Monthly Archives: April 2009

The Brewers are Joe Pesci and the Pirates are the guy who got an ice pick through the back of his head in “Goodfellas”

Posted on April 30, 2009 by | 5 Comments

Posted by Steve

The post title comes from a series of text messages between my brother and me after Yo’s otherworldly performance yesterday.  Other messages:

The Brewers are Slevin Kelevra and the Pirates are Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley.

The Brewers are Macaulay Culkin and the Pirates are the Wet Bandits.

The Pirates are Samuel L. Jackson and the Brewers are velociraptors.  Hold on to your butts!  

Also, I just googled “velociraptors” just to make sure I had spelled it correctly (I had) and found this outstanding web site.

Being serious for just a second, I’m not all that giddy over the Brewers’ absurd 15-game winning streak over the Pirates.  It’s great the the Brewers are winning those games, but if I could choose any team to defeat 15 straight times, the Pirates would be at the bottom of the list.  I’ve always had a soft spot for Pittsburgh because until recently the Brewers were the same moribund franchise.  They had the same pathetic losing seasons streak going, but the Brewers snapped theirs at 13 a few years ago.  The Buccos are now up to 16.  The Brewers were finally able to put together a front office that rebuilt from the ground up, but Pittsburgh just hasn’t been able to do that.  They’ve wasted several high draft picks over the years on low-ceiling or signable players instead of top talents, and they’ve made questionable trades (Matt Morris, anyone?)

Fortunately, and yes I mean fortunately, they finally appear to have started the process correctly.  I like what I’ve seen so far from GM Neal Huntington.  They were able to draft and eventually sign Pedro Alvarez, an uber-third base prospect who is expected to rise quickly.  I also like the trades the made at the deadline last year for Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte.  I believe they got nine players back for those three.

They should still be a bad team this year and probably next, but there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel for them.  Pirate fans have a lot more to look forward to in the next few years than fans of a team like Houston, for example.

Alright, alright, enough about the Pirates already.  One piece of news I meant to mention in yesterday’s cornucopia, and unfortunately, it isn’t good news.  Center field prospect Lorenzo Cain went down with a knee injury and may be lost for the season.  Cain is seen as the center fielder of the future and may have been given a chance in Milwaukee as early as next season.  This may have happened anyway, but I now think a likely result of this is the Brewers attempting to bring back Mike Cameron for 2010 since Cain will likely need more development.

One final note.  For anyone interested, a guy from work started a great scouting blog.  He gives great observation and insight on players he sees during work.  I swear he knows just about every player and prospect in the game.  He’s also doing an incredibly thorough study on the regression of relief pitchers.  I’ve flipped through it; it’s the size of an encyclopedia.  He projected a regression for Brad Lidge before the season, and as you may know, Lidge has been pretty bad so far this season.  I really recommend checking it out.

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Posted in Milwaukee Brewers 2009

Hey, I’m walkin’ here! That’s what people say in New York.

Posted on April 29, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

So much to talk about… Where to begin?  The Crew has been playing well lately.  April has pretty much gone as expected.  Struggled through the first half of the month against tougher teams and good pitchers, and making up ground against ones who aren’t as good.  They continue to completely own the Pirates.  I believe it’s 14 straight wins, which is just downright batty.  Anyway, let’s get this party started quickly.

Plate discipline

I’ll start with the topic that was the inspiration for the post title.  Incidentally, if you know what the title is referencing, you have good taste.

The Brewers are walking like it’s nobody’s business!  The team is currently fourth in the NL in walks, compared to ninth last season.  Two guys I harped on all last season for poor plate discipline, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun, have really been great this month.  Hart had 27 walks all of last season but has 12 this month.  Last night he was 2-2 with three walks!  Braun has an incredible 1:1 k/bb ratio with 14 walks and just 14 strikeouts.  Offensively, Braun, Cameron and Hart have been tremendous in April.  If Braun and Hart are able to keep up this plate discipline all season, they’ll have monster years.  Braun in particular will challenge for the MVP.

Of course it’s so incredibly early, and things could go south in a hurry for those two as far as patience is concerned, but it was still worth discussing.

Rickie Weeks

You’re probably assuming I’m going to use this section to rain compliments on my guy Rickie Weeks for what he’s done so far this season.  Not the case.  As encouraging as the power numbers have been for Weeks (who would have thought he’d be tied for the team lead in home runs at this point?), I’m a bit concerned about his lack of walks so far.  Weeks has just three walks this month compared to 19 strikeouts.  He’s hitting .268, and I figured if Weeks hit .268 he’d have an OBP of .370 or .380.  Well, it’s just .318 (he also has three HBPs).

