Posted by Steve
ESPN anchors at different points yesterday pronounced Yo’s name “Joe-va-nee Ya-lar-doe” and “Yovani Garrardo.” It’s not like he’s a no-name guy; he’s one of the best young pitchers in baseball. If Yo played for a big-market team, there would have been a big story about his impending return. Instead, we get butchered pronunciations of his name. Then, Mets highlights are on SportsCenter ahead of the Brewers. Not a huge deal, but the Mets have gotten much more coverage than the Brewers in general. Then, Neal Everett said during the Braun highlight, “Let’s see how Bob Uecker called this” as Jim Powell was making the call. Finally, on the top ten, Braun’s walk off grand slam–I repeat, A WALK OFF GRAND SLAM–was the number three play. What was the number two play? Why, Carlos Beltran’s walk off single, of course!
Seriously, what? The Brewers have hit two walk-off homers in three days, and this was a GRAND SLAM! Yet Beltran’s single is ahead of it? Sha-wuuhhh?
Caught up in the Braun hoopla last night was the performance of Yovani Gallardo. Ho. Ly. Crap. It was beautiful yet sad at the same time, because I couldn’t help but imagine where the Brewers would be with him healthy all season. If the Brewers are able to sign one of Sabathia or Sheets, they won’t skip a beat next year, because Yo is as good as either of them.
Anyway, despite the awesomeness of the finish the the Brewers game last night, I was not feeling as good as I hoped. I was counting on the Cubs beating the Mets last night. If they had, I’d be feeling great. Instead, the Brewers will have to win at least two of three from the Cubs in all likelihood. I felt like last night was the best chance for the Brewers to make up a game the rest of the way, and it did not work out.
On the other hand, if the Crew can steal a win tonight–I classify winning a Suppan-Dempster game as a steal–I will feel great about their chances. If the Mets are rained out tonight, a Brewers win would put more pressure on them tomorrow as well. And I suppose I should not forget about the Phillies, who now lead the Brewers by just a game.
Man. All these years I thought I was miserable as a Brewer fan, but this tension and anxiety is pretty unbearable.
