Monthly Archives: September 2008

Posted by Steve

I did not post this weekend because I was in La Crosse.  We were out Saturday night, and I kept telling everyone how nervous I was for the game Sunday.  Breakfast Sunday morning was brutal…  I was beyond nervous.

We watched the game at my brother’s house, and I was, predictably, a wreck.  When the Brewers loaded the bases in the seventh I could hardly watch.  When Braun hit The Homer, I went crazy.  I did pretty much the same when CC got that last double play.  But when Ryan Church flew out to end the Mets game, it was different.  After my initial celebration, I sort of just stood there.

I have always imagined what my reaction would be if the Brewers made the playoffs, but the actual feeling was so much different than what I imagined.  It is extremely difficult to describe, but I know such a moment can only be experienced by playing or watching sports.  My passion for the Brewers could be seen as a bit strange, but I’m not going to apologize for it.  I’ve been going to games my entire life, and I have never seen my favorite team make the playoffs.  It is extremely disheartening to put so much time and energy into a team that never wins.  I have seen the Packers win a Super Bowl and the Badgers win two Rose Bowls.  Those were great, but Sunday was easily the best sports day of my life.

It’s funny how quickly thoughts can run through your head in just a couple seconds.  When that last ball was caught, I thought about how dire things looked just a week earlier.  Sure, it would have been great for the Brewers to not falter down the stretch they way they did in September, but I cannot think of a more exciting way this could have worked out.  It was so improbable that I simply couldn’t believe what I was watching.

The three-hour car ride home was different.  I realized this would be one of those moments I’ll always remember.  I thought about all the games I’ve gone to with my friends and family.  I thought about my dad taking my brother and me to games when we were kids.  I thought of my mom adopting the Brewers as her second team after she realized I would be a Brewer fan instead of a White Sox fan like her. I thought about all my friends who became big Brewer fans in part because they wanted to share it with me.  Then I turned on some music to distract myself because my misty eyes made it difficult to see while I was driving.

I was planning on going out in Milwaukee tonight to party with other Brewer fans, but instead I decided to watch the game again.  I missed the calls on the home run and the double play when everyone was screaming, so it was great to hear BA’s voice crack as he shouted over the crowd on Braun’s homer.  I also loved Bill shouting “Yes!  Yes!  Yes!” as the final out was recorded.  I certainly give him a hard time on here, but he truly cares about this team.  Bill, Jim Powell and of course Bob Uecker have been here a long time and have seen a lot of losing seasons, so you know this was a great day for them as well.

I watched the celebration again and couldn’t stop smiling.  I listened to Uecker’s calls of the Braun homer and the double play and got the chills–I have never heard Ueck so excited.  I watched Sportscenter and local news to see more highlights.  I went to brewerfan to read through “The OMG WE’RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS Thread.”  Now I’m here, posting at 2:00 in the morning.

There are two things that make this a tiny bit bittersweet.  The first is that Geoff Jenkins is no longer on the team.  Don’t get me wrong; Jenkins’ skills have diminished, and it was absolutely right for the Brewers to let him go, but he wanted to win in Milwaukee very badly and it’s a bummer that he never did.  The other thing is the fact that Ben Sheets is done for the year, and probably in a Brewers uniform.  I couldn’t believe FSN didn’t interview Sheets during the celebration, despite interviewing people like Gabe Kapler, Jeff Suppan, Seth McClung and Jim Skaalen.

Both Sheets and Jenkins gave the Brewers everything they had during their extended time here, and their best years were wasted on some terrible teams.  I hate that they won’t be a part of the playoffs–especially Ben Sheets.  Ben is my favorite player, and I’ve always held out hope that I’d see him anchor a playoff rotation for the Brewers.  I am very, very bummed that he’s unable to pitch.

Outside of that, though, I’m on Cloud 9.  From this point on, everything is gravy.  Certainly I’ll be crushed if they do not win the World Series, but it wouldn’t compare to how terrible missing the playoffs altogether would have been.  From my perspective, the team has accomplished its goal for this season, and I couldn’t be happier about it.  It has been an absolute thrill to watch this team get built from within and watch the young players we followed for the past few years progress into a good major league team.  The playoffs are going to be incredibly fun no matter what happens, and I can’t wait for them to start.

BREWERS! BREWERS! KEEP TURNIN’ UP THE HEAT!!!

