There's something brewing - A Badenian going America

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

May 2008 - Review

Roster move:

We sent down outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. (.270, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 4 SB) to give Charlie Fermaint (.290, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 5 SB) another shot at mayor league level. With the emergence of Omar Infante it became clear that we have at least one "no power some speed" type of player too much on our active roster. While Fermaint's fielding is slightly worse than Gwynn's he should offer much more power and danger in pinch hitting situations. 3B Mat Gamel (.217, 0 HR, 8 RBI) was another candidate for the famous "plane to Nashville", but he showed signs of improovement taking over at third for Bill Hall who suffers from a endless cold. Nashville's 1B Chris Errecart (.335, 5 HR, 30 RBI) deserves some playing time in the big leagues, but his spot is currently occupied my Naughty Chow Fielder. Errecart is yet working hard to learn a new position. His current .829 fielding percentage is though even worse than Braun's last season.
Relievers Steve Bray (1-0, 1.56 ERA), Jose Capellan (1-1, 1.74 ERA), Matt Wise (1-1, 2.76 ERA) and Derrick Turnbow (1-0-9, 1.76 ERA) are all pitching great at Nashville, but we are not yet ready to sack one of the veterans on the active roster.
Our 18th round pick of last years draft 3B Yoshiyuki Ishida (.296, 0 HR, 11 RBI - AA) continues his quick ride through our farm system. He was promoted to AAA Nashville, while former starlet SS J.J. Hardy (.219, 0 HR, 2 RBI - AAA) makes the sad trip to AA Huntsville.

American League Standings
Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Boston Red Sox	31	21	.596	-
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	31	21	.596	-
Baltimore Orioles	26	26	.500	5.0
New York (A) Yankees	26	26	.500	5.0
Washington Nationals	25	27	.481	6.0
Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Chicago (A) White Sox	28	24	.538	-
Cleveland Indians	25	27	.481	3.0
Detroit Tigers	24	28	.462	4.0
Minnesota Twins	23	29	.442	5.0
Kansas City Royals	21	31	.404	7.0
Toronto Blue Jays	21	31	.404	7.0
Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Los Angeles (A) Angels	36	16	.692	-
Oakland Athletics	32	20	.615	4.0
Vancouver Marmots	23	29	.442	13.0
Seattle Mariners	22	30	.423	14.0
Texas Rangers	22	30	.423	14.0

National League Standings
Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB
New York (N) Mets	33	19	.635	-
Atlanta Braves	25	27	.481	8.0
Florida Marlins	24	28	.462	9.0
Philadelphia Phillies	24	28	.462	9.0
Pittsburgh Pirates	17	35	.327	16.0
Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Milwaukee Brewers	28	24	.538	-
Buffalo Blizzards	27	25	.519	1.0
Chicago (N) Cubs	27	25	.519	1.0
St. Louis Cardinals	27	25	.519	1.0
Houston Astros	24	28	.462	4.0
Cincinnati Reds	23	29	.442	5.0
Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB
San Diego Padres	33	19	.635	-
Arizona Diamondbacks	30	22	.577	3.0
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers	28	24	.538	5.0
San Francisco Giants	24	28	.462	9.0
Colorado Rockies	22	30	.423	11.0

Milwaukee Brewers Stats after May 2008:

Name	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Prince Fielder 1B	52	211	30	59	13	0	6	33	90	24	39	9	4	.280	.353	.427	.779
Cesar Izturis SS	51	199	33	71	7	0	0	18	78	17	19	14	3	.357	.404	.392	.796
Ryan Braun LF	51	193	36	65	13	1	13	44	119	30	36	4	0	.337	.425	.617	1.041
Shane Victorino CF	51	185	31	50	8	1	5	18	75	19	26	14	5	.270	.340	.405	.745
Billy Hall 3B	47	156	21	37	9	1	3	21	57	11	36	6	1	.237	.282	.365	.648
Rickie Weeks 2B	40	146	32	44	10	3	5	25	75	25	26	8	1	.301	.412	.514	.926
Gabe Gross RF	50	141	19	38	8	1	3	16	57	28	24	2	0	.270	.388	.404	.792
Johnny Estrada C	43	120	16	34	6	0	3	18	49	8	20	0	0	.283	.331	.408	.739
Henry Blanco C	32	84	7	19	3	3	2	12	34	7	15	0	0	.226	.280	.405	.684
Tony Gwynn Jr. LF	41	63	8	17	1	0	0	6	18	7	9	4	1	.270	.338	.286	.624
Mat Gamel 3B	40	60	4	13	5	0	0	8	18	9	13	0	0	.217	.314	.300	.614
Franklin Gutierrez LF	30	50	6	12	2	0	1	6	17	8	15	1	0	.240	.356	.340	.696
Luis Rivas 2B	23	32	2	1	1	0	0	2	2	4	5	0	1	.031	.135	.063	.198
Alcides Escobar SS	18	28	5	7	3	1	0	3	12	5	5	3	0	.250	.364	.429	.792
Chris Capuano SP	10	27	3	7	2	0	1	3	12	3	4	0	0	.259	.333	.444	.778
Ben Sheets SP	10	26	4	8	4	0	2	7	18	1	5	0	0	.308	.321	.692	1.014
Omar Infante 2B	7	25	5	9	2	0	0	4	11	6	3	0	0	.360	.484	.440	.924
David Bush SP	11	24	0	4	0	0	0	1	4	2	3	0	0	.167	.231	.167	.397
Yovani Gallardo SP	10	23	2	5	0	0	0	0	5	0	10	0	0	.217	.217	.217	.435
Manny Parra SP	10	22	1	2	1	0	0	1	3	1	5	0	0	.091	.130	.136	.267
Lorenzo Cain RF	6	8	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	2	0	.250	.400	.250	.650
Freddy Garcia SP	9	8	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	0	0	.125	.222	.125	.347
Carlos Villanueva SP	3	5	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	.200	.200	.200	.400
Juan Cruz MR	20	3	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.667	1.000
Jose Capellan MR	11	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
Elmer Dessens MR	17	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Alan Embree MR	19	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Soichi Fujita CL	18	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Francisco Cordero MR	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Akinori Otsuka MR	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Brian Shouse MR	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000

