2004 Game Review Archives
(7/28/04) Brewers 6, Cubs 3 (Record: 49-51)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Chris Capuano & Ben Grieve
Hello again all. So I guess I missed some awful Brewers games while I was away. Good thing I wasn’t here to review them. Of course, I was home yesterday but chose not to talk about the game despite Counsell’s catcher’s interference.
Today’s game was certainly one worth discussing. The six run outburst certain came as a welcome surprise considering how the hitting has been going of late (i.e. the past 3 months). Rather than going 0-10 with runners in scoring position today, the Crew tried a new approach to scoring runs: they decided to hit some home runs. William Hill hit a big two-run homer and Ben Grieve hit a solo shot. For Grieve this was just another exclamation point on the billboard in front of Ned Yost’s face suggesting he play every day. I don’t know what I’m so concerned about, I get this impression that some team is going to pick Grieve up within the next three days. As for Hall’s homer, let’s not be fooled into thinking anything irrational. Hall is still probably the worst hitter on the roster. His plate discipline is simply atrocious, and it showed in his two horrible strikeouts tonight. The homer off of Wood was not achieved by getting into a good hitter’s count and seeing a fastball down the middle nor was it achieved by hitting a good pitcher’s pitch. Wood completely hung a slider middle-in after having Hall down in the count. Without a doubt it was the worst pitch thrown all night. Despite the fact Hall was fooled by the speed, Wood threw the slider so hard Hall wasn’t ahead of it too much. I know I pick on Hall, but the guy is terrible and has never learned how to hit. And I won’t get started about his defense either.
The offense was also aided by good leadoff work by Scott Podsednik and a good day by Geoff Jenkins. Those two guys are simply going to have to pick it up if the team is going to continue to score 6 runs a game. Of course, Chris Capuano helped himself out with the bat, as he always seems to do, by lacing an RBI double into right field. Capuano’s hitting was overshadowed by his pitching tonight. Capuano has been a very solid performer all year, and despite the fact that his 3.66 ERA is deceivingly low, he deserves a ton of credit. He worked his off-speed stuff brilliantly tonight and again found a way for his homer run allowed to be a solo home run. Capuano might have a bright future ahead of him if he can continue to improve his command and reduce his home run totals.
Even though the win was awesome and against the Cubs, there is one thing that bothered me: Russell Branyon batting cleanup and Overbay batting fifth with Grieve sixth. Is it any wonder that the Crew struggles with runners in scoring position when you have your two best OBP guys, Overbay and Grieve, followed by perhaps the worst 7-9 hitters in the league? Overbay has been struggling but still has a far more legitimate claim to batting third than Jenkins. Branyon is going to be a really funny player to watch. For any that are unfamiliar with his work, Branyon is like a cool new Rob Deer. In his career he has 141 walks, 451 strikeouts, and 71 HR in 1109 at-bats. In 1272 plate appearances, Branyon has hit a ball to a fielder only 47% of the time. His 53% “true three outcomes” achievement ranks him in extremely elite company. Adam Dunn has also put up an incredible record at 53% striking out, homering, or walking this year. In his career though, Dunn hasn’t been close to his 53% accomplishment this year. Of course, Barry Bonds has some crazy numbers, but they don’t count since he never strikes out. This means that Branyon is the best three-true-outcome player in baseball. Where am I going with this? Nowhere I guess. The guy is just really funny. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t be batting cleanup. If he must bat cleanup, Jenkins should be behind him. Anyway, the best part about Branyon is that he isn’t Helms or Hall. The improvement over those two clowns showed itself tonight as Branyon played a very solid third base. Branyon had 8 balls hit to him today and made the play on every one. His play included a very nice play diving to his left. If I recall, no ground ball went into left field.
Sorry that this was a sloppy review but I have way to much to say and not enough time. I’ll get back in the groove soon folks.
(7/20/04) Brewers 2, Reds 6 (Record: 47-45)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Wes Helms
This game was just not very good. The Reds have shown the Crew how you win games this year: by scoring a bunch of runs. Pitching, who needs it? I wish the Crew had a lineup like the Reds, a lineup filled with solid backups who have some plate discipline. Just look for a moment at the lineup the Crew fielded today. That is just disgraceful on both sides of the ball, and it showed today. Magruder despite his early success with the Crew has never, nor will he ever be a great hitter. His doesn't have a very good eye at the plate and really doesn't hit for power at all. Brady Clark at least has a good eye, but has no power to speak of for a corner outfielder. And don't even get me started on Bill Hall and Wes Helms. For now, I won't even mention the lack of hitting catchers and Podsednik's sub-par season. In the scorebook, it would appear that Bill Hall had a good game. If ever a player could hit a home run and still not have a good game, Bill Hall did it today. He had a terrible error that Davis pitched around and he struck out twice in key situations. His swing is too long for him to be patient at the plate and his defense is far too often a circus. Helms probably had the best day of anyone by having two hits and no errors in the field. Davis gave up four runs late into his game and was left in too long in the eighth. The first run scored off of him was not his fault, though, it was still an earned run. Brady Clark bobbled a ball, and the Pod misjudged a fly ball by Sean Casey. All in all, the defense saw awful today. Davis did not pitch well, but he certainly pitched better than his line would indicate. No one had a good game at all.
