1 Down - Fear the Beer

Brewers up 1 in the NLCS.....some random thoughts and hoping that some blog posts keep it going.

Prince Fielder's HR traveled at a speed of 119.2 MPH off his bat. That is the highest speed for any HR hit in the year 2011.--ESPN They keep stats on that? (Al's Ramblings)

I've heard fans (easy Kais) talking about the lady in the front row at all the home games. The only thing I noticed is that she obviously keeps the book! Anyway.....fame is upon her - now referred to online as Front Row Amy!
http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/frontrowamytalks.html

Greinke looked much better throwing with a lead didn't he? Must be still working through the playoffs mentally. Definately a guy getting run support!

JS Online is reporting that Axfords forearm is OK. X-Rays came back negative. Hopefully they don't have to use him tonight so he can rest it for a couple days. Maybe see KRod in 9th?

The Brewers are scary good at home. Hopefully they are the 2nd half Brewers on the road, not the one that showed up in Az.

Hat tip SI.com. In a Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse filled with oversized personalities, the first shot at the rival St. Louis Cardinals going into Game 1 of the NLCS came from a surprising source: Starting pitcher Zack Greinke, whose bout with social anxiety disorder typically makes him one of the least likely players to pop off. Speaking to reporters at Miller Park on Saturday, Greinke said some of his Brewers teammates don't like Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter when he shouts at batters from the mound. "They think his presence, his attitude out there sometimes is like a phony attitude," Greinke said. "And then he yells at people. He just stares people down and stuff. And most pitchers just don't do that. And when guys do, I guess some hitters get mad. Some hitters do it to pitchers. But when you do that some people will get mad. "There's other pitchers in the league that do it, but, I don't know," Greinke said, "a lot of guys on our team don't like Carpenter."

ESPN.....When Cardinals manager Tony La Russa later met the media, a reporter read Greinke's comments to the manager and asked him to respond. "I'm very disappointed," La Russa said. "I just praised him a little bit ago. I always thought he was a high character, classy guy." "Our attitude is we look at ourselves and we grade ourselves," he said. "I think the Brewers should take care of their players and their comments and not be concerned about other players and comments. I'm disappointed. If you knew him, none of that stuff is true. He doesn't give bull----. He doesn't take it. That's the way it's supposed to be." Of course, it was La Russa who offered his opinion on Milwaukee's Nyjer Morgan after a Sept. 7 dustup with Carpenter, saying "I hope he gets a clue. And he's probably going to get upset that I give advice, but if it's the truth, it's the truth. He can be the player he is without instigating."

This series will get ugly yet....

Which brings us to Prince getting plunked first pitch after the Braun homer. "I certainly can't fault the umpire," said La Russa. "But you know, you can't go out and argue those things, or you get thrown out. I didn't say anything. What I would have said is, 'If you watched the way Jaime pitched that whole inning, every fastball he threw was in that same area -- out away from the [right-handed hitter] or in on Fielder.' They just looked bad, but he was just trying to get the ball somewhere near the glove. But I don't fault the umpire." HMMMMM?

A full article on the hate.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7078129/no-shortage-drama-cardinals-brewers-nlcs

Tony La Russa. "Three straight pitches right in the middle of the plate, and they didn't miss any of them, just went like that," said La Russa. "It was a weird thing. [Garcia] was really good, then three pitches -- bam, bam, bam." "Bam, bam, bam," he would repeat later. "It was unusual."

Seemed to me Tony finally made a tactical error in this inning.

Betancourt, who had the go-ahead RBI single in the Brewers' Game 5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, pounded out a two-run homer and a double on Sunday. The native Cuban typically doesn't speak with the media, but when he does, he needs a translator. He had one up on the stage in the Brewers' media auditorium, and provided the laugh of the night when the final question posed to him had to do with how he deals with all the criticism he's had lobbed his way over the years. "I don't really understand English very well," Betancourt said through the translator. "So that being said, I don't really pay attention to what the critics say. Since I don't understand, I don't get mad. I just try and do my job."

Braun has hit safely in five of the Brewers’ six postseason games this October, batting .500 (11-for-22) with five doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and seven runs scored. Overall in his career he has hit safely in eight of his 10 postseason games, batting .421 (16-for-38) with seven doubles, two homers, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored. Some kind of MVP honor buried in those numbers......

