An Augustine Special

In todays Brewers Live pregame show, Jerry Augustine announced that today the Brewers don't need a quality start from Braden Looper; the Brewers need a "special start". I was in the midst of preparing a fine and affordable Usinger's bratwurst for dinner (you better believe I'll sell out), so I may have been in a state of ecstacy and imagined his description, but it seemed as if he made the implication that a special start would be: a complete game shutout, a perfect game, or at the very least, 8 scoreless innings.

Where the fuck does Augustine get off thinking that this is even remotely a realistic expectation for Braden Looper? In twelve major league seasons, Braden Looper has:

1 complete game

0 perfect games

1 career game pitching more than 7 complete innings

Who would ever think that the Brewers should expect such an outing from such a mediocre pitcher? Of course it would be nice, but why not give us all some real analysis here instead of telling us about your fantasyland bullshit?

I can't wait for tomorrow's pregame, in which Jerry Augustine will announce that our starting pitcher should transform (I would really advise you to look into the possibility of sellling out) into Tim Lincecum or Dan Haren for a night instead of the average pitcher that they truly are.

Craig Counsell Fact or Fiction

Every week until I run out of ideas, I will be posting a brief fact about internet vixen/Brewers shortstop Craig Counsell(only click if you are over the age of 18) . The facts will range from personal to statistical, and if I am bored, may very well reach the realms of hypothetical. I will also be posting a complete fallacy about Craig Counsell and leave it up to you, the reader, to determine which is true and which is false. The first reader to correctly respond to me will win a scratch off game card signed by the Just a Bit Outside staff. Here we go:

In the three games in which Craig Counsell has hit a home run, the Brewers record is 2-1.

In the offseason, Craig Counsell spends his free time relaxing, vacationing, and killing drifters just to see if he can get away with it.

I hope that, upon discovering the correct answer, this week's fact will change the way you think about life, the world around you, the Panama Canal, and Craig Counsell.

Creed Bratton Moments of Glory Award

Hey there again. I'm using this blog as therapy again due to the Brewers incredible inability to play baseball under God's shimmering sunlight. It's so fucking annoying.

Anyway, I'm here today to present the Creed Branton Award for the Brewer who uses his time in the spotlight most efficiently. The Award naming committee would like to recognize Pawan Barot for honorary mention in this category dedication.

Creed Bratton Moments of Glory Award
Winner: Mike Rivera
Last Place: Jody Gerut

Surprisingly, Mike Rivera is still a Brewer. Lest we forget, he has started 14 games this season. His moments in the field are both brief and exciting. Apparently, Mike Rivera does not know how to catch a ball or something because Jason Kendall gets WAY more playing time the Creed Award Winner. I keep hearing how wonderfully Kendall "handles" pitchers. Really? The team ERA (with Kendall catching 76 of the 88 games) is 4.54. Kendall might get the edge over Rivera with OBP (.323 vs. .296 respectively)...but only slightly. Also, noted baseball philosopher Jatt Marosz deems Kendall as 2nd "Most Clutch" on the Brewers. Otherwise, I don't know why Ken doesn't throw Rivera out there for a few more times per week. Given last year's .377 BA and .812 OPS, I thought we would see more of Mike Rivera. Nope. Regardless, this post is a celebration of Mike Rivera's use of camera time.

Creed Bratton's life is shrouded in mystery and that's the way we like it. Too much Creed and fans might be turned off by his horniess, age and lack of residence. He's the ultimate showman. In the spirit of George Costanza and Mr. Bratton, Mike Rivera is wonderful in the spotlight with a much more threatening bat compared to Kendall...and then he leaves us. Masterful work Mike. Enjoy the spoils of your performance, or lack thereof.

At the other end of the spectrum, Jody Gerut makes the worst of every opportunity he is granted. He fails to show any signs of a major league bat. It's sad. Even if we didn't trade my favorite non-Brewer, major leaguer not named Junior Griffey for Jody, I would accost him in a similar way.

For those scoring at home, the Brewers have closed the gap to 7-4 in the Bottom of the 8th. Miraculously, the Crew scored 4 runs since this post began. What a fucking tease.

Love,
Chuckie

Say It Ain't So

With games nearly every day, and reporters in their face before and after nearly all of them, the potential for a baseball player to say something completely absurd, foolish, and laughable is enormous. With that said, I usually overlook most of the borderline quotes, especially given the disgustingly low education level of major league baseball players.

