Wednesday, April 30, 2008

'Sup with Suppan?

Wow, what a bad (no, horrible) (no, terrible) (no, horrific) night for Jeff Suppan:

-3 2/3 innings

-11 hits

-11 runs (8 earned)

-1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

He came into the game with a 3.48 ERA, and leaves with a 5.19 ERA (increase of 1.71).

I've played in softball games where the pitcher has given up fewer runs than that.

Meanwhile, the Brewers trail 13-5 in the seventh. Barring a great comeback, it will be up to Yovani Gallardo to deliver a series victory against the cubs tomorrow.

"Dark Knight" News

A couple of things I found over at Pop Candy:

-Apparently a new trailer for the Batman Begins sequel, Dark Knight, will be officially released this coming Sunday, and you will be able to watch it at this site.

-Collegehumor.com has compared the first trailer for Dark Knight to the trailer for the 1989 Batman. Check out the similarities (in case the video doesn't show up, here's the link):


See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Monday, April 28, 2008

Brewers Hit The Road - But Will They Hit?

Milwaukee starts a 9-game, 3-city road trip tomorrow night in Chicago. From there, it's off to Houston for the season's first series against the Astros, and then to Florida for another round with the Marlins.

There a few things to look forward to after a disappointing home series loss to the Marlins over the weekend. First, Ben Sheets (hopefully healthy) will be returning to the starting rotation tomorrow night at Wrigley. Second, Brewer fans will get their first glimpse of center fielder Mike Cameron, whose 25-day suspension is now over. He is now eligible to start Tuesday. Perhaps Cameron will be able to provide some type of offensive spark to the Brewers' lineup.

In Milwaukee's last 4 games, they have been outscored 12 - 7. The pitching staff has performed quite well the past few days, but the Brewer hitters have been slumping horribly. This leads me to yet another questioning of Ned Yost's thinking process: In Saturday night's game, Bill Hall went 2-for-2 and drew 2 walks. So what does Ned do the next day? Bench him of course, in favor of Craig Counsell, who went 0-for-3 and ended the game by striking out. When Yost finally brought Hall into the game as a pinch-hitter, he hits the game-tying home run, and later serves up a sacrifice bunt.

Looking ahead to the next series, the Brewers have a good chance of winning at least 2 games against the cubs. Milwaukee will send out Sheets, Jeff Suppan, and Yovani Gallardo to the mound in the 3 games. Chicago has lost 3 of their last 4 games, and are 2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the NL Central.

NFL Draft

I really don't care much for the NFL draft. In fact, I think it is one of the most over-hyped events in all of sports. I usually pay attention to only two things from the draft: who the Packers get, and which Badgers got drafted.

So who did the Packers get? A pair of quarterbacks that no one is really enthused about much, a couple of wide receivers I've never heard of, a TE from Texas, two defensive players, a guard, and some dude named Breno. I know pretty much nothing about most of these players, so I won't pretend to offer up any analysis. I think it's ridiculous to read too much into these drafts anyhow, and it makes more sense to grade how a team performed a few years after the players actually put on their new jerseys. The only criticism I can think of, is that it might have made some sense to get a running back - I know we have Ryan Grant, but he hasn't played a full season yet, and running backs in today's NFL have a short lifespan.

Meanwhile, four players from last year's UW team heard their names called. Of the 6 total minutes I spent watching the draft this year, 3 of them actually came when Hubbard was selected by Cleveland. It was nice to hear all of the studio analysts talk about Hubbard and the tradition of Wisconsin wide receivers (like Chris Chambers and Lee Evans).

One final note, former Badger punter Ken DeBauche went undrafted, but was signed by the Packers.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Another Leprechaun Summer

The 2008 OSA (Oconomowoc Softball Association) summer season is about to begin, with Opening Night set for tomorrow (weather permitting). My team, the Sanders Construction Leprechauns, finished tied for third place last year. Quite the milestone, considering it was also our first winning season since joining the Monday Night B League back in 2003. We even had some money for offseason promos this year:



















Saturday, April 26, 2008

Brewers vs. Marlins, Friday Night

It was a pretty good game last night, until the 10th inning when things unraveled for Milwaukee. Both starters pitched great games, but the Brewer hitters certainly had a few opportunities where they failed to deliver. According to the Yahoo Sports recap, the Brewers have now been held scoreless for 15 innings. I can't believe Wes Helms actually got the "game-winner."