Of the last four teams in the playoffs, none have top-tier payrolls. The Tigers, at No. 10, spent about $106 million on players this season. The Cardinals are No. 11 at a little more than $105. The Rangers are No. 13 at about $92 million. The Brewers are No. 17 out of 30 at a little more than $85 million.

Hat tip Adam Rubin ESPN. Jose Reyes has said Ryan Braun gave him a recruiting pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers at the All-Star Game. And Milwaukee's interest apparently is sincere. Ryan Braun tells the Post: "I think there's a better chance we sign (Reyes) than we re-sign Prince (Fielder)." Braun continued about Reyes: "(Reyes) is dynamic, man. He is one of the most exciting players in the game. He plays with a lot of energy and a lot of emotion and I enjoy watching him play. He's one of my favorite players to watch. Whenever their games are on, I love watching him, man. He always plays the game the right way. He always plays hard. He runs everything out." One of Reyes' agents, Chris Leible, recently tweeted that Braun texted congratulations to Reyes after the shortstop won the batting title with his bunt-and-depart finale.

How about that defensive play by Fielder....not known for his defensive skills. Seems like a bigger play now than maybe it did at the time!

Game ON!

Here's hoping that the much anticipated return of Palms Hot Stove blog will get the Brewers out of the doldrums and into the NLCS!

1) I need to know what you guys think will happen tonight? W or L
2) Hat tip Michael Hunt at JS.
Crunch time for Brewers
After blowing a 2-0 series lead, team's talented players must find a way to live up to their fans' great expectations
It's your move, Brewers.

The Green Bay Packers are defending Super Bowl champions and might repeat. The Wisconsin football team is coming off a Rose Bowl appearance and might win a national title.

Yet for the moment, the onus is on the Brewers to uphold their part of what has been viewed locally and nationally as an athletic renaissance in an improbable area to be considered the center of the sporting universe.

If that's a lot of pressure for the baseball team, so be it. With a deciding Game 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, the Brewers have placed themselves in a situation where a special season could continue or be considered a big disappointment. If they can't get past this barrier, the historical mantle remains tragically stuck in the past, with Yount and Molitor, Simmons and Cooper.

If that's a little harsh for an organization that has made the playoffs three times in the last 29 years, it's time to apply the adage that much is expected from those to whom much has been given.

The Brewers have said it themselves. This isn't 2008, when they were just happy to be there and had no real anticipation of beating the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in the first round. They won a game and learned how to spray champagne as a city and a region and a state adored them unconditionally.

That feeling hasn't gone away, even if it has been supplemented with a certain level of angst for an elimination game in which the home team faces becoming the first NL team ever to lose a divisional series after gaining a 2-0 lead. But the good and sophisticated fans at Miller Park could be stunned into silence, say, if the D'backs launch a third grand slam in three games against a suddenly shaken pitching staff.

At the very least, the people who again spun the turnstiles 3 million times in baseball's smallest market should no longer be satisfied that their team has showed up in October. The whole idea is to advance, and anything less would be a letdown at the back end of a 96-victory regular season.

The Brewers were built for this moment to do nothing but move on to the NLCS. They upgraded their pitching for this moment. Just as important, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and Yovani Gallardo - especially Gallardo on the mound for a Game 5 - have grown up since '08 to the point that performance and grace under pressure should not be an issue.

So, it's time to hold them accountable. It's time for Weeks, even coming off the ankle injury, to finally do something in this series. It's time for Hart to stop flailing at out-of-the-zone pitches like he did in '08.

And the moment of truth has finally come for Fielder and Braun - it's their team, after all - to carry the Brewers on their shoulders when it matters most, regardless of what they've accomplished in the past. The cruel what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-standard will be solidly in play on a Friday afternoon in Milwaukee.

The Brewers were not a good baseball team for two games in Phoenix. Starting pitching failed them. Timely hitting took leave. The bullpen was no help, not that it really mattered. The D'backs made better decisions from the dugout. The Brewers didn't catch the ball like they're capable.

If this were Boston, the critical gloves would've come off after two such performances. People would have been held responsible. It's true that this portion of the country is more forgiving of its sports teams, which is not always a bad thing in such reactionary times.

But realistic expectations being what they are, it is time for the well-paid professionals to be held accountable. Gallardo, who was superb late in the season, must find the game of his brief career.

