Results tagged ‘ Weeks ’
Brewers (5) vs. Mets (6) 0/2 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Rickie Weeks–Really starting to swing the bat pretty well lately. 4 for 6 with a lead-off home run to stake the Brewers to an early lead.
Manny Parra-The Batter–An impressive 2 for 2 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
Less Filling:
Manny Parra-The Pitcher–Another short outing for Parra, only going 5 innings. In those 5 innings he managed to give up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned). Manny hasn’t been able to string together multiple good outings in a row in quite a while.
Rickie Weeks–Made an absolutely atrocious mental and heart mistake in the bottom of the 8th. After hitting a ball down the line that would normally be an easy double, he didn’t hustle all out and Endy Chavez made a great play and throw to get him out at second. Also contributed to…
Brewers defense–Failed to make a couple key plays including J.J. Hardy throwing one in the dirt that Prince couldn’t scoop (surprise) that led to an unearned run. Then in the top of the 10th Jason Kendall fielded a bunt and threw the ball into the baseline a bit and Rickie short-armed it causing it to go off the end of his glove, which allowed a runner to advance to third who then scored on a sac fly.
Brewers offense–Hmm…pitching, defense, offense….this is quite a display of ineptitude by the Brewers. They had 19 baserunners but only managed 5 runs as they left a combined 22 runners on base, made outs on the bases, and grounded into a double play.
Prince Fielder–Speaking of that double play ball from Prince Fielder in the bottom of the 10th…Prince hit a chopper to second with a runner on first. Keep in mind its the last chance for the Brewers in a game in the middle of a pennant race. So what does Fielder do…he puts his head down and walks out of the box. Shows absolutely no hustle at all. While he had basically no chance to beat it out unless there were about three bobbles on the play, it still sets the tone for the team and shows the immaturity of Prince as a “leader”.
Umps–The Brewers have seen some pretty bad umping lately, and I’m not just talking about bad calls. I’m talking about poor handling of arguments, laziness, and being out of position. On Rickie’s ball that he was thrown out on in the 8th he slid into second and actually made contact with the second base umpire. This may have caused Rickie to slow a bit coming into the bag and knocked the umpire down right as the play was being made. Despite being on the ground, being blocked out, and being out of position he still found a way to call Rickie out on a play that looked like he was safe.
Brewers (11) @ Pirates (3) 8/30 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Jeff Suppan–Set a Brewes record by winning his 5th game in the month of August. Another 7 strong innings and only two runs allowed. At least he’s earning that $44 million in the key parts of the season.
Brewers offense–6 of the 8 Brewers position players had multi-hit games. When that happens you’re usually going to win. Weeks and Hardy set the table at the top and the bottom of the order was just as good with Mike Cameron making a big contribution with a home run, double, and 4 RBI.
Less Filling:
Seth McClung–Gave up yet another run in a relief role. He’s pitching himself out of the bullpen rotation for the month of September with all the call-ups. It looks like he’ll only be used in blowout and long relief situations for now. A long way from being the third or fourth best starter as he was for a while earlier this year.
Prince Fielder/Ryan Braun–Once again these two went 0′fer, but this time the rest of the lineup picked them up.
Brewers (4) vs. Pirates (3) 8/24 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Mike Cameron–Set a career high with 5 hits, including the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Has absolutely been on fire the past three weeks. As an incredibly streaky hitter over the course of his career he has gone on 4-5 week hot streaks, so hopefully he can continue this as long as possible and get back on another hot streak before the year ends. Also stole a base for good measure.
Bill Hall–One day after questioning if he should even be in the lineup anymore, I have to give Hall his props. He collected three hits today but hitters behind him couldn’t pick him up and drive him in.
J.J. Hardy–On J.J. Hardy Bobblehead Day, he came through in the clutch once again with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 12th. He also had two hits earlier in the day. After a couple lengthy cold spells in July and early August, J.J. seems to be on a pretty good hot streak.