Here are a few photos I took during the game (sorry for the poor quality):




Friday, April 25, 2008

Quick Note

I haven't had Internet access for about 24 hours, so that's why no posts. I'm heading to the Brewer game tonight, and hopefully will be able to post some pictures afterwards.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Favre to Visit Late Night TV

Former Green Bay Packer quarterback (ouch, those words are still hard to type) Brett Favre will appear on David Letterman tonight. Perhaps Brett will use the platform to announce his return to pro football.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Guess Who's Back

Geoff Jenkins makes his return to Miller Park tonight - thankfully it is in the uniform of a different team. Jenkins is probably my least favorite Brewer of all-time. He was with Milwaukee from 1998 to 2007, and if you look at his numbers from 2003 to 2007, you'll see a steady decline in production. His best year was in 2000, when he hit over .300, had 34 home runs, and 94 RBI. Since then, he has never hit over .300, and has never hit more than 28 home runs in a season.

Here's a look at his averages from the last 4 years with Milwaukee:

.270 avg., 22.5 home runs, 78 RBI, 70.5 runs, 47.5 walks, 133.7 strikeouts

Those numbers aren't terrible, but they certainly don't merit the amount of money he was making. How sad to think that at one time, he was considered the best player on this team.

This year, in 21 games with the Phillies:

.250 avg., 1 home run, 3 RBI, 6 runs, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Thanks For Nothing

After stealing a base and scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning, the Milwaukee Brewers showed Gabe Gross their appreciation by trading him to the Tampa Bay Rays. The trade leaves Milwaukee with only 1 Gabe on the roster. The Brewers picked up a pitching prospect in the deal.

Gross had been hitting better of late, but his average was at .209. By the end of April, the Brewers should have Mike Cameron and Tony Gwynn back, so something had to give.

Meanwhile, Eric "Game Not Over" Gagne blew yet another save today. Gagne came into the ninth with a 1-run lead, and promptly hit a batter and gave up a single. He now has 4 blown saves in 10 opportunities.

Earth Day

Where is the "greenest" building in the whole world? Why, in Baraboo, WI of course!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Roberto Clemente

Tonight, Roberto Clemente will be the focus on the PBS program American Experience. Check your local listings for time. If you miss it, it looks like you can watch it also online.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Brewers Roundup

Milwaukee ended their 9-game road trip on a sour note today, losing in the 10th inning to the Reds. The Brewers went 5-4 on the road trip, and are now 7-5 away from Miller Park. Milwaukee actually has the most amount of road victories in the NL. Last year's team went 32-49 on the road (Chicago, which finished in first place, went 41-40 on the road.

A few notes from today's game and the road trip:

-A great start from Yovani Gallardo. He went 7 innings, gave up only 4 hits and 1 ER, and struck out 4.

-Another blown save from Eric Gagne. Gagne has now given up 4 home runs - since he became a closer, the most home runs he ever gave up in a season, was 6 (in 2002 with LA). Last year, he only gave up 3 homers.

What really is upsetting though, is who he gave up one of today's home runs to: Paul Bako. Bako has been around for 11 years. He has had 1,835 at-bats, and before today, only 15 home runs! Last year, he had only 1! Argh.

-Bill Hall should have to register his bat when he enters Cincinnati, because he is a Reds-killer. Take a look at Hall's numbers in 6 games vs. Cincy this year, compared to his overall numbers on the year:

6 games vs. Reds, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 runs, 5 strikeouts
18 games (total season), 6 HR, 16 RBI, 8 runs, 22 strikeouts

-Milwaukee's offense is still slumping. Fielder, Braun, and Hall are all still hitting under .225, and Jason Kendall is the only everyday player hitting over .300. Corey Hart has been fairly consistent, and Bill Hall and J.J. Hardy showed signs of coming around this weekend - but the Brewers haven't scored more than 5 runs since last Sunday against the Mets.

