Slowey Quickly Dismantles The Crew

Kevin Slowey made quick work out of the Milwaukee Brewers today in a 3 hit-complete game shut out. Meanwhile, Ben Sheets failed at hitting ten wins before the All Star break giving up 9 hits and 5 earned runs (7k's/115 pit). No fear though Wisconsin, this All Star lock still will have another shot next week against Pittsburgh back at home.

It was a pretty decent Border Series/I-94 Series with Minnesota. It looked like it was 60-40 in the stands with a marginal showing by Brewer fans. Listening to Uecker on Friday, he was saying that Wisconsin fans would way out number the Twin fans when Milwaukee came to town.

Prince Fielder continues to struggle with 4 hits in his last 25 at-bats. Ned has been giving him some time off by having bat in the DH spot.

-Milwaukee travels to Arizona tonight to play the D-Backs in a 4 game series starting tomorrow. They are in first place but are 41-41 on the season (24-15 at home).

-Gagne was activated off the DL today. Yost shipped DiFelice down to Nashville.

-Turnbow has now walked 34 batters in 13 and 2/3 innings. Sweet.

Parra gets his 7th straight win.

Manny Parra continued is hot streak by leading the Brewers to a 5-1 victory over the Twins. Should the Brewers win this afternoon, the Crew will have evened the season series. Hard to imagine if you think back a couple of weeks ago when they were dominated by Minnesota on a Friday night game. Milwaukee has won 15 of its past 22 games. Parra was lights out last night in the Metrodome holding the Twins to 2 hits in 7 innings (4k's/4BB). Impressive. Even more so is the fact that he didn't give up a run, bringing his ERA down to 3.95. This reassures me that Parra is truly a #2 pitcher and will give Yovanni a run for his money to earn the second spot. Everything balances on Ben Sheets and who the Brewers decide to bring in once he leaves. I am hoping it isn't an overweight Indian.

-Sigh of relief moment: David Riske pitched a 1-2-3 inning with great control and decent speed. Remember, he's an American League guy who played in the dome many a times as a Royal.

Milwaukee's bats were well alive last night too! Surprisingly enough, Milwaukee failed to homer last night which is a well accomplished feat for the Twins. Minnesota on the other hand only has like 55 or 56 home runs on the season. Compare that to Milwaukee's 100+ (I think 105). Billy Hall had a decent game last night driving in two runs of a clutch double. Following in his lead were Mike Cameron and Corey Hart who each doubled. Jason Kendall, the grizzley veteran who's offense has dipped due to playing too many consecutive games, had a RBI and two hits.

-The Metrodome is probably the worst "stadium" in the Majors. Probably the reason why the Twins are getting a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis. The dome is an eyesore from both insided and outside of the bubble. For baseball games the stadium has an estimated (under the influence of Miller Lite) 15 foot wall in right field made by stretched out black garbage bags (what appears to be). A couple of hopeful long balls were bounced back off the towering wall a couple of times last night. Ryan Braun was robbed by Carlos Gomez, who looked Jordan-esque in flight time.

-Arizona Republic Newspaper's story on the Milwaukee Brewers coming to town. It appears that the Phoenix Area is a wee bit worried. It also mentions that Salomon Torres didn't play during the 1998-2000 seasons. He was coaching minor league ball for the Expos."I'm 36, but I feel like my arm is 31," Torres told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Very rarely does a player do what I did."

-Gagne is coming back on Monday in Arizona. Where will he fit in? Nothing, absolutely nothing is broken in the pen. Okay....perhaps Mota is and Gagne could pitch the 8th. But that's what Riske is going to be doing.

-Future prospect Jake Odorizzi reports to Peoria (AZ) for training. This recent high school grad will rise the ranks quickly and become a star Brewer in 3-4 years.

-Chicago Cubs lost, again, to the White Sox yesterday afternoon. The Cardinals won.

1. Chicago 49-32
2. St Louis 46-36 -3.5
3. Milwaukee 44-36 -4.5

Pitching? Absent.

Milwaukee's offensive surge continued last night in Minneapolis with 4 home runs. However, that proved to be not enough against M&M and the Twins. Joe Mauer's blast in the 8th inning sealed his teams fate, giving the Twins their 10th straight win and Milwaukee losing streak hits....2. Milwaukee is just plain bad on Friday night games, which happens to be the night of the week where I buy a 12-pack of Lite and either listen/watch the game or attend in person.

Seth McClung struggled early and often for Milwaukee giving up 5 earned runs, 9 hits, and 2 home runs. Even more concerning was the continuing struggles of Guellermo Mota (2-5) who gave up the game winning home run to Mauer, earning him the loss. Nevertheless, Milwaukee's pitching has been lights out as of late (excluding Soup). Hopefully this was a slight glitch.

Prince Fielder continued his slump by going O'fer and his batting average dipped to .274, despite blasting home runs last Sunday. Keep in mind he was hit less in the series down in Atlanta.

Corey Hart belted his 13th and 14th home runs last night. Someone please tell me why he is not getting any All Star votes?

Ryan Braun had 2 doubles (21). Meanwhile Derek Jeter had his 400th career double yesterday.

-As called by yours truly...Chicago Cubs lost to the White Sox yesterday. I will call the same for todays game.

-Melvin okay with Sheets' free-agent talks. Really, it's a non-issue. Sheets would be foolish NOT TO check out what other teams offer.

I-94 Series part II

Milwaukee travels to Minneapolis today and will add a new page to the chapter of their storied rivalry with the Twins. Here is the pitching line up for the weekend series. Both teams are at their peak thus far in to the season, especially Minnesota (43-36) who has won their last 9 games and are a 1/2 game out of first behind Chicago (who plays the Cubs this weekend). Meanwhile, Milwaukee (43-35) is the hottest team in baseball since May 20th and is pulling with-in striking distance of Chicago and St Louis. Chicago WILL lose their weekend series against the White Sox. They will start their struggle...it's inevitable (16-20 on the road).

Milwaukee, meanwhile, will have their hands full playing the Twins. For some reason they can't get a handle on them. Keep in mind, the last time Milwaukee was in Minnesota Prince hit his first in-the-park homer!

-Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta have been named to the All-Star Weekend's Futures Team. This new idea features top minor league prospects in a game, which will be played at Yankee Stadium. I thought for sure that Angel Samone would be summoned as well, batting .349 and 46 RBI's. It appears his suspension had an impact on this.

Huntsville Stars (AA) are home to the core prospects of the Brewer farm system! Here is a nice review of the team.

-Salomon Torres has been doing more than his part to help the team succeed in light of their 'closer' being on the DL. Torres now has 13 saves on the year. Meanwhile, the Canadian Eric Gagne

-Three Team Race in the "Comedy Central"? Wasn't it only this last spring when the Central was the laughing stock of the league? Now it's the best (in terms of records).

-Another lame-ass report of Milwaukee being the front runner for CC Sabathia. HE WILL NOT BE A BREWER!

-Eric Gagne says he is ready. Yet "stumbles" through his second rehab start. Take your time.

Yi and Simmons traded for Jefferson!

Great trade! Bobby Simmons was a worthless pile of crap. Yi will be missed. He will be a damn good player. But he was never happy in Milwaukee. In Jersey, he will be huge with their gi-normous Chinese-American population.

Brewers win 8 of their last 9 games.

Things seem to be falling in place for the Milwaukee Brewers in the month of June. Makes me wonder if they are peaking a wee bit too soon. Although I must say, Milwaukee has the power and bench to remain hot like this for a considerable amount of time.

Due to having internet down at work and not being at home on Tuesday, I missed my write-up on Mondays game.

