Klements Bratwurst

Double switch for defense was why Weeks was pulled. Graffy booted a ball though in the ninth....

Ouch, that hurt, but it was a good win. I don't feel to bad, the Tigers sure can hit. Great series win. I remember last year they came in here and roughed us up 2 out of 3 and we knew we had a long way to go to play at that level the Tigers were playing at. Hopefully we have closed the gap. Now for the Cubs to lose and the Cards too!

I'd rather have our two worst hitters hit 1 and 2 in the lineup.

I put this last night in the vent thread on page 44. I hope it would maybe bring some of you to laugh a little, but the major Ned Yost supporters won't like it. I am not sure what camp I am in yet, but I personally am sick of the different lineups every day that Ned throws out and especially stringing together Gross, Counsell, and Graffanino 9, 1, 2. Dateline- Detroit, MI 5:30PM Visiting Clubhouse Ned Yost is waiting around his office with an empty lineup card. He is biting his nails. Scratching his head. He is having some serious anxiety about something. Yost: That darn phone better ring. It is getting close to game time. I need the lineup fairy to call me so that I can get the lineup out to the umpires. Where is he? Phone rings. Muffled voice: I have your 42nd new lineup today Ned. Yost: You do? Does it have some gritty veteran battlers at the top of the order? Muffled voice: You bet it does! Yost: Oh goodie, goodie. Just want I always wanted. I love gritty veteran battlers. But wait, Mr. Lineup Fairy. That phenom Verlander is pitching tonight. Shouldn't we go with our best offensive weapons? Muffled voice: No, Nedly. This lineup will allow you to rest the better players you have by giving them no more than 3 or 4 at bats by putting them at the middle or bottom of the lineup or not even have some of your better players IN the lineup. Yost: What a great idea!! I like giving my better players a lot of time off to rest. Especially after having two off days in the last five days. This way, it will make them stronger for tomorrow, or the next day. Oh goodie, goodie!! Yost: Can you tell me? Muffled voice: Here it is 1. Counsell 2B 2. Graffanino 3B 3. Hardy SS 4. Fielder 1B 5. Hart RF 6. Jenkins LF 7. Estrada C 8. Hall CF 9. Gross DH Yost: Wow! Two .600 OPS guys at the top of the order to rest my .900 OPS guy. Great thinking Mr. Lineup Fairy. This way, we will really be ready for Mike Maroth tomorrow, or that Durby guy for Thursday!! Muffled Voice: I call you tomorrow with a new lineup Nedly. Yost: Great! (Ned hangs up the phone) 15 minutes later after the lineups are put on the board at Comerica Park and Dale Sveum enters Ned's office. Sveum: Ready to go Ned? Yost: Yep, got a great lineup tonight. Sveum: I saw it posted, not sure that I like the top of the order but it is your call. Sveum shrugs his shoulders and walks toward the door of Ned's office and turns around. Sveum: Ned, I ran into the guys that had your job before you. It was weird, I was walking between clubhouses earlier today and I saw Davey Lopes and Jerry Royster with a lineup card and a few scratchings on it. Are they scouting for some other team because Mike Maddux has also seen them before around. Yost: Naw. I have never seen them around here before. What do they want? My job? Ha! Do they want to watch me to screw up like they did? Ha! Not going to happen, I have a secret weapon on my side!!!! This is the undisputed true story of the events that led up to the first pitch before the Milwaukee Brewers were no hit for the third time in the history of the franchise.

