Klements Bratwurst

Don't worry Brewer fans. This Brewers team could be this decade's version of this team which ended up winning the World Series even though they were a dreadful road team. During the Brewers-Twins series, the pre game show was interviewing members of some of the great Twins teams and I remembered a comment that one Twins player made about how their 1987 team was so bad on the road, away from the Metrodome. The Brewers are 16-30 on the road after their first road loss after the All-Star game which is a .347 winning percentage. The 1987 Minnesota Twins were 29-52 on the road (.358 winning %). They couldn't win to save themselves outside of that blasted dome in a season almost 25 years ago. At the Metrodome, that Twins team won at a .691 clip in 1987. While it is hard to grab your bag of chips and a Brew and sit for three hours to watch this Brewers team lose 2 out of every 3 games on the road, as long as they clean up at home which currently they are sporting a 33-14 record (.702 winning %) and win a few on the road, they always have a chance!!! It is maddening though, but can history repeat itself???

The weather is fantastic in Boston again. We got lucky this weekend!

I have tickets for Friday and Saturday and am heading home Sunday 5pm. I supposed I am screwed now if tomorrow gets rained out (sketchy on and off showers forecasted tomorrow) and they probably now can't do the doubleheader on Saturday, correct? Probably will have to do it on Sunday, but my game will probably be the night cap on Sunday and I will be on a plane back to Milwaukee. Wonderful news. Glad the Bruins won.....http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif No rain please Friday or I will have to sell back my tickets to the broker that sold them to me...... Or please Red Sox schedule a later Saturday early game (3PM) and a night cap after that one for the second of the twin bill......doubtful....

For those fans going to Fenway, assuming no rain outs or missed starts from now until next Friday, June 17th the Brewers will start: 6/17: Marcum 6/18: Wolf 6/19: Gallardo I am going on the 17th and 18th and I am not sure I like the match ups. The Sox know Marcum well and I am afraid the Red Sox will bang balls off the Green Monster all day against Wolf. Hopefully Braun, Weeks, and Hart fine tune their long ball strokes for blasts over the Monster that weekend.....

What a bomb by Braun! Lets close it out Ax!

Braun has been bothered by this for awhile now it seems. Does anyone know when he hurt it? Didn't he do a head first slide on a steal attempt a few weeks back that normally he doesn't do? I just hope that nothing is torn in there......

I think there is something to the theory that the Brewers are built well for Miller Park, but struggle in the pitcher parks like in Atlanta, San Diego, and Los Angeles. If you look at the struggles the Brewers have had in scoring runs lately on the road, it has been at these kinds of parks. Obviously, when they went on that recent 10 game road trip it started to go bad in Houston, but teams can just go into funks where ever they might be playing. I just think the Brewers roster is short of the Jeff Cirillos, Mark Lorettas and Placido Polanco types in their line up that can work the counts, hit well situationally, and bunt when needed. When playing in these bigger parks, the Brewers need to string together 3 hits or so together sometimes to get across one run. They just don't do that well and in bigger parks you need to do that. Look at the games just played in the west coast, I bet they probably missed out on 4-5 Home Runs just in the 4 games played out there. If they were in a different park, they may have won 3 or swept the road trip. They didn't because they have Yuni Betancourt, Casey McGhee, Rickie Weeks, etc, who are players that slug well (except Yuni) but don't perform well in situational hitting and the Brewers can't win consistently in Petco relying on the homerun. There could be something said for conditions too this year when the Brewers have played on the road. While in Atlanta is was windy and damp for some of those games, with the balls not carrying. Plus they did have a tough set of pitchers to get through during that series making every hit an accomplishment. In Los Angeles and San Diego it was also cool and damp and the ball just wasn't carrying out there this past week. Couple the weather issues with the size of those parks, and again it really just doesn't work well in the Brewers favor in terms of how there offense is structured. Here are the games since 2007 that have been played out on that San Diego-Los Angeles west coast trip. Since 2007, the Brewers are 12-16 in these two cities, scoring 110 runs with an average of 3.93 runs per game. They are surprisingly 7-7 at Dodger Stadium with a couple of back to back 11 run games from last year, but they are abysmal 5-9 at Petco scoring only 3.21 runs per game: 2007 137 50 Sunday, May 27 MIL @ SDP L 0 3 Peavy Suppan Hoffman 2:27 41,246 138 49 Saturday, May 26 MIL @ SDP L 3 6 Germano Vargas Hoffman 2:43 35,975 139 48 Friday, May 25 MIL @ SDP L 6 8 Maddux Bush Linebrink 2:37 32,130 140 47 Wednesday, May 23 MIL @ LAD L 1 5 Penny Capuano 2:51 35,609 141 46 Tuesday, May 22 MIL @ LAD L 2 3 Wolf Sheets Saito 2:15 33,552 142 45 Monday, May 21 MIL @ LAD W 9 5 Suppan Tomko 3:07 33,446 2008 97 125 Sunday, Aug 17 MIL @ LAD L 5 7 Beimel Villanueva 3:02 45,267 98 124 Saturday, Aug 16 MIL @ LAD W 4 3 Torres Broxton Riske 2:56 52,889 99 123 Friday, Aug 15 MIL @ LAD L 3 5 Billingsley Parra Broxton 2:52 44,547 100 122 Thursday, Aug 14 MIL @ SDP L 2 3 Peavy Sheets Hoffman 2:25 30,145 101 121 Wednesday, Aug 13 MIL @ SDP W 7 1 Sabathia Banks 3:04 32,771 102 120 Tuesday, Aug 12 MIL @ SDP W 5 2 Suppan Baek Torres 2:34 28,373 2009 108 108 Wednesday, Aug 5 MIL @ LAD W 4 1 Looper Schmidt Hoffman 2:57 50,276 109 107 Tuesday, Aug 4 MIL @ LAD L 4 17 Kuroda Gallardo 3:28 45,535 110

