For much, much less than $10 million, the Milwaukee Brewers could possibly see Eric Gagne throwing in Miller Park again this year.  They signed him to a minor league deal, and he will be used as insurance in case of injury.  Gagne had a rough go of it last year, going 4-3 with a mediocre 5.44 ERA.  What the numbers don’t say is how well the man turned it around in the final stretches of the season.  In September, Gagne had a 3.09 ERA, and in the Postseason, all he gave up was 1 hit in 2.0 innings pitched, so he certainly showed the capability of being a solid middle reliever.  As long as he accepts the fact that his 98MPH fastball is not coming back, this deal could prove to be very valuable for Milwaukee in the stretch run.

The Dave Bush-led Brewers were believed by 100% of TBS analysts to be swept by the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday evening in Milwaukee.  Good thing they’re analysts and not prophets.  The Brewers jumped out to a 1st inning 2-0 lead thanks to some tremendous patience at the plate against the 45-year-old Jamie Moyer.  Mike Cameron and Bill Hall walked to start things off and took 2nd and 3rd on a wild pitch.  Ryan Braun struck out, but Prince Fielder drove in Cameron with a sac fly.  With two gone, J.J. Hardy ripped a single into left that gave the Crew another run.  Braun hit a sac fly in the 5th to make it 3-0, but his offense stranded the bases loaded in that frame.

Bush threw 5.1 innings, yielding 5 hits, no walks, struck out 3, and gave up only 1 run.  In the 6th, Jayson Werth hit the ball out to deep right, where Corey Hart tumbled into the wall with the ball in his glove, but lost his grip on it when he came crashing to the ground.  The play turned into a triple, and Bush was pulled in favor of the young lefty Mitch Stetter, who induced an RBI groundout to big Ryan Howard.  Carlos Villanueva then retired Pat Burrell for the final out.  The pitcher was allowed to hit for himself with one out in the 6th, and singled.  Mike Cameron and Bill Hall did likewise, but Ryan Braun struck out and Prince Fielder flew out to shallow left.  Villanueva proceeded to throw a flawless 7th.

Two veterans chipped in in the 7th to provide a little insurance.  J.J. Hardy led things off with a single and made it to second on a beautiful sac bunt by Corey Hart.  Craig Counsell (owner of two World Series rings) then hit a tough chopper on the right side of the mound and dove headfirst onto the first base bag for an infield single.  Another vet, backstop Jason Kendall lined a run-scoring single to left right after.  Eric Gagne worked around a Jayson Werth double for a scoreless 8th (he retired former Brewer outfielder Geoff Jenkins, who finally got his Milwaukee Post Season appearance, for out number 1).

In the 9th, things got very interesting for Salomon Torres, who surrendered singles to the first three men to greet him.  The bases were juiced with nobody out, but Torres threw a sharp slider that Pedro Feliz chopped into a double play.  A run originally scored on the play, but due to the fact that Shane Victorino bowled over the fielding Counsell at second without sliding, interference was ruled, and Ryan Howard had to return to third base.  The next batter, Carlos Ruiz, bounced back to Torres, who flipped the ball to Fielder at first to seal the 4-1 victory.  Not since Game 5 of the 1982 World Series had the Brewers won a Post Season game.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (3-4/1R/1RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (5.1IP/5H/1ER/0BB/3SO/0HR/Win-1st)

Alex’s Take:

This was a much-needed win.  It forced a Game 4 featuring Jeff Suppan squaring off against Phillies’ righty Joe Blanton.  The offense looked very patient at the plate on Saturday, and that is the only hope the Crew has of winning tomorrow and giving Sabathia another shot on Tuesday.  Suppan will have to prove that he is truly an October pitcher as well, and that Doug Melvin was wise to invest so much money in him.

