Brewers block party part 1

To start of my birthday festivities this weekend, the Brewers threw me a block party!
Ok, not really, but this weekend happened to be the Brewers' second annual Cerveceros Latino celebration. Also, this season they're hosting three block parties throughout the season. The team combined the two and had many of the Spanish speaking Brewers and the party took place at a park in one of Milwaukee Latino neighborhoods.

The plan is pretty simple. The guys gather on stage and answer some questions, then split up and sit two per table and sign autographs. Unfortunately, the sign for less than an hour and you have to stand in each line separately. We split up and stood in different lines, made some friends to hold places and pushed our way to the front at the very end as the guys were leaving and ended up with 9 of 10 autographs.

Also, Sunday's game featured a Chorizo bobblehead which is absolutely awesome (as well as naked underneath!)









The man of the hour, CHORIZO!












Lefty reliever Brian Shouse was by far the Brewer who enjoyed himself the most. He was smiling and chatting. (And also, he's crazy more cute than I thought. He looks very mean and I guess kind of old when he's far away on the field and under a baseball cap.) He was a pleasant (and a co-freckler) surprise! Plus, he's only 30. Here you go ladies, a diamond in the rough.








And of course, no one can be happy without some pictures of J.J. Hardy, rockin' some stumble and lookin' good in his shades.














More J.J. goodness.












This is literally the only time I saw Dave Bush smile. And I totally dig the beard.















Corey Hart was having a good time.










I was trying to take a picture down the line of guys, but J.J. thought I wanted a picture of him. Well if you insist J.J. .....






Gabe Gross, your batting music is Jesus music. You're fairly dorky looking for a pro ball player. Please stop adding to the opinion by wearing a polo shirt underneath your bp jersey!

Brewers Block Party part 2

Not so in-focus or flattering close-up of Kevin Mench













When they arrived, they walked right past the line we were in.













The guys lined up on stage.













Yovani Gallardo














More stage shots











Another shot down the line.

Sheets on 15 Day DL, Spurling on Bereavement leave

Ben Sheets was placed on the 15 day DL today for a distal sprain to a right finger. The MRI today didn't show any further damage, but other tests are set for Tuesday. Yovani Gallardo stepped in during that game to "finish" Sheets' start and will just remain in that spot in the pitching rotation.

Reliever Chris Spurling has been placed on the bereavement list for an unspecified amount of time. Apparently we hope to have him back by Friday.

Ok, so that leaves the bullpen down two guys. Also, Carlos Villanueva put in a full games' pitching on Saturday when Chris Capuano was pulled early, so he's likely not available until weeks' end.

To help out, the crew has called up left-hander Manny Parra and right-hander Grant Balfour from AAA Nashville. You'll remember Parra from the no-hitter he threw in June.

From jsonline.com :
In four starts with Nashville, Parra was 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA.

Balfour, a reliever claimed off waivers from Cincinnati over the winter after undergoing shoulder and elbow surgeries, was pitching quite well for Nashville since being promoted from Class AA Huntsville.

In 24 relief outings, he was 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA and six saves, with 47 strikeouts in 32 innings.

It's my berfday!

So I'm not posting. Had fun this morning at a Brewers block party and tomorrow we go to a game. More posting after the weekend!

Possible trade confirmation

...in the most incomplete, secondhand, un-scientific way ever. Trade talks are swirling about a possible trade of Ken Griffey, Jr. to Milwaukee. Everyone who could possibly be involved has denied the rumors. Brewers GM Doug Melvin said tonight on the news that he just got off the phone with the Reds manager and Griffey's name was never mentioned. (Of course this begs the question, why were you on the phone with the Reds manager, Doug?)

Ok, I've promised not to name names. But what if I told you an acquaintance had a casual conversation with a baseball team's TV announcer on or about Tuesday evening and that announcer claimed to have spoken with Ken Griffey Jr. right before the All-Star break, since the Reds were in town?

What if I also said that the announcer in question claims to have had a discussion about trades with Griffey? And what if this discussion also mentioned how close Griffey and Prince Fielder are?

And what if, after this discussion, the announcer asked Griffey about Milwaukee and Griffey had on a big grin and said "you know I can't talk about that"?

Would that mean that Milwaukee's looking at an outfield of Hart, Hall and Griffey?


___

In non-innuendo, this would be a great look for the Brewers.

We could use a veteran that isn't Geoff Jenkins and who, I don't know, has actually had a career worth noting.

Secondly, Prince and Griffey are longtime friends. When he was a kid, Prince would go on road swings with his dad to Seattle and stay at Griffey's home. Griffey's all by Prince's mentor on how to grow up in the shadow and I'm sure he's something of a father figure, as Cecil isn't around.

Thirdly, Griffey's got 3 years left on his contract. So do Corey Hart and Ryan Braun. In three years those guys are going to want more money and in three years, we'll have it to give to them. Sure, Griffey's contract is huge, but we don't exactly have a huge payroll.

Griffey's not looking for a long-term deal. He's looking for a team that will win. He wants his ring. And he thinks he can get it here? Hell, I'll take his word on that!

Mid-Season reports and the All-Star Game

So we just passed the mid-way point and thus far I think the Brewers season has been inconclusive. Sure, there have been absolutely brilliant spots and certainly the team is looking better than it has in decades.

However, if we weren’t where we are, people would be disappointed, so I say being 10 games above .500 and 4 ½ games in first is really just kind of average. I wrestled with using the word mediocre, but Ryan Braun alone lifts this team above that status.

The new has worn off and real Brewers fans have moved past just being happy that we don’t suck. There was novelty in those first few weeks and months in the pure fact that we were winning and we were in first place. But heading into the close of the season, I don’t think that’s enough anymore. There are expectations and high hopes and seven of ten to head into the All-Star break isn’t going to cut it.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the Brewers' performance in all the All-Star game festivities. That's not to say that they did bad, but rather that I think they didn't capitalize on the situation. The Crew still gets little to no respect and I think this would have been a good chance to make a splash on a national stage.

During the Home Run Derby during Prince's attempt, the (many) broadcasters had a discussion first, about A-Rod and then one of them piped up and said something along the lines of you, "You know, we just spent all the time focusing on A-Rod, who, since he's in New York gets all the attention. Here's Prince Fielder, who, because he's in Milwaukee, is off everybody's radar."

