6/20/04 - Twins (Santana) @ Brewers (Santos)

[batman]

Larry Walker is coming back for the Brewers series, his first appearance of 2004. Hopefully he's rusty and the Rockies' pitchers pitch like... well... Rockies. The pitching matchups are all reasonably favorable, and with Sheets going in the day game Thursday we have a real good chance to put together a three game winning streak. But like MB said, and like a lot of us have been saying after all of these game three losses, 2 out of 3 is the stuff of playoff teams.

 

Is anyone else totally stoked about the way the Brewers are playing at home? They seem to have finally overcome the "big crowd loss syndrome" that has been plaguing them, and they're really playing well at home. They're playing well on the road, too, obviously, but they're doing a great job of pleasing the home crowds.

 

This team is awesome. For the first time in a long time, being a Brewers' fan is fun.

 

~Bill

[igor67]

Listening to the game today and after getting all excited that I had finally heard an insidethe park HR I was very tee'd to be robbed of that by the official scorer. It's the home guy fro crying out loud!!!!! Anyway the Pods fly out was to deep center up against the wall, and thus the run was earned.

[Bruce Ciskie]

A few thoughts:

 

1. The call on Moeller was a joke. I almost put my foot through the TV when Blyleven talked about how great a pitch it was. We watched as the same flipping pitch was called a ball all afternoon, until Nathan threw it. Granted, Moeller probably didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of doing anything, but it would have been nice to see him get a chance with the strike zone everyone else had to play with.

 

2. Ginter had two check-swings that were called strikes that I questioned. I didn't get to see a replay on either of them, because the pukes at Fox Sports North-Minnesota didn't have the guts to show them.

 

3. No matter what you think of those calls, the Brewers' approach at the plate needs to change. Especially with the shadows that should be an advantage to us by now. It's not like they're ever really any different than this. Get used to them, suck it up, and hit the ball. It's a mental game now more than anything else.

 

4. Santana was really good, but his command in the first four innings was borderline dreadful. It's the same kind of uneven performance that got him the numbers he has right now, which are mediocre. In the three outings before yesterday, he was consistent and had command of every pitch. Yesterday, the Brewers let him off the hook in the first four innings, even though they could have chased him by then.

 

5. Isn't it nice to have something like this to complain about? I'll take 35-31 right now, as it's better than the 28-38 type of record I expected them to have.

[Shampoo4U]

? for those at game on Sunday--- When Counsell hit his triple plus the error that looked like an inside the park HR, Did Bernie go down the slide and shoot off the fireworks? Would he go down the slide on an inside the park HR?

[brettac1]

I was at the game also Sect. 114, row 14, seat 8 , and a very interesting thing happened after Podsednik's last K. Of course, he got all angry-like, but then he handed his bat over the top of the dugout to a fan sitting in the first row, if he only would have thrown it 13 more rows up to me!

 

EDIT: I don't recall Bernie sliding down the slide, I doubt that he did, but the park was quite nuts at the time, with a nice crowd all on their feet.

[clancyphile]

rluzinski and JaNelson52

 

Ask the 1986 Angels (ALCS), the 2001 Yankees (World Series), the 2002 Giants (World Series) and the 2003 Red Sox (ALCS) if they wish they had been able to put their opponents away after getting them on the ropes. The 1986 Red Sox probably also qualify as well (remember that World Series?).

 

All of them had 3-2 leads. Some would have won a three-game set. But they don't have the pennant or the trophy, do they?

[ja002h]

All of them had 3-2 leads. Some would have won a three-game set. But they don't have the pennant or the trophy, do they?

 

I think you're missing the point. If you win the 1st game of a 3-game series, the second game is the one where you "have the team on the ropes" and should be upset if they let it get away (or the 3rd if you lose the 2nd). If you win the 1st 2 games, you've ALREADY won the series, there is no "closing out" to do! We're not talking about 3-2. I think everybody will agree you DO need to "close out" if it's 3-2.

 

4-2 WILL win a series everytime.

 

Summary: 3-2 != going for sweep.

 

One more thought: If playoff series were only 3 games, there wouldn't have even been a game 3.

[cracky]

The milking the cow was the best part of the game. Why you ask? Because I was the one interviewed who gave the demonstration on how to milk a cow. I knew all those years on the farm would pay off eventually.