Luckily, I will not be here to review the next 5 or 6 games due to my roadtrip to Cooperstown. I think it's probably best that I don't see these games because the Crew simply isn't scoring enough runs to win. Expecting this pitching to hold up the way it has is a foolish thought, and I think the end to this good run we've had is a lot closer than everyone wants to admit. I'll be back at ya'll next week. Have a good weekend everyone and look for me yelling at Pee-Hands on Saturday on national TV.
(7/19/04) Brewers 4, Reds 8 (Record: 47-44)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Gary Bennett & Geoff Jenkins
I really can't review the game because it wasn't televised and I was playing softball tonight. I do know that Gary Bennett and the Jenks each had very good games to get the Crew four runs. I also know that Ben Hendrickson certainly did not have a good game. He is now 0/2 at this level, while he was near perfect at triple-A. Those minor league numbers don't lie, so maybe we need to have more patience with little Ben. As a ground ball pitcher, any over-excitement could cripple his sinkers and curves. Perhaps this explains his problems. On a positive note, he didn't walk anyone in the game. Besides the homer, which is certainly a bad sign, Ben was singled to death. That's the best way to see a guy get shelled, so let's keep faith folks.
(7/18/04) Brewers 4, Cubs 2 (Record: 47-43)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Scott Podsednik and Keith Ginter
This game did not start off well and it was looking like the Crew was in serious trouble. Kerry Wood had struck out 5 guys through the first two innings, and Brewer batters were looking stupid. Capuano surrendered a solo homer to Jose Macias in the third inning and it appeared that another shutout was imminent. The homer by Macias was the only blemish on Capuano’s card today, though he was extremely shaky at times. Capuano’s performance has been one of the most overlooked aspects this year. The guy is a legitimate fourth starter and has been contributing quite well since returning from the DL. I think we Brewers fans have been spoiled from realizing how special this is and how difficult it is to find a guy to give you innings like that. Anyway, back to the game. Over the next few innings, Brewer batters would start to reach base including some leadoff hitters. Unfortunately, the Pod was thrown out trying to steal second and Ben Grieve hit into a double play to erase any scoring chances.
It took until the sixth inning for the Crew to accomplish anything. The Pod led off the inning with a ball Apesa turned into a triple. Too bad for that knuckle-dragger that he didn’t keep the ball in front of him because there is no way the Pod would have scored without the extra bases. To the Brewers’ credit, they got Pod home and would continue to successfully play “small ball” for the next two innings to produce runs. Of course, small ball is not the best or most efficient way to win games, but today it was a welcome sight. The entire key to small ball is getting runners home from third. If a team can’t do that, which the Brewers haven’t been able to do all year until today, then small ball usually leads to a shutout. Geoff Jenkins hit a sacrifice fly to score Podsednik and tie the game in the sixth.
In the seventh, Francis Beltran came in for Wood, who had only thrown 86 pitches. That’s a shocker! Put another way: translated to Dusty Baker’s native tongue, that’s a shade over 20 pitches thrown by Wood. Anyway, Beltran came in and Gumby Ginter properly pulled out his walking stick. Bill Hall, who loves fastballs, followed with a single into right. Recognizing Chad Moeller’s weaknesses at the plate, Yost decided to bunt the two runners up with no one out. In this case, I actually agree with the bunting logic. Chris Magruder pinch hit, and like Jenkins before him he got the runner home from third. Then, the Pod followed and got Hall home from third with a double to make it a more comfortable two-run lead.
The Crew would need the extra run as Jeff Bennett came in to give up a leadoff home run to Derrek Lee in the bottom of the frame. Oh my God, Jeff Bennett has problems! Luckily, another gaffe by Apesa, in this case losing a ball in the sun, gave the Crew the insurance run back in the top of the eighth. Mike Adams pitched through the top four in the Cubs’ order scoreless in the eighth and deserves a ton of credit for doing such. Ned Yost also deserves credit for going with Adams instead of Vizcaino, who was shelled last time out as you recall. Finally, Dan Kolb nailed the save down with seven pitches and three weakly hit ground balls. What a great job by Adams and Kolb and the entire team for scrapping this win together!
