There's something brewing - A Badenian going America

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

17th May 2008

Before this game there were rumors that unhappy 2B Luis Rivas who was sent down to Nashville will get traded. But at game time no decision was publicized yet. So far we only swept our division rivals St. Louis and Buffalo. If we sweep the Astros as well it would help our rush for the division lead a lot.

Game #39 – Houston [19-19] (R. Oswalt 1-4, 4.47 ERA) at Milwaukee [20-18] (D. Bush 4-3, 3.17 ERA)

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

Another awful day for baseball at Miller Park. Strond wind (21 mph) from center kept the game hitless until the 4th inning, when we were able to construct a run. Bush looked like pitching his second consecutive shutout until Carlos Lee broke his one-hitter with a 451 (!) yards blast in the 7th. The Astros scored another one in the 8th, to make it a 3-2 game. In the ninth Capellan and Shouse allowed runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs, and due to fatigue we had to bring in mop-up reliever Elmer "Vitoria" Dessens to close out the game. When everybody thought the Astros had the game tying hit, 2B Rickie Weeks made a fantastic play to get the final unassisted out at 2nd base.

Houston at Milwaukee: 2-3

W: D. Bush (5-3), L: R. Oswalt (1-5)
H: J. Capellan (3), B. Shouse (4)
S: E. Dessens (1)
HR - C. Lee (8) / -
MoM: D. Bush - 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Bush lowered his ERA to 3.04, which is the best of all Milwaukee starters. Chris Capuano and his 3.59 ERA are the "worst" of all our starters. Bush's WHIP of 1.12 ranks 6th in the National League.

Elsewhere:

Chien-Ming Wang (1-4, 5.86 ERA) threw a one hitter for New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers.

C Chris Ianetta (.264, 1 HR, 20 RBI) went 5 from 5 for the Rockies in a 9-7 victory against the Pirates.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

18th May 2008

The Rivas trade with the Yankees broke down.
So we travel to Ohio where we face the Reds in another key division series. They are doing ok so far this season, but post a 10-5 record at home. Their 3.84 team ERA is good for third in the NL; while our 3.95 ERA ranks us fourth in this category.

Game #40 – Milwaukee [21-18] (C. Capuano 4-1, 3.59 ERA) at Cincinnati [19-20] (A. Harang 3-3, 4.32 ERA)

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

An interesting game for the crowd as both teams opted for the long ball today. Shane Victorino began the scoring breaking out of his slump in the 2nd with a 2 run shot. For some time it seemed to be enough for us, as Capuano had a solid outing. But the Reds got also a two run shot in the 7th by Dave Ross. After Rickie Weeks hit a 467 ft shot in the 9th we thought the game is in the box. But Elmer Dessens couldn't record an out in the bottom of the ninth, leaving a mess to closer Fujita. But after walking the first batter he faced, our Japanese closer got help by a double play before striking out the final batter to record his 5th save.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati: 8-5

W: C. Capuano (5-1), L: A. Harang (3-4)
H: A. Embree (6)
S: S. Fujita (5)
HR - S. Victorino (4), R. Weeks (4) / D. Ross 2 (9), A. Dunn (11)
MoM: D. Ross - 2/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

Our SS Cesar Izturis went 3 from 3, with 2 walks and a stolen base. His batting average rose to .368 - 3rd best in the National League.

We are now tied for the division lead with the Cubs. The Blizzards follow one game behind.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

19th May 2008

American League Player of the Week:
Justin Huber (Kansas City): .474, 3 HR, 13 RBI

National League Player of the Week:
Matt Holliday (Colorado): .583, 4 HR, 11 RBI

SS Marcos Yepez (.284, 3 HR ,14 RBI) of our Higher A Brevard County Manatees wins the outstanding performer of the week in the Florida State League. He hit .474 with 2 HRs and 7 RBI.

SP Chad Billingsley who is currently a free agent refused a minor league deal offered last week.

The next match against the Reds who have more left than right batters. Maybe not an bad idea to give lefty Manny Parra another start. His low stamina might be a problem though as our bullpen is not very rested at the moment. Another problem could be Cincinnati starter Sam LeCure, who is the big leagues best pitcher at the moment.