Mondays Game (June 23)

Ben Sheets won another decision by going 9-1 on the season and 6-0 on the road. Shoe in for the All Stars. Again, Sheets went the distance pitching a complete game and giving a well earned day off to Solomon Torres and the rest of the bullpen. Decent outing in stats too, as he struck out 7, no free passes, and 1 earned run. His ERA is at .259 and leading the league with complete games pitched. Not bad for someone who is injury-prone. It appears this season, except for one time when he missed his start, that he hasn't had too many freak accidents. No examining his finger after throwing a pitch, or rotating his throwing arm an unusual amount of times. He seems squared away. One can tell that he is just priming himself for free agency, which it appears he is.

-Rickie Weeks went 3-4 and a walk

-Mike Cameron continues his ressurgence, by hitting his 12th home run.

Tuesday (June 24th)

Milwaukee won the their eighth of their last nine games last night thanks impart to stellar consecutive outing by Dave Bush (4-7). Coming off his near-no-hitter last week, Bush game up only one earned run, four hits, and four strike outs. Again, he almost witnessed his pen blow his lead when Salomon Torres came in and gave up a home run. The score was pulled to 4-3 before he had Corky Miller fly-out to end the game and Torres to earn his 13th save, staying perfect on the season.

-THERE WERE NO HOME RUNS LAST NIGHT BY MILWAUKEE!

-Looks like Ben Sheets will be testing the market.

Double-Trouble

There was three types of rain that fell upon Milwaukee yesterday afternoon. Rain consisting of water from the sky, homers from Prince, and double plays from the Brewers' infield! Hell, Pacman Jones would've been proud because of the different types of rain that fell on Milwaukee.

Milwaukee's offense has definately come to life during the month of June smacking more home runs than any other team in the Big's. Prince Fielder, Billy Hall (yes, Bill Hall), and Corey Hart were recent contributers to this feat with their performance yesterday. Fielder belted his 15th and 16th home runs yesterday as well as a double to lead Milwaukee's charge. Hart (12) added his second in as many days.

Manny Parra's (7-2) forgettable performance still provided him with the win, despite walking 6 batters and striking out only 1. Milwaukee's defense really backed up the pitching today, not just for Parra but for all that pitched, by turning 5 double plays (tied season high). Although Parra didn't bring his "A" game, it's nice to see that the offense can bail out their leader.

In all, Milwaukee went 6-3 on this 9 game homestand. Althought they started out slow against Minnesota (who has heated up since then), they have proven to be a very strong home team. Now if only they can turn it around on the road. This won't be easy to do considering they have to play at Atlanta, who is one of the league leaders for home records. The Braves will be with out Chipper Jones however!

-Braun had a silent series against Baltimore going only 2 for 10. Let's hope he can turn it on for the last two weeks before All Stars are announced. He deserves it.

-Nice piece on Russell Branyan, by a Tennessee news paper that covers The Sounds.

-Remember when the Brewers drafted QB stand out Charlie Ward from FSU? I forgot that he was until I read this story.

-The Brewers are back to being "Wisconsin's Team". Proof in their attendance both home and abroad. I have to give credit where credit is due, and that's with Ned Yost. He has turned around this ball club since coming on board. He is good enough to get us out of the basement, but is he good enough to get us in to the play offs and a pennant (words of S. Voigt)?

Good news is this....the band wagon is full. Thanks impart to female fans who end up spending more time texting than watching, same goes with the guys. The generation Y'ers just can't help but text each other and wave to one another.

Brewers win 20 out of the last 30 games!

Milwaukee has officially "turned it around" with last nights 3-2 win over Baltimore. Seth McClung (5-3) had his third straight solid start, leading his team to their 16th win by one-run this season (league leading). In doing so, Milwaukeee has won 20 of their last 30 games. Not bad for a team that was sitting in last place at the start of May. In this resurgence of play, Milwaukee has had a couple of players step up that would otherwise be forgotten.

(see Russell Branyan, Seth McClung, and Solomon Torres)


McClung pitched a great game last night striking out 6 and giving up only 3 hits. The only red flag was his unusual free passes, which was 6 walks. That being said, he and Jason Kendall worked great together last night resulting in Seth getting out of a couple of jams.

Corey Hart and Gabe Kapler provided the spark in the offense. Gabe continued his second-life in the Majors by having 2 hits, one of them being a crushing double off the left field wall. Corey Hart went yard by belting his 11th HR of the year. Once again, if the voting system for the All Star game had any credibility what-so-ever, Hart would be in and Fukodome would be out. But it's flawed and Hart will be left stranded.


Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse provided insurance on the Seth's win by both having a great set-up/save. Torres probably was most impressive when he struck out two straight batters. He did give up a threatening double only to pop up his last batter to earn his 11th save on the season. In other news Eric Gagne should be back by next weekend...yea. Actually, this could be a good thing for Milwaukee. It should push both he and David Riske to earn that set-up spot. With Mota having some pretty bad outings as of late, the set up role should be open for the two to duke it out. When Gagne comes back, one can only imagine that Stetter would be sent back down to Nashville.


-Turnbow hits an all time low in performance down in Nashville. It appears he can't get a break in his multi-year slump. I don't quite know if having him start is such a wise choice. It is difficult enough for this Fragle Rock look-alike to be a reliever. His ERA is now a horrid 10.95 and 32 walks in 12 innings. Yes you read that right, 12 innings.


-Appleton Post-Gazzette says the time is now for Milwaukee to be in full-gear. With Chicago losing Carlos Zambrano & Soriano to the DL, plus St. Louis not having Albert...Milwaukee has to cash in. This paper doesn't realize that most of Wisconsin already realizes this and have realized it for the last two weeks. Great journalism.

-Little story about Brett Lawrie (pictured above) and how his old man knew he would make it big time. Neat read. Signing him may get more and more difficult as time progresses. Look at his picture, he reminds of some childhood toy or character. I can't put a name on it though. Regardless, Milwaukee will have to compete with ASU in signing him.

-Billy Hall has only 5 hits in 33 AB's in the month of June (as of June 20th). Sad.

-Rickie Weeks was activated off the DL and should be playing in todays game. To make room, Hernan Iribarran wll be sent back down to Nashville. Here is an idea: Give someone else a shot other than Hernan. I just not too impressed with this kid.

-You want to know just how great Matt LaPorta is? Read this. This kid will be the next Ryan Braun. Maybe even better!

-Although Ned Yost's team has been winning lately, he still remains on the hot seat. As does his old teammate, Cecil Cooper of the Houston Astros.

-The Cubs, Cards, and Brewers all won yesterday. Jim Edmunds hit two home runs in the same inning for Chicago. When was the last time that happened?

-WGN HD looks pretty sweet.

Soup-Sandwich / Miller Park Experience

Jeff Suppan (Soup) had one of his worst outings since becoming a Brewer last night. At the very least, it could have been the worse of his career had Ned Yost not pulled him in the second inning. Soup quickly coughed up 6 runs, 7 hits and 2 walks. This brings him to 3-4 on the season. As a friendly reminder to Milwaukee fans....that personal record of his should read 5-4 had the team not given away his lead. He had a coupe of no decisions in Aril and May. Point is this, starting pitchers will have their days when pitches aren't hitting their marks and they lose their control. Soup will most likely bounce back next week with an 'A' game.

I was in attendance at the game and had a great time with my wife. I easily spent over $80.00 in beer, food, and other misc. stuff.
One thing I love about Miller Park is that the view beyond the center field of the stadium is the pristine skyline of Milwaukee's blue-collar roots. The 'skyline' consists of a working-class neighborhood that lies on a hill overlooking Menominee Valley (35th & National), Milwaukee's old industrial park in past decades. To the right, or southeast of that neighborhood, are towering silo's and factories that have provided the sound foundation for the citizens of this great city. A couple of times last night I caught myself dazing while the game was being played, partly to be blamed on a couple of Lite's and the Baltimore pounding on The Crew.
Additionally, Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin should be thankful that the second best park in all of the Majors is situated off of Miller Park Way. Ample amount of parking along with easy entrance/exit lots to the interstate provide a great visit to the park. Absolutely love this park! One thing they should change is the frequent use of their roof. Don't close it just because there's a drizzle.