Yovani Gallardo had gone 4 months without pitching, as he had gone down to a torn ACL that required what was considered originally to be season-ending knee surgery.  Turns out that 4 months was all the time in the world for the prized young starter.  Operating off a strict pitch count and not even swinging the bat when he came to the plate, the Brewers kept him relatively safe.  Gallardo, in turn, kept the Brewers’ Post Season hopes relatively safe.  Staked to an early 1-0 lead off a Bill Hall RBI double in the 3rd, he went on to mow down 7 Pirates in 4.0 innings, giving up only 1 run off a home run by Steve Pearce in the 4th.  The next batter walked, but Gallardo induced an inning-ending double play by Ronnie Paulino right after.

Then came the bullpen: seven pitchers, six innings, zero runs allowed in one of its finest performances of the year.  Offensively, the Crew was not so impressive for the rest of the first 9 innings.  They actually only stranded 5 runners on Thursday, but they simply couldn’t execute small ball, and it forced extras.  In the top of the 10th, the Buckos threatened big time against Todd Coffey.  With one out, he surrendered a single to Jason Michaels, who then reached second on a fielder’s choice.  Enter Pittsburgh’s All Star center fielder Nate McLouth and lefty Mitch Stetter for the biggest out of his career thus far.  From a 3-1 count, Stetter got McLouth to whiff at that sweeping slider of his, and froze him on another one, recording the punch-out and bringing things to the bottom 10th.

That’s when things got interesting.  Rickie Weeks started things off against Jesse Chavez with a single, and was moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt from the catcher Jason Kendall.  Pinch-hitter Ray Durham, who has torn things up at Miller Park this year, was intentionally walked, putting two runners on with only 1 out.  Alas, Mike Cameron failed to end it as he went down swinging.  Craig Counsell then strode to the plate, crazy stance and all, and worked arguably the biggest walk by a Brewer in 2008 (it only took 5 pitches).  This put the game, and with the Mets winning their game on a Carlos Beltran walk-off single moments earlier, possibly the season in the hands of sore and struggling left fielder Ryan Braun.  He needed merely a bloop single or a walk, but the end result turned out to be far more legendary.  On a 2-2 count, he finally got some of his prodigious power into a swing, and the ball went a long, long way.  Braun collected the 1st and only grand slam by Milwaukee all season, as well as the first walk-off shot of his major league career.  If the Brewers manage to reach the playoffs, it will probably be considered the defining moment of 2008, and one of the biggest home runs in Brewer history.

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

Pitching MVP: Carlos Villanueva, Eric Gagne, Guillermo Mota, Brian Shouse, Salomon Torres, Todd Coffey, Mitch Stetter(Win-3rd) (6.0IP/6H/0ER/1BB/3SO/0HR)

The Milwaukee Brewers managed a mere two hits on Wednesday evening, but manufactured four runs.  Of course, that was all CC Sabathia needed.  Pitching on 3-days rest for the 2nd straight game, the beast of a lefty hurled a magnificent, gutsy, and “whatever other good adjective you can think to add” game.  His line: 7.0 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 4 hits, and 11 strikeouts.  He picked up his 10th Brewer win, but he will have a chance to go after number 11 on Sunday, should the Wild Card race still be going on.   Prince Fielder drove in Mike Cameron in the 4th to tie the game 1-1, but it took a bases loaded walk from Rickie Weeks, who was down 1-2 before taking a couple tough pitches from Paul Maholm, to put the Crew in front.  Jason Kendall followed suit, walking in 5 pitches to expand the lead.  A sac fly from Corey Hart made it 4-1 in the 6th.  Eric Gange worked a scoreless 8th, and Salomon Torres finished things off for his 28th save.  He did give up a solo home run to Adam LaRoche.  Oh yeah, and the Mets lost in extras, meaning the Brewers are tied for the Wild Card lead!

