew, however, that hasn't been hard. With Mike Burns coughing up 4 runs in the 1st, the Pirates were able to sustain the Felipe Lopez attack and get Ross Ohlendorff his 8th win. Lopez, who was acquired over the weekend for Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes went 4-4 with a walk and a triple. However, he did get picked off after his first AB as a Brewer. Strangely enough, that was a complaint about him on the JSO blogs, that his SB percentage is atrocious. Dude, you have Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder behind you, relax on base.

Speaking of Braun, Chris Smith tried to exact some vengance by nailing Jeff Karstens with a pitch that precipitated a bench clearer. No real damage, but I guess Kendall got into it with the Pirates pitching coach and then after the game, refused to call him by his correct name. I guess it was Ian Snell who earlier in the season warned Braun that what he says could bite him in the butt, and that might be something to admire/hate about Braun. So far, after calling out the pitching staff, he's been slumping, although he hit a tater tonight. And Ian Snell is in AAA Indy, so go figure who won that war of words.

7.4.09- MIL 11 CHI 2
43-38 EVEN w/ STL
McGehee's Big Day Beats Cubs
The offense got started early against Rich Harden and Casey McGehee and Mike Cameron made the Cubs pay for pitching around Prince Fielder. Twice McGehee followed intentional walks to the slugger with RBI single and he finished the day 4-5 with 5 RBI, 3 runs and a double short of the cycle. That added to Cameron's 4 RBI day, which included a 3 run, 1st inning dinger gave Braden Looper plenty of breathing room as he worked out of bases loaded jams in the both the first and second inning and got his 2nd straight win.

7.2.09- CHI 9 MIL 5
42-37, EVEN w/ STL
Derrick Lee Destroys Crew at Wrigley
The Cubs have been underachieving all season, and for the most part, the Brewer's have been overachieving. The overachievement did not however apply to Seth McClung, making his 2nd start of the season in place of Dave Bush. McClung didn't make it out of the 4th and put the Brewer's in a 4-0 hole right off the bat with a 3 run tater to Derrick Lee and a solo shot by Jake Fox. With his pitch count soaring, McClung was lifted in the 4th after surrenduring another homer to Geovany Soto and putting two more Cubs on. Chris Smith came on in relief and walked the bases loaded which set up Lee's 2nd dinger of the day, a Grand Slam.

Macha would not say after the game if McClung would make another start before the All-Star break... my guess is no, although I don't know what the other option is. If the team is serious about making a playoff run, they need to deal for a starter. However, I hate to see the cupboard scraped bare.

Mike Cameron and Prince Fielder had home runs for the Crew to make the score respectable, but the defecit never seemed over-comable, especially with the way Carlos Marmol came in to pitch the 9th. With 3 games left in the series, I'm really just hoping for a split, although the team should be able to do better than that.

July 3- CHI 2 MIL 1
42-38 -1.0 STL
Suppan's Effort Wasted
It was easily Jeff Suppan's best performance of the season, perhaps in his Brewer career. He kept the Cubs to 1 run through 7 innings, but like Yovanni Gallarda a few days ago, the bats had a pathetic showing. In the 4th inning, with the bases loaded and no outs, the Crew only managed a run. Casey McGehee and Mike Cameron fouled out, Corey Hart drew a walk to bring one run in and then J.J. Hardy flew out to end the threat. In all, 11 runners were stranded and the Crew only got 1 hit with RISP, which didn't lead to anything because Suppan was thrown out trying to score from 2nd.

The Cubs ended up winning on 3 walks in the 10th. With Ryan Theriot on 2nd and two outs, Mark DiFelice intentionally walked Milton Bradley, then intentionally walked Geovanny Soto after he fell behind to him. Then Jake Fox battled for 9 pitches and eventually walked (on a questionalble ball) to force in the winner.

July 1- NYM 1 MIL 0
42-36 +1.5 on STL
Gallardo Gets No Support
Craig Counsell just missed a leadoff home run in the 1st, and a few other well hit balls were either grabbed by the Met's gloves or kept in the park as the Crew's hitting woes in day games at Miller continues. The damn shame was that Yovanni Gallardo's career high 12 strikeout performance was wasted because of a Ryan Church RBI single in the 6th. Mike Pelfrey kept the Mets from getting swept with a gem of a game: 7.2 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 Ks and 0 runs. In the 9th, Braun made things interesting by leading off the inning with a single off Frankie Rodriguez, but Fielder, Hart (who also grounded into a double play with 1st & 3rd in the 4th) and pinch hitter McGehee all failed to bring him around. I'm not sure why Ken Macha took Gamel out against K-Rod, but I guess he's not a slave to lefty-righty matchups.

June 30- MIL 6 NYM 3
42-35 +2.0 on STL
Burns & Braun Help Get over on Santana
It was only Mike Burns 2nd start and he was facing a Cy Young winner, so I wasn't too optimistic about this game. After a 1st inning which including a leadoff walk that scored on a David Wright 2 run home run, I figured this could be one in the loss column. Ryan Braun picked things up in the 3rd with an RBI single (1 of 4 on the day) and Burns started cruising after that. He didn't issue any more walks in his 6.2 innings of work and the Mets only had 5 hits total off him. Meanwhile, things unraveled for Johan Santana in the 4th. He walked Burns on 4 pitches, then Fernando Martinez slipped chasing a Corey Hart fly ball and the Crew had 2nd & 3rd with 1 out. J.J. Hardy walked to load them, then Braunie brought them all in with a double, moved to 3rd on the throw home, which got by the catcher and scored when Santana threw wildly to 3rd. Braun had 3 hits on the day and is 7-13 lifetime against Santana. Prince Fielder padded the lead with his 20th homer of the season in the 7th.

The game seemed to be more indicitive of the Burns we've heard about-- a control pitcher. His strike to ball ratio was 66 to 29 and 16 of those strikes were on the first pitch. Ken Macha was incredibly pleased with his ability to use all 4 of his pitches for strikes and pitching into the 7th is what I really appreciated. After 4 teams and 48 appearances over 3 years, Burns had his first career win.

June 29- MIL 10 NYM 6
41-35 +1.0 on STL
McGehee Get's Redemption
Playing 3B tonight, Casey McGehee committed an error in the top of the 6th that nearly ruined yet another ESPN telecast of a Brewer game. Instead of using two hands to end the inning, McGehee's drop opened the door for two Met's run and pulled them to within a run of the Crew's lead.

The lead was built on a J.J. Hardy tater (part of his 4-4 night) and a Braden Looper RBI off New York starter Fernando Nieve, who has pretty good numbers to go along with his 3-1 record. The error by McGehee could have spoiled Loopers good start considering the potency of the Met's offense, but in the bottom half of the 6th, with 2 outs and a 2-2 count, McGehee slammed a fastball from Brian Stokes out of Miller for his first career grand slam. McGehee's season has been all about redemption after being put out to pasture by the Cubs after a good season for Iowa in 2008, but the micro-cosm of his goat to god in the 6th is what I love about baseball. Watching the game at work, I loved seeing how he was still pissed about the error in the dugout AFTER hitting the dinger. Prince had to remind him to go out for the standing O. I can really understand that feeling. Yes, you've put your team up by 5, but you still want to yell into your helmet (probably protecting viewers on the dugout cam from language) about that ball you should have caught earlier.