The Brewers should win with home-field advantage. If not, little will have been gained from an otherwise memorable season.

Braun, Brewers sign extension through 2020

I know I haven't done much of this lately but this seemed worthy of a post. The title should have read, Braun awarded Prince's Bounty .... or something like that!

Deal, worth $105 million, added on to pact that had five years to go
By Adam McCalvy and Tom Singer / MLB.com | 04/21/11 3:52 PM ET
MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers and outfielder Ryan Braun reached agreement on a stunning five-year, $105 million contract extension Thursday that keeps the three-time All-Star in a Milwaukee uniform through at least 2020.
The deal will be formally announced at a 4 p.m. CT Miller Park news conference.
According to a baseball source, the extension pays $105 million from 2016-20 and includes a $10 million signing bonus. Braun will earn $19 million in each season from 2016-18, $18 million in '19 and $16 million in '20, and the '21 mutual option is worth up to $20 million with a $4 million buyout. It includes a no-trade provision, and Braun agreed to defer some salary "to help keep the team competitive." The $21 million average annual value of the extension is second highest for an outfielder, after Manny Ramirez's two-year deal with Dodgers.
Braun is now guaranteed $145.5 million from this season through the end of the extension, which makes Braun and Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki the only Major League players signed through 2020. In fact, the only other players signed through '18 are Joe Mauer of the Twins and Adrian Gonzalez of the Red Sox.
Braun signed his current eight-year, $45 million contract on May 15, 2008. It was, and remains, a record contract for a player with less than one year of Major League service.
"That first deal was unprecedented, a record-breaking deal, and this new one is a commitment," said Braun's agent, Nez Balelo of CAA Sports. "We basically view it as a partnership between Ryan and the organization moving forward, that both sides were willing to commit themselves probably through Ryan's entire career.
"Obviously, the commitment on the club's part is huge. But it's also a commitment on Ryan's part, to want to stay in the city of Milwaukee and play here possibly through the end of his career."
Balelo declined to discuss details of the deferrals, but said they were key to the deal from both sides.
"Just know that we got creative," Balelo said. "It was very important for Ryan and very important to the organization that we stay competitive. Ryan wanted to be in Milwaukee the rest of his career, but he also is dedicated to winning."
The extension has been in the works for some time, Balelo said.
"One of the cornerstone pledges we made when purchasing the Brewers was to build a perennially competitive team, and Ryan Braun has already shown that he is a very rare and special talent," Brewers chairman and principal owner Mark Attanasio said in a statement. "This is an historic occasion for our franchise and for our fans, knowing that we were able to make Ryan's desire to wear a Brewers uniform for the long term a reality."
"I want to thank the entire Milwaukee Brewers organization, specifically Mark Attanasio and his entire ownership group, Doug Melvin and Gord Ash for making this possible," Braun said. "I have truly enjoyed the time I have spent in Milwaukee and look forward to spending the next 10 years here. I believe in the direction of this organization and its commitment to winning moving forward. I consider it an honor and privilege to be a part of this organization for the next 10 years. Thank you to the Milwaukee Brewers for believing in me and making this happen."
The 27-year-old Braun is one of just five players in Major League Baseball history to hit 125 homers and post a .300 batting average over the first four seasons of his career, joining Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Chuck Klein and Ted Williams, and contemporary Albert Pujols.
"Ryan is an elite player and he has already reached extraordinary statistical milestones that are comparable to many of the great players in baseball history," Melvin said. "He has shown a tremendous commitment to the Milwaukee market since he arrived, and this is an exciting day for Brewers fans everywhere."
More details on the historic nature of Braun's deal:
• It marks the first time first time a player with five years left on his current contract agreed to an extension (Tulowitzki had three years plus an option remaining when he re-upped with the Rockies). It is also believed to be only the sixth time a player has signed a contract that guaranteed him 10 or more years of future salary (Dave Winfield, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Todd Helton and Tulowitzki are the others).
• Only seven players are signed through age 36 and have spent their entire career with their original professional organization: Braun, Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Ryan Howard, Chipper Jones and Helton.
• It is one of nine contracts for a position player with a total value of at least $100 million and an average annual value of at least $20 million (Rodriguez twice, Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Mauer, Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and Howard).
• Braun is 27, and only two other players 27 or younger signed a contract with an AAV of $20 million or more: Rodriguez in 2001 and Mauer in '11.
• It's the largest deal in Brewers history by total and AAV (Prince Fielder signed a $15.5 million deal for 2011).
• Braun's agency has done well for itself in the past year and a half. In the last 16-plus months, seven players have signed a deal with an AAV of $20 million or more, and three of those were negotiated by CAA Sports (also Howard and Roy Halladay).