I don’t mean to cast a dark cloud on this beautiful win and solid series split, but this offense is absolutely reeling. Today was the first great game by the Pod in quite some time, and the Crew truly needs that to continue if it’s going to score many runs. Oh damn it, I’m not going to disparage the offense now, we won! Let’s just enjoy this and the 5-2 mark against those little cubbies this year. Oh those cubbies….they’re so cute…in a Ted Bundy kind of way that is.
(7/17/04) Brewers 0, Cubs 5 (Record: 46-43)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Jim Powell
It took until now, but for the first time this year I am naming someone not on the team the player of the game. It may seem far-fetched, but I assure you no Brewer deserved the title after this game. No one took any pitches except for Bill Hall, who had an 11-pitch strikeout. Brady Clark had two singles, but did nothing else worthwhile. Lyle Overbay had a hit, an error called a hit, and didn't hit a double. Sheets pitched a very solid game, but with the wind blowing in he deserved to lose for giving up two home runs. Worst of all, he gave them up to Pee-Hands and Apesa. Even if the Crew had won, Sheets was disqualified from player of the game for that alone. Should Vizcaino have been the player of the game? I don't think so. Kinney? Well, maybe. If I had to choose a player, I'd pick Matt Erickson for the sentimental reason that he got his first career hit. Luckily, this is my site and I don't have to pick a player. Take that!
So, why Jim Powell? Well, every Brewers loss to the Cubs pretty much ruins my day, and I know the same is true for a lot of other people out there. All you can ask when we lose is to have the pain be lessened by something, and the game itself certainly did not do that. No Brewer did anything at the plate against Maddux. Luckily for me, Jim Powell stepped in on the radio broadcast and kept me from losing it. Had I listened to the TV I doubt that I'd still be here right now. Powell did two major things: 1) He called Apesa "He of the Corked Bat" and 2) got on the official scorer for what were some atrocious calls pointing out how the Cubs scorer is probably the worst in baseball and has been for some time. It was nice to hear, and for that Jim Powell was the player of the game.
(7/16/04) Brewers 3, Cubs 2 (Record: 46-42)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Victor Santos, Brady Clark, & Geoff Jenkins
I’ll be the first to admit that I gave the Brewers no chance of winning this game after the third inning. The offense wasn’t mustering up any extra-base hits, and no one was walking. Helms got hurt during the rain delay again, so Bill Hall came in. Instead of playing second like he should have, since he is perhaps worse than Helms at third base, Hall took over at third and turned a double-play ball into no outs. I usually blame pitchers for not being able to pitch around errors, but a missed double-play is a whole different story. Santos was fantastic the entire game. He later pitched around a two-base error by Podsednik. Of course, three perfect innings by the bullpen needs to be commended, too. I almost couldn’t breath I was so nervous in the later innings, but the pen gave no reason to worry. Kolb worked a quick ninth and Adams pitched a quick seventh to show that last game wasn’t a pattern. Vizcaino had perhaps the best inning getting both Grudzielanek and Apesa to make outs on the first pitch. I wish I could have seen the game.
On the offensive side, there wasn’t too much to speak of. Ginter and Clark got the Crew on the board with a leadoff single and double, respectively. Clark had a great game. Jenkins tied the game with a solo homer. What I wouldn’t give for him to start doing that the entire second half. The final run was put on the board after Bill Hall had a leadoff single in the sixth inning. Gary Bennett popped up a bunt and failed to advance Hall. Bennett’s average fell to .177 now, and there is very little doubt in my mind that something needs to be done about that. He doesn’t walk, he doesn’t hit for power, but he plays some decent defense. No one really knows how much of an effect his presence has had on the Brewer pitchers. Every catcher who can’t hit is praised as a great defensive catcher. I do not buy it. I don’t buy the reasoning that these players are in the majors because they can play defense. Think about it, is there any catcher in the league that the local PR-machine broadcasters say can neither field nor hit? Well, there isn’t. In my mind, Bennett is an average defensive catcher and probably the worst hitting position player in the league besides Rey Ordonez. Anyway, Hall is on first with one out, and Kieschnick is used a pinch hitter. Hall then steals second and gets a wild pitch on the same play moving him to third. Then, Kieschnick delivers Hall home with a huge single. Where were these hits with runners in scoring position last night? Oh, it’s all right, the one-run lead would hold up.
Lost in the mix was the fact that both Helms and Counsell had to leave the game with minor problems. Had Matt Erickson not been on the roster, I don’t know what the Crew would have done. He made numerous solid plays, and it’s a good thing an outfielder didn’t need to be put in the infield. This is a huge credit to Doug Melvin for doing something so simple, waiting until Sunday to call up Hendrickson, which worked out so well.