-JJ Hardy (5) and Prince Fielder (14) both homered for the Brewers.

-Ned Yost made a controversial move in the bottom of the ninth when he had Bill Hall bat for Russell Branyan with two outs and bases loaded. On Milwaukee's Fox Radio post-game show (usually blanketed with hack calls), fans voiced outrage over this and called for Ned's head. Although I feel Ned should be canned, and should've been canned a month ago...he made the right call. Branyan is was 0-10 against lefties while Hall was hitting .360's against them. Let us not forget the heroics that Bill has provided us in the past.

Milwaukee Signs Odorizzi / See you at the game tonight!

Jsonline is reporting that Jake Odorizzi, a supplemental draft pick by Milwaukee, signed today in the neighborhood of $1.1MM! Great news for the Brewers, considering that he has a scholarship to play football at Louisville in fall. This kid absolutely raked in high school (IL) where he his ERA was .08, meaning this:
-He gave up only run in 89 and 2/3's innings!
-Went 14-0 on the season
-Led his team to the state title

*This leaves Milwaukee with only two un-signed draft picks from their top 10 picks. The next player expected to sign is First Round pick Brett Lawrie from Candada. He is another high school player who will play with Team Canada in the JR Level Tourney this summer. This isn't a big deal according to Melvin, picked up by JS. Hopefully they sign him quickly!

What just happened? / Six Games Back

While at work today I noticed the Brewers were up 8-0 over the Blue Jays. Heck, Dave Bush even had a no-hitter going in to the eighth.

I look back and Milwaukee barely pulls off a victory by the score of 8-7. I hope this was a freak, bullpen melt down that can easily fix itself by tomorrow evening! I am sure David Riske's nerves were a little rattled.

Enough said on that. Milwaukee did pull off it's fourth straight victory today, inching closer to Chicago (lost, again) and St Louis (lost,again). Dave Bush was unbelievable today on the mound pitching 7 solid innings and almost earning a no-hitter. I use the word "almost" because as with any game like that, no one remembers the 'guy who almost pitched a no-hitter'. Bush certainly appeared to be bringing his best stuff of the season. He of course earned the win (3-7), giving up only two hits and one earned run.

Offensively, Russell Branyan homered (10) again for his third straight game in addition to Prince Fielder's in-the-park home run (13). The man can chug around those bases pretty good for a big guy. I actually caught it on SC this morning on my way out the door (FSN was out on dish). They had some pretty funny words to say about it.

-High School stud draft pick Jake Odorizzi is close to signing with the Brewers. Besides Brett Lawrie, he would be next desired pick to sign.

-Brewers, according to Melvin, will stick with Torres over Gagne. Smart move. Gagne can still earn his way up the ladder and will start at setting-up Torres when he comes back (Monday?). I still believe he can make an impact. One generally has to hit rock bottom before he/she can build themselves back up. Gagne certainly hit rock bottom.

The Second Coming Of Russell Branyan!

Brewers 5 - Toronto 4

Ben Sheets (8-1) earned the win, going 9 consecutive starts now with 6 or more innings. Impressive, better yet, reassuring...that perhaps his injury plaqued days are thru? Probably not.
Sheets maintained that low ERA (2.74) by giving up only 2 runs. He should be an All Star again this year, one would think. Ben is third in the National League for ERA, tied for 4th with five other pitchers w/ 8 wins. Brandon Webb of Arizona has 11 wins, that's insane.

Guellermo Mota looked pariticularly rough last night giving up a run and throwing a number of pitches in the dirt. Yost can no longer afford to have Mota as the set-up man. Thank the good Lord, David Riske rejoins the team today and should be available with in days.

Salomon Torres, on the other hand, has been a saint. This seasoned veteran has a laid back approach to closing, not letting the fact that the bases are loaded and one false move could flip flop the game. He earned his ninth save last night in a stunning fashion.

You can't say enough about Russell Branyan (.305) these days, at least in the month of June. He continued to terrorize National and American League pitchers with his power last night belting a dinger in the second inning. He now has 9 HR's and 4 doubles (23 k's) in 59 at-bats. Not to mention, half of his hits are home runs. Although he will always be nagged for striking out too much, he does provide clutch hitting (evident in Saturday's game) and is one you can rely on for power. Everytime he comes up to bat, one gets that feeling that he has a damn good chance of going yard. Additionally, he is one of the few left handed batters on the team besides Prince. It is safe to say that the call up of Russell, or better yet, the acquisition of Russell Branyan, may be of the of the best moves/call ups of the year in the National League (Jay Bruce excluded). Sorry Billy Hall, I think your days are numbered at third...and with the Brewers.

Now...Imagine if the Brewers would have worked out a deal with St. Louis and David Eckstein was traded to Milwaukee? We all remember those days leading up to the winter meetings don't ya? Well, it's hard to comparet the two being that they are in opposing leagues. But here's a look:
Eckstein is batting .282 in 47 games this season, 1 HR, 11 Doubles, and 16 strike outs. Good move Melvin! See above for Branyan's stats.

Fielder vs IRS

Prince seems to be shadowing his old man by not paying the government over 400k in taxes after he signed a contract with Milwaukee. Oops.

Shut Out Led By An All Star (hopefully)

The freaks come out at night. As was the case last night when Milwaukee had 4 different batters go yard, one blasting two. That "one" is none other than Ryan Braun who hit his 19th and 20th home runs of the season. This on the same day he shot up in All Star votes to fourth place. If he doesn't make it....well, not much you can do about it. It's the useless way outfielders are voted in that irks me. Hell, Cory Hart is way down the list yet he is having a better season then Fukodome of Chicago. Popularity. Getting off topic here...

Those that had home runs were Prince Fielder (12), Russell Branyan (8), and.....wait a minute....Craig Counsell??? Yes The Port Washington,WI native even went yard by belting his first one of the season. Thos that weren't as fortunate were Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, Corey Hart, and Joe Dillon who all went o'fer. No sweat though. Perhaps the two groups will flip flop for tonights game an those who had zero's will be hero's? That tends to be the case for Milwaukee.

Even more impressive was Manny Parra (6-2) who earned the convincing win by lasting 7 strong innings and giving up only 4 hits, 4 walks, and striking out 5 batters. Even more important was the shut out that was sealed by another decent outing by DeFilice, who pitched 2 innings giving up NO hits and NO walks, fanning two! Great job by the pitching.

Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the game on tv as I had attend a course last night...my DVR failed to record the game as well, so there isn't much I can tell about other than this.

-Milwaukee is on pace in breaking their attendance record! Last night certainly helped that cause when over 37,000 fans showed up on a Monday! When was the last time that happened?

-Russell Branyan has had 8 home runs in 56 at-bats. He could be in line for June's player of the month in the National League if he keeps that pace. Keep in mind, he was only called up the last week of May.

-David Riske pitched one inning last night in Nashville, striking out all three batters, throwing only 12 pitches!

-Brett Lawrie WILL be a future ALL STAR, Gord Ash even thinks so! I didn't know that Lawrie was Canada's highest position player ever selected in the draft. This kid is the real deal, and he's a cocky son of a gun...which is great! He feels that he can hit the Bigs in only a couple of years. Cocky? Perhaps. Confident? Yes.

-JJ Hardy will be in the line up for tonights game. Hell, if Wausau's WSAW thinks so, it has to be true.

-Swell story on Brewers' 12th pick Garrett Sherrill, who started with Helena yesterday.

-So, I'm sure we've all read the statistic that Ned Yost is one of the most tenured managers in the National League behind only 3 others and sixth in the Major League. I was reading letters to the editors in the Journal Sentinel on Sunday and some fan wrote it a good paragraph on Ned's haters (myself included). He asked the simple questions, "Who should replace Ned" if he were to be fired tomorrow? Good question. There isn't much out there. Ted Simmons? I used to think that wasn't a bad idea. But lets face it....there isn't much out there.