It was nice to hear that someone out there at least realized what kind of bias there is. Now, let's see him do something about it.

I was surprised by the rash of positive media coverage the Crew received in this off-week. I thoroughly expected there to be a lot of negative comments about the way the Brewers played in the closing week or so. Instead, the opposite happened. Nobody mentioned it.

Two separate SI writers, one in the magazine and one online, named their picks for the mid-season awards. On SI.com Jon Heyman named Prince Fielder his mid-season NL MVP saying “Budding superstar is the anchor of baseball’s best infield. The most obvious choice of all has one more home run than he hit all last year.”

SI the magazine’s Tom Verducci also put Prince at #1 for NL MVP, with the Rockies’ Matt Holliday in 2^nd. “Here’s why: Milwaukee wouldn’t be in first place without the big-time power of Fielder, who leads the league in homers (29) and slugging (.622). Holliday’s road numbers are too pedestrian (.301 – 78 points lower than his home average – with five homers) for a team that hasn’t gotten more than 4 games over .500.”

Heyman names Houston’s Hunter Pence as NL Rookie of the Year. There are two sentences following that proclamation: “Very exciting combination of speed, power and hunger. But Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun is coming on..”

Verducci gives the nod to Pence as well, with Braun at #2. “Here’s why: Pence, who spent more of the first month of the season in the minors, has only drawn 10 walks, but his .342 average can’t be overlooked. However, Braun, who wasn’t called up until May 24, already has as many homers as Pence (11) in 112 fewer at bats. He’s a good bet to pass the Astros outfielder on this ballot by season’s end.”

Heyman names Ned Yost NL Manager of the Year saying “Who else? The Brew Crew looks talented and hungry. See ya in October.”

Verducci’s got Yost #2 behind the Padres’ Bud Black.

So if this team continues to slide and ends up out of first place in the oh-so-pathetic NL Central, I think it will be a serious disappointment. I can't imagine the fans that have gotten Brewer fever over the past few weeks will stick around to see if we can catch-up.

Brewer's fans have had a lot of build up and a lot of let down over the years. We're used to disappointment and hangovers. Your average Milwaukeean doesn't believe this is the year. They think this year is going to be like many past, where things start off looking good and the big accomplishment of the year is ending the season AT .500. I'd hate to see that happen this year. I'd hate for the Brewers to lose their newfound popularity. I'd hate for all the bandwagoners and Homers to feel vindicated.

So.... I haven't posted much lately...

because I've been real down on the Brewers this week and I didn't want to have a series of posts where all I do is bitch.

Sure, there have been some serious highlights in this road trip, but there have been far more lowlights.

In this most recent ten game road swing we were a measley 3 and 7 against teams that, as of Sunday night, are 120-143. Our lead over Chicago is down to 4.5 games and frankly, if we play this way coming out of the All-Star break, that won't take but a week to disappear.

I hate to be one of those fans that bitches about managers and bullpen management, but my anger with the way Ned Yost handles our pitchers reached a new high today. On an almost daily basis I feel that Yost leaves pitchers in the game WAY longer than he should. The prime example of this is Derrick Turnbow, but he is by no means the only one.

In today's game vs. the Nationals, Chris Capuano started to lose his stuff in the 4th inning. He hit a batter and came within inches of hitting the next batter.

In the 5th, Prince hits a 2 RBI double making the score 2-1 Milwaukee.

In the sixth inning, Cappy walked a man and then gave up a two run home run to the next batter. (And btw, the man he walked is hitting .045 on the season) He then walked a man, gave up a single, and walked another, to load the bases. And there are still no outs. But the game is still just a one run affair, with the Nationals up 3-4. AND THIS IS WHEN NED FINALLY MAKES THE CALL TO THE BULLPEN. We had to suffer through two more batters while we waited for Matt Wise to warmup. Another run scores. Wise does no better than Cappy and when the inning is finally and mercifully over, the score is 7-2 and completely out of reach.

Let me remind you that tomorrow starts the All-Star Break. Was Ned saving the bullpen? What possible explanation can there be for having left Cappy in that long? He was in for at least 3 too many batters because the bullpen was not warmed up. When your pitcher has shown signs of struggle, walks a man, gives up a home run and walks two more, it's time to pull him. Period. There should have been a man warming after the home run, just in case. The game went from withing striking distance to out of our reach and completely out of control in 5 batters.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no excuse for this.

But enough on that, I'd also like to discuss how this team is incapable of putting runs on the board except for with the long ball. Sure, home runs are great. They're exciting. They make for a good highlight reel. But what happened to this team's ability to play small ball? On Saturday night we left 16 men on base. SIXTEEN! Against the Nationals. On Sunday, July 1, we left 20 men on against the Cubs.

In the three games against the Nationals, we left 33 men on base. In four games against the Pirates we left 50 men on base. In three games against the Cubs we left 45 men on base. That's a total of 128 runs left on base in a ten game road trip. (stats from espn.com's box scores)


____

On a slightly happier note, despite being beyond mediocre the past few weeks, we're still getting national attention. Today's New York Times featured an article about the Crew's infield. Pretty flattering stuff here. Nice to see a big city paper checking us out when we're not in town to play one of their own. Read it here.

Holy Crap, Damian Miller!

Going into last Wednesday's game, Damian Miller had 0 HRs and 8 RBIs on the season.

On Wednesday, on LaCrosse Day (the city along the Mississippi River in northwest Wisconsin where he's from) Damian hit a walk-off home run to win the game. In that game he went 3-5 with 4 RBIs.

Tonight, Damian hit a grand slam to top off the 6-run 7th inning for the Brewers.
(though why the bases were loaded still baffles me, but we'll get back to that)

In tonight's game Damian was 4-5 with 7 RBIs. The 7 RBIs tied him for most in one game by a Brewer.

He came to bat in the 9th and Bill Hall should have been on 3rd and would have scored on Damian's single, giving Damian a franchise record. Slo-mo replays show that Billy was clearly safe at second base, not called out as the umpire did. Geoff Jenkins hit a fly to right center that would have put Bill on 3rd, ripe for Damian.

