On Friday evening CC Sabathia pitched a solid seven inning, one run game, but was unable to pick up a victory because the Brewers bullpen was unable to hang on.  On Saturday night, the Brewers' second ace, Ben Sheets, never allowed the bullpen to even get up.  He willed his way to a career high, 13th victory by tossing a five hit 1-0 shut out against the San Diego Padres.  This all comes after leaving last Monday's game due to stiffness in his groin.  So much for that injury fear bug, right?

Everyone knew this was going to be a pitchers' duel.  The last two times Ben Sheets and Jake Peavy squared off, each team was held scoreless through the first six innings until Peavy bended and Sheets broke.  Milwaukee lost that game 3-2 despite their efforts to pin one on closer Trevor Hoffman.  This time a around, these special pitchers proved why they are some of the best in the business.

Benny was impressive right from the start, easily mowing down the first six batters he saw.  And then it happened, the token Sheets' injury scare.  God, I should have said anything.  In the bottom of the second inning, Sheets swung at a sinker with two out and runners at the corners.  He caught the ball at the end of the bat and immediately grimaced, holding his throwing hand.  His first warm up pitch in the following inning sailed over the Jason Kendall's head, and out came Roger Caplinger.  It was clear that Benny was grabbing his finger during the process, but luckily for the Brewers, the umpire gave him a few minutes and some extra pitches to shake off the injury, dubbed a hand stinger.  Good thing he did.  Sheets got through the third unscathed despite a lead off walk, and the rest, as they say, was history.

The Brewers offense responded in the bottom half of the inning when Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder finally combined for a productive back to back hit combo.  These two boys have struggled during this homestand, but have picked up back to back two-out hits on numerous occasions.  The problem?  They were always singles.  On this night, Prince Fielder finally found a pitch he liked and smoked it over the head of right fielder Brian Giles.  Interestingly, the ball stuck under the right field fence, and Giles chose to grab it instead of holding his hands up.  A bad throw by Matt Antonelli allowed Braun to score all the way from first to make the game a 1-0.

And that's all Benny and his defense would need.  Yes, Sheets was dominating, but that doesn't go without saying the Padres hit some balls very hard.  In fact, the hardest hit ball all night came with runners in scoring position.  In the fourth, Luis Rodriguez led off the inning with one of his three hits on the night by singling up the middle.   Rodriguez would steal second base with two outs to bring up Chase Headley, who promptly smoked a ball to the second base side of Rickie Weeks.  Weeks took one step to his right and lunged for the ball, snagging the ball despite the fact it had already passed him.  He quickly returned to his feet and threw Headley out, saving a run and another AB with RISP.  It was easily Weeks' best play all season and perhaps one of the best five made by a Brewer all season.  There were a few more gems from Craig Counsell and Gabe Kapler, but Weeks' play completely over shadowed them in importance and flare.

When all was said and done, Sheets gave up only five hits in his complete game shut out.  Oddly enough, three of those went to Luis Rodriguez and the other two to Chase Headley.  As a result of this gem, former Cy Young Award winner, Jake Peavy's record moved to 9-10 this season, the same record now carried by Dave Bush.  Is it clear that pitching records mean absolutely nothing?  The guy has a sub-3.00 ERA with one of the sickest stuff in baseball, but he's in the same boat as Dave Bush (not really, just making a point), who has given up an alarming 25 HRs this season. 