Posted by Steve

First of all, big thanks to Andy for calling me with an extra ticket for the game tonight.  Which means, yes, I was there again!  When Rickie Weeks hit that home run, I think I high-fived about 20 people and yelled, “I LOVE RICKIE WEEKS!!!” about 15 times.

What a great game.  Player of the game: Seth McClung.  What a huge performance!  He shut down the Cubs for four innings and gave the rest of the bullpen some much needed rest.

How about this:  The Brewers now have a magic number!  And it’s only two!  The Mets have responded in kind with a desperation move of starting Johan Santana tomorrow on three days’ rest.  Santana is a great, great pitcher, but he generally doesn’t throw complete games, and he has only thrown on short rest once in his career (funny that he’s stayed injury-free, huh?).  He threw 125 pitches his last time out, and he faces a right-handed heavy Marlins lineup.  Jerry Manuel is taking a huge gamble, and if it doesn’t work the Mets will be done.

Magic number of two.  So, so close!

Posted by Steve

Last night’s game was just awesome to attend. Though it wasn’t particularly well-played, it was close and exciting, and obviously ended on the extremely high note. The atmosphere was different from any Brewers game I’ve been to. This was really the first game the Brewers absolutely needed to win in the history of Miller Park, so it was exciting but also very tense. Early on the Brewers held a 2-0 lead and the Cubs were leading the Mets 2-0, and the park was buzzing. Then the Mets took the lead around the same time the Pirates went ahead 3-2, and things were much more subdued. So, this is what a playoff race is like.

As for the game itself, I did not like the way it was managed even though it worked out in the end. Sac bunting drives me totally nuts, and I really only advocate it if the pitcher is batting. It was embarrassing to have your number two hitter sac bunt in the first inning. The one thing I liked about Ned Yost was he rarely sac bunted or issued intentional walks. Sveum seems to be a bunting machine.

Then there’s the eighth inning. I did not like the way the eighth inning was handled at all, and I thought they were lucky to tie the game. After Hardy’s lead-off single, Sveum naturally had Corey Hart bunt. I realize that Hart has struggled mightily as of late, but I still hate giving up an out there when you have Craig Counsell and Jason Kendall coming up next. Sveum was bailed out when Pittsburgh brought in a lefty for Counsell, because you just know he wouldn’t have hit for Counsell otherwise. Then after Hall was retired, we yet again saw Jason Kendall come up to hit with the game on the line. I know I shouldn’t be surprised by this anymore—really, I’ve come to accept the fact that Jason Kendall will simply not be removed from a game—but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.

I give Kendall credit, obviously. He had a nice hit (Pearce was playing shallow in right, but I digress) and was able to drive in the tying run. It was the wrong decision to let him hit, though, and that same decision has definitely hurt the Brewers in the past.  Of course, from purely entertainment value, that made the result that much better because Kendall’s hit was the ultimate OH MY GOD! moment.

The Brewers are starting CC on three day’s rest again. I’ve already gone over why I don’t like it, so I’ll just say that I really, really hope the Brewers can jump on Paul Maholm early so Sabathia only needs to throw about 80 pitches.

As for the title of this post, these next two days are where the Brewers need to pick up at least a game, because the match-ups in both games are in their favor.  Tonight I must do one of the hardest things I’ve ever done as a sports fan: root for Carlos Zambrano. If I had my druthers, he would get bombed but the Cubs would still win. Since I’m not going to be picky, I’ll take any form of a Mets loss with gratitude.

Posted by Steve

We have finally reached the home stretch of this absurd Milwaukee Brewers season. Since I declared that 7-5 over their last 12 games would get the Brewers in the playoffs, they have gone 2-4. Yuck. Many gave up on the team, particularly after the awful loss to the Cubs in the final game of the series, and I can’t say I blame them. Just when I was thinking about throwing in the towel myself and shutting down my posting for awhile, they won on Sunday as the Mets lost their second in a row. Suddenly, the Crew was a game and a half back, and I was intrigued once again.

Then came last night’s Cubs-Mets game, and all of a sudden Brewer Fever is back. I’ve gotten my hopes crushed plenty of times by this team, so I figure opening myself up to one final emotional bludgeoning won’t do that much more damage.

The Brewers let everyone back in the wildcard race because they choked big time, but now the Mets are trying to return the favor. With a one-game deficit and six to play, all focus should be on trying to reach the one-game playoff on Monday. I’m not ruling out the possibility of winning the wildcard out right, but unfortunately, the odds of that are quite low.