Game #41 – Milwaukee [22-18] (M. Parra 3-1, 3.46 ERA) at Cincinnati [19-21] (S. LeCure 2-2, 0.65 ERA)

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

Sam LeCure struck out nine through six innings, but the run given up in the first and and second inning were enough to hand the Reds another loss. Manny Parra on the other hand pitched seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.96. Relievers Capellan and Fujita brought the shutout home. The game ended nevertheless on a horrible note:
2B Rickie Weeks (.301, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 32 R, 8 SB) tore his ankle ligaments in the bottom of the ninth and will miss approx. 13 months. A serious blow for us as Weeks was on his way to a career year.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati: 4-0

W: M. Parra (4-1), L: S. LeCure (2-3)
HR - S. Victorino (5), R. Weeks (5) / -
MoM: M. Parra - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

I'm not sure how to deal with the loss of Weeks. He was the perfect Nr. 2 batter this season, offering a high average, a fair deal of power and speed, along with surprisingly above average defense.

Elsewhere:

Bartolo Colon (6-0, 3.67 ERA) pitched a 5-hitter for the Los Angeles Angels, who beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0.

Also the Mets 19 year old wonderkind Deolis Guerra (3-0, 1.21 ERA) threw a 5-hitter. The Padres lost the game 5-0.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

20th May 2008

We decided to give Luis Rivas another chance after he terrorized AAA pitchers hitting .571 in his short stint at Nashville. The other options would have Vinny Rottino or Bradley Harman, who game over from the Phillies system in the Cordero trade. None of these guys offers a powerful bat, but Rivas should at least fill the hole in defense. The plan is that he and Escobar share most of would have been Weeks bats in early innings. Victorino is supposed to bat 2nd.

Nevertheless we sent our scouts to check some 2B free agents on the market.

The Phillies 1B Ryan Howard (.329, 12 HR, 26 RBI) signed a 3 year $30,900,000 contract.

The Mariners traded SS Yuniesky Betancourt (.324, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and last years 6th round draft pick 1B Vincent Bruce to the Blizzards for 2B Josh Barfield (.274, 2 HR, 21 RBI) and LF Ryunosuke Yoshioka (.177, 1 HR, 8 RBI - A).

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

20th May 2008

As Ben Sheets seems not to be rested enough we decided to hand Freddy Garcia another start. Garcia allowed only one run in 8.2 innings in his last start. Will be interesting to see how the team deals with the shocking loss of Rickie Weeks. The new infield combo Izturis - Rivas will already get its first chance today. There are though rumours that Rivas (25 AB - .040, 0 HR, 2 RBI) is in serious danger if he doesn't manage to raise his batting average over the Mendoza line quickly.

Game #42 – Milwaukee [23-18] (F. Garcia 1-0, 2.70 ERA) at Cincinnati [19-22] (B. Arroyo 1-5, 6.11 ERA)

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

The game was an interesting as one. We took exchanged a couple of two run homers with the Reds in the first three innings before both starters were more or less in control. Garcia pitched himself into trouble with control problems to allow the Reds to take the lead. Adding another run in the seventh making it a 5-3 game. In the ninth the top of our lineup started a rally loading the bases for Prince Fielder (with one out) and Bill Hall (with two outs). But both couldn't perform under pressure.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati: 3-5

W: B. Arroyo (2-5), L: F. Garcia (1-1)
H: J. Kershner (1), J. Peralta (4), T. Johnson (7)
S: T. Coffey (9)
HR - R. Braun (9) / D. Ross (10)
MoM: R. Braun - 2/4, 1 R, HR, 2 RBI

Elsewhere:

LF Carl Crawford (.356, 5 HR, 28 RBI) went 5 from 5 for Tampa Bay in a 11-4 rampage over the White Sox.

Jason Windsor (5-1, 4.07 ERA) of Oakland allowed only five hits in a 2-0 shutout against the Marmots.

The Cubs Mark Prior (2-6, 5.76 ERA) pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves. The final score was 8-0.

The Yankees resigned reliever Kyle Farnsworth (1-2, 2.45 ERA). He will earn approx. $2,720,000 in each of the next three years.

