Thursday, August 27, 2009

Time for some back peddling

I was 100% wrong in proclaiming that Ken Macha was a "good" hire.
Something is wrong with this team and it starts from at the GM on down to the rotation. Although Doug Melvin has yielded some decent results (CC Sabathia & Trevor Hoffman), he turned a blind eye on to the starting rotation.

Every sports publication out there pointed the finger at Milwaukee, saying that they were the most likely to drop out of contention. For the love of God....JEFF SUPPAN WAS THE OPENING DAY PITCHER! How messed up is that? The sad thing is, Milwaukee still has another year left his retched pitching. Even Yovanni Gallardo has been a huge let down in the second half of the season. The only bright spot in that rotation is Braden Looper. Despite earning the no-decision last night, he is the anchor of the rotation.

Most importantly, it's been Ken Macha who has been the biggest let down. He shows no emotion and he's unpleasant to watch in that dug out. A manager shouldn't be a robot when it comes to game time decisions. He also sounds like a red neck-U'per when he's being interviewed. Don't get me wrong, he's a good manager, but he's not a good fit for this YOUNG team.

Keep in mind though, Bob Brenly wouldn't been a good fit either (finished 2nd in the search). Willie Randolph seems to take a likening to this team and the young infielders. Every time the cameras are on him, he's usually sitting/standing next to Escobar or Hardy and talking with them. He's a good teacher, just not a solid manager.

Bobby Valentine would have been a great manager for this team! Enough said. I doubt he even wanted to come to Milwaukee. But he is a fire cracker and someone who can install discipline.

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Enough with the bad stuff. Prince Fielder is tearing it up right now and making people remember that he is still in the NL MVP hunt. Granted, Pujols is still going to get the nod. But you can't help but absolutely love what Prince Fielder is doing right now. It's just too bad that their isn't some good pitching to assist him and Braun. We have...what?....2 more season with young Prince Fielder before he packs his bags for NYC. This off-season, Doug Melvin had better pull of some tremendous deals in bringing in some excellent arms.
Fielder numbers to date:
33 HR's
.303 avg
110 RBI's

He's one of the few Brewers to hit over .300 and over 100 RBI's in a single season. Cecil Cooper did it in back-to-back season back in the early 80's. Ryan Braun will probably be joining him!

Ryan Braun:
27 HR's
.314 avg
93 RBI's

My only complaint on Braun is the following (actually there's more):
I absolutely hate his T-shirt line.
Two nights ago he proved that he is scared of taking out a catch at home plate. He could have clearly knocked the Reds catcher in to next week, had he went head first in to the plate and blown him over. Even if he was called out, it would've been a hell of a lot better than that pussy-foot attempt he did.
Lastly, what the hell was he thinking when fielded the ball in the 9th inning last night? Just curious. I still like the kid though.

-Prince Fielder is potentially, playing his way out of Milwaukee. Anthony Witrado of the Journal-Sentinel made a good point in yesterday's blog. If Milwaukee can't build a team around Prince via the free agency, they may have to trade him away in order to fully cash-in on a deal. He could land Milwaukee a bonified ACE and possibly a prospect or cash. I would hate to see Prince go, but you go as far as your pitching. Besides CC Sabathia, Milwaukee hasn't had a true ACE in over a decade. Call it what you want, but Ben Sheets was a solid #2.

We all know the day will soon come when Milwaukee will have to trade Prince Fielder. Why not do it this summer? With Mat Gamel ready to make the full-time jump up to the BIGS, he could easily take over at 1B. Not to mention Brett Lawrie will crack the BIGS in 2 years, at the very least. He too will probably make a solid 1B with some sock in his bat.

At the end of this season, Princes' value will be at an all-time high. With his numbers, he could land Milwaukee an ACE or a solid 1-2 punch in the middle of the rotation. I'm just saying....


-Brad Penny was released by the Red Sox. He would be better the Brewers' rotation than Suppan!

-Billy Hall drove in to two runs last night for the M's. His average has already lifted to .210 and he has driven in about 4 runs, I think, since being traded. He'll come around.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Milwaukee....can't even beat the Pirates....

Well, that seems to be the name of the game these days. Milwaukee's pitching just can't fend off any threats, offensively. In fact Parra didn't look awful last night; he only gave up his typical 4 runs of the game. It was the bats that couldn't provide the support.

Luckily, Prince Fielder was able to continue his hot streak by blasting his 32nd homer of the season.

Felipe Lopez was finally cooled off by the Pirates. He has been on a tear and entered the game with a 12 game hitstreak. Mike Cameron had his 9 game hit streak snapped as well.