Dateline- Detroit, MI 5:30PM Visiting Clubhouse Ned Yost is waiting around his office with an empty lineup card. He is biting his nails. Scratching his head. He is having some serious anxiety about something. Yost: That darn phone better ring. It is getting close to game time. I need the lineup fairy to call me so that I can get the lineup out to the umpires. Where is he? Phone rings. Muffled voice: I have your 42nd new lineup today Ned. Yost: You do? Does it have some gritty veteran battlers at the top of the order? Muffled voice: You bet it does! Yost: Oh goodie, goodie. Just want I always wanted. I love gritty veteran battlers. But wait, Mr. Lineup Fairy. That phenom Verlander is pitching tonight. Shouldn't we go with our best offensive weapons? Muffled voice: No, Nedly. This lineup will allow you to rest the better players you have by giving them no more than 3 or 4 at bats by putting them at the middle or bottom of the lineup or not even have some of your better players IN the lineup. Yost: What a great idea!! I like giving my better players a lot of time off to rest. Especially after having two off days in the last five days. This way, it will make them stronger for tomorrow, or the next day. Oh goodie, goodie!! Yost: Can you tell me? Muffled voice: Here it is 1. Counsell 2B 2. Graffanino 3B 3. Hardy SS 4. Fielder 1B 5. Hart RF 6. Jenkins LF 7. Estrada C 8. Hall CF 9. Gross DH Yost: Wow! Two .600 OPS guys at the top of the order to rest my .900 OPS guy. Great thinking Mr. Lineup Fairy. This way, we will really be ready for Mike Maroth tomorrow, or that Durby guy for Thursday!! Muffled Voice: I call you tomorrow with a new lineup Nedly. Yost: Great! (Ned hangs up the phone) 15 minutes later after the lineups are put on the board at Comerica Park and Dale Sveum enters Ned's office. Sveum: Ready to go Ned? Yost: Yep, got a great lineup tonight. Sveum: I saw it posted, not sure that I like the top of the order but it is your call. Sveum shrugs his shoulders and walks toward the door of Ned's office and turns around. Sveum: Ned, I ran into the guys that had your job before you. It was weird, I was walking between clubhouses earlier today and I saw Davey Lopes and Jerry Royster with a lineup card and a few scratchings on it. Are they scouting for some other team because Mike Maddux has also seen them before around. Yost: Naw. I have never seen them around here before. What do they want? My job? Ha! Do they want to watch me to screw up like they did? Ha! Not going to happen, I have a secret weapon on my side!!!! This is the undisputed true story of the events that led up to the first pitch before the Milwaukee Brewers were no hit for the third time in the history of the franchise.

If Cordero is still lights out by the end of July, we will be in contention so this won't happen. Cordero will not be traded this year at all. The Brewers will do what is necessary to win, not give talent away for a Richie Sexson type deal. You would weaken one area and not necessarily strenghthen another.

Regarding the bullpen and Shouse's struggles, over lunch, I even tried looking at Shouse's stats so I could say that he stinks, but I can't say that yet. In 2006 he seemed to start slow, but came on nicely before struggling down the stretch and as I recall he was forced to pitch against a lot of righthanders due to injuries and ineffectiveness of the guys in the '06 bullpen: 2006 Game Log- Brian Shouse This year, he started strong and has struggled lately, but again his ERA is less than last year. 2007 Game Log- Brian Shouse I think again with Shouse it is a case of "what have you done for me lately" particularly with last night's failure and juicing one to Brian McCann is his last outing that resulted in a three run double. If he is still struggling badly a month from now, then maybe it may be time to look for another LOOGY. In regards to Matt Wise, he has been fine this year and was last year at this point. He struggled with injury last year and his second half went down hill. Lets hope for a reverse in fortune. 2007 Matt Wise Game Log 2006 Matt Wise Game Log

The Brewers do seem to have a problem with that sixth and seventh inning lately. If Villy is not available, it seems that Ned is stuck between a rock and a hard place with either leaving his starter to go another inning or pulling him to put in the Spurling's, Capellan's and Shouse's, (who isn't even getting lefties out lately). It is that handoff to our top bullpen arms that seems to be a problem. It is a tough call sometimes, like last night. Yost had a chance to take out Bush before that 7th inning after Counsell walked in the bottom of the sixth. Does Yost put in a pinch hitter and try a hit and run? Does Yost put in a power bat like Gross? Or does he do what he did last night, let the pitcher bunt Counsell over to second and then stick with him in the 7th inning? If Yost had one more decent option, preferrably a lefty option, he might have pinch hit Bush in the sixth. I am not saying Ned was wrong last night, but with Shouse's struggles lately and the rest of that Motley Crue named listed above, what can you do? All teams have holes in their bullpens, but we seem to have three with Spurling, Capellan, and unfortunately Shouse, whose job of getting out lefties is the reason he is on the roster, make it difficult for Ned to make decisions late in the game. I think Brian the Automator said that Yo could fix this. I might have to agree at this point.

