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Who's this behind the plate again?

Level swing? That was more of an "oops" hit. C'mon Damien, make a liar out of me.

Another hit for Jenks. Too bad he won't be coming around to score. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

C'mon, Carlos, pound this guy.

That was more like I was pounding on the keyboard - not trying to swear, sorry.

Seven solid innnings from Ohka. Not too bad.

What are we going to do about Overbay, anyways?

Oh, no... Rickie Rickie Rickie... you let the ball play you. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

Maybe we need a different 1B for the second half of the season, then, Daron.

In other news... guess who's in the dugout and in uniform at Dodger Stadium for the Giants?

$#@$%! That's it, sit him and bring in Fielder.

I'm hearing an "OOOOOOO" echo out there.

Let's bring him in... WHOA... felt that swing all the way up here in Wisconsin.

Nice little dink double by Brady. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

And once again, everyone runs away when I post... (sniffing) I could have sworn I put on deodorant this morning...

After seeing that replay, I'm inclined to believe that "Ohka" is Japanese for "Grooved One".

Given the records of our opponets here on out, I'll predict 79-83 as the final record.

Here we go... my $0.02 (plus change): TED SIMMONS 21 Years, three teams (Saint Louis, Milwaukee, Atlanta). GP AB R H DO-TR-HR RBI BB SO SB-CS AVG SLG OBP OPS --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2456 8680 1074 2472 483-47-248 1389 855 694 21-33 .285 .437 .348 .785 HOF Eligibility: Ineligible (last on ballot in 1994; 17 of 456 votes, 3.7% - removed from ballot in 1995) All-Star Games: Eight games (1972-74, 1977-79, 1981, 1983). Awards: 1980 NL Silver Slugger (Catcher); No MVP awards; 3 top 10 MVP vote finishes (1972, 1975, 1977) Black Ink: 0 (Times led league in various categories; average HOFer scores about 40). Gray Ink: 95 (Times among leaders in various categories; average HOFer scores about 185). HOFS: 44.5 under the basic HOFS method; 48.3 under the modified method; average HOFer scores 49.4. HOFCM: 124.5 (Likely HOFer scores above 100; certain HOFer scores 130 or more). Most Similar Player: Alan Trammell (828 pts) ; a score of 950 or better indicates a large degree of similarity between two players' career totals. HOF in top 10 most Similar Players: Five (though only two are catchers) - Carlton Fisk (819), Gary Carter (811), Joe Cronin (803), Ryne Sandberg (789) and Bobby Doerr (787). Joe Torre (816) is his third most comparable player, and probably should be in the HOF. Post-season: All of them with the Brewers, amazingly. 17 games, 11-59, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .279 OBP, .356 SLG, .635 OPS. Brewers won only the ALCS, where he was 3-18 with 1 RBI and no XBH. THE KELTNER LIST Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball? The argument never was that he was the best player in baseball; best catcher, maybe ? after Bench and Carter. Was he the best player on his team? While he was a Cardinal, he was one of the best ? though they had Lou Brock at the time. When he was with the Brewers, Robin Yount was "the Man". When he was with the Braves, it was Dale Murphy. So the answer is no. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? The argument always went that Simmons was slightly better than Bench, especially after the Big Red Machine tumbled in 1977. After 1981, Gary Carter took on the mantle of "best catcher in the NL". Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Boy, other than the 1981 and 1982 pennant races with the Brewers, he didn't have much of a chance. He played for some second-place teams in 1971, 1973 and 1974, but in each of those years, he wasn't even the best player on his team ('71 was Torre, and '73-74 was Brock). Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime? He managed to hang on for three unspectacular seasons at the end of his career with the Braves. He was a replacement-level catcher by the time he was through in 1988 (in fact, Ozzie Virgil replaced him behind the plate in Atlanta). Is he the very best player in baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame? No, because his name is not Barry Lamar Bonds. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? The fact that he is comparable to only two catchers should say something. That both of those catchers happen to be near contemporaries suggests that he was right there with those players; however, he is not comparable to the one player who Carter and Fisk have as their #1 comp: Johnny Bench. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? The HOFS total of 42-44 suggests that he wouldn't be a bad choice. He is just a shade under Bench in that regard, and just a bit better than Torre and Carter. The CM total indicates he wouldn't be a bad choice, as he is a qualified candidate. Is there any evidence to suggest that he was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? For the time he was in Saint Louis, Busch Stadium was pretty much a neutral park for hitters. County Stadium was always very anti-hitting (Harvey's Wallbangers non-withstanding; the Batting PF for MCS was 95.4 over the five years he was in Milwaukee). Fulton County Stadium was a launching pad for his three years there, so his meager power numbers there can be discounted somewhat. Unfortunately, that means that he really wasn't doing that well once he left Brew town. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in? Right now, that player is his former teammate, Joe Torre. But Torre's eligibility is in the hands of the Veterans Committee, and they have refused to elect anyone in the last two votes. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? If you follow his Award Share totals, his best overall year was 1975. That year, though, he wasn't even considered the best catcher in the National League (Bench finished 4th in the MVP vote, while Simmons was 6th). He has those seven apperances in the top 20 in MVP voting, but doesn't even crack the top 200 in career win shares (0.68 ? not even a full award share). How many All-Star type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many go to the Hall of Fame? He played in eight All-Star games, with only two of them as a Brewer. From 1971-1980, Johnny Bench was essentially the All-Star starter for the NL, and six out of the ten seasons, Simmons was the other catcher for the NL. Carter was the other catcher twice (in 1979, all three were All-Stars). Joe Torre was the other catcher in 1971; Steve Swisher was the anomaly in 1976. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? He wasn't the best player on his team at any point in his career, though he was considered a big part of the '81 pennant winner in Milwaukee. I'd be more certain of the answer to this question if it was Joe Torre (whom he replaced as the Cards starting catcher) or Carter we were talking about. What impact did he have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? He discovered ? too late, I think ? that there was a definite advantage to playing in the American League, where he could DH. It might have been that move to Atlanta that showed others how unwise it was. Other than that, I don't think he did much. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider? Ted wasn't exactly the most personable guy in the world, from all accounts. The talk was that Herzog dumped him off on the Brewers because he had a rep as a "clubhouse lawyer" with the Cards ? thinking that he knew more than the GM/Manager. I haven't heard what he's been doing since leaving the majors, so I can't say yea or nay about his post-baseball life. And now, the big question: Is he a likely Hall of Famer? He's not eligible, unless they liberalize the HOF voting requirements for the Veterans Committee. Even then, I think people would rather see Torre in the Hall before him. If I had a chance to vote for him, I wouldn't ? sorry, Simba.