Records:  Brewers (82-60); Padres (54-88)

Countdown to 92 Wins:  10 wins with 20 to play

Scoreboard Watching:

Chicago Cubs (4.0 GU):  Win --  CHC 14, CIN 9

Philadelphia Phillies (4.5 GB):  PPD

St. Louis Cardinals (6.0 GB):  Win -- FLA 3, STL 5

Houston Astros (7.0 GB):  Win -- HOU 2, COL 0

Florida Marlins (10.0 GB):  Loss -- FLA 3, STL 5

Down on the Farm:

 The West Virginia Power advanced to the South Atlantic League Championship on Saturday night after defeating the Lake County Captains 4-1.  This time the bats were pretty quiet, but the pitchers did the talking for them.  Lucas Luetge, Mike Ramlow, and Robert Wooten combined to give up only one run on seven hits, while striking out nine, allowing the Power hitters to capitalize on four errors committed by the home team.  The decisive blow came in the top of the eighth inning after Lake County third baseman Karexon Sanchez had trouble with a 2-out groundball from Steffan Wilson.  A wild pitch, an intentional walk, and consective hits from Zelous Wheeler and Curt Rindal following the muff, scored three runs to break a 1-1 tie.  Rob Wooten got his first save of the post season by striking out the side to seal the victory.

The Power begin a best of five series against the Augusta GreenJackets, a Giants affiliate, on Monday night.  Look for R.J. Seidl or Daniel Merklinger to get the start.

After an 0-for-5 night at the plate, J.J. Hardy finally found a hole in the infield to end the game that nobody seemed to want to win.  

Both teams squandered chances all night and flashed some pretty good leather in the process.  Yesterday, akittell noted that Kevin Kouzmanoff handled third base well Thursday night.  The Crushin Russian was at it again Friday night, robbing Ryan Braun of extra bases on a sweet diving stab down the line.  He also started the 6-3 double play that got the Padres out of trouble in the bottom of the 10th.

Not to be outdone, CC Sabathia showed his athleticism on the mound.  Remember Andy LaRoche's slow dribbler to the mound?  The big lefty got Chase Headley to do the same, but went sans glove again.  This time he secured the out and ended the inning with a beautiful bare-handed play.  Lesson learned, I suppose.

Every game, I find another reason to perhaps include CC in the NL Cy Young talk.  Either Brandon Webb struggles a bit on the mound, or CC throws a controversial no-hitter, or the southpaw delivers in multiple ways Friday night.  He not only made the beautiful fielding play in the fourth inning, but also chipped in with an RBI single in the fourth inning.  All of this while pitching seven innings of one-run ball and striking out nine Padres.  All in a day's work for Mr. Sabathia.  Enjoy every minute he's on the mound, Brewers fans.  He is something special.

The offense didn't do much Friday.  The Crew pounded out 12 hits, but could only plate three.  They grounded into three double plays...none any bigger than Corey Hart's GIDP in the bottom of the 10th.  I was extremely surprised to see Corey struggle that much with putting a bunt down.  I cannot help but think he was somewhat trying for a bunt hit, as he was squaring up late and almost jabbing at the pitches.  Either that, or he is inept at sac bunting. 

Breaking news.  Eric Gagne is terrible.  He should not be the eighth inning man, no matter what Ned Yost says.  You can argue he only made one bad pitch (false), but he seems to be doing that quite a bit lately.  In fact, he has made one bad pitch 11 times in 37.2 innings pitched.  I'd say that's more than a trend.  His home run tendencies are a flat-out rule.  He and David Riske should be given the Guillermo Mota treatment until further notice.  Before Friday's game, Gagne was on pace to give up 57 home runs in a 200 inning season.  That rate has gone up dramatically now.  That's pathetic.

Who should get the set-up duties then?

I would argue that no one pitcher should get the eighth inning duties all the time.  Play your match-ups and give time to Carlos Villanueva, Mitch Stetter, and Guillermo Mota.  Yes, I said Mota.  After working on a mechanical fix in the middle of the season Guillermo has turned his season around.  He has a 0.56 ERA in the second half of the season, which equates to 16 innings of work.  The right-hander is throwing the ball extremely well right now, and Ned has been giving him more time in high leverage situations as of late.  It will be interesting to see how much confidence Milwaukee's manager has in Mota.  Brewers fans might mutiny if the Brewers' skipper trots out Gagne again in the eighth tomorrow.