Even if the Crew loses the next two games, it still holds a 4-3 season-series lead against the Cubs. The series split is very much a possibility now with Sheets taking on Maddux tomorrow. Let us rejoice Brewers fans!
(7/15/04) Brewers 1, Cubs 4 (Record: 45-42)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Doug Davis
You will probably never see the Brewers lose to the Cubs and me be as little upset as I am right now. First, the game was on the road. Second, we swept the Cubs last time. Third, we actually should have won this game if not for a couple things going wrong, meaning that, if we keep this up, we should split the series. Next, and this one is a very important one, Mark Prior was hurt. I know I’m not the only one taking joy in this. I don’t know how severe this really is, but I do know right elbow discomfort cannot be a good thing. Furthermore, this makes me look better for all my preseason warning of Cubs pitchers getting injured. More likely than not the Baker Pitcher Gauntlet employed last year has gotten to these Cubs pitchers. Even with all those things, I’d still be mighty dejected if not for Craig Counsell. Sure, Counsell hit into a costly double-play and made a terrible error that may have cost the Crew the game, but he made up for it in a big way. That’s right folks, he hit into ANOTHER catcher’s interference. I know that doesn’t appear in your box score.
Anyway, the Crew had 15 baserunners and scored only one run. Surprise, surprise. What I wouldn’t give to have a guy besides Overbay that could drive the ball, hit some extra-base hits, and bring some runs home. Of course, we all know there is no such thing as a “clutch” hitter. However, there is such a thing as a power hitter, and these are the gents that drive runners home. Podsednik did a great job at the plate today, which is obviously a key component to the offense. However, I think Ginter is the guy who’ll have to step up this series and hit a longball or two. I just have no faith in Helms, even though his plate discipline appears to be improving, and Jenkins is just lost at the plate. Once again, the Crew is getting runners on board but stranding them there.
On the mound, Davis was actually quite good. He pitched around a made hit by Helms in the first inning but couldn’t do much in the three-run sixth inning. Counsell let a ball eat him up to start the inning, and everything went to hell after that. Patterson hit a ball into center and the throw went into third. Macias was out, but it was a close play and he was called safe. On the play Patterson took second as Helms looked at the ball as if it were a luscious ice cream cone. Okay, Helms didn’t do much wrong except apply a high tag that made the play too close for the umpire to make the right call. It was a close play, though, and I don’t want to sound like I’m whining. Moeller then failed to stop a high pitch that ended up being a wild pitch. It was a wild pitch and the catcher never gets blamed on one like this, but I am of the mindset where I sometimes demand great plays. Moeller didn’t make the great play. On the next hit, a soft single to center by Urine-Hands, Podsednik dove and wiffed at the ball resulting in a triple. Davis, who had previously struck out Apesa, now had two runners across the plate. He left and Jeff Bennett instantly made Alou another run. What more could Davis really have done? There was only one ball hit well off of him the whole inning. In fact, he only made one really bad pitch all night, and it cost him a home run. Looking solely at his 8-0 K/BB ratio in 5.1 innings, he had a fantastic game. The Cubs offense did not look very good today.
The goal going into the series was 2/4. Of course, this will not be easy now. At some point, though, all of these baserunners the Crew gets are going to turn into runs. With Clement pitching tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another 9-walk game. Now, if someone can get hot and start hitting some dingers we can still split this series. If you were dejected and didn’t watch the game, I hope Counsell’s CI cheered you up. I don’t know if the game is televised on WGN tomorrow, but I know Milwaukee has no broadcast. Turn on the radio. DO NOT LISTEN TO THOSE TWO CHICAGO BUTT-PACKERS, Mr. Shitstain and his slow but confident fuckbuddy Mr. Dickhead. Oh, there’s that rage.
(7/11/04) Brewers 6, Reds 9 (Record: 45-41)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Lyle Overbay
Well, the first half is over, and I wish it didn't have to end this way. Blowing a five-run lead is bad, but the way in which it happened was the worst. Kinney cost Santos from having a good start on paper, though Santos was as average as could be again on the mound. Mike Adams blew a lead. Then, Dan Kolb let up his first two extra-base hits of the year, back-to-back homers no less, to let the tie game slip away. In that same inning, the Pod made an error and Wes Helms made a hit (check dictionary) that may have cost the Crew quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, Kolb got rocked. His fastballs for perhaps the first time this year found the heart of the plate regularly and didn’t stay in the park for long.