The Week Ahead

The Brewers have 2 games against St. Louis tomorrow and Tuesday, 2 games against Philadelphia, and then a 3-game weekend series against Florida. The Cardinals come into Miller Park with a 12-6 record, good enough for first place in the NL Central. Here are the pitching matchups for the series with St. Louis:

Monday - Carlos Villanueva vs. Adam Wainwright
Tuesday - Manny Parra vs. Kyle Lohse

Villanueva and Parra both are coming off of poor outings against the Cardinals:

Villanueva - 4 2/3 innings, 5 ER, 2 HR
Parra - 4 innings, 3 ER, 5 walks

Wainwright and Lohse were both excellent in their last starts:

Wainwright - 7 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 1 ER, 6 strikeouts
Lohse - 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 ER, 3 strikeouts

Philadelphia is 8-10 going into tonight's game against the Mets, and now is a good time to face them. Ryan Howard has been in a slump all season, and Jimmy Rollins was just placed on the DL. Florida is 11-7, and led by shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who is batting .364.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Badger Spring Game

Camp Randall was the site of today's UW spring football game, and I have a friend and fellow UW-alum who was among the plus-20,000 crowd. Scott S. was good enough to share his thoughts on the game and the 2008 Badger team:


This spring for the UW football team has been marred by injuries, mainly to the defensive line. That said, the defense played relatively well. The kickers, well, that’s another story. The game featured the starters, the Cardinal team, against the reserves, the White squad. The Cardinal won a lethargic game, 28-3. Here’s a position by position breakdown of UW’s spring game:

Quarterback
Following Tyler Donovan’s graduation, this has become a two man race between Senior Allen Everidge and Junior Dustin Sheerer. Both alternated shifts for the Cardinal squad. Sheerer was the better QB today, but both were somewhat limited by poor play by the receivers. Both QBs went through their progressions well against a depleted secondary, but Everidge had one absolute horrible decision that resulted in an interception. Since QBs were off limits to tackling, it was impossible to judge their ability to run the ball. Third stringer Scott Tolzein played very well for the White squad. Heralded recruit Curt Phillips was the 5th QB today, and played with mostly 3rd stringers. He was sharp passing the ball, but was still somewhat confused as to his reads. Barring a miracle, look for him to redshirt this year.

Running Back
Easily the most talented position on the team. PJ Hill and Zach Brown both ran with the Cardinal, while Lance Smith and heralded recruit John Clay ran with the White. Hill had some impressive runs in the first half; however they were against essentially a 4th string defensive line. Brown had a few nice runs as well, but did not distinguish himself. Smith looked excellent catching the ball out of the backfield, and also broke a few long runs. The staff has been experimenting with him at WR, and he looks like a natural catching passes. Clay’s much anticipated debut did not disappoint. Going against the number one defense, Clay ran with impressive burst and power. He never got into the open field, but reminded me of Ron Dayne in the way that he had to be gang tackled each play, always carrying the pile. His skills in the passing game will take some time to develop. At this point, I think Hill will be number 1, Clay has an excellent chance to overtake Brown for number 2, and Smith will be a slotback/3rd down running back.

Wide Receiver
David Gilreath, last year known exclusively as a punt returner, was the only wideout to distinguish himself. He made a nice catch on an up and out route, and showed sure hands. No other WR did anything to impress, and the drops, especially a dropped TD by Issac Anderson made the game painful to watch at times.

Tight End
With Travis Beckum out, Mickey Turner played extremely well in the passing game, though his run support could have been better. Freshman Jake Byrne had a nice catch for a touchdown late in the 4th quarter.