The Crew need most of those runs, including clutch RBI by Hall and Kendall because Carlos Villanueva couldn't finish things off in the 9th. Given a 7 run lead to work with, he only retired one batter, gave up 5 hits, 3 runs and got nailed for a 2 run dinger off the bat of Gary Sheffield, who I'm glad to see still get's booed. Ken Macha had to bring in Trevor Hoffman to finish things off for his 18th save, which was probably his easiest. One pitch to Brian Schneider that Hardy turned into a 6-3 DP.

I was wearing my Gemutlichkeit hat for this game, which seems to have a higher rate of success than some of my other hats, so I think I'll stick with it.

June 28- SF 7 MIL 0
40-35 EVEN w/ STL
Brewer's Make Sadowski Look Good in Debut
The Brewer's are now 0-4 against pitchers making their major league debut.  26 year old Ryan Sadowski allowed only 4 hits in 6 scoreless as his opponent Jeff Suppan fell to 5-6.  The Getaway-Day-Game once again fell victim to the “Shadows of Miller Park” and afterward, Braun was quoted as saying no one on the team likes playing a day game at home because of them.  Although he admitted that shadows are a part of the problem for BOTH teams.  Either way, a JSO blog came out on Monday saying the team was, "looking into the shadwow problem".  I'm not sure what they play to do, either change start times or rotate the stadium?

June 27- MIL 7 SF 6
40-34 Even w/ STL
Comeback saves Hoffman's 9th
The Crew spent most of the night battling back in this game that occurred while I was recovering from a 100 mile ride in Logan.  Down 2 in the 9th and facing Giants closer Brian Wilson, Craig Counsell singled with 1 down, Gamel walked and Hart scored Counsell on a single to center.  J.J. Hardy's RBI tied things up and Prince finished the game with a double to right. 
 
The game was tied in the 9th, but Trevor Hoffman gave up 3 consecutive singles and 2 sac flys to give SF the lead.  That tie was earned on back-to-back taters in the 6th by Fielder and Casey McGehee.  Those runs helped get Seth McClung off the hook, who did a decent job in his first start of the season: 3 runs in 4 innings. Chris Smith, Todd Coffey and Mitch Stetter combined for 4 innings of 1 run ball with 0 walks. 
 
Proving again why a center fielder makes a difference, Mike Cameron robbed Nate Schierholtz of a home run in the 7th, which proves glove work can be a tradeoff for a .243 hitter.  It's too bad though that his offense has dropped off, because early in the season, he really looked like he would put up some good offensive numbers this season. 
 

June 26- MIL 5 SF 1
39-34 EVEN with STL
Yovanni Bests Cain
Hooo RAY! Percentage points ahead of the Cards. It's .534 to .533, but it's still first. Matt Cain had only lost 1 game all season long and was on a 7 game winning streak, but tonight Milwaukee scored 5 runs off the righty in 6 innings, which stood up with the way Yovanni Gallardo was pitching. After giving up a dinger Pablo Sandoval in the first, Gallardo kept the Giants from scoring for the rest of his 7.2 innings. He struck out 9 and walked 3 to improve to 8-4. J.J. Hardy, still slowly turning things around, had a home run and 2 hits to add to the early Brewer's lead that was built with the help of Braun's 2-4, 2 RBI day. Didn't hear a lick of this game because I was in Logan for the MS Ride, but considering that the Crew tends to turn things up when I'm away from game involvement, I'm thinking my trip was well planned.

June 25- MIN 6 MIL 4
38-34 -1.0 STL
Thank God They're Done with Interleague
I listened to this game while doing some prep work for the MS Ride in Logan over the weekend. I'll admit, once the Twins tacked two more runs to their lead in the 7th, I kind of gave up thinking the Crew could pull this one out. Once Mitch Stetter's consecutive “Out by Strikeout” streak ended at 15 with a Jason Kuble fly-out, Lexi and I headed to my old dwelling to move my mattress into storage. As far as anyone can tell, Stetter's feat may be a record, although it surprises me that Elias sports bureau couldn't figure this out.

Mike Burns, the 30 year old righty called up from Nashville for the start looked decent through 3, but made some mistakes once the Twins hitters got a second look at him. Burns couldn't play a soft grounder into a DP during the 4th, which would have erased a leadoff walk. Then, after Justin Morneau's RBI double and Jason Kuble's single, Burns walked in another run and tallied 31 pitches in the inning. He was constantly working from behind and finished with a line of 5.2 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits and 3 walks.

McGehee and Prince chipped in with home runs in the 6th and Braun hit one in the 8th, but it wasn't enough to pull out a win in the final interleague contest of the season. The Crew ended up 5-10 against AL teams and 1-5 against the Twins... disgraceful considering Minnesota is one of the worst road teams out there.

June 24- MIL 4 MIN 3
38-33 -1.0 STL
Kendall's Hustle Key to Breaking SkidI always thought Jason Kendall fell into that category with Nomar Garciaparra and Moises Alou-- players who came on the scene and seemed destined for greatness, then kind of fell to the wayside with mediocre careers that were punctuated by a grizzly injury. However, one thing I always liked about Jason “I Want to Kill Your Mother” Kendall (just look at his psycho Miller Park scoreboard face) is that the dude is a gritty, bare handed, gutsy player; and those tools paid off tonight. In the eighth, after already scoring J.J. Hardy with a double, Kendall moved to third when shortstop Brendan Harris threw wide of home. Starter Nick Blackburn, (who had stymied the Crew, allowing 2 runs until that point), then threw the ball away trying to get Kendall at third. Kendall used that E1 to score the go ahead run.

It's good to finally get a “W” against the Twins, especially when they looked pretty bad in their own barn the night before. Braden Looper put in the quality start with 6 innings, 3 earned, and an RBI despite a Carlos Gomez liner off the tricep that Prince Fielder dove and caught for an out. Looper stayed in after that piece of Dave Bush deja vu but it was Todd Coffey that got the win.

June 24- MIN 7 MIL 3
37-33 -2.0 on STL
Twinkies Take Advantage of Mistakes at Miller
It was not the way to start the homestand. A team that was 11-21 on the road jumps over some early errors to give the Crew it's 4th straight loss. Jeff Suppan got charged with 7 runs, but only 4 were earned. A 1st inning wild pitch that kept the inning alive and gave the Twins 3 runs off the bat was not the least of the Brewer's charity. There was also a Casey McGehee drop on a throw from Cameron that turned a Carlos Gomez single into a man on second that scored on a following single in the 2nd. Then in the 3rd, J.J. misplays a DP ball, safe all around and eventually 3 more runs.

The offense couldn't cash anything in off of Nelson Liriano other than a 2 run single by Cameron and an RBI double for McGehee. Liriano was 2-8 coming into the game, but was able to foil the Brewers long enough to qualify for the win. The Crew left 12 men on base and missed opportunities early, stranding 2 in each of the first 5 innings.

Some mystery was solved regarding the starters for the remainder of the week. With Parra in Nashville (where he K'ed Manny Ramirez in a rehab start on Tuesday) and Bush on the D.L., Mike Burns will start in Bush's spot Thursday and Seth McClung will get another chance in the rotation, taking the bump on Saturday for Parra's spot.

June 21- DET 3 MIL 2
37-32 -1.5 STL
Verlander Still Has Crew's Number
It wasn't a no-hitter this time, but Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander finished off the Tigers 3 game sweep at Comerica with 7.2 innings in which he allowed 2 earned on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts. More importantly, Verlander was able to keep Fielder and Braun at an ofer, only letting Casey McGehee and Craig Counsell beating him for solo shots.