Please don't suggest Willie Randolph.

-Bob Uecker's got his boat rocked.

-My wife's grandma (now deceased) was friends with Bob Uecker. I would've loved to hear stories from her.

-My good friend John Link from Wausau,WI and who is now residing in Chicago, was college roomates with minor leaguer Vinny Rottino at Wisconsin-La Crosse. Rottino, a Racine native, shacked up with John and 2 others in a converted lounge turned 4 bed "room". He told me stories that Vinny used to use his ballglove as a pillow. When they would all go out to the bars, Vinny would stay back and work on his swing inside....in the dead of winter. Committed. Sadly (yet proudly), Vinny Rottino's 26-game hitting came to an end last night when Nashville was blanked by Oklahoma. Regardless, that is quite impressive!

You will also notice Tony Gwynn JR has been lights out in Triple A. Milwaukee faceds decision time come next month. What to do? I say trade him and get a third baseman.

-Blue Jay fans are silly.

Milwaukee vs Toronto & news tidbits

The crippling Canadians travel in to town today to take on the Milwaukee Brewers for a inter-league match up.

Tonight
Dustin McGowan, RHP (5-4/3.92)
Manny Parra, LHP (5-2/4.66)

Milwaukee 36-33
Toronto 35-36

________________________________________

JJ Hardy should be in the line up today after taking the series with the Twins off to rest his shoulder. Hopefull he ate and put on weight.

Bloggers vs Journal-Sentinel round 1

* Jack Zduriencik is the unsung mastermind behind Milwaukee's stellar draft picks. Well, baseball blog Beyond the Box Score list Jack as a possible replacement for Bill Bavasi. He was the general manager for Seattle who was fired yesterday. You will see that Jack is pretty low on the list. Nonetheless, one has to wonder if our secret weapon will be hired away?

* Neat story on Gord Ash, the Asst. GM of the Milwaukee Brewers. He is the ex-GM of the Toronto Bluejays.

What if?

This from the New York Post yesterday. Upon reading the it the first time I thought they had gone mad. But upon further review, it left me thinking 'what if'?

What if the Brewers were to trade their star first baseman this year? Either before the trade deadline or in the off season. It makes me wonder....
We do have Matt LaPorta and Mat Gamel waiting patiently in the minors, as stated by the story. By doing so would most surely allow us to tie up Ben Sheets in a long term contract for the years to come. I don't know about Ryan Braun playing first base, but Matt LaPorta was drafted last summer from Miami where he played first base. That's his bread and butter. Mat Gammel predominantly plays third, which is well needed in Milwaukee right now. I doubt Milwaukee would part ways with Prince Fielder considering the fact that he has already hit 50 HR's in a season, the youngest and fastest to do so in the Majors. However, he's sitting on 10 this year and is average is only .285. Yes ONLY. He should be belting .300 at the very least. His weight is always a concern as well. This hard for me to say this, because I'm a fellow big guy.....but he is allegedly a vegetarian....Yet I don't see any change in his physique.

There are a lot, and I mean A LOT of blogs and newspapers out there that have their respective teams targeting both of the Mat(t)'s (LaPorta and Gamel). What they don't realize is that we probably won't trade them as they will potentionally be brought up to replace/fill in for JJ and Rickie. Furthermore, Mat Gamel will be our third baseman once we unload Billy Hall. If anything, it gives added pressure to JJ, Billy, and Rickie to get their asses in gear. For Billy, it may be too late. I don't know of another team who is a serious contender for the pennant, who would give this many chances to JJ and Rickie. They have had their shot and just aren't performing to the clubs standards. Perhaps a change of scenery is in store for them. I don't know, but Billy and either Rickie or JJ should be traded away to make room for the rising Stars in Huntsville.

Brewers Avoid Sweep

Happy Fathers Day!

Thanks impart to a two-run blast by Mike Cameron, Milwaukee was able to avoid a sweep by the Twins this afternoon. Leading the way was Seth McClung, the red headed step child, the red headed slut, the Scary Scotsman, the Chaotic Celtic, you get the point....pitched a great game this afternoon giving up only two runs and hitting a double himself. McClung has had some great control at the plate since stepping in to the starters role. Thus far in to the season he has only walked 20 batters (reliever/starter), which is damn impressive. Adding to that success was the fact that he didn't walk a single batter today.

Mike Cameron continues to "labor" (as said by Bob Uecker) going 2-3 with two RBI's. Jason Kendall went 3-4 with an RBI. These two like to pick up the offense when needed, example of this would be last week in Houston and today's game. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are both batting .285.

In the series, Minnesota's pitchers (both relievers and starters) combined for only 5 free passes given to the Brewers. In the end, I believe that was the biggest contributor to Milwaukee being outscored 23 to 8! Any time you can't manufacture runs with easy gimme's, you know the final out come will be effected by it.

-Twins pitcher Scott Baker struck out 4 batters in todays game. Oddly enough, he is the first Minnesota pitcher to accomplish that feat. Congrats....I guess.

-Eric Gagne took his first step in returning to the pen for the Brewers today by throwing 25 pitches off the mound in BP. Gord Ash pointed out that Gagne "is not on the same timetable" as Riske. Thank God. Gagne just needs to take his time and recoup. He can/will be an effective closer, splitting time with Torres with the latter getting the nod more often (I would imagine).

-Jemile Weeks, little brother to Milwaukee Brewer Rickie, homered last night for the Miami Hurricanes. Shockingly enough, the Canes were upset by the Georgia Bulldogs in the College World Series (semi-final game).

-According to this Florida newspaper quoting manager Don Money, Brewer prospects Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta are going to be staying put for a while. He even went as far as saying they will stick in the farm system for a couple of years. I sense B.S.

Matt LaPorta belted his league-leading 19t home run last night against the Jacksonville Suns! The Stars won and are now 41-28 on the season.

-Meanwhile, Nashville continues to struggle. They lost last night in Davenport Iowa in front of NO FANS. This of course due to the flooding. That would be kind of creepy playing in an empty stadium, knowing that just on the other side of the walls the city and state is experience its worse flooding in modern history!

Hard to watch

I missed my write up yesterday due to being up north. I spent my Friday night at S.A. Loons in Minocqua,WI watching the Brewers get pounded by the Minnesota Twins. Lucky for me I had Old Fashions made from scratch to wash away the sour taste of lossing....scrath that....getting their assed lit. Dave Bush looked lost most of the game and was getting picked apart by the Twins. He is now 2-7 and leaves me wondering how much longer the Brewers can hold him in the starting rotation? Regardless, thanks impart to some errors by Billy Hall (routine grounders too) that led to 6 unearned runs, Milwaukee lost 10-2 in front of split crowd at Miller Park. Some blame can be taken off Hall as he has only started 4 games at second. His hitting hasn't been there either.

As for last nights game, Milwaukee led most of the game and Jeff Suppan was pitching another solid game. In stead of a win, the Brewers were kept up late and beaten in heart breaking fashion. A total collapse of pitching by Julian Taverez in the 12th inning. That doesn't make me so mad however, he did in fact throw 39 pitches. One can't expect a reliever who hasn't pitched more than an one inning this year, and shelved for 1 week (released by Boston).

I could go in to detail describing Prince Fielder's slam to center in the 9th that would've won the game, yet it fell short by literally an inch. Or I could reflect upon Russell Branyan's two-run dinger to put the game in to extra innings. Instead, I am reeling my head over the costly Corey Hart error that brought in the run in the 8th.

In all, Taverez earned the loss and Jeff Suppan pitched yet another no decision game (too bad). Milwaukee basically ran out of pinch hitters due to JJ Hardy being kept of the DL and taking up a roster spot. In all, you can't find one single reason to point at for losing the game(s). It was a collective lack luster effort in the first game, and 1 inch in the other game.

