Brewermania

So much has happened since I went out of town last week. I had thought of writing a separate entry for the big games, but I can't imagine that would be worth reading (not that this will be.)

It's hard to decide which of the big events is the most noteworthy:

I think the biggest news is that the Crew won their third straight series and swept a series for the first time since May 9 against the Nationals.
Also, the Cubs aren't doing so hot and now the Cards are in second in the division at 7.5 games back.

*The biggest single play had to be Prince Fielder's inside the park homerun at Minnesota. Not only is it fascinating to watch a guy that big run that fast, but it's hilarious that he keeps right on running into the dugout. Also, the poor outfielder is so far off from catching the ball that it's not even on the screen when it hits the ground. The video doesn't seem to be anywhere but on the Brewers' website. The link is at the top of this article.

This was such a big deal that the Onion even spoofed it. Also, the day after this happened, Prince went from 50,000 or so votes behind Albert Pujols in All-Star voting to leading by 24,000 or so. These numbers are based on online voting only, but if Fielder gets the spot, he'll be the first Brewers All-Star starter since 1999, when Jeromy Burnitz was an injury replacement.

*After Wednesday's 7-5 victory over the Giants, the Brewers are 11-2 in games started by Claudio Vargas

*J.J. Hardy left Wednesday's game with tightness in his lower back. Manager Ned Yost said he pulled him as a precaution, and Hardy is expected to play in the team's next game Friday.

Bill Hall's grand slam in the first inning Wednesday was the team's fourth this season. Last year, the Brewers were the only team in the majors without a grand slam.

*Much hyped pitching prospect Yoveni Gallardo made his major league debut on Monday. Despite a 31 pitch first inning, Gallardo made it through 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, three walks and three runs, with four strikeouts. From jsonline.com:

As might be expected from a young pitcher making his first start, Gallardo had some anxious moments in the first inning. Dave Roberts led off with a single to center and was on second base with two down when Barry Bonds drew a six-pitch walk, setting the stage for Bengie Molina's RBI hit to left on a 0-2 curveball.

Rather than cave in, Gallardo retired Pedro Feliz on a pop-up to short. That out began a stretch in which he set down 15 of 16 hitters.

Not happy to just get things done on the mound, Gallardo proved to be a double threat when he hit a double into the left field corner his first time at bat. His bat is part of what makes him such a special prospect. He batted .250 in Nashville with three doubles and a home run in 24 at-bats, laced a double into the left-field corner for his first hit and RBI.

*Friday night I was sitting in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. We had started out in the outfield, where the outfield wall appears about 4 feet tall. Later in the game, we moved around to behind home plate for a few innings. In right field the stadium features a large scoreboard with the games around league. In the middle, they show things like pitching changes and home runs. Shortly after we moved, I looked up to see what apparently said "Geoff Jenkins hits Grand Slam" We were so stunned we had to check the gamecast on our cell phones to verify.

*Ben Sheets recorded his 1000th strikeout on June 14, becoming only the second Brewer pitcher to reach that plateau. (Teddy Higuera is the other)

*The Brewers had 61 hits from Sunday through Friday, their highest total of any five-game span this season. That comes despite the fact they were no-hit by Detroit's Justin Verlander on Tuesday.

*From the sad, but true files, the Brewers pitchers as a whole are hitting .129 ... And we're excited about that since it's 30 points higher than they were hitting last year. Full story here.

*Finally, the Brewers' turn on The Young and The Restless aired yesterday.