And here some very impressive pitching stats (for Milwaukee dimensions):

Name	W	L	SV	ERA	G	GS	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	WHIP	OAVG	BABIP
Brian Shouse MR	0	0	1	1.69	12	0	5.1	7	1	1	0	0	4	1.31	.318	.389
Soichi Fujita CL	1	2	5	1.88	18	0	14.1	12	4	3	0	6	10	1.26	.255	.324
David Bush SP	6	4	0	2.92	10	10	71.0	61	26	23	8	21	53	1.15	.228	.257
Manny Parra SP	5	1	0	2.92	10	10	61.2	53	25	20	1	22	49	1.22	.230	.289
Ben Sheets SP	5	3	0	3.13	10	10	74.2	69	30	26	11	9	59	1.04	.242	.270
Yovani Gallardo SP	4	3	0	3.18	10	10	65.0	70	27	23	4	24	45	1.45	.273	.319
Jose Capellan MR	0	1	0	3.38	11	0	10.2	11	6	4	1	4	8	1.41	.262	.303
Chris Capuano SP	5	2	0	3.68	10	9	63.2	64	32	26	10	16	43	1.26	.256	.274
Akinori Otsuka MR	0	2	1	3.68	9	0	7.1	7	3	3	1	3	3	1.36	.233	.231
Freddy Garcia SP	2	2	0	3.76	8	2	26.1	23	12	11	2	1	25	0.91	.237	.300
Carlos Villanueva SP	0	0	0	4.09	3	1	11.0	13	6	5	2	2	7	1.36	.289	.306
Elmer Dessens MR	0	0	1	4.64	17	0	21.1	30	13	11	3	10	15	1.88	.330	.370
Juan Cruz MR	0	1	0	6.97	20	0	20.2	18	16	16	3	13	14	1.50	.237	.254
Alan Embree MR	0	1	1	8.03	19	0	12.1	20	13	11	2	3	8	1.86	.377	.419
Francisco Cordero MR	0	2	1	12.46	6	0	4.1	7	6	6	2	3	2	2.31	.412	.385

American League Batter of the Month:
Matt Murton(Minnesota Twins): .352, 22 R, 10 HR, 29 RBI

National League Batter of the Month:
Albert Pujols (St. Louis): .388, 9 HR, 26 RBI

American League Pitcher of the Month:
Danny Haren (Oakland): 4-0, 47.0 IP, 2.30 ERA, 33 H, 10 BB, 24 K, .201

National League Pitcher of the Month:
John Maine (New York Mets): 6-0, 43.2 IP, 1.85 ERA, 30 H, 13 BB, 35 K, .189

American League Rookie of the Month:
Michael Aubrey (Detroit): .345, 22 R, 3 HR, 17 RBI

National League Rookie of the Month:
Nick Hundley (San Diego): .304, 21 R, 6 HR, 20 RBI

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

1st June 2008

Bill Hall is healthy again. Hopefully he is starting to perform the way we want him to.

Game #53 – San Francisco [24-28] (B. Zito 0-3, 3.10 ERA) at Milwaukee [28-24] (B. Sheets 5-3, 3.13 ERA)

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

This was all about Sheets vs. Blalock. To the surprise of most Blalock was the winner and homered twice. We had a chance to start a rally, but managed only one run when we had the bases loaded in the seventh. Cruz added another annoying outing by giving up three more rund in the eighth.

San Francisco at Milwaukee: 8-1

W: B. Zito (1-3), L: B. Sheets (5-4)
H: V. Chulk (3)
HR - H. Blalock 2 (3) / -
MoM: H. Blalock - 2/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB

Elsewhere:

Cleveland's LF Jason Michaels (.315, 4 HR, 11 RBI) had a five hit game during a 8-6 victory over the Nationals.

American League Player of the Week:
Vladimir Guerrero (Los Angeles): .630, 0 HR, 8 R, 5 RBI

National League Player of the Week:
Albert Pujols (St. Louis): .480, 2 HR, 8 R, 10 RBI

South Atlantic League Player of the Week:
Paul Jefferson (West Virginia): .524, 0 HR, 4 R, 5 RBI
1B Jefferson a Round 27 draft pick is developing nicely and shows a fair deal of potential. Sadly he will never be a great fielder.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

2nd June 2008

Game #54 – San Francisco [25-28] (O. Matos 3-2, 3.19 ERA) at Milwaukee [28-25] (Y. Gallardo 4-3, 3.18 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

Gallardo pitched seven very strong innings to give us a 4-1 lead despite bad hitting. But somehow Otsuka, Shouse, Dessens and Fujita managed to scramble that lead away and open the game for extra innings. Even if the Giants used an outfielder as catcher and another one on 1B, we managed absolutely nothing. So it was only a matter of time until the Giants scored the game winnings runs.