Instead, Damian gets a share of the record.

In two games, Damian went 7-10 and had 11 RBIs and has 3 HR's in the last 6 days (in just two games). He hit a two-run homer in the 4th tonight that was his 2nd HR in his last 3 at bats.

The Slam was Miller's 6th career. It was all the Brewers 6th on the season, giving them sole lead in the majors.

Damian has hit 86 HRs in his career with 6 grand slams. That's the 3rd highest ratio of all time.


In non-Damian news, as of Saturday morning, the crew was 12-3 since being no hit and were averaging 6.7 runs a game.

Corey Hart extended his hit streak to 18 games tonight. During that streak he is hitting .357 with 4 doubles, 7 HRs and 18 RBIs.

I was actually going to highlight Ryan Braun today, who in the month he's been in the majors has already made himself a major case for Rookie of the Year. But I'll leave that for another day and let Damian bask in the glory.

(Oh yeah, and about those bases loaded. Why, why, why do you walk Geoff Jenkins to load the bases to get to Damian Miller? At this point in the game Miller's 2-3 with a 2 run HR. Jenkins - well he's Geoff Jenkins. There's two guys on and two outs. Geoff's swinging for the fences and goes down in three pitches. He's as harmless as a baby here. But the manager decides to walk Jenkins, loading the bases for the Brewers' hottest hitter over the past week. I absolutely do not understand the logic here and I'd kill to have it explained to me. Get me a line to the Pirates' manager)

100 things to look forward to this college football season

I found this via the MZone. This guy compiled a list of things to anticipate this fall. The Badgers notch four different times on the list and I'd like to go ahead and point out that I've already mentioned #97. I still don't understand how no one seems to worry about this.

1. Tulsa at La-Monroe on Thursday, August 30! (It's the first televised game of the season - 7pm ESPNU.)

2. Brent Musburger's first "You are looking live�" of the season.

3. Seeing the Gameday piece on Penn State football players cleaning Beaver Stadium and then having Desmond Howard sit down with select players and ask, "So, do you think you'll ever home-invade again?"

4. Nick Saban and Alabama hosting LSU on Saturday, November 3. There will be lawn chairs and styrofoam as far as the eye can see.

5. Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis running for his life, and knowing exactly what to do with the ball.

6. Illinois quarterback Juice Williams running for his life, but having no idea what to do with the ball�

7. �and then finding freshman receiver Arrelious Benn for a 60-yard touchdown.

8. Watching USC at Nebraska on Saturday, September 15. If you want to know how far Bill Callahan has brought the Nebraska program, pull up a chair and find out.

9. Virginia Tech at LSU on Saturday, September 8.

10. Antone Smith trying to become Florida State's first 1,000-yard running back since Warrick Dunn in 1996.

11. USC at Notre Dame on Saturday, October 20. It's the one day per year you can be a Notre Dame fan because you just don't know how many shots at losses USC is going to have--whereas that's never a concern about Notre Dame.

12. TCU at Texas on Saturday, September 8. This is likely the only loss on TCU's schedule. If they somehow get past Texas, they'll have a great shot at a BCS game.

13. Watching Pitt freshman running back LeSean McCoy. He was ranked right up there with Ohio State running back Chris Wells when they were high school seniors in 2005, but McCoy ran into some qualifying problems and has now re-surfaced at Pitt.

14. Seeing if Washington's freshman quarterback Jake Locker is half the player the fans are hoping he'll be.

15. The Bowden Bowl on Monday, September 3.

16. The Bubba Bowl (i.e. Alabama vs. Florida State in Jacksonville) on Saturday, September 29.

17. Finding out what menagerie of middling the Wolverines have in the secondary.

18. Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman proving many, many people wrong.

19. Seeing Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill bust through the line to find an unlucky member of the opposing secondary filling the hole. And the ensuing crumple.

20. Nick Saban's first Iron Bowl. (Alabama has lost five-straight.)

21. Florida sophomore quarterback/trench pummeler/jorted icon Tim Tebow actually dropping back and reading a defense for a change.

22. Michigan receiver Mario Manningham running down the sideline.

23. Wisconsin tight end Travis Beckum running down the middle of the field.

24. Neither of them doing it against the Buckeyes.

25. Steve Spurrier.

26. Arkansas' quarterbacks basically ruining the usage of the two best running backs in the SEC.

27. Penn State football players making sure not to make a mess during their home games, as they're the ones that will have to clean it up.

28. Oklahoma redshirt freshman running back DeMarco Murray making the post-Adrian Peterson mourning period a short one. He will be a star.

29. Watching Virginia Tech running back Brandon Ore continue to pile up tough yards and continue to go unnoticed nationally.

30. Watching Notre Dame at Michigan on Saturday, September 15. It's the one day every year where you get to be a Michigan fan and you don't even have to worry about collecting enough tips to pay for the tank of gas you promised your mother if she just let you borrow the station wagon just this one time since the paint job on your car hadn't dried yet because that idiot Johnny Bench lied to you about Krylon's dry-time.

31. Seeing if any of Butch Davis' recruits contribute this season at North Carolina.

32. Seeing if any of Ron Zook's recruits contribute this season at Illinois.

33. Seeing if any of the SEC's recruits contribute this season at Fork Union Military Academy.

34. Watching the second-best running back tandem in the nation--Clemson's James Davis and C.J. Spiller.

35. Georgia sophomore quarterback Matthew Stafford showing himself to be the future #1 overall pick that Mel Kiper Jr. claims him to be.

36. Seeing if Michigan quarterback Chad Henne is finally able to use the middle of the field effectively.

37. Florida at South Carolina on Saturday, November 10. Last season, South Carolina refused to beat Florida, even though the Gators were trying to give the game away. I'm expecting that that game last season and this game this season will be a focal point for the Gamecocks.

38. Having Spartan running back Javon Ringer on the field for an entire season.

39. Seeing what type of player Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham is. He was a high school All-American at linebacker, we'll see if it translates to the defensive line.

40. West Virginia at Maryland on Thursday, September 13. There's just something about West Virginia games on Thursday night.

