batman

He didn't throw a single breaking pitch since he hurt himself. ~Bill

He's not throwing right. It seems pretty clear that there's something wrong with his elbow or forearm. This is just stupid. ~Bill

If they let Zambrano continue, they're the dumbest franchise in the history of the universe. I can't believe they let him throw *any* pitches... if he suffered a serious elbow injury, those pitches could have made it infinitely worse. Ridiculous. Seriously. ~Bill

One thing that surprised me was the lack of hostility directed towards the Brewers. Most of their hostility is reserved for some current Cubs players, and for the Cubs' offseason moves or lack there of. It seems that Cubs fans don't really hate the Brewers, they just might not take us very seriously. However, I saw at least a dozen posts actually giving props to how the Brewers have improved. There seemd to be a pretty healthy respect for some of our pitchers and in particular Carlos Lee. Now, when the Cubs play the Cardinals, it's probably a different story. There are a lot of really great/intelligent posters at NSB. I think you'll find that baseball fans that frequent internet message boards like NSB and BF tend to be much more informed and thus much less obnoxious than those who don't. Yeah, that's elitist and not always true... some of the brightest baseball fans I know don't read or post online... but the difference between the sentiments you'll find on NSB and in the parking lot of Miller Park at a Cubs game are drastically different. I guess what I'm saying is that I have lots of respect for many of the NSB faithful... when I complain about the idiocy/obnoxiousness of Cubs fans, I'm talking about the ones that frequent "Wrigley Field North" and not those on NSB (well, some of them... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ). EDIT: BTW, if anyone is interested in reading opposing teams' message boards and blogs (or even newspapers), I am including coverage info in the DB series previews. I'll try to pick out a few of the better blogs and any high-traffic message boards (like NSB) before every series. Let me know if you ever have a suggestion! $.02, ~Bill

1:00 pm: ESPN Texas @ Nebraska Again, don't hold me to this time. This game is supposed to be aired on ESPN, but my current TV listings don't agree. This one is now on my ESPN TV listings. I'm going to record the Virginia game to watch later and flip back and forth between the Brewers and Texas/Nebraska. What a fantastic baseball lineup... joy, thy name is me. ~Bill

I just read from page eight on (that's when I signed off this afternoon; using a 50-posts-per-page setup) and this is just a phenomenal game thread. Kudos to everyone for a fine job today and to the Brewers for being the most awesomest team ever. Woohoo. ~Bill

I gotta take off and catch the rest of this one on the radio... good game chat, all! ~Bill

It always sucks when you get owned by a 72 year old pitcher with a grey beard (literally), doesn't it? ~Bill

Branyan's still in the on-deck circle. That's good to see. It sure is nice to have a catcher who can hit, by the way. EDIT: And as I say that, he punches out. Yikes. ~Bill

We all know Jenks is going to strike out a lot and we all know he will go through long cold streaks. Of course, nobody will eat their words when he gets hot and carries the team for a month at a time. It's not so much the outcome as it is the approach, to use Bill and Daron's favorite word. When Jenkins swings at everything, including but not limited to sliders that almost hit him, fastballs that fly over his head, and curveballs that bounce in front of the plate, he is just being stubborn, selfish, or stupid. It's one thing to strikeout on good pitches. It's quite another to strikeout continuously when the opposing pitcher throws you nothing but junk. I don't understand why any pitcher ever throws Jenkins a strike, to be honest. I like the guy, too, and it's great when he's hot and hitting homers. But he could be so much better. ~Bill

Who could have predicted that? Certainly not Nedley. Puke. In his defense, of course, it's not like he's got an abundance of useful players on the bench. Having three third-basemen is just not a good idea. Neither is having only one left-handed hitter on the bench, especially when said hitter can't hit right-handers. EDIT: Bill-Magruder could have stayed in the game. Yeah, in that case nevermind. Just dumbness all around that inning. ~Bill

Actually, I don't think we have anyone left on the bench to replace Jenks in the outfield since we already used Magruder. Just another reason our bench is intolerably poor. ~Bill

Argh. Don't swing at balls, CLee. I'd like to see Helms here (gasp). You could say that Jenks is due, but you could also say that Jenks is lost. ~Bill

Walks are so awesome. All the cool kids are doing it. Time to mount up, El Caballo! ~Bill

Why didn't Yost double-switch, if Bottalico was due up first in the top of the 7th? He could've certainly gone another inning. That's a good question... I thought that was why Cirillo was warming up in the bullpen (or the bullpen area). ~Bill

Hall can hit anybody if he's trying to go to right. So what you're saying is that Bill Hall can't hit anybody? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ~Bill

It sure would be nice if Ben Grieve was pinch-hitting right now instead of Mag-roto-ruder. Our bench is pretty horrible against right-handed pitching. And last time I checked, most pitchers are right-handed. ~Bill

That a boy, Russell!!! Wait until they throw you a pitch you can hit, and swing for the fences if they do. If not, take your walk or tip your cap and head back to the dugout. Swinging at sliders that almost hit you in the leg isn't going to gitter done. Good bye, Mr. Wood. ~Bill

The difference between Branyan and Jenkins is striking. ~Bill

Jenkins should try just not swinging. At least he'd have a chance to walk. What's the over/under on when Geoff will swing and miss at a pitch that hits him for the first time this season? ~Bill

LOL. Jenkins ran down that ball, spun, and fired as far and as hard as he could in the general direction of the infield. The Cubs fans are lucky he didn't guess wrong and kill somebody in the upper deck. Yuck. ~Bill

78 pitches for Wood...40 Strikes 38 balls... At least a handful of those "strikes" were balls that we swung at, too. He couldn't hit pavement if he fell out of a truck today. ~Bill

Jenks' at-bats so far: Ball, Strike (swinging), Strike (swinging), Ball, Strike (swinging), G Jenkins struck out swinging Strike (swinging), Ball, Strike (swinging), Strike (looking), G Jenkins struck out looking Three balls, five swings and misses, and one called strike. Ouch. ~Bill

That was hott. ~Bill

What is up with all this stealing? What is good for Scotty Po is not good for everyone. Stay put and let the big guys mash. ~Bill