Other than spoiling a road trip that started 3-0, the loss spoiled a solid outing by Yovanni. In 7 innings, he gave up 3 and struckout 8. More importantly, I guess, he gave some rest to the bullpen, which only used Villy in the game. Hopefully, the day off on Monday gives ALL the arms a chance to get ready for the Twins.

Speaking of rest. It was announced on Monday that Dave Bush will skip his next start after he complained of fatigue after his last start. With the prospect of Parra staying in Nashville beyond the weekend, the Crew will have to figure something out, probably today, for a 5th starter.

June 20- DET 9 MIL 5
37-31 -0.5 STL
Shaving the Beard Doesn't Help Bush
Dave Bush improved SLIGHTLY over his last start. This time, he allowed only 5 runs before being lifted in the 4th as the Crew finally relinquished first place in the division. Alfredo Figaro made his major league debut and allowed 8 hits in 5 innings, but also struck out 7 and kept the Crew 1-8 with RISP. The 2 runs against a first timer and 2-14 with runners in scoring position in the game overall was embarrassing enough. Braun was 4-5 with his 15th home run, and Mat Gamel, now settling into his role as the everyday third basemen, was 2-3 with a couple of walks.

June 19- DET 10 MIL 4
37-30 +0.5 STL
Rain Shortens a Disappointing Night in Detroit
A Prince Fielder 3 run tater staked Braden Looper to an early lead, but he wasted no time in frittering it away. Giving up 7 runs before a rain delay halted play in the 4th. The game resumed with Chris Narveson taking the bump and allowing 3 more in 2.2 innings before another rain delay ended the game for good.

Casey McGehee continued to be the hottest hitter on the squad in spite of his banged up knee and ankle. Batting 2nd and DHing, the Cubs castoff was 2-3 with a walk and a run scored and is now hitting .351.

June 17- MIL 9 CLE 8
37-29, 1 game up on STL
Hoffman Let's Cleveland Climb Back Into It
In all fairness, 2 of the 4 Indian runs that scored in the 9th were charged to McClung. Pitching in the unfamiliar situation where he inherited runners, Hoffman gave up Victor Martinez' RBI single, a walk to Shin-Soo Choo (who seemed to be starting a rally every time he came up in this series) and then a 3 run double to Ryan Garko that tied the score at 8.

Hardy continued to recover from his slump as he went 2-3 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and a home run, but his biggest swing of the night was the sac fly in the 11th that won it. Hart also had a good night at the plate with a tater and going 3-5 and in other slumping news, Bill Hall homered for his only hit of the night to get the Brewers back on top in the seventh.

Missing out on the win was Jeff Suppan who worked 6 innings and allowed 3. Would like to see him go deeper to save the pen a bit, but at least there is a day off in Detroit on Thursday. Mike DiFelice got the W with 1.1 innings of relief and Mitch Stetter got the save (his first ever) by striking out Choo and Ben Francisco with men on to end it. It was Stetter's 11th consecutive out by strike out and broke the record of 10 by Ben Sheets.

June 16- MIL 7 CLE 5
36-29, 1 game up on STL
Sumpers Pitch in on Win
J.J. Hardy had to RBI and Cameron and Hall pitched in a RBI a piece in support of Yovanni Gallardo who once again struggled with a high pitch count. While I don't want to discount saving one of the most promising arms in the Brewer's organization, there was a great article on SI.com between Bill James and another columnist who argued that the 100 pitch count is such an uninformed number. That decisions on a multi-million dollar arm is being based entirely on a round number that sounds official. Perhaps I'm just bitter because of the way the bullpen is getting worked and even though Gallardo didn't have the ball after 5 innings, he was still able to keep the Tribe to 2 runs, and who knows what his arm could handle. Couldn't a pitch count be specific to a pitcher?

June 15- MIL 14 CLE 12
35-29 1 game up on STL
Hell of a Game for a National Audience
As one of two games being played in baseball Monday night, the Brewers were given the Monday night baseball slot as they opened up their road trip in Cleveland. By the time I tuned in, Dave Bush had already been chased after 3.1 innings, surrenduring 8 runs and 2 seperate leads, but the offense was hardly done in this game. In the 5th, Braun, who had already homered in the first, hit a 2 run triple and Fielder had a sac fly to whittle away at the 5 run lead that Cleveland starter Carl Pavano was given. Dude, when you can't make it work with Alyssa Milano, you deserve all the major league misfortune you have earned.

Things looked good in the 6th when a Craig Counsell sac fly pulled the Crew within 1 run, and I was feeling pretty good that the bats were going to take this one on their shoulders. Still trying to protect an overworked bullpen, Macha, understandably, left recent call up Chris Narveson in for the 6th, where he was unable to retire anyone and was charged with 3 of the 4 runs that Cleveland put on the board. Home runs in that inning by Travis Hafner and Mark DeRossa seemed to put the game out of reach, but in the 8th, the Crew took advantage of the Cleveland bully.

The bullpen trio of Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges and Rafael Perez could not retire anyone. After the bases were loaded on walks, Braun delivered his 5 RBI of the night with an infield single then Fielder, against incoming pitcher and lefty Perez (who lefty's were batting over .300 against) belted the first pitch he saw for his first career grand slam. It was his 6th RBI of the night and an incredible punctuation that I got to enjoy twice. Once on the Uecker call and then again, a few seconds later on the ESPN telecast. I love it when the radio precedes the TV.

It's still just a W, but it's a great way to start a road trip. The sobering thought however is that Bush in 0-3 with an 8+ ERA in his last 5 starts. Still, feasting on weak pitching is just what this lineup needed and if Hardy comes out of his slump, which he showed signs of doing last night with a hit and a couple of well hit balls, perhaps this offense can carry the team for a bit.
June 14- CWS 5 MIL 4
34-29
Hoffman Comes Back to Earth
After battling back from a 2 run defecit, thanks to Corey Hart's first multi-home run game since last season, Trevor Hoffman gave up an RBI single to A.J. Pierzynski that broke a 4 run tie and sent the Crew to their 6th loss in 7th games. Starter Braden Looper worked 6 innings, giving up 4, but I'm really hoping that someone in the rotation can step up and get a 8 inning start here soon.

June 13- CWS 7 MIL 1
34-28
Parra Signs His Ticket to Nashville
It started all right. A sold out crowd at Miller, a national (although not really since the Yanks and Mets were on here, so I don't think it should be called a national audience) audience and Parra sets down the Sox 1-2-3 in the first. Then, before getting pulled in the 2nd, Parra gave up 6 runs and Jose Contreras, looking good after taking time to properly rehab injury. In fact, Corey Hart was the only Brewer who managed to hit Contreras in his 8 innings.

June 12- MIL 7 CWS 2
34-27
Suppan Showing Gritty Vet Leadership
As one of the biggest Suppan Critics, I'm going to be the first to recognize when he comes up big, and at a time when the starting rotation is struggling, his performance in spots like this could be looked back on and seens as keeping the Brewer's heads above water as they cling to this division lead. Pitching well through 6 innings, Macha (who admitted after the game he sides with pitchers when making PH decisions) left Suppan into hit with 2 on, 2 out in the bottom of the inning. His RBI single was part of a 3 run Brewer rally and a great way to start the series.