Trade:

The Dodgers sent aging LF Cliff Floyd (.308, 1 HR, 2 RBI) to the Tigers for CF Curtis Granderson (.311, 8 HR, 22 RBI) and minor league outfielder Thomas Griffin (.217, 1 HR, 18 RBI). I don't really know why the Tigers gave up Granderson, I really don't know ...
Note: The Tigers ended last year with a balance of $-31,809,984. That might explained why they shipped Granderson's big contract to the West Coast.


Roster move:

We activated Akinori Otsuka from the DL. Even if Jose Capellan (0-1, 3.38 ERA) did well, he has to head back to Nashville.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

21st May 2008

With a rested rotation we head into a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. We faced them in last years 2nd playoff round and also now we share the same record. Luis Rivas (.037) and Franklin Gutierrez (.182) both get another shot to raise their averages.

Game #43 – Milwaukee [23-19] (B. Sheets 4-3, 3.49 ERA) at Arizona [23-19] (E. Gonzalez 4-2, 2.59 ERA)

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

After struggling through the first two innings, Ben Sheets was on the pace to a complete game victory until he gave up the tying home run to Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth. Closer Fujita recorded the final outs to lead us to extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth Cruz allowed a single to speedy Upton who eventually scored the walk-off run after a double by Callaspo.

Milwaukee at Arizona: 3-4 (10)

W: B. Medders (3-1), L: J. Cruz (0-1)
HR - / M. Reynolds (6), C. Gonzalez (7)
MoM: M. Reynolds - 2/2, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

While Rivas and Gutierrez are a combined 6 from 67 with 4 RBI's, Ben Sheets is 8 from 24 with 7 RBI.

Elsewhere:

DH Jim Thome (.291, 7 HR, 23 RBI) hit his 500th career homer. He plays currently for the Chicago White Sox.

The Blue Jays C Robinzon Diaz (.365, 0 HR, 10 RBI) went 5 from 5 in 12-7 victory over Tampa Bay. Diaz is regarded as one of the most thrilling prospects in the league.

3B Andy La Roche (.327, 10 HR, 27 RBI) hit three homers in a 10-2 victory of his Dodgers against the Reds.

MR Salomon Torres (2-1, 1.78 ERA) signed a one year contract extension worth $1,730,000 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rumour:

Ben Sheets is rumoured not seeking a new contract with the Brewers as he wants to test free agency in winter.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

22nd May 2008

Those Sheets rumours certainly didn't improove clubhouse atmosphere, but at the moment little to nothing can be done about that. Behind the scenes Brewer officials try to find out what Sheets plans for next season are. It's also rumoured that the Brewers scout a high profile infielder who was put on waivers by a team which played in the World Series within the last three years. Milwaukee has nevertheless to stay focused otherwise the great run recently is wasted for nothing.

Game #44 – Milwaukee [23-20] (Y. Gallardo 3-3, 3.58 ERA) at Arizona [23-19] (B. Webb 4-3, 3.26 ERA)

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

There were many men on the field today who didn't care about Ben Sheets future at all. Primarily Yovani Gallardo who didn't look like a 22 year old 2nd year player at all. He allowed only four base runners in nine innings and got his first shutout of his short career. Also brilliant the inner infield with Izturis and Escobar who robbed the Diamondbacks about half a dozen ground ball hits. The Arizona team offered us some not needed help by commiting two errors and throwing three wild pitches.

Milwaukee at Arizona: 8-0

W: Y. Gallardo (4-3), L: B. Webb (4-4)
HR - /
MoM: Y. Gallardo - 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K

After this game our bullpen still ranks 16th (5.58 ERA) in the league. But our starters lead the NL with a 3.30 ERA.
Cesar Izturis extended his hitting streak to ten games and raised his average to .377. Calamity Braun's hitting streak is at eleven games now. He has an .344 average and drove in 36 runs.

[gregb7]

I'm really enjoying this (nevermind that I'm a Brewers fan)....keep it up.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

As I live in Europe this will already be my (first?) Christmas Eve Game - Merry Christmas to all readers!