Just like I’m not ready to proclaim Braun and Hart as patient hitters after one month, I’m not ready to make any conclusions about Weeks’ lack of walks so far.  This is the naked eye test, which means take this with a grain of salt, but it appears to me that Weeks is being more aggressive at the plate.  That’s helped him make better contact, which is something he needed to do.  Last year he let a lot of hittable strikes float by, and he’s not doing that as much this season.

His increase in slugging has coincided with a drop in OBP.  Whether that’s a correlation is unclear at this point, but let’s hope not.  The hope was that he’d pick up the slugging without sacrificing the OBP.  I want Ian Kinsler, not Brandon Phillips.

Side note:  Speaking of Kinsler, want reason #21,432 the MVP voting is a joke?

Dustin Pedroia last year: .326 batting average, .376 on-base percentage, .493 slugging percentage, won MVP.

Ian Kinsler last year: .319 batting average, .375 on-base percentage, .517 slugging percentage, 20th in MVP voting.

Mark DiFelice

You’re probably assuming I’m going to use this section to rain compliments on my guy Mark DiFelice for what he’s done so far this season.  And you’re absolutely correct!  DiFelice has easily been the Brewers best reliever this year.  The best way to evaluate a pitcher is by defense-independent numbers: walks, strikeouts and home runs allowed.  So far, DiFelice is walking 2.5 per nine innings, striking out 10.6 per nine innings and allowing .8 home runs per nine innings.  All three figures are outstanding.

Before the season started, I told a few people at work the Brewers were going to get a huge season from DiFelice.  Nobody had even heard of him; keep in mind these are all baseball nuts.  It’s now reached the point where I feel the need to make an announcement after each scoreless inning Big D throws.  I come home from work, and the first thing I say to my roommate is “1-2-3 inning, two Ks for DiFelice!”  I’m sure everyone’s beyond annoyed already.  Only five more months guys!

Hell’s Bells!

Oh, it’s already nice having Trevor Hoffman.  This is very reminiscent of the Brewers adding Mike Cameron to the roster at the end of April last year.  I like how the bullpen shapes up with Hoffman in place.

I do have one gripe.  I couldn’t help but notice the sound of a chiming bell after a Hoffman strikeout the other night.  Come on Brewers!  This is the same sound effect you used for a “Big Ben” Sheets strikeout!  You can’t re-hash the Sheets sound effect!  That’s weak sauce!  What’s wrong with playing a quick clip of Hell’s Bells or something?

Julio vs. Swindle

I was hoping the Brewers would cut Jorge Julio when Hoffman came off the DL, but instead they optioned R.J. Swindle back to the minors.  Swindle, like DiFelice, has great numbers in the minors the last couple seasons.  I loved the idea of having two lefties in the bullpen, particularly against teams loaded with left-handed power hitters like the Mets, Phillies and Reds.

Unfortunately, the deciding factor in this decision was not baseball related.  It came down to money and options.  Julio is set to make around a million dollars, so even though he’s been ineffective (as he was last season), his salary bought him more time.  Meanwhile, Swindle had options remaining, so he was the odd man out.  Swindle is only 25, so I’m pretty sure he’ll have a lengthy career in the big leagues.  Let’s hope the Brewers are the ones to give him that shot.

Parra Chart

Well, that didn’t take too long.  I already had to chart a Manny Parra game the other day.  I had a lot of fun attempting to tell the difference between his splitter, change-up and slider.  Making it more fun was the fact that he continues to nibble, issue walks and drive me crazy.  I’m beginning to get concerned that Parra’s turning into Oliver Perez.  Still waiting on a good start from him.  We’ll get one sometime…

Perks of the job

I’ve mentioned funny things that come from watching baseball games all day, with a specific example being that kid in the pink shirt at the Rangers game last year with the flying elbow.  There have been some good ones so far in April.

At a Blue Jays game last week, we had a grown man in the stands WITH A GLOVE completely whiff on a foul pop up and take it right off the cheekbone.  They showed him two minutes later and he already had a HUGE welt.  I think we watched that replay about 10 times.

In the Orioles game the other night, a fly ball was hit down the left field line in foul territory.  Nelson Cruz made a nice catch along the wall, but not before a fan who was a good ten feet from where the ball ended up completely leaped onto the field.  He also mistimed his jump terrible.  The ball was still in the air, and you just saw a guy go flying across the ball about a half second before Cruz caught it.

