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.

May 3- MIL 4 AZ 3 Rec.: 13-12

Duffy Delivers

There was a sellout crowd for Braunie bobblehead day, but the slugger had to sit again with his back problem that had him out yesterday. Nelson got the start in left, but was replaced by Chris Duffy for defense in the 7th. The Brewers got their first "back-to-back" taters from Fielder and Cameron early in the game but after a 3 run D-Back 7th in which Dave Bush gave up three solo shots, it was Duffy's bases loaded fielder's choice that gave the Crew their go ahead run.

Not a bad way to end the homestand, 5-2 with Dave Bush giving the Crew another strong start. Sure, 3 taters in an inning is no fun, but it was the only blemish on a 7 inning, 7 strikeout, no walk performance. Mitch Stetter ended up getting the win in relief with a perfect inning of work.

Macha mixed up the lineup today with Braunie's absence. He went with Hart leading off, Hardy batting second and Weeks third. It was a rare spot for Weeks to be in and Hardy, who had a few days off, responded well with a single that ignited the comeback in the 8th.

May 2- Arizona 4 Milwaukee 1 Rec.: 12-12

Dan Haren Outduels Looper

Looper, even as one of the most consistent pitchers for the Crew this young season, was amazingly good through 4 innings. He retired the first 12 he faced and when 7 innings, but Dan Haren cuffed the Crew for 8 innings with 11 Ks. The bullpen of Jorge Julio and Seth McClung kept the D-Backs off the board after Looper came out but a lineup with Braun out for "tightness in the back" couldn't muster more than a lone RBI off Prince's bat.


A great size crowd however was at Miller to witness it: 42,240. Glad to see early season baseball is getting people excited in Wisconsin.

May 1- Arizona 5 Milwaukee 2 Record: 12-11 4.5 GB St. Louis

An Argument for Instant Replay

Tom Haudricourt was pretty adament in the JS that the Crew got screwed by a blown call by 3B ump Brian Gorman on a pivotal 2 out double by Tony Clark in a 4 run 8th inning. That call could have made a difference but let's face it, the reason the Crew was in that position in the first place was that Villanueva couldn't get the 3rd out, instead walking Connor Jackson to give the Diamondbacks some life in the top half of the inning. I'm also going to put some blame on the bats for failing to give adequate run support to Manny in one of his best starts of the season: 6 innings, 1 earned, 3 hits and 8 Ks against 4 walks. Counsel, getting another start at SS as JJ Hardy tries to get his head together, was 3-4 and scored 1 of 2 runs in the 7th when the Crew finally chase Jon Garland from the game.

April 30- Milwaukee 4 Arizona 1 Record: 12-10
3 Quality Starts for Suppan
Suppan has been so effective of late, that Felipe Lopez' leadoff home run almost didn't concern me. Sure enough, Soup settled down to make that the only run he allowed in 6⅓ innings. Thankfully, the "S" Suppan was wearing under his jersey was for "super" and not "suck" tonight because Arizona starter Max Scherzer was throwing seeds. However, the much more patient Brewers were able to work his pitch count to 107 after 6 innings and the Crew got to feast on the AZ bullpen, starting with Tom Gordon who walked Hall to lead off the inning, then threw 2 wild pitches which got him moved over. Hall ended up getting caught off 3B on a fielders choice, but Rickie Weeks singled with two on tied the game up, then Fielder's bases loaded walk was the winner. Once again, it was Cameron came up big after that with a 2 run double, 1 of his 3 hits on the night. It was also a 3 hit night for Weeks, so you can say it was a great night for the usual "dogs" of the team, Suppan, Weeks and Cameron. Actually, Cameron really would be the offensive MVP of the month in my opinion. The centerfielder batted .333 for the month and has 6 dingers and 9 doubles with a sever drop in strikeouts from last season.

Hoffman had his request to have "Hells Bells" cranked louder in the PA and came in for his 2nd save as a Brewers.

