Crew Hit Hard By Injuries

Hoffman ineffective (usually a sign of injury after prolonged success), Edmonds with back problems, Hawkings with arm problems, Zaun with a shoulder injury... who would've thought the geriatric crowd would break down.

Reasons To Come In Off The Ledge

As promised, my reasons not to give up on the Brewer's season, presented in sevenfold;

1)75% of the season still needs to be played. On May 29, 2009, the Colorado Rockies were 18-28 and still made the playoffs.
2)The offense is still formidable - 7th in MLB in scoring (it's the -18 run differential that'll get ya)
3)We may not have too much longer to watch one of the best tandems in baseball hitting back to back. Prince & Braunie are so good in their mid 20's, we often forget how good they really are.
4)It's great to see Casey McGehee having a successful sophomore season, especially after the sCrUBS gave up on him.
5)We have been able to bask in the sheer awesomeness of John Axfors's "Meathead" Stivic 'stache.
6)It beats the hell out of hearing about Packer OTA's. I realize this is Packer country, but, honestly, it's 4 months away. Do we really need to hear about Joey Shitpants, the new street free agent water dispersal specialist being given a look as the emergency onside kicker?
7)Baseball is still the greatest game ever invented.

Should Crew look to Cappy for help?

Nice AAA debut for Capuano last night.

It was mentioned the other day that CVill may be a possibility for the rotation, but really his days as anything more than an emergency spot starter are done. Used correctly, he's much too valuable to the bullpen.

Capuano, on the other hand, has proven to be effective as a ML starter, regardless of that last fluky year in the majors. The Crew may well get to the point where throwing something against the wall to see what sticks is their only option. It would be a great story if Cappy could come back and be effective.

Walk on water... just fine

Walk across the street... not so much

You just can't make this stuff up

Gov't at work

Happened upon a show on CNBC tonight called American Greed. They were highlighting a case from a few years ago about sisters that ran a distribution company & had a contract with the government to supply parts to Irag & Afghanistan. They would send out screws, washers, and the like, then charge exorbitant amounts for shipping costs. Once they marked the item as priority, the government would pay instantly and without oversight.

They were finally caught when they shipped 2 .19 cent washers at a cost of almost 1 million dollars... That's when someone noticed something was wrong! 6 years later!

Again I ask, do we really need the government taking over things like healthcare? I really can't think of a less wasteful entity than big government. Holy crap, George Washington has stopped simply rolling over in his grave... he's in full centrifuge spin.

Braun's Home v. Away

They just showed Ryan's home/road splits for this year, which clearly favor hitting on the road in the first month. I know a few people who find this concerning for some reason.

Here are Braun's career splits, showing that he's a great hitter no matter where he steps in the box. Considering who does the official scoring at MP, I'm not surprised to see a lower BA at home.

Just goes to prove baseball is a long season and, more often than not, things even out in the end.

Fear The Deer (I love that!)

I've been reading quite a few things today about how the Bucks "hard work" & "effort" allowed them to steal a game in ATL last night. Honestly, those things are about as crazy to me as "professional hitter".

The difference in the last 4 minutes as opposed to the first 44 was the Bucks started taking the ball to the rim & forced quite a few fouls, which they took advantage of. Add to that timely shooting, fortuitous rebounds, & Hawk misses, and you get a feel-good comeback.

On the other hand, hats off to the Deer for taking a game no one gave them a chance to. Friday night can't come soon enough.

Is Trevor Time Ticking Down?

I haven't commented on this yet, mostly due to the baseball season being so long that usually everything evens out in the end, but...

Pitching is predicated on location & deception, neither of which Trevor Hoffman has at the moment. Would removing him from the closer role correct that? Is it like a shooter in basketball: keep throwing them up until they go in?

Without having the pulse of the clubhouse at my fingertips, maybe they should pull him from that role for a bit. I know it's not beer-league softball, but having victory snatched away multiple times by a couple errant pitches could breed some animosity. Though, admittedly, I don't know how major leaguers feel about being let down by their pitching. I suppose we could say they should score more runs & it's a moot point.

I wasn't high on the re-signing of Hoffman at that price in the first place, as pitching the 9th is no different than pitching the 1st... 3 outs is 3 outs.

From a week of amazing highs, to a weekend of disappointing lows...

Ahhh, Baseball, you are a fickle mistress.

Soup's Off

Narveson in, Suppan out. What the hell, throw it against the wall & see what sticks.

I like Suppan. He seems to be a good teammate, great in the community, a class act all around, but he has been in decline for the last three years. WHIP up, K/BB ratio nearing even... At this point, I have doubts about his ability to even reach league averages.

I'm inclined to believe this move has more to do with recent past performance than it does his two '10 starts.

Olney on Braunie

Enjoy him, Brewer fans... He's only getting better.

Bucks Close Gap

Outside shooting & defense was the story tonight. Quite the win for the home fans at the BC. Even Dan G. had a strong game. If Gadzuric & Thomas can play like this consistently, anything can happen.

On a personal note, my little bro & my pops were at the game tonight. I'm very happy my brother got to see that live as his love for the Bucks can only be rivaled by my love for the Brewers.

Hardware for the Deer

Congrats to John Hammond & the Milwaukee Bucks organization.

Well deserved for Hammond, as he has shown how to field a competitive team amidst bad contracts, well-scouted drafting, & deft trades.

Good luck to the Bucks tonight in game 3.

Don't Jump Overboard

Yesterday's game vs. tonight's game is why I don't put much stock in 20-run outbursts... It's a long season.

Aside from this past weekend, the Crew has had terrible luck on many sharply-hit balls being caught on offense and equally terrible luck with bloopers falling in against them.

The ship is not sinking, it's just rocking around in the waves right now.

Really?

Oh, my good god.

Not gay enough for the Gay World Series... I guess I should start watching for the four horsemen.

Big Ben, Big Ben, Big Ben

Strong showing by Goodell.

The first accusation I took rather lightly, as it was quite some time ago & then went into a civil suit. This time, I'm inclined to wonder what the hell some of these guys are thinking. Well-paid children who all want the love that comes from the spotlight, but don't respect the ones who give it.

Looks like a duck, walks like a duck...

Strong showing for Skiles

Congrats to Scott...

It's too bad AB went down, as this was a very well-rounded Buck team since the addition of Salmons.

Fielder has sore hand

Prince is currently dealing with some soreness in his hand, possibly affecting his power swing.

Which makes one wonder if his mini-tantrum on the bench last week is the cause.

Just a quick aside... Corey Hart just worked an 8-pitch walk.

I'm going to have to reference my bible as I think the first seal may have just broken.

Welcome to the only time a Monday doesn't suck... Opening Day! Good luck to all who stop in & their respective teams.

The food spread is out, the swag is on, the surround is loud, MLB in HD... Go Crew!