Even so, every now and then someone says something so ridiculous and inane that one can't but help to comment on it. And once again, over the course of a long season, the amount of these quotes are sure to be staggering. As true as this may be, our dear Bill Hall has eliminated any other quotes from contention with one simple sentence. This hilarious quote from Bill Hall stands alone as the most hilarious quote of, not only the season thus far, but perhaps my entire existence as a literate human being. I know, I've built this up so much that whatever follows cannot possibly live up to your expectations, right? Wrong. The quote in question?

"I STILL CONSIDER MYSELF THE BEST THIRD BASEMEN IN THE LEAGUE"

Holy fuck everyone, Bill Hall has gone batshit crazy. This statement has my mind spinning so much I am actually getting dizzy. First of all, when did anyone ever consider Bill Hall to be the best third basemen in the league? Is he under the impression that he, Bill Hall, is the sole third basemen in the league?Does he live in some sort of parallel universe where Evan Longoria, Alex Rodriguez, David Wright, and anyone else who is actually good at third base do not exist?

It's actually ironic that Bill Hall considers himself to be the best third basemen in the league, because I consider him to be the fucking worst. Even in 2006, when he hit 35 home runs, he was still not the best third basemen in the game. And since his talent has continually regressed since that anomaly of a year, how the hell does he figure he has improved his ranking among third basemen? Some of what follows will be slightly redundant, as I briefly touched on Bill Hall in a previous post,but I'll try my best to keep it fresh.

Games Played: 65

Apparently, 65 times this year we decided to make it easier for the other team to win. Probably an idea courtesy of the charitable Jeff Suppan.

OBP: .265/League Average: .338

Yep, you read that one right. Bill Hall makes an out, and hurts the chances that the Brewers have to win, 73.5% of the time he is at bat. THE. BEST. IN. THE. LEAGUE.

OPS: .595/League Average: .757

THE BEST OF ALL TIME????

OPS+: 57

Second worst on the team, right behind Jody Gerut. When Jason Kendall is considered a better offensive weapon than you, as he is in the case of OPS+, you should consider yourself lucky to have a job before you consider yourself great.

Offensive Winning Percentage: .225

In layman's terms, paraphrased from Baseball Prospectus, is the percentage of games that a team could expect to win if the output of a given player were replicated by all 9 players. The rate for a standard, run of the mill replacement player was set by Bill James at .350, which means that over a 162 game season, a team of replacement players could expect to win 56 games. The Bill Hall Living Legends Roadshow, however, would only win 36 games. A TEAM OF BILL HALLS WOULD LOSE TWENTY MORE GAMES THAN A TEAM COMPRISED OF MERELY AVERAGE PLAYERS!!!!

Positional MLV: -13.1

Described verbatim from BP as "runs contributed by a batter beyond what an average player at the same position would produce in a team of otherwise league-average batters". In a team of average batters, Bill Hall costs the team 13 runs. Outstanding.

There is not a single fucking statistic that justifies the title of "League Average Third Basemen", much less "Best Third Basemen in the Game". In fact, every time Bill Hall appears in the game for the Brewers, he dramatically impinges their chances of winning. Congratulations Bill Hall, you are not only unproductive, but an idiot as well.

Home Improvement

I know, the award a day plan hasn't exactly gone smoothly. I was travelling to Canada to promote "A Night in Nova Scotia With Stephen Harper", my latest adult graphic novel. Thanks to the masses who came out to support me, and thanks to Prime Minister Harper for dropping the lawsuit.

Now that that's out of the way, we can get back to work. Which is fitting, since the award for today is not one that anyone wants to win, as we're going to figure out who needs to improve the most in the second half in order for the Brewers to contend for the playoffs. We've got a crowded field, as the past few weeks have demonstrated that the Brewers are a team with many flaws. Our contenders for the crown are: bench production, starting pitching, and relief. Here is the case for all of them:

Starting and Relief Pitching

Yovanni Gallardo has been the sole bright spot in the starting rotation, and has pitched much, much better than his 8-7 record suggests (more on this later). For the most part, the starting pitching has been unspectacular, unreliable, and inconsistent. From one start to the next, who knows what we should expect from the motley crew made up of Jeff Suppan, Braden Looper, Manny Parra, Dave Bush, with cameos from Mike Burns and Seth McClung. While the bullpen has had their moments, as a whole I think they've been really good. When they do falter, I feel it's moreso due to being overworked, a direct result of the underwhelming performances by the starting pitchers. So while we could always use improvement, the bullpen is probably good enough to get us where we need to be. Here are the numbers for the entire staff, compared with the league average numbers:

Home Runs Allowed: 114 (League Average: 86)

Walks: 319 (League Average:315)

Strikeouts: 615 (League Average:606)

ERA+: 93, Third Worst in the Majors! (League Average: 101)

WHIP: 1.399 (League Average: 1.385)

Bench Production

The achilles heel for this team has, for the entirety of the year, been the lack of bench production. This ragtag bunch began with Chris Duffy, Brad Nelson, Casey Mcgehee, Craig Counsell, and Mike Rivera (who I barely count, and thus will not speak of very much). Injuries and a lack of production from Bill Hall have led to me consistent playing time for Mcgeehee and Counsell, while a lack of production cost Duffy and Nelson their roster spots.

The replacements for Duffy and Nelson, Frank Catalontto and Jody Gerut have arrived, Mat Gamel has been promoted, and Bill Hall has been relegated to bench duty. Rather than looking at the bench as a whole, because there are a few bright spots, I will focus on our most egregiously bad performers.

Brad Nelson: 23 plate appearances, 0 hits, 2 walks, .000 Batting Average, .087 OBP and OPS, -74 OPS+, -5.1 VORP

Chris Duffy: 37 plate appearances, 4 hits, 4 walks, .222 OBP, .378 OPS, 3 OPS+, -4.3 VORP

Jody Gerut: 43 plate appearances, 4 hits, 3 walks, .163 OBP, .265 OPS, -27 OPS+, -6.8 VORP

Bill Hall (more on him later): 208 plate appearances, .260 OBP, .595 OPS, 57 OPS+, -7.2 VORP

These guys, all of whom possess negative VORP numbers, cripple our chances of competing every single time they appear in the game.

One move that has worked out, to some extent, is the acquisition of Frank Catalanotto, so I feel it's only right to acknowledge his performance:

Catalanotto: 52 plate appearances, .327 OBP, .731 OPS, 93 OPS+

The bottom line is that we've tried time and time again to repair the effectiveness of our bench, to no avail. It is undoubtably the area where we need the most help. The inconvenient truth, however, is that if we truly want to emerge as a contender, we need to solidify every aspect of the ballclub. And maybe stop playing people who are worse than a replacement player.

The 'Cable Guy' Pleasently Surprised Award

Greetings. We're working ourselves to exhaustion over here at JABO headquarters. Hope you're all impressed and mildly entertained. You make it all possible.

The Cable Guy Pleasant Surprise Award
Winner: Todd Coffey
Runner-Up: Craig Counsell

This was a close one. Day 2's Award has been dedicated to one of Jim Carrey's less heralded roles, the 1996 comedy The Cable Guy. This maligned film has suffered numerous pop-culture onslaughts (see Planet Springfield Visit), but in a vacuum, The Cable Guy is pretty funny and a solid little comedy. Similarly, Todd Coffey is putting together a nice little season and puts on a comedy show every time he appears in a game. This type of performance proves once again why Doug Melvin shan't be questioned in public. Coffey was claimed off waivers by the Brewers last September after the Reds dumped him and his 6.00 ERA. Miraculously, he proved invaluable to the Brewers down the stretch and into the playoffs. And surprisingly, he's come up big in tough situations this season too.

When we look back at Jim Carrey's career, most will look past the comedy pairings of Carrey and Matthew Broderick. And when we look back at 2009, hopefully Todd Coffey is not the highlight. Us dreamers would like to think other feats of strength will carry the Brewers into October baseball. And for that reason, Todd Coffey wins Day 2's Pleasantly Surprised Award. He is also the winner on account of his pleasantly surprising age: 28. Congrats sir.

Chuckie O

BONUS!!!
JABO Trivia: Out of the last 10 Home Run Derbies, how many have included a member of the Milwaukee Brewers?

The Tom Hanks Award for Overall Excellence

Welcome one and all to the first annual JABO's. As KP proclaimed, in efforts to regain your allegiance and love we will be granting one award per day (starting today) from now until the All-Star Game begins next Tuesday. I look forward to the lavishness and majesty of this award season. Here we go...

The Tom Hanks Award for Overall Excellence
Winner: Prince Fielder
Runner-Up: Trevor Hoffman

I figured my last post was a little sorrowful, (it's ok to cry) so I figured I'd start by recognizing the highlight of the Brewers' first half.