April 29- Gallardo 1 Pittsburgh 0 Record: 11-10 3½ GB St. Louis

Yovani Beats Pittsburgh on His Own

I guess the other 8 professional hitters in Milwaukees lineup were just there to give Yovani a break in the dugout as he did EVERYTHING to get his 3rd win of the season. Seriously, this game was ALL Gallardo, or as Karl Ravich called him, "Yovani Go-Yard-O". 8 innings (the first 4⅓ of which were perfect), 2 hits, 11 Ks, 1 BB and the lone run of the game, a home run off an 0-2 changeup from Ian Snell that made him only the third pitcher in the modern era to have 10+ Ks and the sole home run in a 1-0 game. Over his last 23 innings, Gallardo has given up 2 runs on 12 hits and struck out 25 and the Brewer's needed him to deal today, because Snell had a hell of a day as well. Snell was able to work around 4 walks over 7 to keep the Crew's lineup at bay. According to JSO, Braun even predicted Gallardo was going to take care of things himself with a home run. I hope they don't rely on that too much; the rest of the lineup only got 4 hits off Snell who struck out Braun 3 times.

With Gallardo at 116 pitches, Carlos Villanueva came out for the 9th and set the 2-3-4 of the Pirates order down, finishing with a strikeout of lefty Adam LaRoche on a 3-2 slider to get the his second save of the season.

The Crew also called up Carlos Corporan from Nashville to replace Rivera who is on the DL with an ankle sprain suffered in a collision at home on Tuesday. It also appears that Lorenzo Cain's injury isn't as serious as first thought and he will be back this season.

April 28- Milwaukee 6 Pittsburgh 5 Record: 10-10 3½ GB St. Louis
Rickie gets it Done Again and Hoffman Closes it Out
Now that the Crew is at .500, I will include their divisional placement in the blog. Years of losing seasons have made me believe that just getting over .500 is a goal in and of itself and if you can do that, then you can start worrying about winning the division. Well, thanks to the Pirates losing their 14th in a row to the Brewers (and their 17th consecutive at Miller) the Crew can start thinking about maybe climbing up the NL Central ladder.

I couldn't get this game on MLB radio for some reason, a problem that I hope was a one time event, so I had to keep checking Gameday while marking up the 9 at work. What I observed before I went into the control room was Bush had some troubles and the Crew squandered a few situations early on, including Fielder flying out with the bases loaded in the 3rd and grounding out with Braun on 2b in the 5th against tough lefty Pat Maholm.

Meanwhile, the Pirates were able to get 5 in 5 against Bush, 4 earned thanks to Weeks 5 error of the season. Weeks made up for it with a 2 run, go ahead tater in the 6th that also included a Bill Hall solo shot. Weeks is now hitting .268, which seems lower than it should be since he seems to be doing MUCH better at getting hits. He's had the difference making RBI 2 nights in a row now.

The night was wrapped up with Trevor Hoffman's first save as a Brewer, getting a 4-6-3 DP to end it with the bullpen of Julio, Stetter, Coffey and Hoffman working scoreless from the 6th on and giving up only 1 hit. I was especially happy to see Julio have a good outing and lower that obscene ERA to single digits after several days of work with Bill Castro.

April 27- Milwaukee 10 Pittsburgh 5 Record: 9-10
Braun Starts Bad Blood with Buccos and Hoffman's 1st Appearance
The surprise Bucos came into this game with a staff ERA of 2.97, best in the majors, but dingers by Braun, Weeks and Cameron gave the Crew their biggest run total of the season. Looper was a little rusty out of the gates, letting 4 Pirates reach base in the 1st, but he limited the damage and left with a 5-3 lead after 5. Unfortunately, Carlos Villanueva coughed up another lead, otherwise, it was a good night by the bullpen that included Trevor Hoffman's debut as a Brewer, coming in in a non-save situation and getting a 1-2-3 inning.

The game also included a questionable plunking of Braun by Jeff Karstens, possibly in retaliation for Braun's dinger in the 1st. I'm not sure who Jeff Karstens is and what his reasoning was, but Braun certainly thought it was intentional. The homeplate ump immediately warned the benches, leaving little opportunity for retaliation but I loved Braun's interview with Corey Provus after the game. In it, he said, "Tell Mr. Selig. We'll see what happens. It's going to be interesting." Even a day later, Braun was talking about it, saying he thinks the pitch was ordered by manager John Russell because Karsten didn't even look at Braun after he did it. Braun didn't show boat on his dinger and was pretty pissed when he saw how close the pitch was to his head.

