Brewers Get Smoked....Again / Manny Ramirez To LA (Dodgers)

Milwaukee Brewers were swept by the surging Chicago Cubs today at Miller Park, 11-4. This misery is over...at least for now. Chicago came up to Milwaukee and told us all where to shove it. They are by far the best team in the National League....RIGHT NOW. But hey, there' s a lot of baseball left.

Bush (Loss 5-9) gave up 3 HR's, 5 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), struck out 3. Rich Hardin (1-1) struck out 9 batters, gave up 6 hits, and 1 earned run. a

Milwaukee was outscored 31-11 in the four-game sweep. That hurts. That really stings. I can barely fathom that.

Mistakes kill the Brewers. Cubs know how to capitalize off them, that's for sure.

Edmounds, the slugger from St. Louis (why did they get rid of him?) belted 2 HR's today. Joining him was Fukodome and Soriano (1/each).

Prince nailed his 22 HR on the season.

A player of the bench was the biggest contributor for the Brewers. Gabe Kapler had 3 hits, 2 of which were doubles. He should get to start in center tomorrow in Atlanta. Will he? Probably not.

-JJ Hardy has had 6 hits in last 41 at-bats (.146), yet he is still batting a fantastic .291.
Still not bad. He should turn around in Atlanta.

-Mike Cameron batted .250 in the month of July, striking out 21 times.

Manny Ramirez was traded to the LA Dodgers today. Florida was the odd team out of the deal. Jason Bay was sent to Boston. The Pirates will get 4 minor-league players.

Happy Topic: Trade Deadline (Updates)

Well, the time has come. The trade dead line is rapidly approaching this afternoon. Here is what's on the burner:

-Manny Ramirez may be dealt to the Marlins today in a three-way trade w/ Pittsburgh. Also involved with this deal: Jason Bay (.282, 22 hr's, 64 rbi's) to the Sox, and Florda's Hermida to the Pirates. Sources close to the BoSox are saying it's "less than 50/50 chance".

-Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox? Yea right! Right? This time this rumor IS true. The Reds have reportedly agreed to trade the aging right fielder to Chicago. For the last 4 years now, there have been rumors about this deal. This deal has now been confirmed, pending Griffey's approval. Which I am sure he will give the nod to.

-Mark Teixeira was dealt to the Angels on Monday.

-Rightfield Bleachers reported yesterday that Mike Rivera could be dealt.

-Ivan Rodriguez was sent to the Yankees for reliever Kyle Farnsworth yesterday afternoon. This seems to be a Yankee win if you ask me.

I think today will be a quiet day for the Crew in trades. They need to wake up for the game this afternoon though!

Brewers Get Ass Kicked II

This is sickening.

I don't know how else to describe it. I sit at home watching this game on HD only to see obnoxious Cub fans act like complete children in the background. Yes you, you pimple faced douche bag behind the third base line who held up a cheesy-ass "Wrigley North" sign.
Enough on that. I am at work right now and need to get focused. We just have to grin and bare it until we face them in September. That's when it really counts.

My question to the "Brewer Nation", the fans that have been on the band wagon for all of their human existence and those who joined us after the Cardinal's series....why are we freaking out? This is only July. Had this happened 3-4 days from now, yes I would feel different. But it's simply July, only July. Hell, we have 50+ games left. Do I need to remind you about the Colorado Rockies of 2007? Or the Cardinals of 2006? Or the Brewers of 1982 (probably not '82, nobody will let me forget that...we did lose didn't we?). Suck it up and drive on, as my drill sergeant would tell me.

Manny Parra looked bad last night giving up 8 hits, 5 runs, and 4 horrific walks. Let it go. You screwed the proverbial pooch. You are allowed a couple bombs a season. On the bright side, he was the ONLY shining star on offense. Prince Fielder's HR in the 9th hardly counts. Parra slammed a double and a triple last night.

Are problem right now is that we are dead frickn' last when runners are in scoring position. While the Cubs, hell, they have to be near the top. Our mistakes literally destroy our momentum and ultimately seal of fate. It shocks me when I see Prince Fielder drop a routine throw to first from Kendall on a wild pitch. Kendall rocketed that ball and would've had him had Prince caught a routine throwout. Sad.

Shame on Ned Yost for having Jason Kendall (who's not Speedy McQueen) steal second. Yes, you put a runner in scoring position with only 1 out. But since we're not driving in runners in scoring position, let the players manufacture the runs...the old school way. Advancing runners on hit balls.

When Kendall was caught stealing, I knew it was going to be one of those games.

The good news is that we play one more afternoon game today against the hottest team in baseball (besides the Yanks). We then travel to Atlanta where we have had some recent success. Then it's off to the pesky Reds who are like a cyst that won't go away on their own. They always reappear. We could either drop rapidly in the standings come next weekend, or keep up with the Cardinals. As of now, the Brewers and Cards are tied for the wildcard. Should we bank on the wildcard? NO. We bank on the division.

-Sports Illustrated and I agree! The Milwaukee Brewers should bring up left handed batter Mat Gamel. He could pinch hit and would help against right handed batters. He's pretty bad on Defense though. SI (Magazine) had a little bit on his near the back of this weeks edition. He is one goofy looking player, he and Brett Lawrie (if we sign him) will easily capture the funny-looking award...if there is one.

Brewers Get Ass Kicked

Chicago unleashed a fury of pain on the Milwaukee Brewers last night, most noteworthy being Benjamin Sheets. One of the NL's top pitchers was served a can of you know what by Carlos Zambrano (Bo Jackson Wannabe) and the Cubs.

Chicago leads the series 2-0. * My math was wrong, pointed out by K. The Brewers are 3 back.

Milwaukee had lead-off hitter after lead-off hitter reach first base and at times even advancing to second base, yet the Brewer bats were silenced by Carlos Zambrano (12-4). Hats off to the guy, he did in fact pitch one of his best games of his career. Anytime you pitch 8 shutout innings and allowing only 5 hits against the offensive powerhouse that is the Brewers, it has to be considered one of your best games in a career. His sidearm breaking ball was lights out. Enough on that.

Ben Sheets (10-4) must have had a flashback of the Dodger game back in April where he bombed big time. All together the grizzly co-ace gave up 11 hits, 6 earned runs, and had only 4 K's. Pretty bad.

You know what? GOOD. Get it out of your system ol' friend. Because from this point on you had better be point on. There is no wiggle room for piss-poor performances like this one last night if you want to go to the playoffs and sign a big contract in the off season. You're allowed 3 horrible performances a season where you get rocked. You have had your two, some may argue 3 when you add up your last starts since CC came over.

Sheets is in a slump. He will work out of it. I feel like he is forcing it too much, feeling that he has to match CC's success and overshadow him. Which is not the case. CC is a Cy Young ol' Ben. You my friend, are not.....as of YET! You very well could be.

Now even more pitiful then Ben Sheets pitching was the overall team hitting. Absent. That's okay though, bring it tonight.

-Mike Cameron, although he had a miserable error out in Centerfield, had two hits. He's batting .230 and should also be splitting time with Gabe Kapler. MC has the HR's and decent fielding skills, but is too inconsistent as of late. You can only defend the guy so many times.

-WTF? Jeff Samardzija was throwing 93 mph fastballs. Not bad for a kid who split time with AA and AAA. It appears that their farm system is looking pretty decent. The $300mm they spent a couple of seasons ago yielded some good results, but it appears that their farm system has also done its part in advancing the team.

-Michael Hunt of the Journal-Sentinel rips Milwaukee a new one. Take it easy. It's only late July.
As for his analysis on Rickie Weeks, he is dead on.
Ben Sheets in high profile games? What do you call the All Star game Mr. Hunt? Granted it was only a couple of innings, but he didn't succumb to the pressure then did he?