41. Watching Boston College linebacker/goal-line plunger Brian Toal continue his excellence on both sides of the ball.

42. Seeing if Pete Carroll can split 40 carries between seven different USC running backs and keep them (and their parents) happy.

43. Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy continuing his precision attack via the dink, the dunk, and the occasional chuck.

44. Watching Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee take a beating and continue to get up. He's like the bionic version of Drew Stanton.

45. NBC's fantastically non-partisan college football coverage kicking off with Georgia Tech at Notre Dame on Saturday, September 1. The game will start at 3:30, but feel free to tune into the NBC Sports Desk prior to that in order to get a good rundown on the day's sports happenings! (Or, you can just watch the happenings on every other channel.)

46. Watching North Carolina State head coach Tom O'Brien go back to Boston College on Saturday, September 8. Nice way to open up the conference slate for O'Brien.

47. West Virginia's running game--especially if freshman running back Noel Devine can see the field.

48. Seeing how Rutgers running back Ray Rice fares without fullback Brian Leonard leading the way for him.

49. Iowa's workman-like front four getting worked like flaggers on a four-lane highway.

50. Michigan at Wisconsin on Saturday, November 10--one week before the Ohio State game. Not much room for looking ahead for the Wolverines.

51. LSU's Ryan Perrilloux as a backup once again--and the trouble Ryan Perrilloux'll cause.

52. Georgia at Tennessee on Saturday, October 6. For his career, Georgia head coach Mark Richt is 3-0 in Knoxville.

53. A healthy C.J. Bacher quarterbacking a Northwestern offense that actually puts a little bit of fear in their opponents.

54. A competent Spartan sideline�actually, anybody that is looking forward to that is a liar. Watching John L. Smith was akin to watching the Shriners drive their little go-karts along the parade path amidst lock-step marching bands and the 4-H float. (In this analogy, the other Big Ten schools are the marching bands, with Penn State being the 4-H float on account of their distance from city folk.)

55. Michigan at Illinois on Saturday, October 20. We will get to see exactly where the Illini program stands.

56. Seeing how long it takes Minnesota to run an effective spread offense.

57. Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell battling Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan for statistical supremacy.

58. The Sooners never-ending quest for a quarterback that doesn't a) play wide receiver; b) lack cartilage around the knee; or c) work 160 hours in a normal week.

59. Seeing how Hokie linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi end their college careers. Last season, the two of them combined for over 200 tackles.

60. Adequate quarterbacking from a Georgia Tech quarterback for the first time in over four years!

61. Seeing what it's like to have a non-self-destructive North Carolina State Wolfpack team for a change. Imagine the defense's surprise when they find out that not all penalties are fifteen-yarders. They'll probably feel like they're getting away with something. They'll be looking at each other wondering why the ref only penalized them five yards on that last play. Of course, this may then encourage them to play three times as idiotically.

62. Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall finally getting the 20 carries per game that he deserves.

63. Seeing how a mutiny-less Arizona State team performs when USC comes to town on Thursday, November 22.

64. Louisville at West Virginia on Thursday, November 8.

65. California receiver DeSean Jackson cutting a punt return back up the middle and finding the seam.

66. Boise State at Hawaii on Friday, November 23. This will probably be the Game of the Century in the WAC, and the winner will probably be undefeated and headed for the BCS.

67. Charlie Weis' third defense as head coach at Notre Dame. Eventually it has to stop being Tyrone Willingham's fault, right?

68. Michigan freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett getting some playing time this season and shattering some 3rd-string breastplates and bursting a spleen or two with his Mallett-like arm. (You know you've arrived when you're an analogy for yourself.)

69. New Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh annoying the heck out of USC and Pete Carroll--and getting a 40-pt beatdown in the process.

70. Watching Buckeye linebacker Larry Grant continue his great spring into the fall.

71. Watching Iowa's young receivers develop. They may no longer have Drew Tate at quarterback�wait, is that even a bad thing?

72. The Hoosiers playing Number 13.

73. Notre Dame at Purdue on Saturday, September 29. The Boilers have never beaten Charlie Weis, losing both prior meetings by an average score of 42-25. If the Boilers have it in them, don't expect Tiller to go easy on an Irish secondary that escorts more touchdowns than the Air Traffic Control at O'Hare.

74. Kansas State at Auburn on Saturday night, September 1. We'll see if KSU quarterback Josh Freeman can pick up where he left off after a strong finish last season.

75. Seeing if quarterback Sam Keller can succeed at Nebraska after sitting out a year due to transferring from Arizona State because his team hated him and had no faith in him that he could win or play well.

76. Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice's continued run of unknown dominance.

77. Seeing if quarterback Josh Portis can win the Maryland job. If he can, Maryland will be fun to watch again.

78. Famed fire extinguisher shooter-offer and anti-vegite Willie Williams playing linebacker for Louisville.

79. Some contributions from Charlie Weis' recruits for once.

80. Watching Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart bouncing off tackler after tackler, then tweaking an ankle on a simple cut and being iffy for the next three games causing me to have to juggle my fantasy team. (I'm only looking forward to the first part of this.)

81. Watching Spartan safety Otis Wiley. He is a playmaker and a leader and Mark Dantonio will make him a star.

82. The Red River Shootout on Saturday, October 6.

83. Watching sophomore running back Mike Goodson become more of a point of focus for the Texas A&M running attack.

84. Having Buckeye safety Anderson Russell on the field for an entire season.

85. Penn State receiver Derrick Williams being used for more than just swing passes and scraping gum off of bleachers.

86. Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson perhaps getting Kentucky back to the salad days of Tim Couch and Jared Lorenzen. (Although "salad days" and Lorenzen probably don't go together.)

87. Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton again being able to run the ball with the benefit of a passing game.

88. Texas at Texas A&M on Friday, November 23. It very well could be the last thing standing between Texas and the BCS National Championship Game. Except, of course, for the Big XII Championship Game.

89. Mark Dantonio's first Michigan game as Michigan State's head coach--Saturday, November 3 at Spartan Stadium.

90. Drafting Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan #1 overall in my fantasy league. (And him not getting injured if I do land him, ala Louisville's Michael Bush last season.)