Offensive Line
Going against a defensive line ravaged by injuries, this unit should have dominated the game. They did not. The line effectively opened lanes, but never got their hands on the linebackers, who roamed free for most of the game. I was expecting more from this unit. I was also looking forward to seeing redshirt freshman Josh Oglesby, a 5 star recruit from Milwaukee make his debut. He played left tackle with the White squad and had a really rough day. On consecutive plays he committed a false start, and then was bull rushed by O’Brien Schofield (80 pounds lighter than Oglesby) and thrown into Lance Smith, who was trying to run a stretch play. Pass protection was generally good; again, hard to say because QBs were down by touch.

D Line
Here’s the list of players who missed the game that are on the 2 deep depth chart: Matt Shaughnessy, Dan Moore, Jason Chapman, and Mike Newkirk. That said, the group held up well. I was impressed with Schofield, as well as little used nose tackle Jeff Stehle. The silver lining to the injuries is that we may develop some depth at this position.

LBs
Usual up and down day for the talented trio Casillas, Hodge, and Levy. All three would be in on the play one moment, then conspicuously absent the next. Clay was a good test, as he is big enough to run over the athletic linebackers, and at some points, did. Their ability to cover tight ends, or lack thereof, was exposed, yet again. Watch out for the spread offenses this year, as Minnesota and Michigan will be employing UW’s biggest nemesis in 2008.

DBs
Again, a group ravaged by injuries. Langford and Henry are recovering from ACL’s, and at points their replacements were too soft in zone coverages, opening up huge holes for Gilreath and Turner to exploit. Niles Brinkley acquitted himself well at corner, as did Jay Valai at safety. Still waiting for Aubrey Pleasant to have an Atari Bigby type awakening, thinking less, and just running around and hitting people.

Kickers
WOW. We will miss Ken Debauche and Taylor Melhaff. The kickers had competitions at the end of the first and third quarters, each kicking 4 field goals from 25, 35, 40, and 45 yards. No wind, no rain, nothing. Both Junior Matt Fisher and Freshman Philip Welch were horrible. At one point, Fisher missed 3 in a row, with no rush, from dead on. Welch was erratic as well, hitting the triumvirate of misses, left, right, and short, while only connecting on half of his 8 attempts. And THAT was the good news. The new (and only) punter is Debauche’s little brother, Brad. We’re going to need those genes to kick in real soon. Brad punted about 5 times. All five were short, line drives that easily could have been returned by Gilreath if returns were allowed. His average was around 30 years, some only around 20, and the net on most would easily be in the teens. An overall terrible day for the new Debauche. But hey, it’s the spring game, so he has all summer to add 20 yards and 2 seconds of hang time until it counts.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Summer Movie Preview

We're halfway through April and the film industry has yet to deliver the first truly great movie of 2008.

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that summer is quickly approaching, which means that Hollywood will soon be depositing a number of blockbusters into theaters. The bad news is that only a few of them look like they will be surefire hits. There are a lot of movies that look questionable, and I've included some of those on my list below.

Most Looking Forward To:

May 23 - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

There were two movies that I grew up with: The Natural and Raiders of the Lost Ark. They could have named this movie Indiana Jones and the Trip to Quiznos and I would still be looking forward to the release date.








July 18 - The Dark Knight

I saw Batman Begins in the theater and thought it was easily the best of the franchise. This sequel looks even better.








Good Chance of Being Worthwhile

May 2 - Iron Man

I'm not a huge comic book fan, but I have enjoyed adaptations such as the X-Men series or some of the Batman films. This movie has been getting a lot of buzz.








June 20 - Get Smart

Steve Carell has built up a fairly solid film record in the last few years, and hopefully this will be an addition and not a subtraction.








July 4 - Hancock

It's hard to go wrong with a summer blockbuster starring Will Smith.








August 8 - Pineapple Express

The Apatow Machine looks to score laughs with the ultimate slacker-stoner-buddy-road trip comedy.








August 15 - Tropic Thunder

I'll be the first to admit that the premise for this movie sounds especially dumb. But after watching the trailer, I thought that this could actually be a pretty funny movie.