Manny Parra sufferred his first loss in 8 starts, since coming back from AAA.

I feel...deep inside, it's time for Mike Rivera to split 50 - 50 with Jason Kendall. He's too good of a hitter to just leave on the bench. Kendall is far too likely to hit in to a double-play.

-Doug Melvin is trying to put something together involving Bill Hall. Thank God!
Remember Anthony Witrado's douche-bag story he did on Billy Hall after he came back from AAA? The Crew was playing the Dodgers in LA. READ THIS.....too funny.

-Some more good news, in addition to the departure of Bill Hall....Kentrail Davis was finally signed by the Crew. Besides the 1st pick (pitcher from Indiana), Davis is probaby my favorite pick of this years draft. Although short, this guy has pop in his bat and he's speedy. Milwaukee needs speed more than ever. Besides Escobar and Lopez, the team is filled with bunch of turtles.

-Bush threw 37 pitches last night in front of a sell-out crowd in Appleton, WI.
Additionally, Brett Lawrie was promotted to AA-Huntsville. That's great news. He could actually be called up by next year, in my mind.

-Everyone was in shock when JJ Hardy was sent down to AAA, imagine the fans of the Kansas City Royals when they found out coveteted rising-star Alex Gordon was sent down as well. He's their start 3B who was supposed to be their cornerstone in-fielder.

-Milwaukee didn't lose any ground last night, thanks to the Cards & Cubs dropping their respective games.

Friday, August 14, 2009

College Football Predictions


With the start of the season only 2 weeks away, it's time to release Scottage Cheeses' 3rd Annual Pick-A-Dicks:

Citi National - Rose Bowl (aka Taxpayers Bowl)
Texas (3) over Alabama (6)

FED EX Orange Bowl
Virginia Tech (8) over Oregon (13)
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Boise State (12) over Oklahoma (2)

All State Sugar Bowl
Iowa (23) over Notre Dame (24)

Top 10
1) Texas
2) Virginia Tech
3) Alabama
4) Boise State
5) Iowa
6) Oklahoma
7) Oregon
8) Utah
9) Cincy**
10) California


*Please note, USC will finish 11th or 12th. Their schedule is far too tough (non-conference).
**Cincy will be the surprise team of the year
***Michigan State could easily sneak in over Cal.

Big Ten
1. Iowa
2. Michigan State
3. Ohio State
4. Penn State
5. Michigan
6. Minnesota
7. Illinois
8. Wisconsin
9. Purdue
10. Northwestern
11. Indiana

*I love the Badgers more than my pet cat, Jack. But it's going to take one more year before Clay reaches his full potential and the Badgers will have options at QB.

**Iowa is returning most of their O-Line, QB, D-Line and have a couple of options to replace Shonn Greene.
I may have gotten the conference match-ups wrong in the bowl. If so, sue me (I love that line!).

HERE are my predictions from last season....yikes. I went out on a limb and picked two SEC teams to go to the title game. Why? Look how close it came to Michigan vs OSU in 2007.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Rightfully so....

Melvin and Co. made some drastic moves to the team today. JJ Hardy was sent down to AAA and Billy Castro was fired. I asked for Billy's head early in the season, but then the staff put together 18 solid starts. So I shut my mouth. It's evident that they are missing Maddux right about now.

Billy Hall was designated too! The Crew has 10 days to decide what to do with him. No one is taking his salary though. So he'll accept his new role as Nashville's star player.

Alcides Escobar was called up from Nashville and will be starting at SS. That's great news.

JJ has been an underachiever since his debut. He will heat up for a month and then simmer down the following two. He played a huge role in the post-season last year, but it ultimately didn't matter because they lost the NLDS.

Castro spent 17 season with the Crew as a coach. He's now unemployed. I knew this is what would happen if they did give the title to Castro....there's a reason why pass managers didn't do it!

Monday, August 10, 2009

12 runs one night....0 runs the following

This Brewers' team is bi-polar.

One minute they're killing the ball and driving in the runs....the next minute they are getting blanked by a no-so-good team (in my opinion).

Yovanni Gallardo made on mistake in yesterdays game. That mistake ended up costing them the game. It was a two-run shot that to Geoff Bluhm (another Brewers'-killer) that provided Milwaukee with a losing road trip.

The Crew left plenty on base including Frank and Gerut in the top of the 9th inning. Both Cameron and Braun were called out looking. Horrible.

