SeriesFinale

Well, I guess I'm one of those who doesn't find his candor or "honesty" all that impressive, regardless of whether it's "correct" or not. I love his passion, but I get a little disappointed whenever he does this. Yes, these guys are pros, and wins are the name of the game, of course, but call me crazy: I still think the character displayed by good teamwork and sportsmanship counts for something. And throwing your teammates under the bus (or making complaints), on multiple occasion, doesn't strike me as good teamwork or sportsmanship. McClung knows he's scuffled in the role he was thrust in, certainly. And I'm sure he'll have no problem going back to the bullpen once Parra and/or Bush or whoever come back, since he's always done whatever this team asks of him--whether it's plunking Pujols or throwing four scoreless on the last weekend of the season to help the Brewers snag a playoff spot--without complaint to the press. Anybody who watches him on-field and off knows he cares as much and has as much passion and drive as Braunie--just because he doesn't have the same level of talent doesn't make it OK for Braunie to call him out in my opinion. You don't do that to a teammate, whether you're in Pony League or MLB.

I definitely noticed, he struck out three times, once with a man in scoring position, and had an error I'm a huge Billy Hall fan, but he was mostly a disaster last year and seems to be getting worse. I agree that the walkoff bad-call the other day seems magnified by today's loss, even if there was no guarantee they win that one anyway.

So automatic loss wasn't the best description. But with Burns, McClung and Parra's last month, the team was in a hole before the games ever started. The offense helped out a lot, and Burns had a nice start his last time out, but a smart gambler would have bet against the Brewers every time in those games and would have made some nice money. Macha's managing today would not make a difference either. Pitching around Fontenot, Fox and even Lee may have saved a couple runs, but poor pitching would have caught up to him with a different batter anyway. I like Burns and McClung and think they can definitely help this team, but as relievers and not starters.Well, I happen to believe it would have made a massive difference in this game if a) Prince had made an effort for that Fox pop-foul, b) Macha had pitched around Fontenot (I think you had to pitch to Lee in that situation), c) he had pulled Burns before letting him pitch to Fox, and d) this team, which we knew lives and dies by its offense, was hitting. I don't necessarily want to see Burns and McClung out there either, but I also think it's unfair to automatically ascribe today's loss just to Burns. Brewers could've made a run in this game with him there. I guess the whole reason I'm not necessarily freaking out overall is that these guys are spot starters--if they were the long term solution, I'd be a lot more concerned, but I expect the team to start hitting again at some point and to see McClung, Burns, Smith and Narveson back in their normal roles (whatever/wherever they are) at some point in the foreseeable future.

Assuming we lose today, the Brewers will have gone (I believe) 2-3 with the fill-in starters. I'm not saying that's ideal or the Brewers shouldn't deal for another arm (if they can for the right deal), I'm just not tearing my hair out yet.That record is deceiving, though. Besides the last start by Burns, the pitching has been horrible and has killed the bullpen. If it wasn't for the offense scoring a ton of runs, they would be 1-4, and that doesn't even count Parra's last string of starts.Well, that's pretty much my point--if the offense is doing their job and Macha is doing his (why did Burns pitch to Fontenot or Fox in those situations), the mere presence of the spot starters have not necessarily meant "an automatic loss."

Assuming we lose today, the Brewers will have gone (I believe) 2-3 with the fill-in starters. I'm not saying that's ideal or the Brewers shouldn't deal for another arm (if they can for the right deal), I'm just not tearing my hair out yet.

Why was Burns even pitching to Fox?

This isn't just on Burns--he actually looked pretty good through 4 (why Prince didn't go after that Fox foul is beyond me). He is what he is. This righty lineup has been pretty stinky today and some of Macha's decisions today (starting with putting Billy in there) have been pretty questionable. Shame, I thought we had a chance for the split today.

Although I'd obviously rather see Yo out there tonight, tonight's matchup is amusing to me if only because I can't remember the last time two redhead pitchers faced off in a Brewers' game. Perhaps Ralph malph can throw out the first pitch (maybe Coffey can get the save).

Well, that was a maddening loss.

Come on JJ, let's let Pelfrey be the one with the tough luck loss.

Well, I gave him a pretty long leash, but I'm officially disappointed in Jody Gerut. Seems all he's been good for is helping Prince celebrate his accomplishments.

Welcome to brewerfan; people are entitled to their opinions here.

Pelfrey at 81 pitches. This one feels like it has shutout written all over it

Yeah, that was a waste of an at-bat at best and running our young gun into the ground at worst.

Well, I'm a little surprised that inning wasn't bigger for the Mets--good work by Jason there, I like to see the old man nail them stealing. How egregious was the fan interference in terms of turning a single to a double? Most times it seems like they'd be doubles regardless or maybe more.

Gahhhh, just when I thought Pelfrey was starting to lose a little control...

Yeah, I love Yokel too; I'm normally not a big lager guy, so the name on the bottle put me off at first, but this kellerbier is obviously a different beast. Man, I'm getting excited to get out to New Glarus this summer.

I'm apt to agree here--I certainly felt more like I was in Chicago up there than when in, say, Sauganash. ANYWAY, Evanston always had a touch of Madison to me--I always liked it there.

Heck, at this juncture and with those matchups, I'll take a 3-1 Cubs' series win as long as there is no dramatic late-inning comeback win in there that prompts a season-long tear. [/jinx] Knowing how the Brewers play at Wrigley and how the two teams are playing right now period, I'm holding out hope for a split though. Every time I think of Brewers' 4th of July weekend baseball, I always think of listening to this one on the radio while driving around looking for a parking spot in Chicago going to a friend's barbecue. Great game, very gripping. Both Sheets and Clement were dealing and given how short the game was, I literally spent most of it circling for a spot. But yeah, I expect to see more standard-issue Cubs-Brewers 12-10 bloodbaths than 1-0 duels this weekend.

Interesting, I saw a display in the grocery store the other day and while I love wheats, I've never had a really good experience with fruit-wheats either (in some cases *cough-Leinie's-Berry-Weiss-cough* terrible experiences), so I balked. I'll check it out.

Yeah, I'll second the Jack Stack rec as well. A bit more "upscale" atmosphere as it were than a Gates or Bryant's, but that was a large tasty pile of meat.

Yeah, I caught it...fantastic, right down to the last out. The Yankees/Mariners game was great, too. Jason Marquis is absolutely dealing in LA right now. Man, I love Extra Innings.

I used to go there for work relatively often and always enjoyed it. I like Gates as much as Bryant's but I know that's a minority opinion. I''m sure someone more familiar will speak up. The Atkins Museum there is great if you're into art, and the Negro League Museum is fantastic--it's a shame that he passed, Buck O'Neill was often there and willing to chat.

It seems like it's been that way for a while--at a certain point, even a great burger just isn't worth it to me.

"Nyjer, you're being traded from the Pirates." http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/51/518431.jpg "Yes! Where am I going?!?" "The Washington Nationals." http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/2008morgan-nyjer_160x210.jpg "..."