There's something brewing - A Badenian going America

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

13th April 2008

First win in Game #8? After two weeks of virus, work and health problems the Brewers are back full of optimism. We hope are vs. LHP lineup can win it for us today.

Game #8 – Milwaukee [0-7] (M. Parra 0-1, 7.11 ERA) at San Francisco [3-4] (P. Misch 0-0, 9.00 ERA)

LF S. Victorino - 2B R. Weeks - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - CF B. Hall - RF F. Gutierrez - SS L. Rivas - C H. Blanco

Two runs for the Giants in the 1st, three errors committed by the Brewers. Not a good outlook for a win. But nevertheless we finally managed it. After "Calamity" Braun fumbled the inning ending double play ball in the 5th, he reacted to my anger with a two run homer in the 6th. I caught some nasty remarks by Ned Yost when I pulled solid starter Parra with two outs in the 6th and the bases loaded for small pinch hitter Izturis. But he showed once again why he's one of my favorites delivering a 2-RBI single. Dessens and Fujita pitched three decent innings to collect our first win in eight tries.

Milwaukee at San Francisco: 6-3

W: M. Parra (1-1), L: P. Misch (0-1)
HR - R. Braun (2) / -
MoM: R. Durham - 4/5, 1 R, 1 RBI

Elsewhere:

The red hot Marmots (5-3) destroy the Twins (3-5) by a score of 12-0. The Twins lose SP Kevin Slowey and SS Alexi Casilla to injury. The Mets MR Ambiorix Burgos is out for the season with a torn bicep muscle. The Astros LF Carlos Lee homered thrice in a 10-1 over Pittsburgh. 1B Albert Pujols hit his 300th homer for St. Louis.

2B Erick Aybar of the Angels was chosen player of the week hitting .471 with 5 RBI.

The Mets CF Lastings Milledge achieved the same feat. He hit .500 with 10 RBI and 8 Runs scored.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

14th April 2008

Can we extend our winning streak to 2 games against Giants ace Lincecum? We sent spot starter Carlos Villanueva to the mound as scheduled starter David Bush is still tired.

Game #9 – Milwaukee [1-7] (C. Villanueva 0-0, 9.00 ERA) at San Francisco [3-5] (T. Lincecum 0-0, 1.29 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - C J. Estrada - 3B M. Gamel

What a nasty game! Villanueva handed a 8-4 lead after seven innings to the bullpen, which obviously blew it. "Closer" Cordero allowed a solo homer with two outs and a 1-2 count in the 9th. As our bullpen was already exhausted before the game, we decided to bring on starter Chris Capuano in the 11th. He got some help by a three run homer from Bill Hart, which broke the Giants resistance.

Milwaukee at San Francisco: 11-8 (12)

W: C. Capuano (1-0), L: S. Linebrink (0-3)
H: A. Embree (2)
BS: F. Cordero (2)
HR - B. Hall (1) / B. Molina (1), M.Sanders (1), R. Durham (2)
MoM: M. Gamel - 3/5, 1 R, 3 RBI

We won two in a row and our first series of the season. Our bullpen is in a horrible shape and we hope to manage the upcoming Atlanta series somehow before having a day off.

Elsewhere:

The team that gave us a hard battle for the NL Central title last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are now the worst team in baseball with a 1-8 record. The Padres who went 73-89 last year are MLB's best going 8-1.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

15th April 2008

A home series against the 3-6 Braves who lost much to expansion and rule V draft. As some every day starters are tired, we have to shuffle our lineup again. But our "B-lineup" did very well in yesterdays game.

Game #10 – Atlanta [3-6] (W. Ledezma 0-1, 1.35 ERA) at Milwaukee [2-7] (D. Bush 0-1, 8.44 ERA)

3B C. Izturis - SS L. Rivas - 2B R. Weeks - 1B P. Fielder - RF F. Gutierrez - LF G. Gross - C H. Blanco - CF T. Gwynn Jr.

And our "B-lineup" was again very productive with the small ball. We collected runs step by step for a 6-0 after six innings. Bush showed his 2007 form in the first half of the game, allowing virtually nothing. The 7th was his only bad inning, allowing a three run shot to Pope. Due to his low pitch count I let him complete the game to give our bullpen a day off.

Atlanta at Milwaukee: 4-8

W: D. Bush (1-1), L: W. Ledezma (0-2)
HR - V. Pope (1) / -
MoM: P. Fielder - 4/5, 1 R, 3 RBI

Izturis went 3 from 5 improoving to a league leading .516 batting average.

