04/09/05 - Brewers (Sheets) @ Cubs (Zambrano), 1:20 PM CT

[squarepusher]

Your Milwaukee Brewers are riding high after starting the season 3 and 0 with an amazing come from behind victory! The Crew has sole rights to 1st place in the NL Central with a Cincinnati loss yesterday. The marquee matchup series features Ben Sheets going for his second straight victory going up against Carlos Zambrano who had a less-than-stellar first outing. Last year the Cubs got to Sheets, and hit him for 3 losses and an ERA of 4.50. The Brewers have had limited success against Zambrano last year, with 2 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA against the Crew of 3.08. Go Crew!

 

 TEAM WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK [b]MILWAUKEE 3 0 1.000 - 0-0 3-0 00-00 03-00 00-00 WON 3[/b] CINCINNATI 3 1 .750 1/2 3-0 0-1 03-00 00-01 00-00 LOST 1 HOUSTON 2 1 .667 1 2-1 0-0 00-00 02-01 00-00 WON 2 ST LOUIS 2 1 .667 1 1-0 1-1 01-00 01-01 00-00 WON 1 CHICAGO CUBS 1 3 .250 2 1/2 0-1 1-2 00-00 00-01 01-02 LOST 3 PITTSBURGH 1 3 .250 2 1/2 0-2 1-1 00-00 00-02 01-01 WON 1 

 

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Brewerfan.net / Statfox matchup info:

www.brewerfan.net/ViewMatchup.action?teamId=1

 

Milwaukeebrewers.com game preview:

milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...p&c_id=mil

 

Chicagocubs.com game preview:

chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASA...p&c_id=chc

 

Yahoo! Sports game preview:

sports.yahoo.com/mlb/prev...=250409116

[NYChez]

Wind will be blowing from right to left, which may favor the Cubs, who have more right-handed power. This might be the day to give Helms a start.

 

Sheets will want to keep the ball outside against Nomah, Ramirez, Lee, etc.

[Invader3K]

"This might be the day to give Helms a start."

 

I don't think so...yeah, theoretically it would be smart to bat him, but has the guy had one successful at-bat thus far this season? I'd rather see Cirillo in the line-up.

[Bert55]

Helm's days are numbered....The Brewers are waiting from some desperate team that lost there 3rd baseman/DH to take Wes and his contract off our hands. Notice that you don't hear Ned cheering for him anymore. Wes isn't even a good pitch hitter....Thanks for the limited memories.

[clancyphile]

Zambrano's pitching... a case could be made for Helms or Cirillo, but Helms usually starts slow.

 

I'd go with Cirillo, personally, and deal Helms.

[endaround]

I guess I missed the story where Zambrano started throwing with his left hand.

[DHarris34Phan]

I know it is VERY early in the season, but this is a huge game.

[razzzorsharp]

LAST UNDEFEATED TEAM=2005 Milwaukee Brewers

[SlideBernieSlide]

Before the series began, Ned said he expected Branyan to play all 3 games the against Cubs' 3 righties. So expect the exact same line-up out there today as yesterday and Wednesday. Actually, since Moeller will be catching, he'll probably adjust the have Moeller hit 7th and Branyan 6th.

[40 oz to Freedom]

The Cubs got to Sheets last year, but this is another year. How can you not like the Sheets-Zambrano match up, especially after last weeks outings by both pitchers.

 

Let's hope the Brew Crew pounces on them early and Wrigley turns against the Cubs again. That was a great sight yesterday, the stands half empty because all anyone cares about is the beer, and the remaining fans booing their home team on opening day.

[DHarris34Phan]

Quote:

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That was a great sight yesterday, the stands half empty because all anyone cares about is the beer, and the remaining fans booing their home team on opening day.

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I did find that odd that everyone had left Wrigley....http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/roll.gif

[BuckyTuba]

ride the wave brew crew.... another game, another day for wes helms to come off the bench.

[Bench Coach]

My only question is what is Scoops prediction for the day? Come on Scoop get out that crystal ball....or Magic 8-ball, or whatever.

[razzzorsharp]

Today's Hero=Lyle Overbay

 

3-4 2 Doubles, 3 RBI's

[950opsLHcatcher]

Why should the Brewers start Helms on the off chance that he jacks one out down the left field line? Branyan has a better shot at being more productive in any wind condition.

[whizkid]

Actually, since Moeller will be catching, he'll probably adjust the have Moeller hit 7th and Branyan 6th.

 

If it were me, I'd keep the left/right alternating and put JJ 6th. In the first 3 games JJ has shown a good approach and that he's not over-matched.

