Wow. What an awful inning the Brewers bullpen had tonight in the bottom of the 7th. The worst meltdown of the year by far. The Crew was up a run going in, and even managed to get two outs and no one scoring (thanks to a couple masterfully pitched batters by Brian Shouse), but then comes Greg Aquino who promptly gives up the tying run and then walks (intentionally) Scott Hatteberg to load the bases and THEN WALKS ALEX GONZALEZ ON FOUR STRAIGHT PITCHES!!! Come on! You are a major league pitcher, throw a strike! There is absolutely no excuse. I would have been MUCH happier if Gonzalez had hit a grand slam, at least it would have meant Aquino was throwing strikes. But no. He walked the lead run in. Horrible job by the bullpen tonight. I’d also like to interject here that, personally, I think that Carlos Villanueva should be sent back down to Triple-A, as he is clearly not ready for the big leagues yet. When you have nearly four times as many walks as K’s, there’s something wrong. He needs to fix it fast, or he’ll be out of a job.

Oh, and by the way, this will be my last post for three weeks, as I am going home over break, and won’t have a chance to blog until I get back to StL. Until then, I’ll be forced to listen to Uecker and Powell on the radio instead of watching the Crew on MLBTV. That’s not something I mind however, as I’m a huge fan of Mr. Baseball, I think he’s hilarious. Until next time, GO BREWERS!!!

I would just like to commend the Brewers’ bullpen for the awesome job they did this past series against the Marlins. They were amazing in the extra-inning, two day game. Pretty much the whole pen was a part of that game. Also, kudos to Frankie Cordero for back to back saves on the same day. Turnbow was also lights out, as he’s been this whole season. If the Brewers manage to have a lead going into the 8th, it’s over for the opposing team.

This weekend is a big series for the Crew, as it is the first series against division rival and current World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Hopefully my Brewers can manage to actually put some of their runners on base across the plate. That has been their downfall this whole season. They are hitting the cover off the ball, but can’t produce in the clutch. Also, I’m going to the second game of the series. I am STOKED about that, as it’s my first game of the season. I’m looking for Capuano to pitch, so it should make for a great game. The weather forecast isn’t looking too pretty, low forties and rain, so hopefully the precipitation holds off long enough to get the game in. I’m from WI, so the cold won’t bother me a bit, it’s just having to sit through rain delays I’m not a fan of. Sheets, Cappy, and Suppan are going. That last game should be bittersweet for Word-Of-The-Day, as he’ll be facing his former team. I love it. Go Brewers!!!

Why are the Brewers so confounding? Once again, they outhit their opponent, yet lose the only statistic that really counts, runs. Geoff Jenkins seems to be on a tear, hitting a home run in each of the past three games. This past one was opposite field even. Great hitting. Both he and Kevin Mench have been hitting well, something I like to see since they are platooning. And, Tony Graffanino and WI native Craig Counsell are both hitting the ball well, too. That’s exactly what a manager wants, for both of the guys to want to be playing so well that he has a hard time deciding who should ride the pine for the day. Now, the Brewers need to just execute and put some RUNS ON THE BOARD!!! I’m getting sick of watching them leave so many guys on base. They are getting the hits, but no one can seem to hit a sac fly or base hit when it’s needed. And Billy Hall, what was going on in game one against the Fish, with the running on a fly ball hit to right? That’s fundamental baseball, no excuses. Unless it was a run and hit play, but still, to not even take a look back. Also, the center field defense needs to step it up some Billy. I know you are still learning the ropes, but dropping a catchable ball on the track to give Borchard the errored triple, and then letting a ball go over your head for the ground-rule double. Gotta judge balls better. But, I have faith that you will improve greatly over the season as you get used to it. I know it can’t be easy playing CF in the gigantic outfield that is Dolphins Stadium. My hat’s off to the pitching, they are doing a good job so far, too bad for Word-of-the-Day Suppan, he’ll get his first win soon. And, good luck to Claudio Vargas making his first start for the Crew tomorrow against a guy making his Major League debut. Traditionally, guys making their Major League debut against the Brewers tend to dominate, so let’s all hope the Brewers can continue their hitting ways and win a few!

Has anyone else watched the first two Brewers/Cubs games? It has been unbelievable. The first game, for the Brewers, was one of the worst games I have ever seen played, on any level of baseball. Seriously, I haven’t seen ball played worse since JV baseball. Everything went wrong. The Brewers hitters made Rich Hill look like an All-Star. The second game, played today, was better, but it just seemed like nothing went the Brewers’s way. Every ball that was hit hard was right at the Cubs, every little squeaker the Cubs hit managed to find some green, it was almost unbearable to watch. Geoff Jenkins did hit his first homer of the season, which was a BOOMING home run to right. Rickie Weeks also hit his first, which I am thankful for, as he is not off to a very good start. Corey Hart also hit his first HR in last night’s game, a monster shot to left-center. This guy can definitely hit some long ones, just watch him once in BP and you’ll know. Ben Sheets pitched okay, nothing like his Opening Day masterpiece, he just couldn’t shut the Cubs hitters down. Dave Bush pitched well after the horrendous first inning last night. Let’s hope that Cappy throws a great game tomorrow afternoon, because I would really like to get back to .500 for the season. You can’t get swept by a division rival at home. Just can’t.

I just finished watching the Brewers Opening Day game against the Los Angeles Dodgers via MLBTV.com. It was great. The biggest question coming into today was Ben Sheets’s health. If today was any indication of this season, the rest of the National League should watch out for the Brewers. The hitters tore the cover off the ball, particularly J.J. Hardy, who finished with three hits. The best part was watching Benny throw a complete game 2-hit, 1-run masterpiece. After a 3-1 fastball down the middle that Jeff Kent barely hit over the centerfield wall, Sheets dominated everyone and didn’t allow another baserunner until Brady Clark managed a double down the line in the top of the ninth. He didn’t score. So, right now, that puts the Brewers at the top of the division on pace to win 162 games. Let’s hope it stays that way. Go Brewers!!!