I don't blame Yost for keeping Taverez in the game. Because I am sure if he put in Mota, the game would've resulted in the same way. Mota had pitched 2innings last Wednesday and Thursday, so Yost was concerned that he wasn't ready to pitch X amount of extra innings....which is a safe bet.

Milwaukee will have one last shot at beating their border nemisis this afternoon. Hopefully they can pull off one win in the series.

-David Riske will start his rehab in Nashville. Yesterday, Riske pitched a simulated round in batting practise. Ranyd Choate will start down in Brevard County pitching Single-A ball and working his way up (scroll down to bottom). He has been on the DL all season thus far.

-JJ Hardy will miss todays game too, resting his sore shoulder and staying off the DL.

-I think Hernan Iribarren has NOT been the answer. Does anyone know why he has been called up twice now? Nothing to show for except a few hits back in April.

-JSonline story on Brewers' prospects. Milwaukee has an abundance of rising stars in the minors...especially in Huntsville (AA). When Milwaukee finally decides that Weeks and Hardy ARE NOT the answer at their respective positions, there are a number of candidates in the minors they can look at.

-Story on Tim Dillard's father who coaches at Quad Cities (IA).

-Ex Wisconsin (Wausau) Woodchuck and the son of Ned Yost, Ned Yost IV will be making the change to coach rather than play baseball. Also, Helena Brewers have a new skipper in Rene Gonzales.

Friday News Bits

Milwaukee has hit 26 home runs in the last 12 games. Impressive.

Take a peak at the series match ups.

Dave Bush takes to the mound tonight for the I-94 Series with the Twin Cities. I always loved this series, even now more than ever since Milwaukee left the American League. Bush is only 2-6 on the year and has displayed some promise, but like many blogs point out, he just can't tie up the lose strings. He has been going back to his old ways of giving up run in the first-two innings. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Look at last season and you will see the same trend, only he would win or earn the no-decision.

Milwaukee and Minnesota have a heated rivalry. Back in the American League days the games would be plaqued with beam balls, fights, and good ol' fashion hatred towards each other.

Here are a few names from years back:

Kirby Pucket

Kent Hrbek

Paul Molitor (we both share)

Fran Viola (I met him once)

Chuck Knoblauch (AL ROY in 1991)

John Smiley

Rod Carew

Tony Oliva

The list goes on and on....

Although I think the Cubs/Brewers Rivalry (The new I-94 Series) is a great rivalry, it still can't compete with the Twins.

Minnesota will have Kevin Slowley is also 2-6 on the season. Both of their ERA's are in the 5's. Both are right handed pitchers.

Robin Yount will be the guest of honor at the Wisconsin Woodchucks game on Sunday. They will host the battlin'Bullfrogs of Green Bay. Come on down to see one of the best wooden-bat amateur leagues in the country. I will be probably attending, as it is fathers day and I will be demanding me some baseball.

Astronomical Win

I used the headline "Brewers Align Stars" earlier, but then noticed that In Between-Hops beat me to the punch with their own (similar) line, "Stars Aligned". So I changed mine. Not that anyone cares...

Man am I good with headlines.

Milwaukee's offense seems to be at full tilt with Corey Hart leading the charge. Today The Crew defeated Houston 9-6 to capture the series and evening their road trip 3-3. Ben Sheets had another strong start striking out 9, allowing 7 hits and giving up 3 earned runs in 118 pitches. Mota came in to relieve the ace in the 8th inning and set-up Torres' 8th save of the season.

Corey Hart belted his 10th homerun of the season and drove in another 3 RBI's (7 in 2 games). In addition to Hart, Prince Fielder (11), Mike Cameron (9), and Gabe Kapler (5) all went yard in the win. Not a bad way to rebound from the last time they were at the juice box where they were swept. Craig Counsell added two hits, one of which was a ripping double that drove in a run. Mike Rivera (.333) provided Jason Kendall a day off and added to the mix with a hit of his own.

Houston and Milwaukee combined for 7 homeruns in todays game. Tejada continued his hot streak by blasting his 9th off Ben Sheets.

-Ben Sheets should all but seal his All-Star spot on the National League roster with a convincing win that brought his record to 7-1. Keep in mind that Sheets had a couple of no-decisions thus far in the season, one of which was last weekend in Denver (thanks Mota). His ERA is at a blistering .272 and he is pitching like there is no tomorrow....for Milwaukee. I would expect some suitors to surface pretty soon here. With this being a contract year, I can all but guaranty that Sheets will not be in a Brewer uniform next year. He is having too good of a season. It's almost to the point that if he doesn't go on the DL by the trade deadline, Milwaukee will be priced out in the off-season and will have nothing to show for him. Gut feeling that's all.

-Lance Berkman is a horse (sorry Lee). Batting .366 on the season and showing no signs of cooling off. Even today, despite going hitless, the Corky Thatcher look-alike (dark haired version) drove in a run. Switch hitting nonetheless.

-Jeff Weaver is no longer a Brewer. This was sort of a no-brainer. Take no risk in hopes that this schlep could have a decent minor league stint to warrant a call up. Well, going 2-4 doesn't quite cut it. Bye.

-Gabe Kapler's homerun today was his first one in his career off a right hander. That's pretty impressive. Not the streak, but that a retired ball player can come back and accomplish (or break that streak) that personal feat.

-JJ Hardy will probably be placed on the DL. He sat out today's game with his soar shoulder injury. Hopefully, it will be a short stint (15 days). He has been providing some timely hits, but his average is pretty low (.240's). Should he be put on the list, I would imagine Milwaukee would try signing Jeff Cirillo. Yes, I know he's busy looking like a deer in headlights for FSN. But he did state he would play if called upon. Not to mention other teams have considered him (Colorado). I could see him being brought on board in this case. A veteran like Jeff could be a great addition to the dug out and fill-in roles (Third and Short Stop).

Corey Hart Lifts Brewers

Corey Hart picked a good time to have his best game of his career. In a game that saw 8 homeruns, Hart (9) went yard twice and drove in four runs. Joining him was Kendall who belted his first, Mike Cameron (8) who needed an offensive boost, and Russell the Muscle Branyan (6). As for Houston: Tejada, Lee, and Wigginton (love that ol' Rays name).

Manny Parra (4.33) lifted his personal record to 5-2 for the season, doing so despite giving up 10 hits and 5 earned runs. With run support that was present last night, a pitcher can breathe a little easier knowing that going down by 2 runs here and there....won't necessarily cost you the game. Parra, in only his second season in the big's, did keep his cool and didn't get flustered when giving up a homerun(s).

Although Carlos Villenueva continued his bull pen dominance despite giving up his first earned run since going his reliever role. Nonetheless, he held his composure and pitched out of glitch holding 4. With a strong and effective arm like Carlos' in the pen, Yost can breath a little easier when the less experienced pitchers take to the mound. Guillermo Mota had an outing last night that helped Milwaukee forget (not all together) his piss-poor performance against Colorado last Friday. He did the job though and went two strong innings resulting in a little more rest for Torres.

The umping was certainly on Milwaukee's side last night. While Mike Cameron was on first in the 8th inning, there were 3 very close times the pitcher checked and threw to first. All three times had Cameron scrambling to get back while Lance Berkman attempted to the tag. Prior to that even, Cameron escaped a check swing - strike out thanks in part to the infield umpire claiming that he didn't go around. This infuriated Ausmus (C) who said something about the ump's sick grandmother (I made that last part up). Whatever he said, it pissed off the ump something fierce and Ausmus got tossed as did ol' Cecil Cooper.

Milwaukee continues to struggle when Prince Fielder is taken out of position to field an infield grounder. For some reason, the timing has been off this season when the pitcher covers. I don't know if it's the speed Prince has (slower than norm) in getting to the ball? But these routine plays have been resulting in errors and costly ones at that. Prince should work on (this from an over-weight fan like me) letting the pitcher cover and making the throw no-matter what! Just an idea(r).