Probably Duds

June 13 - The Happening

It's really sad to track the diminishing quality of M. Night Shyamalan's films. After watching this trailer, it's hard to have hope for this movie.








July 25 - Step Brothers

This looks like another formulaic addition to Will Ferrell's IMDB page.





Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Secret Lives of Famous Writers

Over at Pop Candy, there is a post about a new book which details the quirks and secrets of several famous literary figures. The book looks like it is filled with a lot of interesting trivia.

Included in the Popcandy post is an excerpt from the book on the bizarre habits of J.D. Salinger. Apparently Salinger was quite unconventional when it came to medical treatments, and he would use wooden dowels instead of normal needles for acupuncture "treatments" on his children.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Changes in the Brewers lineup for today's game.

I have no problem with Yost changing up the lineup. What I do have a problem with, is how he will say Monday morning that he's going to do "A," he's going to stick by "A" for the long term, etc.; but then come Tuesday morning he has changed his mind and is doing "B."

The Braun-Fielder switcheroo is one example of Yost adamantly saying one thing, and then doing another the next day. I have a feeling that by the All-Star break the whole "batting Kendall eighth" decision will be reversed too.

Yost is constantly undermining his own decisions, and what does that say about his decision-making abilities?

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

"And oh, what heights we'll hit!"

The Milwaukee area is setting new records today.

Up here in the Chippewa Valley, I've seen stations advertising $3.39, but it looks like some places are as high as $3.45.

John McCain is proposing a "summer holiday" for the federal gas tax.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Brewers Weaving Together a Deal?

According to JSOnline, the Brewers are close to finalizing a deal with pitcher Jeff Weaver.

I have two quick thoughts on this deal:

1. I've never really liked Weaver. He's constantly under-achieved in his career - his ERA is 4.72, he's lost 21 more games than he's won, he's prone to giving up home runs, and he doesn't rack up a lot of strikeouts. If they wanted depth, they could have worked out a deal to keep Claudio Vargas. Sure, Vargas didn't have impressive numbers either...but he did go 11-6 last year and the Brewers generally won with him on the mound. He was the "magic man!"

2. On the other hand, Weaver's numbers against the NL are better than his numbers against the AL. Also, in 2006 he played an important role in St. Louis' run to the World Series title. So maybe he could be successful in the NL Central.

Gene Wilder

Tonight the cable station TCM is airing an interview with Gene Wilder, one of my favorite actors of all time. Wilder is responsible for creating some of the most memorable characters in cinema history, and it's a shame that he hasn't worked more in the last couple of decades. The special airs at 7 pm/ct, and is repeated again at midnight, so set your dvr's, vcr's, and internal clocks. TCM will also air three of his classic films tonight.

Personally, I think Milwaukee should construct a statue for its native son Wilder, rather than a fictional character.

Here's a classic clip from The Producers:

Monday, April 14, 2008

Kapler, The Week Ahead, & Question of the Week

One of the biggest stories of the young season so far, for not only the Brewers but for all of MLB, has been the comeback of Gabe Kapler. The New York Times had a feature on Kapler yesterday, and today there's a spotlight on Kapler over at Yahoo Sports. Kapler, along with Jason Kendall, have really provided some much-needed offensive punch, especially considering the slow starts by Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.

Kapler and Kendall have combined for: 26 hits, 18 RBI, 15 runs, 7 doubles, 4 HR, 6 strikeouts

Braun and Fielder have combined for: 22 hits, 15 RBI, 10 runs, 5 doubles, 3 HR, 19 strikeouts

The Week Ahead

Milwaukee is off today, but the road trip continues in St. Louis tomorrow night. After a 3-game series with the Cardinals, the Brewers will travel to Cincinnati for a weekend series with the Reds.

The Cardinals are not only in first place in the NL Central (lead by .5 game over Milwaukee), but they have one of the best records in the Majors (9-4). They are coming off of a 4-game series at San Francisco which they split. The Brewers will face Braden Looper, Adam Wainwright, and Kyle Lohse - combined these 3 pitchers have gone 4-1 so far, and all three have low ERAs and WHIPs.