I do agree with his comments on Yost. I don't know if Ned thinks that we as fans are stupid as a whole or not...just tell how it is. Rickie Weeks sucks and should be passed on to someone else. We have spent too much time on the development of this player and it's provided us with little results. Ray Durham isn't the answer either. Perhaps we should take a last look at the trading block which is hours from ending.
Hopefully, Melvin is making flight arrangements for Mat Gamel come September, if not sooner.

-CC took out a full-page add in the Cleveland Plain to thank his fans.

Haudricourt's Take On Weeks

I agree. I do have to make a correction, he only made one officially scored error last night. The last play he botched wasn't ruled an error. Although it should have. The luxuries of playing at home right?
Despite playing at home, the close calls all went to the Cubs.

Did anyone see Mark Cuban in the stands last night? He would've been scarfing down cake behind home plate and then sticking his fingers down his throat to make it come back up.

Playoffs In July?

In what surely is going to be a preview of the National League's First or Second Round of playoffs, Chicago traveled north on I-94 to take on their divisional foe. Brewer fans were out in full force making it the 8th consecutive sell out (Miller Park Record) and they weren't dissappointed. Yes, Milwaukee lost 6-4 in a heart break fashion. But keep in mind people, it's only late July. We could get swept and it would mean we would just have to make up those 5 games later in the season when we play a much easier schedule than the Cubs. Enjoy this atmosphere, because we as fans should expect nothing less than playoffs come October.

As for the game, you couldn't have asked for anything more....well, actually you could. Rickie Weeks should be platooned at secondbase with Ray Durham. Why? To either give him a kick in the ass or to cover our own asses because perhaps, this player isn't as good as Melvin, Yost, and the fans thought he was. It's apparent that this kid can not field under pressure. He has had 3 costly, extremely damaging errors in the last two games. Both games/losses could be partially (team effort I know) blamed on Weeks to some extent. Cruel and unusual punishment? Yes. But we should be expecting near perfection as we ascend upon August.


CC Sabathia pitched a great game which was not shown in the stats. He gave up 9 hits, 4 runs, and struck out 3 batters. Chicago's approach to CC was attack him early, very early in the count in order to wear him down. His pitch count finished at 124 when he exited the game in the seventh inning. It came down to Alfonso Soriano, the ex-Yankee who faced CC probably more than any other batter in the Chicago line up. The man (who likes a player from the 50's) tore us up with a home run and a game opening double.


As for the Milwaukee offense, it most certainly didn't lack. Besides Rickie Weeks, who went a miserable 0-4, the Brew Crew erupted for 8 hits (Cubs: 11). What will make the difference for the remaining 9 games we play against the Cubs will be the long ball. There were three different Brewers who went yard: Hardy (15), Braun, (29/2nd place in NL), and ol' man Branyan (12).





-Chicago batters seemed to be late on a significant number of CC's pitches, often times fouling it off over the first base line. Perhaps CC was a little too jacked up? To me, an inexperienced fan who was sitting on his couch at home, to me it seemed like he rushed his delivery. That's just me though. It looked as if he was a little too quick with his delivery, often times holding base runners at second with his stare a little too long. He then makes his pateneted 180 degrees rotation to the catche while throwing the ball.

-Despite Mike Cameron going 0-4 last night, he did have probably the best outfield assist on the season, gunning down a banged up Derrek Lee from Center. This along with Corey Hart's insane throw out from Leftfield this past weekend have to be the highlights of the season thus far in assists.


-The entire media is jumping on the Brewer band wagon, we welcome you aboard. It's been an empty ride for as far back as I can remember. I started watching the Brewers religiously back in 1999. My first bar tending gig had me watching the game more than watching for empty glasses. As for the country, most now believe the Cub-Brewer rivalry to be tops in the NL, replacing the Phillie's - Mets. Although I love the match up, it's by no way even close to the latter. Not yet. It will be, most of that depends on how the Brewers maintain their surge in the years to come.

-I wanted to throw my water bottle at the TV last night when Soriano made the last out/catch of the game in the bottom of the ninth. He gave that cocky-ass smile to Milwaukee fans. He does have some pearly whites though.


-Jsonline cites a number of analysts who believe that this match up is the best in the NL.

-Milwaukee is favored tonight (-117). If I was a betting man, which I am, I would/will/am going to put money down on Sheets and the Crew tonight.

Look at how well they do the back-to-back-to-back mid air body check! Superb. My question is why Soriano's ass perfectly fits like a puzzle to his fellow Cub in back of him? Remember, these fools actually griped that "they were the ones who introduced that move". Reminds me of my friend Rat. He likes to claim the first "to do it" on everything.

Soup Sandwich

When I was in basic training for the Army National Guard back in '99 down in Fort Knox my drill sergeant would always yell at me. If I had my boots not shined or my hair not buzzed, he would yell at me. His words were, "Olson, you fat pile of shi*t, you look like soup sandwich". I never knew what the hell that meant, only that I didn't look like he wanted me to look.
As is the case with Jeff Suppan. He went from being a NLCS ALL STAR to our 4th man in the rotation, possibly even the fifth now. His fifth inning was down right awful yesterday. And Ned Yost just let him to dry out there. He went from being Soup down to being Soup Sandwich.

Soup (5-7) gave up 8 freakin' runs and struck out a lowly 3 batters. His counterpart, newly acquired Randy Wolf looked equally as rough. Only his manager didn't keep him in there to hang himself like ol' Ned Yost did. Bob Uecker cried afoul during his broadcast when the fans booed Soup as he exited the game, "Come on folks..it's not that bad". Well Bob, we just got hammered out of our own park to the last place Houston Astros. We just sold out 7 consecutive home games. So yes, we have every right to boo at the park and at home. Love you Uecker, but c'mon now.

-Ryan Braun belted his 28th home run of the season. He is crawling at the top and should capture first here relatively soon.

-Rickie Weeks had a triple. However he also had a costly error that opened the flood gates. Had he successfully fielded the grounder he could have turned a double play. Thus saving Suppan from a disastrous fifth inning. He screwed the pooch though.

-Tom Haudricourt ripped Yost for leaving Soup in for so long. I believe it's a 50/50 split. Soup certainly should be able to pitch out a jam in the fifth with minimal damage. Hell, you can also toss Weeks in there for a 1/3 of the blame with his horrid error. My point is this, you can't really blame just one guy. That was a clear cut example of a team blunder...which was led by Ned. He He Ha. "He was one pitch away" BS is what really irks me.

-Brewers v Cubs series starts tonight at Miller Park. CC Sabathia takes to the mound against Ted Lilly. This series will end up in a split ( and Bud Selig will be thoroughly excited). Right now he is probably sitting at his desk with his pants around his ankles. This is what the MLB needs. A National League resurgence that can take over the spotlight of the Yankee/BoSox series this past weekend.

Braun Goes The Distance...Again

I was unable to watch/listen to the game in its entirety last night, but was able to escape to the bar just in time for Ryan Brauns heroics. You see, I was attending a wedding of a good friend down in Stevens Point at the old Holidome (Holiday, which is now a Ramada). More on that later...

The Milwaukee Brewers were able to come from behind, yet again, last night in a 6-4 battle. The Crew is now in first place, tied with their arch nemesis, the Chicago Cubs. Dave Bush (no decision) didn't necessarily bring his "A" game to the park, but did get some much needed help from the rejuvinated bullpen. He gave up 9 hits, 4 earned runs, and struck out 5 batters. What hurt the most was the 4 free passes he handed out to the Astros that pumped the bases. He exited the game after only pitching 5 innings. Ladies and Gentlemen, Bush will probably step down to the bullpen. McClung looks to be the fifth starter in the rotation....for now.