Records:  Brewers (81-60); Padres (54-87)

Countdown to 92:  11 wins, 21 to play

Scoreboard Watching

Chicago Cubs (4.0 GU):  Loss -- CHC 2, CIN 10

Philadelphia Phillies (4.0 GB):  Win -- PHI 3, NYM 0

St. Louis Cardinals (6.0 GB):  Loss -- STL 1, FLA 4

Houston Astros (7.0 GB):  Loss -- HOU 3, COL 5

Florida Marlins (9.0 GB):  Win -- FLA 4, STL 1

Down on the Farm

The West Virginia Power pounded the Lake County Captains and extended the three-game series with a 10-0 victory.  Evan Anundsen, Corey Pasma, and Robert Wooten combined for a two-hit shutout.  Anundsen had the strikeout pitch working Friday, as the sinkerballer whiffed six batters through seven very strong innings.  He has been hit or miss down the stretch, but the right-hander has put together some very good outings in the past couple weeks.  It's too bad most have been coupled with horrendous outings.

The offense showed up for WV too, as Lee Haydel and Zelous Wheeler both went deep to secure the victory.  Every Power hitter but Eric Fryer joined in the hit parade, with Caleb Gindl going 3-for-4 with a walk to lead the way.  That young man has improved every single month in 2008.  I'm extremely excited to see what he does in Brevard County next season.  If he can continue to keep the offensive numbers respectable in the tough FSL, he may become a top-five prospect by the end of 2009.  He needs to keep the power coming though, as his defense may keep him limited to a corner outfield slot.

One other team played for Milwaukee's system Friday night, and that was the Helena Brewers.  Cody Adams spun a gem for the Crew, going eight innings of two-run ball.  He struck out five and walked two.  Milwaukee seemed committed to keeping Cody in a relief role after drafting him on the first day of the 2008 MLB Draft, but he has made his last few appearances as a starter.  If he can go eight innings, however, endurance is not a problem.  His strikeout rate could be pretty impressive if he can stick it out as a starter.  I can only assume Cody will get the call to Low-A ball next season...wherever that may be.

Milwaukee signed veteran infielder Mike Lamb today, signifying the end of Russell Branyan's time this season.  That oblique injury must be much more serious than anyone had previously thought.

Lamb gives the Crew another option at the hot corner, but it's not an overly exciting one.  He only hit .233 with 1 HR and 32 RBI in half a season with the Twins.  The veteran has a pretty good glove, but he is not going to wow anyone with it.

To make room for Lamb on the 40-man roster, the Crew designated Lou Palmisano for assignment today.  He will most likely clear waivers after coming off an injury-plagued season.  Lou started making some rehab starts at the end of the season, but never made it very high up the minor league ladder.

I'm largely apathetic towards this move, as I don't see Lamb helping out too much or getting too much playing time, but it's good to see Doug Melvin be a little proactive in alleviating the problem at third base.  Bill Hall has been largely useless in the past month, while Craig Counsell is not a third baseman.  This signing also means that Mat Gamel will not be seeing significant time at the hot corner.  His glove must be that bad...

Last year, my friend and my parents came out to one of my collegiate golf tournaments.  I struggled to a sloppy 42 on the front side, and I was walking to the back nine to try to make up some strokes to keep my score respectable. 

My friend caught up to me and asked, "What seems to be the problem out there?"

"Just not doing anything quite right.  I'll turn it around on the back," I replied.

"Yeah?  Well, do better."

I laughed at the advice, yet I shot 35 on the back side for a solid 77.  "Do better."  That's all I needed to do.

After yesterday's brutal loss to the Padres, I yelled that at my TV.  Milwaukee just needs to "Do Better."  I'll leave it at that, as it's all that needs to be said.  Just do better.