The thing that pisses me off most about this game, rather than the heartbreaking loss, is the reaction of fans. I like the way our fans are generally not like Yankees and Red Sox fans. That is, they are not “what have you done for me lately” fans as much. However, sometimes they can really be foolish. So, no, Dan Kolb did not pitch well. But, yes, he still does deserve to be an all-star. And, yes, he still has had an unbelievable season. If he does this next time out, consider that he may be injured or struggling through some mechanical problems and begin to worry. If he does this a few more times after that, then begin to criticize. Look, no one can be perfect every game. Let’s stick to focusing our animosity on the players that consistently unperform, such as Helms, Gary Bennett, Kinney, and Hall.
One last note to all Brewers fans...PLEASE DON'T HAVE UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SECOND HALF!!!!
(7/10/04) Brewers 5, Reds 0 (Record: 45-40)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Ben Sheets
Sheets. With another eight shutout innings, Sheets has placed himself above even the most elite company in baseball. To put it plainly, no one has pitched as impressive in the first half as Sheets. His 2.26 ERA is the lowest in all of baseball, for qualifying pitchers of course. Unlike many other pitchers in the league, Sheets does not have a fantastic defense behind him, nor does he have a particularly friendly pitchers’ park in which to work. Another important, often overlooked statistic, unearned runs allowed, also doesn’t hurt Sheets too much. It is worth mentioning that he has five unearned runs scored while his closest ERA counterpart, Al Leiter, has none. Would that make a difference in ERA had Sheets been unable to prevent earned runs instead of unearned runs? Well, yes. However, unlike Leiter, Sheets has far more substance attached to his low ERA. Leiter has 46 walks allowed, only 51 strikeouts, and is allowing home runs at a higher rate than Sheets, 1/10.2 innings and 1/12.3 innings, respectively. Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that Sheets has been awesome in the walks/strikeouts/innings department this year. However, I don’t think people fully grasp how amazing his 19/133/123.1 walk-to-strikeout-to-innings ratio really is. Compare Sheets’ numbers with Leiter’s and it’s a joke that their ERA’s are so similar. Leiter is walking guys at three times the pace of Sheets, striking out hitters at half the rate, and allowing more home runs in a much more pitcher-friendly park. I don’t mean to pick on Leiter because I respect the guy a lot. However, I’m using his numbers to point out how legitimate Sheets’ really are. I am also trying to say that, if Sheets pitched in a pitcher-friendly park and had all-around better defenders with better range, his astonishing ability to prevent balls from being put into play while not walking guys could lead to a genuine sub-two ERA. There are, of course, other factors that affect pitcher ERA’s, such as bullpen help and quality of opponents faced. While Sheets has faced generally easier competition, his bullpen really has affected him much at all.
All in all, I think Sheets, if he can keep this up all season, should draw considerable support for the Cy Young. Of course, Sheets is not a media darling like Roger Clemens, nor is he on a playoff team. But most of all, his record isn’t very good, 9-5, well, at least not nearly as good as it should be. What do I expect for the rest of the year? I think Sheets will face some tougher opponents and his ERA may rise slightly as a result. Then again, I’d expect a lower ERA than what he has now if his K/BB numbers continued like that. He is never going to get enough run support to win 20 games, so he has no chance at the Cy Young. Just count out the chances of winning that completely. My biggest concern is, as always, injuries. His back was hurting him earlier in the year, and he has thrown a lot already this season. Yost has done a reasonably good job protecting him from throwing too many pitches in each start, but the constant 100-120 pitches per game could come back to haunt the Crew. Let’s see how the all-star game and the rest of the season goes, shall we?
(7/9/04) Brewers 0, Reds 3 (Record: 44-40)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Chris Capuano
Sorry, no review for Friday night games as you know.
(7/8/04) Brewers 3, Reds 9 (Record: 44-39)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Keith Ginter
This will be Wes Obermueller’s last start in a Brewers uniform for quite a while. Ben Hendrickson has pounded the door separating the majors from AAA down to the tune of 94 innings, a 2.39 ERA, 6 HR, 20 BB, and 73 K. Little Ben has been remarkable all season and at only 23 years old is the best pitching prospect the Brewers have. The guy is a ground-ball machine and could be a shot in the arm for the Crew in the second half. Even if he pitches poorly, he will be a remarkable improvement over O’Mueller. There has been some discussion about the Brewers making trades in the second half. Acquiring another starting pitcher is unnecessary and certainly not financially savvy.
If there is one glaring need on the Brewers, it is the gaping hole at third base. Keith Ginter provided all the offense tonight, and I contend that he is still a very solid third basemen. The problem is not so much what the Brewers don’t have, rather, it’s what they do have and can’t get rid of. He’s like a VD. If Helms didn’t already have the nickname H-Bomb Helms, (Bomb hand signal inserted), and many other nicknames, I’d start calling him The Clap Helms. He’s like a disease that won’t go away. We signed him to a contract extension at the beginning of the year, and Ned Yost loves the guy. If anything good came out of this game tonight, it was Obermueller getting hit very hard again and Helms making a fool of himself at third base. I’m going to insert another record tracker on this page comparing Helms’ error total to his extra-base hit total. I have a feeling that race is going to be a tight one all year.