Mota took over for Bush and did his part to F' things up in a timely manner. In only 1.2 innings pitched, he managed to give up 4 hits and strike outs. Despite a decent 6th inning, quickly wore out his welcome.

The continuing feel-good story of the second half was Eric Gagne. He pitched a successful inning of play earning the win (4-2). Since the All Star break Gagne has done an about-face and is starting to throw like he's not from Canada. He will prove to be the key ingredient in the 1-2-3 set up position along with Riske and Torres. Who knows, we may have another closer come next week (Sherrill?). Salomon Torres continued his climb towards the NL's top save leaders with his 20th last night. He is now in 9th place and only 1 more save back from Fransisco Cordero (bust). The top save leader is Brian Wilson with 27, however that surely won't last with the way the Brewers are playing recently.

-Ray Durham went 2 for 3 last night with a doubler.

-Braun blasted his 27th home run on the year. He is now in third place behind the leader Ryan Howard (30) and Adam Dunn (29). The Hebrew Hammer is now hitting .300 as of this morning.

-JJ Hardy took the day off, he's batting .299 as of this morning.

Impressive.

Losing Streak Hits 1 / Brewers Look To Regain Momentum Tonight

Milwaukee lost a close one last night 3-1 to the Houston Astros. They were unable to pull even with the Chicago Cubs and remain a game under their division rival.

Manny Parra looked great the first six innings but then things rapidly unraveled in the sixth when the young pitcher departed from the game with the bases loaded. In came David Riske and he gave up two sacrifice fly's that resulted in their respective runs. In all, the young lefty Parra looked solid but just couldn't hang, had it not been for the 2 fielding blunders in the seventh he would have had another win.

Call it a managing error if you like, Yost had the option of removing him from the game earlier in the inning. Instead he choose to stick with him longer than what most would like. I like to think of it as a growing pain...a lesson of sorts. You have to push the young pitcher to last longer, deal with tough situations, and work out of jams. So in all, I can't really blame Yost. "Right now I'm just really frustrated because I keep on doing this," Parra said. "I feel like I'm throwing the ball really well for six innings, seven innings, and then a break here or there (for the other team).

"That's the difference between what CC (Sabathia) and Ben (Sheets) are doing. They're going deep into games, they're coming out on a good note as opposed to being taken out in the middle of an inning, which I can't stand."

-Manny Parra (JSOnline.com)

There is a lot that stands between Parra and the two aces. But that will soon change as Parra begins to encounter tougher match ups and as he grows as a ball player. This guy will be a "frontliner", in the words of pitching coach Mike Maddux.

Parra gave up 8 hits and 3 runs while striking out 5. Not too shabby.

Wendy Rodriguez on the other hand was lights-out. He threw 6 scoreless innings and earned his sixth win of the season (6-3) for the Astros.

Carlos Villenueva pitched 2 scoreless/hitless innings in the 8th and 9th innings. He is definately nice to have in the bull pen. One has to wonder if he will be traded in the off-season? He wants to be a starter and certainly can become one. Just not in our rotation it appears.

-Corey Hart snapped his mini-slump that had him go 5-28 since the break. Thankfully the hearthrob had two hits last night and a remarkable throw out at home to catch Matsui (sp?). He was sportin' the Vanilla Ice steps shaved into his head. Nice.

-Fox Valley native Jarrod Washburn (LHP) is being thrown in to the Milwaukee rumor mill.

-Other rumor mill news updates. I like it that Melvin isn't going to trade Escobar or Gamel for a reliever. Hang on to these two for the long term.

Lastly, why is it that the Brewers have hard time, historically, with the Astros?

Also, is it just me or does Lance Berkman look like a character from Life Goes On?

Important Prince Fielder & CC Sabathia News Update

CLICK HERE

Franchise Records Set Last Night

Records are great. They are used as motivating factors in accomplishing an ultimate goal. That goal for the Brewers it the post season and for some, reaching the World Series. Two franchise records were set last night in St. Louis:
1. Club record 20 game home run streak
2. Most importantly, 7 game win streak on the road

Impressive. Some clubs chuckle at this I am sure of it. Yes, the state of Wisconsin and Milwaukee have not had a very successful ball team (except of course in '82). Laugh now, cry later.

Ben Sheets earned the no decision last night, second time now in as many starts. In 7 complete innings Sheets K'd 4 and only gave up 4 hits (keep in mind CC gave up 3 on Wednesday). He pitched a damn good game but had little run support. Following similar patterns of the previous 3 games, the Brewers didn't ignite until later innings.

Salomon Torres earned his 19th save last night. This guy has been unbelievable, especially last night when he struck out all three batters he faced.

Eric Gagne continued to enforce his set-up role with the Brewers by only giving a hit, walk, and no runs. His mechanics seemed to be changed up or simply corrected back to his regular form. It looks as if he's more relaxed now and his shoulders aren't all tightened when he begins his wind-up. If he continues this improved play, the Brewers may have the best 1-2-3 relief punch in the National League. Along with David Riske, these three have been on a tear as of late. Throw in Shouse to face left handed batters and you have a bull pen that Brewer fans were so excited to begin with this past off-season.

The heroics were provided by Ryan Braun last night when he went yard with the game winning home run. Although I didn't appreciate the whole, "I hit home run...I watch....don't run....walk....arrr" Braun did last night, he still has my hat tipped to him. His 25th home run on the season locked up the Brewers win over the Cards (4 to 3).

The Brewers are now 2 games over .500 on the road.

-Ray Durham, in his first start as a Brewer, went 0-5.

-Ryan Braun was player of the game going 4-4 with a HR. JJ Hardy had another great game going 3-5. Prince Fielder went 2 for 3 with a smashing double in the 9th.

I will tell you what, Prince has certainly put on more weight since becoming a "vegetarian". Despite this weight gain, he can still run. However, when he does run it reminds me of a cartoon character. He looks down at his feet and does the stutter step as he approaches a base. It's hilarious. The only thing missing is smoke from the rapid feet.

-Melvin told JSonline.com that he was not interested in Oriole closer George Sherrill. Even though media outlets have been mentioning this possibility for the past week or so. It appears they want JJ Hardy or Escobar in return.

-Ex Brewer Jim Gantner, manager of the Wisconsin Woodchucks (Northwoods League/College) was suspended a game for bumping chests with the umpire in Wednesday's game (I was there!). The story said there were 2-bench clearing brawls. I left early so I didn't know about that.

-It I was a betting man, which I am...
The Chicago Cubs are still favored to win the NLCS (+150) while the Red Sox to win the ALCS (+130).

-Rightfield Bleachers posted this story on the Chicago Cubs minor league team in Peoria,IL. The starting pitcher for Cubs rocketed a fastball towards the oppossing teams dug out, only to throw just a bit high....and hitting a fan in the face. The pitcher was arrested and taken off. A jail house brawl ensued moments later.

Vitamin CC

"What? We won 7 Straight Games? I'll be a son-of-a-bitch...throw me out then"

Nothing like winning the first two of a four game series against your division rival. Nothing like throwing your two aces at your foe in the final two games of the series. CC Sabathia, in only his fourth start for the Crew, pitched his third straight complete game. CC even had a no-hitter up until the 6th inning. Absolutely on fire! This guy will surely draw above Johan Santana dollars once the season is through.

That being said, CC struck out 7 batters last night and walked only 2. In all, our new ace threw a 3-hit complete game-shut out.

-Rickie Wees went 3 for 4. His batting average has risen to .226 for the season. Still below the average for lead off hitters. We will see if he can dig himself out of this whole.