"Attacking what seems to be a small sample (no sample?) type move by RRR with another flawed small sample argument doesn't wash for me. However, the argument that Gomez is hitting about his career norms and his career norms happen to suck is a better one to move him out of a high PA slot like #2 works better IMO." I am well aware of the small sample arguement around here for sure, but the pure set of hideous at bats Gomez has put up since last Friday has resulted IMO a stunning accomplishment of stranding 17 runners on base in just three games. His career norms do tell us he shouldn't be in the #2 hole, but these last three games of pop ups, check swing misses, and Rob Deer like whiffs should be the Grand Finale of the Carlos Gomez top of the order experiment resulting in the END OF IT.

Carlos Gomez has left 17 guys on base in his last three starts. 17! From the Journal Sentinal today, RR says that Carlos gets a little aggressive with guys on base: "No. 2 hitter Carlos Gomez left eight men on base, striking out twice with RISP and grounding out the other time. Once again, I asked manager Ron Roenicke how he could continue to bat Gomez second when he constantly panics and strikes out on pitches out of the strike zone. "He gets a little more aggressive in those situations," said Roenicke. That's another way of saying he panics and swings at everything that comes at him with men on base. Roenicke said, "I'm comfortable with him on balls in the (strike) zone." That may be, but pitchers know they don't have to throw pitches in the strike zone, especially with two strikes. Roenicke says he doesn't want to move Jonathan Lucroy out of the No. 8 spot because he is thriving there but the fact remains that the Brewers would have scored countless more runs this season with a productive No. 2 hitter." RR is comfortable with Gomez with balls in the strike zone. That is good to know. What manager isn't comfortable with any MLB player with pitches in the zone? I think RR is grasping at straws here trying defend his constant use of Gomez in the #2 hole. Maybe this three game stretch for Gomez has finally put a steak in the heart of the RR concept of keeping with Gomez in the #2 hole because of what he saw in Spring Training. He has got to see this too, right??? Or is he just too much of a player manager and won't remove Gomez until a much later point in the season? Can't we give Boggs some at bats until Morgan gets back???

"Bats are sick. They no hit curveball."

Hawkins warming up readying for the sixth or seventh. Kameron Low is still RR's choice in the eighth....ugh

My wife and I are flying out on Friday returning late afternoon Sunday and we are catching both Friday and Saturday games. Does anyone have any insight on which history related tours are the best to do in the limited time we have there? I've seen info on the Trollies and a walking tour, etc. but is there one preferred over the other? Looking to see the Revolutionary history sites, not excited to see an art museum or something like that (must sees- Bunker Hill Monument, Boston Massacre site, Faneuli Hall, Boston Harbor tea party site, etc, etc). Any good ideas? Also talking about seeing Cheers and maybe Sam Adams as well. Staying at the Buckminster right by Fenway Park.