A lot of come from terrible analysts as well.  Bert Blyleven may deserve to be in the Hall of Fame more than anyone currently not in, but all it took was one Twins game for me to decide that he’s a bad analyst.  Blyleven and “sideline reporter” Ron Coomer were discussing pitch counts during a Francisco Liriano start.  They both felt pitch counts have ruined the game (and completely disregarding the fact that pitchers careers last much longer than they did back in the day).  They continued to ridicule the Twins for keeping Liriano on a pitch count.  It honestly lasted like three minutes.  Finally, the Twins play-by-play announcer, who had been silent for the entire discussion, finally blurted out, “Guys, Liriano missed ALL OF LAST YEAR with an elbow injury!”  It was awesome.

During a Mets broadcast, the play-by-play was discussing Bill James and said something along the lines of, “Some guys come from the Bill James school of thought that clutch hitting doesn’t exist.”  Ron Darling fired back with this gem: “Well, how many times has Bill James come up to bat with runners in scoring position?”  Hilarious!  Because we all know you aren’t qualified to discuss, study or have opinions about baseball unless you’ve played it professionally.

Bill may be getting better at his scouting reports, but I assure you, most analysts of other teams are worse.  This is an actual scouting report of Jair Jurrjens from a Braves broadcast.  It rivals anything Bill had last season.

Chocolate Eggs

We want second half J.J.

Can be dyn-o-mite!

I never heard explanations, so I have no clue what chocolate eggs could mean.  Somehow, I like it better that way.

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Posted in Cornucopia of thoughts, Crocodile Blood, Milwaukee Brewers 2009

Philly trip recap: Two Brewer wins, one near no hitter and one threat of physical harm

Posted on April 27, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

The nice thing about taking two consecutive days off is it allowed me to go to two Brewer games and sample the city of Philadelphia.  The bad thing about taking two consecutive days off is it’s followed by several days of work, which leaves less time for posting.

The two games I attended were awesome.  The Crew played great in each game.  Wednesday I went by myself and sat in nice seats on the 100 level.  If you’ve never gone to a baseball game by yourself, I suggest you try it.  It sounds a little weird or loser-ish, but it allowed me to completely focus on the game.  It was relaxing.

The stadium itself was really nice.  Nothing absolutely spectacular, but definitely a nice stadium.  There was World Series stuff EVERYWHERE (not that I blame them), and the Mike Schmidt statue in front of the stadium was surrounded by signs and messages from fans in tribute to Harry Kalas.  I heard the last out of the World Series called approximately 100 times in two days–”Swing and a miss! He struck him out! And the Philadelphia Phillies are world champions of baseball!  Watch this city celebrate!”  Again, not that I blame them.  When the Crew wins the series I’ll watch the replay a thousand times.  Hell, I’ve already watched Braun’s homer against Bob Howry in game 162 at least 50 times.

Considering the reputation of Philadelphia fans, I was half expecting to be ruthlessly heckled for wearing Brewers stuff.  I counted five “Brewers suck!” comments directed toward me walking through the concourse, but was pleasantly surprised once I reached my seat.  That may be because they were nicer seats; if it’s anything like Miller Park you’re more likely to run into rowdy fans in the bleachers or terrace than the lower bowl.  I was around plenty of friendly fans, which made it even more enjoyable.  I was careful to just cheer and not appear to be taunting in any way when the Brewers did something to cheer, because A)I hate when opposing fans do that at Miller Park and B) I didn’t want to get assaulted by some crazed Phillies fan.

Thursday was a different story.  I went with two guys from work, and we sat in the nosebleeds.  I definitely got more flak than the day before for wearing Brewer stuff.  I was booed by a handful of people when I stood up to cheer for Braun’s homer off Cole Hamels.  The boos got louder when I did the same for Fielder’s bases clearing double, but that may have had something to do with me windmilling all the runners in third base coach style.  Okay, so I got a little carried away on that one.  It was a big two out hit… What do you want from me?

Of course, this was also the near no-hitter for Dave Bush.  It was absolutely awesome to be there.  I first noticed it after the fourth.  After the fifth, most people seemed aware of it.  After the sixth, I really started to get excited.  It was a 5-1 game, but I couldn’t believe how nervous I was after the sixth.  I was fielding texts from everyone back home, yet trying not to flat out mention the words “no hitter.”

