Fear The Chorizo

they are crushing everything right now

wow that ball was scalded

Balls hit at that level get lost in the ring of lights that go around the bottom of the 2nd deck at MP - you could tell he was tracking the ball, but completely lost it his last 2 strides when it was coming back down through the lights. I'm not going to blame Cameron completely for that, Kapler probably doesn't even get to that ball before it drops

Always a good idea to intentional walk a guy to get to Ramirez, then serve up a cookie for a 3-run homer.

it's really bad offense when you can't tell the starting pitcher's offensive stats apart from over half of the regular position player lineup giants...yeesh

With how the Cubs finish the season in September, and with how the Mets have been starting to come alive, I think we're going to be really confused with who to root for in that 4 game set prior to the last weekend.

I remember reading something a few days ago that the Cubs' and Cards' remaining schedules averaged around .500 between the two teams, and Milwaukee's was .477. We said it earlier this season, Milwaukee got the meat of their schedule out of the way early - the fact that they're 4 games behind the Cubs after losing their 2nd best starter after getting only 3 starts from him and after going through a brutal stretch of early road games is a good sign. Still, the Brewers do face alot of stumbling blocks on the road the rest of the season - I'm hoping the addition of CC really improves their chances at road success, since it tends to help when a top 10 mlb pitcher is starting for your team, no matter where the game is played.

5-2 start to any homestand has to be good, no matter how you get there and who you're playing. there will still be the stigma of Brewers struggling on the road, but I think the addition of CC will help erase some of that angst, too.

is it too much to ask for the Reds' pen to get 9 more outs before they let in more than 3 runs? Chad Gaudin, welcome to pitching in Wrigley Field!

The ball that Dunn hit should count for 10 runs - that was an absolute bomb

So it's gone from tipping pitches to a problem with his delivery? How many more reasons are there to throw out until they get to the correct one that points directly to why he gives up a ton of runs? IMO, the direct reason why he gives up tons of runs is because he is BAD. I agree wholeheartedly with Haudricort's assessment - there's no reason for the GM to say that they're going for it this year as long as Mota's still on this roster. With the current state of Gagne and Riske fresh off DL stints, Yost is pretty hamstrung in making bullpen moves: apparently he needs to be leery of using two of his key relievers on consecutive days, he has a LOOGY and another lefty who can't find the strike zone some days, Torres can't throw every single day if they want him to stay effective and Villy is their supposed long man. As the bullpen's currently constructed, Mota's roster spot almost HAS to pitch meaningful relief innings right now, which is terrible news.

Even though last night was a disappointing loss, I'd settle for a split and a 5-2 homestand to this point. The way the Crew typically limps into the break, any sort of homestand above .500 would be fantastic. Let's win this game, please

For what it would take to trade for Sherrill, who probably won't ever have a higher value than where he's at right now, no way - He wouldn't be any more valuable to the Brewers than Linebrink was last season. I think some in-house options (Pena, extra starter once Suppan's back) need to be explored before overpaying for a reliever.

good that the Cards lost bad that the Marlins, Phillies, and Mets won - If Brewer fans think the wild card race is between only STL and Milwaukee, we're mistaken. two of the those three NL east teams are going to be factors.

AAA roster may eventually have a bullpen payroll higher than the active roster in Milwaukee at this rate

I would have opted for any guy over Mota in that situation. If Gagne or Riske can't go in back to back games if need be, then this bullpen is in serious trouble. If it's to the point of not having other options in that situation instead of Mota, then I hope something's done to replace him on the roster with a reliever who hasn't been awful for the past few seasons. I'm not saying the rest of their pen automatically shuts a team down in that spot, but boy it's getting old watching Mota pitch in those situations. Overall, this game did a very good job of showing exactly what the Brewers need more of on their roster - good relievers and hitters able to adjust their approach/work the count. There are plenty of nights when home runs and good starting pitching mask their problems, but boy it's frustrating to watch when the same problems continue to cost them.