Casey McGehee, batting leadoff was 2-4 with 2 RBI and Corey Hart was 2-4 with 2R and 3 RBI with a game saving catch in the 6th that probably kept 2 runs from scoring. The production from Hart is great to see, especially considering the slumps in the rest of the lineup like Cameron, Hardy and Hall. Is it time we can FINALLY say that 2006 season was a HUGE fluke. I know other's have been saying that for a while, and in all fairness, he was 2-4 with an RBI, but considering the contract he was given, this is probably the biggest disappointment on the team... until Suppan gets on my bad side again.

June 11- COL 5 MIL 4
Rec. 33-27
Rockies Running Hot and Draftee Close to Signing
They have now won 8 in a row and the Crew has lost 4 in a row for the first time since early April. I was given a glimmer of hope while listening to the game when Ryan Braun's 3 run HR got them within a run of closer Huston Street, yet the game ended shortly after that and the Rockies had there first sweep in Milwaukee EVER. Gallardo didn't pitch poorly, 2 earned and 3 hits in 5, but he fell victim, (like Bush yesterday), to a high pitch count, needing 50 pitches through 2 innings and gave up 4 walks.

The Brewers sound like they are close to signing their top draft pick however. Eric Arnett, a RHP from Indiana announced he was hoping to have a contract finished by Friday. Arnett was picked 26th overall and was 12-2 with a 2.50 ERA and a school record 109 Ks. With the recent failures of Parra and a lack of any studs in AAA, or even AA, I certainly hope Arnett and the other pitchers taken by the Crew pan out better than Mark Rogers, J.M. Gold or even Jeff D'Amico. Michael Hunt had a great column on the irony that on a day in which the Crew drafted a Big 10 pitcher, the Brewer's were holding UW Day at Miller, honoring the only Big 10 school without a baseball program.

June 10- COL 4 MIL 2
Rec. 33-26
Offense Struggles Against De La Rosa
Former Brewer Jorge de la Rosa was able to hold the Brewer offense to no hits and 2 walks after allowing a 2 run 3rd and won his second straight start after going 0-6. The guy spends 3 years in Milwaukee as part of the great Diamondback ripoff trade and was probably the most underachieving of any of those acquisitions, yet against a lineup where it seems EVERYONE is slumping, he looked great. Dave Bush, in his first start since getting nailed in the arm, fell victim to 3 straight doubles in the 5th and worked his pitch count over 100 before getting out of the jam and surrenduring his 2-1 lead. Troy Tulowitzki and Brandon Hawpe led the Rockies with a solo dinger each and Huston Street struck out the side in the 9th for his 11th save.

It was not a way to treat the 1 millionth fan at Miller this season, probably the earliest the the crew has ever passed that attendance mark.

June 9- COL 3 MIL 2
33-25 2.5 Games in Front of CHI
Bullpen Struggles Again
Coffey took his first loss of the season as he couldn't save starter Braden Looper's fine start in the 7th. After giving up a run, Looper exited for Mark DeFelice, who was able to get the first out of the inning. Then Coffey came in and gave up a walk, a double and a sac fly to surrender a 2 run lead that was built on a Counsel leadoff triple, J.J. Hardy groundout and a Mat Gamel solo shot, his second of the season. The Rockies pitchers did their part from the 5th inning on. Starter Jason Hammel, Matt Daly, Manny Corpas, and Huston Streen retired the final 16 Brewers of the game to seal the win.

My hatred of the Rockies grows. Last season's pathetic performance softened me a little bit, but I hate hot teams that are doing it with smoke and mirrors and a bunch of left handed hitters. And Rockies fans, who have already given up on their team I'm sure, don't desrve any sort of surge by this squad. From what I saw in 2007, they wouldn't appreciate a hot streak if tickets were half price and the third base coach was a topless Hooters girl. Come back to earth Rockies, otherwise your team will give Jim Tracy the job full time and you'll be stuck with him like you were with Clint Hurdle... who I kind of liked.

June 7- ATL 8 MIL 7
33-24 2 games up on STL
Villanueva Human
The loss get's tagged on Carlos Villanueva but after 14.2 scoreless innings, he was bound to be touched up eventually. I just hope this doesn't destroy his confidence. He gave up the tying and go ahead runs in the 8th with two out, and a allowed the Braves to erase a 2 run defecit that the Brewer's built on the strength of 2 Ryan Braun home runs and a Mike Cameron tater. The majority of the Braves early offense came off the bat of Chipper Jones, who was 4-4 with 5 RBI, 2 runs and a home run. Starter Manny Parra got a no-decision, but his 5 earned in 5.2 isn't helping his chances of staying in the starting rotation. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh, but between him and Suppan, the bullpen isn't going to get much rest. Villy was pitching on his 3rd straight day but Macha claims that low pitch counts in his previous 2 appearances didn't concern him when he trotted him out to the mound. Instead, Macha, was going with a hot hand, which I can't argue with.

A 3-4 road trip isn't bad, but the Rockies are playing good ball right now and just completed a sweep in St. Louis. My concern isn't great, but remembering the beatdown in Coors I witnessed in 2007, I really want to see a bit of reality pounded into the Rockies.

June 6- MIL 3 ATL 0
33-23 2 games up on STL
ATL Shutout Again
Especially considering it was Suppan starting, I think most Brewer fans are shocked as hell to see the team bounce back from the series in Miami with consecutive shutouts of the Bravos. Suppan put in 5.1 innings until he needed Coffey and Stetter to bail him out in the 6th. That combined performance of the gritty vet and the bullpen combined nicely with a 2 homer game for Fielder (his 3rd of the season) and some fine defensive plays by Hart and Fielder. Hard deked Yunel Escobar into thinking he was catching a bloop single on the fly. When Escobar froze between 1st and 2nd, Hart was able to throw him out for the force. Then in the 6th, Fielder went home on a hard grounder off the bat of Garret Anderson to get Brian McCann at the plate and erase a leadoff triple.

Mike Cameron got ejected in this game also for bumping the home plate ump on a strike call and even though it sounds like a very minor bump (hat brim to hat brim) a suspension will likely follow.

June 5- MIL 4 ATL 0
Gamel and Gallardo
8 innings of shutout ball was desperately needed and that's what Yo did for the Crew. After giving up a hit in the 3rd, the Braves couldn't manage another hit until the 7th, and considering his mound opponent, it was a good think. Jair Jurrjens, who entered the game with a 2.59 ERA took the loss as Mat Gamel, getting a shot to be the everyday third basemen was 2-4 with 3 RBI. Wanting to save Gallardo's arm, Macha brought Villy in for the ninth, who pitched a perfect 9th. A bullpen with Villy and June NL Pitcher of the month Hoffman are a huge reason why this team in still in first place.

June 4- FLA 4 MIL 3
31-23, Tied w/ STL
Bush Man's Up
Yes, he still took the loss thanks to serving up a 3 run tater to starter Josh Johnson but he took a Hanley Ramirez liner off his forearm in the 1st and still managed to give the Crew 6 innings, something that hadn't happened in a while. Fielder took care of the Brewer's offense with an RBI triple and a late, 2 run home run, but Johnson pitched 7.2 innings of 5 hit ball and the Crew was to settle for 1 out of 3 in Miami.

Early response on Bush's arm makes it sound like he might miss a start, with the Crew using an off day on Monday to skip his turn.