From what I understand, Brian Anderson not only mentioned the no hitter several times, but seemed to go out of his way to brag that he was mentioning it.  Apparently Bill even got agitated.  Too bad I missed that.  No, BA, we don’t honestly believe avoiding talking about a no hitter will help it occur, but it’s a fun thing to do in the sake of tradition.

Anyway, we were very excited after the seventh inning.  At that point came the highlight of my Philly trip.  Three guys in the row in front of us got up to leave (Who leaves in the middle of a no hitter?).  One turned to me and said, “If he no hits us, I’m coming back here and beating the shit out of you.”

Uh… Heh?

I laughed, half nervously, thinking he must be kidding.  Then I looked at his face, and it was completely serious.  Wow!  I was 100% threatened by a Philadelphia hooligan!  How awesome is that?

My friends spent the Brewers half of the eight convincing me I hadn’t been an obnoxious or arrogant fan, so I wasn’t really that worried.  It just made for what I thought was a funny story.

After Hall’s amazing play to start the eighth, I think we really started to think it might happen.  It seems like most no hitters have one great play that keeps it alive, and that one was outstanding.  That has to be the best defensive play I’ve ever seen while attending a game.  Our seats were on the aisle, so when he threw him out I jumped into the aisle with my hands up.  Even the guys I was with were excited, and they didn’t care about the Brewers at all–they just wanted to see a no hitter.

Of course, it ended the very next batter with the mammoth Matt Stairs home run off the foul pole.  Disappointing, but that was still awesome.  That was by far the furthest I’ve seen a no hitter taken in person.

With those two wins in Philly, I’ve built quite an impressive road record the last several months.  Since I’ve successfully erased the fact that I attended the Aramis Ramirez walk off game in Wrigley a couple years ago, I’m now 4-0 on road Brewer games (Pittsburgh, Arizona, Philly twice).  Not too shabby.

I’ll probably throw up another post tomorrow because I actually want to talk about the team, but I figured I’d keep that separate.

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Posted in Milwaukee Brewers 2009

The City of Brotherly Love

Posted on April 21, 2009 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Steve

Been a few days since I checked in.  I haven’t been able to watch each game, but I’ve followed them as much as I could and was able to watch most of Sunday’s game.

The main topic of conversation the last couple days has been Todd Coffey.  He’s been good so far, but it seems some people are overreacting a bit.  That game on Sunday took quite a bit of luck to pull out the win, particularly the line shot to Hall for a double play.  Nine innings isn’t enough to tell anything, but if Coffey is going to continue at a high level he’ll probably need to increase his strikeouts.  He’s already helped the Brewers quite a bit so far, but I’m not even ready to count on him as a prominent reliever yet.  I’m not ruling that out, but nothing he’s shown throughout his career suggests he will keep this up.

————————–

It’s been a pretty frustrating start, but what I’m most excited about is Corey Hart’s approach at the plate.  In 657 plate appearances last year, he drew 27 walks.  This year he has eight walks after 53 plate appearances.  That patience has led to a .385 OBP so far.  If he keeps this patience up he’ll be able to replicate 2007.

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It’s officially time for GamelWatch 2009.  Mat Gamel is off to a white hot start in AAA.  He’s hitting .436… That’s his batting average!  The Brewers will have a very difficult decision to make if he keeps mashing.  His left handed bat would bring some much-needed balance to the Brewers’ lineup.  A Gamel/Hall platoon would look great at third, and it would allow Hall to go back to his supersub role on a part time basis.

Unfortunately, Gamel’s defense is still a big issue.  It’s very reminiscent of Braun a couple years ago when he was destroying AAA pitching yet playing a brutal third base.  In the past the Brewers have called up their defensive-challenged prospects to get a good bat in their lineup.  They seemed committed to giving Gamel a full year at third in Nashville before calling him up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if things change.

The Brewers are not a rebuilding team, which means the bottom line this year is about winning.  If they think Gamel improves the team (which would mean his offensive boost would outweigh his defensive issues), he should probably be up.  If he does get called up, they’ll probably go the route the Brewers went with Braun or what is happening with players like David Price, Tommy Hanson and Matt Wieters this year and wait until May or June to avoid starting his arbitration clock early.  I’ll be keeping a close eye on how he does in the meantime.

————————–

Sticking in the minor leagues, there’s finally some good news on former 5th overall pick Mark Rogers.  Rogers was an uber-prospect who has missed two full seasons due to shoulder surgeries, but is finally back pitching this season.  Amazingly, in his second start since coming back he hit 97 mph on the radar gun.  Rogers is still only in Brevard County and has a long road ahead of him, but it’s exciting that he’s been able to come back and pitch pain free.