Elsewhere:

Poor Twins lose also Justin Morneau and Franciso Liriano to injury. Soon they have called up their entire AAA squad.

As NL Central teams struggle alltogether, we are only three games back despite our woeful 3-7 record.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

16th April 2008

Can we make it four in a row? Hopefully our ace finally starts pitching like one. Before this matchup the Braves have a team ERA of 6.72 (16th), while we post a 5.84 (15th). We hit so far only 0.4 homers per game. Dead last in the league.

Game #11 – Atlanta [3-7] (K. Davies 1-1, 3.60 ERA) at Milwaukee [3-7] (B. Sheets 0-2, 5.11 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - 3B B. Hall - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - C J. Estrada - CF T. Gwynn Jr.

The first inning began bad as C Estrada threw another ball into the outfield in what should have been the inning ending out. Davies looked strong in the beginning and I feared Estrada's error was all the Braves needed. But then in the 5th we played the "small game" again, scoring three to tie the game. In the 8th we took advantage of two Atlanta errors and Bob Wickman's wildness to take the lead. I showed faith in CL Cordero he recorded his first save of the season despite giving up a lead off hit.

Atlanta at Milwaukee: 3-5

W: B. Sheets (1-2), L: B. Wickman (0-1)
SV: F. Cordero (1)
HR - J. Francoeur (3) / -
MoM: B. Sheets - 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Every starter on todays lineup - besides Sheets and Estrada - have now at least one stolen base.

Elsewhere:

Vladimir Guerreo of the Los Angeles Angels collects his 2000th career hit in a 7-6 victory against Baltimore. The Astros SS Felipe Lopez hit for the cycle in a 9-4 victory against the Cardinals. The Dodgers 3B Travis Denker homered thrice against the Giants, who lost the game 12-9.

After winning three in a row we are tied for last with the St. Louis Cardinals (4-7) in the NL Central.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

17th April 2008

MR Fernando Nieve was called up from the DL and sent to AAA Nashville. We claimed our former catching prospect Nestor Correador off waivers from the Vancouver Marmots. It has to be seen if we will keep him, as he is obviously not ready for the 40-man roster.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

17th April 2008

Expansion means a very tight schedule. Tomorrow we will have the first "off-day" of the season. We will nevertheless rest Weeks, Hall and Gross as all of them struggled at the plate so far. Estrada is also benched. We didn't expect much defense from him, but as he doesn't hit either, we rather use defensively strong Blanco at catcher.

Game #12 – Atlanta [3-8] (M. Harrison 1-1, 3.65 ERA) at Milwaukee [4-7] (Y. Gallardo 0-0, 4.09 ERA)

2BC. Izturis - LF S. Victorino - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - RF F. Gutierrez - C H. Blanco - CF T. Gwynn Jr. - SS L. Rivas

Atlanta took the lead already in the 1st and should never be threatened to lose this game anymore. Despite striking out seven Gallardo had a rather lousy outing allowing eleven hits. Defense was shaky and our offense once again without any power. At least our bullpen shows signs of improovement.

Atlanta at Milwaukee: 5-1

W: M. Harrison (2-1), L: Y. Gallardo (0-1)
HR - B. Jones (1) / -
MoM: B. Jones - 3/4, 3 R, RBI, SB

Elsewhere:

The whole league heads into a day off tomorrow.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

19th April 2008

Last september the Pirates gave us a very hard battle in the NL Central, which we eventually won by a game. Now they are 1-11 in the NL East and we are 4-8. Taking into consideration that they won almost all games against us last season, I'm afraid their eight game losing streak will soon come to an end. As Chris Capuano missed his start due to bullpen action last week, we shuffled our starting rotation a bit.

Game #13 – Milwaukee [4-8] (C. Capuano 1-0, 3.86 ERA) at Pittsburgh [1-11] (I. Snell 0-2, 5.73 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - 3B B. Hall - C J. Estrada

The two runs the Pirates scored in the 1st seemed already enough for them to win it. But in the 8th we took advantage of their bullpen to tie the game. We even had a runner on 2nd and 3rd with no outs, but struck out twice with the bases loaded. In the 9th Pittsburgh was too aggressive for Capellan and their losing streak came to an end.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh: 3-5

W: S. Torres (1-0), L: J. Capellan (0-1)
H: M. Tejera (1), B. Rogers (2), D. Marte (2)
BS: S. Torres (1)
S: J. Williams (1)
HR - S. Victorino (1) / -
MoM: S. Victorino - 2/5, 2 R, HR, 1 RBI

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

20th April 2008

We don't want to repeat our horrible performances against the Pirates. Must win game, even if they send Zach Duke who didn't allow a earned run in 12 innings to the mount.