91. Seeing what Notre Dame has in freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

92. West Virginia at Rutgers on Saturday, October 27.

93. USC at Cal on Saturday, November 10.

94. Watching Myron Rolle continue his progression towards superstardom as he patrols the defensive backfield for the Florida State Seminoles.

95. Nebraska at Missouri on Saturday, October 6 for the Big XII North championship. Essentially.

96. Seeing if Penn State running back Austin Scott is a workhorse or a hobby-horse.

97. The Badgers breaking in a new quarterback. (It doesn't seem to bother anybody that Wisconsin will have a new guy taking snaps, yet it's somehow the big sticking point for the Buckeyes' hopes.)

98. Nittany Lion cornerback Justin King justifying the early pub he is receiving this season.

99. Watching USC linebacker Rey Maualuga plow though linemen, running backs, refs, the dude with the parabola-thing, the one lady that's always on the sideline that gets run over, Will Ferrell, Snoop Dogg, Erik Estrada, "Jeff" from Taxi and an oxidized Twiki.

100. Seeing USC safety Taylor Mays do the same thing as Maualuga, but keeping it on the field. (This being USC, however, Snoop Dogg would still be at risk.)

And this is why...

you can never argue that the Big Ten is as "big" as the SEC

We'll that's one way to celebrate a walk-off homerun

Yeah, I'm really, really bitter that the Brewers gave away Friday's game against the Cubs. Thankfully, there are things like this to make me feel better. (Make sure you have on your sound)

Prince is a starter and 3 other Brewers make the All-Star Team

Prince Fielder was named the starting 1st baseman for the NL All-Star team.

From jsonline.com:
Beyond his league-leading home run total, Fielder is tops with a .614 slugging percentage and second with 66 runs batted in, 186 total bases and 47 extra-base hits. At a position manned by the likes of Pujols, Ryan Howard and Derrek Lee, the 23-year-old Fielder had the right to be proud of being elected in his second year in the majors.

"It's an honor," Fielder said. "You've got the reigning MVP (Howard) and Albert is one of the best in the game. Hopefully, we'll all have fun and represent our team well."

Francisco Cordero and Ben Sheets were named pitchers for the NL and J.J. Hardy was named to the reserve roster.

Sheets recorded his 10th win on Saturday, tying for the most wins by a pitcher in the NL

With four representatives, the Brewers tied the New York Mets for most on the NL team.

from jsonline.com:
Cordero, who leads the league with 27 saves, received the most votes of any NL reliever in player balloting. Recalling how he was removed from the closer's role in Texas last season before being traded to the Brewers, the big right-hander was emotional after getting the news.

Sheets was one of five starting pitchers elected in the player vote, joining Philadelphia's Cole Hamels, Los Angeles' Brad Penny, San Diego's Jake Peavy and Atlanta's John Smoltz. He was the fifth-leading vote-getter of that group.

Hardy claimed his spot on the NL roster by getting the second-most votes in player balloting to New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. Reyes also won the fan balloting, and when the players overlap in the voting, their second choice goes.

"Coming into the season, I had no expectations other than staying healthy," said Hardy, who leads all NL shortstops with 18 home runs to go with a .284 batting average and 51 RBI. "To be voted in by the players is awesome.

"We're starting to get recognized nationally, and I think we should be. We've got a really good team."

The last time the Brewers had a started elected was Jeromy Burnitz in 1992. And he only made it due to an injury to someone else. The last time we had a guy make it on by balloting is Paul Molitor in 1988. And the last time we had four guys on the team was 1983, the year after we made the World Series.

Also, we tied the Mets for the most players on the team (for the N.L. anyway)

Brewers are hitting from every position

Congratulations to the Brewers, who, with yesterday’s win equaled their season high of 14 games above .500.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, heading into the weekend series at the Cubs, who are currently 7.5 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central.

Of course, the last time the Brewers were 14 games above .500 they were 24-10. They then lost 20 of their next 30 games. Let’s not go there again.

Yesterday’s game was full of big moments:

Backup catcher Damian Miller hit his first homerun of the season. It just so happened to be a walk-off 3-run homer. In the 11th inning.

The team swept the Houston for the first time in a 3-game series. We had swept them in a 2 game series in the past – but that really doesn’t count, does it?

Dave Bush came out of the bullpen to pitch the 10th and 11th innings. It was announced after the game that Bush would be the starting pitcher on Sunday at Wrigley.

The Brewers have now won 5 straight series after taking 2 of 3 from the Royals and the sweeping the Astros

This season the Brewers have a promotion called Walk-Off Wednesdays. On Wednesdays you can buy a player’s name and number tshirt for $5 in the Fan Zone shop at Miller Park. If that person hits a walk-off homer, you win an autographed bat. It’s unconfirmed whether or not they bought the shirts at the game, or beforehand, but there was a large group of Damian Miller fans in the stands from his hometown of LaCrosse all wearing Miller Tshirts. Apparently, it was their lucky day.

I was all prepared to talk about Ryan Braun’s hitting proficiency after he had gone 5-8 in the first two games, with a homerun and 3 RBIs. Of course he followed that up with a big 0 in yesterday’s game, thus making him 5-12 in the series, which is not really something to be excited about.

Last weekend’s series was also full of stellar performances. Friday night’s game featured a stellar performance from Ryan Braun who was 4-4 with a walk. Corey Hart had another great start in the leadoff position as he his another homerun.

Saturday’s game featured some creative double plays by the Crew due in part to some horrific base running by the Royals. Shortstop Craig Counsell was about 4 steps into the outfield and caught a pop-up, then flipped the ball to second to tag out the runner who decided to leave the bag on a pop-up.

There was also a 3-6-1 in which Prince fielded a ball and shot it down to second, where Rickie then fired it back to pitched Dave Bush who was covering 1st.

Sunday’s game, despite being a loss, featured spectacular play by Kevin Mench, of all people. Mench had 3 leadoff doubles and was stranded on base each time. He also caught a pop fly to left for an out, then rifled the ball to home where catcher Johnny Estrada made a play at the plate and got the runner out.
Also in extra innings, Mench led a surge that should have won the game for the team, but once again we weren’t able to bring him home. He stretched a single to right center into a double, beating the throw and almost sliding right past the bag. He was hugging the bag for dear life to keep himself anchored.