————————–

Finally, some exciting news!  I will be attending the Brewers Phillies games on Wednesday and Thursday.  I’ll be decked out in Brewer gear, so I’m expecting to get stuff thrown at me.  If I make it out alive I’ll hopefully be able to check out some of the city and try a Philly Cheesesteak.  Most importantly, hopefully I’ll see a couple Brewer victories.

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Posted in Cornucopia of thoughts, Prospects/Minor Leagues

A solid investment

Posted on April 16, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

After last night’s game, I was curious to see DiFelice’s numbers so far this year.  He’s been used quite a bit, and has been great.  Anyway, most player pages at Baseball Reference are sponsored by various blogs and sports sites.  I happened to notice DiFelice is still under the radar enough to not have a sponsor.

Well, no more!  Have a look at the newly sponsored Baseball Reference page of one Mark DiFelice!  How slick is that, huh?  Almost as slick as DiFelice’s current ERA+ of 308 (small sample sizes can be fun).

I fully expect the visitors to come rolling in to the blog after his breakout season.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Hi, I’m Rickie. I’m about to shatter your self-confidence by blocking your fastball with my face without any ill-effects.

Posted on April 15, 2009 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Steve

I realize this happened a couple days ago, but this is the first chance I’ve had to weigh in on Rickie Weeks taking an Edinson Volquez 94 mph heater off the face.  I was scoring the Blue Jays Twins game when the guy doing the Brewer game yelled, “OH! OH GOD!”  I turned and saw Weeks face down on the ground and motionless.

I immediately felt sick to my stomach.  The thoughts were already flying through my head.  ’Are you kidding me?  This guy has had the worst luck with odd injuries, and this could derail his career.’

I was first relieved to even see he was conscious and able to sit up, and was even more relieved to see him walk down to first base.  I was completely stunned that he stayed in the game.

What a beast.  Are you kidding me?  Volquez has one of the hardest fastballs in the game, and he took it off the face!  And stayed in the game!  I just can’t get over it.  The FACE!  He got lucky (relatively speaking) that it wasn’t a little higher, because I’m sure it would have shattered his cheekbone.  Instead, he didn’t miss any playing time at all.  The legend grows.

And how are you feeling if you’re Volquez?  I’m sure at first you’re terrified that you may have almost killed someone, and then relieved to see he’s alright, but at some point don’t you think, “I threw that as hard as I can, hit the guy in the face, and it didn’t even take him out of the game?  What’s WRONG with me?” 

And check out that picture, huh?  Yikes!  That’s like the slow motion shot of the sprinters when their faces get all contorted and jiggly.

I actually didn’t catch this the first time, but I later watched the replay in slow motion and was able to read Weeks’ lips.  After he stood up, he turned to Volquez, spit out a mixture of blood and teeth and said, “Hey Ed.  Thanks for helping my on-base percentage.”

Ah, that Rickie.  He sure has the key to my heart.

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Posted in The legend of Rickie Weeks and his titanium skeletal system

Musings of a man who skipped class this morning to muse

Posted on April 14, 2009 by | 2 Comments

Posted by Dan

I’m gonna do this Steve style, which means one thing: bullet points.