CC Sabathia–Pitched well enough to win, although he wasn’t perfect. Gave up 8 hits in 6 innings and had to pitch out of trouble a few times. But he proved his worth in doing so. I feel he should have been left in to hit in the bottom of the 6th and then (hopefully) pitched the 7th and 8th. Even if he would have gotten an out there, the game was tied and the Brewers had three more innings to score. And CC on the mound would have given us the best chance to keep the Pirates from scoring.
Rickie Weeks–Was only 1 for 5 at the plate, but had his walk in the 12th and subsequent stolen base set up the game winning run. I feel Rickie needs to utilize his speed better and should be in the 25-30 stolen base range instead of only 17 on the year.
Guillermo Mota–Really came into a tough spot with the bases loaded and no outs, but somehow Houdinied his way out of it without allowing a run. He’s been surprisingly effective in his last 10 games or so.
Less Filling:
Ryan Braun–Somewhat unfamiliar territory for Braunie, but he was about as bad as could be offensively. He went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts and 2 grounded into double plays before being lifted in a double switch in extra innings. Everyone has days like that and hopefully he bounces back with a vengeance against the Cardinals.
Prince Fielder–Struggled right along with Ryan. Went 0 for 4 with a couple K’s and a grounded into double play. Left multiple runners on base as well.
Brewers offense–Collected 15 hits and 4 walks, yet only managed 4 runs. Outs on the bases, 4 double plays, and way too many men left on base allowed this to happen. Not collecting clutch hits have been a bit of a problem in recent weeks.
Riske/Torres/Villanueva–None of them did their job out of the pen as the Brewers blew two different late inning leads and tried to give it up in the top of the 12th. Its amazing how much Riske throws the ball down the middle of the plate on average fastballs and expects it to work. So far this season it hasn’t too well to the tune of a 4.08 ERA. Not the results the Brewers expected when they gave him that 3 year deal in the off-season, and probably why they placed him on waivers this week (although he wasn’t claimed).
Brewers (10) vs. Pirates (4) 8/22 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Brewers offense–Woke up from an early slumber in a big way. Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Hart, and Cameron all had key contributions. One of the great things to see was the opposite field hits. Weeks’ triple, J.J.’s home run, and Cameron’s home run all came to the opposite field. Those three guys are pretty locked in right now.
Ryan Braun–Manufactured a run mostly by himself in the 7th. Doubled down the line, then stole third on the next pitch. The Pirates brought the infield in and Fielder hit a smash right at Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Braun started back towards third, then when Sanchez loligagged with the ball and took his time getting it to first, Braun took off for home and made it safely without a throw. Impressive baserunning.
Dave Bush–Once again gave up early runs, including a two out RBI by the pitcher, and had me wondering if he was reverting back to his old ways. But he came up big and pounded the strike zone while hitting his spots to make it through 7 innings.
Less Filling:
A 10-4 win….everyone gets a pass. Go Brewers!
Brewers (5) vs. Astros (2) 8/20 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
I got to go to my first Brewer game of the year finally. Went with my dad and two younger brothers. We grilled out before and played catch in the parking lot. Had pretty good seats down the third base line. A fun day was had by all.
J.J. Hardy–Pretty much the lone bright spot on the day for the Brewers. Had 2 of the Brewers 4 hits, including the 7th inning home run that gave them some breathing room.
Rickie Weeks–Did exactly what you ask of a leadoff hitter: got on base. And scored 3 of the runs, including manufacturing one with a stolen base and then taking a base on a sac fly.
Bullpen–Again came up big today. 4 innings and only 1 hit allowed. Gagne got in some trouble, but you really can’t blame him for a bunt single, a phantom HBP call, and an error. He came up big and pitched out of it.
Less Filling:
Bill Hall–Mr. Golden Sombrero himself. For those that don’t know (like my wife, Hi Honey), a Golden Sombrero is when one player strikes out 4 times in one game. Which is exactly what Hall did. Billy has now struck out in 6 straight at-bats over the past 3 games and seen his batting average fall to .223. He’s hit .143 with a .464 OPS in the month of August. Just terrible.
