The Defense Was Horrible…., but the Hitting!
The errors just tick me off.
Routine plays kicked…, but the hitting was glorious. They would get behind in the game and the hitters just came through again and again. Prince killed the ball. His second home run was the hardest hit line drive home run I’ve ever seen. Cori Hart got two important rallies started with great at-bats with doubles. Hall hit the three-run home run to take the onus off of Suppan.
But how about the elegance of Ryan Braun’s off-balance single up the middle to get the game winner.
You just don’t have to get nervous with the hitters. Since the Mets series this team has come alive. The bats are on fire.
And despite Coffey’s first bad outing as a Brewer, the bull pen did a great job.
Just a comment about the home plate umpire, DeMiro. He sucked tonight. And I agreed with Cecil Cooper’s take on him. He called a lousy game. He didn’t give the players a consistent strike zone and it just made the game wilder. I hope he gets the bad notes from his supervisor that he deserves. He has to get his big league game on the next time he’s behind the plate.
But to their credit, the Brewers kept their cool and beat Houston and DeMiro too.
Can’t wait for tomorrow’s game.
It’s a Turning Point
I can’t see it any other way.
There are players on this team with heart and they played a major role in the game today.
Dave Bush has had his career in the toilet many times and yet he still came four outs away from a no hitter today. Only pitcher in the majors to get that close so far this early ’09 season.
Braun and Fielder both got their averages close to or over .300 this week.
The whole bullpen is pitching like Coffey, suddenly.
Bill Hall had a fabulous defensive play from beyond third in foul ground and then added a dinger for good measure.
And the Brewers took the series from the Phillies who embarrassed them so completely in the playoffs. Very sweet.
The Brewers will sweep Houston this weekend.
While We’re in this Rain Delay….
Okay Brewers fans…., while it’s raining in Philadelphia, let’s consider our situation.
Tonight the World Champions are making a point.
As the season continues, Ken Macha and his coaches need to earn their salaries by working their tails off going for balance. The Brewers best games, wins and losses, have been balanced contests where hitting, defense, starting pitching, the bullpen, and base running all were accomplished in better than average fashion. A good example is the 9-3 win against Cincinnati before the road trip began.
You know as well as I do that the ’09 Brewers are capable of this balance not just 30% of the time (their current standing) but close to 60% of the time (enough to win 85 games). And it’s good to see Hart, Cameron, and Weeks holding the fort while others get in gear (Ryan Braun hit his second home run today). It’s great to see Hart and Hardy try to change the subject by dying their hair, a simple act intended to shake things up.
Now let’s see Macha and his coaching team, shake things up where needed, teach the teachable, lift the spirits of the overly down, and get those base runners to steal their guts out.
Basking In A Great Win
I am unashamed in my lingering over the sights and sounds of the Brewers old fashioned win this past Wednesday night.
Of course, I’m hoping that new, positive memories will be added as the Brewers make their first road trip against some top talent.
But until tonight’s game begins, I’m letting my baseball mind enjoy the memory of five doubles, three home runs, tidy starting pitching, and three innings of one hit relief. And the joy the fans felt. The game was over in two and-a-half hours and they just couldn’t leave the building at 9:30 at night. They hung around, took lots of pictures with the scoreboard results as background, jawed with the ushers, and made some extra noise when they left.
Special memories include two home runs from Mike Cameron, a home run from Rickie Weeks, and Todd Coffee’s now signature sprint in from the bull pen.
Good stuff. And now let the weekend of baseball begin.
RISP Costly Again
The Brewers hit the ball hard often last night as they started their three game series with the Cincinnati Reds.
And there often were men on base waiting to be sent home to score.
But after Hart’s solo homer, there were opportunities but no results.
This brings up a new phenomenon in 2009,… teams pitching around Hart, Braun, and Fielder to get to Hardy for the final out. Hopefully, this gambit will be taken from opposing teams as JJ resumes his spot as one of the National Leagues best hitters. And there are signs, that that break out is in the works. But it’s a nasty, empty feeling when you can see this “away” pitching strategy working well for the visiting team.