Corey Hart also stepped up in the bottom of the ninth, after Turnbow had blown another lead. Corey hit a homerun that was so close, I’m pretty sure the outfielder’s glove provided the extra inches to get the ball over the fence.

Also, in the minor leagues...

Brewers pitching prospect Manny Parra threw a perfect game last night in Nashville. It was only his second AAA start. Ever.

The left-hander struck out 11 and threw 107 pitches, 77 for strikes. The 24-year-old allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks while fanning six in six frames in his Triple-A debut against Iowa last Wednesday.

Full story here or here

I wasn't able to find confirmation, but my guess would be that this guy was pulled up from Double A when Yovani Gallardo was called up to the majors. Nothing like making a splash!

Congratulations, Manny!

In a complete reversal of fortunes...

Last season the Brewers were the only team in the majors to not hit a Grand Slam.

Johnny Estrada only seconds ago hit the team's fifth.
Before the All-Star Break.
To now lead the MLB with the most Grand Slams on one team.

Un. Real.

We just had a 9 run 6th inning and batted around the order. And the Astros loaded the bases with 1 out by intentionally walking Prince Fielder. The next batter was Bill Hall, who struck out. But Estrada didn't waste the opportunity and ensured the Brewers their 5th straight series win.



Also, in a completely unrelated fact, in the history of MLB, no team has ever had a closer with 30 saves, and a player with 30 home runs before the All-Star Break.

Negro League Night

I made it to four baseball games in the past 9 days. I was not at Saturday night's Negro League tribute because I was at Friday's game and today's game.

However, the uniforms were spectacular and I sincerely wish I was there. I have these screen grabs so that I can share the fabulous, uni-related detail.

Notice the Brewers' attention to detail. The black flaps on the butt pockets, the appropriate throwback batting helmets. Even catcher Johnny Estrada (well known for his stirrups and attention to uni detail) had a Negro League logo catcher's mask.

The Royals, on the other hand fumbled on the details.







The pitcher had it together.












Johnny Estrada's mask and a good look at the butt flaps.






















































Here's a Royal who did not get the memo on how to wear these jerseys.

Because people have such a high opinion of Wisconsin already...

University of Wisconsin hockey player Kyle Klubertanz was arreseted for "cow tipping" a molded cow in front of the Kohl Center last August.

Anything I could say really wouldn't be able to rival the story itself, so here you go:

Badgers' Klubertanz fined for cow tipping

Mike Miller — 6/21/2007 2:49 pm

University of Wisconsin hockey player Kyle Klubertanz and former hockey player Jeffrey Slinde were each assessed $200 fines today for tipping over a cow last August in front of the Kohl Center, home of Badger hockey.

Klubertanz, 21, of Sun Prairie, and Slinde, 22, of Madison, were on their way home from the campus bar scene at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 3 when they decided to tip over one of the more than 100 sculpted and decorated cows which graced various parts of Madison last summer as the Wisconsin CowParade.

They tipped over one of three cows which were placed near the Kohl Center and were spotted doing so by workers at the Kohl Center who called police.

When officers arrived at the scene and asked the pair why they tipped over the Badger-red clad cow, Klubertanz replied: "We were stupid."

All three of the Kohl center bovines, "Moo Rah Rah Wisconsin;" "If you want to be a Moosaic, come along with me," and "Looking for Bucky," were tipped over during the summer, according to the Milk Marketing Board, which sponsored the event.

After a brief court session today, Klubertanz, who will be a senior in the fall, said he thought it was the Bucky cow that he and Slinde tipped over. The base of the cow was damaged as was the right side above the udder and the left hoof.

Both Slinde and Klubertanz were charged with a misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property, but those charges were lowered today to county disorderly conduct, a forfeiture action which leaves the pair with no criminal record. Along with the fine and court costs, each has already finished 30 hours of community service by volunteering at youth hockey camps, said attorney John Hyland, who represented Klubertanz.

The damage didn't seem to diminish the value of the cows when they were auction after CowParade was finished. "Looking for Bucky" brought $11,500, while "Moo Rah Rah Wisconsin" brought $11,000. The "Moosaic" cow was tied for the top spot at the auction, bringing in $13,000, said Moriah Morris of the Milk Marketing Board staff.

The primary beneficiary of the auction was the new American Family Children's Hospital at the UW.

.....

First questions first: If this happened last August, why are we just hearing about it now?
Secondly, you'll notice that Klubertanz said he thought he was tipping over the Bucky painted cow. What exactly does this have to do with anything? As though, upon hearing this explanation, we will all say, "Oh, ok, if it was supposed to be the Bucky one. Well. Clearly!"

I still don't believe it...

Thierry Henry has left Arsenal and signed a four year deal with Spain's Barcelona.

There were talks of this trade last year, then Arsenal lost to Barca in 2006 Champions League final and the trade went sour. Now Henry joins Eto'o and Ronaldinho giving Barca what is the sickest front line that we've seen in ages.

Barca has apparently been chasing the World Cup winner for more than a year and the departure of vice-chairman David Dein from Arsenal is rumored to have really upset the clubhouse and Henry hasn't made a secret of his disappointment in Arsenal's lack of European success.

While I find it hard to imagine an Arsenal without Henry, I can appreciate the spectacular soccer that Barca is going to be expected to produce next season.

Now that the Henry deal is settled, the rumor mill turns to Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger and to a lesser extent, Cesc Fabregas. Certainly Arsenal is not without talent without Henry. I would think his departure should mean some more playing time for teenage phenom Theo Walcott, which should prove very interesting.

But rumors are saying Fabregas won't stick around now. I wonder if he shouldn't embrace this chance to be the most recognizable name on a roster.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

For your entertainment:

Matt Wise!



According to the Journal-Sentinel, Matt Wise thunked his head on the dugout on the exact day that one year ago he cut his hand on salad tongs.

Talk about being the joke of the clubhouse.

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.

Worst blogger. Ever.

Ok, I know I said I'd be back to write, but I haven't the energy. So I thought I'd give a list of the things I will absolutely, positively be covering tomorrow.