I'd be happy with Braun just being in the lineup tomorrow and everyday. I just have a feeling Ned will give Counsell the start at third and Graffy at second a couple times this weekend (gasp). I hope I don't see a lineup that rounds out like this: 6 Miller C 7 Counsell 8 Graffanino 9 Pitchers Spot

Could our splits against Olsen get any worse? Time to turn that around!

And in three years, the next problem they will be asking themselves is, "How do we deal this Soriano guy?"

This might change things a bit: Craig Wilson to the White Soxs

It seems everyone hit the ball hard today except for Counsell. It has got to turn around soon!

Uecker said Weeks will probably have a few days off due to a sore wrist again. Did anyone catch anything said on the pregame show??? We don't need Graffy and Counsell in the lineup for too long!!! Free Ryan Braun, when healthy!

Glad to know that someone else thought the same thing too. As I stated above, It just reminded me of that last season after Tony got shot. That flashing light in the desert at the end of the last episode was odd. But then when they showed the previews for next week, there was Tony fighting with Phil Leotardo again.

See that is what I get trying to watch the show while struggling to get me 2 year old from constantly getting out of his bed. Thanks for clarifying this!

What did you guys take from the end of the episode on Sunday with Tony sitting in the desert and seeing that flash of the sun? Kind of like when he was shot last season, when he was in "limbo", he kept seeing that light in the distance that flashed. Plus what was the significance of Tony starring at the "bright white light" in the waiting room or whereever he was ? Didn't he yell, "I get it!!!" at the end of the episode with the flash of the sun? Probably the shrooms.... Sometimes I miss the symbolism of things, so I thought I would ask. For a minute, at the end of the episode, I thought I was seeing some sort of "I see dead people" scene from that Bruce Willis movie where he doesn't realize he is dead yet. Tony being in Vegas, kind of wandering around, seemed to remind me again of that "limbo" status he was in while in that coma a season ago. Thoughts?

One of the craziest things I have read in a long time was this mailbag article by Adam Mc Calvy: LINK I cannot understand how some Brewer fans think. Ok it makes a lot of sense to trade away the team's MVP thus far in the season, to bring Hall back to short, just so we can get Gwynn in the lineup. I almost fell out of my chair reading that one. Some people still think that the Brewers need to sell high on all their better players and trade them away at the break for 1 major leaguer and a couple of prospects. I bet Mc Calvy really wanted to blast away in that mail bag piece.

I totally agree. I believe that they are letting him heal up because come June 1st or shortly thereafter, he will be brought up to the big club to replace the offensive non production that currently is happening at the third sack. On another note Jeff Sackmann, who I love as a baseball writer, has a nice article explaining the difference of whether or not to add Braun to the big club and figures in all the angles that come with the decision (offense positives, defensive negatives, arby issues) versus Counsellnino. A great read. Here is the link: Jeff Sackmann on Ryan Braun

24-10 (WOW)!!! Pinch me. I must be dreaming!!

Coco with another K!!! 1 down 2 to go!!!

Now that we swept the Cards, I will accept a split against the Buccos or maybe even 1 out of 4. I don't want that but we do have margin for error. Then they can hopefully take 2 of 3 from the Nats. If we play .500 ball from here out in the next 135 games, the Crew will win 85-86 games and will be in the running for a playoff spot, thanks to this great start! Of course anything over .500, would get us over 90 wins.

I think it is time to DFA Elmer Dessens. Someone else can do a better job keeping the game close. Not allowing 3-5 runs every time he is in.

If I were Ned, I would throw the same right handed heavy lineup out there today against Duke that he used last night. I do like how our lineup can be protected against tough lefthanded pitching this year. Although I understand Miller will catch and Prince will be at first, which is obviously fine by me with Prince starting!!

Anyone have a local update on the weather in Miami? I saw 40% chance of showers. Any chance of a repeat 5-6 hour on and off again ballgame? Plus the extra frames from the 1st game, might make me very tired tomorrow morning if more of the same weather persists.