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I think we need to hang on to Suppan in case there are injuries in the starting rotation. However, he should be the #7 starter behind Parra and then Narveson. The current situation is embarrassing--but I think Melvin and Macha are not the ones making the decision, they must know that Suppan is washed up. I agree with the earlier comments--Mark A. has to be calling the shot here. The Suppan contract was his decision more than anyone else's, and I think he's afraid to give up on him. Melvin and Macha may be allowing it, but they have generally listened to the fans in the past. If they ignore the fans, the sentiment turns on them and they end up getting fired. I refuse to believe that they do not realize that Suppan is washed up. I think Mark A. told them to give him a few starts, so not only are Melvin/Macha allowing this nonsense to continue, they will also face no repercussions for the decision, since Mark A. is ultimately responsible. Melvin and Macha are responsible for public relations, which is an impossible battle to win. Furthermore, last night's game was probably the highest rated TV game of the year, with lots of attention on the Brewers after a 20-0 win and the Cubs coming into town. Good luck winning any fair weather fans with that performance.

Len Kasper called Suppan the "lightning rod" for how fast he got off the field after getting taken out of the game.

Suppan reminds me of most of the pitchers from the 2002 team. He looks afraid to throw pitches in the strike zone because of what might happen to them.

I know we can destroy the Pirates, but the Cubs will not let us get away with these mistakes. The game should be 1-1.

This should be one of the most entertaining games of the year. Suppan is going to hear it if he gives up anything.

We've had this thread for some bad reasons, so how about a positive thread about Braun: 25 hits: 1st in NL 5 HR (tied 3rd in NL) 20 RBI (tied 1st in NL) 44 total bases (tied 2nd in NL behind Matt Kemp) 4 stolen bases (tied 6th in NL) .478 OBP .417 AVG 1.211 OPS Obviously, he isn't going to keep up this pace, but he is an early-season MVP leader and will likely start in the all-star game. What more is he even capable of doing?

From the Pirates perspective, this is made far worse because they got killed by the mediocre Brewers, not the Phillies or Cardinals or a perennial playoff contender. It seems like frustration has turned to indifference in Pittsburgh. They have a rich tradition but got left behind in the steroid/big salary era. Now they are left with the nicest ballpark in the majors but no hope of a winning team anytime in the near future. Yeah, the baseball team is bad, but the Steelers are all over the news and the Penguins are making another Stanley Cup run. I recently read that the Yankees make more money at the ballpark in one home stand than the Pirates do the entire season. The average attendance for the series was lower than any series in Miller Park's history. The Yankees payroll is 6 times greater than the Pirates. The Pirates payroll is less than 1/2 the next lowest team in the division. Even worse, baseball teams no longer trade away young talent like they did 5-10 years ago. The Pirates dumped their veterans last year, but instead of prospects, they got young but mediocre/underachieving players in return. Why would any rational person become a passionate fan of that team? They are in an indefinitely hopeless situation. If the Brewers were in that situation, I would not waste my time, even though I have followed the Brewers for over 15 years.

I forgot that on base percentage did not include "reached on errors". A real on base percentage should include the Fielder's Choice and Reached on Error--and even things like reaching on a K/passed ball should go in there. It might not make that much of a difference in 99% of cases, but when you are comparing two low-OBP hitters like Jason Kendall and Carlos Gomez, it could become significant. However, if one claims that strikeouts are equal to or better than groundouts, then it could get complicated fast.

He forces some of those errors with his speed, so I think his OBP is legit. Nice win today and we have 3 more games against the Pirates next week.

Braun is now hitting .400. He seems to love hitting at PNC.

Zaun had one of my favorite Gameday lines: "Swinging Strike (Blocked)"

Thanks for the advice! I have done more research and I have decided that I will try it this summer--I will probably go with the Nike Free. I have a medium arches and no known mechanical problems. At this point, there is nothing to lose since I will probably give up running if I have to struggle through any more long injury recoveries. I will probably get used to them by first wearing them around for normal walking for about a week and then slowly start jogging.

Nothing like the Pirates to cure a slumping Brewers team.

