48-53: Brewers turn on the heat

Last night 3-2 victory over the 2nd place Reds should provide a boost of confidence for the team and their fan base. Of course, we have been down this road before. Remember the tear the Crew went on a tear in June and won 5 straight, 3 of which were a result of sweeping the Twins? Well, we're seeing a similar glimpse of what this team is capable of right now. Milwaukee has a good shot of winning the series tonight when Yovanni Gallardo takes to the mound against Edison Velquez (1-1). It should be a good pitchers duel, much like we saw last night when Bronson Arroyo (10-6) lost out to Randy Wolf (no decision, Villanueva earned the win). Arroyo lasted 8 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on only 3 hits....2 of those were homers by Rickie Weeks (21) and Jim Edmonds (8).

Jimmy Edmonds has been on a tear as of late, especially on this current home stand. Meanwhile, Prince & Braun have been hitless in their last two games. Randy Wolf added the only other hit last night.

John Axford killed it last night as well, recording his 15th save (15 for 16 attempts).

-On paper, Milwaukee has a favorable schedule until August 13th when Milwaukee travels to Denver. The Crew travels to Houston this weekend and then up to Chicago, then a home stand that pits them against Houston (again) and a 4-game series with Arizona (who they swept the last time playing). They need to win while they can, because their September schedule is brutal.

-It's going to be a long shot for the Crew to hit 3 million in attendance this season. There are ticket-deals galore out there on Stub Hub right now. Their tv ratings are taking a significant hit as well. Keep in mind though....

Mike Dimond, Fox Sports' senior vice president and general manager, said the Brewers still ranked eighth in Major League Baseball for local broadcast ratings. Last year, the team was sixth.
"I'm encouraged by the ratings," Dimond said. "This is a baseball town, and on many nights we are the highest-rated show."

If you ask me, now is the best time to go to a game. You don't have to deal with moronic girlfriends who wear their slutty outfits to the game and yap on their cell phones and take obnoxious photos of themselves dry humping the Henry Aaron statue....nor do you have the tools with the straight brim caps and wife beaters getting loaded off of Mike Hard Lemonades...or better yet....you don't have the 43 year-old single males who make signs for the Crew to "WIN". No sir, you actually have the the real, die hard fans. One last thing, you should never bring a ball glove to a game unless you're with your son, grandson, or little nephew. There is no excuse for someone over 18 to bring a mit to the park to catch fly balls at batting practise.

-The Rays' Matt Garza had a no-no last night! Quite impressive, considering he came 1 walk shy of a perfect game.
Seriously, the Crew is long overdue for a no-hitter. Honestly, new teams like the Rays and D-Backs are getting them....it's time for Yovanni to do work, son.

-According to my Yahoo fantasy baseball team, Corey Hart isn't close to taking batting practise yet. He's still hoping to play in this series, but I think that's all propaganda in the event that they trade him. I am starting to think the Brewers will become buyers if they sweep the Reds. You could look for the Crew to add an outfielder or even an average starting pitcher.