I do not envy Dale Sveum at the moment, because he has to find some way to patch together a pitching rotation and actually win games in the process. All of a sudden, you could argue the Brewers’ most dependable pitcher is Dave Bush. Sabathia has still been good, but he’s actually been human and just started on short rest. Sheets’s status is in doubt for the rest of the season. Jeff Suppan turned into a batting practice machine. Manny Parra seems cashed. McClung is ok but hasn’t built up enough stamina to go more than five innings at best.

After Bush’s start tonight, starters for the remaining five games are listed as TBA. Ben Sheets won’t pitch until this weekend if he pitches at all. Sabathia could go tomorrow if the Brewers wanted to pitch him on three day’s rest again, and if they wanted to do it a third time, he could also pitch the finale on Sunday. Suppan may not even see the mound, and I would say the same for Parra unless it’s in garbage time.

Since I have been known to criticize Brewers managers, however infrequently it may be, I figure I should offer up my own suggestion.

I would not start Sabathia on three day’s rest again, and especially not for a third straight time. If the Brewers did that, they’re running the risk of rendering their best player ineffective, risking said player millions and millions of dollars and in the event that the Brewers do make the playoffs, tiring him out for the post-season. Give CC his full day’s rest and start him Thursday. If you reach the play-in game, you can bring him back on short rest then to start that game in Shea.

As for Wednesday, I’d probably go with Suppan. It’s an ugly option right now, but before his last three terrible starts he was solid in August. Plus, if you have to pitch Suppan once more this season, better having it against the Pirates than the Cubs. Give him the shortest leash possible, and have DiFelice or McClung ready. I would also be just fine with DiFelice getting the start, because Mark DiFelice is the man (1.09 WHIP in the majors, 0.9 WHIP in AAA this year) but I figure Sveum will never do something this “radical” that he could be criticized for.

The hope is that Ben Sheets can go on Saturday. If he can, I would piggyback Yovani Gallardo and Carlos Villanueva on Friday for three or four innings each. Yes, by the way, Yo should be coming back for the last week! Hopefully that provides a big boost.

If Sheets can’t go Saturday, we’ll see a lot of three inning stints over the last few weekends. Between Gallardo, Parra, McClung, DiFelice and Villanueva, you could fill a lot of innings over the last five games. Get one you can for one game out of one of those, give him a day or two off and lather, rinse, repeat as needed.

Like I said, I don’t envy Sveum. It won’t be pretty, but I do like each of the pitchers in that group.

Here I go with the must-win thing again. Tonight is a huge game for both the Brewers and the Mets. It is for the Brewers because if they can get a win tonight, they should feel comfortable holding Sabathia back until Thursday. If they lose, they may feel like their hand has been forced and move him up to pitch once again on short rest—not what I want to see. It is for the Mets because tonight’s pitching match-up is Johan Santana vs. Sean Marshall. That’s like a lion against a wounded zebra. If the Mets don’t win, they’ll have a four-game losing streak with Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden looming in the back half of the series. By the way, Zambrano and Harden pitching those last two games against the Mets will of course mean they will not pitch in the series against the Brewers. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. By the way vol. 2, if Sean Marshall beats Johan Santana tonight, I’ll want to kiss his goofy-looking face.

Finally, I was hesitant to mention this, but I will. The Brewers have lost the last seven games I have attended, and I am going to the game tonight. If they lose and you feel the need to blame me, I only ask that you keep your comments relatively clean.

Posted by Steve

Sorry for putting that lame song in your head for the rest of the day, but I couldn’t help myself.  I borrowed the title of this post from Sam at Brewerfan just because I liked it so dern much. Hope he doesn’t mind.

Fellow Brewer fans, we now find ourselves in the strangest of positions. We must root for the godforsaken Chicago Cubs over the next four days. It’s less than ideal, but when your team hasn’t made the playoffs in your lifetime, you don’t exactly have much shame.

On that note, here’s to the Cubbies! Here’s to a pinch hit homer from Big Z, and about six bloop singles from The Riot! Here’s to a bunch of ‘I’m going to slow up on this ball before diving to make myself look cool’ catches from Jim Edmonds and a game-winning homer from A-Ram that doesn’t make me want to die! Here’s to Soriano not terribly misplaying fly balls and Jason Marquis somehow forgetting how much he sucks tonight! But most of all, HERE’S TO A CUBS SWEEP!

Realistically, though, here’s to the Cubs splitting the series. Cheers.