June 3- MIL 9 FLA 6
31-22 1 game in front of STL
Bullpen Pulls it Together Again
This was the 5th straight start where the Crew didn't get at least 6 innings from a starter. Macha pulled Looper with 2 outs in the 5 after he saw the Marlins erode a 9-1 defecit to a 9-5 defecit. McClung got Dan Uggla to strike out with the bases loaded to end the Florida threat and he went on to get the win. The Crew was able to build that lead with a monster 5th inning of their own which included 3 consecutive walks to Hall, Kendall and Looper by Hayden Penn. For loading the bases with Murderers Row, the Marlins released Penn after the game. It was great to see some offense in this game, especially against newcomer Sean West who had looked impressive in his 1st 2 starts, but not great to see it shut off after the 5th. Still, a split in Florida is possible, so I'll keep hope alive.

June 2- FLA 10 MIL 3
30-22 Tied with STL

Another Short Outing for Parra
Parra became the 4 consecutive starter to work less than 6 innings in his 10 run, 4 inning outing that did nothing to help a battered bullpen. Mike Burns arrived a few hours before game time from Nashville and was able to shut down the Marlins for the final 4 innings. The bats worked starter Anibal Sanchez in the first, running his pitch count to 40 and chasing him after 3, but that didn't translate to runs. A sacrafice fly by Parra was the only damage and Burk Badenhop shut the Crew down for another 5. It was Corey Hart's home run in the 9th that was the remainder of the Crews output.

It certainly seems like the Brewer's pitching is coming back down to earth.

June 1- FLA 7 MIL 4
30-21 1 game in front of STL
Julio Finished After Horrible 6th
A bullpen that was overworked in the weekend series with the Reds desperately needed Jorge Julio to work a solid inning in relief of starter Jeff Suppan. Suppan struggled through 5 innings, but was able to limit Florida to 2 runs. A 2 run lead that was built when Marlins starter Andrew Miller issued bases loaded walks to Kendall and Suppan in a 3 run 2nd that should have been a bigger inning had Fielder and Cameron not run into outs on the base paths. Hart added an RBI single in the 3rd and McGehee added to the score in the 5th, so all that was needed was Julio to continue with 4 scoreless appearance streak and bridge the gap to Coffey and Villy. That didn't happen. He gave up a lead off single, hit the next guy, walked another, then fell victim to a Prince Fielder error. After a Hanley Ramirez RBI infield single, he hit Jorge Cantu to drive in the go ahead run and his night and career as a Brewer were over. They still had a chance in the 7th with 2 on and 2 out, but Jody Gerrut, playing for Cameron who left with a knee injury, grounded out and the road trip, which will only get harder considering the pitchers the Crew will face in the back half of this series, is off to a horrible start.

May 31- MIL 5 CIN 2
Rec. 30-20 1 Game Up On STL
Reds Get Swept by Gallardo and Cameron
I had dropped the jar of pickles before Gallardo left the mound to change shirts but I'll atribute the mess on Lexi's kitchen floor to a premonition of horror that would soon be on me when Uecker said, "and judging from the way he's walking, he's not coming back." No real explanation as to WHY Gallardo had to change his shirt, though you could sense all of the air being sucked out of Miller Park and my pickle scented kitchen until Yo returned to the mound. Yo cruised early on, retiring 8 of his first 9 outs on Ks, but in the 6th, nearing 100 pitches and facing 1st and 3 with 1 out, Mitch Stetter came on to get Chris Dickerson and Jerry Hairston, Jr. and end a Red threat. Yo finished with 9 Ks in 5⅓ and allowed 2 runs: 1 earned on Brandon Phillips 9th homer, his 2nd of the series and 1 unearned on a Mike Cameron error.

Cameron made up for the error with a 2 run home run in the 3rd, his 11th, and was 2-4 with a run scored and 3 RBI. Cam is now batting .284 and really giving the lineup a nice look with him in the 5 spot. Hart, who managed another hit today, has kind of relinquished his role in the lineup to Matt Gamel, who hit 6th again today and went 2-3 with an RBI. It looks like Gamel will stick around, although he's Macha's first choice it seems for double switching when he wants Hall's leather at 3b.

Hoffman earned his 13th save, although he looked somewhat mortal today, with his 1st walk and wild pitch as a Brewer. I left to go to work around the 7th, confident the bullpen would take care of business and Stetter, DiFelice and Hoffman did. Now that SF takes care of St. Louis, the Brewer's are a game up in the division thanks to a go-ahead HR by RICH AURILIA and the Cardinals drop 2 of 3 in the Bay Area.

May 30- MIL 9 STL 5
Rec. 29-20, TIED with STL
Offense, McClung Bail Out Bush
The Crew hadn't beaten Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang in over 2 season, but with their highest run total since May 9th, the Brewers made up for Dave Bush's poor outing and chased Harang after 4⅓. 8 consecutive Brewer's reached in a 6 run 5th in which Mike Cameron's 2 run dinger put the Crew in front, 6-5. Braun led the inning off with a solo shot and Hall, Rivera and Counsell added to the lead with insurance RBI.

Bush just didn't have it today, but considering the previous 10 game stretch hasn't seen a Brewer run total over 4, I think he was entitled to have the offense and defense pick him up after a 3 run first. Fielder erased that defecit in the the bottom of the frame with a 3 run tater that moved him 2 in front of Phillie's Raul Ibanez for the league lead in RBI. Then the 4th was kept from getting out of hand when CC turned a 4-3 DP and Ryan Hannigan was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a double to left.

McClung, who came in during the 5th, pitched 3 scoreless with no walks to win his 2nd of the season and Harang, who gave up 8, fell to 5-5.
May 29- MIL 3 CIN 2
Rec. 28-20 TIED with STL
Looper Comes Through on Tough Day
Braden Looper spent the off day on Thursday at his grandfather's funeral in Oklahoma. He struggled a bit in the 4th after a 2 out walk to Ryan Hannigan burned him when Ramon Hernandez (4-5 versus Looper) took him deep. Hannigan was unfortunately in the game for Reds slugger Joey Votto who had to leave in the 2nd with dizzy spells. Apparently, it's something happening frequently to Cincy's first baseman and you never like seeing that kind of injury for any player... because you know there is little that can be done, or at lease it seems that way.

The Crew struck early, then kind of petered out after Braunie walked and Prince hit his 11th tater of the season. The go ahead run was a solo home run from Corey Hart, who may be breaking out of his slump with a 3 hit night, which included becoming the first righty to take Johnny Cueto yard this year and helping Looper move to 5-3. Counsell made a great DP in the 8th to end a Red threat after Todd Coffey gave up 2 singles and Hoffman worked the 9th for his 12th save.

May 27- STL 3 MIL 2
Rec.: 27-20 1.0 GB STL
Where's Rickie?
I don't know how you can say Rickie bad doesn't make a difference when in the 9 games since May 19th, the Crew is 3-6 with no more than 4 runs in any of those games. That's not to say professional hitter Craig Counsell isn't doing admirably in the lead off spot. In the 3 games with the Cards, he was 5-13 and Macha has not put him at the top of the order for 7 straight.

The Cards pitchers also learned not to hand out so many free passes, only 5 walks total in the 3 game series were taken by the Crew and they lost their 2nd consecutive series after winning or tying the last the last 10.