-Corey Hart went o'fer. His average has dropped down to .284 on the season. He has not dipped below .280 since April.

-Ryan Braun his his 25th home run, JJ Hardy hit his 15th. JJ Hardy is batting in the .430's since the All Star break with 2 home runs.

-Milwaukee will look to extend it's longest winning streak on the road since1999! They are now .500 on the road this season; 15 games above .500 for the first time since '92! When we grow older and are talking with our grandkids, we may very well be talking about, "that summer back in '08". Milwaukee is favored once again (-128 money line).

-Eric Gagne is making progress on his pitching form, according to Brewers.com story.

-I know the lads over at RightField Bleachers and my friends in the Fox Valley will be happy to read this story. Look like talks between Appleton and the Brewers will heat up in September. You can pretty much count on the Brewers placing their low-(A) team in the Chute. Appleton's newspaper reported it here.

-Now Derrick Turnbow is going to AZ to have tests done on his arm. He doesn't know what's wrong with it. I do though....it's called the post-steroid era for a reason.

-Sporting News is calling for the Brewers to stop waiting on Rickie Weeks to come around. I agree. Despite his recent burst of activity at the plate, he has been a virtual bust for the team since 2005.

Bill Hall Rules July/Cardinals

The month of July and Billy Hall go together like peas and carrots. Or like ebony and ivory, or like...whatever. Billy Hall is rake'n in the month of July. Last night was no exception when he blasted a home run to center field in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. That provided the go ahead run and delivered the Brewers their 6th straight win with a 4-3 victory.

Kyle Lohse pitched a damn good game for the Cards, but LaRussa left him in their too long. Then again, can you blame him with that bull pen? Lohse retained his record of 12-2 on the season dishing off the loss to another Kyle (McClellan) (2-5).

Jeff Suppan had decent first outing since coming back from the DL. He gave up 3 runs, which is below is high 4's ERA. He looked shaky at first giving up a homer and couple of other hits in the first inning. Similar to Monday's game, it took a while for our pitchers to get the feel of the ball down. Plus, the Cardinals are a team that strike early and then far late in to the game. Thus far only half of that scenario has been the case. Suppan only had 3 k's, 2 walks, and gave up 8 runs in the no-decision. In all, he didn't pitch all that bad. Even though most of us at home were grumbling in the first couple of innings.

Torres, once again, provided the fireworks at the end of the game by delivering his 18th save of the season. Brian Shouse, who was ripped apart by Jsonline blog readers that past couple of days, came up big and secured the win (4-1).

All but two Brewer batters had hits last night (Suppan and Cameron) in the starting line up. Impressive. Of course, Suppan broke the 6 game hit streak that Milwaukee's pitchers had going in to the game.

-Brewers signed Jay Gibbons from the Baltimore Orioles to a minor league deal. He likes 'roids.

-Finally, the Brewers are favored tonight (+110). However, this dueche bag doesn't buy it.

-Mitch Stetter was sent down to Nashville.....again. This bothers me some, considering the fact that we only now have Brian Shouse as the loan lefty in the bull pen. We need to go after some left handed relievers before the trade deadline.

-The Chicago Cubs lost last night to the D-Backs. I called that series win for Arizona now didn't I? Brewers are now 1 game out of first place! It will boil down to the four game series next week to see who will pull ahead.

-Did anyone see Prince Fielder smacking Billy Hall around like he was his prison mate, after the game? Man was he rough. Billy just a little guy Prince!

Brewers Sign Braun....Again

The Milwaukee Brewers did Ryan a favor and signed his kid brother, Steve, to a contract. The younger sibling recently completed his senior year at Maryland playing second base. This will be the first time the Brewers signed a brother of a current player.

Perhaps a stipulation to the Ryan Braun deal that was made earlier in the season? Just throwing that out there.

Rickie Weeks is now looking over both shoulders.

Milwaukee Handles Cardinal Relievers

We all read or heard about the scouting report on St. Louis. They have great batting power and effective starting pitchers. Their weakness is their bull pen however, and the Milwaukee Brewers took advantage it last night; routing the Cardinals 6-3.

The Chaotic Celtic proved me wrong last night...again. I figured this red headed Gaelic wonder would flounder as we go in to the second half of the season. Instead, he flourished. Despite a two-RBI double given up to Troy Glaus early on in the game, McClung looked sharp and found his grove from the third inning on. Sadly, he was given the no-decision due to Salomon Tores making a costly mistake that Molina cashed in on for a home run to tie up the game in the ninth inning.
“One mistake,” Torres said. “That’s all I can say. One mistake to Molina, 0-1, too good of a pitch. I should have known better. I should have kept the ball down.” Yes it was a costly mistake, but the way he responded to his mistake is what makes him a winner. Sort of like a "it's not if you win or lose...but how you play the game" type feeling. He threw high in the strike zone instead keeping the pitch low for a grounder. He knew what he did wrong and I can assure you that he will correct it. As a result, Tores was able to hold on and earn the win (5-2)

Even more impressive and reassuring was the performance by the bull pen last night for Milwaukee that is. You couldn't have asked for a better outing by Mota, Gagne, and Riske. Only Mota and Riske had a walk a piece while Gagne was absolutely perfect with 2 K's. I truly believe that this is only the start of the turn around for the bull pen. With Riske pitching better in the second half in his career, plus Gagne out to prove that he is still an effective thrower, you can't help but feel positive. Mota still has a lot to prove. He was one bad pitch away from giving the Cards the lead.

As for the offense, you couldn't have asked for a better performance. Well, perhaps in the first couple of innings you could have. Clearly, our All Star Ryan Braun did struggle at the plate last night going 0-6. But that was about it. Both Rickie Weeks (9) and Billy Hall (13) homered for the Crew. The latter providing the heroics in the 10th when Hall blasted a shot to left-center. Quite a good game for Hall who has been making a turn around in the month of July.

Player of the game should be split between Jason Kendall and Billy Hall.
Kendall called a very good game and guided McClung out of the early game struggle. He also added 2 doubles and a single (3 Hits). Billy Hall also had 3 hits and the go ahead homer in the 10th.

JJ Hardy could also be thrown in there to with 4 hits of his own.

-Rightfield Bleachers referenced FanGraphs.com on their conclusion that Mike Cameron is under-appreciated by the Brewer fans. Every time I see his stats when he's about to bat, I wonder to myself "WOW". This cat has 15 HR's in only 63 games plus 39 RBI's. We should all realize that he is a strike out king. But when he makes contact, it can be very effective. His defense has been suspect through out the season thus far. You can't really blame him last night for the double by Glaus. That sun was vicious out in center.

-Ray Durham has a quick first step out of the batters box, evident last night.

-Eric Gagne was lights out for the Brewers last night after 4 piss-poor appearances.

-Chicago lost to Arizona 2-0. Milwaukee is now 2 games out of first. Hardin was impressive, so was Randy Johnson, only a little more.

-Is batting .400 impossible? Good reference to John Olerud in this story (Lawrie note at bottom). He was damn good for a short time while playing for the Blue Jays. I remember wondering why this man would play outfield with a batters helmet. He hit .400 until August!

-USA Today story on Milwaukee.

-St. Louis is favored tonight, again. Suppan (5-6. era 4.71) comes of the DL to avenge his horrid first half against Kyle Lohse (12-2!!! era 3.35). One should expect a high scoring affair.

-Teams sound off on Melvin's moves.

Let's Get It On!!!!

Here we go Brewer fans....

Milwaukee is 1-6 in their last 7 games at Busch Stadium.

However....