Talk about a fun game last night that saw 8 home runs. For some reason, I had a gut feeling that it was going to be a game of yard busters and flip flopping scores. One of the more entertaining games this season.

JJ Hardy left the game with a "sore shoulder". He is day-to-day.

Chicago's Soriano will be out 6 weeks with a cracked hand. Which will suck for Milwaukee come late July, as he always comes back twice as strong off the DL. He was batting like .370 I think after his first stint in April. Prior to going on the DL at that time was batting .180's (if my memory serves me).

So that leads me to my next point....

Milwaukee HAS TO take advantage of the rest of June and most of July. With Phat Albert and Soriano both out, that leads huge holes in the line-ups of their respective teams. You can't fill in for such a lead off bat (Soriano) nor can you fill in for Albert. It's go time Crew!

Lack Luster Effort

Watching last nights game was like pulling teeth. It was simply bad. It didn't help that Roy Oswalt brought his best stuff (this season) to the Juice Box. Roy struck out 10 Milwaukee batters, however that hasn't been too difficult when playing the Brewers. The likes of Mike Cameron, Billy Hall, and Russell Branyan all play their respective role in assisting the oppossing pitcher. Not taking anything away from Russell however, as he earned his right (thus far).

As expected, Mike Cameron (.215) didn't have that spurt of energy after being shifted down to the 5th spot (flip flop with Cory Hart). He did have a hit but also struck out once. His only crutch with the Brewers, his defense, had a blooper when he charged a dead-on fly. Upon taking his first couple of steps he noticed that it should've been backwards and not forwards. I can't fault him too much, as his defense has been stellar out in Center.

Hats off to Seth McClung for dishing out revenge on the 'Stros, after Oswalt beamed Ryan Braun right after an infield meeting at the mound. It looked as if Lance Berkman iniated the talks, yet, Seth decided to take out on Tejada. Not wise, considering the fact that Berkman crushed his 19 HR of the season.

Hopefully the Brewers can pull off a win today and tomorrow to even this road series. Once again, they can then limp home and enjoy a 9-game home stand.
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NBA

Interesting blog by an Atlanta newspaper. Makes me wonder if the 2001 Eastern Confernce Finals were rigged/skewed? It was that series between the Bucks and 76'ers that let to my declined interest in the NBA. You don't have to a genious to realize that playoffs are rigged. I think Donaghy is telling some of the truth on this topic.

Mr # 600!

Ken Griffey Jr. did what only 5 other players have done in baseball history, belting his 600th home run last night in Miami. Sadly enough, he did it in front of only 12,000 fan faithfuls. This says alot about two things:
A. The Florida Marlins need to get the hell out of dodge. They deserve better than this.
B. Shame on the entire sports media and Selig himself.

Why wasn't this made in to a big deal? Let's face it guys, the "kid" had a phenominal career and will probably play 2-3 more! So why then, wasn't there more attention brought on this? Too bad.

Mike & Mike were talking about this story this morning. Reds manager Dusty Baker has been present for:
-Barry Bonds' record breaking home run
-Sammy Sosa's 500th home run
-Was on deck twice for Hank Aaron's record shots
(there might be one more I'm missing, going off memory here folks, at 6:10am when I saw it)

I remember my brother loving this kid when he was drafted by the Mariners in '89. When all is said and done, the kid will have played 20+ years in the majors. The only controversy was when he wore his hat on backwards when he first came to Cincinnati. Other than that, he was a quiet player who never stirred the dug out. He played through loads of injuries, especially 2000-2005. Imagine what further damage he would have done had he been more healthy!

Dusty Baker, said: "There is no cloud of suspicion over his head. Should he be held in higher esteem than he is? Yes. And I'm sure he will be down the road."

Day Off

Brewers place Rickie Weeks on 15 DL. Hernan Iribarren gets the call up. This is his second call-up, the first being in April. He is batting .273 w/ 14 steals. He and Dillon should get split playing time. With Weeks on the DL, this should allow him ample amount of time to head a sprained knee. Hopefully he comes back a-blazing. Last season he came back and looked damn good. Hernan has two hits on the season, one against the Cards the other against NY Mets. I will now misspell his name in the rest of my posts.



As I mentioned/thought earlier, the injury to Rickie Weeks knee this past weekend appears to be pretty serious. Jeff Baker slid in to second blatently late and lead-leg high to take out/break up the double play attempt. The right leg crashed in just-under Weeks' left knee.

I guess my question that I have is why there wasn't any retalliation for this? It was blatent. It was 'hard baseball'...yes. But you have to stick up for your teammates in a situation like this. By throwing a little chin music you even the score. That's baseball. Plus, it could've been a good kick in the ass for the Brewers that day...an igniter if you will. Instead, they looked a tad soft. I guess Yost will play beam ball at the end of a pennant race (Cardinals ala 2007), but not in early June while on the road, down by a game in the series. Sad.

This could open the door for Callix Crabbe to be called up and platoon at second from Nashville. This is the same player who was aquired by Rule 5 draft from San Diego back in mid-May. He could rotate with Dillon and get some Big League reps.

Weeks will more than likely go on the 15 day DL and could even be worse depending on the test results back in Milwaukee, where he currently is.

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Doug Melvin may have his eye on Baltimore's Brian Roberts! Although he tried to squash the rumor, this would be great addition. Of course, this theory could all change now that the targeted Brewer was Rickie Weeks (injury). Weeks is claimed by Milwaukee until 2011 while Roberts is a free agent at the end of the season. Roberts' stock has fallen since trade talks with the Cubs were held this past spring. This trade rumor was started by none other than Ken Rosenthal, so there is some substance here.

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Cameron dropping out of the 2 spot

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More on Brett Lawrie. This kid will be a stud in the future. SIGN HIM

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BIGTEN Network will air a day long special on June 19th covering University of Wisconsin...in order to fill their lack of events.

Evan Frederickson interview by Rightfield Bleachers.

Saved!

The Brewers were saved from a series sweep by the Colorado Rockies thanks impart by the indefinite closer, Salomon Torres. Once again, the crafty veteran who manages to keep his cool even through 5 outs and pitching 1.2 solid innings for a save (7). Jeff Suppan won his fourth game of the season by going 5.1 innings. Thankfully, he had some great defensive support by his cast members, as he only struck out three and walked five. Despite the lack of stats, he did pitch very well and worked through some jams. Carlos Villenueva also brought his "A" game going 1.2 innings, not giving up a run and holding three. In the end, Milwaukee won 3-2.

Offensively, The Crew failed to produce some timely hitting. This was evident in the them having stranded 13 base runners. Despite this major flaw, they did deliver when needed most. The middle of the order achieved 2 hits a piece for four straight batters (Kapler, Braun, Fielder, and Hart). Hell, even Billy Hall had a clutch hit bringing in the winning run.

In all, the Brewers should have taken this series 2 games to 1. However, some clutch hitting by the Rockies and a stubborn Yost game plan had the Brewers losing the series. That being said, Coors Field is one of the toughest stadiums to play for visiting teams. The high elevation and the park using a humidor to stow their game balls (he he) provide plenty of unique (excusable) challenges. Not to mention the Brewers play awful there.

Day off tomorrow! Then back to Minute Maid Park in Houston for a 3 game series w/ the Stros. The Crew then return home for back-to-back inter league series' with Minnesota and Toronto (as in Canada). I wonder if Brett Lawrie (16th pick for the Crew) will be present in the sky box for their series with the Blue Jays? Milwaukee (and other teams) always have their top draft picks attend a series to get the itch for the bigs. I have a very good feeling about that kid. Listening to him interview with Jim Powell on Friday gave me a good feeling in my gut. He only recently picked up catching, and has already been compared to Russell Martin (mentor/friends). Although he eluded the contract question, it's pretty evident in his tone and words used that he would be signing with The Crew. We should see him in 2010-11. I would have to say in a position other than catcher though!

