AJAY

Is anyone else concerned that John Axford is being used a lot lately? I really worry about Ken Macha blowing out his arm. It also seems like Capuano and Hoffman rarely pitch anymore. I can understand going with the hot hand, but overall I just feel a little uneasy about the distribution of workload in our bullpen. I hope this does not hurt over the long haul.

I also want to give credit to Corey Hart for playing very well this season. I am very happy for him and the team. It's a nice story. I hope finds his way to the All-Star Game somehow.

I am sure guys like Randy Wolf were probably due to play better anyway. But it does seem that everyone has improved since LuCroy has taken over. I like that he can throw out runners trying to steal. That really makes a big difference.

This was a HUGE win. I badly wanted a victory to start off an important homestand on an encouraging note. A loss tonight would have really irked me.

Madbad, I totally agree that the folders are awesome. I do wish there was a way to come up with a custom icon or graphic for each folder. Right now, all the folders I have look the same. It's not as visually appealing.

Does Narveson not warm up enough before taking the mound?

I finally got it to work (although it took me five hours and several different attempts). I did have the latest version of iTunes, so that wasn't the issue. I am still not sure why it took forever.

Has anyone tried downloading the new iOS4 software for the iPhone or iPod? I am having problems downloading it. I keep getting stuck on the system "backup" phase, and it looks like nothing is happening. I waited several hours and nothing seemed to be progressing. Anyone else having any luck?

I have been waiting all season for the Brewers to show me something special. This was nice to comfortably beat a playoff-caliber team for the second night in a row despite being on the road. I am happy to see Prince getting hot and hitting an HR with a runner on base. It's great to see the starters pick it up, and it's nice to see the bullpen getting more rest lately. But let's finish the job tomorrow. Get it done boys !! No time for complacency.

I just saw Jeff Suppan on ESPN wearing a Cardinals uniform. It was beautiful not seeing him wearing a Brewers jersey. I had tears of joy in my eyes.

I am very concerned about how Prince Fielder has struggled when hitting with runners on base. He only has 22 RBI and it's already the middle of June. When he does hit a homerun, it's usually a solo shot that rarely seems timely in nature. I can't recall the last time he had a big game or a big clutch hit in a key situation. It seemed like last season, he was hitting three-run homeruns all the time. This year, that magic and aura seems gone. I am not only worried because it is hurting the team, but also because it is killing his trade value in case the Brewers feel the need to move him. Even if the Brewers decide to extend him, I don't have a good feel for what he is worth considering how little he is producing this year. The drop-off in production is quite confusing in terms of what to expect over the course of a longer-term contract. Is this an aberration? Or is this the start of a decline? In the short-term, should the Brewers give him a few days off? Should he be dropped in the batting order temporarily? Will being dropped in the batting order rattle his confidence or affect his relationship with management? Is he playing with injury? Is he out of shape? Just to be clear, I like Prince Fielder and I don't mean to sound like I am venting. I am just concerned (in a supportive kind of way) What are your thoughts?

Here is something unusual that I have experienced . . . For the past 27 years I have attended about 15 to 25 Brewers home games per season. During all those years of watching numerous games at County Stadium and Miller Park, I have only witnessed one incident where the benches cleared and a fight was about to occur. However, I have seen the Brewers get involved in bench clearing incidents in road games at Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and Chicago (White Sox). This is despite having only seen one game in Pittsburgh, two games in Anaheim, and four games at Comiskey Park during my lifetime. What are the odds ???

Nice to see a creative play for a change. That was quite entertaining.

I am happy they tied the game, but I am still waiting for that big extra base hit that clears the bases and breaks the game open. It's been a very long time since I have seen one of those.

Just once, I want to see Dave Bush do something against the Cubs. Just once, I want to see the Brewers hitters do something against Ryan Dempster What are the odds both can happen in the same game?

I am just appalled at how everyone except Gallardo, Hart, and McGehee have significantly regressed. I can't remember the last time Braun and / or Fielder hit a big clutch homerun with runners on base. Those two used to be explosive and were big-time RBI machines. What the heck happened to them? Hoffman, Hawkins, Wolf, and Davis have fallen so badly that it's incredibly scary. I don't understand this either. I feel bad for Doug Melvin because I don't think he had any way of predicting all this. I also worry about Axford being over-used. I really don't have any answers. Will firing Macha help? They badly need a shakeup to put some life back into this team.

This team is making me sick. Whatever happened to those big three-run homeruns we used to get in the past?

Best moment of the season so far. We haven't had much to cheer about, so this was really awseome.

