3-3: Hoffman gets lit up

There were a number of things that went tremendously well in last night's Cardinals-Brewers game. Rickie Weeks continued his hot streak by blasting a lead-off homer. Casey McGehee had probably one of his best games in his young professional career that included a double, game-winning HR, and a some excellent defensive plays. Corey Hart is starting to earn his keep again; he added a homerun but also contributed a horrifically played fly ball that sailed over his head. Lastly, Ryan Braun finally put one on the board by going yard.

Yes, Macha allowed Randy Wolf to talk him in-to staying out on the mound to face Albert Puhols in the 6th inning. You can't really blame him either, considering that Wolf has blanked Albert his entire professional career. So it surprised the hell out of me when Albert blasted a towering shot that fell in fair territory. Trevor Hoffman gave up a double to his ex-teammate, Felipe Lopez and then back to back HR's to Albert Puhols (2 HR's in the game) and Matt Holliday.
But in the end, everything worked out just fine when McGehee belted a walk-off HR.

There are many things to be worried about in Brew Town.

1. Trevor Hoffman and his 2 blown saves. Let's face it, his change-up is expected and his fast ball only clocks in the mid-80's. He will probably be fine, but if not, there's LaTroy Hawkins waiting patiently.

2. Prince Fielder. Clearly, he's frustrated with his performance at the plate. Again, this will all be fine in due time. He has a tendancy to start off slow and then turn it on in May. Remember 2008?

3. Carlos Gomez. He's not getting it done at the plate. Besides his 4 for 5 game on Opening Day, he's been quiet and painful to watch (no pun intended).

4. Probably the most important problem that Macha needs to fix is Yovanni Gallardo, for obvious reasons that don't really need explanation.

Rightfieldbleachers.com pointed out a nice take on the Levine-Attanasio feud by ESPN's Erik Kuselias. I believe the Brewers owner has gotten an unfair shake on this whole ordeal. Hell, it was torture listening to ESPN's Joe Morgan talk about the concept of a "Small Market Team". It's actually quite simple; Milwaukee's market (Milwaukee Metro) is the smallest, by far, in the MLB. That, right there, in and of itself is the definition of a small market team. Is Minnesota a small market team? I don't believe so because their overall population more than doubles that of Milwaukee. In my opinion, small marekt has everything to do with overall population; that entails said teams' market share. Milwaukee relies heavily on their ticket sales and revenue from Miller Park. They don't have a large following when it comes to Television. Compare that to the Yankees, who have 10+ million capabale followers.

Greg Zaun comments on his hitless season thus far....Makes sense, I like it that he hasn't lost his confidence. It will all work out. His week long slump is mainly due to some excellent fielding. It reminds of JJ Hardy last season where the guy couldn't buy a F$*#@* hit.

Milwaukee plays an afternoon game at the most expensive ball park in the MLB. That being Wrigley Field. Doug Davis takes to the mound against Ryan Dempster. Here is the list of probable starters.