batman

Brooks isn't a magician, he can't be warming up in the bullpen and batting or on base at the same time. He was ready to come into the game already... it's not like he just got up. He was wearing his blue Brewers' coat and just standing there. It sure looked like he could have trotted in and hit had Nedley wanted him to. ~Bill

Didn't have a problem with the Brady Clark pinch-hit because it seemed obvious Yost instruced Brady to take the first pitch, squeeze on the second (Clark fouled off the pitch.) Since Yost knew he wanted to squeeze in the run, Clark was the choice, knowing he'd want to defensively replace Grieve for the top of the ninth, anyway. Yeah, you might be right, MassBrew. Kind of a strange call to want to squeeze there, though, don't you think? I figured that he saw something that prompted the squeeze call. I would have preferred letting Kieschnick try to drive in the run, but I can understand the desire to squeeze. Billy Hall came out on deck first, but he was called back... that lends credence to your assumption that the squeeze was on from the beginning. Not sure. Good point, regardless. ~Bill

I had a good time at the game tonight... I talked a bit about the crowd on the "good crowds expected" thread so I'll stick to the game, here. - Counsell continues to be impressive on defense. I feel pretty stupid for insulting him before the season and questioning whether he could even *play* shortstop, 'cause he's been phenomenal. I don't know if he's a Gold Glover, but he's gotta be one of the best SS's in the NL. Very good arm, solid range, and an absolutely flawless glove. The crowd went nuts on both of his assists, and they were both absolutely perfect throws. - Bennett isn't a very good defensive catcher. He did an acceptable job blocking balls in the dirt, but he let several skip away and had trouble corralling them after they bounced off his chest protector. His throwing attempts were both pretty weak, too. If we're going to have a second catcher who can't hit, I'd at least like him to play some good-to-excellent defense. Bennett seems average at best, and tonight was just another example of that. - Nedley totally botched the Kieschnick moves. With the pitcher due up third, he pinch-hit with Brady Clark even though he was planning on bringing Kieschnick in to pitch the next inning. He double-switched so that Clark would play right and the pitcher would bat in Grieve's spot, which turned out to be third in the following inning. Kieschnick was pulled mid-frame, however, and so he never got to hit. Instead, Adams finished up and was pinch-hit for by Hall. So instead of using Kieschnick to hit and then pitch and then giving Grieve another AB before removing him defensively, Nedley used Clark and Hall. I'd rather have Kieschnick and Grieve or even Kieschnick and Hall than Clark and Hall. That was just a poor move by Ned... why take the chance that Kieschnick will have to be pulled and not get his AB? Even if he wanted Clark to go in as a defensive replacement, Kiesch should have batted in the 9 spot and Clark could have just taken over in Grieve's #3 spot. - Dennis Tankersley doesn't suck. He was hitting 90-93mph with a good fastball and did a real good job of changing speeds. I don't know what his other pitches are, but it appeared that he threw something of a straight change (high 70s-low 80s) and two speeds of breaking ball, one about 82mph and one about 85. His control was pretty good, and he showed good composure despite the error behind him. I was impressed. - Wes Obermueller pitched well, too. His curveball looks really good in-person, but he did struggle with his control. Lots and lots and lots of balls in the dirt, and although the umpire seemed to be squeezing him he wasn't real adept at hitting the corners. Still, I can't complain... outstanding start for your fifth starter, and I'll take that kind of effort every time. - Jenkins looks lost at the plate right now. Absolutely no balance, he's jumping out at everything, and he is missing some balls by *feet*, not inches. Overbay doesn't look real sharp, either, and Grieve had a terrible night. I like that 3-4-5 combo but none of them have their "A" game right now. - Ginter played some outstanding defense at third. He made a couple of really tough plays, including the diving stop / double-play in the ninth, that Wes Helms would never make. He doesn't have as good of an arm, but his range is a lot bigger, especially to his left. He did misplay the ball that Giles tried to score on, but Counsell picked him up. It was a case of two guys converging and neither taking charge, as Ginter looked at Counsell and then stabbed at the ball when Craig didn't make a move to catch it. Neither one of them ended up making the play, and it bounded into shallow left. Hopefully those kinds of mistakes will be eliminated as the two guys play more together. - I can't say enough about Counsell. Really, really impressive. Anybody else take this one in live? ~Bill

Courtesy of the AP: Farnsworth's 2004 Independent League Stats: www.baseballamerica.com/c...farnsworth Farnsworth's Career Stats: www.sports-wired.com/play...Name=CABCJ He was a second round pick of the Mariners back in 1996 but missed 23 months following Tommy John Surgery. He was a Rule 5 selection of the Tigers and spent all of 2002 with them. From TopProspectAlert: Not sure yet what his role will be... he pitched out of the bullpen with Detroit but was a starter with Atlantic City. ~Bill