Houston 3 Milwaukee 2 Record: 8-10
Parra Tough Luck Again but Still a Good Road Trip
Perhaps it's too soon to be asking for a sweep when just two weeks ago I would have settled for a 50% drop in bases loaded walks. A 5-4 road trip should be seen as a giant step forward for this team, especially with the Pirates upcoming at Miller. Mike Cameron continued to improve his average with 2 doubles and is now batting .328. I'm elated to see another “2008 Dog” do well and help this team. Manny Parra pitched 5 innings and gave up 1 earned (a dinger to Pudge Rodriguez) but it was a Weeks error that caused the problems in this game. Yet another “He's still in the league” pitcher, Russ Ortiz drew a walk against still winless Parra and eventually scored on a Lance Berkman grounder behind the bag that Weeks couldn't handle. The Crew put a little threat together against 40+ Doug Brocail but Braun fouled out and Fielder struck out with 2 on. Cam did walk to load the bases, but then Brad Nelson who just missed pulling a tater fair for not only his first grand slam, not only his first home run, but his first HIT of 2009.

Problems in the minors however, Lorenzo Cain may have torn his MCL and will probably miss the season. I guess Cameron was a big fan of his and was pretty shocked and saddened to hear that happened.

April 25- Milwaukee 9 Houston 8 Record: 8-9

Hart and Fielder make up for Bully

Hitter friendly park, hitter friendly pitchers (Mike Hampton?), that's what the Crew needed and that's what they got from in Houston Saturday night. After 2 days in the desert, it was nice to come back to hear the team stretch a win streak to 4 games with an 11 inning win over the 'Stros. Suppan turned in a decent start (3 earned in 6) as the bats were able to respond to 3 comebacks by the Astros who just refused to die in this game. Bill Hall erased the first Astros go-head with a game tying, 3 run shot (1 of his 3 hits on the night) in the 6th. That dinger wouldn't have been possible had Cameron not broken up a DP to keep the inning alive. In the 8th, Coffey looked mortal, giving up 3 runs to put the Crew in a 1 run hole that Fielder had to erase in the 9th with his 2nd tater of the game. It was a 2 run, screaming line drive shot that Uecker didn't even have time to judge for his, "Get up, get up, get outta' here GONE!" call. Then, more evidence that Villanueva isn't ready to close as he squandered the 1 run lead in the bottom of the 9th by hitting Berkman to lead off the inning. That led to the tying run scoring on a Bill Hall error and Villy looked to give up more in the 10th when he loaded the bases with the help of 2 walks. Mike DiFelice had to come in and clean up the mess by getting Miguel Tejada to fly out to Cameron to end that threat. In the 11th, the Crew didn't waste their time taking their whacks agains reliever Geoff Geary. Corey Hart hit his 2nd double of the game to lead off the inning and Braunie drove him in with his 4th hit of the game, a single that raised his average to .359. However, Geary was able to limit the damage to 1 run as the Brewer's squandered a bases loaded, no out situation. That was enough however for DiFelice, who overcame a leadoff single by Hunter Pence in the 11th to get the win. His ERA is now 0.96.

April 24- Milwaukee 5 Houston 2 Record: 7-9

Gallardo Goes the Distance

Texas boy Yovanni Gallardo had his first complete game in a LONG, LONG time. He remember's his last CG being in HIGH SCHOOL. Either way, in hitter friendly Minute made, it was great to have the Brew Crew's pitcher of the future limit the 'Strohs to 5 hits with 106 pitches, with Carlos Lee's 2 run shot being the only multi-base hit.

The Crew was able to single their way to a lead in the 5th, with 6 singles that led to a 4 run output, mainly done with 2 out. The hitters were led by a 3-4 night by JJ Hardy, who raised his average to .190. I know it will go up but I'm still curious if he would be hitting better in the 2 spot. Yet with Hart's great performance in that spot in the lineup, I'm becoming more sold on Macha's lineup.
April 23- Milwaukee 6 Philadelphia 1 Record: 6-9