Road Rash

Colorado came out of the gates early and unleashed a can of whoop ass on the Dave Bush right away in the first. I would imagine it's hard to come from behind after a team hits back-to-back homers (one being a grand slam) in the first inning. That being said, Milwaukee came out swinging too (for the most part of the second inning). In the end Colorado won 7-2 sending Bush to a dismal 2-6 record. Bush gave up his usual first inning let down, which has been a chronic problem of his for the last couple of seasons. To his defense however, he did regain composure after giving up those 5 runs of two home runs.

The bats were pretty silent last night, except for Cory Hart who had a couple of hits and Branyan who had a double. That double was thought to be a home run, at least that's what Branyan thought. Instead of an easy double, Russell was limited to a single due to not hustling after contact.

Denver is a tough place to play for Milwaukee. Brian and Bill were discussing a good topic on Friday. By the time visiting teams get used to the elevation, the series is done. Keep in mind though, Boston didn't have a tough time with it, although that was in October and not in June.

-Mike Cameron started last night and went 0-4. Suprising.

-DiFelice gave up a home run to Ian Stewart, which was a questionable call by the ump and should fuel the instant replay argument even more. I say forget it! Instant replay doesn't belong in baseball.

-Yost explains his "formula". This has to be the end of the straw. My friend Shawn Voigt said it best to me over the phone yesterday. Yost is good enough to bring us out of the basement, but not enough to deliver us a pennant.

-Yost defends Mota, at a time when I don't want to hear it.

-Milwaukee loves the father-son connection. This story by JSonline points out even more bloodlines. I didn't know Michael Brantley (Huntsville) had a father who played in the Big Leagues.

-Todays match up: Jeff Suppan will try to even his record (3-4) in the series finale.

-Call me old school, but shouldn't there had been retaliation for Jeff Baker slidding high on Rickie Weeks (Friday's loss)? Turns out this may be a little more serious then what the club let on about it. According to The Code a team should take revenge if a starting player is taken out intentionally. Now was that intentionally? I would say yes, any time you aim for the knees, you have to assume so. Same goes with the chop block in football!

-Russell Branyan can go yard, but boy can he strike out. I will take the bad with the good in this case. Keep on trucking Russell, shoot for that Burnitz record! His power has dug us out of a few holes already.

-Colorado will soon be back to normal when their DL is emptied (here too). With Tulo and Holliday set to return soon....they should make a July surge.

-Milwaukee's 39th pick, Eric Decker, will return to Minnesota to play football this season. Looks like this is a loss. This two-sport athlete is expected to be one of the top receivers in the Big Ten this coming season. One down...hope not too many to go. Hopefully a hefty signing bonus could change his mind. If I were him, I would stick it out at Minnesota. You can't pass up your last season of Big Ten football can you?

-Milwaukee has to make it their number one objective to sign Jake Odorizzi. This kid will make an impact in 3-4 years. Odorizzi led his team to it's first state title yesterday.

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In other state news...

-Michael Redd will be traded...I know that much. For what/who...? No idea. This addresses that question.

-Not state news ( I guess )...but there is a really good story in this weeks SI. It's on the wooden bat league up in Alaska. This league has had numerous stars/future hall of famers play in it including Bonds, McGwire, Randy Johnson, and other greats.
The top three (NCAA Summer) wooden-bat leagues in the country are : Cape Cod, Alaska, and Northern Woods League (WI,IA,Canada, and MN). Home of the Woodchucks!

Yost Blows It

A six inning superb performance by Ben Sheets wasn't enough for a Brewer win.
Back to back homeruns by Branyan and Hardy wasn't enough for a Brewer win.
Jason Kendalls 2 run triple wasn't enough to for a Brewer win.
A stellar 7th inning outing by Carlos Villenueva wasn't enough for a Brewer win.
It all could've been however, had Ned Yost taken his head out of his ass in last nights 6-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Why is it Yost's fault?

-Ben Sheets was pulled after 6 innings and 100 pitches. This after the club had a day off on Thursday and will then again next Monday (6/9/08). So why? Why did Yost yank Sheets from the game?

-Carlos Villenueva came in to the game to handle the seventh. Which he did with perfection. Why? Why did Yost pull Villenueva after the seventh?

-Guellermo Mota, what can I say. This isn't the first time you blew a game that we had pretty much wrapped up. You have done it quite a few times through out your journeys in the Majors.

Yost should still be the hot seat people. Just because they went on a late May tear and won 6 straight, doesn't mean we should stop asking these questions.

One would also wonder why it took him so long to switch the Kendall to eighth in the line up and put the pitcher ninth? They have are 10-2 since doing so.

Yost is just too stubborn, it's his way or no way. Sometimes you have to listen to reason Ned. This was one sore loss. I'm sour over this loss. It should have been won, but it wasn't, because you had to try to play smart ball rather than one based on logic.

Great Football Logo's

While watching the ending of the Brewers game (DVR), I checked my email to see if my pen pal from Laos wrote me. He likes to take tabs of acid and shoot me emails describing his visuals. One can only imagine tripping balls in Southeast Asia. Anyways....While checking my yahoo email, I noticed this feature:

Yahoo.com had a great story on great football helmet logos. So I clicked on it. It was great. Some of these are just great, especially The Iowa Barnstormers helmet, which looks like Snoopy w/ goggles on.

They did rank Indy and Green Bay near the top, giving them credit for never changing their logo. This one below, takes a stab at their logo by using "clip art", made famous by MacDraw from the 80's. Funny stuff. This was an AFL team from the 90's (early).

Just a good read or "visual". I used to design new uniforms/colors on helmets and jerseys when I was bored in grade school (designed shoes as well...er.....colored shoes). I covered my work in fear that someone would think I liked men (no diss, just not for me). I wish I held on to some of them.

Draft Recap

The Milwaukee Brewers did make some riskier selections than in years past. That being said, they did get their man Brett Lawrie who they have had their eyes on for some time now.

Milwaukee also kept its father-son connection entact with the selection of Cutter Dykstra. I love that name Cutter and even mentioned it to my wife last night (newborn on the way). She shot it down, probably because she watched the Real Time episode with his ol' man on it. Cutter is a highschool gem from Westlake HS in California. He should be able to fit in at either second or even at the shortstop position. Decent swing and hopefully the same cocky attitude his dad had/has.

Milwaukee Brewers

1. Brett Lawrie

2. Jake Odorizzi - RHP - IL HS

3. Evan Frederickson - LHP - San Fran University

4. Seth Lintz - RHP - TN HS

5. Cutter Dykstra - 2B/SS - HS CA

6. Tom Adams - RHP - Southern Illinois University

7. Logan Schafer - CF - Cal Poly

8. Josh Romanski - LHP - University of San Diego

9. Maverick Lasker - RHP - AZ HS

10. Jose Duran - SS - Texas A&M

Best first names: Maverick and Cutter

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Brewers Select Canadian Brett Lawrie In First Round

Milwaukee selected Canadian, Brett Lawrie from a Langley, British Colombia today with their 16th selection in this years draft. He is a catcher/"infielder", however they submitted his name as a catcher with their selection. With the likes of Mike Rivera and Angel Salome at the helm, I question if he will actually be used as a catcher. Salome will be the future catcher of this franchise or at least rotate with Mike Rivera, so that tells me that Lawrie may be used in other roles, similar to that of Matt LaPorta who was a first baseman in college.

With good size and decent speed, this player will be a welcomed addition to the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Pending of course if they can sign him.


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Rickie Weeks' little brother Jemile was drafted 12th by the Oakland A's.

#1 over all pick was made by Tampa Bay Rays, they selected prep phenom Tim Beckham out the state of Georgia.

Other sad news....

Miller-Coors Park?