Offensive MVP: Prince Fielder (1-3/2R/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (7.0IP/4H/1ER/2BB/11SO/0HR/Win-10th)

This one looked great in the first inning, and much less good in the third.  Ben Sheets had gone a mere 2 innings when he exited with right forearm tightness, and this put tremendous pressure on the oft-criticized Milwaukee bullpen as well as new manager, Dale Sveum, to hold on for the last 7 innings against the deadly Chicago lineup.  They did.  In perhaps their greatest collective performance of 2008, seven relievers combined to throw 7 one-run, 5 hit (all singles) innings and seal a huge 6-2 victory on Wednesday night at Wrigley.  Prince Fielder ripped a double down the right field line off Jason Marquis in the first to unload the bases and put his club up 3-0.  Sheets yielded a home-run to Cubs’ third baseman Aramis Ramirez, and went down with an injury he probably received while taking a swing in the top of the third.  Enter Mark DiFelice, who hurled 2 scoreless.  Then new acquisition Todd Coffey for the 5th, Carlos Villanueva for 2/3 of the 6th, and Mitch Stetter to retire Jim Edmonds for the final out of that inning.  J.J. Hardy hit an RBI double in the 7th, and Corey Hart lined a single to left that scored a pair of Brewers and put his club up a commanding 6-1.  Even Eric Gagne pitched in, throwing a flawless 7th inning.  Guillermo Mota did give up a single and a walk, but got through the 8th unscathed.  In the 9th, Salomon Torres struggled, but should have gotten out of it without a run scoring, but Prince Fielder, who had otherwise had a spectacular night, failed to field a low throw from Ray Durham that would have completed a game-ending double play.  A run scored on the play, but Torres came right back to retire pinch-hitter Daryle Ward to wrap it up.

Offensive MVP: Prince Fielder (3-4/1R/22B/3RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Mark DiFelice (Win-1st), Todd Coffey, Carlos Villanueva, Mitch Stetter, Eric Gagne, Guillermo Mota, Salomon Torres (7IP/5H/1ER/3BB/6SO/0HR)

Alex’s Take:

The offense seems to be clicking again, Prince Fielder is crushing nearly everything he sees, and the bullpen turned in a great (not just good, but great) performance!  This happened against the Chicago Cubs of all teams!  Dale Sveum, though I don’t know if it was something he said or just his calm demeanor, really managed his pen well tonight, in a game that the Cubs could’ve easily charged back against the Achilles’ heel of this 2008 Milwaukee team.  The key to this series is obviously the rubber match tomorrow, and a tough match up it is.  Dave Bush will be pitted against Rich Harden, a spectacular pitcher who dominated the Crew the last time he faced them.  The offense will probably need 5 runs or more to win tomorrow’s critical game, but the good news is, it seems like they are capable of doing it now.

In an unbelievable move, G.M. Doug Melvin fired Manager Ned Yost on Monday the 15th.  The Brewers had let a 5.5 Wild Card lead vanish in a disgusting start to September, and Yost was not allowed to manage two late season collapses in a row.  Never in memory has a team fired their manager this late in a season, and it will be interesting to see how the players react.  Many of them are shocked, but those who are glad to see the laid-back Yost go are hiding it for now.  Dale Sveum, a former Brewer player, and a fan-favorite during the 1987 season, in which he hit a memorable home-run on Easter Sunday to keep their 13 game winning streak alive, has been named interim manager.  Robin Yount has come back to fill the bench-coach void left by Ted Simmons, who was also let go.

Alex’s Take:

Wow.  I have never been a huge supporter of Ned Yost.  I can not say that I am sad to see him go, because his laid-back, “we’ll get ‘em next time,” approach to the game was really hindering the Brewers.

Some other questionable things that he did in 2008:

Constantly use burned-out reliever Eric Gagne late in close games

Start Rickie Weeks, probably the worst second baseman in baseball defensively, and certainly not great offensively either,

Start Bill Hall, an undeniable strikeout machine who has shown nothing of his solid 2005 or 2006 seasons, use Weeks (hitting under .230 most of the year) as the leadoff hitter,

Refusing to use small ball in almost any situation

Failing to pull the plug on pitchers at the proper times.