Milwaukee 5-4 in the season series w/ St. Louis

St. Louis is favored tonight

First pitch is at 6:05 CT on ESPN (HD)...which will be blacked out on my Dish because FSN has the lock on it. Which is okay with me....you stick with the local flavor at all times.

-Despite the Brewers picking up Ray Durham, Ned Yost is sticking to his word and having Rickie Weeks in the lead-off role. You go Rickie...You go with your .218 batting average (compared to Ray's .293).

Sweep on the road!?!?

Milwaukee swept the season series with San Fransisco yesterday going 6-0. With the Brewer's 7-4 win over the Giants, it keeps them at in 3rd place and heading in to a wild card showdown with the Cardinals starting tonight. I chuckle at those words I just typed. Because that is what the Cub fans believe it to be. Yet they fail to realize that they have been a complete bust in the past 100 years. For them to think that they have the division wrapped up his a good laugh.

Manny Para delivered yesterday earning his 9th win of the season (9-2) giving up 7 hits, 9 (count'em 9) strike outs, and 2 earned runs (3.68 era). Tores recorded his 17th save of the season. Shouse, again, looked rough giving up a two-run homer in the 8th.

Ryan Braun (24) and Corey Hart (16) both homered for the Crew. Braun almost hit a second homer but the ball fell short earning him a double (26).

Weeks went 0-2 with 2 walks. He is now batting an embarrassing .216 on the season. Durham...welcome to the club...now grab your mitt and get out there to second.

-Probably pitching match ups for the 4 game series in St. Louis. Tonight's game will be on ESPN (HD). Which is not good considering the fact that McClung (5-5) is struggling a bit.



-Durham was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Steve Hammond (AAA) and Darin Ford (A). Decent trade, however giving up Hammond along with Ford may have been a bit much. Keep in mind though, SF is going to pay 1/2 of Durham's salary!

-Despite Huston Street's recent decline, both the Brewers and White Sox are keeping their eyes on him (and one another).

-Chicago Cubs travel to Arizona, who just lost a series with the Dodgers and are now even with in the NL West. I think the D-Backs will pull off a series win.
I feel that the Brewers and Card's will split the series. Both gaining ground on the Cubs. This division will be a three-way race till the end.

-Chicago Cub closer, Kerry "the puss" Woods, will go on the DL for the 12 time. He has a blister on his throwing hand. Sad.

Brewers Eyeing More Trades

JSOnline.com reported this morning that the Milwaukee Brewers are targeting Ray Durham (2B) of the Giants. In return the Giants would get Darren Ford (OF) who is currently playing ball at Brevard County. Durham, who coincidentally was born in Charlotte North Carolina (next door to Durham) is batting .277 in his career. The 37 year-old veteran second basemen is hitting .293 in 87 games thus far in to '08 campaign. In 2006 as a Giant, Ray Durham belted 26 homers (2.93 BA) which was tops in his lengthy career.

Darren Ford is a speedy outfielder who was the 18th round in 2004. Currently, this kid is batting .230 with 2 HR and 13 doubles. He wears his hat funny with a straight brim and the cap covers the tips of his ears.....so for me this is a good trade. Ford, who played HS baseball for the same school as Mat Gamel, is part of the log jam in the outfield and still won't see daylight even when Mike Cameron departs next season (moving up the chain to AA Huntsville). On the Brevard County team website, it shows only 3 outfielders on the roster....Ford is one of them.

This should be balanced trade. We get Durham who is a seasoned vet that can provide a little bit more power than the struggling Rickie Weeks. In fact, Ford struggling like he has, may give us the better of the two. Milwaukee is also eyeing up southpaw Jack Taschner of the Giants...however, that deal with Ford looks to be a long shot for the lefty.

This should be a good trade

Milwaukee dunks San Fran

Ben Sheets must have had a hang over from the All Star game because he certainly didn't bring his "A" game to the park today. Sheets only struck out 3 batters today and gave up an alarming 9 hits. Despite his uncommonly below average performance, the bull pen was able to salvage the game with Carlos Villenueva earning the win. The bull pen looked fantastic today grinding out a win over the Giants. After Ben gave up 4 runs the pen only allowed 1 single run the rest of the game. Surely, the best performance of the season so far by our relievers. This is a good sign considering the fact that the bull pen has been the weakest link on the team. Tores earned his 16th save of the season and David Riske struck out 3 batters. Riske is gonna be clutch as we dwell in to August and September. He consistantly throws better in the second half...check out last year's stats.

Brewers won 8-5

The slugfest was led by Prince Fielder who, thank you very much, clubed his 20th home run (100th career) of the season in to McCovey Cove. Sometimes it scares me just how good I am at calling things (see my Rockies pick last year). Again, Ryan Braun tripled and 6 different Brewers hit doubles, including Ben Sheets! All of the Brewer starters had a hit.....except for Billy Hall who struck out THREE TIMES. Good heavens Billy.

I was unable to view or listen the game due to running errands. Embarrisingly enough, I forgot that the game was an afternoon time. SOB.

-Prince Fielder is the 17th Giant opponent to hit a home run in to McCovey Cove on a fly.

-Evidence that Ben Sheets below average performance is better than most others above average performance: Today was the first time an opponenet scored twice in the same inning against the ace since May 15! Wow...now that's a great stat.

-Associated Press doesn't have a clue sometimes...this story says Ben earned the win which he did no. By the time you read it...they probably corrected the error. It did say "Sheets wins 11th".



-Again, St. Louis beat the Padres 6-5. How do they pull these games out? They are like the Cubs...they just keep coming from behind to win games lately.

WOW

CC Sabathia (3-0) was absolutely phonominal last night in Milwaukee's 9-1 win in San Fran. This guy. This guy pitched another complete game for the Brewers and went over 120 pitches in doing so (Ben who?). Even more impressive was CC not giving up any walks and striking out 10! In all, CC gave up only 4 hits and 1 earned run thus dropping his ERA with the brewers below 2 (1.88). With his family and friends in attendance from nearby Vallejo (rapper E-40 is from) California, all 95 of them. He was point on the entire game!

I am a very happy camper considering that I drank beer (twelver) and had a fire in my backyard, all the while the Brewers beat up on San Fran on a FRIDAY NIGHT!!!

Meanwhile, the Brewer bats came alive with Mike Cameron (15) and PrinceFielder (19) both went yard. I don't know if Prince's homer reached McCovey Cove or not as I was listening to the game on the radio, but I will check to see if my lock came through. In addition, every flippin' Brewer had a hit last night, the entire line up...including CC who had a double. Ryan Braun had a triple and 5 different Brewers doubled. Just an all around good game.

-Cubs lost to the Astros in Houston, 2-1! Milwaukee is now only 4 games back.

-Hilarious story on a Brewer fan losing a bet to a Phillies fan!

-Unfortunately, it looks like Milwaukee will face Lincecum in Sundays series finale.

Finally, back to real baseball!

Withdrawal. That's what I have been dealing with this past week. My god, 4 days with out the Brewers is entirely too much to cope with during the dog days of summer. Thankfully they begin a 7 game road trip tonight in San Fran. After playing 3 games in that disgraceful city they will turn back and head to the Midwest for a 3 game series with the Cardinals of St Louis.

It's put up or shut up time Milwaukee. Do or die. The pennant race officially begins tonight, well last night with St Louis' win.

The good news is that we get to watch the lefty powerhouse, CC Sabathia (2-0/8-8) do work against righty Matt Cain (5-7, era 4.06) tonight. Stay up late boys and girls....this should be an action packed game. In fact...I will call it right here: Prince Fielder will hit a home run either tonight or in the series that will splash in to McCovey Cove. $10 down. High stakes.
Here are the projected match ups.