May 26- STL 8 MIL 1
Rec.: 27-19 Tied with STL
OK, Bats Need to Wake Up
I was willing to pass off the poor hitting in Minnesota to Minnesota, and the euphoria of yesterday's 1-0 win and Chris Carpenter's good stuff (even with all his injuries which have probably rested his arm) covered any concern, but now the Crew struggled against the good, but not THAT good, Adam Wainwright. Suppan only made it 3.2 innings, giving up 5 runs and only 4 hitters in the linup got hits. They were 0-8 with runners in scoring position and spoiled a bases loaded, no out situation in the 3rd after they only scored 1 on a Fielder groundout. I actually turned this game off before it was over. The ups and downs of a major league baseball season are too frantic to carry from day to day and I'm wondering if I need another break from the team.

Meanwhile, Wainwright dominated the Crew again and the Crew fell to even with the Cards and the Reds are still hanging in there, 1.5 games back. It should also be noted that the Cubs won after scuffling against the Padres.
May 25- MIL 1 STL 0
Rec.: 27-18 1 Game in Front of STL
Close to Perfection
The crowd at Miller for a Memorial Day matinee got, what I felt, was the best in baseball. Gallardo took a no-hitter into the 7th and Chris Carpenter took a perfect game into 8th when Craig Counsell led off with a single. I missed most of this game while working at REI, but I got to KUTV in time to listen to the last few innings and hear slumping Bill Hall win it with a single to right center. Villy ended up getting the win after shutting down the Cards in the 10th. It was the first time since 1997 that two starters carried a no-hitter into the 7th and Gallardo ended up only surrenduring 2 in 8 innings.

May 24- MIN 6 MIL 3
Rec.: 26-18
Mauer's Wrist Keeps Inning Alive
I don't know if Mitch Stetter's inside pitch to Joe Mauer in the 7th actually hit the bat or bone first, but it was obvious Mauer was in pain. However, home plate ump Adrian Johnson called it a foul ball and it looked like the Crew could escape the 2 on, 2 out jam. Instead, after an intense argument with Ron Gardenhire, Johnson, who appeared pretty pissed, reversed his call and awarded Mauer first. Macha was aghast, although Steve Phillips on Sunday Night Baseball thought Macha didn't do enough to get thrown out and possibly fire his team up. I'm not sure firing the team up would have made a difference however after Justin Morneau hit a grand slam.

The game was tight until then, the Crew was only down by a run after Mike Cameron's 250th career home run. Dave Bush wasn't his usual self, walking 4 in 6.2, but until the 7th, he had the team in that game. Scott Baker, the Twins starter, baffled the Crew for most of the game, yet there was some hope when Prince hit a 2 run bomb in the 9th to chase him and bring in Joe Nathan, who shut the door.

May 23- MIN 6 MIL 2
Rec.: 26-17
Really Beginning to Hate the Twins
There isn't much to hate about the Twins other than their stadium and fans but that dome just gets into the head of Wisconsin teams, whether it be Favre and the Pack or the Brewers. Anthony Swarzak, making his ML debut, managed to shut the Brewers out for 7 innings on 5 hits and 2 walks. The Twins pitchers are just not giving up the free passes that the Crew has been taking advantage of lately. Brewer killer Kevin Slowey didn't give up any walks in the opening loss of the season. Joe Mauer continued his hot hitting since coming back from the DL with a 3-3 night, 3 scored and 3 RBI.

May 22- MIN 11 MIL 3
Rec.: 26-16 Up 1 Game on STL
Parra Falls Prey to Homerdome
I don't think the roof played a part in a botched DP in a 4 run 4th, however, I am really suspicious that the reason Minnesota's interleague record is so good is because NL teams just aren't used to that dump of a stadium. If Counsell (playing in place of Hardy who left with back spasms) turns that DP, maybe Parra has a better line than 3.1 innings, 9 runs, 8 earned. Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle and the Twins now have 10 players that have hit for the cycle in their franchise history. I'm going to pin that on the dome as well.

Considering the White Sox had 20 hung on them by the Twinkies the night before, I should be glad it was only an 8 run loss.

May 21- MIL 4 HOU 3
Rec.: 26-15 2.0 games ahead STL
McClung Shuts 'Stros Down and Lot's of Moves
It wasn't what we've come to expect of Suppan of late but thankfully, it wasn't what we used to get from Suppan either. He couldn't retire anyone in the 6th after already surreduring 3 runs and letting the first two hitters reach. McClung finished the inning with no more damage, Villanueva had his 9th straight scoreless appearance in the 7th, Coffey took care of the 8th and Hoffman shut it out... although he did allow 2 Astros to reach.

Craig Counsell (leading off and now hitting .342) and J.J. Hardy finally chased Roy Oswalt in the 7th with the team down 2. With the bases loaded, Prince had a 2 run single to tie it up and scuffling Corey Hart scored Braun with a go ahead double off Chris Sampson, the 3rd pitcher of the inning.

Lot's of personell moves made. First off, Tony Gwynn, Jr., traded to San Diego for Jody Gerut, a left handed veteran outfielder who Melvin hopes will be more effective off the bench. With Brad Nelson gone and Chris Duffy probably the victim of this recent transaction, the Crew is obviously trying to strengthen the bench. I hope this works out for Tony, who was hitting well in Nashville and should make the big league roster in San Diego. With that team's problems, he could be starting. Speaking of Padre's problems, Peavey apparently nixed a deal to the White Sox. That means the Crew could still get him (although I don't know what we could give him) and it also means the Cubs could get him... NOOOOOOOOO! The other move was that R.J. Swindle, a lefty was called up from Nashville and Hernan Iribarren was sent down. He was 0-2 with 2 Ks in 1 game, which I can't recall when.

May 20- HOU 6 MIL 4
Rec.: 25-15 2.0 games up on STL
Streak Ends and Coop Can't Fill Out a Lineup Card
Left Wandy Rodriquez put the halt on a win streak tonight as Yovanni Gallardo failed to match that complete game he threw in Houston back in April. The big story in this game was probably that Michael Bourne got to bat twice in the 1st because Cooper didn't right in Kaz Matsui on the Crew's lineup card.

Bill Hall, who was given a chance to hit a righty in this game, continued to scuffle. In the 9th, as the tying run, Hall came to the plate against righty Chris Sampson and K'd on 3 pitches, his 4th strikeout of the night. Macha probably won't tolerate that kind of performance too much longer before he goes back to a platoon. Poor Bill Hall but that 35 HR season seems longer than 3 years ago.

May 19- MIL 4 HOU 2
Rec.: 25-14 3 Games Up on CHI
7 in a Row
After climbing into that 4-9 hole to start the season, the crew has now equaled their best start to season, matching the mark by the 2007 squad... which of course tanked in the second half to let the division slip to the Cubs.

But now it's 2009, and the Crew has Trever Hoffman, who saved his 10th for the Brewes on 8 pitches. He only needed TWO to retire the first two. The article on brewers.com, without going into details, said that Hoffman's routine usually keeps him out of the bullpen until the 6th, and involves working out after the game as well. I realize there are plenty of athletes that take their preparation routine seriosly, but I can appreciate the obsessive complusiveness of Hoffman's ritual... especially down to the Hells Bells.

Dave Bush worked out of a no out jam right off the bat in the first, and faced more troubles in 4 of the 6 he pitched. In the first, Kaz Matsui scored (credited with a steal of home) from 3b when a rundown of Michael Bourne was botched. However, Bushy got Carlos Lee to ground into a DP and ended the threat with a harmless pop up from Tejada. Bush is now 3-0.

