The Brewers were manhandled for the third straight day by the Chicago Cubs.  Little about the game was positive or worth mentioning besides a home run by Prince Fielder, a Mike Cameron RBI single in the ninth, and a Bill Hall two-run double in the ninth.

Offensive MVP: Cubs CF Jim Edmonds (2-3/3R/2HR/5RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Cubs SP Rich Harden (7IP/6H/1ER/0BB/9SO/1HR)

My Take:

Milwaukee may be nearing a long losing streak unless they can bounce back from a pitiful 1-6 homestand that has left them 5.0 games out of first place in the Central.  The main positive of this game was that the Brewers finally started to get hits with runners in scoring position, but it was too little too late.

News from Green Bay is that the situation regarding Brett Favre and his stand-off of sorts with the Packers Organization has not really progressed.  Packers’ president Mark Murphy traveled to Mississippi and spoke with the future Hall of Famer, and stated that a large amount of money has been offered to Favre to stay retired, but the man simply wants to play.  He also wants to play with the Packers, but due to the fact that Coach Mike McCarthy has already moved the team on, the team does not really want Favre back as a starter.  He still plans to attend training camp.

Oh yeah…the Brewers lost 7-2 to the Cubs today too.  Manny Parra did fairly well on the mound and very well at the plate with a double and a triple, but it didn’t really matter.  Milwaukee kept on stranding runners in scoring position and flailing like little leaguers at bad pitches.  Ryan Dempster was every bit as dominant as he should have been against a lately-anemic offense, pitching 7 innings only giving up one earned run off a wild pitch.  Parra gave up 5 earned runs in 5.1 innings, and although Carlos Villanueva and David Riske teamed up to pitch 2.2 scoreless frames, Brian Shouse continued his recent struggles and gave up a pair of runs to simply give the Cubs more bragging rights in the lopsided series.  Fielder hit a meaningless homer in the ninth.

Offensive MVP: Cubs SS Ryan Theriot (3-3/1R/0HR/3RBI/2BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Cubs SP Ryan Dempster (7.0IP/1ER/5H/1BB/9SO/0HR)

My Take:

Things are looking very bad right now for the Brewers.  They are making the same mistakes day in and day out with no sign of improvement.  They will be very, very lucky to get out of this series with a win.

Carlos Zambrano was clearly the better pitcher and the Chicago Cubs were clearly the superior team, and they proved why they have the best record in the National League on Tuesday.  They dismantled the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 behind a dominating start by Carlos Zambrano and an embarrassing performance by Ben Sheets, who gave up 6 runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings.  The Milwaukee offense did little worth writing down.  Chicago scored 5 in the sixth off of seven straight hits and an Alfonso Soriano sac fly.  The Brewers bullpen did fairly well, as Carlos Villanueva pitched 1.2 shutout innings, Guillermo Mota pitched 1.2 innings and gave up a single run, and Brian Shouse finished off the Cubs’ ninth.  Chicago’s Jeff Samardzija pitched the ninth and gave up 1 run off an RBI double by Mike Cameron.

Offensive MVP:  Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez (4-5/2R/0HR/1RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Cubs SP Carlos Zambrano (8IP/5H/0ER/2BB/9SO/0HR)

My Take:

So much for the Sabathia/Sheets one-two punch.  Surprisingly enough, I am not all too shocked, disgusted, or angered by this loss.  It will put the Brewers at 60-47, shave their Wild Card lead even further down, and shove them to 3.0 games out of first.  The Cubs are the better team right now.  There.  I said it.  Today and yesterday’s games should most certainly prove it.  Can Milwaukee resurrect the series with wins tomorrow and Thursday?  Yes.  Are they hard-pressed to do so?  It will be nearly impossible, as Miller Park is offering next to no home-field advantage at all, with what seems to be at least 45% Chicago fans present.  If they play as lackluster as they did tonight, I would not be the least bit surprised if they go to Atlanta coming off a 4 game sweep.

CC Sabathia pitched 6 and 2/3rds good innings, but was undone by a throwing error from Rickie Weeks in the 7th that gave Chicago the lead, the momentum, and eventually, the game.  The Cubs jumped out to a 2-0 lead early thanks to Alfonso Soriano.  He hit a lead off double and scored in the first, and homered in the 3rd inning.  The Brewers awoke in the sixth as J.J. Hardy homered with one out and Ryan Braun followed suit to tie the game and bring the crowd to their feet.  Prince Fielder singled and then scored on a double by Corey Hart (who was thrown out at third on the play to buy the big first baseman more time).  In the seventh, the bases were loaded with one out and Derrek Lee at the plate.  Sabathia engaged in a memorable battle with the Cubs’ slugger, but when it seemed as though the lefty had managed to get out of the inning, Rickie Weeks promptly threw the ball past Fielder at first to ruin the double play and the game in the same instant.  Milwaukee stormed back with two outs in the seventh when Russell Branyan hit a monstrous pinch-hit home run to knot the game at 4.  In the ninth, though, usually reliable Salomon Torres scuffled mightily and surrendered 2 earned runs on 2 hits and 3 walks (one intentional).  Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth for manager Lou Piniella, getting the save.