Manny Parra–Manny got the win and allowed only 2 runs, but that didn’t tell the whole story about how he pitched. 94 pitches in those 5 innings and 10 baserunners (6 hits, 4 walks). Not good. He has to be able to pitch through at least 6 in these kinds of games to save the bullpen. Manny may be running into the wall a bit as he’s pitched a lot more innings this year than he has in the past. Unfortunately it looks like the Brewers won’t really be able to limit his starts being in the middle of a playoff push. People talk about skipping Bush or Suppan’s start, but I think it is Manny we need to look at. His innings need to be limited so that when he does pitch he can be sharp and maintain his health going into next year.
Brewers (6) @ Reds (3) 8/6 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Rickie Weeks–I am an admitted Weeks apologist. I do like the addition of Durham though and am fine with a soft platoon. That being said, I think Weeks is breaking out of his slumber and about to get it going. His stats have improved over the last month or so. Continuing to bench him is not going to allow him to blossom and improve. I’m fine with Durham playing 1-2 times a week, but not more. Especially if Rickie is starting to play well. A big 4 for 5 today including some clutch hits.
Mike Cameron–Cameron has been swinging the bat well lately, so you can bet Ned will have him on the bench the first game of the Nats series. I’m hoping not, but that’s been Ned’s MO. Cameron hit the ball the other way with authority, which is always a sign of a hitter that is locked in. He’s a streaky hitter and you have to ride him when he’s hot. He should start every game this series.
Jeff Suppan–Started out kind of rocky, but got out of the damage early and pitched 7 strong. Need that kind of performance out of him down the stretch. His ERA in August and September is much better than the other months.
Eric Gagne–He only threw three pitches. But they were all quality pitches in a tight spot. That last fastball to Encarnacion was 94 on the black. If he can do that a little more, watch out.
Less Filling:
Craig Counsell–0 for 5 with 5 men left on base.
Ned Yost–Regardless of what Kendall did today or the day before he should have been out of those games. One of Kendall’s hits Tuesday was a weak flare into right, and today he had a standard grounder up the middle that the pitcher missed. Ned will continue to land here until Kendall gets a day off like he should have a week ago. Also, JJ finally broke his 0 for 28 slump with two hits on Tuesday, so what does Ned do? He benches him. Are you kidding me? Then he’s played Craig Counsell 5 games in a row now. And on the fifth day Counsell goes 0 for 5. Craig is in good shape for his age, but his talent level and age should dictate him to be a 1 to 2 games a week guy if that.
Brewers (9) @ Braves (0) 8/1 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Welcome back Brewers–The Who’s in Right Field? Blog would like to welcome back the Milwaukee Brewers professional baseball team. After disappearing for four days, they finally returned.
Rickie Weeks–He’s been much-maligned lately, and rightly so. Especially for his defensive performance in Monday’s game against Chicago in which he botched a double play ball allowing 2 runs to score and booted another ball earlier in the inning. But he has been swinging a good bat lately, and he put together some nice approaches last night. A couple base hits on hard hit balls up the middle and the other way plus drew a walk. I think he’s ready to get on a roll here much like last year and we need to ride it out. Using a late game defensive substitution with Counsell isn’t a bad idea though.
Prince Fielder–I’m a little reluctant to put him here since he only had one hit in five at-bats and struck out three times, but it did mark the third game in a row he’s homered. I called a Prince home run binge a few games ago and it looks like we’re in the midst of one. Sure makes things easier when he’s productive.
Jeff Suppan–Another bad outing may have meant a move to the pen. But instead he put up 7 scoreless innings of 5 hit ball. Did get in a couple jams early and you had to wonder if we were seeing Sunday’s game all over again where he got staked to an early lead only to give up a big inning. He settled down, though, and was nearly flawless the last 3-4 innings. He also dropped down a sacrifice bunt.
Less Filling:
Hard to find anything here. JJ and Corey both had 0′fers, but both found ways to contribute RBI’s.
Brewers (4) vs. Cubs (6) 7/28 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Ryan Braun–What a stud.
JJ Hardy–His home run got the Brewers off the schnide and into the scoring column.