23rd May 2008

Sadly Chris Capuano won't enter the encounter fully rested. For the first time ever red hot Cesar Izturis will bat second. Despite his usual lead-off position he is fourth in RBI's. Rivas gets another shot at Second Base, but if he continue to deny hitting his days as a Brewers are counted.

Game #45 – Milwaukee [24-20] (C. Capuano 5-1, 3.62 ERA) at Arizona [24-20] (M. Owings 2-5, 5.12 ERA)

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

A pretty average game which was decided by a very few good and bad pitches. Capuano gave up three homers, Owings only one. Our error lead to ruan, the Diamondbacks error lead to a double play.

Milwaukee at Arizona: 2-6

W: M. Owings (3-5), L: C. Capuano (5-2)
HR - C. Capuano (1) / S. Drew (6), J. Upton (5), S. Green (1)
MoM: M.Owings - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Braun's hitting streak came to an end, while Rivas' average drops to .031.

After this series the NL Central is still a very tight affair:
CHC 24-21
MIL 24-21
BUF 23-22
STL 22-23
CIN 21-24
HOU 20-25

Elsewhere:

Yankees reliever Chris Britton (3-2-1, 6.29 ERA) will miss up to 8 weeks with a strained elbow ligament. Britton and the Yankees are one of the biggest disappointments so far this season.

Atlanta's 3B Chipper Jones (.276, 11 HR, 29 RBI) collected his 400th career hit.

We claimed 2B Omar Infante (DNP this season) off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. Last year Infante hit .234 with 16 HR's and 58 RBI. Even if there's no guarantee he can reach those numbers again, he is regarded as huge upgrade to current Rivas/Escobar shuffle at Second Base.

[Loeffle]

Originally Posted by gregb7

I'm really enjoying this (nevermind that I'm a Brewers fan)....keep it up.

Thanks a lot

I'm curious how the "real" Brewers solve the Ben Sheets problem next summer!

Merry Christmas from Baden!

Andreas

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

24th May 2008

Obviously we sent down Luis Rivas (.031, 0 HR, 2 RBI) to make space for Omar Infante. We considered sending down Gamel (.171, 0 HR, 5 RBI) and Escobar (.190, 0 HR, 3 RBI) as well. But both are solid defensive replacements and Escobar is the perfect pinch runner. Candidates for a call-up would have been 3B Vinny Rotino (.313, 1 HR, 11 RBI - AAA) or 1B Chris Errecart (.362, 5 HR, 28 RBI - AAA).
Infante will make his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers today. He will be our fifth Venezuelan player on the active roster. Maybe they are planning to carry the Hugo Chavez World Revolution to Wisconsin?
As catching flyballs in left field is a tiring business, Ryan Braun will get some rest today.

Game #46 – Los Angeles [24-21] (B. Penny 1-1, 3.64 ERA) at Milwaukee [24-21] (D. Bush 5-3, 3.04 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - LF S. Victorino - 1B P. Fielder - CF B. Hall - RF G. Gross - C. J. Estrada - 3B M. Gamel - 2B O. Infante

Despite allowing eight hits, hitting three batters (A. Ethier will miss three weeks with a broken nose) and allowing five stolen bases Dave Bush had a chance to be the winning pitcher until late in the game. The game was decided in the seventh inning when the Dodgers manufactured a run after a double steal, while our pinch hitter Ryan Braun flied out to deep center with two runners in scoring position.

Los Angeles at Milwaukee: 3-2

W: J. Schmidt (2-0), L: D. Bush (5-4)
H: J. Meloan (7)
S: J. Broxton (14)
HR - M. Kemp (10)
MoM: M. Kemp - 2/4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

After this loss, we are 0-4 against the Dodgers this season.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

25th May 2008

Bill Hall (.240, 3 HR, 20 RBI) caught a cold and is listed day-to-day. As he is only batting .181 this month other players might get a shot at Third Base. Manny Parra will try to carry on his phantastic streak. His only loss this season came in early April against the Dodgers.