Nieves Still Stands Alone in Brewer History
I knew something big happened in this game when I checked my phone and saw a text message from Ryan that said, “Is Dave Bush Cy freaking Young?”. I had just returned to my truck, exhausted from an overnight hike into Death Hollow in Southern Utah. I was beat, exhausted, stinging and scraped, but I knowing something good happened in yesterday's game gave me a lift. However, it wasn't until Saturday when I got home that I was able to finally found out what. I even tried checking the local paper in Salina, which I was disappointed to see was strictly a local sports section, never mind the fact that it was a WEDNESDAY paper. If you look at a match-up of Cole Hamel versus Dave Bush on paper, you would probably think Hamels gives you the best chance for a no-hitter but it was the Bush against his boyhood favorite team that took a no-hitter into the 8th for the 2nd time in two seasons. Hall did his part to keep it alive the bid with an amazing play on a Greg Dobbs grounder into foul territory but in that same 8th inning, Matt Stairs nailed one of the foul pole to end the dream. Bush would give up one more hit before Mitch Stetter came in to finish off the game. Bush is now 34-31 since the Crew acquired him from Toronto and reinforcing my belief that he is at least the #2 pitcher on this staff. The performance gave the Crew their first series win in Philly in 4 seasons and goes a long way to erase that pathetic showing against Cincy and Chi at home. Beating the World Champs and chasing Cole Hamels in the 4th, I sure hope that this is what we can expect from the team.

In an odd, quirky story, JSO reported that Ken Macha has witnessed 3 of the 17 perfect games in Major League history.

April 22- Milwaukee 3 Philadelphia 1 Record: 5-9

I was pretty reserved about the Looper signing this off season but I'm pretty elated about it now. Maybe the most consistent starter so far. Halting another Crew skid and once again issuing only 2 free passes (to Ryan Howard who owns him) in 6 scoreless to improve to 2-0. Macha tried to shake Hardy out of his sub .200 slump by moving him to the 6 spot (from number 5) and he delivered with a solo shot and a 2-3 night. Cameron swapped positions with him and added a 2 run double that proved to be the difference after Coffey gave up his first run as a Brewer, a Jason Werth solo shot in the 9th. Oh well, I guess I can live with a closer with a 0.84 ERA. DiFelice and Villy took care of the 7th and 8th to make it a well pitched game all around.

April 21- Philadelphia 11 Milwaukee 4 Record: 4-9

Citizens Bank Park in Philly is now the PNC Park for the Brewers. They've lost 7 straight and 11 of their last 12. Parra was in the hole right off the bat, letting the Phils bat around in the 1st. However, the Crew was still in this game until Jorge Julio and recently called up RJ Swindle gave up 5 in the 5th. Julio walked 3 of the first 5 he faced, including Jamie Moyer. Look for him to be released when Hoffman rejoins the team. All this spoiled a 5 hit, 2 dinger game for Ryan Braun, who hit his first out in the 2nd, a two run shot in the 5th (that brought the Crew to within 2) and then tacked on the final run of the Crew's production (all thanks to #8) with an RBI infield single in the 7th.

April 19- Milwaukee 4 NY (N) 2 Record 4-8

Salvaging another single win in a series again. At least they haven't been swept I suppose. Suppan, pitching for his spot in the rotation and some respect from every breating Brewer fan, overcame a first inning run to deliver a 2 run, 2 walk performance in 6+ innings that gave the Crew a chance, for the first in a LONG time, to win a Suppan start. Suppan was not the pitcher to note in this game however. Coffey came in with the bases loaded for the 3rd time this season and worked out of it, today with a grounder off the bat of Carlos Delgado that bounced straight up in the air that he grabbed and fired to home for 1 and then Kendall fired to 1b to complete the twin killing. He needed another double play to work out of a 2 on issue in the 8th also. Coffey pitched 2 and 2/3 scoreless, got the save and also laid down a great bunt that set up an insurance run on a Weeks RBI single in the 9th. He has not been scored on, as a Brewer, since being picked up on waivers last season. It should also be noted, that once again, Suppan felt the need to do whatever he can to make up for past mistakes by adding a lead-off single in the 9th and then scoring on a Hart sac fly.

April 18- NY (N) 1 Milwaukee 0 Record: 3-8

Another 1 run loss and a waste of an outstanding starting pitching performance. Yo left for a pitch hitter after 6 scoreless innings while Johan Santana made it 7 scoreless on the other side. A great pitchers' duel, the kind of game I would love to see, with the exception being the Crew coming out on top. No Brewer made it past 1B the whole game, and with the Met's new relief tandem of JJ Putz and Frankie Rodriguez, the Crew never had a chance. The lone Met's run was set up by all to common fundamental Brewer mistakes. Villy walking the No. 8 hitter to lead off the inning, the a Weeks error as he tried to cover 1B on an Alex Cora bunt. That let to 1st and 3rd with no out and a Jose Reyes comebacker that ricocheted off Carlos' glove brought the run in from 3B.