To add to the Gallardo discussion- he has been worse- remember last August? He was awful from about mid-August until Labor Day, but rebounded nicely: GAME LOG: Regular Season 2010 DATE? ? ? ? OPP? W? L? ERA? G? GS? CG? SHO? SV? SVO? IP? H? R? ER? HR? HB? BB? IBB? SO? NP-S? ? AVG? WHIP? GO/AO? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? YEAR 14 7 3.84 31 31 2 2 0 0 185.0 178 89 79 12 3 75 5 200 3203-1949 1949 .251 1.37 1.09 April[+] 2 2 3.41 5 5 0 0 0 0 29.0 26 14 11 3 0 14 0 29 512-295 295 .236 1.38 1.43 May[+] 3 0 2.31 6 6 1 1 0 0 39.0 32 10 10 1 1 19 1 44 679-401 401 .229 1.31 0.82 June[+] 3 1 2.20 6 6 1 1 0 0 41.0 30 11 10 2 1 13 1 47 678-434 434 .200 1.05 0.80 July[+] 1 2 4.76 3 3 0 0 0 0 11.1 20 12 6 0 1 4 1 10 224-144 144 .364 2.12 1.30 AUG 02 A 2010/08/02/milmlb-chnmlb-1 AUG 02 @CHC 1 0 2.71 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 12 95-63 63 .232 1.27 1.06 AUG 08 H 2010/08/08/houmlb-milmlb-1 AUG 08 HOU 1 0 2.86 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 8 4 4 0 0 1 0 7 106-73 73 .236 1.28 1.07 AUG 13 A 2010/08/13/milmlb-colmlb-1 AUG 13 @COL 0 0 2.97 1 1 0 0 0 0 7.0 7 4 4 0 0 3 0 5 107-66 66 .237 1.29 1.02 AUG 20 H 2010/08/20/sdnmlb-milmlb-1 AUG 20 SD 0 0 3.28 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.1 6 6 6 2 0 5 1 1 76-38 38 .242 1.34 1.04 AUG 26 H 2010/08/26/lanmlb-milmlb-1 AUG 26 LAD 0 1 3.50 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.1 8 6 6 1 0 2 0 10 115-70 70 .245 1.35 1.07 AUG 31 A 2010/08/31/milmlb-cinmlb-1 AUG 31 @CIN 0 1 3.86 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 9 8 8 1 0 3 1 6 108-65 65 .251 1.38 1.10 August[-] 2 2 7.75 6 6 0 0 0 0 33.2 40 29 29 4 0 15 2 41 607-375 375 .296 1.63 1.36 SEP 06 H 2010/09/06/slnmlb-milmlb-1 SEP 06 STL 0 0 3.80 1 1 0 0 0 0 7.0 4 2 2 0 0 2 0 4 97-57 57 .248 1.36 1.13 SEP 12 H 2010/09/12/chnmlb-milmlb-1 SEP 12 CHC 1 0 3.64 1 1 0 0 0 0 7.0 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 6 108-66 66 .245 1.35 1.10 SEP 18 A 2010/09/18/milmlb-sfnmlb-1 SEP 18 @SF 1 0 3.55 1 1 0 0 0 0 7.0 5 1 1 0 0 1 0 6 101-60 60 .243 1.33 1.11 SEP 23 H 2010/09/23/flomlb-milmlb-1 SEP 23 FLA 1 0 3.57 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.2 7 3 3 0 0 2 0 9 110-70 70 .244 1.33 1.10 SEP 29 A 2010/09/29/milmlb-nynmlb-1 SEP 29 @NYM 0 0 3.84 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.1 10 7 7 2 0 2 0 4 87-47 47 .251 1.37 1.09 September[-] 3 0 3.77 5 5 0 0 0 0 31.0 30 13 13 2 0 10 0 29 503-300 300 .252 1.29 1.06

Counsell starting at 3B tonight.......Gomez in the 8 hole

I think just replacing Gomez and Betancourt would make this team better. However while I would prefer Nyjer in center, that means either Almonte or Kotsay in right since Hart is still too unsure about throwing a baseball hard because he feels he might feel a little tightness in his side and has no timetable for his return. He hasn't played in a game all spring yet.... jeez!

Just like last year. Blown Saves!

We need to close out games this April unlike last April...... I have a bad feeling.....

You were all over that a few weeks back when it was discussed whether or not Loe could start during Greinke's time away. Good call.

Nice job Rick!

"I'm just wondering how long this argument about Betencourt's crappy defense is going to rage. Who cares if it's glove or range? He sucks. " I think I have my first signature of the 2011 season. Nicely said RoCo!