Offensive MVP: Cubs LF Alfonso Soriano (2-4/3R/1HR/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Cubs RP Chad Gaudin (1IP/0H/0ER/1BB/3SO/0HR/Win-7th)

My Take:

To Brewers fans ready to jump off a cliff…come on!  The season is far from over, the series is far from over, and there will be much more baseball played against the Chicago Cubs in 2008.  The Cubs are a superb team, and mind you, that statement is coming from one of the most passionate Brewer fans you would ever meet.  It is not easy for me to accept, but it’s the truth.  Tonight proves that when they are on, they are truly the class of the National League.  They battled and strained and held onto their lead, something Milwaukee has been unable to do too often this year.  Am I counting the Brewers out of the division race?  Heck no!  This was one of the greatest (and worst) Brewers’ games I have ever witnessed, and the atmosphere in Miller Park provided a glimpse of how electric postseason baseball would be should Ned Yost’s club reach that plateau.  As for this series: consider it a good and realistic outcome if the Brewers split.

Jeff Suppan was atrocious on Sunday afternoon, giving up 8 earned runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work.  He also walked one and struck out 3.  The Brewers were up 4-1 thanks to a Prince Fielder sac fly in the first, a Mike Rivera double in the second, and a two-run shot by Ryan Braun in the third.  But Suppan was hit and hit hard in the fifth, surrendering seven runs that were capped off by a three-run shot by Geoff Blum, his second of the day.  Milwaukee tallied one in the sixth off a J.J. Hardy single that scored Russell Branyan from second, but reliever Seth McClung gave up 3 earned runs off of 5 hits and 3 walks in only 2.0 innings pitched to crush any hope of a Brewer comeback.  Astros starter Randy Wolfe struggled, giving up 3 earned runs in 4.1 innings of work, but Chris Sampson relieved him and handcuffed the Brewers for the next few frames, giving up only 1 earned run.  In the ninth, Rickie Weeks tripled and scored on a ground-out by Hardy.

Offensive MVP: Astros 3B Geoff Blum (2-4/2R/2H/2HR/4RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Astros RP Chris Sampson (2.2IP/2H/1ER/0BB/2SO/0HR)

My Take:

So long first place.  This was one of the tougher losses of 2008, but it is simply part of the ebb and flow of a 162 game season.  It would have been nice for the Brewers to have a little momentum going into their 4 game series with Chicago, but that’s just not the way it turned out.  Suppan is often up and down throughout a year, so he could easily bounce back next time.  The upcoming four games will say a lot about whether the Brewers are truly a contender or just a pretender, but even the outcome of that series should be taken with a grain of salt.

An electric crowd of 43,489 was on hand to witness the Brewers rally from down 2-4 thanks to another unbelievable game by Ryan Braun.  Dave Bush was not sharp by any means on Saturday evening, and he only pitched 5.0 innings, gave up 4 earned runs and 9 hits in the process.  He was in line for the loss in the fourth when Astros’ right-fielder Hunter Pence crushed a hanging curveball for a solo home run that gave his club a 3-2 lead.  The Brewers had staked their right-hander a 2-0 advantage thanks to a pair of sacrifice flies by Ryan Braun (one in the first inning that scored Ray Durham and one in the third that brought the second-baseman in again).  After Lance Berkman knocked in Kazuo Matsui in the fifth, Houston had a two run lead that held up until the bottom of the seventh.  Durham walked with one out, Craig Counsell popped out, and Milwaukee’s powerful left-fielder hammered a pitch that cleared the center field wall and gave the sellout crowd a lot to cheer about.

Eric Gagne continued his string of good outings with a scoreless eighth, and he was aided by a sliding catch from Braun to retire the side.  In the Milwaukee half, Corey Hart lead off with a double and Bill Hall immediately brought him in with a looping single to center.  Up 5-4, the Brewers’ catcher Jason Kendall was batting with Hall on third and he grounded to Houston’s third-baseman Ty Wigginton, but Wigginton bobbled the ball and had to settle for the out at first, thus, Hall touched home.  Closer Salomon Torres continued to prove that he is one of the best off-season acquisitions made by G.M. Doug Melvin as he skillfully protected the 6-4 lead and picked up his 20th save in the process.