Swinging 3-0? And Bill Schroeder saying it's a good thing? Mkay. Ridiculous. Go home unhappy, folks. ~Bill

Any comment referencing "heart of the order" that includes Craig Counsell is an abomination to the baseball gods! C'mon, David... that's all Counsell has is heart. He's a scrapper and he battles. He gives it his all, taking it one game at a time, doing everything he can to help his team win. But you're right. JENKINS!!! ~Bill

Mr. Unappreciated with an unappreciated walk. Grieve's the man. ~Bill

Heart of the order is due up in the bottom of the inning... I'm not ready to mail it in, yet. Hoffman is good, but he's no Gagne. Have some faith, folks http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . ~Bill

If Catcher's interference is considered an error why isn't an AB charged to the hitter? Because it introduces a variable into the plate appearance that can't be easily dispensed with. If the batter would not have hit the catcher's mitt, would he have made better contact? Would the grounder he hit have gone through the infield? Would he have swung and missed but gotten a hit later in the PA? It's an error because it gives the opposing hitter a free base... but the hitter might still have gotten that base. 0 BB and 10 K so far is not a good sign.....also the lack of SLG in this lineup is starting to show, especially when guys aren't getting on base. Yeah, agreed. They're just not hitting, period. Even just putting together a string of walks and singles would be nice... they don't need a ton of extra-base hits to score runs, they just need some hits. ~Bill

Kind of surprising, 'cause Pena was pretty good about not abusing his young staff last year. The whole KC organization is in a state of panic, however, and I wouldn't put anything past them at this point. Like, for example, calling up a 20yo stud pitcher and trotting him out there for 100+ pitches. Uncool. ~Bill

The ball certainly beat Spivey to the base... was Nevin on the base? Maybe not, but Spivey could have made it a non- issue if he was actually hustling I think Nevin was off the bag... it wasn't even particularly close. But you're right - Spivey didn't hustle AT ALL and didn't even bother to slide. Not cool. ~Bill

Bad call. Ginter crushed that... we just can't catch a break. ~Bill

LOL... I thought the same thing. He must have dropped 15 f-bombs in about 10 seconds. It was amazing. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif C'mon, Gint. ~Bill

I jinxed him. Dag nabbit. ~Bill

Davis = the man. How long has it been since we've had *two* pitchers that we can be pretty confident about every time through the rotation? It feels like cheating. ~Bill

These guys are talking about food, constantly. There's a baseball game going on, fellas! ~Bill

We need an upgrade in RF. That guy suxors. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ~Bill

Clark is leading off? Um, okay. At least Nedley is being creative, so I won't get too upset. How 'bout: Counsell Grieve Spivey Overbay Jenkins Ginter Moeller Clark ? ~Bill

YEEEESSS!!!!! 24-21, .533 First time since June 25, 2001 that we're three games above .500. Sweetness. ~Bill

PODZILLA!!!

That picture makes him look like he just finished a three day bender. Yeah, that's what's funny... it's probably true. There were some games when he was with New York that he looked like he was tweaking in the bullpen. I don't know if he's into consciousness experimentation or not, but he can look pretty crazy when he feels like it. ~Bill

Jenkins is seeing 3.61 pitches per plate appearance. That's about what he has always seen, but it's not very good. ~Bill

Jeff Weaver looks like a tweaked out meth addict. And you're surprised...? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/roll.gif ~Bill

Notice that all 5 players on the Dodgers bench have a BA over .300 and OPS over .800-- of the starters, only Cora can say the same. On behalf of brewerfan nation, I would like to offer sincerest thanks to Jim Tracy. You da' man. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ~Bill

Today's lineups are brought to you by Creativity , which apparently Nedley is discovering. LOS ANGELES MILWAUKEE AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI Cesar Izturis SS .298 2 15 Scott Podsednik CF .262 4 14 Shawn Green 1B .220 7 20 Craig Counsell SS .250 1 7 Milton Bradley CF .259 6 21 Ben Grieve RF .247 3 10 Juan Encarnacion RF .231 6 23 Geoff Jenkins LF .265 4 24 Robin Ventura 3B .262 0 6 Lyle Overbay 1B .352 6 40 Jason Grabowski LF .239 4 8 Keith Ginter 3B .269 7 16 David Ross C .178 2 5 Bill Hall 2B .288 4 20 Alex Cora 2B .308 3 13 Chad Moeller C .240 2 13 Jeff Weaver RHP .286 0 0 Ben Sheets RHP .000 0 0 (3-5, 4.92) (4-3, 2.86) Five left-handers in a row to start off the order? This is freakin' crazy, and I love it. ~Bill