San Francisco at Milwaukee: 7-4 (11)

W: M. Morris (1-0), L: F. Garcia (2-3)
H: A. Otsuka (4), B. Shouse (5), E. Dessens (1)
BS: S. Fujita (1)
HR - R. Durham (8) / P. Fielder (7)
MoM: Y. Gallardo - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K

Elsewhere:

The Marmots beat the Twins 2-0 today. Hero of the day was Shawn Hill (3-6, 5.35) who pitched a 5 hit shutout.

RF Wladimir Balentien (.274, 6 HR, 22 RBI) collected five hits in a 10-1 Mariners over Devil Rays victory.

SS Cesar Izturis (.351, 0 HR, 18 RBI, 14 SB) signed a new 2-year contract worth $1.780.000. In my eyes he's currenctly one of the best lead off batters.

Also 2B Omar Infante (.290, 0 HR, 5 RBI) signed a 2 year contract. He'll make up to $2.720.000 depending on appearances. Even when Weeks will be back in about one year, Infante will be a very good defensive utility man who can play six different positions.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

3rd June 2008

The night after Omar Infante signed the new contract, head scout Dean came to my office and admitted that his new report on Infante is much worse than his original one. Dean's second blunder in less than a month. Like Yost he receives a yellow caution card and will be watched closely from now on.
Next up a trip to Turner Field where we face Dauis' Braves, who are like the Diamondbacks a very familiar team for us. The series will be another battle of potential playoff teams who struggle around the .500 mark.

Game #55 – Milwaukee [28-26] (C. Capuano 5-2, 3.68 ERA) at Atlanta [26-28] (B. Thompson 2-1, 4.86 ERA)

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

What happens when one team scores its only run due to a passed ball and the other collects 19 hits? Right complete domination. The poor Braves managed only two scoreless innings, while Mat Gamel was our only hitless starter. Chris Capuano threw a complete game and would have had a shutout, but Johnny Estrada denied him in the eigth inning.

Milwaukee at Atlanta: 11-1

W: C. Capuano (6-2), L: B. Thompson (2-2)
HR - C. Capuano (2), R. Braun (14)
MoM: C. Capuano - 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K - HR, 2 RBI

The Milwaukee Brewers organization announced today the following May Award winners:

Batter of the Month:
SS Cesar Izturis - .351, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 7 SB

Pitcher of the Month:
SP Manny Parra - 3-0, 2.01 ERA, 40.1 IP, 29 H, 14 BB, 32 K, .203

Cucumber of the Month - Batter:
3B Bill Hall - .179, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB

Cucumber of the Month - Pitcher:
MR Juan Cruz - 0-1, 7.84 ERA, 10.1 IP, 12 H, 7 BB, 5 K, .300


Minor Leagues:
Batter of the Month:
1B Paul Jefferson (West Virginia) - .412, 0 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB

Pitcher of the Month:
CL Patrick Ryan (Brevard County) - 2-0-8, 0.00 ERA, 13.1 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 7 K, .188

Cucumber of the Month - Batter:
CF Mike Goetz (Brevard County) - .186, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB

Cucumber of the Month - Pitcher:
SP Cory Van Allen (Nashville) - 1-2, 8.10 ERA, 30.0 IP, 44 H, 14 BB, 31 K, .333

2B Luis Rivas (.333, 0 HR, 5 RBI - combined) didn't win the cucumber as he has been hitting .444 at Nashville.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

4th June 2008

Today it's time for another David Bush start. He's been the best pitcher in a very strong rotation so far. In all of his starts he got a decision, while he lasted 7.1 innings on average. His road record is 4-2 with an 1.98 ERA. He'll face Elizardo Ramirez who should be a much better pitcher than his record shows. We will post our potentially best offensive lineup against him.

Game #56 – Milwaukee [29-26] (D. Bush 6-4, 2.92 ERA) at Atlanta [26-29] (E. Ramirez 2-6, 4.64 ERA)

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

Despite very limited offensive production and Bush's worst outing this game was still up for grabs until Alan Embree gave up a three run homer to Chipper Jones in the seventh. Rumour has it that Embree (9.45 ERA) is running out of chances to proove his worth for the team. Last season his ERA was 1.57. Gabe Gross and Johnny Estrada hit meaningless back-to-back homers in the ninth. Prince Fielder collected this tenth stolen base today, making him the third Brewer behind Izturis (14) and Victorino (14) to achieve this feet.

Milwaukee at Atlanta: 5-7

W: E. Ramirez (3-6), L: D. Bush (6-5)
H: T. Hodges (2)
S: M. Gonzalez (10)
HR - G. Gross (4), J. Estrada (4) / B. McCann (4), C. Jones (13)
MoM: C. Jones - 2/4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

5th June 2008

Trade:

The Los Angeles Dodgers sent LF Anthony Raglani (.221, 6 HR, 16 RBI) to the Cleveland Indians in exchage for lefthanded reliever Tony Sipp (2-0, 1.74 ERA). Raglani will report to the Indians AAA team the New York State Bisons.

As Prince Fielder and Shane Victorino are showing signs of being in need of a rest, we have to experiment a bit with the lineup. Omar Infante will get his first career start on first base.

Game #57 – Milwaukee [29-27] (M. Parra 5-1, 2.92 ERA) at Atlanta [27-29] (W. Ledezma 5-3, 4.37 ERA)

2B C. Izturis - 1B O. Infante - LF R. Braun - RF G. Gross - 3B B. Hall - CF F. Gutierrez - C H. Blanco - SS A. Escobar

Can you win a game if you only have two hits? Until the fifth inning it looked so, but then the Braves collected two one innings in a row. It seemed we had a chance to start something in the bottom of the ninth when Ryan Braun was picked off first with only one out.