Brewers get Mitre from Yanks for Dickerson

Right-hander has experience as both starter and reliever
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com | 03/25/11 11:18 AM ET
Brewers added a versatile pitcher to their staff and the Yankees eliminated one from their starting-pitcher competition on Friday, when New York sent right-hander Sergio Mitre to Milwaukee for outfielder Chris Dickerson.

Mitre, 13-29 with a career 5.27 ERA, would give Milwaukee an experienced hand as a starter or reliever. He has pitched in 117 Major League games, 64 of them as a starter.

The Brewers added right-handers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum to their starting rotation during the offseason, but Greinke will be sidelined for part of April due to an offseason rib injury and Marcum has experienced shoulder stiffness. In adddition, Mark Rogers and Manny Parra have also experienced aches and pains this spring.

Roenicke on Brewers' injuriesThe right-hander, who was originally selected by the Cubs in the seventh round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, has pitched for three teams over parts of seven seasons. He was 4-10 with a 6.12 ERA in three seasons as a Cub and 6-13 with a 4.88 ERA in two years with the Marlins. The 30-year-old was 3-6 with a 5.03 ERA in 29 games over the past two seasons for the Yankees.

Dickerson, 28, was acquired by Milwaukee from the Reds on Aug. 9 for outfielder Jim Edmonds. Dickerson, who spent parts of three seasons with Cincinnati, batted .208 with five RBIs in 25 games with the Brewers. He was hitting .278 (10-for-36) with five RBIs in 17 Spring Training games.

He played in a career-high 97 games in 2009, batting .275 and stealing 11 bases.

Mitre had been in competition for the fifth spot in the Yankees' rotation, or as a long reliever, but he seemingly had fallen out of the race earlier this month, allowing seven runs in 11 innings for a 5.73 ERA. His departure could allow the Yankees to carry Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia as a long reliever.

The Yankees appear ready to open the season with CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova in their rotation. Colon or Garcia is expected to be the fifth starter, with the other going to the bullpen.

New York reportedly signed veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood early Friday, adding another pitcher to the mix.

eric Estrada has rotation-worthy outing

I mean.....come on.....the guy was a star on CHiPs right?

Fighting for fifth-starter slot, righty holds Padres scoreless
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | 03/22/11 6:47 PM ET
PHOENIX -- Minor League right-hander Marco Estrada made a strong bid for a spot in Milwaukee's April pitching rotation, and the Brewers' offense continued to click in a 7-0 win over the Padres on Tuesday at Maryvale Baseball Park.
The Brewers entered the day with the best Spring Training batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in the Major Leagues and backed up those numbers by knocking around San Diego starter Clayton Richard. The Padres No. 2 starter allowed seven earned runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings, in what was his next-to-last spring start.
"He was just a little erratic at times with his fastball command," Padres manager Bud Black said of Richard. "We like that he got to 80 pitches. He feels good and used all of his pitches today."
Estrada, one of the players bidding to fill-in for injured Brewers ace Zack Greinke, looked much sharper. He allowed no runs and only three hits -- all singles -- in 4 1/3 innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.
The 27-year-old Estrada, who pitched briefly for the Brewers last season, is among a handful of internal candidates to make April starts in place of Greinke, who will begin the regular season on the disabled list with a cracked rib.
He'd rather not think about that competition.
"I'm trying not to, too much," Estrada said. "I'm trying to go out and do all of my lifts, throw the ball, stay in shape, keep my head down and work hard. If it happens, great. I'll be the happiest guy in the world. If it doesn't, I'll keep busting my butt and get up there eventually."
The Brewers need a fifth starter on April 6, and then again April 16 and 26 if Greinke remains sidelined.
Estrada is not even a member of big-league camp, but started Tuesday's "A" game against the Padres in place of 21-year-old prospect Wily Peralta, who recorded only one out against the Rockies last week and was shifted to a Minor League game instead.
"It felt great, especially being able to start over there. That's what I love to do," said Estrada, who had already returned to the club's Minor League complex by the time reporters tracked him down. "I felt good out there. I felt confident and I threw strikes."
Manager Ron Roenicke will confer with pitching coach Rick Kranitz before finalizing the rotation for the final week of Spring Training, but guessed that Estrada will get another "A" game start.
"[Kranitz] liked the way he pitched," Roenicke said. "His changeup was good, he had nice movement on his fastball and he threw some breaking balls that were pretty nice, too. We know he throws strikes. That's what he did for [the Brewers] last year. We know he has experience with a couple of games, so he shouldn't freak out."
As for picking Greinke's replacement, Roenicke said of Estrada, "He's definitely a possibility."
Erick Almonte started at first base in place of an ill Prince Fielder and drove in two runs for the Brewers, who also got RBIs from starters Rickie Weeks, Mark Kotsay, Yuniesky Betancourt and George Kottaras. Ryan Braun and Kottaras each scored two runs, and Kottaras had three hits, including a triple.

