CC Sabathia won his 6th game as a Milwaukee Brewer on Friday evening.  A twelfth consecutive sellout crowd at Miller Park (43,209) was captivated throughout the entire game thanks to strikeouts aplenty, two Brewers’ homeruns, and ultimately, a nice bounce-back win at home for the Brewers (losers of 6 out of 7 on their last homestand).  Milwaukee scored in the first when Rickie Weeks reached first via a walk, got to second on a wild pitch from Nationals rookie Collin Balester, reached third by barely evading a tag from third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman (who had to throw to first to retire a hustling Braun on a play that probably should have been a double play), and scored on a Prince Fielder bullet up the middle for a single.  Mike Cameron his 18th homerun in the second inning (a solo shot that put Milwaukee up 2-0).

The third proved to be a wild half-inning for the Crew’s offense, and they took advantage of an error by Balester, who was trying to pick off J.J. Hardy at second and threw it into the outfield grass, allowing Hardy to reach third and Ryan Braun to reach second.  Balester struck again two pitches later, as he bounced a curveball that catcher Jesus Flores probably should have corralled, and it ricocheted away while Hardy pranced home.  Corey Hart promptly hit the next pitch to deep center and Braun scored the fourth run of the game after tagging up from third.  The scoring was capped off by a Hardy homerun to right center field in the seventh.  The game was never in doubt thanks to CC Sabathia, who twirled another incredible game in a Brewers uniform.  He collected his fourth complete game victory as an N.L. pitcher and now leads the league in C.G.s.  He also fanned struck out 9 and walked 1.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (2-4/2R/1HR/1RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (9IP/5H/0ER/1BB/9SO/0HR/Win-6th)

*Gold Glove Play of the Game:  Corey Hart was robbed of a homerun (or at least extra bases) in the sixth inning thanks to a leaping catch by Washington left-fielder Willy Harris

My Take:

This was a good win that Milwaukee sorely needed.  They had been struggling at home of late, but played much better in all facets of the game than they had on the previous homestand.  Defensively, they did make two errors in the ninth inning, but one of them was on a difficult double play that J.J. Hardy was trying to turn.  It’s getting to the point where I expect Sabathia to throw a great game every time he steps on the mound, and though he’s most likely going to have another down game sooner or later, it appears as though Doug Melvin definitely got his money’s worth on that pickup.

Jeff Suppan was strong on Wednesday against the Reds.  He threw 7 strong innings, giving up 3 runs early but was perfect from then on.  The Brewers offense continued to perform well in the clutch, going 5-11 with runners in scoring position (a .455 average).  After going 10 for their last 104 at bats (a .095 average) in their 13 games prior to yesterday’s 8-1 victory, and having a well-documented dugout brawl between Manny Parra and Prince Fielder, Ned Yost’s club has bounded back strongly, and although it is but a two day sample, they’re hitting .410 in the clutch.

The scoring started in the first inning, when Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce hit a run-scoring groundout.  Down 1-0, Bill Hall worked a one-out walk and scored the tying run off a Mike Cameron double.  Backstop Jason Kendall then reached first via another Homer Bailey walk (a promising, but mightily struggling young Reds’ starter).  Suppan executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, putting runners on second and third for lead-off man Rickie Weeks.  Weeks had 4 hits in Wednesday’s game, and his biggest one was right there, scoring both Cameron and Kendall without trouble.  Cincinnati did manage to tie it up, when Bruce struck again.  He hit an absolute moonshot to straight-away center to score Joey Votto and himself.  In the fifth, Ryan Braun hit a tough pitch from Bailey to the opposite field.  He ended up on second and Rickie Weeks motored around to score and put his club in the lead.

The Crew tacked on some key insurance in the sixth when Kendall hit a hard grounded to Bailey’s left side.  The pitcher could do no more than deflect the ball and it rolled slowly out of the infield, bringing in two more huge Brewer runs.  Brian Shouse, Eric Gagne, and Salomon Torres hurled the final 2 innings and gave up no runs.  Gagne has been very good since returning from the disabled list, giving up only 1 earned run in his last 7 appearances.  Torres earned his 22nd save of the year.