• In case you were already not worried about Milwaukee's 0-and-4 start in September and the revolting loss to the Padres yesterday, Tom Haudricourt lists 10 reasons why it was an ugly loss.  You'd think he would have tried to put positive spins on these points, but I guess not.  Brewers fans have gotten awfully comfortable just complaining about their team instead of believing in them.  See the Brewers message board...I'm sure there are plenty of doom-and-gloom posts that are depressing to read.
• The Brew Town Beat wants to know why Tony Gwynn Jr. is sitting on the bench.  He is the proverbial "Padres killer."  The young man surely proved that last season.  My guess is that his .321 slugging percentage coupled with a poor .328 OBP in Nashville has a little something to do with that.  Those numbers aren't ideal for anyone...cept for maybe a pitcher.
• Manny Parra is pitching more innings than he ever has before in his professional career.  Is Ned Yost worried?  Nope.  He should be.  Am I worried?  I wasn't a couple months ago, but his recent struggles have prompted a bit of concern in my mind.  I always said that I wouldn't be concerned about Manny's innings load unless it became obvious it was a detriment to his performance.  It may becoming a detriment.  Meaning...I may be becoming nervous.
• It appears as if Ben Sheets is on schedule to pitch on Saturday.  They are attributing his sore groin on Monday to "cramps."  That sounds like a load of bull to me, but I will take whatever I can get if that means Benny will be 100% this weekend.  Milwaukee can certainly use him on the mound with how the team has been performing as of late.
• Good news for the Crew.  Carlos Zambrano has been diagnosed with rotator cuff tendonitis and may miss a start or two.  The team gave him a cortizone shot in an attempt to get him ready for the weekend, but that would be utterly foolish.  You have a big lead in the division.  Give him a couple weeks off and get him back to full strength before trotting him back on the mound.  You do not want to be dealing with this come October.  
• Doubling up on the Cubs...Rich Harden reportedly has some shoulder discomfort, which is never a good sign for the fragile right-hander.  Chuckie Hacks says that the Cubs brass may be getting a little frustrated with the situation.  They are handling the situation delicately, as they should, so the pitching staff can potentially be up to full strength in late September.
• The agent of players like Taylor Green and Michael Brantley has picked up another player, Brewers top-prospect Jeremy Jeffress.  I suppose it is rather odd that the agent has his own blog, but it allows him to sound intelligent and claim to know the PTBNL in the Cleveland deal without actually disclosing who it is.  That's one way to sound like you get fed inside information...which I'm sure he does.
• You want to know how the Brewers postseason ticket lottery works?  Don Walker over at the Milwaukee JS has you covered.
• Akittell sent me a very entertaining article about the most famous fan at the West Virginia Power baseball games, Toastman.  The guy understands that heckling is an art and preperation time is needed.  You all really should check this article out.  It's a fun read.
• The Sports Complex, from Philly, says that Ryan Braun should be the NL MVP at this point.  I'm guessing all that talk was before his horrid couple games.  I have to respectfully disagree and give the award to Albert Pujols.  It's not even a close battle in my opinion.  He is the best hitter in baseball, and that is an understatement.  Sure, he may think he's the one who decides what "respects the game" and whatnot, but his skills are something we may never see again.
  

And so the Brewers' fan base goes into panic mode.  At least I'm fully expecting it to after the Crew lost the first game of a four game set against the worst team in the Major League.  The San Diego Padres defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Thursday night, giving the Brewers their fourth straight loss at home and preventing them from picking up a half game on the Cubs, Cards and Phils, who were all idle.

Jeff Suppan toed the rubber for his first start in September, and it wasn't much to behold.  Soup looked pretty solid through the first three innings, giving up a run on a sac fly in the second.  But the fourth inning brought trouble, as did the fifth and sixth innings.  This time it was because he started walking folks.  Before he was through, Soup left the bases loaded with one out in the sixth after giving up four runs and eventually a fifth on a sac fly after he left the game.