Milwaukee at Atlanta: 1-2

W: W. Ledezma (6-3), L: M. Parra (5-2)
H: T. Hudson (3)
S: M. Gonzalez (11)
HR - /
MoM: W. Ledezma - 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Elsewhere:

After we lost Rickie Weeks in May for the season, our division rivals Houston Astros suffered a serious blow as well: They lost their CF Hunter Pence (.314, 3 HR, 16 RBI) for at least eight months due to a fractured knee.

Greg Miller (4-2, 2.52 ERA) pitched the Los Angeles Dodgers to 7-0 shutout over the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers also signed veteran reliever Derek Lowe (4-1, 4.25 ERA) to a new two year contract.

Trade:

The New York Yankees sent 2B Alberto Gonzalez (.333, 0 HR, 4 RBI) to the Minnesota Twins for reliever Dennys Reyes (0-0-1, 6.08 ERA) and minor league center fielder Anthony Phillips (rookie level - no record this year).

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

6th June 2008

Now a home series against our former NL Central rivals from Pittsburgh, who struggle badly in their new division.
It would be time to rest Ryan Braun, but our lineup is nothing without him.

Game #58 – Pittsburgh [21-36] (P. Maholm 2-6, 5.23 ERA) at Milwaukee [29-28] (B. Sheets 5-4, 3.42 ERA)

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

A really boring game that turned dramatic in the eighth inning when we had to use all kind of pinch hitters and runners to tie the game at 3. This meant that Johnny Estrada had to play out of position at 3B for the innings to follow. In the top of the night Embree and Dessens ran into deep trouble, but thankfully closer Otsuka pitched out of a bases loaded jam with only one out. The loser of the game was then Cesar Izturis who failed to catch an inning pop fly in the 10th which allowed the Pirates to score the two decisive runs. Once again very little production from us. This loss means that we are back at .500.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee: 5-3 (10)

W: J. Williams (1-3), L: A. Otsuka (0-3)
H: S. Torres (5), B. Rogers (6), D. Marte (6), M. Capps (2)
BS: M. Tejera (2)
HR - /
MoM: R. Doumit - 3/5, 2 R

Elsewhere:

San Diego catcher Nick Hundley (.355, 8 HR, 30 RBI) went 5-7 in a 12-10 loss against the Giants.

1B Garrett Atkins (.312, 14 HR, 36 RBI) even went 5-5 helping his Rockies to beat the Mets 16-3.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

7th June 2008

More and more fans are unhappy with the Brewers current showings. Also owner Mark Attanasio voiced concern over "certain developments". If the continues "to play like rubbish" changes "are very likely to happen". Attanasion said he won't accept a home series loss to baseball's worst team (the Pirates).

Game #59 – Pittsburgh [22-36] (T. Redmond 2-5, 3.99 ERA) at Milwaukee [29-29] (Y. Gallardo 4-3, 3.00 ERA)

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

Another absolutely awful performance which ended in the worst boos under the Fritsche management during the seventh inning when Gallardo gave up a three run homer to LaRoche. Once again our batting was non existent.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee: 7-1

W: T. Redmond (3-5), L: Y. Gallardo (4-4)
HR - A. LaRoche (7), C. Headley (5) / -
MoM: T. Redmond - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Elsewhere:

1B David Ortiz (.251, 11 HR, 32 RBI) went 5 from 5 in 8-5 Boston vs. New York victory. With this loss the Yankees dropped to next to last in the AL East.

21 year old Cardinals rookie sensation Bryan D. Anderson (.307, 6 HR, 19 RBI) hit three homers in 5-6 defeat against the Reds.

The Philles lost their reliever Jon Lieber (1-2, 3.34 ERA) for the season with a torn rotator cuff muscle.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

8th June 2008

After Game 2 was lost as well, it's already clear we will lose this series. Some nasty stuff could await us after the series finale.

Game #60 – Pittsburgh [23-36] (Z. Duke 5-3, 3.89 ERA) at Milwaukee [29-30] (C. Capuano 6-2, 3.22 ERA)

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

Chris Capuano wasn't that bad today, the problem was the three of the six hits he gave up were homers. With a sound offense we could have easily rallied as the Pirates lost two pitchers to injury and were far from being untouchable. But sadly we play like a team who is 30 games back in early september right now and couldn't collect even one extra base hit. The team was booed once again with Billy Hall who is batting .236 being the main target.
We are heading into a day off now, before we continue against NL Central opposition. We will see if any changes will be made during the break.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee: 5-3

W: M. Capps (1-0), L: C. Capuano (6-3)
H: M. Tejera (6), D. Marte (7), F. Osoria (3)
S: J. Williams (11)
HR - R. Doumit 2 (10), G. Sheffield (3) / -
MoM: R. Doumit - 2/3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB

Pirates reliever Matt Capps (1-0, 9.39 ERA) won't pitch anymore this season. He is out with an fractured elbow.

Elsewhere:

Boston's CF J.D. Drew (.339, 10 HR, 34 RBI) will mmiss up to four weeks with a hyperextended knee.

Washington's local hero 3B Ryan Zimmerman (.293, 10 HR, 37 RBI) who was rumoured having caught Milwaukee's interest is out for seven months with a fractured cheekbone.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

9th June 2008

American League Player of the Week:
Vernon Wells (.331, 11 HR, 38 RBI - Toronto): .400, 5 HR, 13 RBI

National League Player of the Week:
Nick Hundley (.346, 9 HR, 32 RBI - San Diego): .556, 3 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI

Trade:

The San Diego Padres sent C Colt Morton (.202, 1 HR, 8 RBI) and minor league SS Matt Bush (.306, 3 HR, 13 RBI - AAA) to the Detroit Tigers for SP Zach Miner (3-5, 4.50 ERA).