Prince Fielder has been nothing short of fantastic in a lineup filled with otherwise un-intimidating bats. Teams around the league have noticed this and subsequently pitched around Fielder more than ever. In 159 games last year, Prince walked 84 times. Through 85 in 2009, he has earned 61. Chalk it up to discipline says Buster Olney, The Rock, and other brilliant baseball minds. Yes, discipline and consistency is the name of the game for the Prince, as well as the namesake for this award. Just like Mr. Hanks, Prince has performs well in every aspect. Time and time again Prince delivers. Prince's stats are amazing and he should win the NL MVP for Someone Not Named Pujols. Eventually, Prince will win the big one, but until then, he continues to carry this team, just as Hanks has carried film after film. And I'm pretty sure Prince could tell Dottie Hinson to hang onto a baseball.

Just get to the point Chuck: Prince's first half has mirrored the career of Tom Hanks. Both icons have consistently turned in good performances and they are awesome. Just keep doing that thing you do Prince. Thanks to Prince, Houston does have a problem. It's crazy how often Fielder treats opposing pitchers like Toys. (One more?) Catch me if you can, Albert...at least in the RBI chase.

You've been great. Good talk. Go Brewers.

Chuckie

Some People Wait a Lifetime for a Moment Like This

If we can learn anything from the awful, vomit-inducing 5-1 loss the Brewers were just handed by the St. Louis Cardinals (aside from the fact that Will Leitch's favorite baseball team is full of rookie pricks) it's that a baseball season is full of highs and lows. We've just seen one of the lowest points, but the higher points of the season still allow us to hope for better things(it shall rise from the ashes!).

Aside from giving us hope, these higher points of the season are also important because of their high levels of fucking awesomeness. And now, here are your nominees:

Danny Gokey Throws Out the First Pitch

Just kiding, who gives a fuck about this? Now onto the real nominees.

Rain Delay in Detroit

The entire JABOutside Crew, including myself, Captain Fantastic, Chuckie Oliver, and two lucky contest winners made a weekend pilgrimage to the booming metropolis of Detroit for the Brewers series. On the first night there, we were quickly treated to a rain delay. Coming from our retractably-roofed fortress, we were shocked and amazed at such an occurance. The entire crew took it upon ourselves to take this rare opportunity to drink ourselves into oblivion at the stadium bar, probably titled with some dumbshit name like "The Den". As fun as it was to hear phrases like "do you really support this brokedown city AND this piece of shit baseball team?" coming out of the mouth of our drunken, thirteen year old contest winner, the fact that the Brewers lost the game and the series means this cannot possibly be the ultimate highlight.

Cleveland Indians Series

This one is a heavy favorite to win, given the amount of incredible moments associated with it. In no particular order, this is a game which featured:

1. "Wild Thing" Bobblehead Giveaway Day

Maybe you've seen the legendary movie "Major League"(filmed in Milwauke!), or maybe you have not and your life is empty and meaningless. Either way, you have to appreciate how outstanding this giveaway was.

2. An Awesome Comeback Win

At one point in this game, the Brewers were down by a score of 12-7, leading me to momentarily stop watching the game and focus on looking up old Saved By The Bell clips on YouTube for awhile. After finding many worthwhile distractions, I resumed watching the game and was rewarded with an incredible offensive outburst which included:

3. Prince Fielder's First Grand Slam

Though Prince has long been notorious for hitting baseballs incredible distances, I don't think I have ever seen him hit one as hard as this one. Plus, we were also very fortunate that the bases were loaded.

4. Prince Fielder giving the "Suck it" sign to the Cleveland Indians fans

This speaks for itself.

5. SWEEP

THE AWARD GOES TO:Rickie Weeks Scores in the Bottom of the 9th on Opening Day

As memorable as that Cleveland series was, there were so many factors which makes this moment my choice for the very best of the half-season. In no particular order: excessive parking lot drinking, first pitch shots at Fridays, sneaking down to closer seats with Chuckie, verbally assaulting a Cubs fan (who bought four seats for himself, and sat alone) from the 7th inning on, and high-fiving every man, woman, and child after this walk-off hit. It was one of those great moments that justifies and explains why we put up with so many close calls, blowouts, and heartbreaking moments. And for that reason, it stands alone as the best of the year.

Just a Bit of a Renaissance

Hola amigos, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. Really, it's been a long time since you've heard from any of us, so consider this our way of letting you know that we're still alive (except for Chuckie Oliver's dignity which died somewhere along a Michigan highway several months ago). I have no real excuse for the prolonged sabbatical, but I do want to say that I enjoy writing acerbic comments about baseball to half a dozen people online so I will make an honest effort to check in every so often.