I know I’m going to get feedback telling me that after every O’Mueller start I say it was is last one. I recognize my hastiness to get rid of the guy and apologize for my mistakes. But come on, this has to be his last one now, right? In O’s defense, he has gotten the least help in the league with inherited runners. Regardless, the guy’s ERA is going to be at 7 no matter what kind of help he gets assuming more of the smashes off of him found the ground. This game easily could have been 20-3 tonight.
If Hendrickson gets the callup, the starting pitching will be solid. I think Hendrickson, Santos, and Capuano can provide above-replacement level starting pitching. Combined with Sheets and Davis, that could be terrific. The bullpen could use a couple more reliable arms, but it is not in too dire need. The needs are at third and catcher, but the Brewers seem to be in one of those situations where they cannot address a problem because of the players they already have at the position. Furthermore, finding a solid third basemen and catcher in the middle of a season is not an easy task. Might I recommend Greg Zaun of the Blue Jays and Mike Cuddyer of the Twins. Not too likely, huh? If the Crew doesn’t address those two needs, I hope we’re sellers instead of buyers at the deadline.
I’m thinking about doing some first-half summary work and such over the all-star break. I’ll also try to update this page and the Brewers main page with some cool new stuff now that people are lovin’ the Crew again.
(7/7/04) Brewers 4, Cubs 0 (Record: 44-38)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Sir Douglas Davis
As champion curler Jason Larway would say, “SWEEP!!! HARD!!! SWEEP!!!! SWEEP!!!!!” In case you didn’t know, I’m pretty excited about this sweep. Words simply cannot describe how happy I am with this team. Let’s put it this way: had the White Sox swept the Cubs this past weekend, they would have been my second favorite team in baseball. Keep in mind now that I hate the White Sox. With that in mind, try to imagine how I feel when the Brewers become the first team to sweep the Cubs since 2002. This is the reason why I could never be an actual sports writer; because I would never be able to control my emotions when writing a column.
Unlike previous years, the emotions are pleasant ones after this series. This was my greatest sports moment since game 7 of the NLCS last year. This is even better than Pred Harris’ interception return in the NFL playoffs. The Cubs only scored two runs this entire series and really only deserved that many. Lord Davis was simply phenomenal tonight. Don’t look now, but with another nine strikeouts and only two walks tonight Davis’ peripheral numbers justify his low ERA. This guy might just be a good pitcher. There is nothing that I can say that his numbers don’t already say for me. Just look at his line from tonight. The same is true for Mike Adams, who polished off the ninth wonderfully. Of course, the strength of the Cubs is not hitting (it’s banana eating, whining, and throwing trash on the field), but shutting out anyone is impressive.
As usual, the Brewers put a ton of runners on base and didn’t do a good job of bringing them home. Sixteen baserunners and only four runs is not a good rate. I’d like to see what the Brewers official execution of scoring baserunners isbecause it has to be the lowest in the league. Maybe I’ll do some research or let Prospectus do it for me. I’ll get back to you with that sometime. Anyway, they only scored 4 runs despite some good performances by Wes Helms and Chad Moeller of all people. Counsell and Grieve did their on-base things again, but the most devastating blow came from Geoff Jenkins for hitting a two-run homer. I was hoping Jenkins would hop around like a monkey after hitting it, but he must have had too much class. Or, maybe human beings don’t do that kind of stuff. Who knows?
Across the board, the plate approach tonight was fantastic. Zambrano threw 108 pitches without even being able to make it through the sixth inning. You guys know how much I hate that pervert. That’s right, he is a pedophile. He can point up to the sky after every inning, but someday he’s going to be pointing up at heaven from the bowels of hell. Wow, I’m angry, and we swept the Cubs. Good thing we didn’t lose.
Okay, I’m getting too stimulated here. Time for me to stop reviewing the game and just enjoy this. This was our world series and we won. We’re one game out of the wild card and days from turning Obermueller into Ben Hendrickson. Could this be for real?
(7/6/04) Brewers 4, Cubs 2 (Record: 43-38)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Keith Ginter & Ben Grieve
I promise to keep this review short despite the fact that my emotions are threatening to dictate a 15-page script full of compliments and cheers. As a Brewers fan, there really isn’t anything better than winning a series against the Cubs. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, the series has been a success. When you factor in that the Crew earned a series victory against Clement, Prior, and Zambrano, it is all the better. I can now watch the game tomorrow without as much pressure as these first two games in which I almost had heart attacks.