Madison seems like the obvious choice, as it has the highest concentration of Brewers fans outside of the Milwaukee metro area. It is a great baseball town, as I see people wearing Brewers gear everywhere and I-94 is always packed with Brewers fans driving into Milwaukee on game days. Brewers games are also shown prominently at sports bars. The Mallards are also well-supported. They average around 6,000 fans/game, for a total of around 200,000 per summer. Therefore, to be comparable with other AAA cities, Madison would have to keep their current average attendance, but for triple the number of games, for a total of around 600,000 per year. I like the idea, but I think it is nice to have the AAA team in Nashville, as we provide them with hockey players and they give us baseball players. Madison also is too small of a city to support a AAA team, especially since it is within a quick drive of Miller Park. The new AAA team would be competing directly with the Brewers for revenue and it would likely not win very many new fans, since everyone here is already either a Brewers fan or a transplant/college student with an allegiance to the Twins/Cubs/White Sox. Bringing in a single-A or double-A affiliate to Madison would be something worth considering, since it would bring in Brewers prospects instead of college baseball players, while using a slightly-upgraded version of the current ballpark. Still, there would be changes, since those who have been to a Mallards game know that they can get away with gimmicks that would not be possible with a team affiliate. If the Mallards were to change their extremely casual atmosphere, it may scare away some fans. The Mallards are also responsible for about 1/4 of the Northwoods League attendance, so there is also an issue with potentially damaging the NW league revenue. Unfortunately, there really isn't a city in Wisconsin that is suitable for a AAA team. The best idea I can think of is to get a AAA team in a northern Chicago suburb. Chicago is a huge city and most Cubs fans attend less games than Brewers fans due to the small size of the ballpark and high prices. I think there would be a big market down there for affordable minor league baseball, and it is within driving distance for most Brewers fans.

For those of you in the running world, you may know that barefoot running--or near barefoot running--has become increasingly popular in the last few years. Barefoot runners argue that modern shoes with thick heels and cushioning have grown too supportive and are actually weakening foot muscles and contributing to running injuries. I have run for several years now, always in well-supported running shoes, but I continue to struggle with injuries, even after I have seen a personal trainer to fix my running form and strengthen my leg and core muscles. It has become especially frustrating now that I am planning to run the Madison marathon at the end of next month and am well behind in training due to injuries. I closely followed a training program that gradually increased my mileage over the past 5 months, so the shoes are about the only thing left to blame. I have no intentions on running completely barefoot and it is far too late to change shoes in this stage of my training. However, this summer I will be due for a new pair of shoes and I noticed that a number of companies have started selling shoes that intend to mimic the barefoot running experience. The most intriguing are these Vibram shoes that look like a pair of gloves for the feet. Nike now sells normal-looking minimalist running shoes as well, and I'm sure every other company will follow in the next few years if they haven't already. So, I am interested to know if anyone has tried barefoot running and if so, what you think about it?

Despite the Brewers' misfortunes, today reminded me why baseball is such an awesome sport. There were many NBA and NHL playoff games today, but 2 remarkable baseball games are going to lead off Sportscenter tonight.

He should re-negotiate to get paid by the hour like the Cardinals grounds crew.

Bad call Edit: good call Edit 2: bad managing

They still have to get Pujols out again.

I'm cheering for this game to go on as long as possible.

The only chance of getting Ken Macha fired before October is a double-digit losing streak.

I have not yet seen Sheets pitch, but he is 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 IP. He does have 10 walks, which is only one less than he threw in 106 innings in 2007. The stats suggest that he is still a little shaky but generally back on the right track.

I am ticked off like everyone else here--I threw a few things after the game, but there is no reason to start declaring the season over or Macha to be fired because of one game. Bullpen management has been one of Macha's strengths over the last year, especially when compared to Yost. Yes, he messed up today, but when comments are made about Macha being a poor bullpen manager, it makes me wonder how closely some people here actually follow the team.

To all the bandwagon fans: thanks for cheering us on and enjoy the NFL draft! For the rest of us--there's still a long way to go and the Brewers will probably have many more 3-5 stretches this season. Go Brewers!

This season has not been much fun so far. It seems like they have played far worse than 3-5.