Game #14 – Milwaukee [4-9] (D. Bush 1-1, 5.65 ERA) at Pittsburgh [2-11] (Z. Duke 1-0, 0.00 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - LF S. Victorino - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - CF B. Hall - 2B R. Weeks - RF F. Gutierrez - C H. Blanco

No matter how bad the Pirates are, we still manage to play worse. Despite a sold outing by Bush and stealing four bases, we couldn't score. Hitting with runners in scoring position is awfully bad. The Pirates took the lead in the 3rd and didn't concede a run until the end.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh: 1-3

W: Z. Duke (2-0), L: D. Bush (1-2)
H: B. Rogers (3), D. Marte (3), S. Torres (1)
S: J. Williams (2)
HR - / R. Doumit (2)
MoM: Z. Duke - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

21th April 2008

American League Player of the Week:
J.D. Drew (Boston): .500, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R

National League Player of the Week:
Carlos Lee (Houston): .522, 4 HR, 11 RBI

Our catching prospect Dan Tsamis (West Virginia) was voted South Atlantic League Player of the Week. Tsamis hit .667, with 1 HR and 4 RBIs. In addition he nailed 57.1 % of runners attemping to steal.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

21st April 2008

We can still finish April above .500, if we win all remaining games and avoid getting swept at Pittsburgh once more

Game #15 – Milwaukee [4-10] (M. Parra 1-1, 5.56 ERA) at Pittsburgh [3-11] (T. Gorzelanny 0-2, 5.09 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - LF S. Victorino - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - CF B. Hall - 2B R. Weeks - RF F. Gutierrez - C H. Blanco

Holy Cow what a game. After committing two errors and a wild pitch in the 3rd the Pirates lead 6-2 and our hopes of avoiding the sweep were slim. But a great relief effort by Villanueva and Capellan gave our offense a chance to start a comeback. Even if we left the bases loaded with one out once again in the 7th, a two run shot by pinch hitter Gabe Gross gave us a one run lead in the 8th. But sadly we had to hand the ball to "closer" Cordero in the 9th just to see him give up a three run walk off homer to Ryan Doumit. Cordero wasted a game for the 3rd time in this young season.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh: 8-10

W: K. Gryboski (1-0), L: F. Cordero (0-2)
H: M. Tejera (2), F. Osoria (1)
BS: F. Cordero (3), K. Gryboski (1)
HR - G. Gross (1) / R. Doumit (3)
MoM: R. Doumit 3/5, 1 R, 3 RBI, game winning homer

Elsewhere:

Houston's CF Hunter Pence will miss up to four weeks with a damaged meniscus.
We share MLB's worst record (4-11) with the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates who just swept us.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

22st April 2008

After 100 angry fans welcomed us with boos at the Milwaukee airport and Cordero even needed police protection, we started thinking about some moves.

Our bullpen has an ERA of well over 6 and I simply can't give the ball to Cordero in the 9th anymore for the time being. Fujita will be the new closer, even if he was far from being spectacular so far. The question is what to do with Cordero?

It was obvious that he has no future at Milwaukee even he did ok last season. But fans seemed to target him exclusively for our disastrous start. So once again the Phillies were willing trade partners:

Trade
We sent CL Francisco Cordero (0-2-1, 12.46 ERA, 2.31 WHIP, 4.1 IP, 3 BB, 2 K) to the Phillies
for
MR Akinori Otsuka (0-0-0, 1.59 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 5.2 IP, 1 BB, 7 K)
SP Francisco Rosario (1-2, 1.57 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 23.0 IP, 11 BB, 16 K - AAA Ottawa)
2B Bradley Harman (.444, 1 SB - AAA Ottawa)
MR Nathan Johnson (0-0-0, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 2.0 IP 0 BB, 1 K - AAA Ottawa)

We got a proven reliever and three great talents. The trade should help our bullpen and improove our AAA affiliate Nashville a lot. I think once again we got the better part in traving with Philadelphia.