Game #47 – Los Angeles [25-21] (J. McDonald 3-4, 4.96 ERA) at Milwaukee [24-22] (M. Parra 4-1, 2.96 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - C J. Estrada - 3B M. Gamel - 2B O. Infante - RF F. Gutierrez

The game was a real bore until reliever Freddy Garcia decided that two perfect innings are enough. His wild pitch and error allowed the Dodgers to score three in the top of the 12th. Considering their dominant bullpen the game seemed decided. But Meloan allowed Fielder and Estrada to reach base with one out. Mat Gamel hit an two RBI double just off the wall, making it a 5-4 game. Sadly could neither Infante nor Gutierrez bring Gamel home.

Los Angeles at Milwaukee: 5-4 (12)

W: J. Meloan (2-1), L: F. Garcia (1-2)
S: H. Kuo (2)
HR - /
MoM: R. Martin - 3/5, 1 R, 2 RBI

The expansion team Buffalo (25-22) took over the sole lead in the NL Central. The Cubs, Cardinals and we are one game behind.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

26th May 2008

American League Player of the Week:
Robinson Cano (New York): .600, 6 R, 4 HR, 10 RBI

National League Player of the Week:
Andy LaRoche (Los Angeles): .440, 7 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI

We receive two trade proposals:

San Diego wants to get rid of CF Mike Cameron's (.155, 2 HR, 10 RBI) $30,000,000 contract and a minor leaguer. They would get 2B Luis Rivas and SP Jose Garcia from West Virginia. No chance that the Padres will fool us here.

The Angels propose a one on one deal. Their AAA C Mike Napoli (.267, 7 HR, 32 RBI) looks interesting. But they want our leadoff batter SS Cesar Izturis (.374, 0 HR, 18 RBI). Regarding our infield problems we can't give up Izturis for such a low price.

We will have a rather depleted line-up, while the Dodgers give Scott Elbert an emergency start. Scheduled starter Greg Miller gets some extra rest as he has a tender elbow

Game #48 – Los Angeles [26-21] (S. Elbert 0-0, 4.28 ERA) at Milwaukee [24-23] (B. Sheets 4-3, 3.46 ERA)

2B C. Izturis - CF O. Infante - LF S. Victorino - 3B R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - - RF F. Gutierrez - C H. Blanco - SS A. Escobar

This game was a taste of good old Brewer style. We had four hits of which three were home runs. Ben Sheets and the two Japanese relievers limited the Dodgers to five hits for another shutout.

Los Angeles at Milwaukee: 0-4

W: B. Sheets (5-3), L: S. Elbert (0-1)
HR - / R. Braun 2 (11), P. Fielder (5)
MoM: B. Sheets - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Elsewhere:

Chris Narveson (5-3, 3.39 ERA) allowed only three hits in a 5-0 St. Louis over Chicago shutout victory.

Nashville's (AAA) starter Vince Perkins improoved to 7-0 this season. His ERA is currently standing at 3.67. After going 12-4 with a 2.84 ERA last season many pundits said he was a fluke, but now more and more scouts are proposing to test him in the big league. The only problem - our "worst" rotation member Chris Capuano is 5-2 with an 3.86 ERA.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

27th May 2008

Less than one week after Yovani Gallardo (4-3, 3.03 ERA) threw a three-hitter, our head scout Terry Dean reports that Gallardo developed a hitch in his delivery that causes a negative effects in his game and lowers his potential dramatically.

Sounds quite unrealistic to me, but maybe the headscout was just on vodka or something?

Ben Sheets (5-3, 3.13 ERA) confirmed i a press conference that he won't sign a new contract with the Brewers to test free agency in winter. In eight seasons with the team he is 76-86 with a 3.88 ERA. Sheets told reporters that his wife didn't like the German elements in Milwaukee history and wants to move elsewhere.
Rumour has that the White Sox, Cardinals, Braves, Angels, Dodgers and Yankees already entered the race for Sheets signature. He makes $11,000,000 this season. All of the named team have some holes in their rotation and enough cash to make Sheets happy.
It's unknown if the Brewers are going to trade Sheets this summer or if they let him stay for another playoffrun.

Trade:

The Colorado Rockies sent reliever Ramon Ramirez (3-1-1, 5.13 ERA) to the San Diego Padres for minor leaguers SP Sandy Espinosa (rookielevel - no record this season) and 1B Corneles Graete (.366, 7 HR, 31 RBI - A). Funnily Espinosa was already traded by the same teams last July. Graete a 14th round draft pick by the Twins last year, could emerge as one of the steals of the 2007 draft.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

28th May 2008

A trip to the Mexican border where we face National League's best team.