  • Is there anything more overrated in baseball than hitting for the cycle? I mean, it’s a nice, interesting accomplishment, but come on. My main problem with it, is that if Fielder goes 4-4 tomorrow with 2 HR, a double and a single, it will get merely a passing mention between the Red Sox and Yankees highlights. Make one of those HR a triple, and its breaking news/history. It’s also a less productive stat line.  Billy Ripken, on the MLB Network today was talking about it and said two things that seemed ridonkulous. First, he claimed “late in the game, it’s like a no-hitter. It’s all you’re thinking about.” Then, speaking of Orlando Hudson (who completed his cycle with a 6th inning triple) said, “As soon as he hit it he knew he was going for a triple. If he gets thrown out, oh well, he gets thrown out.” That seems absurd. Granted it was a huge Dodger lead at the time, but I’d like to think no MLB player would think like that. 
  • Despite the fact that seven games is a meaningless sample size, I’ll quickly highlight a few good things: First, Corey Hart has a 5BB:8K ratio through his first 26 ABs. Last year he only walked 27 times in 612 ABs, which is Michael Bourn-esque. The Brewers offense cannot afford to have someone compile 600+ ABs with a .300 OBP in front of Braun and Fielder this season. Secondly, Weeks had a good first week. Going .276/.364/.448 against tough righties Lincecum, Cain, Harden, Zambrano, Dempster and Volquez. The 2-5 start is discouraging but that is a tough week of matchups for a nearly exclusively right handed lineup.
  • Unfortunately, Brewers pitching racked up a brutal 35 BBs to only 45 strikeouts over the first week.  That ties them with Toronto for the most walks in MLB, which is simply terrible.  The 45 strikeouts are also the 10th worst in all of baseball. Jeff Suppan is obviously terrible, and his contract is going to be a huge hindrance this year and next year. I’ve heard people suggest moving him to the pen and replacing him with Villanueva (if Suppan continues to struggle, and Hoffman returns). I hate this idea. Villanueva’s skillset allows him to come in for high leverage situations in late innings and also go multiple innings. His arm is too important to the bullpen to either return to the rotation or remain tied to the closer role long term which is why we need Hoffman to get healthy.  He reportedly threw Monday and felt well and is “on track” for an end of the month return.
  • Lastly, shock and horror on Sportscenter this morning as Chien Ming Wang got shelled again last night for the Yankees.  The general public thinks this guy is good (19 wins in 2006 and 2007 OMG OMG!) but in reality he has NEVER struck out more than 4.9 per nine innings in a full season. He gets alot of ground balls, but he’s certainly not nearly as good as his back to back 19 win seasons make Sportscenter think he is.

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Posted in Cornucopia of thoughts

The worst use of time traveling abilities imaginable

Posted on April 13, 2009 by | 2 Comments

Posted by Steve

I’ve temporarily been granted the ability to time travel.  In my travels, I read a chat transcript by Joe Morgan from July, 2009.  I’d like to share an excerpt from that transcript.

Hey Joe!  Love the chats!  I’m wondering what you think of the Brewers’ chances this year?  They’re still in the thick of things at four games over .500.  Do you see them going out and getting some pitching help before the deadline?

-Derek, Waukesha, Wis.

Joe: I haven’t had a chance to see the Brewers very much this year, but from what I’ve seen, they’re a young team.  Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are good young sluggers.  Rickie Weeks has been helped a lot by the addition of Willie Randolph, although he and J.J. Hardy are still a bit slow at turning that double play.  Sort of like soft jazz.  Also, their pitchers give up too many walks. 

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Posted in Uncategorized

4/12 Cubs at Brewers–The Joe Morgan Extravaganza

Posted on April 12, 2009 by | 37 Comments

Posted by Steve

We’re just a few minutes away from the Brewers’ first Sunday Night ESPN game in as long as I can remember.  Beautiful HD, national attention and best of all… Joe Morgan!

It’s too early to call anything a must-win, but it’s crucial that the Crew plays well today.  I say this because in two months when someone asks Joe what he thinks of the Brewers in one of his chats, he will base his entire opinion of the team on this game.

In all honesty, I cannot wait to hear how little Joe Morgan knows about the Brewers.  Almost my entire reason for blogging this game is to note all the awesomely insane things he says.  I also reserve the right to turn this in early if/when Suppan gets shelled and embarrasses the city of Milwaukee on national television.  It’s been a great series so far, an I’ve been stunned by the patience of the Brewer offense.  Let’s keep it going against Dempster.

