Brewers Notes

-After last night's dramatic walk-off winner against the Pirates, the Brewers remain in a tie for the Wild Card. Ryan Braun, who hit the game-winning grand slam, talked about his struggles lately, and the injuries that have plagued him.

-Meanwhile, in the celebration that took place at home plate after Braun's blast, JJ Hardy may have injured his hand.

-While Braun's homer was definitely the big highlight of the night, the start made by Yovani Gallardo can't be overlooked. Drew Olson compares Gallardo's comeback to Curt Schilling's "bloody sock" game. I don't think Gallardo's start was on the same level, but it was definitely significant.

In many ways, Gallardo's start last night can be seen as the emergence of Milwaukee's new ace. CC Sabathia will be gone next year. Ben Sheets will most likely be gone too - even if the Brewers could re-sign Sheets, I think it would be unwise to give a big contract to a starting pitcher who has proven himself to be injury-prone and unreliable. The Brewers are close to a playoff berth - which would be their first since 1982 - and Sheets has not been able to rise to the occasion, because of "soreness." Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo takes the mound less than 5 months after tearing his ACL, and gives Milwaukee a chance to win a much-needed game. Pitching wins championships, and the future looks bright with Gallardo as Milwaukee's ace.

-If Ben Sheets can't pitch Saturday, it will be up to Dave Bush. By the way, this is what Sheets had to say Thursday after throwing a bullpen session:

“Nothing’s changed,” he said. “It went all right but it’s still wait-and-see. I’m fine at throwing 75%. I always have been. If they promise me they won’t swing at it, I’ll go out there and do that all day.”

Not exactly the words of an ace who is willing to do whatever it takes for the team to win.

-It will be interesting to see how much playing time the cub regulars get in this series. Chicago has already wrapped up homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. In their last two games against the Mets, several cubs were given days off. Here are the pitching matchups for the series:

Friday:

Milwaukee - Jeff Suppan (10-10, 5.06 ERA; 1-1, 9.00 ERA vs. Chicago this year)
Chicago - Ryan Dempster (17-6, 2.99 ERA; 4-0 vs. Milwaukee this year)

Saturday:

Milwaukee - TBA, Ben Sheets (13-8, 2.98 ERA, 1-1 vs. Chicago this year) or Dave Bush (9-10, 4.25 ERA, 0-2 vs. Chicago this year)
Chicago - Ted Lilly (16-9, 4.17 ERA, 0-1 vs. Milwaukee this year)

Sunday:

Milwaukee - CC Sabathia (16-10, 2.80 ERA, 0-1 vs. Chicago this year)
Chicago - Jason Marquis (11-9, 4.43 ERA, 0-2 vs. Milwaukee this year)

-Check out this ESPN feature on the Brewers as they enter the final weekend of the regular season.

UPDATE: Ben Sheets is now scheduled to start Saturday. Perhaps Gallardo's start last night has inspired Sheets.

Jumping Jehosephats! - J.J. Hardy!

Actually, the "J.J." stands for James Jerry (although I could have sworn that Robin Yount referred to him as "John" on the Brewers' telecast the other night).

Hardy is playing out of his mind right now. Consider the following:

-At the end of April, Hardy was hitting .234 with 1 HR and 8 RBI.

-At the end of May, he was hitting .249 with 2 HRs and 15 RBI.

-On June 10, he was hitting .242. Since then, his batting average has risen 50 points to .292.

-He now has 10 HRs, including 4 in the last 4 games.

-He now has 34 RBI, including 8 in the last 5 games.

-His hitting streak stands at 16 games now, and he has 15 hits in the last 5 games.

Brewers Game - Friday, June 20

The view from 14 rows behind home plate.


Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera out in time to get a good picture of the honorary first pitch, which was delivered by the "Wizard of Waukesha," Les Paul.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio was in attendance.

J.J. Hardy sends a home run out to center field. You can see the ball streaking toward the fence.

It was a short night for Milwaukee's starter, Jeff Suppan.

Prince Fielder connects for a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning.

And is congratulated by Ryan Braun after touching home.

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."