On the offensive side, J.J. had 2 RBI, including the go ahead single in the 6th to overcome a Russ Ortiz home run, the only earned run Bush gave up.

May 18- MIL 8 STL 4
Rec.: 24-14 2.0 Games in Front of CHI
Weeks out for the season
It's hard not to feel good when you sweep the Cards in St. Louis, but a few hours before game time, I logged on at work to see Weeks status after leaving the game early last night. Out for the SEASON! This guy is finally having the season we all expected, and now it's toast. I like the team's offense alot, but it's hard not to see Weeks as a major player in the batting order quality. Kind of spoiled a night where Looper made the Brewers major league leading 24th quality start, Kendall got his 2,000th hit and Mat Gamel hit a 3 run bomb to put the game out of reach. Once again, walks were the story for the offense. St. Louis gave up 11 in the contest. Nice to see that role reversing after all the free passes issued at the start of the season.

May 17- MIL 8 STL 2
Rec.: 23-14 1.5 in front of CHI
Pitching Over Their Heads
That's what I told my dad when we talked on Sunday, but I'm not going to worry about it now. Parra won his 3 straight start and benefited from a quick start by that bats. The Crew scored 4 in the 1st of Todd Wellmeyer, all with 2 outs, on home runs by J.J. Hardy and Jason Kendall. Wellmeyer ended up walking 7 and hitting 2, but he still kept the game from getting out of hand by not allowing a hit, let alone a run for the remainder of his 5.2 inning outing. The Crew didn't really tack any more runs until Fielder his a 3 run jack in the 7th.

In a conversation with Lexi later Sunday night, who is taking a great interest in the Crew, she told me that her mother, who apparently listens to sports radio, heard the Brewers are doing well, but Lexi didn't want to jinx anything by telling me exactly what she said. I'm trying not to be superstitious, I think it's more that I don't want to get too high, especially considering we're only 35 games into the season. And an example of that is being reminded that all it takes is one injury to change your fortune. Rickie left the game in the 1st with soreness in his wrist and he's heading to Arizona to have it checked out. I think it was his left wrist, the one that he had a tendon repaired in 2006.

May 16- MIL 1 STL 0
Rec.: 22-14 0.5 in front of CHI
Who is Wearing Suppan's Jersey?
I really shouldn't mock him, since starting the season 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA, Soup has gone 3-1 with a 2.91 ERA and today, beat the Cards in a 1-0 game where Corey Hart's home run (first in 27 games) was the only offense the lineup could muster. It was only the sixth time the Brewer's have won a game with 2 or less hits and to my surprise (even with his recent mistake) Suppan was able to make that hold up. It also helps that Suppan owns the Cards. Since coming over in the 2007 season, he is 5-0 with a 1.66 ERA. The only real threat Suppan faced was in the 7th (his final inning) when J.J. made a tremendous play on a Skip Schumaker grounder in the hole to get a force at 2nd and save Suppan from a 1st and 3rd situation. Adam Wainwright took the loss for the Cards, who LaRussa said, "didn't pay as much attention to Suppan when he was a Cardinal as Suppan paide to them." It sounds like Soup was really offended by the Cards lowball offer in 2006. I've never doubted Suppan's character as a good guy, but I've often questioned his value as a $42 million pitcher. With the way he's been able to overcome his struggles, and more importantly, the fan scrutiny, I have gained even more respect for him. Everyone loves a guy who can turn things around.

May 14- MIL 5 FLA 3
Rec.: 21-14 TIED for First
Bush Gets it Done Against the Fish
First game in a while I've been able to listen to from start to finish, and it was great to hear Dave Bush again give the Crew a great chance to win. At 29 years old, I just wonder what this guy was doing with his career until now. 7 innings, 3 runs, 2 earned, 7 Ks and 1 walk. It was the performance that the offense needed to overcome a 1-0 defecit early on. Patience once again pays off at the plate as the Crew worked Florida starter Josh Johnson for 5 walks in 4 innings of work. That will spark combacks every time, although Bill Hall home runs help as well. It was his 4th and helped raise his average to .278. Prince Fielder's 8th tater put the Brewer's on top for good in the 5th and DiFelice and Hoffman worked 2 perfect innings to close things out. Ross Gload, who did get a home run taken away by instant replay on Wednesday, got it back with a solo shot in the 5th.

May 13- MIL 8 FLA 6
Rec.: 20-14, TIED WITH STL AND CIN
Instant Replay and Rickie Almost Hits for the Cycle
Another come from behind victory, their 12th, as the Crew scored 5 with 2 out in the 4th to win. Patience pays off as Hart and Kendall sparked that rally with consecutive walks. Weeks started the game with a first pitch home run, a triple in the third and an RBI infield single in that important 4th. He just missed the cycle by a double. The Brewer's got in a 3 run hole early, before Braden Looper even recorded an out in the 1st, but he limited the damage enough for the bats to come through, only walking 1 in 6 innings, which probably helped the Marlins from putting together a really big inning.

The other reason the Fish didn't get a big inning was an instant replay reversal of a 2 run, pinch hit home run by Ross Gload in the 6th. Originally ruled a HR by Bruce Dreckman, who was chasing it down the right field line, the call was reviewed and Looper ended up striking out Gload to end the inning.

He got the win and is now 3-2, though a great deal of credit has to go to Trevor Hoffman for having another, no-stress save, which allows the rest of the bullpen to relax a bit, even if they give up another run like Coffey did in the 7th. I'm not sure why, however, Coffey get's credit for a HOLD with a line of ⅔ of an inning and 1 earned with a walk? Anyway, as I told Ryan as Hoffman was working on out number 3, that Hells Bells is in there. Situation under control. I hate to get to cocky this early in the season, but I can't remember a closer in recent memory who was so "lockdown". Maybe Coco but he was always an adventure in the 9th it seemed.

May 12- MIL 6 FLA 3
Rec.: 19-14, 1 GB STL
Fielder Leads the Slugfest
Ken Macha may be the difference. Yes, the Schedule has been weak, but this team, so far, is exceding the accomplishments of the '08 squad. A few posts back, I noted that the team was behind last years pace. In fact, I was wrong. Yes, that horrible start to this season left a bad taste in my mouth, and I carried that forward, even through this recent hot streak as some sort of indicator that the team was underperforming. They've now won 15 of 20 and are now only a game out of first with a trip to St. Louis on Friday. Two Fielder HRs tonight, off a lefty, that was how they put down the fish and overcame a 3-0 defecit. Strikes me that I haven't bought a Marlin's hat. Should know by now that superstitions are worthless.

May 10- CHI (N) 4 MIL 2
Rec.: 18-14 2 GB STL
Comes to an End
An impressive 20 games in 20 day stretch in which they went 14-6 came to an end with a loss to the Cubs. The Brewers strand 10 runners and Suppan, while hardly the Jugs pitching machine he was at the start of the season, had one poor inning that the offense couldn't overcome. Weeks homered to lead off the game and Villanueva and DiFelice combined for 3 innings of 1 hit ball.