[1992casey]

Here's an excerpt from an e-mail I sent to Daron and Bill (brewcrewtv@aol.com).

I just wanted you to know that in your first broadcast, I appreciated the mention of OPS and its use in the Carlos Lee graphic. I would love to see you discuss it more often.

 

OPS correlates better to runs scored and winning than OBP or SLG alone. And it certainly correlates better to runs scored and winning than batting average.

 

One of the beautiful things about OPS is that one doesn't have to be a 'diehard' to appreciate it: the learning curve is short and the concept is well within reach of the average fan. Repetitive exposure ought to do it; there shouldn't be any 'studying' involved. :-)

 

Instead of suggesting that you have to be a guru to appreciate OPS, how about saying "look at how easy it is"? It combines two stats that have been around forever and it's easy to see where it comes from.

[brewerjamie15]

The Crew has sole rights to 1st place in the NL Central

 

And the best record in all of baseball. So- if the playoffs started tomorrow..... lol

[berniebrewer4life]

Well, incase anybody wants a laugh, here is yesterday's gamethread from our friends at northsidebaseball.com

 

www.northsidebaseball.com...hp?t=19733

[germanking]

That is just beautiful, I just love it when fans act so stupid, they put their own foot in their mouth. I shouldnt be suprised by most of the reactions though. I've seen Jay Mariotti? on ESPN enough that the intelligence of a good chunk of Chicago fans is minimalhttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/roll.gif

 

Let's go Brewers. And does anyone remember if we won the last game of last season, or is it 8 more to my free burger?

 

Edit, I meant 9 more

[DHonks]

I'd still start Cirillo since Zambrano has such filthy movement. Either him or Branyan is fine though. Here's to hoping Ben is pissed about how the Cubbies treated him last year and throws a gem. Although those flyballs in the 1st game won't cut it. Might need to rack up the K's

[heresrobin]

I find that message board kind of difficult to read. Too many pictures by the posters. And the pasting of the post being replied to inside the post (if that makes sense), is pretty annoying if you are just trying to find the current post-which more often than not, was just a one sentence reply. It makes me happy to have the format we do at Brewerfan.net. Thanks Brewerfan!

 

One thing that surprised me was the lack of hostility directed towards the Brewers. Most of their hostility is reserved for some current Cubs players, and for the Cubs' offseason moves or lack there of. It seems that Cubs fans don't really hate the Brewers, they just might not take us very seriously. However, I saw at least a dozen posts actually giving props to how the Brewers have improved. There seemd to be a pretty healthy respect for some of our pitchers and in particular Carlos Lee. Now, when the Cubs play the Cardinals, it's probably a different story.

[PeaveyFury]

Why should the Brewers start Helms on the off chance that he jacks one out down the left field line? Branyan has a better shot at being more productive in any wind condition.

 

Agreed, Toby. I think Helms' remaining days are numbered.

 

That said, Dhonks makes a solid point about Zambrano. I fear that he's going to make Branyan look like a windmill at the plate today. I'd still start him, but wouldn't fault Yost at all if he sent Cirillo out there today.

[batman]

One thing that surprised me was the lack of hostility directed towards the Brewers. Most of their hostility is reserved for some current Cubs players, and for the Cubs' offseason moves or lack there of. It seems that Cubs fans don't really hate the Brewers, they just might not take us very seriously. However, I saw at least a dozen posts actually giving props to how the Brewers have improved. There seemd to be a pretty healthy respect for some of our pitchers and in particular Carlos Lee. Now, when the Cubs play the Cardinals, it's probably a different story.

 

There are a lot of really great/intelligent posters at NSB. I think you'll find that baseball fans that frequent internet message boards like NSB and BF tend to be much more informed and thus much less obnoxious than those who don't. Yeah, that's elitist and not always true... some of the brightest baseball fans I know don't read or post online... but the difference between the sentiments you'll find on NSB and in the parking lot of Miller Park at a Cubs game are drastically different.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that I have lots of respect for many of the NSB faithful... when I complain about the idiocy/obnoxiousness of Cubs fans, I'm talking about the ones that frequent "Wrigley Field North" and not those on NSB (well, some of them... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ).

 

EDIT: BTW, if anyone is interested in reading opposing teams' message boards and blogs (or even newspapers), I am including coverage info in the DB series previews. I'll try to pick out a few of the better blogs and any high-traffic message boards (like NSB) before every series. Let me know if you ever have a suggestion!

 

$.02,

~Bill

[NlGHTWlNG]

I still love it though that some of those cubs fans just know that Sheets will be playing for Boston by the end of this year. I can't wait till we lock him up.