They include, but won't be limited to:

Prince Fielder's inside the park homerun and subsequent jump in the All-Star voting

Yoveni Gallardo's first major league outing

Geoff Jenkins' grand slam

My trip to Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore

Brewers' first series sweep since early May

and the Brewer boys on Young and the Restless - which I'm about to go watch now


hasta manana....

I'm ba-ack!

But I wont' be blogging today. Got a call last night for free tickets to tonight's Brewers-Giants game, so I'm off to that as soon as I get off work.

But I promise pictures and such soon!

Out of touch

So I'm on vacation starting 5 am tomorrow morning. As such, I won't be posting anything. I'm off to Washington D.C. and Baltimore for a long weekend. I'll be attending a game at Camden Yards and hitting all the sites in D.C. and eating crabs and doing all sorts of things that don't involve Milwaukee.

I'll be back on Tuesday.

Brewers give up a no-hitter

Detroit's Justin Verlander struck out 12 (a career high) and his fastball reached 100 mph last night as he threw a no-hitter against the Brewers last night.

Story here.

The Brewers' world is upside down

Francisco Cordero lost his second straight save last night and Geoff Jenkins was the team hero.

The game wasn't televised, so I can't tell you much, other than it was 6-6 going into extra innings. The Rangers scored those runs on 10 hits. We scored them on 20 hits. We left guys stranded all over the field - 17 in all. We ended up with 9 runs on 22 hits.

Geoff Jenkins hit a three-run homer in the 12th to lead the team to victory. Apparently Ryan Braun reached second on a error and Corey Hart singled off someone's leg.

The Brewers looked to have gained the lead in the 10th, but Tony Gwynn Jr. was called out at the plate.

From jsonline.com: "The Brewers caught another of many bad breaks in the top of the 11th when Johnny Estrada led off with his fourth hit of the night. Tony Gwynn pinch-ran and moved to second on Bill Hall's sacrifice bunt. Tony Graffanino then rapped his fourth hit of the night to center, and centerfielder Kenny Lofton came up throwing.
Replays showed that Gwynn got his hand down on the plate a split-second before catcher Adam Melhuse tagged him on the arm, but home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor saw the bang-bang play otherwise and called Gwynn out."

Go figure, one of the more exciting games of the season and it wasn't televised here.

Brewers lost twice to worse team in baseball; Cordero finally blows a save

While I'm incredibly disappointed in the outcome of this series, I've been on record before saying that there was on way Cordero would keep the pace he's been on.

That being said, I can't believe we blew a 3-0 lead in the 9th to the frickin' Rangers. With two outs. And nobody on. And it's Cordero's former team. I mean, if you're going to self-destruct, do it in grand fashion, right?

You know, these are the Rangers who have lost 12 of the last 16 and currently hold the worst record in the league.

From ESPN.com: "The comeback spoiled an impressive outing by Brewers starter Ben Sheets, who gave up five hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out six and walked two and was in line to win for the sixth time in his last eight starts.Texas didn't get an extra-base hit off Sheets and advanced only one runner as far as third base. Derrick Turnbow retired the side in order in the eighth inning, but the Rangers broke through against Cordero."

If I were our starting staff, I'd be mighty frustrated with the bullpen.
Dave Bush, Sunday night's starter, has been victimized by three blown saves in his 12 starts and the Brewers have lost his last five starts.
Sheets pitched 7 scoreless innings last night and didn't get the win.
Cappy threw a beautiful game last week only to have it thrown away by Turnbow.

It's so frustrating to see a team have so many pieces fitting together not be able to pull games out in the end. We have to get something happening in the bullpen or it's going to be a long season. Matt Wise is NOT THE ANSWER. Jose Cappellan is NOT THE ANSWER.

Chicks rule, guys drool

Filly Rags to Riches came from out of nowhere yesterday to win the Belmont Stakes. She's the first female to do so in 102 years. In fact, yesterday was EXACTLY 102 years since the last filly won the race.

Rags to Riches became the third filly to capture the Belmont -- Ruthless took the first running in 1867 and Tanya won in 1905. Only 22 fillies have tried the Belmont, with Rags to Riches the first since Silverbulletday finished seventh in 1999.

She's also the first filly to win a Triple Crown race since 1988, when a filly won the Kentucky Derby.

As if there weren't enough pressure, being the only girl in the race, but he owner and trainer were running a bit of a losing streak. Trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez, who both ended long droughts in Triple Crown races: Pletcher was 0-for-28, Velazquez 0-for-20.

But Rags to Riches has some seriously noteworthy bloodlines. Her grandfather was Seattle Slew. And her half brother won last year's Belmont.

Devil Rays are desperate

How desperate you ask? There bullpen is so overworked because their starters have been so inconsistent that SS Josh Wilson pitched an inning Friday night.

Not only that, but he pitched a scoreless frame and had a fastball reaching about 87 mph. He gave up just one walk and one single.

This game was interesting in that there was a 1 hour rain delay, after which TB came out swinging, getting an 8-2 lead. They then gave up a grand slam. So in two innings the bullpen gave up 8 runs. That's when they brought in Wilson, who outpitched the whole staff. If I'm the DRays manager, I show that video to my whole pitching staff and ask them why an infielder is doing better than they are. Then I threaten to send them to the minors and tell them to get their shit together.

Some more national attention

This article from the Dallas Morning News discusess how Doug Melvin has transformed the Brewers. Melvin was once GM of the Rangers.

MLB draft

I'll be the first to admit that I don't understand a thing about the baseball draft. There are tons of supplemental picks that you get if you lost a free agent and those picks come between the first and second round. Then there are all the rules about signing and sending guys to the minors and then there's the guys you can sign conditionally and send to junior college. I don't have a clue how this works. The only system more confusing to me is hockey.

Anyway, the real interesting thing about yesterday's draft is that Milwaukee had the #7 pick.

And they took a left-fielder.

Of course, we currently have two of those, Geoff Jenkins and Kevin Mench in addition to a large cadre of outfielders.