Game #49 – Milwaukee [25-23] (Y. Gallardo 4-3, 3.03 ERA) at San Diego [32-16] (J. Peavy 6-2, 2.88 ERA)SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 3B B. Hall - RF G. Gross - 2B O. Infante - C J. Estrada

At the point we were collecting our first hit, the Padres already had a 6-0 lead. Therefore it didn't matter at all that we scored four off newly acquired Ramirez and the final score doesn't tell the score of this game. This was complete San Diego domination.

Milwaukee at San Diego: 4-8

W: J. Peavy (7-2), L: Y. Gallardo (4-4)
HR - / A. Gonzalez 2 (11)
MoM: A. Gonzalez - 4/4, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB

Trade:

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent SS Ben Zobrist (.343, 2 HR, 6 RBI) to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Brandon League (0-0-2, 3.42 ERA) and minor league 2B Scott Campbell (rookie league - no record). The Devil Rays announced that League will be their new closer as Chris Ray (2-2-6, 5.31 ERA) couldn't replace Reyes in a decent fashion.

[Loeffle]

OOTP 8 corrupted all our coaches and scouts - all events of 27th and 28th May are cancelled and gameplay will resume with OOTP 2007. The San Diego game will be simulated with exactly the same line-up.

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

27th May 2008

The Philadelphia Phillies (21-27) fired manager John Nix. Their new skipper is 58 year old Cuban José González.

Trade:

The Vancouver Marmots sent LF Aaron Rowand (.290, 4 HR, 23 RBI) and minor league 3B Russell Mitchell (.286, 2 HR, 10 RBI - AA) to the Texas Rangers for C Carlos Ruiz (.330, 8 HR, 19 RBI) and minor league SP Omar Poveda (2-2, 4.20 ERA).


28th May 2008

Game #49 – Milwaukee [25-23] (Y. Gallardo 4-3, 3.03 ERA) at San Diego [32-16] (J. Peavy 6-2, 2.88 ERA)

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

Milwaukee at San Diego: 6-7 (11)

W: C. Meredith (3-2), L: A. Otsuka (0-2)
BS: J. Cruz (1)
HR - / K. Greene (6)
MoM: K. Greene - 2/4, 1 R, HR, 5 RBI, BB

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

29th May 2008

After the short and scary adventure OOTP 8, we are back with good old OOTP 2007. This was another lesson in the category "never buy a game until it's at least three months old"
Tonight we face 42 year old warhorse Greg Maddux, but in our current shape I'm not sure if we finish this month above .500. I'm still far away from happy with our line-up. There's too little power around. It can't be that our lead-off man Cesar Izturis who has no power at all is third on the team in RBI's. Gross, Victorino, Fielder and Hall simple must show more!

Game #50 – Milwaukee [25-24] (C. Capuano 5-2, 3.86 ERA) at San Diego [33-16] (G. Maddux 4-3, 3.50 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - RF G. Gross - 3B M. Gamel - 2B O. Infante - C H. Blanco

This game is what you expect when two of the best pitching teams face each other. Yet defense was the decisive factor to choose the winner. San Diego had a 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when SS Cruz threw the game winning ball into the crowd, allowing Prince Fielder to score the tying run. Then it was Freddy Garcia's turn to pitch three scoreless innings. In the twelth inning we had again a runner on 2nd with two outs when 1B Gonzalez threw a ball away. Escobar scored the go ahead run which eventually was also the winning run. Victorino's outfield assist at 2B ended the game.

Milwaukee at San Diego: 3-2 (12)

W: F. Garcia (2-2), L: H. Bell (0-1)
H: T. Mastny (8)
BS: C. Meredith (4)
HR - /
MoM: G. Maddux - 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Elsewhere:

The Mets John Maine (7-2, 2.53 ERA) allowed only three hits in 6-0 shutout over Pittsburgh.

This season we are 7-13 against NL West teams, while we are 12-3 against our NL Central foes.