The Brewers will send Dave Bush to the mound Tuesday night, and he will likely be pitching for his job as a starter, with Yovani Gallardo set to return soon. Bush is 0-2 with a 8.44 ERA after two starts this year. In 4 career starts against St. Louis, Bush is 1-3 with a 7.61 ERA. Yikes!

The Reds had a tough weekend, getting swept at Pittsburgh. The Reds managed only 4 runs in those 3 games. Before they host the Brewers this weekend, they will travel to Wrigley Field to take on the cubs.

Question of the Week:

Last week's question asked if the Brewers could win a World Series with two "Gabes" on the roster. If they do, they would become the first MLB team to do so. Through extensive research (a quick search on MLB.com) I found out that there have been 7 MLB players named Gabe:

Gabe Gross
Gabe Kapler
Gabe Alvarez
Gabe Gabler
Gabe Gonzalez
Gabe Molina
Gabe White

Only Gabe Kapler has won a World Series ring (with Boston in 2004).

This week's question: Milwaukee currently ranks ninth in the NL for team batting average (.254). What is the lowest team batting average a Brewer team ever finished with and in what year?

Saturday, April 12, 2008

No. 7

Hitting in front of the pitcher is a dirty job, but as J.J. Hardy points out in this article, "someone's got to do it."

Hardy doesn't seem that thrilled about his new hitting assignment this year, but part of his angst might be from his slow start. Going into today's game, Hardy was hitting .212 with 3 RBI, 0 HR, and 8 strikeouts.

Manager Ned Yost already sounds frustrated when it comes to questions surrounding his decision to bat catcher Jason Kendall in the eight spot: "I don't care, to be honest with you...Play the game. You make your money by helping teams win."

Friday, April 11, 2008

Weekend Preview - Brewers @ NY Mets

Milwaukee starts a 9-game road trip tonight in New York against the Mets. The Brewers are coming off of back-to-back losses at home against the Reds. In those two losses, they got outscored 16 to 5. The Mets meanwhile are 4-4 and are coming off of consecutive victories against the Phillies.

Tonight, the Brewers send Manny Parra to the mound, while the Mets counter with former Brewer Nelson Figueroa. Back in 2002, Figueroa went 1-7 for Milwaukee and posted a 5.03 ERA. Before making his first appearance this year, he hadn't pitched in the majors since 2004.

Saturday, the Brewers send Ben Sheets out for his third start of the season, and then Jeff Suppan will toe the rubber on Sunday.

It'd be nice for Milwaukee to go into New York and get 2 out of these 3 upcoming games, especially after losing their last series at home to a divisional rival. It would also be good for the Brewers to start off strong in their first extended road trip of the season. Milwaukee was a different (i.e. weaker) team on the road last year, and in order to have a successful season (i.e. division title, playoffs), they will need to do better away from home.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Ornette Coleman

The New Yorker has an interesting piece on Ornette Coleman, one of the last great jazz masters. I didn't know a lot about Coleman's life before I read this article, so the stories about the controversies he caused earlier in his career were news to me. I think Coleman's music tends to get overlooked though, and he was an important contributor to the Free Jazz and Avant-Garde movements.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Where My Brew Crew At?

Can someone explain this one to me? I live in Wisconsin and have FSN. The Milwaukee Brewers played tonight and were broadcast on FSN. But for some reason, the FSN in the Eau Claire area was showing a Minnesota Timberwolves game!

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it.

I guess I didn't miss anything good tonight, especially after the fifth inning.

Taking Flight in the MW

Attention fans of the Flight of the Conchords: the comedy/rock/folk/etc. duo are embarking on a tour in support of their new album (which will be released April 22), and there are several stops in the Midwest. The pair will hit Chicago, Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee, where they'll be playing at the Riverside Theater on May 11.