With the first half of the season coming to a close, Sir Charles Oliver and myself decided it would be appropriate to give out some awards. And since we've been gone for so long, we're going to draw this out as long and painfully as possible, and we're each going to present a different award every day from now until the All-Star game. Captain Fantastic, who can only be reached via messenger birds, has not been informed of this decision yet but we can only hope he will join in the revelry.

Without further ado, let's get these awards rolling.

Many 'Fantastic' Returns

They said it wouldn't happen. They said we wouldn't see him again. They said he had abandoned his people. They said he had forgotten his login password for the blog. But they were wrong. And by 'they' we all know who I'm talking about. The haters. Haters who said Captain Fantastic was no more. Well folks, from the ashes rises a phoenix. Captain Fantastic is back. You might be asking “Captain Fantastic, where have you been all this time?”. To which, I'll respond, “I'll ask the questions on my blog asshole”. So what rose me from my proverbial Tora Bora cave system? None other than a nonsensical comment by FSN Wisconsin's own Bill “Rock” Schroeder during Wednesday night's Brewers vs. Cardinals matchup. With no further Freddy Adu, sporting my #45 jaboutside jersey, I'll jump into my breakdown of Bill's diluted baseball mind:

I need to paraphrase here seeing is how I didn't have my “Bill Schroeder bologna” notepad handy (it was in my other fanny pack. Don't you hate it when that happens?!):

“Albert Pujols is in the category that you walk him intentionally with the bases loaded. He has four grand slams this season.”

Holy Guacamole Bill! What fly by night school of baseball managing are you subscribing to?!


According to the history of the sport we know as baseball, since the beginning of the 20th century only four players have been walked intentionally with the bases loaded. Four! Not to mention only two of those four have been given a bases loaded free pass since we kicked the Nazi's butts in World War II. This isn't walking the catcher to get to the pitcher or even sacrifice bunting to move a runner into scoring position we're talking about here. This is baseball heresy! Believe it or not, this event actually happened just last season in a game between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays. Manager Joe Maddon decided to give a free pass to Texas slugger, and former junkie, Josh Hamilton with the bases juiced. And...it worked! The Rays retired the next batter and eventually won the game! Following the contest Maddon had this to say about his decision:

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’ve got to go with what you think is the right thing in the moment, based on everything that’s presented to you.
“Of course if it didn’t work out I would have been skewered, and that would have been fine.”


Fair point Joe! I'll make sure to use that line next time I get brought into the police station for hanging out too close to the playground again. In a philosophical sense, do the ends always justify the means? Apparently to Joe Maddon and potentially Rock they do.

Also, what category exists of players that should be intentionally walked with the bases loaded!? Can I find this on MLB.com? Albert Pujols is amazing yes. He should win the MVP Award every year until he decides to hang up his cleats. But last time I checked the list of people one should walk with the bases juiced looked like this:

List of People you should Intentionally Walk with the Bases Loaded
By Common Sense

1. Steve Nebraska from The Scout
2. Ken Griffey Jr. in Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest for Nintendo 64
3. The kid in your little league who clearly had a mustache by age 11
4. Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez


That's it. I'm sorry, but I don't see Albert Pujols on that list. Case closed.

The bottom line is that it's a dumb idea just like a flat tax system and background checks by potential employers. The MLB record for grand slams in a season is six, held by Travis Hafner and Dandy Don Mattingly. Even if Albert the Great continues at this rate of grand salamis he'll end the season with eight maybe nine? How many times will he come to the plate with the bases loaded? Depending on the batters in front of him, probably a lot more. And what are his chances of hitting a home run in that spot? 12%? 15%? Depending on his Home Run to At-Bat ratio at the time. Yes, it saves you the asshole reporter asking after you give up the grand slam to Pujols why you pitched to him in that spot, but it opens you up to the next guy clearing the bases or missing the likely chance that Albert will make an out. He still makes outs at an incredible rate, almost 2 to 1! Don't get me wrong here, Captain Fantastic is all about winning ball games, but Captain Fantastic also isn't an idiot.


Anywho, in closing let me just say that it's great to be back. I'd like to thank you for all the well wishes and kind words I received in my absence. Sorry to Chuckie O for pushing the first post anyone has made in months off the top of the page, but you never know what or when Captain Fantastic will rise from the ether.