Keep in mind of course, the Brewers play horrible on Friday nights. Just horrible. I don't remember the last time they won on a Friday night....which just so happens to be my night where I either go to the game or listen to it in the back yard over a 12-pack of Miller Lite.

-One time Brewer First Basemen, Richie Sexson, was picked up bythe NY Yankees yesterday. He will platoon at First.

-Another story on Brett Lawrie playing for Team Canada in the Olympics.

-LaRussa's take on the second-half.

-Short story on Northwoods League star Cory Vaughn, son of ex-Brewer Greg Vaughn. Looks like this kid will be the real deal when he hits the Bigs. I will see him play the Woodchucks (Wausau) this summer!

Off Day News...again

-It appears Prince Fielder is frustrated with his production this year. You know what....this is only his third full season in the Big's. Both the fans and Prince have to lighten up a little. He is so young (24) that he can fix these problems, assuming he is open to that. Sometimes these players have early success upon getting the call up to the majors that they lose sight that pitchers and managers from opposing teams are constantly reviewing film and finding weaknesses in player's like Princes' swing. It appears that have.

Granted, I will be the first to tell you that his contract bitching and vegetarian diet was enough to give me hemmroids, but lets not lose sight of the fact that this kid can flat out hit. Perhaps an agreement at the start of the season on a contract would yield different results? Who knows. I do know that Prince is pretty humble and very young. We should cut him some slack in this era of major league teams concentrating on young talent. After all, he was the youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season!

-Right Field Bleachers did a nice analysis on Milwaukee's coveted farm system, award-style. This is a great, in-depth blog covering the Crew.

-Brewers.com mid term report.

-Great story by Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel on Mark Attanasio childhood in Bronx.

-As expected, Matt LaPorta is the highlight of the US Olympic Baseball Team.

-Unsigned Brewer, Brett Lawrie (1st round pick) is on Team Canada! Lawrie is rake'n for his Canadian Junior Team.

Off Day News

-Brewer and Cub's players got along fine during the All Star festivities. I don't like to read about this. I like a good rivalry. Not some powder puff game where Cub and Brewer players hold hands and skip to the dug out. Meanwhile, Cubbie fans question whether or not Milwaukee stole their back-to-back-to-back mid air celebrations.

-My good friend John Link's old roomate from UW-La Crosse is adjusting to his full time roll as a catcher. Vinny Rotino is a hustler. This kid can flat out adapt to any position.

- I didn't know anything until I read this story that the West Virginia Power may be closing up shop and opening up in Appleton,WI. The Fox Cities is home to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League. This team has a pretty new ball park located just off of Hwy 41 on the NW side of town. Apparently these talks have been going on for a while. Appleton has been a stop for stars like A-Rod and Felix Hernandez on their way to the bigs. As of now, the team is an affiliate to the Seattle Mariners still and have been for many years. This team would probably be moved from Beloit where the Brewers' affiliate Snappers play.

**In other news...It appears that the NFL will crack down on gang signs at their games. NBA has taken similar actions when Paul Pierce flashed them in the playoffs last year. Lovely. Nothing like seeing the Boston Celtics celebration, with Paul Pierce flashing old gang signs from his days of banging on wax in Inglewood,CA. Word up.

Sad, Sad Day (slow day in sports...I know)

It's official....MillerCoors is going to move it's headquarters down to Chicago. Frederick Miller is rolling over in his grave right now. Well, that's been happening since Miller was sold to Kraft-Phillip Morris and then to SBA, and finally merged with Coors. Sad. They say that this move won't effect Golden,CO or Milwaukee,WI jobs. But we all know that it will...but it will.

Now I have to find a new state beer. I can't make myself like Point Light though. Nor can I drink Spotted Cow on a regular bases with out my man-boobs jumping up a cup size. It appears that I will drink Miller Lite until I located a pheasable light light beer that's made in WI.

My Two Cents On Favre

It's not worth getting all worked over this. I knew this would happen a couple of years ago. How else would Favre be able to walk away from the game he loved? There comes a time when you have to be told to leave. As is the case for Brett Favre, according to him.

The team stuck by Brett Favre for a lot of downers in his long career. But also a lot of uppers. He led us to the Super Bowl twice and even won one! Regardless, that doesn't give him or anyone else the right to play the cards he has been playing the past 3 years. Will he or won't he retire? Wisconsin has had to deal with that for 3 years!

So when he retired back in March the Packers moved on and concentrated their efforts on Rodgers and drafting 2 QB's. TWO! Now Favre wants to play. Well, it's too late. Perhaps if he had wanted to come back before the draft it would've been a wee bit more tasteful. I mean, to waste two draft picks on one position all because Favre retired is a HUGE investment. That could literally effect the team for years to come. Look at who we missed out on because we had to cover our tracks?

Is Rodgers the answer? I think so. I think that he will be the best QB in the NFC North. Even if Favre goes to Minnesota. I am that confident that this division has no clear leader for a QB. Jackson, Kitna, and Rex are laughable. Rodgers is the only one who is unproven. Yes. But the small amounts of time he has come in it's been a pretty decent go. Yes he has to stay injury free...who doesn't? Isn't that the goal of Favre every year? C'mon.

It's funny how the Vikings are picked to win the NFC North. Even though the only true, worthy of being mentioned upgrade, is Jared Allen. Adrian Peterson is as "injury prone" as they come! This kid can't stay healthy. Those who actually watch college football would know that. Look at last year when he missed one or two games. The Vikings are a joke and the media is hook and sinker...or whatever the saying is. The Vikings are average at best with Brett Favre. So, Mr Favre, go on over and cross the St. Croix and play with the rival. See how well you play in that crap hole they call a dome. Jared Allen is a nice addition...don't get me wrong. But one guy doesn't win the division nor does some punk from lonely Alabama State either.

So...here's to you Favre (my coffee mug in the air). I wish you the best and will continue to hang my SI covers of you on my basement wall. As I look ahead, you are apart of the past. I have a spot on my wall waiting to hang Rodgers' cover. Laugh now everybody, if you will. But I'm a betting man. Usually, I have been pretty good on bets that don't involve Tecmo Bowl.

Mid Season Report Card

Despite the half way point being a couple of weeks ago, I still figure the All Star break to be the divider. What follows here is a break down on different categories. Trailing that will be by second half predications. Feel free to light it up.

Offense: B
Yes, the bats came alive since May 20th, but prior to that the teams average was pretty low. I don't have the exact numbers, but one can imagine. Through the pains of the first two months, one batter prevailed...that being Corey Hart who maintained a batting average of over .280 since April 26th!

Defense: B
Although Ned Yost claims victory on this category, I would agree with him partially. Rickie Weeks has really turned it around this season compared to the last two, in fielding. Billy Hall on the other hand, who has 17 errors as of Sunday, has taken steps back. One can't help but blame the constant shifting of positions he has had to endure the past 3 seasons. That being said, their defense has improved but there is much more they can do.

Pitching:B-
Ben Sheets and Manny Para have unbelievable thus far in to the season for a combine 18-6 record. Meanwhile, Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush have been pretty bad. The latter has finally turned it around in his past 3 starts, which is a welcomed sign. Supan is on the 15 day DL and should hopefully rebound when he starts against St. Louis next Monday. Look for him to have a solid performance against his old team. Seth McClung has been a welcomed addition the rotation, although he has flattened as of late. With the loss of Yovanni Gallardo for the season, the starting pitching has been pretty good!

Bull Pen: C-
With the flopping of Eric Gagne ($10MM) and Derrick Turnbow, Milwaukee was faced with trying Salomon Torres as their closer. He has responded very, very well. Throw out the last two games where he was brought in with bases jam and giving up runs, he has been lights out. That is the only bright spot. Carlos Villenueva could be a somewhat success story if he can just be happy in the pen as a mid-reliever. It's nice to have an ex-starting pitcher waiting in the pen when Bush or McClung stink it up.