This has always been one of my favorites.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Wisconsin Sports Headlines

Some interesting sports news coming out of Wisconsin today.

Marquette decided to take a chance with the hiring of their new men's basketball coach. Buzz Williams has only one year of head coaching experience - he went 14-17 at the University of New Orleans. From all accounts Williams is supposedly a good recruiter. He'll have to be better than good though, to keep Marquette's upperclassmen from entering the NBA. Not to mention the fact that he essentially has to re-recruit a couple of incoming freshman who want out of their commitments.

Over at the Brewers Blog on the JSOnline website, Tom Haudricourt reports that former Brewers closer Francisco Cordero believes that the "Brewers blew their chance to keep him as their closer" last year.

Cordero apparently had hurt feelings after Milwaukee failed to offer him a deal before the start of the 2007 season. This was the main factor that led him to sign a deal with the Reds for a mere $4 million more than what the Brewers offered. If Cordero really wanted to stay in Milwaukee, which I don't think is the case, he could have worked out a deal with the Brewers. I think it was all about the money for Cordero. Team loyalty is practically non-existent in today's MLB.

Finally, Brett Favre is not done toying with the emotions of Green Bay Packer fans. Favre recently made several statements in an interview that certainly were less than absolute. At the end of the interview, Favre states "I guess the best response would be, right now no (I'm not coming back)."

"RIGHT NOW" ?!?! Why must you play with our emotions, oh great one?

Just for the record, I correctly predicted that Favre would return for the 2007 season, and then correctly predicted that he would retire this year. And both times I made these bold predictions immediately following the Packers' last games that year. So what do I see for Favre's future? You will not see him playing for the Packers next year.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Brewers Start Off Strong

The Brewers are once again off to a fantastic start to the MLB season, ending the first week 5-1 and on top of the NL Central. There have been a few themes to Milwaukee’s start, and here’s a closer look at them:

1. Aggressiveness

The Brewers have been very aggressive on the basepaths so far in 2008. As a team, they have successfully stolen a base 9 times, and have only once been caught stealing. There is a lot of speed on this young team, including Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Tony Gwynn, Bill Hall, Ryan Braun, and Gabe Kapler. Not to mention the fact that with Jason Kendall, the Brewers have a catcher that can go from first to third on a base hit. No play, however, announced Milwaukee’s aggressiveness more emphatically than Rickie Weeks’ shoulder-first approach into home plate against the hated cubbies (I refuse to capitalize “cubs” – sticking it to ‘em).

2. Solid pitching efforts

In the 6 games played last week, all 6 starting pitchers made it past the 5th inning, and there was only 1 bad start (Dave Bush against the cubs). The pitching staff ended the week with a 3.17 ERA, 50 strikeouts, and only 19 walks. The bullpen has been solid, but it’s a long season and I’m not quite sold on Gagne as a closer. Gagne bounced back from his performance against the cubs to earn a save against the Giants on Saturday, but that was at home and against a weaker offense.

3. Good defense and great offense

Defense will be an important issue for the Brewers as the season progresses, and hopefully the move back to 3B for Bill Hall and the move to the OF for Ryan Braun will improve the team’s play. So far, so good, as the team has only allowed 2 errors. Offensively, it’s going to be hard for opposing pitchers to contain the Brewers. Milwaukee is averaging 6 runs per game, and they have carried over an important aspect from last season – scoring in the first inning and before their opponents.

The Week Ahead

The Reds come to town for a 3-game series starting tomorrow night, and then it’s off to New York for a weekend series against the Mets. Tomorrow night, the Brewers will face Cincinnati’s young starter Johnny Cueto, who recorded 10 strikeouts in 7 innings against Arizona in his first start. Milwaukee faces Aaron Harang on Thursday, who in 14 career games against Milwaukee, has given up 16 homeruns and has a lifetime 4.58 ERA.

Question of the Week

Can the Brewers win a World Series with 2 "Gabes" on the roster (Gabe Gross & Gabe Kapler)? Has a team ever won the title with 2 "Gabes"?