I will admit, the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers do not have many small ball-compatible players, save Craig Counsell and Jason Kendall, but there were far too many times in which a Brewer would obviously be trying to hit a home-run instead of simply advancing runners in critical situations with no outs, and would end up grounding into a double play or striking out.  Yost should take a good portion of the heat for failing to get his players prepared for big games or failing to take big series seriously, but it was not really all him.  The players fundamentally have been awful all year, and Yost did in fact bring winning baseball back to Wisconsin.  He deserves HUGE credit for that, but it is unlikely he was capable of taking them to the next plateau: the postseason.  As for Sveum, I know little about him other than he was not the greatest 3rd base coach in the league and that he was a popular Brewer back in his day.

Jeff Suppan wasn’t great, but his bullpen was, at least until it mattered most.  Suppan went 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, including 2 homeruns.  Prince Fielder drove Rickie Weeks in from second in the first, but Milwaukee found itself playing from behind late.  Then in the seventh, Bill Hall walked and Jason Kendall was hit by a pitch to set the stage for pinch hitter Ray Durham.  He blasted a three-run, game-tying homer to right field to wake up the crowd, but sadly, the hit did not wake up his teammates’ bats.  They went on to strand scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity in the ninth and tenth innings.  They even got solid relief pitching, but it didn’t matter.  The Reds won 5-4 on an RBI single by Brandon Phillips, and Milwaukee lost their 7th game of this absolutely pitiful homestand.  They are now 2-7 on it.

Offensive MVP: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips (1-5/1R/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Reds CP Francisco Cordero (1IP/0H/0ER/0BB/1SO/0HR/Save-29th)

Alex’s Take:

I believed before the game that a loss tonight would almost definitely break the Brewers’ morale and send them spiraling into weeks of more bad baseball that would knock them out of the playoff hunt.  The game I saw tonight, though the outcome stung mightily, did not look like a team that was ready to fold.  Ned Yost really didn’t make a bad decision at all in managing his bullpen, though putting in Eric Gagne might’ve been a little questionable.  Seth McClung blowing the game, well, Yost didn’t have a lot of experienced guys to pitch in a pressure situation, and unfortunately, the big righty couldn’t keep the game tied.  As for the offense, things still look pretty bleak in the middle of the order, but hopefully Durham’s emphatic homerun will spark something, though it didn’t Tuesday.  It’s strange to me, because I thought for sure I would totally give up on 2008 with a loss that eventually did happen, but the Phillies and Cubs both lost, CC Sabathia is pitching tomorrow in a game the Brewers desperately need to win, and who better to have on the mound in a game you desperately need?  The thing is, they are up 3.0 games in the Wild Card with 17 games remaining.  A ten game monster road trip is right around the corner, and these are the cold, hard facts.  The Crew must simply SURVIVE the trip, go 5-5 (4-6 with wins against the right teams could cut it) that would most likely keep their heads above water with a home stand against not-so-great team after the trip.  The Crew have been downright awful at home lately, yes, but a 5-5 road trip would probably inspire the team to powering into the post season.  I’m as harsh a critic of the Crew as anyone, but I STILL HAVE HOPE!

CC Sabathia did everything, and I mean everything, he possibly could to win Milwaukee their first game in September and he was waiting for his 10th win as a Brewer, when Eric Gagne struck again.  With his club up 2-1 in the eighth, the man who is quickly becoming considered league-wide as the worst reliever in baseball, gave up a booming homerun to Brian Giles, barely a homerun threat at this stage in his career.  The fans tore Gagne apart the entire inning, seemingly after every pitch, and even though he escaped without further damage, the sellout crowd of 41,519 did not let up in their chorus of jeers as he walked dejectedly back to the dugout.   The Crew had numerous opportunities to seal the win, but time and time again, they kept squandering opportunities.  They stranded a whopping 13 baserunners, had a lead runner on in the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings, and simply could not push anyone across.