Bench: B+
Thanks impart to Gabe Kapler and Craig Counsell, the bench has been absolutely great! Mike Rivera couldn't be better coming off the bench the few times he has this season. Joe Dillon can even do a decent job. I feel Gabe Kapler should be tied for the best off-season addition to the team (along with Jason Kendall). JSonline said Kendall was the best by far, but I would disagree. Kapler has provided leadership and clutch hitting...plus he's batting .315 at the mid-point!

Coaching:C+
Yes, I have asked for Ned's head on a platter. But he has since turned it around since May 20th. One can't look past his first quarter of the season though, as it was awful. His lack of leadership going in to the Boston series (swept) was the first-half low point. Since then, he has taken some big chances in Torres as the closer and being patient for Hardy to finally turn it around (but has recently flattened to 2 for his last 19 at-bats). Yost should be held accountable for his third, fourth, and fifth chances given to Mota and Gagne . This is what keeps him from getting a B-!

Not a bad average. The Crew are in third in the best division in baseball.

My prediction: Milwaukee will earn the wild card. Their second half schedule is far easier than the first half...just the opposite for Chicago. We'll see how Chicago's home record is at the end of the season.

-Ryan Braun tied for 3rd place in the home run derby last night. Looked flat early-on, but delivered at the end!

Brewers finish 6-4 on the home stand

CC Sabathia proved he was well worth the trade yesterday. The southpaw was lights out going the distance by pitching a complete game and giving up only 2 runs. CC (2-0) also went yard for the Crew putting them on the board after Cincinnatti scored 2 runs early on. Most impressive was CC giving up 1 walk and his performance in the ninth when he struck out the side (9 K's in the game) and gave the Brewers the last chance to win it. Which they did when Craig Counsell pinch-hit a liner to right field which was caught by Jay Bruce but allowed Billy Hall to score for the go-ahead run.

-Braun went o'fer
-I saw that Jason Kendall was best pick up in the offseason. Not to take any thing away from Kendall, but couldn't you put Gabe Kapler up there? Kendall is a defensive machine. Kapler can field and bat like a 25 year old. Gabe went 2-4 with an RBI (.315/season avg) with some timely hitting.

-Looks like Ben Sheets will get the start in tomorrow night's All Star Game. Congrats Ben!

-Laporta feels that the Brewers made the right move. I guess we won't know if this deal was bust or successful one until after the season. If the Brewers make it to the playoffs....I would imagine it was a success. But who knows what LaPorta will do in his career? The kid may be the DH by September for Cleveland.

-Las Vegas Odds Makers dropped the Brewers down to 12-1 odds that they will win the World Series with the addition of CC Sabathia. Impressive. Considering the fact that in June they were 40-1 a couple of weeks ago! Makes me wish that I would've dropped some coin down on them via BoDog. I fancy College Football betting however.

-Early look at the match up in San Fransisco, the start of a 7 game road trip.

-Jeff Suppan will be off the DL and ready to start in San Fransisco.

-Mat Gamel didn't have any hits but walked twice for the United States Team when they took on the World team in the Futures Game.

-MLB.COM says Mat Gamel would be a great addition to the team come September (expanded rosters) or in the coming seasons, however his defense seems to be the only thing holding him back. Who says Ned Yost can't turn that around? Look what he did with Rickie Weeks? Now that kid can field but can't hit worth a crap. But his D is solid. A bad example of this is Billy Hall (17 errors), however, I guess I would have a hard time adjusting if I was shifted all over the field by my team.

-

Time To Ditch The Retro Uniforms?

It was Napoleon Dynamite who thought his Uncle Rico lived to much in '82. Sometimes, so does Brewer Nation. Another Retro Friday has come and gone, and so has another loss. This time to the hands of the Cincinnati Reds (sub .500 team). Manny Para pitched another good game but just didn't have enough umph in the 7th to hold the Reds off. One could say it's because of his break in between outings, others could blame the horrid defense, and other could blame retro uniforms. I'm all for the ball n' glove logo as well as the blue and gold colors. But, it seems that everything the Brewers do today is compared to the 1982 team. They bring Sabathia over, they brought Rollie over. We have a kid who is batting .290 and is an All Star, so did the 1982 Brewers in Robin Yount. I could go on and on with the comparisons.

I for one have had enough of the Retro theme. Stop dwelling on something that happened a quarter-century ago and live in the now....man.

Regardless, the offense was certainly present last night however it's defensive counter-part stayed in the locker room.

Para gave up 3 earned runs, only 1 walk, and struck out 6 batters. Para (8-2 No Decision) pitched against a predominately left-handed line up. Out of the pen, there wasn't much to write home to mom about however...David Riske had the only decent inning in the 7th when he came in for Para. Riske struck out 1 and walked 1. The the leftie Shouse (1-3) came in and struggled and couldn't hang out allowing the go-ahead run that capped the roller coaster of an evening.

Fransisco Cordero was virtually lights out for the Reds last night. It's times like this that I wish we still had him if we want to make a run in the post season (or for it). Sadly, Cordero has been used minimally this season due to the Reds losing record.

Offensively, Ryan Braun let the team with a home run (23) and a timely double lifting his batting average to .290 on the season

Defensively, there were 3 costly errors that allowed the Reds to win. The biggest one was by Mike Cameron who seemed to be a little lazy in fielding a bouncer to center.

Other key contributors was Billy Hall, who has been on a tear as of late platooning at third with Russell Branyan. Hall blasted a double pinch hitting for Russell that drove in two runs.

Corey Hart also stayed hot with a double of his own that drove in a run. Hart was jammed and did a half swing that sent the ball sailing to right field.

____________________

I will be at the game tonight for a joint Bachelor-Bachelorette party. First time I've ever done one of these joint things. Look for a huge banner that says "Team Wisconsin". Or...look for one drunken fan.

____________________

-Texas Ranger are urged to follow the Milwaukee Brewers in their rebuilding efforts.

-Jake Odorizzi made his first professional start at the AZ Rookie League. He went two innings not giving up a run, striking out 2, and no walks. Not too shabby. Now all we need to do is sign Lawrie! Hurry!

-The "player to be named" in the Sabathia trade, should be named pretty soon. Brantley or Green...Which one will it be?

-Matt Laporta update (don't click here if you want to keep him out of sight/out of mind).

I have a gut feeling that he will go on to be the cornerstone in the Indian's organization. He is a stud.

Milwaukee welcomes the Reds to town...

Milwaukee will go toe to toe with the Cincinnati Reds this weekend for the last series before the All Star break. The likes of Adam Dunn, KGJ, and Brandon Phillips will try to rebound from their series with the Chicago (Reds won last night against them).

Josh Fogg (1-2 / 8.39) RHP
Manny Parra (8-2 / 3.65) LHP

Series Line Up

-Corey Hart was voted in to the All Star game alongside Evan Longoria by the fans.

-Dave Bush had a career high 13 strike-outs yesterday. That fact was missed by me.

-Unfortunately, Mota will remain a Brewer. To big of a contract.

-Brewers gain national notoriety.

Bush Puts Hurt On Colorado

Dave Bush sent a statement this afternoon to the Brewer's brass:
That message is that he deserves to be in the starting rotation! Case in point with his excellent performance this afternoon in Milwaukee's 11-1 win over the Rookies. Bush (5-8) gave up only 4 hits and 1 earned run in his second-best performance of the season, both of which came in his last three starts!

The bats came alive today!