The Colorado Rockies sent LF Seth Smith (.290, 1 HR, 15 RBI) to the Phillies for starter Brett Myers (3-8, 6.51 ERA) and minor league pitcher Josh Jackson (no record - rookie level)

Blockbuster Trade:

We simply had to something to get the team to "life" again. This couldn't be done by simply trade a couple of prospects. Therefore we tried to put a big package together getting rid of some players who became increasingly unpopular among our fans (so far all but two of our home games were sold out). Our prime target was Arizona's out of favour 3B Mark Reynolds whom we discovered when our triple AAA team Nashville played down in Tucson. But the Diamondbacks wanted Ben Sheets and we wanted a proven reliever, while they were unhappy with Justin Upton this season and so on and so on. They were obviously wanting to add experience to their team, as they crashed out badly in the playoffs last season.

We got:
3B Mark Reynolds (.303, 1 HR, 6 RBI - AAA)
CF Justin Upton (.245, 5 HR, 22 RBI)
MR Jeremy Accardo (3-0-1, 3.00 ERA)
SP Brandon Webb (7-4, 2.92 ERA)

Arizona gets:
3B Bill Hall (.236, 3 HR, 24 RBI)
SP Ben Sheets (5-4, 3.45 ERA)
MR Juan Cruz (0-1, 6.15 ERA) He's a fan favorite down in Arizona
RF Franklin Gutierrez (.224, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
MR Alan Embree (0-1-1, 8.79 ERA)

I think both teams can get something good out of this trade. We and they place four players on the active roster, only Gutierrez is sent to AAA. Both scouts and SISA rate Sheets higher than Webb, Cruz higher than Accordo and Hall higher than Reynolds, only Upton beats Gutierrez clearly.

We call up lefty Mitch Stetter (0-0-1, 3.86 ERA) to take Embree's place in the bullpen. Not sure if Stetter can deal with big league batting, but we won't find out if we don't try.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

10th June 2008

With this shocktrade we showed that we are not willing to let the playoffs just go away without a fight. But the two next series against NL Central opposition are crucial. We dropped to fourth four games behind the Cubs. In Game 1 we will send our potentially strongest lineup to the field.

Game #61 – Milwaukee [29-31] (D. Bush 6-5, 3.16 ERA) at St. Louis [29-31] (B. Hawksworth 6-2, 4.07 ERA)

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

The first game of our "New Kids on the Block" was real drama. First wasted Reynolds throwing error Bush's great start allowing the Cardinals to score the go ahead run. Then Reynolds clutch hit in the ninth gave us the chance to manifacture the tying run. But if was another error by newcomer Accardo that completely wasted also this game for us. We dropped to 1-8 this month.

Milwaukee at St. Louis: 1-2

W: M. Mulder (3-3), L: J. Accardo (3-1)
H: M. Timlin (6)
BS: M. Mulder (3)
HR - O. Infante (1) / C. Duncan (9)
MoM: O. Infante - 2/4, 1 R, HR, 2 RBI

Elsewhere:

The Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez (.278, 9 HR, 39 RBI) went 5 from 5 in 6-4 victory over the Marlins.

Juan Cruz and Alan Embree gave a woeful debut for the Diamondbacks wasting a start by Micah Owings. Leadoff(!)man Billy Hall went 2 from 5.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

11th June 2008

Kind of sad we have to rely on our Nr. 5 starter and rookie Manny Parra to turn things around. But what other choices do we have? Maybe it helps that we face another lefty as we did very well against them in May. On the paper todays lineup looks very strong, but ...

Game #62 – Milwaukee [29-32] (M. Parra 5-2, 2.90 ERA) at St. Louis [30-31] (C. Narveson 5-4, 4.17 ERA)

SS C. Izturis - CF J. Upton - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 3B M. Reynolds - RF S. Victorino - 2B O. Infante - C H. Blanco

Throughout eight innings this game was Braun/Upton vs the St. Louis Cardinals and the score was 8-6 in favour of the team. But finally in the ninth we also showed that we are a team and took advantage of a horrible outing by closer Randy Flores. Four runs were constructed by all means of the small game. In the bottom of the ninth Pujols reached base as always, but our closer Fujita got help by a double play and an easy fly out to record his first save since 18th May. Throughout eight innings I was close to tears, but the fighting spirit we showed today gives me some hope for the time after the All-Star-Break.

Milwaukee at St. Louis: 10-8

W: A. Otsuka (1-3), L: R. Flores (1-5)
H: T. Wellemeyer (1), M. Timlin (7)
BS: R. Flores (2)
S: S. Fujita (6)
HR - R. Braun 2 (16), J. Upton (6) 7 -
MoM: R. Braun - 3/3, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB

We signed free agent Aaron Cook (12-8, 3.46 ERA for the Rockies in 2007) to a one year contract. This was kind of an emergency move as neither Webb nor Gallardo are rested enough to be ready for tomorrows game. To make space for Cook, Mitch Stetter is sent back to Nashville for a couple of days.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

12th June 2008

After our 2nd win this month we head into the series finale at Bush Stadium. Even if Cook didn't pitch since October, we hope he can give us some solid innings in his emergency situation. Even at Nashville we didn't have a starter ready for an emergency call-up, so that picking up Cook seemed the best solution. He might nevertheless head to AAA after the game to get some more innings. Fielder will be the only non-Venezuelan in infield today (Blanco - Infante - Escobar - Izturis) as Reynolds is already in need of the rest and Gamel is usually useless against lefties.