Cueto to miss start of season

Misery loves company.....hat tip AP.

Johnny Cueto to miss start of season

Cueto

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A sore right elbow and shoulder will sideline Cincinnati Reds starter Johnny Cueto for the start of the season.

Cueto flew back to Cincinnati and had an MRI that found inflammation in the shoulder. He had to leave his last two spring training starts because of soreness. Doctors have advised him not to throw for at least a week.

The Reds plan to leave him behind to work out in Arizona when they head north to start the season against Milwaukee on March 31.

The injury forces manager Dusty Baker to change his rotation. He's now planning to go with Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood and Mike Leake.

Marcum experiences tight shoulder

Come on already!!

Righty doesn't believe it's serious, but Brewers will be cautious

By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | 03/17/11 6:55 PM ET

Right-hander Shaun Marcum exited his outstanding start against the White Sox on Thursday after only three innings and complained of a tight shoulder. It's an issue that would usually be considered minor if so many of his teammates were not dealing with their own medical matters.

"It's frustrating. We're this far along, we've got two weeks left [until Opening Day] and it seems like everybody is going down," Marcum said. "I want to be one of the guys who stays healthy and is able to play when it's my time.

"Then again, it is Spring Training. I'd rather miss two weeks of Spring Training than two months of the season. That's the way I'm looking at it right now."

There's definitely concern there," manager Ron Roenicke said. "Geez, we're in a tough spot if he's down for a while."

Marcum, added in a December trade with the Blue Jays as part of Milwaukee's starting rotation makeover, has been dealing with periodic bouts of shoulder tightness all spring, and reported a stiff neck in recent days, Roenicke said.

But Marcum felt fine during his first two innings of work against the White Sox. He allowed his only hit to Alexei Ramirez leading off the third inning when Brewers left fielder Mark Kotsay lost a fly ball in the sun, then retired the next three hitters in order.

Somewhere between the second and third innings, Marcum's shoulder began to tighten. After a chat with head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger, Marcum left the game.

"We don't want to push it and take a chance of doing something stupid," Marcum said. "It's been a battle all spring." It's been a battle in the past as well. Marcum underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2008 and missed all of 2009. He bounced back in 2010 with the Jays, going 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 31 starts and 195 1/3 innings.

He offered this bit of perspective about his early exit:

"If it's the regular season, especially August, September, I'm pitching through it and not saying a word," he said.

It has been a tough first four weeks of Spring Training for Milwaukee's medical staff, which has treated possible Opening Day starter Greinke for a cracked rib, catcher Jonathan Lucroy for a fractured finger, center fielder Carlos Gomez and reliever Manny Parra for stiff backs, right fielder Corey Hart and left fielder Ryan Braun for rib-cage strains, second baseman Rickie Weeks for a tight groin, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for a sore quadriceps and reliever Takashi Saito for a tight hip and hamstring. They also nursed closer John Axford back from food poisoning and have been closely monitoring LaTroy Hawkins as he makes his way back from shoulder surgery.

That's not even the full injury report, but merely the list of players originally penciled into the Opening Day roster. All have either exited a Cactus League game early, had an outing pushed back or missed a game or more entirely.

Marcum is holding out hope that his absence will be short.

"This may be one of those things where we take a day off or two of throwing and get the tightness out of there," Marcum said, "then pick back up right where we left off and get ready for April 2."