I missed the first 1 1/2 innings on TV and was listening to the Brewers broadcasters on XM. Interesting that they were really contemptuous of Berkman taking a called strike right down the middle on a 3-2 count AND of Castro’s sombrero last night as well as his taking the first 2 strikes today.
Me, I don’t have a problem with it. Especially if he doesn’t have any problem hitting with 2 strikes. And last night, he got called out on pitches which were NOT in the zone and which HIS pitcher didn’t get called for strikes. And tonight, the HP ump had a strike zone (if you can call it that) that was most assuredly NOT the rule book strike zone – had Erig Gregg outside pitches and the area at the bottom of the zone was, uh, inconsistant - and it wasn’t unreasonable for the catcher to take a good look at what was and was not being called a strike – at least most of the time. AND to try to get the pitcher to throw as many pitches as possible to get into the soft underbelly of the bullpen…
I walked in and turned on the game just in time to see Jim Edmonds hit a ball into deep CF and Michael Bourn make one of those running over the shoulder catches the HotDog always used to use against us. hehhehheh
And then I looked and saw Pedro Freaking Feliz back at 3rd. Don’t know what CJ did, but looks as if he’s on the Luke Scott poopoo list and I hope that the guy can get traded and get a real chance, just as Luke did. Yeah, I know he’s on the worst team in the AL, but at least he’s playing in the majors and posting good numbers every year, instead of rotting at AAA or the Astros bench.
And unfortunately, Feliz hits a solo homer and a single, so it looks as if CJ’s butt will be collecting splinters.
sigh
GAWD I am so tired of this team’s grotesque luuuuvvv affair with washed up vets and disdain of any young player who is not one of their pimpees. For example, you read/hear endless ooooohs and ahhhhhhhhhs about Jordan Lyles. But do you ever hear/read ONE word about Danny Arguello, also in AA, who is greatly outpitching Lyles? Heck, no. And can anyone tell me why Sergio Perez, who was pitching lights out in 4 starts, was suddenly removed from the rotation and given 2 innings to throw every 6-8 days instead? Besides the fact that he was drafted in the Purpura regime and Gawd Forbid that anyone of HIS picks should succeed???!!! (Same thing with CJ)
Where was I?
Oh yeah. The Crew scored 7 runs on 3 solo homers, a 2 run homer, a double, walk and a 2 RBI single before the relievers came in in the 7th and slammed the door with 2 good innings of 1,2,3 out. I gots to give props to The Prince, who hit one of those homers on an inside FB which was chest high and yeah, I know it was juuuuust inside the foul line, but it was still impressive. And Gallardo hit a FB that was waist high right down the middle to the upper facade in left center like 450′ – he hits like Owings. (All yall know he’s a Texan, right? And that he tried out in one of those open tryouts for the Rangers and they told him to take his ball and go home. Bad decision…)
Meanwhile, Michael Bourn (yes, him again) broke up the shutout by singling home Castro, who doubled and Navarro, who walked. Then Lance singled Michael home. And Michael, by the way, had 2 singles, a walk, 2 SB, scored 2 and drove in 2. Which I hope means that his slump is OVAH.
And speaking of Lance, he hit 2 singles and also hit a double to the base of the CF wall – the hardest hit ball I’ve seen from him in a LONG time – which drove in Bourn to close the gap to 2 runs in the 9th.
Clank had a single in the 5th and a walk in the 9th, but Pence, who had a BAD night with the bat, left bases loaded in the 5th and the tying runs on in the 9th. Ah well, baseball is a game of failure, and Pence excelled in that tonight…
Navarro did his usual excellent job with the glove, but he didn’t hit. Not entirely his fault tonight, because hitting anything whatsoever when pitches 5″ outside are being called strikes is tough. Here and all yall were complaining about Manzella’s bat…
Tomorrow, it’s Wandy vs David Bush. I hope good Wandy shows up. Bush has had very good success against the Astros – he’s 6-1 over 12 GS with a 3.25 ERA and a .211 BAA.
Tags: Brewers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB
I think Feliz got put in the lineup because he had a good day with the bat the previous day subbing for Berkman, and CJ had some 0-fers. And CJ does deserve to be benched a game or two for his horrendous error streak. That being said, Feliz deserves to be released, so it’s not exactly a meritocracy.
Indeed we could have stuck with Scott in left instead of acquiring Carlos Lee. Scott was young and cheap, had good power and a good throwing arm. But the FO believed that Tejada and Lee would have led us to the WSC, so adieu youngsters.
neil
i’m sure that this is the excuse. and CJ drew a walk and scored a run the day before he was replaced. so this means that every time the guy doesn’t go 4 fer 4 that feliz is gonna take his spot. great going. you notice they are not treating castro like this. HE doesn’t have to worry about quintero taking his spot if he takes the sombrero – and you will notice that he has more Ks/PA than CJ. and feliz has had horrendous errors and is THE worst fielding 3B in the majors (with as many games played)
elmer
i am convinced that it was personal with luke scott. there was ZERO reason not to have started the 06 season with him in left. and getting carlos lee and tejada was ALL drayton who firmly believed that Big Names on the field would get more fans. he desperately wanted to make a Big Splash in the FA market with a Big Bat when he signed Clank – especially as he had shown the door to pettitte. and left ol purpura to take the hit
Speaking of 4-for-4…today was a good example of why I like the DH – your 7 and 8 hitters can get on base all day and it doesn’t matter much if you’ve got a weak-hitting pitcher coming up with 2 out. Excitement killed before the pitcher’s AB even takes place.
I don’t think Feliz has been fully benched – I read some comments by the manager about how well he was responding to the lack of playing time, working hard and keeping a positive attitude, etc. The vibe I got was that he was still going to get a share of the starts at 3B. My guess is that they are a) hoping he’ll start playing well enough to be traded or b) easing him out of the lineup. Quintero was always the backup guy so it’s not really a demotion for him to lose PT to Castro.
I too was puzzled about Scott. He looked bad at times in his 2nd real season but the numbers were respectable. They kept both him and Jason Lane on very short leashes. The Preston Wilson signing was ridiculous.
Although with a DH you don’t get the excitement of the winning pitcher putting down a suicide squeeze.
A sacrifice (heh) I am willing to make.