Game #63 – Milwaukee [30-32] (A. Cook 0-0, 0.00 ERA) at St. Louis [30-32] (J. Garcia 3-6, 5.03 ERA)

3B C. Izturis - CF J. Upton - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - RF G. Gross - 2B O. Infante - SS A. Escobar - C H. Blanco

Despite giving up a three run homer to Albert Pujols before getting the first out, Aaron Cook gave us what we wanted. He managed seven innings and kept us more or less in the game. A Prince Fielder error and some horrible Calamity Braun defense in left field gave the Cardinals a lead which we couldn't equalize. Today Randy Flores was very sharp not making any mistakes in the ninth. Jason Upton is 8 from 13 since joining us.

Milwaukee at St. Louis: 6-9

W: M. Mulder (4-3), L: A. Cook (0-1)
H: T. Percival (5), A. Ottavino (4)
S: R. Flores (13)
HR - P. Fielder (8) / A. Pujols (21), W. Betemit (10)
MoM: P. Fielder - 2/4, 1 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, error (A. Pujols had almost the same numbers without an error)

After the game we sent Aaron Cook as planned to Nashville to call up Mitch Stetter as second lefty again.

Elsewhere:

22 year old prospect Will Inman (4-3, 4.63 ERA) pitched a 3-hit shutout for Huntsville (AA) against the Montgomery Biscuits.

LF Chris Lubanski (.273, 9 HR, 28 RBI) collected 5 hits in 10-13 Kansas City vs. Tampa Bay loss.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

13th June 2008

This is another key series against the Buffalo Blizzards. As their are only twelve games left before the All-Star Break every game counts now if we don't want to be out of contention in July already. Webb's first game is at Miller Park against Jamie Richmond who gets a start out of the bullpen

Game #64 – Buffalo [32-31] (J. Richmond 3-2, 2.32 ERA) at Milwaukee [30-33] (B. Webb 0-0, 0.00 ERA)

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

A 4 hour 22 minutes game which you might best compared with the Great Chainsaw Massacre. Combined 37 hits and four blown saves, as well as two completely exhausted bullpens are some other fast facts for this thriller. The game looked like a honeycake debut for Webb when the score was 5-0 after the two innings and the Buffalo starter was already in the dressing room. But Webb should completely break down in the sixth inning, giving him maybe his worst outing this season. The lead would eventually change in every of the following innings with the Blizzards seeming to have an advantage giving the ball to their masterful closer Marshall with a two run lead. But thankfully the very same Marshall couldn't handle the bottom of our line-up giving up the game tying homer to lowly back-up catcher Blanco. He then loaded the bases with the top of our line-up, setting the table for Ryan Braun to collect the game winning hit.

Buffalo at Milwaukee: 11-12

W: B. Shouse (1-0), L: J. Marshall (0-3)
BS: D. Rasner (1), J. Francis (2), J. Marshall (2) / E. Dessens (1)
HR - T. Hickman (1), J. Loney (8) / J. Upton (7), H. Blanco (3)
MoM: J. Upton - 4/5, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, SB

SS Cesar Izturis (.349, 0 HR, 22 RBI, 18 SB) was injured due to a collission at 3B. He is placed on the DL. He's spot will be given to the one and only Luis Rivas (.031, 0 HR, 2 RBI - .447, 0 HR, 7 RBI / AAA).

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

14th June 2008

Will interesting to see how both teams rebound from yesterday's game. In addition everything is thrilled about tomorrow's draft.

Game #65 – Buffalo [32-32] (K. Johnson 6-1, 2.61 ERA) at Milwaukee [31-33] (Y. Gallardo 4-4, 3.56 ERA)

RF S. Victorino - CF J. Upton - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 3B M. Reynolds - 2B O. Infante - C H. Blanco - SS A. Escobar

The Great Chainsaw Massacre was not yet over and the score after four innings was 13-5. Neither Johnson nor Richmond who was pounded in his start yesterday managed more than four outs. Gallardo got the win and lasted six innings, but his performance was also well below what we are used from him. Accardo got the final three innings to give the bullpen some much needed rest to record his second save.

Buffalo at Milwaukee: 7-15

W: Y. Gallardo (5-4), L: K. Johnson (6-2)
S: J. Accardo (2)
MoM: S. Victorino - 3/6, 2 R, 4 RBI - all three hits were doubles

After only five games as a Brewer CF Justin Upton rose his average from
.245 to .281. He was reported unhappy in Arizona as he had to play left field and not center field there.

Elsewhere:

3B B.J. Upton (.313, 8 HR, 36 RBI) and RF Delmon Young (.307, 13 HR, 53 RBI) went 5-5 in a 11-9 Tampa Bay over Baltimore victory. The Devils Rays won now ten games in a row and trail the Red Sox who won eight in a row by only one game.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

15th June 2008

First-Year Player Draft - Holiday Inn Express Hotel, Gahanna, Ohio

After some analysis we want to focus on left-handed relief, right field, left field, 2B and catcher in the early rounds. Before SISA published its Top Ten list, we decided (and hope) to pick one of the following players in First Round:

C Mc Qvisten, Flores, Maegawa
2B Jones, Gray
LF Frost, Byrd
RF Montoya, Garcia, Carrion, Banks
MR Fanego

Sisa Top 10:

1 SS Joe Harrington - San Francisco, California
2 SP Roberto Zerin - Naucalpan, México
3 SP Chris Martin - Costa Mesa, California
4 SP Juan Uribe - Tijuana, Baja California
5 C Joe Harris - Manhattan, New York
6 3B Allen Campbell - Land O Lakes, Florida
7 SS Mark Shields - La Grange, Texas
8 SP Jim Conley - Madison, Alabama
9 CL John O'Toole - Lawton, Oklahoma
10 SP David Bailey - Plain View, North Carolina

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

15th June 2008

First-Year Player Draft - Holiday Inn Express Hotel, Gahanna, Ohio

(Stuff/Movement/Control OR Contact/Power/Eye Potential according to our best scouts)
1st Pick Washington Nationals CL John O'Toole (81/86/77) 21 years
2nd Pick Texas Rangers SP David Bailey (72/78/88) 17 years
3rd Pick Baltimore Orioles SP Bill Pittman (73/61/73) 18 years
4th Pick Kansas City Royals SP Chris Martin (60/80/65) 21 years
5th Pick Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Bubby Jones (63/73/67) 21 years
6th Pick New York Yankees LF Andy Frost (84/73/57) 20 years
7th Pick Cincinnati Reds SP Juan Uribe (57/77/70) 18 years
8th Pick Detroit Tigers SP Roberto Zerin (43/71/72) 17 years
9th Pick San Diego Padres RF Fernando Montoya (85/56/49) 18 years
10th Pick Toronto Blue Jays SS Mark Shields (76/61/85) 19 years
11th Pick Vancouver Marmots C Chris McQuiston (53/61/63) 18 years
12th Pick Houston Astros SP Jim Conley (67/50/67) 18 years
13th Pick Seattle Mariners SS Joe Harrington (58/77/66) 18 years
14th Pick Boston Red Sox SP Shigekazu Saito (68/48/59) 19 years
15th Pick St. Louis Cardinals 3B Allen Campbell (66/74/69) 18 years
16th Pick Buffalo Blizzards C Joe Harris (71/61/64) 19 years
17th Pick Chicago Cubs 1B John Cromsie (58/79/61) 17 years
18th Pick Cleveland Indians SP Lawrence Gibbons (50/65/57) 20 years
19th Pick San Diego Padres 1B Maurice Tremb (58/82/56) 17 years
20th Pick Minnesota Twins C Héctor Bermúdez (64/56/57) 21 years
21st Pick San Francisco Giants SP Elliott Dempsey (50/55/56) 17 years
22nd Pick New York Yankees C Ángel Flores (46/81/55) 20 years
23rd Pick San Francisco Giants SP Júlio Villegas (32/61/48) 17 years
24th Pick Chicago White Sox RF Shawn Frazier (67/62/53) 17 years
25th Pick Kansas City Royals CF Sal Bubl (53/30/57) 18 years

26th Pick Milwaukee Brewers MR Jorge "Shake n' Bake" Fanego (76/80/81) 18 year old from Suisun City, California. Fanego was also the recommendation of our head scout.

27th Pick Philadelphia Phillies 2B Felipe Domínguez (51/65/64) 18 years
28th Pick Atlanta Braves SS Bill Williams (52/48/51) 21 years
29th Pick Oakland Athletics 2B Matt Gross (72/53/76) 18 years
30th Pick Los Angeles Angels SP Ken MacPhetter (30/48/80) 20 years
31st Pick Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Bill Riley (45/81/50) 20 years
32nd Pick Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2B Wilbur Gray (74/26/58) 18 years

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

15th June 2008

First-Year Player Draft - Holiday Inn Express Hotel, Gahanna, Ohio

(Stuff/Movement/Control OR Contact/Power/Eye Potential according to our best scouts)

2nd Round - RF Bill Banks (53/65/51) 20 years; The Bronx, New York
3rd Round - RF António Carrión (53/52/49) 18 years; Havanna, Cuba
4th Round - LF Fred Byrd (48/46/42) 22 years; Northampton, Massachusetts
5th Round - C Ed Maegawa (45/43/43) 18 years; New York, New York
6th Round - 1B Mauro Icaza (51/52/54) 22 years; Clovis, California
7th Round - 2B/SS Melvin Roberts (48/23/61) 17 years; Charlotte, N.C.
8th Round - SP Júlio Correa (44/50/46) 19 years; Brackettville, Taxas
9th Round - MR Ulbert Verberne (65/72/44) 18 years; Geldrop-Mierlo, the Netherlands
10th Round - CL Rodrigo Chávez (60/56/55) 20 years; Westminster, California
11th Round - RF Emerson Phillips (47/53/44) 18 years; Northfield, New Hampshire
12th Round - SP Juan Rocha (42/58/35) 20 years; Lehigh Acres, Florida
13th Round - SP Tanner Smith (41/45/47) 17 years; Delray Beach, Florida
14th Round - RF John Knight (33/56/34) 18 years; Manhattan, New York
15th Round - MR Chris Benjamin (37/60/44) 21 years; Glendale, California
16th Round - CL Phil Bullard (53/64/52) 18 years; Staten Island, New York
17th Round - SP Bill Brown (60/28/39) 21 years; Bloomingtion, Indiana
18th Round - SP Wayne Schleicher (24/38/51) 17 years; West Seneca, New York
19th Round - 3B Álvaro Álvarez (36/43/44) 17 years; Chandler, Arizona
20th Round - CF Pedro Lee (47/18/40) 20 years; Missouri City, Texas
21th Round - 2B José Cortés (33/29/35) 20 years; Cardenas, Cuba
22nd Round - LF Pedro Aguilar (29/30/34) 21 years; Brooklyn, New York
23rd Round - RF Arnold Spivey (47/16/22) 20 years; Pueblo, Colorado
24th Round - C Francisco Sánchez (35/13/27) 20 years; Penuelas, Puerto Rico
25th Round - SP Cedric Smith (28/29/25) 18 years; Lochearn, Maryland
26th Round - MR Armando Hernández (46/51/52) 18 years; San Rafael del Sur, Nicaragua
27th Round - 2B Luis Mireles (34/30/33) 18 years; Ensenada, México
28th Round - CF Juan Sánchez (35/15/29) 18 years; Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela

The players will be send to their respective minor league teams. We have to analyze them a bit closer to see if some are already ready for more than rookie league level.