Otsuka will be the new set-up man, while we send Capellan down to AAA Nashville. Old warhorse Brian Shouse gets another shot a mayor league level to face lefties.
Rosario will be new ace at Nashville, while Harman and Johnson might also not be far from the big leagues. C Mike Rivera was designated for assignment as we decided to keep talented waiver pick up Nestor Corredor.

Game #16 – St. Louis [6-9] (C. Carpenter 0-2, 4.97 ERA) at Milwaukee [4-11] (B. Sheets 1-2, 3.54 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - 3B M. Gamel - C J. Estrada

The shock trade of Cordero showed everybody on our roster that a World Series ring is no excuse for bad performance. The guys seemed to have understood what I mean and went on a rampage against the Cardinals. Ben Sheets was red hot on the mound and even hit two homers. Struggling Estrada, Gross and Braun homered as well. We also took advantage of the Cardinals bullpen who certainly won't head rested to game two of the series.

St. Louis at Milwaukee: 2-9

W: B. Sheets (2-2), L: C. Carpenter (0-3)
HR - / B. Sheets 2 (2), R. Braun (3), J. Estrada (1), G. Gross (2)
MoM: B. Sheets - 9.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K - 2/3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI

Elsewhere:

Mike Mussina (2-0, 3.10 ERA) of the Yankees won his 250th game of his career. He struck our 12 in seven strong innings against the Vancouver Marmots.

The White Sox shortstop Pedro Feliz (.222, 2 HR, 5 RBI) went 5 for 5 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Francisco Cordero didn't replace Tom Gordon as Philles closer. He is moved to a set up role.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

23rd April 2008

Hopefully we can make it two in a row against the Cardinals, who seem to face another below .500 season.

Game #17 – St. Louis [6-10] (B. Looper 2-0, 3.38 ERA) at Milwaukee [5-11] (Y. Gallardo 0-1, 5.29 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - 3B B. Hall - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - CF T. Gwynn Jr. - C. J. Estrada

As many times before we gave up a run in the first inning, but unless many other games we managed to rally. A 2 out 2 RBI single by Gwynn Jr. was enough to decide the game. Our new Japanese "close & late" combo did well and brought the game home.

St. Louis at Milwaukee: 2-4

W: Y. Gallardo (1-1), L: B. Looper (2-1)
H: J. Cruz (2), A. Embree (3), A. Otsuka (2)
S: S. Fujita (1)
HR -
MoM: Y. Gallardo - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 K

Elsewhere:

- Joe Kennedy (Toronto; 3-0, 2.45 ERA) throws a three hitter against the Mariners.
- Ivan Rodriguez (Detroit; .255, 2 HR, 8 RBI) collects his 2500th career hit.

We are not tied for last (6-11) with the Cardinals, 5 games behind the Astros and the Cubs.

Francisco Cordero (0-3-1, 10.50 ERA) blew his first game as a Philly.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

24th April 2008

Maybe the Cordero trade was the much needed wakeup call? If we can sweep the Cardinals there's hope for the rest of the season.

Game #18 – St. Louis [6-11] (B. Hawksworth 2-0, 3.28 ERA) at Milwaukee [6-11] (C. Capuano 1-0, 3.86 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - 3B B. Hall - C. J. Estrada

It looked like an easy win as Capuano had a good outing, even if his pitch count ran high rather quickly. Trouble started in the 8th when Elmer "Victoria" Dessens suddenly lost his stuff and suffered four runs. Brian Shouse did ok, but allowed the tying run on second and third, so that we had to put a slightly tired Otsuka to close it out. Both teams combined for six errors.

St. Louis at Milwaukee: 6-9

W: C. Capuano (2-0), L: B. Hawksworth (2-1)
H: B. Shouse (1)
S: A. Otsuka (1)
HR - C. Beltran (5) / -
MoM: C. Beltran - 1/4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI

Freddy Garcia is coming from the DL. Carlos Villanueva is sent down to Nashville to collect a couple of more starts.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

25th April 2008

I hope we can keep our hot streak alive. Next up the expansion team from Buffalo. Hopefully winter is already over up there?

Game #19 – Milwaukee [7-11] (D. Bush 1-2, 5.31 ERA) at Buffalo [10-8] (J. Saunders, 7.41 ERA)

LF S. Victorino - 2B R. Weeks - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - CF B. Hall - RF G. Gross - C H. Blanco - SS L. Rivas

Buffalo Blizzards:
SS I. Desmond - RF T. Snider - 1B C. Dunlap - 3B A. Marte - LF E. Lis - CF B. Clevlen - 2B J. Barfield - C. M. Ramirez

Not looking spectacular, but those guys keep on winnning.