Offensive MVP: LF Ryan Braun (1-2/1R/1HR/4RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: RP Eric Gagne (1IP/0H/0HR/0ER/0BB/0SO/Win-4th)

My Take:

What a difference two months and seven days makes.  On May 19, 2008, the Milwaukee Brewers stood at 20-24, had just been humiliated by the Boston Red Sox in a three game sweep, were dead last in the NL Central, and were 7.0 games behind the Chicago Cubs, who were appearing to run away with the division.  On July 26, 2008, they are 60-44, have recently returned to Milwaukee after completing a four game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, and are no games behind the Chicago Cubs.  The way the club has bounced back from such a poor start is as astounding as it is encouraging.  There is a lot of baseball left to be played in 2008, but when you consider the fact that Milwaukee has surged to a first-place tie after being as many as 8.5 games behind this season, I like their chances to make this the greatest year for Brewers’ baseball since 1982.

The winning streak was snapped; the home run streak was snapped; but the streak of games in which the Brewers were atrocious with runners in scoring position continued.  Manny Parra tight-roped out of danger many times, and had a 1-0 lead going into the seventh inning, but he loaded the bases on a walk, an infield single, and a sacrifice bunt that Jason Kendall fielded and he went to third in an attempt to gun down the lead runner, but the throw was too high.  David Riske came into the game in a very tough spot, and failed to strand any of his three inherited runners.  Former Brewer Mark Loretta hit a sacrifice fly, as did Kazuo Matsui on the next at bat.  Then Riske walked struggling Houston lead-off hitter Michael Bourn and surrendered an RBI single to Lance Berkman that gave the Stros a 3-1 lead.

Offensively, Milwaukee stranded 7 more base runners, and their only run came off of a Mike Cameron double in the second inning that scored Corey Hart from second.   Hart had an encouraging day at the office, going 2-4 with a run scored, and not only that, but he gunned down Kazuo Matsui from right field when he tried to score from second in the sixth inning off of a Carlos Lee single.  Perhaps his cold-like symptoms are dissipating, which would be great news for Ned Yost, as Hart is one of the best clutch hitters on the team when he’s on.  Carlos Villanueva came in and pitched 2 shutout innings, but Astros reliever Chris Sampson did the same (1.2 innings to be exact) and lefty Wesley Wright retired Prince Fielder on a broken bat groundout to end the Brewers’ eighth.  Hart doubled off of Astros’ closer Jose Valverde with no outs in the ninth, but was eventually stranded on third.  A very frustrated Manny Parra got the loss.

Offensive MVP: (Astros)  1B Lance Berkman (2-3/0R/0HR/1RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: (Astros) SP Wandy Rodriguez (6IP/3H/0HR/1ER/3BB/7SO/Win-6th)
My Take:

I wouldn’t read a whole lot into this one.  The Brewers returned home from an extremely emotional series in St. Louis, and maybe they were a little worn out.  It is actually a good thing for them to work out the bugs now against Houston than when the Cubs roll into town.  By the way, they lost on Friday too, 3-2.

If the Milwaukee Brewers can play this well on the road, the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs may be a little hesitant to find out what Ryan Braun and his club can accomplish at home.  Thursday’s game was very similar to the first two of the series: the Brewers were down 2-0 early and struggled offensively, stranding 11 more base runners.  And just like Games 1 and 2, there was a dramatic home run late that cut Tony La Russa and his bullpen down to the core.  The only difference?  Ryan Braun, not Bill Hall, was the man who delivered when the Brewers needed it most.

Few position players chipped in in the clutch on Thursday, and Corey Hart had a horrific day.  He went 0-5 and squashed more than one rally.  He did ground into a force out that scored a critical run, but he also grounded into two double plays, committed an error in right field when he let a ball squirt past his glove, allowing Ryan Ludwick to rumble all the way around the bases to score.  Hart is playing like a zombie right now, but Brewers fans need not worry too much; he is most likely just fighting off a cold or some other minor illness.  Jason Kendall walked with bases loaded in a wild fourth inning that included Ben Sheets hitting a two-out, bases loaded looping line drive to center field that was played incredibly by Ryan Ludwick, who made a diving catch to prevent probably two Milwaukee runs from scoring.

Ben Sheets struggled early, but relaxed to pitch seven quality innings, allowing only 2 earned runs and four hits.  He was in line for the loss, but after Eric Gagne pitched a solid eighth inning to hold the deficit at 2-3, the Brewers offense blew away the St. Louis bullpen for the third time in the four game series…well, Ryan Braun blew away the St. Louis bullpen anyway.  After Ray Durham, making his first start for Milwaukee (he went 0-5), struck out, J.J. Hardy kept the game and his torrid hitting alive by reaching first on a single.  Braun took a strike down the middle and with a powerful swing of the bat, he completely ruined closer Ryan Franklin’s day.  The score was 4-3, Busch stadium had been silenced for the fourth straight day, and the Brew Crew had visibly stolen all the momentum away from the dejected Redbirds.