-Some good news too late? Stormy Weathers was acquired by Milwaukee in a waiver deal that will send either cash or a young prospect to Cincy. This is a great addition to the bullpen if you ask me. This man is reliable and passionate about the game. He will be a solid anchor in the bullpen and provide more rest to DeFelice, Coffey and McClunk. This will be Stormy's second trip with the Crew.

-Milwaukee is now 6 games back. On a positive note, so are teams like the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins (5.5). Plenty of baseball left. If anything, they should be able to make up some space on the Cubs with their series at home against the Pirates. One would think....

-Is 2009 the end of the road for Milwaukee & Jason Kendall? I like him. But it's counter-productive to have a kick ass defensive catcher who can't hit worth a lick.

-Mat Gamel is struggling down in Nashville. I don't know. I'm just not convinced on this guy. Since returning to the Sounds on July 20th he is hitting an awful .121 and no-homeruns.

-Milwaukee has better do something about their scout team. Yes, the Crew has done wonders on bringing in big time bats who can field. But they have yet to find a solid pitcher during the Melvin years.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Milwaukee shoots for a winning road trip

Milwaukee unleashed a world of hurt last night on the injury-riddled Astros. Rightfully so, the team has to take advantage of Houston playing with out Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, and now Mike Hampton. This would be nice if they all stay out when they FINALLY travel to Milwaukee this coming week. Wandy Rodriguez is slated to start today, although he too is suffering from a pulled hamstring.

After the bullpen dropped the ball on Friday night (Crew lost 6-3) it was up to Manny Parra to do his part in securing a rubber-match for today. He did indeed come through. Parra went 5 1/3 inning giving 3 earned runs on 8 hits. Milwaukee won 12-5.

Prince and Rivera led the charge with each collecting 3 RBI's. Prince blasted his 27th HR of the year and notched his 98th RBI. He is now second to Albert Puhols, who has 100.

-Dave Bush is set to join the club late next week. He is close to a rehab start.

-Milwaukee brings up Jesus Colome and DFA'd RJ Swindle. RJ got rocked in every appearence and is destined to be a career minor leaguer. The Rays (go figure) picked him up immediately, but then they cut him to.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Milwaukee wins first series....in over a month

Sad but true. Regardless, Brewers' fans will take it!

Braden Looper, who has shown flashes of brilliance on the mound this season, improved his record to a team best 10-5. He pitched 6 and 2/3 innings last night before being yanked when Manny Ramirez pinched hit. Todd Coffey and Trevor Hoffman (25) sealed the deal.

Milwaukee was led by Ryan Braun who had a 2-RBI double and Felipe Lopez who went 3 for 4. All around...a good game and fun to watch.

Of course, Prince Fielder was booed every chance Dodger fans had. I find it ironic that they are blasting Prince for coming "close to" their clubhouse door. Yes, their coveted douche bag of a player, Manny Ramirez, has been caught cheating the game of baseball.....twice.....however they still cheer him like he the second-coming. Goes to show why that state and city is in such trouble financially. Even more funny is that the feds are going to have to bail their happy-asses out of trouble and us-taxpayers will foot the bill....sweet.

Loop had 4 k's and only 2 walks. His only mistake was giving up a first-inning homer.
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Milwaukee will now begin their "soft" part of the schedule. Although us-fans know that there is no such thing as an easy schedule when it comes to the Brewers. I think that Crew will wise-up and realize that they can compete with the best of them. Taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers is no easy feat. Now it's on to Houston, who has been on a tear of sorts. Milwaukee will have to face Wandy Rodriguez, booooo; but they may get a pass on Roy Oswalt. Oswalt has been suffering from a lower-back strain.

Tonight, Houston's rising star Bud Norris will make his home debut against Carlos Villanueva (2-8). Milwaukee typically loves making it easy on new pitchers. Bud tossed 7 scoreless frames against the Cardinals in his first start. He carries a 1-0 record and a .90 ERA.

After Houston the Brewers will come home for a 6-game home stand. Now, if Roy can't make the start Friday and he does go on the DL...well....Milwaukee won't have to face him again next Friday (or Saturday).

Here is one huge reason why Milwaukee Brewers' fans should be excited: remaining schedule for August!

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If Milwaukee wants any kind of hope in making it in to the post-season, they will need to heat up for the rest of the month of August. Here's why:

August
7th-9th : @ Houston
11th-16th : SD & Houston (home)
17th-19th: @ Pittsburgh
21st-24th: wrap around series in DC
25th-30th: Cincy & Pittsburgh (home)

*All of these teams are below .500!

Now this is where it gets hairy.....

September-October schedule
Milwaukee will play: St Louis for 9 games! Cubs for 7 games! This could be good news for the Crew if they need to make a late push. They can make up a lot of space during this stretch if they want to make a run at the division title.