Jah Bless...


(cue the music!)

First Half Therapy

Hey there kids. With the first half of the season in the books, I figured its fine time to jump back in this blog of dreams. Captain Fantastic,the inspiration for NBC's Philanthropist , has yet to return from his latest charitable effort in Detroit in which he donated t-shirts to parking garage attendants. But KP and I will march along nonetheless.

Now to the matter at hand: What the fuck is wrong with the Brewers? I offer a few theories:
1. Rickie Weeks' absence is killing our offense and general functionality
2. The bullpen is overworked and losing their effectiveness
3. Dave Bush hasn't worn his bling in awhile
4. Bill Hall locked the batting cage keys inside the cage
5. Too many day games for Braun's pretty eyes

Theory the first: I think Rickie's absence has proven to be the biggest story of the first half, with the addition of "Trevor Time" ranking second. While Rickie's injury was bemoaned for a few days after the injury, it's effects will linger until the end of the season. For the first 34 game with Rickie leading off, the Brewers were 23-14 and cruising along with a 5 game win streak. Since May 17, the Crew is 20-26 and depressing Brewers nation more than the economy. With Rickie, the team averaged 5.14 runs per game. Without: 4.39. I'm a big believer in team confidence/swagger/gusto/testicular fortitude (it's ok, it's a wrestling link) and Rickie appeared to embody the team's swelling confidence. Number 23 was proving commentators wrong with his swing, just as the team was shaking off low expectations and steamrolling through the NL Central. You'd think Ryan Braun would have enough swagger to cover for Rickie, but this pre-all star break swoon proves otherwise.

Sure, without Rickie's injury, rookie of the year candidate Casey Megahee would be Mike Rivera-ing, Bill Hall would still be our 1st 3B option and Gamel would be in Sean Whalen-ville. But the stability Rickie was providing at the top of the lineup and at 2B was superb. Maybe the entire team was just overachieving and the shitty play since then was just a coindidence. Oh well.

2. Bullpen worries. The rate at which the Brewers are pulling up rag-arms from the minor leagues is alarming. Remember how often Claudio Vargas pitched past the 5th inning? It was more rare then laughing at a Dane Cook movie. Well, he was the only pitcher you had to worry about not pitching deep into a game with a surrounding rotation of Sheets, Capuano, Bush, a young Yovanni and Suppan. And the bullpen (mostly Villanueva) STILL got worn out by the end of the season. Many will argue that Ned mishandled the bullpen, but I'd rather fault the starting pitching. Seven inning starts are practically forbidden over the last few weeks and the bullpen is suffering. If I were paid to do this, I would look up the bullpen ERA for each month, but I have naps and sandwiches to get to so just trust me. A once stalwart 'pen is bearing the brunt of Suppan and the gang's suckiness and now we have to keep calling up arms that have no business in the major leagues (i.e. Burns, Narveson, Smith). Ugh

3. Day games. Braun took it upon himself to voice the team's concerns about the apparently crippling shadows of Miller Park on day games a few weeks ago. This immediately struck me as an idiotic thing to say. Heartthrob Gord Ash succinctly countered those sentiments with a legitimate concern: "You hope it doesn't become a mental thing". Braun seems to have a major leadership role with the Brewers so if he's complaining about things that he can't control, the other players are probably buying it...which sucks. A look at the numbers is slightly reassuring...
In home games played before 3:05pm, the Brewers are 6-7 scoring 42 runs, with 62 scored against them. The record's ok, but getting outscored by 20 runs in 13 games shows you that teams are able to hit in the shadows, but that team does not play for Ken Macha.


So that's my two cents. I'm pissed and utterly disappointed in this team, especially after the recent squabbling between Braun and Melvin. Braun wasn't that out of line in calling out his pitchers (they're human and they suck), but calling out Doug Melvin for not making a trade is mindless. When Doug pulled the trigger for Sabathia last year, the team showed the potential to do some damage with one final piece. This year, if ol Doug makes a move of any significance, they may finish at .500. It's depressing, but prospects appear more valuable now than Javier Vazquez no matter what fan favorite Michael Hunt claims.

I hope I'm wrong about all of these things. I hope Braun's media mayhem sparks the team as it did after the sweep in Boston last year. I hope Corey Hart finds his swing again and I desperately hope the pitching rotation finds a groove like they did before Rickie's injury....but all signs point to a sub-.500 second half and a boring September. Go Packers.

Peace, Love & Gap,
Chuckie