  • I’m not complaining, because I know the Brewers haven’t been featured in this game in forever, but I’m a little annoyed that it’s a home game against the Cubs.  Everyone will get to hear cheers for the Cubs, and that kind of bugs me.
  • Hey, there ya go Soup!  First pitch of the game!  Shades of Jimmy Rollins in the playoff game.  Man, was that pitch grooved.  Awful.
  • I like that ESPN now shows OPS for every player.  Step one of the plan to enlighten the masses is complete.
  • Soup follows the homer with a walk to Fukudome, and later Hardy juggles the transfer on what would have been an easy double play.  Why do I feel like this will come back to bite them?
  • Well sweet, it didn’t except for some extra pitches.
  • Duffy in center for Cameron tonight.  Alright, fair enough.  Counsell in at third…  Less crazy about that one.
  • Steve Phillips talking about Braun needing more plate discipline, which is nice to hear.  Then Joe basically says, “What more do you want?  He led the Brewers in homers and RBIs?”
  • LOL.  A Cubs fan fell through the gate in the front row leading for a foul ball.  Ah, baseball.
  • Brewers in business early here.  Weeks led off with a single, Counsell drew a walk and with one out Fielder was intentionally walked.  Please no DP JJ.
  • Sac fly to center and we’re tied.
  • Corey Hart had 27 walks all of last season, yet has four already this season.  I’m trying not to get too excited about that too early.
  • Inning over.  Tied but runners stranded on second and third.
  • Hey, a quick 1-2-3 for Soup.
  • And a 1-2-3 for Dempster.
  • The first real Joe Moment of the evening.  Saying that Soriano is more comfortable leading off, so therefore that’s where he should hit.  ”A lot of times he’s driving in himself of course, but who cares?  He hit a home run in the first inning, that’s one run on the board.  That’s as good as… er better than a single with a runner at second base… Cause the runner doesn’t always score.”  Steve Phillips then sensibly says he should be hitting further down in the order, and Joe then says he’d be pitched to differently.  ”He’s not a third place hitter.  He doesn’t have the right mindset.”  Man, he’s making Steve Phillips sound smart.
  • Suppan has held the Cubs through three other than the Soriano home run.  Good deal.
  • It took Dempster eight pitches to Counsell to finally throw him a strike, and then he walked him again on the ninth.  Bizarre.
  • Kind of a goofy play.  Fielder hits a grounder to the shift, and Fontenot fielded it well into right field.  Fielder caught Fotenot a bit off guard and beat the throw.  Sweet wheels.  Dempster now at 59 pitches and we’re in the third.  Like I said, I’m loving the patience.
  • Crap, a great diving play by Fontenot robs Hardy of an RBI.  Still tied at 1 after 3.
  • So I just realized there are like 5 comments already.  What’s up guys?  Isn’t this an awkward way to communicate?
  • Suppan in trouble here.  Hit Bradley with a pitch, walked Fontenot and gave up a single to Theriot.  Bases loaded with one out.  Milton Bradley was just taken out of the game; looked like he pulled a hamstring.
  • Good idea.  Let’s fall behind Koyie Hill 2-0 with nowhere to put him.  Ugh.
  • Better yet, a four pitch walk to Hill.  What’s next, intentional walk to Dempster?
  • Dempster grounded into a force at home.  Please don’t groove another one to Soriano…
  • The impenetrable force meets the immovable object.  Suppan throws a 3-1 pitch in the dirt, but Soriano refuses to take the walk, swinging at it.
  • Never fear, Suppan nearly hit him this time, so he walked in another run.  I hate watching this man pitch.
  • OMG.  He just walked in his third run of the inning.  Jeff Suppan ladies and gentlemen!
  • Jorge Julio in.  I almost hope he surrenders a grand slam just so Suppan gets charged with as many runs as possible.  He certainly deserves it.
  • Hey, 3-0!  Cue the circus music! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo! BALL FOUR!
  • I have an honest question here.  What is the major league record for most runs walked in in one inning?  Have we just witnessed history?  I’m just laughing at this point.
  • For the love of God, it’s over.  Side finally retired.
  • Hey, maybe this will stay interesting for a while yet?  Hart crushes a home run deep to right center.
  • I have to say, maybe it’s the Joe exposure, but I’ve been somewhat impressed by Steve Phillips’ knowledge of the Brewers so far.
  • Nugget number two from Joe: “My philosophy is the worst hitter should be the seventh hitter, not the eighth hitter because you want someone to get on base for the pitcher.”  Whaa?
  • Jon Miller awesomely points out that the Cubs have five runs on two hits.
  • This just in:  Jorge Julio’s as bad as we thought.  Two walks and a double in 2/3 of an inning so far.
  • Inning over.  6-2 Cubs… Depressing.
  • Bizarre sequence from Joe comparing turning double plays to dancing.  I don’t even know how else to explain it.
  • Hey, back to back sharp singles from Weeks and Counsell.  Seems like a good time for Braun to hit a ball hard for the first time this year.  Is it crazy for me to at least wonder whether his side injury is affecting him more than he’s let on?
  • Hey, Braun HBP loads the bases for Fielder with nobody out!  Let’s make this interesting…
  • AAH!  CRAP!  Reed Johnson just robbed Prince of a grand slam!  What a play… How lame.