Even if normal league play will resume, this won't happen before the weekend, as I have to report back to work tomorrow.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

15th June 2008

After this thrilling draft we turn our focus to the series finale against the Blizzards who have yet to win a game against us in their young franchise history. Will also this game end in a slugfest? Sadly we have to rest Upton today, but hopefully Charlie Fermaint can take advantage of this first start of the season. The Blizzards try their luck again with sending a lefty to the mount and pray he can eat some innings as their bullpen is more than wretched at the moment. Today's Buffalo lineup collected six stolen bases so far, Prince Fielder has eleven.

Game #66 – Buffalo [32-33] (J. Saunders 1-6, 6.35 ERA) at Milwaukee [32-33] (C. Capuano 6-3, 3.55 ERA)

SS A. Escobar - RF S. Victorino - LF R. Braun - 1B P. Fielder - 3B M. Reynolds - 2B O. Infante - CF C. Fermaint - C H. Blanco

Saunders wasn't to blame as he pitched 5 + solid innings, but the Blizzards simply had no Ryan Braun on their lineup. In addition Chris Capuano was hot allowing only three hits in eight innings. When Akinori Otsuka wanted to spoil the shutout, Mitch Stetter brought the game to a quick end.

Buffalo at Milwaukee: 0-6

W: C. Capuano (7-3), L: J. Saunders
HR - / R. Braun 2 (18)
MoM: C. Capuano - 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K

After this sweep we are back .500 which seems ok in a very tight NL Central:

CHC 36-30
STL 34-32
MIL 33-33
BUF 32-34
HOU 32-34
CIN 29-37

Elsewhere:

A.J. Burnett (5-8, 4.77 ERA) pitched the Vancouver Marmots to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

The Florida Marlins lose spot starter Gaby Hernandez (2-6-1, 4.92 ERA) for up to 13 months with herniated disc in the back.


American League Player of the Week:
Delmon Young (.307, 13 HR, 53 RBI - Tampa Bay): .552, 2 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI

National League Player of the Week:
Carlos Lee (.340, 14 HR, 47 RBI - San Diego): .600, 2 HR, 7 RBI


We signed the following non drafted free agents:

SS Pancho Redríguez
LF Francisco Rivas
SS Akahito Matsuo
MR Shawn Eaddy
LF Ed Bandy

Those guys are primarily used to fill some holes in our Arizona League rookie team.

[Loeffle]

June 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers
Manager and GM Fritsche

16th June 2008

Our farm system is organized like this:

AAA - Nashville Sounds (28-31)
AA - Huntsville Stars (33-23)
A higher level - Brevard County Manatees (38-25)
A lower level - West Virginia Power (22-41)
R higher level - Helena Brewers (0-0)
R lower level - Arizona League Brewers (0-0)

So a rookie with very bad current ratings would start at R lower level, then move to R higher level, A lower level, A higher lovel etc. Of course it's possible to jump over a level if the development is very good.

Our draftees are distributed according to their current skills as follows:

West Virginia Power:

2nd Round - RF Bill Banks
22nd Round - LF Pedro Aguilar

Helena Brewers:

12th Round - SP Juan Rocha
15th Round - MR Chris Benjamin
6th Round - 1B Mauro Icaza
21th Round - 2B José Cortés
4th Round - LF Fred Byrd
20th Round - CF Pedro Lee
14th Round - RF John Knight
28th Round - CF Juan Sánchez

All other draftees go the Arizona League Brewers. Most drafted pitchers, catchers and infielders will have to go a really long way to reach the higher levels, while some of the outfielders already look fine now.

This is a good opportunity to check who of the 2007 class made it out of rookie level.

1st Round - CL Angel Tapia - AA 0-2-14, 6.48 ERA, 16.2 IP, 18 H, 10 BB, 24 K
5th Round - 3B Sukenobo Matsu****a - lower A .198, 0 HR, 4 RBI
8th Round - 1B Bob Bannatyne - higher A .301, 5 HR, 26 RBI
14th Round - MR Mike Currence - lower A 1-0-0, 3.18 ERA, 11.1 IP, 12 H, 3 BB, 7 K
16th Round - C Dan Tsamis - lower A .349, 1 HR, 10 RBI
18th Round - 3B / utility Yoshiyuki Ishida - AAA .207, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 SB
19th Round - RF Adrian Evans - AA .237, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 4 SB
20th Round - 3B / utility César Martínez - lower A .261, 0 HR, 13 RBI
22nd Round - MR Peter Coffey - lower A 0-0-0, 3.12 ERA, 8.2 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 7 K
25th Round - LF / RF Zagwe Azagba - higher & lower A .310, 2 HR, 22 RBI
26th Round - RF / LF Bill Carter - lower A .295, 0 HR, 4 RBI
27th Round - 1B Paul Jefferson - lower A .305, 1 HR, 20 RBI

Many early picks don't seem to develop at all. Ishida looks like a steal, and Tapia is doing fine too even if his ERA is very high.