In 1987, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor lead what is known as “Team Streak” to a 13 game winning streak to start off the season.  It was one of the best seasons in Brewers’ history, but amazingly enough, the American League ball club never swept a road trip as long as 7 games.  Neither did the A.L. Champion 1982 Brewers accomplish the feat.  Salomon Torres sealed that piece of history with his dominant ninth inning of work.  He fanned Troy Glaus; he caught Ryan Ludwick looking; and for good measure, he whiffed Jason LaRue to complete the 4 game sweep, the 7 game sweep of the road trip, and the eighth straight victory for Ned Yost’s Brewers overall.

Offensive MVP: LF Ryan Braun (4-4/1R/1HR/1RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CP Salomon Torres (1IP/0H/0HR/0ER/0BB/3SO)

My Take:

The Brewers offense looked a little sloppy today, but when you consider the fact that they swept the Cardinals in St. Louis, it really doesn’t matter.  The bullpen looked as solid as ever, and Ben Sheets really did a nice job of keeping his club in the game, which is a good sign considering he has been struggling of late.  The upcoming homestand could be one of the most important of the year, but if Milwaukee plays with as much passion as they showed in St. Louis, look for them to gain some significant ground on the Chicago Cubs or even pass them up for the divisional lead.

1992…sixteen long years ago.  That was the last time the Milwaukee Brewers sat 15 games above the .500 mark.  After a relatively easy win at St. Louis on Wednesday evening, Ned Yost’s club is now 58-43, a full 2.0 games ahead of Tony La Russa and his Cardinals.  Unlike the first two games of the series, there was very little drama thanks to another tremendous start by CC Sabathia.  He has pitched out of his mind since becoming a Brewer, and now has 3 straight complete game victories.  He took a no-hitter into the sixth, and finished only allowing 3 and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts in 9 golden innings.  The Brewers offense struggled early on against Braden Looper, and they stranded 13 runners in the game, but J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks, and Ryan Braun all stepped up when it mattered most to give the towering lefty all the run support he needed.

In the top of the fifth, Hardy, batting with one out, sent a Looper slider out to left field.  It barely cleared the wall, but when it comes to home runs, it doesn’t ever matter how far they go.  Up 1-0 in the sixth, Mike Cameron hit a lead-off single, Jason Kendall was hit by a pitch in the arm, and CC Sabathia grounded into what appeared to be a double play ball, but the savvy veteran Kendall slid into second and took out shortstop Brendan Ryan’s legs out from under him, making it impossible to double off the lefty rumbling down the first base line.  Rickie Weeks continued to contribute to the offense with a sacrifice fly to bring in Cameron.

Nothing much happened for either team until the top of the ninth, when Ryan Braun got a hold of a high and outside fastball from Jason Isringhausen and sent it opposite field to expand Milwaukee’s lead to 3-0.  Sabathia returned to pitch the ninth, and was stellar.  He fooled perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols so badly on a third strike fastball that he lost hold of his bat and it flew out to greet third baseman Bill Hall.  Troy Glaus followed with a chopper to Prince Fielder who easily slapped a tag on him to clinch Milwaukee’s sixth straight road victory, a series win at Busch Stadium, and seventh straight victory overall.

Offensive MVP: LF Ryan Braun (4-5/1R/1HR/1RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (9IP/3H/0HR/0ER/2BB/7SO)

My Take:

It is hard to believe how far these Brewers have come since 2002.  That was the year they finished 56-106 under manager Jerry Royster.  Despite being criticized at times (more than once by myself) Ned Yost has truly done a spectacular job of righting the ship and bringing meaningful baseball back to Wisconsin.  A lot of credit should also go to the amateur scouting director Jack Zduriencik who is the reason fans can see the likes of Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and J.J. Hardy in Brewers uniforms.  101 games into the 2008 season, things are definitely looking good.  Without a doubt, Milwaukee is fielding its best team since the days of Yount and Molitor, and it is a real treat to watch.  There is no guarantee at this point in the season that ‘08 is going to bring postseason baseball back to Wisconsin, but this team is playing with unparalleled confidence, and will actually have a chance to sweep the Cardinals in St. Louis tomorrow.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed outfielder Jay Gibbons to a minor league contract on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Gibbons had been mentioned in the Mitchell Report for using Human Growth Hormones to help his recovery from a wrist injury. He wrote a note to all of Major League Baseball apologizing for his actions, and supposedly offered to play for free if needed. He is a veteran, left-handed bat, with a reliable glove.  He will most likely be called up to the Bigs in September.