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8/26/08 Brewers (Sheets) at Cardinals (Wellemeyer): 7:15 PM CDT

wibadgers23

By wibadgers23,
in Archived Game Threads

Bernman23 Draft Eligible

Bernman23

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What's up with Benny and the Cards? 5-14 and 4.20 ERA lifetime.
Albert Pujols has always owned him for one. The machismo has gotten the best of him trying to challenge he and the rest of the middle of the Cards' order. I recall a game in Milwaukee where Sheets to start a game pitched nothing but fastballs, and fastballs for strikes, for a long string of pitches. Both Pujols and Edmonds jacked balls out of the park back to back. If they know what pitch is coming and the general area it will be located, pitchers give away their edge. Sometimes players in any sport get amped up and the intensity actually works against them because they're reckless and shut down mentally. Others can channel it into "controlled aggression" which heightens focus and improves performance as a result. It's up to Ben which player he is tonight. Be ordinary and he should get criticized - he doesn't have ordinary stuff. Be great and get lauded - not every player who has good stuff is capable of parlaying it into success on the mound, for which players should get credit. The beauty of sports, events play out on fields and courts before our very eyes, and the meritorious will be praised accordingly by the impartial and knowledgeable.
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rluzinski Carolina Mudcats

rluzinski

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You have to love it when your offense could score 1 run and a guy like Yount would still pin the probable loss on Sheets. I guess it makes it easier to have players prove you right when you go into a game with completely unrealistic expectations.

 

I predict that if the offense scores 3 or less runs, Sheets will once again prove that he can't win the big games. Bold of me, huh?

If you'd have read my entire post, you'd see I am actually hoping he proves me wrong. It's ok to take the "I love Ben" shirt off and expect him to step up.

 

You hope that Sheets proves you wrong by winning the first game in major league history in which the victorious team doesn't even score. Am exagerating of course but by only 1 run, which is kinda crazy in itself. But I'm the one not being objective? I think the the entire notion of expecting starting pitchers to "step it up" in big games is largely a romantic myth. I will assume that Sheets is pitching to the best of his abilities every outing, just as I presume for every other starting pitcher. If anything, I think pitchers can hurt their performance if they get all jacked up and start trying to throw 100 MPH ever pitch. He needs to just approach this game like any other. If Sheets gives up 3 in 7 tonight and loses, I'm not going to get all worked up about it. That's baseball for you.

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bucks2281 First Round Pick

bucks2281

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This will be a huge test to see what he's really made of, and I hope he proves my opinions of him to be wrong.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is a big game. If they lose, it's no big deal. Heck, getting swept here would be only a minor blow. At this point, they need to tread water. They have 16 games remaining against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and San Diego -- they'll get fat off of those teams, so I'm really not concerned about this series. I just don't want to hear John Kruk and Steve Phillips chirping about the Cardinals if they sweep.

 

By the way, we have to pay close attention to the Mets and Phillies. They're just as important to our chances as are the Cardinals.

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CportBadger Prep Ball

CportBadger

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The Phils/Mets series is important, but since one of them can catch the Brewers without knocking the Brewers out of the playoffs, it's not a huge deal. If the Brewers split, they will either gain a game on whoever is in 2nd if the other series is a sweep, or nothing will happen.

 

Even if the Crew gets swept, the only way they lose ground would be if that series is split (though the Cards will have made up quite a bit of ground). The best case scenario would be a Brewers sweep and a sweep in the other series. But if the Brewers split, they will have pretty much the same leads, while 2 games closer to the finish.

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Oldcity ACL Brewers

Oldcity

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What's up with Benny and the Cards? 5-14 and 4.20 ERA lifetime.
Does this not prove the worthlessness of W-L record? A 5-14 record with an above average ERA.

 

Mmm Big Boy. Hawing, the Big Boy reference comes from a blog entry by Tom Haudricourt a couple weeks ago in which he maligned Rickie Weeks and repeatedly used the phrase "It's big-boy time" to say he needs to be held accountable.

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crewcrazy ACL Brewers

crewcrazy

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I just really hope Sheets wins tonight so the guys on the radio can stop playing psychologist. Hopefully an extra day of rest will help him, since he seems to be wearing down from not being used to throwing this many innings.

 

I don't really have a problem with Weeks getting an extra day off -- Durham needs a start here and there to stay sharp, and same with Counsell after Hall got all the starts against the Bucs. At least Counsell's not hitting 6th ahead of Cameron anymore, but that Counsell-Kendall-Sheets bottom third is a pretty big black hole. Hopefully Braun can continue his tear against the Cards, and he doesn't get Prince hit in retaliation again.

"[baseball]'s a stupid game sometimes." -- Ryan Braun

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RightFieldCoder First Round Pick

RightFieldCoder

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Quick question. My brother is going over to his SO's house, who has ATT satellite. Any clue as to what channel number the game will be on?

The poster previously known as Robin19, now @RFCoder

EA Sports...It's in the game...until we arbitrarily decide to shut off the server.

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RU Rah Rah First Round Pick

RU Rah Rah

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What's up with Benny and the Cards? 5-14 and 4.20 ERA lifetime.
Does this not prove the worthlessness of W-L record? A 5-14 record with an above average ERA.
I'm not arguing that W/L and ERA are be-all, end-all stats (we all know the drawbacks), but I think they might indicate that he hasn't pitched especially against the Cards in his career. (His lifetime ERA is 3.75)
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Bring Back the Stein College Ball

Bring Back the Stein

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With the professional at-bats and grittyness we have from the 7 hole tonight, we will be tough to beat

 

It would be nice to get some runs early so we don't have to rely on another late game homer to win it.

Wait-are you saying that Counsell's going to hit a late-game homer to win it? If that happens let me know, so I can be sure to be careful of all the driverless cars emptied by The Rapture.

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RU Rah Rah First Round Pick

RU Rah Rah

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Sheeter's got a 3.21 against the Cards this year ... I don't really put much credence into stats vs. a given team. Roster turnover's pretty high.
Of course he's doing better against them now! They no longer feature the scrappy hustler David Eckstein!!!
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Bernman23 Draft Eligible

Bernman23

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One thing I think Sabremetricians and Scouts can unify on is that Craig Counsell sucks at the plate. How can you keep that potent bat out of the lineup on a consistent basis, Yost. Got to love having Counsell, Kendall, and Sheets at the bottom of the lineup. Clearly well thought out by Yost. If Sheets doesn't get the proper run support we can see why. The bottom of the order, including his own waste of an at bat.
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