Offensive MVP: Rickie Weeks (4-5/1R/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7IP/7H/3ER/0BB/3SO/1HR/Win-7th)

My Take:

The Brewers looked very good again.  They scored 6 runs without hitting a single home run, held the lead without much excitement, and locked up another winning road trip.  They have won 32 games on the road already in 2008.  Last year, they only managed 32 the entire season.  If Milwaukee can keep this road success going, they will be in good shape for August, as most of their games this month are away from Miller Park.  Come September, however, they will have to find their home magic again.  Milwaukee is coming off a 1-6 homestand, but will get a chance to right the ship a little with a 4 game set against the struggling Washington Nationals.  Make no mistake, regardless of the fact the Nationals have about 10 more losses than the Brewers have wins, it will be a very, very important series.  Milwaukee will HAVE to prove that they are the better team, and if they play down to the level of the Nationals and fail to win the series, it will be a major warning flag that the Brewers are not championship caliber.  For now, I am enjoying another great road trip!

Seemingly the darkest chapter of the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers began yesterday once tensions rose to the point where Prince Fielder and Manny Parra were shoving and yelling at each other in the dugout.  Time will tell whether the altercation will bring the team a little closer together or focus them a little more.  Tuesday evening was a good start, however.  Behind a spectacular start by Dave Bush (7 innings, 1 run, 7 strikeouts) and plenty of timely hitting by the offense (4-11 with runners in scoring position or a .364 clip), the Brewers downed the Reds 8-1.  Bush ran into trouble in the first inning after being spotted a two-run lead, but he settled down and didn’t surrender a run after Edwin Encarnacion’s RBI infield single.  He had entered the game with atrocious numbers on the road and Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark, but he bested both of those personal demons this time around.

Milwaukee started scoring when Corey Hart pounded a two-run, two-out triple in the first.  Mike Cameron knocked Hart in during the fourth inning, and he later scored on a double by catcher Jason Kendall.  Hart hit a sac fly in the fifth that scored J.J. Hardy (who broke out of his offensive funk on Tuesday with a 2-4 performance).  Up 5-1, Prince Fielder was at the plate with the shortstop Hardy on first.  On the second pitch of the at bat, the ball flew dangerously close to his head.  On the third pitch, another sinister pitch forced him to hit the dirt.  On the fourth pitch, the ball sailed out of Nick Masset’s hand and brought the count to 3-1.  On the fifth pitch, the ball sailed out over the center field wall where it was caught not by Reds’ center-fielder Corey Patterson, but by a fan about ten rows back.  Milwaukee 7, Cincinnati 1.  In the eighth, the scoring was capped by another Jason Kendall clutch RBI hit that scored Mike Cameron.

Offensive MVP: Corey Hart (2-3/1R/13B/12B/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (7IP/3H/1ER/2BB/7SO/0HR)

My Take:

This is only one game, but there was more than one good sign that came out of it.  The Brewers cashed in almost every one of their scoring opportunities on Tuesday, and only stranded 5 runners as well.  It was against a struggling Edinson Volquez (who has not been nearly as effective after the All Star Game), but it was in a stadium that has given Milwaukee fits for years.  The best news?  Bill Hall hasn’t even played in this series yet…look for him to make his presence felt, as he usually does against the Reds, tomorrow if in the starting lineup.

Manny Parra pitched 4 good innings and 2 atrocious ones.  He gave up 6 earned runs total on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts.  Carlos Villanueva pitched 2 innings of solid relief.  The Milwaukee offense was basically put to sleep by Bronson Arroyo, and they only scored 1 run off of him.  They finished with 9 hits, but stranded 9 runners.  Arroyo not only baffled opposing hitters, but hit a two-run double to put his team ahead.  First baseman Joey Votto hit a two-run single and Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer for the Reds.  Ryan Braun and Mike Cameron hit meaningless solo shots, and Corey Hart managed an RBI single, but the 3 runs were not nearly enough to make this one interesting.

Offensive MVP: Reds RF Jay Bruce (1-2/2R/1HR/2RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Reds SP Bronson Arroyo (6IP/4H/1ER/2BB/6SO/0HR/Win-10th)

My Take:

I try very hard to tell myself the season is far from over.  I try hard to remind myself that baseball is in fact only a game and the Brewers cannot be influenced by anything I say or do, but the ways they lose again and again and again, the ways they sputter when it matters most, the way no one in their higher management seems to think anything is wrong, do nothing but annoy and embarrass me.  They can’t hit in the clutch, they can’t pitch if they can’t hit because it seems as though the starters put too much pressure on themselves.  The Brewers have a very gifted starting rotation, but a very poor offense.  It is home run happy, and as fun as it may be at times when Milwaukee grabs victories with dramatic round-trippers, they cannot, will not, and are not winning enough games with that mentality.  Being a small market club, the talent will walk away…I’ve seen it before.  Draft picks will be the only compensation, and draft picks take years to evolve into major league caliber players if they evolve at all…Ryan Braun is a rare exception.  If nothing happens this season, guys like Sheets and Sabathia will most certainly leave, forcing younger, less proven pitchers to hold down the rotation.  Fielder may be traded, and that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to the Brewers, but still, it would be for prospects…little more.  Things would seem far less morose if they were putting up a good effort consistently, but they aren’t.  Things would seem better if they didn’t lose every single game because of poor clutch hitting or poor management of pitching and the bullpen, but they usually do.  I don’t know what to make of this team…I really don’t anymore.

CC Sabathia has been generally brilliant since arriving in Milwaukee, and on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves…more of the same.  The big lefty hurled 8.1 innings, giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits, a walk, and 9 strikeouts.  He won his 5th game as a Brewer (against 0 losses).  The offense was baffled early on by a less-than-spectacular pitcher in Charlie Morton, and he had a one-hit shutout going through the first 6 innings.  But first-baseman Prince Fielder continued his recent power binge with a game-tying shot off Morton’s first pitch in the seventh.  Corey Hart proceeded to reach first via a bunt single, and was moved to second on a Craig Counsell groundout.  After Mike Cameron popped out, it looked as though the game would remain tied 1-1, but catcher Jason Kendall smoked a double down the third base line that scored Hart with ease.  Up 2-1, Rickie Weeks worked a leadoff walk in the 8th, and after Hardy and Braun were retired, Fielder took hold of another pitch (this time from Rafael Soriano) and smashed it to right center-field for his second home run of the game.  Sabathia tried for the complete game victory, but gave up a double to lead things off, so Salomon Torres entered the game and recorded the final two outs for his 21st save and Milwaukee’s 62nd victory of 2008.

Offensive MVP: Prince Fielder (2-3/2R/2HR/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (8.1IP/6H/2ER/1BB/9SO/0HR/Win-5th)

My Take:

This was a good game, and Milwaukee was more able to score runs in the clutch, which is a tremendous sign.  Sabathia has been phenomenal since being traded, and his great effort should not come as a surprise to anyone.  The Brewers will need to continue winning these winnable games because they return home to Miller Park in two days to tackle the Washington Nationals for a 4 game set.

Jeff Suppan was brilliant on Friday evening, pitching 7 shutout innings, only giving up 5 hits and 3 walks (1 strikeout).  Stymied by the Chicago Cubs’ tremendous pitching staff for the past three and a half days, the Milwaukee offense needed a breakout day and got one.  In the top of the first, Rickie Weeks lead things off with a single, J.J. Hardy worked a walk, and Ryan Braun hit a booming RBI double off of starter Chuck James.  Corey Hart chipped in with a sacrifice fly with one out to extend the lead to 2-0.  In the second inning, Jason Kendall hit a one-out single and was tripled in by Weeks after a sacrifice bunt by Jeff Suppan.  The Brew Crew truly broke things open in the third, when Prince Fielder hit a colossal home run and Mike Cameron followed suit three batters later to give Milwaukee a 6-0 lead.

Neither team pushed across runs until the eighth, when Bill Hall hit a double over center-fielder Mark Kotsay’s head and was later driven in by Gabe Kapler.  When J.J. Hardy hit a seemingly innocent grounder to Braves’ third-baseman Omar Infante, but he threw it badly and both Kendall and Kapler were able to score.  Milwaukee relievers Brian Shouse and Guillermo Mota combined to pitch two perfect innings and seal the 9-0 verdict.

Offensive MVP: Rickie Weeks (2-4/1R/13B/1RBI/1BB/2K)

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7IP/5H/0ER/3BB/1SO/0HR)

My Take:

The Atlanta Braves are a very beleaguered team right now.  They recently traded away Mark Teixeira and put Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and Tim Hudson on the D.L.  The Brewers won a game easily that they should have won easily, and although that may not seem like too much to write home about, they have often struggled beating below average teams in 2008.  This victory was needed badly by the Brewers, and will hopefully turn things around after that disastrous homestand.  The success with runners in scoring position has continued for the second straight day, and Jeff Suppan pitched as well as he ever has in a Brewers uniform.

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.

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.

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.

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.