April 17- NY (N) 5 Milwaukee 4 Record: 3-7

Another bases loaded walk, this one, in a 3 run first by Dave Bush, who did settle down after that as the Brewers chipped away at Mets start Livan Hernandez (I didn't know he was still in the league. Braun's lead taking, 3 run dinger in the 6th gave the Crew a 1 run lead which was erased in the 7th when my most despised athlete, Gary Sheffield, hit his 500th career home run. I know there are pleanty of "non-former Brewers" that kill the Crew but why does it always feel like former Brewer's go out of their way to kill the Crew? A Luis Castillo single against McClung was the winner for the Metropolitans. I guess we can scratch McClung as the closer as well. Hoffman, the Jamie Moyer of closers, can't get back too soon.

April 15- Milwaukee 9 Cincinnati 3 Record: 3-6

The Crew was able to close out the homestand and celebrate Jackie Robinson day with a solid win. Cameron and Looper were the stories of this game along with an offense that fired from almost every position in the order. Cam hit 2 dingers and is now batting .370 and Looper held the Reds to 3 runs over 6 and only gave up 1 walk, HOORAY. Bullpen also did well, 1 hit over the last 3 innings thanks to DiFelice, Stetter and Coffey.

April 14- Cincinnati 6 Milwaukee 1 Record: 2-6
Tonight it was the offense that couldn't come through. Parra and the bullpen kept the Brewer's in this game, regardless of the Jerry Hairston, Jr.'s 3 run tater in the 3rd, but Bronson Arroyo was able to limit the Crew's offense to a Hardy solo shot. The Brewer's blew more chances with RISP, as they were 1-7 in this game and now 7-49 since Opening Day. Braun and Fielder alone were 1 for 8 with RISP and 1-14 in over these last two losses. The Crew has now lost 4 in a row and with a 3 run 9th allowed, it looks like Villanueva does not have the stuff to be a closer yet.

April 13- Cincinnati 7 Milwaukee 6 Record: 2-5

It seemed to be a great way to redeem themselves. 2nd of the games I would be attending with Gallardo taking the mound. He cruised through the first on 8 pitches then a 3 run Hart's tater capped a 4 run 2nd but in the 3rd, Gallardo coughed up 6 runs after getting the first two hitters of the inning out, including an Edwin Encarnacion grand slam. Until tonight, Gallardo had never issued more than 3 walks in a game, in that inning he had 3 total and a hit batsmen. The Reds got all 7 runs on just 3 hits and if that wasn't bad enough, the middle of the lineup for the Crew looked horrible. Braun did walk 3 times, but in clutch situations, he seems to be struggling. Even with Hart hitting so well, Fielder seems a little stymied with men on also.

April 12- Chicago (N) 8 Milwaukee 5 Record: 2-4

The negative waves were supressed greatly in spite of Jeff Suppan taking the bump. I was going to the game with Lexi and my parents, anticipating Leinies' and brats in the parking lot and amped about the Crew's last inning win the day before, so I felt good. Even after Soriano's 1st pitch HR, I reminded myself through gritted teeth that Soup still has time to settle down. Plus, the Brewer's came right back and scored 1 in the bottom of the inning. Suppan worked out of trouble through 3 but in the 4th, with the bases loaded, he walks Koyie Hill (the 8 hitter) to force in a run, gets a force at home for the second out, then walks Soriano and Fukodome to bring 2 more in. I was beside myself. I remember walking in a run being a rare event in my childhood, but a more frequent occurance now. WALKING IN 3! That seems improbable even for a pitcher of Suppan's caliber. Then Jorge Julio walks in 1 more. When all was said in done, the Cubs got 4 runs on 1 hit, 1 hit batsmen and 5 walks. Think walking in 4 runs is only a sign of suckitude in the Brewers? Think again, the Braves did it a few days earlier against the Phillies. What has happened to pitching in Major League Baseball?