U.S signed off on the Miller-Coors merger today. The future of my favorite Milwaukee beer is in jeopardy. The beer that made Milwaukee famous is now at risk of moving its headquarters out of state. If that happened, I would then switch brands...probably over to Point or Huber. Sad day.

Public displays of affection in Seattle are under attack. This is just sad. If a male/female couple were told to quit sucking face at a ballpark, do you think they would stage a "kiss-in" to protest it? No. They would probably stop. These two lesbians are going after the Mariners organization and will probably take legal action. I don't want my 2 year-old son seeing that when I bring him to a park. Hell, it don't matter if they are gay or straight!

Waking a sleeping giant?

Perhaps Boston woke a sleeping giant back in the middle of May when Milwaukee was swept? Since then the Brewers have unleashed a reign of terror on National League foes.

This afternoon, Milwaukee's offense was in full swing with a convincing 10-1 win over 1st place Arizona. This homestand ends with a back-to-back sweep over division contending teams in the NL (AZ & Houston). Manny Parra (4-2) continued to pitch effectively by going 7 strong innings striking out eight batters and giving up one earned run. Parra also retired the last 14 batters. In the last two games, Manny has won both games and struck out a total of 14 batters. Not bad for a rookie winning 3 of his last 4 outings. This is great news since Milwaukee is in need of an effective southpaw.

As for the offense....

Corey Hart (7) smacked a three run in-the-park homer, which is the first one since last summer when Prince Fielder did the same (solo).

Russell Branyan (4) continued his hot streak with another dinger as well. Since his call-up May 24th, Russell the Love Muscle is batting .321!

Gabe Kapler came off the bench to start in center for the horridly slumping Mike Cameron. Perhaps Gabe convinced Ned Yost today that he deserves it full-time by going 4 for 5 with a double, three singles, and an RBI. This Happen'in Hebrew deserves a shot at starting!

Ryan Braun added to the mix by nailing a triple, which is his third of the season.

Jason Kendall continued his mini-slump by going o'fer, he is now batting .244 on the season. He was batting 7th today (Councell was 8th), making no sense to me or probably any one else but Ned Yost, for that matter.

VOTE OR DIE

In the words of P Diddy, he will kill you if you don't vote for Braun and Fielder, you will parish. Also, when are we gonna stop seeing the Billy Hall-Allstar Vote propaganda.

As for Ben Sheets...he needs to be selected, not voted.

Vote early vote often!

McClung Leads Offensive Charge!?!?

It often times helps to have a pitcher who was once a power hitter back in his high school days. Seth McClung, who holds a high school record for home runs back home in West Virginia, let the offensive charge last night for the Crew. Despite not having a hit in his MLB career, the right handed Scotsman had two timely hits off of future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

On the mound, McClung (3-2) was even better going six innings and giving up only one run (6 hits, no walks). So after a pretty shaky outing against Atlanta, the red headed step child was able to rebound rather nicely.

Both Prince Fielder (10) and Ryan Braun (16) both went yard, with the latter off of Randy Johnson. Which by the way, Congrats To!

Even more interesting was Ned Yost going with Brian Shouse (2) as the closer in the both the eighth and ninth innings. Especially since Torres has had some decent rest as of late. Tim Dillard had a nice inning as well (hld 1).

So, the win streak hits 5 straight with this win. They have won 9 of 11 games with all signs pointing to a renaissance in hitting. Both Braun and Fielder have been on a tear lately resulting in their power numbers climbing. Fielder is being far more hesitant at the plate and working the pitch counts, waiting for a mistake. Although Braun has been striking out more, it is pretty clear that he has been aiming for the fence as of late. Which isn't a bad think especially if you have 16 home runs by the first week of June.

-For me, seeing Billy Hall in the dug out makes me feel uneasy. To see him on the field not so much, because all he has to do is play. But when I see him chummy with Prince Fielder, I wonder to myself what awful things he is discussing with him. His distaste for the club and Ned Yost is pretty evident. Now for the young Fielder to be around that is pretty unhealthy, especially with the idea of having him commit to a long-term contract. He already has bad taste in his mouth from spring training, now one of his close friends that he looks up to is PROBABLY bad mouthing the Brewers. Doug Melvin is doing what a good GM should do, and that's hold on to him and use him in unique situations or against righties. Despite my earlier posts of having Billy traded, perhaps Melvin knows a lot more about baseball then I do (wink wink) and he probably has a good plan up his sleeve.

-Milwaukee could "fortify" their club with a strong draft come Thursday. I don't really think the fans realize how important this day is. Milwaukee has enough picks to really bolster the pitching and plug other holes that are in the foreseeable future. Although Wisconsin cringed when Melvin traded away Cordero (along with Linebrink), most didn't realize that we were able to land the 35th & 53rd picks in Thursdays draft! Jack Zduriencik, who is the VP of player personnel, has been successful in building a baseball team as well as a scouting team. This team has been targeted and in some cases lured away from opposing teams such as Cincinnati. Makes you feel good to know that a lot of questions the front office has will be answered Thursdays, pending of course if the Crew can then sign them!

-Matt LaPorta and Mat Gamel both crack Baseball's Prospect Hot Sheet! These two gems are going to be great players at the big league level!

Enrout to the top....

Milwaukee came from behind, again, last night in their 3-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Crew are now 30-28 and tied for third with the Houston Astros. They are still 7 games back from the Cubs, but Deadspin notes that Chicago will be on the road 23 of their next 32 games (hmmm?).

Jeff Suppan gave up 3 runs including a home run last night. He did not pitch too bad thanks impart to the run support. Earlier in the season, giving up 3 runs meant a loss. Soup also gave up 7 hits, but only 2 walks, striking out 6. He last seven innings.

The duo of Mota and Torres is working out nicely for the Brewers. Mota is most effective in the set-up role, that's for sure as he tends to get flustered easily after walking the lead-off or going behind in the count. What's nice about the closing team is Brian Shouse being used when needed with his side-left arm throw.

Torres looked like a true veteran out there, throwing well positioned pitches, working the counts, and not losing his composure. He never lost his cool though, you put Gagne in that same spot that Torres was in (bases loaded-1 out) and you will not have the same out come.

Prince Fielder is definitely hiding round steak under his bed at night to snack-on while his wife is asleep. Keep doing that Prince, just don't get caught by her. She probably had to work pretty hard in converting you in the first place. Your game winning HR (9) was a towering blast of protein!

"I'm a big-time third-base stealer." So says Prince, according to Madison.com

He does say some pretty funny things in post-game interviews.

Both David Riske and Eric Gagne aren't coming off the DL any time soon. Both are recovering slowly. Riske did play a soft toss prior to yesterdays game, but looked no where near game form.

I bet occasionally, more so in the past then now. Here is a break down of Brewers vs Diamondbacks.

Miller Park is rewarding the rick....by allowing free parking for hybrid vehicles. Because you know, the working-class/blue collar citizens of Milwaukee all drive those bitch magnets around.

Top Milwaukee Scout Jack Zduriencik has scouted more than 150 players at the high school and college level......since FEBRUARY!

Outside prospective on the great Sausage Races at Miller Park.

Finally, the batting averages start to rise...

Prince .290

Braun .297

Hart .292 (down from the 300's)

Those that are pretty bad....

JJ Hardy .245

Billy Hall .227 (joke)

Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron have struck out 88 times so far this year. For the love of God...Mike missed the first 25 games.

-Why did Ned Yost bench Sundays all-pine team? I would have to say that JJ and Rickie should sit more to make room for our bench stars. Until they raise their batting averages and start delivering more hits.

-Out of a (close to) 1000 polled, 57% think the Brewers should trade Billy Hall

My question you Milwaukee is who the hell will they get in return for him? $5mm/year!

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-Brewers grab top viewing spots in the Milwaukee market, thanks to the weekend sweep. This is truly a baseball town.