They also face: San Fransisco, Philly, Colorado, Houston and the D-Backs....

Milwaukee is 6 games out of the Wild Card race as of right now (Thurs. morning @ 8:31am). I really don't anticipate the Giants hanging on to the WC spot. Colorado is the biggest threat and they are 1/2 game out. Milwaukee will play all of the Wild Card contenders from the Western Division in the month of September. So even if Milwaukee doesn't lock up the division, they still have a shot at the Wild Card. Yes it may be a long shot, but it's a shot nonetheless.

Even if Milwaukee keeps pace at 3 to 4 games back behind the Cubs and Cardinals, they can still afford that knowing they will get a shot at making a run for the wild card. Look at the big picture people.

PLUS....Help is on the way! Jeff Suppan & Dave Bush will be back very soon. We all dislike Soup, but he is a veteran who can carry us through August-September like he did last year. Suppan is slated to start August 12th versus the Padres and Bushy August 16th versus Houston. Dave Bush has not pitched since June 16th, the start of Milwaukee's downward spiral.

Brewers' Killer, Michael Bourn is hoping to return to the lineup by Friday. He was suffering from a groin pull.

Lastly, remember the douche bag Cub pitching prospect who hurled a ball in to the stands when he got pissed off with a call last season? Two words....CONVICTED FELON!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Manny Parra is pitching his brain out!

Manny Parra (6-8, 6.33) has risen from the depths of....well....Nashville, back to Milwaukee where he has once again, proven that he can flat-out pitch. Yes indeed, the man gave up 4 runs last night. Nonetheless, he kept the best team in baseball at bay. In fact, the man did exactly what the rotation was asked of them....throw past 5+ innings. Parra last 8 innings and gave up 4 runs on 8 hits. By far his best of the season and perhaps of his young career.

-Ryan Braun contributed with his 22nd of the year, a 3-run shot.
-Billy Hall went 0-3 with a walk and a k.....how's that confidence treating ya?
-Felipe Lopez went 0-5.
-McGehee went 2 for 4...he's now batting .323
-Prince went 1 for 5.

Trevor Hoffman (24) nearly blew the save opportunity by giving up 3 runs to the Dodgers in the 9th inning. This is reason #1 why the MLB save rules need to be change. I don't care who you are....if you give up 3 runs in an inning but still get the "save"...well, that shouldn't happen. Granted, the Hoff was rusty....but even still...

Milwaukee has re-started a streak of consecutive quality starts with 3.

-Yovanni Gallardo takes to the mound tonight as the Crew will go for their first series win in a long time. Apparently he has fine-tuned his mechanics.

-I happier than a pig in shit when I read THIS. Glad to see Manny Ramirez struggle. His batting average has dropped to .309 from .348. Hopefully we see the wheels fall of this bus soon, just like every other year (except last year of course).

With Parra's confidence at an all-time high (one would expect) you can best bet that Milwaukee is not completely out of this race quite yet. While the Cubs and Cards play flip-flop, the Brewers could indeed take this series in LA and travel over the Houston for a showdown in the Central. The Cubs on the other hand should drop at least one in Cincy...I mean the Reds have lost 7 straight now and have dropped (tied) to last place and are 11.5 games out of it. With that being said, Chicago then travels to Denver to take on the Rockies. I would surely hope that the Rockies could take that series, while Milwaukee takes the series with Houston. After all, the Crew has played 2 series in Houston already this season. They should have a pretty good grasp on the juicebox.

Just the opposite for the Cardinals, who are presently starting a 2-game series with the Mets (vs Santana) and then they enter their easiest stretch of the season: Pitt, Cincy, and San Diego. They could pull away with a 1-2 game lead over the Cubs, as they are tied right now.

So, if Milwaukee wants to make a run at the wild card (5.5 games out) or at the division (4 back), now is the time.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Paging Geoff Jenkins

Corey Hart was put on the DL today, just after the Brewers won in San Diego. Apparently the young man had an appendix burst Friday night. Billy Hall was recalled from AAA to fill-in for the rightfielder. I would imagine McGehee will platoon out there with Frank Catallanoto.

Why not sign Geoff Jenkins to play rightfield? Macha said that if Billy Hall gets to LA by tomorrow night, he will start in RF....WTF??!?!?!!?? Hall in RF? Well, he needs to play. But why not bring back Jenkins to play his old position? He provides another left-handed hitter and he's a veteran....and he has a World Series ring to show off to the team.

I'm just saying. Jenks is just sitting at home waiting for some team to call.