Now We Know Where We Really Are
It’s really early in the season, but you pretty much know where the Brewers are this season compared to good talent.
There is some positive movement on a lot of fronts. Ricky Weeks is benefitting from some good instruction. Todd Coffee is back. Corey Hart has made his adjustments and is ready for the season. You can expect good starting pitching from Gallardo (last night was a one-off), Looper, and Bush. Prince is heading in the right direction. And I’ll risk to say that Hardy is starting to click. The bench is just fine.
These developments are very satisfying. I’m enjoying the growth.
And I think Bill Schroeder is correct when he says that Ryan Braun is getting close to seeing the ball with mid-season form.
But honestly, from these positives you can’t extrapolate even a Wild Card berth this year.
This reality check indicates that the General Manager and the new Manager have some strategic work to do or else the Brewers will take a quick step back into the mass of teams that won’t make the playoffs.
Cubs and Brewers Start Their Season Long Tussle
We can only hope that the majority of the games between the Brewers and the Cubs are as excellent as today’s game was.
Two strong teams struggled mightily with each other.
It was a classic.
The Brewer pluses were Ryan Braun’s RBI, Cory Harts home run, Ricky Week’s double that scored Duffy, Week’s heads up steal of third, and the contact scoring play when Week’s broke for home on Braun’s ground ball into the whole at shortstop. And there was Looper’s nice outing and Coffee and Villanueva’s relief work.
This balance was what we were looking for here.
And this team isn’t going to wait for the playoffs to make the drama happen.
Both teams are very strong. May their games together always reflect that strength. It’s great for the fans and for baseball.
Who Does Gallardo Think He Is?!!
The Giant’s manager had it right last night pitching to Yovani Gallardo. Jason Kendall is a wilely veteran. Many times last season he got a hit in a crucial moment powering the Brewers forward. Gallardo has hit a couple of home runs but off pitchers who are almost answers to trivia questions not shoe-ins for the Hall of Fame.
Pitching to Gallardo was baseball conventional wisdom.
And Yovani was having none of it. He instantly became the new leader of the Milwaukee Brewers. His great at-bat against Randy Johnson was a nose-thumbing of the conventional wisdom that people have been pouring into the public domain.
His home run was his call to his team mates to thumb their nose at baseball conventional wisdom. Of course, Yovani has some company in the anti-prognostication chattering class. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and yes, believe it or not RICKY WEEKS are part of Yovani’s brotherhood of very rude young players.
So, it’s a rush into Yovani’s posse or get trampled in the stampede.
Now, some of the older, more established players may have to dig deep to remember what rookie audacity feels like. But how could you not resurrect those old, crazy feelings of reckless abandon, when there are so many role models in plain sight. Besides, pretty soon the reckless, thumb-nosing part of the team will leave even the slow on the uptake in the Brewer’s locker room.
And fans, it’s time for attitude from you, too.
Cameron Catches Up With Johnson
Mike Cameron just cranked one to left and put the Brewers ahead despite Randy Johnson’s four strikeouts.
As the TV guys noted, Cameron had the Unit’s fast ball measured and with a flick of the wrists put the long ball out.
Now if Yovani Gallardo can catch his breath this should be an interesting game.
I believe the Brewers beat Johnson at least once last year so I don’t think they are THAT intimidated. Johnson has come out with some good stuff but I think when the Brewers get their second look at him, the hits will come more quickly.
Three Double Plays and Eleven Left on Base
This morning’s reaction to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story on the 4/7 opener in San Francisco is to note that the hitters had some struggles in the second half of the game.
The Journal Sentinel reported that the Brewers were “7 for 21 with runners in scoring position but grounded into three double plays and left 11 runners on base.”
Playing complete games is key, of course. Respectable pitching and better than average RISP hitting is what will keep the Brewers in the hunt this year.
Today with Gallardo pitching we’re halfway home. There was evidence yesterday of Dale Sveum’s work to get the hitters to go with the pitch. Let’s see if the hitters can have a complete game or, at least, less than three double plays and 11 runners left on base.
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