Like yesterday, the Crew got off to a great start. Vic Santos pitched a quick first inning, and the Brewers lineup exploded in the bottom half. Mark Prior fans and the like will be sprouting comments about how the Cubs defense allowed the four runs to score in the bottom half. However, most of the blame should be on Prior’s shoulders. Pod led off with a smash at short that short have been fielded but wasn’t. Counsell laid down a perfect bunt and Brendan Harris made a poor play to throw it away. It was highly questionable whether a normal play would have gotten Counsell in the first place. Harris rebounded by stealing a base hit away from Lyle Overbay with a great catch. It more than evened out his prior gaffe. Prior then went on to fall behind the count to Ben Grieve and surrender a double. Next, he fell behind Ginter 3-1 as well and gave up a 2-run homer that made me quite happy to say the least. Despite some rumbling, all 4 runs were earned runs for Prior.
With Helms back, this lineup is morbidly terrible from the 7-9 spots. As anticipated, these hitters did nothing today. Nevertheless, the Brewers lineup was able to drive Prior from the game after the fourth inning thanks to a number of excellent at-bats by the first 6 batters. Even those that struck out did so by taking a bunch of pitches. The plate approach once again was excellent against the Cubs starters. Unfortunately, the Crew mustered nothing up against the Cubs’ bullpen. Luckily, their pen was worked a bit at the very least.
The four-spot in the first inning proved to be enough for the Brewers pitching. Vic Santos pitched a great game, though he had to battle through a few innings. He managed to locate his curveball exceptionally well and keep hitters off balance. He deserves a ton of credit for the victory. He did, however, leave with two runners on base in the seventh inning. Mike Adams needed only two pitches to get out the out they needed and hold the lead. Great job by Adams! Perhaps the most deserving of credit is Luis Vizcaino for mowing down the heart of the Cubs’ order in the eighth. I can’t tell you how pleased I was that he didn’t make me too nervous. In that eighth inning, Ape Sosa hit a ball into the right field corner and did its stupid fucking hop, as if it had hit a home run. The ball was close to being a homer, but there was no reason to think that a hop was in order. The ball was a line drive that never had much altitude. If anything, I thought it was a double off the bat. Fortunately for the Brewers, Ben Grieve made a surprisingly nice catch at the fence to take a hit away from Corky. Had he not made the catch, we might have been treated to an embarrassing single for the Corkman for not running out of the box. Either way, I was a happy camper that that cheating piece of shit made a fool of itself. You can’t ask for more than that!
Dan Kolb came in and worked a very tense ninth inning. Of course, it wasn’t his fault. As usual, Kolb didn’t let a ball out of the infield. Unfortunately, four of the balls that were hit went to Wes Helms. Helms went 2/4 in fielding those balls to record 2 outs and let two runners reach base. The 2/4 raises his percentage to 42% on the year (that’s right folks, when a Brewer player fucks up in a Cubs game, I get angry at him). Anyway, Kolb got the three outs without surrendering a run, so all was well.
Lord Davis takes the mound tomorrow in what should be a great game. My tensions are clearly lowered as the Crew has already exceeded my expectations for the series. I view tomorrow as a wonderful opportunity to do something special; sweep these bastards. By the way, great job by the Bucketheads tonight! Also of note, this was the halfway mark of the season. I think this team really deserves a pat on the back for an amazing first half.
(7/5/04) Brewers 1, Cubs 0 (Record: 42-38)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Ben Sheets
For all those die-hard Brewers fans out there, sorry for the delay in reviewing this game. I bet you thought I was done reviewing for the year. Well, I would have been had we gotten swept by the Cubs. Let’s hope the series in Pittsburgh got all of the bad baseball out of our system for at least 3 days. The first real game of the season was today, and it went very well.
Of course, the lineup didn’t produce much off of Matt Clement. I certainly would have preferred a 4729-0 win by the Brewers where Matt Clement got hit in the face with a line drive and gave up all 4729 runs, but I’ll take a 1-0 win. I really did want to rip all of the “Clement-hair-tape” off of all those stupid Cubs fans’ faces. For anyone who braved through the entire game on WGN, bless your soul. For future reference, AM 620 with the TV on mute is good advice. Obviously, since I was working at this game, I did not hear what they were saying on WGN. If anyone has any funny things from the broadcast, let me know.
The game got off to a great start with Craig Counsell hitting a solo home run in the first inning. That completely shut the Cubs fans up, and they were given nothing more to cheer about for the rest of the game. Considering the importance of the game, Ben Sheets had his best start of the year. People will be quick to point out shadows and whatnot that helped he and Clement out, but I didn’t see the shadows arriving until later in the game. The bottom line is that he threw wonderfully. Sheets had a huge strikezone again, something that he has shown to be brilliant at exploiting. His fastball was lively, and he worked it up and outside skillfully. The high fastballs set up his breaking stuff, and the Cubs hitters had no chance.