  • Well that was sure disappointing, but they did get two runs back.  They’re right in the game, 6-4 Cubs at the end of five.
  • Counsell is still solid defensively, but his arm is quite weak.  A ball down the line and he just couldn’t get it to first on the fly.  That’s a play Hall makes easily.
  • Hmm… Julio just plunked Johnson square in the back.  If that was intentional, that’s pretty bush league.  It wouldn’t make sense to do that anyway, so… I don’t know?
  • Ha!  Joe just made his only conversation with Jackie Robinson seem like some monumental moment.  The dialogue?  ”Thank you.”  ”You’re welcome.”  I know what he meant, but that’s funny anyway.
  • Two out single for the former Cub Casey McGehee.  How about a two-out rally?  Best parties start after two.
  • It’s as if the Brewers have said, “Hey, we haven’t walked enough guys today.  Let’s put Seth McClung in!”
  • Man alive, I just refreshed the page.  This post is absurdly long.  There’s no way anybody reads this far into this.  I could just type anything in here because I know it won’t be read.  In the eighth inning, I’ll post my social security number.
  • Nice inning from McClung… Good to know the good Seth is still in there sometimes.
  • Alright, seriously, between the length of this post and the amount of comments, this is officially the stupidest/coolest post in BBKTUTH history.  If someone tries to read the post and comments later, it will be impossible to do so in chronological order.  I’ve been jumping from post to comment back to post.  There’s no rhyme or reason for it, but I can’t stop!  The other posts will soon be sucked into this one as though it were a black hole.
  • So the Cubs bring in lefty Sean Marshall with Counsell up, and Macha leaves Bill Hall on the bench. Even Joe Morgan questioned the move…
  • And the Mighty Sean Marshall works through the Brewers 1-2-3, and suddenly we’re running out of outs.  6-4 moving to the eighth.
  • McClung walks Joey Gathright on four pitches.  That’s a guy you want to pitch around.  Cause he’ll really do some damage with the bat.  And it’s not like he’s fast so you don’t mind putting him on base.  Yep.
  • And replay shows Joey Gathright’s stolen base should have actually been an out.  Weeks tagged him before his foot was down.  Brewers have been getting screwed on some calls on the bases this series.  Better yet, the announcers barely mention that he “might have been out.”  The replay was even shown repeatedly, as if the producer was trying to say, “Hey guys look!  He was out!” and they didn’t take the hint.
  • Nice play by Counsell gets an out, but now a hit moves Gathright to third with one out.  Leadoff walks make my head hurt.
  • Now the sac fly brings Gathright in.  Combo of the walk and the blown call costs the Brewers a huge run.
  • Inning over, but that one hurt.  The Crew needs to get at least a run in the eighth.
  • Marmol pitching AGAIN.  I can’t believe how much they’re using him already.
  • And he’s good enough that he doesn’t need an extra three inches off the outside corner.  Annoying.  Marmol gets those calls all the time.
  • I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed with the broadcast tonight.  I was hoping for more craziness from Joe, but the addition of Steve Phillips cuts down severely on Joe’s talk time.  It’s almost as if this was done by design…
  • Hey, the guys at brewerfan made an observation that I’m sure will make you all feel better.  Reed Johnson was a sub for the injured Milton Bradley.  Therefore, if Bradley wouldn’t have gotten injured, Prince would have had a grand slam because there’s no way Bradley is able to catch that.  Great.
  • Braun tentatively plays a ball in the corner and takes forever to reach it, which allows Theriot to score from first on a ball to left field.  Braun has been pretty shaky defensively so far this season if you ask me. 8-4 heading to the ninth.  Are we having fun yet?
  • Alright, I have to post this because I love it that much.  From GormanHarvey at brewerfan: Can you imagine how drunk you could get if you played a drinking game along with sunday night baseball where you take a drink everytime Joe Morgan starts a sentence with “I…
  • Hey, I thought we actually might make it through the game without anyone calling Prince Cecil, but with two outs in the ninth Jon Miller comes through.
  • Whoa, huge homer from Rickie.  Have I mentioned I think he’ll have a big year?
  • Ok… Now Counsell doubled, and Braun walked all after two outs.  Suddenly the tying run has come to the plate with two outs.  I have to say, this post would become absolutely epic if the Brewers somehow won this game.
  • Well, darn.  They made it interesting at least.  Fielder swung right through a fastball and struck out.  Man do I hate losing to the Cubs.
  • Good show everyone.  If you somehow took the time to read all the way through, well… I’m sorry.  Goodnight.

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Posted in Game Blog, Milwaukee Brewers 2009

Pay it Forward

Posted on April 10, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Posted by Dan

I don’t want to bury Steve’s game blog, but in doing some random computer house cleaning today, I came across an article I had bookmarked at some point in the possibly distant past and wanted to pass it on to our loyal audience:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=878

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Posted in Uncategorized