May 9- MIL 12 CHI (N) 6
That's Going to Smart Dempster
I wanted a little payback to the Cubs for the beatdown I had to witness in April, and this W went a ways towards that. Counsell and Braun went back to back in a 6 run 7th and Braun insited more venom when he stared down Dempster after his tater. Dempster had come high and tight and nicked Braun in the helmet the at-bat before, so Braun admiring his home run seemed warranted. It guaranteed a series win over the Cubs and made me feel a little easier about the Brewers wins over lesser opponents in a streak that has now erased most of that early season disappointment.

Braun didn't speak as vociferously about being nailed as he did in the Pittsburgh series, which is fine, but I'm sure Macha had something to do with that. Macha made a point of publically saying he preferred Weeks "head down" home run trot.

May 8- MIL 3 CHI (N) 2

Re.: 17-13 2 GB STL

It's Nice to Have Hoffman

I don't know if it's because I was tired or because my shift at REI kept me from listening to this game but Lexi was surprised that I wasn't more enthusastic about this win over the sCrUBS. The Crew came back from their winning road trip and thanks to Braunies 2 run shot off Chi reliever Aaron Heilman in the 8th, won the first of a 3 game series at Miller. Heilman had walked leadoff Corey Hart right off the bat, which gave him little room for error with the 3-4 dur of Braun and Fielder due up. My knowledge of this game was limited to a few glances at brewers.com while dealing with a sales crowd at CS. I saw they were down 2-0 at first, but a 2 run HR by J.J. Hardy in the 6th tied things up. Bush, who pitched 7 strong, wasn't in line for the win, despite another quality start, but Mitch Stetter got his 2nd win by getting Geovani Soto to ground out with the bases loaded to end the 8th after Villanueva had trouble mopping up after a Bill Hall error. When I checked the brewers.com website and saw Hoffman was in with a 1 run lead in the 9th, I felt pretty good, and why shouldn't I, the guy has been solid and despite his age, is pretty damn dependable. Maybe I should change my JSO screen name.

While watching the highlights of this game on Basball Tonight, Lexi and I saw that Aramis Ramirez suffered a pretty severe shoulder dislocation while stopping a Braun liner in the 3rd. He'll probably be out for an extended period of time. I hate feeling happy about injuries, but let's face it, this is going to make the Cubs offense much less potent. It happens to everyone, so you hate to take pleasure in it, which I won't, because who knows how the injury bug could bite the Crew.

May 7- CIN 6 MIL 5

Rec.: 16-13 3 GB STL

Looper Struggles

Hardly a start that indicates Looper's importance to solidifying the staff this season, but he was the first to admit after the game that his 5 runs in 3.1 innings was unacceptable. The Crew was able to get back into this game and could have tied it up had Brad Nelson's warning track fly ball gone out but instead the road trip ended at 3-1, acceptable in my mind. Jay Bruce and Willy Taveras touched up Looper in the first two innings for home runs but the bullpen combo of McClung, DiFelice, Stetter and Julio did a valiant job of keeping the team in it, allowing only 1 run over 4.2. I was watching the Bees get pounded by the Tacoma Reiners with Lexi, Rachael and Charles while this was going on, so perhaps me wearing a Bees hat as opposed to a Crew hat is to blame.

May 6- MIL 15 CIN 3

Rec.: 16-12 2 GB STL

That's the Output I Like Seeing

I remember about this time last season, when the Brewers were having a much more successfull spring campaign than they are in 2009. that I was concerned over the lack of big run totals in their scores. Surely a lineup like theirs could manage to lay some offensive beat downs of 10+ runs on lesser teams. That's exactly what happened tonight, a 12 run margain that was the result of a 5 run 1st, 4 run 2nd and 5 run 9th. Manny Parra was allowed a sizeable pillow with which to pitch thanks to Braunie hitting the Crew's first GS of the season and Hot hitting Hardy banging a 3 run job off Bronson Arroyo. Parra got his first win of the season, but still walked 4 in 6 innings, not something you should be doing when you are staked to an early 9 run lead. The game became a laugher when Dusty Baker brought in shortstop Paul Janish to mop up the 9th. He started out by striking out J.J., but the Brewer's hung another 5 spot on the board with a 2 run tater from Fielder. Braun had a career 6 RBI in the game and Hardy also chipped in 3 RBI.

May 5- MIL 8 PIT 5
Rec.: 15-12, 2.0 GB STL
J.J.'s Night Runs the Streak to 17
17 games, that's how many the Crew has won in a row from the Pirates. I hate to sound unapreciative of the win, but I feel for the Pirates. The organization has now gone 16 seasons without a winning record and has lost more consecutive games to one opponent than any team since 1970. When you are a fan of a team like the Brewers, you know how those 9,000 fans at PNC Park must have felt, suffering in the rain while their pitching staff walked 10 Brewers. Every year starts with a team full of young prospects with promise and every year ends with the club saying, "Next Year". It would kill me to see a team with talent, like the Crew of Dave Nilsson, Jose Valentin, Jeff D'Amico and Greg Vaughn fail to get over .500. Then it was Scott Podsednik, Richie Sexson, Geoff Jenkins and Scott Karl that would dash my hopes. It just made me realize, every team has talent, and every fan buys into that talent. I'm not saying the players I mentioned weren't good players, but let's face it, Freddy Sanchez, Andy LaRoche and Zach Duke aren't getting it done an Pittsburgh. I guess it takes talent like that, mixed with someone as amazingly valuable as Ryan Braun or Prince Fielder sitting in the middle of the lineup, to REALLY make a difference. Makes a fan savor what he has I guess and wonder how a fan of the Yankees or Red Sox must feel.

Being a night I worked at the station running "Sloperator" with a 5pm Mountain start, and a night when I wanted to get out for a jog, I didn't hear much of this game. Turned it on around the 6th, when the Brewers took a lead with the help of a J.J. 2 run single, his 3rd and 4th RBI of the night. He was 3-3 with runners in scoring position Tuesday night and reached base 5 times. Of course that helped raise his average from .167 to .195. Mendoza Line... LOOKOUT!

Jeff Suppan evened his record to 2-2 with 5⅔ innings and Carlos Villanueva worked a perfect 9th for his 3rd save. Good to see Macha is being cautious with Hoffman. Yost would always SAY he was not going to overwork his closer but seemed to always be in that situation, especially with Cordero, where he had no choice. Maybe the bullpen is deeper than I thought and this may be the best way for Villy to train as the closer of the future.

May 4- MIL 7 PIT 4 Rec.: 14-12 3.0 GB STL
Braun Crosses a Time Zone to Blast the Buccos
Braunie started the morning in a Milwaukee hospital getting an MRI on his back. In the 8th inning, he delivered a 2 run double off Jon Grabow to tie the game in Pittsburgh. The MRI revealed that Braun wouldn't do any further damage to his back if he continued to play, which was great for the Crew because until that inning, Pat Maholm had absolutely stymied the bats, allowing only 1 run.

The Pirates were back in a position to win in the 9th however after a Wisconsin native Jason Jaramillo doubled in a run in the bottom of the 8th and the Pirates turned things over to closer Matt Capps, who was 5-5 this season in save opportunities. Instead, Jason Kendall and pinch hitter Jason Kendall singled, Corey Hart walked and J.J. Hardy (batting second again) sac flied in the tying run. Then Ricke stepped up and ripped a 3 run tater to the deep left field in PNC Park and put the Crew up for good. Mark DiFelice got his 3 win of the season, in relief, and Hoffman closed it out. The Brewer's have now won 16 in a row against the Pirates, the longest streak since Arizona did that to Cincinnati from 2001-2003.