Until the 8th inning we were on pace for a three hitter. But then Alan Embree pitched us into deep trouble, leaving the bases loaded with one out for Freddy Garcia, who was the only available righty. He retired batter number one, but then pinch hitter Jason Place hit a fly ball to deep left, which looked like the tying or even go ahead run. But thankfully Victorino and not Braun played left tonight, so Victorino saved the lead with a spectacular jumping catch. New closer Fujita needed only six pitched for a perfect 9th and his second save. We won the second straight game where we committed three errors.

Milwaukee at Buffalo: 3-1

W: D. Bush (2-2), L: J. Saunders (0-3)
H: J. Cruz (3), A. Embree (4), F. Garcia (1)
S: S. Fujita (2)
MoM: D. Bush - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Our starters record a 4.12 ERA (3rd in NL), while the bullpen records an NL worst of 5.96 ERA. Our eleven homeruns are another NL worst, but we lead the league again with a .363 OBP.

Our 2007 Nr 1 draft pick Ángel Tapia continues to impress at AA Huntsville. He improoved to 0-0-4 with no earned runs in five innings.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

26th April 2008

Our pitching is improoving recently. But batting with runners on base and defense is still awful. Kind of strange that the errors from good fielders like Izturis or Gross and not from guys like "Calamity" Braun so far.

Game #20 – Milwaukee [8-11] (M. Parra 1-1, 6.28 ERA) at Buffalo [10-9] (K. Johnson 2-0, 1.13 ERA)

LF S. Victorino - 2B R. Weeks - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - CF B. Hall - RF F. Gutierrez - SS C. Izturis - C H. Blanco

Never praise Mr Calamity until he fumbles a ball. This time it was Ryan Braun's turn to commit an error. Despite a very strong outing by Manny Parra the game was tied at three after five innings. But one-two-three innings in the 6th, 7th (Parra) and 8th (Cruz) were enough for our offensive to build a 6-3 lead. Old warhorse Brian Shouse was perfect in the 9th after Cruz allowed a lead off double. Looks like the defending World Series champing is slowly warming up.

Milwaukee at Buffalo: 6-3

W: M. Parra (2-1), L: D. Rasner (1-2)
H: J. Cruz (4)
S: B. Shouse (1)
HR - B. Hall (2) / -
MoM: B. Hall - 2/4, 2 R, HR, 1 RBI

Manny Parra is now the worst of our starters with a 4.64 ERA, while Ben Sheets leads the pack with 3.07 ERA.

Elsewhere:

Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox will be out for up to 4 weeks with a fractured hand. The CF batted .321 with 1 HR and 10 RBIs so far.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

27th April 2008

If we win also this one, we would have won six in a row. And a horrible start would have been turned to a rather average month. We rely on Ben Sheets to continue his hot streak and his fight for a new contract. With Rich Hill we have a southpaw for the third game in a row. 3B/CF Bill Hall gets a day off as he showed signs of being tired.

Game #21 – Milwaukee [9-11] (B. Sheets 2-2, 3.07 ERA) at Buffalo [10-10] (R. Hill 2-2, 6.65 ERA)

CF S. Victorino - 2B R. Weeks - 1B P. Fielder - 3B R. Braun - RF G. Gross - SS C. Izturis - LF T. Gwynn Jr. - C H. Blanco

Despite going eight innings Ben Sheets has a very shaky outing and we were more than lucky that he only suffered three runs. Blizzards reliever Jamie Richmond was the decisive factor of the game as he struggled badly in the eight. Our new Japenese closer Soichi Fujiti had little problems to save our sixth victory in a row.

Milwaukee at Buffalo: 6-3

W: B. Sheets (3-2), L: J. Richmond (0-1)
S: S. Fujita (3)
HR - H. Blanco (1), R. Weeks (1) / E. Lis (1)
MoM: R. Weeks - 1/4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Elsewhere:

Evan Anundsen (1-1, 3.07 ERA) pitched a 6-hit shutout for our Single A affiliate West Virginia Power against the Lexington Legends.
Carlos Rivas (3-1, 0.88 ERA) who we received in the Craig Counsell trade from Atlanta threw a four hitter for the Brevard County Manatees (A) against the St. Lucie Mets.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

28th April 2008

American League Player of the Week:
Terrmel Sledge (Cleveland): .647, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R

National League Player of the Week:
Eddy Martinez-Esteve (San Francisco): .500, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 7 R

SP Cory Van Allen and OF Lorenzo Cain came back of the DL and are demoted to AAA Nashville to gain some game action.

