yount19.u

Awesome.

Easy pop up to Rivera and the ball dropped as he tried to take it out of his glove. Rivera had time to argue this to the ump and throw out Loretta at first when he realized he would not get the call. Pretty funny play.

Uh oh, Loretta looking like BJ Upton on that one.

Thanks. Not nearly what I thought it would be. His ERA is only slightly worse than his career ERA and the WHIP is the same. I'm surprised there is virtually no difference between Wrigley and Miller Park. I have a sneaking suspicion his numbers vs his equal in Chicago (Zambrano) are worse. Any numbers on that? BTW, the whole point of this is not to try and show that Sheets sucks. I am just arguing he is not #1 ace material. I do feel he is a very solid #2 and he has had many times where the offense has not shown up.

I would have to admit that opening day would qualify as a big game as it was close, he did not give up the lead or tie, and they won. This got me thinking, though. Does anyone have the ability to get Sheets' numbers against the Cubs throughout his career? More importantly, I would be interested to see the number vs the Cubs at Miller Park.

Thank you Gabe! Maybe our luck has turned.

Did those first 2 pitches split the plate or is it just me?

It proves that he is not the #1 ace starter that many claim he is, and he does not deserve the type of money he will command in the off season. The bar is set high for Sheets for a reason. If this were Parra or Bush, I would not be suprised to see them struggle in big games or tend to tail off as the season went on. We should expect more from Sheets, though, as he is a better pitcher than they are. Fans expect the same of Peavy, Zambrano, Halladay, Oswalt, etc., why shouldn't we expect the same from Ben?

I never said Sheets was dominant in big games. As for Lowe and Garland, I would say both are above average and I feel Sheets is about the same quality pitcher Lowe is. Both are solid #2 guys, but Lowe has produced a bit more in his career and has been more durable.

There is no way in Hell that ball 3 was a ball. That pitch was perfect.

McClung is a way better pitcher than Sheets.

Since the Olympics, I don't recall one "big game" that Sheets has won. What I mean is any late season game with importance or a game where he's been involved in a battle. There have been games that he's won and dominated in, but close games where he is battling with the other pitcher (i.e. Peavy in San Diego), and he or the Brewers have come out victorious, I do not recall. Games where maybe he's not getting the run support, but needs to stay focused in order to avoid giving up the lead or letting it get out of hand I do not recall. Three games this year fit the bill and he failed in all of them -- Dodgers, Padres and Astros last night. Even Sheets admitted to trying to make the perfect pitch in situations like these as he knows the game is close and he needs to be perfect to win. This shows that he does not have the mentality to succeed like a true #1 ace. If your pitching well and you have been getting hitters out, why change your approach to try and make that one perfect pitch? Just keep doing what your doing and focus on getting each individual batter out. If you start to loose some velocity or "stuff," focus on changing up speeds, location and keeping the ball down. I'm sure this is all known by Sheets, but he has been unable to execute in "big games." The Brewers would be wise to take the Sheets money and re-sign Yo and Parra or maybe go after a Lowe or Garland. Sheets has not proven himself to be worthy of the type of money he will command, and with the potential injury risk, it would be money wasted. His stats show he is not pitching that bad, but stats do not show the emotional part of the game. When emotions run high in tight games and games in the second half of the season, Sheets has been unsuccessful. No stat will show it, but observations over his major league career will. It's no different than observing that Turnbow could not handle the pressure of coming in with men on (especially on the road), or watching Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks consistently try to pull outside pitches. Watching a team and it's players for as many years as most of us have, you develope some kind of intuition or gut feeling on what to expect from them, good and bad. This feeling may not always be correct, but it is based on some truths from past observations.

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif When Sheets comes back to Miller Park as an opposing player, I would love to have this t-shirt.

Another tough loss for Sheets. I guess he was just unlucky again.

I hope Sheets goes to the AL. If he does, though, I think he's going to be in for a rude awakening.

It was supposed to be outside and Sheets put it on a tee.

I mentioned this in the IGT for Sheets' last start. He has a problem with losing focus late in games that are close and that he's pitched well in throughout his career. Tonight a 1-2 hanging 2-seamer to Geoff Blum gets hit out for a 3 run lead. All he had to do was keep it down for 3 straight pitches and Blum would have struck out. There is a reason he has not won more than 12 games in his career, and it's looking like he may struggle to break that personal best again. He's a good pitcher, but he's not a #1 and the Brewers should not make an effort to re-sign him. Parra and Yo will be better in their careers, and cheaper in the short term.

If CC continues to pitch his team into the the playoffs, and the Diamondbacks miss the post season, I think he has an excellent change of winning the Cy Young and an outside chance of getting the MVP. Despite the shortened NL season for him, he would clearly be the most dominant pitcher during that time span if things continue. As for the MVP, if this all plays out as I described it would be hard to argue he's not an MVP, as without CC, the Brewers likely would not make the playoffs.

How can you say the potential for Yo to pitch this season is a failure when it has not even happened yet? As for Braun, if it's "nothing" like Braun said and he's just a little tight, I still sit him the rest of the Astros series and take advantage of the off day Thursday.

Exactly. The patented Rickie Weeks strike out gives the Brewers a 0% chance of anything happening in those a bats. But, if you put the bat on the ball, like durham did tonight, some get through even if they aren't hit all that well. As for CC, tonight is the exact reason you don't leave him in for the ninth. Best cases scenario is he gets some quick outs and gets a complete game. It's only a stat and the Brewers would have won it with the bullpen. The worst case scenario short of losing, is what happened. The defense blows a couple of plays and he pitches about 15 extra pitches to set a personal all time high. Ned has to know what happened to him in Cleveland last post season. The bullpen doesn't need rest; CC does and Yost needs his head checked after this game. BTW, I'm normally a Yost supporter so this isn't just another Yost hater bashing him.

No need to put CC in there for the 9th. Ned has to start thinking about October and the possibility that he'll start to wear down again this year. I know it's just one extra inning and the pitch count is not out of line, but it doesn't hurt to rest him when you have a chance.

I'm in Madison and no ESPN game. Can someone explain to me these blackout restrictions. I always thought if it was a home game and not sold out, it would be blacked out, but I have yet to see an ESPN game for the Brewers this year.

So they lose three of four to finish the road trip, but the ninth inning comeback yesterday was encouraging. I hope the offense can continue where they left off as CC is due to give up a few runs today. Cecil Cooper is also predicting a sweep of the Crew. I hope they post that article in the clubhouse and the Brewers turn the tables and sweep the Astros. They cannot overlook this series.

Weeks exits with sprained left thumb Another hand injury as Weeks exits with a sprained left thumb. I think this may actually be a good thing for the Crew. Two more strike outs today and one of them with the bases juiced. Still no signs of being able to turn a double play consistently. Let Durham get some time to prove his worth, call up Dillon and give Weeks some time in AAA to rehab and get his head straight (I'm not worried about the thumb). (edits: clickified link --1992; title updates --BtA, 1992)

Gets my vote for most entertaining game of the year. High drama, ups and downs, and that crazy plot twist in the end! Kapler wins the best Stuntman award while JJ gets the best Producer award. Bush is only the Best Boy, but he was the glue that held the game together. I'm going to bed now.