While Sheets put donut after donut up on the board, the offense remained stagnant. The approach was good, drawing 6 walks off of Clement and making him throw over 120 pitches through 7 innings, but the execution with runners on base was morbid. I must point out the 0-0 with 3 walks performance by Ben Grieve today. That made up for a really poor defensive play earlier in the game that gave a double up with no outs. Give more credit to Sheets for pitching around that by striking out the Ape with one down and a man at third. The same kind of credit needs to be given to Luis Vizcaino for his work in the eighth inning. He gave up a single and an error by Wes Helms on a routine ground ball by Ape. I have no clue why it was ruled a hit. Vizcaino worked through the heart of the Cubs lineup and struck out the side. He made it an even easier ninth inning for Dan Kolb, who I want to hug for mowing down the Cubs in the ninth so efficiently. He didn’t let the Cubs fans have anything to cheer about and kept me from punching people. Good job Danny!! That’s why you’re an all-star!
I truly don’t expect us to win the next game and don’t have a good feeling about the game two days from now. However, at the very least, we kept some dignity and set ourselves up for a huge series. If we can pull one more win out, the series was a huge success. Maybe most importantly, though, is the fact that we won the one game I was working. I really did hit on Ben Sheets after the game if you were still doubting me.
(7/4/04) Brewers 2, Pirates 6 (Record: 41-38)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Lyle Overbay
A four game sweep by the Pirates, eh? Yeah, I'm not reviewing this one.
(7/3/04) Brewers 3, Pirates 5 (Record: 41-37)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Lyle Overbay & Craig Counsell
Sorry again for lack of review time.
(7/2/04) Brewers 2, Pirates 13 (Game 2) (Record: 41-36)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Geoff Jenkins
No game reviews for these two games fore tis a Friday night.
(7/2/04) Brewers 1, Pirates 8 (Game 1) (Record: 41-35)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Wes Helms
(7/1/04) Brewers 10, Rockies 9 (Record: 41-34)
Box Score
Player(s) of the game: Ben Grieve and Craig Counsell
I must apologize for not being able to review this game very well. It wasn’t on TV and I missed the whole first half of the radio coverage. Furthermore, highlights were few and far between on ESPN. Considering that most day games at Coors require double-digit runs to win, Vic Santos’ start, much like those of Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano before him, was actually quite good. He did not walk a batter, and by doing so kept himself out of big innings. I have no idea about how hard the Rockies hit the ball off of Santos, but nine hits in six innings certainly does not mean he was hit hard. Santos certainly pitched well enough to win.
Runs were going to come pretty much no matter what the brewer hitters did today. Fortunately, the Rockies defense added a couple more with some errors. I guess the error on Preston Wilson was quite costly. The Crew took a 10-4 lead late into the game and would need every last bit of it to hold on.
After Santos left, Browhat Bennett pitched a solid seventh and kept the lead at six runs. When Brooksimus came in to pitch the eighth, all hell broke loose. Kieschnick gave up a leadoff walk and a bunch of Coors Field singles without retiring a batter. Vizcaino came in for some suddenly high-leverage holding and gave every Brewers fan a heart attack. Vizcaino got a ground ball that was booted by Overbay and gave up a single that cut the lead to two runs. I saw this inning on the highlights, so I can say Overbay’s error was brutal. If one could call two errors on the same play for essentially repeating the same flaw (in this case not being able to pick up a stationary baseball), then this would be the situation for it. Vizcaino can only be blamed so much you know. Anyway, Vizcaino got Clayton to strike out after way too many pitches and a 3-2 count. He seemingly went on to throw 100 pitches to the next two batters, each of whom flied out to the warning track. Those balls were VERY close to being gone. Anyway, the lead was cut to one on a sac fly and it was again Kolb time.
Kolb came in and what does he do? He walks Vinny Castilla on 5 pitches. As if my heart needed any more! Luckily, the fun for the Rockies stopped right there. Eight pitches and three ground balls later, Kolb had saved his third game of the series and the Crew had finally completed another sweep. I wish we could all sit back and enjoy being 7 games over .500 and being on a complete tear, but we cannot. The Crew has two games tomorrow against the damn Pirates, the team that busted us up earlier in the season. It will be very interesting to see how the Crew deals with pitching shortages, especially ones late in ballgames tomorrow and through the 7 games in the next six days. This next week will define the remainder of the season. Win over half and we will finish above .500, win less than half and the decline will begin, and win them all… this team is in contention.
June Game Reviews
May Game Reviews
April Game Reviews