The Journal-Sentinel article said: "The Milwaukee Brewers saw a power-hitting leftfielder, not a power-hitting first baseman, when they selected Matt LaPorta out of the University of Florida with the seventh pick of the first round of the draft Thursday.
The Brewers raised some eyebrows when they selected LaPorta, who played first base for the Gators, because they already are set at that position for years to come with 23-year-old Prince Fielder.
But Jack Zduriencik, the Brewers' director of amateur scouting, quickly explained that the Brewers view LaPorta as their leftfielder of the future.
Above all else, it was LaPorta's offensive capabilities that caught the Brewers' collective eye.
"We felt that this, in our estimation, was one of the best hitters in the country and one of the best power hitters in the country," Zduriencik said.
The numbers certainly support that belief.
In his senior season at Florida, LaPorta hit .402 with 20 home runs, 52 runs batted in and 55 walks. He's a finalist for the Golden Spikes award given to the nation's top amateur baseball player."

The full article is here.


Apparently someone in the front office is finally realizing the Jenkins is not the future of this team. There is a new draft rule that says your picks have to be signed by August or you lose rights, so this guy should be playing single A ball before the end of the summer.

Hank Aaron gets commemorative plaque

As previously noted, some very enterprising people at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee decided to do a lot of really complicated math and figure out exactly where Hank Aaron's 755th home run landed.

This week they had the ceremony dedicating the plaque.

The story is here.

A video is available here.

Billy Donovan can't decide

First he left Florida to become head coach of the Orlando Magic. Now it appears he's changed his mind and wants to go back to Florida and he's asking the Magic to let him out of his contract.

Interesting.

More here.

Talking college football already

Over at Hey Jenny Slater, they've put together a Google Spreadsheet as an aggregate of many of the preseason top 25s out there.

Check out the spreadsheet here.

The overall consensus has Wisconsin at a cushy 7, with different polls putting us anywhere from 4 to 13. Considering we have a QB question mark, I find this surprising, but hey, I'll take it.

The code for figuring out which poll's are included is as follows

1. Southern California
2. LSU
3. West Virginia
4. Michigan
5. Florida
6. Texas
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisville
11. Ohio State
12. California
13. Auburn
14. Arkansas
15. Georgia
16. Rutgers
17. Tennessee
18. Nebraska
19. UCLA
20. Texas A&M
21. Texas Christian
22. Penn State
23. South Carolina
24. (tie) Boston College
24. (tie) Wake Forest

Brewers finally win a series

My attendance at today's game ensured a win for the Crew, giving their first series win in over a month. The last time we won a series was May 9, against the Washington Nationals. Since then we lost series to the Mets, the Phillies, the Twins, the Dodgers, and the Braves and we were swept by the Giants. At the end of the Nationals series we were at 24-10. Since then, we've been 8-15. The Brewers are a National League-best 21-10 at home

Our starting pitchers were superb this weekend. Despite getting absolutely screwed by the relievers, Chris Capuano was the king of yesterday's game. He had a career high 10 strikeouts and hit a home run.

Today, Ben Sheets struck out seven and walked one to move to 5-1 in his past seven starts. He pitched 6 shoutout innings.

Derrick Turnbow came in for the eighth and needed just 9 pitches to retire the side. Francisco Cordero remained perfect for saves, notching his 21st.
It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, though, as we stranded the bases loaded two straight innings and had a total of 17 men LOB for the game.

Some pics from today:







Corey Hart. Sockless. Boo.












The Racing Sausages (and mini-sausages) exited the field right in front of us.









Chevy, an official sponsor of course, had a big display out front for the All-Star game.









































In relief under the paint was each team's logo. The truck had all the logos and each car had the appropriate logo for the league. This is hard to see, but it's the Brewers logo on the truck. (and a very clear view of my Bucky Badger bag)

These are the articles I love to read

I'll link to ESPN whenever they have writers lead off a column like this :

The Chicago Cubs are the worst team in baseball. This is an indisputable, irrefutable fact, as obvious as the ivy on the outfield walls or the steel trough urinals in the Wrigley Field men's bathrooms.

Oh, what a good day to be a Brewer fan hanging out in Chicago Part 1

So I happened to be hanging out in Chicago on Saturday for my alumni association's crawfish boil (mmmm I love me some crawfish) Anyway, this was the day after the now infamous fight and I just happened to be in a bar on the north side during Lou's tirade.

It's spectacular to see a team self-destruct that isn't the Brewers. Hating the Cubs is something of a statewide pastime around here and I'm happy to say that they're coming to play at Miller Park starting tomorrow. We are notorious for having problems against them, so I don't want to do too much trash talking. But I'd like to say that you never see anything like this in Miller Park:

Oh, what a good day to be a Brewer fan hanging out in Chicago Part 2

Oh, I also took these pictures of Downtown. We were near the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Fullerton El exit (on the Red Line)

Cappy

Chris Capuano struck out ten, allowed 2 runs on three hits, single handedly scored half the Brewers runs for the day and didn't get a decision.

2 out of 3 ain't bad

The Brewers seem to have turned things around a little, winning last night and on Tuesday to make it the most wins we've had in awhile.

Wednesday's game featured spectacularly horrible pitching by Derrick Turnbow and I have to say that I'm nearing the end of my leash with this guy. I don't care how fast he throws, if he can't find the plate (or anywhere in a ten foot radius of it) or if he can't throw anything other than a fastball, he's more than useless to us. At some point we have to realize he does more harm than good.

Last night Francisco Cordero racked up his 19th save, making him a perfect 19/19 on the year. My only worry is that there's no way he can keep this pace. No one could expect him to. He's human and he certainly didn't show talent like this in season's past. That's how we got him traded to us. Unfortunately, no one's going to realize that and it's going to be all about how another pitcher is sucking it up.

I saw literally the two most unusual outs in the past week that I've ever seen before. I was at Tuesday night's game and it took multiple innings before someone could explain this to us. The ball hit Ben Sheets' bat, hit him, rolled foul and he was thrown out at first. It was a double hit.

Last night, in the ninth, Coco threw a pitch inside and the guy at the plate ducked and covered. The ball hit the knob end of his bat flat, rolled into fair territory and we threw him out at first.


Finally, Rickie Weeks was placed on the 15 day DL retroactive to May 30 due to chronic pain in the wrist he had surgery on at the end of last season. To replace him in the lineup, we recalled pitcher Jose Capellan.