I am so thrilled that Suppan is finally gone. The nightmare is over. But it still seems way too late. He never should have made the roster this season.

Does anyone else feel that Rickie Weeks is dropping a lot of throws from the catcher during stolen base attempts? It seems like he is afraid of the runner sliding into him and therefore he is not reaching out to catch the ball properly. The ball always seems to hit the tip of his glove and then trickle out to centerfield. In my opinion, it's becoming a problematic pattern. I hope the coaching staff works harder with him to fix this problem.

In response to this post, do you feel cheated and want your money back when the ball takes a funny "in-between" hop that one of our guys can't grab? Or when the wind is blowing strongly in and turns what would've been a home run into a fly out? The umpires are currently part of the game, like it or not, and no human being is perfect. It's part of the luck of the game whether any one close call does or doesn't go your way, just like in those other circumstances. If a ball takes a bad hop or the wind affects the flight of a ball, I don't feel cheated because nobody really screwed anything up in those situations. But when an umpire blows a call, it seems very correctible. I would rather have the correct call than leave things to the "luck of the game". I don't find the sport to be more charming because umpires make mistakes. I don't need the storylines that go with mistakes either. One could even argue that teams have made progress in improving field and weather conditions thanks to fancier drainage systems, better leveling techniques, and retractable domes. If it is really windy at Miller Park, they close the window panels to reduce extraneous wind effects. I realize not all stadiums have these things and that not all teams can afford this stuff, but the point is that technology is constantly being used to improve things wherever possible.

Yeah...MLB might actually set the precedent of getting calls right. This isn't about 20 years ago or even last year. This is about a completely fixable situation that just happened that needs to bring about change in baseball. I think that the "human error is part of the game" talk is a joke. Why do players wear batting helmets? People resisted that too, but it was still a good idea. Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn't mean that's the best way to do it. Just to clarify my position in case there was any misunderstanding . . . I also hate the "human error" nonsense that some people seem fascinated with. I also strongly support expanding instant replay. I expressed my views on instant replay in the other thread, and I didn't want to go off-topic by bringing that up here too. So I apologize if I came across as being anti-change when clearly I am not. But I do not agree with the commissioner overturning this particular call considering that more important calls were never overturned. I think MLB will open up a big can of worms if they try to overturn this one. If Seligs sets a new precedent, every team will start to complain to the commissioner whenever they are victimized by blown calls. If future blown calls are then not overturned by the commissioner's office, teams will complain that Detroit got special treatment but their team didn't. In fact, teams might get even more angry if the commissioner doesn't overturn blown calls that might have cost a team a victory (which in my opinion is even a bigger issue in regards to the integrity of the division races compared to a personal milestone in which the blown call did not affect who won and lost). Most blown calls also aren't on the last play of the game either, so how would a commissioner go back and try to determine what course of events would have occurred throughout the rest of the game had the call been made correctly. It's just too messy and impossible to do after the game is over. This is why I think Selig made the right call and left things open for future changes. What they need to do is implement changes for the future so that such mistakes won't happen again. I fully support that.

I don't think MLB should overturn the blown call by the umpire. I think it sets a terrible precedent. Should the Cardinals ask MLB to overturn the 1985 blown call in the 9th inning of Game 6 in the World Series? That bad call cost St. Louis a championship. In last year's tie-breaking game between Minnesota and Detroit, the umpire missed a call in which a pitch hit the batter's jersey with the bases loaded in extra innings. You could argue that the missed call cost Detroit the division title and eliminated their playoff hopes. If more significant blown calls were not overturned, I don't see how this one can be. Especially considering it didn't affect the outcome of the game in terms of who won and lost. But I do feel terrible for both the pitcher and the umpire. This will hurt them both forever.

I have always supported the idea of instant replay being expanded to overturn any bad call. History is full of thousands of examples where technology has either assisted or replaced what ordinary humans do. It's called PROGRESS. Every aspect of life uses technology nowadays. MLB should be no different. I personally don't understand the need to have a "human element" anymore. I would rather see the calls made correctly with replay as a tool to help umpires or settle disputes.I have been to games where the Brewers have lost due to a terrible call, and I literally leave the ballpark feeling angry, cheated, and wanting my money back. If the umpires were to overturn a call that originally favored the Brewers, I could live with it knowing that the play was reviewed and the correct call was made. I agree that there are a lot of details to be worked out, but I think MLB, the players union, and the umpires union need to agree in principle that the goal should be to eliminate umpire errors using any technology available.

I am not surprised they kept Suppan and DFA'd Vargas. Suppan probably makes a better long reliever for those lopsided games where you need a mop-up man.