And consider the towel thrown in.

After a humiliating, depressing 4 for 13 stretch against sub-.500 teams, i'm officially throwing in the towel on the Brewer's 2009 season. No pictures, no ranting, no season in review. Nothing. This season was a big big let down.

That's all. Packer talk to assume in three weeks.

Finally!

The shit finally hit the fan today, as Doug Melvin, the Brewer's ballsy GM finally made the moves we've been waiting for.

Pitching Coach Bill Castro - Fired! Replaced by Nashville Sounds Pitching Coach Chris Bosio

3B/Util Bill Hall - Designated for assignment. Essentially the Brewers have 10 days to trade him, for a team to claim him off waivers, or for him to accept a minor league assignment. The Brewers will eat $12 Million in salary, but considering his absymal batting average and dramatic decline the past three seasons, it's a well justified move. Hopefully we can trade him. I wish Billy Hall well. Maybe he takes a minor league deal and regains his stroke.

SS JJ Hardy - Demoted to AAA Nashville. This might be a drastic move, and I feel this will only last a few weeks, but Hardy has been struggling and if indeed we are out of this thing, we might as well get SS Alcides Escobar as many at bats as possible. Jason Bourgeous is also being called up, and he has been tearing up AAA this season. It'll be interesting to see if these two, along with 3B Mat Gamel, grow in the next month.

As of today Brewers are 6.5 games out of both the NL Central lead and the Wild Card lead. The next 21 games are against sub-.500 teams, followed by 6 games and 7 games against the Cardinals and Cubs. We're not completely out of it, but if they don't turn it around immediately, we're done.

Damn this Brewer team.

Random Thoughts

1. I'm apparently too lazy to blog with any degree of regularity. At least my laptop is back at full functionality, so maybe i'll blog more.

2. Baseball season is upon us. Get ready for Brewers talk.

3. Animal Collective, Antony and the Johnsons, Swan Lake and Mastodon. Earyl candidates for album of the year.

That's all for now.

The Ben Sheets saga.

I've always been a supporter of Ben Sheets, injuries and all. I was hoping that this free agency would show that his injuries were hurting his prospects and he would sign a smaller, incentive laden contract with the Brewers, as we'd gladly have him back.

This might not happen, as Sheets' has reportedly told Brewers' brass that he is moving in a different direction.

??

I tried to opine my thoughts about this, but the folks over at www.brewcrewball.com did I much better job than I could possibly do. Here is their take:

"Brian Anderson reports that Ben Sheets "has informed the Brewers that he is going in a different direction."

I always thought that phrase was interesting, especially in this case. I can see how an organization might truthfully use the phrase "going in a different direction" as a result of a chance in team philosophy. An NFL team might switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense, requiring more from an outside linebacker than your current OLB can offer, talentwise. Or a team in any sport might decide that this is a "rebuilding year" and trade some established veterans for younger and less proven talent.

I'd be curious to see if Ben Sheets actually said he wants to go in a "different direction," because that phrasing really doesn't make any sense when you're a person instead of an organization. What direction are the Brewers going in that Ben wants to veer from? Requiring that pitcher use their hands to pitch, and not their bare feet? Catapulting pitches across the plate using your hat? Before this season, you could say that the direction Ben wanted to go to was "winning baseball," but that doesn't apply anymore after the 2008 season.

Admittedly, this may merely be some inexact writing on BA's part --- it wasn't offered as an exact quote by Sheets or anything. Just the same, it's the first time I saw a report of Sheets not wanting to return to Milwaukee, and I'd be curious as to why."

"Requiring that pitcher use their hands to pitch, and not their bare feet?" That's good stuff.

Hells Bells baby!

While I realize his career is waning, I will gladly welcome Trevor Hoffman to the Brewers bullpen. He will be fantastic as an older mentor to guys like Carlos Villanueva and some of the other prospects we have.

Brewers fans can't be too optimistic. Hoffman will bring an ERA slightly over 3.5 and will lose a few games, no question. But he'll collect 30-35 saves and will provide stability to the role for hopefully two years. Great signing.

Two months to Spring Training!

Final baseball thoughts

So the 2008 season comes to a close with the Brewers playing hard, but coming up short to the Phillies. Unfortunately, the bats died in September and October. The bullpen was great as was our pitching and we have a lot of look forward to as a franchise. While i'm not one of those people who is just glad "we got there," this really was an important step, considering it had been 26 years since we were here. The Brewers are no longer a bottom feeding laughing stock, shown by the playoff run and the 3+ million fans who entered Miller Park this year.