Russell Branyan–Had been awful to terrible the last month, but had gotten a couple hits lately and finally put a good swing on the ball to tie it up in the 7th.
CC Sabathia–Other than a couple missed pitches to Soriano and bit too much nibbling in the 7th he did good. Its not bad when your “off” day consists of going 6 2/3 and allowing what should have been 2 earned runs.
Less Filling:
Rickie Weeks–0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Credited with one HUGE error on the double play that didn’t get turned. Somehow wasn’t credited with an error on Fukudome’s grounder that he should have made the play on.
Official scorer–Needs to be fired. There’s been 6 to 8 times this year with Weeks alone where there’s been plays that should have been made quite easily yet he wasn’t given an error on. Hey, scorer….DO YOUR JOB PROPERLY AND DON’T BOW DOWN TO THE PLAYERS!!
Salomon Torres–Got ahead of the hitters ok, then wasted pitches and nibbled allowing consecutive walks. Then it only takes one hit to score runs, which of course occurred. Gotta go after people at some point.
Bottom of the order–Has been terrible lately. Hall’s got the three game winning hits but hit sub-.200 overall since the all-star break. Cameron we all know about, but has been even worse lately to the tune of .206 since the break. And Kendall, God bless his heart, has been great with the staff and throwing guys out, has hit only .212 since the break (and .187 with 4 RBI in July). Throw in the pitcher’s spot and that’s 4 pretty sure outs at the bottom of the order. Its hard to get anything going consistently when you have to rely so much on 3 or 4 guys in the lineup.
Ned Yost–Sometimes I wonder why Ned even stays in the dugout during the game for the lack of actual managing that he does. We’ve discussed the lack of bunting, hit-and-running, and overall movement ad nauseum. And I think most would pretty much agree he does not know how to manage a pitching staff. So in the other key game management area, pinch-hitting, he does nothing either. How many times do we get to see Cameron strikeout late in games, or Kendall fly out weakly to right? When did these .250 and below hitters become too good to be pinch-hit for? Its ridiculous.
Brewers (6) vs. Astros (11) 7/27 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Ryan Braun–Another 3 for 5 with another home run. Superlatives exhausted.
Rickie Weeks–On base 2 of his 5 plate appearances and scored 2 runs. We’ll take that every day.
Less Filling:
Jeff Suppan–Cruising right along then hit the wall in the 5th. Is he pitching himself out of the rotation for a while?
Ned Yost–How the hell do you allow your starter to give up 7 runs in the 5th inning? And then trot him out for the next inning too? It was like Ned decided once the Brewers got behind that he was going to give up on this game and save his bullpen for the Cubs series. What an asinine idea…..and manager.
Seth McClung–He’s been much better this year as a starter than a reliever, and showed that again last night. Failed to keep the Astros in check to allow for a potential comeback.
I really hope Sunday’s game about the 4th inning wasn’t the high water mark for this season. At that time the Brewers were tied with the Cubs in the standings and up 4-1 on the Astros in the game. The Cubs meanwhile were down 5-0 to the Marlins and in danger of being swept at home. Within a half an hour the Cubs were winning, the Brewers losing, and first place just out of reach.
Brewers (3) @ Cardinals (0) 7/23 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
CC Sabathia–One of the most dominating performances of the year for any pitcher. The Cardinals had no shot against CC tonight. It was a pretty significant package we gave up for him, but he sure has paid off so far.
Ryan Braun–Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways. There’s certainly been no post All-Star/Home Run Derby slump for Ryan. He’s gotten stronger. Showed incredible power and ability to hit to all fields. Also showed the speed that could make him a 30/30 performer if he ever learned how to be a base-stealer and wasn’t kept in place by hitting in front of Prince.
JJ Hardy–In a tight battle with Braun to see who’s the hotter hitter since the All-Star break. His home run opened the floodgates a bit and you could feel that with CC on the mound he’d make it hold up.
Rickie Weeks–Has really been heating up lately. Maybe the Durham trade will serve as the kick in the pants he got last year by being sent down.
Less Filling:
Corey Hart–Not often that he appears here, but left 7 men on base. Doesn’t look good since the break.
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