20,042 was the attendance. Scary moment there at the end, but I don't think I was alone when Daron mentioned "squeeze play" and I automatically cringed. I'm putting this team down for 79 wins. I don't think that, without Sheets, they'll be able to get to .500 - and considering we have games against the Cubs and Cards and Astros left, I don't think we'll have much margin for error.

Is the carnage over yet?

Hey, wait a minute, I haven't said anything yet! BRUCE SUTTER 12 Years, three teams (Chicago, Saint Louis, Atlanta - all in the NL). Record: W-L GP GS CG SHO GF SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA 68-71 661 0 0 0 512 300 1042.1 879 328 77 309 861 2.83 CAREER INFO HOF Eligibility: Currently eligible; on 2006 ballot. All-Star Games: Six games (1977-81, 1984). Awards: 1979 Cy Young (four times in top 5 in voting); One top 5 in MVP voting (1982), with 5 top-10 MVP finishes; Rolaids Reliever of the Year, 1979, 1981-82, 1984. Black Ink: 15 (Times led league in various categories; average HOFer scores about 40). Gray Ink: 30 (Times among leaders in various categories; average HOFer scores about 185). HOFS: 17.0 under the basic HOFS method; 48.2 under the modified method; average HOFer scores 49.4. HOFCM: 91.0 (Likely HOFer scores above 100; certain HOFer scores 130 or more). Most Similar Pitcher: Doug Jones (934); a score of 950 or better indicates a large degree of similarity between two pitchers' career totals. HOF in top 10 most Similar Pitchers: None. Most of his comps are current or recent star relievers; he is somewhat similar to Robb Nen (922) and Trevor Hoffman (905) among actives. Post-season: One year, two series with the Cardinals. I'd rather want to forget the WS, but overall he had two wins in relief and three saves in six games, with a 3.00 ERA. Cards won both series (obviously). And now? the Keltner List. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball? I was a big baseball fan back during the days he was in his prime, and I don't remember anyone saying that he was the best. People were usually arguing about Jackson, Rice, Carew, Parker; when they weren't talking about that, they were saying things about Ryan, Sutton, Guidry. Was he the best player on his team? He was, quite probably, during his first five seasons with the Cubs. As he bopped around from the Cards to the Braves, he wasn't as much. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? To say that Bruce wasn't the most dominant reliever in baseball during his career is silly. Guys like Tekulve and Quisenberry were good, and Fingers won the '81 Cy Young, but he was the most dominant, especially in the NL. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? He was a key reason why the Cards got to the '82 Series. He never really was in a pennant race when he was with the Cubs or Braves, though the Cubs were in shouting distance of the Phils in 1978. Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime? His injury in 1986 with the Braves really knocked him down from a dominant reliever to just another BP arm. After 1982, he had four seasons in six years with ERAs of 4.23 or more. He retired at age 35 ? so the answer is "no." Is he the very best player in baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame? No, because his name is not Barry Lamar Bonds. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? See above. Most of his comps are medium-level relievers, with the exception of Hoffman and Tom Henke (2nd, 927). Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? This is where things get sticky. There are currently only four "relievers" in the Hall of Fame (using the criteria of less than half of all games are starts, and less than 4.5 innings per apperance): Eckersley, Fingers, Wilhelm and (technically) Satchel Paige. Eckersley's HOFS was 34 (mostly because he was a starter for the first half of his career); Fingers is at 18.0; Wilhelm is at 30.0 (also because of the occasional starts) and Paige was elected to the HOF because of his Negro League contributions. Is there any evidence to suggest that he was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Well, to have a 2.39 ERA in a ballpark where offensive production was increased by 10% or more ain't bad. And his specialization as a "closer", with his one pitch (the split-fingered fastball) definitely indicated that he was better than his stats. If they had figured out how to use him when he was in Chicago ? and if the Cubs had been a better team ? he could have ended up with 350-400 career saves, easily. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in? Right now, the guy who is the best pitcher that is on the 2006 ballot that isn't in is Rik Albert Blyleven. The best closer? I'd say Rich Gossage; he actually is comparable to Fingers and Wilhelm. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? He won the CYA in 1979, though if you look close at that season, he probably shouldn't have won it. Joe Niekro for Houston and Tom Seaver for Cincinnati had better years overall than Bruce; in fact, I think Sutter wasn't even the best reliever in baseball that year. Jim Kern (remember him?) had a kick-butt season with the Rangers that was very similar to Sutter's 1979 season: W-L GP GS CG SHO GF SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Sutter 6-6 62 0 0 0 56 37 101.1 67 25 3 32 110 2.22 Kern 13-5 71 0 0 0 57 29 143.0 99 25 5 62 136 1.57 I'm not advocating Jim Kern for the Hall of Fame, though. It's hard to argue with five top-10 finishes in the overall MVP voting; that means that the writers who watched him play every day thought he was pretty special. How many All-Star type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many go to the Hall of Fame? He played in six All-Star games, five of them from 1977 onwards (mostly as the Cubs' token player). That's a bit below average for a Hall-of-Famer, but not bad for a pitcher. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? Well, he wasn't the best player on the Cards during 1982 (Darrell Porter, Ozzie Smith, Keith Hernandez ? take your pick); the other years when he was the best player on the Cubs, they didn't do anything. I'd have to lean towards no. What impact did he have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? He was the prototypical closer. He was the one who introduced the split-finger fastball (as opposed to the Forkball) as an "out" pitch for pitchers. He basically changed the way managers viewed the game ? get your starter through seven or eight innings, then give it to the closer to finish it out. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider? I haven't heard anything in the dirt about him, so I'll chalk this one up as "it appears so." And now, the big question: Is he a likely Hall of Famer? Bruce has been on the ballot for 12 years now, since 1994. It took him five years to break 30% in the voting, and nine years to crack the 50% barrier. He has garnered a larger number of votes every year over the last seven elections. He's also reached that vaunted 2/3rds level, where it's almost an afterthought that he could be selected. Without a whole lot of quality candidates on the ballot in '06 (top four new candidates: Willie McGee, John Wetteland, Rick Aguilera and the aforementioned Doug Jones), it's possible that one of two things will happen in this year's voting: (a) One or two players who've been on the ballot for a while will get in, like Sutter; or (b) no one will get the required 75%, and the HOF weekend in August 2006 will be very, very quiet. That being said, while it wouldn't surprise me if he did get elected to the HOF in 2006, I don't know if he should be there. I do think the BBWAA has given relievers a raw deal in the voting, and Sutter would open up a lot of deserving candidates (Franco, Gagne and Hoffman, among others); however, I think Gossage would be a better choice now, and Smith maybe a bit more deserving down the line. I will say this: if he don't get in this year, he ain't going in.

Oh for crying out loud, MILLER...

Okay, time to crank it up here. Doug's been elevating a bit too much for my liking; time to bring in Prince for his nightly appearance and give the game to the BP.

Ohka's a steal. Nice to not worry about the #4 starter. If Eveland can be the #5 starter, the Crew's in good shape there... Whoa, nellie... let's not put the cart before the horse. Ohka could have easily lost this game 6-5. We got lucky, dodged a few bullets.

BREWERS WIN! BREWERS WIN! BREWERS WIN! "Oh look, is that a lame Cubby Bear we just passed by?"