Mine....The first game at Miller Park with the President throwing out the first pitch 2010 Opening Day with the roof open and the smell of the tailgates coming into the park

Oooops missed that. It was from a long long long time ago. Didn't quite find it in my search for this thread, and didn't remember that it existed. Sorry a lot has happened since then.....

Ok Brewer fans, now that we are just two days away from the first game of the season what is your prediction for the 2011 Brewer campaign? I know this type of thread is always one of the most fun to look back on at the end of the season to not only review my silly prediction but to see how the rest of you Brewerfan.netters are at seeing into that crystal ball. Here goes my 2011 prediction- the Brewers will finish at 86-76 and will finish first in the NL Central Division. The Brewers will get off to an OK start despite not being at full strength to start the season and will finish April with just a couple of games below .500. They play better ball in May and June when Zach Greinke joins the rotation and will compete admirably against that that tough interleague schedule in May and June. I think they will play .500 ball against the Rays, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees so this stretch will not sink the Brewers. The Brewers will near the All-Star game a few games over .500 and joining the Reds and Cubs nipping at the surprising Cardinals who hold first place buoyed by their the incredibly soft interleague schedule in which they do take advantage of. Coming out of the break, the Brewers will hit their stride against their weaker schedule especially in August where it is the weakest, setting them up great for the stretch drive. They will be nearing first place by September 1st and will hold off the Reds, Cubs and the fading Cardinals. The Brewers will clinch the NL Central against the Pirates in the 3rd or 2nd final game of the season. Prince Fielder will have a year like the 2007 or 2009 campaigns. Braun will do what Braun does with 30+ homers and a .315 average. McGehee will be a steady batter in the fifth spot in the lineup, and Gomez will start strong but will fade and will be soft platooned with Nyjer Morgan. All told, the CF position will be respectable offensively and not a black hole. Weeks will hit around 20 HR’s and hit .270 thus doing basically what he did last year. Hart will unfortunately perform back more to 2009 dealing with a few nagging injuries missing some time and cause the RF spot to perform below average offensively due to our poor bench and Hart missing time and under performing to last year’s numbers. Betancourt and Counsell will provide nothing for shortstop. I think this is Counsell’s last season, as age will finally start to show. Lucroy will be just OK. Betancourt will be a liability defensively but not much worse than Escobar was last year. The hard part is that Escobar was young and it was somewhat tolerated. Betancourt’s lack of defense and effort will be maddening. Counsell will not be able to play too much to help defensively. Gallardo will be the ace, and will win 18 games and pitch 200 innings. Greinke will be 10-7 and will miss all of April and will be moderately disappointing statistically but an improvement of a spot in the rotation versus the 2010 rotation. Marcum will win 13 games and will be mostly healthy missing only a few starts. Wolf will struggle early again, but gathers himself for the stretch drive posting an ERA just under 4.30 in 200+ innings and will also win 13 games. Narveson will pick up 10 Wins and an ERA just under 5.00. The bullpen will be strong but will take awhile to settle on a rotation out there. Axford and Saito will have lock down roles late in the games and Saito will be called upon to pick up a few saves. Braddock will hit the DL in late April and Mitre will be debacle. Kameron Loe will not be as good as last year thus causing some havoc in the middle to late inning set up roles. Brandon Kintzler will be a nice surprise and may step in there and Stetter will be back to his 2009 form. Sean Green will be just a guy. Who knows if Hawkins provides anything or where he fits in when he gets back? There is some depth in AAA to sort through if bullpen injuries set in. Go Brewers prove me wrong and win 95 games!!

Haudricourt tweeted now that Rosenthal is saying that Brewers are going to pass on Morgan now and go with Boggs and Reed.

I think I like the idea of getting Morgan as he fits into the speed model that Roenicke is trying to build. Morgan obviously has tons of speed, albeit he doesn't have the best stolen base %, but some of those extra intangibles he brings (outside of fighting with the water cooler) like the ability to take the extra base and get on base at a decent clip (.344 for his career) is something to take into account here. His 2010 campaign was his worst playing for the Nationals, and yes he was a -1.1 WAR player. However, over his career he is a 4.4 WAR total. His best season was just in 2009 in which he had a .757 OPS that year and a 2 WAR. Perhaps a change of scenery for him to a team with a legitimate chance to win might be good for him as it gets him away from his Pirates/Nationals days. I think as a 4th outfielder, he would be great insurance for Gomez in case he flops again. Also he would be the first choice as a late inning defensive replacement for Hart or Braun by a mile. Think of that speed in the outfield! Also, I think Kotsay plays a lot less if Morgan is added.