But it wasn't all Soup's fault.  The defense that plagued the Brewers in the Mets series reared its ugly head once again, giving me nightmares of the 2007 team.  Both Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks played matador, yelling 'Ole' at hard hit ground balls at them.  Prince's error lead to a run, while Rickie's prevented an easy 4-6-3 double play.  This forced Suppan into pitching to a couple extra batters and bringing their top of the lineup around one last time.  This seems a bit rash, and I realize it as I'm typing, but if the Brewers plan on bringing up Mat Gamel next season, they need to seriously consider moving both Rickie and Prince this offseason to sure up that right side.  Gamel has improved considerably at the defensive end, but the Brewers are going to need a much better defensive first baseman over there to help slow this huge problem.  Prince is by no means the worst defensive first baseman in the league, but he probably has the least range and because of his height is easily taken off the bag on bad throws.

Unfortunately for the Crew, this loss still could have been foiled.  The bullpen was exceptional, especailly Carlos Villanueva, whose changeup was outright nasty yesterday evening, but the Brewers just could not put runs on the board when it counted.  They went 0 for 9 with RISP, and picked up their only two runs via a long ball from the red hot JJ Hardy and an RBI ground out from Bill Hall after Mike Cameron tripled to lead off the second innings.  While every starter had a hit in the game, no one could get it at the right time.  You can call this unclutch if you want, but I don't believe in clutch.  I call it an awful approach at the plate.

The biggest blip on the radar came in the fourth after Bill Hall and Jason Kendall singled and walked to lead off the inning.  After a sac bunt from Suppan and an HBP on Weeks, the Brewers found the bases loaded with one out and their two best hitters at the plate.  Hardy grounded out sharply to third baseman Kevin Kouzmanhoff, who threw out Hall at the plate, and Ryan Braun grounded into a routine play to short after trying to pull an outside pitch.  Threat over, game over.

With that all being said, big-ups to Kevin Kouzmanhoff.  The las ttime the Brewers faced the Padres, the Brewers dominated, only losing a barn burner to Jake Peavy.  During those game Kouzmanhoff got absolutely handled at the hot corner.  Every ball seemed like a hot shot at him and he just could not handle it.  That wasn't the case on Tuesday night.  Kevin was a damn vacuum cleaner, taking hits and runs away all night.  So good defense takes the Crew down again.

CC Sabathia comes on tonight, and hopefully will be the stopper of this losing streak.  In his last start against the Pads, CC went seven and gave up only one run.  The Brewers ace is going for his a perfect 10-0 record, and could conceivably go 14-0 with the Brewers if he took these next five starts.  If that's not a Cy Young, I don't know what is.  The Padres are responding with Josh Geer, a rookie who had a solid debut last week.  He's a righty, and I wouldn't be disappointed to see Brad Nelson get his first big league start just for the heck of it.  It couldn't hurt, especially since he's probably seen him pitch before.  I don't have time to figure that out, but it's a strong likelihood.

Records:  Brewers (80-60); Padres (54-86)

Countdown to 92 Wins:  12 wins with 22 to play

Scoreboard Watching:

Chicago Cubs (5.0 GU):  Idle

Philadelphia Phillies (4.0 GB):  Idle

St. Louis Cardinals (5.0 GB):  Idle

Houston Astros (6.0 GB):  Idle

Down on the Farm:

Obviously the farm system is a little slow right now, with only the West Virginia Power and Helena Brewers doing any playing.  The Power are playing in the playoffs right now after winning the second half championship, but were been unable to take their momentum into the postseason, at least in game one.  They were destroyed by the Lake County Captains 10-4 in the opening game of a best of three series.  The hits weren't lacking, but the pitching was, so let's hope these guys pull it together tonight, when they play game tonight.  Evan Anundsen gets the start.

One final note.  For those of you who don't know anything about the Arizona Fall League you can check out the main site at MLB.com.  You can find all the info you really need in the Winter Ball section.  But don't get all excited and run over there just yet.  The rosters are up and everything, but they're not playing yet.  Playing doesn't begin until October (the 8th I believe).