We might not be able to sign Sabathia, and signing Sheets would be foolish at this point (barring the hometown discount), but there are plenty of positives to build on here in Milwaukee. It was great to be a part of the ulcer that was September baseball. Kudos for making the fanbase believe again.

Now onto those Packers...

No problem...

If we can win tonight with CC on the mound the Brewers still have a good chance of winning the NLDS. They looked alright against a tough Cole Hamels and their bullpen was solid. Its not over yet...

Ah baseball...

The beauty of baseball. No other sport can make you go through 6 months of complete anguish and angst and come out completely overjoyed, only to make you go through it again in for a month.

I'm going to enjoy the next 3 days as the Brewers are finally back in the playoffs. I'll worry about the Phillies later.

Ugh again

I'm done with the Brewers and unbelievably disgusted, disgruntled and actually ashamed of this team. We've been a pathetic losing franchise for 25 years, but failing this bad this year with this team and with a bleak out look next year (we WILL lose Sabathia and Sheets to free agency) is unacceptable and terrible. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

At least the Packers are winning. All subusequent posts will be dealing with the Packers (if related to sports).

Ok

Sorry, I can't really concentrate on commenting on the Yost being fired thing as I really hope this will kick start the Brewers. It seems that yesterday their bats finally got around, even in a loss. All I can say is if the Brewers heat up and a hot Brewers hitting team enters the playoffs, watch out. Let's make the playoffs first.

Go Rodgers Go!

Vikings fans have to be miffed that all the pre-season hype on their defense has been unraveled amidst a beat down by the division rival Packers. While i'm not certain what this season will entail, at least Aaron Rodgers can put to rest whether he can win or not.

Hopefully I never have to hear Tony Kornheiser spout nonsense about Favre and Rodgers comparisons ever again. That game was brutal to listen to, but great to watch if your a Packers fans.

Now hopefully I don't have to see more of this Brewers suck fest and they can right the ship with a win today against the Reds.

Ah September

This month is going to kill me. Brewers have started out flat as hell, nearly getting no hit today. At least the Cubs are losing as well and we aren't losing ground in the wild card race as the Phils and Mets are beating up on one another.

If the Crew doesn't make the playoffs my ulcer will officially overtake me.

Hopefully this Packer team doesn't lay an egg tomorrow.

Sabathia!

Man, another gem, an potentially a no hitter (pending MLB review) for Mr. Sabathia. It's a shame we won't be able to keep him. Go Brewers!

More NL Central Praise!

Since the All-Star Break the Brewers are 25-13, second best record in the NL. Since June, the Brewers have the best record in baseball.

Since the All-Star Break, the only team better than the Brewers have been the Cubs, who are 27-12. Cheers to the NL Central, as the Cubs, Brewers and Cards are the top three teams in the NL.

Here comes September and the race to our first post-season berth in 26 years!

NL Central!

The NL Central is intense. Cubs aren't losing, Brewers won 8 straight until dropping one to the reigning NL CY Young winner, Cardinals have been on a tear and aren't going away and the damn Astros, who were an afterthought, have won 8 straight and are closing in on the wild card.

Cubs and Brewers each have at least 6 games a piece against these Astros. I'm worried. September is going to be nuts.

Damn

This Brewer team is giving me a major ulcer. For the first time in years I have a team to root for, and they are laying an egg in a big time series. Ugh.

This blog will serve as my ranting space for Brewer ineptitude. Hopefully it isn't too late to pull off a trade involving Rickie Weeks.

The Onion Represents!

"C.C. Sabathia, Prince Fielder Keep Imagining Each Other As Giant Talking Hot Dog, Hamburger

MILWAUKEE—The Brewers' playoff push has run afoul of an unusual distraction, as sources close to the organization confirm that newly acquired husky starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia and sizable power-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder continue to visualize one another as a 6'7" chili cheese dog and a 260-pound hamburger with all the trimmings, respectively."

For the remainder of the article:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/c_c_sabathia_prince_fielder_keep

An absolutely brilliant article from The Onion. Also a major note for Brewers fans, as we are getting national attention, even if it is from the joke news.

Go Brewers!

Go Brewers!

I can say that after 7 years of going to ball games at Miller Park that I have never heard the crowd as loud as it was yesterday when CC Sabathia hit his home run or when he struck out the side in the 9th. Great time to be a Brewer fan.