The struggling Brewers bullpen turned in heroic performances in the final three innings, though, keeping the game right where it was despite overwhelming odds.  San Diego had runners on 2nd and 3rd in the ninth against Salomon Torres, thanks to an error by Prince Fielder, but the savvy veteran tight-roped out of danger when he retired shortstop Luis Rodriguez on a bullet of a ground ball up the middle that J.J. Hardy made a strong play and throw on.  The Padres had runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out in the tenth, but Torres gobbled up a ground ball in front of the mound and fired to third for the force-out.  Then he got Chip Ambres on a flyout and struck out Edgar Gonzales.

David Riske had a much rougher go of it in the eleventh.  He retired batter #1 on a deep fly ball, but walked #2 and surrendered a base hit to Giles that put runners on 1st and 3rd with only 1 out.  Enter Brian Shouse.  He needed throw only one pitch.  Luis Rodriguez chopped the ball to the lefty, who fired it to second for one and Hardy returned the favor, by finding the glove of Prince Fielder to clean up the mess and fire up the quited crowd.  In the bottom of the eleventh, Mike Rivera got a pinch hit, was wiped out at second on a poor sac bunt by Craig Counsell, and then Ray Durham, who had gone 0-4 previously, hammered a base knock to right, getting Counsell to third.  J.J. Hardy sent the remainder of the fans home happy.  He deposited a single to left field on the 6th pitch against Brian Falkenborg, sealing Milwaukee’s 81st win of 2008 and 1st win in the month of September.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (1-6/0R/1RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Brian Shouse (0.2IP/0H/0ER/0BB/0SO/0HR/Win-5th)

Alex’s Take:

This game was ugly, dragged on forever, revealed once again the problem Milwaukee has in Eric Gagne, but felt great in the end.  It was nice to see the Crew persevere in the end and finally wrap up their first victory so far in September.  The Cubs were manhandled by Cincinnati, so Hardy and the Brewers are sitting 4.0 games out of 1st and, following a Phillies win, held onto their 4.0 game lead in the Wild Card.

An injury to a very important pitcher, another blown game by Eric Gagne, and the Brewers failed to hold onto a 2-1 lead late on Monday.  Milwaukee fell to New York 4-2, after Gagne surrendered a two-run shot by the great first-baseman Carlos Delgado in the eighth.  Ben Sheets pitched well for 5.0 innings, giving up only 2 hits, but his velocity was way down, and he left the game due to left groin tightness.  Should he miss significant time, it would be a crippling blow to a Milwaukee team desperately trying to make the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century.  Ryan Braun doubled in J.J. Hardy in the first off of Johan Santana, but the Crew only mustered one other run off of a rare balk by the former Cy Young winner.

Offensive MVP: Mets 1B Carlos Delgado (2-4/1R/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Mets RPs Nelson Figueroa (Win-3rd), Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith, and Luis Ayala  (Save- 4th) (3IP/1H/0ER/0BB/5SO/0HR)

Alex’s Take:

This was not a very encouraging game on any level.  Ben Sheets is hurt again, Eric Gagne is blowing games again, and the Brewers fell flat to a good team after beating up on bad ones again.  If they can bounce back from this defeat, it would be a good sign, but the 4-2 loss could hurt Milwaukee much longer depending on the status of the Crew’s right-handed ace.

Ryan Braun hit an opposite field, three-run blast in the first inning, and that was it for the Milwaukee offense.  They only managed 4 hits the rest of the way, and Pittsburgh’s Tom Gorzelanny pitched extremely well, but Dave Bush was better.  He threw 6.2 innings, only giving up a run on a Nate McLouth solo shot in the fifth.  Brian Shouse and Eric Gagne bridged the gap to Salomon Torres, who picked up his 26th save of 2008 on Friday.

Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun (2-4/1R/12B/1HR/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (6.2IP/6H/1ER/2BB/2SO/Win-9th)

Alex’s Take:

Though it wasn’t particularly good that Milwaukee’s offense shut down after scoring in the first, the bullpen pitched very well, and Dave Bush continued to impress, and he is now at 9-9.