I love baseball. Possibly more than life itself. We all know that. But it's been awhile since there's been anything to talk about OTHER than baseball. Football ended last February (in dramatic and awesome fashion, I might add), but then we went into a lockout and haven't had anything to talk about other than the NFL draft. Pro basketball is a subject that hasn't been touched for awhile and probably won't be touched for many months to come because of, yes, another lockout...only the Bucks' draft picks and trade have been discussed ever since they floundered their playoff chances away in March. College basketball will receive more attention as a result, but that doesn't begin until November, nor gain much relevance until January and February. As much as I have fallen in love with the NHL over the past few seasons, I don't have a team to discuss on this blog because Wisconsin doesn't have a pro hockey franchise. So I'm going to talk about baseball some more, but there's no need to worry. Remember when I started this thing up back on August 8th of last year? That time is drawing close, and I believe that my preview of the Wisconsin Badgers football team was done on August 10th. Which means...that's right. I'll be talking about football soon. Not only that, but once this NFL lockout comes to a close (which supposedly is very soon), the Packers can start looking at free agents, begin practicing and...holy s---...their first preseason game is on August 13. Can that be right? Like...three weeks from now? Nice.
So we've got some things to look forward to. College football. Pro football. The one-year anniversary of Balls, Brats and Beer. But that's not all. How about playoff baseball? The Brewers once again reclaimed first place from those pesky Pirates last night despite new acquisition Francisco Rodriguez doing his best Derrick Turnblow impersonation and won against the D-Backs 5-2 in ten innings. For those keeping track, the Brewers have now won back-to-back road games twice...and both have happened in the last five days. Milwaukee is 4-3 on the current road trip, which to be honest is better than I expected. Before I get to the big picture, I'd like to discuss a few things from last night's game that caught my eye that pertain to rookie manager Ron Roenicke.
Once the Brewers had grabbed a two-run lead after seven innings and had seen Stephen Drew break his ankle sliding into home and Carlos Gomez fracture his clavicle making a beautiful diving catch in center (both are likely out for the season), Roenicke made a decision that is easy to look back on and criticize. Starting pitcher Chris Narveson had been brilliant through seven innings and his pitch count was only in the mid-80s, but RR decided to go with what had worked on two separate occasions and bring out K-Rod for the 8th. A half-inning later, the game was tied due in part to Rodriguez getting behind in the count and Ryan Braun's calf preventing him from cutting off a ball that was heading for the left center field gap. So why didn't Roenicke leave in Narveson to see if he could keep on rolling? Good question, but it's already been answered. The K-Rod/Ax Factor 8th-9th inning combo had yet to fail, so RR turned to it again. However, this situation was different and Narveson should have been given the chance to finish what he started. In the other two games that K-Rod and Ax have finished it out (both against Colorado), K-Rod didn't relieve the starting pitcher - he relieved another reliever. Roenicke shouldn't have treated it like any other situation. The Narve-Dog was rolling along and even if he did get left in and ran into trouble in the 8th or 9th, then that's where you should step in and put in Ax or K-Rod. Simple as that. I'm sure Roenicke has learned a valuable lesson. Luckily it didn't cost us a victory.
But get this: Roenicke redeemed himself almost immediately. In the bottom of the ninth with a runner on third and no one out, Reliever Takashi "Tsunami" Saito was in a jam and a half. Just like he has done on previous occasions, RR brought in a fifth infielder from the outfield (Brauny) and put his faith in Saito to force the batter to hit a ground ball. The next two hitters grounded out to McGehee and the Brewers were able to put Braun back in left and return to their normal alignment. After a fly-out to Gomez' replacement, Tony Plush, the Crew had momentum back on their side. The very next half inning, none other than Nyjer Morgan had the game winning and go-ahead base hit and Axford put the Ax down for yet another save. Pirates lost. Cards lost. Brewers win. Brewers in first. Everyone's happy.
The Milwaukee Brewers now sit at 53-46 and 0.5 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who don't play the Crew again until August 12 (the first of nine remaining games against the Brewers, including the final three games of the season), a game which I will be attending in the Miller Lite Beer Pen thanks to Kyle's birthday. The August 13 game was moved to an afternoon start so that it could be nationally televised. Really? An August Brewers-Pirates game? And if that's not enough, to close out the season the Crew and the Bucs will play three games at Miller Park. Get your tickets now, folks. I have my doubts that the schedule makers put the Pirates-Brewers series at the end of the season because they knew it would have playoff implications, but that seems to be what it's shaping up to have. What the Brewers have going for them is that they have completely dominated the Bucs over the past couple seasons, especially at Miller Park. As a matter of fact, they are 5-0 against Pittsburgh this season. But as the season has progressed, the Pirates have morphed into a team with exciting young talent and a surprisingly good pitching staff. People are waiting for Pittsburgh to fade...and it's not happening. Not yet, at least.
Things have been promising lately for the Brewers. Ryan Braun appears to be getting closer and closer to 100%...the bullpen received a nice boost with the addition of Francisco Rodriguez (despite last night's effort)...another move to improve the bench and/or left side of the infield appears to be in the making...and the Brewers are holding their own on a very difficult road trip that will close out with a showdown against the fellow first place San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately, Go-Go's loss means no late-game insurance in the outfield or on the base paths for some time to come. To replace Gomez, outfielder Brett Carroll, 28, was called up from Triple-A Nashville. This season, Carroll was hitting .281 with 15 HR and 51 RBI, but has been struggling as of late and hasn't exactly proven himself at the big league level. I would've preferred to see someone like fellow outfielder Caleb Gindl (22 years old, .290 AVG, 12 HR, 35 RBI) or even another infielder like Taylor Green (24 years old, .316 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI), but perhaps the Brewers don't want to tinker with Gindl's progress or make the infield too crowded. Besides, Gindl is a left-handed hitter so he wouldn't be able to replace Gomez in the righty/lefty platoon in center field. Still...why not give this Green guy a shot? I talked about him earlier in the summer as a possible replacement for McGehee, who continues to do a whole lot of nothing for the Brewers this season. At the very latest, we should see Green as a September call-up (or late August call-up so that he's eligible for the postseason roster) perhaps get a few chances to start over Casey. Just another little something for us Brewer fans to look forward to.
That's all I've got for now. Don't worry. Football is on the horizon for those of you who are tired of me blabbing about baseball. For now, let's just sit back and enjoy...no...let's ride an emotional roller coaster...as we watch the Brewers duke it out for a spot in the playoffs.
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