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

30th May 2008

Let's end the Christmas days with the last game of the San Diego series. Would be great to take this series, but the Padres have very few weaknesses. Their bullpen could be a bit tired in case their starter won't last long. Bill Hall is still day-to-day with his cold.

Game #51 – Milwaukee [26-24] (D. Bush 5-4, 3.09 ERA) at San Diego [33-17] (M. Ekstrom 4-4, 5.07 ERA)

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

During the first four innings Ekstrom didn't look like one of the worst pitchers in the game. But in the 5th Braun and Estrada took him deep twice to start a rampage which should also hurt Guerrier, Adams and Lopez badly in the innings to follow. Bush's shutout bid ended in the 7th. But Cruz pitched two scoreless innings to win this series for us.

Milwaukee at San Diego: 11-2

W: D. Bush (6-4), L: M. Ekstrom (4-5)
HR - R. Braun 2 (13), J. Estrada (3), P. Fielder (6)
MoM: R. Braun - 3/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB

So now it's time to say Good Night America!

[Loeffle]

May 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

31st May 2008

Sad news from Minneapolis: The last ace from next season's free agent market is gone. Johan Santana (4-4, 4.32 ERA) signed a new 5-year contract worth $70,210,000.

Trades:

The Vancouver Marmots traded SP Carlos Silva (3-5, 5.48 ERA) and minor league C Yuki Mizuno (.118, 1 HR, 5 RBI - AA) to the Baltimore Orioles for minor leaguers LF Jon Knott (.275, 7 HR, 23 RBI - AAA) and 2B Jedidiah Stephen (.213, 0 HR, 22 RBI).

Then there was another neighbour trade. The Seattle Mariners sent RF Ryan Langerhans (.257, 7 HR, 21 RBI) and minor league SS Luis D. Nunez (.167, 0 HR, 0 RBI - AA) to the Marmots reliever Todd Jones (2-1-0, 4.05 ERA).

Those trades make the Marmots shaky rotation (5.11 ERA) even worse, while they add two very slow outfielder to their active roster. Expansion team - enough said.

Another series against NL West opposition: This time the bondsless Giants. They were my favorite team to play against last season. But things changed. We developed into a pitching, defense, small game team with virtually no power (exception Calamity Braun). This year we are 1-2 against them. The opener will see the duel of two young and promising southpaws.

Game #52 – San Francisco [24-27] (J. Sanchez 4-2, 4.04 ERA) at Milwaukee [27-24] (M. Parra 4-1, 2.96 ERA)

3B C. Izturis - CF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - RF F. Gutierrez - 2B O. Infante - C H. Blanco - SS A. Escobar

Manny Parra had an awful start to the game, allowing two runs in the top of the 1st. But through the next six innings he again looked like the rookie of the year. His counterpart Sanchez was though out of the game after less than three innings. Especially the bottom of our lineup and a very inexperienced Giants outfield made life hard for him. Embree had another bad appearance in the eight, but good old Elmer Dessens pitched out of the jam with the help of a brilliant Infante-Escobar double play. Those Venezuelan infielders work some magic recently.

San Francisco at Milwaukee: 2-10

W: M. Parra (5-1), L: J. Sanchez (4-3)
HR - / F. Gutierrez (1)
MoM: F. Gutierrez - 3/4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI

Elsewhere:

Washington's pitcher Matt Chico (1-2-2, 5.04 ERA) was the unlikely hero of a 2-0 victory over Cleveland. Chico who usually pitches out of the bullpen threw a 4-hit shutout against the Ohio team.

Stay tuned for the end of month stats, review and maybe some roster moves after the coffee break.

[gregb7]

Originally Posted by Loeffle

Thanks a lot

I'm curious how the "real" Brewers solve the Ben Sheets problem next summer!

Merry Christmas from Baden!

Andreas

My guess is that if Sheets can't stay injury free this season, the Brewers will look
to get something for him rather than try to resign him. Great pitcher when he's
healthy, which sadly just isn't often enough.

[Sheets told reporters that his wife didn't like the German elements in Milwaukee history and wants to move elsewhere.]

LOLOL.....Actually Ben is very happy in Milw. and very much wants to stay with
the team as he thinks they have a good chance to win the next few years.
He definitely doesn't want to return to a losing team.