I hated that this had to be Lexi's first exposure to the Brewer's seeing me frustrated with Suppan who is now winless in 8 starts and has given up 36 runs in the last 32 but all that could have been erased had not Reed Johnson robbed Prince of what would have been his first grand slam. Instead, I saw a long Sac Fly and a Brewer loss that is probably 3rd behind those two games I saw in Denver in 2007. At least those games didn't have a stadium full or the oppositions fans.

April 11- Chicago 6 Milwaukee 5 2-3
I guess Trevor Hoffman's absence can be blamed for this one, but I think Carlos Villanueva should be able to close out a 1 run game by this point in his career. Serving up a 9th inning winner to Alfonso Soriano ruined what should have been a series winner for the Crew. A missed call by Angel Hernandez on what should have been a 7th inning double play forced Bush to leave the game after 6.1 innings with a tie. JJ got the Brewer's back in front in the bottom of the frame with a 2 run double, but Ramirez tagged DiFelice for a tater in the 8th and then Villy's 9th inning meltdown. It also spoiled a game with Prince's first HR of the season.

April 10- Milwaukee 4 Chicago 3 2-2
Returning LATE from San Francisco, the Brewers didn't have much time to regroup and face Rich Harden, who would record 10 Ks in his start but newly acquired Braden Looper kept the Crew in the game, and as I paced out the final few innings of the game at my families lake house, I got treated to a nice 9th inning comeback to accompany a beautiful day. Facing Kevin Gregg, the Cubs closer, Chris Duffy worked a walk and scored on Weeks double. Then Weeks moved to 2B on a wild pitch. Hart, thankfully showing patience, walked as well and set the stage for Braun's game winning grounder to shortstop Ryan Theriot who's throw to the plate was too late to get the streaking Weeks. This is why he's at the top of the order. The game, however should not have been this close. Had McClung not surrenedured a tater to light hitting Koyie Hill (filling in for the injured Giovanni Soto) the Crew could have wrapped this up much sooner. So far, the bullpen hasn't been horrific, but not intimidating either. It was infront of the 2nd biggest crowd in Miller Park history, biggest since a Cubs game in 2003.

April 9- San Francisco 7 Milwaukee 1 1-2
Missed this one entirely thanks to being up in the air. Really didn't miss much from a Brewer's standpoint. Parra cruised through 3 innings, then didn't make it out of the 5th. A great series for Camerson was spoiled in the 9th when he lined a rope off the side of reliever Joe Martinez' head. Cameron ended up reaching base 10 out of 13 in San Francisco but looked positively upset with himself as he crouched at 2b waiting to see if Martinez could get up. The replay of him running to 1b even shows him wincing as he sees the ball ricochet off his dome and bounce towards the dugout.

April 8- Milwaukee 4 San Francisco 2 1-1
Who knew Gallardo would pitch better than Suppan... perhaps everyone except Ken Macha? In a faceoff with the Big Unit, Yo overcame the pressure to pitch 6.2 innings, give up 2 earned and K 6. I didn't listen to much of this game as I was trying to get packed up for the return to the Dairyland and had yet to activate my MLB.com audio account. But in a flurry to get some sort of update after wasting my time at Squatters watching the Jazz lay another egg against the Mavs, I returned home to get an update. That's when Lexi, my girlfriend, witnessed the intensity I put into these games. Sweating out Stetter and Coffey putting runners on in relief, I finally pulled the plug because it was getting late. Once at Lexi's place, I relaxed and waited for Baseball Tonight while watching the bottom line. Hooray, Villy saved it with 2 Ks in the 9th.

Milwaukee 6 San Francisco 10, 0-1
I kept positive about Suppan getting the ball but I knew the offense would have to show up big time against Tim Lincecum in SF. For the most part, the bats did show up, chasing Lincecum after 3, but Suppan, and every pitcher that followed for the Crew gave up at least 1 run. In 4 innings he allowed 6 earned, which was oddly similar to Sabathia's line in his NY debut, and his RBI double is not going to erase those tallies.

The fact that the Crew scored all these runs without a HR is notable, but minor in the face of all the problems exposed in the pitching staff by chalking up 10 to an offense that most considered anemic. Even Bush got touched up for a run in reliefe. I was happy to see Weeks have a good day at the plate, 2-3 with a walk, a double, a steal, a run scored and an RBI. Only game 1, but if I'm going to focus on Suppan's flaws, I feel I need to recognize another's improvements.