Gabe Kapler went 3 for 4 and 2 rbi's. He is now batting .315 on the year coming off the bench and doing spot starts.

Both Hardy (13) and Hart(15) homered for the Crew. Prince Fielder cracked his second triple of the season. Ryan Braun dished in 3 rbi's, going 2 for 5.

Glendon Owns Milwaukee

How in the hell does this guy wreck our offense? I mean...Glendon looked like a damn All Star last night. To make matters worse, Ben Sheets (10-3) threw a season-high 11 K's but still gave up the two-run home run and three earned runs total.

To make matters worse, Ned Yost deems it necessary to use Mota. This worthless pile of garbage who has been with more teams than my co-worker, Furger, has slept with. Oh hell Ned, just leave him in there after he gave up a home run. He'll pitch out of it right?

Keep this in mind Ned: Just because Mark and Doug brought in Sabathia and will probably bring in one more impact player, doesn't mean you can get away with this shit. I just don't understand how you can leave the pile in there. Yes, Milwaukee is still the hottest team in baseball since May 20th. That doesn't mean squat if you can't win at home against a team that is sub .500!

-Billy Hall hit a home run...yea, I know...I said the same thing (12).

-Holy Crap...JJ Hardy went hit-less last night. It's nice to see him swinging the bat so well. Despite going o'fer last night, he could be mentioned as a first half MVP for the Brewers.

-Garret Atkins continues to wreak havoc on the Crew, crushing 2 homer runs last night along with 3 rbi's.



-Scotty Podsednik also contributed to put the hurt on Milwaukee last night with two hits and two key-rbi's.

-Oddly enough, Dave Bush could be the one who gets shipped to the bullpen despite have the more experience than Seth McClung. I feel he should remain in the rotation and McClung should be sent to the pen. Additionally, Bush could be traded.

-Similar to any other manager in the MLB, Yost wants Braun to sit out during the Home Run Derby. The ol notion of "he'll lose his swing" if he enters has Yost worrying for the young Hebrew.

-Hart is in the lead for the final voting for the All Star game.

-Matt Laporta went 3 for 6 last night for his new AA team in Akron,OH. It was a double heade and all three hits were singles. Meanwhile, back in Huntsville...Mat Gamel went 3 hits and 3 rbi's in their win over Chattanooga. Salome followed suit with his own 3 hits and 3 rbi's while Escobar put the icing on the cake with 4 hits (third 4-hit game this season) and scoring 4 times as well.
Out went one rising star in LaPorta (sad)...but there are 5 or 6 other players who are just as good in Huntsville!

-Cubs pulled another 1/2 game above the Cards and Brewers, who both lost. Zambrano was lights out. I hate that guy. Cubs have now won their last 17 out of 19 games at Wrigley.

-The Cardinals will most certainly go after a starting pitcher with the discouraging performance Mark Mulder gave last night. He threw only 16 pitches before being taken out of the game with a sore shoulder.

Daily Updates

Both St Louis and Chicago have returning pitchers coming off the DL making their appearences tonight. Let's hope Zambrano goes back to the DL.

Zambrano vs Reds
9-3
2.96 era

Mulder vs Phillies
0-0
13.50 era

__________________________

Nashville Sounds' pitcher, Lindsay Gulin, pitched a one-hitter last night against Omaha Royals. He will pitch in the AAA All-Star Game.

VOTE COREY HART TO THE ALL STAR GAME IN NYC! LAST CHANCE!
You can vote like 20 times per email address. He deserves it a hell of a lot more than FUKOCRAPPER.

-Chronological breakdown on the highlights of the Brewer franchise....

-Official transcript of CC Sabathia's interview with an old lady from Cleveland...he he he.

Bogut and Bucks Agree On Contract Extension

Australian-born Andrew Bogut and the Milwaukee Bucks agreed on a 5 year extension at 72.5MM. Bogut, in his third year since being drafted overall as the number one pick, has been in practically demanding an extension the last couple of months. It appears the Hammond and Skiels felt he would be a good fit with Jefferson, Redd, and Alexander on this years roster. One thing I do like about Bogut is that he is a competitive rebounder who will run the floor. At times, he can be a bit of a sally in the paint and gets handled pretty well by the leagues centers. That being said, he's an effective 10-15' shooter who isn't afraid to drive and dish to the baseline (Redd). I wish I could comment more on his skills, but can't. I don't really watch the Bucks anymore nor do I follow the NBA. He now go play with his native team, the Boomers, in Bejing a rich(er) man.

I can't help but get excited about this season though. I feel that the Bucks have that blue-collar feel to them which is drawing some favorable comments by analysts/media. Thus far I have heard that Milwaukee walked away with the biggest steal in the draft in picking Alexander from West Virginia. One can also anticipate another big move in the next month or so. If only Larry Harris didn't waste all that money on Dan Gadzurich (sp?) and Charlie Bell. The latter being the biggest botch of the season, his scoring dropped down faster than Mike Vick in the prison showers. Waste. I am still not convinced that Moe Williams is a great fit either. Yes, he did have two career nights this past season in scoring (in the high 30's right?)...but is he a true point guard? Who knows. I for one will tune in and give them a chance in November. I used to be able to watch their games from start to finish, every game though out the season. I just have a bad feel of the league since the brawl between the Pistons and the Pacers back in 2004 or 05.

Milwaukee Wallups Colorado

CC Sabathia earned his 7th win of the season (1-0) and first in a navy, bronze, and white uniform last night with a 7-3 win over the surging Rockies. Despite CC not bringing his "A" stuff to the game (lack of control), he was still able to exit the game with a 4-3 lead going in to the seventh. Much of his command was off in his pitches but still proved to be effective throwing 88 mph breaking balls and 98 mph fastballs...in the sixth. His pitch count was well in check (97) but he did walk 5 batters that got him in a couple of jams. Most he worked out of until the sixth inning when he loaded the bases and gave up a rocket liner by Torrealba. Had Spilborghs not tweaked his hammie, the game would've been tied. Sabathia was then led out of the game to a standing ovation, despite being pretty wild. In came David Riske who pitched a 1,2,3 inning with only 11 pitches! Brian Shouse and Eric Gagne finished the game in a prompt matter, with Gagne giving up the only hot of the two.

-Although JJ Hardy's hit streak ended on Saturday night with a sacrifice, he has already started his new streak at 3 games! This kid is making a fool of me with his ridiculous hot streak as of late, now batting .295.

-Rickie Weeks was spot on last night with 3 hits and a double. His batting average remains horribly low at .215 however.

-Right after Ryan Braun accepted his invite for the Home Run Derby next week, he belted his 22 homerun of the season. The shot to left field was towering launch which brought his teammates out of the dug out to view on the replay on the jumbo-tron.

-Chicago Cubs sent 4 players to the A's in return getting Rich Hardin (3-0) and another scrub. Chicago is like that fat friend you had back in high school. You got all the chicks, but he would just act a little more "funny" or obnoxious in trying to compete with you. That's the Cubs. I hate the Cubs and their fans. You know what would be funny? If Hardin was sent to the DL again! No ill-will towards the guy, just to Chicago!

-More on the CC Sabathia trade by Fox Sports.

-Yovanni Gallardo is still aiming for a September return. Imagine that...I highly doubt he would be ready.

-Matt LaPorta is reported to the Akron Aeros (AA), but his debut was postponed due to rain. I would expect to see him called up in September when the rosters are expanded. Look for him to bat DH for a couple of weeks/games. Also, he will be moved to left field.

-Doug Melvin almost had a heart attack getting the deal done...literally.

-The Huntsville Stars won with out Matt Laporta last night.

-Checklist Yost and Melvin look at when trading.

-Milwaukee signs another draftee, Seth Lintz.