yount19.u

Cubs just lost. Cardinals won, though. The Brewers need a win badly tonight, otherwise thing will start to get uncomfortable with the Cards.

Nix also adds speed and pretty good defense as witnessed in his last start. Once Braun is back, we won't being seeing much of Nix anyway. He's just filling a void for a couple of weeks.

I'm convinced that even with Weeks hitting much better since the ASB, he is still a huge liability with his poor defense and high strike out rate. Unless he hits close to .300 for a season, I'm not sure he's worth the risk of having him play 2B and strike out as often as he does. My other rant is that it's flipping ridiculous that the Cardinal keep winning. The Brewers should have a comfortable lead in the wild card race at this point, yet the Cards are still hanging around despite half there team being on the DL. The Baseball Gods are really ticking me off! It's about time someone goes Tanya Harding on Pujols' knee.

Well, if the Brewers lose Sunday's game by a close margin, I will be blaming your cousin. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

1. How about May 15 this year against the Dodgers? 0-0 in the 7th and he gives up 6 runs. We lose 7-2. 2. August 15, 2005 against the Rockies. Brewers down 3-2 in the 7th after the offense just scored a run to make it close, and he gives up 3 runs after pitching great up to that point. We lose 11-2. 3. April 20, 2005 against the Astros. Brewers losing 3-1 in 7th and he gives up 3 runs after pitching great. We lose 6-1. 4. August 12, 2004 against the Braves. 2-2 in the 6th after the offense just tied it up (again, Ben is pitching well), and he gives up the game winning home run. We lost 4-2. 5. April 30, 2004 against the Pirates. Brewers up 1-0 in the 6th and Ben is pitching a gem. He gives up 3 runs and they lose 4-2. I only looked at games where he received a loss and I only focused on the later innings. I do recall other games where he has given runs back the inning after the offense has either taken the lead or tied it up for him, but I don't have the time to research every game he's ever pitched. This is not to try and show that Sheets is a bad pitcher. He is a very good pitcher and has run into a lot of bad luck in his career. But, as an ace pitcher, he seems to have trouble in the later innings with putting a team away. It could very well be fatigue, lack of focus or both. I do think there is such a thing as "toughness" or "grittiness" when it comes to pitching. To me it means digging down and finding that something extra to put away a team or a batter even though the pitcher may be tired or starting to lose focus. Sheets has been able to do this in games that I have watched him pitch, but I tend to lose confidence that he will do it every game. Watching C.C., I get the feeling in every game that he will dominate in those situations and he usually does. I get the same confidence (although unpleasant) watching Zambrano pitch in those situations as well. Call it what you want, but Sheets does not have the consistent mental "toughness" a #1 ace should have in my opinion.

I would agree that 3 runs in 6 2/3 is not a big deal for a pitcher like Sheets. But, giving up all 3 of those runs in the 7th inning after pitching a complete gem, and the offense staking him to a 1 run lead against a former Cy Young winner is a problem. It's a loss of focus that Sheets has had throughout his career that has made outcomes in situations like these so predictable.

I would be 100% for this trade, but I don't think Baltimore would go for it. It seems too lopsided in favor of the Brewers, even with the salary discrepancy. Maybe if Weeks and Hall start to produce more in the final weeks of this season (big if), it could get done. As for Mora's no trade clause, I would think he'd be ok with going to a playoff contender.

Games like these are the difference between winning the division and winning the wild card. Too bad, but at least it's a series win on the road.

Hit the showers, Bill. Thank you Mike!

The problem is Sheets tends to lose focus relatively quick in games like this and suddenly the team is down 2 runs instead of being up by 1. I know good pitchers do this all the time, and Sheets is a very good pitcher, the problem is, he does this too much (especially for a #1 type pitcher), and he's done it throughout his career. He just does not seem to have that killer mentality to put a team away when it counts.

You know, I thought it but didn't post it. I just felt that Sheets would give it back this inning. Late in close games when the Crew stake him a go ahead run or two, he seems to give it back. I could be way off, but I have seen him do this more than a couple times over the years.

Wow, I though Hall was out for sure. Nice slide!

It was a good pitch and could have been called either way. The problem is, though, that he called two exact same pitches from Peavy in the 3rd as balls.

Wow, now he's giving the outside and low end of the strike zone to Peavy. I am so sick of these umps changing the strike zone as the game goes on. They obviously want to loose their jobs to that automated system that's in the works.

The second strike to Durham in his first at bat was clearly ball four. The last two pitches Sheets threw to Peavy were clearly strikes. Peavy has also been squeezed on a few.

The fastball was up and in and looked like a ball. If it was over the plate I wouldn't take issue with it.

Hey Cameron, green light means swing at a good pitch, not anything!

I would love contraction, but I agree it will never happen. I hope they do not expand anymore as the pitching is thin enough as it is. I'm curious, why would they need an interleague game every day if they evened the leagues out?

Despite the fact that he was responsible for bringing baseball back to Milwaukee, I dislike Selig for the way he and his family poorly ran the Crew from the 90's on. With that being said, I fail to see how any baseball fan cannot see that he has been the best commissioner this sport has seen in a long time. Many people across the country hate Selig because of the contraction fiasco, the All Star game in Milwaukee and steroids. Contraction would have been a good idea if it was with both Florida teams, the All Star game was no more Selig's fault than it was the managers and players for trying to get everyone into the game, and steroids were around well before he took over (not to mention everyone ignored them and at least he tried to put policies in place to finally clean the game up). Since he has taken over, the game has never been more popular, the wild card and re-alignment have given more teams a shot at the World Series, revenue sharing has given teams like the Brewers a chance to be competitive, and the All Star game actually matters now. Given the state of the game now compared to where it was right after the strike, and the fact that he is up against the strongest players union in sports, I don't see how Selig deserves less than an A- as a commissioner. (edit: paragraph divisions --1992)

Before the season began, I would have been just fine with the Brewers getting to the playoffs and nothing else. Now I want it all; the division, the pennant and the World Series. This team is built to win now and, with CC and Sheets gone after this year, will not have an opportunity like this for at least a few more years. Obviously you can't win the World Series without getting to the playoffs, but it's how this team gets to the playoffs that will matter most. They need the attitude of "we will overtake the Cubs" instead of "we will not be overtaken for the wild card." Taking the division will give them home field advantage as well as a huge burst of confidence, knowing that they can beat anyone. It's World Series or bust people!

With the addition of CC, this west coast trip does not make me nearly as nervous as I've been in years past. On top of that, if Soup remembers to where his August Pitching Pants, we should do just fine. Here's to a reduction in sleep this week -- Go Brewers!

I have a feeling that with Yo, a mental block would be the last thing we need to worry about. As long as everything is structurally sound, he should be fine. I would think with any other pitcher, they would have to worry more about the mental aspect of recovery. I get the impression with Yo, that he's the type of guy to go out there and trust his body 100% as long as the doctors give him the ok. I also wouldn't put it past him to possibly start late in September, and possibly the playoffs, if he recovers his strength soon enough. This could be awesome for the Crew.

I know Sheffield was complaining about the platoon situation he is in right now in Detroit and said he would look at possible options with other teams. I would go to his first game as a Brewer and boo him mercilessly. No way would I be for this trade.

Darn you Craig, now we can't criticize you for a while!

Nice job! Brewers pitchers getting more than 3 outs too often lately.