The point of this thread was to show just how many games Mota has cost the Brewers by pitching late in ballgames still in question - While Milwaukee was still trailing when he entered the game, once again Mota basically eliminated any chance of a Brewer win. While it stinks to score 1 measly run against Glendon Rusch, they were still in the game with 2 cracks at Colorado's bullpen. Instead of going with a reliever who's been effective recently, Yost decides to pitch Guillermo Gas Can and suck the life out of the park. If I'm a reporter, I just have to ask Yost why, and continue asking him why to the point of beating him over the head with the question so he stops putting Mota in a position to cost this team ballgames.

The Brewers traded away a garbage player in Estrada to pick up Mota, who has proven to be a garbage player as well garbage in = garbage out, and I'm really hoping I don't have to see him pitch when the game is remotely in question anymore. The Brewers have put too much at stake in this season to have what amounts to a scrap-heap acquisition continually blow games that the Brewers are winning or have a chance to win. I don't care what they're paying him, right now Mota's more valuable to the team if he's not on it.

Turn the computer back on, and find the Brewers down 5 runs instead of one....took me about 1 second to figure out who pitched the 8th inning. Why, why, why is Mota continually used in late inning situations? Can we end this experiment for good please? Even when he doesn't give up a run he tends to get himself or the relievers that have to bail him out in jams.

glendon. rusch. disgusting

Mulder leaves the game after getting one out and then throwing 8 straight balls - injured

First: If the A's and Cubs doctors are friends, wouldn't it be customary for one to be willing to send the other more work? Only sort of kidding - I respect that Harden has made 13 straight starts, but when the GM that just traded for the guy is openly talking about giving him offdays and acknowledging how much of an injury risk the guy is, it seems to be more of a preemptive PR move for when (not if) Harden has to spend time on the shelf. Second: Beane tends to trade pitching away when its value is at its highest - I'm not considering the trade as a firesale at all. In fact, Beane probably makes the deal because he doesn't want to rely on a high risk/high reward pitcher to anchor the rotation and postseason aspirations. It doesn't make the A's markedly worse or better, but the trade does give them some roster flexibility, and gives them a second baseman to replace Ellis next season (or after the trade deadline) Third: Depends on who is defining the Cubs' top prospects. Seems to me like many of the hyped prospects in the Cub organization haven't amounted to much, and the 'minor' prospects that were traded away in deals end up being the solid ML players. Fourth: Bedard to the Cubs isn't going to happen, because I would imagine that Seattle would want Marmol as the start of any package for him - that is if they're truly serious about getting equal value to what they gave up to acquire him in the first place. The Mariners have about 8 other players they want to trade away before even dealing with moving Bedard, anyways. There are also about 15 other teams to have been rumored to have inquired about Bedard - many of which will be much more desparate to trade for a starting pitcher. I still think the big loser is the Cards in all of this, but they've proven resilient and good enough to stay close through 90 games already this season. With the NL as weak as it is, it will probably come down to head-to-head matchups between the 3 teams as to who gets two playoff spots (Cubs being an odds-on favorite for one of them).

The 241 IP for Sabathia is WITHOUT playoff innings - there was alot of speculation that his poor postseason ERA had to do with him being burned out during the season. His first 3 starts this year where he got rocked around pretty good were tied to that as well. Honestly, I'm pumped for having C.C., and I hope the Brewers use him as much as possible - he won't be back next year, and some other team can deal with the results of his innings workload when they back the truckload of money up to his door.

With Glendon pitching tonight, part of me sees Brewer batters mimicking HR derby contestants when they motion to their chosen pitcher that the last pitch they watched lazily go by was just right and to keep throwing it there. I'm hoping they at least make Rusch throw them strikes before spinning themselves into the ground swinging for the fences. If they do that, it should mean a W.

I'm thinking that any moves the Brewers make to acquire players outside of their organization should be for pitching - they have a pretty solid position player lineup and bench going right now, and I'm not sure they'd be able to acquire an upgrade anywhere unless they gave up ML talent on the other end of a trade, weakening them somewhere else. Also, some of their minor league players may be able to step in and play some roles in September when the rosters expand.