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

28th April 2008

For just the second time this season we enter a series against a team with a worse record than ours. The first such series against the Pirates was a complete bust though. Rockies starter Brandon Hynick takes the mouth for the first time this season.

Game #22 – Milwaukee [10-11] (Y. Gallardo 1-1, 4.30 ERA) at Colorado [9-12] (B. Hynick 0-0, 0.00 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 3B B. Hall - RF G. Gross - C J. Estrada - 2B L. Rivas

Even if Gallardo had a decent outing, the Rockies quickly took a 4-0 lead. Hynick though was tired after 4 1/3 innings, but rather effective. We managed to pull within one run in the eighth, but Brian Fuentes who pitched four very effective innings was too good for our offense today. Luis Rivas collected his first hit in 22 tries.

Milwaukee at Colorado: 4-5

W: R. Ramirez (1-0), L: Y. Gallardo (1-2)
S: B. Fuentes (1)
HR - / K. Matsui (1)
MoM: K. Matsui - 1/3, 1 R, HR, 2 RBI

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

29th April 2008

April is nearing its end and what looked disastrous just about ten days ago looks more or less allright now. Of course we don't play like last october, but there are signs of improovement. When Fielder and friends find their power again, we might be soon back contending. Today we will limit Ryan "Calamity" Braun who is hitting .372 so far to pinch hitting as he seems exhausted.

Game #23 – Milwaukee [10-12] (C. Capuano 2-0, 3.15 ERA) at Colorado [10-12] (J. Germano 1-2, 4.23 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - LF S. Victorino - 1B P. Fielder - 3B B. Hall - RF G. Gross - 2B R. Weeks - C H. Blanco - CF T. Gwynn Jr.

Rickie Weeks 3 run homer in the top of the first with one out was already enough to put the game out of reach for the Rockies. Strangely enough they already pulled their starter despite an exhausted bullpen. We kept on scoring and built and 9-0 lead after only four innings. To make things worse the Denver team lost its SS Troy Tulowitzki (.294, 1 HR, 8 RBI) after a collision at second base. He will miss up to six weeks. Massive reliever Jorge Julio avoided complete disaster for the Rockies pitching 4.1 strong innings.

Milwaukee at Colorado: 11-4

W: C. Capuano (3-0), L: J. Germano (1-3)
HR - P. Fielder (2), R. Weeks (2)
MoM: R. Weeks - 4/5, 2 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Elsewhere:

SS Reid Brignac (.262, 4 HR, 14 RBI) of Tampa Bay will miss at least four weeks with a strained achilles tendon. In the same game against Minnesota 21 year old starlet Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 2.60 ERA) pitched an impressive six hitter.

Two players who were in our organization, but didn't show much are leading the National League in wins so far:
- Jack Egbert, Buffalo Blizzards: 4-0, 2.87 ERA, 31.1 IP, 28 H, 18 BB, 19 K
- Dennis Sarfate, San Diego Padres: 4-0, 2.10 ERA, 25.2 IP, 22 H, 7 BB, 20 K

[Loeffle]

April 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

30th April 2008

With a win today we finish April at .500. Wouldn't be bad. Today we won't rest a starter. Izturis would need some rest, but we only have one game left until the off day. Rivas is such a disappointment as utility man. I already regret we let Graffanino go. Guess we will analyze AAA Nashville a bit to see if we might have someone better there.

Game #24 – Milwaukee [11-12] (D. Bush 2-2, 4.10 ERA) at Colorado [10-13] (J. Morillo 3-0, 3.55 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 2B R. Weeks - RF G. Gross - 3B B. Hall - C J. Estrada

The game was a pitchers duel until Gabe Gross hit a 2 run homer in the top of the sixth. The Rockies took though advantage of a Weeks error and a 2 run shot by Abreu to make it 4-3. But an exhausted Colorado bullpen couldn't keep the game close and allowed us to score five run in the eighth.

Milwaukee at Colorado: 8-3

W: D. Bush (3-2), L: J. Morillo (3-1)
HR - J. Estrada (2), G. Gross (3) / B. Abreu (6)
MoM: J. Estrada - 2/4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

Elsewhere:

The Cardinals CF Carlos Beltran (.295, 6 HR, 19 RBI) is out for three weeks with a fractured hand.